Chapter 91: Counterattack

Anything that can go wrong will.

Recap: Escape from a Separatist prison! Carrying information about secret routes into the heart of the Republic and Separatist home worlds, Jedi Master Even Piell was captured and imprisoned in a fortress known as the Citadel. Leading an elite strike team, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Storm, and Anakin Skywalker rescued Master Piell and his officers. Now the Jedi have split up to evade Separatist forces as they attempt to escape the Citadel.

Anakin and Storm led the group along the tunnels as they returned to the shuttle.

"R2, are you and your battle droids ready to go?" asked Anakin over the comlink.

R2 let out a beep as he was shown projecting a hologram of the two.

"All right, get the ship fired up. We'll meet you at the pipeline exit after you've picked Obi-Wan, assuming he's still on schedule," stated the Jedi Knight.

The transmission ended as the droids turned and entered the shuttle. The shuttle began to take off as they were looking to pick up the Jedi Master. In the Citadel, droids were patrolling the hallways looking for the Jedi. Obi-wan and Master Piell were shown in the ventilation shafts as they saw the droids leave. They crawled forward and came to another shaft as they looked up.

"This passage will get us near the landing pad," stated Obi-wan as he began to climb.

The others followed suit as Master Piell was the last to begin climbing. Obi-wan stopped on the next level of the shafts as the clones kept climbing.

"R2, send the shuttle to the rear landing platform," said Kenobi as he contacted the droid.

"We've already been given the go-ahead by General Skywalker, sir. Assuming you are still on schedule," responded OOM-10.

"The trick will be if Anakin arrives on time," replied Obi-wan.

"Hopefully," responded Twilight's droid.

While the Jedi Master talked with the droids, Cody and his men continued climbing. The clone commander got to the top as he came face to face with a probe droid.

"A probe!" shouted Cody as the droid saw him and shot upwards in a hurry.

Master Piell began to jump and bounce off the walls as he was looking to catch the droid as he got higher and higher. The Jedi Master jumped high, turned on his lightsaber, and slashed at the droid as both fell, with Master Piell landing on the platform below Obi-wan.

"Did you get it?" asked Kenobi as he looked at Master Piell.

At that moment, the security doors began to close shut along the shaft.

"Security doors! Move, or you'll be cut in half!" warned Obi-wan to the clones below him as the doors around him sealed shut.

"I can't!" shouted a clone as the door in front of them shut, followed by a scream behind the door.

Obi-wan heard it as he looked below him. A lightsaber appeared as it was starting to cut a hole. Out popped Master Piell as he looked at the Jedi Master.

"We lost one. Looks like we've got some cutting to do," replied Master Piell with his lightsaber turned on.


In the command center, Warden Sobeck looked at a screen when the tactical droid approached him.

"Count Dooku insists that you speak with him, Commander," said the droid.

"Well, let's not keep him waiting," replied Sobeck.

"He's already waiting, sir," responded the droid.

Sobeck was about to say something to the droid when the door opened to another room; there was the hologram of Dooku.

"Count Dooku, my lord. How unexpected," said Sobeck as he tried to play it off.

"You may cease the propriety, Commander Sobeck. I understand there is a problem with the Jedi prisoner," said the Sith Lord.

"An incursion team attempted a rescue, but the situation is taken care of," assured the warden.

"Are you in possession of the information the prisoner is carrying?" asked Dooku.

"Not yet. But we will soon have it," stated Sobeck.

"You are aware that this information will tip the scale of the war to the side that controls it. Perhaps, this is a matter that requires my presence?" said Dooku.

"No, my lord," said Sobeck.

"Find them, Commander. Get the information, then kill them all. If you fail, then your life shall pay the price, " said Dooku as he turned his back and came to view Sunset. The girl had her hood to hide her face, but she flashed an evil smile as she turned on her lightsaber, frightening the warden when the transmission ended.

"Don't ever surprise me with a transmission from Count Dooku! I need time to prepare!" shouted Sobeck to the tactical droid as he grabbed it by the throat and pinned it against the wall.

"Yes, Commander," responded the droid.

At the same time, Ahsoka led the team with Twilight as Storm and Anakin were covering their retreat. They slipped past a small crack in the tunnels and continued to walk. The clones soon followed as Echo was the last of the clones to slip by. Some probe droids appeared and were about to tail the group as above them were Storm and Anakin, as they sliced them in half. They both looked back to see if any more came before they caught up with the others and shimmied along an edge.

"I am beginning to admire the design of this fortress. It's rather formidable to evade," said Captain Tarkin.

"How can you admire such a horrible place?" asked Ahsoka.

"Ah, you reveal your short-sightedness. This ordeal only demonstrates how effective facilities like the Citadel are. Pity, it ended up in Separatist hands and not ours." said Captain Tarkin as he kept walking; the girls stopped to raise an eyebrow at that statement.

"He has a point," said Anakin as Ahsoka made another confused face at her teacher. "All right, Snips, I need you to lead the group. Keep following the tunnel. I'll catch up."

"Hey, where are you going?" asked Ahsoka.

"Obi-Wan's not here, so someone has to protect our flank," stated Storm as he and Anakin were going to buy some time for their comrades.

"I guess it's a good thing I came along after all," said Ahsoka as Anakin walked back.

"Sparky, keep an eye on her," instructed Storm.

"You can count on me," nodded the princess as she walked ahead.

Ahsoka was about to do the same when Storm forcefully grabbed her arm. The boy stared dead into the Padawan's eyes as he glared at her.

"Remember, you mess up. And it's your fault. I know Master Plo didn't send you. You came here on your own without permission." stated Storm as Ahsoka was shocked to see that her friend knew the truth. "You're lucky I haven't told Anakin, but if you want to keep up this façade, you better not fail. Make one error, and it's your ass that's on the chopping block."

Storm let go of his grip as he continued to scowl at Ahsoka. The boy left to provide Anakin with some backup as the Padawan watched him disappear before she turned to catch up with the others.


On Coruscant, Master Windu and Tiin walked into the communications rooms as Master Plo, Celestia, and Luna were at the control panel.

"We've received a coded transmission. Apparently, they've split up into two groups," said Master Plo.

"The rendezvous points are the landing field behind the tower where R2 will pick up Obi-Wan Kenobi and the pipeline exit where they'll find Anakin Skywalker and Storm," said Celestia pointing at the hologram of the building as it showed the shuttle stopping at two points.

"And what if things don't go according to plan?" asked Windu.

"Then we would have to send an entire fleet to get them out of there," said Luna as they hoped it wouldn't have to come to that.

Back with the girls, they continued to lead the group along the tunnel.

"I am concerned that the Jedi have elected these children to lead the group," said Captain Tarkin, as he didn't seem to like the girls in charge.

"I've served with them many times, and I trust them, Captain," said Rex to Tarkin as he had faith in the girls.

"Uh-oh," said Ahsoka as she turned the corner.

"Dead end," stated Rex as he also saw the scene before them.

With R2, he and TS-01 commanded the shuttle to the rendezvous point to meet Obi-wan.

"It looks like there are security guards there," said one of the droids.

R2 gave a beep.

"Okay, boss, we'll land and wait for General Kenobi," said one of the droids.

They landed on the platform as they got out. Approaching them was the tactical droid as Obi-wan and his team were nowhere to be seen.

"Uh-oh. That doesn't look like General Kenobi," said one of the droids.

"Shut up," said Twilight's droid in a whisper to them

"We'll have to improvise," stated OOM-10.

The three B1 droids brought the pair of droids to the tactical droid as they had their guns pointed at them.

"Your arrival is long overdue; where have you been?" asked the tactical droid as R2 gave a beep. "Even so, the odds are 3-to-1 that you are a traitor. We will take you to interrogation below."

"Yes, sir. Move it!" instructed OOM-10 as he began to push the two forcefully. "Don't talk back to me, droids. I'm in charge."

"We have captured the shuttle that infiltrated our defenses," said the tactical droid as he began to contact Sobeck.

"Good, guard the shuttle, and we'll lure the Jedi into a trap," stated the warden.

Once the group of droids were in, the doors closed behind them. They all looked around to see if any other droids were nearby. With the coast clear, Twilight's droid immediately jumped on OOM-10; she began to hit the droid with some punches for shoving her. R2 merely let out a beep which translated to laughing as he enjoyed the payback. Soon the small droid got off as she felt it had delivered enough punishment.

"Sorry, Commanders. Just wanted to fool them. What are your orders?" asked OOM-10 to the pair as he stood up from the beating he took from the small droid.

R2 gave a beep to the trio of B1 droids.

"You're right! If we're not at the shuttle, General Kenobi could be walking into a trap! We'll try to locate them if they get captured." said OOM-10.

With the girls, Ahsoka was still looking at the dead end. Echo and Claude were at the tail end when they heard a sound. The small antenna lowered over their helmet as they saw a Superbattle droid coming at them and firing.

"Look out!" shouted both clones as they took cover behind the wall.

The clones began to fire at the droid marching toward them as Ahsoka and Twilight turned on their lightsabers. As more appeared, they took down the droid, marching a few meters away. At that moment, Storm and Anakin appeared as they sliced down the droids. Soon commando droids were hanging off the cliffs as they began to snipe at the Jedi as they had shields.

"What happened? Why didn't you blow the wall? That part of the plan was your job!" yelled Anakin in anger.

The commando droids landed, lined up in a wall with their shields, and continued to fire at the Jedi.

"I thought it was a dead end," said Ahsoka.

"If Master Plo really assigned you to this mission, he would have briefed you on the plan," shouted Anakin to his Padawan.

"Sparky, get the plan ready!" instructed Storm.

"Right," said Twilight as she began to prepare some of the clones to blow up the wall.

Storm glared at Ashoke; he was pissed off at the girl. Seems she made a mistake he warned her about, and now she was paying the price. The girl took the backpack off Echo, and Twilight grabbed the bag off of Ricochet as they ran to the wall. They began to plant the bombs on the wall as the boys still held their ground against the droids. Ahsoka grabbed the spare bomb from Twilight's hand and rolled two of them at the droids as they slipped behind them. They went off as both Storm and Anakin covered up. The bombs on the wall also went off as rocks and dust flew.

Everyone got up as they saw the wall destroyed and began to press on. Meanwhile, Obi-wan and his squad had made it to the rendezvous point as they saw the shuttle from the grates.

"The shuttle's there, but there's no sign of R2," said Cody to Kenobi.

"Something might have happened. We'll have to make our way around to the other side and get a different view. This could be a trap." said Obi-wan as he looked at Master Piell, who nodded.

The Jedi Master Force pushed another grate, leading to a lava drop. The Jedi fired a grappling hook as it attached to the grate on the other side, and he repelled downward onto a lower edge. The rest of the clones and Master Piell did the same as they landed on the small ledge and began to follow Kenobi.

They came to a small platform as there appeared to be a line of speeders that they could use to get to the shuttle. The Jedi and clones all jumped down to the platform as Obi-wan activated his comlink to get in touch with his pals.

"Anakin?"

However, the voice on the other line wasn't any of the Jedi Knights.

"I must commend you on your escape tactics, but in the end, it was easy to predict your every move," said Sobeck as he saw the Jedi and clones through one of the cameras.

He pushed a button as heavy cannons popped out and aimed at them. A few crab droids, Destroyer droids, and commando droids appeared with shields as they fully surrounded the group. The warden knew that the Jedi were planning to make a detour, so he had a trap waiting to catch them, which proved successful. Obi-wan merely crossed his arms and shook his head as Sobeck cackled.


They were still walking along the ridge with the others as they had their hands up to their faces to avoid the lava's intense heat. Soon they came to their rendezvous point as a giant pipe was shown.

"This pipe leads up to the top of the ridge, where R2 will pick us up and get us out of here. There's the hatch," said Anakin as he jumped up.

The hatch opened as the Jedi put their hands to their noses and waved them about at the unbearable stench.

"Let's go! Let's go! Everyone in." instructed Storm to the clones and men.

"Don't use your lights, and make sure your weapons are locked. The slightest electronic pulse could ignite this whole tube," instructed Anakin to the entire clones as they made the necessary adjustments.

"I hope somebody tells the droids that," replied Captain Tarkin.

"Hurry up!" shouted Storm as he kicked the captain and fell forward.

The Jedi Knights and their most trusted clones entered the pipe last as they began to make their way up. It zoomed out to show the pipe and where they were heading before shifting to the left and showing the Citadel. Inside, Obi-wan and his squad were all in handcuffs as they were being led to the warden's office. They arrived and stood in a row in front of Sobeck.

"Welcome back," said the warden as he began to approach them.

"I must say, you're not at all what I pictured for someone who has such a soft voice," mocked Obi-wan as his hands were behind his head.

"I want your half of the information. Give it to me now, or I'll start executing your men," said Sobeck to Master Piell. The Jedi Master took that in as he put his head down for a moment before addressing the warden.

"This is war, Sobeck. They're all prepared to die to protect that intel," stated Master Piell.

"Really?" taunted Sobeck as he grabbed a blaster from a nearby droid and aimed it at a clone's head.

He pulled the trigger as the clone fell back; he couldn't defend himself due to his hands tied behind his back. Both Jedi Masters look on as Sobeck smiled. He was about to execute another one when his attention was grabbed.

"Sir, we have located the other group, and our droids are closing in on them," said the tactical droid as the warden tossed the blaster back to the commando droid.

"Your Jedi resolve only delays the inevitable. Take them to interrogation. Torture them slowly." instructed Sobeck to the droids.

They began to lead the Jedi away as the warden turned his attention to the other group. R2 and his group were in a hallway when he and Twilight's droid hacked into the system. The pair had figured out that Obi-wan was being held hostage.

"So they were captured, huh? And now they're moving them to the prison block?" said one of the reprogrammed droids.

"Then let's hurry!" said TS-01.

"Yes, sir! We will move to intercept them," stated OMM-10.

The droids escorted the Jedi and men as they turned the corner. Waiting for them were three reprogrammed droids as they managed to pinpoint where they were due to Twilight's robot.

"We'll take them from here," stated OMM-10.

"Uh, I think we have a..." said one of the droids.

"We'll handle it," assured OMM-10.

"Yes, sir!" replied the droid as he handed the prisoners over to them and left.

They began to walk down the hall as they turned the corner. They were now out of view as R2 and TS-01 appeared behind them, with the blue astromech making a beeping sound to get their attention.

"Good to see you, R2. I wondered where you've been," said Obi-wan as he was relieved to see the small droids.

"Sorry about that. We ran into some complications," said Twilight's droid as she and R2 began to free the cufflinks from everyone.

Once everyone was free, R2 let out a beep.

"The Commander is pleased to see you as well, sir, but would like to return to the shuttle as soon as possible," translated OOM-10 to Kenobi.

"Yes, I couldn't agree more," answered Obi-wan as they began to move.

"What about General Skywalker and Storm, sir?" asked Cody.

"Not to worry, they'll switch to plan B," assured Obi-wan.

"And what is Plan B?" asked Twilight's droid, as the princess didn't say anything about Plan B when they went over the details.

They had finished climbing the pipe as they came to the top with the others. It still smelled horrible as they covered their noses while they walked. Ahsoka was running on top of the pipeline as the others walked on the walkway while holding their noses.

"How much longer are we going to wander through this tunnel in the dark?" asked Captain Tarkin.

"Captain Tarkin, haven't you learned to trust me by now?" said Anakin.

"You may have earned my trust, General Skywalker, but my faith in your comrades is still lacking," replied Captain Tarkin.

"Asshole," said Storm to the captain as he raised his hand to give him a middle finger. "It seems to me you lack faith in the Jedi."

"I find their tactics ineffective. The Jedi code prevents them from going far enough to achieve victory. To do whatever it takes to win. The very reason why peacekeepers should not be leading a war." said Captain Tarkin as both Jedi Knights looked at him. "Have I offended you both?"

"No. I've also found that we sometimes fall short of victory because of our methods," answered Anakin.

"Really?" said Storm as he got his buddy to look at him. For a moment, both Jedi Knights had scowls on their faces as they glared. Based on how they looked at each other, it seemed both had different ideologies regarding their tactics.

"Well, I see we agree on something," smiled Captain Tarkin; seeing the pair glare at one another seemed to please him.

Before either could speak, Ahsoka got their attention as she managed to spot something up ahead.

"I think I found a way out," said the Padawan.

A hatch was shown as it turned, and Ahsoka barely lifted the top to see.

"What do you see, Snips?" asked Anakin as the rest of the group was by the ladder.

"The coast is clear," said Ahsoka as she looked around in front of her.

"Any sign of Obi-Wan and the shuttle?" asked Storm.

"No, I don't see him or R2 anywhere," the girl responded as she put the top up.

She lifted herself and was about to get out when blasters were pointed at her out of nowhere. The girl didn't move before quickly turning on her lightsaber and cutting them down. One of the hands from the droids fell into the hatch; the whole group saw it and knew what it meant. Ahsoka turned around as there were many droids all waiting for them.

"We've got to go!" shouted Ahsoka to everyone in the hatch as she deflected blaster shots.

"There could be a whole battalion of droids out there!" stated Captain Tarkin, who didn't think it was a good idea.

"Better than hiding in a fuel line," said Anakin as he began to climb.

The Jedi began to climb as the clones followed. All four stood on the pipeline as they deflected the shots as the clone and men got out. Once Captain Tarkin slid down the side and ran, the girls got off and began to run as Storm and Anakin provided coverfire. They soon backed off and slid down the side as they ran. They ran to where the men were and took cover behind some rocks.

"The plan's been compromised. The shuttle's not coming," said Captain Tarkin to both Jedi Knights.

"Throw us a charge!" ordered Anakin.

Both Sark and Rex tossed their generals some bombs as the pair turned them on. They each rolled forward before standing up and throwing them as hard as they could. They each hit the top of the hatch as they fell down, and the top closed. The droids looked at the hatch they were directly on top of before; seconds later, it exploded. The entire pipeline blew up as everyone took cover behind their massive rock. Twilight was pulled into Storm's arms as the boy provided extra protection for the princess.

A piece of a crab droid landed in front of the group, making whirling sounds before it shut off. Twilight opened her eyes as she saw Storm holding onto her. The boy smiled at her as she did the same.

"Let's go! Time for plan B!" said Anakin as the pair managed to separate just in time before he saw them.

"There's a plan B?" said Captain Tarkin.

"There's always a backup plan," said Storm to the captain. "We'll meet R2 TS-01 at Obi-Wan's position."

The clones and men all rose as they began to follow the Jedi.


In the Citadel, Sobeck was looking at the hologram of the fortress as he was trying to figure out where Anakin and Storm were.

"Based on their recent position, we believe they're traveling along this cave system," said the tactical droid as he held a tablet and touched it. It showed the tunnels highlighted in red.

Before Sobeck could give a command, a droid approached him to tell the warden some news.

"Uh, sir, the prisoners did not make it to the interrogation level," said the droid.

"What. Did. You. Just. Say?" said Sobeck as he looked ready to destroy the droid with his bare hands.

"Um, we think they might have..." said the droid as he cowered in fear.

"Sir, Count Dooku commands you to contact him immediately," said the tactical droid to Sobeck.

The warden looked at the hologram as he saw the area where our heroes were. He looked at the pipeline as he began to follow it upwards and saw it connected to other lines. He seemed to see they were heading to the landing platform where they hoped to board the ship.

"Inform Count Dooku that I am unreachable. Send all units to the airfield. It's their only possible way of escape." said Sobeck as the droids began to recall all their forces and prepare for the group's arrival.

Speaking of groups, Obi-wan and his group were now approaching the shuttle as they exited the fortress. The Jedi Master saw the aircraft cannons as he was worried they could prove a problem if they tried to fly away. They were about to approach their shuttle.

"Hold it! Where are you going with these prisoners?" asked one of the droids.

"We're transferring them aboard the shuttle. From Citadel to Point Tarron," said one of the reprogrammed droids.

"Point Tarron? There's no outpost there," said the droid.

Master Piell and Obi-wan looked at each other and nodded.

"Uh, it's new. We have orders. We're coming aboard." said OOM-10 as the guards seemed to buy it.

The group was just moments from walking up the ramp when one of the droids stopped Obi-wan by putting his blaster in front of him.

"Wait," said the droid before he received a transmission.

"The prisoners are escaping with reprogrammed battle droids. Let no one on board that shuttle," said the tactical droid.

The droid looked at Obi-wan, who smiled. In one quick motion, he made his lightsaber appear in his hand and sliced the droid. Soon all hell broke loose as the remaining droid was shot down. The cannons began to fire at the group as they all ran to take cover behind some barracks. The clones prepped their blasters as they peeked out and began firing at the cannons. One of them took out a clone and fell to the ground.

Soon more droids exited the fortress as they were charging ahead. It looked like Obi-wan, and his forces were about to be overrun when suddenly Anakin and Storm appeared as their groups also managed to make it. They quickly took cover with the Jedi Masters as the droids kept firing.

"Sorry I'm late," said Anakin.

"How nice of you to join us!" said Kenobi to his pals.

"Hey, we were busy!" responded Storm as a blaster zoomed by his head.

"The ship is surrounded!" said Twilight as she peeked her head out to see the droids guarding the shuttle while firing at where they were hidden.

"We need to launch a full-forward assault and take that vessel!" Captain Tarkin told the Jedi.

"We may have a bigger problem. Those turrets. If we don't take them out, they will use them to destroy the shuttle and prevent our escape." said Obi-wan to the captain.

"Which is precisely why we should get aboard that shuttle and use the weapon systems to decimate those droids," said Captain Tarkin.

"You dumbass! Didn't you just hear what Obi-wan said!?" shouted Storm as he was starting to get annoyed by Tarkin's attitude.

"Whatever we're going to do, we better do it fast!" said Anakin as they were running out of time. He pointed at the sky above them as droids were approaching on speeders and firing at them.

Everyone dove forward as the shots exploded behind them, taking out some boxes. The Jedi all got up and saw the speeders coming around; they turned on their lightsabers and took a stance. They deflected the shots as Master Piell used Storm and Anakin to launch himself high into the air and slash at one of the droids as they crashed. Anakin leaped up as he kicked the droid off his speeder and began to pilot it.

With the clones, they were dealing with the droids coming at them. They were doing their best to hold them at bay, snipping them from afar, but they kept coming. They soon started to throw bombs as they rolled under a crab droid that exploded. The last speeder was chasing Anakin as it tried to shoot him down. Master Piell saw the Jedi Knight coming as he jumped and hitched a ride. He began to protect the Jedi Knight as he deflected the fired shots.

He reflected back as it took down the last speeder. With the clones, they were still holding their ground. R2 and his group of robots were hiding as they were about to cross the shuttle when commando droids with shields appeared. Echo and Claude kept on throwing bombs as their comrades continued to fire. One of the bombs exploded and flung a droid as he lost his shield. He wasn't down as he began to run toward one of the turrets. Fives saw this as the antenna on his helmet was lowered, and he saw the droid powering it up.

"General Skywalker, a droid is manning one of those turrets. They're going to blow up the shuttle, sir.," said Fives as Anakin turned around.

The droid saw Anakin coming, so he turned the guns and fired at him. The Jedi Knight fired back, but his speeder was hit as he and Master Piell jumped off at the last second and crashed into the droid. Both Jedi fell to the ground before quickly getting up to avoid being shot.

"This is our only chance. We've got to stop him. Cover me!" said Echo to Fives, Claude, and Ricochet as he moved forward.

The trio did what their brother said as they continued to fire as Echo picked up the shield that the commando droid dropped. He began to move forward as he looked to intercept the droid and divert his attention. Fives saw the droid as he also saw Echo near the shuttle where the turret was aimed.

"Echo, look out!" shouted Fives as he tried to warn his friend about the danger he was in.

Echo held the shield up as he deflected the shots and got on the shuttle's ramp. He fired back to shoot the droid, but the droid succeeded. He managed to fire some shots as they hit the shuttle, which caused an explosion to occur as Echo was caught in it. Part of the shuttle took out the turret when it broke into pieces.

"Echo!" shouted Fives as he couldn't believe what he saw his own friend get blown up. Everybody was shocked by what they saw as they lost another team member.

"We have to go now!" shouted Obi-wan as they began to retreat.

"Fives, let's move!" said Claude as he grabbed the clone's arm and tried to get him to move to avoid getting shot.

"There's nothing you can do! Now move it!" stated Ricochet as he pleaded with his friend to move. Fives heard the call from his brothers as he turned to retreat with them.

The only thing that lay on the ground was Echo's helmet as it was scorched and seared. And just like that, another member of the Domino Squad had fallen.


On Coruscant, the five Jedi Masters were all in the room as they waited to hear from their comrades. They were accompanied by Yoda, who had made his presence known a bit ago. Soon they got an answer as the transmission began to beep. They approached it as Master Plo answered it; the image of Obi-wan running was shown.

"Master Kenobi, what has happened?" asked Master Plo.

"I'm afraid we've had a situation with the shuttle," said Obi-wan as their way of escaping was no more.

That response from Kenobi got the other Jedi Masters to look at each other with concerned expressions.

"By "situation," he means big explosion," stated Anakin as he appeared running and talking on his comlink.

"In other words, shit has gone south really fast!" stated Storm as Luna facepalmed at seeing her student curse in front of her fellow Jedi brethren. But given the circumstances they mentioned, she would let this one slide.

"We're going to need a rescue!" stated Anakin.

"It will be done. I'm sending our cruisers now," said Master Plo to the trio as the transmission ended.

Master Plo looked at his Jedi Master brethren as they all could see how south the suicide mission had gone. They would all need to hurry if they were going to save their allies if they didn't want them to end up captured or worst. Yoda simply shook his head as he prayed the group could survive until they got there.


Droids were flying about on speeders as they were patrolling for our heroes. Fives, Claude, and Richochet all peeked their heads out in a cave as they saw the droids flying overhead before they zipped by. Once they saw no more droids, they gave the all-clear sign to Rex and Sark as they walked to report the details to the Jedi while the trio kept watching.

"We'll need to hold out until the Council sends a ship," said Obi-wan.

"Not a problem. We've beat them once. We'll beat them again." said Master Piell as he was confident.

"This landscape is almost impossible to cross," stated Fives.

"How are we going to get to the rendezvous point?" asked Ricochet to the group.

"That is the trap of the Citadel. It was designed so it would be almost impossible for fugitives to get off the surface, even if they escaped the tower," responded Kenobi.

"How lucky we're not just any fugitives," said Storm as they began to move.

"I hope you're right," stated Master Piell to the teen as they began to move deeper into the cave.

Everyone moved in a single file line, hoping help would arrive. They only needed to hope it came fast, or they would be goners. Fives turned back as he glanced at the Citadel; he remembered seeing Echo's charred helmet as his friend and brother were gone. Claude and Ricochet gave him a pat on the shoulder as they showed their support for their friend for his loss. They all turned as they followed the group, for Fives, now the sole survivor of his squad was tasked with an even bigger obstacle. And that was to carry on their legacy. The legacy started by Hevy, Cutup, Droidbait, and now Echo; it all fell on the lone soldier to see the war through to the end.

Author's Note: So the moral of the chapter is a direct reference to Murphy's Law, which states: Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. And boy is it true, the lost of a beloved clone member. The plan goingsouth on so many levels. Now our heroes being surrounded and with no way to escape. If the suicide mission alone wasn't bad enough, we've got a whole another mess of problems to take care of. As always, leave a review expressing your comments and thoughts.