Trapped
Spike cowered behind the walls for what felt like an eternity, the sound of explosions and laser fire filling his ears, drowning out the screams that came from those who hadn’t found shelter when the attack came. Beside him, Tarhal was covering his own ears, rocking back and forth as he screamed in terror, it took Spike a few minutes to realise he was doing the exact same thing.
Eventually, mercifully, the lasers stopped falling towards the ground. At first, Spike thought it was a trick, trying to lure people out of cover so that when it started again, they would be caught in the open, but after almost two minutes of nothing but the screams of the wounded permeating the air, Spike realised that if the hour long orbital bombardment was truly over, the ground invasion would be coming soon.
Sticking his head up over the wall, Spike balked at the sight that greeted him. The street, so peaceful just minutes before, was now covered in bodies, some of which were barely even recognisable as corpses, while the few survivors tried to pull the wounded and the dead from the fires that burning in the city.
“Tarhal?” Spike said hollowly, unable to tear his eyes away from the scene in front of him. “Tarhal!”
“Is it over?” Tarhal whimpered, standing beside Spike and slowly taking his hands away from his ears.
“We need to help.” Spike said, his voice wavering slightly.
Nodding, Tarhal followed Spike as the pair stumbled forward, the Wookie grabbing hold of a writhing body and pulling them away from the fire that was slowly burning their legs, placing his hands on the person and willing the force to help heal them.
Thrusting his hands out, Spike began to lift a chunk of fallen masonry off a body, before seeing the state the body, the corpse, was in and allowing it to drop back down. Placing his head in his hands, Spike glanced upwards, and looked at the hundreds of ships that were entering low orbit around the planet, tiny shapes flitting around them like pilot fish feeding off a shark.
“We need to get back to the temple.” He yelled over to Tarhal, who was still trying to bring life back to the body in front of him.
“I can still save him!” Tarhal roared back.
“There’s no time!” Spike roared back, slipping into Shyriiwook.
“There’s always time!” Tarhal shot back.
“They’re dead! We need to find other Jedi, link up with the defences!”
“Argggh! Fine!” Tarhal bellowed, allowing the lifeless body to fall from his grasp.
Following Spike, the two Jedi darted down the road, skirting around the burning wreck of the speeder they had arrived in and jumping over piles of rubble, using the force to increase their running pace beyond what would have been possible, and to jump higher than either of them had thought possible.
Spike could hear gunfire raging in the distance, and watched as more tiny figures plummeted towards the ground on tongues of fire, even as larger dropships floated downwards. The invasion of Coruscant had begun in earnest.
“Spike!” Tarhal growled, pointing to a small clearing where some of the figures had already begun to land, firing their weapons at an unseen target.
“I see ‘em.” Spike nodded, springing forward and using the force to bringing his Lightsabers into his outstretched hands, igniting both blades.
Even as Spike landed, the warriors had adapted, one of them throwing up a sword that to Spikes immense surprise caught his Lightsabers, bringing him into a blade lock so he was face to face with his enemy, or rather, face to helmet. The helmet looked brutal and organic, a single black visor in the shape of a T dominating it. The rest of the armour was much the same, looking as if it had been fashioned out of leather and bone. Only one army in the galaxy wore helmets like that. Growling, Spike forced his Lightsabers apart, pushing the Mandalorian back.
Glancing over, Spike saw Tarhal fighting another Mandalorian, while yet more landed, firing at a target just around the corner from where Spike could see. Not able to waste any more time looking around, Spike ran forward, meeting his opponent head on as the two of them clashed again. The Mandalorian roared behind his helmet, drawing a pistol with his free hand and trying to shoot Spike, clipping him in the shoulder. Snarling, Spike slashed with his free Lightsaber, cutting the blaster in half, before spinning his own weapon so the blade was along his arm, before thrusting forward, slamming the blade into the helmet of his opponent, cutting his head neatly in two.
As the warrior fell to the ground, Spike had already turned, slamming both of his Lightsabers into the back of the Mandalorian who was fighting Tarhal, grunting as he forced the warrior to the floor before pulling his weapons out.
“Come on.” Spike panted, running around the corner after the other Mandalorians, looking at the two bodies of the attacking Mandalorians, and the two Jedi who stood over them, slashing at the last Mandalorian still standing.
“Zule? Corinna?” Spike asked as Zule calmly and smoothly parried a strike from the Mandalorian, before Corinna stabbed at him with her own weapon, ending his spree.
“Spike? Tarhal?” Zule asked, just as surprised as the dragon was. “What are you doing here?”
“Can we discuss this somewhere else, like on the way back to the temple?” Spike asked.
“Fine.” Corinna nodded. “Zule, let’s move.”
“What about Asho?” He asked.
“What about her?” Spike asked, confused as to where she fitted into this.
“She was with us when the attack started.” Corinna replied, glancing up at the skies to make sure that no more Mandalorians were going to drop in on them. “When the ships fired, we all scattered, Zule and I went one way. She…”
“Went the other way.” Zule finished. “We haven’t seen her since.”
“Damn.” Spike grunted. “New plan, we find her, which way were you headed?”
“Back towards the temple.” Zule pointed behind him.
“Which is where we should be going.” Tarhal said forcefully
“We, find her, now.” Spike said simply, before taking off at a run in the opposite direction from the temple. If the others followed him, great, if not, he’d have to find Asho on his own.
“Come on!” Corinna shouted, taking off after Spike with Zule hot on her heels. Tarhal looked after the others for a split second, before following after the others.
“Heh, Nexu clan’s back together.” Corinna grinned.
“Not yet.” Spike pointed out. “Left side!”
Instantly, the four Jedi looked to the left, catching sight of what Spike had been shouting about. Beyond the rubble on their side, a drop ship was disgorging more troops, and not just Mandalorians, but Krath as well, droids snapping around the heels of their masters. Roaring, Tarhal started the charge, brandishing his weapon as he deflected the shots aimed at him. Taking up the Wookies war cry, Spike followed him, overtaking the Wookie, and being the first of the four Jedi to smash into the enemy lines.
Stabbing forward with Dusk, Spike gutted one of the war droids that was still whirling around trying to react to the sudden attack, before he parried a blow from another droid with Elusive, cutting the blade in two, and leaving the droid defenceless for Tarhal to decapitate.
“Catch.” Tarhal roared, grabbing one of the Krath by the arm, stopping his attack, before throwing him through the air towards Spike.
Bringing both his weapons up, Spike cut an X through the human, killing him instantly. Not allowing himself to get bogged down in the emotions of killing so casually, Spike slashed forward, watching as Zule calmly duelled with a Mandalorian carrying a large, two handed sword, his movements flowing into one another as was typical of Makashi. In short order, the Mandalorian lay dead on the floor, and Zule calmly stepped forward to engage the next warrior.
Suddenly, a flurry of laser fire shot over the Jedi’s heads, impacting with the Mandalorians and Krath as Republic troops ran forward, pouring fire into the drop ships interior, taking out those soldiers who had taken cover there. In a few seconds, the Republic soldiers had stopped firing, their targets lying dead on the floor in front of them.
“More Jedi?” One of the soldiers, a Lieutenant, asked quizzically.
“More?” Spike asked urgently. “Twilek, female, blue skin?”
“Padawan Asho.” He nodded.
“Where?” Corinna asked, standing beside Spike.
“She’s with second company.” He said, before suddenly snapping off a salute. “Lieutenant Reacher, acting commander third company, Forty Second Army Recon Commando Battalion.”
“Padawan Spike, Padawan Tarhal, Padawan Zule and Padawan Corinna.” Spike said, indicating each Padawan as he said their name. “All formerly of Nexu clan. The last member of the clan is Padawan Asho, who I’m guessing you already know.”
“Come with us, we’ll take you to Battalion command. It’s not safe out here.” Reacher said, gesturing from the direction he just came. “Front line’s moving, soon the Mandalorian advance is going to be over running this position, and trust me, you don’t want to be here when it hits.”
“Lead on then.” Spike said with a nod.
“You two,” Reacher said, indicating two soldiers, “torch the dropship, we’re moving out people.”
Following after the sergeant, the four Jedi followed the soldiers towards the final member of their clan.
***
After five minutes of running, the group eventually made it to a large building, the top of which had been reduced to rubble, but the bottom still looked stable enough. More soldiers were standing outside, each one ready to fire on a moment’s notice. Civilians were flocking into the building, most of them wounded and crying out for medical attention.
Following Reacher, Spike and the other Padawans made their way into the building, being greeted by the smell of blood and the screams of the dying as the few medics sought to treat the wounded. It didn’t take a genius to see that there weren’t enough of them to help everyone.
“It’s been like this since the attack started.” Reacher said, picking his way through the bodies as he spoke. “As soon as it hit, the Colonel managed to get out a message, said we were taking people in who needed help. Some managed to here. We’re not cut out for this though, we’re recon, not medics.”
“Right now we need medics, not reconnaissance.” A Colonel said, walking towards Reacher, who snapped off a salute. “At ease. Now, who do we have here? Another Jedi?”
“Padawan Spike.” Spike nodded. “You know where Asho is yes?”
“Come with me.” The colonel gestured. “Lieutenant Reacher, take your company out and run patrols, I want to know where the front line is at all times, if it gets within half a kilometre of here, I want to know.”
“Sir.” He nodded, before turning and running out of the building.
“Reacher’s a good guy, you’re lucky he found you.” The Colonel said. “Your friend wouldn’t let us stay here and not search for you though.”
“No, I wouldn’t.” Came the familiar voice of Asho, and Spike turned to see the Twilek walking towards them.
“Glad you’re safe.” Zule nodded.
“Same goes for you, luckily Colonel Samstag has some of the best recon troops this side of the galaxy.” Asho smiled.
“This is all very touching, but there is a battle going on.” Corinna pointed out. “We need to get into the fight.”
“We’re going to stay here and look after the wounded.” Samstag corrected. “I have one recon battalion and four Jedi, hardly enough to make a difference on the front, but more than enough to make a difference helping wounded civilians.”
“But…” Spike began.
“Incoming!” A voice screamed, just before a massive object smashed into the side of the building, skidding to the rear before exploding, throwing Spike and the others across the room.
As Spikes head stopped ringing, he was aware that the level of screaming had increased substantially, and he looked to see the remains of a Krath Chaos Fighter burning in the back of the room.
“Coln…” He began, before he saw the Colonels body, and instantly knew that he hadn’t survived. It hadn’t been the explosion though, the cuts on his body were wrong for that. It almost looked like…
Spike spun around, grabbing the spines that ran down his back, before pulling his hand away, shaking, as it came away slick with blood.
“Colonel Sir! Mandalorians have broken through the Republic lines, they’ll be here…” Reacher yelled, running over and seeing the dead body of the Colonel. “Damn.” He finished weakly.
“We’re moving out.” Corinna said, tearing her eyes away from the burning fighter. “This buildings coming down, the Mandalorians will be here any second, we need to move.”
“Who put you in charge?” Reacher asked.
“No one, but as Jedi, technically we out rank you.” Zule said, backing up his sister.
“In my books, experience beats rank.” Reacher pointed out.
“Then we best get moving so we can get some.” Spike said. “Where would these Mandalorians be trying to get to?”
“Umm…the Ion cannons. The bombardment took out most of the orbital defences, and we have no fleet, but some survived. If we’re going to hold them off, we’re going to need those cannons.”
“Fine, we move out then.” Spike nodded. “Is everyone OK?”
“Fine.” Tarhal nodded.
“Uh huh.” Asho grunted, rubbing her side for a second before nodding.
“We won’t make it, not if the Mandalorians follow us.” Reacher pointed out.
“We’ve got to.” Spike shot back.
“Doesn’t matter, someone’s got to hold them here.” He replied.
“You can’t defend here, there’s no cover.” Spike said. “Now come on, we need to go.”
“The third company will stay here. Get to the cannons and make them pay.” Reacher said, before turning and barking orders to the soldiers he ran past before Spike could say anything.
“Come on, we need to get to those cannons.” Asho said, before shouting at the top of her lungs. “First and Second companies with me.”
Sprinting towards the back of the building, Asho jumped through the hole created by the exploding fighter, followed by the remaining troops who were accompanying them. Following quickly behind her, Spike and the other Padawans leaped through the gap, the dragon taking one look back as he saw Reacher ordering men about and directing fire as the first Mandalorians began to appear.
“Asho!” Spike called, catching up with the Twilek. “You knew the commander?”
“My master and I ran a few missions with the Forty Second.” Asho nodded.
“Sir!” A trooper called out, catching up with the two leading Jedi.
“What is it Corporal?” Asho asked.
“The scanners picked up a wing of bombers coming in on this position. If they see us on the street it will be like shooting Hutts in a barrel.” He replied.
“Get everyone off the street, we’ll wait for them to pass and then continue.
Nodding, the trooper began barking orders, and the column of men began to slide off the street, all converging in one building, the doors already blown off, and easily large enough to fit in the eighty odd soldiers that had managed to get away with them.
“Keep quiet.” Spike hissed.
Holding his breath, Spike strained his ears for the sound of the bombers, wanting to have as much notice as he could. It didn’t take long, as he heard the whine of small ship engines getting closer and closer, followed by the whine of something else.
“We’ve got incoming!” One of the soldiers yelled, before an explosion lit up the street as bomb after bomb slammed home.
With a sick cracking sound, rubble began to collapse from the building above them, crashing down onto the street, sealing the entrance from the outside world. Eventually, the sound of bombs falling died away, and Spike uncovered his head, looking at the entrance, and the rubble that was strewn across it, blocking it to the extent that it would require a Jedi much stronger to free it.
“What now?” Corinna said, moving up next to Spike.
“What do you mean ‘what now’?” He asked back. “The plan hasn’t changed, we keep moving through the buildings till we reach the cannons, then we hold up there until we get contact from the temple.”
“Looks like we’ve figured out who’s in charge.” Tarhal smiled.
“I guess.” Zule sniggered. “Where to then Spike?”
Looking around for a second, Spike allowed a smile to grow on his face before replying.
“Rooftops. We go up.”
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the spike is the key, for it shall call upon the power of Magic...to light their darkest hour...
3833734
huh?
3833768 im trying my claw at prophecy...
3833775
Ah, well it sounds cool.
3833785 thats the trick, most prophecy sounds like complete gibberish, and for the most part thats exactly what it is, the ravings of lunatics. however, look a little closer, and the true meaning may be reveled. in many ways, it is like looking into a pool of water,
3833813
Agreed there. Btw, the video doesn't work, it just so happens I know the quote from it already.
3833819 yeah, but u can still link to the original on youtube...i actually was looking for just the scene at the pool...but this was as close as i could get...
The Nexu clan is back together and ready to kick ass.
3833865
Ah, thanks
3833870
Yep, they're back together.
Oh boy this is getting tense now.
How... how is it possible for you to make chapters this fast yet STILL be great?
Also, Spike is best Jedi. <3
Captain Rex and Ahsoka, i see what you did there
3835800
Yay, you get the reference.
Have a cookie
I don't know much about the wars and time lines of Star Wars but are the Dread Masters in this? (Is that what they're called?)
3837539
The who?
3837539
Just looked them up. No, they are not in it. The story is set around 3996BBY, about 300 years before those guys
3838073 Okay, sorry if I'm annoying...
3839930
No worries, I can do the same sort of thing on other stories as well. Happens to everyone.
3842712 xD
Well, time to see what happens next, TO THE ROOF!
droids snapping around the hells of their masters
1. Heels.
Nice Ahsoka/Rex homage.
Experience outranks everything.
When do the clone wars start?
10041627
Thousands of years later.