Survival: A Star Wars The Clone Wars Story

Chapter 19

"That nasty over-sized droid doesn't know when to quit." Said Anakin, leaning forward over the controls. "Everyone, hold on!"

Obi-Wan barely had time to react before he found himself hurled forward into the pilots' chairs as the ship took a hit to the rear deflector shields.

"Divert power to the engines and ion cannons!" Anakin shouted, yanking on the control yoke, drawing them up into a sweeping vertical arc.

"On it, Sir." Said Rex, without so much as a protestation.

"But master, what about the deflectors?" Ahsoka shouted back, staring at him in disbelief. Obi-Wan was inclined to agree, steadying himself in the doorframe to the cabin as the ship took another hit. What exactly would Anakin's lunatic scheme be this time? He hoped the others in the back wouldn't be too shaken up as their escape attempt once again took a rather perilous turn.

"We won't be needing those." Was Anakin's only reply.

The ship tore through the abyss, as Anakin rounded another asteroid. Obi-Wan clung to the doorframe, reminded for the millionth time of why he hated flying, even when his naturally-talented padawan was piloting – no – especially when Anakin was piloting. However, for all Anakin's fancy twists and turns, he knew there was no way their pathetic Neomoidian shuttle could outrun Grievous' personal ship and get clear of the asteroid field to jump to hyperspace. The blaster bolts from behind were skirting closer and closer and Ahsoka's returning fire was doing little to deter their pursuer.

"Sir, we've got incoming torpedoes." Said Rex.

"Perfect, this is our chance." Anakin smiled.

Perfect? Obi-Wan stared bewildered at his padawan. Our chance to what, die? He thought, sensing Grievous, and now the projectiles drawing ever closer.

Anakin burned them around a particularly large asteroid, Grievous still hot on their tail. Just as Obi-Wan was sure the torpedoes would collide and they would all explode in a ball of fire, Anakin swerved the ship around hard, hurtling them right back in the opposite direction, towards Grievous. The torpedoes were slow to respond, but they hadn't shaken them off. It was then that Obi-Wan realised that Anakin wasn't trying to.

On the horizon of the great boulder, Grievous' ship emerged, and Anakin worked the shuttles engines harder. The droid general seemed surprised at Anakin's bold strategy, his ship slowing in what was now a sure collision course.

But Grievous' response was not fast enough. Anakin skimmed the shuttle past the Soulless One, close enough to reach out and touch. Grievous was therefore in no position to prevent one of the torpedoes making a direct hit on his left engine, sending him on a spiralling crash course for the asteroid below. Obi-Wan hadn't the faintest idea what had happened to the second projectile, but now he would never know as Anakin abruptly jerked them out of the asteroids orbit and away from the field of debris. His mind had barely caught up to the situation as Anakin fired up the nav computer, plunging them into the relative safety of hyperspace.

It was over. They were free from the clutches of the Separatists for a moment longer. The merest second to catch their breath, and then Grievous would be hunting them again. Despite the seemingly disastrous state of the Soulless One as it careened towards the asteroid, Obi-Wan was sure that would not be the last they saw of that loathsome over-sized droid. He knew better than to think that crash-landing on an isolated asteroid would be enough to put an end to that menace to the galaxy. What he did know from the feeling that constantly burned in the back of his mind, was that one day there would be a final confrontation, an end game. Today, however, was not that day.

With that, Obi-Wan finally allowed the feeling of quiet peace to settle over his consciousness once more, however brief it would be. They were in hyperspace, and whilst they made their journey to Felucia, there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.