Chapter 25
They had been fighting for so long now that they were forced to attack in relays, one going in to strike, giving the other a chance to have a breather. Grievous' strength was unflagging, for though he was partially organic, he was not limited by the needs of a living creature. He did not require rest. They just had to keep battling until they caught him off-guard and finished him off, or until someone else came to relieve them.
Aedan was exhausted physically, and his brain seemed to be switched off. His mind was in a comatose state, traumatized by the sudden deaths of his three closest companions. It was Andora who proved to be the more spirited of the two, urging him on when he felt like giving up, and cheering enthusiastically whenever he seemed to get the upper hand over his opponent. She was proving to be as proficient a sidekick as Terry had been.
Nevertheless, Aedan knew that the battle would have to be over soon, or he and his sister would both collapse from exhaustion. "Where the GOOD is Adriaan?" Aedan yelled, clutching his ribs as cramps racked his sides.
For once, Andora didn't lambaste him for calling their Master by her first name. "I am not apprised of her locale," she called back, neatly deflecting a two-sword thrust from Grievous. "I lost correspondence with her when the General slew my cadre and crippled my portable broadcasting system."
Grievous suddenly came at Andora with a burst of speed, pushing her onto the defensive. He lunged ever closer until she was forced to the ground. Aedan straightened with a struggle and weakly stepped to help his sister, but his knees gave way and he was left leaning against the wall, watching helplessly as the General stood gloatingly over his sister.
"It seems that your Master has fled after all," Grievous told her.
Aedan, calling on the Force, suddenly found the strength he was looking for and used it to leap protectively in front of his twin, shielding her from the terrible Knight Slayer.
"Even if she does come, we won't WICKEDLY need her help," Aedan said fiercely.
"She will emerge," Andora insisted. "I can perceive her; the bond between pedagogue and protégé is potent…more potent even than you, Grievous. We will vanquish you in the end. Concede conquest now, and you won't have to undergo the repercussions with our Master."
"We'll see about that," Grievous said, and he renewed the battle with a Makashi swipe. Aedan switched his right lightsaber to a reversed grip and slashed wide, herding Grievous out of the command center. Driving the General back, he employed the combat technique of Djem So, also called the Way of the Krayt Dragon. The fifth form developed for lightsaber combat, it was one of the more aggressive styles of fighting, and required great strength and speed. It was a good counterattack against the Makashi form.
Grievous tried to gain some ground by swiping at Aedan with a Shii-Cho sarlacc sweep, but Aedan only parried the attack and came at Grievous with a prompt dual-saber lunge. Grievous stepped back, slashed again, then turned and ran the last couple of steps to the turbolift at the end of the hall. As Aedan charged forward, Grievous quickly pressed a few buttons, and the doors shut him from view.
"No!" Aedan yelled charged headlong into the shut turbolift. His skull smacked against the hard duracrete, and he reeled away in agony. He recovered quickly, however, and turned to stampede again, but Andora stopped him.
"Aedan, incline!" she said, giving her brother microseconds to duck before she sent ten durasteel bins crashing against the turbolift shell. The doors sagged and crumpled into a twisted heap of metal. Dodging flying shrapnel, Aedan ran forward and demolished the turbolift control, but it was too late. The lift had already ascended, carrying the General out of their reach.
Aedan screamed again, punching the air with his fist, but Andora remained phlegmatic. "Make haste," she said calmly, and with one swift move kicked the destroyed doors open and leaped into the shaft. Aedan, for once following someone else's lead, jumped in after her to see how far up their quarry had gone.
"We'll have to WICKEDLY climb," Aedan said, pointing to the walls of the shaft. But Andora had other ideas. She withdrew her liquid cable launcher and shot it overhead, hitting the bottom of the turbolift on first try. The line drew taut, and the Padawan began to rise into the air.
"Affix your cable to the lift!" she shouted as she rose even higher in the shaft. "Hasten, before it gets out of ambit!"
"I can't! I don't own any GOOD old cable launcher!" Aedan said.
Andora let out a whoosh of exasperation. "Some Padawan you turned out to be. Climb on."
Aedan Force-leaped up and grabbed on to Andora's utility belt. Andora hit the recoil button on the cable, and they slowly rose closer and closer to the turbolift. Finally, they reached it. Aedan withdrew his lightsaber and began to cut a hole through the bottom of the lift. Immediately, the turbolift stopped climbing and began to drop rapidly as Grievous realized that they were right under his feet. No doubt his plan was to squash them before they had cut their way through.
He needn't have bothered; in twenty seconds Aedan had gotten the hole cut open, and he swung himself up inside the lift feet first. He nearly got his legs sliced off by Grievous, who had been waiting at the hole with all four lightsabers poised for the kill. Aedan dodged the quadruple-blow just in time, however, and managed to score a glancing hit on Grievous' shin before twirling away and helping Andora into the lift. The two young warriors faced the war machine, their faces nearly touching in the cramped space of the elevator. They barely had any room to move, let alone swing a saber.
"Well, this should be WICKEDLY interesting," Aedan said, parrying Grievous' first attack, and counterattacking with a quick two-handed double cut. "Come on, what are you GOODLY waiting for?" he yelled at his companion, who had stood back to allow Aedan more room to swing.
"This is not a befitting venue for a sword confrontation," Andora said, and then she swung upward and scored open the escape hatch overhead. Aedan leaped back as the hatch fell through and landed on top of General Grievous. Taking advantage of the General's distraction, the twins jumped through the hole in the ceiling and stood on top of the lift, the drafts nearly flinging them off the elevator. They held on grimly, however, and waited for Grievous to emerge from below. Though they had switched to a more precarious stage for a battle, it was better than trying to fight in the cubbyhole excuse for a turbolift. Andora had either saved their lives again, or led them to the more gruesome fate of getting flattened between the shaft ceiling and the lift.
"Uppermost tier!" Andora yelled over the noise of the wind, jerking her head upward to indicate the entrance of the top floor, about thirty meters up. Grievous suddenly bounded through the hole and swung his lightsabers at them, but the twins leaped off the lift and clung to the walls of the shaft, using the momentum from the first leap to Force-jump up the last fifteen meters and swing themselves through the elevator portal, just barely missing getting crushed by the swiftly ascending turbolift. Unfortunately, Grievous had used a liquid cable to launch himself through the entrance after them, so their opponent, too, had avoided getting squashed into a quivering, pulpy mass.
The top floor of the station had neither ceiling nor walls; it was on the outer hull of the base, exposed to the elements of Umbria. Even though they had been moving nonstop, the time spent in the turbolift seemed to have helped Aedan and Andora find their second breath. So they turned and fought together now, perfectly in sync as they strived to push Grievous off the edge of the parlous terrain. The wind up there blew fiercely, threatening to knock them off the building, but they were not afraid. The howling air only served to cool their hot and sweaty bodies, refreshing them and helping them gain even more strength than before. Nevertheless, Grievous still had the advantage over them, for they could not keep their footing on the hull's slick surface, whereas Grievous' feet had claws to grip the smooth panels. Aedan and Andora had found their grit and energy, yes, but General Grievous was still the stronger swordsman.
Then, at the same moment, Aedan and Andora felt the Force surge. I'm here, a voice seemed to tell them. The twins looked at each other, eyes alit with unexpected hope.
Adriaan was close.
Just then a gust of wind shook the station, lifting all three warriors into the air. Grievous managed to snag the control panel to the turbolift with the tip of his claw, while Andora and Aedan used the Force to propel themselves towards a series of antennae sticking out of the hull. Andora's rod was strong enough to hold her, but Aedan had reached for a flimsier wire, which broke off in his hand and sent him catapulting off the edge of the station.
"Andora!"
His sister let go of the antenna with one hand and just barely seized Aedan by the finger before he was thrown to his death. Aedan reached over with his other arm and gripped Andora's utility belt as they floated in midair, hanging on for dear life as they waited for the tempest to subside.
There was another blast of cold air as the turbolift doors were suddenly thrown open, and then Adriaan was there, lightsabers in hand. Her eyes locked on Grievous' golden, reptilian orbs, and a mutual spark of recognition briefly ignited both faces. The moment lasted barely a second, however, for Adriaan turned away, attached her liquid cable to the turbolift, and let go of the elevator handle.
She flew out into the tract, the cable jerking taut and keeping her from flying off the building altogether. Properly secured, she made her way across the space and held out a hand to Andora. "Reach!" she shouted over the shrieking of the wind.
"No!" Grievous roared, suddenly thrusting himself forward and getting his feet back on the hull. He took two steps and sliced the cable in half with one clean stroke, leaving Adriaan to waft away in the boreas. Luckily, Adriaan had had the sense to grab an antenna before she was sent overboard. The Jedi Knight pivoted in midair and threw her red lightsaber at the General, separating his legs from his body. Grievous went flying through the air, too, and would have fallen off had he not caught hold of the turbolift again.
"You'll pay for this, ell Talaan!" he yelled. "Someday, you and your little brats will die miserably for this outrage!"
"We're not her brats!" Aedan said indignantly. "My name is Aedan, though my real name is WICKED WICKED TRULY WICKED AEDAN KENOBI WICKED KING OF WICKED OF WICKEDS, and you'd better not forget it!"
Grievous wasn't listening; he and Adriaan were in a staring contest, glaring at each other murderously. "I suppose you don't remember me, do you, Adriaan?" Grievous said softly.
"I do, Qymaen jai Sheelal, Hero of Kalee," Adriaan said.
Then she let go of the antenna and jumped off the CIS station.
The wind was so strong that at first Adriaan wasn't even falling. The air currents actually carried her up about two hundred meters, and out past the convex hull, before the force of gravity took over and sent her into free fall.
She lost her stomach as she plummeted for the ground, the wind rippling the skin on her face. It was an uncontrolled drop, her body flipping over and over through space. But Adriaan was a Jedi, and accustomed to great leaps off tall buildings. Slowly, she terminated her body's wild somersaulting, and set herself up so that she was plunging head downward ––– in divers' position ––– toward the terra firma.
"W-W-W-I-I-I-C-C-C-K-K-K-E-E-E-D-D-D!!!"
Aedan and Andora were close by; they called out to her through the Force, asking her what to do. The jump they had made had been pure suicide; not even a Jedi could land without splattering all over the duracrete. Adriaan had well known that before she had walked off the building, so why had she done it?
When she and the prisoners had found the stash of kit in Grievous' quarters, none of them had declined from putting on a jetpack. Ember had been the one to suggest it ––– the packs were good for making quick entrances and exits ––– and Adriaan was glad that she had taken the clone's advice and opted to gear up with a jetpack. She had taken a lighter model, equipped with fuel tanks that would only last for about fifteen minutes. However, that was way more than enough power to execute a safe landing, even with the twins' added weight. All three of them had lean, athletic builds, and the four days without proper nourishment had found them even thinner than usual. Yes, the jetpack would ensure that they would touch down safely.
Using the Force to locate her Padawans, Adriaan reached out blindly with both hands and maneuvered in midair, catching Aedan by the ankle and Andora by the wrist on her first try. The two Padawans immediately curled over and clung to her for all they were worth.
Adriaan looked down. They were about two kilometers above the ground. Already, she could see the faint black dots of people moving through the station portal. The Force surged. Kay Lee; QRF had made it out.
One thousand, five hundred meters to go until they smacked their heads on the pavement. Now or never. Releasing her hold of Andora momentarily, she whipped her arm around her back and pulled the switch that ignited the jetpack.
The pack sputtered and roared to life, the flames searing her unarmored legs with an intense heat as the pack gently slowed their alarmingly fast descent. Finally, they stopped falling altogether and hung in space as the pack struggled to ascend with the combined weight of one teenager and two small children. Most jetpacks were capable of carrying two full-grown adults, but this pack was meant for emergency takeoffs, so it wasn't very efficient. Nevertheless, it would serve its purpose. Adriaan tapped the button that put the jetpack in descent mode, and they dropped again, falling at a much steadier pace. Assured that their plummet was now under control, Adriaan swung her arm back around and clasped Andora under the armpits, keeping a hold on Aedan in the same way. Hugging the twins close to her body, she twisted in the air so that all three of them would touchdown feet first.
The meters seemed to fly by the second, and it wasn't long before Adriaan's feet thankfully touched solid ground, and she set the twins down. The trio stared at each other, disbelieving their good fortune. Then their knees buckled, and all three of them sank to the floor, shaking and almost sobbing with relief.
"That was pretty WICKED," Aedan croaked.
"Sure was," Adriaan said, managing a smile.
"The Force was with us," Andora said simply, seeming to regain her former dignity.
"Yes." Adriaan stood up, brushing her tunic down. Then she looked at the Padawans. "They're dead, aren't they," she said quietly. The twins gazed up at her, their eyes bright with unshed tears. Slowly, as one, they nodded.
Adriaan's shoulders slumped, her heart heavy. She had felt their passing in the Force, of course, but for some reason, the terrible reality of it didn't seem to sink in until a living witness brought the tidings of death. It didn't seem real, but she knew that Kien, Minir, Terry, Delta, Vikk, Tau, and Brannd were gone.
"How?" she asked, though she almost couldn't bear to hear the answer.
"General Grievous," the siblings said together. There was silence after that; there really was nothing else to say.
"General ell Talaan!" a male voice suddenly shouted, breaking the stillness.
Adriaan let out the breath she had been holding when she caught sight of Jys, Wolf, Shakir, and Comet leaving the security level and running toward her.
At least they're safe. At least I still have them, and my other Padawans.
"Ma'am, why are you just standing around out here?" Wolf asked politely, but she could sense his annoyance at her for delaying to escape the station. She had ordered the others to leave as quickly as possible, whereas she had let down her guard was just standing around, a perfect target for any droid in the vicinity.
"Udesii Wolf'ika, I'm getting my shebs out of here," she said in Mando'a, gesturing for the twins to get going as she turned around and broke into a run after the clones. "Translation: Udesii means 'easy' and shebs, ah, means 'rear end'…"
"This is not the time for a Mando'a lesson, General. Where are the other Apprentices? Where's the rest of Red Squad? They have to get out of here now!"
"KIA," Adriaan said quietly.
Wolf stiffened noticeably. "Oh," he said, in a much different tone of voice. "Oh, no, ma'am." He had the helmet on, but she knew him well enough now to know that he was struggling to be brave and not break down and cry in the middle of a mission. From the slight sag in the shoulders of the other three clones, she could tell that they, too, were sorely feeling the loss of the four clones in Red Squad.
"The Tee-Dee we caught was a jackpot of Intel," Jys said, clearing his throat. "I started to peruse the memory banks, but Ember caught me at it and told me to stop."
"Oh," Adriaan tried to focus. "Did you see anything interesting before you had to put it away?"
"Plenty. For one, General Grievous is planning to invade Kuat in three weeks' time."
"Kuat?" Adriaan stopped in her tracks. Kuat was in a sector near the Deep Core, and a member of the Galactic Republic. The planet was the base of Kuat Drive Yards, the largest military shipbuilding corporation in the galaxy. Though its parent organization was the Techno Union ––– a corporation loyal to the Separatist faction ––– its subsidiary company, Rothana Heavy Engineering, was responsible for the design and construction of many of the GAR's assault craft and dogfighters. If Grievous managed to capture Kuat, he would have effectively crippled the GAR fleet. The loss of Kuat would affect the ground troops as well, for KDY was also responsible for producing the majority of ground transports, so without the tanks to protect them the clone troops would be left to the mercy of the superior firepower of the Separatists.
"Kuat? That is singularly abysmal tidings," Andora stated.
"Good thing we picked up that Intel before the invasion started." Three weeks; the Republic would have three weeks to figure out a way to stop the invasion of Kuat before it transpired. Grievous was getting bold indeed if he planned on attacking a planet near the heart of the Galactic Republic.
"According to the tactical droid, the invasion was initiated a month ago," Jys corrected.
"How can that be? We've heard no reports of an invasion in the Deep Core."
"It appears that the Seppies planted a spy or spy network in Kuat; there's records of regular reports on weak points in Kuati security being sent to Grievous. They're probably going to sabotage the Shipyards so that the CIS fleet can invade."
"We'll figure that out when the time comes. Right now we need to focus on getting that information off-planet."
They were about twenty meters from the scan gate. They were nearly out. They would be all right. Once they had passed the checkpoint, they could get down to business and start a more thorough perusal of the tactical droid's datafiles. The scan gate just had to stay deactivated for a few more seconds…
We have a head start on General Grievous. We're fine. We'll get out of this.
Why did she suddenly feel so frightened?
The scan gate now. It was ten meters thick. Ten meters to go. Aedan and Andora, relieved that their painful tribulation with Grievous was finally over, hurried through to join the Padawans and clones on the other side. She could hear voices calling ––– Kay Lee and Klamin and Kan and Marya and Heatrian and Jahn Pal and Sai'wer and Nic and Andre cheering them on, urging them to go through…
Adriaan passed the checkpoint.
Wolf was just a few steps behind her; Jys and the others were lagging behind, exhausted from the ordeal. Wolf had insisted that she had gone ahead of them. He was afraid of the scan gate, too.
"Ma'am, there's something else you should know. The reason the CIS are equipping themselves with negaquas…"
"Jys, we're going to make it. Take it easy!" she snapped. Why did she feel so irascible, so suddenly impatient to get things moving? It was the news of the impending invasion of Kuat that had upset her, no doubt. She couldn't be distracted by that, she needed to concentrate on getting that information to the Jedi Council…
"Ma'am, I think Jys should give you the datafiles now," Wolf said urgently.
"No, Wolf, we're fine. We're out…"
Then she heard it; a faint clicking sound from behind, as if a door had just been closed. This was followed by a low, resonant hum, which increased in noise until it became the lusty throbbing of a podracer engine. A surge of heat blasted her back, leaving her with the macabre sensation of being covered in third-degree burns, though she hadn't been touched by fire.
"Oh, no, oh, Fierfek."
That was Wolf, and Adriaan suddenly knew what had happened, and she knew that she wouldn't want to stop and turn back to make sure. But she knew that she had to, and she did.
"Shab," she said, and then she turned and ran, ignoring the tears streaming down her face.
The scan gate had been reactivated when Jys, Shakir, and Comet had been inside. They were dead.