THALIA
Thalia didn't bother sneaking through the building. She bolted down corridor after corridor not having any real clue as to where she was going. Carelessly, she rounded a corner and came face to face with six Akiva guards.
"Hey!" They barely had time to shout before Thalia raised her hand and used the force to lift them all off their feet. She threw them sideways into the wall with a crunch and they fell in a heap on the floor. She ran forward and was about to leap over them when an idea suddenly struck her.
She pulled a helmet off one of the guards. His face was more tattoo than skin, but he was small enough to be her size. She pushed the helmet over her head and hurriedly did the same with the rest of the armour. It was uncomfortable but it should make her less conspicuous.
Thalia picked up one of their side arms and set off at a quick march down the corridor. The helmet gave her little peripheral vision and it smelled like cheap paint, but it did afford her the luxury of being on the guards comm system. Not that they were saying anything of interest, however.
"Yeah, that new diner in the sixth quadrant does a great grill…Jacobs doesn't go for the food…Shut up…He's got eyes for that waitress."
Thalia was considering working out how to turn off the sound when she almost walked into a squad of guards coming up the stairs she was currently scurrying down. She held her breath as she marched past, but they paid her no mind.
"Hey!" She called suddenly, an idea striking her. The group turned to her, and she swallowed nervously. "There's a squad down in the upper levels. You think those Jedi have gotten loose?"
"Doubtful. They'd got Koolio and Maks guarding them." One of them laughed.
"They being kept in the usual place? I'll let them know. Level two, right?" Thalia asked, taking a stab at a random floor number.
"Two? Why would they be on level two?" Another guard asked.
"Where do you usually keep prisoners?" She dared ask. "I'm not that new but new enough not to have delt with prisoners before. You know Lamar. Likes to keep things hush-hush."
"Don't I know it." Chuckled the guard. "Level seven, man."
"Thanks." Thalia nodded and gave a mock salute with a shaking hand. She turned and continued on her way, down to level seven.
Finding the correct floor was only half the battle, Thalia realised as she passed identical door after identical door. How she was going to find the two Jedi in time, she had no idea.
As she strode past a tall set of windows, she caught sight of her reflection. It caused her steps to falter, and she paused, looking at the clone trooper staring back at her. She needed to take a breath, calm down and stop panicking.
Thalia shut her eyes, tuning her senses to the life force of the people in the building. There was a large gathering on the fourteenth floor, she sensed Count Dooku still somewhere about the building and…there, finally she sensed Obi-Wan's familiar force signature. She turned back the way she'd come, allowing the force to guide her, homing in on the two Jedi.
It wasn't long before she reached a set of tall, grey double-doors that filled the back wall of one of the corridors. Keeping watch were two Akiva guards, and one of them had the Jedi's lightsabres hooked around their belts.
They were chatting to each other as Thalia approached, and they only looked up when she was standing right in front of them.
"What?" One of them asked bluntly.
"I have orders to see to the prisoners." She replied.
"From whom?" The second asked.
"President Lamar." Thalia answered and the guards exchanged a look.
"We haven't heard any orders. What do you need them for?" The first asked and Thalia rolled her eyes. She didn't have time for this. She felt the force move around her and she slowly held up her hand in front of the guards.
"You will move aside and let me into the cell." She said steadily and there was a pause as the guards didn't move.
"We will move aside and let you into the cell." They both chorused and stepped aside, unlocking the doors as they did so.
The heavy, metal doors swung inwards to reveal a dark room. Thalia stepped into the darkness and started when her helmet registered the change in lighting. The display turned red and the contents of the room were suddenly visible thanks to the night vision technology.
The room was full of crates, stacked so high they towered over Thalia. From the labels, she saw they were full of ship fragments and weapon parts, each carefully packaged into their own boxes. She moved deeper into the room and finally, tucked between the crates, she saw the two Jedi. They were tied to two huge boxes by their wrists, their ankles bound in front of them.
As she hurried over to them, they looked up and Master Voss' face contorted into a contemptuous sneer. "Here to do more of your master's bidding?"
"I do my own bidding." Thalia replied, pulling the helmet over her head.
"Thal…Your highness, are you alright?" Obi-Wan asked as she dropped to her knees beside him to begin working on the knots at his ankles.
"Fine." She replied and suddenly remembered what Dooku had told her about the Sith and the Senate. This wasn't the time or place to discuss it.
"What did Dooku want?" He asked, ducking his head to try and get her to meet his gaze.
"Oh, the usual." Thalia shrugged, moving behind Obi-Wan to work on the ties at his wrists. "I'll tell you when we get out of here."
"You mean when Voss isn't here?" Voss asked, referring to himself in the third person. "Yeah, thought so."
Once Obi-Wan was free, he made quick work of Voss' restraints.
"I'll take care of the guards." Voss grinned, and bounded off to retrieve their weapons.
Thalia pushed the helmet back over her head so she could act as their chaperone, hopefully making it all the way back to the landing platform without issue.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Obi-Wan asked sceptically as he watched Thalia tug at the high neckline of the clone armour, sucking in a deep breath.
"Yeah…these things aren't made for women." She muttered and was thankful for the helmet as she felt heat rush to her cheeks when his eyes dropped to her chest plate.
"Oh…uh right." He said quickly, turning towards the doorway and even through the night vision, Thalia could see the blush that had appeared behind his beard.
"Let's go!" They heard Voss call from the corridor, and the pair didn't hesitate before running to join him. Thalia picked up the guard's gun and the two Jedi tucked their lightsabres into the folds of their robes.
"We need to get off this planet." She said, leading the way towards the nearest service lift.
As the doors shuddered open, she stiffened. Three Akiva guards stood in the lift and all of them reached for their weapons the moment they saw the trio.
"Get in." She heard herself demand, and gave Obi-Wan a nudge with her blaster. Catching on quickly, the Jedi shuffled into the lift, followed by Thalia who stood in front of them. It was painfully quiet as the doors closed and the lift shook as it travelled downwards.
"These those two Jedi with that high and mighty?" One of the guards asked and Thalia's eyes narrowed behind her helmet.
"Yes." She said flatly, trying to keep her voice low. "Dooku wants them off world."
"Good. The sooner we get back to normal, the better. All these fancies with their flashing sticks is not what I signed up for." Another muttered.
Thalia's eyes suddenly caught on the reflection of the group behind her. The guard who hadn't said anything had his helmet tucked under his arm and his eyes were trained intently on her. Even though her own eyes were hidden, she had to look away. He leant across to one of his fellow guards and whispered something to him. They then both turned to look at Thalia and her grip tightened on the gun in her hands, though it would do her no good.
"Why are you wearing Tofin's helmet?" The guard finally asked.
"He's off sick and my gear's getting repaired." She lied, with what she hoped was a convincing shrug.
"Really?" He asked and at that, Thalia knew the game was up. "I spoke to him not twenty minutes ago."
"Oh." Was all Thalia could manage before all hell broke loose. As the guards scrambled for their guns, Obi-Wan threw his hand past Thalia's head and the glass of the lift's ceiling shattered above her. Thalia stumbled back, out of the way of the shards of glass. She felt an arm wrap around her middle and Obi-Wan's face appeared beside hers, pressed up against her helmet.
"Hold on." He said and she immediately grabbed a hold of his arm.
Suddenly, she felt her stomach drop as the floor of the lift fell away from her. It shrunk to a tiny speck as Obi-Wan leapt through the ceiling and managed to land in one of the door frames that lined the lift shaft. The ledge was so narrow, and her amour was so bulky, that she felt as if she could tip over the edge at any moment. She clutched tightly to Obi-Wan as he turned his attention to the doors behind them.
One level below, she saw Voss ram his lightsabre into the space where the two doors met, and he was through to the corridor.
"I've got you. Can you open the door?" Obi-Wan asked beside her.
After having just looked down at Voss, the last thing she wanted to do was hang over the gaping shaft, but despite every survival instinct, she nodded.
Carefully, they shifted positions, so Obi-Wan had his back to the door and Thalia's was facing the deep chasm. If she leaned away from him even slightly, she was hanging over the gaping hole. She knew what she needed to do, but first, she needed to get this helmet off. She reached up one of her hands, but she suddenly felt herself tipping backwards, so latched back on to Obi-Wan.
"Let me. Hold onto the rails." He said calmly. Thalia looked past him to see what were more like grooves in the door frame rather than rails. Nevertheless, she reached forward and on both sides of the door, dug her fingers into the furrows moulded into the metal.
With Thalia now supporting them both, Obi-Wan let go of her and gently raised both hands to prise the helmet off her head. He let it fall down the lift shaft before turning his gaze back on her. The fear on her face must have been obvious because a small, sympathetic smile played across his features. He placed both his hands on her shoulder blades and carefully pulled her towards him, so she no longer had to hold them both up.
"We're going to be alright." He said, so assuredly that Thalia almost believed him.
Their faces were mere inches apart and were pretty much the only parts of them that weren't pressed together. Thalia found herself thinking how easy it would be to close the space between them and she felt heat spread through her cheeks as she realised how much she wanted to do just that.
She didn't trust herself to speak, so she simply nodded.
With her arms now free, she reached inside the fold of Obi-Wan's robes and found his lightsabre. She reached her arms over their heads and pressed it against the joinery of the doors before igniting it. A red glow appeared around the blade as the metal began to melt away.
"You're right. We're going to be fine." Thalia said, voice wobbling slightly, but she needed the distraction talking would bring. "I'm not nervous at all."
"I can feel your heart racing." He pointed out and she could hear the grin in his voice.
"That has nothing to do with the height." She said with a breathy laugh.
The words were out of her mouth before she could even think to stop them. Her eyes widened in horror and if her hands weren't wrapped around a lightsabre, she would have clamped them over her mouth. The thought of falling down a lift shaft suddenly didn't seem so terrible.
She needed to say something. Anything to change the subject, but when she felt Obi-Wan's arms tighten around her, she lost all rational thoughts. She willed the lightsabre to cut faster.
"Not to worry. Anakin and I have been in worse situations." He said, though his voice sounded a little rough. "We fell into a nest of Gundarks once."
"Gundarks? I thought they were only found on Vankor." Thalia said, thankful for the change in subject.
"We crash landed on Vankor." He chuckled, his breath tickling her neck.
Finally. Finally! The doors to the lift groaned open and the pair stumbled into the corridor beyond.
"Took you long enough." Thalia heard Voss' voice beside them. As she pulled away from Obi-Wan, their eye contact didn't break until the other Jedi waltzed past, right between them.
He was right, there was no time to wait around. Thalia tore off the rest of the armour and left it lying in a heap against the wall. This time, they headed for the stairwell and leapt down the seven flights in silence until the doors to the landing platform stretched open before them.
They didn't waste a second. They sprinted across the platform and leapt up the ramp of their ship. Obi-Wan practically threw himself into the pilot's seat, fingers flying over the ship's controls. He pushed the thrust lever upwards, but nothing happened. The ship groaned and spluttered, but they never left the ground.
Something hit the windshield beside Voss, and he whirled around to look out, across the platform.
"We've got company." He said, flinching out of the way as the ship was suddenly pelted with blaster fire from all sides. "Any time now, Kenobi."
"It's the power converters. They're not connecting to the engine." Obi-Wan replied. The trio suddenly fell silent as the sound of glass tinkling to the floor met their ears. They all looked at the windshield. A tiny hole had appeared amongst several larger cracks that spanned the length of the screen.
"Where did you find this ship? It can't even hold up under cheap blaster fire?!" Voss cried as a much larger chunk of glass fell away.
"Get the ship fixed." Thalia said before hurrying out of the cockpit.
"Where are you going?" Obi-Wan yelled after her.
"To make sure we still have a ship to fly." She called back.
Thalia skidded down the landing ramp to find the ship surrounded by at least one hundred Akiva guards, all firing their blasters at their ship. She stepped down as far as she dared, yet still out of range, and closed her eyes, feeling the flow of the force around her. When she found a point of calm, she raised her arms and aimed to either side of her. She called the force and the clattering sound of blasts raining down on the metal ship suddenly ceased.
All around the ship, blaster bolts hung mid-air as if the ship were surrounded by a protective bubble. The guards stopped their onslaught to gape in amazement. But after a barked order from their captain, they resumed their attack.
Up in the cockpit, Obi-Wan and Voss stared out of the windshield at the blazing blue light they were surrounded by. The blaster bolts quivered tauntingly in their air, threatening to break free at any moment.
"Would you look at that." Voss breathed, pressing his hand against the window beside him. It was hot from the heat the bolts were giving off.
"You certainly don't see that every day." Obi-Wan nodded slowly, gazing out at the sea of electric blue. He felt the force moving strongly around the ship, no doubt agitated by Thalia. No matter how many times he'd seen Thalia perform these miracles, it always astounded and left him wondering if she would ever find a limit to her power.
Down on the ramp, Thalia held the blaster bolts in place with ease. Suddenly, over the sound of blaster fire and the yell of the guards, she heard a very welcome noise indeed. The ship beneath her coughed and groaned, but it roared to life, and she felt herself slowly rising, upwards, away from the platform. It wasn't long until they were out of range of the blaster bolts and Thalia let her hands drop. A huge eruption of light blinded her as the blaster bolds collided in a massive explosion. She raised the ramp and stepped back inside the interior of the ship.
"So, when's the next mission?" Voss asked cheerfully, clapping his hands together as Thalia stepped into the cockpit.
Thalia had to laugh. She was exhausted but she had to laugh. "Hopefully not for a while." She sighed, leaning against the doorframe. Obi-Wan looked over his shoulder at her and she offered him a smile. He returned it with a slight bob of his head, his eyes dropping to the ground before turning back to the chasm of space that stretched before him.
The trio were silent for a while, letting the events of the past few hours wash over them. It wasn't until a beeping sound echoed around the cockpit that anyone spoke. It was Obi-Wan's communicator. He opened the line and a small hologram of Master Windu's face appeared in the air above the transceiver.
"Obi-Wan. We've just had word from the Senate." Windu began, straight to the point as always. "Chancellor Palpatine has been kidnapped by the Separatists. The Council are sending you and Skywalker to rescue him."
. . .
Thalia stood in front of Obi-Wan and the battered ship on Troska's landing platform. Before arriving back on Coruscant for their rescue mission, Obi-Wan had wanted to drop Thalia back where she was safe. Now, she stood in front of him and knew that if she was going to tell him about Dooku's warning, it had to be now.
"If you need anything, use this communicator." Obi-Wan was saying, handing a wrist transceiver, like the one he was wearing, to her. "I'll be there if you need me."
"Obi-Wan." Thalia began. "What Dooku told me on Akiva…he said the Republic was under the control of the Dark Lord of the Sith."
Obi-Wan was silent for a long time. "Surely…surely the Jedi would be aware." He said thoughtfully, more to himself than to her.
"Would they?" She asked. The Jedi had been wrong in the past. There were secrets that even Yoda didn't know. The Jedi were an old society with a lot of history. At this point, Thalia doubted anything was impossible anymore.
Obi-Wan seemed taken aback by her question, but she knew he thought the same. The war was getting messier by the day. It left Thalia with a feeling like the galaxy was holding it's breath, waiting for the scales to tip dramatically to one side and as the days passed and more secrets emerged it seemed less likely to be in favour of the Republic.
Obi-Wan looked as if the weight of the galaxy was resting on his shoulders and she knew he was trying to work out some way to solve all these problems himself.
"Be careful, Obi." Thalia said, her pale eyes burning into his imploringly. "You don't owe the galaxy anything. You are precious, not just the Republic." This time, she didn't look away. She wanted him to know how important he was to her. Whatever they were, they needed each other.
They stood in silence for a moment before Obi-Wan stepped forward, his arms open as an invitation for embrace. A small smile, that didn't reach her eyes, passed over Thalia's face as she met him halfway.
When they embraced, the familiar feeling of balance spread through her, like everything in the galaxy was perfectly in it's place. It felt so natural to have her arms wrapped around his shoulders and his around her waist. One of her hands came to rest at the nape of his neck, her fingers gently woven into his neat hair. She dropped her head to his shoulder as she felt him turn his face into her neck, his beard scratching against her skin. Thalia's grip on his neck tightened slightly as she felt one of his hands trail up her back to rest between her shoulder blades, pressing her closer.
This was a different kind of embrace to ones they'd shared since being reunited. It felt almost afraid, as if the mere thought of parting meant losing the other.
When they broke apart, Obi-Wan's hands trailed along her waist and her own travelled the length of his arms. When she looked at him, Thalia could see a slight pinkness to his cheeks that she knew was reflected in her own. After a moment's consideration, she raised a hand to cup the side his face, while she pressed a kiss to his cheek.
"May the force be with you, Obi-Wan." She said evenly, letting her hand fall away. As she stepped back, there was an incredible softness in his eyes.
"May the force be with you, Thalia." Obi-Wan replied, so quietly it was barely a whisper.
He looked at her a moment longer before turning and walking back up the ramp of the ship. He paused at the top and looked back at her until his view was obscured by the ramp.
Thalia watched as the ship lifted off the platform with a groan and stood there until it was just a speck in the sky. This moment felt very familiar, watching Obi-Wan fly away, unsure of when they'd see each other again, but looking down at the communicator, she knew this wouldn't be the last time. Come what may with this war, they'd find their way back to each other.