Thank you for all the interest and feedback it's much appreciated. As promised here is the next instalment where things pick up a little. Enjoy!
YumikoWantsCake - First up would like to thank you immensely for continually reviewing and offering feedback it really brings a smile to my face :D Hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the last!
Obi-Wan was awoken abruptly as a legion of forceful hands gripped his arms and started to haul him up off of the biting dura steel floor he had taken solace in. Grunting sharply into the filthy rag still stuffed into his mouth he felt the spiked wire surrounding his form starting to be unwound. They were unsurprisingly not careful at all and essentially ripped the wire where it had clung to his skin, eliciting further moans and opening up yet more holes in his already peppered skin.
The knife wound in his side was tender and inflamed but was at a much more manageable pain level since his padawan's healing efforts. Obi-Wan was eternally grateful for the support, he honestly didn't think he would still be here if Anakin hadn't been there to alleviate the critical nature of the injury it had done a lot of damage indeed.
He seemed to sense more of his surroundings this time around, Anakin must have tried to take the edge off his concussion. He mentally noted to thank his young padawan as soon as he was able to see him again, That is if we're heading somewhere together… His thoughts were answered as he heard a struggle start to ensue a short distance away and assumed Anakin was still too angry at their captors to cooperate fully.
Painstaking moments later all of the wire was removed from his limbs and he was hauled to his feet in such haste it made his head spin again. Obi-Wan swayed dangerously teetering on shaky legs almost too quickly for his captors to catch him before his body sailed downwards once again. The jab he got after not being able to stay on his feet was directed viciously at the area of cracked ribs and Obi-Wan once again cried out into the gag as the bones jostled his insides and sent waves of pain careering along nerve endings.
"Move it!" A voice barked from behind him alongside a helpful jolt towards what he was assuming was the doorway. Without access to the force the Jedi had very little feeling of his surroundings, well as well as the thick blindfold which cut out even the slightest whisper of light.
Obi-Wan tried to find his footing but his limbs hadn't been used for a lengthy time and they were not up to supporting him for any more than a few steps especially with the suspected fracture he could feel. Realisation hit as his legs gave way and he went careering down headed for the unforgiving, very solid ground. A fresh scream escaped his bruised lips only somewhat muffled by the rag in his mouth, the impact had ripped open the knife wound once again as he felt warm blood start to trickle through the front of his ruined tunic. Not good.
"Stop it! Stop hurting him he's not doing anything to you!" Anakin's distressed voice tumbled towards his ears and he heard a restraining scuffle as the boy was held down.
Only after a swift kick to Obi-Wan's damaged leg, which shot fierce pain through his body, did the pirates pick his body up again by the arms and started to haul him along the corridor. Obi-Wan found this more than uncomfortable especially as his legs were left to be dragged along the floor which sent new waves of agony throughout his body whenever he was jostled, which was a lot on their journey along the corridors.
He was positively exhausted, the exertion of trying to stand and walk had definitely taken its toll on him. Obi-Wan chalked it mostly down to blood loss which would also explain the dizziness getting worse the further they travelled. Letting his head hang against his chest Obi-Wan concentrated on getting the disorientating feeling out of his mind and hoped for the pounding in his skull to reduce to a more manageable level.
"Where are you taking us?" His apprentice all but barked, trust Anakin to be inquisitive enough to risk asking the irritated crew questions.
"You kid are off to meet the count, and good karking riddance to the both of you," the guard on Obi-Wan's right gruffly replied shaking Obi-Wan slightly as he was addressed.
Obi-Wan racked his brain trying to think of any connection, any memory in his muddled brain of an encounter with a count yet he could think of none. The newest slither of information only added to the questions whirring round his mind all trying to decipher the identity of the man they were imminently meeting.
Right turn, straight ahead 50 meters, left turn, arcing corridor, sharp left over what felt like a boarding hatch, abrupt left shift until the men holding his arms slowed considerably.
His previous suspicion of passing onto another ship was backed up by the change in environment, the gravity seemed slightly lighter and the air was clearer a much welcome change to the dingy stale air in the cells where they had been imprisoned.
Before he could think any more on these revelations the iron hold grip his captors had on his arms dropped and he crashed painfully to his knees evoking yet another low groan whilst the fierceness of the shock subsided. He let his head bow forwards to rest against the freezing floor and focused on bringing his laboured breathing under control, however he wasn't given much time as the hands belonging to his guards gripped either shoulder tightly and hauled him upwards so he was kneeling.
Obi-Wan listened out for his padawan and was rewarded with another smaller body, most likely belonging to Anakin, dropped onto the floor beside him. It was more than a little frustrating not being able to see or sense anything in the room, was the count here? His query was essentially answered as Anakin's breathing seemed to still and the room went eerily still, Obi-Wan could feel the tension start to rise force or no force. There were many quickening heart rates and anger seemed to cloud over all of the surroundings of the new room, his head ceased to feel like it was detached which let Obi-Wan's thought processes quicken slightly, Anakin must have recognised someone in the room. He's here…
"What is the meaning of this?"
The baritone voice drawled, dangerous displeasure evident in every syllable that rolled off the count's tongue. The tone sent shivers up Obi-Wan's spine as he felt the outrage roll off of the new arrival's lips. Everything seemed to go silent for what felt like millennia until the squeaky voice of Skepaf finally piped up.
"My lord? We have the Jedi here as promised."
"I asked for the Jedi unharmed and you bring me this!"
The retort was snapped with such venom that Obi-Wan visibly heard the captain step back a few paces and his heart rate threatened to race right out of his chest. Obi-Wan flinched as the hands gripping him started to claw into his skin as terrified owners took in the scene in front of them, which I still can't kriffin see. He was miffed and generally bored of not being able to see or sense any of the happenings occurring.
As if the count had read Obi-Wan's mind the next instruction barked out was to remove the blind fold and gag that still inhibited his senses. He probably did, after all he must be a force user…
Trembling hands struggled with the knots of both items and shakily tried to pry apart the tight entanglement on the both, after a few more unnecessary shakes of his head the offending items were finally removed and the first thing Obi-Wan did was cough for all he was worth, it was wonderful being able to gulp in large amounts of fresh air again what he wouldn't do for some water. Shaking himself mentally and refocussing on the situation at hand he blearily opened his eyes blinking vigorously as the blinding white light of the room hit his iris's.
Shapes and colours were blurry for a few moments and Obi-Wan spent some time trying to bat away the fuzziness until subject matter became clear again. His eyes sought the man that had been the cause of all of his pain, of Anakin's pain and they finally settled on a looming figure situated no more than a few yards away from the pair.
Obi-Wan became aware most eyes in the room were directed towards him and his skin crawled with all the attention, the counts eyes bore into his own and Obi-Wan's breath stilled as he saw such ferocious irascibly glitter the man's dark dead set eyes. Obi-Wan hadn't expected the man to look, well look so old, grey hair covered his head and face but somehow his age didn't depreciate from the dominating aura he gave off.
"They tried to escape I had to set an exam-"
Whatever the captain was going to finish with was lost as Obi-Wan's head whipped round just in time to observe Skepaf's hands struggle with an invisible force closing in around his neck. One very dangerous death promising look from the count had all of Skepaf's guards retreat backwards and hands move away from their blasters.
Obi-Wan sat horrified as the life essence was slowly squeezed out from Skepaf's form, his usual towering body was ground to nothing with the count in the room who exuded dominance and power with every fibre of his being, Obi-Wan gulped and darkness.
As if broken out of a trance the count's arm dropped down to his side again and the room was filled with an awful retching sound as Skepaf had full access to his airways again, that was close, Obi-Wan knew the captain had been on the very edge there, much more than he had with Anakin. Anakin! How could he have let this new development be such a distraction he whipped his head back around to his young padawan and was relieved when he couldn't spot any more bruises.
The boy was frozen solid however, expression schooled into a pure mix of anger, revulsion, horror and all out terror. He waited until Anakin met his gaze and tried to offer any sense of comfort by projecting the thought of a mental hug and an apology for not being be able to scoop him up and hide these nightmares from burying their place in his memories. He was rewarded with a slight smile and a softened look, followed by a very scrutinising concerned gaze which covered his entire body, he was scanning him again looking for any more injuries. The frown accompanied afterwards confirmed Obi-Wan's own suspicions, some if not all of his previous wounds Anakin had painstakingly poured force energy into had opened up and were causing problems again.
Glancing down to his own tunic he finally saw the true extent of the knife wound that had been inflicted upon him, and this is after healing… To say it was a mess would be gravely under exaggerating the situation, there was a gaping hole in the skin which was a bloody disarray, seeing it like this made the pain from the wound spike. He had been oblivious to how awful it had looked and quite honestly seeing it almost made him throw up all over the floor. When he raised his head again to glance around the room he noted the count observing the two with an odd look on his face as if cataloguing something for future reference.
Obi-Wan could still hear the captain's anguished wheezing as he tired desperately to rub his bruised larynx, hyperventilating slightly at his near death experience by none other than thin air. The count slowly headed towards Obi-Wan's position taking very measured steps and not breaking eye contact for any moment during the short journey. Obi-Wan stiffened as a hand shot out and rested on his head, he instinctively tried shaking his head out of the grasp but was only regarded with a faint low chuckle and the count held him still with a force grasp as if he was an initiate. This man was definitely strong in the force Obi-Wan could sense it, the thing that made his hairs stand on end as they did however was the recognition of the strength, it stemmed from the dark side…
The count closed his eyes in concentration and Obi-Wan gasped as he felt him invade his mind, his memories. Without the use of the force there was very little he could do to stop the dark siders assault on his mind, every barrier he tried to throw up was forcibly torn down with such brutality that it left Obi-Wan reeling. The man picked through his brain as if it was an open book, seeing everything he wanted feeling everything he was searching for.
Then something unexpected happened, he felt himself being checked over for his injuries again but this wasn't Anakin, this felt experienced as if the user had performed the action hundreds of times. As much as he still wanted to rip himself from the count's grip he couldn't help but feel grateful for the comfort flooding through his system as force healing energies were thrust into his most prominent injuries.
It more than took the edge off, it actually gave relief in some places such as mercifully his head. He let out a relieved sigh as for the first time in hours he didn't have a constant throbbing in his skull. When the count was finished Obi-Wan opened his eyes and stared into the man's face, his eyes were threatening to bubble over with intense anger which made Obi-Wan shiver as chills raced down his spine.
The count's expression then schooled into something of wonder which made Obi-Wan even more nervous to be under the man's intense scrutiny.
"Qui always said you were strong in the force." The man muttered the remark so quietly that Obi-Wan had to think twice if he had even heard it.
Before he could utter any sort of retort or remark the count was back up on his feet again and swiftly moved away from the Jedi towards the fallen form of Skepaf. He stopped just short of the quivering form of the captain and lifted one hand until the fallen pirate was back on his feet again. Obi-Wan watched in awe as he felt the storm around the counts body started to clash once again, he was livid and everyone in the room knew it.
"I'm sorry…. I'm…" The choked whisper from Skepaf was swiftly cut short with a titled head from the count, he was not in the mood for grovelling.
In a flash a cylindrical object flew off of the captain's belt from underneath his cloak, it took Obi-Wan a few seconds to identify the object from this distance my light saber!
He immediately had a very bad feeling about this and glancing back at Anakin it seemed his young charge seemed to feel it too. His eyes were glued to the scene unfolding, terror dripping from him this count must be projecting some very dark thoughts.
Obi-Wan's head whipped back around to the scene as the count's deep voice echoed around the room threateningly low as he snarled at Skepaf.
"You are not worthy to wield such a weapon!"
Obi-Wan watched in pure horror mouth agape as without another warning his light saber's blue hue lit up the room before being thrust into the captain's chest.
"No!" Thinking back he didn't know if that was he or Anakin who roared out, the quite frankly late, objection. Of course it made little difference as they all witnessed the count snarl something into the captain's ear and the blue light descended back into the hilt.
Everyone watched reeling at the captain's last moments of life as he struggled to remain on his feet, mouth gaping open trying to form words that would not come. He crashed back with such force that Obi-Wan felt the vibrations through his knees on the floor, the gasping dying breaths emitting from the captain's form were truly awful. Obi-Wan continued to gaze until he saw Skepaf's life force leave him, and he finally threw up whatever was left in his stomach followed closely by the sound of his padawan doing the same.
He ended up dry heaving as the gruesome murder finally tipped his delicate control of his insides over the edge, he wished Anakin hadn't seen that he should have ordered him to close his eyes or something. Obi-Wan had seen many horrors in his time but cold blooded murder was always something that rattled him more than most, especially as witnessing such a heinous crime and having no power to do anything about it, thinking that a 12 year old boy had just been forced to watch it nearly made Obi-Wan sick all over again.
The weapon that had killed Skepaf was his light saber, the very same weapon he had trained with all these years, saved lives with, all in the name of peace and in the defence of innocents. The knowledge that it had been used for this hollowed Obi-Wan out to the very core, how dare this man desecrate such a sacred weapon, a sacred promise to the entire galaxy with an act so brazen he seemed to shrug off the whole thing with indifference.
A light saber was a Jedi's life, an extension of themselves. All the symbols it had stood for had just been extinguished with a single brutal attack on an unarmed man, whether the man was a nice one or not did not even come into the equation. No living being deserved what just happened to Skepaf, Obi-Wan had long since released his anger towards the captain and now just felt an overwhelming sense of sadness and guilt. He should have been able to stop this, he was a Jedi and his weapon had been used to slay an innocent being.
Anger started to well up inside him all directed at the count who at a glance had completely forgotten the execrable murder he had just committed and was directing his men around as if business was usual, how dare he?! The men in question started to drag Skepaf's cauterised body back onto the other ship and the remainder of Skepaf's crew scurried back out of the room as fast as their legs would carry them, wishing to get as far away from the count's wrath as they could.
Before Obi-Wan could hold his tongue harsh words came tumbling out of his mouth in a much more steady voice than he expected.
"Who are you?" He all but yelled.
The count seemed to note the anger and Obi-Wan noticed a slight smile tugging at the older man's lips, he quickly worked on dissipating some of the rage that was threatening to well up in his mind.
"My name is Count Dooku." He mockingly bowed his head and went back to speak to his men leaving Obi-Wan and Anakin relatively alone.
Obi-Wan gazed down at his young apprentice and was shocked to see the boys gaze hadn't left the spot where Skepaf was murdered, his skin had a deathly white pallor to it which made his blue eyes stick out in contrast.
"Anakin, Anakin, are you alright?" Obi-Wan spoke as softly as possible hoping not to startle the boy, he was obviously in shock.
A gentle nudge to his shoulder had Anakin's panicked eyes dance around until they met Obi-Wan's tears brimming at the corner of his eyes.
"I… I…" He couldn't say anymore and hung his head to face the floor trying oh so desperately to hold back the flood gate of tears threatening to overwhelm him.
"Ani, I know that was awful to see, I'm so sorry I couldn't stop you from seeing it." Obi-Wan soon too felt tears threaten the corners of his vision, seeing Anakin in such an uncontrolled state and not being able to offer comfort was almost harder than witnessing the brutal murder in the first place.
Anakin sniffed in acknowledgement eyes not leaving the floor so Obi-Wan thought it was best to let him try and compose himself before he tried contact again. He thought back to the name he had just been offered, Dooku, the more he thought the graver the situation they had found themselves in became, he knew that name from the temple…
He felt Dooku smile slightly as the cogs in his brain worked double time and all the dots connected, no it couldn't be… There was only possibility staring him in the face, Qui-Gon's master was named Dooku and Obi-Wan had heard rumours trickle down in the temple when a very highly revered Jedi master stepped down from the order just weeks after Qui-Gon's death.
This man was an ex-Jedi! The thought angered Obi-Wan nearly to the point of no return, and to think he had still used Obi-Wan's saber to exact the worst crime even with knowledge of the meaning of the sacred symbol and how it would affect Obi-Wan was unforgivable. Before he could control his tongue a single word lashed from his mouth aimed savagely at the monster in the room.
"Traitor!"
"Master Kenobi, you disappoint me, Qui-Gon always spoke very highly of you especially when it came to your impudence towards seniors. Surely you can do better?" Dooku smirked through the speech obviously intending on antagonising Obi-Wan further, for some reason he liked to see Obi-Wan angry.
So Obi-Wan did the thing that would anger Dooku and didn't reply although it took all of his control not too. How dare he bring Qui-Gon into this! He would be ashamed of his old master… At the thought he saw Dooku smirk slightly and realised his mind was still being read like an open book, he threw up as many mental shields as he could and barged the count out of his mind. Obi-Wan then set about taking a deep breath and tried to centre himself again, he would not let this animal unbalance him again. The nagging question on Obi-Wan's mind was what did an ex-Jedi want with them? And more importantly what pushed him over the edge to the dark side?
Anakin made himself known again, Obi-Wan had noticed his head shoot up at the mention of Qui-Gon's name. He witnessed realisation draw upon Anakin's face as he too realised who the man standing in front of them was.
"But you were a Jedi! Why are you doing this?!" Unchecked emotion laced Anakin's raged voice, anger and confusion being the two most prominent emotions.
Dooku stared down at Anakin with a rather predatory look that Obi-Wan did not like one bit, it quite honestly made his skin crawl.
"Really, Obi-Wan, I thought you would have instilled more manners in the boy, not to worry we can soon fix that," grinned Dooku manically eyebrows raised.
"You won't touch him," Obi-Wan growled back voice laced with the promise of retribution if Dooku hurt Anakin.
This only seemed to make Dooku's grin widen and he chuckled to himself before moving away from the two prisoners. Before Obi-Wan could think any more on the matter he was hauled upright by Dooku's men alongside Anakin, his vision swam with the sudden movement and his still fractured leg threatened to give out from underneath him.
The men wasted no time in dragging the two further into the bowels of their new transport, the more his ribs and bones were shaken the harder it was for Obi-Wan not to cry out in pain. He settled for gasping as a rather close near fall had his insides shifting again thankfully the guards reached out to catch him before he crashed to the floor again. When he raised his head to see why they weren't moving forwards anymore he noted Dooku giving a needle to one of the men, the liquid looked to be clear but Obi-Wan didn't want anymore of that kriffin force inhibitor pumped into his body. Not to mention the awful feeling it invoked, it also made all of his injuries thrice more agonising than without it, so like a cornered Wookie Obi-Wan fought for all he was worth in the grips of the men.
Dooku lazily lifted his hand and he felt a tremendous force exerted on his mind, his body, his will. Obi-Wan still managed a meek struggle, fighting against the force action as well as the men holding him but eventually the inevitable came and the needle was forcibly stabbed into his thigh and the plunger pressed.
He only had a few more conscious thoughts before the drug took over and started to fall backwards into the strong grip holding him, must have mixed in anaesthetic as well…
Distantly he heard Dooku issue more instructions to have Anakin taken to a cell and Obi-Wan to the med bay to be patched up, the sturdy bulk of the ship faded into nothingness as a calm fell over Obi-Wan's body and he felt himself being picked up off the floor. Funny this time there didn't seem to be so much pain… and with that Obi-Wan fell back into the recesses of his tormented mind.
Well that's it for this week, hope you all enjoyed the entrance of the employer I really enjoyed writing him :) Now the question is what are his plans? Don't worry thats the main focus of the next segment of this story! Next chapter should be up next weekend as always. Until next time...
