Leaving Sidious' body where it had fallen, Obi-Wan quickly ran toward the door Bant and N'erak had just exited. Instead of following their path toward where they had presumably landed their shuttle, Obi-Wan turned the other way, running deeper into the Imperial Center.
Reaching a door marked simply "Barracks," the Jedi quickly slipped inside, flicking on the light switch as he entered the darkened room. Moving toward a cabinet on the far wall that most likely held what he needed, the Knight smiled grimly.
***
Helping support N'erak's weight, Bant also kept her 'saber in hand, keeping watch for any Storm Troopers, as they raced through the halls. Their small shuttle had most likely already been discovered, and so the two Jedi were planning on hijacking a ship from one of the Imperial bays. It not only allowed them the satisfaction of knowing for sure that the ship hadn't been tampered with, but the extra time it would take for them to "liberate" one of the ships would also allow Obi-Wan that much more time to reach them.
They had promised not to wait for him, but the two friends had not made any
agreements as to how long it might take them to make good on their escape. Though Bant would not risk her or N'erak's
life unnecessarily, as she knew Obi-Wan would kill her himself if she did, she
also was not going to just allow her friend to throw his own life away.
***
Exiting again from the small room only moments after he had entered, Obi-Wan tried to acclimate himself to breathing through the heavy mask. Though he had taken the precaution before even leaving Naboo of shaving his beard, the Storm Trooper helmet still seemed to restrict his air intake. The effect might have been mostly psychological, however, as the Jedi Master had never cared for anything touching his face.
Holding the blaster loosely in his hand, as he had seen the Troopers do so, Obi-Wan began to jog awkwardly toward the communications and power core. As he ran through the corridors, Obi-Wan had to hastily salute several higher ranking officers as he jogged past. Each time he was questioned, he answered that he was on a personal errand for the Emperor. As he had carefully chosen a uniform with patches depicting a Chamber room guard, the Jedi knew that his story was believable.
When the power room finally drew into sight, though, Obi-Wan had to suppress a sigh of relief. He had been careful in his planning, but he had still worried that one of the other Troopers or Officers would have tried to stop him. Luckily, however, the wrath of the Emperor was something none of the men, clones or not, wanted to face.
***
"The shields are up!" N'erak yelled toward the back of the shuttle, notifying Bant that she could cease in her attempts to reflect the blaster fire from the remaining guards. The two Jedi had carefully barricaded the doors of the shuttle bay as they had entered, leaving only the upper deck opening clear so that Obi-Wan could reach them.
With their back-up cut off, at least until some kind of a rigging system could be strung from the higher level, the bay guards had taken to hiding behind the crates and struts throughout the hanger, taking pot shots at the shuttle the two Jedi had commandeered.
"I don't see him!" Bant answered back, as she reentered the shuttle, taking up a position within the shields, but still preventing any of the guards from boarding.
"I still need to get the stabilizers balanced," N'erak called back. "That will give him a few more minutes."
Frowning slightly, Bant nodded, though her fellow Jedi could not see her. Technically, N'erak was more than capable of flying even without stabilizers, but she knew that he was stalling for time as much as she was. As long as the guards weren't able to gain reinforcements, she and N'erak could risk waiting.
***
Leveling the blaster carefully, Obi-Wan balanced it on the edge of the grating surrounding the core. Binding it in place with some wiring he had freed from one of the consoles, he made sure it was still aimed correctly. Once assured that it was, he quickly ignited his lightsaber and touched the tip of it to the power cell of the blaster. As the metal turned a deep crimson, he withdrew his weapon.
Listening carefully, he made sure that the distinctive whine of the blaster was clearly gaining in pitch before he turned and began to run back the way he had come. Pausing only long enough to seal the only entrance to the room by melting the door, Obi-Wan sprinted as quickly as he could in the awkward uniform.
Hurrying toward the hanger bay, Obi-Wan hoped he would be able to commandeer a craft in time to clear the building before it blew. If not, he guessed he would be seeing Natira much sooner than he had planned.
***
"They've got a rope ladder," Bant yelled, notifying N'erak that the Troopers would soon be flowing down from the upper level. Though she could take out a few of them with the blaster she had once she stepped beyond the shields, Bant knew that there was no way she could remain in the open long enough to stop all of the guards. She would try to aim for the ladder, but as a Healer, her skills with a blaster were not quite as strong as she now wished them to be.
"Take out as many as you can," N'erak ordered. "We need to give him a few more minutes."
Instead of answering, Bant edged carefully out the open ramp of the transport, already aiming toward the upper level.
***
Reaching the hanger bay, Obi-Wan was surprised to see a group of guards running toward him. Knowing that they couldn't have realized who he was, Obi-Wan tried to appear as if he was merely arriving as back-up.
"This levels blocked," the Sergeant in charge notified him, noticing his Chamber guard patches. Though a Chamber guard ranked lower than a Sergeant, they were also the elite of the Storm Trooper ranks and commanded a certain respect because of it.
"Is the upper level open?" the Jedi questioned, grateful for the voice synthesizer of the helmet, even as it further impeded his breathing space.
"Yes, but the Jedi are firing on the Troopers trying to get down," the Sergeant answered as the two swiftly ran up one of the staircases.
Nodding his head, Obi-Wan absorbed the guard's words, even as he silently hoped that his friends were able to hold long enough for him to reach them. Though he had hoped they would be long gone before he reached the bay, he was grateful they had chosen to wait for him. He was also glad that they had not gone back toward their own ship, as he realized that it would most likely have been discovered and tampered with.
As he reached the upper level and surveyed the situation, Obi-Wan did not even hesitate before leaping headlong over the barrier separating the platform from the open air below.
***
"I can't hold them any longer!" Bant cried, as she continued trying to fire despite the pain that radiated from her right leg. Although she had not had the time to investigate, the Healer was fairly certain that the shrapnel she'd been hit with had shattered her kneecap.
"Get inside the shields!" N'erak yelled, working frantically at the pilot's station to try to bring the weapons online. Though he desperately wanted to help his friend, he knew that he couldn't leave the cockpit of the shuttle.
"I'm in," Bant gasped after a moment's pause in which she had painfully hauled herself up the ramp.
"I'm going to takeā¦" N'erak began; only to be cut off as Bant cried out.
"Bant!?!" he yelled, forgetting that he needed to remain at the pilot's station and stumbling to his feet despite his own injury.
"It's Obi!" the Mon Calamarian yelled as she stepped outside the shields once more to give her friend cover fire.
Hearing Bant's happy exclamation, N'erak reseated himself at the pilot's station and began to slowly lift the shuttle off of the ground, knowing that Bant would have remained on the ramp, and that Obi-Wan was quite capable of leaping high enough to join her.
Just as the shuttle reached a height high enough to began its progress toward the open bay doors, N'erak felt the small ship shudder as Obi-Wan leapt unto the ramp to join his friends. Not even needing to hear Bant's shout that they were clear to go, N'erak sealed the ramp and piloted the small craft away from the Imperial Center as quickly as possible.
