Star Wars: The Great War

by ShootingStar25

Chapter 27: Defenders of Peace

When surrounded by war, one must eventually choose a side.

Recap: Republic forces in retreat. While rescuing General Aayla Secura from certain defeat, Anakin Skywalker and Storm have been seriously injured. After a narrow escape, our heroes crash-landed on the remote world of Maridun. Stranded, and with no way to contact the Republic, the Jedi receive medical aid from the peaceful Lurmen colonists. But even on this tiny planet, the war threatens to follow the Jedi.

The sun rose over the wold of Maridun. With the morning star brightening the day, it meant that the Lurmen had to start their day. Twilight had awoken to help some of the Lurmen to pick some fruits as they were thankfully for the girl's help. They had given the Jedi Knight some of the fruit they picked as she thanked them and made her way back to the hut Storm was.

Twilight entered the hut and was welcomed to a shocking surprise. Storm was sat up as he was currently eating some of the food that the Lurmen brought him while the girl was out. Safe to say, his appetite was still the same as the boy munched on his vittles.

"Storm?" asked Twilight.

"Hey, Sparky," said the boy nonchalantly.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, why would I--"

The Jedi Knight didn't finish his sentence as Twilight rushed over to hug the boy.

"You're alright," said Twilight as she hugged her partner with her arms around his waist.

"Sparky! No hugging!!!" shouted Storm, especially cause this time, his body still ached a bit.

"Sorry," said Twilight as she quickly released her embrace. She was turning red from embarrassment at how he still wasn't fully recovered. "I was... just worried is all."

"Whatever, I'm fine. Aren't I?" said Storm as he began to take the bandages off his body, but kept the one around his waist on.

"You should lie down, you need to rest," suggested Twilight as she placed her hand on the boy's shoulder.

"I've done enough resting, I need to move around," said Storm as he looked to stand up.

"Please, listen to me. It's for your own good," stated Twilight.

She then pulled out the fruits that the Lurmen had given her as she offered some to the boy. Storm looked at it and then at his partner. He reached his hand out to grab the fruit in Twilight's hand; he gave a smile to Twilight as the girl did the same. They clinked their fruit together as they began to eat their meal together.

---

Commander Bly had emerged from the hut that he, Rex, and Sark all shared as he saw the Lurmen all walking about. He noticed some Lurmen who were carrying a basket of the fruit that they had given Twilight as they were trying to stack it at the top. They lifted it but couldn't do it until the commander extended an arm out as he put it on top since he was much taller than them. The Lurmen was grateful for the clone helping them as they gave one to Bly as he smiled and ate it.

On the outskirts, Sark was tieing the bandage around his friend's arm as he had injured it during yesterday's encounter. Once it was replaced, they both heard and noticed something as they looked to the sky. The pair pulled out their binoculars as they saw a Separatist ship that could hold a battalion as it was descending.

"Commander Bly, we've got company," said Rex as he contacted his pal through his comlink.

"Friendlies?" he asked the clone commanders.

"Negative, sir. A droid ship, coming straight our way," replied Sark.

"Acknowledged. Get back here, both of you," said Bly.

He then began to walk towards the tent that the others were in.

"General?"

"Yes, commander?" said Anakin, as he was lying down with Ahsoka and Aayla standing near him.

"We've got a Separatist ship incoming."

"This is neutral space," said Wag Too.

"It won't be neutral for long, not if the Separatists have their way," Anakin tried to sit up as he felt some pain. "Help me up."

"Don't struggle," said Aayla.

"I'm sorry, but you're still too injured to move," said the Lurmen.

They all heard the sound of the ship descending. Even the Lurmen, noticed the ship as it landed a few meters away.

"What menace have you brought to our village now, Jedi?" asked Tee Watt Kaa.

"Father, you can't blame them," said Wag Too.

"He's right. The Separatists don't even know we're here," said Ahsoka.

"And they can't know. We've got to hide," said Aayla.

"Your presence here endangers us. You must leave before your enemies find you," said Tee Watt Kaa.

"But you'll need our help," stated Ahsoka. "You can't fight them alone."

"We will not fight them at all. We would rather die than kill others." said the village elder.

"You're going to surrender? But how can you--"

"Ahsoka, stop. If the Lurmen want to remain neutral, we won't force them into war," said Anakin.

"See to it that they leave," said Tee Watt Kaa to his son, "I must see what our new visitors want.

The ship had landed a few meters away from the village. It opened up as the ramp extended. The person to come out was a male Neimoidian as he was being followed by a set of droids. While the Lurmen was approaching them, his son was helping our heroes to hide.

"Take it easy, sir. We'll assist you," said Rex to Anakin as he and Bly helped the boy up and put his arms over their shoulders.

Sark had left to inform Twilight and Storm as they had to move. Compared to Anakin, Storm was a little bit more moveable as it only required the clone to help his general as they left to meet up with their friends.

"I am General Lok Durd of the Separatist Alliance."

"I am Tee Watt Kaa, leader of this colony. What do you--"

"You are now under the protection of the Separatist Alliance," said Lok as he interrupted the Lurmen. "I congratulate you on your good fortune."

"Thank you. But we enjoyed good fortune well before your arrival." said the Lurmen as the general kept on walking as he began to walk alongside him.

"We are a peaceful people, General. I do not condone your presence here," said Tee Watt Kaa.

"Then stand aside," said the general. "I would like to inspect my colony." His response didn't sit well with the Lurmen as he saw the village and laughed. "Ransack this dung heap."

The droids heard their command as they began to destroy the homes of the Lurmen as a few were scared. They all got out of the way as their things were raided and taken away.

"Why are they tearing apart our homes?" asked Wag Too as he saw this happening. "We've done nothing to them."

"Violence, that's what those droids are programmed for," answered Ahsoka as she too saw this.

"Can't we do anything?" asked Twilight to the Aayla.

"No. And if we are discovered, all the Lurmen will be slaughtered," answered the Jedi Master.

"We'll be okay if we make it to the tall grasses," said Anakin as he looked behind them.

The group now began to help the boys to the grass. Tee Watt Kaa was looking at all that was happening. Around him, his people were scared of the droids as they grabbed anything that they didn't destroy and hid.

"There is no evidence of any weapons or Republic contraband, General," said a B1 droid to Lok Durd.

"In the future, we may conduct more periodic searches like this one, in order to maintain security," said the general to the Lurmen.

"Because we are such an obvious threat to you," said Tee Watt Kaa with a sarcastic tone. "We will offer no resistance."

"Your species is smarter than you appear," said the general with a smile.

He then gave the signal as the droids began to follow him as they were heading back to their ship. Once the droids had left, Wag Too approached his dad.

"Father, are you okay?"

He got no answer from his dad as he kept a straight face.

"At least the Jedi escaped."

"Yes, but they nearly brought harm to our entire village," said the elder.

"But now, thanks to you, we're safe to grovel before every petty tyrant who enters our system," stated Wag Too.

"You would mock our way of lie?" said Tee Watt Kaa to his son with a stern tone. "I have just ensured we will have peace."

"Yes, but for the moment, and at what price? Are you not concerned about the Jedi at all?!" responded his son. Seems the other Lurmen were hearing this debate.

"I have no quarrel with the Jedi, but we cannot help them without being drawn into their war," said Tee Watt Kaa as he made his final say and left his son.

The one listening nearby approached his son.

"Tub, track the Jedi," instructed Wag Too. "Follow them and make sure they get off-world." His friend nodded as he began to go search for our heroes.

With our heroes, they were able to make it to the grass as they were discussing what to do.

"You know, I can't figure those villagers not wanting to fight. No pride, I guess," scoffed Rex.

"I call it no courage," said Ahsoka before taking a bite of some food.

"Sometimes it takes courage to stick to one's beliefs, young Padawan, as any Jedi well knows," said Aayla.

"We need to find a ship. And I think the only one around here belongs to the Separatists," said Anakin.

While our group was discussing, they were unaware of a scout droid that was probing the grass. It heard the voices and was now moving closer while it remained out of sight.

"We know they have a landing ship. They might have a shuttle," suggested Storm.

"Sir, you're talking about stealing one from the clankers?" asked Sark.

"Count me in," said Rex as he was all for the idea.

"We need to find them first," said Aayla.

"I think we just did," said Twilight as when she was munching on a portion of food, she noticed the droid.

"Blast it!" shouted Anakin.

The probe rose out of the tall grass as all three clone commanders aimed and fired. The probe was swaying about dodging the shots as it turned and ran.

"Jam its signal," instructed Aayla to Bly.

"After it!" shouted Ahsoka as she ran while the clone commander pushed a button on his comlink.

They all began to run as Anakin took a few steps before he felt some pain as he clutched his side. Unlike Storm, the Jedi Knight suffered a few more brutal injuries so it required him more time to recover. Aayla noticed this when she saw the boy stop.

"I'm fine. Just go!" instructed Anakin to the Jedi Master. She nodded as she knew he would catch up.

The Jedi and the clone commanders were running as fast as they could as they wanted to not let the droid make it back. They soon turned the corner as they came to a clearing.

"Which way did it go?" asked Commander Bly as they lost the droid for a second.

"This way. Hurry!" pointed Ahsoka as they all took off in the direction.

Behind the group was Aayla; she was just casually walking. She saw the group leave, and she continued on her leisure stroll as she went in a different direction. The group was following the trail as they turned another corner hoping that they could find the droid they lost. They soon saw it as Ahsoka pulled out her lightsaber.

"We can't catch it if it gets out in the open," stated Sark.

The droid was just seconds away from being free. Then out of the grass in front of it was Aayla as she turned on her lightsaber. She managed to intercept the droid's path as she sliced it with ease as it headed straight for her. It fell into two pieces as it landed on the ground. The group met up with the Jedi Master as they began to examine the droid.

"I wonder where it was headed," asked Ahsoka.

"Maybe, we can see them from up there," said Aayla as he pointed to a nearby tree.

The group began to climb the tree. Storm was having a bit of trouble given his weakened state. He lost the grip as his arm slipped, Twilight then extended her hand to her partner. He smiled as he grabbed it as the girl pulled him up. They were now with the others as they began to look at what they saw in the distance. A few moments later, Anakin had finally caught up with his pals as he was shown making it to the top of the tree.

"Hope you and Storm are feeling better, Master, 'cause look what we found," said Ahsoka as she handed her binoculars to Anakin.

"Heh, we're getting stronger all the time, Snips," mocked the Jedi Knight as he grabbed the binoculars and looked through them.

What he saw was something. The whole group had found a heavily guarded Separatist communication base. Post all around were droids as they were scanning for any enemies.

"But I'm not sure we're ready for that," said Anakin as he took off the binoculars as the whole group had unease looks on their faces.

---

Throughout the whole day, the group was in the tree. It was now evening as the sun was setting as they were thinking about what to do. Anakin was once again looking through the binoculars as he had been starting at the small ship that was deep behind enemy lines.

"That shuttle's our ticket off this rock," said the Jedi Knight.

"Yeah, but how the hell are we gonna get it? What just stroll through the front door and ask the droids if they let us borrow their ship?" responded Storm sarcastically to his pal.

"It's not gonna be easy, sir. There don't seem to be any flaws in their security line," stated Commander Bly to the boys.

At that moment, the bigger ship that the enemy came in opened. The ramp was extended as tanks were now rolling down and being prepped for the inevitable destruction that the Separatists were looking forward to. There was also a special weapon that was being unloaded as Lok Durd was telling the droids to load a shell.

"Apparently the Separatists have a new toy," said Anakin. "See if you can get a closer look."

"Yes, sir," responded Commander Bly.

"We'll go with you, Commander," said Rex as he addressed to him and Sark.

All three clones now descended.

Meanwhile...

"Is the defoliator capsule ready?" asked Lok. He got his response from his engineer as he now addressed his troops.

"Today is a grand day for the Separatist cause. We test a new weapon of my own design, which is capable of catastrophic destruction. A weapon which will destroy organic matter, but leave machines unharmed."

All the droids let out cheers and raised their weapons in the air at hearing that.

"But first we need two volunteers," said Lok. The moment he said that all the droids but two in the front line stepped back as they chose them to be the sacrifices. "The volunteers are you and you."

"Me?" said both droids as they were shocked.

"Go to that ridge," instructed Lok as he pointed.

The rest of their comrades just silently walked away. The droids selected just had their heads down as they were unsure about this experiment. In the tree, the Jedi were watching this as Anakin was looking through the binoculars. He saw the droids getting to the ridge, where the clone commanders were also located as they didn't see them approaching.

"Stay down, boys," warned the Jedi Knight.

Lok was also seeing through his binoculars as he then turned to address Count Dooku who appeared through the transmission.

"Count Dooku. I have located a world in which we can test my--" Dooku made an unhappy face at what the general was saying, "excuse me-- our new weapon."

"I hope it turns out to be worth the expense," said the count as he wasn't fully behind the idea, especially with how much it cost to fund. "You may proceed."

"Yes, my lord," bowed Lok, "Ready?"

"Roger, roger."

"Aim. Fire!"

The payload now fired as the Jedi could see it flying through the air from the tree. All three clone commanders saw the shot as they began to run. The shot was heading towards where the two droids were positioned.

"Uh, should we take cover?" asked one of the B1 droids.

"No, idiot. That is not even gonna hit us," said the other droid without any worry.

The shell hit the ground as a huge explosion went off. It landed a few meters in front of the droids as it created a wave that was now consuming everything in its path as it rushed forward to the droids in seconds. The clone commanders were running to avoid being consumed by the effect of the weapon. The Jedi jumped to the lower branches as they shot their cables. Rex and Sark made contact, but Bly tripped as his cable ended up missing.

Aayla then pulled out her lightsaber as she cut a vine and grabbed it. She was now swinging down to her clone commander who tumbled to the ground. She was able to save her troop just as the blast radius came over them. All three clones and the Jedi Master landed back on the tree as the flames were just stopping a few meters from the tree they were all in. They were now taking in the sight as it made them gasp.

"Holy shit!" said Storm which described what they all saw perfectly.

"That's some toy. It took out every living thing," said Ahsoka.

True to the Padawan's word, all the grass and nearby trees that were caught in the blast radius was no more. As for the droids, they were perfectly fine as they smiled and let out a sigh of relief. Lok was now showing Dooku the results of his experiment.

"As you can see, the landscape has been destroyed and the droids are undamaged."

"Impressive. But now we need to know how effective this weapon will be against living creatures," said the Sith lord.

"Of course. I specifically chose this planet because it is inhabited. The colonists will make excellent test subjects," said Lok.

"Proceed, then. I eagerly await the results."

The transmission then ended.

"Proceed to move out!" shouted the general.

"Where are they off to now?" asked Aayla to Anakin as he was viewing through the binoculars.

"They must be going back to the Lurmen village," said the boy as he handed the binocular to the Jedi Master. "There's nothing else in that direction."

"Those villages won't stand a chance," said Twilight.

"First, we'll need to take out the droids' communication station. Then, after we get a shuttle, we'll go back and help the Lurmen," said Anakin.

"But Tee Watt Kaa said he doesn't need our help," said Ahsoka.

"There's a difference between pulling innocents into a war and leaving them to extinction," said Storm to the Padawan.

Our heroes now began to move as they need to hurry. Off at an adjourning tree that was meters away, the Lurmen that Wag Too had entrusted to keep an eye on them was present.

"Psst! Tell Wag Too the Separatists are returning," said Tub to a small carrier butterfly. The creature chirped as it flew off as he disappeared as well.

---

Nighttime had fallen on the planet. Our heroes were in the grass nearby as they were sneaking towards the heavily guarded base. Spotlights were scanning the area as several droids stood guard. The girls now began to move as they followed Aayla's movements. They avoid the first spotlight as they stop for a sec to avoid a second spotlight in front of them. They all then dived to the side as they hug the wall and remained unhidden.

The girls were in position as Anakin then executed the next part of the plan. He put his hand out as he was using the Force to make a small rock move towards him. A droid noticed this as the small pebble rolled on the ground.

"Hey, what was that?"

The droid now began to approach the rock. It then moved to the left as the droid followed it. It moved to the right as the droid did the same. The rock then rolled into the grass as it was dark. It rolled to where the boys and the clones were as within a split second, there was a flash of yellow light as Storm cut the droid down in milliseconds. They all moved to avoid being seen.

The other droids began to move to the grass. With them distracted, the girls now approached the door as they wall jumped to get over it. The droids then noticed the rock that was used as it rolled out of the dark. The droids saw it as it rolled past them as it now floated into Anakin's hand who appeared behind them unnoticed as he had his lightsaber turned on.

The droids pointed their weapons at the Jedi Knight as Storm and the clone commanders appeared from behind them as they took all but one down. The droid turned around as he saw them as he turned to face Anakin who just walked to him and slashed the bot to pieces. The girls were on top of the wall as they saw their allies.

"Get to the doors. I'll handle the droids," said Aayla to the girls.

The girls jumped down as the Jedi Master was now running along the top as she slashed the droids she passed by with ease and effectiveness. The girls were hiding behind some crates as they saw some droids passing by. They popped out and the light that shined on the door showed their silhouettes as well as it showed the girls slashing the droids in half. Ahsoka then pushed the button as the door opened and then disappeared.

The boys and the clones entered when it opened. Storm and Anakin quickly zoomed to some crates as they told the clones to hold a position. Once the coast was clear, Anakin signaled for them to move up as they took cover near some barrels as a patrol passed them. Once it passed, they all moved up towards a small station as there were a few droids on them.

"Check the exterior. We can't have any surprises for the general," said the droid in command.

Sark and Bly snuck behind some droids as they grabbed them and pulled them down.

"4724, how does the west end check out?" asked the droid unaware of what happened.

Rex then popped out as he began to smash the droid in front of the one asking.

"What the--"

He was then destroyed as Anakin slashed the droid before he could alert the base. Aayla was still running along the top wall as she kept on taking out the droids standing guard. While the Jedi were in the base, the Lurmens were all gathering in the village. They were listening to Wag Too as he was in front of the fire.

"The Separatists are on the march. They're returning to our village," said Wag Too to his father as he relayed the info given to him by Tub.

"They did not attack us before. There's no reason to think they will this time," said Tee Watt Kaa.

"Father, they would not be coming back here unless they intended to do us harm. This is war."

"But not our war. We've done nothing to provoke them, and we will not. That is their way."

"So we will just lay down and be slaughtered?" asked Wag Too to his dad. "Father, even if we don't fight the Separatists, we must defend ourselves."

"Mounting a defense is still engaging in battle. If we sacrifice our beliefs, we're no better than they are. Our philosophy has helped us to survive for generations, and we will not change our morals, now or ever." said Tee Watt Kaa as his son shook his head.

The group had regrouped as they saw the shuttle. They raced towards it as they passed by some generators.

"Shield generators, sir," stated Commander Bly to the Jedi.

"Let's take 'em with us," said Anakin.

The three clone commanders approached the devices as they pushed a button. The generators now levitated as they entered the shuttle that the Jedi were in. The clones entered behind the generators as they powered up the ship. It came online as they flew out of the base.

During the ride, Storm had taken a seat he clutched his side as it was still bandaged.

"How are you holding up?" asked Twilight.

"To be honest, still a bit sore," chuckled Storm as the girl entered the back of the ship.

"Don't force yourself, you still need a bit more to recover," said the girl as she sat down next to her partner.

"Yeah, but I can't just sit back and do nothing. If I see a situation in which I can help, then I have to at least try. I can't ignore it, Twilight. Sometimes... I wish I could." said Storm.

"I get it, but don't forget. If you don't take care of yourself and your health, you won't be able to help anyone," said the lavender girl.

"I guess, you're right."

"Of course, I am," said Twilight with a smug smile. "Now, hold still while I put some new bandages on for you." Twilight then pulled out the medical tape as she began to take care of her partner. Especially, cause they knew that the upcoming fight was going to be a tough one.

---

It was morning when the shuttle landed. Our heroes landed their ship in the center of the village as the Lurmen noticed the Separatist ship. They were a bit scared and hesitant as they saw the enemy. But the door opened as it showed the Jedi walking down the ramp which got them to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Everyone, please, please listen. The Separatists will be here in moments," said Aayla as she spoke while they all approached Tee Wang Kaa.

"What are you doing here? I told you not to return," said Tee Wang Kaa as he was unhappy.

"I'm afraid the Separatists don't care whether you're in the war or not. We need to get you to safety before they arrive," said Anakin.

"We will not abandon our homes," said Tee Wang Kaa.

"But they've got a new weapon. I'll burn this place to a crisp," said Ahsoka. "Is this what all of you really want?" shouted the girl to the other Lurmen.

"If it is our destiny to be destroyed in your war, so be it," said the village elder as he left

Despite the elder not wanting help from our heroes, they knew that they couldn't let the other Lurmen be killed. So they began to prepare themselves. Rex had climbed one of the seedpods that they had used to build a barricade. The clone was on top as he looked through his binoculars and saw the enemy in the distance.

"Droids inbound. We've got eight minutes, tops," said Rex to Anakin.

"Come on, guys! Let's get these shield generators in place," said the Jedi Knight to his friends.

The group was now rushing as they activated the shield generators as they came online.

"When Count Dooku sees how successful my weapon is against civilian targets, I will no doubt be promoted to a more, mm, substantial position within the Alliance," said Lok as he was riding a tank.

"Okay. Right," said a B1 commander droid as he looked through some binoculars. He was seeing what our heroes were doing.

"Well, the villagers appear to have put some pods together in a barrier around the village," said the droid to Lok.

"Pods?" laughed Lok. "How quaint."

He too looked through his binoculars as he saw the Jedi using the Force as they were putting the final seedpods in place as they sealed the barrier.

"Jedi? What are they doing out here? Halt!" shouted the general.

"Pray, stop what you're doing. Stop building that wall," shouted Tee Watt Kaa as he saw what our heroes were doing. "I did not ask you to defend us."

"This battle is inevitable. You can stand by your beliefs, but let us stand by ours," said Anakin to the village elder. He was less than happy as he left.

"Thanks for what you're trying to do. I'm sorry, but I cannot help," said Wag Too to the girls. "My father is very... strong-willed and set in tradition. Many others agree with me, but we were raised under a very strict code. We must respect it, even if we don't agree."

The droids now stopped.

"They're holding position," said Rex as he was still on top looking at them through his binoculars.

"They're not going to charge us, not if they can hit us from long-range, first," said Anakin.

"But if we can withstand that weapon, we'll draw them in," said Storm.

"Prepare to fire," said Lok.

The droids now loaded a payload into the weapon. The engineer got into the console and he lowered the weapon to aim it at our heroes.

"Goodbye, Jedi. Fire!" said the general.

"Incoming!" shouted Rex as he jumped down.

The shell was fired as it soared high into the air. It would be but seconds before it connected with its target.

"Power the shields," said Anakin as the rest of the group activated them.

The generators were turned on as they shot a beam upwards. They soon began to spread over the village and connect. It then began to spread downwards as it created a dome over the entire village. The shell hit the ground, and it caused a chain reaction to occur. The blast now began to spread forward as it consumed all of the grass and nearby trees. It was made connect with the shield as it shook a bit as all our heroes stood in a single file line. The Lurmens also saw this as they had shocked looks on their faces. Eventually, it died down as the shield held and Tee Wang Kaa looked at the Jedi and their clones.

"Talk about cutting it close," said Storm as he wiped his forehead.

"Now they'll have to get their hands dirty and meet us face-to-face," said Anakin.

"Squad one, prepared to charge," shouted Lok.

"Prepare to charge," said a droid as they all stood at attention.

"Charge!" shouted the general as he pointed.

The droids now began to jog towards the shield as our heroes saw this.

"That's a lot of clankers," said Ahsoka.

"We've got to stop them before they get through that shield," said Anakin.

"Then we'd best greet them," smiled Storm as the other all shared his excitement.

"You sure you can fight?" asked Twilight to her partner.

"Don't worry, Sparky," said Storm as he took off the bandage around his waist and tossed it off. "I'm raring to go."

The droids were getting closer as the Jedi and the clone commanders all exited the shield and had their weapons out. The droids began to fire as all five of them deflected the shots. They then began to charge forward as the clones stayed behind to fire from a distance. Each of them took a section of the droids when they crossed paths. Ahsoka leaped into the air as she landed and took out two droids and then deflected some shots. For Storm and Twilight, they were zinging and zanging as they did several crisscross attacks that took out multiple droids.

Anakin having had no problem fighting as his injuries had healed a bit more as he took out any droids in his way as he ran. Aayla spun her blade several times deflecting all shots back at the droids as she then did a roundhouse kick to knock another off. She then did a sweep attack on a droid's legs as she cut them off. The clone commanders were inches in front of the shield as they were taking care of the enemies that passed the Jedi. From inside the shield and on top of the seedpods, Wag Too and his friend were watching our heroes in action as they were starting to think about things.

"Five, four, three, two, one, zero. Sir, the first squad has been destroyed," said the B1 commander droid as he saw the last of his troops be defeated through his binoculars.

"Ugh! Squad two and three, attack!" ordered the general.

"That wasn't so tough," said Ahsoka with confidence.

"That was just the first wave," stated Anakin.

Not a moment later, more droids ran and fired at them. This time there were Superbattle droids present. All five Jedi ran and engaged the enemy as they began to do the same thing as before. Blocking and slashing as the droids as the clones took care of the ones that bypassed them.

"Snips, get back to the village!" ordered Anakin. "Me and Storm will take care of the new weapon."

"Be safe, Storm," said Twilight.

"I will, Sparky. Now go help the others," instructed the boy.

Twilight smiled as Storm took out a droid and leaned forward so that she could roll off his back as she took out another droid. She then began to run back with Ahsoka and the others as he left to offer help to his pal. The clone commanders were holding their own, but with the number of droids coming, they were starting to be pushed back.

"That's it. We have to retreat," said Rex to Sark and Bly.

All three now turned and entered the shield and climbed over the seedpod as the droids were seconds behind them as they entered. The droids now began to fire at the seedpods to get through.

"Take cover. They've breached the shield," said Sark to the Lurmen.

An explosion occurred as the Lurmen scattered. The droids made it past the wall and were now in as they began to fire. The clone returned fire as a Superbattle droid aimed his arm at one of the generators and destroyed it.

"They're taking out the shield generators!" shouted Rex.

"We have to do something," stated Wag Too as he saw our heroes trying to defend their home and the droids invading.

The girls had made it back to the village as they began to slash at the droids from behind as they raced forward to meet with the clone commanders. It wasn't long as soon the last generators were taken out and the shield over the village was no more. Now all the Lurmen was scared as they began to run.

"Their shield is down," said Lok. "Launch another shell."

The droids then began to follow their orders. They grabbed a payload and were about to load it in. The girls were doing their best to defend the village as they were slashing the droids as fast as they could. The commander droid was looking through his binoculars when he saw the boys in his view.

"Uh, sir, there are Jedi heading right for us."

"Then blast them, you idiot!" shouted the general.

The tanks aimed and fired at the boys. Both Anakin and Storm saw the shots coming as they sided stepped them while running as they kept on pushing forward.

"No survivors," said a droid.

The others listen as they now targeted the homes of the Lurmens as they began to shoot at them. The creatures all ducked down inside as they saw the blasts going past them as they were a bit scared. Tee Watt Kaa was seeing what was occurring to his home and his people. He also saw his son and a few other Lurmens with him.

"Wag Too, what are you doing?"

"We're going to help."

"I forbid this."

"What more would you have them do before we are alive to defend ourselves?" asked Wag Too to his father.

"But--"

"We have to do this."

With that, the small group of Lurmens began to turn into balls as they rolled towards the girls and the clones. All the while, the village elder looked on. The girls were cutting up the final strands of droids as they soon received help. With the Lurmen being so small, they were able to slip through the droid's legs as they couldn't shoot them. They also beat up any droids that fell. With the boys, they were now near the weapon as they took out the Superbattle droids that were near it. Both then leaped onto the tank that the weapon was on as they dragged their lightsabers behind them and then jump and slashed it as they landed and did a quick high five.

The weapon was destroyed and the shell that was inside laid on the ground.

"Help! I'll be defoliated!" shouted Lok. He then leaped out of his tank and began to run.

Storm used the Force to pull the commander droid out from his tank towards him as he slashed him while the general was running in place due to Anakin. Once he was himself being lifted and not going anywhere he then hung his head in defeat.

"There goes my promotion," groaned the general.

"The weapon has been disabled," said Anakin to his comlink as he and Storm turned their lightsabers off.

"Copy that, General," responded Rex.

The boys' allies were now finishing up the last bit of droids in the village. The Lurmen had a rope with them as Wag Too was now running along the droids' feet as he wrapped around them. He then tossed the rope into the air as another Lurmen tossed a pitchfork into the air. It made contact with the rope as it embedded into the ground. The other Lurmen then yanked together on the rope as it caused the last remaining droids to fall as they tumbled face-first into the dirt.

Twilight and Ahsoka then ran along the front of the droids with their lightsabers dragging behind them as they were now chopping the heads off of the droids, execution-style. They reached the opposite ends as both turned their weapons off and took a deep breath of exhaustion.

With that, the threat was neutralized. The Lurmen now began to cheer and applaud our heroes for saving them. Both girls looked at Wag Too as they gave a nod.

---

Sometime later, the clone commanders were now loading the Separatist general into their ship as they looked to leave. Our heroes were now approached by Wag Too.

"Thank you, Wag Too," said Anakin to the Lurmen.

"Thank you. Our village would have certainly been destroyed without your protection," said the Lurmen as he quickly looked back to his home to see the others were happy. Soon his dad appeared.

"Father, I was just offering the Jedi our thanks."

"Perhaps we do owe you thanks," said the village elder.

"Took you long enough," said Storm as Twilight elbowed her partner in his side as he still felt some pain.

"But I still wonder, at what cost?" said the Lurmen.

At that moment, the sound of ships was heard. The Lurmen and the Jedi all looked up to the sky as they saw some Republic cruisers. Seems they were able to locate our missing heroes as they descended to fetch them. Everybody loaded up as they were now aboard the cruiser as they were all returning home.

---

Storm was currently in a room as Twilight was with the boy. She was putting new bandages on to treat the pain of her partner as she had some medical supplies out.

"I'm telling you Sparky, I'm fine."

"I'm not taking chances, especially with you," stated Twilight as she poured some liquid on a rag. "Now you're gonna feel a little sting." The girl then put the small cloth to the boy's side.

"OW!!!!!" shouted Storm as it was more than a little sting.

"Sorry! I'm sorry! I--"

"HA! HA! HA!" laughed Storm as he was slamming his fist on the bed. "You should have seen your face, Sparky."

"You... you... you idiot!!" shouted Twilight. Storm was still laughing as Twilight grabbed the pillow on the bed as she began to repeatedly hit the boy's arm for making her worry about him.

"Calm down, Sparky," said Storm, as his chuckle was fading as the hits from the girl, didn't have much effect.

"Don't scare me like that! I already had to deal with that once, I don't need to experience it a second time!" stated Twilight as she made a pout face.

"It was nothing more than messing with you. Besides, I'm grateful and appreciative that you stuck by me when I was injured. I know it was probably tough for you, but I know you made the right decision."

"It wasn't easy. But as Master Aayla said, it was for the best. But I made a promise to myself." said Twilight looking at her partner. She then finished tying the bandage around his side. "Hopefully, I don't have to worry about you pulling another stunt like this."

"Can't promise anything," smiled Storm, "But we can promise each other something."

He then brought his hand up as he gestured for Twilight to do the same.

"We promise to get stronger..." started off Storm.

"We promise to get better..." said Twilight.

"No matter what, we never leave the other behind."

"We'll always be there to support each other."

"Though it may be tough, we'll complete our training together."

"We'll always find a way back to each other."

"We are Jedi."

"We are partners."

"We are friends." said both in unison.

They gave a quick high five as they broke apart and hooked their pinky fingers as they nodded. Both Jedi determined to make sure that this partnership would propel them to getting the rank of master and to still be standing here when the war ended.

Comments

[Postwarmonkey50]

Awesome. By far one of my favorites.

Also, aw, the banter between Twilight and Storm is adorable and sweet of how they were bonding.

Cant wait for the next chapter.

*humming* but which one. I'm gonna have to do some episode research for potential ones.

But if it's an original, I can wait.

[Darth_krayt]

Nice simple chapter it's always a good chapter