Chapter 2
Duelling the General
Obi-Wan gazed at his surroundings with mild interest. He was standing in a spherical metal room, crisscrossed above by hundreds of catwalks. Gaps in the floor revealed hundreds of more catwalks down below. Off to Obi-Wan's right, the eight Separatist leaders were sitting at a round conference table, frozen in fear. In the Force, they radiated terror.
Surrounding Obi-Wan and General Grievous, there was a loose ring of perhaps two hundred battle droids; mainly the standard B1 variant, but a few B2 super battle droids and Destroyer Droids stood, blaster ready. And ahead of Master Kenobi, stood a terrifying sight. Tall and gangly, his limbs skeletal but immensely strong, pitted and dirty, General Grievous observed Obi-Wan through his terrifying yellow reptilian eyes. The Kaleesh-style death mask worn by Grievous would've been terrifying to a normal man, maybe even a normal Jedi, but Obi-Wan was no normal Jedi, and Jedi Code swept away any traces of fear.
There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no chaos, there is harmony.
There is no death, there is the Force.
With those words in his mind, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi Master, Council Member, General, negotiator, pilot, and ultimate Jedi shrugged off his brown cloak and spread his hands.
Grievous released a horrible, hacking cough, his body contorting, before speaking in his scratchy and intimidating voice.
"Kill him!"
There were a hundred clicks as priming levers were pulled on blasters, and then the room erupted in flashes of crimson lasers so glaringly bright Obi-Wan closed his eyes to protect his retinas.
The Jedi Master leapt a nanosecond before he would've been disintegrated by hundreds of blaster bolts. He flipped in the air, his lightsaber hilt jumping from his belt to slap into his hand.
Snap-hiss.
The Jedi Master's blade ignited in a shower of sapphire sparks. The sky blue blade hummed and buzzed as it whizzed through the air, pinging as it deflected hundreds of blaster bolts into the air, to the side, smashing into the ground, walls, and even the droids that fired them.
Obi-Wan landed in a crouch, his blade weaving an impenetrable shield of energy and plasma that deflected lasers back at their owners. In seconds there were crashes of metal and the fizzing sound of lasers destroying droids as the blaster bolts deflected back into the crowd of mechanical soldiers. Obi-Wan leapt again, this time to the side, dodging every bolt that came his way with a deft twist. He landed just in front of a B2 Super Battle Droid, and sliced the droid in half from its right shoulder to its left hip with an upwards swing. He leapt forward, blade spinning and cutting through the air, leaving a scent of ozone behind as it frazzled the air.
He landed and dropped to his hands and one foot, spinning around with his left leg extended and rigid to knock three droids into a hole in the ground, sending them toppling and bouncing off the catwalks below. He regained his feet easily, wading into the crowd of droids, lightsaber spinning and trailing blue fire. The droids were cut like scissors through flimsiplast, falling in pieces as the thirty-eight year old Jedi Master cut them down.
Thirty seconds later, the only droids left were three Destroyer Droids, their skeletal forms shielded and their repeating blasters releasing scourges of plasma. Obi-Wan, deeply rooted in the Force, stood his ground, meeting every blast and deflecting it harmlessly back into the Destroyer Droids' shields.
After a further minute, the Destroyer Droids' shield bubbles were starting to lose their bright blue quality, a sure sign that their shields were beginning to weaken. Now a hard lightsaber swipe would probably penetrate the droids' shields.
Obi-Wan advanced, his blade swinging wildly to deflect the incoming bolts until he was just a metre away from the nearest Destroyer Droid. With a deft swing and flick of his lightsaber, Obi-Wan sliced through the droid's shields and decapitated the bronze droid.
Obi-Wan retreated a step, deflecting bolts coming from the two remaining Destroyer Droids. The battle was dragging on, and the Jedi Master decided to end it. He flicked his hand and summoned the Force, catapulting the Destroyer Droids over his own head and out of the core ship, where they were vaporised by particle shielding.
The Jedi Master turned, robes smoking from near hits, and inclined his head at General Grievous, who stood stunned just ten metres away.
"Jedi slime!" hissed Grievous, advancing a step on his metal claws. "Guards! Slaughter him. Bring me his lightsaber, and his head."
Out of nowhere, four tall droids wearing capes leapt, their chests bearing large red photoreceptors, and each of them carrying a long electrostaff.
Obi-Wan smiled and saluted with his blade as the Magnaguards of General Grievous advanced, their electrostaffs fizzing at the end with violet lightning. Obi-Wan had defeated one aboard the Invisible Hand with only minor difficulties, and now he knew he could exploit the weaknesses of each of the guard droids effortlessly. Even though a lightsaber couldn't cut an electrostaff, the Jedi Master knew that a blow from an electrostaff wasn't fatal, merely agonising.
The first Magnaguard was advancing when a thunderclap echoed into the room. A second later, the massive green lances of turbolaser fire shot past outside. The core ship shook violently, and the smell of burning wafted up from below where the turbolaser blast had penetrated the core ship's shielding. The invasion had begun! The Magnaguards faltered, obviously seeking instructions from Grievous, and in that second, Obi-Wan pounced.
He pressed the small button his lightsaber's hilt that would keep the blade on even if Obi-Wan let go, and he threw the humming weapon at the Magnaguards.
Using the Force to alter the lightsaber's course, Obi-Wan saw that his blade sliced every Magnaguard, besides one, in half from the top of their heads down to their groins. The Magnaguards were almost finished, and Obi-Wan's lightsaber returned to his hand with a comforting smack.
The last Magnaguard advanced, swinging its electrostaff in wide circles. Obi-Wan rolled forward and then slashed, his lightsaber moving at blinding speeds as it severed the leg of the Magnaguard. The leg fell away, sparking and hissing as it dripped molten metal.
The Magnaguard released a hiss of static, and then balanced on its electrostaff. With a nimble spin, it balanced entirely on the weapon and brought its foot up in an effort to kick Obi-Wan.
The Jedi Master disappeared in a blur as he leapt upwards.
The Magnaguard landed on it one remaining foot, just as Obi-Wan came down with a cry of the Force. The Magnaguard looked up, just as Obi-Wan's lightsaber cut the droid's head from its grey neck. The Magnaguard still wasn't beaten, as it had its chest-mounted photoreceptor, or en 'eye' as it was nicknamed by humans because it did the same job as an eye. The droid whirled its electrostaff towards Obi-Wan's head, but the Jedi Master blocked the blow with his sabre. The droid then reversed his staff's direction, moving backwards just in time to avoid Obi-Wan's thrusting counterattack. The Magnaguard crept forward for the last time, and put all its strength into a hard jab with the weapon, aimed at Obi-Wan's chest. The Jedi whirled out of the way of the stab, and brought his sabre through the Magnaguards back and chest-mounted photoreceptor with a quick stab.
Over the roar of turbolaser fire, Obi-Wan spoke to the General.
"Your move."
The cyborg General screeched, and extended his two spindly arms. He then reached into the dark shadow of his green and red cloak, and his hands came out, each one carrying two lightsabers.
Click.
The General's arms and hands separated to form four upper appendages. In each three-fingered hand, was a lightsaber. Four snap-hisses echoed around the core ship as Grievous activated each sabre.
Two emerald blades and two sapphire blades ignited, dazzling Obi-Wan. Grievous whirled them and then crouched, pointing all four blades straight forward. Grievous then cackled.
"Your lightsaber should've been in my collection long ago. Now, I will take it from your body. I was trained in your Jedi arts by Count Dooku!" Grievous laughed again, and advanced.
"And I trained the man who killed him," replied Obi-Wan. In one quick move, the Jedi Master stepped forward, and met the general's advance.
Grievous's first strikes came from above, striking down on Obi-Wan's blade, which was raised to meet the onslaught. Grievous then swung with one of his blade, coming in from the left, but Obi-Wan dodged it by rolling backwards. The General's swipe was still close enough to singe Obi-Wan's tunic though.
Obi-Wan jumped to his feet just as Grievous launched himself forward, lightsabers a mere blur of colour battering at Obi-Wan's steadfast defence.
Grievous ramped up attack speed until he was making more than twenty attacks per second. Yet Obi-Wan simply blocked and dodged, never moving an inch more than he needed to. Grievous howled in frustration, and continued to attack faster.
Obi-Wan met all four of Grievous's blades at once, and the five lightsabers locked together. Grievous, using his amazing mechanical strength, pushed forward with enough force to bend the armour of a Star Destroyer.
Obi-Wan didn't even flinch.
Backed up by the power of the Force, even a black hole couldn't have shifted the Jedi Master. The Jedi simply stood fast, and eventually began to lean forward, summoning the Force to give him strength.
Grievous's upper right arm, the arm which was applying the most strength, suddenly emitted the metallic wail of stressed metal, bent backwards, and snapped clean off. The emerald lightsaber that had once been held in that hand fell, bouncing away and out of sight. Obi-Wan smiled, and leaned forward again. But the General reacted. He kicked out, planting his sharp claws on Obi-Wan's chest with the intention of ripping out the Jedi Master's rib cage.
Obi-Wan gasped, suddenly in pain as Grievous started to squeeze. Calling upon the Force to reinforce his skin, Obi-Wan felt Grievous's squeeze weaken, but it didn't stop completely.
Where's Anakin? Obi-Wan thought, just mildly concerned. If he broke lightsaber connection with the General to free his ribcage, the General's lightsabers would behead the Jedi Master. If Obi-Wan didn't try to free his ribcage, he would die.
An interesting dilemma, mused the Jedi Master.
"I will peel the flesh from your bones!" laughed Grievous, realising that Obi-Wan would soon begin to weaken.
"And I'll rip the durasteel from your exoskeleton, droid," said a commanding voice from behind Grievous.
Anakin!
Snap-hiss.
Obi-Wan smiled as he heard Anakin ignite his lightsaber. Grievous's yellow eyes widened in surprise, but he adapted in a second. He pushed with his foot, releasing his clawed grip on the Jedi and sending him flying backwards. Grievous then whirled to face the tall but young man standing before him, holding his blue lightsaber up in a guard.
Anakin leapt forward, his blade moving even faster than Obi-Wan's had. His strong, aggressive style soon had the General of the droid armies retreating, and after a good minute, Obi-Wan returned to the fray, approaching from behind Grievous. The General, caught in between two enemies who outclassed him as warriors, decided to retreat, but not before Anakin claimed one of Grievous's arms. The cyborg whirled and leapt upwards, using his powerful mechanical legs to propel himself upwards and onto a catwalk a good fifty feet above the two Jedi.
"After you, Master," Anakin said; even though he wasn't Obi-Wan's padawan anymore, the younger Jedi Knight still referred to Obi-Wan as master.
"Thank you," said Obi-Wan, and leapt.
"Leave it to a droid to cheat!" bellowed Obi-Wan, seeing Grievous sprint towards a heavily armoured blast door at the end of a catwalk.
"I'm no droid!" shrieked the General, turning around and pulling out his heavy blaster pistol. Obi-Wan smiled inwardly; the taunt had had the desired effect, as Grievous was distracted, leaving Anakin with an opportunity to get behind him.
Anakin leapt onto Grievous's catwalk, a few metres behind the General as he fired at Obi-Wan. Bursting into a sprint, Anakin raised his lightsaber and swung.
The General reacted just in time; he heard Anakin's approach, and hurled himself off the catwalk. Anakin's sabre just missed, cutting a railing instead.
Anakin leapt after Grievous without thinking. The cyborg was falling in a controlled dive, facing downwards with his arms pinned at his sides. Anakin followed, falling with a controlled speed thanks to the Force.
Grievous aimed his descent, and was bang on target. His fall took him through one of the many holes in the metal floor, and he fell another few hundred feet before landing with a clang on a metal walkway. He raced down the wide catwalk, heading towards a tall metal wheel-bike; an exotic vehicle that was basically a large wheel with a driver's seat, an engine and mechanical legs used to ascend or descend on steep surfaces. Anakin knew that the wheel bike moved at a good two hundred miles per hour at maximum speed.
Anakin landed in front of the wheel bike, just as Grievous kicked the black vehicle into forward. The wheel leapt forward, and Anakin jumped out of the way in the last second, barely avoiding a crushing death.
Obi-Wan sighed and jumped after Anakin, switching off his lightsaber but keeping it in his hand. He sensed Grievous and the wheel-bike.
Oh dear, Obi-Wan thought as he saw he was going to land directly in front of the wheel-bike.
Obi-Wan landed in a controlled crouch, just as the wheel bike was about to hit him.
Anakin screamed and pushed with the Force. The wheel-bike suddenly bucked, and then flew upwards, just missing Obi-Wan Kenobi.
"Thank you," Obi-Wan said calmly and gratefully.
"Any time, Master."
"Now, did you see where our friend, the General went?" Obi-Wan merely said it to lighten Anakin's dark mood. Obi-Wan could sense Grievous fine and well, racing through the core ship and out into the city built on the walls of the sinkhole, heading for some unknown destination, probably a starfighter or shuttle he would use to escape.
Anakin wrenched out a comlink and keyed in the frequency for Commander Cody.
"Cody! We made contact with Grievous. He's escaping in a wheel bike; order all starfighters to go on alert and shoot down any escaping vessels, and tell the troopers to destroy the wheel-bike at all costs!" bellowed Anakin. Obi-Wan frowned deeply at Anakin's display of anger and rage.
"Cop—" Anakin closed off the comlink before Cody could finish.
"Oh, and, Anakin, did you see where Nute Gunray and his… acquaintances went?" Obi-Wan asked mildly.
"Gunray was here?" Obi-Wan felt hatred well up inside Anakin.
"Yes. Well, he'll probably be captured whilst trying to escape. And mind your feelings Anakin. They will be your downfall if you don't keep them in check."
I am not your padawan any more, Anakin wanted to scream the words, but instead he muttered "Yes, master," Through his bared teeth.
In truth, Grievous was already at his customised Bellubab-22 fighter, and the Separatist leaders had already escaped off planet in a cloaked frigate. Grievous wasn't pained by running from the Jedi, just surprised at the power of Kenobi and Skywalker. He couldn't believe how Kenobi had effortlessly deflected all of his attacks, and how he'd resisted the sharp talons of Grievous's legs. And Skywalker! His blows had been stronger and faster than anything even Grievous could muster, and that was a credible feat as Grievous could lift tons upon tons, and move at a respectable fraction of lightspeed. No wonder the Separatists were losing the war, if people like Kenobi and Skywalker could fight so well. Even Mace Windu, widely regarded as the greatest warrior in the Jedi Order short of Yoda, hadn't even been in the league of Obi-Wan Kenobi, never mind Skywalker. Grievous now firmly believed that Anakin Skywalker was the most powerful warrior alive. It was as if his arms were driven by hyperdrives, given strength by lifter droids. Looking at the arm severed by Skywalker, Grievous wondered how Dooku's training had gone wrong.
How Dooku had gone wrong.
But, truthfully, it wasn't totally unexpected. Grievous, although faster and stronger than Count Dooku, had seldom ever defeated the Sith Lord in training duels, so, after Skywalker killed Dooku, Grievous had considered the possibility that Skywalker would best the cyborg as well. Grievous had dismissed the idea at the time, but now it came back to haunt him.
The cyborg finally stepped out of his wheel bike and hulked towards his large, silver starfighter. He was just opening the canopy when a stream of blue blasterfire shot overhead.
Sixteen clones burst onto the landing pad as Grievous whirled around, pulling out his two remaining lightsabers and igniting them. The clones opened fire straight away, their helmeted faces showing no emotion. Grievous reacted in a split second; his mechanical reflexes allowed his to deflect blaster bolts.
Grievous quickly knocked bolt after bolt into each clone, killing some and wounding others. He advanced into the ranks of the clones, cutting them down as Obi-Wan had done to the droids.
The clone trooper Jay, fighting with his squad, was the fourth to take a deflected blaster bolt. He'd been firing his DC-15 rifle on full automatic, but Grievous had batted every bolt away with his two lightsabers. Grievous had cut down Jay's squad leader and a further four clones, and deflected blaster bolts into another three before batting a sizzling blue laser back into Jay. The clone was hit in the gut, and the bolt managed to tear through his armour, into his intestines, and back out of the other side. He groaned and gurgled, feeling the fiery hot pain that shot out from the wound. Stumbling backwards, he dropped his rifle, his hands going to the hole in his armour, which was now gushing crimson blood at a terrific rate. Already he felt light-headed from blood-loss, and he would soon be unconscious.
The blackness that appeared around the edges of Jay's vision was a sure sign of impending unconsciousness and death. Jay didn't really care; he would've before, but the blood-loss had changed the way he thought.
It made death seem trivial.
Some people say their lives flash before their eyes when they're about to die… Jay thought, frowning. I suppose I don't, because I've never really had a life. It was Kamino, and that was just training, learning, eating and sleeping. And then I was deployed, to Geonosis, then Raxus Prime, then Naboo, Haruun Kal, Rhen Var, Ord Cestus, Jabiim, Aargonar, Brentaal IV, Praesitlyn, Deco Neimodia, Cato Neimodia, Coruscant, and now here. With those thoughts, Jay passed out as his blood flow from his wounds slowed.
Grievous calmly cut the legs from the last clone trooper and kicked him off the landing pad and into the sinkhole. He turned and hurried back towards his starfighter, one lightsaber still out and buzzing just in case.
Anakin sensed the death of the first few clones, and the determination of General Grievous.
"Master, Grievous is there!" he roared, pointing towards a landing pad just visible across the sinkhole, maybe five hundred metres away. Flashes of blue blasterfire and lightsaber blades were clearly visible.
"Anakin, don't do anything rash," warned Obi-Wan, but it was too late. Anakin had already taken off at a Force-powered sprint in the direction of the landing pad, ignoring the vast chasm between the core ship and the landing pad. The particle shields were disabled, as the clones had captured most of the core ship, so Anakin was free to jump.
Although Obi-Wan didn't think he'd make the leap.
Anakin allowed his rage to fly through him. He gnashed his teeth and ignited his lightsaber, focusing solely on making the Force throw him onto the landing pad. He allowed his black hatred for Grievous to bubble through, bent his knees, and leapt into the air.
Obi-Wan watched as Anakin sailed up into the air. Anakin wasn't having any problems; he was definitely going to reach Grievous in that single leap. At the start of the war, Obi-Wan would've been surprised, but now he knew that Anakin could do almost anything with the Force. He sighed; there was no way Obi-Wan could make the jump, but his starfighter was still a few catwalks above him.
Obi-Wan climbed into his starfighter, and raised it off the ground. He turned it around, and pushed the throttles forward. The ship leapt forward, shooting out of the core ship. Obi-Wan eased the control yoke around to face the landing pad. He could see flashes of blue and green lightsabers, and he knew Anakin had arrived.
Anakin battled the General towards the end of the landing pad. Grievous was just centimetres away from a terrible fall. His mechanical talons dug into the landing pad to stop himself from being pushed back under Anakin's attack.
But the mechanical claws wouldn't help.
Anakin moved deftly, and his lightsaber came up in a sweeping arc that severed Grievous's right leg and left arm. The General sharply adjusted his balance, standing precariously on one leg and fighting with the one arm and one lightsaber he still possessed. Anakin's lightsaber met Grievous's in a flash of blue and green sparks, and the General knew he was dead. He looked into the dark blue eyes of Anakin Skywalker, and saw a tinge of yellow. What Grievous really saw in those eyes, however, was a cold promise of a painful death.
And, for the first time since his brain had been unknowingly altered to encourage anger and shun fear, General Grievous was terrified.
Obi-Wan lined up his cannons behind Grievous, frowning. The powerful blasters on his ship would rip through Grievous and kill Anakin if he fired, so Obi-Wan settled to fight with his sabre.
Obi-Wan swung his starfighter in to land, putting down just a few feet behind Anakin. He popped the canopy and leapt out, not even taking out his lightsaber.
Anakin screamed with rage. Grievous's defence was incredible; obviously he knew he couldn't win the duel, and so settled to simply defend. Anakin gnashed his teeth again in a foul grimace, and decided to end Grievous.
Anakin swung a blow so hard that Grievous's sabre locked fast on Anakin's, both blades high above their heads. Anakin's foul grimace grew wider, and changed to a bitter smile that savoured victory. He then took control of the Force with his mind, expanding his consciousness into the landing pad, looking for a weak spot…
There!
Anakin screamed as the power he used reached incredible levels. Using the Force so much, particularly in such a dark way, was causing his skin to go pale and his eyes to turn yellow. He pushed, and the landing pad began to crack at his feet. It started to swing away, with Anakin on the steady side, Grievous on the side that was about to fall into the sinkhole.
He has to die! Or millions more innocents will, thought Anakin.
Blue lightning crackled and appeared on Anakin's left hand. His mechanical hand merely short circuited, but Anakin's Force grip kept it clamped onto his sabre hilt.
Anakin screamed again, and lightning crackled forward and leapt from his left hand, its blue bolts racing forward at odd angles to strike Grievous. The General howled as his life-support systems began to short-circuit. Anakin let go of his sabre, and it deactivated, toppling into the sinkhole. A second later, Grievous followed, his body still ringed with a horrible blue cage of lightning.
Obi-Wan's jaw dropped as he saw his best friend use the most reviled, the most forbidden Force-power known to the Jedi.
Anakin turned to face Obi-Wan, the younger Jedi's face wrinkled and pale, his eyes glowing a fierce yellow ringed with crimson.
"I'm sorry," mouthed Anakin, and then he collapsed.
Obi-Wan pushed the use of the dark side away out of his mind when he saw his best friend collapse before his eyes. He raced over, feeling Anakin's torment in the Force. It was as if something, some hound of the dark side, was eating him from the inside out. Something was happening; even though Obi-Wan knew fine and well that Anakin's rage did frequently get out of hand, he also knew that Anakin would never allow those dark emotions to assume control of his mind, body and actions the way they'd did just seconds ago.
Obi-Wan knelt by Anakin, reaching into the Force and sending its healing power into Anakin. Obi-Wan was no Jedi-medic, but he did know that Anakin was suffering form something mere bacta packs or medical kits couldn't repair. He continued to pour the healing energy of the light side into Anakin, feeling the younger Jedi's spirit starting to fight off whatever black infection was plaguing it.
"Help! Medic!" A voice, weak and pained, came from behind Obi-Wan. The Jedi turned, to see a clone trooper, bent forward on his knees hacking and trying to slow the trickle of blood falling from a blaster wound in front of his gut.
Obi-Wan felt guilty for leaving Anakin, but the Jedi Knight wasn't in any immediate danger. Leaving the former slave, who'd started to groan from some horrible nightmare, he moved over to the clone.
Delving into the clone's utility belt, Obi-Wan pulled out a medical kit. Selecting a painkiller, roll of bandages and blood loss fluids, Obi-Wan went to work, injecting the clone with painkillers, then blood-loss control fluids, before bandaging the wound to prevent any further blood-loss. The clone groaned as Obi-Wan pulled off the trooper's upper armour plate to finish bandaging the wound. The clone's condition was stabilising, but he was still in serious danger of dying unless a Rimsoo (a republic medical ship) was brought to him so he could take a bath in the healing fluid of bacta.
Pulling out his comlink, Obi-Wan keyed in the Rimsoo frequency.
"This is General Obi-Wan Kenobi. Get a Rimsoo to my location now. Track the location through this transmission. A bacta tank, blood replacement, synthetic skin and maybe a psychological-repair droid as well," Obi-Wan grimaced at ordering the droid for his best friend; the psychological repair droids were usually called loony-fixers, but Anakin might need one after what he'd done. Obi-Wan pondered if he'd ever be able to look his friend in the face again, after what Anakin had done. "And inform Commander Cody that General Grievous may be dead, but we've not found a body. He may be armed with a blaster and one lightsaber, but if he's alive he's heavily damaged, with only one arm and one leg, probably with an electrical overload and suffering from damage after a fall of maybe three hundred metres. Do you copy?"
"Copy, General," It was the blank voice of a clone trooper. "ETA for the Rimsoo is five minutes. We're currently subjugating resistance in the area; the droids are on the run, and some of the locals have agreed to help us as well; so don't stab anyone who's seven foot tall and has a wrinkly grey face, or someone who's four foot tall and resembles a Gamorrean pig. We could use some Jedi… Are you and General Skywalker able to enter combat?" asked the trooper.
"No… Anakin's down with something psychological… Something only a Jedi might be able to fix. But bring the psychological-repair droid; it might be able to help. I'll need to help Anakin as well, so you'll have to do it on your own."
"Copy that. The Rimsoo is inbound."
Supreme Chancellor Palpatine sat alone in the blue-hued office room he used when taking holographic transmissions. He sat on a tall-backed leather chair, surrounded by multiple holoprojectors. Behind him was a large curving window, similar to the one he had in his public office, which was just down the corridor which lead out from his room. However, the Chancellor wasn't to be disturbed; the door to his private office was sealed shut, with codes only his lead guard knew.
Palpatine was deep in the Force. He wore a long, black cloak that enfolded him totally, even his head was hooded to the point where only his wrinkled, lower face could be seen. Just in front of him, was the crackling blue hologram of Nute Gunray, a horrible, wrinkled Neimodian who was usually grey in the face but was now turning pink from fear. Darth Sidious, the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic, smiled.
"But, Lord Sidious!" Nute Gunray was saying in his distinctive Neimodian voice. "We can't breach the Republic blockade without risking detection" Gunray, wearing long robes and a massive headrest, was shaking and rubbing his hands nervously.
"A fleet is inbound to distract the Republic ships whilst you make your escape," Sidious leaned forward menacingly. Even though the Neimodian and he were thousands of light-years apart, the Neimodian still recoiled in fear. "I hope I am not making a mistake in saving you, Gunray. You have shown nothing but cowardice over the last three years. It would not be the first time I've considered throwing you to the Gundarks," Sidious hissed out the last word, and Gunray bowed quickly and sloppily.
"Of course, my Lord. But I would never fail you! Ever! Gunray, out!"
Sidious twisted his face in disgust. Neimodians, like all nonhumans, were disgusting creatures. But when Sidious's new Galactic Empire came into existence, the nonhumans of the galaxy would be cast down, used only as slaves for the benefit of the New Order. The wealth of the alien creatures would be taken into the hands and banks of the only people who could be trusted with it.
Humans!
The biggest holoprojector, the one that had just shown Gunray, bleeped, a small yellow button on its curved surface flashing. Sidious quickly threw down his hood, becoming the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Senate, wise old Palpatine, once more. He put on the face of a tired honest old man, the face that had kept many of the Republic's citizens who would otherwise have despaired, in check.
Palpatine reached out and pushed the flashing yellow button. At once, the blue hued hologram of the Koruun Jedi Master, Mace Windu, rose up from the projector, his dark face a mask of steely determination.
"Master Windu," Palpatine smiled. "For what reason do I have the pleasure?"
"Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, we've received word from Commander Cody that General Grievous is missing in action, and believed dead. Now would be the best time to start up negotiations with the Confederacy of Independent Systems!" Mace Windu cut right to the point, his eyes smouldering in determination.
Ah, he suspects me, thought Palpatine gleefully; by the time he had concrete evidence on the matter and tried to act on it, it would be too late.
"I'm afraid not Master Windu. That would involve effectively acknowledging the Confederacy as a legitimate government. I've said it once, and I'm afraid to say it again, the Senate and I will not accept anything less than a full and unconditional surrender from the Separatists!"
Mace Windu nodded, his face muscles tightening in anger. "So be it. After we've confirmed Grievous is dead, we'll focus on finding the Separatist leaders, and capturing them; without the political head of Count Dooku, and the military mastermind that was General; Grievous, the Separatists will crumble soon; there's no chance of escape now."
Political head? Palpatine laughed inwardly at the irony. Windu obviously didn't know that Anakin had decapitated the aging Sith Lord, Dooku.
"Of course. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have much paperwork," With that, Palpatine deactivated the holoprojector, and laughed a victorious howl of joy. The mocking laughter subsided, and Palpatine returned to the business that he'd been attending to before Gunray had interrupted him.
Palpatine smiled, submerged once more in the Force. He drew upon images that he conjured into his head... Of Senator Padmé Amidala, lying, sprawled on the light blue floor of her apartment, her face pale, her chest not rising and falling, not breathing… Blood trickled from her mouth, and her eyes were wide and staring, her pupils and irises just specks of colour in the vast white of her eyes that surrounded them. A charred wound, the wound of a lightsaber, was running down her slightly bumped, pregnant belly. Of course, the image was only a figment of Palpatine's imagination, but, to Anakin, who received the image unconsciously as Palpatine stealthily projected it into his mind using the power of the dark side, it was terribly real. To Anakin, it would seem that his wife had been killed by a lightsaber-wielding Jedi.
Anakin awoke from the horrible dream he'd been having, his brow wet from the sweat that flowed from his pores. He'd had a dream-vision, like the one's he'd had about his mother before she died.
Padmé was going to die, at the hands of someone who wielded a lightsaber.
Darth Sidious!
Anakin realized, in one, horrible thought, that Darth Sidious must have wanted his wife dead. There was no other explanation for the lightsaber wound he believed would kill her.
Unless a Jedi… Anakin pushed the horrific thought away to the back of his mind. But he had to get back to Coruscant, to protect Padmé. He'd promised himself, after his mother's death, that he'd never be too late to save the life of a loved one again.
And it was time to fulfil that promise.
Anakin sat up, realising he was in one of the six medical beds that sat in the medical centre of a Rimsoo. The beds were clean and white, and mainly occupied by troopers wounded by blasterfire. A couple of troopers sat with amputated legs or lightsaber wounds from General Grievous, no doubt.
Obi-Wan stepped into the bay through the door that lead to the cockpit. The Rimsoo buffeted suddenly, sending Obi-Wan skidding forward on the smooth floor. The Jedi regained his balance, saw Anakin and shuffled over uncomfortably. Anakin looked down at the floor, not able to meet his friend in the eye.
Anakin was still wearing his Jedi robes, damp from sweat and grime. His sleeve was charred where a droid had just missed him as he battled towards the core ship to help Obi-Wan.
A familiar dome-topped astromech rolled into the room, chirping and bleeping. Anakin looked up as R2-D2 rolled towards him. Anakin hadn't even noticed that the little droid had went missing; of course, he'd been too busy fighting droids and then grievous to keep an eye on everything.
Judging by the score of a near-hit on Artoo's right leg, and the fact that his power looked dangerously drained, Anakin concluded that Artoo had probably been off fighting battle droids with his variety of tools that could be used as weapons, such as his electrical extender arm. Obi-Wan looked at the droid with a hint of distaste, and shook his head.
"How many droids did you get this time, Artoo?" asked Anakin, breaking the uneasy silence that followed when Obi-Wan was faced with the task of speaking to Anakin.
The droid bleeped a positive four.
Obi-Wan sighed and turned to Anakin. Anakin braced himself… He was positive he was about to be thrown from the Jedi Order, outcast and disgraced.
"Anakin. We're at war. We need every Jedi we can get. Powerful ones, most of all. You may be the most powerful of us all; even Masters Yoda and Windu acknowledge it. But you must control your anger. I won't report this to the Council, but if you don't keep your anger in check, it will destroy you. I think it almost did," Obi-Wan's eyes were serious, but caring. Anakin didn't dare mention that he hadn't collapsed because of his anger, because Obi-Wan would never understand just how much he loved Padmé, how he needed her.
Obi-Wan, no, the Council, would force Anakin to either give up his marriage, which he couldn't, or leave the Jedi Order, which he couldn't do when the galaxy was in so much danger. So Anakin just nodded.
Obi-Wan watched Anakin for a few seconds, before speaking again. "We didn't find General Grievous's body. How he escaped, if he did of course, is hard to imagine, considering he'd be suffering from a two kilometre fall, electrical damage, and has only one arm and one leg," Obi-Wan smiled briefly. "And you weren't wrong in saying you were going to rip the durasteel from his exoskeleton," Anakin half-smiled, but no mirth reached his eyes.