Anakin was just going through some katas when he felt a sudden pull in the Force. His gaze went to the distance.
"Is something wrong, ad'ika?" Rex asked, and went to his side.
"Something's coming. And it's not friendly," Anakin answered. He closed his eyes to connect more deeply with the Force. Rex signed to the others to increase their vigilance. Everybody got ready. They donned their helmets and drew their weapons.
One of the scouts they had out there came running back. "The enemy's coming. A battalion. Around eight hundred battle droids, also some super battle droids and three tanks," he reported immediately.
"In position, behind the boulders!" Rex commanded.
"Sir, yes, sir!" the company answered in unison, and got into position.
"Kid, stay behind," the Captain ordered Anakin.
"I would be more helpful at the front. I can't slice through a droid with my training lightsaber, but I can deflect their bolts and provide better protection," Anakin argued.
"Alright, kid, but stay by my side," Rex answered, and turned towards the scout. "Order the other scouts back and don't let them go through the battlefield. They can join us when they arrive safely," he ordered. The scout saluted and did as ordered.
They didn't need to wait long before they caught sight of the enemy. Rex held up his hand, a sign to wait. Once the enemy was in their shooting range, he gave the sign to attack. Laser bolts erupted in the air and the first row of battle droids went down, but it didn't seem to phase the other droids, who just started to fire on their own.
Anakin used his saber to protect the clones who left their cover to aim better. He covered Rex the most, and it seemed to be working quite well. He managed to not get in Rex's way. Whenever a droid came too close, Anakin rushed to it and knocked the weapons out of its hands, only to retreat and let the clones shoot the now defenseless and confused droid.
They held their position well, but were also badly outnumbered. It was only a matter of time before they would be overrun. But they refused to give up.
It was tiresome for Anakin. He lost track of time, but felt his arms and legs get heavy. Some droids managed to slip past his defenses, only to be taken down by the clones. He was looking right after such a droid when a shout startled him. Then he was knocked off his feet. He cried out in shock, and felt something heavy land on him.
"Man down!" came a shout from somewhere, and then the weight was pulled away from him. Anakin realized that it was Rex. The Captain had saved him from being shot by taking the blaster bolt meant for him.
Before Anakin could recover from his shock, the Captain was dragged away and someone, probably Jesse, shouted, "Fall behind!"
Someone pulled Anakin back behind some boulders. The first shot of the tank destroyed the ground where they were standing just a moment before.
"Everything alright, ad'ika?" a trooper asked.
"Yes… Thanks," Anakin answered, still a little shaken. He looked around, scanning his surroundings. Another pull of the Force made him turn to Jesse, who was standing by the wall of the plateau at their right side.
"Jesse! Get out of the way!" Anakin shouted, and pulled the trooper towards himself. Jesse cried out of shock and got caught by one of his brothers.
"What was…" Jesse started, but then the wall he'd been standing in front of exploded. Some clones aimed at the hole in the wall, then something fell out.
Anakin rushed to it, as he realized that it was someone. "Master Kosiyr Le'lyar," he said, remembering the name of the lost Jedi. The Jedi Master didn't respond. "Cover me!" Anakin shouted, as he turned the Jedi over. "And get a medic! He's badly hurt."
The Bothan was bleeding. His breath was shallow and his pulse was irregular. Anakin shook him a bit. "Master Le'lyar. Wake up. Please, Master!" he cried desperately.
The Jedi Master opened his eyes, albeit only a little bit.
"Two, one point zero, four, eight, seven", he rasped, "to minus zero point zero, eight, eight, eight, six." He closed his eyes slowly.
"What does he mean?" someone asked.
"It could be coordinates," another guessed.
"The Separatist base," Jesse added.
Meanwhile, Anakin tried to get the Bothan to open his eyes again.
"Crystals… weapon… we can't allow…'' the Bothan rasped faintly. Then he opened his eyes again and looked at Anakin. "May… Force… with you…" were his last words. Anakin felt the life leave the Bothan's body.
Slowly and in shock, Anakin laid the body down. "He's dead," he said quietly. He breathed deeply, then took the Jedi Master's lightsaber and looked at the hole in the rock wall. Behind it was a tunnel system.
"Jesse, take Hardcase and some men. Go through this tunnel and once you're behind the enemy, blast through the walls, like Master Le'lyar did. Take something with you to take down the tanks. If we surround the enemy, we can win. And we'll have the moment of surprise," he commanded calmly.
"Yes, sir!" Jesse answered and took some men with him.
Anakin ignited Master Le'lyar's lightsaber. Its blade was a light green.
"I'll draw their attention to me. Take the chance to shoot them down. I'm counting on you," he said before rushing forward, slicing the first droid down.
"You heard him, men. Go, go, go!" someone shouted, and the clones pushed forward.
It didn't take long for Jesse, Hardcase and the men to get behind the enemy, take down the tanks and use their moment of surprise to destroy the enemy's formation. After that, the clones had an easy game. The last droid was taken down, and the fight was over. Anakin turned off the green lightsaber, panting and leaning heavily against a boulder.
"Nice work," Jesse said, as he and Hardcase came his way.
"You, too," Anakin answered and smiled, exhausted.
"You should go to Kix. You have a pretty bad gash at your thigh," Hardcase said, pointing towards it.
"What…" Anakin asked and looked down. His eyes widened. "I… I didn't notice," he said, baffled.
"Now, but you will soon," Jesse commented.
Anakin nodded. "But I can take care of it myself. Kix has enough work."
"Like the General," Hardcase laughed. "Besides, that's Kix's job, so please go to him. Or shall I accompany you?"
Anakin sighed. "Fine, I'll go to him and look after Captain Rex," he said.
"Greet him for us. We'll take care of it here," Jesse said. Anakin nodded and headed to the med station.
The closer Anakin got to the med station, the slower he went. He was afraid of seeing Rex injured because of his carelessness. He wondered if Rex would hate him. Didn't want him anymore near him and his brothers.
He liked the clone Captain. He accepted Anakin for who he was. First, Anakin was his Commander, but after asking not to be called that until he deserved it, Rex had accepted his request. Here, he was not the slave, the latecomer, or the Chosen One. He was Anakin. Only Anakin, or kid, as he was called by the clones. He didn't care, as long he was accepted as who he was. Anakin knew that the clones were still wary of him, but he could understand that. After all, he was new. He would also be wary in their place. Nevertheless, they gave him a chance. Yes, he liked them all.
As Anakin entered the tent, Rex and Kix looked at him. Rex was lying on a cot, with Kix fussing over him. The other medics were looking after the other injured clones, but thankfully, nobody seemed to be in grave danger. It seems that Rex was hurt the worst of them. Anakin didn't know if he should feel relieved or guilty about that.
"Please don't say that you're also injured, kid," Rex greeted him.
"It's only a scratch," Anakin answered, and pointed at his wound. "I wanted to take care of it myself, but Jesse and Hardcase disapproved of it."
Kix snorted. "Like our General, always looking after others and never after himself."
Anakin looked at the ground. "Well, I'm pretty bad at it, otherwise Captain Rex wouldn't be here."
"Don't blame yourself. It's my job to keep you safe. And you covered me pretty well. I think you saved me out there once or twice. This is the least I could do," Rex said.
Anakin looked at Rex, stunned. "You… you aren't angry at me?" he asked hopefully.
"Why should I? It was a rough fight, and you did pretty well," Rex answered.
Anakin smiled. "Thanks, Captain. For saying this—and saving my life."
"No problem, ad'ika," Rex answered.
"Now, let me look at this gash," Kix said and led Anakin to a chair.
Anakin followed and let Kix do his work. He began relaxing while Kix worked, as the Force made itself noticeable once more. It called him out of the tent. He had the urge to follow, and slowly stood up.
"I'm not finished, sit…" Kix began, but then noticed that Anakin's mind was far away. "What is it?" he asked, and looked at his Captain.
Rex shrugged. "Maybe a Force thing," he guessed. Before he could say anything more, a clone arrived to report.
"We're missing two troopers. During the battle, they chased some droids which wanted to escape, maybe to warn the enemy. The troopers didn't come back. We lost track of them," he reported.
Rex sighed. "Keep looking, but don't let anyone go out there alone," he ordered, and then noticed that Anakin was gone. "Where's the kid?" he asked, shocked. Everyone in the tent looked around, but nobody knew where the little Jedi had gone.
"We must find him! Cody and General Kenobi will be furious if we lose his Jedi cadet," Rex said.
Anakin followed where the Force led him. No one noticed him when he walked past. He himself was like in a light trance. Knowing what he did, but not paying attention where he went.
He stopped in front of a hole in the ground. The ground had collapsed there, making an entrance to a cave. He could hear faint voices coming from the cave. Anakin knelt down next to the cave entrance.
"Is anyone there?" someone called from the cave.
"Yes. I'm here. I'll get help!" Anakin shouted back and wanted to run to the base, when the ground beneath him collapsed. He cried out, landing on his back. As the dust started to settle down, Anakin saw a clone in front of his face.
"It's the Jedi cadet," the trooper shouted to someone Anakin couldn't see.
"Coric?" Anakin asked.
"Yes, it's me. How did you know?" Coric asked, astounded.
But Anakin didn't have the time to answer, as he realized that the ceiling was about to come down.
"We should move!" he cried, panicking slightly. Coric looked up shortly, then grabbed the clone next to him. Anakin jumped to his feet and ran deeper into the tunnel system with the others. The ceiling collapsed behind them, blocking the tunnel completely. A tiny bit of light still filtered in through the gaps between the rocks, but the openings were quite too small even for Anakin to squeeze through.
Anakin let himself plop to the ground he panted and stared at the schemes of the rocks, knowing he could lift them, even with the force. Coric laid the other clone on the ground.
"So, how did you know who I am?" he asked.
"Lucky guess," Anakin answered, regaining his breath and igniting Master Le'lyar's lightsaber to lighten the dark. He looked past Coric at the other trooper, who seemed to be badly wounded.
"How did this happen?" Anakin asked as he rushed to the trooper.
"The droids we were following accidentally used a grenade. They managed to blow themselves, us, and the ground up. I was lucky and was able to jump away, but CT-5986 wasn't. I would have carried him to the base, but I couldn't reach the ceiling and as you can see, there are a lot of possible ways," Coric explained. Anakin nodded. They were at a crossing.
But then he got an idea.
"I can lead the way. I can feel a breeze. It must be coming from another entrance," Anakin said, and helped Coric sling CT-5986 over his shoulder. He only groaned, but didn't wake up.
Together, Anakin and Coric hurried through the cave system, only briefly stopping when Anakin had to look or feel for the right way.
"There! I can see a light!" Anakin shouted and turned off the lightsaber as they came near one of the exits.
"Then let's get out of here," Coric said, and sped up. Anakin suddenly stopped as he felt his hair on the back of the neck stick out. A sign of danger.
"Look out!" he cried as the unstable cave started collapsing again. Knowing that they weren't fast enough, he pushed Coric and CT-5986 through the entrance just before the boulders came down and trapped him in the cave.
"Ad'ika!" he heard Coric cry out, and then it went silent and dark in the cave.