Guys, I think I lied. I said that the last chapter was the last 'set-up' one . . . This isn't exactly a set-up - there's plenty of action - but I had to take it mostly from the Delta and 501st side of things.

I hope this is still enjoyable, though! :)

Obi-Wan started violently when a hand landed on his shoulder. He opened his eyes, withdrawing his focus back to the present, and took an instant to adjust.

Namer stood beside him. His gaze flickered between the two Jedi, then to the wide metal door. "General? I think we're out of time."

The murmur of voices outside rose to a roar. Obi-Wan got to his feet just as Anakin opened his eyes.

"Did it work?" he asked immediately, then paused to find the answer to his own question. "Master, I think it worked."

"Yes, but not entirely," Obi-Wan replied. "Be mindful of your surroundings, Anakin."

Trap and Ghost stood up at the same moment, and Anakin followed suit. "I hope Saresh doesn't forget to take these off," he said.

"I'm with you there, General," replied Trap feelingly.

Anakin grinned. "I thought you said you'd follow me into battle any day."

"Yes, sir, but this wasn't what I had in mind."

Ghost smirked. "If Saresh forgets, do me a favor, General. Don't jump around all over the place like General Kenobi does."

Obi-Wan, unable to fold his arms, frowned at him. "I don't 'jump around'."

Waxer, Boil and Ghost gave him identical disbelieving looks

Det chuckled. "Pretty sure all the Jedi do, sir."

"Yes, well, be that as it may. . ." Obi-Wan tilted his head. "Saresh is coming back."

"Quick! Try to grab him!" hissed Anakin.

Flash and Det sprang to either side of the side door as it swung inward to admit Tar Saresh and a dark-skinned guard.

The two clones leaped forward. Flash grabbed the Twi'lek and put an arm across his throat, jerking him backwards. The guard fell back under Det's assault, and Obi-Wan caught another guard in a Force-grip and lifted him into the air, causing him to drop his stun weapon in surprise.

The other clones rushed toward the door. Obi-Wan flung the guard against the wall and Boil snatched up the fallen firearm.

Echo and Fives pulled Det out of the fray. Boil shot the second guard and turned to face the door, where a group of Weequay waited.

"Stop, all of you." Tar Saresh spoke casually.

"Or what?" hissed Flash, jerking him back.

Saresh's free hand reached across to his restrained wrist and pressed something on his armored vambrace.

A net of red lightning crackled over Flash, and he collapsed with a strangled cry. Tar Saresh took a quick step to the side, his blaster raised to point at Echo's forehead. "Jedi Kenobi, do we really have to play this game again?"

No one moved for a long moment. Fives glanced sideways at Obi-Wan, as though waiting for a signal.

Obi-Wan lowered his bound hands, irritation lacing his voice as he replied. "We don't seem to have a choice."

"I am not so unfair." The Twi'lek gestured Det and Boil towards the far wall. "You have a choice between fighting for your lives and being shot like vermin."

"Well, those are some lousy options," muttered Anakin.

Tar Saresh watched Obi-Wan, waiting.

Obi-Wan nodded once. "All right, then."

"Excellent!"

The guards unlocked the stun cuffs from Anakin's wrists first, then Obi-Wan's, and left the room. The orange Twi'lek followed, moving backwards, his gun now pointed at Anakin's head. "In a few minutes, that door will open. Some of you will be selected for the first challenge. If you try to overpower the guards, you will be killed."

He slipped away, and the door slammed shut.

"Nice," huffed Anakin.

Trap moved across the room to check on Flash, who staggered to his feet, his expression frustrated. "Slimy, double-dealing tailhead! What is it with these guys and shocking people?"

"It's effective," Ghost pointed out reasonably.

Flash glared.

Anakin stepped forward, once more the general preparing for a battle. "Okay, men, pull yourselves together. We've only got a few minutes left."

"What's the plan, sir?" Echo asked uncertainly.

Anakin turned to face him, wearing the cocky, overconfident smirk that usually preceded his more dangerous ideas. "The plan is to kill everything that tries to kill us. Rex and the others are out there somewhere, and our job is to stay alive until they can get to us. Got that?"

"Sir! Yes, sir!"

"And keep your focus," Obi-Wan cut in. "You might be surprised by how hard it is when you have thousands of people screaming for your deaths."

"Yeah," said Anakin with a grin. "You'd know all about that, wouldn't you, Master?"

Obi-Wan looked at him huffily. "I might remind you that we were both in that arena."

Delta Thirty-Eight leaned back against the wall of the house and tilted his helmet, glancing around the corner. A steady murmur and rush of noise emanated from the nearby arena, but the city itself was eerily quiet. "Squad, report," he ordered in a low voice. "Any guards?"

"Nothing on my scopes, sir."

"Scorch here. I've got nothing."

"Four-oh reporting. All clear."

"Okay. Let's regroup at the entrance." Boss straightened and moved back along the wall to the front, where Snap was occupied in hotwiring the door.

General Fisto stood behind him, staring contemplatively up at the sky. The stars reflected oddly in his large eyes. "All ready, Sergeant?"

"Yes, sir. No guards outside the Cauldron."

"Are the entrance doors closed?" asked Rex, glancing up from where he stood with Kix and Jesse.

"Closed and locked."

Rex nodded. "General, we could land the Twilight outside the main door. That would give us two escape routes."

"Three, with the landspeeder," replied the Nautolan.

"Right. Switch, you hear that?"

"Yes, Captain," replied the pilot's voice. "We'll wait for your signal."

Boss moved over to his squad just as Advisor said, "Fifteen minutes left."

Snap stepped back from the panel. "Door's clear."

"Good." General Fisto glided forward. "Let's get to the prison door. I sense three guards. . ."

Boss activated his lifeform sensor to double-check. Three lifeforms, all positioned just inside the entrance. Convenient.

The door opened noiselessly, and a sharp voice demanded, "Who's there?"

"No one of importance," the general assured him, stepping to one side.

Rex leaned around the corner and fired two stun blasts while Jesse mirrored him on the other side. "Get those guys secured."

After Snap and Gadget finished, the commandos lead the way down the stairs and to a wide, empty basement.

Rex lifted his commlink. "Oddball, get the ship here. Door's open."

"Copy that, sir."

Boss joined Fixer. "Did you find the jamming device?"

"Negative. It's somewhere below the arena pit itself, but I can't pinpoint the location."

Advisor's voice crackled faintly. "It'll be shielded. We might lose communications once you move farther in. I'll do what I can from this end."

"All right." Boss flicked two fingers, signaling Sev and Scorch to stand guard. "We'll try to get everyone back here for extraction."

"Indeed," General Fisto said, spinning his lightsaber around one hand. "We will plan on that. . . but be prepared for anything."

"Anything," quoted Rex, an audible smirk in his voice. "That's a pretty long list, General."

Scorch propped his gun against the bench. "Hey, that just means we can't be too prepared." He leaned against the wall, his right arm just above the muzzle of his blaster.

Boss frowned, but of course his frown was invisible behind his helmet. He looked pointedly in Six-Two's direction, waited until he caught the other commando's attention, and made a slashing motion across his throat. Scorch promptly resituated his weapon to comply with safety regulations.

The best thing about the kill motion was that it was universal. It simply applied to anything the recipient was doing incorrectly. Thirty-Eight didn't have to say a word – at least, not until one of his squad mates did something dangerous that the GAR hadn't yet invented a regulation against.

Delta Squad's been the direct cause of five new army-wide regulations so far. He wasn't sure whether to feel concerned or proud – maybe a little of each.

Jesse shifted his weapon from one hand to the other and breathed deeply. "We'll have to go in with everything we have."

"Yeah?" Sev managed to convey his scorn through a microscopic tilt of his red-marked helmet. "Is there any other way?"

Kix looked up. "I'm sure you'd know."

"That's enough," ordered Rex. "Jesse, Kix, tone it down."

They nodded, and Sev subsided as well, holding back the comment that he'd obviously been about to make.

General Fisto stood motionless, head tilted as though he were listening to something. After a long moment, he blinked and straightened. "The games will begin in a few minutes. Let's get through the prison, but be extremely cautious. If we are caught, there will be no second chances – for any of us."

Boss signaled for his squad to form up. "General, with all due respect, it might be better if you stayed back until we know the situation."

"Indeed?"

"If the guards get an alarm to Dooku that there are clones attacking, he'll just send more men to deal with us."

"Ah, I see." The general took a step to the left, allowing Fixer at the door panel. "But if he finds out I am here, he'll come down himself."

Boss nodded.

"Very well, Sergeant. I'll wait for your signal."

Rex was waving his troops forward when Fixer jerked away from the door. "They're breaching it –"

The door exploded, throwing Fixer against the wall. Boss dodged a flying piece of metal and fired into the billowing smoke. The general dropped to his knees and flung both hands outward, forcing the clanking droids back.

Boss rushed through the twisted remnants of the door, Scorch beside him. As they entered, they turned to the right and left, shooting down the droids in front of them and leaving Sev to take out any that were between them.

Advisor's wry voice crackled in Thirty-Eight's ears. "Well, they know you're there now, Deltas."

"Thanks for the update," Boss said easily, knifing one droid as he shot another.

"Get to th . . . panel. . . can." There was another burst of static, and the signal vanished completely.

"Signal lost, sir," Scorch reported obviously.

Thirty-Eight pulled back his knife and grabbed the last droid by the neck. One of Sev's sniper rounds hit it between the eyes, and Boss tossed it aside. "You okay, Forty?"

"All set, sir," came Fixer's breathless reply.

"Gotta love this armor, right?" Scorch added, flicking at a new blaster mark on his chest plate.

Boss gestured him to the next door. "Get us through."

"Hold it." Rex joined them at a run, both pistols raised. "We need to know if there are any cameras or listening devices here."

Gadget, who was staring at a small device, shook his head. "Nothing I can find, sir."

"It'll have to do," said the general, skidding to a halt. "We're running out of time."

"We've got droids on the other side," said Fixer.

The clones split to either side, ducking behind the meager cover offered by the curved walls.

"Breach charge set," warned Scorch, running back.

The door exploded into the droids' faces, and Rex was up and running before they could recover. He ducked their shots, twisting and maneuvering through their lines as he fired with both pistols.

"He's going to die." Sev sounded impressed.

Jesse slipped past Scorch, stepped on a droid that was trying to get up, and blasted another. "Eh, he's got a charmed life or something."

"No," disagreed Kix, running forward to a new cover position. "He's just crazy."

"Criticizing your commanding officer," mused Rex from where he was putting the last droid out of its mechanical misery.

Kix did not apologize.

Fixer lifted his blaster to ready position. "Lifeforms approaching."

"Captain, get back!" exclaimed General Fisto.

Rex dove away from the door. It hissed open, and two grenades rolled towards them. The soldiers ducked against the walls as the general Force-pushed the grenades back toward the intruders. Yells of alarm and the thumping sounds of a hasty retreat were followed by an explosion.

"Okay, that was useful," Scorch said.

There was a half-instant of silence, and then a thunk, followed by a high-pitched whistling.

Boss jerked around, shielding his face with both arms. "Get down!"

The missile hit directly between the two groups.

And - yes, that was mean of me.

Like Kix, though, I will not apologize. . .

BECAUSE today is Star Wars day and all that, I will do an update. You get to choose which story I update: this one, or 'Misadventures of Jedi Generals'. :)