Shadows of Tomorrow

Chapter 8 - Escaping the Pirates

A prickle of unease, not quite danger but pretty close, runs through the Force as Theseus paces back and forth in the cockpit of the ship, waiting for Obi-Wan and Anakin's return. Something is off. He suddenly senses them both fading into unconsciousness or falling asleep much too abruptly for his liking. The suspicious part is that it was practically simultaneous.

What have they gotten themselves into? He has no doubts that this was the pirates doing. Did they drug them at the banquet or something? What could they hope to gain from it? They aren't going to be getting any ransom money if they try funny business like this. Or maybe they're planning on trying to ransom Obi-Wan and Anakin to the Separatists now, after they give Dooku over to the Republic.

Theseus spins around heading for the exit, determination flooding him. Either way, he's not going to let anything happen to them. He's going to find and rescue them on his own if he has to. A situation like this probably overrides Obi-Wan's orders to stay with the ship, so...

First question is how in the world is he supposed to get into the building without anyone noticing him? Pirates are milling about everywhere near the entrance to the building. Pulling his hood up over his head, he hurries down the ramp, quickly darting out of sight behind it.

He doesn't have long before the pirates notice that something amiss. He's going to have to be fasts. Trying to push back his fears, he tries to analyze the situation.

There are way too many guards to try sneaking in the front entrance, so he'll have to get in some other way. It's too risky to go walking around the whole complex looking for another opening. More than likely, on the way, he'll run into guards and get captured too. So, the best place to start is probably on the roof.

He'll have to lay low so people on the ground can't see him. As for how to get up there... well, that's pretty easy. Using the Force to help him, he climbs up the backside of the shuttle, crouching down as he finally reaches the top.

None of the pirates have noticed him. Yet. He scoots to the edge of the shuttle and jumps. With a thump that rings out far too loudly, Theseus lands on the roof of the building and ducks down again, moving to the center of the roof so no one will be able to see him. Pirates are moving about all around the building.

So, maybe the only way to actually get inside will be through the top. Maybe he can try to feel them with the Force? His bond with Obi-Wan isn't very strong yet, and he hasn't formed one with Anakin, but their Force-presences shine out brightly; it couldn't be hard to locate them. He reaches out with the Force, wishing he'd had more practice with this. On the bright side, Anakin's presence especially shines out so strongly it's hard to miss. Slowly, he inches along the roof until he's located right over where he can sense their presences the strongest.

Given, they're probably several floors down in the compound, and he has absolutely no plan on getting out, but once he's in there, they can probably help with that. Igniting his lightsaber, he stabs the blade down into the ceiling. As soon as the circle is complete, he silently lifts it out with the Force before falling down into the hallway below.

There's no one right around here, but he can hear movement right in the next room. Well, since he needs to continue going down, the fastest option is to probably keep cutting his way through. He stabs his still-ignited lightsaber into the floor and gets to work cutting another hole.

"Stop right there, Jedi!" shouts a voice suddenly. His head snaps up to see that a pirate appeared next to the door on the other side of the room which isn't fully solid, enabling him to see Theseus clearly. The pirate shoves the door open, stalking into the room with a blaster aimed as Theseus instantly raises his lightsaber, positioning it in front of him defensively. So much for a quick escape.