The Young Republic | A Star Wars Story

Chapter 21

Your friend is dangerous, Ahsoka.

"Who a person truly is cannot be seen with the eye."

The Temple was in havoc. Jedi and Clones ran to and fro the hangar, medics and healers rushing as soon as the alarms went off, and smoke was smelled in the air. Between them all, Obi-Wan ran. Because right before the boom was heard, the voice of his Padawan rang in terror at the back of his mind, right before a blast of pain was felt through the tiny bond he had managed to open between them.

It was enough to send him spiralling.

Obi-Wan moves faster than he's ever moved in his entire life, pushing past crouching survivors and worried onlookers as he rushes into the smoke-filled hangar. Hopefully, Xena was alright. Hopefully, she did what she always does - survive the impossible. She could absorb explosions from exploding kyber crystals, so what is a little bomb going to do? She will be fine, absolutely fine.

He was wrong.

Xena was lying on her back, eyes wide and chest sputtering where she tried to breathe through a gurgle of blood, the red liquid splattering all over her face at every attempt at an exhale. There were medics by her side, one pressing bundles of bandages to her side. The other, with his hands molded around her neck and jaw in a steady grip, breathing dramatically slowly in and out to set a pace for her to follow.

Xena strains to look to the side, where she had felt the presence of her Master. The motion pales her even more, the medic still keeping his grip tight to prevent further neck injury. Obi-Wan dropped to his knees beside her, taking her hand and squeezing it tightly. "Stay still, Xena," Obi-Wan orders, bending forwards over her so she wouldn't look to the side. "It's alright, I'm here. You're going to be fine."

She tries to say something, but the pool of blood in her mouth kept the sounds from leaving her lips. She choked and coughed, lungs struggling to push the liquid out of the way for air, the motion making it harder for her to lie still. But Obi-Wan felt the sudden opening in their bond, strong and pulsing and there. And Obi-Wan would have jumped from joy at the feeling, because finally! Finally Xena had allowed the bond to open and flood and good Force this would have been the best day in Obi-Wan's life if his Padawan wasn't struggling to kriffing breathe!

And she was so, so scared. And worried.

"Keep still; we'll take care of you," Obi-Wan tried to reassure. But Xena's eyes widened, face paling even more as she gasped into a mouth full of blood. She scrambles for her Master's comfort, her presence radiating panic and warning. Obi-Wan responds, wrapping her in a blanket of warmth and reassurance.

"We'll need to intubate her," the medic holding her neck says, looking at the amount of blood clogging her windpipe. "She can't breathe like this."

The medic looked at Obi-Wan then, and a pool of dread formed in his gut. He will have to do this. There aren't any spare medics right now, and the two at Xena's side were already busy saving her in other ways.

Obi-Wan looked down to where the medic by her side was working; Xena's tunic pulled up to the underside of her breast, gigantic purple spots staining her pale skin, a big dip in the area where strong ribs were supposed to protrude upwards.

"Hold on, Xena," Obi-Wan warned, reaching into the medic's bag to receive a small knife and pipe large enough for air. "This is going to hurt," Obi-Wan said softly, uselessly - she was already in so much pain.