5DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN STAR WARS OR ANY ASSOCIATED CHARACTERS
The more astute of you have probably noticed that I am following the plot of the Clone Wars series in chronological order, at least until I get to my major changes. Which means you'll also know that the Clone wars movie is up next. Enjoy!
Chapter 6
As the early morning dew settled on his plastoid armor, Bolt began to wonder if the enemy was ever going to show themselves. The fog on Christophsis was unusually thick for a planet with so little vegetation. Next to him, he felt Rex shift his position, and Bolt knew why. They'd been in defensive positions for the past two hours, waiting on the droids' arrival.
No sleep was had for the clones the past night. They'd had to clean up the destroyed weapons depot, then immediately get the heavy cannons moving to the front line to intercept the enemy. General Kenobi had said there were over a thousand battle droids, as well as tanks, and octuptarras on their way, so Bolt assumed that the sheer size of their army was hindering their speed.
Bolt ran a hand across his rifle, wiping away the excess moisture. These rifles were built to fire in any conditions, but he was taking no chances at a time like this. He also ran the back of his hand across his tinted, T-shaped visor, and when his vision was no longer impaired, he spied movement in the dense fog. He flipped his binoculars down in front of his eyes, trying to penetrate the thick soup. The dog-like faces of battle droids emerged from the white clouds, along with the pounding of their metal feet on the pavement. As time passed, more and more of the battle droids closed the gap, revealing the tanks staggering alone behind them.
Finally, Bolt zoomed out to accommodate the massive forms of the octuptarra tri-droids. The three-legged walking droids had a rotating head with three cannons on it, allowing for faster fire output. One shot could decimate an entire squad of clone troopers.
Bolt flipped his binoculars back up as the two Jedi Generals knelt down next to him. "Several battalions of battle droids and supers, a few dozen tanks, and three octuptarras," he reported.
Obi-Wan stroked his beard. "Tell the men to fire when in range. Set the heavy cannons to full power and take up defensive positions."
Rex nodded. "Aye, sir! You heard the General, let's move it!"
The heavy cannons folded their legs out, no longer hovering off the ground. Setting their sights, they aimed for the approaching droid army and let loose their first volley. The men cheered as the shots went overhead, exploding in the ranks of battle droids.
Bolt followed Rex to a raised barricade, setting his rifle barrel against it as he began to fire. He selected his targets carefully, trying to conserve ammunition since they no longer had any stockpiled. They had to make due with what they had until Admiral Yularen landed with their reinforcements.
As the space between the two sides filled with blue and red fire, it was clear that neither side had the advantage. Even with the heavy cannons behind them, the clones were having a hard time beating back the droids.
Suddenly, next to Bolt, General Skywalker landed, royal blue lightsaber still ignited in his right hand. "Bolt! Gather the demolitions squad and follow me, if we stop their tanks, they won't advance."
"Sir, yes, sir!" Bolt replied as he jumped to his feet and ran along the line of clones, collecting each member of the bomb squad along the way. He met Anakin back where he'd first given him his orders, and the Jedi led them along the back streets of Christophsis, where the droid army was too narrow-minded to go. They passed several apartment buildings, untouched by the battle due to their being out of the way.
Turning down a side alley, they glimpsed the legs of the octuptarra droids. Anakin dashed out and severed the metal appendages, causing the domed head to fall to the ground. He turned to deflect fire from the other two droids, directing Bolt and his men towards the rear of the enemy tanks.
When they reached the rearmost AAT's, Bolt ordered the squad to plant detonators on each tank, but stealthily. They didn't want to cause chaos to where they couldn't get out. Bolt turned and supported General Skywalker by targeting the eyes of the enormous octuptarra droids with his rifle. He knocked out a few of them, making it harder for the droid to see when it rotated its head.
Bolt was in awe of his Jedi general, though. The bolts he was deflecting were massive, and the wrong angle could have them exploding at his feet, killing him instantly. But he was true to his form, sending each red plasma bolt back to its sender, often with a penetrating explosion.
When the demolitions squad returned, Bolt pointed to the alleyway, sending his men to safety. "General Skywalker! We're ready to detonate, get out of there!"
The only sign that Anakin acknowledged what Bolt said was the fact that he slowly started backpedaling towards the alley. He batted aside one last laser bolt, destroying the head of the third octuptarra droid, and followed his men back into the alleys. They sheltered on the other side of a wall and Anakin nodded to Bolt.
Grinning beneath his helmet, Bolt pressed the detonator, and the resulting rumble was simply satisfying. He didn't get to step out and admire it for himself, however, as Anakin led the way back to the main lines. When Bolt saw Rex, he chuckled and high fived his brother, celebrating the fact that the droids had run off with their tail between their legs.
"That'll teach those clankers! Even when one of our own betrays us, they still can't take us in a straight fight," Rex remarked. Bolt couldn't help but agree with the man. They'd lost their air support, as well as their armour, and the droids couldn't break their lines. Sure, the heavy cannons were useful, but they couldn't win a war for you.
Obi-Wan approached with Cody. "Good job, Anakin. That flanking maneuver was brilliant."
"Thanks, Master. Though I couldn't have done it without Sergeant Bolt and the demolitions squad," Anakin admitted.
Bolt scoffed, shaking his head. "What are you talking about, sir? I saw you single-handedly drop three of those enormous droids. You could've taken that entire tank convoy if you wanted to!"
Anakin shrugged and gave a wry smile. "I suppose you're right, but if I take all the credit, you'll never get promoted."
"That's true enough, sir," Bolt relented.
Obi-Wan chuckled amusedly at the interactions between Anakin and his men. They were quickly becoming as close as brothers, even though he looked nothing like the clones. It probably had something to do with the fact that Anakin's, Rex's, and Bolt's personalities were fairly similar. Always on the offensive, wishing to out-think and overpower the enemy rather than patiently wait on the defensive like Obi-Wan himself. The recently promoted Jedi Master had been perfecting his Soresu technique, modeling his lightsaber form after his calm, reserved, and defensive mindset.
Anakin, on the other hand, was beginning to be a rather skilled practitioner of Djem So. The form was full of power and brutal counterstrikes after defensive moves. In essence, Anakin took hits and swung back, while Obi-Wan blocked all the hits in the first place, waiting patiently for his opportunity to strike. Obi-Wan had a feeling that they would quickly become masters of their respective techniques because of the numerous practice opportunities called battles.
He was shaken out of his thoughts by Anakin, who had a hand on his shoulderplate. "Master? You in there? I asked what you think our next move should be?"
Obi-Wan flexed his shoulders before stroking his beard, a habit that had quickly become a staple of the Jedi Master. "Well, this victory seemed a little too easy for my taste. I say we send the shuttle back for supplies and wait for the Separatists' next move."
"Easy?" asked Anakin, stupified. "You call that easy? We wouldn't have broken their lines without our flanking maneuver."
Obi-Wan shook his head. "No, we just held off three battalions with minimal casualties. Yes, this was too easy. I'm sending the ship back. Tell the men to rest up, but stay on their toes."
"Long story short, seeing how exasperated Obi-Wan always was around me, I'll never have a padawan," Anakin declared proudly.
Bolt smirked. "But sir, isn't it your duty to train someone?"
"Yeah," Anakin nodded. "But duty never really held me down anyways."
"You know we can't really relate to that, right sir?" Rex asked.
Anakin chuckled. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
The three men broke off their conversation and shot to their feet, donning helmets and equipment when they heard an explosion from up the highway. Anakin sprinted ahead, followed closely by Bolt and Rex.
Ahead of them, a second droid army, even larger than the first, was marching towards them. Anakin turned around and growled. "They're back!"
Obi-Wan trotted up behind them and looked at Anakin critically. "I told yu this victory was too easy. We never should have sent the ship back for supplies."
"It wasn't my idea to send the ship back," Anakin returned.
Obi-Wan turned around, addressing the assembled clones. "Alright men, second wave incoming!"
Anakin turned to Rex and Bolt. "Rex, you and your squad follow me!"
"Cody! Battle positions!"
"Up to the front!"
Bolt darted after General Skywalker as fast as his legs could carry him, the small squad of the 501st forming behind him and Rex. They ran to the weapons cache and donned their jetpacks as per the plan before following Anakin again.
The sounds of blasters and cannonfire sounded from the streets as Bolt and the others jetted up to one of the tower roofs, overlooking the droid army. They stopped for a few seconds to observe the droids. Bolt concluded that the best way to help the others would be to take out the biggest guns, another trio of octuptarra droids.
"What's our plan of attack, sir?" Rex asked Anakin.
The Jedi turned and grinned confidently. "Follow me."
With that, he leapt off the side of the building, landing on top of the middle octuptarra. Bolt sighed in exasperation before shrugging and looking at Rex. "You heard him lads, let's go!"
The jetpacks activated, propelling the troopers forward. Bolt landed with a roll, bringing his rifle up and aiming for the eyes once again. He remembered not to stay in one spot for too long, though, as a shot narrowly missed his helmet.
He dove to the left to avoid a much more accurate shot, bringing up his rifle to knock out the eye of the droid. The sparks flew from the destroyed electronic device, as if they were the droid's blood. The other troopers were focusing on the head itself, hoping to reduce it to scrap metal by overwhelming volume of fire.
Up top, Anakin was deflecting bolts from the rearmost octuptarra, but he seemed to get tired of it, because he jumped down, balancing on the barrel of the laser cannons. He slashed at the head a few times, causing it to rotate, which in turn led the other shot astray and into the back of the droid that Anakin was standing on. When the head exploded and the droid began to fall, Anakin pushed off towards the lead octuptarra. He then resumed deflecting back at the third droid. In a few shots, combined with the fire of his clone troops, they'd brought it down.
Satisfied, Anakin simply dove off, severing a leg of the final one, causing it to lose its balance and topple to the ground. Obi-Wan met them at the crash site, having dealt with the advance troops. The clones formed a firing line with the Jedi in front, protecting them from incoming fire.
They hunkered down and waited for the heavy cannons to take care of the tanks, each shot piercing a gaping hole in its AAT. Bolt heard the two Jedi say something about reinforcements, but it was cut off due to the amount of blaster fire around them.
After several seconds of this, the tanks stopped. Then, the entire droid line turned around and fled once again. The men began to cheer, which only heightened in volume as the shuttle carrying their relief supplies soared overhead.
Bolt shouldered his rifle and clapped Rex on the back as they walked towards the temporary command center. Anakin stopped the two of them with a hand. "I need both of you in the lookout post. Rex, keep me informed, and Bolt, use that mind of yours to figure out our next move."
Bolt and Rex both saluted to their General, turning on heel and heading off at a jog to their forward lookout posts. They'd set up a system of relays run by clones, using hand signals as communications, seeing as their communications were down. The towers were about half a kilometer apart from eachother, within scope viewing range.
All seemed quiet for the first hour or so, eerily so. The droids had retreated with too many survivors, and Bolt had a hunch that they were planning something. Then again, so were the Jedi. After checking his post, Bolt parked his ass on a nearby bench, setting his rifle on the ground next to it, along with his helmet. He laid down on his back, closing his eyes to get some much needed rest. Just as he felt fatigue begin to take him over, the doors to the elevator slid open with a hiss. Bolt cracked his eyes to see his General with an unknown young female Togruta. He eyed the two of them curiously, sitting up to study them.
"What's the status, Rex?" Anakin inquired, arms crossed. He seemed in an unusually foul mood, considering the victory they'd won earlier that morning.
Rex turned to salute his commander. "All quiet for now, sir. They're gearing up for another assault. Who's the youngling?" he asked, eyes dropping to the orange-skinned girl.
She poked her head around Anakin, who was trying to shield her from view. "I'm Master Skywalker's padawan. The name's Ahsoka Tano."
Rex glanced over to Bolt, who's eyebrows were higher than a deathstick addict. The lightning-bolted trooper shrugged, holding his hands up on either side. Rex frowned and turned back to Anakin.
"Sir, I thought you said you'd never have a padawan?" Rex pried.
Anakin shook his head. "No, there's been a mixup, the youngling isn't with me."
"Stop calling me that!" Ahsoka demanded. "You're stuck with me, Skyguy."
Rex busted out laughing and turned to Bolt, who was practically rolling on the roof of the tower. The other men in the post joined in as their General turned the shade of a Tatooine sunset.
"What'd you just call me? Don't get snippy with me, little one! You know, I don't even think you're old enough to be a padawan."
Ahsoka shrugged. "Maybe I'm not. But Master Yoda thinks I am," she said with a confident smirk.
Anakin scoffed. "Well, you're not with Master Yoda now. So if you're ready, you'd better start proving it. Captain Rex and Sergeant Bolt will show you how a little respect can go a long way."
Rex blinked in confusion. "Uh...right. Come on, youngling."
Bolt sighed. He resigned himself to going without sleep for the foreseeable future and shouldered his rifle. He grabbed his helmet and held it at his hip, moving to follow Rex and the padawan. He stopped next to General Skywalker, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Permission to speak freely, sir?"
"Granted," Anakin muttered.
"I wouldn't worry about having to teach, sir. From what you've told us about the Jedi Order, they could use some of your ideas. The easiest way to do that is to teach your own student, right?"
Anakin glanced at his loyal ARC, nodding slowly. "Perhaps. Now go on, straighten her out."
Bolt snapped to attention. "Will do, sir," he said, joining Rex and Ahsoka in the elevator.
Bolt rolled his eyes at the latest question from Ahsoka. She was proving to be too much for him to handle mentally. She was all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to learn about everything. She seemed to not understand that this was a war and any of them could die at any moment. They had more pressing concerns than to give a stuck up child a tour of the front lines.
"Have you thought about moving that line back, Captain? They'd have better cover that way," Ahsoka suggested, referring to the cannons.
Bolt shook his head in annoyance. "If we move them back, we reduce their firing range and narrow their line of sight. They are in the perfect position now. We don't need greenies making suggestions on strategy."
Rex shot Bolt a dirty look before smirking apologetically at Ahsoka. "General Skywalker thinks they're fine where they are."
Ahsoka paused for a moment. "So if you're a Captain, he's a Sergeant, but I'm a Jedi, does that mean that I technically outrank you?"
If there were anything in Bolt's mouth, he would've choked. Did this kid just ask if she outranked the leading commanders of the 501st Legion on her first day? Rex glanced at Bolt, knowing exactly what he was thinking before turning back to Ahsoka.
"In my book, experience outranks everything."
She smiled. "Well, if experience outranks everything, then I guess I better start getting some."
"Damn right," Bolt whirled around on him, stepping towards his face, though it was more like his chest, seeing how she was so short.
"What's your problem, Sergeant? You've felt nothing but hostility and anger towards me ever since you were ordered to 'show me respect.'" Ahsoka accused, using air quotes for the last bit.
"Really? You don't know?" Bolt scoffed.
"Sergeant," Rex began, placing a hand on his chest, trying to get him to back off.
Bolt slapped his hand away. "No, she needs to hear this. Kid, you don't seem to understand where we are. We're on a Separatist occupied planet, fighting a war for control. We've been through betrayal, explosions, firefights, you name it. And here you show up, acting entitled, more worried about trying to be cool and outranking the officers rather than listening to what they have to say about certain situations. We didn't just grow up already knowing things, we had to study our superiors, just like you should be doing now."
Ahsoka had backed off through the course of Bolt's rant. Her head dropped when he finished. Worried that he took it too far, Bolt attempted to apologize.
"Look, kid, I didn't mean-"
"You're right," she said quietly. "I'm not appreciating the knowledge you offer. Master Yoda always did say I had a lot of arrogance, but I'll try to work on it as long as you don't belittle me."
"That's fair," Bolt nodded, holding out his hand for her to shake.
She smiled and took it. "Deal."
They were ripped from their moment by the sound of a large power generator being activated. Bolt looked over his shoulder towards the Separatist base, and was horrified at what he saw. "Kriff."
"Not good," Rex agreed. "They've got an energy shield. That's gonna make things damn near impossible. If you wanted experience, little one, it looks like you're about to get plenty."
Ahsoka's eyes flashed with fear, which was quickly replaced by determination. Bolt tugged on his helmet and tapped into his comms. "Auto, Patchwork, report."
"The droids started up a shield generator. It's expanding with their lead troops."
"Understood. Pull back to the main command center with the other scouts and await further orders."
Bolt looked to Rex, who motioned for them to follow. The three of them raced off at a steady run. They arrived at the command center to what looked like a stage of panic amongst the troopers. They were scrambling back and forth like ants, carrying crates of ammunition towards the front barricades, preparing for combat. Others were loading the cannons, and other still, were standing around, in shock from the card the Separatists had just pulled.
Rex started barking orders while Bolt proceeded with Ahsoka to the holotable, joining Anakin and Obi-Wan. The holotable was already projecting the image of the battlefield, the new energy shield sticking out like a sore thumb. The two Jedi were staring at it grimly until Bolt and Ahsoka arrived. Rex joined them soon after, having sorted out the men.
"The shield generator is somewhere in this area. They're slowly increasing the diameter and keeping it just ahead of their troops," Obi-Wan explained, though Bolt already knew as much.
Rex shook his head. "Heavy cannons are gonna be useless against that."
Bolt leaned forward, placing his hands on the table. "Once they reach the city center, we could draw them into the buildings while leaving a rear squad to protect the cannons. But that'll only buy us time."
Ahsoka stepped forward. "Well if that shield's gonna be such a problem, why not just take it out?"
"Easier said than done," Rex stated.
"Well, I, for one," Anakin cleared his throat, "agree with her. Someone has to get to that shield generator and destroy it, that's the key."
Bolt stood upright, crossing his arms. "I volunteer, sir. Give me two good men and I'll have it down in an hour."
Anakin shook his head. "I can't ask you to do that, Bolt. It's nearly a suicide mission. I won't send my troopers into certain death without them knowing if I'll do the same for them. Well, here's your proof: I'm going alone. Once I take it out, get those cannons firing at full power."
Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. "And what about her?"
Anakin's eyes traveled down to Ahsoka, who was looking up at him expectantly. "Uh, I don't kno-"
"Right then. Maybe you two can tiptoe through the enemy lines and solve this particular problem together," Obi-Wan teased, eliciting chuckled from Rex and Bolt, despite the grave situation.
Anakin sighed. "Fine, come on, Ahsoka. And grab a backpack with some charges."
Ahsoka scurried off after her tall master as Obi-Wan turned to Rex and Bolt. "Alright, that means we are to do exactly as you said, Sergeant. We need to buy as much time as possible to allow them to get that shield down."
"They won't have much," Bolt admitted. "They far outnumber us, so our ability to street fight is limited without our cannons. They'll march forward behind their tanks until they're right on top of our cannons, and they will blow them away."
"They do make quite a pari, sir," Rex said to Obi-wan. "Do you think they have a chance?"
"They better," Obi-Wan replied. "If they can't turn off that shield before it reaches the heavy cannons, there'll be no escape for any of us."
Bolt was just glad the droids didn't decide to get cheeky and flank them. They were so confident in their shield that they didn't bother. They stayed on the main highway, column after column of droids and tanks, tinted red from the energy. The surface of the shield itself would be disturbed avery now and then by the cannon fire, testing its capabilities.
"That shield is certainly putting a crimp in my day," Obi-Wan told them.
"It's no use," Rex said, now helmeted. "Even at full power, the cannon doesn't affect it."
Obi_Wan nodded. "It was worth a try. Sergeant Bolt, tell the men to fall back, we'll fight them on their turf, inside the shield."
Bolt jumped up on a pile of rubble and signaled the retreat, making sure every last trooper passed him before he joined them. Auto and Patchwork, his old buddies from Geonosis were bringing up the rear, quickly falling in behind their superior. Bolt gave them a serious look that they could feel through his visor.
"You two stay on my ass from here on out. You wanna be ARCs? This is how."
They nodded quickly and followed their sergeant, carbines in their hands. Bolt rejoined Rex and General Kenobi near the front barricades, just outside of the command center, in front of the main highway. He knelt down as the red energy passed over him slowly.
"We're inside the shield," Obi-Wan announced. "Just stay away from those tanks."
Bolt checked the cartridge on his rifle one last time, making absolutely sure he was ready for combat. Satisfied, he stood, resting it on the turquoise stone in front of him, letting off blast after blast into the ranks of droids. The AATs were further back, but when their shots came in, they shook the ground on impact.
Bolt slowly backpedaled while firing, retreating at the same pace the droids were advancing. At one point, he looked over his shoulder at Auto and Patchwork. "Follow me."
He sprinted towards the main tower and into the elevator. Pressing the button for the top floor, he waited impatiently for the doors to open. Once they did, he ran to the balcony, spying the ziplines that had been set up hours earlier.
He grabbed a handle and clipped it to one of the lines, looking back at the other two as he did. "I'll see you two on the ground."
Bolt pushed off, sliding down the steel cable at a breakneck pace, firing down at the droids all the while. He landed and flipped his rifle to full-auto, firing off a spread of lasers into the nearest clump of metal. He heard two pairs of boots land behind him and he smirked. These two were seeming more like ARCs by the day.
The three of them cut a large chunk out of the center of the droids' ranks, General Kenobi joining them at one point, his lightsaber cutting a deadly swathe through the droids, leaving nothing but molten metal in his wake.
Bolt didn't have time to be impressed, though, as the ranks of super battle droids had taken notice of the three of them. He ordered the other two to run for the command center as he tossed a droid popper to cover their escape. His boots pounded on the concrete as he sprinted to catch the other two. They made it just in time to prevent Rex from being shot in the back. Bolt snapped his rifle up and but a bolt into the droid's head, saving his captain.
"They're advancing too fast," Bolt panted. "Those two better get that shield down, or they'll be fighting for this planet by themselves."
Rex nodded. "Aye, but we still need to buy them time. Let's go."
He led the way into the back of the command center, firing off a few shots to save Obi-Wan from a gruesome death. "They overran our position, we had to pull out of there," he reported to the Jedi.
Obi-Wan nodded. "Move all of your men back to the heavy cannons. Do everything you can to protect them. I'll delay the droids. That is an order, Captain."
Rex was about to protest until Bolt dragged him away. "We need to do as he says. If he can delay the droids without worrying about us, that might give us more time."
Rex nodded. "Though if we fall back to the cannons, we have nowhere else to run."
Cody materialized next to them as they ran. "You boys alright? My unit got wiped out except for me, Waxer, and Boil."
"Define alright," Bolt joked dryly. "We're heading back to the cannons. We're strictly running defense and buying time."
Cody nodded. "Roger that. What's General Kenobi doing?"
"He's the one who gave us the orders. Said he'd delay the droids," Rex explained as they took cover behind the ridge that the heavy cannons were sitting.
Bolt leaned over, his rifle pointed down the highway. He flipped down his binoculars and began sniping as many droids as he could before they got too close. He dropped two with headshots before resorting to quicker shots.
At one point, the droids were so large in his scopes, that he was forced to flip them back up. He checked his remaining ammunition, shaking his head at the small amount.
"Make every shot count, boys! If you die with a full cartridge, I'll throw your bodies into a gundark nest!" Rex threatened, a roar of defiance echoing into the air in response.
Bolt's eyes grew wide as the ranks of droids marched directly up the slope and fired down on them at point blank range. He emptied his cartridge into their ranks before turning to run, Rex, Cody, Auto, and Patchwork hot on his heels.
They took cover behind their last line of defense, the barricades directly in front of the cannons, firing back at their pursuers. Lucky for them, the tanks weren't yet in range of the cannons.
A trooper approached Bolt and Rex, crouching low under the cover. "Sir, General Kenobi's been captured. There's no one else left," the trooper reported, leaning back against the barricade defeatedly.
Rex smacked him upside his helmet. "We've got to hold out! We can't let that shield reach the cannons. Keep fighting!"
Bolt growled in frustration. This wasn't exactly how he pictured himself going out, especially not this early in the war. His trigger finger began to cramp from usage as he fired on droid after droid. The clankers were simply too many. Just as his finger clicked on the trigger, revealing he was completely out of ammo, Bolt saw the shield start to dissipate.
He nodded to Rex and leaned back against the barricade, completely exhausted. Rex turned and yelled at the gunners. "ALL CANNONS! FIRE ON THOSE TANKS!"
The heavy cannons responded with thunderous uproars as their shots were launched into the droid ranks, destroying tanks and droids alike. The hulking metal machines literally split into pieces from the power of the shells.
Bolt laid back and passed out, the last thing he remembered being three Acclamators descending into the atmosphere.
