Yay! Another chapter is done :) If I have time AFTER I do my homework, I'll work on the next one, if I don't then don't expect an update until either the week or weekend! REVIEW!
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars; all rights go to George Lucas.
The planet was hot. Not a nice summers hot with a soft breeze to cool you – no hot. To the point where Raven really thought she was going to die from the heat. No matter how much she sat still underneath shade or ran water over her face, there was always a light sheen of sweat covering her body. At least she was no longer out in the desert, but now in the dense tropical forest that provided a lot more shade.
Raven had no clue which planet she was on, when she got back she was jumped from behind and blind folded. She tried to struggle still, but the same person bound her and threw her in a ship, the only reason why she knew what she had been thrown in, was because she heard the sound of the engine roaring to life and going through space.
After that Maul had dumped her into orange sand that was just as hot as the atmosphere and said, "I'll be back for you – unless you're dead."
He didn't even unbind her, just dumped her saber by her head and left her there to get out of her bounds herself. And by the sounds of the engine booming through the atmosphere, she knew that he had left here on this planet that she had absolutely no clue about.
Raven had decided to take refuge in the shelter of the tropical forest, but even with the shade from the trees – Raven was hot. She only used her tunic for shelter during nights that would still be too warm, she hardly slept at how uncomfortable she was, most nights she would just meditate to somehow keep her strength and energy up for the next day. During the day, she ran – which just made her more hot! Assassins were everywhere, looking for her, at first she had stayed in the desert. But there were tiny creatures that were poisonous that made would try and find refuge in her boots or tunic when she slept. There was more shelter in the forest, but angry carnivores replaced the poisonous creatures.
A roar let the presence of a nexu known. Raven sighed and slowly turned and stared right into the four-eyed monster. It's mouthful of teeth were bared in a show of dominance and challenge to the Sith apprentice who suddenly realized how exposed she was with her tunic tied around her waist so that only her wrap covered her torso, and her thin leggings and boots. The creatures tail whipped back and forth before it buried it's claws into the earth, ready to pounce.
When the creature pounced, Raven did not hesitate to ignite her saber and cut off the nexu's head, but the claws of the animal buried themselves deep inside of her back. Raven tried to contain her yell of pain as she dropped one knee to the forest floor. The last thing she needed to do was alert any Assassins to her.
Raven couldn't reach her back so sufficed in simply tearing off part of her tunic and adding to he already thin material of the top in some attempt to ease her pain and stop the bleeding of the four claw marks across her back.
As the day wore on, it only seemed to get hotter and Raven feared as she drank from a small water fall, that the heat would cook her or she'd become dehydrated if she didn't find a better water source.
"There she is," Raven heard a metallic voice say, she spun around from her perch next to the running water and immediately ran for the cover of foliage once more. When she heard the sound of plasma fire, she took out her light saber and deflected the attack from over her back, but not once did she stop her long strides. As she got them out of her sights, but not far away enough to relax she threw a rock ahead of her and threw herself into the tree.
Two assassins kept running; but where was the third…
"Gotcha," someone suddenly roared and Raven fell to the moss covered earth once more and ignited her saber and shoved whoever was on her back – off. She spun and deflected two blaster attacks and then cut his weapon in half, he looked unnerved by the predicament but didn't have too long to ponder on it because Raven then cut him in half down his body. She sighed as she put away her saber, looking at the remains of the droid at her feet.
"I think I heard something over here," Raven hopped back into the trees and waited to see what happen. She begged in her mind that the droids wouldn't look up in their search, she found out long ago that the best way to get away from the assassin droids was to simply hide. Because they would always communicate others with their coordinates the moment they found her, leaving her always fighting off more than she could handle herself.
She watched the two remaining droids scan the area and then head deeper into the forest, alert and on the look out for the teenager. Raven sighed when she was sure they were completely gone and dropped back down to the earth and went the exact opposite the droids had ran off to.
- ? -
Night finally fell and Raven quickly climbed high into the tall trees and found a good spot to rest for the night. She bent the branches to make cover for her so that she could sleep, last night an Assassin had found her and Raven hoped that there wouldn't be a repeat. It was still hot as ever but Raven tried to sit still – her mother used to tell her that. She wasn't too sure though if that was just to get her to stop complaining and squirming around when she got hot.
Raven remembered hot nights like these, her and Lauren would crawl up on the roof and let whatever breeze decided to exist waft over them and cool them. Their parents would be so mad when they found them, which would then just make them break into another shouting match. Yelling about how her mother was too strict with them, and then how their father never spent time with Lauren but too much time with Raven. She sighed at the memories of all the fights, the yelling, and the screaming.
The movement of foliage below her made Raven tense, she rolled onto her stomach and crept towards the edge of her perch to see at least half a dozen assassin droids making their way up to her. Scowling, Raven knew that though she had the higher ground but knew that she could only take on three, four at best and Raven didn't want to see how badly she would do against six! Nervously, she grabbed whatever she needed and could quickly, and then looked around for an escape. Deciding that her only option was to climb higher, she did so. Looking to the next tree, she concentrated on the Force and made the jump before weaving her way through the next tree and continuing onto the next.
No matter how hard Raven tried weaving and getting away from the droids, they were hot on her tail, not wanting to give up on their objective: her. Raven knew that it was only a matter of time before she had to turn around and fight, which would then lead to more droids coming. Igniting her white saber, Raven turned and charged the first assassin that had fallen the same time she had.
- ? -
Obi-Wan calmly walked down the street, trying to remember his Jedi training. The hot planet of Etti IV was killing the young padawan, but at least they wouldn't be on the planet much longer. Master Qui-Gon Jinn and he were there to resupply a medical center on the planet and would leave first thing in the morning. The two were at a meeting for the last formalities of their mission, when Qui-Gon noticed his young padawan nodding off with boredom; he gave the young one permission to return to their small quarters and get some rest.
"Can't wait to be off this planet," he sighed, he watched as the local children squealed loudly and ran through the streets, "how can they stand it? It's as hot as- oof!"
He looked up into dark brown eyes; the almond shaped eyes were small and slightly slanted up with a thick lining of eyeliner that just seemed to make them more hypnotizing and mysterious. Obi-Wan's vision seemed to finally focus on the round face of the person and small thin lips, but what gave her away was the raven dark hair: Raven.
"You," Obi-Wan cried out, his head pounding from the fall.
"Obi- what are you doing here," Raven barked, and then looked around, she sat up and straddled his waist, "what's with the village?"
"Get off-" Obi-Wan started to yell, but was cut off by a metallic voice.
"There she is!"
She was up in an instant, she grabbed Obi-Wan's upper arm and hoisted up the Jedi and ran for it – the assassin droids quick on their heels. Obi-Wan allowed the dark haired female to drag him through streets, trying to figure out what she was doing on the planet, and why she was being chased? He was brought back from his thoughts as she yanked him into an alley and pushed him against a wall and held her breath, he felt her feel out with the Force as the assassins ran past them. At first she didn't move, and Obi-Wan blushed because to anyone else, they probably looked like lovers.
Raven suddenly let out a sigh and pressed herself against the wall beside him, she tried to hide her pain but Obi-Wan saw through her façade and eyed her bruises and burns.
"Who knew there was a village, right here," Raven said nonchalantly, "come here often?"
Obi-Wan rolled his eyes at her attitude, "you're hurt! What are you doing out here?"
Eyeing him carefully, Obi-Wan watched her thin lips disappear as she pursed them together, she then finally said, "Mission."
"A mission," he echoed as he bent down and looked at one of her injuries on her arm, she whimpered as he pressed on the burn gently, he glared, "where's your Master?"
"It's-"
"Hands up, drop your sabers," they were suddenly barked at.
The two were up on their feet and whirled around to see that they were completely surrounded by assassin droids. Eyeing each one, Obi-Wan watched as Raven ignited her white light saber, was she crazy? Obi-Wan was confused, but saw determination in her eyes as she slowly turned, looking for a weakness in the form that they put themselves in.
"Drop your saber," Obi-Wan reasoned, "There's no way we can take on twelve by ourselves!"
"I'm not being taken alive!"
Obi-Wan sighed, and then ignited his own blue saber and pressed his back to her's. He felt her tense in preparation to attack and waited for the clench of her ankles for when she charged. There! He charged forward the same moment she did and hit the first assassin, but it jumped back and out of the way. He blocked a shot from the one on his left and heard something sizzle behind him. He looked in his peripheral to see that she had already taken out the one she charged. She whipped around and tried to aim the shots back at the assassin with difficulty.
"Look out," she suddenly yelled, jumped over him and sliced an assassin droid right in half, Obi-Wan felt metal on his chin and realized that the assassin had used his distraction and was ready to blow his brains out.
The two went back to back once more, sabers at the ready as they eyed the other eight assassin droids still alive, "why am I always saving your ass?"
"Hey, fights not over yet," Obi-Wan grunted, not liking to be bested.
He heard her scoff, "let's see here, I saved you from being hit by a speeder, just saved your brain from being splattered all over the dirt-"
"Can we just get this over with," Obi-Wan snapped as he charged once more, he sent a kick to a droid and ignited the pain in his calf from where he had hit the metal. He used the Force to use a metal trash bin and hit the assassin over the head with it, successfully tearing off the metal head from it's body, he then cut the body in half and watched it fall to the dirt.
His back hit something: Raven. She suddenly took his elbow and swung him around, surprising the other droid and Obi-Wan successfully knocked him down. Raven then stabbed him through the chest while Obi-Wan covered her and blocked the fire that rained down on them.
"We're tiring," we should run," Obi-Wan said as they found themselves back to back once more, blocking fire.
"No," Raven said with determination.
"Your stubbornness will be the fall of you," Obi-Wan said, she was trembling and the Jedi couldn't help but look her over. She was only in her wrap, she had two burns across her stomach, her right arm looked limp, making her look awkward holding her saber in her left hand. Her breaths came out in pants and she looked paler than usually, possibly from dehydration and hunger. Her legs trembled to keep her up, threatening to buckle underneath her already thin weight. Obi-Wan felt tired and exhausted just looking at her.
"What are you doing," Raven yelled in alarm as Obi-Wan suddenly hoisted her up in a fireman carry and booked it, the assassins quickly charged as the Jedi fled. He ran through the alley, blocking any blaster fire with his saber as Raven wiggled in his grasp, trying to get down. Obi-Wan hid around a corner and watched the assassins run by him, he then entered the house that him and his Master were staying in on their mission.
"What are you doing," she demanded again as he headed towards the refresher.
"You smell as bad as a Jabba's breath," Obi-Wan remarked with a smirk, "take a shower, if you need anything, yell for me."
- ? -
Raven debated just crawling out the window and running away, but a shower sounded too good to pass up. She quickly discarded her clothes and jumped into the jet of the shower. The shower was so pleasing; it soothed her bruises and her sore muscles into a relaxed state. She was so caught up in the relaxation of the shower that she didn't think about what to wear until after she was done getting the jungle grime off her body and hair – she didn't want to return to her sweaty and dirty tunic. She turned off the shower and was ready to yell for Obi-Wan when she saw a pair of brown leggings and tunic and her wrap. Touching the black fabric of her tunic, she found that it was no longer grimy or sweaty; he must've run it through a disinfectant.
Eagerly putting on the clothes she jumped up and down as she yanked on her boots. As she stumbled out of the refresher, she was hit with the smell of something either decaying or being mutilated in the smelliest way possible. She winced and entered the kitchenette, cautiously reaching for her saber.
"Calm down, would you," Obi-Wan said when he spotted her, "its just food!"
"Did you poison it," Raven questioned as she cautiously took the bowl from the Jedi and sniffed its contents, she winced at the smell.
"Why so cautious," he asked as he sat across from her with water, he gave her some, "never had someone cook for you?"
"No."
This caught him by surprise as he gave a slight smirk, "well my Master is yet to tell me that I can't."
Sipping at the soup, she made a face but forced it down, "does he not have taste buds?"
"Actually, this explains why he always makes himself something else…I just always thought he had a huge appetite," Obi-Wan said.
Scowling, Raven snatched the bowl before his mouth could suffer the same fate as hers' from the nasty soup. She went over to the big pot and scrunched her nose with obvious displeasure; she dumped everything into the sink and even washed the sink in some sort of way to get rid of the nasty stench from Obi-Wan's soup. She moved around the kitchenette as though she had been there her entire life, the smell of warm, delicious food filled the kitchen quickly. And Obi-Wan realized how hungry he really was as she finished making what she was making and made two generous servings of the soup into separate bowls and handed him one before taking her seat once more.
Raven dug in eagerly, the entire time aware of the pair of gray-blue eyes on her; she didn't even wait to see what his verdict was, obviously confident in her cooking skills. She ate as though this was her first real meal in weeks and he noticed, the wrap didn't hide much of her very thinner figure. She drank the water too, as though it was the greatest thing ever.
"Where is your Master," Obi-Wan finally asked, unable to believe a Master would leave his padawan in such a state.
"You know, for someone who had been saved twice, you're not very generous," she quipped.
Obi-Wan scowled, "I let you into my home, gave you food-"
"That could've killed me," she said with a grin.
"-And a shower!"
A smirk crossed her lips as she said, "Which is payment for me saving your life…once."
"I would think we were even," Obi-Wan grinned.
"Obi-Wan, I'm home," Qui-Gon suddenly called, he watched as Raven was suddenly up and one.
Obi-Wan chased after her, "Wait, where are you going? We can help you!"
"I don't need help, Obi," she scowled as she wrenched open the window, the hot air seemed stale as it wafted in lazily, she climbed onto the ledge and was about to jump out, the young padawan watched her go. As he watched her run off, Obi-Wan had a sinking feeling that whatever she was doing was dangerous, and found himself hating her Master for leaving her alone, why would a Master abandon his padawan? And furthermore, why were Assassin droids on the peaceful planet of Etti IV? And what would the Jedi have to do with them?
All these questions didn't add up, and Obi-Wan found it frustrating that he couldn't find any answers to even one. She was too mysterious and secretive.
"Obi-Wan, there you are," Qui-Gon scowled as he entered his padawan's room, "did you make the soup it smells great!"
"What's that supposed to mean," Obi-Wan asked with a pout, "you never questioned what I made before!"
Qui-Gon smiled at his padawan, "was someone here?"
"No," Kenobi was surprised by how easily he could lie, but kept a mental shield up so that his Master wouldn't see that he had lied. His Master looked suspicious, but didn't question him any further.
Okay, please review. This story is coming to a quick end, just a couple more chapters and then the Final Countdown! Haha, see what I did there? REVIEW!
