"I have often wondered, since that di'kutla mission to Felucia, if blind loyalty is expected of us. When I heard what had happened to General Krell on Umbara, I can't say I was sorry. But the episode did make me wonder about our loyalty to the Republic. Are we really expected to follow our Jedi Generals without question? That just doesn't feel right to me. I want to be able to question my orders. I do not want to feel like a slave. I'm not. I am a soldier, a human being, a Mando'ad."
Ajax, in the debriefing from Phi Squad's month-long deployment on Drongar, Felucia, and Umbara
1325 Hours, 732 Days ABG, Arca Company Barracks, CoruscantBardan Jusik walked down the corridor to Phi Squad's quarters to give them new orders. He knew his arrival wouldn't be accepted warmly. They had just gotten back from another month-long deployment on various missions in the Outer Rim the last day. Nonetheless, HQ thought it was a good idea to send them out again. He reached for the door controls, but hesitated a moment. The Jedi wanted to make a note of the squad's emotions before he broke the news. He reached out with the Force. The quarters were a kind of calm Jusik had felt once before, in the Temple. Before the war. He was amazed by the feeling, that four men bred to kill could feel this way. That anyone could be at peace in this time of trial for the Republic. He supposed it was the temporary relief from combat, the fact that these clones were finally resting after a month of deployment. He could also sense their weariness. The long days of battle had taken their toll. In a few different ways. This squad had lost a brother, the Jedi reminded himself. That feeling was present in a smaller quantity. Tracker was working as a good fourth man, despite the squad's previous loss.
Jusik shook the thoughts out of his head and tapped the door control. The door slid away, into the wall, and Jusik walked in, lightsaber on his belt, datapad under his arm, and his robes flowing behind him.
Ajax was sitting on his bunk cleaning his DC-17m and all its attachments, wearing nothing but his black bodysuit. "Afternoon, General. Anything you need?"
Even in this one sentence, Jusik could sense the anxiety and anticipation increase in the room. He was the bringer of missions, of bad news, of new tasks. "HQ is asking you to go on another mission."
Ka'rta groaned audibly. "Not again. We just got back yesterday. What could they need so soon?"
"I trust you heard about Omega Squad's mission to Qiilura to sabotage the FG36 virus project?"
The four commandos nodded an affirmative. Tracker was a bit hesitant in his nod, however.
"Is that the mongrel night ops squad?" the sniper wondered. "Wasn't that their first mission as a squad?"
"Yes to both," Jusik confirmed. "They were separated, but found General Tur-Mukan, found each other, and completed the mission, capturing the scientist behind the weapon."
"We've heard the story," Ajax said. "What's that got to do with our next mission?"
"Well, it would seem that an early prototype of the virus was kept by CIS command and is now in the hands of a Kaminoan geneticist, Hali Ke. She was captured during the Battle of Kamino last year, and was taken to Onderon. That's where we believe the Sep research facility is.
"In its current form, the virus will kill anyone it comes into contact with. We must not let it get into the environment, and we must prevent the genetic targeting of the virus to affect clones only. I shouldn't have to tell you how important your mission to destroy the virus and all related research is."
"You don't," Ajax confirmed. "We know how critical this mission is. If the Seps get a virus that kills only clones, our war effort will be crippled. We'll get the job done, General. You can count on us."
Buckler rolled over to get a better look at Jusik. "When do we leave?" he asked.
"You're going to hate me for saying this, but there's a shuttle on the landing pad right now. HQ wants you to leave ASAP." Jusik handed Ajax his datapad. "Here's the full brief. Good luck."
Ajax took the datapad and glanced at it. The first page read: "FG36: Clone-Targeted Nanovirus. Contents Classified, fingerprint required to display."
"Thank you, General," Ajax said, starting to get his armor on. "I'll make sure to look this over."
Jusik smiled empathetically at the four weary, helmetless commandos. "I'm sorry your next mission is so soon. I wish there was something I could do about it. You've earned some rest."
"Good to know you're looking out for us, General," Ka'rta replied. "Since Felucia, I've learned never to take an empathetic general for granted."
Jusik chuckled knowingly and turned to exit the room. His robes flowed gracefully behind him as he walked through the door and back into the hall. Behind the Jedi, the door slid closed.
Ajax threw his helmet on apparently haphazardly. "You heard him," the sergeant said. "Shuttle's already waiting. Shift it."
Each of the others replied by moving to a sitting position on their bunks and beginning to strap on their armor plates.
"This is going to be a fun one," Ka'rta commented. "Destroying Sep research?" The medic laughed aloud. "Sounds like the easiest mission in months."
Ajax was staring at the datapad. "Might not be. Intel reports that security has tightened since Omega went in and blew the facility on Qiilura." He paused to contemplate something else. "The plans show that the virus is being stored in the lowest level of the complex, under tight guard. Looks like a group of six BX commando droids and a pair of droidekas."
Buckler interrupted. "When Omega went in the first time, they gained access via a drain that ran under the facility. Couldn't we just do that?"
"No," was Ajax's harsh reply. "Droids have been posted at every access point to the facility sewage system. They remembered Omega's tactics, too."
"Stang!" Tracker cursed. "That's going to make our job a kriffing lot harder."
"Yep," Ajax replied. "Going in the front door will be too hard, we won't be able to go through the sewer, and digging a hole wouldn't be ideal. So, what options do we have?" He displayed a holo of the building plans received by Intelligence for all to see.
Ka'rta put on his helmet, the final piece of his armor. "Aje, we should do this en route. We've got our armor on, and we're ready to go. Let's do this!"
"Good point. Phi Squad, move it!"
The four clone commandos walked through hallways and across the parade grounds to the landing pad, where a nearly triangle-shaped Nu-class shuttle was firmly parked. They proceeded up its boarding ramp into the main hold, where Ajax reactivated the holo of the plans. This was the planning phase of their mission.
"Navigating the Onderon jungle will be hard," observed Buckler. "The Seps didn't make this place easy to find."
"We know where it is," Ka'rta pointed out. "Helmet nav will show the direction and distance."
"Getting in really is the hardest part," observed Tracker. "We could blow a hole in the wall, hereabouts…" he gestured to a section of the holo.
"Hey!" Buckler punched the sniper in his friendly way. "That's my line!"
"Not a bad suggestion," remarked Ajax. "But that'll get the droids on us faster than a dekk fly on a trash pile."
"We can't just go in the front door," Ka'rta reminded them. "If we do, their defenses will probably hit us hard. And the dekk fly analogy once we get inside."
"What's your plan?" Ajax prompted.
"Well…" the medic began, "...there's always the drainage system. It looks like the access points are all guarded, true, but this one…" he pointed to a drain opening on the holo. "...is guarded by exactly one destroyer droid. That could be our easy way in."
"The reason the guard on that drain is so small," Ajax explained, "is because it has a direct line of sight to the front door. That method of entry will not work. We can try the back drain, though." He pointed to a drainage access at the back of the facility.
"Wait a tick," said Tracker. "We're overthinking this. We can come in from the top. See that skylight?"
"Yes, I do," said Ajax. "There aren't many guards up there on the roof. That might not be a bad idea. The roof is usually the last place they expect you to gain entry." He slapped his hand onto Tracker's shoulder. "Good man. I like creative thinking."
The rest of the trip was spent figuring out specific details and backup plans. And planning a recce of the area. As Tracker had learned the hard way, you could never trust intel. After that was all done, the four used the time for some much needed shuteye.
2200 Hours, Jungle near CIS Research Facility, OnderonPhi Squad had been dropped off, as planned, in the dense jungle near the facility. The shuttle departed immediately after the four commandos had debarked.
"Hear those departing engines?" asked Ajax. "That sound means we're alone."
"Don't remind me," said Tracker. "I'm used to having an entire platoon, at least, for support."
Ka'rta laughed. "You shiny boys. So used to having somebody else around. That's not how it is for us. It seems like we do better without support from Command."
"Yeah," Tracker agreed. "I know. It's still weird, though."
"You'll get used to it, I'm sure," comforted Ajax.
"Target at twenty meters. Switch to minimal comms," Buckler ordered. He could hear Ajax's angry tooth click in the background. "Sorry, boss," he apologized. "You seemed preoccupied. Wanted to point out the proximity of the base."
"That's okay," Ajax explained. "I just haven't liked receiving orders from anyone other than a Jedi or Sergeant Bralor ever since I got comfortable taking charge. That's all. What you did was correct."
"Thanks for the kind word, boss," Buckler replied.
"You said it yourself, though. Switch off comms."
There was a faint clicking noise as the four turned off their squad communications so the droids couldn't pick up the signals. Collecting reconnaissance didn't require communication if roles were already delegated.
Tracker did his part, studying and recording the movements of the rooftop guard.
Buckler did his, checking out the spot where they had planned to rappel up to the roof.
Ka'rta had the job of gathering the shift change times. This would probably be a lot of watching nothing. But after a shift rotation, the job would be basically over. Droids were very strictly regulated. They tended to stick to the same time interval between shifts. That was defined by their battery life. Usually a squad went in to charge at about fifteen percent. Striking while batteries were depleted was usually a sound strategy. Combat drained their batteries faster. Communications, as in reporting an attack, in the middle of combat was quite deadly to most B1s at less than fifteen percent battery.
The shift at the front door began to head in, swiftly replaced by droids that stood significantly more upright. An obvious effect of a full charge. Ka'rta started the stopwatch on his HUD, resizing it so it was less conspicuous. It would probably be a long wait until anything new happened.
Ajax had the job of relief and watching the squad's back. He would readily step in for any of the others that needed it. Arguably, the most boring of all the jobs. Only Ka'rta would protest that claim, especially knowing that there would be nothing for hours now.
The next guard change would not occur for about twelve hours. It usually took that long for an idle droid's battery to drain. Ka'rta predicted that would be several stimpills later. He was already falling asleep as it was. He groped around his belt pouch. Soon he found what he had been looking for: a small tube. There were several small, white, spherical pills inside it. He brought the tube into his field of view and popped the lid off it into his palm. He rolled out one of the pills into the palm of his other hand. He then brought the hand holding the pill up to his neck and lifted his helmet slightly. The jungle smelled of humidity and plants. A testament to the helmet filters. The smell wasn't important right now. He brought the pill to his lips and swallowed it, letting his helmet fall back into place. He secured the seal by dragging his hand down the faceplate slightly. It made a soft hissing sound as the helmet reconnected to the bodysuit. He put the cap back on the tube of stimpills and brought it back down to his belt pouch. A minute later, he felt a warm feeling rise in his body. The stimulant was working its magic. The medic was no longer tired.
Tracker was making careful notes on his HUD about movement on the rooftop. The droids up there seemed to be patrolling in twos. Two on the south wall, two on the north, and two who seemed to be there for support if something occurred. They might have to rethink their plan a bit. On the other hand, lobbing a "droid popper" EC grenade would disable the droids that were farther away from the squad rappel point, leaving the squad with a clear path… unless the base had sensors that tripped the alarm when sensors picked up the distinctive explosion of an EC det. Just to be safe, he supposed, he could stay on the hill when they went to execute the plan, and snipe the droids when appropriate. This plan only begged the question of how to get Tracker onto the roof.
Buckler had eyes on the droids closest to their rappel point. It looked like there were ten of them, split up between three posts. There were three at a drain access about five meters from the door. Four were closer to the back of the facility, and the other three guarded from a nearby wall, apparently better marksmen than most B1s. They appeared to hold sniper rifles. This might not be easy. He checked to see if he still had all of the components for the squad's E-Web repeating cannon. It would certainly prove useful. The blaster itself was attached to his survival pack with a bungee cord. The tripod was secure on the other side of his pack. He nudged Tracker, who held up one finger. Last Buckler had checked, Tracker was the one with the power generator.
Tracker turned his helmeted head towards Buckler and shrugged slightly, as if to say "What do you want?"
Buckler replied by pointing with his thumb to the E-Web strapped on his back.
Tracker nodded and gestured to a small black box on his back.
Buckler gave the sniper a thumbs-up.
Ajax was watching the squad's back. He happened to glance over and notice the exchange. He smiled underneath his faceplate, wondering what Buckler had seen to make him check that the cannon's power cell was ready. He glanced at Buckler's POV icon. The demoman was looking at the droid snipers again. Ajax also saw, through the video feed, that there were a lot of droids at the front door.
The sergeant looked down at his armor and seemed to remember something. He started to smudge mud on his armor. Looking at the rest of the squad, he realized that Ka'rta should probably follow suit, not having green or camouflaged armor like the other two. He elbowed the medic, who looked up almost immediately, and Ajax held up a fistful of mud.
Ka'rta took the hint and began to smudge his white and bright yellow armor with mud. Camouflage was particularly important during recon. It also helped with stealth.
The next twelve hours were a grueling haul for the four Republic Commandos. They were pushed to the limits of their endurance, both to stay in one place and to stay awake. Each had taken at least two stimpills. By that time, their collective knowledge of troop movements at the installation was greater than any other recon force would have had the patience to gather. Well, except maybe ARF troopers…
Ka'rta stopped his stopwatch as the droids stationed at the front door began to file in, again replaced by significantly more upright droids. The readout read exactly eleven hours, forty-five minutes, zero seconds. That was the precise interval this group of droids used, apparently.
The medic stood up as a signal to the others. His task, the longest, was over. They could now get some sleep, despite the rising sun in the east. The other three rose to follow him. The four walked in the direction opposite the base when they began to hear a rustling in the bushes next to them. It wasn't the carefully synchronized, mechanical steps of droids. Nor was it the familiar gait of a clone. This was an unidentified organic being, probably humanoid, assumed hostile until proven otherwise.
Ajax made a "stop" fist and trained his Deece on the bush that had moved. The other three did the same.
The movement in the bush stopped.
The clones' trigger fingers tensed.
A humanoid figure emerged from the bushes, holding a sniper rifle, pointed into the air, a gesture of peace and surrender.
"You boys are Republic, right?" asked the woman who emerged. "Clones?"
Ajax turned on his helmet's sound projectors, at a low volume. "What's it to you?"
"Name's Steela," the woman said. "Steela Gerrera. I'm part of a rebellion against the false Separatist king, King Rash. We want to restore the true King of Onderon, King Dendup."
Ajax softened his defensive tone. "Yes, we are clones. Republic Commandos. And maybe you could help us."
"You attacking the Separatists?" Steela wondered. "If so, I'm in. And I'll bring some of my friends."
"Yes, we are," Ajax replied. "The help would be appreciated. Our target is an installation about fifty meters that way." He pointed behind them, in the direction of the Separatist facility.
"We know the place," Steela confirmed. "When do we attack?"
"After me and my squad have gotten some sleep."
"Absolutely. I'll lead you to our hideout."
The four commandos followed the rebel. After a minute or so of walking, the clones decided it was safe to turn their comms back on. A crackling came through the com as each turned on the helmet system.
"I'm not so sure we can trust this woman," Tracker said. "My instincts are telling me something's off with this."
"We can trust her," Ajax calmed. "You saw how she came out of the bushes with her rifle raised. She trusts us, so we can reciprocate."
"That's all fine and dandy, boss," Tracker began, "but someone looking to capture us would employ trust tactics like that."
"True," Ajax confirmed, "but there were no markers she was lying. I know what to look for. She didn't so much as hesitate in telling us who she was, even with four blaster rifles trained on her."
"I agree with Ajax here, Track," Ka'rta said. "Bralor trained us in interrogation for an entire month. She only spent a week on how to properly conduct a recce."
"Yeah," Buckler agreed. "My gut tells me she isn't lying."
Tracker made an angry noise of concession. "Alright, I concede. We'll trust her. Despite what Kal told me about trusting people after meeting them once."
"Bralor gave us the same caution," informed Ajax. "But she also told us what to look for in case of deception. And Steela hasn't shown any of those signs."
Steela turned to face the four, thinking the hike had been spent in silence. She was framed by a tall arch, covered in vines. The arch was topped by a flying Ruping, a large, winged beast that looked like a dragon with skin instead of scales. This one was being ridden by a man, who looked as though he was related to Steela. The skin tone and hair were right. He flew down to the ground on the beast, an obvious display of power and dominance.
"Who're the new guys?" the man on top of the beast asked Steela.
"Clones, Saw," Steela told her brother. "They're here to attack that Separatist facility a couple klicks out. They want our help."
Saw laughed, sliding coolly off his mount. "Us? We're untrained rebels. What would elite soldiers like clones want our help for?"
Steela opened her mouth to speak, but Ajax stepped in front of her. His armor was still covered in a layer of mud.
"We need a diversion so we can sneak into the place unnoticed," the sergeant informed. "Even for us, the droids are a bit many at that place."
"Then how would we help?" asked Saw, still incredulous.
"You know how to scrap droids, right?" asked Buckler. "You know how to aim a blaster?"
"Some of us," answered Saw. "Others… barely know how to operate a speeder." Upon saying this, he glanced at the apparent operations center, an open building, a half-cylinder, that contained a large, round holotable. The building, like everything else in the camp, was covered in vines. Standing next to the holotable, poring over some kind of chart, was a boy, who looked no older than sixteen.
It looked like he carried a responsibility far greater than his age indicated. He also seemed to carry deep scars, those perhaps of an orphan.
Saw and Steela led the clones through the hubbub of the rebel camp to the command center. The group received several worried and cheerful glances from rebel onlookers. Some didn't think they needed the Republic. Others were grateful for the support. None of them, not even Steela, knew Phi Squad's real mission. They thought the Republic was here to support and help them. That wasn't the case right now. Phi had their own objective. These rebels would help the commandos.
The boy standing next to the holotable extended his hand. "Lux Bonteri. My mother was the Senator for Onderon in the Separatist senate. Pleased to meet you."
Ajax tentatively shook Lux's hand. "I thought you rebels were against the Seps. Aren't you one, being a Sep Senator's son?"
Lux looked a bit sad at the mention of his mother's alignment. "Count Dooku had my mother killed. I'm no Separatist, not anymore." He paused, as if thinking about something. "Do you know a padawan named Ahsoka Tano?"
Ajax was silent. Lux couldn't see his blank stare underneath the muddy helmet.
"I'll take that as a no, then," Lux said, disappointed. "Oh, could I trouble you to take off your helmets? It's a little weird not seeing someone's face."
Ajax removed his helmet as a signal to the others.
The other three took off their helmets as well, revealing four copies of the same face. The only differences were in hairstyle and scars. Ajax and Tracker both wore the regulation crew cut, however, Tracker had dyed his hair blond. Ka'rta had his long brown hair in a bun at the base of his skull. Buckler had no hair to hide the long scar from just above his eyebrow to the crown of his head. It had been burned off long ago by an explosion.
Buckler, unsurprisingly, was the first to break the silence. "All due respect, Mister Bonteri, but we need a couple hours' sleep before we do anything else."
"Sure," replied the senator's son. "If you'll follow me."
The clones followed Lux in silence, helmets tucked under their right arms, each a perfect copy of the others.
Bonteri led the four out of the command center and into another, smaller building that looked like it had been much larger at one time. The whole base seemed to be the ruin of an ancient temple. Of course, the rebels had given it some technological upgrades such as power generators and holodisplays. There were vine-encrusted columns seemingly everywhere.
"This is our barracks," Lux stated, in reference to the square-based, crumbling building in front of them. "Feel free to take any open bunk."
"Thank you," Ajax replied, entering the door that had slid open as he approached.
The beleaguered clones walked inside the dilapidated barracks to find that it was just a large room filled with as many bunks as would fit. It looked like it was a nightmare at peak capacity. There was one odd thing about it, though. There was nobody sleeping. It was past daybreak, yes, but the previous night's watch should have been getting their shuteye. It was bad practice to not have a watch on duty while you were sleeping.
Buckler, having taken only two stimpills the night before, practically collapsed on the bunk nearest him. The others clambered into empty beds with a little more grace. All were tired. But they knew the power of even two hours' worth of sleep.
1300 Hours, 733 days ABG, Onderon Rebels' Camp, OnderonTwo and a half hours later, Ka'rta woke to the sound of raucous swearing and what could have been screaming. It was laughter. He quickly shoved on his helmet and haphazardly strapped on his survival pack, grabbing his Deece and checking the charge level. The blaster was full. He rushed out the door and pointed his blaster at the source of the noise: a rowdy game of Sabacc. The commando quickly lowered his blaster and glanced around to see if anyone had noticed his overreaction. Tracker was staring at the medic from over at the Sabacc table. Ka'rta decided to sheepishly remove his helmet and walked over to the table, feeling quite embarrassed.
The game was being played by Ajax, Buckler, Tracker, Steela, Saw, and a couple of other rebels who seemed to, inexplicably, look the exact same.
"Morning," Ka'rta said, still coming down from his adrenaline high.
"That was awfully awake-sounding for you," Buckler teased. He placed one of his cards in the interference field. It was the idiot.
"Yeah," the medic replied sheepishly. "The sounds of your card game gave me quite a start."
Ajax laughed. "Was it all the di'kutla swearing?"
"Something like that."
Saw cut in. "Well, since you're all awake now, why don't we make our plan to attack that facility?"
"Good idea," Ajax praised. "I've had a few ideas." He turned to Steela. "How are you with that sniper rifle?"
"I'd like to say pretty decent," she replied confidently.
"Can you hit some droids on the roof of the complex?"
"Sure."
"Great." Ajax turned back to Saw. "You and the others can do an assault on the front door of the facility when I give you the signal."
"Copy that," Saw replied. "We'll be ready to scrap some droids."
"Don't be afraid to pull out of there when we've achieved entry," cautioned Buckler. "You're providing us with cover and distracting the droid patrols."
"Okay," confirmed Saw. "But we'll finally get to blast some of those clanking invaders."
"Yeah," one of the identical rebels agreed. "I'm not sure I'll want to leave."
"You will," warned Tracker. "Battle droids overwhelm in numbers. Blast one, and ten others swarm to take its place."
"Yeah," Ka'rta agreed. "Get out of there as soon as we get in. That's an order."
"You can't give us orders," Saw pointed out. "We're civilians. Separatist civilians."
"True," Ajax replied, "but you have volunteered to cooperate with us. Let's not get all legal here, shall we? Just trust us on this. You don't want to lose anybody, do you?"
"Alright, you win," conceded Saw. "We'll pull out when you give the signal."
"Excellent. Let's get started, shall we?" Ajax got up, revealing his hand in the card game. Ten, four, and nine. A total of twenty-three. Pure Sabacc. Ajax was lucky today. He picked up his blaster and shoved on his helmet.
Ka'rta put his helmet back on and followed the sergeant.
Tracker and Buckler appeared to perform the same task as the others in perfect synchronization. That made Steela blink, wondering if she'd seen correctly.
Four armored commandos strolled through the tall, vine-covered arch in the direction of the Separatist base. Saw and Steela exchanged a quick glance, then Saw yelled, "Everyone, come on! Grab your blasters! We're headed off to scrap some clanking vermin!"
This cry elicited a cheer from the camp. There was quite a bit of rustling as people grabbed the nearest blaster. Steela checked that her prized purple sniper rifle was secure over her shoulder. Saw ran a bit to catch up with the clones.
"So," the rebel wondered, "Steela's going to clear a path for you, and the rest of us are going to attack the front door?"
Ajax had turned icily cold. "Was the plan not clear? Yes, that is what we're going to do."
Saw backed off at this. He was a little apprehensive because of the sudden change. He stammered a few times, then decided it would be better to stay silent. He dropped behind the clones, next to Buckler.
Buckler decided to console Saw a bit. "He gets this way before every mission. Don't take it personally."
Saw couldn't see the commando's reassuring smile beneath the helmet. "Thanks," he said, a bit bewildered by the speed of the whole interaction.
Ka'rta, right behind Ajax, dropped back to talk with Steela. "You'll be posted near where we ran into you last night. There's an overlook near there that has a great line of sight to the roof. Try not to attract too much attention to your position."
Steela nodded in understanding while the medic ran down the plan. "And I can help cover my friends once you're all in?"
"As long as you don't reveal your position," Ka'rta replied. "There's a team of droid snipers that might give you trouble. We should take them out, but no guarantees."
Steela nodded in confirmation.
Buckler was still a little fuzzy on the plan. "So, Ajax," he asked over the helmet comlink, "we're not waiting for the droids' batteries to drain?"
"We don't need to," answered the sergeant. "We have more manpower than we were planning on." He gestured to the rebels trailing them by a few meters.
"Thanks, boss."
"Don't mention it." Then Ajax noticed something. He held up his left fist in a "halt" gesture. They were here. "Steela?" he called.
The rebel sniper stepped forward.
"To your post," Ajax directed. He pointed to the path leading to the overlook.
Steela walked off in the indicated direction, taking her rifle off of her shoulder.
"Saw," Ajax said.
Saw looked over at the sergeant.
"Go over to the east side of the facility. We'll be on the west. I'll flash a light at you when I want you to attack. Got it?"
The self-appointed rebel leader simply nodded. He started leading his variegated troops, both men and women, off to the east.
Phi Squad was once again alone. They crept to the edge of the bushes, to look at their target.
The Separatist base looked quite different from the ground. It seemed taller somehow. The defenses looked more intimidating.
"Buck, set up that E-Web," commanded Ajax.
Buckler took the tripod and blaster cannon off his pack and detached the power generator from Tracker's. He then set the heavy blaster cannon up, facing the droids.
Ajax put his macrobinoculars against his faceplate, infrared mode on. He looked beyond the virus facility, into the bushes on the east side. He saw a great number of heat signatures, probably Saw and his men. The way they moved, a bit jittery, told Ajax they were anxious to get the signal.
Ajax turned to look for Steela's position. He saw only the end of her sniper rifle's barrel, and that only because he knew what to look for. The sniper was well-hidden.
"Blaster ready, boss," Buckler announced.
"Wait for my signal," Ajax intoned. He looked back towards Saw's position, and put his hand on the spot-lamp control on the side of the helmet. He made sure Saw was looking his direction. Saw was. Ajax flicked on the spot-lamp, then quickly flicked it off, then back on again.
"Now, Buck!" the sergeant yelled. He flicked off his light.
Buckler squeezed the trigger control on the E-Web and opened fire on the battle droids. He downed several with the heavy repeating blaster.
At the same time, Saw and the rebels charged the droids at the front of the facility. An alarm started blaring in the distance. All nearby units flocked to the entrance to repel the rebel attack. Something exploded.
From the battle cries and excessive amounts of blaster fire Ajax heard, the rebel fighters had no real form. There were no tactics, little knowledge of droid anatomy, and, worst of all, it seemed like many of them couldn't aim their blasters properly.
Buckler was still letting rip on the E-Web. So far, he'd downed the droid snipers, a bunch of B1s, and even a Super Battle Droid. Then he heard Ajax's next order.
"We're going in," the sergeant commanded. "Cover fire, get to safety real quick, you know the drill."
"Copy that." The affirmation came from at least two of the others.
Buckler, conceding that his precious E-Web would still be there when they got back, raised his blaster and charged with the others. The four had made it halfway to the wall when a salvo of blaster fire came their way. Ajax fired at the source of the blasts. So did Tracker. Together, they made quick work of the four droids who had noticed them.
The only other thing that interrupted the squad's sprint was the wall. The four lined up next to it, facing out. Ajax holstered his Deece and started fumbling for something in his belt. He pulled out his ascension cable and started looking for a good place to fire it at. He quickly found what he was looking for and fired the cable. He secured the free end of the cable in the winch on his belt. To anyone watching, it looked like the clone was walking up the wall.
The rest of the squad soon followed their leader's example, firing ascension cables and letting their belt winches take them up. Soon, the four were on the roof. It was already clear of droids.
Ka'rta waved in the direction he knew Steela was in. He didn't see her waving back.
Buckler walked up to the glass skylight and pulled out a plasma torch. He got to work cutting the window open.
Tracker surveyed the landscape surrounding them. It was relatively flat, with a few hills scattered across the vast plain. It was a very dense jungle that seemed to extend endlessly in all directions. The sniper's reverie was soon interrupted by Buckler's cry.
"Access gained," the slicer called.
"Good man," praised Ajax. "Let's see what's underneath us."
"Copy that," said Ka'rta as he dropped a cable into the room beneath the skylight. He tied one end to an antenna that was near the window, and grabbed hold of the rope to rappel into the abyss below.
"Turn on night vision. Looks like somebody decided to turn off the power in this section," the medic informed.
As Buckler proceeded down the rope behind Ka'rta, he blinked a couple times, once long, once short, to turn on his helmet's night vision filter. Revealed below was a bare room. The color Buckler was sure existed was obscured by the night vision filter.
Tracker slid down the rope after the slicer. They were soon joined by Ajax.
The sergeant pulled up a building plan on his HUD. "Looks like the virus storage chamber is this way." He indicated a door and walked up to it. "Let's go in… quietly."
"Right away, sir!" Buckler replied, walking over to the door control. He began pressing buttons, and in ten seconds, the console turned green. "Well, here goes." The slicer entered the next room. "Droids encountered!" he yelled.
Ajax made a "go" gesture by flicking his wrist toward the door. He walked through to find himself facing a room full of B1s and SBDs. He thought he also saw a couple of droidekas. "Fierfek," he swore, ducking out of the way of a missile launched by an SBD.
Buckler was right next to him, seated with his back propped against a sturdy-looking crate. He popped up to shoot at another of the droids. "You can switch off night vision," he informed. "Plenty bright in here,"
Ajax switched off his night vision mode. He stood up and fired at the most decrepit-looking SBD he could see, and downed it in two shots. He crouched back into cover.
The two were swiftly joined in their cover by Ka'rta and Tracker.
"What's our status, boss?" wondered the medic.
"Pinned down without support," Ajax answered. "What's it look like?"
Tracker sniggered. "Nothing new there. Want me to get their attention?"
"By all means," Ajax responded.
Tracker got up and fired a couple shots into the swarm of droids. It looked like the squad's efforts hadn't quite done anything. In fact, there were more droids now than there had been before. The crowd had also grown to include several BX-class commando droids. Tracker proceeded to run across to another nearby crate, firing into the mess of enemies as he went. His new cover position wasn't very secure, though. One of the droidekas had a direct line of fire to him. The sniper was quickly incapacitated. He screamed in pain as he fell.
"Keep it together!" Ajax insisted. "Cover fire!"
The sergeant rushed the nearest SBD and stabbed it several times with his vibroblade before the droid had a chance to react to the sudden development. It fell backward, letting out a mechanical cry of pain.
A commando droid jumped on Ajax as soon as the SBD had fallen. It was clutching a vibrosword. Ajax flipped over underneath it and stabbed its optical cluster with his knuckle plate blade. The droid pulled back slightly, its grip on Ajax's arms unrelenting. With one hand it raised its vibrosword and adjusted the blade so it was perpendicular to the clone's neck. Just as the sword came closer to beheading the sergeant, the droid's head was blown into dust and nothingness by a blaster shot. Its body fell, limp, on top of Ajax. He got up almost immediately, the droid corpse rolling off his chest. His Deece raised, he spun around and shot down several B1s. Behind him, Buckler was gripping a smoking sidearm, now aimed at Ajax's purple-striped helmet. He quickly reaimed the pistol and double-tapped, downing a Super Battle Droid. It fired several times into the ground as it fell.
Ka'rta was crouched, walking toward the downed Tracker. He lobbed a droid popper in the direction of the droideka that had hit Tracker. It paralyzed the droid, giving the medic enough time to pull out his field bacta and revive the incapacitated sniper. Tracker slowly rose to his feet, then quickly reloaded his blaster.
"Thanks for the assist, eighty," Tracker grinned.
"Not a problem, twenty-six," Ka'rta replied.
The two ducked behind a crate just in time. The droideka had recovered from its paralyzed state, and had gotten several shots off. One had hit Ka'rta.
"You okay?" Tracker asked the medic, looking at the squad biometric readings on his HUD. Ka'rta looked at critical health.
Ka'rta looked down at his biometrics. "Nothing a little bacta won't fix in a minute," he answered. "Hey! Get down!" An SBD missile flew over their heads.
Tracker brought out the anti-armor attachment and shot down the droid that had fired at them.
"Whoo!" Buckler yelled. "Nailed it!" He subsequently ducked out of the way of a missile aimed at him.
Ajax shot down that droid. "Keep moving! We have to destroy this facility and get the Kaminoan out."
"Ten-four, boss," Tracker replied.
The four fought their way to better cover. It was a square area, bounded by boxes, that they finally settled into.
"This is too much like a foxhole," Tracker said as he threw a thermal detonator into the crowd of droids. "Brings back bad memories of Geonosis."
Buckler had brought out his last-ditch attachment: the sniper rifle. He was shooting SBDs left and right. Then he noticed a familiar-looking label in his scope, right next to a droideka. He shot the container of fuel, which promptly exploded, taking out the destroyer droid's shield. A shot to the optical cluster, and it, too, went up in smoke. The slicer ducked back behind the crate he was using for cover and took a few seconds to catch his breath.
Ka'rta spoke up as he shot at something. "Fierfek. Commando droids. Bang out! Grenade!"
The four commandos jumped out of their "foxhole" right as a thermal detonator landed in the middle of it. Blaster fire, both blue and red, cut through the cloud of smoke. A commando droid tackled Buckler. He struggled to get out of its choke hold, to no avail. The grip of a machine was stronger than anything Kaminoan genetic engineering could produce. A yellow boot nearly stamped Buckler's face with the droid's.
"Thanks, eighty," Buckler said, picking up his dropped blaster and firing at the vague outline of a droid. The smoke hadn't entirely cleared. The silhouette dropped, and got back up. "That's a tough droid!" Buckler yelled.
"We've seen these before, Buck," Ajax pointed out. "That shouldn't be surprising by now!"
"Just hard to get used to 'em standing right back up after they drop."
"I hear you," called Tracker as he dived into a roll that brought him behind one of the droids. He took out his pistol and shot the back of its head. "Blasted that scrap pile." He shot the droid's limp body for good measure. One can never be too sure.
Blaster fire was still thick in the air. Bolts of charged energy were whizzing past the cover positions Phi Squad was standing behind.
"They're protecting the virus chamber," Ajax observed, a note of hopelessness audible in his voice.
"Rule sixty-three, boss," Tracker reminded. "No plan survives contact with the enemy."
"They were waiting for us," Buckler conjectured.
"Or they were just ready for someone to infiltrate the facility," Ka'rta pointed out. "Beefy security doesn't mean they knew about us." He leaned out from cover to take a shot and a blaster bolt whizzed by the side of his helmet, causing him to get back into his cover position. "Kraffing tinnies!" He leaned back out and shot a droid cleanly in the eye.
"Good shot!" cried Ajax, having seen the droid drop when Ka'rta shot it.
"Thanks, eight."
"Look," Buckler began, "we have to get to that room and plant a charge. It's our only chance of completing the mission."
"He's right," Tracker agreed. A blast skimmed right in front of him, almost hitting him in the chest. "It's the only way."
"I think I have a way around those droids, boss," Buckler stated. In his hand, it looked like he had a fully armed explosive charge.
"That looks like a way through them," commented Ka'rta.
Buckler didn't give any thought to the comment, throwing the armed explosive as hard as he could at the squad of commando droids guarding the door. A second later, he pressed the detonator, releasing an explosion that blew the six droids into dust. The door also was blown backwards by the shockwave. The way was now clear.
"Buck," Ajax praised, "I just don't know how you do it."
"A thermal det here, some explosives there…" the slicer replied smoothly. "It usually solves my problems." He kicked a charred commando droid with his foot. "I'm surprised you hadn't figured that out after thirteen years," he added, teasingly.
Ajax and the others looked through the blown-out door into a bright, clinically sterile room.
Buckler was, though not willingly, the one to enter first. He searched for tripwires, a force field, a laser tripwire, or really any kind of booby trap. This didn't seem like an ideal situation. Even for RCs.
Deeming the doorway safe, Buckler put one foot through, then the other. Nothing happened.
"All clear, boss."
Ajax flicked his wrist in a "proceed" gesture. "Hope we don't activate any hidden guards," he remarked.
Of course, there was always something. A Magnaguard's red eyes flickered into life in the corner of the room. Phi Squad was lucky it didn't have an electrostaff. It charged out into the center of the room, getting into a fierce grappling match with Ajax. The clone was trying to protect himself, in any way he could. The mechanical strength of the droid didn't help his self-preservation.
"A… little… help… would be… appreciated," the sergeant strained.
Buckler tried to get a clear shot with his anti-armor. "You'll have to get away from the droid, boss. Can't get a clean shot with you there."
"I don't care… if you have… to take… a plasma torch… to its neck."
Buckler accepted the idea and got his plasma torch back out. He walked over to the droid wrestling with his sergeant and lit up the torch. From the crown of the droid's head, the slicer drew a line straight down to the droid's pelvic joint. It's grip fell limp, and Ajax pushed the corpse off to the side.
"Let's plant a charge on the virus storage container and get out of here," the sergeant said. "I've about had it with these droids jumping me from every corner."
"We also need to destroy their main computer," Tracker pointed out. "I can create a system malfunction so that nobody can access the data."
"Get on it," ordered Ajax. "Buck?"
"Show me where to plant the charge."
Ajax looked around the room. After a second, he spotted what he was looking for: a durasteel box, about a quarter of a meter square, ten centimeters in height. It was marked with a yellow and black label.
"Incinerate that box," Ajax directed.
Buckler walked over to the virus container and lifted it up. "You sure the virus is in here? Feels like an empty durasteel box to me." He proceeded to open the clasp.
"Wait," Ka'rta ordered. "Don't open it yet. We need to take more caution. There might be a deadly nanovirus in there." The medic walked over, grabbing a fifty-centimeter long rod from the workbench next to the box. "Stand back."
Ka'rta placed the flat end of the tool he was holding in the crack between the top and bottom of the box. He pried it open, and saw foam padding with a cutout in the middle, big enough for a cylindrical container of a ten-centimeter radius and the same height.
"Box is empty," Ka'rta reported. "What do we do now?"
"Run like hell," Tracker said. "There's a bomb in the box!"
1330 Hours, Virus Facility, OnderonThe flashing red light Tracker had seen on the side of the now-open virus box was flashing faster and faster with each passing second.
"Bang out!" Ajax yelled. "That bomb will go off any minute!"
"You don't have to tell me twice," Buckler said, sprinting, like the rest of them, for the permanently opened door.
Just as Ka'rta, still the farthest from the door, made it to the threshold, a blinding white flash became visible. Ajax was certainly glad their buckets were soundproofed. That looked like a loud one.
Buckler laughed. "That looked like a fun one… well, it would have been if I'd set it."
"Was this a setup?" interrupted Tracker. "Did they feed us false plans and objectives?"
"Maybe not," answered Ajax. "I remember seeing a basement on the plans. Apparently, that's where they're keeping Hali Ke."
"Let's head there, then," agreed Ka'rta. "Assuming the droids don't know we're still here."
"They probably think we went up with that 'bang,'" commented Buckler.
"Where's the turbolift?" wondered Tracker.
"I think I saw it in the dark room," remembered Ka'rta. "The one we roped into."
Ajax walked toward the door they had come in through, that led to the darkened room where they had entered the building. "Let's find out if the virus really exists." He motioned for Buck to come to his right, the other side of the door. Then, he waved Ka'rta and Tracker through.
The three did as they were ordered, turning on their night vision filters as well.
"All clear," said the disembodied voice of Ka'rta, his form obscured by the darkness. "Come on in."
Ajax nodded to Buckler and followed the other through the open door. The room was as open and unfurnished as before. A door, which looked to be one to a cylindrical turbolift, sat waiting on the other side. The four commandos entered it.
"I hate turbolifts," announced Buckler.
"You've mentioned it," said Ka'rta.
"It's the feeling of helplessness, of having to trust nothing's going to happen," the slicer continued.
"You're ranting again, Buck," reminded Ka'rta. "Use your fear, don't let it use you."
"I didn't say I was afraid-" Buckler was interrupted by the sound of the turbolift touching down. The door in front of the four slid away, to the right.
"Shift it," Ajax growled. His squad obeyed quickly, moving as one into the next room.
"It's too quiet," observed Tracker. "I think they know we're here."
Indeed, seven pairs of white optical sensors lit up to gaze upon the four unfortunate clones. Commando droids.
Somebody whispered "fierfek." Or they all, in the same breath, whispered the curse. In any case, four DC-17m rifles were raised in one swift motion, by four men acting as one.
Ajax made some rapid hand gestures. The gist was "I want two of you on the left flank and the other to come with me on the right."
The others nodded in agreement, moving to the indicated positions. Tracker and Ka'rta took the left, while Buckler started following Ajax.
The droids fired the first shots, at the now-closing turbolift door.
Buckler laughed. "Missed me," he called.
Ajax glared, taking a shot at the droid nearest him. It hit the droid in the head, making it face the sergeant. Ajax stood deathly still, waiting for the droid to take a shot. It didn't take that shot. Instead, Buckler delivered the final blow to the droid, in the form of a vibroblade to the neck, severing multiple now-exposed wires.
"That was easy," Buckler proclaimed. He was subsequently shot at by another one of the droids. The blast was diffused by his shields, his HUD giving him a location to shoot at when he turned around.
"Eighty, I need you and Tracker to take those droids down," ordered Ajax as he dodged a blast. "Suggest vibroblades." He proceeded to return fire, emptying half his clip to down just one of the armored commando droids.
"On it, boss," the medic responded.
Right after this, Ajax heard a gauntlet vibroblade eject and a droid cry in mechanized pain. He heard the sounds again, slightly closer to him.
"That's my squad," Ajax breathed. He didn't care that his every swallow or tooth click could be heard by everyone else over the helmet comm. He was proud of them.
"Thanks, boss," said Buckler, ripping a droid's head off from behind. "Means a lot to us."
"Try not to read too far into it," Ajax joked as he kicked the final standing droid and shot it in the head. "Time to move on."
"Copy that, boss," laughed Ka'rta. "Setting breach charge."
"Don't!" Ajax yelled. "Slice that door control. Hali Ke is probably on the other side." He processed what he had just said a moment. "Don't get me wrong, I'd like to kill that gihaal, that cold-blooded fish-meal, but HQ wants her. Alive."
By the time Ajax's monologue had finished, the door control was already flashing green.
"Whenever you're ready, boss," commented Ka'rta, stifling a laugh. "Door's open."
Ajax had his playful death glare working in full effect. "Then let's go in." He flicked his wrist forward in the universal "go" gesture.
The four proceeded through the unlocked door, Deeces trained on all angles.
"Clear," announced Tracker. "Nothing."
Very soon, a slender, snake-like head on a matching neck rose on the other side of the room. The figure's hands were raised in surrender It was the Kaminoan, Hali Ke.
"Stand down," Ajax ordered. He and the others dropped their blasters into a nonlethal position. They could drop their guard for now.
"Nice to see our products have delivered."
Ajax almost raised his rifle and shot the geneticist right there and then for emphasizing that particular keyword. He resisted the urge. It's not your place to decide what parts of our orders to follow or not. Keep the aiwha-bait alive.
"We do what we're ordered," were the carefully measured words finally uttered by the sergeant.
"Just as I engineered you to."
Ajax stared into those cold, grey eyes, grateful for the helmet obscuring his gaze. "We should get out of this installation as soon as possible." He cast his gaze about the room, looking for their other objective. "Where's the nanovirus?"
"Nanovirus?" wondered the Kaminoan, shocked at the term. "They've told me nothing of a nanovirus."
"Must be a trap," mused Tracker. "A ruse designed to lure us here."
"Either that, or HQ gave us bogus orders," replied Buckler. "We should get out and call for an evac ASAP."
"Why would HQ send us on a wild nerf chase?" wondered Ka'rta.
"No, it's almost definitely a trap. Shift it!" yelled Ajax, his tone nervous yet cool.
The four clones plus the Kaminoan left the room only to find the trap had been sprung. They faced an advanced dwarf spider droid, flanked by two droidekas and more SBDs than any of them cared to count.
"Cover!" Ajax's command demonstrated their top priority in this situation. Or any such trap. You had to get to cover first, if you wanted to live for any amount of time. A trap was the single most lethal tactical maneuver you could set up… or walk into. Ajax shook the lectures back into the subconscious part of his mind. "Buckler, I could use a brilliant tactic right about now…"
"How about a big explosion?"
"Can you set it up so we aren't taken with the blast?"
"I'll do my best."
"Not good enough." Ajax looked around his cover and saw a volley of more blaster rounds than he cared to admit. Plus a couple of missiles. That made him shrink back into cover. "What do they stand to gain by capturing or killing us?"
"We have intel on Coruscant installations," answered Ka'rta. "We know the layout of Arca Barracks, plus where the Jedi Temple and Senate building are, but nothing really useful."
"We know tactics, maneuvers, and protocols," listed Tracker. "Republic military procedures. They might be installing an infiltration program in some of their units."
"That seems like the most likely explanation for the trap," Ajax mused, again attempting to look out, again finding himself pinned under cover. "Any solutions yet?"
"I could get under that spider droid and plant a demo charge with appropriate cover fire," Buckler announced. "With just enough yield to knock out the droid. The shrapnel ought to take care of the rest."
"I like your thinking," Ajax replied. "But they've got us pinned down pretty well. I'm not convinced that we could give you suitable cover fire."
"I'm at full integrity and shields," Buckler reported. "We can pull this off if no one throws a grenade at me."
"I don't know about this, Buck. Too risky."
"We could call in another favor from our rebel friends," Tracker suggested.
"Not such a bad idea. But they might lose some people," warned Ajax. "We should tell them to be careful."
"Got their comlink frequency right here, boss," said Buckler, staring at his left gauntlet.
"Do it. Call them. I'm about out of ideas and patience."
"On it, boss." Buckler paused to press several buttons. Then a crackling sound signaled the addition of new voices to the comm channel. "This is Buckler calling from Phi Squad. We are pinned down at the Separatist facility and require assistance. Repeat, pinned down and require assistance."
Steela's voice came through. "What do you need from us?" she wondered. "Are we supposed to retransmit your message?"
"No," responded Ajax. "We are requesting your immediate assistance at the installation here. Our situation is pretty grim."
"We're on our way to assist."
Another crackle. "Well, I guess we're getting out of this mess," Ka'rta theorized. "That, or we all get killed."
"I like option one better," mumbled Tracker.
"So do I," concurred Buckler.
The squad's idle conversation was brusquely interrupted. The droids had become aware of their cover positions, and were ready to spring on the four. The assault began with four slow-moving SBDs walking into blaster range and opening fire on each commando. The sounds of vibroblades permeated the air, coupled with mechanized screams and tearing metal. The first wave was quickly dispatched. The next… not so much. Four commando droids jumped out to replace the B2s. These were equipped for close quarters, vibroswords raised. All four were worried about the few vulnerable points in their armor.
"This situation's no good," reported Buckler. He was using his Deece to lock the commando droid's blade and keep it from slashing his neck.
Ajax was dodging his own problem, eventually getting his left gauntlet under the blade and up under the droid's chin. He ejected the vibroblade. The droid fell. "Need a hand?" he asked, taking aim at the droid pinning Buckler with his sniper attachment. He took the shot, only to find his scope obscured by another droid. Before his next shot was charged, Ajax found himself lying on the floor, pinned with a blaster to his chest. He surrendered. "I don't see that we can fight our way out of this," he advised.
As Ajax lowered his weapon, the rest of the squad followed in his example.
A moment later, the squad's surrender was interrupted by a klaxon blaring in the distance. "Situation at the front gate," a mechanized B1's voice reported. "All hands to the front gate. Repeat, all droids report to the front gate."
The rather deeper voice of the commando droids replied to the announcement. "Roger, roger."
"Looks like our friends came through," Ka'rta said as he brushed some dust off of his blaster before picking it up off the floor. "Let's get out of here."
"Couldn't agree more," concurred Ajax, proceeding to brush off his arms and to pick up his own blaster.
Buckler, who was watching the droids go up the turbolift through his open iron sights, chuckled and said, "Boss, you never stop surprising me. Shall we pursue those droids?"
"Yes. We need to help those rebels in every way we can. They've done enough favors for us."
"The least we can do is get those droids off their back," continued Tracker. "Brilliant idea, boss."
"Get on that turbolift," Ajax mock-snapped. "Now!" He gestured for the Kaminoan geneticist to follow. She responded immediately.
Muted laughter filled the comlink from all four clones as they boarded the turbolift which would take them into a new kind of hell. Hali Ke felt no better about it.
1350 Hours, Onderon Installation, Ground LevelSaw and Steela were trapped on opposing sides of the main door to the installation. Their troops were laying down cover fire as best they could.
"Are we supposed to get in there and drag them out or what?" yelled Saw, throwing a grenade into the mess of droids. A muted explosion followed.
"I don't think so," Steela yelled back. "Our job was just to get the droids away from them."
"Seems like we've done a pretty good job of that."
The advancing droids suddenly stopped and appeared to turn around and shoot at something else.
"Looks like the droids have noticed someone else for a change," observed Steela. "Might be the clones." She gestured to her troops to move in. The rebels renewed their assault.
"Nice of you all to drop by," came a remark from Ka'rta, over his helmet's sound projection systems.
"You called," Steela yelled back, a bit singsongily. "We came to the rescue."
"I wouldn't put it that way," Ka'rta yelled back, dodging a blast.
The droids attempted to divide their collective attention between the clones and freed Kaminoan and the rebel forces on the other side. It only served to expedite their demise, half the forces exposing their backs to their attackers, the other half with their backs still to the rebels. Within a minute, the automaton defenders were reduced to scrap.
"Thanks for the assistance, Steela," Ajax said, grateful. "That's two we owe you."
"Anytime," the rebel replied.
"There has to be something we can do for you," the sergeant insisted.
"Well," Steela began, thinking hard, "you could tell the Jedi Council about our efforts to liberate our homeworld."
"I'll see to it personally." Ajax walked over and gave Steela a firm pat on the shoulder. "You'll do fine. And even better with a little training." He turned around to face his squad and their liberated prisoner. "Buck, tell HQ we're all done here. And that we got the kaminii."
"You got it, boss."
With that word of confirmation, Buckler transmitted the signal to Coruscant, with relief. They had finally gotten through hell and were headed back home.