He was very close.
His Master's dim presence grew steadily as he approached the mountain's base. Unfortunately, so did the impression of thousands of clone soldiers and the icy chill which he attempted to will out of existence.
His steps on the steadily rising ground became slower, more deliberate, as the need for stealth became more important with every stride. He looked up, and directly ahead of him was a massive fallen tree trunk, and then the brightness of the sun streaming through indicating a break in the undergrowth ahead. He turned, seeing the slowly moving outline of Padme, next in the column, perhaps 30 meters away. He held up his hand, signaling a halt.
Slowly, gingerly, intent on silence, he lowered himself to his hands and knees and began crawling forward, toward the fallen tree, ignoring sharp sticks and biting insects which attacked his hands, willing himself to make no sound.
It seemed like minutes before he reached his destination, although in reality it was much shorter. He raised slightly into a crouch behind the fallen log, and slowly extended himself upwards so that he could survey what lie in front of him.
His gaze swept slowly from left to right. The jungle had been cleared, judging from the jagged stumps, in about a 50-meter semicircle. At the center, about twenty degrees from his line of advance, stood an armored gray figure holding a blaster rifle, and behind him, bored into the black rock of the mountain, was a door.
He lowered himself from sight and signaled to Padme and the others to come forward slowly. Mimicking Anakin's approach, they dropped to hands and knees and slowly crawled to his position. Padme was crouched on his right, and Lieutenant Typho next to her. His companions took turns peering in the direction Anakin indicated.
Unfortunately, there was no easy way to drop the sentry quietly. The clearing around his position precluded approaching within vibroblade range, and a blaster shot would surely be heard and recognized by any soldiers nearby.
Padme and Typho looked at him expectantly, but no one spoke, not even in a whisper, for fear of alerting the enemy. And when Anakin rose again to his knees, their expressions became those of concern. Wouldn't he be spotted?
Anakin, however, did not look at them - did not even look at the soldier, and instead closed his eyes, his face toward the enemy. Again, he calmed himself, drawing on the Force around him, channeling it to him, until it became his to command. He visualized the sentry, and slowly raised his right hand, fingers spread apart, until they pointed towards the enemy.
Slowly, the fingers drew closer together, bending, as though they closed around an unseen object. Anakin felt beads of sweat running slowly down his forehead, but his concentration was focused entirely on the soldier, and an image of his hand closing around the man's throat.
**
Padme ventured a glance toward the sentry, and in astonishment, saw the Mandalorian's hands fly upward to his neck, saw him twist and struggle, fighting for leverage against a seemingly unshakeable grip. He heaved forward, then fell to his knees, and then finally dropped motionless to the ground.
**
Anakin's eyes opened, and he drew in several breaths. The effort had been considerable, for the Mandalorian was strong, and Anakin had never practiced, nor even heard of, choking a man with the Force. He addressed the others: "I only made him pass out. If he regains consciousness before we leave, we've been here too long. Go!"
They ran, Anakin in the lead, to the door behind the limp form of the enemy.
"How are we going to get in there?" a corporal asked him, impatiently.
Anakin made no reply, instead removing his lightsaber, igniting the green blade, and shoving the tip into the door's control panel. Smoke and sparks flew from the surface and blue lightning arced between switches. An access panel blew out, and the door flew upwards.
Anakin was the first to enter. They walked on a smooth steel floor along a dimly lit tunnel of lichen covered rock, no doubt blasted or drilled out of the mountain. However, they advanced at a jog, weapons ready, and had little time to evaluate their surroundings in detail. Luckily, they saw no soldiers inside the tunnel, which intersected with another passageway a hundred meters ahead. Anakin led, following his instincts and the presence of his master, urging the rest onward. At the intersection, Anakin went left. This tunnel was different from the first, as several recessed doorways lined either side. Another hundred meters ahead was yet another crossing of passageways. Anakin suddenly stopped in front of one of the doorways. "He's in here," he said. HE drew the lightsaber again and began cutting along the heavy metal door's edge, the energy blade searing through the massive locking mechanism, and the door swung open slightly.
"Lieutenant, corporal, follow me!" he ordered. "The rest of you shoot anything that comes around those corners ahead!"
Straining with effort, Anakin and Typho pulled the massive door open. They burst inside, and Anakin staggered backwards as though struck with a blow. "Master!" he shouted, glimpsing the barely recognizable and terribly battered form of Obi-Wan Kenobi, suspended from chains attatched to the walls. Anakin rushed to his Master's side and sliced through the chains with his saber, while Panaka caught his falling body before it slammed against the floor.
"Anakin," Obi-Wan managed to choke out.
Anakin wanted to say something, anything, to the man who he knew was severely injured, but realized that time was now imperative.
"You two take him, run to the ship as fast as you can. We'll cover you if anyone comes after us!"
Typho, a large, powerfully built man, slung Obi-Wan's limp form over a shoulder and started for the doorway, the corporal right behind him with his blaster held ready. He ordered the rest to get out, and the soldiers and handmaidens began running back the way they had come.
Padme waited for Anakin to step out of the doorway. "Let's go," he said, and they took off after the rest, who were now several dozen meters ahead.
Yet suddenly, off to the left, one of the other doorways burst open, and out stepped a figure in black, directly into their path.
**
Padme brought her blaster pistol up into a firing position with speed that would have impressed a Corellian commando. However, she was no match for a Sith. The dark figure thrust out a blue hand, palm outward, and Padme flew several meters through the air and slammed against the rock wall of the tunnel, then fell to the floor, motionless, the blaster pistol falling from her hand.
**
Anakin watched in horror, then uttered an incoherent yell of rage, rushing toward the black figure, lightsaber raised overhead, and brought the blade down in a mighty swing intending to split the enemy from head to crotch. Yet the dark figure stepped back, dodging the blow, and ignited his own saber, bringing the scarlet blade around in a slashing cut. Anakin, however, was extremely quick and agile, and angled his wrists upward in a parry. Static hissing filled his ears as the two blades strained against each other, and Anakin saw red eyes beneath the figure's hood, and a scowl of contempt on his angular features.
His opponent suddenly circled his wrists and thrust forward, but Anakin deflected the red blade aside an instant before it pierced the base of his throat. The dark figure -the one from his nightmares, Anakin realized- suddenly attacked in a flurry of powerful slashing strikes, pushing Anakin back, keeping the young Jedi off balance and unable to take the offensive. Anakin was becoming desperate, as not only did the Sith seem to radiate fear which threatened to fatally disrupt his concentration, but he knew that Padme was lying a few meters behind him, helpless, and that only he could protect her.
**
Padme opened her eyes a few seconds later. Her shoulders were on fire with pain, and she had been stunned by the force of the impact. She focused on Anakin, who was being pressed back by the dark figure with the scarlet lightsaber. And then out of the corner of her eye, she saw her blaster pistol. Slowly, she inched towards the weapon, fighting the pain and thinking only of somehow saving Anakin from his opponent who seemed unstoppable.
**
Anakin's attention was entirely occupied by the impossibly fast-moving blade of his enemy. Anakin was faster, but the Sith was powerfully built and clearly far more experienced. Anakin, like all living Jedi save his Master, had never fought a saber-wielding enemy in mortal combat, instead his limited experience consisted of practice duels or blocking blaster shots. And more importantly, the Sith had achieved surprise, attacking before Anakin could overcome either his shock or fury, on his own terms, and had clearly no intention of ceding the initiative to the Jedi.
The Sith slashed right to left with a short stroke intended to deflect Anakin's blade to the side in preparation for a killing thrust at his chest. Anakin, however, anticipated the move- or thought he did - and instead slashed into the direction of the Sith's attack. Yet in an instant he saw the red blade sliding down his own, the tip slicing into the flesh of his right hand between the thumb and index finger. He cried out in unbearable pain as the Sith brought a sweeping kick at Anakin's legs, knocking them out from under him. Anakin fell backwards and dropped his saber. The Sith towered above him, reversing his grip and holding his weapon pointed at him, his hands raised overhead, preparing for a finishing thrust.
**
Padme saw Anakin being pressed further by his enemy, and then watched in horror as the Jedi was knocked to the ground, his saber falling from his hand. In desperation, she grabbed the blaster pistol.
Things seemed to move almost in slow motion. The Sith started to bring down the blade. She heard herself yell out Anakin's name as the Jedi attempted to recover. She aimed the weapon at the Sith, who was now momentarily distracted by her shouting. But then she noticed a small crack in the rock at the tunnel's ceiling. She thumbed the switch to select the blaster's highest power setting and shifted her aim upward slightly, then pulled the trigger.
**
Anakin, too, heard Padme cry out, and watched in horror as she leveled the pistol at Raptor, knowing the Sith could easily deflect the bolt back at the Senator. He called his dropped saber to his good hand - the left one, and prepared to fight a doomed battle if only it would allow Padme and Obi- Wan to escape. And then he saw the blaster's muzzle elevate slightly. A flicker of realization passed through Padme's Force-imprint and he rolled away from the Sith just as the blaster bolt slammed into the tunnel overhead.
**
Padme saw Anakin propel himself rearward and the Sith jump back as he, too, realized the Senator's plan. The tunnel shook as a huge pile of rock, fragmented and cracked by the impact of the blaster bolt, came crashing down, in turn dislodging larger chunks of rock until a portion of the tunnel caved in entirely.
She struggled to her feet, as did Anakin, who narrowly escaped being crushed. She wanted to run over and embrace him, but instead he was already on his feet, hooking the lightsaber to his belt and grabbing the blaster pistol in his uninjured hand. She followed him out through the tunnels, now at a dead run, past the still-unconscious sentry, and back into the forest.
**
Raptor swore violently. He was furious, having been foiled not by the Jedi, who seemed hardly the threat Palpatine had warned of, but rather by the tiny female Senator. He, too, had cleared the falling rock by inches, and now his hand went for his comlink. "Major, the Jedi is fleeing gate 114. Kill them all, or you will beg me for death!"
His Master's dim presence grew steadily as he approached the mountain's base. Unfortunately, so did the impression of thousands of clone soldiers and the icy chill which he attempted to will out of existence.
His steps on the steadily rising ground became slower, more deliberate, as the need for stealth became more important with every stride. He looked up, and directly ahead of him was a massive fallen tree trunk, and then the brightness of the sun streaming through indicating a break in the undergrowth ahead. He turned, seeing the slowly moving outline of Padme, next in the column, perhaps 30 meters away. He held up his hand, signaling a halt.
Slowly, gingerly, intent on silence, he lowered himself to his hands and knees and began crawling forward, toward the fallen tree, ignoring sharp sticks and biting insects which attacked his hands, willing himself to make no sound.
It seemed like minutes before he reached his destination, although in reality it was much shorter. He raised slightly into a crouch behind the fallen log, and slowly extended himself upwards so that he could survey what lie in front of him.
His gaze swept slowly from left to right. The jungle had been cleared, judging from the jagged stumps, in about a 50-meter semicircle. At the center, about twenty degrees from his line of advance, stood an armored gray figure holding a blaster rifle, and behind him, bored into the black rock of the mountain, was a door.
He lowered himself from sight and signaled to Padme and the others to come forward slowly. Mimicking Anakin's approach, they dropped to hands and knees and slowly crawled to his position. Padme was crouched on his right, and Lieutenant Typho next to her. His companions took turns peering in the direction Anakin indicated.
Unfortunately, there was no easy way to drop the sentry quietly. The clearing around his position precluded approaching within vibroblade range, and a blaster shot would surely be heard and recognized by any soldiers nearby.
Padme and Typho looked at him expectantly, but no one spoke, not even in a whisper, for fear of alerting the enemy. And when Anakin rose again to his knees, their expressions became those of concern. Wouldn't he be spotted?
Anakin, however, did not look at them - did not even look at the soldier, and instead closed his eyes, his face toward the enemy. Again, he calmed himself, drawing on the Force around him, channeling it to him, until it became his to command. He visualized the sentry, and slowly raised his right hand, fingers spread apart, until they pointed towards the enemy.
Slowly, the fingers drew closer together, bending, as though they closed around an unseen object. Anakin felt beads of sweat running slowly down his forehead, but his concentration was focused entirely on the soldier, and an image of his hand closing around the man's throat.
**
Padme ventured a glance toward the sentry, and in astonishment, saw the Mandalorian's hands fly upward to his neck, saw him twist and struggle, fighting for leverage against a seemingly unshakeable grip. He heaved forward, then fell to his knees, and then finally dropped motionless to the ground.
**
Anakin's eyes opened, and he drew in several breaths. The effort had been considerable, for the Mandalorian was strong, and Anakin had never practiced, nor even heard of, choking a man with the Force. He addressed the others: "I only made him pass out. If he regains consciousness before we leave, we've been here too long. Go!"
They ran, Anakin in the lead, to the door behind the limp form of the enemy.
"How are we going to get in there?" a corporal asked him, impatiently.
Anakin made no reply, instead removing his lightsaber, igniting the green blade, and shoving the tip into the door's control panel. Smoke and sparks flew from the surface and blue lightning arced between switches. An access panel blew out, and the door flew upwards.
Anakin was the first to enter. They walked on a smooth steel floor along a dimly lit tunnel of lichen covered rock, no doubt blasted or drilled out of the mountain. However, they advanced at a jog, weapons ready, and had little time to evaluate their surroundings in detail. Luckily, they saw no soldiers inside the tunnel, which intersected with another passageway a hundred meters ahead. Anakin led, following his instincts and the presence of his master, urging the rest onward. At the intersection, Anakin went left. This tunnel was different from the first, as several recessed doorways lined either side. Another hundred meters ahead was yet another crossing of passageways. Anakin suddenly stopped in front of one of the doorways. "He's in here," he said. HE drew the lightsaber again and began cutting along the heavy metal door's edge, the energy blade searing through the massive locking mechanism, and the door swung open slightly.
"Lieutenant, corporal, follow me!" he ordered. "The rest of you shoot anything that comes around those corners ahead!"
Straining with effort, Anakin and Typho pulled the massive door open. They burst inside, and Anakin staggered backwards as though struck with a blow. "Master!" he shouted, glimpsing the barely recognizable and terribly battered form of Obi-Wan Kenobi, suspended from chains attatched to the walls. Anakin rushed to his Master's side and sliced through the chains with his saber, while Panaka caught his falling body before it slammed against the floor.
"Anakin," Obi-Wan managed to choke out.
Anakin wanted to say something, anything, to the man who he knew was severely injured, but realized that time was now imperative.
"You two take him, run to the ship as fast as you can. We'll cover you if anyone comes after us!"
Typho, a large, powerfully built man, slung Obi-Wan's limp form over a shoulder and started for the doorway, the corporal right behind him with his blaster held ready. He ordered the rest to get out, and the soldiers and handmaidens began running back the way they had come.
Padme waited for Anakin to step out of the doorway. "Let's go," he said, and they took off after the rest, who were now several dozen meters ahead.
Yet suddenly, off to the left, one of the other doorways burst open, and out stepped a figure in black, directly into their path.
**
Padme brought her blaster pistol up into a firing position with speed that would have impressed a Corellian commando. However, she was no match for a Sith. The dark figure thrust out a blue hand, palm outward, and Padme flew several meters through the air and slammed against the rock wall of the tunnel, then fell to the floor, motionless, the blaster pistol falling from her hand.
**
Anakin watched in horror, then uttered an incoherent yell of rage, rushing toward the black figure, lightsaber raised overhead, and brought the blade down in a mighty swing intending to split the enemy from head to crotch. Yet the dark figure stepped back, dodging the blow, and ignited his own saber, bringing the scarlet blade around in a slashing cut. Anakin, however, was extremely quick and agile, and angled his wrists upward in a parry. Static hissing filled his ears as the two blades strained against each other, and Anakin saw red eyes beneath the figure's hood, and a scowl of contempt on his angular features.
His opponent suddenly circled his wrists and thrust forward, but Anakin deflected the red blade aside an instant before it pierced the base of his throat. The dark figure -the one from his nightmares, Anakin realized- suddenly attacked in a flurry of powerful slashing strikes, pushing Anakin back, keeping the young Jedi off balance and unable to take the offensive. Anakin was becoming desperate, as not only did the Sith seem to radiate fear which threatened to fatally disrupt his concentration, but he knew that Padme was lying a few meters behind him, helpless, and that only he could protect her.
**
Padme opened her eyes a few seconds later. Her shoulders were on fire with pain, and she had been stunned by the force of the impact. She focused on Anakin, who was being pressed back by the dark figure with the scarlet lightsaber. And then out of the corner of her eye, she saw her blaster pistol. Slowly, she inched towards the weapon, fighting the pain and thinking only of somehow saving Anakin from his opponent who seemed unstoppable.
**
Anakin's attention was entirely occupied by the impossibly fast-moving blade of his enemy. Anakin was faster, but the Sith was powerfully built and clearly far more experienced. Anakin, like all living Jedi save his Master, had never fought a saber-wielding enemy in mortal combat, instead his limited experience consisted of practice duels or blocking blaster shots. And more importantly, the Sith had achieved surprise, attacking before Anakin could overcome either his shock or fury, on his own terms, and had clearly no intention of ceding the initiative to the Jedi.
The Sith slashed right to left with a short stroke intended to deflect Anakin's blade to the side in preparation for a killing thrust at his chest. Anakin, however, anticipated the move- or thought he did - and instead slashed into the direction of the Sith's attack. Yet in an instant he saw the red blade sliding down his own, the tip slicing into the flesh of his right hand between the thumb and index finger. He cried out in unbearable pain as the Sith brought a sweeping kick at Anakin's legs, knocking them out from under him. Anakin fell backwards and dropped his saber. The Sith towered above him, reversing his grip and holding his weapon pointed at him, his hands raised overhead, preparing for a finishing thrust.
**
Padme saw Anakin being pressed further by his enemy, and then watched in horror as the Jedi was knocked to the ground, his saber falling from his hand. In desperation, she grabbed the blaster pistol.
Things seemed to move almost in slow motion. The Sith started to bring down the blade. She heard herself yell out Anakin's name as the Jedi attempted to recover. She aimed the weapon at the Sith, who was now momentarily distracted by her shouting. But then she noticed a small crack in the rock at the tunnel's ceiling. She thumbed the switch to select the blaster's highest power setting and shifted her aim upward slightly, then pulled the trigger.
**
Anakin, too, heard Padme cry out, and watched in horror as she leveled the pistol at Raptor, knowing the Sith could easily deflect the bolt back at the Senator. He called his dropped saber to his good hand - the left one, and prepared to fight a doomed battle if only it would allow Padme and Obi- Wan to escape. And then he saw the blaster's muzzle elevate slightly. A flicker of realization passed through Padme's Force-imprint and he rolled away from the Sith just as the blaster bolt slammed into the tunnel overhead.
**
Padme saw Anakin propel himself rearward and the Sith jump back as he, too, realized the Senator's plan. The tunnel shook as a huge pile of rock, fragmented and cracked by the impact of the blaster bolt, came crashing down, in turn dislodging larger chunks of rock until a portion of the tunnel caved in entirely.
She struggled to her feet, as did Anakin, who narrowly escaped being crushed. She wanted to run over and embrace him, but instead he was already on his feet, hooking the lightsaber to his belt and grabbing the blaster pistol in his uninjured hand. She followed him out through the tunnels, now at a dead run, past the still-unconscious sentry, and back into the forest.
**
Raptor swore violently. He was furious, having been foiled not by the Jedi, who seemed hardly the threat Palpatine had warned of, but rather by the tiny female Senator. He, too, had cleared the falling rock by inches, and now his hand went for his comlink. "Major, the Jedi is fleeing gate 114. Kill them all, or you will beg me for death!"
