The Republic forces had barely gotten the time for sleep by the time the Separatist's first wave of droids came in force. The size of their army was large, likely two times the size of all the current forces that they had. And with the battle in space still going on, they had to make do with only the supplies and forces we had. And in comparison, their army was horribly unprepared thanks to Slick.

However, just as Jack informed, they were lucky that Slick hadn't destroyed all of their heavy supplies. It was thanks to their heavy artillery they managed to push the Separatists back the first time, but it wasn't without a cost. They had taken a considerable amount of casualties, their army losing a third of the troops they had.

With their numbers dropping, there was little choice but to send the few blockade-runner ships they had to get more troops and fresh supplies. It was a gamble, but they were currently all out of available options to turn to.

Unfortunately, the droids would make their second push only two hours later. It was sudden, but the moment it happened clones were moving to combat the menace that marched towards them.

"Go, go, go!"

Amongst the chaos, Jack was running down to the wall of rubble that was built after the first assault. Unlike his usual DC-15S, the boy was now carrying a 15A, using the superior range to hit the further droids and having the extended barrel over the wall to better shield himself from blaster fire.

The assault wasn't nearly as large as the first, but the massive numbers was still a threat to be dealt with. And with his squad separated from him, Jack had to rely that they were not among the troops getting shot left and right around him.

While Anakin took troops to ambush the approaching forces, Obi-Wan was with the defense force, coordinating the attack patterns of the defending troops. The Jedi's reflex's always managed to impress Jack, and seeing the General up in the front with the forces was a relieving sight. Better than them taking up the rear like most of the Separatist generals.

"Skywalker should have attacked by now!" Cody said as he stood by his Jedi general, who was deflecting bolts left and right.

"Don't worry, he knows the plan."

It wasn't long after that a squad of clones equipped with jetpacks and Anakin started top attack the Spider Walkers that took up the droids' flank. While the clones landed on the ground and fired at the one in the middle of the pack, Anakin jumped right on top of it.

With the second team now attacking, Obi-Wan gave the charge order. "Come on men!"

"You heard him!" A clone shouted as he stood up past the barricade and waved his arm forward. Jack was only just getting on the barricade when the troop was shot down, followed by several more. He hated how devastating just a single second in a battle could be, but pushed on past the barrier and began to charge alongside Cody and Obi-Wan, moving his head to dodge the occasional blaster bolt.

Going head to head with the droids was by far more devastating than taking the defensive route. While clones died one at a time behind the barricade, up close they seemed to drop two or three at a time. The droids dropped by far greater, but the fact of the matter is that they couldn't win this battle simply with attrition. They had to push the droids back before their numbers suffered, otherwise it would only be a matter of time before they were overrun.

Of course, that didn't stop Jack as he'd duck under a droid's blaster and light it up, emptying four rounds into it before firing on at the approaching lines of droids.

A sudden increase in fire around him caught Jack off guard, as soon three clones came running to aid him directly. "What gives kid? Not willing to wait for us?" Blitz said as he unloaded into the droid group closest, the grin he had clear in his voice.

"You should know better than to just run off like that. We're a team after all." Stiches, who seemed to grow a new responsible leaf after the loss of their squad brother Tacs, said.

"You did this in training and now on the live field. You'll be the death of us one day kid." Deadshot said as he'd be taking droids' heads off one by one, his precision truly showing in this large firefight.

It calmed and relieved Jack to know his squad was with him again, now able to fight clearly without the worry of his squad's condition. With the now controlled fire of them and all of the forces, the droids were now dropping at an even faster rate. And with Anakin's forces taking out the Spider Walkers and the artillery barraging the remainders, the droids were getting completely decimated.

The tides were finally back on their side, and it seemed they were going to win this battle just as they had the first. But soon, disaster struck for the clone squad that took up the front, as a grenade landed just a small distance in front of them. Jack was the first to see it, and in desperation he pushed Blitz behind him just as the explosive went off.

The explosion knocked them all back, with Jack suffering the most as a rock hurdled right into his chest, nearly hitting his throat. While the clones managed to get up, Jack was still on the ground, completely stunned from the rock hitting him.

"Kid!" Blitz shouted as Jack's ears rung, setting down a suppressive fire to protect him. "Stiches, Deadshot! Get Jack and up now and move!"

"I got him!" Deadshot responded as he got Jack's arm over his shoulder and lifted him up. "Come on, I got you kid."

"Get back to cover!" Stiches screamed as the droids started to push back, their numbers now starting to make a push on their side of the line.

"Gah!" Deadshot spat out as the back of his leg was shot, causing him and Jack to fall back to the ground.

"Dead… shot." Jack groaned as he attempted to clear his head, finding it difficult to know which way was which.

"Blast! Stiches, go back and-!" Before Blitz could finish, Stiches was shot directly in the head. The whole squad watched in horror as the clone's body fell to the ground, lifeless before he had even reached halfway. "Stiches!"

"No!" Jack screamed, his voice feeling as if it collapsed the moment he did. The pure shock from his squad mate's death had knocked the disorientation right out from him, and in moments he was reaching for a blaster.

"You pieces of scrap!" Blitz shouted as he mowed down the approaching droids. "You think you can just take out a member of my squad and get away with it! I'll send you all to the scrape pile!"

"Blitz, get back!" Deadshot warned as he got up, leaning against rubble to stabilize himself as he fired. "They're going to push you back!"

"I'll take you all down! I won't let you get away with thi-" In the seconds to follow, Blitz stopped dead on his word, his body jolted as a sudden feeling coursed through him. Deadshot and Jack could only stare in shock as their leader looked down to his chest, seeing a small, smoldering hole that had appeared on his chest over his heart.

With one last breath, Blitz fell forward, dropping his rotary blaster. As the clone's body hit the ground, the droids had begun to retreat, a sign of the victory they just had.

But to Jack, it was far from that. He had quickly ran to Blitz and dropped his blaster, sliding to him knees as he turned the clone over to his back. Taking his helmet off, Jack would attempt to shake the clone, trying desperately to keep him awake. "B-Blitzzz…" His voice wheezed, his whole throat feeling closed from the impact he received from the rock.

The clone coughed, signaling he was still alive, but from the glazed look in his eyes it was clear that wouldn't last long. "Kid… listen to me. You have to… to make it through this."

"Wai… Medi-ACK!" Jack coughed as he tried to scream, his chest squeezing on itself to keep him from doing so.

"Kid!" Blitz said louder, placing his hand on his shoulder to get his full attention. "Don't let this… war get you down. You're tough… we had to make sure of that." He said as he took heaving breaths. "Get out of here... take Deadshot and... live to fight another day."

Jack's eyes then widened as he heard the words. "You showed us... that not all of us have to be the same to be... brothers. Some of the others... already see that. Not all will… see you as one. So… get better… and show them why you're worth being… called… brother." With one last breath, Blitz's whole body went limp, the life now fully left from him.

Jack stared in complete horror as he did, having lost yet another brother from his squad. He couldn't stop himself from crying, nor did he want to. And as much as it hurt to think like this, but he knew he couldn't let it go for too long. It took Deadshot putting his hand on his shoulder to get him out of his depression, reminding him there was still a troop in his squad left.

It pained him more than anything, but he had to leave Stiches and Blitz's bodies behind to help get Deadshot back to the base. The sniper was still injured, with a hole clear through the leg that he was shot in. He needed the attention first above all else. He knew that others would collect the bodies while there was time, but it still hurt having to turn his back on the fallen bodies of his team.

The two would then get checked up in the small medical camp that was set up during the small relief from the first assault. With their limited medical supplies, Deadshot would have to deal with just wrappings around his injury and tough it out with walking. Jack was in a much better condition, having been told he's still combat ready, just with having his windpipe slightly closed from the rock's impact.

While he waited to be called for an assignment, Jack took his chest guard off and looked at the plating on it. Pulling his knife out, he began to scratch at the armor that would cover his heart. It was nothing detailed, just three tally marks that ran over it. Three marks to represent the three fallen brothers he's had to leave behind.

Once he was done, he set his armor again and put his knife away, sliding the blade in just as one of the field medics, a clone named Kix. "Jack, could I ask a favor of you?" Jack nodded to the clone that diagnosed him. "A ship is just coming in, if there's any medical supplies in it could you send it over here? We're beginning to run low on everything."

Jack understood and nodded again, standing up and heading over to the command center on the battlefield. It wouldn't be too far, and he could even see the ship starting to come in even. As it touched down, he saw that Anakin and Obi-Wan were already waiting with a group of clones, along with the astromech R2-D2.

The droid was a bit of a smart-alec to Jack, but he could honestly tell why they kept it around. And he would be lying if he said that the droid was useful. He also made a good listener, as Jack found himself surprised that he was talking to it when it found him making the small tombstone for Tacs.

As he walked up to the group, the shuttle's ramp dropped down. And the first person off of it came as a surprise not only to Jack, but to Obi-Wan and Anakin as well.

It was a Togruta girl, likely even younger than Jack. Her skin's main color was orange, and the montrals and lekku on her head had a stripped white and blue pattern to it. Her montrals on her head and lekku were hardly grown, the lekku only just reaching past her shoulders. It was the only sign the boy knew that she was young, a trait he learned while studying on Kamino.

The Togruta had gotten to the Jedi first, starting a conversation with them. Jack had assumed it was likely Obi-Wan's new Padawan, but was still surprised at the age of the girl. At his distance he would've normally been able to hear them, but since the explosion he's had a small ring in his ears. It was annoying, but he could at least hear when he was close enough.

"Maybe you could relay a signal through the cruiser that dropped me off." Jack heard the Padawan as he reached the group, having caught Obi-Wan's attention.

"Jack, you have something to report?" In response to the Jedi's question, Jack began to do several hand signs, confusing both Anakin and the Padawan as he did so. However, once he stopped, Obi-Wan hummed as he rubbed his chin. "Kix sent you to see if there was any medical supplies? We'll have some of the troops offload what they can find then."

"Umm, what was that?" Anakin asked his former master.

"Sign language. But different from standard military use." Obi-Wan answered, looking at the fully armored boy as he did. "Mandalorian sign language in fact. One single movement can mean and entire word or sentence. Where did you learn it?"

'During my training before Hawke and Anakin found me.' Jack answered through his hand movements. 'So, sorry to change the subject, but who's the kid?'

"That's rich coming from you." Obi-Wan chuckled, getting furious hand signs in response. "Yes, yes, you've said that dozens of times now."

"Can we get some words here?" Anakin asked.

"Ah yes, Jack was simply asking who Ahsoka was." Obi-Wan responded, turning to the Padawan. "Ahsoka, this is Jack. He's a new trooper, but has shown a true loyalty and skills that few could reach in his short time."

"A pleasure to meet you." Ahsoka said, holding her hand out.

Jack took the hand and shook it once, using his free hand to communicate. "He says it's good to meet you too." Obi-Wan translated as the two let go. "Now let's see if we can get a signal out to the cruisers."

'I'll see what I can do to amp the signal sir.' Jack motioned, getting a nod from the Jedi. Going to the holo-panel, Jack went down to wire some of the circuits around, looking for a way to boost the signal. It took a bit of time, but eventually he found the right power to get a clear signal through.

"Come in cruiser, respond." Anakin spoke up, before a clone came into view.

"Sir."

"What's the current situation up there? We need to get a signal in to the Jedi Temple."

"We're currently under attack by Separatists cruisers. But I'll try to get in contact with the Temple right away. Stand by." The communications clone responded as he began to send it through.

The four were then left with only the sound of the console beeping, waiting for the signal to come in. While Anakin and Obi-Wan were patient, Jack and Ahsoka seemed a little bothered by the wait. After a minute of waiting the image of Master Yoda, the head of the Jedi Council, appeared. "Master Kenobi, glad Ahsoka found you I am." Jack had to suppress the chuckle he had from the Jedi's speech pattern, finding it amusing.

"Master Yoda, we are trapped here and vastly outnumbered." Obi-Wan said. "We are in no position to go anywhere or do anything. Our support ships have all been destroyed."

"Send reinforcements to you we will." Yoda responded as the signal began to weaken.

"Master Yoda? Master Yoda!"

"What happened?" Anakin asked.

"We've lost the transmission, sir." The clone answered as he reappeared.

Soon after, another fleet clone walked up, appearing on the holo-panel. "We have to leave orbit. Ore enemy ships have arrived. We'll get back to you as soon as we can." After that, the communication dropped, leaving the group to remain in silence.

"I guess we'll have to hold out a little longer." Anakin spoke up.

"My apologies young one." Obi-Wan said to Ahsoka, noticing her slightly put off for being ignored. "It's time for a proper introduction."

The three then stood properly, Jack now feeling like the one ignored.

"I'm the new Padawan learner. I'm Ahsoka Tano." Ahsoka introduced.

"I am Obi-Wan Kenobi, your new master."

"I'm at your service, Master Kenobi, but I'm afraid I've actually been assigned to Master Skywalker." The Padawan explained, pointing to Anakin.

"What?" The Jedi Knight questioned confused. "No, no, no, no, no." He denied while chuckling, walking around Obi-Wan. "There must be some mistake. He wanted the Padawan."

"No, Master Yoda was very specific." Ahsoka countered. "I'm assigned to Anakin Skywalker, and he is to supervise my Jedi training."

Obi-Wan smiled at the whole ordeal, turning to his former student. "But that doesn't make any se-"

"We'll sort this out later." Obi-Wan interrupted. "It won't be long before the droids find a way around our cannons."

"Jack and I will check on Rex in the lookout post." Anakin said, motioning for Jack to follow.

"You'd better take her with you." Obi-Wan stopped Anakin, motioning to Ahsoka.

'He is right. Snippy as she is, she is your student.'

"See? Even Jack agrees." Obi-Wan added, making sure to not bring up exactly what Jack said.

Anakin simple sighed in response and motioned her to follow with his hand. The three then made their way to the outpost, silence between them as they did. It took only a minute, but as they showed up Rex turned to them while putting down his range scouter and walked up to them.

"What's the status, Rex?" Anakin asked.

"Quiet now sir. They're gearing up for another assault." Rex answered. His attention turned to Ahsoka. "Who's the Youngling?"

"I'm Master Skywalker's Padawan." She responded, her distaste in the title shown clearly in her tone. "The name's Ahsoka Tano."

Rex turned his gaze to Jack, who simply shrugged in response before turning to Anakin. "Sir, I thought you said you'd never have a Padawan?"

"There's been a mix-up." He responded. "The Youngling isn't with me."

"Stop calling me that." Ahsoka spoke up, getting the attention of several clones around them. "You're stuck with me, Skyguy."

The snip that Ahsoka countered with got a rile out of Rex and Jack, who had to cover their mouth's in failed attempts to silence themselves. While Anakin on the other hand was not happy with the nickname. "What did you just call me? Don't get snippy with me, young one. I don't even think you're old enough to be a Padawan."

"Well, maybe I'm not, but Master Yoda thinks I am."

"You look like you're 12. Maybe 13." The three then turned to Jack, who was now holding up a data-pad that he took from one of the crates. The pad was slow and monotone, but it called out whatever he typed.

"I'm 14, thank you very much." Ahsoka responded as she crossed her arms. "And aren't you a little short to be a trooper?"

"Says the one who's shorter than me."

"Alright enough." Anakin interrupted. "Look, whether or not Master Yoda thinks you're ready, you better start proving it. Jack will show you around, and hopefully you'll learn a little respect from him."

"You ask a lot Anakin."

"Just go."

"Ugh, fine! Let's go Shorty." Jack finished typing, walking away while Ahsoka followed.

"Padawan."

"Are you sure that's smart sending her with him?" Rex asked.

"No, but it get's her out of my hair for a couple of minutes." Anakin responded.

Walking the way across the defensive cannon line, Ahsoka began to speak to them. "Have you thought of moving the line back? The cannons would have better cover there."

"This kind of strategy has never been my specialty, Skywalker thinks they're fine where they are. And I trust that his judgement in the cannon lines are better than mine from my experience with him so far." Jack responded, showing fast reaction timing and coordination to answer with a longer response.

"So… if you're a private and I'm a Jedi, then, technically I outrank you, right?"

"A little unfair, given how I'm almost as new to battles as you are." Jack was slightly annoyed with the conversation, mostly because of his current inability to talk making it more difficult. But also a bit at Ahsoka's philosophy of her ranking. He respects Jedi, but they still need to earn some kind of reason for it to truly get a rank up. "But if I'm being honest, I'd follow with something Rex once told me. Experience outranks all."

"Well, if experience outranks everything, I guess I'd better start getting some."

"Just don't be upset that I'll have more than you all the time."

"Is that bet?"

"And if it is?"

"Okay smart guy, how about a wager as to… what's that?" The two then stopped walking as a faint humming was heard.

Jack turned to the source, and his shoulders dropped as he sighed. "Looks like they have an energy shield with them. That basically makes our cannons completely useless then. Well then Shorty, if you wanted experience, there's about a whopping amount coming your way. We better move."

The two then headed back for the command center, meeting up with Anakin and Obi-Wan. Going for the quicker response, Jack went to using his hand gestures to Obi-Wan. 'We got a shield generator around the droids.'

"Yes, we know." Obi-Wan responded, a hologram of the whole battlefield with the shield and troops all shown. "The shield generator is somewhere in this area. They're slowly increasing the diameter to keep it just ahead of their troops."

"As they get closer we could try to draw them in closer into the buildings. That might level the playing field a bit."

"If that shield's going to be such a problem, why don't we just take it out?" Ahsoka asked.

"Easier said than done kid." Rex said.

"Well I, for one…" Anakin then cleared his throat before continuing. "Agree with her. Someone has to get to that shield generator and destroy it. That's the key."

"Alright then. Maybe you two can tiptoe through enemy lines and solve this particular problem together." Obi-Wan said.

"Can do, Master Kenobi." Ahsoka responded.

"I'll decide what we do." Anakin immediately said.

"If we can engage them here, you two might have a chance to get through undetected here." Obi-Wan pointed out to the points on the map.

"They won't have much time. The droids far outnumber us, so our ability to street fight is limited without the use of heavy cannons."

Jack then started to lightly jump, holding his hand up to get their attention. "Yes Jack?" Obi-Wan asked.

'I'm not entirely the best fighter here, but if there's one thing I'm good at it's turning around the odds to make advantages weakness.' Jack explained. 'That and kicking the teeth into enemies when a situation seems bleak.'

"What do you have in mind?"

"Is it always like this?" Ahsoka asked Rex, getting a no from the captain.

"Jack is usually more vocal, I think something messed him up during the last battle. He's a quick healer, I'm soon he'll be talking soon."

'I'm going to need explosives. Thermal detonators, at least enough to fill a backpack.'

"We should have plenty. If you think you can do something be quick. But don't put yourself in a situation that could get you killed."

'Understood Obi-Wan.' Jack then ran off, heading down to the mock armory that was set up. Once there, he grabbed a pack and began filling it with as many thermal detonators as he could. The spherical explosive never look like much, but they sure pack a wallop once they go off.

Running off to the city, he would stop at every recon post that he knew was stationed, giving the hand gesture to the troops overhead of where he was and what he was doing. Once he was far enough, he found a good road that would be in the droids' direct path, with them far away enough to be unable to see him.

He then got to work. The great thing about thermal detonators to Jack is that they can be disconnected into two separate pieces and set as delayed explosives. 'Ingenuity at it's best.' He thought as he'd go around the area, finding good places where they'd be hidden. Anywhere from behind walls to even just behind rubble that he'd find.

Halfway through the set up, he jumped as he heard the cannons go off. He juggled with a grenade he was carrying, sighing in relief as he caught it with both hands. i'They must be testing the shield's strength. Could've at least warned me.'/i

Once he was halfway through his pack, he could see that the shield was getting really close. He wasn't far from the planned ambush, and would probably be able to make it in time. He had however cursed himself for forgetting to bring a real blaster with him. Grenades work, but he doesn't want to risk setting off the planted explosives until the droids were in the right position.

'Guess it's time to fall back.' Running back to the ambush line, Jack would throw the detonator halves into different areas, hoping that the droids will be more focused on marching than to worry about any possible traps. He had finally ran out just about fifty meters away, which would do well enough for his plan to work. 'Well, time to see if it'll work.'

Instead of going to the spot for the ambush however, Jack would begin to make his way up a destroyed building. He needed the high ground to spot where his detonators were and the height of the building would do that just fine. With portions of the building missing, Jack would have to scale up from missing chunks to get up. Which was fine, only just a small delay to worry about.

Once he was at the top, he'd flip the zoom attachment he still had on his helmet down, watching as the droids were advancing. The numbers were large as always, but what he kept his focus on were the tanks and Spider Walkers. Those were his targets, and the explosives he set should take care at least a good amount of them.

He held his breath as he pulled out the remote detonator from his pack, rolling the small cylinder around his hand as he inspected it. Just like most, it had the clear red button at the top, the only thing he needed to set the whole city block into fiery chaos.

'Just a couple more meters.' Jack thought as he laid on the ground, watching as the droids walked into the explosives' field. i'A little closer.'/i

"Huh?" A droid hummed as it looked to its side. The small beeping from one of the detonators gave it away, and shocked the droid. "Explosives!?"

'Blast!' Jack saw the droid jump and point at one of the planted bombs, knowing that likely the forces wouldn't move up while they knew they were there. And that left him no choice but to set off the explosives, pressing down on the button with his thumb.

The charges beeped twice finally before going off, enveloping the whole area into one large explosion. At least three platoons of battle droids and one of super battle droids were taken out, along with at least one row of tanks. Jack growled slightly at the failed attempt of taking all of the Separatist heavy forces, but knew better than to not at least know the advantage of what he did.

It'd buy them a little more time, and while it wasn't all of them he took a good chunk of their assault group in those few seconds. 'I just hope that was enough.' His eyes then widened as one of the tanks turned it's cannon up to him, aiming right at him. 'Oh crap!'

He had little time to push himself back from the edge before the tank round hit, sending him down to stories to the next solid floor. His vision would black out for a bit, time feeling to of passed for him. He groaned as he rolled on his back, feeling his head spin from the painful fall. "That… sucked…" He wheezed out, his voice slowly coming back to him.

Sitting up, he looked at his arms to see that his left arm was free of armor. Which means he lost his communicator and probably was just a second away from being turned into dust. "Close one…"

As he got up, he could see that the shield was still up, and quickly approaching the heavy cannons. "Come… on Anakin." After recovering most of his senses, Jack would make his way back down the building, not having to worry about the droids seeing as they moved on. 'How long was I out for?'

Grabbing a fallen battle droid's blaster, Jack would begin to make his way back to the ambush position, hoping to see if he could find anyone still there or were injured and left behind. He could find over a dozen bodies, but each fallen clone was either killed by a single shot or was likely gunned down after being injured. Without a purpose to remain, he would continue on, trying to find his way back to any line the Republic might still have.

It wasn't until he ran into a platoon of droids that he took cover. Their backs were turned to him, but they seemed to be waiting for something. They were acting as some sort of defense, standing just behind a tank in a row. "Great… and not even… a grenade to use."

There wasn't much he could do in this situation. He's not used to the idea of going against a whole platoon of droids, but whatever they guarded was important and he needed to find out what. All he needed was some kind of distraction.

"Uh, what's happening to the shield?"

"Well… that works." Jack said to himself as he fired at one of the droids, hitting it dead in the head.

"Clone!"

"Don't fire!"

"Uhh… what?" The voice that just gave an order wasn't any kind of droid, not one he's heard before. But seeing as how the battle droids all stopped themselves before firing, he felt almost safe enough to walk up, keeping his blaster at the ready should it be needed.

"General Kenobi, if you can hear me we've broken through the blockade. The Separatist fleet is in retreat. Your reinforcements should be arriving now." Jack recognized Yularen's voice easily, and bolted past the droid line, pushing one to the side.

"Hey!"

"Obi-Wa-ack!" Jack coughed as he saw the Jedi, holding who he assumed was the Separatist general hostage with super battle droids just in front of them.

"Ah, it's good to see you Jack." Obi-Wan responded as he turned to the boy. "What's your condition?"

'Mostly fine. Left arm's feeling a little jumpy after almost getting blown off. Voice is almost back as well, I think I just need some water now.' Jack signaled, knowing it'd be easier than wheezing it out.

"That's good, it would be a shame if we lost you just after learning how good you are at espionage. Well done my boy."

"What!? That clone set the explosives?" The Separatist general questioned.

Jack then took his helmet off in response, giving a deadpanned expression to him. "I can assure you, he is not a clone. But he's still more than capable of doing his part." Obi-Wan said for him, smirking as a gunship landed just a few meters away. Out from it, several clones piled out, keeping their aim on the droids.

But the one that caught Jack's attention was the small green alien that walked out with them. The Jedi Master Yoda, possibly the most noted Jedi Master in the whole order.

"Master Yoda, your timing is perfect."

'Oh crap, the Jedi of all Jedi is here.'. Jack thought nervously. 'This is either something really big or really painful.'