Thank you all so much for your reviews, I love hearing what you think about the story. Also, in particular, I'm really happy that people are learning from this story, too - what's more fun than being entertained and educated at the same time? :D
Enjoy the next chapter! Happy Epiphany! :)
Erwyna swore as she turned a corner down a foreign street. She'd reviewed the general area of the meeting place in case anything had gone wrong, but in the chase she'd long since exited the perimeter of familiarity. The sniper had sent probe droids after them, and she was doing her best to avoid attention, but one of the droids had already caught sight of her and was tracking her movements. If she shot it down in the middle of the crowd it would create a panic, which could come in handy, but it would also attract more attention from the Empire.
Well, it wasn't like they weren't already looking for her.
Glancing back, Erwyna caught sight of the droid floating after her quickly. She pulled out her blaster, keeping it under her cloak so no one would notice it yet. Eventually she entered a plaza and ran around a large statue so she was out of the droid's sight long enough, and as soon as it rounded the edge of her vision, she pulled out her blaster and shot it down.
People immediately screamed and started to scatter in all directions. Erwyna pulled the hood of her cloak over her head and ran with them, trying not to get trampled. She continuously scanned the area for more probe droids, and though she caught sight of a few, none of them seemed to get a good look at her.
Eventually the crowd led Erwyna to a lower level where there was slightly less activity and seemingly no probe droids at all. Ducking into an alley, Erwyna pulled out her comlink and encrypted her transmission to Éothen.
"Bit… busy… right now…"
"Where are you?" she asked.
"Can't tell… track the signal…"
Erwyna cursed again. Thankfully everyone had military grade comlinks that allowed for them to trace transmissions, and so she hastily picked up on Éothen's location. He was on the same level but two blocks away. Rushing in his direction, Erwyna dodged the denizens of the area as more people ran to and fro from the pandemonium she had created in the upper levels.
As Erwyna drew closer to the source of the signal she heard blaster fire and people were running away from the area, pushing against her. Erwyna pulled out her own weapon and took cover behind a dumpster as she glanced around for the source of the fire. She eventually caught sight of Éothen still dragging one of their teammates—Trynen, she recognized—and exchanging fire with two probe droids. Erwyna immediately took the shot and the droids fell in a simmering heap. She ran to her comrades.
"Thanks for the help," Éothen panted. "But there are probably more coming; I doubt those droids didn't call for reinforcements."
"We'll manage," Erwyna replied as she slung Trynen's other arm over her shoulder to help.
"We need to split up," Éothen said.
"And go where?"
"We can meet up at the Drunken Dewback."
"Trynen can't make it that far!"
"Leave me behind," Trynen immediately intoned.
Erwyna and Éothen stared at him. "No."
"Sirs, I'm injured, I'm slowing you down, and those droids need something to follow so you can escape," Trynen explained, trying to push himself off of his superiors.
Erwyna's chest tightened so much it started to hurt. She could handle losing people to the enemy, but she wouldn't just give one up. "Don't be stupid, Trynen; we're not abandoning you."
"It's not abandoning," Trynen shook his head fiercely, grabbing his own weapon. "We don't have time to argue—you have to leave now!"
"Trynen—"
"Go!"
Erwyna caught sight of probe droids coming in the distance. Trynen was right in that they didn't have time to argue. She clenched her jaw and locked eyes with Éothen, who, as captain of the squad, would make the final call.
Éothen furrowed his brow and let out a frustrated sigh, putting his hand on Trynen's shoulder. "Do what you have to."
Trynen nodded grimly. Erwyna looked away once more. She hated goodbyes and rarely ever had the opportunity for one anyway, so she simply ran ahead, guiding Éothen away from the droids as Trynen prepped his blaster rifle.
"Do you even remember where the Drunken Dewback is?" Éothen asked after a few seconds, his voice a little rough.
Erwyna swallowed and pulled out a holo-map. "I'm about to remember."
After taking a second to focus and examine the route, Erwyna pointed to a turbolift that led even deeper into the bowels of the city. "This way."
As the two reached the lift, cramming into it with a handful of nervous looking citizens, they heard screams from a distant alley along with blaster fire and a small explosion, and people ran in all directions once more. Erwyna closed her eyes as the lift doors closed and they sped downward.
"Do you think they got a good visual?" Erwyna whispered.
"Hard to tell," Éothen sighed. "We're wearing hoods and we've destroyed the droids that saw us. Doesn't mean they couldn't transmit the data."
"Yeah, but do those probes transmit visual data?"
"I don't know."
"Great," Erwyna muttered as the lift reached the correct level.
The two meandered through the crowd, keenly aware of how everyone was on edge from the activity above. People whispered about it, some glanced around waiting for firing to start here as well, while others pulled out weapons that were far more common this far down in the city. Eventually Erwyna saw the cantina and pointed it out to Éothen, and the two hastily made their way there.
"They're going to keep hunting us here," Erwyna said as they found the most innocuous corner in the place. "They'll tear the lower levels apart. Imperial Intelligence isn't exactly known for giving up."
Éothen buried his face in his hands. "I'm aware of that."
Erwyna mulled over the matter, still trying to come to terms with everything that had happened in the past twenty minutes. Thinking about Trynen bothered her in more ways than one. As she replayed the sound of the explosion in her mind, she came to a chilling conclusion. Trynen had detonated a grenade to hide the evidence… but the other bodies were in plain sight. Somebody had to clean up the mess, somebody had to ensure this didn't get back to Salkende.
Somebody had to stay behind.
Her hand slowly reached into the bag she'd been carrying and her fingers tightened around the shoto Amidala had given Éothen. "You have to leave Imperial Center."
"And what exactly are we supposed to do with the info we've gathered so far? We still don't know where she is," Éothen argued, glancing at her. He swore harshly, looking away, before he suddenly registered what she'd actually said. "What do you mean I have to leave? What about you?"
"Somebody has to destroy the evidence," Erwyna remarked darkly. "If Intelligence gets their hands on the bodies, they'll identify them and put the pieces together. We can't let Salkende be exposed like that, and we can't both do it – it'll take too long and it's too risky. You have to get back to Tlenden and he'll get you out through some official way so they don't suspect anything. They'll be looking for any illegal activity."
"You think Intelligence hasn't already gotten their bodies?" Éothen snapped, growing more emotional and defensive than before. "I already lost my entire squad, I'm not losing you too!"
Erwyna bit her lip, and she swallowed hard. "Remember the mission, Éothen. You have to find her and we have to keep Salkende safe. The war just ended, we have to rebuild – we can't let the Empire find out about our work here and you have to continue your clan. You have to live, and you have to find her."
Éothen stared at her, wide eyed and horrified. Erwyna bit harder at the sight of it, at the thought of what was likely to happen. She and Éothen had grown up together, fought together, laughed together, joked together, and suffered together. If it weren't for her oath… it didn't matter. They had to do their duties; Erwyna's duty had always been to do what was best for Éothen.
Reaching out, she slid the shoto to him and held his hand as it rested on the table. "Take it. It's yours. Find her. Save her. Rebuild your clan, be happy, live. I'll clean up the mess."
Éothen shook his head, his eyes glistening, and he cleared his throat. They both knew this was a suicide mission. She had to torch the entire block where the initial attack had happened… or set off a bomb. She had to keep the probe droids focused on her. This was her last mission.
She didn't want to die here. She didn't want to be a blackened unidentifiable corpse on a foreign planet, so far from her home and her family. But she had her duty, and she'd gotten herself and everyone else into this mess. And if there was any chance she could help Éothen, she would absolutely take it.
Besides, there was the microscopic chance she might survive. Maybe.
"Erwyna…" Éothen shook his head, his voice trembling. "You're not doing this. You're coming with me. It's stupid to overreact like this, you're being paranoid and emotional and—"
"Way more logical than you, as usual," she interrupted, tightening her grip on his hand as she tightened the mental grip on her emotions. "We both know they will stop at nothing. I have to destroy the evidence, and the longer we sit here and argue about it, the less likely I'll succeed."
"I don't care," Éothen snapped. "I'm not leaving you behind."
Erwyna sighed, closing her eyes. This was hard enough on her without him adding to it. "Please, Éothen… go."
"We've never given up on a mission, we've never abandoned each other!" he continued to argue, pulling her closer. "I'm not leaving you!"
"Then you're dooming all of Salkende!" Erwyna finally said, opening her eyes to glare at him and furiously blink her own tears away.
Éothen stared at her, speechless. He looked stricken, caught in the reality of the situation, knowing that there was no arguing this, knowing that he couldn't choose his best friend over his entire homeworld.
"Damn it," he swore, looking away, his voice cracking. "Damn it!"
Erwyna took a deep breath, standing. "Mother watch over you."
Éothen jumped, startled, and he leapt to his feet, grabbing her by the arms, but he didn't seem to know what to say. He just shook his head, looking more grief stricken than she'd ever seen him. The sight tore at her heart, and she swallowed hard, balling her fists to get a hold of herself.
"The more you stare at me like some lost puppy, the less time you have," she eventually said, forcing herself to smile. "Go pester Tlenden for me."
Éothen let out what probably should have been a laugh, but it only came out as a sob, startling Erwyna. She hadn't seen him cry since… she didn't even know. Her heartrate rose a little, and she choked back more tears.
"Mother watch over you," Éothen whispered. "May she guide you to rest."
That statement was too final. Erwyna immediately broke away from Éothen, turning towards the exit. She felt Éothen grab her by the arm again, and she was going to argue when he pulled her to him and kissed her on the lips. Erwyna gasped, surprised, and she nearly collapsed as the emotions flooded her. She didn't know how to react; she'd loved Éothen for many years, but she'd….
Erwyna closed her eyes, letting the tears leak out as she lived in this one moment. She never wanted it to end, but they both knew it had to. Éothen started to pull away, and Erwyna let him go. The two stared into each other's eyes, no longer able to exchange words, no longer needing to.
Erwyna walked away.
Outside the air felt chillier than it had before. She shivered, pulling her cloak around her tightly. A couple of probe droids patrolled the area, and she avoided their notice as she headed towards the lift. She refused to think about anything but her mission.
When she reached the level where Trynen had been last seen, she traced her steps back to the alley. Debris littered the area, and chunks of the walls had been blown off. There was nothing left of her fallen comrade. She felt her stomach churn, but she pushed the feeling aside. At least Trynen had left no trace. Muttering a soft prayer for his spirit, she ran back towards the lift, climbing higher into the city. It didn't take her long to reach the meeting place.
The original scene of the incident had already garnered the attention of two agents, who were beginning to pull out scanners. Erwyna grabbed a grenade and tossed it, ducking behind a building as it exploded. Screams echoed all around, and the sound of police speeders could be heard in the distance. Erwyna glanced around and saw that the agents had thankfully been in the main part of the blast, and she bit her tongue so hard she tasted blood as she saw the mangled pieces of what was left of her friends. She'd seen grisly scenes before, but they rarely included people she was very close to.
Erwyna shook her head. She didn't have time for this. Grabbing as much garbage as she could from the nearest dumpster, she littered it around the area and grabbed her small torch, going to each body and then using the trash to spread the blaze.
The police arrived. Erwyna grabbed her blaster, ready to fight as the flames started to surround her.
The world seemed strangely quiet. Her heartbeat was all she heard as she fired continuously, and the sharp pain of a blaster bolt slamming right into her chest seemed awfully duller than it should have. Erwyna gasped, falling, and the flames drew ever closer.
Be safe, Éothen.
Erwyna closed her eyes.
Obi-Wan groaned a little as he drifted back into consciousness. He had less pain than the last time he'd been awake, but his upper back and shoulders felt stiff and sore. His mind was vaguely aware of sensations around him, and he lazily reached into the Force, immediately sensing his wife. In the distance he detected two other presences, though he couldn't decipher who they were just yet.
"Obi?"
Obi-Wan's eyes fluttered open and his gaze immediately fell on Siri. She was watching him, her eyes a little wide, her brow raised, wondering if he was alright.
"Hello there," he slurred with a half-smile.
Siri laughed. "You sound drunk."
"The wonder of pain medication."
"No kidding. I'm assuming since they're so wonderful you're feeling okay?"
Obi-Wan twitched his head as a nod. Then he furrowed his brow as he started to become more alert. The two other presences in the Force became more prominent, and vaguer echoes of life forces surrounded them. One was calm, warm, concerned, and radiated peace: Qui-Gon. The other… the other felt cold, distant, like a sealed metal box having just been pulled out of an icy ocean.
Vader.
Obi-Wan pulled himself into a seated position fairly quickly. "Where's Vader?"
"He's in his cell," Siri explained reassuringly. "I managed to broker a deal with Master Ti and the Alliance Council. They're giving you a week to get valuable information out of him or they'll kill him."
Obi-Wan blanched. "Get information out of him?"
"Well, you said you learned everything there is to know about him," Siri shrugged halfheartedly. "I did what I could, Obi; they wanted him dead now."
Obi-Wan sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose. He'd discovered Vader's main reason for his obedience to Palpatine, but that didn't mean the man would reveal anything about the Empire. By now it was evident he wasn't loyal to principles or institutions, just people, but he also was completely unmotivated – his reason for living was gone. He wasn't actively suicidal so much as passively rotting away unless someone was there to talk to him and pique his interest.
But Obi-Wan still didn't know how Tarkin factored into all this.
"In either case, you're awake just in time for the checkup."
Obi-Wan snapped out of his thoughts and glanced at Siri. "Is it happening soon?"
"Just now, actually."
Just now? Obi-Wan looked around confusedly and noticed a doctor standing by the bed adjacent to his, and Siri was wearing a hospital gown on top. A monitor was already active, and the doctor seemed slightly impatient, having already prepped for the checkup. Siri must have gotten out of bed when she sensed Obi-Wan awakening.
Obi-Wan looked at her somewhat reproachfully. "You were going to let me sleep through it."
Siri chuckled. "I would've told you the results when you woke up."
Obi-Wan watched her irritably. The doctor cleared his throat, and Siri turned to him with a slight start as if she'd forgotten he was there.
"Right, sorry, coming back now," she laughed sheepishly, climbing onto the bed once more.
Obi-Wan craned his neck to watch as the doctor scanned over Siri's abdomen, and a high resolution hologram appeared over her. Growing slightly excited, Obi-Wan pulled down the railing on the right side of his bed and slowly swung his legs over, wincing a little at the pain in his back and shoulders. Siri turned slightly to stop him, but the doctor looked at her in a chastising manner and she sighed heavily, looking at Obi-Wan exasperatedly.
Eventually the image started to coalesce into a recognizable ultrasound picture. Obi-Wan inched closer to the edge of the bed as he gazed at it in wonder, and Siri had long since ceased paying attention to his attempts to get out of bed without permission.
Obi-Wan's eyes traced to the tiny baby in Siri's womb, and he felt a small laugh of amazement escape his lips.
Siri's smile mirrored his own. "Well… at least we finally get to look at her."
The spouses both laughed, mesmerized by the image.
"Here's a bottle of prenatal vitamins you'll need to take. I assume you've already been taking some?" the doctor said, handing Siri the bottle.
Siri nodded. "Yeah, Al got some for me before."
"Well make sure you keep taking them and rest," the doctor advised. "I remember my OB rotation, but this isn't my specialty, so I can't do much more than tell you the baby's perfectly healthy right now. I've already spoken to the head of the medical bay requesting an obstetrician be brought in for you and the other woman – Rubar, I think."
"Thank you," Obi-Wan said gratefully, finally standing and walking over to Siri to gaze at the ultrasound some more.
The doctor tipped his head and gave them some privacy. Siri smiled and took Obi-Wan's hand. "Look at her…"
"Ryoo would have been thrilled," Obi-Wan remarked, growing sad as he thought about it. "She would have loved a cousin. And I can't even imagine how Sola or Mom and Dad would've reacted."
His throat tightened a little. He spoke as if they were all dead, like Padmé. He prayed they weren't, but the matter was no longer in his hands. He would just have to leave it up to the will of the Force, he supposed. He would never see them again, not until this war ended, at least. Sighing, he pushed the sadness away. There was no reason to linger on it. This was a happy moment.
Obi-Wan glanced at Siri and saw that she was watching him with some concern and guilt on her face. He immediately regretted mentioning the family; it was Siri's actions that had caused the near destruction of their relationship to the rest of the family… but she had been doing it to protect them. Obi-Wan didn't hold it against her, and he didn't want her to feel bad over his own regret.
Squeezing his wife's hand, he gave her a reassuring smile. It's alright.
Siri sighed, leaning her head back. I know, but…
Something was wrong. The hairs on the back of Obi-Wan's neck stood up, and his lightsaber wounds ached more than they had a second ago. His body tensed. Siri sat up abruptly and the ultrasound hologram vanished with the movement.
"I sense it too," he remarked as Siri was about to ask.
Both Padawans slipped some boots and jackets on and rushed out of the medical bay, heading for the command center to figure out what was happening. As soon as they entered the room they knew something truly was wrong. People were running to and fro, and fear and panic wafted in the Force.
Siri grabbed a trooper to ask what was happening, but Obi-Wan saw it on the console.
There was an Imperial fleet in orbit.
At the Imperial Palace, Tarkin paced restlessly in his quarters. He was awaiting several calls pertaining to the operation on Hoth. He had to make sure this went perfectly; they couldn't destroy the base until they were certain Vader wasn't there (or until they got him out).
Just thinking about the boy made the emperor regent's heartbeat increase. Was he even alive? Tarkin had been going under the assumption that the Rebels had imprisoned the boy – it was the best option he had, after all. There was no purpose in brooding over what might have happened if the boy was dead. Besides, even if that were the case, it would make the transition to being the true emperor all the easier.
But Tarkin couldn't help feeling a little shaky at the thought of it.
The holoterminal in his room chimed, and he activated it. A full sized hologram of the admiral (they hadn't had time to get a grand admiral and the full might of an armada) came to life in front of him.
"We are positioned and ready, sire," the admiral informed him. "The Rebels have some sort of planetary defense shield that they're powering up. Once it's active it'll make an orbital bombardment impossible. Permission to destroy the base now?"
"No," Tarkin immediately said. "I have an operative who is gathering information. The base must be kept intact until she is finished. You will use a ground assault."
The admiral sighed and nodded. "Very well, sire. I'll send down the walkers first."
"The AT-ATs?" Tarkin questioned. "Hoth's terrain is relatively flat, and the snow and ice could cause problems for walkers. Why aren't you sending hovercraft instead?"
"We are sending hovercraft, sire, but the walkers are the only ones with enough firepower to eliminate the Rebel's shield generator; if we are to destroy the base via orbital bombardment once your operative is finished, then that must be destroyed."
Tarkin grew slightly annoyed, detecting a hint of condescension in the admiral's tone. "By the time those reach the shield generator half the Rebels will have escaped."
"We will shoot down any ship that leaves orbit, sire," the admiral assured him. "Why don't you let me run my campaign and you do what you do best."
Tarkin took a deep breath and nearly growled, "May I remind you that I was an admiral in the Clone War. Do not underestimate the Rebels as previous foolish officers have."
Tarkin ended the transmission before the admiral could reply, and he finally received the call he was truly waiting for on his personal comlink. His spy appeared over the handheld comlink.
"I'm heading into position now, sir," the spy reported. "I won't make contact until the mission is complete."
"Very well," Tarkin acknowledged. "Remember: I want him alive."
"Yes, sir."
This wasn't how Siri had been expecting her day to go.
Soldiers ran everywhere, heading towards the trenches outside of the base as someone announced that the Empire had landed Imperial walkers, hover tanks, and speeders.
Obi-Wan glanced around. "Where's my lightsaber?"
Siri looked at him incredulously. "You're hurt. You can't join the battle."
Obi-Wan sighed reluctantly. "I don't have much of a choice. As remiss as I am to enter battle, I won't refuse to do so when they need my help."
"You're not the only Jedi here," Siri pointed out.
"The Masters and most of the Knights were killed in the battle against the emperor," Obi-Wan shook his head. "They'll need all the help they can get."
Sighing heavily, she dragged him back to the medical bay where both their weapons were sitting innocuously on a table. Siri grabbed both hilts, handing Obi-Wan's to him.
"I guess we finally get to put our training to the test," she remarked.
Obi-Wan paused. "Siri… you should stay inside."
Siri crossed her arms stubbornly. "So you don't have a choice to fight but I can lounge around the base?"
"They're evacuating people with the shuttles. They'll have the ion cannon cover their escape. You have to go on one of the transports." Obi-Wan said seriously.
"And you?" Siri demanded.
"I'll board one as well," Obi-Wan assured her. "Siri, you're pregnant, you shouldn't be out in a battlefield if you can help it."
She'd heard this story before. Sighing heavily, Siri didn't bother to argue; Obi-Wan had a point. What was bothering her was that he would be fighting when he was still recovering from an injury.
Sensing her concern and annoyance, Obi-Wan said, "I won't be charging into the front lines, I assure you."
"Fine," she grumbled, hooking her saber to her belt. "I'll just wander around the base until a shuttle is ready and relax and pretend there isn't a war going on right outside."
"Ever the reasonable one," Obi-Wan quipped with a smile.
Siri rolled her eyes and grabbed his arm, locking her gaze with his. "Kick their asteroid, Obi."
Obi-Wan smiled, and she could sense that he was a little nervous. "Well, I suppose we simply have to trust the Force. I'll see you at the rendezvous point."
Siri nodded, letting him go. Obi-Wan rushed out of the room, and she sensed his pain as he did so. Her stomach churned. The Force better not let us down, then.
Heading towards the hangars, Siri tried to make her way to one of the evacuation shuttles when she caught sight of Qui-Gon, who approached her as soon as he sensed her.
"Padawan, I have an assignment for you," he said. "Where is Obi-Wan?"
Siri paused. "If it involves going outside—"
"No," her master immediately assured her. "I need you to escort Darth Vader to a shuttle."
Siri felt her eyebrows nearly fly off her forehead. "You want me to do what?"
"You and Obi-Wan are the only two who can approach him without issue. He cannot stay here; the Alliance is arranging a cell for him on the transport in hangar 11. You have to get him there."
"Obi-Wan's outside with the others," Siri shook her head. "You have to find somebody else to do it."
Qui-Gon looked pointedly at her.
Siri clenched her jaw. There is no emotion, there is no emotion… "Fine, I'll get him."
Qui-Gon nodded and motioned to five soldiers. "Take them with you in case you run into trouble."
Siri sighed heavily. Did no one think she could handle herself? Between her and Obi-Wan she was the better trained warrior; pregnancy didn't eliminate that. "If you insist."
Qui-Gon hastened out of the hangar, and Siri motioned for the soldiers to follow her, muttering irritably, "He has to tell me to get Vader when I'm on the opposite side of the base…"
Outside, Obi-Wan followed the lead of the other Padawans and stood in front of the trenches, lightsaber at the ready. The more experienced Jedi rushed ahead as Imperial speeders blazed a trail towards them. Off in the distance Obi-Wan could make out the silhouettes of Imperial walkers, and he heard the echo of their footsteps like thunder. He felt a cold chill run down his spine, but he stood firm and tried to release his anxiety to the Force. He'd never been in a full scale battle before, only skirmishes that typically involved getting away from the enemy instead of standing and facing them head on.
"Focus on the moment, Padawan. Do not let your fears blind you."
Obi-Wan jumped, startled, and saw Qui-Gon standing beside him. Seeing the wizened, battle hardened Jedi at his side gave him a bit more confidence, and he took a steadying breath.
Qui-Gon activated his own blade and rushed ahead as the speeders drew closer. Blaster fire pelted the area, making snow spit up in angry jets of steam. The soldiers returned fire from the trenches, and manned turrets fired upon the hover tanks which were quickly coming within range.
Obi-Wan closed his eyes for a second, grabbing the Force firmly and listening to its whispers and warnings as he had been instructed during training. Screams emanated from everywhere, but they were dulled as he focused more until his gut clenched in warning and he opened his eyes and his arms immediately went into position to deflect a bolt that would have taken his head off.
Obi-Wan blinked, gasping for air at the event. Well that was… never mind. Focus. Just focus.
Blast, he hated feeling this exposed. Typically if he were in a fight he'd take cover and fire a blaster, but as a Jedi he stood out in the open, creating his own cover and shielding. It was slightly unnerving.
Okay, a lot more than slightly.
Focus on the moment.
Obi-Wan released his worries as best he could and gave himself up to the Force, beginning to deflect many bolts as the Imperials drew nearer. He watched as the Knights and Masters tore speeders apart with their blades, and he heard the Rebels cheer all around him.
Behind the action and the base itself, a lone woman trekked towards the perimeter, scanning the area for sentries. Most of the Rebel troops had rushed to the front where the Imperial forces were attacking, but a few lingered in the back alongside some sentry droids.
As one guard wandered the perimeter alone, there was a strange sound and the guard collapsed into the snow, which started to stain red around her. Cipher 8 crept towards her and dragged her body inside, shuffling over the snow to hide her trace. Once she dragged the guard into a closet she switched clothes and entered the hallways of the Rebel base, wandering calmly with her sniper rifle on her back.
On the other side of the base, the two soldiers assigned to regularly guard Darth Vader's cell were holding their blasters nervously. They'd been informed that a Jedi would come to take the Sith Lord to one of the shuttles, so they hopefully didn't have to wait too long. Inside the cell Vader had simply been standing in the center, his hands behind his back, his eyes cast downward as he stared blankly at the floor as if he'd zoned out. It made them nervous; he hadn't moved since just before the base had gone on high alert.
The entire compound trembled violently, and the guards looked at each other, even more anxious than before.
"The first transport is away. The first transport is away." A voice announced over the intercom, bringing smiles to the guards' faces.
The room shook even harder than the first time, and the door to the cell sparked slightly, having been jostled too much. It would probably be more difficult to open now. The guards walked to the door to examine the damage, unaware that Darth Vader had suddenly ended his strange vigil and had disappeared from the view of the window.
The door creaked ominously, and the guards jumped, startled. The metal shifted and crunched inward slightly, and then the door abruptly shot out, slamming into the guards and pummeling them into the wall. They slumped lifelessly under its weight.
Darth Vader walked out of the cell.
Outside, Obi-Wan smiled as the soldiers cheered, watching the second shuttle and its fighter escort tear out of the atmosphere with the ion cannon firing behind it. He didn't have much time to enjoy the small victory, however, as the Force cried out in warning. Obi-Wan immediately returned his attention to the battle and he barely avoided being grazed on the shoulder. His heart in his throat, he shoved any other distractions out of his mind as the silhouettes of the Imperial walkers grew steadily larger, their thunderous footsteps approaching. Off in the distance he saw Qui-Gon cut down another speeder, but the number of Jedi Knights was growing thin as Imperials tore through them. And once the walkers were in range…
Focus. Just focus.
Rebel snowspeeders flew overhead, attempting to slow the Imperials' progress. Obi-Wan was grateful for every bit of help they could get. He prayed the transports could evacuate before the walkers got too close.
The hair on the back of his neck stood up as he sensed danger, and Obi-Wan immediately raised his blade, but his intuition had been slightly misplaced; a hover tank's laser fire shredded a turret just beside him, and the force of the explosion sent him flying into a trench, nearly knocking him unconscious. He felt the air get knocked out of him from the impact, and he gasped, his deactivated weapon sliding out of his fingers. It felt like the skin on his upper back and shoulders was tearing apart.
Gritting his teeth against the pain, Obi-Wan reached for his lightsaber, but another explosion from a hover tank sent a soldier flying on top of him. Obi-Wan yelled in pain, trying to squirm out from under the man, pointedly ignoring the blood beginning to stain his chest. As he finally dragged himself out of the trench, he saw one of the walkers stumble and fall, a tow cable wrapped around its legs. A massive cloud of snow rose up around it, partially obscuring the walkers around it from view and completely hiding the hover tanks and speeders, though most of the smaller vessels had rushed beyond the walkers and were nearly on top of the base by now.
Many of the hover tanks that were closest started to open up hatches so stormtroopers could rush out. Rebel turrets fired upon the tanks and the soldiers took down as many stormtroopers as possible. Obi-Wan quickly reignited his blade and deflected several blasts away from himself, though he couldn't quite redirect them back to their sources. Still, it at least kept the stormtroopers preoccupied until someone else could shoot them.
Obi-Wan saw Qui-Gon take down another speeder and then mount it, flying towards the nearest hover tank and entering it, slicing his way in with his lightsaber. There weren't many other Jedi left on the main battlefield apart from roughly twenty Padawans lining the trench and a handful of Knights, but they'd held most of the Imperials at bay.
Deflecting another blaster bolt, Obi-Wan blew out a hiss as he fought the sharp pain around his wound. His back started to feel strangely warm, and he belatedly realized the cauterized skin had been pulled too much; he was bleeding.
Swearing softly, he tried to back towards the base; he wouldn't do anyone any good if he passed out from blood loss, and he was starting to get too stiff to be of much use out here. As he turned to find the entrance to the base the Force screamed in warning, and Obi-Wan dove into the trench along with most of the other Jedi, who tried to drag some troops with them. A large part of the hangar where they were guarding exploded and debris flew everywhere. Obi-Wan gasped as some of the durasteel entrance started to collapse onto the trench, but other, better trained Jedi reacted and held out their hands, using the Force to try and make the debris float. It hovered over them, but as more debris piled on top of it the Jedi started to struggle, and Obi-Wan quickly pitched in. Taking a deep breath, he tried to clear his mind of everything but the debris, lifting it with the Force as he'd done with other objects.
Remember the mass doesn't matter - it's all in your mind.
Eventually they managed to move most of the carnage out of the way so they could peer out from the trench and survey the damage. Obi-Wan saw a pile of rubble where a hangar once was, and he prayed that any transport ships that had been in there were long gone. But what had caused such massive damage?
Another explosion shook the ground, and Obi-Wan saw smoke trailing from a distance, towards the far end of the base… where the shield generator was.
Turning, he saw the source of their problem: the walkers were within firing range.
Indoors, the AT-ATs had caused extensive damage, and Siri discovered that what was once a straightforward path to Vader's cell was now a maze of half collapsed hallways and rooms filled with stormtroopers. As she stumbled upon a squad of them in a hall, she finally was able to pull out her lightsaber and deflect their fire, putting her own training to the test. The five soldiers accompanying her took cover around her and returned fire. Siri held her own for a while, but as ten stormtroopers turned to twenty, she swore and started to back away towards her men. One of the Rebels accompanying her had been killed, another wounded.
Crouching behind some debris, Siri tried switching tactics. She saw some suitably heavy looking crates that weren't being used for cover and reached out to them with the Force, making them hover in the air. Furrowing her brow in concentration, she imagined them heading towards the stormtroopers, and she swung her arm madly to help.
The crates moved in the general direction of the stormtroopers, making many of them pause as they saw the objects fly towards them. One crate struck its target, bouncing against him lightly, making him stumble back like he'd been tapped rather hard. The rest of the crates fell short.
Everyone stared at the crates for a second. Siri swore even more harshly. Then the firing resumed.
Ducking behind the debris once more, Siri glared at the nearest trooper. "You didn't see that. Nobody hears about that… especially Obi-Wan."
The trooper raised an eyebrow at her for a second before shooting another enemy. His look said everything.
"Oh shut up," Siri grumbled, embarrassed and irritated.
Another Rebel soldier cried out as she was shot down. Siri glared at the Imperials and grabbed her lightsaber again. They'd been whittled down enough. Reactivating her blue blade, she deflected their fire and slowly walked towards them, too busy concentrating to really charge. Eventually she was close enough that the troopers started to back away, and the Rebels rushed ahead of her. One more was killed in the charge, but they managed to kill the rest of the stormtroopers.
Siri exhaled, trying to slow her heartrate. "How far to the cell from here?"
"I can't tell," one of the two survivors said. "The base is a wreck."
"Can't you sense him?" the other asked.
Siri shook her head. "Not in this chaos."
She could barely sense anything in this insanity. The only time anything seemed clear in the Force was when she was getting shot at.
"The thirteenth transport is away. The thirteenth transport is away."
Siri felt her gut clench. They all knew there were only fifteen shuttles. If they didn't get to Vader soon they'd be left behind; there was no way the retrofitted ship awaiting Vader would stick around if it looked like the base was about to fall to enemy hands or be destroyed. Grabbing her comlink, Siri called for help. "Al?"
"Little busy right now!"
"Are you still at the base?"
"Yeah, I've got to fix up this karking engine!"
"Well keep fixing it – I'm still here too."
"What?!"
"I've got to get Vader out of here," Siri said as she and the two soldiers clamored over what remained of the command room. "I don't think I'll reach him before all the shuttles are gone."
"He's coming onto my ship? Again?!"
"Well he didn't blow anything up the first time," Siri tried to note helpfully. "Where's your ship?"
"I'm parked in hangar 8. You have to hurry, the walkers are nearly on top of us!"
"I noticed," Siri muttered, cutting the connection. She tried not to think about Obi-Wan or where he was at this moment; if the man was as smart as she knew him to be, he'd have already fled the planet. He was fine. She just had to worry about her own mission.
Her senses went on high alert as one of her soldiers was shot down. Activating her blade, she faced the new squad of attackers.
Meanwhile, Cipher 8 reached the makeshift detention block only to find the corpses of the Rebel guards. Gazing at the metal door and the way it had been crunched like a toy, she blew out a breath and nodded. Vader was indeed alive… and apparently running loose somewhere. She'd been listening to Imperial comm traffic and knew now that the fleet was ready to destroy the base, the walkers having obliterated the shield generator. They simply awaited her signal.
In hangar 8, Al was coming to a similar conclusion as he saw the Imperial walkers practically on top of them. All the Jedi and soldiers had fled indoors to get on the last few transports. His comlink chimed.
"This is Brek," Al answered as he haphazardly tried to hold his hydrospanner steady.
"Al, it's Obi-Wan – I trust you're still in the base?"
Al rolled his eyes. "Am I everybody's last ride out? I thought you guys would have been smart enough to get out of here sooner! Get your asteroid over here, I'm in hangar 8!"
"What do you mean? Is Siri still here?"
"Yes," Al said frantically, waving his hands around as if Obi-Wan could see him. "You're all crazy! We have to leave now!"
"Where is she?"
"I don't know – she said she had to get Vader."
"What?!"
"Yeah, that's what I said!"
"I'll find her – just be ready to get us out of here!"
"Believe me, I'm more than ready to get the hell out of this death trap!"
Obi-Wan cut the connection, looking around in a near panic before he slowed his breathing and tried to focus on the presence of his wife in the Force. He would have figured that Vader was still sedated and had already been evacuated. He should've known better. He didn't know where anybody was at this point, only that they had to get out of here. He followed what he suspected might be her, only to run into a hallway full of stormtroopers.
"Blast!" he cursed softly as they turned on him and he activated his blade, but it seemed the soldiers were focused on someone else. Obi-Wan heard the familiar hum of another lightsaber and saw a blue glow in the distance. The Force sang with familiarity. "Siri!"
Rushing forward, Obi-Wan disarmed a majority of the troops, who hadn't quite noticed him yet, and he nearly ran headfirst into his wife. Before they could say much, however, the wall shattered and shrapnel peppered the area, killing the two Rebel soldiers with Siri and nearly killing the two Jedi themselves, who narrowly avoided being crushed by leaping out of the way of the blast.
Siri coughed against the snow and dust and managed to get to her feet first as Obi-Wan froze from the pain searing through him.
"Obi, what the hell are you doing here?! You should've evacuated by now!" Siri yelled as she leaned over to help him. She paused when she saw his back. "Obi—"
"Worry about that later," Obi-Wan interrupted. "Where's Vader?"
The Force resounded with danger for the millionth time that day as more stormtroopers poured in through the hole that had just been created. Outside Obi-Wan could hear the Imperial walkers looming ever closer, and the loud scream of hover tank engines surrounded the perimeter.
They were outgunned.
Both Jedi stood hastily and activated their blades, standing back to back as they were surrounded by stormtroopers.
And then Obi-Wan saw him.
Darth Vader stood in the distance, covered in dust and snow, shivering slightly in the cold, but otherwise unharmed. He watched Obi-Wan and Siri closely, his face too neutral to read.
"Help us!" Obi-Wan called out, startling Siri and the stormtroopers alike.
A second ticked by as the troopers took aim and Siri prepared for the worst. And then another second ticked by and Obi-Wan felt the familiar scraping sensation against his hands as his lightsaber flew out of his grip.
The blade hissed as it flew through a stormtrooper before reaching Vader's hands. Another stormtrooper flew into the air, slamming into the ceiling and screaming. Vader walked by him, eviscerating him as he threw two others against the wall and swung Obi-Wan's blade against a third. One of the two who was tossed tried to fire, but Vader deflected it right back at the trooper, killing him. Three remained, and Siri cut one down as Vader stabbed the other in the chest and strangled the last one. The hallway grew silent as the snow settled. Everyone gasped for air. Vader watched them, Obi-Wan's blade still humming in his hand. Siri tensed.
Obi-Wan held out his hand. "Come on. We need to leave before they kill us."
The Sith Lord swallowed, his eyes slightly wide. No one moved for what felt like an eternity.
Vader deactivated the lightsaber.
The man walked towards them wordlessly. Siri watched him somewhat warily but said nothing, looking to Obi-Wan, who simply smiled and nodded. "Al's in hangar 8. Let's get out of here."
"Right behind you," Siri muttered, her gaze lingering between the Sith and her husband.
The trio tore through the halls as Obi-Wan counted down between hangars. He occasionally glanced behind him to look at Vader, but the Sith Lord was completely focused on following him. The Force swirled around the three of them, making Obi-Wan feel like he was practically flying to the hangar, buoyed by the fierce power emanating from Vader and mixing with Siri and himself.
Eventually they reached hangar eight without any more interruptions, and Obi-Wan laid eyes on the Invariant Beauty. Al was hastily putting a panel back on over one of the ship's engines, and he paused when he saw the three of them rushing his way.
Al bit his lip as his eyes fell on Vader, but he didn't comment. "Let's get out of here!"
The Zabrak smuggler led the way onto the landing ramp and hastily shut it behind them. The ship trembled as the hangar shuddered from another blast.
"I'm going to need help in the cockpit!" Al shouted as he ran through the small lounge towards the cockpit.
"I'm the better pilot between the two of us," Siri noted breathlessly, making her way after Al.
Obi-Wan looked at Vader, about to guide him to the couch and strap in, when he saw the Sith rush after the other two. He called out to him, but Vader ignored him. Pushing through his pain, Obi-Wan managed to reach out and grab the Sith by the arm.
"They're taking care of it, we need to strap in!" he instructed through gritted teeth.
Vader furrowed his brow and narrowed his eyes, his face hardening, but it softened a heartbeat later and he twisted his arm out of Obi-Wan's grip and instead dragged Obi-Wan to the sofa. "Where's the first aid kit?"
"I don't know," Obi-Wan answered, winded by the sudden change in behavior.
Vader exhaled sharply and then strapped Obi-Wan in. The ship's engines roared to life and the Sith paused, listening.
Obi-Wan pulled the man down beside him, strapping him in as well. "Stay here."
"Everybody hold on!" Al shouted from the cockpit. Obi-Wan did as instructed, gripping the fabric of the sofa as he felt the ground disappear beneath his feet. It didn't help that he couldn't see what was going on outside, but he knew he just had to trust Al's piloting skills.
"One of the engines is damaged," Vader remarked, his voice tense.
Obi-Wan looked worriedly at the Sith Lord. "What?"
The force of their sudden change in velocity shoved Obi-Wan and Vader sideways as Al accelerated out of the hangar and tore upwards into the sky.
Sitting in the copilot's seat in the cockpit, Siri asked, "Do we have the ion cannon to help us out?"
Al shook his head, his mouth a thin line. "Everybody's gone; the intercom probably broke long before, but I got a transmission from the Alliance that all but two of the transports had escaped. Nobody's manning the cannon. We were the last out."
Siri muttered every curse she knew. How the hell were they going to get through an entire Imperial fleet?!
"It'll be fine," Al tried to say reassuringly, though his tone didn't denote confidence. "The fleet's not big enough to cover the entire planet. With this launch angle we'll get out on the other side."
Siri watched the flames lick at the ship's heat shield just outside the viewport as the Invariant Beauty tore through the atmosphere. Figures and readings came up on Al's console in front of him, and he adjusted the ship's speed and angle of ascent based on the information.
Just as the blackness of space started to peer through the thinning atmosphere, Siri's eyes caught sight of something she didn't recognize. "What's that?"
"What?" Al asked, looking around wildly before having to return his attention to his previous task.
Siri typed madly on her console, trying to home in on the device with the scanner. As soon as the readings came through, she gasped, "Shavit! Al, it's a probe for the fleet!"
"It's fine, they won't get to us in time—"
"The destroyers won't, but the fighters will!"
As if to prove her right, as soon as the words had left her lips an entire squadron of TIE fighters came onto the radar.
"Son of a Hutt!" Al yelled, jerking the ship away from the incoming enemies. "Man the turret!"
Siri was already working on that, activating the turret and engaging the targeting computer. She felt her stomach knot as she glanced at the radar once more; there were ten TIE fighters out there. Could Al evade them all?
Al flipped the ship and dove down towards the planet to avoid incoming fire, making Siri a little dizzy as she felt her stomach do somersaults. She gripped the console and maneuvered the turret, trying to get a good lock on one of the fighters. "Al, try to hold it steady for a second!"
"I hold it steady and we turn into a fireball!" Al shot back.
Sithspit! Siri gripped the turret controls so hard her fingers started to tingle. She couldn't get a good lock with Al's maneuvering. Closing her eyes for a second, she blew out a breath and tried to calm herself. The Force had protected her form blaster bolts; surely it could help her aim.
Siri tried not to think about targeting or anything else too much. Instead, she let her hands guide the turret where it needed to go. She heard the shrill of the targeting computer saying it was locked, and she fired.
One of the TIE fighters exploded.
Siri and Al both let out a yell of excitement before the ship shuddered as fire narrowly avoided the hull.
"Okay, just do that nine more times and we'll be fine!" Al said.
"Thanks!" Siri rolled her eyes, trying to recreate what she'd just done.
Al yanked the Beauty upward once more, getting the ship out of the dip he'd had it in, making Siri gasp for air as she was slammed into her seat. Her hands slid from the console and the ship lurched harshly to the left. Siri felt her neck ache as she nearly got whiplash, and Al swore as a console sparked.
"One more hit like that and we're finished! Get rid of those fighters!"
"I'm trying!" Siri said, frustrated. She immediately tried to target another fighter, but Al pulled the ship in another direction before she could get a good lock. The targeting computer attempted to adjust, but it was still off far enough that when she fired she missed the fighter entirely. "How about you just get us out of range!"
"I'm trying!"
"There's way too much trying going on in this cockpit and not enough doing!" Siri grumbled as she desperately tried to hit the enemy.
The Beauty shook again as enemy fire blazed by her. Siri narrowed her eyes, trying to silence everything, and she finally destroyed the second fighter. Al's radar bleeped; more fighters were coming.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Al yelled. "This—"
Al was cut off as the TIE fighters landed another hit on the Beauty—a hard one. The ship jerked so much Siri felt her breath get torn out of her as the safety strap nearly crushed her rib cage, and the console that had previously sparked let out a large explosion right in Al's face. Siri called out to him, but she heard no response, and suddenly before she knew what was going on she was flung to the right and steadily slipping out of her harness as the ship spun uncontrollably.
Obi-Wan and Vader were also having their harnesses steadily ingrain into their skin. Obi-Wan grimaced, already fighting against the pain of his previous injury. Vader, on the other hand, looked around, gritting his teeth against the force pushing against them. He reached his left hand out slowly, eventually grabbing the edge of the sofa, and then with a flick of the Force he was unstrapped from the harness. His body was flung out, and he was only prevented from flying to the wall by his iron grip on the edge of the couch. He slowly reached up with his right hand to help strengthen the hold, and then slowly pulled himself up to reach out of the next available object. When he saw that there was none, he gazed intently at the door leading to the cockpit.
That was too far a jump with this force pushing against them; there was no way the Sith would make it. Obi-Wan called out to him. "Vader, there's a hatch beside the entrance, just to the left! It's got a ladder you can hold on to!"
The Sith Lord heeded the Jedi's advice and reached out his hand, using the Force to open the hatch. When the ladder became visible he focused intently on it, and Obi-Wan sensed the Force surge around him as he grunted and used all his arm strength to throw himself towards the ladder. He barely caught it, but it was enough. Curling his abdomen inward he managed to loop his ankles around a lower rung. Obi-Wan gasped as the straps started to crush his ribcage, and he felt lightheaded. If they kept spinning like this everyone would pass out before they crashed.
Something roared around them. Obi-Wan doubted it was the engines; more likely the sound of them reentering the atmosphere.
Vader held onto the ladder tightly before reaching his right arm out and gripping the edge of the entrance to the cockpit. Once he had a firm hold, he shuffled closer to the doorway, still clinging to the ladder with his left hand and ankles. Eventually, after pausing a second and maintaining his iron grip on the Force, he released his hold on the ladder, and his legs flew out behind him once more. He pulled himself inward, and Obi-Wan saw nothing more as his vision started to blur.
In the cockpit, Siri had given up on calling out to Al and was instead trying to focus on the baby; she didn't even know how she could protect the child, but instinct automatically told her she had to. She barely noticed someone entering until Vader grabbed her seat for stability. The Sith Lord managed to get to the pilot's chair and Siri finally got a good look at Al. The Zabrak was unconscious, part of his face a little singed—her heart caught in her throat. But his color was still good and from what she could tell in all the movement it looked like he was still breathing, and suddenly she could breathe again as well.
Vader unstrapped Al's safety harness.
Gasping, Siri reached out, automatically trying to catch the Zabrak. A heartbeat later logic kicked in, telling her quite plainly that she didn't have the arm strength to fight the force of the spin and hold a full grown man with one arm. Desperately focusing, she reached out wit he the Force and focused on holding Al steady. The Zabrak still flew across the room, but he slowed right at the entrance to the cockpit, his arms and legs pulling out in front of his torso as if he were sitting and holding his arms out. Siri gritted her teeth, squeezing her eyes shut in concentration as she felt the blood slowly drain from her brain, pushed to one side by the centripetal force.
Meanwhile, Vader was slowly strapping himself in, trying to also fight the oncoming unconsciousness. He reached his arms out and gripped the steering controls firmly, fighting against the failing engine struggling to realign the ship. With the Force he maintained the hard turn against their current vector and he dedicated the rest of his energy to adjusting power output between engines and thrusters.
The spin started to slow. As the directional force pulled less and less, Vader returned his hands to the steering controls, fighting for control of the ship. They started to slowly pull out of the spin, but the ground was looming ever closer. Siri gasped, releasing Al as her strength finally left her. The man unceremoniously hit the floor just outside of the cockpit, still carried a little way by what was left of the ship's spin. Obi-Wan had long since passed out, so he didn't notice the intrusion into the lounge.
Just as Siri felt like the straps couldn't have cut her ribs any more, Vader pulled the ship upwards after steadying its sideways velocity, and she was planted firmly into the copilot's seat. Gasping, she used the Force to ease the pressure off her abdomen. So help me, if he hurts the child…
Vader steadied the climb so they wouldn't stall, angling the ship about thirty degrees above the horizon. Siri caught the slightest glimmer of the Imperial walkers below before they flew right over them.
The force of the acceleration lessened with the milder angle, and Siri tried to catch her breath. She then quickly referenced the console to see if any fighters had followed them. They were alone, however; the Imperials no doubt believed they had crashed on the surface.
"We're low on fuel," Vader remarked calmly, seemingly unperturbed by what had just happened. The sweat trickling down his face revealed otherwise, however.
"What the…?" Al's voice echoed from the lounge.
Siri was too out of breath to say anything to either person.
Al eventually half crawled back into the cockpit and he gawked at Vader. "You're in my seat! What the hell did you do?"
"Saved… everybody's… lives…" Siri panted so as to avoid a confrontation; they had enough problems. "Get us… out of here…"
Al shakily got to his feet, but Vader shook his head. "You need to get down to the engines and fix them or we won't make it out of here. We don't have escape velocity right now."
"Well what do we have?"
"Barely enough to get into orbit. We don't need to orbit Hoth, we need to leave it."
"Where's… the fleet?" Siri asked.
Al leaned heavily against a console, looking at the scanners. "Declination +45 degrees, right ascension around 5 hours; we're heading towards the southern hemisphere, so we should be good—assuming we don't hit any more probes."
"Probes will be strewn across the planet; it's standard protocol for planetary assault," Vader said. "If they don't have enough ships to blockade, then they stretch their scanner capacity to make sure no one leaves or enters without their knowledge. Get down to engineering or we'll run out of fuel before you finish talking."
"I'm plotting hyperspace coordinates first," Al said firmly, stumbling towards the navicomputer. He glanced at the fuel reserves and then winced as he pulled up star charts. Blowing out a breath, he input coordinates. "Well, we won't make it to either rendezvous point, but we can get somewhere safe. All right, I'm heading down to engineering; Siri—"
"I'll make sure he doesn't do anything," she assured the smuggler.
Al grunted and left, turning right just outside of the door and climbing down the ladder. Siri found an intercom button and turned it on so Vader, she, and Al could communicate freely.
As Vader and Al exchanged mechanical jargon, Siri unstrapped herself, wincing as she saw blood stain where the strap had dug into her side. She shakily got to her feet and headed into the lounge to check on Obi-Wan, who was starting to wake up. Obi-Wan laid eyes on her as she reached him.
"I see… we're still alive…" he slurred with a half-smile.
Siri exhaled heavily, nearly collapsing beside him on the couch. Al's and Vader's voices echoed into the room.
"Okay…" she sighed, leaning her head back. "Vader knows how to pilot; I'll give him that."
"Are you alright?"
"'m fine," she muttered.
"And the baby?"
Siri bit her lip. "From what I can tell, she's fine too."
At least she prayed the baby was fine. She didn't sense anything wrong, which was typically a good sign.
Obi-Wan's reply was cut off as the engines seemed to make more noise than before, which Siri hoped indicated that they were functioning normally.
"You know, repairing mid-flight is typically not a good idea!" Al yelled from downstairs.
"The ship can't land with Imperial forces everywhere." Vader replied.
"I know that!"
"Then why'd you say that?"
Siri and Obi-Wan glanced at each other as Al spluttered some angry response.
"Perhaps I should go to the cockpit," Obi-Wan suggested, unstrapping himself. "You stay here."
For once, Siri didn't argue.
Obi-Wan managed to get to the copilot's seat before nearly falling into it. Vader didn't even spare him a glance.
"I've adjusted the power as best I can down here," Al's voice said over the intercom.
Vader pressed some buttons on the console and the engines grew louder still.
"Hey, mind warning me before I go deaf down here?!" Al yelled from engineering.
"Make sure the engines don't overheat," Vader ordered. "The coolant system leaked most of its fluid from the hit."
"Sure, no problem—I'll get my biggest pitcher of water," Al snapped.
"A pitcher of water won't work."
"Are you serious right now?!"
Obi-Wan debated whether he should bother interfering or not. This interaction was some strange mix of enlightening and entertaining.
Vader angled the ship upward slightly, and Obi-Wan hastily strapped himself in, saying to Al over the comm, "Be careful, Al; he's accelerating out of the atmosphere. You might want to grab hold of something."
Loud clanging and swearing was heard, indicating that Al did not in fact grab hold of anything in time.
Vader kept the ship's velocity steady until they started exiting the stratosphere, at which point he gunned the engines. Obi-Wan gasped at the sudden force, grabbing a console so he wouldn't get thrown into his safety harness again. The console beeped, and he referenced it. "There's a probe of some sort out there."
Vader either didn't hear him or ignored him entirely. Instead, the Sith glanced at some sort of declination information and sharply turned the ship to the right. The radar sounded off ominously, and Obi-Wan glanced at it. "Fighters incoming!"
Vader remained silent, his eyes narrowing as his right hand slowly reached for a lever. Obi-Wan watched the blips on the radar steadily grow closer. "Vader…"
The ship rumbled as fighter fire exploded around them, and the Sith Lord exhaled sharply, his hand returning to the steering yoke. He spun the ship several times, making Obi-Wan extremely dizzy.
"They're right on top of us!" the Jedi shouted. "Spinning isn't helping!"
"It's a good trick," Vader remarked under his breath before jerking the ship straight up. "Is the hyperdrive primed?"
Obi-Wan reached for the button but was thrown in the opposite direction. "Just—a—minute…"
Fighting against the stiffness and pain, he flung his hand out and activated the hyperdrive, which hummed to life. Vader reached for the lever once more and he hastily pulled it back. The engines quieted as the hyperdrive roared to life and the Invariant Beauty finally tore into hyperspace, escaping the Imperial forces entirely.
Obi-Wan leaned heavily into the seat, just breathing. His mind was whirling at everything that had happened within such a short span of time; it hadn't even been an hour since Siri's prenatal checkup.
Vader stood and exited the cockpit, immediately looking at Siri, who watched him tiredly. "He needs treatment."
Siri's eyes opened fully in a heartbeat. "Who? Al?"
"The other one."
Siri blinked. Then she blinked again. Obi-Wan also stared at the Sith Lord. The other one…?
"You…" Siri looked at him incredulously. "What's his name?"
Vader mirrored Siri's previous action.
Obi-Wan nearly gawked at the man. He… he didn't know his name? "What exactly have you been calling me?"
"Nothing," Vader shrugged.
Obi-Wan wasn't sure how he was supposed to react to this, but in the end all he felt was… exasperation. Given what he'd learned about the man it wasn't too surprising. "Obi-Wan. My name is Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan Kenobi."
Vader looked at Siri. "Obi-Wan needs treatment."
"You're impossible," she groaned, getting up. Obi-Wan watched her reluctantly head his way; she needed to rest as much as he did.
Siri reached past him and spoke into the intercom. "Al, where's your med kit?"
"In my bedroom on the wall by… something."
"That's helpful."
"It's in there somewhere!"
"Right," she sighed, dragging Obi-Wan out of the copilot's seat as she headed to Al's room. Neither Jedi even bothered to watch Vader as he stood aimlessly in the center of the lounge; they were too exhausted to notice at this point. After Siri wordlessly stemmed the bleeding from Obi-Wan's laceration and then smeared some fresh bacta on it, as well as both spouses cleaning up each other's cuts from the harnesses, they trudged back into the lounge to find the Sith Lord pacing.
"What are you doing?" Siri asked tiredly.
"There's nowhere to walk."
Obi-Wan gazed at him, a memory resurfacing. "You do seem obsessed with that, don't you?"
"I need to walk."
"Then keep boring a hole into the floor," Siri waved a dismissive hand. "I don't really care."
Vader clenched his jaw and looked away. For the first time since the battle had started, he looked agitated. Obi-Wan remembered their last conversation together and decided to not push the man at the moment. Instead, he followed his wife, who was heading upstairs to lie down and rest until they exited hyperspace – a move which frankly surprised him; it indicated she was either too tired to care about what Vader did or, more likely, had finally acquired some trust for him after what he'd done today.
The two Jedi reached the hidden upstairs quarters and Siri groaned as she collapsed on the lower bunk. Obi-Wan pressed the button for the intercom on the wall. "Al, how long before we reach our destination?"
"Three hours."
"Long 'nough," Siri mumbled, already beginning to pass out.
Obi-Wan sighed and didn't bother climbing into the upper bunk. Instead, he slid in beside his wife, who didn't care either way. "Yes, long enough."
Within a minute the two Jedi were fast asleep.
*hands out cyber king cake to everyone*