Defenders of Peace . . .
Maridun, Lurmen Village
It had been three days since the Jedi, Clones, and Optimus had arrived at the Lurmen Village and the Prime had learned a bit more about specific individuals, like the one that was in need of medical attention: Anakin Skywalker. As it turned out, Skywalker was Ahsoka Tano's master, in the teacher sense, a Jedi Knight whereas Aayla Secura was a Jedi Master. The Knight was in command of the 501st Clone Legion while Aayla commanded the 327th Star Corps. The clone that helped transport Anakin to the village was his captain and second in command following Ahsoka, Captain Rex.
It was shortly after Anakin regained his strength did Optimus and he formally met and were now talking.
"So, you're the stranger that my Padawan and Master Secura have told me about." Anakin stated as he and Optimus sat next to each other, the latter had his helmet removed and placed next to him. Wag Too was also in the hut to watch over Anakin and make sure he is healing properly.
"Indeed," Optimus nodded. "My name is Optimus Prime. I believe you are Anakin Skywalker, the one who was injured that General Secura and Ms. Tano spoke of when we first encountered each other."
"I am," Anakin replied as he sat up, although he did so carefully since he was still healing. "and I want to thank you for helping us out and saving our men from those creatures."
"I only did what was right, Skywalker." Optimus returned.
"I take it you're not from this planet, are you?" the Jedi Knight inquired.
"No, I hail from the planet of Cybertron." Optimus replied.
"I don't think I've heard of 'Cybertron,'" Anakin said looking up in thought for a moment. "Is there another name for it?"
"There is not and I do not believe you would have heard of my planet due to its location." the Prime explained.
"What do you mean?" Skywalker probed.
"To my understanding, my home planet resides beyond the sector of the galaxy you and others refer to as 'The Unknown Regions,' in another galaxy altogether." answered the Autobot leader.
"Really?" the Jedi Knight stated, he was intrigued along with everyone else to know this. "What are you doing out here?"
"I am searching for answers and a way to restore my home." Optimus answered carefully.
"'Restore your home?'" Anakin repeated in confusion as he and Optimus were then joined by Aayla and his Padawan who entered the hut. "Why? What happened to your home planet?"
"A Civil War had erupted on my home," Optimus answered. "Two factions rose, the Autobots and Decepticons."
"Optimus belongs to the Autobot faction." Aayla spoke up, gesturing to the symbol on Prime's shoulders.
"What caused the war?" Ahsoka asked.
"On my home planet, our government was based on that of a Caste System." the Autobot leader answered.
"What's that?" the Padawan asked again.
"A Caste System is a class structure based on which class you were born into." Anakin explained bitterly, his expression turning slightly. "What it means is if your parents are poor, you would also be poor."
"And if you were born into wealth, you would also be wealthy." Optimus finished, "But I'm afraid the situation was far more dire than you believe."
"What do you mean?" Anakin asked.
"For you see, the Caste System was not only based on one's status or class; the High Council was incredibly corrupt and used the System for their own gain," Optimus explained, "Those that were born in the Low Castes; industrial workers, miners, general laborers, were treated as though they were slaves and if one could not perform his or her duty, they were discarded and replaced by one who could."
Ahsoka gasped in shock, even Aayla seemed surprised by the description of the government on Optimus Prime's home. Anakin frowned as he clenched his right hand tightly.
"I was among those who were fortunate enough to be born into the Middle Caste," Optimus continued, "But even then, one could feel the corruption of the High Council across Cybertron."
"I can't believe a civilization as advanced as yours could be so bad." Ahsoka says, shocked by what she heard.
"Even the most advanced of civilizations can be cruel Ahsoka; if their only desire is to cater to their own benefit." the Prime replied sadly. "One could exist forever and still be viewed as cruel and unjust if their interests result in the suffering of others."
"How did the war start?" Aayla asked, "I understand the reasoning behind the war, but what caused it to start itself?"
Just as Optimus was about to answer her question, Bly and Flash approached them.
"General," Bly addressed, his tone grave.
"Yes, Commander?" Anakin replied.
"We've got a Separatist ship incoming."
"Ally or Enemy?" Optimus asked, turning to Aayla.
"Enemy." the Jedi Master answered, her expression turning grim.
"This is neutral space." Wag Too pointed out, concerned.
"It won't be neutral for long," Anakin pointed out, "not if the Separatists have their way. Help me up!"
He tried to get up on his own but only managed to succeed in hurting himself.
"Don't struggle," the healer advised, "I'm sorry, but you're still too injured to move."
Standing up, Optimus looked outside the hut to see a large ship landing in the distance. It had a wide wingspan with four wings, divided by an opening between the forward and back wings. The bottom of the ship had a large bay. The ship also appeared to be colored blue and dirty white.
"What menace have you brought to our village now, Jedi?" Tee Watt Kaa questioned, furious.
"Father, you can't blame them!" Wag Too defended.
"He's right." Ahsoka added, "The Separatists don't even know we're here."
"And they can't know." Aayla said with urgency. "We've got to hide."
"Your presence here endangers us." Elder Kaa wasn't through, however, "You must leave before your enemies find you."
Ahsoka widened her eyes in horror. "But you'll need our help."
"Ahsoka," Optimus spoke up, "Despite my limited knowledge of the Separatists, it is likely that even the mere prospect of either the Republic or Jedi being present will provide them with the excuse to attack the village. It is for that reason we must leave and spare the Lurmen from this war."
"They can't fight them alone!" the Togruta protested, a determined expression on her face.
"We will not fight them at all." Chief Kaa stated, "We would rather die than kill others."
Optimus frowned at the statement from the Lurmen Elder, Ahsoka was the one to protest once more, "You're going to surrender?" She asked, growing more horrified by the second, "But, how can you-?"
"Ahsoka, stop!" Anakin interrupted, grunting in pain, "If the Lurmen want to remain neutral, we won't force them into war."
"See to it that they leave," Elder Kaa commanded his son. "I must see what our new visitors want."
The Lurmen Chief then turned to Optimus, "For your safety, as well as our own, I suggest you go with them, Optimus."
"I understand, Chief Tee Watt Kaa." Optimus said. The Elder nodded and was about to limp away, but the Prime stopped him. "However, may I say something about your decision to refuse to fight?"
"And what do you have to say, Prime?" the Lurmen asked.
"While you may have no desire to fight the Separatists, so far as to even allow yourself to be killed by them, can you also say that for your people?" Optimus asked, making Tee Watt Kaa furrowed his brow in confusion, "Can you say that you are willing to allow those of whom you have lived with, led to this world and colonized, to die as well? Can you say you have no issue with the prospect of your own also dying when you have an opportunity to save their lives?"
"This isn't a debate, Prime." Tee Watt Kaa stated harshly, "We do not desire any part in this war and we will not fight in it."
"Protecting one's people from destruction and death is not the same as engaging in a war, Chief." Optimus said, "I hope you realize that someday, while you may not wish to fight in a war, does not mean the war will spare you from its ravages."
The elder frowned before limping away, all the while Optimus watched him leave before he let out a sigh and stood up and put his helmet on as he prepared to leave with the others. Wag Too was kind enough to stock Ahsoka's pack with food supplies for the journey back. Captain Rex and Commander Bly helped Anakin to his feet. He wrapped his arms around them so they could hold him up. Wag Too led them to a hiding spot in the village, deciding to watch the scene unravel.
Outside the village, Tee Watt Kaa took notice of the tall, skinny robots that were armed with blasters. They stood at attention awaiting orders as an obese creature with an Earth frog-like face walked down the ramp. Flanking him were two, gray, man-sized robots that were armed with wrist blasters.
All of these people had one thing in common: they were not to be trifled with.
"I am General Lok Durd of the Separatist Alliance." the creature introduced.
"I am Tee Watt Kaa," the leader replied, trying to stay polite, "leader of this colony. What do you-?"
"You are now under the protection of the Separatist Alliance." Lok Durd interrupted, "I... congratulate you on your good fortune."
Being rubbed the wrong way, Elder Kaa tried to send these intruders on their way, "Thank you, but we enjoyed good fortune well before your arrival."
Not paying attention, the Separatist led a squad of the tan robots towards the village with the elder in tow.
"We are a peaceful people, General." the Lurmen stated, "I do not condone your presence here."
"Then stand aside," he ordered. "I would like to inspect my new colony." He turned to the droids. "Ransack this dung heap!"
The droids marched into the village, ignoring the screams of fear from the colonists. They fired warning shots to anyone who got too close as they proceeded to knock over baskets of food and tear down a few of their huts. No Lurmen dared to attack, giving the droids the opportunity to complete their 'inspection.'
Wag Too was beside the Jedi, "Why are they tearing apart our homes? We've done nothing to them!"
"Just because one does not take a stand against a powerful force does not mean that force won't take advantage of one's refusal to fight." Optimus stated, eyes narrowed, recalling how this behavior was incredibly similar to how the Decepticon army would have done things.
"Can't we do anything?" Ahsoka demanded, who was not at all okay with just sitting here and doing nothing while the village was torn apart.
Aayla shook her head, "No! If we are discovered, all of the Lurmen will be slaughtered."
"We'll be okay if we can make it to the tall grasses." Anakin assured.
Quickly, but calmly, the outsiders dashed into the grasses, hiding from the view of the Separatist army. They continued to travel inward until they were well enough away from the village. Once their 'inspection' was complete, the squad formed back up as Lok Durd approached them.
"There is no evidence of any weapons or Republic contraband, General." the droid reported.
The Separatist grinned. "In the future, we may conduct more periodic searches like this one in order to maintain security."
"Because we are such an obvious threat to you." Elder Kaa retorted sarcastically, "We will offer no resistance."
"Your species is smarter than you appear." Lok Durd replied.
With a wave of his hand, he motioned the droids to leave the village and force the Lurmen to pick up the pieces.
"Father, are you okay?" Wag Too questioned once they were gone.
Elder Kaa nodded but said nothing.
"At least the Jedi escaped." the healer noted.
"Yes, but they nearly brought harm to our entire village." he shot back.
Wag Too decided to speak his mind. "But now, thanks to you, we're 'safe' to grovel before every petty tyrant who enters our system!"
"You would mock our very way of life!?" Tee Watt Kaa exclaimed, facing his son. "I have just ensured we will have peace."
"Yes, but for the moment, and at what price!?" Wag Too demanded, "Are you not concerned about the Jedi at all?"
The Lurmen stopped working and listened in on this heated argument.
"I have no quarrel with the Jedi," Elder Kaa retorted, "but we cannot help them without being drawn into their war!"
Wag Too was silent for a moment as he watched his father leave to head back to his own hut. The healer sighed in annoyance, knowing that his father was as stubborn as ever. However, there were other ways. His friend, Tub, approached Wag Too with a concerned look on his face.
"I think Optimus may be right," Wag Too said, "We may be pulled into the war even if we have no desire to."
"What do you have in mind?" Tub asked.
"I need you to track the Jedi and Optimus." he asked, "Follow them and make sure they get off-world."
Tub nodded as he took off after the group, with him was a small creature that flew beside the Lurmen as he disappeared into the grass.
Elsewhere…
Once the group had reached a safe distance, they sat down to rest and compare notes.
"You know, I can't figure those villagers not wanting to fight." Bly wondered.
Rex scoffed, "No pride, I guess."
"It's not like they can fight back," Flash said as he inspected his DC-15s, "I didn't see any weapons just lying around."
"Sure, but that doesn't mean they can't at least defend themselves." Cameron added.
"I call it no courage." Ahsoka said, putting in her own opinion.
"Sometimes, it takes courage to stick to one's beliefs, young Padawan." Aayla lectured, "As any Jedi well knows."
"Agreed," Optimus said as well, "When in the face of adversity, remaining true to one's core beliefs and ways can take great courage and will, even if those beliefs are misguided."
"Regardless," Anakin interrupted, "we need to find a ship." A grin appeared on his face. "And I think the only one here belongs to the Separatists."
Optimus nodded, however, he suddenly got the notion they were being watched. Subtly, he just barely glanced over his shoulder to look into the tall grass. Seeing if his gut feeling was correct.
Anakin droned on about his reckless plan, "We know they have a landing craft. They might have a shuttle."
"Sir, are you talking about stealing from one of the clankers?" Rex asked, "Count me in!"
"Same goes for us, sir." Flash said as he and his brothers held up their blasters.
"We need to find them first." Aayla advised, however, without any warning, Optimus spun around, his left bracer transforming into an ion blaster and fired right into the brush, startling everyone around him.
"Whoa! What the heck was that for?!" Ahsoka asked as Optimus approached the area where he fired.
"It is as I suspected," Optimus said as he stooped down and picked something up, "We were being watched from afar."
Turning around, he held up a droid of some kind. It had two small antennas on top of its head, four legs, and a bulbous body, or what was left of it. The entire body had been ripped open by the blue energy bolt from Prime's ion blaster. A mess of wires, circuits, and metal hung out as Optimus held the droid in his right hand.
"A probe droid," Anakin identified, "If you didn't take it out, it would have transmitted our location to the Separatists."
"How did you know it was there?" Cameron asked.
"I have long since served in the War for Cybertron, my friend." Optimus replied as he transformed his blaster back into bracer form, "My instincts are finely tuned to know when I am being watched from afar or when someone approaches from behind."
"That's how you knew I was coming up behind you." Flash realized, earning a nod from Optimus.
"You got some sharp senses, Optimus." Rex complimented.
"Where do you think it would have headed?" Ahsoka asked.
"Given the direction it was facing when I destroyed it, it is possible the droid headed north, towards our location," Optimus rationalized, as he dropped the remains of the droid, "but that is mere speculation."
"Well, it's a start." Anakin shrugged.
"Agreed," Aayla nodded, as she looked south and saw several trees in the distance. "There might be a chance we can see the Separatist base from the top of those trees."
"Well then," Bly concluded as he and the other Clones stood. "Let's get moving."
The group trudged onward with Anakin lagging behind. They tried to help him, but he was too stubborn to accept their help. Eventually, they came across the trees they encountered a few nights ago.
"Remember, pods can fall at any time." Optimus cautioned as the group, minus Anakin who had fallen behind, arrived at the base of the tree. "Be cautious."
"Have faith, Optimus." Aayla assured, "We will be fine."
"Understood." the Prime nodded.
"Excuse me, Optimus." Bly spoke up, "Mind if I ask how you're going to get up?"
"With these." the Autobot leader replied as he held up his bracers, which transformed into their gauntlet form.
"Not sure those are gonna-" the Clone Commander began before he was cut off when Optimus suddenly converted the gauntlets into his swords. Approaching the tree, he shortened the length of the blades and began to scale the tree by stabbing the tips of the blades into the tree trunk. The clones and Jedi watched as Optimus rapidly scaled up the large plant.
"Showoff." Cameron muttered as Optimus soon reached the top. The clones soon followed, firing some grappling lines up, piercing one of the larger branches and were pulled rapidly. The Jedi soon followed, easily leaping to the branch where Optimus stood.
"Impressive." Optimus complimented as he reverted his blades back into his bracers. Once on the same tree branch, the Clones, Jedi, and Autobot looked out across the area, having a clear view of the surrounding landscape, and the Separatist base to the south.
Ahsoka borrowed Rex's binoculars and took a better look at the base. From its appearance, the Separatists had established a small metal garrison, with high walls surrounding the landing craft and plenty of droids swarming the area.
"We have found the Separatist base." Optimus said to Anakin just as he made it up to the same tree branch.
"That's good to know." Anakin replied as he approached the group.
"And I hope you're feeling better, Master." Ahsoka added, "Because you might want a look for yourself."
Anakin took the binoculars before replying, arrogantly, "I'm getting stronger all the time, Snips." His smile instantly vanished once he took in the sights. "But, I'm not sure I'm ready for that."
He continued to look until he found what they needed to find. "That shuttle's our ticket off this rock."
"It's not gonna be easy, sir." Bly warned, "There doesn't seem to be any flaws in their security line."
"We shall deal with that when the time comes." Optimus stated as he frowned, seeing movement in the distance. "There appears to be movement within the base."
"He's right." Anakin confirmed as he frowned when spotted something of interest. "Apparently, the Separatists have a new toy."
He then turned to Bly, "See if you can get a closer look."
"Yes, sir." Bly replied.
"I'll go with you, Commander." Rex offered.
"Same goes for me, sir." Lucky added as he also prepared himself. With the Clones investigating the weapon, Optimus turned to Anakin.
"Do you have a plan for commandeering that shuttle?" the Prime asked.
"I'll think of something." Anakin replied.
"We must be vigilant." Optimus warned as he borrowed the binoculars from Anakin and saw that several squads of droids had gathered outside in front of the weapon Skywalker identified. The appeared to be a tank of some kind with an enormous yellow cannon placed on the top and was flanked by two other tanks that appeared to be similar to the new weapon. "I fear I may know what the Separatists intend to do with that device."
"What do you mean?" Ahsoka asked, turning to Optimus.
Suddenly, a missile fired into the air and landed near where the clones were scouting. The impact caused a wave of fire to come swooping down the terrain, destroying everything in its path. Rex and Lucky managed to grapple on to a branch, but Bly tripped over a log. Immediately, Aayla sliced a vine and swung down to retrieve the commander. Barely, she managed to save his life as they went back to the top of the tree.
Optimus just stared in disbelief at what he just witnessed.
"By the Allspark." the Prime breathed in shock.
"That's some toy." Ahsoka observed, horrified. "It took out every living thing."
"It is worse than that my friends." Optimus spoke as he looked through the binoculars once more and spotted two battle droids standing in the blast radius of the weapons shell, completely unharmed. "This was merely a test, to see if the weapon would harm those droids."
He then lowered the binoculars and turned to the Jedi and Clones. "The Separatist army wished to test this weapon to see its viability in combat. Since it has successfully achieved part of its goal, by not harming the droid forces, the second phase of the test is to use it on living creatures."
"The Lurmen." Anakin realized, a snarl appearing on his face.
"Indeed." Optimus nodded as he handed the binoculars to Ahsoka to place in her pack.
"Those villagers won't stand a chance." Aayla stated grimly.
"Unless we stop the Separatists." the Prime said with determination.
"Agreed," Anakin said. "First, we'll take out the droid's communications station, then after we get a shuttle, we'll go back and help the Lurmen."
"But, Tee Watt Kaa said he doesn't need our help." Ahsoka recalled, recalling what the Lurmen chief said to them before they left.
"It is one thing to bring innocents into a war, but another to leave them to their own destruction." Optimus stated with conviction. "We must help the Lurmen, even if the chief disagrees. To do nothing in this situation, if we are able to help save innocent lives, would make us just as responsible for their deaths."
"Optimus is right," Anakin agreed, "There's a difference between pulling innocents into war and leaving them to extinction."
With the matter settled, and all in agreement that they had to help the Lurmen from extinction, the Jedi, Clones, and Autobot got ready to storm the Separatist Garrison under the cover of night. Unknown to them, they weren't the only spectators to the mass destruction.
To the far side of the blast zone, in another tree, Tub stared open-mouthed at the horrific display from the Separatists. They had a weapon that could destroy every organism and were currently heading to their village. Since he was good at reading lips, he knew that the Jedi were coming back to help them, but first he had to warn his village.
"Tell Wag Too the Separatists are returning." he told the carrier butterfly.
Quickly, the bug flew off, hoping to get to the village before the Separatists did.
Later…
Soon, night had fallen and the group began their plan to infiltrate the garrison. They made sure to avoid the searchlights that were being shined down from the tops of the wall. Aayla, Ahsoka, and Lucky were the first ones to make for the base perimeter. This left Optimus, Anakin, Rex, Bly, Cameron, and Flash to make their own dashes to the wall, however, a small squad of battle droids, about four in total, blocked their path.
Anakin took care of it by using the Force to move a small rock in front of the droids.
"Hey, what was that?" the battle droid before it followed the moving rock straight into the bushes where it was decapitated by Anakin's lightsaber. While the three remaining droids moved in to investigate the commotion, the two females wall-jumped the garrison until they reached the top with Lucky using a grapple to scale up the side. Once the three droids were away from the searchlights, they were destroyed by the Autobot, Jedi, and remaining Clones.
On top of the wall, Aayla cut down more battle droids that were on top of the wall, with Lucky ripping the head off one droid and then doing the same to another. While they did this, Ahsoka, after slicing two battle droids, opened the door to let Optimus and the others into the base.
After entering the base, the six men hid behind some crates to allow a patrol to pass by.
"Ready?" Anakin asked, earning a nod from his men and Optimus. "Good, let's go."
The group then headed for the Communications center where they took out the three droids stationed there. Once they were destroyed, the group headed further into the garrison base until they found the shuttle. It was a decent-sized vehicle, with a large fin towards the stern and rested on four very thin legs.
"I assume this is the shuttle?" Optimus asked quietly.
"Yep, come on, we've got to go." ushered Anakin, however, he paused when he spotted something out of the corner of his eye.
"Shield generators." Anakin identified the two devices that caught his interest, "It's our only chance against the Separatist's weapon."
"Agreed." Optimus concurred and grabbed one of the generators and headed with Anakin back to the ship. Once onboard, Optimus took his place behind Aayla and Ahsoka who were manning the pilot and co-pilot's seat respectively. With the shield generators onboard and a shuttle in their control, they headed back to the Lurmen village; they just hoped it was still there when they arrived.
Maridun, Lurmen Village
The sun had risen by the time Optimus, the Jedi, and Clones had returned to the Lurmen village. Thankfully, it was still standing when they did get back. Aayla landed the ship in the center of the village, given it had the most open space to allow the shuttle to land without being too close to any huts. Villagers looked on in concern as the shuttle landed, thinking it was the Separatist and they had returned.
But to their somewhat relief, it was actually the Jedi that had come back. The group quickly disembarked from the vehicle and made their way to the villagers. Most of them were glad to see the Jedi, Clones, and Optimus again. The same could not be said in the case of Tee Watt Kaa.
"Everyone, please!" Aayla called out. "Please, listen! The Separatists will be here in moments!"
"What are you doing here!?" the elder exclaimed, clearly outraged, "I thought I told you not to return!"
"I am afraid we did not have any choice, chief." Optimus spoke up, stepping towards the elder Lurme., "It appears the Separatist do not care whether or not you are involved in this conflict and heading this way now. We must evacuate before the enemy arrives."
"We will not abandon our homes!" Kaa snapped stubbornly.
"But they've got a new weapon." Ahsoka protested, "It will burn this place to a crisp and kill each and every one of you. Is this what all of you really want!?"
"If it is our destiny to be destroyed in your war, so be it!" He says defiantly.
"Do you value your tradition more than the wellbeing of your people, Tee Watt Kaa?" Optimus demanded, his powerful voice echoing through the village as he looked down at the Lurmen. "Do you believe your people will be spared by the Separatists if you do not resist?"
"This is not our fight or our war!" barked Tee Watt Kaa, "It's not even your own war! Why do you feel the need to involve yourself in this conflict when it has nothing to do with you?! If I'm not mistaken, you're already mixed up in one that destroyed your entire home planet and forced your people to scatter!"
"Father-!" Wag Too gasped, shocked that his father accused Optimus of already getting involved in a war that destroyed his home.
"Be quiet, Wag Too." the Lurmen elder snapped. "I overheard your conversation with my son, how your people entered a civil war that destroyed your home. Shouldn't you finish that war before you get involved in another? Or did you learn nothing when you lost your home, Prime?"
Optimus closed his eyes for a moment before answering, "I did learn something, Tee Watt Kaa. I learned that no war is worth losing your home over and that there are those just like yourself who want no part in it, but despite their desire to remain out of this conflict, they were dragged into it regardless. While you choose not to fight, that means nothing to our foes if destroying you aids their own agenda."
Prime narrowed his eyes into deadly slits, "I will not standby and allow innocents to die, knowing I could have done something to protect them."
"You are an excellent advocate of peace and pacifism, Tee Watt Kaa." the Autobot leader stated, "But to the Separatists that approach; you are a target for them to test their weapon upon, whether you are neutral or not."
Tee Watt Kaa, frowned at the statement from Prime.
"If you do not wish to fight, that is your own choice. But know that we will defend the people of this village, with or without your approval." Optimus concluded before he turned and headed towards the others. The village elder took a deep breath before letting it out. It seemed like Prime and the Jedi were going to defend them, no matter what they said.
"Impressive." Anakin complimented.
"Indeed." Aayla agreed, "You are very wise, Optimus."
"We have little time before the Separatists arrive." the Prime stated, getting right down to business.
"Agreed," she replied, "We must prepare the village for when the Separatist droids attack."
"Then let us begin." Optimus stated as he looked at the Jedi and Clones.
Outside of the village, the droid army was approaching the village while Lok Durd boasted about his soon-to-be accomplishments.
"When Count Dooku sees how successful my weapon is against civilian targets," he said. "I will no doubt be promoted to a more...substantial position."
If the commander droid could have rolled its eyes, it would've as it gazed through the binoculars. "Okay...right. Well, the villagers appear to have put some pods together in a barrier around the village."
"Pods!?" Lok Durd laughed as he gazed through the binoculars. "How quaint."
His smile instantly vanished when he spotted certain non-natives assisting with the building using the Force. "Jedi? What are they doing out here? Halt!"
The entire army stopped in their tracks. He could not risk getting close to those Jedi. He was going to let the Defoliator do the work for him. Why dirty his hands and waste Battle Droids when he has a weapon that can destroy them in one shot.
Back in the village, the Clones were at work reinforcing the wall with more pods while Anakin, Ahsoka, and Aayla used the Force to bring the others together. Optimus was handling his own pods on his own, pushing them across the ground with his incredible strength. With the pods in position, the shield generators were placed on opposite ends of the village to provide maximum coverage of the settlement. The plan was to use the shields only if the Separatists use the weapon.
Elder Kaa was rapidly losing patience, "Please, stop what you're doing! Stop building that wall! I did not ask you to defend us!"
"This battle is inevitable!" Anakin shot back. "You can stand by your beliefs, but let us stand by ours."
Realizing that he would not win this argument, the Lurmen went back to his hut not at all pleased. He fixed the Jedi a menacing glare before he vanished from sight.
Wag Too, however, had something to say. "Thank you for what you all are trying to do. I'm sorry, but I cannot help. My father is very… strong-willed and set in tradition. Many others agree with me, but we were raised under a very strict code. We must respect it even if we don't agree."
"They're holding position!" Rex announced, having taken the position as a lookout for the Droid Army.
"They're not going to charge us!" Anakin replied. "Not if they can hit us from long-range first, but if we can withstand that weapon, we'll draw them in."
"A sound strategy," Optimus stated before he turned to Clones Flash, Lucky, and Cameron, "You three must guard the shield generators should the Separatists breach the shield. If the shields fail, then there will be nothing to prevent them from using their weapon against the Lurmen."
"Understood sir!" Cameron replied as he, Lucky, and Flash, made their way to the shield generators.
"You lead well, Optimus." Aayla noted.
"We must remain focused, Aayla." Prime reminded her as he turned to the Twi'lek Jedi. The Jedi nodded; praise would be for later, not when the enemy is on their doorstep. The Jedi took up their positions behind the wall of pods along with Rex and Bly. Optimus stood at the very front of the group, his mouth cover snapping shut as he transformed his bracers into gauntlets.
A moment of silence hung in the air until they heard the crack of a cannon in the distance. Rapidly rising over them, a shell was launched into the air, heading towards the village.
"Incoming!" Rex yelled.
"Power the shields!" Anakin commanded.
The Clones did as commanded and beams of energy shot into the air. The beams then broke apart into smaller beams. From the tips of the beams a giant, pink dome appeared above the village and quickly covered the whole area. Not a moment too soon, for the shell impacted with the ground just outside the village, the fires from it spreading quickly. The Lurmen held their breath as the flames spread across the ground and rapidly swept towards the village. The flames then stopped just at the edge of the shield, however, one could hear the shield groan and rumble as it fought against the intense heat.
After a few tense moments, the fires soon died down and the shield remained standing.
"Now they'll have to get their hands dirty and meet us face-to-face." Anakin stated confidently.
"However it is imperative that they do not destroy the shield, without it, the battle could be lost." Optimus warned, earning a grim nod.
"Understood." Skywalker replied, quickly sobering for the coming battle. The group then climbed over the pods to the other side and took notice of the battle droids and super battle droids charging towards them.
"That's a lot of clankers." Ahsoka noticed, uneasy.
"We've got to stop them before they get through the shield." Anakin said.
The six individuals stepped out of the shield and readied their weapons, the Clones drew their blasters, the Jedi their lightsabers, and Optimus transformed his bracers into his ion blasters. Once they were out, the droids opened fire.
The Jedi used their lightsabers to deflect and even reflect blaster bolts back at the droids, taking out a few as the machines charged. Optimus was currently firing both ion cannons at any droid that came his way. It was then the Jedi charged and Optimus followed, taking down any opposition. Ahsoka leaped into the air and landed directly in the middle of the squad. Throwing them off, she quickly slashed aside quite a few droids. Since Anakin was still injured, all he could do was deflect the shots and destroy whatever droid that was in his way. Aayla, however, superseded all of them. She twirled her lightsaber, so it could cover her from all sides. Even when she took out the droids, her lightsaber was still moving. She kicked a battle droid down before rushing into the fray with the others. The numbers of droids dwindled down from 40 to 20, to 5, to 1.
The final droid was blown to pieces from a shot thanks to Optimus and his blasters.
"That wasn't so tough." Ahsoka commented as she took note of all the droid pieces lying around.
"It is far from over, Ahsoka." Optimus recalled, his focus remaining on what was in front of him.
"He's right." Anakin agreed, "That was just the first wave."
And sure enough, the next wave had arrived, only this time, there were more droids than the last wave.
Quickly, the battle started up again with the droids, who were twice in number than before, shooting at them. Naturally, the three Jedi cut down the middle with Optimus following them, blasting any droid that entered his sights, but the ones they didn't get headed towards the village. As the chances of death rose and the number of droids grew, the clones retreated into the shield.
"Aayla, Ahsoka!" Optimus shouted over the rapid noise of blaster fire, "Return to the village and assist the clones in defending the generators! The shield must not fall!"
"Understood!" Aayla replied as she turned to Ahsoka, "Let's go, Ahsoka!"
"Right behind you!" the Padawan replied as she and the Jedi Master made for the village to reinforce Rex, Bly, and the others, destroying any droids that were in their path.
"Anakin, while the others protect the village and the generators, you and I will target their weapon," continued Optimus, as he kept firing. "If we can destroy it, we will remove the primary threat to the Lurmen Village!"
"Just so you know, you technically can't give me or my men orders!" Anakin pointed out as he deflected blaster bolts and sliced any droids apart.
"This is not up for debate, Skywalker!" Optimus stated firmly, "Lives are on the line!"
"I hear ya!" Anakin replied before charging forward. "Let's go!"
With that, both Optimus and Anakin charged towards the Separatists and their weapon. During their charge, the two warriors were targeted by the Separatist tanks, the cannons firing powerful bolts at them which exploded on impact. It was when they were halfway to the tanks when Anakin suddenly collapsed and fell to his hands and knees. He groaned in pain as he clutched his stomach. Looking down, he saw his palm was covered in blood, letting him know one of his wounds had reopened.
"Anakin!" Optimus shouted as he transformed his blasters back into his bracers and rushed over to the Jedi, scooping him up into his and carrying him to the tall grass to take cover for the moment.
"I have to get back into the fight." The Jedi Knight protested as he tried to get up, but was pushed back down by Prime.
"Your injury is too great." The Autobot stated. "Should you continue, you run the risk of putting yourself in greater danger of being shot or blood loss. I will deal with the weapon."
"Not with a blaster you can't." Anakin countered as he tried to sit up again, but winced in pain once more.
"Then allow me your weapon so that I may accomplish our goal." the Autobot stated as he reached for the lightsaber.
"Forget it, you're not using my lightsaber." the Jedi said, but it wasn't like he could stop Optimus as he already had the weapon in hand.
"I wasn't asking for permission." The Prime stated as he activated the Jedi weapon and charged forward.
Closing the distance, Optimus sliced two super battle droids apart and blocked a blaster bolt from a droid and quickly decapitated it before sprinting towards the tank. Rapidly closing the gap, Prime leaped into the vehicle and sliced the front of the barrel off before jumping onto the main body, dragging the lightsaber blade across it before jumping down and slicing the back section of the cannon off, destroying the weapon while making sure the shell did not go off.
It was then Prime saw the Separatist General trying to escape. Narrowing his eyes, he transformed his left bracer into his ion blaster and fired at the ground in front of the escaping leader. The Military leader froze in his tracks to see Optimus approaching him, his blaster lowered and lightsaber activated and humming.
"You are not part of the Jedi and neither are you a clone." Lok Durd noted, trying to come up with a way to get out of the situation. "A mercenary perhaps? Did the Jedi hire you? If so, whatever they are paying you, I'm sure the Separatist Alliance will triple whatever it is-"
The General immediately stopped talking when Optimus aimed his blaster right at him, the barrel lighting up as the weapon charged to full power.
"I am no mercenary and if I was, there is nothing you could offer me, other than your unconditional surrender." Optimus stated calmly as he continued to glare at Lok Durd, who only let out a whine of defeat.
With the weapon out of commission and the droids destroyed, Optimus and Anakin escorted Lok Durd back to the village at blaster point to ensure he didn't try to escape. It was during the walk back did Optimus discover the shield generators were destroyed by the droids and the shield had fallen. The Clones Cameron, Lucky, and Flash had sustained some injuries while trying to defend them.
However, what surprised Optimus was when he learned the Lurmen villagers had actually gone against their way and fought back against the droids, helping Aayla, Ahsoka, Rex, and Bly destroy them. While he was thankful villagers stood up for themselves, he was proud to see them take the courage to go against their way.
"That was extremely reckless." Anakin stated as he and Optimus entered the village.
"You would have done the same, and what's more is what you did was more so than I." Optimus countered as his mouth cover retracted, "Charging towards them with the injuries you sustained was foolish, but noble and courageous."
Optimus then handed Anakin his lightsaber. "And I apologize for going against your wishes, taking your weapon without your permission; but given the situation, there was no time for debate, not with innocents in danger."
"True," Skywalker relented as he took his lightsaber back and cast a smirk on the Prime. "And if I'm being honest, I probably would have done the same if I was in your position."
"Understood." the Autobot replied as he handed off the Separatist and the engineer who fired the tank to be taken into custody aboard the shuttle by the clones. While onboard, the clones contacted the Republic, giving them their location and a brief report on what occurred beforehand.
"Thank you, Wag Too." Anakin said.
"I should thank you," the Lurmen replied, "Our village would have certainly been destroyed without your protection." He saw his father approaching. "Father, I was just offering the Jedi our thanks."
Reluctantly, Tee Watt Kaa responded with, "Perhaps we do owe you thanks, but I still wonder: at what cost?"
"In war, the cost of a battle of defense can vary, Chief Kaa." Optimus said as he approached the Lurmen elder, "But know this, if the Separatists ever come seeking vengeance, know that I will come to your aid and defend your people as we have to do, with all that I am."
The Jedi also nodded, letting the Lurmen know they would also return to aid if they ever needed it.
"Thank you, Optimus," Tee Watt Kaa replied. "And I would like to apologize for what I said to you before."
"Your words did not stem from malice my friend, but rather concern for your people's well being," Optimus assured, "There is no need for an apology."
"Perhaps, but what I said was still out of line." Kaa countered.
"Though your words may be harsh, they are true, it is not wise to engage in another battle before finishing another." the Autobot leader replied. "But given the circumstances, when it comes to defending the innocent, that takes priority above all others."
The Lurmen elder nodded, seeing there were no hard feelings between them. It was then, in the sky where everyone could see, several enormous dagger-shaped ships entered the Atmosphere.
"Looks like support has finally arrived." Anakin noted.
"Indeed." Aayla agreed, before she glanced at Optimus from the corner of her eye and watched him remove his helmet and look up at the Venator Star Cruisers and watch as gunships flew down to the village. It was then her earlier question resurfaced in her mind.
'Who are you, Optimus?'
To Be Continued…