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The rock slip itself was not unexpected.
Historic over-mining had caused severe tectonic instability in the Bacrana mountain region, making geological events like this more frequent.
That was actually why Master Jinn and Obi Wan had been assigned to the planet in the first place.
The government had begun an official evacuation of the region years ago, but as it scaled up there had been an increase in opposition. Despite the lack of any mandate to leave a segment of the society didn’t only want to stay in their historic homes themselves, they wanted to prevent anyone else from leaving.
Their actions had been escalating, what had started as just prank protests had turned into active sabotage, initially just stopping the ships leaving before hitting the point where there was significant loss of life. The incident that had seen the government turn to the Republic for help had seen the bombing of a transport ship full of refugees with the loss of every life involved.
Obi Wan and his Master had been assigned to oversee the completion of the project and to try and prevent any further loss of life.
It had been quiet since they arrived.
From the chatter that Obi-Wan had overheard in their cursory investigations, the remain movement had split over the bombing, the moderate faction outraged over the loss of life while the smaller radicals demanding a further increase in their activity.
Which had resulted in a mission that had proven very quiet.
Until now.
The embarkment point was located in a canyon that had been extensively surveyed for its security before the commencement of the evacuation. It was one of the safest places on the planet geologically which was why so many people were travelling through it. There were hundreds of people walking through the canyon towards the ships, towards a new life when an ominous rumbling started above them.
Obi Wan jerked his head up. There were several plumes of smoke emerging on both sides of the canyon, telltale signs of bombs. The cliff walls above them began to sag ominously. Screams broke out in the canyon and people began to run.
Obi Wan glanced over towards his Master. He was stood at the other end of the canyon, focused on directing the people forward.
“Master, the rocks?” Obi Wan spoke into his comm.
“Stay calm Padawan, trust in the force.”
He rolled his eyes. He might understand his Master better now than when they first started their apprenticeship, but would it really kill Qui-Gon to give more clear instructions. Especially in a situation like this.
Obi Wan jumped down from the rock he had been standing on, trying to get a better view of the cliffs. They looked unstable. Very unstable.
It was only the stragglers going past him now, the sounds of the bombs speeding people up. They were streaming past his master, towards the ships.
Obi Wan let out a breath.
Before a roaring sound filled the canyon. He looked back up. The cliff walls were moving shuddering down in front of him. The crowd erupted into outright panic.
They scrambled forward. In the chaos, they were going more slowly rather than speeding up. They weren’t going to make it. Gravity was far quicker and the citizens were right in the path of the fall. He had to do something.
Obi Wan closed his eyes, reaching out into the force. The warmth touched his mind, soothing him, giving him power.
He reached out and pushed.
The people flew forwards, past his mater and into the clearing at the far end. Qui-Gon looked up at him. His master reached out a hand.
And the first rock hit the floor.
Obi Wan was blasted backwards, flipping over onto his back. He couldn’t hear anything, he couldn’t see anything. The whole world had just become the rockfall.
The air pressure kept him pressed flat to the floor.
He was pelted with debris. He forced an arm up, throwing it over his face in an attempt to protect his eyes.
He was struggling to breathe, all the air in the canyon being forced out by the continued hammering of the rocks.
A ragged pain tore down Obi Wans side. He let out a pained moan, immediately regretting it as his mouth filled with dust. He didn’t know how long this could last.
The rumbling stopped.
Where there had been unbearable noise there was now deep, unnatural silence.
Obi Wan took several deep breaths, trying to get his heart rate to calm.
He opened his eyes.
There was an eery, brown colour to the air. It was filled with dust, the light filtering through hazily.
He surveyed his surroundings, before breathing a sigh of relief.
He wasn’t buried. The canyon still stood largely intact, large boulders surrounded him but he could move, he could even stand if he was able to. He was open to the sky.
There was however a new wall in front of him. The path had been blocked, the boulders severing the route between the two cliffs. It was twenty, maybe thirty feet high. He could climb that he thought. It would be difficult but-
He tried to sit up and pain shot down his side.
He brought a hand to it and winced. It came away red.
His Comm began to buzz.
He winced as he raised it to his mouth.
“Kenobi” he croaked. The dust had dried out his mouth, he was in desperate need of a drink.
“Padawan” breathed Qui-Gon, the relief clear in his tone. “You are ok.”
“To an extent.” Obi Wan said, groaning as he pulled himself up into a seated position.
“What is the matter, Obi Wan.”
“I’ve got a bit of a scratch.” Obi Wan glanced down, paling as he saw the extent of the cut on his torso.”
“Quite a big scratch actually.”
“I cannot see any way through Padawan. How bad is it.” Qui-Gon paused. “Truly Padawan, I know how you tend to underplay your own health.”
“Its… not the best.”
Qui-Gon drew a sharp breath. “I will see that the Bacranans send a Med team around to the other side. Stay there Padawan. We’ll track your comm.”
“Yes, Master.”
Obi Wan closed his eyes. He took several breaths before looking down again, trying to examine the damage.
Calling it a scratch was an under-exaggeration. The cut looked ugly, it was jagged covering most of the length of his torso. Whatever had caused it had sliced straight through his robes. The cut was still bleeding.
Obi Wan could hear the sounds of chaos on the other side of the blockage now. He could hear shouting, the scrabbling sounds of people moving over the rocks.
His comm crackled back into life.
“Padawan!”
“Master”
Qui-Gon sounded dejected. “There aren’t any spare teams on this side Padawan, they are sending reinforcements from the capital but with the canyon blocked it is going to take a few hours.”
Obi Wan looked down at his injury. The bleeding did not appear to be slowing.
“But Master I-“
“It's the quickest they can get to you, Obi Wan. There are already casualties over here. I’ve looked, there's no one they can send on this side.”
He closed his eyes, attempting to fight down the wave of nausea that threatened to overwhelm him.
“Padawan!”
Obi Wan jerked, reopening his eyes. He had been drifting. He had to force himself to stay awake.
“Padawan! Will you be ok?”
Obi Wan gritted his teeth before answering. “Of course Master. Help the civilians. I’ll be fine.”
He could feel his Master’s trepidation through the force.
Qui-Gon sighed. “Be safe Padawan.”
The comm crackled off.
Obi Wan tried to move himself into a more comfortable position. It was impossible. Every movement seemed to aggravate his wound. There was no way for him to get comfortable.
He looked down at it again. It was bleeding even more heavily, very clearly getting worse.
A few hours his Master had said.
The flow of blood was getting stronger.
He was already getting light-headed. If he couldn’t stem the flow it wouldn’t matter how long the med team would take. He would be dead long before it got there.
He had to stop the bleeding. He had to somehow seal the wound.
He felt along his belt, looking for the emergency med-pack. Some Bacta patches wouldn't be able to heal the wound, but maybe they’d be able to do enough to keep him going. At least until the proper medics got here.
He found the pack and felt inside for any of the packs. His hands came back sticky. He felt his stomach clench. The packets had burst.
The pressure of the rockfall had clearly been too much for the emergence patches. He scooped as much of the gel as possible and tried to apply it to the cut. It spread very thinly over the wound. He sat back, waiting for it to start to act. He didn’t have much hope. The bacta had already been exposed to the air. Even if it was still working at all, he doubted there was enough to close it altogether.
The world began to swim around him.
The Bacta wasn’t working.
He had to come up with something. He knew he’d lose his ability to think rationally about the situation soon. He was already losing his grip on his sight.
He closed his eyes, trying to centre himself in the force. He only needed clarity for a little bit longer.
When he opened his eyes it seemed more steady.
He reached back for his belt, There was nothing else of use in the med-pack. Obi Wan despaired, hunting desperately for something, anything that could stop the bleeding.
His hand brushed his lightsaber
He paused. It would be extreme. But it wasn’t like Obi Wan was blessed with options. He pulled the hilt out, lowering the settings.
It ignited, the canyon glowing blue.
Obi Wan could feel the heat emanating from the blade.
Oh, Obi Wan thought, this is not going to be fun.
He grabbed some of his torn robe and bit down on it.
He positioned the blade, angling it so it was parallel to the wound.
And lowered it onto his skin.