Luna's POV
Obi-wan and I take off our space suits, "This should be fun." I mutter, brushing out my robes.
Obi-wan smiles, "I'm sure Anakin will be very grateful when we 'rescue' him." he replies.
We quickly run down the silent hall, passing through rooms of clueless droids and finally reaching the prison hall.
I look around at all the doors, "I still don't see why Ahsoka couldn't have come." I complain.
"She has to stay on the cruiser to lead the attack in space," Replies my Master, pressing a blue button to one of the cells.
The doors slide open, revealing two prisoners sitting on the ground who both promptly get up, hoping to escape.
"Don't bother to get up." Says Obi-wan calmly, "You're not the prisoner we're looking for."
We try a different door, and I step inside, looking around. It looked empty. I feel a sudden shift in the force, and Anakin jumps down from the ceiling. Taken by surprise, Obi-wan and I simultaneously take out our lightsabers, pointing them at his throat.
"Oh," says Anakin, getting up as we put our lightsabers away, "it's you."
"This is how you thank us for rescuing you, pounce on us from the ceiling?" I smirk, "Not impressed."
"Kind of difficult without a...lightsaber. Thanks," says Anakin, taking his lightsaber from Obi-wan.
"Did you manage to locate Dooku before landing in jail?" Asks Obi-wan, walking to the entrance of the cell.
Anakin and I follow, "Well, I know he's on board. Might have been able to do something about it if I'd had my weapon." He complains as we exit the cell.
"It was important for you to arrive without it so your capture would be convincing." Replies Obi-wan easily.
"Oh, they were convinced, all right. But how come I'm the one getting caught all the time? It doesn't look good." Says Anakin, frowning.
Obi-wan sighs, "When you're a Jedi master, you can make the plan."
"That's just it! How can I become a Jedi Master if I'm always getting caught?" Anakin responds, annoyed.
I grin, "At least you're a master...at getting caught."
Anakin rolls his eyes, "Very funny, Moon."
We walk down the halls, and Anakin uses the force to open a door. Inside sat Count Dooku who was meditating on a cushion, "Surprise, surprise." Says Anakin, stepping inside.
We all ignite out lightsabers, "If it isn't Count Dooku." Says Obi-wan, smiling.
Dooku keeps his eyes closed, "Obi-Wan Kenobi. I thought I sensed an unpleasant disturbance in the force. I see you've freed young Skywalker. Where might he be if you weren't always around to rescue him?" He says, face betraying no emotion.
"Sir, there's a Jedi cruiser attacking!" I hear a droid from somewhere else in the ship yell.
"Your ship is surrounded, Count. Republic troops are boarding as we speak." I growl, "Surrender."
"Jedi fools." He finally opens his eyes just as a latch underneath where he was sitting comes open down he slides down a tunnel.
"I should have seen that coming." Mutters Obi-wan.
I step forward, preparing to jump after him, "What are you doing!?" He yells.
I glance back, "Following him."
"Not that way. We need to cut him off." Obi-wan states.
I shrug and Anakin rolls his eyes, "You cut him off."
I jump without waiting for either of them. They were taking too long anyways. Behind me, I hear Anakin yell for Obi-wan to meet him in the main hanger.
As I slide down the tunnel, I catch up with Dooku.
I grin, "Nice to see you again, Count."
He glares at me, shooting dark blue force lightning at me which I block with one of my lightsabers. Above me, I see Anakin slide down too, "Took you long enough!" I yell, struggling to keep on deflecting the lighting, suddenly, it stops and there's a split in the tunnel. "Shoot," I mutter, clinging onto the edge of the ledge in the middle.
Anakin helps me up, "Don't die on me!" He warns, "Obi-wan would kill me."
I grin, "No promises." I glance down, "Which way?" I ask him.
He shrugs, choosing the left tunnel, "This way." he tells me before jumping down.
I promptly follow, sliding down the dark, metal tunnel. We end up landing in the main hanger bay just in time to see a ship hovering above the ground (Presumably Obi-wan) and a ship leaving the bay. (Presumably Dooku)
"Come on!" Anakin yells.
We quickly make our way through a few droids and jump into the ship. I hurry after Anakin who had walked into the cockpit beside Obi-wan.
Obi-wan looks at us, "I thought you were following Dooku." He says in a bored voice.
"We were!" I reply hotly, "We followed him here."
Obi-wan sighs, "Next time just wait for my orders."
I fold my arms. Obi-wan was no fun sometimes.
"Both of you shut up so I don't kill us all!" Anakin yells, turning the ship on and barely making it out of the hanger as the door slide shut.
"Ahsoka, Dooku managed to escape. We're in pursuit, but we could use reinforcements. Follow us in what ships you can round up." Obi-wan says into his comm.
"We'll get there as soon as we can," Ahsoka replies.
The ship swerves right and left as we dodge blasts. Obi-wan begins to fire at the ships ahead, hitting one of Dooku's engines, causing the ship to plummet towards the planet below.
"That was easy," I murmur in surprise.
"Lucky for you, I'm an excellent shot." Obi-wan grins.
I roll my eyes.
"Well, now those fighters are attacking," Anakin warns.
"I'm on it," Obi-wan replies, getting back to shooting.
"he's getting close!" I report nervously.
The ship screeches as another ship collides with us, sending us down in smoke the same way as Dooku.
"Lucky for you two, I'm an excellent pilot." Anakin retorts through gritted teeth, doing his best to keep the ship level.
"For all your expertise, this is not a very smooth landing," Obi-wan yells as he tries to steady himself while the ship crashes to the ground.
"If you'd hit that second fighter, we wouldn't be in this mess!" Anakin retorts.
"Both of you stop arguing!" I yell, adding to the argument.
The two Jedi whirl around and face me with identical frowns of annoyance as the ship comes to a halt.
We all jump out of the ship as it stops, pausing to look at our surroundings.
"I've had better landings," I mutter, brushing dust off my leggings.
Anakin ignores me, frowning, "Dooku." He states, pointing at Dooku's ship, which had had a beating.
We walk over to the ship and Obi-wan takes a small beacon off the ship, "What's this, a homing beacon?"
Anakin grins, "Which means the distinguished count is waiting for help. So he can't be far off."
"His engine is damaged, he's not going anywhere." Obi-wan murmurs, inspecting the ship.
"Not without a homing beacon." I agree, taking out one of my lightsabers and slicing the beacon in half.
We walk around for a while and Obi-wan stops, pointing, "There. Caves are a good start."
We walk to the entrance of the cave and I suppress a shiver the force was sending me odd signals.
"Strange." Anakin echos my thoughts.
"You sense it too. Many life forms in there." Obi-wan says.
"And Dooku's one of them," I murmur, igniting one lightsaber and pushing away the nervousness in my stomach.
"Let's try to get him before something else does." Obi-wan agrees, igniting his own lightsaber too.
The three of us step inside the cave, using our sabers as a source of light. The cave was dark and there was constant screeching that seemed to get closer.
"What's that?" I ask nervously.
We stand back to back and I hear cracking above us.
"Run!" Obi-wan orders as several gigantic boulders fell.
My eyes widen, and I dive aside the best I could, feeling a boulder knock one of my lightsabers away. I feel a sudden weight on my leg and then something knocks into my head, knocking me out.
~~~~~
I groan, choking on dust.
"Luna?" My master helps me up, brushing dust off me.
I cough, shaking my head to clear it, "What happened?" I ask, holding my head as it seemed to pound with each heartbeat. My leg was also throbbing horribly, giving me a slight limp.
Obi-wan shrugs. "Some boulders came down on us. It looks like you didn't run fast enough." He explains. He looks me over, "Where's your other lightsaber?"
I purposely ignore the question, frowning, "Where's Ana-" I stop, seeing Anakin getting chased by a Gundark.
"Are you- gonna- help me?!" Anakin yells, dangling from the Gundark's grasp.
I raise an eyebrow. "I get knocked out for a few minutes and this is happening?" I mutter.
Obi-wan sighs and uses the force to pick up a few boulders, sending them crashing at the Gundark.
"Well, you took your time," Anakin complains, promptly getting away from the Gundark, joining us and burying it with more boulders, "It's a pity. I was just starting to sense a connection." He mourns sadly.
I roll my eyes, "Should I leave you two alone, or would you prefer to find a way out of this hole before she wakes up?"
Anakin sighs. "Come on." He says, "Let's just use the force to move all the boulders blocking the entrance."
Obi-wan frowns, "Anakin, that will take forever."
Anakin shrugs, "You have a better idea?"
A short sigh. "Fine," Obi-wan mutters. He glances at me, "Are you feeling alright, Luna? You took a hard hit to the head back there." He glances at my leg, "And that's going to hurt for a while.
I nod, "I'm fine. Just a bit winded and tired." The headache was gone now, "And the leg's fine. It just aches a bit."
Obi-wan gives me an approving nod and we begin the long work of getting rocks out of the way to the entrance.
The three of us use the force to push rocks out of the way, and I stop for a second, exhausted.
"How much further?!" I pant, helping Anakin lift another boulder.
Obi-wan joins us, "Enough."
I roll my eyes, "Not an answer."
We had been moving rocks for the past few minutes which might have even been hours and I was exhausted.
There's a screech in the distance as we lift another boulder, "Sounds like another Hundark." I say worriedly.
"It's too far away to worry about," Anakin responds, shaking it off.
"It won't stay far away," Obi-wan argues, helping us lift the boulder higher.
We let the boulder drop on the ground behind us and it gives a large boom, sending green gas up.
"Fun. New problem." I yell.
"That's not good," Obi-wan mutters, coughing.
"Yeah, duh!" I respond, earning myself a glare.
"It's just gas." Anakin gasps for air.
"Probably toxic gas." Obi-wan states.
"That's good. Maybe it'll kill our Gundark." I say sarcastically.
Obi-wan frowns at me. I could sense a lecture coming if we survived this, "And maybe it will kill us too!"
Anakin gestures back to the wall of rocks we were trying to break through, "Come on, let's get out of here." He says, lifting and throwing aside another rock while wheezing for air.
Obi-wan and I join him, and I feel my vision go slightly blurry, "This isn't gonna work." I cough, glancing at my Master and Anakin, "I can't breathe." I collapse, feeling my headache from earlier return.
"As always, I'm open to sugges..." Obi-wan collapses onto a rock as well.
"Come on, you two. Don't give up now." Anakin wheezes, trying to focus and use the force and lift another rock.
I clamber up, using a rock as support and try to help him. Dots cross my vision and I feel my legs give in as I fall to the ground in a fit of wheezing.
Anakin stands over me worriedly, "Hang in there, Moon." He tells me.
There's a sudden crash from ahead of us and Anakin helps me clamber up the cascade of rocks with Obi-wan beside me.
"What was that?" I manage to croak out as I see a ray of light.
"I have no idea," Anakin responds.
Obi-wan tugs my arm around his shoulder and him and Anakin help me walk to the entrance of the cave.
"Master!"
A familiar voice hits my ears and I open my eyes as we wave away the gas.
Ahsoka and a few troopers were standing in front of us with a transport right behind.
"Looks like I got here just in time." Ahsoka smiles, helping me onto her shoulder while Obi-wan and Anakin stagger up too.
"What do you mean, 'just in time?' Anakin asks, coughing.
" You were in very big trouble!" Ahsoka says, gesturing to all of us.
"Trouble?" Obi-wan steps up, brushing dust off himself, "We were simply searching for Count Dooku." He stares at me and Anakin imploringly.
I raise an eyebrow at him but stay silent.
Anakin laughs awkwardly, "Urm- Yeah! We had the situation well under control, my little Padawan."
Ahsoka frowns, "I see. So which part of the situation did you have under control? The blocked entrance, the poison gas, or that Gundark behind you?" She asks, pointing behind us.
"Gundark?" Anakin turns away nervously.
"You mean the one that's too far away to worry about?" I smirk, noticing the Gundark coming out of the cave.
"Block the entrance." Ahsoka orders.
The troopers shoot the top of the cave, causing boulders to trap the Gundark back inside.
"There's still Dooku to deal with." Anakin frowns, turning away from the cave.
"You let him get away?!" Ahsoka stares at her Master.
"No, not get away exactly. Just..." Anakin trails off, glancing at us for help, "Chime in anytime."
"Oh, no. I'm enjoying this far too much." Obi-wan grins.
I sigh, "Looks like we won't be able to find Dooku here after all."
Ahsoka glares at Anakin, "I wonder why that is."
"It's no-"
Anakin is cut off by Rex who had walked off the ship, "Sir, we're receiving a transmission from the Jedi Council."
Obi-wan nods, walking onto the ship, "Best not to keep them waiting."
I follow the two Masters onto the transport and we arrive onto the cruiser where holograms of Master Windu and Master Yoda were waiting.
Master Yoda explains how Pirates had captured Dooku and were in a system close to Florrum. We were to confirm that the pirates really had captured Dooku and to report back to the council.
"His only stipulation is that you arrive unarmed." Master Wind finishes.
"Unarmed?!" I say before I could stop the words. Obi-wan sends me a small glare and I muter a quick apology, "Sorry."
"We know very little about these pirates. We may be walking blindly into what could very well be a hostile situation." Obi-wan finishes for me.
"We can't let Dooku slip through our fingers again. Report back as soon as you arrive." Master Windu orders, ending the transmission.
"Well, this should be fun," I say sarcastically.
Obi-wan frowns at me, "Who said that you were coming?"
My eyes widen, "Bu-"
Obi-wan cuts me off, "Go with Ahsoka and Rex back to Coruscant to refuel the cruiser and have a break. You're still limping a bit."
I stare at him pleadingly, "I-"
"And after that, you can meditate on your actions when you were on the Separatist ship chasing Dooku." He finishes tartly.
I sigh, knowing that I had messed up on the mission. I wanted to slap myself. I had tried to take one step at a time, I had tried to wait and think.
Anakin puts a hand on my shoulder, "Master, I'm sure that Luna was having a rough day, that's it." He says, grinning at me sympathetically, "Just let her come along on this one. As long as she promises to behave."
I straighten up, "I do promise."
Obi-wan sighs, "Alright." He sighs defeatedly, "Come on, let's get on the Twilight and get this over with." He says, walking towards the main hanger bay.
I grin at Anakin, "Thanks. That was easier than I thought it'd be."
Anakin smirks, "You're his weak spot."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Luna, leave your lightsaber here." Obi-wan orders as we land on Florrum.
I sigh, "Fine."
We walk off the ship and were immediately surrounded by about 10 Wequay Pirates, armed with guns.
One of them walks up to us with a scanner, searching for weapons.
I frown as the pirate gets too close to me for my liking but keep my mouth shut as I feel Obi-wan's warning glare burn the side of my head.
"Follow me." He orders, turning around.
We follow the pirate into a large building filled with more pirates and tables of food. He leads us to the largest table where a pirate was sitting crosslegged on a chair.
"Gentlemen. Can I offer you something to drink?" He asks, lifting his cup.
"No, thank you," Obi-wan says politely.
Nevertheless, the pirate slides a mug full of green liquid towards Anakin who glances uncomfortably at Obi-wan and me.
"Congratulations on your capture of Count Dooku. Very impressive." Obi-wan says, getting down to business.
"Yes, it was. Even a Sith lord is no match for my warriors. He put up quite a fight. Blasters, cannons, that glowy thing..." The pirate braggs, mimiakaing a lightsaber.
"You mean a lightsaber?" I smirk a little.
"That's it. And I don't need to tell you, those things can do some damage. Carved up some of my best men pretty good before I could get the jump on him." He continues.
My eyes wander as the pirate, Hondo continued to ramble on. My eyes widen as I realize the small creature refilling the pirate's mug was holding both mine and Anakin's lightsabers.
"And how exactly did you get the jump on him?" Anakin inquires, using the force to grab our lightsabers, "With this?"
Immediately, all the pirates in the room aim their guns at us and the creature snatches our sabers back.
"We have no interest in disagreeing with you. All we want is to confirm you are holding Dooku, and we'll go." Obi-wan states.
"I will arrange a meeting." Hondo sits back.
A pirate escorts us to what seemed like the detention level and we step inside the room holding Dooku.
The sith lord was held by electro cuffs and he glares at us as we walk in.
"Oh look how the mighty Sith lord has fallen." I grin.
"This place suits you, Count." Anakin agrees.
It wasn't so long ago that you yourself were in similar surroundings on my ship." Dooku says calmly.
"Yeah, but now I'm free, and you're not." Anakin retorts.
"I'm confident the situation will rectify itself soon." Dooku seems unfazed.
"Soon you'll be brought to trial by the Senate and most likely spend a very long time in a cell just like this one." Obi-wan responds professionally.
"And that's if you're lucky." I grin
"My naive young Jedi, you must be overly optimistic if you think these Weequayans plan to let you leave this planet." Dooku glares at me.
"They're planet-hopping thieves looking for a quick score. They have no interest in picking a fight with Jedi." Anakin laughs
"They are devious and deceitful... and most importantly, stupid." Dooku states bluntly.
"It's a wonder you don't get along with them, Dooku. You have so much in common." Obi-wan smirks, heading for the entrance.
I hold onto a fit of laughter and grin at my master.
"You underestimate them at your own peril, Kenobi."
The three of us walk out of the building, discussing Dooku.
"I don't know about you, but I could use some rest." I yawn.
"Remember, Luna, this could still be a trap." Obi-wan reminds me.
"You're not worried about Dooku, are you?" Anakin grins.
"No, I'm worried about these pirates," Obi-wan responds, glancing at a small fistfight behind us.
"Jedi!" The same pirate that had greeted us from the Twilight walks up to us, arms spread welcomingly. "Now that your business is completed, we invite you to join us in the grand hall for a banquet. And a true Weequay banquet is not to be missed."
Obi-wan grins and accepts the offer and we get back on the Twilight, getting on a transmission with the Chancellor.
"No question, they have Dooku. Send the ransom." Obi-wan reports.
"He's being securely held?"
"And very cranky about it." Anakin grins.
"Good, Senator Kharrus and Representative Binks will be dispatched immediately." The Chancellor smiles, ending the transmission.
"Might as well go to the banquet now." Obi-wan says, stretching.
I sigh, "Do we have to? I'm tired."
Obi-wan glances at me softly, "You might as well have some rest and keep an eye on the ship then. Me and Anakin can attend the banquette."
I nod, "That be nice. I need to sleep or meditate for a while anyway."
Obi-wan nods in approval and him and Anakin leave, "Make sure to stay in the ship though." Obi-wan adds quickly, "Or I'll think twice about taking you on important missions."
"Fine. And no drinking!" I reply.
Anakin turns around, "No promises!"