Chapter 4

I am recommending some fics for you guys. If you can tolerate my other stuff I recommend that you give it a try, in addition give a look at some of Purplewillowtrees stuff, Greysilhouette and Smileorelse. Also Ruthbaulding wrote this awesome piece I think its called aftermath and it's a post Kadavo fic, absolutely incredible. Another really great one is Surrender by comana, this one is seriously awesome and everyone should read it! Would you guys like some recommendations with your updates? I know I would, leave me some links in your REVIEWS! On to the story : )

Count Dooku could not be more pleased, in fact this is probably the closest to happy a Sith lord can possibly be, especially as the dark side is a mischievous and somewhat unwilling servant. The kind of slave that would slit its masters throat if given the chance, it leaves a certain cloud of soberness in its wake. With the coming days Dooku has felt a bit of pleasing resonance in his malicious connection. One of his greatest enemies, one of the orders brightest lights is about to be hand delivered to him and the dark side is just as elated as its master. Try as he might to remain objective, Dooku does not even pretend to have no satisfaction at his accomplishment. Obi wan can be a hard man to reach, given his unsavory attachment to the stubborn, raw skywalker and the seasoned young masters considerable abilities, if the man had not an insatiable appetite for self-sacrifice, he would be close to untouchable. Grievous will be very excited to have his favorite Jedi to interrogate but the count knows already that he will be met with disappointment. He can't have an over enthusiastic droid killing or otherwise maiming Kenobi, yet. The breaking of a Jedi is a very delicate matter and much more than Dooku would ever trust to any of his acolytes. Kenobi in particular may prove to be beyond even Dooku's reach for true submission, Qui Gon was a stubborn man and the Sith can sense his stubbornness and then some in the Jedi master, dulled as it may be by the whip.

The slavers have provided him with all the holo-recordings of the Jedi's time here on Kadavo and Dooku, knowing the value of information, obliges himself to leafing through it. He chooses to watch this footage privately though he knows Agruss wanted to be there for commentary, to proudly explain his methods as if the breaking of a single Jedi would impress Count Dooku. As if the ministrations of one particularly sadistic zygerian would even be capable of such a feat on one such particular Jedi. Kenobi and the force alike are too unimpressed and his padawans padawan remains unbroken. It simply isn't possible to break a man like Obi wan without having an inquisitor well versed in the art of Sith torture. And Dooku knowingly looks forward to that challenge.

That being said, the Jedi has suffered immensely on the mining facility and in such a clever way. Dooku must begrudgingly admit some surprise and admiration for the efficiency and effectiveness of the methods employed on this rock. The Guards keep Obi wan in maddeningly consistent physical pain while Agruss himself employs methods of psychological torment that make the force tremble. Dooku watches with particular interest as Agruss executes the Jedi's young friend and smiles, really Kenobi how did you think that was going to end? Truly Qui Gon was his master, for all his efforts Dooku never could teach his padawan to leave the pathetic life forms be.

In rare form, Dooku feels a rebellious nudge from the force and decides to indulge its wishes. The dark side floats and incases his mind slipping him all too quickly into that moment. He can feel the anguish in rolling waves; he can feel the cold sweat that breaks on Kenobi's brow, first in unadulterated fear then in pure remorse and grief. Whoever then said that Jedi cannot feel? The count is nearly overwhelmed with the position his poisoned force has put him in. He grits his teeth as he is held under even more, feeling the scorching and ever present pain of Kenobi's injuries and the frustration which threatens to bring tears. Finally gaining the upper hand the Count slams the force back under his control, still gasping from the hurt. See if I ever entertain your whims again, he thinks somewhat childishly, knowing full well that he should have known better. The dark side is kind to no one and desires nothing more than to harm all that come across its path, even mighty Sith lords are no exception.

When he finally removes himself from the dream of the past he indulges his more concrete feelings and chooses to actually watch the holovid this time. On screen Kenobi's reaction is, plainly, exquisite in the force and the Count realizes instantaneously that this is what he felt on the landing pad. Immense pain, unbearable guilt, unyielding strength, the likes of which the Sith hasn't had the pleasure of feeding off of since Geonosis, where despite his jabs at inferiority he knew Obi wan had vast skill for his age. Yoda did correctly say he was a swordsman worthy of the title and indeed he is. It was just his poor luck, which is consistently and considerably poor, that Dooku was his opponent. Dooku is the best swordsman in the galaxy and only Mace Windu and the green troll himself are even comparable. He did learn then in that hangar that Obi wan Kenobi was no mere padawan, he was well on his way to becoming a master and certainly not a Jedi to be trifled with. Kenobi has a righteous fury, which unleashes the full power of the light, and were it not innately inferior to the dark side, Dooku may have been worried. It is such a rare treat to have Kenobi stirred up, as rare as it is dangerous which Agruss may yet discover.

Were he not so short sighted, greedy and generally unintelligent, Agruss may have been a good Sith. He certainly has the cruelty for it, though he lacks in entirety any form of force sensitivity. If the fat slaver could sense the despair, the conflicted rage and the deep hurt left on his prisoner, Dooku doubts he would ever get Kenobi off this mining rock. Agruss is already asking more than the agreed price and to a dark side user there is something poignantly addictive about feeling an enemy's fear and pain in the force. Agruss' reluctance to sell even without the ability to sense the waves of discomfort is becoming most irritating, it is somewhat like a small child and a pet. Keeper should not get too attached to his prisoner, Dooku will have Kenobi on Serreno within the week or he will have the slavers head in addition to his new acquisition.

Even now Kenobi radiates with delicious conflict, his generally staunch and pure signature is emitting a slow steady stream of agony, greatly physical, Dooku imagines, and definitely psychological. Like a well-mixed drink or a fine wine, there is just the slightest note of fear, which quakes beneath the surface texture. The count searches it out, examines it, amplifies it and could have cursed were he not too sophisticated for foul language. For all that pain that Kenobi is unable to mask, for all that suffering and for that selfless fear Dooku cannot detect even the slightest hint of darkness. It is a longsuffering, torn and frayed light but yet remains untouched by malevolence. Then in an instant the door snaps shut. Like a rubber band it sends a superficial but searing pain through the counts skull as Obi wan slams his shields into place. The Negotiator knows he's here.

Good then, the count thinks, he will have time to contemplate my plans for him, time to feed that fear.

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"Poodoo" Ahsoka curses, it's a word she picked up from her none too polite master and it's certainly not the only habit she's learned. The slavers were not as stupid as she originally thought, they have erased the nav computer and she has no idea where she was headed, but she does know where she's at. Near the Kadavo system which she knows is a mining facility. It's not hard to imagine a slaving facility here, mining is body breaking work, it deteriorates the bones and joints to nothing and even though it builds strength it puts unbearable strain on a being. She shudders when she thinks of how long Obi wan has been there, even with the physical strength of a Jedi and the aid of the force she imagines it has taken a toll. Finally accessing communications, Ahsoka enhances her comm links range through the ship and sends the Jedi council a message. The young padawan despises leaving a message, it leaves the possibility of being ignored. But she curls up in the pilots chair and does the only thing she can do, wait. The Jedi council has her location and by association, the relative location of the colonists and Obi wan. She can only hope that Anakin is doing just as well.

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Anakin could hardly breathe when he heard where his master had been sent. On one hand Hutt space is relatively close and Anakin has great knowledge and experience in dealing with Hutts but it is this knowledge and experience that makes him sick. There are few who know the cruelty of Hutts better than Anakin Skywalker and he knows also that as a Jedi, Obi wan will be targeted specifically.

"and what would they do that you haven't?" A voice sneers darkly in his head. He had never meant to be so hard on his master back in the arena but truthfully the whole event is murky at best. He remembers losing himself, sinking into a wave of darkness. He has the very distinct recollection of a tyrant rising from the darkest part of him. For a short while he was the epitome of cruelty to the man who is the very epitome of compassion. Though he cannot remember the act he is unlucky enough to have the cries of pain haunting his every silent thought. He remembers waking up to see Obi wan lying on the raised stone barely able to stand and he remembers the sickness he felt when he realized what he had done. He had made Obi wan scream, he had inflicted wounds he knows from personal experience are excruciating and he had done it all for his personal fear. No one should have to be a slave. Anakin did what was right didn't he? Even Obi wan told him to do it. That being said Obi wan doesn't always make the best decisions; he usually just makes the ones that turn out with the worst possible outcome for his own safety. Does he not realize that Anakin counts himself responsible for his safety? Anakin is the chosen one, the hero with no fear and it is his duty as a Jedi to protect defenseless and pathetic life forms, and most of the time Obi wan falls treacherously into this category.

The young Jedi is making his way to his borrowed quarters in the palace to collect R2 and get off this slaver infested rock. He is in the familiar position of having a master to rescue. Time to pack up, get his ship and get out from under this crazy queen before he finally loses it and guts her. The young knight has definitely given it quite a bit of thought, it would be too easy but he knows better than most that maintaining his cover will be far more important than his personal vendetta. All he can do is keep his mind on the objective, save the people of Kiros.

Just as he makes it into his ornate room the force rolls and yet another wave of suffering seeps through his bond with Obi wan. It almost makes him throw up, the nausea is insufferable and it leaves him lying on the floor grasping for some semblance of control. The force, he thinks, is not his ally today. It attacks him with voices and images, a vision of his master's pain until Anakin is somewhere between blood boiling rage and pathetic pleas, begging the force to show him nothing more. No sooner than the thought had entered his mind had his tormentor began to recede but in one final warning a familiar presence is revealed. Count Dooku.

Immediately, Anakin drops his zygerian helmet to the floor, this changes everything. Dooku will take Obi wan to deep separatist space at the best and his home on Serrenno at the worst. Either way if Dooku gets his hands on Obi wan, Anakin may not be able to follow them and he may lose his master forever. He grabs artoo and he runs. Nothing else matters and Anakin thinks that in this moment he would kill every single one of those 50,000 slaves to save his master, much less condemn them to slavery. He is the chosen one born of the force and he will save Obi wan.

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Rex doesn't know what to do. Every day of his half-life that he can recall he has always had something to do. An objective, a command, a duty, a mission and yet here he is rotting on this mining rock, watching all of his objectives slip through his fingers. Rescue the colonists? Yeah right, at this point he doubts any of the Togrutans would follow them out the door if it was wide open. Protect civilians? Definitely not and lastly and most blatantly unattained, protect the General. He knows that Obi wan is a Jedi but still he's an ARC trooper of what could be the most hated army in the history of the republic yet the difference in their treatment is astonishing. Rex is generally ignored, an occasional lash here and there for looking up or for trying to keep an eye on his Jedi friend but most of the time it's like he is just one more non persona. Obi wan on the other hand must be some sort of magnet for trouble. He has seen slavers go parsecs out of their way just to give him a solid kick as they go past, he has watched them beat him to unconsciousness with no provocation, he has witnessed the cruelty they possess and it defies every bit of Jango in him to sit idly by.

Sometimes at night he gets a chance to speak with Obi wan. Well, with a form of basic sign language anyways. Real speech would lead to immediate and unmerciful punishment. Rex begs him to allow some treatment for his injuries and for a while and with some reluctance Obi wan consented. They would speak silently in their bunks, and at first Rex wanted to talk about a way to escape but Obi wan would steer the conversation to anything but Kadavo. The ARC trooper can hardly blame him, anywhere but here is where Obi wan would like to be. After that boy was killed though he could see his commanding officer immediately shut down. Obi wan won't even look at him anymore, or any of the other slaves, seeing him at night must be what it's like to experience heartbreak. The man's clear blue eyes have not left the ground in days, he won't make eye contact with anyone. He won't speak with anyone, he just throws himself to his labor in reckless abandon, determined to meet that impossible quota. He blames himself for that boy's death and he is trying desperately not to give the slavers any other targets. His eyes are dark from the consistently heavy burden of fear, his face is mottled with bruises, always and he can no longer mask his pain. When the guards patrol by and grab him by his hair and throw him on the floor the resulting cry of pain echoes in the barracks.

Once Rex tried to stop them, no longer able to sit and watch his general suffer but he was quickly reminded of his place in the world. Obi wan hit him. He never thought such a thing possible but none the less when he attempted to help Obi wan away from a sneering slaver who was preparing to slam a boot down on the Jedi he found himself flat on his back.

"Don't you ever touch me, clone" Kenobi was furious, or so he appeared. Rex knows the man much better than that though, and his ruse appears to have worked. The slavers are amused by his sudden outburst and while they aren't content to leave him be for the night they are nice enough to leave the clone be. Sometimes when Rex is talking with Ahsoka he thinks he may understand a little something about the Jedi, right now. As Obi wan collapses from a particularly devilish strike to the ribs, he knows he doesn't and he never will.

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Obi wan Kenobi is tired. His body is screaming, his voice is hoarse from doing so and his mind, he thinks, may be on the verge of insanity. In a random routine he is grabbed from his bed in the middle of the night, not that he can sleep much anyways, and beaten until they are satisfied with his pleas for clemency. In fact tonight is probably one such night as he can hear multiple footsteps moving down the hall of bunks, a group but this is different. The guards are usually faster and louder but either way he sinks into his hard bunk in the futile hope that they may have some other business that just so happens to take them by a Jedi's bunk. A younglings futile wish, he realizes almost immediately. What other purpose would anyone here have to acknowledge him with, save for a beating? But still he hopes that it is merely coincidence.

None such luck, Obi wan is beginning to think that the force hates him as much as the colonists. He is thrown to the concrete floor and the first strike is expertly shoved up and under his ribs as he falls. The pain is downright excruciating and he makes no effort to hide that fact as his breathe is ripped from him. When he crumbles to the floor gasping in pain he desperately tries to reign in his breathing, which has been so rudely interrupted. He notices vaguely that he is not staring down the boots of the slavers. These are rather old, worn cloth shoes and he realizes in more time than it should take that these are not Zygerians, he looks up but behind the light it's hard to see their faces but he knows that they are Togrutan, his fellow slaves. He can sense there fear, fear of being caught but the heavier emotion by far is the helplessness and anger. Before he can even complete that thought a second blow falls between his shoulders and a sharp, pained rasp is pushed out through gritted teeth as the wounds on his back are disturbed through the rough fabric of the tunic he's been awarded.

"You should have let the boy be Jedi" The lead Togrutan seethes and smacks him soundly across the face. Ben, Obi wan doesn't want to think about him, doesn't want to remember that the child's death is on his hands but he knows that he will never forget. Like any of his other mistakes they will remain together permantly reflected off the water of the force, and only by delving deeply beneath the surface will he find peace from them.

"I'm so sorry I never meant-" Obi wan whispers, his choked voice cracks slightly and he is once again none too lightly chided by another stray backhand. He's so dizzy that he almost collapses.

"What were you meaning to do then, Jedi?" The raw rage permeates the air the lead Togrutan rips his claw like hands into Obi wans hair and forces him to make eye contact. The Jedi immediately looks away, this is Ben's brother. Were he not so distracted he would have felt the similarity immediately but the force is so constricted and he can feel it tighten more in response to his struggle and he has trouble maintaining control.

"Did you mean to save him?" The voice is broken with a potent mix of sarcasm and sorrow. Teeth gnash in anger and the oft abused side is rendered once again useless in spasming pain. He's beaten back and forth around the circle of too thin, too broken bodies and his cries are muffled in fear, if the guards find them… Nonetheless he endures as quietly as he can

"Is that what you meant to do?" The snarl is accentuated with the raking of claws down the Jedi's torn back. It's all Obi wan can do not to scream out to the high heavens, the evoked emotion proves to be too much for his fragile, frayed nerve and he snaps.

"YES" A hoarse, exasperated, hushed roar born of pain and sorrow both.

"More than anything yes" He is aware dimly of the tears that are sliding down his face. "I wished only to help him" He can't even bring himself to look up. " I … tried so hard" he mumbles on in unfiltered, if futile, anguish.

The red skinned Togrutan is silent for a beat before once again cruelly forcing the bloodied Jedi master to meet his eyes, he pulls his face in close and Obi wan staggers in the force, the hatred palpable and visceral.

"Did it ever occur to you Jedi" He snarls " that your help only ever makes things worse"

BUMBUMBUM! Yeah this was supposed to be longer, sorry guys life happened. Also sorry for the super long update wait I feel well and truly like an ass hole, But now that I know where I'm going with this things are looking up and I will probably be updating faster. Leave your guesses and or suggestions in your REVIEWS :) Also please let me know if there are any mistakes, I have no beta and no word processor so ...There's bound to be some