Summary:

Bounty Hunter/Master Thief Gambit hands Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano to a band of pirates, paying off an old debt. Of course, trusting pirates never works. Trusting a member of the Thieves' Guild to have anything less than a solid plan also never works. Or: Gambit and Rogue in Clone Wars, nothing more than canon-level Romy.

Alternate Summary:

Routine missions, a form of missions that never involved Anakin and Ahsoka, were not supposed to include getting knocked out on their ships, caught by pirates, and then escaping with the master bounty hunter that caught them in the first place.

Or:

Remy Lebeau, better known as Gambit, had never been one for subtlety; when he wants something, he rarely lets petty things like laws and common sense get in his way. If common sense said kidnapping Jedi and selling them out to pirates after the pirates tried to kill him for cheating at gambling was a bad idea, he had no intention of listening to it.

Or:

Rogue planned on spending her week freeing prisoners, test subjects, and slaves from a bunch of lame space pirates. Because she was an X-Man and nothing ever went her way, her ideal week took a sharp detour.

Takes place during Clone Wars and after X-Men: Evolution

Italics: words that are spoken differently than the rest of the sentence: for emphasis, memories, or French.

Bold: solely for A/N

Dashes: when used mid-word are to separate otherwise-connected letters in speech, basically for hiding Gambit's accent.

Must Be Read In Clone Wars Narrator Voice:

In the system of Balachi, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and Padawan Ahsoka Tano are on a mission to patrol an area known for pirate presence that no ship has been able to pass through at sublight speed. It remains a prime target for both sides of the war and is on the edge of key hyperspace lanes. While a routine mission for the pair, something sinister lies in their path...

"It's a routine mission, Snips. Don't worry about it. Besides, Rex'll be right behind us."

"I'm not worried," Ahsoka grumbled, folding her arms. Anakin just had to think that was the problem. Of course, it was not. The problem was that they were doing absolutely nothing. It was at least a few days and they had nothing to do. This was totally not the right job for Jedi.

Hell.

"Great then. Go check the engines."

Because the first three times were not enough. Obviously.

Their boredom lasted a good ten minutes.

Not in a good way.

There was a small movement outside the ship.

She felt it through her horns.

The object was invisible to the Force.

Ahsoka was a good sensor. And it was invisible to the Force.

She wished she knew what to do.

Anakin was going to hold this to her forever if it turned out to be nothing.

But she was a Jedi before an argue-partner.

"Uh… Master?" How could anyone, or anything, be invisible to the Force? "I think someone is—"

She never finished.

The back of their ship was torn open.

Ahsoka was sucked out.

She distantly felt a hand grab her arm before she fell to the vacuum of space.

Before she could even kick, a cloth covered her mouth. Everything went black.

Anakin heard Ahsoka's grunts before he was fully awake.

His fierce Padawan was kicking, grunting, and growling in about five different ways.

Anakin almost beamed with pride.

He noted the helmet near them. A spacesuit helmet, specifically. Whoever grabbed them must have bombed the back and grabbed both Jedi before they fell into the vacuum of space.

As someone who thought it was a very cool way to do a quick capture, Anakin knew better than anyone what type of speed it took to handle that.

"Who are you?" he called once his thoughts were coherent enough to string words together.

His feet were magnetically chained to the very bottom.

His hands were tied very, very well without any easy way out.

His lightsaber was nowhere in sight.

Ahsoka had the same situation, but she was gagged. Despite the situation, he only felt prouder.

How annoying had she been to get that?

The door to the cockpit opened up. "Oh. You awake." To be honest, he looked like he was wearing a sock on his head. It was hilarious. Or, it would be if his eyes were not red and black. It certainly made him look a little intimidating.

And it made him distinctive.

Anakin knew exactly who this was.

Of all the bounty hunters, did it have to be this one? He was legendary for quick, one-and-done, effective, flawless attacks. Anakin had worked with one of the Jedi tasked with arresting him before the war, the particular Jedi believed he was trained as a thief before switching to mercenary work. From the stories, he was good in ways people should not be good. Anakin could not even bring himself to be annoyed that he or Snips did not notice him.

His reputation preceded him.

"You."

Ahsoka said something inaudible through her gag. Anakin had every intention of teasing her while they escaped. He could already feel the new material.

"You have heard of me? What an honor." He gave a mocking bow. At least it was supposed to be mocking. It actually looked rather sincere.

"You know, whatever price you have, the Republic can double it." It was a wild hope, but he wanted money, clearly. Might as well give Obi-Wan's go-to plan a shot.

He laughed. "If it was merely money, that would be very true. However," his oddly gloved hand started messing with some oddly colored cards in some fairly difficult ways, "I have far more at stake."

Okay.

Try two.

He focused the Force into weaving inside the bounty hunter's mind. This was a long shot. A very long shot.

"You will let us go." He flicked his fingers to finish the job.

Their captor did not as much as twitch. "Simple mind tricks only work on the weak-mind-ed."

Anakin grimaced, shrugging. "It was worth a shot."

"I would have done the same." He shrugged as well. "However, our role not reverse, are they?"

"Where are you taking us?"

"The Yuki Pirates," he answered, seemingly honestly. "A lot of bad people would pay good money for your head, but they have… different goal."

He did not need to say any more. Thank goodness Ahsoka would not realize.

No need for her to be scared of something he would stop from happening. He just needed a plan.

"You're a monster."

He shrugged, obviously not caring the slightest.

Anakin was starting to get annoyed at how Snips was right there. Giving her ideas… bad idea. So he held his tongue on the storm of curses and insults he wanted to throw.

Ahsoka tried to say something again, only getting a load of fabric.

"I'm going to kill you."

He shrugged again, walking out of the back of the ship. "I have lot of powerful enemies. You not even on the list."

Basics sounded like a second language. All of the reports they had on him said the same, no one had been able to identify his first language. But honestly, who cared?

Either they came out of this with him in handcuffs or they would be experimented on. Anakin preferred the former, but his first language was useless nonetheless.

Before closing the door, he pulled a spray bottle out.

Anakin internally cursed as he got sprayed in the face and fell unconscious.

Remy glanced back at the Togruta and human Jedi. Both of them were problems, big problems, but he could probably manage. He had the element of surprise, obviously, but keeping his abilities hidden made it all the more difficult.

Then there was a tiny voice in the back of his head saying this could be a fate worse than killing them.

Still… it was worth it.

He steered the ship down to the surface.

The Yuki pirates would take about thirteen seconds to shoot him down. He needed to use every last second to his advantage. Getting shot down by them would be seriously anticlimactic. If he was going to die, it might as well be while showcasing his dramatic flare.

"This is Gambit—" The ships appeared, ready to shoot him down. Nine seconds. "—coming in with a package I think you might like. How'd you like some Jedi?"

Those ships no longer looked ready to shoot his ship.

It was a pretty neat ride. Straight from some senator's stash. They were missing nothing, they probably had five mass-produced ships identical to this. Space suits were not that expensive, but they were not exactly cheap. The senator managed to have five in their spare-spare-spare ship.

Awfully convenient and certainly made his plan easier, so no complaints from Remy.

He got a transmission to land his ship and prepare to be boarded.

The pirates led him to the hangar after he showed the lightsabers through the transpirasteel window as proof.

He landed a little rougher than he would have liked. Then again, his piloting skills were barely passable, and that was being generous. He survived the landing, so that was nice at least.

His makeshift chloroform had taken several near-death experiences to get exactly right. Without his usual resources, the chemical combination was hard to get exactly right on alien worlds. For now, it would probably keep the human asleep at least until they were off his hands.

Annoyingly enough, the same did not apply to Togrutas. He discovered that the hard way earlier. Ahsoka Tano, the Togruta, was partially immune. And loud.

He really had tried to resist gagging her.

He had failed less than five minutes after she woke up.

Even Logan could hold his tongue better than her. Granted, not in this particular situation, but this was Logan he was talking about. Him holding his tongue better than anyone else in the same situation should be a mutant power of its own.

Remy stuck a needle in his mouth, grabbed both Jedi by their shoulders without letting his revealed fingertips touch their clothing just in case they remembered they had the tech to fingerprint, and walked out the ramp.

The pirates, as they had said they would, took both the lightsaber and the Jedi. Remy threw a fake mask of casualness over his face. There were more important things to worry about.

He spun his staff in his hand for a moment, slipping it back in for the effect when he got his credits. It was a ridiculous amount, but virtually nothing compared to what about a hundred other people would happily pay. Not that he wanted the money.

Being a master thief certainly had its perks.

"Consider your debt paid, Gambit."

Judging from the crisp and almost sterile hangar, Remy would bet his powers they were a lot more than pirates.

"Of course."

He had gambled here once. They were nice. He barely made it out alive. Sure, he had cheated, but they had no way of knowing that.

"Want to stay for a drink, man?" the Weequay asked. Not the leader, but he had some authority here. The leader of the pirating part, most likely. Not the obvious other part.

A small smirk fell across the mutant's face. "I'd be honored, monsieur."

They were at the bar. Remy's eyes fell across how clean it looked once again. They had a different type of funding.

"It's so great to have you on our side again, Gambi."

"Gambit," he corrected. His enemies called him Gambit, no exceptions. His friends usually did too, but he did not care either way. "I must say, you have gone under much renovation."

His tongue still felt weird after all these years of actively disguising his accent. Jean-Luc had certainly ensured he was capable of it, but Remy still hated it. He preferred to play it up like he did around the Jedi.

"Right, right."

When the Weequay turned away, Gambit quietly disintegrated his credits. Might as well make them suffer for this.

"You remain to be as impressive an establishment as I expected. I am so glad I no longer must avoid here, couyon."

The Weequay smirked as Gambit took a sip of their alcohol. It actually tasted decent, as most poison cover-ups did. "I'm honored."

He almost spat out that alcohol in laughter.

Swallowing it was a feat.

It was hilarious. Did he seriously think Gambit was complimenting him? Okay… this was awesome. He should try that more often. Insulting people in French was a possibility he never considered.

Pfft.

"Apologies, couyon. You reminded me of…"

He trailed off, acting like it was the first time he noted what was really inside the drink.

He grabbed his staff, hitting his Weequay guard in the stomach. The other ten or so pirates pointed their blasters at him.

He spun his staff around, his eyes darting around the room.

And then he promptly crumpled to the floor.

A/N: I mainly started this after reaching Level Blank Word Document on the desire for a similar story. Reviews and constructive criticism are appreciated.