Derylon
On the road to Derylon Station
A week after the initial landing…
Night was falling on Derylon Prime as Obi-Wan slid down a tree trunk and onto his bottom, exhausted. The battle for Carga City had turned into a slog after the initial breaching of the city walls, and much the same had happened at Tellerton with Anakin, the 501st, and the Sky Corps. For four days, both clone forces had slugged it out in brutal engagements with Count Vork's droids, often in sudden ambushes that turned into hours long duels. The 83rd and the 10th had performed above and beyond Obi-Wan's expectations; adapting to the difficult situation quickly and forming plans and systems to counteract the droids.
At the end of the fourth day, Carga City and Tellerton had been cleared enough for the majority of the clone forces to move on, with a garrison left behind to finish off the remaining droids and to defend the newly captured territory. They left behind a combined total of eight and a half thousand dead clones, and almost double that number missing or wounded; a harsh tally for two cities.
Anakin and Obi-Wan advanced along separate routes towards Derylon Station at a slow pace; much of their time was spent dealing with ambushes or clearing the road of obstacles so the armored columns could advance. On the fifth day, a small flotilla of Republic vessels had arrived in the system; a contingent of clones guarding an aid group led by Senator Amidala, to no-one's surprise. They immediately set about the process of liberating the prison camps and treating the malnourished Derylonians, as their time under Vork's boot had not been kind to them. More aid vessels were arriving with supplies and to assist in the sheer volume of people who needed that aid.
All that coordination was done between Padme and Anakin, again, to no-one's surprise who knew them. Obi-Wan was grateful he hadn't sent the 83rd or the 10th with Anakin; the Sky Corps and the 501st were all well aware of the feelings between the two, and Obi-Wan didn't need more people asking questions. Obi-Wan sighed heavily as he thought of the pair; both individuals of high standing in the Republic, carrying on their secret relationship despite it all. And then there were the children; Luke and Leia, Obi-Wan had been told. Obi-Wan was privately worried for both of them, not because of the secret relationship of their parents, but of the Jedi Order, and what would happen if one or both were Force Sensitive. He rubbed his temples as he thought, and Commander Cortex approached from the shadows.
"Sentries are all set, and the boys are settling down for the night." He reported quietly. The 10th Legion was serving as the forward elements of their advance, Obi-Wan had naturally joined them.
"Good, tell them to rest well, they've earned it." Obi-Wan said tiredly.
"Will do, sir," Cortex said, "another thing; we've recovered one of the nuclear devices from the camps…you may want to take a look at it."
"Why, is something that matter?"
"No, sir, but we've never seen anything like it; General Skywalker is also en route as well."
"Well then by all means, lead on." Obi-Wan said, raising himself by pushing against the tree and following the commander. The trip took an hour on an LAAT, during which time Obi-Wan went to the back of the gunship, sat in the AT-RT that was strapped in, and promptly fell asleep. Major Keener woke him shortly before they landed, so when Anakin first saw his former master, there was no indication that he had been drooling in a scout walker.
"You look as tired as I do, master." Anakin greeted.
"For once, Anakin, we can agree on that." Obi-Wan replied, walking out of the gunship and onto the hard gravel of the prison camp they had been summoned to.
"And we appreciate your exhaustion, Master Jedi," came the voice of Padme Amidala, who looked equally tired, "otherwise these people might not have the hope of returning home."
"You keep that hope alive, Senator, and make sure that they can get home once this is all over." Obi-Wan said.
"Of course." Padme answered. A clone trooper approached in Explosives Ordinance Disposal (EOD) armor.
"Generals, I'm Captain Jaeger of the 10th Legion, if you'd please follow me, I'd like to show you what we've found." The captain said.
"Master Kenobi, do you mind if I tag along; some of my colleagues in the Senate are interested in Vork's devices, and where he acquired them." Padme asked. Obi-Wan nodded, too tired to argue with the Senator at the moment. They followed Jaeger to the central building of the camp, a foreboding building that screamed oppression, and down into the basement. Inside, they found several bomb squads of clones gathered around what the trio assumed to be the nuclear bomb, as well as several various terminals around it.
"So, Captain, what's all the fuss with this bomb?" Anakin asked.
"A few things, sir, first, please note the insignia on the device." Jager pointed to a bright white eagle with the bold characters U-N-S-C underneath. "We believe this to be whoever manufactured or owned the device prior to it coming into General Vork's possession. Analysis of the letters revealed them to be Basic."
"Basic, captain?" Padme asked.
"Yes ma'am; the galactic standard language for trade is Aurebesh, which is what we use on datapads and the like. What we are seeing on this device is Basic script; the letters of our spoken language written down." Jager explained.
"So we're dealing with someone not a part of the galactic community, perhaps?" Obi-Wan suggested.
"Yes sir; we've translated some text for you," Jager handed the Jedi a datapad each, forcing Padme to look over Anakin.
PROPERTY OF THE UNITED NATIONS SPACE COMMAND FURY TACTICAL NUCLEAR WEAPON. WARNING: TAMPERING WITH FURY WARHEAD MAY RESULT IN NUCLEAR DETONATION AND NUCLEAR FALLOUT. INDIVIDUALS CAUGHT TAMPERING WITH, IN UNAUTHORIZED POSSESSION, AND/OR IN THE ILLEGAL TRADE OF THIS WARHEAD ARE SUBJECT TO THE UNSC CODE OF MILITARY JUSTICE. SENTENCE INVOLVES LIFE IN MILITARY PRISON OR SUMMARY EXECUTION. FURY TACTICAL NUCLEAR WEAPON #394-221.
"Several things stand out here." Anakin said.
"I'm more concerned that this is one of hundreds of thousands." Padme said. "What does this say about who they are? Warmongers, purists?"
"Survivors may also be a term you could apply to these people." Obi-Wan said, setting the datapad down. "Do we have a point of origin for these devices?"
"No, sir, however as more of these warheads are recovered, we hope to find one." Jager answered. "As of right now, we have three of the known eighteen that haven't been detonated."
"Thank you, captain, keep me informed." Obi-Wan gave a nod and strode out of the basement, his mind working as fast as it could go with so little sleep. Anakin and Padme followed behind, both of them confused as to what was going on. Obi-Wan stopped just outside of the building, turning back to the pair. "What was discovered here does not need to be spoken of unnecessarily. Senator, I would request that you conceal this information for the time being, until Anakin and I can ascertain their point of origin."
"I-" Padme appeared to be ready and willing to viciously protest, but a quick glance, which Obi-Wan caught, towards Anakin silenced her, "I understand, Master Kenobi. I will keep this knowledge to myself…but I had better hear back from you soon." She turned and walked away with a wave as an aide approached with a datapad.
"So, what now, master?" Anakin asked. Obi-Wan yawned and stretched in reply.
"I don't know about you, but I'm going to go find a place to sleep before returning to the front."
"I'll second that; let's see if any of the relief ships have a spare bunk or two." The pair tiredly trod over to one of several shuttles brought by the relief workers and did indeed find a pair of bunks to fall asleep in. It was nearly midnight when the two fell asleep, and the relief workers seemed to find it funny that two Jedi, men who projected calm and serenity, could make sleep so noisy with their snoring.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Morning brough the two Jedi back to the realities of war, and so were returned to their respective fronts by LAAT/is. They would not be apart for long, however, as the two armored-infantry columns were converging upon the Derylonian Travel Lane (DTL); a central roadway to the city of Derylon Station that provided the various haulers, crawlers, and walkers utilized on the planet a secondary route to the capital if speeders or shuttles were not available, which they were not on many occasions. Their marches had been relatively calm, with only minor ambushes and the like along the way, and scouts from the 10th Legion reported that all signs pointed to Vork's droid army retreating back to Derylon Station. After the intense fighting of the previous days, the clones were enjoying a calmer day; the sun was even shinning as Obi-Wan's column approached the DTL.
Obi-Wan was feeling a bit care-free himself on this day and found himself leaning against the dorsal turret of the lead AT-TE, gazing out at the ruddy and rough landscape of Derylon. As the trees to his left began to thin, he turned his head to the left to see the AT-TEs of the 501st Legion marching forward, with members of the 501st and the Sky Corps marching in loose order alongside them. Obi-Wan keyed his comn-link to his and Anakin's channel.
"Hello there; I see you've finally arrived." He greeted.
"Actually master, I'm not quite there yet; I'm coming in with an air patrol." Anakin stated. "Something isn't sitting well with me."
"Care to share?"
"I dunno; it's this odd feeling in my stomach that says be ready, like before we left for Derylon." Anakin replied. Obi-Wan's eyes snapped to scan the horizon; while he did not share the same feeling, he trusted his former apprentice's gut. Indeed, it appeared the Jedi that it was far too calm, and that the droids, even with Vork out of the system, were not so inept as to allow two armored-infantry convoys to successfully converge and march on their home base.
The trees to his right thinned, revealing the DTL at its merging point; the roadway smashed and destroyed. What remained of it climbed a hill with a long, rolling slope, with a thin tree line at its top, with various large rocks and crags crisscrossing the slope, creating the image of a scarred land. What concerned Obi-Wan, however, was not the broken road, not the imposing landscape, and not the difficulties of effectively traversing said terrain, but what came over it.
"INCOMING!" A clone cried as the troopers threw themselves off the road, an artillery round hurtling towards the lead AT-TE. Obi-Wan grabbed the clone trooper in the dorsal turret and threw both of them off the walker, over the road, and into the grass of Derylon. The walker crew desperately attempted to flee the walker, but the artillery shell made impact with the armor, detonating and showering the immediate area with super-heated metal fragments. Several clones were caught in the blast, some were killed, while others were injured and began to scream. Across the median, the 501st and 212th were receiving a similar welcome from the droid forces, which now appeared on the hill and the slope; the rocks and crags concealing sloped trenches from which the droids now opened fire on the advancing columns.
"Anakin!" Obi-Wan cried as he and the clone trooper crouched down, "the droids have fortified the area around the DTL!"
"Understood, I'm coming in hot!" Anakin replied, "The ground battle is yours; Rex and Cody will follow your lead."
"Copy that, stay safe!" Obi-Wan cut the comns as the gunner, a clone of the 83rd, gazed mournfully at the burning wreck of his AT-TE. "Trooper!" The clone turned, "There will be time to mourn later; focus on the droids and saving the rest of your brothers." The clone nodded and clambered up back onto the DTL, running across it to the nearest of his injured comrades. Obi-Wan raised his comn-link once more and began to broadcast to the clone forces.
"All forces be advised; droid forces are dug in on the hill ahead with artillery and heavy weapons. Unit commanders, report into your higher headquarters, legion commanders, prepare for instructions, out." Obi-Wan switched to the channel for the six leaders of the offensive. "All commanders, report in."
"Prizefighter, reporting in and moving up!"
"Cortex, reporting and en route."
"Cody, reporting and moving forward."
"Rex, reporting and moving."
"Skywalker, coming in!"
"Gentlemen, this may be our last major battle before we reach Derylon Station; be careful, be smart, and bring as many of your men out of this fight alive as possible. Rex, Prizefighter, I want your armor to get organized out of the sight of those guns. Cody, Cortex, move your infantry forward to establish a base of fire against the droids. Stay as mobile as you can, don't let the droids get a fix on your location. I will direct the battle at the center, out."
And with that, Obi-Wan took stock of the situation; the droids were appearing in greater numbers now, B-1 droids firing in waves down the hill, Super Battle droids adding their fire alongside anti-infantry emplacements. At the top of the hill, the droids were employing mortars and dwarf-spider droids to fire directly upon the clones, and, as Obi-Wan continued to look, AATs lumbered over the top of the hill. It was a grim situation, one that, in normal circumstances, Obi-Wan would've liked to take his time to clear, but the campaign to retake the planet was taking too long, and Vork slipped further and further away with every day expended. So, the GAR had to push through this position. No matter the cost.
With that in mind, Obi-Wan rose to his full height, ignited his lightsaber, and went boldly forth into the killing ground. He moved calmly, his motions almost careless as he went towards the hill, casually deflecting the occasional blaster bolt that flew his way. It took a few moments for the droids to notice him, but once they did, the fire began to intensify on the Jedi, and a deluge of blaster bolts poured down on him. To any clone trooper, or even most Jedi, it would have been a death sentence…but for the Negotiator, it was a Wednesday.
The legend of Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi was born both in diplomatic meetings and on the battlefield, where clones had spread the tales of the Jedi marching into battle through an entire droid army and walking out the other side with nary a scratch on him. And it was on the battleground of Derylon that Obi-Wan gave more credence to those legends, enduring a maelstrom of small arms fire with masterful bladework. Nothing slipped past his blade, no bolt singed his robes, no explosion knocked him down, the General kept his feet and his ground.
In the moments that the blaster volleys shifted over to Obi-Wan, the clones pushed forward, taking better positions and returning fire against their droid foes with a vengeance. Medics scampered across the battlefield, dodging blaster bolts, explosions, and falling trees to save their brothers from death. The AT-TEs of the 83rd lumbered forward and began to return fire against the droid batteries, punching holes in the tan and silver rows of B-1s and B-2s, and AT-RTs joined them with their small cannons. The blaster fire lessened on the Jedi, and he began to slowly move forward; a calculated risk, but he knew his clones well. The 212th, the leading unit of the 6th Sky Corps, began to follow him, taking cover in craters and behind debris from the now ruined DTL, firing the whole way after their general. Cody came hurtling after Obi-Wan, one hand holding his rifle, the other raised to his helmet as he bellowed orders into his comnlink.
Overhead, Anakin's Gold Squadron screamed into view, Vulture droids roaring to meet them, and together they clashed in the sky. To the onlooker, the fight was a majestic, if violent dance, but to the pilots it was knife fighting. In-atmosphere fighting was to the disadvantage of the clones; the gravitational force exerted by their turns caused some pilots to black out mid-fight. Anakin had it slightly easier, one because of his training as a Jedi, and two, well…there's not as much blood rushing to your head if you're missing an arm. Nonetheless, even he struggled against the tide of Vulture droids that came screaming towards them.
The field of battle is the most uncertain place in the entire universe, where the addition of a few small, yet key factors, can change the whole course of the fight….
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
In orbit over Derylon…
"Transitioning to real space in three…two…one, transitioning." The navigational officer called as the Triumphant and her escorts snapped into existence inside the Derylon system. Master Plo Koon observed the Republic task force in high orbit over the planet and nodded; the campaign was well underway.
"Open a channel to the Negotiator and contact Admiral Yularen. Inform him that reinforcements have arrived for Generals Kenobi and Skywalker." He ordered.
"He's beaten you to it sir; transmission coming in for you now." The comns officer reported. That peaked Plo Koon's interest.
"Send it to the command center." He ordered, turning, and moving quickly towards the command center. Inside the command center, Commander Wolffe stood waiting, with Padawans Baro and Palara standing off to the side. The image of Admiral Yularen fizzled into life shortly after the Jedi Master arrived. "Admiral Yularen, it's good to see you again."
"The feeling is mutual, General Plo, however we must be brief. Generals Skywalker and Kenobi are currently engaged in a large scale-battle with the leftover droids on Derylon; they've set up a sizeable position blocking access to the capital, Derylon Station. They are in need of assistance breaking through the enemy lines."
"General Vork has remained to finish the fight?"
"No sir; General Vork escaped after detonating two nuclear devices of unknown origin, destroying two internment camps with the planet's populace. The task force has been engaged in a campaign to liberate the planet from the droid forces left behind on the planet." Yularen explained. "As of current, Vork's droids are deployed in a sizeable defensive position, halting our advance."
"What's their air cover like?" Baro interjected. Yularen, having noticed the two Padawans but not given them much attention, turned to Baro and Palara.
"Apologies, but you are?"
"Padawan Baro, Admiral."
"Padawan Palara, at your service, Admiral Yularen." Palara introduced.
"A pleasure, Commanders; which one is yours, sir?" Yularen asked Plo Koon.
"Neither." Plo Koon answered. Yularen looked confused for a moment before coming to the dawning, horrid realization…before giving a rueful smirk.
"Shall I delay informing the generals of your arrival, sir?" He asked.
"If you'd kindly, Admiral, and give us tactical feed of the battle. We'll be descending to the surface." Master Plo answered.
"Understood, sir," Yularen said, "and before I go, whomever has the…pleasure, of serving with General Skywalker, may I recommend you board your starfighter? Yularen, out." As the admiral fizzled from existence, Baro looked with big puppy eyes towards Master Plo.
"Hangar deck, prep Commander Baro's starfighter for action, ready Antares Squadron, and prepare all gunships for in-atmo deployment." Plo said into the ship's intercom. Baro was gone in a flash, throwing open the turbolift with the Force and punching the down and close door buttons at the same time. Palara couldn't help but laugh as Plo shook his head.
"You'll be joining me in the gunships," Plo told her, "Master Kenobi will undoubtedly be at the front with his men."
"Understood, Master, what should I expect?"
"The beauty of working with Master Kenobi and Knight Skywalker is you never truly know what to expect with them. Commodore, move the fleet into Derylon Prime's atmosphere, and position us over the battlefield! Our friends require immediate aid, and I intend to give it to them!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Derylon's surface…
"Down!" Cody grabbed an unaware private and threw them both to the ground, allowing a low flying artillery shell to pass harmlessly over them and detonate on empty ground. "Head on a swivel, trooper, got it?!"
"Yes sir!" The private replied before scrambling into cover. Cody moved on, running low between cover as the 212th, now joined by the 501st and elements of the 83rd, pushed up the ruins of the DTL under heavy fire from the droid defenders. General Kenobi still held the center, though his robes were singed and burnt from blasterfire and explosions, dirt and dust caked his body, but he still went on. Cody was constantly amazed at how the general maintained such a brutal tempo, and thankful for it.
Behind them, the bulk of the 212th crawled forward, clearing the trenches one droid at a time before following. Behind them, the 501st rushed to assist, with the 83rd further behind providing heavy fire support. The 10th Legion was nowhere to be found; General Kenobi had ordered Commander Cortex and his men to flank around as best they could, as they had no place in a pitched advance such as this.
In the skies above, Anakin and Gold Squadron were having the fight of their lives; spinning and dodging through a swarm of Vulture droids, of which there seemed to be no end. As a result of their distraction, droid bombers slipped through the skies unmolested, and began dropping bombs on the advancing clones. Clone troopers and tanks went flying in all directions or eviscerated by the falling ordinance. The situation looked bleak, but the clones pushed forward.
"Where are my rockets?!" Cody bellowed down the hill, and duo of clones ran, doubled over, towards him. "I want fire on those AATs, clear the way for the rest of the force!"
"Yessir!" The rocketeer cried. He knelt, resting the launcher on a still smoking shard of metal, leveled at the centermost AAT, and fired. The rocket streaked away, leaving a trail of pale gray smoke behind it. The projectile impacted just below the turret of the tank, disabling it, and punching a hole into the upper half. It slumped down onto the ground and became inert.
"I want more rockets, now!" Cody yelled down the hill, and more rocketeer teams began taking positions and firing, cycling between them to keep a constant stream of ordinance on the line of AATs.
Up ahead, Obi-Wan deflected a red bolt back into a B1, then blocked a tide of bolts from a super battle droid. Two clones leaned from cover and fired into the droid, riddling its torso with bolts before it collapsed in a shower of sparks. The Jedi shifted, backhanding a trio of shots from a battle droid back into it before pushing forward. An explosion behind him caused him to glance back, and he saw, to his dismay, that a grenade had landed between the two clones, killing them both. It also made him realize, to his horror, that he was now cut off from the clones. He made an attempt to backpedal, but the droids were on him now, seizing upon the fresh opportunity before them, their programming instructing them to cut off the stranded Jedi. And, as Obi-Wan began to fight for his life, he dearly wished he had Anakin or Ahsoka by his side.
But as he fought, he felt the ground shake with what felt like massive footfalls, and then a hail of blaster cannon fire fell around him. The droids melted under the fire as Clone Captain Blitz crushed a B1 beneath the foot of his AT-RT.
"Thought you could use a hand, sir!" Blitz called down, as the rest of the Bolts followed behind. Obi-Wan spared another glance down the ridge and found Captain Bulwark following after them, dragging clones from the 212th with him. Cody got to him shortly after, breathing heavily.
"Sorry sir, busy with the rockets." He panted out, raising his rifle to his shoulders.
"Better late than never, Cody." Obi-Wan responded, deflecting a shot meant for the clone commander. Cody replied with a burst of blaster fire, downing the offending droid. And then, the world seemed to rumble, as if something was growling at them from above. Before Obi-Wan could even look, an excited voice called over the comn, drawing his eyes skyward.
High in the sky, Anakin veered hard to the right as a Vulture droid screamed past him, firing its cannons. The Jedi winced as he felt the harsh Gs press into him, but he pushed through them, he had to. Gold Squadron was taking a pounding as the droid fighters poured in from the direction of Derylon Station, with various Republic fighter groups trickling in from across the theater of war. It wasn't enough, though; Hyena droids constantly slipped through the dogfighting to bomb the advancing clone ground forces, and there was little Anakin could do to stop them. He was arguably the best pilot in the galaxy, but even he couldn't be everywhere at once, nor could he overcome the risks of in-atmospheric dogfighting.
As he flipped his Eta-2 and chased down a pair of Hyenas close by, his radar began to fill with new contacts. Friendly contacts, blessedly, but far more than he was expecting. Anakin's curiosity was broken by R2 giving a warning as the interceptor's missile alert began to blare. He heaved the flight stick to the side, barely dodging a missile from a Vulture, before spinning to avoid the hail of cannon fire that followed.
Anakin's eyes flicked to the radar once again, and he watched as one of the friendly contacts split off from the formation and barreled towards him. His eyes roamed the clouds and he watched as a blue-green stripped Eta-2 shot from a cloudbank and raked Anakin's pursuers with its cannons. The Vulture droid exploded, and the striped interceptor streaked past, allowing Anakin a glimpsed of a young, excited Jedi pilot. Anakin then watched as ARC-170s, and LAAT/I gunships emerged from the clouds. On the gunships, emblazoned on the side, was the head of a Kel-Dor, with two words below it: Plo's Boys.
"It's the Wolfpack!" Screamed a clone trooper. Anakin and Obi-Wan watched in relief as the forces of Jedi General Plo Koon's 104th Battalion descended through the atmosphere towards the battlefield.
"Wolfpack, converge on the enemy!" Came the voice of the Kel-Dor over the comn. Anakin saw, out of the corner of his eye, a squadron of Y-Wing bombers burst from the clouds, followed by the prow of an Arquitens light cruiser. The cruiser went to work, its turbolasers and blaster cannons cutting lethal arcs through the Vulture droid formations, providing covering fire for the bombers as they swept low, unleashing a payload onto the droid entrenchments. The clones of the 212th, 501st, and 83rd all cheered as the ridge went up in flames, and Obi-Wan smiled, resolve filling his body as reinforcements began to descend upon the battlefield.
The clones began to run up the hill, their tempo of battle increasing as supporting fire began to roll in. Atop the ridge, the droid forces struggled to reorganize their lines of fire, the initial strafing run leaving large gaps in their firing line. Droid artillery pieces lay burning, but the droids began to plug the holes with rocket droids, spider droids, and AATs. Commander Prizefighter, standing behind a team of clones firing up the ridge, saw the shift in the line; reinforcements trickling towards the droid's left flank.
"General, this is Commander Prizefighter; droid forces are weak on the left! Permission to redirect my elements, over!"
"Kenobi to Prizefighter, granted! Break their flank, out!" Came the hurried response.
"Prizefighter to Rhino Battalion, shift fire to the left; disrupt enemy movement! Hound Battalion, push forward, drive their left flank back!" There was a noticeable shift in fire as the Rhino battalion stamped forward, forty-eight AT-TEs maneuvering to bring their guns to bear. Underfoot, the clones of Hound battalion rushed up the ridge, their advance covered by the Rhinos. The infantry ducked between stumps, craters, and rocks, the blasters of a squad or platoon almost constantly firing, emitting a rolling blanket of blue bolts. The droids returned fire, a scattered drizzle of red crisscrossing the blue that began to rise incrementally as reinforcements trickled in.
That ended with the arrival of Plo Koon. A quo of Y-Wings swung low, strafing the droids with their cannons, softening the flank, and concealing the landing of six LAAT/I gunships. From the centermost gunship rushed the Kel-Dor, lightsaber held low. A squad of droids quickly met their end as he slammed into them like a tidal wave, battering them down with blade and the Force. Behind him emerged the Wolfpack, and, as Obi-Wan peered towards the left from the center, a young woman with a yellow double-bladed lightsaber. In the midst of the carnage, Obi-Wan smiled, happy for Plo-Koon and what he believed was his new padawan. The two would get along well, Obi-Wan thought as he deflected a trio of blaster bolts into a Super Battle Droid; it was hard not to get along with Master Plo.
In the skies, Anakin rallied what was left of Gold Squadron and went on the offensive. Joined by Plo Koon's reinforcements, and what Anakin assumed was Plo Koon's enthusiastic new padawan in the striped Eta-2, the Republic fighters began to hunt the airborne droids. Vultures and Hyenas alike began to drop from the skies like flies.
"Got two on my tail!" A clone pilot cried.
"I'm on it!" Cried the padawan. Anakin watched as the padawan suddenly braked, backflipped his interceptor, and hurtle towards the pilot. In atmosphere, that was a high-G maneuver, and yet the padawan had executed it near-perfectly. R2 let out a whistle.
"He's enthusiastic if nothing else," Anakin replied, "wouldn't call him sensible." R2 warbled in response. "No, he does not remind me of myself!" Two explosions told him the Vultures were destroyed, allowing him to descend on a pack of Hyenas heading for the ridge. He strafed them, blowing the two out of the sky and flipping his interceptor around. He cast his gaze to the ridge and the plains beyond, and his eyes widened. From Derylon Station marched droid reinforcements; wave after wave after wave of B1 and B2 battle droids broken by lines of AATs and Spider Droids. "Obi-Wan come in, we have a whole army of droids headed for the ridge!"
"How much time do we have?" Came the response, Obi-Wan's battlefield calm reigning over the roar of blasters in the background. Anakin made a rough estimate.
"They're two miles out; we've got time, but not much." Came the reply.
"Keep the skies clear, we'll need air control to hold the ridge." Obi-Wan ordered and switched comns channels. "All commanders, this is General Kenobi; enemy reinforcements are approaching the battle zone. I want every trooper, weapon, and tank on top of that ridge in the next ten minutes, out!" With the order given, he turned back up the ridge, scanning it for a hard point. He found it in the form of a gun pit he'd been under fire from since he started his ascent, droids constantly moving around inside.
Drawing power from the Force, Obi-Wan bent his legs and leapt into the air, somersaulting, and landing in the center, lightsaber humming. The first droid that noticed him had its head cut off before it could raise the alarm, and soon the gun pit was filled with the sound of lightsaber cutting through thin metal. A trio of droids lugged a heavy blaster around to fire on Obi-Wan, who responded by lifting all three into the air and crushing them with the Force. Another droid turned a lighter blaster cannon, and the Jedi lifted it into the air as well, using the trigger-happy droid to lay waste the rest of the gun pit and the adjacent trenches before throwing it down the ridge.
The gun pit clear, Obi-Wan looked for his next target, hearing it before he saw it. At the top of the ridge sat a trio of droid artillery pieces blasting away at the advancing AT-TEs. As he sighted the guns, one of them fired, the shell slamming into the cockpit of an AT-TE, gutting it from bow to stern. It was a risky choice of target, but if he wanted to seize the ridge, Obi-Wan would have to take it.
"Sir!" Came the call of a clone. Looking back, Obi-Wan saw Captain Blitz leaning down from his walker. "We gonna do anything about those guns?" At least the Jedi wouldn't be assaulting the guns alone.
"That's my next target, care to join me?" Blitz nodded and placed on hand on his helmet.
"First and second platoons, charge those guns! Third and fourth, cover the advance!" The AT-RT lurched forward as Blitz put pedal to metal and Obi-Wan charged forward. There was roughly a hundred meters of ground between him and the guns, across two trench lines and through a hell storm of blue and red laser fire. Obi-Wan crossed it in seconds, amplifying his speed with the Force, blurring over the trenches and weaving through the hellstorm.
The droids at the guns weren't prepared as the Jedi quite literally slammed into them, using his speed to turn his body into a weapon as he crashed into a Super Battle droid. It flew backwards, it's left side broken and destroyed as the Jedi began to lay waste to the droids. He ripped droid gunners and loading crews from their posts and threw them into each other, smashing them to pieces. The droid artillery battery fell silent.
The reward had been worth the risk, but it was coming to bite Obi-Wan in the back. Turning, he saw Blitz's platoons struggling up the hill, and from behind, other droids from atop the ridge began to funnel towards him. A team of Droidekas spun towards him, bouncing along the uneven terrain. Surrounded once more, Obi-Wan planted his feet, held his blade ready, and waited.
Then, as the droids began to bring their weapons to bear, he heard the roar of gunships. Glancing backward, he saw a pair of LAATs coming in from two separate directions. The closer one abruptly turned, presenting its left side forward as the doors opened. In the center of the gunship stood Commander Prizefighter, the barrels of his Z-6 cannon already spitting blue bolts over Obi-Wan's head. Around him, a squad of clones opened fire as the gunship came to a halt just above him.
To his left came the second gunship, and from it came another squad of clones, followed by the padawan Obi-Wan had seen landing before. She was lithe, moving with a grace the complimented her stature, amplified by the Force. She moved with a confidence Obi-Wan had only seen in Anakin as a padawan. A yellow double-blade was in her hands, and it spun in lethal arcs around her, deflecting and cutting anything that came across her path. The two briefly locked eyes, Obi-Wan nodding to her before continuing his ascent.
Behind him, he heard the gunship containing Commander Prizefighter depart, then saw the clone and his escort squad at his side. Prizefighter wasn't yelling or cheering, as Obi-Wan expected him to be; the commander alternated between firing sustained bursts from his cannon and yelling into his comnlink, barking orders to tanks and infantry alike. Despite his coarse nature, Prizefighter left that behind him, trading it for cold battlefield calculation.
"Glad you could finally join me, commander!" Obi-Wan called.
"Had to stretch the legs a little, sir, show the boys how it's done!" Prizefighter replied, unleashing a sweeping volley along a droid trench line. "Are we stopping, sir?"
"Why would we do that? We have to reach the top!" Obi-Wan answered, sweeping his lightsaber in an arc, deflecting a bolt back into a droid.
"We have sir!" Prizefighter cried. Obi-Wan looked around him and realized that he was, in fact, on top of the ridge. Around him, the clones were slowly arriving at the ridge's apex and firing down on the other side of the slope. To his right, the droids were being destroyed by the combined efforts of the 83rd and the 10th, now providing rifle fire from further along the ridge. And to his left, Master Plo Koon emerged from a smoke cloud, bisecting a battle droid with a backhanded cut.
"Did I miss anything?" He asked as the droid fell to the ground.
"Only most of the fun," Obi-Wan replied, panting heavily as he smiled, "what brings you, Master Plo?"
"A bit of a delivery, and I must confess, I needed to work on my saber skills." Plo Koon answered.
"Watch out!" A clone cried. From a dugout in a trench emerged five commando droids, blasters and blades out. Six clones died before anyone could react, but by the time the two Jedi turned, the yellow dual blade was spinning through the air. Two droids were beheaded, the other three ducking, turning, and leveling their blasters at the thrower. The padawan had already moved and sent a loose hunk of rock hurtling towards them, crushing one. She sent a hail of stones at one of the droids, peeling back its armor and exposing its insides, falling to the ground as stones imbedded themselves in its circuitry. The fifth was reduced to a smoking pile of metal and wiring by vengeful clones.
"Kid's got style." Prizefighter said aloud, causing Plo Koon to chuckle.
"Now, to the matter at hand," the Kel-Dor turned and looked down the ridge, raising his comnlink "all bomber wings, redirect fire to the droid reinforcements; ensure none reach the ridge." On que, two squadrons of Y-Wings swept across the advancing droids from left to right, devastating the front formations. Behind them, AT-RTs and AT-TEs crested the ridge and began to fire down, starting with the tanks and heavy droids. The clones added their blaster fire, and a monsoon of blue bolts enveloped the droid reinforcements. Obi-Wan deactivated his lightsaber and let out a long sigh; the ridge had been taken, his forces were still intact, and the way to Derylon Station was open.
But he couldn't stop himself from looking down the ridge, even as more clones ascended, he saw only the broken, twisted, dead, and the dying. The battle for the ridge had taken a high toll, Obi-Wan had no doubt of that…he wasn't sure that the cost was worth it. No number of dead beings, cloned or otherwise, was worth the life of one war criminal. A hand on his shoulder broke him out of his thoughts.
"There is no death, only the Force." Plo Koon said ever so gently. Familiar words brought a sense of calm to Obi-Wan, who took a deep breath, standing up straighter.
"Thank you…these battles have always worn on me greatly." He said, noting two Eta-2 Interceptors descending from the sky. One of them was Anakin's but he didn't recognize the other. "Your delivery, I presume?"
"Of a sort." Plo Koon said as the two landed. From the second interceptor, a blue and green stripped craft, came a young man with a padawan braid. Inside, Obi-Wan couldn't help but laugh; Plo Koon was delivering Anakin a new padawan.
"How'd we do?" Anakin asked as he approached, then he looked down the ridge. "Oh… we made it at least."
"Without Master Plo's arrival, I fear it might have been worse." Obi-Wan said, adopting the persona of a calmer man, more at ease than how he felt on the inside.
"You're right about that, speaking of," Anakin turned back to the two, "it's good to see you, Master Plo, thank you for the assistance."
"Anytime, young Skywalker, I'm happy to have lent aid." Plo Koon said as the female padawan approached. Anakin noted her, narrowed his eyes, looked back at the young man, back to the girl, then at Plo Koon.
"Something tells me you're not here solely to help us out," Anakin said cautiously, "which one is yours?"
"Mine? I don't have a padawan learner." Plo Koon stated simply. Obi-Wan and Anakin both cocked their heads at Master Plo, then, almost in unison, their eyes widened. If Plo Koon had a human face, it would have been split in the biggest grin in the galaxy.
"Can I ask the Council one thing, Master Plo?"
"And what is that, Knight Skywalker?"
"If they're going to make me have a padawan, can I at least receive them at the Temple instead of an ACTIVE WARZONE?!" Anakin cried, causing anyone who heard it to laugh. The two padawans, on the other hand, looked around nervously, unsure how to react. Obi-Wan bowed his hand, put a hand on his forehead, and did his best to conceal his own laughter.
"I apologize for my friend's outburst," He said after composing himself, "though, I do concur with the statement. I am Master Kenobi, and you are?"
"My name is Palara, Master Kenobi." The girl introduced
"And I'm Padawan Baro, a pleasure." The boy said.
"And let me guess, you're my padawan." Anakin said to Palara.
"No, actually, I am." Baro said, taking a tentative step towards him. Anakin turned in surprise to Baro, blinking.
"Huh…well then, it's a pleasure to meet you, Padawan Baro." He extended his hand to Baro, who took it, tentatively.
"Then you must be my apprentice," Obi-Wan turned to Palara, bowing, "I am eager to be your teacher."
"And I am eager to be your learner, Master Kenobi." Palara bowed in return. Plo Koon moved to speak, but a beeping from his comnlink distracted him.
"This is Master Plo Koon, I'm receiving you." He said. He listened for a moment before nodding. "Understood, prepare my personal starfighter and a hyperspace rig for it; I'll investigate myself." Plo Koon ended the call, turning to the other Jedi. "I'm afraid duty calls me elsewhere, my friends; we've lost contact with Master Jaro Tapal and the Iron Battalion at Bracca. The Council has requested I investigate."
"Another of the renegades?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Unknown, but…I sense some small disturbance in the Force," Plo Koon said, turning his gaze to the clones, "something…I can't quite place my finger on. I must go alone; the Wolfpack will remain to assist."
"Thank you again, Master Plo," Anakin said, "we couldn't have done it without you."
"Oh, you would have; but thank you nonetheless." Plo Koon said. "May the Force be with you all." He turned and walked away, flagging down a gunship from the Wolfpack.
"Now then," Obi-Wan said, turning to the other three Jedi, "as much as I'd like to fully introduce ourselves, we have work to do."
"Agreed," Anakin looked out over the battlefield behind them, then at the droid reinforcements. With the ridge now firmly in Republic hands, the droids had begun an orderly retreat back to Derylon Station, hounded by clone bombers and tank fire. "How far is the city from here, master?"
"Roughly a two-hour march to the outskirts; we could make it in three or four, depending on how cooperative the droids are." Obi-Wan replied.
"Why don't we stay here, call it a 'tactical halt'," Anakin suggested, waving to the ridge behind them, "we've been going hard for a week and…frankly we need to give the clones time to grieve." Obi-Wan didn't look back over the ridge and the ground beyond again to agree.
"While I am reluctant to give the droids any more time to dig you, you're right. Order a tactical halt here and have the commanders prep a security rotation for the next 36 hours. Once that's done, tend to the dead." Obi-Wan said turning away, then stopped. "Palara, come along." The young padawan quickly stepped after her new master, casting a glance back at Baro, who winked back at her.
"So…how ya feeling, kid?" Anakin asked Baro.
"I'm alright, sir, er, master." Baro stammered. Anakin could see the young man's anxiety written across his features, and Anakin came to the realization that before him stood Ahsoka's complete opposite. When she had come to him, Ahsoka had been cocky, arrogant, and totally sure of herself. Baro, Anakin noted, was none of that; good natured, but anxious and uncertain. And yet, for some reason, Anakin couldn't help but grin at the kid.
"Hey, relax," Anakin said, placing a hand on his shoulder, "take a breath. First thing to know; I'm not as formal as most Jedi. Second thing, you've got some solid flying skills; who taught you?"
"Master Saesee Tiin; he taught me in his spare time!" Baro replied cheerfully.
"Same here; he help me upgrade my old Delta-7 at the start of the Clone Wars." Anakin said. He motioned for Baro to follow, and the pair walked along the ridge, talking about how they flew and how Master Tiin had taught both of them. Obi-Wan observed it all briefly before making his way further down the ridge. They'd be fine; he was sure of it.
