Hunting Dooku, part 1

Unknown Coordinates

Sheira has done lots of crazy missions and has never let her lack of ‘sight’ be any obstacle in her way of becoming a Jedi Knight. However, slowly floating in the middle of space towards the enemy ship was not something she would have ever imagined or agreed to in the first place.

The space was vast, endless and she had to be in constant control of her sight. You could say, she was almost blind, and she would have never joined this mission alone. Thankfully, her master was forward, and she simply followed the light aura he emitted. She could barely feel the ship and see its basic structure.

All those years of practice finally paid off, allowing her to use her innate ability to its fullest. Obi-wan landed first and extended his hand to help her.

She placed her gloved hand in his and he helped her place her feet on the ship’s shell. Immediately looking down, she extended her force sight and was able to see the droids, and the cells while also feeling the dark presence of their target.

“Come on Sheira,” her master said, snapping her from her concentration.

He had opened a hatch at the top and he jumped down. She followed after and once inside, they made sure to get rid of the space suits. Now with more freedom to move, Sheira got ready for her part. She took a deep breath and focused, letting her force sight to extend as much as she could. The details were quickly becoming blurry and due to the majority of passengers being on this ship being animatronic or lifeless; it made it hard to make out everything.

However, trusting the force, she let it guide her and in the end, she managed to get a good idea of where Anakin was;

hanks to his rather unique force signature and aura. When she got to his location, she could not help but smirk, feeling rather proud of herself. Back in the Academy, her force sight was something that held her back and often mocked but in the war…it was an asset the enemy would kill to have.

“This way,” she said as she started to rush down the hall to their right.

They barely made any noise as she led them towards the detention cells. She spotted a droid behind some security control and she pressed her master against the wall with her body. For a moment, none of them moved or said anything as they waited for the droid to pass; having yet to see them. While doing so, Sheira came to realize the rather intimate position the two of them were in.

Obi-wan had literally pressed his back against the metallic wall and she was leaning heavily on him, while his one hand was around her shoulder and the other around her waist; passively keeping her closed. She was not sure if he noticed but she did and she could not help but feel heat rising on her cheeks due to the position. For that, she kept her head turned to the side and used the small height difference to hide any signs of embarrassment while she got herself under control.

Suddenly, she felt Obi-Wan squeezing her shoulder slightly and she knew what that meant. It was one of the many ways the two of them would signal when close and when one of the two had limited vision or in Sheira’s case, simply forgot to focus.

She did not comment anything and neither did he as they moved away from that wall and continued down their original path, making sure to be as quick and quiet as possible.

It did not take them long to reach the prison cells and so far, they had yet to be detected; which was a good sign and also a rare one, since usually their luck was not that good. The cells had closed metallic doors, preventing anyone inside from seeing outside and anyone outside seeing inside the cells. While she looked at every one of them to find Anakin, Obi-Wan chose to try his luck.

So when the first cell door opened, he ended up finding a couple of criminals but not Anakin. “Do not get up. You are not the prisoner I am looking for” he said and closed the door again before the criminals could escape.

He then turned forward and noticed Sheira looking at him, one hand on her waist like a disappointed mother. “Really?” he asked, making him blink in surprise.

“What did I do?” Obi-Wan asked quickly, realizing she was giving him that face when he had done something she did not approve of. And let it be known, that face came way too often sometimes that it was almost comical.

“You have me, why try on your own?” she asked, sounding more confused at his actions than hurt.

The bearded Jedi rubbed the back of his neck faintly. “I do….just thought I try my luck and help you out” he confessed, trying to charm his way with his flattering smile.

Sheira knew that if she had eyes, she would roll them at his excuse. “And since when do you have that kind of luck?”

she asked with small sarcasm, making him frown at her sassy side. Unfortunately for him, he had been the one to make it worse with his and Anakin’s influence. “It’s this one,” she said after and pressed her hand on the panel, allowing the cell doors to open.

To his surprise, the cell was empty and there was no Anakin inside. Curious, Obi-Wan walked inside while his padawan remained outside; for she already knew where their precious Anakin was. Soon enough, Obi- Wan found too as Anakin landed right behind him and was met with a lightsaber pointed to his face; a mere reaction of the bearded Jedi at sensing an attack.

Anakin was unfazed by the weapon pointed at him, since it had become quite common with the amount of bad guys they would usually go up against during the Clone Wars.

“Oh, it’s you!” Anakin said surprised.

“This is how you thank me for rescuing you? Pounce on me from the ceiling?” Obi-wan asked and Sheira pressed her hand in front of her mouth to contain her laughter. It was always an amusing sight being in the presence of those two and even more so when Anakin was at the other end of the Kenobi-Scolding speech; as both she and Anakin had hosen to name it. “What am I going to do with you?” he asked right after and let out a sigh but said nothing else.

“Here, Skywalker” Sheira shouted and tossed Anakin his lightsaber.

The Jedi Knight caught it with expertise in his mechanical arm and then offered a small bow to her.

“Thanks, Sheira” he said and she shook her head faintly at the unnecessary drama.

“Did you manage to locate Dooku before landing in Jail?” Obi-wan asked him, focusing back on the important part of this mission.

In a way, their original plan did not work but a new opportunity was given to them; being in the very same ship the leader of the separatist movement was. Count Dooku was a Jedi Deserter, who turned to the dark side more than 10 years ago and formed the separatist movement; to oppose the republic.

The last year, he had been the main thorn in their side and they knew that taking him down; would help the war end much faster.

The problem was, that he was not that easy in getting caught or being defeated; often proving that he was a rather sneaky and elusive opponent both in and out of combat.

“Well I know he is on board,” the young Jedi said as they exited the cell. “I might have been able to do something about it if I had my weapon”

“It was important for you to arrive without it, so your capture would be convincing”

“Oh, they were convinced alright…But how am I the one getting caught all the time? It doesn’t look good”

Sheira was amused and chose to throw some salt on his wounded ego. “To who? Your secret fan club?” he joked and her master cracked a smile while Anakin rolled his eyes at her childish joke.

“Haha, very funny,” he said with a brooding expression, clearly not happy being teased from both sides.

“When you are a Jedi Master you can make the plan,” Kenobi said as they kept walking down the corridor, the Miraluka on the lead.

“That’s just it. How can I become a Jedi Master if I am always getting caught?”

“At least you are a master at getting caught,” Sheira added, earning a faint chuckle from Obi-wan and a pout from Anakin.

“And whose side are you on?” Anakin asked like a wounded child.

“Mine” she replied and offered a toothy grin, an expression that in the end made Anakin scoff in amusement and let it slide.

This was a rather common interaction between the three of them and a rather enjoyable one as well.

While everyone else was broody or serious, those three would often throw jokes or tease one another when in the mood. Considering Obi-wan practically raised Anakin for a decade, it made sense that the two of them had this informal relationship. However, Sheira had quickly managed to join their little group and Anakin had found to enjoy her presence; as well as her willingness to join him in some very risky and rule-breaking mission.

With Sheira on the lead, it did not take them that long to find Count Dooku. Being a SIth Lord, he gave a rather bright, sinister and dark red aura that the Miraluka could pick up from quite far away. It was always causing her an unsettling feeling within her, due to the darkness held within but she learnt to remain focused and fight him when she had the chance.

Now, once again they were about to face him and despite their past encounters; all three hoped they would be more successful this time.

They silently looked at one another and then nodded, before Sheira placed her hand on the panel and activated the door. Once the door was open, they confidently walked in and spotted the famous Sith casually sitting on a meditating pillow.

He did not seem surprised to see them entering his room so casually, as if he had been expecting them. Yet again, he most likely had sensed them and the fact that he had yet to flee; spoke a lot about his character and his ego.

“If it isn’t count Dooku” Obi-wan said as they all came to a halt, Sheira once again standing between the two male Jedi.

“Obi-wan Kenobi,” the count said, his eyes still closed; not even bothering to open and acknowledge them fully. “I hought an unpleasant disturbance in the force. I see you and your Padawan freed young Skywalker…where he might be if it weren’t for you to be around to rescue him”

Anakin was about to take a step forward when Sheira placed her hand in front of his chest to stop him. He was trying to provoke him, forcing him to act recklessly and be separated. This was a common mistake they made when Anakin’s impulses would get the best of him and he would charge first. Thankfully for him, Sheira was always keeping an eye on him and she knew when she had to stop him from doing something extremely stupid.

Before more words could be exchanged, the cruise ship started to shake. Another part of the plan was for the reinforcement to arrive and attack from the two sides, planning to destroy the ship and also make it harder for anyone to escape.

“Sir, a Jedi Cruiser is attacking,” one of the droids said via the comm.

Count Dooku opened his eyes, at last, realizing what the plan was. He did not seem surprised but rather annoyed, knowing that he had only one option now and it was not the one he wished to take.

“Your ship is surrounded, Count. Republic forces are boarding as we speak” Anakin said as they all got in position to fight, lightsabers in hand-grabbing proximity.

“Jedi fools” was all Dooku said before a hatch opened beneath him, allowing him to just free fall into the lower levels.

Our heroes stood there like statues for a moment, walking closer to the dark hole from which Dooku escaped just a moment ago.

Obi-wan passed a hand over his beard. “I should have seen that coming,” he said, thinking of what they should do next.

He was rarely in a rush and always preferred to think things through, taking the best courses of action and sometimes the ones with the least amount of risks. Of course, sometimes he acted more impulsively but that depended on the situation and it was not something common for him or his character.

“I believe that is my line, Master,” Sheira said as Anakin took a few steps back. “What are you doing?”

“Following him”

“Not that way. We need to cut him off” Master Kenobi argued but Anakin did not seem willing to listen.

“You two cut him off, I’ll follow him and meet you at the hangar,” and with those words, he rushed and jumped into the hole; unaware where it would lead him or better say, to whom.

Obi-wan let out a heavy sigh. “Why do I even try?”

Sheira glanced at the trap door one last time and then at him. “Because you still have hope. Although, it is surprising how you still have it”

Her words amused him. “Trust me, sometimes I surprise myself” he commented and then headed for the door. “Come on, we better catch up with him before he gets us into more unnecessary trouble”

Obi-wan and Sheira ran down the corridors, using their sabres or the force to take down any droid standing in their way. The ship kept shaking as its shields were barely able to defend it, making it hard for them to keep their footing stable. More than once they almost slipped but they helped none other to remain balanced and not stop running.

At last, they made it to the hangar and started to look around for any signs of their target. The first to notice, as per usual, was Sheira; who could see through the solid materials of the ships.

“There!” she pointed out to a moving ship that was about to fly away.

Wasting no time, the two of them started to run towards it but it became obvious rather fast that they would not reach it in time. The ship had its engines on and was soon to take off. Plus, there was no sign of Anakin and they could not exactly leave him behind; even though reinforcements were literally outside.

“It’s no use. We need to improvise” Obi-Wan said as they both came to a halt, catching their breaths slightly.

Looking around, the bearded Jedi spotted a ready shuttle; two droids standing guards there despite the ship being under attack. He nudged Sheira and she quickly took notice of what had gotten his attention, while also knowing what to do next.

They nodded to one another and started to run towards it with Obi-Wan in the lead. Sheira used the force to lift and toss the two droid guards to the side, allowing an opening for her Master to enter the shuttle and get it ready. She slowed down her steps and remained by the lowered ramp, her lightsaber in her hand and active. Some droids had taken notice of them and were trying to shoot them but she deflected all their shots while slowly the ramp was being lifted.

She took a single step back to be on it and continued defending them from the beams until she took notice of Anakin coming from a trap door and landing rather harshly on the floor of the hanger.

However, he quickly recovered and took notice of them as the shuttle started to move forward and the ramp was halfway up.

Wasting no time, he started to run as fast as he could and sliced down any droid that tried to stop him.

At the last moment, he did a risky long jump and he almost did not make it; until Sheira extended her hand and grabbed his wrist. Despite his heavier build, she placed her hands against the floor of the shuttle and pulled him inside before the ramp closed for good.

“Thank you,” Anakin said out of breath, taking a few seconds to recover.

Sheira was in no better situation as both deactivated their lightsabers. “You owe me for that, Skywalker,” she said and offered him a small smile, more than happy to know that he was in one piece and that they did not have to leave him behind.

“If you two are done” Obi-wan said, having heard them from the cockpit.

Due to the small size of the shuttle, the controls and the cockpit were a few feet away. They also only had a pair of sets there while some retractable seats and belts were in the small cargo area.

However, they did not bother with that and instead, they walked towards him; with Anakin taking the seat next to Obi-wan. He was a better pilot in general and unlike Sheira, he could use the controls more effectively. The only thing Sheira usually could do on a ship was to have the laser guns and thanks to the force and her unique sight; she was a rather good shooter.

“I thought you were following Dooku,” Obi-wan told Anakin as Sheira moved to stand behind the chair of his master.

However, due to some faint turbulence; she had to hold on to it to ensure she would not fall to the ground. She could try to sit on the ground for better stability but she found it unnecessary. Plus, her body was still pumping with adrenaline from their little run so far.

“I was, I followed him here” Anakin replied.

The Miraluka chose not to comment anything and instead activated her comlink. The one she was contacting was Anakin’s padawan, the latest addition to their little group. Ahsoka was a Togruta of age 14, rather young and straight out of the academy. However, what she lacked in field experience or age; she made up in battle and intelligence.

She clicked rather well with Anakin, who seemed to enjoy competing against her on who would take down most ships or droids during a mission. Sometimes they would clash but on minor insignificant things and it was clear that Anakin had a soft spot for her; going as far as to give her a nickname, Snips.

“Ashoka. Dooku managed to escape. Master Kenobi, Anakin and I are in pursuit. I believe some reinforcements will be needed. Follow us in what ships you can round up” Sheira said in the comlink.

“Will get there as soon as we can” was the reply of the young Padawan, who was left responsible with Captain Rex on Anakin’s cruiser.

Following Dooku was not easy, for they had enemy ships to counter and destroy while also keeping a steady course after him. While Obi-wan had left the flying to Anakin and got control of the guns, it did not mean they were doing the best job. More than once did they get hit and despite the shields protecting the shuttle, it still shook. One should not even mention how close they were to getting shot down or passing too close to an enemy ship that was about to fall directly on them.

“Lucky for you, I’m an excellent shot”

“Well now those fighters are attacking us”

“I am on it,”

“Uhm… he is getting too close”

“Got it”

Anakin’s confident words did not seem to help with the situation, as an enemy ship ended up crashing on the right wing of its shuttle. This forced them out of trajectory and they started to head towards a nearby moon. Ironically, Count Dooku had a similar encounter and was also about to crash on that moon; after his ship also got damaged.

“Lucky for you, I’m an excellent pilot!” Anakin said as he struggled to make the crushing less destructive and ensure they would all survive.

All this time, Sheira was holding onto Obi- Wan’s chair for dear life; not liking the situation.

Everything moved too fast and like a blur, she could not really do something and at that moment; she could not even sit down somewhere.

“I hate spaceships” Sheira commented as the whole ship started to shake when they entered the atmosphere of the moon and its gravity was quickly pulling them down.

The force warned her of the danger of crushing and if she had eyes, she would have closed them. The ship crashed against the hard ground, but no big damage happened to them, thanks to the way Anakin managed to land it.

However, the shaking was enough to cause her to lose her footing and fall to the ground. She felt the cold metal against her back and she knew faint bruises would form. Biting back a groan, she took a moment to recover while Anakin and Obi-Wan continued to argue. Sometimes she did not mind that bickering but now it was not the right time for it.

“For all your expertise, this isn’t a very smooth landing” Kenobi commented as the ship kept being dragged across the surface.

“And if you’d hit that second fighter, we wouldn’t be in this mess”

“Can you two stop it already?!” she asked with an angry tone.

The two men looked behind them and when they did not see her, they glanced down; Upon realizing they were the reason she was on the floor, they felt kind of bad and embarrassed. They really should have acted better or been a little more careful in that case.

“Yes, you should have been” Sheira commented, having sensed their emotions through the force.

The ship, at last, came to a halt with a sudden halt, causing everyone to fall forward. Thankfully, she had raised her hands and blocked them from hitting against the seat.

Once the ship was stable, she shook her head and struggled to get up. Her feet felt like jelly for a few seconds, the trembles and the whole experience hadn’t helped them at all. Her two companions seemed to be in a better situation but not amused by how things had evolved.

At last, they were out of the metallic prison and Sheira felt relief once her feet were against the solid stable ground. If it was up to her, she wouldn’t do such crazy stunts. She loved adventure, yes, but she had limits on what kind of adventure.

“I’ve had better landings,” Obi-wan said as the trio started to walk where they suspected Count Dooku had landed.

Soon, they found his ship, but he was nowhere to be found; not that they were surprised. They would be if Dooku was actually waiting for them by the ship but he knew he had a better chance elsewhere.

However, that did not mean he had not tried to call for help as our heroes spotted an activated transmitter on top of his ship.

“What is this? A homing beacon?” Kenobi asked as the trio surrounded the small round device.

Anakin nodded his head. “Which means the distinguishing count is waiting for help”

“So he can’t be far off” Sheira continued after him and walked a little away, extending her sight to detect him.

By now, the Count would most likely have masked his presence. He was from the few individuals who had such mastery, making it hard for her to track them if they were a certain distance away.

She was a dangerous ally with her ability to see via the force which was also why she played such a big role in different missions.

However, that also made her quite the target that they would wish to eliminate first.

To their bad luck, she was more than capable of defending herself. Not to mention that she was by Obi-Wan’s side almost all the time and in the war, everyone aimed to reduce the numbers and never focused on individuals.

“Found anything Sheira?” Her master asked as Anakin destroyed the beacon and they walked towards her.

She pointed at some caves as she focused on keeping her force sight normal. “I sense something there. I cannot see, he must have masked his presence. But I am almost certain he is somewhere there” she explained.

Even if she could not truly detect him; she could somehow sense it through the force. Something was telling her where he was, warning her of his dark presence that was not that far away.

“Then let us start”

The caves were not that far away and soon, our heroes had reached them. They came to a halt by the entrance and took notice of the darkness rising within, proof that the light did not reach that deep into the cave. Thankfully for them, they had their lightsabres and they worked just fine as illuminating torches for them. Considering the crystals and gems found all over the cave and within its walls, the trick worked as the minerals reflected back the blue lights of their lightsabres.

Sheira was awfully quiet as she walked between them, sensing a lot of life forms deep into the cave.

That meant they most likely would find beasts of lower intelligence level and one was not sure how friendly they would be. However, their priority remained Dooku.

Before they could find him, they heard a loud and heavy roar echoing through the cave walls. It seemed to vibrate through the earth and it caused all three of them to come to a halt and look around.

“What is that?” Sheira asked as she tried to distinguish the source and find it but with all those life forms around, it was not easy.

It was deep within the cave, but she couldn’t make fully of its species. It was something she had never seen before, but it was big and not friendly. Suddenly, the rocks above them started to fall to crush them.

“Run!” Obi-Wan instructed.

Master and Padawan jumped to the side while Anakin tried to stop the rocks with the help of the force but was not that successful.

Once the rock slide was over, Sheira managed to take a breath; only to regret it as she started to inhale dust from the cloud that had risen. She coughed a few times and once she managed to breathe a little better, only then did she notice that she was lying on the ground. For a Jedi, she seemed to be falling quite often lately. Good thing no one else would see that.

Just like how Anakin was the one getting caught, she was the person who would end up losing their balance or not landing properly. It depended on the situation.

As she lifted her upper body, she took notice of a familiar bright aura in front of her and then a hand was extended. She could not help but smile at the familiar signature and gently placed her hand on his gloved one, letting Obi-Wan help her get up on her feet.

He did not comment anything on her fall, for he had seen plenty of hers by now. He knew sometimes even the best Jedi could be a little clumsy and considering how far better she was at certain things, he chose not to say anything on her rough landings.

“Where is Anakin?” he asked as the cloud of dust cleared and they noticed the pile of rocks where they stood one moment ago.

Sheira did not have to focus too much to spot him, for he was not that far and his aura was rather noticeable out in the open. “Not too far away. Alive and unharmed”

Obi-Wan let out a sigh. “Unharmed? That is surprising” he commented and she could not help but chuckle faintly as they walked side by side.

“Perhaps it is his day, today” she added, earning a smile of amusement from him.

She always enjoyed watching him smile and taking pride in her comments. Not a lot of people she knew were actually proud of her in general but he was the exception. It was perhaps what often drove her to do better, always looking forward to seeing his azure eyes glow when she would accomplish something big or how he would smirk after she did something to surprise him but in a good way.

Soon enough, they heard Anakin’s voice. “Master! Sheira! Can you hear me!”

Obi-Wan shook his head and they followed his voice. “Anakin, when I tell you to run, run,” he said as their paths finally met and they were reunited.

“Master! Sheira! You’re alive”

“So far” she commented, as always the optimist in their little group.

The bearded Jedi then took notice of something and smirked, placing a hand on his waist. “And where’s your lightsaber?” he asked his former padawan.

Anakin quickly found an excuse to save himself from the embarrassment and the scolding. “It got knocked out of my hand”

“By a rock?” Obi-Wan teased as he tossed a small rock at him, watching it bounce against Anakin’s arm.

His former padawan did not comment immediately after but chose to start searching for his lightsaber in the pile of rocks. “Yeah, by a rock. It’s got to be here somewhere”

Sheira raised an eyebrow. “That is a feeble excuse” she commented.

“You know what would be helpful? A little light”

“Certainly,” the older Jedi said and turned on his lightsaber, but it sputtered and went out. “Silly thing. It was just working a minute ago”

“You don’t suppose it was hit by a rock, do you?” Anakin asked and tossed him a pebble in retaliation.

Sheira shook her head at the immaturity between the two but the smile on her lips was a sign that she was amused nonetheless. “Here Anakin” Sheira said as she ignited her own which worked normally.

“Why thank you,” he said and started to search but everyone froze once they heard the roar from before.

They all jumped to the side as a Gundark, a giant Gundark attacked them. It quickly favoured Anakin and started to chase him around the cave while the other two watched him doing his best to avoid the beast.

“Jump in anytime!” he told them as Obi-Wan was inspecting his lightsaber.

“Oh, you’re doing fine. She seems to like you” the older Jedi replied and Sheira chuckled, hands folded in front of her chest.

“Lucky me! This isn’t as much fun as it looks. I thought Gundarks were only found on Vanqor” the young Jedi said as she tossed him her lightsaber, finally feeling sorry for him.

He grabbed it and tried to slice the beast, but it was smart and agile, avoiding its attacks.

At the same time, Master Kenobi had still his attention on his lightsaber. “Then, this system must be Vanqor,” he said.

Suddenly Anakin tripped and the Gundark grabbed him by the ankle. He tried to fight back but he had forcefully held him upside down and pulled him towards him. He lost his grip on the lightsaber and Sheira used the force to summon it to her hand before it hit the ground. She did not wish for her own sabre to stop working like Obi-Wan’s.

“So, that would make this one…”

Obi-Wan tapped his lightsaber on a rock as Anakin was held upside down in the air.

“The mother of all Gundarks,” the Miraluka concluded, watching Anakin struggling to free himself.

“Precisely,” her master said.

“Are you two gonna help me?”

“I have an idea,” she said and used the force to lift a big boulder. Concentrating, she tossed it to the chest of the beast and caused her to release Anakin while it stumbled back.

Obi-wan followed her lead and soon Anakin joined, the three of them using the force to make a part of the cave collapse and bury the beast under heavy rocks.

“Well, you took your time. It’s a pity. I was just starting to sense a connection”

“Should we leave you two alone or would you prefer to find a way out of this hole before she wakes up?” Obi-wan said and Sheira tried to hold back her laughter.

One of the many things she loved about her master.