Dooku and the Pirates [Part 1]
A small yelp echoed throughout the room as the small training droid zapped Catra, having bypassed both her lightsabers. She had been stubbornly training for the past few hours with her lightsaber and the one she stole from Ventress, trying to improve her form of Jar’Kai. Barely making progress.
Catra managed to deflect a few shots before it hit her, having to repeat the process. Trying to increase her reaction time if she ever faced off against Magi again, there’s a difference between blaster bolts and other lightsabers. And sure, she could ask Ashoka for help, but she didn’t want to bother her; besides, they’d probably get distracted staring at each other.
She had momentarily forgotten about her other choice option until Obi-wan opened the door to her room; clones were seen behind him as they headed for their stations. He stroked his beard in thought, staring at the red lightsaber, “You know, red isn’t really your color. Ever think about getting it changed?”
“I mean, I’m not too bothered as I see it only as a color. It doesn’t reflect my feelings,” Catra shrugged while collapsing to her knees, using the chance to take a break. Tail swaying against the cold floor behind her, “I’m trying to avoid going back to IIum anytime soon. It’s freezing there!”
“I agree, so I won’t force you to go, only when you’re ready,” Obi-wan smiled as he strolled in, the door shutting behind him. Then, shutting off the droid, “So you’re trying to perfect your Jar’Kai form?”
Catra simply nodded with eyes close, taking in a breath before gazing at him, “It’s difficult, but I’m stubborn.”
“Indeed. Though, the second blade is typically shorter than the first. So it’s more challenging with two of the same height,” Obi-wan explained as he gestured to them, watching as Catra understood, “Still, it’s impressive progress.”
“Thanks. I should stop for now, or I’m going to faint from exhaustion,” Catra mumbled as her ears twitched while pushing to a stand. Clipping the lightsabers back onto her belt, “It will have the opposite effect if I face off against Magi again.”
“Magi must be Dooku’s latest apprentice alongside Ventress, but more calculated,” Obi-wan theorized after seeing the report, interested in why Magi held her end of the deal. Remembering why he had entered in the first place, “Speaking off, how about a spacewalk and we can ask him?”
“...did Anakin get trapped again.” It was more of a statement, as Catra had learned, that it was a usual occurrence.
“I’m afraid so, we’ll be the ones to recuse him. Ashoka and Rex will be on the main deck to watch from afar,” Obi-wan explained, heading back for the door, Catra following behind. A grin appeared on his face, “And I assumed you’d want to try, with a suit this time.”
“Should be fun,” Catra smirked.
“I retract my earlier statement,” Catra mumbled while keeping her focus on Obi-wan, making sure not to mess up the controls for the jetpack. Fear of running out of fuel and being stranded in space, “I Should have stayed in my room.”
“Come now, you’ve been in space without the suit, and this is more terrifying?” Obi-wan remarked, looking over his shoulder, a teasing smile on his face. Maintaining his momentum despite not facing forward, “I’m worried about your scale of what’s not a problem and what’s an actual threat.”
“Well, last time, at least I had something to touch and grab,” Catra pointed out with a huff, unaware of Obi-wan’s trap to calm her. Uncomfortable of having her ail squeezed into one of the pants legs, “Right now, we’re out of range of anything.”
“We can always contact Ashoka and Rex and have them retrieve you,” Obi-wan suggested as they reached the Sepertsist ship, boosting the power to take them up.
“There’s no point. We're already…here….” Catra trailed off, realizing she had been distracted by the conversation. Smiling gratefully as she continued to follow, “Thanks.”
“Sometimes, all you need is a distraction to forget about your fears,” Obi-wan mentioned as they glided over to an access hatch, pressing one of the buttons on the console nearby.
Catra watched the hatch open, learning the ship's plans before coming over, “Isn’t having fears a Jedi shouldn’t have?”
“Catra, everyone has fears, even Jedi. It’s long as if we don’t act on those fears to bring us to the dark side,” Obi-wan returned and placed a hand on her shoulder. Then, giving her a brief lesson, “Jedi aren’t supposed to have relationships either, but I’m not stopping you, and neither is Anakin.”
“I know Anakin’s reasons, but what are yours?” Catra asked curiously.
“Well, let’s just say I took on some of my master’s qualities as well…and I was in love at some point,” Obi-wan smirked, knowing that would get a reaction. The intended one as she looked at him with wonder and eyes sparkling, testing her as he entered first, “But that’s a conversation for another time.”
Catra pouted with a huff, crossing her arms, “No fair.”
Once both of them were inside, Obi-wan closed the hatch to change atmospheric pressure allowing them to safely remove the space-flight suits; with their usual attire underneath. Catra closed her eyes and listened for droids beyond the doorway, signaling it was safe to pass through.
They chose the access hatch at the top of the ship because it was located near the detention level, where Anakin was likely contained. The reason was to remain entirely stealthy until after they rescued him, as the objective would change at that point.
Silently jogging down the hallway towards the cells, a droid was operating the terminals that powered the door forward; a second droid had already passed the doorway. Obi-wan and Catra stepped out of cover slowly, realizing the droid wouldn’t notice, and sped quickly across and inside as it closed behind them.
“Now, to find out which room he’s in,” Obi-wan whispered as they slowed to a stroll, not wanting to alert the droid ahead of them.
Catra’s ears twitched trying to listen, but plenty of cells filled, so she tried a tactic, “Um, excuse me, do you know where they’re keeping the Jedi?”
“The Jedi is located in one of the cells on the right further ahead,” The droid answered happily, as if bored, as it turned to face them. Staring confused as he scratched his metallic head, “Wait a minute-”
Obi-wan had pulled the droid towards them with the force, slicing its head off with his lightsaber. Then, crossing his arms a little amused and a raised eyebrow at Catra, “Thought you were my padawan? When did you learn these things from Anakin?”
“I know patience is a thing we practice, but probably not the best time for it,” Catra smirked, light reflecting off her fangs. Shrugging as she walked forward, “Can you admit it was clever at least?”
“I shouldn’t have to. But, clearly, it was.” Obi-wan smiled.
Further down, it seemed the cells were less empty based on the feeling in the force; as Obi-wan opened the door to one cell, Anakin wasn’t inside, but two maybe smugglers. They held two datapads which either had been provided, or they somehow snuck them inside, staring at the pair when the door hissed open.
“Don’t bother to get up,” Obi-wan warned them as they prepared to pounce; from the way they crouched, “You’re not the prisoner we’re looking for.”
Catra closed the door as they attempted to escape, hearing a thud on the other side from them running into it, “Maybe we’ll have better luck with door number two.”
“Don’t jinx it now,” Obi-wan chuckled, heading for the next switch.
When the second cell hissed opened, it appeared to be empty inside, but the feeling Catra and Obi-wan felt with the Force suggested otherwise. Obi-wan held his hand for Catra to hang by the door as he walked inside first to inspect the so it seemed empty cell; scuffling against the roof alerted them both.
As a figure dropped down from the roof, Catra activated her lightsaber and pointed it to the figure’s back, while Obi-wan switched his on as he twisted around. Anakin held his hands up in mock surrender as he realized who it was, “Oh, it’s you.”
“This how you thank us for rescuing you,” Obi-wan deactivated his saber and reattached it to his belt, pulling off another, “Pounce on me from the ceiling?”
“I’m clearly outmatched with both of you, and it’s kind of difficult without a….” Anakin stopped when Obi-wan held out his lightsaber, having kept it safe while on the mission, “Lightsaber. Thanks.”
“Glad I used my lightsaber instead of Ventress’s. It would of probably confused you.” Catra did the same, using her tail to hold onto it for now.
Anakin pet her head with a laugh, “Nah, besides, you don’t look anything like her.”
“I would hope not.” Catra shivered.
“Did you manage to locate Dooku before landing in jail?” Obi-wan questioned as they left the cell.
“Well, I know he’s on board,” Anakin responded as he and Catra followed Obi-wan, “I might have been able to do something about it if I’d had my weapon.”
“Wasn’t it the plan for your capture to seem genuine? A lightsaber would have made it look staged.” Catra grinned with a laugh, not bothered by the look he gave her, “What? It’s true.”
“Oh, they were convinced, all right. But how come I’m the one getting caught all the time? It doesn’t look good,” Anakin wondered while he gestured to Catra, “You do have another padawan to fill in that role.”
“I don’t have the acting skills for that. My strengths are stealth and subtlety,” Catra tapped her claw against Anakin’s armored chest, tail swaying behind her. Then, dodging a swipe with no heat, “You, not so much.”
Anakin acted offended, placing a hand on his chest in mock pain, “I can be those things when I want to.”
“Unfortunately, that’s rarely at all, so I mostly rely on Catra for those missions. Besides, when you’re a Jedi Master, you can make the plan.” Obi-wan interrupted, indicating whose side he was in, a smile on his face.
“That’s just it,” Anakin focused on that point, “How can I become a Jedi Master if I’m always getting caught?”
“At least you’re a master at getting caught.” Obi-wan joked.
Catra covered her mouth to contain a snicker while Anakin rolled his eyes, “Very funny.”
Anakin took the lead as he knew where Count Dooku was roughly located, and Catra felt nervous. She’s heard about the Separatist leader a lot from stories back in the temple or from Obi-wan and Anakin mentioning him, but it was different as she was about to see him with her own eyes.
Padme had spoken about him as well, and during the first mission being new padawans for Obi-wan and Anakin, Ahsoka nearly encountered the Count himself when trying to return Jabba’s son. She could sense the dark side of the force emanating from a room ahead, feeling she knew who it was.
Catra stayed behind Obi-wan and Anakin as the door opened, revealing Dooku in a meditative state at the center of the room. Honestly, Catra thought he’d be more terrifying; then again, looks aren’t everything.
“Surprise, surprise,” Anakin’s lightsaber activated as he kept his distance, wary of Dooku.
Obi-wan’s lightsaber switched on simultaneously, “if it isn’t Count Dooku.”
“Obi-Wan Kenobi. I thought I sensed an unpleasant disturbance in the Force,” Dooku addressed them without opening his eyes as he kept meditating. Dooku’s head turned in Anakin’s direction, “I see you freed young Skywalker. Where might he be if you weren’t always around to rescue him? And if I’m not mistaken, this is your new padawan who stole Ventress’s lightsaber.”
“If she wanted it, she should have kept a better eye on it,” Catra muttered before covering her mouth; she had intended to remain silent in his presence and let the others do the talking. Then, positioning herself behind Obi-wan, “I-I mean….”
“Indeed,” Dooku interrupted, feeling only a slight amount of pity, his eyes opening as explosions rocked the ship. Then, his gaze focused on Obi-wan, “You have an amusing Padawan, Obi-wan.”
“Your ship is surrounded, count,” Anakin revealed as he moved into his preferred stance, prepared for a duel, “Republic troops are boarding as we speak.”
“Jedi fools,” Dooku grumbled before the floor opened underneath him, having planned his escape in advance.
“You know, we should have seen that coming.” Catra stared at the opening, feeling a sense of relief.
“Agreed, you’d think we’d be used to this by now,” Obi-wan moved for the door before noticing Anakin going for the opening, “What are you doing?”
“Following him,” Anakin responded quickly.
“Not that way,” Obi-wan shook his head. The ship rocked a bit more, “We need to cut him off.”
“You cut him off,” Anakin jumped down, yelling as he went, “I’ll follow him and meet you at the hanger.”
“Why do I even try? At least you listen to me, Catra,” Obi-wan gestured for her to follow as they sprinted out of the room for the hanger, “How do you feel after meeting the count?”
Catra thought silently for a few seconds as she gripped her lightsaber, fur rustling from the wind as they ran, “Terrifying at first, but I didn’t expect him to be an old man.”
“Stories are often exaggerated about him,” Obi-Wan admitted.
Master and Padawan raced quickly down the long hallways of the frigate while avoiding as much contact with the enemy droids, who were probably panicking at having the ship fired on. From Obi-wan’s experience of boarding vessels of this type before, it didn’t take them that long to reach the hanger.
Just in time to witness Dooku escape in his Solar Sailer with a few Vulture droids tailing behind to provide him protection. Catra spied a shuttle nearby, sprinting towards it, “I thought Anakin would have at least delayed him.”
“In hindsight, we shouldn’t have stopped to question his decision. Otherwise, we could have cut him off.” Obi-wan matched his speed with hers.
The shuttle’s ramp had already descended as droids were protecting it inadequately. As Catra simply sliced the head of one as she rushed inside while Obi-wan deflected the other’s blaster fire back into it. On the bridge were two seats, with Obi-wan sitting on the right and Catra on the left.
Obi-wan started flipping switches and pressing buttons as the hum of the ship was felt, looking over at her, “Ready for a flying lesson?”
“With great reluctance, there’s a difference being a personal star-fighter and a shuttle,” Catra commented while Obi-wan directed her to which parts of the console she needed to flip on. Then, grabbing the steering to slowly lift the shuttle, it swayed at her attempts, “We also need to wait for Anakin.”
“Waits over, go!” Anakin ran onto the bridge after ensuring the ramp and doors had shut.
“I thought you were following Dooku,” Obi-wan stated, leaning back from a slight jolt as Catra pushed forward, and the shuttle started to move.
“I was,” Anakin gripped the back of their seats, keeping himself steady, “I followed him here.”
“They’re closing the hanger doors!” Catra gulped as the shuttle sped towards the exit as blaster fire zoomed past them, missing their ship. Catra didn’t dare look away as she flew, “What do I do?!”
“Just keep going,” Anakin remarked, placing his hand forward, guiding Catra’s wrist to turn the controls, “Turn enough that the top section won’t bang against the door.”
Catra’s ears laid flat as her grip tightened, watching as the doors were still dropping. Relief washed over her body as she passed through in time, knowing it wasn’t over yet as they chased after Dooku. At least one thing she should be able to manage was the gun systems.
“Ashoka, Dooku managed to escape,” Obi-wan spoke into the comm receiver on his vambrace, transmitting the message back to their ship, “We’re in pursuit, but we could use reinforcements; follow us in what ships you can round up. In other news, Catra’s piloting the shuttle we escaped in.”
“We’ll get there as soon as we can,” Ahsoka responded professionally at first before teasing came through, “I wish I could be there to see the reaction on her face right now; Padme and Lonnie are going to hear about this as well.”
“This is not helping me concentrate!” Catra’s fur fluffed as her cheeks turned red, pressing her claws down to blast at Dooku’s ship and the droids.
Anakin chuckled. It was pretty easy to tease Catra just by mentioning any of them, “Padme would definitely love the look on her face right now.”
Catra grumbled in embarrassment, claws pressing roughly as she shrieked, “Shut up!”
The next barrage of laser fire bypassed the vulture droids protecting Dooku’s ship and impacted against it, damaging it enough to leave a smoking trail as it was on a crashing course with the nearby planet. Anakin gave Catra a pat on the shoulder with a laugh, “See? That was easy.”
“Lucky for us, that Catra is an excellent shot.” Obi-wan praised, impressed with Catra’s marksmanship with any time of blaster, hand-held of ship based. He was a good shot himself, but admitted she was better.
“Yeah, I hit the only ship that cound’t fire back,” Catra rolled her eyes but hiding a purr from the praise, the shuttle under fire now, “But now those fighters are attacking.”
Obi-wan pressed the tiggers of his controls, attempting to shoot them down, “I’m on it.”
“Uh,” Anakin watched as the vulture was manuovering through Obi-wan’s shots, “He’s getting too close.”
Catra joined in with blasting as they managed to take out the one in the front as the next two flew out of their path; the last one other impacted against the side of their shuttle with an explosion. Giving them the same fate as they too were now on a crashing course for the planet; at least they’d catch up with Dooku.
“How about a challenge for your flying lesson?” Anakin joked as the ship rocked, his grip tightened on their chairs, “Try and land a crashing ship.”
“This is not the type of challenge I’m excited for!” Catra gritted her teeth as she pulled back, trying to level the shuttle as they entered the atmosphere. Her tail flicked the switch for the landing legs to open up, “I’m not an excellent pilot!”
The shuttle connected with the ground at a not fatal position as they began to skid. Obi-wan caught himself on the console after a bump, “Despite that, at least your landing kept us out of harm.”
“Which wouldn’t have happened at all if you managed to hit that fight,” Anakin commented, nearly flying back as the shuttle spun around as it skid; all the friction against the ground finally slowed it to a stop.
Catra had guessed correctly with them catching up to Dooku as his ship was grounded not too far from them, which she noticed after exiting the shuttle, had been abandoned with haste. She stretched her arms after leaving the shuttle as they felt stiff; a whine left her mouth as she did, breathing in the fresh air, “Not how I expected my first flying lesson to go.”
“All things considered, it wasn’t that bad,” Obi-wan dusted his clothes after landing beside her, “Now, only if we can get you to fly your starfighter instead.”
Anakin pointed past them, towards Dooku’s ship, “Dooku.”
On guard as they approached the ship to inspect it, Catra’s ears twitched as she heard a steady beeping the closer they got. Gravitating towards the source, spotting a circular device flashing yellow, she was familiar with its design, “A homing beacon.”
“Which means the distinguished count is waiting for help.” Anakin grinned; it seemed this could be the moment they caught him, “So he can’t be far off.”
Obi-wan crouched down as he pressed his hand against the ship, checking the damage, “Catra damaged his engine. He’s not going anywhere.”
“Huh, even I’m impressed with my shooting sometimes,” Catra blinked a little, strolling beside Obi-wan as he moved away, “But are you sure he can’t escape?”
“Not without a homing beacon,” Anakin responded as his lightsaber destroyed the device, the beeping silenced.
“So we destroyed his chance of receiving help,” Catra nodded as she scanned the landscape; it might have been grey, but the shine on the surface ad the mountains made up for its beauty. Well, as much as there was, “Now we just need to find him…where exactly?”
“There,” Obi-wan pointed to the mountain, a cave opening was seen, “Caves are a good start.”
“Let’s just not get lost in them.” Catra shivered, mostly reminded of when she nearly got lost on Ilum.
The group approached the mouth of the cave, the Force flowed through them; Anakin was the one to voice their thoughts, “Strange.”
“You sense it too,” Obi-wan confirmed as they stared into the darkness, as the star's light could get so far.
“Many lifeforms are roaming these caves,” Catra nodded. Her nose twitched as the scent of at least one lifeform was overwhelming, as if there were multiple of the same creature.
Anakin turned on his lightsaber, allowing the blue glow to light their way as they entered, “And Dooku’s one of them.”
“Let’s try to get him before something else does,” Obi-wan followed Anakin’s example and switched his on, facing Catra, “Anything in particular we should be worried about?”
“I’ve never encountered the creatures on this planet, whatever planet it is,” Catra held her own up to allow the light to hit the ceiling, observing carefully, “But, mainly carnivores.”
It felt oddly quiet other than their footsteps echoing around the large cavern and the hum of the lightsabers, avoiding a few large drops where the ground was hidden by mist. Whatever creatures lived within the cave were far off according to Catra’s hearing, but she found it unreliable in caves where sounds bounce off the walls for miles.
As they entered a small section, Catra stopped as she heard a crack, looking around in alarm. Obi-wan also noticed and halted in his tracks, “What do you hear?”
It took only a few seconds as the crumbling started, and a rock fell out of place to alert them, “The roof is collapsing!”
“Run!” Obi-wan urged her forward with haste, with the only one not reacting in time was Anakin as rocks blocked them off.