The sound of blasters echoed down the long curving metal hallway of the interplanetary space transport. The two jedi jogged towards the noise, drawing their lightsabers as they rounded the courner. The sight that met them may have been disturbing to some, unfortunately, these two men were far to used to it for it to make any sort of lasting impression.
What must have been most, if not all of the crew, all wearing the standard blue republic employee shirt and jacket, were either were shooting their cheap, republic standard-issue blasters at the dozens of battle droids, or laying dead, spread out on the floor. The large battle droids lined the opposite side of the passage. As far as the Jedi could see, they were the larger, more expensive, deadly type, usually programmed by their owner for a specific purpose or mission. Usually the mission statement was 'shoot anything that moves' or something along those lines.
The more experienced master jumped in first, activating his light blue lightsaber with a snap-hiss, swinging it skillfully deflecting the blaster shots currently dancing through the air, bouncing off of walls, and coming very close to reaching their targets. Obviously very talented in saber fighting, his face was calm and collected, even though slight confusion was evident upon a closer inspection. The younger 18 year old apprentice was close behind, doing the same as his master, yet in a choppier more violent manner that displayed his inexperience and temper.
'What in the Galaxy?' Obiwan thought to himself in slight annoyance as one of the droids exploded causing him to half to duck as metal pieces flew in all directions. Even though the thought was meant to be private, due to the current distractions Obiwan's mental shields were not as effective as he normally ensured them, and it flowed easily along the training bond to his apprentice. He deflected several more blaster shots and sliced one of the droids into scrap metal. He groaned when he looked over his shoulder, only to find that three more battle droids had entered the hallway. Consequently, many of the crew members were now choosing to flee rather than fight.
'cowards' snarled Anakin, obviously unintentionally flowing along the bond to his master. Alarmed at the anger coming from his apprentice, Obiwan sent feelings of his worry and disapproval, along with a strong rush of comfort to the boy through the bond. Anakin got the message, and instantly took a breath and began to calm himself, sending honest remorse back to his master.
'Who in their right minds would attack a public space transport with only two jedi passengers?' Anakin asked, now finally calm.
'I don't know, but whomever it was is going to find them in deep trouble when the senate hears about it." Obiwan sent, slight alarm starting to seep through as well. The number of droids was starting to become overwhelming. He and Anakin were one of the best saber fighting teams in the temple, but as skilled fighters as they were, Obiwan knew they wouldn't be able to hold them back if outnumbered fifteen to one.
Several more crew members fell as a larger battle droid came around the corner wielding more high energy blasters, at least doubling the chaos level. This droid was obviously programmed to run all the others, because as soon as it spotted the Jedi, its mechanical voice blared "There! Them! Capture the Jedi!" The shots instantly changed to the non-lethal blasts only meant to burn or stun, however, as comforting as this was, now double the amount were being directed at the Master and Apprentice team, as all the droids focused in on them. The few remaining crew members began to retreat and run back down the hallway, away from the battle, now that it was apparent what the droids were after.
Obiwan thought back to the mission they had just completed, as he deflected several more shots and Anakin flipped to his side. He had assumed it had gone well. It was a simple negotiation, nothing dangerous or unusual about it. After the fiasco of the last negotiation, the council had decided to place them on less important missions for awhile. Just in case Anakin had the urge to crash more speeders into the sides of more palaces. Of course Anakin had claimed it was and accident, and Obiwan knew it to be the truth. An irritatingly stupid accident, but an accident non the less. He suspected the council knew as well, but just simply didn't care. But he wasnt complaining, it was nice to have some low profile missions for a change, although, this one seemed to morphing into a chaotic mess.
There was a flicker of doubt, maybe the negotiation and the attack were unrelated? He analyzed it in his mind. It didn't seem like the two should be connected, yet for some reason he couldn't completely separate them either.
The negotiation was simple, a group of scientists from the planet of Maobl wanted more republic funding. This sort of issue could have normally been resolved with the specific paperwork and patience, support from a political figure was normal as well. However, this specific group of scientists had to have it sorted out with several key senators, diplomats, and Jedi overseers. The major reason being, this group had a particularly nasty reputation for not getting approval on human life experiments. The negotiation had gone smoothly, each side had simple demands, both sides were compliant, and the deal was done and signed in two days.
Feigning ignorance of their past misdeeds the representative from the scientific community gave overly enthusiastic promises in exchange for the senators were pleased with the submission from the group and had happily left the same day.
Obiwan suspected that the scientific group had lied itself into a few extra credits, and now all the unauthorized experiments were going to be run quietly under the table, but there was nothing he could do about it, especially since he had no proof. He would get into more trouble, and start more issues than would ever be solved if he stepped in and got involved where he wasnt supposed to, next time the senators would learn. It was his job to make sure they didn't kill each other in the process.
The droids didn't stop coming. He was a experienced warrior, but he also knew when it was time to give up. He motioned for Anakin to follow and they both retreated back down the hallway. They rounded a corner suddenly the force screamed a warning to Obiwan and coming to an abrupt halt, he grabbed Anakin's arm and slid through a side door into an uninhabited mechanics room.
One of the larger droids came from the opposite direction and moved by the door, speaking loudly "...orders. Capture the Jedi."
"Never knew we were so popular." Obiwan whispered to Anakin, a small smirk on his mouth.
He rolled his eyes. "Your humor has the strangest timing, master." They both grinned and stood in silence, pressed into the dark of the room as several more droids passed. "We could take them...or at least confront them somehow." He spoke slowly, as though he knew the suggestion was a bad one, then glanced at his master, biting his lip.
Obiwan shook his head. "no, too many, it would be stupidity, a suicide mission. They are willing to kill innocents to get to us, they want something, and are intently searching for it. Those type of people you don't talk to without backup. no. Its best just to wait it out, hopefully we can escape when they are forced to land, to refuel." Anakin nodded.
Obiwan slid to the floor, thinking. Anakin quickly copied his masters motions. Watching and waiting for the older man to give any indication of what he was thinking. Obiwan grinned to himself. As impatient as Anakin was, this silence would not last long. Anakin knew when it was time to be silent and let the person better at strategy think, but that time was rare, and always short. If there was one trait of Anakin's that continually kept reappearing simply to annoy him, it was this. Obiwan was not disappointed, 30 seconds later...
"the crew..." He trailed off, looking up at his master.
Obiwan nodded slowly, the grin quickly fading. "Most are already gone, but hopefully the rest will survive by cooperating." Both sat in silence for a moment, thinking. Then both stiffened as footsteps of several people echoed in the hallway.
"you are to search this ship, tear it apart. I want the Jedi." An angry male voice reverberated off the metal walls. Obiwan felt a connection in his brain, he was sure he had heard this voice somewhere before, but he didn't have time to place it as the conversation continued.
Another, unfamiliar voice answered. "Yes Sir. What of the surviving crew?"
"They are of no concern to me, dispose of them quickly. I have come with only one purpose."
One set of Footsteps stopped "but Sir, when the Republic sees-"
"The Republic will see what they are meant to see. All hindrances will be disposed of. This transport will not move one parsec until the Jedi Master is found." The man continued walking down the hallway. Obiwan stiffened. What did they want with him?
"And the Apprentice Sir?" The second man asked quietly, almost fearfully.
They were farther away, so his voice was quieter, however his answer was still distinguishable to the jedi hidden in in the closet. "He is a hindrance. Remove him."
It took several seconds for this line to make a connection in Obiwan's brain. Then the horror and panic swelled rapidly when the sound of blasters echoed through the ship. Through the force Obiwan knew the rest of the crew was now gone. He also knew that whoever was looking for him would not hesitate to shoot Anakin. Even if Obiwan begged him not to. He stood.
Anakin looked up at him. "Master, i'm not afraid of them..."
Obiwan smiled down at him and offered his hand. He pulled Anakin up. "fear isnt the issue, their numbers are too great. They have the ability to destroy us in a matter of seconds should they find us."
"They are determined to find us." Anakin whispered. Despite his reassurances, He knew his apprentice was frightened.
Obiwan bit his lip, thinking urgently. He glanced sideways at Anakin. He was closer to his apprentice than he had ever been to anyone, ever. Even closer than he had been to Qui-gon, something that a couple years ago he had thought impossible.
It hadnt always been that way, It had been hard work, but it had certainly paid off. when he had first taken Anakin as his apprentice, he was 25, grieving from the sudden loss of his master, and had no idea how to care for a nine year old boy who was new to the world off Tatooine. The first few months had been painful, both were hurting.
After a few months, it had hit Obiwan suddenly one night. Anakin and he were both nervous and unsure of how to act around each other. Also, both were suffering from the loss of someone dear, Obiwan had lost Quigon, and Anakin had been taken from his mother. He also suddenly came to the realization that HE was now the master, and it was his job to care for his apprentice. It had taken everything in him to swallow his pride and go in to his apprentice, but the thought of what Anakin must be feeling, and the memories of his own apprenticeship ripped through his heart, causing him extreme guilt.
So that very night he had gone into Anakin's room and asked his forgiveness for his behavior over the past few months. At first Anakin had been quiet and cautious in how or what he said, but after a few day of prodding from Obiwan, he finally began to open up. Now they were closer than almost every other Master-apprentice team in the temple, even to the point that the council had noticed and commented on it.
Anakin was probably the closest thing he would ever have to a son. If something where to happen to him...Obiwan didnt think he would be able to survive the guilt, let alone the overwhelming feeling of loss.
They would not touch his boy, he wouldn't let them. "Where are the escape pods usually located on a transport Ani?"
Anakin grinned in response.
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The blasts shot past Anakin. He jumped through the door then palmed it shut and locked it after his master slid through. Obiwan was nursing a rather large burn on his arm, it wasn't lethal, but bad enough to affect the use of that arm.
Getting through the ship without getting killed had been tricky, but they had gotten through. Nothing was too hard for he and his master. Ignoring the shouting and blasting coming from the other side of the door, Anakin followed his master through the twists of the corridors in the back of the ship.
Suddenly Obiwan stopped and Anakin walked into him. Annoyed Anakin looked at his master, expecting some witty comment about watching where this mind was, but his annoyance suddenly vanished when he saw the brief look of surprise and horror flash across his face before he hid it behind the blank mask he usually wore when faced with a stressful situation.
He could feel Obiwan's distress coming through the bond, even though Obiwan's above normal shields were still firmly in place.
Then he spotted it.
They had found the escape pods, the only chance of escape.
There was only one. And it was barley big enough for one small person.
Both were startled as a crash echoed towards them. They had managed to break part of the door, they would be through in a few seconds.
Anakin watched his master make a very quick decision, very out of character as Obiwan usually liked to analyze every angle of a situation. He walked over to the escape pod and opened it. "Anakin, get in" His voice was determined, but Anakin could hear the fear cleverly masked within it.
"what?" Anakin yelled in shock "you're asking me to leave you here alone?"
"I'm not asking im telling" His master said firmly, but the fear was slightly more pronounced.
"NO, we're a team! I won't leave you to these people." Anakin felt through the bond his master's desperation beginning to seep through along with the fear. Another crash and shouting voices drifted towards them.
Suddenly Anakin felt Obiwan's mental shields slip, soemthing that rarely ever happened. Fear shot through him, immobilizing him temporarily. What he realized a few moments later was his master's fear. He was startled, his master had always been such a strong person, never showing his emotions, so finding such a strong feeling, like fear, radiating off his master was not only surprising, it was terrifying.
Obiwan grabbed his shoulders holding them firmly and looked him straight in his eyes. The rare raw emotion displayed there was enough to shock the apprentice into amazed silence.
"Anakin, please? These people will kill you without second thought. They want me, i don't know why, but they do. Please, padawan, do as I say!" He tried to reason with the teenager. "I cant loose you" He whispered
"Master! I cant loose you either!"Anakin cried out angrily
"They won't kill me Anakin" The master said confidently. The small grin that appeared on his masters face at his words upset Anakin. Didn't his master know how much he relied on him?
Anakin answered quietly hoping his master would understand how much he needed him. "you don't know that."
Obiwan sighed, "no, but I do know that they will kill you. Anakin, I love you like a son, I would never forgive myself if something happened to you"
Anakin gasped as he felt love pouring through the bond from his master, but also a silent pleading for him to do as asked. The bond had only recently been opened to each others emotions, and even then it had rarely been personal, and such emotion was almost never intentional. It wasn't that his master didn't love him, Anakin knew Obiwan did, but Obiwan usually kept his emotions very well guarded. Still, feeling it every once and awhile was a good reminder.
The open declaration, too, was surprising, but certainly not unwelcome. However, Anakin had not gained the reputation of being the most hard-headed padawan for nothing.
"Please Ani"
Anakin felt his will breaking. Another pulse of fatherly love through the bond and Anakin's resistance crumbled. He nodded.
"I'll need you to contact the temple, get help."
Anakin nodded. Then the loudest crash yet reached them. One glance at his master was all the prompting he needed. The emotion Anakin saw in his masters eyes urged him to walk forward and throw his arms around the older man. Hoping to convey his feelings towards his father figure in the hug. Anakin was delighted when he felt his master return the hug and place a quick kiss on the top of his head.
Then the touching scene was over, Anakin climbed into the escape pod. Then before he could change his mind, Anakin watched his master slam the pod shut and felt it being ejected. As Anakin spiraled out into space towards the planet below, he could still feel the love coming from the bond, but now the fear was replaced with relief. Anakin suddenly realized in delighted shock that his master had not been afraid of the situation, he had been afraid of what would happen to his apprentice. But the delight didn't last long, as he felt his master slam up his shields. He had been found.
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It had barely been 30 seconds since he ejected Anakin, far to close a call in Obiwan's opinion. Obiwan knew it was useless to resist. They had taken his lightsaber, and there were currently 3 men armed with high energy blasters escorting him.
They entered a smaller craft that was attached to the transport, stepping over the bodies of the dead crew. As they entered, Obiwan found himself shoved roughly onto the floor. Kneeling, head forced down, he could only see the boots of the person who now stood above him, however he recognized the voice as the same one he and Anakin had overheard earlier.
"Master Jedi, welcome."
Obiwan snorted "Funny, i don't seem to remember getting an invitation to this little...party, and yet it seems that i am the guest of honor." He winced as someone behind him jabbed him hard in the back with the end of a blaster.
The man tutted "Do not take it too personally, you just happened to be in the right place at the right time, and fit the specimen description."
Specimen? Obiwan did not like the sound of that. A cold feeling of dread settled in the bottom of Obwan's stomache, making him feel slightly sick at these words. Something was coming, something that this man was taking great pleasure in, and he knew that the jedi master would not.
The man continued "although you must be commended for your efforts, you managed to resist capture far longer than I thought possible, and the apprentice managed to escape completely. Very impressive."
Starting to feel annoyed Obiwan tried to release his emotions into the force, but it wasn't working as well as he had hoped. "You can rest easy assured of this: It was not meant to impress, simply survival instinct and years of training." Even with all his efforts, Bitterness still managed to slip through into his words.
The man laughed loudly, a laugh that conveyed no humor. "I did not know Jedi were so humorous, it is very opposite of the typical Jedi stereotype."
Obiwan frowned and thought for a moment. Not finding anything humorous about his statement. He wondered if this man was being snarky and stupid just to annoy him.
"However, I am aware that Jedi like to do little force tricks to attempt escape. So to prevent that, we have a little shot for you."
Obiwan knew what was coming. He had been given force-suppressant before, it was not a pleasant experience, but he could stand it. As the feet in front of him moved, he caught sight of one of the dead crew members through the hallway connecting the two ships. The outrage of the slaughter spurred him to speech. "Just curious, how do you plan on covering up the deaths of over 20 people? I know the republic wont be happy you killed its employees."
The man laughed as the connecting hallway closed and Obiwan felt the ship take off into space, away from the transport. "That, Master Jedi, is simple."
Obiwan hissed as the force suppressant needle was shoved into his arm. His connection to the force almost instantaneously began to dissolve.
"It was a gas leak." Through the window Obiwan was able to see the sudden explosion of the Republic space transport. "now, get him to a cell, I want no chance of escape. I have plans for the reward money." And Obiwan was forced to his feet. Several large blasters accompanied him to his cell.
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Anakin stared in horror at the burning mass where a space transport used to be. He panicked and desperately tried to reach his master through their training bond.
Nothing.
He tried again and again, but still nothing. His breathing rapidly increased and he started to shake. No! Obiwan couldn't be dead!
Then he spotted the smaller ship. It was flying in the corner of his tiny range of vision. within a second it jumped into hyperspace, and was gone.
Anakin searched the bond again. This time looking closer. He sighed in relief. The bond had not snapped, it was only blocked. It hit him, his master was force-suppressed.
He turned his attention to the planet below that he was rapidly approaching. Now he had to figure out how to get into contact with the council.
He hoped the locals were friendly, and it wouldn't hurt if they spoke basic too.
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Absentmindedly wondering how long she had been in this cell, Haven ran her had along the slightly cool metal plating of the wall. She retraced her steps, again.
She never saw anyone except the droid that would bring her daily ration supply, she was exceptionally bored and slightly lonely. She almost wished she had someone to come in to yell at her every once and awhile, at least then she would know that she hadnt been forgotten.
This was a worry that constantly plagued her mind now. She had no idea whom she had been traded too, but she knew she did not like it here, plus she had a very bad feeling that these people, whoever they were, had plans for her.
She absently wondered how she had ended up in this situation. Her mother had always told her to be cautious of her father.
Her father.
She had known he was up to things that were not good, certainly not legal. Of course she had known! She would have had to be stupid not too, or extremely blind. But, she decided after a moment, even if she was blind, she would have had some idea. It wasn't as though he had tried to hide it, or shield his children from the effects.
She let out a dry chuckle. Why in the galaxy would he try to shield his children? That would mean that he cared about his children's well being. And he had far beyond proven that he did not care about her in the slightest.
Her musings were broken off as the door opened. She spun to face it. It was not meal time! this was unusual.
A couple of men stood in the doorway, and without even looking at her, they tossed in the limp form of a man.
The man hit the floor with a thud. Lying face first on the ground he let out a low moan. Then the door slammed shut.
Shocked at this sudden change, she crept slowly towards him.
AN:Hey readers! This is the first I have written in years, so don't be too harsh please :) I don't know how often I'll be able to update, but I promise I will as soon as possible!
Please review! Reviews make me happy encourage faster updates!