A powerful explosion shook the head walker, and it toppled onto its side. A couple of seconds later, the second AT-XT—unable to stop in time—vanished in a cloud of plasma.
Kass rushed forward. In the blink of an eye, she crossed a couple hundred meters and helpedWindo—who had been thrown back by the blast wave—to his feet. The Aqualish had been moving at the head of the column.
"Ma'am, there's a glare on the scanners! It's a minefield!"
"Sithspit! Nobody move! Since when do the Separatists use mines?"
Silhouettes suddenly began emerging from all sides, gradually taking shape. Jabiim forces—Nimbuses and militiamen, combat droids and tanks, rocket launchers and combat transports. And they were all firing at them.
"Kass! We can't fight standing still! We have to attack, or we'll never win!"
"There are too many of them!"
"Aubrie! We have to spread out!" Tae Diath shouted, deflecting blaster bolts with his sword.
"Yes, Tae, that's a great idea!"
The clones obeyed, turned around, and attacked in all directions. The walkers supported the assault. Here, on the plain, the mud was neither thick nor deep, and their maneuverability was almost unaffected.
***
The speeder bike tore through the wall of rain. I pressed the gas pedals all the way down, and it shot forward at a blistering speed—judging by the instruments, three hundred kilometers per hour. Puck and the other troopers followed close behind, managing to keep up.
Our breakout from the base had taken the enemy entirely by surprise, and everything had gone smoothly—with no losses on our side. The clones had even managed to destroy several tanks: as they flew past, they slapped magnetic grenades onto the hulls. A small thing, perhaps, but still satisfying.
The landscape streaking past me looked quite unusual. Any resident of Jabiim's territory would have called it outright alien. Countless craters from explosions and the scorched remains of destroyed equipment—both Republic and Separatist—formed bizarre, twisted compositions. And everywhere lay the wreckage of droids. Occasionally, fragments of clone armor flashed past…
Danger.
A sharp jerk to the left—my instincts pulling me—and a grenade sailed over my former trajectory, slamming into two assassin droids and blowing them apart.
"Ambush!"
Precise fire from the droids caught up to the speeding group. The clones leapt from their speeders, activating their repulsor boots. The droids didn't expect that. A split-second delay on their part was all I needed—my saber cut them to pieces. But the incoming fire only intensified, and now more droids were converging on us from all directions. Even the Force was no longer enough—the speeder beneath me was struck by a charge from the shoulder cannon of a four-eyed freak.
I vaulted upward, flipped in the air, and landed behind him, cutting him in half. My speeder crashed into the ranks of the droids at tremendous speed.
"Damn it!"
Puck sprinted toward me.
"Sir, the speeders are destroyed. We'll have to go on foot."
"Not on foot, Puck… Run!"
I think we're close…
We crested a hill—and I saw a massive battle unfolding beneath us. Everything was mixed together, making it almost impossible to tell who was friend and who was foe. Only the different colors of blaster bolts somehow allowed us to orient ourselves. The clones were advancing to our left and right, though it would have made far more sense if—
"General! There's a minefield ahead!"
That's why they're not moving forward!
More and more enemy reinforcements were streaming into the fight—columns of B1 and B2 battle droids, spider droids of every configuration, repulsor tanks, tracked tanks… There were far too few Republic walkers to stop such a horde.
"Cover me!"
I exhaled. I hope I can do it. I really hope so.
Taking two steps forward, I let myself fall into meditation.
Silence descended. My perception shifted to another level, and though my eyes were closed, I saw far more than I could with them open. It was difficult, very difficult—the constant flashes of death in the Force pressed heavily on me… But once I managed to locate the first mine trigger, the whole deadly web unfolded before my senses…
So… so… what if…
I stretched my right hand forward and attempted to push one of the contacts. A distant explosion rumbled.
Excellent. And now…
Focusing and pouring all my strength into the effort, I attempted to connect them all. A powerful chain of detonations thundered ahead.
"General!" Puck's voice trembled with barely restrained enthusiasm. "You did it! There's a passage—almost a hundred meters wide!"
"Go, Puck, go! We need to get the guys out!"
I'm feeling unwell...
***
Dick Mazzi listened to a report from one of the Nimbuses about a small group of speeder bikes that had broken out of the besieged base. I think it was their commanders. They must have fled, leaving their soldiers to die. Jedi… worthless. Still, this will make our task easier. Shaking his head, he refocused on the assault preparations.
Dick was issuing his final orders before the next attack on the Republic base when his deputy rushed up to him.
"Sir Mazzi!"
"What now?"
"A messenger just arrived! Bad news! Saboteurs have blown up the mines on Handuin and Arlessar!"
"Shit! How many? Is the damage extensive?"
"Sir… all the ones where deposits were found. And yes—many workers were injured…"
"Bastards… What about the mines in the southern hemisphere?"
"No news, sir."
"Send messengers! Warn them!"
Damn Republicans—you'll pay for this!
He turned to his troops. "Everyone, prepare for the attack! And where are those vaunted Nimbuses? They'll go first!"
***
When Knight Vikt's squad disappeared into the distance, a brief respite followed. And then a fierce attack began. Within minutes, it became clear that the situation was taking a serious turn. Those damned Nimbuses—and several hundred droids—had broken through the outer defensive perimeter. And behind them surged hordes of those clankers.
Ahsoka Tano, left in command, gave a decisive order:
"Blam, prepare the reserves for a counterattack! Lucky, take a group and hit that tunnel from the rear! Damn it—Zule, with me!"
"Now this is getting interesting!" Falleeni encouraged her. "It'll definitely be more fun than with your Master…"
"Destroy them!" Zule shouted, firing her blaster rifle. She held the trigger down, the weapon spitting bolts at maximum rate. And she didn't care if the barrel burned out—the ammunition would run out long before the enemies did.
The clones around her fired relentlessly, but the enemy answered with equal ferocity. The base's defenders were falling one after another.
"Hutt, there are so many of them! The perimeter is breached, the base is under attack, and we have practically no reserves left. At this rate, we'll soon be pushed all the way back to the mountain…"
Do you want to win?
Yes… Wait—who are you?
Do you want to win?
Yes, damn it!
I will give you strength… to crush your enemies… to avenge… your Master…
YES!
The Force flooded through her veins, filling every cell of her body. Zule had never felt so… powerful. Falleeni laughed.
"All my Masters kept warned me about the dangers of hatred and anger!.."
Throwing aside her useless rifle, she ignited her lightsaber.
"But now… anger and hatred will bring you destruction!"
With that cry, she hurled herself at her enemies, cutting them down one after another, unstoppable. She cleaved droids apart, smashed their heads with her prosthetic limbs, crushed their bodies with telekinesis…
Soon no one was left standing before her… She turned, licking her lips…
"Commander Xiss, excel—" The approaching clone froze mid-sentence.
"Kill… everyone!"
Zule lunged forward, decapitating the clone. Her eyes flared with a bright, burning yellow.