- KENOBI AND SKYWALKER -
A Clone Wars Vignette
Anakin and Obi-Wan. Kenobi and Skywalker. From the beginning of the Clone Wars, the phrase Kenobi and Skywalker has become a single word. They are everywhere. HoloNet features of their operations against the Separatist enemy have made them the most famous Jedi in the galaxy.
Younglings across the galaxy know their names, know everything about them, follow their exploits as though they are sports heroes instead of warriors in a desperate battle to save civilization. Even grown-ups are not immune; it is not uncommon for an exasperated parent to ask, when faced with offspring who have just tried to pull off one of the spectacularly dangerous bits of foolishness that are so stock-in-trade of high spirited younglings everywhere, 'So which where you supposed to be, Kenobi or Skywalker?'
—Excerpt from Matthew Stover's Revenge of The Sith
⁂
Through the thick undergrowth, deep in a jungle on the Mid Rim planet of Xyyluq staggered twelve figures.
It had been several days since their ill-fated mission had taken a turn a worse; the simple capture of a small enemy outpost had seemed an easy task for a strike force of five Jedi and two dozen clones — until they had learned that by an unhappy coincidence, the deadly Separatist Commander, Asajj Ventress and two full battalions of battle droids had docked at the outpost as part of a routine resupply mission.
Master Tym Kri'ter sighed as he slogged on through the squelchy ground at the foot of the towering Nemel Lotus plants, the strange lotus-like flora that grew to 6 metres in height all around their small team.
The small team which was all that remained of their strike force.
There had been four other Jedi at the start of the mission, Master Helt Chren and Jerelda Basse, as well as two teenaged Padawans — Basse's Padawan Glenda Saaler and his own Padawan Ceil Grewt — as well as an accompaniment of two dozen clones of the twenty-ninth battalion.
Their mission was simple: sneak into the outpost, destroy the estimated twenty battle droids, and capture any living beings that might be there. Then, the Jedi and most of the clones were to leave, leaving only enough men to keep the station running. If everything had gone to plan, the Republic could have then used the outpost to spy on the separatist transmissions — at least until they were discovered, but that could be months.
But the mission had not gone to plan. Ventress had arrived just after they commenced attack on the outpost, and had quickly turned the skirmish against them. She had personally killed Basse, and she had distracted Chren while a battle droid had shot him in the back. In the meantime, the dozens of extra battle droids had mercilessly cut down more than half of their clone numbers. Tym had franticly called for reinforcements, but their ship—and thus their relay dish—had been destroyed before he could contact the Council, and he, the two Padawans and the ten remaining clones had been forced to flee into the jungle.
The jungle in this part of the planet was treacherous, and one of the clones had been swallowed by a giant carnivorous plant, and Glenda had narrowly survived a pit of quicksand. And all the while they were aware of the Separatist Army following on their heels; their Armoured Assault Tanks passing unimpeded in a hover over the surface of the mire.
Tym grabbed one of his lekku and wrung it painfully. It was a nervous habit he'd developed as a youngling and had never quite been able to break—even though when stressed enough, he'd actually managed to briefly stun himself by squeezing it too hard. Dragging his hands away he looked back over the rest of his group, the clones were a mess, covered in mud and carbon scoring from the fight when they had first arrived. But despite this, they plodded on determinedly.
His greater cause for concern was Glenda, who had badly torn her calf muscle as they had tried to pull her free of the quick sand. She leaned heavily on Ceil for support, walking with a limp that had become more and more pronounced over the last day since the occurrence.
As if reading his mind, his Padawan looked up at him and called out, "Master! We need to stop — Glenda will collapse if we don't take a break soon."
"If those droids catch up with us, a strained calf will be the least of our worries." replied Tym, not breaking his pace, "If we can find a place where we can hide we'll stop there."
"But Master…"
"No Ceil, we must keep moving. Or else Ventress will catch us."
The clones looked amongst themselves. They too knew the danger of stopping, Ventress had cut down more than a fair number of clones in her time. But Tym also knew that they couldn't go on indefinitely, eventually they would need to break, and would it matter whether that was now, or in another days' time? He turned and looked to one of the clones—Hawkbat—who was monitoring their small hand held field radar and was about to ask how far behind the enemy was, when as if on cue the trooper called out: "General! Incoming vulture droids!"
Any thoughts of finding a place to stop were quickly driven from his head; there had been no Vulture Droids in the original attack. "Reinforcements." He growled, "Everyone, take cover!" The clones dropped behind tangles of vines or under fallen branches as the whine of the Vulture Droids announced itself over the low sounds of the swamp. "Padawan, get yourself and Glenda under cover, I'll deal with this." He watched as Ceil half carried, half dragged Glenda under the bulge of one of the nearby Nemel Lotus, before using the force to leap onto the top of another.
In perfect formation, two of the droid fighters flew over a hill just to the south and banked towards him. His green lightsaber blade ignited in his hand and rose into a defensive pattern just as the two opened fire. Using the Force to guide his hands, Tym deflected the blaster bolts away from his companions, though not without severe difficulty; each blast was like trying to stop a truck, and in just moments he could feel perspiration running down the side of his head. But he succeeded; the two fighters flew overhead, and a set of covering fire from the clones brought them down.
"Everyone up, before more come, let's go!" Tym shouted, as he leaped back to the ground. As his group struggled back to their feet, Tym once again eyed Ceil and Glenda. Glenda was indeed hobbling terribly now, and he wondered how long it would be before they were carrying her. Ceil had become quite close to her in the three days that they had been running, and Tym wondered briefly whether he needed to be concerned about it. Like all Padawans, they would have endured the lessons on attachment many times, and yet sometimes it was a lesson quickly forgotten when it struck for the first time. At least until pointed out by a wiser head.
He didn't get the chance to consider the issue any further however, for at that moment with an inhuman yell, a pale and lithe Humanoid sprang out of the bush with two red lightsabers whirling in a distinctively lethal style.
"Ventress!" exclaimed Glenda from behind him in undisguised panic. Tym was already springing forward with his lightsaber flaring; "Go!" he shouted, "I'll hold her off!"
"Master…" started Ceil, awkwardly trying to start toward his Master as the crackling blows began to fall as the two met in battle, while still supporting Glenda. "Go!" Shouted his Master "I can only give you enough time to get away!"
That was it, Master Tym knew he was outmatched. That he could only buy time. Leaving him was the hardest thing that Ceil had ever done. "Let's go." He called out hoarsely to the Clone Troops. Stealing one last glance at his besieged Master, he picked up a surprised Glenda, and sprinted as fast as his tired legs would carry him into the jungle, the troopers followed closely behind him. May the Force be with you, Master.
The sudden pinging of blaster fire caused his hand to reach down for his lightsaber, lightly dropping Glenda onto her own feet he ignited it as a couple of the clone troops fell around him, "Head straight up the ridge!" called Glenda pointing to the side where a steep ridge of hills rose up just near them as she deflected shots with her own lightsaber.
"Bad idea, Commander." Called one of the clone troops, his words punctuated by blasterfire, "We'll be more out in the open, and vulnerable to air attacks."
"But we can climb the ridge faster than the droids can." Pointed out Ceil, "And we need to get as much of a lead as we can!"
The clone conceded the point with a nod of acknowledgement, "Alright, go! Boys, you too!" he shouted to the rest of the clones, "I'll cover you!"
With a brief glance the two Jedi agreed, and began to go as fast as they could towards the slope. But as they began to climb, a horrible agonised shriek split the air, before being abruptly cut off; Ceil turned as white as paper, "Master…" he whispered, irrationally turning back towards the sound.
"No, Ceil…" Glenda's soft voice broke him out of his daze. "You can't help him." He looked back to see her green eyes pleading with him, even as they swam with her own grief and exhaustion. She knew what it felt like; she too, had lost her Master on this mission.
They were both orphans now.
"I can't believe it…" choked Ceil, a single tear running down his cheek, "This wasn't how it was meant to be... He was meant to knight me... we were meant to serve together on Lorrd..." The six remaining clone troops turned to them, unsure about their orders. "Do we continue, Sir?"
"Yes." Answered Glenda, "We have to."
They all knew she was right. Once again, tired and injured as they were, the two Padawans and their remaining clones struggled up the hill, occasionally stopping for Glenda when her leg was particularly painful. As they reached the top though, they turned back, looking over the vast jungle that extended forever back towards the distant outpost, now just a black speck on the horizon.
The start of all their troubles.
Ceil looked down into the jungle far below them, trying to see whether Ventress was following them or not, but the tall trees blocked his view of the ground, only the large shapes of the Nemel Lotuses broke the canopy every now and then, and there was no movement that could be seen below that.
He turned to look over the group. His group, he realised now. As the elder of the two remaining Jedi, he was now the highest ranking Republic Officer on the planet. He was now responsible for their survival now.
The group didn't look good, two clones were missing from before the attack, and the remainder were mud splattered and weary looking, Glenda's dirty-blond hair was tangled and snagged with small bits of plant material, and Ceil himself had multiple scratches on his face and felt like they had been running forever.
But at least they seemed to have shaken off their pursuit for the moment. He checked his and Glenda's emotional shields to make sure that they were still hidden from Ventress, and was satisfied that they could not be sensed.
"What are we going to do now, sir?" Asked one of the seven clones, Hawkbat, the one with scanners.
"Anything still after us?" Asked Ceil wearily, looking around at the other landmarks near their position. On three sides, the terrain dropped back to the swamp, and behind them, the slope continued into a shear peak. There would be no going that way.
"Nothing metal anyway, sir." Responded the clone, "But I don't know about Ventress."
"Let's take the fact that she hasn't come bounding up here as a sign that she doesn't which way we went." Said Glenda, wiping her perspiration covered brow.
"We'll head for those hills over there." Said Ceil, pointing out a range of rough terrain a couple of kilometres away from them. "Hopefully we can escape through the mountains..."
"And then what do we do, Ceil?" asked Glenda hopelessly. "Even if we escape, we're running out of food, nothing in this swamp looks fit for human consumption, and there's no rescue coming. Maybe it would be better to let them catch up and get it over with."
"Don't speak like that." Hissed Ceil, "We must trust in will of the Force. We will escape!"
"Not even Obi-Wan and Anakin could escape from here."
Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. The great Jedi, the great team. Millions of stories passed through the temple on Coruscant, and indeed around the Republic about the valiant efforts of these two men. The Jedi that could mount unsurpassable odds and not only survive, but thrive.
There were rumours that Master Kenobi had been captured by Ventress on the rain world of Jabiim, and had endured weeks of torture before escaping, to return to the front, seemingly unaffected by the ordeal. And Skywalker, left behind on Jabiim had been able to lead a resistance for days longer than anyone had thought possible. Individually, they were a force to be reckoned with, together they were unstoppable.
The two of them together had gained great reputation from the victory of Keplar 9 only four weeks into the war; a situation which everyone had written off as hopeless, and from there their fame had grown. There seemed to be nothing that they could not accomplish if they put their mind to it. If anyone could survive on a jungle planet such as this it was them.
"Yes they could, and so will we!" He said, "The temple must have missed us by now. A rescue will come."
"I hope so, Ceil." Sighed Glenda. She struggled to her feet and took a deep breath. "Let's go then, we're not safe here."
"I just hope she can keep up the pace." Ceil murmured to a clone as she began to descend the other side of the hill.
"She will." Responded the clone "She's got strength there, you're lucky to have her."
"Yeah." Agreed Ceil, his cheeks warming slightly.
For the rest of the day, they struggled on, resting as often as they dared for Glenda leg, but she was still leaning more and more on Ceil as time went on. Not that Ceil minded, but he was only to aware of how much she was slowing them down. Finally as the afternoon started to give way to evening, and they finally reached the base of the rugged hills that they were making for, Hawkbat gave the news that they were dreading:
"Sir! I have several contacts! They're closing in, fast!"
"Run!" Yelled Ceil, picking up a protesting Glenda again and sprinting as hard as he could up the mountain. They had to make it as far as possible before the enemy caught up with them. On the rocky terrain they would have the advantage. They could hear the droids behind them now, the whir of the hover machines, and the endless clank of dozens, if not hundreds of metal feet. "Here, take Glenda." He said, passing her to one of the clones before dashing back down what passed for the track.
"Ceil! Stop!" Cried Glenda, struggling to escape the grasp of the clone.
"Don't worry, I'll catch up!" He yelled as his lightsaber sprang to life; silently he hoped that he would. He came out of the thick bush onto a bit of an outcrop, the rocky face of the cliff falling down some twenty metres to the cleared and mossy ground below. Far in the distance, the sun was setting, bathing everything in a red glow which made the swamp look all the more threatening from above. It was a dizzying sight, but nowhere near as bad as the view that made Ceil's breath catch now. Making their way out of the swamp below were hundreds of battle droids, both the B-1 cannon fodder and the more advanced B-2. And leading them, with her activated lightsaber casting a red paw over her pale skin, strode Asajj Ventress.
"There!" Called one of the battle droids, seeing the Jedi at the top of the hill. Immediately hundreds of blaster barrels swung towards him as they prepared to fire. Ceil flinched slightly, fearing that they would fire before he was even allowed to state his piece. Fortunately, Ventress chose that moment to intervene. "Wait!" She ordered, holding up her hand.
"Why don't you come down and fight, little Jedi boy?" the pale demon called up to him, "Running only delays the inevitable."
"If I surrender to you, will you let the others go?" Countered Ceil, holding himself strong to stop himself shaking like a leaf.
"Hmm." Said Ventress, putting her forefinger to her temple as if contemplating. "No, I don't think so. You're little girlfriend didn't look like she could get very far by herself last time. It shouldn't really be any extra work to find her."
"What about if we all surrendered?" Asked Ceil in desperation.
"I have no need for hostages." Responded Ventress, dashing his last hope, "You see Little Boy, no matter what you do, the result is the same."
"Then we fight to the end as well!" Yelled back Ceil with determination he did not feel. Without waiting for an answer he turned and fled back into the forest, Ventress' shout of "Blast him!" cueing a hail of blaster bolts to tear through the space where he had been standing just moments before.
In the trees, he was protected somewhat, and out of sight of the droids, he sprinted as hard as he could after his companions, his lungs burning as he dashed up the mountain. "Ceil!" He caught up with the group only to have Glenda throw herself at him, "Don't you dare do that again!" She sobbed into his shoulder, "I thought you were dead for sure!"
"I'm afraid we still might be." He said, awkwardly patting her on the back, "Ventress is only just behind us."
Glenda straightened up, her eyes still wet, "Then this is it." She said.
Ceil nodded, "It seems so, but let's not go without a fight."
"Yes." Glenda agreed.
"We're with you, Commander!" Said Hawkbat, "What are your orders, Sir?"
"It looks like this valley closes up just ahead." Said Ceil, pointing up along the small stream to where the valley did indeed seem to narrow into the mountain side, "We'll try to ambush them along there."
"Yes, sir!" Called the Clones in unison.
"Got any other ideas?" Ceil asked Glenda.
She smiled humourlessly, "Not unless you include calling Anakin and Obi-Wan down on them."
"Hmph, I don't think they're around at the moment." Said Ceil, trying to answer in the spirit that was intended.
"Come on, Commanders," Called Hawkbat, "They'll be on us any second!"
"Let's go." Agreed Ceil.
The small force of Jedi and clones took up positions around the closing of the valley, where it was steep enough to give them an excellent vantage over their opponents, but the trees still grew to provide them with shelter and stop them from falling into the valley. The clones took up their places along the sides of the theatre, while the two Padawans arranged themselves in the centre.
They didn't have to wait long.
Before long the sounds of many clanking of feet filed into the steep ravine. Moving steadily, although slowly because of the slope, but at their head, showing neither hurry nor laxity, but the picture of relaxed tension, Ventress calmly led the troops as if she chased Padawans on her days off. Which Ceil reflected, if she had any, she probably did.
"I know you're there." She purred dangerously, looking lazily around, "I can sense you, come out and face me like the Jedi you are, cowards!"
Beside Ceil, Glenda was virtually going into convulsions so affected was she by the presence of Ventress, who they had all watched in horror strike down her master. Waves of darkness radiated off the dark commander, and every move, even the tilt of her head as she looked around, screamed death. Ceil reached out to put a comforting hand on his companion's arm, but she sized his hand instead, squeezing it as they both prepared to go out and face the monster.
"We'll take her together." She affirmed with him, her voice steady; her body no longer shaking.
"Together." Nodded Ceil. They both took a last deep breath together, and Glenda smiled briefly at him, before they flung themselves out from behind the tree as Ceil yelled "NOW!"
The valley exploded into blaster fire as the clones opened fire with all the weapons they had. The battle droids, unsure of their position, had been waiting for Ventress' orders and were caught completely unawares by the sudden attack. Dozens fell in the initial volley, but still more were replacing them, flowing in quicker than the Clones could pick them off, and their commander, Ventress hadn't been effected at all.
Showing no surprise whatsoever, she had leaped at the Padawans as they emerged, and had launched a brutal attack at them. Ceil had known before that even together they were severely outmatched by Ventress, but in the first three seconds of the fight, he realised that he was wrong.
They were not even a match at all.
Glenda, despite her torn calf, was a terrific fighter and was clearly the better swordsman out of the two of them, but her strikes were effortlessly deflected by the older woman, and Ceil fared no better, his heavy overhand strikes always been turned away with a mere flick of Ventress' wrist. Had either of them been alone, they would not have lasted ten seconds; as it was, with the both of them together they were on the constant defensive, each movement only just in time to keep them alive and they knew that sooner rather than later, Ventress would find her mark.
Their eyes met as they attacked Ventress from both sides, and both were instantly in wordless agreement. Glenda aimed a feint at Ventress' midriff, and Ceil immediately followed up with a strike at her head, both were blocked, but it put Ventress on the back foot for just half a second, and the Padawans took advantage, turning and running up the valley, Glenda drawing heavily on the force to keep her from collapsing. They made it twenty metres up the valley, almost to the very top, where the creek flowed over a ledge into a small pool two metres below it. Above that, the fading orange of the sky was visible, but the padawans were not even able to think of climbing before Ventress caught them. With a vicious kick in the kidneys she sent Ceil flying against the rock wall, and a single mighty stroke with her lightsaber against Glenda's made the girl's bad leg buckle, depositing her on the floor as well.
Ceil knew it was over.
Ventress stood over them gloatingly, "You should know little Jedi, I always get my mark. I promise I'll make it quick." She said as she lifted her lightsaber for the last time.
But before the blow could fall, two simultaneous sounds of lightsaber igniting caught everyone's attention. Ventress looked up, just in time to see a boot collide with her face, sending her sprawling back down the slope of the valley until she hit a tree. Their rescuer bounded after her, their cloak swirling as a second Jedi appeared from slightly to the side and also ran at Ventress.
Ventress' eyes lit with rage as she pulled herself groaning to her feet, glaring at her new opponents. Rage, and just the faintest touch of fear.
Who could inflict that fear into one of the Separatists' greatest warriors? Both the Padawans knew whom the blue saber wielding Jedi were, even before they cast back their hoods. "Anakin and Obi-Wan." Breathed Ceil.
⁂
Anakin and Obi-Wan. Kenobi and Skywalker. From the beginning of the Clone Wars, the phrase Kenobi and Skywalker has become a single word. They are everywhere. HoloNet features of their operations against the Separatist enemy have made them the most famous Jedi in the galaxy.
Younglings across the galaxy know their names, know everything about them, follow their exploits as though they are sports heroes instead of warriors in a desperate battle to save civilization. Even grown-ups are not immune; it is not uncommon for an exasperated parent to ask, when faced with offspring who have just tried to pull off one of the spectacularly dangerous bits of foolishness that are so stock-in-trade of high spirited younglings everywhere, 'So which where you supposed to be, Kenobi or Skywalker?'
They are The Team, the ultimate Jedi partnership that triumphs over every odd. From short battles to entire campaigns, these two are the absolute go-to men that the republic uses when they absolutely have to win. They are the examples that Masters hang up for their padawans, the idols of an entire generation. And here, above the swamps of Xyyluq, they perform one of the last minute rescues that they have precisely become so famous for.
Anakin and Obi-Wan descend on Ventress like a Kath Hound on a piece of fresh meet. This time the tables were turned, either one of Anakin or Obi-Wan might have been a match for Ventress on an ordinary day, and the two of them together was an awesome sight to behold. Their attacks mesh like a well-oiled machine, Obi-Wan attacks high, while Anakin low, one attacks while the other one is forced to defend, and not once is Ventress able to launch a counter attack. For almost half a minute that seemed to last forever, this dance goes on, until with a sudden yell, dozens of clones pour down the sides of the valley, and any chance the Separatists had of winning goes down the drain.
Ventress' eyes widen as she regards this latest change of circumstances, she makes a wild sweep with both lightsabers, and then with a backward leap she springs away from the Jedi and runs down the side of the mountain, fleeing even as what was left of her droid force is shredded by the new clones. The taller of the two Jedi makes to go after her, but Master Kenobi, puts a steadying hand on his arm, shaking his head and gesturing back towards the stunned padawans.
Thus in less than two minutes, the battle had been completely turned on its head. The Separatists had gone from a breath of winning to total destruction, and Ventress had gone from moments away from killing two more Jedi, to being forced to flee like those that she had chased. Such was the tide of battle that swept through when Kenobi and Skywalker joined the fight.
Even as they were helped, limping up the hill to the Jedi's drop ship, the padawans could not believe it. That their idols could appear so suddenly and rescue them from certain death.
As they try to explain their thanks, all they get is a broad grin from Skywalker, and a small smile from Kenobi, "Your safe now," Skywalker explains, "That is the important part."
And when Kenobi tells them that they have done their masters proud to have survived so long, they cannot help but smile, even with their death still close at heart. Both padawans hope never to return to the world as its atmosphere falls away below them. There forever, the bodies of their masters will lie, and both know that they will never be able to forget the experience, it will shape and define them for the rest of their lives.
⁂
A week later found Ceil sitting in Glenda's hospital room back at the Jedi temple. They had been brought back by courier the moment they had arrived on the Republic Cruiser, Anakin and Obi-Wan had explained that they were unable to escort them back, as they had already made a detour from their course and were urgently needed on the next front. But they had wished them all the best, and had promised to check up on them the next time they were on Coruscant.
"One of our Clones was killed during the fight at the end, but the rest all made it too." Said Ceil, reading Kenobi and Skywalker's report of the rescue. "I'm glad that Hawkbat survived."
"Me too. I guess looking at it now, it was quite an amazing adventure, wasn't it?" Said Glenda softly. "I just wish my master was still here to see it."
"So do I." Said Ceil. "But at least we know that they're still with us in the Force."
"And we still have each other." Added Glenda, shifting herself on her pillows, "Thank you Ceil, for everything."
"Me? I didn't do anything."
Glenda grinned, "Anakin and Obi-Wan wouldn't've had anybody to save if it hadn't been for you." She said. "You helped me make it through the swamp. If there's one thing I learned from all of this, Ceil, it's that Anakin and Obi-Wan are such a great team because they care for each other.
"And you cared for me for days while we were on the run. Thank you."
"You are an easy person to care for." Said Ceil as he embraced her. "Whatever happens, I always will."
This is one that's been kicking around at the back of the hard drive for quite a while, And this evening I've updated and completed it. It is meant to show off Obi-Wan & Anakin from an outsider's point of view... and to show one of their oft talked about, less seen saves. Their appearance is rather brief I realise, but I want to emphasise that this story is about how people see A&O, not about them per se.
Anyway, give it a read and review, and if you have the time, check out my other full length Star Wars Story, Fallen Future.