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Dooku walked slowly back to his transport. It had been a difficult thing to do, to betray Qui-Gon's apprentice, but he hoped that in time, Obi-Wan could come to understand why he did it. He entered his ship and took off toward the droid factories. He had some very precious cargo to deliver to a certain Nute Gunray.
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Obi-Wan hung, suspended in the binds, wondering what it all meant. Dooku's earlier soliloquy had done nothing to ease his nerves, it had only served to confuse him. The Count's words about family and connections had felt entirely anomalous.
Obi-Wan tried to meditate. He felt the Force pulse through his veins, and the look of regret that had earlier flashed in Dooku's eyes swam through Obi-Wan's mind once again. Obi-Wan did not know what was going on with the old Jedi Master, but his words echoed inside of Obi-Wan. "I hope, Obi-Wan, that you will come to forgive my mistakes."
What does it all mean? Obi-Wan did not know what the Count meant by his words, and the confusion only felt as though it was becoming more and more deeply rooted inside of him. Obi-Wan did not know what would happen to him, but he was sure that it was not going to be fun.
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"That's it," Sarah pointed out to Anakin, "Geonosis."
Anakin nodded and steered the ship directly towards the planet. As they entered the atmosphere, they immediately noticed the huge columns of smoke rising towards the sky. They glanced at each other and Anakin steered the ship directly towards the columns. It would make good cover.
They quickly approached the building, and despite Anakin's objections, Artoo and Threepio followed closely behind the two Jedi. With a combined effort, Sarah and Anakin were able to manipulate the door to open by using the Force.
They stepped inside, and when they saw that they were in a vast droid factory, they went to turn back, but the small little platform that they were standing on began to recline back into the wall. Thanks to their good reflexes, they were able to grab small handholds and avoid falling, but instead, were left hanging precariously over the giant machines.
"Sarah?" Anakin said.
"What?" She said, a bit agitatedly.
"I have a bad feeling about this."
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Obi-Wan was still suspended in the air, trying to find some sort of peace through meditation when Count Dooku entered the room, using the Force to close the door behind him. "And so, we meet again Master Kenobi."
Obi-Wan did not speak, he simply glared at the Count.
"I have not come here to chew your ear off, Master Kenobi," Dooku said. "I have simply come here with a proposition for you."
"I will not make any deals with you, Dooku."
"You have not even heard what I have to say, Master Kenobi. I would have thought that Qui-Gon would have instilled the ability to listen to his Padawan."
With no reply from Obi-Wan, Dooku sighed and continued, "Join me, Obi-Wan. Do it for me, the man who is almost like your grandfather."
"I will never join you, Dooku. You may have left the Jedi, but my loyalty will always remain."
"The Republic can no longer be trusted Obi-Wan," Dooku said with great significance in his voice. He looked pointedly at Obi-Wan. "Leaders often become corrupt Master Kenobi."
Obi-Wan stared back. Dooku was trying to tell him something, but what? Dooku continued to gaze up at Obi-Wan, but after a few more moments, he turned away. Before he left he said, "As I said when we spoke before Obi-Wan, I am sorry. And I am especially sorry that I must say goodbye like this, but it may be difficult to secure your release."
Dooku glanced back one final time at Obi-Wan, and then exited, leaving Obi-Wan hanging, once again suspended in his own thoughts.
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As Dooku stepped outside, a droid commander approached him and spoke, in its mechanical voice, "Count Dooku, we have located two unknown trespassers in the droid factory."
The droid led Dooku to a security holo, and Dooku immediately recognized the two trespassers. "I want them captured immediately," Dooku said. "But I want them alive. They can join their Master in the arena."
"Yes Count," the droid replied, and it marched off.
Dooku was amazed that the two Jedi Padawans had found their way to Geonosis. It was just as Sidious had predicted.
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In the droid factory, Sarah and Anakin had been hanging when the door slid open once again. A horde of angry Geonosians stood over the Jedi, all holding archaic-looking weapons, though no doubt sharp ones. At the same moment, they both glanced down and saw a line of battle droids marching and surrounding them on the ground.
"Oh, this is bad," Anakin muttered.
"Way to state the obvious," Sarah retorted.
"Do you have a plan?" Anakin asked.
She looked at him, "What, you mean you missed that lesson? You know, that one on choosing between blasters and remarkably sharp looking sticks?" She said sarcastically.
"Oh yeah, that one," Anakin muttered.
Without much deliberation, and with no more than a glance, the Jedi dropped, and as they landed, they pulled out their lightsabers and began cutting down droids, simultaneously dodging the pounding and sharp machines.
The termite-like Geonosians fluttered down to their level and also surrounded the Jedi. They were outnumbered easily, as more and more droids flooded the factory. It didn't help that Anakin had been caught off balance and his lightsaber had been thrown right into one of the pounding machines.
"Oh great," he moaned as he summoned his lightsaber and sparks shot out of the hilt, "As if Obi-Wan's lecture won't already be long enough."
A few levels above, Sarah, it seemed, was not doing any better. She continued to Force-push the Geonosians and droids out of her way, but they were beginning to surround her. When she saw that Anakin's lightsaber had burned out, she leapt down to cover him from the blaster bolts.
But as she joined him, five droidekas rolled out, activated their shields, and their blasters were pulled out and ready to shoot. They were joined by twenty droids and even more Geonosians.
"So," said Sarah, out of breath, "this is bad."
All that Anakin could do was nod.
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Dooku walked back to his ship once again. The droid commander had informed him that its units had successfully captured Obi-Wan's Padawans. They would soon join their Master for the execution. Dooku tried to fall into the dark side, but it would not allow him. He knew that his compassion had always been his downfall in his quest as a Sith. Or so that was what he would tell himself.
Deep inside, Dooku knew that he was not, nor would he ever be, a true Sith Lord. He often got the feeling that Sidious did not trust him entirely, and he was often sure that he did not trust Sidious either. Though he would never admit it, his decision to leave the Jedi had been the most difficult that he had ever made, and after his decades as a Jedi Master, he knew that he could never fully betray the principles of the Jedi.
Dooku punched in the access code into a small and dark room on the ship. The look in young Kenobi's eyes at Dooku's betrayal continued to bother him. It was not just the young Jedi that he was betraying, but it was Qui-Gon as well.
"I am so sorry, my young apprentice," Dooku whispered. In the limited time that they had had together in Dooku's final years as a Jedi, conversations with Qui-Gon had often been of his apprentice, Obi-Wan. Dooku was grateful to the young Padawan, for healing Qui-Gon's heart.
Dooku had seen the true weariness and sadness in Qui-Gon's eyes after the betrayal of his first apprentice, Xanatos, and Dooku was thankful that Qui-Gon had been able to find a new apprentice that would make him proud. Though Qui-Gon rarely sang his praises to the boy himself, Dooku had been happy to hear the pride in Qui-Gon's voice when he would speak of young Kenobi's great accomplishments...when he spoke of the great Jedi that Obi-Wan would become.
Dooku sighed as he slid open the door to the small room. He knew that Sidious had long had his eye on young Anakin Skywalker, and his instructions to Dooku had been simple. Destroy the two women and the Master that Skywalker loved so much.
This was Skywalker's first test. And as Dooku entered the room to face his cargo, he realized what a difficult challenge this would be for the young Jedi Padawan.
"Hello, Senator." Dooku said as he strolled into the room and faced Padme Amidala.
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A/N: Uh...I don't think that I really have anything too important to say here, just thanks for reading, and feedback is always most appreciated!
Er..."Flying is for droids!" yeah...and I also think we might have lost something...like half the ship (never a very good sign) .
Have an excellent next few days!