Obi-Wan slipped back into the shadowy confines of the narrow fissure in the ice. Finding a fighter hanger was definitely unexpected. What should he do?
"The mission comes first, Padawan. Ask yourself, does this put the mission objective at risk?"
The voice of Qui-Gon in his mind was not the training bond. What was the mission objective now? Obi-Wan could think of plenty of reasons he shouldn't cross the hanger and enter the doorway, but the Force had led him here. He had a strange feeling that there was something beyond that door he was meant to see. If there truly was no such thing as luck, no coincidence, then why else had he found this place? Surely his Master would agree.
Wouldn't he?
It was growing late in the day. He needed to return to Bail. In the end it was the thought of the Prince, wounded and cold, that made up Obi-Wan's mind. If he could find help or a medkit it far outweighed any risk. He would have to be careful, certainly, but even if he could only manage another blanket or some bacta numb it would be better than nothing.
Besides, this place should not be here. Qui-Gon and the Council should know about it.
Obi-Wan flipped up the hood of his robe and darted from the crack in the ice to the doorway. The panel light glowed an inviting green. Obi-Wan frowned. No retinal scan, palm identification, or passcode entry. Either he was coming in the back door or whoever built this place was confident it would never be found.
Lightsaber at the ready in his right hand, Obi-Wan used his other to palm the door open. A well-lit narrow corridor stretched for several meters terminating in another doorway. There were no sensors that he could detect, but there was also nowhere to hide.
Obi-Wan took a deep breath and exhaled, grounding himself in the Force. Then he moved over the threshold and stepped inside.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Qui-Gon was edgy as he flew the final guard to the new campsite. It was an elusive kind of unease that he was unaccustomed to feeling but had hung just outside the edges of his perception since they landed on Rhen Var.
It was late in the day now. The fighter's fuel cells were holding up well, but there had been a problem with some of the hoses. The fighter type used by the Tanthalan Alliance was older and the onboard astromech droid was part and parcel of the chassis. That meant it could diagnose a problem and give a solution but it was left to Qui-Gon and the remaining guards to do repairs. It lost him precious time.
He sat down the fighter, popped the canopy, and tapped his fingers impatiently at the controls. As soon as the guard was out and had cleared the landing site, he was in the air again and headed southwest.
Qui-Gon pulled his comlink from his belt and jacked it into the ship systems. "Scan this frequency and try to boost the power if you can," he instructed the truncated R4 unit. Adding the ships systems to the hand module would boost the range to around fifty kilometers. The training bond could guide him to Obi-Wan's general location but a comm signal could be pinpointed. Even a weak signal could be triangulated and make it easier to find him. "Send a periodic test signal and let me know if you find anything."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A black shrouded figure watched a small blue hologram as it moved through a tiny model of the base. The representation of Obi-Wan Kenobi carefully crept down hallways, checked doors, and crouched protectively behind supply crates while the Sith sat in his starship.
A gloved hand reached out and touched a control panel to initiate a comm connection. He waited patiently for the chime response.
"What is it?"
"Master, the Jedi have found the training facility."
A crackle of static accompanied the voice-only comm. The reply was sharp. "What?"
"The Padawan has infiltrated the base." The black robed figure suppressed the urge to flinch. "Master, you ordered me to observe only. Shall I confront him now?"
"No. We must not reveal ourselves. My plans in the Senate are far from complete and you, my Apprentice, are far from ready."
Darth Maul suppressed his fear at the rebuke. He knew well that tone. Sidious was angry. When his Master was angry, someone always paid. Since the order had been given that the Jedi were not to be touched, Darth Maul would feel his Master's wrath for the loss of the base. The punishment he would receive when he returned to his Master's side would be painful.
"Where is the Senator from Alderaan?"
"I do not know, my Master. He was with the Padawan when the assassination attempt failed. The Jedi would not leave him. Should I search?"
"No. Abandon the facility and return to Coruscant. Destroying Bail Organa and his line is critical, I have foreseen it, but this blankness in the Force surrounding the Senator must be explored more fully before we attempt to eliminate him again."
Darth Maul nodded subserviently in spite of the fact that his Master could not see him. He asked only one more question.
"May I activate the droids before I go, Master?"
A cackle of laughter echoed through the comm system. "Yes, my Apprentice. I see you are not entirely without intelligence and initiative after all. While it may not yet be time for us to confront our enemies, if they happen to find their end through untraceable means I will certainly celebrate."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Obi-Wan slipped inside another door and found himself in a room that looked disturbingly familiar. A training salle - but not quite like any training salle the Padawan had ever been in before.
A combination of curiosity and shock flowed through Obi-Wan as his eyes roamed the room. Blasters of various makes and size were mounted to the far wall above two inactive droidekas. A rack filled with vibroaxes, gaderiffi batons, standard staves and pikes, and two strange weapons that Obi-Wan couldn't quite identify rested next to a closed cabinet.
Ledges jutted from the walls at varying heights. Pipes and chains hung from the roof many meters above. The floor held its own surprises. Grates and openings peppered the stone. Obi-Wan could see the glint of sharp metal protruding upward.
Whomever, or whatever, trained in this place meant business.
Though he was curious about the unrecognizable weapons in the rack across the room, he was not here solely for reconnaissance. The medical bay he found had been fairly well stocked. He lightened it by lifting two emergency kits from a cabinet. Now that he had medical supplies, getting back to Bail was the priority. While he had not investigated the entire facility, he had seen enough. Aside from inactive droids in the medical bay, and a store room full of rations and other necessities, he had found nothing to indicate the base was inhabited.
Yet, in spite of this, he had felt that elusive wrongness coming from a doorway and it compelled him to investigate. Now here he stood in this training area.
Obi-Wan had a very bad feeling about it. It was time to go. He knew only one thing for certain; he didn't want to meet whoever trained here.
Obi-Wan turned to leave but he had waited too long. The distinct whir and hum of droids powering up was all the warning the Padawan received. Moving instinctively, he jumped several meters into the air, somersaulting as he activated his lightsaber. The flash of blaster fire followed Obi-Wan's form has he leapt from one small ledge to another moving upward to evade the attack.
The droidekas swiftly pursued, their insect-like metal legs clacking against the stone floor. Obi-Wan stopped and turned to face the threat, wielding his blue blade to deflect the barrage. When he shifted the lightsaber in his hand and sent some of the blaster fire back at the things, the shimmer of shielding appeared.
His comlink began to chime.
There was no time to pull the thing from his belt and respond. The droidekas kept up the onslaught. The Jedi tactic of wearing down the opponent would not serve here. Droids felt nothing and would not tire. The only way to disable a droideka without destroying it was to give it new orders and Obi-Wan could not see a control panel anywhere in the room. There was only one way in and out of the salle, the door he had entered. The hallway beyond was long and narrow. Attempting to escape that way would make him an easy target.
Obi-Wan held his ground while he considered his situation. Blaster fire that wasn't deflected by the bright blue blade sliced past, impacting the stone wall behind him. In a best case scenario, this was a standoff. At worst, he was in serious trouble. His eyes shifted to the weapons. While his lightsaber was deadly, sometimes the assistance of something like an ion grenade was more than welcome. The energy burst of such a weapon would take out the shields if not outright short the droidekas' circuits.
Leaping straight up, Obi-Wan snatched a chain hanging from the ceiling and swung to the far side of the salle. His commlink continued to chime as he made for the cabinet. Twisting in the air he grazed a hand against the comlink activation switch. When his feet hit the floor he was running.
"Padawan?"
Blaster bursts flew past Obi-Wan as he ran, barely missing him. "Yes, Master!"
"Is that blaster fire I hear?"
Obi-Wan grunted, turned, and faced the droidekas once more, angry red beams of energy pinging off his lightsaber. "Yes, Master!"
"Where are you, Padawan?"
Taking a step toward the destroyers, Obi-Wan launched himself into the air once more and made for another landing. "Forgive me, Master, I'm a bit busy. Can you help first and ask questions later?"
Qui-Gon's voice crackled with irritation. "I'd be glad to, but your signal says I'm right on top of you and I can't find you."
Obi-Wan dropped from the ledge. He landed in front of the cabinet and sliced the door open before taking off running. The exertion of the fight was beginning to wind him and his words came in bursts as short as the blaster fire that pursued him. "There is an underground base."
"Padawan, get out of there!"
"I can't!" It was becoming difficult for Obi-Wan not to feel desperation. Even his Master would have a problem in a situation such as this.
"Get under something!"
The room began to shake.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Though they had gone over the mission plan and objectives before leaving Coruscant, Mace Windu wasn't one to allow details to pass. It was precisely this quality, among others, that had moved him quickly through the Jedi ranks and placed him on the Council at such a relatively young age.
As soon as he dropped out of hyperspace and met the others at the rendezvous, he checked in with the team and confirmed the mission objectives. "Garen, you're my wing. We check on the cruisers and orbiter first. If we encounter resistance we split up. Garen and I will head for the planet. Kit, you and Bant will head back here to report and bring backup. Questions?"
As expected, there were none.
"Let's get to it."
The four fighters shot off toward the planet Rhen Var. As they approached, Mace's astromech droid began feeding data to his view screens. He frowned. "That can't be right."
The whistle and chirp that Mace received in response was indignant.
Kit Fisto's voice crackled through Mace's comm system. "Mace, are you reading what I'm reading?"
"If you're reading nothing but a debris field then yes, I am."
Bant's voice came next. "I've got a distress signal. I think it's a life pod."
"Kit, you and Bant go check that out. Garen continue a scanner sweep while I signal the other ships. We're going to need help."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bail had no idea how long Obi-Wan had been gone. He had nodded off several times in spite of the circumstance. The sky far above grew darker and darker. The wind turned bitterly cold.
Clutching at the thermal blanket, Bail did his best to keep himself covered. It became increasingly difficult. His body no longer seemed to be under his control. He shivered constantly and the mere act of breathing had become a new education in levels of pain.
Where was Obi-Wan? Had something happened to him? It had seemed so sensible to tell the Jedi to go ahead without him. So reasonable. Perfectly logical. But that was before he stopped being able to feel his arms and legs. It was before his vision began to dim and his limbs began to shake so badly he could no longer grip the blaster.
Bail knew what this was, this was hypothermia. The core temperature of his body was dropping and there was nothing he could do about it. He couldn't stand and walk to warm up. He couldn't build himself a shelter to get out of the elements. Intellectually, he was fully aware of what was happening and what the result would be.
He would die.
If the combination of frostbite and hypothermia didn't take him in the night then the shock of his injuries and sepsis onset from his head wound would finish him off. He was afraid but also strangely calm. Bail knew his disorientation and malaise was a side effect of the hypothermia. In an attempt to keep his mind alert after Obi-Wan left he had recited the treaty he had just negotiated from memory. When that failed, he began to haltingly sing arias from his favorite operas. The singing, however, had ended rather quickly in fits of painful coughing. In the end, Bail retreated into his childhood - recalling the stories of handsome princes that his sisters had regaled him with to his chagrin - and finding comfort there.
Despite his best efforts, Bail slowly sank into another world. His awareness phased in and out, hovering somewhere between a waking reality and a cold and dreamless sleep. He fought hard to keep from giving up and sinking into the darkness. Obi-Wan would never have left him here to die. The Jedi would be back.
Bail had to believe the knight of his tale would return for him. It was all he had left.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Qui-Gon knew what he was about to do was radical and risky. He had no idea about the number of attackers his Padawan faced or the nature of the threat. He had no structural schematics or any idea of how the base had been constructed. All he knew for sure was that Obi-Wan was losing the fight. Qui-Gon was close enough that the training bond sang with Obi-Wan's exertion and desperation.
Only years of experience and training kept Qui-Gon's fear at bay. He had only felt this frustrated and helpless once before - on Bandomeer. He had not even taken Obi-Wan as his Padawan yet, but his fright for the boy when he had been pushed from a mining platform had gone deep. Now, as then, he had been so close and yet so far away.
Even in the face of overwhelming odds, Qui-Gon Jinn was not a man that gave up. He would not let his Padawan down.
"Get under something!" The order flew from Qui-Gon's lips as he pulled back on the fighter controls. The craft shot upward rapidly before Qui-Gon banked hard and pointed the nose down. He hoped fervently that Obi-Wan would have enough time to take cover and thumbed the weapons controls, blasting laser cannon fire at the ground.
Huge chunks of snow and ice exploded upward, reducing visibility. The little R4 unit squealed unhappily and sent streams of data across the screens detailing exactly how fast the ground was approaching. Unable to tell if he'd accomplished his goal, Qui-Gon pulled up at the last moment and the fighter moved upward again in a sharp arc. As the craft rose, the snow began to settle and the steam and smoke dissipate. A look downward revealed little. While he had managed to shoot quite a large hole in the ground, Qui-Gon still didn't see any evidence of a manmade structure.
Time for another pass.
The fighter reversed direction and another barrage of cannon fire was directed downward. This time, gold sparks and bits of silver metal accompanied the white chunks of ice.
"Padawan! Can you hear me?"
Static was the only response from the comm.
Qui-Gon leveled off the fighter and held it steady above the crater he had opened in the landscape. He dropped the landing gear and attitude thrusters forced air downward into the rubble. The smaller and lighter pieces of debris were blown aside, revealing twisted bits of superstructure.
Nudging the fighter to the side, he sat it down and popped the canopy. Qui-Gon jerked the comlink from the ship systems while he undid his safety harness. In a flash he was out of the cockpit and pulling an ascension gun from the equipment kit. Then he turned and ran.
"Obi-Wan!" Qui-Gon shouted at the comlink. The training bond was gone ominously quiet. "Padawan, answer me!"
The rend in the ground was deep. Qui-Gon had to make several jumps to get to the bottom. He found four locations where the ceiling of the superstructure had given way to expose the room below. Picking the one with the largest opening, he stepped out into the open air and fell.
One of the droidekas had been smashed by the rubble. The other, though obviously damaged, was still functional. Blaster fire followed Qui-Gon as he dropped into the room. The green blade of his lightsaber flared to life as he parried the attack. Focusing all his concentration, he advanced on the droid. As he closed the distance, he used the Force to lob chunks of what had once been the ceiling at the thing.
Bombarded from all directions the droideka seemed uncertain how to proceed. Its design was not conducive to responding to attack from multiple directions. When a piece of stone finally got past the shielding and impacted a leg, the droid teetered precariously. The red energy bursts, no longer focused on their target, swept upward as the droideka fell over.
Freed from the need to fend off attack, Qui-Gon sent larger blocks of stone whizzing through the air toward the damaged droid. In no time the thing was in pieces.
"Obi-Wan!"
Qui-Gon's voice echoed against the ruined stone walls of the salle. His eyes raked over the scene, taking in everything at once. Power cables and chains swung crazily from what was left of the roof, sparks flying when the metal and open wire made contact. Weapons lay scattered and broken to one side of the room. Finally, his eyes locked on a dark metal shape half buried in rubble and singed by blaster fire.
There.
Qui-Gon deactivated his lightsaber, clipping it and the comlink to his belt. Picking his way quickly through the wreckage, he approached the toppled cabinet. It had fallen over with the doors face down. Using a combination of his hands and the Force, he hurriedly removed the stone that pinned the thing. Qui-Gon grunted and strained, pushing himself to the limit of his abilities in order to flip the cabinet over. As he did so, the damaged doors fell open; grenades, training remotes, and Obi-Wan Kenobi came tumbling out.
Gathering the Padawan in his arms, Qui-Gon reached outward through the training bond. His Apprentice had sustained some minor injuries but nothing critical. It was a relief when Obi-Wan's eyes flickered and finally opened.
"It took you long enough, Master," Obi-Wan said weakly.
The response was a good natured but stern rebuke. "Don't get cheeky with me now, Padawan. I just had to save your hide."
"Sorry, Master," was the demure response.
"Where is Senator Organa?"
"He is not here, Master." Obi-Wan winced as he hurriedly pushed himself upright and out of Qui-Gon's embrace. His shoulder ached dully and extending his right leg brought a twinge of pain. "I have to hurry. He's injured and needs me."
Blinking, Qui-Gon sat back on his heels. "What? Do you mean to tell me that you left the Senator alone? Injured and alone? You put both yourself and the Senator in peril entering this base. What were you thinking, Padawan?"
Obi-Wan flinched. "It seemed the right course of action at the time, Master. I felt I had no other choice."
Qui-Gon let out an exasperated sigh and stood up. "There is always another choice, Padawan. It may not be the easiest or the most expedient, but there is always another choice." He pulled the ascension gun from his belt. "You and I must have a very serious discussion about your behavior but now is not the time. Come."