Dear Reader, Sorry for the delay, but my vision is slowing improving, so it was time to finish up this chapter and the next. I took some liberty with the dialogue in these chapters, since it's kind of hard to only write what's in the actual episode. I wanted to show Tarkin as something more than just the a**hole they depict him as in the series. No mistake, he's a bad dude, but he's not just blindly wicked. The man has a brain, and when I think of the relationship between him and Vader in A New Hope . . . well, he needed to have something more to him than just being arrogant and stupid. Enjoy. CS

Chapter 89 The Tunnels and Captain Tarkin

"It wasn't that he was joyless; rather, he lacked peace of mind. And that suited him just fine. He did not look for happiness. The most he ever hoped for was satisfaction. You well know that satisfaction can make a man cruel. Joy has never made anyone cruel."

In Step with Onokin
Michaela Brenner

This was the place.

Right behind this panel, the stone wall was less than half a meter thick. And beyond that . . .

Anakin drew out his light saber and begun cutting. Less than thirty seconds later, he and his team were entering the network of tunnels surrounding the Citadel.

Ahsoka, leading the way, sprang ahead to check the passageway, a canyon-like flume much like the one they had used to sneak in, with a shallow ledge wending its way above the lava flow below.

"This is one of the original fortress tunnels," Echo stated.

"The advantage of old archive data," Rex replied, stepping inside.

"The tunnel's clear!" Ahsoka called out.

Anakin felt a moment of relief – his first since setting out on this ill-conceived mission. "Looks like Obi-wan's distraction worked. Things seem to be going as planned." He was not ready yet to think about what the distraction might have been and how Obi-wan and his team were going to extricate themselves from it. That was Obi-wan's problem.

Captain Tarkin, however, was not ready to proffer or claim success. "It's when things do not go as planned that concerns me. What then?"

Rising to the challenge, Anakin replied with testy confidence, "It's when things don't go as planned that we Jedi are at our best." He began to walk away into the tunnels. "Trust me."

"I reserve my trust for those who take action, General Skywalker."

It was not lost on Anakin that Tarkin was exceedingly secure in his own thoughts and opinions, that he did not appear in the least bit frightened or even remotely worried. The man was an emotional steel mill, mentally tough and tenacious. Not only that, but he was a Naval captain speaking to an Army general—a Jedi, no less—with no concern about the lesser station he occupied.

Anakin did not even deign to face him. "Then let me remind you: we saved you back there. And I reserve my trust for those who understand gratitude, Captain Tarkin." But if he thought his words might return the insult he perceived from the captain, he was mistaken; for Tarkin appreciated blunt words and indelicate dealings. He had no use for the soft sell, the cajoling, the light touch of diplomatic measures. He believed in force and its decisive use. General Skywalker's brusque manner suited him fine and drew out a bit of respect that he had not felt earlier.

Standing at a discreet distance, Rex listened to the exchange while keeping an eye out for any pursuit coming from within the Citadel. He had made a practice of gauging how his commanding general felt about those whom he met, for he considered General Skywalker to be a good judge of character. And, as first-in-command, he knew it was smart to stay on the same side as his general. He motioned to Echo and Fives to put the sliced-away section of wall back in place, not that it would fool anyone – but it might make their escape route a little less noticeable.

Several minutes into their traverse of the tunnels, Anakin spoke into his wrist comm.

"Artoo, are you and your battle droids ready to go?" Then, upon receiving the whistled answer, he continued, "Alright, get the ship fired up. We'll meet you at the pipeline exit after you've picked up Obi-wan . . . assuming he's still on schedule."

As this conversation was taking place, at the end of the gaggle, Fives sidled up to his captain. "Captain, our two ground-pounders are starting to have some trouble. I don't know if they're going to be able to keep up." He was referring to the two rescued troopers accompanying them, both of whom were clearly sporting injuries of some kind or other, showing signs of exhaustion by tripping over their own feet and sagging against the tunnel walls for balance.

Rex was direct. "Make sure they do."

"We can't protect our rear and look after them at the same time, Captain," Fives replied, moderating his tone so as not to sound as if he were protesting.

Rex stopped, fixed Fives with a glare that, while not visible, was certainly detectable through his helmet.

Fives straightened up, his spine stiffening. "Yes, Sir. We'll keep an eye on them."

"That's the right answer, ARC trooper," Rex said with emphasis. "Rule Number One . . . " He could hear Colt's voice in his head. "Never leave a man behind."

A valiant sentiment, but one that was wholly inadequate to the waging of battle. A sentiment that would become less and less realistic as the war dragged on. A sentiment that, for Rex, would follow and haunt him to his last breath.

"General Skywalker, we think we've got a probe following us," Rex said into his closed comm. "It's staying out of sight, but Fives swears he heard the transmission beacon. They may be tracking us through the tunnels, Sir."

Anakin turned to Ahsoka, "Take the lead. I'm going up top."

"Up top?"

"Rex thinks we have a visitor," Anakin replied. "I can get a better view from the ledge above us."

"Understood, Master." She took over.

The group rounded a jutting corner of rock through a narrow fissure; and it was here that General Skywalker had set up his ambush. The probe, passing through the opening, went directly beneath his hiding place. Leaping down, one stroke of his light saber cleaved the machine neatly in half.

"Do you think it got our coordinates off to control, General?" Echo asked as Anakin caught up with the team.

"I'd say you can count it," Anakin replied. "But they still don't know which passageways we're going to take up ahead. We can still lose 'em."

"They'll send out another probe," Fives pointed out.

"I guarantee you they already have other probes looking for us," Anakin said. "The trick is to spot the probes before they spot us."

Up ahead, Ahsoka was walking alongside Captain Tarkin, who was very carefully keeping contact with the wall at all times, wary of the narrowness of the ledge, especially considering the churning, fiery fate that lay below. Still, his fear of falling did nothing to diminish his appreciation for the brilliance of design that was the Citadel. "I'm beginning to admire the design of this fortress. It's rather formidable to evade."

Ahsoka found his words repulsive. "How can you admire such a horrible place?"

"Ah, you reveal your shortsightedness," Tarkin replied. "This ordeal only demonstrates how effective facilities like the Citadel are. Pity it ended up in Separatist hands and not ours." He continued forward, continuing to marvel.

Catching up to Ahsoka, Anakin spoke up. "He has a point."

Ahsoka could not even find the words to express her disgust.

But Anakin had no interest in debating the matter. He had only one thought on his mind, and that was getting his team safely to the rendez-vous point.

"Okay, Snips, I need you to lead the group. Keep following the tunnel. I'll catch up."

Ahsoka reached out a hand. "Hey, where are you going?"

"Obi-wan's not here, so someone has to protect our flank," Anakin replied.

As her master retreated back down the passageway, Ahsoka simpered. "I guess it's a good thing I came along, after all."

The next thirty minutes were spent following the tunnel, with each turn revealing a scene much like the one before it. There were myriad connecting passageways, but Anakin had been clear.

"Keep following the tunnel."

That was what Ahsoka had done. She had endured the continued observations of Captain Tarkin, who, walking behind her, had not abandoned his glowing assessment of the wonders of the Citadel. She had ignored the air of superiority in his voice and manner. She had kept focused on her task. Even now, she pretended not to hear the conversation going on behind her.

Captain Tarkin was making it clear that he was not impressed with her. "I am concerned that the Jedi have elected this . . . child to lead the group."

"I've served with her many times, and I trust her, Captain." That was Rex.

Ahsoka felt a sense of vindication. Good ole Rex was defending her, standing up for her. On one level—the professional level—it felt good to know that the captain had her back, that he trusted her to lead him. On a personal level, any sort of praise from Rex swelled her heart and brought into closer relief, her desire for his attention on something more than the professional level.

But the glow of basking in such trust was short-lived; for around the next corner . . .

"Uh-oh."

Rex and Tarkin came up behind her.

"Dead end," Rex stated.

Ahsoka could feel Tarkin's gaze, disparaging and self-congratulatory, on her back. She felt embarrassed, not only for herself but for Rex and his expression of trust in her. Both she and Rex now looked like fools in Tarkin's eyes.

In this particular circumstance, she would have been surprised to know that Rex felt nothing even remotely approaching humiliation. He was simply waiting for her to take the next step; for Rex knew no mistake had been made. This was where they were supposed to be. General Skywalker had briefed the team on the entire plan, and this was part of it.

Ahsoka's hesitation was putting them all at risk. This, Rex could not comprehend.

In the seconds that followed, as Ahsoka stood pondering what was to be done, a sound in the tunnel behind the group caught Fives' attention. Looking around the edge of the rock, he saw several SBDs approaching, and before he could announce their presence to the others, the lead droid began firing.

Ahsoka ignited her light saber and leaped to the defense of her group.

And again, Rex could not fathom her choice of actions. He, Fives and Echo could put up a defense long enough for her to carry out her task. He was on the verge of saying something to her when General Skywalker dropped down from the ledges above and began taking down the enemy. He dropped the SBDs only to see a platoon of commando droids approaching.

"What happened?!" he demanded angrily. "Why didn't you blow the wall?!"

"I thought it was a dead end," Ahsoka ground out. She saw Rex crouching down behind Anakin, starting to slide his pack off, and motioning with his head for her to go to him.

"If Master Plo had really assigned you to this mission, he would have briefed you on the plan," Anakin scolded.

Ahsoka had no reply as she helped slide the pack off Rex's back. She then raced back to the wall to set the charges. The guilt was raging within her, along with its requisite counter-dose of indignance. Why, if she hadn't snuck onto this mission, they would still be trying to figure out how to get past the ray-shielded door into the facility. They wouldn't have anyone to lead them while Anakin covered their escape . . . well, that certainly wasn't true. Rex would have led them—she grimaced—and probably done a better job at it. She hadn't exactly been a boon to them on this mission . . .

. . . but it wasn't too late to show her worth. She set the explosives, and then, coming across several grenades in the pack, she ran back towards the fighting. The commandos had electro-shields which deflected the blaster fire being directed at them. But two perfectly tossed grenades rolled right under the shields, blowing the droids to pieces just as the wall was blasted asunder, as well.

It was an indication of poorly-placed hubris that prompted Ahsoka to pass her master with her head held high, reveling in her cleverness.

Anakin let it go. This wasn't the time to address a padawan's self-righteous attitude towards disobedience. He was more sure now than ever that Master Plo had not put Ahsoka on the team; this fact rankled him in no small way, for she had ended up putting the team at increased risk with her lack of knowledge of the plan. He could berate her for her conduct later. Right now, he needed to fill her in on the plan's details, so that no further misunderstandings befell them in their escape.

Cody was not the sort of man to lose faith. He'd not been engineered that way. Whenever even the slightest tappings of doubt pecked at the back of his thoughts, he quickly brushed them aside and concentrated his energy on the task at hand.

He was doing so right now, for his current situation was not lending itself to preserving his faith. Not that he doubted for one second that General Kenobi would get them out of this; but it was indisputable that this mission had been befallen by one disaster after the next.

Since separating from Skywalker's group, they'd lost one of the rescued prisoners rather gruesomely when the team had entered the ventilation system. A probe had detected their presence, initiating a closure of the duct's air-tight doors.

The clone officer hadn't been fast enough.

"We lost one."

General Piell had sounded almost clinical, but such was the general's manner.

There'd been no time to grieve, and quite frankly, Cody had been relieved that he was too far up in the duct to see the macabre scene that had played out below him. And he'd still held out hope that they would make it to the shuttle without any further impedance.

They'd made it through the ducts to a ventilation opening overlooking the shuttle, but Artoo had been nowhere in sight. General Kenobi had led them to the other side of the landing pad in an attempt to try and see if Artoo was present. The general hadn't known that their every move was being tracked remotely by camera and probes. They'd been intercepted on the upper platform and taken to the command center where Osi Sobeck now strode before them, brimming with outrage over the audacity of those who would try to break out of the Citadel.

General Kenobi was not intimidated by the Phindian. "I must say, you're not at all what I pictured. Someone with such a soft voice . . . "

But if Kenobi was not daunted in the face of Sobeck, nor was Sobeck daunted in the face of not one, but two Jedi.

"I want your half of the information," he ground out, sauntering down the line. "Give it to me now, or I'll start executing your men."

Piell replied, "This is war, Sobeck. We're all prepared to die to protect that intel."

Sobeck chuckled. "Really?" He took the blaster from one of the commando droids, pointed it at Daws' head, and fired. The trooper fell back against the wall and slid to the floor. He was dead.

A ripple of rage made its way up Cody's spine, yet he maintained his composure. This was not the first execution he'd been witness to. It would not be his last. The fact that it was one of his men – a veteran soldier – and that it had taken place right in front of him . . . these brought home the horror of his forced inaction, his own helplessness at the hands of the enemy.

Sobeck raised the weapon once again, point blank against Bounce's visor.

"Sir." The sound of the droid command post officer drew Sobeck's attention. "We have located the other group and our droids are closing in on them."

This announcement was enough to deflect the warden from his deadly course of action. He lowered the weapon and strode back towards his command viewer. "Your Jedi resolve only delays the inevitable," he growled. Now that his focus was on capturing the other group, he had no interest in his current prisoners. For Sobeck, the chase was more fun, more of a challenge. "Take them to interrogation. Torture them . . . slowly."

Cody filed out of the room, his hands still bound behind his head with electro-cords. He cast one final glance at Daws, but no words of farewell or sorrow would form in his mind. The vague sense of sadness that he felt at every death of a battalion member bobbed along at a level where he knew it would be safe and not interfere with his ability to act rationally, a level where the sense of loss would not overwhelm him. He was good at keeping such events in their proper context, in their proper compartment. His life and the lives of his men depended on his ability to do just that.

But there was one life that mattered more to him than any other; and based on the news that the other team had been found and was now being tracked, he wished there was a way he could warn Rex. Of course, the fact that Rex was with General Skywalker was enough to allay a great deal of Cody's concern. Skywalker always seemed to have an arsenal of tricks up his sleeve; and at the moment, it still seemed more likely that Rex's group would escape the Citadel while Cody's did not. Or, more to the point, Rex's group would have to rescue the other half of the team, for Skywalker would never leave them behind – not because of the split coordinates but out of loyalty.

It was while these thoughts passed through Cody's mind that a trio of battle droids suddenly appeared in front of them.

"We'll take them from here," the lead droid announced with as much authority as a battle droid could muster.

Cody noted the droid's blue markings . . . just like the markings on Artoo's reprogrammed droids.

"Uhh, I think we have a—" one of the escort droids began to protest.

"We'll handle it," the blue droid insisted.

Stupidity aside, the escort droid deferred to the superior rank of the blue droid and gave a crisp, "Yes, Sir!"

It was as simple as that, and a moment later, the prisoners were under the control of the trio of blue droids. They'd gone only a few meters when a familiar whistle drew their attention.

General Kenobi turned towards the side corridor from which the sound had come. "Good to see you, Artoo. I wondered where you'd been."

"The commander is pleased to see you, as well, Sir," the lead battle droid interpreted unnecessarily, "But would like to return to the shuttle as soon as possible."

"I couldn't agree more."

"What about General Skywalker, Sir?" Cody asked.

"Not to worry. He'll switch to plan B." The general sounded confident.

And as much as Cody wanted to share his confidence, thus far nothing had gone according to plan on this mission. Not from his perspective anyway. But knowing General Skywalker, the series of missteps that defined their progress to this point were probably being viewed as the basis for a great adventure, a chance for Skywalker to show his cunning, his ability to outsmart the enemy. And god knew, whatever trail the general blazed, Rex was less than a heartbeat behind, ready with encouragement and daring of his own.

They'd be safe. Cody nodded his own self-assurance. After all, both Rex and General Skywalker had a penchant for staying one step ahead of disaster. That sort of life on the edge seemed to be what invigorated them. Cody attributed to this to the fact that they both seemed to think they were invincible.

And events certainly made it appear that way.

Rex looked at the figures in his headsup display.

The vapors had only small traces of toxic compounds.

That was good, for the encasement tunnel through which he and the rest of the team were now climbing was full of the swirling wisps and misting clouds of neutralizing coolant that held down the temperature of the fuel pipeline running up the center of the tunnel.

They'd entered the tunnel twenty minutes ago, fully cognizant of the risk factors involved. After all, this had been part of the plan. The pipeline and its protective outer casement went up the side of a cliff for three hundred meters before making a ninety-degree turn to follow the terrain of the surface. The trip through the tunnel had been anticipated at thirty minutes; but that was before they'd known they'd have other rescued personnel with them, some of whom were injured. Their pace was slower than planned, increasing the possibility that something might go wrong.

The toxins in the fumes would need hours of exposure before reaching dangerous levels in the blood stream, and it was unlikely that the group would be in the tunnel for more than an hour, all told. Even those without the benefit of helmets and their filters should have little impact from the vapors.

Of greater concern was ensuring that any item of equipment that could generate a magnetic pulse was kept still and inert. The coolant in the encasement tunnel was every bit as explosive as the fuel it was meant to cool. The slightest tick, and they would all be riding high.

Rex craned his head upward as he climbed the utility ladder that marked their way to the top of the ridge where the tunnel turned from the perpendicular to the horizontal. Just above him, one of the injured troopers was moving slowly but steadily. Beyond him, Captain Tarkin was several rungs further up, and leading the way, General Skywalker.

At last, as they reached the top, Rex turned to see how the second injured trooper was holding up, and he was pleased to see that Echo and Fives had taken their brother in hand, one above and one below, to ensure he finished the climb.

Ater everyone had made it to the top and before continuing on, General Skywalker turned to the two injured men. "How are you two holding up?"

"We can make it, Sir," the first replied, while the second nodded his agreement.

"Take a minute to catch your breath," Anakin said, then turning to his padawan. "Ahsoka, go scout ahead. Make sure there are no surprises waiting for us."

"Yes, Master."

As Ahsoka sprang away down the tunnel, Captain Tarkin drew up beside Anakin. "I'm not convinced it's a good idea to stop moving, even for a short time."

Anakin was calm, and he spoke in a quiet voice so as not to be overheard. "These men—your men, I might point out—need a few seconds to recover. They're injured. We need to take that into account." A pause. "I would think, as a commanding officer, you'd show a greater sense of duty towards your men."

"My sense of duty is for delivering these coordinates," Tarkin replied, adding with a degree of skepticism, "For whatever good they may do. It will only be a matter of time before the Separatists discover the coordinates and take action to prevent us using them."

Anakin stayed with the original subject. "I didn't ask you about the coordinates. I was talking about your men. You don't seem to care about them or their injuries."

"Not so, General Skywalker," the captain replied. "In fact . . . working with Jedi Master Piell has forced me into the role of . . . shall we say, intermediary. It's not a role I'm fond of. I don't believe in quibbling or bemoaning my circumstances. The clones who work for me are held to the same standard that I hold myself. There's nothing I can do to ameliorate their injuries, and soft words from me would have no beneficial result. They know their condition. They know that if they want to survive, they have to find it in themselves to keep up." A strange sort of scowl appeared on his face. "If you think I am harsh, let me assure you: General Piell wouldn't think twice about leaving them behind. He abandoned an entire ship full of men in order to save himself and the information he was carrying. Our troops were the sacrifice so we could get away."

"So, it looks like you abandoned them, too," Anakin pointed out.

"I was ordered to leave," Tarkin replied. "And then I found out why. I was to be one half of the puzzle. General Piell was the other half." A pause, and his voice took on a sardonic, bitter tone. "Thirty minutes in an escape pod, memorizing numbers. That was the ignominious end to my glorious command of the Empferna. And the rest of my crew, over 3,000 men . . . for the honor of giving their captain a chance to memorize numbers, they all perished. I will mourn their loss in my own way. The handful of survivors in the escape pod with me . . . they owe it to the dead to be strong. As do I. So, if you are looking for an expression of sympathy from me towards my men, you will be sorely disappointed."

Anakin was surprised by this explanation, yet there was something in the captain's words that stirred his heart. "Do you mourn them?" he asked pointedly. "I'm not sure you do."

"And I'm not interested in convincing you," came the equally sharp rejoinder.

Anakin shook his head slightly, saying at last. "I would never willingly leave my men behind."

Tarkin was snide. "You cannot know that with any certainty. Circumstances change a man's way of thinking. And you never know what the future holds. General Piell is fond of spreading his Jedi wisdom, such as it is. 'The future is always in motion.' In that, I would at least partially agree with him. A man never knows what the next moment will bring." The captain began walking. He spoke back over his shoulder, "You may very well feel the same way I do one day, General Skywalker. I wouldn't be surprised if you did."