"Okay Artoo." Luke patted the small droid. "Start up the diversion." The small droid started opening and closing doors of various cells in the prison level via a command console. He made it look like a malfunction. Leaving Artoo to stand watch both for them and the other teams, the two Skywalkers headed in.
The generator was by the outer wall, below the gun batteries. They had to pause and use the Force to send the guards on a wild chase after hallucinatory noises.
Luke started scaling toward the weapons batteries while Anakin headed for the tractor beam. He deactivated it easily and for good measure, carefully lit Obi-Wan's lightsaber and destroyed the connections so it couldn't easily be repaired. He quickly deactivated the weapon again. He felt a familiar sense of power and connection with the lightsaber. He took a moment to feel the hilt. He could sense Obi-Wan in every clean line. His courage and honor had infused the very crystals within with his familiar sense. It was considered no small thing for one Jedi to trust his lightsaber to another. It was like giving up a piece of oneself. Yet after all he'd done, Obi-Wan had entrusted him with it. That moved him. Then the moment passed and he returned to the task at hand.
Luke had made it up to one turret and did battle with the gunner, who'd turned just in time to see him. A gunner charged from the other turret and a pair of stormtroopers raced from another corridor. Anakin leaped up just in time to knock the charging gunner flying. Luke and he were both using lightsabers to send blaster bolts ricocheting into walls, holocams and finally the guards. Anakin found himself grimacing with every death and spun around, kicking one soldier into a wall, hard, in an effort to knock them unconscious rather than kill.
Luke's blade cut a green line in the air, shattering weapons and severing limbs. Anakin kept Obi-Wan's blue lightsaber blade going in a purely defensive soresu pattern, occasionally lashing out with leaps and kicks but avoiding attack.
"Get the guns!" Luke yelled. "I'll take care of these!"
Anakin darted to the generators, ducking down as shots flew over him. Pulling out wires he cross wired the system to blow. "Go! Get clear!"
He and Luke ran and the few remaining soldiers bolted as they realized what was about to happen. They collected Artoo as they retreated leaving a loud explosion behind him. Shards of stone, metal and screams blasted down the corridor. The guns were obliterated instantly. Anakin felt the Dark Side surge at the soldiers pain and stumbled. A shot hit the wall over his head and he put aside his misgivings and ran faster.
Ducking around a corner into a dark section with dimmed lighting, he rattled off a command in a language Luke wasn't familiar with. Luke sensed danger behind them and as the stormtroopers raced after them, weapons suddenly dropped from the ceiling panels and started shooting at them. The two warriors had gained some space. But they were still being pursued.
Meanwhile, down in the prison level, Ahsoka and Chewbacca hit the distracted guards from behind. Even the duty officer was swearing, trying to find a way to keep the opening and closing doors shut. Ahsoka slammed into him with a flying leap and kick and sent him crashing into the open cell. She slammed her hand down on the latch.
"Lock down one eight two!" She yelled in the com. A whistling affirmative followed as the door obediently slammed shut and stayed there.
Flipping over backward She knocked two into each other and found Chewbacca slamming two troopers heads together.
Ahsoka could sense which doors contained prisoners and she called out numbers to Artoo. Chewbacca roared and shoved the battered stormtroopers into cells. Ahsoka pulled open the prisoners. "Hey, anyone want to get out of here?"
A battered man with beard peered out. "What's going on?"
"We were in the neighborhood." Ahsoka urged him out with a hand. "And figured this was no place to be forced to live."
"My crew, are they all right?" He said.
Ahsoka was already opening the other cells. She found a male pantolomin in one, a twilek in the other and a human female in the last. The woman had to be helped out of the cell. She had a terrible leg wound. None of them were in great shape.
"Before we charge off with you, who are you?"
"We're with the Alliance. I'm Ahsoka and this is Chewbacca."
"Captain Jayo Ryman. This is my wife Narla. He motioned to the others "Keylo …", the pantolomin nodded and "Cholon …"The twilek nodded as well. "Our ship might still be here. It's a corellian Starblade."
"We can check."
Chewie waved his arms encouraging them to get a move on.
"Right. Of course. We're meeting our team at the upper landing platform. Maybe your ship is there too."
Chewbacca helped the wounded woman. The captain and the others grabbed weapons. They moved slowly due to their injuries.
Narla glanced around. "Don't suppose there is anything for someone to shoot one handed?"
Most of the weapons were blaster rifles and in her wounded condition too much for her to handle. Ahsoka hesitated a second. "I have one. Here." She pressed her blaster into the Narla's hand.
"Are you sure?"
"I have my pick of other weapons."
"Thanks."
They headed out and for a time had it easy. Luke and Anakin's trouble making had drawn the guards away.
Chewie whined thoughtfully.
"Yeah." Ahsoka nodded. "The good news is Luke and Anakin have drawn them off. The bad news is they might get between them and the exit. Uh oh." They were almost to the upper hanger exit when they ran into guards. Weapons came up and the shooting started. For the first time in decades, Ahsoka drew a lightsaber. A joyous sense of homecoming cut through the dark side. The blade was even green like hers had been. Gasps came from both freed prisoners and troops as they realized she was a Jedi.
Anakin and Luke meanwhile ducked into another corridor, diving around a section of floor and toward the far wall. Luke blinked back as the pursuing troops fell into a trapdoor screaming. He'd never have known it was there without his father's Force warning. Anakin paused. "Here. Reach out with the Force, here."
"Just open it." Luke said.
Anakin looked at him, brow raised.
"I guess I don't have Obi-Wan's influence. But we don't have time for me to learn as I go."
"He raised me. He has the advantage of knowing every discretion since the age of nine. Anyway you might need this someday. And I'm waiting for Artoo."
"Oh." Luke blinked, looked back to see Artoo just rounding the curve at high speed. He fired thrusters to get over the still open trapdoor. Turning back to the wall he reached out with the Force. "I think I see it…"
The door opened. Anakin smiled and Luke grinned. "Let's go." Luke said.
The corridor inside turned into a slanting downward ramp. They ran down it.
Han Solo took the lead on the way back, pausing only where the Force was needed to open the hidden doors. They made their way down to the caves. Obi-Wan felt the darkness rise and the voices with it. Actually being in the fortress enabled them to focus on the mission and overrode the voices. Leia was close behind Han. She wrapped her arms around herself and resisted the urge to shiver or reach out and take his hand.
Obi-Wan took a long stride to catch up with her. "We all hear the voices. Why are you troubled, as if you were the only one?"
"I don't like being out of control."
"Most people don't." Obi-Wan's eyes held hers.
"Every word the voices say is true." She swallowed hard. The idea that evil could tell her the truth was unsettling.
"But they only tell you part of the truth. They don't tell you the consequences of giving in to them. They are telling you to give in to your darkest impulses and giving you an excuse. That is why for a Jedi, the reason behind the action matters. It may get the job done but cost too much in the long run."
"I'm not a Jedi."
"The old Order, as I was raised, took children to train them in these things from birth. Some who don't join the order do fine but others find themselves lost because they didn't know what to do with the feelings that come from the Force."
She sighed. "Do I have a choice here? You obviously don't plan to stick to that rule."
"Certainly you do. But if nothing else some of the meditation techniques would help you."
"I feel this ominous sense that there is another 'you must forgive Anakin line."
"Your anger hurts you as much as him. It is a truth you are reluctant to see, among others."
Leia refrained from asking and he fell silent. Finally though she broke down. "Okay, what are the others?"
"In many ways Luke is very like his father. His refusal to leave innocents to suffer for instance. Anakin often risked whole missions to save just one person. And I know you'll not like it, but your dislike of being out of control is very like his. It's what led to his downfall. He was terrified of trusting those he loved to another's hands and was desperate to learn the best means to protect them. He chose to trust himself over asking for help."
Leia didn't like this. He could tell. She chewed her lip. "Ahsoka still believes in him and so does Padme. I really don't understand."
"I've lost track of how many times he saved my life." Obi-Wan's voice was soft. "I can't forget the evil, but I also can't forget the good."
"Is that why you support him now?"
"It's why I'm glad to see Anakin come back to the light and I'm willing to help him stay there. I was angry and hurt at his fall. I could not fathom his betrayal. He would be shocked to hear me admit it. But I cannot be a Jedi and hold the anger. I must focus on the good. He would never ask his men to do what he would not. He had so much courage." He mused aloud. "And a clever sense of humor. One of his favorite pastimes was teasing me. And he often scared me half to death with his antics, especially when flying." He pressed his lips together. "I should've shared my feelings more with him. It was contrary to my teachings and perhaps my preference. But he needed to talk, and instead of talking to me, he felt he could talk to Palpatine. And I am quite certain now that if I'd let him in on some of my own struggles, he'd have felt safer sharing. Even if we didn't always agree he would've recognized I'd faced some of the same issues." Leia's eyes were wide with surprise, less at his words than the quiet peace in his voice at his memories.
"You really have forgiven him. For all the Jedi he killed."
"I've forgiven him for falling. Being angry won't bring back the Jedi lost. But it would prevent me from appreciating a great gift. The friend, who was once close as a brother, who I miraculously got back, and is truly remorseful."
Han glanced back over his shoulder. "Do you really trust him?"
"That depends on with what. I trust his motives. He wants to be himself again." Obi-Wan reached out through the darkness for Anakin's light. There master padawan bond had reasserted itself surprisingly quickly. Perhaps because Anakin's turn had been what shattered it. Now he was making a conscious effort to repair it. It was shining bright now and he knew his friend was in battle. He also knew he was restraining himself. He felt centered and determined. He might not quite be the 'Hero with No Fear' but he was definitely back.
Obi-Wan looked at Leia. "For your own sake, I hope you will consider at least learning some of the Jedi meditations. Holding onto the pain just gives you suffering. It may hurt him, but it's more likely to make him fear for you. He would not wish you to suffer that tumble into the dark he experienced. Nor would I. You deserve to be at peace, and you never can be, as long as you carry it."
Leia was silent for a time. "I'll think about it." She whispered. She could still hear the dark voices whispering. Only now the implications scared her, not because of what she feared Anakin Skywalker would do, but because of what they had triggered in her. No matter what she thought of him, she had nearly taken on the role of executioner. It was an unnerving realization.