Anakin had spent the past hour nursing a single drink. A few well-placed questions had led him to the Silver Bail as the most likely place to gain information. The Silver Bail was more or less in the center of the settlement and all news had a way of ending up there. For the right price he could find out anything, including what had happened to Obi-Wan. All the while he had heard brief rumblings of something occurring the previous afternoon and, following the trail, Anakin had seen its source. There had been some type of fight that had been violent enough to destroy a merchant stall. Within the wreckage of what had once been the wooden structure, Anakin had sensed Obi-Wan's presence. And while he was relieved not to find his master's body, the blood that he did find was not a comfort either.

"You look for Jedi?"

The Slitherian who approached him, a tall, mottle-skinned humanoid, immediately had Anakin's full attention. "Yes. I'm looking for a Jedi. He would have arrived yesterday. His name is Obi-Wan Kenobi."

"Jedi talk. Attacked. Lots of shots. Then crash." The Slitherian's use of the Republican Standard was stilted, but he got the message across quite clearly. "Jedi hurt badly."

Anakin swallowed, pursing his lips. "Was he alive?"

There was a slight pause, then, "Live? Yes, live." The Slitherian took several exaggerated breaths to indicate that Obi-Wan had still been alive. "Jedi live."

"Do you know where he was taken?"

Anakin received a negative response that time. He thanked the Slitherian, offering to buy him a drink, but when he turned back from summoning the bartender, he was gone. Anakin ordered himself a shot of Dengoli vodka, downing it as soon as the bartender placed it in front of him. Obi-Wan was alive, or had been the day before. It wasn't much, but it was a start. A very good start.

Returning to his earlier drink, Anakin began to wander through the crowd. He didn't speak, but kept his ears open for any mention of his master. If he could just figure out the direction Obi-Wan had been taken he could better pinpoint what had happened to the older man after the attack in the market. Or at least have some vague idea of where he had been taken.

"... back from Coruscant."

"We get paid then?"

"We get paid then."

That snippet of conversation had Anakin's whole attention. Keeping himself out of sight, Anakin watched the three traders as they got themselves well and truly drunk. They were celebrating. It made his job infinitely easier. Anakin felt hopeful for the first time all day. Very soon he would have Obi-Wan back safe with him.

When the tribe finally stopped and he was released from the back of the animal, Obi-Wan curled in on himself in a desperate attempt to relieve the pain that consumed him. The act offered no comfort, though. The pain did not fade as he had hoped. He was not offered time to wait out the pain either, being prodded and kicked into a more upright position. Obi-Wan wavered on his knees, his vision swimming drastically. He would have toppled forward were it not for the metal pole that was pressed to the center of his chest. Thankfully it was free of any type of electric charge, but his full weight leaning on it was painful nonetheless.

Tilting his head back, Obi-Wan stared up at his captors who were conversing with each other. He could not understand a single word of it, try as he might. There was a sudden loud sound from behind him and Obi-Wan instinctively swiveled his head around to see its source. That quick movement had his barely oriented vision wavering once again, bile rising in his throat. He didn't fight it when the edge of his vision began to darken. It was a blessing when the blackness swallowed him up.

"The timetable must be advanced," Darth Sidious instructed his apprentice.

The minute hologram of Count Dooku nodded respectfully. "As you will it, my master. I will inform the viceroy immediately."

"I am leaving this in your hands, Dooku. I have other matters to attend to. Matters of a very serious nature."

A small alarm sounded, signaling that someone was approaching his office. Sidious scowled briefly then ended his communication with the fallen Jedi. The holographic image had only just faded when the door opened to admit Palpatine's aide, Uv Gizen.

"The senator from Malek would like to have a word with you, Chancellor."

Anakin tensed as he watched the beings disembark almost simultaneously from the two cruisers. It was not their numbers that worried him, but rather their professions. Growing up on Tatooine, Anakin had no difficulty recognizing a slaver. The fear that he had abandoned earlier upon learning that Obi-Wan was alive returned fully with this revelation. That his master had been betrayed into the hands of a slaver was no mere accident. It was that deliberateness that would likely seal his master's fate. Obi-Wan would not have been sold to a benign master like Watto. Obi-Wan would be in far harsher hands.

"I hope that you gentlemen are ready to retire," a purple-haired female said as she approached the small crowd gathered in the shuttle hanger. "We have been paid a fortune for what amounts to a single day's work."

Anakin felt himself vibrating with rage. Those people were celebrating Obi-Wan's misfortune. Or what Anakin had already decided was his betrayal. Obi-Wan had spoken of an ally in the Ranth'fer system, but Anakin could find no sign of an ally among the lot. His fingers itched to grab up his lightsaber, but he forced himself to be restrained. He would learn nothing if he killed them all before discovering what had become of his master. At the moment, finding Obi-Wan was his top priority. Revenge would have to come second.

"Provided that you have all done your jobs," she finished, glaring at the group emerging from the second ship.

"Kenobi was delivered to the raiders," one of the slavers confirmed. "By now he'll be wishing he was dead."

Before he could stop himself, Anakin had his lightsaber in his right hand. He managed not to ignite it, but it was a close thing.

"Lord Sidious will be glad to hear it."

At that Anakin nearly dropped his lightsaber. The more information he gained, the more worrisome the situation became. First they had been separated by the Senate, then Obi-Wan had been attacked by slavers, his Force signature restrained... on the orders of the mysterious Sith lord. Rather than fearing what would come next, Anakin felt only rage. It consumed him. At the moment he had no place to focus his anger and the Force around him crackled with that rage.

"I believe that its time to celebrate," the woman mused, her smile broad.

For Anakin that was the final straw. He ignited his lightsaber and stepped out from behind a stack of storage crates, glaring at the slavers. There was a swagger to his steps, one that he exaggerated as one by one the slavers became aware of his presence.

"You are all fools." By the time he spoke the words they were all staring at him. "Do you truly believe that your newfound wealth will save you when you have just endangered the only form of restraint I have ever known?"

"You are outnumbered boy," the woman sneered as she removed a blaster that had previously been concealed within her trenchcoat. "Obi-Wan was defeated by only half this number."

"Obi-wan believes in restraint. I harbor no such constriction."

Opening himself up to the will of the Force, Anakin attacked. He deflected each blaster shot, sending it back towards the slavers. Once he had advanced close enough, none of them stood a chance. He slashed and cut, entirely on the offensive. These fools had made a great mistake in siding with the Sith lord. They would die for it."

"You kill me you'll never find him!"

Anakin stilled his blade a mere inch from the purple-haired woman's throat. "Do you really think I'll believe anything you say?"

"Can you risk not believing me?" she countered, her eyes flickering from the glowing blade to his face and back again.

"Anakin tensed, but did not lower his blade."I suppose that you'd have me spare your life in exchange for the information."

"Of course."

"Of course," Anakin echoed. She was too confident. Try as she might she couldn't conceal the smug expression that tugged at her lips. "Tell me where he is."

"And you'll let me live?" she prompted. Her very essence was coated with slick putrid fear.

Anakin lifted his blade a hairsbreadth closer to her chin. "Tell me."

"They took him to Tatooine," she gasped out, squeezing her eyes shut tight. "Handed him over to a tribe of Tusken raiders."

The words had barely left her lips when Anakin shoved the glowing blue blade through her throat. The scream that he thought was hers he only belatedly recognized as his own. It was a scream of anger, of rage, and of despair. The Tusken were a vicious, horrible race, savage in their actions. If Obi-Wan was vulnerable in any way he would be in serious danger and likely to be killed by those terrible creatures.

I'm coming for you, Obi-Wan. Hold on...

His arms ached from being suspended above his head for so long. It was a welcome respite, though. Bound to the timber frame of the hut he was free from his duties. Duties that he still did not wholly comprehend since he could not understand the language they were given in. His failure to comprehend the orders had left him in a great deal of pain. The prods were a minor inconvenience when compared to the electrowhip.

He had almost given up hope that this Anakin would come for him. Obi-Wan wanted to believe that Anakin would have already come for him. That he wouldn't have allowed him to suffer so much. In the back of his mind, Obi-Wan knew that he could not count on this phantom person to help him. He couldn't even be certain that Anakin was a real person.

So he clenched his fists and began to pull his arms down. He tugged and twisted the limbs about, hoping to loosen his restraints. The coarse ropes cut into the tender flesh of his wrists and he had to bite into his bottom lip to keep from crying out as the pain increased. Blood dribbled down his arms, but it did not stop him.

"Senuk eh!"

All too late Obi-Wan realized that he was not alone. A youngling, a youth of the tribe, had entered bearing food which Obi-Wan was in desperate need of. As the child bolted from the hut, Obi-Wan was certain that he would not be allowed the meal that had been brought to him.

"This is not good," Obi-Wan murmured, slumping against the side of the hut.

"Meet again, young Skywalker, we do."

As he had sprinted across the plain that spread out beyond the settlement, Anakin had noticed the presence of another shuttle similar to Obi-Wan's. Given his abrupt departure from the Temple he had half expected to be followed. That it was to be Yoda and Mace Windu who came after him surprised Anakin.

"Master Yoda, Master Windu," Anakin greeted as he slowed his approached to a walk. "I trust your journey was well."

"Your wit and charm will not avail you, Skywalker," Windu scowled, crossing his arms over his chest. "You disobeyed a direct order."

"My master is in danger and it is my duty to rescue him," Anakin countered, bypassing the two Jedi masters as he turned towards his starfighter.

"Skywalker--"

"This is your fault!" Anakin screamed, whirling to face them. "You and the rest of that Sith-begotten Council sent him here alone. You let yourselves be ordered around by the Senate and because of you Obi-Wan was captured by slavers."

Yoda shuffled forward a few steps. "Our intention, this was not."

"Your intentions be damned!"

"Careful, young Skywalker, you must be. Close to the Dark Side, you treat. To the Force, your rage must be released," Yoda instructed. The small creature paused a moment, his pointed ears twitching briefly. "Your love as well, I sense."

Anakin glared at the diminutive Jedi master. "No. I will not deny anything."

"Release it or a Jedi you cannot be."

"Then a Jedi I am not."

Yoda shook his head sadly. "Rash, your actions now are. Regret them, you will, when cooled your head has."

"Not if I can save Obi-Wan," Anakin sighed. He bowed low to the two Jedi masters then called for R2-D2 who had been mucking about between the ships. "Let's go, Artoo. We need to hurry."

There was a slight pause, but as he climbed the ladder into the cockpit of his starfighter Anakin was certain he heard Yoda murmur a final farewell.

"May the Force be with you, young Skywalker."