Author's Note: So the new trailer for Star Wars Episode 9 just dropped recently, and I gotta be honest, I'm both really excited, and really worried. I also saw the second trailer for Clone Wars Season 7 as well, and I am really hyped for that! If you haven't watched them yet then I would suggest doing so, and I'll give my thoughts on them down at the bottom of this chapter. Now let's get into the story!
Agamar System - Outer Rim Territories
Mara POV...
So now we have a new problem to deal with: General Kalani. The droid commander really wants to prove that the Separatists were superior to the Republic in the Clone Wars, and is using us to do it. He's got Zeb hostage, and has prevented Elita from participating thanks to that.
Boil, Rex, Kanan, Ezra and I are now standing where we first landed in front of the hanger, which is currently closed. Elita is standing nearby, out of the zone that Kalani designated as the battle sight.
"The objective of this battle is simple," Kalani says over the loudspeaker. "You must fight your way back to my command center and capture it to free your friend."
"Rex, you and Boil have got more battlefield experience than the rest of us," Kanan says, turning to them. "You lead."
"All right. Our first goal is to get inside the hangar. Kalani is a war machine, programmed to kill, and he's got the numbers and the firepower to do it," Rex explains, getting into captain mode.
"If we're gonna fight past the droids, we have to be aggressive, fierce, and surprise him. Hopefully we'll be able to surprise him," Boil adds. "He's a droid, so the unexpected will throw him off."
"Sounds simple enough," I comment.
"How many droids do you think he has?" Ezra asks.
"The last battle will begin now," Kalani informs us.
We look over at the hanger, and watch as the door begins to rise. The sound of metallic stomping is the first thing that greets me, and once the door is high enough we see the many rows of battle droids marching towards us. Most are the standard B1 droids, but it looks like there's also a few B2's in the back row.
"A lot. He has a lot of droids!" Kanan exclaims.
"We've gotta scatter them. Use the sword and shield maneuver!" Rex says.
"Wait. What does that mean?" Ezra asks.
"We block, he fires," Kanan tells us.
"Time to lock and load!" Boil exclaims gleefully, holding up his blaster.
Kanan, Ezra and I all activate our lightsabers, the purple, blue and green blades glaring into existence. The three of us stand in a line together, Kanan in the middle, with Rex and Boil behind us, getting a clear view between our shoulders.
"Everybody ready?" Kanan asks
"Yep!" Ezra confirms.
"Ready to make Dad proud," I reply.
"Oh you know I am sir," Boil tells Rex.
"Let's go!" Rex says, pulling out a grenade.
The battle droids all open fire as they continue their organized march towards us, and a hail of red laserfire streams in our direction. I start swinging my lightsaber around defensively to deflect them, finding it a little difficult with the high volume of lasers.
No wonder Mom and Dad said fighting battle droids was a lot harder than it seems. There's just so many of them!
Rex and Boil shoot their blasters, the former holding one of his blaster pistols. Blue laser bolts are sent back at the droids, many scoring good hits and taking them out.
"Ezra, Mara, get ready to duck!" Kanan says.
"Okay!"
"Now!" Rex orders.
The three of us all duck, allowing Rex and Boil to both throw a grenade. The grenade land amongst the droids, blowing up and taking out several of them. We stand back up to continue deflecting laser bolts, and I manage to send one bolt back at a droid.
"Again!" Rex orders.
We perform the same maneuver, and two more grenades destroy even more droids, thinning out the army a good amount.
"That scattered 'em!" Boil exclaims.
"Everybody forward!" Rex orders.
The five of us then run forwards and into the fray, slashing our lightsabers and shooting our blasters. I cut off the head of one droid and then stab another, slicing a third in half. Boil eagerly charges forwards and tackles a superbattle droid to the ground, sending it sprawling, and takes it out with a single shot to the red mark on it, which is probably the processor or something like that.
Another superbattle droid stomps up to me, aiming its arm and firing, but I duck underneath and then slash upwards, cutting it in half. Ezra moves over to the side and away from us to cut down a few stray battle droids.
"Ezra, form it up!" Rex says, noticing him go astray. He ducks away from a red laser and then shoots the offending droid. "We've gotta stay together."
Taking out the last of the droids, we make our way towards the inside of the hanger. I glance back to where Elita is standing, sensing her relief at the first wave being over. With the outside battlezone cleared, she now moves forwards as well, although makes sure to stay just outside the hanger.
"The hangar looks clear. Let's go," Ezra says eagerly.
"Wait," Rex replies, holding him back. "That's not how it normally goes."
"What's wrong?" Ezra asks in confusion.
"The droids usually keep coming, wave after wave," he explains.
"That tactical droid has had a long time to think about this," Kanan points out. "And remember, he wants to win."
"I'm surprised it means so much to him," Ezra remarks.
"Yeah, it means a lot to his programming. It means a lot to ours as well," Rex says, and Boil hums in agreement.
"Your programming?" he asks.
"We clones were bred for combat," Rex explains. "With few exceptions, there was no other way of life for us."
"Not like the Republic would've accepted us in anything else anyways," Boil mutters bitterly.
I glance at them sadly, feeling bad for the type of lives they were forced to live, and then expected to throw away. It really goes to show just how bad the Old Republic really was in its final days, much like what Dad has said.
"We should move," Kanan advises.
"Right, Commander," Rex replies before groaning. "Uh, Kanan."
"Finding it hard to break habit?" Boil teases.
"You never had much sense for authority," Rex retorts. "Can't believe Cody put up with you."
"That's because I was the best," he replies proudly.
I roll my eyes, but move forwards along with the others. We're about halfway though the hanger when a loud, echoing rolling sound reaches my ears.
"Incoming!" Rex exclaims.
We look up at the catwalk to see several droidekas, or destroyer droids, unfurl and open fire on us. A blue energy shield appears around them, completely protecting them from us.
"Ezra, Mara, get back! They're too dangerous!" Kanan exclaims.
We all back up and start deflecting the red laser bolts they send down at us, while Rex and Boil attempt to fire back. Their blue lasers and our deflected ones however don't do anything, as the shield simply absorbs them.
"Can't advance with those destroyers up there. There's no way to breach their shields," Rex states.
"Shame we used all of our grenades," Boil grumbles.
"Look! That crane!" Ezra suddenly points out. "I bet we can use it to take out the catwalk."
I look over to see the crane he's talking about, realizing that it could work.
"I'll make a run for it," Ezra suggests.
"I'm coming with," I add in. He looks at me in surprise, but I narrow my eyes back at him. "Problem?"
"No, no problem!" he quickly replies.
"We'll draw their attention. There's gonna be a lot of fire. We'll have to be quick."
"Mara, Ezra, move as fast as you can," Rex orders us.
"You can count on us," Ezra says confidently.
Me and Ezra peek out to get a look at the destroyers, and upon seeing them not focusing on us, I give them a nod. Boil, Kanan and Rex then rush out to cause a diversion, getting the droids attention. We then break off from the group and sneak behind a large pile of storage crates, running over in the direction of the crane. Peeking out again, I watch as another row of battle droids begin moving forwards, firing their guns at the others. Nodding, I wave Ezra forward and turn around, only to yelp in surprise as R5 suddenly appears, chortling at me.
"Ahhh!" Ezra says, startled.
"R5! Where've you been?" I hiss angrily. He beeps back at me, and I frown at him.
"What did you use to send a distress signal? ...beeps... I hope you didn't call Dad," I grumble.
"Why's that a bad thing?" Ezra asks.
"Because, he has things to worry about, which are really stressful! So this doesn't help him!" I snap.
"Sorry," he mutters uneasily in reply.
R5 beeps insistently again, and I shake my head. "Look, it'll have to wait, we're kinda in the middle of something."
"Mara, look!" Ezra point out.
"What?" I ask, before looking at where he's pointing, and R5 beeps again.
"A shuttle! Huh," I comment. "Alright, I admit, it's a good find R5. But we have to rescue Zeb first, so get it working."
"How would we fit Elita on that?" Ezra asks.
"I guess she'd just have to hang on or something. Nothing else to do really," I shrug in response.
"Would the shuttle be able to handle that?" he asks.
"I don't know, but it's not like we have a better idea," I reply sharply. "Let's move!"
Leaving R5 to work on the shuttle, we continue running down the hanger and over to the crane, the sounds of battle still loud and prominent. Once we reach it, we look up and I decide on a plan of action.
"We'll have to use the Force," I state.
"Mara look out!" Ezra exclaims.
I then sense a warning in the Force or something about to hit me. Widening my eyes, I leap out of the way with a startled yelp, Ezra tumbling to the ground nearby as well. I look up, alarmed at the sight of two huge droids carrying metal poles, which are ignite with purple electricity in the ends.
"What the heck are these things?" Ezra asks.
"I think they're magnaguards!" I tell him.
The magnaguards spin their electrostaffs around quickly, causing them to buzz loudly. They then go onto the attack, one droid jabbing his staff down at me. I flip backwards and onto my feet, pulling out my lightsaber to block its next strike. Ezra pulls himself up and activates his lightsaber to block an attack. The droid hammers on him quickly several times, catching him off guard and forcing him to stumble back.
"This is ridiculous!" he complains.
"I don't care!" I snap at him. "Just move that crane! I'll deal with the droids!"
The Magnaguard on me advances menacingly, swinging around his staff in quick, wide arcs. I duck underneath it and then twirl around the block its next strike, and then push it away with the Force. Ezra attempts to get past his droid, but it swings its staff to prevent him from moving. Scowling, I reach out an arm and then grab the droid, yanking it away with the Force.
"Just go already!" I tell him angrily.
"Got it!" he replies.
The magnaguards grunt as they turn in my direction, and I take a step back, raising my lightsaber with a scowl.
*:*:*
Boil POV...
Leaning out from behind cover, I aim my DC-15S blaster and continue to fire, scoring a few hits on the droids. The high intensity of red lasers however forces me to take cover again, and I growl irritably.
"Where are those kids?" I ask tensely.
"We're gonna get trapped here!" Rex exclaims, moving forwards. "We need to move. Now!"
Rex then rushes out from cover and starts shooting his blaster pistols, in a move that had me surprised. Nonetheless I quickly follow after him, shooting at the droids as well while Kanan calls out to us.
"No, Rex, Boil. Wait!" he exclaims in alarm.
A laser blast suddenly slams into Rex, sending him slamming against the crate and falling to the ground with a pained groan. I widen my eyes in alarm underneath my helmet, and duck underneath a laser blast that just barely hit my head, scowling angrily.
"You want some you lousy clankers?!" I demand furiously. "Eat lasers!"
While Kanan stands in front of Rex to cover him with his lightsaber, I furiously shoot my blaster at all of the droids surrounding us, taking out several. However a shot then slams into my shoulder plating, causing me to grunt in pain and back up. That'll definitely leave a painful bruise for sure.
*:*:*
Mara POV...
Spinning their electrostaffs around, the magnaguards then charge at me with frightening speed. I leap to the side and pop up, blocking one strike with my lightsaber. The second droid tries coming at me from the side, but I quickly move to deflect that as well.
The droids stomp forwards, forcing me back as they keep swinging and spinning their electrostaffs. I quickly duck and deflect their strikes, shifting back and forth with a grimace.
When I raise my lightsaber to block the next overhead strike of one droid, it shoved my blade to the side, and the other advances. I try to raise my lightsaber again, but the advancing droid kicks it away. I yelp in pain, and quickly roll back as it jabs the end of the staff into the ground. Before I could get up though the first droid kicks me with its foot, sending me sprawling.
I groan in pain and look up, alarmed as it makes a move. However as the droid was in the middle of its swing, it's arm sparked violently, causing it to stutter and creak.
Confused, I nevertheless take the chance to thrust my arms out, and blow it away with the Force. It slams into the guard behind it, but that guard just hits the droid to the side harshly and stomps forwards. Flipping backwards and onto my feet, the droid makes a charge for me and swings its staff, but I swiftly manage to jump over it, and onto its back. The droid thrashes around in an attempt to dislodge me while I desperately hold on with all four limbs, grimacing uneasily. Spotting my lightsaber, I reach and arm out and call it to me with the Force, and then ignite my blade straight through its neck.
The guard collapses to the ground in a shower of sparks, without a head, and I land on my feet with a relieved sigh. Sensing more movement however, I quickly duck to the side as the broken magnaguard attempts to jab his staff at me. Blocking one more striking blow, I then stab my lightsaber straight through its chest, killing it instantly.
"Oh kriff this," I groan in exasperation. "Who the heck even made these things?"
Hearing a loud clattering sound, I look over as the large crane slams into the catwalk, sending the destroyers falling to the ground, where they're smashed to pieces. the catwalk then falls down afterwards, smashing the rest of the droids, except for the one that spun around to investigate, appearing rather oblivious.
Spotting Ezra running over, I begin following after him, and see Boil, Rex, and Kanan right ahead of us. As we run into the hallway, Rex swiftly shoots the ray shield generator, destroying it in a shower of sparks.
"No ray shields this time," he states.
"Fine by me," Boil replies.
"Well, that went just as planned, more or less," Ezra comments. "I make a pretty good soldier, huh?"
"What?!" Boil exclaims incredulously, both he and Rex coming to a stop.
"No. A good soldier follows orders!" Rex adds angrily, stomping towards Ezra. "That plan was based on timing and execution. And you took too long!"
I blink in surprise at the sudden ferocity in Rex's voice, having never heard him this way. Boil was standing beside him, also upset about what Ezra said, although he's surprising the calmer one this time. I don't know what's gotten into them to make them like this. It actually makes me feel a little bad for Ezra.
"But R5 wanted to show us-
"This is not a game! This is life and death! Every move you make affects the rest of us," Rex growls out.
"Rex, to be fair we were surprised by a pair of-" I start to say.
"Doesn't matter! You two took the assignment, and you should've seen it through instantly! Then you wouldn't have been ambushed alone!" he interrupts, whirling on me. "If we're gonna survive this, we're gonna do it with strategy and discipline."
I'm startled by Rex's angry berating of us, unsure of what to say, and feeling bad. However Boil takes a step forwards and lays a hand on Rex's shoulder, getting his attention.
"Rex..." he starts off. "Don't be like... him."
I'm not sure who he's referring to, but Rex remains silent for several long moments. He then shoves off Boil's hand and continues to make his way down the hallway. Kanan moves forwards to me and Ezra, and I have to admit I'm a little bit hurt.
"It's not you," he reassures us. "He needs to finish this battle, his way."
Kanan then makes his way further down the hallway after Rex, leaving the three of us standing there for a moment.
"Just like that droid," Ezra murmurs with a frown.
I glance at him for a moment, brow furrowed as I think about what he said.
"We need to get moving," Boil states firmly.
We continue making our way down the hallway, although I jog up beside Boil to ask him a question.
"Boil? What did you mean when you told Rex not to be like 'him?'" I ask curiously.
Boil sighs in obvious aggravation. "A Jedi General during the war. He was the worst of the worst."
"What do you mean? Who?" I ask, confused. Didn't the Jedi at least treat the clones better than anyone else?
"I don't feel like talking about it, now let's move," Boil replies, aggravated.
Boil moves ahead a lot quicker, so I pick up the speed in order to follow after him, Ezra right on my heels. Meeting up with the other two, we turn around a corner, and Rex shoots down two more stray battle droids. As we were making our way through however, our next opponents greeted us.
At the end of the hallway, three commando droids flipped out and faced us intimidatingly, brandishing their blasters. We skidded to a stop, and I sense three more commando droids flipping out to cut us off as well. Me and Ezra turn to face them while Kanan remains facing forwards, Boil and Rex shifting their gazes between either direction.
"Well isn't this familiar," Rex grumbles bitterly.
"I hate commando droids," Boil adds.
"Rex, Boil, stay between us," Kanan tells them. "Ezra, Mara, be careful. These droids are extremely dangerous."
We stare down the droids and take battle stances as they take a few steps forwards, their white optics glowing in the dimly lit hallway. Then, the commando droids all move forwards in unison, raising their blasters and firing quickly. Kanan, Ezra and I all work to deflect the laser blasts coming in our direction, while boil and Rex both fire back at them. However to my complete shock and bewilderment, the commando droids start jumping up and off the walls, flipping around any laser sent back at them while also firing at us.
"What the?!" Ezra exclaims incredulously.
"You got to be kidding me!" I complain irritably.
One of the droids makes a mad dash forwards, and Ezra tries to slice his lightsaber through him. However the droid dodges the slash in a move that surprises him, and then shoves him against the wall. Ezra grunts in surprise and pain, and the droid pulls a hand back to pummel him. I quickly move forwards and cut off the droids arm, and Ezra stabs it through the chest as well.
Rex shoots his blaster pistols, hitting one droid while another grapples with Kanan, who attempts to shove the droid back. One of the droids then jumps at me, wrapping a hand around my neck and attempting to slam me down. I grimace in pain and then glare back at the droid, grabbing its arm and then using the Force to push it against the wall, and then stab it. Another droid sprints at Boil, but he yells and then body slams the droid into the wall, shooting it several times.
Kanan finally manages to shove his droid away, and Rex shoots its head straight off, while the last one makes a beeline for Ezra. He yelps in surprise and stumbles back to avoid the droid's attempt punches, but Kanan finally slices his lightsaber to cut it in half, destroying the last droid. We all take a moment to catch our breath, breathing heavily from the sudden ferocity of their surprise attack.
"Since when could droids do that?!" Ezra asks in bewilderment.
"Commando droids. Smartest and most dangerous droids out there," Boil scoffs, kicking one's leg.
"I can't believe they still work this well. They should be really old by this point," I remark. "Even still, these guys are insane! Even from all I've heard I didn't think they'd be like kriffing ninja's!"
"One of them even got me once," Rex comments.
"You okay?" Kanan asks Ezra.
"Yeah, I'll be fine," he replies.
We continue on our way down the corridor, the bridge very close now. Reaching a door, Boil pulls out a small grenade from his belt and then chucks it. The grenade explodes, blowing open the door, and we make a rush inside. Rex quickly shoots down a battle droid, and up ahead we could see Kalani making his way towards us, also holding a blaster. Boil lifts his blaster and easily shoots it out of the tactical droid's hand, while Re moves up to him, pistols raised.
"Well, looks like we win," Rex states smugly.
"I disagree, Captain," Kalani replies.
He glances at the battle droid behind him, which levels his blaster at Zeb. Narrowing my eyes, I tense up with my lightsaber at the ready, but Boil makes the first move.
"Boil, no! Don't!" Ezra suddenly interjects.
Boil attempts to shoot, but Ezra shoves his arm to the side while Kalani ducks his head away, resulting in a near miss.
"Dah! What the kriff kid?" Boil demands.
"We didn't win! These droids are so old, they malfunctioned! If they hadn't, we'd be goners," Ezra interjects.
"Well I don't know about goners..." I start to say in disagreement.
"The boy is correct. The droid army would have prevailed," Kalani interrupts. "So, technically, victory is ours."
"No, it's not! I never really thought about it. I never asked. I know the Jedi were wiped out, the clones were decommissioned, and the droid army was just shut down," Ezra starts to say. "The Clone War ended, but why? If none of you won, who did?"
I lower my lightsaber, becoming a little thoughtful and interested. Ezra was right on those points now that I think about it. The droid army is just, well, droids, while the clone army was created by the Sith for the Jedi to use, and eventually be killed by. And who rose to power after the chaos ended? The Sith.
"Uh, the Empire," Zeb offers.
"Zeb, that's right! How did you know?" Ezra asks.
"Seems pretty obvious to me," I mutter.
"Because they're here, and they're about to win again," Zeb says grimly.
Looking outside, we could see an Imperial light cruiser headed our way, several shuttles being dispatched from it. I widen my eyes in alarm before grumbling, realizing that R5's distress signal also attracted the wrong kind of attention. Realizing this, I deactivate my lightsaber and pull out my comlink.
"Elita, you there?" I ask worriedly.
"I'm here," she replies instantly. "I'm guessing you're calling about the extra company we have right?"
"Yep," I answer with a sigh. "Where are you?"
"I've hidden myself in the hanger. How about you guys?" she asks.
"On the bridge," I tell her, before turning to the others and leaving the line open. "We need a plan for this."
"Way ahead of you Mara," Ezra says with a salute, but I don't smile back at him. He frowns before sighing, and then turns to Kalani. "I've got a new calculation for you. What are the chances your droid army can defeat the Empire?"
"My resources are depleted. However, the droid army is not currently at war with the Galactic Empire," Kalani states.
"You wanna bet?" Zeb challenges.
"Unit B1-268, analyze the threat," Kalani calls.
*:*:*
Elita POV...
I detected the arrival of the Imperial ships before the others, and quickly made myself scarce inside the hanger. Crouching low against a stack of many crates and supplies, I watch with narrowed optics and enhance my audio receptors as a small group of droids move over towards the approaching Imperial shuttles. I pull out my energon blaster just in case, but remain hidden.
"Roger, roger," the commanding droid says. "Move in."
The four battle droids make their way over towards the Imperial shuttles, which open up to reveal several stormtroopers. Normally I'm not fond of taking the lives of other beings, especially smaller organic people who are not involved in our war. But if necessary I do make reluctant exceptions when it comes to Imperial forces, as they willingly go along with subjugating other people. Tank and vehicle pilots I'm more comfortable with than ground units, since battling them doesn't feel as much like a senseless slaughter.
"Is that what I think it is?" one of the stormtroopers asks upon noticing the droids.
"Greetings. I am unit B1-268. My commander has sent me to report your intentions," the battle droid greets.
"Yeah. Clone Wars battle droid. Surprised its battery hasn't run out," the sergeant comments.
"Um, are we-" the droid asks in confusion.
I feel a little bad for the poor droid, as those troopers aren't even giving them a second of attention.
"Don't see many of these anymore," the trooper remarks.
"Oh, no. And when you do, there's usually a bunch of them," the sergeant replies. "All right, you know the drill."
The stormtroopers all raise their blasters at the droids, who still remain oblivious.
"Greetings," it greets politely.
Before it could say anything more, the stormtroopers open fire, taking three of them out. I make a face as the last droid starts to run around in a panic, flailing his arms and shooting wildly. The stormtroopers stop shooting at a motion from the sergeant, and they all look up.
"Oh, my ga-"
It's sentence is cut short as a massive Imperial walker is dropped right on top of it. I grimace at the poor droid's fate.
"That didn't look too pretty," I mutter dryly.
"I almost feel bad for the droid," Mara replies.
*:*:*
Mara POV...
"I think we face a common enemy now," Ezra states.
"Ah, wait a minute!" Rex protests.
"Let him finish, Captain," Kanan advises.
"You saying we have to team up with the clankers?" Boil demands, looking at the droids, probably frowning.
"Well it does make sense in this situation," I comment with a shrug before frowning. "Besides, I have to admit Ezra does have a good point about this. The war wasn't exactly black and white like most people think."
"Exactly!" Ezra says with a nod, beaming at me. "Clones? Battle droids? You destroyed each other. And when you were both weak enough, the Empire took over. General, what were the Separatists fighting for?"
"According to my programming, freedom from the tyranny of the Republic," Kalani states.
"Hmm, fighting tyranny. Sounds like the Empire has always been your enemy," he reasons in reply.
"You are against the Empire. I am against the Republic. Now the Republic has become the Empire," Kalani says, glancing at the others for a moment. "I accept your logic. We are on the same side."
The battle droid holding a blaster at Zeb then lowers it, almost seeming apologetic. "Sorry."
"I guess we are," Rex says with a frown, taking off his helmet.
"Humph. Can't believe I'm actually having a civil conversation with a droid instead of shooting it," Boil comments while removing his helmet, and I roll my eyes at him.
"Oh no..." Elita suddenly says over the comlink.
"What's wrong Elita?" I ask her, sensing her worry.
"We've got more than the Empire to worry about now," she replies uneasily.
Realizing the hidden meaning, I widen my eyes in alarm, now able to sense it as well. The others with us slowly come to the realization, and we look out the window to look for the new danger.
"Oh, don't tell me...!" Ezra starts off in a panic.
Looking outside, we could make out the shapes of three small ships closing in on the horizon. As they get closer I manage to make out their design, and become cretfallen upon recognizing the Decepticon's, and sensing them as well.
"You think they're allied with the Empire?" Boil asks curiously.
"Not a chance," Elita replies instantly.
Her comment is proven true as a massive barrage of missiles is shot from all three vehicles, slamming into the legs of the two AT-AT walkers. Both walkers legs are shredded, causing the massive tanks to collapse to the ground and then blow up in massive fireballs after more missiles are fired against them. We all cover our eyes for a moment before gaping in complete shock of how easily they just took out Imperial AT-AT's.
"Whoa!" Ezra exclaims.
"Did that seriously just happen?!" Boil exclaims incredulously.
"I think it did Boil," Rex replies quietly.
"Karabast," Zeb mutters.
The three Decepticons are now much closer to the ground now, although one of them has the strangest vehicle design, being outfitted with some type of rotary blade instead of thrusters. All three transform and roll along the ground, standing up and marching their way over, and I recognize Onslaught as being in front, Blast Off at his side. What remains of the Imperial forces are gunned down by Blast Off, and the three Decepticons begin marching over slowly, their footsteps stomping.
"We're so screwed," I groan.
"I have never seen droids like this before," Kalani states.
"One thing you should know General, is that we are not droids like you. We are actual living creatures," Elita snaps through the comlink.
"I do not understand. You are machinery," he replies.
"Whatever, now's not the time," I groan.
"Elita One! We know you're here. If you surrender now we will give you a swift death, and your pets will be spared," Onslaught shouts into the hanger.
"Pets?" Ezra frowns.
"Well, that's pleasant," Boil comments sarcastically.
"Whatever you guys are doing up there, you'll need to plan fast. It won't take them long to find me and you, and I don't like my chances against three 'Cons," Elita tells us.
"Alright, we're thinking of something," I reply.
"So, how are we gonna hold off three Decepticons?" Rex asks. "Assuming we even have the capability to do so."
"Whatever these 'Decepticons' are is something that I do not know how to combat," Kalani tells us. "And as I stated, my forces are too depleted for me to plan a successful counterattack. Especially with the firepower we just witnessed."
"Fighting insurmountable odds? We can help you with that," Kanan offers.
"Fighting the Empire is one thing. These giant metal heads are another," Zeb points out.
"How could we possibly fight them?" Ezra asks.
"The best we can do is distract them, and hopefully, be able to make our escape," I say with a sigh.
"What're we going to be escaping in?" Boil asks uncertainly.
I'm about to answer when R5's panicking voice comes in through my comlink. Sighing, I pick it up and respond to him. "Yes, R5, we know the Decepticon's are here. Did you get the shuttle working yet?
"Shuttle? What shuttle?" Kanan asks.
"The one I tried to tell you about earlier," Ezra states.
Kalani pulls up a hologram of the hanger on the projector, and points out the shuttle, along with two others. "We have three Sheathipede-class shuttles, but they have no weapons."
"No, but they can get us outta here," Kanan states.
"A successful retreat is improbable. The Decepticons are too large and fast, and will destroy the ships before they escape the hangar. We don't have the firepower to talk on these machines, or know how to do so," Kalani replies.
"What about the bombs we came here for?" he asks.
"We have no cannon to fire the shells," Kalani says, looking at him. "Otherwise, I would have used them on you."
"Oh, thanks," he replies sarcastically.
"Elita One! Reveal yourself now! My patience is becoming thin!" Onslaught shouts.
"We're running out of time!" Ezra reminds us.
"Ah, we roll 'em! The proton bombs. We roll 'em across the hangar and into those massive clankers," Rex suggests.
"Then we can blast 'em!" Boil adds eagerly.
"How would we do that without them noticing? If they see the bombs they'll either shoots us down or move out of the way," Kanan points out. "They definitely aren't slow."
"I could provide a distraction," Elita offers. "From what I can tell, those proton bombs aren't enough to kill, but they can definitely do some damage if applied correctly."
"So what's our game plan? Keeping them all in that spot is basically an impossibility," Rex tells us.
"I'll work on that. They want me, so I doubt they'd pay any of you any attention at all," she tells us. "Then, you can blow them while the shuttles fly out."
"My battle droids are not accurate. However, you are, Master Jedi," Kalani tells us.
"I don't understand," Kanan says in confusion.
"My droids will line up and fire at you and your apprentice. You two will then redirect their blaster bolts toward the shells more accurately, thus setting off more targets than my droids could hit alone," he explains.
"Well, this takes trust to a whole new level," Rex comments.
"Be glad we're not the ones who have to deal with that," Boil adds, nudging him.
"It is a good plan though," I point out.
An explosion against the side of the bridge suddenly shakes us all around, and we look out to see Blast Off aiming his cannon at us, the others watching. Apparently they no longer want to wait for her to come out.
"Move. Move!" Boil exclaims.
None of us bother arguing, and make a dash for the exit to escape from the bridge. The moment we're out the entire room is blown to bits, sending us all sprawling in the dim hallway; bruised and a little shaken, but alive and relatively unharmed.
"Mara! Are you guys alright?!" Elita asks in a panic.
"We're fine," I groan in response. "You can start your diversion now if you want."
*:*:*
Elita POV...
I let out a quiet sigh of relief at hearing they're ok, although I'm still angered that the 'Cons attempted to kill my friends. I'd imagine they probably think they kill them though, so it'd be good to keep up that belief with my attack. With that in mind, I transform down into my vehicle mode and make a mad dash for the outside of the hanger, charging at high speeds along the ground. Onslaught looks over, noticing me instantly, and pulls out his blaster to open fire.
With an angry yell, I transform and then jump up into the air, slamming into him full force. Onslaught and I both go tumbling across the dusty ground, punching and kicking, and I manage to end up on top while he fires his gun wildly.
"You'll pay for that Onslaught!" I shout angrily.
However an energon blast against me back throws me off of him, and I collapse to the ground painfully, noticing that Blast Off shot me. I groan quietly and push myself to my feet, while Onsalught casually gets up, turning to face me with a grin on his face, Blast Off and Vortex flanking him.
"Will you look at that! Elita One is still alive and kicking!" Vortex says gleefully.
"It's been quite some time Elita One," Onslaught remarks.
"Not long enough, Onslaught," I growl back at him.
"I'm sorry about your friends, but you just wouldn't come out," he replies tauntingly in casual disinterest. "You shouldn't have allied yourself with such weak creatures."
"You'll regret that," I snap.
"You'll be regretting a lot more for what you did to me you wretch!" Blast Off snarls.
"I'd like to see you try," I retort.
*:*:*
Mara POV...
While Elita was chatting it up with the Decepticons, the rest of us worked quickly to prepare ourselves for the surprise attack. Their backs were turned to us, which made things easier to set up. I was standing with Rex and Boil in the center, while Zeb was on the left side with a platoon of his own battle droids. Ezra and Kanan were with Kalani and five more droids on our right, hidden behind a large crate.
"Ready, Zeb?" Rex asks, and he nods in response. Sighing, Rex makes his way over to check on the other group. "One last glorious day in the Grand Army of the Republic."
"And you can be sure it's going out with a bang," Boil says confidently.
"R5, have the shuttle ready to go!" I tell him.
"D squad, get ready!" Kanan tells his droids.
"I have never attempted such a desperate strategy," Kalani remarks.
"That's why we always won," Rex replies smugly.
"Not always," he retorts.
"Oh yeah? It worked pretty well during the battle of Onderon," Boil snarks back in reply.
"Hey, guys, focus on the present," Ezra interrupts.
Looking forwards again, we wait for Zeb and Boil to initiate the attack, which is by throwing two thermal detonators at the feet of the Decepticons.
*:*:*
Elita POV...
"Now Elita, someone clearly helped you crawl your way back to life," Onslaught states. "Tell me who it is, and your death will be as painless as possible."
"Like that's very reassuring," I retort sarcastically, glaring at him. "And I'll never tell you anything!"
"You Autobot traitors will lose the war. Might as well make it easier on yourself scum," Blast Off growls.
"I do have ways of making you talk, if you'd like to see them," Vortex adds with a gleeful smile.
I take notice of the others moving their plans into action the 'Cons, feeling a sense of satisfaction, and I smile up at them.
"I think you'll have to wait a little longer there creep-o," I reply.
Onslaught frowns, and then takes notice of where I was looking, making my grin falter. He then turns around and looks down, spotting Boil and Zeb standing up. He growls and moves to pull out his blaster cannon, but they move into action first. Two small grenades are thrown, blowing up against Blast Off and Vortex's feet, causing them to cry out in surprise and stumble momentarily. Onslaught raises his arm to fire his cannon at the others in the hanger, but I make a charge first, plowing into him again with a yell.
Tackling Onslaught to the ground again, we brawl with each other for a few moments, and I get in a swift punch on his back. Inadvertently, I activate his jet thrusters, sending us flying up on top of the hanger above everyone else. We tumble across the broken ship, but Onslaught gets up first with an angry growl, his jet thrusters blowing out smoke.
I quickly scramble to my feet and move forwards, bringing an arm back to punch his head. However he quickly grabs my arm and then yanks me forwards, punching down on my elbow joint. I grunt in pain from the hit, and he then kicks me onto my back. I roll backwards and pop to my feet, but Onslaught shoots forwards quickly and goes on a relentless assault, punching and kicking me. I try blocking or redirecting his blows with my forearms, sometimes evading, but he leaps forwards and then slams his fist against my helm, sending me stumbling backwards.
"I don't remember you being so pathetic," he scoffs. "You must be grower soft in the presence of these insects."
"You couldn't be further from the truth Onslaught," I retort angrily.
"Is that so?" he demands doubtfully.
In response, I run forwards and then begin my own assault. Throwing punches and kicking out my legs, I try overpowering Onslaught, whipping out my wrist blades and slashing at him. He ducks away from my attacks and grabs my arm when I swing at him next, but I vault over his back and pull my arm with me, forcing him to stumble back uncontrollably, and I kick his legs out from beneath him. He slams onto his back with a grunt, and I go for another punch to his head, my wrist blade slicing through the air with my arm.
However he then thrusts his arm forwards and shoots a blast from his plasma cannon, throwing me off of him. I'm sent flying with a groan of pain, and go skidding along the metal surface of the ship and to the edge, where the others are battling the Decepticons below.
"I'll be sure to show Prime your mangled corpse when I return," Onslaught declares smugly, stomping forwards.
I whip my head around to glare at him, but my ear com beeps with a message from Mara, and a small smile comes over my face.
"Oh he'll be seeing me, but I'll be very much alive," I reply.
With that said, I roll off the side of the cruiser and land on one of the shuttles the group is escaping in, hanging onto the side while we blast off into the air. I look behind me to see that Blast Off and Vortex are both dazed on the ground, but Onslaught is angry. He runs up to the edge of the cruiser and jumps into the air, obviously intending on transforming to give chase.
Whipping out my energon blaster, I quickly shoot several blue energon bolts in his direction, distracting him from transforming as he tries to block the shots with his arms. He then falls, tumbling to the ground as he momentarily forgets his predicament, and our shuttles shoot off really quickly into space. Onslaught looks up at me with a raging intensity, and I look back with narrowed optics.
*:*:*
Mara POV...
After Zeb and Boil threw the grenades, Blast Off and the newer Decepticon stumbled in surprise, having not noticed them at all. Onslaught had turned around to fire at us, but Elita charged forwards to tackle him, also inadvertently activating some of his jet thrusters or whatever. The two blasted out of sight, leaving me a little worried, but we had our own problems right now.
"What the slag?" Blast Off growls furiously.
Zeb climbs over the crates and rushes forwards with his group of battle droids, and they all begin firing a heavy barrage of red lasers at the 'Cons. Blast Off growls, covering his head with his arm before pulling out his arm cannon and firing back, taking out a few droids.
"Stupid machines!" he snarls.
His buddy moves forwards as well, chuckling in what sounds like crazed glee, and transforms his arm into his own blaster while murmuring to himself. "What an interesting hive of organic-made machines..."
"Boil!" I yell out.
"Got it!" he replies. "Come and get some you overweight clanker!"
Boil rushes out from his cover, with a few destroyers droids rolling forwards to back him up. The droids unfurl and then open fire on the 'Con, while Boil takes aim with his blaster and shoots at his head. The Decepticon grunts in surprise and covers his head with his arms, taking a step back as the intensity of the destroyer droids laser blasts explode against him.
"This is going really well," I remark with surprise.
Both Decepticons were distracted by the red laser fire, although all it was really serving for was a distraction, and they were beginning to stomp forwards. Blast Off was definitely angered with this, while the other 'Con seemed indifferent, maybe even amused. They keep their heads covered as they march forwards, and Blast Off destroys one of the droideka's in one shot.
"Now!" Rex orders.
I move over with Kanan and Ezra while four battle droids roll the proton bombs out and towards the Decepticons. Since they were distracted with the laser fire, they never noticed.
"Fire," Kalani orders his droids.
I pull out my lightsaber, and work with the others to deflect the laser blasts shot from the droids and over towards the proton bombs. We manage to score a hit on one and the bomb explodes, setting off all of the others. Blast Off's partner cries out in sudden surprise as the bomb explodes against his leg. He collapses, whether from pain or surprise I'm not sure, but Blast Off looks over incredulously.
"Vortex!" he growls furiously.
Noticing another proton bomb that wasn't hit, I use the Force to grab it and then throw it upwards at Blast Off. When the battle droids deliver one last volley of laser fire, I deflect that shot over towards the proton bomb, which explodes against Blast Off's chassis. He yells in anger as he's blown off his feet, slamming into the ground.
"Ha!" I exclaim with a laugh.
"This might be our only chance. Get to the ships!" Ezra states.
With the Decepticons momentarily stunned by the explosions all of us, droids included, make a mad dash for the shuttles and get inside. R5 is at the cockpit of the shuttle we climb aboard, and takes off. Rex quickly works his way into the pilot's seat, and takes the controls from R5, much to his protest.
"Let's get out of here already!" Boil exclaims.
"I'll let Elita know!" I respond, pressing a button on my comlink to her.
As we're flying out, the 'Con that Blast Off called 'Vortex' gets back to his feet, now looking not as amused, glaring over at us.
"Lead shuttle, bank right! Bank right!" Rex exclaims.
However the shuttle isn't able to do so properly, and Vortex swings his arm down to completely blow through and obliterate the shuttle in a fiery explosion, the pieces falling to the ground. He then aims a blaster at us, but Rex yanks the throttle to the side in order to avoid it. A red energon laser is shot, just narrowly missing us, and we shoot out of the hanger and into the air, General Kalani's shuttle beside us. A heavy shaking of the shuttle informs me that Elita jumped on top, and we blast our way into orbit.
Heaving a sigh of relief I look up at the others, exasperated. "I can't believe that we actually escaped from that."
"Definitely one of the most intense battles I've been in," Boil adds.
"Yeah, I'm surprised this plan worked so effectively. Onslaught must be losing his touch," Elita suddenly says over the com.
"Good thing is we made it!" Ezra says happily, before starting a hologram transmission. "General, do you read us?"
"Affirmative. We have survived the battle. It was not a victory, but a successful strategy nonetheless," Kalani says, appearing on the hologram.
"No, it was a victory," Rex disagrees, and we look over at him in surprise. "We all just won the Clone War, and you ended it, Ezra. A galaxy of senators couldn't do that."
"Not like they could do much to begin with," Boil scoffs, and I snort in laughter.
Rex continues, ignoring him. "An army of Jedi, clones and droids couldn't find the middle ground, but you did."
"Rex, all I did was point out that none of you were meant to win. You couldn't," Ezra replies.
"It is true. Dad told me all about how the war started, and what the Emperor did. Everyone was a victim of his plans, even his own apprentice," I add in agreement.
"And we needed to hear it," Rex says with a smile.
"Agreed. I am satisfied if you are, Captain. Trooper," Kalani says.
"I am," he replies.
"I suppose I've killed enough droids in my lifetime," Boil shrugs as well.
"Very good. Now, based upon this battle, I calculate that you have less than a 1% chance of staging a successful rebellion against the Empire, so this is where we must part ways," Kalani states.
"Roger, roger," Ezra says with a salute.
"You know Kalani, I wouldn't give up on it just yet. I have a feeling my dad may be calling you at some point," I tell him.
"Your parental unit?" Kalani questions.
"He's... well, Jarik Shan," I admit with a shrug.
"The Slicer?" Kalani asks, and I nod. "He was an expert slicer and combatant in the Clone Wars. With him leading the chances of a successful rebellion increase by 0.9%. Still, we will be parting ways."
I raise an eyebrow at Kalani's weird increased percentage rate, but shrug it off after his hologram disappears. Somehow in his own way, my dad has probably become the most famous person in the galaxy. Or infamous, I suppose.
"I can't imagine fighting that many droids all the time," Ezra comments.
"You think that'd was bad? That was nothing in comparison to the Battle of Geonosis!" Boil scoffs with a laugh. "Did you know that was Jarik's first mission ever?"
I roll my eyes, crossing my arms in amusement as Boil went on to explain the story, a story that I've already heard a thousand times.
Some bits of this chapter feel a little iffy to me, but I think it's alright, and you guys most likely enjoyed it anyways. That's all that matters. :3
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I GO FULL IN ON MY ANALYSIS MODE HERE LOLOL.
Clone Wars Trailer: Oh my gosh, I watched that and it was absolutely amazing. Seeing the Clone Wars coming back just makes me so happy, as that show was amazing, and the characters are awesome. I'm so interested in how the Mandalore arc plays out, and seeing if they include Order 66 and Revenge of the Sith moments as well. Seeing Ahsoka with blue lightsabers though is really weird, and I don't understand why they're blue though. But I'm so hyped for her battle against Maul, as well as seeing Obi-Wan and Mace going up against the droid army.
Already I'm thinking about where Jarik fits into all of this, and I can't wait to start writing out those episodes for 'LOJS V2: The Clone Wars' as well. Might have to revise some things in Revenge of the Sith depending on how it all goes down, but I'm perfectly happy with it. This also makes me realize that despite working together and fighting side-by-side for so long, Ahsoka and Jarik have never fought in any duels against an opponent before, aside from General Grievous on Florrum. They work so well together, yet they've only been able to display that talent once in my entire series, and it makes me a little sad lol.
Gosh I really want to write more Clone Wars chapters, I just got hit with a huge wave of nostalgia upon hearing the intro theme.
Episode 9 Trailer: Alright, so here's some of my thoughts about 'Star Wars Episode 9: The Rise of Skywalker.' The first thing is that title, and I'm very interested and confused as to what it could mean. First thought it Rey, but Rian said she was a 'nobody.' Could JJ be retconning that? Maybe, and it's certainly possible and interesting if he does. I just hope that whatever happens with the Skywalker's is something good, because I don't know how this is going to be fixed. Literally every Skywalker that we know of is dead except for Leia and Kylo Ren, and obviously Leia can't be the one.
Billy Dee Williams is back to play Lando, that's a plus! :D
Kylo repairing his mask is something I'm happy about, and I'm really excited for the Knights of Ren. At this point my version of the Knights most likely won't be even close to the CANON, but I still want to know more about them. Rey... I don't know. I like the idea of her character, and I thought she was fine in TFA, although how she beat Kylo and learned a mind trick I'm still iffy about, but my plans for her in the Shaniverse will cover this. However she has not had any training aside from 3 short, couple minute lessons from Luke, which was just about Jedi ideology, so there's no way she can do all of these things she's been seen to do. Once again, I'm fixing that. :)
And there's also the inclusion of Darth Sidious into Star Wars Episode 9, which has me both really excited and curious, and also wary. Bringing the Emperor back... if they do it has to be some sort of Force spirit, since his physical body definitely died on Death Star 2. I know he created clones of himself in Legends, but I don't like that idea either. My greatest fear is that they bring Darth Sidious back, only for Rey to defeat him in some ridiculous way, completely messing with the whole purpose of Darth Vader's redemption.
Gosh dang it Rian Johnson, why did you have to be so foolish and kill off Snoke, the guy who you all were saying is the most powerful Force user to ever exist...