AN: This chapter was hard for me for some reason. O.o

Anyways, thanks for all the lovely reviews! This has become the most popular fic I've ever written, and I'm having so much fun with it, it's all thanks to you guys. ^.^

My favorite Clone Wars characters are Ventress, Bane, and then Hondo, in that order, in case anyone was wondering. ;)

Warnings: …none, unfortunately

It took them three days to reach Nal Hutta.

During these seventy two hours Obi-Wan spent most of his time cooped up in his room doing God knows what, Todo2 cleaned until the ship was practically sparkling, and Bane thought of a possible course of action in case he and the Jedi ever came to the point of trying to rip each other's throats out.

It wasn't simple, considering the small size of the ship and the fact that the duros normally was a long-distance fighter, but he did have some tricks up his sleeve; like the electric glove he'd used to capture Ahsoka once, ages ago (it was probably buried in some drawer somewhere, dusty and forgotten, but he knew he'd find it if he just gave it a try), or the grip-hook he kept hidden in his bracelet.

Worst-case scenario, he could always press the button to the airlock and suck the human out into open space, but then the furniture would go with him, and furniture was expensive.

Also, he'd prefer not to kill him.

No, in case the former Jedi master ever betrayed him, Bane would like to knock him unconscious, put him in a box or something and then sell him on the black market. This was the best course of action, the safest course of action – because even though he may not get as many credits as he would if he gave the human directly to the Empire, at least this way he wouldn't get caught and executed with him.

Anyway, there really were a number of things he could do in case things got desperate, he only needed to be a little creative; there were knives in the kitchen, he always carried his guns, he wasn't too shabby in a fistfight and he could throw the furniture, throw his shoes (with the jets turned on, they could probably give some impressive burns), throw Todo2– the possibilities where never ending.

But what if he used the force?

What if he force gripped him, raised him up in the air and choked the life out of him? What would he do then, how do you even begin to defend against that?

He quickly shook those thoughts aside though.

Obi-Wan wouldn't do that, it wasn't his style; and Bane never had been one to worry over improbabilities.

From the corner of his mind, Bane noted how the doors to Ena-Rana opened, a wave of warm, dry air rushed into the ship and the sight of the desert planet Nal Hutta came before him.
"Nostalgic, is it not?" The Jedi master interrupted the duros thoughts with a smile.

Bane only frowned, and kicked at the ladder to make it fall to the ground.

"You sound nervous, Kenobi."

"I'm not! I'm just…" the duros bent down, and began to climb. "…I didn't think that it would be this easy, you know?"

He grunted.

Once he was about one and a half meters above ground, he let go of the ladder and jumped the rest of the way down, throwing a cloud of sand up around him where he landed.

"It's like… we haven't even started yet, and we've already found Ventress? She probably knows where Ahsoka is too, so that won't be much of a search either…" The human continued, as he slowly climbed down after Bane.

The duros watched his clumsy struggle with the ladder for a while, before saying;

"You sound disappointed."

Obi-Wan froze.

"Well… No I wouldn't… Wouldn't call it disappointment…" the human stuttered, then jumped down to stand next to Bane, sending another cloud of dust up over them both. "I'm just surprised is all. I thought this was going to be a challenge."

They stayed like that for a while, looking into each other's eyes, red against blue, while the breeze carried clouds of dust against their bodies and the smell of the city, of debris and of motor oil, to their noses.

Suddenly, Bane found himself thinking about the lightsaber he knew Obi-Wan kept hidden beneath his robe, and what he'd do if the Jedi drew it.

He turned around and started to walk towards the city.

"Todo!"

"Yes sir!" The little droid shouted from the doorway of the ship.

"Take care of Ena-Rana for me will ya? We'll be right back!"

"Of course sir!"

He didn't need to look to know that Todo2 was pulling the ladder back up.

They'd done this so many times before, and even if it wasn't much, then there were still no one else in the universe that Bane trusted as much as he did the technical droid.

Behind him, Obi-Wan hurried his steps, and suddenly they were walking side to side.

"You know, ya' really shouldn't worry so much, Kenobi."

The Jedi gave him a suspicious look.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I don't think our lil' adventure will end so soon. We haven't even seen Ventress yet, we have no confirmation from the Huts that she's here; that rumor about her having been captured might be just that; a rumor, or a lie, or a trap-"

"Hondo wouldn't do that." Obi interrupted calmly, and Bane felt like groaning out loud at his naivety. Really, how the former Jedi had managed to survive this long was beyond him! "I know that he might seem like nothing but a backstabbing, money grabbing, pirate scum…" The duros smiled. "…but he's also very intelligent, and when there's a profit to be made, he knows how to make it."

"And ya' seriously think that helping you would be more profitable to him than selling you to the Empire?"

"I think he's smart enough to know not to get involved with those people, yes. At least not until he knows for sure just how useful an indebted, former Jedi master with a very large sum of money in his pockets might be to him." Bane's smile slipped. Maybe he wasn't working with a complete moron after all? "Also… well, you think so too, don't you?" Bane started, and turned to look at the other male. Though most of the human's face was covered under his heavy, brown hood, it seemed impossible not to see the intensity in those big blue eyes, directed towards the sight of the ever growing city. He wondered what he was thinking. "Otherwise, you'd never let Hondo see me, right…?" Obi-Wan continued. "It was too much of a risk."

Bane smiled, but didn't respond.

They walked the rest of the way in silence.

~NH~

It didn't take long to find information.

A shabby bar, a couple of beers, and some money slipped under a table to one of the Hut pig guards, and suddenly they knew that Ventress had been captured five days ago during a randomized inspection of a public transport ship heading towards Curroscant, she'd been alone and without a passport, and it had cost them the lives of seventeen Hut guards and two bounty hunters to capture her.

Now, she was imprisoned in the dungeons beneath the city, wearing a force repressing choker and being guarded day and night. The trial was to be held the following morning, though Jabba the Hut had requested that she be brought to him, and the odds of a fair trial were low.
He knew nothing of Ahsoka.

After the guard had left, Obi-Wan turned to Bane with fire in his eyes.

"I have to talk to her!" The human whispered, fiercely.

Bane only rolled his eyes and took a sip of his beer.

"She has to know where Ahsoka is! I know it! During my investigations, I found that everyone who had any valid information about either of them said that they traveled together, always! I don't know why though, everyone kept claiming different reasons… Some said that they worked as partners, others that Ventress kept Ahsoka prisoner, others said it was Ahsoka who kept Ventress prisoner-"

"Calm down, Kenobi. Any louder than this and ye'll attract some unwanted attention."

"I'm sorry I'm just…! I can't believe it! I can't believe how smoothly things have been running! Well, except for your catastrophe of a ship breaking half of my belongings that is…"

"What did I tell ya' about shit-talking my Ena-Rana, you punk?!" Bane growled back with just a little too much hostility, he knew. It was just… there was something about the Jedi's smile that made him feel uneasy, something about the entire situation that didn't sit right with him. Obi-Wan was correct – it had been too easy, and somewhere in the back of his mind, the duros sensed a trap.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I just…" the human smiled, and Bane grumbled into his glass. "I'm happy! And you should be too! Soon you won't have to put up with me anymore!"

"Soon I'll be having my money." He stood up, and started to leave. "That's all I care about."