Two weeks later…
Humanitarian supply drops weren't hard, Esinon knew that. She'd done lots of them over the course of time in the GAR. She was used to helping to move crates of food, medical supplies, and clothing, but now as General, she had to supervise.
"Uh Anchor, Boil, take that over there for the G-5 sector." she pointed to a spot of crates, "Bean, that goes over to L-6,"
"General," Cody greeted, she hummed in response, scrolling down the list of supplies and directing troopers as she went. She was acclimating to be a General, finally, took a few weeks but she'd finally gotten hold of it. Life had been good as of late, well as good as it could be. She realized that Obi-Wan wouldn't have wanted her to mope for the rest of her life, feeling like a dejected, terrified child. She was Esinon kriffing Windcaster for the force's sake! She was awesome! She'd died and come back to life, fought Ventress, Grievous, countless battle droids, bounty hunters, and every other person who wanted her dead. She'd been captured, tortured, injured, everything, she'd been to hell and back, she could do this! "The Jedi Council is waiting for you in the briefing room sir," She frowned, had something changed?
"Alright, Waxer! Come here!" The trooper came over, she handed the datapad to him, "Keep things running till I get back, Boil,"
"Hmm?"
"Keep an eye on him,"
"I'll keep both eyes on him, sir," she smiled and headed off with Cody to the briefing room where a hologram of the Master Windu and Master Yoda were
waiting.
"General Windcaster, the 501st has just been rerouted to Umbara, the 212th will be joining them.'' Esinon pulled up a map of the territories surrounding Umbara. This was an outer rim planet, far out of the reach or corner of either side. Or so she thought,
"Umbara, huh? The war's out that far? That's not good," she muttered to herself,
"Well, we are at war sir," Cody said,
"Aren't we always," she murmured, hand going up to her chin, copying Obi-Wan's posture. She was really wishing this war would end, when she first became a Commander, she didn't expect the war to drag out this long. Well, she was ready to do her part in ending the war and if that meant taking Umbara that was what she was gonna do.
"You will be joined by Master Tiin and Master Krell who will provide air support." Master Windu said, Esinon nodded,
"I'll rendezvous with them as soon as we finish the supply drop,"
"Very good, may the force be with you," Master Windu replied, Esinon gave a nod as the transmission cut out.
"So we're meeting back up with the 501st, just like old times," Esinon said, looking at a map of the Umbaran terrain and grimacing at the weapons she'd never even seen before. Force knew what kind of damage those things could do.
"Just like old times," Cody mumbled, she glanced up at her Commander.
"Cody… I know I've been a little preoccupied with," she motioned around her, "All this, and I wanted to ask, are you ok?" Cody sighed, leaning against the command pod.
"It's a lot, that's for sure," he said, motioning to the new weapons and soon to be plans for Umbara.
"No I mean like are you ok with Obi-Wan being… gone." she said, "Like how are you doing with all that?"
"It's hard, that's for sure. I guess I just wasn't expecting him to go that way. After all that, it doesn't make sense." he said,
"Yeah, lot of things don't make sense right now," she said, it didn't make sense she was a General, that Obi-Wan was dead, that the war had made its way out to Umbara.
"I miss him, kid,"
"I do too, but we have each other," she said, trying to be optimistic. She walked over to join his side, "And just think, hopefully, this will be more of a skirmish than a battle, we'll do the quick supply drop and then go to Umbara. Kick some Seppie butt and we'll be back here in no time!" Cody chuckled,
"Ever the optimist," she wrapped an arm around his waist in a side hug.
"Only when you need me to be," she said, her face fell for a moment. Echoes of words she had said to Obi-Wan so long ago. Cody pulled her a little closer,
"It'll be ok, it'll be ok with time."
A few days later…
"Protecting supply routes, that can't be too hard," she said, trying to assure herself at the moment. She had a bad feeling about this, all of this.
"It should be a relatively easy siege," Cody assured her, she nodded, face still stuffed in a datapad reviewing plans.
"Cody… do you know anything about Master Krell? Like how he is as a General, I only knew him when I was little." she explained, Cody shook his head.
"I've only served with him twice. Early in the war, before you became a padawan, and then at the Battle of Geonosis." he said, "He doesn't seem to like clones very much," she nodded remembering all those bruises on Uno. She still wondered sometimes if he'd gotten those bruises from Krell. She knew Uno was here because the 673rd was helping with the air assault, but she had yet to see the clone.
"Mmm," she murmured, scrolling down the list of endless things she needed to take care of, "Ok, can we divide and conquer? I'll check in with Masters Krell and Tiin about the airstrike, check on rations and ammo, you go see how Anakin's doing and if the men are ready to go. Make sure the-"
"The walkers are ready? I'll take care of it, see you at the briefing," he said, heading in the opposite direction. Being a General was still a bit overwhelming, especially since this was the first large scale attack she'd been put in charge of. She was supposed to take the capital, she wished she could be doing something else. She had one of the hardest jobs, but Anakin's was harder. The entire siege was counting on him. She rounded a corner, heading towards Master Krell's position until she ran right into someone.
"Umph," she grunted, "I'm sorry, wasn't watching where I was going, kinda distracted these days."
"That's alright Commander," she glanced up, no one had called her Commander in a while. "I'm as much at fault," she recognized that voice, that familiar shy force presence, a quiet ebb, and flow.
"Uno!" she exclaimed, all stress of the upcoming mission instantly faded away at the sight of her old friend. "How are you? It's been so long!" she was honestly relieved to see him alive, Krell had a reputation of high casualty counts.
"I'm doing well Commander," he said, placing a smile on his face. At least he knew she was still the same kid from all those years ago on Geonosis, but she had grown. Become more mature, guess that's what happens with time, you grow.
"It's so great to see you, Uno," she said, she'd also decided not to correct him on her being General now. Being called General still felt unnatural. "I'm just headed to see Masters Krell and Tiin if you want to walk with me." She offered, Uno nodded, not that he really wanted to be around his General, but he never got to see Esinon and he wondered how she was doing. It had been two years after all. "Anything new with you?"
"Same old, same old I guess, what about you?" She froze up for only a moment, so much had changed. Being a General, a new Master, Anakin, and her not even talking anymore. She missed him, she didn't know the day she lost her Master, she would lose both her Master's. She didn't know how Uno didn't know everything that had happened, but even though she'd grown more comfortable with the idea of Obi-Wan's death, the concept of talking about it was still terrifying.
"Uh… it's complicated," she said, fingers curling a little more tightly around her datapad. "Lots of things have changed I guess… I'm surprised you don't know."
"Know what sir?" Uno asked, concern lacing his voice.
"I- I'm a General now, Uno. Master Kenobi is… dead." she didn't like to say that out loud. Uno didn't say anything for a long moment,
"General… I'm so sorry," Esinon nodded, a lot of people had been telling her that. Soon they had reached their destination where Krell was glaring at clones as they moved about the hanger prepping for battle, helping their pilots.
"General Krell, I came to check in with you," Esinon said, trying to be as cheerful with the grumpy General as possible.
"General Windcaster," he gave a nod to her, ignoring her question. She huffed to herself, going to stand in front of the besalisk who towered several feet about her. She cleared her throat,
"General Krell, I came to check in with you." She repeated, a little more forcefully,
"Everything's under control," he said coldly,
"Yeah, 'fraid I'm gonna need a little more than that," she said, crossing her arms.
"It is none of your concern-"
"Yes, yes it is. I have to take the capital, I want to know if there have been updates to the plan," she demanded.
"There have been no updates. You are dismissed, padawan." he snapped, she glared at him before stalking out of the hanger. She angrily headed down the hallways, fuming. Padawan? She was a General the same as him! Why wouldn't he listen to her?! He never used to be like this, he was goofy and silly when she was little, maybe it was all fake, or maybe he had changed? It had been a long time since she had been a youngling...
"You ok Speeds? I haven't seen you this angry since you overheard a shiny call you shortstop and then you wouldn't talk to him for a week, and you nudged paint on top of his door." Anakin rambled, Esinon had a reason to be sensitive about her height, it was a constant reminder of her abandonment. She was short because she had been malnourished. Ewok diets and human diets are not the same, plus her tribe wouldn't feed her for the two days before Master Windu arrived. She huffed in annoyance,
"Underestimation sucks Anakin, it sucks," she grumbled,
"From who? I'll kick a clone's butt if you need," she glanced up at him, smiling softly. Anakin hadn't talked to her like this in weeks, not since Obi-Wan died.
"From Krell, he's not treating me the same as he would other Generals." she said, "I tried to get an update on the air assault and it didn't go well"
"Luckily for you, you won't have to be in the sky with him. You get to be on the ground with me," he replied, good-naturedly punching her shoulder. She chuckled,
"I'm so lucky," Anakin gave a cocky smile,
"It's time for our briefing, you ready Speedy?" he asked, she sighed,
"Ready as I'll ever be," she mumbled, heading into the crowded hangar. The men parted for the pair of Generals, she heard someone whisper,
"Is that our General? She looks so… young."
"Yes." another voice snapped, "Now show some respect," Esinon clenched up for a moment. That clone had just voiced what was on everyone's mind.
"Don't pay them any mind," Anakin whispered, "Remember, put on a brave face and keep marching." She nodded, standing a little taller. Anakin was right, anyone will believe you if you act confident. She could keep up the facade long enough. She scanned the room to make sure everyone was there before switching on the hologram map from Spinner's databanks.
"Masters Krell and Tinn will be supporting my troops in the south while Anakin's battalion comes in from the north and takes out enemy reinforcements." she said, motioning to a route on the map, "It is imperative we conquer the capital city as quickly as possible and hold it."
"Our biggest problem is gonna be the local militia. The Umbarans have aligned themselves with the Separatists and are heavily armed." Anakin said, he turned towards Fives and Rex, "ARC trooper Fives will be helping my unit on special assignment."
"Ready to do my part General," Fives said, his chest puffing a little,
"Remember Anakin, Cody, and I will be fifty klicks to your south. We're counting on you to take out those local fighters, or I'm afraid the capital might never surrender." Anakin sighed,
"Does my battalion have to do everything?" he teased,
"Well, even when we try to do it, you always end up barging in and doing it yourself, so I decided to speed up the process," she joked, walking backward to her gunship. She heard Fives snort,
"She's got ya there, General," he said, Anakin rolled his eyes,
"I'm already regretting bringing you Fives," he grumbled, Esinon giggled,
"Have fun boys!" she waved as the gunship doors closed, life, for once, felt… normal. If you consider briefings and war normal, Esinon certainly did. The gunship jolted out of the hanger as she tightened her grip on the strap above her head. She remembered when she was younger and couldn't reach them. A lot of her first missions consisted of hanging onto Gregor's arm instead of the strap. She smiled to herself, oh the good old days. The ship shuddered as they entered the atmosphere,
"General Windcaster! There's a lot of incoming fire!" Lance yelled over the coms of the gunship, the ship jolted as another explosion thundered outside.
"Yep! I can hear it! Just get us as close as you can," she instructed, flames licked at the sides of their gunship, and the smell of smoke reached their nostrils.
"Just like Geonosis," Trapper muttered, Esinon flinched, she didn't like to think about Geonosis.
"Thirty meters from the landing site!" Lance yelled Esinon braced for impact. She didn't like crashes, well no one did. The ship screeched into the ground a few seconds later, Boil, Waxer, and Trapper were working on getting the door unjammed. Esinon wheedled her way to the front, using the force to blow the door clean off. She ignited her lightsaber,
"Let's go!" red bolts whizzed past as she deflected one away from Cody's face. She glanced upward for a split second to see Lance struggling to get the cockpit open. The ship would go up in smoke any second, she fell into speedy time the world slowing around her. She rushed up to Lance's position, ripping the hatch off and pulling him out and to safety. She pushed the DC-17 she now carried with her into his hands. Sometimes lightsabers couldn't get the job done, and Obi-Wan wasn't around to tell her she couldn't use it. "Here, take this, stay safe," she instructed, before zipping to the front to rendezvous with Cody.
"Everybody get to your platoons!" Cody yelled, she was glad to have him at her side. He pulled her down behind a piece of a crashed gunship, "Alright, we're set to move forward with the siege,"
"You make it sound so easy," she joked, ash already streaking her robes and faces. She cocked her head, giving a lopsided grin. Cody chuckled.
"It's only sixteen more clicks to the north," he said, Esinon poked her head over their cover, watching as electrified orbs screamed through the sky.
"Welp, that's only like eighteen hours of sieging," she said, deflecting a bolt as they jumped out from behind their cover and began heading towards the front. For a moment she attempted to find a place she could shout orders from, but it was far too noisy and chaotic to do. She knew if she and Cody began leading from the front, the others would follow. They trusted her, she sidestepped another blast as they continued forward. She had a bad feeling about this.
Esinon tiredly stumbled into camp after eighteen hours of sieging, medical had finally begun pulling injured into transports and they had set up a temporary camp.
"Alright, it's nap time for you," Waxer said, grabbing her shoulders and pushing her along in front of him towards a tent.
"I need to-" she yawned, "check in with-"
"Cody will take care of it," he assured her, pushing her into her tent. "Ok? Go to sleep," she smiled softly before ducking into her tent. She stared at the sleeping mat for a moment. Sleeping meant nightmares. Nightmares she hated,
"Lay down little runner," Qui-Gon said, ducking into the tent as well, "I'll sit here until you fall asleep, you've got a long siege ahead of you." She sat down on her mat staring at the glowing form of Qui-Gon,
"Have you seen Obi-Wan yet?" she asked quietly, Qui-Gon shook his head,
"No," he said softly, Esinon stared down at her feet. "Now, lay down and go to sleep. If you want, I'll be here when you wake up." She nodded and curled up on the mat, and for once she slipped into a dreamless sleep.
Esinon ducked under another blaster bolt, deflecting another.
"Where's our air support!" she shouted, she saw a bolt heading straight for Waxer. She used her speed to tackle him out of the way, "Cody!"
"General!" he shouted, dashing over to her side as she rolled off of Waxer.
"What is Krell doing up there! And has Anakin reported in at all?" she yelled over the blaster fire and explosions,
"No sir, Skywalker got called back to Coruscant! Krell is now leading the 501st!"
"WHAT?!" Cody grabbed her wrist, pulling her to ground as another bolt fired over their head. "Why in the galaxy would he be put in charge of the 501st! This is the 501st we're talking about, Anakin's 501st!"
"I know, I know, but we've got a job to do!" he said, Esinon nodded as they both leaped to their feet. She had to have faith, she had to trust. Krell would do his job, and maybe the 501st would be a little disgruntled at his strictness but they were soldiers and would get the job done regardless.
A few days later...
The only thing keeping her awake at this point was the adrenaline coursing through her veins at the moment. They had been attempting to take the capital for days now. The only way she knew this was her Chrono, without it, the hours and days started to melt together, because time had no meaning on a planet without a sun. The capital was heavily fortified and kept getting resupplied, for every weapon or droid they cut down, two replaced it. They had learned of an airbase to the west, but they didn't have the time to take it out, trying to hold what little ground they had on the capital. She dove behind some debris, she needed help, and she was ticked that she needed it. Obi-Wan wouldn't have needed to ask for help-
'Now little runner, you don't have time for doubt.' Qui-Gon said in her head, she sighed, knowing he was right. She pressed her comlink contacting Krell,
"The capital city's too fortified!" She yelled, "We need your battalion to help us take it!" Rex came into view, at least he was still alive. She could hear blaster fire on their end as well. She plastered her back to the debris, breathing hard as another explosion shook the ground beneath her.
"Resistance from the Umbarans has been greater than anticipated. We're holding our ground at the moment," Krell replied coolly, seemingly bored with the battle around him.
"We've gathered intel about an airbase to the west. It's resupplying the capital's defenses," she informed him, fingers clenching more tightly around her lightsaber hilt as the force shuddered and cried.
"Incoming! Incoming!" someone yelled at the other end of the comlink.
"Get down! Get down!" Fives screamed, she reached out in the force to find his familiar force signal throbbing with adrenaline. She pulled away relieved he was still alive, Krell looked off at the battle boredly, before lazily turning his attention back to the transmission.
"If you could take that airbase, it will sever the capital's supply lines, allowing the rest of our forces to move in," she said,
"I'll see to it that airbase is put under our control," he replied, confidently,
"Remember, General Krell, the entire invasion depends on your battalion," she said, ending the transmission as Krell nodded. She let out a shuddered breath, the force was screaming, crying, and wailing. Something was wrong, so very wrong, and she couldn't figure out what.
Two days later...
"We need to get the injured back up to a cruiser!" Drummer shouted Esinon grunted as she shoved her lightsaber into another droid.
"Start gathering them! I'll call Master Tiin and get us a gunship!" she shouted, she deflected another bolt, glaring down another batch of Umbarans and droids that appeared on the horizon. She was debating about whether to fall back or not,
"We need air support!" someone on her right yelled, Esinon agreed, without Krell in the sky things were becoming more and more difficult, she missed Anakin.
"We have to fall back!" someone yelled,
"We can't yet!" she yelled, "Just hold on a little longer!" she watched the sky in hopes that Master Tiin would come racing through,
"Air support, coming in!" Cody yelled over the comms, she grinned as a pod of ships flew overhead.
"You keeping busy Esinon?" Master Tiin asked over the coms, she chuckled,
"Always Master Tiin always, but I need a medical transport! I've got a lot of wounded and they need attention now," she shouted,
"I'll send someone down. Maybe the force be with you." the transmission ended, she deflected three more blaster bolts in rapid succession as Cody came running towards her position.
"The 501st captured the airbase!" he yelled excitedly, "We can move forward with the siege." She restrained herself from cheering, things were finally looking up.
"Let's go, men!"
Two days later…
They had been forced out of the capital, with the long-range missiles the Umbarans had used, they couldn't get any more ground. She had attempted to mount an attack to deplete the Separatists' weapons so they could start making their way back into the capital, but it had failed miserably. Not minutes after they had retreated, she discovered that the capital was resupplying straight from the supply ship in the sky.
She sat with her eyes closed, soaking in some of the quiet, trying to formulate a new plan. She could feel the flickering of life in the force, clouded by unimaginable darkness. The force shook, quivered, and sobbed with grief. Little flames of clone life sat in her view, but one by one, they were being snuffed out, far too quickly. She had never sensed this much death. If she reached out farther in the force, she could sense Rex and Fives, they were… angry, confused, grief-stricken.
"General..." she blinked her eyes open, Cody staring at her worriedly,
"Huh?"
"General, General Krell is making contact," he said,
"Oh-uh, I'm coming," she said, trying to act General-like. That's what her men needed right? A strong and confident General, like Master Kenobi. 'Just put on a brave face, and keep marching.' She entered the makeshift command center, Krell and Rex appeared. She was relieved to see him alive, after all the death she had sensed. "Congratulations on your capture of the Umbaran airbase, General." she greeted, "It is refreshing to have good news," She gave a soft smile, trying to raise their spirits. Rex looked exhausted, and his stern expression even tighter than usual.
"There will be time for celebration once we have taken the capital," Krell replied, folding his remaining two arms over his chest. Her smile faltered for a split second,
"Yes, well, I'm afraid that's going to be more difficult than anticipated," she said, thumbing the inside of her sleeve. "Their attacks have increased, and their long-range missiles are forcing us to retreat from our position."
"I was hoping we'd cut off their arms shipments and supplies when we took this airbase."
"So was I, but it seems they're receiving new arms shipments directly from a supply ship orbiting the planet," the hologram started to glitch and sputter, "General Krell?"
"General Windcaster?" he asked,
"Sir, we're losing the transmission, they're blocking everything." a trooper informed her,
"It seems they're blocking our transmissions," she said, the hologram continuing to glitch,
"Can't we destroy the ship?" Rex asked, finally stepping forward, Krell shot him a glare, which Esinon tried to ignore.
"We're trying, but with little success, and the extra ships we were promised have not yet arrived. I'm hoping to hear more news from Master Tinn soon,"
"We'll just have to take the capital regardless of the missiles."
'Yeah, try being the one who's dodging them.' She thought to herself, she shook her head, they were probably struggling as much as she was. "My battalion will meet you at the rendezvous coordinates." She saw Rex look up at Krell in surprise, before focusing back on the ground. She could sense something was wrong, but she couldn't put her finger on what.
"Before you go, I wanted to tell you-"
"That will be all General Windcaster, thank you," Krell said,
"Wait! Listen to me," she said firmly, standing her ground.
"I already have a plan that will suffice, you are dismissed."
"But General Krell I know of-"
"I said you are dismissed, padawan."
"Stop! I have a plan that might work, so quit treating me like a child and listen for once," she said exasperated. She was tired, and her muscles were achy, and she was in sore need of a shower. Krell was shocked into silence, she pulled up a holo map of Umbara. "There's a network of pathways down here," she pointed to a spot on the map. "There are tons of plants for cover, and their large scale tanks can't get down that far. If you attack in a guerilla-style formation you'll be able to surprise the enemy. The capital will fall that much more-" the transmission cut out,
"The enemy seems to be blocking us, sir," Split said, "I'll try and get them back,"
"It's alright Split, I got my main point across. Whether Krell listens or not is another story," she said, stupid Krell. He'd always underestimated her, and he was mean to the clones, he fell on the list of people she didn't care for very much. Whatever, Krell would do his job, whether he used her plan or not. "Almost done," she murmured to herself, "Just hold on a little longer."
A few hours later…
Esinon had been watching the sky battle for a while, waiting for the supply ship to come down. They were just trying to hold their ground on what little they had left of the capital while waiting for the 501st to arrive. They would launch an attack soon, they were packing up to go right now.
Yet when three new Umbaran fighters joined the fight, she could sense a distinct force signature,
"Fives, what are you doing?" she murmured if the stupid di'kut got himself killed- nope, not gonna go there. But why in the name of the force was he up in the sky battle? That didn't seem like a Krell plan, it seemed very Anakin-esque. So if they were up there, they did it of their own free will. A few minutes later a sparkling explosion filled the sky. The supply ship was destroyed, but she saw only two ships leave the fiery explosion, she reached out, and Fives was still there. She needed to try and get a hold of Krell as soon as possible, to tell him of their heroic actions, and maybe he wouldn't be angry. Scratch that, he wouldn't be as angry. "Are we all set to move forward?" she asked as Cody joined her,
"Yes sir," he said,
"Waxer! I want your platoon with me!" she called out into the sea of men.
"Uh General, I sent Waxer's platoon to deal with an Umbaran skirmish. Krell called for it," Cody explained,
"Oh, uh, Boil! I want your platoon with me!"
"Yes sir!" he replied, his platoon moving with him to the front.
"Alright men, let's move out," she commanded, heading forward. They marched for hours and hours, only having a few small skirmishes. The Umbarans were finally realizing they were losing and were beginning to give up.
Things were looking up, and the morale of the men was improving. She was finally doing something right as a General! She hoped that Krell would be there soon, they'd need all the firepower they could muster to take the Capital.
The only thing she was worried about was that she hadn't heard anything from the 501st, and every time she tried to com them, her transmissions went unanswered. Something was wrong, but she was trying to ignore that gut feeling.
The force was shuddering, shaking, with grief and pain. The force suddenly surged, her knees buckling, 'We are loyal soldiers!- line up the prisoners!- they must be executed!- you have to learn to make your own decisions- we have to be trusted to make the right decisions!- they're clones! We're all clones!- the General is making a mistake, and he needs to be called on it!- CT-7567, are you reading me!- why would Krell do this?'- Pain, suffering, death, hurt, fear, confusion, death, death, death, brother vs brother, screaming, so much screaming. Her whole head was pounding as she fell to the ground, gasping for air,
"General! We need a medic!" She wasn't sure who yelled that the force was overwhelming her as she was flooded with memories. Her breathing hitched, she felt like she was being crushed by darkness like she was suffocating, and she could feel a sadistic pleasure amongst all of it. More memories pounded into her mind, and Rex pleading, pleading her to come, pleading her to save them.
"Rex," was all she was able to choke out before the world went dark.
Sorry to leave off on a cliffhanger, but here we go on Umbara!
So I thought to myself. Umbara is pretty angsty, what if I killed Obi-Wan off and made it ten times as angsty. I then said yes and wrote this.
Next up on let's make this canon corner: Obi-Wan keeps a picture Esinon in his wallet.