Star Wars: Coruscant Under Fire (306th Anthology Part 3)

Chapter 3

Falcon opened his eyes, the looming silhouettes of his comrades floated in his visor. He lifted his head a slight bit, and then immediately put it back down. An aching pain shot through his neck to his head, where it ended in a dull, relentless throb. He pulled his helmet off and set it down beside him.

"How are you feeling?" Kit asked him.

"My head head feels like it was blown off by a clanker," Falcon lifted his head slightly and put his hand behind it. Other than that, his legs and arms seemed to be feeling and moving fine.

"Do you think you can move? We're not exactly in the best position right now," Sierra asked.

"I think I'm good. Who else made it? Is it just you two?" Falcon began to stand up, despite the obvious pain in his neck. He turned around to examine the wreckage and saw Church propped up against the gunship's belly. His leg was in a makeshift stint cobbled together by Kit. Sierra and Kit walked over and helped Church to his feet. They grabbed a few rifles and grenades from the wreck and began to head off towards the unmistakable sound of gunfire.

Sierra craned his neck up to the sky to examine the time of day. It appeared to be midday, as the sun hung high above them near the middle of its arc. Venators and Munificents still filled the sky, puffs of gray smoke and streaks of fire marking the blue sky above.

"Sir?" Kit asked quickly.

"Yes, lieutenant?" Sierra replied as they marched away from the charred gunship.

"What are we supposed to do, sir? We have to push through the entire Separatist force just to get back to the legion, and who's to say they even think we're still alive?" Kit anticipated Sierra's response.

Sierra shouldered his decee as they trudged forward. He thought for a moment, "Well, no matter what we are going to rally with the battalion, whether they know we survived or not. For all we can hope is that they know and they are looking for us,"

"Oh, yeah. Send out men to find a couple of doomed troops. Where's the problem in that?" Church scoffed sarcastically. He groaned slightly after every other step due to his fractured leg. Church's decee swayed back and forth as he limped along. A faint explosion rang out from across the city, most likely where the 306th was laying siege to the Separatist stronghold.

"Any input, Falcon?" Sierra prompted lightly. Sierra knew he had to try his best to lift the mood lest their situation.

"With all due respect sir, I don't give a damn what happens. I failed to keep your platoon alive, and if I die, well then that's just a consequence. I get you're trying to lift our spirits, but now is not the time or place," Falcon gazed off over the city with a stony visage. Sierra glanced down at the ground. He knew Falcon was right. But what he'd said didn't sit well with him.

-----

Jericho pushed ahead slightly from the other two. He had a task and a purpose, and was determined to finish them, much to his own chagrin.

"Hey, why don't you slow down lieutenant? You in a hurry to get yourself killed?" Lima called to Jericho. Jericho brushed it off and kept true.

"Wow, he really is focused," Lima remarked. His adjusted his grip on his decee and followed.

"He takes this very seriously, I'll give him that," Drag commented. He adjusted the rifle slung across his shoulder and wiped the binoculars, "I just wish he didn't take it as seriously,"

The troops strolled through the deserted city alleyways, looking for any sign of their missing men. Rubble from previously destroyed buildings spilled out into the streets.

Jericho stopped abruptly, "We're being watched,"

"What?" Lima asked quizzically. "What are you talking about?"

Drag looked up right as a shot penetrated Jericho's left shoulder plate. He fell to his knees, clenching his arm. Lima pivoted, pointing his rifle to the origin of the shot. He saw a tan battle droid head at the scope of the rifle. He pulled the trigger, blasting the clanker's head off. Lima rushed forward to Jericho, lifting his right arm and pulling him along. Drag sprinted to catch up to them.

Jericho heard a squeaky voice ahead, "Now we go left,"

"No, you idiot, we're supposed to go right!" The droid paused and looked up. "Huh? Clones! Maybe these are the one we're looking for!"

Jericho pulled out his carbine and gunned the droids down. The droid behind them jumped out of surprise. Drag aimed between his fellow clones and fired, hitting the droid right in the chest.

"Oh, no! I've been hit!" The droid exclaimed as it fell to the ground. The other few droids made funny exclamations as they were disposed of.

"B1's, the silliest of the Separatist ranks. No wonder no one takes them seriously," Drag commented as he shouldered his rifle. "We've got to be more careful while we are here. You ok, Jericho?"

"I'm fine, but I won't be as effective like this," Jericho remarked in a gruff tone. "Note to self. Check for snipers first,"

Lima chuckled slightly as they walked along. These two are ridiculous. He was beginning to like these lieutenants. Though being nearly the same, the two had surprisingly contrasting personalities. Jericho was rough and tough, while Drag was compassionate. He admired both of their courage and bravery despite their obvious distaste in the mission. That's what made them good soldiers. That's why Lima liked them so much. Aurora made a good choice, sending these two... It's a shame they're in so much danger.

"Well this has been an interesting turn of events so far don't you think, boys?" Drag prompted as they pushed deeper under fire.