Eventide of a Jedi

IV

A rather bored uniformed guard watched the computer screens disinterested, and instead thought about all the other places he would rather be than watching this uneventful footage from the security cameras. When he joined the CIS he thought he would be fighting for his home world's freedom, but instead he was tasked with carrying out the jobs his superiors were too good for. And now that job was sitting here in a cramped, windowless room monitoring the cameras. The man leaned back in his chair and stretched, entertaining the idea of taking a nap. He had been posted here for three days and the Jedi had still made no appearance. The guard stared up at the ceiling listlessly, pretending he was back home, when he caught a strange glimpse of blue light in his peripheral vision. He jerked up and looked at the screen to his right where two Jedi carefully snuck through an old mining shaft, using their lightsabers to illuminate the path and unaware they were being watched. The man cursed in surprise and zoomed in on the two figures, one a twi'lek woman and the other a teenage girl. It was the padawan that they had been looking for. He didn't know much about her besides that her name was Septima Searsha and that Dooku desperately wanted her for some reason. The man didn't ask what Dooku wanted with the Jedi, and frankly he didn't want to know. The guard had a daughter about the same age as the Jedi and he briefly felt a pang of sympathy for the girl on the screen. She was walking into a trap and it would be he who sprung it. Nonetheless, the man had a job to do and if keeping his own daughter safe meant sacrificing someone else's, then he would gladly do it. The guard pressed the intercom button and relayed to his superiors that he had located the target, and was then in turn told that Count Dooku himself was coming down to examine the situation.

The presence of Count Dooku brought a solemn and dark mood upon the men and they stood at careful attention, taking care that they did nothing to upset the esteemed Sith Lord. "Show me the Jedi," he ordered in a quiet, gravelly tone. A technician jumped to attention and enlarged the image on the monitor. The Jedi padawan and master, followed by an elite group of clone troopers, were halfway through the mining shaft and rapidly approaching the facility. Dooku narrowed his eyes and grinned to himself. Yes, the Jedi were nearly there...soon he would have his prize. The other men in the room shifted uncomfortably and exchanged nervous glances, unsure what exactly Dooku had in store. The Sith pulled a detonator out from his cloak, leaning in to the monitor waiting for the Jedi to take just a few more steps....

The ground vibrated as the explosive went off, sending the Jedi flying through the air in two opposite directions. There was only enough time for the Jedi to stand before the second bomb went off, causing the tunnel to collapse in on itself where it wasn't reinforced with steel beams. The earth spilled into the shaft, creating an impassable barrier between master and padawan. Dooku grinned to himself, pleased by how successfully his plan had unfolded. Many years ago he had been promised something, only to have it taken away before he could reap the reward. Now he would reclaim what was rightfully his.

The twi'lek Jedi was completely dispensable and Dooku would have preferred to have her killed; however, he needed to make a good impression on his future apprentice and killing her former master would not make him look like the savior he was. No, instead he would wait and gain the girl's trust until he could train her to her full potential. Then she would kill the twi'lek herself and Dooku would be the only master she remembered.

"Gas the tunnel!" the Sith lord barked to his underlings. "Then send in the droids to retrieve my apprentice and bring her to me!"

Men and droids alike scrambled to fulfill their master's command, taking care to not upset the volatile man. Dooku watched the padawan slowly succumb to the noxious gas and laughed as she helplessly tried to reach her master. She would soon forget about the Jedi and before long she would learn to obey no other than Darth Tyranus.