Back again? I'd be more than happy to continue the saga, if you like. I must warn you, though. This chapter is by far the darkest. You will hear of death, betrayal, and sadness. Do you still wish for me to continue? Very well, then. Listen closely and I will tell you about the last days of the Republic.
It has been three years since the Great War began. The Republic is crumbling under the attacks of the ruthless Sith Lord, Count Dooku. There are heroes on both sides. Evil is everywhere.
In a stunning move, the fiendish leader of the automaton armies, General Grievous, has swept into the Republic's capital of Coruscant and captured Supreme Chancellor Palpatine.
As the Separatist fleet attempts to flee the besieged capital with their valuable hostage, two Jedi Knights lead a desperate mission to rescue the captive Chancellor.
Thick white clouds covered the sea around the city of Coruscant. The smell of sulfur was overpowering. Cannons roared incessantly as the largest naval battle the world had ever seen raged on. Hulking ships of wood and iron from both the Republic and Separatist fleets burned as yet more kept up the fight.
The city itself was in turmoil as automata and homunculi battled in the streets. For the first time in a millennium, a hostile army's troops had a presence in the capital, although it was doubtful they could keep it. In ghe Grand Harbor, the titanic chain had been raised, keeping hostile ships out of its waters.
In the sky above everything, homunculi and their loyal mounts battled against all manner of flying mechanical horror the Separatists could bring to bear. Arcwings and la'ats soared, zealously defending Coruscant from the Separatist vultures, threewings, and flying hyenas. Amongst all this chaos, two delsevs, one a vibrant yellow, the other a dusky red, twisted and turned through the air, effortlessly knocking flying automata from the sky as they headed deeper into the throng of ships below.
The two delsevs dove into the thick gunsmoke and levelled out alongside one of the Republic Star Destroyers. These ironclad sailing ships radiated an aura of power with nearly three hundred cannons, fourteen hundred crewmen, hangars large enough to hold four score flying beasts, and sails larger than the footprint of entire towns. As imposing as these Star Destroyers were, they were evenly matched against the monsters that the Separatist navy pitted against them.
The delsevs flew over the deck of the Star Destroyer as cannonballs slammed into the failing shield wards. Nearby, a Separatist support ship blew in half. Mercifully, the wind was starting to pick up and clear the gunsmoke.
Anakin Skywalker on his yellow delsev tapped his comm crystal to hail his master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. "According to the reports, Grievous' flagship is straight ahead. If this wind keeps up, we should be able to see it soon." Anakin had changed much during the war. His hair had darkened and he kept it at shoulder length. A scar crossed over one of his eyes, though he would never tell anyone how he had received it. After becoming a Knight, he swapped his grey robes for black ones of cloth and leather.
The wind indeed did keep up and cleared enough smoke to reveal the silhouette of the Invisible Hand. The Invisible Hand was as monstrous as any other capital ship of the Separatist fleet. Vile billows of pitch black smoke belched from iron smokestacks. Instead of sails, it made use of new propellers hidden below the water. Its wooden hull was covered in riveted iron plates reminiscent of dragon scales and eight score cannons decked each of its long sides. Capping everything was a tall observation tower protected by a second set of shield wards.
Obi-Wan looked at the ship. "I assume you are referring to the one swarming with vultures?" Obi-Wan had also changed over the course of the war, though far less drastically than his student. He now kept his hair short and changed out his traditional loose master robes for more utilitarian ones. Both these choices had been made after unfortunate incidents with fires, though he refused to ever admit it.
"Yes."
"Oh, and here I thought we'd have a difficult time getting to it."
The vultures in question took note of the two delsevs and began breaking off their circling to attack these new threats.
Obi-Wan tapped his comm crystal. "Oddball, do you copy?"
"Copy, Red Leader," came the voice of a homunculus.
"Get eyes on me and form up. We have vultures inbound."
"We're already on your tail, General Kenobi."
Obi-Wan turned his head and saw a squad of arcwings flying in formation behind him. Arcwings were incredibly nimble four-winged dragons from the long rocky coasts of Fresia, where they preyed on the large fish of the region. They were sleek, with smooth white scales and red markings. In addition to their four wings, they had four legs and a long tail with steering fins at the end. They were large enough to carry two people or a pilot and a nautomaton.
The vultures tore towards the two Jedi and their arcwing support, rolling around one another like a swarm of blowflies. Anakin smirked. "This is where the fun begins."
"Let them pass between us," Obi-Wan called out to the homunculi.
The arcwings fanned out and opened fire on any vultures coming straight at them. Lead balls ripped the mechanical birds apart and they fell from the air in flames. The two groups turned about and engaged one another, bullets and bolts flying through the air.
One intrepid vulture chased after an arcwing, scoring many well-placed hits on its rump. Return fire from the homunculus tail gunner succeeded in taking down the pursuer, but more soon took its place. Another of the formation's arcwings caught several bolts in its neck and fell from the air, gasping and choking.
Despite the number of vultures splashing down, there never seemed to be an end to them. One of the arcwing pilots called out for assistance after his tail gunner took a bolt through his chest. "I'm going to go help them," Anakin said.
"No," replied Obi-Wan. "No, they are doing their jobs so that we can do ours."
Behind, another arcwing fell.
The airborne battle had attracted the attention of a formation of Separatist threewings and flying hyenas who flew in to assist the vultures. The threewings resembled large bats, about as big as a man. They were quick and difficult to hit and lacked any ranged weaponry. Instead, their bodies held a dozen small automata equipped with cutting and stabbing weapons that would latch onto any beast they could find. Flying hyenas, on the other hand, were merely enlarged vultures. In addition to their repeating crossbows, they also carried rockets and bombs for attacking less maneuverable targets.
Several of the hyenas launched rockets into the fray, trying for lucky hits. Anakin was the first to notice their blue smoke trails and called out a warning to his comrades.
Anakin and Obi-Wan pulled on their delsevs' reins and avoided any hits. One of the vultures behind did not.
"Here comes another wave," Anakin warned.
"Hold on Arfor," Obi-Wan told his nautical automaton before banking hard. Arfor-Jinine wailed as the leather straps holding her in creaked and strained with the force of the maneuver.
Anakin had his delsev fold its wings and dropped under the incoming rockets. Artu's straps also strained, but he was used to Anakin's reckless flying and somewhat expected a move like this.
While the two Jedi were distracted with the rockets, a threewing crossed their flight path. The bat's belly opened and a dozen small automata flew out, half of them latching onto Obi-Wan's delsev. "Anakin, I'm hit!"
"I see them. Damn buzzers."
Obi-Wan pulled out his Lightblade and slashed at the two that he could reach. Two buzzers set to work cutting and stabbing at the delsev's scales while one crawled out onto a wing and the last moved towards Arfor.
"Look out, Arfor," Obi-Wan cried. "You have a-" From behind him came the sound of tearing metal as one of the buzzers ripped off Arfor's domed head. "Oh, dear..."
The red delsev screamed as a barbed drill pushed between its rough scales. Another buzzer punched a hole in the wing membrane.
"Anakin, they're all over me!"
"Move to your right so I can get a clear shot."
"The mission! Just get to the flagship and get the Chancellor! Wait, did you say shot?" Obi-Wan's eyes widened.
"I'm not leaving you, Master. "Anakin fired three quick shots from his Puckle gun. Two of them succeeded in destroying a buzzer, but the third hit the delsev in its flank. The beast screamed.
"In the name of-" Obi-Wan began to swear before catching himself. "Hold your fire! You're not helping here!"
"I agree, bad idea."
The buzzer on the wing punched another hole while the other one tore out several scales. The delsev thrashed its arrow shaped head and fell a short distance before recovering. Anakin pulled alongside Obi-Wan and had his delsev flick the underside of the wing of the other delsev using its own.
The buzzer was sent flying, but the wings of the two reptiles tangled. They both plummeted before coming free.
Obi-Wan panicked. "What are you doing? You're going to get all of us killed!"
"Move a bit to the right. There's one more."
"Just go! There isn't anything you can do worth the risk!"
"I said I wasn't leaving without you, Master."
Anakin moved his delsev into position with its wingtip just behind the last buzzer. With a quick flick, the buzzer was dislodged. And ended up crawling onto Anakin's delsev. It skittered its way over to Artu before Anakin had time to react.
Anakin glanced back. "Do you think you can handle it, Artu?"
Artu gave an affirmative whistle. The tool compartment of Artu's chassis opened. The tool drum inside spun before stopping on a pneumatic punch. The bit shot forwards, just barely missing the buzzer. It crawled forward, holding out its tearing claws. Artu retracted the bit and shot it forward again, still missing.
"Artu," Obi-Wan yelled, "aim for its eye!"
Artu lined up for another try and just before the claws were about to touch him, the punch slammed into the buzzer's glass eye. The buzzer instantly went limp and slid off the back of the delsev.
Anakin smiled. "Yeah! You got it!"
"Great going," agreed Obi-Wan.
"Now, unless there are any further distractions, the flagship is dead ahead."
Indeed it was. Long and grey, bristling with heavy firepower. It seemed more like a floating castle than a ship.
"Have you noticed the hangar doors are still closed?"
"Ah, yes. Er..." Anakin thought for a moment. "Loop around, Master. I have an idea."
"Oh, no..."
The hangar doors in question were large sliding ones made of iron set into the side of the ship. They were operated from the inside by chains, counterweights, and winches. For all intents and purposes, they were nigh impossible to open from the outside. But Anakin had a Lightblade.
Anakin flew as close to the ship as he could, running alongside so close that his delsev's wingtip was almost touching the iron plated hull. He drew his Lightblade and held it in his brass right hand. As he approached the hangar doors, he had his delsev roll to one side so that his head pointed to the ship. Anakin then reached out and plunged his Lightblade into one of the iron doors, cutting a long arc as he flew along.
When he finished with the first cut, he turned around and made another pass, completing an oval. Anakin flew away from the ship just far enough to turn around. "Are you ready, Master?"
Obi-Wan came out of his loop and pulled behind Anakin. "Couldn't you have made it any larger?"
"It should be fine. I hope."
The two of them flew straight at the pair of cuts as Anakin held out his hand. Reaching out through the Force, he pushed the oblong piece of metal as hard as he could. With a screech, it flew inwards, leaving a perfect hole to fly through.
"Oh, I have a bad feeling about this," said Obi-Wan as they flew at the hole.
It was a tight fit, but both Jedi made it into the hangar without even needing to duck. Their delsevs slid along the polished hangar floor as they landed inside, knocking down several of the automaton hangar crew as they went.
Besides guards and crew, the cavernous hangar was empty. Presumably, the flying automata that the Jedi had faced on their way to the ship had been launched from that hangar.
Anakin and Obi-Wan jumped off of their delsevs as their mounts slid to a halt. The two Jedi landed in groups of mechanical guards converging around the delsevs. Effortlessly, the Jedi cut down every one of them until scrap metal littered the floor.
Once they were sure that reinforcements were not presently on the way, Anakin unstrapped Artu and lowered him from the saddle. "There you go."
Obi-Wan walked over to his delsev and laid a hand close to the worst of its injuries. It cooed as Obi-Wan's healing magics went to work sealing up the wounds. "That's a bit better now, right?"
"Artu, try to connect to the interior controls. We'll likely need your help later."
Obi-Wan pulled out his pocket scrying tablet as he walked towards Anakin. "The Chancellor's tracker indicates he's in the observation tower."
"I sense Count Dooku is nearby," Anakin said, narrowing his eyes.
"I sense a trap."
"Next move?"
Obi-Wan smiled. "Spring the trap."
Artu whistled.
Anakin turned to the nautomaton. "Ah, good. He's in."
Obi-Wan pulled out a spare comm crystal and gave it to Artu. "Stay here and wait for orders."
The automaton beeped and chirped.
Anakin shook his head. "No, you need to stay. I'm sure if any war automata show up, you can handle them."
"We'd best get going," Obi-Wan said.
"Right."
Clanking footsteps echoed up the hallway leading towards the Invisible Hand's bridge. As the source stepped into the room, all crew not immediately occupied with crucial duties stood and saluted. "General on the bridge!"
General Grievous, Supreme Commander of the automaton armies was tall and stood on two clawed metal feet with legs reminiscent of a bird of prey. His body was made of bone and metal with two glowing yellow eyes set deep into his animalistic skull. He was hunched forward, clutching his chest and wheezing.
Grievous walked over to the Captain as he let out a wet cough. "What's the situation, Captain?"
The Nemoidian Captain chose not to address the General's cough. "Two Jedi have entered the main hangar and are heading towards the tower. We are tracking their every move."
"Ahh, just as Count Dooku predicted." He launched into a coughing fit and cursed the Jedi with the purple Lightblade. He growled then went to the bridge window overlooking the sea battle.
With most of the automaton crew busy with manning the dreadnought's many broadside cannons, the troop presence in the interior was so far bare bones at best. Anakin and Obi-Wan travelled down corridor after identical grey corridor, dispatching any token resistance they met. Both of them had been on ships like these many times over the course of the war, but it was always amazing to them how anyone could navigate their way around.
They turned the corner into one of the main corridors and jumped slightly as they came face to metal face with a formation of automata. They turned as they heard even more running up behind them, cutting off their escape. One of the juggernaut automata at the front of the formation pointed its arm gun squarely at Anakin's chest. "Drop your weapons."
Anakin stroked the right side of his face with his left index finger.
"No, Anakin," Obi-Wan whispered. "Rescue, not mayhem."
"I said drop them," the juggernaut reiterated.
Anakin stroked his lower lip with first his index finger then his thumb before tapping the tip of his nose.
Obi-Wan gently shook his head. "No, no, no."
"Master, this isn't the time to argue," Anakin whispered.
"Might I recommend..." Obi-Wan twisted the tip of his moustache.
"Too many of them for that," replied Anakin. He stroked his right eyebrow twice.
"Ah, that should work."
Anakin and Obi-Wan whipped out their Lightblades as fast as they could, the two of them working together to cut a circular hole in the floor at their feet. The Jedi plummeted just as the juggernauts opened fire.
They fell for a considerable distance before splashing down in a large dark room filled with cold water. When they stood, the water reached up to their chests.
Obi-Wan grimaced with disgust. "What an incredible smell you've discovered. Do I want to know what we're standing in?"
Anakin ignited his Lightblade and held it over his head for illumination. "The primary bilge tank. We're safe for the time being."
"Your idea of safe is not the same as mine..."
They trudged through the reeking water, trying to get to the maintenance hatch at the far end.
On the bridge, General Grievous cackled at the Jedi's predicament. "Trapped like rats! Flood the bilges, let them drown!"
"Err, Anakin? You hear that, right?"
"The rushing water? Yes."
"How much further to the maintenance hatch?"
Anakin threw his Lightblade. It whirled end over end through the air until it illuminated the rusty wall of the bilge tank. "That far," he said, pulling his Lightblade back.
The water had risen up to their collarbones.
"I think we'll have to swim the rest of the way," said Obi-Wan. "Fish jaws?"
Anakin nodded. They reached into their pouches and pulled out their enchanted fish jaws and fitted them in their mouths. They gagged at the taste the surrounding water had left on them and began to swim. Anakin kept his Lightblade activated for light and the water boiled around it.
The hatch that they had originally been aiming for had been the one about a third of the way up the bulkhead. Obi-Wan reached it first and discovered to his dismay that the wheel was frozen in place with rust. Obi-Wan pulled out his Lightblade and was about to ignite it when he felt Anakin's hand on his shoulder.
Obi-Wan turned to his fellow Jedi. Anakin shook his head, his long hair whipping back and forth in the water. He held up his hand and pointed upwards. Obi-Wan gave a single nod then returned his Lightblade to his belt.
Anakin led the way, his Lightblade providing much-needed light. The surface wasn't much further and from there they would be able to reach the tank's top maintenance hatch. Obi-Wan followed closely behind, but he sensed that something was off. In the murk below, a single yellow eye followed the distant glow and its owner moved in pursuit.
Obi-Wan kept his eyes trained on Anakin's Lightblade so as not to get lost in the darkness. Suddenly, he felt something wrap around his calf and pull him down. In less than a second, he completely lost perspective on which way was up and the enchanted fish jaw flew from his mouth.
The commotion was not lost on Anakin. He turned back and swam as fast as he could after Obi-Wan, brandishing his sword. From the murk to his side, a brown tentacle lashed out towards him, but he fended it off with a quick slash. Through the rusty water, he could just make out the blue glow of what he thought could be his mentor's Lightblade.
Anakin made straight for it as another tentacle failed to grab ahold of him. The blue glow was indeed from Obi-Wan, Anakin realized as the blue glow solidified into the shape of a Lightblade, but it seemed as though Obi-Wan's movements were slowing. Anakin pushed himself as hard as he could, muscles burning as he closed the distance.
He reached out his hand and using the Force, grabbed Obi-Wan. He tried pulling him towards him, but the tentacles held strong. Anakin then pulled himself to Obi-Wan and cut two of the tentacles away. The rest retreated and Anakin began swimming upwards again, holding onto his friend.
Obi-Wan weakly squeezed Anakin to get his attention and gestured towards his mouth. Anakin immediately realized that Obi-Wan had lost his fish jaw. He quickly removed his own and placed it in Obi-Wan's mouth. Immediately, the elder Jedi took several deep breaths and nodded.
The pair of them swam upwards together trying to escape any further attacks from whatever it was below them. They took turns using the fish jaw until they finally breached the surface.
"Where to now?" Obi-Wan asked between gulping breaths.
Anakin pulled out his Lightblade again for light. "That way. There's a ladder leading up to the hatch."
They swam the short distance to the ladder, keeping an eye out for any other surprises. Obi-Wan climbed up first and on reaching the hatch, he was happy to find that the wheel on this one moved. He climbed through into the access shaft and looked down to make sure Anakin didn't run into any problems.
As Anakin climbed through the hatch, a large brown tentacle reached towards him.
"Anakin! Look out!"
He looked down. "Climb!"
The two of them scrambled up the ladder as fast as they could as whatever it was pursued them up the shaft. Writhing tentacles squirmed their way after them. Anakin kicked at one as it got close to his leg.
Obi-Wan reached the top of the shaft and opened the hatch on the wall. It led into a round maintenance tunnel and Obi-Wan wasted no time crawling inside. Anakin followed suit as soon as he reached it, a moment before the the creature would have grabbed him.
The Jedi crawled down the tunnel, not daring to steal a glance back. Behind them, they could hear the squelching slithering of the ravenous creature. When Obi-Wan reached the end of the tunnel, he pushed on the metal access cover and it fell to the floor of the hallway outside with a loud clang. Anakin and Obi-Wan crawled out in a hurry.
"Master, hold the cover in place," Anakin directed as he pulled out his Lightblade.
Obi-Wan did so and Anakin ran the tip of his Lightblade around the edge of the panel, just enough to melt the metal and weld it into place.
Obi-Wan shuddered. "If I can go the rest of my life without running into another dianoga, I can die a happy man." He then reached into his pouch. "Oh, by the way here's your fish jaw back."
"You keep it," Anakin said returning his Lightblade to his belt. "Besides, that's the one I borrowed from you a few months ago."
"Oh, so it is." Obi-Wan returned the jaw to his pouch. "By the way, Anakin, thank you for saving me again."
Anakin smiled. "Any time, Master. Now we'd best get moving."
The Jedi made their way through the maze of corridors, heading towards the ship's stern. Any directional signs they came across were of questionable usefulness at best as they were written in a language neither of them could read.
Obi-Wan turned to Anakin. "Are you sure this is the right way?"
"If the layout is the same as all of the other dreadnoughts I've been on, then yes."
"I'm not sure it is. We've gone through seven four-way intersections already."
"No, we've only gone through six, I've been counting. The elevators should be around the corner."
The two Jedi turned left at the next intersection and at the end of a short hallway sat two sets of elevator doors.
"See, Master? No problem."
From behind them, in the hallway arm opposite theirs, came the unique sounds of automekas unfolding and activating their shield wards.
"I beg to differ," said Obi-Wan slamming the call rune.
For several tense seconds, the two Jedi blocked and dodged the barrage of bolts while they waited for the elevator. Once the doors opened, they quickly backed into the carriage before closing the doors and retracting their Lightblades. Obi-Wan pressed the ascension rune and the elevator began to rise.
"Hands up, Jedi," came a tinny monotone voice.
Anakin and Obi-Wan slowly turned their heads. They had been so preoccupied with the automekas that they didn't notice that the elevator they had backed into had a squad of war automata standing inside. The one who spoke had a shortsword pointed at Obi-Wan's back. The Jedi looked from the automata to each other, then nodded simultaneously.
Anakin and Obi-Wan spun around, igniting their Lightblades as they did so. The automata didn't have a chance to react before they had been reduced to piles of metal.
"Hopefully we won't run into any more distractions," said Anakin.
"I have the feeling we will."
"Try to be optimistic, Master. We've gotten this far."
Back in the hangar, Artu examined the fallen war automata in an attempt to keep himself occupied. Suddenly, he noticed the sound of heavy metal footsteps echoing through the room. Artu quickly rolled his way behind a stack of iron crates. Not five seconds later, two juggernaut automata stomped their way into the hangar.
"Those are definitely Republic delsevs," said one of them in a deep mechanical voice.
"Should we destroy them?" The second voice was identical to the first.
"It would be a waste of ammunition."
The elevator lurched to a sudden halt, sending Anakin and Obi-Wan reeling.
Obi-Wan looked around. "Did you press the stop rune?"
"No, did you?"
"No."
"Maybe it jammed. No worry though, we'll just use the other elevator." Anakin pressed the rune to open the door. It stayed firmly closed. "Hang on."
Anakin flexed the brass fingers of his mechanical hand and wedged them between the doors. Once there was enough room to fit his other hand, he pried the two doors apart enough to see between them.
Obi-Wan leaned over Anakin's shoulder. "Is the coast clear?"
Anakin peered through the gap. The entire hallway outside the elevator was filled with war automata and juggernauts. "Not as such, no." He let the doors snap back closed.
"Their ambushes are getting tiresome."
"Well there's more than one way out of here." Anakin pulled out his Lightblade and began cutting a hole in the ceiling, taking care not to hit the winch system.
"We don't want to get out of here, we just want to get moving again." Obi-Wan tapped his comm crystal. "Artu, reactivate elevator..." He looked for the number. "Eleven."
No response.
"Artu? Are you there?"
Obi-Wan's voice echoed through the hangar from Artu's comm crystal. The nautomaton retreated further behind the crates.
The voice did not go unnoticed by the juggernauts. "What was that?"
Obi-Wan continued. "Artu, can you hear me? We need you to activate elevator eleven."
Artu opened the door on his chassis that held his tool drum and tossed the crystal inside. Obi-Wan's voice became muffled as soon as the door closed.
"The sound stopped," said one of the juggernauts. "Return to patrols."
"Artu, we-" The thud of a large circle of metal hitting the floor next to Obi-Wan startled him.
Anakin admired his handiwork for only a moment before jumping through the hole in the ceiling he had created. Obi-Wan opted to stay inside the elevator carriage. "Always on the move," he said, shaking his head. Obi-Wan tapped his comm crystal again. "Artu, this is urgent. Please respond..."
"...we need you to activate elevator eleven," came Obi-Wan's muffled voice.
Artu emerged from his hiding place and looked around. After ensuring that the juggernauts were nowhere nearby, he rushed over to the interior controls access panel and opened the door on his chassis. Obi-Wan's voice once more echoed around the hangar as Artu's tool drum spun until his system interface tool was in position.
The elevator shot downwards, shocking both Anakin and Obi-Wan. Anakin, from his perch on top of the carriage, jumped and grabbed onto the lip of the elevator door that they had been stopped at. Obi-Wan, meanwhile, plummeted inside the carriage.
Obi-Wan groped for his comm crystal. "Artu, stop! Stop! Artu, we need to be going up!"
Above, the elevator door opened and two war automata leaned through, swords at the ready. "Hands up, Jedi."
"Artu, do you copy?" The juggernauts followed the source of the voice until they were greeted by the sight of a blue and white nautical automaton fiddling with the interior controls.
"You," said one of the juggernauts. "What is your serial number?"
Artu finished inputting the turn combination he had been working on and elsewhere elevator eleven came to a sudden halt. Artu chirped a curse as he watched the juggernauts coming towards him. He started on the next combination.
The elevator rocketed upwards, knocking Obi-Wan down just after he had gotten up following the sudden stop. "Thank you, that's much better," he said into his comm crystal. There was a hint of exasperation in his voice.
Anakin looked down at the sound of the approaching elevator carriage. The two war automata looked to one another with concern, though their metal faces remained as expressionless as ever. Anakin let go and landed on the elevator roof as the carriage obliterated the automata leaning into the shaft.
Anakin hopped back into the carriage though the hole he had cut, startling Obi-Wan. The elder Jedi drew his Lightblade and spun to face Anakin. "Oh, it's you."
One of the juggernauts ripped Artu away from the interior controls and lifted him up. "Nautical automaton 'Artu-Deetu' not recognized. You are being taken into custody."
Artu's tool drum spun and his chassis door opened. A nozzle emerged.
"What-" was all the juggernaut could say before a geyser of machine oil spewed from the nozzle and onto its face. The juggernaut dropped Artu, who was able to coat the front of the other juggernaut as well.
Artu rolled away and watched as the juggernauts slipped on the oil slick left behind. In a particularly fiendish move, Artu spun his tool drum and stopped it on his welding torch. He leaned forward and ignited the trail of oil that he had left behind.
The oil slick erupted into an inferno, engulfing the juggernauts, who flailed as they burned. The burning oil that had seeped inside them melted sensitive components and snapped the cables that controlled the hulking automata. Their mechanical wails distorted away to nothing.
Anakin adjusted his black robes. "Do you have any idea what the..." He made an up and down motion with his index finger. "...was about?"
Obi-Wan smiled. "Well, recently Artu has been-"
Anakin interrupted, holding up his hand in a stop gesture. "No loose screw jokes."
"I didn't say anything."
"He's trying his best."
"I didn't say anything!" Obi-Wan smiled smugly.