Post by Force_Flow on Jul 28, 2007 18:24:28 GMT -4
Inside Tipoca City, things were confused and disoriented. Nait shouldered his way past troops going to opposite way, and began to think he’d get more scrapes and bruises going out than facing his sister. Picking himself off the floor for a third time, he picked out the easiest routes through the clones, and, finally, caught up to the Nulls just as they got out the door. Through the Force, Nait memorized their names and positions so he didn’t accidentally confuse Ordo with Jaing again. The Nulls numbered only in twelve, but Nait wasn’t surprised when he counted only six of them.
Six was instant death. Twelve… Nait never saw the twelve together in action, and decided that he’d rather not.
Outside, Nait saw three circular landing pads connected by narrow walkways with glowing white lights. The Nulls were on what Nait considered Landing Pad 1. Numbers 2 and 3 were occupied by dropships and stormtroopers. It didn’t look pretty.
A’den and Prudii were on the sides, spread out from their brothers, spitting Verpine chain-gun rounds in stormtroopers two landing pads away. Jaing had out a Mandalorian iron sabre and continued to whack any idiot who came too close. Kom’rk and Mereel made short work of the rest of the stormtroopers one ‘pad away from where Nait was standing, and Ordo seemed to be busy sticking a knife into the gap between the helmet and the chest plate of one unlucky soldier.
Nait became an unofficial member of their group just then as he joined Jaing in the fight. He counted at least seventeen in his area, Landing Pad 2, plus maybe five or ten more in the dropship, including the pilot. Nait lost himself once again as the battle continued. Everything was driven on reflex. He used only a double-sided vibroblade and had to rely on the Force to anticipate the blaster shots. His lightsaber, his new one (he had to make a new one because he lost his on Naboo), was in his quarters. On the ocean floor.
Nait ducked, slashed, parried, and kicked… It was all instinct. Jaing was on a roll, too. He radiated amusement as he stuck another stormtrooper and had to put his foot on his chest just to get the iron sabre out. Ordo and the others had left ‘pad 2 for Jaing and Nait, and were busy trying to take out the troops the next pad up the number line. Jaing took care of the pilot in the dropship, and congratulated each other as they ran up the slippery walkway. They could hear the blasterfire right out of their line of sight.
Nait had no warning from Ordo or the others as an AT-ST walker appeared as they got up to the landing pad. Jaing was the smart one, and threw himself backwards to slide down the walkway. Nait kept running foreword and jumped on the AT-ST. Ordo and the others were nowhere to be seen. Nait used the Force to try and tip over the AT-ST, visualizing it, picturing it lighter than a feather…
As it started to fall, Ordo peered up from his hiding spot behind a supply crate, and fired directly at Nait, assuming he was the pilot escaping the AT-ST. Nait heard the stimulus shots of Ordo, A’den, Prudii, Kom’rk, and Mereel. Nait didn’t feel the pain, only the numbing realization that he got shot. The AT-ST tipped over and fell on top of the dropship, and Nait automatically jumped off. He hit the ground hard, head first. He let out an exhale of breath as the wind was knocked out of him. As a last-ditch effort to save himself, he reached out into the Force and put himself in a Healing trance.
-
Ordo cursed and sprinted for Nait. Jaing was making his way back up the walkway, but Nait was already dead. Or was almost dead. Ordo put two fingers on the kid’s neck and felt no pulse. The Nulls gathered around the body of their “dead” Commander, and inside his helm, Ordo felt tears well up.
Nait’s chest rose and fell softly. Mereel was instantly on his knees and opening Nait’s eyes. Ordo heard the sigh of relief through the comm. “He’s doing a Jedi thing,” he announced.
“Lucky Jetii,” A’den muttered.
“He should be dead!” Ordo cried in outrage.
“He has a hard head,” Prudii observed. “I’ll take him to the Jedi girl for some real R&R.”
“Meet us up North,” Ordo ordered. “We’re supposed to be looking for the deranged darksider.”
“He or she?”
“She.”
“Ah.” Prudii didn’t say another word, but scooped Nait up and threw him over his shoulder. He didn’t need to say anything else, though. Nait had fought brilliantly, but even if the Jedi managed to heal him in five minutes, Prudii would tell him to stay at his kriffing post on the sea floor.
--
The comm crackled to life. ”The AT-ST’s are in full deployment, M’Lady.”
“Good,” Cerasi answered from her position inside the cockpit of her dropship. “Spread them out. I want one on every landing pad, do you copy?”
”Acknowledged. Will that be all?”
“Just keep deploying the troops, Captain,” Cerasi said wearily. “We’ll have Kamino by nightfall.”
”Yes, ma’am.”
The comlink clipped and was cut. Cerasi sat in the pilot’s chair, watching the battle unfold. Something wasn’t clicking in her mind… she should know this place. Something here was wrong, she could feel it. She had this nagging frustration that she should know Tipoca City and its’ layout. Closing her eyes, she sighed and tried to suppress her headache just beginning to grow right behind her eyes.
She should know about this place.
She should.
She didn’t.
Damn.
Cerasi looked up at the tactical display. So far, her troops were pushing the others’ back down south. Vader’s hadn’t landed yet. She had a gut feeling that friends of hers were in Vader’s landing sights… She had learned to trust her gut feeling, and it was also telling her that she didn’t recall these friends of hers.
Hacking into the outside cameras was easy enough. Inside cameras were impossible to hack unless Jaing was doing it… Jaing? Who was Jaing? Furrowing her brow, Cerasi frowned. Jaing was probably one of her ‘friends.’
And, in the very back of her mind, she knew his comm frequency…
She punched it in.
Six was instant death. Twelve… Nait never saw the twelve together in action, and decided that he’d rather not.
Outside, Nait saw three circular landing pads connected by narrow walkways with glowing white lights. The Nulls were on what Nait considered Landing Pad 1. Numbers 2 and 3 were occupied by dropships and stormtroopers. It didn’t look pretty.
A’den and Prudii were on the sides, spread out from their brothers, spitting Verpine chain-gun rounds in stormtroopers two landing pads away. Jaing had out a Mandalorian iron sabre and continued to whack any idiot who came too close. Kom’rk and Mereel made short work of the rest of the stormtroopers one ‘pad away from where Nait was standing, and Ordo seemed to be busy sticking a knife into the gap between the helmet and the chest plate of one unlucky soldier.
Nait became an unofficial member of their group just then as he joined Jaing in the fight. He counted at least seventeen in his area, Landing Pad 2, plus maybe five or ten more in the dropship, including the pilot. Nait lost himself once again as the battle continued. Everything was driven on reflex. He used only a double-sided vibroblade and had to rely on the Force to anticipate the blaster shots. His lightsaber, his new one (he had to make a new one because he lost his on Naboo), was in his quarters. On the ocean floor.
Nait ducked, slashed, parried, and kicked… It was all instinct. Jaing was on a roll, too. He radiated amusement as he stuck another stormtrooper and had to put his foot on his chest just to get the iron sabre out. Ordo and the others had left ‘pad 2 for Jaing and Nait, and were busy trying to take out the troops the next pad up the number line. Jaing took care of the pilot in the dropship, and congratulated each other as they ran up the slippery walkway. They could hear the blasterfire right out of their line of sight.
Nait had no warning from Ordo or the others as an AT-ST walker appeared as they got up to the landing pad. Jaing was the smart one, and threw himself backwards to slide down the walkway. Nait kept running foreword and jumped on the AT-ST. Ordo and the others were nowhere to be seen. Nait used the Force to try and tip over the AT-ST, visualizing it, picturing it lighter than a feather…
As it started to fall, Ordo peered up from his hiding spot behind a supply crate, and fired directly at Nait, assuming he was the pilot escaping the AT-ST. Nait heard the stimulus shots of Ordo, A’den, Prudii, Kom’rk, and Mereel. Nait didn’t feel the pain, only the numbing realization that he got shot. The AT-ST tipped over and fell on top of the dropship, and Nait automatically jumped off. He hit the ground hard, head first. He let out an exhale of breath as the wind was knocked out of him. As a last-ditch effort to save himself, he reached out into the Force and put himself in a Healing trance.
-
Ordo cursed and sprinted for Nait. Jaing was making his way back up the walkway, but Nait was already dead. Or was almost dead. Ordo put two fingers on the kid’s neck and felt no pulse. The Nulls gathered around the body of their “dead” Commander, and inside his helm, Ordo felt tears well up.
Nait’s chest rose and fell softly. Mereel was instantly on his knees and opening Nait’s eyes. Ordo heard the sigh of relief through the comm. “He’s doing a Jedi thing,” he announced.
“Lucky Jetii,” A’den muttered.
“He should be dead!” Ordo cried in outrage.
“He has a hard head,” Prudii observed. “I’ll take him to the Jedi girl for some real R&R.”
“Meet us up North,” Ordo ordered. “We’re supposed to be looking for the deranged darksider.”
“He or she?”
“She.”
“Ah.” Prudii didn’t say another word, but scooped Nait up and threw him over his shoulder. He didn’t need to say anything else, though. Nait had fought brilliantly, but even if the Jedi managed to heal him in five minutes, Prudii would tell him to stay at his kriffing post on the sea floor.
--
The comm crackled to life. ”The AT-ST’s are in full deployment, M’Lady.”
“Good,” Cerasi answered from her position inside the cockpit of her dropship. “Spread them out. I want one on every landing pad, do you copy?”
”Acknowledged. Will that be all?”
“Just keep deploying the troops, Captain,” Cerasi said wearily. “We’ll have Kamino by nightfall.”
”Yes, ma’am.”
The comlink clipped and was cut. Cerasi sat in the pilot’s chair, watching the battle unfold. Something wasn’t clicking in her mind… she should know this place. Something here was wrong, she could feel it. She had this nagging frustration that she should know Tipoca City and its’ layout. Closing her eyes, she sighed and tried to suppress her headache just beginning to grow right behind her eyes.
She should know about this place.
She should.
She didn’t.
Damn.
Cerasi looked up at the tactical display. So far, her troops were pushing the others’ back down south. Vader’s hadn’t landed yet. She had a gut feeling that friends of hers were in Vader’s landing sights… She had learned to trust her gut feeling, and it was also telling her that she didn’t recall these friends of hers.
Hacking into the outside cameras was easy enough. Inside cameras were impossible to hack unless Jaing was doing it… Jaing? Who was Jaing? Furrowing her brow, Cerasi frowned. Jaing was probably one of her ‘friends.’
And, in the very back of her mind, she knew his comm frequency…
She punched it in.