Ch.2 The Battle of Geonosis.
When the Geonosians guards came and freed him from the force field, Obi-Wan was immediately suspicious. His lightsaber was long gone, but even if he had somehow managed to keep it, he didn't have the strength to wield it. There were Geonosians everywhere, far too many for a Mind Trick. He was escorted by no less that ten of the bug-like creatures, passing dozens of long, winding passages filled with hundreds more aliens. Finally, the procession turned and Obi-Wan felt fresh air and the heat of the sun on his face. It's the same kind of climate as Tatooine, he registered absently. They emerged in a gigantic arena. Waves of fluttering wings and thousands of bodies to match filled the large stands. They formed a circle around a sandy terrain. A tall wall separated the stands from the arena. Several tunnels, like the one he just came through, lined the wall and some of them, he noted, had a large metal portcullis covering the opening. As they reached the centre, four large pillars could be seen. His bound wrists were chained to the first and he was left there.
Barely twenty minutes later, he saw two other prisoners being carried out on a chariot. One of them had a familiar presence…Anakin! What in blazes is he doing here? And accompanied by Senator Amidala! That's fine protection, he thought angrily. First he goes to Tatooine, leading the Senator into a dangerous environment, then to Geonosis, into an execution arena!
Anakin gave him a grimace as he was driven past and chained to a second pole. Padme was chained to a third. Obi-Wan saw her put something in her mouth just before the Geonosians chained her. He turned his attention back to Anakin.
"I was beginning to wonder if you'd got my message."
Anakin glanced at him.
"I retransmitted it, just as you had requested, Master."
He shifted as the Geonosian guard raised his chains and flew to the top of the pole.
"Then we decided to come and rescue you."
Rescue me! Obi-Wan looked at his shackled wrists, as if waiting for the chains to fall off. They didn't.
"Good job!"
Just then, the Archduke, Count Dooku, Jango Fett, Nute Gunray and his toady, Rune Haako entered the delegates' box. The Archduke said several things in Geonosian, but Obi-Wan got the gist of it. Execution time. The great iron portcullises opened and the first of the monsters came out. It had a large horny hide, small piggy eyes and three horns, one on its snout and two coming out from the sides of its face. A reek. Several Geonosians were jabbing at it with electrostaffs to get it moving. It uttered a long, bellowing cry.
From the second tunnel came a shrill, piercing shriek, and a large insect-like green monster was driven out into the hot sun. It had a strange crest on its head, three eyes and six sharp pincers. An acklay.
The last monster was a nexu. It was cat-like with striped fur, black claws and a rat's tail. It proceeded to growl and attacked one of the Geonosians nearest to it. Slowly the monsters were driven closer to the prisoners. Anakin eyed the reek nervously.
"I have a bad feeling about this."
Obi-Wan was planning rapidly.
"Just relax. Concentrate."
"What about Padme?"
Obi-Wan glanced at her. She had picked the lock holding her bonds together and was climbing her pole.
"She seems to be on top of things."
It was Anakin's turn to glance behind. He looked back at Obi-Wan and grinned. But they had no time for pleasantries; the reek and the acklay had to be dealt with first. They hoped Padme would be able to take care of herself, until they could help.
Anakin jumped over the reek's head when it charged his pillar and landed on its back. He twisted his chain around its nose horn and soon it had pulled the chain free. The nexu was trying to climb the Senator's pillar. One of its leaps had brought it within reach of her back and her moan of agony raised cheers from the crowd. She gathered her chain about her and stared whipping the nexu back.
Obi-Wan never took his eyes off the acklay. Its first pincer cut right through the chain and the others had hit the sand. Obi-Wan dodged under the pole as the acklay toppled it. He vaguely saw the reek dispose of the nexu, and Amidala jump down and land beside Anakin. He was using the Force to control it. Obi-Wan ran towards a Geonosian with a spear. He yanked the spear out of its hand and the alien was sent sailing over his head. The acklay caught up with him and he hurled the spear at it. It screeched as the point entered its neck, but then removed it and snapped it in half. Obi-Wan backed away and jumped up onto the reek with Anakin and Amidala. Their relief was short lived, the main gate opened and six droidekas rolled out. They were surrounded instantly, blasters on all sides. The reek pawed the ground uneasily. I knew this was too good to be true, Obi-Wan thought sadly.
A bright purple beam directed his attention to the delegates' box. A lightsaber! Mace Windu had entered the scene. More lightsabers appeared igniting on every level of the stands. The Geonosians flew up and around the stands in fright. The three of them smiled tiredly in relief. But they were not out of danger yet. Jedi were running towards them from all directions. Two of them tossed Obi-Wan and Anakin lightsabers. They caught them and cut each other's bonds just as Padme was thrown a blaster. They jumped off the reek and started deflecting bolts from the droidekas. All of the gates were now open and hundreds of droids were pouring in relentlessly. Mace Windu jumped down to the arena, his robe smoking slightly from Fett's flamethrower. Obi-Wan and Anakin had separated, Anakin was protecting Padme and Obi-Wan was left alone, chopping down every droid that came close. He was pursuing two others when they turned to each other and backed away.
"Uh-oh."
Obi-Wan turned, and his gaze travelled upwards. The acklay was back. He sliced at its spindly legs and with one final thrust, drove his borrowed lightsaber through its heart. He dashed towards the centre of the arena and stood back-to-back with Mace. About twenty other Jedi joined them. Only twenty? Obi-Wan thought incredulously. But there must have been hundreds in the stands…Anakin and Padme joined them from the shelter of an upturned chariot. The droids kept coming. But then they stopped, just as suddenly as they had appeared. Obi-Wan took his hand off a fallen Jedi's forehead. He could hear his own laboured breathing and the rest of the Jedi fighting for breath. Count Dooku stared superciliously down at them. In a loud, clear voice, he spoke to Mace.
"Master Windu, you have fought gallantly. Worthy of recognition in the archives of the Jedi Order. Now, it is finished."
Mace's expression was unreadable. Dooku sighed, almost like he regretted saying the words.
"Surrender, and your lives will be spared."
Now Mace's face contorted. He replied stonily.
"We will not be hostages to be bartered, Dooku."
Obi-Wan stared at Dooku. The count didn't return his gaze, but looked down.
"Then, I'm sorry old friend, you will die."
The droids focussed their weapons once more. The sound of mechanical clicking echoed all around the arena. The Jedi's answer was to grasp their lightsaber hilts. A second later, the arena was filled with a new sound.
"Look!"
Padme's cry distracted everyone. They looked up in unison. Obi-Wan's heart raced. The clone army had arrived. Laser beams from unfamiliar gunships vapourised lines of droids. The droids turned their attention to this new threat. Six of the great vehicles surrounded the Jedi and delivered a maelstrom of fire and destruction to the oncoming battledroids. Count Dooku had vanished. Obi-Wan ran to the nearest gunship and jumped onto the passenger hold. Across from his gunship, he saw Mace and Ki-Adi helping the others up. Padme and Anakin joined him. The gunship took off and flew out of the arena. A much larger battle was raging around the Neimoidian's core ships. Turbo tanks and AT-TEs clashed with hailfire droids and fighters. This must be a good pilot, Obi-Wan thought, if he can avoid all this mayhem. The nearest core ship was right ahead. Obi-Wan knew Anakin was in his element.
"Aim right above the fuel cells!"
Anakin's quick thinking had earned them one less problem. Obi-Wan praised him, ever the polite master.
"Good call, my young Padawan."
But something else caught his eye. Dooku was on a speeder, accompanied by two droid fighters. Anakin yelled to the pilot.
"There's Dooku! Shoot him down!"
The clone pilot shook his helmeted head.
"We're out of rockets, sir."
"Follow him!"
"Yes, sir!"
Padme looked worried.
"We should get help!"
Obi-Wan shook his head.
"There's no time. Anakin and I can handle this."
A blast came out of nowhere and the gunship to their left went down. Before they had time to think, another shot rocked their ship violently. A clone trooper and Padme fell out onto the sandy dunes below. She lay there unmoving. Anakin panicked.
"PADME!"
He whirled around to the pilot.
"Put the ship down!"
Obi-Wan hastily stepped in, fixing Anakin with a glare.
"Anakin! Don't let your personal feeling get in the way!"
Turning back to the pilot, he lowered his voice.
"Follow that speeder."
But Anakin was not deterred.
"Lower the ship!"
Obi-Wan faced him again.
"I can't take Dooku alone. I need you. If we catch him, we can end this war right now! We have a job to do!"
"I don't care! Put the ship down!"
Anakin's emotions were out of control.
"You will be expelled from the Jedi Order!"
Anakin was getting distraught.
"I can't leave her."
Obi-Wan tried one last time.
"Come to your senses. What would Padme do were she in your position?"
Anakin glanced around, breathing heavily, looking at everything but Obi-Wan.
"She would do her duty."
Obi-Wan sighed with relief as he looked back to the battle. But Anakin's eyes never left Padme.
At a signal from Dooku, his two droid escorts looped and ended up behind the gunship. Dooku accelerated, and the fighters opened fire. The pilot was having a hard time evading them. Luckily, the hangar that Dooku had vanished into was close. Anakin and Obi-Wan leapt and landed on the landing strip. They were just in time, their gunship was finally hit, and exploded. There was no time to grieve though, there was a count to catch.
