Precipice by shadowsong26

Milestones: Chapter 14

Leia came back through the hatch alone, which was not what Rex was expecting. But General Kenobi knew what he was about, and the last Rex had looked, Ohnaka was still out cold.

She accepted a quick hug, then said, "Uncle Obi-Wan said to detach as fast as possible and then go back to base."

"Got it," Rex said; he checked the seal on the airlock, then pulled the lever. "C'mon, cockpit's this way."

Leia nodded and followed him down the corridor, climbing into the copilot seat with a faint frown.

"It'll be fine, ad'ika," he assured her.

"I know," she said, watching the Waterfall maneuver away and then disappear into hyperspace. "Just...I know."

Rex put a hand on her shoulder, squeezed briefly, then double-checked the nav system. He considered, for a moment, going back to the relay point where he and General Kenobi had picked up Ohnaka in the first place to drop the pirate off, rather than exposing their base. Trusting him with individuals was hard enough, and trusting him with Crait…

Let's go by standard evac procedures, he decided. Redirect a couple times on our way out. Depending on what condition the General is in when he gets there, Kenobi may want us to meet them somewhere else, anyway. I've got time to make that call.

Once he was satisfied with their intermediate destination, he hit the lever and sent them into hyperspace.

She stared out at the swirling stars. "...everything had gone so good up til he showed up," she said, after a moment.

"Happens like that sometimes," Rex said. "A lot of the time, actually. Change comes faster than anyone wants."

"Yeah," she said, and sighed. "...you want to see it?"

Her 'saber, she probably meant.

"Of course," he said.

She stood up, took a breath, unclipped it from her belt, and ignited it, filling the cockpit with a shimmery turquoise glow.

Rex didn't know much about lightsabers, but he knew she was proud of it, and it looked solid and suited to her, to his untrained eye.

"That's amazing," he said. "I'm proud of you. I'm sure we all are, little Commander," he added, with a brief salute.

She shut it off, and shook her head. "Don't do that, okay?" she said. "You're still Uncle Rex, I don't want that to change. Please?"

"It won't," he promised her. "Ad'ika." And-maybe it should have, with that Jedi weapon in her hands; maybe it should have been hard to still think of her as his beloved niece, the kid he'd helped raise, but the old endearment felt just as easy as it had that morning, and days ago, and all these years.

"Good," she said, then launched herself across the meter or so dividing them, pulling him into a tight hug.

He held her close until she let go, and pretended he didn't see her wiping at her eyes.

"I'm gonna go practice in the hold for a while," she said. "Unless you need me up here?"

"Go ahead," he said. "Careful of the clutter, all right?"

"I will be," she promised. "Love you, Uncle Rex."

"Love you, too, ad'ika," he said, and then she slipped away, leaving him to worry about the General and Ohnaka and contemplate the swirling sky alone.

It was after local nightfall, but only just, when Obi-Wan and Artoo landed, not far from where the droid and Leia had left Anakin-longer ago than he would have liked. They found the place where the Waterfall had been within moments-the grass, while beginning to sway slightly in a chill evening wind, was still flattened down where the base of the ship had been-and set down at precisely the same spot.

He could sense Anakin-close by, and unmoving, but definitely alive and not fading.

He could not sense Infernalis.

That…augurs well, I think, he thought.

Artoo beeped inquisitively behind him.

"No, stay here," he said, after checking the readout. "Keep the engines warm. Everything seems in order, but…"

He didn't need the translation of the droid's response, somewhere between worried and sarcastic, because it wasn't far from what was in his own head at the moment.

He lowered the ramp; the air outside was colder than he expected, cold enough that he could see the steam off his breath. He made sure his 'saber was ready in his hand, just in case, and took off, at speed, in the general direction of Anakin's presence.

It didn't take him particularly long to come across signs of the fight. Charred tree trunks, including at least one completely downed tree, ashen leaves and grooves in the earth. It had spread further from the ship for maybe a quarter of a mile, before the two of them had had their final engagement in a clearing.

Infernalis was sprawled across the grass, face to the sky with his eyes open, wearing an unsettling smile. Anakin was leaning against one of the larger trees-an old-growth hardwood next to a large rock and not far from a kiirdek nest. Fortunately, given the season, the venomous creatures inside were likely hibernating, but they would rouse if threatened enough.

Anakin's eyes were closed and his face was worryingly grey, with his lightsaber in one hand and the other half-inside his tunic.

There was blood on the ground, shimmering in the low twilight.

He stirred a little, but didn't open his eyes. "You made it," he said.

"Of course I did," Obi-Wan said. "Although it looks like I missed all the fun."

"Mmhmm."

He stepped over Infernalis' body-paused a moment, reached down to shut his eyes-then took the last few steps across the clearing and knelt next to Anakin. And-now that he was closer, he could see the darker spot on his brother's tunic, which was dishearteningly large; the hilt of a knife glimmered faintly, still buried in Anakin's side.

Oh.

Anakin knew better than to pull the knife out without an extra pair of hands to help control the bleeding after, unless he had no other choice. The fact that he'd been able to leave it in was something of a relief, then, as it meant the knife probably hadn't been poisoned, which was-always a worry, with someone like Infernalis.

Even so, that was…quite a bit of his blood on his tunic and the ground. Hard to tell how much internal damage the knife had done.

"How bad is it?" he asked, resting a hand against Anakin's neck to check his pulse-thready and rapid, but still there.

"Not that bad," he said. "Think the bleeding's mostly stopped."

And he's still conscious, which is...that's something.

"What happened?"

"Wasn't watching his hands close enough," Anakin said. "Missed the knife."

"Ah," he said. He tore a few strips from the hem of his tunic, wrapping them around Anakin's torso to make sure the knife stayed steady when he moved. Better to leave actually pulling it to an expert, as soon as they could reach one. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

"Don't think so," he said. "Not seriously, anyway."

He nodded. That about lined up with what he could see-a few tears and scorch marks in Anakin's tunic, indicating minor hits from the Sith Lord's saber, but nothing of immediate concern. And thank the Force for that-this could have been so much worse. "I'm glad you're-well, at least mostly all right."

"Mm," Anakin said. "I'm leaving with as many limbs as I came with and everything."

"Still not funny," Obi-Wan said, but-well, Anakin was conscious, and as lucid as he ever was, and his injuries weren't-given what Leia had said before, Obi-Wan could feel himself relaxing.

"What are you talking about?" Anakin said, opening his eyes at last and giving him a tired, crooked smile. "I'm hilarious."

"Yes, clearly," he said, deliberately not smiling and giving a perhaps slightly theatrical sigh instead. "Can you stand?"

"I think so," Anakin said. He started to drag himself upright; stopped; placed a hand against the tree to steady himself. "Uh."

Wordlessly, Obi-Wan slid under his arm and helped him get to his feet. Between the two of them, they managed it without Anakin passing out; nonetheless, Obi-Wan caught himself half-holding his breath, just waiting for something else to go wrong.

Anakin didn't resist the extra support, which was both gratifying and worrying, but he was on his feet and still awake and aware.

"Leia?" he asked.

"With Rex," Obi-Wan assured him. And Hondo, though he chose not to mention that out loud just yet. He would fill Anakin in once he was lying down somewhere warm and relatively safe; that way, if he overstressed at the thought and fainted, he was less likely to do further damage.

It hadn't been ideal, but he and Rex had used most of the medical supplies on Hondo's ship already, and with no way of knowing exactly how badly Anakin was hurt, that was a serious factor to consider. The Waterfall was better stocked, and attempting to move Hondo over as well would've wasted time and possibly injured him worse, which was also not ideal.

In the end, it had been the better of the two options. Besides, Hondo was his friend, and after thirteen years, Obi-Wan felt he could, for the most part, have faith in Hondo's goodwill-and sense of self-preservation. And if he was wrong, he certainly trusted Rex to handle any problems that might crop up.

"We're to meet them back at base," he added, "although I think we should stop and see Doctor Naar first." The clinic was closer-only by an hour or two, but the sooner Anakin got actual help, the better. The longer they waited, the more likely complications were to arise as he healed. And given the time that had already passed...

Of course, that meant it was Anakin's turn to give a theatrical sigh, after which he winced and curled around his side again, his free hand tightening just a hair on Obi-Wan's shoulder. The metal one, which meant bruises; but Obi-Wan could handle it. It was hardly the first time such a thing had happened. In either direction, as a matter of fact-although, lacking a metal hand, Obi-Wan didn't think he'd gripped that tightly…

"All right?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah, sorry, just…" Anakn took a breath, and Obi-Wan felt the Force swirl around him, lending him energy his body couldn't provide at the moment. "I don't think it's that bad."

Because of course he didn't. "Indulge me."

"Fine, fine," Anakin said, and didn't argue further as Obi-Wan began guiding him back to where he'd left the ship.

They walked in silence for a time, Obi-Wan concentrating on the terrain around them and making sure Anakin didn't fall and hurt himself worse; he kept his lightsaber in his free hand, just in case, but with Infernalis dead in the clearing and the native fauna only just starting to resume their normal routines, he doubted he would need it.

Still, better safe than sorry.

"Master?" Anakin said, after perhaps five or ten minutes of their slow, careful trek through the battered woods.

"Hm?"

"...you know I trust you, right?"

"Of course," he said. "And I trust you, completely." There was something about the way he'd said it, though...he paused, and half-turned to look at him a little more closely. "...Anakin, is everything-did Infernalis-?"

"No," Anakin said quickly. "Or, I mean, he didn't tell me anything I don't already know. Just...you know, Sith Lords. The way he said it."

"He was trying to get under your skin," Obi-Wan said, as bracingly as he could. Although he doubted what Infernalis said was anywhere close to what he would consider the truth, or that the Sith Lord had his own Master's particular talent for making half-truths out to be the worst case scenario…

That didn't mean whatever he'd thrown at Anakin hadn't hurt. Quite...quite deeply, by the sound of things. As deeply as the knife.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.

He shook his head. "Not...not right now," he said. "Still too…"

Obi-Wan nodded, and they got moving again. "Later, though. When you're ready."

"Yeah," Anakin said. "Later."

They rounded the last bend in the path, and the Waterfall, warm and lit and vibrating with light, was a welcome sight. "Almost there, old friend," Obi-Wan said.

"Good," he said. "...I think I might pass out. Sorry."

"It's all right," he assured him. "Rest as much as you need. I'll be here."

"I know you will," he murmured, as they hit the ramp-safety, or something near it, at last. "I know."

When Rex went to check on her, Leia had cleared herself some space in the hold, by some miracle, and was running saber forms. Like Rex had seen her and her dad and the other Jedi do time and time again.

...and he wasn't the only one watching.

Kriffing hell-

Rex moved, before Leia could notice the pirate or Ohnaka could do or say anything. He grabbed Ohnaka's uninjured shoulder and hauled him back into the corridor, shoving him up against the wall and pinning him there with his left forearm- not trying to choke him out, since he didn't know for sure that Ohnaka was an active threat; General Kenobi trusted Ohnaka, and Rex trusted General Kenobi-while his right went for his pistol.

He didn't say a word. He didn't have to.

"Ah, my clever, suspicious friend," Ohnaka said, softly; there was a hell of a lot less than his usual flair to it. Trying to keep up appearances, probably, but for all his effort, he mostly sounded tired.

Blood loss will do that to a man.

Still, you'd think that between the blood and the drugs Rex had given him…

He let up the pressure. "Cockpit," he said, after a quick glance at Leia to make sure she was still all focused on her exercises. "We need to talk."

Ohnaka nodded, and made a shadow of one of his usual sweeping gestures. "After you, my friend."

Rex just stared at him.

"Oh, very well, if you insist," he said, and started down the hallway.

Rex spared one more glance at Leia before following, keeping the pirate in sight and his gun ready, just in case.

Ohnaka sank into the copilot's chair with a sigh, and Rex took the other seat, more stiffly.

"...how the hell are you conscious?" he started with. "What I gave you could've taken down a rancor."

"Ah, but I am not a rancor," Ohnaka said. "I am a Weequay. That drug doesn't work so well on my kind. Or Zabraks...a few others."

That-was something he should've thought of.

"Right," Rex said. "So, I know for next time."

"Yes," he said.

The silence hung heavy between them for a moment, with Rex debating the best way to proceed. Outright threats?

Oh, that was tempting. To say, If you ever hurt her, in any way, I don't care how much General Kenobi likes you. I will hunt you down and end you.

It was true, too.

But that risked burning a bridge that his Jedi might want to use again someday. So, against all instinct, Rex went with a more moderate approach.

"I don't trust you," he said, instead. "Not with-what you saw, down in the hold. With who you saw. General Kenobi might, but I don't trust you."

"That is because you are a very clever man," Ohnaka said, with a faint smile. "You should not trust me. There is very little I will not do, if there is enough profit in it. But-" He held up a hand to stop Rex from interrupting. "Sometimes, there is more profit in keeping a secret than in selling one. Yes?"

Rex studied him for a long moment. "Are you trying to blackmail us?"

"Of course not," he said. "I am not so foolish. But Kenobi is my very dear, very valued friend, and as you said, he trusts me. Whether or not he should. But, from where I sit, I find very little is worth losing that. So, I have kept Kenobi's secrets for thirteen years, and I do not intend to stop."

That was-something, at least. And it was true. Kenobi had told him that he'd run into Ohnaka within weeks of-everything. And Ohnaka hadn't turned him in then, or at any point since. Rex wasn't exactly a gambling man, but even he would bet on the pirate having multiple opportunities to do so.

"...I suppose that's fair," he said, after a long moment. "And I'll-accept that, for now. Because General Kenobi trusts you, and I trust him."

"Perfectly reasonable," Ohnaka said, nodding. "After all, who can say where we will be five years from now? So many things change so quickly in this galaxy of ours. Especially under the current regime. But..well, I consider myself a Jedi sympathizer, even in these times, yes? So, I will promise you this much: that child in the hold-I may not go out of my way to help her, unless there is some other profit in it for me as well, but I will not harm her."

Rex considered that, then nodded, and offered the pirate his hand. "Fair enough," he said.

"Wonderful," Ohnaka said, accepting it with a grip that was firmer than Rex had expected, given his general slippery character, and the bloodloss, and whatever was left of the sedatives in his system. "We are all friends, then!"

"Yeah, don't push it," Rex said.

Ohnaka laughed at that, but the door behind them swished open, cutting off any actual reply he could make.

"...uh," Leia said. "Hi."

"Hello, my young friend!" Ohnaka said. "I am Hondo Ohnaka, a very dear friend of your uncle Kenobi!"

Which was-a very revealing way to introduce himself.

...just how much did he know already?

"Sure," Leia said. "I'm Leia."

"The Captain and I were just having a very-enlightening conversation," he said, then gave a theatrical sigh and gestured to his shoulder. "But our business is concluded and, alas, I think I should perhaps return to my bed. You and I will have to get to know one another some other time."

She frowned. "Are you all right?"

"Of course, of course," he said. "Just a scratch, nothing more. But I will depart until the next time. I am certain that you and Hondo will meet again, young Leia." He stood up, and gave a flourishy bow, patting her head as he walked past, leaving her and Rex in the cockpit alone.

Leia stared after him, then wrinkled her nose and poked at her braids to make sure he hadn't mussed them too much.

"That's…" Rex sighed. "Like he said, General Kenobi likes him, and he has helped us out in a pinch more than once. He's a...well, an ally."

"Right," Leia said. "...is he always like that?"

"Usually, he's worse," Rex said dryly.

She cracked a smile, and climbed into the seat Ohnaka had just vacated. "I don't know, I think he might grow on me." There was a faint thunk when her pocket hit the side of the seat; she blinked and reached in, pulling out-

-one of the bacta cultures they'd tried to steal.

...well, General Kenobi did say to search him.

"...is this what I think it is?" she asked.

"Yeah," Rex said. "Careful with it, all right?"

She nodded. "Do I even want to know how he got it?"

"Well-"

The console chimed, interrupting him; time to drop out of hyperspace for their first redirect.

"-hold that thought," he said.

"Right," she said, settling back in the chair and holding the vial very, very delicately in one hand; but he knew, from experience, and knowing how well she'd been taught, that her attention was spiraling outward, looking for trouble while he reset the nav.

It was about halfway through calculating when the console chimed again, this time the comm system; he recognized the signature as one of Artoo's encryptions.

Oh, thank every deity in the known universe. ...I hope.

"Go ahead and get that," he said. "It's for us."

She perked up immediately and hit the receive button.

No video-probably safer that way-but General Kenobi's slightly staticky voice filled the cockpit.

"Rex?"

"It's me, actually," Leia said. "But Uncle Rex is here, too. Is everything okay? Is Dad…?"

"With me, and safe," he assured her. "We're going to make a brief detour to see Dr. Naar."

Leia paled, and Rex felt himself gripping the arm of his seat just a little tighter. "That bad, sir?" he asked.

"Yes and no," he said. "I don't think we'll be there long, and we can still meet you at the base. I just didn't want you to be concerned at the delay."

Well, that was...not at all as reassuring as General Kenobi probably thought it was.

"Can I talk to him?" Leia asked. "Please?"

"He's sleeping, little one," General Kenobi said. "But we'll call again when he wakes, all right?"

Leia bit her lip, then nodded. "Okay," she said. "He's really-he's really okay? You promise?"

"I promise," General Kenobi assured her. "This is mostly being extra cautious, and taking advantage of having a friend we can count on, one we can reach more quickly than the base medics. If anything changes, you will be the first person I call."

"Okay," she said again.

"We have a detour of our own to make, anyway," Rex said. "Need to see to our guest."

"Probably for the best," Kenobi said, after a brief moment of silence. "How is he holding up?"

"Yeah, less sedated than I thought," Rex said. "Weequay, different metabolism. Everything's fine, though. We talked."

"...fill me in on the details when we meet," he said. "Artoo is telling me I should end the call, anyway."

"When will you get there?" Leia said.

"Barring anything else going wrong, some time tomorrow," he said.

"Right," she said. "I'll keep an eye out."

"We'll be in touch," he said. "May the Force be with you."

"You, too."

"See you soon, sir."

The connection cut off, and Leia sighed. "I wish I was there," she complained.

"Me, too, ad'ika," Rex admitted. There had been too damn little concrete information in that, only that General Skywalker was hurt badly enough that speed in getting treatment was important-but not so badly that he couldn't be moved, he supposed. Which was somewhat heartening, when he thought about it that way. "But General Kenobi has a handle on things, yeah? And he would've said if things were...were as bad as last time." Not outright, maybe, but there were ways. Telling them to meet at Dr. Naar's, for starters.

That did seem to reassure the kid, though, which was good. "That's true," she said, relaxing a little.

He smiled at her, then reset the nav to a waypoint that would get them closer to where they'd met Hondo. "It'll be fine, ad'ika," he said, as he hit the lever and the stars swirled around them once again.

And if it was as much to reassure himself as her...well, she didn't need to know that.

But between the promise Ohnaka had given him, and everything General Kenobi had said, he felt closer to believing it than he had since they'd first gotten Leia's distress call hours ago.

"Just hold tight for a little bit longer," he added. "And everything will be fine."

Original Author's Notes: I know it's been a while, but I'm here XD. I know things are Really Weird right now, but I am here and have no intention of that changing. Thank you guys so much for your patience! I can't promise exactly when the next chapter will be coming up, due to some other fanfic commitments with a hard deadline, but hopefully soon?

In other news, as I mentioned in the last update (lo these many months ago . ) we are coming close to the end of Arc Seven. I'm guessing one or two chapters left, depending on how long these last few scenes end up being/how I decide to split them up. At that point, there will be a bit of a shakeup in how I post this story-most pertinently, I'll be splitting off into a second fic beginning with Arc Eight, most likely titled either Protectors or Promises. I'm doing this partly for length concerns, and partly because of some shifts in the narrative at that point. Just to be extra clear, I am not done in this AU by any means (unless y'all are, but I hope not?), but there's a divide coming. For more detail, see this post on my writing tumblr. ...obviously some of the things about scheduling mentioned in there are out of date XD But the general context of plans for this story still applies.

Anyway, I just want to say thank you guys again for stopping by and sticking with me on this ride. 3333333333 ~shadowsong