"We could."

"That doesn't need to be our only idea."

"I know. But it's - "

"It'd be less likely to be questioned than a lot of other things - slaves are normally undocumented, so we'd be less likely to get caught on background, and - me still having the chip's really rare, so it'd reduce the - possibility of people thinking it isn't genuine."

Small shuffle. "And I trust you."

"-Let's put a pin in that for now. Sleep on it."

"First let's decide where to start. I see a couple promising candidates among these possibilities..."

So does she...

Anakin's good at analysis, so they can get pretty far. 

And over the course of that they can come up with a few other methods of insertion (even if Anakin posing as a slave still seems like the least likely to fail when their discussion wraps up).

Yeah. 

They can see how the prelim work goes for other covers, but -

Anakin's serious about trusting Elesse with this, and she really would rather not get caught. But... This is something she has trauma around, still...

"Might it help if I read your mind, during the operation?"

"Yes," she says, immediately, then blushes a bit. 

"I'll keep an eye on you, then. And if things get too bad I will pull us out."

She nods. 

"Thank you, Elesse."

"You're welcome, Anakin."

Grin! 

Time to prepare for the mission, then? 

Indeed. They'll need a ship, identities, backstories...

This is one of Anakin's favorite parts. And she still has some of the best instincts for Outer Rim identities and peoples - and her time as a padawan has dulled a little of the excess creativity. 

Though, given the sorts you find in smuggling in the Outer Rim, she'd had to make sure she wasn't reigning herself in too much - backstories being too boring is a major stumbling point for Temple-raised Jedi.

They should definitely be smugglers, though - a hair of untrained Force sensitivity is very common there, especially among pilots on the more dangerous routes, which'll cover for them some. And it's decently easy to firm up a backstory for Elesse as a small time smuggler who just recently hit a major windfall, purchased herself a nice slave, and struck out on her own after the inevitable arguments with the rest of her crew on compensation. She's looking to get into 'higher value' cargo now. 

For Anakin - keep her mother's backstory before her enslavement, though imply Shmi's younger. Ani as the daughter of her original owner then, who went too deep into debt while gambling and had to sell all his slaves for cheap. He sold Ani directly to Elesse rather than to the Hutts, because he could get a better price and possibly had some fondness for his daughter. 

It's a common story in many ways, especially for someone who's the only slave of her owner. 

Simple but effective, with enough truth involved to make it sellable.

Heee.

Anakin's good at those. 

And it'll cover etiquette slips on both their ends, too - Elesse doesn't at all act like a slave owner who's used to the most brutal parts of the system would, and she can treat Ani kindly and probably only get teased for it.

Very useful indeed.

The Order can acquire a suitable tramp freighter and scrub its history. Then all that's left is to reprogram Anakin's chip.

The protocols for that don't change much. Elesse's false identity's name isn't put on it - that's risky with slavery being illegal in the Republic - but that means proof of ownership is a little bit more complicated, and they need to arrange that...

And - 

Anakin wants Elesse to do the reprogramming herself. 

Fair enough. She has the skills to do that much.

Excellent. 

Anakin doesn't want anyone else there, too - it's a vulnerable moment - 

And if Elesse wants, she can read Anakin's mind for this, too. Just to make sure she's okay. 

If it will make her feel better.

She thinks it will. 

And once they're ready...

Elesse hasn't read her mind in a while, but Anakin finds it just as soothing as she did after Ilum. More, perhaps. She's a little bit nervous as Elesse reprograms the chip - and a shiver runs up and down her spine whenever Elesse touches the back of her neck, but that seems to be closer to 'ticklish' than 'nervous.'

She doesn't have any problems while Elesse's working on her. The opposite in some ways. She feels...

Safe.

Better than the alternative.

"All done," Elesse says softly.

She touches the back of her neck and shivers a little. 

"Thank you."

(Her thoughts are a pleasant hum.)

Then, impulsively - "I should call you Master during the mission, shouldn't I? Or - unless there's something else you'd prefer?"

(There's a nervousness in her, a curiosity, and she's not repulsed by the idea. It's just... Strange. Big in her head, and something she's been thinking about, that demands her consideration.)

"Technically you're supposed to call me Master all the time. It is my rank."