Thank you SO MUCH for the continued support, everyone, whatever form that may be. This was a super fun story to write, so I'm glad you're able to enjoy it! Hopefully it doesn't disappoint~~
Chapter 13
"What now, sir?" one of the clones asked Cody as they gathered inside an interior room within the facility. Only a few traces of light streaked in from the outer walls and windows.
Cody signaled towards one of the massive computers near the door, and he and several clones attempted to push it in front of the door to create a barricade. The console wouldn't budge against their combined force.
Obi-Wan tried to ignite Anakin's lightsaber, but the blade fizzled and popped, and the spark of light abruptly died. He tried again and received no reaction. Of course Grievous would give him a broken weapon. He clipped it on his belt and used the Force instead, grappling at the inner workings of the console with his mind and shredding them apart. He pulled wires and screws, dislodging the console enough for the clones to move it. A weight settled over him from the intense focus. Cody and the others shoved the console over the door.
"We need to alert the Republic to what is going on here," Obi-Wan said. He folded his arms at his chest and ran a hand over his beard, and then he offered Cody a look of apology as he and the other clones stared at him in expectation. Obi-Wan was neither a general nor a figure of authority at that point, and no one had any reason to listen to him. The fact that they did was a testament to their loyalty.
"Nothing works," said one of the men, and he waved his hand into the darkness. "We can't even redirect power if there's no source to begin with."
Obi-Wan again scratched at his beard. The ship that crashed into the other building had flashing lights, fully suggestive of an operational power source.
"If I may?"
"By all means," answered Cody.
"We need to get to the vessel that crashed," Obi-Wan said. "The communication systems may still be operational. Is anyone able to lead us there without taking us back outside in plain sight of the enemy?"
Several chuckles answered him.
"General, we could get you there blindfolded, concussed, and under the influence."
"This is our home."
Obi-Wan couldn't help but smile at the remarks.
Cody drew near, his scar visible in a shaft of light.
"Men, I want you to form up. Keep on each other and don't let anyone fall behind. Those who've had your control chips removed, stay around the General. The rest of you, take the lead and get us to that ship."
"Sir!" answered a chorus of clones. Footsteps thundered in reply as the men built a chain, one hand on the shoulder of the man ahead of him, and they moved as one.
Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow at the comment to place troopers around him who had the chips surgically removed. Cody said it so nonchalantly and the others acted so quickly on the command—defending their resident Jedi came second nature to them. Appreciation swelled in Obi-Wan's chest, but he brushed such thoughts aside and fell into line with them, Cody ahead of him and several men behind him.
As promised, the clones stormed through the facility without a single misstep, or so it seemed to Obi-Wan. Whoever took the lead paused at intersections for only a moment, as if assessing for danger and not considering his direction, and then proceeded at a steady pace. Obi-Wan followed, blind in the perpetual darkness with only the rare shaft of light breaking through windows in nearby rooms. The knot in his stomach lingered, but he had complete faith in the clones and their lead.
The men stopped their forward march, and metal grated on metal.
"Into the maintenance tunnels. They'll take us beneath and between buildings, and the clankers will be none the wiser," one of the lead clones called back.
Obi-Wan shuffled after Cody and the rest of the men into the tunnels, crawling for a while on hands and knees. Eventually they rose in darkness and were able to walk. Their footsteps and panting echoed off the metal and vibrated through the corridor.
Explosions shattered the tunnel in front of them and behind them, spilling light and rainwater over them. Fighters and vultures zipped overhead and dropped torpedoes and fired blasters on them.
"Move!" Obi-Wan shouted, but he didn't wait for their compliance. He hefted the clones up with the Force and threw them across the gaping hole in front of them, then leaped after them. "Go!"
Using the light behind them to guide their steps, they ran, the leaders of the group decisively rounding another corner. The rest had just turned when another explosion rocked the corridors behind them. Obi-Wan glanced back and caught a glimpse of the tower of a building, and he made it out to be the facility from which they'd departed. They had to be near their destination.
"Keep moving, men!" someone called out. "Go, go!"
The man in the lead led them through a small opening into a spacious but pitch-black room. As the last two men climbed out of the maintenance tunnel, the entire shaft exploded and took them down in a wall of flames. Light and rain poured in and revealed vultures circling, fully aware of their location.
"Go!" Cody ordered, and he led the way through a research lab filled with dead computer screens and ominous experiment tables.
The group dashed after him and to a turbolift that, like everything else in the facility, was completely dead. Through the glass case surrounding the lift on every side, blaster fire rained down on the dome of the building. Half propped above them and precariously balanced on the tip of the tower was the battered transport carrier. Its flames still lapped at the wet sky. As if the weather sensed their mood, lightning licked the clouds and thunder rumbled in reply.
Cody presented his grappling hook, aimed straight up, and fired. The hook and cable launched with a hiss. Then he grinned at the others and gave a tiny shrug.
"Guess sometimes good old-fashioned technology comes in handy after all." Then, he vaulted himself upwards.
All of his men followed.
Obi-Wan had relinquished his lightsaber to the Order but nothing else. He used his own basic grappling hook and ascended the shaft after the army of clone troopers. A few torpedoes rocked the tower and sent two men plummeting. Two others went down to retrieve them. The rest continued on, bounding up as quickly as they could. Thankfully, the entire tower didn't come down on them.
Their ascent ended abruptly at the ship that demolished the top of the tower and the turbolift shaft. A hunk of twisted metal blocked their path.
Obi-Wan dropped to the nearest opening a torpedo had blasted for them and slid through the shattered transparisteel to the metal framework on the outside of the tower. Cody and the clones followed.
"How generous of them to open the door for us," Obi-Wan commented, and he glared at a half dozen fighters zipping past.
In haste, he and the others turned their grappling hooks to the outside of the tower and climbed into the battered remains of the ship. Blaster fire took out several of the cables and sent men plummeting to their deaths. A torpedo blew a hunk of the battered ship apart and spewed molten slivers of metal into the air. Obi-Wan and the remaining clones pressed on until they climbed through yet another hole conveniently provided by their enemies into the transport carrier.
And there, they all stopped.
Clones covered the floor of the ship from front to back in every direction. Blasters lay scattered around the bodies, and traces of blaster fire marred the white armor of the troopers, the walls, computer consoles—everything. Countless battle droids filled the gaps between fallen clones. The ship had been a warzone before it crashed. A moment of respectful silence passed between them.
Lights continued to flash throughout the ship, a sure sign the ship still had power. Hopefully the communications center would remain stable and active.
"Keep moving," Cody said, and he slid down the slanted corridor towards the bridge of the ship.
Obi-Wan and the others followed. They came up near the escape pods, all of which were still intact, and reached the bridge. The entire ship tilted in their favor and hastened their steps. The bridge of the ship was as much a massacre as anywhere else. To Obi-Wan's utter frustration, the entire bridge was dark save the dull gray light pouring through the water-streaked viewport.
Obi-Wan went straight to the communications panel. He flipped several switches and pushed a few buttons, then leaned with both hands on the computer. He huffed.
"Dead."
Throughout the bridge, clones pushed buttons and cast him grim glances.
"There must still be power in the ship," Cody said, and he leaned out the bridge doorway. Red warning lights flashed across his face. "My guess is the crash knocked out one of the relays or reactors. We should be able to divert power here, but we'd have to do it from the control room."
Obi-Wan gave a nod.
"Do it—we must send that message. They need to know what's happened here."
"Those of you with control chips, with me!" Cody flagged down half the men and slid out the door, making the climb back up the corridor from which they'd arrived. "The rest of you, stay with the General!"
Obi-Wan's lip quirked up into a half grin. He'd be a general until death, apparently.
Half the group broke off and ascended the ship. The clones that remained with Obi-Wan dropped their malfunctioning blasters and picked up the blasters of their comrades on the ground. One of the men fired at the ceiling, and a blue bolt slammed into the metal with a hiss. Armed, they gathered at the door and beyond into the corridor and stood guard.
Obi-Wan waited at the console. It was one of their vessels and should have open channels to nearby Republic vessels and facilities. If he couldn't reach them, he'd use the few channels he knew specifically to reach out to nearby Jedi and the Temple itself.
The entire bridge flickered to life, and the clones in the doorway shouted in triumph. Obi-Wan exhaled a breath of relief and plucked away, adjusting the computer's frequencies to connect it to any familiar receiving line. Static answered regardless of what he entered. He pushed the signal out to any surrounding Republic-friendly vessels.
"This is former Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi," he said. "Do you read me? Is anyone there? Our vessels on Kamino are under attack and we require assistance." Static answered. He flipped to a Jedi-specific frequency. "This is Obi-Wan Kenobi. Kamino has been attacked. Grievous is here attacking now and we require assistance. Do you hear me?" Blood-chilling static answered. Obi-Wan scrubbed his forehead and leaned heavy on the console. If those nearby could not perceive the signal, there was no way it would reach Coruscant. Instead, he opened the channel to all available frequencies. Grievous already knew they were there. "This is Obi-Wan Kenobi. We require assistance on Kamino. The city is overthrown and Grievous is here. Send reinforcements at once!"
A pop and a fizzle answered him. A voice cracked over the comm, indiscernible, but at least the signal had gone out. It gurgled at him and then returned to static. Several of the clones cheered, and then they screamed as lightsabers cut several of them down. Obi-Wan jumped back and reached for his lightsaber, only to remember Anakin's broken weapon hung at his side instead of his own. Blasters fired in rapid succession, but blue and green lightsabers spun in a whirring cyclone and ripped through them with ease.
The twisting blades severed several of the metal frames holding the ship together, and the bridge tore away from the rest of the ship as the massive vessel split in half. Clones fell to their likely deaths into the space between the two halves of the transport vessel. Obi-Wan staggered backwards into a seat and watched as the sky opened up over his head, the viewport behind him nearly pointed straight down at the building below. The other half of the ship loomed over them, gaping wide open and spitting sparks into the pouring rain.
Standing on the shattered framework at the top end of the bridge was Grievous.