["Next target, armor, traverse left."] The mass driver cannon swung left until the tank commander said ["On."]
The gunner stopped turning the turret, ["Firing!"] *BZZZOOOM*
The recoil from the shot shifted the AT-TE back, its legs straining under the force. Keltor watched as the shot arched over the advancing droids and hit an AAT in the rounded flat section. A secondary explosion from the missile magazine tore the AAT in half, its turret flying high into the late afternoon sky.
["Next target, armor, traverse right!"] The gunner, using to control handles, swung the turret over to the new target, ["On."]
["Firing!"] *BZZZOOOM*
Again, Keltor watched the shot hit an AAT, but this time it dropped to the ground, slid to a stop, and toppled backward till it rested on its rear.
["Next target, Hailfire, traverse left."] The cannon moved left, ["Steady, on."]
["Firing!"] *BZZZOOOM*
The round arced through the air and landed close to the Hailfire droid. ["Doubtful, hit it again."]
["Firing!"] *BZZZOOOM*
Another round hit where the Hailfire droid was, and as the smoke cleared, he saw the gunner had managed to hit it. He'd hit it dead center, leaving the two giant wheels mostly intact. They rolled forward a few meters before toppling over.
The four anti-personal guns mounted on the tank's bow began firing on the horde of approaching battle droids. The parade formation the droids were marching in made them easy targets for the clones. Soon there was a small mound of destroyed or disabled droids.
After half of the droids had fallen, the rest abruptly turned and retreated back into the forest.
["Cease fire, cease fire,"] called the tank commander. The gunner visibly relaxed; he took his hands off the controls for a moment to stretch his arms. Keltor hopped down from his perch on the tank and called out for the group's commanding officer.
"Over here, sir!" a Clone from a nearby foxhole raised his hand and waved. "Sergeant Demo reporting, sir!" The Sergeant saluted.
Keltor saluted back, "At ease; any casualties?"
Sergeant Demo shook his head, "None yet, sir; mostly just been small groups hitting us here."
It's been like that all across their front line. In small-scale probing attacks, the tactical droid must be looking for any weak points they could force through. "Good, stay vigilant, Sergeant; I expect a larger attack will come soon."
"Yes sir!" said Sargent Demo, giving another salute before returning to his foxhole. The other clones kept their blasters trained on the tree line. There was a whistling noise as red flashes soared far overhead, landing behind them in the city.
Fortunately, the long-range artillery landed among the houses and other buildings in the city. They'd kept the civilians in the spire under the assumption that the separatists would rather capture than destroy it. It seems they were right. So while the tactical droid must have thought they were chipping away at their morale, they were just demolishing empty buildings instead.
Despite the harmless result of the artillery barrage, the years of training the troopers had driven them to huddle deep within their foxholes while the crews in the two AT-TEs prepared to fire. The rear legs lowered while the front legs raised the tank as high as possible, giving the mass driver as much elevation as possible.
The gunners were given coordinates, and each tank quickly fired three rounds. The blue rounds arched high in the sky and disappeared beyond the horizon. Moments later, the Separatist's artillery fell silent, either from moving to a different position or hopefully from being destroyed by counter-battery fire.
"Movement along the treelines!" shouted a trooper pointing to the forest. Keltor followed the trooper's arm and saw another block of droids advancing out of the forest. The AT-TEs settled back down to their original positions before opening fire again on the approaching droids. A few tanks poked out of the tree line, taking potshots at the AT-TEs. But at this range, the round wasn't able to penetrate the thick hull armor of the walkers, but the mass driver cannon was more than close enough to punch large holes through the AATs.
Again the droids withdrew from the withering fire the clones laid down. If they kept up this pace, they were bound to run out of droids, right? Surely they were low on troops by now.
Keltor dug into the ration pack with gusto; he'd spent all day moving up and down the line, reinforcing where needed. Mostly he just spent time standing around observing the Separatist's movements. All the attacks that day had been small-scale, most likely probing attacks trying to determine any weak points in their defensive lines.
They tried to rotate troops where possible to keep the men as rested as possible. However, defending a city with just a Battalion, even though theirs was an overstrength augmented Battalion, wasn't easy. They were stretched thin and had too few defenders in too many spots. What's more, they were cut off from being resupplied.
He knew they only had, at most, a week's worth of rations for their men, but since they were sharing with the Twilek citizens, it cut them down to at most three days. And this battle was shaping up to become a siege. If they wanted to, the separatists could just sit back and wait them out.
"You seem troubled, Kel," he looked up from his meal, and Master Rhan sat across from him.
"Oh, I was just thinking," said Keltor.
Master Rhan didn't pry any further, she probably knew what he was thinking about, and he could tell that she felt the same. He heard distant booms as the artillery barrage resumed; the part of the city that was hit burned a bright crimson. Burning down houses, shops, the fire consumed everything it came in contact with. But, the Twi-leks had, quite ingeniously, designed the city to be, for the most part, immune to spreading fire. Coupled with the stone used to build the city, it was naturally invulnerable to the wildfires that occasionally swept across the planet.
Keltor sat in silence, transfixed on the sight. Only the bright blue bolts fired from AT-TE mass driver cannons tore his attention away from the fire. The scene was surreal, flashes of red mixed with blue across the night sky; it was as if the universe itself was trying to tear itself apart.
Although, he supposed it was. This war would either be won by one side or lost by both; he couldn't see how this war would end in a joyful victory. The Clones were magnificent soldiers, and he couldn't help but wonder what fate would befall them once this war was over. What would these men do? Would they continue to serve in the Armed forces? If then, who would they fight? An army's purpose was to fight, after all. But what if they decided to become civilians after? Would the Senate even allow them to try?
What would happen to him? What would he do after all of this? What about the Jedi? Would they peacefully surrender their newfound power as leaders of a vast and powerful military? Or would they jealousy hold onto it, refusing to step down under the guise of keeping the peace?
"You let your thoughts wander, Padawan," said Master Rhan.
Keltor, shaken from his thoughts, resumed eating, "apologies Master."
"There is nothing to apologize for; I've thought the same every now and again. I guess it's something we all wonder, even if we don't talk about it." She nibbled on the corner of something that resembled chalk. "But we shouldn't ponder on the what if's right now; we'll have plenty of time for that later. Instead, we need to focus on the present."
"Right. Understood, Master," spoke Keltor. He ate a large chunk of flavorless mush; the slop clung to the roof of his mouth. He made a mental note to put in his reports, 'Please, for the love of the Force, give us better food.'
They sat in silence for a time, briefly punctuated by the distant booms of artillery fire and counter-artillery fire; Master Rhan spoke after a while, "You seem tired, Kel; you should get some rest."
"I'll be okay for a few more hours, Master." Truthfully he was exhausted, but he had to stay up to finish his duty. They'd taken it upon themselves to take shifts commanding the men.
"That wasn't a suggestion, Kel; get some rest; I can take my shift early." Master Rhan gave him a stern look. She wasn't going to back down about this, and if he pushed her, he would only regret it later.
Keltor nodded, shoveling the tasteless slop into his mouth, he may have hated it, but it was the only thing they had. "Alright, Master, you win. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Kel," replied Master Rhan, a faint smile appearing.
Keltor crumpled the bag his meal came in and threw it into a trash bin as he left for his tent. As soon as he fell onto the cot, he drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep.
He woke slowly, the distant rumbles coaxed him from his sleep, but even awake, Keltor didn't get up from the cot. Either because of how much he ran around yesterday or because he wasn't looking forward to doing the same thing today. He heard people walking all around his tent. One man yelled at another for finding a speck of rust on their rifle. Another was complaining about the food. A third was coercing another into making a foolish bet.
After a few moments, he opened his eyes, sat up, and after stretching, attached his lightsaber to his belt and pushed open the tent flap. He had to blink a few times from the sudden sunlight.
"Good morning Commander," said a passing Trooper; the man didn't salute; he was hauling a large crate. From the looks, they were heading toward the mess tent.
Keltor yawned as he entered the command tent. Captain Fisk sat at Master Rhan's desk reviewing a data pad. Master Rhan was behind him, softly snoring on a cot.
"Good morning Captain," said Keltor.
Fisk hastily put the tablet down, stood up, and saluted, "Good morning Commander."
"At ease," Keltor grabbed a cup and filled it with caf; after taking an appreciative sip, he asked, "How was the night?"
"Quiet, all things considered. The sepies kept up their bombardment and probed four more positions." Fisk relaxed as he spoke and handed Keltor a tablet with the reports from last night.
Keltor took it and quickly skimmed over the reports, the residential district was now almost nothing but rubble, but the droids kept shooting it with artillery; surely by now, they'd have realized they were bombarding an empty district, but Keltor wasn't about to complain.
The probing attacks were, for the most part, ineffective. There were a couple of injuries, and the troops in the front were tired, but the line held without any problem. He had a gut feeling that today would be the big push. "Any signs of the droids grouping for an attack?"
"Not yet, although it's difficult to see them in the forest. Scouts say the droids are evenly spread across the front. We estimate that each position is up against approximately a company." Keltor nodded; not terrible odds. If an attack comes, they should be able to repel it without much issue.
"Any news from the outside?" asked Keltor.
"Yes, sir, the 212th managed to liberate several villages and capture a key forward operating base. The 187th encountered heavy resistance but have reportedly linked up with a resistance cell." As Fisk spoke, Master Rhan stirred; she rubbed her eye as she sat up.
"What time is it?" asked Master Rhan.
Fisk turned and saluted, "Apologies for waking you, General; I was just informing Commander Keltor of the current situation. Currently, it's zero six hundred."
"What? Why didn't you wake me?" demanded Master Rhan.
"All do respect, General; you seemed like you needed the sleep. Plus, you and Commander Keltor are arguably more effective in battle than us Clones are. So if there's a major push, you being well rested may win us the day." Fisk said this all as if it were common knowledge. This made him somewhat proud of himself but also slightly concerned that Fisk thought they were worth more than he and his men.
Keltor put his cup of caf down, "Captain, you and your men are as valuable as any Jedi. You're living beings, after all."
Fisk seemed momentarily stunned at the statement, then said, "Thank you, sir, but it's our duty to fight and, if necessary, die for the republic. We're, by necessity, expendable."
As soon as Fisk said that, Keltor felt a bubbling fury deep within him; no being was more valuable than another; it was deeply ingrained within Jedi teachings. "Captain, don't ever let me hear you say that about you or your men again," there was a sharpness to Master Rhan's tone.
Fisk seemed slightly taken aback by what she said. "Apologies, I meant no disrespect, sir." Master Rhan rubbed her eyes; whether from frustration or exhaustion, he couldn't tell.
Master Rhan sighed, "It's fine; just try to think of yourself as a person as much as you think of yourself as a soldier."
"Yes, sir," Fisk nodded.
"Now, back to the matter at hand, any idea wh-" Master Rhan's question was cut off as a deafening roar of cannons boomed across the front line. A slight chill crawled down his spine as a ripple of panic, fear, and excitement ran rampant through the camp and troops on the front line.
"Deploy the reserves; we're in for a long day," ordered Master Rhan.
"Sir, yes, sir!" Fisk saluted and ran out of the command tent.
The droids had broken their front line in three points and had broken through their secondary line at a single point. It was a ruthless assault, yet their third line was holding strong. Parts of the first line were trapped but were still holding out. Fortunately, the second line was able to make an orderly retreat back to the third.
Keltor stood in a trench next to clones spraying down a thick layer of blaster fire on advancing columns of droids; artillery fire rained down around them, throwing dirt high into the sky and sending large clods into the trench itself.
"They're gonna bury us with that party before they kill us!" joked a trooper as he wiped dirt off his visor.
As the trooper spoke, Keltor watched a red bolt dive down into a section of trench to his right. He could only describe what happened next as if some ancient, terrible deity had reached down and thrown the men into the trench across the battlefield.
But the troopers surrounding him ignored the grizzly scene. Instead, they devoted themselves to their task of shooting anything that moved.
The AT-TEs were making quick work of any droids or AATs that stepped foot from the tree line. The intensity and rapidness of the gunners had turned the field ahead of them into nothing more than burning mulched earth.
And while the clones had decimated several companies worth of battle dorids, they kept advancing. It was a relentless march of death and destruction. Near where he was, a trooper ducked into the trench; his rifle had overheated. Keltor realized they couldn't hold back this parade of droids for much longer.
A group of five AATs emerged from the treeline just behind a wave of droids; the two AT-TEs turned their mass drivers and knocked out two before the AATs got within range. Keltor watched as three shots slammed into an AT-TE.
The walker managed to shrug off two of the rounds, but the third punched through its port side armor and knocked the forward port side leg clean off. The round must have also penetrated the forward cabin because a second later, there was earth-shaking *BOOOOM* as the ammunition inside the walker detonated. The mass driver cannon was blown off and hurled high into the sky.
"Kriffing hell!" exclaimed one trooper.
The surviving AT-TE knocked out two more AATs before having the forward starboard leg blown off. Fortunately, that was all the damage the walker sustained, and the gunner was able to destroy the last AAT before it could fire again.
Keltor rushed over to the damaged walker, dodging blaster bolts as he ran; the gunner unbuckled his harness and shouted, "I'm going down to check on the others."
Using the force to aid him, he jumped onto the top of the damaged walker and clambered down after the gunner.
Inside was a horrific scene. The AAT's round had managed to penetrate the cabin's armor, but the tank was saved from the same fate as the other due to one very unfortunate clone being between the explosive round and the ammunition. The remainder of the crew wasn't in any better state; most were dead, and the pilot had a large piece of shrapnel protruding from his back.
The only survivors were the Commander and gunner. But the Commander didn't escape unscathed. A piece of shrapnel had gone through the back of his chair and into the man's right shoulder, pinning him in place.
A trooper from outside reported more tanks approaching, and the gunner looked to Keltor, asking, "Orders, sir?"
"Is the gun still operational?" asked the tank commander; each word must have caused the man immense pain.
"Yes, sir, but without anyone to load the gun, it's useless," replied the gunner.
The Commander tried to shift in his seat and grimaced in pain, "Blast! Okay, Commander, do you know how to operate the gun?"
Keltor shook his head. "No."
"One, walk him through it, and you load the gun. I'll call out targets," said the Commander.
"Yes, sir," the gunner turned and grabbed the ladder.
Keltor thought this plan was crazy, "But, shouldn't One be the gunner? He's a better shot."
The Commander turned his head, his eyes fluttering as he fought to stay conscious, "The guns are easy to use; loading the gun is harder. One's been trained how so you man the gun."
Keltor nodded; he understood. Then he climbed up after One up to the gun. "Okay, sir, the left stick is traversed, the right stick is elevation; press this button to fire. The screen here shows the charge of the cannon and a basic reticule."
As he explained, Keltor had taken the gunner's seat and strapped himself in. "You'll also need this." One held out a headset to him. And as the trooper climbed back down into the walker, he put the head seat on and gripped the controls.
["First target, armor, traverse left elevate up."] Keltor followed the tank commander's orders, smoothly guiding the cannon onto the target. ["Steady. On."]
The viewscreen showed the AAT's turret turning in their direction. He pressed the fire button. The AT-TE rocked back from the recoil, and Keltor saw the round slam into the AAT. He must have hit something vital because the separatist tank stopped dead in its tracks and dropped to the ground. Fire and smoke billowed out of the hole the Blast made.
["Next- next target, traverse left."]
Keltor lined up the reticule onto the AAT; this one already had its barrel pointing at them. ["Steady, on."]
The AAT fired before he could, its round barreled towards him, and he could feel its heat as it barely missed them. He pressed the fire button. The round struck the AAT but was deflected. The round continued flying for several meters before impacting the ground and destroying several dozen battle droids.
["Again"] Keltor pressed the trigger; this time, the round hit dead center. The AAT shuttered and fell to the ground, the top hatch opening, and a droid with yellow and green markings climbing out.
["Next tar-"] *FFAWOOOM* Keltor flinched as a round impacted the ground next to them. ["-erse left"]
He paused momentarily, then realized the tank commander told him to traverse left. Once he lined the gun onto the target, the force told him to duck. And just in time, a single blaster round hit the gun mount in front of him.
When he sat back up, he saw that the round had damaged the gun's console. The image flickered once, then died. "A sniper just took out the gun's console!"
["Blast, can the gun fire?"]
Keltor pressed the fire button and was pleasantly surprised when the gun fired. They were fortunate that the gun was already lined up onto the target, and the AAT he was aiming at was hit in the lower section.
["I'll take that as a yes."] said the Commander. ["Next target traverse right."]
He felt the force guide him as he turned the gun; he elevated the gun just a hair and stopped before the top Commander said. Then he waited a moment before firing.
Somehow the force had anticipated that the AAT would move to its left to try and avoid their shot, only to be nailed in the turret ring. ["Excellent shot, sir. That all the tanks. Now start targeting the ground troops."]
Keltor aimed the gun down and fired round after round into the advancing droids, each shot decimating scores of droids. The troopers on the ground were also poring as much fire as possible into the droids, cutting down row after row. Column after column.
Half an hour later, reinforcements had arrived, some getting into the trenches while others used the damaged and destroyed walkers as cover. Surely there can't be many more droids? They must have destroyed a large majority of the droid forces by now?
"All troops, pull back to the city, all troops pull back to the city." Keltor saw the troopers climb out of the trenches and run toward the city as quickly as they could. The hatch of the AT-TE opened, and the gunner climbed out, carbine in hand.
Keltor unstrapped himself and waited for a moment, expecting the tank commander to follow One. But One just shook his head, "He didn't make it."
He cursed, jumped down from the tank, and followed his men from the trenches.
The morning sun rose over the remainder of the 202nd as they hunkered behind sandbags and makeshift defenses surrounding the city. The droids had, for some reason, halted their ruthless advance; Fisk theorized that they'd lost too many droids to continue the assault and were content to wait for them to run out of supplies.
But the droids had made one fatal calculation. The republic had complete air supremacy and sent gunships loaded with troops and supplies to the maximum weight capacity. So not only would they be resupplied, but provided they could hold out for a couple more hours, they'd be able to mount a counter-assault.
Another hour after the sun had risen, the droids had finally come. But it wasn't just them this time; there was a human man leading them. The man was older and carried himself with regal bearing. But what most shocked him and Master Rhan was that the man wore the traditional robes of the Jedi order.
"Is that-" Keltor couldn't finish the question.
"Master Ten S'Hol" spat Master Rhan. She ignited her lightsaber and held it at the ready, "Stop there, betrayer!" Keltor quickly followed her example and ignited his own lightsaber.
Master S'Hol stopped the droids behind him, stopping as well. "Ah, hello, Knight Rhan! Lovely day isn't it?"
"To burn in hell? Every day is a good day for that," replied Master Rhan.
Master S'Hol brought a hand to his chest in feigning hurt, "How could you say such things to me, dear Bola? I thought you, of all people, wouldn't approve of anyone saying that."
"Times change," said Master Rhan.
Ten S'Hol nodded and sighed, "That they do. But, regardless of how much time has changed, we can be civil, can we not?"
Master Rhan sneered, "You joined the Dooku; you've lost your right to civil treatment."
Ten S'Hol shrugged, "I did join with Dooku, but he makes an excellent point, one I hope you or your padawan will see."
"If you touch my padawan, you will die." Keltor didn't need the force to know how serious that threat was.
"Bola, Blola, Bola, and here I was hoping we could just talk." Ten S'Hol flicked his hand, and Master Rhan was picked up and sent hurtling off to the side. "For your sake, padawan, I hope we can come to an understanding." He pulled out his lightsaber and switched it on. The green blade hummed as Ten S'Hol held it loosely by his side.
"OPEN FIRE!" yelled Fisk, and the clones let loose a torrent of blaster fire at the former Jedi. Ten S'Hol laughed as he weaved through the blaster fire and straight towards Keltor.
He brought his blade up and blocked the green blade before it could strike him. The clones stopped firing, obviously worried they might hit Keltor. Instead, they focused on the droid army that began their attack.
Which left Keltor and Ten S'Hol alone.
"Come padawan, let's see what you've learned!" Ten S'Hol struck again and again with his blade, Keltor just barely managing to fend him off. But when Keltor thought he would be overwhelmed by the former Jedi master, Ten S'Hol took a step back. "Very good. Your defense is admirable. How is your offense, I wonder?"
Keltor raised his blade in front of him, and the two circled. Likewise, Ten S'Hol held his sword in front of him. He knew that while this man was much older than Keltor, he didn't stand a chance in a contest of arms.
But he had to do something.
He lowered his lightsaber and held it to his side, the blade pointing behind him; then, using the force, he lept forward and slashed upwards, hoping to catch Ten S'Hol off guard by how quick he was moving.
But Ten S'Hol sidestepped his attack and brought his blade down, aiming for his arm. Keltor twisted his body, avoiding the attack and trying again to strike the older man. But each time, Ten S'Hol would either sidestep his strike or block it.
"Very good! You have a talent, young one." Keltor felt something powerful grab his entire body, sending him flying into a wall. "But you still have much to learn."
Ten S'Hol had his hand outstretched, using the force to pin Keltor to the wall, his lightsaber just out of his reach. Keltor strained against the force, trying to push himself off the wall. "Before you hear my proposition, you deserve to know why I abandoned the Jedi order and joined Count Dooku."
Keltor couldn't care less about the why. But since Ten S'Hol was giving him time, he would gladly use it to find a way to free himself.
"You see, when the war started, I was, what you could call, a radical. I believe the Jedi order failed to uphold its mission to safeguard the Galaxy. Mostly through it's own hubris." Ten S'Hol walked closer as he spoke.
"I participated in the battle of Genesis and witnessed for myself what the downfall of the Jedi will be. It's not the separatists; it's not even the Sith. It's the clones that will destroy us all." Keltor couldn't believe what this man was saying. How could he think that the clones were going to destroy the Jedi? What utter nonsense!
"Think about it, Padawan; the Republic fractures from internal conflict, and when it needed it most, the Jedi come swooping in to rescue it with a surprise army they themselves didn't know even existed. Is that not worrisome in the slightest?" Keltor paused for a moment but then chose to ignore Ten S'Hol's deranged rambling.
Ten S'Hol was within an arm's length of him; "If you believe as I do that the Jedi are meant to be peacekeepers and not generals. Join me, and together we can discover who's truly behind this war."
"I'd…rather…die," said Keltor. He would never join forces with Dooku, he was a Jedi, and he had a duty to protect the republic from the Sith.
Ten S'Hol seemed disappointed by his answer. Then he raised his blade and held it to Keltors throat. "So be it. You showed so much promise, Padawan. It truly is a shame y-" he was cut off by the sudden appearance of Master Rhan.
She batted Ten S'Hol's lightsaber away from Keltor's neck, then used the wall the kick-off and slammed her knee into Ten S'Hol's chest with such force he was pushed back several meters.
Master Rhan dashed forward, her blade hissing as it drug along the ground before being pulled up in a slice that would have cleaved any non-force user in two. The only thing that saved Ten S'Hol was his Jedi reflexes and speed.
Keltor dropped to the ground and reached for his lightsaber; he had to help her. But it suddenly flew forwards and was caught by Master Rhan. Ten S'Hol seemed to regain his footing and brought his blade down. Master Run spun on her heel, igniting Keltors lightsaber, and thrust it towards Ten S'Hol's neck.
Again Ten S'Hol only survived because of his force abilities, and he managed to bat away Master Rhans strike, then had to dodge her second strike with her blade.
"ENOUGH!" Ten S'Hol used the force to push Master Rhan back. She hunched forward to keep her balance and kept her gaze firmly locked on Ten S'Hol as she slid backward. She managed to keep her balance and stop her slide. "You are far more formidable than I assumed."
Master Rhan didn't reply; all her focus was on Ten S'Hol. She used a forced step and closed the distance between them in a second. Ten S'Hol blocked a strike aimed at his legs, then brought his blade up to block Master Rhan's second strike aimed at his neck.
Master Rhan seemed to be everywhere at once; her strikes came from the left and the right, not giving Ten S'Hol a moment's rest. He appeared to slow slightly as their duel drug on. Then as Master Rhan thrust her blade toward Ten S'Hol's stomach, he moved with such speed Keltor barely saw what happened.
The former Jedi sidestepped the strike, then brought his blade down on Master Rhan's outstretched arm, severing it just above her elbow. Then he force pushed her back away from him. "You…*pant* are a formidable foe…*pant* Kight Rhan. But you are still no match for a master."
Master Rhan couldn't keep her balance this time, and she fell to the ground, breathing hard. "Master Rhan!" yelled Keltor. He ran over to her and helped her sit up. He took out a bandage and was about to put it on her when she stopped him.
"Keltor, I'll handle him; just stay back." She shakily stood up, swayed slightly, but clenched Keltors lightsaber tightly.
"So be it." Ten S'Hol raised his hand; all around him, debris from the battle floated up; Master Rhan took off, using the force to accelerate. Ten S'Hol started to launch the debris at her, but she managed to dodge each and every rock, bolder piece of the battle droid, and chuck of building.
She dove through the rain of debris, kicking off large boulders and spinning around smaller objects. And while the number of debris being thrown at her seemed impossible to navigate, but Master Rhan was able to find a path through.
"What are you?!" demanded Ten S'Hol. He lifted a large bolder with the force and threw it at Master Rhan.
Master Rhan raised her hand, and the bolder turned into dust as it exploded. Then, she seemingly disappeared, then reappeared behind Ten S'hol, the lightsaber in her hand held as if she just cut him. Keltor realized that in that one second, she moved so quickly that both he and Ten S'Hol lost track of her.
Ten S'Hol made a pained noise as he dropped his lightsaber. His upper half fell backward while his legs crumpled underneath him.
Master Rhan turned and looked the dying Ten S'Hol in the eye and said, "I promised you'd die if you touched my Padawan."
"Y-you l-little bi-" he couldn't finish his sentence.
Master Rhan swayed for a moment before she fell face-first onto the ground. Keltor rushed forward, "MASTER!" he gently rolled her over.
"Hey Kel, you alright?" asked Master Rhan.
He opened his med-pack with shaking hands and pushed a bandage onto her stump. "M-Master y-your hurt."
Master Rhan looked down at her stump and said, "Oh, I guess I am."
"MEDIC! THE GENERALS BEEN INJURIED!" cried a trooper from behind him.
The medic came quickly and took over. He placed a facemask over Master Rhans mouth and nose, telling her to breathe deeply. A moment later, her eye rolled back, and her tense, shaking muscles relaxed.
Alright, that's a wrap. I've been agonizing over how to write this duel for so long. Way too long. And in my head, it's just, *epic* and showcases just how fast and strong Jedi can be. I really hope I managed to do that duel the justice it deserves.
But anyways, onto the official business stuff.
I do not own Star Wars. Any events or people in this story that mirror real life or other stories are completely coincidental. Although a few events will be inspired by things that actually happened. I'll mention the ones that I consciously chose.
And an interesting fact time.
The Malevolence wasn't the only ship in its class. It was actually the second one. The Subjugator was the first. This makes sense because the Malevolence was essentially just the Bismarck. And the Bismark had a sister ship named Tirpitz.
