Trapped, part 1

Florrum, Outer Rim – Prison Cells, Pirate Base

Sheira woke up with a groan, her head pounding slightly like someone was trying to pierce her skull with a nail and a hammer. Her hand went to her head as she felt her force-sight clearing, giving her a good idea of her surroundings.

She was in a cell; a familiar cell and she wasn’t alone. Her master, Anakin and Count Dooku were with her as well. She didn’t fail to notice the special cuffs around her waist with chains that tied the four of them together and a groan escaped her lips as she lifted her body and sat on her legs.

“This is one cruel joke” she commented.

“I assure you Padawan. It is no joke” Count Dooku said, as displeased from their situation as she was.

“It’s called sarcasm you old man” she commented and looked around. Her head was killing her, her body was sore and she did not like how things were looking. “If I get my hands on Hando and his little filth of scums I swear I will-” she exclaimed, for a moment forgetting who was present or was not in the mood to care.

Either way, Dooku chose to comment; taking at least some mild entertainment until Obi-Wan and Anakin would wake up. “Such anger for a Jedi”

“Screw you. I am free to express myself… and maybe make some pirates pay…” she commented, giving him a side look that would be considered a glare if she had eyes. She then focused forward again, not wishing to focus on him or the smug face she was certain he had; even if she could not truly see it. “…when no one is around” she continued her sentence, doing her best to mutter it but he still heard her.

The Sith Lord smirked. He was slightly familiar with the…unique nature of Kenobi’s padawan. Witty, cocky and hot-tempered when triggered. He had heard of her and her rather unbalanced relationship with the order. She was, after all, someone very attuned to the force and that could always be tricky.

Especially, when he could feel just how easily she could and was tiptoeing between the thin line between light and dark side.

This could turn useful in the end, he thought.

“And what will you do now young Padawan?” he asked her with a smirk on his face, curious to get a better glimpse of how her brain was working. It was not as if there was much he could do at the moment and he should grab the chance, considering there was no Obi-Wan to get in the way.

She thought for a moment.”Well, I could try to find a way to separate us, but I suspect that you must have tried that already. Which leaves me with no choice but to wait for my Master and Anakin to wake up”

If he was impressed, he did not show it.”You are smarter than most have you. It seems Master Kenobi had trained you well”

“Well, you will see what else he has trained me well unless you stop talking”

Dooku didn’t stop smirking and instead raised his hands slightly in defence, refraining from saying another word but instead, he watched her. He watched her as she frowned and tried to assess the situation better. By the faint knitting of her eyebrows, he concluded that she must have been trying to use force sight to access her surroundings outside of the cell. An ability rare and quite feared if used properly.

Another groan got their attention as both Anakin and Obi-Wan started to wake up slowly.

“Master,” she said as she turned her body towards him and helped him to stand, his one hand went to his head.

“What happened?” Anakin asked as he managed to sit on his butt, his former master doing the same.

“Well, I guess that pirate brew is stronger than we thought” Obi-wan replied sarcastically.

“I only took a sip” the young Jedi defended himself.

His former master could not help but roll his eyes. Sometimes, Anakin could be extremely intelligent and some other times…he could just be, Anakin. “We were drugged, obviously”

Sheira chose to sit cross-legged next to them, thinking everything over. Her head was getting better but her memories were not, a sign that the drug used was a rather strong one. “They knew we would change our drinks with others… Hando must have drugged almost everyone’s drinks”

Anakin seemed confused by her deduction. “Why would they risk losing the ransom?”

Yet, it was Obi-Wan, who seemed to catch up the fastest between them. “The deal appears to have changed. They must be trying to triple their payday”

“A shrewd observation, Master Kenobi,” Dooku said after being silent for so long, earning their attention and reminding everyone that he was also present; whether any of them liked it or not.

“Great. It’s you” Anakin said and glared at the Sith Lord.

“I did warn you these pirates were devious. You will notice our shackles are bound together. I have tried to separate us to no avail”

“It’s bad enough we have to be in the same cell” Anakin started and stood up, ready to just end Dooku here and there. However, Obi-Wan, who knew him better; acted first and helped him back. “…but could you at least spare me the sound of your constant chatter?”

“And while I hold my tongue, the two of you will devise a brilliant strategy for getting off this godforsaken planet?”

“Yes!” The two Jedi knights said at the same time.

“Excellent”

Florrum, Outer Rim – Hondo’s Office, Pirate Base

In his office, Hondo was looking outside at the rising sun while his second in command walked in.

“I told you kidnapping the Sith Lord was a stroke of brilliance,” he told him, his ego only rising higher with his latest prisoners or as he liked to call them; money bargain chips.

“I can almost smell that spice now,” the lower-ranked pirate said, grinning with excitement. “It’ll be worth twice as much to us on the black market. But I think we could’ve gotten a bigger ransom from the separatists”

Hondo left out a sigh, having forgotten that his subordinates weren’t the brightest of minds when it came to deals.

ell, it was a good thing that he was and he knew how to play the game; better than almost anyone in the Galaxy. “You fool. Sometimes I wonder why I bother to keep you around. If we tried to ransom count Dooku off to the separatists, they would simply send their droid armies here to wipe us out. Now, as my sweet mother always said: ‘Son, if one hostage is good, two are better. And three or above? Well, that’s just good business”

“How much do you think they’ll fetch?”

“Don’t you worry about how much. You’ll get your cut. Just see to it that the Republic’s ransom gets here. Once we get the ransom for the Sith, then we’ll get the ransom for the Jedi”

Florrum, Outer Rim – Prison Cells, Pirate Base

Back in the cell, the three Jedi and the Sith had stayed quiet. The Dark side user had approached the door and looked through its openings. Once he noticed that the area was clear, he raised his hand and concentrated on the tray with the food across from them.

“Don’t you think our priority should be escape first, eat second” Anakin asked him as the whole plate with the fruits and the knife started to make their way to them.

“Do control your protégé’s insolence so I can concentrate” the Count said as he let everything but the knife fall to the ground.

Obi-Wan turned to his former padawan. “Anakin,”

“What?”

He could not help but smirk faintly, evident by the way his beard moved. “Control your insolence. The count is concentrating”

Sheira was the only one, who had yet to say a word and instead was observing what Dooku was doing. In complete silence, she observed as the count manipulated the knife to enter the special key-card slit and open the door. She kept her small word of a surprise to herself and followed the others outside. The Count was connected with her master, he was connected with Anakin and she was dead last being connected with him.

“Well done, if I do say so myself,” the Sith said.

“Most impressive,” Obi-wan said.

Once outside the cell, Sheira looked around, her vision extending just enough to ensure the coast was clear but not overdo it. After all, she needed to save her strengths in case they would fall into any trouble, something she feared but tried not to jinx it. “Place is clear. So far” she informed the others.

Dooku seemed to come up with a plan, once he realised how useful she could be. “Good. Padawan, you and I will have to work together to get out of here”

She scoffed, in return, a sign that she was not amused by his words and was clearly not in the mood to agree. “It’s not like we have much of a choice. Oh wait we do; I can lead, and you can stay in the back and don’t know… be quiet”

Anakin tried to hold back his laughter and he succeeded, but he did smirk while enjoying the show.

Obi-Wan might try to be civil with him but they are not so keen on doing so, especially considering all the trouble they have been through during the wars; because of Count Dooku himself.

Obi-Wan let out a sigh, sometimes wondering how he ended up with two padawans of the same short tempter.

Sheira,” he called her name in a warning tone, one she knew too well.

“What?”

“Now it’s not the time to get into any fights. We all want to get out of here. Once free, you have my permission to attack him”

She muttered some words under her breath and looked forward before allowing the Count to take the lead.

The four force users slowly crept into the hall, making sure to make as little noise as possible. With Sheira on the lead, they seemed to dodge any roaming pirates or at least, had some luck on their side;

which was a first considering all their previous adventures.

However, that did not mean the patience of everyone was intact.

“We do know where we’re going, don’t we?” Anakin asked, his patience running short.

“Hush, Anakin,” Obi-wan said and then turned to the Sith. “Do we know where we’re going?” he asked as the count raised his hands.

“Quiet,” he told them, his own patience running short with being chained to our three heroes.

Sheira smirked at seeing him frustrated and decided to keep her comments for now, simply because they were getting closer to the exit. Once out and free, they could continue everything but for now…they had to play along, whether they liked it or not.

Suddenly, she spotted something. A coloured signature that stood out amongst the transparent and black of the surrounding walls. “Pirate,” she warned as one came from a corridor and the Sith was quick to knock him down before he could realize what was going on.

“I was brought this way when I was captured, it was open then,” he said as Anakin searched the unconscious Pirate.

“I found the door key,” the young Jedi said and grabbed it from the pirate’s waist.

“This is the way to the hangar,” Dooku told them as they all came to a halt and stood in a straight line.

“Yes, but are you sure it’s safe?” Obi-wan asked as Anakin put the key to the door.

“Anakin no!” Sheira said but it was too late, and the door opened.

They were quickly greeted by 7 pirates who immediately grabbed their weapons and aimed them at them for the 100th time in the past two days. They all looked back to see 4 more pirates and the captain’s pet, blocking their exit.

“Hold it right there, Jedi”

Once again, the 4 of them ended up back into the cell. Hondo and his pirates had made sure to shorten the chain which held them all connected while also adding handcuffs to prevent them from escaping again. Anakin was pissed and Sheira was not happy either. The more she stayed in that humiliating position, the more annoyed she became and that was never a good sign.

“What were we thinking, following a Sith Lord?” Anakin asked. “And you Sheira, working with him?”

Sheira, already with low patience left, snapped back just as quickly as Anakin got fired up. “Hey! I warned you not to open that door, but you didn’t listen!” she defended herself.

Hando let out a sigh. “What to do? What to do? What to do? I don’t want to kill you, per se. In fact, you seem like decent fellows Even you, Count. This is just business, and once I get my money, we can go back to being friends. It’s very simple. Now, try not to complicate things by breaking out again” he said and walked out of the cell, thinking his words and his latest security measures would be enough.

Obi-Wan, though, was not going to obey those words. “We have to get out of here before the Republic arrives with the ransom”

Dooku nodded his head. “For once, I agree with you,” he said and due to the short length of their chain, they were all forced together to move as a group towards the door.

They looked outside but they spotted no one present, a sign that the coast was clear for now. While the three men were busy doing that, Sheira seemed to be deep in thought. She pulled a face, where her lips frowned just a bit and there was the faint sign of her biting her inner cheek while thinking.

Obi-Wan, who was rather observant, knew what that face meant.

“What is in your mind Sheira?” he asked, suspecting she was either coming up with a plan or she had already formed one in her mind.

Amongst them, she was perhaps the best at thinking on the spot when the situation was truly dire;

although sometimes Obi-Wan could not help but wonder if he and Anakin had been a bad influence on her.

“I happened to notice some stuff, Master. Hando’s second in command wasn’t with him or anywhere near the base and the pirates seemed to be more spread than before”

“It is obvious that they went after the cargo or prepared themselves when the Republic arrived,” Dooku said.

“No… it’s not that” She started to rub her chin faintly, an amusing sight since she had no facial hair there unlike two out of the three men she was locked with. “I spotted some patterns so far and with the situation now… my suspicions must be coming true”

Anakin was getting impatient since with every minute wasted; the republic’s cargo of spice was getting closer and closer to the base. “Spill it out already Sheira,”

She parted her lips to speak but stopped herself once she realised what she had to say. While Anakin was the most knowledgeable about her past, Obi-Wan was not and Dooku had no clue. She hesitated but then quickly found a way to cover it. “I have some experience with such hierarchies, with spice dealers” she started and Anakin did not have to be told more, to know what she was referring to. “One was always the leader who made the deals and had the plans. However, there had been occasions where his members didn’t agree with him and a few easily tried to bring him down…now, considering they already have the ransom for Dooku, they will get more by turning us to the separatists or by asking the Republic for more… this will make many Pirates want to get more than their share and Hando does not seem like the guy who shares… most obviously they are planning behind his back… which means they will be separated and their guards down… now if only we manage to coordinate our escape with that…”

Obi-Wan smiled behind his well-trimmed beard, his chest faintly puffing with pride. “Excellent Sheira. I swear your mind gets more cunning each time” O

His encouraging words made her smile faintly and lower her head just an inch as a reaction.”Thank you, Master”

“Indeed. Kenobi looks like you finally got a padawan who uses their mind” Dooku said and earned a glare from Anakin, who did not like his comment but said nothing about it.

“I have a plan on how to get us out of here”

“We are listening Sheira”

It was not long before a guard was stationed close to their cell. The Pirate was sitting on a table across from them, having finished his lunch and had his back turned on them. That did not mean that Sheira was discouraged and instead, she pressed her body more against the door.

She offered a small whistle, low but audible to those close to her. It drew the attention of the Pirate and she offered him a charming smile. “Hey, you,”

The sudden attention seemed to shock and confuse the lone Pirate, who pointed a finger at himself.

“Me?”

She nodded her head and extended her hand through the bars, like a ‘come-to-me’ move. “Yes, you. Come here…I have something important to tell you” she said, her voice not once quivering and there were no pauses between her words; as if she had practised an imaginary script in her mind.

The Pirate hesitated for a moment but she waved her hand faintly, taunting him with some lady-like charm. He was a male, lonely and obviously low- ranked; so getting some female and private attention was something he was not going to let pass. He chuckled to himself, wondering what kind of secret she would spill and he made his way towards her.

However, just as he stood outside the cell door; she extended her hand and grabbed his wrist. Before he could react or try to free himself, Obi-Wan had moved to stand next to Sheira and extended his hand in the air.

“You do not want to stand guard,” he said, his voice confident and precise The Guard seemed to be in some sort of trance. “I do not want to stand guard” he repeated word by word.

“You want to deactivate the cell bars and go out drinking”

“I want to deactivate the cell bars and go out drinking”

The guard opened the door with his card key and then hypnotized walked away as the 4 force users walked out of the cell.

Anakin smirked and watched him go, more than glad to be out of that small cell. “Not bad” he commented.

Dooku, for the first time, seemed to agree with him; which was a rather shocking thing. “Yes, most impressive, Kenobi. Padawan Sheira”

She was surprised he finally called her by her name, lips parted faintly but then focused on the task at hand. She put her focus on the retreating Pirate and could not help but smirk, feeling rather proud of herself.

“Shall we get going?” she asked the three males, knowing that their time window for escape was limited.

Once again, they were walking silently in the corridors and were heading for the exit. This time, they chose a different path to ensure they would not fall on any Pirates unless there was no other choice.

Due to the short length of the chains, it was not that easy for them to mix like last time. Instead, it was better if they remained in a line; which they did, with Sheira in the lead. However, even that did not fully help with the rising tensions between long-time enemies.

Even Obi-Wan seemed not to be immune to it. “Hurry up, Dooku,” he said to the eldest, who was trailing behind.

“Get cover” Sheira hissed out of nowhere, as all four of them hid behind some crates. A second later three pirates walked by but did not seem to have spotted or seen them. Instead, they kept walking and everyone waited for Sheira to give the okay and start moving again.

“You should be more patient, Master,” Anakin said and smirked as they started walking. “After all, the count is an elderly gentleman – and doesn’t move like he used to”

“I suppose you’re right”

“I would kill you both right now if I did not have to drag your bodies”

“Or we can kill you instead. The three of us can carry your body Count” Sheira said as she continued to lead the way.

It was not long before the sound of an alarm reached their ears, a sign that their escape had been taken notice. This left them with no choice but to start running towards the exit, hoping to put as much ground as they could between them and the Pirates.

A few pirates did manage to cut their way or at least tried, because Dooku was faster. Using the force mid-run, he moved some heavy crates and buried the Pirates beneath them; successfully eliminating the threat.

At the same time, Sheira was on the lead; being rather fast compared to the others but forced to hold back due to the chains connecting them to one another.

“This way!” she shouted and used the force to break the lock of a door, successfully opening it for them to pass through.

Once outside, the bright sun blinded them for a moment and they did end up stumbled over the fallen door; but were quick to recover and stand up. With their vision adjusting, they took notice of where they currently were. They were on a rooftop and there was a noticeable gap between their building and the surrounding wall of the Pirate Base.

“Now we just have to get beyond that wall,” Obi-wan said, quickly realizing that if they managed to get over that wall;

hey would be safer, for the moment at least.

Anakin looked around, taking notice of a discarded pole nearby. An idea quickly came into his mind, rather reckless but it was the only option they had left. If they were not chained to one another, they would have used the force to cover that jump but that was not the case.

“Let’s go!” Anakin said as he and Sheira grabbed the metallic pole, before running towards the edge of the rooftop.

The Pirates were hot on their trials and they had started to fire, now whether aiming to kill or just stop them; they were not going to stick around and find out. They managed to avoid the blasts and the duo quickly placed the poll at the edge before using it to eject themselves across. With little help from the force of course.

Sheira and Anakin, who were at the very front, were also the only ones to reach the wall. They wasted no time to grab on the ledge, while Obi-Wan and Dooku ended up hanging by the chains; a few good feet above some crates and the ground.

However, the swinging and the weight of two adult men were not easy for Anakin to keep; even if he used his mechanical arm to stabilize his grip on the ledge. Sheira, being at the very front of the chain, did not feel the weight since Anakin held everything and worked as a mediator. Of course, that did not stop her from trying to climb up first; knowing she had to help Anakin before his grip would give up on him.

“This is not going well” Anakin commented as he felt his human hand struggling.

Sheira managed to climb up and quickly grabbed his human wrist, trying to help him keep his grip and even attempt to climb up.

However, nothing was easy for them and the Pirates had started to gather beneath them and also at the rooftop they were just a moment ago. They kept firing, trying to shoot any of them but to no success.

Obi-Wan and Dooku seemed to be their primary targets and that forced the two men to swing left and right, doing their best to avoid getting hit. Yet, while this technique helped them; it only made it harder for Anakin to keep holding them.

A blast found the chain interlinking Dooku to Obi-Wan and destroyed it, resulting in the Sith Lord to have a free fall down. Or he should have if Obi-Wan had not interfered by grabbing him just in time.

“Hey, what are you guys doing?” Anakin said as he kept trying to hold the wall and climb up, with Sheira trying to help him as much as he could.

Suddenly, a blast hit Sheira’s left hand and by instinct, she pulled it back. Hissing faintly from pain, she had let Anakin go and he in return; lost his grip on the ledge. Now, he was hanging with only one hand, but it would not last for long, even if that hand was robotic.

“Oh no,” she commented, seeing how dire the situation had turned and knew they could not keep up that for much longer.

She ignored the pain and pressed her knees firmly against the ledge, before bending slightly forward.

She used both hands to grab Anakin’s human one and did her best to pull him up, understanding that if he got both hands on the wall; it would be easier for him to hold or even climb up.

It was not easy, though, as Obi-Wan had to keep moving to avoid being shot. This complicated things and it complicated their situation since Sheira had only this much strength within her body.

A blast hit Sheira’s left hand and she hissed from pain, almost losing her grip but she held through.

She put pressure and ignored the burning sensation as she lifted her body up and then proceeded to help Anakin.

Anakin held on to Sheira and did his best to help her but with Obi-Wan swinging left and right, it was not an easy task.

Considering the extra weight of the Sith Lord, the task was rather impossible.

“Drop Dooku!” he hissed, doing his best.

He was just about to put his human hand on the wall when the fire stopped. A second later, if not less, Sheira sensed a presence behind her and Anakin took notice of the person that had sneaked up on them.

“Shit” she cursed and before she could react in any way, she felt his hand placed at the back of her neck.

His grip was not lethal but it was firm, to ensure she would not try to escape. A moment later he pushed her forward, just enough to almost make her lose her balance. She did not, though, and kept resisting even as she felt the sharp pain from her knees against the hard metal of the wall. She kept holding on to Anakin, knowing if they all fell; those crates would not truly soften their landing.

“I guess this means… we won’t be friends,” Hando said and gave her a strong push.

She fell forward, the other following along with her. Using the force, they all managed to slow down their fall as they landed against hard crates. Groans of pain escaped their lips as they tried to move, only to see that the pirates had their guns right in front of their faces once again.