A/N: Hey everybody, here's chapter nine for you. I will be unable to update this story for at least a week, so I apologize for that. Hope you enjoy!

"Mando'ad draar digu - Translation: A Mandalorian never forgets"

9

Ghosts of a soldier

Morkis watched the single gate open. The three Shistavanen he had sent out had returned. They weren't carrying anything!

"Didn't I order you to bring me their rifles and helmets? Where are they?!" He shouted. One of the militia men stepped forward.

"Sir, assault would have been a mistake. They had gathered by that point. We would have been facing better armed, better equipped, and more numerous enemy. We did find out that their forces in space are sending gunships in three hours. I suggest we hold this position, and let our anti aircraft guns destroy republic forces." The sergeant saluted and then took a step back.

"Well done. For your judgement, you are now promoted to lieutenant. Prepare the men to combat these clone whelps. I must speak with my master. Set charges on the comm tower. I would rather destroy it than risk it falling into enemy hands."

Morkis walked from the courtyard into the square command center/barracks. On the second floor the armory stood next to his personal quarters. The nikto locked the door and activated his personal holoprojector.

"What requires my service Kiith?" The doglike face of Seth Kator appeared in a dull blue light. Even without feeling him in the force, Kiith knew his master was furious. "Why did you have to wake me at this hour?"

"Apologizes my lord, but there is urgent news." Kiith Morkis had greater ambitions than this sniveling, over pompous ruler. For now though, it was best to appease this useless and unhelpful 'Master'. "Republic forces have landed. There are currently nine waiting in the forest to the south of my position. I await orders."

"Nine? You really are incompetent aren't you. Hold that position!" Without another word, Seth broke the link. Morkis opened one of his cabinets. Inside was a lightsaber, two grenades, and a DC-17 pistol. He stuffed the grenades and the pistol inside his cloak. clipping the lightsaber onto his belt, he reached for his comm. The republic would die, and then Kiith Morkis would call his followers. Seth Kator would fall, and the planet with him.

xxxXxxx

"We need to take out the communications tower. If the gunships try to land, they'll be slaughtered by those anti aircraft guns. Dom, you and Jacob will go Northeast and attack from there. Try to bring down the tower. The rest of us will move up from here. Any questions?" Cassus was nervous. The padawan hadn't told anyone about his breakdown, but he didn't know what to make of that. This would also be his first battle against a legitimate prepared army since Geonosis. The mercenaries he fought in the warehouse had been dangerous, and they were unorganized.

"Sir, I think you and the commander should move northwest and try to advance from there." Jacob phrased it like an order. There was a murmur of agreements from the other men. And the last thing Cassus needed was more time with the Jedi girl. He still wasn't sure what he should do about the incident.

"Men, we will all advance at sunrise. Jacob, Dom, get moving. The padawan and I will leave now as well. No communications." Cassus began jogging northwest. He didn't look to see if Jalaina was following.

xxxXxxx

Dom saw just a glint of sunlight. Without thinking he began jogging towards the base. Jacob followed him without a word. after an hour they had reached the large base. The walls had gun emplacements built in, three on each of the four walls. Jacob began to climb. Dom followed him up the small ascension cable.

On top of the wall were two shistavanen militia. Both clones blasted before they could sound the alarm. The noise attracted attention though. Dom holstered his pistol and unslung his grenade launcher. He checked to make sure the explosive was first in line. He aimed carefully, paying no heed to the flurry of bullets around him. He exhaled and pulled the trigger.

Boom! The explosion rocked the foundation of the fort. Dom's explosives weren't that powerful. Before he could finish wondering why the tower had just been destroyed in a fireball a round struck his shoulder. It felt like a punch with an armored gauntlet. The wound was bleeding.

xxxXxxx

"Cassus, why do you hate jedi? Are we so different than you?" Jalaina asked about ten minutes before sunrise. Cassus sighed heavily. He supposed he owed her an explanation after his breakdown. Removing his gauntlet, the clone peeled back the synthflesh on his right arm. The gears and servos underneath clicked and whirred. Jalaina just stared.

" I already disliked jedi. They were commanding my men on Geonosis when I crashed. Had one of the generals not led them in a direct assault on the factory, they might still be alive. That's when I met your master. When the general offered me the job, I turned him down. So I was shipped to Drixol 3. There I was put in charge of a platoon under the command of Norin Valer. Valer was a tactical idiot and a shabuir. He ordered an all out charge at the enemy position."

"He didn't realize how dug in the enemy was. Two platoons were killed in three minutes. Mine made it to the wall, destroyed a few enemies, but were forced to retreat. When we got back to cover, there were eleven of us left. Norin was furious. He pulled us back three hundred yards, enough so that we wouldn't be pursued. He ordered all the men to set their rifles twenty feet away. Then they lined up against a building. I was the only one told to keep my weapon and to stay where I was."

"Norin Valer then ordered me to execute my men. I refused twice. Then he said if I didn't, he would. So I raised my DC-15s, flicked the safety off, and took aim. I tried to swing my rifle around and shoot him, but he severed my right arm just below the elbow. he then burned my back with his blade and stabbed my shoulder. Using the force, he shoved me across an open area into a building. Valer threw his lightsaber and removed the heads from my men. I stood up, drew my pistol with my left hand, and shot him. I didn't stop shooting him. I just kept firing until he stopped squirming. The medevac found me unconscious an hour later. That's when I became the commander of this squad."

There were tears in the Jedi's eyes. He replaced the gauntlet and synthflesh. The sun was beginning to rise. He gestured for her to follow him. It was time to finish this.