Still don't own Star Wars, as much as I wish I did
Far away on Utapau, Obi-Wan Kenobi cried out as he felt a metal clawed foot connect with his chest, forcing him to drop the plasma-tipped staff he had been using and throwing him into the air. He landed heavily, already aware of the cyborg advancing on him. Desperately, he tried to duck the next attack thrown at him. Feeling it pass over his head, Obi-Wan attempted to ready himself for the next blow, but he was too slow and felt it strike his stomach, throwing him back into his ship. He could only glare as he again watched Grievous advance and felt a metal claw close around his throat, barely managing to duck the subsequent punch aimed at his head.
Trying not to dwell on the sizable dent left by the punch, the Jedi gathered his strength and began to desperately prize open the metal plates enclosing the cyborg's small, pulsing heart, beating pathetically in its owner's chest. His efforts were rewarded by a backhand which caught him directly across the face and sent him sprawling onto the ground, making his vision swim as he narrowed his eyes to try and block out the pain. Attempting to get up, he only registered the foot coming towards his face moments before it hit. His head snapped back, and he was knocked back to the floor just in time to see the metal spiked foot once again descending to crush his head.
Driven by instinct now, Obi-Wan threw himself to the side and lashed his foot out to trip his attacker. He only succeeded in injuring his shin as he made contact with the metal casing of Grievous' leg, causing him to clutch it in agony. Unfortunately, this bought enough time for the cyborg to reach down and throw him brutally across the platform; he landed hard and rolled increasingly closer to the edge, until he finally tipped over the side and began to fall.
Desperately, Obi-Wan threw up and arm and felt it latch onto the cold metal surface of the platform, which he clung on to with renewed determination; but the battle was still far from won, and he cast his eyes around frantically for a weapon he could use to kill his enemy. They fell first on the electrostaff he had wielded earlier, and the Jedi was dismayed to see Grievous brandishing it as he slowly advanced, savouring Obi-Wan's futile position with malice in his yellow eyes. However, an instant later, he spotted the blaster he had knocked from Grievous earlier in the fight, and with one swift movement, he used the force to call it into his hand and fired…
The cyborg's heart burst into flame as the bolt made contact through the plates on his chest which Obi-Wan had prised apart moments earlier. The Jedi fired again, five times in total, and soon General Grievous was reduced to a smoking corpse of burnt organs and twisted metal.
Obi-Wan sighed heavily. It had been a taxing battle, and he casually tossed his blaster down beside him in dismissal of the foe who now lay motionless in front of him. General Grievous was dead. He allowed the thought a moment to sink in, briefly savouring his victory before turning his attention to the more pressing matter of the battle still raging around him.
His clones would need support, he could relax when Utapau was his, but first he would need to regroup with Cody to send word of Grievous' death back to Coruscant and finally unearth the Chancellor's true motivations. Obi-Wan felt uneasy about not being there to support his fellow Jedi when they tried to transition power away from Palpatine – he didn't trust the man and was wary of how much sway he held over Anakin, a man he saw almost as a brother to him. If anything was going to happen, he should be there.
But the council had given him the pivotal role of killing Grievous and ending the war, which he had resigned himself to willingly in the acceptance that it was vital for the droid leader to die before talks of peace and redistribution of power in the Senate could even commence. He knew he had a vital job to do and would have to trust in the Jedi order to do what was best in his absence. The thought did almost nothing to calm him, however, and the feeling of unease continued to gnaw at him until he managed to focus himself solely on the task at hand.
Before long, he reached Commander Cody with instructions to relay the message of Grievous' death back to Coruscant and was pleasantly surprised when his lightsaber was handed back to him. Gratefully, he thanked the clone and raced back to finish the battle. Now focussed on his targets in the upper levels of Utapau, Obi-Wan retreated into his mind, almost detaching himself from his body as he slowly only became aware of his pulse increasing in anticipation of the conflict and strategies which he had begun to formulate in his mind - clearing the droids out of specific sectors to establish strongholds for his clones to push out from, and… He only saw the missile directed at him when it was too late.
His mount plummeted with him far down to the pools of green water below. He wasn't sure if it was shock or exhaustion, but Obi-Wan felt his vision begin to fade as he fell. Dimly, he became aware of a faint blue glow surrounding him -it was the last conscious thought he had before he felt himself hit water and everything went black.
Death. So much death. Yoda felt it suddenly across the galaxy, so many force signatures which he had come to know and cherish were suddenly silenced. He could feel the pain of thousands of Jedi, supposed to be under his protection, and he knew he had failed them. The sense of grief and loss hit him like a physical pain, and he staggered forwards clutching his chest as he struggled to comprehend what he had just felt. Then he heard it. The almost silent tread of a clone's boot and the priming of blasters right behind him. On instinct, he probed towards their minds and struggled not to recoil as his worst fears were realised. There had been no emotion there, no hatred towards him, no motive, but he had felt their intentions. They were just following orders, but someone had ordered them to kill him. In an instant, he understood what had happened to his fellow Jedi and for an instant, anger threatened to consume him, but instants later he checked it and withdrew his lightsaber. Emotion would not help him now.
With a precise, perfectly executed strike, Yoda launched himself backwards, twisting himself in the air and feeling his weapon slice through its targets effortlessly. He landed gracefully, hearing the heads of the two clones sent to execute him clatter to the ground behind him, but he couldn't bring himself to feel satisfaction at having survived the attempt on his life – the knowledge of the death toll across the galaxy weighed too heavily on his mind, and he could only focus on uncovering the extent of the massacre.
Wordlessly, he accepted an arm from Chewbacca and clambered up onto the Wookie's back. Je had to leave this planet, and he had to be discreet. The two wookies escorting him knew the gravity of the situation and knew where they needed to go. They journeyed slowly, avoiding patrols of clones and droids alike, trying not to focus on the corpses of the once proud Wookie freedom fighters now sprawled pathetically along the beaches and forests of the land they had fought so fiercely to defend.
It was night before they reached the small escape pod which would carry Yoda off Kashyyyk. With a heavy heart, he said farewell to his Wookie companions, prompting a mournful bellow form Chewbacca, and fell into his thoughts as the door of the escape pod closed on him, feeling it vibrate slightly as it took off.
The last day had given him a lot to reflect on, and the loss of his friends and brothers of the Jedi order was still raw in Yoda's mind. He fell into a state of semi-consciousness, barely aware of his surroundings and he slowly let his thoughts wash over him. He was so focused on reflection that it took him a few moments to notice the green glow forming around him. He felt its power in the force, but didn't try and resist, resigning himself to his fate. Grief from the massacre he had felt still plagued him, and he briefly wondered if this was the Force's response to his failure. He didn't mind, whatever the Force willed, Yoda would accept.
As the green light grew stronger and brighter, he closed his eyes and cleared his mind, he was faintly aware of his vision fading as his mind began to drift, but he welcomed the sensation. Yoda sensed the light around him fill the pod, then everything went black and he knew no more. When the light faded, the pod was empty: Yoda was gone.
I just want to thank everyone who's taken the time to read this so far, especially those who have left reviews, I'll action them as soon as I can, so stay tuned!
