Chapter 38: Agreement

The Hydra jumped again, landing a hundred meters away. Its landing crushed several droids before smashing others with its steps. Its three heads shot out, plucking Geos from the sky and consuming them. Nearby a Geonosian yelled orders at his comrades.

"You!" Rodrigo pointed at him. "You're Piktok, can you drop the short range jamming?"

"Tulub buuloop!" Piktok snarled and the Geos turned on Rodrigo, their weapons ready.

"No! We have to work together or we're all going to die in this valley!"

Piktok looked at the Hydra and waved; his companions followed him away.

"Short ranged transmissions still jammed sir," Smash informed him.

Galia held her lightsaber in both hands, watching the Geos carefully, "Maybe we should head for the fortress master."

"No, that thing will smash the fortress. We need everyone to work together."

"Runner sir?" Smash suggested.

"Runner's a good idea," Gutter agreed. "The fortress must see this but they probably think it benefits them."

"The runner would be too late," Rodrigo shook his head. "If he survived."

"We need to hold its attention," Oro told them. "We need it to stay in one place so everyone can concentrate their fire on it."

"It didn't like our lightsabers," Galia recalled. "Maybe we can use them to taunt it."

Oro asked, "Can you shoot it in the head again Gutter?"

"Not from here," he pointed. "I can hit it but at this range, I won't even be a bother."

"At any range you're a bother," Oro teased.

"I knew I'd like you," Gutter replied. "But I expect better."

Oro smiled, "Master Jedi, if you could draw it closer, we'd have more options."

"We'll try," Rodrigo sprinted off with Galia beside him. The instant the Hydra saw their lightsabers, all three heads focused on them. It clawed at them, Rodrigo dodging while Galia leapt over it. She landed on its back, slashing a neck. A head turned towards her and snapped. Galia jumped on the beak and slashed it, then hopped to another head and thrust into its side. The creature screeched at her, the third head striking. Rodrigo severed another toe. "Now Galia!"

Rodrigo blurred as he sprinted away. A single bound and Galia was by his side, running towards the notch where their companions hid. The hydra roared, ear shattering again. With a lunge, it crossed the distance. Its landing felt like an earthquake. Both Rodrigo and Galia barely escaped, as a head snapped at them both. Once he stabilized his feet, Gutter blasted the central head, forcing it to look at him. Then it chased him.

"Oh no! No no no!" He yelled as he fled from it. "Not getting eaten!"

The hydra trembled. All three heads seemed equally perplexed as it shook again. The head on the left side trembled, trying to keep its mouth closed. The other two kept watching the third, but backed away. Then the left head gagged and dry heaved until it vomited a wretched yellow-green spew. The ooze shook a little until a chunk broke free.

"Flail!" Rodrigo raced over to the droid. "Do you still function?"

The droid was obviously insulted by the question, "Affirmative."

"We need you to cut the jamming, we can only kill this thing together."

"Agreed." An antenna rose from Flail's back. "Jamming off. Can Jedi follow orders?"

"Wait…what?"

"Flail!" Someone shrieked and they followed it to a Geo. Then another took it up until several of the droids and Geonosians chanted it. "Flail! Flail! Flail!"

"Melee's attack its joints! Concentrate on its knees, where the armor is weak!" Flail thundered, his robot voice amplified by his speaker. "Crabs hold the legs down! Ranged shoot its heads! Jedi, tell your base to attack the heads."

Order returned immediately, Droids and Geos charged the Hydra. Crab droids seized hold of the legs, binding themselves to it like anchors. Rodrigo relayed his orders for the Jedi base, which immediately began shooting at the creature's heads. An auto-cannon struck it repeatedly, causing it to roar. The Hydra flew across the distance, smashing the fortress and the auto-cannon. Angrily, it crushed the building into pieces.

"Come on!" Rodrigo said as he motioned them towards it. They raced down the notch trying to close the distance. More and more crab droids clung to the Hydra's legs while Geos cut and pierced the creature's joints near the knees. It shook its legs while its heads snapped at the fliers. Galia bound across the distance first and sliced through a knee. She caught hold of the carapace and sliced twice more, cutting it loose.

The hydra screamed. It spun, remarkably fast even without a leg, trying to protect the wound. Rodrigo jumped onto its back. A head snaked towards him. He avoided its bite but not the beak, which knocked him aside. Huffing and puffing, Gutter finally came within range. Smash stuck by his side, shooting at the eyes.

Flail pointed at Oro, "Find a secure location to shoot the eyes."

"Uhh ok," Oro headed to a rock outcropping. The Mon Cal looked at Gutter, "What are you on break?"

Gutter found a smile despite fighting for breath; he raised his blaster and shot the heads. The spray caught a head's attention but a spider droid's cannon distracted it, before it could attack. Oro waited patiently, the spinning Hydra moving too quickly to hit an eye.

Geonosian fighters flew overhead. They banked and fired, shocking the creature. As they took another pass, it rose up on its rear three legs and swatted at them with the front two.

Herun and Nathani escaped the rubble and ran over to Rodrigo, "Are you ok master?"

"Yes Nathani," he nodded. "We need to cut it at the toes and the knees. We're trying to keep it from jumping."

"What is that thing?" Herun asked.

"Geonosian Hydra," Rodrigo answered as he stood up. "Watch out for the heads."

With two Jedi Knights and the Padawans hacking at the creature, only seconds passed before another leg fell. Geonosians surrounded a third and drove their spears into the joint. Without two legs and crab droids dragging at the others, the hydra could barely move, even with its wings flapping. Spider droids concentrated on the heads, causing them to flinch and dodge instead of fighting back. Gutter sprayed the central head, aggravating it enough to stop and look at him. Oro fired, striking its eye. It screeched and fell, its claws covering the central head.

The Jedi raced towards the central head before Flail blared, "Stay back Jedi!"

The droids bombarded the central head from all directions. Soon after, the head wobbled from the onslaught and fell dead.

"All shooters focus on right head!" Flail yelled. "Jedi on the left!"

Soon after the right head fell, smoldering. The four Jedi worked in tandem, slashing and distracting the head, until Galia hacked out both eyes. Rodrigo lifted a boulder and smashed the head with it. Then Herun and Nathani cut a hole in the shell and speared the brain together. Finally, the creature met its death. The two groups stood together for a long period, speechless.

Beeping from Flail ended the silence. He opened his comlink; it displayed a blue image of General Zurskur, dressed in his heavy battle armor.

"Report commander," Zurskur ordered. "Did the Jedi break the truce?"

"Negative. We fought a monster."

"What!?" Zurskur smiled and said. "Only when dealing with Jedi, would that statement seem plausible. Do you need assistance?"

"Negative."

"Are the Jedi and their companions near? Good, put the comlink on the ground." Flail placed it on the ground and space was made for everyone to see it. "Greetings, I'm general Zurskur. Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi will share the details of our peace treaty."

The image changed to a bearded gentleman with a mixture of robes and Clone armor. He bowed to them.

"Greetings, how many were lost in the battle?"

"Our losses were light," Herun said. "Our friends Rodrigo and Galia returned as well."

"Excellent news," Kenobi hesitated before speaking. "I'll be honest, we're in a weak position and naturally our negotiations reflect it. The general will allow us to withdraw from Geonosia without any further conflict, including the release of captured prisoners. I've accepted these terms because I have no choice."

"There must be something we can do!" Nathani insisted.

Kenobi began to speak but paused, "I'll be honest. I'm a prisoner on the general's ship along with a senator that came to negotiate. Are you in any better position?"

They looked around, surrounded by thousands of droids and Geonosians. Geo fighters circled overhead. Nathani shook his head and Rodrigo answered, "No Kenobi. Thank the general for his gracious offer."

The image fizzled again and Zurskur returned, "Both sides will hold to this agreement. Any breach of the agreement will result in immediate destruction of the violators by my forces. The peace treaty will be voided by noncompliance."

"What is he?" Gutter whispered. "A lawyer?"

Zurskur looked at him and Gutter winced. "…if you need any medical attention all you need is to ask. A transport will arrive soon to pick up the remaining Republic forces. Ladies and Gentlebeings, may you prove worthy of the Scorekeeper's favor."

The image blinked away and Rodrigo sighed in relief. Herun, Nathani, and Galia sagged in disbelief.

"We…we lost," Nathani summed up.