Chapter One
Snatch and Grab
"Do you understand your task, bounty hunter?" A deep voice asked in a firm tone.
"Don't worry, I've got it. Kidnap the target and bring them to you, I'll get it done, just make sure I get my credits." A man answered as he tipped a large cowboy hat to a hologram of a figure in a dark outfit.
"Don't mess this up Bane, I want her alive." The voice instructed before the hologram vanished.
"Todo, set a course for Naboo, and make sure the restraints are charged and ready. It's impossible to hold a Jedi without those restraints." Bane instructed as he looked at a small droid.
"Right away mister Bane." The droid replied before setting the navicomputer for Naboo.
"That was a delicious dinner, please thank the chefs for us." Padmé said with a smile as she looked at one of her staff members.
"As you wish my lady." The woman replied as she bowed to Padmé, then she slowly walked away.
"I feel so full, I think I ate too much." Ahsoka said with a breath as she leaned back in her seat.
"Good, we're glad to see you eating again Ahsoka." Obi-Wan said with a smile as he looked at Ahsoka.
"We certainly are, and please tell us if we ever make you feel that bad about yourself again. I never want to hurt you like that again Ahsoka." Anakin quietly said as he placed his hand on Ahsoka's shoulder.
"I will master, thank you." Ahsoka replied as she hugged Anakin.
"Now get some rest, Bubbles and her family are coming by tomorrow to visit and check on how you're healing." Anakin informed with a smile.
"It's been a month and a half Anakin, I'm doing fine. I don't need everyone to keep checking up on me." Ahsoka replied with a smile of her own.
"I know, but all of that happened because we weren't checking on you enough or treating you right, I just don't wanna make those mistakes again. You're my daughter Ahsoka, and I hurt you with the things I said to you." Anakin quietly said in a sad tone.
"I forgive you Anakin, and I love you dad." Ahsoka quietly said as she stood up and hugged Anakin. "Now I'm going to bed because I'm exhausted, goodnight everyone." Ahsoka said with a smile as she went to bed.
"We should go to bed as well, Ami and them are coming kind of early tomorrow." Obi-Wan informed as he stood from his seat.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Come on Padmé." Anakin said as he stood up, then offered Padmé a hand. Padmé smiled and took Anakin's hand, then she pulled herself to her feet.
"I'll let you all get some sleep, Satine and Bo might come tomorrow as well." Obi-Wan said as he started walking away.
"That'll be nice to have everyone together, maybe we can all go shopping in Theed." Padmé suggested as she followed Obi-Wan.
"I'm sure everyone would enjoy that. Goodnight you two, I'll see you both tomorrow." Obi-Wan replied as he reached the top of the steps, then went into one of the many rooms.
"Goodnight." Anakin replied as he walked with Padmé to their room, then entered it. While everyone else got ready for bed, Ahsoka was talking on her com with Merida.
"I'm sorry we couldn't come today, we had a big tour group coming in for a field trip. But I promise that we'll be there tomorrow morning." Merida informed with a smile.
"You don't have to be sorry, I know how much you and Tara love your jobs at the museum. Besides, I don't plan on going anywhere for a long time. I'm going to enjoy this retreat to the absolute fullest." Ahsoka said with a content sigh.
"That's the spirit Ahsoka, you've earned it. Now get some sleep, you look exhausted." Merida replied with a smile before blowing a kiss at Ahsoka. Ahsoka blew a kiss back before saying goodnight and hanging up, then she set her com on the bedside table next to her lightsabers and went to sleep.
"Alright, this is it. Let's do this nice and quiet, get in, get the Jedi, and get out." Bane said as he landed at the outskirts of Theed. Bane adjusted his large brimmed cowboy hat before stepping off of his ship, then he made his way towards the palace. There were guards everywhere, but Bane was an expert bounty hunter, he quickly noted the guard's patrol patterns, then he waited for the right moment to move. "Here we go." Bane said to himself as he prepared to make a silent dash towards one of the palace walls. A guard disappeared around a corner a moment later and Bane made his move. He dashed over to the wall and pulled a grappling gun out, then he fired the line and waited for the hook to snag on something. The hook latched onto a railing on one of the balconies, and Bane quickly ascended to it just as the guard came back around the corner. Bane peeked in the window of the balcony door, and was glad to see that he'd indeed gotten the correct room, for inside was Ahsoka, sleeping soundly in her bed. Bane quietly opened the door a crack and rolled a small metal ball into the room.
"Mmm?" Ahsoka mumbled at the slight noise the ball made as it rolled across the floor. She looked around a little and didn't see anything, but she could sense that something was off. She slowly sat up just as an invisible gas started spewing from the ball. Ahsoka suddenly felt weak and dizzy, her vision blurred and she felt nauseous. "What's..." Ahsoka started to ask, but she passed out before she could even comprehend what was going on, let alone yell for help. Bane nodded at Todo, who saluted him and flew into the room, picking Ahsoka up and bringing her back outside.
"Good work, now let's get out of here while we still can." Bane instructed as he quickly but cautiously climbed back down to the ground, followed by Todo. Bane lead Todo back to their ship, and without anyone ever having known they were there, took off with Ahsoka as their prisoner. Anakin awoke the next morning with a small yawn and a stretch, then he looked at the clock and almost yelled.
"Get up Padmé, it's already nine thirty, everyone's going to be here in about a half hour!" Anakin yelled as he leapt out of bed. Padmé sat up and looked around a little bit, then she wiped the sleep from her eyes and got out of bed to get dressed.
"Ahsoka! Ahsoka get up, it's half past nine! Everyone's gonna be here in about thirty minutes!" Anakin yelled as he knocked on Ahsoka's door. When Ahsoka didn't answer he decided to let himself in to wake her up. "Ahsoka you have to get up, everyone's going to be here in..." Anakin started to say, stopping when he realized that Ahsoka wasn't in her room. "Ahsoka?!" Anakin yelled as he left the room and looked around a little.
"It's okay if she wants to sleep, she's been through a lot, she needs her rest." Padmé quietly said as she stepped out of her room.
"She's not in there." Anakin informed as he walked over to Padmé.
"Really? Maybe she got up early and went for a walk, she does that sometimes when she needs to clear her mind." Padmé suggested with a smile.
"I don't know Padmé, I don't even sense her anywhere nearby. It's not like Ahsoka to just disappear without at least leaving a note. Something doesn't feel right." Anakin replied in a worried tone.
"Remember Annie, she's been through a lot, she might just need some alone time right now." Padmé suggested with a smile.
"Maybe you're right, we'll give her some time. But if she's not back by the time Ami and them get here then I'm going out to look for her." Anakin informed in a firm tone.
"That's fine, and we'll all join you. It wouldn't be like Ahsoka to miss an opportunity to see Merida." Padmé replied with a smile. Unbeknownst to either of them, Ahsoka was not only nowhere on Naboo, she wasn't even in the same sector anymore.
"Wake up!" Bane snapped before slapping Ahsoka across her face, quickly waking her from her unconscious state.
"What?! What happened, where am I?!" Ahsoka asked as she looked around in a slight panic.
"You're on my ship, but you won't be for long." Bane informed as he stared at Ahsoka. Ahsoka blinked a few times to clear her fuzzy vision, but then her captor came into perfect view. His pure red eyes, icy blue face, the strange tubes connected to each of his cheeks; plus his western style attire, were dead giveaways to who her captor was.
"Cad Bane. Why would a bounty hunter of your caliber want someone like me? Who could I be so valuable to that they'd hire you to bring me in?" Ahsoka asked as she glared at Bane.
"Don't know, don't care. They paid in advanced, which means regardless of the reason, I was obligated to bring you in to them. Now stay quiet, and don't bother trying to escape, you'll only hurt yourself." Bane instructed before walking into the cockpit of his ship. Ahsoka took in her surroundings, and as much as she hated the fact, Bane was right. There was nothing she could do but be patient and see what came next. A short time later the ship landed, but Ahsoka had no clue as to where since there weren't any widows in the part of the ship she was being held in. "We're here." Bane informed as he stepped into the back.
"Where have you brought me?" Ahsoka asked as Bane grabbed her and yanked her to her feet.
"To my client." Bane answered as he drew a blaster from his holster, then pushed it into Ahsoka's back. Ahsoka walked forward off the ship into a dry and barren landscape. It was all rocky and uneven, and Ahsoka recognized it immediately.
"Geonosis? Why would anyone be here, the separatists were defeated ages ago?" Ahsoka asked as Bane nudged her forward.
"Just keep walking, I'm sure my client will explain everything." Bane instructed as he continued pushing Ahsoka forward towards a large cave. Ahsoka entered the cave and was surprised to see a lot of technology and equipment in it, most of it was old separatist equipment from the war. Ahsoka heard footsteps a moment later, as well as some breathing.
"Ahsoka Tano, just as requested. Excellent work bounty hunter, your payment as promised." The person said as they threw a bag of credits to Bane.
"Pleasure doin' business with yas." Bane replied before leaving.
"Who are you, and what do you want with me?" Ahsoka asked as she stared at the person in front of her. They were about as tall as she was, but they were wearing some kind of dark suit, as well as a mask that hid their true identity.
"Who I am will be revealed in time, as for what I want..." The person replied before grabbing Ahsoka in a force choke and lifting her off the ground. "Is for you to suffer the way you made me suffer." The person replied before throwing Ahsoka across the room, where she slammed into the hard rocky ground with enough force to knock the wind from her lungs. Ahsoka gasped and coughed as she tried to regain her breath.
"Wh-why do you...want me to suffer? What did I ever do to you?" Ahsoka asked as she stared at this strange person.
"You did more to me than you can possibly imagine." The person replied before pulling a needle out of their belt, then they jabbed it into Ahsoka's thigh. Ahsoka's vision blurred and she passed out a moment later. "Tomorrow, I will show you pain like you've never experienced before, and I will revel in your tortured screams." The person said before dragging Ahsoka by one of her lekku over to a cage, then they tossed Ahsoka inside like a rag doll. Ahsoka slammed back first into the large thick bars, leaving a red mark from the force of the impact.
(Author's Note: Full disclaimer before the story really gets going, I have no rights to any of the shows that may appear in this story.)