A/N: A great beta reader named Leann helped a whole lot with this next part (the first half never would have been right without her suggestions), so I owe her a big thanks. I'm always adding and tweaking, so all mistakes are mine.

abcd: I'm glad you liked the last part, because I was a bit nervous about it. Your words were very reassuring. Thank you.

vaderbabe: Hello, again! Good to see ya. I'm afraid the end to this part may be more evil than the last.

Chapter 11

Padme Amidala crouched hands and knees in the large ventilation duct and cringed as she heard the sounds of the firefight just outside her room. An unnamed dread was growing steadily in the pit of her stomach. It wasn't that she was a stranger to battle. In truth, she would have preferred to be outside fighting instead of inside tucked away hidden. But she also knew that without a blaster she was useless and even with one she was likely more of a liability to the Jedi than an asset.

No- the more she thought about it she realized that she feared the fact that somehow they had been found. And that meant that someone had betrayed them. Only the highest ranking members of the Jedi and the Senate were to know of her whereabouts from what she was told, and that meant that her betrayer was no mere Trade Federation minion- a thought that greatly unsettled her.

The hiss of a door followed by a soft creak below broke her from her thoughts. Curious, she leaned forward to peer down through the grate, but to her horror it came loose and clattered to floor asa result of her movement. A disheveled looking man jerked his head up and gave her a toothy grin before leaping and pulling himself up into the vent.

Frantic, Padme turned and started to crawl away through the air duct, but not quickly enough. Before she knew it, the mercenary was right behind her. He reached forward and clasped her ankle in an iron grip and began pulling her towards him. Desperate now, she kicked back with all her might and managed to break free. Scurrying forward, she headed for an opening in the duct.

Once there, she furiously kicked off the grate covering and fell hard to the floor below with a resounding thud. Though a bit dazed from the fall, she immediately registered the burning pain that shot up her leg. Still, her adrenaline allowed her to ignore the pain and get to her feet. She absently noted that she had apparently broken her left ankle as she quickly hobbled towards the door.

Unfortunately, she was too slow.

"Anxious to leave so soon," the thug said as he dropped from the opening in the ceiling and leveled his blaster at her head.

Instinctively, Padme continued to hop backwards and away from her pursuer, but the man grabbed her and threw her against a wall before she could reach the entanceway.

"You're worth a whole lot more credits alive, Darlin', so don't make me take your pretty little head off. Just come with me nice and quiet," he said as he slowly closed in on her and leveled his blaster at her head.

The young woman lowered her eyes in defeat and nodded.

"Good," he said, lowering the weapon and eyeing her with a predatory smile. "Now, how about showin' me what you're hiding under that robe, sweetheart."

Padme once again nodded her understanding as she took a hesitant step towards her captor. The young woman then placed one shaking hand on the man's shoulder and the other in the pocket of her robe in which she had concealed the dagger. She closed her eyes tight then fell forward.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Dark and dreary.

Why are they always dark and dreary? he wondered as consciousness slowly dawned on him. He was somewhat pleased to note that he wasn't dead, which is what he had initially anticipated when he had been shot back at the palace. In light of that fact, Obi-Wan Kenobi decided to take check of his senses, one by one. He opened his eyes and noted that his vision was a bit blurry, but at least he could see. His sensation also seemed to be working just fine, but he almost wished it wasn't. The binders that were holding his hands behind his back were digging a bit sharply into his wrists and causing a considerable amount of discomfort.

A soft groan to his right alerted him to the fact that Anakin Skywalker was also coming to. He attempted to reach out through the Force in order to gauge the boy's condition, but could feel nothing. Likely a temporary result of the stun blast, he reasoned a bit nervously.

He took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself and focus and immediately wrinkled his nose at the foul smell. Ugh! he thought. Dark, dreary and musty. Just once, he told himself, he was going to come to somewhere other than a damp, smelly, duracrete floor- and preferably as the result of a night of one too many Corellian ale's rather than a stun blast to the back.

The sound of another low groan brought him out of his thought. He slowly turned his head to his right and asked, "Anakin, are you okay?"

"Mmmph. I think so," came the hoarse reply. "What happened?"

"You charged ahead, as usual," Obi-Wan scolded. "This makes the second time this mission I've been shot because of you. When are you ever going to learn?"

"Right around the same time you learn to quit following me," the youth answered. "Did it ever occur to you that it might be easier to save my hide from out there than from in here?"

"Apparently not quickly enough," the knight said dryly.

"Then it looks like doing things the hard way is something we have in common. Who would have thought?"

"Listen to me, Anakin," the knight began in a serious tone. "I want you to relax and try to focus the best you can. I don't know why we were brought here, but it's best to be prepared for the worst."

"Wait just a minute!" the padawan exclaimed. "What is this Torture 101? Do they teach this at the temple or something?"

"As a matter of fact they do," Obi-wan responded with a sarcastic hiss, "but it's only open to healers."

"You would know," Anakin mumbled, "You spend more time in their company than anyone else."

"Anakin, I'm being serious,"

"I know. I know," the padawan said, the first hint of nervousness making its way into his voice. "It's just...I'm worried about Padme... and Qui-Gon... and," he paused a moment then whispered, "I'm worried about why they didn't just kill us."

"You're not dead, Skywalker," a voice called from near the door, "because my employer wishes it so. He has an opportunity to discuss with you."

The two men jerked their heads up as a dark haired woman flanked by four hooded guards approached.

"I wasn't exactly on the market for a job," the padawan responded.

"Trust me, he doesn't want anything you're offering," Obi-Wan spat as he glared at the woman. He had only seen this woman once before, but he instantly recognized her as the assassin he had come up against on Dantooine.

Jillian crouched down in order to look her captive in the eye. "We'll just let the boy decide that, shall we?" she said.

The woman then reached over and caressed Anakin's face. "Don't be nervous," she said. "If my master meant you harm we would have killed you already."

She then waved a hand in the air, and two of the guards behind her stepped forward and reached for the young man.

Anakin struggled furiously with the binders that held his hands behind his back. "Your master hasn't exactly impressed me with his hospitality, either," he said shakenly as the guards hoisted him up and prodded him towards the door.

"My apologies for your discomfort, young Skywalker, but I'm afraid that it is necessary in order for you to truly inderstand," she replied. She looked to the two guards and instructed , "Lord Sidious doesn't want any permanent damage on that one."

After the hooded men thrust Anakin through the door, Jillian and the two remaining guards focused their attention on Obi-Wan Kenobi.

"I take it your master doesn't have quite the same instructions in regards to me?" he asked cooly.

"I'm afraid not," she answered.