"Battles won or lost, it is always the relationships that you make on the journey that truly defy a victory or loss. And these Protectors, they have the capability of being the strongest." The Watcher said as he looked down at the darkness of space.
The Protectors had somewhat successfully intercepted an imperial transport to steal supplies and ammo. They had promised to continue their fight against the Empire, and so far, they had lived up to that promise. As they flew away from the transport in their ship, the Stellar Sentinel, they were able to procure a range of valuable items. Among them were medical supplies, blasters, photon grenades, and a power generator. In addition, they managed to siphon some fuel from the transport to ensure their own ship would keep running.
Amber was making her way down one of the hallways of the ship when they were suddenly hit by something, causing the entire ship to shake violently. She quickly grabbed onto the rails in the hallway to steady herself. Hurrying towards the main room, she saw that Peter and Kyle were hard at work trying to fly them away from danger. Meanwhile, Rex was frantically trying to plot their next course of action from his seat, and Cheep was rolling around in all directions, unable to maintain a stable position amidst the chaos of the shaking ship. Kate was also putting out a fire that started due to the explosion.
"Haven't we jumped to Hyperspace yet?" Amber asks as she runs over to hang onto Kate's chair.
"Obviously, not!" Peter cried as he worked on getting them to safety. "Rex, Kate, do either of you have a destination charted for us?"
"I'm working on it!" Kate cried as she searched for nearby Star systems they could escape to. "Okay, I might have one. It's called Agamar!"
"How far to make the jump?" Peter asks.
"Uh, it's a far distance, but if you're going to make it faster, you're gonna have to make it through that asteroid field." Kate pointed out the window to their left.
Peter gazed out at the asteroid field that stretched out before them. The view was surreal, with massive rocks and boulders hurtling through the void, crashing into each other. In the distance, the Destroyer that was pursuing them could be seen, unleashing a swarm of TIE fighters to attack the Sentinel.
Peter quickly pulled up the cameras and assessed the situation as he saw the Empire was closing in. There was no way they could outrun the TIE fighters, but the asteroid field was too dense to navigate through safely. Peter knew that it was time to take a bold risk.
With a deep sigh, he turned to the crew and shouted, "Hang on to something!"
The crew braced themselves as Peter changed course and steered the Sentinel towards the treacherous field. The ship jolted and shook as they hurtled towards the massive rocks, dodging and weaving between them with only milliseconds to spare. The crew held on tight, their hearts pounding with adrenaline as they followed Peter's lead and put their trust in his skills as a pilot.
"Sir, to make it through that in one piece, you'd have to be the greatest pilot in the universe." Rex broke the news to Peter.
Peter smiled and remembered his time as a pilot during the Clone Wars. "Lucky for us that I..."
Kyle, however, had different opinions than he took his seat. "I am."
Peter was confused when he heard that. "Wha-?"
As Kyle steered the ship, he had to quickly navigate through the debris of asteroids and the TIE fighters that were relentlessly chasing them. With his quick reflexes, he was able to do a flip and dodge an asteroid, which caused one of the TIE fighters to crash into it.
Peter, on the other hand, was amazed by Kyle's skills but also felt a little envious. As he took control of his own ship, he knew he had to step up his game. He used his expertise to navigate around the asteroids by doing a loaded roll and power loop before spinning around and using the weapons to shoot down one TIE fighter. He didn't stop there and continued to take down another TIE fighter, which crashed into a swarm of others, causing a massive explosion. Kyle was taken aback as he realized that he wasn't in control of the ship anymore.
He turned to Peter, feeling confused and annoyed, and asked, "What the hell, Parker?"
Peter didn't take his eyes off the situation as he spun the ship around. "I've been taught by Anakin Skywalker since I was 17. THE Anakin Skywalker. The greatest Jedi and pilot back in the Clone Wars."
Kyle seemed offended by that. "Yeah? Well, I was taught how to fly by my uncle when I was four." Kyle then took control as he flew to dodge the asteroids, with fewer and fewer TIEs on their backs now.
Peter was a little shocked when he heard that statement and asked, "Four? What kind of childhood did you have on Mandalore?" Peter then took control. He flew the ship around a couple of asteroids when the Destroyer opened fire on them.
Kate sighed as she was getting a little tired of their constant fighting. "Stop it."
Kyle wasn't done yet. "Parker, later on, tonight you're gonna be laying down in your bed and there's gonna be something squishy in your pillowcase. And you're gonna be like, "What's this?" And it's going to be because I put a turd in there!" Before taking control to maneuver around the asteroids.
Peter didn't take the threat lightly as he turned to face the Mandalorian. "You put your turd in my bed, I will melt your armor while you are still wearing it."
"Oh, it won't be my turd," Kyle promises as he eyes Peter. "It will be Rex's."
Rex was confused about when or where he became part of this conversation. "What?!"
Cheep starts to laugh as he rolls on past the group.
"Where would you even get that?" Rex questioned.
"I have my ways," Kyle promises. "Don't worry about it."
"We're about to die, and this is what we're discussing?" Amber asks them.
Peter and Kyle start fighting for control.
Peter took back control as he dodged an asteroid from hitting their engine. "Dude!"
Kyle took back control. "Knock it off!"
"I'm flying this ship!"
"No, I am!"
"Okay, they weren't the best team in the galaxy. But they've only been working together for seven cycles. Or a week in Earth terms." The Watcher admitted that this didn't help his case. "In fact, their long exposure to one another might be the cause of their annoyance with one another."
When they started exiting the asteroid field, one of their back engines was hit by an asteroid. This caused them to spiral out of control and the air was being sucked out. Rex activated a forcefield to cut off that one area and everyone tried to relax. However, TIE fighters closing in and shooting at the other engines caused them to panic once more.
"Well, that's what you get when he flies." Kyle mocked.
Kate was about to retort when she saw the button beeping. "Punch it, Rex!"
Rex activated the hyperspace lane and then shot them off for their destination on Agamar. The Star Destroyer was left to make its way through the asteroid field, with no way of tracking them. They were safe.
The Stellar was traveling through hyperspace when suddenly another engine exploded, causing the ship to lose control and spiral out of control. In an instant, Peter tried to keep the ship steady, while Cheep came rolling across the floor. It was a terrifying experience, as they began to make a direct course towards crashing into the planet. Using his skills, Peter swiftly used the emergency thrusters to slow down their descent, but they were still coming in too hot. Even though they were not heading for any of the major cities on Agamar, it was still a daunting moment as they could only crash into one of the open fields.
The Stellar is coming in for a crash landing. The ship is flying and impacting the ground, leaving a gigantic impact crater as it spins around and comes to a sudden stop.
As the ship came crashing down, Peter, Kate, Amber, Rex, and Kyle were thrown around violently, and their nerves were left frazzled. After the dust had settled, they all took a moment to catch their breath and assess their situation. Cheep, the ever-irritated droid, emerged from the closet where he had been tossed during the crash and let out a series of beeps that confirmed his annoyance with their landing skills. The group couldn't help but feel a sense of relief as they realized that they had survived a crash landing on an unfamiliar planet.
"That could have been worse." Amber, always the optimist, tried to look on the bright side. However, just as she spoke, one of the thrusters of their ship detached and crashed down beside them, creating a tense atmosphere among the group. Everyone on board eyed her with annoyance, seeing that she had jinxed them. She quickly realized her mistake and apologized. "Never mind."
As they stepped outside, they were confronted with the full extent of the damage to their ship. It was clear that it had been through a harrowing ordeal - it looked as if it had been involved in a space battle followed by a catastrophic explosion that had taken off one of its wings. Which it technically was. Kate, the most level-headed of the group, paced back and forth, trying to come up with a plan of action.
In the time they had spent together, Kate had assumed the motherly role of the group. Peter was the commander, but his orders were often questioned by the others. But whenever Kate supported a decision, it seemed to rally the team together. Then there was when she was mad...like right now.
"Look at this!" Kate cried as she pointed at the destroyed ship, eying the entire crew as they were lined up. "Where is the other half of our ship?!" Nobody dared to speak. She then looked over towards the two who were fighting over piloting. "Either one of you could have gotten us through that asteroid field if you had flown with what's between your ears, rather than fighting with what's between your legs."
"If what's between my legs had a hand on it..." Peter muttered.
"Peter," Kate called him out. "We almost died because of your arrogance."
"More like a certain someone here forgot that it was meant to be a stealth mission!" Peter stated as he eyed Kyle.
"Hey, don't go blaming me." Kyle defended as he pointed towards Amber. "It was her fault. She thought waving her hand in front of the Trooper was going to get him to let us go."
"I was trying to use the Jedi Mind Touch." Amber defended. "How was I supposed to know how strong-minded he was?"
"More likely that you're just weak." Kyle retorted.
The group then began to shout and argue among themselves. Cheep warbled and even smacked Rex, blaming him for the mission going awry.
Peter groaned and knew that he needed to defuse the situation. "Guys!" He cried out, getting them to silence themselves at last. "Look, whether you like it or not, we are stuck here, and we are stuck together. Since we are wanted by about half of the galaxy already who wants us all dead, it would be wise if we don't try to kick ourselves."
Kate sighed and nodded as she agreed with him. "Alright, then what do we do?"
"We need to take inventory of this planet," Peter said as he looked around the planet. He tapped just underneath his ear, causing a Spider-Man-like mask (albeit deformed) to form around his face. He then searched the area and came across what looked to be an old settlement. "Looks like we have some form of a settlement a few clicks away." He then retracted his mask. "Cheep, what major components do we need to get this ship operational again?"
Cheep did a once over with the controls of the ship and bleeped towards them.
"We can fix the major damages with what we have, but we need a new engine." Peter sighed. "Maybe that settlement has a few ships we can scrap for parts."
"Okay, I will stick around here and fix the major damage, hoping the Empire doesn't track us here." Kate offered.
"Great, I'll take the others and see what we can salvage," Peter said as the group split off into two groups.
Making their way towards the structure, they found what looked to be the remains of a transport ship from the Clone Wars. Peter approached something buried in the snow and brushed it off to see the remains of an old battle droid. A lot of repressed memories resurfaced at the sight of that thing.
"Get down!"
"We lost the tower!"
Peter shook himself free of the memory as he coughed. "Looks to be an old transport."
"Perfect spot to find some spare ship parts." Rex nodded. "Maybe even some weapons and proton bombs. We could get a deal on those if we sold them."
"Really? We're arms dealers now?" Amber asks.
"We're whatever the galaxy needs us to be," Peter stated as he stood up. "Well, we should be anyway. We're not much of a team."
"You think something like that was going to happen overnight?" Rex asked, chuckling. "You were there when they trained clones. A squad is forged through time and sacrifice."
Peter sighed. "Well, we don't really have a training module like they do on Kamino for them to bond over completing."
"Yeah, that'd do it." Rex had to agree.
Entering the hangar bay for the ship, they snuck behind some crates while Rex held his hand up to stop them. "Hang here. Let me do some recon first."
Rex began to look around for something they could salvage. Once he put his helmet on, he started searching for something that might be useful. Amber noticed an old battle droid head on the ground and hurried over to pick it up.
When she did, it triggered her special Force power. Amber wasn't just an ordinary Jedi, but one who had a rare ability known as Force Echo. Not many Jedi in the galaxy have this ability, but she has tried to use the best of her ability to learn how to use it—allowing her to see how small certain events played out.
She could feel the history that went into this object and saw that what looked to be two figures with Lightsabers were cutting down the droids. She then snapped back into reality and wondered what had happened to those Jedi who stood where she was standing. Looking around she didn't see any signs of lightsabers or bodies. But she did notice there was a Clone Troopers helmet, meaning something did go down.
With Rex, he came across a crack in the wall that showed some mechanical parts, including the piece of the engine they needed to get their ship functioning properly again. Not to mention an entire room full of ammunition. "Well, look at that. We hit pay dirt." He then waved his hand for them to follow him. "We've not only got ourselves a function engine but their ammo munitions are fully loaded. More proton bombs than we can carry."
Peter smiled as he walked over to the war soldier. "And we aren't afraid to make trips. We could even bring the ship closer with the engine."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Amber asked as she stood up. "Kyle, wanna give me a hand with the engine?"
"If I must." Kyle sighed as they all approached the doorway.
All except for Cheep, who had snuck off. Cheep was starting to look around when he came across something strange, he tried to get into contact with his team but didn't want to alert what he found. He wheeled off to try and find them quickly.
"Just be careful. These places are usually protected by Ray shields." Rex warned his crew.
"A ray shield?" Amber asks. "What's a Ray-" Before she could finish her question, a Ray shield activated and captured the four of them in a dying attempt. "Don't- don't answer, I think I got it."
"I think that's the least of our problems," Kyle commented when they noticed battle droids coming from the shadows.
"Battle droids?" Peter asks in shock. "I thought they were all shut down."
"Well, somebody didn't pass that message to them," Kyle stated as he raised his blaster at them.
"Halt!" The battle droid demanded them. "You are now prisoners of the Separatist Alliance!"
"Separatists?" Peter asks in shock.
"Prepare to be blasted republic invaders." One of them said.
"Republic invaders?" Amber is lost.
One of the Battle Droids seemed to be getting orders. "Roger, Roger. The commander wants the prisoners brought to him. Activate stunner."
"What?" Rex asked.
"Stunned?" Kyle questioned.
"Oh, not this again!" Peter exclaimed as he knew what came next.
An electrical attack came from the ground and zapped the entire group, knocking them all out easily. Cheep was the only one who wasn't captured, and it seemed nobody even knew he was there. He watched as his unconscious friends were being dragged off towards the bridge of the ship.
"It's been a while since we captured someone."
"We've never captured anyone."
Rex was the last member of the team to wake up and see that they had been taken to the bridge of the ship in cuffs. When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a Tactical Droid surrounded by a squad of Battle Droids. He started to hyperventilate as if reliving memories from the Clone Wars.
"No, no, the war," Rex muttered in fear. "It's not over."
"Rex? Rex!" Peter tried to break him out of his panic attack.
"Cody?" Rex spun to face Peter, expecting to see his clone brothers.
"I need you with us, pal." Peter tried to get him to understand. "We're in a situation."
"Ah, Peter." Rex sighed as he saw that he wasn't in the Clone Wars anymore. "I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else."
"Yeah, I got the impression." Peter sighed as he eyed the robots. "Seems we're dealing with a super tactical droid."
The tactical droid in question stood from his seat and approached the window. "What's a super tactical droid?" Kyle wondered.
"It's...exactly how it sounds," Amber told the Mandalorian.
"Is that bad?" Kyle asks Rex.
"Very," Rex told him. "That droid's extremely intelligent."
The super tactical droid was carrying Rex's helmet as he looked out the window. "Near the end of the Wars, Seperstisr droids significantly outnumbered Republic units. By my calculations, our probability of being defeated was only 23.6%."
"After Clone Order 66, the whole droid army was given a shutdown command." Rex wanted to understand this. "How are you even operating?"
"The Jedi betrayal ended the war for most of the galaxy." The tactical droid confirmed. "But here on Agamar, I assumed it was a Republic trick and prevented the shutdown command."
"Well, it doesn't matter how it ended. The war is over." Rex informed the droid. "Let us go."
"Negative, captain." The tactical droid said. "I calculate this will be my only opportunity to end the Clone Wars as I planned, with a victory for the Separatist Alliance."
"What do you want us to do? Surrender?" Rex asks.
"On the contrary, I want you to fight." The tactical droid tells them, giving his helmet back to Rex. "To prove, once and for all, whose tactical strategy was superior."
"You're kidding me, right?" Kyle asks. "You guys don't have anything better to do?"
"They're battle droids. All they know is how to fight," Peter replied. "You can count us out. We're not fighting your war game."
"That is correct, Avenger." The tactical droid confirmed. "Your kind was commonly known to be needing rescue, so you will be the hostage your allies must save."
"That often?" Amber asked. "That doesn't sound right."
"It was once every ten missions," Peter replied mostly sarcastically.
"The Jedi and Mandalorian Rescue is a recurring scenario based on 213 battles I have reviewed." The tactical droid commented.
"Yeah, participated in a few times myself," Peter muttered.
"And a complete set of republic opponents will make this authentic. A Mandalorian, Cone commander, and a Jedi."
"In training," Kyle stated.
"Why must you always bring that up?" Amber asked him.
"No, it won't, because we're not fighting." Rex wasn't interested in fighting for this droid.
"if you will not fight, you will be terminated." The tactical droid stated.
"We'll fight your stupid war," Amber stated, surprising the others.
"What?" Rex asked.
"Amber!" Peter gritted through his teeth.
"Hey, I was stuck at the temple for most of the war," Amber told the two of them. "I feel like I never contributed anything to help our cause. I want to help win this last battle for all of the fallen Jedi. For my friends." She grew a little sad when she remembered everyone she lost at the temple. Then she looked over at the battle droids and scoffed. "Besides, look at them. How can we lose?"
Two of the Battle Droids were confused and even eyed one another before looking back at Amber. "Uh, hey!"
Peter and Rex shared almost a mental conversation since they didn't know if this was a good idea or not. But then it seemed they came to the same conclusion.
"Well, fighting them head-on might be easier than getting out of our current situation." Peter took a risk.
Rex sighed and saw this wasn't going to be easy. "Fine. Fine, we'll do it."
"And when we win, we take the proton bombs and your ship's engine." Amber bargained.
"I accept your terms." The protocol droid confirmed and marched to his seat while the Protectors were escorted out.
"The commander has initiated Battle Plan Zeta." A BD said to a squad of droids.
"Roger, Roger." All of them said as they walked off to get into formation.
"Battle Plan Zeta?" One of the Battle Droids seems excited. "Finally!"
Cheep rolled off to find a way to contact Kate, trying to let her know what was going on. He found an old shuttle in the distance that seemed still to be active. Rolling towards it, he immediately started to power the shuttle. It wasn't easy, and the shuttle kept stuttering and barely activated. Seems it was mostly damaged in the crash. Once he finally activated the ship, he began sending out a distress signal for Kate to pick up.
However, it seemed Kate wasn't in the mood to pick up the coms, as the light beeping on the device was drowned out by the music she had been playing at full volume. It seemed she was taking full advantage of having some privacy for the first time since she joined the Protectors. She took her comm out left it on her seat, and cleaned up a few minor things after repairing the slight damage done to the Stellar. Now she was standing around while listening to music.
"I said I'm hooked on a feeling~" Kate sang as she danced around the ship. "Yeah, I'm high on believing~"
Back on the Star Destroyer, they had just escaped, Brendol Hux, the captain of the Star Destroyer, was angry about the escape of the Protectors.
"How could they have gotten away from us?" Hux asked in anger.
"We are searching for them now, sir. But they're somehow scrambling their Hyperdrive signature. It's impossible to track as it is."
"Wait, sir, we are picking up a signal." One of the other officers commented as they picked up a nearby signal. "It's faint and repetitive, almost like a distress call."
"Maybe our luck is on our side," Hux said. "Where it is coming from?"
"The planet Agamar."
"Then take us to Agamar," Hux demanded. "We will capture these Protectors."
"The objective of this battle is simple." Kalani the tactical droid called as the team approached the entrance again. "You just fight your way back to my command center and capture it to free your friend."
"Okay..." Kyle was a little worried about the situation. "Rex, you've got the most battlefield experience than either of us."
"Yeah, definitely." Amber agreed with him there. "We'll follow your lead on this one."
"Alright." Rex saw he needed to take the lead with this one. "Our first goal is to get inside the hanger. Kalani is a war machine, programmed to kill, and he's got the numbers and the firepower to do it. Our only chance is to be aggressive, surprise him, and hopefully put him on the defensive."
"How many droids do you think he has?" Amber wonders.
"The last battle will begin now," Kalani tells them from the speaker.
Then they watched as dozens of Battle Droids were exiting the hangar and marched towards the team out in the open. Amber was quick to activate her saber while Rex placed his helmet on and Kyle grabbed his blaster.
"Let's assume it's a lot," Kyle tells her. "He has a lot of droids!"
"We've gotta scatter them," Rex tells them. "Use the sword and shield maneuver.
"Wait. What does that mean?" Kyle wasn't familiar with these maneuvers.
"I block, you two fire," Amber explained as she swung her lightsaber. "God, I hope all that training paid off."
While the droids were approaching, Amber was hard at work to block her allies from being shot down or harmed. Rex pulled out a detonator and tossed it towards them. When it went off, a whole portion of battle droids in the middle were taken down. Kyle managed to start shooting some of the closer droids. Rex then went in and tossed another detonator that took down another portion of them.
"That scattered 'em!" Rex cheered. "Everybody forward!" The group then started to make their way in closer. Kyle shot anyone of them that still moved and Amber took charge to slice one down. "Amber, form it up!" He said when he was almost shot from the last droid Kyle shot down seconds after. "We've gotta stay together."
They took cover under some of the crates and Kyle took a look with his visor "The hangar looks clear."
"Wait." Rex moved over so he could take a look. "That's not how it normally goes."
"What's wrong?" Amber wonders.
"The droids usually keep coming, wave after wave," Rex explains why he's confused.
"That tactical droid has had a while to think about this," Kyle commented.
"I'm surprised it means so much to him." Amber ad tied.
"Yeah, it means a lot to his programming," Rex explained to her. "It means a lot to mine as well."
"Your programming?" Amber asks, never seeing Rex or any of the clones to be programmed beings.
"We clones were bred for combat." Rex reminds her. "With few exceptions, there was no other way of life for us."
"We should move," Kyle tells them as he comes out of their cover area.
"Right, Commander." Rex accidentally messed up. "Uh, Kyle."
Amber considered what Rex had said about their programming, remembering how the clones were programmed to kill all of the Jedi because of those stupid chips. If it weren't for those things, the Jedi might have stopped the war. She however knew she needed to focus on the task at hand and ran to catch up.
Kalani was watching the whole thing from his monitors and saw they had made it through the first wave. Peter was proud to see that they were finally learning to get along and work together. Even if it is just so they can stay alive, it was a starting point that they could work off of later.
"Looks like my guys are doing pretty good," Peter commented with a smile. "You might as well surrender now."
"I am not programmed to comprehend your humor," Kalani tells him.
Peter changed from a smug smile to a deepened annoyed look when he heard that. "I'm not joking."
"Ha, ha, ha," Kalani replied. He then watched as the group made their way to an area near the door where they were captured. "Your Republic friends have taken the bait. Send in the destroyers."
Two destroyers made their way up to the balcony and opened fire on the group, with Amber trying to deflect all their shots. They backed up to some of the cargo containers for cover from the constant blaster fire.
"Can't advance with those destroyers up there." Rex cried as they took cover. "There's no way to breach their shields."
Amber peered her head out to look around to figure out a plan. "Look!" She spotted an old crane in the middle of the hangar. "That crane! I bet we can use it to take out the catwalk. I'll make a run for it."
"We'll draw their attention." Kyle offered as he stepped out and opened fire, the Beskar steel holding up against the blaster fire.
Amber then ran towards the crane while Kalani watched the entire thing from his location. "Ah, the Jedi has split up from the troops, as they do 76% of the time." He then contacted another group of droids. "Squad six, advance."
"Move in!" A battle droid said as he and a squadron of droid troops advanced on the group.
"More droids! We've gotta take cover." Rex cried as he and Kyle started to back off to find better cover from their current location.
Amber was sneaking around all of the equipment and cargo to try and sneak around. As she was doing so, she bumped into what she thought was another droid and shrieked, preparing to grab her lightsaber. That's when she looked and saw that it wasn't a battle droid, rather it was Cheep.
Amber groaned in anger as she put her hands up like she was going to strangle Cheep. But that wouldn't do her any good; he doesn't have a neck.
"Hmm, Cheep, where've you been?!" Amber asked him.
Cheep bleeped and grunted.
"How'd you send a distress signal?" Amber was a little curious to know. Cheep then grabbed her by the hand and dragged her off deeper into the cargo hood. "Hey, I'm kinda in the middle of something."
Cheep kept pushing her, and Amber saw that he was leading her to a shuttlecraft that seemed to still be functional. At least it was functional enough to send a distress signal.
"A shuttle! Good find, Cheep." Amber had to admit the droid did something right. "But we're not leaving without Peter. So you get it running and I'll get the others."
Cheep gave a salute and grunted to confirm he would do just that.
"Where is that kid?" Red asked as they were getting overrun. "We're gonna get trapped here. We need to move. Now."
"No, Rex." Kyle tried to stop him, but it was too late as Rex came out of hiding and got shot almost instantly. "Rex!"
Kyle shot out some missiles from his kneecap and dragged Rex behind their cover. Amber then got to work on the crane and used the Force on it to take down the bridge that the destroyers were on.
Kyle sighed as he helped Rex to his feet. "You all right?"
"I'm good." Rex groaned. "Generation One armor always holds up." Then they all ran towards the entrance they came from and Rex shot the Ray shield so they weren't trapped. "No ray shields this time."
"Well, that went just as planned, more or less." Kyle scoffed as they ran into the hallway toward the bridge.
"Yeah, but that's normal? Isn't it?" Amber shrugged. "I make a pretty good soldier, huh?"
Rex froze as he turned back to face Amber. "No. A good soldier follows orders. That plan was based on timing and execution. And you took too long!"
"It wasn't my fault." Amber tried to explain what happened. "Cheep wanted to show me-"
"This is not a game!" Rex tells her. "This is life and death! Every move you make affects the rest of us. If we're gonna survive this, we're gonna do it with strategy and discipline."
Kyle watched Rex march off and approached Amber, seeing how guilty she felt. "It's not you. I've seen this before a ton on Mandalore. He just needs to finish this battle his way."
Amber nodded, confirming that she understood. But then she started to figure something out. "Just like that droid."
As they kept going, they ran into two more destroyers while they were out in the open. Amber started to redirect the blaster fire to keep them safe, but her shoulder glazed in the process of the fire.
"We gotta get out of here!" Rex tells them.
Before they could figure out what their next move was, the droid started to malfunction and the shields shut down. Then the droid started to shoot the wall and turn around before Rex shot it down easily.
"That droid's too old." Amber took notice
"Huh. Just like me." Rex commented.
Back with Kate, she was still unaware of the danger her friends were in. She had her feet laid back and was enjoying the quiet. She wasn't aware of the comms alerting her of danger, as she had forgotten to unmute it by this point. She just kicked back and relaxed.
"Careful now, don't get caught in your dreams. Look out, baby, this is not what it seems."
"Ooh, ooh, baby, you've been so good to me~" Kate was singing along to the music.
"But please don't make it what it's not. Well, I thought we agreed on what we needed. So listen to me, I'll tell you what we've got."
Kate stopped singing when she noticed a gigantic shadow filling the window. She crept over, shut down the main engines, and wondered what was happening. That's when she looked and realized the shadow was being cast by the underside of a Star Destroyer.
"We got a wham bam shang-a-lang. And a sha-la-la-la-la-la thing. Wham bam shang-a-lang. And a sha-la-la-la-la-la thing."
"Oh, shit," Kate whispered.
They finally made their way to the bridge, shooting the guards at the door and entering. All of them had their weapons trained on Kalani the moment they entered the bridge.
"Well, it looks like we've won." Rex sneered.
"I disagree, Captain," Kalani said as they looked to see that Peter was being held captive by one of the other droids at gunpoint.
"Yeah, sorry, guys." Peter sighed.
Rex wasn't waiting for a second and was preparing to fire. But Amber stepped in and stopped Rex by lighting his arm. "Rex, no! Don't! We didn't win." She stepped in between the droid veteran and the clone veteran. "These droids are so old, they malfunctioned. If they hadn't, we'd be goners."
"The girl is correct." Kalani agreed with Amber. "The droid army would have prevailed. So, technically, victory is ours."
"No, it's not!" Amber replied as some things were really piecing together for the first time. "I never really thought about it. I guess I've never taken a minute to question things. The Jedi were wiped out, the clones were decommissioned, and the droid army was just shut down. The Clone Wars ended, but why? If none of you won, who did?"
That got Rex and Kalani to really question their answer to that question. They really didn't have an answer.
"The Empire," Peter commented, looking out the window.
"That's right. How did you know?" Amber thought he was answering her question. But then she looked out the window and noticed the Destroyer approaching. "Oh, that's what you meant."
"I've got a new calculation for you," Kyle commented, eyeing Kalani. "What are the chances of your droid army defeating the Empire?"
"My resources are depleted. However, the droid army is not currently at war with the Galactic Empire." Kalani tells them.
"You wanna bet?" Peter replied.
"Unit B1-268, analyze the threat," Kalani demanded his droids.
Three Battle Droids approached the approaching shuttle, which came looking for the Protectors. It didn't take long for everything to become static after the troops shot down the droids.
"I think we face a common enemy now," Amber replied to Kalani.
"Ah, wait a minute!" Rex was worried about where this was headed.
"Let her finish, Rex." Peter wanted to see where she was going.
"Clones? Battle droids? You destroyed each other." Amber recapped the Clone Wars. "And when both of our sides were both weak enough, the Empire came in to take over. General, what were the Separatists fighting for?"
"According to my programming, freedom from the tyranny of the Republic," Kalani answered her question.
"Hmm, fighting tyranny. Sounds like the Empire is your enemy." Amber replied.
"You are against the Empire. I am against the Republic. Now the Republic has become the Empire." Kalani recapped the logic to figure it out. "I accept your logic. We are on the same side."
The battle droid with his gun on Peter let up. "Sorry."
Rex removed his helmet and was surprised. "I guess we are."
"However, as I stated, my forces are too depleted for me to plan a successful counterattack," Kalani warned them.
"Fighting insurmountable odds? We can help you with that." Peter stated as he stood up.
Cheep watched as the Empire was approaching and dropped down two Walkers at their doorsteps. He then immediately bleeped and whistled into the comms.
"Yes, Chopper, we know the Empire is here," Amber replied. "How's the shuttle coming?"
"Shuttle? What shuttle?" Kyle wonders.
"The one I tried to tell you about earlier," Amber explained.
"We have three Sheathipede-class shuttles, but they have no weapons," Kalani confirmed and showed the shuttles on his holograms.
"No, but they can get us outta here," Peter stated as he got back on his feet.
"A successful retreat is improbable," Kalani replied. "The walkers will destroy the ships before they escape the hangar."
"We don't have the firepower to take on walkers," Rex commented.
"What about the bombs we saw?" Kyle offered.
"We have no cannon to fire the shells," Kalani explained. "Otherwise, I would have used them on you."
"Oh, thanks." Amber retorted sarcastically.
"Ah, we roll 'em!" Rex came up with a plausible plan. "The proton bombs. We roll 'em across the hangar and into the feet of the walkers. Then we blast 'em!"
"My battle droids are not accurate," Kalani said as he looked over to Kyle. "However, you are, Mandalorian."
"I don't understand," Kyle commented.
"You can shoot your blaster bolts toward the shells more accurately than any battle droid, thus setting off more targets than my droids could hit alone," Kalani explained and showed it on a hologram.
"I can't tell how to take that," Kyle commented.
Peter nodded and saw that this was their only plan. "Cheep, get the munitions ready to roll."
The Walkers were making their way towards the doorway of the hanger while Cheep rolled out all of the proton bombs. It took some time for them all to meet up with one another in the hangar while hiding behind the cargo.
"Ready?" Rex asked as everyone nodded and was ready to get out. "One last glorious day in the Grand Army of the Republic."
"Cheep, have the shuttle ready to go and get the engine stored so we can get the Stellar out of here," Peter tells their droid. Cheep then rolled off while Peter looked to the Battle droids. "D squad, get ready!"
"I have never attempted such a desperate strategy," Kalani commented.
"That's why we always won," Rex stated.
"Not always," Kalani replied.
"Hey, guys, focus on the present," Amber begged them.
"Once those shells explode, get to your shuttles," Kyle tells them, getting his blaster ready to fire at the shells.
"Roger, Roger." the Battle Droids tell him.
Kyle then grabbed a detonator from one of the crates and saw the smaller walker approaching the doorway. He then tossed it into the air, watching it fly through the air and rolling across the ground before finally going off. A few seconds later, the bomb went off and destroyed the Walker's leg causing the machinery to fall off balance and then fall over.
Kyle then watched as the D Squad went out first and opened fire on the troops and second walker. Two destroyers rolled out before the AT-AT began to make its way towards them. Battle Droids were then rolling the shells out into the open to make their way toward the legs of the AT-AT. Kyle opened fire on the shells, watching as the bomb went off, and the Walker began to crash.
"This might be our only chance," Peter warned the team. He then started to back off as Kyle was still shooting the shells. "Get to the ships!"
Everyone started to run towards the shuttles, seeing they had a big enough opening to run. All the battle droids jumped onto the shuttles and one almost got left behind when he made it inside.
"I made it! I made it!" Battle droid cheered when he then fell backward as the door was closing. "Aaah"
Getting out was the hard part, but staying in the air was another major one. They flew off as fast as they could, with only one of the shuttles full of Battle Droids not making it, and ended up being shot down and crashing into another Walker, giving them another opening to escape.
"We made it." Peter sighed in relief as they were flying towards their ship and the others were leaving the planet. "General, you read us?"
Kalani appeared in a small hologram. "Affirmative. We have survived the battle. It was not a victory, but a successful strategy nonetheless."
"No, it was a victory," Rex stated as he looked at Amber. "We all just won the Clone War, and you ended it, Amber." He then placed a hand on Amber's shoulder. "A galaxy of Senators couldn't do that. An army of Jedi, clones, and droids couldn't find the middle ground, but you did."
Amber didn't see that she did much. "Rex, all I did was point out that none of you were meant to win. We couldn't."
"And we needed to hear it," Rex stated.
"Agreed," Kalani confirmed. "I am satisfied if you are, Captain."
"I am." Rex nodded.
"Very good," Kalani said and eyed the Protectors. "Now, based upon this battle, I calculate that you have less than a one percent chance of staging a successful rebellion against the Empire, so this is where we must part ways."
"Roger, Roger," Amber replied with a joking salute. Then Kalani stopped the hologram and vanished. "I can't imagine fighting that many droids all the time."
"Well, if you think that was bad, let me tell you about the Battle of Geonosis." Rex joked as their comms were going off.
"Guys? You there?" Kate called in.
"Kate. Wondering where you were." Peter replied to the comm. "How has your day been?"
"Yeah, I think the Empire was scrambling the comms. By the way, I think they're heading right for you." Kate warned them. "You guys do okay?"
"Yeah, trust me. We know the Empire found us. Well, we secured a new engine for the Stellar," Peter confirmed. "But we might be bringing the Empire with us, so get ready to run."
"Of course you are." Kate sighed.
As the shuttle made its way to the Stellar Sentinel, they were preparing to blast off before the Star Destroyer could turn back since it seemed they lost all their TIE Fighters with their last encounter. The Watcher looked down on them and nodded as he saw that the team was starting to slowly become a real team.
"Sometimes all it takes to get a group to get along is a small common goal." The Watcher nodded as he watched the Stellar Sentinel begin to take off into the skies yet again. "It's not the punches thrown but the people that change the outcome of the battle. It's connection."
Amber was walking down the hallways when she came across Kyle's room and watched as he was busy cleaning off his armor from the blaster fire. "Hey, you did great out there. Thanks for saving us."
"No problem. Nice work on the crane." Kyle complimented her work.
Amber nodded and gave a small smile. "Thanks."
Cheep then came past and bumped, seemingly mad that no one appreciated him.
"We appreciate you too, man." Amber rolled her eyes and lightly kicked the droid. "When you actually pull your weight."
"It's love."
Peter was sitting back in the seat of the cockpit as they were currently flying through Hyperspace. Kate walked over and leaned on the back of his seat, seeing how exhausted he was.
"You want me to fly for a while?" Kate asked him. "Give you a chance to take a break and get some rest?"
"Nah, I'm good," Peter assured her. "Just gonna get us somewhere we can hide out and then I'll get some rest. You can get some if you want. I'll only be a few more minutes."
Kate nodded and walked over to take a seat next to Peter. "Alright. Then I can stick around."
Peter smiled and was glad to have a friend like Kate who was still around. After losing everyone, Kate was a great balance for this crew and a good friend who always had their backs.
"It's knowing that someone has your back in a battle."
Rex sat down and was in his room when he heard his communication device going off. It was his old Republic one that was taken offline far as he was concerned. He wondered who would be trying to contact him and activated it, seeing it was Trace and Rafa Martez. A friend of Ahsoka's who had helped him and Peter get the Bowie off of the Empire's radar so they could use it to get around the galaxy in peace.
"We've got the tactical droid information from Corellia," Trace tells Rex, that was something that Rex forgot they asked them to get since they wanted to try and find where they can find a location as a base. "And we had help. From a group of Rogue Clones. And I know where to find them."
