Star Wars - Altered Path 5
In honor of The Force Awakens, have some more of this!
I also touched up the prologue and second chapter...
Chapter 5
Force Light
Mace Windu sat in a patient treatment room in the Halls of Healing as the bandages on the stump of his right wrist were changed. Vokara Che, the Chief Healer herself, eyed him disapprovingly as she layered the sterile gauze. Master Windu acted as if he was unaware of the blue Twi’lek’s ire and remained stoic as she completed the bandaging.
“You really should submit yourself for full treatment, Mace,” Master Che muttered with a scowl. “The longer you go without surgery, the greater the chance for complications and an incomplete recovery. You’re already looking at a significant amount of rehabilitation to regain your lightsaber skills.”
“I am aware,” he replied, leaning into the support of the Force to help deal with the constant pain that the light numbing drugs (the only ones he would accept) could only dull. “The moment that more members of the High Council have returned and been updated on the situation, I will be right back here for my procedure.”
“Master Kenobi has returned,” she retorted as she tied off the bandages.
“Neither I nor Master Ti have spoken with him yet,” Mace responded with some irritation at that fact. “And Master Yoda should be here by tomorrow.”
“Excuses,” Master Che scoffed. “Have more faith in your colleagues and look to your own needs for the moment. Your prosthetic is half completed and will be ready to be attached immediately after you recover from the surgery. I can perform the procedure myself…”
“I’m sure that you have other patients to see to, Master Che,” the Human Master remarked as he adjusted the sleeves of his robe with his left hand, “so I won’t take up any more of your time.”
With the outbreak of the Clone Wars, the Halls of Healing were often full to over-flowing with the injured. Jedi, clone troopers, and Republican volunteers of all species were shipped in daily from all fronts of the war by medical shuttles and Med Star ships to be treated by the best Healers in the Order. So there was undoubtedly a line of patients waiting for the Chief Healer’s attentions-
A ripple of warning rushed over Mace just as he slipped off the exam table. Glancing over at Vokara Che, he could see that she’d felt it too. The blue Twi’lek woman shook herself, squared her shoulders, and strode for the door to find out what was going on, only to nearly be knocked over when a female Devaronian burst into the room.
“Master Che!” she panted, one hand clutching the door frame. “A message from the Hanger. Master Tachi and Master Kenobi are bringing in an injured Knight from the quarantined zone around the Senate Building, and should arrive any minute. There aren’t a lot of details, but it sounds very serious.”
The Twi’lek Healer nodded grimly and started giving instructions to her junior colleague about who should go to collect the patient and what supplies to gather. Mace was entirely forgotten as the pair exited the treatment room to deal with the sudden emergency. Slowly walking out of the room in their wake, Mace ran his remaining hand over his bald scalp as he digested this latest bit of information.
Could Obi-Wan have found Vader…still alive?
***
Jedi Master Grangg Vitz let out a growl of irritation as he stalked along the maze of catwalks and platforms that made up the upper levels of the Jedi Temple’s hanger. This little section of the Temple was his domain and he took great pride in its smooth operation. But the past few hours had left the orderly atmosphere in a bit of disarray.
Master Kenobi’s unscheduled arrival from Utapau had been a minor issue and was easily taken in stride, although the fact that he hadn’t properly checked in had been a bit worrying. But the real problem had come about an hour later when two airspeeders, one after the other, had charged into the hanger with barely any warning. The first had nearly crashed twice, and the second had dragged in a nearly-dead Jedi.
The brief flurry of chaos brought on by the wounded young Knight arriving and then being carted off the Healers left ripples of unease behind. The techs that serviced the various vehicles were distracted and whispering amongst themselves about what they’d seen and heard. Who was the wounded Jedi and how had he been so grievously hurt? Did it have anything to do with the wild fragmentary rumors about the Supreme Chancellor’s mysterious death?
Master Vitz prowled past a cluster of gossiping techs who weren’t even trying to do their assigned tasks and paused briefly to scatter them with a noisy snort and a glare from his fierce eyes.
Well, hopefully now that the sun’s gone down things will be quieter, he thought as he paused at a data terminal to check the schedule. There’s been more than enough excitement this afternoon. If anything else happens, I’ll have to keep this shift of techs on to help the overnight shift catch up on all the slack.
Wrinkling his graying muzzle in distaste at that thought, he padded away from the terminal to lean against a railing that overlooked a Delta-7 that was undergoing a major overhaul.
Many found it strange that he, a Shistavanen, a “Wolfman”, was the senior Master in charge of the Temple’s hanger and all the machines within. He was a highly evolved predator that was surely more at home tracking down criminals than fixing faulty starship engines. But he had his reasons, and this was the exact place that he wanted to be.
As a young Knight he had followed expectations and become a warrior that hunted down space pirates, slavers, and all manner of criminals, both on foot and from the cockpit of a Jedi star-fighter. But without the calming presence of his former Master, he found his primitive instincts coming closer to the surface with every mission until a near brush with the Dark Side made him step back and reevaluate his path. After circulating throughout the Temple at various non-violent duties he found his home among the vehicles and machines, and not even the need for Jedi in the Clone Wars had been able to call him away.
A sudden alarm buzzer that signaled the hanger’s main doors opening made him flatten his ears and peel his lips back in a silent snarl.
Another unscheduled arrival? Really? Who is it now?!
Tossing his shaggy canine head, he loped towards the landing pad that was extending out of the building to receive the incoming starship.
The Clone Wars had turned solid schedules for arrivals and departures on their heads. Vehicles would show up earlier than expected, or later than expected, or when nothing was expected at all. It was something that Grangg had grudgingly accepted, but never enjoyed-especially when several happened back to back like this.
This particular newcomer was a Theta-class shuttle that swooped in steeply from the upper atmosphere. He waited at the edge of the landing pad well within the safety zone and watched as the vessel folded its long wings up over its much stubbier dorsal fin and touched down. The shuttle bore no distinctive markings that gave hint of who it might carry and since it had a hyperdrive it could have come from anywhere in the galaxy. Only when the landing pad had retracted into the Temple and the shuttle lowered its boarding ramp, did he approach it to properly greet the passengers…and to chastise them for not filing a flight plan at least an hour ahead of time.
However, when he saw the tiny, aged, hunched figure that hobbled down the ramp with an equally tiny cane, any thought of scolding the Jedi vanished from his mind and he dropped to all-fours to respectfully welcome the Grandmaster home.
“Master Yoda,” he rumbled politely in greeting, dipping his head in a bow as the small alien approached. “I wasn’t expecting you. Master Ti mentioned that you would be returning, but she failed to mention when.” I also expected him to return on the Star Destroyer that he departed on, not a shuttle.
“My apologies. In a bit of a hurry, I was.” The ancient Jedi eyed him thoughtfully, stroking his wrinkled chin with a talon. “Young Master Vitz, a favor may I ask of you?”
“Certainly, Master,” Grangg replied, flicking his ears in surprise and cocking his head to the side. “What do you need of me?”
“Your long young legs I wish to borrow,” Yoda replied with a slight smile. “Hurry, I must, to the Healers.”
“Are you ill, Master?” the Shistavanen asked, fur bristling and ears flattening in sudden alarm.
“Well enough I am,” the ancient alien calmly assured him. “Needed there, my assistance is.”
Grangg’s nose twitched and he recalled the injured young Jedi from earlier. He’d been deep in the bowels of the hanger’s lower levels when that Jedi had arrived and had only managed to catch a brief glimpse of him as he was being carted off on a hover-stretcher. The Wolfman had sensed that he should know the young Human, but he’d been too battered for Grangg to put a name to his face.
Master Yoda came back to help him.
“Your help do I have?” Yoda asked, jolting the canine Jedi out of his moment of understanding.
“Of course, Master,” Grangg replied and used one hairy clawed hand to aid the Grandmaster in climbing atop his broad shoulders. “My long legs are at your disposal.”
“Then, with all speed, let us go,” Master Yoda said in his gravelly voice. He tucked his tiny can under one arm and clung to Master Vitz’s coarse brown fur and leather tunic with his other three limbs. “Now!”
Needing no further prompting, Grangg Vitz exploded into a four-legged sprint away from the shuttle, drawing upon the Force to sharpen his reflexes and boost his speed. He barreled down the connecting metal catwalks, sliding around startled techs and leaping over squawking R4 units. And then they were through the hanger and into maze-like corridors of the Temple, disturbing the occasional Knight or Master in his mad dash to the Halls of Healing, and leaving scratch marks in the polished stone floors as he skidded around corners.
Master Yoda had asked for all of his speed and he would give it all, for the life of a brother Jedi could very well depend upon it.
***
Obi-Wan sat hunched over in one of the chairs in a waiting area in the Halls of Healing and struggled to remain calm. Siri sat beside him, and Mace Windu and Shaak Ti had both appeared from somewhere and been filled in by his childhood friend. It should’ve been him to brief his colleagues, but his thoughts kept reaching off to where Anakin was receiving treatment.
It had been very difficult to stay behind when the Healers had taken Anakin away to be evaluated and healed. He knew that the young man was in the best hands and that if he’d insisted on being present that he would’ve only gotten in the way. Yet that knowledge was no shield against the sick helplessness that he felt. Nor did the fact that he’d been unable to reach Anakin in any way, even after he’d pulled him from the utility pipe, do any good for his peace of mind.
That Darkness…it has to be some kind of Sith technique. Something that masks him from detection and keeps others from reaching him through the Force. But what else is it doing to him?
And how do we free him from it?
The idea that he couldn’t be saved was one that he did not allow himself to contemplate.
Beside him, he could sense Siri’s intense curiosity, and he was both surprised and grateful that she hadn’t voiced the question that was burning in her mind. He knew exactly what she wanted him to explain and he kicked himself for his slip-up. In the airspeeder and in the hanger he’d been so frantic that he had accidentally referred to Anakin by his real name instead of the alias that everyone else knew him by.
I shouldn’t have made that mistake. I’ve known him by Vader for years. It should be difficult to remember his actual name over his alias, and not the other way around…
But from the moment that Anakin had properly introduced himself just before Obi-Wan had left for Utapau, it felt perfectly natural to think of him and speak of him by his true name like he’d done it for years.
Any further contemplation on the subject halted when he spied the Chief Healer enter the waiting area from the corner of his eye. Obi-Wan straightened up in his seat to look at the Twi’lek Healer and felt a fresh stab of worry as he noted the grim expression on her blue face. With a quiet cleansing breath he stood and bowed in greeting.
“How is he, Master Che?”
“Not good,” she replied bluntly. “We cleaned him up, hooked him up to a fluid IV to deal with the dehydration, popped his shoulder back into place, took off his prosthetic arm since its power cells had burst, and applied some Bacta cream to his odd burns, but all attempts to speed his healing through the Force have met with failure. Not even using the Healing Crystals of Fire had any appreciable effect. We can barely even sense him because of some strange Dark barrier, which is probably contributing to his state of unconsciousness, and we can’t help him into a healing trance. One of the younger Healers got ahead of himself and tried to remove the Dark barrier and he still hasn’t recovered from the psychic shock that it gave him.”
“Is the young Healer all right?” Shaak Ti inquired with concern.
“He has a terrible headache but he will recover,” Vokara Che replied with a snort. Her lips thinned and her lekku quivered. “I wish I could be so certain about the patient, though. With that Dark barrier in the way I can’t get a read on if he has a head injury or not and-”
A sudden commotion coming from elsewhere in the Halls of Healing made the group of Masters stiffen in mild alarm. Obi-Wan’s breath caught in his throat as he feared that the startled shouts meant that Anakin had taken a sudden turn for the worse. But then he realized that the noise was coming from the wrong direction, and was moving towards their location rapidly.
Just as Master Che was about to storm off and find out who dared disrupt her domain and disturb her patients and staff, the Shistavanen Master, Grangg Vitz, skidded into the waiting room. As he crouched on the tile floor and panted to catch his breath, Master Yoda slid from the Wolfman’s shoulders. The tiny Jedi Master thanked the Shistavanen before hobbling over on his small cane.
“My apologies, Master Che, for the manner of my arrival,” Yoda said with a respectful bow. “But too short time was for me to walk.”
“So that gives you the right to frighten all of my patients and their physicians?” the Twi’lek demanded with a scowl directed both at the Wolfman and the Grandmaster.
“Only following my instructions, Master Vitz was,” Yoda informed her. “Master Che, if you please, of the condition of the patient inform me?”
Vokara still looked sour over Yoda’s unorthodox arrival, but again summarized Anakin’s condition and what had been done about it for him. The ancient Jedi Master listened intently to the Chief Healer’s report. He asked no questions and when she finished he took a moment to think over what he’d learned.
“Dealt with, this Darkness must be,” Master Yoda declared and turned to his fellows on the High Council. “Shaak, Mace, Obi-Wan, all of your help I will need. To the young one please take us, Master Che.”
The Twi’lek Healer sighed and gestured for the assembled Masters to follow her lead. As she led them down several corridors towards the treatment room where Anakin was being seen to, Obi-Wan felt his sense of dread finally begin to ease. Master Yoda was the wisest being that he knew, and just like on Geonosis when Dooku had been about to slay him and his apprentice, the old Master had appeared out of nowhere to help.
If any Jedi in the Order could save Anakin, it would be Yoda.
***
Siri was rather annoyed as the four Masters followed the Healer and left her behind. She was a Jedi Master as well, but because she wasn’t a part of the High Council she wasn’t invited to join them. She knew that it wasn’t meant as a snub, that whatever Master Yoda had in mind might be bogged down if too many Jedi were involved in it. But she had been present when Vader had been found and she felt involved in his case.
And she still hadn’t found an opportunity to ask Obi-Wan why he’d spoken to Vader by another name. She’d resisted the urge to question him about that while they’d waited for the Chief Healer to get back to them about Vader’s condition because she knew how distressed Obi-Wan was over his former student. Obi-Wan Kenobi was her friend and she couldn’t take advantage him without a more pressing reason than an odd name.
However, the moment that Vader was out of danger, she would find out what was going on and she wouldn’t be diverted this time.
“You have the hunter’s gaze, Master Tachi.”
Blinking, Siri turned away from the hall where the other Masters had vanished to see that Grangg Vitz had recovered his breath and was now standing upright and watching her intently.
“I’m sorry,” she furrowed her brow in question, “what was that?”
“You are seeking something,” the Shistavanen stated, scratching at the gray fur on his chin with a claw. “What is it that you are hunting?”
“Answers,” Siri replied, folding her arms into her sleeves.
“That can be a treacherous pursuit sometimes,” he warned her as he adjusted his rumpled robes. “You can get so fixated on your prey that you are led into mistakes or territory where you do not belong.”
Siri’s stormy eyes narrowed. “What are you saying?”
“Just a friendly warning,” he responded calmly. “Sometimes the quarry is not worth catching. Sometimes the hunt is best left for another day. The wise hunter keeps a clear head and does not let himself, or herself, be ruled by the chase.” The Wolfman started to pad away, but paused to say one more thing. “I understand that you were in a hurry, Master Tachi, but please try to remember to check your airspeeder back into the motor pool next time.”
“Yes, Master,” she replied stiffly.
With a bestial snort, Grangg Vitz departed the waiting area and Siri was alone.
She should sit back down and be patient while she waited for Obi-Wan and the others to finish helping Master Yoda save Vader, but she felt too agitated as Master Vitz’s unsolicited advice rattled around her skull so she started walking. She left the Halls of Healing behind and strode through the nearly deserted Temple corridors without any particular destination in mind. By the time she found her way to the entrance of the Archives her tense mood had eased and on a whim she wandered inside in search of a data terminal.
I probably won’t find anything…but let’s see what the Archives have to say about the name “Anakin”.
***
Obi-Wan did his best to get comfortable on the plastic visitor’s chair that he’d pushed up to Anakin’s bedside and gather his focus to delve deeply into the Force. Mace, Shaak, and Yoda had settled themselves in identical chairs, equally spaced around the medical cot, and were similarly preparing themselves for deep mediation. The Healers had all left to treat other patients with only Vokara Che keeping vigil outside of the treatment room in case she was needed.
Taking a deep cleansing breath, Obi-Wan closed his eyes. He pushed away his awareness of his surroundings. He pushed away his worries over his wounded friend. He pushed away all the aches and weariness that was catching up to him from his battle on Utapau. He pushed everything away until there was nothing left but the Force…
Reaching outwards, he sensed his colleagues as luminous star-like beings as they reached the same plane of awareness. Shaak Ti was a ball of blue light, humble and serene. Mace Windu appeared as a violet-colored star, powerful and stern. And Yoda was a blazing green presence, ancient and wise and much larger than the others with a clear and deep connection to the Force.
Master Yoda’s presence reached out to them all and guided them into weaving their energies together. It wasn’t a full Battle Meld where they became a single consciousness. They remained individuals, but they were bound together, supporting one another and sharing their strength. Once Yoda was satisfied with their connection, he wordlessly signaled to Obi-Wan to take the lead.
Like he’d tried several times before, Obi-Wan tapped into the translucent bond that connected him to Anakin and flowed down it, taking the other Masters with him. Again, he hit the barrier of Darkness just before he touched the border of the younger man’s mind. But instead of recoiling away from the evil presence, he drew upon the determination of his fellows and the power of the Force and began to plow through it.
It was like diving through a violent storm without the protection of a vehicle. Rage lashed at them like sheering winds. Anger pounded at them like a torrent of hailstones. Hatred flashed over them like sizzling lightning. And it was so very, very Dark…
The Darkness fought them every inch of the way. It shoved at them and tore at their connections with desperate violence. But the Force was with them and their focus held-
They burst through the layer of Darkness and Obi-Wan could finally perceive what lay on the other side.
Bluish smoke swirled in a lumpy sphere before them, and as they approached it began to clear…revealing the battered presence underneath. Instead of a vibrant living star, Obi-Wan saw a dim gray-ish glow. It looked frayed, almost shredded, and smaller than it ought to be.
Obi-Wan reached out to the wounded light-
The blue smoke washed over him, the scar where his bond with his dead Master had been pulsed, and it felt like Qui-Gon Jinn was with him once more. Had Obi-Wan not been tied to the other Masters he would’ve been torn from his trance by the force of his shock. Mace was just as startled, and Shaak was confused, but Yoda was unperturbed. The ancient Grandmaster shared his serenity with them and urged them on to complete their task.
Hurry, Padawan, there isn’t much time left.
The voice sounded just like his old Master’s and he responded out of reflex, dazedly reaching out once more to Anakin. He made contact…and was nearly overwhelmed by the younger man’s confused exhaustion. Without hesitation he fed his own strength into the frail, fading presence, trying to rejuvenate it. But there was little response to his efforts.
Hold on, Anakin, he implored, pushing aside his confusion over the mysterious misty presence that felt so much like his lost Master to regain his focus. We’ve come to help.
Mace, Shaak, and Yoda joined him in trying to revive his former apprentice. But the Darkness did not sit idly by as they worked. It had recovered from being pierced by them and now lashed our fiercely, striving to tear the Jedi Masters away from the battered Knight.
Lord Vader is mine! He was always mine. You cannot save him from me.
He was never yours, the voice of Qui-Gon Jinn asserted calmly.
Mace and Shaak focused on fending off the Darkness’s assaults while Yoda helped Obi-Wan prepare Anakin for what had to be done.
Tired you are, but open yourself to the Force you must, Yoda urged. Upon the Light you must call to banish this Darkness. Channel the Light and like a sun you will become.
We will do it together, Obi-Wan promised.
There wasn’t any response to their words until a faint, weary voice whispered.
…okay.
Obi-Wan was deeply relieved at the answer, and moved on to the final part of Master Yoda’s plan. Doing his best to make his actions clear so that Anakin could try and imitate him, he ran though the ancient alien’s instructions for the technique that had been described to him. Reaching out to the Force, he tapped into the Light and struggled to radiate it from himself in all directions. Ideally he would’ve practiced the technique at least once beforehand, if not several times, before attempting it in a real situation, but there simply hadn’t been time for that.
Thankfully banishing this Darkness did not rest upon his shoulders alone.
Sensing that he’d started, Shaak did the same and added her Light to his. Then, after giving the encroaching Darkness a final shove, Mace followed suit. Finally Yoda himself added his own strength, and since he was far older and more experienced than all of them combined, his Light far outshone theirs in both intensity and reach.
The pure Light energy that the four of them radiated made the Darkness recoil with an almost animalistic snarl. It retreated, no longer englobing Anakin, and its malignant tainting of the nearby Force eased. But their combined Light only went so far and when the Darkness reached the very edge of their power it stopped fleeing to linger there, oozing malice.
Be gone, Master Yoda commanded. The young one you cannot have. Accept your death and disperse.
You think you’ve won, don’t you… Foolish Jedi. There is no winning against the darkness. It has always existed and it always will exist. Darkness is endless and immortal. You might drive me off today, but it won’t be forever. One day I will return and claim all that is mine, for I am the Darkness and I am eternal!
Anakin’s weak presence began to gather Light to join the Masters and force the malevolent Darkness further away. His glow built slowly and flickered like a struggling candle flame. It didn’t add much to the efforts of the Masters, but every little bit helped. And considering his terrible condition, any amount of success on his part was an impressive achievement.
Nothing is eternal except the Force, the impossibly Qui-Gon-like presence stated. You are merely a spirit, and one day you will end as all things do.
How little you know. I am not limited by your narrow dogmatic views, Jedi. The Force is a tool to be used, a weapon to be wielded; not some deity to blindly follow. I will not fade away. I will endure to see the Jedi Order burn and the Sith reclaim their rightful place as rulers of the galaxy! It is inevitable…
I have foreseen it.
What the evil spirit was saying was utter madness, yet it spoke almost calmly and with absolute confidence. Its voice was a gravelly croak, menacing and dark, and yet somehow persuasive. The Darkness was not a raving lunatic, it was cold and calculating and there was no doubt that it meant what it said.
Obi-Wan struggled to maintain the Force Light technique and not let the Darkness’s words shake him. He wished that Master Yoda had instructed them in the Wall of Light technique instead, since it sealed darkness away instead of simply driving it off. But not only was the Wall of Light far more complicated and required mastering the Force Light first, it was also dangerous and difficult to control. Even if they'd been capable of using the Wall of Light here they might damage part of the Temple or worse-
Shut up…
The stuttering build-up of Anakin’s Light suddenly spiked. He went from roughly equal to Obi-Wan’s output, to blazing past Mace’s, and then Shaak Ti’s. Flickering and flashing, he pulled almost even with Master Yoda, greatly increasing their combined Light and forcing the Darkness to retreat further with a startled howl.
…And go AWAY!
It was like looking at a star going nova. A roaring windstorm of Light exploded outwards and crashed into the Darkness, blasting it away in the blink of an eye. The brilliant Light was uncontrolled, though, and it buffeted the Jedi as well and nearly tore them apart. Just as Obi-Wan felt his grip on the other Masters’ presences fail the mysterious blue mist that felt so much like Qui-Gon swirled around him and shielded him from the blast.
And then the storm was past, leaving only a vista of blinding white Light…
I also touched up the prologue and second chapter...
Chapter 5
Force Light
Mace Windu sat in a patient treatment room in the Halls of Healing as the bandages on the stump of his right wrist were changed. Vokara Che, the Chief Healer herself, eyed him disapprovingly as she layered the sterile gauze. Master Windu acted as if he was unaware of the blue Twi’lek’s ire and remained stoic as she completed the bandaging.
“You really should submit yourself for full treatment, Mace,” Master Che muttered with a scowl. “The longer you go without surgery, the greater the chance for complications and an incomplete recovery. You’re already looking at a significant amount of rehabilitation to regain your lightsaber skills.”
“I am aware,” he replied, leaning into the support of the Force to help deal with the constant pain that the light numbing drugs (the only ones he would accept) could only dull. “The moment that more members of the High Council have returned and been updated on the situation, I will be right back here for my procedure.”
“Master Kenobi has returned,” she retorted as she tied off the bandages.
“Neither I nor Master Ti have spoken with him yet,” Mace responded with some irritation at that fact. “And Master Yoda should be here by tomorrow.”
“Excuses,” Master Che scoffed. “Have more faith in your colleagues and look to your own needs for the moment. Your prosthetic is half completed and will be ready to be attached immediately after you recover from the surgery. I can perform the procedure myself…”
“I’m sure that you have other patients to see to, Master Che,” the Human Master remarked as he adjusted the sleeves of his robe with his left hand, “so I won’t take up any more of your time.”
With the outbreak of the Clone Wars, the Halls of Healing were often full to over-flowing with the injured. Jedi, clone troopers, and Republican volunteers of all species were shipped in daily from all fronts of the war by medical shuttles and Med Star ships to be treated by the best Healers in the Order. So there was undoubtedly a line of patients waiting for the Chief Healer’s attentions-
A ripple of warning rushed over Mace just as he slipped off the exam table. Glancing over at Vokara Che, he could see that she’d felt it too. The blue Twi’lek woman shook herself, squared her shoulders, and strode for the door to find out what was going on, only to nearly be knocked over when a female Devaronian burst into the room.
“Master Che!” she panted, one hand clutching the door frame. “A message from the Hanger. Master Tachi and Master Kenobi are bringing in an injured Knight from the quarantined zone around the Senate Building, and should arrive any minute. There aren’t a lot of details, but it sounds very serious.”
The Twi’lek Healer nodded grimly and started giving instructions to her junior colleague about who should go to collect the patient and what supplies to gather. Mace was entirely forgotten as the pair exited the treatment room to deal with the sudden emergency. Slowly walking out of the room in their wake, Mace ran his remaining hand over his bald scalp as he digested this latest bit of information.
Could Obi-Wan have found Vader…still alive?
***
Jedi Master Grangg Vitz let out a growl of irritation as he stalked along the maze of catwalks and platforms that made up the upper levels of the Jedi Temple’s hanger. This little section of the Temple was his domain and he took great pride in its smooth operation. But the past few hours had left the orderly atmosphere in a bit of disarray.
Master Kenobi’s unscheduled arrival from Utapau had been a minor issue and was easily taken in stride, although the fact that he hadn’t properly checked in had been a bit worrying. But the real problem had come about an hour later when two airspeeders, one after the other, had charged into the hanger with barely any warning. The first had nearly crashed twice, and the second had dragged in a nearly-dead Jedi.
The brief flurry of chaos brought on by the wounded young Knight arriving and then being carted off the Healers left ripples of unease behind. The techs that serviced the various vehicles were distracted and whispering amongst themselves about what they’d seen and heard. Who was the wounded Jedi and how had he been so grievously hurt? Did it have anything to do with the wild fragmentary rumors about the Supreme Chancellor’s mysterious death?
Master Vitz prowled past a cluster of gossiping techs who weren’t even trying to do their assigned tasks and paused briefly to scatter them with a noisy snort and a glare from his fierce eyes.
Well, hopefully now that the sun’s gone down things will be quieter, he thought as he paused at a data terminal to check the schedule. There’s been more than enough excitement this afternoon. If anything else happens, I’ll have to keep this shift of techs on to help the overnight shift catch up on all the slack.
Wrinkling his graying muzzle in distaste at that thought, he padded away from the terminal to lean against a railing that overlooked a Delta-7 that was undergoing a major overhaul.
Many found it strange that he, a Shistavanen, a “Wolfman”, was the senior Master in charge of the Temple’s hanger and all the machines within. He was a highly evolved predator that was surely more at home tracking down criminals than fixing faulty starship engines. But he had his reasons, and this was the exact place that he wanted to be.
As a young Knight he had followed expectations and become a warrior that hunted down space pirates, slavers, and all manner of criminals, both on foot and from the cockpit of a Jedi star-fighter. But without the calming presence of his former Master, he found his primitive instincts coming closer to the surface with every mission until a near brush with the Dark Side made him step back and reevaluate his path. After circulating throughout the Temple at various non-violent duties he found his home among the vehicles and machines, and not even the need for Jedi in the Clone Wars had been able to call him away.
A sudden alarm buzzer that signaled the hanger’s main doors opening made him flatten his ears and peel his lips back in a silent snarl.
Another unscheduled arrival? Really? Who is it now?!
Tossing his shaggy canine head, he loped towards the landing pad that was extending out of the building to receive the incoming starship.
The Clone Wars had turned solid schedules for arrivals and departures on their heads. Vehicles would show up earlier than expected, or later than expected, or when nothing was expected at all. It was something that Grangg had grudgingly accepted, but never enjoyed-especially when several happened back to back like this.
This particular newcomer was a Theta-class shuttle that swooped in steeply from the upper atmosphere. He waited at the edge of the landing pad well within the safety zone and watched as the vessel folded its long wings up over its much stubbier dorsal fin and touched down. The shuttle bore no distinctive markings that gave hint of who it might carry and since it had a hyperdrive it could have come from anywhere in the galaxy. Only when the landing pad had retracted into the Temple and the shuttle lowered its boarding ramp, did he approach it to properly greet the passengers…and to chastise them for not filing a flight plan at least an hour ahead of time.
However, when he saw the tiny, aged, hunched figure that hobbled down the ramp with an equally tiny cane, any thought of scolding the Jedi vanished from his mind and he dropped to all-fours to respectfully welcome the Grandmaster home.
“Master Yoda,” he rumbled politely in greeting, dipping his head in a bow as the small alien approached. “I wasn’t expecting you. Master Ti mentioned that you would be returning, but she failed to mention when.” I also expected him to return on the Star Destroyer that he departed on, not a shuttle.
“My apologies. In a bit of a hurry, I was.” The ancient Jedi eyed him thoughtfully, stroking his wrinkled chin with a talon. “Young Master Vitz, a favor may I ask of you?”
“Certainly, Master,” Grangg replied, flicking his ears in surprise and cocking his head to the side. “What do you need of me?”
“Your long young legs I wish to borrow,” Yoda replied with a slight smile. “Hurry, I must, to the Healers.”
“Are you ill, Master?” the Shistavanen asked, fur bristling and ears flattening in sudden alarm.
“Well enough I am,” the ancient alien calmly assured him. “Needed there, my assistance is.”
Grangg’s nose twitched and he recalled the injured young Jedi from earlier. He’d been deep in the bowels of the hanger’s lower levels when that Jedi had arrived and had only managed to catch a brief glimpse of him as he was being carted off on a hover-stretcher. The Wolfman had sensed that he should know the young Human, but he’d been too battered for Grangg to put a name to his face.
Master Yoda came back to help him.
“Your help do I have?” Yoda asked, jolting the canine Jedi out of his moment of understanding.
“Of course, Master,” Grangg replied and used one hairy clawed hand to aid the Grandmaster in climbing atop his broad shoulders. “My long legs are at your disposal.”
“Then, with all speed, let us go,” Master Yoda said in his gravelly voice. He tucked his tiny can under one arm and clung to Master Vitz’s coarse brown fur and leather tunic with his other three limbs. “Now!”
Needing no further prompting, Grangg Vitz exploded into a four-legged sprint away from the shuttle, drawing upon the Force to sharpen his reflexes and boost his speed. He barreled down the connecting metal catwalks, sliding around startled techs and leaping over squawking R4 units. And then they were through the hanger and into maze-like corridors of the Temple, disturbing the occasional Knight or Master in his mad dash to the Halls of Healing, and leaving scratch marks in the polished stone floors as he skidded around corners.
Master Yoda had asked for all of his speed and he would give it all, for the life of a brother Jedi could very well depend upon it.
***
Obi-Wan sat hunched over in one of the chairs in a waiting area in the Halls of Healing and struggled to remain calm. Siri sat beside him, and Mace Windu and Shaak Ti had both appeared from somewhere and been filled in by his childhood friend. It should’ve been him to brief his colleagues, but his thoughts kept reaching off to where Anakin was receiving treatment.
It had been very difficult to stay behind when the Healers had taken Anakin away to be evaluated and healed. He knew that the young man was in the best hands and that if he’d insisted on being present that he would’ve only gotten in the way. Yet that knowledge was no shield against the sick helplessness that he felt. Nor did the fact that he’d been unable to reach Anakin in any way, even after he’d pulled him from the utility pipe, do any good for his peace of mind.
That Darkness…it has to be some kind of Sith technique. Something that masks him from detection and keeps others from reaching him through the Force. But what else is it doing to him?
And how do we free him from it?
The idea that he couldn’t be saved was one that he did not allow himself to contemplate.
Beside him, he could sense Siri’s intense curiosity, and he was both surprised and grateful that she hadn’t voiced the question that was burning in her mind. He knew exactly what she wanted him to explain and he kicked himself for his slip-up. In the airspeeder and in the hanger he’d been so frantic that he had accidentally referred to Anakin by his real name instead of the alias that everyone else knew him by.
I shouldn’t have made that mistake. I’ve known him by Vader for years. It should be difficult to remember his actual name over his alias, and not the other way around…
But from the moment that Anakin had properly introduced himself just before Obi-Wan had left for Utapau, it felt perfectly natural to think of him and speak of him by his true name like he’d done it for years.
Any further contemplation on the subject halted when he spied the Chief Healer enter the waiting area from the corner of his eye. Obi-Wan straightened up in his seat to look at the Twi’lek Healer and felt a fresh stab of worry as he noted the grim expression on her blue face. With a quiet cleansing breath he stood and bowed in greeting.
“How is he, Master Che?”
“Not good,” she replied bluntly. “We cleaned him up, hooked him up to a fluid IV to deal with the dehydration, popped his shoulder back into place, took off his prosthetic arm since its power cells had burst, and applied some Bacta cream to his odd burns, but all attempts to speed his healing through the Force have met with failure. Not even using the Healing Crystals of Fire had any appreciable effect. We can barely even sense him because of some strange Dark barrier, which is probably contributing to his state of unconsciousness, and we can’t help him into a healing trance. One of the younger Healers got ahead of himself and tried to remove the Dark barrier and he still hasn’t recovered from the psychic shock that it gave him.”
“Is the young Healer all right?” Shaak Ti inquired with concern.
“He has a terrible headache but he will recover,” Vokara Che replied with a snort. Her lips thinned and her lekku quivered. “I wish I could be so certain about the patient, though. With that Dark barrier in the way I can’t get a read on if he has a head injury or not and-”
A sudden commotion coming from elsewhere in the Halls of Healing made the group of Masters stiffen in mild alarm. Obi-Wan’s breath caught in his throat as he feared that the startled shouts meant that Anakin had taken a sudden turn for the worse. But then he realized that the noise was coming from the wrong direction, and was moving towards their location rapidly.
Just as Master Che was about to storm off and find out who dared disrupt her domain and disturb her patients and staff, the Shistavanen Master, Grangg Vitz, skidded into the waiting room. As he crouched on the tile floor and panted to catch his breath, Master Yoda slid from the Wolfman’s shoulders. The tiny Jedi Master thanked the Shistavanen before hobbling over on his small cane.
“My apologies, Master Che, for the manner of my arrival,” Yoda said with a respectful bow. “But too short time was for me to walk.”
“So that gives you the right to frighten all of my patients and their physicians?” the Twi’lek demanded with a scowl directed both at the Wolfman and the Grandmaster.
“Only following my instructions, Master Vitz was,” Yoda informed her. “Master Che, if you please, of the condition of the patient inform me?”
Vokara still looked sour over Yoda’s unorthodox arrival, but again summarized Anakin’s condition and what had been done about it for him. The ancient Jedi Master listened intently to the Chief Healer’s report. He asked no questions and when she finished he took a moment to think over what he’d learned.
“Dealt with, this Darkness must be,” Master Yoda declared and turned to his fellows on the High Council. “Shaak, Mace, Obi-Wan, all of your help I will need. To the young one please take us, Master Che.”
The Twi’lek Healer sighed and gestured for the assembled Masters to follow her lead. As she led them down several corridors towards the treatment room where Anakin was being seen to, Obi-Wan felt his sense of dread finally begin to ease. Master Yoda was the wisest being that he knew, and just like on Geonosis when Dooku had been about to slay him and his apprentice, the old Master had appeared out of nowhere to help.
If any Jedi in the Order could save Anakin, it would be Yoda.
***
Siri was rather annoyed as the four Masters followed the Healer and left her behind. She was a Jedi Master as well, but because she wasn’t a part of the High Council she wasn’t invited to join them. She knew that it wasn’t meant as a snub, that whatever Master Yoda had in mind might be bogged down if too many Jedi were involved in it. But she had been present when Vader had been found and she felt involved in his case.
And she still hadn’t found an opportunity to ask Obi-Wan why he’d spoken to Vader by another name. She’d resisted the urge to question him about that while they’d waited for the Chief Healer to get back to them about Vader’s condition because she knew how distressed Obi-Wan was over his former student. Obi-Wan Kenobi was her friend and she couldn’t take advantage him without a more pressing reason than an odd name.
However, the moment that Vader was out of danger, she would find out what was going on and she wouldn’t be diverted this time.
“You have the hunter’s gaze, Master Tachi.”
Blinking, Siri turned away from the hall where the other Masters had vanished to see that Grangg Vitz had recovered his breath and was now standing upright and watching her intently.
“I’m sorry,” she furrowed her brow in question, “what was that?”
“You are seeking something,” the Shistavanen stated, scratching at the gray fur on his chin with a claw. “What is it that you are hunting?”
“Answers,” Siri replied, folding her arms into her sleeves.
“That can be a treacherous pursuit sometimes,” he warned her as he adjusted his rumpled robes. “You can get so fixated on your prey that you are led into mistakes or territory where you do not belong.”
Siri’s stormy eyes narrowed. “What are you saying?”
“Just a friendly warning,” he responded calmly. “Sometimes the quarry is not worth catching. Sometimes the hunt is best left for another day. The wise hunter keeps a clear head and does not let himself, or herself, be ruled by the chase.” The Wolfman started to pad away, but paused to say one more thing. “I understand that you were in a hurry, Master Tachi, but please try to remember to check your airspeeder back into the motor pool next time.”
“Yes, Master,” she replied stiffly.
With a bestial snort, Grangg Vitz departed the waiting area and Siri was alone.
She should sit back down and be patient while she waited for Obi-Wan and the others to finish helping Master Yoda save Vader, but she felt too agitated as Master Vitz’s unsolicited advice rattled around her skull so she started walking. She left the Halls of Healing behind and strode through the nearly deserted Temple corridors without any particular destination in mind. By the time she found her way to the entrance of the Archives her tense mood had eased and on a whim she wandered inside in search of a data terminal.
I probably won’t find anything…but let’s see what the Archives have to say about the name “Anakin”.
***
Obi-Wan did his best to get comfortable on the plastic visitor’s chair that he’d pushed up to Anakin’s bedside and gather his focus to delve deeply into the Force. Mace, Shaak, and Yoda had settled themselves in identical chairs, equally spaced around the medical cot, and were similarly preparing themselves for deep mediation. The Healers had all left to treat other patients with only Vokara Che keeping vigil outside of the treatment room in case she was needed.
Taking a deep cleansing breath, Obi-Wan closed his eyes. He pushed away his awareness of his surroundings. He pushed away his worries over his wounded friend. He pushed away all the aches and weariness that was catching up to him from his battle on Utapau. He pushed everything away until there was nothing left but the Force…
Reaching outwards, he sensed his colleagues as luminous star-like beings as they reached the same plane of awareness. Shaak Ti was a ball of blue light, humble and serene. Mace Windu appeared as a violet-colored star, powerful and stern. And Yoda was a blazing green presence, ancient and wise and much larger than the others with a clear and deep connection to the Force.
Master Yoda’s presence reached out to them all and guided them into weaving their energies together. It wasn’t a full Battle Meld where they became a single consciousness. They remained individuals, but they were bound together, supporting one another and sharing their strength. Once Yoda was satisfied with their connection, he wordlessly signaled to Obi-Wan to take the lead.
Like he’d tried several times before, Obi-Wan tapped into the translucent bond that connected him to Anakin and flowed down it, taking the other Masters with him. Again, he hit the barrier of Darkness just before he touched the border of the younger man’s mind. But instead of recoiling away from the evil presence, he drew upon the determination of his fellows and the power of the Force and began to plow through it.
It was like diving through a violent storm without the protection of a vehicle. Rage lashed at them like sheering winds. Anger pounded at them like a torrent of hailstones. Hatred flashed over them like sizzling lightning. And it was so very, very Dark…
The Darkness fought them every inch of the way. It shoved at them and tore at their connections with desperate violence. But the Force was with them and their focus held-
They burst through the layer of Darkness and Obi-Wan could finally perceive what lay on the other side.
Bluish smoke swirled in a lumpy sphere before them, and as they approached it began to clear…revealing the battered presence underneath. Instead of a vibrant living star, Obi-Wan saw a dim gray-ish glow. It looked frayed, almost shredded, and smaller than it ought to be.
Obi-Wan reached out to the wounded light-
The blue smoke washed over him, the scar where his bond with his dead Master had been pulsed, and it felt like Qui-Gon Jinn was with him once more. Had Obi-Wan not been tied to the other Masters he would’ve been torn from his trance by the force of his shock. Mace was just as startled, and Shaak was confused, but Yoda was unperturbed. The ancient Grandmaster shared his serenity with them and urged them on to complete their task.
Hurry, Padawan, there isn’t much time left.
The voice sounded just like his old Master’s and he responded out of reflex, dazedly reaching out once more to Anakin. He made contact…and was nearly overwhelmed by the younger man’s confused exhaustion. Without hesitation he fed his own strength into the frail, fading presence, trying to rejuvenate it. But there was little response to his efforts.
Hold on, Anakin, he implored, pushing aside his confusion over the mysterious misty presence that felt so much like his lost Master to regain his focus. We’ve come to help.
Mace, Shaak, and Yoda joined him in trying to revive his former apprentice. But the Darkness did not sit idly by as they worked. It had recovered from being pierced by them and now lashed our fiercely, striving to tear the Jedi Masters away from the battered Knight.
Lord Vader is mine! He was always mine. You cannot save him from me.
He was never yours, the voice of Qui-Gon Jinn asserted calmly.
Mace and Shaak focused on fending off the Darkness’s assaults while Yoda helped Obi-Wan prepare Anakin for what had to be done.
Tired you are, but open yourself to the Force you must, Yoda urged. Upon the Light you must call to banish this Darkness. Channel the Light and like a sun you will become.
We will do it together, Obi-Wan promised.
There wasn’t any response to their words until a faint, weary voice whispered.
…okay.
Obi-Wan was deeply relieved at the answer, and moved on to the final part of Master Yoda’s plan. Doing his best to make his actions clear so that Anakin could try and imitate him, he ran though the ancient alien’s instructions for the technique that had been described to him. Reaching out to the Force, he tapped into the Light and struggled to radiate it from himself in all directions. Ideally he would’ve practiced the technique at least once beforehand, if not several times, before attempting it in a real situation, but there simply hadn’t been time for that.
Thankfully banishing this Darkness did not rest upon his shoulders alone.
Sensing that he’d started, Shaak did the same and added her Light to his. Then, after giving the encroaching Darkness a final shove, Mace followed suit. Finally Yoda himself added his own strength, and since he was far older and more experienced than all of them combined, his Light far outshone theirs in both intensity and reach.
The pure Light energy that the four of them radiated made the Darkness recoil with an almost animalistic snarl. It retreated, no longer englobing Anakin, and its malignant tainting of the nearby Force eased. But their combined Light only went so far and when the Darkness reached the very edge of their power it stopped fleeing to linger there, oozing malice.
Be gone, Master Yoda commanded. The young one you cannot have. Accept your death and disperse.
You think you’ve won, don’t you… Foolish Jedi. There is no winning against the darkness. It has always existed and it always will exist. Darkness is endless and immortal. You might drive me off today, but it won’t be forever. One day I will return and claim all that is mine, for I am the Darkness and I am eternal!
Anakin’s weak presence began to gather Light to join the Masters and force the malevolent Darkness further away. His glow built slowly and flickered like a struggling candle flame. It didn’t add much to the efforts of the Masters, but every little bit helped. And considering his terrible condition, any amount of success on his part was an impressive achievement.
Nothing is eternal except the Force, the impossibly Qui-Gon-like presence stated. You are merely a spirit, and one day you will end as all things do.
How little you know. I am not limited by your narrow dogmatic views, Jedi. The Force is a tool to be used, a weapon to be wielded; not some deity to blindly follow. I will not fade away. I will endure to see the Jedi Order burn and the Sith reclaim their rightful place as rulers of the galaxy! It is inevitable…
I have foreseen it.
What the evil spirit was saying was utter madness, yet it spoke almost calmly and with absolute confidence. Its voice was a gravelly croak, menacing and dark, and yet somehow persuasive. The Darkness was not a raving lunatic, it was cold and calculating and there was no doubt that it meant what it said.
Obi-Wan struggled to maintain the Force Light technique and not let the Darkness’s words shake him. He wished that Master Yoda had instructed them in the Wall of Light technique instead, since it sealed darkness away instead of simply driving it off. But not only was the Wall of Light far more complicated and required mastering the Force Light first, it was also dangerous and difficult to control. Even if they'd been capable of using the Wall of Light here they might damage part of the Temple or worse-
Shut up…
The stuttering build-up of Anakin’s Light suddenly spiked. He went from roughly equal to Obi-Wan’s output, to blazing past Mace’s, and then Shaak Ti’s. Flickering and flashing, he pulled almost even with Master Yoda, greatly increasing their combined Light and forcing the Darkness to retreat further with a startled howl.
…And go AWAY!
It was like looking at a star going nova. A roaring windstorm of Light exploded outwards and crashed into the Darkness, blasting it away in the blink of an eye. The brilliant Light was uncontrolled, though, and it buffeted the Jedi as well and nearly tore them apart. Just as Obi-Wan felt his grip on the other Masters’ presences fail the mysterious blue mist that felt so much like Qui-Gon swirled around him and shielded him from the blast.
And then the storm was past, leaving only a vista of blinding white Light…