Chapter 23 - Mission to Citadel
DISCLAIMER: We do not own Star Wars or any of the characters in it, though we wish we did. xD
Author's Note: In which the Trio go to the Citadel. :D
~ Amina Gila
Anakin, Obi-Wan, and the clone troopers who are coming on the mission, walk through the warm chamber, golden glowing material from the carbon freezing area casting an eerie glow across the room. Ahsoka is here too, even though Anakin was initially reluctant to bring her along. After all, the mission is going to be extremely dangerous. But she has more experience dealing with the Separatists than any of them, and it could prove to be very beneficial for them with her here.
"I've never been carbon-frozen before, General," Rex tells Anakin with a slight note of concern in his voice.
"It's the first time for us, too," he reminds.
"Don't worry, I'm sure it's gonna be fun," Ahsoka chirps.
"That isn't exactly the word I would use," Anakin informs her dryly.
"This is your idea?" Obi-Wan asks, looking around the chamber. It's big enough to hold both of them, and the small group of clones they're risking bringing with them. "Carbon freezing?"
"Hey, you wanted to shield us from the life-form scanners," Anakin points out. It might have been an extreme idea, but it should work. And honestly, even if he doesn't really like the thought himself, it is the only way for them to sneak past the security undetected. This is an entire Separatist planet here, not just a base, and it's their most secured facility.
"Are we sure this thing is safe?" Fives queries worriedly. "I don't want to end up a wall decoration."
"Try to relax," advises Obi-Wan. "We'll be unfrozen as soon as we arrive."
Anakin hopes that Artoo and the reprogrammed battle droids have everything under control. Really, the entire mission is counting on them. They start moving into position, and he shares a final glance with Obi-Wan and Ahsoka. He really hopes that this is going to work for them to sneak inside. He won't admit his concerns to anyone, but he's honestly worried the Separatists might request to search the ship before they have a chance to get unfrozen. Whatever happens, he can only trust that everything is going to work out.
They're lowered into the pits simultaneously. Anakin feels the heat around him, then slips into a strange half-unconscious state.
Finally, consciousness starts returning. He doesn't know how long it's been, but they must have arrived safely, is his first thought. The carbon structure finally releases him, and he stumbles forwards, taking a few moments to get accustomed to solid ground and being human again. He's sore in several places, the lingering effects of the carbon freezing still clinging to him.
"Looks like your idea worked after all, Skyguy," Ahsoka calls as he's carefully flexing his right wrist to make sure it's still working.
"As it appears we're still in one piece, it did," Obi-Wan chimes in from behind them. "We should hurry before the Separatists realize that something's off."
"Guard the shuttle, Artoo," the Jedi Knight orders, looking down at the droid. "We'll contact you when we're ready for take-off." The droid whistles affirmatively.
Before long, they're standing on the edge of a cliff a distance away from the massive fortress. Towering walls stand out against the completely barren surroundings. Anakin can feel the heat of the lava down below surrounding the islands on the planet, even from up here. It's certainly not a pleasant place to be, and the combination of the heat and toxins from the lava are making it hard to breathe.
"I see the entry point," he declares, looking through a pair of macrobinoculars.
"You were right," remarks Cody from his position looking through another pair. "The wind conditions are too strong for jetpacks."
"Yes," agrees Obi-Wan, "We'll have to do it the old-fashioned way with ascension cables and a steel grip."
"I don't think so," Anakin objects.
"What do you mean?" Obi-Wan frowns.
"Electro-mines," he explains, eyeing the electronic objects covering the entire wall of the structure. Purple electricity crackles over them, warning a very painful death for anyone who comes into contact with them. "There's nowhere to put a grappling hook at that height, and we hit one of those, the mission's over. They'll know we're here."
"I suppose that means we free-climb it," Obi-Wan sighs.
"Hope everyone's up for the exercise," Ahsoka says cheerfully.
One by one, they begin to ascend the wall, carefully avoiding the electric sparks crackling along its surface and the electro mines. One mistake and either someone will fall into one of those mines and give everyone away, or they'll fall all the way down into the lava below. Neither are pleasant options.
Anakin can feel the burning heat of the rocks through his gloves, but he keeps pulling himself upwards anyway. The faster they get up there, the faster they can proceed with the important part of the mission. The wind whips around him violently, nearly causing him to slip a few times, but he hangs on tightly. This would hardly be the first time he's climbed.
"You hanging in there, Snips?" Anakin calls finally, looking down at her. Sure, she's done many things before, but he doesn't know about the climbing up a vertical wall under these conditions.
"Couldn't be better!" she shouts back, pushing herself slightly away from the wall to look up at her master. "I could do without the wind, though." Definitely. That's the biggest part of the problem. Every time it whips around him, it feels like he might lose his grip, and it would have been so much simpler if they could fly.
"The entry point is just a few more meters," Obi-Wan yells down as he approaches the top. Good. He finally reaches the top, motioning for everyone to stop moving. Anakin passes the message down, and everyone is immediately still. There must be some droids up there. After a long moment, Obi-Wan pulls himself back up over the edge. "They locked the door," he calls down, sounding worried. "It's ray shielded."
"Ray-shielded?" Anakin exclaims worriedly. "That wasn't part of the plan!"
"Well, it's in the plan now!" he replies.
"There's an opening up there," Ahsoka points out suddenly, pushing herself back from the wall after scrambling a few more feet upwards, looking up.
"We know. They're ventilation ducts. But they're far too small for us to gain access to," Anakin shouts over the roaring wind.
"Too small for you, maybe," Ahsoka replies, "But I think I can squeeze through."
Anakin looks up again at the small vent, judging its size. It would be a very tight squeeze, but she could probably do it. Maybe.
"Well, it's a good thing Ahsoka's here. Perhaps she's right," Obi-Wan concedes.
Ahsoka scampers up the rest of the way – far more easily than the others thanks to her Togruta agility – before circling around to the vent and climbing inside. They wait in a tense mostly silence aside from the roaring wind, waiting for her to return. Anakin can only hope that there's no dangers right inside. After all, she is sneaking into the Citadel alone.
Finally, with a hiss the ray shield deactivates, and she appears right in the doorway. "Coast clear," she calls. Anakin scrambles up onto the ledge and starts helping the clones up onto the ledge. Obi-Wan moves to help the ones on the other side.
"Charger!" Rex suddenly cries, trying to catch one of the clones as he starts losing his grip. But he moves a second too late, and the clone slips over the edge with a cry, falling down, down, down towards the lava far below, activating one of the electromines on the way.
"Well, they know we're here now," Obi-Wan says grimly, glancing between all of them. "We need to hurry."
"Take out their surveillance," Anakin warns, as he heads into the winding halls in the lead, instantly spotting the small camera up on the wall. Rex aims his blaster, firing at it, and the device explodes. But that, of course, promptly activates the tiny wall cannons. Blue and white blades activate in unison, spinning to deflect the shots back at them. Moments later, they're smoking ruins.
He can feel a sudden surge of danger before a massive electrical blast, not a weapon he's used to, comes spiraling towards them.
"The walls are electrified!" cries Cody, "Go!"
Spinning around, they bolt down the hall, barely making it around the corner before the wall of electricity catch up with them. The clone in the rear is a step too slow, the electricity crackling through him, and he falls to the ground.
"Longshot!" Cody cries in alarm.
"We must keep moving," Obi-Wan urges. Of course. They have to leave him behind, like so many others, if they're going to make it out of here alive. There's nothing he hates more than having to leave men behind, knowing that they won't be able to come back for them. In moments like these it's always only Obi-Wan to urge everyone along. The one thing Anakin now knows for certain, though, is that the Citadel has as much security as they had been anticipating. They need to move, or many more people will lose their lives today.
The rest of them run through the halls towards where Master Piell is being kept passes mostly uneventfully, aside from destroying any cameras and wall cannons the group stumbles upon.
Rex and Cody move to the front as they approach the door, forcing it open and immediately blasting apart the torture droids surrounding the Jedi Master.
"Secure the entrance," Anakin orders, running into the room with his lightsaber still activated. Ahsoka darts over to the control panel, pushing the buttons to free him from where he's suspended.
"Master Piell, are you alright?" queries Obi-Wan, catching him before he can hit the floor. He doesn't exactly look alright, but Anakin decides not to comment.
"Obi-Wan," Piell responds, managing to look vaguely amused despite everything he must've been going through in here, "What took you guys so long?"
"At least your sense of humor is still intact," Anakin observes.
"It takes more than they got to break me, young Skywalker," he replies, standing up, slightly unsteady.
"So, you have the coordinates to the Nexus Route?" the Jedi Knight inquires rhetorically.
"I got them all right," he confirms. "Half of them, anyway. My captain's got the other half. I erased the computers when we were boarded and had both of us memorize part of the intel. That way, if somehow, I cracked, the information would be useless to them without the other half." That certainly was a smart idea. The Separatists wouldn't even realize it, and they'd be confused.
"Where's your captain?" inquires Obi-Wan with a frown as they head for the door.
"Being held with the other officers, I assume," Piell answers.
"We're gonna need a new plan for getting out," Anakin declares, glancing around. They have to continue along to rescue them as well, or whoever is left alive, so they'll have to modify the plan, but that's fine. Anakin is always best at improvising. Now, he'll have to hope it'll work out, because he gets the distinct feeling that the hard part has hardly begun. There's been a feeling of tenseness in the Force for a while, and it's getting worse. He does his best to force it back as they head back out into the halls.
**w**
Ahsoka swings her blades furiously to keep up with the blasters bolts the group of assassin droids are firing at them. They attacked on both sides the moment they got out into the hall again. She's dealt with them on a few occasions before, but all she knows for sure is that they aren't easy to fight.
The droids jump easily off the walls and keep moving towards them, firing nonstop. It's nearly impossible to keep up with them. Obi-Wan and the other Jedi are defending in front, while Anakin and Ahsoka are covering for the back. Suddenly, the droids lunge forwards, attacking with their metal limbs instead of blasters. One of them grabs her, throwing her to the ground. She twists away from it, slicing off its head and knocking it aside, scrambling to her feet.
"We need to keep moving," Obi-Wan says as he cuts down the last of the droids. They slowly continue down the hall, stepping past the rubble.
As they hurry around the next turn in the hall, she keeps her blades poised in front of her for the next attack. But it doesn't come as expected. There's a suddenly loud beeping and she can practically feel the force of the magnet activated on the ceiling. It rips away all blasters and lightsabers, yanking them up to the ceiling. Anakin's mechanical arm is jerked upwards, pulling him to the ceiling too.
"Anakin!" cries Obi-Wan.
A purple electrical field suddenly crackles on, engulfing him.
"Anakin!" Ahsoka screams, eyes widening in horror. The anger comes next, raw, blinding fury at seeing one of the only people she really cares about being tortured. Senselessly.
"You fools!" cackles a disembodied voice from the camera, "I hope you enjoyed the reunion with your fellow Jedi, because you're going to be my guests for a very long time."
Ahsoka hears the sound of marching before several droids stalk around the corner on either side of their group. She spins around, standing defensively in front of the group. She throws up her hands, trying to Force-shove them backwards but they only scoot a few feet down the hall before stopping, half bent over.
"They're magnetized," Obi-Wan calls. Something she already figured out.
All at once, they open fire. Shots bounce off the walls around them as they duck out of the way, trying to avoid them. Fine. Fine. Then she'll have to do this differently. Force-shoving their blasters aside, she jumps through the air at them. She catches onto one of them, spinning around it and twisting one of its arms towards one of the other droids as it fires again. Her anger is fueling her, but she's too upset to care. The Dark Side is of second nature, and she's unlike the rest of the Jedi, she doesn't fully care.
One of her hands clamps down over the droid's neck, and she yanks it free, partly using the Force to rip the wires apart. It felt good to destroy it, she realizes. It shouldn't. She's not a Sith anymore, but she hardly cares right now.
That's when she hears the electricity on the ceiling turn on again. Her anger surges again, and she flips onto the last droid, destroying it the same way. Finally, the magnetizing comes off and the weapons fall to the floor. Anakin hits the floor a second later, body sparking. She bolts down the hall to him, as Obi-Wan and Piell attack the droids on their side with their lightsabers.
"Anakin, are you alright?" Ahsoka asks with concern. He pushes himself up from the ground, and she helps him stand up a little shakily.
"Yes," he lies instantly. Sorry, she's not buying it. "Let's get out of here." That she can agree with. Spinning around, she takes off down the hall again.
**w**
"I hear something," a droid monotonously declares as they approach the door in which Piell's men are being held. Anakin steps to the front, stabbing his lightsaber through the door, impaling the droid on the other side in the process.
He pushes the door open, and they step into the dimly illuminated cell. The group of clones and Piell's commanding officer rise instantly.
"General," the man greets Piell as he steps into the room behind them.
"Captain Tarkin," he returns.
"I never thought I'd see you again," Tarkin says relieved, "And you brought friends."
"Tarkin, this is Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker," Piell introduces them.
"Well, now that you've found us," Tarkin responds, looking around. "How do you expect to get us out? If they've locked this fortress down, there's at least ten squads on their way. It's going to be impossible to escape."
"What if we split up?" answers Obi-Wan. "My team will create a diversion while Anakin leads the others away. That way, if one of us is captured, the enemy will only have part of the information and not all of it."
Tarkin looks and sounds highly unimpressed. "General Kenobi, I think it's better if we stick together," he retorts, "A stronger force would have a better chance of protecting the information."
"Not in this situation," Obi-Wan replies, turning and stepping back out of the cell.
"But surely we'd have more strength in numbers then divided," Tarkin continues to argue. He has a point, but that's not how things work. Maybe normally, but diversions are the best tactics. Anakin has yet to see a time where they don't work.
"Obi-Wan has a point," Piell finally intervenes. "I'll go with him; you go with Skywalker."
As they run through the halls towards their destination, the entire structure suddenly shakes from the sound of distant explosions. Must be Obi-Wan's distraction. Hopefully, it's going to work, and they'll still be able to get out afterwards.
Anakin reaches out with the Force to ensure that nothing is on the other side of the wall before he activates his lightsaber, cutting a hole and pushing down the piece of metal with a clang. "Everybody in," he orders, stepping back to allow them to enter.
Ahsoka darts in first, followed by the rest of the clones. Rex and Anakin step in last since that's where the threat is probably most likely to come from. Tarkin is in front of them with a disgusted expression. What? Was he hoping to walk right into the ten squads of droids he informed them would be coming?
"This is one of the original fortress tunnels," Rex remarks, "The advantage of old archive data."
"The tunnel's clear!" yells Ahsoka from up ahead, ever the scout.
"Looks like Obi-Wan's distraction worked," he decides with relief. "Things seem to be going as planned." Or at least they do for now.
"It's when things do not go as planned that concerns me," Tarkin says sourly, "What then?" They'll worry about it when or if it happens, that's what.
"It's when things don't go as planned that we Jedi are at our best," Anakin retorts coolly. Tarkin is seriously beginning to get on his nerves. He rescued him, and that's still not enough for him to at least have an ounce of trust? "Trust me."
"I reserve my trust for those who take action, General Skywalker," Tarkin shots back. And that's not what they're doing?
"Then let me remind you, we rescued you back there," Anakin responds lowly, "And I reserve my trust for those who understand gratitude, Captain Tarkin."
As they move along the ledge on the outside of the prison, Anakin avoids looking down at the lava far below and instead check up on his droid. "Artoo, are you and your battle droids ready to go?" he asks into his comm. The droid beeps his confirmation. "Alright, get the ship fired up. We'll meet you at the pipeline exit after you've picked up Obi-Wan, assuming he's still on schedule."
"I am beginning to admire the design of this fortress," Tarkin comments as they continue along the cavern, "It's rather formidable to evade."
"How can you admire such a horrible place?" Ahsoka demands flatly, anger glowing in her eyes. Anakin can tell she's thinking about her past again. She loathes everything that reminds her of it, and no doubt Tarkin's attitude is doing just that.
"Ah, you reveal your short-sightedness," Tarkin states proudly. Why does he sound like he thinks he's the best person in the galaxy? How can Piell even stand him? "This ordeal only demonstrates how effective facilities like the Citadel are. Pity it ended up in Separatist hands and not ours."
"He has a point," Anakin concedes reluctantly, as much as he hates to say so. It would be a good thing for the Republic to have. Certain people like the Sith Master, who Ahsoka still refuses to tell him the identity of, might belong in a place like this. It would be neigh on impossible to get out, unless they had a very large force to help them sneak out. "All right, Snips," he decides, "I need you to lead the group. Keep following the tunnel. I'll catch up."
"Hey, where are you going?" she objects, frowning.
"Obi-Wan's not here, so someone has to protect our flank," Anakin explains, heading away.
He's barely made it up onto the ledge behind them out of sight when the wall explodes. He jumps out of his hiding spot, running back to the front as the smoke from the explosion clears to reveal a gaping hole.
Before long, they've gathered at the pipe.
"This pipe leads up to the top of the ridge where Artoo will pick us up and get us out of here," Anakin announces. "There's the hatch." He jumps up onto the walkway, swinging open the door to the hatch, revealing the wide dark interior of the pipe.
"Everybody in," he orders, "Don't use your lights and make sure your weapons are locked. The slightest electronic pulse could ignite this whole tube." They all climb in one by one, with the clones' lights off, plunging the tunnel into almost complete darkness.
"I hope somebody tells the droids that," Tarkin grumbles. Yes, good idea. You have fun with that. And hope you're not the first one to be caught in the explosion.
"How much longer are we going to wander through this tunnel in the dark?" Tarkin huffs.
"Captain Tarkin, haven't you learned to trust me by now?" Anakin demands, exasperated. Why is he acting like such a big baby? Isn't he a captain for a reason? He should be used to doing things like this.
"You may have earned my trust, General Skywalker, but my faith in your comrades is still lacking." A pity.
"You lack faith in the Jedi," he concludes. It's the best explanation for his attitude.
"I find their tactics ineffective," Tarkin grumbles disgustedly. "The Jedi Code prevents them from going far enough to achieve victory. To do whatever it takes to win. The very reason why peacekeepers should not be leading a war." Anakin doesn't particularly recall the Jedi being asked to lead the war, but Tarkin does have a point. The Jedi are always too stuck on old rules and what the Senate wants to do what they need to do. Frankly, he's surprised they agreed to let Ahsoka join for those exact reasons. They seem to have made a special exception in her case, and a dark part of him wonders if it's not more because they're trying to prove they can be good rather than that they actually care.
"Have I offended you?" Tarkin asks, apparently noticing Anakin's expression.
"No," he replies stiffly, "I've also found that we sometimes fall short of victory because of our methods."
"Well, I see we agree on something," Tarkin says. Sure, they might agree on one thing, but that's about it. Anakin doesn't really trust him, and Tarkin's far too self-centered for him to get along with. Doesn't mean he won't make himself work with him this once, though. He's become good at that, over time.
"I think I found a way out!" Ahsoka finally calls as she darts over to them, returning from scouting out the tunnel. They hastily follow her to an open area in the pipe. She pushes it open, peering out.
"What do you see, Snips?" Anakin queries.
"The coast is clear," she assures him.
"Any sign of Obi-Wan and the shuttle?"
"No, I don't see him or Artoo anywhere." That's what he'd expected. He knew they were going to be ready before Obi-Wan was.
Ahsoka climbs out of the vent, promptly followed by the sounds of moving droids and activating lightsabers. Seconds later, a droid piece clangs down into the vent. So much for being clear.
"We've got to go!" Anakin calls, hurrying to the opening.
"There could be a whole battalion of droids out there!" protests Tarkin as if he'd rather remain inside the pipe where the whole thing might explode. If that's really want he wants...
"Better than hiding in a fuel line," he snaps, jumping out to join the fight. Ahsoka and Anakin deflect the bolts back at the long line of advancing droids as the clones climb out of the hatch behind them, dropping to the ground on the other side of the fuel line. As soon as they've all gotten to safety, the two of them hastily retreat down the line to join them.
"The plans has been compromised!" yells Tarkin, "The shuttle's not coming!"
"Throw me a charge," Anakin calls to Rex, pointedly ignoring the stupid captain. Did he really think they wouldn't be prepared for such a scenario when it was so likely to happen? Rex tosses an explosive to him, and he throws it into the pipe, slamming the cover closed with the Force. Moments later, a deafening explosion rips through the area.
"Let's go," Anakin decides, "Time for plan B."
"There's a plan B?" Tarkin echoes with an incredulous note in his voice.
"There's always a backup plan," Anakin retorts. What, does he think they're idiots? "We'll meet Artoo at Obi-Wan's position."
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