"aaaa" - talking through a holocomunicator or comlink. aaaa - inner thoughts and Force Visions. 'aaaa' - talking through a bond.
AN: Thank you princesselsaamidala22 for your review of the last chapter.
Don't forget to leave me a review!
When the Separatists arrive on Maridun to test out a new weapon, it's up to our small band of Jedi, along with Rex and Bly, to save the day.
Chapter 7: Defending a Village of Pacifist Lurmen
The sun was rising on a new day in the Lurmen village. Some of the Lurmen were already up and walking around. Some of them were even carrying baskets on their backs.
Bly ducked under the open doorway that served as the door to the hut that he, Rex, Aayla and Rosella were staying in with his helmet tucked under his arm. Looking around, he spotted two Lurmen who were carrying a basket between them. It was filled with some type of large, round, purple fruit with white stripes all over it that had red leaves at the top.
As the Commander kept watching, he saw them carry the basket over to a nearby tower and try to place it on top. It wasn't easy for creatures that were smaller than Rosella. The basket tipped to one side, spilling a few of the fruits onto the ground. Without saying a word, Bly walked over and used one hand to push the basket more firmly onto the top of the tower.
The two Lurmen smiled as they were grateful for Bly's help. One of them turned towards the basket tower, reached into the one below it, plucked out one of the fruits and offered it to him. Bly smiled in return, took the offered fruit and took a bite. It tasted nice and sweet, so he ate the entire thing.
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Rex was sitting on a hillside, inspecting the bandage that Wag Too had wrapped around his left bicep. His helmet was on the ground beside him. He silently cursed the creature who had tried to attack both him and Anakin, hoping that creature had learned that no member of the 501st or the Jedi Order were going down without a fight.
His arm was almost fully healed and he knew that Anakin would soon be back on his feet and ready for their next adventure. It was slow, as none of them had brought any bacta with them, but the stuff that Wag Too was using seemed to be working. Now all they had to do was wait until they were able to get a message out to the fleet or for the fleet to come to them.
Rex looked up into the sky as a dull roar filled his ears. The sound was faint, but after years of training and time on the battlefield, it was one that he easily recognized. As quickly as he could, the 501st Captain reached behind him, brought out his electrobinoculars and placed them in front of his eyes. Looking through them, he spotted something and zoomed in to get a better look.
There was a ship heading towards them. One that definitely was not one of theirs.
Rex lowered the electrobinoculars from his face and narrowed his eyes. Then he raised his right arm and contacted Bly. "Commander Bly, we've got company," he said as he placed the device back up against his face.
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Bly had finished his fruit when he heard his comlink go off. The Commander knew that this peaceful time was over, at least it was for them anyway. "Are they friendlies?" He asked after listening to what Rex had to say.
"Negative, sir. It's a Separatist droid ship and it's headed straight for the village," Rex spoke as his voice came through Bly's comlink.
"Acknowledged. Get back to the village while I inform the Generals and Commander about what's heading our way," Bly told him and then hung up. He shoved his helmet onto his head and walked off to the hut where Anakin was staying while he recovered from his injuries.
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"General Skywalker," Bly said as he entered the hut.
Everyone, with the exception of Anakin, turned to look at him.
"Yes Commander?" Anakin asked. He had a white bandage wrapped around his head which indicated a possible head injury and another bandage wrapped around his ribs which meant possible bruising that may have been made worse due to the attack that he and Rex had come under back at their makeshift campsite.
"We've got a Separatist droid ship inbound on our location," Bly told the group.
"This is neutral space," Wag Too said as he stared at the village's surprise visitors with a frown on his face.
"If the Separatists get their way, it's not going to stay neutral for long," Anakin said as he winced, closing his eyes for a second as his body protested against his sudden movement. Then he sighed. "Help me up." As soon as he tried to sit all the way up, he pressed his mechanical hand against his right side and groaned as Aayla, Wag Too and Rosella all gathered around him in concern.
"Don't struggle," Wag Too said. "I'm really sorry, but you're still too injured to be moving around right now."
Aayla, Rosella and Wag Too all turned their heads towards the door as they heard the sounds of the approaching ship.
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As the rest of the Lurmen colony watched the ship approach their village, one of the creatures, who was carrying a basket in his hands turned to look at the elder. Then his attention was captured again by the craft as it came to land just a few meters away.
Tee Watt Kaa turned away, heading towards the hut where the injured Jedi was staying.
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Aayla and Rosella watched as Wag Too helped Anakin slowly ease himself into a sitting position, even though his mech hand was still wrapped around his right side. As soon as they heard Tee Watt Ka's voice, everyone turned to look at him.
"What menace have you brought to our village now, Jedi?" Tee Watt Kaa asked as he stood in the doorway, scowling at the three Jedi. He didn't say anything else upon noticing Bly standing off to the side.
"Father, I think you're being a little unfair. This wasn't the Jedi's fault," Wag Too said. Clearly, he did not share his father's thoughts on staying neutral now that the rest of the galaxy was at war.
"Your son is right," Rosella said as she got up off the ground. "Those Separatists don't even know that we're here. I'm sure they think that this village is the only thing here because they obviously didn't see our crashed ship."
"You are correct Padawan," Aayla said in a calm voice. "We can't let the Separatists find us. We have got to find somewhere to hide."
"Your presence here has endangered the lives of me and my people. You must leave before your enemies find you," Tee Watt Kaa said.
"But if we leave you here to face them by yourselves, they'll harm you and the rest of your village," Rosella said as she walked over to the Lurmen and stood at her full height, which was taller than the village elder. She sensed that the elder was clinging to the belief that just because his people hadn't done anything to cause trouble, both the Separatists and the Jedi should leave them alone. Even though that made some sense to her, she wasn't very happy that he was asking them to turn around and leave their village and its people to face whatever nasty machine the Separatists had brought with them. That was wrong in her eyes. "Aren't you going to need our help to fight them off?"
"We will not fight them at all. We would rather die than to kill others," the Lurmen elder said as he looked at the padawan.
"So you're just not going to do anything and let them-" Rosella was cut off before she could finish her sentence.
"Rosella, that's enough," Anakin said, grunting slightly as he sat up with help from Wag Too. He held up his right hand, telling her to be quiet. "We are guests in their village and must respect their choice. If the Lurmen don't want to take part in the war and remain neutral, then we are going to let them stand by their decision. We won't force them to pick a side."
"Thank you for understanding, Master Jedi," Tee Watt Ka said. Then he looked at his son. "Now see to it that they leave the village. I have to go and see what our new visitors want."
Rosella crossed her arms over her chest as she and the others watched Tee Watt Kaa leave the hut.
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The landing platform of the Separatist ship lowered and a slightly overweight Neimoidian descended with a Quara behind him. They were flanked by two B2 super battle droids.
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As Tee Watt Ka walked towards the new visitors, he wondered what they wanted with his people.
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Wag Too softly smiled as he handed Rosella one of the large round purple fruits that he and his people liked to eat. The younger Lurmen felt a little sad that they were leaving his village, but also felt a little better knowing that they at least had the training to protect themselves in case they fell under attack by more of those bird like creatures. He still felt that he should have done more to help the male Jedi since he was still too injured to even be moving around.
Rosella smiled as she placed the purple fruit into her pack. Flipping the cover closed, she stood up and slung it onto her back as she turned and looked at the others.
"Take it easy, General. We'll assist you," Rex said as both he and Bly assisted Anakin in getting up.
As Wag Too helped the Jedi and two clones sneak out of the hut and towards the edge of the village where the tall grasses would provide some cover, he just knew that what his father was doing to their village would one day backfire on them. Even though his father had said that they would rather die before dirtying their hands with violence, Wag Too wasn't so certain that he wanted to follow in his footsteps when it came time for him to step up and lead their people.
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"I am Lok Durd, a General in the Separatist alliance," the overweight Neimoidian's voice boomed as he proclaimed it.
"I am Tee Watt Kaa, leader of this colony. Your presence is not welcomed-" the village elder was cut off before he could finish his train of thought.
"You are now under the protection of the Separatist alliance. I congratulate you on your good fortune," the Neimoidian told the Lurmen as he walked right past him with his droids.
"Thank you, but my people and I enjoyed good fortune well before your arrival," Tee Watt Ka said, but the Neimoidian didn't even seem to listen to him at all.
The village elder narrowed his eyes as he was forced to move as fast as his body permitted. Quickly catching up to the General and his droids as they headed towards the village, he said, "We simply wish to live in peace General. I do not condone your presence here as it will disrupt our way of life."
"Then stand aside," Lok Durd said, walking away from the Lurmen, not bothering to turn around and see the now shocked expression that had suddenly appeared on Tee Watt Kaa's face. "I would like to inspect my new colony."
Tee Watt Kaa narrowed his eyes as he watched the Separatist leader.
The General, who had stopped walking, stood there and laughed at the huts crammed together in an area cleared of grass. "Ransack this dung heap," he said.
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Two of the Lurmen huddled together, too afraid to even move as the army of battle droids marched past them and tore through the village. The droids kicked over some of the still empty baskets and destroyed the entrances to a few of the huts. A few of them ran for their lives as some of the droids started firing their blasters in the air.
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They hadn't left yet.
Instead, they were hiding behind a hut. Rosella was peering around the edge with Wag Too to see what the Separatists would do. She felt sorry for the younger Lurmen. It was clear to her that the healer had never been exposed to such violence.
Wag Too could do nothing but watch as the homes of his family and friends be torn apart, everything they had scattered to the winds. "Why are they tearing apart our homes?" He asked. Turning around, he looked up at Rosella and then back to the carnage. "We haven't done anything to upset them!"
"Violence," Rosella said. "That's what those droids are basically programmed for."
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Lok Durd stood there, flanked by both of his B2 battle droids and watched as his droids tore through the village, not caring that the creature's homes were destroyed, or their baskets of food were ruined. The sooner these lifeforms learned who their superiors were the better.
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The teenager turned to look at her father and Aayla, a pleading look on her face. "Isn't there anything that we can do to help?" She asked.
"I'm afraid not," Aayla said, trying to be gentle, but a tense undercurrent hardened her voice. "The Lurmen will be slaughtered if the Separatists find us here in the village."
Anakin shifted a little as Rex and Bly were helping him move. "If we can make it to the tall grasses, we should be safe," he said as he motioned to the plains beyond the village. "I doubt that Separatist leader will send his droids to wander through it."
A moment later, the adults and Rosella moved off towards the tall grasses, leaving Wag Too and the rest of his people behind.
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Tee Watt Kaa stood there and watched as the droids, who were under the command of Lok Durd, ransacked his village. The very place where he and his people lived, slept and worked in. He watched as his people picked up their baskets of empty food and ran, as they were afraid of the droids and what would happen to them. Turning around, he watched as the Separatist leader, who was flanked by his super battle droids walked towards the droids that had torn apart what had taken the Lurmen so long to build. He listened as the squad leader gave his report.
"There is nothing here that indicates Republic involvement General. No illegal weapons or contraband," the droid said.
"We may be conducting more of these random searches in the future like the one that we did here today in order to maintain security," Lok Durd said as he looked down at the Lurmen elder who had made his way over to his side.
"Since we are such an obvious threat to you and your droids, we will not resist when you come to do your searches," Tee Watt Kaa replied.
"It would seem that you and your species are smarter than you appear to be," Lok Durd said. Then with a wave of his hand, the Separatist leader turned around and marched back to the ship. The droids followed him.
Tee Watt Kaa stood where he was and watched them leave. Then he turned around and walked away.
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"Father, are you alright?" Wag Too asked as he walked over to his father's side. Receiving a single nod in response, the younger Lurmen watched as he walked away. Now that the crisis was over, his father no longer wanted to think, talk about, or even acknowledge what had happened. "At least the Jedi and their men escaped. I watched as they safely made it to the tall grasses."
"That's good. If they had stayed here for a minute longer, then we would be without homes or even worse, not here at all," Tee Watt Kaa said as he continued walking away.
Wag Too couldn't believe it. His own father was blaming the Jedi for something that they had no control over. "Father, the Jedi have done nothing wrong! But now, because of your actions, we're safe to grovel before every petty tyrant who enters our system," he said.
"You would mock our very way of life? I have just ensured we will have peace," Tee Watt Kaa told his son.
"I know father, but for how long?" Wag Too asked. "Are you not worried about the Jedi and what might happen if those droids were to find them?"
"I have no quarrel with the Jedi," Tee Watt Ka said. "But we cannot help them right now son. If we do, our village will be caught in the middle of their war. That is something I do not want for our people." The elder waved his hand in the air and shuffled away. In his mind, the discussion was over and he hoped that his son would leave the matter alone.
As the village elder walked away, three more Lurmen walked over to Wag Too. "Tub," he said, causing one of the Lurmen who had a small bird on his shoulder to step forward. "I want you to track the Jedi. Follow them and make sure that they get off the planet safely. If something happens to disrupt that plan, send word back to the village."
Tub nodded and took off in the direction that he had seen them leave in.
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"I understand that the Lurmen don't want to fight in the war," Rex said as he stood next to his seated and injured General. "But what I don't get is why they won't fight for their own lives?"
"They've never seen war before," Rosella responded from where she sat on the ground. "All they've known is peace as that is their way of life. Since this is their first time seeing blasters and the Separatists, they simply don't have the courage or pride to put aside their beliefs and fight back." She brought the ration bar that Rex had given her up to her mouth to take a bite, but Aayla spoke up before she could do so.
"That is correct young one," Aayla told her. "It also takes courage to stick to one's beliefs, even in the face of danger. I see that Master Kenobi and Senator Amidala have been teaching you about respecting all life in the galaxy."
"Yes, they have Master," Rosella replied. "I'm sorry for what happened in the village before we left. I was disappointed and a little angry when I heard Tee Watt Kaa accuse us of being the reason that the Separatists landed on the outskirts of their village." The teenager brought her ration bar up to her mouth and was about to take a bite when her father spoke.
"If we want to get off this planet, then we're going to need to find a ship," Anakin said from where he sat on the ground, bringing the conversation back to their current problem, which was getting off world without alerting the Separatists that they were here. "I'm pretty sure those Separatists whom we saw in the village earlier are the only ones in the immediate area who have one. We know that they have a landing craft, so they must have a shuttle somewhere."
No one saw the probe droid that was in the tall grass, listening to every word that they were saying.
"General, are you talking about stealing from one of the clankers? Count me in," Rex said as he raised his blaster in the air.
The ration bar that Rosella held in her hand was half eaten as she listened to Aayla.
"It's a good plan, but we need to find them first," Aayla said, looking at the group.
Rosella had just taken another bite of her bar when her gaze shifted over to the tall grass. She saw a few blades move slightly and thought it was just a slight breeze that had ruffled them. Then she noticed something moving. It was black, spherical and had an optical receptor jutting out from its metal surface. Her hazel eyes went wide and she stood up, gripping the rest of the bar in her hand. "I think we just did," she said as she pointed to a spot in-between Aayla and Rex.
The Captain, Commander and both Knights turned in the direction that Rosella had pointed to see a Separatist probe droid flying up from its hiding spot.
Anakin got up off the ground, ignoring the pain that shot through his body as he moved. "Blast it!" He said.
Rex and Bly, who had gotten up from where he had been sitting on the ground, had their guns up and aimed as Anakin finished his sentence. They fired, but like all probe droids, this one was small and much too fast. The flying machine successfully evaded all the shots that both of the clones fired.
"Jam it's signal so it won't be able to transmit our location!" Aayla said.
Bly reacted first and jabbed the third button on his wrist com that would prevent the probe droid from sending out any of the information it had gathered.
Before Aayla or her father could say another word, Rosella had dashed forward, dropping the rest of her uneaten food in the dirt. "We have to go after it!" She said.
Rex, Bly, and Aayla ran after Rosella as she led the chase to go after the droid. Anakin had started to run, only to stop and bend over in pain. Aayla felt the flare in the force, so she stopped and turned around, seeing that Anakin's left hand was pressed against his bandaged ribs. She wondered why Rosella hadn't felt his pain and then realized that he must have been blocking it from her.
Anakin lifted his head to look at his fellow Knight. "I'm alright. Just go!" He said.
Aayla nodded, turned around and took off.
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The probe droid was fast.
Even though Rosella, Rex and Bly were running after the small machine, they still managed to lose sight of it.
"Which way did it go?" Bly asked.
"This way. Hurry!" Rosella said as she pointed to her right. Then she took off, with Rex and Bly hot on her heels.
Aayla followed behind them at a much slower pace, trusting the force to guide her as she moved through the tall grass.
Rosella, Rex and Bly came upon an intersection as they were chasing the fleeing droid. They all stopped and after hearing the noise coming from its motor, turned to their left and began running again.
Aayla was still walking through the grass. The force nudged her and she moved off down the path.
Rosella and the clones had finally caught up to the droid. The padawan, who had her lightsaber in her hand, ignited the blade while still running after the small flying machine.
"We can't catch it if it gets out in the open Commander," Rex said.
Aayla burst out of the tall grass and saw them as well as the probe. Taking her lightsaber off of her belt, the Twi'lek ignited her blade. The droid emitted a shrill beep in alarm as Aayla sliced through it. The noise faded away, even as the black metal cooled and the small machine lay still on the ground. Aayla twirled her saber in the air. Then she deactivated it and returned it to her belt. Rosella did the same as she and the clones caught up to her.
All four of them walked towards the destroyed droid.
"We know that the droid was headed somewhere," Rosella said. "But where?" Even as she looked around, the teenager couldn't see anything that would have indicated where the droid's final destination was.
"Let's head up into that tree. Maybe we can figure it out from up there," Aayla told them, pointing to one of the tall trees that dotted the plains.
The four of them made their way towards it.
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Anakin made his way out onto the large branch where the others were gathered. Rosella was using a pair of electrobinoculars, Rex was using his rangefinder and Bly was using his built-in visor that was attached to his helmet to scan their surroundings.
"I hope you're feeling better Master," Rosella said as she sensed her father walking up behind them. The teenager turned around and handed him the pair of electrobinoculars she had been using. "I have a feeling that you're not going to like what we found."
"I'm feeling a lot stronger than I was earlier," Anakin said as he grabbed the electrobinoculars out of her hand and held them up to his face. In shades of black and green he saw a Separatist base, armed to the teeth with droids and cannons. The large droid ship sat in the middle, its wings almost forming some sort of roof as they stretched over the sides. "On second thought, I'm not so sure I'm ready to deal with that." As he removed the electrobinoculars away from his face, Anakin looked at both Rosella and Aayla. In the far distance, they could see a Separatist base that had been set up on the planet.
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The sun was beginning to set on the horizon as Anakin, Rex and Bly kept looking at the base. As Anakin continued to look through the electrobinoculars that Rosella had handed him earlier, he saw the ship was guarded by a group of B1 battle droids. Two of the droids were talking to each other. Then he saw the shuttle that was hidden behind the large ship. "I see a shuttle and that is what we are going to use to get off this planet," he said.
"It won't be easy General," Bly told him. "There don't seem to be any flaws in their security. None that I can find anyway."
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At the Separatist base, the ship had opened up. Three tanks came down the ramp and moved outside of the base.
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Anakin had the electrobinoculars back over his eyes. He could see the Separatist leader standing on a walkway over the entrance to the base, watching as some droids were carrying a shell of some sort. The Quara was walking beside them with a datapad in hand. He zoomed out and saw that one of the tanks was sporting something that he had never seen before. Then he frowned, bringing the binoculars away from his face. "It looks like the Separatists have a brand new toy," he said, remembering what had happened to Plo, his troops, and even themselves as they had gone up against that giant warship that the Separatists had owned. Then he turned to Bly. "Commander, see if you can get a closer look."
"Yes General," Bly responded.
"I'll accompany you Commander," Rex told him.
Anakin nodded his approval and then all three Jedi stood up as both Bly and Rex jumped from the tree.
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On the ground below, the Quara was pressing a few buttons on the giant control pad that he was holding in his right hand.
"Is the defoliator capsule ready?" Durd asked from where he stood in-between two super battle droids.
The Quara replied in his own language that the machine was ready to be tested as he turned around, lowered the pad, raised his left hand into the air and curled it into a fist.
"Today is a great day for the Separatist cause," Lok Durd said as he flung his arms wide and pitched his voice so that it echoed over the battle droids assembled below. "Today, we will be testing a brand new weapon that I have personally designed. This weapon is capable of catastrophic destruction and will destroy everything in its path that has even a hint of biological matter in it, but will leave the machines completely unscathed."
The battle droids started cheering and they waved their arms as well as their blasters in the air.
"But first, we will need to conduct a test and for that we will need two volunteers," Durd said.
Down below, the cheering stopped and all but two of the battle droids stepped back.
Lok Durd smiled. "The two who have so graciously volunteered are you and you," he said.
"Me?"
"Me?"
"Go to that ridge," Durd said as he pointed to a ridge that was some distance away.
"Roger roger."
"Roger roger."
The other droids parted into two sections, watching as their comrades turned around and walked away.
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Anakin placed the electrobinoculars back up against his eyes and spotted two battle droids walking towards Bly and Rex. "Oh poodoo," he said. "Stay down boys."
Rosella glanced at her father as soon as she heard him curse in Huttese and knew that something bad was happening.
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Lok Durd lowered his own pair of electrobinoculars from his eyes as he finished checking to see if the droids were in position. He turned around as the imagecaster that was in the palm of the droid standing behind him crackled to life and a miniature Count Dooku appeared. "Count Dooku," Durd said as he bowed. "It is an honour and pleasure to have you here to witness the first test of my..." He stopped and corrected himself as he saw the Count's face. "Excuse me, I meant to say our new weapon. I have located a world that I hope is suitable to your liking."
"I hope this test goes the way that it should. After all, this has been a most expensive project and I would be very displeased should this weapon fail in the middle of a battle," Dooku told him. "You may proceed."
"Yes, my Lord," Durd said as he bowed. Then he looked off to the side. "Ready?"
The Quara asked something in his language.
The droid who was standing beside the defoliator responded, "Roger, roger."
"Aim," Durd said, raising his left arm in the air.
The Quara said something and the weapon moved into position.
"FIRE!" Durd commanded.
The Quara said something and the machine fired its loaded shell into the air. The resulting sound was so loud that the droids, the Quara and Durd were nearly blown to the ground.
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High in the tree, the Jedi watched as they saw the capsule fly through the air.
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Both Bly and Rex saw the capsule flying through the air. They turned around and ran back to the tree where the others were waiting.
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The capsule flew through the sky.
"Are you sure that we're safe here?" The first droid asked as he turned to look at his companion. "I mean shouldn't we be taking cover or something?"
The capsule that had formed a high arch had started to free-fall back to the ground.
"No, you idiotic fool," the second droid responded as it jabbed its metal hand into the air, pointing to the projectile that was now falling rapidly. "That thing is not going to land anywhere near us."
The capsule landed right in front of the two droids, creating an indent that was twice the size of the capsule. The resulting noise was loud enough to make a living being loose their hearing while the ground shook. The fire that burst forth from the indentation washed over the two droids, not harming them at all even though they nearly fell over. Instead, it consumed the grass and any living thing that stood in its path.
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Rosella and Aayla saw this and ran out onto a branch over the burning land.
Rex and Bly were running as fast as they could to outrace the deadly flames. They had their rifles up, their grapple cables already loaded. They took aim at the branch both Jedi were standing on.
Rex shot his cable from his rifle and it landed with a thud in the branch. Bly accidentally tripped over a log that was in his way. As he fell, he fired his rifle, launching his own cable that missed the tree branch by just a few meters.
Aayla saw what happened and was not ready to let the Commander of her elite Star Corps go just yet. Even though she had spoken to Skywalker's padawan about the importance of letting their attachments go, the Twi'lek was not ready to go through the experience for the third time. Igniting her lightsaber, Aayla cut through one of the thick vines twisted around the tree branch. Surrounding herself with the force, the Jedi Knight leapt from the tree and swung down towards the ground.
Rex was already flying up to safety even as he reached back, desperately trying to reach for his friend and fellow clone. Their fingers weren't able to reach each other and Rex wasn't very happy as he was forced to leave another one of his brothers behind.
The Twi'lek Jedi grabbed Bly and swung them both back up onto the branch where Rosella and Rex were waiting. As they landed, Rex knelt down to check and see if Bly was alright. The padawan walked over as Aayla was getting to her feet.
Then the fire stopped as if it had hit a wall. There was nothing behind the wall of orange, red and yellow flames. What once had been once been plains, a sea of waving grasses dotted here and there with clumps of tall trees, was now nothing. The land had been burnt to a crisp and was now brown and black.
"I don't like this new toy that the Separatists have," Rosella said as her father climbed down to join them. "Just look at what it's done to the landscape. It took out every living thing that was in its path."
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The two droids were checking themselves over.
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"As you can no doubt see for yourself, the surrounding landscape has been destroyed and the droids are undamaged," Durd said to the holographic form of Count Dooku.
"I will admit, I am pleased, but not very impressed. Now we need to know how effective this new weapon will be on living creatures," Dooku told him.
"Of course," Durd said. "I will have you know that this planet is also inhabited. The colonists will make excellent test subjects as I'm sure that no one will even notice that they have gone missing."
"You have my permission to proceed with the test. Contact me when you have the results," the Count said before he faded away.
"Prepare to move out!" Durd said as he pointed to the droids.
Both the B1 battle droids and the super battle droids walked away to follow his orders.
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Aayla frowned as she watched the flurry of activity even though Anakin was using the electrobinoculars. "I wonder where those Separatists are headed in such a hurry?"
"The only place they could be headed is the Lurmen village," Anakin said as he passed Aayla the electrobinoculars. "There's nothing else in that direction." Then he stood up as he turned around. The pain that he had experienced earlier in the tall grass was no longer there to cause him harm. Rosella did the same, although she was kneeling on the branch, both her hands on her right knee as she propped it up to keep her balance steady. "I think what we just witnessed was the first in a series of tests with that new weapon and If I'm right about this, the next part of the test is against living creatures."
"The Lurmen don't stand a chance against that machine," Aayla said as she turned to look at everyone.
Anakin turned around and looked at the group. "Alright, here's what we're going to do," he said. "First, we are going to break into that base and take out the droid's communications so they won't be able to call for reinforcements or communicate with their leader. Then we're going for that shuttle. After that, we'll head back to the Lurmen village and help them."
"How are we going to help?" Rosella asked as she flung her arms out wide and then crossed them over her chest. "I know you were there when Tee Watt Kaa said that he didn't need our help and that he would rather die than have his people fight against the Separatists."
"This is another lesson that you, as well as all Jedi have to learn Rosella. There is a difference between walking away because of what someone believes is the right choice and then having to step in when they realize that it's the wrong choice. In this case, we need to save the Lurmen from being wiped out," Anakin told her.
Rosella frowned, uncrossed her arms and pushed herself off the branch, following her father and Aayla.
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Over in another tree, Tub watched as a group of battle droids, accompanied by the three tanks marched out of the base.
The Lurmen held out a finger gently and his carrier bird fluttered down onto it. "Fly back to the village and tell Wag Too that the Separatists are on their way back."
The bird chirped and flew off to go deliver the message.
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They waited until it was nighttime to execute their plan. Anakin crouched in the tall grass with Bly and Rex, watching as Rosella and Aayla launched themselves from their own hiding spot, dodged two circling spotlights, crept up to the side of the base and pressed themselves up against the outer wall.
There were droids standing by the doors that both Aayla and Rosella would need to slip past if they were going to have even the slightest chance at making it over the wall and opening the door on the inside for them. Letting the force flow through his hand, Anakin moved a rock that was on the ground next to the droids.
"What was that?" One of them questioned, walking towards the rock. As soon as the droid got near the rock, it moved again. Anakin kept the game up until the droid had walked into the tall grass beyond the spotlight.
A blue light up the grass and surrounding area, as Anakin activated his lightsaber and cut down the droid. Then he lowered his blade and dashed through the grass.
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Confident that the droids were now distracted, both Aayla and Rosella ran around the side and towards the wall. The Twi'lek Knight spotted an indent with two bumps on either side and used the force to scale it up to the top. Rosella followed Aayla up the wall, flipping over it as she reached the top.
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The remaining battle droids moved out of the way as a rock came rolling on the ground between them.
They followed the rock as it moved and suddenly leapt up into one of Anakin's hands as he activated his lightsaber with the other one.
Rex and Bly came out of nowhere and took care of the droids on the left and the right, leaving the one in the middle for Anakin to deal with.
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Once Aayla saw that Anakin had taken care of the last droid outside the base, she pulled back and looked at Rosella. "Go open the door," she said. "I will take care of the droids up here."
With no fear at all, Rosella jumped down from the walkway that ran around the walls of the base as Aayla made her way around, taking out any droids that she came across.
Rosella made her way to the doors and hid behind a crate. As two battle droids passed her, she unclipped her lightsaber from her belt, ran out, ignited it and in one smooth motion, cut them in half. Without stopping, Rosella deactivated her saber and ran up to the door controls. Then she pressed a red button and ran off so she wouldn't be spotted. They slid open with little to no noise at all.
Anakin, Rex and Bly vaulted between the doors once they had fully opened all the way. Both Rex and Bly held back, letting Anakin dart ahead and duck down behind a crate. His eyes scanned the darkened base. When he didn't see any other signs of danger or threats in the immediate area, he raised a hand and dropped his fingers forward. Rex and Bly quick marched over and hid behind a crate and knocked over barrel that were next to the one Anakin was currently hiding behind. They waited in silence for a pair of battle droids to pass by before ducking low and running to the main control panel where a trio of battle droids kept close watch.
"Make sure you check the outside. We can't have any surprises for the General when he returns to the base," One of the droids told his companion on his left.
Bly snuck up behind the droid on his right, wrapped his arms around it and pulled it down to the ground.
"4724. How does the west side of the base check out?" The middle droid asked. When he didn't get a response, he looked to the left to find that Rex had popped up and made quick work of the droid. "What the…?"
Anakin popped up behind the now frightened droid and sliced it into pieces. Overhead Aayla cut down the rest of the droids who were on watch duty.
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"The Separatists are on the move. They are coming back to our village," Wag Too reported to his father, Tub's carrier bird perched on his hand.
Tee Watt Kaa turned his head away from his son. "The Separatists did not attack us before. All they did was search our village. There is no reason to think that they will change their minds and attack us this time."
"Father, the only reason that the Separatists are coming back here is because they intend to harm us!" Wag Too said. "This is war! Not a time of peace! When are you going to accept this?"
"This is not our war! We have done nothing to provoke them and we will do nothing of the sort when they arrive. That is their way not ours," Tee Watt Kaa said.
"I understand what you're saying Father, but don't you remember what they did when they first came to our village?" Wag Too asked. " "Do you want us to just surrender and be slaughtered?" He lifted his hand and the carrier bird flew away to its home. "Father, all I'm saying is even if we don't fight the Separatists, the least we can do is fight to protect ourselves!"
"If we fight to defend ourselves, even if it is only for protection, we are still participating in battle," Tee Watt Kaa said, his voice sharp and hard. "If we give up our beliefs just to protect our lives, that means that we are no better than they are. Our philosophy has protected us for generations and we will not change our morals now or ever."
Wag Too lowered his head and shook it.
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Anakin, Aayla, Rex and Bly ran up to the now deserted shuttle.
"General, Bly and I have spotted two shield generators." Rex said.
"Load them on the ship. We're taking them with us," Anakin said.
Aayla, Rosella and Anakin turned towards the shuttle while Rex and Bly activated the generators and followed them towards the craft.
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The three Jedi ran up the ramp and inside the craft. As soon as they reached the small cockpit, Aayla slid into the co-pilots seat, while Rosella took the pilot's seat as Anakin stood behind her.
As soon as Rex, Bly and the generators were aboard, the shuttle took off from the base.
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As the Separatist shuttle approached the village where the Lurmen lived, they came out of their homes and watched with those who were already outside, including Tee Watt Kaa and Wag Too who had come out of their own house as the ship landed in front of them.
When the rear door opened and the landing ramp extended, Anakin ran down, followed by Aayla and Rosella as they headed towards the village elder and his son.
"Everyone, please listen to us," Aayla said as she lifted her hands in a gesture of peace. "The Separatists are on their way here and will arrive in mere moments."
"What are you doing here?" Tee Watt Kaa cried as he saw who the arrivals were. "I thought I told you not to come back!"
Wag Too held up his hands as he tried to calm his father down, but the older Lurmen didn't care.
"I know you don't want to hear this, but the Separatists don't care whether you are part of our war or not. We're here to get you all to safety before they arrive," Anakin told the village elder.
"We will not just pack up and abandon our village or our homes," Tee Watt Ka told the group.
"But the Separatists have a new weapon," Rosella said as she walked forward while her father crossed his arms over his chest. She spread her hands out in front of her as she stopped in her tracks. "My Masters and I have seen what it can do. If they get the chance to use it on this village, it will destroy all of you and burn your homes to a crisp. Is that really what you all want to happen to yourselves?"
"If we are meant to die in the war that you are participating in, than that is our destiny and nothing that you say or do will be able to change that," Tee Watt Kaa told the three before walking away.
Wag Too looked at his father and then back at the Jedi.
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Captain Rex climbed to the top of a group of pods and scanned the area with a pair of electrobinoculars. He spotted the advancing Separatist army. "We've got droids incoming," he said. "I would estimate that we have about eight minutes before they arrive."
Anakin nodded, turning away from his Captain as he headed back to the shuttle. "We need to hurry," he said. "Come on guys. We need to get these shield generators up and running!"
Aayla and Bly set up one of the generators while Rosella and her father set up the other one.
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"When Count Dooku sees how successful this test is against living creatures, I assume that I will be promoted to a more substantial position within the alliance," Durd said as they travelled towards the Lurmen village.
"Okay...right," the droid commander said as he raised his pair of electrobinoculars up to his mechanical head. "Well, the villagers appear to have put some pods together in a barrier around the village."
"Pods?" Durd said. Then he laughed. "How quaint." He knew that wall wouldn't stop neither the weapon or his droids. He lifted his own pair of electrobinoculars to his eyes and frowned when he saw not Lurmen, but Jedi pulling the pods into place. "Jedi? What are they doing all the way out here? Halt!"
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On one side of the entrance, Rex and Bly were using a cable to pull a pod into place, while on the other side, Anakin stood a few meters away with his hands on his hips and watched as Aayla and Rosella used the force to pull another one into position. Wag Too and Tee Watt Kaa were watching them. He dropped his arms and walked towards them as Tee Watt Kaa spoke.
"Stop what you're doing at once! Do not continue building that wall as I don't remember asking for your protection," Tee Watt Ka said.
The Jedi Knight turned to face the outraged Lurmen elder who was followed closely by his son. "This battle is no longer unavoidable, even for creatures as small as yourselves," Anakin said. "We understand and are willing to let you stand by your beliefs, but we also ask that you let us stand by our own. We will not leave you undefended to the hands of the Separatists."
The elder turned around and walked away.
Rosella walked over and stood next to Wag Too. The younger Lurmen sighed. "Thank you for doing this for us," he said. "Even if I wanted to help, I'm afraid that I can't. My father is very strong willed and set in tradition. Many of my fellow Lurmen agree with me, but you must understand that all our lives, we have been raised under a very strict code. We must respect it, even if we don't agree."
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The Separatist army stopped a few miles outside the village and stayed where they were.
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Wag Too walked away as Rosella turned to look up at Rex who had climbed up onto the wall of pods to scout for the enemy using his pair of electrobinoculars.
"General, the Separatists are holding their position," Rex said.
They're not going to charge us, not if they think that the village will be destroyed from a long range attack," Anakin said as he walked over with his hands clasped behind his back. "We'll use that to our advantage. If we can withstand that weapon, we'll draw them in."
Rosella nodded.
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"Arm the weapon and prepare to fire!" Durd said.
The capsule was loaded, the weapon powered up.
"Good-bye, Jedi," Lok Durd said. "Fire!"
An explosion was heard as the defoliator fired its shell.
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"General, we've got one of those capsules inbound on our position!" Rex yelled, as he hopped off the pod that he had been standing on.
"Power up the shields!" Anakin called. As the capsule flew towards them, a shimmering blue dome spread out and covered the entire village.
The capsule landed, hitting the ground and shaking it. The flames raced along the ground, burning and killing every living thing in the way. Soon the fire reached the shields. Everyone held their breaths. In the end, the flames gave up and faded away. The landscape beyond the dome was gone, destroyed. But the village and those who called it home had survived.
Anakin planted his hands on his hips, a triumphant smile on his face. "Now they'll have to get their hands dirty and meet us face-to-face."
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"Squad one, get ready to charge," Durd said as he was angry that his new weapon had failed. "Prepare to charge," the droid commander said.
All the droids behind the leader got ready, including the B2 battle droids.
"Charge!" Durd commanded.
All the droids ran forward.
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Rosella, Aayla, and Anakin were now standing on the other side of the wall of pods that they had put in place.
"That's a lot of droids," Rosella said.
Rex and Bly had just finished climbing over two of the seed pods. They hopped down behind the Jedi, two rifle blasters in hand.
"We can't let them get through the shield. We have to stop them before they reach it," Anakin said.
As one the Jedi and Clones stepped out from under the shield, raising their weapons.
The droids opened fire and the battle began. Two Jedi Knights, a Jedi Padawan, a Clone Commander and a Clone Captain up against an army.
Rex and Bly stayed back, laying down cover fire as the Jedi ran right up the middle. Rosella leapt in the air, jumping over multiple droids before landing and destroying two of them in front of her. Anakin marched forward, his lightsaber moving right and left, back and forth as he left a trail of busted battle droids in his wake. Aayla kept her feet on the ground, adding little spinning jumps here and there and at one point, she spun around and kicked one of the battle droids right in its metal chest as she attacked the droids in front.
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Wag Too climbed to the top of a seed pod, one of his friends at his side. He watched as the Jedi and Clones fought to keep them safe. He knew that he and his people had to defend their village even if it meant disobeying the code that his father had set in place and narrowed his eyes.
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"Five, four, three, two, one, zero. Sir, the first squad has been decimated," the droid told the General.
"Squads two and three, attack!" Durd cried.
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Rosella caught her breath. "That wasn't so bad," she said.
Anakin and Aayla looked back at her.
"That was just the first wave," Anakin said.
All three Jedi ran right back into the middle of the battle.
Anakin saw that the droids were beginning to make it past them and head for the village. "Rosella, get back to the village," he told her. "I'll take care of the new weapon."
Rosella obeyed and made her way back to the village, slicing a droid in half on the way.
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The droids pressed closer and closer to the village, forcing Rex and Bly back behind the shields.
"That's it," Bly said. "We have to fall back!"
The pair scrambled up over the seedpods. The droids didn't stop. They chased after the men, blasting away at the seed pods to clear a path.
"Get to safety," Rex told the Lurmen. "They've breached the shield!"
A loud explosion rocked the village as the droids finally broke the wall of seed pods. A super battle droid marched up to a shield generator and fired.
"They're taking out the shield generators!" Rex called.
Wag Too peered around a corner. This was just too much. "We have to do something," he said.
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Rosella saw what was happening and quickened her pace as she ran for the village. She sliced through one battle droid and a super battle droid as she finally reached the entrance. Then she leapt up and took out a battle droid from behind before leaping off it and destroying another one.
Aayla had joined her. The Twi'lek was doing her best to take out as many droids as she could.
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The droids didn't stop firing as they approached the center of the village. One of the shots took out the second shield generator and the shield started to dissipate.
The Lurmen scattered with some of them crying out in fear.
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Durd felt better when he saw that the shield was gone. "The shield is down," he said. "Launch another shell."
The droids rushed to get another shell loaded into the defoliator.
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Things were getting hard in the village as the battle raged on. Even though Rosella and Aayla were fighting the droids, more of them kept coming, They knew they couldn't be able to keep this up forever.
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"Um...General, there's a Jedi heading right for us," the droid reported to Durd.
"Then blast him, you fool!" Durd ordered.
First Durd's tank and then the droid's let loose rounds from their tanks. The lasers burned as they flew towards the incoming Jedi.
But they did not touch him.
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"No survivors," one of the droids said as they began to blast into the villager's homes.
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"Wag Too, what are you doing?" Tee Watt Kaa asked as he could not believe what he was seeing.
His son and his friends marching out to battle, weapons in their hands.
"We're going to help the Jedi," Wag Too told him.
"I cannot allow this," Tee Watt Ka said.
"Father, do you not see what is happening out there?" Wag Too asked. "Those Jedi and their men are risking their own lives to defend our village! That is something that we should be doing ourselves!"
"But..." The elder said before he was cut off by his son.
"We are going out there to help them and there is nothing you can say that will stop us." Having said that, Wag Too turned his back on his father and walked away with his friends into his first ever battle.
Tee Watt Kaa watched with a frown on his face.
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The Lurmen were fast. Much faster than the droids.
The droids found themselves spinning. Spinning in circles and firing their blasters to no effect. The Lurmen rolled and ran around them, wrapping ropes around their metal legs. Two of the Lurmen had already taken down a droid and were beating it into non-submission.
The droids were no match for the Lurmen.
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Durd and his droids were no match for Anakin. He destroyed them without a thought before leaping onto the tank where the defoliator had been mounted. He sliced through the bottom of the tank before jumping up and spinning as he sliced through the end of the defoliator. The capsule fell out and the weapon was no more.
"Help! I'll be defoliated!" Durd yelled in fright. He turned around and began to make his way out of his tank.
Anakin lifted the droid who was in the other tank with the force and brought it forward, slicing through it with his lightsaber.
Durd fell from his tank and began to run. Then he noticed that he was not going anywhere. He was in the air, not moving. "There goes my promotion," he said
Anakin deactivated his saber and pressed a button, activating his comlink. "The weapon has been destroyed," he said, panting slightly as he was a little tired from all that action.
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"Copy that General," Rex said as he ran out from behind a hut, firing away at the droids.
The Lurmen were certainly capable fighters when they put their minds to it. Wag Too and his friends roped a group of remaining droids together. The healer threw the end of the rope into the air. Another one of the Lurmen threw a pitchfork. Somehow, they got caught together and anchored to the ground. Working together, the other Lurmen pulled the rope and brought the droids down.
Rosella darted forward and beheaded the fallen droids. She ended with a flourish, jumping with a little spin as the villagers erupted in cheers.
The Lurmen were safe. Both Rosella and Wag Too nodded at each other.
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Bly and Rex were loading the Quara and Lok Durd onto the shuttle.
Rosella was standing in front of the shuttle as her father joined her. Wag Too walked up to them.
"Thank you Wag Too," Anakin told the Lurmen healer.
"We should be the ones thanking you," Wag Too responded as he waved one of his hands to show the villagers cleaning up. "Without your help, our village would certainly have been destroyed and we most likely wouldn't be having this conversation."
Tee Watt Kaa slowly approached the shuttle with Aayla walking behind him. Anakin moved to the side as the village elder came forward.
Wag Too saw his father and walked forward to meet him. "Father, I was just offering the Jedi our thanks," he said.
"Perhaps we do owe you thanks," Tee Watt Kaa said as he glanced up at Anakin. "But I still wonder, at what cost?"
Everyone looked into the sky as three Venator-class Star Destroyers appeared. Anakin's fleet had finally arrived and it was time to go home.
Translations
poodoo - 'fodder', although it is occasionally used as a mild expletive or an exclamation of anger