A/N~ At this point, I really have no excuse for my delay… What else can I say other than a busy schedule and multiple stories?
I really need to rework my work flow XD
But onto the more positive side of things, I'm really glad this story is still getting some love! Thank you to everyone for sticking around and giving me feedback to further my efforts!
Reviews
Guest #1
Thanks for the wishes, man. Hope you'll like what I've got next!
CT7567Rules
We are now WWWAAAYYY past The Rise of Skywalker at the time of this writing, but I hope you enjoyed it To be honest, I didn't really enjoy as much as I wanted to… I don't know, I think I can finally say that Sequel Trilogy was just not my favourite place to explore. But I'm eager to where the storytellers will take us next!
Guest #2
I am so happy that you really liked this story! It's really one of the best? Now that's a compliment I'd never thought I'd get XD As for your question, I would be getting to a Ruby flashback chapter at some point. Just pray that I get there quickly
ortizale317
Probably not at the moment. I've already got the basic story up and running, so I can't really add any more characters. Sorry But I really appreciate your support Who knows? Maybe I'll be interested one day…
Johnny Spectre
It's an idea I've had for a while; just not sure if I can fit it in at the moment, so we'll just have to wait and see.
Guest #3
I am willing to have the story set on Menagerie at a later chapter. Whether your premonitions of the characters involved are true or not, we'll leave it to time to decide ;)
And thanks to… whoa boy!
Remnant7, Taijutsu, ShiDimon, Starkiller2468, BanzEye, RealityZero, SaltyWhaleMeme, Chuch198514, emeryrichard896, lightninghawk101, Stiffler-wizz, ZeroTwo80th, Keystone0913, deadrock3465, TvFan2244, ConstantRed, alvjuly12, Jackie Geroux, Brawlingbard, kevinMbollard, Eddie199, 0theking678, DarkJokes, Brandox14, mrbj24, Changeling Man, invictus113, aarroonnm, bobbyf397, AJStyles, Onyx Ninja, davidomega59, SpideyPool1738, JLyman, Totallynotabot and Vigriff.
Thanks to this bustling amount of support, everyone! And as I upload, who's ready for the final arc of The Clone Wars? Let me know what you guys think!
A Socially Awkward Partnership
Friends are just strangers you haven't met.
Planet overwhelmed!
As a Separatist invasion on the planet Brogundi pushes the defenders back to the capital, the city of Hefrom falls under siege from within!
A brave force of resistance movements led by Krul Belisk holds the line, but supplies are waning. With Republic soldier, Jaune Arc, in the midst, his partner, Commander Pyrrha Nikos, has requested a full-scale assault on the city to liberate the people and their forces.
Meanwhile, two Jedi leaders, Ruby Rose and Kenta Barak, prepare to assist the ground forces in the wake of a counter-offensive on the planet.
Dawn of Serenity,
Orbit of Brogundi,
Trekmor System,
Mid Rim,
"TEN-HUT!"
Ah, the sweet sound of military roundups in the Brogundian morning. The callouts from officers, the stomping of feet from clone troopers marching into their positions, the clattering of rifles being swung around and brought to shoulder point.
All before a big battle. What could be more exciting than the promise for battle?
Leaning over the railing, up on the catwalks, Ruby spectated the hundreds of clones marching along to their posts. The gunships being loaded with the essentials needed for the eventual assault. Haulers and droids dragging along supplies into the transports, just as troops hustled up for the attack. She caught a glimpse of her sleeve, spotting a speck of ash on it; leftover residue from a battle that she and Kenta fought on Galidraan. She flicked it off, watching the tiny particle flutter down towards the huge hangar floor.
Ruby's right foot tapped behind her left heel, a tad bit of impatience coursing through her body as she felt eager to see battle again. And as always, she had to be somewhere where her Master couldn't see her. Kenta could always feel her presence, but what was he going to do to catch her when she's up above the hangar.
Just another busy day in a Venator-class cruiser…
Speaking of which, there's always something odd about how certain ships are named. Like this one; the Dawn of Serenity.
There's just something wrong about giving a name of beauty to a ship so destructive and powerful. Ruby supposed it did serve a purpose to bring peace back to the galaxy, but for now, these large ships were anything but serene. Majestic, yes; but 'serene' was a tad bit too romantic for a warship.
Still, that didn't affect much of her fascination of these vessels and the army down below her.
After months of being thrown in the middle of a war, Ruby had grown accustomed to the everyday proceedings of men. Men who, despite knowing that they would most likely die, would still fight for the peace the Jedi had longed for. Among those men were clones who she fought alongside and bonded with throughout the war.
But something was different, this time.
There was the small part of the attack force that was being tended to at the other end of the hangar. There, instead of clones, these soldiers were of a different variety. They wore armour that was as white as that of the clones, but they were brandished with a beautiful display of green floral patterns lining down their chests. Their helmets had a horned crest on top, flushing out the image of a royal warrior of the highest calibre. And there weren't just men, but women as well, coupled together with those of a few other species in the mix.
According to Admiral Leeck, the man in charge of the very ship Ruby was in, these new soldiers were part of the Remnant Coalition; one of the rare examples of governments taking up arms alongside the Grand Army of the Republic.
As far as Ruby knew, this was to be expected. After all, she was from Remnant. Her first years were spent there, before the tragic loss of her mother and her transfer to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, where she would spend the rest of her childhood in, away from the brief life of happiness she once had with her father and sister.
Memories of her brief moments in Patch returned to give her chills. The thought of seeing her father for the first time since she left him, lingered in her mind like a toxic cloud, paining with anxiety to know how things had changed since she last encountered him. How she felt pain when she was to be separated from him.
Most of all, what happened to Yang… That was the most painful thought…
But her trance into the past had been snapped when she heard beeping noises from her communicator. Ruby picked up the disc-shaped device and raised it up to her head level to answer the call.
"Ruby." Out came the voice of her old Master, calling her down like he'd do every single time. "Come down here. There's someone I want you to meet."
"Coming." cheered Ruby. Putting the communicator away, she made her way down to the hangar bay, coming to meet with Kenta and the mysterious person of interest. On her way down, she wondered who could be of importance for this mission to liberate the people of Brogundi.
Who was this person and what did he or she have to do with this operation? The full force of her clone division was all that was needed to bring the rain and eliminate all opposition. What more could the army need to send the Seppie's back home?
Ruby ran through the wide-open hangar bay, passing clone after clone and approaching her former Master, who was already down in the bay. The Master's arms were crossed, pacing back and forth while awaiting Ruby's arrival. When the young girl arrived, he turned to face her, being graced with that same excited and curious attitude from his former Padawan.
After all Ruby had been through in this war, the Jedi Master was getting prouder and prouder of her. Months of gruelling conflict, the death and the destruction, all the hardships and challenges thrown towards her; they all did nothing to break her will. Nothing had destroyed the cheer and optimism. In fact, if anything, Ruby had grown from her past experiences. The reckless little girl he was always sure to discipline was starting to become more wary of her surroundings, that the troubles of the galaxy were no longer a game to her. She had accepted the reality of the situation and took it upon herself to become a better example for the troops they led.
Though, she still had some more learning to do if she was to become the Jedi Master she always wanted to be. Growing as she may had been, Ruby was still open to doing the unorthodox.
Soon enough, she would be in charge of her own clone division.
"What's up, Kenta?" asked Ruby. "Where is this person you want me to meet?"
"She'll be here." told Kenta. "Now, I want you to be on your best behaviour. She's not someone you want to mess with."
"Aren't our clones good enough to fight?" wondered Ruby. "What about us? Why do we need a bunch of extra hands?" Not that she wanted the extra help, but Ruby didn't really think the attack needed any more firepower than what was already available to them. A fleet of three cruisers, packed with twelve battalions' worth of ground forces capable of levelling entire droid bases. Reinforcements from another system was probably going to be overkill for the droids, even if they were the enemy. But most important of all, despite how she felt about sending clones to die, adding Remnant forces to the list of casualties was a but unnecessary.
"We should raise the firepower at every chance we get, Ruby." defended Kenta. "Besides, our new ally has seen the worst of battles before this war, so don't expect her to be so humble."
"This person must be really special to involve the Remnant Coalition." wondered Ruby.
"Yes." Kenta agreed, but with a slight discomfort in his voice.
He had tried not to remind Ruby too much of Remnant. The Council made it clear that all ties to her past must be kept separate from her, and he knew well enough of what would happen if she did.
But nothing was going to stop the Republic from accepting military support from a formidable part of its grand circle. Remnant's military history was something to behold. Centuries of perseverance, conflict and glorious rejuvenation had placed the entire star system in the books of galactic history, enough so that even the Jedi Order could not ignore its significance in the greater power of the Force.
More so, when the Republic knew nothing but peace, Remnant was always front and centre to tackle the peacetime crises across its territories and beyond, keeping said peace in check while most of the fighting happened in the Senate Chamber.
How this powerful force was eventually side-lined for the greater prospect of a clone army; no one knew. But they were still allowed to participate and Remnant was quick to send its forces throughout the frontlines across the galaxy to defend the Republic. As far as the war went, they had proven themselves capable of putting up a strong defence in their side of the Republic.
Here, under the service of two Jedi leaders, a small contingent of Remnant's forces had found themselves here, allowed to participate in the counterattack on Brogundi. And with it, the aforementioned person sent to assist the Jedi on this mission.
And just on cue, Ruby caught someone approaching them. Peering over to the right, upon seeing the person, she was immediately struck with a sense of recognition, as if an angel had arrived.
The woman wore a full set of combat armour, complete with a bronze chest plate and armour pads protecting her elbows and knees. Her boots were just in the same colour frame, shining brilliantly against the hangar's lights. She would have looked like a real soldier, if it weren't for a few small details. Around her head, a brandished circlet wrapped on her forehead and a red skirt draped down her legs.
Ruby's heart soared the moment she saw this woman, instantly triggering a giddy state of star-struck power in her heart. The visual amazement, down to her signature smile, was all that was needed to push Ruby over the edge.
OMIGOSH! That is Pyrrha Nikos! The Invincible Warrior of Mistral!
Ruby's eyes glittered, bedazzled by the hero before her. Her hands curled into fists before they came up to her chin. This was the usual habit of Ruby's, whenever she would come across something so extraordinary, she would stare at it all day.
Knowing who the woman was, Kenta wasn't surprised that Ruby would know of her. However, it was the extent of the reaction that mystified him. His former Padawan's face lit up in the brightest he had ever seen of her. The Jedi Master always thought the machinations of weapons and droids would excite her more than anything in the galaxy. And now, this lone woman, commander of Remnant's special forces, was like having all the stashes of rare gadgets and gizmos Ruby would ever find.
Ignoring Ruby's star-gazing trance, Kenta moved to greet Pyrrha, formally beginning their introductions.
"Greetings, Masters Jedi." Pyrrha began with a bow.
"You must be Commander Pyrrha Nikos." said Kenta. "It's finally a pleasure to meet you."
"Likewise, Master Jedi. I'm at your service." After being acquainted with the Jedi Master, Pyrrha turned her attention to the girl staring at her. "And you must be Ruby Rose." she greeted her, not bothering about the fact that the girl was being bedazzled by her grace.
Ruby shook her head, snapping herself back. Flushed with cheeks of red, she quickly got to making herself known.
"Hi!" She reached her hand out as fast as swinging her weapon. "Um… M-my name's… Ruby. Ruby Rose!"
"Nice to meet you, too, Ruby." Pyrrha graciously accepted, shaking Ruby's hand with enthusiasm.
"I take it you're familiar with our new friend?" asked Kenta.
"Who doesn't know who she is?!" cheered Ruby, filled with amazed grandeur over the legends she had been told of Pyrrha. It's hard not to be excited when she was meeting the Pyrrha Nikos of everything the girl had done for the galaxy in her days as an operative in Mistral's Special Forces. Her stories were renowned throughout Remnant and since she was known to be trained by the Force-believing monks of Mistral, tales of her escapades would have reached the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, and one of those youthful younglings who may have been enamoured by the stories was Ruby.
"She's the greatest hero in Remnant! The hero who beat the Sons of Xim on Tryka, the saviour of Valkor!" Pyrrha giggled, listening to Ruby share her fascination of the many missions she had undertaken, and even the little bits off the battlefield.
"She's even on the cover of every Jogan Jude's Cereal boxes!"
"Oh, stop." laughed Pyrrha, flushing red. "It's nothing, really." Pyrrha was always thankful that lives were both saved and affected by her heroic service to the Republic. Though, her sponsorship of the cereal was not much of a big deal; just a way to make the kids happy with their breakfast, and the soldiers energized with their rations. "If anything, I should be thanking you Masters for keeping the peace so far."
"Eheheh…" giggled Ruby with a snort, scratching her nose and brushing her foot on the floor, flustered that she was being complimented by the legend. "I-it's nothing…"
"Wow. Even Master Yoda can't make her swoon like that." commented Kenta. "You must really have a reputation, Commander."
"I'm honoured, Master Jedi." thanked Pyrrha. "Alright! Now that we're all here, let us get to the briefing." Ruby could hardly wait. To be working with Pyrrha Nikos, it was a dream come true. She got to fight alongside a warrior who was beyond anything she could ever imagine. A warrior of many feats and victories, who was a hero to her home system of Remnant. She had the chance to have a conversation with her and perhaps get to know more about the home she never had. Three great fighters, side by side, in a glorious battle to bring the Separatists down.
To begin the current report, Pyrrha pulled out her portable projector, displaying the blue holographic image of a city which hovered over the disc-shaped object. Ruby and Kenta came forth to hear what she had for them.
"This is the city of Hefrom." told Pyrrha. "The home of the Senator of Brogundi. When I led a mission to help and liberate the city, several resistance cells are beginning to rise up and take the fight against the droids." Red dots were dropped onto several positions across the city, each of them marking heavy resistance activity. Most of them were close to the tall central tower in the city square, suggesting that the bulk of their forces were centred in this position.
However, the dots then began to move. Altogether, the red circles began to move closer to the main gate of the city, pursued by smaller red blocks that were formed into several groups as they chased the circles towards the exit.
"Unfortunately, the garrison has proven much more difficult to weaken." she said with a heavy heart. "The Separatists have begun to push the resistance fighters back towards the gates." As the group eyed the large open gate, a few more of the droid formations appeared right outside, entrapping the resistance circles between two enemy forces. Worse still, the forces outside had a few small figures of tanks behind the battle droid formations, closing the gap between them and the forces behind the resistance.
It was all too clear to the Jedi on what was about to happen. The droids were setting up a trap.
"By chasing the freedom fighters to the main gate, the enemy will have an armoured group outside, waiting for the right time to finish them off." After explaining the situation, Pyrrha then switched the projections, now showing the image of a young man. The boy was dressed in combat armour similar to Pyrrha's, but Ruby recognized the design and colour patterns on the chest plate. Shiny floral patterns creeping down from top to bottom of the armour, with the recognizable symbol on the soldier's chest. A broad crescent looming over another smaller one. This symbol belonged to, much like Pyrrha and the Nikos family, another known family of Remnant's finest. One that was just as reputable and admired by the young Jedi.
"One of our soldiers is down there, assisting in the resistance against the occupation." told Pyrrha.
"He's an Arc?!" she exclaimed. Surprised, she would have never guessed that not only was she going to fight with Pyrrha, but one from the Arc family as well! Where the Nikos family were striking hunters, the Arcs were the noble defenders of Remnant. Their tales of heroism were just as popular, brought upon the Jedi Temple for Ruby to be wooed over.
The day was getting better for Ruby, now given the opportunity to fight with two legendary warriors!
"Yes." giggled Pyrrha. "He's my combat partner, Jaune Arc."
However, a particular detail didn't go unnoticed by Kenta. The Jedi Master grew wary over something… odd about the young lad. He studied the soldier's face, scanning for the minute details on his face. The blue eyes gave off a tiny essence that felt peaceful but, more importantly, timid. With his keen eye, he could pick out minor fault lines within the skin of his cheeks, indicating that the man was prone to panic attacks.
"Kind of a little off, isn't he?" he commented, drawing Ruby's curiosity.
"Jaune may be a bit slow when it comes to progress, but I assure you he can get the job done."
"Oh." sighed Ruby, surprised of Pyrrha's description of her partner. She couldn't imagine someone being inadequate for battle, let alone someone from a powerful military family. Why he was chosen to fight this war was anyone's guess, she thought. If he wasn't ready, then what was the point of joining until he was fully prepared? Did he want to waste his life on the battlefield, dying a death too soon for any soldier.
And yet, Pyrrha chose him to be her combat partner. What she found within this poor boy was unclear, to say the least.
"That's… fine. I guess." she uttered half-heartedly. But she could not hide her disappointment from Kenta, easily catching Ruby's expression like spotting a blinking sensor light on a cargo freighter.
"Ruby." warned Kenta.
"What?" Ruby defended, as if her feelings were fair and just. How else was she supposed to feel about some inexperienced kid, especially one from the Arc family, being thrust into the hellish world of war? Was it wrong for her to think that this Jaune guy would not be prepared for the tribulations this conflict would bring him? She didn't want some rookie to be killed off when he had so much more to learn.
"Don't tell me 'what'. I know it when you're being judgemental about people." "Besides, you're not exactly adult enough to begin with."
"What do you mean?! I was knighted by the whole Council! You were there!"
Pyrrha was amused by the exchange between the two Jedi. Of all the times she encountered Jedi in her past, the fact that Ruby Rose was granted an early knighthood surprised her, to say the least. Normally, as she heard, young Padawans were only given their promotions upon completing the trials at an age when they'd be mature enough to push themselves to the limit. That would normally come when the Jedi were close to adulthood. Ruby, being only about fifteen at this time, was an exception that Pyrrha had never guessed was possible.
But she supposed the knighting of Ruby was something of an emergency. She had heard from home that Jedi Knights were being thrown into battle in droves. Young ones unprepared for the war ahead being thrust to the hailstorm before they were hardened enough to stand against the enemy. She hoped that the cheerful little girl before her wasn't one of the unlucky ones. With a Master to guide her, perhaps Ruby had experienced enough to warrant her stay in this cruiser and on the battlefield.
"Don't worry about Jaune. I'm sure he'll be glad to have a Jedi fight alongside him." assured Pyrrha. Ruby wasn't completely sold on the idea of having some rookie on the battlefield, let alone on a mission without Nikos' backup. But coming from the Mistralian commando, her faith in Jaune could mean something. Finally, she decided to go along with it, hoping that he wasn't too out of shape for battle.
"And so, it's our job to bring in the heat and break open a huge exit for the resistance fighters to escape." continued Kenta, turning his visage onto Pyrrha. "A group of three gunships should be able to make a strafing run and land the ground forces necessary to cover the resistance retreat."
From the holographic briefing, three forms appeared from the far side of the projector. Three gunships that hovered towards the ground, behind the tanks before landing down. Afterwards, the tanks began to disappear, as if the gunships were meant to destroy them. That left the large enough opening needed for the resistance to flee from, as evident by the red dots passing through the gate and right into the safety of the gunships.
The plan would bank on this breach in the enemy's flank before the resistance fighters would be broken free and boarded the transports. It all relied on a heavy assault from behind to deal with such forces.
"But that would be a huge warning sign for any nearby reinforcements. How many people do you suppose we have to cover for to escape?" The red-haired girl could not give a proper answer, not even an estimate, as to the rough count of people escaping the city. In fact, she wasn't sure if anyone could flee with an army of droids about to flank them and block their retreat.
"Just long enough until the enemy is about ten klicks away from our assault force." Pyrrha deduced. She did not know how many people would be left fighting by Jaune and Krul's side. There was nothing to take per chance, but as long as Jaune and Krul were among the safe ones, she would be content. From there, she would still hold out long enough for more freedom fighters to break loose, until the time came for a retreat. The rest, unfortunately, would have to hold out for a little longer before the full assault from behind.
"Good!" cheered Ruby. "So, we fly down, blow them up and save the day."
"But there's another problem." interrupted Pyrrha, putting an end to the optimism. "The resistance could very well end up anywhere in the city. How are we going to direct the group towards the gate?"
"Easy." said Kenta, facing Ruby. The young Jedi felt a pang of excitement at the way he grinned, knowing that she was to play a crucial role in the mission, and playing such a role meant one thing. "We'll drop Ruby and her squad of clones down there to cover their retreat." She forced her happiness back, but she was overwhelmingly excited about being dropped in the middle of a fight and a chance to make things right for a people troubled by war.
"Really?" said Pyrrha, amazed that the Jedi Master before her had suggested a young girl, let alone a very young Jedi Knight, to the thick of the action without any military backup. "Can she do it?"
"Oh, don't worry." boasted Ruby. "I got the tricks to pull it off."
"Ruby has been pushed into similar circumstances, even before she became a Knight." explained Kenta. "I trust she can make it out, this time."
Pyrrha hesitated. It seemed to be too much pressure for one teenager to be trusted to lead the charge in the middle of a war. It was a thought that lingered as soon as she laid her eyes on the young Jedi Knight. It puzzled her… No, it bewildered her to think that the Jedi Order would be so willing to thrust its young Padawan-levelled members into a terrifying ordeal so easily as if they were sending battle-hardened troopers.
But her perspective was questioned when she saw the combination of Master Barak's trust in his former Padawan, and the unshaken enthusiasm from Ruby. The Master was not even second-guessing his decision to put his old student in the fray without a second thought.
Seeing Ruby accept her task, with glee, no less, it was clear that the Jedi had no fear of being sent to fight on her own. More importantly, though, was what Pyrrha sensed from the former's aura that spoke many volumes about how the young Knight was handling the burden of being thrown into battle. Within the mix of emotions inside, most of it was pure delight and excitement; something that only mystified Pyrrha even more.
But there was another prevalent emotion that immediately raised her interests. It was a sense of duty, backed up by readiness and familiarity of the situation that came from experience from battles prior. The hardened spirit of a warrior loomed around her, filled with the pain and trauma suffered from her first encounters with death of violence. The determination to move on and keep on going drove her mind into a state of readiness. Ruby Rose was someone who had seen it all and, given her insistence on being part of this dangerous mission, was not about to let herself be put down by what was to come next. She wasn't just fearless; she was battle-ready.
Besides, Ruby was going to have backup, anyway. A squad of clones backing Jedi would more than suffice. Convinced that Ruby could get the job done, Pyrrha smiled, trusting the Jedi of their heroic deeds.
"I shall not doubt your judgement, General." praised Pyrrha. "And you, General Rose, I will most certainly hope for the best from you."
"Keep it going." giggled Ruby, bashfully.
Then, behind Pyrrha, a lone clone officer approached them. The commander turned towards the clone, while the two Jedi took notice of his arrival. The officer, Carolina, had come off unscathed since leaving Brogundi with Pyrrha, so work went straight to gathering enough intel and preparations for the next landing. He stood firmly at attention; hands placed behind his back as he addressed himself to his superior.
"Ah, Carolina." called Pyrrha.
"Commander Nikos." announced the clone. "I just came by to tell you that the men from the Remnant Coalition are ready to depart."
"That's good." Then, she shifted her attention to the Jedi, introducing her aide to them. She caught the curious gaze of Ruby, who seemed to be interested in the clone, especially after how she addressed him by a name than the usual number. "Oh. This is CT-1788. He has been assigned to me to supervise all available clone troops under my command. So technically, he's my aide in watching over my soldiers."
"Well, I know clones have like this, verification number and all, but I noticed you gave him a name." addressed Ruby. "That's nice."
"Yes. A name is more comfortable to use than a set of numbers." agreed Pyrrha, earning an understanding giggle from Ruby. It was refreshing for the Jedi to know that someone else in the military thought of the bright idea to come up with a name than let clones be nameless. Duo was a good example of that. "Hence, I call him 'Carolina'. We were going for something like Tucker, but that would be too stupid."
"What did you say?!"
"With all due respect, Commander, Washington would have been tastier." said Carolina, Pyrrha sensing the attempt at humour from the clone. It was worth the praise hearing him try to be more open to a light-hearted conversation.
The conversation would have continued if a sudden booming noise filled the room, snapping everyone back to action.
ATTENTION! ALL TROOPS! MAN YOUR SHIPS!
The loud call to arms rang across the hangar, echoing throughout the massive launch bay. The rays of red, flashing light scanned the colossal room as troops spurred to board their transports while the giant walkers jumpstarted and moved to position to be picked up by their carrier ships. The time to launch was imminent and the liberation of Brogundi was about to begin.
As the roaring sirens went off, each blast of noise intensified Ruby's heartbeats, filling the young warrior with heated excitement for battle. Her fists tightened, imagining the grasp on her lightsaber fully extended for combat, eager to be swung around and slashing droids up, left and right. The time for battle was underway, and Ruby was just itching to be the first on the next gunship to Brogundi.
"Looks like we got work to do." said Pyrrha.
"Ruby, get our men." commanded Kenta.
"On it!" Immediately, Ruby dashed off, leaving behind a stream of petals as she ran to find the battalion. Pyrrha managed to catch one of the petals, rubbing it between her fingers. It felt like a real petal of a rose, soft and smooth, but also brittle when pressed too hard. Intrigued by the sudden mystery behind Ruby's powerful speed, she couldn't pick out what made those petals. Perhaps it was a mystery so great that only the Jedi could possibly know about.
"Peculiar." she uttered to herself.
Ruby raced towards the other end of the hangar, finding the row of three gunships parked just against the wall. Upon arriving within the vicinity, she could already recognize the clones who were under her command. Ever since their previous battles, the 187th Battalion had been given new colours to distinguish themselves amongst the rest of the Grand Army. On the sides of their armour, lines of red and black came down, joined together to form a harlequin mesh that blended well with the white plating, combining into a grand royal flair. It was a style that Ruby personally recommended. It also gave them a new title that, much like their colours, made them stand out from the rest.
The name chosen was Scarlet Squad. This time, Kenta Barak was the one who decided the name, for he knew it would fit the troopers well with Ruby. After all, despite him being the more superior of the duo, it was his former Padawan who did well enough to deserve her shot in naming the battalion and decide its colour scheme.
As she passed her troopers, Ruby looked far and wide for the two beings she needed with her at the moment. She scanned through the soldiers, searching for her partners in crime; the one clone who had to be there to address the others, and her best friend of a droid.
"Zee?!" she called out for the astromech. "Where are you?!" Unbeknownst to Ruby, it didn't take long for her to find the folks she was looking for.
A sudden rush of dragging noises, almost as audible as a speeding wheeled bike, ran right for her, triggering a state of alert for Ruby's highly atoned senses. She spun around, catching the sight of a speeding astromech, rolling at rapid speeds. The speed of the droid was almost so fast that she did not have time to react, too late to stop it before it crashed right into her.
"WHOA!" Ruby was hit with full force, smashing into her stomach after she lurched forward to take the hit. The collision sent her tumbling back, falling down on her behind. After the rather painful incident, Ruby peered up to see the excited figure of her faithful astromech, tweeting with delight at seeing her. Before she could greet the little droid, she stood up and rubbed her backside, hissing in pain before she cheered herself up for Zee.
"Sorry, buddy!" she giggled, coming to stroke the droid's flat head. Chirping happily, Zee pushed gently against her. Then, right behind the droid, a helmetless clone walked behind, chortling at the sight of the collision.
"You alright, Rubes?" bellowed Duo, having a bit of a ball.
"It'd be great if you told Zee where he was going, Duo." groaned Ruby.
"Can't help if he's too fast, eh?" defended Duo. After Ruby dusted herself, the Jedi put her hands to her hips, not liking how her second-in-command laughed at her. She huffed, loosening herself of the stress of the moment and chose to move on. The alarms were still ringing, which should give everyone the idea that there was no time for casual talk.
"Come on. We got a planet to free." she called. The clone and the droid followed behind her as they ran around to gather the rest of the men needed to accompany Ruby on the mission. All the while, Duo noticed the woman talking to General Barak.
"Who's the lady over there?" asked Duo.
"Oh? Her?" said Ruby. "New teammate from Remnant." Looking at the slender shape of Pyrrha's body, Duo couldn't help but grin, liking what he saw.
"Well, there's someone with the shape to match." purred Duo. The suggestive tone of his voice caught Ruby's attention, unpleased by the sudden comment made towards the Mistralian hero. Her cheeks pouted, her body bent forward and her hands to her hips, displaying a cross posture. Her eyes rolled. Perhaps clones were entirely different from regular human beings, after all.
The clone was caught off guard by the Jedi's expression, sheepishly chuckling and unable to speak properly. "Sorry, General." Ruby shrugged her shoulders, sighing with discontent before vowing to continue gathering her troops.
"Let's not keep them waiting. Get the men ready. Come on, Zee." The trio moved out to carol the clone forces together for the eventual assault. Down there, a group of freedom fighters, along with one supposed prodigy of a warrior family, needed the full aid of the Republic to set themselves free. She didn't how to address such an underwhelming development of having to work with an undertrained Arc, but given that he was fighting alongside other resistance fighters, maybe he wasn't so bad.
If he was as unfit for battle as she once thought, would he be fighting battle droids on his own? Nothing was for certain and as Kenta once said to her;
You will never know what is true until you see the truth for yourself…
Hefrom City,
Brogundi,
Trekmor System,
Mid Rim,
Blaster fire was raging through Hefrom City endlessly for the few days since Jaune chose to remain and help the resistance. The never-ending battle to liberate Hefrom was taking its toll on the entire resistance and the city itself.
Shaken by the violent resonations and sounds of war, Jaune hid back behind a cracked roadblock, being bombarded by blasts of droid fire from the other end of the street. He told himself he wouldn't be so mousey. He kept telling himself that he would be braver than this, after he had shown his courage in the previous battle.
But still, the boy found himself fidgeting with anxiety, clutching his rifle not in the way a soldier would, but a child hanging onto his favourite toy.
Not much changed since the transmission from Brogundi's Senator to the people. The Separatists were still dominating the freedom fighters, leaving the latter completely depleted of all forms of support. Supplies were low, and any attempt at raiding cargo was thwarted by the heightened security. But more depressing still was the number of fighters left to take on the droids. The enthusiastic revival of a resistance longing for freedom from the enemy shrunk along with the dwindling manpower. The painful events of watching people being killed in every battle struck everyone, all in a fruitless attempt to shake the Separatists.
Remarkably, the resistance still held its ground, no matter how small it may had been. After facing defeat at their worst, the few people remaining could not afford to suffer another crippling blow, not as long as Krul was still alive and burning with passion.
And the man the people trusted to lead them was indeed still fighting. Krul had his E-5 heavy blaster rested on his knee as he sprayed a burst of bolts towards the enemy. He then jumped back behind the barricade, sitting right next to Jaune to cool off his weapon. The boy could feel the heat of the blaster emitting from the metal surface like an overcooking vibrowave.
Jolting blasts hit against the cover behind them, causing Jaune to have fits of shock from within his trauma-filled body. His habitual tensions kicked in, restricting him from rising up and shooting back at the droids behind them.
Beside them, one of the resistance fighters dragged with him the injured body of another, carefully sitting the wounded soldier down behind the crowded roadblock. With their numbers diminishing, the resistance was already starting to feel themselves being ripped apart as the days lingered.
"We're almost out of options, sir." cried the soldier, his voice faltering under the pressure. "At this rate, we'll be no more."
Krul slammed the butt of his weapon down on the ground, shooting himself up to rise above the others. Just as he had done so far, he showed just how devoted he was to the cause, not giving up as he did so earlier. He could not afford to throw in the towel and let the droids take him and everyone else. As long as the spark of rebellion was up, the fires would keep burning until they could find their opening.
"We can't give up now. People are counting on us." he declared. "Jaune said the Republic will be here."
"Y-yeah." Jaune muttered silently, not catching anyone's attention. "They will." But his voice was still unsure. The fight was already a few days old, and not a single word from the Republic came of reinforcements. Not even a signal from Pyrrha of her return. The resistance fighters could keep on fighting, but without sufficient military support, the fight could only hold so much.
Jaune hated to see this, but it seemed like the fires of hope were being snuffed out just as soon as they were rekindled.
The troops were moving out, getting themselves into their gunships as the sounds of the sirens boosted their haste. Once the ships were full, one by one, they each departed, forming a single line to start their approach towards the planet; the first of many assaults onto the planet's surface. Without the challenge of a Separatist fleet blocking their path, the transports would have a lot more room to cruise easily through until they would meet the flak of enemy cannons firing upon them in the sky.
The next gunship ready to take off was being boarded by a small detachment of the 187th Battalion, accompanied by none other than their trusty leader, Ruby. The young girl jumped into the gunship's hull, coming face-to-face with the troopers uner her command. Each of them shared excited glances at the Jedi, who in turn, flashed a confident grin back at them.
The next passenger who came on board rolled his way in, letting Ruby scoot to the side to let the little astromech into the ship. Zee fit himself right in the middle of the bunch as Ruby stood back in front of him. Outside the ship, Kenta walked towards his former Padawan, ready to make sure she was fully prepared for the battle ahead.
"Just make sure you don't blow it again." he told her.
"And if I somehow blow it up, I'll just get back up and salvage." assured Ruby.
"Remember; there are people following your back, Ruby. There won't be room for errors." warned Kenta, reminding her that there were no second chances when lives had to be saved.
"They'll be fine, Master. Besides, I got Zee with me." Kenta eyed the droid behind Ruby's legs, seeing it chirp in agreement.
"Are you sure you want to take him with you?" asked the Jedi Master.
"Yep!" cheered Ruby.
"Fine, but I'm still not sure he can catch up." sighed Kenta.
"Awww. Don't listen to the grumpy man, Zee." Ruby bent down to hug Zee's head, feigning cries for her usual mockery. The droid beeped sad notes to play along with the teasing. Kenta just sighed again, shaking his head.
"Seriously, you act like a five-year-old at times." he uttered.
"At least I act young." Ruby shot back, snickering. A smile crept on Kenta's face. No matter how much fun she was having from his attitude, there was no point being disappointed anymore. She was already grown up enough; she was already facing challenges far greater than any Padawan her age would ever face. If she was going out strong, she might as well retain what little optimism she had before the storm came.
"May the Force be with you, Rubes." he wished her farewell. Ruby smiled brightly back at her Master before the door of the ship closed, separating the two from view as the gunship began to lift itself from the floor and off to the planet's orbit.
As Kenta stood by to watch the gunship take off, Pyrrha walked behind him. After seeing the brief exchange between master and apprentice, she felt gleeful watching the two interact like they were a family; a fun banter between a young teenager and her overprotective father figure. But something else caught her eye. She saw what looked like an old astromech droid crawling into the ship with Ruby. It was an unusual sight to see one, let alone one of an Old Republic model, getting into a gunship and being brought out to a battle. Shouldn't Ruby, or any of the clones, alert the pilot to drop off the droid? The battlefield was not a proper place for a droid to be rolling around in.
"Where is that droid going?" she asked Kenta.
"Going with Ruby, again…" said the Master. Pyrrha was quite surprised by how dismissive the Jedi's voice was, as if having the droid accompany Ruby was a typical routine.
"What is the tactical advantage of taking an old model like that into battle?" she wondered.
"You'd be surprised how much that droid can accomplish by Ruby's side." told Kenta, another statement that mystified Pyrrha.
"I was under the impression the Jedi discouraged all attachments to their possessions."
"Yes. That is what I've been trying to tell Ruby." groaned Kenta. His voice spoke volumes of how disapproving he was towards the connection between Ruby and the droid. Then, he switched his tone to a knowing one, another feature that confused Pyrrha still. "But there's just no stopping her from touching hearts and minds, even those of the mechanical kind."
For a while, Pyrrha pondered. The thought of Jedi going against their tenants and ideals was not rare, but certainly not called for. If she remembered the last time she met one of the Order, she was a loyal follower, going to lengths to preserve the Order's conducts. To meet two Jedi who were seemed either neutral or somewhat dismissive of such rules was foreign to her. Nevertheless, she could deny what Kenta said about Ruby; she did emit a bright and soothing aura that Pyrrha could feel as much as the heat of Vacuo's deserts. If the astromech was allowed to follow Ruby into battle before, then perhaps it didn't hurt that it could do so again.
"I think I understand." Despite what she said, she still felt uncertainty in the Jedi Master next to her. He may tolerate Ruby's droid being with her, but there was still hesitation in him allowing them to pursue that bond.
"What do you think?" Pyrrha shook from her thoughts. The question Kenta asked caught her unprepared. Still, she responded with poise, a gentle stance that didn't seem to betray her shock.
"There aren't many restrictions from the temples in Anima, so... I'm fine with bonding with people as it is." she said. "It is a trait the people of Remnant take to heart, after all."
"I guess I can see why. Ruby was born there." stated Kenta.
"Oh! What a coincidence." laughed Pyrrha, amazed that the young girl was of Remnant blood as well. "Seeing Remnant's forces aboard this ship must be something worth getting nostalgic for."
"Yeah... I guess it does." Kenta agreed, but with a bitter taste in his mouth.
Ruby's gunship flew along three others out of the long opening atop the entire front length of the Venator, flanked by a ring formation of Z-95 Headhunters. The ships flew straight for the arid surface of the salt-filled planet, unopposed and safe to speed their way through.
Deep within the sealed interior of the gunship, the Jedi, her droid and the full squad of troopers under her command hung on tightly, awaiting the moment where the ship would reach the atmosphere and punch right through the full force of friction. Only when the ships finally reached the surface did hell unleash its full fury.
The flak began to fire away, eating up the sky as continuous explosions rocked the group of ships heading for their destination. Ruby felt tremendous rumbles throughout the hull, throwing her off with each boom outside. She hung onto the railing as tightly as she could, keeping her balance and holding out to the Force that they survived the onslaught.
Amongst the low rumbling, Ruby could feel a spike of pain as a louder blast shook her senses, indicating another ship being blown apart and being sent spearing towards the ground a fireball.
"The zone is hot, boys!" The pilot of Ruby's gunship called from his seat. "You're going to have to jump from here!"
"Into the flak?!" exclaimed one of the new additions to the squad.
"Flying's easy; landings are always hard!" laughed Duo as he jabbed the rookie in the shoulder. The banter between the two eased Ruby's stresses a little as she held out to hope that they would reach the city without being blown up.
A few minutes of flying through the flak fire. Ruby's legs were already trembling after being rocked back and forth during the flight. By the time the lights in the hull went red, the thrill of battle returned to fuel her excitement.
"This is it!" the pilot called again. "Get ready to jump, boys and girls!"
"Now, this... is the best part!" yelled Duo. "Ready your weapons!" He then ordered his men to prep their gear. Blasters were being loaded up and the jetpacks behind their backs were inspected, with each clone reporting their status before the big jump. Ruby breathed in, doing her best to calm her senses before she would join in the jump. The meditation was interrupted when she felt a bump behind her leg. She looked at the droid who stayed close behind, humming with fright.
"It's okay, Zee." she assured, tenderly gentle with her tone. "Just follow the others and stay safe. I'll meet you down there." The droid chirped back, agreeing to his friend's instructions. The clones had already checked their weapons and stood ready to depart.
Ruby could feel the mixed feelings of the clones in the ship. Freefalling from a flying transport was never done before, at least by her particular battalion. There were those in the troop who were itching to take the plunge, some others were not. She herself was among the excited ones.
The Jedi took one last breath, awaiting the lights to go green and the doors to open. Seconds remained until, finally, the panels slid right open. The sudden force of the air flow thrust against the occupants. The upper lights flickered green, signalling the time to make the jump.
"Green light! GO!" All at once, the clones turned and left their hold on their railings before finally leaping off to great heights. It wasn't long before Ruby, too, lifted her foot and let the plunge to the ground set her free. Right behind her, Zee would also disembark and bravely make his own fall downwards.
The Jedi speared downwards, keeping her body straight down to the city below her. Her cape fluttered violently upwards with the drastic force acting against her. Down below too, were the clones that fell before her. She made her stance steady as possible as she freefell from such a deathly height.
While she dived, she quietly counted in her head, estimating the time to take when she would realign her body and use the Force to slow her approach. Surviving a fall without any practical safety equipment for a Jedi was not uncommon. Ruby had her own death-defying experiences when it came to hard landings in the past, but this one easily took the cake when it came to the extreme heights. She had never attempted to survive a fall this dangerous before, so she wasn't sure she would ever manage to catch herself.
Again, Ruby didn't delve into worries of a painful, crushing death. All there was to protect her was the Force, and she would make use of her trust and connection to it to shield her from such a fate.
As time went by, the city began to become larger in view, with the time to release herself now coming closer. She waited a little longer before she levelled her body so that her stomach would face the ground. Her arms were spread out to slow herself before the time came to push herself and cushion her descent.
In one final act of faith, she closed her eyes, breathing in the salty air, numbing all of her physical feeling until she heard nothing. The uplifting acting against her was no more. Only the sounds of her racing heart and the harmonic humming of the natural power of the Force were heard.
The realm of nothingness around her seemed to last forever, depriving her of her existence in the real world. The fears of her descent were no longer evident, replaced by a feeling of comfort and…
Love?
Every time she closed her eyes and trapped herself in this fearless state, she would always feel the long, soothing presence of a mysterious power that would linger in her head. The presence of a being that felt like it was watching her…
Protecting her…
What could it be? She couldn't say… Not even the Jedi Council could explain fully of what she felt, only telling her that she was guided by the Force and nothing more.
Then, Ruby felt the presence calling out to her…
Open your eyes… It's time…
Her eyes opened, Ruby removing herself from the trance and brought back to the physical world with all feeling coming back. The circumference of the city's walls was now gone as the distance was now clear to her. After clearing her mind of her thoughts, Ruby opened her fingers and with the full power of her body, flung them out at front.
The power of the Force threw her back. Suddenly, the violent uplift had vanished just as the ground before her was close. The Jedi had pulled herself up before she could crash into the sandy ground, the Force pushing her up like a bubble that stopped her. Before long, when she neared the ground, the force of the fall was small enough to match a simple leap from the roof of a small hovel; safe enough to prevent a violent death.
With the power of the Force released, Ruby was able to land perfectly on the ground, feeling the relieving hardness of land again. After landing, she crouched down, feeling the weight of her fall gone immediately. Pride began to fill up inside, giving her the sense of joy that she had pulled off another ground-breaking feat in her life as a Jedi.
Putting that feeling away, she found herself back in the thick of battle, startled by loud rumbles in the distance, marking a ground battle not too far away. Two possibilities coursed in Ruby's mind; were the battles being fought by the resistance, or the clone squad that dropped before her. Either way, she resolved to find out.
Other than that, she had the thought of Zee in mind, wondering where the little guy landed after being the last to depart. She hoped that the droid found his way to safety in the company of allies. Once he was safe, he would always find a way back to her in the end.
For now, Ruby had to be ready to face the droids head on, poised to strike them all with her lightsaber in hand. She moved her hand to her back to grab the folded weapon behind her. She expected the shiny metal hilt to be grasped neatly into her palm before she could unleash it out to fight the droids.
When her hand reached her back, she closed her fingers to take hold of her weapon.
"Huh?!" On her back, Ruby's saber was somewhat intangible. She kept swaying her hand around, trying to grasp the situation as to why she couldn't feel her weapon where it should had been. After a few shocking seconds, the Jedi finally placed her hand on her back, realizing that the saber was indeed not there!
"Oh no!" Panic overtook her. To be deprived of one the most important things in her life as a Jedi Knight, she was at a state of loss. Ruby had devoted so much time, training and effort into building and using that saber scythe that she would never let go of it. But, of course, there were times where she had been too clumsy to forget it, always leaving it up to her Master to hunt and search for it. One time, she even dropped it right into the jaws of a gaping Sarlacc! Needless to say; Kenta was not having a good time trying to retrieve the weapon while dealing with giant tentacles whipping all around.
Regardless, Ruby was told to use the Force to find her weapon's crystal when this happened again, so she'd go off to find it later. Right now, there were people who needed her help. Saber or not, she'll just have to settle on protecting the needy.
Looking for the source of the explosions nearby, Ruby hopped right into the action, following in on where the fighting was taking place.
Jaune was completely in trouble and running out of options.
After being pushed back by the pursuing droid garrison, he and part of the resistance fell back all the way to the largest market square of the city. The place, already abandoned during the insurrection, made a decent place to fight in. The stalls formed a messy ring of cover that could temporarily shield the resistance fighters from the pursuing droids.
His blaster was kept tightly in his grip. Jaune made one last inspection of his gear, assessing how many more charges he had left for his weapon, determining that he'd have just enough to last an all-out assault. Perhaps, after they'd withstand another droid attack, he could quickly pick up a blaster from the wreckages of battle droids and rearm. These things were easy to take out, so the problem of rearmament was gone.
The real problem was the fight itself. Once the droids arrive, they would storm from all corners, squeezing the resistance in and flush them out for the kill. What else could they possibly do to prolong their resistance until reinforcements arrived?
Jaune sighed. Unfortunately, there was no other way to go forward than to stand and fight. Readying his blaster, he made his way to Krul, who stood at the centre to give out the heavy firepower.
"Krul." called Jaune. "We don't really have a lot of ground left."
"No one said war would be generous, son." growled Krul, not liking the odds as much as Jaune. "Take your weapon up and prepare to strike back." Jaune nodded reluctantly. He didn't want more people to be taken away in another fruitless battle without any sign of salvation from afar. But there was no choice. The droids were coming and everyone had to do their best to survive for another chance of escape.
The men and women were positioned all around the square, stationed behind their covers and at the ready against the enemy. Moments later, the enemy arrived, greeting the battered group with the dreadful sounds of marching footsteps to indicate their numbers. The droids came in range, firing their weapons at the very moment they were spotted. The fight began almost immediately, forcing Jaune to take action and fire back again.
The shootout lasted for a few minutes. Still in the thick of the fight, Jaune kept firing his weapon back, not letting a single droid pass through the threshold. Red blaster bolts streaked through him without end, leaving no time for the boy to catch his breath. He looked to his left and saw one of the resistance fighters shot down by a lone bolt, throwing the man down on the floor with a smoking trail and a nasty burn on his shoulder. The man squirmed, hissing in pain, tossing and turning in agony from the searing burn.
Forced into saving him, another freedom fighter ran to cover him, only to be shot in the back and pinned right next to him. Alarmed by the sudden drop in manpower, Jaune retreated back, distressed by the losing fight. Even as Krul fired with all his ferocity in the middle of the square, it looked like the young recruit was losing his momentum again, unable to fight back.
The situation was brewing dangerously for Jaune. He could hear the droids inch closer as more men and women were being squeezed in closer to the centre of the square. The boy followed them through the maelstrom, firing haphazardly without concentration. His teeth gritted harder than he had ever did before. His hands were being moist by sweat, mainly from the excessive amount of force he had accumulated from gripping his blaster throughout the entire fight. That grip could falter at any moment; his blaster would fall right off his grasp and leave him open for an easy kill.
Instinct kicked in and Jaune was forced to inch closer to Krul's position, along with the rest of the remaining fighters left to back their leader up. The older man kept his blaster firing at all angles, mowing down droids all around. However, it did little to curb the full momentum the enemy had as more battle droids moved in to fill in the ranks.
Overwhelmed from all sides, Jaune retreated his visage onto the ground. His spirits were beginning to fall short, weakening his focus on the fight. No one came to snap him out of it as they were too occupied with the droids to bother with him.
With the physical world now void to him, he had to consider the options. The resistance was losing more and more fighters and the group he was in was being reduced to nothing more than a mere pestilence than an actual threat. Was it the right move to call for a surrender, or would he just let everyone fight it out to the bitter end? Frankly, he was forced to accept the latter since he wasn't the one in charge. Krul looked dead set on ending the fight unconditionally, so there was no way surrender was acceptable.
Well… What choice did he have? It wasn't like he wasn't faced with similar circumstances before. There were those moments when he was at his most vulnerable, backed against a wall that left him no other option but to fight back. But back then, he had his shield and most of his equipment at the ready. Here, he had no such protection to even the odds.
Thus, Jaune had to make the tough choice and stand up to fight the droids. If there was a miracle in all of this, he needed it now.
WHOOSH!
When Jaune popped out to fire, he and the rest of the squad bore witness to a rather tremendous occurrence. All at once, a squad of battle droids flanking them from the left had been thrown off, with the whole group of droids being flung to the sky by some invisible force. No explosion had brightened up the scene with a blazing blast of heat. It was like a mini-hurricane had blown them all off, causing a draft that kicked off a bit of sand to their faces.
Stunned by what had happened, the whole group remained silent, even as the rest of the battle droids fired from the other side.
"What the heck just happened?!" shouted Krul.
"I don't know, but whatever that was, we'll take it!" yelled Jaune, just as another blaster bolt nearly singed his hair. The team fired back, using the sudden opening as their chance to move out. Agreeing with the boy, the older man called the rest of his group to follow behind him. With one less droid squad to worry about, they had less firepower to deal with from the rest of the droids.
Their feet kicked up with all the haste they could muster. In a single but messed up line, they ran towards one of the few alleyways that was well away from any approaching droids. The bolts of blaster fire continued to hit the group hard, barely missing them as they ran. Those who were injured were helped up by those who could still run. While they were being carried away, Krul and Jaune held back, covering their retreat while they fired their weapons back at the pursuing battle droids. Once everyone cleared into the alley, the two took their turn and left the square, disappearing from sight.
As they ran into the cramped spaces of the alley, they regrouped with the squad, everyone now battered and exhausted. Though they had escaped from the onslaught, there was no telling how much longer they had before another squad of droids pursued them into the tight spaces.
As a kid, Jaune would always look to the sky and pray for an angel to descend and save her merry men from the clutches of a great enemy. How her beauty would replenish their courage and how her grace would bless them with an iron will to fight on.
Jaune might have thought that angel would have been Pyrrha, given her beauty and grace were real. He hoped that the Sanctum's Pride would dive down from the sky and rain down its firepower on the droids.
But what he would get, instead, was something completely different; someone he would never imagine.
"Hey!" A high feminine call rang from above. Everyone looked up to the rooftops to find the person calling them. Up on one of the hovels, they spotted a small figure, covered in a hood who loomed over them like a wraith in the shadows. Its hand waved to them, signalling the group to head her way, "This way!" Then, like the wind, she flew off into the distance, vanishing before their very eyes.
"Who was that?" asked Jaune.
"Who cares?! She's leading us to a good way out!" urged Krul. "Come on! Hustle up!" At once, the group scurried towards the direction where the hooded figure led them to. Running along the alleys to a safer place, they kept their eyes open for more droids.
Though they expected armed resistance, by following the mysterious shadow, they had managed to avoid any more incursions, preventing another bloody encounter that could reduce their numbers to an even smaller pulp.
They lasted for a good ten minutes to run to safety, stopping at an isolated street where there were no droids to stop them. The sounds of war were distant, meaning that the droids were far away, far enough for the squad to rest and catch their breath. Exhausted from their constant struggles, the team could finally rest without retribution from the seemingly eternal might of the droid garrison. The wounded were laid to rest against the wall of one of the surrounding buildings.
Despite their brief moment of peace, the group still kept their watchful eye for more trouble. At any moment, the overwhelming force of the droid army would drop by and put an end to the peace. They were now at a state of unease, constantly watching their surroundings.
Just then, a sudden thud rang out, alarming them into raising their weapons upon the direction of the sound. What they saw next immediately prompted them to lower their blasters.
The lone shadow that led them to this location appeared and took form, revealing itself to be a hooded girl with a cape fluttering as she landed on the ground. Once the figure looked up, she grabbed the sides of her hood and lowered it behind the back of her neck, showing them something they had not expected.
For this shady phantom that wore the dark and ominous robes of black and red, had the face of a sweet, innocent little girl with silver eyes.
Jaune took a good look at the newcomer's face, making sense of what her presence meant for the group. She was wearing something out of the ordinary; her robes having a familiar of something that he had seen long before.
Coming closer to the girl, he then made contact with her, without knowing of the purpose she was fulfilling. Her role in leading his team away was still unknown, as to why a girl her age would risk her life to save them.
"Where in Vale's Moon of Patch did you come from?" asked Jaune, still flabbergasted by her form. Suddenly, he was greeted by a loud shush from the girl, with a finger to her own lips to silence him.
"Shush!" she hissed. Her head shifted to the side, watching over the area to look for more droids. With the coast clear, the young girl gave the word that they were all safe for now. "I think we lost them."
Free from danger, Jaune could now focus on what this lone girl was doing in the middle of a war. As grateful as he was grateful for her assistance through the streets, he couldn't help but feel that the girl was putting herself in a perilous situation. The battlefield seemed out of place for someone her age. Also, she was unarmed, so naturally, she was nowhere near safe in the hands of a group of freedom fighters; let alone high-valued targets on the run from the droid occupation.
"If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing here?" asked Jaune.
"What's it look like I'm doing? I'm here to help you guys out of here!" exclaimed Ruby.
"A war like this is no place for a little girl to be in. So, if you're lost or something, I can help you find your parents or something." defended Jaune, worried for the girl's supposed safety.
"Wh-what?!" shouted Ruby, stunned that the soldier was dismissing her aid to them. Frustration built inside of her, feeling that her role as a Jedi was being side-lined by some kid's apparent concerns.
And this was the prodigy of the Arc family that she was informed of? The man who was supposed to hold the moniker of being next in line to herald in the highest honour of all the Remnant warrior families?
Ruby couldn't believe her eyes when she first met this Jaune Arc. Just as the hologram showed her, he was this pipsqueak of a soldier who had the body physique of a juvenile gundark with not much muscle to be impressed by. Who was he to tell her, a more experienced Knight of the Jedi Order, to stay home with her family?
"Excuse me?! I am not a little girl!" She was about to rebuke him and tell who he was dealing with, but Jaune stopped her, getting himself involved into the argument.
"Oh really?" he uttered with a snarky smile. "Then how old are you?"
"Fifteen!" told Ruby.
"Yep. Little girl in my eyes." laughed Jaune victoriously.
"Okay, maybe not too little, but still big enough to be here!" argued Ruby, before she decided to turn up her own game on the soldier. In her mind, she could have just told Jaune she was a Jedi and the whole thing could be resolved. But for Ruby, being the playful trickster, getting straightforward wasn't enough. "And what about you, big boy? How old are you?" she rebutted with her arms crossed, her eyes staring closely at his.
"Wha-?!" cried Jaune, caught off guard by Ruby's sudden question. "I… Seventeen!"
"Hah! Two years' difference!" yelled Ruby, like a child winning a holo-game. "Not far off, right?"
"Geez, calm down!" shouted Jaune. "Alright, alright. You got me!" Afterwards, the boy stayed silent... until he needed to ask Ruby the same question. "Seriously, where're your parents?" Fury built up in Ruby as she got ready to pounce on Jaune, ready to slap the absolute bantha fodder out of him. She threw her hands out to claw him in and subdue the boy.
"Why you little-?!"
"AHH! Not the face!" screamed Jaune.
Just before Ruby could do him in, she heard a series of beeps coming from her belt. She pulled out her disc-shaped holo-communicator, answering the call.
"Ruby!" The very bleak, distorted hologram shook with static, since being in deep enemy territory seemed to have scrambled the reception for anyone unaffiliated with the Separatists. It took a few more seconds before the image cleared, revealing the small form of Kenta, trying to call the young Jedi. "Ruby! Come in!"
"You live today…" Ruby snarled at Jaune before returning to her communicator. "Reporting!"
"I was feeling a bit of your usual mischief happening from all the way here. What have you been up to?" asked Kenta, suspicious of the former Padawan's demeanour.
"Nothing! Nothing at all!" squeaked the exasperated young Jedi.
Later, a second figure formed. Coming out of his fright, Jaune perked up to see his partner alongside the man on the projector. Naturally, he joined Ruby in the call, still not knowing what the girl had to do with this whole operation.
"Ah, Jaune. There you are." the Mistralian warrior greeted. "I was hoping you'd be okay."
"Pyrrha!" exclaimed Jaune, with relief all over his face. "Oh, it's so good to see your face again! I was actually thinking you'd abando-" He stopped himself, not wanting to sound negative in the face of someone so hopeful, especially after said person shot him a sly look to tease him. "Sorry."
"It's fine, Jaune." assured Pyrrha. "Anything to report?"
"We're not really holding out well out here." explained Jaune, sadly. Pyrrha nodded understandingly. She knew the battle was already losing its footing since she left the planet, and now, it was coming to a screeching halt with the droids already clearing up the last of the resistance in the city. Fearing the losses were already too severe to hold out for much longer, it was a miracle that the Republic responded just in time to reinforce the front.
"Are you going to get those reinforcements or what?" asked Jaune, still ignorant to the presence of the man next to Pyrrha.
"As a matter of fact, they're already here." told Pyrrha, motioning towards the man. "Let me introduce our new friends here. This is Jedi Master Kenta Barak. He is to be our Jedi companion for our times of war as General of the Army."
A nerve in Jaune's skin had snapped, finally realizing that he was in the presence of another sect of noble warriors, if not more legendary than his own family. In desperation to be presentable, Jaune could only bow, greeting the Jedi Master with hasted humility.
"A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Arc." greeted Kenta. "You must come a long way from your family back in Vale." Jaune was flustered by the comment, unable to hide his bashful face from one who was believed to be able to sense the emotions of those around them.
"Well, I wouldn't call it a blessing just yet, but…" Then, he stopped. His eyes looked towards the younger girl holding the communicator, catching what looked like a smirk underneath her scowling face, as if she was expecting him to ponder about her. The sneaking suspicion grew and Jaune was quick to put the pieces together. What he would find out was not going to be a pleasant first impression.
"Wait…" he finally started. "Then who is this?"
"Jaune, this is Ruby Rose. General Kenta's former Padawan and also an active General of our detachment. Isn't that lovely?!"
Jaune's expression, soon afterwards, displayed a sign that was anything but lovely. Now, with the realization of the role Ruby Rose played in his rescue, he could feel the storm of emotions that was about to hit him hard.
"Uh… I… Wha...?" Stuttering was all that came out from his mouth, allowing the younger, madder Jedi to have her turn to gloat.
"HAH! There you go! Now you know who I am! Would have been nice if I told you that before you started acting like a goody-two-shoes, huh?"
Jaune's bones began to chill, his nerves about to burst all over. The sudden revelation barely sinking in as he stood in stunned silence.
Confusion took its turn as he tried to put together his next move. Was he going to respect this bratty little girl, even if she was a Jedi? It was hard to believe that someone so childish could be given such command over him. Hearing how the Jedi Order worked, Jaune could have sworn that a member at Ruby's age would have been a youngling; the thought of being accelerated to knighthood baffled him.
As for Ruby, the feeling of victory was coursing through her. Oh, she just loved it when the people who underestimate her end up having their ego shoved back into their… ahem… Crude language aside; she still felt justice was being served when Jaune was finally told about her status by someone they viewed as superior. The look on his face would have made her giggle madly, if she wasn't already annoyed.
"What's wrong? Is there a problem with my partner?" asked Pyrrha curiously. Meanwhile, Kenta shook his head, knowing what was about to come.
"Here we go." he whispered to himself. As he anticipated, Ruby's impatience blew up, throwing her into a tirade of rants that she was infamous for when things didn't go her way.
"This arrogant jerk thought I was some 'little girl' who had lost her parents, and apparently, I'm not supposed to be here!" she yelled.
"Okay! Okay! I'm sorry. I just didn't think you were… well, a Jedi!" exclaimed Jaune, fearfully.
"What do you have to say for yourself now, Mr. Big-Shot?" Ruby taunted back, with her finger tapping onto his battered chest plate. The single tap on Jaune made him repulse backwards, as if the Jedi was using the Force to push him.
At the same time, however, the level of sass coming from her was putting Jaune at a very uncomfortable position. Did he really have to answer to her? If anything, he should be the one to put someone like Ruby in her place. But from his experience of having several more empowering sisters, he was powerless to do anything. So, the boy was unable to assert his own stance.
"Ruby. Let's not underestimate Jaune now." told Kenta. "If Commander Nikos chose him to be by her side, then there must be a very good reason."
Jaune watched Ruby's response as the young girl lowered her guard, humbly affirmed by the Master's word. A small sigh of relief escaped him. At least there was someone to keep this feisty Jedi at bay.
"Sorry, Commander Nikos." apologized Ruby.
"No worries, Master Jedi." laughed Pyrrha. "I'm sure Jaune forgives you. Right, Jaune?"
"I guess." sighed Jaune, knowing that he was still being eyed by Ruby; the venomous stare she gave him was all the indication he needed.
"Well, now that we're all acquainted, I guess we shall begin our first days together on the battlefield right now."
After their not-so brilliant start, Ruby and Jaune made their way to Krul and the group and had them introduced to the newcomers.
To Jaune's annoyance, the squad immediately started cheering for Ruby, welcoming her in open arms like she was their saviour. The arrival of Republic reinforcements was reassuring enough, but to have Jedi as support, now that was the motherlode of good news.
After Ruby was finished being showered with glorious praises, she, Jaune and Krul were called to gather around to listen in on the next phase of the Jedi's mission. They circled around Ruby's communicator, listening to Kenta and Pyrrha on their side of the battle.
"Here's the plan." spoke Kenta, before his and Pyrrha's figures flicked from an instant static interruption in the transmission. "We are currently engaging an armoured group of Separatists tanks outside the gate."
"We need Jaune and Ruby to lead the resistance fighters out there so we can pick you up and rendezvous to the nearest landing zone." added Pyrrha.
"But what about my people?" urged Krul, offended by the fact that the Republic had been here to conduct a rescue mission than to provide reinforcements for the liberation of the city. "I don't plan to cower away right now!"
Jaune retreated from the aggravated resistance leader, sharing the disappointment of leaving behind a city that was vastly important to the man and his band of freedom fighters. To evacuate Hefrom was a shame; they had just delivered a message of encouragement from the Senator via Pyrrha's infiltration of the comms tower to empower the hopes of hundreds. To see it all end in shams, it was painful for Krul to think about abandoning it.
"Krul. I understand you need to remain, but the situation has gone direr than before." told Kenta.
"I'll take those odds." declared Krul with a fist bump to his chest, angered for more scrap metal.
"The longer you stay, the tighter the enemy's control over the city. Sooner or later, you will be crushed underneath the weight." argued Kenta, equally determined to put the man in his place. "You need to rearm and reassess. Otherwise, the resistance you have incited will surely fall."
Jaune and Ruby looked at Krul, both feeling the passion and fury driving his very being. On one hand, the former sympathized with the man, having fought alongside throughout the mission. Truthfully, Jaune didn't want to leave, too. The people he had joined with and lost had every reason to stay behind and fight back. Battling with them gave him a shared sense of belonging here in Hefrom, as if the city was his own, and leaving it did feel difficult to accept.
Ruby also understood how much Krul wanted to stay and fight. All of her time spent fighting the droid armies gave her more insight to the lives of those under threat from enemy invasion. Most of the people she met or studied were eager to battle to the end, filled with loyalty and patriotism to a cause they chose to believe in.
Despite how emboldened he felt, Krul did have to accept that the odds were not in his favour. He was already losing more and more men; resources were spreading thin and the droids were gaining their numbers with each hour spent fighting them. The fight seemed too much to bear, even if the squad had their fires still lit in their hearts.
"I can't leave my people…" Krul didn't want to state the obvious. His pride kept him from accepting the gravity of his situation, but his heart was set out on the men and women who were being snuffed out one by one. He didn't want it to come down to choosing between his home and the people who lived in it. Yet, when he looked at the city burning all around, the people dying around him, the reality sank deeper than he would have thought.
"You won't." encouraged Pyrrha, not one to leave a troubled man's emotions ignored. "You just need to fall back and rendezvous with our forces for resupplying and reinforcements. As soon as you recover, then we shall press the attack to liberate your city."
"We'll save everyone. I promise." added Kenta, bringing the words of wisdom and hope from a Jedi to a citizen so foreign in the Force. With the opinions of two more experienced fighters and the weight of the fight acting against him, Krul had no choice but to accept the dire circumstances, agreeing to a retreat to recuperate his losses.
"Fine. We'll follow you back."
When the voice of the resistance finally conceded, the Republic forces could finally get moving to the main mission without faltering.
"Good. Then, it's settled." said Kenta. "Ruby. Take the men, go find your squad of clones and get yourselves to the entrance. We'll meet you there." Ruby nodded, affirming her Master's order. Meanwhile, Pyrrha had her turn to remind Jaune of his part of the mission.
"Jaune. Assist Ruby as much as you can." told Pyrrha. "And please, be patient with her."
"Fine. It's not the first time I've dealt with whiny little girls." joked Jaune, only to get a very venomous glare from Ruby, who happened to catch him in the act. "Sorry." Jaune gasped in alarm, barely hearing the sniffled giggles from Pyrrha.
Eventually, the call had to be finished and the mission to be continued. Before the transmission would end, Kenta gave everyone his farewells.
"May the Force be with you all." The holograms soon vanished, leaving the teams on their own to fend for themselves. Ruby brushed the sides of her hair, breathing in to ease her stress. Once again, she would be without her Master's aid and would have to rely on her training to guide her through. This time, however, she did have backup to watch her flanks.
The only problem was; there was a little thorn to her side. One sharp and bad thorn…
Jaune tried to snap his thoughts out of his head. Serving alongside a Jedi would have been something of a grand honour. And it would have been so, if the one he ended up with wasn't so young and impulsive. Granted, Ruby Rose seemed like a skilled Jedi, with the way she led them to safety. Jaune guessed there was something he could respect her by.
And who knows? Maybe after a few rounds with the droids, he might find out more about the girl. Socialize with her, know her strengths, weaknesses, hobbies… Every little bit of bonding could count. After all, like his mom would say;
Strangers are just friends you haven't met.
As intimidating as Ruby looked, Jaune had to try. He gulped, not wanting to have another sour conversation. Releasing the tension on his muscles, the boy made his move, opening up to the Jedi.
"So, you've got a squad of clones under your command?" he muttered, forcing himself to sound amazed. "Impressive."
"Yep." Ruby huffed, not even bothered to take pride in her prestigious rank as General. If she was brutally honest, she wasn't in the mood to gloat. She never liked being in the grace of pushovers and felt like they were not worth the effort. However, she had to accept that Jaune was still essential for the mission. She didn't know what Pyrrha saw in him, but she would have to trust in the Commander that his place in this war was justified. He did survive a good amount of time here in the city and even with the help of a more trained set of men and women, Jaune did fight back, as far as she'd seen when she first laid her eyes on him at the square.
"Okay, Jaune." Ruby called. "Maybe we got off on the wrong foot." The boy sighed, believing that the Jedi was finally starting to accept his role. The relief was short-lived, however, when she walked towards the boy, confidence swarming all over her stride. The style of movement and attitude told Jaune that Ruby was not entirely done affirming her position of power.
The next thing he knew it; Ruby was pointing her finger at him again, poking him roughly and now addressing him in a more serious manner, like a gangster attempting to mug a helpless passer-by.
Ruby squinted her eyes threateningly, her voice elevating to a stricter tone, all to remind Jaune that she was in charge. "But hear me out. I may be younger than you. I may be tinier than you, but you just watch yourself. I'm not just any Jedi. I've squashed bugs bigger than you! So, cross me again, and I might not be so forgiving.
"Got it?" Her warning reached Jaune loud and clear, putting him in a paralysing state of fear. His body couldn't move. In his mind, he had something to retort with, but his mouth couldn't spit out what he wanted to say.
"Y-yes, ma'am!" squeaked Jaune. The presence of an angry Jedi felt all too powerful for him to resist. Now, he knew just how true the legends were.
"I like her! She's got spunk!" laughed Krul, slapping Jaune in the back. The boy glanced away from everyone as the resistance squad chortled along with him. Ruby found herself smirking along as she watched the boy being humbled.
Humiliated, the boy cursed under his breath. As if it wasn't bad enough that he was being disciplined like some wronged student, now he was being the laughing stock of the team.
"Ugh… karabast…"
After being united, Ruby and the resistance team began their move out of the streets, out in the open where they would have to face the droids again. All the while, they cautiously avoided contact with the enemy as much as possible. A Jedi without her lightsaber and a squad with injured soldiers that needed to be supported. weren't going to make much of a stand against a whole garrison of well-armed droids.
Eventually, they made it to one of the main roads, where they heard more sounds of war. Krul feared that the fighting was happening to another sect of the resistance, with more lives under threat and unable to hold out for much longer.
But when Ruby heard the battle, she could make out the cries of the men fighting. A familiar set of voices that immediately set off alarms in her head. The unmistakeable voices of clone troopers within the distance was enough to spur her into action, leading the men towards the squad.
At a crossroad, Ruby, Jaune and the others hid above the roof of a vacant mart to see the action unfold. The group laid their eyes upon the squad of soldiers, fitted with stronger, white armour with the black and red patterns that Ruby recognized all too well as her own choice of colouring for her squad. The squad of seven clones were pinned behind different kinds of cover; stone slabs, broken road blocks and even a damaged landspeeder. They would pop out of their covers to fire at the two squads of battle droids marching from the other end of the road towards them.
Ruby counted how many of her soldiers were there, relieved that all eight of them were still operational. The resistance squad watched with awe, spectating the clones with their superior adaptability in combat making short work of the incoming battle droids. Not many Brogundians had the opportunity to see a clone trooper during the war, let alone one in action. These new armoured soldiers of the Republic fought like superheroes compared to their own trained armies.
Nevertheless, Ruby and Jaune knew even a squad of fully-trained clones wouldn't be enough to combat a whole army of droids. They had to make a move and back them up before more of the enemy arrived.
"Okay, so how do we do this?" asked Jaune.
"Just distract the droids while I go for the back flank and do them in." told Ruby.
"Oh! And we'll get to see you use that awesome laser sword of yours?!" exclaimed Jaune with excitement. Unfortunately, Ruby didn't look all that thrilled either. A rather timid expression was etched on her face, unable to tell the boy about the little accident she had earlier. She didn't want to tell him, not wanting to lose her authority to him after reminding him who was in charge. But the situation was already dire enough. People were in danger and she needed to play her part, even if it meant swallowing up her pride.
"I… lost it." she squeaked with a gulp down her throat and her cheeks flushing red with embarrassment.
"What?!" screamed Jaune. "How can you lose such a precious weapon?!" Suddenly, the boy was pulled down to the floor by Ruby, the Jedi following him down. Her hand was tightly gripped on the scarf around his neck as she placed her finger on her lips to silence him. Jaune couldn't tell if Ruby was more concerned of the element of surprise or the fact that there were other people around to hear of her blunder, but her stern face left him with no option but to remain silent.
"Just stay focused. I'll get it back later." she whispered roughly. "It's not the first time I lost it."
"Yeah. Like that will make me feel any better." groaned Jaune before getting another dangerous look from Ruby. Everyone turned their attention to the clones, ready to spring into action to follow on the Jedi's plan.
Ruby got on the front, steadying herself over the roof. Her body was low enough to hide herself behind the railing while she watched her troopers fight on. Looking behind her, she signalled the resistance group with two fingers flicked forward to give them the go-ahead. At once, Jaune, Krul and the rest of the team spread out, splitting themselves into two smaller groups and dispersing towards both sides of the square. After they left, Ruby positioned herself against the railing, hands held firmly.
Like a catapult, the young Jedi then flung herself forward and soared into the air, right over the clones before landing onto the ground in front of them. The men stopped firing when they saw the girl touch down before their very eyes.
"General!" cried out Duo, whom Ruby recognized from the two red cuboid highlights going through the visor that was shaped into a unique numerical pattern. As the droids fired off their shots, she moved her palm back, letting the blaster bolts phase right over her. She gathered enough energy into her hand to let it all go in one powerful push, sending an invisible force that threw the front portion of the droid battalion back.
While another wave of battle droids came forth, Duo then ran back behind the landspeeder he was hiding behind and pulled out something that he could throw. Not at the droids…
But at Ruby…
"Hey, lass!" he shouted out to Ruby. The Jedi peered her head behind to see Duo holding something of great use to her. "Catch!" The clone threw the object into the air, allowing Ruby to zip up and catch it. Landing down with all her grace, the Jedi had the object in her hand, revealing itself to be the very weapon she so needed at this time.
Jaune and the other fighters reached their positions, with the droids below them. While they prepared to fire their weapons, the boy saw Ruby deploying what looked like a long staff-like weapon with a sharp blade at one end. Then, after the staff fully unfolded itself, the silver blade shot out, now making the weapon recognizable as one of a Jedi. Jaune wooed from behind his cover, marvelling at his very first glimpse of a real lightsaber; a weapon that he had only heard from stories. Now, he could finally see what one could do to an army of droids.
Ruby pointed her blade towards the droids, unfazed by their rapid barrage of blaster fire. With her weapon in hand, her confidence soared, flushed by the passion and care she put into making it. She spun her weapon out front, swirling the staff like a raging turbine to deflect the blaster bolts away from her and the clones behind her.
The next few seconds, the Jedi then charged forward like a speeding bullet, swinging her blade through the droids. Cutting them up as she went, Ruby went on her relentless assault, drawing oil and circuitry upon the battle droids as their parts, limbs and what not sliced up and split open by both the searing sliver blade and the dangerous scythe blade at the other end, putting them down in an instant. Right behind her, the clones opened fire on the droids that were spared from the Jedi's merciless attack.
Then, as the assault continued, Ruby paused her attack, standing between the clones and the next wave of droids. While they zeroed in on her, the girl called out to the resistance forces, signalling them to initiate their ambush.
"Now!" she shouted.
"Get 'em!" Krul called out to the fighters. All at once, everyone jumped out of the cover and fired at the droids. Blaster fire soon shredded past the formation as, one by one, the battle droids began to fall like files with such swift aggression. All around Ruby, the droids were already being pelted to the ground as fast as she would strike at them until there was a visible downgrade in their numbers.
"Retreat!" One of the lead droids left called for the rest to fall back, with the rest of the squad turning around to run. As the resistance continued to press their attack, the clones followed along, reuniting with their Jedi commander and taking up her flank. Altogether, the forces of good converged against the mechanical army as they retreated.
When the battle droids were gone, the resistance fighters let out another cheer alongside the clone troopers who were now part of the group. Duo came over to give Ruby a high-five while the rest of his brothers joined the resistance in their cries of war.
As the young knight swung her saber gracefully, Jaune couldn't keep his eyes of the awesome spectacle that was Ruby's weapon.
"Wow..." All this time, he assumed that lightsabers were simpler with one hilt and one blade, more elegant in their form and without many alterations. Seeing Ruby's weapon had dispelled every expectation he had about them. opening up his mind to all the possibilities.
But his mind was quickly snapped out of the trance when Ruby swung her blade towards his face, causing the boy to jump back and yelp in shock.
"YIPES!"
He could feel the heat of the blade almost caressing his skin, the rumbling melody sending chills down his spine. Just one glimpse into its power was enough to scare him. And all Ruby did afterwards was snicker triumphantly, finally feeling whole again now that Crescent Rose was back in her grasp.
"Now, I have it." she taunted. As she lowered her weapon, Jaune caught his breath, releasing the tension in his body. He may have reservations on Ruby's etiquette, wondering if she was someone of her age worth following behind. Now that she was armed with a kickass lightsaber, all doubts were seemingly gone.
No doubt that her presence was a godsend for the resistance. Before Ruby came, the group was far more cautious, unable to take the droids head on. Now, with a Jedi and the Republic by their side, the fighters could fight a winning battle. It made Krul all the more puzzled as to why they still had to retreat, even with the presence of a knight so skilful.
BRAM!
Suddenly, all celebrative thoughts came to a halt when a lone blaster bolt struck a wall, startling everyone to take cover.
"Look out!" Everyone scattered to find cover. Then, another blaster bolt zoomed for them, barely missing one of the clones. And then, another… and another. The sheer accuracy of the projectiles was enough to spur everyone into running behind their protective obstructions, waiting out the blasts.
When Ruby peered over the barricade, she could spot a lone red glint in the distance, above a roof just a few feet away from the group. A second later, from where the red dot was, another bolt zipped for her position. Ruby ducked down just in time before the projectile hit her, as it flew right above her and hitting the ground in front of her. Right beside her, Jaune stayed curled behind the barricade, shivering in fear.
"Snipers. Why did it have to be snipers?" shrieked Jaune.
"Hold on!" shouted Krul. "I'll draw them out!" To draw out the enemy fire, the man ran out, while everyone else remained behind.
"Krul! Get back!" demanded Jaune. But just as the man appeared in the open, one more bolt hit him square in the stomach, pinning the man down. As he fell to the ground, Krul squirmed from left to right, cursed with an agonizing wound to his body. The scorching mark drastically burned him, stunning him and rendering him unable to move away from the danger.
Alarmed by the hit on their leader, the resistance fighters began to feel restless, watching Krul lie on the floor in sheer pain. They wanted to run out and pick him out, but the sniper continued to blast open away, keeping them shelled behind cover with no way to save the man.
But instinctively, Ruby couldn't sit back and watch him get killed. So, with no hesitation, she ran out to provide the man cover.
"Ruby, wait!" shouted Jaune, but Ruby, as always, defied the warnings of the cautious and braved the danger. With her lightsaber activated, she eagerly waited for the next shot to fire. When she honed in on the red light, she steadied her weapon to the rightful position where her blade would reach the next shot.
She could feel the focus of the sniper's sight, aiming right for her head. When the sniper fired, Ruby shifted her arm upwards, allowing the blade to deflect the bolt. The impact of the bolt against her saber was extremely heavy, almost enough to flick it out of the Jedi's hands. Her grip had barely kept the weapon in her hands, but her body definitely felt the sudden force of the blast enough to shift her waist.
And there was no time for rest when another sniper shot was fired the next few seconds, causing Ruby to steer her body to the other side to meet another heavy hit. She veered to the left again for another shot. One by one, the sniper bolts kept pushing the Jedi back, unable to fully control her stance for long.
Using the opportunity created by the Jedi, Jaune then used this time to tell the others to get Krul to safety.
"Go get Krul!" he called. One resistance fighter and a clone responded to the order and ran for the injured leader. They carried him up and dragged him behind the landspeeder, gently putting him down to tend to his wound.
Meanwhile, Ruby slowly gained her sights on the sniper, finally getting a good look at its identity. When she took enough hits, she ran back to join Jaune behind, relieved to see Krul also well protected.
"Argh! It's a droideka sniper." she groaned.
"That means… it's a sniper with a shield!" added Jaune.
"And no way around it." While the droid began to fire again to draw the fighters out, Ruby was called by Duo, the clone crying out to her from behind her.
"Hey, lass!" he yelled. "There's something I forgot to tell you!"
"Not now, Duo!" argued Ruby, too stressed out by the suppressive fire.
"But it's about the little bucket-of-bolts!"
Ruby's eyes widened. The little bucket-of-bolts Duo was referring instantly came to her mind. Now that she thought about it, when she saw the clones, one thing definitely disturbed her. She didn't really pay attention to it, but the absence of one other particular member of the squad had her thinking.
"What about Zee?!" she screamed back.
But just as the conversation was about to go somewhere, she suddenly heard a trumpeting sound coming from the other side of the street. A series of jubilant beeping noises soon followed from the distance, causing Ruby to immediately perk up and peek over her cover, recognizing the noises.
When she risked the move, she could see the droideka sniper attacked by something behind it. She could faintly see the droid stumble down, fidgeting with sparks. It then fell, deactivated and out of action. From behind it, she spotted the culprit, immediately giving her joy at seeing the attacker.
Cheering behind the deactivated sniper, a lone astromech began to chirp brightly at the success of a kill. It spun around to celebrate its contribution to the team, whirring in delight.
When Ruby gave the clear signal that the sniper was down, she immediately ran for the astromech, just as it rolled down the steps clumsily. She ducked to its level, stroking its dirt-filled head.
"Good job, Zee!" she laughed, congratulating the droid for a job well done. Behind her, Jaune approached the pair, taking in the sight of an old astromech under the ownership of Ruby.
"That's a… nifty droid you got there." commented Jaune. "I thought models like this were ancient." In response to his comment, Zee beeped loudly, rudely mocking the boy for his poor sense of judgment. To teach him a lesson, the droid pulled out his electric prod and shocked Jaune at the leg, causing the boy to yelp and jump. He rubbed his leg from the pain he took from the sudden attack while Ruby snickered at his misery again.
"Oooh… looks like he didn't take that lightly." she teased him.
"General." called Duo, coming to join his leading officer. "Having a bad time?"
"Not in your life, Duo." laughed Ruby, giving the clone a fist bump. "Where did you find my lightsaber?" When she asked that question, Duo noticed the worried look on Ruby's face, about to go into his usual humorous side to poke fun at her apparent problem.
"It just landed right nearby where we landed. How could you have lost this? Don't you always smother this with your tender loving care?" he mocked her, just as she would to Jaune.
"Watch it, Duo." hissed Ruby, making Duo sure that she was still his superior officer. "And don't tell General Barak when we get back to him." she reminded him. She did not like what Kenta would have to say about her losing her weapon for the nth time.
Duo searched the area for any casualties, counting none so far. Then, his eyes laid on the one person among the group that stood out the most; the blonde kid who was part of the primary focus of the mission.
"So, this is the shiny?" said Duo.
"Shiny?" pondered Jaune, unsure if he was supposed to be flattered or offended. "What does that mean?"
"It means you're a freshman. New flesh for the slaughter." explained Ruby, again, mockingly. "Never mind him, Duo. He's just a kid in the middle of a battle." She then threw shade at the way Jaune used to treat her before he knew who she really was back at him.
"Hey! I'm not that amateurish!" defended Jaune.
"You've mistaken a droid popper for an actual thermal detonator and nearly got Commander Nikos killed." Ruby shot back, making Jaune flush with shock.
"How did you-?!"
"Your clone friend, Carolina, shared quite the stories." laughed Ruby, enjoying the stunned silence from Jaune. "Let's go. We have to get these resistance fighters out of Hefrom and evacuate back to base." As she had her fun, she then ordered the troops to move out, continuing with the mission and leaving Jaune still speechless.
The young soldier was still baffled of Ruby's behaviour; the way she treated him was unlike anything he had experienced before. Not even the brattiest of his many sisters came this close to being that obnoxious, let alone someone who was also a Jedi Knight. To be pushed over by a knight would have been a real demoralizer, but for someone like Ruby, it felt more like an insult than humble shame.
But Jaune refused to let his sour taste get the better of him. Sooner or later, he would have to accept the fact that Ruby had more power than he did. If he could tolerate her behaviour for a little longer, he would be back under Pyrrha's command. Plus, there was another Jedi who was Ruby's master, so maybe he could depend on Master Barak to snap some sense into the younger Jedi's thick skull.
"I'm not a shiny…" he grumbled.
Alas, he still had to prove himself. If he continued to be a pushover under the mercy of the Jedi, he would be downplayed for the rest of the battle, let alone the whole war. No matter how much of a brat Ruby may had been, Jaune was not about to give up. He was a soldier of the Republic and he was about to win this war for everyone he knew.
Outside Hefrom City,
Brogundi,
Trekmor System,
Mid Rim,
There hadn't been a single shot fired since Kenta landed. Quite odd, considering the strength of the Separatist garrison within Hefrom.
But the Jedi knew better; a quiet, peaceful landing never meant an easy one…
Three gunships were parked in a circle within an encirclement of rock formations. All around the ships, clone troopers were already set up front, watching the distant city within the distance. Right beside the Jedi Master, Pyrrha was also having her sights on the war-torn city with a pair of electro-binoculars to her eyes. Kenta just stared towards Hefrom, sensing for Ruby's presence.
He could still feel her from afar, thankfully. A few minutes after he landed, a few more life signs were felt alongside hers, indicating that Ruby had found the people she was sent to locate. With the group altogether, they could be on the move towards the gate, where Kenta's assault force would reinforce their retreat.
Alas, the Jedi Master had been waiting a little longer than he hoped.
"Ruby and Jaune better make it out soon." he told himself. His foot tapped up and down on the salt-filled ground, trying his best not to lose any patience and still holding out to the Force that Ruby would make it out alright.
Pyrrha, likewise, worried about Jaune, kept her optimism in check.
Kenta looked behind him, reassuring himself that the troops were already prepared to move out once the signal was given. As soon as the enemy would start to fire, he would order everyone to move out; clones, gunships and all. Only a few tanks were blocking their way; nothing a few strafing runs wouldn't handle.
"INCOMING!" A shout came from the front. Kenta and Pyrrha prepared for the inevitable blow from a Separatist cannon blast. The enemy had sighted them, at last, which would could have given them the signal to move. What came, however, was far more than they were expecting…
Kenta sensed the danger immediately, throwing himself down onto the ground before it came. Pyrrha and the other troopers followed later, just before it arrived. Almost instantly, a furious beam of laser fire zapped through the lines, all the way from the city entrance, crashing right into one of the gunships and blowing it up.
As soon as it ended, the Jedi and his troops ran for cover, backing themselves up behind the rock formations to avoid another wave of heavy beams that raced for them. The thick lines of firepower surged all around them, cutting through the rocks like comets colliding into asteroids. It wasn't long before the beams hit the other two gunships. The two transports exploded wildly, taking with them the pilots and any clone unfortunate enough to be within the blast radius.
"OG-9 spider droid, sirs!" reported Carolina, taking cover on the other side of the lane. "It's got the gate locked tight."
"This completely complicates the mission." remarked Kenta. Without a means to evacuate or assist Ruby and her strike team, the Republic attack was jeopardized.
"We should keep up the attack." suggested Pyrrha. "Even if our flank falls, we can still muster enough for a counterattack before our friends make it out."
"You heard the Commander." Kenta looked to his troops and gave out the order to fight. "Move out!"
"GO! GO! GO!" The force moved out, braving the danger posed by the spider droid's beam attacks. Blaster carbines began firing away at the battle droids on the bridge between the valley and the city, with the spider droid firing back with all its ferocity. Its explosive blasts knocked out several clones along the way, but the charge was still strong. With a Jedi at the front with his lightsabers holding out the heavy fire, Pyrrha and the clones took advantage of the defence and fired their weapons back.
Whatever it took; the Republic forces would throw their weight upon the Separatists until Ruby, Jaune and their side of the battle came out…
The team back in the city was racing towards the gate, engaging any droid force that got in their way. With their numbers bolstered and strength rejuvenated, there was no need to hide or sneak around. There was only going to be one way to safety, and that was to fight their way through.
"EEK!" But as far as they've progressed, Jaune was still getting the worst of the assaults. This time, instead of a normal fight with battle droids, a larger crab droid was about to make him its next target. The agile droid pinned the boy down with its claws, barely impaling the fabric of his sleeves, trapping him in a helpless state. Panic was forcing him to scream as the droid was about to pierce through his soft flesh.
Thankfully, the droid wasn't about to get the chance when a spinning object cut right through its body, slicing its torso in half. It then came back and cut off two of the droid's legs, releasing their hold on Jaune. It landed in the hand of Ruby Rose, the Jedi spinning her lightsaber upon it returning to her.
The crab droid was crippled into a few pieces, falling all over Jaune's lying body. The boy remained still, shaking to the bone by another brush with death. Standing back up took him a minute before he was picked up by Krul. Ruby shot him a teasing grin again while he was still shivering in shock.
"Are you ever going to get off your butt or what?" teased Ruby before she walked over to her clones, leaving Jaune annoyed and sulking on his failure to one-up the Jedi in battle.
"I'm trying…" he whispered to himself, growing impatient with Ruby's childish nature.
Upon reaching the city gateway, they hid behind one of the buildings closest to the exit. In between the gate and them, a garrison of battle droids was stationed to prevent any chance of escape. Right there, they spotted the large spider droid with its dish turret firing away at an open valley in the horizon. Its tall long legs kept it stable as it fired its beam attack from its orb-shaped body.
"A homing spider droid…" whispered Ruby. "Can this day get any worse?"
"We'll need to split up from here. I will lead my men to take the droids head on." suggested Krul before he turned his attention to Jaune. "Kid, you and the Jedi find a way to get past that walker." Following his strategy, Ruby turned to her clone troopers and gave them their orders.
"You guys follow Krul. Arc Jr. and I will take care of it, won't we, Jaune?" said Ruby, still cracking a wise grin at the boy. She still didn't think having Jaune by her side was such a good idea. If he couldn't stop a crab droid from making him its snack, then what could he do against a larger spider droid? In the end, she didn't let her doubts get in the way of completing her mission.
"Uh… sure." said Jaune. "Just watch my back."
"Watch your back? You nearly got your butt kicked by that crab droid. If it wasn't for me, you'd be skewered nuna meat!" taunted Ruby, annoying Jaune in the process.
"Yeah, thanks for that. But how about you just let me do my part and we'll take the walker down together?" urged Jaune.
"Only if you make sure I don't have to do all the work with all those battle droids." The conversation soon turned into an argument, like two kids fighting over a tooka doll.
"You just give me a shot and I'll deliver!"
"Alright, rookie! You go ahead. Don't come crying to me if you can't do your job!"
"That'll be just fine!"
"Fine!"
"Fine!"
After a brief spat, the Jedi and the soldier separated, going their different ways to pursue different parts of their attack. The resistance group and the clones watched in amusement of the argument before they moved out to suppress the battle droids and paving the way for Ruby and Jaune to take down the spider walker.
The troops moved into position, closing in on the battle droids around the square. The droids had their optics on all sides, making a sneak attack almost difficult. Nevertheless, Krul directed his forces, both clones and non-clones, down low enough to get them all around the enemy. Hiding in all corners of the streets, the fighters stayed in their position, ready to make the jump once Ruby and Jaune were at the spider droid.
Meanwhile, the Jedi and her not-so professional ally snuck their way around and headed for the gate, with Zee close behind trailing to assist Ruby along the way. They climbed over the roofs and jumped from one building to the other, until they were at the exit, right in between the guarding droids and the forces outside the city. Over the horizon, they could see blaster fire exchanged between the Separatists and what Ruby assumed was the landing force waiting for her and her own group to emerge and evacuate.
The gunships needed a proper landing zone to extract the resistance fighters out of Hefrom, but the spider droid proved to be a daunting obstacle. As long as it stood, the Republic was stunned and the people in the city were trapped.
Looking back at the city, Ruby found Krul and his forces in her sights. She then gave the signal, throwing her arm down and ordering everyone to distract the enemy.
"Open fire!" She and Jaune heard Krul roar out to his forces, blaster fire immediately tearing through the droids in another street brawl. With the droids inside the city occupied, they were now free to deal with the ones outside. Giving Jaune a firm nod, Ruby moved out first, grabbing her lightsaber and getting closer to the spider walker. Jaune followed behind, preparing to provide suppressing fire with his pistol.
It would be Ruby's job to defend Jaune as he moved up and plant the improvised explosives to destroy the walker. Seeing that the boy was without his shield, it was up to her to provide cover. They moved up, closing in on the walker while it was shooting at the Republic forces further away in the valley. Her lightsaber extended, but the kyber-powered blade remained shut, so she would only fire it up once within striking distance. Jaune kept his blaster aimed at the accompanying droids, keeping close behind Ruby while they stalked the enemy.
Creeping up on the droids, they kept their pace to a slow until they were at the right distance. Once they were close enough, Ruby then gave the word.
"Now!" Her legs threw her forward, sending the Jedi on a sprinting charge towards the droids. Jaune ran behind her, stunned by her tremendous speed while loading up his blaster for the attack. The two ran forth, meeting the battle droids with vigour and swift force. The droids were able to turn around and catch the two coming for them.
"Look! Jedi!" The commander droid behind the formation shouted out to its fellow companions, turning half of the formation behind to face the two sole enemies. Their blasters fired away, heading straight for them. Once she was close enough, Ruby halted and stood her ground, battling the barrage with her saber now fully activated. Her hands went to work to spin the weapon and deflect bolt after bolt, providing a safe space for Jaune to keep behind her.
Within the protection of the Jedi, Jaune fired away, giving Ruby more accuracy in their counterattack. His firepower and the lightsaber's defence combined sent a flurry of bolts back at the droids, knocking them down bit by bit. As clanker after clanker had fallen, the enemy's hold on the bridge between the city and the valley began to falter, leaving only a select few droids and the large walker to deal with.
"That's it! Go blow that thing up!" ordered Ruby. Without a word, Jaune ran up to pursue the towering droid as planned. In hand, some of the homemade charges, which would be used to be stuck onto the joints of the walker where they would be crippled and send the walker down.
All he had to do was to follow through without distractions. Toss the bombs up onto the legs and it should come tumbling down.
"That's it, boys and girls! Keep up the pressure!" The fight behind the gate was fierce. Clones and non-clones alike were up in arms, firing from all corners at the droid forces. The enemy withstood their ground, keeping their formation tight and plentiful at the centre, fighting back with equal ferocity.
Slowly but surely, the resistance squeezed the formation, pushing the droids to their tightest until they could fall back no more. The men and women began to see the droids falter and fall to their blasters, one by one. Every enemy taken out brought revitalized hope to the group, enough to keep them driving on until the last droid was shot down. Suddenly, the resistance felt that their odds had improved. With a Jedi and a clone army joining them in battle, the droids faltered when once they regained strength in numbers. The war seemed winnable again.
Before the men could cheer, however, another squad of droids emerged from the left side of the streets, resuming the battle for the resistance and the clones. With reinvigorated hope burning, one of the resistance decided to take his stand and jump out to take on the droids.
"Come on! We can take them!" shouted the man, raising his weapon high in the air and charging for the enemy.
"Renda!" Krul yelled, panicked by the abrupt attempt to attack. He tried to call for the foolish soldier to come back, but the man continued to move forward and get himself in the firing line. And as the leader feared, the young man was hit hard by one of the droids' blasters, crashing to the ground with his back down. Alerted by the sudden break in their formation, Krul called to his men to direct their focus upon the fallen soldier.
"Quick! I need someone to cover me!" At once, two of Krul's men and a clone followed his order, flanking the street from where the droids were coming from. Their blasters fired away at the approaching battalion while Krul ran for the wounded fighter.
Running for the downed man, Krul kept his body bent forward like a raging bantha, ignorant of the dangers of the storm of fire to defend its herd. The man sprinted as fast as he could, fast enough to reach Renda. Here, his great strength prevailed as he lifted his soldier up on his left arm while he fired his heavy blaster with his other; tremendous considering the weapon itself couldn't be held in such a manner by ordinary hands. He then dragged Renda gently away from the fight while the rest of his forces provided support from both flanks. The man kept bringing his fallen comrade down the street into the safety of his group.
Halfway through and Krul was almost ready to drop Renda down somewhere safe. Just a few more steps and he shall join his men back into the fight.
BRAM!
"ARGH!"
Then, Krul felt the sudden rush of shock, burning and severe pain at his back, damaging his balance and throwing the man down to the ground with his comrade. His injury sent a powerful shockwave of fear and panic to his men, forcing them to spur blindly into action.
"Krul's down!" They broke out of their steady positions and ran all around to surround Krul as they hoped to rescue him and Renda. The clones watched as their counterparts abandon their well-strategized covers to fall into the quagmire of the clankers.
"Come on, boys! Give them covering fire!" Duo shouted out to his brothers, forced to join the others in the hellfire.
Jaune crouched down to steady his aim, placing the grip of his blaster readily onto the back of his other hand. He blasted the droids as steadfast as he could, pinning them down one-by-one. With the support of Ruby behind him, the boy was pacing carefully towards the spider walker with more space to safely reach its legs.
While the droids around the walker fell, Jaune soon laid eyes at the front of the towering droid, spotting another full force of droids that turned around to face him, adding more weight to his burden. He peered back to see the Jedi holding her ground, swinging her lightsaber around to block off the rest of the droid fire.
But when he looked behind Ruby, the faint sight of the resistance fighters holding out against the garrison forces. What he eventually saw after a closer look rang alarms in his head to see the wounded Krul being hauled away from the fight. His instincts overwhelmed him, robbing him of the focus on his mission and his sense of righteousness spurred him to help his fallen comrade.
"Krul!" At once, Jaune turned around, dashing away from the walker he was supposed to destroy and returned to the company of the resistance. Ruby blocked off another series of blaster fire when she saw her partner run away from the battle. Confused by his apparent abandonment of the mission, her body swiftly turned to face the boy to shout at him.
"Where are you going?!" she screamed in anger. "Jaune, get back here!" Her order fell on deaf ears; Jaune was already too far away for her to be heard. As he ran further and further away, Ruby's disbelief grew, baffled that the boy was retreating when the advantage was theirs. They had the droids right where she wanted them, and now, of all times and of all the warriors in the galaxy, a son of the Arc family was running away?!
Unable to stop the boy, Ruby's stresses were doubled. She had one cowering buffoon going one way and an army of droids shooting at her from the other. Backing away from the ferocity of the enemy, the Jedi struggled to keep her balance, her posture breaking apart by the weight of blaster fire upon her weapon. Her grip was weakening with every few seconds, each blaster shot knocking her back.
Ruby was left without any backup… except for one small assistant. After following his friend to the bridge, Zee was able to remain still and carefully set himself away from the heat of the battle, but also close enough to help Ruby if need be. There, he stood defiantly against the blaster fire without having to rely on cover. No one, especially not his fellow droids, would ever think that an astromech could be a posing threat, and Zee used this to his advantage. Though, he was still shaking in his circuits from any stray bolts that hit around him.
Now, with no one else to turn to, she had her faithful astromech to help her.
"Zee! I need an EMP grenade!" Ruby called out to Zee. Spurred into action, the droid rolled to her aid. His robotic arm extended out, clutching a droid popper in his two-fingered claw. As Ruby prepared herself for the attack, she had the droid carry the grenade inside of him in case of an emergency, though having such a dangerous device for droids deep inside his frame seemed to be a really risky move.
Once he was close enough, Zee then pulled the clip on the popper and threw it with all his might. Even if it wasn't enough, Ruby lent a hand and pushed her arm out, using the Force to catch the grenade and propel it with a powerful push. The popper landed right in the middle of the incoming battle droids underneath the walker. The orb then imploded from underneath the legs of the droids, sending a powerful shockwave that disabled them all in one stroke. With them gone, Ruby then focused her sights on the walker, which withstood the weaker EMP blast.
She spun her saber around herself before catching it, preparing herself for the jump on the walker. With a kick with her feet, she launched herself forward like a starfighter on take-off, speeding towards it. When she arrived, she reached for one of the legs and grabbed onto it, spun around it and launched herself up in the air, landing on top of the spider. She leaned against the beam disc, feeling the intense heat of its firepower even from behind the weapon. Once it stopped firing, Ruby quickly got to work and slashed her saber onto the supports locking the disc in place with the main body. After several hits, it eventually fell off, depriving the walker of its main means of assault.
But she was not done yet. Ruby shifted around and went for the droid's central eye. She popped right in front of its optics, surprising the walker into stumbling, desperate to get the Jedi off of itself. Ruby then raised her saber up high and stabbed her blade right into the eye, cracking it open and gravely incapacitating the droid. She felt the walker frantically moving around, overcome with errors upon being blinded.
With the titan handicapped and blinded, Ruby went for the killing blow. She aimed for the heavy-duty joints on the right; the part where the legs are connected to the main body. She slashed her saber onto the thick, cylindrical-shaped parts, barely scratching the surface. Then, she proceeded to swing away until, finally, the joints cracked open, exposing the hydraulics that kept the legs intact. Finally, Ruby lunged downwards onto the hydraulics and pierced right through them. Sparks flew out from the circuitry and instantly ignited, crippling its hold on the right legs.
Ruby felt the walker tumbling down from its loss of balance, forcing her to jump out to the safety of the ground. With its legs severed, the spider droid finally fell, dropping down so hard that the spherical body exploded from the impact. The Jedi landed away from the blast radius, her back facing the doomed machine as her cape fluttered wildly against her.
She took one last look at the wreckage, watching the walker being torn apart into several decommissioned pieces. She deactivated her saber and folded it, hooking it behind her back. Zee came over to cheer for the Jedi after a well-executed attack. Ruby bent down and hugged the droid, giggling at him.
"You're just full of surprises, aren't ya?" she commented. Zee beeped and chirped with glee at his contribution.
But now, with the path cleared for the Republic to move in, Ruby's attention was forced back to the remaining issue at hand. She was left to fend for herself while her partner, the supposed prodigy of the Arc family, ran off back to the city. The bafflement she felt was a combination of disbelief and frustration; disbelief that the boy would run when he should have stayed and fight; frustration when she was denied of his assistance.
She was about ready to discipline the brat for abandoning her to the droids. Not that she couldn't defend herself, but things didn't go the way Ruby wanted, and if Jaune hadn't bothered to run, they would have dealt with it without difficulty. Her mind was set on slapping some sense into the boy, her eyes scanning for the cowardly fool.
"Now, where did that deserter go?"
Back at the city exit, the men and women of Krul's forces were still bogged down, far worse than before. The clones kept up the fighting at the front while the other organics fought from behind. In front of them, the battle droids continued to mass in numbers, once again making their odds slimmer.
Suddenly, one of the droids' blasters managed to hit its mark, instantly killing a clone. Then, the next shot fired hit one of the resistance, ending the life of the woman. Then, another soldier fell before one more clone suffered the same fate. In an instant, the resistance squad was being crippled by the sudden arrival of the droid garrison, all while their leader was still weak from his wounds.
Krul sat behind a crate, nursing his own wounds fruitlessly. With blaster fire blazing from all sides and his men helplessly being slaughtered, his body urged him to move. Unfortunately, it was also pulsating with pain, pinning him down to massage the area where he had been shot. Beside him, Duo kept his blaster up and aimed at the droids, not bothered to aim and resulted to 'spray and pray' at this point.
The man was unable to do anything while his back was still burning hot from the shot taken. His arms were already numb as a result; his legs shivering heavily, causing his stance to falter. Unable to fight back, Krul tried to keep his hopes up and prayed that his forces would pull it off. Sadly, however, the Jedi and Jaune were busy outside, depriving him of his strongest assets yet.
But his eyes laid on the blaster before his legs. While his body was being torn apart by the pain, his heart was still burning strong. While he still had the spirit to fight, he was willing to ignore the burns and tried to reach out for the weapon. If he had to shoot down some droids with a searing pain to his body, then he shall have his final stand! And yet, he could not pull himself back together fast enough. Soon, two more of his men were wiped out. The situation was already getting direr by the minute.
Hope was the only thing that kept him going. He prayed that someone could come in and provide him the salvation he desperately needed.
CHOOM! CHOOM!
Soon enough, his prayers were answered…
From out of nowhere, someone came by and shot down several droids before jumping in front of the group, being none other than Jaune Arc. The soldier then picked out a grenade from his pocket and threw it at the droids. The bomb soon imploded all across the formation, sending a pulse of electromagnetic power that immediately shocked the entire squad of droids, making them collapse simultaneously.
The guns were silenced as the resistance group took one good look at the act of valour that Jaune had done to save them. Once again, the boy had come in to rescue them from utter defeat, bravely intervening in the fight when they needed a saviour. Krul tried to get up to thank the boy for another miracle, but settled down, grinning at him for the help.
Meanwhile, the clones also paused to witness the act of courage. To think; that a little mouse of a soldier like Jaune to suddenly emerge to fight like a real warrior was possible. This boy, the shiny they thought was a rookie, was able to march right in and save the day. It certainly amazed them, and they were the veterans in this war. Duo laughed at the miraculous save, simply because it was another one of those crazy random things that just amused him to no end. Now, he'd think twice to underestimate the lad, even if he did seem unfit to shine his boots.
Jaune panted profusely. After running all the way from the bridge back to the city, his legs were already giving way by the time he came in. Good thing his arms were still good; any more pressure on them and he would have failed to throw that droid popper, potentially ending his life and the mission. He heard the collective cheers of the soldiers behind him, filling him with pride and joy. He had once again saved the lives of the resistance fighters and their leader. Additionally, he came to the aid of the clone troopers, who joined in the celebrations.
Jaune smiled, thinking to himself how proud Ruby would have been if she was there to see him in action.
Which reminded him… Didn't he just leave her to…?
Oh no…
"JAUNE!" The joy was cut short. Fear ran up Jaune's spine as the shrilling scream of a very angry Jedi flew past him. Silence filled the air as Ruby Rose walked into the scene, stomping madly towards the boy. Her fists clenched, her mind raging for justice. The Jedi Knight was all too willing to set the record straight for the seemingly cowardly Arc.
"Where were you?!" shouted Ruby.
"I-I'm sorry!" Jaune apologized.
"What do you mean, 'you're sorry'?! You completely abandoned me! I had to deal with that walker on my own!" defended the Jedi. "I could have been shot down by those droids if Zee wasn't there to take your place!"
"I had to save the resistance!" argued Jaune. Soon, the argument began to develop dangerously, enveloping the two in a hostile situation. Ruby defended her right to lead while Jaune justified his own to save others despite the foreboding of those higher than him.
"I'm sure Krul and his men had everything covered! Why couldn't you just listen to my instructions and helped me take that spider out?!"
"Hey! There are more important things than scrapping droids! There are people who needed my help!"
"Then, maybe you could have just told me instead of just running off and leaving me guessing!"
"Ugh! You're impossible!" Finally, Jaune stamped his foot, fed up of the childish authority of the Jedi he was supposed to serve with. "Are you sure you're even supposed to be a General?!"
"At least I act like a leader!" shouted Ruby, almost at the tip of her voice. The two of them continued to stare each other down, eyes shooting like daggers. Everyone else didn't want to get in the way of the heated argument between two angry teenagers divided by opposing views on the battlefield.
"Uh… you two…" Duo tried to break up the fight and remind them of the opening Ruby had created. He was then silenced when the two broke up the fight and glared back at him.
"Stay out of this!" they both shouted in unison. After the hectic argument came to an end, the Jedi stormed off, groaning in frustration, while Jaune remained behind with a stern look on his own face. The rest of the group stayed in silence as well, not knowing what to make of this random exchange.
"Erm… What the heck just happened?" Krul asked, limping over to Duo.
"Teenagers…" sighed the clone, shaking his head.
The fighting outside raged on. The clones continued to exchange fire with the battle droids outside the city gates, led by both their Jedi and Mistralian commanders. Kenta and Pyrrha held the front, both using their weapons to give their troops covering support to minimize the enemy's attack upon them.
Keeping a watchful eye on the city from behind, Carolina viewed the battle with his electro-binoculars. He scanned the city gate, watching the spider droid as it continued to ravage through their forces. They were constantly bombarded by the homing laser, losing more and more men as a result. The heat of the battle was at its highest yet.
And then, it all began to cool down when Carolina saw the walker get cut down and blown apart by a lone Ruby Rose. The clone took notice of the Jedi's attack on the droid and anticipated its fall. Before long, the signal was set; once the droid came down hard, the opening was made.
"They've broken through their ranks, sir." reported Carolina. "We'll have the other gunships move in as close as we can."
"Let's hurry this up. I sense that we have more company on our way." told Kenta. "Everyone! Fall back to the gunships!" By his command, everyone began to disperse from their positions. Bolstered by the break in the gap, the Republic forces ran back in droves, retreating to the safety of the remaining gunships at the landing zone. Pelted by blaster fire, the men boarded the transports, hurriedly crowding into the hulls and ready to take off. Kenta and Pyrrha were the last to hop onto their gunship, giving the pilots the all-clear to disembark and head for the city.
One by one, the ships hovered over the zone, forming a line to begin their attack run on the ground forces below them. Coming out of the valley, all weapons fired off immediately. Beam turrets shredded through the droid infantry, missiles zooming right off their tubes and flew right into the tanks. The five ships mowed through the defending forces down below, scarring the bridge with craters that scraped right through the metal surface. The strafing run was enough to weaken the droids for the ships to land; all of the armoured tanks burned asunder and leaving only the infantry to fend off and bided the resistance forces time to extract themselves out of Hefrom.
In a line, the five gunships formed a block between the droids outside and the city, providing the only means of escape for the men and women to board and evacuate. To ensure the best chance of escaping, Kenta and Pyrrha leapt out of their transport and began to hold off the line. Two groups of troopers exited the ships. One large fraction of the men followed their commanders against the droids, while the rest hopped to the other side, giving the fleeing resistance cover.
"Do you think Ruby and Jaune managed to work together just fine?" wondered Pyrrha, blaster at the ready.
"I dunno." sighed Kenta, activating his lightsaber. "Something tells me that they're not really in the best of terms right now."
"I'm sure they've fixed their issues and dealt with the threat at hand." Despite Pyrrha's optimism, Kenta could feel that her words might end up being the other way around; that what she said might not be as she hoped. Whatever the case; he had to focus on the battle first, blocking the blaster fire with his lightsaber and holding out until Ruby and her forces successfully fled the city.
Meanwhile, the resistance forces spotted the incoming transports landing at the bridge. Backed by another wave of droids, there was no time to lose. This was their chance to escape.
"Come on!" shouted Duo. "The transports are here!" At once, the group moved out. Two men carried Krul to safety, surrounded by the rest of the squad. Ruby stayed behind long enough for them to make a run for it, swinging her lightsaber to defend their retreat. Jaune, on the other hand, ran with them, shooting back at the droids along the way.
Once the group had fled the gate, Ruby made her turn to run, dashing away towards the transports. As they all ran, the clones at the gunships covered for them, marking their targets in an effort to slow them down. The entire line of ships was sandwiched between two groups of battle droids that were about to squeeze them in.
After they reached the transports, everyone made turns to board the ships, guided by the troopers in the hulls. One by one, the remaining forces of the resistance entered the ships that were levitating very close to the ground, allowing them to board before a quick getaway. Jaune then tried to jump up on one of the transports, but nearly lost his grip and fell, clinging onto the ledge of the floor with his feet dangling. Panicked, he desperately tried to get himself back up, when he felt a powerful push beneath him. The boy was pushed upwards into a flip, falling right into the transport. Flat on the ground, he then saw Ruby jumping up after him, landing gracefully on the ground.
The Jedi turned around, seeing the last passenger to come aboard roll his way to the gunship. Using the Force, Ruby then picked up Zee, grabbing the droid with her powers and levitated him back on board, completing the evacuation.
After everyone was safely aboard, the gunship doors closed shut, just in time before the firestorm got even deadlier with heavier firepower acting against the ships. The occupants inside were riddled with a barrage of clanging; blaster bolts bouncing off the transports' hull.
Once the group was successfully pulled in, the pilot of the lead gunship signalled to Kenta and Pyrrha, letting them know that the extraction was complete.
"Sir! The resistance forces have boarded the transports!" contacted the pilot through communicator. Hearing the word, both commanders retreated, ordering the rest of their men to fall back to the gunships. The clones hurried back into the ships while their leaders provided a little more cover. After they boarded, Kenta and Pyrrha both released themselves of the defence and entered the lead gunship, reuniting with Jaune and Ruby.
After a successful extraction, the gunships all took off, hovering off and accelerating towards the valley, braving the storm of blaster fire that still tried to destroy them. The ships proved fast enough to wave off the bolts and, in time, all five of them were able to zoom into the mountains, where they would soon lose sight of the city behind them.
The mission was a success…
Almost half an hour later, and the transports were making their way to the rendezvous point, where the entirety of the Republic attack force had landed. The five ships glazed past the rocky valley, staying low to avoid enemy patrols and seeking vulture droids, until they reached the huge plateau that housed the bulk of the assault force.
Two large Acclamator-class transports occupied the vast area of the plateau, unloading everything they had stored inside. From the air, the people inside the gunships could see whole squared formations of white dots march out of the ship via boarding ramps, followed by tiny specks of walkers that filled in between the lines of troops. As they got closer, the ships then picked the makeshift tarmacs that were hastily set up for their arrival.
Finally, the ships descended down on the landing pads, slowly coming to a halt and shutting down their engines. After a hasty retreat, the passengers all exited the gunships, coming out to the comfort of peaceful land.
The resistance members, in particular, jumped out of the transports with mixed feelings. Some had joyfully jumped out to embrace each other after finally escaping the horrors of occupation. Others, however, were not feeling as pleasant; either from disappointment that they wished to continue fighting or sadness that they had to abandon their home and those they loved.
Krul limped out of the transport, a bacta patch wrapped onto his back. Supported by another one of the survivors, he made his way to the Jedi Master who led this daring rescue. Kenta turned to face the man. The old Brogundian smiled weakly, sill hampered by the deep wound on his back.
"Thank you, Master Jedi." he coughed. "We could have not fled without your help." His smile then curved upwards, displaying sorrow and regret. "But our families… Our friends. They're still in there."
Moving forward to comfort the man, Kenta placed a hand onto his shoulder, giving him assurance that everything would be settled. The Jedi were sworn to preserve peace to worlds under threat from forces beyond their control. No matter the odds, he sworn to the people of Brogundi that they would liberate them from the Separatist army.
"We'll do what we can to get them back, Krul." said Kenta. "In the meantime, let our reinforcements land, so we can properly build up for the assault." Hesitantly, Krul nodded, accepting the temporary defeat. He was carried away, heading for the nearest infirmary tent to tend to his injury.
Now that the mission was over, Kenta then turned his attention to his former Padawan. Ruby sat on the floor, leaning against one of the tents at the landing zone. She rested her chin onto her hands, knees bent over for her elbows to sit on. By her side, Zee was comforting the frustrated Knight as she grumbled under her breath.
Right close to her, Jaune and Pyrrha were standing outside the same tent. The former was apparently just as steamed as the Jedi was; Pyrrha trying to comfort him. Sensing the hostility between them, Kenta had to know what the deal was. What had happened between those two that got them so riled up, looking like they were about to rip each other apart?
Standing before Ruby, Kenta sighed. The former Padawan didn't bother to look up; she knew he was going to talk to her about this. She didn't care.
"So, Ruby." called Kenta, resisting the urge to discipline Ruby for sulking like a child. "What happened?
"Why not ask Mister 'Hero' over there?" spat Ruby, gesturing to Jaune. In respone, the boy released himself of Pyrrha's support, facing his beleaguered Jedi commander.
"Look. I don't care if you're some Jedi Knight and all, but there were people there who needed my help!" he defended. Ruby shot herself back up, standing to argue back. All the while, their superiors and Zee couldn't do anything to stop them.
"You think I didn't know that?!" shouted Ruby. "I cared for those men too, Jaune! But the mission had to come first, so we could save more lives! The sooner, the better!"
"Then maybe you need to look out for the other people who are just as important as we are." added Jaune.
"You are such a jerk!"
"And you're not?!"
"Enough!" Finally, Kenta swooped right in and exclaimed, stopping them from fighting. The tense stares continued, but the word was clear. Having had enough of this foolish debacle, Kenta directed his authority on the girl. "Ruby, go back to camp and tend to the troops."
"Gladly, Master." hissed Ruby, turning around and leaving Jaune to vent as well; Zee trailing the Jedi. On the other hand, Jaune was also about to get some much needed advice from his own leading figure.
"I think you need a little time off too, Jaune." sighed Pyrrha. She was as disappointed as Kenta was when it came to addressing their disciples' tenuous partnership. But in an uncharacteristic move for him, Jaune brushed past her, walking away to follow on her orders.
"Fine." he groaned, moving to somewhere isolated. Pyrrha watched on with worry, a hand to her chest as she pondered about the new situation developing. Joining her in the situation, Kenta stepped to her side.
"I apologize, Commander." he said. "Ruby can be a little rough around the edges."
"Yes. I'm sure she is." Pyrrha nodded. She couldn't expect the Knights of the Jedi Order to be all noble and calm, but one of Ruby's calibre was not what she was expecting. "Poor Jaune."
"Is he really as incompetent as Ruby makes it to be?" asked Kenta. Pyrrha fell silent, remembering all the mishaps that Jaune had been through.
"He is a little loose." she admitted. "But I know he can make a difference in the battles ahead." "I don't always find value in the physical strengths and achievements of soldiers. The Arcs may be a proud and legendary family of knights, and I may be part of a prestigious family of warriors myself…
"But in the end, we're all not as invincible as the legends tell of us. No one is perfect; not even prodigies."
Kenta took in Pyrrha's words to heart, understanding the full picture of Jaune's being. He seemed like someone unfit to fight a battle, much less a war. He was feeble in form, fearful in mind. When things got heavy, he must have struggled to make a stand for himself and those around him. But Pyrrha was no liar; if her words about his eventual valour were true, then he would do well to find out just how far he would be pushed to bring out that inner warrior.
"I know Jaune will make a better soldier someday." said Pyrrha, sincerity ringing in her voice. "Don't you have similar thoughts about your Padawan?"
"I haven't raised this far to fall down so quickly." joked Kenta. "She's tough. She can win a fight when she puts her mind to it. I don't know how she does it, but there's a certain charm to her that keeps her going."
Just as Kenta evaluated Jaune, Pyrrha was just as curious towards Ruby. She may be a hot-headed Jedi; a rarity amongst the Order, as far as she's heard. But somewhere inside of her, the Mistralian commando sensed that soft, tender side of the Jedi Knight. Somewhere deep in that reckless, adventure-craving shell laid a kind and caring compatriot of peace.
There was something about that spark of inspiration that felt quite similar… to Jaune's…
"If I may, General, I would like to speak to young Rose for a little bit." suggested Pyrrha, eager to find out more about the young Jedi.
"Knock yourself out." agreed Kenta, knowing that her curiosity could help. "Maybe I'll have my own talk with the boy."
"Have fun." wished Pyrrha.
The two then split up, eager to catch up to each other's subordinates. This was not the time to be divided when they were ready to liberate Brogundi. One way or another, Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc had to work together if this mission was to be done without major losses…