I DO NOT OWN STAR WARS OR ANYTHING THAT MAY GET ME SUED THAT IS LICENSED BY GEORGE LUCAS AND STAR WARS AFFILIATES.

Star Wars Jedi Republic

Consortium Wars

Only three weeks had passed by since Tyber Zann's threat of corruption, to Lt. Jayle Shard it seemed like an eternity ago. He in fact did have an army, a massive one able to fully occupy worlds and install his corruption. The New Republic Security Force consisted of several thousand security trained recruits, not the specialized and well trained Rebel Commandos she was used to fighting alongside with. Planets such as Ithor, Vortex, Ando, Sullust, even Alzoc III were already under his control. It didn't come as much of a surprise when he began his invasion of Thyferra. That was the Republic's 203rd Task Force job; they were to repel the invasion by assaulting the city of Haipe where the Consortium was transferring POW's to their fleet. The assault was easy, but now inside the city Jayle was having second thoughts about the mission as she lead her troops through the battle ragged skyscrapers.

Planet Thyferra, city of Haipe.

"Lt. we need to fall back!" That's what any new recruit in his first battle would say, but he wasn't completely wrong on the subject. Jayle had led her men through the east side of the city with minimal resistance; she should have known they would be setting up a trap.

"Can it soldier, less talking more shooting! Jon? Jon!" A soldier rushed up to her carrying a portable combat radio on his back. He was shaking like mad.

"Yes Lt."

"You haven't been shot have you? Then stop shaking! Get command on the horn and tell them we're surrounded, have artillery fire on my coordinates!" She could barely hear herself over the barrage of fire. She lost half her squad to snipers and her last T-2B was getting pummeled by blaster cannons. She was crouched down by a broken fountain that continued to spill water even though she was told that the city's power supply was going to be the first target in the assault. She fired her customized A-280 blaster rifle with an enhanced scope and muzzle for greater accuracy. She was firing madly into the surrounding buildings though, something she knew was just a waste of ammo which they were running out of.

"Lt. Captain Aldin on the radio!" She took a moment to reload her rifle before picking up the receiver.

"Captain we're surrounded, I've got half of my men down and my T-2B's are all but gone!"

"Incoming!" She looked up, a rookie mistake looking up during an 'incoming' call. Her last T-2B ignited in a ball of flames as men crouching behind it were sent flying clear over her head. A piece of shrapnel dung into her leg, a flesh wound to her.

"Lt.? Lt. Do you read me? Respond dammit!" it was awfully quiet now, she turned to face her radio-op stunned to see a piece of shrapnel the size of her hand sticking out of his face. She took the radio off him and grabbed what ammo he had.

"Captain we are surrounded, I need covering fire for our evac, have artillery fire on these coordinates." Men were getting back up, one stood up fully and got picked off, and others were find their weapons and returning fire. They wanted to live, and she wanted to make sure they did.

"Lt. negative on those orders, all positions are pinned down and our post is under attack, all artillery is being rerouted to cover our forward command. There are several spots near your position where your men can take shelter." She was speechless as she sat there with the radio to her ear.

"Sir, with all due respect…"

"Tank!" In the old days a tie mauler or 2-M repulsor tank would have come to mind, but Zann's weapons were like anything the galaxy had ever seen and that brought a new fear of tanks. She recognized the floating behemoth as a Canderous Assault Tank or CATs. With two heavy pulse cannons these monsters were more deadly than any AT-AT. It fired two shots into the building adjacent to her, showering glass on her and her troops. She gave into instinct and shielded herself as others took cover in the building itself. It was humming closer, she spotted a sniper in the tenth floor across the street and quickly took aim. A single shot through the glass took him out. She picked up the radio forgetting it was there.

"Sir we need… Sir? Captain!" She examined the radio to see a nice burn mark in the side of it, dead weight. She pushed it aside and ran up to two soldiers firing pointlessly and the approaching tank. "We need to fall back! Where is Sergeant Mills?"

"Dead sir along with half of our squad!" she took a quick head count of everyone she saw, fourteen, once that tank reached them three maybe. It fired another double shot into the fountain she was just at, the once beautiful centerpiece, then a pile of rubble, now nothing.

"Reroute all fire on the tank!" A basic hand signal to her men sprung them into action as they poured heated plasma that was harmlessly deflected off the CAT's supra dense duraplated steel. Within seconds it would loom over them and then it was all over. She set her crosshairs on the reinforced blast proof cockpit and squeezed off a single shot, to her amazement the tank erupted in flames. Troops cheered as she knelt there stunned. Out of nowhere a droid, which Jayle recognized as an Destroyer Droid MK-II rolled next to the car Jayle and her two men were using as cover. It uncoiled and activated its shield, it maintained its eerie insectoid design from the Clone Wars but had a mounted Ion Cannon and improved weapons. It targeted them but didn't fire, a clear message for surrender or be destroyed. She was about to try and pull a grenade out of her satchel when an unknown rocket came soaring from the sky and hit the droid dead on. "A concussion missile small though." She thought. A distinct noise, like another rocket, was approaching her. She was about to give the 'incoming call' when dust started to blow away from her feet, soon it kicked up a small cloud. She looked up just in time to see a man wearing blast proof armor, a helmet with a T-shaped visor, and a jetpack just before he landed in front of her. A Mandalorian, the galaxy's most feared and greatest warriors. Most of his armor was a dull green, a K-113 Blast Gun was in a holster that was as big as his thigh. She stood her ground as others didn't know whether to point their weapons at him or not.

"Are you Lt. Jayle Shard?" the sound of his voice was enough to make most men cower, but she needed to look strong in front of her men and still didn't break what she assumed was eye contact with him.

"Yes and you are?" She tried to sound thankful figuring he was the one who brought down both the tank and the droid.

"That's unimportant, right now I need you to come with me and have a Sergeant Rine Mills standby for pickup." He kept his voice the same, only raising it when he mentioned himself.

"Mills is dead, and where are we going?" She wanted to know why a ruthless bounty hunter was here in the first place.

"That's classified, now are you coming or not?" He raised his voice a bit, enough to make her heart sink a little.

"Fine how do you want my men to follow?"

"Not your men, you and Sergeant Mills only, But seeing as how he's dead only you." She took a step back, something he didn't seem to take kindly to.

"I'm not abandoning my men, I've dragged them this far I'm not leaving them behind!" The fighting had almost completely stopped around them but distant explosions could be heard going throughout the city.

"I don't have time for this, I'm going to ask you one more time are you coming willingly or do I have to get unpleasant?" The rookie soldier next to her raised his rifle and pointed it at the bounty hunter's head. "You know how to fire that weapon son?"

"Easy Fapps just put the weapon down." Jayle knew that the Mandalorian could have easily shot him dead by now.

"Do as your commander says and put the weapon down before you hurt someone." His helmet seemed to twitch, almost unrecognizable, but the stillness of the situation made everything slow down. The bounty hunter in almost a blur pulled his blaster from his hip and put a single shot past Fapp's head. He was too stunned to move, frozen by fear of the stranger's speed. Jayle wasn't as intimidated and turned to see a pirate soldier fall. He had saved them for the third time in the past ten minutes. Fapp's lowered his weapon and sat down, traumatized. "Now are you coming or not?" He re-holstered his weapon.

"What about my men? What will happen to them?" She restarted her stare into the lifeless T-visor.

"Not my problem."

"Well what if I make it your problem?"

"Then I guess you chose to make me unpleasant." A quick snatch of her wrist and he head butted her square in the forehead. She staggered for a moment but fell into his arms as he picked up her feet. "There is an old library about six blocks from here due south, it has good elevation points, you may want to consider taking up a position there." He said looking down at the shocked man simply known as Fapp. He took a couple steps back as his jetpack ignited sending a stream of smoke onto the ground. As he took off with his passenger, looking up one might have thought of it as a romantic view, a superhero flying off with a damsel, at least some would have.