OBI-WAN
No sooner had Thalia been taken, the beasts were set upon them once again.
Obi-Wan had managed to break free of his chains and was now attempting to kill the Reek with nothing but sand and his wits. He waited until the creature was close enough. It lowered it's head, ready to skewer Obi-Wan. At the last possible second, he leapt aside and the Reek slammed into one of the pillars, bringing the whole structure down on top of itself.
Qui-Gonn had somehow managed to take care of the Acklay and now had his sights set on the Nexu.
"I can handle this. Go and find the Princess." He grunted, rolling out of the way as one of the Nexu's claws slashed through the air where his torso had previously been.
"It won't be any good unless we have a way out of here!" Obi-Wan yelled back, but never-the-less, launched into a run towards the archway.
"That's not good." He muttered, skidding to a halt as a battalion of battle droids marched out of the archway towards them. It seemed the Geonosians didn't take too kindly to their creatures being defeated so easily. Another part of Obi-Wan's mind registered the fact that these Separatist droids were battle ready. Surely, there was no doubt now that the war was coming and if Dooku had millions of droids at his disposal, the Republic would need to come up with a countermeasure and fast.
Obi-Wan backed up slowly as the droids advanced and looked over his shoulder to see Qui-Gonn dispose of the Nexu, the triumphant look on his face quickly disappearing as he came face to face with the blaster from a battle droid.
"Now what?" Obi-Wan asked as the pair were surrounded by hundreds of metal clankers.
"Negotiate?" Qui-Gonn offered.
Up in the Royal Box, Poggle chattered to the crowds and they cheered as the droids raised their blasters in unison. All Obi-Wan could hear was his breathing, loud and distracting in his ears. Surely there was a way out of here.
"Fire!" Poggle chittered and Obi-Wan ducked instinctively. But no sooner had he shut his eyes, a strong wind blew a wave of sand into his face and the sound of engines rumbled overhead.
He looked up to see two Republic landers and the Millennium Falcon hovering over the arena. The two landers lowered their ramps, and Jedi began spilling out of them. They dispersed themselves between the droids and began cutting them down without so much as a glance in their fellow Jedi's direction.
"Well, this is quite the rescue." Qui-Gonn grinned as Mace Windu threw him a lightsaber.
"If you two are quite finished playing around shall we get out of here?" Master Kit-Fisto called.
"Find the Princess, then we're getting out of here." Qui-Gonn yelled to Obi-Wan and his padawan didn't need telling twice. He set off at a run towards the archway, cutting down droids as he went.
The instant Obi-Wan was under the shade of the archway and out of the hot sun, he noticed the dramatic change in temperature. Using the force to guide him, he jogged towards an opening in the wall, where beyond loomed a dark, narrow corridor. He paused at the entrance. He no longer sensed a disturbance in the force, which meant Count Dooku was long gone. All he sensed was a singular life-form. Thalia.
He set off at a run down the corridor. He was so focused on his mission that he almost ran straight past a small room off to the side.
Obi-Wan caught himself in the doorway and looked inside. To his horror he saw Thalia hanging limply from a chain around her wrists. Her knees were buckled so her shoulders were taking all her body weight and her head rolled back against her neck, her hair falling free down her back, which blew slightly every time it caught a slight draft. There were red marks all over her body and the Zyggerian clothing was torn terribly. Obi-Wan recognized the work of a Zyggerian whip.
He ran forward and paused, not knowing how to hold her without causing her pain. Wrapping his arm around her back to grip her just under her ribcage, he concentrated on the chains holding her. With help from the force, the latches snapped and he took her whole weight. He caught her and slowly maneuvered them both onto the ground. He in a sitting position, with her torso in his arms as he held her close.
"Thalia." He gasped, shifting his arm so her head rested against his bicep. Her breaths were shallow, but they were beginning to ease, now that she was more comfortable. She tried opening her eyes against heavy eyelids, and after a few tries she looked blearily up at him. She then closed them again and sighed, letting her head fall against his chest and Obi-Wan tightened his grip around her.
"You took your time." Thalia mumbled and he chuckled softly, mostly in relief.
"It's good to see your humor is still tact." He smiled into her hair.
"That's about the only thing." She breathed.
"Do you think you can stand?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Not without help." She answered.
Ever so carefully, Obi-Wan began to move, getting to his feet and lifting Thalia with him. He wrapped one of her arms around his shoulders and half guided, half carried her out of the room and down the corridor. Thalia stumbled on the uneven ground as they made their way out, towards the archway and Obi-Wan tightened his grip around her.
"Obi-Wan!" He heard a voice yell and looked up through the archway to see Qui-Gonn standing at the bottom of the Falcon's ramp as battle droids continued to pour into the arena.
"Almost there." He grunted, half to himself and half to Thalia as once again, they emerged into the bright sun.
"There! Blast them!" A droid ordered and Obi-Wan picked up the pace.
Blasts began to fly around them. Twenty meters to the Falcon…fifteen…ten. Suddenly, he felt Thalia stiffen before going limp in his arms and she crumpled onto the sandy arena floor.
"No!" Obi-Wan gasped as he saw a blast had hit her in the side of her back. He bent down and gathered her into his arms as Qui-Gonn ran between them and the droids, deflecting their blasts until they were up the ramp of the Falcon.
"Take off!" Qui-Gonn yelled to whoever was flying and soon, they were soaring away from Geonosis.
Carefully, Obi-Wan lay Thalia down on one of the Falcon's bunks. Her breathing was shallow and she'd started to shiver. He grabbed a blanket and covered her with it. Somehow, by will of the force she was still alive. Obi-Wan's hand leapt to his rub his chin, not wanting the question of 'but for how long?' to even enter his mind.
"We must take her to Coruscant." Qui-Gonn said, looking down concernedly at the Princess. From their position, they were able to see into the cockpit.
"To Coruscant." Qui-Gonn ordered, and C-6's head appeared around the back of the pilot's seat.
"We're heading for Naboo actually." She said tersely.
"No, we must go to Coruscant. Change course now." Qui-Gonn replied, assuming that the droid would comply.
"I am under strict instructions to deliver the Princess to Naboo." C-6 replied.
"Under who's orders?" Qui-Gonn demanded.
"Her's." C-6 replied, nodding in their direction and both Jedi looked down at Thalia. "I can repeat her exact orders if you like." She added smartly, but neither Jedi replied. They knew what it would say.
"Her orders were, and I quote "If something happens, take me to Naboo. Padme is the only person I can trust. She will do what is right. She understands. No matter what anyone else may tell you, you're my droid and my word is final."
As C-6 finished, the two Jedi shared the same look. They had failed in their mission.
Obi-Wan's heart ached.