Rancor Slam
Part 12
The attack took a small eternity to reach them as they waited in pensive silence. But when it came, it came fast and hard.
The all looked to the sky as the heard trees falling around them above the sound of the winds and driving rain.
Cas looked at the Commander. He had the controls to the explosives Vua and the others had set. "I only want those going off when Ranges are directly above them."
He nodded. "Yes, ma'am."
She looked back. With her Force-Attuned senses, combined with and sharpening the perceptions of Vua and Uun, she could hear the inarticulate grunts and war cries of the small reptilian front troops.
She could smell the ranges crawling silently behind them.
She could sense the not-so-absent spaces moving all around them.
"I'll take the front mini-troopers." She told the captain.
He nodded. "Yes, Ma'am." Taking orders like a real trooper, she thought. She heard her Yuuzahn Vong's mental snickers.
She knelt and touched the ground. Klik, who'd seen this trick before, picked up Uun, Vua, and the trooper, and moved them back a Rancor pace.
Cas ignored the Rancor.
She caressed the earth with her Gauntlet. She scratched it gently, like she scratched Klik when she was Cree's size. She then plunged her hand, wrist deep into the ground, and splayed it there.
She closed her eyes and opened herself to the tainted Gauntlet. She felt it smile. It would kill them for her. It would take out her enemies, as its powers would allow.
When the frog-troopers reached with in twenty meters of Cas -Where they could see her, but not quite harm her -she smiled at them. The Gauntlet let go. Blue lightning raced from her planted hand, through the ground.
She felt the ground react to the tainted Gauntlet. It rumbled and shuttered under it, toppling the ranges that followed the troopers closely.
The earth felt the glove and mourned for it. It took the Dark poison from the Light tool, like bread with broth.
She smiled sadly. She knew that would happen. She felt it. She felt the consciousness-of-the-glove's joy at being free. She felt the earth blacken to ash and begin destroying the evil, making it Light again.
And until it was done, anything with dark intents that crossed that spot would surely die.
She stood and staggered back toward Vua and Uun. The blue lightning was still dancing over the ground like an ion bolt over a StarFighter. It would be for some time.
In the distance she heard explosives going off as the ranges came over them. A moment later, the trooper reported all the Materiel was loaded and the ship was taking off with their Fighter Escort.
She told him to take the children, men, and younger Rancors and their belongings up, that she wanted them gone as soon as the Fighters came back for another pass. He took the order, passing it on, even though he had known it was coming.
The Vong frog-troopers and Ranges had all retreated or were all dead, which she found hard to believe. Cas frowned; this is an odd play for the Yuuzahn Vong.
Were they just testing the Clans' defenses?
She called out for a report on casualties. There were none, yet.
Cas ordered them all to expand their perimeter circle.
The Defending Witches all moved two to three meters away from the troops. The all held their Force-Pikes, or in Cas's case, Lightsabers, at ready.
Cas held her Lightsaber in two parts, instead of the two sided whole. She liked using in two parts. It had more manipulability.
She had made them years ago, during her two years of separation, out of the femur bone of a fallen Rancor and twin pieces of crystallized obsidian she had found near a volcano.
The first attack came from the East, then there was one to the West, then the South. They were trying to panic the Warriors.
But that would never happen.
They must have a very low opinion of the Witches.
Either that or... they were trying to draw them away from the North, meaning some thing big would be coming from that direction.
"Commander!" She screamed, half turning. "Concentrate all fire on the Northern ridge. On my mark, open up."
He nodded, yet again. "Yes, Lady Cas."
She was right, and it was big.
A small Army, about a few hundred Vong, charged on Foot. This was not good. They had height over the Witches and if they had thudbugs the angle would make sure every blow struck someone.
She had to hope that the Vong would have their throwers in the front, like a front line of ancient archers. "The front Line." She said when the Commander looked at her. "Mark!"
The ship cannons opened up on the front line and started racking their way back to the heart of the line. She hadn't expected that, she had meant the ground weapons only.
Oh well, too late now. But they would talk later
Several Yuuzahn Vong Warriors superheated and exploded very dramatically. Taking those closest to them, too.
"Milady, The second group is away!" The Commander Called as the First warrior reached Cas. She had to struggle to hear the man as she switched on one white/black blade.
She slashed and swirled, killing Warriors before they could set up attacks. This forced them to stop their charge shorter, giving her more room. It gave her more room to move, but it also gave her more room she had to watch.
"Good, Commander," She called over her shoulder. "Start evacuating the Warriors. Start in the South and work your way here."
The man nodded, "Of Course, Milady." He started talking on his helmet comm as he shot down a few more Vong.
She saw Vua and Uun begin to wade in to the Fight. But she signaled them not to. "You might get confused for a target."
They stayed at her side. Close enough to be known as 'her Vong' but far enough away to let her move with out worrying about them and her blades.
A large warrior moved in front of her and the others all moved away and back a ways, but they didn't stop fighting.
"You. Fight me. Honor duel." He said in rough basic, like he wasn't sure she could understand her own language. He was giving her a gross insult, after she had just foiled a 'brilliant' plan. She glared at him.
"You have no honor, Hutt-slobber." She said in quick, fluent Yuuzahn. "Your Warmaster has shown that." The male's eyes widened, rage contorted his face. "Oh, don't do that." She told him again, in the Yuuzahn Vong language. "It makes you even uglier."
She bit her tongue. It wasn't Jedi-like to egg people on, into a fight. But did that count if you knew your enemy was going to attack anyway?
He snorted and lunged. She sidestepped him, turning on her second blade as she moved. She then scissored her blades across his waist and spun out, spreading her arms. Using the blades as independently moving weapons she Took down at least four Vong before moving back to their Captain.
"Never allow your anger to cloud your judgment. It is the Dark Side, and it was your down-fall." He spit at her.
She had stepped back into the fight and he missed.
A final disgrace.
She heard the wine of repolsuor lifts. She turned and saw an open-side Clone Trooper carrier moving toward her, with her people and things on board.
The Commander was the first one on, helping her cover them as Vua and Uun clambered on. She pushed back a final line as the Carrier began to move back and up.
She leapt into the air and allowed the Force to guide her landing. She landed on the lip of the entrance to the carrier chamber, but started slipping backward.
Something hit her from behind and pushed her into the Carrier.
It took her a moment to realize what hit her, and by then she was too far-gone into shock and Jedi healing techniques to care.
RazorBugs are nasty little creatures, after all.