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Anakin’s eyes widened. ”NO! Stop it!”
”Auch! Hey, that hurt!”
”Obi-Wan! What the kriff did you just injected him with?”, Skywalker demanded, glancing worriedly over at Obi-Wan, who’s azure eyes immediately glazed over with a grey film, suddenly staring unfocused straight ahead.
The unnamed pirate who strikingly resembled Hondo Ohnaka – thereby earning him the nickname Fake-Hondo – gave the empty syringe back to one of the others. With flamboyant steps the leader walked up to the struggling Anakin, who had two pirates keeping him in place by hard grasps of his upper arms, while the Jedi’s hands were restrained behind his back with Force Suppression cuffs. Skywalker’s stare was both cold and hard, filled with loathing.
Fake-Hondo firmly clasped Anakin’s jaw in an iron grip, receiving a grunt in response, as he answered the query. ”Oh, nothing that will harm him permanently – at least, that is what I have been told. It’s mostly a simple truth serum. Kenobi here knows things, which he will tell me. And you-,” his pointy finger dug hardly into Anakin’s chest, ”will not interfere.”
When the younger was verbally about to protest, a nod from Fake-Hondo procured a piece of cloth to be forced in-between Anakin’s lips, physically gagging him. Eyes sent sparks of hate towards the pirate, as Fake-Hondo further ignored him and returned his full attention to Kenobi.
Obi-Wan was restrained by the same type of suppression cuffs, but his arms had been forced around the back of a chair, keeping him firmly in place without any living aid. Now, sitting exposed in the center of the room, Fake-Hondo towered over him, beginning a long row of bouncing questions back and forth to the Jedi, who robotically answered.
”Who are you?”
”Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi.”
”Do you know who I am?”
”No.”
”You actually don’t know my name?”
”No, but we call you Fake-Hondo.”
A snort. ”Why that very specific nickname?”
”You bare a huge resemblance to an associate of ours.”
”Associate…? Is Hondo Ohnaka not a friend of yours?”
”Yes and no. It is complicated.”
”Would Hondo hesitate to kill you for money?
”In some situations, yes. In others, no.”
A hand roughly grabbed the ginger hair, pointing his face towards Anakin. ”Who is that?”
”Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker.”
”Would you kill Hondo, to save your friend Anakin Skywalker?”
”Y-yes.”
Anakin’s eyes widened. He tried to speak through the gag, but one of the thugs holding him pressed a knife to his throat, effectively silencing him, but his eyes were still pleading with Obi-Wan.
Fake-Hondo laughed loudly, roughly releasing Kenobi’s ginger hair. ”Perfect! This will be the perfect revenge! My brother – killed by the only Jedi he truly trusts! Ha! Place the whelp in the cell below – and take no chances; we can’t have him leave our hospitality before Kenobi has completed his mission. Obi-Wan here is going to meet up with my brother VERY soon, and give him a huge surprise…”
Anakin struggled with all he had, as he was dragged backwards out of the room, seeing Fake-Hondo once more advance on Obi-Wan, before the door slammed shut before him, separating Master and Apprentice.
——— S - W ———
In a very remote part within the Sertar sector of the galaxy's Outer Rim Territories, Hondo’s ship came out of hyperspace right beside a damaged escape pod. The latter kept sending out a very specific distress signal to Hondo Ohnaka from Obi-Wan Kenobi.
On the Captain’s command, the damaged pod was carefully pulled aboard the larger pirate vessel.
The side-entrance to the small can was hurriedly pried open with a loud creak, as the metal loudly gave in. Inside was an unconscious body. Blood was tainting the beige tunic on his lower abdomen, his right hand smeared with blood, clearly in an attempt to stop the bleeding. The familiar ginger man was carefully lifted out into the larger area, and put down again, to allow the captain to decide what actions to take.
”Kenobi!” Hondo appeared, standing right next to him, just as the addressed man begun to come around. ”What trouble have you gotten yourself into this time, my friend?”
Expecting the normal mischievous blue orbs to greet him, Hondo was surprised to find a grey dull stare emerge behind the heavy eyelids. ”Hondo…” With that, Kenobi did an energy filled backflip, landing some meters away and ignited his buzzing saber. ”Your brother knew you would come for my distress signal. Manu sends his regards.”
All crew aboard panicked, most darting away into hiding, trying to get out of the suddenly hostile Jedi’s way.
Hondo and a few brave one’s remained.
The leader called out a general order to his men, before addressing the Jedi directly. ”Have all your weapons set on stun, or you will all be ejected out of the airlock! Kenobi… What have that crazie done to you?”
The glazed over orbs indicated the serum was still in full work, while blood dripped slowly from the wound to his side. ”Truth serum, but I have also noticed how it seems to have a slightly mind-controlling effect on me. Fake-Hondo wanted you to be killed by a friend, and choose me for the task, which I’m unfortunately forced to oblige. He set up this charade with my injury in the escape pod with the distress signal, to lure you in. But Fake-Hondo is also holding Anakin hostage, the biggest motivation behind my actions here today. Sorry for this, Hondo.”
By that, chaos erupted. Kenobi force-slammed all crew except Hondo into the walls, leaving only the two of them standing. Kenobi charged forward, and with a roar, he jumped, bringing the lethal saber swinging downwards with all his might.
The crew screamed, before a deadly silence fell, eyes wide at the sight.
Hondo had not moved.
Kenobi now stood before him, saber raised, the blue blade hovering centimetres from the pirate’s head, trembling violently. Face contorted from an intense internal battle going on, the eyes that now met Hondo’s were temporarily clearer; flashing between the dull grey and bright azure.
”H-ondo… Stop me,” Obi-Wan begged through gritting teeth, fighting against the drug.
The pirate tilted his head slightly, jerking his shoulders, before swiftly pulling out his handgun. ”Oh. Okay.” The stun blast hit the Jedi straight in the abdomen, sending him flying backwards, crashing down in an unconscious heap some meters away.
Hondo casually strode over to the fallen man, as his crew joined in a circle around the Jedi.
”Wha’ to do wit’ him, boss?”
Hondo holstered his weapon and picked up Kenobi’s fallen lightsaber hilt. ”Kenobi is now our special guest! Restrain him properly – and remember: he is a Jedi! But this special treatment is just temporarily, until this wacko-drug wears of. Then he will again be set free. So… begin with patching up that hole in his stomach, before he bleeds out all over my ship. He is our guest, after all. Can’t have him dying on our doorstep, now can we!”
A chuckle echoed through the crew, as one of the more medically trained men begun treating the Jedi’s wound.
——— S - W ———
As Kenobi came through, he once more found himself bound to a chair, fully disconnected from the Force. Grunting, he looked down to where a bacta patch was doing its work healing the stab wound to his side.
”Ah, Kenobi! You are finally coming around!”
The voice was familiar, but his vision was still blurry, and his present whereabouts an unknown enigma. ”Hondo – is that really you…? Or is it still Fake-Hondo…?”
”Ah! How it deeply pains me, my friend, that you compare me to that second born Loco, that is my brother. Manu actually means second born in an old Earth language, you know. But enough of this chitchat! Have you now returned fully to yourself, Kenobi, or are you still acting like a crazie?”
The teasing smirk was clear indication that the Jedi was now back in his rightful mind. ”It’s really me now. I’m back, Hondo. But I must ask… What it is with the Honaka-brothers, and tying me to chairs?”
Hondo only answered with an amused chuckle, as he strode up behind the chair and released the force suppression cuffs, setting the Jedi free.
”Thank you. Just one question, Hondo… How could you know I was not going to kill you? From my recollection, you did not even flinch, when I charged at you!”
A warm chortle rang out, as Hondo wrapped his arm over Obi-Wan’s shoulders. ”Ha! Kenobi, my friend... If it’s something Hondo would bet hit life on – at least I think I would – is how you are no man to kill another, in cold blood. I was perfectly safe, even if your brain was completely crazie-loco!”
Obi-Wan smiled at the comment.
Ohnaka rambled on. ”Well… Now when you are back. Let’s plan how we are to rescue your young Jedi-friend, AND more importantly: overtake my brother’s territory.”
”Hondo! I’m a Jedi! I can’t-”
”-can’t wait to repay your heart-breaking deceitful act, of trying to kill poor defenceless Hondo, by helping take down his annoying menace of a brother’s empire. We understand each other so well, Kenobi! We could really be brothers! At least… more brothers than that traitorous Manu. You should really consider being a pirate full time, you know.”
Obi-Wan pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head in disbelief. He was apparently on his way to help one pirate overtake another pirate’s territory, under the disguise that the whole task was done to rescue Anakin and pay of some life dept.
How Kenobi always found himself in these kinds of situations – he had no idea.
Maybe deep within, he was a tiny bit pirate, after all.
THE END