Blaster bolts burned into a painting inches from her head, charring a hole in the Alderaanian landscape. "Sith spawn" she swore, snapping her lightsaber up to deflect another oncoming bolt back at the group who had fired it. The white armored figures continued their advance, their light repeating blasters sending a virtual wall of fire at Shina Levone and her allies. Ducking back around the corner she had been defending, she looked at her friends. They were tired, bloodied, and scared, huddling around their appointed leader, a well built male in his early teens. He was trying to keep a calm face on as he pulled a rifle off of the dead body at his feet, a lightsaber hole still smoking in his faceplate. He checked the power pack's charge, nodding with satisfaction, or as much satisfaction a fourteen year old boy could show in the middle of a battle.

Shina rejoined the group, her lekku shaking slightly from the adrenalin rushing through her body. Aaron pulled a grenade bandolier from the dead trooper's chest. "Ok," he said slowly, voice betraying his inner fear, "I need a hole in this wall, now."

The kids stared at him blankly, terror plastered on their faces. Grabbing Jacob, he pointed at the wall, "I need you to use your lightsaber to cut a hole in that wall. Please Jacob, if that doesn't get done then we will die."

And as if cued by his words, eight troopers turned the corner and opened fire on the small knot of kids. A bolt tore a hole in Lenisha, erupting from her chest to sink into the floor. Kerren and Mason were both hit multiple times, their shredded bodies falling to the floor as if in slow motion. It was Jacob's body that saved Aaron's life, absorbing two bolts that would have punctured his right lung. Aaron dropped his friend's lifeless body to the side, throwing the grenade bandolier at the troopers as he did so.

It flew for a second or two, then landed on a trooper. The clone stopped firing long enough to start to pull it off and Aaron used the force to trigger a grenade, engulfing the end of the corner with fire and shrapnel. A secondary explosion sounded down the corridor as the force set off another grenade.

A moan of pain from behind him caused him to whirl around. Shina was leaning over her leg, moaning softly. He went over to her, pulling her hand away from her leg. Her blue skin was blistered and burnt where a blaster bolt had grazed it. He looked into her eyes. She was crying silently he saw, the sight almost brining tears to his own eyes. But they wouldn't come, not now, they couldn't now, he had to put up a strong front if either one of the wanted to get out of this alive. "Can you walk?" he asked.

She nodded weakly. He was about to throw her arm over his shoulder when he heard the distinctive sound of clone trooper armor. Turning around he raised his lightsaber to defend himself, and winced as six troopers rounded the bend. Before any got the chance to fire however, all six were gunned down. Aaron turned back around, starting blankly at the two back armored troops who were now advancing toward him. They stopped when they reached him, and one of them slung his blaster rifle on his back.

"Jedi?" asked the helmet flittered voice.

Aaron nodded, not sure what to do, his hand still resting on his lightsaber's activation stud. "Good." The trooper continued, "I am Delta 857, Spike to my team. And this is Gamma 094, Lash. We have been sent to extract what Jedi we can. If you fallow me, I will take you to a safe place."

Shina began to move towards him, but Aaron put his hand on her shoulder. Something about this didn't click. Why were these clones helping him, when he had spent the last hour evading and fighting them?

Spike sighed, "I had hoped we could do this the easy way, guess not." He jerked his finger forward, and Lash brought up his weapon. Aaron started to activate his lightsaber, but the clone fired first. Two sets of collapsing blue stun rings were the last things Aaron saw before black.