Chapter 18: Lir Sey'les

MGX-93776

When they finally reached the observation point, the AT-TE driver lowered the front legs of the beast as planned, then Sey'es, Wulf, and the Clones pained the thing with gobs of black and grey paint to make it look destroyed.

For the next three days, they slept on the slanted floor of the ATTE, ate in the ATTE, brushed their teeth in the ATTE, and on duty shifts in groups of two, looked down on the battlefield with electrobinoculars, giving warning to advancing elements; when they saw Separatist forces setting up an ambush, that is. Most of the time they sat around bored.

Sey'les yawned as another artillery barrage nailed the particle shields over Azagor City. By now, piles of destroyed Separatist tanks sat on the outside of the shields, so numerous they were visible to the naked eye in daylight.

Mobility operations, yay, Sey'les snorted to herself.

"This is Muun-2 to Skyhawk-9," Dub muttered, sitting next to Sey'les. "There are some Clankers and Kilo-Oscars setting up defensive position on First Street."

Sey'les zoomed in to where Dub was looking. A group of battle droids and Koorivar dressed in red were setting up barricades just beyond the particle shield. "This is Muun Leader, I can confirm," she growled in a bored voice.

"Very well Muun-2 and Muun Leader, we will take that under advisement."

"Ma'am, I have a theory for why we are up here," Dub said in a sage voice.

Sey'les chuckled. "You do?"

"The General doesn't like you," Dub explained.

More like he wants to keep Wulf and I up here, out of the way, where we can't kriff anything up, Sey'les scowled to herself. "Good observational skills," she muttered sarcastically.

"Thank you, ma'am. The Kaminoans enhanced the natural skills of our template," Dub said matter of factly.

Yeah? Like they halved your life expectancy. Sey'les batted her ears in annoyance when a fly landed on one.

While Sey'les was bored, missed Itoll and Fojo, and felt very distrusted, she was grateful that she no longer had to work with Buzz or Tarkin. Itoll and Fojo would be back under her command soon enough and being lightyears away from Ro'val was yet another huge relief. Now, what I wouldn't give for another vine of fresh Aldraanian grapes. She sniffed the air curiously. Smells like—

A raindrop landed in the middle of her nose.

"Shtak I picked the worst shift for observation duty," Sey'les muttered bitterly under her breath. Raindrops began landing loudly on her helmet as she unzipped her assault pack and pulled out her coat.

o-o-o

Itoll Oc

Under the cloudy sky, amidst ruined Separatist tanks, Itoll, Fojo, and dozens of Wookiees laid prone on cracked concrete at the edge of the Separatist particle shields. Ekos and the Clones had rushed in ahead and were completely cut off from communication.

Itoll and the Wookiees were caked in miserable dried mud. He was chafing in a few spots under his uniform.

A few times, the Bothan's ears perked up when he heard Sey'les's voice giving alerts on the battlefield channel. Otherwise, he was staring grimly ahead. Several Clones had fallen, and an urban firefight was raging beyond the shield just meters away.

On the other side of the city, out of view, columns of AT-TEs and TX-130 tanks were slowly pushing through the particle shield.

The signal for the Wookiees to rush in would come when the particle shield went down.

A drop of rain landed on Itoll's mud-covered hand. A patch of his dirt-caked, stuck-together fur loosened. Sweet. Hopefully, it'll—

—Rain began falling from the sky in earnest. A few of the Wookiees moaned.

Itoll grinned as stray blaster shots made panging noises on the surface of the shield. Unstrapping his helmet, the Bothan allowed the rain to fall directly onto his mane. After a minute or so, he dumped a refreshing helmet-puddle of rain onto his head. Shtak that feels good.

Abruptly, the particle shield turned off.

Rider of Storms roared furiously and stood up.

[Wait ma'am!] Itoll yelped, [Ekos hasn't given us the go-ahead—]

—The Wookiee pulled him up to his feet. Stray rapid-fire blasts roared by. [CHARGE!] she yowled.

"Kriff!" Fojo yelled into the comm. "My Wookiees are charging!"

"Mine too!" Itoll yelled, jogging next to Rider of Storms. "Echo-five to Echo Actual—"

"—Echo Actual to All forces, commence Triphammer!" the Rodian Padawan yelled suddenly into the channel. "I say again, Triphammer is go!"

"All right, guess running forth without being told was the right call?" Itoll croaked nervously to no one in particular. He charged alongside the Wookiees, clumps of mud dropping from his fur onto the pavement.

Shortly after they crossed past the first row of buildings, a blastershot punched through one of the Wookiees towards the lead, Winder of Gears.

"SHNAYWER!" [SNIPER!] Itoll yelped in Shyriiwook, firing suppressing rounds up at the window.

Another Wookiee was shot in the head as she tried to pull Winder of Gears to his feet. Both collapsed into a bloody puddle.

[TO THAT WALL!] Rider of Storms roared.

Child of the Cave Beach began wailing terror. Roaring Shyriiwook obscenities.

"This is Echo-five," Itoll yelled urgently into his comm, running to cover. "We are oscar mike, taking sniper-fire from the eleventh floor of the apartment complex on the corner of 10th and Mining Guild Parade. Two down—"

—Another Wookiee went down.

"KRIFF, THREE DOWN!"

[ASK THEM TO SHOOT THE BUILDING!] Rider of Storms roared as she ran frantically for cover.

"Echo-five request fire-support on 10th and Mining Guild Parade!" Itoll yelped as he staggered against a concrete wall, he sat down, looking to his left and right to see if Fojo made it. He saw the Rodian reach the far side of the wall. Phew.

"That's a negative Echo-five," a Clone's voice replied into the comm. "Too many civilians inside."

Shtak. "Echo-five to Echo Actual, requesting further instructions—"

"—CLEAR THE BUILDING!" Ekos ordered.

"Sir, I am not sure the Wookiees know how," Itoll croaked nervously.

Rider of Storms groaned angrily.

"Well, do the best you can," Ekos said grimly. "We are still clearing buildings of our own."

Itoll chuckled to himself cynically, shaking his head. His soaked fur shifted around. An eleven-story building… Do the best I can? "Roger that."

o-o-o

When they reached the entrance to the building, the door was gone. Itoll peered down the hall cautiously, aiming his blaster rifle ahead. "Rider of Storms, how about Fojo and I take point?"

Rider of Storms groaned neutrally.

"Are you kriffing crazy!" Fojo whispered angrily.

Standing in the rain, Itoll looked back at the dozens of Wookiees. "And… we only need…" a hundred is way too many, five way too few… let's go with… "twenty of you, Rider of Storms, could you select your most-trusted ones? The rest of the Wookiees need to hold this position."

[Sure,] Rider of Storms moaned. She walked amongst the crowd, picking a few Wookiees here and there out of the bunch. A few picks resulted in roaring arguments. One Wookiee, Treader of Morning, moaned angrily as she shook her head.

"All right Fojo, we got point—"

"—I don't remember you being put in charge. We're both Ensigns," Fojo muttered.

"Do you want this to go completely sideways?" Itoll growled cautiously.

"No but—"

—Itoll held his fist up. He heard something; his ears tried perking up but squished against the interior of his helmet. Some branches in a tree overhead cracked, something metal was banging through them. Shtak. He looked up, then yelped "DETONATOR!"

With roars, moans, and wails, Fojo, Itoll, and two dozen Wookiees scattered from under the tree. Five seconds later, it exploded. The tree fell down parallel to the building.

"Everyone all right?!" Itoll yelled, standing up from prone position. No one looked injured. "Good. Okay, you guys are going to need to hold this position from away from the windows, got it?"

[I am staying here to make sure they remain safe,] Rider of Storms moaned. [Itoll, I am putting you in charge of the breach.]

Itoll smirked in Fojo's direction. See?

Fojo shook his head. This is so not the time.

[You need to listen to the Bothan,] Rider of Storms growled. [Can you do that?]

Twenty Wookiees roared, moaned, or growled Uma. [Yes.]

"Mawyen." [Good,] Itoll mutterd in Shyriiwook, shaking his head in disbelief at the whole situation. [Okay, Fojo and I are going to take point. When I enter a room first, I go to the right, then Fojo goes to the left, then the next one of you goes to the right and we sweep the centre. Check your doors and corners. Like a cave, there are lots of places for potential enemies to hide. And don't just shoot anything that moves. Apparently, there are civilians.] The last part of the Bothan's speech was a bitter angry snarl. Stupid civilians, living right under where a sniper happens to be shooting from. Ruining my whole day.

Itoll looked at the bunch under his command. Kriff it, he thought as he noticed Child of the Cave Beach out of the bunch. Itoll's heterochromatic eyes flashed at the Wookiee. Child of the Cave Beach! Really? Rider of Storms, is he really one of your best?

o-o-o

The first three stories went without incident. Still, Itoll and Fojo were extremely nervous as they advanced up the stairs in the darkness. They both knew that, at some point, they would encounter another ambush.

Itoll's nightvision goggles would sometimes betray a pale glow at a corner before a mammalian being loomed into view.

Suddenly, on the fourth-floor stairwell, he saw such a glow. Itoll cautiously stepped forward after giving the signal for halt. Fojo stopped and a Wookiee bumped into his back, grumbling angrily. Fojo shushed the Wookiee furiously.

Swinging around the corner blaster-first, Itoll prodded someone with the tip of his blaster.

A Koorivar child screamed in terror.

"Shush! It's all right, sorry," Itoll growled consolingly, lifting his goggles.

The child was bolting away as fast as he good. Itoll let him go.

A few of the Wookiees grumbled angrily.

Why would you stand right—never mind. [Let's keep going,] Itoll whispered in Shyriiwook.

o-o-o

On the fifth-floor stairwell, Itoll and Fojo cautiously stepped up the stairs backwards. There was a platform behind them, on which someone could potentially—

"—HALT!" a droid voice screamed, aiming a blaster.

Itoll and Fojo opened fire, blasting the droid to smithereens.

"Hua wen-magha masha?" [What happened sir?] Child of the Cave Beach moaned worriedly.

"Oin." [Droid,] Itoll muttered, continuing to walk up the stairs.

[Let me see!] Child of the Cave Beach roared.

[SHUT THE KRIFF UP!] Fojo whispered in a yell. [You are going to get us killed.]

[You'll walk past the droid in a second, Child of the Cave Beach,] Itoll snorted, stepping over the droid. [You'll see everything we see. Don't worry. But be quieter.]

More times than the usual, over the past few days, the Bothan had thought to himself: This is ridiculous. Itoll had previously experienced being sent on missions with poorly trained Clones. Compared to those Clones, these Wookiee cave-dwellers were total idiots. It was clear some of them had never fired a blaster before. Might as well take mewing Lothcats along into battle. It was a miracle only three of them had died so far.

o-o-o

Fojo and Itoll had survived one more ambush by the time they reached the 11th floor. After they shot another droid, this time, Child of the Cave Beach begged to be put on point so he could shoot something. The answer was, of course, no.

With Child of the Cave Beach curiously standing next to him, Itoll peered his head out into the hall, blaster-first and saw a stack of sandbags. His fur fell flat as he withdrew into the stairwell. A blast emitted through the doorway, into the stairwell, and cut nailed Treader of Morning in the lower left corner of her abdomen. She screamed in pain, falling down the stairs, knocking all of the Wookiees below her over.

The Wookiees moaned and yelled until five at the bottom finally managed to catch Treader of Morning.

"WOOKIEE DOWN!" Itoll yelped, taking cover near the doorframe. [Get her to the 10th floor landing! Fojo, help her and tell the Wookiees down there what to do. I'll cover you]

"SHTAK!" Fojo yelled anxiously as blasts crossed through the doorway, hitting the back wall.

"Grenade out!" Itoll yelled, throwing a detonator in the direction of the sandbags.

From the hall, seconds of panicked yelling emanated for two seconds, then an explosion.

"GO, GO, GO!" he yelled to Fojo, peering out into the hall again.

Fojo ran down the stairwell behind him.

Itoll and Child of the Caves stepped forward out of the doorframe into the smoky hall.

At the end, a door popped open. The glowing horn of a Koorivar lit up in the infrared first.

Itoll aimed his blaster squarely at it.

Then a blaster came out.

Itoll opened fire. A male voice screamed, shot in the arm.

[My blaster won't work sir! It's broken!] moaned Child of the Cave Beach worriedly.

Ignoring him, Itoll stepped up to the sandbag and began kicking the blasters away from all of the down Koorivars. They looked dead, but it was better to be safe.

"I know you're injured!" Itoll yelled, echoing down the hall, aiming his blaster towards the doorway. "Surrender and we'll treat your injuries and—"

"—Why Bothan? So you can infect me like Ohma D'un!" a gravelly voice yelled.

That's stupid Separatist propaganda, Itoll thought. However, he said, "think about it. If I were really infected, your whole planet would be dead already anyways, right? That thing infects everything."

For thirty seconds, whispers barely audible to the Bothan had a hushed conversation. Itoll lifted his helmet slightly, allowing his ears to perk up a bit.

The gravelly voice finally chuckled bitterly. "Good point. Fine, we're surrendering. We are coming out—"

"—No, you are staying where you are," Itoll snarled. "You are going to push your weapons to the door and lay on the ground."

[My blaster,] Child of the Cave Beach moaned. [Sir, it won't—]

[—Enough!] Itoll snarled. [Follow me and stay quiet. How many handcuffs did you bring?]

Ah ah. [Two,] moaned Child of Cave Beach, pointing to his belt.

[Good, I have three. I'd be surprised if there were more than five.]

"You can speak Shyriiwook? That's weird," the Koorivar groaned. "All right, we are sliding our blasters out the door."

Three blaster pistols slid through the door into the hall.

Itoll walked towards the door, then he stopped. His fur swirled with suspicion. "ALL OF THEM!" he snarled furiously. "I think you have a kriffing sniper rifle! If I come in there, and there's a sniper rifle—"

—A sniper rifle was carelessly thrown through the doorway. It hit the wall then clattered to the floor.

"Okay, I am coming in. Any tricks, and I promise you won't live to regret it."

Looking cautiously to the left, Itoll could see nothing suspicious from the door across the hall. He sniffed the air fruitlessly and smelled Koorivar, food, and concrete. Knew that.

Drawing his blaster, he peered into the doorway, then stepped into the room to the right, peering to the left. As promised, three Koorivars were laying on the ground. One of them had torn fabric on his arm. "Stay down," he growled as he lifted up his nightvision goggles.

In the dim light, he could see all of the Koorivar were dressed in goofy-looking yellow and red armour. Great. Fusiliers who can probably kill me with their bare hands. "All right, clear!" Itoll growled nervously.

Child of Caves entered the room moaning once more.

[Okay,] Itoll growled in Shyriiwook. [We are going to handcuff them, and hopefully the others will be able to help.] As he handcuffed the injured Fusilier, he spoke into his comm in Shyriiwook. [We have taken three prisoners and cleared the hallway of the 11th floor. There are still many rooms that need to be cleared. How is Treader of Morning doing?]

[Ah, she's doing all right,] Fojo said. [She'll make it.]

One of the Koorivars muttered under his breath, praying, Itoll suspected. The injured one looked up stoically, and the third looked defiant.

"Are you in charge of a battalion of Wookiees?!" one of the Koorivar scoffed as she sat up.

"STAY THE KRIFF DOWN!" Itoll snarled, aiming his blaster at her.

She laid back down with a sigh.

"Now I would like your names and ranks," Itoll growled once he was content with their cooperation.

"I am Subcommander Jaron Enom," the injured one muttered.

"Sergeant Gyrala Wistari," the female sighed.

"Private Hykizen Klari," the final Koorivar groaned. "I cannot believe we just surrendered to a Bothan."

"Oh, I am sorry," Itoll snarled with human sarcasm he had picked up. "Would you rather I be a Wookiee or a Clone?" No, no! They're trying to distract me. "Okay let's get up," he growled, pulling Private Klari to his feet.

[My gun!] Child of the Cave Beach moaned again, brandishing his bowcaster. [It won't shoot sir. It won't shoot!]

Itoll snorted when he saw the problem. The safety was on. Do I want Child of the Cave Beach to be able to shoot? No. [I don't know what the problem is. We'll have to get it checked out later, all right?] His fur swirled guiltily.

[Okay sir,] Child of the Cave Beach whined sadly.

o-o-o

As they continued walking down the stairs, the handcuffed Koorivar spoke to each other in Koorivar. Their clusters of sibilants running into clustered mess of things like: "kashja dza pshchowa shazishch tshasha wikin." Itoll's ears were perked up, but he could not make parse a single word except maybe wikin. Weekend, the Bothan suspected it meant. No, that's crazy.

[Sir, I cannot believe you are keeping them alive,] Child of the Cave Beach muttered bitterly, his footsteps and moans echoing loudly. [They killed—]

[—Kid. That is not how it works,] Itoll snarled. [If you just kill prisoners in revenge, it gives them an incentive to fight you to the death. You lose more friends that way.]

[Well, still,] Treader of Morning moaned, grimacing as she massaged the bandage on her abdomen. [I would like to shoot their limbs.]

[Don't play with your bandage!] Fojo roared.

[Treader of Morning, you are not to harm any of them. They are uniformed prisoners of the Galactic Republic. Wearing stupid-looking uniforms yes, but uniformed. Next time, don't stand in the doorway.]

Fojo snorted.

[I am sorry sir,] Treader of Morning moaned. [Still though, sir, I think these Koorivars owe you a life debt. We would have killed them.]

No, you would have all been massacred by them if it weren't for me and Fojo. It would have simply been a Wookiee massacre. They would have lived on, at least until Clones or Jedi decided to come down on them.

"What are you talking about?" Subcommander Enom asked.

"Oh, nothing," Itoll growled with a feral mischievous grin. "Just, apparently, you all owe me a life debt or something."

"Superstitious walking carpet—"

"—I would strongly advise not insulting the Wookiees," Fojo interrupted pointedly.

Itoll snorted as he stepped over the wreckage of one of the droids. I bet the Wookiees wouldn't have made it past level five. Even if they got this far, Child of the Cave Beach has his safety on. He still has his safety on.

At this point, Itoll wished Fojo spoke Bothese so he could tell him all about how much of a kriff-up Child of the Cave Beach really was.