Chapter Four
Kyra and Aedan made their way over to the Southern flank where a few dozen clones had setup strategic firing positions. The droids would be coming around a bend, but they would not be limited by a narrow passageway. They had a vast stretch of level ground to spread the units out and have total freedom to fire at will.
"This is not ideal, Master."
"No, Padawan, it isn't," he said.
He then turned to the soldiers around them. "Two-hundred and twelve attack battalion, it's an honor to fight alongside you. I know it's been a rough day, but now we have to hold the line. The republic needs you. We need you. But that is not why you should fight with everything you possess. Don't fight for a republic. Don't fight for a planet-city light-years away. Or for a Chancellor you've never met. Or even a Jedi order. Fight for the man standing next to you, because he is your brother. Your family. Many of your brothers have already given everything. Don't make their sacrifice in vain. And don't let the enemy take any more of them. Fight with all you have, because those around you are all you have."
Aedan then put his hand on Kyra's shoulder. "And we will do the same. Fight with you until the end, with everything we have."
"Until our dying breath," Kyra finished.
The troopers stared at the two Jedi, unmoving. Through the force Kyra sensed their gratitude, respect, and awe, even. Rarely were clones treated in this manner. One clone stepped forward and removed his helmet. Then several others did. And then the entire platoon's worth of soldiers around them did the same. They bowed their heads in one, loaded, gracious nod.
"Thank you, Generals," one said. And then they all put their helmets back on, and readied for the coming wave.
Kyra turned to Aedan, wide and teary eyed. "That...that was," she started to say, but couldn't finish.
Aedan moved in front of her and grabbed one of her hands. "It's all because of you. You are the one changing things."
"Me?" Kyra asked, incredulous. "You're the one that gave the speech."
"Whatever good or honorable things I've done in the past two years are because of you. You have changed me, altered my path in this world. And I believe the rest of the galaxy will be changed as well."
"Master," she whispered softly, still in disbelief.
"It has been my hon-"
"Stop," she said quickly, "Don't say it. Don't even think it. We are going to make it off this rock.
"You are," he said. "But I am irrelevant."
She grabbed the front of his tattered grey tunic, jerking him back and forward. "You listen, and you listen well," she said with a snarl. "I. Cannot. Do this. Without you. Get that through your thick head. Copy?" Aedan nodded slowly. "And if you ever say that again, I will throw you into a rancor pit."
Kyra held Aedan's gaze, seething, and never wavering, until he relented, "Okay."
She nodded once, and then moved to setup in front of a fire team of clones.
"Here they come!" A clone shouted.
"Get ready, Men."
A host of droids, dozens across, and hundreds deep, came marching around the bend. "Open fire," Aedan shouted, and the clones unloaded everything they had. A wave of blasterfire met the droids before they could even ready their own blasters. Line after line of battle droids fell. In fact, a few hundred or so of the obsolete droids fell before they even mounted any semblance of an attack. But behind those ranks came the bigger, sturdier, more powerful, B2 Battle droids. And with dozens upon dozens of those terrors able to withstand substantially more gunfire, they were able to start getting laser blasts down range.
The clones did have the advantage of position and cover and concealment, but against such overwhelming numbers that only went so far. Troopers started to fall.
"Come on, Men," Aedan yelled, "Don't let up."
The clones rallied, their precision, quickness, and accuracy were on display as droid after droid fell. The clones surrounding Kyra must have been expert riflemen because they were picking droids off with headshots, and sighting their next targets at an outrageously fast rate. They were turning the tide. They continued the onslaught of fire, not letting the droids string out their troops away from the bend too far as to give them greater angles of fire.
Then Aedan heard an all too familiar sound. A metallic rolling noise that could only signify one thing. "Destroyers!" he alerted the nearby troops. "Ready, grenades."
"We're out of grenades, General," one clone responded.
"Blast."
Kyra, we have to take out the droidekas ourselves. Tip them over, and then have your fireteam take out the downed destroyer once the shield is overloaded by the ground.
Roger that, Master
Kyra then relayed the tactic, "Guys," she said to the four clones surrounding her, "Rollies are coming. I'll flip them on their sides, you light 'em up."
"Roger that, Commander," one of them said. The others nodding.
They waited as the new threats came into view. But it wasn't a few of them. It was seven droidekas that came rolling in front of them. The seven Colicoid designed three-legged droids popped out of their sphere shapes into their firing platform, as their shield generators kicked on. All except for one. Kyra's fire team has been so fast and accurate that they were able to get effective shots on target as it was rolling, and before it could activate its shields. The destroyer fell over in a smoking heap.
Kyra quickly reached out through the force to two of the other droids, and knocked them over on their sides. Another volley of fire from her expert fireteam made sure they stayed down for good. Aedan had done the same with two other destroyers, but while both Jedi had been preoccupied the final two droidekas had unleashed hell on the clones, killing at least a dozen before Aedan and Kyra could take them out.
The countless deaths were taking their toll on Kyra, not to mention the non-stop fighting with hardly a break. But Aedan trained her for this exact type of battle. The hours and hours they spent sparring and practicing blaster deflection was for this purpose. She reached into the force, asking for its strength and guidance and endurance.
While the destroyers had done some damage, the troopers regained their firing positions, and were mowing down the incoming droids. The problem was that the droidekas attack allowed for a sizeable force of droids to spread out along the flank, and the clones were taking fire from multiple angles. This was not looking good.
"Master," Kyra said, as she deflected shot after shot, "We're in trouble."
"We're going to make it, Kyra."
Kyra was surprised at her master's optimism, "Oh, and what makes you so confident in our chances."
"Maybe I had a vision."
That almost brought Kyra up short, "Really, Master?"
Aedan shrugged, "Maybe, or perhaps I just have a little bit better hearing than you."
Kyra smiled, and then spared a second to see if she could hear them. A faint electronic whirring noise emanated from above, a noise distinct to republic gunships. "They're here!"
"Yes, they are."
"Heads up, Boys, our rides are here. Increase the rate of fire until we start falling back, then provide cascading fire support. Farthest teams from the gunships, fall back first."
A roar or Hoo-ahh sounded across the battlefield, followed by a cacophony of laser fire. Kyra could sense the LAAT's getting closer and almost in firing range as they skimmed over the rocky terrain. "We're gonna make it," she thought.
Before she turned to Aedan she felt the ground vibrate. She looked down and saw several small rocks and pebbles shaking on the ground. That vibration increased in affect and volume. Oh no, she thought, just as a line of tanks came around the bend. The clones were out of missiles, out of rockets, and out of grenades. They had nothing that could stop the durasteel behemoths.
But she did.
She shot both hands forward. She didn't need to reach for the force. It was already with her. Coursing through her, fueling her body and mind. She grabbed the tank. It was heavy, very heavy, but nothing she couldn't handle. Only problem was she was already exhausted from the day of fighting. She exerted her will anyway.
The tank was lumbering forward slowly, but now its momentum was halted. Kyra finding the balance between peace and effort, little by little began lifting the front of the tank. Clones around her stopped as they witnessed sheer, unbelievable power before them. She lifted the tank higher and then gave it a nudge, and it flipped over backwards onto the tank behind it. She reached out for the next, when she felt a tremor through the force. Farther to the left, just barely creeping past the canyon bend wall was another tank, its cannon trained on her. It fired. The charged projectile heading right for her.
Something slammed into her left shoulder, knocking her to the ground, as the blast passed right over her. She was dazed, and shellshocked as the shell detonated somewhere behind her. Aedan was on top of her. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"I'm okay."
He nodded, "Good, we gotta move," he said, as he lifted Kyra up, and helped her get her feet under her for a few strides and then they were sprinting, Kyra now realizing they were the last ones on the front lines.
"Where's my fireteam?" Kyra asked.
"Covering for us," Aedan said.
Kyra skidded to halt, and abruptly turned around, seeing her four riflemen laying down suppressive fire, dropping droids left and right. She ran forward and stepped between them, "Get to the LZ, now."
"Ma'am," one clone said as he was still picking of targets like a machine, "We have our orders," he tapped his helmet with two fingers. "Lay down covering fire for you.
"Well, I'm countermanding that order. Get. Moving," Kyra said with an abundance of anger.
The clones sprinted away, while Aedan and Kyra backpedaled, deflecting dozens upon dozens of laser bolts. The tanks were clearing the debris field now, and would have an open range of fire. "Go, I'll cover you," Aedan said.
"I'm not leaving you, Master," she said, "So you go, and I'll cover you."
"Fine, Padawan, we'll do it together."
"Together," she responded, as they both continued moving backwards at a quick clip, deflecting everything that came at them.
Three tanks squared up on them, barrels rotating into position. Kyra watched as Aedan sent his biggest force push straight for the closest tank. Its impact left the barrel and front of the tank a sparking, dented, disabled mess. But Kyra's stomach dropped when she saw Aedan stumble after the exertion. He was fading fast. And more tanks were positioning themselves.
There was nothing they could do. There was just too many of them. Could she deflect a cannon shot? There wouldn't be a better time to find out. She readied herself for the onslaught. Then a salvo from above rained down upon the Seperatist lines. Kyra looked up, and saw not only gunships, but ARC-170's diving towards their position, and going weapons free on the approaching enemies.
"That's our cue," she said, "Let's roll."
"Right behind you," Aedan said.
Kyra sprinted for the reinforced circle that was gathering, as gunships touched down. Troops loaded in, and then the ship took off. She watched happily as her fireteam was near the circle and climbing onto a Gunship. The aerial assault plagued the ground forces giving the Jedi and the last few troopers an easy route back to the transports.
Aedan, and Kyra were the last ones to make it onto a gunship, both of them collapsing onto the deck, as the LAAT shot upward, avoiding enemy fire. Kyra spent the entire trip up catching her breath, just lying on her back, arms spread wide. She was fine with that, better to be exhausted and numb than to feel the pain of loss and regret.
The gunship entered the Acclamator class cruiser through its huge dorsal hangar bay doors, and set down in one of the hundreds of slots allocated for the LAAT's. Kyra and Aedan wearily stepped out of the passenger hold, and took in the sight around them. So few clones made it. And the ones that did looked absolutely beaten down, sitting on the deck floor, leaning against cargo crates. No one spoke. No one chatted or told tales of valor. And absolutely no one mentioned their fallen brothers.
Aedan and Kyra rarely lost a battle. But even when they did, the atmosphere did not feel like this. They had been completely demolished. They had been tricked, out-classed, and out-gunned.
"Come on," Aedan said to her. "Let's get to one of the private quarters to rest." Kyra just nodded, and let Aedan lead the way. They entered into a cramped room not much bigger than her living quarters at the Jedi Temple. Aedan sat on the edge of the bed, while Kyra sat on the floor leaning against the wall, head bowed low.
It wasn't long before she got up and started slowly pacing back in forth in front of Aedan. The slow pace became a quick march, from on side of the small room to the other. The deaths were catching up to her. Facing their defeat was driving her crazy. So many dead.
"Kyra," Aedan said, "You can talk to me."
Kyra didn't say anything, she just kept pacing back and forth, now shaking her head, and her breath coming out in huffs.
Aedan asked again, "Kyra?"
"What the kriff are we doing?" she screamed, picking up the bedside lamp and chucking it against the bulkhead. "This is all ridiculous, Master. I can't do this anymore, and not just because we lost. We're supposed to be protectors. Guardians of peace and justice."
"You saved a lot of lives today," Aedan said placatingly.
"It made no difference!" she shouted. "None!"
Aedan let out a sigh, "Those you did save may feel otherwise."
"We still lost the battle," she cried, "And the ones we did save will just die in the next battle." Her eyes were brimming with tears now. "It's all for nothing, Master." She stopped pacing and then leaned against, sliding down until she slumped down against the floor, putting her head in her hands.
"I can't do this anymore."
She heard the bed squeak, heard the footsteps approaching her, and then felt Aedan sit down next to her. He rarely, if ever, got this close to her. He had done a fantastic job of staying emotionally detached.
She felt her heart rate increase, and her cheeks flush. She closed her eyes. Stop acting like a kriffin little girl.
Kyra had been plagued by more than the horrors of war these past two and a half years. Keeping her distance from the man she loved was beyond agonizing. She loved Aedan Kahl, of that she was sure. She was in love with her Jedi Master. And that was the problem wasn't it. She wasn't allowed to love. It was forbidden. Forbidden to love anyone, but how much worse was it that it was her own Master. Who in the force forbids someone from loving someone else? And how have so many Jedi followed this doctrine? She tried ignoring her feelings. She tried burying them deep down. She tried to keep her distance. But all of it proved impossible. She was deeply in love, and nothing in the galaxy could change that, much less stop it.
Aedan shook his head. "You feel it, don't you?"
Kyra felt her breath catch, were her shields down? Did he know what she was thinking? "What?" she said.
"You can feel there's something wrong, something elsewhere, elusive, lurking underneath this war."
Oh. That. She sighed. "Yes, I've felt it for a while now. Some unseen threat, seemingly pulling the strings. None of this makes sense, Master. I understand the Separatist ideology, but I don't believe any of them initially wanted war."
Aedan nodded solemnly, "Somone is galvanizing them, pushing them, persuading them towards this."
"Other than Dooku?"
Aedan nodded.
"You know that for certain?"
He shook his head, "No, but I can just...feel it. You're right, none of this makes sense. As if someone is purposely tearing the galaxy into two."
"And then he or she slides in and takes over," Kyra said, "Do you think it could be Salas Sa'kard? That could be why he's trying to create his own army."
Kyra watched as Aedan ran his fingers through his long hair that he hadn't cut in years, it was down to his shoulders now. Often times he had to pull it back into ponytail. "I have no idea. Really. And it's scary that I have no idea. We are lost as an order."
They sat there for a few moments in silence. "What do we do now, Master?"
"Long term, I don't know. I don't know what we should do, but I do know that you and I, personally, can no longer fight in this war. It's killing us, poisoning us from the inside out." Kyra nodded, so incredibly relieved to hear that Aedan felt the same as she did. He continued, "Short term, the two-hundred and twelfth has to regroup at coruscant, and replenish their ranks, so that's where we're headed."
Kyra let out a pent-up sigh, "Good, because I don't think I have another battle like that in me for a while."
"Me too, Padawan," Aedan said. "Me too."