Chapter 7:
The small, reflective Nubian Ship came out of hyper drive and hovered above the city planet of Courascant. The team of rescuers stared out of the cockpit window silently, keeping their thoughts on the mission ahead.
"According to our information, they are keeping Valorum on that super star destroyer." Padme exclaimed, pointing to the large triangle shaped space ship. She then hesitated for a moment. "What I don't understand is why they are keeping him off the planet."
"Security reasons I assume." Obi Wan answered quietly. "It would be harder for any escape attempts on a highly guarded battle ship."
"What is our course of action M'lady?" Captain Typho who was piloting the ship asked after a moment.
"I don't know." Padme admitted.
"Well, I think our course of action has been chosen for us." Obi Wan stated with his eyes closed.
"What?" Padme looked over at her friend, confused. Suddenly an alarm started to sound inside the cock pit.
"We're trapped in a tractor beam!" Captain Panaka cried from his position in the co pilots seat.
***
Siri descended down the grand stair case of the palace several hours after the rescue team had left the planet. She noticed that the sun was setting, and she suddenly felt bad for acting so immature and not helping out with the children sooner. She softly opened a door only to find all four of the Jedi children fast asleep, she smiled to herself. She then headed to the kitchen and found Dorme sitting at the kitchen table.
"You're awake." Dorme said with a warm smile.
"Yes I am. . . I'm sorry about that Dorme." Siri said, pouring herself a cup of jawa juice.
"No worries master Jedi." Dorme exclaimed, getting up to wash her own cup.
Siri watched her for a moment and cleared her throat before speaking. "Dorme, don't you ever stop?"
"Stop?" "I mean don't you ever get tired of serving?" Siri asked, sitting down at the table, sipping her drink.
Dorme sighed and was silent for a moment. "No." She simply answered.
"Why?"
"If I stop serving then I'd have to actually think about everything going on around me." Dorme stated with a far away look on her face. Siri realized how little she knew about this woman and suddenly felt bad. "Also if I wasn't serving Amidala then I wouldn't know what to do with myself. That makes me sound crazy doesn't it?"
"Not at all."
"I know she isn't a queen anymore, or even a senator but. . . you know I've been with her for most of my life, I almost feel like I have no other purpose in this galaxy other than a life of servitude." She sat down next to Siri. "I don't expect a Jedi to understand that."
"I understand more than you know." Siri stated with a soft smile. The two women sat in silence for a moment, thinking about different situations. Siri looked at Dorme. "You want another cup?"
"No, too much caffeine, I'll never be able to sleep tonight."
Siri walked up to a cupboard and took out a bottle of dark blue liquid and poured it into two glasses and handed one to Dorme. "Here."
Dorme took the glass. "I thought this belonged to Master Kenobi?" She asked with a cocked eyebrow.
"Well he drinks too much anyways, if he notices then we'll just tell him he drank it." Siri said with a smile and the two women laughed.
Dorme swallowed the very strong drink with a groan and composed herself before she spoke again. "So, tell me about it."
"About what?"
"Master Obi Wan. How did you know he was the one?" Dorme asked.
Siri smiled and took a swig of her own drink. "The one? You know Dorme it's funny how I spent my entire life devoted to a code that made us stray away from feelings of finding codependency on another person, but I guess these things happen even to the most disciplined Jedi." She took another sip of her drink and Dorme smiled. "I've known Obi Wan since he was 13. We didn't get along very well when we were apprentices, he got on every nerve I had and I know I annoyed him even worse. Eventually we grew out of that stage and became close friends. It was a constant amusement for us to find that our own padawans didn't like each other very much." Her voice seemed to almost trail off as she continued. "I remember the night I returned to the temple after the massacre on Geonosis, I hadn't been there, but the pain from that battle was etched on the faces of everyone who had been. None more so than Obi Wan. His expression was stone, but his eyes gave away a deep rooted pain. Outwardly he said that it was the will of the force, but inwardly he felt it was all his fault." She sighed a deep sigh. "He always took it upon himself to take the blame when someone he cared for died. I remember his leg was still wounded the night I came back, so I helped him to his quarters." Dorme listened intently to her story. "We shared our first kiss that night. And I have to tell you there is no way that man had never kissed another woman as he had claimed."
"Really?" Dorme smiled and Siri raised an eyebrow and nodded.
"We never spoke of that kiss again, we never had another moment like that again until the night they brought him back to the temple after his battle with Anakin. I remember how pitiful he looked. His body was ravaged and broken. His jaw had been fractured after a blow from his wayward apprentice's fist, and he had a huge gash across his chest caused by a light saber. The healers didn't think he'd survive. I sat there holding his hand and I promised him that if he survived I would bind myself to him." She chuckled at the memory, and Dorme smiled. "And you know what? That stubborn Gundark held me to that promise."
"But you love him right?" Dorme asked.
"Well I love him enough to humor his silly anxieties and stay behind." Siri answered, putting the bottle of liquor away. Dorme had a look of shock on his face. "Yes I love him, I mean as much as I am capable of love. Emotions were never my strong point." She admitted.
***
"Can you get us out of here?" Padme asked, rushing up towards Captain Typho, with a worried look on her face.
"Sorry M'lady." He looked back at Padme and Obi Wan. "What do we do?"
Padme looked over at Obi Wan with a look of sheer panic on her face.
"I think we still have time to jettison the escape pods." Captain Panaka exclaimed, getting to his feet.
"Good thinking Captain, tell the men to jettison the escape pods, and to find a good place to hide." Obi Wan finally spoke.
"What?" Padme asked and Panaka stopped in his tracks, staring at the Jedi in confusion.
"Are you crazy?" Panaka asked.
"Listen, you have to trust me. This is the best way for us to get in undetected." Obi Wan explained.
"What you are proposing is suicide." Panaka argued.
Obi Wan huffed, he had forgotten how frustrating it was to fight with Panaka, even after all these years the man still wouldn't take the Jedi's advice. "Listen, for once trust me." He then turned towards captain Typho. "Have I ever given you reason not to trust me?"
Typho shook his head. "No you haven't master Jedi." The two men looked over at Panaka who still was shaking his head. He finally sighed, realizing he was out numbered.
"As long as you don't suggest we go back to Tatooine, I still say those Hutts are gangsters." He finally gave in.
"I assure you I will never ask you to return to Tatooine." Obi Wan promised. "Now let's get those escape pods out into space."
Panaka and Typho took off in a run, leaving Obi Wan and Padme alone. "You sure this will work?" Padme asked, concern showing on her features.
Obi Wan looked at the star destroyer getting closer and closer. "I guess we will find out."
***
"I have to tell you, when I first saw Obi Wan when he came to our rescue on Naboo all those years ago, I immediately fell in love." Dorme smiled at the memory. "We all did, even Padme. . . especially Padme."
Siri suddenly felt a disturbance through the force, it was almost like a cold wind blowing around her, making the hair on the back of her neck stand up. She closed her eyes and listened to the force.
"Siri?" Dorme noticed the Jedi wasn't listening to her anymore. "Is there something wrong?"
Siri's eyes snapped open and she slowly stood up. "Are we the only ones here?" She asked.
"Just us and the children, everyone else went on the mission." Dorme answered, feeling uneasy.
Suddenly the palace was plunged into darkness. Dorme let out a small scream when it happened.
"What do we do?" Dorme asked, franticly.
Siri pulled a glow rod from her belt and lit it. The two women stared at each other in the soft green glow. Siri reached for her light saber, but then realized she had left it in her room. She silently cursed herself. "Go to the children." She said softly. Dorme was on the verge of hyper ventilating. Siri had to physically shake the woman to get her to react. "Whatever happens Dorme, we must protect the children."
The small, reflective Nubian Ship came out of hyper drive and hovered above the city planet of Courascant. The team of rescuers stared out of the cockpit window silently, keeping their thoughts on the mission ahead.
"According to our information, they are keeping Valorum on that super star destroyer." Padme exclaimed, pointing to the large triangle shaped space ship. She then hesitated for a moment. "What I don't understand is why they are keeping him off the planet."
"Security reasons I assume." Obi Wan answered quietly. "It would be harder for any escape attempts on a highly guarded battle ship."
"What is our course of action M'lady?" Captain Typho who was piloting the ship asked after a moment.
"I don't know." Padme admitted.
"Well, I think our course of action has been chosen for us." Obi Wan stated with his eyes closed.
"What?" Padme looked over at her friend, confused. Suddenly an alarm started to sound inside the cock pit.
"We're trapped in a tractor beam!" Captain Panaka cried from his position in the co pilots seat.
***
Siri descended down the grand stair case of the palace several hours after the rescue team had left the planet. She noticed that the sun was setting, and she suddenly felt bad for acting so immature and not helping out with the children sooner. She softly opened a door only to find all four of the Jedi children fast asleep, she smiled to herself. She then headed to the kitchen and found Dorme sitting at the kitchen table.
"You're awake." Dorme said with a warm smile.
"Yes I am. . . I'm sorry about that Dorme." Siri said, pouring herself a cup of jawa juice.
"No worries master Jedi." Dorme exclaimed, getting up to wash her own cup.
Siri watched her for a moment and cleared her throat before speaking. "Dorme, don't you ever stop?"
"Stop?" "I mean don't you ever get tired of serving?" Siri asked, sitting down at the table, sipping her drink.
Dorme sighed and was silent for a moment. "No." She simply answered.
"Why?"
"If I stop serving then I'd have to actually think about everything going on around me." Dorme stated with a far away look on her face. Siri realized how little she knew about this woman and suddenly felt bad. "Also if I wasn't serving Amidala then I wouldn't know what to do with myself. That makes me sound crazy doesn't it?"
"Not at all."
"I know she isn't a queen anymore, or even a senator but. . . you know I've been with her for most of my life, I almost feel like I have no other purpose in this galaxy other than a life of servitude." She sat down next to Siri. "I don't expect a Jedi to understand that."
"I understand more than you know." Siri stated with a soft smile. The two women sat in silence for a moment, thinking about different situations. Siri looked at Dorme. "You want another cup?"
"No, too much caffeine, I'll never be able to sleep tonight."
Siri walked up to a cupboard and took out a bottle of dark blue liquid and poured it into two glasses and handed one to Dorme. "Here."
Dorme took the glass. "I thought this belonged to Master Kenobi?" She asked with a cocked eyebrow.
"Well he drinks too much anyways, if he notices then we'll just tell him he drank it." Siri said with a smile and the two women laughed.
Dorme swallowed the very strong drink with a groan and composed herself before she spoke again. "So, tell me about it."
"About what?"
"Master Obi Wan. How did you know he was the one?" Dorme asked.
Siri smiled and took a swig of her own drink. "The one? You know Dorme it's funny how I spent my entire life devoted to a code that made us stray away from feelings of finding codependency on another person, but I guess these things happen even to the most disciplined Jedi." She took another sip of her drink and Dorme smiled. "I've known Obi Wan since he was 13. We didn't get along very well when we were apprentices, he got on every nerve I had and I know I annoyed him even worse. Eventually we grew out of that stage and became close friends. It was a constant amusement for us to find that our own padawans didn't like each other very much." Her voice seemed to almost trail off as she continued. "I remember the night I returned to the temple after the massacre on Geonosis, I hadn't been there, but the pain from that battle was etched on the faces of everyone who had been. None more so than Obi Wan. His expression was stone, but his eyes gave away a deep rooted pain. Outwardly he said that it was the will of the force, but inwardly he felt it was all his fault." She sighed a deep sigh. "He always took it upon himself to take the blame when someone he cared for died. I remember his leg was still wounded the night I came back, so I helped him to his quarters." Dorme listened intently to her story. "We shared our first kiss that night. And I have to tell you there is no way that man had never kissed another woman as he had claimed."
"Really?" Dorme smiled and Siri raised an eyebrow and nodded.
"We never spoke of that kiss again, we never had another moment like that again until the night they brought him back to the temple after his battle with Anakin. I remember how pitiful he looked. His body was ravaged and broken. His jaw had been fractured after a blow from his wayward apprentice's fist, and he had a huge gash across his chest caused by a light saber. The healers didn't think he'd survive. I sat there holding his hand and I promised him that if he survived I would bind myself to him." She chuckled at the memory, and Dorme smiled. "And you know what? That stubborn Gundark held me to that promise."
"But you love him right?" Dorme asked.
"Well I love him enough to humor his silly anxieties and stay behind." Siri answered, putting the bottle of liquor away. Dorme had a look of shock on his face. "Yes I love him, I mean as much as I am capable of love. Emotions were never my strong point." She admitted.
***
"Can you get us out of here?" Padme asked, rushing up towards Captain Typho, with a worried look on her face.
"Sorry M'lady." He looked back at Padme and Obi Wan. "What do we do?"
Padme looked over at Obi Wan with a look of sheer panic on her face.
"I think we still have time to jettison the escape pods." Captain Panaka exclaimed, getting to his feet.
"Good thinking Captain, tell the men to jettison the escape pods, and to find a good place to hide." Obi Wan finally spoke.
"What?" Padme asked and Panaka stopped in his tracks, staring at the Jedi in confusion.
"Are you crazy?" Panaka asked.
"Listen, you have to trust me. This is the best way for us to get in undetected." Obi Wan explained.
"What you are proposing is suicide." Panaka argued.
Obi Wan huffed, he had forgotten how frustrating it was to fight with Panaka, even after all these years the man still wouldn't take the Jedi's advice. "Listen, for once trust me." He then turned towards captain Typho. "Have I ever given you reason not to trust me?"
Typho shook his head. "No you haven't master Jedi." The two men looked over at Panaka who still was shaking his head. He finally sighed, realizing he was out numbered.
"As long as you don't suggest we go back to Tatooine, I still say those Hutts are gangsters." He finally gave in.
"I assure you I will never ask you to return to Tatooine." Obi Wan promised. "Now let's get those escape pods out into space."
Panaka and Typho took off in a run, leaving Obi Wan and Padme alone. "You sure this will work?" Padme asked, concern showing on her features.
Obi Wan looked at the star destroyer getting closer and closer. "I guess we will find out."
***
"I have to tell you, when I first saw Obi Wan when he came to our rescue on Naboo all those years ago, I immediately fell in love." Dorme smiled at the memory. "We all did, even Padme. . . especially Padme."
Siri suddenly felt a disturbance through the force, it was almost like a cold wind blowing around her, making the hair on the back of her neck stand up. She closed her eyes and listened to the force.
"Siri?" Dorme noticed the Jedi wasn't listening to her anymore. "Is there something wrong?"
Siri's eyes snapped open and she slowly stood up. "Are we the only ones here?" She asked.
"Just us and the children, everyone else went on the mission." Dorme answered, feeling uneasy.
Suddenly the palace was plunged into darkness. Dorme let out a small scream when it happened.
"What do we do?" Dorme asked, franticly.
Siri pulled a glow rod from her belt and lit it. The two women stared at each other in the soft green glow. Siri reached for her light saber, but then realized she had left it in her room. She silently cursed herself. "Go to the children." She said softly. Dorme was on the verge of hyper ventilating. Siri had to physically shake the woman to get her to react. "Whatever happens Dorme, we must protect the children."
