Jedi Knight Archie Ilaiah
Being in a warship with Ahsoka and Rex feels similar to the old times, but this mission just feels different. It might be because I just got back, but I'm also jumping into a battle to save my own people.
"So please tell me about Palpatine—" Ahsoka begins.
"You didn't know?" Bo-Katan asked. "It's been spreading for a long while."
"He was Darth Sidious all along." I say. "Revealing himself to Anakin was his mistake. I just can't help but feel Maul knew that this was coming."
"Well, who else is alive right now? In terms of Sith and Separatists?"
"Well, before we even talk about the Sith, I can tell you that Fives and Echo are back."
"Echo! He's alive! And what happened to Fives?"
"He was really the one who tried to expose the Chancellor. Commander Fox shot him, but Palpatine must've smuggled him off-world because he told Anakin where he was."
"So much has gone on...and I wasn't there for the Order."
"But it's understandable..." I mutter. How did I let myself become so fearful of the Dark Side? Why did I let them intimidate me?
"Archie," She says, her voice low. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." I lie. "Just a bit of a headache. That's all."
She opens her mouth, like she wants to say more, but Bo-Katan gets an incoming transmission. A hologram appears.
"Almec." I mutter.
"What is the meaning of this invasion?" The Prime Minister exclaims. "Republic presence here is a direct violation of our treaties."
"Your time has come, Almec." Bo says cooly. " We know you're Maul's puppet, and we are coming for him."
"Ah-ha," He smirks, making me hate him by the seconds—but I unclench my fist. "—traitors. I should have known you were behind this incursion. Siding with the Republic will make you an enemy in the eyes of the people."
Oh, he was talking to me too?
"I'm fine with that."
"Almec, I'm a Jedi. I'm in the Republic."
The Prime Minister of Mandalore cuts off and Bo is fuming.
You can't go back to where you were so soon, I think to myself. You have a job to do.
"You're nothing like your sister." Ahsoka says to Bo-Katan.
"I know."
===
City Under Attack! After killing all the separatist leaders, General Grievous has mounted a full scale invasion on Coruscant. His mission: destroy the Jedi Order and the Republic in one swift strike.
With all communications down, Jedi Master Mace Windu commands what few clones are remaining and defends the city from the ground. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker take the fight to the air in hopes of stopping Grievous and Count Dooku for good.
Meanwhile, unaware of the war at home, Master Yoda and Clone Force 99 arrive on Kashyyyk...
===
Yoda and The Bad Batch observe the ground of Kashyyyk. Hunter kneels down and touches the ground. The Jedi Master observes the sky from a tree. The Sergeant looks up.
"The wookies are near." Hunter says.
"Mmh," Yoda nods, impressed with the clone. "The ground; Sense it you can."
"Well," Hunter chuckles. "You don't need the Force to smell a wookie."
"The Force resides in all living beings—it is strong in you."
Two wookies appear through the bushes. Hunter and Fives salute.
"Sir." Fives says, but the darker wookie grunts. Fives looked back at Crosshair. "Too bad Tech isn't here to translate."
"You must kneel." Yoda advises. All of them did so.
"What?" Wrecker exclaims. "You can actually understand that big, dumb brute?"
"Well, we can understand you, Wrecker." Echo cracks.
"...Most of the time." Crosshair pokes.
Yoda leaps down from his tree to greet the wookies.
"Tarful, Chewbacca, missed you I have."
Chewbacca roars happily.
"Enter the forest we must, if able to stop the droids we are. Strong in tradition the wookies are. Attack nature we cannot."
"What?! No fighting?!" Wrecker yells. "Aw, you Jedi are no fun!"
"First time?" Fives whispers to Echo.
"Just let the professionals handle this one." He whispers back to his brother.
"Tech," Hunter activates his comlink. "Land The Marauder on Kachirho Beach. We'll be in touch."
"Copy that, Sarge." Tech answers. The Marauder flies over the water. An Aqua-Droid pops out of the water, watching the ship. Another pops out. They beep to each other and sink back in.
Yoda and the clone force examine the forest with the wookies, looking for anything suspicious. Fireflies start to close their wings and lights.
"Alone we are not." Yoda says from Chewbacca's back.
Echo takes his blaster out, ready. "Something is coming."
"What do you see, Crosshair?" Hunter asks.
Crosshair takes a look through his helmet. He sees big orange creatures with four legs.
"A whole lot of something..."
Through their claws, the orange beasts start shooting webs at the crew. Two webs fly past Wrecker.
"I ain't waitin' for orders!" He shoots two lasers at two of the creatures, killing them both.
"I thought the order was NOT to fight nature."
"...unless it fights you first!" Echo points out. He shoots rapidly at the creatures. Hunter matches. Echo kills two, but one is able to dodge the barrage of webs. Fives starts to shoot the crawler, but he notices one is hanging over Echo's head, ready to attack.
"Echo, look out!" He shoots the creature before it can land a web on him..
"Nice one, Fives!"
"No problem, brother!"
Crosshair aims at a headshot for a creature...or two...or three. Hunter aims at another one and shoots its arm off. One falls down and Wrecker continues shooting it in the head.
"Hah! I'd like to see a Wookie do that!" He boasts.
Tarful tears one open with his bare hands. Wrecker is surprised and Chewbacca laughs at him.
Hunter pulls a knife out of one of the creatures' heads and puts it back in his gauntlet. "We need to keep moving, men...and Jedi."
The crew walks into another part of the forest where a lot of forest creatures are dead.
"What could've done this!?" Fives wonders.
"Tech would probably know..."
Hunter starts to sense the ground again. He looks around.
"A bad feeling about this I have." Yoda warns.
Echo turns on night vision in his helmet and scans around. He looks up and sees a four-legged, blue creature. The Bad Batch starts shooting.
"Disperse, men, disperse!!!"
The creature sticks two of its legs near Fives and Echo. It tries to eat Wrecker, but he keeps its mouth open with his gloved hands. Yoda ignites his lightsaber.
"Jedi..." Hunter mumbles.
He looks at him. He smiles.
"...let me borrow that."
Yoda smiles and hands it to him. Hunter leaps up and in a swift move, decapitates the lizard-like animal.
"Nice moves, Hunter." Echo comments.
"A more civilized weapon, yes?" Yoda asks.
"Well, times are changing."
"Grr, any more surprises!?!"
"Yes..." Crosshair confirms. "We've got company of the "clanker" kind..."
Three camo-droids are visible in the bushes. Crosshair shoots one and the other two droids look at each other.
"Uh-oh!" A droid comments.
"Roger, roger!" The droids run away and get onto their speeders.
"Stop those droids!" Hunter shouts.
Echo starts to run after them for the last bike.
"Echo, wait up!" Echo hops on the ship and Fives grabs his waist. They race after the droids.
Echo shoots a barrage of red beams from the speeder. They race past trees and bushes, dodging threatening branches. Four lasers killed one droid at once. Fives pulls out his blaster and shoots the last droid down, making its speeder crash into the sea.
When Echo and Fives stop, they see a droid army. They've stepped onto their territory. Fives speaks into his com. Fives and Echo take off their helmets.
"Uh, sergeant, I think we've found their base..." The two aqua-droids pop up from the surface, blasters ready.
"Hold it right there." One says. "Do not move."
Fives and Echo look at each other nervously, realizing they're surrounded.
===
Farther in the galaxy, Archie's warship rocks and his heart stops. He's still sensitive to loud sounds, but realizes he'll need to get used to it quickly. Rex grabs Ahsoka's arm so she can look. The doors open and they all look out to see some ships on fire. Death Watch is attacking them from here. They're almost at the surface of Mandalore.
The Siege Of Mandalore has officially begun.