Of Love and War Book 4: When Darkness Falls

Chapter 2: Return to Coruscant

Zelina kneeled down beside Obi-Wan, checking his pulse before turning him over. Despite being unconscious, he seemed like he'd be okay, so long as they still got out of here.

After releasing the Chancellor, Anakin appeared at her side, looking like he was about to go off on a long rant. "Zelina—" he started seriously, but she cut him off.

"Anakin, I'm not going to have this argument with you in front of the Chancellor—let's just get out of here," she said seriously, stepping aside and gesturing to Obi-Wan. "You got him?"

"I do."

Palpatine paused when he saw them fretting over Obi-Wan's fallen form, halting his mad dash towards the exit. "Leave him, or we'll never make it—we must get off this ship before it's too late."

Zelina scowled, but Anakin answered before she could, pulling Obi-Wan onto his back. "His fate will be the same as ours," Anakin said in a stubborn voice that left no room for argument.

Palpatine relented, though he looked rather annoyed that they'd stopped to pick up Obi-Wan. Zelina blatantly ignored him, making her way back to the elevator they'd used to get here.

"Anakin, the elevator's not working—we need R2," she told him as he approached.

Anakin nodded, pulling out his communications device for R2. "R2, activate elevator 3224."

Zelina looked to Anakin, about to make a quip about hoping it wouldn't take as long to get the elevator working this time when the ship suddenly lurched, drastically tilting down. Zelina cursed, Palpatine falling rather ungraciously before he caught the side of the elevator, Anakin doing the same. With a small grunt, Zelina waved her hand, opening the elevator doors with the Force and grabbing onto the edge of the floor as the ship continued to tilt.

"Go—we might be able to make it to our floor before they stabilize the ship," she commanded. The three of them pulled themselves up into the elevator shaft, running at a dead sprint down the length of the shaft since it was currently on its side. Despite having Obi-Wan on his back, Anakin still took the lead.

Halfway there, Zelina felt the floor start to shift, her stomach doing an unpleasant flip. "Brace yourselves—we're leveling out," she announced, the ship gradually but noticeably shifting back to its upright position. They were all still knocked off their feet, sliding down the shaft since it was still at an angle they weren't dropping like a weight through empty air. Palpatine latched onto Anakin's leg as they slid, Anakin's hand scrambling for something to hold onto. Zelina, meanwhile, spotted a ledge coming up, one she could pull herself onto once the ship straightened. She kicked off the side they were sliding on, backflipping and landing hard with both hands clutching the surface, dangling precariously before the ship straightened enough she could start to pull herself onto the ledge.

Glancing behind her, she saw Anakin holding onto some wiring in the wall, Obi-Wan dangling—still unconscious—on his back and Palpatine holding to his leg for dear life.

She was glad she'd gone for the ledge instead of adding to that mess.

A shout of alarm drew her attention back to Obi-Wan, who'd returned to consciousness at the worst moment. Honestly, he needed to work on his timing.

Upon seeing the possible plunge to his death, Obi-Wan jerked upright, hooking his arms around Anakin and holding on almost as desperately as the Chancellor, whose only anchor to a shot at continuing life was Anakin's foot.

"Easy—we're in a bit of a situation," Anakin reprimanded him.

"Did I miss something?" Obi-Wan asked.