Chapter 9 - Sylvario (Ariana)
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"I thought I might find you here," calls a voice, the second we emerge from the hidden exit, "Nvimihgen said you'd probably be here."
I jump, not having sensed the presence outside. Obi-Wan doesn't seem startled in the least. The man standing before us seems to be around thirty. He has short, black hair, and his skin is darker than ours. Honestly, to me, he seems to vaguely resemble Jango – and the whole clone army, in general. Maybe he's from Mandalore too. Dark brown eyes piece into us. I have no doubt as to who he is. Clearly, he was concealing his Force-presence, or we would have sensed him. The only question is why? What is he doing here, and why is he here at a Separatist base?
"Why, Master Kenobi! This is a surprise!" A slow smile spreads across his face. "I wouldn't have expected to see you of all people. And you are?" He turns towards me. I narrow my eyes, but don't answer, following Obi-Wan's lead. I don't know what he wants, and I'm not going to say anything to someone I don't trust.
"Knight Sylvario," Obi-Wan acknowledges him, "Might I ask what you're doing on this forsaken planet?" His tone is friendly, though there's a warning note in it.
The man's eyes darken almost imperceptibly. "Wouldn't you like to know?" he chuckles quietly.
"I'm here on behalf of the Jedi Council. We were concerned over your disappearance," Obi-Wan informs him, "And seeing as you took a Jedi starfighter without permission, we were dispatched to find out." I get the feeling the situation is about to get ugly quickly. I tense, ready for action at a second's notice. This is not looking good. Not at all.
Sylvario scoffs and turns towards me again. Clearly, he doesn't care why we're here, only that we are. "Who is this young lady?"
"It does not matter," replies Obi-Wan stiffly.
"It does. It really does," he retorts coolly. I throw him a puzzled look. Why? Why does he want to know who I am? What does he want with me, in particular? What does he know that he's not saying? I can't shake the feeling that there's something far, far bigger going on that we don't know about. It's unnerving. Suddenly, Sylvario's eyes widen, and he leaps away onto another ledge.
Obi-Wan and I feel the danger the same second. Whirling, we ignite our lightsabers in unison as battle droids advance towards us from the tunnel. I was right. This is getting worse and worse by the moment. "Surrender at once," orders the leader in a monotone. Obi-Wan beheads it, and the rest start shooting. I focus on spinning my lightsaber to deflect the shots and slice through our attackers. I've never actually fought battle droids. Sure, we've trained, but when it comes down to it, it's nothing in comparison to actual fighting. This is much harder, and more thrilling, than I anticipated.
Sudden, unexpected danger radiates in the Force. Obi-Wan spins instantly, skillfully deflecting a rear assault. I move a second too slow. The stun bolt from Sylvario's blaster hits me, sending me crumpling to the ground, as the world spins into darkness.
Consciousness slowly filters back to me. I remember talking to Sylvario when the droids attacked. We were in the factory, then I was knocked out. What happened after that? My eyes fly open, and I take in my surroundings. My wrists are in stun cuffs, which are chained to a pole a few feet away. At least I have some room to move. Obi-Wan is chained to the same pole a short distance away. I groan quietly. Clearly, we were captured. By Sylvario. Yes, he's definitely a loyal Jedi. There's no way for us to get out of here. Not that I can see anyways. What will happen to us now?
Yes, I was captured by Sidious before when we first came to Star Wars. At least that time, it was far more predictable what would happen. I was prepared for it. Now, though it might be less frightening, there's no way to know what could happen.
"You're finally awake," comes Obi-Wan's voice, "I wondered how long it would take. I was getting concerned."
"Doesn't look like I really missed anything," I grumble, laying back against the ground.
"Not unless you count me surrendering so we both wouldn't die," he smirks. "Now I'm hoping that if Anakin takes it upon himself to come rescue us, he won't get captured also."
"Oh, I expect he will – well, he'll come to rescue us I'm sure." Just like he did last time. Hopefully, we'll get out of here before the situation gets too much worse. The biggest problem is that there's no way for anyone to know what happened here if we don't escape. Anakin and my sisters were sent to Geonosis, and the chance of them coming all the way to Mentin is small.
"I have no doubt about that," Obi-Wan laughs quietly. We sit there in silence for a long time, lost in our own thoughts.
I try to remain calm, but one thing won't stop bothering me. We have no way of knowing what will happen now. The unexpectedness is normal for us, true, but this is also different from what we're used to. "What do you think they'll do with us?" I whisper, unable to keep the anxiety out of my voice.
He sighs. "I don't know. I just wish we could have reported to the Council first."
"Me too," I murmur, edging closer to Obi-Wan for comfort. The worst part is the waiting. I have no idea what will happen to either of us. Since no one knows we were captured, we're going to be stuck here for the indefinite future. Unless Anakin and my sisters end up here, we'll be waiting for a long time before someone realizes that something is wrong. And by then, even if they do send a rescue team, it may already be too late. I try in vain to push that thought from mind. It's no use dwelling on it.
We both sit in silence, waiting for the unknown. I don't feel like speaking. Doing so would make me feel even worse. Theoretically, we might be able to remove our bonds with the Force – they aren't dampeners – but then, we'd have to escape, and I have no doubt that we'd be caught and possibly injured, especially since our lightsabers were confiscated.
Footsteps finally approach us a while later. By now, I have no idea how long we were waiting. It feels like it might have been close to an hour. I look up to see Sylvario striding towards us and take a slow breath. What does he want with us? I won't question one seeming truth: he turned to the Dark Side. But when? And why? What is his goal now? I don't know if he's a Dark Jedi or a Sith. I'm hoping the former, though I'm not terribly confident.
"What do I do with you?" sighs Sylvario, a rhetorical question. I glare at him, and he smiles faintly. "Ah, my young Knight. Do tell me your name." Neither Obi-Wan nor I move or speak. I'd be an idiot to answer anything he wanted to know. Especially considering I'm fairly sure our identities are too famous here for my liking. It's better that my name remains unknown.
"Very well," he mutters, "Perhaps you need some encouragement, young Knight?" He extends an arm, and electricity crackles around his fingers. My eyes widen, but something in the Force tells me to maintain my silence. I do. I'm not going to say anything if the Force doesn't want me to, even if he will resort to such extreme measures. Who taught him that, anyway? Clearly, he is a trained Sith. Who trained him? Hopefully not Sidious, but it wouldn't surprise me. After all, he had told me he wasn't going to follow the Rule of Two anymore. For all I know, Sidious might have an entire trained Sith army. Oh joy.
Sylvario's face darkens and a crackle of electricity leaps onto me. My body twists from the agony, every nerve electrified. It hurts worse than I remembered from the minor fight with Sidious when Anakin and Fisto came to rescue me. Sidious electrocuted that time too, but I don't think it was as intense as the electricity Sylvario is sending towards me now.
Obi-Wan's expression darkens and if looks could kill, Sylvario would surely be dead. I can't understand. Why is he so desperate to know my name? Why does it matter? It doesn't make sense. Sith don't insist on getting information like that needlessly. They might be planning to do something with me and my sisters. That's not a good thought at all. Does he suspect that I'm one of the Starlight sisters? I hope not, but from his behavior, I'm not too optimistic.
"See, it's not so hard to just tell me," Sylvario coaxes, "Tell me, young Knight."
"Leave her alone," Obi-Wan snaps, "Or you're going to seriously regret it."
Sylvario's dark eyes turn to him. "So, would you like to tell me, then?"
Obi-Wan just glares at him. I flinch right as arches towards him. I close my eyes, unable to watch the man who's like a father or uncle to me get tortured. Because of me. I want to end it, to just tell Sylvari, but the Force screams at me to stay silent.
"I can keep this up all day," taunts Sylvario, "You'll tell me everything I want to know."
Anger burns within me. If it were just me here, I could tolerate it, but not someone else. Not someone I love. "Never," I spit out, "I am not a weakling. Or a coward, unlike you."
He just laughs. "You are in for a shock, young Knight." I don't comment about the pun in his words. Silent defiance is probably best.
I feel his presence before his feet hit the ground. It's a Force-presence I'd recognize anywhere, and not just because of our bond. There's only one person in the galaxy who radiates power like that. "I think you are in for a shock," smirks Anakin, spinning his lightsaber, though his eyes are hard. "I guess it's time to rescue you again, Master." His gaze is on Obi-Wan, but I can feel him scanning me for injuries through the Force. Obi-Wan too, probably.
"I don't think so," Sylvario replies, not appearing particularly surprised. He draws his lightsaber, and I'm not at all surprised when a red blade hisses to life. He pushes a button on his wrist-comm, and another warning ripples through the Force. Somehow, I get the feeling that the situation is going to get much worse.
Except that Anakin likely has a plan, even if it is a practically suicidal one. At least I sure hope he does, because if not, we're all going to die. Teagan and Ramona are probably nearby, though, considering Anakin's here. I doubt he'd leave them alone.
Hearing a noise behind us, I turn my head in time to see two destroyer droids roll up, pointing their blasters at us from behind. Naturally, they're shields are in place. There's nothing Anakin can do about them now since they'll shoot us first. This is not good.
"One wrong move, Skywalker, and they die," Sylvario warns darkly, almost smirking. He knows Anakin won't do anything, not if our lives are at risk. I don't want to die, but if we could time our reactions perfectly, we might be fine.
Anakin doesn't move, but the Force ripples around us, and a Force-shove from an unknown location simultaneously throws both droids backwards. They crash into the rock wall and collapse to the ground. A fraction of a second later, my sisters jump down from the edge of the cliff towering above us – the same place Anakin dropped from. Their lightsabers are ignited when they hit the ground. It's time for a fight.