ℝ𝔼𝕊𝕆𝕃𝕌𝕋𝕀𝕆ℕ ➵ o. kenobi {my only hope; book 3}

【 ONE 】

     ɪ ᴀʟʀᴇᴀᴅʏ ᴡᴀꜱɴ'ᴛ ʜᴀᴠɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴇꜱᴛ ᴏꜰ ᴅᴀʏꜱ, but when the buzz droids started invading my ship, I knew I was really screwed.

Piloting ships that paralleled mine were Anakin and Obi-Wan. I could tell without even speaking over the comlink that they were in as just a sour mood as I, all because of one reason. We were in the middle of warspace, dodging blasts and bombs aimed in our direction, trying to make our way toward the main Separatist ship where Chancellor Palpatine had been forcibly taken aboard as prisoner. As countless other Jedi--including most of the High Council members--were off on other planets, fighting as generals in the war, Obi-Wan, Kera, Anakin and I were the last line of defense, meaning it was up to us and our troops... us alone.

And that meant that if we failed in retrieving the Chancellor, the Republic was royally screwed.

It was a lot of responsibility to stomach. But, I told myself, at least I trusted these three others to stomach it with me. There weren't many others I would prefer on this mission with me than my mentor, secret boyfriend and brother.

Not that Anakin was really my brother. I just liked to call him that. If there was anything I'd learned these past three years since the start of the war, it was that family isn't blood... it's who you make it.

Speaking of family, I sensed another ship fly up to join us, having come from one of the larger ships off in the distance. From her cockpit, my mother figure and past Master, Kera Hollbar, saluted me and the two boys flanking me. "I've scouted ahead. General Grievous' ship is directly ahead," she reported. "The one crawling with vulture droids."

"I see it," Obi-Wan voiced through the comms, sounding exasperated yet amused. His voice became laced with obvious sarcasm. "Oh, this is going to be easy."

I snorted. "Careful, you're going to jinx it."

"Too late for that," Anakin said, and I glanced over at him. He'd changed a lot these past three years--way more than just having graduated from a Padawan to a Jedi Knight. For one, he was covered in scars. Not that that was much of a distinction--due to the war, we all were. But his were most noticeable. With his metal, prosthetic hand and the long scars rippling down his face, not only did he look more experienced, but he looked more mature as well. On top of that, he'd grown out his hair. It fell to his chin now, in handsome curls. It was a dark brown, finally fully matching the color of his mother's. He looked remarkably like her in adulthood, I noticed often. I usually tried not to point that out to him. The topic of his mother was still a touchy one.

As I took notice of his position in the cockpit, I realized that his eyes were fixed determinedly on something in the distance. I followed his gaze, and inhaled sharply, realizing that he was right about it being too late. Several of the vulture droids had taken flight, jumping off Grievous' ship in the distance and angling themselves straight at the four of us.

I heard Obi-Wan sigh deeply over the comms as well, obviously tired of the situation only getting worse and worse. "Oddball, do you copy?"

"Copy, Red Leader," a clone trooper chirped in response.

"Mark my position," Obi-Wan said, in such a commanding tone that it sent chills down my spine, and I had to fight back a smile. "Form your squad up behind me."

"We're on your tail, General Kenobi," Oddball replied, then addressing the rest of the Red Squad. "Set S-foils in attack position."

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as several red starfighters that matched Obi-Wan's descended from one of the Republic's main ships and maneuvered their way through the airspace to form behind Obi-Wan, as instructed.