The Ghost flew as close to the academy as it could get without being detected, navigating a labyrinthine stone canyon that the basement levels of the school were built into. It was stormy weather, and in the cover of night with the rain hammering down, the ship blended into the grey surroundings and landed on a flat expanse of rock without a hitch. Powering down, the crew inside, who had been discussing their strategy for the rescue on the hyperspace journey, rose from their seats in the cockpit.
The plan was simple. Obi-Wan would be heading out with Mace and Artoo to infiltrate the academy and rescue the twins. In his cloak, Obi-Wan was carrying a tracking beacon that he would activate once they had secured the children and found a place to exit. Hera and Chopper would then pilot the Ghost to their location to pick them up, with Caleb and Sabé as their firepower to cover their exit.
Heading down the boarding ramp into the rain, Obi-Wan and Mace pulled up their hoods and melted into the shadows as thunder boomed overhead. Artoo rolled along behind them with the occasional wary beep as they headed closer to the academy's basement levels.
After some time, they found a maintenance door nestled into the rock and Anakin's trusty astromech made quick work of slicing the computer terminal, rotating his extendable claw to extract the information they needed.
"Search for Luke and Leia Kayla, or try Skywalker if that doesn't bring up anything."
The droid beeped in understanding and continued to search as the Jedi Masters brought their hands up into the sleeves of their cloaks to wait. Obi-Wan's understanding of the droid's speech was limited compared to his old Padawan's, but he could vaguely tell that the children were indeed here, and therefore Mon Mothma's conviction at their location had been correct.
"Can you locate them?"
Whirring and beeping, Artoo seemed to say that he could. Retracting from the terminal, the door slid open and revealed a dark tunnel full of crates and canisters. They crossed the threshold, shaking the rain from their cloaks, and headed onwards, following Artoo as well as Obi-Wan's Force bond to the children, a glowing golden path that had until so recently, been broken and dim.
Soon, the maintenance tunnels led to larger, brightly lit corridors. The two hooded Jedi flowed like smoke, drifting with effortless ease through the hallways, their long cloaks wafting behind them. They stole onward, listening for danger and avoiding the guards as best they could. Soon, the amount of security began to thicken. There were far more stormtroopers than they expected to encounter, but before the soldiers had even been aware of who they'd seen, they'd been thrown against the walls and knocked unconscious, or had a firm mind trick played on them to send them on their way to the other side of the campus.
It was only a matter of time before the alarm bells started ringing, and so they hurried on. When they finally reached the place Artoo and Obi-Wan believed Leia was being held, they were surprised to see ten stormtroopers posted outside of the girl's dormitory room. None of the other rooms they'd passed had such heavy security. Had someone known they were coming?
"I keep tellin' ya, this has to be one of the most boring postings in the empire," one of them said, scratching his neck.
"One of the little tykes tried to play a mind trick on me yesterday, but you can't even complain about it. They're encouraged to do it," another one complained.
"I'm so sick of guard duty," another one said, adjusting his gun. "I mean, no one's ever gonna be dumb enough to break into this place. And if anyone does, I hope they can kidnap me too so I can leave."
"Yeah, I hear ya," the first trooper replied and there was a murmur of agreement from the group.
If it was a trap, it was too late now. With a brief glance at Mace beneath his hood, the Jedi masters simultaneously struck out with their hands, sending the men flying upwards with a Force push so powerful that the group fell unconscious to the ground with a loud thump.
Artoo sped forward to override the door's lock system. After a few moments of waiting, the grey panel slid open.
The light from the corridor spilled into the dark and silent room. Rows of beds lined the walls, each filled with a small sleeping child. Even in the darkness, he instantly knew which huddled figure was his daughter. Crossing the floor silently, with Mace and Artoo keeping watch, he lowered his hood and knelt down beside her cot. His heart ached when he saw her small face tucked up in the covers, framed by long wavy hair that fanned out on the pillow behind her. He had seen this little sleeping face so many times, and for a while he'd wondered if he'd ever see it again. Gently, he touched the side of Leia's warm head and closed his eyes, reconnecting their Force bond to wake her without alarming her.
A golden rush of light filled his mind as their bond was reconciled, and he almost broke down at the intensity of the feeling. Being reconnected through the Force with her after months of worrying over her safety was a relief too great to be described. The sudden rush of love and joy at seeing her flowed back down the link into Leia's mind, and she began to stir.
Obi-Wan opened his eyes to see her blinking up at him, her face frowning in the darkness.
"Daddy?" she whispered, still half-asleep.
"It's me Leia," he whispered earnestly, his hand still on the side of her head.
She blinked sleepily. "Where's your beard?"
He blew out air from his nose and a smile tugged at his lips. "It's all gone I'm afraid."
"Am I dreaming?" she whispered, moving upright and waking up a bit more.
"It's really me my dear," he replied tenderly.
"Dad…" Leia searched his expression for a moment before flinging herself at him, wrapping her small arms around his neck and clinging to him like a rock amidst a storm.
Kissing her cheek and cradling her sleep-warmed body against him like she was a much younger child, he buried his face in her sleep-messed hair and hugged her as tightly as he could. His little Leia. He would never let her be taken away again.
Feeling protective and more relieved than he could ever express, Obi-Wan wanted to keep her safely in his arms and never let her go, but knowing they still had to find Luke and get out before the alarms started to blare, he reluctantly drew back, placing a hand back on her soft cheek.
"We have to go and find Luke now. Is there anything here you need to take with you?"
Leia nodded. "Only a few things, I can find them in the dark."
"Gather them quickly," he whispered, releasing her so she could pack.
"Dad, I need to use the fresher."
The familiar scenario of his children needing the fresher at the worst possible moment almost made him smile, but they were running out of time.
"Where is it?"
"Down the corridor," she whispered, hastily shoving items into a backpack.
"Can you hold it?"
"Um…" Leia nodded after thinking about it.
"Try your best. We don't have much time. You can go on the ship."
"The ship?"
"Questions later, come along."
After a few moments, Leia had her backpack on and had put on a pair of knee high boots over her imperial cadet pyjamas. Guiding her to the doorway, his daughter looked up in alarm at the tall hooded figure in the semi-darkness, and instantly grasped his hand for reassurance.
"Leia, this is Master Mace Windu. An old friend of mine."
"Pleasure to meet you, young Leia," the man said, drawing his hood back a little.
Seeing his face evidently made him less scary to the child, and Leia offered her hand. After he shook it, she offered him a small smile, which he returned. "Nice to meet you too, Master Windu."
"This is Artoo," he gestured to the droid that was standing beside Mace.
The droid chirped happily, rocking back and forth on his side legs. Leia grinned, immediately taking a liking to the droid. "Nice to meet you as well Artoo."
Mace met his eyes and nodded. "Let's go."
Following the presence of his son, Obi-Wan led Mace, Leia and Artoo through more grey corridors, dispatching stormtrooper guards as they went with powerful Force pushes, knocking them unconscious.
"I believe you have something of mine," Mace said to Leia as they snuck down another hallway, illuminated by glowing white lights on the door frames.
"What do I have?"
"A certain purple lightsaber."
"That's yours?" Leia exclaimed.
"Shh," Obi-Wan shushed her, not wanting anyone to hear them.
"Sorry."
"I kindly request that you return it to me."
"Sure. I was told it belonged to a someone very powerful in the Force," she said, rummaging in her bag as they went, passing him the shiny gold and silver hilt with its distinctive black grip.
Reunited with a blade he never thought he'd find again, Obi-Wan smiled as his friend's Force signature blossomed with happiness.
It was a quick journey to the dormitory that held Luke. Similarly, there was a large squad of troopers outside, but with two Jedi Masters, they didn't stand a chance. He picked up on Leia's shock at seeing him use his Force abilities in combat for the first time, but that quickly faded as they both became focused on finding Luke.
Heading into the darkened room, it was very easy to pinpoint him amongst the sleeping boys. His legs and arms were thrown about and his bedding was half on the floor. With a warmth in his heart Obi-Wan remembered this was exactly how Luke used to sleep at home.
Father and daughter knelt by his cot. Obi-Wan noticed his hair had been cut short, and it made him look older. In only a few months, the two of them had kept on growing without him there to see it. He had missed so much time, time he would never get back. Sending all his love, joy and reassurance through their reconnecting Force bond, Luke slowly awakened at the sensation.
"Dad?" he whispered, blinking slowly with disbelief and confusion written all over his features.
"I told you he'd rescue us," Leia whispered, shaking his shoulder. But Luke didn't even glance at her. In the darkness, he was staring up at him, his mouth slightly open and his eyes round.
"It's me Luke," he stroked his thumb reassuringly across his warm cheek. "Come, we have to leave right away."
In a similar fashion to his daughter, his son leapt forward and wrapped his arms around him for a crushing hug, as if to test he was indeed real. His warm and lightweight body took him back to a thousand other hugs they'd shared when Luke had been smaller, and Obi-Wan found himself struggling to maintain his composure for a second time as relief and love flowed through their newly reconnected Force bond with an intensity he couldn't have imagined before opening his heart to Anakin's children. His family was his whole world now.
"I missed you," Luke whispered into his shoulder, sounding on the verge of tears.
"I missed you more," he replied, placing a kiss on the side of his head. Aware of the time, Obi-Wan moved back and looked down at his face. "We can talk when we're safely out of here, alright? Pack anything you can't leave behind quickly."
"But dad…your beard, it's all gone!" Luke pointed, whispering in shock.
Leia put her hand over her mouth to not wake any of the sleeping boys with her laughter.
"We can talk about my lack of beard once we're out of here," he repeated, picking the boy up under the arm pits and placing him on the floor to hurry him along.
Luke followed the instructions. After being introduced to Mace and Artoo outside, the four of them were quickly on their way. But after only a few moments of hurried running, a loud siren similar to the style he'd heard on Vader's star destroyer began to blare, and lights embedded in the corridor's walls began pulsing red. Obi-Wan's hand flew to his lightsaber. Mace and Luke did the same.
"Quickly!" Mace urged them, his long strides making short work of the corridors and hallways they ran through.
Heading towards what they hoped was a landing pad or exterior part of the academy where Hera could get to them, the group encountered the largest amount of security yet, all heading straight towards them and opening fire.
"Troopers! Keep the kids alive!" shouted the group's commander amongst the chaos of the charge, setting his gun to stun.
The troopers fired at Obi-Wan and Mace, with others trying to get close enough to stun the children. In the pandemonium of laser fire, dancing lightsabers and smoking guns, the Jedi Masters formed a protective circle around the twins and Artoo, swinging their blades so fast that they were a blur of blue and purple, deflecting all incoming blaster fire back at the shooters. As he expertly manoeuvred his blade and Force pushed a trooper to the ceiling and threw him into another soldier, knocking them out, he felt his children's awe flow through their bond at finally seeing him use his Jedi abilities. Their training at home had thankfully never included fighting any real enemies.
Half-aware of what was going on behind him, Obi-Wan could also tell Luke was also doing his part to block incoming bolts with Anakin's lightsaber, and Leia had picked up a blaster from one of the fallen troopers, using it to shoot back. Though not entirely accurate with their current skill level, it was still a help to the two older Jedi, and despite the barrage of enemies, the group continued on, inching closer and closer to what they hoped was an exit.
But soon, reinforcements were appearing left and right, aiming their guns and running full pelt after them. Deflecting each and every laser bolt that could've incapacitated his children, Obi-Wan ran on, keeping the twins as close to him as possible. Everything was happening so quickly, and he barely had time to register three new stormtroopers joining the fray from a side entrance.
"Luke, down!"
Trusting him completely, his son dropped to the floor just as a stormtrooper tried to knock him out cold with the blunt end of his gun. Obi-Wan used a Force pull to drag the man towards him and cut his arm clean off with a swing of his blade. That was too close.
Trembling at the sight of the screaming trooper as his arm fell from his body, Luke was instantly lifted up off the floor by Obi-Wan who gripped his bicep, and they continued on. Knowing they were near a maintenance exit from the signs on the walls, he activated the tracking device Hera had given him. Soon, the Ghost would be on the scene to pick them up, that was, if the comm didn't get jammed.
Sirens blaring, the four of them raced on with Artoo in tow, whilst more and more security forces came running after them. The entire academy seemed to be waking up now. The Jedi could feel the air buzzing with alertness, like a giant sleepy Kheilwar wasps' nest that had been shaken awake.
They finally reached the maintenance door, but the building had gone into total lockdown.
"Hurry Artoo!"
The little droid was frantically turning his extendable claw in the computer terminal, trying to override the door lock. Swearing in Huttese under his breath, the Force flared in warning and Obi-Wan used his quick reflexes to push Leia behind him as a break away laser bolt almost landed in her stomach. Mace decapitated a nearby stormtrooper and impaled another, desperately trying to keep the children safe before they were hopelessly outnumbered.
Finally, the door slid open and they tumbled outside onto a grated walkway buffeted by gale force winds high above the moonlit canyon. Rain hammered down in sheets and in the distance forks of lightning were piercing the landscape. The walkway followed the curve of the building and was littered with wet crates and containers. Artoo managed to lock the door again, but a handful of troopers had made it through and Obi-Wan dispatched them hastily, slicing through their white armour.
Running down the length of the walkway, their boots clanking on the durasteel, the four rebels and their droid had escaped the confines of the academy, but they were far from safe. Artoo's door lock had been released and stormtroopers were pouring out of the entrance in hot pursuit.
"Hera where are you?" Mace panted as they reached the end of the walkway. There was nowhere to go.
Hiding behind Artoo, Luke and Leia looked on through the rain as he and Mace headed towards the oncoming enemies, deflecting bolts and Force pushing troopers off the platform, but they kept on coming.
Then, a huge bout of green laser fire appeared from the sky, and the nearest stormtroopers were blasted from the walkway, falling to oblivion. The Ghost turned and descended, hovering beside them in midair as the boarding ramp lowered. Caleb appeared, the wind and rain blowing his hair about his face. The young man started firing at the remaining troopers, gripping the ramp's frame with his other hand.
"Come on! Jump!"
A red blaster bolt almost shot Luke in the leg and Obi-Wan turned as even more men approached, with reinforcements closely behind. Thankfully, Sabé had appeared beside Caleb, and the two of them together were excellent shots.
Whilst they were firing to cover their exit, Obi-Wan picked up a sodden twin under each arm and jumped, using the Force to guide their fall onto the ramp. Mace, following his lead, leapt after him, deflecting a bolt mid-air as he landed gracefully. Artoo followed, using his jets to propel him to safety.
Bundling through the double doors of the boarding chamber into the dry metallic interior of the ship, the ramp closed behind them and the Ghost's engines immediately went into full throttle, almost throwing them backwards with the strength of the g-force as Hera powered them up and out of Arkanis' atmosphere.
Once the floor had stabilised, he eased the children down onto their feet, allowing himself a moment to catch his breath and wipe wet hair from his forehead. Relief washed over him as Sabé and Caleb came rushing over in alleviation. They'd done it!
Exchanging relieved smiles with everyone, Obi-Wan noticed Artoo rolling over the grated floor with Chopper in tow, and he gave him an affectionate pat on his shining dome. "Well done, another successful mission old friend."
The astromech beeped and rolled, his round black eye settling on the two rain-drenched children behind him, who were staring at the interior of the Ghost with awe and excitement written all over their faces.
He motioned for them to come over and they stood on either side of him, leaning against his legs with their arms around his waist. Acting uncharacteristically shy, they looked at the strangers with a wary fascination. Everyone was present except Hera, who was in the cockpit.
"Luke, Leia, meet some more friends of mine. This is Caleb Dume, another Jedi," Obi-Wan gestured to the dark-haired man.
"Another one?!" Luke said in shock.
Caleb smiled at that and he offered his hand which Luke, then Leia shook. "Always a pleasure to meet fellow Jedi."
The children beamed up at him at that.
"And this is Sabé, one of your mother's closest friends from Naboo."
"It's a pleasure meet you, Luke and Leia," she said politely, also shaking their hands.
"Did you know our mom when she was a queen?" Leia asked in admiration, her eyes shining with a hundred questions.
"Yes, I've known her since I was fourteen years old."
"Wow!"
Obi-Wan wondered when Padmé had told them about her past and how much the twins were now aware of. There was a great deal they needed to talk about. Now that the drama of the rescue was over, he desperately needed to know what had happened to his wife and their baby.
"Dad," Luke tugged on his sleeve with a familiar imploring look. "I have to use the fresher."
"Well done for holding it this long," he smiled, ruffling his wet hair. "This way."
After the twins had visited the vacc-tube, Caleb came to find the three of them and showed them a small spare cabin they had at the back of the Ghost. Two beds were fitted against the wall opposite the door, stacked on top of each other with orange padding and plenty of storage for their backpacks. It was unlikely he would be able to get either of the children to go to sleep when they were wide awake from all the excitement, but the ship had entered hyperspace now, and with a very long journey ahead to Dantooine, they would need to sleep at some point.
"Thank you, Caleb," he said, turning around to face the young Jedi with difficulty as Luke and Leia were hugging him around the waist tightly and not letting go. "Do you mind telling Hera we'll come to the cockpit in a little while? We need to catch up on some things first."
"Of course, take your time," he smiled and left the room, the metal door sliding shut after him.
Looking downwards, Obi-Wan placed his hands on the top of his children's damp heads, patting their hair. It was time they talked.