Obi-Wan did not give up his struggle against the chains that bound him in the hold of the bounty hunter's ship until he had no strength left to call upon.

"Let me go!" he screamed as he fought against the shackles and chains that bound him. It didn't matter that the bounty hunter could no longer hear him. It didn't matter that he was just screaming into the void and causing damage to his voice.

Sinking, defeated, to the floor, he wondered what would happen to him now. He hadn't been able to get a good read off his captor prior to being deposited below deck. Even now he couldn't quite pinpoint the man in the Mandalorian armor.

It seemed Qui-Gon knew the bounty hunter, he thought. What has my Master been doing that he has come to be on a first name basis with bounty hunters?

The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became. Thinking on it just made him aware of more questions to which he didn't know the answers.

At some point on the journey, he wasn't certain when, he fell asleep. Well, passed out. In any case, he found himself unconscious and at the mercy of Jango Fett. He would regret regaining consciousness when finally he did.

))((

"Implore you to reconsider, I do," Yoda said as he walked out onto the landing pad where Qui-Gon was preparing to to leave on his rescue mission. "Emotionally connected, you are. Impossible it will be, to separate yourself from your emotions. A danger, it will be."

"I've made my decision, Master Yoda," Qui-Gon replied simply. "I cannot leave Obi-Wan in the hands of that man. I have precious little time to find Jango Fett before he hands my Padawan off to whomever is footing the bill this time."

"Master Qui-Gon—"

"With all due respect, Master Yoda," Qui-Gon spat. "There is nothing you could say to change my mind. If you'll excuse me."

With that, he climbed up into the small transport and closed the hatch behind him, leaving the tiny green Master alone on the landing pad as he climbed into the pilot's seat.

He knew what the small Master's concerns were. He chose to ignore them. Time was of the essence and none else in the Order would have such a keen ability to track the boy.

He was thankful for the Slave I's unique hyperdrive signature; it did not take him long to find where the ship had gone. The trail was weak but it was there. It was all he had to follow to find Obi-Wan.

))((

"Wake up." The command was spoken in a monotone voice from somewhere in front of him. As Obi-Wan opened his eyes, he realized that his body felt colder than it should've. A quick glance down revealed that, as he'd been unconscious, he'd been stripped of all but his leggings, which had been cut off at an obscenely short length. "Do you know where you are?"

The bounty hunter wasn't wearing his helmet now, and Obi-Wan could see deep scars criss-crossing the man's hard, dark face. He stayed just beyond the reaches of the bright light that seemed to be coming from somewhere behind the Jedi, but the shiny scar tissue was strangely illuminated.

Obi-Wan glanced around. "I'm in the cargo hold of your ship," he replied after a moment. The bounty hunter smirked.

"Good," he replied. "It's always more fun when you're defiant."

What's always more fun? Obi-Wan wondered, but he said nothing. It wouldn't be wise to say anything more. If he was asked a simple question, he would give a simple answer. Nothing more.

"It's not going to matter here in a few minutes," the bounty hunter continued. "I'm sure you're interested to know why you're here aboard my ship."

Obi-Wan cocked his head and said, completely deadpan, "I'm far more interested in why I'm nearly naked."

The bounty hunter chuckled darkly as he stepped out of the shadows. He was still clad in his armor, but he had removed his jetpack along with his helmet. One hand rested on his blaster, the other held a small, blaster-like tool that made Obi-Wan uneasy.

"I do hope you manage to keep some of that sense of humor through this, little Jedi. I will enjoy purging your memories that much more." Obi-Wan's eyes widened in horror. "Oh yes. Even if your precious Master manages to find you, you'll be of no use to him. I can't risk leaving you trained as a Jedi when I hand you over for my payment."

"You can't do this," Obi-Wan said, backing away as the bounty hunter approached him.

"Come now, little Jedi. It's not as though you'll be alone! There's many others on their way to your same fate. There is a great demand for Force-sensitives in Hutt space. Apparently they make especially good sex slaves," the bounty hunter said, pacing just a meter and a half in front of Obi-Wan.

The thought of losing his memories, of losing Qui-Gon, brought tears to his eyes. He blinked them back as the bounty hunter advanced again. It wasn't long before he was right on top of him, pinning him to the wall.

Obi-Wan tensed, preparing to wall his mind off, to fight. The bounty hunter's smile widened.

"Please, resist," he said with a chuckle. "I do so enjoy when they resist."

Obi-Wan closed his eyes and exhaled slowly as the bounty hunter pressed the barrel of the not-blaster to his temple. He felt the familiar walls he used to keep Qui-Gon out of his mind when he needed privacy come up with ease. Reinforcing those walls would be his entire focus as the bounty hunter tried to erase his mind.

He hoped he would be strong enough to resist.

))((

He felt he didn't breathe again until the Slave I started to show on long-range sensors. He could feel Obi-Wan, his presence in the Force sharp, desperate.

Panicked.

It only made him more desperate to locate and recover the boy. He couldn't think of who might want a Jedi, especially not one still alive. It took a strong-willed captor to be able to keep a Jedi in bondage. As much as he hated to admit it, Jango was strong-willed enough.

-Qui-Gon!- Obi-Wan's exclamation echoed painfully through his consciousness. He gripped his chest as a wave of pain hit him through the bond he shared with his Padawan.

))((

White hot pain surged through his body as he clung to his memories with every ounce of strength left in him. How many times had the bounty hunter used the device on him? He had no idea. The pain was unimaginable. But he wouldn't give up even one memory, not without a fight.

Beads of sweat formed along his hairline and dripped lazily down his forehead, stinging his eyes as he looked at the bounty hunter. Jango Fett leaned in, his face just inches from the young Jedi's. He grinned as Obi-Wan gritted his teeth.

He pulled the trigger again and relished in the cry that escaped the boy's throat. It wouldn't belong now, no. The boy would give up soon. Weak and weary his defenses would drop just a little. Just enough.

Qui-Gon's face when I finally admitted I love him, Obi-Wan thought, clenching his eyes shut once more. The feeling of accomplishment when I finally made a working lightsaber. Bant. My room at the Temple… He pulled against the chains that bound him and tried desperately to pull away from the device held to his head.

When the pain subsided he gulped down air as though he'd been held underwater. As he fought to reinforce those mental barriers, Jango pulled the trigger once again.

Qui— The thought was cut off as the pain resumed. Master. My Master. What is his name? Obi-Wan realized, horrified, that he'd dropped his guard. No. No, I refuse to— What's his name? Master— Just one brief lapse in control, just one tiny moment of weakness, and he found he could no longer remember his Master's name.

Jango smirked as the boy's eyes filled with tears. He did so enjoy it when they resisted.

))((

Jango led the boy roughly out of the cargo hold and out into the bleak, dusty landscape of Tattooine. Mos Eisley, Tatooine.

Still clad only in his torn up leggings, the boy felt naked and vulnerable as he was led along by chains attached to the shackles that bound his wrists. The bright sunlight was disorienting, as was the heat.

The sand was sharp and hot beneath his feet, stinging his skin with every step he was forced to take.

It had taken twelve grueling hours but Jango had finally managed to erase a good chunk of the young Jedi's memory. Unfortunately, it seemed that what he'd erased had also erased his ability to understand verbal commands.

Jango didn't mind that much, didn't think the man paying for the boy would mind much either. For all intents and purposes, Obi-Wan Kenobi was dead. In his place stood a shell of a man who glanced around nervously, as though afraid someone might come at him from any direction at any time.

Unfortunately, Obi-Wan Kenobi was not dead, merely trapped in his mind. He couldn't communicate, couldn't force his tongue to form the words he was desperate to say. His mind was like a madlibs puzzle, but he still remembered quite a lot.

He stumbled weakly along after Jango, grateful for the shade when finally the bounty hunter stopped in front of a small storefront with a wide, ragged canopy. Jango secured the chains to a bar just outside the door before disappearing inside, leaving the young Jedi alone.

All around him, Obi-Wan could feel the presence of the other beings on the planet. Stripped of so much of the baggage of his mind, he was far more in tune with the Living Force than he'd ever managed to be before. It was frightening, the clarity with which he could read every being within fifty meters of him.

He longed for the man with the beard and the crooked smile. He could picture the man so clearly in his mind, his steely blue eyes and long graying brown hair.

Who the man was, he hadn't a clue. But the memory of him was soothing. It was most solid thing he had to hold on to as he struggled to cope with what he'd lost.

Jango Fett exited the shop shortly after.

"He's all yours, Mut. Pleasure doin business with ya," he called over his shoulder as he exited the shop. For one long moment, looked at the young former-Jedi. Far more simple-minded than he'd intended to make him, the bounty hunter almost felt sorry for the new life the boy would face.

Almost.