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The sound of blaster fire began to fade off in the distance. It had been a long fight, but it was finally coming to an end. Cody had taken a special team to take out the droid’s command center, and his success had turned the tide of the battle. Without orders, the droids were easy to finish off, and a few isolated pockets were all that remained of their army. Obi-Wan tuned out the reports from the other divisions, who were all apparently finished, and focused on the battle directly in front of him. They were mopping up the last of the resistance without him, and he jumped down the hill to join the fight.
The first indication that something was wrong was a distant whistling, which rapidly grew louder. “Incoming.” Someone shouted, and everyone scrambled for cover. Reaching out with the Force, Obi-Wan grabbed hold of the two clones closest to the impact site, and yanked them out of the way. He was so focused on getting them clear that he neglected to take cover himself, and the blast knocked him off his feet into the cliffside behind him. Blinding pain tore through his body, and he passed out.
He regained consciousness almost immediately, the echoes of the explosion still ringing off the rocks. A quick inventory revealed that his left ankle was badly sprained, if not broken, and his right arm was definitely broken, the bone visibly crooked. Everything in him wanted to curl up in his bunk, and not move for the next few days. But there was still work to be done, so he turned to the wall, and braced his injured hand against it. Gritting his teeth, he forced the bone back into place. He used the Force to stabilize both his arm and ankle. It wouldn’t do much for the pain, unfortunately, but it would at least prevent him from worsening the injury until he could rest.
Looking around to ensure his squad had all survived the blast, he commed Cody. “What’s our status, Commander?” He had to fight to keep the pain out of his voice.
If Cody noticed anything, he didn’t point it out. “We’re all clear over here. If you’ve finished your section, that should be the last of it. General Skywalker and Commander Tano are on their way to your position, but they’re still a couple of hours out. Most of the wounded are already at the medical tents, but we’re still working on that. What’s your status?”
“We just cleared the last of them.” Obi-Wan took a step as he spoke, starting back up the hill to the medical tents, but had to pause for a moment as pain spiked up his leg. He breathed heavily through it, pushing the pain down and forcing himself to continue.
“General?”
“I’m fine, Cody. Just a little distracted. We have a few injured, but nothing life-threatening. They’ll live. We’re working on getting them to medical right now. I’ll meet you there.”
“Understood.”
Getting the injured to medical was more difficult than expected. The explosion had created a large crater and debris field, and they were unable to get stretchers in to help move those unable to walk. Obi-Wan had to use the Force to lift them clear, which forced him to release his hold on his leg and wrist. He couldn’t focus on both, and he wouldn’t risk dropping his injured men. Getting them up wasn’t too hard, although he struggled to focus over the pain, but when he had to move them was when the real challenge came. The debris field was too large for him to lift them over the whole thing without following them. He nearly screamed from the pain at the first step, but bit his tongue and kept working. His men needed his help.
He was sweating profusely by the time he finished getting the last man clear. A furtive glance around assured him that Cody had not arrived yet. As much as he enjoyed working with his commander, he was dreading his arrival, because he knew Cody would lecture him on neglecting his own health. A few deep breaths, and a quick drink of water, and he ducked into the medical tents to help. Even if the battle hadn’t been especially deadly, there were still many injuries to care for, and the medics were always overworked. A childhood spent in a war zone had taught him quite a lot of battlefield skills, and he moved among his men, helping to set and wrap broken bones, bandage wounds, and hold the hands of those too far gone for help.
It was hard work on a good day. Being surrounded by that much pain always threatened to overwhelm him, and he had to focus on releasing the emotions before they could build up too high. Exhausted from battle and already dealing with the pain of his own wounds, he internalized far more of it than he would normally allow himself to, all without realizing it. His ankle throbbed with every step he took, tension building in his neck. His wrist ached, and his head throbbed. And he pushed on. He would not let himself rest until his men were cared for, no matter how long that took.
He knew Cody was back, had felt his Force signature drawing closer even through the haze of pain. A small part of his mind kept searching for Anakin and Ahsoka. He knew they were fine, but it always helped when he could feel them near. He knew they weren’t due to be back for a while yet, but he wanted to be aware when they arrived.
He was so busy working, and so buried under the pain that he didn’t notice Anakin’s arrival until he burst into the tent, Cody hot on his heels. “Master, what’s wrong with you?”
Cody and Anakin both looked panicked. “I’m fine.” He replied, a vain attempt to calm them both.
“You are not!” Anakin argued back hotly. “I could feel your pain for miles away. You’re injured, and you’re refusing to take care of yourself. Healing isn’t safe for you right now. You need to rest and mediate. You’ve absorbed far too much, and if you don’t release it soon, it will be too late.”
Cody took his arm and pulled it over his shoulders, taking some of the weight off his injured ankle. “You can rest now, General. We’ve got this.”
Their presence settled over him like a blanket and he let himself fall into it. They could handle this. He wasn’t alone. He could rest. He sagged into Cody’s arms, and allowed himself, finally, to rest.