The guards had tattled on me.
Of course they had.
Despite the fact that I didn't technically need sleep, I had apparently passed out anyway.
And when I woke up—
Shaak Ti was standing over me.
Absolutely furious.
Furious.
I sat up slowly.
My head hurt.
My mouth tasted terrible.
And judging by the way she was staring at me, I briefly considered pretending I was still unconscious.
Didn't work.
"Dabo."
"...Master."
"What were you thinking?"
Ah.
There it was.
The lecture began immediately.
Apparently stumbling into the Temple drunk before sunrise, blasting music from my PAK, arguing with security, and loudly announcing that my heart had been broken was considered inappropriate behavior.
Especially right after the start of a galactic war.
Who knew?
Shaak Ti paced in front of me.
"The Republic is entering a conflict unlike anything it has faced in generations, and you chose this moment to spend the night drinking and chasing women?"
"Technically I was only chasing one—"
Her eyes narrowed.
I shut up.
Good choice.
She continued.
"Seeing you grow, I had hoped your maturity would finally begin matching your appearance."
...
Ouch.
That one actually landed.
The lecture continued for what felt like several hours.
Probably wasn't.
But hungover time moved differently.
Eventually she informed me that we had both been summoned to the Council chambers.
Great.
Fantastic.
Exactly where I wanted to go after Temple security had watched me stumble home drunk.
The Council definitely knew.
They didn't say anything outright.
But there were looks.
A few disappointed ones.
One or two that looked suspiciously amused.
I avoided eye contact.
Thankfully, my drunken heartbreak was not the actual reason we had been summoned.
The Order was reorganizing.
Every available Master, Knight, and Padawan was being assigned somewhere.
The war had begun too suddenly.
The Republic had an army now, but very few people actually knew how to use it.
Jedi were being scattered across the galaxy to support clone forces, reinforce worlds, escort supplies, investigate Separatist activity, or simply fill gaps wherever command desperately needed someone.
My original assignment? Kamino. With Shaak Ti.
She would help oversee the continued development and training of future clone generations. I was supposed to assist her.
I argued strongly.
"Geonosis was a filter."
Several Council members stared at me.
I continued.
"Everyone who survived that arena and the ground battle now has actual combat experience."
Including me.
"I would be wasted sitting on Kamino watching clones grow."
Shaak Ti's expression told me she didn't appreciate my phrasing.
Still. The logic was sound.
The Jedi were already taking younglings and assigning them to newly promoted Knights as Padawans.
That alone told me how desperate the Order was.
Some of these new Knights had barely stopped being Padawans themselves.
If I weren't physically younger than most of the younglings, I was convinced somebody would've tried handing me one.
I pushed for another assignment. Kenobi. Skywalker. Let me join them.
And between the two of them—
They desperately needed someone with common sense.
That last part earned me a few looks.
The Council said they would consider it.
Then the meeting somehow became even stranger.
Because before it ended—
They promoted me.
Not just me.
Anakin too.
Several surviving Padawans from Geonosis were elevated to Knighthood early.
Apparently surviving Geonosis had become the galaxy's fastest promotion board.
I stood there genuinely stunned.
Knight. Wow that was easy. I had expected that to take longer.
The Council took another day before finally approving my request.
I would join Obi-Wan and Anakin.
Not permanently attached to either one, but operating alongside them as an additional Jedi General when needed.
Good enough.
The following day I received my first orders.
Christophsis.
Obi-Wan and Anakin had already broken through the blockade surrounding the planet and begun delivering relief supplies to the population.
A Republic ground force had established itself planetside.
I was being sent to reinforce them.
During the wait, I kept busy.
Mostly with stolen property.
Specifically—
The hundreds of B1 battle droids I'd stuffed into my inventory on Geonosis. Fresh from the assembly line.
The newer models were more annoying than the old ones.
Their programming allowed significantly more independent thought, which meant I couldn't simply turn them on and tell them they worked for me now.
I had to overwrite loyalty protocols.
Remove Separatist restrictions.
Still easier than repairing half-melted droids though, which I also carried hundreds of.
By the time I left Coruscant, I had over three hundred functioning B1s.
My B1s.
The rest of the galaxy had completely lost its mind.
Every news channel had an opinion.
Every politician had an opinion.
Every random civilian with access to a terminal apparently had an opinion.
The Confederacy of Independent Systems immediately began screaming that the Republic's clone army was slavery.
An entire population bred specifically for war.
Created to fight and die.
Hard argument to dismiss.
The Republic responded by presenting the clones as heroes.
Defenders of democracy.
Protectors of innocent worlds.
Necessary soldiers standing against Separatist aggression.
Meanwhile the Separatists proudly pointed toward their droid armies and claimed they could fight wars without wasting organic lives.
Normal politics.
Thousands of systems declared neutrality almost immediately.
The most prominent among them—
Mandalore.
Peaceful. Neutral. Diplomatic.
...
Goddamn peace-loving hippies.
I couldn't believe Mandalore of all places had become the face of neutrality.
One of the greatest warrior cultures in galactic history had somehow turned into a society preaching pacifism.
Tragic.
Absolutely tragic.
One day...
I would fix that.
Invade the planet.
Shake the warrior spirit back into them.
Something. That was a problem for future Dabo.
For now, Dooku had already started playing the war intelligently. The Republic forces were being stretched thin almost immediately. Which brought me to Christophsis.
My Delta-7 dropped from hyperspace.
Christophsis appeared ahead.
I had missed the space battle.
Of course.
By the time I arrived, Obi-Wan and Anakin had already broken the blockade and landed supplies.
Republic forces were firmly planetside now.
My orders were simple.
Join them. Act as an additional General beside Skywalker.
Back to war.
I sighed.
"Wonderful."
The Delta-7 descended through the atmosphere.
Crystal structures spread across the planet below.
Republic positions became visible.
LAATs.
AT-TEs.
Temporary staging areas.
I found an open landing space and brought the fighter down.
HISSSSS.
The canopy opened.
I climbed out, wearing combat boots and thin Jedi robes, with Jango Fett's Mandalorian chest piece prominently displayed across my torso. It wasn't beskar sadly, but it was still better than what the council started handing out, and also it was a type of alloy made by mixing mandalorian steel and bits of beskar.
Two clone officers were already waiting.
Not random officers either.
Cody.
Rex.
...
Oh.
Well, hello.
Commander Cody and Captain Rex both saluted.
"Sir!"
I returned the gesture casually.
"We're glad to have you. We have a situation."
I dropped from the fighter and planted both boots on the ground.
"What's wrong?"
Then I looked around.
"And where are Kenobi and Skywalker?"
Cody answered.
"The Generals left to investigate the source of an information leak."
Information leak.
My antennae shifted slightly.
Rex continued.
"We picked up a suspicious communication shortly before your arrival."
"From where?"
"The barracks assigned to Platoon Sergeant Slick, sir."
...
Slick.
Slick.
Why did that—
...
SLICK.
Memory hit. Clone Wars. Early episode.
Traitor.
A clone who sabotaged Republic equipment because he believed the clones deserved freedom.
He'd betrayed his brothers to the Separatists.
I remembered that much.
Mostly.
It had been decades for me.
Details were fuzzy.
But the name?
Absolutely.
Slick.
A traitor named fucking Slick.
Come on.
"Sir?"
Cody interrupted my thoughts.
I blinked.
Right.
Focus.
If I remembered correctly, the sabotage had caused serious damage. He basically destroyed all our AT-TEs
I looked between them.
"A traitor?"
"Yes, sir."
I stared.
Then raised my voice.
"GENTLEMEN, ARE YOU INCOMPETENT?!"
Both clones froze.
"Sir?"
"If there's a traitor inside this base, why are we standing here talking about interrogations?!"
Their expressions changed.
"Our equipment could already be sabotaged!"
...
Oh.
That got them.
I pointed toward the vehicle staging areas.
"Have every platoon begin inspecting vehicles, weapons, communications gear—everything!"
Rex immediately reached for his communicator.
"YES, SIR!"
"And isolate Slick's platoon."
"Understood."
Rex turned away and began issuing orders over comms.
Clone troopers across the base started moving almost immediately.
Cody remained beside me.
I pointed toward the barracks.
"Commander."
"Sir."
"Take me to them."
"Yes, sir."
He raised his communicator.
"Sergeant Slick, gather your platoon in the squad bay."
A response crackled back.
Cody started walking.
I followed.
A moment later Rex caught up with us.
Behind us, clone crews were already pouring into the vehicle areas and checking machinery.
Good.
Maybe meta knowledge could still save some lives.
As we approached the barracks, I looked toward Cody and Rex.
"You two conduct the questioning."
Cody glanced at me.
"You won't be participating, sir?"
"I'll observe."
Technically true.
Also I already knew the answer.
I wanted to see if events still matched what I remembered.
Cody nodded.
"Anything you want done beforehand?"
"Yes."
I looked toward the barracks.
"Strip the platoon of armor."
Rex looked over.
"Sir?"
"Body gloves only."
I continued walking.
"If one of them runs, I don't want him armored."
That made sense to them.
Then—
SUMMON.
Four B1 battle droids appeared beside me.
Both clones immediately reached toward their weapons.
"Relax."
The B1s straightened.
"Roger, roger."
I pointed toward the building entrance.
"Guard the exits."
"Roger, roger."
Rex stared at them.
Then at me.
"Can we trust those things, sir?"
"I reprogrammed them."
He remained skeptical.
I shrugged.
"Better they get shot than your men."
Rex paused.
"...Right."
He did not sound convinced.
Fair enough.
We entered the barracks.
Slick's platoon was already assembled.
Most of the men sat or stood near their bunks wearing only their black body gloves.
Their armor had been removed and stacked around the room in suspiciously neat piles.
Like they knew someone important was coming and had panic-cleaned.
Slick stepped forward.
"Sirs."
His eyes briefly moved toward me.
"What is this about?"
Cody walked past him.
"Take a seat, gentlemen."
The troopers obeyed.
I moved toward the wall.
Leaned against it.
Crossed my arms.
Then watched.
Cody began.
"We have a turncoat in our midst."
The room went silent.
"And we believe it's one of you."
The interrogation took a while.
Cody and Rex questioned the men individually.
Where they'd been.
Who they'd spoken with.
What duties they'd performed.
Nothing immediately broke.
Then eventually they reached Chopper.
He'd isolated himself near the edge of the room.
Quiet.
Withdrawn.
Definitely the suspicious-looking one.
Which probably meant absolutely nothing.
Identical genetics.
Completely different personalities.
Still fascinating.
Cody stopped in front of him.
"Where were you before you went to the mess, Chopper?"
"Nowhere."
Cody stared.
"Walking around."
Rex spoke.
"Son, you're going to need a better answer than that."
Chopper sighed.
Then reached under his clothing.
"I was hiding."
The room shifted.
"South exit."
He pulled something free.
"I didn't want anyone seeing me string these together."
A necklace.
Battle droid fingers.
...
Okay.
That's kind of cool. I always liked when Clones would decorate themselves.
Cody and Rex stared.
Confused.
Several clones in the platoon reacted much more strongly.
One stood.
"I always knew there was something deficient about you."
...
I almost smiled.
There it was.
That sounded straight out of Irken society.
Defective.
Deficient.
Chopper looked uncomfortable.
A lecture was clearly about to begin.
I pushed away from the wall.
"ENOUGH."
The room stopped.
Some clones immediately stood at attention.
Others simply went silent.
I stepped forward.
Looked around.
"I see good soldiers in this room."
Nobody spoke.
"Men willing to follow orders."
I stopped beside Chopper.
"But that's not all you are."
I rested my hand lightly on his shoulder.
"You're people."
Several helmets would've probably turned if they'd still been wearing them.
"You have your own interests."
"Your own habits."
"Your own identities."
Chopper glanced toward me.
"You deserve to be treated like individuals."
I smiled slightly.
"Well..."
I looked around the room.
"All except one of you."
Silence.
"The investigation is over."
Everyone stiffened.
"I know who the traitor is."
Several clones immediately looked toward Chopper.
Chopper's eyes widened.
He stepped back.
I sighed.
"No."
Then pointed.
"ARREST SERGEANT SLICK."
For one second—
Nobody moved.
Slick did.
He bolted.
Fast.
He was nearly through the doorway before I lifted a hand.
His feet left the ground.
His body jerked backward.
One hand shot toward his throat as the Force tightened around him.
I pulled him through the air.
Turned him around.
His face twisted in panic.
Well.
That confirmed it.
Apparently he realized the moment we searched his belongings, we'd find something.
Or maybe guilt simply made him run.
Either way—
"CATCH HIM!" Cody shouted.
The platoon moved.
Several clones grabbed Slick's arms and legs.
I released him.
He crashed onto the floor.
COUGH! COUGH!
Rex stared down at him.
Shock had turned into disappointment.
"Why'd you do it?"
Slick looked up.
Angry.
"I DID IT FOR—"
I raised a hand.
"Ah."
Everyone looked at me.
"No time for the monologue."
...
Slick stared.
I pointed toward the door.
"Take him away."
Several clones hesitated.
Then—
"Yes, sir."
They hauled Slick upright.
He glared at me while they dragged him toward the exit.
If looks could kill...
I'd probably have lost another hand.
Rex and Cody remained behind.
Both looked mildly embarrassed.
Eventually Rex asked—
"Sir..."
I looked at him.
"How did you know?"
Cody nodded.
"We hadn't found anything connecting Sergeant Slick yet."
...
"The Force told me."
Silence.
Both men stared.
The exact same dumbfounded expression.
I nodded sagely.
Then turned toward the door.
"Now."
I waved for them to follow.
"Show me to my quarters."
Rex blinked.
"Your quarters, sir?"
"Your quarters, sir?"
"I need to meditate."
Cody and Rex looked at each other.
Rex sighed.
"Sir, you don't have quarters."
I blinked.
"...I don't?"
"No, sir. We barely have enough space for the men."
I glanced around the barracks.
The bunks were already packed together.
"Then where am I supposed to sleep?"
Rex pointed toward the rows of clone troopers.
"With the rest of us."
I stared at him.
"You're telling me I just got promoted to Jedi Knight and General, and I still sleep beside the men?"
"Yes, sir."
"...Do I at least get a pillow?"
Rex considered this.
"If you can find one."
I sighed.
Cody and Rex looked at each other.
~LATER~
About an hour after Slick was arrested, the inspections started producing results.
Explosives.
Lots of explosives.
Hidden charges were discovered aboard several LAATs and AT-TEs, tucked into places where nobody would've noticed.
Every one of them was promptly disarmed.
That discovery immediately triggered another inspection. Anything Slick could've gotten near was checked at least twice.
That alone made exposing him early worth it.
Anakin and Obi-Wan eventually returned with considerably worse news.
A massive Separatist force was advancing toward our position.
Wonderful.
Exactly what I wanted to hear.
Still, something about Anakin was annoying me more than the approaching army.
He looked...
Happy.
Not battle-happy.
Not his usual excited-to-do-something-stupid expression.
Just generally happy.
The stupid little smile kept appearing whenever nobody was talking to him.
...
Freshly married bastard.
Still riding the honeymoon high.
Meanwhile, my romantic life had lasted ten minutes and ended because I grew too tall.
Some people really did have everything.
~~~
We kept Slick's betrayal quiet.
The last thing we needed was an entire legion wondering which brother might stab them in the back next.
Officially, Slick had been detained pending investigation.
Unofficially?
We knew exactly what he'd done.
Once that was handled, Obi-Wan, Anakin, and I gathered around a tactical display.
Our opponent was General Whorm Loathsom.
Despite the ridiculous name, the man wasn't an idiot.
He had actual military experience.
A solid reputation.
And significantly more troops than we did.
The objective was simple.
Hold.
We didn't need some brilliant decisive victory.
We needed to keep Christophsis long enough for Republic reinforcements to become available.
Unfortunately, Loathsom knew that too.
The tactical projection showed the size of the droid force assembling against us.
I stared.
"...That's a lot."
Anakin folded his arms.
"We've fought worse."
"No. We've survived worse. Different thing."
Obi-Wan ignored us.
"Our principal disadvantage is numbers."
Exactly.
Which was why I'd contributed some numbers of my own.
Around two hundred of my newly reprogrammed B1s were deployed with the Republic forces.
The remaining hundred stayed inside my inventory.
Reserve force.
Also...
I didn't entirely trust my programming yet.
Probably best not to introduce all three hundred simultaneously and discover some buried Separatist command protocol halfway through the battle.
Obi-Wan studied the map.
"We establish our primary defensive line here."
He indicated the avenue ahead of our main position.
"Armor supporting from the rear."
Good.
Reasonable.
Then Anakin spoke.
"We could station the jet troopers inside these buildings."
He pointed toward several structures flanking the projected droid advance.
"When their main force passes, they come down from above and hit them from both sides."
I stared at him.
Then at the map.
Then at him again.
"...No."
Anakin frowned.
"What?"
"No."
"It could work."
"It could also kill every trooper you put in those buildings."
"They'd have the element of surprise."
"They have jetpacks, Anakin. Not invulnerability."
He pointed toward the hologram.
"They could disrupt the entire formation."
I felt my hand drifting toward my lightsaber.
Not because I intended to attack him.
Probably.
I pointed toward the AT-TEs instead.
"We have armored vehicles."
"Yes?"
"Large armored vehicles."
"I know what an AT-TE is, Dabo."
"Then why are we hiding infantry inside buildings and telling them to jump into the middle of a droid army?"
His face tightened.
"Because we need to hit them hard."
"We need to keep our men alive."
"The clones can handle themselves."
"That's not the point."
I enlarged the tactical projection.
"Our men are better shots."
Anakin opened his mouth.
I raised a finger.
He closed it.
"We keep distance. Use the AT-TEs as mobile cover. Let the clones fire from protected positions and force the droids to cross open ground."
Anakin shook his head.
"That'll drag the battle out."
"Good."
He stared at me.
"Good?"
"Yes."
"Dabo, there are other planets asking for help."
"And we can't help any of them if everybody here gets killed."
"We won't get killed."
I stared at him.
...
There it was.
Anakin Skywalker's grand military doctrine.
Simply don't die.
"Brilliant."
"I'm serious."
"So am I!"
I pointed toward the clone formations on the display.
"These men are excellent soldiers. They're accurate. Disciplined. Fast compared to normal people."
I tapped the projection.
"But they're not us."
Anakin's expression shifted slightly.
"They can't run into a wall of blaster fire and start reflecting everything back."
I pointed toward myself.
"We can."
Toward him.
"You can."
Then toward the clones.
"They can't."
That quieted him.
"A Jedi can cross twenty meters of open ground under fire."
I shook my head.
"A clone crosses that same distance and gets shot."
Anakin looked back toward the display.
I could tell he understood what I meant.
He just didn't like it.
"We keep them as far from the droids as possible," I continued. "If we have to retreat, we retreat. If the battle takes longer, it takes longer."
"We'd just be prolonging it."
"We'd be prolonging their lives."
"Enough."
Both of us stopped.
Obi-Wan was rubbing his temple.
I suddenly wondered how often Anakin caused that particular headache.
"No plan survives contact with the enemy," he said.
I nodded.
Fair.
"We'll prepare the defensive positions tonight. Cody has permission to make tactical changes as necessary, provided he communicates them and can justify them."
Even better.
Let the lifelong soldier make battlefield decisions.
Revolutionary concept.
Obi-Wan looked between us.
"For now, we rest."
I frowned.
"Obi-Wan, I don't think we've done everything possible to reduce casualties."
"You're probably right."
That answer surprised me.
He deactivated the projection.
"But we're exhausted. Exhausted commanders make poor decisions."
"We need clear heads tomorrow."
That was also fair.
Except—
"I don't sleep."
Silence.
Obi-Wan looked at me.
Anakin looked at me.
I looked between them.
...
Oh.
Right.
They still forgot sometimes.
Obi-Wan blinked.
"Of course."
More silence.
"Then..."
He gestured awkwardly toward the tactical display.
"You may remain here and continue considering the battle."
"Okay."
Anakin gave me a look.
I shrugged.
Obi-Wan turned toward the exit.
Anakin followed him.
Then stopped.
"Don't redesign the entire battle while we're gone."
"No promises."
He sighed and disappeared through the door.
I looked around the empty command center.
Well.
Looks like I'm head honcho now.
I turned back toward the tactical display.
Just had to think of something.
~THE NEXT MORNING~
There was one particular subject we'd somehow wandered onto while waiting for the Separatist assault.
Padawans.
More specifically—
The Jedi apparently accelerating Padawan assignments because of the war.
I stared at Obi-Wan.
"You people really think bringing children into a galactic war is a good idea?"
Anakin glanced toward me.
I added—
"Actually, scratch that. The clones are technically child soldiers too."
Anakin's face twisted slightly.
"...When you say it like that, this entire situation sounds really bad."
"It is really bad."
Obi-Wan remained considerably calmer.
"I spoke with Master Yoda before leaving Coruscant."
"Uh-oh."
"He believes both of you should consider taking Padawans."
Anakin looked at him.
I looked at him.
Obi-Wan continued.
"You would both make capable teachers."
I frowned.
Anakin gave a quiet laugh.
"No thanks."
That did it.
I started laughing.
Hard.
Anakin looked over.
"What?"
"Nothing."
I waved him off.
"Absolutely nothing."
Oh, this was going to be great.
Because I remembered what came next.
Maybe not every conversation.
Maybe not every tiny detail.
But this?
This I remembered.
So imagine my delight when a Republic shuttle appeared overhead not long afterward.
It descended toward our position.
Landing gear touched down.
The ramp began lowering.
My smile grew.
Anakin noticed.
"Why are you smiling like that?"
"No reason."
"What do you know?"
"Nothing."
He narrowed his eyes.
I looked toward the shuttle.
And there she was.
Orange skin.
White facial markings.
Blue-and-white montrals.
Tiny.
Young.
And destined to become one of the biggest sources of stress in Anakin Skywalker's life.
Ahsoka Tano.
...
Oh, this was beautiful.
I genuinely liked Ahsoka.
Or at least I remembered liking the person she'd eventually become.
Right now, though?
Early-war Ahsoka?
Oh God.
She was going to be annoying.
Confident.
Reckless.
Talkative.
Basically Anakin compressed into a smaller body and given even less experience.
Perfect.
She walked down the ramp toward us.
Anakin glanced at her.
"And who are you supposed to be?"
Here we go.
"Hello. I'm Ahsoka Tano."
She stopped before us.
"Master Yoda sent me. I was told to inform you that you need to return to Coruscant immediately. It's an emergency."
Anakin looked around at the Republic base.
Then toward the distant Separatist lines.
"I'm not sure if you've noticed, but there's an emergency right here."
Ahsoka frowned.
"I was only told to deliver the message."
"Well, you delivered it."
Her expression sharpened.
"I can see that."
...
Oh.
There it was.
Anakin's eyebrow twitched.
I took one step backward.
This wasn't my fight.
A short argument followed.
Anakin complained about Christophsis.
Ahsoka insisted she'd delivered the orders she was given.
Obi-Wan attempted to inject patience.
I mostly watched.
Eventually we contacted the Council directly.
And discovered—
Nobody was going anywhere.
Separatist naval forces had pushed our space support away from the planet.
Until the fleet could regain control, Christophsis was effectively isolated.
No extraction.
No return to Coruscant.
Just us.
The clones.
And a very large droid army.
Wonderful.
Once the communication ended, Obi-Wan turned toward Ahsoka.
"My apologies, young one. We should make proper introductions."
I looked toward Anakin.
Then smiled.
He noticed.
His eyes narrowed.
"What?"
I said nothing.
Ahsoka straightened.
"I'm the new Padawan learner. Ahsoka Tano."
Obi-Wan gave her a pleasant smile.
"I am Obi-Wan Kenobi."
He bowed his head slightly.
"Your new Master."
Ahsoka hesitated.
Then—
"I'm at your service, Master Kenobi..."
She glanced toward Anakin.
"...but I'm afraid I've actually been assigned to Master Skywalker."
Anakin froze.
Obi-Wan blinked.
I covered my mouth.
Anakin slowly pointed toward himself.
"Wh—"
I lost it.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
I doubled over.
Anakin turned toward me.
I pointed directly at his face.
"YOUR FACE!"
"Dabo."
"YOU SAID NO THANKS!"
"Dabo."
"MASTER YODA SAID THANKS FOR ASKING!"
Ahsoka looked between us.
Obi-Wan's mouth was doing that thing where he was very clearly fighting a smile.
Anakin looked betrayed.
"You knew."
~LATER~
Anakin spent the next hour doing everything in his power to pretend Ahsoka wasn't actually his responsibility.
It was impressive.
Denial. Complaining. Trying to pawn her off on Obi-Wan.
Ignoring her whenever she called him "Master."
I enjoyed every second of it.
Unfortunately, the approaching Separatist army eventually forced us to stop bullying Anakin and focus on the actual war.
General Loathsom had come prepared.
Very prepared.
His army advanced beneath a massive mobile deflector shield.
The shield protected his tanks and artillery while huge numbers of B1s and B2s marched ahead of it.
Anakin came up with a plan to destroy the shield generator.
A dangerous one.
Naturally.
And naturally, Ahsoka was going with him.
...
Honestly, those two really were made for each other.
I had a plan of my own.
The holotable projected the battlefield in real time.
Republic positions.
Separatist positions.
Armor. Infantry. The advancing shield.
I'd spent most of the night working on this. Setting defensive lines. Preparing fallback positions.
And most importantly—
Preparing my little surprise.
This was my plan.
I wanted to see if it actually worked.
Then—
BOOM.
One of our artillery batteries fired.
The first shell arced across the crystalline skyline.
A few seconds later—
BOOOOM!
The battle began.
I moved to the frontline.
Lightsaber in my left hand.
Blaster in my right.
Obi-Wan took a similar position farther down the defensive line.
Clone troopers settled behind the barricades we'd prepared.
AT-TEs stood farther back, cannons elevated.
Then the Separatists entered range.
"FIRE!"
The Republic line erupted.
Blue bolts streaked forward.
Red bolts answered.
The first droids started dropping.
But the Separatist formation was better organized than I expected.
B2 super battle droids led the advance.
Good choice.
Annoyingly good choice.
Their heavier armor absorbed far more fire than the B1s would've survived.
Every volley spent breaking a B2 apart was another few meters the rest of the army gained.
Behind them, the lighter B1s advanced with significantly lower losses.
And because the B1s weren't packed directly in front of them, the B2s had clear firing lanes.
Wrist rockets launched.
"INCOMING!"
WHOOOOSH!
BOOM!
One of our forward barricades disappeared in an explosion.
Clones scattered.
Several didn't get back up.
Another rocket slammed into a fortified position farther down the avenue.
Loathsom knew what he was doing.
Obi-Wan stepped toward the edge of cover.
Lightsaber already raised.
I looked at him.
He looked toward the droids.
Then back toward me.
My eye twitched.
"Don't."
"I wasn't—"
"You were."
He paused.
Then slowly lowered himself back behind cover.
Good.
Apparently my lectures were beginning to work.
"You're learning."
Obi-Wan gave me a deeply unimpressed look.
I returned fire.
PEW! PEW!
A B1 collapsed.
Tiny experience notification.
Nice.
Maybe hiding behind cover wasn't heroic.
But the System didn't seem to care.
Our defensive line gave wounded clones something Geonosis hadn't.
Time.
A trooper got hit?
His brothers dragged him backward.
Medics took over.
Another man filled the firing position.
Nobody had to stand in open ground pretending armor made them invincible.
The entire line slowly withdrew as planned.
One position.
Then the next.
AT-TE cannons fired over us.
BOOM.
A group of advancing B2s vanished.
Short-range artillery was beautiful.
The enemy continued advancing.
Their shield followed.
Closer.
Closer.
I checked the tactical display on my PAK.
Almost.
Come on...
-------------
Inside the Separatist formation, General Whorm Loathsom watched the Republic line retreat.
Exactly as expected.
His AAT hovered safely beneath the shield.
Snail tanks moved alongside it.
Rows of droids marched ahead.
Destroyed buildings surrounded the avenue.
Broken B1s littered the streets.
Nothing unusual.
Republic defenses had already been pushed back several times.
Another position abandoned.
Another stretch of ground taken.
Loathsom allowed himself a satisfied smile.
Then—
"Excuse me!"
His ears twitched.
"Sir!"
He looked down.
A B1 battle droid stood beside the AAT.
"What is it?"
The droid pointed toward the opposite side of the tank.
"Over there."
Loathsom turned.
And only then did something register.
That droid wasn't the standard Separatist tan.
Its plating was darker.
Brown. Rusted Red.
His eyes narrowed.
Another rust-colored B1 was standing on the other side of the tank.
It looked directly at him.
Raised one arm.
"Catch."
Something flew through the air.
Loathsom barely reacted before it struck his chest and dropped inside the command compartment.
He looked down.
...
Grenade.
"Oh, you—"
BOOOOOOM!
--------
I heard the explosion from our line.
My grin immediately appeared.
"There it is."
All across the avenue—
Corpses moved.
Broken B1s that had been lying among the battlefield debris suddenly stood.
Dozens.
Then more.
My reprogrammed droids.
I'd deployed them hours earlier.
Several simply lying motionless among piles of actual destroyed B1s.
The enemy had marched straight past them.
Why wouldn't they?
To a Separatist droid, another dead B1 was just another dead B1.
My droids raised their blasters.
PEW! PEW! PEW!
Separatist B1s dropped from behind.
Others turned around in confusion.
"What?"
"Who fired?"
"Was that us?"
"Roger—"
PEW!
Gone.
Several of my droids climbed directly onto nearby AATs.
Drivers barely had time to react before the hatches were forced open.
Blaster fire.
Metal clanging.
Then—
One AAT rotated its turret.
Not toward us.
Toward the Separatist column.
BOOM!
A snail tank exploded.
Another captured AAT turned.
BOOM!
The Separatist advance stopped.
Completely.
Their formation became a mess.
Exactly what I wanted.
Meanwhile—
Our clones never stopped firing.
The Separatist front turned around to deal with my droids.
Which meant their backs were partially exposed to us.
"PRESS THEM!"
Blue plasma intensified.
B1s started dropping by the dozens.
I stared at the battlefield.
Then pumped my fist.
"HAHA! IT WORKED!"
Several clones nearby cheered.
One sergeant immediately ruined the celebration.
"KEEP FIRING!"
Right.
Good man.
I looked toward Obi-Wan.
He glanced at the chaos.
Then toward me.
I gave him the most obnoxiously smug smile I could manage.
He rolled his eyes.
"You seem pleased with yourself."
"I am."
"I noticed."
"Say it."
"No."
"Say it was a good plan."
"No."
"Obi-Wan."
He deflected a blaster bolt.
"It was adequate."
...
I'll take it.
Then the shield flickered.
Once.
Twice.
And disappeared.
Oh.
Anakin.
Ahsoka.
They'd done it.
The moment the shield collapsed, every Republic artillery piece seemed to fire at once.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOOOOM!
Separatist armor vanished beneath explosions.
AATs flipped.
Snail tanks broke apart.
The entire enemy formation collapsed.
I watched one of my captured AATs disappear in a fireball.
...
No.
I winced.
STOP SHOOTING MY STUFF!
Nobody heard me.
A third AAT vanished.
Reduced to scrap.
War was wasteful.
It was official.
Still...
The battle was over.
---
The Republic camp felt completely different afterward.
Before anything else, I gave the clones a standing order.
"Retrieve every dead clone you can find," I said. "And every damaged battle droid. Bring all of them to me."
The order earned me several confused looks.
I ignored them.
And if I was going to keep building my forces, I needed every piece I could get.
It was a simple order.
Practical.
Easy to repeat.
I had a feeling it would become a habit.
Morale had skyrocketed.
Clones talked among themselves.
Some joked.
Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Ahsoka eventually departed for Coruscant.
Which left me as ranking Jedi commander planetside.
For the first time since Geonosis...
Things were quiet.
I stood overlooking the battlefield.
Smoke rose between the crystalline buildings.
Clone engineers moved through the streets.
Wrecked droids were being collected.
Medical teams worked farther behind the lines.
We had won.
And I had helped.
Actually helped.
My plan had worked.
But something bothered me.
I stared at my hands.
My plan had won.
But me?
What had I actually done?
I'd stood behind cover.
Fired a blaster. Given orders.
Exactly what a commander should do.
...
And I hated it.
I had a System. The Force. Necromancy.
And yet when a real army appeared...
I hid behind another army.
That realization bothered me more than it probably should've.
I wanted something else.
Something bigger.
When people heard my name during this war...
I wanted armies to hesitate.
I wanted commanders to change plans.
I wanted enemies to hear I was approaching and think—
Fuck.
I needed power.
Real power.
Enough that I didn't need an army standing in front of me.
Enough that I was the problem.
The thought sat there for several seconds.
Then another followed it.
I needed to conquer something. On my own.
A smile slowly crossed my face.
...
Verdara.
Maybe it was finally time to go back.