Anakin Skywalker AU Romance

Chapter Fifteen

Kyah and Bail followed in silence as the Count marched them to the throne room, where a dozen or so battle droids, four destroyer droids and four commando droids waited for them.

Kyah took a deep breath to calm herself, she hadn't expected so many in one place.

"If this turns into a fire fight, I can't cover you from all sides without my lightsaber." She whispered to Bail. 

"Is there somewhere we could get to that would be more defendable?" He asked and Kyah looked around.

Nowhere was ideal. There was no furniture in the room except for the throne. No columns, no halls or rooms branching off.

"If it comes to it, head for the left corner at the back of the room." She instructed and Bail nodded, glancing behind them to see where she was referring to.

A commando Droid approached Dooku, "The Jedi have taken the West corridor of the palace."

"It matters not." Dooku waved the droid away, "The Jedi will come to us." He said deviously as he walked up the handful of steps at the head of the room and sat boldly in the throne.

"The Jedi are not fools. They won't exchange themselves for us." Bail spoke with a calm neutral voice, impressing Kyah with his cool composure given the circumstances.

"You misunderstand Senator. I don't plan on exchanging your lives for theirs." He said, a crooked smile on his face, "I plan on taking all of you."

"You think they'll just surrender?" Kyah scoffed at his audacity.

"I do. To prevent harm from befalling their good friend, I think the Jedi would do anything I asked." He said and nodded to one of the commando droids beside him. 

She saw it unhook a metal ring from it's hip as it marched towards Bail, and her heart dropped. She recognized the small device, and looked up at the Senator with worry plain in her expression.

"This is a cowards plan." Kyah declared boldly, taking a step forward and intercepting the droid.

Dooku narrowed his eyes at her, "You think so?" He asked, smiling a little as he watched the small woman stand tall before him.

"You're too afraid to face the Jedi in an honest fight, so you resort to cowardice and trickery." She spoke with hatred clear in her expression.

Dooku nodded slowly as he stroked his grey beard, "On second thought, perhaps I would rather use Senator Paladin as our incentive." He said, nodding again to the droid holding the silver ring.

"Unfortunately, I only brought one with me. I was, of course, only expecting Senator Organa, but upon seeing you and young Skywalker interacting at the ball last night, perhaps you will serve my plan better." He laughed to himself.

Kyah watched the droid who approached her, unlock the collar and open it. She felt panic rising in her, as she recognized the hardware. Her breaths came quicker and her heart raced as she tried to back away, but the palace guards behind her grabbed, and held her in place.

Bail tried to reach for her, but was gabbed as well, and pulled aside. "Can we not simply discus your terms? There is no need for such extremes Dooku." He pleaded with the Count, who shook his head.

"I'm afraid that the time for negotiation is over, Senator Organa." He clarified.

Kyah pulled against the guards who held her, resisting the urge to actually fight them off, knowing full well she could overpower them. She looked around the room, hoping beyond hope that she could find a way out. There were windows all around them, each looking out over the ocean that surrounded the palace, but only one door in or out of the room. She looked behind her to see how many guards stood between her and the door, and her eyes fell on Senator Organa, and her heart sank. There was no way she could get him out too.