Sorry for the wait, I'll be trying to update more frequentlly now.


Blaster fire reached an intensity that Marks had never seen before , their cover had taken so many hits that he wasn't sure it would hold for much longer. "Does anyone have any grenades left?!" Marks shout seemed to echo through the team's COM channel.

"That's a negative Captain," One of his soldiers replied, "We're not going to able to last much—," A burst of static was mingled with a scream before the transmission went silent.

"Soldier, report! Soldier!" Marks desperately cried into the COM. He was losing too many of his section, only half of their number were still alive and well enough to fight.

"Mandalorians never surrender. If the enemy has you cornered then fight for as long as you are able. That, is a warrior's ethos." One of Mark's former Mandalorian instructors had always taught them that it was better to die fighting than to surrender. It was an ideal that was engraved into every clone and the newly promoted officer was no different.

"If I'm to die, then I will die on my feet, not on my knees." Marks whispered the ancient Mandalorian statement to himself as he slowly started to stand.

Mentally distancing himself from the intense pain flaring through his right hip, the officer moved to a standing position and continued firing at the rapidly advancing Separatist forces. Bursts of blue blaster bolts impacted into the lead row of droids, but their armour plating held firm against the onslaught and they continued their march.

Droid bolts were starting to concentrate on the three exposed clones still alive near the entranceway. Bypass and the others dove to the side to take advantage of the limited amount of cover available in the hallway.

"Bypass," Marks yelled into his COM, "Get your squad out of there! Mark my position and move up!"

"Covering fire would be appreciated sir," The slicer shouted back.

"Cheeky bastard," Marks muttered to himself, his helmet COM channel redirected to the remainder of his platoon, "Suppressive fire! Keep up the pressure!"

The survivors demonstrated their compliance, rifles and carbines flared toward the approaching mechanical units sending bolts through amour plating and circuitry alike. Aware of the dangers of the new threat, the majority of the Separatist aggressors focused their efforts on the newly exposed targets. Red bolts were fired with enough precision that the clones had to resort to blind firing around corners to stay alive. The distraction made the droid pause when Bypass and his group moved forward. Though the pause was only for a fraction of a second, the time window was just enough for Bypass and one other to roll to safety. The last in the group was killed by a high velocity energy shot to the torso before he could reach his destination.

Now having no clear target to engage, the first rank of droids quickly switched to their vibro-blades and moved forward. Captain Marks barley had time to shout out a warning before the new models were on them. The newly promoted officer had the mindset to squeeze off a quick burst as a droid moved to strike. At such close range, accuracy was hardly necessary, the blaster bolts shredded through enough circuitry to disable the droid.

His comrades, however, weren't as quick to draw and they soon found themselves locked in melee combat against superior armed foes. Blasters turned from range weapons into close combat arms, carbines and rifles were used to block the droid's attacks, though a few did manage to go on the offensive.

Captain Marks levelled his blaster at the nearest droid and snapped off a single bolt. Though the round impacted into the droid, it was not enough to cause anything more than superficial damage. The mechanical combatant moved to exact its revenge on the interfering officer, but a quick strike to the droid's head from the previously engaged clone put an end to such a vendetta. Having noticed that the clones across from him had already dealt with their attackers, Marks moved to blind fire down the corridor once more. He was seconds away from firing a quick burst of fire when an explosive bang echoed within the confines of the factor's first floor.

The Captain's first thought was that another series of droid units had activated and escaped from a storage room but that theory seemed to fade as the Separatist forces ceased their advance. The officer was spared from having to look around the corner when another series of cracks reverberated in the main corridor. The sounds were quickly accompanied by the sight of a large group of droids being propelled into the blast door that marked the exit from the factory.

A large collection of metal panels that previously been affixed to the corridor's walls now lay strewn across the floor, exposing a collection of wires and conduits. The Separatist forces that had been thrown into the blast door had gained enough velocity to crush their chassis, leaving them completely disabled. A small grin formed on Mark's face as he realized that such an attack could only come from a Jedi.

What was left of Marks' platoon marched out into corridor with weapons ready, just in case. They all relaxed their guard, however, when they saw General Skywalker and his platoon sprinting towards them. "Captain, I heard you needed an exit," Anakin said with a grin.

"Yes sir," Marks replied with a grin hidden by his helmet, "If its not too much trouble that is."

Anakin motioned to his padawan, "Ashoka, get these soldiers to the extraction point. Tell the pilots to standby for lift-off."

"Yes Master," Ashoka replied. She took a few steps toward the blast door before she turned around, "What about you?"

"Don't worry about me, Snips. Just get these men out of here."

Ashoka hesitated, her mind remembering what had happened to her Master the last time he had tried to stop a harmful force on his own. A tense movement from the clones forced her gaze to linger past Anakin, where the previously downed droids were starting to get back up.

Anakin raised his lightsaber in a defensive posture, but as he stretched out with the Force he could tell that his padawan was right behind him. He fixed her with a look that warranted no argument, "Go!"

Snapping out of her reverie, Ashoka nodded and sprinted toward the blast door, the remaining clones following in her wake. The padawan quickly cut a hole for the clones to escape, while battle weary soldiers slowly made their way out, Ashoka cast one last look at her Master. He was already deflecting carbine and high powered rifle shots from the reawakened Separatist forces. Fighting the urge to help, Ashoka waited for the last clone to leave before following.

Sunlight was the first thing the young Togruta could feel once she emerged from the factory. The grassland and forest would've been distracting, if they weren't still filled with the bodies of dead Republic and Separatist forces. Ashoka took a look at the clones she was leading to safety and noticed that the ragged clones were still maintaining their guard, despite their injuries. Intent on completing her objective as quickly as possible, the apprentice switched on her wrist-COM. "Sergeant Bombard, have you finished evacuating the wounded?"

"Yes sir," The gruff voice of the veteran soldier responded.

"Good, I have soldiers here that need a lift. Can the pilots move here without triggering the aerial defence grid?"

"One moment Commander," There was a few seconds of COM silence before the Sergeant returned, "It can be done sir, Gunships Two and Eight are already on their way."

A few seconds later the distinctive whine of an LAAT could be heard. The gunship was only gained only enough altitude to skim through the forest treetops before touching down in front of Ashoka and her group.

Even before the retractable doors slid apart, Captain Marks was already delegating commands. "One Platoon, get on board!"

Despite the fact that the area was undoubtedly secure from hostiles, the weary platoon formed a half circle in front of the gunship, their weapons pointed toward the factory. One by one, the clones broke formation and boarded the transport.

The second LAAT arrived a couple of minutes later, Captain Marks started to limp in the direction of the transport. "New gunship, Two platoon move! Move! Move!"

Ashoka waited for the clones to perform their last check of the perimeter before heading into Gunship Eight. She cast a glance toward the factory's entrance, mentally debating whether she should go back and help her master now that she had completed her objective. "Ashoka," A voice that could only belong to her master shouted from her wrist-COM, "Tell the engineers to detonate their charges now!"

The young apprentice sent her acknowledgement and relayed the order to Captain Marks. A few seconds passed before a slight shake could be felt in the ground. Knowing that the charges had been placed two hundred metres underground, the padawan knew that the chain reaction must have been immense for the Republic to feel anything on the surface.

As soon as the explosion could be felt, the distant sounds of blaster fire ceased. Ashoka gripped her lightsaber hilt tighter, fearing the worst. Thoughts of seeing her master as broken and injured as she herself had been earlier forced the padawan to move toward the factory. Before she could do anything more, however, Anakin sprinted out of the complex, his lightsaber moving to block the occasional shots that still tracked him. Without a word, the Jedi Knight grabbed his padawan and the two quickly moved to Gunship Eight. Anakin stilled his breath long enough to broadcast a message to the company, "All pilots move to the Resolute at maximum speed."

Just as they were trained, the pilots obeyed the order without hesitation, forcing the LAATs to gain altitude and move toward the Venator-class Star Destroyer overheard. "General," Sergeant Bombard said, "What about their auto defence turrets?"

"The generator was destroyed underground, Sergeant. You needn't worry about it."

True to his words, no more blaster flak was fired at the retreating gunships, the guns stayed silent. "Admiral Yularen, this is Skywalker."

"The Resolute hears you General," The Admiral responded, "The bomber squadrons have already been deployed."

"Good, send them on strafing runs to the target," The Jedi paused as if he were trying to make a final decision, "And ready the Resolute for orbital bombardment."

A silence seemed to fill the interior of Gunship Eight after the Admiral's weary acknowledgement, punctuated only by the continual sound of the LAAT's repulsor-lift engines. Not surprisingly, Ashoka was the first to break it. "Master, we can't bombard this planet!"

Anakin turned to regard his padawan with a cold gaze, "Why not?"

The sheer simplicity of the question left Ashoka silent for a handful of seconds, "Because it's wrong! That's what the Separatists do, it's the type of butchery that Grievous—"

"Before, you go any further," Anakin stated with the same cold tone, cutting his padawan off mid-sentence. "May I remind you that this planet's only living inhabitants are droids, animals, and vegetation, there is no sentient life. Besides," Anakin continued when it looked as though the young Togruta was about to argue once more, "Only the factory is going to be targeted."

"That doesn't make it much better," Ashoka spoke in almost a whisper. For the first time in her life, she was afraid of contradicting her master, "The bombers should be enough, we don't need to fire on this planet."

"Know your place padawan!" Anakin shouted as he turned to look at her, "Unless you're telling me that you want these new droid models to be integrated into the Separatist military."

"Of course I don't," Ashoka said in a trembling voice, her eyes glistening with moisture.

"Then this discussion," Anakin said as he turned away from her, "Is over."

The Jedi Knight tried to get control of the intense anger he had been feeling throughout the battles in the factory. He risked a glance at his padawan and felt a small stab of guilt when he saw that she was trying to refrain from crying in front of the clones. Two Platoon, even though their faces were hidden beneath their helmets, seemed surprised at what had just occurred; as evidenced by their postures. As quickly as the feeling of guilt entered his senses, however, it was swallowed by the anger that still coursed through him.

The gunship soon docked with the Resolute's ventral hangar, sparing the rest of its occupants from having to cope with the silence that sill lingered inside. As soon as the transport landed and the doors slid apart, Ashoka moved at a fast walk out of the hangar. To Anakin, it was obvious that she didn't want to appear distraught in front of the clones, though she clearly was.

Tearing his gaze away from his retreating padawan, the reluctant mentor looked to the company's acting commander, "Captain, get yourself and the others medical attention and some rest. Mission debriefing is in three hours."

Marks nodded gratefully to the generous allotted time, "Yes sir, thank you sir."

"I'll be on the bridge," Anakin said as an after-thought as he moved away from the clones to his conversed destination. It took the Jedi two minutes to reach the bridge, but it took five more minutes before he had his anger under enough control to warrant a visit to the cruiser's command centre.

"Admiral, report," Anakin said once he was beside the man in question, gazing out the bridge's observation window.

"Bomber squadrons have finished their runs; they're already on their way back. Starboard batteries are locked on the target."

"Very good, extend target radius to 500 metres. We can't afford to have these droids become apart of the Separatist forces."

"Target parameters updated," A gunnery officer called from the starboard crew pit, "Standing by."

"Fire," Anakin said in almost a regretful whisper, though he was loud enough to be heard by the gunnery officer.

Turbolaser batteries opened fire, their heavy blue bolt payload rained down on the surface of the planet like a meteor shower. Craters formed in the ground, as the deadly projectiles impacted into Crato. What was left of the Separatist factory was destroyed within seconds; the durasteel plating didn't have a hope of withstanding the bombardment.

The Jedi Knight gazed out of the observation tower for thirty minutes, the time it took for the Resolute's gunners to fulfill his commands. Once the gunnery crew reported that the bombardment was complete, Anakin turned to the Admiral, "I'll inform you of our next destination shortly Admiral."

"Understood sir," The Admiral responded before he barked orders for the Resolute to rendezvous with the rest of the fleet still maintaining a high orbit above Crato.

As soon as the Jedi General exited the bridge, he let out a sigh. The last fifteen minutes had finally allowed him to let his anger subside. Now, another strong emotion dominated his senses. Guilt. The young Jedi couldn't get Ashoka's fearful face out of his mind, he knew his decision had been right, the thought of more of those of droids hunting Jedi was enough to form a knot in his stomach; still he knew he should have gently explained his reasoning to her. Knowing he had to repair the damage he'd inflicted on their Master/Padawan relationship, Anakin headed to Ashoka's quarters.

A few minutes later the Jedi was standing just outside of his destination. He steeled himself with a calm exterior before opening the door. The sight of Ashoka's tear-stricken face sharply turning to look at him, and seeing her eyes widen in fear when she realized who was there almost made his calm façade slip. Approaching her slowly to try not to scare her, Anakin sat down beside her on the bunk.

Quarters above Republic cruisers were small for officers, only the bare essentials were present in such rooms, those being refreshers and beds. The clones, however, were stationed in larger rooms where more space was needed in order to have eight men in one room.

"Snips," the Republic General began quietly, "I'm sorry about what I said back in the gunship. It was just…" He trailed off. Just what? He thought to himself, just me using my anger to fuel my Force affinity? Thinking back over the mission, Anakin tried to remember what had caused his initial eruption of rage.

"It was just…" Ashoka pried with a mixture of sadness, anger, and curiosity.

"Seeing you and Rex get hit struck me hard. I just had a hard time calming down afterward." He knew the last sentence wasn't entirely true but he couldn't let any Jedi know that he'd immersed himself in fury, least of all his padawan.

Ashoka studied her master, she could tell from his posture that he truly regretted his actions, but she also knew that he was telling the truth from his words alone. She didn't know if she was manifesting a new Force ability, but she could sense sincerity in her mind as he spoke, though it didn't feel like it was a part of her own feelings.

"So?" Anakin finally asked as he turned to look at her.

His padawan's response came in the form of a hug, something that surprised the Jedi Knight. He stiffened for a moment before lazily returning the embrace. Ashoka pulled away a few seconds later, a small smile on her face as she said, "You're forgiven Skyguy."

Anakin was surprised by her sudden acceptance, "Uh…great." He stood and moved toward the door, motioning for his padawan to follow, "Well come on, we're going to pay Rex a visit," He stopped after opening the door, "And Snips, its Master Skyguy to you."

"Yes Master," Ashoka replied, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

Master and padawan stepped into the recovery section of the medical bay, expecting to see Captain Rex laying on one of the many bunk beds laid against the wall. A quick survey revealed that the officer in question was not present. "Rex must still be receiving treatment," The Jedi Knight spoke more to himself than to his apprentice as the two moved further in.

The treatment section in the Medbay held everything from standard sterile bandages to the famous Bacta tanks. Examination tables were spaced out around the wide rectangular room, their occupants being attended to by medical droids. The majority of the clones receiving care were either sitting or lying down on the tables, their wounds painful but not life-threatening. Three clones, however, were fully immersed in the blue, healing Bacta fluids.

While Anakin did not recognize the other two, bleached blonde hair in one of the tanks let the Jedi know that he had found his injured company Captain. A quick check on the tank's terminal revealed that the regeneration cycle would be complete in thirty seconds. The General decided to pass the time by checking up on the injured soldiers, a quick query to a passing med-droid let him know where Acting Captain Marks was being treated.

Marks was lying on one of the examination tables at the far end of the room with his eyes closed, the armour protecting his head and upper body lay on the floor beside him. A small hole in his right hip marked the spot where one of the new droid models had managed to land a lucky shot. After stripping the ex-noncom of his armour, the med-droid had declared his injury not a priority and moved to assess the more critically injured first, as dictated by triage. Even though Marks knew the value of such a system, it didn't stop him from mentally cursing the mechanical doctor as it lumbered to another table.

"Captain Marks," A voice called from his left.

Marks tried to open his eyes, but the bright illumination forced him to shut them again as his retina tried to adjust to the light differential. He could tell by the voice's tone of his rank, though, that he was being addressed by a superior officer and so he tried to move his stiff body into a sitting position in order to pay the proper respects. He was, however, immediately told to relax and he gratefully complied. By then his eyes had adapted and so he opened them to find General Skywalker and Commander Ashoka standing at the side of his table.

"How are you feeling Captain?" The General asked once he had opened his eyes.

"Same as during the battle sir, med-droids haven't gotten around to patching me up yet. There are still others with worse injuries." Marks continued with a small grin, "It's not Captain anymore either sir, I heard that Captain Rex has been stabilized and is going to make a full recovery."

"That's true, as for your rank," Anakin replied with a grin of his own, "That's up to you."

"Sir?" Marks queried, his confusion blatantly evident by his expression.

"The leadership skills you demonstrated during the mission were very impressive. Your quick thinking was undoubtedly what helped save your platoon from those new droids." The Jedi paused to let the words sink in before continuing, "As for your rank, you have two choices. Since the position as Torrent Company Captain is filled by Captain Rex, you can choose to remain as a Captain and get transferred to another unit, or help me reorganize the platoon command structure as a Lieutenant."

Marks was left reeling for a few seconds, he'd never thought he'd survive long enough to be permanently promoted to an officer rank. While it was slightly tempting to be a Captain, the thought of a transfer to a new unit didn't set well with the injured clone. He'd built strong friendships with those in his platoon and he wasn't about to abandon them when they had lost a good number on Crato. "I'd rather serve as a Lieutenant, sir," Marks spoke after a long pause.

"Very good, then I'll leave you to your recovery Lieutenant." The General stressed the new rank with a smile before leaving his new platoon leader to his treatment.

After conversing to a med-droid again, upon seeing Rex's empty Bacta tank, Anakin discovered that the veteran officer had been placed in the recovery section of the medical bay. Returning to the room the two had first arrived, the Republic leaders easily spotted Rex's signature appearance amongst the others. "Rex, how you holding up?"

"Pretty good General, amazing substance Bacta." The Captain switched his gaze to Ashoka and searched her for signs of injury, "You alright kid?"

"I'm fine, got grazed by one of those clankers but Skyguy healed it."

Rex nodded, he was about to leave the conversation at that when he remembered seeing all of his brethren trying to fight an enemy they could not see. "How many did we lose General?"

"Too many Rex, last confirmed K.I.A count was twenty-three. All of the platoon lieutenants were among them, but Lieutenant Marks has filled one of those holes."

While those loses were, proportionately, fairly high, the officer had expected their small assault force to have suffered far more casualties. Probably would have, he thought, if the General and Commander weren't there. While he mourned the loss of his brethren, he knew it wouldn't do to dwell on it. "I slip unconscious for a few hours and look what happens," Rex said, a tight smile breaking his normally stony expression, "What would you do without me General?"

"I don't know Rex," The Jedi Knight said as he laid a hand on the company Captain's shoulder, "And I'm never going to." The Jedi paused to consult a nearby terminal displaying the time indicated by the ship's chrono. "There's a mission debriefing in two hours, if you think you're up for it."

"Don't worry about me sir, I'll be there."

The reluctant Master nodded, "Get some rest then Captain."

With Rex's confirmation, both Anakin and Ashoka both headed to their respective quarters in order to take advantage of the remaining free time before the debriefing.

An hour and fifty-five minutes later, Anakin and his padawan were standing in what many clones had come to call the briefing room. The roughly square shaped room had been fitted with consoles, tactical maps, and holo-projectors. While such devices normally displayed the current data on an impending assignment, only the holo-proejctor was currently active, its display that of the schematics for the new droid models encountered on Crato.

In addition to the Jedi Knight and his apprentice, Captain Rex, Lieutenant Marks, and Bypass were also present. Generally, only officers would be attending such a gathering, but Marks had insisted on allowing the clone slicer to be present. Now, as Anakin gazed at the schematics for the newly discovered mechanical combatants, he could understand why.

"According to the files I was able to download sir, these assassin droids are designed to seek out and eliminate both Jedi and clone officers. Their entire frames are constructed out of cortosis, making them able to resist both lightsaber and blaster attacks." Bypass paused to study the droid's schematics again before continuing, "Their weapons are also lined with the same mineral, though their vibroblades have a higher concentration."

"Excellent work Bypass," The Jedi Knight said, "While I hope Crato was their only factory for these, I sincerely doubt it."

The clone slicer hesitated a moment before speaking of the revelation he'd finally deciphered two hours ago. "Sir, there is something else you should know."

"Go ahead."

"While I infiltrated the Separatist databanks, I was able to get a hold of a few other files. Most of them are typical listings of specific commands and timetables for construction but there was one file attached to an inventory listing of parts received from a Separatist freighter." Noticing that he had everyone's complete attention he pushed on, "It took a while to unscramble the code, apparently the droids tried to delete it, but I was able to uncover a simple message."

The schematic and tactical readout of the new Separatist assassin droids were replaced by a simple text message: INCREASE DEFENCES, THE REPUBLIC IS COMING. "Do you have a time index on this?" Anakin asked, his eyes hardening as he gazed at the projector.

"Yes, sir, the message was sent only a few hours after we departed for this planet."

"That would have given them six days to prepare their welcoming. Have you been able to track the source of the transmission?"

"No sir, the transmission was routed several times and the trail ends at the Kiflor system."


And so the plot starts to unfold....

Let me know what you think! I need them motivations.