Chapter 11 – Dying Light
It took them about a week to come up with a passable plan for the senate. Now it was time to take her stand in defending Mandalore.
Satine and the others were boarding the small ship that would take them to Coruscant. She wasn't that type of a person that would get nervous easily, the years ruling her home world had taught her to be self-conscious und steadfast. But despite all this, the duchess found no comfort in this situation. She didn't know if she would be able to succeed or lose Mandalore to the Death Watch. The blonde woman squeezed her eyes shut and balled her fists; she wouldn't back down easy, she swore to herself.
"You got this, Satine", a crisp voice with a coruscanti accent startled her, "we've got enough evidence to prove Death Watchs' involvement in this and with your rhetorical skills they won't have any other choice than to support you."
Sighing, she turned around to face her jedi. He was leaning slightly against the wall to support himself. The paleness on his face indicated to her that he was still struggling with weakness and exhaustion, even though his injuries had suffently healed enough to remove the sling and cast. The hospital had provided Obi-Wan with a similar brace for his knee like the temple healers had made for him. Still she saw the tremble in his left arm when he tried to lift things up or the pained grimaces every time he took a step without his crutches. And yet he stood before her, worried about her.
Satine smiled. "Thanks, Obi-Wan. I hope you're right." Sometimes she forgot that there was a bond between them, telling him what was going on inside her head. At times she wished that she could do the same on his side. He had opened up to her a lot over the past but she could see that he wasn't telling her everything. The jedi had quietened a little in the past week as if something was bothering him or he was completely lost in thought.
She was about to ask him about it, as their ship was violently jerked out of hyperspace. Both managed to stay on their feet just barely and without having second thoughts, Satine and Obi-Wan bolted for the cockpit.
As they reached it, Anakin and Ahsoka were already fiddling with the controls of the ship. Obi-Wan stepped behind his former padawans' seat and held onto the back of the chair.
"Anakin, what's going on?", he queried.
"Someone pulled us out of hyperspace as you may have noticed", came the quipped answer. He tried one last time to regain the control but to no avail. Anakin cursed and punched the steering wheel with his mechanical hand.
The ship was shaken again and with a wail the ships engines came to a stop. With a groan the transports' hull began to bend slightly due to an outward force. As the floor beneath their feet began to tilt, they saw what had caught them at last. A providence-class destroyer.
All three jedi tensed up as the giant came into view. "Is this the ship I think it is?", Ahsoka whispered.
Anakin and Obi-Wan shared a knowing look. They both new this destroyer and more likely who directed it.
The jedi master swallowed and answered silently: "I think this confirms my suspicion…", he pointed at the ship in front of their view port, "Dooku's with the Death Watch and he was one step ahead of us."
Silence settled over the small ship as they slowly started to drift backwards towards the destroyers' hangars. They were being pulled in by a tractor beam.
"Do we have a plan?", Padme asked after a few seconds.
Four eye pairs locked on the jedi master, whose fingers had tightened around the seat. His jaw was clenched and he seemed to stare at a spot somewhere in front of him.
Satine took a step towards him and cautiously laid a hand on his shoulder. "Obi-Wan?"
This time his head snapped up and he let his gaze sweep over his companions. He shrugged and straightened a little. "We shall see what he wants, maybe I can talk to him."
"You want to negotiate with Dooku?", Anakin asked irritated.
"I'm open for other suggestions." Obi-Wans' eyes bore into his friend, narrowing a little. "I think things are going to escalate soon enough, so the more time we can buy the better."
Their ship slowly came to a halt in the hangar, battle droids and magna guards were lining the sides. A dark figure stood at the end of the large room, flanked by more magna guards.
They all left the small cockpit and headed for the loading ramp. "Let's face the party", Anakin grumbled and pushed the release button to open the ship. With a swoosh the platform descended.
Obi-Wan and Anakin went down first, while the jedi master hung behind a little to avoid falling due to his injured leg. Ahsoka, Padme and Satine trailed behind them, observing the droids.
As soon as they left their ship, they heard the unmistakable clicking of blasters being unlocked. Dooku was advancing at a slow pace, holding an air of authority. He came to a halt a few meters in front of them.
"General Kenobi, still on your feet as I see."
"You have to do better than that if you want to get rid of me, Dooku", the jedi in question answered with a clipped voice, "so, I think we're not here to have a tea party, I presume?"
The Count chuckled. "Ever the negotiator. But yes, you're right", his demeanor darkened, "you and your companions are here to surrender and hand over Mandalore."
"Never." Satine had pushed past the two jedi and was now facing the separatist leader.
"Satine, don't." Obi-Wan hissed silently in her direction.
"He's threatening my planet and people, Obi-Wan. This is my fight as well as it is yours."
Dooku took another step forward. "Duchess Satine Kryze, the pacifist leader. You've got quite the reputation." Behind her the three jedi immediately tensed up as the Force filled with an overwhelming darkness. Their hands hovered above their lightsabers, ready to fight in an instant. Ahsoka pushed herself closer to Padme, trying to shield her from incoming dangers.
"I wouldn't bother with your weapons, jedi. You won't stand a chance against my army here."
Anakin huffed. "You'd be surprised, Dooku."
'Anakin.' Obi-Wan was nudging at him through their training bond.
'What? You know I'm right', he quipped.
'For Force sake, that's not what I meant. Look.' Practically rolling his eyes inwardly, Obi-Wan pointed at the ceilings' structure with the Force.
Anakin smirked, as his masters' idea dawned on him. 'I like your thinking, master.'
If they were to loosen the metal plates on the hangars' ceiling, burying the droids underneath them, they would still have to deal with Dooku, his guards and their escape.
'What about Dooku?'
'We'll keep him busy. You think Ahsoka can get the ship running again?'
Having listened to the conversation through her bond, Ahsoka chimed in. 'You can count on me, masters.'
'Good', Obi-Wan said, 'then let's go'.
Both master and former padawan called upon the Force. Using their hands, they concentrated on the small buttresses, crushing them in a swift motion to let the ceiling crumble down on the droids.
Crack. The destroyer rocketed as the structure came apart. As the dust begun to set, the jedi used the moment of distraction to take action. Obi-Wan pulled out his lightsaber and pushed Satine towards the ship. "Go, help Ahsoka and Padme." Blue eyes were staring daggers into him and she clearly was angry at him for risking his life again. Nevertheless, she listened to him and stormed back towards the ship.
Centering himself, Obi-Wan took his stance oppose of Dooku and the magna guards together with Anakin.
The Dark Side became almost suffocating. "You won't get away this time." The red lightsaber activated and Dooku attacked, left hand behind his back.
The jedi moved in tandem, Anakin pressing down on his enemy with aggressive swings while Obi-Wan was on the defensive side, cutting down the magna guards. Despite his injury the jedi master moved almost flawless for the observing eye, making quick action with the droids. But he knew that Dooku had caught onto his weakness, as he felt an extern pressure start to build up on his bones.
'He's crushing me.'
Using the Force, he fought back against the oppressing energy. It was tiring and the jedi master felt his concentration slip. The passive attack seemed almost effortless for Dooku, as he was still keeping up with both jedi without breaking a sweat.
Anakin swung high, forcing Dooku to dive beneath the attack. As he slipped past the blue blade, he twisted around midair and let his sword come down on the jedis' now exposed back. Obi-Wan blocked the swing mere inches from his padawans spine, giving Anakin just enough time to jump away.
The siths' ember eyes locked onto Obi-Wans' grey-blue ones. "I should have ended you both back on Geonosis", he growled, pushing the jedi further back with his lightsaber. The pressure was building further up. They needed to get an opening if they wanted to succeed. Obi-Wan shot a quick glance at Anakin, who was preparing for another attack. Behind him the ships' engine came to life with a roar. 'Now or never.'
The jedi master let his defense in the Force drop and pushed his remaining strength into his friends' attack. The second Dookus' attack barreled free through him; it felt all the light was swept away from him. He went down with a scream as he felt his tendons and bones twist underneath the attack. Another push sent him flying and he made contact with the hard ground about fifteen meters away from the fight.
He was the Chosen One. He could do this. Anakin saw how Obi-Wan had stopped Dookus' attack to slice through his back. His master wasn't looking good, he was almost deathly pale. 'He's being attacked through the Force', he realized. Using his bought time, the knight gathered his strength to get the Sith away from Obi-Wan. He swung his lightsaber in a low arc from behind, putting as much strength behind the swing as he could. As he moved, he felt a sudden energy burst flow through him.
Obi-Wan.
He didn't dare to look back, but he knew that his master had dropped his defense to support his advance. The scream that followed confirmed his thoughts. With a cry, Anakin let his lightsaber bore down on the Sith. Of course, Dooku met the blade with surprising grace such as an old man could possess. Still the sudden power outburst had put the man off-guard for a second. Blue and red blade cracking between them, the Count suddenly began to grin wickedly. "You won't win, Skywalker. You still haven't learned a thing since we met last. Let's give you another reminder of your place."
Their lightsabers still interlocked; Anakin didn't manage to dodge the force lightening. As the energy hit his body, the jedi felt his skin burn and muscles twitch in agony. The lightsaber clattered to the ground with the sound of finality. His mechanical hand short circuited, the wires melting inside his stump. As he laid twisting and smoking on the ground, Anakin sent one last message to his padawan.
'Ahsoka, go. NOW!', he pressed through their force bond, trying to blend out his pain. He felt his padawan recoil in an instant, but he knew his words had hit home. Before he finally succumbed to the force lightening, he saw the ship take off and bolt out off the hangar.