A/N: I am so sorry about how late this is. I've had essays due, and then a cold/flu from hell. Anyway, this is shorter than I wanted, but I also didn't want you guys to keep waiting. Again, sorry about the wait, and hopefully updates will be more regular now.

MLV

The undercity wasn't as clean as the upper part, and while Ahsoka was relatively used to it by now, the younglings clung to her and Shaak's hands. Damari, who was still hanging from Ahsoka's frame, shivered and whimpered, and Ahsoka did her best to send reassurances through the force to the young would be Jedi, but she didn't stop shaking. A few of the younglings started to lag behind.

"Hurry, younglings," she hissed, pausing to get their attention. The younglings grumbled and picked up the pace, but just a little bit. Ahsoka knew they were scared, and they had every right to be.

"Master Tii," Ahsoka whispered, acutely aware of how quickly her old habits were returning. "Hold up a moment."

Shaak paused, and Ahsoka walked over to her. "I think the younglings could use a little bit of motivation. On the battlefield, I know that when Master Kenobi would give speeches, it really helped to motivate the clones." It was still too easy to talk about them as her brothers, and Ahsoka felt the tips of her fingers get cold when an angry look crossed Shaak's face, but Ahsoka didn't offer any apology, nor did she take back what she said.

"If you want to say something, I won't stop you," Shaak replied. Ahsoka nodded at her and turned to look at the younglings. They were all shifting from one foot to the other, and tired faces adorned each of them.

"Younglings," she began. They all perked up slightly. "I know this is difficult. Many terrifying things happened today, and you all are very scared, and you have every right to be." She shifted Damari from one hip to the other.

"But if we're to make it off this planet alive and well, we need to be more than younglings today. We need to be Jedi, strong in the face of danger. The ship is a little more than twenty minutes away, but that's only if we can walk quickly."

"Why can't we get a speeder?" one of the boys asked.

"It's too risky," Ahsoka explained but didn't go into more detail. "I know you're all tired, but you will be able to sleep once we're on the ship. I promise."

The younglings nodded tired heads, and the group began walking again.

Damari fell asleep halfway there, and Ahsoka struggled to keep her in her arms. The girl was little more than dead weight, but Ahsoka was loath to wake her. Damari was one of the smallest of the younglings, and she was completely exhausted. Ahsoka spared a glance at the other younglings. They all were exhausted. There wasn't any room where they were at now to land a ship, otherwise Ahsoka would suggest retrieving it and then coming back for them.

They were in the heart of the pirate's territory. Ahsoka couldn't remember their names. Red something? Maybe it was red. It didn't matter. Maybe Ahsoka should attempt to get a speeder big enough for all of them. She sped up until she was next to Shaak.

"We've entered pirate territory," Ahsoka told her. "I think it might be best if I get a speeder to take us the rest of the way. Two women and a group of children will easily be picked off."

"Even if one of them is a Jedi?" Shaak asked, and Ahsoka ignored the barb.

"Yes. Trust me, I've dealt with pirates before. Jedi don't scare them. Plus, they've got numbers on their side."

Shaak frowned and looked around. "I don't sense any trouble."

"But if trouble comes, there's too many of them to fully protect the younglings against," Ahsoka said, and without waiting for an answer, let Damari fall into Shaak's arms. Ahsoka stretched out her own arms and started to walk away from them. "I'll be right back," she promised.

Finding a speeder wasn't a problem. There were hundreds of them all over the undercity. The problem was that they were all owned by spice pirates who shot first and asked questions…well, never. Still, if she could find one that was isolated enough from the rest of the group, she supposed she could take it from them. Except that's where the problem got bigger: none of the speeders has less than seven pirates surrounding it. Ahsoka continued walking, looking for the one with the least amount of firepower around it.

She finally found one that looked big enough to hold most of the padawans, if not all, and it was only being watched by one pirate. The problem with this was he was huge, and his weapon was equally big. Ahsoka took in a breath. There was little likelihood that she could force persuade him to let her have it, but she thought if she could draw him into an alleyway, she could, at least, fight him without the rest of his gang attacking her too.

Ahsoka staked out a few alleys before finding one that ended in a dead end. It wasn't too far from the big guy, and it didn't cross the paths of the rest of the pirates that were milling around the area. Ahsoka contemplated a moment about how she was going to distract the pirate and get him to the alleyway.

As she was deciding what to do, a scantily clad woman made her way up to the pirate. She seemed to be purring and reached up to touch the pirate's face. At first, Ahsoka thought it might be his girlfriend or a lover, but he grabbed her arm and tossed her to the ground. Words were exchanged between the two, and the woman turned and left. Ahsoka watched as she moved towards another pirate, lower in rank. She did the same thing as before, but this time, something was exchanged and the two left. Whoops and hollers followed them from the other pirates, and Ahsoka felt something growing in her stomach. Well, she thought to herself. There is that.

Ahsoka removed her leggings, shin guards and the guards on her arms before pulling her suit down low. Her skin was crawling with the very thought of attempting this, but she shook it off. Walking over to the pirate, Ahsoka giggled and waved slyly at him. He looked at her appreciatively, and took a step towards her.

"What's your price?" He asked, getting straight to the point.

Ahsoka swiped her hand in front of his face. "A small price to pay for a good time," she said, using the force to alter his mind.

"A small price to pay for a good time," the pirate repeated slowly. He blinked a few times, and Ahsoka was afraid that he was going to wake up, but when she took a few steps away from him, he followed her. She took his hand and led him to the alley. There were a few confused looks from the other pirates, and Ahsoka wondered if he wasn't supposed to leave his post.

Once they were in the alley, the pirate threw her against the wall and began kissing her neck. Ahsoka struggled against his weight, and stretched her arm out behind her to retrieve her lightsaber. It flew to her hand, and the pirate stopped his assault.

"What was that?" he asked.

"Something to add to the fun," Ahsoka whispered in his ear, and then slammed her lightsaber into his head. He backed away, crying out, but he didn't fall. Ahsoka force pushed him against the other wall and jumped towards him. He grabbed her foot and twisted her, and she fell with a thud. It took her a second to regain her breath, and she kicked his face with her free foot. The pirate growled and stood up in a hurry and she fell off his lap in a pile. She sensed that he was going to kick her, and she used his momentum against him. Using the force to push herself up, Ahsoka swept his leg and he fell down hard.

The pirate's head slammed on the ground, and Ahsoka held her lightsaber up, ready to ignite it, but the pirate didn't wake. She paused before leaning down and feeling for his pulse; he was alive, but unconscious. She let out a breath before grabbing her discarded clothing and heading back to the speeder. A few of the pirates looked her way, but Ahsoka used the force to make her presence minimal.

Tossing her stuff into the speeder, Ahsoka jumped in. The keys weren't in the ignition, which meant they were still on the pirate. Ahsoka looked over her shoulder and saw that the large pirate was starting to stir. Ahsoka let out a frustrated noise and hopped out of the speeder before sprinting back to the pirate. He was just starting to come to his senses when Ahsoka reached him. She rifled through his pockets a moment before finding the keys.

"The Republic thanks you for your donation," Ahsoka told him before smacking the end of her lightsaber into his face. He fell limp once more.

Ahsoka stood up and brushed herself off and headed back towards the speeder, keys jingling in her hands. The other pirates still watched her, but they seemed to be confused as to what they should do. Ahsoka blew them a kiss before jumping back into the speeder. With the keys in the ignition, Ahsoka sped back towards Shaak and the younglings.