Ventress was speechless for a moment, she was unaware that the Jedi knew of her past. The Nightsisters knew since it was her mother who sold her into slavery. As far as she knew, the only other person was Dooku. He discovered her past when he was teaching her how to reach people's darkest memories and made them relive them in one's mind as torture. He taught her by performing it on her after she failed to kill Skywalker and his pet.
However, after a few moments, the initial shock wore off, and rage filled her. She watched Kenobi wince as she pierced his skin with the dagger. She smiled as she watched a trickle of blood go down his neck. He force pushed her against the wall of the confined spaceship and held her there. Ventress threw the dagger at Kenobi. He dodged it. It grazed his shoulder. The dagger clanged on the wall of the ship as it fell to the ground.
"Who the hell are you to assume that you know anything about me or my past?" Ventress said, with as much hatred as she could convey with her voice, with her body pushed up against the wall. She tried to counteract the move as she talked, with no luck.
"Ventress, when I recently went undercover as a bounty hunter; I asked around about you. I said I had met you before in battle, and you were an admirable warrior. I wanted to know what planet you came from so I could recruit more warriors like you. The other bounty hunters knew very little about you, but one person said that they had met others with similar looks while visiting a planet called Dathomir. He and three others had gone there to collect a bounty on a supposed witch who killed a family member of an important Separatist Senator. The bounty hunter said he was the only one that survived the encounter with the witches," Kenobi answered, releasing Ventress from the wall.
"Afterwards, it was fairly straightforward, combined with the information I already knew. That you were once a slave on Rattatak. Then you were trained by Ky Narec in the ways of the Jedi. He was killed before he could complete your training. You gave in to your rage and killed your Master's murderer and 11 others. You're not evil, Ventress. You have been a victim of your circumstances. Not fully trained in the ways of the Jedi to deal with your Master's death at so young, and on top of everything else, you have been misled. You have been dealt a hand in life that no one should ever have to live. It is the Jedi's fault for not finding you, and for that I am sorry."
"It is the Jedi's fault. You left Narec to rot on Rattatak. The Jedi are responsible for his death." Ventress spat.
"You're right," Kenobi said calmly.
"You stole his lightsaber when you escaped from my Citadel. Where is it? The Jedi are unworthy to have it, you are unworthy to have it. I want it back now" Ventress stated.
"It is back at the Temple at his memorial," Kenobi replied.
Ventress made to get off the ship, but Kenobi grabbed her hand as she passed him. Ventress turned around and punched him in the jaw, and he let go. She had just gotten down the ramp before Kenobi appeared at the doorway.
"What are you going to do? Break into the temple and get it back? It's foolish! I can help you get his lightsaber back," Kenobi pleaded.
"Why should I trust you?" Ventress asked, continuing walking towards the gate of the spaceport. She felt Kenobi grab her arm.
"Help me, Ventress, and I will return his lightsaber to you, personally. Help me, and I can get you immunity for your past crimes. Help me find them. Maul killed my Master, just as Osika Kirske killed yours. I can't take him down by myself, and I can't trust anyone else to do it. Not Anakin, not the Jedi, they wouldn't understand. Well, maybe Anakin, but he needs to set an example for his padawan when he already struggles every day to contain his emotions. And to be honest, I would be lying if I said the only reason I wanted to find them was for the benefit of the Republic." Kenobi said.
Ventress slowly turned around. She was surprised by his answer. Jedi don't normally seek revenge. Yet what intrigued her the most was his offer to not only return his lightsabers but immunity as well.
With immunity, she could finally live in peace, not always running or hiding in the shadows. She could continue bounty hunting, something that she enjoyed more than being Dooku's pawn. Mostly because there was less torture involved if you failed. Instead, you either killed or didn't get paid. If she helped Kenobi, it would mean giving up the one chance to save her people. To train as a Nightsister and end this stupid war.
"Why do you trust me? I have tried to kill you, tortured you, destroy you. How do you know I won't kill you in your sleep?" Ventress asked.
"I trust you," Kenobi paused, "because I have no choice. And I have faith that you will eventually do the right thing."
Ventress looked at Kenobi's eyes that were full of sorrow. Beyond her better reasoning, she trusted he would try to return Narec's lightsaber and give her immunity. She, however, didn't trust the Jedi, or the Republic, who would rather see her dead or rotting in prison than living somewhere, peacefully. She trusts the Jedi just about as much as she trusted Mother.
She didn't say anything, nor look at Kenobi as she walked back towards the Twilight.
"Thank you," Kenobi said.
Ventress nodded her head and climbed aboard. She checked to see if the coordinates were still in the navicomputer. She thought it looked suspicious that the ship that was scheduled to leave 30 minutes ago was still on the landing platform. She was especially getting worried since Kenobi called her by name outside the ship. The port was big, but not that big. As soon as Kenobi sat down in the chair, she started the thrusters and took off. As the ship accended, she saw two clone troopers near the pad, watching the ship take off.
"We have two clones watching us." Ventress informed Kenobi.
"Don't worry about it. Just get us out of this system as soon as you can. Our little delay may have attracted unwanted attention. Once we switch ships, we should be fine." Kenobi said.
Ventress programmed the navicomputer to Yulant and lifted it off the landing platform. Once they left the system, and jumped, Kenobi said he was going to the back of the ship to meditate. Ventress thought it was to get as far away from her as possible. Ventress was glad to have the space. Kenobi had given her a lot to think about, A chance to be free, to live her life how she chose, not always looking behind her back to see who was watching her. But could she turn her back on her people? She had a chance to rule the galaxy, make it how she saw fit. It wouldn't be a peaceful life, but with the power, she would gain by combining her sith training with the nightsister training, it shouldn't be a problem. Not only would she be a queen, but save her species from extinction.
She looked back at Kenobi, who was sitting against the back wall with his eyes closed. There was a high likelihood that he would die at the hands of Maul, anyway. She wondered if he accidentally died at the hands of Maul. Would Mother still be pleased? Yet as soon as she thought of Kenobi's battered, bruised body dead at the feet of Maul, a twinge of sadness rose in her, which confused her. She closed her eyes, trying to clear her mind, hoping that the answer would come.
Ventress woke Kenobi gently shaking her shoulder, "Ventress... Ventress, we reached Yulant."
"My ship is on landing pad 42," Ventress said sleepily, standing up and stretching. "How long have I been asleep?"
"Only about an hour. I would have woken you sooner, but I was slightly afraid that you would threaten me with some sort of weapon that you have hidden in that outfit," Kenobi joked. His meditation had changed his mood for the better. Ventress played along, grateful for the lighter atmosphere from earlier. They would never reach their destination at this rate.
Ventress chuckled, "I have a surprising amount."
"It boggles the mind, my sweet, especially with that outfit," Kenobi said, flashing her a slightly suggestive smile while waving his hand up and down.
"Well, continue to make me angry and you'll see just how many I have," Ventress said mischievously, raising her eyebrows.
"Looking forward to it." Kenobi flirted back as he walked past her, brushing his shoulder against hers, and bending over to grab their bags.
"Shall we?" Kenobi said, offering his arm to Ventress, "I mean, we are pretending to be a happily married couple."
Ventress rolled her eyes but linked her arm with his. "You're enjoying this too much, Kenobi."
"You have no idea," Kenobi said, continuing to smile.
They walked across the landing pad towards her ship with no problems. But the further they walked, the smile that was on Kenobi's face started to disappear.
"Why are the Clones just sitting at the base?" Kenobi quietly asked.
"Are you Jedi really that ignorant? The Clones here are complacent. They see this as a vacation from the war. The people here are angry with Coruscant and the Republic, like many other planets. Many smugglers, bounty hunters, even separatists, use this planet to gain access to Coruscant. Coruscant is becoming more and more vulnerable, and soon the war will be in your backyard," Ventress answered.
"I have known that there is growing frustration with the Republic, something which I have shared at times. Anytime there is a war, there are always people who get pushed to the wayside, forgotten. The Jedi are spread too thin, the army is spread too thin to protect these people properly, and Coruscant believes it is too well protected by the loyal surrounding systems."
"You have frustrations with the Republic?" Ventress asked. She looked over at the seemingly loyal Jedi, and met his eyes, surprised by his honesty.
"Maybe frustration isn't the correct word. I have questioned some actions that the Republic has taken, many of which violate the very constitution that we seek to protect. Chancellor Palpatine has, at times, overstepped his boundaries and duties as Chancellor. Technically, I'm not even supposed to be fighting in this war. We're peacekeepers, not warriors. We justify it by protecting the innocents and preserving democracy. We pretend we're not doing it the name of the Chancellor, but the more this war goes on it seems like we're an extension of his every whim." Kenobi said, not breaking eye contact.
"You almost sound like a separatist." Ventress mused.
"The majority of Separatists are misled. Their governments are usually led by someone who only wants power for themselves. If they won, it would become an Empire, with no individual rights."
"Maybe, but the way they see it, the Republic is becoming the same," Ventress replied. Kenobi broke his eye contact and became quiet. She could tell that he was pondering her answer, that he could see the truth in her answer.
He said nothing until they reached her ship. Ventress watched as he stopped outside her ship and looked back at the Clones and the civilians doing their jobs on the landing bay.
Finally, he sighed, "This war has gone on far too long."
"For once Kenobi, we agree on something," Ventress added and steered him towards the ramp-up to the ship.