"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.
I don't know if anyone noticed, but during the scene where Obi-Wan is using the Force to control the Gutkurrs, he has to deactivate his lightsaber in order to use his left hand. Even though he drops it on the ground (since Cody has it in his hand afterwards), he apparently has it on his belt as he's walking backwards into the alley and when he's leaping over the creatures to escape the narrow place.
Maybe someone who was working on the episode accidentally left it in there.
Also, I just want to say thank you to everyone who has been reading my story and allowing me to mess with Star Wars by creating this alternate universe.
Anyways, onto Part 2 of the Ryloth Arc.
While Anakin and Rosella are busy mopping up after their successful campaign over Ryloth, it's up to Obi-Wan and Ghost Company to land on the planet and take back one of the cities.
Chapter 11: Taking Nabat Back from the Separatists
Aboard one of the Acclamator-class assault cruisers, Jedi Generals Obi-Wan Kenobi and Mace Windu were walking through the hanger, while all around them, other troopers were boarding their own gunships.
The gunship that both Jedi were heading towards was loaded with a group of 212th troopers, who had personally been selected by Cody for their assault on the planet. Mace said something to Obi-Wan, who responded as he was boarding the gunship. "Our first trick will be getting our troops on the ground," he said. "I'm sure the Separatists will have some sort of trick up their sleeves to try and stop us."
"If you can liberate the city of Nabat, then we will have our landing zone," Mace told him.
"Well then, it's time to meet the natives," Obi-Wan said as he crossed his arms over his chest.
Behind him, Cody was speaking with the troopers who were aboard the gunship. One of them put on his helmet as the gunship's engine was powering up. Mace watched as the doors closed and the blast shields fell over the slats that would normally allow light to shine through.
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As the three ships descended towards the surface of Ryloth, leaving the Resolute and the remains of the blockade behind, on the ground below at the Separatist command center, one of the B1 battle droids walked up the steps while the tactical droid and Wat Tambor were speaking to one another.
"You must not allow the Jedi or their Republic troopers to reach the planet's surface," the Techno Union member told him.
"The proton cannons that I have with me are in the optimum position to either force them away or put a stop to any sort of full-scale landing or invasion," the tactical droid responded.
"What?" Wat Tambor asked as hadn't heard any of what the tactical droid had told him. Glancing down at his suit, he reached up and twisted the knob on his right. "What if they focus their attack on your cannons?"
"You have nothing to fear," the tactical droid said as it stood up. "My droids have captured the Twi'leks who are living in this village and they are currently being used as living shields. I do not think that the Jedi will want to risk the prisoners' safety by launching a direct assault."
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When the Acclamator-class assault ships were high enough over the forest, the bottom hatch on one of them opened up and six gunships flew out, heading for the city. Aboard the Crumb Bomber, which was in the lead and whose pilot had reopened the blast shields, were Obi-Wan, Commander Cody and his group of men.
"Alright men," Obi-Wan said as he began to brief his troops. "The reason why we are here is to free Ryloth from the Separatists. We are not going to destroy their homes or harm them." Then he turned to look at his clone commander. "Cody?"
Cody stepped up and took Obi-Wan's place. "That means we'll be doing this the hard way," he said as he looked at his men. "Minimal destruction with blasters and droid poppers only. I do not want to see anyone using or even carrying a rocket launcher or any detonators. I also want you to check your aim before you shoot as we want to avoid hitting any of the locals. Am I understood?"
One of the clones had been placing the weapons that he had brought with him on the ground before quickly standing at attention with the other troopers.
"Sir, yes sir!" They replied.
Then the trooper sighed. "If we really are here to save the tail-heads, the least they could do is get out of our way," he told his vod in a low voice as he didn't want to be overheard by both Obi-Wan and Cody. Then he double-checked his blaster.
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One of the droids checked his scanner, then stood up, turned towards the tactical droid and said "Sir, the enemy is heading towards us."
"Once you are in range, you may fire at will," the tactical droid said.
The cannons were moved into position. Without any warning, they began to go off, nearly deafening a few of the Twi'leks, two females and one male, who clapped their hands over their ears as they were being pushed into the center of the city.
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The assault ship that Mace was on, as well as the other two, were being bombarded by blaster fire from the proton cannons. One of the cruisers ended up losing one of its thrusters and started listing to the right as it pitched downwards in the air.
The Jedi High General and the men who were with him in the briefing room stumbled and nearly fell over as the cruiser was hit by another blast.
"General," one of the deck officers said as he looked up at him. "The blasts from those guns are penetrating our shields. If this keeps up any longer, we might not have any ships that will be able to land on the ground."
Mace was looking at the doomed assault ship was currently plummeting towards the ground. Then he turned around and said, "Patch me through to General Kenobi!"
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Aboard his gunship, Obi-Wan did his best to stay upright as he had his arms crossed over his chest. He listened as Mace spoke to him over a hologram.
"There is no possible way to safely land the larger cruisers with those guns firing at us," Mace said. "You need to take them out or else this invasion will have failed and Ryloth will still be under Separatist rule."
"Pull back," Obi-Wan ordered. "We'll handle this." As Mace's hologram disappeared, the Jedi General heard an explosion outside his gunship. It was then that he knew that one of the craft that was following the Crumb Bomber had just been shot down. "Who's up for a challenge? We won't be getting any reinforcements on the ground until those guns have been permanently taken out."
The trooper who still hadn't put his helmet on rolled his eyes and turned to his fellow trooper who also didn't have his helmet on. "Here we go again," he said.
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As the remaining gunships flew towards the forest, another one was shot down, creating a colorful explosion that matched the other blasts that appeared in the sky.
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At the Separatist command post, the droid commander turned to the tactical droid and said, "Commander, the larger transports have turned away, but the smaller gunships are still heading towards the city."
"Just as I calculated," the tactical droid replied.
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As the gunships drew near to the ground, the doors on either side opened as Obi-Wan and his troops prepared to disembark. A pair of creatures who were feasting on a body of a dead can-cell looked up and growled before turning around and running deeper into the forest.
Once both gunships hovered slightly above the ground, Obi-Wan and his troops got off and strategically made their way up and down slightly sloping hills, running between trees that would offer just the smallest bit of cover.
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As a trio of battle droids marched through a small passageway towards the middle of the city where the Separatist command center had been set up, Twi'leks were seated against either side of the wall. In the middle of the area, another battle droid was directing a tank as it marched forward towards a new spot.
The tactical droid looked at the droid commander, who was standing in front of it and said, "Commander, prepare for the Republic's ground assault."
The B1 battle droid nodded.
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Obi-Wan and his troops had almost reached the bunker when the fight began.
One of the droids in the bunker had spotted them moving from tree to tree and responded with rapid rounds of blaster fire. As the troopers began firing back, Cody and a few others slammed themselves against a few of the tree trunks.
The clone commander peered out before jerking his head back as lasers flew past him and the tree that he was hidden behind. Then he gestured with his blaster and said, "Come on men! Let's go!"
As the men moved through the trees on Cody's command, Obi-Wan came up with them. His lightsaber was already ignited and in his hand as he used the glowing blue blade to deflect the lasers, while also making sure he didn't hit his own men in the process. He narrowed his eyes as he saw a few more droids join the ones who were already set up in the bunker.
Three more clones pressed themselves up against more tree trunks as the droids kept firing from the bunker. One of the droids on the opposite side of the bunker got knocked off by a blaster bolt from one of the clones.
As another clone fell to the ground, having been killed by Separatist blaster fire, Obi-Wan, Cody and the two troopers who had been talking to each other aboard the gunship took cover behind some of the tree trunks.
"That bunker is going to be a real problem for us General!" Cody told him. "We need to take out those droids in order to bring it down and get into the city."
"Leave the bunker to me," Obi-Wan ordered, having to raise his voice so Cody could hear him over the blaster fire. "I want you to bring in the rest of the men when I give you the signal." Then he looked at the troopers who had run up with them. "If you two want to get some action, I suggest you come with me."
One of the troopers nodded and turned to the other one. "You heard our General, Waxer," he said. "Let's go!"
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As a droid kept firing a repeating blaster into the forest, Obi-Wan, Waxer and the other trooper took cover behind some trees. As soon as the trooper with the upside-down rectangle that sloped down into a triangle on his helmet nodded at Obi-Wan, he raised his blaster and fired on the droids, effectively drawing the blaster fire onto him and Waxer as the Jedi leapt out from behind his cover and dashed for the boulders at the edge of the grove.
The trooper moved up and joined Obi-Wan, who deactivated his lightsaber as Waxer joined them.
"Let's take them out," Obi-Wan told the two troopers.
Waxer grabbed one of his droid poppers and tossed it towards one of the openings between the parapet and the ceiling overhang in the droid outpost. The EMP grenade flew through the air, but missed the opening and hit the top of the wall. Then he turned to look at Obi-Wan. "I can't get the height that I need from here," he said. "We need to get closer!"
"Try it again!" Obi-Wan told him. "I'll give you a boost."
Waxer did as his General told him and launched another grenade into the air.
Obi-Wan raised his left arm into the air and used the Force to gently nudge its flight directly into the open window of the bunker. A few seconds later, there was a brief flash of light, and the droids convulsed and then disappeared as their owners collapsed behind the protective wall.
The other trooper who was with them activated one of his grenades and peered out, tossing it into the air.
Obi-Wan raised his arm again and called on the Face as he gracefully altered its course, smirking as it bounced off the ledge and smacked one of the droids in the face before falling to the floor. The two remaining droids looked at each other for only a minute before the EMP went off, causing them to convulse and drop of the ground.
As soon as Cody saw that the droids were gone, he turned to look at his remaining men. "Ghost Company! Let's move!" He shouted.
The troops rushed forwards as one unit to help take down the wall and any remaining droids that had been missed in their initial assault.
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The droid commander walked up to the tactical droid that had been placed in charge of the operation in the village of Nabat and said, "Sir, I can't seem to get in contact with our outer defences."
"It would seem that the Republic troops have overrun the village perimeter," the tactical droid said. Turning to the droid commander, he continued speaking. "I want you to find out how the Jedi plan to attack us."
The droid nodded as it replied, "Roger, roger." Then it turned away to go follow the tactical droid's orders.
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Obi-Wan had just stepped away from a clone as he looked at a black plume of smoke that rose in the distance. Then he crossed his arms over his chest.
Cody came up and saluted as he said, "General, Ghost Company has successfully secured the wall." Then he turned to see what the Jedi was looking at. "Are we going be heading towards the guns now?"
"No Cody," Obi-Wan responded as he placed his left hand on his beard. "We need to find out what those droids have in store for us. Pick some of your best men and go with them as they scout ahead. Report back here with anything that you find that may be able to give us an advantage."
Cody nodded and gave him another salute as he replied, "Will do, sir." Then he looked at the two troopers who had helped take out the droids earlier. "Waxer, Boil, come with me."
"I guess we're the best," Boil quipped as he and Waxer followed their Commander.
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Back at the Separatist command center, one of the droids walked over to its station and pressed the button on the right. Two recon probe droids rose up into the air and headed towards the village.
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Cody, Boil, Waxer and another trooper headed through the streets of the abandoned village.
All was quiet as they looked around. The Separatists, it would seem, had come here with the intent of disrupting the Twi'lek's lives since they hadn't seen a single person upon entering the city. Some of the nearby homes were marked with burns that had been left behind by the droid's blasters.
"These are just buildings," Cody told his men as they walked along the street. "What really makes these structures a home are the people who live in them."
"Where is everybody?" Boil asked.
Cody, who hadn't answered the question, suddenly stopped moving and held up his hand. The trio behind him stopped walking as they waited for their orders. Seeing that they had come to an intersection, he turned around. "We'll check out the courtyard," he said. Then he pointed at Boil and Waxer. "I want the two of you to check out the south sector. We'll meet back up with the others and General Kenobi at 0620."
"Yes Sir," Boil responded.
Then they split up. While Cody and the other trooper headed towards the north part of town, Boil and Waxer headed in the other direction.
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As both troopers rounded a corner and walked down the street, neither one loosened their grips on their blasters.
"This is really creepy Boil," Waxer said.
"Do you think those Separatists killed all of the people who used to live in this village?" Boil asked.
"I doubt it," Waxer replied, glancing at his brother. "I don't see any bodies lying around. I'm guessing that the people must have been driven out of their homes. I highly doubt they had much of a-" He suddenly stopped speaking upon hearing a noise that sounded like footsteps breaking a pair of sticks. He quickly turned to his right and raised his blaster into the air.
"Had a what?" Boil asked when he didn't hear his fellow vod continue speaking.
After a few minutes of looking around and not seeing anyone, both troopers turned around to continue their patrol as they kept their blasters in the air.
"A choice Boil," Waxer said, finishing his train of thought.
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Cody and the other trooper were hiding behind a pair of crates as they both watched multiple groups of droids march by. The clone commander was peering through a pair of electrobinoculars as he wanted to get a better view of what was going on. Then he lowered them from his visor and stood up as he placed one hand on the wall nearby for support.
"This definitely is not going to be easy for us, sir," the trooper said, seeing as the courtyard was currently overrun with droids and tanks. "Those guns are surrounded. How are we supposed to reach them?"
"There is always a way, Wooley," Cody told him. Then he placed the electrobinoculars back up against his visor to see if he could see anything else. As he scanned the area, he came upon the command post that the Separatists were using and nearly growled as he didn't like what he saw in front of it. Catching sight of a pair of battle droids as they led a pair of captive Twi'leks towards the others, he said, "Wait! I see the villagers! It looks like the droids have rounded up the survivors and are using them as hostages. We have to report this to the General." Then he lowered the binoculars from his visor.
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One of the probe droids rounded the corner and looked around. Then it flew up towards one of the buildings that had a damaged roof. Once the droid landed on part of the roof that was still attached to the building, it climbed up to a higher level and peered over the edge.
Down below were Commander Cody, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Mace Windu, who was calling in via hologram since he was still on one of the two remaining assault craft up in the sky. Spinning in front of them was another hologram that had been made using the information Cody had managed to get on the area.
"Wooley and I managed to locate the guns, General. They're in the courtyard here and here," Cody reported as he pointed at the holomap. "But we have a complication. The droids have taken the villagers hostage and are using them as living shields."
"Those Twi'lek prisoners will make our mission a little difficult, but not impossible to complete," Obi-Wan said as he reached up and stroked his beard. "I still have a good plan for getting rid of those guns."
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"Obi-Wan, getting those villagers out of harm's way will be your first priority," Mace told him. "Once they are all safe, you have my permission to go after the guns. I have faith in you and your troops."
Obi-Wan, who had his hands on his hips, looked at his clone commander. "Cody, get the men ready. We're going to hit them with everything that we have," he said. "I want to get those hostages to safety and then we can go after the guns."
The tactical droid's glowing optical sensors watched the live feed that the probe was sending him. "So, it is General Kenobi who is leading this assault," he said in his monotone robotic voice. "He is known for his deceptive maneuvers."
"Roger, roger," the B-1 battle droid said. "Download his file."
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As Waxer and Boil continued their patrol through the unusually quiet streets, they heard a noise. After getting themselves ready on either side of an entrance to an alley, they both nodded at each other and ran down it, their blasters in the air and their fingers ready to pull the trigger.
Suddenly both troopers came face to face with a little Twi'lek girl who ducked behind a pair of rusty metal crates as soon as she saw them.
The girl, who nervously glanced between the two men with her golden eyes, had a deep shade of green on her skin, which seemed to glow brightly against her faded olive green dress and brown head-covering.
"It's just a little girl," Boil said. Then he remembered what Cody had told them back in the gunship and quickly pointed his weapon at the ground. "Waxer! Put your blaster down! Remember what the Commander said."
Lowering his blaster to the ground, Waxer turned around and asked, "What are we going to do with her?"
"Who said we were going to do anything?" Boil asked. "Come on. Let's just leave her here. We have a mission to complete, remember?"
"We can't just leave her here by herself vod," Waxer replied. "She's just a kid. We've got to do something for her." Then he came up with an idea. "Hey, why don't we take her with us?"
"You can't be serious Waxer," Boil told him. "She's only going to slow us down." Neither clone heard the sounds of the recon droid as it floated by them. It was clear that the little girl did as she ducked behind the crates once again. "You see? It's obvious that she's afraid of us."
Waxer turned around and saw the floating droid. "I don't think it's us that she's afraid of," he responded. "Quick! Hide!"
Boil quickly hid behind the base of the arch that he was near, while Waxer hid behind a large rock that was already in the alley. Both of the troopers held their breaths and hoped that the recon unit hadn't spotted them. After a few minutes, the droid floated away and the unlikely trio emerged from their hiding places.
"That was a probe droid," Boil said. "Waxer, we need to go."
"Boil, we can't leave her here!" Waxer exclaimed, not very happy about how his brother was acting at the moment.
"Alright, fine, we'll bring her with us," Boil said as he knelt down to the girl's height and slowly reached out towards her.
"Be careful," Waxer said. "You might scare her."
"Don't worry vod," Boil responded. "I don't think she'll attack me." He continued to reach for her and then jerked back as a set of somewhat sharp little teeth clamped down on the tip of his finger. "Ouch! The little tail-head bit me!"
The girl ducked back into her hiding spot, a little afraid of what they were going to do to her.
Waxer quickly clamped a hand down on Boil's shoulder. "Stop that Boil," he said as he pushed his brother out of the way. "You're going to frighten her off." Then he sighed and raised his hands in the air as he knelt down. "She probably thinks that we're a pair of droids." Slowly placing his blaster on the ground beside him, Waxer reached up and removed his helmet, exposing his shaven head and small patch of facial hair that he kept neat and trimmed below his lip. "See little one?" He touched his chest. "It's alright. I'm flesh and blood, just like you." When he reached out to touch her, she backed away, a pair of sad-looking eyes staring back at him.
The light seemed to show her off a little better, revealing that her skin also had a little blue tint to it.
"She looks a little hungry," Boil said, having stepped forward a little. "Probably hasn't had any food since the Seppies arrived and took away the villagers." Reaching into one of his pouches, he withdrew a ration bar and handed it to Waxer. "Here. Give her this."
Waxer took the bar and held it out, hoping that the kid would take it.
The little girl stared at the round object that the man had offered her, then bent forward as she sniffed it, wanting to make sure that it wasn't dangerous. Glancing up at the two men, she snatched it from Waxer's hand and took a bite. Once she had eaten some of it, she quickly scarfed down half of the bar.
Waxer watched the little girl eat the bar with a soft smile on his face as Boil placed his weapon off to the side and proceeded to remove his helmet. His hair was dark and while he sported a regulation buzz-cut, he also sported a semi-dark beard and moustache.
The little girl finished the ration bar and then stared up at the men. She tilted her head a little as she was studying both of them. Then she smiled and pointed at Waxer. "Nerra," she said. Then she pointed at Boil. "Nerra."
Waxer shook his head. "I'm Waxer," he said as he placed a hand on his chest. Then he pointed to his brother. "He's Boil."
She pointed to them and repeated the same thing that she had said earlier, "Nerra, nerra." Then she took another bite of the bar that she held in her other hand.
Boil, who had picked up his helmet, placed it on his head as he said, "It's nice to see that you've made a friend. I think we're done here." He grabbed his blaster off of the crate that he had placed it down on. "Can we get out of here?"
Waxer picked up his helmet off the ground and placed it on his head. Picking up his blaster, he stood up and held his other hand out to the Twi'lek. "Come on little one," he said.
The little girl, who had gotten up off the ground, just stared up at him, making no move to take his hand. Bringing the bar back up to her mouth, she seemed content enough to stay where she was and finish it.
"There. You see that Waxer?" Boil asked. "She doesn't even want to come with us. I'm sure she'll be fine without us. We really do need to go."
Waxer stood there for a few more minutes, watching as the girl seemed to finish the ration bar that she held in her hand. Knowing that Boil was right, he turned around and left the alley.
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The girl seemed to want to run after Waxer, but then she hesitated, quietly whimpering in fear. She knew that her parents weren't coming back for her. Remembering that they had told her to stay hidden until her uncle came for her, she lightly bounced on the tips of her feet, unsure of what do to.
As the troopers began to fade from her sight, she ran to the corner of the nearest building and peered around it. Since she didn't know where the other members of her village had been taken to or even if they were still alive, she thought that maybe they could help her locate them. Making her decision, she copied Waxer and marched after them.
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As the tactical droid walked through the camp, he saw that the Twi'lek people seemed to glare at him. He didn't seem to care, although he did feel a little satisfaction as he saw one of the droids kick one of the males in the back. Moving away from his captives, he proceeded to descend a flight of stairs into a cool tunnel beneath the surface. Ahead of him were some cages and in front of each one was a battle droid.
"Sergeant," the droid asked, watching as the B-1 droid who had been slowly backing up suddenly stood up straight. "Are the creatures ready?"
The battle droid ran over and said, "I have starved them just like you ordered sir." At that moment, one of the creatures clamped its massive jaws around one of the bars. "Are you sure that these things will not attack us?"
"I need to run one last test just to be sure," the tactical droid said. Reaching over, he pressed the giant rectangle on the panel that was on the wall. There was a clanking sound as one of the cage doors slid open.
The battle droid began to back up as it asked, "Uh, sir, what do you mean by that?" Bumping into something wet, the droid glanced behind it. "Oh no." Then it was swallowed up by the creature. "Woah! Not my motivator!" The creature shook the droid around before spitting it out onto the ground.
"My theory has been proven correct," the tactical droid said. "These creatures need organic meat to survive."
"Well, that's a relief," the droid said as it sat up, still covered in slime.
"It will not be such a relief for the clones," the tactical droid responded. As one of the battle droids prodded the creature with a stun rod, forcing it back in its cage, the droid pressed the same button, sealing the door shut. "They will be the creature's food."
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Boil and Waxer continued walking through the empty streets. They wanted to finish their patrol and get back to the place where they knew that Cody and the rest of their vod were waiting.
The small Twi'lek girl ran up and hid behind one of the buildings. Peering out, she quietly started to follow them.
Waxer looked behind him and spotted the small girl who ducked behind one of the arch poles that looked like the one that Boil had ducked behind to hide from the probe droid. Then he looked over at Boil. "Do you think her family is still alive?" he asked.
"I don't think so," Boil replied. "If they were, she wouldn't be here. If I had to guess, they must have told her to hide somewhere before the Separatists attacked. I just hope that she survives this whole mess."
Waxer looked behind him to see the small girl standing there before she hid behind another building. Turning towards Boil, he asked, "If she does survive, what's going to happen to her after our mission is complete and we leave Ryloth?"
"I'm not sure…" Boil responded and watched as Waxer's head turned to look at the spot where he had last seen the child. "Hey, don't even think about it. We're not taking her with us when we leave."
Both troopers turned to look in the direction that they had just come from. Glancing around, they saw no sign of the young Twi'lek girl.
"She's gone!" Waxer said, a hint of surprise in his voice.
"I'm sure she's still around here somewhere," Boil said.
Waxer turned around and looked down to see the young girl standing right in front of him. "Hey," he said as he knelt down to her height. "There you are." He reached out and gently tapped her nose, watching beneath his helmet as she smiled and giggled. Then he stood up.
"How did she get in front of us so quickly?" Boil asked.
Before Waxer could answer him, he felt a tug on his blaster. Glancing down, he saw the kid who had both of her hands wrapped around the weapon.
"Nerra!" She said. Then she turned around and pointed down the empty, rubble-filled street. "Nerra!" When neither Boil or Waxer made a move to follow her, she let go of the blaster and took off down the street. The girl only stopped once and that was to turn around and see if they were following her before she kept running.
"No! Come back here. Don't go that way!" Waxer called after her. When she didn't listen, he panicked a little on the inside. "The recon droid went that way!"
"Waxer, let her go," Boil said, waving his hand in the direction that she was running in. Although he tried to ignore it, a small part of him seemed to be warming up to the little girl. It was as if he wanted to go after the kid and take her back to their command center where she would be safe until they could reunite her with her family, that is, if she even had any family left.
"No Boil," Waxer told him. "I'm not just going to let those droids get her." He took off after her with his weapon in hand.
Boil sighed and kicked the ground. "I'm just trying to keep you alive!" He called out. Then he chased after Waxer, who was running in the direction that the girl had run off in earlier. "I'll be darned if I know why."
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The little girl kept running, ducking beneath a rock as she kept moving.
Both troopers had to leap over the rock in order to keep up with her.
"Where is she going?" Waxer asked as he ran after her.
As the young girl ran up to another arch, she quickly darted behind it and quietly giggled as she was having fun leading them on a little chase throughout the village. Peeking out, she saw them catch up to her.
"Wait!" Waxer called out as he saw her dart out from her hiding place and run off. "Slow down!"
As the girl ran around the corner, she skidded to a stop. Then she took a step forward as she glanced around before her eyes seemed to stare at the remains of a building in front of her. The last time she had been here was when the droids had first landed on Ryloth and then marched through the village, taking away every Twi'lek that they could find.
Then Waxer caught up to her. "Hey," he said, catching his breath a little as he reached out and rubbed the top of her head. "There you are."
Boil ran up to them. "You found her," he said. "I do have binders if you want to use them." His eyes widened beneath his helmet at the sharp disapproving look that Waxer had sent his way. "What? It was only a suggestion."
The little girl suddenly reached up and tugged on Waxer's hand. As the trooper looked ahead of him, the kid kept tugging and then she pointed towards one of the buildings that looked like so many of the others that they had seen. This time, she kept a firm grip on the clone's hand as she led him towards it.
"What are we doing here anyways?" Boil asked as he followed them. As far as he could see, it was just another destroyed building. There was a large hole up in the corner of the room that was situated above the main part of the house, and both of the awnings that were used to help provide some shade from the sun had little rips in them, probably from where the droids had fired their blasters.
The doors were wide open as the girl walked up the steps into a rather large room. There was a medium-sized pile of rubble in one corner near a small set of stairs that led to a trapdoor in the floor that had a rock over one corner. On the other side of the room was more debris and some rocks.
As the small child walked towards the middle of the room and stood there, staring up at the large circular hole in the roof where the sun was pouring in, both of the men stopped moving and turned to their left. While Waxer placed his blaster down on top of the stairs, Boil walked over, sat down on a stone and placed his weapon beside him.
Both troopers removed their helmets.
"I think this used to be the kid's home," Waxer said as he turned around and looked at Boil, his helmet still tucked underneath his arm. Then he glanced over to where the young girl was still standing. "Poor kid. She's lost everything and everyone around her." Just then, something colorful and bright caught his eye. As he looked down, Waxer saw a purple and yellow doll laying on the floor. Placing his helmet at the bottom of the stairs, he bent down and picked up the toy. It was a little dirty, so he reached out and brushed some of it off, listening as it squeaked in his hand.
He could feel Boil watching him as he transferred the toy to his other hand, walked up behind the child, placed his free hand on her right shoulder and held the toy out to her. The young Twi'lek felt the hand on her shoulder and glanced to her left. Upon noticing the toy, she gasped, reached out and took it in her hands. Then her expression turned into a sad one as she burst into tears.
Her grip tightened on the toy as she heard it squeak. As the girl continued to cry, she brought the toy close to her chest, since it was the only reminder that she had left of her parents.
Waxer, who was a little startled upon hearing the young girl's sobs, slowly walked around and knelt in front of her. As he reached out and wiped her tears away, he said, "It's going to be alright now little one." Then he placed his hand on her shoulder. "We're here to help. You're not alone anymore."
The Twi'lek girl sniffled and looked at her shoulder as Waxer removed his hand. She reached up and rubbed her right eye with the back of her tiny fist. Upon glancing at the toy again, she raced forward, flinging herself at Waxer's chest as she did her best to bury her face against his armor, not caring that it was hard and uncomfortable.
The clone, who was a little surprised at the action, responded to his instincts and slowly wrapped his left arm around the kid as he reached up with his other arm to lightly and gently stroke her lekku.
Boil, who was watching from where he was sitting, could tell that even though the young girl was a lot tougher than she looked, she was still a child. She wasn't old enough to do adult things yet. As he mentally ran through all the horrible things that he had seen during the war, the trooper realized that this was his -and Waxer's- first time seeing something like this.
As the trooper slowly stood up and made his way over to the pair, he somehow knew that she never would have survived if he, Waxer and the rest of their vod hadn't come to Ryloth in the first place. He also couldn't deny the sense of compassion that he was starting to feel for her and his willingness to protect her. There was no way she was staying behind to face whatever was out there by herself.
Waxer looked up as Boil knelt down behind her.
"Don't cry kid," Boil said. "Waxer and I will keep you safe. That's a promise."
The little girl looked up at him, sniffled once and then detached herself from Waxer's arms as she raced over to Boil and wrapped her arms around his middle. The normally gruff trooper gained a look of surprise on his face, but then slowly and awkwardly hugged her as he averted his gaze.
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Back at the Republic camp, Obi-Wan walked out of their makeshift base and over to his clone commander. "Are the rest of the men all ready to go?" he asked. When he didn't get a response, he realized that Cody starring at his wrist com. "What's wrong?"
"Waxer and Boil haven't checked in yet," Cody responded. "They haven't returned from their scouting mission either."
"That isn't like them at all," Obi-Wan said, placing his hand on his chin, unaware that the probe droid was still hanging around and transmitting everything that was being said back to the command center. "I hope they haven't gotten into any trouble."
"Sergeant!" Cody called out. "I want you to use the high-powered transmitter and see if you can reach Waxer and Boil."
"Yes Sir!" One of the clones stood at attention and then walked away.
"We need to move if we are going to reach those guns before nightfall," Obi-Wan said. "The others can catch up later."
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"The Jedi are on the move," the tactical droid said. Then he reached forward and pressed the button that activated his comms. "Sergeant! The attack is imminent. You may release the beasts now."
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"Roger, roger," the B-1 battle droid said. Then it lifted one of its clawed metal hands and pressed the large rectangular button on the panel, hearing the sounds of the cages as they opened up.
The creatures roared and made their way out of the cages. One of the battle droids nearby shocked one of them with the prod that it held in its hands. The animal roared again as it followed the other creatures down the hall.
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Both Waxer and Boil, who had unwrapped his arms from around the little girl, looked at their wrists when they heard the sounds of their coms going off.
"It's the Commander!" Boil said. The Twi'lek girl moved away from the armor-clad man as he and his fellow trooper got up off the ground. "We are super late Waxer! If we don't get back to command, we are going to be polishing R2 units for the rest of our lives!"
As the dark-haired clone was about to answer his com, Waxer placed his hand on Boil's arm. "Wait a minute. How are we going to explain all of this?" He asked. Then he gestured down at the girl. "How are we going to explain where she came from?"
The small child turned around and looked up at Waxer.
"Are you really asking me?" Boil asked, a hint of surprise now evident in his voice.
"Maybe if we hurry back, we can say that we ran into a bit of trouble," Waxer responded as he walked sideways towards his helmet.
"Oh, we are definitely in trouble," Boil snarkily said as he turned around, and walked towards the stairs.
Waxer picked up his helmet, while his vod put his on. "And our transmissions were jammed by the droids," he said, trying to come up with an excuse so they wouldn't get into too much trouble with Cody and Obi-Wan.
Boil walked over to where he had been sitting and picked up his blaster. "It's worth a try," he said. "But mark my words. This is not going to go well for us."
The girl watched as both troopers moved towards the door and she began to follow them.
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As the three of them left the building, Boil suddenly stopped moving, causing Waxer to stop in his tracks. As the small child came out behind them, she ran over to the side of her home, then raced over to Waxer as she wrapped her arms around his left leg. He glanced down at her, wondering what had her so frightened.
"Gutkurr!" She said, tugging on Waxer's hand. "Gutkurr!"
Boil glanced back at her and then quickly refocused his attention ahead of him as a pair of two-legged creatures rounded the corner and snarled at the trio. The small girl ran back into her house and hid behind one of the rocks near the entrance.
"I think I'm beginning to understand why the kid never came back here," Boil remarked as the gutkurrs let out another roar. Then he started firing his blaster as both he and Waxer backed up towards the open entrance. "Now do you see what happens when we don't follow orders?"
"Let's get out of here!" Waxer exclaimed as he fired his blaster twice, turned around and ran back into the house.
Boil was right on his heels as the creatures chased them. Just as one of the animals was about to run into the house, both troopers managed to shut the door. That didn't stop the creature, who kept ramming his head against the doors.
The two of them tried everything in their power to keep the doors shut, but it wasn't working.
"These suckers don't know when to quit," Waxer said as he looked at Boil. Then he looked at the door. "You get the gun and I'll hold them back."
Boil nodded, twisted around, picked up his weapon and got ready to fire at the beasts.
The beast managed to push Waxer back long enough for the doors to fly open. Boil quickly pulled the trigger and blasted the massive creature twice, forcing it backwards, which allowed the other trooper to grab both of the doors and slam them shut. Boil joined him and placed his free hand against the door since he was holding his weapon in his other hand.
The beast shook off the disorientation from being shot in the face and roared at the door before ramming into it again. The other one took off for another part of the house that had been destroyed.
Inside, the Twi'lek girl's eyes lit up as she spotted the trapdoor on the floor. As she ran off towards it, Waxer held out one of his hands as if he wanted to go after her and Boil could only watch from his place beside his brother. Once she reached it, the child dropped her toy on the floor, pushed the rock away from the corner and got up as she ran for the right corner and started to lift it up.
Boil jerked his head towards the girl as he saw what she was trying to do. Waxer nodded in agreement and they both let go of the door at the same time. As he reached for his blaster that was on the floor, the other creature appeared in the corner of the house that was missing. Boil fired on the creature, managing to distract it as Waxer held open the trapdoor long enough for the girl to grab her doll and hop into the tunnel beneath her house.
Just then, the creature hopped off the broken part of the roof and got into the house. Boil kept firing at the beast as he made his way towards the trapdoor. As the creature ran towards them, Waxer lifted up his blaster and fired at the animal long enough for him to disappear. Then Boil jumped in after them, letting the door slam down on top of the creature.
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As Obi-Wan and his troops made their way to the courtyard, the Gutkurrs, who had been driven mad by starvation, ran around the corner and charged towards three troopers who had been in front of the group. As Obi-Wan saw the creatures racing towards them, he raised one of his hands in the air as he pointed to the troops who were behind him.
One of the creatures slammed into one of the running troopers, causing him to fly into the air.
After that happened, every single person who was apart of Ghost Company began to fire their weapons at the creatures.
"They're not stopping!" One of the clones exclaimed.
"Aim for their eyes!" Another one yelled out.
One of the clones raced past two of his fellow vod. "Look out!" He cried out. "Fall back!"
Cody, Obi-Wan and the remaining troops turned around and did exactly that.
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At the Separatist camp, the tactical droid was in his tank speaking to Wat Tambor via a hand-held communicator. "The Republic ground forces have been rerouted, Emir," he said.
Then there was an explosion off in the distance followed by sounds of blaster fire.
"What was that noise?" The Techno Union foreman asked.
The tactical droid looked towards the black plume of smoke that was rising into the air. "I calculate that the remaining clones have just launched a desperate final offensive. Do not worry as their chances of defeating us are 742 to 1," he said.
"I hope you are right."
"I am a droid," the tactical droid responded. "Of course, I am right."
Then the hologram disappeared.
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Another clone hit the ground and was about to be eaten. If not for one of his fellow clones who had jumped in and fired his own weapon at the beast, he probably wouldn't have survived to keep on fighting. One of the creatures killed another clone by ramming into the white-clad armored man and sending the trooper flying into the air. Then the dead trooper was pounced upon by two Gutkurrs who proceeded to tear into the poor clone.
The rest of the troops, including Cody, were firing their weapons at the beasts. When they saw that their lasers had no effect, they turned around and ran away, fearing for their lives. Obi-Wan, who had his ignited lightsaber in his right hand, saw one of the creatures charging at him and leapt in the air, managing to sail over the beast.
When he landed on the ground, the Jedi Master turned around. As soon as Obi-Wan saw that the gutkurrs were racking up casualties amongst his clone troopers, two of the beasts were about to attack another clone who had been forced backwards and was now pressed up against a wall that was part of a house belonging to one of the villagers, he raised his right hand, calling on the Force as he drew the creatures' attention away from the terrified trooper and onto him.
As both of the Gutkurrs began to follow him, Obi-Wan dropped his lightsaber onto the ground as he raised his other hand into the air and did the same thing to the one that his clone commander was about to fire on. Once all of the beasts were following him, he backed up, making sure that he kept his concentration focused on the animals.
Cody saw the lightsaber on the ground and quickly scooped it up for safekeeping before stopping one of his men from taking a pot-shot at their General.
Obi-Wan led the creatures into a narrow alley between two cliffs. Up above them, was a bridge that looked weak. Glancing between the creatures and the walkway, he quickly formulated a plan.
As the rest of the clones met up with Cody and saw what was happening, they were in awe.
"Incredible," one of them said.
"Quiet, rookie," Cody said as he glanced behind him.
"Cody!" Obi-Wan called. "Shoot the bridge!"
Cody raised his hand and pointed at the bridge. The remaining clones raised their blasters into the air and as one unit, they fired on the bridge. It fell to the ground, trapping the beasts and Obi-Wan in the alley.
The remaining creatures growled and turned towards Obi-Wan. As one of the beasts attempted to rush at him, the Jedi leapt to his right and then straight up into the air as another creature ran straight at him, only for it to crash into the wall like the first one had done. Landing on the ground, Obi-Wan quickly rolled to his right again as a third Gutkurr charged at him. Leaping over another one of the animals, he landed on the backs of the remaining two before leaping into the air again and over the remains of the broken bridge.
Cody and the remaining troops were already moving ahead when Obi-Wan stood up. He nodded in thanks to his clone commander who handed him his lightsaber. All of a sudden, everyone stopped moving as a metal grate on the ground started to rattle. Obi-Wan shifted his lightsaber to his opposite hand and quickly reignited the blade as the men brought their weapons up.
"Don't shoot," Obi-Wan said as he lowered his blade and deactivated it while reaching out to lower Cody's blaster.
The cover was lifted into the air and tossed aside as Waxer popped up out of the hole. He turned around, saw the others and scrambled to get out. Boil was next and they quickly snapped to attention and saluted.
Relief flooded through Cody, quickly succeeded by prickling irritation. "Waxer! Boil!" He barked at them. "Where have you two slackers been?"
The two scouts shuffled about nervously.
"There is an explanation, sir," Boil insisted.
"We got sidetracked," Waxer added quickly.
Both of the troopers glanced down as the small Twi'lek girl popped out from behind Boil's leg. As soon as she saw Obi-Wan, she got frightened and retreated behind Boil.
Obi-Wan stood there with his hands on his hips and a small smirk on his face. "I think I see what sidetracked you," he said.
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"The clones have defeated the creatures," a battle droid reported to the tactical droid.
"But now their numbers are thin," the tactical droid said in response. "We must prepare for their final assault."
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Obi-Wan walked forward and knelt down. "Hello, little one," he said.
The girl shyly hid behind Boil and covered her right eye with her hand.
"She brought us here through the tunnels that run underneath the city," Waxer explained. "Knows her way around them pretty good, sir."
Obi-Wan looked at both of the scouts and then at the Twi'lek girl before saying something to her in her language as he pointed down the street. The girl responded in the same language and then pulled on Boil's weapon, waiting for him to follow her.
"The girl can lead us straight to the prisoners," he said. Then he looked at his commander. "Cody, I want you to take the rest of the men and provide us with a diversion."
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Commander Cody and the rest of the clones made their way to the enemy command centre and hid behind a wall. After peering out and seeing that the droids weren't paying attention, he turned back to his men and gestured with his fingers.
The rest of the men got up and quickly moved in closer as they prepared to distract the droid army, which consisted of one tank, a bunch of B-2 battle droids and regular battle droids.
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Inside one of the gutkurr cages, a battle droid was cleaning the floor, while two other droids were standing guard outside the cell.
Unknown to them, Obi-Wan, who was carrying the girl in one of his arms, Waxer and Boil quietly entered behind them.
"Yup, this is about the worst job in the droid army," the battle droid said as he continued scrubbing the floor. Then he heard the sound of a lightsaber being ignited and wildly turned around until he spotted Obi-Wan standing there with his lightsaber in his right hand. The two guards were in pieces at his feet. "And it just went into overtime."
The young child wrapped her arm around Obi-Wan's neck as he used the Force to slam the cell door closed on the unfortunate droid. The droid uttered an electronic moan as Boil and Waxer came running up behind them. The girl pointed up ahead and said something to Obi-Wan in her language.
"I'll handle this. You keep her here." Obi-Wan said as he turned around and handed the girl to Waxer. Then he slowly moved up the stairs and crouched down at the top to scout out the area. As soon as the second tank that was in the area left, along with another compliment of battle droids, he turned around and signalled Waxer and Boil to come forward.
Waxer bent down and let the little girl jump out of his arms. She stood there as Boil knelt to her height and held one of his fingers to his lips, telling her to be quiet. Then he got up and followed Waxer.
Obi-Wan made sure that the coast was clear and then the trio ran for a statue next to the prisoners and hid behind it.
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Commander Cody saw them and turned to the men who had accompanied him. "The general, Boil and Waxer are in position," he said. "Let's move!"
They all ran out from behind the wall and split up as they began to fire at the battle droids, super battle droids and both tanks. Cody and Wooley were on one side, while the three other troopers were hiding behind a huge rock on the other side.
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Obi-Wan nodded to Boil and Waxer and ignited his lightsaber. Then he jumped out from behind the statute and sliced down both of the droids who were guarding the Twi'leks. Another battle droid attempted to fire at his back, but Waxer and Boil jumped from behind the statue and blasted it to pieces. Once the droids were gone, Obi-Wan went over to all of the prisoners. After helping one of the males up, he flipped his saber into a reverse grip, sliced through his binders and repeated the same process for all of the captive Twi'leks.
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The three troopers who were still hidden behind the large rock ducked behind it as the tank that the tactical droid was in began to fire on their position.
Cody could see that the laser fire from the tanks was getting closer to their position. Knowing that he needed to keep his men alive, he yelled, "Pull back! Pull back!"
They began to retreat.
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Once Obi-Wan had released everyone and helped the last female stand up, he told them to follow him in their language.
As they began to flee, one of the battle droids spotted them. Raising his clawed hand to his head, he contacted the tactical droid and said, "Sir, the Jedi has freed the prisoners and now they're escaping."
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The tactical droid pressed a few buttons as his tank slowly turned around. He was confident that his plan was still going to succeed.
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Waxer and Boil covered the Twi'lek's escape as they all headed down the stairs to where the Gutkurr cages were. Numa stood to the side and watched as her people all ran past her to safety.
Then one of the Twi'lek men recognized her. "Numa," he happily called out. Then he said something in his language as he ran over to where she waited with open arms. After checking her over to make sure that she wasn't hurt, the male scooped her up in his arms and gave her a big hug.
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Obi-Wan smiled when he saw that Numa had been reunited with her uncle. "Waxer, Boil, come with me," he ordered as he turned around, took his lightsaber off his belt and ignited the blade. "We've got to destroy those cannons!"
"We're with you, sir," Boil replied as they ran after him.
Obi-Wan raced towards one of the proton cannons, raising his blade as he deflected a blaster bolt back at one of the droids before slicing the other two to pieces. Then he used the Force to lift the gunner out of his seat and toss him away from the cannon and into the wall. As he deactivated his lightsaber and climbed into the seat, Waxer and Boil dropped their weapons into the ground and lifted one of the shells and placed it into the compartment on the side of the cannon while he turned the firing chamber towards two of the cannons that had been placed around the ring.
"We're all set down here, General," Boil said when they were finished.
Obi-Wan aimed for the middle of two other cannons and fired before they could react to what was happening, destroying them both. Then he turned the cannon around and aimed for the one of the other ones.
"Setting Alpha 5 or 6?!" One of the droids cried out frantically as it was unsure of what to do.
While the cannon was getting into position, Waxer and Boil were in the process of loading another shell into the compartment. Obi-Wan used that time to drag his crosshair over to the cannon that was on his screen.
"Where's the override!?" The droid cried out.
Once the shell was loaded, Obi-Wan fired at the cannon.
"Ahh!" The droid screamed as its cannon was hit. As the battle droid fell out of the gunner's seat, the cannon fired on the only one that was left, taking it out.
Then the tactical droid arrived in his tank and fired three shots at Obi-Wan's cannon. He saw the blasts headed his way and leapt out of the gunner's seat as Boil and Waxer ran away as well. The blasts hit the cannon and it exploded, knocking them all to the ground.
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Numa, who saw what happened, along with the other Twi'leks, wriggled free from her Uncle's grip and ran over to both of the troopers. "Nerra?" She asked as she reached out and shook Waxer's arm, noting that Boil was already starting to get up.
The other Twi'leks, who were angry at what had happened, shouted and raised their fists in anger as they came storming out of the tunnels.
Once both Boil and Waxer were up and moving, Numa got up and darted towards Obi-Wan. When she reached his side, she ducked underneath his arm and began to help him up. He looked up and narrowed his eyes as the tactical droid approached and aimed his cannon at them.
"Haha. You lose, General Kenobi," the droid taunted in its flat, synthesized voice.
Obi-Wan flung a protective arm around Numa as they waited for the eventual blast that was going to come from the cannon.
The blast never came.
The tactical droid looked to its right as all of the Twi'leks ran towards his tank. "Does not compute! Does not compute!" It repeated over and over again as the Twi'lek people shook the hovering machine and climbed up to the open hatch. Soon the droid was overwhelmed as it was surrounded by the people, who grabbed the droid and began to rip it apart. One of the Twi'lek men began punching the droid in the face.
Obi-Wan stood up, tugged Numa behind him and placed a hand over her eyes, unwilling to let such a young child see what her people were doing to the droid. The girl moved Obi-Wan's hand from over her eyes and watched as the droid was thrown out of the tank and onto the ground.
The Twi'leks all jumped off of the tank and continued to pound at him as he screamed. Numa's uncle managed to rip the tactical droids head off as the others continued to pound him into broken bits of metal.
Then a huge shadow passed over them. The Twi'leks stopped beating up the droid and looked up into the sky as one of the Acclamator-class assault ships showed up.
The battle was finally over.
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Mace's assault ship landed outside the forest. Once he disembarked and met up with Cody, they walked over to Obi-Wan while behind them, two AT-TE's which were accompanied by six troopers -three on either side- came marching down the ramp.
"Good job Obi-Wan," he said as they turned around and walked towards the edge of the forest. "Now that those cannons are gone, we have a more difficult objective ahead of us. We must take back the capital and free this world."
Waxer walked over to Numa and knelt down to her height as he placed his left hand on her shoulder. "See you later little one," he said. Then he rubbed her head and stood up as he followed Cody, Mace and Obi-Wan.
"Hey Numa," Boil called out, causing her to turn around. "Stay out of trouble." The girl grinned and ran over to Boil, wrapping her arms around his leg. He reached down and placed his hand on her back. "Don't be afraid. We'll be back."
As Numa watched the trooper and his fellow vod walk away, she grew sad as she didn't want her new friends to leave. Her Uncle came up behind her and knelt down as he hugged her
Then she began waving at both Waxer and Boil as they walked away. "Nerra! Nerra!" She repeated.
"Sir, what is that she keeps calling us?" Waxer asked.
Obi-Wan smiled. "Nerra. It means brother," he replied.
Waxer and Boil looked back at Numa and waved goodbye to her and the other Twi'leks. Then they headed off with the rest of the Republic Army.
Translations
vod - brother, sister, comrade
Nerra (Twi'lek) - brother