The Kamino system was abundant with strong communications signals. Anakin, Aayla and Ahsoka would be able to contact the Temple. They would even be able to do a live feed meeting with the Jedi Council.
Commander Cody, Captain Rex and 501st Battalion of Clones were currently stationed on Kamino to receive fresh recruits and complete an annual training cycle. They were used to accompanying General Kenobi and General Skywalker into battle and subsequently saw a lot of action and regularly took heavy losses.
Just having finished his morning training session, Cody was surprised to receive a transmission on his comlink from General Skywalker.
"Commander Cody, this is Skywalker. Come in."
"Roger, this is Cody. Sir, welcome to our humble abode. What can I do for you, General?"
"Cody, General Secura and my Padawan are here with me and we need your help. Can you and Rex meet us at the Republic base in the transmission room? It's urgent."
"Roger that, sir. Captain Rex and I will be there in two mikes."
"This is Skywalker, roger, out."
"What was that about?" asked Rex to Cody when he had spotted the commander on his comlink for a substantial amount of time.
"Captain, you're just the man I wanted to see. Muster the 501st in the hangar immediately and then come with me to the Republic transmission room. General Skywalker has requested our presence there."
"Yes, sir," obeyed Rex, apprehensive about the reason for General Skywalker's unannounced visit.
On Coruscant, an emergency Jedi Council meeting was called and once the members were assembled, a holotransmission from Kamino featuring Anakin, Aayla, Ahsoka, Cody and Rex flickered to life in the center of the room.
Aayla began with the report of recent events. "Greetings Masters and thank you for receiving us on such short notice. We successfully extracted the Royal Koriban hostages from General Grievous but were obliged to leave Master Kenobi behind in the process. Furthermore, while on Koriba, we discovered that the mountain adjacent to the capital city has been transformed into the largest droid factory known to the Republic. We beseech the council to assign a task force to strike Koriba and neutralize the droid factory."
Anakin spoke up. "In addition, we sense that Obi-Wan is still alive. We've already recruited the 501st to aid us in extracting him."
The Jedi vote was unanimous and the Yoda spoke the final words. "Deploy a Task Force to Koriba Admiral Yularen will. Master Secura, return to the Temple with the hostages you shall. With the 501st, leave Master Skywalker and his Padawan. Rescue Obi-Wan they must before the air strike on the factory. Be with you the Force will."
The Masters of the Council bowed their respects and the holotransmission ended.
On Kamino, Aayla was getting ready to deliver the young hostages to Coruscant.
"May the Force be with you Anakin and you Ahsoka. I know that you will bring Obi-Wan home to us safely," said Aayla as she boarded the shuttle containing the sleeping younglings.
"May the Force be with you too, Master Secura," called Ahsoka. "Safe travels to Coruscant. If you need any help with flying, I'm sure the oldest princess will be happy to help."
Anakin regarded Aayla thoughtfully. "Thank you for everything Aayla. Be safe," he said and added "And careful with those younglings. They were expensive!"
Aayla's shuttle headed for Coruscant as Anakin and Ahsoka boarded a shuttle with Cody and Rex. After they had mad the jump to hyperspace and were on their way back to Koriba, two clones approached Anakin where he sat in the cargo hold.
"Trapper reporting as ordered, sir!"
"Switch reporting as ordered, sir!" said the Clones at attention.
Anakin was confused. "I didn't order anybody to report. What can I do for you?"
Trapper shifted uncomfortably on his feet. "I am the medic, sir. Your Padawan said that you required attention."
"Did she now?" said Anakin glaring across the cargo hold at Ahsoka. She caught his eye and nervously shifted behind Cody, shielding herself from his view.
"So, Trapper you're the medic. That makes you what, Switch, his body guard?" asked Anakin sarcastically to the clones before him.
"I'm the electrician, sir," he stated blandly.
Thinking about how he needed every advantage if he wanted to help Obi-Wan, Anakin sighed and stood up. "Let's get this over with."
The three men walked to the rear of the cargo hold where there was a small private room for dressing and administering medical care.
Anakin sat down in the examination chair. Before the two clones began their inspection, there was a knock at the door.
"General Skywalker, is there a problem sir?" asked the muffled and concerned voice of Rex from without.
"You can come in, Rex," replied Anakin. "And shut the door behind you."
Rex did as he was told and stood next to Anakin as Trapper placed a hypospray to his neck and began to clean shrapnel out of his wounds. Switch was standing next to Trapper uncomfortably not sure what to do.
"If you're wondering why you're here, Switch, it's the right arm," hinted Anakin with amusement. Clones could be so awkward sometimes.
He turned to the clone Captain. "There's no problem Rex, I just figured I'd get patched up before we rescue Obi-Wan or else he'll be mad that I didn't," explained Anakin.
Rex watched silently as large pieces of shrapnel were removed from several of the General's bodily wounds. Trapper wasted no time in disinfecting the deep wounds and covering them with clean bacta pads. The clone captain eyed the lethal pieces of shrapnel warily.
"That looks advanced. Is that what we're up against these days, sir?" said Rex.
"Sorry, Rex, but yes. Grievous has been building new weapons. When we go in there to get Obi-Wan, expect the unexpected."
Switch unbuckled and removed the black leather glove that Anakin wore on his right hand so that he could examine the prosthesis beneath. He did not like what he saw. The circuits in Anakin's arm were warped and melted and singed in several places. The whole aperture was useless and a couple voltage tests told Switch that the entire thing would need to be replaced. Worst of all, the organic flesh and bone supporting to the prosthesis were charred and oozing fluid.
"I see you took a zap, sir," observed Switch. "How long were you out?"
"About ten minutes, I'm told," admitted Anakin. "That was the second time. The first one went quick. Just felt minor."
"Is that when the trouble started?" queried Switch. "Tingling? Pain? Loss of function?"
"Yes," Anakin answered truthfully.
"To me, looks like you were a victim of Cathodic Protection. I'm afraid you'll need a replacement."
"Makes sense," said Anakin as he thought to himself Cathodic what? He would definitely be doing some research on that later. "It's going to have to wait though. What do you recommend in the meantime?"
"Immobilize the arm," ordered Trapper before Switch could answer. "Use a sling from the medical kit. Any more movement of the limb will cause more damage to the General's remaining organic tissue."
As Trapper finished cleaning Anakin's wounds, Switch reapplied the leather glove and neatly tucked his arm across his chest in a tight black sling. Trapper then approached with an injection capsule.
"Leave it out," said Anakin to Trapper. "I need to keep the Force close. Pain suppressants can sometimes make it more difficult to do so."
"Roger that, sir. We're finished here then," said Trapper cleaning up his kit.
Rex acknowledged a message he had received and approached Anakin. "Fifteen minutes until touchdown. We're ready for our briefing, sir."
Anakin hoisted himself out of the chair and walked with Rex back to the cargo hold where his Padawan and the eager Clones were awaiting instruction.
This time the plan would involve creating their own entrance into the side of the mountain with a series of controlled explosions. The pilots and their shuttles would remain on standby at the point of entry. The Jedi and the team of clone infantry would infiltrate the structure and fight their way toward Obi-Wan's location. Anakin and Ahsoka would retrieve him and the clones would escort them all back to the shuttles in time to leave the area before the air strike.
The plan was a simple enough and the Clones were competent in their ability to execute it. The men did their last minute mental and physical preparations for or the mission, but their mood was somber. Every member of this mission felt personally indebted to General Kenobi in some way. Therefore, they could not fail him.