Chapter 17 - Stranded

DISCLAIMER: We (unfortunately) do not own Star Wars. :P

Author's Note: In which Obi-Wan and Ahsoka go to find Anakin, who has a talk with Ventress. ;)

Many thanks to loldelegate here on ff. net who has been giving us advice and suggestions for this fic! We never could have made so many unique plans without you! :D

~ Amina Gila

"Where's Anakin?" demands Ahsoka as Obi-Wan finally enters the Twilight. She's seated in the pilot's seat, already ready to leave.

"I thought he was with you," Obi-Wan replies, "He called me saying he won't be able to come with us." He wants to go back for him, but he knows there isn't time. They have to go, or they could be blown up along with the ship.

"What?!" she practically yells.

"He's finding another way off."

"We have to find him!"

"There's no time!" Obi-Wan yells back, "If we don't get off now, no one's getting off."

"We can't just leave him!" Ahsoka protests, already ready to get up and go back in search for the Padawan.

"Anakin will find his own way off," Obi-Wan states firmly. He has to believe that, because there's no way he can lose his new padawan, not this soon. As close as he is with Ahsoka, he can see the bond he's forming with his new padawan becoming even stronger in time. And he has to admit, Anakin is a lot more cooperative when it comes to training than Ahsoka was. Maybe it's because of her difficult past, he's not sure. But there's always been a certain amount of tension between them - really, there pretty much always has been - which he doesn't like, but he's not sure what to do about it either. It's moments like this that it shows up even more. He only hopes that things won't turn out the same way with Anakin.

Obi-Wan can tell Ahsoka's about to protest, but the far-off rumble of the first of the explosives going off makes her fall silent. She fires up the engines, blasting away from the Malevolence, expression set with anger. Several other vulture droids and a fighter of some kind - probably Grievous - fly after, shooting.

The ship jolts as the laser beams bounce off its shields. "You know, you could make yourself useful at the guns," Ahsoka snaps, increasing the speed so they can put as much distance as possible between them and the Malevolence before it goes supernova. If it goes supernova.

"I was just getting to that!" Obi-Wan insists, hurrying over to the guns and taking aim on the droid ships pursuing them. He fires once, taking down the first of the droids, right before there's a sudden ripple in the Force.

The Malevolence seems to practically tremble as it starts exploding, pieces of debris being thrown everywhere as the main reactor is destroyed. Still, the ship holds together remarkably well, even if all the power to it shuts down. He had feared this outcome - that even destroying the main reactor wouldn't be enough to detonate the entire ship, due to the backup reactors which are used to power it - but at least the Malevolence has been disabled. It won't be long before the droids inside deactivate, provided they haven't already, and then, the ship will be the Republic's. They should be able to extract useful information from the computer system before destroying it entirely.

And he can still feel his bond with Anakin. He doesn't know where the boy is, but he's obviously not on the ship, because he can't feel even the slightest flicker of concern from the destruction on the ship.

"He made it off," Obi-Wan murmurs, relief washing over him. He should have known the boy was more than capable of handling himself in the situation. He's already very advanced, even for a typical fourteen-year-old padawan.

"So, the question is where is he now?" Ahsoka asks rhetorically.

"Either he's floating in space in an escape pod, or he could've crashed on that moon," Obi-Wan says, as he scans their surroundings.

"Then I guess it's time to send out a search party," Ahsoka declares, as she lands the Twilight in the main hangar of the cruiser. Time to get moving. They have a padawan to find.

**w**

Anakin pushes himself off the control panels with a quiet groan. "Let's hope the atmosphere here is at least breathable," he sighs, as he scans over the damage done to the pod in the craft. Everything is pretty much short circuited here. They won't be sending any signals off planet for help unless he can get things working again. But first of all, he needs to know who won the battle up there. That's going to majorly affect his next course of action, because the last thing he needs is to be found by the Separatists.

"And if it isn't, you'll have gotten us both killed," Ventress snaps.

"You're the one who chased me into the pod," Anakin retorts, leaning forwards in an attempt to see out the front of the pod. He doesn't want to risk opening the door to the barren rocky surface of the planet outside unless he knows they won't promptly lose whatever air they have in here.

He can't see much from the position, but he's almost certain he can see a small flash in the sky up above, like that of an explosion. Somehow, he suddenly fears that the Malevolence wasn't entirely destroyed. The Republic should find him here, hopefully, but meanwhile... time to get to work and see if this thing can be repaired at all.

It doesn't take him long to figure out that the whole thing is pretty much totally fried. Ventress watches in silence as he works. "Looks like we'll have to wait for the Republic to find us," Anakin concludes finally.

"Or the Separatists."

"They're going to be long gone by now." And he doubts Dooku would risk anything to come find her, not that he'd ever tell her as much.

"Don't be too sure," she shoots back.

They finally fall into an awkward silence, which Anakin knows is equally awkward for both sides. They're enemies, and they should be fighting, but the surroundings won't allow it. He won't try, anyway. She would undoubtedly win. And either way, the chances of them killing each other are far higher than not.

As he sits there, he can't help but keep glancing at Ventress out of the corner of his eye. She doesn't seem dangerous right now, though the darkness flowing around her assures him that she is still very much drawing on the Dark Side. He can't help but be curious about her. What would make a person choose the Dark Side? Why is she choosing to be a Sith assassin? Or is she? He doesn't know, and while he doubts that he'll ever find out, would it hurt to ask?

"Why do you hate the Jedi so much?" Anakin wonders once he and Ventress have settled down in the crashed escape pod to wait for the Republic to come and pick them up. With the Malevolence destroyed - or at least permanently disabled, Anakin has no delusions that the remaining Separatists will be fleeing the system.

For a long moment, he doesn't even think the Sith assassin will answer him, and why should she? They're enemies, not friends; they're on opposite sides of the war, and she'll be taken into custody when the Republic arrives. But Anakin is admittedly curious to know what fuels her, what drives her anger.

"After I lost my – my father, I was taken in and trained by a Jedi," she admits slowly and hesitantly, looking at him with great suspicion as she does so. "He told me many times that we were trapped on Rattatak, because the Jedi Order abandoned us there. They never sent anyone to come and find us. We were there for years, Skywalker."

Her jaw is set defiantly as if daring him to tell her that her anger isn't justified. He says nothing, simply nodding and waiting for her to continue. "Pirates attacked us," she continues grudgingly, though he can feel her pain echoing softly into the Force. "They killed my master, and I made them pay for it. I was left behind, left alone, and that's when Dooku found me."

"You deserve better," he says quietly, fervently, looking at her. "You don't have to follow Dooku simply because it's convenient for you. Ventress, the Jedi are not perfect, I'll be one of the first to admit that." A thousand painful moments flash through his memory, but he pushes on, determined to make her understand. "They try, and that's what matters. How do you know that the Jedi knew you were there?"

"My master said –" she begins, seething.

"He could have been lying or misled," Anakin points out carefully, trying not to provoke her. He doesn't want her angry. He wants her to listen.

"He wouldn't have," she insists angrily. "He had no reason."

"Perhaps he thought it would protect you," he offers, shaking his head slightly. "I can't give you all the answers, but I want you to know that I think you deserve a better life than being Dooku's plaything, and I can't speak for the Republic as a whole, but if you're willing to cooperate, you will be released. You can start over without Dooku to choose your path for you. I just want you to think about it."

"What's your aim, Skywalker?" she asks sharply, scrutinizing him.

"Nothing," he replies earnestly. "I just don't think anyone should have a power-hungry Sith Lord for a master."

"Power hungry?" she huffs. "Starting a war for people disagreeing with your ideology and kidnapping three-year-olds from their families and filling their minds with rubbish so they believe themselves to be the only Force-users allowed is power hungry." Well, when she puts it like that... but she's missing his point.

"So, you really are content to stay with him? He's a Sith. He's just using you, and when the time comes, he'll cast you aside. You can't really think he cares about you, can you?"

"Why would you even care?" she snaps.

Anakin swallows, looking down. "I was a slave," he replies softly, hands clenching. "I - I wasn't taken to the Temple until I was a little over four. I might not remember much, but I still remember." He closes his eyes, exhaling, as the memories rush forth from where he keeps them buried, hidden. "I - my master was cruel to me and my mother. I know what it's like to be treated like a favorite toy. If you have a choice, you shouldn't willingly subject yourself to something like that." He's never talked about these things before, because even from early on, the Jedi made it clear that the subject of his past was off limits.

"You have skills," Anakin continues, meeting Ventress' eyes. "You can - you can do so much for other people if you want. Slavery is everywhere, and maybe you can't help everyone, but you can do something, if that's what you choose to do."

The Sith assassin is gaping at him. "You want me to help slaves?" she inquires incredulously.

Anakin shrugs, embarrassed. "No one helped me," he says softly. "No one helped me when the queen beat me - nearly killed me - for breaking something when I was two. If I wasn't a Jedi, if I ever ended up outside of the Order, I know that's what I would want to do. But my point is, you would be free. If you don't agree with Dooku, with what he wants, then you can do what you want. You won't be beholden to anyone."

"You're crazy." Ventress' voice sounds strangled. "If I betray Dooku, he'll kill me!"

"It's a big galaxy. The Republic will help you," he tells her earnestly. "If you help us, at least you won't be imprisoned."

She only scowls, falling into a sullen silence, though he gets the impression that his words had a major impact on her. Only time will tell if it'll be enough to actually get through to her, helping her see the futility of trying to escape and return back to Dooku.

**w**

"There's an escape pod right up ahead," Ahsoka observes, looking out the front small shuttle as it flies over the surface of the moon. They scanned the Malevolence just to guarantee that Anakin wasn't stranded on board. He wasn't there was no lifesigns on board, so they came to the moon to search. This was the only place Anakin could have crashed, if he's still alive. Yes, Obi-wan said he could sense him, but that doesn't stop the sigh of relief from escaping her when she sees the proof of it.

"I see it," Rex agrees.

"Pull them on board," Ahsoka instructs. Moments later, the pod is being pulled on board the Twilight. "I'll go make sure he's okay," she decides, standing up and heading out of the cockpit as Rex blasts them off the surface of the moon. No sense in hanging around.

When she reaches the back where the pod docked, its occupants have already gotten out. Anakin seems to be fine, but her eyes land the other person present. Ventress. Ahsoka snarls, reaching for her lightsabers, but Anakin steps forwards and blocks her path. Of all the – ?!

"What is she doing here?" Ahsoka demands.

"She kind of chased me into the pod, and we fought and destroyed the controls, and I saved the day," Anakin announces. Ventress gives him an unimpressed look.

But what that really doesn't explain is why they aren't acting hostile towards each other or anything. Or why Ventress didn't already kill – or try to kill – Anakin when she had the chance, because he may be advanced for his age, but Ahsoka is certain Ventress could still win against him in a fight.

"And I might have talked her into leaving the Separatists," adds Anakin with an innocent smile.

Ahsoka blinks. Excuse – he did what? "What?" she repeats dubiously.

"We talked," he explains a bit sheepishly.

"How do I know she's not lying in the hopes of gaining victory?" Ahsoka demands. She can't trust this assassin so easily, not after all of the Jedi she's killed.

"Would I really be willingly coming with you if I was?" asks Ventress in a bored tone.

"I don't know," she scoffs. "Try to make us trust you only so you can stab us in the back."

"She's not," Anakin insists.

"So, you expect me to believe she's willingly turning herself in to the Council without some ulterior motive?" How can Anakin be honestly expecting her to believe something so outlandish? Ventress is a Sith. Sith are evil. End of story. Is he really naïve enough to think that Ventress will magically change her mind about her way of life simply because they crashed on the moon together and talked?

"Hey, as long as she doesn't destroy the ship on the way back to Coruscant, we'll be fine."

"Okay, Skyguy." This is utterly ridiculous. "I'll ask Master Obi-Wan, but I doubt he'll be any happier about this."

"I guess we'll find out," Anakin chirps, and adds under his breath a moment later. "Snips."

"What?" Ahsoka yelps, eyes widening. What did he just call her?!

"Now I know why I hate the Jedi. They're all a bunch of idiots," Ventress supplies unhelpfully from behind Anakin.

Ahsoka pointedly ignores the comment altogether.

"See? Now you're making us look bad," Anakin whispers in an exaggeratedly loud tone.

"I could care less what she thinks of us, Skyguy," she tells him flatly. Now that she said it again, she rather likes the sound of that nickname, actually.

"Always so snippy," he teases as they head for the cockpit. Ahsoka notices Anakin doesn't seem to be planning to let Ventress out of his sight, whether that be for her safety or theirs is unknown. She only hopes this is going to turn out alright, but either way, she's not letting the Nightsister out of her sight either. If - or rather when - Ventress tries to pull anything, Ahsoka is going to be right there to stop her.

**w**

Now that they're actually here on Coruscant, Ventress is almost beginning to rethink her decision to leave Dooku like this. She doesn't want to stay with him, exactly, but more often than not, it never felt like she had any other option. She'd been fixated on revenge against the Jedi and the Republic after what happened to her master. She doesn't really know how this Padawan, this boy, managed to make her see beyond herself for the first time in years.

There's something different, something special about him. She isn't sure what it is. Somehow, he managed to get through the shell of pain and rage she'd wrapped herself in for years. And he's right, that she shouldn't keep herself subservient to Dooku, not when she has so many other options in front of her. Running around and freeing slaves might be a bit much - even if she knows what slavery is like from personal experience - but still, that doesn't mean she can't find other occupations. Force training isn't common among those who aren't Jedi, so those abilities, coupled with her particular skill set will be in high demand. Probably.

She is standing somewhat between Ahsoka and Obi-Wan in front of the transmission field as they contact the Jedi Council from the Republic Star Destroyer which is orbiting Coruscant. She had flatly refused to go to the Temple itself unless she could be given the insurance that no one would kill her simply for being there, or that she wouldn't immediately be imprisoned. Ventress is not exactly expecting a warm welcome from the Republic, and she has no idea how the Jedi Council will handle this particular situation. Even so, she's mentally prepared herself, racking her brain for all of the Separatist intel which she knows and can hand over. Hopefully, it will be enough to buy her freedom, or she and that Padawan will be having words.

Ventress doesn't recognize all of the Council members, though she obviously knows who some of the more prominent ones are, including Windu and Yoda. If she has to listen to a long, droning lecture from anyone about how the Dark Side is bad, she will stab someone. It doesn't matter who or what happens next.

"It is our understanding that you are willing to provide us with Separatist intel in exchange for immunity," Windu declares.

"That is correct," Ventress confirms, feeling uncomfortably as if everyone is staring at her, and they probably are.

"If accurate and useful your intelligence is, then accept the deal the Council will," Yoda informs her, his ears twitching slightly.

She resists the urge to scoff. "Dooku gave me access to a great deal of information. I'll tell you what I know, and I guarantee that you will find it useful."

"For whatever reason you are doing this, thank you," Obi-Wan tells her, sincerity in his words.

"I'm not doing it for you," she snaps back at him. "I'm doing it, because this is the only way you will let me go. It's the only way I can leave you, Dooku, and this war behind." She doesn't mean to say that, not exactly, but it's been said anyways, and she doesn't know if she regrets it. It will take her some time - several hours, at least - to compile everything she knows, and when she's done, though she'll likely have to follow some stupid restrictions for a while, she'll be free. Freedom comes at a cost, but that cost is worth it.

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