The hangar loomed large ahead of him, the smell of jet fuel thick in the air. He parked the speeder a block away from the building that shimmered with dark power barely contained within it. How was the Jedi order missing this? Maul was taking a big risk allowing his obvious strength to resonate in the building and it greatly concerned Kenobi. Was he that desperate to kill the former padawan? It seemed such a waste to expend so much power to obtain the failed Jedi. Kenobi contemplated broadcasting his force signature, hoping Master Yoda, or one of the Council would come after him, but he decided not to risk it until Nawe was safe. A nagging voice in his head tried to convince him that Maul would not trade fairly with Kenobi for Nawe's life, but he cleared that from his mind. He couldn't let that darkness cloud his thoughts, he needed to stay alert and in the moment or they were both lost.

He headed for a side door to the hangar and found it unlocked so he moved inside, his force senses outstretched, not wanting to be surprised by the dark lord. He made his way through a section of haz-med crates to the open section of the hangar where the bounty hunters ship towered above him.

His force senses guided him to come around the ship where he saw the huddled form positioned such that the blaster fire from the ships guns would rip it to pieces and he dashed to the heap of flesh that was Private Nawe. His uniform was in tatters, the back completely missing, just a mass of blood, torn flesh and shredded fabric where a vibro-whip had eaten into him. His left shoulder blade gleamed white in one area and Kenobi knelt down in front of him, truly horrified by the injuries. He felt for a pulse in the young man's neck and gasped a sigh of relief to feel it there barely registering against his fingers, but surprisingly steady. The boy's face was a mess with bruises and lacerations, the nose broken and his mouth swollen. Kenobi could tell a number of teeth were missing. But what horrified him the most was the smell of burnt flesh coming from the lad's chest. As gently as he could, Kenobi uncurled the unconscious man's arms to reveal chest wounds caused by the release of electrical charge into a body. Kenobi had heard of such dark powers, but had never seen them for himself and placed his hands on Nawe's head and bent down low to rest his head gently on Nawe's. The lad moaned at the touch and Kenobi backed up a little, his hands still resting on the broken body. Waves of healing through the force were sent to Nawe from the former padawan. Kenobi gave as much energy as he could to his young subordinate until his own injury began tugging at his strength, reminding him of his own failing system.

"That's enough," came the low, calm voice of the sith as he descended the ramp to the ship. Kenobi ignored his command and continued to give of himself to the boy, despite beginning to feel light headed.

"I said, that's enough," the voice hissed and a force push from the dark lord had Kenobi flying into a stack of dura-crates that were, thankfully, empty. Kenobi got slowly to his feet and faced off with his old adversary, Nawe's crumpled form between them.

"The boy's torture was rather unnecessary, don't you think?" called Kenobi to the sith as they circled each other, Kenobi shortening his distance to the prone figure.

"It got you here pretty quickly, didn't it? And he will survive thanks to your loving ministrations."

"A holo-vid saying 'Please pop over for some Tatooine Conasta' would have work just as well."

"Where would the fun be in that? Now, get on board."

"I'm not leaving him like this in some hangar to die after we leave." Kenobi still felt dizzy and the edges of his vision were blurry, but he was determined not to let Nawe remain in such a precarious situation once they left, so he stood his ground against the sith. It seemed for a moment that the creature before him had some admiration for his stance, but that feeling was lost as the bounty hunter emerged from his ship.

"He's here, let's get this over with," and to Kenobi's horror he raised his blasters to gun down Nawe, but the sith, never taking his eyes off Kenobi, raised his hand to the bounty hunter to stop him.

"We're leaving, Jango, get back on board." Jango lowered his weapons but remained on the ramp.

"He's seen us, you're not going to let him live!"

"It makes little difference now. We have what we came for." Jango hesitated for a moment until Maul shifted his yellow eyed gaze from Kenobi to him. His demeanor immediately changed to more of a resigned slouch and he turned and entered the ship.

"I'm not with you yet, not until Private Nawe is taken care of." He moved to the young man once again and could feel his body improving, the healing energy Kenobi had sent was already at work on his injuries and the shoulder blade was no longer visible. He could easily die from the remainder of his injuries, however, and the cold hard floor was no place for him.

Maul's eyes narrowed as he surveyed the pair. It would be so easy to take Kenobi by force and allow the insignificant fool on the floor to perish, but a part of him knew that the easier path to gaining Kenobi as his puppet was to indulge the man at this moment and allow him to save the boy.

Maul's master had taught him the subtle art of manipulation over these long years since his first encounter with the Jedi, which had been rather aggressive and obvious. Even though it might seem easier to break Kenobi through force, he knew just by looking at the man and from their recent encounter that violence to his person would only strengthen his resolve to fight. His compassion would be his undoing and at that moment Maul needed him off balance to plant the seed of trust that he could twist to loyalty as he worked over the former Jedi's psyche. A greater desire to see the fallen padawan at his side and under his control allowed his blood lust to sink beneath the veneer of his dark shadow.

"As you wish, he will live. I know you have been in contact with the Jedi Master Yoda. Contact him now, but mention nothing of me or this ship. I will be monitoring." As he spoke, Kenobi could feel his dark presence within his mind almost like a thunder cloud hovering over his mental walls, a spy poised on the edge of his consciousness.

Kenobi he couldn't do anything creative with the sith so present, so he turned his back on the sith and the ship, his vision full with Nawe and the hangar.

/Master,/ his mind reached out to the gnomish Jedi, /I have need of you./

He visualized the journey he had made to the hangar from the infirmary and sent that in the mental broadcast as well. He had not done such a communication through the force for so long he wasn't even sure if it would reach the master and his body was paying the price. The tightness in his chest was returning and he had to break off the link before he was sure it had gotten through as he sank to his knees, feeling drained and slightly feverish. Maul's abrupt removal of his presence from Kenobi's mind didn't help. He gasped for breath as he fell forward, his hands out to stop him from falling over completely. He tried to compose himself, to slow his breathing and relieve the pressure he felt in his chest.

"We're done here," came Maul's voice through the ringing in Kenobi's ears and he felt, more than witnessed, the dark lord sweep to his position and hook his hand into Kenobi's armpit and half lift, half drag him to the ship ramp. Kenobi recovered somewhat and stumbled up the ramp.

He was barely aware of Jango opening a slim containment cell in the cargo hold, just large enough for him to slide into on his back like his dorm bunks back when he was a youngling.

"Where are we headed, anyway?" he asked dreamily as his lucid thoughts began to slip away.

"Nowhere," came Jango's reply as he sealed Kenobi inside the detention berth, but the word 'Kamino' traveled carelessly through his mind and Kenobi managed to direct it out to Nawe's unconscious mind with the last of his strength. As he sank into a dreamless darkness, he hoped Nawe would figure out what to do with that last word from his Captain.