Chapter 10: Lir Sey'les

Aboard the Polycaste

Sey'les felt bored, anxious, and helpless in orbit. She had no skills of use for a space battle. This was now the longest continuous space battle she had been in.

The Polycaste had now been on red alert for six hours. Strapped to the safety chair in her quarters, Sey'les was beginning to wish she had gone with Ekos and Itoll. Sey'les squinted from the bright light as an Acclamator exploded outside the window. A dogfight between Vulture Droids and V-19s continued, the fight quickly edging away from the explosion.

"All hands, shields are weakening. Prepare for another four-hour withdrawal. Repair crews, at the ready."

Looks like Seesaw is no-go, Sey'les thought to herself. It had already been delayed more than thirty standard hours.

Three Venators jumped into the system, taking the places of the damaged, destroyed, or withdrawing ships; continuing the pressure on the Commerce Guild fleet even with Republic ships withdrawing.

Sey'les unbuckled as the ship entered hyperspace. Left behind was the phantasmagorical orbital destruction she could only be a witness to. Her fur swirled nervously. I hope Itoll and Fojo are all right.

Prococia's calm Jedi voice came over the intercom. "All 12th Army senior officers and team leaders, meet in the auxiliary bridge."

I hope he tells me how things are going on the ground, Sey'les thought. She straightened her uniform in the mirror, pocketed her cap, then headed out the door.

o-o-o

Itoll Oc

In the cramped interior of the emergency shelter, Itoll, Fojo, Ekos, six of the Wookiee leaders, and a few Clones sat on the floor in the centre. Dozens of triple bunks were arranged in columns and rows in every direction—plenty of beds, but not a single chair.

"Rider of Storms, that's crazy," Ekos said bluntly.

Rider of Storms roared angrily.

"She says that she can't stand sitting around here anymore," Itoll translated calmly. His fur no longer constantly swirled nervously. Over the last thirty hours, Ekos had begun to treat him a little bit nicer. The Bothan was no longer terrified of upsetting the Padawan by telling him exactly what the Wookiees said.

"A little less than two days ago," Ekos started pointedly, "you were saying you didn't want to spare Wookiees to do a simple observation mission. Now you want to attack Azagor City?"

Rider of Storms moaned solemnly.

"She says that she doesn't want to wait around here and starve," Fojo explained this time. Itoll and Fojo had decided to simply translate every other utterance to give themselves a break and better keep up with things.

Hopper scoffed, shaking his head. "Starve? Ridiculous."

"I agree, but we shouldn't be so disrespectful," Ekos muttered.

"Sorry Commander," Hopper replied.

"We have enough food here in the shelter alone for three months," Ekos explained in a consoling tone.

Several Wookiees began roaring and moaning at once in protest, screaming at the tops of their lungs.

"ENOUGH!" Ekos yelled over the cacophony.

Itoll sighed. "They are arguing—"

"—I don't care what these Wookiees are arguing about, Ensign," Ekos interrupted in a sassy tone. "We are not attacking Azagor with three hundred Wookiees and a hundred Clones, with no vehicles or air support."

You could put it more diplomatically yourself, Commander, Itoll thought but kept to himself.

Ten seconds later, as if to further argue the Padawan's point, a low rumble vibrated through the shelter and boulders landed on the roof with an ominous thud.

Itoll's ears perked up. His fur swirled nervously. "Sir, I hear—"

"—Echo actual to perimeter," Ekos yelled into his comm, "there are droids on the roof."

o-o-o

Blasterfire flew over Itoll's head in the darkness. Lying prone on the roof, the Bothan returned fire in the direction of the shots fired. The view of the blasts burned brightly in his nightvision goggles.

Ekos stood between Itoll and six Clones, deflecting the blaster shots back at the droids. This time, Ekos had decided to leave Fojo in the shelter.

LM-432 Crab Droids continued raining down from the ceiling, landing on the roof of the shelter with a thud. Each one now set of a hail of blasterfire in the direction of the Republic forces, also on the roof.

The Crab Droids were advancing. Many of them were surviving being hit by dozens of shots before finally going down.

"See if you can shoot them before they reach the roof!" Ekos screamed.

Itoll aimed his blaster rifle up and tried shooting the falling Crab Droids mid-air. Six blasts missed but one shot landed squarely on the bottom of a Crab Droid, which burst into flames, landing on the roof in wreckage.

"Nice one sir!" yelled Upper, one of the Clones from the 346th who had been on this planet already for over a month.

"Thanks." Itoll's fur danced at the praise for a moment, then stopped when a shot nearly hit his head, continuing on past his shoulder until finally hitting a cave wall in the distance. His fur swirled nervously as he continued firing.

The Clones downed several more Crab Droids as they dropped into the cave. One of the already-landed Crab Droids was squashed under the flaming wreckage of a falling one.

"Sir!" Hopper yelled, "we can't keep this up forever. This means the Seppies have made our position!"

"I know," Ekos retorted.

Itoll continued to fire up at the falling droids when suddenly, he had an idea. "Commander, I think you could use the force to block the hole they are falling through."

"What do you know about the Force, Bothan?" Ekos scoffed.

"Sir, respectfully," he muttered grimly, continuing to return fire, "you can use a Force-lift or Force-grip to shift the rocks around."

"Hmm…" Ekos mumbled, continuing to deflect shots. "Cover me!"

"Sir! That's not necessary," Itoll stammered.

"Ensign, what do you mean?!" Ekos yelled impatiently.

"We could withdraw sir, and you could move the rocks from the ground out of sight of the droids," Itoll explained. His fur swirled nervously.

Ekos said nothing for a moment, continuing to deflect shots. The look on the Rodian's face was one of frustration. "Ensign, I gave you an order," he muttered in a warning.

"Covering fire, sir!" Itoll yelped. He and the Clones let off a barrage of blasts in the direction of the advancing droids. The Padawan retracted his lightsaber, standing recklessly in the open. The sound of rocks creaking overhead grew louder and louder until it was an earthquake.

A massive ten-meter wide boulder landed on the roof, squashing all of the remaining Crab Droids. Itoll and the Clones stopped firing ahead and cautiously aimed their blasters up into the hole in the cave. A few seconds later, more boulders fell, blocking the hole completely. A rain of thick graphite-smelling dust rained down onto everyone for a moment.

Dust landed on Itoll's helmet, snout, and shoulders. He shuddered as it slipped into his uniform collar, raining down the back of his shirt.

Ekos breathed heavily, exhausted.

"Sir," Hopper said sternly, "the Bothan was right. That was an unnecessary risk if I—"

"—Captain," Ekos hissed.

"A good officer needs to be able to evaluate risks, and know when a—"

"—Are you saying I am not a good officer, Captain?" Ekos asked.

"Sir, that is not the point I am trying to make," Hopper equivocated.

The Jedi teaching Jazal had explained, Conquer Arrogance,crossed Itoll's mind, but he kept it to himself. His fur swirled nervously.

"Glad to hear it," Ekos scoffed. "Now you men, search the dust to make sure all of the Crab Droids are disabled. Then, clear off any bits you can physically carry or push from the roof. I am going to take a shower."