A person with character is someone
who has gone through things and been tempered by their experiences.
There is a certain strength in them that you can rely on.
***
The old ship shook slightly, practically groaningunder the incredible strain. Gusts of hurricane-force wind tossed it from side to side, threatening to capsize it, while ion discharges flashing just a few meters from the cockpit hinted at the possibility of an early end to the flight—and the death of the passengers in an uncontrolled crash. In any case, Obi-Wan could have sworn he heard the sound of metal tearing.
"Careful, Anakin! To the left!"
"Y-yes, Master! Everything's u-under control!" his padawan literally shouted, clutching the ship's steering yoke in a convulsive grip. Dozens of lights were flashing across the dashboard, most of them red or yellow. It didn't take a genius to understand that the situation was anything but good. The cargo ship threatened to become their grave. Although it wasn't really a ship… more of a little boat, an old tub—only the Force knew how many parsecs it had traveled, how many thousands of tons of cargo it had hauled, and how many crews had changed over its lifetime…
"Care—!" Another maneuver by Skywalker threw Kenobi to the left, and he slammed his shoulder against the bulging back of the co-pilot's seat.
The Jedi grimaced. Suddenly, it brightened outside the windows, and Kenobi saw the stars. They had broken through into space.
"Looks like we made it. Master, how are you?"
"Tolerable. Get in touch with the fleet."
"Do you think we won't be able to reach them?"
"I don't mean to belittle your flying skills, young Padawan, but after a flight like that through the eye of a needle, this ship has only one destination: the scrapyard."
"I would argue with that, Master. The hull is fine… well, almost. The engine is working—"
"Yes, one of the three. So please…"
"Right away, Master."
While Anakin fumbled for the communication headset, Obi-Wan Kenobi leaned back cautiously in his chair…
At first, everything went perfectly. In six days, they covered the distance to the coordinates from which Master Jis-Ilova had sent his distress signal. They encountered almost no resistance along the way, save for a couple of scattered groups. But the mud and rough terrain proved a far greater obstacle. Thankfully, the wheeled armoredvehicles had excellent off-road capabilities. It seems Knight Vikt knew how to choose the right equipment. And then it all began…
The call turned out to be a trap, and the rendezvous point was a minefield. Heavy equipment rushed across the field, trying to escape the ambush, but this only caused more and more detonations—and soon everything was over. The surviving clones were surrounded, and they, along with Anakin, were attacked by two of Count Dooku's henchmen: Asajj Ventress and a mercenary named Durge. Despite Obi-Wan's warning, Anakin engaged Ventress, clearly seeking revenge for his previous defeat. Obi-Wan sighed; he strongly disapproved of settling personal scores, especially like this.
Still, what was done could not be undone—especially since Kenobi himself had a problem in the form of Durge. The mercenary was incredibly strong and unnervingly agile. It took several minutes to find his weak points, and there were not many. His armor provided truly extraordinary protection—protection that even a lightsaberstruggled to breach. But in the end, skill and the Force prevailed. At that moment, when the mercenary approached once again and tried to smash his head in, Obi-Wan struck at a joint in the armor with a sharp lunge, severing Durge's arm.
Obi-Wan thought his opponent was out of the fight and turned to help Anakin—when he heard laughter behind him. Spinning around, Kenobi saw a grotesque sight: Durge picked up the severed stump and simply pressed it back into place. His muscles—clearly visible beneath the armor—twitched like a nest of snakes, intertwining and wrapping around each other. A few seconds later, the mercenary lunged at Obi-Wan once more. Soon, battle droids arrived…
Obi-Wan tried to organize his troops to hold the field, but the enemy had superior numbers and, unlike the Jedi and the clones, they were fighting on familiar ground. In the end, after two days of relentless combat, they were forced to flee amid the chaos. By then, the clone troop and all remaining equipment had been destroyed, but by some miracle they managed to secure two intact speeders. Enemy forces pursued them, and the chase lasted several hours. Eventually, they broke through to a medium-sized town, where the fight continued. Anakin managed to push Ventress back and located a hangar with a small cargo ship. Another miracle: a temporary break in the storm clouds had opened above the city. They boarded quickly and fled hurried to leave this inhospitable planet.
"How's your shoulder, Master?"
Kenobi grimaced again. Durge had struck him hard at the end, simply hurling him against the wall of a nearby house. Fortunately, the Jedi hadn't hit his head—which would undoubtedly have killed him—but his shoulder had taken the full force. The bone was clearly broken.
"I won't lie, a couple of hours in a bacta bath would do me a world of good. How are you?"
"Master, I'm fine… well, except Ventress slipped away from me again, and I didn't even manage to touch her."
Something beeped. Anakin lifted the headset to his ear.
"Master, we have a connection with the ships."
"Excellent. Have them send one to pick us up."
"Admiral Arkani, can you dispatch a ship to our coordinates? Our transport… Yes, Admiral…" Anakin listened intently. "Yes… Understood… Excellent…"
He turned to Obi-Wan.
"Master, we'll have to wait a little while."
"What's the matter?"
"A couple of hours ago, enemy ships engaged our squadrons and inflicted serious damage. There are losses on both sides, but Separatists managed to push back one of the squadrons long enough to land troops on the northern hemisphere."
Obi-Wan frowned.
"Any details?"
"No, Master."
"As soon as we're aboard the command ship, we'll need to assess the situation. An enemy landing force is the last thing the Jedi want on the planet's surface right now."
"Things are not looking good."