ME: Now time to get back to the Battle of Christophsis. This one is dedicated to the victims of 9/11. 2,977 people died fifteen years ago-may their deaths never be forgotten.

If we can save Jabba's son, we can save our troops. The gratitude of Jabba will grant us access to the Hutt Cartel's hyperlanes, easing the flow of units and supplies into the Outer Rim. Too many of our clone soldiers and Jedi guardians have died in the fight against the Separatists, Master Windu. To not do whatever we need to do to win this war and restore peace would be more than wasting their sacrifices; it would be spitting on their corpses.

(Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine, speaking to Jedi Master Mace Windu)

Serra had recovered fairly quickly, all things considered. Over the course of a few days, the Sep droids and their Christophian allies had been defeated, either eliminated or forced to retreat.

Of course, even with bacta therapy it was likely that a scar would be left, and Obi-Wan had mandated that the younger Jedi take it easy. Serra wasn't the type to sit on her ass while her men were in danger, but Bruiser had assured her that the 187th would be fine in her absence and had tactfully pointed out that the fact she had been wounded was no secret amongst their subordinates and they would be feel obligated to protect Serra as a result.

So she had stayed off the frontline and now was trying to relax at a battalion aid station, going over a casualty report on her datapad. The 187th Legion had sustained minimal losses, all things considered, but they still stung and what was more damning was that Slick turning traitor and leaking information to the CIS had undoubtedly led to some of the KIAs on her list.

I hope he gets sentenced to death, Serra thought darkly. I could care less about getting shot, that bastard got some of my troopers killed. For that, I will never forgive him.

"Greetings, General Keto," said Senator Organa, who had not evacuated Christophsis yet in order to set an example, as he strode into the BAS. Serra thought it was gutsy, if not exactly the most logical choice for a politician like him to make. "You seem bulkier than when I last saw you. Have you been exercising more?"

Serra shook her head and tapped her chest with a fist. "I'm wearing a chest plate now, Senator Organa," she said. "I got shot in the gut, so I figured I should do a better job of protecting myself." The young woman neglected to mention that the chest plate had come once belonged to a dead clone who had been decapitated by droid shrapnel; she doubted the Senator wanted to know the details.

"Sorry to hear about that, Master Jedi," replied Organa. "Troopers, how are you feeling?"

One injured trooper, who Serra knew to be Ged from Torrent Company, smiled. "Fine, sir. I got droid fragments in my shoulder, but Sergeant Coric here has assured me I'll live."

"C'mon, Ged," called another trooper. "It's just a shrapnel wound and this is a BAS, no way you'd-."

Serra, feeling easy, got to her feet just as an artillery shell slammed into the ground and detonated.

"Incoming!" someone shouted.

"Shit," Serra cursed. "Weapons ready, everyone!"

She ran outside and ignited her green lightsaber blades as a second explosion went off while Organa's security detail rushed him to the rear. Already Serra's earpiece was full of chatter as the Republican defenders responded to the unexpected Separatist attack.

"They're back!" Anakin yelled as she reunited with him, Chad, and Obi-Wan.

"I told you they caved too fast given the circumstances, Anakin," said Obi-Wan. "The fact we can't contact anyone on Coruscant or even in orbit isn't helping."

"I wasn't the one who came up with the idea of sending Hunter back for supplies, Master," Anakin shot back.

"We don't have time for this!" Chad cut in. "We got clankers to deal with!"

"Rex, take a platoon and follow me!" Anakin ordered. "Have everyone else stay here and help with the defense."

"Serra, you and Bruiser protect the left flank," Obi-Wan told her. "Chad, have your troops protect the right. We can't afford to be caught off guard like last time, got it?"

"Got it!" replied the two Jedi Knights.

The droids marched forward, but the poor tactics of the machines did not change the fact that they had numbers on their side. So all Serra and her soldiers could do was hold them off while Anakin, Rex, and the Torrent Company platoon that was with them got into position.

Probably setting up some kind of ambush, Serra reflected as she deflected blaster bolts. I just hope they get to it soon.

Suddenly one of the 501st troopers fighting with her and the 187th yelled, "It's Skywalker! He's launched his attack!"

Surely enough, Anakin had somehow landed on top of one of the tri-droids and attacked it. Rex and his subordinates launched their own attack soon after, leading to all three of the mechanical behemoths being destroyed.

"Serra, Chad, have your troops hit the droids from the flanks!" Obi-Wan ordered. "Anakin's just given us an opening!"

The young Jedi passed down the order to their subordinates in the 182nd and 187th. While none of the troopers charged at the droids, both to avoid getting gunned down in the process and to avoid being hit by any of Obi-Wan and Cody's troopers, they did move into position to attack while taking steps to avoid friendly fire. Between them, their Jedi Generals, and their fellow clones the droids were eventually wiped out.

"Keto to Control, come in," Serra said into her comlink. "Be advised: We have multiple wounded, I say again, multiple WIAs. Do you copy, over?"

"Copy that, General Keto," replied Control. "Thanks for the info, ma'am. We'll get everyone prepped for the casualties, over."

Fortunately, just as she heard the distinctive report of a Nu-class shuttle, the droids closest to the Republicans turned around and began a swift retreat.

"Yeah!" one of the clones cheered. "Run, you tinnies! Run! Maybe that'll keep us from turning you into scrap metal!"

Serra smiled as the shuttle came into view. "Looks like Coruscant heard our requests for help."

"Indeed," Obi-Wan replied. "Who knows, maybe my new Padawan is aboard as well."

Anakin frowned. "Wait, you were serious when you said you put in a request for a new Padawan, Master?" he asked.

Obi-Wan nodded as the four Jedi walked. "Of course. Knights and Masters alike have a duty to pass on what they know to the next generation of Jedi. You should ask Master Yoda for a Padawan, Anakin. In fact, I recommended you be assigned one."

Anakin instantly shook his head. "I don't have time to babysit, Obi-Wan," he responded. "A Padawan would just slow me down. Maybe a few years from now or if we win this damn war I'll take an apprentice. But right here, right now? No way."

The shuttle landed, and the ramp lowered. To the disappointment of the clones watching, no fresh troopers disembarked, but at least as a consolation a few loads of supplies were offloaded.

The only two sentients who walked down the ramp were a pair of Togruta females who looked to be in their teens. One had orange skin and blue eyes and was dressed in a tube top, mini skirt, and leggings, while the other had red skin and light blue eyes and wore more conservative, traditional Jedi attire.

Chad's eyes widened. "What are you two kids doing here?" he asked. "Did the Council never get our requests for reinforcements and supplies?"

One of the Togrutas drew herself up to her full height and spoke up. "Master Yoda said no one here was replying to the communiques he sent, so he sent us to deliver his message. He said it was an emergency."

"Funny," Anakin said, "we have an emergency of our own right now. It's called a battle, youngling."

"Well, Master Skywalker," said the second Togruta, who had a Core Worlds accent, "maybe one of the ships in orbit can help transmit a signal back to the Jedi Temple."

"Who are you guys, anyway?" asked Serra.

"My name's Ahsoka Tano, Master Keto," said the first Togruta. "This is my cousin, Raana. We're both Padawans."

Obi-Wan smiled as if it was his birthday and he had received a gift he had wanted and would appreciate for years. "Ah, so one of you must be my new student," he said. "Welcome to Christophsis. I'm sorry both of you had to arrive at such an unpleasant time."

Ahsoka: "I'm sorry, Master Kenobi, but I'm not your Padawan." She then turned to Anakin and bowed her head. "I'm yours, Master Skywalker."

Chad looked Raana in the eye as best as he could given their height difference. "Lemme guess...you're my Padawan, then?"

"Affirmative, Master Skywalker," Raana said in a respectful tone as she bowed. "It is an honor to meet you."

"Well..." Serra chuckled, in spite of the odds the Republicans were up against. "I wonder if I'm gonna get a Padawan now."

ME: I don't know whether or not to give Serra a Padawan, but right now I'm currently against it. I hope this chapter was alright.

I will admit that I consulted Karen Traviss's The Clone Wars novel when writing this chapter.

One idea I have in mind is that the special missions assault troops (the ground troops who fought in Ranulph Tarkin's ORSF; apparently several battalions were loaned to Ranulph by sympathetic Judicials, which doesn't paint a positive picture of the Republic's government) end up becoming the Republic Marine Corps. After all, I read in The Essential Guide to Warfare that apparently the Judicial Forces were supposed to be more of a rapid response force, with defense being a responsibility of the Planetary Security Forces. Plus apparently the clones from the microseries that helped Saesee Tiin take over a ship were Marines, and as a civilian defense academic I feel like SW could use Marines, even if it's a Space Opera rather than military science-fiction.