"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.
To further clarify what you said in your review, Rosella has been a Skywalker ever since she was adopted at the end of The Fog of War. She just hasn't been using the last name since she wants to wait until the war is over and the galaxy is safe.
The fact that she is Anakin and Padmè's adopted daughter isn't known to the general public either. They filed for a closed adoption and the reason for that is because both of them want to protect Rosella and try and keep her from attracting the attention of the Order's enemies. The only people who know are Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Mace, Yoda, Padmè's parents, and her sister.
The only thing that Rosella's friends know is that Anakin is her adopted father.
I hope that helps clear up any confusion that you or any of my other readers may have.
Anakin, Obi-Wan, Rosella, and Ki-Adi-Mundi, along with a few other members of the Order find themselves returning to the planet where the war began since the rest of their forces have been stretched thin while engaging General Grevious' starfleet. But before they can reach the droid factory, they have the more difficult task of landing on the planet, which might be even more dangerous than the upcoming attack.
Chapter 15: Returning to Geonosis
After discovering what was on the holodisk that Senator Amidala had taken from her former friend, and now disgraced Senator, Rush Clovis while on a secret spy mission to Cato Neimoidia, the Jedi found themselves heading back towards the planet of Geonosis. The place where the war had begun.
This time they came prepared. Along with their army of troops who had come with them on their Acclamator-class assault cruisers, they also had five Venator-class star destroyers to cover them from the skies and send down additional support if they were in need of it.
Jedi Master and General Obi-Wan Kenobi sighed as he stood on the Resolute's bridge and looked out the viewport. His eyes never wavered from the reddish-brown desert planet that loomed before him. The memories of his time down on the dust-covered surface as well as what had happened in the arena replayed over again in his mind. Calling on the Force, he blew them away as if they had suddenly been broken into tiny glass fragments. "I cannot believe that we are back here again," he said.
Ki-Adi Mundi, who was also a member of the Jedi Council, stood beside Obi-Wan as he looked at the planet. "It is unfortunate," he said. "The resistance that the native Geonosians put up was much stronger than we anticipated."
Although both Jedi heard the sounds of the blast doors opening behind them, they didn't bother turning around to see who had walked out onto the bridge.
"The same can be said about their loyalty to Count Dooku," Obi-Wan pointed out.
"That is a fact that was, and is most often, highly overlooked," Ki-Adi said.
Obi-Wan merely glanced to his left as he sensed Anakin and Rosella walk up beside him. "You're late," he said.
Anakin looked over at his former master and said, "Sorry Master. Rosella and I were a little busy rerouting the Seppies near Dorrin."
Rosella turned around from where she had been standing with one hand placed on the panel in front of her and the other one on her hip. "My squadron and I got a total of fifty-five kills," she said, continuing the conversation that had been started after they had exited the hanger bay.
Anakin turned to face her. "Yeah, but mine had seventy-six," he retorted, a small hint of sarcasm in his voice.
"Show-off," the teenager said as she grinned, rolled her eyes, turned around and focused on her task.
"Well, I certainly am glad that you two are enjoying yourselves," Obi-Wan said.
Anakin, who sensed another small lecture coming his way, turned to face him with a small smirk on his lips. "Hey, it's just a little friendly competition Master," he said. "You have nothing to worry about."
Obi-Wan quickly changed the subject back to the matter at hand before both his brother and niece could continue talking. "What I'm more worried about is the way this war seems to be drawing out," he said. "There doesn't seem to be an end in sight."
"Which is why our invasion of Geonosis must be a success," Ki-Adi said.
"I agree," Anakin responded with a nod. Then he turned around. "Rosella, contact the other members of the Outer Rim Command. We're ready to hold our briefing to go over the plan of attack."
Rosella quickly turned around, her padawan braid flying behind her. "They're already waiting for us," she responded.
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Once Anakin, Obi-Wan, Rosella and Ki-Adi were assembled in the communications room, they began the briefing with the members of the Outer Rim Command which was comprised of Mace Windu, Master Yoda and to their surprise, Chancellor Palpatine.
It still bothered Anakin, seeing the Chancellor's holo as he stood across from him between Mace and Yoda. Even though he didn't know the man all that well, what he did know was that Palpatine was not a Jedi nor was he even a military leader. Technically, the Supreme Chancellor wasn't supposed to be at the briefing since he had no command over the GAR, thanks to an addition that Senator Organa had managed to slip into the declaration when the GAR had been created. But here he was, having found some loophole that he must have used to gain a seat among the members. The Knight mentally cleared his mind of any remaining thoughts that were aimed towards the man and paid attention as Obi-Wan began to speak.
"Our ships are in position and we are ready to begin our campaign against the Geonosians," he said.
On the holotable in front of them was a projection of the planet of Geonosis which had a bunch of red triangles in different spots as it spun around. Those locations were spots where their other forces would land and where most of the fighters would engage the Geonosians as they flew through the skies above the dusty and rocky surface.
"What about Poggle?" Mace asked. "Do you have any news on his location?"
Obi-Wan glanced down at the controls that were in front of him and began to press a few buttons. The planet vanished and was replaced with a map of part of the planet's surface. "Intelligence reports have told us that he has taken refuge inside the main droid foundry," he said as he gestured to the map which showed a Geonosian building that was shielded by a red dome. "It would be a simple march up to the building if not for the shield generator that is protecting the area." The generator was highlighted in yellow on the map. "Anakin, Ki-Adi and I shall attempt to make a three-pronged attack. We will make our way through their defences and meet up at a staging area just outside of the shield. Once we've landed on the ground, we will regroup and knock out the shield generator." Then he looked up. "That is our primary target."
"I must admit that I am a little worried about the current plan that you have come up with," Palpatine told the group. "I feel as if we will be risking quite a lot, committing three of our Jedi Generals to one area of the planet. If something were to go wrong, then we could be dealt a serious blow."
"To ensure that rise again, Geonosis does not, capture Poggle we must," Yoda said.
"Of course," Palpatine said. Then he turned to face the five Jedi who were standing across from him, even though Master Luminara was calling in via hologram from her own cruiser. "As always, I shall leave the strategy to you, Master Jedi."
"Our thanks, Chancellor," Obi-Wan responded.
"May the Force be with you all," Mace told the group.
The holograms faded away just as the door to the communications room opened and Rex, Cody and Commander Jet came into the room.
"Ah, there you are, Cody," Obi-Wan said as he spotted his Clone Commander. Then he reached down and pressed another button, enhancing the map that he had presented to the members of the Outer Rim Command. "Here are the coordinates for the rendezvous."
Cody and the other two troopers watched as a red dash that pointed to a box appeared on the map. "Thank you, sir," he responded. Then he studied the map, watching as the box turned green. "When we hit the ground, we'll be sure to create a perimeter there." As a line of red dashes appeared beyond the square, he pointed to it and dragged his finger across it. "Getting past these defenses will be the tricky part."
As everyone watched the holomap, a gunship that had been highlighted green suddenly appeared and flew towards the square, landing in it. "General Mundi and his forces will come across their defensive lines from the north," Cody said. Then another gunship that had been highlighted yellow appeared and landed beside it. "We will be going straight through the middle." The last gunship to appear and land in the square was highlighted red. "General Skywalker, Commander Ngaire and the rest of their men will attack the defensive lines from the south. If everything goes as it should, then we will meet up at the rendezvous point at exactly 0700."
"If we do meet up with heavy resistance and are forced down away from the landing zone, might I suggest that we all hold out and wait until we are able to meet up and regroup before going after that shield generator," Ki-Adi said.
Rosella, who had been silent the entire time, was listening as her sharp eyes caught sight of something on the map. "The Geonosians front lines are going to be heavily fortified," she said, noticing a small detail that no one had mentioned. It was a wall that had been built in-between two towering rock walls. "I mean just look at that giant wall with all those gun emplacements. I have a strong feeling that it won't be easy to get past."
"Well then, it's a good thing we won't be heading anywhere near that wall," Anakin assured his daughter.
"Your Padawan does make a good point Anakin," Obi-Wan said. "Besides, where did all that enthusiasm that I saw earlier disappear to?"
"Don't worry about us, Master," Anakin said as he slung his right arm onto his brother's left shoulder. "You just make sure that you get yourself and your troops to that landing zone in one piece."
"Yes, and I shall be waiting for you both when you finally arrive," Obi-Wan quipped back, a small hint of humor in his voice.
"Gentlemen," Luminara said as Anakin dropped his arm to his side. "If you are quite finished, I believe that we have a battle to begin." She, as well as her padawan, would be helping out during the second part of their overall plan to make sure that they did not need to return a third time.
"Quite right," Obi-Wan said as he backed away from the holomap. Walking around both Ki-Adi Mundi and Luminara who bowed their heads to one another before her hologram faded away, he continued speaking. "Cody, prep the gunships. I'll meet you in the hanger."
"Yes, sir," Cody responded. Turning around, he headed off to go do his task.
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Down in the Resolute's hanger, two of the maintenance crew motioned for a Y-Wing to head into the center and get ready for take-off. As soon as two other fighters, who had done the same thing as the first one had, were ready, all three of them took off. They sailed out the dorsal doors and into the sky above the dusty planet. Once they were clear of the cruiser, they got into formation.
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Meanwhile, after getting in their gunships and leaving the Resolute, Obi-Wan, Cody and a small detachment of the 212th arrived in the hanger of the Acclamator-class assault ship that the Jedi General and his men were using for the battle. After disembarking from the gunship so that another group could use it, Obi-Wan, as well as Cody, who was accompanying him, made their way over to another gunship that was loaded with troopers who were dressed in brown and yellow camouflage armor.
All around them, the hanger hummed with activity. A few maintenance workers were running around and a bunch of different squads, all of whom were part of the 212th, were getting onto the various gunships that would be carrying them into battle.
"No sir," Cody said, responding to the question that Obi-Wan had asked him. "I wasn't involved in the first assault on Geonosis."
Well, you didn't miss much," Obi-Wan told him. Reaching his gunship, he stepped inside and turned around as he continued his conversation with Cody. "The last time that I was here, I was captured and taken to an arena. There, I was chained up to a pole and attacked by several humongous monsters."
"I'll bet that was entertaining," Cody said.
"Oh, it was," Obi-Wan said as he stood there and crossed his arms over his chest. "For the Geonosians."
Cody watched as the doors closed and then headed off to his own gunship.
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Once Obi-Wan's taskforce was ready to depart, - the group was made up of three Low Altitude Troop Transport carriers that had been equipped with one AT-TE each and a multitude of gunships - they descended out of the assault ship and took off for the landing zone which wasn't that far from the droid foundry.
On the ground, two Geonosians, one of whom was carrying a smaller sized sonic cannon, looked at each other and then back to what was going on as the one who was manning the larger sonic cannon that was between them fired a green blast up into the sky.
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General Kenobi and his forces suddenly found themselves surrounded by Geonosian warriors who had taken off into the sky as they were going to try to take on the cruisers and the Y-Wings while taking shots at the gunships whenever they had a chance to do so. His clone gunners, who were safely encased in their bubbles on the outside of the gunship began to fire their lasers, trying to see if they could help make the sky a little safer for the other two groups who were getting ready to follow them.
The lead gunship, the one that had the painted illustration of a nexu creature on the doors, began to swerve through the air as it dodged the flak and laser rays from the Geonosian defense cannons that were situated on the ground. Soon after, a few of the needle-nosed fighters that were in the sky joined the fray, blasting away at the multiple ships that were apart of Obi-Wan's group. Inside, Kenobi and his men were jostled around as they fought to stay upright and keep what little grip they had on their overhead straps.
Back on the ground, the Geonosians kept firing their anti-aircraft defense cannons at the approaching group. One of the blasts hit a Low Altitude Troop Transport carrier, causing the craft to explode and lose the AT-TE that it had been carrying.
Up above the group of Republic forces, a trio of Geonosian fighters flew in and fired on a few of the gunships. As another gunship that was flying to the left of Kenobi's was taken out, the ground forces kept firing their cannons at them. Suddenly, a group of Republic Y-wing fighters flew in, offering air support as they strafed the Geonosian gun emplacements.
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Over in another one of the awaiting assault ships, Anakin and Rosella boarded one of the gunships in the hanger where Rex was waiting for them. He had his helmet tucked under his right arm.
"Is everyone ready to go, Rex?" Anakin asked as he reached up and took hold of one of the straps above his head, watching out of the corner of his eye as Rosella did the same thing.
The Captain, who had been speaking to one of his men, turned as he saw them both and put on his helmet. "Yes sir," he replied as he reached for the strap that was above his head. The floor beneath their feet rocked back and forth as the craft lifted off from the hanger floor. "General Kenobi and his forces have already left their cruiser and are well underway."
"Well then, it looks like he's gotten a rather decent head-start and we're going to have to catch up to him," Anakin said.
A few minutes later, Skywalker and his group left their cruiser and headed for the landing zone.
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Admiral Yularen stood in the hanger of the third assault ship as all around him, members of Ki-Adi-Muni's taskforce ran throughout the room as they boarded the various gunships that were going to be heading into battle. The Cerean Jedi was already aboard his gunship, surrounded by troopers who were dressed in dark brown and yellow armor. These clones were ones who specialized in the use of flamethrowers.
Taking a single step forward, he said, "Good luck, General."
Once the gunship's engines finished warning up and the craft began to lift away from the ground, Ki-Adi looked down at the Admiral and responded, "There is no such thing as luck." Then he turned around and reached for one of the straps above his head as the doors slid shut, revealing that a skull-faced clone trooper helmet that had been outlined in red paint had been painted on one half.
As soon as they had been given the go-ahead, Ki-Adi and his team were off, heading out of their assault ship as they raced towards the planet.
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Another trio of those needle-nosed Geonosian starfighters flew through the air towards Anakin's group. As they fired their lasers at the gunships and tanks, one trooper happened to look through one of the narrow openings of the gunship that they were in and knew that they were probably going to be the next ones to get shot down as he had just seen two more gunships go down as they were shot out of the sky. Turning to face his fellow brothers, he said, "It's a good thing those bugs have terrible aim."
Some of the men turned around and began to laugh at what they considered to be a bad attempt at a joke. Their laughter was cut short when one of those bugs got a lucky shot and blew apart their gunship. One of the clones, who had managed to survive, was left hanging onto the rear of the now blown open ship. Eventually, he lost his grip and was sucked away into the sky.
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The gunner who was sitting in his bubble on the outside of Anakin's gunship was doing his best to keep the Geonosian enemy fighters away from them. As he fired his laser at a trio that was flying past, he managed to defeat one of them.
Inside the ship, Rosella heard the explosion, but chose not to say anything as they raced past it on their way to their destination. She knew that her father was standing on her right and that Rex was standing in front of her.
Suddenly, something slammed into the right side of their gunship and exploded, causing everyone to stumble around as the pilot began to lose what control he had over the flight systems. Even though he was fighting to keep it steady, it was no use as they were already beginning to make their way down towards the planet's surface.
Another one of their gunships exploded in the air as Anakin, Rosella and their men carefully made their way through a swarm of Republic Y-Wing bombers and the rest of their taskforce.
Shrill alarms blared throughout the ship and there was nothing that anyone could do to stop them. All they could do was stumble around as their gunship approached the dusty and rock covered ground.
Rosella, who had felt the deaths of mostly everyone in their group, - except for those who were on their gunship - used the Force to clear her mind and help herself get a firm grip on her handhold. Then she glanced up at her father, who was looking back at her. It was clear in her eyes, that he had felt them as well. As he reached out and wrapped his mech arm around her, the teenager let go of her handhold, letting herself be pulled over to him. Knowing that she was going to have bruises from the tight grip that Anakin had around her waist, Rosella shut her eyes as the gunship slammed into the ground, instantly killing the pilot, and then skidded a few feet before coming to a stop.
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"This flak is too heavy!" Ki-Adi said as he and his men were jostled around as their gunship struggled to make it through all the lasers and everything that was going on around them.
In front of him, Commander Jet hadn't heard a word that his General was saying. His attention was focused on his wrist-mounted communicator. He placed his right hand on his helmet as he received an incoming transmission and a few minutes later, the frantic voice of one of Skywalker's men broke through the silence.
"We've been shot down! I repeat! We've been shot down! Our location is 5…"
The transmission cut off and Jet tapped the side of his helmet to see if he could re-establish the connection. Then he looked up. "I just lost contact with General Skywalker's team sir," he said.
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Anakin, who was hunched over and the only person to have ended up on his feet, coughed as he was the first to come around from his dazed state. As he opened his eyes and looked around, he saw that there was light filtering through the narrowing openings on the left side of the crashed gunship. Sensing that he wasn't hurt beyond a few minor cuts and some bruises that he was definitely going to feel later, he stood up.
Not sensing anything from his daughter over their bond, the Knight quickly turned around, knowing that she had flown out of his grasp when the ship had crashed and landed a few feet away on his left. His eyes widened and then softened when he saw her shaking her head and beginning to move.
Knowing that they couldn't stay where they were as he could hear the sounds of the battle that was going on all around them, he turned around and said, "Come on guys! Get up! We've got to keep moving!" Turning towards the door, since nothing was going to stop them from completing their current mission, he placed both of his hands on it and pushed as hard as he could.
The metal door gave a sickening groan as he forced it to move away from the crashed ship. As he moved forward a few steps and threw it on the ground, he could hear Rex and the men who had survived beginning to get up off the ground. Then he and Rosella unhooked their lightsabers from their belts and ran out of the gunship.
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Two of Rex's men got to their feet and made their way outside to find their Captain, who was already on his feet and had removed his twin DC-17 blaster pistols from their holsters, standing there.
"Here they come!" Rex said as he quickly motioned for his men to get into cover behind the now destroyed cockpit that he had torn away from the damaged ship.
Both troopers joined Rex and started firing across the desert landscape which was made up of tall towers, canyon walls and nothing on the ground but dirt, sand, and rocks. Anakin and Rosella stood a few feet away from them. Both Jedi were using their lightsabers to deflect the lasers that the Geonosians were firing in their direction as they wanted to give their men enough time to get their bearings and join them.
A Geonosian who was hiding behind some sort of barricade let out a wild sounding screech as the winged creature fired a small repeating blaster at the Republic forces who were drawing near to their position.
Anakin, who had dashed ahead and left Rosella with Rex and the men, used his lightsaber to deflect a laser that was headed in the direction before slicing through a Geonosian. He ran forward and then threw himself into a tuck and roll before leaping in the air and sliced the sonic blaster that the Geonosian was using in half.
Even though all she wanted to do was rest, Rosella knew that she couldn't and used the Force to clear her mind as she focused on the battle and the incoming enemy fire that was headed towards her, Rex and their men. She paid no attention to the ground as it exploded in front of her, showering her with rocks and dirt, or the blaster bolts that whizzed by her head and all around her body. Raising her saber, she blocked a laser blast that was headed straight for her and batted another one away, not caring that it headed straight for a tall dirt tower. Through all the smoke from the laser fire and explosions, she could make out some shapes that were running away and smiled. "They're falling back!" She cried. Turning to look at Rex and the men, she quickly transferred her lightsaber to her right hand and waved her left hand forward, indicating that the troopers should follow her. "Come on! Let's get moving!"
Then she dashed forwards, hearing the footsteps of the men behind her.
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Ki-Adi's group flew through the air as they were still being swarmed by Geonosian fighters. As another one of his gunships got shot down, the one that was carrying the Cerean Jedi shook as it was rattled by all the flak that was still flying through the air. Knowing that it wouldn't be long before the bugs started aiming for the carriers that were carrying their tanks, he said, "We need to get those tanks on the ground right now!"
All of a sudden, the gunship was blasted by an explosion as flames ripped through the doors.
As Ki-Adi and his men tried to stay upright since their craft was now hurtling towards the surface of Geonosis, he could see that his Commander was using his communicator. He sensed that Jet was going to try and get in contact with Cody to relay the order, knowing that his group might be the last one who was still in the air.
"Cody, get the tanks down!" Jet called into his wrist communicator. "Come in, Cody!"
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As Obi-Wan and his group got closer to the landing zone, they could see the red shield that protected the droid foundry up ahead. Then Cody, who was in his own gunship, lifted up his right arm to see that one of the panels on his wrist communicator was flashing green as he was receiving an incoming communication.
"Cody! Come in!" Jet exclaimed. "Get those tanks on the ground!"
"Copy that," Cody responded and lowered his arm since he wasn't expecting to hear a reply from the Commander. Then he looked up. "Pilot, begin landing sequence."
The pilot reached up and flicked a switch on a panel above him as he replied, "Copy that, Commander! Have fun down there!"
There was already a tank on the ground by the time the first Low Altitude Troop Transport Carrier landed, dropped off the tank that it was carrying and left the scene. Two of the gunships landed, one of them behind the tank that had just been deployed and the other one beside the tank that was already on the ground.
As the gunship's doors opened and Cody walked out to check the area, another gunship flew in and landed in-between the two tanks.
Seeing that there was no activity on the ground just yet, the 212th commander turned around. "Move it, move it!" He ordered.
Four men came running out of the transport. The first one ran off to the right of the gunship, while the other two, who were followed by the third, ran straight ahead. Suddenly, three explosions rang out on the ground in front of them.
One of the men turned around and yelled, "Incoming!"
"We have bugs incoming!" Another trooper cried out.
"Man down! Man down!" A third one reported.
Cody, who had come running up to see what was going on, quickly switched channels on his wrist com as he raised his arm up to his helmeted face. "General Kenobi, don't land!" He said. "The zone is hot!"
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Two gunships were still in the middle of a defensive firefight in the air. As one of them was destroyed by lasers from three Geonosian fighters, the remaining gunship, that Obi-Wan was currently in, swerved to avoid getting damaged by the debris that was flying through the air.
Inside, the Jedi Master held onto his strap as he heard the incoming message from Cody. He shook his head, knowing that he was not about to abandon his troops who were already on the ground. Even though Cody and his men knew what the mission was, they were still going to need his help, as well as assistance from Anakin, Rosella, Ki-Adi and their combined men to even have a chance at successfully completing their mission. "There's nowhere else to go, which means we don't have a choice but to try and land!" He responded.
The three needle-nosed fighters overshot the gunship and turned around as they flew back towards it in a corkscrew maneuver. One of the Geonosians fired a few shots from his fighter. One of those shots managed to clip the right wing of the gunship. The damage was enough to cause the transport to start shaking and jolting through the air.
Obi-Wan, who was now struggling to stay upright, said, "We've been hit! We're going down!"
The pilot frantically tried to keep her steady as he saw the ground coming up to meet them, but was soon forced to give up as he threw up one of his arms in front of his face.
Obi-Wan's eyes widened and then narrowed as he saw what was about to happen. "Brace yourselves!" He yelled as he tightened his grip on the strap that he was clinging to.
As soon as those words left his mouth, the troops, who were already holding onto their straps, tightened their grips in an effort to make sure that they survived.
The gunship overshot the landing zone where Cody and the others were as it slammed into the ground nose-first. As it skidded across the sand, flames flaring from both of its wings, the right wing snapped off, causing the gunship to begin to roll over. Then it came to a stop, leaving the sand behind it black and burnt.
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Over at the site where General Mundi and his troops had crash landed, one of the flame-troopers came running over to help another vod who was assessing the condition of another trooper who was laying on the ground. At least one, if not two of his tanks had survived the initial landing as they were moving across the landscape.
The troopers who did make it were moving amongst the wounded and dead, while a few of them ran over to the remains of Ki-Adi's ship where the Cerean Jedi was being helped out of the wreckage by one of his men.
"What are our losses, Commander?" He asked, looking up as Jet came over to him.
"We were hit pretty hard," Jet responded. "I think only Kenobi and his group made it through the flak to the landing zone."
"Have you been able to get in contact with Skywalker?" Ki-Adi asked.
Jet nodded. "I was able to contact Captain Rex," he replied. "From what he told me, they're still in the middle of a firefight. Skywalker has lost his tanks and they're trying to get in touch with General Kenobi for support. In the meantime, they'll try to make it to the landing zone."
"Very well," Ki-Adi said as he walked forward, still holding his left hand against his right side. "Load the injured troops onto the tanks." Upon seeing Jet nod, he looked to his left. Pointing to a faraway spot, he continued speaking. "We'll head over to that ridge. With any luck, we'll meet up with Skywalker on his way to Kenobi's position."
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The same Geonosian warrior from earlier was still firing blindly into the thick cloud of smoke in front of him. On the advice of the warrior who was standing next to him, he shifted the repeating blaster to the right by just a few inches as he kept firing.
On the other side of the smoke, Rex came running up towards a rock barricade as he fired both of his pistols. Both Anakin and Rosella were sweeping their lightsabers in wide arcs, managing to deflect most of the lasers that were being fired at their group. As the Captain pressed his back against the barricade and slid down the wall, he raised his right arm and said, "Alright, thanks Cody. I'll speak to General Skywalker."
"Rex!" Anakin called out as he remained where he was, using his lightsaber in his left hand while his right one was clenched into a fist. "What's going on?" Quickly batting away two more lasers, Anakin turned around and leapt over the barricade. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he crouched down next to his Captain. "Are we getting any support from General Kenobi?"
"It doesn't look like it General," Rex replied. "Cody said that General Kenobi never reached the landing zone at all. He thinks that his gunship got shot down on the way there."
"Great," Anakin muttered in an angry tone of voice, trying to mask his worry for his brother behind his shields to that Rosella wouldn't notice it. "This is the one time that I actually ask for help from Obi-Wan and he's nowhere to be found."
Rosella jumped over the barricade just in time to hear the last part of her father's sentence. "What if something bad has happened to General Kenobi?" She asked, starting to worry about him. "He could be injured or…"
Anakin cut her off. "We don't have time for that kind of talk," he said. Then he turned back to face his trusted friend. "Rex! We need to mobilize, now! Get the men together. We're going to try and rush those guns."
"Yes sir," Rex responded, heading off to gather his forces.
As Anakin raised his lightsaber back into the air, he turned to face his apprentice. "Rosella, you're with me," he said. "We need to provide Rex with some cover when we attack."
"Got it," she said, her mind slightly distracted as she kept thinking about her adopted uncle. "Just give the word..."
Anakin looked at her with a slightly worried expression on his face. "Listen to me Rosella," he said. "I'm worried about him too, but you have to stay focused on what we're doing here or else we will never be able to help Obi-Wan."
The Geonosian warrior was now by himself. He let out another screech as he kept his hands on the controls for the blaster that he was using.
Rex, with his men behind him, rejoined both Anakin and Rosella by the barricade. "We're all here, General," he said.
Both Jedi looked at their remaining men as they rose to their feet.
"Ready?" Anakin asked as his hand twitched on the hilt of his lightsaber. "NOW!"
Both Jedi ignited their lightsabers as they leapt over the dirt wall and began deflecting Separatist laser fire. Rex and his men came up after them and began firing on the Geonosians.
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Cody and his men were situated inside a circle that was made up of tanks and gunships. The Commander of the 212th had called for his best men because one of his troopers had spotted a gunships that belonged to their group. It was currently sitting a few miles away from the landing site.
"This is not good," the trooper reported, lowering the pair of electrobinoculars that he had been using. "Those bugs are splitting up sir."
Two other troopers came running up to Cody and stopped in front of him.
"Boil, reporting as order sir," the first one said as he stood at attention.
"Waxer, reporting as ordered sir," the other one said, copying what his vod had done.
Cody turned to face the two troopers and said, "We have a downed gunship out there that's 5 klicks east of our location. We think it's the one that General Kenobi was in. I want you two to head over there and check for survivors."
"Sir, yes sir," both troopers responded as they stood at attention once more and then ran past the armored man on their way out of the square.
Waxer and Boil jumped and dodged sonic cannon fire and separatist lasers as they safely made it to the downed transport carrier.
"Why do we always get the fun missions?" Boil asked his brother.
"Sorry Boil, but this isn't the fun part," Waxer said. The trooper had added a small hand drawn picture of Numa, the small Twi'lek girl that they had saved back on Ryloth to one side of his helmet. "Getting back to the square. Now that's the fun part!"
Then both troopers turned around and once they had grabbed onto both sides of the door, used all their strength to pull it apart.
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Obi-Wan blinked and raised his left hand to block the harsh sunlight that was suddenly shining in his face. He felt the trooper beside him begin to move as he heard the noise. Then he removed his hand as he saw two troopers standing in front of him. "Waxer, Boil," he said. "Am I glad to see you." He had two cuts on the left side of his face and a smaller one on the bridge of his nose. "Trapper and I are the only ones who made it."
"It's good to see that you're still alive sir," Waxer said as he ran forward and helped Obi-Wan stand up. Without even having to say anything, he knew that Boil had already helped Trapper up and was prepared to move out and head back to the square. "Commander Cody has taken command and established a square just beyond our position. The only problem now is that those bugs are everywhere, trying to surround us as we speak."
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"Commander!" The trooper said as he lowered his electrobinoculars and looked at Cody. "I'm pleased to report that both Waxer and Boil have rescued the General and one other trooper. They're on their way back here as we speak."
Cody raised his right arm and spoke into his wrist communicator. "AT-TE 636, I want you to lay down cover fire at point three-five," he said. He watched with baited breath as the tank that was nearest to him aimed their gunner turret in the direction that they had been ordered to and began to fire hot blue lasers at the incoming bugs. Underneath his visor, the Commander nearly glared at the bugs who were approaching on their speeder bikes with a few tanks of their own behind them. He silently dared them to try and take out the General, knowing full well that it wasn't going to happen.
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Obi-Wan barely heard the sounds of some of the men who were calling to their fellow brothers to help them take down the oncoming tanks as he and Trapper staggered behind Republic lines with the help of Waxer and Boil. He had to duck to avoid getting showered with rocks and dirt as a laser blast slammed into the ground behind him and kicked some dust into the air.
As they walked underneath the tank and into the square, Cody came up to them. "General, it's good to see you," he said. "That was some crash. Are you injured?"
"No, no, nothing too serious to worry about Cody," Obi-Wan replied as Waxer helped him over to a small group of crates that had been set up in the middle of the area. "What's the situation here?"
"We've got no air support," Cody said as he watched Waxer help Obi-Wan sit down on the ground with the crates against his back. The trooper knelt next to the General as the Commander continued speaking. "Both General Skywalker and General Mundi, along with Commander Rosella are somewhere out there beyond our position. We also have a mess of bugs surrounding us on all sides. General, it looks like the enemy knew that we were coming as they were more than prepared for our attack. They knew our every move."
Out of the corner of his eye, Obi-Wan saw a 212th medic approach and kneel by his left side. Then he winced slightly as a hypospray full of numbing painkillers was injected into his neck. "Well, if I know both General Skywalker and General Mundi, they'll make it to our position," he said. "We'll just have to make sure that we're still here when they arrive."
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They were moving slowly with the tanks coming up behind them. The trek was made even more slow because of the giant metal structures that the Geonosians had put up all over the area.
A blue lightsaber blade pierced through yet another one of the metal structures and was dragged to the right. As soon as Ki-Adi-Mundi was finished with his task, he deactivated his lightsaber and turned around as he continued to walk forward, keeping his right arm wrapped around his mid-section with his hand pressed against his ribs.
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From his position on the bridge of the Resolute, Yularen watched the battle as squads of Y-wings tangled with Geonosian fighters for control over the skies. The bombers danced across the sky, evading both explosions and falling ships as they struggled to wipe the air clear of those needle-nosed fighters.
"I'm terribly sorry Commander, but I'm afraid that I will not be able to lend you any air support at this time," Yularen said as he glanced away from the battle and down at the communications console that he was using. "Most of our fleet is engaged in battle and we don't have any others that we can spare to help you."
"I understand that Admiral," Jet said in response. "But out of the three attack teams that were sent down here, General Kenobi and his taskforce were the only ones to actually make it to the landing area."
"I do hope that you have remembered that we are currently in the middle of a planetary wide invasion, Commander," Yularen told him. "If I were to grant you what you are asking for, than I will be losing a good number of fighters that could in turn help us out greatly with the campaign. The only thing that I can do is help you locate General Skywalker."
"Alright sir. I'll give the report to the General. Commander Jet out," he said.
As soon as the comms had gone silent, Yularen immediately turned around and marched into the communications area. "Get me every available fighter that you can scrape up," he said as he made his way to the holotable where one of his officers was busy keeping track of everything that was going on. "Have you been able to locate General Skywalker's position yet?"
The officer nodded, even though he looked unsure of where the location was. "I think so," he responded. "According to what some of the other officers were able to pull together, we think General Skywalker is somewhere along the eastern barrier." He pulled up the holomap of the area and pointed to what looked like an ordinary wall.
"That is not a barrier," Yularen said. "That's a fortress."
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Anakin, Rosella, Rex and their men ran around the corner. The entire group stopped as they saw the wall in front of them. The same one that they weren't supposed to be near if Rosella remembered correctly. Suddenly two lines on droids appeared on top of the wall and immediately opened fire on the group.
Both Jedi quickly unhooked their lightsabers and ignited them as they began to deflect the lasers away from their group.
Rex turned around and flung out his left arm as he said, "Find some cover boys! Quickly!"
They split into two groups as they retreated with one half heading left and the other half going right. Both teams were hiding behind some rocks. Two troopers didn't make it as they had been a little too slow to react to the command that Rex had given out.
As soon as they were safe, Rosella deactivated her lightsaber, but kept the hilt in her hand. "Well," she said, watching as her father also deactivated his lightsaber. "This just happens to be another fine mess that you managed to get us into." Then she placed her hilt onto her belt.
"What?" Anakin asked as he looked at his daughter, who had turned away to look around the corner and also check up on the other group to make sure that all the men were accounted for. Then she turned around and quickly ducked as the ground exploded a few meters away from their position. "How was this my fault? You were supposed to study the holomap!"
"I did!" Rosella snapped as she placed her hand on the chest area of her dust and dirt covered tunic. "Don't you remember? When I reminded you, Master Kenobi and Master Mundi about the giant wall with all the guns? You were the one who told me that were was nothing to worry about because we wouldn't be headed anywhere near it."
"Just get ready to climb!" Anakin said as he pointed to the top of a nearby wall.
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Jet bounded up the path to catch up to Ki-Adi-Mundi. "General," he said, watching through his visor as the Cerean Jedi half turned to listen to him. "I've done as you asked and left a small squad behind to protect the tanks and our wounded men." As the Commander looked ahead of him, he saw the dark cavern that they were about to head into. "Are you sure that this is going to be the fastest way for us to catch up to the others?"
"No, Commander, I'm not entirely sure about this," Ki-Adi responded. "All I can do is trust my instincts."
Letting the General press on ahead, Jet raised his right hand and gestured for the men to follow him into the dark cave. Upon reaching the opening, he unhooked his lightsaber from his belt and ignited it so they would be able to see where they were going. Meanwhile, Jet and three other troopers moved off to their left as they kept watch over the area to make sure it was safe.
As Mundi led his troops into the cave, he suddenly stopped, held up his right hand and curled his fingers into a fist, which caused all the men behind him to halt in their tracks. As Jet and the others came walking in, the Commander placed his hand on the side of his helmet and said, "Wait a minute. I'm picking up a slight wing vibration in here. It's directly ahead of us."
While most of the men who were behind their General either crouched down where they were or moved to press themselves up against the rock formations that were in the cave as they readied their weapons, Ki-Adi walked forward a little as he used his blade to see if he could see anything. Then he grabbed his hilt with his other hand and raised his saber above his head as he prepared himself for whatever was about to happen.
Suddenly one of the troopers looked up at the ceiling as a Geonosian warrior flew down, screeched in his face and then slammed into the man, knocking him to the ground. As the yellow and from armored trooper struggled to get the winged creature off of him, he frantically began to scream as he saw that a second bug had joined in. His cries became louder and more frantic as the bugs lifted him into the air, and carried him away.
The rest of the men assumed that it was some sort of signal because soon after, even more of the creatures began to swarm around the group. They seemed to be going for the troops and leaving the Jedi alone. As Jet watched, another one of the bugs slammed into the trooper that had been standing beside him. As he aimed his blaster and was about to fire on the creature, he heard another wing vibration and quickly turned around, firing on another bug who was about to come after him.
Without even sparing a glance at the bug, he turned to his left and ran off, blasting another one of the creatures off of one of his vod and then a third one. Suddenly one of the winged Geonosians latched itself onto him as it tried to carry him off. Luckily for him, General Mundi came over and dispatched the bug by slicing through it's back.
"Don't stop!" Ki-Adi said as he looked up at his men and turned around, pointing his blade further down the cavern. "We have to keep moving! Forward!"
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Rex turned around as Anakin took one of the backpacks that were full of explosives from a trooper. "So, what exactly are you planning here, General?" He asked, watching as the Knight handed it to Rosella who slipped it onto her back.
"Just make sure you keep us covered Rex," Anakin responded as he turned back to the other trooper, took the second backpack from him and reached inside, pulling out a bomb that he tossed into the air and then put back. "There's too much laser fire for all of us to make the climb, so Rosella and I will handle this. Just make sure that you and the boys are ready when that wall comes down."
Rex nodded, turned around and resumed firing at the droids while Anakin and Rosella ran towards the side of the canyon that they would be scaling.
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The droids on top of the fortress kept firing at the men down below and soon the guns that were built into it started firing as well. Anakin and Rosella dodged the laser fire and the teenager nearly stopped as she heard one of the men cry out as he was abruptly killed. Running through another set of explosions, they finally reached the wall and grabbed their cable launchers off their belts.
After attaching the correct attachment to the bottom, they both raised them up in the air and fired the cables. Once both of the metal ends landed on the ground, Anakin, along with Rosella, tugged on the lines until they caught on two rocks at the top and stayed there. Giving them one last tug to make sure that they stayed in place, both Jedi attached the launchers to their belts, nodded at each other and then began to ascend up the wall.
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The Geonosians were all around them. Ki-Adi raised his lightsaber and wove it through the air. He was trying his best to keep the separatist lasers and the creatures shots from hitting his men, but it was getting tougher to keep up with everything that was going on.
One of his men who was behind him managed to take out one of the winged creatures, but was then taken out by a green blast from another Geonosian who had fired his sonic cannon.
A few more bugs came out of the shadows as they fired their sonic cannons and a few separatist weapons that they had gathered up from the first battle at the beginning of the war. One of the men turned around as a Geonosian warrior latched itself onto his body and dragged him away.
As even more of the warrior creatures appeared and kept firing their sonic cannons at the group, Ki-Adi-Mundi stood at the front and kept weaving his lightsaber in a complicated pattern as he blocked and deflected the shots away from his troops. He could hear the cries of more of his men as the creatures grabbed them and took them away into the shadows of the semi-lit cavern.
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The two Jedi stood at the top of the wall and deflected shot after shot from the droids who were now firing at them and not at Rex and his men who were down on the ground below.
"How many droids have you taken down so far?" Anakin asked as he kept deflecting the lasers back at the droids who were below them. He sensed that Rosella was distracted by their little competition and had completely forgotten about the predicament that Obi-Wan was currently in.
"I've taken out twenty-five droids so far!" Rosella happily chirped as she kept taking out the metal machines.
Anakin smirked as he glanced away from the battle to look at her. "You're falling behind and will have to destroy a lot more droids if you want to beat me," he said. "Let's go!"
Both Jedi wrapped the Force around themselves and leapt from the top of the cliff. As soon as they flipped through the air and landed on the wall, they both stood up and kept deflecting shots back into the droids with their lightsabers.
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Rex, who was down on the ground with his men, looked towards the wall as he fired his pistols and took out one of the gun emplacements. Moving his head to the right as he dodged an incoming laser, his eyes moved towards the very top of the wall where he spotted both Anakin and Rosella steadily taking down the droids who were marching towards them. Looking past them to his left, he saw a long line of droids marching towards them and knew that they would soon be outnumbered.
Ducking behind the rock that he was currently hiding behind, he saw one of his men and called out, "Focus your fire on the droids at the top of the wall!"
The trooper nodded, aimed his blaster up higher and resumed blasting as Rex turned around and ran off.
As Anakin and Rosella kept taking out the droids, they happened to notice that some of the droids were being taken out and figured that Rex had ordered his men to help lighten their load so they could complete their mission and bring down the wall.
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As the Geonosian bugs and their tanks pressed closer and closer, the ground near one of the men who belonged to the 212th exploded, causing the trooper to cry out in pain as he flew up in the air and landed on the ground in an awkward position.
The only thing Obi-Wan could do was watch from his position near the pair of crates that he was resting on the other side of as another trooper ran forward to lay down some cover fire, while the trooper who was near him cried out, "Man down!"
As the Jedi scanned his surroundings, he saw two more of his troopers run over to join those who were currently trying to repel sone of the Geonosian forces who were rapidly approaching the perimeter of the square. When the trooper who had been operating the repeating blaster that they had set up was taken out, another willing solider took his place just as one of the troops who had been beside the machine was taken out.
One of the tanks, which was being flanked by a few of the flying warriors fired its laser, managing to take out one of the gunner turrets on top of an AT-TE. As the native bugs began to swarm over the square, they began to target those brave troopers who were sitting behind the controls.
As soon as Cody saw what was happening, he and another trooper raised their blaster rifles and fired, managing to kill the bug and save their brother, who went right back to firing his turret.
Things were not looking good for Obi-Wan and his men.
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The droids who remained on top of the wall continued to fire at the men who were on the ground, managing to take out a few of them. It had only taken a few minutes, but soon the droids were nothing but scrap metal as Anakin and Rosella took care of the ones that remained standing.
Once their lightsabers was been deactivated, Anakin turned to look at Rosella as he said, "Look around for a hatch or something. We need to place these explosives inside the wall!"
The teenage padawan had just knelt down on the ground when she glanced to her right and saw a circular hole that had just opened up. "Found one!" She called as she peered into it. Suddenly, Rosella was forced to back up as a droideka flew out of the hatch. Her eyes grew wide as the metal monster landed on the now closed circle, activated its protective shield and began to fire at her.
Anakin turned around, re-ignited his lightsaber and ran over to where Rosella was. He didn't notice the hatch that had opened up behind him or the second droideka that leapt out from the hole. As soon as the padawan spotted the second droideka, she deactivated her lightsaber and held the hilt in her right hand as she threw herself into a small series of back springs, leaping over her father as he ducked to allow her to land on the other side. Immediately reactivating her lightsaber, she began to deflect the laser fire from the second rolling death ball.
As Rosella blocked another laser, she quickly had to re-adjust her saber to block another quick one that the metal menace had fired in her direction. After raising her saber and blocking a third laser, her eyes widened as she saw Rex quietly sneaking up behind the droid. She watched as the Captain silently passed through the shield and pressed the barrel of one of his blasters against its head.
Rex fired his pistol, causing the droidekas head to explode in a shower of sparks. Rosella ducked, then dove out of the way as the droid fired one last shot, which went wide and hit the ground near the feet of the one that Anakin was facing off against. Then the malfunctioning droid got back on its feet and continued to fire its twin laser cannons right into the shield of the other droid, forcing it to move backwards before Rex ended the droid's meager existence by firing at it with one of his pistols.
Anakin quickly deactivated his lightsaber and threw himself down to the ground in a forward roll as he slid through the shield and ended up flat on his back. As he reignited his lightsaber, the poor droid didn't know what was happening nor did it have the time to compute the Jedi's next move before it was sliced in half by a blue blade. Getting up off the ground, he saw that the hatch had opened up again.
"Hey," the battle droid said, a little confused since he had been sent to get an update on the battle. "Did you get them?"
Anakin, who had been standing behind the confused droid, quickly slung off the pack that he was carrying and smirked as he said, "Here, hold this." Then he tossed the explosive filled bag down to the droid.
"Huh?" The droid managed to say as it had to let go of his blaster in order to catch the package with both of his clawed metal fingers.
Anakin smirked and used the Force to lower the platform back down, causing the droid to cry out in alarm as Rosella quickly took off the pack that she was wearing and tossed it into the hole.
Then both Jedi turned towards Rex.
'Come on Rex. We need to get off of this wall before it blows up," Anakin said.
"Up and away," Rosella told him as she and her father used the Force to lift the clone Captain high into the air. As soon as he was safely out of the explosion's range, Anakin placed his left hand on his daughter's back as they headed over to the edge and jumped off.
As Rex fell behind them, they could just make out the sounds of the droid calling for help before the wall burst into a blazing inferno of rocks and scattered droid parts. The other men who were on the ground watched as both Anakin and Rosella used the Force to safely catch themselves and land on the ground before reaching up to do the same for Rex. Once he was on the ground, their hands were back up in the air as they created a Force shield since they didn't want to be crushed by the falling rocks.
As soon as the dust cleared, both Anakin and Rosella were back on their feet.
Rex dropped his hand away from his visor and glanced up at Anakin, who was reaching out to help him up. "Next time sir," he said as he grabbed on to the proffered hand and stood up, "just tell me to jump."
"That's not nearly as fun as what we just did Rex," Anakin told him with a teasing smirk on his face. Then he waved his hand forward. "Come on. Now that this wall is down, we can't keep Obi-Wan waiting."
"You heard the General boys," Rex said. "Let's move!"
As one, the group moved through the rubble and were on their way to the landing area.
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Ki-Adi-Mundi and his men were so close to the end of the cavern. As he looked ahead of him, the Cerean Jedi could make out the yellow glow of the sun that orbited the planet. All they had to do was get rid of the bugs that were in their way. Knowing that one lightsaber and a couple of blasters weren't going to make the situation any easier, he quickly sliced another flying warrior in half and blocked a few more green blasts, as well as a few lasers before turning around. "We're almost through. Bring in the flamethrowers!" He said.
Some of the men quickly moved aside as three troopers who were carrying flame throwers moved up to the front. As soon as they saw the group of flying bugs heading their way, they activated the weapons and released three concentrated waves of fire that began to scorch the bugs and the area around them.
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As Anakin, Rosella and their men raced across the rocky desert, the teenager spotted something. "Hey, what is that?" She asked, raising her hand and pointing upwards into the sky. Anakin ignited his lightsaber as he and the entire group saw that some of the Geonosian creatures were now on fire and being tossed over the edge of a cavern. He saw Ki-Adi Mundi use his saber to slash a Geonosian bug whose body was covered in flames and then raised his wrist communicator to his mouth.
"Master Mundi, do you read me?" He asked.
Ki-Adi looked down below and saw Anakin and his group standing there. Activating his own wrist comm, he responded, "We're here Skywalker. My group and I were force to take a slight detour that put us out of communication range for a while."
"Well, this certainly has been a day for detours, Master," Anakin said.
"Indeed," Ki-Adi replied. As he looked to his right, he was able to make out the landing area and the giant red shield that lay beyond it. "Now that our road forward is clear, I can see the landing zone from here and it isn't looking good."
Anakin lowered his wrist communicator and turned around. "Rex, can you get me in touch with Admiral Yularen?"
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The skies were clear around the Resolute. One squadron of Y-Wings were on a quick patrol to make sure that no more of those needle-nosed fighters that the Geonosians liked to use were in the vicinity. On the cruiser, Admiral Yularen, along with one of his officers were summoned to the communications room where Anakin was waiting for them, standing in the middle of the holotable.
"Admiral, we've reached our breaking point down here," he said. "I hope you can help us out by sending some fighters."
"You're in luck General," Yularen told him. "I just happen to have one squadron available."
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The Geonosians were now seated on speeder bikes as they rode around the perimeter of the square, firing their sonic cannons at the open gunships. One blast managed to take out a cannon that had a trooper had been manning. The call for retreat was sounded and the remaining troops ran out the other side as the door slid shut.
Then the unthinkable happened. One of the tanks fired and managed to take out one of the AT-TE tanks that Obi-Wan had in his group. As every remaining trooper kept firing, they all backed up to where Obi-Wan was seated on the ground with Cody at his side.
Even though it hurt to move, the Jedi Master placed one hand on a crate that was near him as he staggered to his feet, calling on the Force to help ease the pain a little. He sensed that Cody and his remaining troops were ready to fight and die for him. He also knew that his men were not ready to give up and neither was he. Breathing heavily as he got up, Obi-Wan unhooked his lightsaber from his belt, raised the hilt in the air and ignited the blade.
Then he looked up In surprise as a new sound reached his ears.
"Reinforcements!" A trooper cried out with hope in his voice. "The reinforcements have arrived!" He watched as a squadron of Y-Wings flew overhead and pumped his fist in the air as they dropped proton bombs on the tanks.
The rest of the men did nothing but cheer as they watched the tanks get destroyed.
As soon as Cody gave the word and the men began to run towards the remaining Geonosians, Obi-Wan deactivated his lightsaber as he sank back down to the ground with his back against the crates. He was tired, as well as injured and didn't have the energy to remain on his feet.
Both Anakin and Ki-Adi-Mundi held their lightsabers forward as they, along with Rosella and their men, emerged from the dust cloud and ran over to the landing area. As the men rushed past the remains tanks to help out their brothers who were in battle, the three Jedi made their way over to Obi-Wan.
Rosella reached Obi-Wan's side and knelt down beside him as she deactivated her lightsaber. "Master Kenobi," Rosella said, a small hint of worry in her voice as she looked up at him. 'Are you alright Uncle?'
'I'll be fine Rosella.' Obi-Wan glanced in her direction and gave her a tired smile as he placed his right hand on her shoulder.
Anakin ran up and stopped behind them as he deactivated his lightsaber. "Well, what happened to you?" He asked, a light hint of humor in his tone.
Obi-Wan could tell that his brother was hiding his true emotions from him and responded, "I was about to ask you the same thing, Anakin."
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A few minutes later, Anakin, Rosella, Ki-Adi, along with Rex, Jet, and Cody were gathered around a holomap of the area. Obi-Wan, who was too injured to participate in the battle, stayed on the ground as he explained the modified version of their original plan.
"Now that we are all together, our combined forces should have enough power to take out the generator," he said. "Anakin, I want you to take Rosella and lead a small group of men through the shield. See if you can get as close as you possibly can to their gun emplacements. From there, you will be able to temporarily jam their scanners just long enough for the tanks to get as close as they can to the generator without the Geonosians targeting them. Once the tanks knock out the shield, Master Mundi can bring the rest of the troops in on the remaining gunships."
Anakin nodded as Ki-Adi stood up. "Consider it done, Master," he said.
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After finalizing their plan, Commander Jet peered through a pair of electrobinoculars at the area that surrounded the foundry. Then he lowered the handheld device and turned to look at Ki-Adi-Mundi. "All of our unit are in position, General," he said.
Mundi nodded and turned to one of his men. "Contact Skywalker and tell him to begin the assault," he said.
The trooper nodded and activated his communicator.
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One of the men in Anakin's group raised his left hand to his helmet and activated his wrist communicator as a voice came out of it.
"You're all clear General, Begin the assault."
Anakin nodded, ignited his lightsaber and charged towards the shield as his men followed behind him. As they made it passed through it, the men immediately started firing at the Geonosian warriors. The Knight did what he could to protect his men, but a few of them were hauled away by some of the bugs. Once they crossed a small bridge and met up with Rosella and the small squad that Anakin had given her to lead, they ducked down behind a rock wall when they could see the scanners right in front of them.
As Anakin popped his head up, he could see that the Geonosians were firing their sonic cannons as well as the guns. They didn't let up, firing round after round after round at the incoming troopers. Ducking back down, he looked at Rosella. "Time to jam their scanners," he said as he took out a droid popper and handed another one to her. "Droid poppers ready."
Once Rosella had it in her hand, she nodded.
"Now!" Anakin said.
Together, they both launched their grenades in the air and watched as they landed in the middle of the guns. Then with a flash of bright light, they went off, causing the guns to spark and short out as their scanners stopped working.
Rosella peered around the corner. "I think it worked," she said.
"Yeah, but it's not going to last very long," Anakin told her. Then he raised his wrist communicator in the air. "Bring in those tanks!"
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Three AT-TE's came up and aimed their gun turrets at the generator. As they kept firing on it, the guns were the first thing to be destroyed. Then the spire that was at the top of the building broke and came tumbling down, taking out a number of satellite dishes that had been placed there. They began to break apart and tumble to the ground, taking out the sonic cannons that the creatures had been using.
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As the shield began to dissipate and fall apart, three gunships came flying in and began to fire their guns as they landed on the ground. Then the door opened and Mundi came running out with his forces behind him. They joined Anakin and Rosella who were busy fighting what remained of the enemy's defences.
Once the remaining warriors saw that they were outnumbered, they dropped their weapons and surrendered.
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As another gunship came in to land on the ground, Anakin was helping his brother walk towards one that would be heading back up to the Resolute. Ki-Adi-Mundi was already on board, chatting to one of his troopers.
Rosella, who had been nearby as she was making sure that the troops who had been wounded were getting on another gunship that was going to be heading to one of the assault cruisers, ran under the wing and skidded to a stop in front of them. She knew that this was something that would be better off asking when it was just the two of them, but she couldn't resist. "Hey Master, what was your overall total?" She asked.
Anakin glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and softly shook his head, indicating that this wasn't the place to be having this conversation as he reached up and grasped Obi-Wan's left hand which was slung around his shoulders. "Not now Rosella," he told her.
"Come on," she said. "Are you afraid to admit that you might have lost this time?"
Knowing that he was not about to lose against his own daughter, he glanced back in her direction. "Fine," he said. "Fifty-five. That's my total count. What did you get?"
Rosella smirked as she let them walk ahead of her. "Sixty," she said. "I guess I win."
Anakin had stopped in front of the gunship and turned around as Obi-Wan hobbled beside him. "Yeah," he said. "But I was the one who called in the airstrike that saved Obi-Wan, so it's a tie."
Rosella shot him a cheeky grin. "You're impossible," she said as she turned around and walked away to find Rex.
Obi-Wan glanced towards his brother and saw that he had a rather proud smile on his face. "I'll never understand how you can turn these battles into some sort of game," he said.
Anakin looked at Obi-Wan. 'I'm doing it to keep Rosella occupied so she can keep her focus on what's important instead of focusing on the men that we lose every day in battle.' Then he watched as another trooper came forward and took the Jedi Master from him, helped him onto the ship and then transferred him over to Ki-Adi-Mundi. "Take care of yourselves," he said. "I hope to see you both back here by the time Rosella and I have taken down the foundry."
"We shall do our best Anakin," Obi-Wan responded.
"Sixty-five, Skywalker," Ki-Adi-Mundi said.
"Um…sorry?" Anakin asked with a confused expression on his face. Behind him, he heard Rosella cut her conversation with Rex short as she begin to snicker. It was clear to him that she understood what was going on.
"My total," the Cerean Jedi told him. "Sixty-five. So, what do I win?"
Anakin glanced at Obi-Wan who smirked as he looked back at him. Then his eyes shifted towards the other Jedi. "My everlasting respect, Master Mundi," he responded as he bowed his head.
"Oh," he responded.
As the gunship's engines started up, Obi-Wan looked at his fellow council member and said, "That is one gift that Anakin very rarely gives to anyone. I can assure you of that."
Nodding to both Jedi Masters, he watched as the gunship's doors slid shut. Stepping back, he turned around as the transports lifted off from the ground and flew away. Walking away, he met up with Rosella and Rex who were walking towards him. As he pointed towards the foundry, he told them of his plan to take it down.
Translations
vod - brother