I moved slowly down the corridor. Another sortie had just ended. We had crushed the Nationalist detachment to smithereens, unexpectedly jumping out from underground. The guys from my "guard" had a great time. These smart alecks managed to loot a little and get themselves repulsor boots—like the ones the Nimbuses use. It's not hard to guess that they took them off the corpses. I don't know how hard it was for them to master the damn things, but the fact remained: the clones flew across the battlefield with ease, and their vibroblades became even more formidable weapons—no armor could save you at that speed…
True, when the droids' armored vehicles appeared, we had to retreat. No, we could have destroyed them, but… the losses would have been too great.
But just as we were advancing toward Suribachi, an earthquake began—or that's what I thought at first. And I felt very uneasy. Imagine: a narrow underground tunnel, you're walking through it waist-deep in water, and then it starts… Thank the Force, it turned out to be nothing more than enemy fire. As soon as we reached base territory, I checked via communication to find out what it was. It turned out to be proton cannons.
With a sigh, I reported that I would be at headquarters soon. We'd have to figure out how to destroy them. A short burst of shelling didn't scare us, but days of artillery preparation was a completely different matter—not to mention that the noise was really getting on everyone's nerves.
Soon I reached headquarters... Looking at the tactical map, I noted dispassionately that we were still resisting. In the last few hours, the intensity of the enemy attacks had increased, and the encirclement had tightened even more. It was a good thing we had managed to send out groups of saboteurs beforehand…
Explosions shook the mountain—it seemed the Separatists had brought in a few more guns. The lights flickered as some of the hastily hung wiring shorted out again. All of our "high command" gathered around the tactical table to assess the situation.
"Have you found them?" Turn asked again.
"Yes, sir. Sector seven-sixteen," the clone operator replied.
"Is it possible to reach them?"
"Right now… yes, sir. There's a tunnel here. True, the section ten meters in is blocked, but we can clear it in half an hour."
"Excellent. Begin—"
"Sir!" Christen almost jumped out of his chair.
"What?"
"Sir, we've received a message!"
"From our people? From orbit?" I perked up.
"No, General. The transmission came from somewhere nearby—less than ten kilometersfrom us, from the nearest hill… Hutt!"
"What is it?" Blam asked impatiently.
"Sir, a message from Nolan Gillmunn. First: Alto Stratus himself is moving in our direction. He has more than fifty thousand Nationalists and about three hundred thousand droids, plus at least six thousand armored vehicles…"
Shit.
"…The enemy has landed a large force from orbit near us…"
"That explains the increased attacks," Sumeragi said slowly.
Shit. Shit.
"…And a Padawan Pack is coming to our aid…"
"What the hell are these doing here?" I was genuinely surprised by this turn of events.
"Sir…" Kristen looked clearly confused. "It says here that Nolan's father, Orliss, gave the Padawans false information, and they probably think we're doomed here and are rushing to save us…"
But they're walking straight into a trap! Orliss, you bastard!
"When will they meet? What's the timeline? And where?" asked the ever-practical Li Noriega.
"Forty kilometers from us. And… I'm afraid the battle will begin in a few… minutes."
"Not a battle," the Falleeni corrected. "A beating."
Ahsoka looked straight at me.
"Master, what shall we do?"
Everyone turned to me, waiting for an answer.
***
Alto silently watched the Republic column winding across the plain.
"How much longer?"
"In a minute. The lead vehicles will reach the minefield," replied Nimbus.
Explosions rumbled in the distance, confirming the captain's words.
Stratus raised his hand, pointing downward.
"All units—attack!"
***
Blam and H, Turn and Puck, Lucky and Devil, Sumeragi, Christen, Zule, Ahsoka… They all looked at me intently, silently awaiting my decision—whatever it might be. And yet, their eyes shone with… hope.
I could have said that the game wasn't worth the candle, that the Padawans were doomed, that we ourselves might perish trying to break through to them… That the clones fighting out there now, on the plains, were doing their duty—that their sacrifice would not be in vain, that it would give us a chance to survive, that… I could have come up with a thousand reasons, and they would have accepted any of them, silently and obediently…
But in their eyes…
Lowering my eyelids, I reached out in all directions, trying to find an answer… But it is pointless to call upon the Force—for it is not omnipotent. And silence was my answer. I opened my eyes again and looked at them…
Clones… To them, I have become a commander they are ready to follow to the end. They know I will do everything in my power to get them out of here, that I value their lives, that I won't neglect a single clone. They will accept any order I give, even one that will lead to their death, but… the hope that I will save their brothers glimmerssomewhere deep in their consciousness…
Christen and Sumeragi… They respect me, and they know I feel the same way about them... I have promoted them in their careers, and they work tirelessly to justify my trust… Perhaps they even admire me as a commander and are proud of me… For my victories are also their victories. Together we've been through a lot. They already understand that my Legion is… a family. And I will fight for my family, no matter what. They are waiting for me to give the order, and everything will work out—as it always has…
Ahsoka… She...There is hope in her eyes. To her, I am the best Jedi—one for whom there are no obstacles, who can do the impossible… A knight without fear or doubt. One who will crush enemies and restore justice. She is waiting for me to save the Padawans who are in trouble… Because in her mind, it simply cannot be otherwise…
Time flows so slowly…
The choice… the scales… On one side is life, on the other—death. We are given the opportunity to choose, but we are not given the opportunity to avoid choosing. Neutrality is impossible—it's either one or the other; it has always been that way.
Now I have to choose. But… will I be able to look them in the eye after making this choice?
You bastard… what a f*cking bastard you are…
My voice is hoarse, but the words escape me anyway, cutting off my doubts and leaving no way back.
"Commander Tano. I appoint you commander of this base. Hold it as long as possible, and as soon as you can contact the fleet in orbit, request immediate evacuation. Li Noriega, Christen —your task is to oversee this. Zule, you will assist Ahsoka. Blam, you will command the troops. Lucky, Devil—you're responsible for Commander Tano's security."
"Master…"
"Puck. We have a short walk ahead of us. Prepare the fighters—two dozen will suffice. We're leaving in five minutes."
"Yes, sir."
"Master! You can't leave me here!" Ahsoka approached me, and I could sense herindignation.
"To complete this mission successfully, I need your composure," I replied, placing my hand on her shoulder.
"Master, I must go with you!"
"No."
"What? But—"
"Ahsoka. You must stay. You must take command in my absence. I need to be sure we have a place to return to."
"I understand, Master, but… At least take more clones with you."
"No. We'll have to make do with a small number—we don't have that many speeders. Otherwise, we simply won't make it in time. But even so, we'll have to fight our way through."
"I agree," said B-1. "The number of people saved may be lower than the number of rescuers who die—and then the operation will be pointless."
Damn, I missed something.
"And need to come up with a plan," I uttered the last words aloud.
"What, you don't even have a plan?" Sumeragi asked in disbelief.
"No."
"General! But that's not right!"
"We don't have time. Now I have to go."
Ahsoka…
Master?
If we… When we return, I will contact you. Then… you must strike the enemy so that we can break through and return to base.
Okay. Just… come back!
That's it. It's all or nothing. We have no right to refuse to choose. But now do I realize that often… there is no opportunity to choose.
***
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