Far above the storm-soaked jungles of Teth, the Republic gunship carrying Anakin, Ahsoka, Kaelen, and their clone escort pierced the cloud layer.Lightning flickered off the hull, and for a fleeting moment Kaelen felt the connection between himself and his Master stretch thin—like a taut wire vibrating through the Force.Then it trembled violently.
Obi-Wan.
He straightened, gripping the edge of the bulkhead.Ahsoka, half-asleep against her seat with Rotta snoring in her lap, blinked at him. "What's wrong with you, shine-boy?"
Kaelen's eyes unfocused. "He's… fighting."
"Master Kenobi?" she asked, suddenly alert.
Anakin turned from the cockpit. He didn't need an explanation; he could feel it too, faintly.The familiar, disciplined presence of his former Master flickered through the Force—then flared bright with danger.
Teth – The Monastery Courtyard
Obi-Wan stood alone in the shattered courtyard, rain cascading down his armor.His blue blade hissed in the downpour.Across from him, Asajj Ventress prowled from the shadows, twin crimson sabers igniting with a snarl.
"So, Kenobi," she purred, circling him. "Skywalker runs off to play errand boy, and they send you to die in the mud. How noble."
"I've been called many things," Obi-Wan replied, voice calm. " 'Noble' is one of the kinder ones."
They moved at the same instant.Blue and red collided in a crack of light.Ventress pressed hard, her strikes fast and furious; Obi-Wan met each one with measured precision, his form unyielding.The Force between them rippled like a storm tide.
"You fight well for someone bound by rules," she hissed, kicking off the wet stones to spin into a downward strike.
"I prefer to think of them as… guidelines," Obi-Wan said dryly, deflecting and sliding aside.
She laughed, feral. "Still hiding behind wit. Do you ever tire of it?"
"Not particularly."
Their sabers locked, sparks spitting between them.Ventress pushed, teeth bared. "Your Padawan will die next. I'll carve him from the Force piece by piece."
Obi-Wan's expression hardened. The humor vanished from his tone."You'll find him less easy prey than you imagine."
He broke the lock with a sudden surge of power, driving her back.The Force burst outward, scattering debris and rain alike.
In the Gunship – Kaelen's Vision
Kaelen gasped as the vision slammed into him.Flashes—red blades, water exploding off stone, his Master's steady presence flickering under pressure.He clutched his temples.
"Kaelen!" Anakin barked, steadying him by the shoulder.
"He's fighting Ventress," Kaelen managed. "She's… trying to break him."
Anakin frowned, glancing toward hyperspace. "He can handle himself."
"I know," Kaelen said through gritted teeth, "but she's strong. The Dark Side is… loud."
Ahsoka looked between them, uneasy. "Then we just have to make sure he has something to come back to."
Teth – The Duel
Ventress vaulted onto a broken column, sabers whirling like twin comets.She hurled both at Obi-Wan; he leapt sideways, the blades slicing through the air where he'd stood.Catching them with the Force, she re-ignited and dove at him.
He caught her mid-air, twisting her momentum into a lock."Still favor theatrics over efficiency, I see," he said, breath steady despite the exertion.
She snarled, kicking him hard in the chest.He staggered back, boots skidding on slick stone.
"You hide your fear behind clever words," she spat. "But I feel it."
Obi-Wan wiped rain from his beard, meeting her burning gaze. "You mistake concern for fear. A common error among the Sith."
Her growl became a scream as she attacked again, blows hammering down like lightning.He parried each, but her fury was endless.
Ventress pushed him to the edge of the platform, blades crossed at his throat. "Where's your calm now, Jedi?"
Obi-Wan smiled faintly. "Right here."
With a subtle flick of the wrist, he deactivated his saber. Her blades, meeting no resistance, over-swung.He re-ignited, twisted, and sent her tumbling backward.
Ventress crashed through a pillar, rolling to her feet with a hiss.Before she could recover, Republic reinforcements crested the ridge—gunships roaring through the rain.
"Until next time, Kenobi!" she shouted, leaping onto a departing droid carrier.
Obi-Wan watched her vanish into the storm, exhaling slowly as he deactivated his blade.Rain hissed on the emitter as he finally allowed himself a small smile.
In the Gunship – Connection Restored
Kaelen's breathing eased. The pounding in his head faded, replaced by calm.He felt Obi-Wan again through the Force—steady, alive, his presence glowing faintly like a hearthlight.
"He's safe," Kaelen whispered.
Anakin gave a short nod. "Told you. Kenobi's too stubborn to die."
Ahsoka exhaled, relief mixing with awe. "You really felt all that?"
Kaelen leaned back against the bulkhead, exhaustion settling in. "Every heartbeat."
Anakin studied him a moment longer. "You've got a connection with your Master most Padawans never reach. Don't waste it."
Kaelen met his gaze, hearing more in those words than instruction—hearing experience, and loss."I won't," he said quietly.
Outside, hyperspace stretched ahead in blue-white swirls.Behind them, Teth burned in the rain.
Obi-Wan Kenobi had survived his duel.Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, and Kaelen Shan sped toward Tatooine with the Huttlet—and unknowingly, straight into Count Dooku's next trap.