A/N - First up I'm sorry for the delay! It turns out having free time after exams still doesn't give me enough time to catch up with everything so quickly! There was so much on my list to do after it all finished that I seem to be busier now... Anyways thank you all for the continued support and kind reviews, I was really glad to hear you enjoyed the last chapter, I definitely enjoyed delving into the visions!

We travel back into the present day for this chapter and catch up with a few other characters. Hope you all enjoy!


Crackling blue electricity lit up the dark space, illuminating the emotive faces of both of the room's occupant's, the forks of energy spitting and crackling to form an eerie echo. Dooku adorned a satisfied grin as he maliciously increased the ferocity of his attack on the very person who had almost destroyed all of his plans in one fell swoop, Asajj Ventress. The dancing energised power shot from the Count's finger tips to fall upon it's victim, who in turn writhed at his feet in prolonged agony over the assault. The Witch whined and grunted but never screamed out, Dooku had to admire the sheer resolve of such resilience to pain. He knew better than anyone the misery and agony of the power of the dark side, he had been subject to the same treatment by his own Master on more than one occasion.

The thought of Darth Sidious only served to increase Dooku's rage, he envisioned the disgrace of a man before him cowering at his feet instead of Ventress, imagined the old man's howls of outrage and agony as the fiery energy entombed his body causing nerve endings and muscles alike to spasm and burn. He witnessed the once great Sith Lord cower beneath his onslaught, the prolonged and continued barrage of lightening attacks serving to distort the old man's skin as it was scorched and burned. Dooku had never felt such hatred before in his life, never had the ammunition to hold out an attack of such multitude, he knew with Sidious that would not be a problem. He would continue his battering of his old Master until nothing more than a shrivelled shell lay at his feet, all traces of the Sith Lord obliterated by his hand. The vision gave him great pleasure until the spell broke and disappointingly it was once more only the Witch writhing at his feet.

Dooku had seen his own future, Qui-Gon had shown him what could have been if things were allowed to continue. The Count was not prepared to serve his Master faithfully for the man to stab him in the back and take on the snivelling poor excuse of a Jedi that Skywalker was. No, he was going to strike first before his treacherous Master put his own plans into place, Dooku would be all powerful not Sidious.

With a sigh Dooku allowed his arm to drop to his side, inevitably drained of the energy and power required to sustain such a hateful act. The room was filled with the gasping sounds of Ventress as she strove to compose herself and bring the levels of pain under enough control to rise. It had been long overdue that Ventress felt the distaste he felt for her meddling, the pure hatred and immense anger he felt over her actions with Kenobi. Whilst all was not forgiven and her ultimate fate was already set in stone, this action at least had accomplished what other means could not, bringing him joy. Witnessing the Witch twitching and sprawled on the floor as the currents continued to race through her system had brought him more happiness than anything in his life. He knew there was only one thing which would exceed this, seeing his Master in the exact same position, at his mercy.

Dooku observed impassively, without emotion as Ventress managed to pick herself up shakily to her feet, clothes charred and skin burnt where the forks of lightening had made contact. Her eyes shone with pain, not just the physical pain of the merciless and brutal attack but the misery and sorrow of disappointing him. Little did the Witch know her fate was already sealed, her meddling and misguided actions would only serve to cause her a more agonising death, it was no less than she deserved. Ventress had dissatisfied him at every turn and yet she was still deluded enough to think that she had a future with him, she would never stand by his side.

Ventress waited obediently on his next actions, struggling to remain standing as the shock to her system finally caught up with her, nerves twitched without notice as the lasting effects of the punishment still coursed through her veins. Frankly the Dathomir Witch was lucky he hadn't killed her, she deserved much worse than this however and she would get it as soon as he had no more uses for her of course. Obedience was a very important trait to have if somebody wanted to be in Dooku's company, he could not allow such reckless actions to go unpunished so he hadn't.

"If you dare to disobey me again, Ventress, it will be the last thing you ever do." His voice was low and held a dangerous edge, from the flash of panic in her eyes Dooku knew that she could sense his sincerity on the matter not to mention the joy he had felt with her sprawled at his feet.

He turned his back on her, effectively dismissing the Witch from his presence, he knew if she didn't leave soon then he wouldn't be able to restrain himself from killing her right now. As much as that would bring unbelievable relief and elation he would undoubtedly regret it afterwards, Dooku could wait. He would wait, and when the inevitable happened it would be thrice as delicious.

Dooku heard the muttered response of 'Yes, Master' followed by the scampering movement of Ventress evacuating the room as quickly as she could, she was petrified of his rage and quite rightly so. Dooku had it within him to kill the Witch at a moment's notice, her death would not bring him any sort of sorrow quite the opposite in fact. He was sure she had noticed this certainty when his deadly glare bore into her own and for a brief second panic filled her usual steady eyes.

His attention moved from Ventress and back to the reason he had started all of his plans in the first place, Obi-Wan. He flicked the screen on which held the feed for the ship's med-bay, the droids had assured him that the young Jedi's injuries were no longer life threatening and he would make a full recovery given more treatment and rest. It had been touch and go for some time however, far too close.

On the security feed Dooku noted that Obi-Wan was still submerged in the gooey red substance known as bacta, it would be his second dunking in the messy liquid whilst under Dooku's care and he was determined to make it Obi-Wan's last. Dooku could not afford for Obi-Wan to be injured any further if he were to stand alongside him against Sidious, the young man had so much potential it was time it was harnessed and unleashed in the right way.

He hoped the treatment would be over soon so that Kenobi would awake, they had much to discuss. The illuminating conversation earlier was so rudely interrupted, it was a shame really as it was going so well and Dooku was almost certain that Obi-Wan was ready to accept his new fate. He only hoped Obi-Wan's hatred for Ventress over the brutal attack proved to help speed up his fall, anger was the fastest path to the dark side and Kenobi was certainly a fair way along that path now.

Something caught Dooku's eye on another screen which had been set to monitor news bursts, he wanted eyes in as many corners of the galaxy as possible to hopefully foresee any threats to his plans, whether that be the Jedi or the Chancellor himself. Dooku's brows furrowed as he read the latest news, stomach dropping as the implications set in, this was most inopportune indeed.

'Chancellor Palpatine has disappeared…'

The bold words scrolled across the screen time and time again as various reporters closed in on the senate in any attempts to get the inside scoop. Dooku's heart leapt into his throat as the awful realisation became known, Palpatine knew of his plans and was taking pre-emptive action of his own. Intense loathing threatened to take over Dooku entirely as he realised all of his plans could be for nothing, he had clearly underestimated how quickly the dark lord would come to this realisation and prepare a defence against his own apprentice.

It seemed his plans would be have to be fast-tracked, he could not very well wait much longer before confronting the Sith Lord, Sidious could not be allowed to gain strength anymore and any attempts at gaining allies would have to be quashed immediately. This was not the most opportune time for Dooku to strike, he had hoped for more time with Kenobi, more time to solidify his fate. He would simply have to make the best of the situation at hand, he could delay no longer.

With that thought in mind Dooku swirled out of the room at a brisk pace heading for his future apprentice in the med-bay, new plans already forming in his mind. There was one thing Dooku was certain of, the force itself did not lie and had shown him the end of Sidious, he very much looked forward to the moment the old man's life left his eyes.

Dooku would cause the destruction and fall of Darth Sidious, and Obi-Wan would be standing by his side as he did, in his rightful place as Dooku's apprentice.


Obi-Wan's ascension back to consciousness was not a pleasant one, the agony he felt in the dream state was only a fraction of what waited for him in the real world. His muddled brain vaguely registered the remnants of painkillers circulating his blood stream, barely taking the edge off of the aflame nerve endings. Everything hurt, everything burned. The thought brought back unwanted flashes to the forefront of his mind, the burning bodies of countless dead Jedi, the burning remains of Anakin…

His eyes shot open before the thought and image could fully form in his mind, he had to stay objective right now he couldn't let those images of a possible future cloud his thinking. That was not the way things would go if he could stop them, he could do as Qui-Gon wanted and stop a terrible future from taking place, he could save billions of lives.

It only took a few seconds for Obi-Wan to place his surroundings he had been here once already after all, the med-bay. The remnants of bacta clung to his skin, his hair and once more assaulted the Jedi Knight's nostrils. The more he came to his senses strangely the less misery his body seemed to be in, the reason why soon became apparent as he noted an I.V. line attached to his arm which was currently pumping his body with more painkillers, it was definitely a welcome feeling.

His vision stayed blurry for a few more moments as his inner thinking finally caught up with surroundings and for the first time in hours Obi-Wan could feel the force, waiting for him as if he never left. He basked in the currents, breathed in the familiar feeling, one thing was for sure he was never going to take access to the force for granted again, never.

Revelling in the familiar currents brought even more relief, releasing pain into the force made the maddening agony decrease to a low enough level that Obi-Wan actually felt he could move his limbs. Unlike his first visit to this section of the ship, his arms and legs were not strapped down. In fact he had been made quite comfortable and had once again been placed in a new set of lightweight tunics, it was certainly pleasurable being back in clean clothes again. Into tunics that were free of slashes and blood stains, free from the ghastly memories of his last meeting with Ventress.

Ventress… She had almost ruined everything that he had been working for, almost eradicated the only chance the galaxy had. Obi-Wan wondered for some time whether Dooku had allowed the Witch to live before his new found connection with the force answered that question for him, he had. It also answered his next burning question of Dooku's whereabouts, it seemed the Count was heading straight for his location, it was time Obi-Wan prepared himself for the upcoming deception.

The Sith's signature in the force tainted everything in a nearby radius, it was effortless to see how close the man was to his position now that Obi-Wan had access to the force once more. It was like a raging storm destroying all in its path, the wrath like waves crashing against the force itself as the ex-Jedi raged onwards. Obi-Wan prepared himself for the entrance as Dooku closed in on the med-bay, he could already sense the impatience and strangely enough anxiousness. Obi-Wan furrowed his brows over the new information, the Count was certainly not ruffled this easily, well not to this level of nervousness anyway.

Seconds later the man himself swept into the med-bay, cloak billowing behind him as he strode purposefully into the room. Obi-Wan met his gaze immediately not willing to shrink from the dissecting stare that was directed at him, it seemed Dooku was testing whether his thoughts from the last meeting still stood. They did, well for the sake of fooling Dooku they did anyway. It only took the Count a few strides before he was at Obi-Wan's side, hand reaching out to rest against his forehead. Obi-Wan resisted the urge to flinch away from the touch realising he needed Dooku to believe he trusted him, he instead simply allowed the Sith access to his mind as he needed. Obi-Wan locked away his own deceiving memories in the deepest recess' of his mind, Dooku could not be allowed to see his knowledge of the visions and Qui-Gon or his upcoming plan for that matter.

The scan was brief thankfully as Dooku withdrew his arm and opened his eyes once more, softening slightly as they met Obi-Wan's. It seemed the Count was pleased with Obi-Wan's healing process for the moment, something he had sensed was Dooku's sigh of relief over his improved condition. What could have the immovable Count on edge like this? It really was a conundrum, a problem that Obi-Wan wanted answered.

Dooku stepped back a few paces to eye up the various charts and screens hooked up to monitor Obi-Wan's vital functions, Obi-Wan mused he must have been in a serious condition to warrant such monitoring and close scrutiny.

"I apologise you ended up in this force forsaken place again, trust me the guilty party has been punished accordingly."

Dooku's gaze once again fell upon him, Obi-Wan understood the response the Count was expecting and started to get into character. Dooku was obviously waiting on a flippant angry answer, expecting negative emotion's to cloud Obi-Wan's thinking.

"You mean you killed her slowly?" He lowered his tone to lose the usual warmth and even added an edge of malice to it to finish off the performance.

It somehow still felt wrong to deceive it went against everything in his very nature, but this was what had to be done and he would do it. Dooku at least seemed to be playing into his projected anger, well it wasn't all too hard to pretend loathing for Ventress. She had given him plenty of reasons to hate her, Obi-Wan had come to terms with those reasons though it was all in the past for him.

"I'm afraid not yet, Obi-Wan." Dooku chuckled darkly, amused by Obi-Wan's flippancy. "As much as Ventress deserves such a fate she is still needed."

Well, that answers the question as to why Ventress is still breathing then, Obi-Wan mused. The question now remained was why was the Witch still needed? After more silence he realised Dooku was expecting something more from him, another display of loss of emotions perhaps. Very well, he would play the part as well as he could, Obi-Wan allowed his heart rate to rise a notch or two and simulated the rest of the necessary natural responses Dooku was expecting.

"Hmm…" Obi-Wan winced slightly as he levered himself to sit upright, focusing on projecting as much hatred as he could muster.

Obi-Wan witnessed a smile pull at Dooku's lips the ex-Jedi seemed to be picking up the subtle changes in Obi-Wan's body chemistry, of course Obi-Wan had learned long ago how to alter one's temperature and heart rate it was a simple matter of biology. Thankfully Dooku was taking this to be reality just as Obi-Wan intended, even the monitor started to beep at an increased pace as it picked up the escalating Jedi's heartbeat.

"You're angry at her."

Obi-Wan's bright blue eyes were once again lost behind an explosive rage, the machines shrilled until he viciously ripped out the electrodes, the performance was topped off when he started to imitate that he was short of breath. He allowed his breathing to slow to such a pace that the very action of in taking oxygen had turned into a wrathful act, as if he was struggling to control his rage which of course was exactly what he wanted Dooku to think.

"Of course I'm angry at her!" He bellowed allowing his temper to explode into the force surrounding him, equipment went flying and vials cracked sending all forms or liquids catapulting in every direction.

Dooku remained silent as he subtly backed away a few paces but Obi-Wan could already detect a slight smirk forming on his face, he could detect the elder man's pleasure without even having to scour deeply. Dooku was pleased with the turn of events, it seemed Obi-Wan's hatred for Ventress was serving his purpose nicely.

"I want that Witch dead… I want to watch the light leave her eyes as I slowly, agonisingly take her life away. It's no less than what she deserves!"

His voice shook as he yelled, drowning in the swell of emotions. Obi-Wan was sure if he were an outsider looking on the scene he wouldn't even be able to recognise himself, it was truly terrifying what could happen to a person if they let emotions rule them, this mission had shown Obi-Wan parts of himself that he never knew existed let alone wanted to see.

Dooku revelled in the supposed sincerity of Obi-Wan's threat, imagining the same fate for Ventress himself.

"You will have your time, Obi-Wan, believe me. For now however there is something which trumps all of these obstacles, something that exceeds even our own desires, duty."

"Duty?"

"Darth Sidious. He is planning a defensive action as we speak, I had hoped to keep our plans secret for as long as possible but somehow he has foreseen what is coming. We must stop him, Obi-Wan."

Obi-Wan forced his still rocketing heart rate to lower, taking control once more of his body. The time for such unchecked anger was over now that the conversation was changing direction, Obi-Wan was thankful it was certainly a relief to not have to project that much hatred. Anything less and Dooku would have been skeptical, better to have the man overconfident it was his weakness and blinded him to Obi-Wan's true intentions.

At the mention of the Sith Lord's name, Obi-Wan now realised why he had sensed such a rise in anxiousness on Dooku's part, his plans were slowly unravelling. Of course this meant the Count would have to fast track his plans, Obi-Wan thought he would have more time to recover or train at least but it seemed fate was pushing the fateful battle forward.

"Why now? I am not in the best condition to be battling a Sith Lord!"

The slight grimace Obi-Wan caught morphing the Count's features informed him that Dooku also did not want to be dealing with things so soon. The scan that Dooku had performed earlier now also too made sense as well as his reaction to Obi-Wan's quick recovery, Dooku was relying on Obi-Wan to be ready for what was to come. Obi-Wan knew it wasn't just the Count that was relying on him, the fate of the future was also. It was a surprise that this great weight didn't already plague his thoughts on a more regular basis, it was imperative he did not allow it to though, the task was impossible enough without having that knowledge reminding him of it every few minutes.

"If we do not strike now the moment will be lost, he is cunning, devious and will stop at nothing to watch his plans come to fruition. It is now or never, Obi-Wan."

Obi-Wan realised he would have to give everything he had in the forthcoming hours, healing himself would be priority number one. He was still at a loss over why Dooku believed he would have any advantage over the Sith Lord with Obi-Wan by his side, he was hardly at his best and just one man after all.

'He's seen what your destiny is, seen the role you play and wants you by his side, as his apprentice.'

Qui-Gon's voice drifted to him through the force, Obi-Wan nearly jumped at the sudden re-emergence of his old Master's voice, decades of training however had his face remain passive as if nothing had happened. He heard a slight chuckle reach him as well, Very funny, Master he thought back. Well at least one of them was finding humour in the situation…

"That doesn't change the fact that I am injured, no thanks to your pet. How do you expect us to prevail in such dire circumstances? If this dark lord is so powerful then how are we supposed to succeed?"

"You have no idea what your power could be, Obi-Wan, I've seen it, witnessed just a slither of your ability. If you allow me to guide you together we can unlock your full potential and finally set your true skill free!"

It was just the ramblings of a mad man, that didn't stop Obi-Wan from thinking that Dooku was talking about more than just their duel. He too had been shown the same visions of the future that Obi-Wan had seen, he had witnessed the power that Obi-Wan had wielded and that was serving the light side. As Dooku was deluded he thought with the aid of the darkness, Obi-Wan could take that raw power and transform into something infinitely more powerful all together.

Of course Obi-Wan couldn't let on that he thought the Count's ramblings were what he thought, just deluded babbling words. No, he had to make Dooku believe that his talk excited him, the prospect of being all powerful motivating all of his actions to come.

He decided to test the waters, test how much Dooku trusted him at this point and if he would tell him the truth or do as he had so far and divert the subject.

"Who is Darth Sidious?"

Dooku stilled for a moment, shoulders stiffening as he kept his back to Obi-wan, realisation dawning on him that Obi-Wan would only accept an honest answer, before it turned into acceptance as he realised this was indeed the right time for the revelation.

"Chancellor Palpatine."

Dooku spun round from where he had halted to stare intently into Obi-Wan's features, registering any subtle change in Obi-Wan's body language which would confirm that the news had indeed come as a complete shock to him. Obi-Wan of course obliged and transformed his features slowly to imitate disbelief followed by outright shock and revulsion as the news sank in and finally ended up in disbelief. It wasn't the hardest part of the performance so far as he had already gone through the shock of the revelation, he even started shaking his head slowly as the force itself confirmed that Dooku's words rang true.

Dooku's grin widened as he observed Obi-Wan's realisation and disgust come to the forefront, followed deliciously by promises of vengeance.

"You must see the Jedi have no hope of stopping this all they do is talk, they do not do what is needed."

Even though almost 100% of the Count's words were deluded, Obi-Wan did have to admit that here the ex-Jedi did have some sort of point. He knew they would never believe or even comprehend everything that Qui-Gon had shown him, not without a long time to discuss it first by which time it would be too late. That didn't mean Dooku had the right idea, quite the opposite in fact, Obi-Wan had already decided to follow the will of the force in this case so that was exactly what he was going to do.

"I know…"

Dooku moved in for the kill, the final push to start Obi-Wan's partnership with him. His hand reaching out to grip Obi-Wan's arm to enforce the words with a not so subtle force suggestion, the suggestion of course crashed and broke against Obi-Wan's adamantine shields but the Count need not know that.

"It's down to you, Obi-Wan, stand by my side and together we can save the galaxy, it was what you were born to do. It is your destiny…"

Obi-Wan didn't say a word in acknowledgement, he didn't have to. His silence in the matter, no objection over Dooku's words served as acceptance in itself. The ex-Jedi's unbounded joy lit up the room until he managed to get a control of the emotion, quashing it ruthlessly but still leaving a smile sticking to his face. He nodded once fondly looking down upon his new apprentice before swirling out of the med-bay at a brisk pace, a lighter spring in his step over the great turn of events.

Obi-Wan intently watched him go, not releasing the breath he had been subconsciously been holding in until Dooku had retreated to a fair distance away. The man had played into his subterfuge far better than Obi-Wan had expected, he imagined the impending threat of Sidious also served to throw the Count's perceptions of balance.

Without a further moment wasted Obi-Wan began to sink deeply into the force, intent on capitalising on the time alone to heal as much of his wounds as he could. He must have been in the bacta for a fair amount of time as once again it had worked miracles on the most life threatening injuries, now it was time to strengthen himself as much as he could within the force to prepare for the upcoming events. He could feel the imminence of the events as a warning the moment he started to drift into the familiar currents, the stark dangers of the future screaming through to him.

The deeper he fell into the meditative state the more his long lost connection with the force opened up, he felt each and every sentient life source in the area, felt the turbulent emotions emanating from Ventress most likely and felt a very familiar presence. He recognised Anakin's signature immediately and almost recoiled as the voice pushing against his own shields brought back some rather unpleasant flashes. 'I hate you! '

The memory caused him to lock down the connection, ruthlessly blocking the persistent attempts from his Padawan. Obi-Wan couldn't allow Anakin to see what he had, he couldn't. Those images would destroy his Padawan for good, it was down to Obi-Wan to bear the brunt of them, carry them until he passed into the force himself he had foolishly insisted on seeing them after all. He couldn't allow his Padawan back inside his mind whilst the memories were still swimming around, the fact that one had just surfaced because of hearing the boy's voice was a good indicator that he was not ready to allow the young apprentice access to his mind yet.

Burying the guilt over rejecting Anakin deep inside of him, Obi-Wan sank into a healing trance and set about preparing himself for the immense trials ahead, force help me.


Siri Tachi rooted herself to the bridge's dura-steel floor as another shockwave lurched throughout the ship, we don't have time for this… She thought to herself. She and her Padawan Ferus had been investigating into Obi-Wan's abduction as per the council's request, although Siri would have been out here regardless of what the Council ordered. Obi-Wan was too important for an order to stop her from doing everything in her power to rescue him, this was also the primary reason she had been having trouble keeping a check on her growing rage as another delay was stopping their tracks.

They had run into an ion storm en route to check out a new lead on Dooku's location, it had forced them to pull out of hyper-space or run the risk of being pulled apart. Thankfully they were more or less through the worst of it and the captain had informed her they would be able to re-enter hyper-space in a few more minutes. Patience however was not one of Siri's strong points especially when it came to the safety of her friends, oh Ben… She clamped down the perilous thoughts before they could fully come to fruition, she and Obi-Wan had been close once more than close. Of course their oath and duty came first so the pair had parted ways and vowed to never talk of the whole affair ever again, this had regrettably caused a rift in their once rock-solid friendship. Forgetting about those feelings had been more impossible than she could ever have imagined, even to this day Siri held a place for Obi-Wan in her heart, she always would.

She was interrupted from her musings as a crew member informed her of an urgent message, she raced over to the relevant console and accepted the incoming transmission. It soon became clear she wasn't the only one in on the call.

"Master Tachi, we've been attempting to contact you." The baritone tenor belonging to Master Windu travelled across the airwaves as multiple holograms turned to greet the newcomer.

"I apologise, Master, we've been stuck in an ion storm and communications have been a little sketchy." Her frustration must have seeped through to stain her voice even though she strove to keep it out, as Mace gave her a knowing look before continuing.

"We've found Dooku."

The words almost served to bowl her over completely, her limbs felt unsteady for a while as Mace's declaration sunk in, Obi-Wan.

"Where?" Siri frankly didn't care if she appeared to impatient for a Jedi at this point, she would deal with repercussions and allow herself to be lectured on the finer points of Jedi etiquette as soon as Obi-Wan and his Padawan were rescued.

"The maw cluster." Another Jedi stepped forward and answered, Siri was not familiar with many of the faces staring back at her through the hologram. It seemed the Council had put all of its resources into the search and it looked as though it had paid off.

Siri thought the location was odd, there was nothing of consequence that far out. Why had Dooku chosen that spot? Many of the Jedi teams had been scouring the space near Dooku's home-world, Serenno, that was the most logical place for the Count to retreat to, where he had allies.

"It seems Dooku has kept himself moving through the galaxy, only stopping off to refuel. He wanted to throw off any attempts at tracking by not staying in a location for a lengthly amount of time," Mace explained.

"Clever…" Siri mused before spinning to inform the captain of the change in plans, now they knew Obi-Wan's location they had to get there fast before Dooku moved too far away.

"Master Tachi, you and Ferus are the closest team we have to Dooku, I will send through the exact coordinates but you must wait for reinforcements before you engage him."

Mace had leaned forward and was now intently talking to her, all trace of warmth gone as the seriousness took over his tone. Siri recognised this as his council voice, he had indeed picked up on her urgency to get underway. Siri did not know if she could promise what he was asking, if she was that close to Obi-Wan, Dooku could escape at any moment…

"I understand, Master," She ground out through gritted teeth, fully intending on going for Obi-Wan as soon as she reached his position. How was she expected to wait when he and Anakin were in danger? Especially if Dooku had the chance to get away, she could never forgive herself if Dooku was within her clutches and she let him go.

Mace was evidently not fooled, if the dangerous level of his narrowing eyes was anything to go by anyway. They did not have the time for an argument over orders and everyone knew it, with visible effort Mace straightened again and sent through the coordinates. Siri caught the warning look he gave her she understood the meaning plainly, they would be having a very long talk when this was all over. Siri could deal with the backlash later she always did, for now though she would do what she must.

"May the force be with you," they all automatically responded before the transmission was cut.

Siri strolled over to the main deck with the precise position of Dooku's ship, it didn't take longer than a few seconds for the new trajectory to be calculated and then they were underway, the space around the ship warping as they accelerated into hyper-drive. Finally they were heading in the right direction, they had been given a solid lead. This was excellent news, one step closer to Obi-Wan…


Anakin had been trying to make contact with Obi-Wan ever since the Jedi had been dragged away by Dooku, well dragged was a hopeful word to use, his Master had voluntarily gone with the mad-man. He had drifted into the force's currents and attempted to make contact with Obi-Wan again, willing their bond to become active once more so he could communicate with the elder man and talk some sense into him. Obi-Wan's recent behaviour was quite frankly worrying, the longer Obi-Wan spent with Dooku the worse it was going to get.

That was why Anakin Skywalker was at the edge of the force field again, intent on getting the blasted thing open so he could get to his Master and get them out of this whole mess. As he worked on the wiring in the wall, clamping different currents and monitoring any changes in the structure of the security field, Anakin also spent the time reaching out to Obi-Wan in an attempt to scrounge any information he could as to the elder Jedi's whereabouts.

As he worked Anakin's mind was often assaulted with flashes of unthinkable agony, distressing emotions and the most distressing feeling Anakin had ever experienced in his life, it felt like Obi-Wan's heart was breaking in two. Each time he was dispelled from the edges of their bond, from the sheer weight of emotions crashing against the edges, he tried time and time again to reconnect apprehension over what he would find weighing down heavily on his own heart.

He managed to catch brief flashes of Obi-Wan's predicament, the overwhelming grief and revulsion puzzled him. What could Obi-Wan possibly be experiencing that would cause him to react in such a way?

He no longer had the ability to keep track of time as he soldiered on with his task, it could have been hours since Obi-Wan had been taken from him, time always felt relative when one was engrossed in the force. Finally he heard the what seemed distant sound of the force field wavering, he heard mechanical components wining as they strove to compensate from the loss in power to the other sections, being forced to work overtime as Anakin had found and successfully cut off a power source.

He felt the grey tendrils clinging to his and Obi-Wan's bond start to unfurl, the connection was slowly coming back to life in his mind, it was invigorating. Anakin attempted to keep part of his mind on the task with the force field whilst with the other sought out Obi-Wan in an attempt to make a connection. He started by speaking at a normal level but when his efforts were quashed rose to almost a shout, he managed to connect with Obi-Wan's mind for one blissful second before he was sent hurtling out of the connection brutally.

Anakin's eyes shot open as he worked to ground himself back in the here and now, his Master had forced him out of his mind. Why would he do that? He did not let himself focus on his insecurities for any longer, Anakin could hear clearly now how close the force field was to failing. He reached out into the circuits and picked up where he left off, not allowing emotion to cloud his thinking for Obi-Wan's sake.

Moments later he was rewarded with a groaning sound as the mechanical components were starved of their power supply, everything seemed to ground to a halt and one heart-stopping moment later the force field disappeared into nothing.

"Wizard!" He muttered enthusiastically, wait until he told Obi-Wan that he had actually manipulated the electronics with the force!

Anakin stepped out of the cell cautiously, hoping that his meddling with the security field wouldn't set off any internal alarms. He reached out into the force to check on his location, it didn't seem there were any changes in anyone's pace or any other indicator that his escape was being monitored. He reached out further in search of Obi-Wan's presence, it wasn't hard to find.

To Anakin's surprise when he followed their bond he found what he always had, a presence so bright it practically blinded others around him. It was simply a shock because of the events of the last day, the ever growing darkness scouring Obi-Wan's soul didn't seem to exist anymore. The lack of darkness was a welcome surprise even if it was shocking, he would have to ask his Master precisely what in the force was going on when he caught up with him.

So with one more thorough scan of the surroundings to make sure his path would be uninterrupted, Anakin set off towards Obi-Wan's location at a brisk jog. He simply couldn't keep the grin of his face over the thoughts of a reunion, then they just simply had to find a way to get out from under Dooku's clutches. How hard could that be?


A/N - So the boys are finally catching a break and the Jedi are on their way! Things are never that simple though are they?... :)

I'm afraid there will be another week and a bit's break until the next chapter as I am travelling for a week, I am dutifully working on the next segment though and will have it ready A.S.A.P.

Until next time...