I do not own Star Wars The Clone Wars.
They made it to the main road far faster than anticipated. Odette wondered if possibly the enemy was not yet prepared for their arrival. She doubted it. The Umbarans seemed more than prepared for them. Possibly even too prepared.
She stood beside Master Krell with her helmet under her arm as the clones surveyed the main road. Captain Rex approached them with his report. "Sir, we're ready to bring our forward platoons in for a surgical strike on the city's defenses." Odette and Krell were aware of Skywalkers plan for attacking the city. She doubted Krell would go along with it. He was more familiar with frontal assaults and simple tactics.
"There won't be any need Captain." Krell stated calmly.
"Sir?" Captain Rex asked in confusion.
Odette could guess what the plan was going to be. "All platoons will execute a forward assault along the main route to the city." Krell instructed the Captain confidently.
Rex shook his head a bit as he processed the change in plan. "But Sir, General Skywalker's plan was to surprise them with multiple attacks. If we come in from the main route, they're likely to engage us in a full frontal assault." All his arguments were valid, but it was not part of the General's plan.
"Change of plans, Captain." Krell regarded the clone with a cold look. "I'm in command now." He looked towards the main road, their future battlefield.
Odette saw Rex was not about to give up the argument. She shook her head to try and dissuade him, but he continued anyway. "With all due respect General, we don't know what we are up against. It might be wiser to think first."
Odette could sense Krell's ire erupt at the clone before the Besalisk even turned towards the clone. "Are you questioning my order?" Krell looked down at the clone with annoyance. He straightened and activated the map on his wrist com. "This battalion will take the main road straight to the capital. You will not stop and you will not turn back, regardless of the resistance you meet. We will attack them with all our troops. Not some sneak attack with a few men. That is my order and you will follow it explicitly. Do I make myself clear CT-7567?" He glared down at the clone as he towered above him.
The air felt heavy and taunt for a moment. Rex let out a short sigh as he dropped his gaze. "Yes general."
Krell stepped out of the way and pointed towards the main road. "Now engage!" Krell ordered.
Odette watched Rex walk away, knowing he might likely die due to Master Krell's plan. Many men in the 501st were going to die before this was all over. She hated that she was part of it, but it was her place by her Master's side. It was no place for a Padawan to question their Master either. All she could do was watch and hope they would follow her example. Plinko always told her that was how she would protect the men under her.
It was quiet for a long while as they monitored the troop's progress down the road. It came as no surprise when the sounds of battle erupted down the road. Odette watched the battle, tracking where the Umbarans were attacking from. "Enemies on both sides of the road and all along it." She reported to Master Krell. The jedi remained impassive as the battle progressed.
Odette put her helmet on in order kept tabs on the com, listening for any request for reinforcements. It wasn't long until the blaster shots reached their position. Rex must have pulled back. Odette checked her map. Rex had managed to draw the Umbarans together in pursuit.
"Feeble minded clones." Krell complained in front of her. He turned to the men with them. "Get in there and save their necks." Odette shut her map off to engage, but Krell held a hand up. "Stay Padawan."
"But Master, I can end this more quickly." She argued.
"That is not your duty." Krell scolded her. "Our jobs as jedi is to lead and direct them. Not fight alongside them. we are not soldiers."
Odette was grateful her helmet hid her expression from Krell, she was sure she was glaring. "Yes Master. Forgive me." She resumed her relaxed stance beside her Master.
With the added troops and better positioning of the enemy, they were better able to push the Umbarans back. Once the enemy was gone, Krell made his way over to Rex. Odette followed, but stopped once she reached the troops. There was a wave of emotion coming off of Krell. Odette knew that while his emotions were strong, he never let them sway him and he was quick to let them go. That was something she struggled with, letting things go. So it was easier for her to ignore things to begin with.
"How can you stand him?" Odette looked over as Echo spoke up. It was easy to hear the disapproval in his voice.
She looked away from him. "He is my Master."
"Your 'Jedi' Master?" Odette couldn't look at the clone as he spoke.
She sensed Krell having finished reprimanding Rex and turn towards her. She straightened. "We must report this failure to the others." Krell spoke as he walked back towards their main forces, his arms linked behind his back.
Odette followed the jedi away from the road as the sounds of battle erupted once more. She gripped her fists as something inside of her wanted to turn and fight with the clones. She wanted to, but that was not her place. She was not a soldier, even if she was a fighter.
"In coming!" Odette turned as a clone shouted nearby. A ball of green was flying at them. Odette took both of her sabers and ignited them. Her black and white blades stopped the green ball for a moment before sending it back the way it came. Blaster fire erupted around them from multiple angles.
"We must move to a more secure location." Krell announced. "It is obvious that this route is now lost to us." He began walking away, expecting everyone to follow him.
"You heard him, move!" Rex called out as they regrouped and moved into the forest.
Krell didn't allow Odette to venture too far from him, but allowed her to use her sabers to deflect shots that came near. He kept to cover as the battle progressed. They set up a defense position beside one of the trees, holding position. Odette watched as the fighters retreated for a moment, but then star fighters began attacking.
Krell watched the battle with an unimpressed look. He took out his communicator as one of the other generals contacted him. It was Master Kenobi. "The capital city is too fortified." The jedi began. "We need your battalion to help us take it."
"Resistance from the Umbarans has been greater than anticipated." Krell reported. "We're holding our ground at the moment."
'Just barely.' Odette noted as Kix dragged another wounded clone to their position.
"We've gathered intel on an airbase to the west." Kenobi spoke. "It is resupplying the captial's defenses-"
"Incoming! Incoming!" A clone shouted as a green blast hit the ground nearby. "Get down! Get down!" Dirt fell onto them, but no damage was done.
Kenobi continued to give the information. "If you can capture that air base, it will sever the capital's supply lines. Allowing our forces to move in."
"I'll see to it that the airbase is placed under our control." Krell declared.
"Remember General Krell, the entire invasion depends on your battalion." With that said, the transmission ended.
Krell put the com away. "Captain Rex, have those coordinates mapped and all troops ready to move out immediately."
"Yes Sir." Rex announced before getting to work.
Odette followed Krell as he walked westward. It wasn't long until their troops began moving and the sounds of battle faded into the silence of Umbara. It was creepy how quiet it was as they headed toward the airbase. The only sounds came from the troops on the AT-RT units.
Soon they reached a cliff with a perfect vantage point of the airbase. Odette looked through her jedi scope as Rex looked through his clone issued pair. The base was large and heavily fortified.
"There's a base there alright and it's heavily guarded." Rex reported. "At least three tank divisions plus guns."
"We'll advance along the central gorge and engage their forces in a full frontal assault." Odette could have mimed with Master Krell. It was always a frontal assault. An honorable thing to meet one's enemy head on, but sometimes it was not the best option.
Rex knelt down as he checked out the gorge below them. "The gorge is narrow, Sir. We'll only be able to move our platoons in single squads. Perhaps a closer recon will tell us if there is a more secure route." He got up and faced the general, noting how the jedi looked to be contemplating his suggestion this time.
Krell lowered his hand from his face. "Obi-wan and the other battalions are holding of the enemy right now, while they wait for us to take out this base." He shook his head. "We don't have time to look for a more secure route." With that said he turned to leave.
"Perhaps," Odette started. She wished she hadn't spoken up as Krell paused and slowly turned to her. "Perhaps it would be beneficial then if I lead the assault. I believe my abilities to foresee attacks may be an advantage. We know the enemy will not be behind us. So it is only the front were there is danger."
Krell paused as he faced his padawan. "Do you believe yourself ready for command?"
Odette looked down at her Master's feet, not able to hold his strong gaze. "No Master Krell, but I would like to at least try." She looked back up as she held her ground in front of the Jedi Master.
"Do or do not, there is no try." Krell quoted master Yoda to his padawan. "Go." With his simple command he turned and walked away.
Odette did not know what to think. He had actually agreed to let her go off on her own. It took her a moment before she took a step and began leading the way down the steep cliff side. "Do you agree with the general's plan?" Odette looked over at Captain Rex as he caught up to her.
Odette looked away from the Captain. "No."
Rex nodded. "New sabers? They're different colors."
"I broke my other one." Odette admitted. "Back on Lola Sayu."
Rex watched the girl. She had changed considerably since they had last fought together. "So, still seeing things?" Odette found herself letting out a single chuckle before schooling herself. A habit she had developed. Rex felt bad, she had had to deal with Krell for so long she had developed such strict habits with herself. Almost like she was programmed. "You can relax a bit now. Krell's not here."
"This would go a lot faster if he helped." Odette looked over as Fives and Echo joined them.
"A general's job is to coordinate and plan out attacks." Odette droned out from memory. "Not actively participate in combat."
Echo chuckled. "Tell that to General Skywalker." Rex chuckled a bit as well.
"You sound a bit like Echo when we were cadets." Fives pointed out. He could see Odette knew what he was talking about, she couldn't look at him. "How much fighting experience you got? Krell didn't seem too keen on sending you down here."
"He's hardly let me leave the cruiser." Odette admitted. "Last time I drew my saber before this mission was probably the Citadel mission."
Rex looked at their commander. "I could almost call you a shiny."
Odette held herself back from laughing, but a smile broke onto her face. "You could. This is the first time this armor has gotten anywhere close to a battle. Since I got it after the Citadel it is technically shiny." The men laughed with her that time. She paused as her habit kicked in. "That was informal."
Rex frowned as Odette became Commander Kryze once more. "Why is Krell so rigid?"
"It's his way of doing things." Odette had no other explanation for them. This was just how her Master was. They reached the bottom of the gorge and gathered their men together for a briefing.
Echo looked around as the men gathered. "I guess Commander Kryze is in charge." She was the highest ranking officer among them.
"Right." Odette realized she hadn't really led a briefing before. "But I recall hearing from Ahsoka that experience outranks everything. A quote of yours, Captain Rex?"
Rex looked to Odette. "Possibly."
Odette smirked as she removed her helmet and shook out her short curls. "Good, because while Krell may not entirely approve of my participation, he did put me in charge. I'm counting on your help on this one."
Rex took off his own helmet and looked to the Commander. "Is that so? We doing this by the book?"
"I think the book would be better thrown at the Umbarans at this point." Odette admitted. "They might take a page out of it and make this easy for us." Rex chuckled as they turned to the men. "All yours Captain."
Rex nodded towards Odette before looking to the men. "It's not going to be easy. We've got enemy with weapons we've never seen in an environment we don't know. But that hasn't stopped us before." He looked to Echo and Fives. "Echo, Fives, see if you can borrow a few fighters from that airbase. The rest of us are going to draw the enemy out of their little nest."
With the plan set they divided the men into squads while their small team snuck towards the airbase. Odette hoped Krell didn't see them leave, it would certainly keep him off their backs for now. Which also meant less chance for any punishment later. There was still a good chance there were some sort of repercussion for their nonconformity to Krell's plan.
Odette had her sabers out but not extended as they walked through the misty forest. She kept her guard up and senses spread out. She did not want to be caught off guard.
Her com beeped as Rex checked in. "Anything down there?"
Odette paused under a plant and surveyed the area around her. "Nothing, present or future." Something didn't feel right. "You see anything from up there?"
"I can't see anything through this soup." Rex responded. "And the glowing plants are messing with the night vision in our helmets."
Odette had to agree, they were not prepared for this planet. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted a future image. Some sort of crawling machine coming out of the ground. "Contact! Coming from below!" She called out as the ground began to rumble and move. All of her troops were prepared when the first crawling machine broke out form the ground. It began firing at them form it's legs and from turrets on it's back as a few more crawling machines railed out form beneath the earth.
Odette ignited her sabers and slashed at the machines, but the contraptions were ray-shielded. "Kriff." She cursed under her breath. She pressed the button for her com on her helmet. "Rex, I need rocket launchers and grenades. These things are ray-shielded."
"In coming!" Rex spoke over the com as rockets launched from just behind their position. It hit two of the crawlers, but left several more still functioning. "Pull back! There are too many of them."
Odette had to agree with the captain. They didn't have an endless supply of rockets. Staying out in the open was the best for their odds. "Any suggestions?" She took to deflecting shots from the crawlers as she searched for an exit.
Rex came up beside her and kept shooting at the crawlers around them. "There's a cave in behind the trees over there." Odette looked over, spotting the trees the captain spoke of. "We can lose them through the trees. They're too big to follow."
Odette nodded, agreeing with the plan. "Troops, fall back into the trees." She gave the order and held her ground as the men ran past her and into the trees. She put her sabers away as the last of her men cleared the battle ground. The crawlers were turning around and heading in her direction. "Do or do not." She repeated to herself as she delved into the force, grabbing onto the crawlers.
She gritted her teeth as the crawlers wiggled in her grasp. She doubted she could hold them for long. Or even pick them up. At the moment she was only holding them back.
"Commander! Get out of there!" With a solid push, Odette forced the crawlers back, giving her enough time to reach the trees and slip away. "That was cutting it close." Rex remarked as Odette joined the rest of them.
Odette shrugged. "Made it didn't I?" She chuckled as Rex shook his head. "Do I still remind you of Master Skywalker?"
"Lately, yes." Rex admitted as he turned his attention towards the only opening large enough for the crawlers to reach them. "Those things aren't going to leave us alone. We need to be ready for them."
Odette nodded as she looked over at the long entrance tunnel to their location. "I'm going to guess that you already have a plan."
"What gave you that impression?" Rex asked jokingly. "Let's get to work. Jesse! Bring all the thermal detonators we got."
It didn't take long for them to rig up a trap for those crawlers. They lined the tunnel like entrance to the cave with explosives and would blow them to pieces once they were on top of them. Odette knew the enemy's ray-shields wouldn't hold out against their ambush.
"Now we draw them in." Rex spoke up as he held onto the detonator.
They all waited until the crawlers came into view. Then began shouting at them, drawing them in. Odette was surprised the Umbarans actually came towards them. Could they not sense that something was up? Or were they too blinded by the thought of victory to think things through?
"Here they come. Everyone get to cover." Rex ordered as the crawlers began making their way through the narrow pass towards them. Odette stayed above the lip of the recess the men were using as cover. She knew Rex would have to cut it close if they wanted to catch all the crawlers. Plus, they didn't know if this would even work.
Once the last of the crawlers enter their trap, Rex pushed the trigger. The explosives began going off, lifting the crawlers and knocking them into each other. One by one, each crawler sustained enough damage that they began to explode and damage the others around them.
Rex grabbed onto Odette as she watched the destruction and pulled her down behind the recess. "That seemed to work out just fine." Rex commented as the crawlers continued to explode in their trap. "Any word from Fives or Echo?" He asked the men, hoping for some news.
"Nothing." Jesse reported.
"They're fine." Odette mused as she sat up. "Come on, we've got to get to that airbase." She got up from her spot and began making her way around their cover. The men followed behind her.
They made their way past the still burning wreckage of the crawlers and back into the jungle of Umbara. It didn't take long until they reached the spot where they had first encountered the crawlers. There were still men of the 501st scattered around, unmoving.
One of the wrecked crawlers nearby gave a flicker of life. Odette felt an anger swell in her as she pulled out both of her Mandalorian blasters and fired several times at the glowing pod. The body of an Umbaran fell out through the broken dura-glass, laying unmoving on the ground.
Odette replaced her blasters and kept moving, growing numb to the sight of dead men scattered around her. "The airbase should be just on the other side of that gorge." Rex reported as he walked alongside her. They both paused as the ground shook a bit. "Did you feel that?"
Looking around, Odette stretched out her senses, hoping to see what was coming. In the distance Odette spotted it, a massive tank unit. "Take cover!" Odette ordered the men. They all dispersed and hid behind trees and foliage as the rhythmic thumping became louder. "Does that sound like more than one tank?" She asked Rex with a bit of worry.
Rex took a peek around the corner, lowering his range finder. He turned back around and put it back up. "There's three tanks." He answered with a bit of surprise. "I guess we made them angry."
"We need to retreat." Kix spoke up. "We don't have that many rockets left. And i doubt they'll even work against those things."
Odette had to admit, the medic had a point, but she had a crazy idea. "I want to try something." She moved through the trees away from the tanks. 'Hey, how do I do that switching places thing?'
'You wish to use my power?' The Son asked with mocking surprise. 'I thought the dark side was beneath you jedi.'
'Well, right now I need it.' Odette stepped out into the road, getting a good look at the three tanks and all of the men following her command. 'I need it to protect them.'
'Good.' The Son growled. 'Use that desire. Focus it. Want it. Need it. Force it to your will. That is the dark side. That is my power.'
Odette took a deep breath as she reached into the force, focusing on what she wanted it to do. She focused on the tank closest to her, looking towards the cockpit where the driver would be. She could feel the Force trying to resist, but she held onto it and pushed it. The tank charged up some sort of electrical blast, but Odette couldn't break her focus.
Rex watched as Odette just stood there. Some dirt was picking up around her, but otherwise she wasn't moving or doing anything. The tank was getting ready to fire. "Odette, get out of there!" He called over the coms. When she still didn't move, he ran through the trees towards the jedi. The tanks probably knew they were there, but there was no point in giving away exactly where they were. Not to mention Kix was near him.
When he got side by side with Odette, he spoke again. "Kid, whatever you're doing is not working." She didn't even acknowledge him. He got ready to move when a loud hum erupted from the tank. Rex registered the wall of electricity as it swept passed him and demolished all organic things in it's path. He also blinked in shock as his mind processed what he had seen. Just before the bright wall hit Odette, she vanished. It was an Umbaran soldier that got vaporized.
"I think it worked just fine Captain." Rex let out a sigh of relief as Odette spoke up over the coms. "Now, time to figure out how to drive this thing." Guess he was right, she was exactly like General Skywalker.
Odette moved carefully inside of the tank. Her hands were inside of holo-controls. There was a good chance every movement of her hand and fingers would factor into controlling this massive machine. She moved both her hands forward and was pleased when the tank began moving forward. Once she was in a more open area, she turned the tank around and faced the two remaining tanks. "Let's play."
'My thoughts exactly.' The Son spoke as he cloaked himself around the young jedi, feeding her more of his power.
Odette felt a chill run down her spine as her vision cleared and focused on her objective. She didn't need the Son's help, but she wouldn't push it away. Not when his power had already helped her in this fight. As if on instinct she moved her hands and fingers, charging up her main gun. She fired, hitting the back tank squarely and sending it to the ground, blocking the middle tank in.
The middle tank fired at her. The Son lifted Odette's hand, catching the blast in the force. Odette stared in shock at the hovering shot. 'You can do that?' She asked in disbelief. Was this the true power of the dark side?
The Son chuckled. 'You can do that...with my power.'
Odette walked over to the dura-glass and shattered it with a push of the force. She jumped out of the tank and walked up to the remaining tank. She could see that it was struggling to move. Stuck in her hold just like the blast above her.
Odette released the blast as she reached out and grabbed the final tank. With a growl she began crumpling the remaining tank. It felt good. She was strong and powerful. Nothing could stand in her way.
The shot of several fighters distracted her and broke her concentration. The men jumped into action as the fighters would hover and fire on anything they saw move. Rex joined Odette in cover by the wrecked tank. "Since when could you do that?"
"I don't know." Odette answered honestly. She pulled out her sabers and began blocking shots as a fighter began focusing on them. "These ray-shields are annoying." She growled before spinning out of the way of a shot and managing to force push the fighter back. "Now would be a good time for Echo and Fives to show up."
As if on cue, a pair of fighters joined the fray. They didn't fly as precisely as the others, but they managed to shoot down a few. Odette chuckled as she grabbed onto the last Umbaran fighter and pulled it to the ground, destroying it. She turned on her com. "Nice flying."
"It's not as easy as it looks." Fives commented back.
"Let me give it a try." Odette commented as she focused on Fives in the ship. In a rush of senses, she now sat in the fighter and Fives stood on the ground beside Rex. She steadied her hands and hovered beside Echo. "Bit less stable than the tank. Same basic principle though. Keep hands and fingers still, then make small smooth motions."
Fives shook his head as he came to the realization of what had just happened. "So, you can do that at will now?" He saw Commander Kryze shrug inside the fighter.
"We'll catch up at the airbase." Rex spoke up, knowing they still had a mission to complete. "Think you and Echo can handle yourselves till we get there?"
"I think we can manage." Odette turned her fighter towards the airbase. "Come on Echo."
It took them no time at all to take the airbase. Echo and Fives had done some damage on the way out with their fighters. Plus there weren't many soldiers on the base to begin with. Odette and Echo managed to capture most of the soldiers before Rex arrived with the others to help. It wasn't long after that that General Krell arrived with the rest of the 501st.
"Padawan." Odette squared off and pushed the Son back into the recesses of her consciousness as her Master approached. "It seems efficiency did indeed come of your leadership. Perhaps I should have sent you alone. Then we wouldn't have wasted so much time." Krell looked around at the clones nearby. "CT-7567, report."
Rex squared up as the General addressed him by number. "We've taken the airbase and cut off arms to the capital."
"Good." Krell replied. "You are dismissed to finish securing the base. Padawan, follow me."
Odette followed Krell as he made his way towards the command tower. She tried to calm herself as her mind raced with thoughts and fears. Had Master Krell felt her use the dark side? Was he going to punish her? This wouldn't be the first time.
"You put yourself at risk today, Padawan." Krell began his lecture. "Several times in fact. Jedi are not to form attachments. That includes relations with the clones. They don't need your protection. They don't need your pity or sympathy. They are clones, manufactured for our needs in this conflict." They arrived at the base of the tower. "Climb. Climb this tower and meditate atop it until you've centered yourself. A jedi should never use the dark side, for any reason. Is that understood, Padawan?" His voice became a low growl by the end of his scolding.
"Yes, Master." Odette responded.
"Remove your helmet, armor and weapons." Krell ordered. "You won't need them up there." With that said, he walked away.
Odette let out a sigh as she removed her helmet. She them removed her belt and began removing the armor plates from her clothing. Soon she was left in just her jedi tunic and leggings. She ground felt oddly comforting against her bare feet. She took a look at the tower in front of her and gaged how high it was. It would probably take her about half an hour to climb it. "Guess I better get started."
Gosh that took longer than I thought it would. I feel like I say that for every chapter.
Hi, I'm back! With everything going on, my work hours have been reduced, but I live at work(literally), so I still work everyday. But I got a new keyboard, so now I can actually write.
Stay tuned as more of this story will come. Warning though, Disney+ comes out on March 24th in the UK(birthday present to myself), so I won't be posting around then as I will be binging the Mandalorian and the new Clone Wars season.
We will see how my changes will actually affect things. Especially since there are still more changes to come. Some of them rather significant.
Thank you for your continued support and patience. You guys are the best!
