Deep Avalanches

8

Ahsoka and Anakin were wading through the thickened snow that reached their waists. It was colder than when they first arrived on Hays Minor. That's what you'd expect from an ice planet anyway, right? Trailing behind the master and apprentice was a small sector of 501st clones, led by Rex, all in thicker snow gear than when they first arrived. They had been searching for a gunship that reportedly crashed approximately a week and a half ago. The snow was blowing in all directions, increasing difficulty in the field of vision. Ahsoka looked around the snowy horizon when her eyes landed on something suspiciously sticking out from the snow: A large, charred door. She yelled to get everyone's attention,

"HEY! LOOK OVER HERE!"
"WHAT IS IT, AHSOKA?" Anakin yelled back.
"THERE"S A DOOR OVER THERE!"
"WHY WOULD THERE BE A DOOR IN THE SNOW?" Rex yelled at the two Jedi.
"I DON'T KNOW? LET'S CHECK IT OUT!" Ahsoka yelled back at Rex.

The search team moved through the powdery blanket until they reached the door in the snow. It was blackened and smoked like it had been involved in a fire. The team searched around the area till something caught Rex's eye. He knelt down and he used his hand to brush away the excess snow. It was the GAR symbol embedded on a sheet of metal. He picked it up and Ahsoka knelt down next to his right. Ahsoka cocked her head at Rex's discovery,

"Whatcha got there?"
"Well, what does it look like?" Rex remarked back, turning his head to face Ahsoka.
"Hmm... It has the GAR symbol on it so that means..."
"The shipwreck is somewhere around here"
"And there's probably survivors!"
"Which means that..."
"OBI-WAN AND THE OTHERS ARE STILL OUT THERE!" the both exclaimed in unison.
MASTER! COME CHECK THIS OUT!" Ahsoka yelled as Anakin came running over.
"What?" Anakin asked. Kneeling down next to the two.
"It's the GAR symbol, the gunship crashed somewhere around here. So, there's-" Rex began but was cut off by the General.
"A chance that there are some survivors!"
"Yes, sir. There is, but it's been over a week."
"Oh c'mon, Rex. Have some hope."
"I'm only thinking statistically, Anakin."
"Break it up you two! We're not going to find anyone if you stop arguing like children!" Ahsoka yelled at the two men.
"She's right, sir," Rex sighed, looking Ahsoka in the eyes.
"Let's regroup and start tracking down the main area of the crash."
"Yes, commandeer!"

The search team regrouped and began following a trail of semi-covered debrief until they came across a destroyed gunship half-submerged in the thick snow. The ship was torn to pieces, metal shards bent back and melted at the edges. The frame was coated with a thick layer of charred mass, certain pieces snapped under the pressure of the heat. Ahsoka, Anakin, and three clones examined the wreckage. There were many clone bodies that were found and they were assessed, to come to the conclusion that all found died on impact. Anakin's concern for his brother figure only grew as they discovered more bodies in the snow. Anakin began to start losing hope as there was no sign of any survivors. Ahsoka sensed Anakin's despair and put a soft hand on his right shoulder,

"We're going to find him, I promise."
"But what if we don't?" Anakin responded, tears starting to form.
"Look, Obi-Wan is one of the strongest Jedis out there. You really think that he would give up on life that easily?"
"No?"
"No, he won't. Plus, we haven't been able to find his body so there's a good chance he's still out there."
"You're right, Snips. Thanks."
"For what?"
"Giving me hope."
"No problemo, Skyguy!"

The two Jedi stood there, looking down at the snow that was up to their knees. However, Ahsoka felt something flickering, and Anakin sensed the exact same thing. They turned around and ran to regroup with the search party when Rex was heading in their direction holding a pair of electrobinoculars. They stopped at midpoint panting. They all spoke at the same time,

"I THINK THERE IS STILL SOME SURVIVORS OUT THERE!"
"Hang on, you go first," Ahsoka said to Rex.
"Alright, we found a cave approximately a click away," Rex said, handing Anakin the electrobinoculars.
"You're right, Rex... Wait a minute," Anakin said, zooming in on the cave.
"That's the bad part. The cave was heavily snowed in from an avalanche."
"So, how would we get it?" Ahsoka asked, hands on her hips.
"Maybe we could find a thin spot to cut into?" Rex suggested to the group.
"That might just work, Rex!" Anakin implied.
"But how do we know if there are actually any survivors?"
"We have to at least try?" Ahsoka said, hope present in her voice.
"You're right. Plus, Ahsoka and I sense a flickering presence somewhere in that general area so we need to try," Anakin said, putting a hand on Ahsoka's shoulder.
"I'll get the squad rounded up to move out, sir," Rex replied to Anakin.
"Thanks, Rex."

They all regrouped for the second time that day and began heading towards the snowed-in cave. The snowstorm started up again, but this one was worse than the first wave of blistering winds and frigid snow. The temperature had dropped again and Ahsoka clutched her arms closer to her body as the group moved through the snow. Anakin continued to take deep breaths, his breath being visible and frosty, as he trekked onto the cave. When they reached the cave, they realized how thick the avalanche actually was. Along with the added amount of the thick white blankets, the blockage was estimated to be about 5 meters thick. Rex sighed, this just made their job a lot harder. They didn't have the materials to break through the thick layers of ice and snow. He looked around and his eyes landed on a cliff directly above the cave. If they just drilled a hole in the top, then that was their way in since that would be a lot thinner than trying to break through the meters thick of frigid materials. Rex pointed the ledge out and everyone got out the climbing gear to move up to the cliff. Ahsoka, Rex, and half of the clones grappled upwards while Anakin and the rest stayed at the bottom for support if anything went wrong and so they were able to radio out more support if needed. When Rex's group reached the top, three troopers began to cut out a very large circle in the ice, which then Ahsoka used the Force to take out the disc of ice. The cave was pitch dark so the clones all turned on their headlamps while Ahsoka ignited her yellow-green shoto blade. They slowly descended, not seeing anything but icicles, thickly-packed snow, and chucks of ice. It wasn't looking hopeful until Ahsoka sensed two flickering presences. There were two survivors, but they were fading away. Ahsoka yelled over to Rex,

"I THINK THERE MIGHT BE AT LEAST TWO SURVIVORS!"
"REALLY? HOW?" Rex yelled back.
"I SENSED TWO FLICKERING PRESENSES"
"THEN WE NEED TO HURRY! BOYS, LET'S MOVE IT! GO, GO, GO!"

They all winched down faster until they saw what appeared to be two bodies, huddled on top of one another. Rex yelled to the group,

"THERE THEY ARE!"
"IT"S GENERAL KENOBI!" one trooper exclaimed.
"AND COMMANDER CODY!" another clone added.
"WE NEED TO MOVE QUICKLY! THEY HAVE GONE INTO HYPOTHERMIA! AHSOKA, HOW ARE THEY?" Rex barked as the group grabbed the two bodies.
"BOTH ARE FLICKERING VERY RAPIDLY, WE NEED TO RADIO A MED TEAM!" Ahsoka yelled to Rex in a worried tone.
"ALRIGHT, LET'S MOVE OUT QUICKLY!"

The group relatched themselves to the winched and headed back up to the surface. Ahsoka was anxious the whole way up, panic rising in her system. They had found survivors, but she wasn't sure if they would make it. On top of that, this was her master's master, a beloved friend, the one and only Obi-Wan Kenobi. It stinged her heart if he went, but it would kill Anakin if it happened. However, it was a good chance in the cards. She sighed, trying to hold onto a hope that might as well be gone, as a tear rolled down her cheek slowly. Rex noticed this and made sure to set aside some time to be with her when they got back. The rescue squad reached the surface and radioed Anakin to call in backup and a med team. Anakin's worry began to sink in as he began to question what had happened in the cave. Were there any survivors? Was someone hurt? Did they find Obi-Wan? Dead? Alive? Help soon arrived in the form of three Republic gunships, two landing near the cliff and the other one on the ground to transport the remaining troops including Anakin to safety. When the first gunship took off, Anakin caught a glimpse of the cliff to where he saw two stretchers. One with a Jedi and the other with a 212th clone. That was definitely his master, Obi-Wan, and a wash of relief overcame him. They had found his brother-like figure and mentor, which was enough to calm his nerves temporarily. He didn't know his condition or the clone found in the cave, which was probably for the best right now. The doors closed before he could see how Ahsoka was doing and they took off to the Resolute.

Ahsoka and Rex were getting onboard the second gunship that was reserved for the search party. Once everyone got onboard, Rex noticed Ahsoka wasn't being herself. She was acting very quiet and reserved, in contrast to her usual bubbly and upbeat personality. He moved next to her, taking his helmet off and putting it on the ground, as put a hand on her shoulder. What came next Rex didn't expect as Ahsoka buried her face into his chest. He rubbed her back as he rested his head in the crevice of her montrals. She broke down into tears as Rex soothed her. The other clones around her formed a supportive group hug around the two. There was no knowledge of either Cody or Obi-Wan's condition, so all they could do is comfort one another. No matter if either was a brother, friend, mentor, superior officer, or just someone to look up to, they all felt as if someone important was taken from them. A tear rolled down Rex's cheek, plopping on Ahsoka's left head-tail and running down till it hit the floor.