Survival: A Star Wars The Clone Wars Story

Chapter 2

They fell through the air, robes flowing behind them. The gap between them and the ground was closing fast. Bracing for impact, they used their Jedi powers to sustain as little damage as possible when they hit the ground. Above them, they saw the blazing remains of their ship collide with the side of one of the purple peaks, sending rocks and dust into the air like confetti. Pieces of the ship broke away and tumbled down towards the lava river bank.

"We need to get moving and find some shelter before nightfall." Luminara shouted at her padawan, who had landed several metres away. Barriss nodded in reply as she gently brushed off the lilac dust from her robes, then ran over to her master who was now busy exploring the base of the mountain range that the ship crashed into.

The mountains towered over them like majestic statues, casting vast, brooding shadows across the dry desert plains. Carefully, they trudged over the rocky ground until they found a small cave. It was a little hard to spot at first, because the intricate shadows made it blend with the mountain side. The mouth of the cave was just tall enough for them to walk in and out without having to crouch, and faced away from the sunset. The inside was a roundish shape and the roof was slightly taller than the entrance. A musty stench filled their noses as they crept in.

"This will do for now. In the morning we will go back to the wreckage of the ship, and see what supplies we can use," said Luminara as she settled down against the dusty wall of the cave.

"Yes master," replied Barriss, still trying to take in the day's events. Gradually, she felt waves of drowsiness wash over her until she lost conscience completely.

They woke up to the sound of the lava rivers that faded into the horizon. The two suns barely visible behind the layers of grey clouds.

"Are you awake Barriss?" asked Luminara, wandering over to her padawan who was now leaning against the wall of the cave.

"Yes master."

"Good. The first thing we need to do is see what we can salvage from the wreckage of the ship." Said Luminara, striding out of the cave, Barriss hurried behind her. They slowly climbed down the mountainside to the site of the crash. The ship had tumbled down the hill from where it had impacted with the side of the mountain, and was now lying on the bank of a lava river, like a dying whale carcass, once majestic. Only the main hull was still in one piece, the rest were scattered along the bank of the river.

They jogged down the last few metres and began scanning the ship for something that resembled an entrance. At last, they found a way in, and slipped inside the charred remains. The bleak, white walls of the corridors were now covered in black soot and chunks were missing in areas where it had burned away, revealing tangles of brightly coloured wires. Once she had oriented herself, Luminara strode briskly towards their destination, the storage compartments, with Barriss following closely behind.

This end of the ship was darker, so they ignited their lightsabres as a source of light. Cautiously, they crept into the storage area, footsteps echoing against the cold, metal walls. Many containers had tipped spilling their contents carelessly on the floor, a few still had their lids on.

"Okay Barriss, take the containers with the red markings back to the cave shelter, I need to look for something." Said Luminara, coughing slightly due to the dust everywhere. She began throwing packages and other smaller boxes back into their right containers, before searching the floor for some unknown object. Barriss assumed it must be something important, otherwise her master wouldn't be bothered. Using the force, she lifted the six containers, and pushed them along in front of her back to the way they had come in. Beneath her, the floor groaned with every step she took and occasionally dust would shower her from the ceiling.

Thoughts buzzed in her head like flies as she walked through the eerie silent corridors of the lifeless vessel. What if the Jedi didn't notice their disappearance? Of course they would eventually, but what if it was too late when they did, and her and Luminara had been captured by the Separatists? After the rescue mission for Even Piell and his remaining crew, would they really bother again? They weren't exactly carrying important information like Master Piell was. Of course they will come, she reassured herself again, the Jedi always look after each other.

Luminara knew the vial was in one of the blue marked containers, after all she had put it in herself. If it was still intact, it was vital it didn't fall into Separatists hands. Carefully, she pulled down each container from the shelves with the force, as she needed her other hand to hold her lightsabre to see what she was doing. She placed all the remaining containers in the storage room on the floor and began searching them systematically. At last she found what she was looking for, and slipped the tiny glass tube into one of the pockets in her robes. Lifting up the containers with the force, she guided them out of the room and unignited her emerald blade. Shadows engulfed the room once more.

Judging by the position of the two suns behind the thick choking dust clouds, Barriss decided it must have been something around eight o'clock in the morning. She paced steadily towards their cave shelter, the containers lead the way in an orderly line. The containers reached the cave, Barriss struggled up the last few metres and began placing them in stacks against the walls of the cave. The cave itself was only about five metres squared, and Barriss could touch the roof if she stood on her tip-toes. With the containers now inside, it felt more cramped, and she knew Luminara would be bringing more. Using the force, she pulled down one of the boxes and looked at what was inside. It was mainly medical supplies and a few food rations. She went through the rest of them, taking note of what was in each. Some had ammunition's in them, which were useless for them, but the food and medical supplies certainly weren't.

"Good to see you have got things organised padawan. Here, help me with these last few." Barriss would not have known her master was just outside the cave if she hadn't recognised her force signature. Luminara let go of the containers she had suspended in thin air with the force, and they each fell to the floor with a dull thud. Barriss pushed them into the corner and stacked them the same as the others. The blue marked containers, mostly contained food supplies and one even had a portable emergency lamp.

"This will be much better than using our lightsabres at a light source." Barriss said removing it from one of the containers.

"Agreed," replied Luminara, "see if you can get it going." Luminara had spread all the food rations, calculating how long they'd last. "These were supposed to be emergency supplies for a Republic medical station. It's a shame we lost most of them with the other half of the ship." Barriss nodded in agreement. "These will last us about three months I think, four if we stretch it." Luminara gathered them all up except two ration bars and put them back in the containers, then handed one of them to Barriss and began opening the other. They ate quickly as they hadn't eaten anything since the morning of the day before.

"One of the blue ones had some electronics, maybe we could make some kind of transmitter." Said Barriss.

"Yes, we may have to scavenge some parts from the ship. But also we mustn't forget that this is a Separatist world, and as soon as we send out a message to the Republic, they will come looking for its source." Luminara replied.

They spent the rest of the day going back and forth from the ship with various pieces of electrical equipment. The suns were setting behind the mountains they sheltered in so they were cast in darkness. At last they were satisfied with their work and ate another couple of ration bars. The emergency lamp emitted an warm inviting glow around the cave. On one side was all their containers they had salvaged from the ruined ship, in the middle was their makeshift transmitter and other random electronics, scattered like children's toys, on the other side Barriss and Luminara were curled up on the rocky, dusty floor, under their thick Mirialan robes. Luminara waved her hand weakly, and turned off the lamp with the force. There was nothing but silence and darkness around them.