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From somewhere in the nebulous distance of the obsidian sky, three Jedi starfighters burst forth from hyperspace and entered into Coruscant's atmosphere. They had been out fighting the sieges in the Outer Rim when they had received the transmission from the Jedi Temple.
The Jedi Council could trust no others to complete this task. When the matter of the Supreme Chancellor's life was at stake, they had to have the best. They had to have the most seamless team amongst the Jedi come.
They had to have Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Sarah Walterr. They would be fools if they did not call them.
Three years had passed since the beginning of the Clone Wars. Battles had been fought across the vast galaxy, and many Jedi had been killed. The war was nearing its end though, the Force was warning the Jedi.
These three starfighters flew together in perfect congruence. One blue, one red, and one an obnoxious yellow color. It was no mystery to whom the yellow one belonged. Younglings across the galaxy were enraptured by Anakin--by his dashing boldness and bravery.
Anakin was twenty-two, the "Hero With No Fear," (a title which he personally despised). He had been knighted shortly after Sarah had, and his short hair indicative of Jedi Padawans was now gone, replaced by a much longer style. The thin scar down his eye was just one of the many reminders of the war that he had been fighting.
Sarah flew in the blue starfighter. Where those across the galaxy admired Anakin's bravado, they just as equally admired her cool intuitiveness. At twenty-one, she did not make a show of her many victories, but the list was nevertheless extensive.
And then there was Obi-Wan. The Negotiator. The brilliant Jedi Master who trained two of the finest Jedi in the Order. His red ship flanked the massive Republic ships. His rise to the Jedi Council had shocked the modest man. Sometimes, Obi-Wan still felt as though he were a new Knight, ignorant and rash, but the Council seemed to have a tremendous amount of faith in him.
The three had been fighting some of the Outer Rim sieges together and some on separate missions, but it was evident that they functioned best as a team.
Obi-Wan was still in shock that Anakin and Sarah were both Knights now. There were times when he still saw the eleven-year-old Padawans who fought with each other instead of the two distinguished Knights they now were.
He was immensely proud of both, but there was a part of Obi-Wan that wished they were still Padawans. He looked at them now, and he saw the effects of the war on their faces. Their eyes lacked sparkle despite their youth, and their mouths rarely curled into smiles. He missed the innocence and laughter that the three had once shared. They would still make attempts at jokes and teasing Obi-Wan, but it was all half-hearted, and Obi-Wan knew they only did it for the benefit of their old Master.
There was still so much tension between Anakin and Sarah, that the two also tried to mask from Obi-Wan. But he knew them both too well, and he could see through the pathetic attempts at shields. It hurt Obi-Wan to see the distance that had grown between them.
Obi-Wan knew that they had not discussed their brief relationship in the year the War started. He knew that they would have to have the conversation eventually, but he could see how they avoided it. There were times now when things felt painfully strained between the two, but as much as Obi-Wan wished to help, he knew that he could not.
Obi-Wan had seen Anakin's jealousy and brief flash of anger when he had discovered that Sarah had been knighted before him, and this impertinent attitude had cost Anakin another year under Obi-Wan's tutelage, before he had completed his trial. But that is in the past, Obi-Wan would often think to himself.
A sudden blast on his left brought Obi-Wan back to the present. They had been called by the Council on an immediate rescue mission. The news that the Supreme Chancellor had been captured by General Grievous had shocked Obi-Wan. This would surely be a determining moment of the war.
The three starfighters raced across the sky, perfectly in tune with the Force, avoiding the explosions and the warring ships. Clones were fighting behind the Jedi, trying to deflect the tension away.
Sarah was gripping the controls until her knuckles began to turn a ghostly kind of white. She still hated to fly. Though the years in the war had forced her to do it often, it continued to irk her.
Anakin, on the other hand, was swerving and twirling with his usual showiness, loving the intensity of the battle, and thriving off the danger.
Obi-Wan remained the epitome of Jedi calm. Though he was not a fan of flying, he could rival some of the best Jedi pilots. He still worried about his former Padawans though. Seeing Anakin flip and spin made him incredibly nervous, and that same level of trepidation remained for Sarah, who he knew despised flying.
They steadily made their way to Grievous' ship without any incident, until they got hit by the buzz droids, who proceeded to attempt to destroy Obi-Wan's ship piece-by-piece.
With tremendous effort, they managed to blast the shield to the ship and limp Obi-Wan's own fighter into the hangar. Before it crashed into the wall, Obi-Wan used the Force to leap out, igniting his lightsaber along the way and taking out a group of battle droids.
Anakin and Sarah managed less dramatic entrances, and they met up with Obi-Wan. The three blue lightsabers gracefully cut down droids with chilling efficiency. They were in their element. They were once again a seamless team.
This is why the three Jedi were so looked up to throughout the galaxy. Every line, every dimension, every facet of their work was polished and near-perfect. Together they had destroyed upwards of thirty armed battle droids in a matter of seconds.
They immediately determined that Chancellor Palpatine's was in the highest portion of the ship, and they began to make their way.
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Not much later, the three Jedi entered the large room to find the Chancellor with his wrists bound.
Anakin immediately went to him, "Are you ok?"
Palpatine gulped and glanced behind Anakin, where Dooku was approaching the balcony. Obi-Wan's eyes narrowed. The memory of their last meeting with Dooku was still fresh in his mind. "Dooku."
Dooku peered at the Jedi who stood around the Chancellor. Like Obi-Wan, their last meeting still stood out vividly. He hoped that they had grown stronger since then. They would need all the strength they could get. The girl had proven herself adept, but the two men had been dreadfully inadequate.
Dooku had asked Sidious on more than one occasion why he desired Skywalker so much, when the girl's skills had proven more polished.
Sidious had chosen not to reply.
Dooku had of course not pressed the issue. After the destruction of the plans on Geonosis, Sidious had been in no mood to treat Dooku well. The war had proven more and more that Dooku was slowly succumbing to his age. He did not have the abilities that he once had.
"Master Kenobi. We meet again." Dooku flipped down off the balcony and turned to Anakin and Sarah. "And if it isn't Kenobi's young protégés. I hope, Skywalker, that you have been working on improving the dreadful technique with a lightsaber that you so boldly exhibited on Geonosis."
Anakin simply chose to glare at the old man. Dooku turned to Sarah, "And if it isn't Walterr, the precious Jedi hero of Queyta. I hope you are ready for an encore battle."
Sarah stared into the brown eyes of the older man. In the briefest moment, she thought that she saw something flicker in his eyes. Some kind of fear, or perhaps...sadness. She knew in a moment that Dooku was no more committed to the ways of the Sith than she was.
She tried to convey this to Obi-Wan and Anakin, but they both seemed to be blocked by a lust for another round with Dooku.
Dooku pulled out his lightsaber and ignited the red blade.
"Three to one are not good odds, Dooku," said Obi-Wan.
"Three inept Jedi are no match for the power of the dark side, young Kenobi."
"You don't know our power, Dooku," said Anakin with anger as he pulled out his lightsaber.
"I had temporarily forgotten your extraordinary arrogance, Skywalker." Sneered Dooku. "How many times must the Sith prove our power before the Jedi finally realize that you cannot match us?"
Dooku peered at Obi-Wan, "I trust you can recall the unpleasant end that poor Qui-Gon met?"
With this, a small flame of anger ignited in Obi-Wan's heart. How could Qui-Gon's own Master talk about his Padawan with such indifference?
Obi-Wan pulled out his lightsaber and ignited it, and Anakin and Sarah followed his lead. Dooku would finally pay for betraying the Jedi...for betraying Qui-Gon.
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A/N: Feedback and constructive criticism are always most appreciated!