Fiery Salvo

Chapter 1

Inbound

The narrow wedge of the Venator-class Star Destroyer penetrated the swirling blue vortex of hyperspace, surrounded by another four of the kilometre long carriers.

Onboard the lead Venator, Obi-Wan Kenobi was standing in the metal walkway that ran between the two crew pits of the Star Destroyer's bridge. His light brown hair was cut short, and his beard was as thick as ever. He wore standard white Jedi robes and a long brown cloak. His lightsaber hung on his belt, shrouded in the shadow caused by the cloak. The clone officers in the crew pits looked up at him in respect, admiration and awe.

Obi-Wan frowned at the blue vortex swirling in front of him. Hyperspace had always fascinated him, and the large viewports of the Venator's bridge afforded excellent views. It was a shame that Obi-Wan couldn't enjoy the sight; he would soon be entering battle.

Obi-Wan turned around, looking down the bridge. Further back, there were crew stations dotted along the bridge's walls and three doors, each one guarded by two clone troopers in gouged white armour laced with orange. The door furthest to the left lead into the walkway between the Venator's two bridge towers; Obi-Wan was standing in the main command bridge, whereas his former padawan and best friend, Anakin Skywalker, was standing in starfighter bridge command.

Obi-Wan shifted, not entirely comfortable with his mission. He was en route to Utapau, a system in the Outer Rim of the galaxy, a scorching desert planet riddled with cool sink-holes. The military commander of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, General Grievous was apparently hiding there. Obi-Wan remembered his last encounter with Grievous, which hadn't went so well. Grievous's droids had tried shoot his starfighter out of space, shot him to death, battered him, and when none of those worked, Grievous had tried to doom Obi-Wan and Anakin to a fiery death by trapping them into a burning ship plummeting towards Coruscant.

Of course, Anakin had saved him from those fates.

Obi-Wan allowed a half smile to cross his face; Anakin had saved him countless times, and the most memorable suddenly filled Obi-Wan's mind. The time, back on Geonosis, at the onset of the war, Anakin had saved him from Count Dooku, who'd already wounded Obi-Wan and was a second away from finishing him off. Anakin and Obi-Wan had become two halves of the same person, and the person they formed was the greatest warrior, negotiator, rescuer, and pilot ever to live.

Anakin Skywalker, the galaxy-renowned Hero with No Fear smiled confidently, leaning back against a durasteel pillar that separated the starfighter section of the bridge and the bomber section. He flexed his artificial right hand confidently, hearing the servomotors whirr faintly. Anakin looked down at the prosthesis, and frowned. He remembered the day he'd lost his real forearm and hand…

Geonosis…

He felt the white-hot blade of Count Dooku sear through the arm like a vibroblade through hot Bespin spread. The pain had been beyond comprehension. Even the fleshy sizzle as his skin melted stayed with him…

Cut off the head…

And he had got Dooku back. He'd fought him across the viewing tower of Grievous's flagship, the Invisible Hand. Chairs, tables and even lightsabers had been thrown around by the Force.

And when Obi-Wan had been knocked out...

Anakin had lost it. He'd gone into frenzy as Palpatine encouraged him to fight and kill. Dooku's face had been etched with horror as he realised that Anakin had no intention of sparing him should he lose. And when Anakin had sliced off Dooku's hands, there'd only been a moment of indecision before he'd used both his own and Dooku's blade to behead the Sith aristocrat that had kneeled before him…

…Lord Vader! Do not hesitate, and show no mercy!

"What?" Anakin blurted out. A clone turned around and looked at him, surprised and curious. Anakin didn't care. He'd heard a deep, hoarse voice, pleading.

Don't kill me, please! I'm too weak, don't kill me, help!

And the march of armoured feet. Thousands of armoured feet!

CT 8311, better known as Jay, stood alone in the eight hundred metre long ventral flight deck that ran along the Venator's hull. Mechanics, clone troopers and pilots swarmed around, attending to their tasks. Jay leaned back against the hangar's wall, marvelling at the massive hangar. In starfighter terms alone, the ship carried one hundred and ninety two nimble V-wings, the same amount of the faster and even more manoeuvrable ETA-2s (better known as Jedi Interceptors due to their use by Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi) and thirty six heavy ARC-170 fighter/bombers. That, plus the heavy vehicles and gunships, made the Venator a fearsome enemy.

Jay shifted, his white and orange clone armour's plates shifting to allow the movement. He loved the new Phase-II armour given to clones; the old Phase-I model that was used for thirty months after Geonosis had been heavy, unwieldy and under armoured. The Phase-II was the polar opposite, being light, easy to move in and heavily armoured.

The clone trooper picked at a mud patch that he hadn't been able to get off his armour. It was right next to a deep gouge that Jay had gotten when a B2 Super Battle Droid had shot him in the chest. The armour had taken the heavy beam, but Jay had still been knocked out. That was back on Praesitlyn, when Jay had been first given his Phase II. Since then, Jay had downright worshipped the quartermaster who issued it to him; Phase I armour wouldn't have even slowed the blaster bolt down, and Jay would've been dead.

An hour later, a tall officer with short brown hair and sharp features marched into the hangar. Jay looked him up and down. The man wore the standard black uniform of a Republic General, and carried a small DH-17 blaster pistol on his belt. Jay watched in mild interest as the man raised a small round comlink to his lips and spoke. His words, transmitted to hundreds of loudspeakers in the hangar, carried the news that every clone wanted to hear.

"We will be dropping out of hyperspace in thirty standard minutes. Generals Kenobi and Skywalker will recon Utapau whilst we wait for the orders to invade."

And that was that.

Anakin heard the announcement over the ship's loudspeaker.

At last! The war's all but over! Anakin smiled and shrugged of his dark cloak, letting it fall to the floor; he wouldn't need it where he was going. He turned around and stepped confidently up to the doorway of the bridge, ready to head for the hangar. He was just a step away from the door when the two Clone Troopers acting as security stepped in front of him.

"General! Chancellor Palpatine requested that you remain in orbit and coordinate the attack!" growled the lead trooper. Anakin frowned.

Not in this lifetime!

"I appreciate the thought, but tell him that I will be going with Obi-Wan" Anakin stepped forward, but the clones didn't move.

"Sir, the Chancellor requested–" Anakin interrupted the clone trooper firmly but calmly.

"The Chancellor requested that I remain on board. Now I'm ordering you to step aside, trooper!" Anakin's calm exterior was the perfect opposite to the rage that bubbled inside him. I defeated Dooku! And the Chancellor wants me to simply remain on board and let Obi-Wan do all the work? After all the time I spent persuading the council to let me come on this mission?

"Step aside," Anakin said again, his anger starting to show through. The clones shifted in indecision.

"Move!" Anakin pushed with the Force, and the clones were lifted just an inch of the ground and moved aside, gently but firmly.

Obi-Wan frowned as he stepped into the busy hangar deck, feeling Anakin's anger. But there was no time for that now. He strode forward, cloak billowing, heading towards the green Jedi Interceptor waiting for him just down the hangar.

Obi-Wan continued to walk, looking around the busy hangar bay, hearing the curse of mechanics on a difficult problem, the banter of pilots and the clang of clone's feet on metal. He spotted a clone in familiar armour also walking towards the Jedi Interceptor. Obi-Wan smiled as Commander Cody turned and nodded, his white and orange clone armour covered in upgrades.

Anakin stormed onto the hangar deck, walking quickly and noisily towards the blue Jedi Interceptor prepared for him. Obi-Wan and Commander Cody stood next to it, deep in conversation. Cody had his back to him, so Obi-Wan saw Anakin's bad tempered approach and shot him a reprimanding glance.

"Discussing tactics?" Anakin's voice was forcefully light.

"Yes sir. If you would like to go over the plan again—" Anakin cut him off by raising a hand.

"I know. We land at the main spaceport, and search for Grievous with the Force. If we locate him, we send a transmission up to the fleet, and you come down and you come down and destroy any enemy forces whilst we dismantle Grievous."

It'd all sounded so simple. But, as Anakin and Obi-Wan prepped their fighters for take-off, Anakin contemplated what would happen if Grievous escaped. With the thought, a tiny whisper of fear appeared in his mind…

Millions will die when the General escapes! And it'll be your fault. Hero with no fear? I think not. The voice of fear whispered gently into Anakin's ear, its voice quiet but confident.

Too often Anakin would try to prevent the words, only to watch, helpless and horrified, as his fears came to pass in front of his very eyes…

The two Jedi Interceptors gathered speed as they shot towards the yellow planet of Utapau. The star's rays bounced off the sinkhole planet, making the large orb of rock and minerals shine like a star itself.

Anakin and Obi-Wan entered the atmosphere, zooming in fast, noses pointed downwards in a vertical dive that would make anti air lasers useless due to the slow speed of their targeting computers. Obi-Wan knew his destination, and already he could feel several Force presences that were familiar.

The anger and twisted hatred of Grievous, the fear of Nute Gunray and Ruun Hakko, the cool, calculating mind of San Hill, even the warrior's resolve in the Geonosian Poggle the Lesser.

Anakin clamped down on his happy feelings, calling on the Force, allowing rage to seep through his body, making him stronger, near invincible. He knew Grievous was on planet! And soon, the General would be dead.

Obi-Wan and Anakin pulled up, their ships levelling out just a metre above Utapau's baked-flat surface. Their forked fighters manoeuvred deftly above rock formations, kicking up mile-high trails of sand as their ion drives propelled them forward.

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan spoke confidently into his fighter's comlink, submerging himself into the Force, letting go of conscious thought, until his own will merged with the Force. "The sinkhole where grievous is hiding is just two hundred klicks away. One hundred klicks, fifty klicks, twenty-five klicks."

At ten kilometres, Anakin slowed down and half-rolled his tiny fighter until it was upside down. Suddenly, the round and gaping maw of the sinkhole loomed in front of him. He couldn't see into the depths, although he would soon enough.

Now! The Force guided Anakin's hand, and he pulled back on the control yoke. His fighter reacted in a nanosecond, diving downwards into the sinkhole.

The sinkhole was about three miles deep, and at the bottom it was covered by water punctuated by sharp rocks. Obi-Wan could just see the city built into the sinkhole's walls; it wasn't technologically advanced compared to Coruscant or Corellia, but it appeared to be able to harbour starships and fighters. Obi-Wan wasn't interested in that; Anakin had convinced him to abandon any subtle means of attack to apprehend Grievous.

"Commander Cody! Commence landing operations in three minutes, mark!"

"Roger that General," A small, blue hued hologram of Commander Cody appeared on top of Obi-Wan's fighter's holoprojector. The clone was armed to the teeth, and ready for battle. "What level of destruction would you like?"

"Military casualties only!" stressed Obi-Wan. "And the burden is on me not to destroy all the droids before you arrive."

"Copy."

Anakin looked up at the rough steel sphere built into the sinkhole's side. The building was formerly a Trade Federation Core ship from a Lucrehulk classRing carrier. It'd obviously been extensively modified, judging by the fact that there were many openings and hangars in the ship.

Anakin angled his starfighter towards the biggest opening. He could sense the familiar presences of Grievous and a few of the Separatist leaders inside.

"Bleep-dwoo," The little blue and white droid called R2-D2 situated to the left of Anakin's cockpit bleeped.

"What do you mean?" Anakin hadn't been listening.

"BLEEP-DWOO!" screeched Artoo as Anakin accelerated towards the gap.

"Particle shields?" Anakin whispered. If he crashed his ship into particle shields, Anakin would simply disintegrate.

"Anakin! Pull up!" Obi-Wan cried, obviously realising what was happening. But the Force told Anakin it was too late; he'd never pull up in time. So, with a push of the Force, Anakin activated his ejection system.

Obi-Wan watched as R2-D2 was blasted upwards and out of his Astromech socket with a cloud of condensed gas. A nanosecond later, Anakin followed on his ejection seat, flames leaping form the bottom of his seat's rocket propulsion system.

Obi-Wan sighed in relief; for a second it had looked like Anakin was going to die.

Boom! Obi-Wan's starfighter rocked as Anakin's fighter detonated on the shields. The small fighter's combustible fuel ignited in a fireball ten metres high. Obi-Wan growled, but felt the particle shield generator stutter and fail, just for a couple of brief seconds after Anakin's fighter exploded.

In those seconds, obi-Wan had accelerated into the core ship, and was now floating just three metres above a stunned and skeletal monstrosity.

In one deft move, Obi-Wan had popped his starfighter's canopy and leapt in front of Grievous.

"Hello there," Obi-Wan said cheerily.