I'd like to make a quick note about Jedi formality and titles, since the captives talk a bit in this chapter. A kind reviewer was curious about my use of Obi-Wan calling informally Master Gallia 'Adi' in an earlier chapter; without her title. For me, it comes down to relationships between the respective Jedi who are talking. In that instance, Obi-Wan was talking to Siri, one of his best friends, and they weren't talking about her 'Master' as such, an aloof figure of authority, they were talking about their missing friend. Obi-Wan, Siri, Adi and Qui-Gon have been on missions together and know one another well; so the Padawans would often refer to their Masters without titles when chatting to one another alone – when the Masters are in the room is a different thing, though. Likewise, our two intrepid Padawans will call Kit Fisto 'Master Fisto' to his face…and 'Kit' when he's not around, because they're coming to know him quite well, but not well enough to call him by his given name casually; and there's still the rank divide. Though to be honest I don't think Kit cares.

In the cells are numerous Jedi, all with different relationships. Qui-Gon and Adi will call one another by their given names because they're good friends and formality between them isn't overly important. Bant will call everyone by proper titles because she's a Padawan (and is very polite, even in these circumstances). Qui-Gon calls Eeth Koth and Shaak Ti especially by their honorifics because they're Council Members.

I consider that there also a difference, thought lesser, in calling someone by a title and given name, or title and surname: 'Master Qui-Gon' or 'Master Jinn'. And I think that level of formality might be dropped pretty quickly by the captives – there's more important things to think about, and they're all in this together. Token formality might be kept, but all-and-all out proper can be thrown by the wayside.

So I'm going to try and use the relationships between the Jedi as a basis of how formally they address one another – but it might slip, so I'm sorry if something seems out of place. In the narrative I'm unlikely to keep a formal tone and include every title if I'm describing the actions of the character, because we as readers already know their rank.

So a 'quick' note was not so quick. Apologies! I hope it made sense.

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Qui-Gon moved to the front of his cell, trying to see through the near-darkness. The voice was almost instantly recognisable. "Adi?"

The figure that he could just make out in the cess across from his nodded. "Yes, I'm here too. Your arrival numbers us six."

Six? Qui-Gon's heart fell. Six Jedi, caught for slavery? "Who else is here?"

"I am," came another female voice from close by. Moving to the side of his cell, Qui-Gon could see his neighbour was Master Shaak Ti, the white stripes of her lekku glowing faintly. "Welcome to the block, Master Jinn," she whispered sarcastically. "Master Eeth is unconscious due to fighting back, he's in the corner cell by the door across from us. Master Luminara is on my other side; she's currently deep in meditation."

"At least, I am trying to be," came a new voice with a sigh. "But the Force-inhibitors make it a trial."

"An airborne Force-suppressant is pumped through the vents every half hour," Adi explained, the contempt evident in her tone. "We can't escape it, so we have to make do. We tried blocking the vents, and making masks but nothing stopped it."

Qui-Gon's eyes were becoming used to the near-darkness. The cell bay was rectangular in shape, with four cells on either side and three at the end – space for eleven captives. He knew Shaak Ti was to his left, and Luminara to her other side. He trained his sight on the doorway, and looked at each cell from there. Eeth Koth, still unconscious, was in the first cell. Next to him was an empty bay, then Adi. An empty cell, then the first of the three end-cells, which was also empty. In the next one was a familiar figure, who moved from the bed and as close to Qui-Gon as she could get, curling herself up in the front corner of her cell.

"Hello, Master Jinn." Bant's Mon Calamari eyes were sorrowful.

"Bant?" If possible, Qui-Gon's heart dropped further to see the usually optimistic and energetic Jedi student brought so low, trapped in a cage and so out of her element. "Are you alright in this air?"

She nodded. "When the Togruta brings food, he gives me a bowl of saltwater too so I can keep my skin moist." She sighed. "Whoever this guy is, he wants us healthy – which worries me."

"Bant is right," Shaak Ti said softly. "We're given decent food and drink, the beds are narrow but not uncomfortable, and the linen is clean. It's like no capture I've ever endured."

Nalvas is keeping his prizes in good condition, Qui-Gon thought. Like cattle to be sold. The healthier we are, the more he will get for us. Even the thought made him feel ill.

There was no way to tell how much time was passing. The cells were designed to be physically comfortable, but mentally exhausting. Dim lighting illuminated little, leaving their eyes to strain to make out detail or one another's faces. Their close design allowed for physical closeness and contact with cell neighbours only, but the metal bars were cold and rigid. Oppression was heavy in the prison bay; even more so thanks to the air-borne Force-inhibitor that seeped out of the vents every thirty minutes. The quiet hiss of the gas was the only way to tell even the basic passage of time.

Qui-Gon quickly learnt the routine of their capture. Every morning – or what he could guess was morning, harsh lights suddenly come on, momentarily blinding them from their hours in the dimness. They were then led one by one to a small refresher by the armed Togruta, having been recently exposed to a new dose of Force-inhibitor. If no one had misbehaved in any way, they were all given a decent amount of standard quality food to eat – but it was the only meal in the day; so conserving some of it for later was important. Otherwise, they were left alone in the heavy near-darkness of their cells. At the 'end' of the day the visit to the refresher was repeated. Every moment, the red light of a camera blinked at the from above the doorway, out of anyone's reach.

The captives spoke quietly to one another, discussing everything from escape plans to memories, and sharing stories in an attempt to keep their spirits up. Only a few hours after Qui-Gon's initial imprisonment, Eeth woke from his unconsciousness and gently rebuffed his companion's worries. He assured them he was all right; his race's natural high tolerance to physical pain having considerably helped him – his muscles were merely stiff. Qui-Gon could barely see him, but he watched as the Zabrak moved through basic Jedi warm up exercises and slow, controlled movement sets as he let his body flow from one position to the next.

Qui-Gon guessed he had only been Nalvas' 'guest' a little more than a day when the door to the cell bay opened, and Nalvas strode in, his Togruta assistant following with another captive at blaster-point. She was crying softly as she was pushed into the cell by the door, opposite to Eeth. Nalvas said nothing to any of the, merely ran his hand down her head-tails and made her gasp in disgust before he slammed the barred door shut and sauntered out.

The new arrival tried to stifle her crying as Luminara moved close to her cell wall to encourage her. "Come here, little one. Let us see you."

The Twi'lek who came forward couldn't have been more than twelve. Her skin's blue tinge was just discernable in the low light, as she hastily removed the trace of tears from her face. Luminara sighed loudly enough for it to be heard by all, her disappointment evident. "I had hoped I was mistaken. This is Aayla Secura, the recently accepted Padawan of Jedi Knight Quinlan Vos."

Qui-Gon heard Bant softly curse under her breath as he very nearly did the same. It was one thing for a Knight or Master to be captured – this experience, while unique in its own way, was not new to him or any of the others, he was sure – but for a new Padawan? It was an intense emotional situation, and beyond what many would experience at this age. He cast his mind back to when Obi-Wan had been Aayla's age; and he had been kidnapped and become prisoner aboard a deepsea mining platform in the Great Sea of Bandomeer.

Qui-Gon had been so desperate to find him. They weren't even Master and Apprentice at that point, but the thought of the young boy being in such peril at such a young age, training or no training…Quinlan must feel that way now.

"Is Master Vos here?" he heard Aayla ask, trying to keep her voice steady.

"No, he isn't, Aayla. He appears to have escaped your, and our, fate." Luminara smiled at the young girl. "He will find you."

As Obi-Wan will find me. Qui-Gon had no doubt that his apprentice would be looking for him, and looking with a determination to rival the best of hunters. If he survived the fall, whispered the back of his mind. Without a clear connection to the Force Qui-Gon still couldn't be sure his apprentice had survived the fight with the bounty hunters – but granted, Obi-Wan was made of strong stuff. They had been through a lot together, and Force-inhibitor or not, Qui-Gon felt he would know if Obi-Wan had become one with the Force.

Qui-Gon cast a glance around the cell bay as Luminara comforted Aayla with encouraging words. With this many Jedi captured the Council must be aware something wasn't right. Someone would be looking for him. For Aayla. For them all.

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The doors of House Salaktori hissed open. Through it strode a bounty hunter of impressive gait and imposing height, dressed in dark clothing that bore the stains and wear marks of travel and fights long past. As he came forward into the light of the corridor, some of the watching hunters recognised his species: a squid-headed Nautolan, the characteristic black eyes seeming to watch everything at once. His head-tails twitched gently.

He strode past his audience, ignoring them completely even as one hand rested on the hilt of a laser whip at his side, ready for any trouble that may rise. He headed down an adjoining corridor and out of sight, letting those watching relax a little as the feeling of intimidation passed.

Once around the corner and concealed in the shadows, Kit let out a sigh of relief and reached for his datapad. He had been sure one of the watching hunters was going to rise and challenge him, but then again so many hunters must walk through those doors it would be hard to tell who was a regular and who was not.

On the screen of his datapad, Kit brought up the floor plans Obi-Wan had downloaded for him, and he quickly found his current position and intended destination: the 'briefing' room. Many, if not all, bounty hunter houses and organisations had these rooms, where a hunter could pick out their next bounty and see which had been completed. It was where all the information on a bounty could be seen: the mark, the client, the bounty amount itself, location, special information…

All he had to do was find it and gain access.

Kit studied the plan once more before hiding the datapad again. The route now fixed in his mind, he set off again, walking slowly and threateningly. He projected an air of arrogance and strength, daring anyone to come and oppose him. He was hoping it would be enough – if it came down to a fight, he would have to fight with the laser-whip, which wasn't a proper one, and his feet and fists.

Taking a left-turn, Kit found himself in a bare corridor with two hunters leaning casually against one of the walls, deep in conversation. They appeared not to notice him as he swaggered by, by just as Kit was beginning to think he had avoided trouble again, one called out to him.

Kit turned. The speaker was a tall humanoid woman, her white-skin seeming to glow in the half-light of the corridor. A tail of auburn hair flowed from atop her otherwise bald head, alongside the antennae of a bio-computer. Kit knew her immediately – Aurra Sing, an ex-Jedi. She had never trained past the rank of Padawan, and at nine was captured by pirates and raised in their ways. Now a ruthless killer, it was well known that Aurra Sing was one of the top Jedi hunters.

Everything he knew about Aurra – her history, her abilities, the equipment she was carrying at the moment and the hand that was sitting on her hip near her blaster flashed through his mind in seconds. As a Force-sensitive, it was possible that Aurra would be the one to see through his disguise. Although Kit knew he had much more training and Force-control than she did, it was still a possibility.

"Haven't seen you before, Nautolan."

Kit's lip curled. "Then you haven't looked hard enough."

Aurra's eyes narrowed slightly at Kit's flippant reply. "More like you're beneath my notice." She turned back to the hunter she was talking to, but Kit felt her eyes on his back as he stalked away and around the corner.

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Far above Kit in his bounty hunter disguise, Obi-Wan checked the datapad he held as Siri carefully defused another sensor. The two of them were huddled in an air duct, a few rooms in from the outside vent they had carefully opened and entered through. It had been rigged with explosives, but Siri had seen to them and replaced the grating behind them so nothing had seemed out of the ordinary. Now she was working on another security measure House Salaktori had in place – movement sensors – while Obi-Wan checked the map.

"Looks like we're heading in the right direction. Next junction, we go left."

"Left," Siri repeated as she concentrated on the sensor wiring. A moment later the sensor went dark, and she grinned. "There. We can move on now."

Together the two Jedi Padawans continued their slow and careful journey. Every now and then they would pass over a grate that looked into a room, and through them saw many sights – corridors, dormitories with all manner of creatures sleeping their way through the day, numerous common rooms where gambling was common and at least one room filled with stimulant machines. They heard snatches of arguments and conversations about good bounties, even the distant and off-key song of a drunken being.

"When do you think they'll stop building air ducts people can crawl through?" Siri whispered casually from behind Obi-Wan.

"No idea, but right now I'm not complaining."

They continued on, Obi-Wan crawling one-handed so he could hold his datapad before him to navigate. "We should be nearly there."

Obi-Wan stopped once more to let Siri disable another sensor. As he waited for her to finish her work, he glanced down a nearby vent and into the corridor beyond. He could hear, but only partially see, three bounty hunters talking together in hushed tones.

"Did you see the price on that bill?"

One snorted. "Almost makes it worth it to go after a Jedi."

Jedi. Obi-Wan tapped Siri on the shoulder and nodded at the grate. She paused in her delicate task and cocked her head to listen.

"Why does he want 'em alive, though, eh? Makes no sense. Surely the best Jedi is a dead Jedi?"

One of the hunters shifted his weight, the stiff leather of his coat creaking slightly. "Yeah, but for that price? I'd let him do whatever he wants to 'em. Could buy me a lot of spice and a nice ship, that much."

"I heard from a mate of mine that the guy's a Togruta," one said conspiratorially.

"What's that got to do with anything?"

There was a pause. "Aren't they into weird stuff?"

"Oh, don't you start with that 'all aliens are weird' stuff again…"

The voices faded away as the three hunters walked further down the corridor. Obi-Wan looked at Siri, who rolled her eyes. She returned her focus to the task at hand, fiddling with the wiring of the sensor until its blinking light became dark. Around one more corner they found the grating that looked down into the room they had been looking for.

It was a wide room, bigger than most they had seen in the building. It was lit by many screens around a larger, blank screen, their ethereal blue glow giving the floor and walls an unnatural colour. Each screen had information for a different bounty on it – Obi-Wan could see one for a prominent Bith merchant on Corellia; there was a sister who wanted her brother killed for inheritance purposes; and the screen next to that proudly displayed a listing for an Ithorian who had 'wronged' the client.

As Obi-Wan searched for the right listing, the door hissed open and in strode two hunters – a human woman in Mandolorian armour, her helmet under one arm, and a well-muscled Cathar. They walked up to the bank of screens and tapped the keyboard. One of the listings on the screens changed colour, and it was enlarged on the main screen, which flickered into life with the information.

"See? They weren't lying," the Mandolorian said, as Obi-Wan and Siri glanced at one another, eyes wide.

The bounty was simple: it asked for any Jedi, of any age and rank, to be caught and bought to the contact. A comlink number was given below, along with the name Savlan. The instructions were that any 'damage' to the 'captive' would result in deductions from the payment, and that Force-inhibiting drugs could be procured from the quartermaster of House Salaktori for those who considered themselves in need of their help. The lightsabers of any captive were part of the deal too.

Beneath the information was the payment price of the bounty. Obi-Wan didn't think he'd seen that many zeroes since dealing with a Royal Treasury in a mission years before. Whoever wanted these Jedi wanted them a lot.

The door slid open again as the two hunters discussed the price in low voices. Obi-Wan didn't need to recognise the head-tails before the Force nudged him gently. Kit's challenging swagger, so unlike his normal gait, was convincing enough that the two hunters only gave him a brief glance before hurrying out of the room and leaving him alone.

The Nautolan studied the screen carefully, making notes on his datapad. Obi-Wan felt the Force swirl and twist around him and fill the room – Kit was searching for any hidden information the listing might hold, anything that could help them further. After a few moments of contemplation, he slipped the datapad back into his belt and put his façade back in place.

Kit looked up at the vent, smoothed his head-tails back from his face, winked, and left the room leisurely.

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Reviews appreciated