In Command (#1 Post-Order 66 Series)

In Command - Part 26

Rex could see the Inquisitor standing behind the wave of stormtroopers, stalking back and forth and deflecting any blasts that came his way. What is he waiting for? Why isn't he attacking?

Senna noticed it too. "Rex, help the boys take down the troopers. I've got some unfinished business." Before he could protest, she stepped away from him, calmly walking towards the Inquisitor. Rex ducked back down behind the crates.

"SENNA! NO!"

He watched as the Inquisitor's lip curled into a smile, and he held out his arms in a challenge. The stormtroopers were still surging into the hangar, and he could see Echo bang his fist against the console in frustration as his scomp continued twisting in the port. We have to stem the flow.

"WRECKER! COVER ME!"

The huge clone turned, spraying blaster bolts behind Rex's hiding spot to cover his retreat backwards to Wrecker's position.. Rex scrambled over the last few boxes, ducking down with Wrecker in his hiding spot. "You got any grenades on you?"

"What kind of a question is that?"

"DO YOU HAVE THEM, WRECKER?"

"Of course I've got 'em."

"Then let's do what you do best and make sure these guys feel it in the morning. Just don't hit Senna."

Wrecker's laugh boomed from underneath his helmet, and he was practically giddy as he dug through his hip pouch. "This one'll pack a wallop," he said gleefully as he programmed the charge. He stood, flinging the explosive as far into the oncoming pack as he could. "FIRE IN THE HOLE!" The deck shook as the charge went off, and a ball of flame sent the stormtrooper's flying as the hangar erupted with smoke and emergency alarms.

--------------------------------------

The deck trembled beneath Senna's feet as she felt the heat of the explosion on the side of her face. She raised a hand to shield herself from the debris as she continued walking towards the Inquisitor, eyes locked on his as he circled her.

"You would fight me again, Master Aven? You haven't learned your lesson yet?"

"You threatened the ones I love. That was an error on your part. Now, let's finish this." She inhaled deeply, centering herself as she crouched into her defensive position. She remembered Tech and Echo's words. Let him attack first. Learn his technique, and then use it against him. Be patient. She reached out and felt the dark swirling around him, stretching out towards her, but she pressed back against it, allowing her eyes to close as the smoke engulfed the two Force wielders.

He stepped in first, aggressively slashing at her off shoulder, and she sidestepped him easily. Feinting to his left, he redirected his momentum, and Senna brought her blade up to block his, the two sabers fizzling as they made contact, ice blue against molten red. He grinned in her face as he leaned across the heat, "You've been practicing."

"And you've slowed."

Stepping back, she lowered herself into her defensive stance again as he stalked behind her. She heard the hum as the other end of his lightsaber ignited. Suddenly, she heard a whirring sound and turned to see the blade rotating about the Inquisitor's hand. "Too bad we're not friends. I'd love to know how you got it to do that."

"Come closer and I'll show you," he hissed, advancing towards her. He slashed at her upper body, and Senna kept on her toes as she gave ground to his advance, blocking the rotating blade as it swung at her head. The Inquisitor suddenly lunged at her lower body, and she leapt over him, flipping in the air to slash at his face as she went by. He sidestepped her as she landed behind, twisting to stab at his abdomen. He stopped the rotation on his blade and brought it down hard, pinning hers to the floor. His boot connected with her face, and he lashed out with the saber. Senna allowed the momentum of the kick to her jaw to carry her backwards, flattening herself to the ground as the Inquisitor's red lightsaber hummed by her face so closely that she could feel the heat as it passed. He spun to regain his balance as she kicked back up to a crouch, recalling her lightsaber to her hand. She wiped the blood from her lip and grinned. "You'll have to do better than that."

-----------------------------------

Across the hangar, Rex watched Senna and the Inquisitor battle as he, Wrecker, and Hunter continued to pick off the stormtroopers that were still racing into the hangar through the door. "ECHO!"

"I NEED A SECOND!"

"WE DON'T HAVE ANY MORE OF THOSE!"

Finally, with a loud hiss, the hangar doors slammed shut, sealing at least a dozen stormtroopers inside with them. "Got any more of those explosives Wrecker?" Hunter asked, dropping down behind the boxes just as a blaster bolt whizzed by his head.

"Some smaller ones."

"Those'll have to do. See if you can maximize the damage."

"Oh, I'll do more than that," Wrecker laughed. "Just be ready to charge 'em."

Hunter sighed as Echo slid in behind them. "What's the plan?"

"The Wrecking Ball."

"Really? There's a lot of them."

"Has that ever stopped him?"

Echo shook his head. "Alright."

"Would someone mind reading me in here?" Rex snapped as he fired two more shots at an advancing trooper, one of which hit the soldier square in the helmet.

"It's about what it sounds like," Hunter muttered. "Wrecker charges and we clean up what's left."

"I should be surprised, but I'm not," Rex grinned. "Alright, count us down, Wrecker."

"On my mark. Three...two...one...FIRE IN THE HOLE!" Wrecker chucked two thermal detonators into the most concentrated areas of stormtroopers, sending them flying. With a roar, he leapt over the crates, brandishing his gun as he charged the closest troopers, wrapping the first one up in a tackle and using his body as a shield as he charged onwards. Hunter, Echo, and Rex followed behind, and Rex couldn't help but laugh at how little they had to do as Wrecker cleaned out almost the entire battalion. They picked off the last of the stragglers as the floor shook underneath them.

"Time to go!" Hunter shouted above the large rumble that was filling the hangar as the flooring began to fracture.

"We've got to help Senna!" Rex looked across the hangar to where she and the Inquisitor were still locked in combat. Their blades flashed like lightning in the smoke as flames licked at the walls around them. "Come on!" The four clones sprinted towards them.

Suddenly, the Inquisitor reached out, grabbing a crate behind Senna and pulling it towards her. She dropped to her knees as the crate sailed over her head, bringing her blade up to block the next blow just as the red saber came crashing down on her. Throwing him off of her, she advanced, slashing at him. As he stabbed at her body, she leapt over him, spinning to swipe at him as she passed by. It wasn't until she was in the air that Rex noticed the fluids that were leaking out of the barrels near them, blaster fire holes peppering the outer casing. Senna's right foot landed in the slick, and he watched as it slid out from under her, tipping her onto her right side as her elbow crashed into the deck and her lightsaber flew from her grasp. She frantically brought left arm swinging high to try and counterbalance herself, and the Inquisitor saw his advantage. Rex watched in horror as the he brought his blade down, severing Senna's left arm just below the elbow.