The murky waters of Belkadan's planetary, dismal swamp churned beneath their boots as the two 501st Jedi Generals, two Commanders, and the entirety of the 501st Clone Battalion pressed relentlessly forward through the treacherous, humidity-stricken terrain. The din of blaster fire echoed through the dense vegetation, mingling with the squelch of mud and the hiss of steam from the droids' machinery.
Anakin led the charge up at the front, his blue lightsaber blazing as he cut through the ranks of battle droids with practiced ease. Water rose up to his kneecaps, making the perimeter below his eyesight dangerous and unpredictable. Speeders whizzed by manned with super battle droids. Ahsoka navigated alongside her master, her twin lightsabers a whirlwind of green and yellow as she deflected blaster bolts and dispatched enemies with precision.
She used a slim tree trunk to propel herself forward, and decapitate the closest droid on a speeder. It sidetracked and crashed into a hollow stump, resulting in an explosion of wood chips and metallic parts.
"Nice Snips, did I teach you that?" Anakin couldn't help but ask, deflecting a nearby blast. A proud light flickered in his sky blue eyes.
"Taught myself that move" she replied confidently.
"I'll take the credit regardless"
Amidst the murky depths of the swamp, where mist hung heavy in the air and the ground squelched beneath their feet, Dakota's voice cut through the cacophony of blaster fire. Mud streaks decorated her black tunic, and smudged her light brown skin. Her authoritative words weaved in and out of shouts, explosions and choruses of enemy ammunition.
"Jesse, Fives, ascend to the higher grounds on the left!" she pointed, the hum of her saber penetrating the air with her movements. "Provide cover fire for Nax and his squad as they advance on the droid emplacement!"
Her words were drowned out by the roar of blasters and the eerie cries of native creatures hidden in the dense foliage. Yet, the clone troopers understood her orders, their movements swift and purposeful as they charted the terrain to follow her command.
Dagger Squad, led by Rex, advanced, their footsteps leaving deep impressions in the marshy ground as they followed Dakota's lead. The air was thick with the pungent scent of an unidentifiable decaying order, and the mists swirling around them lent an otherworldly quality to the scene.
"Stay low and keep your wits about you," Dakota commanded, her voice tinged with urgency as they pressed forward into the heart of the swamp. She wiped her hand across her face, ridding boggy water from her eyebrows and eyelashes. "We're heading straight for the enemy's stronghold, now. Stick to the plan and watch each other's backs!"
With determination etched upon their faces, the clone troopers pressed on, their weapons at the ready and their eyes scanning the murky landscape for signs of danger. Despite the oppressive atmosphere of the swamp, their spirits remained unbroken, fueled by the unwavering trust that had been placed in their Jedi Generals. She always situated herself at the front of the squads, acting as the protective shield.
"Utilize the brush." she advised. "We have the cover of the mist to our advantage." she blocked a few red bullets, swerving them off into the unknown lower-hanging clouds. "Stay within sight of someone else, and stay behind me"
A chorus of "yes sirs" accompanied.
She brought her comm to her chin, and connected with Anakin. Her eyes darted around the perimeter, and she spotted an enemy speeder barreling down the opening between the dense tree line. "Anakin, what's your location?"
"I'm doing fine, how are you?"
"If you want to stop and chat over a cup of tea, then go ask Obi-Wan"
He chuckled on the other end. "Well, I'd love to give you my location but I'm not exactly sure. Roughly two clicks away from you. We're at the barrier of the separatist base, but the swamp gets deeper the closer we get. We're practically swimming to get there"
"What?!" she asked swiftly, and then lunged into the air. Her saber deactivated the approaching enemy speeder, triggering it to implode in sparks of red and orange, consequently destroying the droid that piloted it. She landed back on the ground, splashing water around her.
"Anakin, you know Fives can't swim!"
"He heard that"
"Oh," she rubbed the back of her head "Well, anyway, see you at the base" she smirked and clicked off the comm.
A heartbeat later, a grenade whizzed through the air, its trajectory aimed perilously close to Dakota and Rex. With lightning reflexes, Dakota grabbed Rex's arm and pulled him down, diving out of harm's way just as the explosive device detonated with a deafening blast.
They tumbled to the ground in a tangled heap, Dakota landing on top of Rex in a flurry of limbs and armor. For a moment, they laid there, breathless and disoriented, the weight of their bodies pressing against each other in the aftermath of the explosion.
Their eyes met in a shared moment of understanding, the unspoken connection between them crackling with electricity as they laid in the midst of battle. "Sorry, Captain" she said with a glisten in her eye, not attempting to hide the playfulness as she stuck the tip of her tongue between her teeth, then jumped back to her feet and continued on.
It took him a bit to recover from that.
As another wave of blaster fire erupted around them, illuminating the mist-shrouded battlefield with flashes of light, Dakota's poised herself in the cover of an overbearing tree, and peered around the trunk to get a visual. "Rex, do you have a visual on the outer exterior of the base?" she asked, keeping her eyes ahead through the thickness of the leaves.
Rex was at her side in an instant, pressing up close to her arm and using the specs to scout ahead. "We're gaining, but it won't be a surprise to them when we arrive" he lowered the specs away from the viewport of his helmet. "We gave up that element a long time ago"
"That plan didn't service us anymore," she prepared to move on from behind the cover. "It's a remote separatist base, and droids don't perform well in watery conditions. I think we'll be fine" she lifted her fingers to her lips and whistled to Kix, and once she had his attention, she swirled her finger around to signal the strike.
He nodded and nudged Jesse, and the two of them disappeared into the misty brush. Sterling followed after them, accompanied with a handful of her best soldiers. She watched them go, then turned back to see the clones with her.
Suddenly, amid the chaos of battle, Dakota's attention was ripped away from the present crisis at hand and drawn to a different kind of disturbance. Rex saw the shift in her facial features, and he prepared to ask her what's wrong.
"Caleb!" she shouted, her voice cutting through the clamor of battle as she spotted her wayward Padawan forging ahead, his blue lightsaber ignited and his eyes blazing with determination.
All the men tensed at the thundering of her tone that casted shadows over the barging of gunfire. The realization hit her like a blow to the chest. Caleb had defied her orders, abandoning his post at the rear of the battalion to join the front lines. In doing so, he had left the clones vulnerable, without the protection of a Jedi or a lightsaber to shield them from harm.
Anger surged within Dakota, justified by her deep-rooted concern for the safety of the clone troopers under her command. How could Caleb be so reckless, so irresponsible? Did he not understand the gravity of his actions, the consequences of his defiance?
Storming through the murky waters, Dakota confronted her wayward Padawan, her expression a mask of fury. "Caleb, by the moons of Gorzgo, what in the hell do you think you're doing?" she demanded, her voice laced with hardly-contained rage.
Caleb met her gaze with defiance, his own anger mirroring hers as he bristled under her scrutiny. "I'm doing what needs to be done, Master," he retorted. "I won't stand by in the back. I'm here to fight, just like the rest of you."
The clone troopers didn't have time to send awkward looks to each other, they persisted in their mission of retaking that base. Swarms of white armor broke passed the droid barrier, dispersing into the terrain. A cannon shot rang out and hit a tree a good distance away. Dakota instinctively raised her arms to protect her head from any flying debris.
Her temper flared at his insolence, her patience wearing thin as she struggled with his inability to follow one, simple instruction. "You had a specific order, Caleb," she snapped, her voice dripping with frustration as she return to a taught posture. "You were supposed to remain at the rear and guard our flank." she pointed. "By disobeying that order, you've endangered not only yourself but the lives of every clone under our command."
The battle raged on in the swamp, the air reverberated with the deafening roar of more explosions as a cannon erupted in a fiery blast nearby. She wanted to say more to him, to rip him a new one right then and there, however it would have to wait.
Mud and murky water rained down around them, forcing Dakota and Rex to momentarily take cover behind a nearby rock formation. She had to drag the Padawan with her, practically shoving him against the rock cover without so much as an acknowledgment to his well-being.
"We need to take out that cannon before it does any more damage," Rex shouted over the din of battle, his eyes scanning the battlefield for signs of the enemy's defenses. Blaster fire zapped the rock just above his helmet.
Dakota nodded in agreement, her gaze fixed on the smoking wreckage of the cannon as she mentally formulated a plan of attack. "You and Jesse go ahead," she replied, her voice resolute despite the chaos surrounding them. Caleb couldn't hear much over the fury. "Use droid poppers, throw them over the barricades and infiltrate the wall. Take out the cannons, the rest of us will be right behind you"
Rex nodded, understanding the urgency of their situation as he readied his blasters for the next onslaught. "Understood, General," he replied, standing to his feet. "Just make sure you don't get yourself killed out there. I don't want to have to explain to the Council why their newest member died on my watch."
A wry smile tugged at Dakota's lips, despite the gravity of their situation. "Not ideal," she retorted."See you inside"
💫
With the base secured, Dakota wasted no time in organizing the troops to scavenge for supplies and establish their authority over the planet. Clone troopers moved swiftly through the abandoned corridors, collecting weapons, equipment, and valuable resources to bolster their own forces and strengthen their foothold on the planet.
Towns were dispersed throughout the marsh and required liberation from the separatists. Taking the base was step one in the operation full of ever changing and moving parts. She went up to Ahsoka, handing a holopad to Nax who trailed behind her. "Make sure the men remain on alert, and check their necks for leeches, those things can suck someone dry in an instant"
"Like that?" Ahsoka pointed a wavering finger, identifying the black eel-like creature that was attached to the top of Dakota's hand. Its middle was growing rounder from the blood it was stealing from her system.
She froze, and tensed up, squeezing her eyes shut as she lifted her hand to Ahsoka. "Get. It. Off"
Ahsoka couldn't help but giggle as she gingerly removed the leech and tossed it over her shoulder and out of sight. "Don't you dare laugh," Dakota warned, rubbing the stinging bite mark with her thumb.
"I wasn't! I just.. had something in my throat" she lied.
"You-" Dakota pointed. "-weren't captured by Geonosians and nearly had a worm put inside your nose"
"That happened?"
"Oh yeah, that happened... and don't tell Fives about this"
"Tell me what?" The ARC Trooper appeared with Rex. Their helmets were off, as they had been cleaning them in the wake of battle.
"That she got bit by a leech!" Ahsoka answered for her.
Dakota silently groaned and rubbed her irritated temples. "Capital murder is a crime, capital murder is a crime" she repeated the reminder to herself.
"Don't worry General, I got one too" Fives assured, tilting his head to the side to show off the bite mark on his neck just below his ear. "Got it while I was swimming" he made sure to annunciate the last word.
Ahsoka was enjoying this far too much. She had to walk away to keep herself from losing composure. Dakota watched her go with sharpened swords resonating within her emerald glare, but that heat faded to humored disbelief. A small, undetectable leech was attached to the exposed, orange skin of her forearm.
Dakota covered her mouth. Rex moved to stand with her, watching the Commander go as he asked. "Should we..."
"She'll find out"
💫
As the operation unfolded and small teams were sent to liberate nearby towns, Dakota seized the opportunity to confront Caleb once more, her tone containing remnants of aggravation. "Caleb, we need to talk," she began, her voice cutting through the tense atmosphere of the base. "Your choices today put the lives of our troops at risk, and I won't tolerate that kind of behavior under my command."
But Caleb's response was immediate and defiant, his anger palpable as he bristled at Dakota's reprimand. "Our casualties were limited," he snapped back. "We won."
"No thanks to you" she put her hands to her hips and leaned forward. "Cut the bantha crap and listen up, our battalion has the least amount of casualties in the entirety of the Grand Army of the Republic because of the trust that we put into each other on a minute-by-minute basis. I trusted you to watch our flank and you betrayed that trust. Yes, our casualties were limited but the bulk of that number occurred from the rear, which is where you were supposed to be"
Caleb's eyebrows raised, showing hints of an emotion that she didn't anticipate to see. Surprise, guilt, amongst others. At that point, he couldn't look at her face to face, his blue eyes avoided hers. Finally, he responded, and nearly sent her frustration boiling to the. "It's not my fault. I didn't even want to be here in the first place."
Swimming around somewhere in that explanation was the truth, hiding between the deflection and the inability to take accountability. It caused her lip to twitch. She pivoted and walked away, her mind needing a second to compose itself. She whipped back around, balling her fist up. The clones that stood by braced for impact. Rex was ready to act as protection for the both of them, because both Jedi were searing.
"None of us do!" she snapped. "You think any of us want to fight a war?" the Padawan remained quiet. "If we don't fight, then the Separatists will take over and suck this galaxy, and its people, dry! Leeches!" she reached down and removed a leech that Caleb didn't notice clinging to his ankle. He yelped, then frowned. "If you'd like to see that happen, then keep doing what you're doing."
Caleb sat on the supply crate, lips sealed shut and arms crossed. She growled to herself and stomped away. "As clueless as a happabore on spice" she muttered lowly when she passed by Rex.
As she stormed into the former separatist base, clones moved to be out of her path, she made her way up to the control room situated at the top of the tower. The interior of the base bore the unmistakable signs of its former occupants, with sleek metallic surfaces and angular architecture that spoke to its utilitarian design.
Entering the control room, Dakota found herself surrounded by a hive of activity as soldiers bustled about, setting up equipment and monitoring various displays scattered throughout the room. The air hummed with the low thrum of machinery, and the faint scent of ozone hung in the air as energy crackled from the various terminals and consoles lining the walls.
At the center of the room stood a hollow table, its surface illuminated by a holographic projection of the planet below. Clone squads moved across the display like chess pieces on a board, their positions and movements tracked in real-time as they worked to liberate the towns and settlements scattered across the swampy terrain.
As Dakota approached the table, her eyes narrowed with determination as she surveyed the ongoing operations unfolding before her. She leaned against the table, soaking in the scene, knowing internally that despite her frustrations with her Padawan, their mission to liberate the planet remained paramount.
As she turned to address the soldiers around her, she was met with the sight of Anakin Skywalker already present in the control room, his gaze also fixed on the holographic display before him.
Anakin greeted her with a nod as she approached, his blue eyes meeting hers with a knowing look. "Trouble with your Padawan?"
Dakota sighed, running a hand through her hair as she nodded in response. "That's a good way to put it," she sighed, her frustration evident in her voice. "He's proving to be..."
"A challenge?"
"I was going to say an asshole, but that works too"
Anakin's expression softened with understanding as he regarded her. "I been there too," he looked out the window which overlooked the swampy terrain. The angle at which they stood peering down gave her a sense of Deja vu. It felt reminiscent of Umbara.
"Got any room in your brooding mind for some advice?" he offered. She shrugged, granting him the floor. "Training a Padawan can be difficult, I'd certainly know. But I've learned it's best to let our Padawan's speak their minds. Let them be angry, let them get things out in the open, even if what they're saying is wrong"
She leaned back against the holo-table with crossed arms as she listened, and Anakin kept speaking from the experience he's acquired. "It's up to us as Master's to be patient and understanding, and to listen."
"He said that it wasn't his fault, that he was never supposed to be here in the first place" she enlightened, pursing her lips as his naive words replayed in her mind. "But in a roundabout why, I feel the same. I never wanted to be a master. I was perfectly fine with helping out with you and Ahsoka, but this" she shook her head. "A whole being under my oversight? And I can't even pass it off back to its owner at the end of the day?"
"Yep, those are the terms and conditions of it."Anakin offered her a warm smile. "But if it's any consolation, I've learned all my best battle tactics from you. You've always had a knack for it," he said earnestly. "I've learned a lot from watching you over the years."
Dakota's eyebrows lifted in surprise at his words, a sense of pride swelling in her chest. "Really?" she asked with a whisper of disbelief
Anakin nodded emphatically. "Absolutely," he affirmed. "And, you established the foundation of lightsaber technique for Ahsoka, and her skills reflect a strong and powerful influence, with help from me of course"
Dakota gave the softest smile and nodded, taking in his words with a sense of gratitude. She kept her eyes on the ground. "Well, I appreciate it, aside from your gloating" she added. "You're right, I just need to simmer down and listen"
Despite their difference in rank and experience, she knew that Anakin's advice was born from years of training and mentorship with his own Padawan. "It's funny" she looked at him. "Shoe's on the other foot."
"All I need now is an invitation to the Council"
"You can have mine." she pushed away from the table and turned to see the holographic map of the planet's terrain. "But thanks, co-gen, I needed that"