Jedi Masters Obi-Wan Kenobi and Mace Windu walked through the hangar of one of the Republic's cruisers above Ryloth's northern hemisphere. Clone troopers were running to and from, getting ready for the ground assault on Ryloth, reluctantly alongside their enemy.
However, even though they knew that this was for a good cause, there was still a shadow cast over them, a sense of uncertainty and hesitation among the normally fearless soldiers.
Obi-Wan noticed this and commented, "Our morale seems to have taken a hit."
Mace grunted. "What did you expect? We've been forced to operate beside someone who's been our enemy since they come out of nowhere. And for all we know, they could even take the planet from the Republic once Ryloth is freed," he pointed.
"True, though I think we'll need to focus more on capturing the surface of Ryloth before we can get to that part," the Obi-Wan said, getting on one of the shuttles.
"The first task will be getting a majority of our troops on the ground. The Empire's Admirals holo message said that they'd have three platoons of Hk variant droids and several Knights waiting for us and ready to assist."
Mace nodded but still wasn't pleased. The scowl on his face couldn't be misplaced.
Lord Savior had kept his word about helping them with destroying the blockade. That much was true. Still, he wouldn't put it past him to have something up his sleeve to take the Republic out, especially considering her status as Emperor and the Grandmaster of the so-called Jedaii. He did not believe the man. Of course, he was only trying to mascarade a new name for the sith, if only he could find a shatter point under the man's armor.
Out loud, he said, "Once you take the city of Nabat, the rest of our forces will be able to land."
"Then I suppose it's time to meet the natives and our new friends," Obi-Wan said, and the shuttle took off.
Meanwhile, at the Separatist camp in Nabat, the lead droid, known as TX-20, was contacted by Wat Tambor via holo.
"Let me make this very clear. You must not allow the clones or the Saviors Empire to reach the surface," Tambor warned him.
But TX-20 waved him off, saying, "Our ion cannons are in the best position to prevent that, sir, nothing will get through"
Tambor raised an eyebrow. "And what if they choose to focus their assault on those cannons?"
"The Jedi will do no such thing. I am using the residents of this village as both hostages and shields for the cannons. They will not risk killing them, and the Empire cares for these people based on the rumors of the black sun. They will not attack regardless of whether it gives them a tactical advantage or not," the droid explained.
That seemed to appease Tambor as he nodded and ended the message. Of course, one thing he had overlooked was that the droid's calculations had been for the Jedi.
Not for the Empire.
The few medium-sized gunships landed down several miles from Nabat on the outskirts of a remote swamp. Several dozen heavy attack HK droids were already waiting in a phalanx formation. Behind the droids stood twenty black humanoid troopers, clad in what resembled durasteel. The armor was black with various plates tinted orange. They bore heavy weapons, and their aura was bursting with confidence, strength, and order. In front of all of this, a total of four Knights of The Jedaii, yet another stood in front of them. They were in full Mandalorian-styled armor similar to The Saviors... yet different in both style and color.
In front of the Knights, however, was one another person, also in armor.
Their armor was somewhat different from the rest, appearing to have been fitted with cybernetics or simply thick in size. Their armor was also of a higher quality than the others, and their lightsaber pike seemed to be new or well maintained. This was obviously the lead General in charge.
The clones also fell into rank behind Kenobi but kept a hand on their weapons, who stepped forward to speak with them.
"Greetings, esteemed troops, droids, and Jedaii of the Saviors Empire. I am Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi," he said, extending his hand.
The smaller, more female-like, strangely armored Knight shook it, and Obi-Wan resisted the urge to grimace. The strength in that shake alone had nearly been enough to dislocate his wrist.
It felt like Padmes guard was here and toying with him again in front of the queen mother and senator, making him wonder just what species was under that helmet and if it was the same as the guards, something near human yet beyond it.
"It is a pleasure to met you, General Kenobi. I have heard so much about you from our Emperor. I am Rebma, The Lead Trainer in the Knights of Of the Jedaii. I have been sent here by the Emperor to assist in your capture of Ryloth, working alongside you as an equal...Unfourtantly," the masked warrior said in a professional tone that seemed o switch over to a sarcastic tone by the end, Her voice revealing her to be Female.
Despite himself, Obi-Wan couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and frown at her change of tone. "I thought that The Emperor would be leading His part of the assault," he stated.
Amos sighed. " Yes, well, unfortunately, due to more actively within the empire, The emperor decided to have this be a training day for My Knights and Me, and instead be stuck within hundreds of meetings while we take this planet from these pests," she explained.
Obi-Wan nodded but then, Cracking a smile. He said, "Then it looks like it's just us. Think your forces can handle it?"
Straightening to her full height—which Obi-Wan noticed that an inch or two below his own, with all that armor—Rebma said, "Absolutely, Jedi. The Saviors Empire have never turned away from the battle before our mission was successful, and we don't intend to start."
"...that's uh good to hear. However," Obi-Wan began, his expression turning serious. "Remember that we're here to rescue the Twi'leks and their homes, not destroy them," he said.
Rebma shrugged dismissively before turning to face her forces.
"18th punishment expository forces! Unless ordered otherwise, destruction and civilian casualties are kept to an ideal minimum for our Empire. Only heavy semi-blasters and EMP grenades are to be used when inside the city! Am I understood, everywhere else is grounds for our normal routines, not like this is a war or anything?"
As one, the Knights and troops responded, "Yes, General!" while the droids said, "Acknowledged."
Once she did that, Rebma turned back to Kenobi, asking, "Will that do for you and your pacifist order?"
"Very much. Now, let's move out!" he said with a sneer, marching forward. The two groups of troopers and clones were soon marching side by side through the swamplands, heading for Nabat.
However, the moment they were within the city's shooting distance, the Separatist droids began opening, firing from a set of wall-mounted turrets. Commander Cody shouted, "Take cover!" and the clones moved to hide behind the trees.
Obi-Wan, Rebma, the Knights, and troopers did the same, finding extensive defensive positions, but the droids did not. Instead, they kept marching and started returning fire even as the turrets began mowing them down. The Jedi looked over at the Jedaii, saying, "We're not going to make any headway until we disable those turrets!"
Beneath her helmet, Amber grinned and said, "Then let's disable them." She reached up and pulled her lightsaber pike from its back. It activated with a hiss, showing a vibrant yellow blade. The two nodded and moved out from behind their cover, charging at the wall.
The B1 droids controlling the turrets quickly tried focusing on them. Still, they couldn't do so due to the many HK droids currently pressing them and providing cover fire for their leader. Rebma spread her arms out, and a barrier made of Force energy surrounded them both, causing any shots that did come their way to deflect harmlessly across its surface. In this way, they slowly made their way towards the wall.
Once they were close enough and out of stupor at such a feat from this seemingly young Jedaii.
Obi-Wan pulled out an EMP grenade and launched it, using the Force to guarantee it landed in front of one of the turrets. The explosive went off and unleashed a current of electricity, frying the turret's circuits and the droids controlling it. Obi-Wan and Rebma then repeated the action for the other turret, disabling it.
With the turrets gone, the clone troopers marched in, unleashing a swarm of blaster fire that overwhelmed the remaining droids. In just over a minute, they were all destroyed, leaving the city perimeter secure.
Rebma sighed, releasing the Force barrier and deactivating her lightsaber pike. "Well, that's done. On to the guns?" she suggested.
But Obi-Wan shook his head. "We need to know what other defenses the Separatists have in store for us. Can you send one of your Knights to scout ahead with some of the clone troopers?" he asked.
"Better yet, I can send two," she replied before looking over at where she had assembled the Knights. "Ejila! Dawdana!" she called, causing two of them to turn to him and run over, being followed by a squadron of troopers.
Once they were in front of him, he said, "The two of you and your respective squadron are to perform recon on the surrounding area. Try to get along and try not to die for Emperor's sake."
"Will do, general," the fake named Emma stated, her voice revealing that she was also female to the Jedi.
Obi-Wan looked over at Cody. "Commander, I want you and three of our best men to go with them," he said before muttering, "And keep a sharp eye out."
Getting the meaning, Cody glanced over at the Knight before nodding. "Will do, sir. Wooley, Waxer, Boil, on me!" he said.
A few hours later…
After the initial recon run, the group converged back together inside the ruins of an old dwelling, one that thankfully had a working holoprojector. Obi-Wan was there, accompanying holograms of Mace Windu and unknown to them the eldest Child of the Emperor, waiting to hear the report.
Once they were all gathered, Cody pulled up an image of the city courtyard. "My brothers and I have found the ion cannons; they're right in the center of the courtyard, along with the droid commander. But there's a problem," he said. Mace raised an eyebrow at this, and Cody elaborated, "They've seemed to have taken several local villages as hostages and are using them as shields."
"They what?!" Emma suddenly yelled from her strick formation. She shot to her feet and grabbed her lightsaber from her belt, growling out her words, "Tell me how to get there, techs. I'll tear the droids apart myself for this!" she shouted to the troopers nearest her.
But before she could rush out the door, Galen caught her by the shoulder, yanking her back to reality. "Em-Ejila, I know how much this means to you. But you can't just go rushing in. You've got to wait until we come up with a plan. The enemy could be luring us into a trap or something worse. We must be patient and have order" he advised her. He had taken well to the teachings of the men and woman who his father had turned from the sith and brought into the order.
She glared at him, and everyone present could feel the heat of her glare even though the helmet kept her eyes concealed. After a tense moment of silence, she relented and calmed down. "Fine," was all she said.
Although Obi-Wan was curious about why the female Knight would blow up like that, Obi-Wan focused on the matter at hand.
"The Twi'lek prisoners will make this difficult… but not impossible," he said before looking up at the holoprojector. "I still have a plan for taking out those cannons."
Amber nodded. "Getting those civilians out of harm's way should be our priority. I have faith in you, General, if what the Republic tells of your Jedi, you should be able to do this without costing unnecessary lives," she said.
Obi-Wan nodded back slowly in contempt, but then Galen suddenly looked up. "hold on…" he said before activating his cerulean blue lightsaber with a white radiance. Cody and the others were quick to draw their weapons at the young Knight, who barely acknowledged them, but then the Knight spun around and threw it at something.
The object fell to the ground before them, revealing itself to be a Separatist recon droid. The lightsaber had pierced it right through its 'eye,' melting its inner circuits and destroying it.
Cody scowled. "Blasted droids. They were listening to the whole time!" he exclaimed.
"Then we'll need to act fast before they can tighten their defenses. Let's get moving," Obi-Wan said.
The front scouting group slowly advanced through the village, blasters, heavy weapons, and lightsabers at the ready. There didn't appear to be a single droid or Twi'lek insight, and the lack of either put them on edge.
Trying to take that edge off with a small talk, Waxer looked over at Ejila. "So, er, they got towns like this on Tython or wherever your empire comes from?" he asked.
Emma shrugged. "I doubt it. Most of the cities on Tython right now are completely manufactured upon broken temples or built within the planet's mountains. With the abundance of plant life and old ruins seemingly surrounding them, it is not hard to find a foundation to build housing all the way to large inground shipyards. Perhaps in a few years, parts of the planet will resemble what Coruscant in its infancy, or so that's all I've heard. Still, I have no doubt the Emperor is making plans for a more integrated warrior society like the other older planets of the Empire," she explained.
"So you've heard? What, you've never seen Coruscant, and there are more planets!?" Boil questioned.
"no kriff Boil! They've conquered several sectors of the northern map. they control dozens of habitable planets!" Waxer nearly shouted at his brother. The idiocy of the question brought out loud chuckles from the knights and their troops.
"I've seen it on holovids and heard about it whenever we learned about the Republic in school or from the empires holocrons. But until the Empire joined the war, the farthest I've ever been from home is Hoth, and that was only a few weeks ago with my father," she replied once she stopped chuckling.
Waxer chuckled sarcastically. "Wow. I'd hate to get stationed on that frozen rock. What were you even doing there!?"
Emma was about to answer when Galen cleared his throat, making her pause as she realized what she had been about to say. "I… I'm sorry. That's information isn't for me to reveal, clone," she said.
The clones simultaneously frowned at that but said nothing on it. And just in time, Cody chose that moment to give them the signal to halt.
"We'll split up into two teams to cover more ground. Dawna, your squadron can go with Waxer and Boil and cover the south sector. Ejila, her squad, Wooley, and I will take the area closer to the courtyard... if that would be okay with you." he ordered and then asked the jedaii, not comfortable with ordering the Empire's men around.
"Yes, sir," Boil said, and the two Jedaii nodded in acceptance.
After splitting up, the team of Boil, Galen, and Waxer began moving south. However, it didn't take long for that sense of paranoia to reappear, given that they still hadn't encountered anyone.
"I'm telling you, Boil, this place is giving me creeps.," Boil stated
Waxer paused for a moment, before asking "You think… they exterminated most of them?"
Galen shook his head, saying, "I doubt it. Nobodies are lying around, and the droids don't care enough to kill the Twi'leks and dispose of any corpses. I guess that they were rounded up one and all to maximize the number of hostages."
In response to that statement, they heard the sound of several rocks being moved just as they passed by an alley. Instantly, Waxer and Boil took cover on either side of the alley's opening while the squadron of troopers following them silently rushed ahead and took defensive positions.
Galen also had ignited his lightsaber. The jedaii gave a glance, and his father's cloned soldiers shared a quick look, and, nodding in unison, they charged down the alleyway, Galen taking the front while his guards and the clones protected his backside.
However, no droids were there to greet them. Instead, there was a set of storage crates at the end. And hiding behind those crates… was a small teal-skinned Twi'lek girl.
The girl stared at them with fear, half-crouched behind the crates, the troopers instantly lowered their weapons, Galen quickly scanned the girl in case she held an explosive. He lowered his saber to the ground after nothing was detected.
Boil lowered his blaster, sighing. "Ah, it's just a kid," he said.
Waxer looked at him. "Well, what are we going to do with her?"
Boil reared back. "Whoa, wait a minute! Why do we have to do anything? We've got a mission to finish," he countered.
But Waxer wasn't letting this go. "Well, we can't just leave her here. I say we take her with us."
"I agree. Without any weapons and against the Separatists, she can hardly fend for herself. It'd be safer for her," Galen added.
Boil looked over at him. "You can't both be serious. She'll only slow us down," he pointed out. But when neither of them changed their minds, he sighed. "Fine. You win." With that, he approached the Twi'lek girl. She moved away from him, and he said, "Now, calm down, kid. I'm not going to shoot you."
But once his hands were close enough, the girl leaned forward… and bit his pointer finger. Boil screamed out and backed away, shouting, "Ow! the kriffing tail-head bit me!"
Galen sighed. "I guess there's no other option. Father is going to hate me," he mumbled and reached for his helmet. Both Waxer and Boil stared as he removed the armor piece… and a curtain of Black hair fell behind him as his glowing purple eyes seemingly stared into the clone's soul.
With the helmet gone, both clones could see that Galen himself was a Handsome-looking Hapen Teenager with unnaturally high cheekbones to a human, his pitch-black shoulder-length hair that seemed to lift at the smallest amount of wind, and lightly glowing violet eyes. The clones could see the Saviors Empire insignia tattooed onto his neck. He had a long scar across the top of his head, going from behind his left ear to just above his right eye. From the discoloration, it seemed to be only a month or so old.
Placing his helmet and lightsaber aside, he got down on one knee in front of the little girl. She seemed transfixed at the sight of another Alein species, even if the man was wearing intimidating armor, and he smiled.
Next, what came out of his mouth was a series of words and expressions that made no sense to either trooper, accompanied by his high cheekbones' subtle movements.
However, it seemed the girl understood it, as she giggled and smiled wide as she moved out from behind the stack of crates.
Replying in the same language—the clones could only guess (accurately) that it was Twi'leki—Galen's smile grew, and he stood up.
"Her name is Nema, and I've explained the situation to her.
However, before she goes anywhere with us, she wants you two to remove your helmets as well. To show that you aren't droids, troopers you to," he told them. This brought on a bunch of groans and whining as the troops lifted their helmets, showcasing yashans in the galaxy for the first time in numbers for almost a hundred years.
Boil sighed as the troops all around him did what was asked and muttered, "You've got to be kidding me," but removed his helmet all the same. Waxer did as well, showing that they were indeed flesh and blood.
Nema stared at the two of them after giggling at the Yashan clones and their protests. She was quick to examining these new faces. Then, after a moment, she pointed at each of them and said, "Nerra."
Galen's eyes widened before he laughed. "Oh boy," he shook his head in exasperation, causing Boil to ask, "What did she say? What's a 'nerra'?"
"It's Twi'leki for 'brother.' I think she's commenting on how both of your faces are exactly alike," he told them, still chuckling. This had a domino effect. The rest of his men seemed to be snickering or grinning widely.
Boil rolled his eyes and put his helmet back on. "Very funny. Now, we showed that we're not droids. Can we get a move on?" he asked irritably.
Galen nodded and put his helmet on before picking up Nema. She let him carry her on his back, and the group began making their way to the rendezvous point.
As they walked, Boil couldn't help but ask, "So, Dawdana, I didn't realize you were a Hapen as well. Are you from the Consortium, then?"
The Knight shook his head. "...Yes and No, while I was born on Hapes, I as a Jedaii who was born and raised on Tython in mere months. However, ever since the Emperor's master formed the Saviors Empire over three Hundred years ago, I think various alien species began moving to and inhabiting worlds under their control or were enslaved and moved there, some systems even having parental connections to remote systems. The Consortium and the Hapens were one such species. My father, a high member of the Empire, wanted me to be a peacekeeper of the front line and a compassionate yet fierce warrior, so I had to earn many languages while he was...away. But anyway, I volunteered for this mission to keep the deaths low, something my father doesn't care for," he explained.
"Wait, you volunteered for this mission?" Waxer questioned.
"That's right. Every Jedaii on this mission, except for my Emperor, volunteered to take part in this liberation. This is a chance to show our Emperor that the first class of Jedaii is indeed worthy of having self-reliance and... space. We also don't like to see others suffer for any other reason. We're all here because we want to be. it was either us or a lot more troops and droids, and trust me, they wouldn't be working with your clones."
To that, neither Waxer nor Boil had anything to say.
To be frank, the idea of volunteering for a mission, to do something for no reason other than because they wanted to… It was utterly alien to them. They were clones, just like the others, born and raised specifically to fight for the Republic. To them, fighting was like breathing. It wasn't something you did or didn't want to do. You just did it.
TX-20s walked past each of the enslaved Twi'lek's.
It had a prisoner. Many stared at the droids with fear, some of them with rage, others with hopelessness.
If the TX were sentient and possessed a sense of sadism, it might have found joy in their expressions. As it was, it merely continued walking, entering a small corridor with multiple cells.
"Sergeant, are the beasts ready?" he asked one of the droids.
"Yes, sir. We've been starving them, just like you ordered," the B1 replied, waving at the cells. Inside each of them was a species of what seemed like giant insects. They possessed two feet, tiny hooked claws for arms, and thick shells. They were also growling and snarling, constantly trying to smash or bite through the bars holding them in.
"Um… are you sure they won't attack us once we left them out?" the droid asked.
"I have a theory. But first, it requires verification," was TX-20's response, before pressing a button on the wall and opening one of the cells.
"Sir, what are you doing?" the B1 asked, backing away slowly from its leader… until it heard a snarl coming from behind. "Oh, no."
Faster than either droid could act, the gutkurr bit down on the grunt, swallowing its entire upper half in its mouth. The droid comically screeched and thrashed around, and the beast hurled it from side to side while chewing.
However, after a few seconds, the gutkurr immediately paused, growled, and then spat the droid back out.
TX-20 nodded. "As I predicted, these creatures require organic meat to survive. And the clones and their Empire friends will provide the supply."
Besides meeting Nema and letting her come with them, things had been relatively quiet for Galen, Waxer, and Boil. The two Odd-looking Hapen teenagers and the Child occasionally talked. Galen or also translated whenever Nema had something to ask either clone. In this fashion, they had made almost halfway back to the rendezvous point.
However, just as they entered a fork in the road, Nema suddenly jumped off the Knight's back and ran to the left. "Nerra!" she called, waving over at them.
Boil grunted. "what does she want now?" he asked, and Galen shrugged.
Then she turned and ran down the street, and Waxer's eyes widened. "Wait, wait! That's not the way!" he called.
But she kept going, and Boil said, "Just let her go."
But both Waxer and Galen shook their heads, Galen saying, "Better we be late to the rendezvous point then let the droids get her." Waxer nodded in agreement, and the two began chasing after the girl.
Boil stared at them for a moment before sighing in defeat and following. Together, the trio followed the Twi'lek child as she led them through several streets, over piles of rubble, and past many other ruined houses. After nearly a solid three minutes of running, she finally came to a stop, letting them catch up.
Galen grunted. "Alright, what's going on?" he said before repeating the question in Twi'leki. Nema didn't say anything but tentatively reached over and grabbed Waxer's hand. Both clones and Knight looked at her in surprise, but she slowly led towards a single house.
This one seemed no different from the others. They were built out of stone, basic design, blaster, marks here and there along the walls. The only thing that stood out was the large hole in the roof, but even that was stretching it.
Nema let go of Waxer and walked inside. They followed and found her standing in the center of the house, looking around. Galen noticed the haunted look in her eyes. As if she saw something that she knew wasn't right. Or, at least, it shouldn't have been.
Waxer and Boil took the chance to sit down and remove their helmets. As they rested, Waxer looked around at the hole. Finally, it came together, and he said, "This place… It must have been her home."
Boil sighed. "Poor kid. She lost everything," he commented.
The others nodded in agreement, and Waxer took another look around. This time, however, he noticed something. Tucked underneath one of the rocks, just barely visible, was a spot of color. Curious, he reached over and lifted the rock, showing that the spot of color had actually been some kind of doll. It squeaked slightly when he picked it up, wiping any dust off.
Galen watched as Waxer walked over and tapped Nema on the shoulder. She turned around, and they could see that she was trying to hold back tears at what had once been her home.
But the moment Waxer handed her the doll, the floodgates finally opening, and she started crying.
The clone looked at her, feeling sadness as well at the sight. Kneeling in front of her, he said, "It's going to be okay. We're here to help." Galen came closer and translated, and she looked back and forth between them and the doll. Then she ran forward and wrapped her arms around Waxer, holding him tight.
Waxer hesitated for a moment before hugging her back, letting her cry into his armor. At that, even Boil got to his feet and came over, kneeling as well. "Don't weep, Child. We'll keep you safe. I… I promise," he told her. Nema's response was to hug him as well, and he hugged her back despite his obvious discomfort. At the same time, the jedaii looked at what would be a week-long mission while their dad had meetings, training recruits to the elite guard, and holovids to record for both the Empire, the Consortium, and the Order.
They would take this planet as the Empires and make their father proud.
AND THAT'S THE RYLOTH INVASION! I understand if the small arc was a little underwhelming, but I intend to show more clone wars episodes. Still, it mainly was to showcase a few of the main children in the story.
Now onto the next chapter, where Christen's mental state takes a dive for the worst.
