Chapter 32 - To Escape

DISCLAIMER: We (unfortunately) do not own Star Wars. :P

Author's Note: In which Obi-Wan continues his rescue of Luke and Leia, and Ahsoka launches her attack. ;)

Also there are only two more chapters and an epilogue after this. :D

We have finished a second tribute for Vader on our YT channel. Check it out if you're interested. :P No spaces in the link: youtu . be / TrRylvLR0fE

~ Amina Gila

Ahsoka grips the controls of her X-wing tighter as she prepares to revert to real space. Most of the fighters were loaned by the Rebel Alliance, while the pilots are mainly surviving clones who Anakin had put together in the 501st Legion. Aside from them, Ahsoka called upon an old ally with whom she's worked a few times ever since they met through an intermediary around three years ago. Hera Syndulla, also called Spectre-2, is the captain of the ship Ghost. With her is a former Jedi Padawan, Kanan Jarrus, called Spectre-1, who is the co-leader, and the droid Chopper, called Spectre-3. While the Ghost mainly operates on and around Lothal, Ahsoka had specifically asked for their assistance, knowing how resourceful they are.

"Black Squadron get in formation behind me," orders Ahsoka. She suspects that Anakin is the one who gave them that name. These are his pilots, clones who survived and flew beside him in battle for years after the Purge. They're extremely skilled, and she knows she can count on them to watch her back and help get the mission completed.

"Yes, sir," chorus the clones, their X-wings falling into formation behind hers.

"Spectre-1 and Spectre-2, cover us," she adds. "As soon as Obi-Wan leaves the Death Star, helping him escape is the primary concern."

"Understood." Hera's voice is calm, though laced with a determination everyone feels.

Ahsoka turns her fighter towards the trench going around the center of the battle station, pushing it as fast as she can. They don't have much time before TIEs are sent out to stop them; hopefully, Echo was able to deactivate the defenses on the Death Star itself or they're chances will decrease dramatically. Activating her wrist-comm, she tries to contact Obi-Wan.

"Obi-Wan, come in," she calls.

At first, she only hears static, but then he answers, voice strained. "I'm here. We're in a bit of a situation though. Rex, Cody, and Echo were found out. They're making a run for the escape pods, but we don't have any way out of the hanger. Maybe try to cause a diversion…"

"The twins?" she asks worriedly.

"Here and safe," Obi-Wan replies distractedly. "Run!" The command is accompanied by blasterfire, and the connection suddenly cuts out. Ahsoka winces. That's not good. For now, she'll do her best to provide the distraction which Obi-Wan wanted. Without wasting a moment, she dives lower and begins shooting at the external defense mechanisms of the Death Star. If those are currently not operational, disactivating them will be easier and diverting for whoever is in command right now.

**w**

Obi-Wan backs down the hall towards another turbolift at the end, hoping that he and the twins will be able to get inside safely before being overwhelmed. After Rex reported that he and the others had been stopped in their attempts to permanently disactivate the weapons systems and force the hanger door to stay open, Obi-Wan had told them to flee and move towards the escape pods where he would meet them with the twins.

It might help if they weren't being pursued by dozens of stormtrooopers. The Force ripples as the ever-resourceful twins yank the blasters of their pursuers away, momentarily halting the blasterfire which he'd been trying to block. They race down the hallway together, rounding the corner and entering the turbolift at the end of that hall. From here, they only need to make it to the level where the clones probably are, before working their way to an escape pod from there.

Preferably, Obi-Wan would like to at least warn the men on board this battle station of its imminent destruction. Even if they choose not to leave, the knowledge that they could have will at least make him feel better about the million lives that will be destroyed. His reservations of the plan notwithstanding, Anakin was right. This was the only way to save the twins and the galaxy in one move.

When the turbolift doors open again, it's to the sound of blasterfire. Rex and Cody are shooting down stormtroopers as they slowly advance, remaining behind protective cover at all times. But they're still rapidly losing. Obi-Wan springs into the fray, lightsaber igniting as he deflects blaster bolts to injure or kill with maximum efficiency. He hasn't done this much since the Empire was formed, and it's showing. The twins are his top priority now, and he knows that Rex would willingly lay down his life to protect them.

"This isn't working!" Leia calls to him as they press themselves against the wall, opposite Echo. She's right. They need to get past the troopers in order to escape.

A Force wave blasts past him, and all the stormtroopers are hurled down the hallway. Obi-Wan glances over his shoulder to see the twins smirking, expressions triumphant. He can't help but smile down at them briefly before leading everyone down the hallway. Not even a minute later, they're pinned down yet again by more stormtroopers. Worse, they could easily be cornered. Just as he fears they'll be killed or captured, the blast doors around them slam closed, courtesy of Echo. He lets out a breath of relief, giving the clone a nod.

"What will we do now?" asks Luke who has somehow gotten his hands on a blaster. Leia has one as well, now that Obi-Wan is paying attention. At least they're set to stun.

"We'll go down there!" Leia decides pointing at a grate on the side of the wall.

Obi-Wan raises an eyebrow, horror slowly begin to creep up to him. "You do realize that's the garbage chute, right?"

Luke pulls the grate off with the Force and jumps down without looking back. Leia follows him, and Obi-Wan represses a groan. "Skywalkers," he sighs, shaking his head as he slides through the opening. Anakin will never let him live this down.

The clones follow him, and they land in a knee-deep pile of decomposing trash. The smell is horrendous, and Obi-Wan finds that he has to breathe very carefully to avoid inhaling too much of the stench. Why is this his life? How is this his life? Never had he thought he'd end up in a trash compactor with the next generation of Skywalkers when he first took Anakin as his Padawan. He doesn't mind, but he is getting rather old for all these stunts. Or maybe it's just that he likes to claim he is. Dooku was still running around and dueling when he was decades older than Obi-Wan currently is.

"Do you know how we're planning to get out of here?" Rex asks, looking between Obi-Wan and the twins, who seem to be having a telepathic conversation.

Obi-Wan reignites his lightsaber, trying to cut through the maintenance hatch, though he quickly realizes that it's magnetized against such weapons. Wonderful. "Here," offers Luke. Obi-Wan steps back as the boy reaches out with the Force, ripping the hatch away from the wall, leaving an opening through which they can escape. He sincerely hopes that didn't trigger yet another alarm, but he has no intention of sticking around to find out.

With him in the lead, they emerge from the trash compactor one-by-one right as he hears it turn on. Anakin would never have let him live it down if he died in such an inglorious manner, taking the twins with him. Obi-Wan has no doubt that Anakin would find a way to resurrect him just so he can kill him all over again for his sheer stupidity. Shoving his wandering thoughts aside, Obi-Wan turns to Echo. "Can you hack into the communication system, so I can give an open broadcast? We might not be able to save the people here, but the least we can do is warn them."

The clone nods, moving down the hall until he finds a comm center, plugging his arm into the computer port and making some programming alterations. "How long do we have?" Cody queries, blaster held at the ready as he looks around warily.

"Maybe five minutes," Echo replies, as the battle station shakes from a particularly loud explosion on the outside. "It's ready, General."

Five minutes. They can work with that, even if they'll be pushing it a bit close. The escape pods are right in the next hall. Stepping up to the comm station, Obi-Wan pushes the button to begin the broadcast. "Attention! This is Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. This battle station will soon be destroyed. If you wish to save your life, then you must evacuate immediately."

There's nothing more he can do. Exchanging nods with the others, he breaks into a sprint for the escape pods. This time, no stormtroopers are there to stop them. The six of them, crowd into the same pod as they jettison from the Death Star, steering away from it and towards the rebel ships flying around the monstrosity. A freighter flies towards them, latching onto their pod, and they climb from the pod into the larger ship, where they're finally secure.

Activating his comm, Obi-Wan calls for Ahsoka. "We're clear. We've been picked up. You are free to launch your attack."

"Roger that, Obi-Wan," Ahsoka replies, a hint of steely determination and relief in her voice. It's time for the final showdown to begin.