Lord Darth Yoda - I think part of that is we've probably read a lot of the same books - because I tend to imitate the styles of those books somewhat. That's why you seem to be able to predict a lot of what is happening in these books. The attack was kind of a diversion - the Trade Federation did manage to land their army unopposed.

thejoker122 - I think that Aurine and Sascha's relationship isn't really like Kanan and Ezra's. Kanan's kind of defined by the fact that he never completed his training. Ezra's definately more of the 'dancing with the dark side' type of character - he's more prone to defying his Master than Sascha is. As for the weaponry of the Ubrorans, they'll basically have blaster rifles (though not a ton of them). The Judicials would probably be better equipped, they'd probably have excellent resources and training.

A/N - Read the Ahsoka book that came out - second half of the book is pretty good. First half is dreadfully boring. Was probably the first Star Wars book that I actually thought I could have done a better job of writing! Such a missed opportunity to write a really, really good book. The book itself is fine, but it could have been better.

Anyways, all reviews, follows, and favourites are deeply appreciated as always.

Enjoy the next chapter

Chapter 24: Downtime, Decisions

"So the great Admiral Vash Varless was defeated by a rag-tag collection of Starfighters that we didn't even have the blueprints for. Air superiority is up in question for the remainder of the campaign. The Vulture droids are not great ground-support fighters with their limited range, but I prefer bad air-support to none. Nevertheless, our landing was unopposed and we now control the westernmost city of Gamudo, which surrendered without so much as a shot fired. May the rest of the campaign be as bloodless.

-From the Journal of Pravin Ecalt, Opening day of the Invasion of Ubrora

At the best of times, Aurine Brynar hated waiting. This, to state the obvious, was not the best of times.

She, Tiplee and President Mollek were now at Koza base, a military outpost in the middle of the main continent of Ubrora, a base that if she was in command of the enemy army, would be one of her first targets. And in fact, some of Vash Varless' droid fighters had tried to take out this very base – she had seen the droid fighters coming directly for the base and stood by helplessly. Fortunately a pair of Ubroran fighters had blown their would be attackers out of the sky. The debris of the two droid fighters had obliterated some farmland south of the base – though no one had been harmed.

Right now though she was waiting in an empty room, trying to calm her fraying nerves and trying to gain any insight from the Force as to what she should be doing in the middle of this war for Ubrora. The Force was strangely silent on the matter, which was not very helpful.

She was also trying to check-in with her Padawan. Though she was confident that her Padawan had not died in the fighting in orbit, the fact that they had not yet checked in via comlink did not sit well with her. If there had been any other choice, she wouldn't have sent Sascha and Nara into battle that she hadn't thought that they could win, but her Padawan had gone and done one better, not only did he survive, the Ubrorans won the first engagement with the invaders. It wasn't a knockout blow, but it seemed as if the air battle would become a stalemate, which meant that it would be up to the ground forces of Ubrora to stop the invading army. Which was great in theory, but knowing the number of soldiers that the Ubrorans had and knowing that their equipment was not the best, she was still not all that optimistic about Ubrora's chances.

A quiet knock on the door interrupted her thoughts, "You may enter," she said.

An Ubroran with shockingly red hair entered and saluted crisply, "General Brynar, we have a transmission from Falta air base, General Tiplee, President Mollek and Colonel Jeffs are waiting."

"Thank you, I'll join them soon," she said. Being referred to as General Brynar was a profoundly odd. She'd probably never get used to that honorarium.

The Ubroran scurried out of the room while she tried to gather herself. The Uborans needed a symbol of hope, and that symbol was the Jedi, it would do no good for the Ubrorans to see her as just another being that worried about the people closest to her. She needed to be an unflappable Jedi warrior. Aurine put her worries behind her for the moment, she was too disciplined, too experienced to do anything else.

In the communications room, Tiplee was helping a beleaguered looking technician as he tried to keep a 1/4 sized hologram of Sascha and Nara from fading out every couple of seconds. Well, that explained why she hadn't heard from Sascha – he had already been calling for her. From the brief glimpses she got of both Padawans, Sascha and Nara looked both tired and energized in a way that said that they weren't quite sure how they were still alive. That was the gift of youth. They still probably believed that they were somewhat invincible. Their youth served them well for the moment, but she was aware that neither had the mental fortitude to fight a war, they simply weren't used to loss. And this war was likely to cause lots of loss.

"We'll just do without the visual," she said crisply. "Padawans can you still hear us?"

"Yes, Master Brynar," replied Nara.

"I'm listening in too," replied Colonel Weise Jeffs, who until her appointment had been head of the Ubroran army. An ex-Balmorran officer, Colonel Jeffs struck her as a fine soldier who had been promoted one-step too many. The Colonel was not in the room at the moment, he was at another base on Ubrora, half a continent away, probably in a communications roomed that looked similar to this one.

The door to their communications room opened and a harried looking President Mollek entered, wearing the same dirty robes he had been earlier, "I'm sorry I'm late, have I missed anything?"

"You are right on time, President Mollek," Aurine replied.

The President sighed and collapsed into a nearby chair, his furry tail puffed out to its biggest extent, a clear sign of his distress. "So, have we had any success in getting a message out to the Republic? I'll accept the last terms you offered to me, Master Tiplee, just get these invaders off my planet!" said Keicho Mollek.

Tiplee, who was still conversing with the technician, finally stood up and looked over at the President. "It appears that our communications are being jammed, that is why we are having trouble getting the video connection to the Padawans and Colonel Jeffs."

"Did we get any message off?" asked the President.

Tiplee shook her head sadly, "I'm afraid not."

"Oh." President Mollek slumped further in his chair, "is there any way to get a message to another planet? We need help."

"We'll be sending our Padawans to Bontha to retrieve the Emerald Dream, and they'll go to Coruscant and the Jedi Council to get help," she said. She and Tiplee would hold things down on Ubrora until help arrived – though depending on how slowly help came, that could be a very difficult few weeks. Or months.

Colonel Jeffs interrupted, "Um, if I may General Brynar, General Tiplee, the reports coming in from Bontha are that the hanger that your ship was stored in has received severe damage," said Colonel Jeffs. "I'm…actually looking at video footage of the hanger right now, and it looks like the whole thing is rubble now. I doubt that your ship will you be able to escape that."

"Can you send someone over to check the status of the Emerald Dream?" said Tiplee.

"I'll do that right away," replied the Colonel.

"Oh, this is horrible, horrible!" said President Mollek as he rose from his chair, "Are you telling me that there is no way to get a message off planet?"

Aurine felt a little bit of the hope she had left fade. She had at least wanted to spare her the two Padawans from the worst of this conflict, but even that hope had been dashed. The four Jedi looked to be trapped on Ubrora for now. Aurine tried to remain unflappable, "I assume that Reprisal is the one that is jamming us?" she asked the Ubroran technician.

Nervously, the technician's tail puffed out, which would have been hilarious had they not been in the middle of a war conference, "From what I can tell, yes…sir."

The Reprisal was going to be a problem. If it was the one doing this jamming...it was going to be very difficult to get rid of. Quickly, she decided to change the course of the conversation, "We should just focus on what we can control. We can deal with the rest later. Padawans, what happened in the battle?"

"We engaged the invading Starfighters and caused them to retreat, though their landing forces landed unopposed and their fighters were able to do some damage to targets across Ubrora," said Sascha. "The base is now refuelling the fighters. We have 42 operational Sarkiss fighters with more coming on line as they get repaired. 16 fighters were lost in the engagement."

"Is that enough to guarantee air superiority?" she asked.

Sascha took a moment and then responded, "I doubt it. I believe that Admiral Varless held a fair number of fighters back to protect his fleet, so he will have a good number of droid fighters still remaining. I think we'll have to stay entirely on the defensive. I believe we can deny them air superiority, but I don't think we can claim it ourselves."

"Do we have any idea as to the composition of the enemy ground forces?" asked Tiplee.

"Our early estimates are that they landed approximately 100,000 droids just north of Gamudo in the west. I can also report that the city of Gamudo has surrendered. With their army landing right outside, it seemed like the prudent thing to do," replied Colonel Jeffs.

Aurine suppressed a groan, if the invaders gained control of the four major cities of Ubrora, they could make a realistic claim that they were the legitimate government of the planet at which time they could negotiate as such. At that point, Admiral Varless could sell off…say farming rights, to the Hutt Cartel, for more reinforcements for which to crush what was left of the resistance, if any was left. However, as long as the current government remained in place and its cities remained unconquered, no invader could make a realistic claim that they controlled Ubrora at all. That meant that protecting the cities had to be a priority.

She turned to President Mollek, "You need to make a statement that prevents the other cities from surrendering."

"I will do that if you think it helps, Master Jedi."

"This goes double for the capital city," she added, "Can you make sure that mayor Boikana understands this? You can offer him safe passage to a military base if he wants it."

President Mollek hesitated for a moment before nodding, "He is a rival of mine, and I believe he wants my title, but I think he will see sense for the moment. We have to be a united people for now"

Aurine nodded, "Good, what is the status of the army, Colonel Jeffs?"

"We are recalling everyone from leave, and we have mobilized the army to it's fullest extent. We have also opened up recruiting centers, we are taking every Ubroran of legal age and giving them a crash course in how to be a soldier, but the numbers coming in are a bit lower…than I expected."

"We Uborans don't like to fight," chimed in President Mollek, "All those that may enjoy army life have likely already joined."

"Do you have weapons to equip these new recruits?"

"We have a large cache of weapons, but we won't have armour for most of these new troops, due to the unique physical characteristics of Ubrorans, the armour has to be custom made," said the Colonel.

"How about artillery, tanks?"

"We have none of those," he said apologetically. "This is a small defence force, not an army, General Brynar. We are the police with slightly bigger guns. Ubrorans have not fought in a conflict for thousands of years."

"We are a peaceful people," admitted President Mollek.

Aurine started to pace, "So our army is more of a casual militia."

"Well…we are professional, but yes, I'd characterize us as such," answered Colonel Jeffs.

At least they were a militia with four Jedi, but up against an army that likely did have artillery, tanks and more heavy equipment, they were hardly going to be an obstacle. "What kind of numbers are we talking about, Colonel?" She already knew the answer from the research that she had done before reaching Ubrora, but she hoped beyond hope that her information had been wrong.

"We have 7,500 professional soldiers, and with new recruits coming in, I estimate we can more than triple the size of the army to about 25,000, though some may have to use non-regulation weaponry."

The numbers were even lower than Aurine had expected, at best the Ubrorans were outnumbered four to one, and the droid army likely had the benefit of things like tanks and artillery. As fond of her tactical ability as she was, this was not a fight she thought of as winnable. At least in a direct battle. The Trade Federation's military was coming off an ignominious defeat to the ragtag Naboo Defence Force, but that had been only because the Nabooans had managed to destroy the ship that controlled the droid army on the planet. And that had been a massive fluke. She doubted that they would be so lucky with the Reprisal.

As Aurine contemplated, Tiplee took command of the situation, "Colonel Jeffs, is there an elite unit within the Ubroran army?" asked Tiplee.

"We call them the Ubroran Rangers, they are our best and brightest," said the Colonel with a hint of pride, "I'd say they are the equal of any troops I trained on Balmorra."

"Thank you, Colonel, I believe that I need to discuss what our next step will be with my colleague," Tiplee said smoothly. "If we have need of you or President Mollek, rest assured we will be in contact with both of you."

"Of course, sir. I remain at the ready," said Colonel Jeffs, before signing off.

President Mollek stood, "I suppose I will make a broadcast specifically for all of Ubrora."

Something just occurred to Aurine at that moment, "President Mollek, did you...broadcast all of our meeting?" Aurine asked.

"Why...of course I did."

Aurine turned away and focused on taking deep, calming breaths. The President of Ubrora had been transmitting their secret war council as they were making plans to defend their planet? Was Mollek dense?

Fortunately, her partner had a lot compose than she did, "Perhaps you should refrain from broadcasting anything related to the war effort, President Mollek," said Tiplee. "If only just for your own safety."

"If you think that is best," said the Ubroan uncertainly. "I do so hate to alter things. Ever since becoming President I have broadcasted every moment of my public life."

"This is a highly unusual time, to say the least, President Mollek," Tiplee said smoothly. Perhaps you should promise a daily broadcast. But beyond that, we need to keep your location as secretive as possible."

The Ubroran still seemed slightly puzzled, but bowed slightly and nodded, "I bow to your expertise, Master Jedi. I shall get started on my broadcast." The Ubroran also made his way out of the room.

Finally, with the room now empty, Aurine could say what she was too disciplined to say with the head of state in the room, "Is Mollek a complete and total braindead idiot?"

Tiplee seemed to be rather calm about the whole thing, "It was a mistake, but we did not discuss anything too crucial. The Ubrorans are not a warlike people, you cannot expect them to instantly adapt."

"I would be more calm if there was anything to be calm about," she replied.

"Getting upset about it seems like the least productive way to go about things," said Tiplee.

There was something Luminara-esque about Tiplee's soft, unrelenting logic that seemed familiar to Aurine. It was always annoying to be paired with other Jedi Knights that were just so dang wise and unflappable. She let out a very long breath, "You are right, of course. This is just a lot to adapt to."

Tiplee nodded, "It is. But you are the one that understands tactics Aurine, what is our best course of action here?"

"Not fighting at all," she replied, "I'm not sure that this is a winnable fight. We should keep thinking of ways to get off this planet."

"We might not have the most numbers," Tiplee said cautiously, "But we still are Jedi, and we count for quite a bit."

The feathery-haired Tiplee seemed to have adjusted to these changed circumstances better than she had, she was still trying to get around the idea that she was commanding an army of her own. Tactics simulators were one thing, having the fate of an entire planet on her shoulders was another.

Tiplee continued, "I think we should keep the Padawans with the Ubroran air force, Sascha is a superior pilot and we should ensure that the air assets that Admiral Varless has cannot be used against us."

"I actually don't think we should," she said, turning over the idea in her head, "I think I'm going to send them to Bontha."

"Bontha? Why not keep them as pilots? Unless you want to put them to work in seeing if they can free the Emerald Dream."

"I can't plan around the idea that the Dream is salvageable," she admitted. As much as she'd like to hope that the report had been wrong and the Emerald Dream was ready to be flown, she suspected that Vash's droid fighters had made sure that the hangar and the ship itself would be rubble. She also was pretty sure Sascha would be distraught. "Anyway, unless something disastrous happens to the Ubroran air force, there will likely be a stalemate, we won't be able to use the Sarkiss fighters to support the army, nor will they be able to use their droid fighters to support their army. As good a pilot as Sascha is…he won't be able to matter in a significant way."

"I understand," said Tiplee slowly, "But why Bontha? I think we could make better use of our apprentices if they were here with us."

Fully warming to the tactical challenge at hand, she started elucidating her reasoning, "We can't even hope to win a straight-up fight with the invading army. Droid armies are too efficient, and the Ubroran army just isn't up to snuff. So where does that leave us? Well, we need to whittle down the opposition army enough so that it becomes a more manageable size. That means harassment, hit and fade attacks…and stirring up a resistance in cities that the enemy thinks they have conquered."

"Running a resistance sounds like a job for an experienced Jedi Knight," said Tiplee, "not a pair of apprentices, and besides, Bontha hasn't even fallen yet."

"It will," she replied, "We aren't in any position to stop it, we will be better off defending the other two cities. Gamudo is gone, and I'm sure the commander of our invasion force will be dispatching a force to conquer the capital as soon as possible. Judging by how quickly Gamudo capitulated, without someone to stand up to the invaders, that city will fall as well."

"I agree with your analysis, but again, why is that not my task, or yours?"

Aurine hesitated, "Sascha knows how to organize and lead a resistance, it's one of the myriad things that I've taught him." Tiplee raised a blue eyebrow at her but did not make a further comment. "I accept that it is a lot of responsibility to hand a pair of teenagers, but the Jedi are symbols of hope on this world, and Sascha and Nara can easily become symbols of the resistance. If they can get the Ubrorans to rally to their cause, we may not have to fight the full strength of the invading army, as they'll be too busy trying to keep what they have taken. We can defend the remaining two cities, Namya and Wingke. The terrain there will allow us to potentially set up some ambushes."

The Rishati didn't seem to be entirely convinced, "Still, leading a resistance is dangerous. Their allies will not be trained soldiers, and that brings its own set of complications. All it would take is one of their companions to turn on them, and then…"

"And then they'll die."

Tiplee paled slightly and, even she felt a pang of emotion, having been so callous, even in theory, about the death of her apprentice. Sascha was dear to her, he was her child in many ways, but there wasn't a way to keep him from this, not if they ever hoped to leave this planet alive.

Aurine forced a shrug, "I mean we could find a basement to lock them in, which might keep them safe, until their air runs out, of course. They are Jedi. In a war…they are assets that have to be used to their fullest, and this is the plan that gives them the best chance of having a large impact without putting them in too much danger." She hoped.

"And you are comfortable in having Sascha and Nara be together for an extended period of time?"

"No," she said bluntly, "But I can't see any other choice."

"I believe that together, Sascha and Nara can accomplish much," Tiplee said with quiet confidence.

Aurine bit back a further comment, she knew that Nara and Sascha could work well together. What she feared was it was that if they were left alone for a long time, feelings would develop between them. Right now, she couldn't even begin to worry about such things, she had to be a dispassionate military commander. There was no room for Jedi Knight Aurine Brynar anymore, she could only afford to be General Brynar.

General Brynar spoke, "I'll help Colonel Jeffs in commanding the army and training the new recruits, I think I'm best suited to assisting him in devising the best ambushes I can. I could use the help, Tiplee, I need someone on whom I can trust to be with me."

Tiplee's eyes glazed over for a second, and she felt her dipping her metaphorical toe into the pool that was the Force, "I believe that I must walk a different path for the moment," she said quietly. "If we are truly desperate, and I believe we are, it's time for me to let myself be something I haven't been in a long while. It's time for me to hunt."

Truly unnerved by the odd speech given by Tiplee, she felt a shiver race up her spine, "What do you mean, Master Tiplee?"

Her blue eyes burning with emotion, the Rishati spoke with a determination that Aurine hadn't ever seen before, "I will take the Ubroran Rangers that I talked to Colonel Jeffs about, and we will use the natural wilderness as our cover. From there I will cause as much havoc as one Jedi and a squad of commandos can do. We will be the hunters and the droids will be our prey."

"I don't think I can add anything to that," she said, still a little put off by the Rishati's emotional display.

Tiplee sighed deeply, "When we started this morning, I had nothing on my mind but finishing up the last details of this treaty, now I'm in a war. It's…a little difficult to comprehend."

"I know exactly what you mean," she responded.

The Jedi Knights paused for a long moment, taking in the enormity of the moment before refocusing themselves on their tasks. "I suppose we should contact the Padawans, so that they can get to Bontha ahead of the droids," said Tiplee.

"I think we should do it in here so that no one knows where they are going," Aurine added.

"Paranoid already?"

"I'm merely trying to protect our most valuable assets."

Aurine keyed her comlink, and dialed her Padawan, like clockwork, he answered immediately, "Yes, Master?"

"Padawan I have orders for you, is Nara with you?"

"I'm here, Master Brynar," said Nara

She took a deep breath and spent a cursory moment trying to find any alternative for what they had decided that the Padawans should do. None came. "We want you to go to Bontha and form a resistance. You won't get any formal support from the Ubroran army, so raise a resistance that is self-sufficient. Make sure you tie up as many opposition resources as possible, but do not let the city fall."

Sascha's voice quavered through the comlink, "What are the rules of engagement?"

"Standard. Act as Jedi, Padawans. Do not harm civilians and do not push the envelope. I don't want either of you dabbling in the dark side."

"Understood, Masters, we shall do our best," Sascha said solemnly.

"What he said," Nara chimed in.

"May the Force be with you," she and Tiplee said in unison.

Sascha and Nara replied equally in unison, "And with you, Masters." The line went dead and half a planet away, she could feel Sascha's resolve harden as they accepted their new challenge. And in that moment, she got the feeling that she wouldn't be seeing her Padawan for a long time.