Chapter Seven
How are you so sure that there is something on this mountain? Obi-Wan signed to her.
Ana looked back over at Obi-Wan as they took a break on the next large ledge of the mountain. Ana looked over at him and answered as she watched Boil, Waxer, Cinders, and Cody help the other clones to the ledge.
"The Force woke me up and I immediately looked this way. Something is over here. I believe that." Ana answered him for a smile, "trust in the Force, right?"
His eyes narrowed slightly, a smile on his face and his head tilted a bit. He hadn't said that to her yet, although many Masters had said it her whole life at the Temple. It almost seemed odd to come from a Padawan almost telling him that. Like a twist on him.
Ana looked up and felt the edge of the mountain again.
"Besides, I wouldn't have had us scale up a mountain if I wasn't sure," Ana told him, turning to look at him and giving a smile.
She looked up and noticed a hole in the rock. The edge of a tunnel that looked out. She saw the dead plant of what was maybe an old moss-like substance at the edge, hanging out and dangling.
"I see that Mu'likats have left the mountain," Ana commented more to herself as she looked up at the tunnel.
Obi-Wan looked up and saw the tunnel as well. He had seen a couple of those around the mountain as they scaled. He was sure he saw some in the ground on the actual path before it ended to a straight uphill climb.
"Yes." he answered her as he signed, "it seems they haven't been here for quite some time."
"We're not going to have to worry about animals biting at us do we?" Cody asked, signing as well.
Ana shook her head, smirking slightly.
"No. I'd say they've been gone for at least five years." Ana answered before pointing to the dangling dead vegetation. "That's their food source. They would basically take seeds of it that grew inside the mountain and they would bring it out to the edges like that so it could grow more. That's what they would feed off of. They would take water, hold it in their mouths and bring it up to the vegetation to maintain it," Ana told him. "If the vegetation is dead then it means that they haven't maintained it. If Mu'likats were actively living on the mountain that would grow all along the entrance of the tunnel and part of the side of the mountain. If it's this dead then it has been dying for a long time."
She looked back at Obi-Wan and the other clones. She guessed that Obi-Wan's 'huh' face was similar to what all the other clones had under their helmets. She suddenly felt a little self-conscious and shrugged.
"Fun fact of the day I guess." Ana answered, a little more to herself before looking up and continuing to climb again. She wasn't particularly fond of climbing because she couldn't really see the others. She was constantly looking over to make sure that Obi-Wan hadn't said anything. And even if he did, she had to make sure she saw his lips move correctly since she couldn't sign. And still, it was hard to focus on climbing when she was constantly moving her head. She just hoped that if a danger was coming then she would be able to sense it in the Force or Obi-Wan could try to quickly connect to her though the Force since she couldn't hear their warning. However, her and Obi-Wan may need to be closer and have a better relationship for that to work.
Luckily, Ana made it to the next edge without any problems. She looked around to see Obi-Wan stand beside her soon after with Cody not too far behind. They were close to the top of the ridge so much so that Ana would need to stand on some rocks a bit above to be able to see over it. She looked up and went forward again, confident as she took about four steps up, making sure her footing was good and that she wouldn't fall.
"I think that this is the best we can do without going over completely. If someone is close on this side they may see us if we go over." Ana commented as she pulled herself up.
She looked back down to see their response. She saw Obi-Wan start to come up as well and he told her, looking up at her so she could see his lips, "good idea."
Ana reached up and her hand hits the edge of the mountainside. She could feel the dead leaves against her hands. She smiles and lifts herself up effortlessly before finding another couple of rocks on the side. Finding her balance, she lifts herself lightly again looks over the side of the mountain, her eyebrows immediately raising.
She looked back down at them, noticing that Obi-Wan was starting to climb up as well, and told them, "there is definitely something here."
Ana watched Cody start to move up, Boil, Waxer, Coin and Peg following close behind. Ana turned to look on her other side to see Obi-Wan stand beside her, making sure his footing was secure before looking himself. He looked forward and saw what she did. It had to be yards away, but on the top of the mountain, at a lower level of the slope at the top was something like large black things in a group. A rather large group too.
Obi-Wan nodded and Ana looked at the other side of hero see Cody and the rest of the clones start to move up and look over the cliff as well. Ana saw him get out some small pair of specs before looking towards it.
"I can't quite tell what it is," Ana saw him say.
"Well, whatever or whoever it is they must be hiding something," Ana answered.
She saw a motion beside her and looked over to see that Cody had taken off his helmet and set it on the ground so that she could see his lips.
"Are we sure it's a threat though?" he asked them.
"Up here? People wouldn't come up here to go camping." Ana said, "unless I'm missing a lot of things that you all normally see in war. To me this looks like they are purposely trying to hide something."
She looked towards Obi-Wan and saw him nod, "I'm inclined to agree. Although I can't specifically see what is over there, we better contact Master Mundi and tell him to be on alert in case it is a small Separatist group."
"How can we know for sure?" she turned to see Cody ask.
Everyone looked at each other for a moment, thinking before Ana got an idea. She turned to look at the ground and saw what she was looking for not too far away. Only a couple of feet away was the hole that this dead wildlife would have surrounded years ago.
"I…may have an idea." Ana commented, staring at the hole once more before looking between Obi-Wan and Cody. Seeing their confused and intrigued looks, she nodded towards the hole, "I'd be able to fit and probably slide through."
Obi-Wan raised his eyebrows before looking at the hole. She looked between them for an answer before she saw Cody comment, "you can't be serious."
Ana shrugged, "well, it'd allow us to get close without being seen. There really isn't anything for us to hide behind as we get closer, and a ship going overhead will raise a lot of suspicion or an attack before we would want it to…right?"
She ended the last statement as a question, now slightly nervous about telling them her idea. Maybe she was going too far? What would she know anyway? She was a Padawan on her first mission. They had the experience and the skill to make strategies. Maybe she was trying too hard.
She looked at Obi-Wan to follow his lead. She could tell that he was debating about the idea in his head. Maybe she hadn't made a terrible suggestion after all. Obi-Wan looked at her and looked her up and down.
"You would be small enough… they are rather large around their stomachs…" Obi-Wan vocalized his thoughts before looking back at the hole.
"I can navigate my way through so I know I'm still going in a straight line there." Ana told him, holding up her arm to where her com and linked in navigator were.
Obi-Wan stared at her for another moment, thinking before he commented, "it does seem like the best option to keep a low profile…"
Ana grinned and looked over at the hole.
"I can get in, but it'll take me a while to get there," Ana told him.
"While you're making your way there we'll contact the others and Master Mundi for them to be ready for an attack if we need to call it." Obi-Wan answered.
Ana nodded and looked at the group of black and grey things. They were far away enough that with just their eyes, even droids, wouldn't be able to see her unless there were some who saw motion and zoomed in. So, she would have to be quick if they were looking around. She looked at her navigation device and noted the direction she would have to go in. She knew that the tunnels would twist, she just had to make sure she would go in the right direction. Ana nodded once to assure herself an Obi-Wan before she quickly pushed herself up and over the edge. She kept herself on her stomach as she moved forward so that she wouldn't make too much motion if they had scanners.
Moving forward, quickly, Ana made her way to the hole before pushing herself down and through it. It was at a weird angle to go down. Her head already bumped into the top, dirt getting into her hair and knotting it out of the ponytail already, but she didn't care. She kept her head low, carefully moving into the hole.
Ana shimmed into the hole. Going down at the angle she was in was a bit hard. The hole had enough room for her to move her elbows and put her head up a bit, but she felt herself become a bit stuck. Trying to pull herself forward, she found that she would need some help before going forward.
"Can someone push my feet?" Ana called up.
The Padawan didn't know who it was, but some time later she felt someones hands on her boots and pushed her forward enough that she could pull herself down until she was on the flatter surface of the tunnels. It was a bit roomier there, but still not enough for her to crawl that well.
"Thanks," she called back up.
Well, trying not to be the 'awkward new Padawan' Ship had officially sailed.
Ana pushed herself through the tunnel, going forward on her stomach. She was glad she chose such thick and durable material because she was sure that soon any other shirt would had ripped. Her old robes would have done that. It was one more reason why she was glad to be out of them.
A buzzing went off on her wrist and she looked down to see that her comlink was blinking. She pressed the button and saw Obi-Wan's figure as she crawled forward on her stomach. She noticed that they were all standing and she guessed that they had moved down to sit on the ledge where they could stay hidden.
"You aren't stuck are you?" Obi-Wan asked and signed.
"Me? Nah." Ana answered with a small smile, still going forward, the darkness coming closer to her as she left the hole behind, "it's actually a little roomy in here."
Ana stopped and looked at the side of the wall and made an arrow back to mark her trail. The last thing she needed was to get lost…well next to getting stuck. She looked at Obi-Wan again and crawled forward.
"I can tell." Obi-Wan said with an amused expression on his face.
"Well, I can move easily enough. It'll take me a bit to get to that camp at the rate I'm going though. I also can't see ahead too far." Ana answered him.
"If you can, you can come back out. We'll find another way." Obi-Wan told her.
"I'd have to keep going to find a place to turn around. I'm already down here and moving. Give me a bit to see if I can get close enough to identify what's going on." Ana told him, still moving forward.
"I'm more worried about you not getting enough air." Obi-Wan answered.
"I'm breathing fine. I'm not noticing a deterioration," she answered, "Mu'likats make a lot of air holes."
"What about the walls caving in?" Obi-Wan asked.
Ana stopped and stared at him before looking up and around her at the walls of the tunnel.
"Truth be told I didn't think of that till now…but everything seems rock hard." Ana answered, moving again.
"It's sand…" Cody signed awkwardly.
"Hard sand," Ana pointed out, "years and layers of sandstone. It hasn't collapsed yet."
Obi-Wan nodded and grinned.
"Give me a little bit to get down the slope. I'll let you know if anything changes on my end." Ana told them, still moving forward.
"We'll do the same." Obi-Wan signed to her.
Ana nodded and watched the holo end, Obi-Wan's image disappearing. She sighed and turned on the lights on her wrists so that she could see forward in the pitch black. Here we go, she thought, moving forward as she moved as fast as she could in the tunnel.
Every once in a while she would turn in the tunnel or would have to go down another. She used her navigator as most as she could to see which one seemed to be going the direction she was heading. When she came at a crossroads where it seemed that the two tunnels or so she would stop and try to find if she could feel where the air flow was coming from before making her decision. Very quickly, she found that her face was dirty with the mud and sand along with her hair, while she could feel some of her clothing start to rip and get damp from the sand, but she still moved on. The most annoying thing about it to her was that sand was getting in her boots, but she would live with that.
As she crawled along every once in a while she would make markings in the side. It was only an arrow pointing in the direction she came and which tunnel to take, but it would lead her where she was coming from so she wouldn't get lost again.
A little bit down the tunnel Ana almost fell forward after a sudden drop and she wobbled a bit before regaining her balance as she looked down at the hole that went in deep, a sudden 90 degree drop. Ana caught her breath, calming herself from the sudden fear before she looked across. She could make it if she reached far enough. Carefully, Ana moved herself forward, keeping her sense of balance as she kept reaching for the edge on the other side. She was glad that the clone troopers, and Obi-Wan for that matter, weren't down here to see this. She was sure she made an embarrassing enough impression just going in here. She didn't want to imagine them watching her as she reached out as far as she could, sure that she was stressing the muscles in her arm as her fingers moved up and down to try and reach the edge. When she finally did reach the other side, she smiled and pulled herself over more, keeping her balance as her arms gripped the edge of the other side as best as she could. She pulled herself over more, moving her arms as well to keep balance and to hold base to the other side.
After carefully making her way across, holding herself up as her feet dangled down a bit, she made her way forward again. She could feel the cuts and irritated dry skin on her bare arms as she crawled again the sand and stones.
She didn't know how far she had made it or how long she was there, but she felt the vibration against her arm again fro the comlink. She pressed it and kept moving forward. She saw the image of Obi-Wan, and the other clones surrounding him as he talked to her.
"How are you making out?" Obi-Wan asked as he signed.
"Good. As far as I can tell I'm still going in the right direction. How long have I been down here?" Ana asked.
"A little over an hour," he answered.
That was interesting. It didn't seem that long to Ana, but I guess she was the one who wasn't idling in wait. It didn't seem that she gone too far in an hour, but to be fair she was going blindly through tunnels.
"We contacted Master Mundi. He's ready with the rest of our numbers if we need it." Obi-Wan told her.
Ana nodded, still moving.
"I haven't seen anything yet. I should be getting somewhat close though. I had to go in different directions before going forward again." Ana tried to explain, "and remind me to show you what the correct sign for 'hour' is."
She pushed forward until stopping. There wasn't even enough time for the fear that she was taking too long to move in her before she felt it. Her other hand moved to the side of the tunnel to feel it.
"Perhaps I spoke too soon." Ana observed, moving her hand palm-up so it was flat at the top of the tunnel.
"What is it?" Obi-Wan asked.
"I can feel vibrations. They're faint but they're there. I'm getting close," Ana answered him. Ana's brow's furrowed, "it feels metallic…or strong. Too strong for just people. And some of the movements feel like wheels."
"Keep going forward. See what you can find," Obi-Wan told her.
"Will do," Ana agreed, the holo ending soon after.
Ana kept pushing forward, going a little bit more slowly as she used one hand to have her fingers trace the wall so that she could still feel the vibrations and which direction they were coming from.
With each inch she made, she could feel the vibrations getting larger, thicker. She didn't want to get too close. Going under them could put off some sensors if it was Separatists, or she wouldn't have a place to look up anyway. So, it was time to try and find an opening to see just how far away she really was. Either way, from the vibrations she could tell that there was definitely a lot of machinery.
As she got closer, she would put up her hand to try and feel for the air flow. She got to a fork in the tunnels and looked down both. Both sides were pitch black, but she could feel the airflow coming from the right. So, she turned and went down that way after making another arrow to tell her where to go. She had went past a couple of openings in the top of the tunnels, but they were too far back and she knew she was too far away to see anything clearly.
As she moved down the tunnel, she started to see a light in the distance. Ana smiled and pushed forward a little faster. She could still feel the vibrations near her. She knew that she would be close enough to see what was there clearly, she just hoped that they wouldn't see her.
Once at the hole, Ana looked up the hole for a couple of minutes. She didn't see anything but the sky and knew it was a good sign. No shadows came by, she didn't see anything go past the hole, and she knew that the source of the vibrations were a bit away. So, feeling it was safe, she carefully moved forward a bit more and carefully brought herself up until she was in a sitting position with her head hung a little low. Very carefully, she moved her head up out of the hole, blinking and cringing slightly at how bright it was in the light with no cover like she was in the tunnels. When she could see again, she looked around carefully, only bringing her head up enough so that her eyes were over the side, but just barely. They were almost level with the ground as she looked.
And there it was, not too far away, what she was looking for.
A very large group of battle droids and other droids that she didn't recognize, but knew by the markings on them that they were from a Separatist fleet. There had to be over a hundred easily and it surprised her. Why were all of them there? It wasn't enough for an invasion, but it seemed like a bit much for just a security measure.
Ana moved back down and scrunched herself back in the hole before going to her com-unit to contact her Master. Soon enough, Obi-Wan and the other clone appeared as small blue figures in front of her.
"Did you find anything?" he asked.
The redhead nodded, "oh yes."
She carefully moved the unit up and changed the area that could be seen to the other side so that Obi-Wan and the others could see what she saw. She turned slightly so she could see Obi-Wan signing to her.
"Those are definitely Separatists…" Obi-Wan agreed.
"Why do you think there are so many?" she asked him.
He shrugged.
"A number of reasons." Obi-Wan said.
Ana watched him look at Cody and knew that they were in conversation before Obi-Wan looked back at Ana.
"Try and get back here as quick as you can. We'll contact Master Mundi and have his forces and the rest of ours reinforce us. We can come up with another plan." Obi-Wan told her.
Ana nodded and moved back into the tunnel. She thought for a moment and asked, "actually…I may have another plan."
Obi-Wan looked impressed.
"Do tell," he encouraged her.
"Is it possible for Mundi to come down without the Separatists knowing?" Ana asked, "If I can meet them on the other side and they can get me some explosives then I can set them up around and under them. Once we detonate them then it will destroy most of them and weaken their numbers for when we go in, plus it will be fast in case they try to call reinforcements."
Obi-Wan smiled.
"You are quite good at this," he complimented.
"Only if my plan will work." Ana answered.
"I'll worry about that. You get to the other side of the mountain," Obi-Wan told her, "and I would go around, not underneath those droids."
Ana nodded, "got it."
Obi-Wan ended the holo and Ana moved back into the tunnel fully, laying down on her stomach and she began to go forward down the tunnel, hoping to find a way to turn enough a way. She hoped she was at least making a good impression.