Chapter 44: Escape

Quinlan and Obi-Wan were surrounded by pirates the second they stepped into the compound, two dozen blasters trained on the Force sensitives as they raised their hands into the air. "Still think this was a good idea?" Kenobi purred, leaning in toward the Jedi as a Weequay holding a scanner approached, his face grim and serious.

"Are any of my ideas any good? Come on, Obi, I've changed, but not that much." The scanner quickly ran over Quinlan, finding nothing, and when he moved to the Sith, Kenobi simply smiled, his fingers wiggling slightly in the air.

"I'm unarmed," he said, his voice flat and distant. The Weequay pirate's eyes seemed to cloud, and he shut the device off, informing the others that they Jedi were unarmed, and they were ordered to follow. Slowly walking after the pirates, Quinlan drove his elbow into the Sith Lord's ribs, Kenobi grunting in pain for a moment before laughing softly.

"You said you were going to play by my rules..."

"Have you seen anyone die or genuflect yet? The second someone starts calling me Master, you can get suspicious."

"What, is that what turns you on these days?"

"Mm, more than you know."

A wicked smirk on his face, Quinlan leaned in toward his companion and in a low, husky voice, whispered "Master," into his ear. The Sith Lord couldn't repress a shiver.

"You're just begging to be subjugated, aren't you..." Kenobi purred as they entered a large banquet hall filled to the brim with Weequay pirates drinking and celebrating and debasing themselves in darkened corners or on isolated tables.

"Sounds like a good time to me, Master."

"Unless you want to have these pirates watch me claim you right here in the middle of the room, you better save that kind of talk for tonight when we're alone, darling." They were brought to an elevated table in the back of the hall where a Weequay in a red coat sat lounging on his simple chair, drinking a cup of green liquid that Quinlan instantly recognized as a drink simply known as pirate brew, and knew it to be obscenely potent.

"Gentlemen!" the Weequay cried, throwing his arms up in greeting as the men approached. "Welcome, welcome!" He snatched his drink off the table, drank deeply from it, and, sighing, drawled, "Can I offer you a drink?"

"You most certainly can," Quinlan drawled, he and Obi-Wan sliding into chairs opposite the pirate as the Weequay barked at his men to deliver drinks to the guests. "I want to congratulate you on your capture of Count Dooku," the Jedi drawled. "It's very impressive, Hondo, you must be proud."

The pirate's chest puffed with pride. "Yes, it was very impressive. Even a Sith Lord is no match for me and my men! Especially with that glowing stick of his." Hondo stood, mimicking the motions and sounds of a lightsaber, and Kenobi leaned forward, elbows on the table.

"You don't say..." he drawled. "Tell me, how did you do it? Those weapons can cause a lot of damage."

"You don't have to tell me!" Hondo scoffed. "I have men without arms, men without legs, men without heads..."

"I don't imagine those won't be fighting again anytime soon, hmm?"

Hondo pointed at the Sith, a wide smile on his face. "Ah, you Jedi are cheeky. Perhaps I should have contacted the Confederacy first, no doubt they would pay better for their leader back."

"Now, now, don't get hasty..." Quinlan said, hands up in front of him and projecting calm through the Force. "We aren't here to argue, we just want to confirm that you have Dooku."

Hondo nodded enthusiastically. "Of course, of course! But first!" He slid two mugs with an ample supply of the green liquid to Vos and Kenobi. "We are celebrating! Good hospitality first, my mother used to say! Good feelings make for good business!"

"So it does," Quinlan drawled, raising his cup and tapping it against the pirate's, grinning as he leaned close to the Sith. "These drinks are drugged," he whispered between clenched teeth.

"Of course they're drugged, Quin, they're pirates, and three hostages are better than one."

"I knew it was a trap."

"As did I, my friend."

The Kiffar grinned, standing from his seat, glass in hand. "Do you mind of we mingle with your men? No doubt they want to boast and brag about their capture today."

Hondo swept his arm in a wide, welcoming gesture. "By all means, my friends." Smiling, Quinlan sauntered off, drink in hand and touching everything he could get his hands on. With a small smile, Kenobi rose from his seat as well, coming around the table to stand next to the pirate, who eyed him cautiously.

"I don't know what you know about the Jedi, Ohnaka," Obi-Wan drawled smoothly, secretively, leaning in slightly, and the pirate leaned up, tilted his ear in his direction. "But the Order forbids us from a great deal of...indulgences."

"Oh, you poor man, it must be awful for you!" the pirate wailed dramatically, and Obi-Wan smirked. This man was all theatrics, as one had to be when conducting business. The Sith decided he liked this pirate.

"Yes, it is," he whispered, leaning in closer. "So, since we are so far from the Temple, and it seems we may be spending the night, we thought we may...indulge." He smiled. "We've never been intoxicated before, we thought it may be fun."

The pirate held up his hand. "Say no more, my friend. We'll keep drinks coming your way. To seal the deal of our business, of course."

"Of course." Kenobi smiled, bowing respectfully and leaving the table to join Quinlan, taking Hondo's cup with him and sipping it, shrugging when he found it to be far less potent than the Mandalorian liquor he and Satine consumed fairly regularly, and throwing back the rest of the green liquid, sighing as it burned on the way down. He sidled next to Quinlan and whispered, "I believe I managed to convince him to send us drinks that aren't drugged, but we shall have to see. We aren't going to leave here without a fight, Quin." He smiled, pointing to the doors they came in, closed tightly and guarded by several pirates with blasters.

"A fight, or a very clever plan..." the Jedi groaned.

"And you have this plan?"

"Not at all."

The Sith smiled. "Your way has failed. Do you surrender? We can all be out of here in just a moment if I-"

"No, no, not yet." The Kiffar growled and ran a hand over his thick hair. "You just turn right to evil, don't you?"

"Evil?" Kenobi chuckled. "Am I evil simply for being stronger and more awake than others?"

"W-well-"

"It's not like I suggest we kill them, don't get me wrong. I suggest that we make them give us what we want."

"We? Obi-Wan, our deal was I get Dooku if it's my plan that does it."

Kenobi grinned. "I may be willing to reconsider that as well." The Kiffar's breath hitched, and the Sith could feel dark impulses rushing through his friend. The temptation was nearly tangible. After all, it wasn't such a big jump from Jedi mind trick to Sith mental domination. Quinlan already had the anger, the frustration with the Council, the disregard for the Code. It wouldn't take much to convince the Jedi to simply let go and fall, but Obi-Wan suspected that Quinlan Vos would end up beside him in darkness all on his own.

The Jedi laughed nervously and looked away from those piercing golden eyes. He knew the Sith yellow was a sign of corruption, a physical manifestation of the stain the Dark Side left upon a person's soul, but all Quinlan could see was passion and power and freedom. His once uptight friend was...happy. Relaxed and at ease. Angry, yes, but he was also free to express it, and that appealed to the Kiffar. Instead, he watched as one of the pirates delivered several bottles of the green alcoholic beverage that was being freely and cheerfully imbibed throughout the compound to the table they stood beside. Kenobi reached out and one of the bottles flew to his hand, the Sith looking over the bottle cautiously. He handed the bottle to the Jedi.

"I don't sense any tampering, would you care to check?" With a grin, Quinlan closed his eyes, the history of the object easily flying through his mind, and he whistled when he uncorked the bottle.

"No tampering. I don't know what you did, but you must have impressed Hondo, because these babies come from his reserves."

"Huh. Didn't know pirates kept reserves." He opened the bottle and sat upon the table, smiling wickedly at the Jedi. "Now, did we come here to drink, or talk circles around each other about Count Dooku?"

Grinning, Quinlan reached over and took one of the other bottles off the counter and swiftly opened it. "Pretty sure it might be both." He took a long drink from the bottle and the Sith followed suit, and Quinlan had to blink back tears that rose from the stinging in his nostrils. "Damn, the pirates don't mess around."

"No?" Kenobi asked softly. "Is this what you consider strong these days?" He answered the Jedi's questioning look with a shrug and a smile. "I've spent the past seven years drinking Mandalorian Narcolethe."

"Well..." Quinlan drawled, bringing the bottle to his lips once again. "This contest just became a bit more even."

"Shall we wager Dooku? I've always enjoyed mixing business with pleasure."

Quinlan laughed. "You know, the Jedi aren't supposed to gamble." He smiled wickedly. "I'm all in, Kenobi."

Quinlan woke up to find himself immediately regretting having done so. The pain in his head was debilitating, and he couldn't remember a thing. He didn't think he drank that much, but the Sith Lord proved to be terribly resistant, far more so than when he had been younger, and while Vos had Kenobi beat when it came to experience, Obi-Wan had done a better job at being coherently drunk. Quinlan had, after all, spent the past few years drinking to dull the pain, doing nothing to keep himself from becoming intoxicated as quickly as possible, and it had obviously taken its toll. At least he wasn't waking up next to some Weequay pirate. He just woke up in a cell, binders attached to his wrists and around his waist, which was, admittedly, not the worst place he had woken up in.

Bleary-eyed, he looked next to him to find Obi-Wan already awake, legs crossed and eyes closed in meditation, hands folded in his lap and binders on his wrists as well. With a groan, the Kiffar sat up next to the Sith and called on the Force to clear away his hangover and the lingering, intoxicated feeling in his body.

"What happened..." he asked, and the Sith Lord just smiled.

"Perhaps the pirate's' reserve was stronger than we expected." Kenobi shrugged. "Or we drank six bottles of the stuff."

"Six?! I don't remember past four!"

"I don't remember past..." He stopped, golden eyes opening and looking toward the ceiling. "Kriff, it may have been seven."

"How are we not dead?" Quinlan asked, laughter in his voice as he watched his friend devolve into hapless chuckling.

"You will be..." a deep, menacing voice said from behind them. "Very, very soon. The both of you." They turned slowly, looking over their shoulders to the opposite wall to find Dooku, Count of Serenno, sitting in the corner, his eyes yellow and his face cold, and despite the obvious feeling of the Dark Side surrounding him, Quinlan couldn't help but grin.

"Well, what do you know! It's Darth Bitch! How have you been, friend!" The Count's eyes narrowed dangerously when Obi-Wan's chuckling exploded into raucous laughter, the Kiffar joining him in the absurdity of it all. With a snarl, the Count grabbed at the rope of energy that linked them together by the waist and pulled hard, sending Kenobi to the ground and the Jedi landing on top of him. Still, the laughter didn't stop.

"Are you quite done," the Count growled, but the laughter continued harder than before, and, glowering, he fell silent.

"You know," Obi-Wan said, breathless between laughing, "I think the deal has changed. As I suspected it would."

"They might have a hard time collecting that ransom from the Republic now that they've turned into kidnappers," Quinlan drawled, getting off the blond Sith and pulling him to his feet.

"Hondo's pretty shrewd, he's trying to triple his payday, obviously. And he'll probably succeed. Two Sith Lords is too much for the Republic or your Council to pass up. Though...you may find this a touch embarrassing for yourself, Quin."

"You suspected this?" Dooku growled, eyes glinting dangerously. "And still you were captured?!"

"Need I remind you that you were captured first," Kenobi drawled, observing the shackles that bound them. They were energy bindings, mild disruptors that sent an irritating buzz through his mind, disturbing his focus. He scoffed. At best, these were a cheap imitator of the much more powerful, much more expensive containment technology that actively suppressed the Force. Closing his eyes, he reached out, touched the Dark Side, and felt it stir. There was a disturbance caused by the bindings, but it was no more debilitating than any other disturbance in the Force. The problem, in his opinion, was the binding around his waist, linking him by an energy rope to Quinlan on his right and Dooku on his left.

"You are hardly one to talk about being captured, Lumis," the Count growled, and Quinlan looked to his friend with interest.

"Lumis, huh?"

"Kriffing hell, Quinlan, I'm a Sith Lord. Of course I have a title!"

The Kiffar smirked. "Lord Lumis, then?"

"Darth Lumis to you, Jedi."

"Oooh, aren't we fancy..." Vos purred, and the Sith lowered his eyelids, drawing closer.

"I expect you to call me that the next time I'm inside you, pet," Kenobi said, his even voice a smooth, seductive purr, and Quinlan shivered, a sly smirk on his face.

"Oh, Lumis, I'll call you that any time..." The friends doubled over in laughter when they heard Dooku retch.

"You are children," the Count snarled. "I'm bound together to children."

"We can fix that, hold on," Kenobi drawled, reaching his bound hands into his tunic. He frowned, was still for a moment, and then unclipped his belt, letting it drop onto the ground as he took the tunic off his body and shook it, the cloth caught on the manacles. "Oh...Haar'chak an at haran, they took my lightsaber!"

A superior smirk slid across the Count's face. "What value can you possibly have now, Kenobi?"

"Where's your lightsaber, Tyranus?" Obi-Wan said sweetly, and the other Sith glowered.

"It wouldn't have worked anyway. While you were unconscious, I tried to separate us. To no avail," he said slowly, dangerously. "If I have been successful, Kenobi, rest assured, you wouldn't have woken up."

"Well, thank the Force for that, then. You'd never get out if you killed me!"

Dooku rose to his feet to stand towering over the other Sith. "And you find me incapable of breaking out of here on my own?"

"Yes," came the swift reply from both Kenobi and Vos, and, without looking at each other, their hands met in a high five. Dooku's jaw clenched in anger.

"If you haven't gotten out of here yet, it means you aren't capable," Kenobi said, eyes rolling. "Don't play tough with me, you're hardly one to criticize when this entire situation is your fault."

"How did you manage to get captured anyway?" Vos asked, and the Count narrowed his yellow eyes at the Jedi. "The Republic's been trying to capture you for ages, and a bunch of smelly pirates manage to do what hundreds of Jedi can't?" He paused, looking the uptight man over. "...is it the booze? Did you come here to drink? There are better places, you know. This place doesn't exactly come highly recommended because of, you know, the kidnaping..."

"These pirates," Dooku began through grit teeth, "are wily and clever, their leader goes out of his way to make people underestimate him."

"...say, Quin, did you ever underestimate Hondo?"

"No, but I'm a Jedi, we don't have that arrogance thing..." Kenobi gave him a look. "...what! Forget about me, did you underestimate him?"

"Not for a second."

"So this isn't a Sith thing. It's just a stupid thing."

"Hey, come on, Quinlan, give him a break..." Obi-Wan drawled smoothly, a hand on his friend's arm. "Dooku's old, he doesn't get out much..."

"Don't talk about me like I'm not standing right here, Lumis," Dooku snarled, his anger flaring, and the other Sith just shivered in delight when he felt the Dark Side pool around him. "Need I remind you that you were captured as well."

"I wasn't captured, I was detained," Kenobi insisted. "And besides, they weren't going to let us leave last night, so I figured we'd enjoy ourselves, which we did."

"Getting drunk with pirates isn't enjoyable," the Count glowered, sitting back on the ground and putting his hands in his lap.

"Yes it is," Quinlan drawled, draping an arm over Kenobi's shoulder. "This is why you don't have any friends, Dooku."

"Look, allowing them to capture us brought us right to you, Tyranus," Kenobi drawled, wriggling back into his tunic and struggling to get his belt fastened with the binders restricting his movements. "It isn't a conventional escape plan, of course, but it'll have to do, since we don't have our lightsabers."

"This could all have been solved if you just stormed the compound and murdered them all!"

"Oh, please, Dooku, I'm not some butcher. And you aren't worth all that effort." He patted Quinlan on the chest. "I let the Jedi take the lead."

Tyranus gave a long-suffering sigh. "You're working with this Jedi...I had hoped your meeting here was just incidental and you chose to make the best of a bad situation..."

"I did," the younger Sith growled. "And this happened to be exactly that, but the bad situation, may I remind you, is you getting captured." Kenobi smirked. "Now, you just sit there in silence while Quin and I think of a way out of this."

"I would be happy to oblige in that," the Count droned, closing his eyes as he relaxed into a light meditation. Obi-Wan moved as far away from the Count as he could, the energy robe between them taut, and he dropped on the floor, Quinlan following suit a second later.

"So, Kenobi, you've always been the one that came up with the plans," Vos drawled. "What have you got?"

"Well, let's look at the situation. Good things!" he chirped, clapping his hands together. "Good things. We found Dooku, that's good. These binders are an irritation to our focus, not a true block of our connection to the Force. Presumably, the Republic is on the way, that's good. For you."

"Oh yeah..." the Kiffar drawled, placing his hands on the floor behind him and leaning back. "That is good, isn't it? We can just wait here! The Republic will be by with the ransom, we'll get Dooku, and I'll go back home a war hero."

"No, you'll go back home an idiot for being captured by pirates."

"But at least I'll go home!"

Kenobi sighed. "Bad things. You go home humiliated. These pirate bastards have my lightsaber, and I'm not leaving here without it. And, most importantly, with the Republic will come the Jedi." Kenobi's face darkened. "I'm not being captured by them."

Quinlan leaned in, grinning. "My rules, Kenobi, my plan. We wait."

Kenobi shrugged. "Fair enough." He sighed. "Also, we are horribly outnumbered, they all have weapons, none of us have our lightsabers, and while we do have the Force, you're basically deadweight in this matter since you don't want to kill these scum, Jedi..."

"This is the exact dilemma I faced," Dooku drawled, a small smile on his lips, his eyes reverted to their natural brown.

"Look, it doesn't matter," Quinlan said. "We're going to sit here nice and quiet and wait for the Republic."

"You're just going to allow yourself to become a bargaining chip?" Dooku asked, amused. "That doesn't sound at all like the headstrong Quinlan Vos I have heard about."

"Sweetheart, I'm willing to do a lot if it means getting your ass back to Republic space," Vos drawled, flashing an infuriating smirk at the Sith.

Kenobi chuckled, getting to his feet and brushing himself off, and he went to the bars, peering out into the hallway. Two guards were stationed just across from them, blasters in hand and watching the prisoners with amusement. Smirking, Kenobi rubbed his hands together and stretched his fingers. He whistled, and the guards looked right at him. "Hello, boys..." the Sith purred, sticking his hand outside the cell and beaconing for them to come. Slowly, the guards shuffled to the cell.

"Obi-Wan, what are you doing..." Vos said, leaping to his feet and watching those golden eyes narrow in concentration and sinister delight. Even Dooku rose, coming to stand behind his Sith brother. "You said we'd do things my way, you said-"

"To capture Dooku, yes, we would do it your way. I am not included in our arrangement, and I am getting out." He pulled the rope that connected him to the Jedi. "Which means you are getting out." He flashed the Kiffar a bright smile. "Your plan failed the second the pirates threw us in here, Quin. We're doing things my way now."

"It's about time..." Dooku droned, and Kenobi rolled his eyes.

"I believe you promised me silence, Dooku..."

The guards suddenly hit the cell bars with the butt of their rifles, laughing when Kenobi cringed and shot them a vicious glare. "You could promise us silence as well," one of the pirates said, met with the laughter of the other.

"Oh, I will, don't you worry..." Kenobi muttered under his breath, and reaching out with the Force, he said with a low, monotone voice, "You want to let us out."

The pirates froze, their weapons dropping to the ground as their eyes slid out of focus. "We want to let you out," they both said in perfect unison, one reaching for the card key and slipping it into the lock, the steel door opening with a hiss, and Kenobi sighed as he stepped out, followed by his two cell mates.

"And you couldn't have done this, Dooku?" Kenobi growled, his hand tightening as both Weequay rose into the air, silently struggling against the force that held their throat.

"I do not have your talent for mind control, Lumis," he said defensively. "And prior to this, I was held in a containment field."

"...they have a containment field?" Kenobi whispered, and the Count nodded, grinning maliciously as the younger Sith's temper flared. "And you couldn't have mentioned this earlier?! Dooku, I'm trying to rescue you! I need to know if this facility has the capacity to debilitate Force sensitives!"

"You know now," was the calm, collected response.

"I wonder why they stuck us together like this..." Quinlan mused, flicking Kenobi's ear when the man's hand tightened, and the Weequay began to fall still. It was enough to break his focus, and the pirates dropped unconscious to the ground. "You said you wouldn't use the Dark Side, Obi-Wan!"

"I never said such a thing, I said we'd do it your way, which didn't work, may I remind you."

"Obi-Wan, if the pirates find dead bodies, not only will they have a trail leading right to us, but the entire compound would be on high alert! Do you really think we can escape a hoard of gun-happy pirates while we need to drag the deadweight of old man Darth Bitch behind us? And before you say a word," the Kiffar growled when it looked like Kenobi would start shouting, "remember that none of us have lightsabers. So those blasters they carry? Fatal."

A slow smile spread across the Sith's face as he went from angry to amicable. "Very well, I'll accept your logic. We'll do it your way."

Dooku groaned loudly, rubbing his temple with his fingers. "I'd kill you both now, if I didn't have to drag your bodies..."

"Princess, you don't get an opinion," Quinlan drawled. "After all, we wouldn't be in this mess if it wasn't for you."

"We wouldn't be in this mess if you had even an ounce of Jedi temperance," the Count snarled, and Kenobi sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Ladies, please. We need to work together if we're going to escape. We don't exactly have a choice in this matter."

"And when we do escape, Lumis..." the Count drawled dangerously. "What then? I don't have a ship."

"I do. Sith hells, the pirates do. The Republic will, but with any luck, we'll be out of here before they arrive. There are lots of ways off this waste of a planet, Dooku." The Count nodded, glaring at Quinlan.

"And the Jedi?"

"The Jedi needs another drink," Quinlan said, sighing heavily. "Working with Sith Lords, what was I thinking..." He walked off toward the door, dragging the two Sith behind him. Sneaking around was what the Kiffar was good at, and tracking things...well, Obi-Wan had said he wouldn't leave without his lightsaber, and Vos believed the young Sith to be reckless enough to sabotage their escape if he thought they may be leaving without it.

Their journey through the compound went smoother than expected. There were ample hiding places, and the pirates had not yet been made aware of their prisoners' escape. When they did happen upon a stray Weequay that noticed them, Obi-Wan's particular Force talents turned out to be exceptionally helpful. He was hardly true to his word about not using the Dark Side, but he didn't leave any of the pirates dead, which was a step up, as far as Vos was concerned.

Finally, the alarms began blaring, and cursing under his breath, Kenobi ducked out of their cover and ran down the halls, the group of pirates he met when he rounded the corner all suddenly lifted into the air and struggling silently, the golden eyes closed in focus. Quinlan ran ahead as far as their bindings would allow, jolting the Sith Lord enough for his focus to slip, teeth gritting in annoyance as he resumed his efforts. A loud, wet snap echoed down the hall when Dooku joined his power to Obi-Wan's, and the pirates hung dead in the air, their necks collectively snapping under the force of the Sith Lords. Quinlan winced.

"Was that really necessary?" the Jedi hissed, striding back quickly to stand before the two Dark Siders, his face contorted in rage.

"If we're lucky, it won't happen again," Kenobi drawled lazily, unconcerned and unmoved, and it only seemed to make Quinlan angrier. How could his old friend use the rage of the Force to end someone's life like that? The Sith pointed to the door Quinlan had gone to look into. "Is that the main hall?" The Jedi nodded, and Kenobi grinned, bringing his finger to his lips to indicate silence as he led them into the hall.

It was dark, but not so dark that the Sith couldn't see. As expected, they found Hondo sitting at his elevated table, the pirate furiously commanding his men to find the escaped prisoners, but what caught their interest was the Kowakian monkey-lizard sitting on the far end of the table, the green tuft of hair on it's head swaying as it's red hands beat together two lightsabers. Kenobi grinned, his yellow eyes gleaming, and he couldn't help but laugh when he reached out with the Force to bring the screaming creature to him, as well as drawing the attention of the pirates. The guards raised their weapons as soon as they were able, but the sabers had already flown to Kenobi's hand, the long, red blade igniting and quickly whipping through the energy ropes that bound them and neatly severing them.

"Oh, what to do, what to do..." Hondo mused, standing slowly and walking around the table, his men surrounding him as he drew closer to the Force sensitives. "I don't want to kill you, you are very valuable, and all that value is gone if you're dead."

Kenobi laughed, tossing Dooku's lightsaber to him and cutting his and Quinlan's bindings. "You'll kill us? Are you serious?"

"Really, that's not a good idea..." Quinlan said, standing close to his friend, reaching out his hand and a blaster from a nearby weapon rack flew to him. Hondo grinned.

"And we were just starting to become such good friends! This is an insult! I shared my home and my drinks with you, and you wouldn't even have the decency to stay in your cell!"

"Is this guy for real?" Quinlan asked Obi-Wan, and the Sith Lord shrugged.

"This is more the sort of scum you are used to being around. I would have thought you to be an expert."

"Well, as you know, being a Jedi Master doesn't exactly mean much."

Obi-Wan smiled. "How right you are..."

The pirates began shooting, Kenobi holding his ground and deflecting the bolts back at the Weequay, and Quinlan crouched behind him, blaster primed and returning the fire as Kenobi defended him. It was...perfection, Quinlan thought. He and Obi-Wan had always been in tandem, and now, they felt closer than ever. He could feel the Sith's focus, the furious intensity in which he absolutely submerged himself in the Force, and when he reached out to feel Kenobi through their connection, he found it the pure energy of it nearly too much to bear. This was the power that the Dark Side had given the fallen Jedi, and it was beautiful. Magnificent in it's raw power, stunning to behold. Taking a deep breath, he plunged in, feeling the connection between them flow with the Dark Side, and the Jedi felt his aim sharpen as he struck the pirates with frightening accuracy.

Kenobi grinned when he felt the Jedi's presence in the Force shift, tugging at their connection, slowly at first, and then with greater intensity, drawing additional strength from the Sith and the Dark Side. Obi-Wan chuckled as he deflected a bolt back, the red energy striking the pirate that fired it in the chest. "Hey, Quinlan?" he drawled, looking over his shoulder at his friend and allowing the Force to guide his blade. "Where did you learn to shoot like that?"

"I don't get to use a lightsaber when I'm undercover, Kenobi," the Kiffar drawled, smiling. "It's sort of a dead giveaway." The smile dropped off the Kiffar's face. "Where's Dooku?" Surprise registered on the Sith's face as well, and he turned around to find the Count gone. Vos clenched his teeth in anger. "Damn it..."

"I told you your way wouldn't work, Vos."

With a growl, the Kiffar threw the weapon at the pirates, striking one in the head. "Alright, stop shooting!" he cried, putting his hands in the air, and the blaster fire stopped, Hondo lowering his weapon and glaring at the pair. "I surrender!"

"Quinlan, don't be an idiot," Kenobi hissed. "I can get you out of here."

"I know you can, but I've killed too many people today, and if we go now, than maybe we can find Dooku before he gets away!"

Hondo gasped and reeled on his men. "You let Dooku get away! Again! Go, find him! Disable the ships so he cannot escape!" The pirates scattered to do as they were bid, and Hondo pointed his weapon at Kenobi and Vos. Smiling, Obi-Wan deactivated his lightsaber, keeping it in his hand and smiling at the pirate.

"Well, sweetheart, I suppose this is the end for us," Kenobi drawled, nudging the Kiffar. "It's such a shame, but I suppose there are worse ways to go than being gunned down by pirates."

"I'm sure we'll go down in legend," Vos quipped. "The Tale of Vos and Kenobi! Star-struck lovers!" Obi-Wan laughed when the pirate groaned, rolling his eyes.

"Yes, yes, I'm sure this is all very amusing..." Hondo droned, waving his hand in the air as if to hurry this tedious process along. "As I said, killing you is bad business. Just get back to your cell, and I may find it in my heart to forgive you. I'm sure you are nice men. Even if you did drink half my reserve..."

Quinlan grinned. "Us Force sensitives sure can drink a lot. Maybe you shouldn't allow that again."

"No, it's easier to drug you..."

"We can sense that as well," Obi-Wan said softly, and the pirate dropped his gun. "I'd rather take my chances with Dooku than deal with you two any longer..."

"We do hear that quite a bit, don't we?"

"Oh yes."

Hondo groaned and dragged his feet toward the main entrance, jumping back suddenly when the heavy doors swung open with more force than it should have been able to, and the tiny thin figure of Ahsoka Tano rushed in, her green lightsaber blazing and humming in the air, her chest rising and falling quickly with hard breathing. Seeing her Master, she grinned brightly and rushed too him, ignoring the Sith Lord at his side when she tackled the Kiffar to the ground.

"Master, I am so sorry," she shouted, her tiny fists balled into the thick cloth of his robe. "I tried to get here faster, but we met the Separatist fleet on the way, and our ship was captured, and we had to fight our way off a dreadnaught." She took a deep breath and smiled. "But I'm here!"

Quinlan groaned as he rose to his feet and grinned at the excitable Padawan. "Did you bring help?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah. The Republic is sending the ransom for Dooku now, it should be here soon. Where is he?" From out in the yard, they could hear a ship's engine powering on, the high whine as the accelerator was pressed forward, and the roar of the thrusters as it lifted off into the sky. Quinlan groaned and bowed his head.

"How much do you want to bet that was Dooku leaving..."

"It was," came the smooth, satisfied reply, and Ahsoka's eyes shot to the Sith Lord, only just noticing his presence in the room, and with a growl, she drew her lightsaber, the green blade humming. "Careful now, Padawan..." he drawled. "I don't take threats very well, and I consider your lightsaber a threat."

"As you should." She put Quinlan's lightsaber into his hand and ignited it for him, catching her own weapon in a backhanded grip and crouching down, ready to move as swiftly as she was able. "It's over Sith." Her eyes widened when she heard her Master's lightsaber switch off.

"Ahsoka, put your weapon away," Quinlan said softly, and the Togruta reeled on him, her blue eyes wide with disbelief.

"Master, he's Sith! He's killed Jedi, he's hurt so many more, we have a chance to capture him, and we need to take it! I brought help, we aren't alone in this!"

Obi-Wan felt his chest tighten, the Force screaming in warning before he saw anything, and he made a mad dash for the courtyard, only to skid to a stop and back away when Yoda hobbled into the hall. Kenobi laughed nervously and backed away from the Jedi. "You brought Yoda to deal with me, Padawan?" he asked in disbelief, and the Togruta's eyes seemed to light in triumph. "How did you manage that one?"

"Worth my time, you are..." the Grandmaster said, his three fingered hands folded in front of him. He didn't move from where he stood, but Kenobi could feel the immense power of the Force gather around the little being, shielding him and effectively blocking off the Sith's exit out of the compound. He was trapped, and the Dark Side coiled itself tightly around him, the yellow eyes blazing in the darkness. He was about to thumb his lightsaber on when Quinlan Vos ran to stand between him and Yoda, and Kenobi's yellow eyes narrowed in interest.

"Master, please, you can't hurt him," Vos implored, and the tiny Master smiled gently.

"Harm him, I will not, Master Vos. But capture him, we must." The small smile dropped from the Grandmaster's face when Quinlan's eyes widened in shock, the end of Kenobi's unlit lightsaber pressed hard against his neck, his arm grabbing him tightly around the waist.

"Do I have your attention, Jedi?" the Sith whispered, his voice smooth and low and unspeakably dangerous, and Yoda took a step back when he felt the Dark Side unleash itself from the man's body, a raging storm that made the metal in the compound creak and groan under its weight, the thick iron walls shaking and denting.

Ahsoka growled, her lightsaber poised and she took a step forward. "You won't kill him! He's your friend, he's safe from you!"

"Would you like to test that, Padawan?" Kenobi drawled sweetly, twisting the hilt against the Kiffar's neck, and the Jedi Master hissed in pain. "Be a good girl and turn off your saber." She clenched her jaw in anger, but took a step back and did as she was told, glaring at the Sith Lord as he slowly made his way toward the large entry. "I'm sorry it came to this, Quinlan," he whispered, his long fingered hand digging into the Kiffar's hip, and Vos chuckled.

"This...isn't your doing, Obi-Wan. You're cornered. I'd do the same."

"I know you would...but all the same, you won't help me escape." Quinlan was silent for a moment, uncertain of what the right path was, but slowly, he shook his head. Kenobi sighed sadly, and through the Force, Vos could feel his pain and his anger intensify. The Sith's yellow eyes shot to the stalwart Grandmaster. "I'll kill him if you don't let me through."

Yoda waved a hand, his old face filled with sorrow. "Believe you, I do. But pass, you will not." Kenobi's eyes widened as he looked at the tiny Master.

"What..." Obi-Wan croaked, his voice small and dry in his throat, and he growled and swallowed hard. "You'd let him die to capture me?!"

"The big picture, I see. Survive, the Jedi Order must." Obi-Wan could see the resolve in the Jedi's eyes. Yoda didn't want more Jedi to die, that much was clear, and he wouldn't do anything to harm Quinlan or Ahsoka, but once in the Sith's grasp, Yoda understood that their lives were in the Sith's hands, not his. Or...

Or Yoda was calling his bluff.

Growling in frustration, Kenobi released Quinlan, his arm snaking away from the Kiffar's body and he held out his hand toward the Grandmaster and summoned the Dark Side, and arching bolts of blue electricity shot from his fingertips. Yoda's eyes were wide with shock, his hands flying up before him and managing to just barely block the lightning, his powerful hands absorbing the energy as the Sith Lord growled, intensifying the power of the electricity as he clipped his saber on his belt. He reached his hand up to the large steel doors when he had passed through them and pulled them down, the metal creaking and groaning as it twisted and was hurled into the compound toward the Grandmaster. The metal screeched and sparked as it was forced through the entryway, getting lodged in the thick support beams, and the compound, already under strain, began to shake. Obi-Wan didn't look behind him as he ran for his ship, the groaning roar of breaking metal heralding the pirate compound's collapse.

By the time he made it to his ship, Kenobi was out of breath and drained, the demands he had placed on the Force taking its toll from his body, and he collapsed into the pilot's chair, just managing to put in the coordinates for Mustafar into the autopilot and lifting off the ground and heading toward open space. He could barely keep his eyes open when the ship's com turned on by its own accord, the hooded hologram of Sidious before him, and Kenobi didn't have the strength to give the Master any recognition.

Sidious' cruel lips curled into the approximation of a smile. "Perhaps Dooku's capture wasn't quite the failure I expected, if you are doing so poorly."

Obi-Wan only managed to snarl one word. "Yoda."

The smirk dropped off the Sith Master's face. "Come to Coruscant," he demanded softly. "I have felt you through the Force, Lumis, and I am...disturbed." The com cut, and Sidious' tone brokered no argument. With shaking hands, Kenobi put in the coordinates for Coruscant, engaged the hyperdrive, and surrendered himself to the Force.