"Kiros was a neutral planet before the separatists took over," Mace explained to Anakin, Ahsoka, and Obi-wan through hologram communication, "the council and the senate have decided the Togrutan colonist's fate is currently out of our hands. It's going to take a long time to track each one of them down. D'nar could have sold them to anyone."

Ahsoka asked, horrified at the implications, "What are you saying?"

"You think this is hopeless," Anakin interjected, unable to hide his anger, "that their obvious enslavement isn't worth our time and effort."

Yoda said calmly, "On the move, the separatists are. Spread too thin, we are."

"I know this personal for you, Skywalker," Mace said, "given your background, but this is quickly turning into a wild chase across the entire galaxy, and we can't afford to have any of our generals away from the battlefield at this time. Master Plo Koon has asked for assistance on his front, and we expect all of you to meet him there as soon as possible."

Obi-wan said hesitantly, "I understand."

Ahsoka interjected, "I don't! Master Windu these people need us!"

"Our word is final," he said, then immediately signed off. The transmisison ended. Everyone in the room could feel Anakin's rage only rising. He felt them staring at him.

"Well?!" he asked.

"I'm sorry the council made this choice," Obi-wan said.

Anakin stormed out of the building and yelled, "Do whatever you're going to do, Obi-wan! I'm taking a hike!" He marched away.

Obi-wan said gently, "Please do."

"Master Kenobi we can't just abandon these people to a lifetime of slavery!" she exclaimed.

"I'm not," he said, "as much as I hate to say it, I'm going to go against the council's orders, along with Anakin because I already know he's scheming something, and we're going to do whatever we can to find and rescue these colonists."

She said, "Then I'm going to."

"No," he insisted, "Master Plo really does need help. You must take the clones with you and go to his aid. Anakin and I will have to make due alone."

She frowned but she understood what he was saying. "Alright," she said, "may the force be with you."

"And may the force be with you."

Meanwhile, Anakin had slumped down at the base of a tree in the forest instead of actually going for a walk. He put his head in his hands, knees to his chest. He couldn't help but remember his days as an enslaved little boy. He once told his mother he wanted to be a deep space pilot, and she tearfully told him he would be one someday if he wanted it hard enough. Later, Watto caught him daydreaming about it in the middle of his chores. He was then whipped in front of his mom and customers. After that it was hard for him to dream about having any kind of possible future, even after Qui-gon Jin showed up to save him from that fate.

In the present day, Anakin flinched as he remembered the pain against his back. It broke him to think how many dreams were crushed and were going to remain that way because the council and the senate decided the colonists weren't worth the trouble of rescuing.

"I see your walk is going well," Obi-wan said, stepping up to him.

"I'm only free right now because I'm force sensitive," Anakin said hastily, not even bothering to look at him, "if I wasn't, Master Qui-gon would have passed me by and I'd still be that sad little slave boy trapped on Tatooine."

Obi-wan sat beside him on the ground and said, "You've always been so much more than that, Anakin, with or without being force sensitive. You're the one who taught me that a person is enslaved not a slave. I understand the difference, I promise you, and I'm quite disgusted that the council would rather give up than give these people a fighting a chance."

Anakin finally looked him in the eye. "What are you going to do about it?"

"Defy orders."

He couldn't help but smile. "Then I'm glad we're on the same page," he replied, "because I was about to do the same thing with or without your help."

"I know," he said, "this way I can keep an eye on you. Do you have any idea who D'nar could have sold off these Togrutans to?" He stood up and motioned for Anakin to follow him.

As they walked back to the campsites together, he explained, "It's a long shot, but I know where we can find a computer that can tell us who's in the market. Whoever this person is, they must be building something big."

Obi-wan asked, "You think he'd sell them off collectively to one person? Wouldn't it be a bigger payday to do so individually?"

"It would," he answered, "but that would also flood the market, driving the price of the other slaves down, and the Hutts and other gangsters have killed competition for doing less. I have a feeling D'nar already had a buyer lined up."

"Where is this computer?" he asked.

"Tatooine."

Together the two of them separated from Ahsoka and took a shuttle to Anakin's old stomping ground on Tatooine. He landed it outside of his old hometown, and they walked to the outskirts to find the slave computer they needed.

Obi-wan asked, "And if the information we need isn't here?"

"Then we're lost," he said sadly, "because I don't have any other leads. If the force is with us it'll be here." They stepped up to the guards standing at the entrance of the building they needed.

Obi-wan moved his hand and said, "You're going for a walk."

"I'm going for a walk," one guard said.

"You'll go with him."

"I'll go with you." And then they were off.

Anakin walked in first. Inside, the room was small and only housed the computer they needed. Obi-wan asked, "They keep everything here?"

He explained, "It isn't connected to any republic servers or the holonet so the senate can't track them unless they know about it, and even then you still need a password. I just hope I can remember Watto's from back in the day and he didn't change it." He hesitated at the keys. "Come on, come on." He typed in a few words.

"Access granted, welcome back Watto."

"Yes!" he said, "I remembered correctly! We're in."

Obi-wan looked the screen over, confused. "Look at all this! It must be some sort of encrypted code; I can't read any of it. Now that's lock and key. Having your own guarded computer, on your own network, with password protection, and its own coding."

"There was a large purchase made recently," Anakin explained, scrolling through the screen, "to a woman named Miraj. She's important, some kind of ruler. That's what this denotation by her name means." He pointed to a symbol on the screen. "They usually pay top dollar."

Obi-wan asked, "Where is she?"

He shook his head. "That's our next roadblock. They never put the location on these things. In order to know that you have to already be in-the-know with these scum and I've never heard of her."

"That means we'll have to get close to some of these guys," he said, holding his beard, "and we don't exactly have the time to fully engraciate ourselves among their kind."

"Jabba the Hutt would know," Anakin said.

"There's no way he'll talk to us. Not about a topic like this."

"It's possible Watto might know," he said, "it's worth a shot. There's a few other more lowley enslavers around here too, but if he doesn't know, they won't either."

Obi-wan hesitated, "You mean the man who used to enslave you. Are you sure-"

Anakin interrupted hastily, "It's the only lead we have."

As they walked through town, Obi-wan could feel Anakin's anguish and pain growing. Before they stepped into his shop, he stopped him and said, "Anakin, let me talk to him."

"You don't think I can handle this."

"I don't want you to relive your worst childhood memories," he said calmly, "I know this is painful for you, so let me talk to Watto and pretend to be an enslaver to see where this Miraj lady is." He paused. "Alright? You stay out here and practice your patience." He patted him on the back as he stepped inside.

Anakin stepped off to the side and stood in the shade. He couldn't help but remember his childhood walking around the dusty town. He didn't want to remember.

It took longer than he expected before he saw Obi-wan again. "Good news," he said, "we're in business."

"Where is she?" he asked as they quickly moved back to the ship.

"She's hosting massive a several day long slave auction on Zygerria," he answered, "he believes she's in the market for as many builders as possible. We should be able to catch up to her in time for her next auction this evening if we rush over."

Anakin said, "Even if we find her, there's no way she's going to tell two jedi anything." They finally made it to the edge of town and faced the vast desert that was Tatooine.

Obi-wan replied, "I was thinking the same thing. I'll pretend to be a slave-"

"No," he said, stopping him, "you won't-"

"Anakin there's no need for you to relive that life-"

"You don't know what it's like!" he shouted, sure he was out of earshot from the town, "You've never lived day by day wondering if your enslaver is in a good enough mood to let you eat a proper meal or sleep through the night. You don't know what it's like to wonder if there will ever be a day you'll be able to make your own choices! You don't know what it's like to wonder if you'll make it out of that life alive. If you go in there and auction yourself off as a pretend slave, you know I'm going to come rescue you and everyone else stuck there. You'll have hope. It'll be written in your eyes! They'll sense it in your soul! These colonists, and everyone else who's enslaved right now, they don't have that hope. You won't be able to play to the part, but I will."

Obi-wan looked at his serious demeanor and knew he spoke the truth. "Alright," he said, "I'll pretend to be the enslaver and you'll pretend to be the enslaved."

Anakin said, "We'll need one more thing before we leave. An electro-whip so you can look like a proper master." He turned back towards town.

"Why not a regular whip?"

"Electric ones are more common among this filth," he answered, "they don't cause as much damage, but they hurt twice as much."

Obi-wan winced and asked, "You really think that'll be necessary?"

"How else are you going to wrangle me?" he asked, "I guess we'll need some chains too."

The large planet of Zygerria loomed at them in the distance as they arrived. As Anakin stared at it from the bridge of the small shuttle, he couldn't help but remember the stories his mother told him growing up.

"When my mom was a little girl," he explained, staring out at the planet, "around 3 or 4 years old, pirates boarded her vessel when her family were on a trip to the Galvar system. They took everyone and brought them to Zygerria. She was sold separately from her parents and her older sister. She never saw any of them again...at least for as long as I lived with her. I doubt they randomly showed up on Tatooine before she died."

"I'm sorry that happened, Anakin," Obi-wan said, "that is the reason why we're defying the council's orders."

He said, "They might kick you off the council for this."

Obi-wan replied, "We're at war, they don't have time to kick me off and look for a new member." He paused. "Prepare yourself. It looks like we'll be right on time."

Anakin stood up and went to the back of the shuttle. They had to take the time to disguise it so it wouldn't look like it was part of the republic, but if anyone looked close enough they would notice. He put on the only clothes they could find on short notice, a blue sleeveless shirt and an old pair of black pants and boots. They had to make sure he looked worn.

When he stepped back into the cockpit, he said, "If anyone asks about my arm, say I lost it in a factory accident."

"Alright," he replied, "and my story is I just got into the slave trade a few years back. Where should we say I picked you up from, Tatooine?"

"No these people aren't going to want to get tangled with one of Jabba's runaways," he shook his head, "pirates captured me in the Eno Pas system and you bought me from them. This Miraj lady seems to want to buy as many new slaves as she can get her hands on. The only hard part we have left is making sure she's the one who buys me."

Obi-wan said, "I'll find her before the show starts and mind trick her into wanting you. I hope she isn't too difficult to track down."

Anakin said, "If she's some sort of ruler she'll be surrounded by an entourage and will have a special seat marked out just for her. It shouldn't be too hard."

Obi-wan landed the ship outside of the arena. "Are you ready?" he asked.

"As I'll ever be," he said, "remember, be ruthless. I'm not a person, I'm a thing you get to do your dirty work and that's it."

"Right," he said sadly. He put shackles on his wrists and got out his whip. They left their lightsabers behind.

Once the door opened, the act was on. Anakin pulled away from Obi-wan, but he dragged him down the ramp. "The whip," Anakin whispered, he motioned to it silently.

Obi-wan pulled it out and turned to whip him down his side. He screeched out his pain as the electricity ran across his entire body, forcing him immobile. Obi-wan finally managed to get him down the ramp and onto the tarmac from there.

Inside, there were others lining up to enter their slaves for the auction. Some in cages, others in chains, and none wanted to be there. Obi-wan stepped in line. When it was their turn at the counter, he pushed Anakin along.

"How many slaves?" the bored man behind the counter asked, ready to type it into his computer.

"One, this is Ani."

Anakin subtly shook his head no and whispered, "No names. No one cares."

"What services can he offer?"

"He's a droid builder," Obi-wan answered, "and a factory worker. That's how he lost his arm." He tried to pull Anakin's arm up to show him but he pulled away.

When Obi-wan didn't reprimand him, he whispered, "The whip."

Obi-wan understood. He tried grabbing at his arm again, and when he pulled away he lashed him across the back hard. He screeched out in pain and put his hands down onto the desk.

"A feisty one I see," the man said, still half bored, "they like breaking your spirit best. How did you acquire him?"

"A pirate sold him to me not too long ago."

"Fresh meat," he said, "nice. Reason for selling?"

"I need the money."

Anakin whispered, "Attitude."

"And he has too much attitude," he added, "I thought I could break him myself but it looks like he'll need someone with a certain special touch."

"Noted," he said, "we'll take him. You're number B9687." He placed an electronic tab onto his chest with his new label. "Put him into the cage with the others. Next!"

Anakin pulled away, "No! I won't go!"

Obi-wan whipped him again, this time across the chest. He yanked him and threw him in behind the closed door of the desk. There were over a dozen others chained up and waiting to be sold.

"Don't fight back," an older Twi'lek man said in chains beside him, "it'll only hurt worse."

"How long have you been enslaved for?" Anakin asked, sitting down next to him on the concrete floor.

He answered, "10 years, long enough, son. I heard them say you're new to this life. You might as well get used to the idea of almost never seeing the sun and strictly obeying these guys. That's how you'll live through this."

He said, "I'll keep that in mind."

Meanwhile Obi-wan found the slavers mingling in the hall before the auction began. He looked for a woman with an entourage, and it took a bit, but he finally found a Zygerrian with a crowd around her.

"What a turnout," she said, "before the war almost no one came to these things. I guess there are more and more republic defectors every day."

"That's what brought me here," Obi-wan interjected, "I used to align myself with them but as this war goes on and the jedi keep failing I found I couldn't remain on their side." He grabbed a drink carefully. "And who might you be?"

"Queen Miraj," she replied, "and you're mighty bold to start a conversation with me stranger, but you're cute so I'll allow it."

"My apologies," he said, "I was simply too entranced by your beauty to adhere to social rules."

She said, "I'll allow it."

Obi-wan said, "You were saying something about a big turnout. Are there more slaves than usual?"

"Yes but I have to be careful with flooding the market too much or else those stuffy Hutts in the outer rim get testy," she explained, "I'd tell you more but you know how we owners are. Never know who you can trust."

Obi-wan moved his hand and said, "You can trust me."

"I can trust you," she said, "I'm taking a bunch of these builder slaves to rock the galaxy like nothing the republic or the separatists have ever seen."

He asked, "What do you mean?"

"I have the ultimate weapon in the works that'll turn this entire war on it's head," she said happily, "the republic and the separatists can't be the only ones who have all the fun. They won't know what hit them."

Obi-wan had to hide his horror with the others around him taking notice. It was a good thing he had come all this way with Anakin. The council needed to know about this, but he knew he couldn't sneak away just yet. He jedi mind tricked her again, "You'll buy number B9687 no matter what it costs."

She said, "I'll buy number B9687 no matter what it costs."