PART 2: RAXUS GAMBIT
CHAPTER 5: RESPITE ON ONDERON
It was a crash landing if ever there was one, Starkiller was still in one piece for the most part but she would need a lot of work. However, they were able to walk away from the crash so Obi-Wan supposed that any landing you could walk away from couldn't be that bad. Obi-Wan also supposed that if not for the pirates flying skills, it could have been a lot worse.
"Where are we?" Bail asked looking around the jungle world they'd crashed into.
"Onderan, it was the closed system," Asajj said as she treated Ahsoka's injuries from the crash and her fight with the droid creature. Ahsoka had quietly retold what had happened on the prison ship for Asajj's benefit while they had been taking stock after the crash.
"That means there are cities somewhere." Mon said. The little R2 unit that had come with them beeped and opening its top started scanning for the population close by.
"Are you alright?" Obi-Wan asked the young male pirate, who was sitting looking at Starkiller a hard expression of his face holding his wrist in his other hand.
"I'm fine," Anakin said,
Obi-Wan looked at the bruises forming on the young man's wrist. "I think I had better take a look," Obi-Wan said. Reaching for the wrist and turning it over to look at it properly.
"I said it's fine," Anakin's voice snapped out and he pulled his wrist back from Obi-Wan's touch.
"Anakin, let the Jedi look at your wrist," Asajj's tone made it clear that Anakin didn't have a choice in the matter.
Anakin quietly relented and allowed Obi-Wan to inspect the wrist, it was not broken but badly sprained, Obi-Wan used the med kit and put a wrapping on the injured member.
"Master Kenobi, I thought you were on an investigation, what were you doing on a separatist's prison ship?" Bail asked.
"I was investigating the disappearance of two of our Jedi masters, it led me to a separatists prison ship," Obi-Wan said "I had no intention of running across you senator, though I'm glad I did."
They made camp where they had crashed as night was coming on quickly, in the morning they would try raising someone on the com or if that was not possible walking to a city.
Anakin was up most of the night, he couldn't sleep, that metal monster kept coming back to him in his mind's eye. Ahsoka had almost died, he had almost died, and all because there was more they didn't know about their own powers! Anakin felt the guilt sting a moment, they had only been on that ship because he had wanted to help. Ahsoka had been right; it was non of their business. Anakin felt the fear burning like the guilt when he thought of how he had almost lost Ahsoka, they'd been in plenty of tough situations together many times before, but this one had been different. Anakin didn't like the taste of the fear that the metal creature had left behind, the entire situation on the prison ship had very nearly been another example of him not being strong enough to protect the ones he loved. First his mother and then Ahsoka, even himself, he didn't know enough to save them, there was so much he did know, and no way for him to find out.
Mon and Bail stayed up late talking in the cabin of Starkiller , Bail filled her in on everything that had transpired in her absence. Mon was grateful that they'd come and rescued her, and that the talks even below tables were still open between the Republic and the Separatist.
Ahsoka had some trouble sleeping; the fear of almost being killed and fighting that thing on the ship had stayed with her even all these hours later. When she relaxed and tried to let go of that fear like she had in the caves of Ilum while finding her light-saber crystals Ahsoka found it a little easier to go to sleep. The droid creature wasn't there and had no reason to come looking for her, she was safe.
When morning came they tried rising help on the com but there didn't seem to be any life on the planet. Further examination of the map showed that they were in the Onderon system, but instead they were on one of its unpopulated moons, not the main planet.
"And you had to go and strip the gears," Asajj said to Anakin once their location was revealed to them.
"I'll get her working again," Anakin said. His mood had not improved over night and Asajj had a feeling it would not get better until they were in space again.
"Come on then," Asajj said and headed for the storage compartment where they kept spare parts for Starkiller.
Bail wasn't fond of being stranded but he at least felt it was better than being captured. However, they were deep in Separatists space and if they were not careful they would find themselves on a Separatists prison ship once again. He didn't know much about fixing ships, opening the doors of the prison ship had been more of luck than anything to do with skill. However, Bail helped where he could, mostly he and Mon ended up doing prep work on parts before they were installed.
Obi-Wan lent a hand in the repair work, but even with all of them working on it Starkiller was not looking good. Ahsoka got the emergency beacon working and set it to a republic frequency as instructed by Mon Mathma but that was the most they could do towards getting off the planet short of getting Starkiller space worthy again.
Padmé and Mina had been able to discuss almost everything they'd wanted to over the cores of their long flight. They would be nearing the Onderon system shortly and then Padmé planned on sitting in on a meeting of the Separatists congress and seeing for herself the grip of war that Mina feared the congress had been taken by.
"If we can find some way to bring our two governments back together the galaxy could breathe again. Even just opening up official lines of communication at this point would be helpful," Padmé said. Mina nodded, and then looked up as the stateroom doors slid open and Padmé's protocol droid came in with Lux.
"Mistress Padmé." the golden droid hurried forwards "mistress Padmé, your ship seemed to be receiving some sort of communication."
"A communication?" Padmé asked,
"Yes, it looks to be a distress signal of some kind," Lux said.
"Thank you Lux, I'll see to it immediately." Padmé rose with Mina and the four of them headed down to the large docking bay on Mina's private ship.
It was indeed a distress signal coming from a ship on one of Onderon's moons, "that one's unpopulated," Mina said reading the name of the moon.
"It's coming from a ship called the Starkiller," Lux read the ship's identifier from the screen.
"They sound like pirates," Mina said looking at Padmé,
"Oh they are," C-3PO said "in fact I used to-".
"That's the crew Bail hired to rescue Mon, if they're sending up a distress signal it appears my percussion of staying in the area was warranted," Padmé said, cutting off the golden protocol droid.
"Are you sure, their pirates?" Lux asked.
"I know they are, but a friend, possibly two, are traveling with them, if they're sending up a distress signal my friends might be in danger. In fact I'm almost positive of it, my ship is set to Republic frequencies only, if it was just any pirate they'd be using the galactic frequency. This message is meant for me, I told my friends I'd be in the area."
"Then to Onteron's moon it is," Mina said.