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Padme's legs and arms were aching from the tight binds. She had been forced into an uncomfortable position and thrown on the floor of the ship. She had felt it shudder and take off, and her fear was rapidly increasing.
For the rest of the flight, she tried to control her fear as she lay in her awkward position. She thought of Anakin and Sarah, and she regretted letting them convince her to stay on Naboo. She tried to shift, but her bound wrists and feet were not allowing her to find a more comfortable position.
She did not know how long she had been on the floor of the ship when she felt it shudder as it landed. A door slid open and light flooded into the dark room, and her head snapped up. When her eyes finally adjusted and she saw her attacker, her eyes widened in fear.
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After what felt like hours, Obi-Wan decided that it would be safe to land on Geonosis. He had no doubt that that had been the bounty hunter's original destination. He sped off in his starfighter to the red planet. As he entered the atmosphere, he saw that the planet was filled with winding canyons, and off in the distance, he could see columns of steam rising.
Obi-Wan landed gently on a small break in a cliff. He took out his electrobinolculars and scanned the area all around him. When he focused in on the steam columns, the Force surged, and he knew instinctively that this was where he should be.
He began to make his way slowly down the cliff, but finally he just gave up, knowing that it could take all day. He gathered the Force around him and leapt off the cliff. It was a jump that would have killed any regular person, but for Obi-Wan, he simply landed gracefully and began to walk the long distance to the factories.
As he walked, Obi-Wan's thoughts turned to Anakin and Sarah. When he thought of them, he sensed something odd. But he tried not to dwell on it. After all, he tried to convince, they are perfectly capable of handling this mission...right?
Obi-Wan quickly tried to shake these thoughts out his head, as he was quickly approaching the buildings, and he knew that he would need his full attention. He snuck into the building that he saw, using a mind trick to get past the Geonosian guards and into the building.
He quietly moved along the walls, heightening his senses to pick up voices, when he heard a chillingly familiar voice. Obi-Wan had only met Count Dooku a few times in his training, as the fallen Jedi Master had usually been off on important missions. It was said that Dooku could beat Mace Windu in a spar.
Obi-Wan strained to hear what they were saying. Dooku was leading a small group, telling them the benefits of joining the Separatists, and obviously trying to gain monetary support. Obi-Wan followed them into a small conference room, listening intently to their conversation.
He heard the slimy Neimoidian, Nute Gunray speak quietly to Dooku off to the side. "The Trade Federation has been paying you well, Count. I trust that you are getting what we discussed done."
Obi-Wan was surprised that the coward creature had the backbone to speak to the imposing Dooku in that manner. Dooku replied to Gunray, "Oh, I can certainly assure you that it has been taken care of."
"Good," Gunray said, satisfied. "The Trade Federation would not want to have to pull out our funds from your battle droid projects...they are, after all, beginning to get expensive."
Obi-Wan thought that he saw Dooku's eyes change in the smallest of ways, but a moment later, he could no longer tell. Dooku swept his arms out grandly and offered his guests seats at the large conference table. Obi-Wan felt the Force surge in the moments before Dooku joined them. All of the sudden, a fresh wave of dread swept over Obi-Wan. There was a moment that he was sure that the Count may have sensed his presence.
Knowing that he may have put himself in considerable danger, Obi-Wan took of silently and quickly back to his starfighter. Though he had never considered it much before, in conversations with other Knights and Masters, Obi-Wan had been told tales of how, if a Master and Padawan had a truly strong bond with each other, it could be carried on, and that Padawan's eventual apprentice would be linked to their Master's Master.
Obi-Wan had heard these tales, but he had never had much opportunity to explore the issue. Because Qui-Gon was no longer alive, he did not know if Sarah and Anakin would have been linked to him. But as he made his way back to his ship, the thoughts flooded in his mind, that if these myths were true, then he should be linked to Dooku.
In Obi-Wan's mind, that seemed a bit ludicrous, but there had been no doubt of the moment back where the secret meeting was being held. All of the sudden, a strange wave of dread crashed over Obi-Wan, but it seemed splintered in many directions. He felt a disturbance in the Force coming from his Padawans, and the mission was making him feel entirely uneasy. This new thought about Dooku also brought a new dimension to his conflict.
If Anakin and Sarah were linked through the Masters and Padawans to Dooku, Obi-Wan feared that it could put them in danger. Get a grip, Kenobi. Dooku left the Jedi. That is all. He trained Qui-Gon, it is completely irrational to assume without proof that he has turned to the dark.
Obi-Wan reached his ship, the thoughts still tumbling around in his mind. He tried to find his calm center. He needed to contact the Council...perhaps they could help wade through this new information.
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The ride back to the Lars homestead was silent and tense. The two Jedi Padawans pushed their swoops, and the twin suns began to rise, beating down their relentless heat on the desert planet. Anakin had laid Shmi's body gently on the back of his swoop.
After what felt like an eternity in the intense silence, they arrived back. The suns were high now, and the planet was sweltering, blurring everything in the heat. At the sound of the swoops, Owen and Beru ran out to meet the Jedi, Cliegg following not far behind in his hoverchair.
Anakin leapt off the bike and gathered Shmi's body in his arms. When Owen the body, his hand flew to his mouth, and Beru began to silently cry. Cliegg took one look, and his grief seemed to be too much. All he did was close his eyes as his heart broke.
All five were completely silent. Owen and Anakin set immediately to digging a grave. Sarah remained completely silent. The memory of what had happened at the Tusken Camp was still fresh and raw. She took a deep breath, and tried not to look at Anakin.
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"Arfour, scramble this message to the Jedi Temple," Obi-Wan told the astromech.
He waited a moment, impatiently, the feeling of trepidation growing as the seconds ticked by. When he realized that his long-range transmitter must have gotten knocked out, he could not help but swear underneath his breath. His agitation was mounting as the hairs on the back of his neck prickled uncomfortably.
Finally, he decided that Naboo would be closer, but when neither of his Padawans answered the signal, he began to get angry. "Where in the Force can they be?" He muttered.
Obi-Wan extended the tracking signal, and when a result finally came up, Obi-Wan shook his head. The readout said that they were on Tatooine. Obi-Wan ran a frustrated hand through his beard, "What in the blazes are they doing on Tatooine?" But deep in his heart, he knew why they were on Tatooine. The words that he had spoken to Anakin what seemed like forever ago echoed in his mind. Dreams pass in time, was what he had told him.
Obi-Wan shook his head and stepped out of the starfighter. If they were on Tatooine, then that was where he would have to send the message. He began to speak into the transmitter that would capture his holoimage. The fear inside of him began to mount and he raced to give as much information as possible, but when he heard the droidekas arrive, all he could do was spin around and ignite his lightsaber, cutting his transmission short.
When he focused on the figure arriving out of the shadows of the cliffs, his mouth dropped, though he did not feel surprise. Count Dooku stepped up to Obi-Wan, "Master Kenobi, I have been looking forward to this meeting."
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A/N: Sorry to leave off here, but you know what they say, a cliffhanger a day keeps the Sith away...thanks for reading! More to come soon...