Chapter 2: The Pirate Ship
Given the last few run-ins they had with Hando, Asoka and Anakin were practically experts when it came to dealing with pirates; they were often quite crafty, despite the fact they didn't have access to the same resources as the Order, but that hardly stopped them from continuing their illegal practices.
The oncoming view of the pirate ship was slow and foreboding; the Jedi and his padawan had more than enough time to prepare themselves for meeting Hondo again – they knew he probably wouldn't be exactly hostile, but they definitely had a reason to worry.
The primary control console beeped, a red flashing light blinked on the dashboard, and the Storm Trooper sitting in front of it turned to Anakin and Asoka.
"Whoever the captain of that ship is requested a direct line to Commander Skywalker," he reported.
Anakin remained silent for a moment, mulling over the possible pros and cons of interacting with Hondo at this point in time; it was likely that the pirate was engaging in his illegal practices once again, but Obi-Wan's mission should come first.
"Master, maybe Hondo could have information regarding the disappearances in this region," Asoka suggested, examining Anakin's contemplative face.
"Possibly," the Jedi admitted, although he hated cooperating with known criminals, "but we don't even know what he's doing here in this sector of space. I agree that he might have information, but he's not going to give it up willingly."
Everyone in the control room hushed as the two Jedi's discussed their plan of action.
"Sir," Rex motioned from side of the room, "Your orders? We have to respond soon."
Nodding his head in understanding and gesturing to the Trooper at the console, Anakin spoke, "Fine, agree to his request. It's better to get some info while we can than just deny their request."
Anakin watched the Trooper nod his head and turn to press on a few buttons on the dashboard in front of him; a miniature, blue hologram appeared on the contraption stationed in the center of the room.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Skywalker," a familiar gruff voice said from the display.
Hando Ohnaka, or rather, the Pirate Capitan, revealed his signature cocky grin as he starred up at the two Jedi.
"It's been so long since the last time I saw you," he chuckled, his tattered coat swaying with his body movements.
"What are you doing here, Hando?" Anakin demanded with a frown.
"Oh, nothing," the pirate said with his faint accent, "my crew and I were just taking a short trip through the region, admiring the view," he added.
Anakin wasn't impressed with Hando's attempt at humor and instead remained cold towards the captain; Asoka, too, seemed to be somewhat adverse to the pirate as well, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
"'Admiring the view', eh. Yeah, sure you are," the Jedi said with forced sarcasm, "Let me guess, you're smuggling illegal contraband again."
Hando, comedically placing a hand over his heart, gave the two Jedi an offended look of fake ignorance, "What? I have no idea what you're talking about. How could you accuse ME of engaging in such ridiculous behavior?"
Anakin's glare remained firmly set on Hondo, a look of obvious disbelief was evident on his face.
"You're lucky today, Hondo," he stated regretfully, "my current mission doesn't involve you, so I won't search your vessel. But, I do have a few questions regarding the disappearances surrounding this area of space. Many people have claimed that individual space crafts have gone missing around here – do you know anything about that?"
"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Jedi, but I'm unaware of such events," the pirate quickly replied with a smile, "perhaps you should run along, back to your Jedi Temple."
Anakin's nose flared in mild irritation; Hondo was usually very good at getting under people's skin – in fact the only person who could probably stand the guy was Obi-Wan.
"Are you saying you know nothing about it? Nothing at all?" Asoka pushed.
"Ah, Skywalker, you brought your pet, I see. If I were you, I'd keep her on a shorter leash," Hondo sneered through his goggles.
"What did you just call me?" Asoka growled, tightening her hands into fists.
"My friends, I would love to stay and talk to you more so we could catch up, but I have some place to be. So if you could kindly –"
Suddenly, before Hondo could get the remaining words out, the hologram of the pirate stumbled around before questioningly looking up from his seat.
"What was that?" he asked someone outside the purview of the hologram.
"Captain, prisoner 1B7746C has awoken from within his cell again," someone, probably a crew member, nervously stated.
"What?! But we even overestimated the amount of sedative required to render him unconscious," Hondo retorted.
"Prisoner?" Anakin questioned.
Looking away from the hologram, the Pirate Capitan remembered who he was talking to and silently cursed to himself.
"You're holding a prisoner?" Anakin repeated again, practically shouting.
Hondo's usual cocky behavior had now been replaced by the demeanor of a worried and nervous captain.
Realizing that the Pirate wasn't responding, Anakin spoke up once more, "I request access to your vessel, in the name of the Republic."
Anakin didn't really like to invoke the Republic's name for Jedi-related matters, but it was usually the fastest way to get people to agree – especially someone like Hondo, considering the Republic's punishment for illegal transportation of prisoners was quite steep.
Cursing to himself once more, the flustered captain finally submitted to the Jedi's request.
"Rrrgh! Let them board," he commanded, throwing up his hands in anger.
The large ship, although still moving quite slowly through space, revealed a small compartment that opened up at the back end; Anakin instructed the ship to make its way inside the boarding bay within the larger craft's interior. Setting itself down into the somewhat small area, the ship's engine slowly died down as the entrance to the compartment closed back up.
"Rex, you and the other soldiers stay here," Anakin said as he headed to the exit, followed closely by his padawan, "Asoka and I will go find Hondo."
"Yes, Sir," the blue-tattooed Trooper said with a salute.
Disembarking from the ship, Asoka and Anakin raced off to the nearest hallway in search of the Pirate Captain. Moving through passages, the walls of which looked quite old a corroded, the two Jedi sprinted in the direction of the command center. Taking a quick right turn, they continued down the hallway, the sound of their footsteps echoing throughout the corridors.
Suddenly, as if being hit with a premonition, Asoka slowed down and came to an eventual stop, looking over at a relatively large door. Realizing Asoka had stopped, Anakin turned around at confusedly glanced over at his padawan.
"Asoka, what are you doing?" he demanded.
"I-I don't know. I just…got this feeling that I needed to stop. Now, I think, I feel like I have to open this door," she said, staring at the entry with intrigue.
"Asoka, we don't have time for this," Anakin continued as he walked over to her.
As her master approached, the orange apprentice looked down at an old keypad with numeric symbols on it; she didn't know the combination, but a sudden feeling washed over her as she closed her eyes and pushed several buttons, seemingly at random.
A loud 'hissing' sound rushed from the edges of the door as it slowly slid open. Asoka's eyes widened at what she saw; there, inside the room that was revealed to her, were dozens upon dozens of people huddled in a dimly lit room. It was obvious they weren't crew members, given the clothes they wore, and it didn't seem like they were in the room by choice. Feeling a hand rest on her shoulder, Asoka looked up at a shocked Anakin who stared into the room alongside her.
"What…is…this?" he said to no one in particular as he slowly entered the room.
Many of the prisoners cringed away from the Jedi and whimpered with looks of absolute fear; the conditions of the room were atrocious – aside from the rancid smell that perforated throughout the area, there were no utilities or beds anywhere.
"…my god," Asoka gasped as she panned over the crowd of terrified people, "are these..."
"…the people who went missing," Anakin finished.
As the two of them continued to stare at the room full of prisoners, they heard a pair of footsteps approach the open door frame; turning around, they both set their eyes upon a disheveled Hondo, who was heavily panting as he looked into the room at the two Jedi.
Before the Pirate Captain could open his mouth, he was immediately approached by an infuriated Anakin who grabbed him roughly by the neck and shoved him against a nearby wall.
"Hondo, what the hell are these people doing here?!" he growled, slightly lifting the pirate up from the flood.
Hondo gasped and sputtered in an attempt to speak, but his throat was being squeezed to the point where his words only came out as silent pleas. Anakin was obviously unaffected by the pirate's pain and continued to grip at his neck; noticing how dangerous the situation was becoming, Asoka decided to intervene as ran up next to Anakin.
"Master, stop! You can't kill him!" she yelled, tugging on his arm.
"Why not? He deserves it," the Jedi grimly responded with narrowed eyes.
"This isn't the Jedi way," she continued to plead, "we can save these people, but killing HIM isn't what we're supposed to do!"
Rage seemed to bubble in Anakin's eyes for a few moments before he finally conceded to his padawan and lowered Hondo back down to the ground; upon being returned to the floor, the Pirate Captain gingerly rubbed his neck.
"Consider yourself lucky," Skywalker said.
Looking over at Hondo, Asoka spoke up, "why are you keeping these people locked up?" she asked as she gestured to scared people in the background.
Working to catch his breath, the pirate straightened up at the padawan's question, "It's just a job. We were paid to transport them across this area of space."
"Paid? Paid by who?" she pushed further.
"Don't know. Didn't ask. All I know is that we were contacted through a secure transmission frequency; we were given some money, a hefty amount I might add, and we were told that we would receive the rest if we fully carried out the job."
"Is this normally how you do business? I didn't know you were so ignorant," Anakin insulted.
"Heh, a wise man once said 'Don't ask questions if you get paid'," the pirate retorted.
As the three of them continued to talk with one another, a single crew member sprinted down the hallway towards them.
"Sir, Sir! The prisoner has escaped!" he shouted, coming to an abrupt stop next to Hondo.
"Damn," Ohnaka groaned, "this is not a good time."
"What's going on? What prisoner are you talking about?" Anakin asked.
Hondo sighed, realizing he couldn't hide it any longer, "When we first received the shipment of prisoners, we found out that some of them were…different."
"Different, how?" Asoka asked.
"Different as in – they can use the force," he said.
Asoka and Anakin both gave each other surprised looks. Force-users? Here?
"Alright, we have to move fast, then," Anakin began, "Asoka, you go take care of the prisoners and get them ready for departure. Hondo, you're going to take me to this prisoner."
"Got it," the padawan said before she ran back into the room.
Turning to Hondo, Anakin gave him a serious glance, "Lead the way."
Hesitantly giving the Jedi a nod, Hondo led Anakin down the hall and further into the space ship.
End of Chapter 2
Author's Notes: Hellooooo my friends, my amigos, my bros, my dudes. This chapter required a crap-ton of research in regards to the Star Wars universe. I'm so blown away by how extensive the lore of this franchise goes. When I mentioned coordinates earlier on in this story, like "M-16', there are actual locations that compose the layout of the galaxy within the Star Wars universe – look it up. Anyway, if you guys liked this chapter, please leave a comment and let me know what you thought of this story.