AN: So, this one took a long time to get out. Mostly because I'm working about eighty hours a week and I just moved. I'm hoping to have more time for writing in the very near future, though, so fingers crossed, guys! Thanks for your patience. I promise I haven't abandoned this shit, I work on it every chance I get. The next two chapters...guys, they're big. Worth waiting for, I promise.
Also, take time today to mourn Kanan Jarrus. Dude, I am STILL wrecked. We didn't deserve you.
Chapter 54: The Battle of Batonn
After years of chasing phantom leads, of following in his trail but never quite catching him, he finally cornered the slippery fugitive, the long game they had played finally coming to an end as the last pieces were moved into place, and now, trapped with nowhere to go, Admiral Thrawn stood face to face with Nightswan. He had learned and confirmed the identity of the rebel just days ago, a man that Thrawn had actually met early in his military career, one of the few to actually slip through the Chiss' grasp, and since then, had been periodically and quietly challenging the Admiral, a subtle thing that Thrawn had suspected for some time.
Cygni, or so he had called himself in their first meeting, was a middle aged man with dark hair and skin tanned and textured by long years of hard labor in the sun. Based on the elusive Nightswan's targeted interest in the Empire's mining and shipment of the ore Doonium, Thrawn had surmised that the man had been involved in the mining industry, a correct assumption, based on the look of him and his history of smuggling the valuable ore from under Imperial noses.
The hunt for this rebel had been casual at best until recently, Nightswan leaving little behind to go on in the past, but now, with the Imperial assault and victory at Skrim Island, the Admiral had been able to track the fleeing rebels to Nightswan's temporary base, and from there, to his more permanent location of operations in the Creekpath Mining Facility on Batonn. With the Chimera in orbit over the planet and with his trap set, the time had come to finally put an end to the brilliant rebel, a man that had somehow always managed to stay one step ahead of Thrawn, a man that had taken as keen an interest in the Chiss as Thrawn had in him. But it could not be allowed to continue, not now when Thrawn had everything he needed to trap him, not when the Nightswan was smart enough to cause trouble for years to come if not caught now, not when other rebels could elevate Cygni and make him more dangerous than before should they be united.
But the value of such a cunning man was not lost on Thrawn, such a genius a precious asset that could be put to good use by the right hands, and wasting away in an Imperial prison or left for dead on the field of battle was a reprehensible waste of a rare resource. Enough for Thrawn to contact the rebel over his secure frequency, the information mined from the memory cache of a rebel ship, leaving a stunned Nightswan reeling when the Chiss had asked to meet with him, not because he desired his death or capture, but because his value was greater than he could understand. With his interest piqued and out of respect for the opponent that he had been engaging with at a distance for years, Nightswan had agreed to meet with the Imperial Admiral.
Now, standing before him in a field just outside of the Creekpath Mining Facility the rebels made their base in, Nightswan looked tense, his shoulder tight, his posture ridged, his expression wary. Beneath it all was the sort of confident curiosity that Thrawn had come to expect from a man that was not just a tactician, but a leader as well, if the insurgency of rebels at his back were any indication. But he was weary, as shown by the dark circles under his eyes and the hunched slope in his tense shoulders, though proud as the expression upon his face was. Nightswan was no fool. He knew what lay waiting in the skies above him, knew that he was well and deep inside a trap of Chiss creation, knew that there would be no escape for him this time. Bleak as his outlook was, the man seemed to accept it with quiet resignation which, Thrawn supposed, was why he had taken the risk to meet with him in the first place.
"You have lost," Thrawn said softly, and Nightswan became more tense, less cautious in the moment and more offended by the observation before his shoulders sagged with bitter resignation.
"Is this why you asked me here?" Nightswan scowled, his eyes narrowing suspiciously as he looked at the dispassionate Chiss before him. "To gloat over the defeat of an enemy? I assure you, Admiral, I am not finished yet, unless you mean to kill me here." He scoffed, gesturing to the rolling hills surrounding them, the faint lights of Creekpath glowing behind them. "It would be easy to do. No doubt you have soldiers in your shuttle, to say nothing of the ships I know you have in orbit. You could kill me in a moment."
"And yet, you still came to meet with me," Thrawn quietly pointed out, earning himself an almost indifferent shrug from the rebel.
"I was bored. Curious."
"Desperate," the Chiss cut in, his tone low and chilling. "You've nothing left to lose." Nightswan's shoulder's tensed, drawing up slightly as his chest fell still with held breath. "I am not here to kill you," the Admiral said when the rebel remained silent. "You are no use to me dead or captured."
"So you said..." Nightswan quietly mused. "I suppose then that you've come to convince me an my followers to surrender."
"That was not my intention," Thrawn said, a slight hint of amusement in his voice. "Though I confess, that would be ideal."
"That's never going to happen," Nightswan said, returning Thrawn's amusement with his own wry smirk. "Not after all the cruelty, the injustice, the evil that your Empire has committed."
"Certainly, the Empire is corrupt and tyrannical," Thrawn quietly agreed, his examining gaze focused on the rebel and watching the muted surprise and confusion on the man's face at the admission. "But you are being dramatic. The Empire is a system of government like any other. It keeps billions of Imperial citizens fed and clothed and employed, despite its shortcomings."
"And billions more repressed and suffering under its heel," Nightswan shot back. "Countless worlds suffering and destroyed for the sake of the Emperor and those he chooses to elevate!"
"And you seek to replace the Empire?" Thrawn asked quietly. "What with?"
"Freedom!" Nightswan scoffed as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Justice. Mercy."
"Chaos..." the Chiss said, his tone flat and dark, his red eyes glowing in the dim light as the sun dipped below the horizon. "The Clone Wars were the natural result of the freedoms you exalt. Too many voices, too many cultural backgrounds clashing, no true leadership to unite behind."
"And you believe the Empire to be the only thing that holds back chaos?" Nightswan asked, appalled for a moment before the tension in his shoulders went slack. "Perhaps you're right. Perhaps the Republic was doomed to fail. Perhaps the galaxy needs a powerful leader to unite behind. Perhaps the insurgent groups across the galaxy are simply terrorists and agents of chaos as you are saying." Nightswan's face darkened, his jaw tightening as he looked at the Chiss. "But then there are the rumors of something nasty the Empire is building out in the middle of nowhere. Whispers of something terrifying that only those perceptive enough can truly hear."
"You speak of the Empire's secret project," Thrawn said calmly, though Nightswan could detect the sudden tightness in his voice and the flat monotone betraying the hint of interest.
"I am," Nightswan said grimly. "I don't know what it is, but I know there's something wrong about it, and all this talk about the Empire and the rebellion and chaos? He gestured dismissively in the air, a look of disgust upon his face. "None of it matters, because the Empire isn't just tyrannical, it's evil, and it must be stopped."
"I too am interested in this project," Thrawn said pensively. "I would be very interested to hear what you have learned about it. Your activities in the past suggest that you have been following it for quite some time. I am certain you have learned a great deal about it."
"I have," Nightswan said firmly, a wry smirk upon his face as he crossed his arms over his chest, relaxed in a way he hadn't been before, Thrawn realized, because he no longer anticipated an attack. "I'd be glad to tell you everything I know if you take off that uniform and come join me."
"You know well I cannot do that," Thrawn said quietly, the only response from the rebel a quiet, tired chuckle. "For many reasons, and I suspect I may be able to learn more about the project were I to remain close to the Empire than if I were to separate myself from it."
"I think you might be surprised," Nightswan said almost warmly. "Look at you. An Admiral in the Imperial Navy, and I doubt you have half the knowledge of the Emperor's project that we do. I may not know what it is, but I will soon. A few more weeks, and I'll know where it is."
"And you mean to destroy it?" Thrawn asked quietly, and Nightswan drew back slightly, his lips pressed in a thin line as he considered the question.
"I'd have to know what it was first," Nightswan finally said after a moment. "But a great many resources are going to this project, and something that big kept that secret can't be good." A wry smirk touched Nightswan's lips as he laughed softly and shook his head. "Why do you ask? You're not in charge of guarding the project, are you?"
"No."
"You probably should be," the rebel said darkly. "At least, you should be if the Empire wishes to keep it safe. Mark my word, I'm not the only one with an interest in the project."
"And you mean to share your knowledge with them?" Thrawn asked, a slight smile on his lips as he pointed up into the sky above them. "I fear that will never happen. My task force awaits my command to end this insurgency. You do not have a hope to escape. You know this."
"And you know all my resources, do you?" Nightswan asked bitterly, the weariness returning as he looked at the impassive Admiral. "How do you know I've not made contact with other rebels?" He paused, his shoulders tightening as he steeled himself. "How do you know I haven't joined my forces with the Shadow King?" That got the Chiss' attention, the red eyes narrowing slightly, his jaw tensing as his swift mind worked through every possible outcome before his body relaxed.
"You haven't," Thrawn said coldly, the confidence in his tone making the knot in Nightswan's stomach grow tighter when he realized his bluff hadn't worked. "You have approximately thirty ships to call upon that are not currently based here on Batonn. Furthermore, if you were going to join forces with the Shadow King, you would have done so already. Either you have failed to make contact, or contact has been actively avoided." Thrawn tilted his head as he observed the rebel, the Chiss' eyes detecting the man's rise in body temperature, the tension in his neck, the slight nervous twitch at the corner of his mouth, and he had his answer. "You have prevented this union."
"...yes," Nightswan said tersely, trying to breath deep to calm himself but only able to draw thin, fast breaths as he felt the walls close in on him. He had known before that he wouldn't be able to escape Batonn, that this would be his last stand, and while he was not afraid to die for what he believed in, the reality of the situation was frightening none the less. "I knew he was looking for me. Not just him, but others as well."
"And you avoided these others, despite the benefits al alliance would have afforded your own movement?' Thrawn asked, more curious than anything else. "Why?"
"I once did have ambitions to unite my group with others," Nightswan quietly, almost sadly confessed. "Bring together all the active rebel cells to create an alliance formidable enough to stand against the Empire."
"What stopped you?"
"A great deal..." he said quietly, his shoulders slumping as he sighed in resignation. "It's not such an easy thing. Too much suspicion and paranoia, not knowing who to trust, the uncertainty of allowing Imperials into our ranks that could come to destroy us from the inside out." Nightswan sucked in a sharp breath, his gaze hardening as he looked at the Admiral. "And then there's the Shadow King. There are rumors about that man. He's a Jedi that survived the fall of the Republic, he's a Separatist looking for revenge, he's just a madman looking to destroy as much as he can before he's inevitably killed. Some say he's the Negotiator, which is impossible. The Empire killed him years ago."
"There is truth in all those things," Thrawn said, the flat drawl of his voice taking a moment to register with the rebel, his eyes widening with understanding when he had rolled the Chiss' words over in his mind. "The Shadow King is certainly a madman, and he was once the Separatist known as the Negotiator, and while I am uncertain as to if he was ever a Jedi, he is indeed sensitive to the Force."
"I've been trying to sort out the truth from the rumors for years," Nightswan gasped. "But for every step I took closer, he took two away. How did you come to learn about him?"
"I hunted him for some time," Thrawn said, his hands clasping behind his back as he watched the interest play across the rebel's face as he bit at his hook. "Before the Empire demanded I hunt you."
"Why!" Nightswan asked, scoffing in shock and disbelief as he shook his head. "The Shadow King is a far greater threat than I am to the Empire!"
"Yes..." Thrawn quietly agreed. "In a way, that is correct. But you know more about this secret project than he does, and were he to acquire the information you have, it could indeed prove disastrous to the integrity of the project. You may not have the means to destroy it, but the Shadow King may. He simply lacks the information."
"And you know this?"
"I have been keeping a careful watch on him, yes," Thrawn said quietly. "Just because I am not presently hunting him does not mean I have lost sight of the man. A smart tactician never takes their eyes of a predator."
"And I suppose you'll be after him again when you're done with me," Nightswan said, his voice distant and melancholy as he looked over his shoulder back toward Creekpath.
"It does not have to end here," Thrawn said, the rebel's attention drawn quickly back to him as his eyes narrowed curiously. "As I said, you are no use to me dead or captured. Order your men to surrender and I can assure you, nobody need die here today."
"And that's it?" Nightswan scoffed. "Simple as that? By your own admission, I am too dangerous to the Empire to be let go. Do you expect me to join you? Become a part of your Imperial ranks in your hunt for the Shadow King?"
"Not at all," Thrawn said dismissively. "After your actions here, you would never be allowed to join the Imperial forces. The position I am offering comes from me, not the Empire." For a moment, Nightswan was silent, the man staring dumbstruck at the Admiral as he tried to understand what the man was saying, but he came up with nothing. It didn't make sense.
"I...don't understand," he finally muttered, Thrawn drawing up taller and drawing in a deep breath as he examined the man before him.
"You seem interested in the truth about the Shadow King. I have found the fastest way to learn the truth is to get it directly from the source. Come with me, and I shall take you to him."
"You act like you personally know him," Nightswan said with a laugh, the amusement falling from his face when he saw how serious the Chiss looked, his expression making clear that somehow, he did in fact know the Shadow King. "...you know where to find him," the rebel said, a statement, not a question, and Thrawn gave a swift nod of his head.
"In a sense," he said quietly. "I do not know his exact location, or from where he operates. But I do know how to lure him out, and I can do so at any time."
"And your direct orders have prevented you from doing so because you were tasked with hunting me," Nightswan said slowly, measuring his words carefully as he tried to fit together a puzzle he didn't have all the pieces for. "You don't need me to trap him, obviously, so why bring me along at all?'"
"Many reasons," Thrawn drawled, the touch of amusement coloring his otherwise flat tone. "As I said, I have an interest in the Empire's secret project, and I believe together, we possess all the information necessary to understand what it is."
"With your understanding will come ours!" Nightswan said firmly, his tone tense and frustrated. "You will be exposing Imperial secrets to a man that opposes the Empire!"
"On the contrary..." Thrawn said softly. "I believe the Shadow King is an Imperial, and like you, I too wish to know him better. A usurper, not a rebel, and I wish to know the manner of leader he would be, should he somehow manage to come into power."
"This just keeps sounding worse and worse for me..." Nightswan muttered, his brow drawing together in thought as he considered the Chiss and slowly pieced together the information he had, nearly clear enough to see, save for a vital piece. "Suppose I did agree to this insanity. What then? What happens to me after you have learned about the project? It seems to me that my use to you ends once you learn what I do."
"Not at all..." Thrawn said calmly. "Your values as a tactician and a leader cannot be understated, and it would be a terrible waste were those skills not put to use."
"For the Empire?" Nightswan scoffed, and Thrawn shook his head, a slight smirk upon his thin lips.
"No. For the Chiss Ascendancy." The look on Nightswan's face had been anticipated, his brow drawing together in confusion, his jaw tight in concentration, his swift mind almost visibly churning as pieces were slid into place, and with a gasp, the rebels eyes widened, disbelief on his face as he stared at the Admiral.
"You weren't exiled," Nightsawn softly gasped with understanding. "All my sources said your people exiled you, but you're still working for the Chiss."
"Make no mistake..." Thrawn softly cautioned. "I do serve the Empire, but I also serve the interests of the Chiss Ascendancy."
"Is that why you are so interested in the Empire's secret project?" Nightswan asked excitedly. "What if this project conflicts with Chiss interests? Who do you serve first? Would you abandon the Empire to protect your people? What would I even do for the Chiss?" For just a moment, Thrawn's brow drew together in thought, his red eyes narrowing as he considered the questions when a faint smile touched his lips, his hands sliding into his pockets, his shoulders relaxing.
"Convince your people to surrender and agree to my terms to serve the Chiss, and I shall be happy to answer any questions you may have."
"And what, leave them to Imperial mercy?" Nightswan scoffed. "I will not leave them open to retribution."
"There will be no such thing," Thrawn promised. "The people of Creekpath are Imperial resources, and they will be free to return to their homes and jobs if they lay down their arms. There will be no retribution. You have my word that I will attempt to preserve all the lives serving under your command, regardless of your decision to accept my offer. Though I should hate to see your talents wasted in the hands of the Empire when you could be helping to combat real evil with the Chiss."
For just a moment, temptation crossed the rebel's face, the man wavering for a moment as he made to move toward the Admiral before he stopped, that weary, mournful smile touching his lips once again as he stepped away. "I can't..." Nightswan whispered. "No matter how appealing it sounds, the people here depend on me. I cannot abandon them. Not now."
"You're their leader," Thrawn said with a slight nod. "I understand. My offer still stands, should you reconsider and choose to accept." The Admiral bowed slightly, and without another word, turned and walked back toward his shuttle. Nightswan watched him until the Admiral disappeared behind the hill and waited until he could hear the roar of the engines and saw the lights of the ship as it rose into the air and shot into the sky toward the trap he knew was set high about him. With a heavy sigh, Nightswan thrust his hands in his pockets and began the quiet, lonely walk back toward the lights of the city.
A cool, crisp breeze blew across the rolling hills, and in the dusk, Cygni could see the faint shimmer of the energy shield that protected Creekpath, originally set up to protect the valuable equipment on the mining facility from debris falling from the system's nearby asteroid field, but now would serve just as well to defend the town from the powerful fire of the Star Destroyers up above. The presence of the shield was the best way he had to dictate the terms of engagement, a advantage that he desperately needed when facing the tactical genius of Admiral Thrawn, and with an assault from air no longer a feasible option, the Imperials would be forced into a ground assault on territory they did not know.
It was a risky gambit, but it was their best chance for survival against this deadly foe. Despite Thrawn's promises, as honorable as they were, Cygni knew Imperial justice, and capture was worse than death. The Admiral may have been good for his word, but he held no real political power, not the sort that could uphold the promises he was making. Still, he would do his best to save as many people as he possibly could, and given Thrawn's track record, he could trust the Chiss to do the same, to try and save lives and conserve what he saw as Imperial resources to the best of his abilities. Sure, Cygni knew there would be no escape for him, but that hadn't been the point. He fought a losing battle, he knew, but it was still one that must be fought.
Unless he accept Thrawn's terms.
The thought was a tempting one, one his mind kept drifting back towards, though his followers would never accept it, would never lay down their arms in the face of their Imperial enemies, and even if they did, he knew his people well and knew they would only rise again, more frustrated, more angry, more impulsive than ever, and it would be the end of them all. In the face of real lives that depended upon him right now, some distant greater good seemed to hold less meaning. Sure, he would save those he could, make certain that his rebels remained well hidden among the citizens of Creekpath and deep in the mines they made their base, but he also knew many would stand and fight the Empire with him. And even if he accepted Thrawn's offer in an attempt to save his people, the Empire would never allow them to simply lay down their arms and walk away. There would be retribution, and Cygni would be gone, and he couldn't abandon them now.
The breeze ruffled through Cygni's hair as he drew closer to Creekpath, the sounds of people and machines drifting on the wind, the noise of a sleepy mining town, not that of an insurgency base preparing for battle against the Empire. By the time his feet hit the hard, compacted earth of the streets of town, the sun had set below the horizon and the sky was quickly darkening with the fall of night. He passed by several of his men on the way to his base, the rebels swiftly acknowledging him before continuing on their way to the barricades set up around the strategic junctures that Cygni had deemed most important. All around him, men and woman carried equipment or pushed crates of stone or supplies, rebel fighters preparing for the battle to come.
He sighed heavily as he approached the mining administrative building, converted to serve as the headquarters of his insurgency and pushed open the door, the dust swirling within as he quickly strode through the rooms where his surveillance stations were set up, briefly looking at the data stations on his way to the old, rickety staircase to the offices on the second floor. Cygni took the stairs two at a time and stopped a moment to look over the railing down at the command stations, and despite the tension that charged the air, his people were hopeful for their stand against the Imperials, and Cygni knew he made the right choice in staying.
Running his hand through his hair as he approached the office designated as his, Cygni closed his eyes and stepped inside, closing the door behind him and running his hand over his face, weary resignation settling over him once again as he thought of what waited in the skies above them. It would take a great deal of planning and tactics and a hell of a lot of luck, but if the cards he held were played right, and if he judged Thrawn correctly, he could see a way out of this, not just for him, but for all his people.
"Well, well...you're a hard man to find, Nightswan."
His shoulders tensing at the voice's fine clip, Cygni peeked through his fingers and saw a man seated at his desk, his fine black boots upon the dark wood of his work space and leaning back in the chair, a light, easy smirk on a handsome, youthful face that would have made him seem charming had his glowing, golden eyes not been so unsettling. He wore soft, black robes reminiscent of the ones the Jedi once wore, and for a moment, Cygni thought he might be the rebel Jedi operating out of Lothal, the leader of the so-called Phoenix Squadron that had caused so much trouble for the Empire.
But Kanan Jarrus was tall and dark of hair, nothing like the golden-haired man that sat before him now, and furthermore, Cygni recognized this man, a thing long ago buried deep in his memory that slowly came to surface the longer he looked at the intruder's bold, confident visage. A swift look at the blood red casing of the odd-looking protocol droid behind him, a misdirection, he realized as his eyes caught the glint of a sniper blaster strapped to the mechanical's back, and Thrawn's words came rushing back to him, a quiet confirmation of rumors Cygni had been unwilling to believe, and while he didn't wear his armor now, Cygni was certain of who it was he was dealing with.
"You're the Shadow King," Nightswan said, quiet and confident, and the other man's gold eyes widened slightly before a pleased smirk touched his lips.
"Not usually the greeting I get out of my armor," Kenobi said lightly, confirming Nightswan's deduction, and the rebel sighed tiredly, nodding in understanding as he crossed his arms over his chest and looked at his uninvited guests. "It's not exactly common knowledge. How did you come upon such information?"
"A mutual friend," Cygni said slyly, a slight smirk on his face as Kenobi dropped his feet from the desk and leaned forward attentively, the amusement gone from his golden eyes and replaced with hard-edged focus, like he somehow knew what the rebel was talking about before being told. "I recognize your face," Cygni continued when the Sith Lord said nothing. "From the war. You're Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Separatist Negotiator."
"I am..." Kenobi said coldly, the droid at his side reaching for the weapon on his back, but stopped when the Sith laid his hand upon his armored chest.
"You're supposed to be dead," Cygni said with a smirk. "More than that, you're supposed to be older. Much older," he stressed, his eyes narrowing as he examined the youthful features of the man before him. "You don't look thirty years old, how did you manage such a thing? Is it the Force, does the Force make you eternally young?"
"It can, to those with the talent," Kenobi muttered, his fingers drumming upon the desk. "You didn't answer my question to my satisfaction."
"Your face is a difficult one to forget," Cygni said with a shrug. "You terrorized the Republic for years, it was hard to go a day without seeing your face all over the holonet." He gestured casually when Kenobi's hard glare did not waver. "The idea that you were the Shadow King, though, was given to me by Admiral Thrawn."
"Thrawn..." Obi-Wan whispered, leaning back in his chair and looking up at the ceiling, the tension in his shoulders tightening with every passing moment. "You spoke to him?" he asked as he turned his attention back to the rebel. "He was here?"
"Not half hour ago," Nightswan said.
"For what?" Obi-Wan asked, placing his elbows on the desk and clasping his hands before him as he leaned in toward the rebel. "To goad you? To accept your surrender? To have a chat with an old friend?"
"Bit of all of that, I suppose," Nightswan said with a shrug. "Though mostly, he came here to offer me a deal."
"Which was..." Kenobi asked, leaving the question hanging for Nightswan to fill in the rest of the information, but the rebel simply chuckled and shook his head.
"None of your business, I'm afraid," he said with a smirk. "I don't like talking business with people I don't know, Shadow King, and the Admiral said some things about you that are unsettling at best."
"If Thrawn said them, they're most likely accurate," Kenobi scoffed. "Why? What's my dear Chiss been saying about me?"
"Says you're an Imperial," Cygni said, his tone becoming hard and suspicious, his hand slowly drifting down to settle threateningly upon the blaster at his hip, and this time when the droid at Kenobi's side reached for the weapon on it's back, he didn't stop him. "Well? Are you? Are you just some power-hungry usurper looking to rule the galaxy?"
"I do support the vision of an Empire, yes," Kenobi said quietly, sighing heavily as Cygni drew his weapon and with a casual gesture of his hand, the blaster was torn out of Nightswan's grasp and flew to Kenobi's waiting palm. He stood as he examined the blaster, his eyes flicking up to look at the stunned, still rebel before he dropped the weapon on to the desk. "I fear we got off to a bad start," Kenobi said quietly, his hand on the long barrel of his droid's blaster as he lowered it away from the rebel target. "Shall we begin again with the introductions?" he asked with an easy smile, his hand laying upon his chest. "I am Obi-Wan Kenobi, former Separatist commander, currently the Shadow King of Mandalore and leader of the forming rebellion against the Empire. This is my droid," he said, patting the droid at his side on its red-hued chest plate. "HK-45. He came here with the understanding that there would be a battle and he'd get to murder some Imperial soldiers."
"If you stay long enough, you may well get that opportunity," Cygni said, his shoulders relaxing as the tension seemed to lift from the air. "I'm-"
"Nevil Cygni," Kenobi interrupted. "The Nightswan. Yes, we've been aware of you for quite some time. And before you say anything about me being an Imperial," Kenobi said, his hand raised and stopping the rebel from speaking, "I'm here on behalf of Fulcrum." At that, Cygni's eyes seemed to light up, his shoulders dropping as he stood taller and looked at the Sith Lord.
"You're working with Fulcrum?" Cygni asked quietly, and he frowned when Kenobi nodded. "And Fulcrum is aiding you? An Imperial? I thought Fulcrum's rebels were fighting for freedom, not for a different brand of tyranny!"
"Does your idea of freedom not extend to those who would choose the Empire over the Republic?" Obi-Wan asked softly, his tone cool and even, and Cygni's swift retort froze in his throat, leaving him grasping for words he could not find. "Make no mistake, Fulcrum and I share different ideals, but our goals are the same. We seek to destroy Palpatine and the Empire he has created. What comes after," he said with a shrug as he seated himself on top of the desk, "that is a bridge we have yet to cross, but I believe the galaxy is big enough to support both a Republic and an Empire. Don't you?"
"I...don't know," Cygni stuttered, his nose wrinkling as he considered the question. "I've never really thought about it. I just know that the Empire is evil, and we must fight against it."
"The immediate goal," Kenobi said quietly. "One that must be accomplished before we can begin anything else. That is how Fulcrum and I have come to work together. As for what comes after, a great many people truly believe in the Empire, Nightswan. Having an Imperial refuge for those that would otherwise continue to fight will save a great many lives after the old Empire is reformed into my Empire."
"I can see why Thrawn likes you," Cygni scoffed softly. "Not so sure about you myself, though."
"As I said," Obi-Wan drawled, spreading his hands out before him in a gesture of surrender. "I'm here on Fulcrum's behalf. What you think of me is irrelevant."
"Then you'd think Fulcrum would come himself."
"Fulcrum's identity is a closely guarded secret that must be maintained for the integrity of the position they occupy," Kenobi quietly explained, his nose wrinkling as he crossed his arms almost petulantly over his chest. "Also, one of our rebels is a touch too rebellious and needs to be reminded of her place. Fulcrum had something to say about it, and offered to take her off my hands if I came to meet with you." Kenobi reached back and grabbed hold of Nightswan's confiscated blaster, turning it over in his hands and keenly aware of the sharp, cautious eyes upon him. "And besides," he drawled, "you are of a personal interest to me as well. We are after the same thing."
"Are we," Cygni scoffed. "And tell me, what thing is that?"
"Project Stardust," Kenobi said slowly, a wry smirk spreading across his face as he watched intensity and curiosity burn in the rebel's eyes. "You have heard of it," he whispered, a statement, not a question, and Nightswan gave a slight, imperceptible nod.
"The Empire's secret project," Cygni said softly. "Though perhaps not so secret as I thought. You aren't the first person I've dealt with today who's looking for information about it." There was a brief moment of confused silence, Kenobi's brow knitting together as he swiftly processed what the rebel had said. With a swift, shark hiss, the Sith Lord ran a hand through his hair and tapped the barrel of Nightswan's blaster against the desk.
"Thrawn?" he asked with a mixture of confusion and disbelief. "Thrawn doesn't know about the project?"
"He does," Cygni said grimly. "Just not much, so far as I could guess. He seemed interested, though. Interested enough to give up a great deal in exchange for what I know."
"This changes things..." Obi-Wan said slowly, turning over the blaster in his hands and muttering under his breath for a moment before he offered the weapon back to Cygni. Looking at him suspiciously for a moment as he tried to determine if this was somehow a trick, Nightswan reached out and took the offered weapon, a sigh of relief on his lips when Kenobi simply let him have it. "He came here to speak with you," the Sith said, pointing to the weapon in Cygni's hands. "You could have killed him. Why didn't you?"
"He's the only Imperial I know of that actually tries to save lives and limit damage," Cygni scoffed. "Why kill him when someone worse would take his place?"
"That replacement would be less effective than Thrawn," Kenobi said, drumming his fingers against the desk in what Cygni determined to be a nervous habit, something so delightfully human it was hard to imagine that the man that sat before him was the dreaded Shadow King. "Fulcrum tells me you're terribly intelligent. You have to be to stay out in front of Thrawn for all these years. You could outsmart another Imperial, get your people out of here right under their noses in a way you couldn't with that Chiss bastard in charge."
"Maybe so," Cygni agreed. "But that wouldn't save the innocent people here at Creekpath. Any other Imperial would crush them just as quickly as they would destroy my men. I won't allow the people here to be sacrifices."
With a heavy sigh, Kenobi pointed toward the ceiling, Cygni looking up where he pointed before meeting the Sith's eyes. "Do you know what lies above you?" Obi-Wan whispered. "The Chimera, Thrawn's personal Star Destroyer, and three light cruisers in the most insane formation I have ever seen. None of my people can figure out what Thrawn is thinking, but the one thing we know for certain is that he has something planned. This is a trap, and you're in the middle of it."
"Is this the part you offer your help?" Cygni said tiredly. "You save the lives of my men in exchange for joining with Fulcrum?"
"...no." Obi-Wan closed his eyes, his breathing deep and even as he brushed aside the confused tension of the other man in the room, reaching through the Force trough the thousands of lives in Creekpath, the anxious rebels and the sleepy miners and the tension of the Imperials on the ground as they set up their barricades and command centers in preparation to storm the complex. It would not be long before fighting broke out and once it did, it was only a matter of time before the trap was sprung and all inside were caught. It was a dangerous game Nightswan was playing. One that, Kenobi suspected, he knew he would lose.
"No," the Sith Lord repeated, sliding off the desk to stand before the suddenly defensive rebel. "No, your cause here is a lost one. I could save you and perhaps a dozen of your men, but all of you?" Kenobi shook his head. "I only have my personal ship here. There's only so much I can do."
"But you have more," Cygni said, his voice tight with something just shy of desperation, and Kenobi sighed as he watched the rebel, so resigned before, now grasp for hope the moment he saw it. "You must. If not you, Fulcrum."
"We do," Kenobi said calmly. "A great many rebels and a great many ships ready to deploy at a moment's notice very, very far from here. Certainly too far away to get here before Thrawn destroys you. And even if we could," the Sith said with a shrug, "I wouldn't call them in."
"You won't help us?" Cygni said with a disbelieving scoff, biting upon his lower lip as he stared into cold, glowing eyes.
"Do you forget who you are up against?" Obi-Wan asked evenly. "You're in the middle of a trap set by Admiral Thrawn, and I know better than to face him when he has decided the terms of engagement. He has already trapped the field, he has already moved his pieces, and he has you in checkmate, Cygni. It's over," Kenobi said, a slight, wry smirk tugging at the edge of his lips when he saw anger flash in the other man's eyes. "And you know it."
"You could help me change that," Cygni said firmly, stepping closer to the Sith as he holstered his blaster. "Thrawn's here to deal with me, not you, this trap is set for me. If you-"
"You're too smart to have gathered all your forces in one place," Kenobi swiftly interrupted. "I had a good look at this mining facility when I landed, and there is nowhere to put the amount of ships that fled from Skrim Island, and I seriously doubt that was the entirety of your force." Obi-Wan chuckled softly when Cygni held his breath, his jaw tightening in a clear confirmation of the Sith Lord's claims. "If we could puzzle that out, you know that Thrawn has. That trap he set accounts for your reenforcements and then some, regardless of where they come from." Again, Obi-Wan shook his head. "No, I will not lead my people into a trap when there is nothing to be gained."
"So that's it?" Cygni asked bitterly, heaving a heavy sigh as his shoulders drooped in resignation. "You just leave us to face Thrawn's mercy? What was even the point of you coming here if not to recruit me and my men?"
"That was Fulcrum's original intention," Obi-Wan said quietly, his hand resting on his droid's shoulder when it stepped around the desk to stand defensively beside him. "But then I arrived and saw the Chimera in orbit, and the plan had to change. We knew Thrawn would be here. We were hoping to beat him. I nearly left, risking a confrontation with that kriffing Chiss is too dangerous without knowing exactly the nature of the game he is playing, and the last time I thought I had a shot at him, I rushed in and played right into his hands. Never again, I won't deal with him until I am good and ready, and I am not."
"And you still came," Cygni said tiredly, pinching the bridge of his nose and carefully examining the Sith Lord's every movement and expression. "Why?"
"The information you have is worth the risk," the Sith Lord quietly pointed out to the sneering rebel.
"But not worth the lives of my men."
"A price I would be happy to pay, were I able to," Kenobi retorted. "As I said, I may save you and some of your men, but that is the best that I can do. But Thrawn," he said with a smirk as he pointed up toward the ceiling. "Thrawn could save your men, as I am certain he told you. That is what he came to see you about, yes? To make a deal with you?"
For a moment, Cygni was silent, his jaw tight as he eyed the Sith Lord and carefully considered if he could be trusted. Something was off and unsettling about the man, something Cygni couldn't quite place. Be it a trick of the Force he knew the man commanded, his Imperial sympathies, his past as a Separatist hellion, the strange way his golden eyes seemed to glow or something else entirely, Nightswan didn't know, but he for certain didn't like the Shadow King. He was dangerous, for certain, if the stories of him and his brutal rancor could be believed, though it was difficult for Cygni not to trust the man despite the threat he posed. He had been frank and honest from the moment he arrived, even when it did not benefit him to do so, and much like Thrawn, Cygni could respect this man, even if he didn't agree with him.
"Thrawn came here to offer me a job," Cygni said flatly, the slightest smirk playing on his lips when Kenobi's eyebrow arched in confused interest. "He wants to send me to put my talents to work for his people." Cygni grinned when the Sith's eyes widened, and he rocked back on his heels, allowing stunned silence to hang heavy between them for a moment. "For the Chiss."
"The Chiss..." Kenobi muttered under his breath, his heart almost seeming to stop beating in his chest as realization slowly sunk in, the jumbled, chaotic pieces of the enigma that was Thrawn finally sorting into a comprehensible picture. Pieces were still missing, to be sure, but he had an idea of the measure of the man where before, all he had was bewilderment. "Do you believe he is an agent for his people?" Kenobi asked, and Cygni swiftly nodded.
"I do," he said firmly. "He said so himself. He serves the interests of the Chiss as well as the interests of the Empire, though he didn't say more than that, or where his loyalties would lie were their interests ever to be in conflict."
"Oh, Thrawn, you bad, bad boy..." Kenobi drawled, a pleased, lopsided smirk spreading across his face as he gently hit the droid's chest. "Force help me, HK, I thought that minx and I were just flirting. I didn't know it was an actual courtship!"
"Sounds like true love," Cygni said wryly. "He talked about you too. He said if I accepted his deal, he would take me to you so the three of us could learn about the Empire's secret project together." At that, the amusement swiftly dropped from the Sith Lord's face, his expression becoming cold and hard, his golden eyes seeming to glow brighter, and Cygni suddenly felt as if the air became thicker, heavier, his head pounding and his chest aching as he labored to breathe.
"He knows where to find me?" Kenobi asked, his voice soft and chilling, and Cygni swallowed hard and shook his head.
"No, but he knows how to find you," Cygni said, taking a few deep, even breaths as the pressure sitting on his chest lifted. "He says he can lure you to him at any time."
"Oh, perfect," Obi-Wan spat. "Just what I needed. More paranoia. As if the Emperor hunting me wasn't enough." He groaned, running his fingers through his hair and his hands over his face as he collected his thoughts and brushed aside the sudden feeling of unease. "This alone was worth coming here."
"Worth getting involved?" Cygni asked hopefully, and was met by a sympathetic look from the Sith Lord.
"You want to save your men, Nightswan?" Kenobi asked, pointing a long finger at the rebel. "You know how to do it. Take Thrawn's deal, tell your men to surrender and live to fight another day." He shrugged. "And then, instead of going with Thrawn to serve the Chiss, come with me. We'll take you all to join with Fulcrum's forces."
"My men won't surrender."
"Then you aren't the leader we thought you were," Kenobi snapped, far harsher than he intended, and he sighed, running his hand over his face as he calmed himself, the nagging tension at the back of his mind refusing to relent. The fighting was about to begin. He needed to get out before it did. "I came for information about the project," Kenobi said, his voice even and measured, his fingers steepling together in a show of patience. "Learning what the Emperor is building is worth more than the value of any of our lives. If you are to die here, Nightswan, than what you know cannot die with you. I need to know."
"Who says I end here?" Cygni scoffed, his bravado deflating when Kenobi shot him a cold, hard glare.
"Your men will not surrender, and you will not abandon them," the Sith Lord said dryly. "You cannot win against Thrawn. Only one outcome remains. You face defeat here, be it through capture or death, and in either situation, what you know about Project Stardust will be lost. Do not let your efforts go to waste. Tell me what you know."
"I can't imagine I know anything you do not," Cygni muttered. "Massive amounts of doonium have gone missing from the market, as have other materials needed for the production of ships and weapons and hyperdrives. Nothing is unaccounted for out of the factories that build Imperial ships, though, so whatever it is they are building, they are assembling it on site."
"Smaller components are harder to track," Kenobi said quietly, tapping the droid on the shoulder and it's glowing optical lights grew brighter as it began recording and processing what was being said. "That's clever. Ship out completed hyperdrives and people would start asking questions."
"Exactly," Nightswan said firmly. "I have been tracking the movements of these shipments to the best of my abilities to discover the locations of the project's construction, but I haven't had any luck so far."
"Location," Kenobi said slowly, drawing out the length of each syllable for emphasis. "The project is being built on at a single location."
"Just one..." Nightswan mused quietly, scoffing slightly as he shook his head. "I thought that might be the case as well, but it seemed too impossible to be believed. If it's all being built at one location, whatever it is must be massive. How have they kept such a thing hidden?"
"Just as you said..." Kenobi said. "The small stuff slips under the radar. You can't find what you don't know to look for."
"Do you know where it is?"
"I know where it was," Obi-Wan said slowly. "They were building it out around Geonosis, but they relocated the project a few years back. I have been unable to find the new location."
"It moved?" Cygni muttered, holding his breath as his gaze drifted to the ground to stare at the cracks in the floor at the Sith Lord's feet. "A project of the massive size we are thinking it must be, and it moved?!" The rebel laughed tightly and shook his head in disbelief. "How could nobody have noticed that? Is the project mobile?"
"That seems very likely, yes."
"Well, how often does the damn thing move?!"
"Hopefully not all that often," Kenobi muttered. "But honestly, I don't know. A single, massive project drifting around the uninhabited Outer Rim could be very, very difficult to find. Hell, even if it's stationary, we'll never find it if we're searching blindly."
"I'm close to finding it," Nightswan said softly. "Very close. Or...I thought I was. If the damn thing is moving, I may not be so close as I thought. But using the missing shipments of materials, I should be able to track it."
"We have just found the location of the project's main research facility. Fulcrum is attempting to make contact with the lead scientist on the project."
"And once you do, you could know not only the nature of the project, but it's location as well," Cygni said excitedly, his heart beating rapidly in his chest as he looked as the smirking Sith Lord. "...you're damn close to finding this thing."
"Perhaps..." Kenobi drawled. "But that depends a great deal of luck. The scientists may not actually know where the project is located."
"But if you knew what I do, you might have the pieces I'm missing to find it now," Cygni said firmly, his gaze drifting to look out the window on the wall. "And I don't have the time."
"You could," Kenobi calmly offered. "If you came with me now, we could have all the time you need." The Sith Lord swiftly raised his hand for silence when offense passed over Cygni's face. "But, you will not abandon your men, I know, and you and I..." he said with a smirk when the distant sounds of blaster fire thrummed in the air. "We are out of time. Were I you, Nightswan, I would reconsider Thrawn's offer. It would give me the time I need to extract your men and the opportunity to steal you right out from under his nose, provided he doesn't kill you."
"He won't," Cygni said confidently. "I'm more valuable to him alive than dead, he said so himself."
"Then this may be our best course of action," Kenobi said as he walked toward the door, the droid close on his heels and a smirk on his face as he passed by the rebel, nearly close enough for their shoulders to brush. "You get to maintain your foolish ideals, and I get to move a valuable piece against Thrawn without his knowledge." Kenobi took a deep breath and looked the rebel over critically, his brow drawing together as he frowned. "You're certain you will not come with me now?"
"I was tempted enough when Thrawn offered. I cannot be swayed, I'm sorry." Cygni sighed and ran his hand through his hair as he turned to face the Sith Lord, a resigned smile on his lips. "I'll be seeing you again soon when you come for me, yeah?"
"You know I will," Kenobi said softly. "When I come for you. And for Thrawn." Tapping the droid on the chest, Obi-Wan gave the rebel a swift nod before he left the room, his stride long and purposeful as he walked away from the rebel leader and down the rickety wooden steps. The swift inquisitive questions by the rebels wandering about were quickly silenced into blind compliance with a wave of the Sith Lord's hand, a bitter scowl on his face as he marched out of the doors and into the streets of Creekpath, the droid marching swiftly at Kenobi's side, its head swiveling to watch two rebels armed with heavy blasters rush by.
"Inquiry: are we going to murder some fleshy organics, Master?" HK gleefully asked, the blaster rifle in its hands priming as the droid loaded the charges. He looked expectantly at the Sith Lord, the man only glowering as another group of soldiers ran by.
"We're getting out of here as quickly as possible, HK, we don't have time for murder," Obi-Wan muttered under his breath, his sharp eyes darting swiftly over the faint shimmering dome of the force field that hung over the town. "The jaws of a trap are closing, and I don't want to be here when it snaps shut."
"Confusion: Master, can't you use a trap to ensnare the one that set it?" the droid asked, the long stride shortening when Kenobi slowed to a casual walk as they passed by the rebel barricade, the two passing by like the soldiers posted there didn't even see them.
"You're right, that is ideal..." Obi-Wan muttered, running his fingers through his hair and huffing as they continued through the streets toward the distant foothills past the force field. "But in order to do so, one must know the nature of the trap they are in, and I don't understand what Thrawn is doing. Escape is the only option. My date with the Chiss needs to wait."
"Oh." HK's processors whirred in disappointment, its visual receptors roving over the empty streets, the civilians locked up inside their homes and the soldiers keeping behind their barricades, unwilling to venture past the lines. An empty street, devoid of war and death, was not what HK-45 expected when the Master asked him to come down to a hostile standoff between a rebel insurgency and Imperial forces. "Inquiry: Master, did we waste our time coming here?"
"No, HK, we didn't," Kenobi muttered, his step hesitating for a moment when he saw another barricade set up at the edge of town and a busy camp behind it. An Imperial checkpoint, from the look of it, designed to keep the rebels from escaping now that the fighting had begun on the other side of town. "I got much more than I expected."
"Observation: We failed to acquire the rebel scum Fulcrum sent us for. You, in fact, got nothing at all."
"Nothing but information, HK, a thing far more valuable than a single rebel leader, no matter how genius he may be," Kenobi said with a frown as he drew up and continued toward the Imperial barricade, his stride long and confident, the droid picking up the pace to walk beside him. "As soon as we saw the Chimera, Fulcrum knew Nightswan was likely lost. It was too dangerous to extract him anyway, linking him to us just gives Thrawn another hook in our operation."
"Confusion: But we did not extract the information you needed from the meatbag, Master," HK said, his vocal modulator straining with an almost irritated grating. "Statement: We should have abducted him as I previously suggested. That way, you could have removed his brain to retrieve the data at your convenience."
"I keep telling you, that's not how it works," Kenobi said with a roll of his eyes. "In any case, I promised Fulcrum there would be no abductions, coercions, or compulsions when dealing with Nightswan, and his will is too strong for anything short of mental domination. Besides..." he drawled, taking the blaster from HK and sliding it back into the holster on the droid's back. "I wasn't just standing there hoping he'd tell me what I needed to know about the Empire's project, I sifted through his mind and learned what he knew."
"Excitement: you never fail to impress, Master!" the droid chirped, the disappointment of being forced to sheath his weapon forgotten. "Quarry: Was it useful?"
"Perhaps..." Kenobi mused. "Numbers and shipment manifests and travel vectors, thousands upon thousands of them all following certain patterns that tell the story of Project Stardust. Chapters we have not yet read and others we have committed to memory long ago, but in the telling..." Kenobi frowned. "I am uncertain how much closer to the end of the story this new information brings us. I will have to meditate on it, or bring the matter to Fulcrum. She'll see the information delivered to someone with an eye for such things."
"Statement: I could run the analysis, Master."
"K2 would be a better choice for such a thing, but I appreciate your exuberance." The sharp, outraged bleeps and whirs in the droid's untranslated binary caused a sly smirk to spread across the Sith Lord's face, sighing in amused contentment as they drew closer toward the Imperial line, the shimmer of the force field behind them coloring and distorting the rolling hills of Batonn's countryside. "Still," Kenobi continued, "it would have been nice to bring Nightswan to Fulcrum. I do so love defying her expectations. She's just going to have to settle with scooping up what's left of his men and picking him up on Csilla at a later date."
"Bemusement: When you put it that way, Master, it doesn't seem like a loss at all."
"It isn't, HK," Obi-Wan said with a satisfied sigh. "I don't suffer losses. Only setbacks."
"Quarry: and you are certain that the rebel idiot won't be murdered by the Empire?"
"I'm certain," Obi-Wan said confidently, holding his shoulders back as he walked purposefully toward the blockaded and watching the Imperials scramble and raise their weapons at the approaching pair. "That's the most valuable thing I learned from Nightswan, information on the nature of dear, sweet Thrawn..."
The Sith Lord rose his hands in the air as they approached, HK following his lead as the Imperial soldiers rushed toward them, their anxious tension abating instantly with a wave of Obi-Wan's fingers, and the Imperials slowly shuffled back to the barricade as if nothing was amiss. The touch of the Force lightly graced their minds, the men and women shuddering at the swift passing of cold through the air, and with a frown of displeasure, Obi-Wan walked past them all, his long stride carrying him past the command station and toward the barrier, both he and the droid passing effortlessly through the energy field and breathing deeply of the cool, fresh air.
"These Imperials belong to the Shyrak, they've never set foot aboard the Chimera and they've never so much as caught a glimpse of Thrawn..." Kenobi muttered bitterly. "If they had something, anything, perhaps we could have..." His words trailed off, a soft, almost amused chuckle slipping past his lips as he shook his head. "No, I still know far too little. My Chiss, a double agent, and the little slut had a boyfriend before me. I swear, HK, the issues we have keep piling up, we're going to have a great deal to sort through if we want this romance of ours to work. Too many secrets. Not enough commitment..."
"Disappointment: Not enough murder," HK seemed to sigh mournfully, the droid looking back at the town behind the shimmering energy barrier where the fighting was occurring. "Quarry: the rebel idiot said you could be lured out by the Empire at any time. How do you suppose they can accomplish this?"
"I don't know..." Kenobi muttered, his lips pressed in a thin line as the Force suddenly tugged upon him in warning, not the cold dread of a distant threat but the burning heat of present danger. His eyes flicked up to the sky above them, the clouds lighting with flashes of green light from the ships engaged in battle just above Batonn's atmosphere. But around them, save for the distant sound of blasters being fired in Creekpath, all was calm, through the Force was raging.
"What could he possibly have that could draw me out, what could he possibly know that makes him so certain he has me..." the Sith Lord muttered, his pace slowing as he crested a hill and looked back toward the town where Nightswan fought. "Do you think he knows about Luke and Leia?"
"Bemusement: Even if he did, how could he use them to catch you?" HK asked, its vocal modulator whirring with the approximation of a dismissive chortle. "If you will remember, Master, Leia is very, very grounded. Forever."
"Somehow, that girl always manages to wriggle her way into a mess, though..." Obi-Wan grumbled as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "If not them, how. What does he have on me, what does he know?" His train of thought was disrupted by another sharp pull of the Force, but this time, the warning screaming in his mind was accompanied by a tremor rushing through the ground and a rumbling reverberating through the air. Obi-Wan looked up swiftly as HK drew the blaster from its back, half expecting to see ion fire fired from the Star Destroyers raining down upon the compound when a bright flash of light in the corner of his eye immediately drew his attention toward Creekpath.
The blinding light came from the compound, accompanied by deafening silence and a sharp ringing in Obi-Wan's ears as he watched flames erupt from inside the town, engulfing everything in a wave of smoke and fire. He watched in horror as the explosive wave rushed toward him, only to be stopped and contained by the energy field surrounding the town, dust and debris kicked up from the contained blast billowing inside the dome and magnifying the intensity of the explosion within as the force of the blast had nowhere to escape but down into the earth. The energy shield wavered, flickered for a moment, And Obi-Wan found his footing a second later, jolted into action as he turned and ran away from the town just as the barrier shut off.
He only managed to run a few steps before HK-45 tackled him from behind, his body hitting the ground hard as the heavy droid laid on top of him just as a wave of heat slammed into the Sith Lord, his eyes shut tightly as smoke and ash and flames and broken earth crashed upon them. Despite the heat, Obi-Wan felt cold, the Force snapping with the chill of death, not a few, but thousands, an instant rending of life so sudden that Kenobi could feel a gaping wound in the fabric of the Force itself, torn open and disturbed in a way he hadn't felt in a very long time. He didn't need to see the destruction to know that everyone in Creekpath was dead, everyone caught within the Force field torn apart by the powerful blast, be they rebel, civilian, or Imperial.
When the roaring in his ears had faded into the sound of raging flames and the smell of smoke and ash on the wind, Obi-Wan nudged at HK, the droid swiftly getting off of him and helping the Sith Lord to his feet. The armored plating had been badly singed and scored and dented, the blood red coloring darkened with dirt and ash, and Obi-Wan could feel his own robes singed and torn and dirtied, could feel the dirt and ash upon his face and the bleeding cuts and searing burns upon his body that HK had failed to shield. Holding on tightly to the droid as he got his footing, Obi-Wan looked at what used to be the mining city of Creekpath, now a blazing inferno in a crater blasted deep into the ground.
"This wasn't at all what Cygni expected..." Obi-Wan muttered, his gaze drifting upward to the sky, the flashing of the ion cannons no longer visible with the smoke and dust thick in the air and the blaze of light from the flames. "This wasn't Thrawn."
"Analysis: Master, the results of my preliminary scan shows no signs of life within the perimeter the energy shield covered," HK reported. "There are no survivors. Fulcrum's rebel idiot has almost certainly been incinerated."
"I don't understand..." Kenobi gasped in frustration, pointing toward the flames as he took a few steps toward the blaze. "Thrawn wouldn't do this! This isn't him!" There was silence from his droid companion, though the Sith Lord didn't expect a response, his gaze again drifting up toward the sky before he turned furious eyes on HK. "Who would do this?!" Kenobi demanded, and the droid gave an indifferent shrug.
"Response: It wasn't me, Master, though I am quite upset with myself for not thinking of it."
"No, no, I had plans! I needed Nightswan as part of my Thrawn strategy!" Kenobi held his breath, his jaw slack for a moment before he slid his fingers into his hair and tightly grabbed fistfuls of golden strands. "Ahsoka's going to be so pissed!"
"Excitement: I know how to cheer you up, Master!" the droid proudly proclaimed. "Murder! There's an entire fleet of Imperial meatbags wearing buckets and calling it protection in the ships above us! Let's slaughter them! We could burn them alive to get even!"
"The death toll is high enough as it is," Lumis growled as he turned his back on the burning city and strode furiously out toward the foothills where the Umbra was parked. "Rebels weren't the only ones that died in the blast, there were civilians and Imperial soldiers as well. Whoever did this will have hell to pay, but it won't be from me."
"Quarry: Master-"
"Not now, HK, we need to move."
There was silence between them, their pace increasing from a light job to a full sprint the further away they got from the burning city, the ash and dust fading the further out they got, though they still left trails through grass covered in soot and dirt carried on the wind from the blast. It didn't take them long to arrive at the Umbra, the ship covered in a light dusting of ash that made the Sith Lord grind his teeth in irritation and settled on making Leia wash the damn ship as part of her punishment. When Obi-Wan strode into the cockpit, giving a tight, curt nod to K-2SO in the copilot's seat, and dropped into the pilot's seat with a puff of dust from his robes, he also resolved to have his wayward daughter clean the inside as well.
They were in the air in record time, the engines purring with a smooth hum as he lifted off into the sky and pulled back on the acceleration, the stealth ship cutting effortlessly up into the atmosphere and into the light of ion cannons and a swarm of TIE Fighters zipping through space to attack nearly thirty rebel ships caught between the Chimera and the three light cruisers that surrounded it. The trap had closed, and the rebels were hopelessly caught, their ships severely outclassed by the much faster Imperial fighters. They would all die, just like the people on Batonn, and there was nothing that could be done about it.
As Obi-Wan punched in the hyperspace coordinates for his first jump on his way to the rendevous with the Ghost and his new Subjugator, the console began beeping with frantic warning, the Sith Lord and the droid both looking at the offending display to find that weapons had been locked on to the Umbra. Cursing under his breath, Kenobi ran a swift analysis as he checked to be certain the stealth drive was functioning, and finding everything in working order, he frowned as he looked back at the display to read the report.
"It's the Chimera..." Obi-Wan mumbled more to himself than to the droid at his side. "The kriffing Chimera has a lock on us, and we have two minutes until we jump!"
"I told you," K2 drawled in a disaffected tone. "This was a very bad idea, and now we're all going to die. This is what you get for not listening."
"Our stealth drive is modified using Chiss technology, that damnable asshole knows what to look for!" Obi-Wan snapped, his hands tightening around the controls as he turned the Umbra and flew straight toward the Chimera, his teeth grinding together as he dodged around the swarming TIEs that couldn't see him, both droids in the cockpit began protesting his actions, the first time in Kenobi's memory that the two ever agreed on anything.
"Is your goal to make us die faster?" K2 asked, and Obi-Wan growled as he pushed the Umbra faster toward the massive Star Destroyer. "If so, this is definitely the way to do it, so keep up the good work, Master."
"We'll never get out of range in time," Kenobi said through grit teeth. "My plan is to get us so close it becomes too dangerous to shoot at us. I need to buy time for the jump to be calculated."
"...statement: you're going to die, Master."
"Take your opinions and shove them up your ass, HK, I don't need your opinions," Obi-Wan growled. "Both of you, mute your audio drives, I don't want to hear either of you." The Sith Lord breathed deeply when neither droid replied, the silent acknowledgment that his command was obeyed, slowing the Umbra as he flew up to the Chimera, the design carved into the hull just as he was told. It was magnificent, beautifully intimidating and delightfully individualistic for the usually uniform Imperial fleet. The display continued to flash in warning with the weapon lock on the ship despite the proximity, and Kenobi gently guided the Umbra along the side of the mighty Destroyer, eying each of the cannons as he passed them and trying to decide how long he would live if he began shooting. Pushing the accelerator forward, he shot along the hull and pulled up on the yoke when he reached the nose of the ship, and he flipped the Umbra around, the unrestrained HK slapping against the walls as Obi-Was pointed his ship toward the Chimera's command deck.
Obi-Wan closed his eyes, calm settling over him as he reached out and felt him almost instantly, a cold, strong command, unshakably confident, though he could feel the tension of confusion and seething anger under the veneer, the feel of the man so unique, so different from the humans that surrounded this outsider. It was Thrawn, without a shadow of a doubt, and when Obi-Wan opened his eyes, he could feel the man himself looking at him from his place on his command deck.
The warning display of the weapon's lock suddenly ceased, the Umbra's readouts all coming back clear as the Star Destroyer disengaged their weapons and pointed them elsewhere, and Obi-Wan felt the tension in his chest lift. Thrawn saw him, and the Chiss was letting him go. It was almost surreal, the closest he had ever been to his distant adversary, and it was not at all how Obi-Wan expected it to go. Yet another thing to consider when at least they met.
The navigator pinged, the jump calculated and the hyperdrive primed, and with a final look at the command deck, Obi-Wan swung the Umbra around, the ship shuddering as they jumped to the safety of hyperspace.
