One month later…
'Are all Separatists that ugly? At least his hair is sorta better, still, I don't know what Ahsoka sees in this guy. How can she still love him after Carlac? Lux dragged her there, it was different with Korkie because he had no choice. We were already in hyperspace. Still, Lux is so annoying. I know Jedi aren't supposed to do the whole hate thing but I will never forgive him for ruining those peace negotiations. Hang on- maybe Fives was right about the whole vengeance thing. Huh, after the Hardeen stuff I can hold a grudge. And for good reason! What Obi-Wan did was stupid, but Lux kriffed up my entire future. I want to be done with this war, he wouldn't last two seconds on the battlefield. He'd probably whine that his hair got messed up.' Esinon snapped out of reality when Master Kenobi gave her a sharp probe to her mind, she finally started to pay attention to what Lux Bonteri was saying.
"Unfortunately the only way to reclaim Onderon will be through armed struggle." Lux said, "But we lack sufficient hardware and supplies."
"Onderon is in your king's rule and at the outbreak of the clone war he sided with the Separatists," Master Kenobi said,
'You tell him Master!'
'Calm down,' Obi-Wan said through their bond, Esinon quickly put up her shields, not realizing their bond was open.
'Sorry,'
"Our true king has been silenced," Saw said suddenly, "The one you recognize is a traitor and a Separatist minion. We need your help to survive this," he said, turning to Anakin who seemed more than ready to help the Separatists.
"Find a way, we shall," Yoda said, Saw and Lux nodded,
"We await your transmission," Lux said, bowing to the council. Esinon saw Ahsoka and Lux glance at each other and she raised a brow. Well, if that's who Ahsoka wanted… even if Lux was ugly, and Separatist, it was Esinon's job as Ahsoka's friend to make that happen. Lux and Saw ended their transmission.
"There are pockets of rebels on many of these planets that just need guidance." Anakin began, "With training and resources they could attack soft targets while the Republic continues to engage them on the battlefield."
"That sounds like terrorism Anakin," Obi-Wan said, sitting forward in his seat.
"Well I think of it as an insurgency to help realign these planets with the Republic," Anakin replied,
"We can divide the Separatist forces and press them on two fronts." Master Plo added,
"A means to an end, fear cannot be." Master Yoda said, "Stop those who spread terror the Jedi must."
"Indeed," Master Kenobi replied, "What you're suggesting would open up dangerous possibilities. And we must not train terrorists."
"Eh, rebels," Anakin said with a shrug,
"How we conduct war is what distinguishes us from others. Funding rebels to overthrow a legitimate government puts innocent lives at risk." Obi-Wan replied,
'But we still are conducting war as peacekeepers… maybe these Masters remember what it was like to be a true peacekeeper, but I might never.'
"We can minimize collateral damage by using arms that mainly affect droids," Anakin said,
"The least we can do is help them defend themselves," Master Windu said, glancing at Yoda. "test the tactic while we're at it." Anakin chuckled,
"This could be a great new weapon for us." Master Yoda hummed thoughtfully,
"Train and observe. Send advisors we will."
"I'll assemble a team,"
"I'm going with you," Obi-Wan said, getting up and joining Anakin's side. Esinon walked over and joined them,
"What? You don't trust me?" Anakin joked,
"Too much. That's what worries me,"
"This is Valkyrie 2929. We're coming up on the drop zone," the pilot called over the intercom. Esinon pulled the hood of her cloak over her head. The door to the shuttle opened,
"Go, go, go, go!" a clone shouted, she obeyed and followed after Ahsoka and jumped into the jungle. She landed on the grassy floor, as they watched the shuttle pull away. The five of them glanced to one another before giving nods of understanding and taking off into the trees. Esinon leaped from branch to branch, scanning the terrain for Onderian rebels.
Even though she did not want to see Lux Bonteri- and it would take a lot of restraint not to sock him in his jaw- but this mission sounded fun! Training people to do what she had been doing for most of her life, maybe it would finally give them some empathy.
They were making good time through the forest when a high pitched howl pierced the night. Esinon whipped her head around and bounded towards the noise, she peered through the trees to see a girl perched on a Tee-Muss.
"Stay where you are," the girl demanded, more tee-muss's came from around the back. "Identify yourself." Anakin held up his hands in a placating gesture before pulling off his hood to let her see his face.
"It's alright, we're friends,"
"Jedi," she breathed, Esinon dropped from the trees, Ahsoka, Obi-Wan and Rex coming into view not long after.
"I'm Commander Tano," Ahsoka said, "We're here to help you take your planet back."
"My name is Steela," the girl introduced, "I'll guide you to our secret base,"
They walked until the sun had risen, as the train of Onderonian rebels increased.
"Onderon sure is pretty," Ahsoka murmured, Esinon gave a nod of agreement, Steela held up her hand and they halted. She finally gave a nod and then continued, as the trees began to part into a camp. It was an abandoned temple of some sort, Esinon glanced up at an archway as a ruping came and landed. There was a man on top of it- wait, the man from the holo. Saw?
She was pretty sure his name was Saw. She gave him a two-fingered salute when she saw him staring at her. He may be in charge here, but the thing was, the rebels hadn't been doing a great job of retaking their planet back.
The early morning chatter of the camp died down with the arrival of the Jedi. The rebels were dressed in scraps of armor, certainly not enough protection. They all had weapons that looked like they had been scavenged or all mashed together,
"Hmm. A little rough around the edges, wouldn't you say?" Obi-Wan asked, looking around the disheveled camp.
"That's why I brought Rex here," Anakin replied,
"They're not exactly what I'd call shinies sir, but I can work with them," he replied, the ruping Saw was riding squawked as he directed it to the ground. He came to stand by Steela and gave a nod to Anakin,
"General Skywalker," he greeted,
"At your service," Anakin replied, giving a small bow. He motioned to Obi-Wan, "This is General Kenobi, Commander Tano, Commander Windcaster, and Captain Rex."
"We're looking forward to taking the fight to those scrappin' droids." Saw said,
"Yes," Obi-Wan replied, "All in good time," Saw crossed his arms over his chest,
"I'm Saw, Saw Gherrea," he said,
"He fashions himself as our leader," Steela explained, punching him in the arm playfully, "Although no one elected him."
"Well, for now, we're in charge," Anakin said, crossing his arms over his chest. "And there is much to learn."
For the most part, Esinon and Ahsoka had been sitting in the background while Obi-Wan and Anakin laid it out for the ragtag rebels. Well, Ahsoka had been trying to and failing to not stare at Lux, Esinon on the other hand was having a stare-off with Saw. She was going to show him who was boss.
"The Separatists have strength in numbers. We're going to show you how to target and destroy them." Anakin said,
"Now to be clear," Obi-Wan began, "we are not here to fight your war for you. Rather we will show you how to conduct it in an efficient and successful way possible." All of the rebels gave a nod of understanding,
"Captain Rex," Anakin said, Rex stepped forward, getting the same look he got when a new group of shinies showed up.
"I'll show you how to destroy clankers 501st style." he said, "First, I'll need volunteers to move supplies from our entry point a half klick west." Esinon smirked, of course, Rex would start them with supplies and organization.
"Shouldn't be a problem," Saw said,
"Excellent," Esinon followed after the rebels, leaving Ahsoka with Lux.
"So Commander, you ready to whip us into shape?" Saw asked jokingly as they started to pack up supplies,
"Only if you're ready to do what it takes," she said,
"I want my planet back," he said confidently,
"There's hope for you yet," she replied,
Esinon stood in front of a Separatist tank, staring down the Onderonian rebels and frowning at Lux's poor excuse for armor. He had duct tape holding his left shoulder bell in place. Then again, she didn't like him very much and she was finding anything and everything to hate about him. She turned her attention back to the lesson she was giving,
"The pilot in the front hatch controls the tank, the shells, and the short-range blasters. The Commander in the top hatch controls the turrets and the main cannon." she said, she motioned to the tanks. "You have to take out both chambers. Otherwise, the tank will still be operational." She gave a nod to Rex who grabbed two disruptors off of his belt and jumped onto the disabled tank. He threw the first disruptor into the hatch and grabbed onto the main cannon, swinging to the top and nimbly walking across to deposit the second disruptor before flipping off the tank and landing gracefully as the tank sizzled out behind him.
"Everyone divide up into teams of two," Anakin called to the rebels, "and we'll practice an assault on both hatches." The Onderionans swiftly did as they were told, Lux giving Saw a confident look.
'Battlefield is a lot different than a Senate room, you better get ready Bonteri.' Esinon thought to herself,
"I'll take the top," Lux said, Saw shoved Lux's shoulder roughly,
"Let's see what you're made of Bonteri," Rex tossed them both disruptors, and as soon as Saw got a hold of his, he shoved Lux to get a head start. Esinon groaned, they were not off to a great start. Saw opened the front hatch, while Lux clumsily scrambled past him and barely made it up onto the cannon. He promptly fell off of it and crashed into Saw, sending them both tumbling off the tank. They landed right at Rex and Esinon's feet, Lux got to a knee, offering a hand out to Saw.
"Sorry about that," Saw batted his hand away with a low growl,
"You're a terrible soldier Bonteri," Saw snapped,
'You're not much of a soldier yourself Gerrera,' Esinon thought bitterly, her arms folded over her chest. "Next!" Esinon shouted as the next pair of rebels darted up to the tank. They went again, and again, Rex drilling the rebels relentlessly,
"Come on!" he shouted, "Go, go, go, go, go!"
Three hours later they were still drilling hard at the tank. The rebels had to get this down or they wouldn't stand a chance. The next pair of rebels flipped off the tank,
"Come on!" Rex shouted, "Move it like a soldier. Like a real soldier!" Esinon watched as the rebels ran faster and faster.
"You think they've got what it takes?" Esinon asked quietly, Ahsoka didn't answer her. Esinon elbowed her in the ribs, "Soka,"
"Hmm?" she asked, returning her gaze to Esinon. She traced Ahsoka's eyeline back to… Lux. Gross. "Sorry, what did you ask?"
"The rebels, do you think they can handle this?" she asked,
"I do," Ahsoka said, "You?"
"If they work hard then yes, but the reality of war is going to be a big wake up call for them," Esinon replied, folding her arms behind her back.
"What do you mean?" Ahsoka asked, turning her attention from the rebels to Esinon.
"I just mean that being a soldier is a reality that a lot of people aren't ready for. We can train them as much as we want to to destroy tanks and droids, but we can't prepare them mentally for anything they're just about to face. Some things as a soldier have to be learned through experience." Ahsoka read between the lines of her statement,
"...and you think we have that experience?" she asked, Esinon was about to answer when they were interrupted by Lux, Saw, and Steela arguing. The two Jedi padawans turned to watch the show.
"You would've had us both killed," Saw snapped, jabbing an accusatory finger in Lux's face. Lux rose from the rock he was sitting on and stepped towards Saw, a scowl on his face. Steela instantly shoved them apart
"Just stop it," she said,
"Sit down boy," Saw said, shoving Lux back. "This isn't the Senate. You've got no talent for this,"
"It's going to take a lot more than the muscles to defeat the Separatists," Lux argued,
'Funny how he's trying to fight off the Separatists but serving their Senate. Why are we even doing this? To try and make Onderon Republic territory?' Esinon thought to herself,
"Politics have failed us. We have no choice." Saw said,
"We always have a choice," Lux said, narrowing his eyes.
"Then make yours," Saw growled,
"Look," Steela finally snapped, "If we're gonna succeed, you'll need to be exceptional in both words and actions."
'Ok I'll give her that one.'
"There will be time for both," Steela finished, Saw let out a low growl before storming off.
'This would go a lot better if they started fighting the Seps instead of one another.'
"Destroyers are quick, pack twin blasters and come with their own shield generators." Anakin said, standing in front of the reprogrammed destroyers with large red 'x's' marked on them. "Nothing short of cannon will pierce it," The rebels glanced at each other nervously. They didn't have cannons, or heavy artillery like the Republic did. Anakin noticed, "But they do have two weaknesses, and you will need to work together to exploit them." Anakin gave a nod to Rex who pressed a button on his vambrace and the destroyers sprung to life.
"The shields deflect high-velocity attacks," Rex said, demonstrating by shooting the destroyer's shield twice. The destroyer reacted, taking a few steps towards Rex.
"What the shields don't stop are slow or stationary objects, they are designed to absorb them so nothing hinders their movement." Anakin said, he gave a nod to Ahsoka who pulled a droid popper off of her belt and with practiced ease rolled it through the destroyer's shield. It went off with a bong and the destroyer curled up.
"Destroyers are blind from behind," Ahsoka explained, "A distraction combined with a rear assault will give you a kill. The trick is to get the right speed on the droid popper." Rex pressed another button on his gauntlet, arming all three of the destroyers. He then pulled out a droid popper from his belt, holding it up for the rebels to see.
"These are unarmed, just focus on getting it past the shield." he tossed the popper to Saw who held it confidently.
"Watch and learn," Saw said, eyeing Lux. The Senator rolled his eyes, Esinon smirked,
'Pfft, this took me weeks to get perfect. Gregor drilled me relentlessly on this,' she thought to herself, he tossed the popper, it was moving way too fast. Just as Esinon expected, it bounced off the shield.
"Quite brilliant," Lux said smugly,
'You're not gonna do any better Bonteri,' Esinon thought as Ahsoka tossed him a droid popper. She watched him toss it, expecting it to bounce back but instead it went through the shield. She gave a nod approval, 'Way to prove me wrong,'
"Nice touch," Ahsoka said, smiling at Lux. He gave a small dip of his head, beaming at Ahsoka,
"Thanks," Esinon glanced at Steela who was scowling at Ahsoka and snickered.
'Oh this love triangle is too good, but Steela you better watch out. What Ahsoka wants, she gets.' Steela shoved Lux's shoulder playfully,
"Not bad," Esinon noticed Ahsoka's face falling.
'Was I ever like this with Korkie?' she was torn from her thoughts as the sound of a popper hitting the shield and a frustrated growl from Steela.
"Be mindful of your frustrations," Master Kenobi said, stepping forward,
'Oh, I've heard this one before,'
"They will only hinder you," he finished,
"Here," Lux said, grabbing Steela's shoulder with one hand and her wrist with the opposite. "And keep your eyes on the target," he explained, moving her arm in the motion that would allow her to get a popper through the shield. Steela wasn't paying attention to what Lux was trying to teach her- which could save her life- instead, she was staring at Lux, her cheeks a rose color. She then smirked at Ahsoka as if to say, 'he's mine.' Esinon rolled her eyes, if this didn't stop, she was gonna pull one of them aside and tell them to get it together. She heard Ahsoka grumble,
"Great," she muttered, Esinon stepped forward,
"Alright, everyone! Pair up! We'll divide into groups," She instructed, all of the rebels obeyed. Ahsoka looked like she was about to try and pair up with Lux, but he went off with Steela. Esinon decided to give Ahsoka some space to think, she technically couldn't encourage this since it was against the Jedi code- but she was a hypocrite. Then again, she didn't feel exactly like a Jedi… something else. She couldn't quite put her finger on it yet.
A few hours later…
Esinon tapped her foot a little impatiently watching the rebels repeatedly fail to get the droid popper through the destroyer's shield. She sighed, watching Lux move Steela's arm for the thousandth time, she pulled a droid popper off of her belt.
"Ok, watch me," Esinon said, the rebels backed up and watched the Jedi Commander. She tossed the droid popper down, with a decent backspin that went straight through the shield. A murmur went through the crowd,
"How did you do that?" Steela asked, "I can never seem to get the speed or distance." Esinon tossed her another droid popper,
"Try a little backspin, it'll help," she said, "And loosen up your shoulder, you're too tense."
"How long have you been doing this for?" Lux asked as Steela tried again, he cringed as the popper bounced off the shield.
"Five years," Esinon said bluntly,
"Did it take you that long to get it?" Steela exclaimed, Esinon chuckled, shaking her head.
"A few weeks to be able to get it through the shield ninety percent of the time." Steela scowled, "But you're not gonna get anywhere if you give up. I was drilled for weeks because this can save your life. Destroyers are not something to be messed around with. They can mow down entire platoons in seconds, I've seen them do it." Esinon said sternly, she tossed Steela another popper, "Try again," Lux stepped forward to help her but Esinon shook her head, Steela needed to learn how to do this on her own. Steela tossed the droid popper down and it bounced off the shield again, she let out a low growl.
"Just forget it! I'm not gonna get this!" Steela finally shouted, storming off. Esinon was about to go after her when she saw Ahsoka heading towards Steela.
'Good for her,' Esinon thought to herself, pulling another popper off her belt.
"Here Bonteri, since you seem to get it," she said, tossing him the popper. Lux nodded, tossing the popper and it went straight through the shield. "You're a quick learner,"
"Thanks," he said with a soft smile. Esinon gave him a nod, she still didn't know if she could get past his selfish actions- but… he wasn't so bad, she guessed.
Steela fired off another round, hitting droid head after droid head. She was as good as Bean, Esinon was impressed.
"Very impressive," Anakin complimented,
"Fixed targets are one thing," Ahsoka said, "how about this?"
'I thought Ahsoka would quit the one-upping by now. Someone's gonna notice. I think that Anakin already has but...' Ahsoka used the force to hold a droid head up in the air. Esinon watched as Ahsoka flicked the droid head back and forth. Steela fired hitting it once, twice, three times.
"Not bad," Ahsoka said, trying not to let the disappointment in her voice show. Lux clapped Steela on the shoulder, beaming at her. Master Kenobi walked over to Steela,
"You clearly have mastered your ability to focus," he said, Steela smiled and nodded. Anakin pulled Ahsoka aside for a moment and Esinon's attention was soon caught by Rex.
"A headshot is the only decisive way to take out a droid. They don't need arms, legs, or bodies to pass on intel to central command," Rex explained, "All right, shoot at will," he instructed, Steela's sniper whipped up to her eye to take fire. She paused for a moment,
"Wait a minute," She said, "There's… something out there."
"Droids!" Saw shouted as the first wave of droids burst through the tree line. Esinon drew her saber on instinct as the droids unleashed a barrage of fire.
"Get down!" Anakin shouted, Esinon deflected three bolts before flipping out of the way of a cannon's blast. She followed her Master and Anakin back as they ducked behind supply crates,
"It looks like the training is over!" Obi-Wan shouted over the explosions, Steela took down three droids in rapid succession. Esinon continued to deflect both, her lightsaber a blue blur.
"I'll take the left flank if you take the right!" Anakin shouted to Obi-Wan,
"No Anakin," Obi-Wan said, as the three Jedi ducked back down, "We can only protect them, we can't fight this war for them."
"Well then let's do just that," Esinon replied, she leapt up onto a crate and worked ever harder. Obi-Wan turned to Steela,
"There are too many of them," he said, "Anakin, Esinon, Ahsoka, and I can hold them off while you get your people out of here!" Steela glanced out at the fresh wave of oncoming droids.
"You didn't teach us to run," she replied, she held her comlink up to her mouth, "Saw, use your disruptors to take out the droids," In a matter of seconds disruptors were thrown into the fray and glittering explosions decimated the droids.
"Not bad," Anakin chuckled as Esinon hopped down from the crates and joined them in a crouch.
"That is only the first wave," Obi-Wan reminded him, as soon as the dust cleared a Separatist tank appeared and Steela's eyes went wide. The tank fired off a round and the rebels scattered. Esinon ducked down as debris rained down upon them,
"We'll handle this," Esinon said, about to head off to take out a tank but Steela grabbed her arm.
"No, I will," she replied, she whipped up her sniper, aiming it at Esinon's forehead. Or so it seemed, "Duck!" Esinon, Obi-Wan, and Anakin dropped, she fired round after round nailing the gates holding the Tee-Muss. The animals stampeded through the arena, confusing the droids long enough for Esinon to spot Lux and Saw sprinting through the field towards the tank.
'Please don't die," she silently begged, Saw got the first popper in the hatch and Lux actually managed to nimbly climb up to the top hatch and toss the popper to the droid. Ahsoka flipped up onto the tank and used the force to shove the command droid down before they all ran away and the tank exploded behind them. Steela sprinted over to Saw and Lux, where Ahsoka was already helping Saw to his feet. Steela helped Lux and Esinon saw the look that crossed Ahsoka's face. She got up and followed Master Kenobi as they regrouped with the rest of the rebels.
"Take confidence from this victory," Obi-Wan advised, "But rest assured, there will be more droids coming now that they know your position."
"It doesn't matter," Anakin interjected, "You're ready now. We are going to take the fight to the droids. You don't have to hide in the jungle any longer."
"Droids were a bit dim," Saw said, thinking about the droids not even recognizing a bomb in front of them. "More so than I imagined,"
"They're designed to overwhelm," Esinon said, "Any stupidness in their design is made up for by their numbers. Don't forget that,"
"But they're not designed to deal with our approach," Anakin said confidently,
"We hit them where they least expect it," Lux said, "And before they realize what happened,"
"We fade into the population," Steela finished,
'Not a bad plan Bonteri, maybe you do have a mind for this. Still hate you, but maybe I'll calm down with the amount of death glares I give you,'
"Exactly," Anakin replied,
"We need a plan to get inside the city," Ahsoka said, placing her hands on her hips.
"I have an idea," Lux said after a moment,
Esinon sat on a Tee-Muss, the hood of her cloak pulled far over her head. The gentle rock of the animal was soothing as she rode next to Master Kenobi as they followed the caravan of pelts. They finally made it to the entrance of the city where a giant rey shield waited along with squadrons upon squadrons of armed droids. Esinon said a silent prayer to the force that this plan would work, or this rebellion was going to be short-lived.
"Halt," a droid said, and the caravan stopped, "What were you doing outside the city gates?"
"Hunting," Lux replied, "we've been trekking for days," the droid glanced at its partner before returning it's gaze to Lux.
"Did you register before your excursion?" the droid asked,
"No, but most of our time is spent in the bush collecting our traps. We come to the city to sell." Lux explained, as a droid started to scan over their piles of pelts, Esinon held her breath. Underneath those layers were rebels. "You can't get thrip larvae like this in Iziz. Only the biggest trees on the other side of Onderon."
"Hey listen," Steela said, "we need to deliver all of this in time for supper!" The droid hummed,
"Are you scanning anything?" it asked it's partner,
"It's hard to tell with so much organic matter," the droid replied, it was working.
"Come on!" a rebel shouted from the back, "Our merchants are waiting inside! Can you hurry it up!" the droids backed away from the caravan.
"Let them through,"
"Roger, Roger," the second one replied, the rey shield fell and they were allowed to pass inside. They rode for a few more minutes before landing themselves in the city center,
"Not a bad start," Anakin said, "but now the hard work begins."
"You must find recruits and choose your targets wisely," Obi-Wan advised, "They'll be looking for us,"
"We should split up," Lux said,
"Regroup after nightfall," Saw added, "I'll alert our brothers,"
"We'll make sure you have the supplies you need," Anakin said, as Lux and Saw dismounted from the caravan.
"Rex, Esinon, and I will take care of that," Ahsoka said,
"Good luck," Lux said,
"You too," Steela and Ahsoka simultaneously, the two girls glanced at each other. Rex shifted his gaze from Ahsoka to Esinon as Steela jumped off the caravan.
'How long has that been a thing?' he signed to her,
'Just leave it, I want to beat the crap out of Lux too.' she signed back,
'Oh yeah, peace talks?'
'Right, you were in the room for my feverish rant about that,' The two of them returned their attention when the caravan jolted again. Esinon nudged her Tee-Muss forward, following the caravan. Hopefully, this rebellion wouldn't end as soon as it had begun.
Ok guys, for the sake of how I'm writing this arc, the Jedi knew from the get-go that Saw and Steela are siblings.
Also, yesterday my autocorrect tried to change Obi-Wan to Obama and I died.
Sorry to any of you who like Lux, Esinon kinda tore him to shreds but you've gotta give her a little slack. She's kinda bitter after the whole Hardeen and Zygerria thing. Seeing Lux just reminds her that the war could have ended if he didn't run into those peace negotiations, but I get why he did. I'd want vengeance too if Dooku killed my mom.
Anywho, next up on let's make this canon corner: Even though Ahsoka is a Jedi she can flirt like no one's business and is kinda boy crazy
thank you for reading and make sure to leave a review!