Fordo POV

Jabiim was a shit hole. No amount of arguing from the natives was going to convince me otherwise. They kept going on about how the rain made you appreciate the days of light in their fullest. Call me greedy but I prefer more than 5 sunny days in my galactic year. Kamino had enough downpours for a lifetime. At least Kamino didn't have this gods-forsaken mud.

General Tiin was busy talking to the Loyalist rebel leader, Orlis Gillmunn. After a coup from the Nationalist leader Jabiims officially elected government went into hiding, never giving up hope of Republic assistance. To be fair to the Nationalists, they weren't exactly wrong when they said the Republic hadn't cared about them until we found their planet core was rich in a very rare ore. That and a very rare gem called stygium, or something.

Yesterday I had received my orders from ONI, execute Order 66. Gods above I hated that number, 66. I reckon I might just hate it more than droids.

I had no problem following the order, hell it was tame compared to others I've received in the past. No, my problem was with what those orders meant. Betrayal. And by my commanding officer at that. There was no greater betrayal than that.

To have a Jedi betray the Republic was no new thing, nor was killing one. Captain Rex of the 501st Legion, for example, had been elevated into a living hero for his actions on Saleucami. At least to the Republic. Mandalorians had no word for hero, we didn't need one. Everything a hero was supposed to be was everything that a Mandalorian was supposed to do anyway, the only difference between a hero and a regular Mando'a was luck, one was lucky enough for their deeds to become known and the other didn't. All the same, that didn't change the fact some Mando's are better than others, and that fact was recognised. We just didn't call them heroes.

I digress, Rex showed the galaxy why Mandalorians were to be feared. Even the best of the Jedi could fall to us.

I wasn't afraid of taking on a Jedi, if Rex could I could, we are the same blood after all. My real hatred for the number 66 was its implication. If Saesee Tiin truly was a traitor that made my battalion 66ers. 66er's was a badge of shame given to any legion whose Jedi betrayed the Republic. It showed a dereliction of duty that could not be tolerated. Any betrayal was to be punished in the same way, death. To let a Jedi escape to the Separatists showed everyone that an entire Legion couldn't do one job without screwing it up. 66er's were failures. We didn't have the excuse of Jedi being too good to be defeated, not when others can kill them. Our people, the Mandalorians, our sire, Jango Fett, and our own brothers, like Rex, had all killed Jedi before. 66er's had no excuse. Jedi could be killed and a Mando could kill a Jedi. Therefore a Mando who couldn't kill a Jedi was simple no Mando at all.

I refused to let my brothers be tarnished with the title of 66.

'Fordo?' I was jerked out of my musings by General Tiin. No, he was no General. He was traitorous scum. 'Are you okay?'

I snapped to attention. 'Always sir.'

'Good. We have our next mission and I want you with me on this one.' Finally, a chance. I tightened my grip on my rifle. If Tiin noticed anything he didn't say anything. 'You, I and a small contingent of clone troopers are going on a scouting mission to try and get a handle on our enemies numbers.' I gave a saluted and set about collecting together some of the men.


Baccara POV

I felt nothing over my orders. What was a Jedi other than another target to kill? Nothing. So he had some fancy tricks, well I had some of my own. Mundi and I had been sent to reinforce the men of Mygeeto. The Chancellor wanted to test to see how just how effective his Galactic Marines really were. Well, he couldn't have picked a harder crucible than Mygeeto could he.

Republic forces had been fighting for control of the planet since the Clone Wars began.

During the Chancellors opening address to the Republic at the start of the war he had made special mention to three planets in particular, the Triad of Evil. It wasn't the fanciest of names but it got the job done. Saleucami, Felucia and Mygeeto were the three so named planets.

Felucia housed the headquarters of the Commerce Guild, Mygeeto possessed important crystal mines and vaults managed by the InterGalactic Banking Clan, and Saleucami was home to the Confederacy council after the fall of Geonosis. Now Saleucami was ours, though the council had escaped before we even arrived in the system, Felucia was space dust due to a collapsing star, leaving only Mygeeto.

I had received my orders only moments ago and, while I didn't agree with the part of not telling my men about Mundi's betrayal, I complied. I knew that every man in the Legion would do what was necessary. They were loyal to the Republic, not the Jedi.

I approached Mundi.

'Sir, can I see you in private for a moment.' The Jedi turned from the holotable were he was planning his next assault.

'What is it, Commander?' Nothing. His face showed no hint of what was to come. Either that meant he already knew what was coming and the Jedi already knew he had won or the stories about the Jedi's Foresight were exaggerated. Didn't really matter either way to be honest, either way this whole thing would be over soon.

'I've found something you need to see to personally.' He followed without question.

Mygeeto was a frigid ice planet with towering pillars of spiky crystals. The Lurmens, the natives of the world, used these impressive formations to build their cities on, using sky walkways as go-betweens for the various cities. The droids had met us on one such walkway to impede our advance onto the next city. Considering we couldn't flank the droids without taking out their AA guns, or suddenly gaining the ability to fly, the only avenue of attack left was to charge head on. Was it any wonder Mygeeto had been the longest battle of the Clone Wars, and the costliest?

I took the Jedi to the back of our encampment. I knelt down on the ground, close to one of the walkway edges, and pulled my standard issue Vibro knife from my boot. I whirled round on the Jedi in an instant, he didn't even react. Within a flash, my knife was buried in his lung. I ripped the blade out to the side and stabbed him again, this time taking more care to aim for the heart.

The Jedi put up a weak defence but I managed to push through it. I stabbed his heart and withdrew my blade. I stabbed him again and again and again, until the body had stopped spasming. Once I was done I took the saber hanging from the Jedi's belt, it was a tradition for a Mandalorian to take a fallen Jedi's blade wasn't it, so long as it was your kill. Next, I took the Jedi's body and dumped it over the side.

I walked back into the camp, not caring for the blood on my armour. No one questioned it. As it should be. I stopped one of the troopers to spread the word, a Separatist assassin had killed the General. I killed the assassin and both the assassins and the Jedis bodies had fallen over the side of the walkway.

I strode the rest of the way to the holotable I had taken Mundi away from. I had a planet to capture.


Fordo POV

Calling this a mission was a stretch at best. Tiin had another one of his Jedi feelings that had warned us about an attack many times during the war. I had once been very grateful for the Jedi's abilities, now it just made it harder to kill him.

Tiin had split everyone up into pairs. The Jedi seemed to be keeping his distance from me, having sent me off with one of the Shiny Scout troopers. Due to the level of casualties on Jabiim and its importance, the legion had a constant stream of new troops. When Tiin had me gather up 40 men to help on this scouting mission I had chosen them all from the newest batch, the shiniest of Shinies.

Tiin had chosen to scout out with one of these new men and had saddled me with one too. He knew something was up and was trying to put as much distance between us as possible. Fine with me, the distance would only make it easier to complete my mission.

The Shiny I had been saddled with was perhaps the most hapless clone I have ever seen. His first training team had all graduate without him due to him suffering a minor head injury during his final exam. Due to the Republics need for new troops they had been shipped out while he had been stuck in medical for observation. Then, eventually, he gets shipped out to Jabiim where he contracts several of the local diseases that put him out for 3 weeks. And now, he was standing in the way of me and my mission.

We called him Sick, for obvious reasons, and I genuinely liked the poor kid. He had a good and open heart. There was a type of naivety and innocence to him not seen in other clones. I really didn't want to kill the kid, but I would if he got in the way. Killing one innocent to serve a greater good was something I would do, no matter how distasteful I found it.

'So, where are we going sir?' He had the same briefing I did and knew which area we had been given to scout as well as I did but he still turned to me for instructions. The boy was a follower through and through, combined with his naivety, and he didn't even question why I was taking us out of our search area and towards Tiin's.

As a Capt, in my standard loadout was a simple pistol, sometimes two, and a rifle. Sick, as a Scout trooper, had a sniper rifle, and I needed his rifle. I had brought us as close to the general's location as I dared and asked Sick to hand over his rifle. No questions were asked, he didn't even give me an odd look. No, he just stared at me with utmost trust. I turned away from him quickly.

I gave him a quick order to stay where he was before I moved off towards where I remember a cliff on the Jedi's topographical map. I quickly moved into position and waited.

I knew Tiin wouldn't have made it past my position yet so I would just have to wait for him. It wasn't a fun wait, or a short one. The weather on Jabiim was still its usual temperate, wet, muddy self that made it uncomfortable to be lying in. Still, waiting in all of this was a small price for Tiin's death.

I was nearly thinking he wouldn't show, that I had missed my chance to stop him and that the Jedi had already defected, when I saw him moving into view. The Shiny was laying over his shoulder, a plasma wound on his leg. The Jedi didn't look any worse for wear but was using the Force to move at such incredible speed. It would be a tricky shot but I could make it.

I calmed my heart to slow as much as I could, I took the biggest breath I could, I very, very carefully aimed. I hit.

Tiin went tumbling down as simple as that. It was all a matter of patience. The trooper on his shoulder had an unfortunate tumble but didn't seem to notice the pain. He was probably being flooded with adrenaline, fearing that he was the next target of the sniper that just killed his Jedi General. I quickly climbed to my feet and headed back to Sick.

The poor guy was dripping wet from head to toe. He hadn't even moved an inch. I quickly switched back our rifles and then lead him further along our path. I had been expecting him to question what I had been doing, and why, but Sick never said a word. I was actually becoming nervous because of it. I was so sure he would question me that it was weird when he didn't. Not that I had come up with a believable excuse yet. If it came down to it I would kill the kid. Thankfully for him, he didn't bring it up.

After taking a moment to listen to the panicked ramblings of the trooper Tiin had been carrying over the radio, I responded back. It was half nonsense but the trooper had managed to eek out the fact that the general had been shot in the head. I immediately jumped onto the channel and ordered the rest of the men to meet up at the rendezvous point while Sick and I would go pick up the wounded trooper and the general's body.

When we got the trooper I had Sick carry him back while I took the generals lightsaber. Sick gave me a questioning luck but didn't say anything. The wounded trooper did.

'Sir, what about the general?'

'If I take him back we won't have anyone to protect us from whoever shot the general.' He then asked what would be done with the general's body and I told him we would be leaving it. Jabiim didn't exactly have the weather available to burn it and we didn't have the time to bury him. In truth, burying his body was an honour the traitor didn't deserve.

When we arrived back at the rendezvous I immediately had one of the troopers bandage up our wounded man's leg. It would be little more than a patch job but it would be better than nothing. I took a quick headcount. 38.

'Who are we missing?' One of the troopers piped up.

'Sixer and Twix. We've tried getting them on comms but they aren't saying anything.' That was worrying. I thought back to the reason Tiin had mobilised the group, his Jedi intuition. It had helped to prevent surprise attacks before but I thought he might have been feeling me and my intent to kill him, perhaps not. Then again, an enemy attack would explain the wound on our troopers leg. I hadn't had a chance to ask him yet.

'Trooper! What happened to your leg?' The poor guy was still a little rattled but I didn't have time to wait. I took a knee next to him and gave him a light shake of the shoulders. 'Now, trooper.'

'Nationalists. Th-they attacked us from out of nowhere.'

I turned to the trooper who told me the names of our missing men. 'Try again. See if you can get the two on the comms.'

'No need.' I turned to a small embankment on my left to see two scout troopers sliding down into view. 'Sixer and Twix reporting in sir.'

'Why weren't you answering your comms?' The two were quick to explain.

'We encountered the enemy sir. We turned them off because we were too close to them and didn't want to alert them to our position.' I gave a brief nod.

'How many?' The two shared a look with each other before one of them shakily spoke up.

'An entire army sir, near two legions worth of men.' Kriffing hell. Jabiim had been bleeding the Republic dry. Even with all the new troops, we weren't at full strength. And even if we were, we still wouldn't have the numbers to fend off a force of that size. I took a quick look at the other around me and saw they had come to the same conclusion. Jabiim was lost.

'We need to hold them off.' I turned to Sick. He repeated, 'we need to hold them off. Even if the base begins evacuation procedures now they won't be able to retreat before they're overrun. If they try and hold out they'll just die. We need to hold them off.'

Resolve. If I had to pick a single word to describe these men it would be resolved. They were filled with it. They knew what it meant to go against such a large force. They knew they would die. But they were prepared to do what was needed all in an attempt to buy their brothers as much time as they could.

'I misjudged you.' They all turned to me. I rose to my feet and took off my helmet, to show them how much these brave men had humbled me. 'I misjudged you all and you deserve to know the truth. A yesterday I was contacted by ONI with new orders. I was to execute Order 66.' It was like someone had shoved a metal rod down their spines. 66er's, even Shinies knew what that meant.

'I chose you all to accompany the Jedi and I because I thought that I would have the easiest time killing the Jedi with you lot rather than the more experienced men of the legion. I…' I paused. 'I chose you all because I felt I would have an easier time killing 40 Shinies than 40 experienced men. I treated you like enemies, like dar'manda. I apologise.

'I know that after what I did, of how lowly I thought of you all, that I have no right to ask this, but, will you stand with me? If not for me then for the rest of your brothers on this Gods forsaken planet. Will you give your lives with me so our brothers can live to fight another day?' I was speaking to all of them but my eyes never left Sick, he was the person I had to apologise to the most. Sick shook his head.

'No, we won't fight beside you, and you have nothing to apologise for. In your place, I know that all of us would have done the same. We'll stay and fight, you go back to the men and organise the retreat. They've already lost a General, they will need someone to lead them in his stead.' The others were quick to agree. I couldn't have been more proud or heartbroken if I had tried.

I said my goodbyes, taking care to remember each of their names, and left them with some parting words.

'One of the loyalist commanders told me about a creature that used to live on the planet called a Boar. He said that it was a relatively small creature that routinely took on larger animals and survived despite not having much in the way of offensive features. What it did have was a tough hide, a set of tusks and a set of razor sharp teeth. It was once the symbol for Jabiim's military, who used the motto Resist and Bite, in honor of the Jabiim Boar.

'You men are now Boar Company of the 467th legion. Good luck. Aranar bal Edeemir, Resist and Bite.'

They raised their rifles to the sky. 'Aranar bal Edeemir!' Still, despite their resolve, I didn't believe they would hold out long, there was only so much 40 men, even Mandalorians, could do against an army. More fool me for forgetting the oldest rule in the book: Never underestimate a Mandalorian.


Neyo POV

Sometimes I enjoyed my job. Like, really enjoyed it. This was one of those times.

As a member of the Reconnaissance corps, I rarely had a chance to indulge myself in violence, in the faces of living beings steeped in fear. There truly was nothing like it. I could only imagine how go it would feel to see that look from a high and mighty Jedi, how good it would feel to see them brought so low. To see such an expression is simply the greatest form of art.

I had been given my orders over a week ago but what was the rush, I wasn't given a time limit on my mission. I wanted to savour this moment to its fullest so I was planning it in meticulous detail. I could easily have taken her out on patrol, we often weren't accompanied by many troops and what was a few dead troopers when compared to the safety of the Republic. Nothing, that's what? At least not to ONI or high command.

The next option was to drag her to an isolated area and kill her but that would lead to questions. I did not want questions. While my personal preference would be to announce my work to the galaxy, I had a feeling this would be my greatest work yet, I didn't exactly want to be brought up for court martial. ONI, no doubt, would disavow anything that would implicate them and leave me high and dry during the trial. I would summarily be found guilty and killed, and you can't make art if you're dead.

My current plan was to try out a little something I had been saving. I had my reservations about being a Mandalorian, I didn't care what I was one way or the other, clone or Mandalorian, but I didn't like the whole unity deal. Being forced to help out your brothers wasn't an idea I found fun. Bacara is the only brother I need. Still, if they had toys like this I can't say I would mind joining them too much.

I pulled out my Mandalorian gauntlet. It had been an incredibly lucky find. It had a whipcord and a wrist mounted flamethrower, perfect Jedi killing tools. I just kept on imagining the Jedi's screams as I set her ablaze.

I unzipped my trousers and took my hardened length in hand. Just imagining those beautiful screams, I couldn't take it anymore. By the time I was finished with myself I had made my decision. If just thinking about it could feel this good then I had to experience it first hand. Plus, it made for an easy cover story.

I tidied myself up and made my way to the command centre. Allie had set up command in a captured enemy tower block, giving her a high vantage point. I just thought it made a better target. It was coming up to shift change so I quickly made my way to Command and let the boys there go a few minutes early. They were understandably confused, I had never cared to give my men time off in the past. And why should I? It wasn't like any had deserved such special treatment. Unfortunately, such thinking was now working against me. I sorted the problem quickly by telling them it was the General's orders, private orders were coming in. They left without complaint.

Allie liked to arrive a few minutes before the shift changed to greet the men coming in and to present an aura of calm and serenity to reassure those coming in. I didn't get the point. Still, it helped to predict Allies movements.

I had hidden in the darkness near to the door and waited for the Jedi. Allie walked in calmly right on time. After taking a few steps into the room she stopped in surprise, taking in the empty room. She called out to anyone in the room but I didn't answer. My bloodlust must have been leaking off of me 'cus she whipped round to see me slinking towards the door.

'Commander? What's going on?' I didn't answer with words. I just locked the door. 'Commander?'

She saw me raising my left arm, the arm with my Mandalorian wrist gauntlet, and started to use the Force to drag her saber to her. I fired off the whipcord.

It wrapped around her wrist and I used this to drag her to me. Her saber went flying off to the sides while my foot came up in a sidekick, slamming into her stomach and taking her breath. I followed up with a right cross to her check and proceeded to wrap the cord around her neck. I pulled tightly which dragged her tied wrist towards her face. She responded by slamming her free elbow into my stomach and then flipping me over her body onto the floor.

After extracting herself from the whipcord, Allie slammed her foot into my stomach. She then summoned her saber to herself and tried to stab my head with it. I rolled to the side before springing into a forward roll to dodge the follow up. I fired off my whipcord again but she was expecting it this time, cutting it off. I gave a tut of discontent.

I drew my pistol and fired off a few shots but Allie deflected them all so I settled for throwing it at her. I used her dodge as a chance to draw my knife. I knew I wouldn't survive in a melee fight with a Jedi so I took a chance and threw it at her, trusting in her instincts. I was right to.

The reason Jedi didn't use their sabers to block slugs from slug throwers is 'cus they don't stop matter but use the sabers magnetic field to deflect blaster bolts. Solid slugs aren't affected by the magnetic field of a saber and so just become a superheated projectile as it passes through the plasma blade, something that happened here.

Allie's training kicked in and she quickly raised her saber to block the flying blade but all that did was cause her to be splattered by superheated metal. I took advantage of her screaming and drove my fist into her gut before throwing her over the Command Centers holotable. She rolled to her feet but not before I vaulted the table and slammed another fist into her face. The following combo of punches and kicks were all in an effort to drive the Jedi further towards to balcony doors at the end of the room. With a final kick, she broke through the door and was lead up against the balcony.

'Neyo! Please!' Her begging was the sweetest song my ears had ever heard. The desperation in her voice was the purest tune. The Jedi thought themselves so untouchable that they had never feared anything in their lives. While that pissed me off, because it was the basis for their haughtiness, it did do one useful thing. It purified their fear. I've never heard anything as beautiful as listening to someone who once thought themselves invincible finally realising their mortality. I nearly came then and there but managed to stop myself. Afterall, we weren't finished yet.

I didn't reply with anything other than a wicked grin which just heightened her despair. I levelled my wrist at her and set her aflame. I left her screaming for about a minute, enough time to savour it but not enough time for anyone to interrupt, before giving the Jedi one final kick.

The railing snapped behind the Jedi and she went tumbling with it. I rushed to watch, gripping the two places where the railing snapped to allow me to lean over and watch. I listened to her screams as she fell but it was the splat at the end that was the most satisfying. The blood splattered outwards in a vague petal-like shape, her flaming corpse being the flower's core. I was glad I was holding onto the railing otherwise the knee weakening orgasm I had at the sight of such a masterpiece would have sent me tumbling after her. Though, what a way to go.

I turned back into the Command Centre and blasted the security feed to pieces. I stopped to pick up the Jedi's lightsaber and held it to my nose. I took a whiff and shuddered. My God, just a whiff and everything that had happened came rushing back. I quickly stowed my blade in my armour and rushed to my quarters.

I had to hurry, not because I was worried about getting caught, but because I didn't want to wash away the Jedi's scent. Once in my room I rushed to find a container to trap her scent in, the scent of my greatest work. I would worry about coming up with a cover story and with taking charge of the Jedi's duties later. Right now, I had a more pressing concern. The changing of my trousers.


Sick POV

Aranar bal Edeemir! We tried our best to live up to those words.

No one had much hope that we would do anything more than give the Captain a few hours but we had been hoping it would be more than enough time to get as many of our brothers off the planet as he could. In the end, we held out for 3 days.

40 men against an army of thousands, it was the stuff you heard in stories; but we did it. Oh boy, did we do it. We originally planned to just ambush one of the more vulnerable columns of Nationalists at the back of their force but instead decided to head them off once we noticed they were heading for the Trupimmi Pass.

The Pass was the fastest route between the Nationalists and the Republic outpost but it was narrow, too narrow to feasible take an entire army through. It seems the Nationalists were very eager to be rid of the Republic. The only other route that would have taken the Nationalists to our outpost was to skirt around the mountains that the Pass cuts through. It would have taken them several hours but they would definitely have caught our troops if we couldn't at least slow them down. But no, they took the Pass. It was a mistake. Shaving off maybe an hour or two in exchange for leaving your men trapped in a bottleneck was always a mistake. And we made them pay for it.

We arrived at the Pass well before the Nationalists which gave us time to set up some defences. The first thing to do was to move some rocks into place, making a low wall for us to crouch behind at the mouth of the Pass and setting up six more down the length of it. Next, we pooled all of our Tibanna canisters and our power packs and stashed them behind each of the seven walls. Even if we lost a wall and couldn't gather together the ammunition we wouldn't be out for good. All detonators were kept at Wall Three and beyond, we wanted to save them to see if we could block up the Pass with vehicles. We finished well before the Nationalist arrived, leaving us no choice but to wait.

It was agreed that Heads, our best marksmen, would take the first shot, and what a shot it was. They mustn't have thought much of us clones because they were just letting their officers coast along on speeder bikes at the head of their infantry columns. They weren't even moving faster than their troops. I can see why they would want to keep everyone together, but come on. The officers weren't even wearing armour, just their dress uniforms. Heads took 4 out before the Nationalists even knew we were there.

The next few hours was spent picking off the scared soldiers that were running for any cover they could find, refusing all orders given to advance. We only fell back to Wall Two because we ran out of ammunition. Once they had realised the barrage of plasma had stopped, the enemy started their advance. All we had to do was rinse and repeat. They mustn't have thought we would stick around, or that we had run out of ammo completely, because, low and behold, there they were, the officers, riding at the front once again.

Night fell before we exhausted our second round of munitions so the enemy fell back and set up camp. We organised a small group of about four men to conduct a midnight raid on the enemy camp. They were sent off with little more than Magnums and some Thermals we dug up from Wall Three before we sent them on their way. They came back loaded up on as much ammunition as they could carry and some food for us to eat. The group was already on the way back before the timer on the detonators went off and destroyed the supply store they had pilfered from. But that would be the beginning of the end for us.

By Day 2 they had seemed to realise that we were serious and that we weren't going anywhere. This time they kept their officers at the back, no longer concerned with pompous shows of force but with actual strategy. We had reset at Wall One but had been pushed back to Wall Three in a matter of hours, and this time it wasn't due to a lack of ammo.

Before Captain Fordo had headed back to base we had all shared names or, if you didn't have one, were given one. A prime example of the latter was Hopps. Hopps was the trooper that had been shot in the leg and was carried by the Jedi. Two guesses on how he got his name. Still, you would think that he, more than anyone, would have been the liability. Well then, you've clearly never seen the guy hop.

We lost 2 men at Wall One and a further 7 at Wall Two, none of them were Hopps. He was one of the last ones leaving the Wall but it wasn't because he couldn't get to his foot, feet, whatever. Hopps liked to empty his clip after we started falling back before reloading and coming with us. Then he was off. He might have been one of the last to move but he was usually one of the first at the next Wall setting up. It was a shame he died the way he did.

After setting up at Wall Three he was taken out by a stray shot. Puff, just like that. Gone. Most of the men we lost were killed because they had been shot in the back while retreating. Hopps wasn't even given that small mercy. I've had my share of bad luck but I reckon he got it worse. In his first ever mission he had been shot in the leg, rescued by a Jedi that turned out to be a traitor, got roped into a suicide mission and was then shot in the head. He didn't even get a Mandalorian funeral because we lost Wall Three shortly thereafter. We would be pushed back to Wall Five before night fell again, and a total of 16 men would have been lost. We attempted to scrounge together some semblance of victory by organising another raid. The 4 sent never returned.

Day 3 was just a shit show all around. The Nationalists decided to start off earlier than they did on day 2 and tried to kick things off with a bang. An explosion killed 2 more troopers and left the rest of us scrambling to our feet. I'd give the bastards this, they were learning. Instead of the bumrush of guys they sent at us the day before, they sent out small squads to rush our position. Obviously, they wouldn't reach us but the small amount of men meant they could dodge easier and that any stray shots wouldn't end up hitting someone else like it did when they came en masse. They bled us dry of munitions and rushed us when we retreated back to further walls. I don't remember how many of us were left by wall 7 but it was definitely less than a quarter.

It wasn't going to work any longer, this little shoot and scoot tactic. I called for everyone left to take enough supplies to full load their rifles twice over and to take a detonator each, everything else was left in the pit we stored it all in. Then I called the retreat. We spread to as far as we could from each other, to make it harder for any pursuers. I also volunteered to stay behind and detonate the last of the supplies when the Nationalists got close. It took a few missed shots but I hit them in the end. The trap worked as well as can be expected and caused a minor landslide. It wouldn't stop them for long.

And that's how I ended up here, on my knees before the head Nationalist honcho. They dug themselves out of the pass fairly quickly and chased me down. I put up a bit of a fight but there isn't much a sniper can do against speeder bikes without prior setup.

'You and your men have proven to be quite the nuisance.' I gave a snort.

'A nuisance doesn't take 3 days to be rid of or kill hundreds of men and destroy countless valuable supplies.' It earned me a cross to the check but it just showed my words hit their mark.

'Where is your base?' Another snort.

'You already know where it is.' Another cross. My jaw was beginning to ache.

'Do not think me a fool. Your little ruse of an outpost has been discovered. I will admit it had, for a time, had me fooled. But no more. Where is your base and what were your orders? Why did you attack my men?'

No way. No kriffing way. I couldn't help it. I laughed. This was just too good. 'My orders?! You must really be stupid if you can't tell what my orders were. We were told to hold you off, and that is what we did. The reason the base is empty is because its been evacuated. While you spent 3 days trying to deal with a group of 40 men the rest of the Republic and Loyalist forces were falling back.' I broke out into full belly laughter. We had actually done it. The men and I had surpassed all expectations and actually done it. Not only had the Captain gotten enough time to warn the rest, he'd had enough time to save them. And all at the cost of 40 men.

My laughing just earned me another punch. This time it was a straight jab which broke my nose. I was just too happy to care. 'Lies! All of it, lies.'

'Ah, what's wrong? Are you not getting to wipe out the Republic forces like you had planned. I wonder what your boss will say when you go slinking back to him with your tail between your legs to tell him that you not only mobilised the entirety of your army to wipe out our forces but that you failed to accomplish even the most basic of objectives, like even reaching the base on time. Not only that, but all you have to show for your efforts is a handful of dead clones, a number which isn't even a fifth of the total number you lost. Not to mention the lost supplies and vehicles.' The man lost his composure and just started pounding on me. By the time he was finished I was coughing up blood. He then signalled for two of his goons to lift me up.

'Seeing as how I'm a dead man anyway, how many officers did we kill in the end?' He spoke through gritted teeth.

'16!'

'16 huh, I was sure it was 17.' I could hear his teeth scraping over one another.

'No.'

I gave the man a blood filled grin, 'you sure?', and lunged at him.

When the man had been beating me into the mud I had taken out my standard issue Vibro knife. Why they never checked me for concealed weapons before presenting me to their boss I will never know, all the same, I was glad they didn't. I stuck the tip of my knife into the lock on the cuffs and waited for the right moment. Pro tip for restraining prisoners, never tie their hands behind their back. It might make things harder for them but it makes it worse for you 'cus now you can't see what they're doing.

Once I activated the blade the cuffs just fell off my wrist and I pushed off of my knees as hard as I can. I buried the blade into the man's jugular, screaming 'Aranar bal Edeemir.'

The blaster bolts hit soon after.


Fordo POV

I stood on the bow of the Venator command ship in orbit around Jabiim. While the surface left much to be desired, the view from orbit held some beauty to it. The soft swirls of the storm clouds became hypnotic if one stared at them long enough.

'They did us all a great service. We shall never forget them. When my planet is free, the deeds of Boar Company will be known to all.' Orlis was an average human male in every sense of the word bar one, he had the strength of character that surpassed nearly all within the galaxy. 'And we shall also not forget what you did for us.'

When I arrived back at the Republic base I began evacuation procedures immediately and within minutes Orlis was there to confront me. The Republic had been to Jabiim once before, at the start of the war, but it hadn't gone well. Just like this time, our forces were threatened to become overrun with Nationalist troops so the commanding officer at the time ordered a full retreat. Orlis had never forgiven Skywalker for abandoning him.

When Skywalker ordered the retreat during the first Battle of Jabiim he had saved his men at the cost of the Loyalist troops. Orlis came to confront me to make sure that didn't happen again. It had been hard to rebuild the trust Skywalker had destroyed but Saesee Tiin had done it. He had reintegrated the Republic and the Loyalists and pooled our resources to fight together.

I believed I was running on a tight schedule, that Boar Company would buy us a few hours at best and a few minutes at worst, so I prioritised my men. Orlis had been furious. Even when I told him I would be staying planetside to help organise all evacuation efforts, even Loyalist, his anger hadn't abated. It was only when he called me a traitor that I fought back.

'A traitor?! I am anything but. You'd do anything for your men, yes? Well so will I. My loyalty was never to you or to your people but to mine. A traitor?! I have told you I am willing to provide any and all assistance I can give, but my main priority is my own peoples' safety, just the same as you.' He had brushed me off saying promising something you know you cannot deliver is nothing less than a betrayal. I didn't want to admit it, but he was right.

In my heart, I believed that I wouldn't even be able to evac all of my own men let alone any of Orlis'. That was why I was so surprised that night came with no sight of the Nationalist army. Day 2 rolled around and only a small amount of clones were left on the planet, which meant I had another choice to make, load the transports with Jabiim Loyalists or with the base's supplies. I'm not ashamed to admit it had been a hard decision but, in the end, I ordered preparations to begin to evacuate the Loyalists. In the end, while valuable, I felt the Loyalists held more worth than the supplies.

Orlis had begun to thaw at that. Seeing that I saw worth in his people helped with getting him to come around. If I was surprised that we had enough time to begin evacuating the Loyalists then I was astonished that Boar had given us enough time to load up the supplies as well. Once the base had been cleaned out, and I had finally left the planet, Orlis had cornered me to find out whether or not I had been lying about the Nationalist army. To be fair, I was beginning to doubt that they really existed too. A quick scan from the Venators sensors revealed that the Nationalist were very real indeed. When he questioned me on why the army hadn't reached us I told him about Boar and the 40 brave men that comprised it.

'Thank you, but let's save such talk for after liberating your planet.' Orlis nodded solemnly.

'Yes. Speaking off, what do you plan to do to achieve that goal.'

'I called in reinforcements.' Orlis seemed pleased.

'And when can we expect them to arrive.' Never underestimate a Mandalorian. If Boar Company hadn't already hammered that truth home then the Republic fleet just coming out of hyperspace would have. It must be a lesson the Gods really want Jabiim to remember.

'Right about now.' Orlis just gave me a deadpan stare, but all that got him was a self satisfied smirk. 'Just remember, never underestimate a Mandalorian.'

Again, the Gods must really want Orlis to remember those words because, no sooner had I finished, the comms flared to life. 'This is Commander Gree of the 41st Legion. Did someone ask for some help in saving their asses?' Gree. It had been too long since I had seen my old friend.

'While this situation seems familiar, I must confess to not having been on the side needing help before. I gotta say Gree, if this is what it feels like to have to have an arse rescue me, then I owe you so so many apologies.' I laugh drifted over the comms.

'Just you wait. We'll have this mess cleaned up within the week.' For once, I believed him. After all, if there once one thing Jabiim had taught me, it was this:

Never underestimate a Mandalorian.