***Flashback***
Ar'iabel glances around at the refugees on Onderon, slowly approaching the encampment. She gets near to the camp, when a few refugees come toward her, guns raised in warning.
The Jedi bemusedly raises her hands, a unseen smirk (her mask blocking it) crossing her face. They urge her forward, prodding her forward with their guns. She's led to a large open circle, a rather familiar man in front of her. "Saw Gerrera," she greets.
The man seems taken aback, "Jedi?"
"Aye. I have no want to put you in danger. I wasn't aware of be running into a group of people who are rebelling against the Empire. I'm just trying to stay away from others, it's safer that way."
Saw smiles at her, gesturing widely, "You're welcome to stay here. We don't plan on meeting any Imperials out here, and if we do, we'll be better off with a Jedi on our side."
"If you're sure..." she draws off, sensing people approaching nearby. From out of the trees a group of men-Clones- are ushered. Her eyes meet the eyes of Sergeant Hunter, of Clone Force 99. Slowly, she raises her saber to his neck. "Why are you here?"
Saw Gerrera carefully steps forward, lowering her arm with his hand, "Stand down, General. They're unarmed."
She disignites her saber, setting it gently in her bag, taking a deep breath, she says, "I'm sorry, things have been...tense lately."
Tech's eyes land on the man, "You're Saw Gerrera. Trained by Captain Rex and General Skywalker to fight for the Republic."
Crosshair turns slightly toward his friend, "And that's a Jedi, your point? We have orders."
Hunter meets the Jedi's eyes. "We're here to neutralize a group of insurgents."
Gerrera chuckles, rolling his eyes, "Well, here we are. What are you gonna do? Strike us down like you did with most of the Jedi?"
Crosshair glares, his eyes lingering on Keen, "Is that a request?"
The Jedi feels her anger bubble up, but she quickly focuses on quelling it. She keeps her eyes closed, not that anyone could tell. "You came for battle droids, but you found civilians, Sergeant. Times will change, and so will your targets. Take a look around you, at these so called insurgents. They're not just men, there are women here, and children too. Are you willing to commit cold-blooded murder?"
Saw glances at her, "It kinda makes you wonder what else this Empire is lying about." He turns around, signaling for his camp to move out.
Hunter goes to move forward for the 'insurgent.' Keen steps in front of the Clone, arms crossed, not letting him approach the children. "What's going on here?" he asks her.
She glares at him, "These are all displaced refugees, ever since Palpatine appointed himself as the Emperor."
Tech looks at her, confused, "According to reports, the Jedi made an attempt on his life."
"Yeah," Wrecker grunts, "It left him 'scarred and deformed' his words."
"Tech, you can't trust what the Empire tells you. He executes the Jedi, takes control of the Clones. She'ev will have control of the whole Galaxy."
"With the Clone War ended," Saw says, walking up beside her, "This Empire will start a civil war. We'll do what we have to to keep the people we love safe."
"With a handful of fighters and limited firepower? You don't stand a chance."
"Not alone we don't. We're leaving," the man tells the Jedi, turning around.
One of the farmers approaches, asking what they should do with the Bad Batch.
Keen sighs, glancing at Saw, "I say we give them a choice. They leave, we don't do anything. They stay, I'll handle them."
"Fine by me. We leave in twenty. Be at the rendezvous, or you won't come along."
The Jedi salutes with two fingers, and the soldier turns, following his crew off through the forest. She turns back, carefully extracting both her blades, half daring the Clones to attack. Wrecker carefully passes the helmets back to their respective owners, before grabbing the large crate, tossing it over his shoulder. Keen watches the Clones march off through the trees. She climbs up the nearby hill, following them to the Havoc Marauder from the high ground.
She watches as they take out a probe droid that was clearly following them. The rest of the Bad Batch continue for the ship, Hunter stopping, glancing around the forest. "I know your here, General."
The Jedi leaps down the hill, looking straight into the Clones eyes. "You were supposed to be leaving."
"We are, we're going back to Kamino, and then to the Galaxy, somewhere safe. I want to offer you a chance. Come with us, we'll keep each other safe."
Her glare doesn't lighten, even though she knows he can't see it. "Why should I believe you? Some of your brothers just tried to kill me. How do I know you won't do the same?"
"What's that phrase you Jedi always say? Trust in the Force? What're your senses telling you now?"
The Jedi sighs, hesitantly taking Hunter's proffered hand. "Alright, I choose to trust you."
"Okay, until we're done on Kamino, this stays between me and you. Tech says the Regs were programmed, he also said it probably doesn't affect us 'defective clones' but I'd rather be safe than sorry."
Keen nods in understanding, as the enhanced Clone smuggles her aboard the Havoc Marauder.
***End Flashback***
Kanan feels his concentration wane as the Jedi Master hits the wall. He drags his focus back to the Walkers, as Sabine and Rex rush for the fallen ally.
"Prepare to stop," he warns, tuning out the sound of Rex and Sabine, "Now! Commander Wolffe, circle left, double time." The Walker turns swiftly, until Kanan calls, "Full stop!" Dropping his raised hand, he turns around to face everyone, "If what I'm sensing is right, we're surrounded."
"What?" Ezra asks incredulously. He's slid on his knees over to the Jedi Master, moving some metal off of her.
Rex looks up at Kanan, shaking his head, "You put us right in the middle of 'em to get us a shot. It's crazy, but it's probably our best chance."
"Once we fire, we'll reveal our location," Sabine says, looking over Keen to see if she's alright. "If we miss, it's all over."
"I'll take the shot," Gregor volunteers.
"No. I would say Keen should take it, but that's not happening, so, Ezra should take the shot."
"Uh, why don't you do it?"
"Kanan's right. We need one Jedi up there manning the cannon And another Jedi down here to lead us out of this mess. You are the only ones who can see in this storm," the Captain says, glancing down once again at the Jedi Master. He sees the gash in her forehead. Looking up from her, "Sabine, spot him. Gregor, Bacta Patch." The Clone Commander salutes, rummaging around in a crate. Ezra sighs deeply, turning for the door, when Rex shouts after him, "Hey, kid." He turns back around, only to have a helmet with blue Jaig eyes painted on the top, "You might need that. And hang on tight."
The door slides open, Ezra and Sabine carefully stepping out, each with a helmet over their heads.
Rex turns his attention back to the Jedi Master, as a Bacta Patch lands in his lap. He nods his thanks at Gregor, brushing Keen's hair, damp with blood, away from the cut. Carefully he applies the patch to her head. He faintly hears Kanan talking to Ezra, coaxing him into taking the shot.
He hears the shot, and the explosion, and feels the Walker lurch forward, but his focus is elsewhere as the General slowly blinks her eyes open. "Hunter?" Is the first muttered word out of her mouth. Her hand slowly reaches up to her head, shaking her head gently, "Rex, what the grak happened?"
"There was an explosion."
"Ezra hit the Walker, c'mon, we're out of the storm," Kanan states.
Keen rolls her eyes, maneuvering slowly to her feet. She staggers out of the tank onto the platform.
"Great shot, kid," Rex praises Ezra, "Now get yourself moving. This is your only chance."
"What? We can't leave now."
"We have to get the information they gave us back to the rebellion," Kanan states.
"The other part of that mission is to bring Rex back with us. We can't just abandon them!"
"We're not abandoning anyone, Ez. They're going to cover our escape. Go!" Keen speaks up, ushering him to the Phantom.
The Padawan still looks disappointed, he stands there, staring at the Clone. "We're soldiers, Ezra. This is what we were born to do."
Ezra finally moves, ascending the ramp. As soon as he's aboard, Keen closes her eyes, focussing on the closing mechanism. The ramp closes, Keen turning back to face the Clones.
"What are you doing, General?"
"You know me, Rexy. I never leave my men behind." The Clone Captain nods at her. The Phantom lifts off the Walker, heading for the atmosphere. "And there goes my ride, looks like it's the four of us against the Empire."
Rex turns, and begins to bark orders to Wolffe. "Boys, this might be it. At least we'll go down fighting like a Clone should."
"I'm with you all the way, Captain," Gregor agrees, grabbing onto the rocket launcher.
Commander Wolffe merely responds with a loud howl. From above, the Walker rains down blaster bolts upon the tank. It's hinges buckle, dropping down onto the hard rock below.
"Come on, Wolffe," Rex calls out to him, "It's just a scratch. Keep moving forward, soldier! Onward!"
The Commander pulls the ship back onto it's legs, letting out a happy cheer. Keen draws her blades from her bag, holding them out in front of her.
"General," Rex warns, worried about her after the head wound.
"I'm fine, Rexy. Focus on getting closer to the Walker."
He glances over at her, instructing his men, "I'm going for the legs, all four of them."
She nods, preparing for the assault. She sets her legs in a wider stance, ready for any sort of shaking. The AT-TE starts to climb one of Walker's legs. Keen starts scaling the platform up for the legs. From the right of the tank, a second Walker approaches.
"We've been outflanked!" Rex shouts. He points the gun at the neck of the Walker, pressing the triggers, only for nothing to happen. "Gregor, I've lost power to the main cannon!"
"I know, I know. I'm working on it, Captain. I'm working on it!"
Keen jumps up, using the Force for assistance. She grabs the leg of the Imperial ship, slicing through one of the legs with her blade.
*On the Phantom*
Kanan pilots the ship, heading up to the Ghost. As they near type breaking of the atmosphere, he turns around in his seat, only to notice that they're one crew member short. He scrubs a hand down his face, "Where's Keen?"
Ezra looks up at him, "Um...she kind of stayed behind," he shrugs.
"She what?" he shouts.
"She ushered me on board...and then just kinda shut the ramp."
The Jedi Knight turns back around, grabbing the controls, turning the ship back around, all the while mumbling, "Stupid, reckless, always getting caught. And now here I go to bail her out of trouble again."
*With the Clones*
Rex climbs out of the big gun, shaking his fists angrily at the Walker, "Come out and fight, you cowards!"
The Jedi turns her head from where she had moved over to the second leg. "What in the name of the Old Republic are you doing?" she shouts at him.
She doesn't get a response, as from the left three rapid fire cannon bolts smash against the Walker. From out of the clouds, the Phantom appears. It pulls up sharply, Kanan, Zen, and Ezra dropping on top of the second Imperial Tank. Kanan and Ezra use their blades to open the hatch, dropping inside.
"Just like the old days," Rex mutters, watching them.
"That's great and all," Keen states, as the Walker suddenly leans forward, shaking the AT-TE, "but we've still got this ship to handle."
From inside, Gregor shouts out happily, "Ah-ah. Whoa. Power restored."
Rex pulls himself up from where he was hanging, clinging to the back of the gun turret. He swings into the seat,making quick work of shooting the tank in the neck.
The Old Republic tank collapses under the Imperial Walker, Agent Kallus' barely escaping from inside.
The Walker that the rebels commandeered shoots after the fleeing Imperial, but Ar'iabel can't bring herself to care.
"Looks like we live to fight another day," Rex says, bumping his forearm against Wolffe's.
"Don't we always?" he replies.
"Well, we do when we've got a Jedi leading us," Gregor states, climbing up alongside his brothers. He nods at Kanan, Ezra, and Zeb, and the three Clones salute.
Keen rolls her eyes, shaking her head, "Are you three done being dramatic up there?"
Kanan leaps down, gently shoving her, "Want to tell me what you were thinking?"
"It worked didn't it?" She asks him, the Ghost flying up near the Walker. The ramp lowers slowly, and the rebels, and Clones, ascend.
As they enter the ship, Hera comes down to the hold to greet them. "I see the mission was a success," she says, addressing Kanan.
"More so than I'd initially thought. Hera, this is Captain Rex, Commander Wolffe, and Commander Gregor," Kanan says, gesturing to each Clone as he introduces them.
The Twi'lek steps forward, "It's nice to meet you. I'm Captain Hera Sydulla." Almost out of instinct, each of the men snaps to attention. Hera smiles at them, her eyes slowly drifting to Keen. She shakes her head, stepping forward. "And what happened here?" She asks, thumbing over the Bacta Patch.
"Ah, don't worry about it."