Assassin (A Star Wars Fan-Fiction) Book 2

Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Three

Denali and Master Denaro spent a long time together in the calmness of it all, just talking and getting reacquainted with each other after the many, many years of being separated. To Denali, this was like none other happiness she had felt before. It may have even rivaled the insane emotions she had felt on the night of her tiny wedding to Obi-Wan.

"But, Mother, am I truly dead?" Denali asked her. Master Denaro turned to her daughter, a beautiful and confident woman that reminded her so much of herself.

"No, my daughter. You're not dead." 

Denali could feel tears welling up in her eyes, ones mixed of relief and yet utter sadness as well. Master Denaro wrapped her arms around her child, embracing her warmly, just like any great mother would when their baby was grieving. Denali hugged her back, digging her face into the softness of her mother's Jedi robes and letting her tears fall.

How could she go back? After everything that had happened, how could she return to that horrible prison cell in the pirates' clutches?

How would she be able to confront Obi and Ani after they had mercilessly beat her in a drunken rage?

"Do not be scared, Denali." Master Denaro whispered into her ear. "You still have a job you need to fulfill, the Force isn't done with you yet. And Obi-Wan needs you. Especially now." Denali hugged her tighter.

"I don't want to go back, Mother." Denali whimpered like a little girl who didn't want to go back to school on the first day after a long vacation. "Please, don't make me go back. I'm begging you, don't make me do this. I know what Anakin is going to turn into, and I don't want to witness it. Please, let me die while I can still hold those good memories of that little boy I knew dear to me."

"I'm sorry, Denali. But you have no choice."

* * * * * * * * * *

Her eyes shot open as she let out a loud, liquid-y cough. The lights were bright, shining down into her eyes like electrifying rays of pain. Denali attempted to lift her arm up to shade her eyes, but her body didn't comply. The Jedi master looked around in confusion, wondering where in the name of the Force she was. 

She definitely wasn't in that peaceful place where she had spoken with her dead mother, that was for sure. 

The room was white and bland, like the ones at the Republic medical stations or outposts. She was laying on her back on top of what appeared to be an examination table, her ankles and wrists bound to it with thick metal restraints. No wonder she hadn't been able to move. Blood stained her Jedi robes, not a single speck of white could be seen underneath the painted crimson shades. Her entire body ached, which must've been because of what had happened with her husband and friend.

"Well, well, well, she's awake." Denali heard a voice behind her. She refused to make a fool out of herself by trying to see who it was speaking to her. Instead, she remained motionless on the examination table, like a stone statue. Footsteps echoed on the tiled floor, indicating that there was more than just that one person approaching her. She felt uncomfortable, trapped. The fact that she couldn't fight back if these people decided to attack her made her uneasy and her stomach queezy. "You gave us quite a scare, there. We thought you wouldn't make it."

Denali could tell from the higher pitch and calmness in the voice speaking that she could tell it was a female, one of the women pirates in the thick group.

"You won't-" Denali was interrupted by her own coughing. Her throat was on fire, dry and crusty from being strangled and nearly choking on her own blood. What she was going to say was 'You won't get away with this', but she figured that it was useless trying to speak now if she was going to hurt herself in the attempt. A chorus of feminine laughter bounced off the walls, amplifying in sound and crashing against her head like banthas stomping on glass.

"I wouldn't waste your breath, hun." One of the female pirates walked around the examination table so that they were easier to see. They looked like your usual skum-of-the-galaxy women, wearing their skimpy clothes that exposed as much skin as a bathing suit. They all wore small tube-tops, extremely short skirts, and fish-net leggings that made their skin appear darker than it already was. Denali was disgusted, but remained silent.

"You thirsty?" One of the women asked. Denali shook her head, even though her throat was begging for any kind of liquid to hydrate herself. She counted the women. Four in all. The same little high-pitched giggles filled the room and Denali attempted not to flinch at the ear-splitting sound. The nearest woman grabbed a bottle of clear liquid, which Denali prayed was water, and held it close to her mouth. "Come on, Jedi. You shouldn't be hating on us like this. We did save your life, after all."

Denali raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, don't be poppin' an attitude with me, sista. Just drink the dang water and you can go back to be your stubborn self." That same woman snapped at her. After a moment of reluctance, Denali gradually opened her mouth. The three other pirate-ladies clapped as the one with the water gently held it to Denali's parched lips. "There you go, sugar." She screwed the cap back onto the bottle once Denali had drank the container dry.

"Why did you save me?" Denali asked, now that her throat felt a little less terrible. The women all exchanged looks.

"Well, now that is a good question, ain't it?"

"Yeah, it is." Denali remarked, her voice coming out in strangled croaks. "And an answer would be great right about now."

"Man, Hondo was right when he said this was a feisty one." The woman to her left snickered. The other three snickered as well.

"Can you please just answer the question?" Denali asked again. They all exchanged glances with each other before finally letting Denali know what was going on. The lady who had given her the water leaned in closely so that Denali's ear was less than an inch from her mouth while the other three pirates looked around, like they were searching for anyone who wasn't supposed to hear what they were about to tell her. 

"We want to help you escape."

Denali's eyes widened.

* * * * * * * * * * 

It had been a day since Denali went missing. At least, that's what Obi-Wan thought. He refused to believe that he had murdered his own wife, and that Anakin would've helped him do it. He would've rather killed himself than harm the woman he loved.

"Come on, Jedi." 

Obi-Wan looked up from the floor, his eyes blood-shot and his mind groggy. Anakin wasn't in any better state, but they did as they were told. It wasn't like they had anything to lose. The three pirates escorting them checked to make sure that their restraints were tight and secure, before they left the cell. Dooku watched from the holes in the cell door, wondering what was going on.

The walk through the pirate base was a blur to Obi. He never bothered keeping track of how many steps he had walked or how many turns they had taken. Anakin seemed a little more alert than his master, but not by much. Obi-Wan was surprised by how hard Anakin was taking what had happened, but then he remembered what had happened when his apprentice was younger, back on Tatooine when the group of strugglers had just found the little boy. Anakin had developed a crush on Denali that had lasted long into his teenage years, not just in his childhood. Had he still not gotten over Denali?

A shove to Obi-Wan's back made him walk faster and pulled him out of his deep thoughts. The leading pirate stopped at one of the many doors in the hallway and pressed the green button on the control panel beside the doorway. The slab of metal slid to the right and into the wall, exposing what lay inside.

It was the same room Obi-Wan and Anakin had gotten drunk in. Everything looked the same, the large table in the center of the room, Hondo's huge throne off to the side that he was currently sitting in, the stage where the dancers performed. But, Obi-Wan did catch something off about their present location that made his stomach roll.

On the very center of the stage was an electricution-device.

"That doesn't look good." Anakin whispered as they walked, approaching the stage. The other pirates in the room were cheering gleefully, as if they all had just won the lottery. But their happy moods did nothing to ease the worry within the two Jedi.