Chapter 19
A/N: Sorry for the long wait, guys. SATs and PSATs for the past two weekends have really slowed down progress.
--
Artoo Detoo let out a mechanical whine and a tootle, as he accessed the Death Star's computer panels with his screw jack. If he could just shut down the main power source of the battle station, the deadly guns of the Death Star would fallen silent.
"I do hope you know what you are doing," See-Threepio said, looking around distressedly, watching out for Imperial storm troopers.
--
The three Jedi hobbled out of the Emperor's throne room, the wind howling behind them. As they staggered down the hallways, they reached through the Force, together, brining energy and power back into their step, feeling the surge of Force power flowing through their bodies.
Then the lights went out.
--
The great cannons of the Death Star fell silent.
"Home One, this is Red Leader, the Death Star has dropped all power: repeat, the Death Star has –"
"I heard you, Red Leader. Engage immediately."
"Yes, sir."
Delta-7's, the new X-Wings, and TIE Fighters, both Imperial and Rebel, streaked towards the huge battle station. Plasma leaked out of several ships – the battle had taken its toll on both sides of the conflict.
The Death Star had no real weakness. But if it was damaged enough ...
Han Solo noticed Red Squadron streaking to meet the Death Star. Turning his Millenium Falcon towards the space station, he fired up his engines and joined the thick of the fight.
--
As the fighting intensified, blaster cannon fire blasted into the Death Star. Ships slammed into it, exploding in a shower of fire and debris.
Inside the Death Star, three Jedi were running through the corridors.
--
Anakin was about to step through a door when the entire battle station flipped, rolling onto its side, Standing uncertainly on a wall, he asked, "Everyone alright?"
Tarra replied cheerfully, "Yes, I had a soft landing."
Obi-Wan could only grunt. His vision was obstructed with what looked like a human behind.
Tarra jumped at the sound, leaping off her "soft landing," blushed, and exclaimed, "Sorry, Obi-Wan."
So it had been a human butt, after all. Obi-Wan could only shrug, clambering to his feet. Anakin could barely stifle a laugh. "Obi-Wan you need to lose weight. You're considered a big soft pillow, now."
Obi-Wan smiled in spite of himself. It was a particularly awkward, embarrassing moment, but it was all worth it. The Emperor was dead, and Anakin was back with the Light. Where he belonged.
"What's going on?" Tarra asked.
Anakin turned. "The power has been shut down, obviously. And apparently ..." his sentence was cut off with a deafening explosion, as a canister tumbled from what was the ceiling onto what was now the left wall.
"Apparently we've been hit. A lot."
Obi-Wan nodded grimly. "Let's keep moving before this whole thing blows apart."
Anakin began to walk to the doorway. "Yes. That huge explosion earlier must have damaged the battle station at least a little. If we can make it to the escape pods ..."
Obi-Wan nodded. "That'll be the plan, then. Tarra, you lead the way."
"What? Why me?" Tarra exclaimed.
"Because you were the most recent Sith apprentice, obviously," Obi-Wan said, smiling. Tarra glowered.
"Hey," Anakin said, "We had to do all the fighting earlier. Now it's your turn."
His timing was impeccable. Before he even said "now", a line of Storm troopers marched down a corridor, turning on them and firing as they recognized the three Jedi as a threat.
Tarra rolled her eyes, then ignited her twin lightsabers. Two blue flashes of light erupted from Obi-Wan's and Anakin's hands.
The line of storm troopers were a pile of corpses in a few short seconds.
Those troopers were, however, the least of their worries. Anakin bent down at the Clone commander's hand, noticing a comlink that had initiated an emergency response. In a few short moments, the three Jedi would find the Death Star a lot more crowded – and a lot less friendly.
--
There they were, walking, swinging their lightsabers in precise, pre-arranged movements. Little boys aged between eight and sixteen, slashing in patterns so quickly that none but the trained eye would be able to find weakness with them.
They were clones.
And they were of the Sith.
Palpatine had put together the traits of the best Sith he had ever known, packaged them in the minds and bodies of these clones. It was his last act, the only act he had ever made to destroy the Sith Order.
For the Sith are only two. A master and an apprentice. Now there were hundreds of apprentices, and no master. Untrained in the arts of deceit and cunning, these apprentices left their housing units, rushed out from their hatcheries, into the corridors of the Death Star.
For they were the most powerful response to the emergency signals.
With hundreds of them, they were invincible.
--
"Gosh it's quiet in here," Tarra said.
"Don't say anything, you'll jinx us," Obi-Wan remarked jokingly.
"Too late," Anakin said darkly.
The emergency lights and security systems kicked in, as the backup power generators hummed to life. The lights were dim but things were once again visible. The three Jedi no longer had to reach through the Force to know where they were going.
Unfortunately, neither did the Sith.
A hundred red, gleaming lightsabers ignited in the room that the 3 Jedi were now in.
"Oh Sith ..." Anakin breathed. These were the clones that Palpatine had shown him. His blue lightsaber was called to his grasp, and he lighted it, glaring at the sith clones. Those clones were genetically enhanced, specifically altered to obey... him. Anakin's eyes widened.
"I command you to shut down your lightsabers!" he called, waiting for them to obediently obey his order.
"We are no longer under your jurisdiction," said one clone.
"If we ever were," another added.
Anakin sighed. So much for that idea. Obi-Wan's lightsaber ignited beside him. "I don't want to have to destroy you all," the Jedi Master called out to the Sith.
"Destroy us? We're going to destroy you."
At that exact moment, a thunderous explosion rocked the Death Star. The clones stumbled, and Anakin and Obi-Wan tore through them. Tarra ignited her lightsabers, then leapt forward, following the two Jedi in their path of destruction.
The clone Sith were young, and weak in the ways of the Force. They were no match for three able Jedi, and were quickly dispatched.
Another explosion rocked the Death Star, and the ceiling on which they were battling on suddenly became the floor. All the people in the room fell in a heap on the ground. Obi-Wan did a roll, coming quickly to his feet, fast enough to slice another Sith in half as he fell to the ground. Anakin landed heavily, the floor cracking beneath his artificial legs. Tarra fell on another pillow.
"You alright?" Anakin called.
"Yeah, I had another soft landing." The Sith clone on which she landed on made a rude gesture with his left hand, which she removed with a stroke of her lightsaber. "Be nice to ladies," she said, scoffing as she plunged her lightsaber into his chest. "What nerve!"
Anakin grinned slicing the head off another clone. "D'you want to start counting, Obi-Wan? Winner gets free dinner at Dex's."
Obi-Wan groaned. Not this again. "Anakin, I'm not going to –"
"Let's go!" Tarra said cheerfully. "Score's fifteen to one, my favor."
"What?"
"Hey, I'm a girl, we have to make things fair here." Anakin growled, but didn't say anything until he dispatched five Sith clones in quick succession. "Fifteen to six." And so the count went on, until all the Sith clones in the room were dead or groaning, without legs or arms.
"Seventy-six to fifty-nine, I win," Anakin said, wiping beads of sweat from his brow.
"Alright, alright, I owe you dinner ..."
Another explosion.
"... at Dex's. And afterwards ..."
"Can we get out of here first ... before discussing what we're going to do afterwards?" Obi-Wan said, his lightsaber stabbing through a stubborn torso of a Sith who had relentlessly crawled towards him with one arm and one leg.
The three Jedi made their way out of the room, out to the corridors outside.
"So which way is the – oof!" Obi-Wan's sentence was cut short as he was knocked off his feet, hitting the railing of the corridor and falling over, into the abyss.
"Obi-Wan!" Anakin yelled, and his lightsaber was out in an instant. For the first time, his eyes focused on a Clone Assassin. Ultra fast clones that could dodge even the swiftest of attacks. Reaching through the Force, Anakin let his fury build, then lashed out with his lightsaber. His Dark powers would forever be a part of his combat style. The assassin's blades flicked in and out of his Force vision, and he more than once had to desperately leap backwards to escape a deadly knife through his chest.
"Anakin, they're all over me!" Tarra screamed. Anakin cursed. Well, if he couldn't slice the bastard in half, he'll just have to ...
Reaching through the Force, Anakin's hand found the Assassin's neck, and through the Force, crushed the windpipe with a forceful grasp of his mechanical hand. The clone dropped to the ground, twitching.
Anakin turned, to see Tarra's forearm sliced by one of the clones' blades. "Noooo!" He yelled, racing forward, swiping his lightsaber in vain, trying to hold off the clone assassins. Curse Sidious and his clone modifications. In exasperation, Anakin reached through the Force, picked up the already dead clone assassin behind him, and flung him at the other clones. All three or four of them – Anakin couldn't tell, it was all a blur to him, stumbled, and Anakin took advantage of this, sending a massive Force shove, knocking the assassins over the railing and out of sight.
Anakin rushed back to Tarra. She was bleeding. Badly. Anakin cursed, placed his hands on her wounds, and with all his focus, began to mend Tarra's wound, atom by atom, cell by cell.
"I have a bad feeling about this," he said.
--
Many stories below, Obi-Wan Kenobi said the same thing. He looked over at the curved wall. Thank goodness that was there, really, he could have really broken something.
Electricity crackled around him.
What?
And then it hit him. He was in the heart of the Death Star. The entire power core was in this very room that he himself was in. All the power couplings. All the central command. The Empire was in his very grasp. He could shut down ... but no ... the Force whispered a clue to him, and Obi-Wan realized what he had to do.
He drew his lightsaber.
--
Anakin felt a wrinkle in the Force, felt Obi-Wan's Force signature. He felt Obi-Wan questioning the Force, and he felt the Force giving the Jedi Master an answer.
No... Anakin gasped inwardly. "No! No I won't let you do this!" He shouted. Tarra mumbled something incoherent, but was now gingerly clenching her fists. Her wound had stopped bleeding, and scar tissue was beginning to form, but she was still weak, having lost quite a bit of blood.
"Obi-Wan, don't do this!" Anakin screamed through the Force.
"I will do what I must."
His heartbeat rushed faster than it had ever rushed during his fight with Palpatine. Anakin couldn't accept this. "No!"
"Go, Anakin. Take Tarra with you, go back to the ship."
"I won't let you do this!"
"I'll tell Padme you said hello."
Anakin was stunned. Obi-Wan, his master, his mentor, his friend was really going to go through with this.
"I've lost Padme! I've lost my Mom, I've lost the Jedi! I've lost everything I've ever been with! Not you too! I won't let you! Iwon't!" The last words Anakin had bellowed into the empty room. His pain was unendurable. Please, he whispered, Please, not Obi-Wan.
"I'm sorry, Anakin. I failed you too many times."
Anakin tried to speak, he tried to will through the Force to do something, but his body and his mind weren't cooperating. The shock of what Obi-Wan was about to do surged through him. He tried to say that no, he was the one who failed his master, but nothing ever came out of his lips.
"Goodbye, Anakin. Run. Hurry."
--
Obi-Wan didn't bother to wait for an answer. His face streaked with tears, he raised his lightsaber.
He couldn't bring it down. He couldn't leave Anakin like this, not alone. Not his friend.
But it was the only course of action possible. The Force had led him here, and the Force told him to end it, right here, right now. So he did the one thing all Jedi did.
He let go.
Of everything. Of his friendship with Anakin. Of the Jedi. Of the Rebellion. Of the Empire. Obi-Wan Kenobi let go of everything that was ever dear to him.
Obi-Wan let go of his lightsaber.
It sank into an explosive power generator with a hiss and a spark.
In a few, short seconds, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi Master, mentor to the Chosen One, and best friend of Anakin Skywalker, was no more.
--
A/N: Sorry for the late post! Keep reviewing guys, I'm dead tired.