A group of Nationalist insurgents huddled in muddy trenches across Jabiim's battlefield.
"Republic forces are moving again."
"I know... heard they've got Jedi with them."
"Honestly? Until recently, I didn't even think Jedi were real."
"You're kidding me."
"Maybe, but it's true," one soldier turned to his trench-mate. "Is it true they steal babies?"
The second soldier just grunted. "Yeah. And they slice women in half with those laser swords."
"I heard they keep clone soldiers in glass jars. Whole battalions of super-soldiers riding giant four-legged monsters—"
Both soldiers stopped talking when they felt a tremor beneath their feet.
"What was that? An earthquake?"
"No... something's coming... something massive..."
Then both looked back to see what was causing the ground to shake.
Multiple AT-TE and AT-AP walkers advanced across the muddy terrain, their heavy cannons opening fire on enemy positions.
"It's the Republic!" one soldier shouted. In response, the Nationalists began returning fire at the approaching forces.
"That armor's too thick!"
"Fall back!"
"Retreat! Get to the defensive line!"
The insurgents quickly fled through the battlefield mud as fast as they could manage. Some were cut down by blaster fire, while others were unlucky enough to stumble over the uneven terrain and fall.
Pursuing them were soldiers of the 41st Elite Corps and 212th Attack Battalion, supported by the 35th Infantry, all led by Jedi Master Leska.
Among the advancing forces were Jedi Masters Luminara Unduli and Obi-Wan Kenobi, along with the former's Padawan Barriss Offee and a dozen other Jedi Knights and their apprentices.
"Remember, our objective is to capture them quickly and get them to the evacuation zones," Obi-Wan called out amid the chaos, deflecting blaster bolts with fluid lightsaber movements.
"Easier said than done," Leska replied, parrying incoming fire. "No doubt they think we're just going to capture and interrogate them."
"Better that than dying at the hands of Ultron's machines," Commander Gree stated, his white and green armor already stained with dirt and mud.
By now, most clone armor was covered in grime kicked up by explosions across the battlefield. Others had either fallen into the treacherous muddy ground or taken cover from heavy blaster cannon fire.
"Boil, Waxer, take a squad and reinforce the left flank," Commander Cody ordered, and his two senior sergeants nodded before barking commands for dozens of clones to follow them.
"The main Nationalist line is positioned on that ridge," Jedi Master Seiro shouted, pointing ahead through the rain.
"Barriss, you and Gree take most of the men toward the center," Luminara instructed her Padawan. "They'll be targeting our AT-TEs and walkers. We need to keep them at bay."
"Yes, Master," Barriss acknowledged, looking to Gree and nodding. The clone commander returned the nod as both moved toward their assigned position, most of the 41st following behind them.
"General Kenobi, we're taking the main battery. I recommend deploying a flanking force to prevent enemy retreat," said the clone commander serving under Leska.
Obi-Wan nodded quickly, activated his comm unit, and contacted a Padawan from Leska's group.
"Kass, this is Obi-Wan Kenobi! Your unit's in the best position. Circle around behind that ridge now!"
"We've been waiting for hours for this order!"
"Apologies for the delay. We've had complications on our end."
"Plenty of complications here too. At this point, we're mainly just trying to survive."
The battle continued for another hour, with Republic forces gradually pushing back the Jabiim Nationalists.
Through the swift actions of Kass Tod, the spearhead assault by the 212th and 41st, and the imposing presence of Republic heavy walkers, the Republic finally achieved victory on this particular battlefield.
Now Nationalist soldiers were being processed by Republic forces while multiple LAAT gunships arrived to assist with area clearance.
From one gunship emerged Anakin and Ahsoka, who had been operating with the 501st Legion, supporting their clone troopers and Loyalist allies.
A young female Jedi, approximately the same age as Ahsoka and Barriss, knelt beside a wounded Nationalist trooper who had just been shot.
"Hold on, soldier. This will all be over soon."
However, the Nationalist soldier tried crawling away from her. "Don't... don't touch me."
Master Seiro approached and knelt beside his Padawan. "Easy now—my Padawan Aubrey is one of the finest healers at the Jedi Temple."
"He'll live, Master—just to fight us again tomorrow," Aubrey Fey muttered.
"Just treat him, Aubrey. Then we'll report to General Kenobi," Seiro said, leaving his Padawan to her duties.
She was so focused on healing the trooper that she didn't notice another Jedi approaching and kneeling beside her.
Aubrey blinked and saw olive-green hands moving over the wounded soldier.
The young Padawan looked up to see none other than her fellow apprentice, Padawan Barriss Offee.
"Barriss?" Aubrey said with surprise.
"I didn't know you possessed healing abilities like I do," Barriss said warmly. "I understand it's quite rare among Jedi."
The young Padawan suddenly felt somewhat self-conscious, lowering her head and concentrating on treating the Nationalist soldier.
Barriss observed her fellow Padawan's work, then glanced down at the soldier staring up at the stormy sky, clearly unwilling to accept such compassion.
"I'm sorry this happened to you," Barriss said gently. "We'll keep you safe, I promise."
Aubrey looked somewhat surprised at the comment, and the Jabiim Nationalist glanced up at the Jedi with confusion.
"Why are you helping us?" the Jabiim Nationalist asked bitterly. "You Jedi freaks are nothing but Republic lapdogs."
Barriss didn't respond immediately, her arm tensing slightly at the insult.
"We help because it is our duty," the Mirialan Padawan said firmly after several seconds of silence. "It doesn't matter which side you're on."
The Nationalist had no response to this and simply chose to lie there, allowing the two Padawans to treat him until he could be transported with the other captured prisoners.
"I think that's the last of them. No one's left behind," Anakin observed, watching Nationalists being processed by clones and Loyalists.
To the side, Ahsoka spotted her friend Barriss and quickly walked over.
"Hey, Barriss," Ahsoka greeted, and her friend gave the Togruta a small smile.
"Ahsoka," she nodded, standing up. "Where are the Avengers?"
"They're engaging a battalion of Ultron drones attacking a city on Jabiim," Ahsoka told her with a frown, her mood becoming subdued. "That city... half the population..."
Barriss's eyes widened slightly at this news, and she lowered her head with visible frustration.
"They are one with the Force now," she whispered to herself.
"They weren't supposed to be," Ahsoka muttered, her fists clenching tightly. "Ultron... he's just rampaging across the planet."
"The Avengers did warn us about his methods," Barriss reminded her gently.
"I know. We witnessed it firsthand," Ahsoka said, grimacing. "I just..."
The sentence remained unfinished between them, as Barriss understood how deeply Coruscant's attack had affected her friend, and she couldn't blame her. She was processing the same trauma, like so many others across the galaxy.
As if this war wasn't devastating enough, now there was a new wildcard who had played his hand and was already well on his way to claiming another victory.
"Come on, Ahsoka, help me tend to the wounded," Barriss said, gesturing for her to follow, which Ahsoka did without hesitation.
Honestly, helping injured soldiers provided welcome temporary relief from their growing anxiety.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Writing takes time, coffee, and a lot of love.If you'd like to support my work, join me at [email protected]/GoldenGaruda
You'll get early access to over 50 chapters, selection on new series, and the satisfaction of knowing your support directly fuels more stories.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~