Chapter Six: Almost Caught
Legolas rubbed his eyes, mentally shaking himself. They were almost to Naboo and he couldn't allow himself to fall asleep now. Arella was rolling the pine nut between her fingers as she gazed at the stars flashing past them and all was quiet in the back, so Legolas decided Yeep wasn't making a mess.
"Why were those Nikto after you anyway?" He asked, not able to stop the words from leaving his mouth. Much to his surprise, Arella smiled faintly.
"I ran away." She replied. Legolas raised an eyebrow.
"From home?" He asked.
"No. From my master." Arella replied.
"You're a slave? But slavery is forbidden in the Republic. I wish bounty hunting was, too, but it's not." Legolas said incredulously.
"The Republic doesn't exist in the Outer Rim, Legolas. We've long since learned to survive out there on our own." Arella told him. Legolas crossed his arms over his chest and scowled.
"I still don't approve of it." He muttered. A faint smile graced Arella's features. There was a sudden crash and a loud chatter, causing Legolas and Arella both to jump.
"Kriffin' sith spawn." Legolas muttered as he hurried out of the cockpit. When he reached the storage, he gasped. Food, utensils, spare parts, everything that had been neatly organized in cupboards and drawers, was all over the floor.
"Yeep! What've you done?! When I allowed you to stay- no, listen- when I allowed you to stay on the ship, it was under the impression you wouldn't make a mess. Yeep, I'm talking to you. No you listen. This was all the- get down from there! As I was saying, this is all the food we had left, and now it's all destroyed. Hey, I said get down from there! Now you're just making an even bigger- no, you can't have that. Now, get down from there. You're just making a bigger mess. Yes, I meant now!"
****
They had been on Naboo for half an hour by the time Legolas and Yeep and partly cleaned up the mess. Too tired to do anything else but sleep, Legolas made his way back to the cockpit.
"Everything is destroyed. All our rations are mostly ruined, but I bet the fruit's okay. Just a little bruised, but okay." He sighed as he slid into his seat.
"Teeks are trouble." Arella muttered.
"He did ward that Gorax off." Legolas reminded her as he ran a hand through his thick hair.
"True. But he's still trouble." Arella replied evenly.
"Yeah. Trouble is a friend of mine. Or so it seems." Legolas muttered. Arella let out a soft, humorless laugh.
"Seems that way for me, too." She muttered.
"I bet it's gonna' be worse for Obi-Wan." Legolas whispered. "I am going to prove to be a large handful." Arella frowned, but before she could ask what he was talking about, Legolas fell asleep.
It was a few minutes before Arella felt herself nodding off. Sleep was beginning to make her eyelids heavy, and soon, she couldn't keep them open. She, too, fell asleep, unaware of the danger that was rapidly approaching.
****
Arella and Legolas were both torn out of their respective naps by a loud crash, a frightened chatter, and the hair-raising sound of blaster fire. The younglings exchanged terrified looks as heavy footsteps approached the cockpit.
"The Nikto." Arella breathed, her gaze foxed on Legolas, her bright blue eyes shining with fear. Legolas nodded and climbed out of his seat.
"What're you doing?" She asked in a high-pitched whisper. Legolas gestured for her to be quiet as he approached the cockpit door and realized he wasn't entirely sure of his plan. What was he going to do? Scare them away with a temper-tantrum? Legolas had to smile at the thought, but the smile was quickly wiped away when the Nikto burst in.
One of them said something in what Legolas supposed was Huttesse and another went towards Arella. Legolas kicked the second Nikto and was rewarded with a blow from the butt of a blaster. He cried out in surprise, more than pain, as he hit the durasteel floor. The second Nikto then proceeded to grab Arella by her hair and drag her out of the cockpit. Legolas was roughly pulled to his feet and pushed out of the cockpit by not so gentle hands.
The elfling spotted places where blaster bolts had pierced the durasteel. And Yeep. Only, the Teek was lying face down on the floor/ Legolas resisted a terribly strong urge to cry before turning away from the furry little creature he had come to call a friend and letting the Nikto take him off the ship. When they reached the landing ramp, however, a red-haired man stood in the middle of it, clearly intending to stop them from reaching the end of the ramp.
"Obi-Wan!" Legolas exclaimed. His shout was rewarded by getting slammed in the back of the head by the butt of a blaster. And this time, he did cry out in pain. Tears welled up in his eyes as Obi-Wan began to speak.
"Surrender, give me the children, and leave this planet. Or die." He said. There was silence. Then, one by one, the Nikto burst into gruff laughter. One of them said something in Huttesse and Obi-Wan shrugged.
"I'm going to take that as a 'no', then." He said. He shrugged off his cloak, unclipped his lightsaber and flicked the power on before settling into a defensive stance. Legolas had to smile. The Nikto had no chance against his Jedi friend. And when the Nikto came at Obi-Wan, the Jedi dispatched each of them with a somewhat frightening ease. Legolas watched with pain filled eyes as Obi-Wan dispatched the last one, then, he began to sob. He curled up in a ball and cradled his abused head in his hands. Arella knelt next to him and hesitantly began to rub his back. Obi-Wan hurried over to the elfling, who had now begun to sob uncontrollably, and gathered him into his arms; Arella continued to run her hand up and down Legolas's back as Obi-Wan attempted to soothe him. He was briefly reminded of the last time he had held the elfling in his arms, when he had soothed the elfling with a Jedi promise. A promise he fully intended on keeping until his task was done.