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“Cody, take over! I’m going after Grievous!”, I shout over my shoulder as I jump on the speeder. The battle itself is won, the enemy already retreating, but I could not allow General Grievous to get away yet again.
Not even waiting for a reply I race away, knowing that Cody has everything under control in my absence.
Grievous is already a good 200m ahead of me and I push the little bike to its absolute limit in my breakneck pursuit.
The ground becomes more and more uneven as we race away from the battlefield and into wooded hills, but I am finally starting to catch up with him. Despite the fast setting sun I can see mountains in the distance and jagged cliffs rising around us. The path is dotted with bushes, jutting rocks and the occasional tree. There is a wild beauty to this planet, yet it somehow feels cold and liveless.
I unclip my lightsabre as I get closer to Grievous. To my dismay he must have noticed me and does the same.
“Kenobi, still don’t have enough?” I can barely hear the taunt over the noise of the wind. Instead of replying I pull level with Grievous’ speeder and swing my sabre in an attempt to disarm my opponent. Literally. He has too many of those anyway. He manages to block my attack and we end up wrestling inelegantly, trying not to crash our speeders while also trying not to lose a limb to the other.
Our surroundings become even more gloomy as the sun has now fully set, the full moon taking over, basking everything in a pale white light. I barely have time to admire the raw beauty, as the path winds through a canyon, growing narrow every so often before widening again.
At a particularly uneven and narrow bit, Grievous manages to push me off and I veer dangerously close to the cliff wall. Bringing the bike back under control I pick up the speed again undeterred.
It doesn’t take long for me to get level with my opponent again and I decide it’s time to change tactics. With a decisive pull on the handlebars I barrel into Grievous’ speeder. I hear a cough of surprise before he angrily counters my assault, pushing back into my own speeder, before the machines move apart. He seems to catch on quickly as this time his speeder crashes into mine before I can make my move. The bikes rub against each other at breakneck speed, metal screaming, but neither of us wants to give an inch.
Around us the menacing canyon walls fly by. As the ground grows even more rough, I have to divert my attention away from Grievous in order to avoid large rocks and sinkholes. To my relief he seems to be fighting the same problem as both our attacks grow infrequent.
Up ahead I can see a particularly nasty bit of dented dirt road and I decide it’s now or never. I steer my speeder into his for another offense, hoping to topple Grievous and send him flying off of his speeder. He must have had the same idea, as he suddenly veers sharply to the left side and rams me hard. Our bikes clash a lot more violently than I expected and the force of the impact sends my lightsabre flying out of my hand.
Not able to maintain my own direction I decide to push away from Grievous before I would join my sabre in the dirt.
About 300m ahead I can see that the path is about to clear the valley.
To my right is Grievous. On his side the seemingly sky high wall of the valley continues.
On my side however the wall falls away and there is nothing but a steep drop into an abyss the depth of which I don’t care to find out.
I decide that I most certainly don’t like where this is going.
Oh, this could go very badly for me.
For a moment I am too focused on the impending change in scenery and I barely react in time to the path narrowing quite rapidly. Of course Grievous notices and uses my momentary lapse in attention to catch me off guard. He slams into my speeder again and again, trying to push me over the edge of the canyon and I can barely hold the bike steady.
“Take this!” I hear him rasp, followed by something that is half laugh and half cough.
Kriff!
I just about manage to not drive myself off the cliff, but have to slow down significantly. The path is growing too slender and Grievous will certainly continue his assault in an effort to send me flying over the edge.
I see a large ship in the distance and I curse under my breath as I watch him race ahead.
He’ll get away again.
But I won’t give up. Not yet. I may be without a lightsabre, but who knows what opportunities might present themselves once this ridiculous chase is over.
Suddenly I see movement. Are those droids?
“Stop him!” Grievous shouts angrily as he speeds past some battle droids. These ones seem to be a bit more on their toes as one of them quickly steps forward and throws a small object in my direction. I recognise it as a grenade too late.
For a moment I think I am fast enough to pass it, hoping it will just harmlessly explode somewhere behind me. I have no such luck.
I have almost cleared it, when a deafening boom reverberates throughout the canyon and the back of my speeder lifts up into the air, catapulting me off of it headfirst like I’m an acrobat in a holovid. Unlike said artists I do not possess the grace and elegance to perform such stunts and as such I am thoroughly unprepared as I sail through the air, arms flailing wildly.
I distinctly notice the path that I was travelling on only moments before disappearing from my view, instead seeing rocky outcrops coming closer at an alarming speed. Out of the corner of my eye I see what is left of the flaming speeder shoot past me like a meteor, but I am too focused on my own trajectory to see where it landed.
There is no time for me to do anything other than mentally prepare for the no doubt most painful, if not deadly, impact I am about to experience.
I close my eyes instinctively, as I slam torso first into a large boulder. The wind is knocked out of me, pain explodes in my chest and stomach and my vision goes white. I feel myself bouncing off of the outcrop, my body twisting and rolling as I desperately try to scramble for purchase on the slippery rock.
My arms catch on the ledge but I have too much velocity still and too little strength to hold on. I feel myself falling away from the rock, gravity pulling at me mercilessly and there’s nothing I can do to stop this involuntary descent. This time I am sure I will fall into the abyss and to my certain death. Not exactly how I wanted to go.
For a moment I am weightless, falling, falling … then my body makes contact again. I cry out as my back and side collide with something hard and the impact sends me spinning violently. I roll and bounce forever and when I finally slide to a stop, coming to rest half on my side, I am completely disoriented.
A groan tears from my throat as I try to locate myself and all my limbs to take an internal inventory.
I blink slowly, taking shallow breaths. Everything is silent around me. I cannot believe I’m still alive. I must have fallen onto a larger outcrop. For a long moment I just lie there unmoving, trying to get my bearings, trying to form coherent thoughts.
What now?
Ah yes. I should contact Cody. He will know what to do. And maybe I can make my way back up to the path.
Gingerly I move my limbs in an attempt to push myself up, but instead I fall from consciousness.
The first sense to return is hearing. There’s a roaring in my ear. No … a wheezing? Where am I?
My sense of feeling follows not far behind. Cold wind is blowing through my hair, tugging at my tabards and trousers. I slowly start to feel my body, but there‘s a strange numbness clouding my bodily perception. I‘m lying on something cold and hard.
Everything is still attached I think. I carefully move my fingers, making a fist, then the arm, then the other hand and arm. That feels fine.
Gingerly I attempt to pull my knees up and pain explodes through me and I can’t keep from crying out at the surprise onslaught.
Force, what happened?
The agony is quickly overwhelming me and I’m sure someone is ramming knives into my chest whenever I breathe. There’s a strange, dull and unrelenting pain in my abdomen, the origin of which I can‘t quite put my finger on.
I‘m sure that I am alone wherever I am and I let out a choked sob.
Grievous!
With a jolt I remember the pursuit, the speeder crash. Getting slammed into the rocks.
I let out an involuntary whimper. Something wet is on my cheeks. I feel truly pathetic.
Then I notice another sense returning. A metallic smell assaults me and I wrinkle my nose as I know this scent all too well. Too many times have I smelled it, in recent years more regularly than ever. Blood. And there was another distinct smell. Charred. Something is burning?
I hear myself groan miserably again.
Sight. I need sight. I do my best to shove the agony aside and focus on forcing my eyes open. My eyelids flutter a few times and then open, but to my dismay I can only see blurry outlines. My eyes are so heavy, for a moment I contemplate to just go back to sleep.
Instead I grit my teeth, pull myself together and blink a few more times. Slowly the picture in front of me comes into focus. To my great disappointment I only see dirt and the rocky cliff wall, illuminated by pale moonlight.
I don’t really know what I expected. Maybe Cody? A medic? Force, how I wish to be in the medbay right now. Hopped up on the good drugs. If Anakin could hear me right now, he would not believe it. Or maybe he would and then he would worry himself into a state. I sigh.
For the next step in my pursuit of getting my bearings back I try to lift my buzzing head, but it feels five times its usual size and this small movement alone makes the pain spike and everything go blurry again. I give this line of pursuit up and let my head sink back down onto my right arm.
Slowly the world comes into focus again and instead of trying to lift my head again I decide to pull my left arm closer to my face. I have to call for help. Cody. I hope the com is still … My eyes focus on the small piece of technology and I see the crack running all the way through it, neatly splitting it down the middle. Still hopeful I tap it, but nothing happens. It’s broken. Wonderful.
Defeated I close my eyes and decide to just lie still for the time being. Maybe this would also help against the growing nausea that decided to join the awful pain spreading through my torso.
Then my body involuntarily heaves and I vomit up mouthfuls of dark liquid. Distantly I realise that the last sense has returned to me, although I really could have done without the taste of bitter bile and blood in my mouth. The forced movement makes the pain spike to intolerable levels and as I choke and gasp, darkness claims me once more.
Coming around again, I have all my senses together from the start. I probably wasn’t unconscious for long as the moon had barely changed positions and was still shining brightly, not a cloud in the sky. Disconcerted I realise I am still alone and I begin to wonder if anyone is even looking for me.
Maybe they are too busy with the wounded? Or just waiting for me to return? How long till Cody will send someone? How long can I hold on?
I know my injuries are serious. I can smell the blood even stronger now and register that is because my arm and half my face are lying in a pool of it.
I remember vomiting and let out a sound of disgust at the realisation that I am lying in a pool of my own sick and blood. Pain be damned, I need to move. This just won’t do.
Gritting my teeth I fight to control the pain. The Force is still present but its aid eludes me as my body is too focused on pouring all its remaining energy into keeping me alive. I gingerly pull my limbs underneath me and to my surprise the pain does not feel as bad as when I was last conscious. A small alarm bell is going off in the back of my mind. I know reduced pain with injuries as severe as mine is a bad sign, but I push that thought to the side, instead focusing on moving. Maybe I could even make it back up to the path.
Ever so slowly I pull my legs under me, kneeling in the dirt for a moment. Breathing feels a little easier now that I am upright, but my eyesight is rather blurry. Undeterred I bring my left foot under my body and push up … and immediately stumble sideways, equilibrium completely deserting me.
Spots dance in front of my eyes as I desperately try to catch my balance, to just stand still for a moment, but I am utterly disoriented. My arms flail and I grasp at air, there is nothing for me to hold on to and then my foot catches on something and I crash back to the ground.
The bone jarring impact makes sharp agony explode in my chest and stomach and I can’t breathe. I hear shouting in the distance and the last thing I see before I succumb to unconsciousness again is shadows sailing effortlessly down the cliff, white armour shining brightly in the moonlight.
I re-join the here and now to voices floating all around me. Finally I’m no longer alone. Help is here. Wait. Is it help?
With a slight jolt of panic I think that it could be battle droids. Or Grievous coming to finish the job.
I try to open my eyes, but they just won’t. I feel something obstructing my face and I lift an arm to push the offending object away.
The voices sound more agitated and someone is holding onto my forearm, preventing me from touching my face. I feel the warmth of another person’s hand on my skin and all worries about battle droids are forgotten.
“General, you need to stay still.” This voice sounds much closer to my ear.
I lift my other arm to try and remove the object on my face again, it’s so irritating. Someone pushes my arm down.
“No, Sir. Leave the oxygen mask be.”
Ah, an oxygen mask. Why didn’t I think of that?
“Waxer? Boil?” I ask still only half conscious. As soon as I said it, I realise it’s remnants of another crash mixing with what had happened this time. It’s too cold for Geonosis anyway.
“No, Sir. It’s Lig. Can you open your eyes for me?”
Ah yes. Lig, one of the 212th medics. I wonder if Deadeye, Botch and Gut are here as well. Maybe Cody? I try to figure out how many voices there are, but to my dismay they sound too alike in my current state. Normally I can easily tell them apart.
“Sir?” Lig is shaking my shoulders insistently. Ah yes, I didn’t answer him.
I hum beneath the mask and put all my energy into forcing my eyelids apart.
Lig’s face slowly swims into focus above me and I notice I am lying on my back.
“There you go, Sir. Can you tell me what hurts?”
They must not be here long if they haven’t had the chance to assess my injuries.
“Chest … stomach.” I wheeze. Speaking of which I feel cool wind against my exposed skin and I shiver. On second thought maybe they have had time to assess me and Lig is just trying to keep me awake. I always knew the man had a cruel streak.
Morbid curiosity strikes and I realise then I haven’t really had a chance to look at myself. I want to see what my torso looks like.
Are there bones sticking out? Is the skin all cut up? It certainly feels like that and then some. I crane my wobbly neck trying to get a glimpse of myself.
To my disappointment all I see is medics leaning over me, obstructing the view of myself. I am too out of it to even be able to identify my rescuers. Then Lig is pushing my shoulders back onto the floor, saying something that I don’t quite catch.
I regret my half hearted attempt at sitting up when it only brings me misery. I groan as nausea rises again and I close my eyes tightly trying to suppress my audible weakness.
Hushed voices are floating around me again and I really want to know who else is here, but I feel that if I open my eyes again I will throw up instantly. Instead I try to take even breaths through my mouth to control the queasiness.
“Sir? Stay with me now. Tell me what happened.” Lig commands. Yep, no doubt he’s trying to keep me awake.
I meant to answer him, but instead the sickness overwhelms me, swallowing me whole like a tidal wave and I desperately pull my arm out of his grip and tear the oxygen mask from my face.
Hands are on me, rolling me and I shout as pain spears through my chest, before my stomach convulses and I vomit all over the ground and somebody’s leg armour. Normally I would feel a stab of shame, but I am too preoccupied trying to suck in a decent breath between the heaving and agony overwhelming my body. Then there’s more shouting and a wave of excruciating pain drags me under.
From then on I can only grasp fragments of my surroundings. As I hover somewhere just beneath consciousness I hear voices talking above me, sounds around me, but I can’t make out anything clearly. Everything sounds like I’m under water.
I feel my body moving, I am floating on something and I’m warm. My vision never quite clears enough for me to recognise anyone or anything, but I know I am in good hands. Lig and the others are taking care of me. I wonder if I am already on board the Negotiator. That halfway coherent thought was enough to drain my last reserves. I am surprisingly comfortable, so I allow myself to drift off.
I don’t remember how many times I’ve woken up today. Most of those times I was in an awful lot of pain and feeling absolutely miserable. But this time I feel relief. The pain is barely there and I am warm and lying on something soft. I wonder what Lig gave me. Peeling my eyes open I realise I am in the medbay on board the Negotiator.
“Hey Sir. How are you feeling?” a voice to my right surprises me.
“Cody.” I rasp, startled by the roughness of my own voice. I clear my throat before answering his question. “I feel a lot better than when I was last awake.”
“I can imagine. You gave us quite the scare, General.”
“Ah, so you were there with Lig? How did you find me?”
“Well, when I didn’t hear from you for over an hour and couldn’t com you either, I left Gregor in charge and told Lig to get the team ready for SAR. It was the fire from the speeder wreck that eventually led us to you. Set the whole tree alight by the time we found you.”
“How long was I out?”
“It’s only been 7 hours since we’d found you, Sir. You’ve been in and out on your way to the Negotiator. Then you’ve had emergency surgery. There was a lot of internal bleeding. Not to mention the serial rib fractures. We’re on our way back to Coruscant as we speak for bacta treatment. Lig or one of the others will be able to give you a more detailed rapport of your injuries.”
Must be the really good drugs then.
I nod slowly, allowing the events of today to sink in. Then another memory strikes and with a gasp I make to sit up only for pain to lance through me.
My lightsabre!
“General!” Cody is by my side instantly, gently guiding me back down onto the soft mattress.
I slam my eyes shut and groan miserably as I ride out the waves of pain.
Yep, that was really stupid.
Cody’s voice breaks through the rushing in my ears. “Sir? Hang on, I called Gut.”
“My lightsabre ... lost it.” to my own horror and embarrassment I realise how whiny I sound and I wonder if the pain and major surgery might count as an excuse.
Then I feel Cody opening my palm and placing something cold and heavy in it. Could it be?
Cracking my eyes open carefully I am overjoyed to see that it really is my lightsabre.
There’s a warm hand on my shoulder. “I found it while we were looking for you. I knew we were on the right path then.”
I smile weakly. Then another thought strikes.
“Don’t tell Anakin.” I whisper and Cody barks out a laugh.
Then the door opens and someone strides in, I assume it’s Gut. I can hear Cody and him talk in hushed voices, but I can’t make out what they’re saying. Gut strides over to my bed and pushes something into my IV.
It doesn’t matter. I have my lightsabre back.
I can rest, knowing what I've actually known for a long time: I can always count on Cody.