Chapter 4: The escape
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Thank all of you!
SW-SW-SW
Adrenaline ran through his veins; he had felt a tight knot in his stomach from the moment his starfigther had risen.
Previous days, all Jedi had been circling around the radars of all the fleets of the Republic; the whole capital still held its breath after the disappearance of the Supreme Chancellor. All the clone squads were led by a Jedi master, who was in charge of checking every corner of the galaxy, but lately, the Separatists seemed to be very quiet.
But it had been two nights ago when the radars had begun to show signs of enemy activities. A few parsec above Coruscant a Separatist fleet showed up and from that moment, before that small weak signal, all available ships emerged from the hangars.
Anakin and Obi-Wan were the two Jedi knights who led the mission. There, in the vastness of the galaxy, his Antifighter flak flashed on all sides. Even louder than the clatter of shrapnel and the snarl of his sublight drives, his cockpit hummed and rang with near hits from the turbolaser fire of the capital ships crowding space around him. Sometimes his whirling spinning dive through the cloud of battle skimmed bursts so closely that the energyscatter would slam his starfighter hard enough to bounce his head off the supports of his pilot's chair.
The confrontation between both sides was a display of cannons, lasers and debris that ended up floating in space. Many kilometers below, the figures that formed the capital were visible; I saw the small lights that moved with discontent, making everything look like a tiny infinite.
Anakin spun his starfighter, dodging the rubble of a Republic ship.
"Stay on them, R2" announced Anakin to his mechanical star; R2 beeped, rotating his head. "Master, General Grievous's ship is right in front; is the one surrounded by vulture droids" He locked a snarl behind his teeth, twisting his starfighter around another explosion that could have peeled its armor like an overripe Ithorian starfruit.
His cockpit speakers crackled. "I see it, it will not be easy, "said Obi-Wan, with his cazafigther at his side. I could still be surprised by the new depth of that voice. The calm confidence.
A large group of vulture droids set off, away from the sides of Grievous's ship; Anakin was betting whatever they were going for them. Following an order from Obi-Wan, Commander Oddball's team was placed in attack position, with the ailerons deployed.
Anakin chuckled.
"This is where the fun begins"
"What happens between us," ordered Obi-Wan.
The entire squadron deployed in an almost perfect formation, allowing the droids to pass between them, with green bursts that sought to strike them direct blows; the battle was like a dance, they all danced to the beat of a shrill song. The steps were complicated, and the one who did not know how to follow them, exploded. Anakin saw one of his ships explode very close to him, while another clone asked for help to get rid of the rest of the droids. "Voy a ayudarlos" murmuró Anakin, ya haciendo las maniobras para girar, pero la voz de Obi-Wan lo detuvo, mucho antes de que pudiese dirigir su nave hacia a izquierda.
"Don't! Let them do their work and we'll do ours "Anakin rolled his eyes, while the clone's ship that had requested help exploded; there were many Jedi who took it for granted that the clones were dispensable. But they were not for him.
"Missiles!" Anakin exclaimed, watching the vulture droids, firing. He wasn't worried for himself: the two on his tail were coming at him in perfect tandem. Missiles lack the sophisticated brains of droid fighters; to keep them from colliding on their inbound vectors, one of them would lock onto his fighter's left drive, the other onto his right. He maneuvered to perfection, dodging the blue bursts that flew across the sky.
"They missed!" Obi-Wan declared, looking out the window to his left.
"They're turning around," Anakin said, taking for granted that the missiles had not been fired to fail. "Use all the engines, R2" the mechanical star beeped and suddenly the ship began to move faster, "Impulter counter-march, ready"
On his radar he saw the red dots that symbolized the missiles; They were very close to him, but Anakin was sure he would lose them in the blink of an eye. With the impellers counter-clockwise, the ship began to turn, forming invisible loops; Anakin had a huge smile on his face, he saw glimpsed the bright bursts that followed his ship, as if they were following the heat waves that emanated the engines. Through the other sensors, he was able to see how the projectiles were very close to his tail, but it was only a matter of time until ...
Both missiles had had very little space between them, so the brush made them explode long before they could reach Anakin's sonrió victorioso. "Los destruimos, R2!" el astro mecanico emitió un nuevo pitido, que, de haber sido humano, hubiera sido una expresión de jubilo.
On the other hand, Obi-Wan was having problems with the missiles and likewise, a small squadron of Pistoeka droids stuck to their ship, like parasites and as soon as they were on the metal surface, they began to sabotage the ship, breaking the circuits and disabling even R4.
" "I'm hit." Obi-Wan sounded more irritated than concerned. "I'm hit."
"I see; Buzz droids. " Anakin swung his starfighter into closer pursuit. "I count five."
"Good heavens, they are turning off all the circuits"
"Move to the right, so I can have a clear shot!"
"No!" Announced Obi-Wan "The mission. You must go to the command ship. Rescue the Chancellor! "He said" I know how to evade them! "
But a mutual thought arose in both: Anakin would not abide by the order. "Not without you," Anakin said through his teeth. One of the buzz droids crouched beside the cockpit, silvery arms grappling with R4; another worked on the starfighter's nose, while a third skittered toward the ventral hydraulics. The last two of the aggressive little mechs had spidered to Obi-Wan's left wing, working on that damaged control surface.
Anakin moves into position just off Obi-Wan's left side and angles his ship so his guns are pointing at the droids crawling over Obi-Wan's Starfighter. Anakin fires and vaporizes the two buzz droids, along with the left wing of Obi-Wan's ship.
They're shutting down the controls."
"I can fix that …" Anakin brought his starfighter into line only a couple of meters off Obi-Wan's wing. "Steady …," he muttered, "steady …," and triggered a single burst of his right-side cannon that blasted the two buzz droids into gouts of molten metal. Along with most of Obi-Wan's left wing.
Anakin said, "Whoops."
The starfighter bucked hard enough to knock Obi-Wan's skull against the transparisteel canopy. A gust of stinging smoke filled the cockpit. Obi-Wan fought the yoke to keep his starfighter out of an uncontrolled tumble. "Anakin, that's not helping."
"You're right, bad idea. Here, let's try this—move left and swing under —easy …"
"Anakin, you're too close! Wait—" Obi-Wan stared in disbelief as "Wait, wait, I can't see a thing! My cockpit's fogging. They're all over me, Anakin.
"Move to the right."
"Hold on, Anakin. You're going to get us both killed!" but they both know that Anakin would never let him behind; but it was worth it to try at least, "Get out of here. There's nothing more you can do."
"I'm not leaving without you, Obi-Wan."
Anakin moves his ship next to Obi-Wan's and tries to physically knock the buzz droid off. Five are left. He manages to get one off, but badly dents Obi-Wan's ship in the process. One of the droids tears a piece off of the front of Obi-Wan's ship. Flames burst, more smoke billows out, obscuring the Jedi's view. Anakin knocks off three of the buzz droids and the fourth crawls out onto Anakin's ship and starts attacking Artoo.
"Blast it... I can't see... my controls are gone."
"Get 'em, Artoo. Watch out!"
"Artoo, hit the buzz droid's center eye."
Artoo extends an arm and aims a stream of electricity at the swerving buzz droid. The buzz droid hit squarely in the eye and falls off the ship.
"Yeah, you got him!" Anakin exclaims.
"Great, Artoo."
"Stay on my wing, the General's Command Ship is dead ahead." The former padawan said, feeling the rush in his veins; was an excited experience. "Easy, pull up... Head for the hangar."
"Have you noticed the shields are still up?"
"Oh! Sorry, Master." Anakin streaks ahead of Obi-Wan's disintegrating Jedi Fighter and blasts the shield generator.
"Oh, I have a bad feeling about this." Obi-Wan shakes his head.
The shield door drops away, and both crashes on the deck of the hangar bay, engulfed in a fantail of sparks. A set of blast doors starts slamming shut across the hangar opening, as material is sucked into space. Anakin, as only he can, maneuvers around the oncoming junk and flies into the hangar just as the blast doors slam shut. Obi-Wan ignites his light saber and cuts his way out of the cockpit. He jumps dear just as his ship explodes.
Battle droids rush at him from all directions. Anakin jumps out of his ship and cuts his way through the droids to where Obi-Wan is fighting. And now, both Jedi, are in.
SW-SW-SW
She blinked with difficulty, regaining consciousness after a new faint. Her wrists burned and her arms seemed about to leave their places.
Lyra gently shook her head to the side, feeling that her neck was hard due to lack of movement.
"It's good that you woke up" she heard Dooku's velvety voice near her, as she heard his footsteps rumbling inside her head "I did not want you to miss what's going on outside" her eyes were dry and it stung, but at raising her head she saw a huge window open in front of her.
"What—what's wrong?" she asked with a trickle of voice.
"Your friends have come; and I did not want you to miss it "
Lyra felt a cold chill trapping each of her limbs as soon as she could distinguish the ships of the Republic exploding in front of the huge window.
"Nice show, right?"
She looked away, swallowing hard.
"I still do not understand what do you want to make me understand" she murmured, realizing that the bright light made her eyes hurt even more. "Your lies mean nothing to me"
"Silly girl!" Dooku exclaimed, looking away from the window, "it's only a matter of time until you realize that you are filling your head with lies; and only after that you will realize that my words were true. "
Dooku called General Grievous, who blew out the force field, and dragged Lyra out. She did not feel her legs, but with the clumsy movement her blood began to pump in her legs. Grievous made sounds that her ears would never forget; she had heard that cyborg breathing complication for almost two months, and during those two months she had been subjected to a torturous interrogation to reveal information about the plans of the Republic, but even so, Lyra had remained silent and, strangely, with lifetime.
"Oxygen waste," grumbled Grievous, throwing her into another room, a wider one that smelled different than the one she had been confined to for the last time. The General threw her to the ground and after giving strict orders to the droids to watch them, he left. Before he could leave the room, Lyra caught a glimpse of her saber hanging from the cyborg's belt.
She collapsed on the floor, letting out a sigh.
"Oh, my child, what a relief to see you alive" she shook her head back, her eyes looking back; Sitting on a kind of throne, and with handcuffs on his wrist, was Chancellor Palpatine.
She crawled, using her hands to rejoin. "Sir, what a relief it is to see you alive!" Palpatine was in much better condition than her, even his clothes seemed clean, "Did they do anything to you? Are you hurt? "Palpatine moved his fingers slightly, in a negative signal.
"Their treatment has been as humanly as possible," he murmured. "But I can not say the same about you, are you okay?"
Lyra approached the throne, with a slight limp; she felt a tingling in her knees and the blood was slow to circulate, but she knew she would soon be able to walk normally.
"My condition does not matter; what is really good is that they did not do anything to you, sir. "She sat next to him, her legs extended.
"We both know they needed me alive" Lyra could not deny that it was true.
"And we both agree that you are more valuable than a Jedi; you are the representative of the Republic. "
"All lives are important, my child. Do not underestimate yourself. "She tried to smile at him, but all the muscles in her face ached.
Through the door, a combat droid entered, accompanied by a protocol droid, which carried a medium tray with several plates and a glass.
"Ah, I see that his manners are not forgotten, even in times of war" the protocol droid left the tray on a nearby table.
Lyra sensed the delicious smell of food, something so delicious that she had not had the chance to smell for months.
"Are you hungry?" Lyra denied slowly, looking away from the plates.
"It's your food, sir."
But Palpatine again moved his fingers, "I can not use my hands, as you will see. What would be the point? Come on, eat you. You need it more than me. "
Her stomach roared like a wild beast; her most primitive instinct howled to be satiated. But despite the demands of her body, she slowly approached the smaller plate and began to eat; the fruit had never tasted as good as at that moment.
"If my Master saw me, so desperate, he would say that I am a shame" she laughed under her breath, while the sweet juice fell from the corners of her lips. Palpatine smiled sideways with a strange look in his eyes.
"If they saw everything you did, they should give you the highest rank in the Council." Lyra laughed again, giving small bites so that the fruit ration reached.
Lyra leaned back against the base of Palpatine's throne and closed her eyes slightly, still chewing and feeling the sweetness coming down her throat. Behind the throne was another window, which Lyra chose to ignore; she already had enough with the screams that flooded her head. She felt everything that was happening outside that ship.
"They're here," she murmured, taking a black seed from her mouth and leaving it on one of the edges of the plate. Palpatine let out a soft "hum?"
"The Jedi are here" Lyra smiled, sideways. "They have taken a while, but they have arrived."
"Then, it was them" Palpatine rested his head against the backrest.
Lyra closed her eyes, leaving the empty plate on the floor. Now she not only felt the conflict from outside, but the presence of two Jedi inside the ship. It was only a matter of time until they found them.
"What an urge to go home"
Lyra did not answer. She could not answer. She was looking at an image inside her head. Not an image. A reality. A memory of something that had not happened yet. She saw Count Dooku on his knees. She saw lightsabers crossed at the Count's throat ...
The door to the room opened and Dooku himself entered. She saw him enter and move with all the ceremony that represented him; his cloak rippled as always behind him as he approached the window. Lyra followed him with her gaze.
The vast semisphere of the view wall bloomed with battle. Sophisticated sensor algorithms compressed the combat that sprawled throughout the galactic capital's orbit to a view the naked eye could enjoy: cruisers hundreds of kilometers apart, exchanging fire at near lightspeed, appeared to be practically hull-to-hull, joined by pulsing cables of flame. Turbolaser blasts became swift shafts of light that shattered into prismatic splinters against shields, or bloomed into miniature supernovae that swallowed ships whole. The invisible gnatclouds of starfighter dogfights became a gleaming dance of shadowmoths at the end of Coruscant's brief spring.
Within that immense curve of computer-filtered carnage, the only furnishing was one lone chair, centered in an expanse of empty floor. This was called the General's Chair, just as this apartment atop the flagship's conning spire was called the General's Quarters.
Dooku return on his steps, given the back to the window. He sat with his back to that chair and to the man shackled within it, hands folded behind him beneath his cloak of silken armorweave, stood Count Dooku.
Lyra contemplated him in silence; she realized at that precise moment that she had benefits that no other prisoner could have. She had no idea because she was not tied up, in a new session with the droids or with Grievous.
"They are coming" Dooku mumble, eyes on the main door of the room; a slight smile apeer on his face.
"Just in time" Palpatine said, in a soft whisper
Young Buleeana swallow saliva very difficult; her throat was dry and her scar began to throb, usually that happen when anxiety takes control of her mind; she knew that was wrong, but she could not avoid it. For the last few days, she has been very anxious to ge out of that place for once and for all.
"It's not too late yet" Lyra murmured, stroking her aching wrist "to repent, I mean"
But Dooku smiled weakly.
"You are an inveterate optimist, girl," he announced in a calm voice, "although I doubt they show sympathy for me and I hesitate to show gratitude for confining me to a dungeon."
Once a great Jedi Master, Dooku is a dark colossus bestriding the galaxy. Nemesis of the corrupt Republic, oriflamme of the principled Confederacy of Independent Systems, he is the very personification of shock and awe. Once he was one of the most respected and powerful Jedi in the Order's twenty-five-thousand-year history, yet Dooku's principles would no longer allow him to serve a Republic in which political power was for sale to the highest bidder. And she knows it.
"Hope is the last thing you may lose in battle" she insisted "Call me optimistic, I wont be offended. And yet, I may insist: it's not too late"
"Hush, child, hush!" Palpatine intervined, moving his fingers "He must pay for what he has done to the entire Galaxy, don't forget about the poor people of Mahranee..."
"I think I would never forget that in my life, sir" she spat, looking at the Chancellor, over her shoulder "I bet neither he would"
She looked at Lord Tyranus again, while she stand on her feet. She walked toward him; she felt so brave at that moment.
"Not everything it's dark" she whisper, kneeling by his side "I do not talk like a Jedi this time; now I talk like mother used to it, or at less, how I remember her: light and darkness it's relative in our lifes. Sometimes we are grey, and is not bad. If you say sorry for the things you have done, you wont be weak, contrary, you'll be braver"
"You said it: the things I have done, no coward would make it" his gaze to focus on her "Now you are trying to persude me?" Lord Tyranus giggled "Save your breath, child. You won't change my principles, not even your effors to convencing me to save my life if I say that I am sorry"
Remembering the visions inside her head, she thought that the end of the war and the end of Dooku was too close. She crawled back to Palpatine's chair, feeling quite stupid.
"Don't feel bad, child. One day, you will understand my reasons: everything in this life has a purpose"
"Stop asking me that; I don't and I won't ever understand your reasons, because you are so misterius as my mother, as you said, was." She sigh very deeply, avoiding his gaze "I thought I could save you, don't ask why!" she abruptaly say, eyes wide open "I don't even know why—
"Perhaps, because I am the only one who has the guts to tell you what you've been craving for too long?" Dooku rose from his seat, walking around the room. Again, he stopped in front of the window, looking the confrontation outside "I won't lie to you: I wanted to save you too. After the battle of Geonosis, I can firmerly say that you have potential, child"
Lord Tyranus looked her, as Palpatine fix his eyes on him; the tension was touchable in that place.
"Why?"
"I bet did you met my former padawan, Asajj Ventress" Dooku had his hands on his back, while his eyes now were following a group of Separatist's droids. "It's been a while since the last time I've heard from her, I guess she is dead or something like that. And I have to admit that she was exceptional, but her aspirations taken her too far. She tried to be better than me, her own master, she tryed to challenge me. I have no other choice that ending her up, but she managed to runaway" he shake his head, "What a waste. But now, it's time to let the past behind"
She stood on her feet one more time, ignoring the harsh words of the Chancellor, who was comanding her to sit again.
"Are you saying that you want me by your side?" they were shoulder to shoulder, both looking at the huge galaxy before them, watching the mute battle between both sides of the game.
"You can call it like that" Dooku sighed "The path would be rough, but I will be complete honest with you. I knew your parents, and I can assure you that I won't make the same mistakes that the Jedi did with them"
Her gaze fall to the floor, to the tip of her boots. Was a tempting offer, but she wasn't sure. Long was the time she spent in that ship, with constantly accuses from Grievous and the torture droids. Her mind shouted that she has to refuse, but in the other hand...there was too many things that she did not know about everything around her.
"I—
But before she could even speak, the main door opened and four combat droids entered, anouncing that the Jedi were close. Dooku move away from the window and took Lyra by the arm, drooping her to the floor.
"Better for you to not intervene" his voice become harsh as he abandone the room, with the strict order to chain her beside the Chancellor.