Chapter 4: Surius 5

Zar hadn't been able to breathe. Heart pounding painfully, he hadn't even been able to breathe as he saw the torpedo collide with the docking port right in front of them. Jolly had yelled, yanking around the ship with pure reflex. And then the torpedo had exploded. The light would forever be seared into Zar's memory. Even with the anti-flare shielding engaging on his helmet, the light had messed with his vision for a few seconds. And then he'd seen the clone Lieutenant's body.
He wished he hadn't.
He'd never forget that either.

All this had taken seconds. The blast had sent them spinning and had blown up half the consoles in the cockpit. Jolly went flying backward only to hit the back ceiling and drop to the floor. A quick glance at the display on the inside of his helmet's heads up display – his HUD because who wants to think "heads up display" all the time – had told Zar that Jolly was alive, just dazed. So Zar had hit the button for the fire extinguisher and then used the secondary controls to try to stop the fighter's crazy spin.
Only to realize that the only thing he could hope to do was not crash.
So Zar tried to do less crashing and more landing onto the small rocky planet called Surius 5.

It was still more like crashing; effectively ruining any propulsion they might have had left and sending Jolly careening into the back wall. Zar hastily turned everything off so that things didn't explode and further ruin a day that had started with surprise droid attacks, rounded off nicely with a damaged communications system, and had the grand finale of the crash. Yup. This was an excellent day.
Zar half-collapsed back in his chair. But he couldn't stop yet. Jolly was worryingly still in the back of the fighter and too many blinking lights were telling him to get out of the ship as soon as possible. He got to his feet and went to Jolly.
"Jolly? Jolly, can you hear me?"
A low grunt was his reply.
Zar checked his HUD. No toxic chemicals in the ship. And Surius 5 had a breathable, if dry, atmosphere. He pulled off Jolly's helmet and met bleary dark eyes.
"Owe," Jolly mouthed.
"Can you move?" Zar asked, scanning him for injuries. The armor hadn't been pierced. But getting thrown around inside the armor wasn't fun either.
"Yeah...oh..." Jolly hissed as Zar pressed his ribs. "That hurts."
Zar frowned and began unbuckling chest plates.
"I think I'm going to have a nice bruise," said Jolly. The cheerful tone sounded forced. Zar finished unbuckling and checked. Just in case. Jolly was right. The ribs didn't feel broken, he'd just been banged around. The tightness inside of Zar's own chest loosened a bit. Nicko and Edge were safely on The Nova. So they had all made it. Now they just had to wait until the Republic showed up.
"Alright, ner vod," said Zar. "We've got to get everything useful out of this dump and get as far as possible. If I were an enemy patrol, the first thing I would do is check the crash site."
"Right," said Jolly. He sat up gingerly. "I'll strap myself in again while you figure out what we can take." Zar nodded and got to work.

First thing, first. He grabbed his Deece. The multifunctional blaster was every commando's pride and joy. They'd been given smaller models as soon as they could walk. Simple extensions made it a small canon and it was perfectly capable as both a sniper's weapon and for short range work. Zar's was easy to access. But Jolly's had ended up under some smashed parts so extracting it took an extra few seconds. By then, Jolly was back in armor, minus his helmet and had pulled out the emergency ration packs in the back. No commando ever went on a mission without one – even on a fighter plane. "Plan for all the weather," Artemis used to say. Skirta had agreed. The first thing Nicko had done was make sure both of the crafts were well-equipped with enough rations and equipment for three days. Zar knew what was inside those packs without checking. And he was grateful for Nicko's attention to detail. I'll have to thank him when we get back, he thought. But they would need more than just their Deeces to survive an attack from a whole band of droids. And the ship wasn't equipped with portable lasers or...wait.
Zar went over to the damaged torpedo launchers and read the flickering panel. There were still two torpedoes left – one on each side.
"Jolly," he said, getting to work tearing open the panel. "Come here a second." Jolly came over.
"Woah, there, Zar. Are you actually looking to blow us up?"
"We can use the torpedoes to make grenades," Zar explained. "They're small, we can carry them."
"They're also live." Jolly's voice didn't hold a trace of his usual good humor.
"I can do it," Zar insisted. "I was one of the best at IED training."
Jolly just blinked several times.
Zar sighed. "Look. You're a pilot. Me, I'm an explosives guy. Trust me. I let you flip me upside down about a hundred times."
Jolly nodded. "Okay." He buckled on his helmet and gingerly helped Zar take out the two torpedoes and strap them onto the outside of their packs. And the last thing...
"Jolly," Zar said, examine the smoking communications panel. "Help me with this thing."
"I thought we fried the com," said Jolly, coming over none the less.
"Maybe I can fix it," said Zar. They pulled out the entire thing and then hurried out of there before the sparking ship could set off the two torpedoes they had strapped to their backs.

They soon discovered why General Beto said the planet was boring. The two of them climbed a rocky out-cropping that looked promising. But…
"Nothing," said Jolly, looking around them with the binoculars. "Not a single outpost or ship or even a weather balloon. Zip."
"I get the picture," Zar grumbled. "What's a weather balloon?"
"A big balloon that they used to check the weather on Solaris ages and ages ago," said Jolly. He lowered the binoculars. "Artemis used to say it once in a while. One of her parents was Solarian. The other was Mandalorian."
"Ah," said Zar. He took off his helmet and took a measured sip of water, grimacing as the heat hit him. "Must have made an interesting mix of slang."
"Just about none of the other commandos can understand us," said Jolly cheerily. But he sobered up as he took off his own helmet and extended his hand for the water. "We need to find some cover, Zar. Night life may not be so sparse as animals in the day. Especially with this heat driving them underground."
"Agreed." Zar replaced his helmet and re-shouldered the pack. "We should scout out some of those caves in the cliff up ahead. If they're empty, they'll provide good cover."
"Don't you think they'll have things living in them?" Asked Jolly. The sound of a ship drawing closer cut off Zar's reply.
"Down!" Zar hissed. They dove underneath the outcropping of the stone structure and they waited, looking up at the injured yet functional cruiser that was listing heavily to one side making its way behind the mountains.
"Never mind," said Jolly lightly. "I'll take the caves." Zar nodded, mouth dry. There were at least one hundred and fifty fully functional droids in that thing. And they were two unprepared commandos. Their chances were getting slimmer by the second.

The rat thing that Jolly had shot out of reflex when they entered the cave turned out to be pretty tasty. Zar gnawed on a piece right off the stick as he fiddled with the communications equipment. He'd been at it for an hour already and his hopes were diminishing with each passing second.
"Do you want help with –" Jolly was cut off as the panel in Zar's hand sparked into flame. Zar yelped and threw the wreck clear, deeper into the cave. It sputtered out, leaving their only hope of contacting The Nova a smoking mess of metal and colored wires. Zar rubbed a tired hand across his eyes, wincing a bit at the burns.
Jolly got up and rummaged in his pack for a second before sitting down in front of him with bacta spray. Silently, he held out his hand for Zar's. Zar let him fuss. All commandos has basic first aid skills, and an injured soldier was a liability. But he felt strangely hollow. There was no more adrenaline and no more busted communications equipment to keep him busy. There was an entire garrison of droids out there and their suit com systems couldn't contact a ship unless it was in low orbit. And The Nova wasn't in orbit.
"They don't know we're alive," said Zar quietly.
Jolly swallowed hard but kept bandaging. "You don't know that."
"Would you know we were alive?" Zar demanded harshly.
Jolly looked at him stubbornly. "I would keep looking for Edge until I was one hundred percent sure he was gone. I know that he'd do the same for me. He has done the same, in fact."
"This is different from pulling a brother clear during a fire-fight," Zar argued.
"No, it's not," said Jolly stubbornly. "We're pilots. Pilots crash. And then you look for your mates. Artemis drilled it into us. Someone always checks the planet. Both Nicko and Edge will be looking; and they'll find us, ner vod."
Zar wished for that kind of confidence.
"Until then," said Jolly. "We stick to the mission."
"What mission?" Asked Zar.
"Recon and intel," said Jolly. He stood to put away the rest of the meds and put his hand on his hips. Zar recognized Sergeant Artemis in the attitude. "General Beto said we were to gather intel on the enemy troops. Well, Mr. Skirta-Trained-Me, this is what you're good at. Let's find out if the tin-heads have found the ore yet."
Zar nodded. Some of the emptiness in his chest disappearing now that he had a mission. "We wouldn't want the droids bringing their fellows to the party," said Zar.
"Now you're catching on." Jolly gave him a grin. But it didn't quite reach his eyes.

Commander Jay just looked at Edge. Edge felt his anger reaching a low simmer, fueled by his worry over Jolly and Zar. "Please," he tried again. Opting for a less demanding tone than the one he had just used. "I need to speak to the General, immediately."
Jay leaned in closer and hissed. "The General asked not to be disturbed with anything less than the safety of the ship."
"This does have to do with the safety of the ship!" Edge all but yelled.

Nicko came running down the hall. On the private comlink, he hissed, "What are you doing?!"
Edge ignored him. "It has to do with the missing...!"

Edge fell silent as General Beto opened the door from the inside. "I can feel your distress from inside," he said simply. "Will you come inside, Edge? And, Nicko, please join us."
Edge felt guilty. It was obvious on the General's face that losing the trooper and the fighter had been hard on him. Something Edge hadn't expected at all. But that was why his discovery was important. And he had his brothers to help. General Beto sat behind his desk and motioned to the chairs before him. Sitting felt unnatural, but refusing felt rude, so Edge sat gingerly. Nicko did likewise. Probably fuming in the safety of his helmet.
"General, sir," Edge began.
"Please," said the General, putting up his hand. "Helmets off."
Edge and Nicko were almost in sync when they did it. Jolly would have grinned. Nicko was trying to look as if he knew what was going on.
"Sir," Edge began again. "I was going through our data from when the torpedo hit and I think the fighter made it."
Nicko failed to look as if he knew what was happening. The Jedi nodded, he didn't seem surprised. "Please, continue."
"Sir, the collision of a torpedo with a Beta class Republic cruiser should have triggered a massive explosion when the fuel compartment was hit," Edge explained. "No such explosion was detected. So I think that the torpedo hit The Nova straight on. The collision with The Nova would have grazed the fighter and the pilots would have been forced to make an emergency landing."
"And you think they survived the crash?" The General asked.
"Yes, sir." There wasn't a trace of doubt in Edge's voice. They were commandos. Of course they had.
The General frowned. "I recall Commander Jay saying that their comms were disabled near the start of the battle. Would they have been able to repair it and contact us?"
"Unclear, General," replied Edge honestly. "It would depend on the severity of the crash."
"What are you suggesting, Edge?" General Beto said. For some reason he sounded a bit triumphant. As if Edge had just proven a point. It was an odd question for a commanding officer to ask, anyway. It forced Edge to make the request directly. Okay. He took a deep breath, he could do direct.
 "General, may we have permission to go look for the rest of Dragon Squad?"
Nicko was sitting at attention. General Beto looked at him and Nicko nodded his agreement, adding, "They would do the same for us."
"I don't doubt that," General Beto murmured, smiling slightly. He looked at Edge. "Gentlemen, I cannot risk the entire crew of this vessel on a blind rescue attempt."
Edge tried not to shout.
"However, I agree with you whole heartedly that your squad mates survived the blast. And I have never left anyone behind. Nor will I start now," he said. Edge was shocked. So was Nicko – it was apparent in how his blinking rate had just about doubled. Edge felt his respect for the General double as well. General Beto keyed something into the data pad on his desk and a holographic projection of the Surius system appeared. "Surius 4 is close enough to its neighbor that they act almost as two moons orbiting each other as they orbit the star. The Nova will hide on the far side of Surius 4 while the two of you take the remaining fighter – which one is it? The Roar? – and go scout the planet. Don't use comms until you're sure the droids aren't on the planet. But your partners' bio signs should stand out in an uninhabited planet." General Beto looked back up at the two clones. "I know that it isn't quite the speedy rescue you had in mind, gentlemen. But it is the best we can do. I don't want to lose anyone else – including the rest of your squad."
"Yes, sir. I..." Edge swallowed hard. "Thank you, sir."
Beto smiled kindly. "My pleasure, Edge. My pleasure."

They were almost out the door when General Beto suddenly made a strange noise, as if he had been punched in the diaphragm. Nicko and Edge spun around. The General had gone perfectly still, his eyes half-closed. Both Edge and Nicko froze. Edge tried not to panic. Was the General having a fit of some sort? What were you supposed to do if a Jedi had a fit? Call a medic? Or was this some weird form of meditation? But the General looked much too tense to be meditating. It was more like the way he had seized up right before they arrive at Surius 5, when he had figured out it was a trap. So did the General Sense something?
 Nicko looked as lost as Edge did, but at least he had the courage to ask, "General Mag Liano? Sir? Can we help you?"
Jedi Master Beto's eyes refocused on them, taking a second or two to actually recognize them.
"No," he murmured, completely distracted. "No...I'm all right." He stood slowly, still distracted, his gaze on something invisible standing between himself and the clones. "I don't think that cruiser was waiting for us," he said. "I think we surprised it."
"Sir?" Nicko repeated. Edge was still worried that it was a Jedi melt down of some kind. He had heard of clones going crazy after losing brothers – was this the Jedi version?
"The Separatist cruiser," said General Beto, looking at Edge directly for the first time. "The way it was positioned, do you remember?"
Edge was lost.

Nicko wasn't. "Oh," Nicko breathed. "It was facing the planet."
"It wasn't expecting us," said Edge, finally catching on. "It was looking at something else." He frowned. "Sir, do you think they found the ore?"
"Not quite," said General Beto grimly. "I think they made a garrison."
Nicko and Edge exchanged alarmed looks.
"Sir, how could you...?" Edge trailed off at the look Nicko gave him the, don't-question-the-CO look.
"Oh," the General suddenly looked slightly embarrassed. "I have a knack for technology. Force-sensitives make excellent pilots and mechanics. But I'm one of the very few Jedi that can actually sense machines in the Force." Nicko and Edge blinked.
"I thought..." Edge trailed off again at the plainly exasperated look Nicko gave him. Beto smiled.
"It's a special talent I have."
All in all, if was the oddest conversation Edge had ever had with a CO. But they were going back for Jolly and Zar. That was all that mattered.