Disclaimer: Disney owns Star Wars, not me. All the characters and places (except for my OC Analise) belong to them. General trigger warning is in effect.

"aaaa"-talking out loud. "aaaa" (bold and italics)-talking through a holo or com. 'aaaaa'-inner thoughts. "aaaaa"-talking through a Bond or talking during a Force Vision. aaaa-Force Vision. "aaaa" (bold)-talking in another language. ("aaa") (bold, italics, and parenthesis)-talking through a holo or com in another language.

AN: CLONE WARS IS BACK! And it was amazing:) The animations were beautiful and I think that the episodes are only going to get better and better as the season goes on.

You probably noticed that I updated two weeks in a row. That's because I am going to try to get a chapter out now every week to every two weeks. I am really hoping I'll be able to get a chapter out every week (helps that right now I am not working). My goal is to finish Crossing Battlefields before starting school in the fall.

Thank you to BanzEye, Multiple-Fandom-Write, and Jake for the reviews:)

-Edge of Peace (my Revenge of the Sith rewrite) is going to be different, but I am not going to give anything away. You'll just have to read it to find out;)

-Thanks for letting me know about the pilot.

-I will be including two story arcs from season six aka The Lost Missions here in Crossing Battlefields:)

The younglings have saved the day and rescued Ahsoka! But now they have to get off Florrum before the pirates catch up to them. But a dark shadow is creeping close to Florrum that could spell doom to both Jedi and pirates...

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~Choose your enemies wisely, as they may be your last hope~ A Necessary Bond, Clone Wars Season Five

Chapter Seventy: Old Aaks and New Tricks

Dooku leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers together.

He was not normally a man to hold a grudge for far longer than was nesscary. It was far simpler and quicker to take care of the issue right then and there.

But there was a war on, so Dooku's attention had been diverted away from the pirate who had had the gull to capture and then hold him for ransom. True he had escaped and left some bodies in his wake as a warning, but Hondo clearly hadn't learned. His spies had told him that the pirate had been helping the Jedi and Republic.

Well he had sat on his grudge long enough and this would allow him to kill two convors with one stone. He would take out the insolent pirate and an overall threat to the Separatists and his Master.

Dooku taped the com on his desk and waited for it to connect. "Ahh there you are General. I have a mission for you."

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Petro had to hand it to the pirates. Even when most of them were full of drinks, they were quick on their feet. Still as quick as they were, Ahsoka was quicker.

He and Katooni clung to the top of the speeder tank as they raced towards the Crucible. It swayed side to side as Ahsoka veered left then right then left again to keep the pirates' shots from aiming true. Their costumes had been tossed aside. He would miss the mask though. 'Maybe I could work a mask in somewhere,' he thought to himself. 'Something like that when I'm Knight could strike fear into the hearts of a bunch of pirates...'

"Petro stay down!" Katooni's yell and yank on his arm pulled the youngling from his thoughts. He ducked his head down just as a laser bolt sliced through the air overhead.

"The pirates are here!" He turned at Gungi's bellow, nearly rolling his eyes at the sight of the Wookie, sticking his head through the hatch of the speeder tank.

"We know Gungi. We kind of caught onto that when they started shooting at us. They're catching up fast!" There was a warning, shrill that only Force Sensitives could hear and this time it was Petro who pulled Katooni down. He used the upper part of his body to cover her's.

BANG!
BANG!
BOOM!

Three rapid shots, one after the other slammed into the speeder's engines. They began to smoke, bleching out flames. It rocked wildly now, jerking from side to side.

"Well," Katooni half-smiled as she lifted her head, "I guess they're still pretty upset that we pulled a trick on them." Petro snorted then grabbed Katooni. The pair stood halfway up, kept their heads down, and made a dash for the hatch. Gungi got out of they way as they jumped down inside.

"So what? As soon we're off their planet, the pirates will forget that we were even here." BANG! The speeder rocked again and Petro winced as he hit the side of the speeder hard. Ahsoka glanced up from the steering controls.

"Yeah...I don't think they'll be forgetting anytime soon Petro."

"Think you might be right..." the human boy reached into his belt pouch and grabbed his com. Petro thumbed it on. "Hey Ganodi? Ganodi come in. We're going to need a real quick evac so the ship better be ready. Ganodi? Are you there?" There was no answer.

"Not to add on more troubles, but there's a chance that the pirates might be jamming the signal."

"That's no good."

"Where could Ganodi be? The pirates couldn't have gotten her. Could they?"

"Ganodi! Huyang! Come in! Are you there? Come in!"

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"Wow!" Ganodi stretched her arms up over her head as she strolled into the cockpit. An armless Huyang at her side and Artoo behind her. "I didn't realize that it was going to take that long to get your head reattached to your body." The old droid chuckled.

"Heads usually are tricky youngling. Your help is very much appreciated. I don't need my arms so much, but a head is important for mobility and mobility is of the upmost important in an emergency."

"Hey Ganodi! Are you there? Where did you go?" The Rodian hopped into the pilot seat. She pressed the button on the console.

"I'm right here Petro. I was in the back with Artoo fixing up Professor Huyang."

"Well that's great news at least. Or it will be great if we can get the engines running cause the pirates are after us!" Ganodi's eyes went wide as she heard Gungi bellow out that the pirates were gaining on them.

"What? What do you mean..."

"This is Ahsoka Ganodi."

"It's really you Padawan Tano?" Behind her Artoo whistled and chirped in glee that his young Mistress was safe and no longer in the hands of some pirates. "We were able to rescue you!"

"Well almost Ganodi. We still need you to get the ship all set for us so that we can get back home. Are you ready for us?"

Ganodi took a deep breath and found her center. She could do this. Ahsoka and her friends needed her to be able to do this. "I'm ready. Tell me what I need to do Padawan Tano."

"I am sending you some coordinates. I want you to fire up the engines and meet us there for an evac." The console beeped and Ganodi glanced down to see the coordinates rolling across the screen.

"I got them and we're on our way."

"We'll be there soon Mistress Ahsoka!" Artoo rolled up to the port and plugged himself in. There was a distant roar as the engines powered up. Ganodi pulled down on a lever and the Crucible took off.

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It was easy to spot them when they reached the coordinates. There were two speeder tanks, but one was chasing the other, guns blazing. Ganodi could see smoke and even little flames coming out of the first speeder's engines. "I see them! They're right there!"

"Alright Artoo, hold the ship steady and lower the boarding ramp," Huyang ordered the astromech. Ganodi gulped and had to recenter herself. She knew what they would be doing. She had seen it many times on the holonet when she and the others would watch the rare news feeds from the front lines. The ship would remain flying, slowing only a bit while her friends and Ahsoka would have to jump from the speeder tank which would also be moving onto the boarding ramp of the Crucible. All while the pirates were still chasing after them and still shooting at them!

There were so many things that could go wrong that Ganodi didn't even know where to start, but she forced herself to stay calm. Panicking and picturing everything that might go wrong was not going to help anyone.

"Come on Professor!" Ganodi leapt out of the chair and reached for the boarding ramp, not even glancing back to see if Huyang was following her.

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"Hey Ahsoka, our ride's here." Ahsoka glanced up as a shadow fell over them. She really wanted to let out a huge sigh of relief, but knew that she couldn't. She wouldn't feel that everything was alright until they were back on the Crucible with Florrum far, far behind them.

"Good. I want everyone top side now. Stay down." She watched as Gungi, Zatt, and Byph each hopped up and climbed out the hatch.

"But what about the tank? Who's going to stay here and pilot it?" Ahsoka frowned. It was a good question. If they stopped the tank, the pirates would be on them...

She glanced around and grinned. "Pass me that mask Katooni!" She pointed at a bright orange mask that she guessed was suppose to be what an angry Aleena. Katooni grabbed it and tossed it to Ahsoka. The Padawan carefully placed it on the controls to keep the speeder moving forward. She frowned, adjusted it a little before letting go and shrugging. "There. That will work I think. Alright you two, up top now!"

Ahsoka waited for Katooni and Petro to jump through the hatch before following. She ignited her sabers, landing on top of the tank with a thunk. She immediately began weaving her lightsabers though the air, counting in her head as Anakin had taught her when she had first been learning to deflect and bounce back gun fire. It wasn't easy doing it on a moving speeder that had no one actually flying it, but it needed to be done.

She watched from the corner of her eye as Byph took a running jump towards the boarding ramp. Ganodi was there, reaching out as far as she could...

And Ahsoka mentally let out a cheer as the Ithorian grabbed hold of Ganodi.

Bang! The speeder jolted to the side! Byph let out his version of a yelp as the speeder began to drift away from the ship, leaving him dangling in the air.

"Stang! The steering had to have come loose!"

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Petro took that as his cue. He jumped back down the hatch. The mask that Ahsoka had placed on the control was on the ground. The last shot had knocked it clean off. He grabbed the control and yanked it back, to where it was meant to be.

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The speeder moved back to the Crucible. Gungi grunted as he raised his arms and wrapped his furry hands around Byph's ankles. "We got Byph!" Katooni called down to Petro.

"Hang on you guys!"

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Piloting speeders in sims was nothing like piloting them in real life. Petro made a silent vow to himself and the Force that if he made it out there alive, he would stop slacking on his sims. After all Anakin Skywalker wasn't just a great warrior, he was a great pilot too.

"Stang it all!" he cursed when he realized that they were heading straight for a ravine! "Oh no...no, no!" He jerked the controls hard to one side just to avoid the speeder going over the edge.

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Suddenly Gungi and Byph were swinging through the air as the Crucible flew past the speeder and over the ravine. Ganodi held on as tightly as she could. She asked the Force to help give her strength and braced herself as best she could.

"We need to swing the ship around!"

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"They're coming back this way!" Katooni shouted over the sound of blaster fire and Ahsoka's lightsabers. She and Zatt jumped towards the front of the speeder, watching as the Crucible came racing towards them. She could see Gungi and Byph still dangling from the ramp where Ganodi was holding tight to Byph's hands.

Without a second thought, Katooni reached out and wrapped her hands around Gungi's large ankles as soon as he got close. The Wookie roared and Zatt grabbed onto Katooni's ankles as she was lifted from the ship. However the Nautolan dug his toes in. They needed to make sure that everyone got onto the Crucible...

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Gwarm patted the side of the blaster cannon and smiled. There was a quick way to end this whole chase. "Aim for the ship's engines. That will take the fire out of them." The large Weequey manning the gun laughed and aimed it at Crucible's engines.

He fired and the ship shook.

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"Oh no!" Artoo whistled shrilly inside the ship's cockpit. Currents of electricity were racing through the controls, sparks popping out from behind panels. The ship rocked back and forth wildly as he started to hear the tall-tale bangs.

"Artoo!" his young Mistress' voice echoed through the cockpit. "Get the hells out of there now Artoo!"

"On my way!" Artoo turned and raced out of the cockpit.

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Ahsoka watched as the engines began to explode. With the fire and smoke she could a rainbow of bright colors as the explosions raced towards the front of the ship and the boarding ramp.

The boarding ramp from which five of the younglings were still dangling!

"Everyone! I need you all to let go now!" she ordered them. "Jump back onto the speeder!" The chain of younglings collapsed back onto the speeder. Ganodi jumped down quickly, joining her friends in a huddle.

"All hands abandon ship!" Huyang wobbled a bit, unsure until Artoo rammed into the back of his legs and sent the droid falling onto the speeder with a bang. Artoo used his boosters to soften his landing.

BANG! Ahsoka found herself suddenly flying through the air as part of the Crucible slammed into the speeder and set it careening out of control. She grunted as she hit the ground and rolled. Her lightsaber flew out of her hands and Ahsoka heard them as they turned off.

For a minute she didn't know where she was. Her head was ringing. Her lekku, her whole body felt like a giant bruise.

Slowly Ahsoka lifted her head, blinking the dust out of her eyes.

There!

Her lightsabers were right there, just in front of her. If she could get to them, get to the younglings, they might still have a chance and...

"That sure was a nice try little Jedi," a gravelly voice mocked her as a pair of hands snatched up her sabers from the dirt. "But now it looks like you're going to be coming back with us."

Ahsoka could only glare as the pirates began to laugh.

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The ride back to the pirates' base was quiet. Thankfully after that first burst of laughter, the pirates were not at all interested in taunting their captives. Inside their focus appeared to be getting back to the base as soon as possible.

Ahsoka glanced at Ahsoka from the corner of her eye. The Rodain was wiggling around, messing with her binders. It made the teen smile as she watched. Then she almost laughed when she checked over the other younglings and saw Gungi biting his binders. 'Well that's one way to get them off I guess,' she thought to herself.

And that's when she heard it. The sound of hundreds of metal feet marching. Ahsoka frowned and eyed the pirates. They seemed to have picked up what she was hearing. One of them had lifted a pair electrobinoculars to his eyes.

"What in all..." Gwarm muttered as he peered through the electrobinoculars. Rows upon rows of battle droids were marching out of carrier. "Droids here?" One on a STAP flew out and shot the pirate that had come out to greet them and his mount. "It's a bloody invasion!"

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"Thank the Force you're both alright!"

Obi-Wan finally felt at peace as he wrapped his arms around his wife and buried his face in hair. After a moment he kissed the top of her head and let her go so she could embrace Cody. "Anakin and Rex still away on his mission?"

"Yes and they're very upset that the Chancellor won't recall them so that they can help us look for them." Cody patted her on the shoulder. "Padme and I tried to talk to him, but when we told him that the younglings and Ahsoka were doing the Gathering, he said since it was a Jedi matter he couldn't and wouldn't pull Anakin or any forces from what he deemed important military matters."

The Jedi Master sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "And we need to play his game right now..."

"But as of right now you and the 212th aren't doing anything relating to the war right now..." Analise smiled at Obi-Wan's raised eyebrow. "So where do we go?"

"The last we heard from them, they were near Florrum."

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Grievous stalked down the boarding ramp behind his droids. He saw little reason in mounting an invasion of Florrum. The planet was a wasteland, worth nothing in his point of view.

But Dooku wanted the pirates who called Florrum their base destroyed. All because they had been able to get the drop on the Count and capture him. It didn't matter to the Count that he had been able to get free and walk away in the end. No the pirates had done something unforgivable to Dooku, had hurt his pride.

And that meant the pirates needed to be destroyed.

Well at least he would get to kill something.

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Loosing his Jedi didn't mean that he needed to wallow in his self-pity. If Ahsoka and the younglings escaped, well that meant the guilt that had been gnawing at his insides could finally stop. If they were caught, well he would just live with his guilt and take a big payday.

Either way, there was no reason to not have a small feast.

Seated at the high table, Hondo laughed merrily as one of their Kowakian monkey-lizards sputtered and coughed after having a sip of Hondo's wine. He was having a good time and there was nothing that could ruin it...

"Boss! Boss!" His head jerked up as one of his men came bursting through the doors. "Trouble! We've got big..." The pirate let out a startled gasp as a smoking hole suddenly appeared in his chest. He dropped down to the floor as a pair of commando droids strolled in. The rest of his crew grabbed their nearby blasters and started to fire.

The commandos were quicker. Hondo watched as those that were armed dropped like bugs. "There you are Hondo!" a raspy voice spoke over the shouts and cries. The cyborg Kaleesh marched into the banquet hall, flanked on either side by his IGs.

Hondo held up his glass in a small, mocking toast. Grievous was nothing but a chained pet, one that would win at the beginning only to burn out in the end. "You must that General Grievous I hear so much about? I'm surprised that you could be bother us. Please have a seat. What is the honor that brings you to my home?" He spoke as though he and Grievous were friends, but with none of the warmth he might use with Kenobi or one of the Skywalker twins.

The Separatist General marched forward until he was standing on the table in front of Hondo, looming over him. "Give up with the pleasantries you pirate scum! I hereby declare that Florrum is now under Separatist control." A metal hand grabbed Hondo by the front of his jacket and yanked him up into the air.

"I see. And what exactly is that suppose to mean?"

"It means that you and your crew answer to a new master now." Grievous looked at Hondo as though he was nothing more than dirt before tossing him overhead. He grunted before standing and brushing himself off. With a snarl, Grievous tossed something at him and on reflex Hondo raised his arms to block his face...

"Greetings Hondo Ohnaka. It appears that we meet again." The pirate Captain lowered his arms and stared. It had been a caster that Grievous had tossed at him and now he was standing face-to-face with Dooku. The Count wore a smug look on his face, all too pleased with the situation. "I do seem to remember that the last time we were together you were holding me as your prisoner and were planning on selling me to the highest bidder."

"Can you honestly blame me?" Hondo edged his way around the holo. "You are a Sith Lord Dooku and the price I could have gotten would have been a handsome one..."

"Silence Hondo! The time has come for you pay for your treachery."

"No surprise there," Hondo huffed with a sigh and turned his back on Dooku as he returned to the table for his drink. He, at least knew how to be civilized during negotiations. "Money does make the galaxy run. Go ahead and name your price Dooku. I'm sure that we can come to some sort of agreement..."

"There will be only demands and payment. No deals. To start with your entire arsenal is to be melted down. Everything you currently own, every single little scrap is here the property of the Separatist Alliance."

"Outrage!" Hondo flung his wine glass to the floor in anger. "I warn you Dooku, you go too far. This..." He began to sputter as with a signal, Grievous' IGs moved on him. Their staffs crackling. "Wait! Wait...we can always make a deal Dooku. No need for this. Wait! This is not good business!"

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"This is not good," Gwarm muttered. They had halted and pulled back from the pirate base just enough that the droids wouldn't be able to pick up on them. All of them, Jedi included were hunkered down on the ground while Gwarm watched through his electrobinoculars. "Damn piles of scrap are looting everything...they're taking apart our ships!"

Ahsoka shook her head as Gwarm turned to face them. In that moment the pirates had ceased to be her foe and now become possible allies. "Master Kenobi was only a few systems away from here. Grievous being here with his fleet must mean that Master Kenobi's was overrun..." She kept up her brave face. Ahsoka knew that if something, if something had happened she would have felt it ripple through the Force and her bonds. "Which means this whole system is now a part of Separatist controlled space."

"Then what should we do? There's nowhere for us to run." Her heart hurt. The war for the younglings must have seemed far away like it had to her it that short period of time between when the war had started and she had become a Padawan. The younglings were kept as safe as they could be even as they were trained to fight. Now they were seeing war head-on and it had to be jarring.

"Don't even think about running scug. All of you are still my prisoners." Gwarm waved his blaster at them then smiled. "Hmmm...I bet if I trade the lot of you to the Separatists I can get my freedom in exchange."

"Don't bet on it," the Togruta snorted as she shook her head. "The planet, the whole system is already under Grievous' control so he's not looking to make any deals. Hand us over to him and it will be a quick shot through the head for your reward after he kills us." Ahsoka felt bad as more than one of the younglings shivered in fear even as they tried to hide it. "Look, right now Grievous is our common enemy. If all of us work together we can get out of this situation." She turned to face each of the pirates in turn. "In fact I'm betting you've got a few more ships stashed away somewhere other than the ones down there. You're pirates and any pirate I know always has an extra ship or two. Just in case."

"There's Hondo's private fleet," Gwarm slowly pointed out. The Jedi had a good point, but there was no reason to really let her know that he agreed with her just yet. "But he's the only one who even knows where those ships are."

"Then it looks like we'll need to rescue him." She sighed again. "Look trust me, don't trust me. But I've fought Grievous and droids. I know what they're like and what they can do. With my help you stand a better chance of saving Hondo and getting away from the Seps."

It was quiet and for a moment Ahsoka worried that she had come on too much. That it wouldn't work...

She closed her eyes as Gwarm marched up behind her and aimed his blaster.

There was sharp metallic ring and the binders around her wrist fell off. Ahsoka opened her eyes and turned around to stare at the Weequey pirate who was smiling a little bit. "Looks like you got yourself a deal Jedi."

Ahsoka let out a deep sigh of relief.

At least the easy part was over.

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Grievous had wasted no time and was not taking any chances.

Artoo popped up out the hatch, his domed head turning from side to side as he took it all in. Battle droids seemingly everywhere, marching through the pirate base. He did note that they didn't go far past the boundaries of the base though. That made the astromech think that Grievous' focus had been on the pirate base and not Florrum or the system overall.

It was just about Hondo's base.

The speeder tank made it's way slowly onto the base. "You there, halt!" until a battle droid with two others on a tank stopped them.

"I've come to report the successful capture of this tank."

"You captured this tank all by yourself? Wow. That's bad for an astromech."

If Artoo could have rolled his optical receptor, he would have. It never ceased to amaze either him or Katee just how many beings and even other droids were so willing to overlook astromechs and just what they could do. Thank the Maker he had Master and his whole family. They never doubted in his abilities.

"Thank you very much sir."

"Alright. I just need you ID number and then..."

"Well my ID number is none of your stinking business is it sleemo!"

"Hey! Don't you dare get smart with me. Just as a battle droid alone I outrank you astromech!"

"You're still a pile of poodoo!"

"Better watch it mister or I'll have you melted down with the rest of the junk we're finding around here!"

The battle droid was so busy, so focused on Artoo that he never noticed the mixed group of pirates and Jedi sneaking past them. They kept tight to the wall, moving quickly so that they could hide behind piles of metal beams and containers.

But Artoo saw them.

"Please don't melt me down sir. I'll be better."

"That's much better. Now that speeder over to Hanger 12. What we can use will be shipped out to other planets."

"Yes sir."

"And don't even try to take any sort of detours. We'll be watching you."

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Katooni clung tightly to Ahsoka's hand as they followed the pirates deeper and deeper into the base. Every few feet there were just droids seemingly everywhere. Gungi was keeping an eye on Byph so that he could grab the Ithorian in case he ran past the cover like he had when they were outside.

She could feel her heart racing, even searching for calm through the Force was hard. 'I can do this. We can do this. The Force is with us.'

As if she could hear her thoughts, Ahsoka squeezed Katooni's hand and she felt just a little bit braver.

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Hondo sighed as he hung suspended in a containment field just like the one he had kept Ahsoka in.

Had it really only been a couple hours since then? It felt like a lot more time had passed than that. It certainly felt like days had passed since the droids had left him hanging there.

He was a pirate. So he had always known that one day his past misdeeds would catch up to him and he would be forced to pay for them. But he had held some small hope that it would be the Jedi and the Republic who would have come for him. They would have treated him fairly, maybe even offer a deal.

But Hondo doubted any of that would happen now.

Then he heard it.

A sound that he easily recognized after hearing it so many times. The sound of lightsabers slicing through metal. Hondo lifted his head as the doors slid open. The bodies of the droids outside the door toppled to the ground as Ahsoka strode forward. She stopped just inside the doors, a foot resting on the head of a droid. Behind her appeared the younglings and a few of his men.

"My Jedi," he said and slumped down within the field. "I thought that you had made your escape."

"There were some complications so we weren't able to get away." She rubbed at her face, smudging the dirt already on it. "Now unless we want to die here, we all need to be friends and work together to get out of here." To her surprise Hondo laughed.

"I see that you are as diplomatic as your Master. Of course you would not come back to save Hondo 'Out of the goodness of your hearts' as they say. No, no, no. You came to save me because you need something from me..."

"Well we do," Katooni stepped forward, one hand on her hip like Ahsoka. She stared at Hondo, watching him carefully. He wasn't actually a bad person, at least that was what it felt like to her. "To be specific, we need a ship."

The pirate Captain smiled. "Well of course we would need a ship. But where in all the galaxy would we find one of those? All of my ships have been destroyed by my new friend General Grievous."

"Give it up," Petro rolled his eyes. "We already know that you've got a whole pirate fleet hidden around somewhere. That's more than enough for you spare one."

"And I wonder just who told you that," Hondo eyed Gwarm and Tadio. "Must have been one of my old friends talking a little bit more than they should." Gwarm winced while Tadio shrugged. Hondo shook his head. "Bah! What does it matter anyway? There is no way we'll be able to reach the vault. That army Grievous brought with him is way too big for us to face."

"Don't say that! All of us can fight!" Petro demostrated this by throwing a few small punches into the air.

"Permit me to say sir that I have been instructing younglings of the Jedi Order for over a thousand generations. These younglings here are among the best that I have ever seen." All six stood taller at Huyang's praise.

Hondo slowly nodded. "I see...then show me young ones. I would like to see your swords tiny Jedi. I want you to show Hondo that all of you are ready to fight."

They went down the line, starting with Byph. One by one they took their hilts from the belts. One by one they ignited their blades. Lasers of varying shades of blue and green hummed as their crystals sang. The tiny cell glowed with the light of the lightsabers, held forth by the young hands who had found the crystals and crafted the blades.

All except for one.

Katooni watched her friends and then stared at her empty hands. "And what about you child?" Hondo asked as he saw the bowed head and empty hands. "Where might your saber be?"

"It's not...I haven't finished it yet," Katooni answered with a deep sigh. She reached her hands behind her and pulled out the pieces and crystal from her belt pouch. "I just don't understand! I've followed all the instructions to the letter. Done everything absolutely right. But I can't get it to work at all."

"That is because you must trust," Huyang said as he leaned down to look as the sad youngling. "You have to trust that all the components you have to form your lightsaber are meant to be together. That is the only way. There is no other. For it is the Force that binds them together..."

"Exactly what I was going to say child! Now you must finish it. Finish. Finish. To be able to see how a Jedi builds their lightsaber...well that is certainly worth the price of a ship! No! It's more than that...it's priceless! Finish your lightsaber so that together we can defeat Grievous."

Trust.

She just had to trust herself and the Force.

Everyone took a step back as Katooni sat on the floor, the components of her lightsaber scattered before her. She let herself sink into the trance. Deep enough to feel the Force more than she ever had before, but light enough to stay aware of what was happening. She gently waved her arms through the air, using the Force and trusting it to guide the now floating components into place.

"This...this is amazing!"

Katooni reached into her pouch and pulled out the small crystal that she had found. She dropped it among the parts and it centered itself where it was suppose to go. With eyes shut tight, Katooni carefully brought all the components together. They snapped into place and she opened her eyes as a lightsaber hilt of dull silver and gold thunked into her hand.

She took a deep breath and ignited the blade. It was as blue as the waters she seen in the holos of Naboo's lakes. Her heart sang as the crystal sang.

And Hondo laughed. "There! Now hurry and cut me down little Jedi. Together we shall defeat Grievous." Katooni glanced back at Ahsoka who nodded. The youngling swung her saber, slicing though the small generator for the containment field. Hondo dropped to the ground. Then he looked up at Katooni and smiled.

The smile only grew as the younglings gathered together, jumping up and down, cheering because at last, they all had a lightsaber. Even Tadio and Gwarm were not immune to the happiness of younglings. They added their own gruff cheers.

"What was the point of that show?" Ahsoka asked as Hondo rose to his feet, rubbing the feeling back into his wrists. "I know that you know we don't have other choice here. We have to work together to get past Grievous..."

"Because we both know little Ahsoka that what we are about to do here is very dangerous." It was only the second time Ahsoka could remember Hondo being this serious. "You must remember that I may be a pirate, but I have my honor. I abhor seeing children going into battle."

Ahsoka tilted her head. "But you didn't seem bothered by that at all when you attacked the Crucible." Hondo laughed and she realized it was he way to hide when an issue was making him uncomfortable.

"Well it is a new day after all! Lucky for you, I have decided that today I like children." That made Ahsoka smile. She doubted it was just for today that Hondo liked children, but decided not to point out the treats he had passed to a young Togruta Padawan who had stared around in badly disguised awe at the pirate base. "Now come! Let us free the rest of the men!"

They all ran out of the cell, darting up and down the corridor. At each door they stopped and freed the pirates inside. The younglings doing their best to be serious, but unable to hide their smiles.

Grievous didn't know what was about to hit him!

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What hadn't been pulled to be used for the Separatist cause had been set ablaze. The flames reached high into the sky as Grievous pulled up on his speeder and jumped off. The fumes of burning metal, circuits, and gears filled the air, but he refused to let himself be affected by it. He was more than just an ordinary being now.

His caster began to beep as he approached the tactical droid and Grievous pulled it out. "This is OOM-87 reporting General. The prison area is currently under attack. Several miniature Jedi are here freeing the prisoners."

"What do you mean?" he growled. "What do you mean by Jedi? You're not making any sense."

"Little Jedi sir. They're about half the size of normal ones and they've been going through and freeing the prisoners and...Not my knees!" OOM-87 let out a near shrill cry as a young Nautolan bounced into the frame. His lightsaber sliced the droid's legs off at the knees before jumping out of the frame. As OOM-87 fell to the ground a young human male appeared and cut off its head. He glared at Grievous before vanishing and the transmission went down.

The droid General growled and closed a fist over the caster. "Fire on the base!" he ordered the tactical droid with a sweeping wave of his arm. "I want that building brought down on their heads." He stalked away as the droids dove into their tanks and opened fired on the base.

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The ground and the building around them had started to shake. Distant booms echoed through the corridors. They had reached the entrance, dust falling down around them. Ahsoka narrowed her eyes, the Force in and around her buzzing. For before them lay more droids than she cared to count at the moment.

Ahsoka charged forward. She leapt through the air and landed on a super battle droid, slicing into it deeply and then jumping off before it hit the ground. The pirates followed her lead, their blasters blazing as they tore through the droids. Some opting to get physical. She watched Hondo as she dodged and deflect shots, cut through metal bodies.

The pirate Captain looked far from the relaxed and almost lazy man that he showed most often. Now he was as quick as anyone in her family or the vod'e. He had armed himself not with a blaster, but with a vibrosword. Hondo slashed at the droids' weakest spots, plunging it into the small openings.

Behind them came the younglings. There were still some droids they had missed which allowed the younglings to hone their combat skills in an active situation. Ahsoka allowed herself a small smile as she watched Katooni and Petro working together. Petro would slice through the knees of one then it's head and Katooni used it as a springboard to jump up onto the shoulders of another and drive her blade through its chest. As she rolled off of it, Petro was spin-kicking a third droid with enough force to send it falling over. Then together the pair buried their sabers into it before pulling them out and moving on.

Katooni saw the pirates reach the speeder bikes. As Hondo hopped onto his she noticed that he didn't have anyone to really watch his back. The young Tholothian peeled away from the others and leapt onto the bike behind Hondo. The pirate stared at her in shock.

"Don't worry Hondo. I've got your back." Her smile was so big and confident that he couldn't kick her off.

Or at least that was his excuse.

"Yes! Thank you...I've never felt safer." Well he had, but she didn't need to know that. Why, it would break her heart.

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There weren't enough bikes for them all. So Ahsoka herded the five other younglings, Artoo, and Huyang unto the speeder tank instead. It was a bigger target, but the weapons made up for it, and they could all fit.

"Bye!" Artoo whistled as the droids swung around to face them. He fired the canon which sent dirt, rock, and droids flying. It also created an opening. An opening through which the pirates and Jedi escaped through. They blasted through more droids, the tank running over others. They pushed the speeders as fast as they could go, getting clear of the droids in front.

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Grievous laughed as the bikes and tank full of Jedi blew past him. "Fools! They think they can run from me?" He laughed again and mounted his combat speeder. "After them. Quickly!" he commanded as he took off in chase.

At the end of it he would have more dead Jedi at his feet and lovely new lightsabers for his collection.

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They raced through the canyons as fast as they could. It was not easy with the tank, but Artoo masterfully piloted the tank. They came close to the walls, but never hit them.

Katooni held tight to Hondo, every so often glancing back at her friends to make sure that they were still there.

The Force shouted and she ducked down as blaster bolts were suddenly streaking over their heads. Parsel half-turned and fired back at the droids and Grievous, but it did little good. Instead a shot hit the bike next to him and it crashed into the wall, exploding. Katooni held tighter to Hondo, closing her eyes so that she wouldn't have to see the burning body.

From over her head came the sound of rock breaking. Katooni's eyes flew up and looked up to see a piece of rock from the canyon wall breaking away over them. Hondo and the pirates pushed the bikes faster, just making it out from under the rock before it hit the ground.

She let out a sigh of relief and turned to check on her friends...only to realize that they had turned down a different path! The tank kept going straight with the droids and Grievous chasing after them. "Hondo! My friends went the wrong way!"

"Don't worry little one!" the Weequey called back to her. She watched as he pulled a remote from his coat. He pressed a button and Katooni watched in amazement as section of canyon wall slid down. Embedded into the side of the rock above the door was a crashed ship.

The pirates flew right through the door. Looking back Katooni watched the door rise up and shut. Then she turned back to the front and watched as another pair of doors slid open. Her eyes grew wide as she gazed around her. There were so many different ships!

The speeder bikes came to a stop and the men hopped off, making their way to a Firespray-31-class patrol and attack craft. Katooni quickly jumped off the bike and chased after Hondo as the pirates started climb up the ramp.

"Wait! What about my friends? We can't just leave them here, out there to face Grievous! They need our help!" Hondo turned and smiled at her.

"You could always join us my little one. You would make a pretty good pirate." Normally he wouldn't have welcomed a child, let alone a Jedi into their ranks. But he liked Katooni. She reminded him a little of Ahsoka when she had been a child. So determined to not show any fear and more than ready to jump into the fray even when her foe might be bigger than her.

"No Hondo!" Katooni stood at the bottom of the ramp, arms crossed, and face set. "I'm not just going to leave them here on their own." She peered up at the Weeque's back. "Ahsoka trusted her. And because she trusted you, we all trusted you!"

Hondo leaned heavily on the side of the door. He was a pirate. And even a pirate with honor would always choose to flee and fight another day than go back to save others.

But Katooni was a child and so were the five others that were with Ahsoka. The Padawan he had been planning to sell even as the guilt ate at him and he tried to ignore it. Just as he had tried to ignore the war because it meant that they weren't be so carefully watched. He loved the freedom even as he loathed what it truly meant.

But as long as the war stayed away, he told himself he would be fine.

But now the war had reached him. And the young woman he had kidnapped to ensure his crew's survival still trusted him.

And now he had a choice to make.

But was there really a choice?

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Huyang watched as Ahsoka bent backwards, nearly in half as she crossed her blades to block Grievous. The cyborg had leapt from his combat speeder onto the tank and immdately was attacking Ahsoka. He slashed at the Padawan, bringing his blades down over and over again. Thankfully he was ignoring the younglings for the moment, but that could change.

The droid professor let himself fall down the hatch into the tank where Artoo was. "Artoo, you need to do something now!"

"Like what?"

"Well I don't know! But we need to do something to shake Grievous off. Be aggressive! Ah!" Artoo rolled up to the port and plugged himself in.

Immediately the tank jerked to one side before it jerked just as sharply to the other side. Huyang could hear the yelps and cries as the tank scrapped aganist a canyon wall before suddenly jerking up. Artoo yanked the tank up out of the canyon so hard that it rolled over before slamming into the ground where it slid until it rammed into a rock. The tank flipped up and they could hear more cries as the people up top were sent flying.

Huyang wiggled his way to the top of the tank. Through the dust he could make out the younglings slowly sitting up and then climbing to their feet. "That was too aggressive Artoo! Way too aggressive!" He let out a yelp as suddenly his feet left the ground and he tumbled over the side.

"You did tell me to do something," the astromech pointed out as he used his boosters to climb out of the wreckage.

"Yes I did say that," Huyang admitted as he stood. "And I would call your actions an effective strategy. However it is not one that I would recommend. Ever."

"Then next time you come up with a plan!"

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"My head..." Gungi's soft bellow made Ahsoka's montrals ring all the more. The ringing was matched only by the pounding in her head. She shook her head, trying to clear it. It just wasn't working.

Then Gungi roared and the Force screamed at her. Her head jerked up to see Grievous racing towards them on his hands and feet. Then he unfolded himself, rising to his full height. She pushed herself up to her feet and spread her arms out in front of the younglings to keep them safe. She could hear the sound of their lightsabers igniting.

Grievous laughed, amused by the sight of younglings daring to stand against him. "I should really thank you. There are so many lightsabers here that I will be adding to my collection."

The normallly nervous Byph let out a hiss. "In your dreams sleemo!"

Grievous started to laugh again, but it turned into a raspy, choking cough they all heard the roar of a ship. They turned to see a ship that Ahsoka knew was Slave I slowly tilting behind them. The hanger door opened to reveal Katooni, hanging onto the frame. "Come on guys!" she yelled to be heard over the roar of the engines.

"All of you go now!" Ahsoka ordered them. "Run now!"

She didn't stay turned to watch them run to the ship. Ahsoka pulled her sabers from her belt, igniting them as Grievous stalked towards her. When he got a few feet away he pulled out his own blades. He had four. Four lightsabers that had been stolen from Jedi that he had killed.

For a minute her mind flashed back to the listening post where she had still been new to the war. Where she had met Grievous for the first time and had nearly lost to him.

But she wasn't that little girl anymore.

Grievous' hands spun, turning the lightsabers into spirals of light. As he leaned forward, Ahsoka centered herself and then flipped herself backwards. Rising to her feet she pushed forward, swinging her sabers around to strike at him. Her target was his mid-section.

There was loud buzzing clang as he blocked one of her strikes. Ahsoka stepped back, switching off her sabers. Then she reached out with the Force, putting all her strength behind it. The Padawan thrust her hands out, shoving him back. Grievous growled and buried his lightsabers in the ground. They slowed him until he came to a stop.

He coughed as the dust cleared. Then he reared back, jumping forward and slashing angrily at the Togruta teen. Ahsoka threw herself backwards into a walkover, just missing getting cut by one of his stolen blades. She leapt high, then leapt again and flipped herself forward. Then it was Grievous who was finding himself ducking backwards with each flash of Ahsoka's sabers.

She drove the point of her shoto towards his midsection. He brought two of his blades down in a v to block her. She pushed forward, then swung her saber across her body to strike at his head. Grievous growled and pushed her away. Then he used one of his large feet, wrapping it around her face and neck to force her to the ground. Ahsoka's sabers switched off as he then picked her up, twisted his body around, and thew Ahsoka into the ground hard.

She rolled, coughing, and just knew that she was going to get it. Her entire body felt like a bruise and she probably had at least one cracked rib, maybe a broken one. Rex would probably not let her out of his sight for a while, backed up by her siblings and the rest of the 501st of course.

But Ahsoka had no time to rest. Grievous roared, his hands and lightsabers spinning again. She made herself roll, pushing the pain out into the Force as she jumped up and landed in a crouch. Ahsoka's starlight lightsabers flashed to life again as she brought them up just in time to block Grievous' attack.

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All her friends and the droids had made it onto Slave I, but Ahsoka was still out there. Katooni could make out the flashing lightsabers in the distance. She held her breath, hoping and hoping.

Hoping that they were all going to make it out of there.

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She summoned all her strength again, shoving the droid General back. Ahsoka raised her blades, raining them down on Grievous again and again. He growled as he was forced back again and again. Once he was far enough away, Ahsoka threw herself up into the air, flipping right over Grievous' head.

Ahsoka hit the dirt hard and panted.

"Come on Ahsoka!"

"Hurry Ahsoka!"

"Come on!"

She could hear the younglings calling for her and she could see them waving their hands at her.

She could do this. She could do this.

As Grievous came charging up behind her, Ahsoka gathered all her strength one last time. Then she ran. She ran as fast as she could. She ran and didn't look back, just held her hilts tight in her hand. Ahsoka reached the edge and wrapped the Force around her as she leapt through the air, feeling heat of a lightsaber just her feet left the ground.

There was a thud as she landed hard on her knee on the ramp. The younglings gathered around her as they ran into the ship, the door closing behind them as the ramp was pulled in.

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"I am Grievous! You will never defeat me! Never!"

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Inside the cockpit of Slave I, Hondo snorted. "Never? I wouldn't be too sure of that Grievous." He fired the guns, watching the cyborg drop to the ground.

"Did we get him Hondo?" Katooni asked as the Jedi ran into the cockpit and she inched her way to his side.

"Kind of hard to tell..." An explosion rocked the ship. Separatist reinforcements had arrived. The tanks already firing at the ship.

"That means the show's over kiddies. Time for us to get out of here!"

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As Slave I took off, out of the reach of his guns and heading to safety; Grievous roared in rage. The droids nearby backed up. Slowly though his roar became a laugh.

The pirates and Jedi might have gotten away. But Dooku had also lost.

And that was enough to heal some of Grievous' wounded pride.

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"Now let me just calculate my cost. After all I did use a lot of fuel. A lot of fuel. There was of course the general wear and tear on both my men and equipment." It would have been an odd sight on any other GAR ship. Pirates, Jedi, and Clones mingling and talking. But this was Obi-Wan Kenobi and odd sights were not so odd when he or one of the twins was around. "I think a couple of them even died! Believe me when I tell you that staging a rescue is not a cheap proposition!"

"Is that what you were doing Hondo? Staging a rescue and not trying to hijack a Jedi starship?" The pirate frowned and leaned forward, talking softly just in case any small ears were listening.

"There's some new guy out there. Willing to pay top price for kyber crystals. I thought it would be a way to keep my men safe, you know? Just in case," Hondo shrugged. "He's out there looking for Jedi too." He nodded his head towards where the younglings and Ahsoka stood grouped around Huyang and Analise. The Padawan refusing to see a medic when her sister would do and even then wanting to make sure her charges were safe.

Obi-Wan slowly nodded his head in understanding. "If you could keep an eye on the market," his voice just as low, "We would be grateful..."

"What an accusation!" Hondo blustered as he smiled then turned on his heel. "Well I am gone. I will be sending you my bill."

As he marched up the ramp of Slave I with his men, Hondo paused and turned. Katooni was watching him almost sadly. Like she didn't want him to go.

Hondo gave her a smile and she immediately brightened.

He had a feeling that now he would really have to follow that code of honor he liked to talk about.

There was a little girl that he couldn't let down.

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"Ahsoka..." She turned and accepted Obi-Wan's careful hug then one from Cody. "Thank the Force that you are all safe."

"Yes Master Kenobi. It was quite an eventful mission for all of us." She smiled as the younglings giggled. Their bodies bouncing because they have faced down Grievous and a bunch of droids alongside pirates. None of their friends at the Temple were going to believe them!

"I would dare say it was even more eventful than when Master Yoda went to find his kyber crystal..." Bright young eyes all turned to Huyang with very vocal pleadings for the story to be told. Analise smiled at Obi-Wan as Katooni leaned into her side. It was a tradition for Huyang to tell the story of Master Yoda's Gathering which only seemed to get grander and bigger with each year.

"That story will have to be for another time younglings. For now I want all of you to be proud. You all have survived an ordeal that very few you age could." Obi-Wan's eyes glimmered with that pride as he gazed at the future generation of Jedi. He ignited his saber and held it in front of him, tilted slightly down. Analise copied him, her silver blade joining his.

"We welcome you home, young Jedi." One by one the younglings each ignited their blade, adding it to the circle. Ahsoka was the last. The crystals sang a song of peace and hope as the Clones nearby stopped and stared.

For the younglings, Padwan, Knight, and Master had formed a brightly colored star.

And they felt it.

They felt hope.

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Translations

poodoo: fodder

sleemo: slimeball

vod'e: brothers, sisters, comrades