Padmé sat quietly at her dressing table, gently pulling her brush through her long brown hair, as she gazed off into the mirror in front of her, far beyond her own reflection as it looked back at her in the soft light of her bedroom.
He had only been gone a few hours, yet her heart ached as though he had been gone for a month. The tears had stopped, at least for a few moments, as she had convinced herself that they had both done what they knew they had to; his part had been to accept the responsibility to go, and hers had been the willingness to send him. She had a responsibility to him now, and she intended to see that responsibility through; she would have faith in his abilities, those that she knew so well, and in their love for each other, and trust in her heart that he would return to her just as he promised.
She laid her brush quietly down on the table, and then turned her gaze downward toward her lap, as she gently placed her hands on her stomach. Their two unborn twins had been unusually quiet this evening, almost as if they sensed, just as she did, the absence of his familiar tremor and presence.
She sat quietly, for a long moment, as she tried hard, through the pain in her own heart, to shift her attention to the two that she could feel beating inside of her. "Don't worry," Padmé said softly, as she moved her hands slowly over her stomach. "Daddy's just had to go away for a little while," she said, and she paused, as she felt those same tears begin to sting her eyes again.
"I know you don't understand right now," she told them softly, as she reached out to their two unborn children with all of her heart, "but your father is very important, and he's gone to help a lot of people, because he's the only one who can."
"I love and miss him very much," Padmé said, quietly. "I know you can tell I'm sad right now, but he's promised us that he's coming home, and he will."
"He's never broken a promise to us," she smiled, softly, as a single tear rolled slowly down her cheek. "And he won't this time either, my precious ones, I promise."
Padmé stood up, quietly, and hung her robe on the back of the chair next to her side of the bed. She climbed into bed, pulling the covers up over her, leaning back quietly against her pillow. She took a deep, halting breath, and then she placed her hand slowly on the empty bed beside her.
She looked at his pillow for a long moment, as her vision began to blur from the tears welled up in her dark brown eyes. "I need you both to help me be strong," she said softly, her voice trembling as she placed her hands gently on her stomach again and closed her eyes. "I have to be strong for your daddy, okay?"
The tears that came this time were easier, but only slightly; she rolled gently onto her side, pulling his pillow close to her chest as, for the first time since this difficult evening began, she felt the two soft thumps inside her womb.
The small red and gold fighter appeared with a bright flash of light as, as if from nowhere, it dropped out of light speed, just beyond the orbit of Coruscant's outermost moon. The trip had taken them just over four hours this time, as Arfour, with Anakin's help, as he sat in the copilot's seat directly behind Obi-Wan, had managed to push the old worn hyperdrive unit closer to the speeds that it had been intended for.
"Hang on, Anakin," Obi-Wan said, as he reached for the control panel at his side, "I'm preparing to jettison the hyperdrive unit."
Anakin held on to the arms of his seat, as the ship jolted hard as it broke free of the clamps that bound it to the hyperdrive unit, and he watched out the cockpit window as the large, donut shaped device floated slowly off against the blackness of space.
He turned his attention to the display in front of him, as Obi-Wan pushed the throttle to full impulse, as they started to make their way quickly toward Coruscant. "Arfour," Anakin said, as he pressed the button next to his display, switching it over to tactical mode, "see if you can plot the current location of the Imperial Hand."
Arfour whistled in reply from his position behind Anakin, and, in just a moment, Anakin's tactical display flashed up a schematic of their position in relation to the planet, along with the current location of the separatist flagship and the Republic forces around it.
"Looks like she's still in orbit, Master," Anakin said, as he studied the display careful for a long moment, "just behind the planet's terminator, from the angle we're currently approaching."
"And," Anakin said, his expression growing a bit more serious as he looked at the large number of ships on his display, "it looks like she's not alone."
"That figures," Obi-Wan sighed, as he watched the planet slowly grow in the cockpit window in front of him.
Anakin reached over and pressed a switch next to his display, mirroring it on the one in front of Obi-Wan as he spoke. "It looks like there are several frigates that have come to help her break through the blockade," he said. "Their fighters are attacking the Republic ships, and it looks like the blockade is weakening. If we don't get there soon," Anakin said, looking up as he watched his master study the display in front of him, "they may be able to make the jump to light speed, and we'll lose them."
"Damn," Obi-Wan sighed, looking at the display in front of him. Anakin was right; the Republic forces appeared to be outnumbered and loosing control of the situation quickly. "We can't let Dooku escape this time," Obi-Wan said, grimly. We've got to find a way to stop him."
"We could try to board her," Anakin said, turning his eyes toward Obi-Wan. "If we can get to her, that is."
"Board her?" Obi-Wan said, thoughtfully. "How so?"
"She's got to have a hangar bay somewhere, Master," Anakin said. "If we can get through the fighters, we should be able to find it and get on the ship."
Obi-Wan nodded slowly, listening closely to Anakin's suggestion. "And once we're there," he said, "it doesn't matter if they make the jump to light speed or not."
"Exactly," Anakin said, turning his attention back to the tactical display.
"Anakin," he said, as he reached down and switched weapon control to the copilot's station, "you take the weapons. I'm going to try to bring us in on the straightest course I can. See if you can keep the fighters off of us until we're close enough to find a way to board the ship."
"Understood, Master," Anakin said calmly as he activated the ship's cannons. He flipped the small holographic targeting monocle on the headset that he wore down over his right eye and, taking the weapon joystick in his hand, he pressed the switch on the console and activated the system.
Anakin looked out into the blackness of space in front of him; the copilot's seat was slightly elevated, higher than the pilot's seat in front of it, providing an unobstructed view of the star field around him. As the weapons came on line, he saw the bright red, flashing triangle that seemed to hang in space in front of him, and he swung the joystick several times, left and right, to ensure that the system was tracking properly.
"We should be coming up on the first of their fighters in a few moments, Anakin," Obi-Wan said, as he shifted their deflector screen power slightly, placing more of the system's energy on those at the front. "Look sharp."
"Arfour," Anakin said, after he took a long, deep breath. "Switch my display to targeting mode, but leave Master Obi-Wan's on tactical," he said. "Give me priority targets on those within ten thousand meters, understood?"
Obi-Wan smiled, as he looked down from the cockpit window for just a moment, as he heard Arfour whistle in reply to Anakin's command; he was glad his young friend was with him.
Obi-Wan cut the ship hard to the left, just as Anakin's cannons destroyed another of the small fighters directly in front of them, and swung them back hard right as soon as they cleared the flaming, smoking hull as it cartwheeled through space behind them.
They were closing on the Imperial Hand; Anakin had destroyed at least a dozen of the small, fast fighters that continued to attack them, as they watched the massive, separatist flagship continue to fire on the Republic ships that held it in orbit around the planet.
"What kind of fighters are these?" Anakin said, as he quickly swung his targeting monocle toward the two small ships that approached them quickly from above. He fired, neatly clipping the wing of one of the fighters, and watched as it spiraled out of control, trailing a brilliant orange-gold stream of plasma behind it, and then exploded violently; it had been close, enough so that the blast wave rocked their own ship as Anakin prepared to take aim at the next one.
"I'm not sure," Obi-Wan said, as he swung their ship evasively through space, trying to close the gap between them and their target. He glanced out the side of their cockpit quickly as one of the small ships blasted past them. "I've never seen this configuration before."
The space around them was thick with them. They appeared to be small, one-man fighters; each appeared to be controlled by a droid from a central, teardrop shaped pilot's cockpit. Each one carried three sets of laser cannons, one mounted centrally below the pilot, and two mounted on either of the octagonal, vertically mounted wings.
"Well," Anakin said, as he squeezed the trigger, destroying yet another of the ships as their own ship bounced angrily from the hostile fire around them, "they don't seem to be too heavily armored or shielded, but they're quick, and there's an awful lot of them."
Anakin felt the ship lurch violently as the canon fire struck their rear deflector screens hard; he looked over his shoulder, just in time to see two of the fighters drop in behind them. "We've got two behind us, Master," Anakin said, as he watched the two ships fire at them furiously.
Obi-Wan looked at the massive Imperial Hand as it loomed in front of them, its own cannons firing relentlessly at the Republic cruisers around it; he could see three small hangars near the rear of the ship, but the space between their fighter and the hanger bay was filled with fighters, swarming like angry bees whose nest had been viciously disturbed.
"Blast," Obi-Wan said, as he swung the ship back and forth, evasively. "There's so many of them, it's going to be damn near impossible to slow the ship enough to enter one of the bays."
"Then we'll have to go in full throttle," Anakin said, turning his eyes back to Obi-Wan.
"You're kidding?" Obi-Wan said, a trace of a laugh in his voice. He looked at the small hangar bay closest to them. "There's no way I can hit that hangar entrance at this speed," he said, "and besides, even if I did, we'd go clean through the back of the ship."
"I can get us in there," Anakin said confidently. "Once we enter the hanger, we reverse the engines, fire the braking thrusters, blow the canopy, and bail out of the ship."
"Just that easy?" Obi-Wan said with a pained expression, just as another laser blast struck the rear of their ship. "We'll never make it. And I still have nightmares about the last time you and I went flying together."
Anakin looked down, just as the rear deflector warning light went red and started flashing. "We're losing our rear deflectors, Master," Anakin said, anxiously. "If we don't do something quick, we're not going to make it anyway, and Padmé's going to be very upset with the both of us."
Obi-Wan quickly weighed their choices in his mind, as another laser blast exploded beside them. "Hell hath no fury," he said with a resigned sigh. "Since you put it that way, I guess we have no choice."
Anakin smiled as he watched Obi-Wan transfer the ship's controls to him. "Transfer the weapons to me," Obi-Wan said, activating his targeting monocle quickly. "She's all yours."
Anakin pressed the switch, transferring the cannons to Obi-Wan's command, and then took hold of the control yoke. "Okay," he said, squeezing the control yoke tightly, "hang on, Master. Here we go."
Obi-Wan felt that familiar queasiness in the pit of his stomach as Anakin punched the throttle, and began to weave wildly through the maze of ships and cannon fire as they rapidly approached the hangar at the rear of the Imperial Hand. "I'm not so sure this was a good idea," he shouted, as he swung the cannons toward, and destroyed, two of the fighters nearest them. "I've got a bad feeling about this."
"You're probably right," Anakin said, as he rolled the ship hard right, then left again, making straight for the hangar directly in front of them, closing on it fast. "But it's too late to turn around now."
Obi-Wan looked up; he could see the lights inside the hangar in front of them as they quickly approached it, and could see the row of ships near the far end. "We may be able to use those ships to soften the impact," he said, "if you can call that soft."
"I was thinking the same thing," Anakin said. "Oh, and lower the landing gear," he said, as he swung the ship hard right to avoid the fighter that approached them.
"Now?" Obi-Wan said, turning and looking at his young friend, a somewhat concerned expression on his face, as another fighter roared past them, its cannons blazing.
"Yes, now," Anakin said confidently. "If we can catch the ship's landing gear on the hangar's deck as we enter, it'll help slow us down more."
"Marvelous," Obi-Wan said with another resigned sigh, as he turned and pressed the switch to lower the gear. "He's obviously not planning on taking off again," he sighed under his breath, as he felt the ship lurch against the landing gear's drag as it dropped and locked in position.
Anakin dodged the last of the fighters that cut in front of them, and cutting the power slightly to prepare for their approach, he turned the ship and set their course directly for the hangar's entrance. "The atmospheric shields are going to slow us down some, Master," he said. "As soon as we clear them, fire the breaking thrusters and I'll reverse the engines."
Obi-Wan nodded, and he swallowed hard as he watched the hangar approaching rapidly; to his horror, he saw the fighter that moved slowly toward the middle of the bay as it prepared to launch.
"Anakin," he said, grabbing the arms of his seat tightly, "not good, not good, not good!"
Obi-Wan watched as the battle droids saw them approaching, faster than a mynok chasing a broken power coupling; they abandoned the fighter where it stood and began to scatter in the hangar as he and Anakin barreled toward them.
Anakin pulled back on the control yoke, lifting the nose of their ship as he saw the fighter directly in front of them. "Too late now, Master," Anakin said, as he grit his teeth hard. "Hang on, here we go."
Anakin cut the engines into full reverse, just as the ship contacted the atmospheric shields; the ship's belly contacted the lip of the hangar deck, its nose up, and their restraints cut into their shoulders as they were both pitched forward in their seats hard as the landing gear was sheered cleanly off.
The impact sent their ship sailing upward and rolling slightly to the left, and their left wing neatly sheared the wing off of the fighter that sat in front of them on the runway as they skipped over it like a stone over water. A brilliant array of sparks and plasma exploded into the hangar bay, and they were pitched against their restraints again, as the ship dropped quickly and impacted the deck hard, sliding sideways directly toward the ships ahead of them on its belly, sparks and metal shards spraying wildly in all directions.
The atmospheric shields, combined with the impact and the engines, had slowed them significantly, and though he wasn't quite sure what direction they were traveling in, Obi-Wan punched the breaking thrusters. The huge burst of power sent them sliding backwards toward the hangar wall, and as the rear of their ship contacted the wall behind them the tail began to strip wires and power conduits of all kinds off the hangar walls, leaving a trail of smoke and fire behind them as they careened through the hangar.
Bucking and pitching wildly, their ship skipped across the hangar floor, droids and sparks flying in all directions, as they struck the ship ahead of them broadside with a significant impact, sending it flying into the one behind it.
They ground to a halt, their ship rocking back and forth, as they both tried to quickly regain their wits. The impact had been significant, and, though they were uninjured, they were both understandably disoriented from the ordeal. "Quick," Obi-Wan said, visibly and audibly shaken from the experience, "we need to get out of this ship."
"What's the hurry, Master?" Anakin asked, shaking his head hard, his ears still ringing from the sound of the impact.
Obi-Wan reached over and punched a button on the console beside him, and, with a rush of escaping gas as the ejection canisters fired, the ship's canopy flew off and up, landing on the floor of the chaotic, smoke filled hangar with a crash.
They both unbuckled themselves quickly and climbed out of the cockpit of what once was Obi-Wan's fighter and, taking a few quick steps away from it, they turned and looked back at it for just a moment.
The hangar bay was a shambles, completely filled with smoke, damaged ships and broken droids; those that weren't destroyed in the impact were scrambling around blindly in the thick smoke. Obi-Wan reached to his belt and drew his saber, and then turned and looked at Anakin, as he stood beside him, rubbing his head and looking at Obi-Wan's now destroyed ship.
"Well," Obi-Wan said as he rubbed his shoulder where the restraints had bitten into him, "I can honestly say I've crashed and lived to tell about it now."
"I'm sorry, Master," Anakin said, looking at Obi-Wan sheepishly. "I think I broke it."
"That's okay," Obi-Wan said with a weak laugh, shaking his head and looking back at the hulk of bent and smoking metal, "I'll bring it to your shop when all of this is over and you can fix it for me."
They both looked up, just as they heard an outburst of somewhat rude noises from Arfour, as he sat in his dock in the back of the ship, swinging his dome back and forth slowly. "At least Arfour survived," Obi-Wan said, looking up at the little droid as he continued to signal his obvious disapproval with their entire situation.
Anakin smiled as Obi-Wan looked at him with a grin, and then, suddenly, he spun quickly, drawing one of his sabers with his right hand and, igniting the brilliant white blade, deflected two laser blasts that surged toward them from the dense smoke.
"They're coming," Anakin said, as he deflected another blast. "We need to get out of here."
Obi-Wan could hear the telltale metal clank of the droid's feet as they approached them through the smoke filled hangar. "Come on," Obi-Wan said, as he watched Anakin swing his blade backwards, sending another bolt of energy back through the dense smoke from which it came. "We've got to find Dooku."
They both jumped and turned quickly, as the unfortunate ship at the far end of the hangar who's wing they'd sheered neatly off in their landing attempt suddenly exploded in a brilliant flash, throwing parts and fuel throughout the hangar bay.
"I think we may have accidentally let them know we were coming," Anakin said, as he broke into a run toward the rear of the hangar, right on Obi-Wan's heels.
They ran quickly through the smoke, toward the door at the rear of the hangar. Obi-Wan pressed the control panel at the side of the door, and it slid open with a loud hiss. They ran quickly through it and Obi-Wan closed it quickly; then, igniting his saber, he destroyed the control panel, sealing the door shut.
Extinguishing his blade quickly, he turned and looked at Anakin. "It's not going to take them long to figure out we're here. We need to find Dooku, and the Chancellor, as quickly as we can."
"Dooku's more than likely going to be somewhere on the command deck, or close to it," Anakin said with a nod, as he powered down his weapon. "We're on the lowest deck now," he said, looking back toward the hangar's closed door. "It's going to be on the higher levels. I saw it when we were approaching the ship."
"Agreed," Obi-Wan said, and then reached up and squeezed Anakin's shoulder tightly. "You fought Dooku before, Anakin," he said, looking at his young companion intently. "Do you think you can sense his presence if we get close to him?"
"I think so, Master," Anakin said with a thoughtful nod.
"Remember, we need to take him alive," he said, looking at Anakin intently. "He's our best hope of finding out who Sidious really is. Understood?"
Anakin nodded his head firmly. "Understood, Master," he said quietly.
"All right," Obi-Wan said, patting Anakin's shoulder one more time. "You lead the way. Let's go."
Obi-Wan turned and followed Anakin quietly and quickly down the long corridor, as they made their way toward the central part of the ship and the command deck that waited above them.
He stood near the observation window on the command deck of the Imperial Hand, his cold, unfeeling yellow eyes peering out from behind his faceless grey mask, watching the battle as it unfolded before him.
He turned, slowly, as the battle droid at the command console nearest him spoke. "General Grievous," the droid said, his mechanical voice echoing through the command deck, "We have additional enemy ships closing from sector seventeen."
The Republic blockade had been far more successful than they had anticipated; though they had dealt a serious blow to the clone forces that attacked them, the Republic's army was beginning to take the upper hand. The fight had been far more intense than any of them had imagined it would be.
Count Dooku turned and watched, from the large strategic command table where he stood near the center of the command deck, as General Grievous' tall, sinister form walked slowly toward him, the heavy sound of his armored, cybernetic legs echoing off the metal deck plates as his long grey cloak swirled around him.
He stopped as he reached the table, and drew his long arms up and placed them on the belt around his waist, his cloak draped loosely over his arms. Count Dooku looked down and watched, somewhat warily, as he saw the sabers that hung there swing slowly, shining in the red-hued light.
"There are too many of them," Grievous' cold, mechanical voice echoed, as he studied the strategic display in front of them. "We have already taken to much damage," he said, turning his cold, catlike eyes toward Dooku. "We must prepare to abandon this vessel."
The dark, hooded figure near the window turned and watched in silence as Count Dooku nodded, slowly, and then walked across the command deck toward the communications console. Dooku placed his signal encrypter into the console and activated the channel, and then turned and watched as the lights dimmed and the familiar image appeared above the holographic display.
"Count Dooku," Nute Gunray said, anxiously, "we are awaiting the promised delivery of Chancellor Palpatine."
"I'm afraid that our transfer of the Chancellor to your custody may be delayed, Viceroy," Count Dooku said, flatly. "Our ship has come under heavy attack. It is possible that we may be unable to deliver him to you at this time, as promised."
"That is unacceptable," Gunray replied, obviously agitated. "Your master, Sidious, advised us that you would deliver him to us immediately."
"I understand your frustration, Viceroy," Count Dooku said, raising his hand in a calming gesture to the angry Separatist leader. "I assure you, we will deliver Chancellor Palpatine to you. But it may require more time."
"How much time?" Gunray asked, tilting his head inquisitively, his tone still extremely agitated. "Our forces are engaging the Republic clone armies as we speak. We need the Chancellor so that our demands will be taken seriously by the Senate."
"You will have him in due time, Viceroy," Dooku said, his own demeanor becoming more agitated. "Advise the other leaders that I will contact you as soon as we are en route to Mustafar."
Nute Gunray started to respond, but his image fell silent as Count Dooku reached for the control switch and terminated the signal.
"General," the droid at the command station said, "we have a serious problem."
Dooku turned and watched as General Grievous directed his attention toward the droid. "What is it?" Grievous asked, impatiently.
"Units on the lower deck report that a ship has just penetrated one of our hangar bays," the droid said, his cold mechanical voice unwavering. "Two attackers have been identified. They appear to be Jedi Knights."
"Are you sure?" Dooku said, walking back toward the table where General Grievous stood.
"Yes, sir," The droid responded, as he turned his attention back toward the display in front of him.
"They must be trying to rescue the Chancellor," Count Dooku said, as Grievous looked at him intently. "Send your forces to intercept them," Dooku said, motioning toward the figure that stood silently near the observation window. "We will get the Chancellor from your quarters and prepare to get him off of this ship."
General Grievous nodded, and turned his attention back toward the droid near him. "Have all interceptor units converge on the point where the Jedi were last seen."
"Yes, General," the droid responded obediently.
Grievous watched, as the black clad, hooded figure approached Dooku, bowing his head as he approached. "Come with me," Count Dooku said, returning the signal encrypter in his hand to his belt. "We must get the Chancellor off of this ship, quickly."
Count Dooku turned and walked quickly toward the door and, as it opened, the black clad, hooded figure followed close behind him.
Anakin peered carefully around the corner of the corridor; he could see the computer display just ahead of them. He motioned to Obi-Wan, and the two of them made their way quickly toward the small data terminal in the corridor wall.
"Can you bring up a schematic of the ship?" Obi-Wan asked, as Anakin tapped the controls on the display quickly.
"I think so," Anakin said, as he quickly ordered the terminal to bring up the ship's deck diagrams. He looked back down the corridor, anxiously, as he waited on the designs to appear on the display.
"You'd think, this being their flagship and all, their computers would be faster," Anakin said, an irritated tone in his voice, as he watched the display, its green screen still blank.
"Patience, Anakin," Obi-Wan said with a wry grin, as he turned and looked back at his young friend.
"Here we go," Anakin said, as the plans finally appeared on the display. He pressed a few more controls, bringing their own location up on the screen. "We're here," Anakin said, as Obi-Wan looked intently at the display, "just above the main fuel decks."
Anakin gestured toward another part of the display. "The engineering decks run the length of the ship, in three sections. The one in the middle is directly below the command deck. If we can make it along this corridor here," Anakin said, gesturing down the corridor ahead of them, "we should be able to reach the main service tunnel to the deck."
Obi-Wan nodded. "Let's get moving then," he said, and they both turned and started down the corridor.
They had made it nearly to the end when, suddenly, three battle droids appeared from the juncture in front of them. Instantly, Anakin and Obi-Wan ignited their weapons as the droids lowered their own toward them.
"I think we've got company," Anakin said, just as the droids opened fire on them. He caught the first blasts with his saber, sending them back and taking the head neatly off one of their attackers, sending the droid clattering to the floor.
Suddenly, they heard two more blasts from behind; Obi-Wan spun quickly, turning the blasts harmlessly aside, and watched as more droids poured into the corridor, effectively trapping him and Anakin in the middle.
They both swung their sabers furiously, yet, as they destroyed their attackers, more and more droids just poured into the entrance to replace them.
"It's a standoff," Obi-Wan yelled over his shoulder to Anakin, as he deflected yet another back down the hall toward their attackers. "We're trapped."
Anakin stood, his back to Obi-Wan, as he swung the glowing white blade of his saber smoothly, sending two more bolts back in the direction from which they had come. He looked around, quickly, for some means of escape.
Suddenly, he remembered the schematics they had been looking at on the display. He took a quick step forward, away from Obi-Wan, and reached over with his left hand and drew his second saber, quickly igniting the blade.
"What are you doing?" Obi-Wan asked, as he turned and watched Anakin step sideways and, still deflecting the blasts of their attackers with the saber in his right hand, he started to cut a hole in the deck below their feet with the other.
"Finding us a way out of here," Anakin shouted over the barrage of laser fire, just as he finished the cut. He stepped over and stomped the deck plate several times with his boot, until the metal decking gave way and dropped through the deck below them.
Anakin turned and, swinging both of his sabers smoothly, he began to send blast after blast back toward their attackers at both ends of the corridor, sending smoldering droids flying against the wall in all directions. "Go," he said, glancing back over his shoulder to Obi-Wan.
Obi-Wan extinguished his blade and then jumped quickly and smoothly through the hole in the decking. Seeing that Obi-Wan was clear, Anakin deflected several more blasts and then quickly extinguished both of his weapons and jumped down through the hole in the deck after him.
Obi-Wan grabbed Anakin's arm and steadied him as he landed on the narrow catwalk, suspended high above the reactors below them.
Anakin looked down; the reactors hummed loudly, and several of them seemed to be overheating, judging from the jets of coolant that spewed out of them as another blast rocked the Imperial flagship.
"I don't think I like being here any better than where we were," Anakin said, looking back at Obi-Wan.
"Me either," Obi-Wan said, looking down at the enormous reactors below them. "These things are going to be the first thing to go if one of those blasts makes it through the hull."
"We need to get out of here," Obi-Wan said, nodding his head at his companion. "They know we're here. We don't have much time."
"This way," Anakin said, and, taking hold of the catwalk railing, they made their way along the narrow service way, toward the long, narrow service tunnel near the middle of the next compartment.
It was slow going; the catwalk was shaky at best, and the ship continued to rock violently as it was hammered by more and more laser blasts from the Republic ships. They finally reached the service tunnel and, opening the hatch, they climbed up into the tunnel and closed the hatch behind them, and slowly began to make their way up toward the command deck.
The Republic star cruiser rolled on her axis, swinging hard to starboard as she strafed alongside the massive Imperial Hand. As the Separatist flagship continued to fire, the cruiser unleashed a strong volley of laser cannon fire, concentrated along the central part of the Imperial's hull, striking her directly amidships.
The flagship of the Confederacy's fleet lurched hard to her port side, as the impact of the blast tore a massive hole through her hull, igniting the main reactor, and a colossal plume of fire and plasma erupted from her hull as she continued to roll to her port side, as the massive explosion ripped her hull open to the vacuum of space.
The shock of the explosion sent Anakin flying backwards against the wall of the corridor, as he had knelt next to the open service tunnel, attempting to help Obi-Wan up and out of the narrow passageway.
The ship's lights flashed twice, and then went dark; instantly, the ship's red emergency lights came on, bathing the passageway in an eerie, sinister glow. The ship shuddered again, violently, and Obi-Wan grabbed hold of the service tunnel's access door, as he felt his boots slip off the ladder below him. Anakin jumped up quickly, as he watched Obi-Wan grapple for a purchase on the smooth, round door and grabbed him securely by the arm.
"That was the main reactor," Obi-Wan said as Anakin helped him up and out of the tunnel as the ship continued to roll hard to port.
"Figures," Anakin said disgustedly. "Nothing like a challenge. We always did seem to get those."
"Always did seem that way, didn't it?" Obi-Wan sighed, as Anakin pulled him up beside him. "Come on, we've got to hurry."
They both struggled to catch their balance as the ship began to roll back to her starboard side. "I think the command deck is just ahead, Master," Anakin said, as they struggled to stand on the decking that trembled and groaned below them. "We should be able to..."
Obi-Wan looked at Anakin as he stopped suddenly, in mid sentence, and close his eyes for a moment. "What is it?" Obi-Wan asked, watching his old padawan intently.
"It's Dooku," Anakin said, opening his eyes and drawing one of his sabers with his right hand. "I can feel him."
"Can you tell where?" Obi-Wan asked, anxiously.
Anakin closed his eyes again, reaching deeply into the Force that flowed through him. "He's not on the command deck," Anakin said, as he turned and looked back at Obi-Wan. "But he's not far. I think I can find him."
"Lead the way," Obi-Wan said, as he drew his saber and followed closely behind Anakin as he turned and bolted down the long corridor.
They ran quickly to the end of the passageway, as quickly as the trembling, rolling ship would allow, and boarded the lift that waited there; pressing the control panel on the inside of the lift, the doors closed quickly and they made their way up through the ship, following the Force that guided Anakin toward their target.
Chancellor Palpatine turned his head as the door to the General's quarters opened slowly. He watched, with a surprisingly calm expression, as Count Dooku walked through the door, his dark companion following close behind him.
"It would seem, my Master," Dooku said, as he approached the seat where Palpatine sat, "that we have unexpected guests. Two Jedi Knights have somehow managed to board the ship during the conflict."
"Yes, I know," Palpatine said, quite calmly.
"We must abandon this vessel," Dooku replied, "and reevaluate our plan."
Palpatine smiled in reply, as Dooku made his way toward the exit at the far end of the chamber. "We will indeed abandon this ship, Lord Tyranus," he said. "The only question remaining is which of you will be leaving with me."
Dooku stopped, mid stride, and turned to face him. "My Lord?" he asked, obviously confused and taken off guard by his master's statement.
Palpatine flicked a switch on the chair he occupied, and it turned slowly so that he could see Dooku, as well as the dark, cloaked figure that stood quietly across from him. "You have done well, Count Dooku, and you have proven to be a great asset to me in the past," he said, as he watched Dooku take a couple of steps toward him. "The work that you have done training our companion, here," he said, gesturing toward the dark figure once more, "will prove to be invaluable toward our efforts."
"But I'm sure you realize," Palpatine said, the smile on his face fading away quickly, "that I can only afford the indulgence of one apprentice."
Dooku looked over at the dark figure across from him, and he felt a cold chill as he saw the lightsaber in his hand glint brightly in the darkness as he pulled it from his belt beneath his cloak. "My Lord," Dooku said, "Surely you don't mean..."
"You have been a good apprentice, Lord Tyranus," Palpatine said, his own eyes glowing as Dooku stood silently before him. "But there can only be two, a master and an apprentice. Now," he said, as he leaned back in his chair, bridging his fingertips as he spoke, "the only question remaining is which of you will accompany me from this point forward?"
Dooku turned his head and watched as the dark, hooded figure walked slowly toward him, the hilt of his lightsaber held tightly in his gloved hand. For the first time, he realized the sweeping irony of what was taking place.
It had been four long years since he had returned that dark, crimson cylinder that he had obtained during that fierce battle on Geonosis to the cloners on Kamino. They had been fascinated by the challenge that he and his dark master had presented them, and they had assured him of success. True to their word, they had accelerated the growth process even more, applying new and untried techniques on this very unique project that Count Dooku had requested.
They had engineered him to know no compassion, no mercy, no loyalty to anyone other than the Dark Lord himself. Once he was ready, Dooku had labored tirelessly in service to his dark master, imparting his training and knowledge of the Dark Side to his eager young student. He had absorbed all that Dooku had taught him, with a thirst for power that he had never before seen; he was relentless, a vessel of pure evil, driven by one purpose only, that purpose being to serve the will of the Dark Lord of the Sith.
"The time has come," Darth Sidious said, as he watched Dooku take another step backwards, reaching under his long, black cloak for his lightsaber, "to determine which one of you will continue to serve me."
"You," Sidious said, coldly, "or Lord Vader."
How ironic, Dooku thought to himself, that he would now face that which he himself had helped create. He watched the brilliant red blade of Vader's saber blaze forth, and, just as his apprentice swung his blade hard at him, he ignited the blade of his weapon, bringing it up just in time to catch the angry, vicious stroke.
Dooku swung his blade furiously, fighting with all of his might, as Darth Sidous' sinister laugh began to echo off of the cold steel walls of the General's quarters.
Anakin bolted out of the lift, before the doors had fully opened, with Obi-Wan close on his heels as they ran quickly down the long passageway.
The familiar tremor was close now; Anakin could feel his pulse begin to race, as he and Obi-Wan ran quickly toward the end of the corridor as the Force guided him toward Dooku's presence.
Their boots slid across the metal decking as they rounded the junction at the end of the corridor; they paused, only for a second or two, as they both saw the two sentry droids that turned and lowered their weapons at them. They both looked at each other for a split second, and then bolted directly at the droids, igniting their weapons as the sentries began to fire wildly at them.
Anakin swung his blade smoothly, catching two of the laser blasts and sending them back directly at the two sentries, taking both of their oblong heads cleanly off at the shoulders. They ran quickly to the door as the two droids clattered to the floor at their feet, and Anakin reached over and pressed the switch on the panel next to the door.
He heard the panel buzz, twice; the door refused to open, and he reached over and pressed it again, as Obi-Wan watched him intently. "It's locked," Anakin said, as he pounded the switch a third time with his fist, and then looked back at Obi-Wan. "It won't open."
Obi-Wan stepped quickly in front of the door. "Stand back," he said, and with a smooth, clean thrust, he drove his blade through the thick metal door. Anakin watched, his own blade humming brightly in his hand, as Obi-Wan began to cut a neat, round hole in the doorway.
Anakin stumbled, as the dark sensation struck him like a bolt of lightning. It was unmistakable, the same dark, cold feeling that he had felt that day when he left Chancellor Palpatine's office, that same feeling of dark betrayal that he had sensed during his exercises. Only now, it was much stronger, an overwhelming sensation of pure, relentless evil. Whatever it was he had sensed that day long ago, he was certain of one thing; it was in that room now, with Count Dooku.
Obi-Wan saw Anakin stumble back against the wall, his hand to his head, and he quickly withdrew his blade from the door. "Anakin," he said, reaching out to steady his companion as he fell back against the wall. "What's wrong? What is it?"
"I'm not sure," Anakin said, as he motioned to Obi-Wan to continue, "but Dooku's definitely in there. Keep cutting," he said with a nod. "We've got to get in that room."
Obi-Wan thrust his blade back through the door, and Anakin watched as his master worked quickly, his weapon sparking and humming loudly as he cut quickly through the thick, hard metal.
Darth Sidious watched with a sinister smile as his eager new apprentice brought his blade down hard against Count Dooku's, driving him back, relentlessly. Sidious closed his eyes and reached deeply into the Dark Side; he could feel the hate, the anger, the pure rage that swelled inside of the young Sith as he brought his weapon down, again and again, against the quickly tiring Count.
Sidious opened his eyes and looked toward the door as he heard the blade pierce the door. He watched, for a moment, as the brilliant green blade began to slice quickly through the thick door, the metal falling as brilliant gold molten slag to the hard metal floor, scattering in a spray of sparks as it struck the cold decking.
"He is no match for you, my young apprentice," Sidious called angrily, as he turned his eyes back to Vader and watched with dark satisfaction as Dooku fought for his life. "Finish him," he said, his eyes glaring angrily in the darkness, "and take his place at my side!"
Count Dooku struck out with all of his might, as he fought for his life against the young Sith. He thrust his blade forward hard, then slashed left, right, and left again, as he desperately sought to drive his foe back away from him. His offensive didn't last long, however, as the young Sith suddenly brought his saber up and lunged at him viciously. Dooku raised his blade quickly, catching the thrust and turning it aside; he stumbled again, struggling to find his footing as he tried desperately to fend off Vader's furious attack.
Obi-Wan brought his blade around full circle, finishing the cut; he withdrew his blade and, with all of his might, lifted his leg and kicked the large disk of metal through the glowing red hole he had cut, sending it clattering to the floor with loud crash and a spray of sparks.
Count Dooku only saw the crimson blade of his attacker for a split second, as he raised his own blade to defend himself. Anakin and Obi-Wan stepped through the jagged hole and into the dark chamber as quickly as they could; they both looked up, just in time to see Dooku stumble backwards, as the dark, hooded figure in front of him spun quickly and drove his blade cleanly through the Count's chest.
Count Dooku lurched backwards, as the searing heat of the weapon's blade spread through his body. He looked down at the humming crimson blade that protruded from his chest, as his own weapon rolled from his hand, clattering to the hard metal floor.
Anakin and Obi-Wan watched in stunned silence as Dooku dropped to his knees as the crimson blade withdrew from his chest. He struggled to take another breath, as he looked up and saw Vader's eyes glowering at him, with the same cold, yellow glow he had seen in his master's eyes only a moment before.
Dooku turned his eyes toward the two Jedi who stood near the doorway. His eyes were drawn to the glowing white blade in the younger Jedi's hand; he looked up, slowly, to the face of its owner, and a smile spread across his face as he recognized the familiar face that looked back at him.
"Forgive me," Dooku said, weakly, as he struggled to take another breath. He closed his eyes, just as he saw Vader's weapon rise again in front of him.
Anakin and Obi-Wan watched, in horrified, helpless silence, as the dark figure brought his weapon around in a smooth arc, sending Count Dooku's headless body collapsing to the hard, cold floor before him.
Anakin glanced around the room quickly, as his eyes searched the darkness for the source of the dark, foreboding presence he had sensed as he stood in the hallway outside the door, and for any sign of Chancellor Palpatine.
He froze, suddenly, as he looked to where Chancellor Palpatine stood near the side of the room; a cold chill ran down his spine as he saw, only for a brief instant, a single pair of angry, yellow eyes that glared at him from the darkness.
They both heard the sound of the heavy footsteps behind them; they turned quickly, just in time to see the remains of the chamber door open and the tall, gray-cloaked form of General Grievous appear in the doorway. His catlike eyes glared out at them from his faceless grey mask, and they both watched as his long, cybernetic arms reached down to his belt, drawing two of the many sabers that hung around his narrow, mechanical waist. He pressed the igniters and held them tightly in his hands as he took a long step toward the two warriors, their brilliant green blades humming loudly as he swung them several times at his sides.
Grievous lunged at the two Jedi, his blades swinging furiously, first at Anakin, then back at Obi-Wan. They both jumped back, one on either side of the General, as he lashed out at them both, his two blades flashing with amazing speed.
Palpatine watched, silently, as the two Jedi fought furiously with the massive cyborg, their own weapons flashing brightly in the dim light as they clashed against his in violent opposition. Palpatine turned his eyes quickly toward his young apprentice, who still stood near the body of Count Dooku.
Anakin swung his blade hard left, then right, turning the General's attack aside, and then took a step back, as he looked over his shoulder to where Palpatine stood. He watched as the dark figure ran quickly across the large room, seizing Palpatine by the arm, and hurriedly made his way toward the exit, dragging Palpatine with him.
"Anakin!" Obi-Wan shouted, as he swung his blade hard and lashed out of the General, "We can't let him get away with the Chancellor. We have to stop him, quickly!"
Anakin turned quickly and bolted for the doorway just as the dark attacker pushed the Chancellor through it forcefully. He turned quickly, igniting the crimson blade of his weapon just as Anakin reached him.
Anakin swung his blade down hard against the dark figure with all of his might, its brilliant white blade hissing and crackling violently as it struck his opponent's with incredible force. He watched, as he held his attacker's blade at bay with all of his might, as the mysterious figure turned his hooded face toward him.
Anakin's face went pale as he saw the angry, vengeful visage under the thick, dark hood; the yellow eyes burned at him furiously as he looked, in shock and disbelief, at the face staring back at him from under the long, black cloak.
Suddenly, Anakin felt himself being picked up into the air as his attacker raised his hand and, with a strong Force push, sent him flying backwards and crashing to the hard metal floor. Dazed and confused, Anakin struggled to get to his feet as he watched the hooded figure turn and disappear quickly through the doorway and down the corridor.
It can't be, Anakin thought to himself, as he struggled to regain control of his mind and his body; it had to have been some trick, some deception, an image planted in his mind by the Sith to distract him, to allow himself to escape. Anakin turned and looked back toward Obi-Wan as he tried to stand, struggling to get the image of the horrific face he had seen under the thick black hood out of his mind. Suddenly, another huge explosion rocked the ship; the ship rolled violently to its port side, sending Anakin off his feet and sliding across the floor, struggling for a purchase on the smooth metal decking.
General Grievous swung his lightsaber hard at Obi-Wan, as the Jedi Knight struggled to keep his footing as the ship lurched violently. Obi-Wan brought his blade up, but the combined force of the General's blow and the motion of the deck below him sent him flying backwards against the wall, and, he cried out in pain as he struck his head on the large control console as he fell. He collapsed limply, stunned and dazed, his weapon clattering to the floor beside him.
Anakin struggled to get to his feet as the deck pitched and rolled beneath him. He watched, helplessly, as General Grievous extinguished his weapons and returned them to his belt, and then turned and glared at him for a long moment. Then, with several long powerful strides of his cybernetic legs, he stepped through the doorway and disappeared down the long corridor.
Anakin struggled to his feet, running quickly to Obi-Wan's side as the ship continued to groan as her hull pitched and rolled violently. Anakin looked out of the window; the ship was beginning to descend quickly toward the planet's atmosphere.
"Master," Anakin said, as he turned Obi-Wan toward him; he could see the bloody gash on the side of Obi-Wan's head where he had struck the console as he fell. "Master, can you hear me?" Anakin said, as he shook Obi-Wan's shoulders frantically.
Obi-Wan didn't respond; Anakin knew they had to get off this ship as quickly as they could. He reached over quickly and picked up Obi-Wan's weapon, tucking it securely into his belt. Then, reaching into the Force with all of his might, he stood up and hoisted Obi-Wan onto his shoulder, and then turned and headed toward the door, the ship's decking still pitching and rolling beneath his boots.
"You're a lot heavier than I remember, Master," Anakin groaned under his breath, as he made his way through the door. He placed one hand on the walls of the corridor and steadied himself, as the deck continued to roll under his boots. As quickly as he could, he made his way down the corridor toward the lift. He stepped inside and pressed the control switch, and, as the doors closed, he tried to catch his breath as they descended down toward the command deck below them.
The command deck was deserted; Anakin watched as the last of the escape pods launched themselves out of the port side of the ship as the massive vessel continued to descend toward the planet's atmosphere.
He dropped to his knees, lowering Obi-Wan onto the floor; he was still unconscious, and he was bleeding badly from the gash in the side of his head. Anakin leapt to his feet, his eyes searching the command deck feverishly as he looked for someway to save himself and his master.
Anakin ran quickly to the pilot's station, directly in front of the large observation windows that looked out over the bow of the massive vessel. He looked at the myriad of displays in front of him, as he quickly tried to assess the ship's condition. "Anakin Skywalker," he said to himself with a long, deep sigh, "how do you manage to get yourself into these situations?"
It didn't look good. The main engines were gone, and both the central and aft reactor decks were burning. There was a massive breach in the outer hull on the starboard side, and the plume of plasma that erupted into the vacuum of space was pushing the rear of the Imperial Hand toward the port side.
"If we go in at this angle," Anakin said to himself quietly, as he watched the ship continue to spin as they approached the planet, "we're gonna break up and destroy who knows what in the process."
Anakin looked down at the planet, as the Imperial Hand began to skip along the upper atmosphere. Coruscant was one massive city; if a vessel of this size were to plummet uncontrolled into one of the more heavily populated areas of the planet, hundreds of thousands of innocent lives would be lost. He had to do something, anything, to try to keep that from happening.
His eyes searched the pilot's station frantically for the thruster control indicators; he found them, finally, and pressing the switch beside the thruster controls, he looked intently at the display. He still had stabilizing and breaking thrusters. "It's not much," Anakin said with a reserved sigh, "but it's better than nothing."
Anakin ran quickly to the weapon's station across from him. He pressed the switch near the shield display station, hoping that at least some of the ships shields were still functioning. He looked at the display as it blazed to life; the shields were still working, barely, on the forward half of the vessel. As quickly as he could, he shifted the deflector shields, placing all of the remaining energy on the screens directly in front of and below the ship's bow.
He ran quickly back to the pilot's station, as he felt the ship begin to shudder as they began to descend into Coruscant's thick atmosphere. He took the ship's control yoke tightly in his hands, and, reaching over and firing the forward breaking thrusters, pulled back on the yoke as he attempted to bring the ship's bow up in an attempt to level their descent. If he could only keep the ship level, he though, he might have a chance of bringing the massive vessel through the atmosphere intact, and attempt something of a controlled landing. One large falling object, he figured, would be better than many.
Anakin held the yoke tightly as the ship began to shudder violently as they began to descent quickly though the atmosphere. He reached over and fired the port thrusters at the rear of the ship as he tried to compensate for the drift caused by the massive rupture in the Imperial's starboard side. As the thrusters fired, he could hear and feel the ship groaning from the massive stresses as they plummeted through the thick atmosphere.
"Come on, Anakin," he said to himself, clenching his teeth tightly as he pulled back hard on the yoke, trying desperately to keep the vessel's bow up, as they plummeted blindly through the thick atmosphere. "You promised Padmé you were coming home," he said, as he reached over and pushed the port thrusters to full power, "and you're damn sure not going to disappoint her."
Obi-Wan blinked his eyes as he came to; his head was swimming, and the pain that coursed through the side of his head made his sick to his stomach. He struggled to lift himself up on his elbows, as he looked around, trying to focus his eyes and determine where he was.
"Anakin?" he shouted, as he tried to lift himself to his feet as the ship shuddered violently. He pulled himself up and, leaning on the edge of the console, he looked across the command deck, just as Anakin turned his head and called to him from the pilot's station.
"Over here, Master," Anakin shouted, as he struggled to hold the ship on course as they continued to plummet through the atmosphere.
"Where in blazes are we?" Obi-Wan asked, as he staggered across the command deck and joined Anakin at the pilot's station. He looked out of the station's forward window, and watched as they started to break through the thick atmosphere, and the massive city began to unfold below them.
"Well," Anakin said, "we're landing." He paused and looked back at Obi-Wan as he watched the city approach them rapidly from below with a somewhat pained expression. "Sort of, I think."
"Well," Obi-Wan said with a resigned sigh, "it looks like this one will just be a much larger version of our last one." He looked down, as he felt the ship shuddering, violently, as they made their approach. "I don't know how you managed to get us this far."
"Quick," Anakin said, as he fired all of the ship's forward breaking thrusters, trying hard to slow their descent as much as possible. "We need to find an unpopulated place to crash."
"Crash?" Obi-Wan said, looking back at Anakin with a blank expression. "Anakin, I know it's just a technicality, but I'd really prefer the term 'land' if you don't mind."
"Yeah, me too," Anakin said, as their eyes searched the city as it loomed large under them. "We need to find a place outside of the populated areas, and fast."
Obi-Wan looked frantically, his eyes searching the city below them. "There," he said, gesturing toward a large mining field just east of the city below them. "Do you think you can set us down there?"
"I don't know," Anakin said, as he reached over and pushed the throttle for the maneuvering thrusters. "I don't have a whole lot of control, but we'll try."
Obi-Wan watched as the bow of the ship began to turn, slowly, toward the mining field. They had a chance, at least; he looked down at the pilot's console as Anakin pulled hard on the control yoke, trying to keep the ship's bow up. "We're coming in awfully fast," Obi-Wan said, turning his eyes back to the window, watching as the ships and transports below them began to scramble as they descended rapidly, trailing an enormous plume of plasma and smoke behind them.
"I know," Anakin said, as he pulled back hard on the control yoke. "As soon as we're sure we'll make the mining field, go ahead and fire all of the breaking thrusters," Anakin said, as he turned and looked at Obi-Wan. "I don't want to slow us down any more until we know we're going to clear the city."
"Good thinking," Obi-Wan nodded, and he walked to Anakin's right and stood next to him at the thruster controls.
They both looked out, as they watched the city pass beneath them as they rapidly descended toward the mining field. Anakin reached over and fired the maneuvering thrusters on the port side one last time, as he attempted to turn this ship into the field as straight as he could. The bow swung to their port side, as they began to roll slowly, and Anakin reached over and cut the maneuvering thrusters as they cleared the edge of the field.
"Now!" Anakin yelled, and Obi-Wan reached over and fired all of the breaking thrusters at once at full power.
The massive vessel rolled hard to her port side as the breaking thrusters fired. As the forward half of the ship slowed, the aft section buckled along the massive tear in her hull on her starboard side, and she impacted the mining field on her port side.
The force of the impact was enormous; huge plumes of gas erupted as the massive ship sheered off untold numbers of transfer pipes, sending enormous pillars of fire and huge plumes of smoke high into the late afternoon sky as the Imperial Hand careened through the massive mining field, leaving a path of complete destruction behind her.
She had plowed through the rocky, pipe strewn landscape for nearly three kilometers before coming to a stop, leaving a path of broken gas pipes, destroyed equipment and burning gas mines in her wake. Her hull continued to erupt into flames as the remaining reactor ignited and burned fiercely, fueled by the gas fires around her. The flames and pillars of smoke could be seen for kilometers, rising high into the evening sky, and fire control and emergency teams were already converging on the crash site by the time that Obi-Wan came to on what remained of the command deck.
They had both been sent flying against the portside wall of the command deck, as the ship had bucked and rolled during their descent. Obi-Wan lifted himself up and looked around the cabin in the darkness, as he struggled to get his bearings.
"Anakin?" he called, anxiously, as he stood up, looking frantically around the command deck for his young friend. His right arm was broken, and he winced in pain as he tried to move it, and then reached over and held it tightly to his side with his left.
"Anakin," he said again, as he stepped over the shattered command deck, his eyes searching the darkness of the smoke filled room, "Anakin, can you hear me?"
Obi-Wan caught a glimpse of Anakin's dark brown tunic near the wall; a large section of the pilot's station had torn itself free during the crash, and Anakin appeared to be pinned beneath it. As quickly as he could, Obi-Wan made his way through the smoke and darkness, tossing debris and broken equipment aside furiously.
Anakin lay on his back against the wall, and Obi-Wan knelt beside him as he reached him. He looked down, and saw that Anakin's right leg appeared to be trapped under the section of the pilot's station.
Obi-Wan shook Anakin's shoulder gently. "Anakin," he said, his face flush with concern for his young friend. "Anakin, can you hear me?"
Anakin blinked his eyes, slowly, and then jerked himself up as he came to; he cried out in pain, as he did, as the remains of the pilot's station bit into his wounded leg.
"Anakin," Obi-Wan said, as he placed his hand on his shoulder as he tried to calm him. "It's all right, we made it. Just lie still a moment."
"My leg," Anakin groaned in pain, as he lay back down on the deck. "I think my leg's broken."
Obi-Wan reached down and took one of Anakin's sabers from his weapon belt. "Just lie still a minute," he said, squeezing Anakin's shoulder firmly. "I'll get you free in just a minute."
Obi-Wan stood up, painfully, and ignited the blade of Anakin's weapon. Very carefully, he began to cut away the metal that held the pilot's station to the ship's deck. He worked quickly, kicking the smoldering pieces clear of his companion as they fell to the deck as he worked.
It only took a few moments for him to remove the few remaining struts; he powered down Anakin's weapon and, placing it back in Anakin's weapon belt, he stretched out his hand toward the huge, mangled chunk of metal.
"All right," Obi-Wan said, as Anakin looked up at him. "On three, I'm going to lift, and you pull your leg out. Understood?"
"Understood, Master," Anakin said with a painful nod, lifting himself up onto his elbows.
"Here we go," Obi-Wan said, as he closed his eyes and reached into the Force. "One... two... three..."
Obi-Wan reached into the Force, and the remains of the pilot's station groaned as it began to lift from the deck; Anakin felt the weight lift from his leg and, with a howl of pain, he pulled his injured leg out from under the station and collapsed back onto the floor.
Seeing that his young friend was free, Obi-Wan let the pilot's station collapse back against the wall, and quickly knelt by Anakin's side. "Are you all right?" he asked, as Anakin tried to lift himself up onto his arms.
"I think so," Anakin said, with a grimace of pain. "But I'm pretty sure that leg's broken."
Anakin looked up at Obi-Wan as he knelt beside him; the blood from the cut on his head had run down the side of his face onto his tunic. His hair was matted with blood on that side, and his broken arm hung limply at his side.
"You don't look so good, Master," Anakin said, forcing a weak smile as Obi-Wan shook his head, and then placed Anakin's arm around his shoulder and helped him to his feet.
Anakin groaned with pain as he bounced gingerly on his good leg, his arm tight around Obi-Wan's shoulders. "Well," Obi-Wan sighed, as he reached over and patted Anakin gently on the chest, "you've looked better yourself, you know."
Obi-Wan looked at him; Anakin held his chest tightly with his right arm. The nasty cut over his left eye was still bleeding, and his right leg was bleeding from a gash above his knee, as he held it gingerly off the deck.
"You look like hell," Obi-Wan sighed, as he shook his head slowly. "Your wife is going to kill me."
Anakin started to laugh, a painful grimace on his face. "Oh, don't make me laugh," he said, as he held tightly to Obi-Wan's shoulder. "I think something here in the middle's busted, too."
"Wonderful," Obi-Wan said with an equally painful grin. "Some broken bones, a few destroyed ships, significant property damage," he chuckled, as he looked back at Anakin. "Just like old times, isn't it?"
"Oh, please," Anakin said, as he closed his eyes tightly and laughed again. "I said don't make me laugh, remember?"
"Oh," Anakin said, as he reached behind him, painfully, and slipped his hand under his tunic. "You lost this again," he said, turning a painful smile to his former mentor.
Obi-Wan grinned, shaking his head as he looked down and took his saber from Anakin's outstretched hand. "That joke's getting old, you know," he chuckled, as he returned his weapon to his belt.
"Come on," Obi-Wan said, as he took hold of Anakin's arm with his good hand. "Let's get off this ship. We need to contact Master Windu and the Council as soon as we can. I think we can get out through the access hatch at the front of the command deck."
"Not to be a problem or anything," Anakin groaned, as he took a painful step, holding tightly to Obi-Wan's shoulder, "could we stop by the medics first?"
Obi-Wan laughed as they turned, slowly and painfully, and began to make their way out of what remained of the Imperial Hand, as the firefighting units swarmed over her flaming decks above them.
Our story continues shortly!...