Disclaimer: All rights belong to Disney, George Lucas, and all the men and women that created the Star Wars movies, books, and comics. I take no credit, and I do not mean to break any copyright rules. This is simply a work of fiction made for enjoyment. No money is being made. The cover art image belongs to peanutbutterroastedchestnuts. tumblr .com (remove the spaces)

Rating: T for violence, disturbing imagery, and dark themes

Author's Note: Sorry for being late again! I'm trying to stay caught up with everything, and I'm a bit overwhelmed. Anyways, this is a two-part adventure, and will be continued in the next chapter (hopefully updated on Wednesday like normal). Enjoy!

Chapter 11

By the time we reach the Jedi starship, neither of us has said a word. The tension is thick, however; I can sense that Obi-Wan has something to say, even though he knows I don't want to talk.

He splits off to send Qui-Gon the message of our success while I head to the small room with the bunks and medical supplies. Rewrapping my bruised ribs is a painful task for both my ribs and my wrists, but I feel better afterwards, both mentally and physically. I had just accomplished something on my own, and now my ribs don't feel like a bag of loose change.

I'm rummaging through the cabinets for more alcohol when I hear the swish of the door opening. It closes, and Obi-Wan stands still, his arms crossed over his chest.

"What are you doing?" he asks.

"Looking for alcohol," I admit, giving up and sitting on the bunk. "It's probably better if I don't find any, though." Although I don't remember everything that happened the night before, I do remember my traitor mouth opening and spilling all sorts of previously hidden secrets.

"Since we've teamed up, I've trusted you," Obi-Wan begins, getting right to the chase. I open my mouth to make a remark about how much of a mistake that is, but he holds up his hand to stop me. "I needed to. And I get the feeling that today you trusted me." He pauses, as if expecting me to argue, but I don't. I can't. He isn't wrong, and denying it would get me nowhere. "That's a big thing for you, and I'm thankful that you think I am trustworthy."

This is not where I had thought this conversation would go. It's actually kind of nice, though, just being able to be open and honest with someone. Of course I'm not going to make a habit of it or anything - it's a one-time thing. "About what I said to Cad about only fighting with you guys for my own gain and purposes...you know that's not true, right?" I don't know why I feel the need to clarify it. It's such a foreign feeling.

Obi-Wan nods. "I trust you."

And just like that, everything is normal again. Well, if "normal" means a Jedi trusting a Sith and a Sith who doesn't trust anyone suddenly trusting a Jedi, that is. But this is as close to normal as we can get.

"Qui-Gon is still in Coruscant. We're going to meet him there," the Jedi explains.

"We can't," I object. "I mean, I can't."

Obi-Wan doesn't ask why. Instead he simply nods and turns around to input the course to somewhere else. If that's what trust looks like then it can't be that bad. It's actually kinda nice.

A few minutes later I follow him into the cockpit, sitting in the co-pilots seat. He looks over at me, his hands poised on the controls. "Where to?"

"Trandosha," I answer, ignoring his look of surprise.

"Why? There's nothing there but cruel, merciless hunters," Obi-Wan replies, still trusting me enough to input the coordinates despite his own opinions on the place.

"There's something there my master lost years ago, and I need to make sure he never finds it again," I explain. There's no further questions and the Jedi simply takes off, leaving Jelucan in the distance. "What will you tell the Council about Cad Bane?"

"I will tell them he is not to be underestimated, but that he was working under the orders of a crime boss. Yamma the Hutt just got in way over his head."

"Who did they think hired the bounty hunter?" I question, leaning back in the seat and propping my feet up on the control board.

"The Sith," he replies, glancing over at me. A smile creeps up on my face.

"Glad to know they're only getting wiser in their old age," I say sarcastically. Obi-Wan tries unsuccessfully to stifle a smile. "I mean, what did they expect us to use the lightsabers for? We already are powerful enough to take you guys down without them."

"Says the one who couldn't put her own hood up," he reminds me for the third time.

"I'm going to kill you," I mutter, crossing my arms and then wincing at the pain from my wrists. "Don't the Jedi have powers of Force healing or something?"

"Qui-Gon does, to some extent," he answers. "I don't. But why can't you heal yourself?"

"Because I have more practical Force powers, like being able to see the future and being able to Force-choke people. Also lightning. I'm getting that one mastered."

"You can seriously do the Force-choke?" he asks, his eyes widening.

"Just ask your buddy Quinlan. He might still have bruises on his neck." I pretend to check my nails as he gapes at me. "What? He attacked me first. I simply tried to defend myself."

"Did you really think he was going to kill you on Bespin?" Obi-Wan inquires seriously. "He's one of the more unpredictable Jedi, yes, but killing you?"

Images flash through my mind of Quinlan's future. "I read his future for him...and he didn't like it. He accused me of lying, but his rage told the truth. He's scared of what I told him because deep down he knows it's true."

"What did you see that's so bad?"

I shake my head. "That's not for me to tell. If you want to know, ask him yourself."

"You consider it being disloyal to tell the secrets of his future, don't you?" Obi-Wan is perceptive. Dangerously so for me. He reads right through my pretenses.

"It is disloyal. I shouldn't even be able to see such things, let alone go around the galaxy telling all his friends."

Silence falls in the cockpit. It's a few minutes before he speaks again. "Loyalty is the most important thing for you, isn't it? You hate those who aren't loyal and you love those who are. In your mind there is nothing worse than betrayal."

"You don't think loyalty is important? Tell that to your painful future." As soon as I realize what I had said I shut my mouth tightly, lips pressed together.

"I am going to be betrayed?" he asks, oh-so subtly.

"You know why I don't want to tell you your future?" I reply, forging on without waiting for him to attempt an answer. "Quinlan Vos hates me because of what I told him. He became an entirely new person after hearing what the future had in store for him. I literally ruined his life. And...I can't do that to you."

Obi-Wan looks over at me, making eye contact. "Why not?"

"You're the closest thing I have to a friend," I mumble, barely comprehensible. The words are hard to get out, and I slouch deeper into the seat, letting my hair fall forward and cover my face. I'm not into touchy-feely moments or deep confessions, and this is so hard for me. He understands, though.

"We're an odd pair, aren't we? The Sith and the Jedi." He crack a grin, and I manage a small smile. "Who would have thought?"

"We can't be friends, though," I say, and both our faces fall. "The Jedi Order would never allow for it. You and Qui-Gon both would get in trouble. I know you love doing what you do, and I'm not going to be the reason you get expelled from the Order. The most we can ever be is allies."

"And even that is frowned upon," Obi-Wan agrees. He turns back to the controls, maneuvering the starship out of hyperdrive. "We're here."

Mid Rim, Mytaranor Sector, Kashyyyk System, 39 BBY

The planet appears large in front of us, varying shades of green and white swirling about. The moon Wasskah is orbiting slowly around it, also green. Shivers run down my spine at the sight. The moon is a hunting reserve where the Trandoshans capture and set loose prey to eventually hunt. It's sickening, even for a Sith.

"Set down on the moon," I instruct the Jedi. "Qui-Gon can meet us there."

"On Wasskah?" he exclaims, incredulous. "They'll hunt us!"

"We don't have to leave the ship until Qui-Gon arrives, and, even then three Force users are more than enough to fend them off long enough to switch out ships. Then you guys can leave and go back to Coruscant, and I'll take care of my business here."

"I still don't get why you can't come to Coruscant first," Obi-Wan says, aiming towards the moon.

"He's there," I answer, my voice growing quiet. "I can sense my master is there. He's strongest on Coruscant, and he would kill me. Besides, this is really important."

"What even are you getting? It can't be that bad or destructive. Not like those ancient crystals Cad Bane stole."

"Oh, it's much, much worse. It's killed its share of Jedi in the past, and it will only kill more if my master gets his hands on it. I'm going to find and hide it away for good." The starship gets a bumpy landing on the forest moon, and I uncross my legs and sit up, being careful not to jostle my ribs or wrists too much. "How far away did you say Qui-Gon was?"

"He should be here any minute," Obi-Wan remarks, turning off the engine and resting his hand on his lightsaber. "I hope he gets here soon, though. Trandoshans are not exactly my favorite species, especially when they're hunting me."

"They just look big and scary. They're actually pretty weak against the Force. Even a youngling could beat them if they tried hard enough." The cockpit goes silent for a while, and the sounds of the forest surround us. Hundreds of unnamed species crawl across the ground, flit up around the treetops, or chase each other around trees.

We sit for about another hour, neither of us talking. Something seems off, and I prick my ears up, listening hard. "Do you hear that?" I question.

"I don't hear anything," Obi-Wan comments.

"Exactly. There is nothing to hear. Where did all of the native species go?" Realization strikes, and the once-comfortable silence turns full of tension.

"The hunters are near," the Jedi whispers. "They're after us."

"Just stay still," I mouth back, unsure of why we're being so cautious. They can't hear us from outside of the ship, and they're probably hunting one of their other prey in the area, not us.

There's the sound of an aircraft and the green canopies above us sway before parting to reveal my starship. Qui-Gon is here...and he just revealed our location to all of the Trandoshan hunters.

As my ship lands, KZ-4 sitting on the outside in his little seat, Qui-Gon's face peering through the windshield, we can finally hear the trampling sounds of sprinting beasts.

A dozen Trandoshan hunters burst through the treeline to surround our ships, their weapons held in front of them aggressively, their sharp-toothed expressions smug. I can just imagine what they're thinking: Our most dangerous and exciting new prey just delivered themselves to us!

"We're going to be hunted. And one of us is useless," Obi-Wan says, shocked.

Well, he's not wrong.

Core Worlds Region, Coruscant Subsector, Corusca Sector, Unknown System, 49 BBY

The house Darth Sidious leads me to is a nice one in the upper levels of Coruscant. The air is purified and fresh, and I feel myself lighten up a little. There's a large table piled up with all the food I could ever imagine.

I start to head towards it, but an invisible force suddenly pulls me back and halts me. Darth Sidious shakes his head. "If you want the food, you must summon it to yourself."

"How do I do that?" I ask, my face falling. The food smells amazing, and my stomach has been empty for far too long. I'm barely strong enough to keep standing, let alone try to think and do whatever he wants me to do.

"Use the Force."

"The Force? What's that? I thought it was a myth." Stories of Jedi had reached our planet, but no Force user had ever gone to that waste dump. It's far away and useless.

"You are less than a mile away from the Jedi temple," Darth Sidious hisses. "Of course they're real. They might be flying around overhead even as we speak. Now you must harness the Force to summon the food. You know how to connect to the Force. You've felt it your whole life. Every time your mother was in pain from your father's words and fists? You felt it because you were connected to her using the Force. How did you know deep down that your father was cheating the whole time? You could sense it. Now you have to learn how to use it. You can have whatever food you can call to yourself from here. If you move, I'll take you right back to that dark alley in the Underworld."

"What if I can't figure out how to get it before I starve?" I question, my lower lip trembling. I don't know the Force like he says. In fact, I'm very much scared I'm going to die here, the only think I need to survive right in front of me.

"Then I'll sweep up your dead corpse off the floor and dump you somewhere remote. I'll be back in a few days. And I will know if you cheat." He walks out, leaving me ten feet away from heaven with no way to reach it.

This is torture. This is the worst thing a person could ever do. I'm weak and barely alive, but I'm still supposed to discover my powers of telekinesis? Yeah, highly likely. This Darth Sidious is an evil guy with a cruel sense of humor. I don't like him one bit.

An hour later, I'm sitting cross-legged on the floor, my hands pointed towards the food, my head pounding from a massive headache as I've tried everything I can imagine to try and get the food to me. Finally I stop trying and lay back down, giving up. Silent tears slide down my gaunt cheeks. It's over for me.

Just when I had thought I couldn't get much lower, it seems I have dug past rock-bottom. Great. Digging my own grave.

I had thought I had nothing to lose, but it seems I lost what little dignity I had left.

Mid Rim, Mytaranor Sector, Kashyyyk System, 39 BBY

I exit the Jedi starship, Obi-Wan protesting but still following me. I knew he would; I'm injured and he won't leave me alone. Yeah, I might be abusing his friendship a little bit, but when I resolve this situation and send him and Qui-Gon off safely he'll thank me later.

The Trandoshans instantly turn their spears and make-shift weapons on us, snarling noises coming from the back of their throats and through their alligator-like faces. The growling sounds only grow as Qui-Gon steps out of my starship and joins us.

"I never thought I'd end up here," the Jedi Master mutters, his hands relaxed at his side. He's probably one of the most controlled Jedi I've ever met. I know his philosophies are slightly different than those of the other Jedi, but he should have a seat on the Council. He'd bring a lot to the table.

"I assume she has a plan," Obi-Wan replies, his eyes flickering in my direction. His attitude really needs to change soon or I'm only going to help Qui-Gon get out of here. No one gets to sass me except KZ-4.

A Trandoshan with green skin and bright orange eyes steps out from the group. I vaguely recognize him. "Cadask, isn't it?" I ask, fixing my eyes on his. His fiery eyes narrow and he glares at me.

"Cradossk," he corrects with his low voice. "And you are the Sith apprentice, here with two Jedi. We are not fools. We know why you came."

"Oh, really? You do, huh?" I step forward, getting right in his face. My injured wrists twinge with pain and I suddenly hope that he doesn't decide to backhand me into a tree or something. Maybe it's too late to have this through. "What do I want?"

"This," he answers, reaching into his red robes to pull out a yellow and black device. It's old, from many millennia ago, and it hasn't been seen since Darth Baras and his apprentice used it to try and extract information during the Cold War. Long thought lost, it appears this Trandoshan bounty hunter has had it for a while.

"The Ravager," I agree, eyeing it carefully. "A powerful Sith artifact that I'm going to be leaving here with."

"Do you think I'll just give it to you?" he questions, and suddenly all of them are laughing deep, throaty laughs. Some of them turn into coughing fits, but it's still terrifying and humiliating. No one laughs at me, not even lowly big-game hunters.

"Do you know what it can do?" I inquire coldly, my eyes burning a hole through Cradossk. "You wouldn't laughing if you did."

"How about a demonstration, then?" he shoots back, looking at the Jedi fighters behind me. "I wonder what we can learn…"

"No." My voice is final. The Ravager is a device used to extract - I say extract but I really mean rip - information from the victim's mind, driving them insane and killing them in the process. And it's painful. Not blaster burns painful, but getting your mind liquefied painful. I will not be having my friends' minds liquefied because I brought them into this. "We are here to make you a deal."

"What sort of deal?" Cradossk asks, stepping back and pacing. "You have nothing to give us."

"Yes, I do." My eyebrow raises and my head tilts, the actions getting the Trandoshan's attention. He stops pacing and stands in front of me.

"What?"

"The thrill of a hunt." The words sink into him, getting the desired effect. A small smile curves up on his face. "Have you ever hunted a Sith or Jedi before?" I continue. "We'll give you one full day to hunt us. Sunset to sunset. If you catch us, you get to kill us and take us as your prize. If we manage to evade you for that time, we get set free and we get the Ravager."

His smile widens, his sharp white teeth showing. "You can't escape us for a whole day. Not on this moon."

"Then it's a win-win situation for you," I reply, stepping back and scanning all the other Trandoshans. "Is it a deal?"

"I think so," Cradossk answers. "You have one hour to hide, starting now." He makes a motion and all of the natives scatter, disappearing into the forest and jungles. The two Jedi and I are left, still standing in place.

"That's a brilliant plan," Obi-Wan says sarcastically. "I think we should put her on the Jedi Council."

"Not now," Qui-Gon chides, and then he turns to me. "This is your plan, so you are in charge. What's your first move?"

And so the hunt begins.