Pieces of the Puzzle
Chapter 5
Jenna brought the boat up beside the pillar, and tied it there. She leapt out of the boat into the turbo lift that she had installed and rode it up to the main level. She strode down the hall to Dooku's office, then paused outside his door. Instead she went to the nearest deep sea turbo lift and rode it down to the detention level. She walked into the cell, and right into the attempts of several fellow scientists to assemble the Extractor.
"Carefully," she scold, catching their attention, "this is a very sensitive machine, and if you break it, it will come out of your paychecks." They nodded and resumed their work.
"I'm surprised you give them paychecks at all" A voice groaned. Jenna glanced at Obi-Wan.
"Ah, I see even in the face of death your defiance still runs strong," She observed.
"I should warn you, it will be most unfortunate if you go through with this."
"For you maybe," Jenna sniffed. "For me, I don't think so. Your jedi can do nothing once it is done. And if they haven't reached us by now, as they have not, then there will be nothing they can do at all. Now I would save your strength."
Jenna turned away from him and focused her attention on the assembly process.
"CHEATER!" Ahsoka yelled at Ben throwing her cards down in her rage.
"How are you supposed to cheat at Apples to Apples?" Ben demanded "Shaniel chose my card because it was the best."
"It was not!" Ahsoka insisted angrily "Who is Darth Vader anyway?"
"I don't know."
"Then how did you know he was creepy?"
"I didn't! I just wanted to get it out of my hand!"
"Would you two stop it," Shaniel said calmly. "It doesn't matter..."
"YES IT DOES!" Ahsoka and Ben shouted at the same time.
"NO IT DOESN'T!" Anakin called back from the cockpit, "and you might want to come see this." Ahsoka, Ben, and Shaniel leaped up scattering all the cards and hurried to the cockpit, or what ever it's called.
"Woah," They all gasped, looking out the window.
Outside was a twisting maze of clear tubes that were hallways, and were attached to the various pillars that supported the mining platform overhead. In all it looked like a giant pet play area for humans.
"That's no mine" Si Tremba said.
"It's a secret base" Siri agreed.
Dooku marched into the cell, his face creased with anger.
"I see you saw fit to return and take control without informing me," He growled.
Jenna turned from where she was working.
"I did not think I was required to report my whereabouts to a guest in my facility."
"Is it ready?" Dooku asked, over looking the disrespect, for the moment.
"Yes," Jenna said shortly.
The scientists dragged Obi-wan over to the machine and strapped him in. Dooku approached him, looking down on the beaten and worn out Jedi Master.
"In case this is the last time we see each other," Dooku said, "I want to let you know that I had expected much more from a padawan of Qui-Gon's. And to think that he spoke so highly of you".
Dooku walked out of the room, with Jenna at his heels.
Anakin docked the sub near what appeared to be an emergency exit. He left the opening of the sub's hatch to Si Tremba, and lost the race to the exits hatch by Siri who did not hesitate to plunge her lightsaber into the hatch.
"That's one way to do it," Anakin commented. Siri glared at him and Ahsoka frowned at her master.
"You're one to talk," she said. "I always thought that it was, in your opinion, the ONLY way to enter an enemy building." Anakin opened his mouth to respond, but the crash that followed Siri pulling out the metal circle she had cut interrupted him.
"Come on," she said crawling through. "No time to waste."
The others quickly followed her in.
Siri lead the party down the hallway. She had no idea where they were headed, other then that they were headed toward Obi-Wan. Then she came across an energy shield.
There was a sign that said DETENTION LEVEL. AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.
"Anakin" She whispered.
"On it" He said, moving to the nearby control panel "just give me a sec..." There was a quiet beep, and the shield retracted into the wall. Siri, Ben and Ahsoka rushed across, but the wall shot back up before Anakin, Shaniel, and Si Tremba could join them.
Ahsoka glared at Shaniel, but no one noticed.
"Can you rewire it again?" Siri asked.
"I could, but it would take a while. This system is way more advanced then the usual stuff." Siri seemed uncertain whether to proceed or wait for the others.
"Go on master," Shaniel insisted, "we'll find another way."
Siri nodded and darted back down the hall. Ben followed her, but Ahsoka lagged behind.
"Don't get my master killed" she warned Shaniel.
Shaniel nodded. "I won't, it wouldn't work," Shaniel said.
Having been reassured, Ahsoka darted down the hall in pursuit.
"Do I want to know what that was about?" Anakin asked worriedly.
"No," Shaniel said.
TBC