Michelle Erika: I know this is for chapter three, but, yeah, after having just watched the Mythbusters Marathons over Christmas I now realize that the kind of power behind that explosion would really have those guys only fitting in very small jello molds! Oh, well, poetic licence and all that, and force barriers and any other alternate universe hackney that breezes over such problem, right? Hope it's not detracting from your enjoyment of the story!
They sailed down the cliff face the palace rested on, the trees below Boba looming larger by the second.
"That'll do," he barely heard Ben say as he suddenly felt a sharp change in direction as his body felt swung over to the cliff. His lungs felt like they were bursting at this point, his stomach high in his chest, but all descent seemed to slow and he could finally draw breath into his aching lungs, the dizzying movement causing him to lose sight of Ben for the moment.
He stopped falling completely and was still suspended above the ground, but this was not the forest floor he had expected. Ben had directed them into a cave within the cliff face and was recovering from a roll he had had to perform to land and still maintain Boba's suspended position. He now carefully set the boy down, who, after regaining control of his shaking legs, rushed at Ben and began an unarmed attack Ben had taught him just the day before. Allowing Boba to vent his fear and frustration momentarily, Ben raised his arms to defend the boy's blows but made no attempt to stop him.
"Don't do stuff like that!" screamed Boba, only to be met with Ben's quiet yet infectious laugh. The relief of landing had him laughing soon also, but he continued his attack for a few more blows until the laughing hurt his side and the adrenaline rush had worn off. All laughing ceased and he glared at Ben.
"Really, Ben, you could have warned me, damn it!" He kicked at the ground, frustrated at his lack of control in any of this situation. He had begun to rely so heavily on Ben for everything and the man was suddenly acting so recklessly. What had happened to cause him to do something so, so crazy! He really didn't understand this man at all and suddenly he craved the company of Jango who had at least offered more stability than his new friend.
"I can't take much more of your excitement," he said quietly, looking down at his dust covered boots.
A far more serious and composed Ben knelt in front of Boba and gently raised the boy's chin, so Boba could look at him.
"I'm sorry, Boba," he said softly, his eye appearing deep blue again, "I was rather agitated this morning and I let those emotions get the better of me. Can you forgive me?"
There was genuine concern in his voice and Boba nodded lightly, lowering his eyes again.
"Besides," said Ben, his smile returning, "you have to admit that was kind of fun!"
Boba screwed up his face momentarily, thinking of the incredible rush of exhilaration through his system as he had begun the fall, the air whipping past his face, the forest expanding beneath him, how every color of the morning had become intensely vibrant.
"Well, maybe," he had to admit, "but next time, because I just know there's going to be a next time, please, give me some kind of notice, preferably in writing about a week or two before hand!"
"I'll see what I can do," said Ben holding Boba's gaze for a moment to reassure him before lifting himself up from his knelt position and looking around the cave. He had chosen just the right place to land, they were in an exhaust vent just above the palace hangar and he reached out with his senses to the area ahead of them.
The hangar itself was relatively empty, a few maintenance staff drifting around, but the ships were being ignored at this point and the vent opened up above a craft that might suit them, so Obi waved Boba to follow him and they moved down the shaft.
It didn't take much to open the grate over the ship and Obi could see it was perfect for what he had in mind, he just hoped it was fueled up enough. He slipped out of the vent and dropped into the top of the craft, a simple force hold to help him land silently on it. He crouched and looked around to check where the hangar crew people were. Once satisfied it was clear, he looked up to Boba and had him sit on the edge of the vent and then gently guided him down with the force.
"Better?" he whispered when Boba was crouched at his side. "Much," came the lads reply as he too looked about the hangar for signs of life. Obi moved to the back of the craft and reached out through the force for the hatch mechanism, which clicked and hissed as it was opened. Boba looked intently out to see if anyone had heard, but there was still no sign.
"Come on," whispered Obi over to Boba, who slipped past him and into the ship first. Obi followed with one final look around. It wasn't a very large craft, but adequate for their trip to Nal Shadda. Once inside, Boba rubbed his hands together, eager to get at the controls of the ship.
"All too easy," he said excitedly as he planted himself in the pilot's seat.
"We're not out yet, old man," came Obi's reply. It had gone surprisingly simply so far, which was not quite what he had been expecting. However, he was not about to waste this little gift from the force, so he looked over the controls and tapped the fuel gauge as Boba brought the ship up to power. Not completely full, but enough to get them off the planet and out of the system at least.
The engine noise had attracted some attention by this point, so Obi switched on the comm.
"Just taking the boy for a quick spin, he's never been in one of these before," he said. He knew a mind manipulation was out of the question, Dooku would have made sure his people were immune to such invasions, so he just used his most affable voice possible. The craft was already moving off out of the hangar as a response was starting to come through, so Obi shut off the comm. before any protests could be made.
"That won't fool anyone!" said Boba as he took them out across the forest floor.
"It's not supposed to," said Obi quietly, setting a cause for a refueling station he had used many times with Qui-Gon and later during his Naboo career. The owner owed him a favor or two and refueling would be a breeze.
"Then why say anything?"
"It just stalled them for a brief moment so we could slip out. No communication at all and they could easily come to the conclusion the ship was being stolen by someone."
"It is being stolen by someone. That would be us."
"Yes, but now we're out of the range of hangar security. How long do you think it would have taken them to lock a tractor beam on us if they hadn't heard from us?"
"Fine, we're out, but where are we going anyway?"
"Just take us into orbit and we can let the auto take it from there. Then we can talk about it."
Boba was silent for a moment as he guided the craft out of the atmosphere.
"It's Ventress, isn't it?" he said quietly as the stars filled the view screen.
"Yes," said Obi slowly and cautiously, knowing how the woman made Boba feel, "I found out where she is and she's in a bad way. I had to act before …"
"It's alright, I understand," came the boy's reply, "I mean, I don't completely understand her or you or any of that force stuff. But I do understand why you're going after her. It's the right thing to do."
Obi placed a hand on his young friends shoulder, and Boba looked up at him with a sad smile.
"Thank you, Boba," he said, "I know how hard this has all been on you, and I won't lie to you, it's not over yet. But I can't think of anyone I'd rather have watching my back."
The familiar beeping of the hyperdrive drew their attention to the controls and moments later they felt the pull of the craft as it entered hyperspace. Obi took a moment to check the readings and then turned his chair to face Boba, hands slapping down into his thighs.
"Well, why don't we see what we can find to eat on this thing, if anything! I'm famished." Boba chuckled, still the edge of sadness in his laugh. "And I would like to explain things, if you're interested."
Obi couldn't call Boba's smile beaming, but at least the pained sadness had left it as the boy realized how much Obi trusted him. The two friends left the cockpit to find the galley.
Meanwhile, back on the planet, Dooku paced his office and then looked out in the direction of the ship as he felt Obi's warm but troubled presence leave the system. As soon as he had mentioned Ventress he knew he had lost his grandson, at least for the moment. Let the boy indulge his desire for adventure and daring rescue, he would soon learn his true place within the scheme of things, and when the boy needed him he would be there to scoop him up and away from his destructive course, just as he had done already. You'd think the boy would be grateful, he thought to himself, that he would at least try to see things from Dooku's point of view. Obi would see that Ventress had been a necessary sacrifice to determine the true identity of the Sith Master and although she had not been able to reveal his identity, as that knowledge was clearly nowhere in her mind, he had been able to glean more information about him than he had expected and it would prove to be invaluable, he was sure of that.
After another moments thought on the situation Obi was heading into, he moved to his desk and flipped on is comm..
"Prepare my shuttle," he said and then turned the system off, turning back to face the direction in which Obi had gone.
The world was grey, ashen, cold. Nothing seemed to make any sense within her mind. She had touched something welcoming, searching for her, coming for her, but it had been so fleeting, had it even been real? What was real, anyway? How could there be warmth anymore in anything or anyone?
Ventress continued to stare at the wall opposite her prone position. At least that was a constant and she could focus on it now without a searing pain shooting through her mind. She shivered as the cell temperature penetrated her body and she pulled her legs in even tighter, clasping her arms around them, feeling the bones grinding together. This pain she could handle, the physical damage to skin and bone a welcome relief. She had been trained to accept this kind of pain easily, it had come almost naturally to her, but the mind invasion had been something totally different. This had stripped away the person she was, teasing and pulling apart memories, skills learned, experiences good and bad, everything she had known, so that now it was a jumble, with moments of complete coherence and others of complete confusion.
There were names mixed with faces and places, no clear strands between them, but two names screamed out to her through the mists and chaos. Ky was the first, but nothing else linked to it. Even though she knew this name was singularly important to her she had no way of knowing in what capacity. Was it good, was it bad, was it male, female? The more she focused on the name, the greater the headache flooding her system and another wave of nausea had her doubled over into the fresher. How thoughtful, she thought as she continued to dry heave, they at least left me with some convenience.
Returning to the floor where she had been laying, she sat up and closed her eyes, recalling the second name buzzing around in her mind. This one she knew was bad news, this Sidious. This was the cause for her captivity here, the source of her aggressors constant invasions. It had been a man who had buried his psyche into her mind and proceeded to rip it apart in search of anything to do with the name Sidious and from the few pieces that would occasionally reform into coherence, Sidious was not a good thing. The identity of the invader had been concealed from her, but just as he had demanded a picture of this Sidious, so she would demand a picture of this man from her aching mind. But once again lucidity was fading and the panic of that overwhelming feeling of confusion suddenly rushed back into her, causing the shivering to intensify.
A startling pin point of light, almost out of reach of her perception, darted before her grey vision. Hope is a curious thing in one so consumed by despair. It can be confused with self delusion and ignored so easily that it fades before the person can grasp it, but this pin point had teeth, tiny and sharp, knowing the person to whom it was trying to reach, knowing the familiarity with physical pain that would draw her attention to it. She winced at the insistence of the presence and reached out to it as she would to swat an annoying Nat and it anchored itself in the tendril of force she had used to remove it, pulling her up and away from her predicament.
The sensation was unfamiliar and harsh, but not damaging, more like the firm grip of a friend pulling her through a busy, bustling crowd, not wanting to get lost, but needing to hurry before hands slipped apart due to the flow of the crowd.
"Bring him here," came a calm, but insistent voice, and she saw something ahead, a desert world on the outer rim. The hands were slipping, she was being pulled back and she hated it.
"Who?" she screamed, half to ask who was leading her there, half to ask who she should bring with her, but the connection was broken, the hands had slipped apart and with a thundering crash of will she was back in the cell, her head thrown back to the wall behind her with such force her vision immediately flashed brilliant white and then nothing.
"Now, Boba," came Ben's soft words as they approached the palace, "I need you to stay with the ship and come get us as soon as I tell you we've made it clear. Can you do that?"
Boba nodded slowly, a little unsurely, but he never took his eyes off the view screen as they made their landing on the blind side of the fortress' security. The plans Ben's friend had been able to get for them had been extensive and Boba had marveled at the creatures ability to find everything Ben asked for at their refueling stop, and although he had been extremely cautious of the owner at first, he had quickly come to like this 'Dex' character Ben seemed to know so well.
The plan was simple enough, Ben would infiltrate the palace and get Ventress, and the two of them would simply exit the way Ben got in. Once outside, Boba would be ready to pick them up at the drop of a hat. Jabba employed Gramorean Guards for his cells, they were easy to command, but equally easy to manipulate, so that wouldn't be a problem for Ben. And Ventress was being completely ignored by everyone in the palace, Ben had no idea why, but that also worked to their advantage, no meals were brought, no one came to interrogate her, nothing. It seemed Dooku was done with her and content to have her waste away there, Ben guessed his arrangement with Jabba including that she be left alone. Why, he couldn't begin to imagine.
The seemingly impassable ridge that the fortress backed onto was no easy feat to descend, but not impossible, especially for a force user and Ben made his way down to the sewer hatch Dex's plans had shown him. That Besalisk never failed to amaze him, and once again the old devil had come through for him. Maybe, finally, Obi owed him a favor, but he doubted Dex would ever ask for it. His old friend had warned him about such a risky operation, but Obi wasn't swayed. He'd pass this test and he'd figure out what they would do next once he had Ventress secured.
The smell was terrible, but at least it was dry in there and it did make it much easier to find, his own scent masked rather well, he had to admit. Taking out the thermal burner he made short work of the large grate and moved inside. Moving further along the tunnel, he found an unused sloose leading into one of the cells. He force jumped up to the hatch and grabbed onto the sides of the short tunnel, his presence still undetected at this point and he hauled himself up and out into the small, empty cell. It appeared that this section of the palace was completely deserted, and that unnerved him, he was sure there should be some presence here, but there was nothing. Sudden panic hit him as he thought Ventress had been moved, but he felt her weak force signature a few cells down and, taking one last look around and sensing nothing through the force, he moved to her.
The desperation in her signature was almost unbearable as he moved around to see her curled up on the floor. She had never looked so tiny to him before, her physical height having been comparable to his own and always held so strongly and defiantly. This was in complete contrast and he clicked the lock open to rush to her side. She was trembling as he pulled her into his arms and a quick scan revealed the recent self inflicted head trauma. The chaos of her mind, however, had a deeply demoralizing effect on him as she was unable to control any of her thoughts and feelings as he was hit by wave after wave of her confusion and madness. He suddenly felt completely trapped in the cell with her, spiking fear that at any moment she would recover and destroy him, or Maul would reveal the rouse and the two Sith would tear him apart, or Boba would be caught and subjected to Jabba's known cruelty. Terrifying images of dark futures where Sith ruled and Younglings were cast over cliffs of oblivion assailed his consciousness. He had to escape her clutches, leave before she destroyed his sanity.
Looking down at her silvery pale, sweat gleamed skin, the torment raging across her own face even when unconscious, he knew she was going through much worse torment than he and it allowed his mind to quiet down, to begin to shield itself from her chaos. Slowly he pushed her back out of his mind and began to gently lay a blanket of force around her troubled mind. It was a temporary measure, but he found he could cocoon the storm within a force induced sleep that took her past the madness and into something resembling a healers' room. He pictured the place he and Nawe had found themselves in after the explosion on the platform and how, despite the circumstances, it had offered him some comfort and he allowed Ventress to borrow that place for a more calming rest, perhaps it would encourage her battered mind to continue the road of healing he could sense she had tried to start in her cell.
Once he was sure she was deeply asleep, he sent a surge of protective, healing force to her skull and hoisted her over his shoulder.
"I'm sorry you had to see this, my friend." Dooku's presence startled him as he turned to leave the cell. The man had done an excellent job at concealing his presence, but Obi remained as calm as he could. He needed to get Ventress out and away from here as quickly as possible and the old man wasn't going to stop him.
"How could you have done this?" said Obi, standing his ground against the Count, "Get out of my way before I - "
"I have no intention of stopping you, Obi," Dooku's voice was even with just a hint of regret, "but I have to ask, where do you intend to go?"
"You think I'll tell you anything right now?" he said brushing past Dooku and heading to the cell he arrived in. He couldn't let his panic rise, even if Dooku was letting him go he had to move quickly, he needed to make sure Boba was alright and get the three of them somewhere, anywhere.
"She gave me no choice!" called Dooku behind him and Obi spun on the Count, his eye blazing deep blue.
"There is always a choice, Dooku," the name spoken with vitriol.
"Would you have let her be if she could have revealed your master's killer?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Within that mind were the clues to Sidious' true identity, I couldn't miss that opportunity. And I gave her the choice, to help me, to free herself from the clutches of the Sith. But she refused - "
"So you ripped it from her! And then left her here to rot! Why not just kill her outright once you were done with the shell, because right now, that's all she is, a mere shell of a person. And for what, do you have what you wanted, do you know who this Sidious creature is?"
"I believe I am very close to -"
"Very close? By the force, man, do you know or not?"
Dooku stepped towards his grandson, arm outstretched to him, "Obi-Wan –"
"No, Count," said Obi, backing away, "Keep your distance or so help me I'll see you fly through that wall behind you. This is not justified. I don't care how close this witch came to taking my head, this fate is worse than anything she could have done to me, and to abandon her after your vicious treatment of her is inexcusable! Why? Why?"
"To lure him here, to bring him out. Don't you see, Sidious is quiet because he's searching for her. He knows she holds secrets about him and he will seek her out, it was only a matter of time before he sensed her, just as you did. At least that was my plan, until you took so much interest in her location when we discussed it the other evening. Then I knew I had lost this battle and nothing I said would stop you from your course of action. So I won't stop you, but I will ask you again, where do you intend to go? Because Sidious will find you both and I can't protect you if you leave me."
"So, that's what this is about, you protecting your legacy?"
"I wish to protect my friend."
"But only me, right? Boba's apprehension around you isn't born from misplaced distance, he knows he's worthless to you, just as Ventress clearly is now that she's served her purpose."
Dooku attempted to respond, but Obi raised his free hand and shook his head.
"We'll take our chances together and I'll find my own way, you won't choose it for me. Now, are you truly letting me walk out of here, or do I have to get back into that sewer?"
Dooku hung his head and sighed deeply, knowing the influence Qui-Gon was having on Obi's actions, even if the boy was denying it. Bringing that up with Obi now would not have been a wise move.
"You will return to me, Obi-Wan, when you see reason once again," he said as he moved down the cell block to another hallway leading to a side exit from the palace.
"I seriously doubt that," said Obi as he lugged Ventress behind the Count. He flipped on his communicator and spoke quietly, "Boba, we're heading out, follow my signal to the rendez-vous point."