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| - Inside a turbolift pod near the top of the ship, Count Dooku watched a series of hologrammic images. The pod shuddered and the lights flickered as the ship came again and again under fire. From where he sat he watched the Jedi pick their way across the ship towards him. Yet it wasn't Kenobi and Skywalker that had attracted his attention, their being here was not only expected but part of the plan. But Padmé Naberrie, what was she doing here? Somehow she had managed to find herself at the centre of the schemes of the Sith and walk away relatively unscathed. The artificial hand that was reportedly of his doing was the only mark she carried for her crimes. This was why his instructions had changed, she could be allowed to interfere no more. She and Kenobi would be killed and Skywalker would be taken over onto the side of the Sith. Their remained no further objectives. “My lord?” Grievous from the bridge sounded noticeably concerned. “Yes?” Dooku said into the comlink, he despised Grievous even though he admitted there were uses for the creature. And it was almost time for that use to terminate. “Damage to the ship is becoming severe,” the droid general said. “Thirty percent of our automated weapons systems are down, and we may soon lose hyperspace capacity.” “Sound the retreat for the entire force,” Dooku ordered. “Prepare the ship for jump, once the Jedi are dead I will join you on the bridge.” “As you command,” assented the droid general. “Grievous out.” “Indeed you are, you vile creature,” Dooku muttered to the dead comlink. “Out of luck and out of time.” After dealing with several more droids they managed to find another elevator, yet midway through their journey it shuddered to a stop. “Did you press the stop button?” Anakin asked Padmé who was standing next to the control panel. “No, I didn’t it just—” The realisation hit them all at the same time. Grievous was trying to trap them before they even got to the Chancellor. “Well, there’s more than one way out of here,” Anakin said, igniting his lightsaber. At the same time Padmé opened the control panel and tried to get it working from that way. “We don’t want to get out, we want to get moving,” Obi-Wan said indignantly, he got out his comlink. “Artoo? Artoo do you copy?” There was a titter as the droid answered. “Activate elevator…” Padmé shut the control panel for a moment and glanced at the cover. “Eleven thirty-eight,” she told him. Obi-Wan repeated the number just as Anakin started to cut a hole in the ceiling. Obi-Wan never realised how much his voice actually carried, but it was very noticeable to R2-D2 as he hid from the battledroids that were combing the hangar. He retreated a little more into the shadows as the droid’s continued their search. “Artoo?” He knew the droid was listening but why didn’t he do anything? He glanced up as Anakin climbed through the hole in the ceiling. “Artoo, what are you doing? We have work to do!” “Artoo, switch on the comlink!” said Obi-Wan’s loud voice as it echoed through the hangar. “Artoo, can you hear me? Artoo!” The astromech pulled the comlink back inside his metal body, but that didn’t block the shouts coming from within. Yet he still carried out the order, linking up to a computer terminal and activating the elevator. Suddenly the elevator plummeted, Obi-Wan and Padmé felt it as they were inside but it was particularly significant to Anakin. He desperately clung to a series of wires on the outside of a closed door and tried to get a steadier handhold. The elevator continued to drop away from him, faster and faster. “Stop, stop!” Obi-Wan barked into the comlink, at the panel Padmé tried to do something about their descent, but there was nothing she could do. “Artoo, we need to be going up! Artoo?” Anakin managed to get a handhold on the bottom of one of the doors, but the door was soon prised open and he was looking at the feet of battledroids. “Hands up, Jedi,” one of them said as they pointed blasters at him. My hands are up! Anakin thought with exasperation, looking down to see if the elevator was closer. It wasn’t and from the sound it was getting further and further away. “Artoo? Artoo?” Obi-Wan’s voice again attracted the attention of the battledroids. At first they had dismissed it, yet the sound was unmistakable now. “Artoo? Artoo, do you copy?” Obi-Wan said. “We need to be going up, not down!” “Artoo? Artoo? Artoo, do you copy?” Obi-Wan said frantically, he had to hold on as the elevator increased speed. How many floors did they have left to go? He glanced at Padmé and she shrugged, holding on herself. “Artoo?” he said again. “Stop, Artoo! We need to go up, stop! Stop!” The elevator stopped suddenly and they both fell to the floor. “Hey you!” said the battledroid when it spotted Artoo. “What are you doing?” The little droid ignored him, giving another command to the computer so the elevator could go up. As Obi-Wan got to his feet, he could feel the elevator ascend. “That's better,” he said into the comlink, then pocketed it. Sooner or later Anakin would join them—from wherever they had left him—and they could get the Chancellor with hopefully nothing else in their way. The two battledroids confronted R2-D2, laughing as the little droid made rude noises at them. “Stupid little astro droid,” one of them said. Yet Artoo was to prove anything but, he trundled away from them spraying oil as he did he then lit his rockets and the droids ignited. Twittering softly to himself, Artoo flew out of harms way. From the sound of it Anakin could tell the elevator was accelerating rapidly towards him. He counted softly then flipped back onto the top, diving down the hole to come face-to-face with Obi-Wan’s lightsaber. “Oh, it’s you.” Obi-Wan deactivated his weapon. “What kept you?” Anakin asked. “Well Artoo has been—” Obi-Wan started but Anakin was immediately on the defensive. “Hey, no loose wire jokes!” he rebuked. “I didn’t say anything!” Obi-Wan said, holding up his hands in submission. “He’s doing his best,” Anakin continued. “Did I say something?” Obi-Wan asked, his mouth twitching at the corners. Padmé watched the exchange with smile, seeing this reminded her of five years before when Anakin had seemed insistent to display his piloting skills in the speeder chase above Coruscant. Back then there had been no war, no darkness…and no secret. Yet it was no longer possible to remember back then without a twinge of what she knew now. From Star Wars Fanon, a Wikia wiki.
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