Gand tried unsuccessfully to pinch the torn fabric closed, but gas was already seeping through the numerous holes. With it, the Padawan's life was ebbing away.
"Oh… Aubrie, there's a hole in my suit. The air… is killing me…"
"I'm sorry, Vaabesh. Can I take your sword?" Tearsrolled down the girl's cheeks.
"Of course. Find a better use for it than I did…"
Aubrie wandered across the battlefield. Voices reached her ears.
"Sir, don't get up. The assassin droids are almost destroyed, but there are still enough left to finish the job. And we're the last of the Nimbus. But we will win this battle…"
"You haven't won yet!" Aubrie growled, lunging forward.
Nimbus jumped up, raising his weapon, but the girl blocked his shots—her two sabers made it easy.
And now…
One of the blaster bolts bounced back at the shooter and pierced the captain's helmet. He fell onto his back.
"You killed half of your own people… and killed my friends…" Aubrie slowly approached him. The blades hummed in a steady, low vibration.
"Don't lecture me, Jedi!" The Jabiimite stood, but his wounded leg could barely support him. "All my victims are victims of your war!"
With those words, Alto grabbed his blaster pistol and fired at the girl. However, the bolt struck one of the first-aid kits strapped to her chest. Itpierced the box and destroyed its contents, but Aubrie herself was unharmed—only lightly burned. A moment later, one of her blades sliced the pistol in half, and then both blades drove into his chest.
Alto collapsed to his knees.
"Ar-r-rh-hh… Just… victims of war."
Aubrie froze over the Jabiimite's body.
"Is that… all? I… did it?"
An energy bola streaked in from afar, coiling around her neck. Lightning surged through it, snapping her body into a rigid arc. The shock made her drop her swords, and within seconds she lost consciousness.
***
"What a bummer—our 'little commander' kicked the bucket."
Durge bent down, lifting the girl with one outstretched arm, holding her effortlessly in front of him.
"So easy… it's not even interesting. Hmm… What's the price for a Jedi these days?"
Binary chatter echoed from behind. A dozen IG-series droids approached the mercenary. Theseassassin droids were his henchmen, provided to him by the Muuns, who had hired him in the first place..
Durge gestured to two of them. When they stepped forward, he tossed the unconscious girl toward them. They caught her deftly with theirmanipulators.
"Pack her up. Take the ingot to the ship. Looks like we'll be leaving this lousy planet soon. And the clones here are almost gone. No fun at all."
***
The head counted out shots with mechanicalprecision. Blue bolts flew forward, each one finding its target…
Shot. Another one… three enemies… two… seven… six… eight.
Three days had passed since our breakthrough back to base. My foggy mind refused to process information, and the days blurred together into an endless chain of battles.
Shot… shot… change cartridge… throw grenade…
I had managed to lead almost seven thousand clones out. I don't know how, but I did it. I saved two Padawans—Kass Tod and Mak Lotor—but the rest were dead. The enemy hounded us from behind, and another force waited ahead. We struck with everything we had left, used the last of our equipment, and retook control of the outerperimeter of the base. But we didn't hold it for long. They pushed us back first to the mountain, and then into the mountain itself.
Shoot… shoot…
Ahsoka… if only I could… but what's done is done. Zule Xiss fell into the Darkness, and it consumed her body and mind, turning her into a crazed murderer… And Ahsoka—nearly dying herself—killed her. Even if it was an accident, even if she hadn't meant to… that weight fell on her shoulders.
Shot, shot, shot…
The Jabiimi were frantic. Christen once said they were embittered by the death of Stratus and the loss of all their mines. Apparently, our plan had worked. Now, none of this would be in vain.
Shot… they broke through after all… Oh, help. Not bad. We'll hold out a little longer.
By the end of the fourth day, the defenders were fewer in number than the wounded—and there were several thousand wounded. I couldn't say for certain; no one had kept count for a long time.
"General!"
Shot. Shot.
"General Vikt!"
"Christen?"
"Sir! We have contact with orbit! Transferring to you."
"General Vikt! This is Rinaun! What's going on down there?!"
"Commander. We need an urgent evacuation. Our coordinates… confirm with Second Lieutenant Mirro. Everything around us is enemy-held territory. It must be destroyed."
"Don't worry, we'll get you out of there! What are the losses?"
"Very heavy, Commander. Very heavy."
Switching to another channel, I ordered with grim satisfaction:
"Blam, prepare for evacuation. Get the wounded ready for transport. Take only what's necessary—we'll have very little time."
"Yes, General."
***
When Rinaun ordered one of the cylinders to be dispersed in order to create a temporary windowin the atmosphere and establish contact with the ground forces, he had not expected it to havesuch an result…
The squadron's departure had been delayed for several days. They needed to replenish supplies, wait for another ship to come out of repairs… then they were asked to deliver a cargo of reagents... In short, it took quite a long time for them to reach Jabiim. At the very first glance at this dirty gray world, Rinaun realized he did not like the planet.
Just a few hours after their arrival, the operators reported that the CIS ships had left the system. At first, Rinaun didn't believe it; only when a pair of fighter pilots confirmed the sighting did he thought deeply about it. And he made that decision…
"All ships, prepare for action! Disperse the reagents over the Shelter base! Fighters—load proton torpedoes! Gunboats, launch immediately! Destroy the enemy! Akagi!"
"Yes, Commander!"
"Cerri, get ready! Your task is to land on the planet and evacuate General Vikt's squad!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Sir, Isaribi is on the line. They're requestingpermission to assist Akagi," one of the clone operators reported.
"Permission granted! Have them cover the Acclamator during takeoff and landing!"
I hope we make it in time…
***
I stood on the bridge of the Akagi, not yet fully grasping that it was all over. The evacuation from the planet had ended an hour earlier. Under cover from fighters and gunboats—which had wiped out all enemies within a ten-kilometer radius with a massive strike—the Akagi had landed right beside Suribachi. We had left the mountain quickly, carrying the wounded with us. There was neither time nor desire for anything else. All of us wanted to leave this place as soon as possible.
"Sir! Orliss Gillmunn is on the line."
"Put him on the screen."
"General Vikt? What's going on? Why are you leaving the planet? The Nationalists haven't been defeated yet, have they? And why did you destroy the mines? There were ordinary workers there!"
"The threat has been eliminated. The Confederacy won't be able to use Jabiim's resources to continuethe war." I didn't care about anything else—and I certainly didn't care about that bastard.
"What?! But—"
"The Republic is fighting a war across the entire galaxy, on hundreds of planets. Every trained soldier counts."
"Damn you! You're worse than Stratus! We risked everything for the Republic, and now you'reabandoning us?!"
"Listen to me, Hutt burp… because of you, many clones—and Jedi—have died. The Republic has paid its debt in full. From this point on, this war is your war… Operator, end the communication."
The screen went blank.
"General? The squadron is preparing for takeoff," Lichtendal Cerri reported.
"We're going with them. You're in command, Cerri."
"Sir," Sumeragi said, handing me the datapad. "Here's the report, General."
"How many did we manage to evacuate?"
"Sir, we took eight thousand six hundred forty-eight clones on board—five thousand onehundred and six of them wounded."
"Excellent work. Now everyone get some rest."
I took one last look at the planet.
That's it.
***
Today, one chapter. The arc with Jabiim hasended, and the Front Lines await us ahead.