Ah ... this chapter gave me so much trouble. I really can't stand it when I get writers block like I did.

Anyways, sorry about the wait.

I don't own Star wards in any shape or form.

I sigh softly as I lean against Boost.

My body aches due to the exertion it took to get this far. I can only guess from the way everyone else is reacting that General Krell's attitude toward the situation is not normal for a Jedi general. My eyes scan the area for Fixr. I want to thank him for letting us have this brief break, but I can't see him anywhere.

After a while, I spot him leaving a semi-hidden place with Wolffe. While I'm not actively looking at Wolffe, I notice the way he looks directly at me with what I can only guess is a sympathetic look on his face. I can't help but squirm a little when I see that look. I'm used him looking frustrated, or annoyed so I have no idea how to deal with a sympathetic Wolffe. the feeling of discomfort only increases when I see him approach, so I feel slightly relieved when General Krell calls out, "On your feet, you've lollygagged long enough."

I quickly stand up and wince slightly as my feet throb with pain. The last twelve hours had felt like torture. Not only was the walking hard, but the feeling of walking somewhere knowing you could be attacked at any minute without warning was unnerving. Then there was the fact that I was shooting living, feeling beings rather than droids.

After hours of marching we finally reach a narrow gorge and General Krell makes the decision that we'll do a 'full frontal assault', meaning that we'll have to be split up into smaller groups in order to get through. As I look at the gorge I can't help but shudder. The enemy could easily spot us, but we wouldn't see them.

I turn toward Boost and whisper as we walk over, "It is just me, or does this seem like a really bad idea?" Boost's lips twitched upward as he said, "No, everyone else thinks the same thing. This plan is suicide." After a second, he adds, "Sorry, I shouldn't have said the last part." I shake my head as I respond, "No, I appreciate the honesty. I don't want to be lulled into a false sense of security." Once I enter the gorge I am further thankful that I heard the full truth as we are almost constantly bombarded with more enemies to fight. The only consolation was the fact that the Umbarans seemed to have mostly used up the worst of their weapons on the 501st leaving us wave after wave of soldiers to blast through.

Once we get to the airbase, one small group decides to risk life, limb, and the rage of General Krell to sneak in and give the rest of the group an opening to take over the base. The minute the last Umbaran is taken care of, everyone, including myself, is ordered to secure the base. Therefore, I find myself holding a datapad as I help to catalog all of the Umbarans supplies.

As I work, I hear a familiar gruff voice say, "So you learned to read Aurebesh." I turn around to see the last person I wanted to talk to; Wolffe. I nod as I say, "Yes, it seemed like the best thing to do considering everything is written using Aurebesh." Wolffe nodded as he said, "You seemed rather skilled with a blaster pistol." I nodded again as I responded, "Yes, Warthog thought it would be best If I learned how to fight just in case."

After an awkward silence, Wolffe looks at me with a serious expression on his face and opens his mouth to speak. However I hurry to say, "Sorry, I really don't have time to talk right now. Perhaps we can finish this later." With that said, I hurry to where the others are standing and sigh with relief when Wolffe leaves the room.

At the same time, I can't help but wonder what he wanted to talk about. Wolffe has never gone out of his way to have a conversation before, especially with me.

Hours later, I am tottering off to the barracks when I hear Romeo calling me from behind. I wince when I see the irritated look on his face as he catches up and says, "You've been avoiding me Jules. Mind saying why?" I smile weakly as I say, "Sorry, but I haven't been trying to avoid you. I was immediately given tasks to do until a few minutes ago." Romeo nods, but I can tell he doesn't fully believe me. He abruptly turns around and leaves.

I sigh sadly as I watch him go, and enter my room before checking the time. It's about a half hour past the meetup time, so I don't know if everyone will still be on and I feel so tired. In the end, I lay on my stomach and set the laptop in front of me. Within a few minutes, I log into the chat room. ping.

crying~silent~tears: Just saying hey to all my buddies

ping

so~totally~emo: You're hear! :D

ping

hitting~the~walls: You mean *here* Emo?

ping

so~totally~emo: Anywho, we thought you weren't coming, Silent

ping

drink~in~boredom: Yup

ping

crying~silent~tears: Yeah, I got lucky I guess

ping

hitting~the~walls: You seen the new movie, Silent?

ping

crying~silent~tears: Movie?

ping

hitting~the~walls: Yup, there's this really cool war movie with explosions and such. It about this guy tha

The minute I see the word explosion, I suddenly think back to the battle earlier. The sound of blaster fire, screaming Umbarans and clones permeating the air. I can't forget the sight of the dead left behind, and the smell of blood ...

Within seconds I hear a ping and look to see

so~totally~emo: You okay, Silent?

I blink as noticed that I had missed quite a bit of the conversation when I was stuck in my thoughts, as well as their attempts to catch my attention. ping.

crying~silent~tears: Sorry guys, I'm really tired today. Gotta hit the sack

ping

drink~in~boredom: Sure thing, Silent. We get it

ping

crying~silent~tears: Night all

I sign off quickly, feeling too tired to wait for their replies. I put away my laptop and rest my head on my arms. Now that the fighting is over, I can't help think about the consequences. A moan slips from my lips as I wish that all the gruesome images dancing in my head would go away. My eyes flicker over to the gun nearby. If I just ... I close my eyes abruptly and shake my head, no that wasn't the answer.

I roll over and cover myself with a blanket. After all that happened today, I really need sleep.

Ah ... Wolffe starting a conversation ...

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