Chapter 4
Obi-Wan turned back and forth towards the gunship door and his Padawan, his gaze harrowing and his fists clenching as he gazed at the ongoing battle outside.
His Master senses had turned this from apprehension to danger, his expression immediately shifted into that of a Jedi General.
"Jaina," he growled. "You must focus. Now!"
His gaze met hers, and he spoke with a sudden intensity. "You cannot hesitate, do you understand me?"
Jaina's instincts slowly began to take over, as her mind fought for control over her racing heart.
"Jaina!"
Jaina blinked. Her focus was sharp once more; her nerves, her anxiety, and her apprehension replaced by determination and embarrassment, in equal measure.
She was Obi-Wan Kenobi's Padawan, for Force sake!
In that moment, she was ready. She had no choice but to be.
Her lightsaber snapped to life in her hand, its blue hue standing out brightly in the dim gunship.
Obi-Wan nodded once more, satisfied with the wordless response. It was now time to face the reality of the battle.
His eyes turned to the chaos outside. "Let's go," he said simply. "On me."
With that, the Jedi Master turned to head for the exit of the gunship, ready to face the droids head on.
The sounds of blasterfire and the clanking of droid armor echoed around them as they hurried across the beach—his eyes taking in the clones taking cover, the troopers taking out enemy droids, and hurrying on. He glanced back towards his apprentice.
She wasn't crumbling under the pressure anymore, she was rising to it; and he could only imagine what other lessons his Padawan would learn from this harrowing first mission.
"Watch your right!" he called, his tone stern, seeing the enemy blaster-fire coming from that direction.
Without missing a beat, Jaina shifted her footwork slightly, angling her body towards the right and smoothly deflecting the blaster bolts back towards the B1 droids, her Soresu swipes clean and efficient as they continued to push forward along the shore
She was doing well.
Her stance, her footwork, her swipes, her slices, were all textbook examples of Soresu.
Though she was clearly nervous underneath it all—her heart rate was up, her breathing labored—her technique, muscle memory, and skills didn't falter.
She was handling herself well.
"Good—keep that up," he praised, his tone encouraging. "Make sure to watch every angle. They hit us fast and hard—"
Sand and saltwater flew in all directions as another explosion hit the shoreline too close for comfort.
As her gaze attempted to trace where the blast came from, Jaina's eyes widened as she recognized the Separatist Armored Assault Tank from her research back at the— "Wait, is that a—"
"Take cover!" Obi-Wan barked.
The vehicle was towering over them, its main turbolaser firing repeatedly—raining down death on the Republic troopers, who were now retreating further into the nearby trees of the jungle next to the shore.
The deafening noises of the AAT cannons filled her ears; the stench of smoke and fire and blood—battle and destruction.
Jaina swallowed through the pang in her throat, hearing the screams and the yells all around her as she hurried towards and behind the nearby trees.
"Don't we have AT-TEs for this sort of thing?!" She asked, cringing and covering her face with her arm as more sand and soil flew, the explosions continuing to follow into the tree line.
Obi-Wan tensed up, his eyes darting all around the field, his ears trained to hear even the faintest whisper of blasterfire.
But that cannon was too powerful—no normal ground unit could take it out, and they had no rockets.
"AT-TEs are too slow for hit-and-run tactics and even so, they're at the base," he shouted back, his tone stern but calm. "We need to—"
Obi-Wan fell silent as a massive explosion erupted in front of them, the shock wave sending them both flying backwards on impact. His ears were ringing, and he felt lightheaded from the blast itself.
"Get down!" He barked, his words barely audible to himself, as he dragged her further into the woods, where they took cover behind a tree. "There—"
A second explosion erupted nearby, the force of it sending them both reeling backwards a second time, the air filling with flying shrapnel and tree debris.
Obi-Wan grimaced, trying to clear the ringing in his ears. The shock of the blast had almost physically staggered him, and he could sense his Padawan's confusion and pain.
"Are you alright?!" he asked her, though he didn't dare take his eyes off the approaching AAT and the danger it presented.
"Yeah—" Jaina mumbled dazedly, shakily pushing herself off the ground. "Uh—I-I read somewhere that they're vulnerable from the sides, what if we outflank them or something, and—"
"—You're correct," he replied curtly, thinking out loud. "The AAT's turret can't turn very quickly. If we can get around it, strike from its left flank, and—"
They both ducked as another blast of fire roared out of the AAT, the debris and shrapnel falling like raindrops.
Jaina cringed and blinked dazedly, her ears ringing—
Obi-Wan turned back to face the machine, feeling his anger and his concern for her building at the same time.
Why couldn't this be easier? Why couldn't her first mission have been simpler?
He could sense her discomfort—her body language, her expressions, especially her heart rate—and it was causing him to worry for her very wellbeing.
"Jaina. Jaina, look at me. Take a second to breathe," he said quickly, his eyes still darting around the jungle. "You can't focus if your senses aren't steady."
Jaina nodded shakily. "I'm—I'm okay," she mumbled. "Don't worry, I'm okay."
Obi-Wan frowned, his eyes tightening in worry. There was something about her answer that didn't feel right—like she was just trying to push through it.
"Tell me something," he asked her abruptly, his tone almost a growl, his concern for her overriding his normal softness. "What should you never do when dealing with a machine like that?"
"Are we really doing a lesson right now?!"
"Answer the question!"
"A—a frontal assault?" Jaina muttered. "Move too slowly? Become an easy target?"
"That's right. All of the above." Obi-Wan nodded sharply. "So? What should we do then?" he pressed, hoping for the right answer.
"Uh—move within the trees and, uh—stay out of the limited field of view—maybe, try and get close enough to attach an explosive towards the rear, where the repulsorlift generators are?"
Obi-Wan blinked.
She'd done it. And quickly.
She'd suggested a tactical plan based on her research and knowledge of the enemy.
He looked at her and nodded with approval. But the crisis was still ongoing, and there was still much for her to prove.
"Yes—those are good ideas," he said, his tone firm but encouraging. "Good work. Now…"
The Jedi Master turned to look back towards the Separatist tank. "I will create a diversion—you plant the bomb," he said quietly, but firmly. His tone was that of a Jedi Master…and a General.
She was his Padawan, but also his subordinate…and in moments like this, the line between teacher and leader grew blurred.
Jaina's eyes widened. "M—Me?"
"Yes, you. You won't get far if you can't learn to trust your own talents in situations like this."
His tone was still sharp, though his expression was soft as he looked at her—she wasn't a mere Padawan in this moment anymore, she needed to be a Jedi Commander.
"I can't always be there to hold your hand, my Padawan. You have to step up."
"Okay—" Jaina muttered. "Okay."
"Good." Obi-Wan turned back towards the AAT, looking at it carefully.
"Stay in the bushes and the trees, and move quickly," he said quietly, his voice low. "I'll move the machine's turret away so it can't spot you, then you place the detonator behind."
"You'll need to have both good aim and timing—once you attach a thermal detonator, you can't reset or shut down the timer."
"I know, I know, I read the manual," Jaina mumbled, sighing and pulling out the thermal detonator from her back pocket
"Good. Now go," Obi-Wan said, his tone sharp, but soft at the same time. "Time is of the essence here, there are lives at stake."
He looked back at her, his expression growing tender. "Don't worry, I trust you."
With this encouragement, he headed off towards the AAT, hoping to draw its turret towards him, away from her.
Jaina sighed and crouched through the bushes, inching herself closer and closer towards the AAT's opposite flank.
Obi-Wan saw her approach, carefully, efficiently, and stealthily. Her technique was improving quickly. She had taken to his teachings of Soresu like a sponge. She was moving in the shadows, using the trees as cover and concealment, taking advantage of the darkness and shadow.
And that was good—very good.
Reaching a few meters away from the AAT, Jaina leapt towards the tree next to her, and used it as a jump-off point to launch herself into a somersault that landed directly behind the Separatist tank.
She carefully deactivated the safety switch of the thermal detonator, and planted it directly between the tank's repulsorlift engines and fuel line.
As the detonator began to count down, Jaina sprinted back towards the tree line and the shore. She leapt away from the AAT and landed cleanly back on the sand, stumbling towards the ground at the shockwave and explosion that destroyed the AAT.
Obi-Wan was stunned.
He couldn't have planned that attack any better than she had just done.
She had seen an opportunity—capitalized on it, and destroyed the tank with a single thermal detonator.
It was brilliant.
Jaina coughed through the smoke, remaining on her knees for several moments as she caught her breath and dusted the soot that had gathered all over her tunic and robes.
Obi-Wan approached her in the sand, and crouched down beside her.
With a small smile on his face, he brushed the soot from her face with a thumb, the tiny gesture a sign of his growing affection.
"Well done." He said, with a small smirk. "Tell you what—next mission, I'll give you some lessons on how to land."
Jaina nodded shakily, rolling her eyes. "Yeah that might've been useful."
Obi-Wan chuckled softly at her expression. She was still shaken, but the fact that she had the sense of humor to roll her eyes was a good sign.
"Come on," he said, his voice gentle as he offered his hand to help her up from the sand. "We need to regroup with the others."
Jaina managed a small smile, taking the extended hand and pulling herself off the ground. With her braid now a slightly disheveled mess, she tucked a loose strand of her brunette curls behind her ear and gazed at the remaining Separatist forces
Obi-Wan saw that she had already turned her attention back to the remaining enemy forces, and felt a new wave of pride.
Good. She was already thinking several steps ahead.
"Before that," he said, gesturing at the smoking remnants of the AAT she had just destroyed, folding his arms across his chest.
Jaina turned to glance at it. "Hmm?"
"See the thermal detonator?" Obi-Wan said, pointing at the remains of the machine. She had attached a thermal detonator, and had used it to destroy the tank.
He watched her expression carefully. "Do you know what happens after the detonator is attached?"
Jaina nodded. "It counts down, and explodes."
"And do you know why that is?"
"Because once it's activated, it begins a localized nuclear fusion reaction to generate heat," Jaina murmured. "And atomize anything within its blast radius."
Obi-Wan blinked.
That was exactly the answer he was looking for. She didn't just remember the factoid—she understood the concept, the science behind the technology.
He felt a swell of pride, and couldn't hide the smile on his face as he regarded her.
"Yes... perfect."
Jaina grinned. "I told you. I read the manual." She shrugged. "...Actually, I read a couple of different manuals on the way here."
Obi-Wan laughed quietly. "So that's what you were doing on your datapad."
He was still stunned and overjoyed. His Padawan had just destroyed an AAT by herself—on her first mission.
He tilted his head towards the remaining Separatist droid squads, who had taken notice of the destruction of the AAT and were now retreating back into the jungle—or at least, as much as the Republic troopers would allow them.
The Jedi Master smiled. "Come along then, my little one. We still have work to do."
The battle for Murkhana was far from over—but it was clear that his Padawan was made of good stuff.
And that was a victory in itself.