27 Turning Point [Continued 3]

Part 5

Krayt Company, Alpha Site, Ryloth

That stung. If it wasn't for my helmet, her armored fist could have easily broken my jaw.

"That gives a brand new meaning to the term 'battle'!" whistled Boil.

I glanced his way and then to where my hand was a moment ago. I cringed. I knew I could claim that placing my palm over her heart made healing her a bit more efficient power wise, which was even true, but no one would believe me. Besides, that never passed through my mind while I was patching up our resident Mandalorian.

I could hear Boil whispering something to his buddy and couple of clones started snickering.

"Waxer!" I snapped.

"It will be a pleasure, sir!" said the man, with a bit too much relish for his friend's comfort.

"Waxer! No, wait a minute!" Boil walked backwards in an attempt to get away from his fellow soldiers.

Which led him straight to Captain Cat, who was talking with Numa and ignoring our antics. The glare the officer gave him was obvious despite his helmet. Cat slapped Boil on the back of the head.

The Captain barked, making his displeasure evident to us all:

"Boil! Stop acting like a kriffing joker! You are a soldier of the Republic! Act like it!"

If it wasn't for a warning which came through the Force, Bo-Katan would have blindsided me with her next punch. Instead, I grabbed her armored fist centimeters from my face.

"Our spar is over, Kryze." I snapped.

She chuckled in answer.

"I would say that the Jedi haven't fallen as much as we believed, but you aren't one of them. Are you?" she asked.

There was a hint of mischief in her tone.

"Me?! A Jedi? That's a good joke." I smirked. "Now, I believe that there was a point for your brazen entrance. What do you want?"

She stretched and moaned. The newly healed flesh was screaming in protest. It was something with which I was intimately familiar with. Good thing that I could use the Force to dampen any pain in my body.

"Wat Tambor, the local Confederation leader is losing control of the situation. He even gave up control over a significant portion of the droid forces deployed away from the capital to Hutt mercenaries." she grumbled. "As a sign that the CIS are willing to 'honor' their deal!" she sneered.

"Is that how you apparently have some authority over this mess?" I asked and pointed to the still smoking remains of the beasts.

Kryze shrugged. "It felt like a good idea at the time. However, I'm not in overall command of the droids stationed here. There is a tactical droid who does the job. I was sent merely as an adviser." she grumbled.

My men gave her dirty looks, and a few of them started muttering before a glare of Cat silenced them. Can't blame them. I wasn't thrilled either from the attack of those unwilling kamikazes.

At least my men got out of it unscratched, which in combination with my little spar with the woman, did a lot to make cooperation with her acceptable. Without really hurting the morale. They were trained by mandalorian mercenaries themselves, so each one of my troopers was aware of at least the basics of the Mando culture.

"You still haven't answered my question, Bo-Katan. What do you want?"

"Tambor dead. And preferably to get of this rock in one piece."

"I can guarantee the first. We may have some issues with the second."

She stiffened for a brief second. Only my Force enhanced senses allowed me to perceive it. Kryze was ready to attack me if the situation warranted it.

"Your presence here, no matter the "official" reason, paints you and the Death Watch as accomplices of all the atrocities committed by the CIS on Ryloth. The fact that your organization is little more than a bunch of common terrorists, who now will be seen as slavers to booth, doesn't help you." I stated.

She bristled hearing my accusation.

"That's a lie! We are True Mandalorians, not a bunch of common criminals! All we want is to return our people to their senses! We are not a bunch of pacifistic cowards!"

"So you want to turn back the Mandalorian people back to their warrior roots. Commendable." I gave her a respectful nod, which took her off guard.

"That's an unexpected sentiment from a Republic General..." she whispered.

"However, the Death Watch is doing it the wrong way. All that you'll achieve by acting as common terrorists is to antagonize your own people. "

"Those cowards are not our people! We are warriors through and through!" Bo-Katan snapped at me.

"Perhaps. Yet you need them if you want to amount to anything but a single rogue clan. You need to win their hearts and minds, something that won't happen thanks to acts of petty terrorism." I smiled under my helmet. "You need to give a cause to the average New Mandalorian. A reason to put away his pacifism and embrace

their true nature."

Kryze stared at me thinking furiously.

"You have a plan, I take it?" she asked.

"Many in fact." I nodded in the direction of the CIS artillery. "Tambor and his ilk, with their actions of Ryloth gave us unbeatable propaganda victory. In days, the entire galaxy will know what to expect if the CIS win. What happens on this world can, if presented properly, turn your peace loving New Mandalorians into bloodthirsty warriors of legend, ready to tear the Confederacy apart."

She shook her head in denial.

"Its unlikely. My sister and her lapdog abhor violence and war."

"Then persuade them otherwise." I challenged her. "Once it is clear that Death Watch members were on Ryloth, aiding the CIS, they'll have no chance of swaying the masses on Mandalore. And that is if you are lucky." It was left unsaid that if they supported the kriffing Confed bastards, there would be hell to pay.

Once the true extent of the CIS depravities on Ryloth became known across the galaxy, the war was going to become really ugly.

Bo-Katan glared at me. I could sense her mood. At the moment her emotions were shifting like an interceptor trying to evade multiple enemy fighters.

Kryze and the Death Watch were now in a trap unwittingly made by whoever sent them here, and I was pretty sure that was done by their leader. Even a rumor of her organization's involvement with the events here would deal a deadly blow the their credibility. Even worse, from her point of view, was that she was that proof.

I could feel how the realization was dawning on her. After nearly a minute of silence she shook her head sadly.

"Even if we manage to pull off a Coup d'etat, it will be for naught. Unless we do it with full support of the CIS." she grumbled.

"In such a case, there will be a hell to pay." I added.

My smile turned into a grin. I had the best weapon to use against a mandalorian. I had a just scored a great victory in space, despite the severe mauling my forces had taken in the process. Even better, I had challenged her in single combat and won.

"You'll have a choice to make, Bo-Katan Kryze." I declared. "You can help your misguided people open their eyes and become what they were meant to be – True Mandalorians! Honorable warriors, who could be the envy of the galaxy." I lowered my voice. "Or will you try to turn them into a bunch of barbarians like the most of the Death Watch."

"What do you know about what it means to be a True Mandalorian?!" she scoffed.

"You'd be surprised." I muttered quietly. "You have some time to make your decision." I said aloud.

"Aren't you the generous one?!"

"When I can afford to be." I ignored her sarcasm. "You are pretending to be a common mercenary. Its time to act as one," I waved at her. "Congratulations! You are hired to assist us in liberating Ryloth."

=RK=

Bo-Katan shook her head in exasperation. That man was trying his best to push all her buttons! And almost succeeding!

Even worse, he actually beat her in single combat! Her, Bo-Katan, the second in command of the Death Watch! His gall at outright saying that her organization was nothing more than a bunch of common criminals didn't sting her pride that much! She was defeated by a non-mandalorian!

She glared at him.

And it was getting worse. Of course it did.

There was a small, treacherous part of her mind that agreed with his logic. That was even worse.

Bo-Katan glowered at the man, wondering what she was going to do.

=RK

CIS Positions, Alpha Site, Ryloth

Cat was not thrilled with his General's newest harebrained scheme. The only thing preventing him from complaining was the fact that Veil's ideas tended to work. So far.

Two third of his company, the damn mercenary and the Captain were about to execute an attack as a diversion. They were to try sucking as many of the droids out as possible, so the General could hit the artillery with less resistance. They were taking positions in the canyon leading to the inner part of the village, where the hostages and heavy guns were located.

Cat waited until the countdown, displayed on his helmet's visor, hit zero and nodded at Boil, who was armed with his missile launcher. The rest of the clones toting such weapons were further back, out of sight from their enemies, and took their lead from him and readied their own weapons.

A single missile flew from the clone line and impaled a CIS tank. Its armor was found lacking and the machine slumped to its right, sending a fountain of smoke and fire into the air.

This acted as a signal, causing the clones to send a torrent of blaster fire at the droids. Many of the machines were scythed down before the tanks returned the favor. Their cannons and secondary armaments roared in defiance, sending streams of scarlet death at the clones.

This first barrage saw eight of Cat's men obliterated. He bit of a curse and continued to lay down blaster fire, shoulder to shoulder with his men. He had to make it look believable.

=RK=

Ghost Company, Gamma Site, Ryloth

Obi-Wan and Cody looked at each other. They were standing over the destroyed chassis of a Super Battle droid. One that had been modified with a missile launcher in its left arm.

"That might work, General."

Twenty odd minutes later, Kenobi led the survivors of his company into attacking the final CIS defensive perimeter. They had seven salvaged missile launchers with nineteen reloads spread amongst them.

Two tall buildings, which were remade into strong points by the droids, were turned into rubble by a pair of warheads each. That opened the way for the clones by silencing the heavy repeater blasters placed in the dwellings upper floors.

Obi-Wan led the charge, using his lightsaber to deflect the blaster bolts coming his way. By making himself the primary target, he allowed more of his men to live. The troopers in turn did their best to eliminate the droids shooting at them and their general.

As per the plan, Cody ordered two squads to secure each flank and slow down the droids converging on the site where the GAR had just penetrated their lines. The Captain led the rest of his men after Obi-Wan, straight towards the artillery position, which was just behind a low row of lightly defended buildings.

Three more missiles shattered most of the resistance in their front, allowing Kenobi to lead an understrength platoon to the proton cannons.

Behind them, the rearguard were fighting for their lives in a desperate attempt to hold the attention of the CIS droids protecting the perimeter. For them, the next few minutes were an orgy of death and destruction.

Needles of azure and crimson colored energy crisscrossed in the air, leaving ruins everywhere they hit. Soon the broken bodies of men and machines littered the ground.

Cody signaled most of his men to spread out throughout the buildings and start clearing the droids, while the clones carrying the remaining missile launchers went after the cannons.

In front of them, Kenobi burst in the small plaza, where the artillery was located. He charged amidst the squads of B1s acting as a last ditch defense, thus concentrating their attention on himself.

It worked. Mostly.

One of the B1's, which was operating a proton cannon, was not fooled like his brethren and turned his weapon at the cluster of buildings being cleared by the clones. It send a snap shot at a wall behind which a squad of Republic troopers were advancing.

The only reason Cody and the rest of his men survived was that the smart fuse of the shell decided that it was too close to the gun which fired it to detonate at anything more that a fraction of its potential yield. The explosion only ended the lives of five clones, knocked four more out and despite the sound dampeners on their armors, deafened five more.

Yet, that was too little too late. Cody's men who had salvaged missile launchers had shot a moment earlier.

The armor of the proton cannons, which were protecting them from light weapons and shrapnel, proved woefully inadequate against missiles. Besides, each warhead was aimed at the open fire control station of the mobile artillery emplacements.

Four of the five guns fell to the ground as neutered wrecks.

The only one that had no missile aimed at remained in CIS control for couple of seconds longer, before the B1 operating it was struck by a blaster bolt which Kenobi had deflected its way.

The Jedi and his still battle ready troopers made a short work of the few remaining droids trying to protect the artillery emplacements.

Cody who had been dazed by the artillery shell that wiped out one of his squads came back to the real world. He winced. His head was ringing something awful.

The Captain stared through a nearby window and saw that the proton cannons were neutralized. The General and two of his men were busy releasing the locals and pointing them at the guns of the destroyed droids.

Right. They were still in danger.

Cody accessed the comm suite of his armor and smiled grimly. The jamming in the surrounding area was almost gone. His comm could easily burn through what little enemy ECM was bleeding from nearby areas.

"This is Ghost Actual! Gamma is condition green! I repeat Gamma is condition green! The cannons are neutralized!" he took a deep breath before shouting in the receiver. "We need immediate air support! I repeat, we need immediate air support at my coordinates!"

"Roger, Ghost Actual. We are lifting now. Eta, two minutes." Cody who was nearly deaf was unable to hear the cool answer of Razor One, the leader of the gunship wing which brought them down to Ryloth.

=RK=

Kenobi had released twenty four locals, before he felt that he was running out of time.

"Release the others and grab a gun. There are a lot of droids which are about to hit us any moment! We need your help to hold them off until reinforcements arrive." Obi-Wan ordered the elderly woman who appeared to be the village leader.

She nodded and repeated his words on her native tongue.

Most of the released locals, who were the men and women Kenobi felt would be best for helping him and his men in stopping the inevitable droid counter attack, were hastily arming themselves. Only two, who were armed with vibroblades given to them by the clones, continued to cut free their fellow prisoners.

The Jedi glanced at the sole still operational cannon and shook his head. It was useless right now. They had to stop the droids before the machines reached the buildings surrounding the artillery site. Anything less would leave few hundreds of bound locals in the crossfire.

He rushed towards the place he felt Cody's presence.

Moments later, Kenobi found the Commander. The clone was shouting in his comm for air support. Good. With the local guns silenced, the LAATs should be able to help dispatching the remaining droids.

"Cody, what's the ETA of the air support?" asked Obi-Wan, but his subordinate didn't even notice him.

It took Kenobi patting the clone on the shoulder, before Cody paid him any attention.

"Sorry, sir! I didn't hear you!" screamed the Commander.

"No need to be so loud!" quipped Obi-Wan. He glanced at the devastated interior of the building and frowned.

"Can't hear you sir!" shouted Cody.

The Jedi shook his head. He only hoped that his friend wasn't permanently deaf.

Kenobi patted Cody on the shoulder and pointed him in the direction of the droids who had mostly mopped up the squads left to slow them down.

The clone officer nodded, and took position behind a half-demolished wall.

They were being joined by more and more locals, who had armed themselves with weapons taken from destroyed droids.

One of the clones, a corporal who Kenobi didn't know, looked at the volunteers and muttered: "Great. We might even make it."

"We will make it, soldier!" the General said loudly, in an attempt to reassure both the clone troopers who were not deafened and the locals.

Heartbeats later, the droids which were still active, disregarded the couple of survivors from the rearguard and charged the rest of Kenobi's force.

They were met with whithering amount of blasterfire. However most of the shots snapped by the locals missed by miles.

The B1 droids, were falling down in droves as the cannon fodder they were, but in doing so, those machines were soaking up fire which was not hitting their more dangerous brethren. The B2 Super Battle Droids were the ones retaliating effectively to the fire of the flimsy line of clones and armed civilians.

The walking wall of steel was coming closer and closer, paying with four of their mechanical lives for every one of the defenders they were claiming.

It was an exchange rate that the CIS troops could afford to pay.

Even the sole survivor of the rear guard, who was sending blue needles of concentrated energy at the backs of the advancing machines, did little to dissuade the machines from wiping out Kenobi, his men and the locals helping them.

The droids were mere three meters from the Republic remnants, when the air vibrated with the familiar droning of LAAT gunships. Some of the robots turned around started scanning the air for the perceived threat.

It did them little good besides being able to see the craft which ended their existence.

A whole wing of heavily armed LAATs flew centimeters over the roofs of the village's dwellings. The predatory forms of the gunships dashed over the advancing droids. They unleashed missiles and rockets, blowing up the droids farthest from Cody's position. Thin darts of laser fire came to life from the small ball turrets mounted at the noses of the LAATs, neatly slicing the droids into pieces.

Kenobi released a breath he didn't realize he was holding. The Force be damned machines were caught in the open and demolished in short order. The sight of droids being turned into scrap didn't make him feel any better.

Most of his men were gone or mercifully only wounded. Dozens of the locals had perished in the last, desperate firefight.

Despite all that, they had "won". The artillery at this position was neutralized, and hopefully Anakin and Delkatar had also taken their objectives, or would do so soon.

Obi-Wan looked to his right. There was a girl, no more than fifteen years old, laying slumped on her side. Here empty purple eyes were looking straight at the Jedi.

Kenobi closed his eyes, calling on the Light Side of the Force once more. He felt its rejuvenating touch and concentrated on it, releasing the bitterness he was feeling, as well as the first wisp of anger aimed at the CIS leader who had decided to use the locals as live shields.

To Obi-Wan, the so called "success" of taking down the guns tasted as bitter as defeat.