Helpless

Chapter 2

Ahsoka knew she hadn't been at the pirate stronghold for long but it was long enough to make her wish she could have a glass of water. Hondo hadn't told her much the night before but she did know he had no intentions of giving her up to the Republic or the Separatists. This was, of course, a blessing and a curse. She knew she wasn't going to end up in Dooku's hands but this also meant it would become even more difficult to get back to her master. However, she still had faith in the Jedi and knew as long as she didn't do anything stupid she just might have a chance of making it back home alive. 

As Ahsoka sat, chained to the floor, she was beginning to realize that in the past couple of days she hadn't gotten much sleep. From bringing the younglings to Ilum to retrieve their kyber crystals to going full battle mode and protecting them from a pirate invasion, there wasn't really any room for shut-eye. However, at that moment, she was more than happy to drift into some much-needed sleep. 

Just as her eyes started to close and her mind was cleared, she was jolted back to reality by a forceful hand grabbing her arm. Before he knew it she was being pulled up and practically dragged out of the cold cell she had been confined to. 

Ahsoka was still a little groggy but she was sure to make a note to remember the halls and if possible, where to go if she managed to escape. She was led out of the holding cell and into a maze of hallways. They took 2 lefts and a right before they walked out into a large room that appeared to be a bar. Ahsoka recognized it as the room she first woke up in. She assumed this was where the pirates hung out. It was very loud and just about everyone seemed to be drunk. 

Ahsoka noticed that in the centre of the room Hondo was sitting in the head of the table talking among many sketchy looking characters. All the men were focused on whatever Hondo was saying except one. At the end of the table, there sat a tall, dark-haired human male. Ahsoka could tell he was strong by the build of his body and his physical features reminded her of Anakin. However, Ahsoka could tell this man was nothing like her master. He had an eerie atmosphere to him that sent shivers down her spine. 

She had no interest in getting any closer to this man but she decided that fate was against her when the pirate started dragging her to the centre of the room. Once she was standing right in front of Hondo and his 'guests' she was pushed down into a kneeling position and Hondo rose from his seat. The music died down and all attention was on him when he began to speak. 

"Welcome friends. I am most pleased to see so many old and new faces today," Hondo began. What did he mean by 'old and new faces'?  What's going on?

"Now let's get to the real reason we're all here." He continued. "Before us today, we have Jedi Padawan, Ahsoka Tano. You have all been provided with a profile but I'll recap the specifics. Miss Tano is Togurtan, homeworld Shili. She is 16 years old and is Padawan to Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker. She is skilled in hand to hand and force combat and can wield a lightsaber at deadly strength. She-" He was about to continue but was interrupted by Ahsoka herself.

"Come now Hondo, flattery won't get you anywhere," she said, sarcastic clear in her voice. Quickly after her rebuke she was met with a painful shock to her side from the pirate on her left. Hondo just smirked at her and continued.

"As you can see she is feisty but with the right methods I believe that can change. Let's start the bidding at 2000 credits." He said and with that sat down and took a sip of his drink. Ahsoka couldn't believe what she just heard. This is not good, not good at all. She repeated to herself. She had to think of a way out of this. "Do I hear 10 000, 10 000 for the man on the end." What! 10 000 credits! Ahsoka didn't know what to do. She was going to be sold off to the highest bidder and Ahsoka had no idea how to get out of this mess. Suddenly, a realization hit her. The man she had a bad feeling about was bidding and he wasn't stopping. 12000, 15000, 16000. It just kept going up and Ahsoka couldn't do a thing about it. 

This was it, she was never going to see the temple walls again. She wouldn't see Rex and the clones again. Never stay up late joking with them or wake up early to train. Ahsoka was never going to see Master Plo or Master Kenobi. Heck, she didn't think she would ever see her Master again. Ahsoka found herself desperate to just to hear his voice one last time. To listen to him for a briefing or complain about the council. Ahsoka was losing all hope and just longed for some comfort or assurance that things would work out. But once again the universe had other plans. 

"SOLD. For 25000 credits to Stang Rav," the auctioneer called out. Ahsoka raised her head to see her new captor glaring down at her. She shivered once more at his strong form. She could have sworn at that moment she shrunk and he grew. He reached down and gripped her face forcefully, pulling her in close. She tried to look defiant but Rav seemed unfazed. 

"You are mine now, little Jedi skum," he stated. Ahsoka knew that this wasn't going to go well. He handed Hondo a case full of credits, Hondo thanking him generously for his business. He then dragged her out of the pirate's stronghold and began approaching a large ship. Ahsoka's heart sank as she saw what was waiting at the ramp of the ship. Separatists Battle droids. 

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Obi-wan Kenobi could sense the worry in the younglings as his battle cruiser began to pull in the Jedi freighter via tracker beam. 

"Commander Cody stay here and operate the bridge. I'm going down to collect the younglings," Obi-wan instructed and Cody responded with a respective nod. As the Jedi master was making his way down to the hangar his thoughts trailed to Ahsoka. He knew Hondo was tricky and he himself had been overcome by the tricky pirate. Being that Ahsoka was only a padawan meant her chances of beating him and his crew were slim. He knew he had to be fast if he had any hope in helping the young girl. This whole situation was stressful, which made him wonder what Anakin would think. That is if the council had told him yet. 

As he saw the younglings racing down to see him he immediately threw those thoughts to the back of his mind and greeted the children as they approached. 

"Hello, younglings. I'm glad to see you're all safe," Obi-wan smiled, hoping to calm the children.

"Master Kenobi, are we going to save Ahsoka?" Katooni asked eagerly. This brought a small frown to Obi-wan.

"Unfortunately no. I must return all of you to the temple before I can begin my search for Padawan Tano." He told them and he could see each child's disappointment in the news. Obi-wan wished to be could help Ahsoka now but he knew that orders were orders and bringing the younglings back to the temple was the council's first concern. He just hoped there would still be time to help Ahsoka.

"Commander Cody make the jump to lightspeed. We need to get to the temple as soon as possible," Obi-wan commanded through his comlink.

"Come younglings I will show you to your quarter. The trip to Coruscant will be a long and you may want to rest up from your recent journey."

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