Chapter 96
"Didn't think it'd come to this."
Fives looked at Jesse and couldn't help but agree with the sentiment.
Here the three of them were, after having pulled off the impossible and they were facing a court martial for it.
They were stripped of their armor, leaving them in the matt black undersuits, with only the armored shoes on their feet leaving any hint that they were actually soldiers of the Republic. Surrounding them was a cramped cell in the Umbaran idea of a prison, more like a detention pit.
It was meant to only hold one prisoner, but given that the rest of the cells in the multilevel pit were filled with Umbaran prisoners of war, this had been the only unoccupied one left.
The front of the cell was covered with a transparent blue tinted force field and if anyone had the bright idea that a power failure would allow for an escape, the only thing beyond the field was a massive drop that seemingly had no bottom. There were also dispersed laser grids on multiple floors of the pit, that would neatly turn your body into seared meaty chunks on the way down as well. Then the final bit of humiliation was that this gave the prisoners no privacy and Fives could see dozens of cells containing umbarans.
No sound was able to penetrate through the force fields but that didn't stop the umbarans from sneering, scowling and throwing numerous hand gestures that he assumed were very rude in their culture. One umbaran in particular was quite creative and actually did a pantomime that Fives could somewhat understand - suffice to say that it was disturbing and clearly involved sexual activities of a kind that he only vaguely knew existed at all.
Another indignity was going to the small 'fresher in the corner of the cell. Fives had no problem among his fellow brothers, but the rude umbaran and his fellows laughed, sneered and did their pantomime all over again.
"You and me both," Hardcase sighed. "We're going to be stuck down here, whilst our brothers go and invade that city."
Fives couldn't help the surge of anger that shot through him and his hand slammed into the unyielding wall in frustration. He welcomed the pain and shook out his fingers. "Krell wouldn't even be in a position to do that, if it hadn't been for us! Imagine he had marched us straight into the teeth of that fort and its missiles… wiped out the 501st to the last man, how would that look to the other Jedi and Republic?"
"I can't imagine that, sorry brother," Jesse said darkly. "But the least they would do is strip him of command, remove him from the GAR. That way, our future brothers wouldn't have to suffer from his poor tactics."
"Doubt it, numbers are always against us in this war. The Jedi can't afford to pull Krell. His record defends him, unfortunately."
"A record built on the blood of too many of our brothers," Fives pointed out with a sneer.
He hated that he went through so much in the course of his life for it to end at the blaster point of a fellow brother.
His training squad on Kamino had been slated to fail and that he became a full fledged trooper at all was a miracle. By all rights, he should've become a maintenance worker on Kamino, but the old Domino training squad had pulled through in the end. Despite that heady promise of great things to come, it had been replaced by the boring drudgery of being assigned to a listening post, where one day had blended into the next - of procedure, drill and looking at empty screens.
That changed of course, when droid commandos had invaded the listening post.
The aftermath of the battle to regain control was the first major turning point Fives could point to, when finally things were going in the direction he wanted. When he had become an ARC trooper, training directly under Captain Rex and Commander Tano. He always just wished it hadn't cost the lives of Hevy and Cutup.
So many battles followed, but with General Skywalker leading, it always seemed like the ARC troopers of the 501st could do anything, no matter how outlandish… victory always seemed to come.
Escape an inescapable prison in the middle of enemy territory after infiltrating? No problem. Steal an enemy dreadnought, fly it across enemy space, kicking a new hole in the clanker navy's backside and then escaping; just another day in the 501st.
Flying three commandeered Umbaran fighters, posing as the enemy to drop plasma missiles right on a factory in the heart of the enemy, should've been another proud chapter to add to the saga of the 501st. Now it would be marred with the first court martial in the legion's history.
His dire thoughts were interrupted though when he spotted the nearest laser grids deactivating.
From above a circular elevator that was made out of a white colored force field platform began descending and he could see the rugged boot soles of five troopers from underneath.
It stopped at the level of their cell and was revealed to be Captain Rex with a four man armed detail behind him.
Their CO stepped forward and Fives could immediately tell from the look on Rex's face that this wouldn't be good news.
Rex tapped a button on the side of the cell door and suddenly they could hear the distant thumps of the battle raging across the greater city.
"Fives, Jesse, Hardcase," Rex met each of their eyes. "I've tried everything and I fear I've made things only worse in trying to plead for you. General Krell has ordered your immediate execution."
"What?!" Jesse stood up in anger. "Without a court martial? He can't do that!"
"He has authority to render punishment during combat, whether our occupation of this base qualifies as 'combat' is a gray area that he doesn't have the time to make. He also doesn't want to bother with the formality of a court martial, again arguing that our coming attack on the capital makes that impractical."
"A court martial is required no matter the circumstances, the only way it's allowed to be dismissed is when there are literal blaster bolts flying through the air."
"I know and I agree, but the general sees it as a matter of enforcing his command. If he allows you to get away with disobedience, it might encourage others to do the same."
Fives stepped forward, his eyes blazing as he looked at his CO, "Rex, you have to face it. He's been using you. He's been an unworthy, dishonorable commander from the moment he took command. The only thing he seemingly knows is to order our brothers into suicidal frontal attacks. He is either totally incapable of tactical nuance or just does not bother with it. Even with the corridor we opened for our attack; you know and the entire 501st knows that he'll do the same thing… only this time in the cluster frak that is an urban assault!"
He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, willing Rex to understand.
The CO held his gaze for a while before tapping another button on the side of the cell.
The force field door dissolved and Rex stepped back, nodding at the escort detail. The four troopers stepped forward with binders and secured Fives, Jesse and Hardcase's arms behind their backs.
"I won't let him get away with this," Rex vowed to them. "When the jamming lifts, I'll be on the com to General Skywalker first thing and you can imagine Commander Tano's reaction for yourself."
"I wish I would be alive to see that," Hardcase laughed gruffly as they were led out of the cell and onto the elevator platform.
Fives saw his CO's clear regret and shook his head, "Rex, whatever happens. Don't beat yourself up over it. We went into this eyes wide open on the possible consequences. Just didn't imagine it would happen this quickly."
The elevator began its ascent out of the detention pit.
When they emerged through the double sided blast doors and back into the corridors of the interior base, Fives was rather startled to see that they had company.
The corridor on either side was lined with off-duty troopers of the 501st, standing not in judgment or condemnation, but at attention with clear respect. As if they were the honor guard of war heroes, not of condemned traitors.
In the moment, Fives felt his heart somewhat buoyed, allowing him to straighten his shoulders and stiffen his spine as he walked to his death.
They were led through the many corridors and turbolifts of the base until they emerged from a side entrance to the control tower and into the Umbaran night again.
Fives looked up into the dark starry sky and breathed the air deep, grateful that the ever present cloud cover had seen fit to lift for this occasion. He listened to the distant rumble of explosions and artillery. Saw the flashes of multicolored light on the distant horizon, refracted by the clouds there. He had to admit, it was pretty, even if it signified his brothers fighting and dying against the enemy.
He hated that he would never see them again. That he would never experience Jesse's optimism and Hardcase's gruff straightforward attitude. How ironic that it was only now, as he was staring death in the face, that his appreciation for them and what they did to keep him grounded would manifest.
They were led to an area in front of the tower, directly under the lee of one of the major structural supports.
There a firing squad detail of six troopers led by Dogma was waiting.
Of course it would be Dogma.
A name that his brother had gotten for an almost slavish devotion to the regs. Fives often thought that Dogma slept with a datapad under his pillow with a copy of the full clone trooper regs manual. He could just imagine how he would react to news of the mission they had run against orders.
"Line up the prisoners," Dogma ordered.
Fives, Jesse and Hardcase stood opposite the firing squad at seven meter range.
The six troopers in the firing squad had removed their helmets, so they at least had the respect to show their faces to their condemned brothers and the long barreled DC15-As was at rest next to their legs.
Fives looked to Rex and the four troopers who had escorted them here. They stood like silent statues, yet he understood they were just as trapped as if they had binders on their wrists. Trapped by the system, in this extreme case of a malicious Jedi general towering over them. He understood that they were conditioned to obey orders from the point that they were younglings, sitting in those vast white halls in front of the education terminals. However, if there was one thing that the reality of the galaxy had shown them, it was never just that simple.
The location of this firing squad was also not chosen for convenience. It didn't escape Fives' notice that the tower command center high above could look down on this spot and he could just bet that Krell was up there keeping an eye on proceedings.
"Do the prisoners request to be blindfolded?" asked Dogma.
Fives almost laughed as his fellow brother followed the regs to the letter, despite the fact that he knew no one in the 501st facing the same situation would ever request the blindfold.
They just stared silently at Dogma with glares at the stupid question.
"I'll take that as a no," he concluded and walked towards the side of the firing squad. "Ready weapons!"
The firing squad in perfect synchronization, brought up their blasters to right shoulder arms.
"Aim!"
Fives felt like he was shot already as he now stared down the barrel of two DC-15As wielded by his own brothers. He didn't know it was possible to feel this way, for his heart to experience a sensation like this, which also lanced into his mind.
"Wait!" Fives snapped, preempting Dogma's order and glaring at his brothers behind the triggers. "This is wrong and we all know it! The general is making a mistake and he needs to be called on it. No soldier in this army should go out in this way! We are loyal, we follow orders but we are not a bunch of unthinking droids! We are men and we must be trusted to make the right decisions, especially when the orders we are given are wrong!"
Fives realized it only as he said possibly the last words he would ever say in this life, that those words were anathema to Dogma.
"Fire!"
In less than a moment, every soldier in the firing squad pulled the trigger.
The sound of six close range DC-15As thundered through Fives' ears and his heart skipped a beat.
He felt numb and just stared at the men of the firing squad with what was probably a face that he was taking to his death.
Then the reality of the situation hit him like a crashing gunship.
He turned his head slowly around at the scorch marks of the plasma bolt that had missed his head by less than five millimeters. His nose smelled the stench of burned hair on his scalp.
His head turned right and sure enough, the story was repeated for Jesse and Hardcase.
The firing squad had carried out their orders literally, but had chosen to miss.
"What?" Dogma asked, totally bewildered. He whirled on the troopers of the firing squad, "What was that?!"
They answered him by dropping their weapons purposefully to the ground. The heavy clatter of durasteel and composites echoed over the area.
Fives almost gaped at the display. For clone troopers to do such a thing to a weapon, any weapon, was unheard of. The second lesson a trooper had drilled into them was that your weapon was your life. You respected it and treated it well.
Rex walked forward and now stood in the firing line of the squad.
That act alone told Fives that this was over, one way or another.
"They're doing the right thing, Dogma, because if this is how soldiers are rewarded for heroism, then one day, every man in the 501st may face a similar fate." Rex turned to the escorting troopers. "Take off their binders," he ordered in no uncertain terms.
A whole body relief washed through Fives like he was standing underneath a refresher hose. He fought his own legs and willed through the impulse to just collapse onto his butt.
His arms came free and seeing his own hands again… how can something so simple be so amazing?
"No, no! We have orders, we have to go through with this!" Dogma pointed at the firing squad.
Rex was now technically within his own rights to charge Dogma for acting contrary to his own orders, but his CO just shook his head, "Good luck finding anyone to carry out those orders."
As the turbolift rose up the tower, Rex couldn't help but feel that somewhere they had crossed a threshold.
Right now, the entire 501st was technically in rebellion against its commanding officer. That officer was a Jedi Master with all the strength and supernatural feats that came with that title. Knowing what General Skywalker and Commander Tano did on a regular basis in battles; controlling the very ground beneath their feet, ripping the enemy weapons right out of their mechanical claws, using large rocks as kinetic weapons on demand and that didn't even get into how capable they were with a lightsaber.
If they could do it, then Krell could too and how much of the 501st could he cut down before they could overwhelm him with either blaster fire or a trap of some kind. Maybe an entire squad with Z-6 Rotary's shooting at him from every angle…
Rex caught himself and firmly banished those thoughts.
The turbolift doors opened and, ignoring the constant glare of Dogma at his side, he walked into the command center.
Krell stood there, staring into the holotank with his four arms folded behind his back.
"You wanted us, sir," Rex said flatly.
"I ordered those clones to be destroyed." Krell turned around and put an almost friendly hand on Rex's left shoulder, he knew it was anything but.
Rex could feel the strength there. He knew the besalisk's natural strength could snap bones easily, but give them Jedi training and he wouldn't be surprised if Krell could pulp his shoulder with a squeeze, armor or not.
"You are making a mistake by crossing me, clone," Krell said slowly, dangerously.
Rex stared into those disrespectful yellow eyes. "It's captain, sir."
Krell partially bared his large, very sharp teeth, growling lowly at the defiance Rex was showing.
He fully expected the Jedi to whip out those large double bladed lightsabers and start swinging-
"General!" said a trooper who was manning a communication station. "There's an incoming transmission."
"Put it through," Krell said and backed off to turn to the holotank.
Rex buried his relief and saw a lieutenant with markings of the 212th resolve in the center of the holotank.
"General, the umbarans have launched a counter-attack towards your position. We're holding them off for the moment, but they managed to ambush one of our platoons, seizing weapons and uniforms. We believe this may just be vanguard for a massive push to retake the airbase."
The holo of the trooper cut off and winked out.
"Looks like you have your stay of execution, for now," Krell grumbled, tapping Rex right on the chestplate and then walked off. "Lock the traitors back in the brig and prepare your troops to move out-"
What happened next was so fast, that Rex felt like he must have lost some time somewhere.
One moment, Krell was just walking towards the turbolift and the next…
The characteristic snap-hiss of a lightsaber, a blur of movement and the clone trooper who'd been manning the communication console stood next to Krell, with a blue lightsaber held right to the besalisk's chubby neck.
"What?!"
Rex had never imagined he would've ever seen surprise on Krell's face, but here it was.
Krell stood as still as a statue and his eyes glanced down the blue blade towards the silver hilt held by the trooper. A hilt that Rex recognized immediately.
But that was impossible. It felt like the universe had suddenly tilted on an axis and didn't make sense anymore.
"Belay that order and anything else General Krell has ordered," said the voice of General Skywalker himself, that somehow came from the trooper, only it wasn't filtered at all through the voice vocorder in the helmet. "Rex, tau, three, four, alpha, tau, omega, I hate sand."
In that moment, his memory of a training session months ago slammed forward to prominence.
It had been him and every single senior ARC officer in the 501st, together with General Skywalker and Commander Tano. It had been a more theory and classroom oriented training, focusing on the need for ARC troopers to be at least fluent in some aspects of the 'spy game'. The primary lesson being intelligence was the eyes and ears of an army and that deception was fooling and blinding the eyes of the enemy to act in ways that favored you. Added almost as an addendum was that there would come times when either of their Jedi commanders would have to go undercover within the 501st.
Rex could not imagine any reason for why that might be necessary, nor how Commander Tano was supposed to blend in, with her obvious physical traits getting in the way of trying to fit into clone trooper armor.
She had merely smirked at them, 'There are ways.' And then had them memorize recognition codes for such an occasion when they had to reveal or identify themselves. It was also curious how stark the memory was in his mind, even now he felt like he might as well be reliving it.
The moment passed.
Rex snapped to attention immediately, whirling to the other troopers in the room. "Confirmed. This is General Skywalker, secure your stations!"
Dogma was naturally bewildered, "What? Rex? What's going on?"
"You will stand down, Dogma and keep your hand away from that blaster pistol." Rex had spotted the man's hand straying to his right waist, but his own instincts and conditioning caused him to freeze.
The clone trooper disguise seemed to wobble, as if it was blending the properties of water and light, before it settled to the form of General Skywalker in his Aegis armor without the helmet on.
"Fascinating," grumbled Krell. "A holosheathe, Skywalker? I sense you, yet I don't sense you… yet you were right there all this time, how did you hide from me?"
"I'm afraid, Master Krell, that I will not be wasting time by enlightening you on how I did that," stated the true general of the 501st calmly. "I will simply tell you that I have everything you did just now as hard evidence of your treason and more, so I'm going to give you the time to answer one question, why?"
Rex was baffled. Treason? How had Krell done that? When did he even have the time? Fortunately, he didn't have to worry about that now. He was sure that would come later from General Skywalker's lips.
"How magnanimous of you. Why, you ask?" scoffed Krell. "I pity you, Skywalker. You stand there in judgment of me when you are nothing more than a puppet, an actor. Only seeing this war for what it is on face value. The gallant, bold Republic fighting against the evil Separatists. You lead clones to face off against droids in battle after battle, as if it's making any difference whatsoever." Krell laughed darkly. "I lost that naivety long ago."
"And in the process gave in to your darkness," Skywalker sneered.
"Oh no, I just opened my eyes, Skywalker, to the truth. A new power is rising, I've foreseen it. The Jedi are going to lose this war and the Republic is going to be ripped apart from the inside. In its place is going to rise a new order and I will rule as part of it."
"You're a Separatist?" Dogma gaped.
"Oh, little clone, I serve no side, only my own and soon… my master."
"An agent of Dooku?" Rex questioned, his own hand was itching to go for his own pistol, but that would be suicide against a Jedi who still had their lightsabers.
"Not yet, after I've succeeded in driving the Republic from Umbara, the count will reward my actions and make me his new apprentice."
Skywalker chuckled, "I see the darkness has already started to warp your ego out of proportion, Krell. You'd have to go through me, the 501st, Masters Kenobi, Tiin and their legions before that could even be a possibility. Then you'd have to survive the entire Republic fleet and blockade still in orbit."
"You have no concept of the power of the Dark Side, Skywalker," Krell rumbled dangerously, his eyes narrowing.
Rex felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise and he could see that Krell and Skywalker were… staring at each other?
Then he noticed the general's blade slightly tremble.
"How long since you've fallen, Krell? You've been hiding it quite well."
The besalisk gritted his sharp teeth, his eyes flaring an even brighter yellow. "Months, but I've always been out on campaign and I learned how to suppress it by myself. I needed no master, no guide, no book. I figured it out."
"And in all that time, you've been undermining the war effort? The high casualty rates are by design isn't it?"
"Of course it is! Umbara is going to be my crowning achievement. Kenobi and Tiin will fail miserably to conquer the capital, they'll be weakened and I will have little trouble killing them. Then when the Umbarans turn their attention this way, their counterattack will wipe out your precious 501st to the final pathetic clone and I will be there, slaughtering them as well! After I have scrapped this droid you are somehow controlling!"
Skywalker chuckled. "Our battle for control of my lightsaber is straining you already… I must admit, it's quite the effort to keep you from simply pulling it out of my hand. You're strong, Krell, but if you think your 'efforts' to make Dooku notice you have had any effect… well, he knows you've fallen."
"Trying Dun Moch on me, Skywalker. Pathetic."
"He knows and you'd think he would've tried to secretly contact you. He's had every opportunity after all. It wouldn't be too difficult for a message to reach you. So why Krell, do you think no message has come?"
Krell growled again, "It will come, Skywalker, when I present the heads of Kenobi and Tiin to him."
"No, it won't. You've already been judged, Krell. You've been left to fall, to destroy as much as possible within the GAR as you do so."
Rex only had half understanding of what was going on here, but given the demonstrations of Commander Tano, Skywalker and Krell were literally fighting an unseen battle using the Force.
Then Krell screamed.
It was not just a scream of his voice.
Rex felt as if a small bomb had just gone off as he and every other clone in the command center were blown off their feet, to crash against the walls or consoles.
His own back had rather painfully intersected with the edge of the holotank and his brains were rattled.
Get up, Rex, he thought to himself. Thankfully, his armor's backplate had also done its job in preventing his spine from being broken. He wearily got up and automatically drew his pistol, flicking it to stun.
If you ever have to engage a Force user working for the enemy and all you have is a blaster, use the stun setting for frak's sake! At least that way, you'll only be knocked out by your own bolt when it's sent back to you!
Another memory from Commander Tano's training flashed to the forefront of his mind.
But now he, Dogma and the other troopers assigned to the command center witnessed the full fury of a lightsaber battle where the two opponents were trying to kill each other. Skywalker and Tano had given one or two sparring demos to the 501st; those were playful contests in comparison to this.
Skywalker and Krell were fast blurs of blue and green as the two double blades of the traitor contested with the general's single blade.
The awful clashes and screams as the blades glanced, intercepted and bashed against each other filled the command center.
"Back off! No interference!" Rex snapped as the other troopers got to their feet, drawing any weapon they had, most of which was pistols and one carbine, however, he saw that one wasn't getting up.
Without taking his eyes off the battle, he edged sideways towards the fallen trooper. When he finally felt his right boot bumping against the hip of the fallen brother, he knelt down and chanced looking down.
It was Dogma, who had taken a bad hit against his head, which was now bleeding profusely as all head wounds tended to do.
He pointed at the nearest two troopers, "You two, Fetch and Loper, get some first aid started here… duck!"
The two troopers barely made it, as one of Krell's saber staffs spun right towards them when they had turned towards Dogma.
Miraculously though, the saber halted itself less than a meter away and gave time for both brothers to fling themselves to the ground nearby Dogma. The deadly weapon spun back into the hands of Krell and he laughed darkly. His voice echoed unnaturally through the space.
"You're so caring about these clones, Skywalker," Krell said as there seemed to be a lull in their fight… both combatants simply walking in a circle with blades raised in ready stances. "You could've killed me there, but instead you chose to save the lives of two worthless clones. It's a weakness, a weakness of all Jedi that's been used against us… or should I say you… throughout this war."
"What you think of as weakness, is strength. You just can't see it, you're incapable now," Skywalker said. In a marked contrast, he was calm in the face of the blazing fury of Krell's expression and those unnatural eyes.
Loper had already opened his belt pouch and had pulled out the medkit there, opening it with steady hands and pulling out a microsuture tool, which he handed to Fetch to benign the work of closing up that head wound.
"Fool!"
Krell threw one of his blades, then followed it up with an actual charge towards Skywalker.
Rex's breath was blown away at how easily the general seemed to just dismantle the attack.
Krell's spinning blade was stopped dead and sent right back, but clearly he wasn't as in control of it anymore, as he was forced to dodge his head to stop it impaling him there, before one of his huge right hands could get a grip on it.
His left hand blade tried to cut Skywalker from groin to head, a bisecting slice, but the general simply took a blurring step backward, and used his own blade to deflect Krell's upward.
Rex blinked and he missed what happened next.
He just heard a screaming slash, saw a flash of sparks and then a quarter of Krell's lightsaber hilt falling to the floor and bumped against the console on the floor.
Krell snarled, backed off and held up his damaged left hand blade.
The traitor was now down to only having three active blades.
"Aaargh!"
He charged again and they began a standing fight where Rex could only see the blurry passage of the blades around each fighter.
General Skywalker stood like a bastion, weathering the storm of Krell's fury. His feet seemed to only move with quick, assured movement with an economy of motion that really impressed Rex and made him rather envious. He was far from a slouch in fighting with a vibroblade, but this was at another level of mastery, speed and skill.
Then Skywalker suddenly seemed to flow and duck with a movement of his blade, again too quickly for the eye to see, there was another slashing hiss and a piece of Krell's right hilt flew off.
He now only had two working blades.
"Is this what you're doing Skywalker?!" Krell roared as his many arms blurred with attacks. "Destroy my lightsabers? Disarm me so you can take me back to Coruscant to face justice?"
The general didn't answer.
A moment later, he seemed to bend backward so an attack would miss his chest, only his back bent to an utterly unnatural angle, his right foot hit Krell in the right knee, whilst the general's lightsaber spun so fast and in a way that shouldn't be possible if it was held in a hand.
An awful sounding singe echoed through the room.
Krell reeled backward, his lower right arm now hanging limply from a cauterized lengthwise cut that had breached his defenses and his left knee was clearly not working right as he was now favoring his right leg to take most of his significant weight.
The besalisk had been angry before, but that had been a light breeze compared to the gale force wind of anger that adorned his features now.
"Haaaa!" Krell moved his blades against General Skywalker with such strength and ferocity, that the Jedi was electing to now dodge most of the attacks, again using that unnatural agility, speed and contorting his body in ways the human body clearly wasn't designed to do.
When their blades did meet the pitch and tone of the lightsabers crashing against each other sounded like awful high pitched electronic screams.
Rex shook his head to clear it from looking at the spectacle of battle. Really? Was he some shiny straight off the ship from Kamino? Thankfully, it seemed Fetch and Loper had done their job as best they could given the circumstances. The only thing left was to get Dogma out of here to a medical bay on the base - which hopefully wouldn't be too different that they couldn't be used by non-umbarans.
To his chagrin, the rest of the troopers in the room had heeded his orders at least to sit tight and were now looking at him on what to do, even as they were occasionally distracted by the deadly, incredible spectacle in front of them.
He didn't want to shout orders, as that would just encourage Krell to try the same trick to distract General Skywalker at a critical moment. He could've used the radio over a secure channel and disable the helmet's external speaker, but his helmet was lying near the holotank and entirely too close to the fight. Hand signals it would have to be.
As subtly as possible, using his own body to shield what was happening, he began.
'On my signal. Aim enemy. Stun. Move.'
The other troopers in the room didn't give any nods or visible indicators that they understood, but Rex knew they did just from the fact that all of them turned to face the battle and crouched.
Krell would know it was coming moments before it happened, but Rex had an idea.
Whether or not General Skywalker could win, he didn't know for sure. It seemed like he could, but Rex'd be damned if they just sat here and did nothing.
"Ha ha ha, you are playing for time, Skywalker? You think that little sedative poison you hit me with will do anything?" Krell's smile was viscous as his blades hammered down onto the general's. "I'm already halfway through isolating and neutralizing it."
Skywalker again didn't respond to the taunt or seem phased at all. Rex didn't know when the purported poison could've been used, but things had happened so fast…
The general suddenly intercepted both Krell's blades in a horizontal block, then powered a kick forward to slam into the besalisk's stomach.
However, the enemy had a third free arm, which surged downward to grab the general's right leg, which shimmered slightly as the big hand went through the holofield there.
"Ha ha, I have you now!"
Skywalker just smiled and he jumped with his left leg, also pushing forward on Krell's blades.
Rex felt the air rushing through the room as probably the Force was used in some manner, but the result was clear.
The besalisk had actually been put on the backfoot.
The enemy's own blades were pushed back and threatening to cut right into his own shoulders.
He was forced to let go of the general's leg and actually retreat another step, coming ever closer to the turbolift door of the command center.
Skywalker pushed off the enemy's chest and flipped backward…
"FIRE!"
Rex brought up his pistol and fired.
He knew his own draw speed and reflexes was about 0.52 of a second. He wasn't the fastest in the 501st, but he was in the top five.
Five blue ring stun bolts seared through the air towards Krell from different angles even as Rex immediately fell into a roll, whilst the other troopers ducked, dodged or fell prone.
Even so, Krell's two blades managed to fend off three stun shots. He caught two on a single blade and deflected the third straight to Skywalker who was still landing.
Two stun bolts hit the enemy on the right arm and chest.
Then a third came from Skywalker's own deflection and slammed home right in the besalisk's face.
Yet the enemy was still on his feet, if slightly dazed, his blades were still up and ready.
Rex took all this in and just fired again when he had a clear shot.
Bolt after bolt came from the troopers.
Krell deflected most, showing his besalisk constitution combined with being a fully trained Jedi which clearly had some perks.
He even managed to send a bolt straight back to Fetch, who immediately slumped into unconsciousness.
Three more shots got through the enemy's defenses and then General Skywalker raised a hand towards Krell and curled it into a fist.
The enemy's eyes rolled upward and he just crumpled onto the floor in a heavy tangle of limbs, his lightsaber's shutting themselves off before he could injure or kill himself on them.
Rex kept his blaster trained on the downed besalisk and carefully stepped forward, intending to remove those dangerous weapons-
"Easy Rex," the general cautioned, holding up a hand.
The damaged hilts flew out from the crumpled body and Skywalker caught them in his left hand.
"It's over, sir?"
Skywalker walked over to Krell's unconscious form and plucked off the comlink from one of the four arms. "For now, Rex. Get me two pairs of large binders. We need to move him down to the sickbay of this place."
For the next hour, Rex had to put out the fires of worry and confusion among the men of the 501st. Yes, General Skywalker was here, sort of. Yes, former General Krell was under arrest for treason and currently being treated for his injuries in the sickbay, whilst being kept under sedation. Krell, it turned out, had also lied about the extent of the jamming that blanketed the capital city.
If he had just bothered to try again after twenty minutes or so, he would've been able to contact General Kenobi again, but the besalisk Jedi had purposefully been isolating the 501st, intending to march them all to their doom.
The final true treason, though, came from the revelation that Krell had also given 212th the same orders and false intelligence. That there were umbarans who had stolen clone armors and were posing as members of the 501st.
Even now Rex felt like he wanted to pop a blood vessel in anger just thinking about the fallen Jedi's plan. Send the 501st and 212th against each other in the field, each side thinking the other were imposters.
He didn't even want to think about how many men would've died before either side would've realized that they'd been deceived.
They didn't just have Krell to worry about though and he ordered double patrols and strengthening the perimeter guard of the base.
With proper communications restored, the true tactical picture came with it.
Fives' plan had worked.
The Umbarans had become naturally frugal about using their long range missiles and that was all that General Kenobi's troops, properly supported via the air with fighters and a single Acclamator to act as a fire shield to swat the missiles completely out of the sky. It was a risky and bold move, using an Acclamator for close-in fire support.
If it had been shot down, the ship would've potentially crashed right on top of the legions. It was awfully close to violating the prohibition regs on orbital strikes, the only difference being the altitude and the fact that the Acclamator had only struck at air targets.
With that, the GAR had finally pierced the capital's defenses and the 7th Sky Corps were now in the city and engaging in street to street fighting against the Umbaran militia.
It would be a hard bloody affair, but with no air support and supplies cut off completely, it was now just a question of time.
His feet now carried him to the sickbay of the air base, which was big enough to remind him of some of the medical facilities on Kamino. Though there was no comparison in the technology. The Kaminoans firmly beat almost anyone in the galaxy in that respect.
He found General Skywalker standing next to the large prone form of Krell, who had to be supported on two biobeds pushed together. One of the traitor's arms was encased in a bacta cast, whilst his other arms were bound in durasteel cuffs. Somehow the troopers had found a way to modify an existing one to fit around the ankles as well, using the air base maintenance shops.
Skywalker lifted a hypogun and held it against the blubbery neck of the besalisk, which he triggered with a hiss, before placing a hand on the traitor's forehead and closing his eyes.
"Rex, how are the men?"
"Rattled but morale is sky high now that you're here again."
Skywalker opened his eyes and sat down in the chair next to the biobeds. "I've received a new update from General Kenobi. They're close to the central government complex, things are going as well as can be expected. However, they've spotted an increasing movement of militia that are attempting to retreat… right in our direction."
"How many?" Rex asked gravely.
"Best estimate, at least a battalion, so far."
"We can easily take that, but if that number goes higher…"
"We might be forced to retreat ourselves," Skywalker nodded. "If they invest themselves from here to mount a resistance, it'll only prolong this conflict. The Umbaran royal caste will refuse to surrender, knowing that they still have loyalists here."
Which meant more of his fellow brothers dying, exactly what Krell would want.
"We'll hold, general. Whatever it takes."
"Something which my padawan will help you with. That fight took a lot out of me and I'm also having to work to keep Krell unconscious."
"Sir, if I may ask, why are we keeping him alive? He's a clear traitor, if we have to leave this base we're in no position to take him with us safely. Everything he knows, command codes…"
"No, I'll stop you right there. He must be judged by the Council and the Republic must see it happen."
Rex frowned, "If… you say so, sir. I can tell there's something going on way over my head."
"There is, but if you'll excuse me for a moment-"
General Skywalker became absolutely still for a moment, not even breathing… then his entire form rippled and shimmered to be replaced with a decidedly larger version of Commander Tano in her armor. It was as if she had suddenly bulked up around the shoulders and had much taller legs, which he knew as just an artifact of the holodroid structure beneath.
The posture and subtle mannerisms though was an exact match for her. He also felt his own spirits naturally being lifted in that way whenever she was in his presence.
She blinked, visibly breathing and smiled at him, giving a relaxed wave, "Hey Captain Rex."
"Commander."
She stood and placed her fingers on Krell's forehead, "Tsk, tsk, master. Always using a sledgehammer when a scalpel will do. He'll not wake up now until I let him."
She tapped and fiddled with her comlink for a bit, until the half-body holo image of the Mandalorian Blade Ursa Wren appeared.
"Manda'lor, we're in position."
"Good, bring in the cask."
"At once."
"Captain, notify your men in the north of the base that they'll soon see a shuttle escorted by jetpacking Mandalorians on approach. Let them land with full clearance."
"Yes, sir."
He quickly donned his helmet and did as ordered. "Cask, commander? You mean those-"
"Yes, the special containment unit that prevents a Jedi from using their powers beyond the confines of the device. We're lucky that I always keep one secretly stored in the bowels of the Resolute, just for situations like this."
"Commander…" Rex trailed off uncomfortably. He probably shouldn't say anything but, he had to do something about this irritation in his heart and mind.
"Go ahead, Rex, speak freely."
He removed his helmet, "I just want to say, thank you for not giving up on us. By all rights you could've just flown ahead to Coruscant and not given us another thought. If we had to fight Krell by ourselves, it would've gotten ugly."
"Yes, but give yourselves some credit, you would've prevailed eventually. Quite a few men of the 501st would've had to die to Krell's lightsabers before that could happen. Now you can begin to see why I've trained the ARC troopers as I've done this past year. Sora Bulq and Krell are the inevitable consequence when you take people who are not truly made for war and thrust them into it."
"Krell, not made for war?" Rex asked with some astonishment.
"The concept is difficult for you to imagine, since all you've known since you were capable of coherent thought is training for war. Krell and the majority of natural born sentients in the galaxy, at a visceral, base level are very averse to putting themselves onto a battlefield. It's the very reason the clone army exists after all. Only a small percentage of natural borns can function and even thrive on a battlefield where death can come for you at any moment. Being a Jedi and the training we endure can overcome this. Krell, for all his fearsome appearance, capability and those giant lightsabers of his, fears the loss of control a battlefield represents. He always hangs back in formation and only fights in defense of himself when pressed."
Rex could see the commander's point, but he just couldn't imagine Krell actually being… fearful. "Commander, about what Krell said… I know you Jedi have all sorts of abilities, but was he telling the truth about foreseeing the Republic's downfall?"
She sighed and turned to face him seriously, "Yes, Rex. He was telling the truth, he probably did see a future where the Jedi are defeated and the Republic falls."
Despair clawed at Rex's heart, "Then what are we even fighting and dying for then?"
She smiled at him softly and put a hand on his shoulder. Even though she was technically only here through a droid proxy, somehow that despair was lessened. "Note I said, a future, singular. Krell had his vision at some point in the beginning of the war and if there's one thing that's taught to all Jedi padawans, is that the future is always in motion. He was so preoccupied and in despair for what he saw, it became his downfall into the darkness. That same darkness clouded his vision and so it became impossible for him to see anything else. All his reasons and actions flowed from that, he saw it as self-preservation to betray the Republic. Future vision for Jedi is extraordinarily subjective, Rex. You'd do best to put Krell's words out of your mind, live in the present, do your best with what you have."
Rex nodded, feeling relieved. "Thank you, commander."
"Now come, we have a base to defend."
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