Outflanked

As the name of the dreaded Separatist leader echoed through the cavern, the room went momentarily silent. Obi-Wan was suddenly very aware of his own breathing. He felt cold fear beginning to creep into the minds of those around him. His eyes wandered to the cells that held the imprisoned clones. It was all clear to him now. The enemy's trap was well laid, and they were caught in it.

"Sir?" It was Cody who broke the tense silence, his helmet under his arm, looking expectantly at Obi-Wan. The Jedi turned his eyes from Cody to the north tunnels, where the distant echo of footfalls were already audible. Obi-Wan looked back at Cody. It was time to test the underground expertise of the 212th.

"We have to seal the north tunnels," Obi-Wan said. "Anything to slow them down." Cody nodded.

"On it, sir." He pulled his helmet back on and began to shout orders at his clone troopers, who hurried to place detonators around the tunnel entrances.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan said, turning to his apprentice, "get those cells open, we need to evacuate the prisoners. Commander Syndulla will assist you." Anakin gave his master a quick nod and gestured to the Twi'leks to follow his lead. He ignited his lightsaber and began to cut down the cell doors. Cham and his troops began to blast the locks on the other doors and haul out the imprisoned clones.

"What about the rest of us?" KeAnn asked, watching the collapsed cave entrances tremor as the Separatist troops behind them tried to break through. Obi-Wan knew it would only be a matter of time before they did just that.

"Prepare for imminent attack," Obi-Wan ordered. He was sure he could now hear the sounds of a mining drill coming from inside the sealed tunnels.

"We can't defend this position, we have to get out of here," KeAnn said, her tone laced with urgency.

"I will not leave these people to die." Obi-Wan said. KeAnn glared at him, her jaw clenched. Obi-Wan glowered back. He wasn't going to change his mind, and she knew it.

"I really hope you know what you're doing, Kenobi," she said, still staring daggers at him, but she moved off and began organizing her Strikers into defensive positions. Obi-Wan looked on as Cody and his team blew the entrance of the main north tunnel, sending a cloud of dust through the cavern. Within minutes the five northernmost tunnels were blocked by walls of rocky rubble.

"That's enough, Cody," Obi-Wan said as the clones moved to place their charges on a sixth tunnel. "Leave the rest open, we have to hope that our troops on the surface can hold the other entrances. Post scouts in the adjacent tunnels."

On the other side of the cavern, the cells were now empty and the clone prisoners huddled together, surrounded by the Twi'leks. Obi-Wan turned to Cham. "Commander Syndulla, I need you and your people to escort the prisoners to the surface. Stay in the farthest tunnel on the south side." Cham looked around at the other members of the assault team, positioned around the cavern, their blasters trained on the tunnel entrances, ready for a fight.

"We do not wish to retreat from battle," he said.

"Believe me, there is plenty of fighting to be done topside." Syndulla continued to look skeptical. "There is no dishonor in this task, commander," Obi-Wan reassured him. After a moment, Cham nodded. He called to his troops in his own tongue, and soon the Twi'leks and clone prisoners were on the move, making slow progress toward the surface. The group moved slowly, hindered by the prisoners, many of whom were in such poor condition they could barely walk. Obi-Wan saw three Twi-leks struggling to contain Rex, who was still resisting his restraints.

"It's going to take them some time to get out of here," Anakin said, coming to stand beside Obi-Wan. A series of loud bangs and tremors came from the other side of the cavern, where the Separatist forces were now trying to break through. "Maybe more time than we have."

"We can hold them off," Obi-Wan said, more confidently than he actually felt. No sooner had he said it than one of the clone scouts Cody had sent into the still open tunnels came sprinting back into the cavern.

"They're coming through!" the clone shouted as he ran up to Obi-Wan. "Sir, they're breaking through the walls between the tunnels!"

"Sir, we can block the next tunnel," Cody offered.

"If we keep that up it won't be long before we're trapped down here," Anakin pointed out.

"No, Cody, Anakin is right, we can't cut off anymore escape routes." More explosions emanated from within the northernmost tunnel that was still open. They didn't have long now. Obi-Wan's eyes wandered the cavern as he tried to think of a way forward. As he looked around, his vision settled on the charges set all around the cavern, the charges he had ordered placed there before Grievous' attack. A plan began to form in his mind.

"Cody, do you have the detonator for the charges we set earlier?" Cody nodded and produced a small, silver cylinder from his utility belt and handing it to Obi-Wan. "Take your clones, cover Cham and the prisoners, we'll deal with Grievous."

"I suppose you'd like us to stay and keep you company?" KeAnn asked, coming over to Obi-Wan as she watched Cody and the others go. It was only the Strikers and the Jedi now.

"We have to give Cham more time," Obi-Wan said. "The longer we can keep the battle in the cavern, the better their chance of escape. You and your Strikers, you're the best fighters I have."

"You're not going to flatter me into accepting a suicide mission," she said stonily.

"It isn't a suicide mission," he insisted. The sounds coming from the tunnel were growing louder. "This is a small space, relatively speaking," Obi-Wan said, gesturing around them, "they can't bring a whole army down here. If we can just keep them away from the south tunnels long enough for the others to get clear, we can follow them up and blow this place," Obi-Wan explained, holding up Cody's detonator.

KeAnn still looked skeptical and seemed about to protest, but she was interrupted by a resounding boom. They all looked in the direction of the sound. It had come from the open tunnel closest to the ones the clones had sealed off. A chill ran across Obi-Wan's skin. The enemy was here.

Instinctively, Anakin dove behind an upturned metal table. He was shortly joined by KeAnn and Obi-Wan. His heart was racing. He could hear the unmistakable metal clang that signaled the approach of General Grievous, as well as the thunderous footsteps of what sounded like hundreds of soldiers.

"Keep out of sight, we'll draw them into the open," KeAnn whispered to them. She ducked out from their hiding spot and ran to another section of the cavern. Anakin poked his head over the table, squinting in the darkness. Beside him, Obi-Wan did the same. It was very difficult to see, but he could just make out the ivory outline of Grievous' metal exoskeleton as he came into the cavern, followed by row after row of Separatist clones.

"Well, now we know where all the clones from this facility went," he whispered to Obi-Wan.

"Indeed," Obi-Wan whispered back. As Grievous surveyed the dark cavern, the two Jedi slunk back down behind their cover. Obi-Wan held Cody's detonator out to Anakin. "Anakin, if it comes to it, you get the others out and set off those charges. Do you understand?" Anakin blinked at Obi-Wan, sharking his head.

"I'm not going to -" he started, but Obi-Wan cut him off.

"Do you understand?" Anakin stared hard at Obi-Wan for a moment, but he could see his master was not going to back down.

"Yes, master." He lowered his eyes, resigned, and took the detonator, clipping it to his utility belt. Obi-Wan gave him a brief nod of approval. Then, the first shots rang out.

Anakin wasn't sure if the Strikers or the Separatists started the firing, but as soon as one blaster went off the entire chamber suddenly filled with red laser bolts, bouncing dangerously off the rocky walls. He and Obi-Wan ignited their lightsabers and emerged from their cover, deflecting blaster bolts back at the enemy.

As soon as Grievous saw the two Jedi, he headed for them, spinning two electrostaffs in his mechanical arms, his MagnaGuards in tow. Anakin raised his blade and centered himself in the Force. Time seemed to slow slightly as he channeled the energy field around him. As Grievous closed in on them, he knew exactly when and where to strike.

Springing forward, Anakin jammed his blue blade into the whirling rotation of one of the electrostaffs and stopped it cold, the two weapons sizzling as they made contact. Beside him, Obi-Wan did the same, forcing the cyborg general to meet them blow for blow. The two Jedi pressed forward in sync, forcing Grievous back, but then the MagnaGuards attacked.

Anakin broke contact with Grievous' weapon as he dodged out of the way of the electrostaff of a MagnaGuard. He shifted his offensive, leaving Obi-Wan to contend with the general alone as he took on the droid guards. They were well programmed, but no match for a Jedi. Anakin dispatched the first one with a well-placed cut to its metallic neck, then used the Force to send the other soaring into the rock wall, crumpling it.

Enemy clones continued to pour into the cavern. Anakin could see the Strikers spread across the space, a classic tactic to make their numbers seem larger than they were. A few of them had climbed up onto the platforms above to serve as snipers. Smoke grenades were going off everywhere, making it harder for the Separatists to get their bearings. It was a valiant effort, but Anakin knew it was only a matter of time before their small force was overwhelmed.

Clone troopers swarmed into the space between him and where Obi-Wan and Grievous were fighting, but Anakin cut his way through, his blade sizzling and slicing through anything that got in his way. Their best chance to survive was to destroy the enemy's leader. And more than that, he knew that if they could kill Grievous, it might very well mean the end of the war.

Caught in the midst of the firefight, Anakin sprinted up a half-collapsed platform and leapt across the cavern, somersaulting through the air to land directly behind General Grievous. Refocusing his energy, he swung his blade mightily at his enemy, and Grievous only just got one of his electrostaffs around in time. Taking advantage of the distraction, Obi-Wan lunged in and Grievous growled in pain as one of his metal claws clattered to the floor.

Infuriated, the cyborg kicked out at the Jedi and caught Obi-Wan in the chest, sending him flying. Anakin felt his anger threatening to boil over as Obi-Wan hit the ground, hard. He slashed viciously at Grevious, forcing the general toward the back corner of the room, but in his haste he miscalculated his next blow. Grievous dodged it and came at Anakin like lightning, grabbing the young Jedi's wrist.

Anakin yelped in pain as the metal claw closed around his arm. Grievous' machinations did not allow his face to change expression, but Anakin could see the hateful glee in the eyes of the Kaleesh warrior as he began to twist Anakin's arm. His lightsaber dropped from his hand and rolled away into the darkness.

With another claw, Grievous grabbed his throat. Anakin clutched at Grevious' hold with his free hand, trying to pry away his enemy's lethal fingers. Spots appeared in Anakin's vision, but just as he was about to pass out, a memory flashed before him, a memory of his mother. He saw her, standing over a smuggler who didn't want to pay her for a shipment, her fingers outstretched toward him, and the man pulling desperately at his collar, unable to breathe.

He focused on Grievous' windpipe and clenched his fist. He watched as the general's yellow eyes went wide with fear. The general's grip loosened and he dropped Anakin, who fell to the floor with a thud, breaking his concentration and releasing Grevious from the choke-hold. Grievous jumped on him, pummeling Anakin with his metal fists. Anakin threw up his arms, trying to protect his head from the onslaught, but then Grievous suddenly flew off of him.

There was a flash of blue light as Obi-Wan leapt past him and charged Grievous, who grabbed his electrostaff to defend himself. Anakin pushed himself up, wincing in pain. He grabbed the blaster rifle off a dead clone beside him and aimed the weapon at Grievous, but he didn't dare fire for fear he would hit Obi-Wan.

"Skywalker!" He heard KeAnn call out to him and turned just in time to see a shining metal tube spinning through the air toward him. He reached out his hand and caught it. He'd thought she'd found his lightsaber, but the hilt was unfamiliar in his hand and when he ignited the weapon, the blade glowed a bright green. It wasn't his weapon, but it would do.

He ran toward Obi-Wan and Grievous and rejoined the fight. He fell back into the Force and into sync with Obi-Wan. They worked together, striking and parrying, forcing Grievous to play offense and defense simultaneously. With a particularly forceful strike, Anakin knocked the general off balance, and he took the opportunity to grab his enemy's electrostaff with his free hand. As Grievous struggled to free his weapon from Anakin's grasp, he created the perfect opening for Obi-Wan, and Anakin saw it.

"Obi-Wan, now!" he shouted, holding onto the shaft of the electrostaff for dear life. Obi-Wan saw it too, that Grievous was leaning back precariously, exposing his torso, the last remaining portion of his living self apart from his eyes and brain. Anakin smelled searing flesh as Obi-Wan struck true, slicing Grievous right through the middle.

For a moment, Grievous stood, stunned. Then, slowly, he reached out toward his Jedi enemies. They both stepped back a pace and as he stretched toward them his mechanical body collapsed, crumpling into two halves on the floor.

"Come on!" KeAnn shouted to them from across the cavern. The place was nearly overrun with clones. Their leader was lost, but they continued to fight. Anakin could see KeAnn and the surviving Strikers at the entrance to the main south tunnel. He could see that the Strikers had now sealed off every tunnel but that one. He and Obi-Wan ran toward her together, fighting their way through the clone forces who fell in droves beneath their Jedi blades.

"Let's blow this place and get out of here," Anakin said as they came to the tunnel. Tossing KeAnn's lightsaber back to her, he reached for the detonator on his belt, but his hand came up empty. It wasn't there.

From the far side of the cavern, he heard a rasping, cruel laugh. An ivory claw reached into the dirt and dragged what remained of General Grievous into the pale light. In his other claw, he held the detonator.

"You lose, Jedi," Grievous wheezed. Anakin launched himself toward Grievous, but it was too late. The Separatist general's metal finger closed over the ignition switch, and the whole world exploded.

"Anakin, no!" Obi-Wan reached out to try and stop Anakin from going back into the cavern, but something grabbed the back of his tunic and yanked him away just as a massive pile of rocks collapsed where he had stood only a moment earlier. He fell back against something softer than the ground.

"Get off!" KeAnn said, and he found himself unceremoniously pushed onto the hard rock floor. Dust choked everything. He couldn't see, and his ears were still ringing from the explosion. He coughed, his lungs desperate to clear themselves of the debris-filled air. Struggling to his feet, he moved forward until he found the wall of the tunnel, which he leaned against, waiting for the dust to clear. Someone appeared next to him.

"KeAnn?" he asked through the mouthful of dust. He thought he saw a nod.

"We have to keep moving," she said between coughs. Obi-Wan shook his head.

"I have to get to Anakin." The dust was finally beginning to settle and he could now see KeAnn's dirt-caked face and the exasperated expression on it.

"Do you see that pile of rocks? It's not going to happen."

"He's still alive," he insisted. Before she could argue, one of her Striker joined them, his wrist-lamp bathing them in light.

"Commander, we're all accounted for, except Thaniel and Xon who went down in the firefight."

"Dix, take everyone up through the tunnel," KeAnn instructed him. "Find Bail and tell him we've got someone trapped down here, we need a drill or something."

"Right away, commander." The man moved off and Obi-Wan turned toward the wall of rock that stood between him and his apprentice. He was sure Anakin was alive on the other side. He could feel it.

"Kenobi!" His wristlink suddenly exploded with noise and static, interrupting his thoughts. "Come in, General Kenobi! Are you there?" It was the voice of Bail Organa.

"Director, I'm here," he responded. "Most of the team is out, but Anakin is trapped inside the main chamber. We could certainly use your help."

"Negative. We can't get to you where you are, our position is overrun," Bail said, his tone frantic. "Our bombers are incoming. They have orders to target the tunnel openings."

"Blast it, Bail, tell them we're still down here!" KeAnn said, grabbing Obi-Wan's wrist and shouting into the comm.

"They know," Bail said darkly. "The order came from Palpatine himself." KeAnn groaned, turning away and leaning with both hands against the tunnel wall.

"How long do we have?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Ten minutes at most."

Anakin came to in near darkness. His left leg throbbed painfully and when he tried to move it the pain only increased. He squinted into the darkness, trying to see if there was a way out. A few pinpricks of light streamed in from above where the top of the cavern was beginning to give way. The light glinted on something metallic a few meters away. It was his lightsaber.

Reaching out his hand, he called on the Force, and the hilt of his weapon soared across the cavern and into his free hand. He ignited the blade, bathing the cavern in an eery blue. His heart sank as his lightsaber illuminated the massive pile of rocky rubble blocking the tunnel.

His left leg was a mangled mess. He was certain the bones below his knee were shattered. He wasn't going to walk out of here on his own power, even if he could reopen the tunnel. The cavern tremored. It wouldn't be long before the entire thing collapsed. He dragged himself toward the sealed tunnel, gritting his teeth through the pain. He pulled himself up by leaning on a large rock at the edge of the rockslide, careful not to put any of his weight on his injured leg.

Anakin closed his eyes, attempting to center himself in the Force. The calm he sought proved elusive. He reached out to the rocks in front of the tunnel, willing them to move. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead from the effort. The pebbles around him began to shift and rise, but no matter how hard he concentrated, the large boulders he most needed to move remained firmly wedged in place.

He opened his eyes, gasping to catch his breath. He felt his chest tighten with panic. His mind raced frantically. He had to get out of here. Clenching his hand in a fist, he angrily slammed the wall of rubble as he cried out in frustration.

He thought of Padme. Her image swam before him, her sleeping form in the morning as he lay awake next to her, watching the first rays of Scipio's sun stream in, dappling her face in light, making her chestnut curls shimmer.

The creeping sensation of fear now became a flood. He couldn't lose her, he couldn't die here without seeing her again. He had been a fool to ever leave her. Regret washed over him as he thought back to the day he decided to join the Jedi, and quickly that regret turned to anger.

Who knew how long it would take them to find him? Perhaps they never would. He knew the Jedi would leave him here to die if they had to. His frustration flared at the thought. No matter how strong his connection to the Force, no matter how skilled he was in combat, he was still just another dispensable cog in the wheel of war. It was up to him to find a way out, by whatever means necessary. He knew what he had to do.

Closing his eyes once more, he tapped back into the power of the Force, but this time into a part of it he usually tried to shut out. He sought out the cold center of his anger that always burned within him, the place where he held his most painful memories: his father's murder, Owen's departure, and the death of his mother at the hands of Darth Maul. He took his feelings of powerlessness, despair, and abandonment and channeled them into a powerful rage. This time, when the rocks began to shift, they did not stop.

"Obi-Wan, we can't stay here," KeAnn said, trying to coax him away and towards the safety of the surface.

"There has to be a way," he muttered, mostly to himself. "There's always a way."

"That rock pile has to be three meters thick. No one can move something like that. Not you, not me, probably not even Master Yoda," she said. Still, he did not move. He felt her hand on his shoulder. "Obi-Wan, there's nothing you can do for him now," she said gently. Then, the wall began to move. Obi-Wan stepped back as the tunnel began to shake. The rocks were moving, slowly but surely, as though they were being scooped up by an invisible hand on the other side.

"Are you doing that?" KeAnn asked nervously. Obi-Wan shook his head. Then, he felt it, the power on the other side of the wall. It was immense, the strength of it shocked him, but it was also laced with darkness. It felt as though a terrible shadow was cast over the very essence of the Force around them. He looked over at KeAnn and from the look on her face he knew she sensed it too.

The rubble blocking the tunnel raced away from them back into the cavern, and as the path cleared, Obi-Wan could see Anakin, propped against a boulder, his hand outstretched, the Force swirling around him like a storm, carrying thousands of pebbles and rocks of all sizes with it. Then, suddenly, the rocks dropped thunderously to the ground, and Obi-Wan rushed forward as his apprentice collapsed.

"Anakin!" He ran to the young man and knelt at his side. He put a hand on his chest and felt Anakin's chest was still moving, but his eyes were closed and he looked pale. His left leg was an awful mess of bone and blood.

Moving quickly, Obi-Wan grabbed two nearby blaster rifles and positioned them on either side of broken leg. KeAnn handed him a few scrap bandages from her med pouch and he tied the rifles to the leg to make a splint. Anakin groaned as Obi-Wan pulled each bandage tight.

"Hang on, Anakin, just hang on," he said.

"Padme…" Anakin murmured, his eyes still closed. Obi-Wan froze and looked over at KeAnn. She glanced back at him, but then shook her head.

"He's delusional," she said. She took a syrette of symoxin from her med pouch and jabbed it into Anakin's shoulder. "Can you carry him?"

"Yes, help me get him up." KeAnn grabbed Anakin under the arms and heaved him up as Obi-Wan bent beneath him, getting him into position over his shoulder. He straightened out carefully, making sure not to dislodge his passenger.

"If we run, we can still beat the bombers," KeAnn said, checking her chrono. Obi-Wan shifted Anakin slightly, making sure he was secure.

"I'm right behind you."