sparky // a padawan story

chapter 57. echo's plan.

"We have more than a dozen active battlefronts on Anaxes, and we are losing nearly every one," Master Windu informs us as he walks up to the holotable in the control room. "But if Admiral Trench can no longer anticipate our moves, we now have the opportunity to retake the planet."
"I can improve your chances." I turn to the voice and smile when I see Echo walking towards us. I can't believe he's really alive. Though he's skinnier and paler than before, with some odd key for an arm and no real legs anymore.
"Eh... excuse me, Generals," Rex says as he walks towards Echo, who's approaching us. He puts a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "Echo, I'm sorry, but I just don't think you're ready for battle yet."
"I am not a liability, Rex," Echo replies. "I'm the best chance we have to take back Anaxes."
"If the trooper has a plan, I'd like to hear it," Master Windu says.
"May I?" Echo asks as Rex removes his hand, and Echo walks forward to the holotable. He bends down and sticks the key-like hand into the side of the table and highlights several parts of the red hologram of the planet in blue and yellow, then switches into a hologram of a dreadnought. "While Master Windu leads a team to retake the assembly complex, the Bad Batch will escort me into Trench's new comm vault, which, according to current intel, is now located on the Separatist Dreadnought above Anaxes. Once I'm plugged in, I can feed Trench strategies, but this time, you'll know every move before he makes it." He unplugs himself from the holotable and stands straight up again.
"And you are certain that if we get you onboard that ship, that you can convince Trench's army to do what you want?" Master Windu questions.
"Absolutely," Echo answers. "Unfortunately, I've been doing this for a while, but this time I can help bring about a Republic victory instead of a defeat." We nod, and the meeting disperses. I pat Echo's shoulder, and he nods and smiles appreciatively as I walk off with Obi-Wan.
—
Obi-Wan and I ignite our sabers as we look down out of our stopped gunship above the assembly complex. Master Windu's gunship is stopped slightly above and in front of us and does the same, pulling out his purple saber.
I look back to our men. "Ready, boys?"
"Sure are, Commander," Boil responds.
"We'll see you down there, then." Obi-Wan and I hop down, as does Master Windu. We shatter the glass of the ceiling with our sabers as we fall through the gridded beams, and the shards fall around us onto the floor as we land on top of two large crates, Master Windu on the one beside Obi-Wan and I. A whole company of droids turn to us. The droids point their blasters at us, and Obi-Wan and I keep our sabers on guard as Master Windu steps forward.
"My name is General Mace Windu of the Jedi Order," he says. "At this point of the Clone War, I have dismantled and destroyed over 100,000 of you type one battle droids. I'm giving you an opportunity to peacefully lay down your weapons so that you may be reprogrammed to serve a better purpose than spreading the mindless violence and chaos, which you have inflicted upon the galaxy."
There is silence for a moment, until...
"Blast them!"
"Ah, here we go," I mutter as the three of us begin to block their blasts.
"Well, I guess it was worth a try," Obi-Wan says to Master Windu. Our men lower themselves into the building via cables and begin to fire back at the droids. Boil lands next to me.
"Save us any?" he asks.
"Saved you a lot, actually," I reply as I continue to deflect the fire back at the droids. Some of them begin to infiltrate through our piles of crates and fire at us from behind. "Come on, let's go say hey to them, yeah?" I run to the back end of the crate and flip off, landing in the middle of a group of droids and chopping their heads off simultaneously. Only one of them remains, so I Force push it back into the side of a crate, and Boil shoots off his head as he hops down off the crate, along with Obi-Wan.
"Always putting on a show, my Padawan," Obi-Wan sighs jokingly.
"Obi-Wan!" Master Windu calls down. Obi-Wan turns to him. "Skywalker just contacted me. He said we've got a lot more droids headed our way."
"I see Anakin is being as insightful as ever," Obi-Wan replies sarcastically.
"I was told not to worry," Master Windu states. "It was all part of their plan."
"If I know Anakin, we've got the easy part," Obi-Wan says. We rush back out in front of the crates, and Master Windu hops down beside us. We fight beside each other, slicing droids apart with ease until the last of them are destroyed.
"And here I thought this would be a challenge," I say.
"Well, there weren't as many as I thought there were going to be," Obi-Wan tells me. We then hear clanking from behind us, and turn quickly to see a full battalion circling us and our troopers at all sides.
"Does this meet your all's expectations?" Master Windu questions.
"This exceeds my expectations," Obi-Wan replies. The three of us stick our sabers out on guard. But suddenly, one of them sparks with electricity and is deactivated. Then another. And another. The droid battalion begins to drop like flies around us. This must be Echo's work.
I chuckle. "And we didn't even have to lift a finger. Good job, guys," I joke. Obi-Wan chuckles, and to my surprise, Master Windu does, too. We turn off our sabers and hook them back on our belts.
"I am pleased to report that we are in control of the assembly complex," Master Windu says through his com, "and all of the fronts are falling to the Republic thanks to Echo's plan."
"That's good news, Master Windu," Anakin replies. "We're on our way back to the base."
"May the Force be with you," Master Windu says as he ends the call.
"Commander Cody would've loved to see this," Boil tells me with a nudge.
"You make it sound like he died, Boil," I say with a short laugh.
"Oh, you know what I meant."
I wipe away a fake tear and put a hand on my heart. "Sometimes it's like I can still hear his voice."
Boil laughs. "You know, kid, I haven't heard you say that since when you used to do that to me with Waxer."
"Follow my lead, Commander."
"What are we doing, Waxer?"
"Trust me. Just... pretend like Boil isn't there."
"Oh, I see what we're doing. Good plan."
"Hey, Waxer, Commander."
Waxer looks at me and winks. "Kriff, if only Boil were here to see this."
"I'm right here—"
"I miss him so much, don't you, Waxer?"
"I sure do."
"Wha—? This isn't funny, guys!"
"Wow. It's like I can still hear his voice sometimes."
I smile at the memory. "Heh. I guess so." I walk back over towards Obi-Wan as some of the 501st begins to trickle in for a sweep of the area. Boil follows close behind.
"Continue your sweep, Jesse," Obi-Wan says as I walk over. Jesse nods politely at me as him and two other troopers walk off.
"General Windu, this is Tech," a voice through Master Windu's com says. "We've discovered a bomb in the fusion reactor. We need someone to go down there and help disarm it."
"I'm on my way," Master Windu replies as he runs off onto a lift. "Get the men out of here," he tells Obi-Wan and I as the lift goes down into the ground.
"You heard General Windu," Obi-Wan says, turning to the troopers. "Organize your platoons, and have them evacuate as soon as possible."
"Sir, yes, sir!"
"How long do you think we have till it goes off?" I ask Obi-Wan.
"Almost definitely not long. I'll call in the evac, you go around and help get our men out."
"Yes, Master," I say as I run towards the exit, helping guide our men out. Boil helps walk Peel and Wooley out on both sides of him. "Go left and you'll be out of here, Boil. Need help?"
"It's fine, sir, you've got—"
"You're just about the last of them, it's fine."
"In that case, sure." He passes Wooley to me and he leans against me.
"What happened, Wooley?" I ask as we walk carefully towards the exits, to the gunships that are landing.
"Blast to the calf, sir. I'll be all right."
"I'm sure you will. Let's just get you out of here for now, though." I help him step up into the gunship, while Boil helps Peel, and Obi-Wan walks up behind us.
"Mace, if you can't stop the detonation, you must leave now," he says through his com as I help Wooley sit down on the ship.
"That is not an option," I hear Master Windu reply. "I still have a chance to stop this, even if it's down to my best guess."
"How about I take the guesswork out of it, Master?" Anakin suddenly speaks up through the com. "Admiral Trench was kind enough to give me the final number himself. Try seven." I hear a beep through the com, and Obi-Wan sighs in relief.
"Good work, Skywalker. The bomb has been disarmed," Master Windu tells us.
"You three owe me one now," Anakin jokes.
"Come on, Master, let's go get Master Windu and get out of here." He nods as he steps onto the gunship and we fly off.
—
"Commander Just! I'm glad your back," Cody calls out as he walks towards me. I jog away from Obi-Wan and Master Windu to catch up with him.
"Hey, Cody, you're looking a lot better!"
"Funny you say that, because I feel a lot better, too. Wish I didn't have to miss out on all the fun, though."
"Yeah, we missed you out there."
"Follow me, I have some people for you to meet."
"Who?"
"You'll see. Come on." I follow close behind him as we walk towards Echo and a group of men. Wait, are they supposed to be clones?
"Commander," one of them greets Cody, then looks at me. He has long hair and a tattoo of half a skull on his face. "Who's this?"
"Hunter, this is Commander Just. Commander, this is Sergeant Hunter and Clone Force 99," Cody introduces.
"Oh, so you're the Bad Batch?" I ask.
"That, we are," one of them says. He wears some sort of pair of goggles over his eyes. "I'm Tech."
"Wrecker," another one chimes in. He towers over the others and is far more muscular than the rest, with scars on the side of his face and a cybernetic eye. "And this one is—"
"Crosshair," the last one states. He has a tattoo of an aiming sight over his eye.
"Well, I'm Arlo. It's nice to meet you all," I say.
"Cody here speaks very highly of you," Hunter says.
I smile. "He does?"
"Of course I do, Commander. Why wouldn't I?"
"Hey, Commander Just, where's Commander Tano?" Echo asks. "You two are usually attached by the hip."
"Oh... um, she left, Echo. Almost a year ago, now," I tell him sadly.
He frowns. "I'm sorry to hear that. Everyone knows how close you two are."
Before I can respond, Anakin walks over and speaks to us. "Hey, you all, Masters Kenobi and Windu would like to speak with you." The Bad Batch, Echo, Cody, and I follow him over to them. I stand next to Obi-Wan as Master Windu begins to address them.
"Captain Rex, Corporal Echo, and Clone Force 99," he starts, "you have all done a great service for the Republic. Thanks to your courage and effort, Republic shipyards will soon be up and running again."
"You've got some medals coming your way," Obi-Wan tells them as him, Master Windu, and Anakin begin to walk off.
"Thank you, General," Rex says. I wave goodbye to the odd bunch of clones as I walk off. They nod back at me politely as I jog to catch up with the others, somewhat listening into their conversations on our next moves.
I sigh. This is all going to be over soon. And while it's a relief... part of me can't imagine life without it.
—
i literally adore the bad batch so i had to make arlo at least meet them once. like, absolutely had to. anyway, things are definitely about to start escalating. this is where the fun begins...
thanks for reading! -a 🪐