Chapter 4

It'd been five days and the master and the apprentice still had heard nothing from the council. Anakin wasn't surprised – he knew thinking of an effective plan could take a while.

Anakin had noticed that Ahsoka had calmed down a little and was acting more herself. She had always been a breath of fresh air so it was strange and even slightly upsetting to see her down or stressed. When Ahsoka wasn't feeling herself, it seemed to affect everyone else too. She was always chatting, telling jokes and keeping bright smiles on everyone's faces.

It took a lot to get Ahsoka all worked up like that. She'd seen a lot in her two years on the battlefield and if it affected her, she tended to not show it. Anakin had never seen her quite as traumatised as she was after seeing those mutilated bodies.

He'd thought about it a lot, and as much as he loved Ahsoka as a sister, it was wrong for her to be serving on the front lines, risking her life day after day. She was a teenager and she'd experienced things not even grown men could handle. She was a tough kid and he admired her for that and always would. She had a burning determination to help others and protect them from any harm. She didn't deserve the pain that came with fighting a war.

War affected people differently. Some had crippling nightmares that plagued them every time they slept, some became extremely sensitive and paranoid with loud noises, and some became distant. He knew the clones had been trained for war all of their lives but that didn't mean they weren't allowed to feel the effects of it or grieve for their fallen brothers. He hated the way some Jedi or even outsiders treated the clones, as if they were emotionless cyborgs.

The way people expect the clones to be was in a way, similar to the Jedi. They were supposed to release emotions into the force. Anakin hated that. Just because the Jedi are gifted, it didn't mean they weren't allowed to feel anything. He understood that it could be dangerous – raw emotions meant temptation to fall towards the darkside.

The war put a lot of pressure on the Jedi, that was obvious.

No one seemed to crack under the overwhelming weight, however. Maybe it was because they couldn't allow it. With so much going on, so many battles to fight, a Jedi could not afford to breakdown no matter what they had done or seen out on the field. Maybe that's what kept them all going.

Anakin knew Ahsoka hated killing. She was a sixteen year old girl after all. People had died by her blade and her actions and that was something he knew she couldn't just let go of. She couldn't just brush it off her shoulder and put it behind her. Anakin knew that Ahsoka despised killing, even if she had to.

She'd killed evil people before, people who didn't deserve to live. Just knowing that she had taken someone's life didn't sit with her right.

Anakin respected how strong she was for always keeping it together. She was able to fight battle after battle despite the things she had witnessed. He was proud of how far she had come.

His comm beeped, distracting him from his deep thinking. He sighed and expected it to be the council calling him in to discuss a new strategy but he was pleasantly surprised to hear Padmé's soothing voice, "Are you free today, Master Skywalker?"

Anakin quickly scanned his eyes over his surroundings, searching for anyone who could possibly listen in onto his conversation, "Yes, I am. When do you want me?" He smiled as he spoke, happy to hear his wife's voice.

"As soon as possible. Dinner is being prepared and it'll be ready soon. You can bring Ahsoka too if you want, there's plenty for everyone."

As much as Anakin wanted some alone time with his wife, he knew Ahsoka needed a break and it'd probably make her feel better spending time with close friends. "Okay, Padmé. I'll comm Ahsoka and we'll be down shortly. I miss you."

He heard his wife laugh quietly and a large smile grew on his face almost instantly. "I miss you too, Ani."

…

Anakin threw his knife and fork down onto his empty plate and leant back in his chair. He held his robotic hand to his stomach. He took a deep breath, "You weren't kidding when you said that there was plenty to go around." He said across the table to Padmé.

She wiped her mouth with a napkin and set it down on the table, "I don't think I'll be needing breakfast tomorrow. At least we know what's for dinner tomorrow." She laughed a little and gestured towards the serving plates in the middle of the table, still filled with food, enough to feed two to three people. "Next time I think we need to think a little more about portion sizes..."

Ahsoka mimicked Anakin's actions and lay back in her chair. "Definitely no breakfast for me either."

Padmé chuckled, looking at the two Jedi; both had hands on their stomachs and leant back, looking as if they'd fall asleep any second, "It's a hard life for you Jedi."

Anakin straightened his posture and leant forward, "Hey! Physical activity makes people hungry!"

Ahsoka laughed, "That's true. After training I feel like eating my weight in food but then what would be the point in training?"

"You have a point there, Ahsoka." Said Padmé as she stood up and started to clear away the plates.

Ahsoka was about to stand but Anakin put a hand on her shoulder, preventing her from standing. "Don't worry about it, Snips. You just relax here and I'll help the Senator out." He patted her shoulder then picked up her plate.

Ahsoka raised a brow as she watched him walk out of the room, following Padmé. She wasn't stupid. She knew that there was something going on, but she didn't know what. She knew that the two of them were close but how close? That's what she didn't know.

As much as she wanted to know, she knew her master was secretive and in all fairness, it wasn't her business and she had no right to get involved. It didn't stop her from wondering, though. She had noticed that he always seemed happy around the Senator.

Ahsoka stood up and stretched, hearing a satisfying crack in her back. She was definitely tired and she had a feeling that the council would want to see them tomorrow about the new strategy. She wanted to head home. They had arrived separately because Anakin had been near the Senator's apartment anyway and so she drove her speeder down to meet him, to save him time, so he didn't need to pick her up.

"Master?" She called as she walked towards the kitchen area, "I'm gonna head back – I'm really tired. Thanks for having me, Padmé, the food was lovely."

Padmé called over her shoulder and flicked the water off of her hands, "It's no problem, Ahsoka. You know you're always welcome here. See you soon."

"See you later, Master. Bye, Padmé." She smiled and left them to it, guessing they wanted a bit of time to themselves anyway.

She threw her cloak over her body and dug into her pockets for her speeder keys. She always seemed to be losing the damn things. She entered the elevator and waited patiently; after all, she didn't intend to rush after all that food she had just eaten.

She sighed in relief when she found the keys. She didn't want a repeat of the last time she had lost them – Anakin hadn't been pleased at all.

When she reached her desired floor she stepped out of the doors and stopped for a second to spot her speeder. She had been in such a rush to get to Padmé's she didn't really take note of where she had parked up. She blamed the hunger for her actions.

Click click click.

Ahsoka snapped her head to the left – she could've sworn she heard footsteps coming from that direction.

After a few moments of silence, she started walking again. She was tired, maybe she was imagining it.

Click click click.

Her heart skipped a beat but she carried on walking, pretending that she hadn't heard anything. She reached out to the force and mentally scanned the room – there seemed to be no one there.

She scanned the room once more for her speeder and spotted it in a far corner. She started walking and quickly realised that there was indeed a second set of footsteps, hitting the ground in time with her own. She abruptly stopped and listened carefully. If she could hear footsteps why could she not sense anyone?

She started again and stopped after a few steps. She could sense a presence – not with the force, but with that awful feeling you get when you know you're being watched.

She was getting pissed now. She gripped her lightsaber with her right hand and prepared herself for anything that may happen. The feeling of paranoia soon got the best of her and she ignited her lightsaber, pivoting on her heel and holding the weapon in a defensive position.

The glow of the lightsaber gave off a creepy hue, illuminating the parking bay in an ominous way that made Ahsoka's skin crawl. She gripped the weapon hard in her hands, concentrating hard on her surroundings.

She couldn't sense it, but she knew she wasn't alone. "I'm warning you. Show yourself or else." She snarled, determined to find out who this stalker person was.

She was met with silence and she was unsure if she should lower her guard or not. Maybe the person had seen her weapon and realised that they were messing with a Jedi and legged it.

She mentally searched the room again with the force and once more with her eyes. But she just couldn't shake that feeling of being watched. Flicking off her lightsaber, her heart dropped to her stomach when she heard a sickening laugh echo throughout the deserted parking lot.

She instinctively reached for her lightsabers and was knocked to the floor by a strong blow to the back of her head. Her vision went blurry as she crashed to the hard ground. She tried to push herself up but a heavy foot on her back forced her back down to the floor.

She wasn't going down without a fight.

She thrashed her body around when she felt a weight on top of her, forcing her flat to the floor. She was strong but whoever he attacker was, he was a large man. She couldn't push his weight off of her.

Just as she thrust out her hand for a force push, she felt a sharp prick in her neck and her already blurry vision was clouded with black dots and she felt as if she could throw up.

She quickly blacked out; the last thing she heard was that sickening laugh.

She knew she was in trouble.

…

Ouch.

When Ahsoka's eyes fluttered open, she was unable to take in her surroundings for a moment – all she could feel was a painful throbbing in her lekku. She'd been hit hard, she knew at least much.

Scrunching her eyes shut for a few seconds in hopes to take away the blurry vision, she opened them and was shocked by her surroundings. She had expected herself to be in some sort of dingy, damp cell. She was, however, in a small room with a mattress, a window caged with metal bars and a small chest of drawers. It was somewhat similar to her living quarters in the Jedi temple. There were only a few similarities but it still reminded her of it.

She felt at her waist and was unsurprised when she felt that her lightsabers were missing. She'd been in this situation a couple of times before, she had a feeling she'd be weapon-less.

She sat up slowly on the mattress and gently bounced on it – it wasn't the best quality but it was clean. She stood slowly and examined her surroundings in more detail. She gripped the cold metal bars that cased the window and tried her best to see what was outside. All she could see was a large steel wall and roughly ten people dressed in either grey or orange on the ground down below. Judging of the size of the people below, she must be about six or seven stories high off of the ground. She could definitely make the jump with the aid of the force.

The Togruta stood on her toes in hopes to see over the giant wall that cased them all in. She couldn't really make out what she could see beyond the walls. It could be fields, more buildings… She had no idea.

She narrowed her eyes at the people below – the colours represented that of prisoners. She assumed she was in some sort of prison; but for what?

She was beyond confused. She'd been kidnapped and had been thrown into a plain bedroom? The very thought of being locked in a bedroom and being a teenage girl was very disturbing, but from her observations she saw that there no restraints or chains. That put her mind at ease a little.

She moved onto the mattress next. She lifted up one the ends and gazed beneath it. She didn't know exactly what she was looking for but anything she found could helpful information. Ahsoka stepped into the small gap between the mattress and the wall and began to gently knock on the wall. She was careful to keep the noise down in case she alerted any nearby guards that could possibly be patrolling.

Unsatisfied, she finally kneeled in front of the chest of drawers. She wasn't exactly feeling optimistic about finding anything now. She pulled open the tiny draws, one by one. They were all empty.

Huffing in frustration, she yanked all of the draws out completely and examined the casing for the drawers. There was nothing hidden inside of that either.

Ahsoka stopped dead when she saw the slightest movement out of the corner of her eye. She slowly turned her head and her stomach dropped when she noticed a tiny security camera in the top right hand corner of the room.

How did I miss that? She mentally scolded herself. She wanted to blame the head injury but she still should've seen it.

She stood slowly and stepped towards the camera in tiny movements. She stopped and looked directly to the lens. Was someone watching her right now, this second?

The thought of being watched, being monitored 24/7 unsettled her stomach. She felt like an animal, all caged up and spied on. What was she even doing here? If this really was a prison, why had they taken her here? She hadn't done anything, and if she had, she surely would've had a trial?

She suddenly heard a rattle outside of the door and she backed towards the end of the room, fists raised, ready to fight, defend, whatever she might have to do.

The door swung open. Ahsoka had to stop herself from flinching. That sinister man in the mask, the one who threatened the Jedi and killed the research team stood before her, wearing the same ominous, mysterious mask. She clenched her fists tighter and steadied her fighting stance, making sure her legs were sturdy. She swallowed hard and hid her anxiety with a clenched jaw and a determined face.

The man stepped forward into the room; his arms spread wide, "Ahsoka Tano!" He bellowed, "It's wonderful to finally meet you in person. You may call me the Governor. I am in charge of you here." He sounded so optimistic and it gave Ahsoka the creeps.

She held her stance even though her fists were starting to ache. She had been kidnapped by the Strangers. She had to escape.

Blinking hard, she tried not to think about what would happen to her if she was unsuccessful in an escape. She knew if she let her guard down even a fraction, she wouldn't leave this place in one piece.

It was now or never, she supposed.

She leaped towards him, aiming to land a strong punch to his face. Her reflexes were fast, but his were even faster. The wind was knocked out of the girl by a strong, swift kick her stomach. As she tried to take a breath he landed a solid punch to her left cheek, knocking her onto her backside. She was ready to get back up to continue the fight but the Governor held up his palm, signalling her to stop.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. There are four armed guards stood outside this room – you wouldn't stand a chance against all five of us." He chuckled before continuing, "However, you are feisty."

Ahsoka glared at him and leant forward, spitting a glob of blood onto his boots. She the remaining blood off of her mouth with the back of her hand, eyes still locked onto the man stood above her.

Ahsoka expected anything from a punch or a kick to the face but she was shocked to hear another laugh leave his lips. Anakin was right when he had said that these guys were lunatics.

He knelt down and took Ahsoka's chin in his hand, "You're extremely feisty."

Ahsoka tore her head away from him, flinching as her cheek started to throb even more painfully.

She heard the door scrape against the floor as it moved and was relieved that he was leaving.

He stopped suddenly, "Oh, I forgot to tell you." He said over his shoulder, "I have a wonderful feeling that my clients will bid very high for you."

…

Okay so a little more excitement in this chapter… You also find out some more about the Strangers' organisation. I purposely didn't tell you what they do exactly. Feel free to guess what The Governor has planned for Ahsoka in the reviews or PM's! You'll find out soon what the bidding means, but guess if you want!

Thanks for reading, please review! As always they keep me motivated!