Holy Comoly! This will be chapter 50! I never intended this to get this long, and it probably shows! Oh well, hope you're still enjoying what's been played out so far. I do love to read and respond to reviews so if you are so inclined please feel free to comment. Thanks a bunch!

Boba brought the ship up and over the ridge he'd been hiding it behind and headed to the signal source, surprised that it led to the roof of the palace wing housing the detention block. There he saw three figures, one standing very tall, the other two huddled together. It was clear Ben was cradling a sleeping Ventress in his arms and was he rocking her? This was a very odd picture indeed and Dooku's presence had his already frayed nerves causing his hands to shake uncontrollably. The man looked unarmed, but Boba had seen the lightening spew from his long fingers, so he set the craft down as close to Ben as he could and grabbed his blaster before racing to the back hatch.

He raised it to aim in Dooku's direction and then hit the hatch release, trying desperately to still his shaking hands. He knew the blaster would more than likely be torn from his hand if trouble started, but it made him feel better to at least have this between him and the old man and he could probably get one shot off before he was down and that was good enough for him right now.

Dooku just stared coolly at him as the hatch opened, Ben was already on his feet and hoisting Ventress back up as the door opened.

"He's letting us go, Boba, get back in the ship," came the man's commanding voice and Boba found himself heading back to the cockpit, whether he wanted to or not and the blaster clattered to the floor, forgotten.

"Don't be foolish, Obi-wan, you have nowhere to go."

Ben faltered on the ship ramp and re-adjusted the weight on his shoulders. Dooku was right, he really didn't have a clue where to go after this, but he just couldn't stomach the thought of having anything to do with Dooku right now. The weight of Ventress pressed deeply into his shoulders, she needed a mind healer, and although he hated the idea of taking her back to the temple, it seemed that would probably be his only logical choice at the moment. He had no skills to heal that damaged of a mind, the best he could do was make her comfortable, so really, what was best for her right now? Continuing to run and see her slowly destroy herself trying to repair her shattered mind, or face the consequences of all his actions and head home where she could get the proper treatment, Boba could be reunited with his brothers, and he, Obi, could finally explain and be judged by his kind.

"They will bury you both," came Dooku's calm, even voice as he seemed to read Obi's mind at that moment. "The council will deem you both unsalvageable and they will unknowingly place you within the dark lords reach and the boy will be sent to Kamino as another clone slave."

"The council would never knowingly abandon us like that, and I will keep Boba safe.. somehow," Obi began, trying to convince himself more than Dooku, who merely sighed and replied, "I see." Not condemning, not accusing or pleading, just resigning, knowing that although Obi clearly had no plan for this, Dooku would in no way feature within it.

"All I can say in parting is good luck, my friend, and watch your back with both of your young companions. I will always be here, Obi-Wan, if you should ever need me."

Unsure of himself and his situation once again, he turned to his Master's master one last time, his face trying to hide his confusion and apprehension.

As he turned back to the ship he said "Thank you," quietly over his shoulder to the Count, almost hoping he wasn't heard, but the words fell gratefully on Dooku's ears, the last physical connection to his beloved padawan disappearing behind the closing hatch. Before the craft had left the roof he was already walking back to the main palace buildings, ready to pay Jabba for his services.

Boba sat staring at the controls, hands hovering above them, unsure of where to go. It was clear no one was going to stop them, so his daring plan for out-maneuvering any pursuers was out the view port, and Ben still had no response to his enquiries of where they should go now. So he set a cause for the only place he had felt any sense of security recently. He set them on a course to Dex's station.

Ben, for his part, had not left Ventress' side since getting back on board and Boba had no doubt it had something to do with her condition. She was always pale, but the woman had been practically translucent when he had picked her up from the rooftop, and he had felt Ben's healing presence before, so presumably he was helping her as he had helped him. He just hoped that Ben wouldn't lock him out and forget him now that he had this new pet project to work on, Ventress being a fellow force user.

They were heading out of the planet's atmosphere when Ben finally returned to the cockpit and sat heavily in the co-pilot's seat. Boba looked over to him and the man looked exhausted, rubbing his tired eyes and sighing deeply. He noticed Boba's intense scrutiny of him and shot him a worn grin.

"Great job, Boba," he said, his hand on the boy's shoulder affectionately tapping it. "Dex's is the perfect place to recoup. Sorry I didn't think of it myself."

"I liked that guy, and he seemed to know how to handle you, so I thought he'd be our best bet right now."

Ben chuckled, "Yes, and now he has three of us to deal with, won't that just brighten his day!"

"How is she, anyway?" asked Boba. Despite her recent treatment of him, Boba had good memories of the sith from his days on Kamino, he had once counted her as a friend after all and that was hard to forget, especially after seeing her so vulnerable on the planet's surface. He had never seen her like that before, she was always such a proud, confident, if terrifying, creature.

Ben breathed another heavy sigh, wiping the thin layer of sweat from his brow that had formed during his exertions to start some kind, any kind of healing process within Ventress' mind.

"It's beyond my skill to help her," he said, unable to hide the disappointment in his voice, "I tried, but she needs someone with greater knowledge of mind repair. I've done all I can to keep her stable, but the constructs keep failing, her own will is trying desperately to piece everything back together and it's undermining all I'm trying to achieve."

Obi-wan thought back to his work within her mind. Just the short time between his work with her in the cell and getting her back on board, she had been able to demolish the healing barriers he had tried to place around her memories. Words and images had assailed him on his next attempt as she fought against his work. He was constantly unable to convince the shatters that he was trying to help, and more of her experiences buffeted against the shields he had had to raise in order to prevent himself from becoming enveloped in that trouble psyche.

"Her mind did keep trying to show me things hidden within it, but there was no context for any of it. Boba, do you know anything about an 'order 66'?"

Boba froze at the mention of the order number, his surprise and horror at the instant recollection of the order's implications missed by the exhausted Ben.

"Oh, .. I ..," he quickly had to think of something, he couldn't reveal what he knew about that, his old clone programming slamming through his system to conceal what the order meant. Cover and misdirect, came the auto response to the inquiry, despite the free spirited memories of the boy, Boba, trying to break through the programming. It sent an ache through his body to lie to his friend, but what would be the man's response anyway? He could so easily use this as an excuse to be rid of Boba forever and his promise of freeing the clones as void. There was the possibility that by freeing the clones this order could never be given, but the programming wouldn't allow him to take the chance and imposed its dominance over the Boba persona.

"I don't know, it doesn't sound familiar to me. Why?"

"I got the impression it was something to do with your brothers, she was dwelling on it a lot. Probably nothing, just part of the mess Dooku left her in."

Boba frantically tried to regain control, trying to reassert his stamp on this form, but for now the clone programming persisted, remaining tight lipped and focusing on the task at hand, piloting the ship.

Obi looked over at his quiet companion and saw the suddenly focused face staring into the view screen and for some reason, Dooku's words from the rooftop came back to him.

"Is everything OK, Boba?" he asked.

"Yes, sir, everything is fine, we'll be entering hyperspace momentarily."

"Boba," he replied, surprised at the boy's sudden formality, "something is wrong. You know you can tell me anything."

The Boba persona won out and shook off the clone trooper within him and buried it deep, returning Ben's concerned gaze with a sad smile.

"I'm sorry, I was thinking about my brothers for a moment. You just reminded me of my obligations to them and to jango."

"Boba, you're not obligated to any of them. You are your own man, you can choose your own path. I understand your desire to see your brothers free, I do, truly, and I will do everything I can to help you. But they have no power over you, this is your choice, old man."

Obi couldn't help feeling responsible for the boy's predicament. Jango had been so misguided to think Obi would be any good at this and now there was the very distinct possibility Boba would have to suffer the fate of his brothers if they returned to the Republic and Obi couldn't let that happen. He looked down at the read out giving their current destination.

"Boba, you got on with Dex, didn't you," he said, an idea forming in his mind.

"Yeah, I really did," acknowledged the lad, remembering the amazing stuff the old guy had on that station.

Ben breathed out heavily, hoping Boba wouldn't be offended by his proposition. After all, he wasn't truly planning on abandoning Boba with the Baselisk, it would be temporary.

"I have to get Ventress to specialists, and that means getting her to Coruscant and the Jedi temple." Boba tensed immediately, predicting what was coming, but needing to hear it from Ben's lips before he would believe it.

"But I want to keep you from the situation just in case they decide to separate us and send you back to Kamino."

Boba started to respond, but Ben held up his hand to stop him and continued.

"Now, wait," he said, keeping his tone low and even, "I don't intend to stay, I'll just be dropping her off and leaving to come back to you. But in case I get delayed I'd rather have you some place with someone I trust. You can understand that, can't you?" He truly hoped Boba did because he had no other ideas at this point.

"I can't believe this," said Boba, his worst fears realized. He was being abandoned for the witch. "After all we've been through and you want to drop me off at that station!"

"Boba, you know that's not true, if there was any other way to help Ventress, believe me, I would do it, but this is her best chance at a recovery and I can't think of a safer place than Dex's for you to hang out temporarily while I deal with this."

"No, don't leave me behind, please, I can't lose you, too," he cried.

"You won't lose me, Boba, I promise you."

"You promised to help me."

"And I will, have I not helped you already?"

Boba couldn't deny that. Ben had helped him a great deal already, but this still felt like a betrayal, despite everything Ben told him.

"My fear is that they will send you back to Kamino to join your brothers, yes, but to be lost within them and I couldn't let that happen. At least with you free and with Dex, the two of you can be coming up with strategies and plans to free them all. You've seen the resources at Dex's disposal. Why not learn how to use them yourself?"

Boba hadn't even considered that and it showed in his expression. Ben smiled at the confused looking face.

"Believe me, Dex is our ally in this and there is a lot you can learn from that wily old Del-fox. More practical stuff than the hokum you could get from me!" he continued, trying to sweeten the deal.

Boba thought for a long time about the possibilities.

"And you'll come back?" he asked earnestly.

"Of course, Boba. And I dare say you'll have a thing or two to teach this old nerf!" he said smiling and tapping his head.

"Like trouble avoidance?" Boba suggested with a smile.

"Ah, well that seems to be an incurable condition at the moment, doesn't it, old man! And I must say, it seems that its trouble that finds me rather than the other way around."

"Really?" said Boba sarcastically, "you keep telling yourself that!"

They spent the rest of the trip reminiscing about their recent exploits, both friends confessing thoughts and fears at certain points, a worm familiarity between the two that belied the fact they had only recently met. In the back of his mind Obi couldn't help feeling that this would be the last time the two would have the chance to be this open with each other and he was determined not to waste it.

It didn't take more than a simple request to Dex to have Boba sequestered at the station and with neither friend in any way comfortable with goodbyes it was brief with all the outward appearance of a simple parting, but Dex was no fool and saw through the acts of both of them, their genuine affection for each other showing through, Boba trying desperately to hide his tears from Ben.

Once Obi had left, Dex kept the boy as busy as he could. He found him later asleep, sprawled over the schematics of an old speeder mod Dex had been working on for years. He helped Boba to his room and settled him in. Then he went to work on the grander project Obi had asked him to start, finding out everything he could on the cloners and their training techniques, with special attention to orders, and the one order numbered 66.

Once on their way back to Coruscant, Ben went to check on Ventress once again. Although she still continued to break down his protections, she was spending more time within them, resting and recuperating. The only problem with this was she was getting stronger all the time and the rails of force waves assailing him each time he tried to help her were increasing in power and he knew if he didn't get her help soon she would be able to overpower him and there was no telling what she would be capable of then.

On several occasions he found her reaching out through the force for someone or something called Ky, but it was a disconnected, grasping call through the force and even the gentlest probe through her mind caused him to dizzyingly fly around in the maelstrom, catching only glimpses and glances of memory but nothing coherent enough to grasp onto to help her pull into a pattern of memory. It was wholly frustrating and maddening to him, so he could only imagine how devastating it was to her. Had Dooku truly known the damage he had caused here? This torture sickened him and he released her again, confident his protection would hold at least until they were within the Coruscant system.

He moved away from her side when he heard a moan from her lips, something he wasn't expecting so soon and he was back at her side, wanting to keep her quiet so he could give her back some peace.

"It's alright, Assaj, stay in the safe place I made for you, it will help with everything, I promise you."

She shook her head, almost imperceptibly, but then she shot her purple eyes open with such an intense look, he immediately backed away from her. Before he could recover, those eyes were burrowing into his soul and he clawed at his throat as he felt it tighten from the force choke she suddenly held him in.

"Ventress, stop, I'm trying to help you, really I am," he gulped and spluttered out.

"Tatooine," she said calmly, the intense gaze remaining, but the force grip easing into one of a force hold, but still around his throat and lifting him off the floor. "Bring him here," she intoned, her eyes still boring into him.

"Who? Bring who to Tatooine?" he asked, fearing the answer, but she declined to give it, merely rising from the cot and staggering for a moment, her malnourished body finding it hard to remain standing.

"Let me help you," said Obi, but she kept silent, still staring into him, as if searching for some meaning to her own words. He reached out to her mind to try to discern where this lucidity had come from, only to feel a mental strike across his own psyche almost like a slap in the face and he had to shake his head to clear it from the thunder clap that rang through his ears along with the mind assault.

When his eye refocused he found he was being pulled with the force to the doorway Assaj had just left. He had to put his hands up and use them as leverage to avoid hitting the door frame as the unrelenting pull dragged him into the cock pit area and he was still raised off the ground.

"You can let me down, you know," he said to the back of her head, "it's not like I can go anywhere," and with that the hold on him was released and he dropped heavily to the floor.

"Although, some warning would have been nice! At least now I know how Boba felt during our drop."

Distinctly helpless and small, that was how he had felt just then being so easily controlled like that, and immensely frustrated at having no choice in the matter. His current predicament suddenly seemed quite well deserved.

"Why Tatooine?" he asked as she settled in the pilot seat and he in the copilot seat. Silently her hands flashed over the controls.

"Tatooine," she repeated," bring him here," was her only response and he noticed the fractured way she spoke those words, almost as if she was trying to say something else, but at that moment those were the only words she knew.

"Do you mean me?" he asked, guessing at this point. With the coordinates set the ship lurched into hyperspace and she poised her hands back over the controls as if waiting for something.

"Tatooine," she said again, this time clearly trying to say other words, but failing. "Bring him here!" she screamed, several veins standing out on her skull.

Worried she would strain something, he reached out again ever so gently trying to establish a link to her as he had done while she slept, but the mental slap was able to penetrate his own shields this time and it felt like a claw had just scratched at his mind.

"Stop that!" he heard himself say, as the pain eased and he realized it was partly in chastisement of himself as much as directed to her and he decided to back off, not wanting to make the situation even worse.

He looked up just as the stars reappeared and they were over the desert planet. Her shaking hands moved back to the controls and began to take them into orbit, but she seemed to fight with herself and their angle of descent suddenly changed awkwardly and Obi found himself grabbing the controls as he realized they were on a crash course.

"What are you doing!" he cried, pulling hard on the ship yoke and turning it to try to correct their flight.

She suddenly began wrestling with him for control again and they locked eyes, both suddenly as horrified as each other.

"Tatooine," she said, the sadness and regret palpable in every syllable and she released her struggling, still staring at him, but his attention returning to the view screen as he fought the spinning craft for control.

"Bring him here," she said in only a whisper as she slumped forward in the seat and the control panel.

"Just great!" he exclaimed as he noticed her slumped form and used a gentle force push to send her back into the seat. He did all he could to pull the ship through the upper atmosphere and managed to hold it up long enough to find a level section of the vast desert below them where he could guide the ship to a somewhat safe landing. It was a bumpy descent, but he had time to fasten Assaj's restraints and his own before they touched down none too gently but without the craft tipping over, just burying itself deep enough to need digging out before it could fly again.

He checked on Assaj and found her deeply asleep again, his protections back up, almost as if they had never failed in the first place. Seeing she was secure here as in the small cabin, he got up and headed out of the craft to see how much work he'd need to do to get the ship out. Using the force, he could probably have pulled it clear, but his body was screaming for rest and his continued buffeting of Assaj's mental protection meant his access to the limitless supply of the force was numbed for the moment. The relentless heat from the suns bore into him and he remembered how much he disliked this planet. The last time he had been there suddenly flashed through his memory.

"You're a Jedi too?" he saw the boy, Anakin, before him for a split second, "Pleased to meet you." The grown man spoke in his mind's eye and he had to look around just to check he was still alone. Something had been so immediate in that voice, so present.

"Anakin?" he called out cautiously, half expecting the young man to pop out from behind the nearest sand dune.

A sudden warning through the force had him leaping away from the ship as the head of a Krace dragon shot at him from the dunes. He rolled away as its clawed hand crashed down on the position he had just vacated and then he flipped over as the other great front claw came down to grasp him. He instinctively reached to his belt for a weapon, only to find nothing there, this situation having been the last one he had expected to find himself in.

The beast's head shot at him again and he rolled away, the creature's great body in danger of crushing the ship. He had to draw it away from the thing, it would crush it like a java juice synth-cup. Another swipe and he ducked low enough to sprint for the dunes.

"I don't know how I'm going to get out of this one," he breathed quietly to himself and thought of the prone Ventress. The great creature was turning to follow him, so he reached out to its mind, hoping to calm it or misdirect it, and it seemed to be working as the creature lumbered towards him. He stepped back, drawing it from the craft and sending calming waves of force to its agitated mind. It became clear that the creature thought this was a territory invasion that it was apparently defending itself from them, which surprised Obi, he was sure he was on the beasts lunch menu, but the two of them continued their slow pace back into the dunes.

A mental blast wave hit the two of them as Ventress sprang awake and frantic in the pilot seat restraints. Obi felt suddenly blinded and whirling as the power of her uncontrolled access to the force assailed him and the dragon was lost from his sight.

A great claw swept down and clipped his right arm and spun him across the sand, the creature screaming wildly and thrashing about. Obi bounced over the surface, tumbling down a particularly deep dune bank. Above him the dragon flailed its great arms and swung its head around to strike at the craft, the source of its elevated anguish, sparks flying from it. This caused the Dragon to stagger back and become interested in Obi once again. Obi only had a few moments to recover before the dragon was on top of him again swinging down with its great head and Obi rolled out and away, the dragon taking in a mouth full of sand for its trouble.

Obi clutched his broken arm, his own blood oozing through his fingers, his breath hacking through his lungs from the exertion. "Back on the menu, then!" he gasped out.

Another dodge had him landing on the injury, it was all he could do to roll onto his back to see the creature loom above him and rear up in triumph to bring its jaws down onto him, but inches from his body, the head suddenly shot back up as if lashed by some unseen whip.

Ben gasped in his breath, frozen to the spot where he lay as the head tried another swing at him, only to be slapped away again. The beast staggered back shaking its aching head, looking around for the source of this assault. It backed up several steps, allowing Obi to pull himself into a sitting position and look around himself to find the source.

Ventress stood on a high sand dune to his left, her purple eyes glaring at the suddenly writhing creature. It tried to take another swing, this time directed at her, but the head snapped back again, its breathing rasping through its throat and Obi could clearly see the constriction that Assaj was placing there with her all to familiar force choke. The beast held her gaze for a moment and suddenly the hold was released, the beast completely calmed. It bowed its head gently towards its new master, who continued to glare darkly at it.

Suddenly the beast began shaking violently, its scream starting low and then rising to a cacophony of overwhelming sound.

"Stop!" screamed Obi to Ventress, rising to his feet, "It's over, you've won, stop this!" He tried desperately to scramble up the dune to her. She was killing it, after she had the creature subdued, it was no longer a threat to them and had only been trying to protect its home. But the slippery sand and his exhaustion and injury were working against him. His scrambling and screaming seemed to be falling on deaf ears. He reached up to her with pleading eyes, she had to stop, she had to listen.

"Please," he cried, his throat sore from the hollering, the sand around him turning red. She looked down on him with those orbs of power and fear, and they almost instantly softened, seeing her desperate, prone companion. All thought of the dragon left her mind and, released, it slumped to the desert floor, itself totally exhausted by the ordeal and unable to keep itself upright. The head landed to Obis side and he could see the intelligence behind the glazed irises, the body heaving as the creature breathed in great gulps of air.

"I'm so sorry," he found himself saying to the creature, the voice of Qui floating through his words, almost beyond his perception. He looked up to see Assaj approaching them and she glanced down at him apologetically, and then turned those purple orbs to the fallen creature. She reached up and it flinched away from her touch, which clearly distressed her as much as her approach distressed the creature, but Obi felt something he had never felt from Ventress before, warmth. She sent a warming tendril of force to the creature, which it seemed to accept willingly and she was now able to touch it's face and the creature nuzzled into her hand, sinking to the sand then, presumably asleep. Obi for his part was stunned by this affectionate transaction between the forms that had been only moments ago trying to tear each other apart.

He backed up a little as Ventress turned back to him. She gave him a look that reminded him of the reproachful faces Bant was known to through him when seeing his latest injury and although it unnerved him to have her come in close to him, he felt rather resigned to the fact that she was at his side.

He looked at his arm and back at Ventress.

"Yes, yes, I know," he began, "Tatooine, bring him here," with a tone more like a chastisement of himself at getting into another great mess. "Boba's never going to believe this one!" She knelt at his side and helped peel back the fabric of his shirt to reveal the extent of the wound. Each touch elicited a hiss through his lips, but he quickly felt the wave of warmth directed at him rather than the dragon. It was completely disconcerting, this tender side of the creature known as Ventress.

"To what do I owe this possession?" he asked through clenched teeth as she gently examined the arm and lightly brushed away the sand from the deep gashes.

"Tat - " she began, but stopped herself, still unable to say anything different and the sparkle of tears starting forming in her eyes, but she continued her gentle ministrations.

"We'll have to work on your vocabulary," he said quietly, "but it looks like you've lost nothing of your skills, which is good, right?" He was trying to catch her eye, but she was determined not to look at him. It was so unbelievable that this was the same woman who had tried to kill him on Geonosis, the one who had tormented Boba there in that hangar, but he had to remind himself that it was in fact that woman, and this quiet acceptance of each other could easily descend into the chaos she had been experiencing recently.

All thought of their previous encounters was swept from his mind as she gripped down on his arm and began the only force healing she had ever experienced, that shown to her by her Sith masters.

In a moment of complete clarity she saw the truth of her Master's teaching. Injury was a sign of weakness and healing was a form of punishment as far as her teaching was concerned and it was the only teaching of healing she could bring to her attention at that moment. It alarmed her greatly that the man's reaction was to claw at her grasp of him, and try to pull away. Didn't he understand what he had to get through to see the error in his fighting technique? Surely he had been through this before, why Ky had..wait, …, no, Ky was … was… What was she doing?

She immediately released him, his cry fading into the sand. She grabbed her head, trying to desperately hold onto the moment of clearness, Ky coming to her to stroke her cheek, but it was lost as Maul loomed large and scraped his fingers over the same cheek so tenderly caressed an instant before. And then the maelstrom swirled within her again and she screamed out, lashing at the two figures at her sides, the scales of the dragon scratching into her, proving she was alive and the man there reaching to take her flailing arms, proving she had to fight for her freedoms again.

They wrestled for a while as she tried to focus on what had been happening and he was talking to her calmly, and with some familiarity, she did know him didn't she? He pulled her in close, just holding onto to her, in a sign of affection? That didn't seem right, there were light blades flying around them in another memory that crashed into her again and she pulled away from him, trying to place him. Not Ky, but of Ky? That also didn't make any sense, but it was ringing around in her ears now.

"Stop that!" was what she tried to say, but once again those were not the words from her lips.

"Argrh!" she screamed, pushing out with all of the force she could muster, the man flying through the air up over the dunes and out of her sight. "Good, one less thing to deal with," she thought idolly, only to have that thought crash out from her and suddenly she was completely alone, hadn't there been someone with her a moment ago? This was all so maddening.

"Make it all stop!" she railed to the sky and almost instantly, someone was there at her side, a woman, face all compassion and comfort.

"Nice," was all she managed, before the woman raised her cloak and swept it over Assaj's head, sending her into a welcome darkness.