Chapter 9 – On the Brink
"Master," Anakin cried as he saw Obi-Wan fall.
In one fluid motion Anakin somehow managed to spring to his feet and catch Obi-Wan's lightsaber in his left hand as he planted. He couldn't plant very firmly on the icy surface though, so he allowed his momentum to carry him through a full twirl as he caught the lightsaber from Obi-Wan. He spun and slashed, decimating any snow cats that came near. One snow cat was cleaved in four from the double blades, while another ended up impaled on Anakin's saber. Clearly, the snow cats were driven by an insatiable hunger, for food or battle Anakin couldn't be sure, but they also showed the faintest glimmer of intellect. Observing the sweeping death that Obi-Wan and then Anakin had dealt to their numbers, the remaining snow cats began to withdraw. They purred menacingly, but relented when Anakin stared back at them with cold resolve. If the snow cats had been able to tell the tale they might have said that Anakin appeared to be grinning. The last snow cat bounded far out of sight some minutes later, allowing Anakin to finally extinguish the two deadly sabers.
"That was amazing my boy," Cranner Zib exclaimed coming up behind Anakin. "Such skill. I can't for the life of me figure out where those blooming creatures came from. They must have been hibernating when the discovery team scanned the planet. If their body functions slowed down enough they could probably avoid a standard life scan from a ship. Fascinating. This brings up so many…"
Cranner stopped mid sentence when he noticed Obi-Wan on the ground for the first time, Saya cradling him in her arms, bright red blood splattered on her face and body. Anakin took awhile to break out of his slow daze before sprinting to Obi-Wan's side. Cranner followed swiftly behind. Up close the situation looked even more grave. Obi-Wan's skin had a tone that Anakin usually associated with corpses, of which he had seen plenty. Blood seemed to be everywhere, and Obi-Wan's breath was coming ragged and slow. Saya Vil's eyes met Anakin's and for a brief moment Anakin thought that it was already too late. Then he saw a fire in her eyes, one that would accept not quitting. She gently laid Obi-Wan on the ice, grabbed Cranner by the arm and rushed into the cave. Anakin simply knelt down on the ice. He could feel the shock hitting him now.
What will I do if Obi-Wan dies?
The fear he felt in his heart at this moment was usually reserved only for his mother. Anakin laid a tentative hand on Obi-Wan's uninjured shoulder, causing the Jedi Master to stir.
"You did well," Obi-Wan said in a whisper of a voice.
"So did you Master. I've never seen the Force flow so strongly through you."
"Ah," was all Obi-Wan said, clearly weak from the effort of trying to talk.
"Don't speak Master. We'll get you patched up. We'll get you away from here," Anakin said, though his voice was close to breaking.
"I have no doubt that you will Padawan," Obi-wan replied with a complete mask of serenity settling over his face. "I suspect you can do almost anything you set your mind to."
Anakin was even more unnerved by the way Obi-Wan was talking. He seemed too serene. Anakin saw Saya Vil and Cranner Zib running back to his position and felt a small measure of hope rise inside his heart.
"We must move him to the cave. We're set up to treat his injuries," Saya Vil proclaimed, straining to keep the calm in her voice.
Obi-Wan's eyes were still open, but his breathing was even slower, and his body inhumanly still. Anakin was physically and emotionally drained, but touching the Force he was able to lift Obi-Wan up in his arms and carry him to the cave. He settled the Jedi Master down gently where Saya instructed him and backed away to allow the two scientists to work. Time passed without his notice until finally Saya shook his arm.
"He is stabilized for now. Between the two of us we had enough medical training to patch him up decently. Frankly though, without immediate medical attention, I'm afraid it doesn't look good. Saya Vil turned away when she said this, having already realized what her words meant. Anakin understood too. They were on a planet in the middle of nowhere. There was no civilization as they knew it on the planet. Icis was a fair distance away from any other planet. There was no place to turn for immediate medical attention. Obi-Wan would die.
"No!" Anakin exclaimed, as he gazed down at his injured Maser. "I will save him."
"How!" Saya Vil blurted out, louder than she intended.
"I don't know how," Anakin responded back, the cold resolve coming over him once more, "but I will save him."
Saya Vil looked at him bewildered. She imagined she might have looked this way when Pollo died. No matter how well trained, it always took the human heart a little time to catch up with what the mind already knew.
"If only we had some of the Hydera minerals," Cranner mumbled to no one in particular.
Anakin perked up at the mention of the Hydera minerals, practically hurling Cranner to his feet.
"We have to find more," Anakin said in a voice that allowed no argument as he held Cranner up by the arm.
Still, Cranner gave one. "We can't. We don't have the equipment to locate the Hydera, and even if we could there is no way to extract it safely."
"Actually," Saya broke in, "we can easily locate the Hydera. It's extracting it that's the problem."
Slowly, both Anakin and Cranner turned to Saya and simultaneously remarked, "What did you say?"
"I know where the Hydera is. But there's no way to extract it," she replied.
"Show me," Anakin said without hesitation, though Cranner was far less enthusiastic.
"What good will that do. We still can't extract it," he said.
"Show me," Anakin said again, releasing Cranner from his grasp. This time the coldness in his voice startled both scientists into cooperation.
Saya Vil walked outside the cave and pointed at a spot on the ground not far from where Obi-Wan had just lay wounded. Anakin strode toward it, as the scientists followed behind, and looked down at the ice.
"This section must be delicate for whatever reason," Saya began to say. "Or maybe the fighting wore the ice away. At any rate, that yellow shine is the Hydera mineral."
Anakin had to strain to see what she was talking about. Finally he saw the tiniest flicker of yellow beneath the ice. Anakin began to reach out a hand to examine the spot when Cranner grabbed his arm and yanked him away.
"You can't do that. Very dangerous remember," Cranner uttered quickly, wanting to stifle the anger he saw in Anakin's eyes.
Anakin stood and took 3 deep breaths before speaking again.
"There has to be some way to extract it," he finally said.
"Afraid not," Cranner said. "We had to use pinpoint laser technology to extract it, and even then the process was slow going because of the risk."
Anakin paced some more, calling on the Force to help him stay calm. Suddenly, a spark lit in his eyes, and a firm determination took hold in his heart.
"Get back to the cave. You should be safe there," Anakin said.
"What are you going to…" Cranner began to ask, but he was cut off by Saya Vil's insistent voice.
"You heard what Jedi Skywalker said Cranner. Back to the cave," she said.
"But…" he began again, but this time Anakin's voice cut him off.
"Take this," Anakin said to Saya Vil, placing a small device in her hand. "It has the access code for the snow sled and our ship. The snow sled already has the coordinates of the ship programmed into it. If I don't come back to the cave, take Master Obi-Wan and leave this planet."
"But…" Cranner began again, but this time Saya was dragging him back to the cave by the arm.
He turned his attention to her and began mouthing objections as they disappeared back inside the cave. Anakin gathered the Force to him. He allowed all the memories of his time with Obi-Wan to come flooding in. He saw a hooded figure saying, "You will be a Jedi. I promise." He saw the long first walk to his quarters in the Jedi Temple, Obi-Wan's presence the only thing that reassured him in this strange place. He saw the day Obi-Wan gave him the river rock that the Jedi Master treasured, a gift from his own Master, Qui-Gon Jinn. He saw the day they had fought off pirates on Corellia, and restored trade to sectors that badly needed it. He saw Obi-Wan's smile, lots of Obi-Wan's smiles, and wondered if his assessment of his Master as too serious had been wrong. He gathered all these memories together, even the arguments with Obi-Wan, and called the Force to him. The memories reminded him what he was fighting to save. The memories solidified his will. The Force heard his call. It came to him in waves. He felt connected to all that was. He listened to the sounds of an entire universe. Anakin focused his mind downward, shifting through all the sounds until he heard only that which was in front of him. He felt the Hydera mineral throbbing with power just beneath the surface of the ice. Anakin shifted his lightsaber once in his hand, gathered the Force around him, ignited the saber, and plunged it into the ice.