Here's another update! I edited it at around 2:45, so there may be some typos. I'll read it again later and try and catch a few more! The story is nearly wrapping up! Hope you enjoy reading it! Thanks!- Feller
Chapter 9: Holding Ground
Anakin and Ahsoka had a fairly significant amount of ground to cover to get to Bruiser's position. The two Jedi could have used the Force to drastically increase their movement speed far beyond that of the average lifeform, but that was an extremely taxing effort to sustain over a long period of time.
They needed to conserve their energy for the coming battle, and finding an aircraft or speeder to get them where they needed to go would be the best option. Knowing that time was of the essence, Anakin and Ahsoka 'borrowed' a pair of speeder bikes that the refugees kept stored just outside of their command center. In a flash, they powered them up to top speed and hovered above the surface with furious intensity.
As he took off, Anakin barked into his comlink, "All available ground units, head to the coordinates I just sent your way. We've got a reported sighting of battle droids on system! I repeat, Clankers are on-world!"
Several of his clones quickly confirmed Anakin's orders and began to make their way toward Bruiser's location.
Because of the high speeds they were traveling, the winds whipped aggressively across their unprotected faces, and they felt the immense pressures of g-force pushing back onto their bodies. However, the Jedi were undeterred and refused to slow their speed, silently gliding across the plains.
Ahsoka reached out to her Master and spoke to him through the Force, directly into his mind.
How could there be battle droids in this system? I thought the clankers didn't have any bases near this region!
They don't. I don't know what's happening here, Ahsoka. But I know it's not good. Stay close and stay focused. I don't like this, came Anakin's reply.
Yes, Master.
Fortunately, Bruiser's location was a straight shot across the vast Dantooine plain from the Jedi's location, and it wouldn't take them much longer than a few minutes to get there via speeder. Because of the flatness of the plain, it was easy to see land stretch out before them for miles. In the distance, Anakin and Ahsoka could make out the wrecked carnage of the Republic transport cruiser, and hazy fog of smoke and fire in the distance.
Master, dead ahead! It looks like a Republic SOS flare!
I see it. We don't have time for both of us to stop. You stay on target and head toward Bruiser's position. I'll check on Specs and Scope.
Ahsoka nodded and peeled her speeder of a few degrees from Anakin's as she headed toward Bruiser's position. Anakin veered off to the right to approach his wrecked transport ship. As he drew closer, he could make out two figures pulling some supplies out of the wreckage. They're alive! Anakin internally sighed in relief.
Spotting Anakin as he pulled his speeder to an abrupt stop, the Clones rushed to his side, "General, what the Hell is going on down here? Our communications got knocked out in the crash," Scope called out in frustration.
"Bruiser had contact with a group of battle droids. I think they might be working with our new criminal 'friends'. I'm heading to Bruiser's position right now to intercept them. Commander Tano is en-route, as well."
"We were able to salvage our BARC from the wreckage, sir! We can join you!" Specs called out, already beginning to mount the bike.
"No. Head back to the refugee command center. I've got a bad feeling about all of this and I'll feel better if you're back there watching their backs. Go. Hurry!" Without even stopping to see if they complied, Anakin revved up his speeder and took off again, hearing a muffled 'yes sir' before vanishing in the distance.
Separating the northern-most refugee camp and the cliffs where the Syndicate set up their operation was a particularly quaint wooded grove where many mighty-trunked trees stood proudly. It was a small area, maybe only a couple acres at the largest, but it provided a natural barrier protecting the refugee camp.
It was at this grove's edge where Anakin's clones were engaging the combined battle droid and Syndicate forces. The Clones were vastly outnumbered, standing as a group of fifteen soldiers against an army of a little less than one-hundred-fifty strong.
Fortunately, Bruiser and several nearby clones had secured the forest edge as their final defensive line, meaning the could fire from the coverage of the trees and keep the enemy army at bay. This also meant the enemy now had limited options to choose from. Go around the forest and be picked off one-by-one, or try and power through the Clones and have to fight from the open plain. At the very least, they were able to slow down the progress of the enemy's march forward.
However, outnumbered as they were, if the enemy breached the trees, then it would become extremely difficult to drive them back. Brilliant flashes of blue and red flared across the plains into the woods as the two groups tried to pick each other off from the distance. The Clones bravely held their line as the enemy's frontline inched ever closer to the tree line.
Bruiser's heart pounded as the red laser bolts whizzed by his head, causing sparks to fly off of his helmet as it nicked him. In a flash, he lined up his target and pulled the trigger in the direction of where the blast came from, dropping a Weequay across the plain. "They're moving in too close! We're getting swarmed here!" A voice of a fellow Clone rang in his ears.
"Easy soldiers! We've got to hold the line! Hold your position!" Bruiser called out in response. He fired a few more shots and hit a battle droid, causing it to crumple into a metal heap on the plain. The enemy line was only dozens of feet away, now, and he could feel the heat of multiple rounds of blaster fire encircling him. This is it...this is where I'm going to die...
"Clones, pull the line back! Let them in. I've got an idea!" Came the voice of Commander Tano in his ear. The Jedi are here! We might pull this off, yet!
"You heard the Commander! Fall back, you slackers!" Bruiser barked, now with renewed energy, using the trees as cover as he back into the woods for more protection.
The distinctive buzz of a lightsaber activating cut through the cacophony of the battle. It seemed like no matter how far you were from a Jedi, you could always feel the power behind the ignition of their blades. Bruiser saw a green blur flash before his eyes, and then it was out of his sight.
The Syndicate's primary combat strategy involved using their battle droids that they'd acquired as their frontline 'pawns' for battles such as these. They could thin the ranks of the enemy, and they were disposable and easily repaired. This strategy would prove to be costly on this operation, as it meant nearly half their droids were in the front lines making their way into the woods as Ahsoka began her counterattack.
Her lightsaber effortlessly carved through the trunks of the trees and any droid unfortunate enough to get in her path as she darted across the front line. Her lightsaber flowed freely from side-to-side as she deflected blaster bolts from her attackers. As the trees fell, they crushed battle droids in large groups, as they lacked the cognitive reasoning skills to do anything other than stand in a single fill row and be destroyed. In one fell sweep, Ahsoka took out nearly half of the active droids on the field.
The fallen trunks were also rather wide, and laying flat across the ground became yet another obstacle for the Syndicate to cross. Ahsoka made her way to the center of the Republic's new defensive line, reflecting laser bolt after laser bolt directly back into the enemy army. The tide was turning, and the Syndicate captains on the knew it.
The Lasat from earlier served as one of the commanding officers of the Syndicate forces. Sensing that the flow of battle was turning against him, he barked into his comlink as blue blaster bolts whirled by him, "Have you done what you've needed to? We won't last much longer out here!"
"Yes. The debt is paid," came a cold reply, "you know what you must do."
The Lasat sighed sadly, knowing that disobeying meant a fate far worse than death. He screamed to the remaining soldiers around him, "take no quarter! Kill as many as you can! No one leaves this battle alive!"
Back on the Republic front, Ahsoka's group of twelve remaining clones braced for impact as the final seventy-plus enemy soldiers charged head on at them. Ahsoka's mind reeled in surprise, what sort of strategy is this? They're going to get us all killed! This will be a blood bath!
Suddenly, another speeder appeared on the Syndicate army's right flank. Ahsoka felt her nerves calm completely as she saw the black robed figure forward flip off his speeder bike as it crashed into a dozen enemy troops, bowling them over. A brilliant aquamarine light flashed across the plain as another lightsaber ignited mid-jump. "The General! Come on boys, let's give him some cover!" The Clones screamed in excitement, as Anakin Skywalker entered the battlefield.
As Anakin landed in the middle of the opposing army, he released a wave of energy around him, staggering the enemy soldiers who were close to him. His lightsaber danced around him, cleaving droids in half and disarming any living being that was foolish enough to engage him. With a flick of his hand he sent three Syndicate members flying across the battlefield, knocking them unconscious as they hit the ground.
At this time, Ahsoka and his Clones pushed forward, using Anakin's distraction as a means to launch a direct counterattack, just as Anakin had wanted them to do. The enemy had no chance to stop this brutal offensive, all they could do was be slowly and systematically dismantled.
By this point, only dozens of enemy troops remained, mostly Syndicate members that Anakin's Jedi Code forbade him from slaughtering, despite the fact that he wanted to. He did his best to merely injure or incapacitate his foes, not kill them. Finally, seeing the writing on the wall, the criminals dropped their weapons and began to put their hands up, signaling surrender.
Anakin, flanked by Ahsoka, approached the Lasat, he pointed his lightsaber at him menacingly, "I told you what would happen if you crossed me. Your little stunt almost worked, and it cost me several of my good soldiers. You're going to pay for all the pain you've caused today, you slime."
The Lasat grinned wickedly, "Stupid Jedi. Did you really think that our plan was to try and out power you?"
"What is that supposed to mean?"
He laughed maniacally, "You think you won!? We weren't even playing the same game!"
Anakin's face contorted in rage. He reached out with his robotic hand and laid it menacingly on his foe's shoulder. The Lasat's laughter died down, and he stared into the cold eyes of his enemy. His voice became soft and venomous, causing a shiver to run up Ahsoka's spine, "No more games. No more riddles. Tell me what's going on here, or I'll rip your skull from your spine."
Ahsoka's eyes widened in shock. Her connection with Anakin informed her that he had every intention of fulfilling his promise. She'd never seen him this angry before. It scared her.
Shaking his head, the Lasat retained his smug disposition, "It's funny...if even one of you Jedi had stayed back at the command center, then everything woulda gone to Hell. But you didn't, did ya? The big bad Jedi had to play hero and rush to the front lines and leave the one thing we were after unprotected."
Ahsoka felt her stomach drop, and she felt dizzy.
"What did you do?" Anakin growled.
"You'll see, Jedi. Long live the Syndicate," the Lasat bit down on something in his mouth, and tiny waves of electricity covered his body. His eyes rolled back into his head as his heart stopped, killing him instantly. A few other of remaining Syndicate member's followed suit, taking the coward's way out rather than owning up to their crimes. Anakin turned on heels, quickly making his way toward his speeder.
The whole ordeal shook Ahsoka to the core, but she buried her feelings and matched her Master's pace. Only one thing mattered right now, they needed to get back to the Command Center!