"𝙂𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙, 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙩."

The cruiser had left the surface of Coruscant and I walked with Obi-Wan through the hangar.

"This battle may very well end the war," Obi-Wan said and then turned to look at me with a smile. "Do you feel that you have done what you set out to do?"

I thought about his question for a moment. While I was fighting for the Republic I believed in, I had discovered a new conspiracy that needed taking care of.

"Almost," I answered. "Once we finish Grievous, everything will fall into place."

"I think so too," Obi-Wan replied and we continued on our way to his fighter. We met Cody there with a map of Utapau already pulled up. Obi-Wan would be going in first with the rest of us coming in later.

"Just don't take too long," Obi-Wan said to Cody and I as he walked towards his fighter.

"Come on," Cody smiled. "When have I ever let you down?"

Obi-Wan chuckled and I smiled at the exchange. "Very well," he said. "The burden is on me not to destroy all the droids until you arrive."

With that, Obi-Wan got seated and closed the hatch. We sent him smiles as he left the hangar and got ready to jump into hyperspace.

***

Once Obi-Wan sent us the signal that he was coming up on Grievous, the rest of us bolted into action. The men had already been loaded onto the gunships and were being deployed onto the surface of Utapau.

"I'm going to inform the Council that General Kenobi has attacked Grievous," Cody said to me.

I nodded and looked to Ghost Company who was standing by. So many of those troopers new, so many gone. I could almost feel the ghosts of those lost soldiers. Waxer, Twist, Shout, Kiwi, Pinup. And many more.

"You coming to give the report?" Cody asked me.

I inhaled sharply and scratched the back of my head with the barrel of my blaster. Right now it was just Obi-Wan down there with Grievous.

"I'll take the men down to the surface and you can meet me there," I said to Cody who nodded in agreement, picking up on my thoughts.

I looked to the rest of the men and started towards the gunships. As we lowered onto the surface, I put on my jetpack. The rest were getting geared up as well. We hit the sandy floor and I looked up to see a landing pad and complex built into the rock. Obi-Wan's last location told me he was there.

"Boil," I said catching his attention. "Take your men up there. Kenobi might need your help."

"Of course," he said nodding. Boil faced his own platoon and ordered them to follow him.

Trip and Wooley immediately got to work taking down the incoming droid forces. I spun my blasters out of my holsters and joined the fight. So far, we hadn't taken much damage. Jojo, our medic, dashed inside the gunship and came back out with a repeating blaster. He stationed it on the floor and fired mercilessly into the sea of droids.

"EAT MY LASERS!" he yelled and the guys cheered along with him.

I laughed along in amusement. It wasn't long before Cody met us on the ground.

"Did you tell the Council that we've attacked?" I asked him.

"Yes," he answered and swiftly shot down another droid. "Where is the General anyways?"

I pointed up. "He should be up there somewhere."

Cody nodded and we continued to work together, blasting every droid in sight. The battle was exhilarating. The idea that this one could be the one to end the war gave me an extra burst motivation. I could feel it in the men around me too.

My attention was momentarily drawn to something cluttering to the ground right at Cody's feet. He bent down to pick it up while I covered him.

"What is it?"

Cody pocketed it and stood back up. "General Kenobi's lightsaber," he sighed.

"Again?"

"Again."

In the higher levels of the canyon, a giant, circular vehicle broke through our forces and scurried away. It could only be Grievous in that thing.

"Obi-Wan," I said comming him. "I thought we ordered this droid disassembled. Why is it rolling around like a maniac?!"

"I'm working on it!" he screamed back. I looked directly overhead to see a giant lizard creature in pursuit of Grievous. It made strange yipping noises as it hurtled into a cave. "Yes, I am on the lizard thing," Obi-Wan answered my silent question. "It's called a Boga."

I was quiet for a moment. "Cool."

The battle raged on under the hot sun. While I was quite used to living under two suns, I never actually had to fight under it for hours. I started to wonder where Obi-Wan was. Maybe he was fighting Grievous in one of the nicely ventilated levels of the Utapauan city.

"I hope I'll never have to see another clanker in my life after this," Cody spoke over the sound of battle. He just finished kicking a droid off of a shiny and firing a hole in the middle of its head.

"Neither do I," I said in agreement. I had seen too many of those things kill my friends. It was a never ending nightmare for the survivors of war. Especially for people like Cody who was in command of those who had fallen. He never showed it, but I knew how many times he'd step away from his men during the night to be alone. The war was taking its toll on him.

"Once General Kenobi finishes General Droid, we won't have to see any more of them," Trip said confidently.

"General Droid," Wooley repeated with a laugh.

The news finally arrived from Obi-Wan himself that he had killed General Grievous. The men were in high spirits. We had done well taking care of the droids in our sector. However, the battle continued to rage. If we could destroy the droid army, it was back to the gunships.

I could hear the noises of a creature and I watched as it skidded to a stop next to us. Obi-Wan was sat atop of it.

"Contact the troops," he addressed Cody and I. "Tell them to move to the higher levels."

Cody slid off his helmet. "Very good, sir," he responded. He reached for his waist and unhooked Obi-Wan's lightsaber. "Oh, by the way, I think you'll be needing this." Cody handed Obi-Wan his weapon.

"Thank you, Cody," Obi-Wan gratefully took it. "Now let's get a move on. We've got a battle to win here."

"Nice Boga," I commented.

"Thank you, Sil," Obi-Wan smiled. He cracked the reins on the creature and sped away to climb the rock, heading for the higher levels.

I turned away to nudge Trip. "Do you think General Kenobi is gonna keep the lizard?"

He shuddered. "I don't think any of us will catch any sleep with that thing on board."

We shared a laugh. My attention was drawn to Cody receiving a transmission. A moment later, he pocketed his transmitter and pointed at Obi-Wan's position. A trooper opened fire and sent Obi-Wan and his lizard plummeting down the length of the cliff. The long, fatal fall finally ended and I felt something inside me snap.

"Cody, what the kriff!" I shrieked and slammed my blaster across his helmet. I knocked him to the ground and his helmet rolled off. I straddled his chest and aimed my blaster at him. I stared into his eyes trying to find an answer, but there wasn't one.

"Why would you do that?!"

Cody just stared at me blankly. "Good soldiers follow orders."

I felt my stomach drop. I was suddenly thrown back to Ringo Vinda. Tup had executed a Jedi because his chip malfunctioned. My arms grew weak as the realization set in. Cody took the opportunity to punch my blaster out of my hands. I gripped my wrist in pain and he quickly turned us around so that I was the one on the floor. I glanced to the sides to see the rest of the troopers taking aim at me. All except Trip.

I glanced up at Cody desperately. "Cody, it's not your fault," I tried to calm him. "I can help you."

I could see his body fighting against himself, the conflict in his eyes. Cody shook his head and aimed at me again. I knew I wouldn't be able to change his mind. Before he could pull the trigger, I hastily ignited my jetpack. I slid across the dirt floor away from Cody until my head hit one of the gunships. I clambered to my feet with a groan, rubbing my head to erase the pain. I lifted my gaze to see the men with their blasters raised, closing in on me.

"Blast her!"

This time I shot upwards, away from the gunfire. I landed on a platform and tried to catch my breath, but there were more troopers waiting. I muttered a curse and scanned the rocky walls for an opening I could escape in. My eyes landed on a crevice. As I launched upwards again, I felt a fiery pain pass through my ribs. The force of the shot redirected my path and I was tumbling through the sky. I landed on a metal platform and nearly rolled off the edge. I looked down to find Cody and the rest aiming up at me.

"Oh, come on," I growled and shifted away from the edge as they opened fire. I moved too suddenly. Pain flared across my entire torso and I gasped. I felt for where I had been shot and hoped it wasn't anywhere critical. If something happened to my child, I'd never forgive myself.

I heard the sound of a jetpack and looked to see Cody landing on the platform with his blaster drawn. I struggled to my feet and watched his aim carefully. I dodged his fire and ran into one of the complexes built into the rock. He fired after me, but I did my best to sense for where his shots were coming from. I could hear the rest of the men arriving into the complex through a corridor.

I stopped running as the pain in my ribs increased. I spun around and held out my single remaining blaster. As badly as I wanted to survive, I couldn't bring myself to shoot Cody.

He stood still as the men fell in behind him. I was gravely outnumbered.

"Guys, snap out of it!" I pleaded them. It broke me to see them this way. The one thing I was trying to fix, and it was already too late.

"This is the end for you," Cody said ignoring my words.

I wanted to curl up and cry in that moment, but I couldn't. I threw off my jetpack into the air and shot it. An explosion shook the cave and sent smoke billowing throughout the complex. I took this as my moment to run. It wasn't easy with my wound. With every piercing step, I found it difficult to breathe and my throat choked with blood. The smoke started entering my eyes, nose, and mouth. I collapsed to the floor, ignoring the stray blaster fire that sliced through the smoke. I lay there on the floor, trying to breathe.

A hand grabbed my arm and yanked me up. I yelped in pain.

"Sorry," a voice said and I tried to escape his grip. "Hey, it's just me. Trip."

The smoke cleared and I blinked the tears from my eyes. I softened seeing Trip's familiar helmet.

"We have to find a ship and get out of here," Trip said pulling me along. He helped support me as we ran through the complex in search of a hangar, or any ship. "I can't tell you how glad I am that you and Kix got that chip out of me," he said as we ran.

"I'm glad we at least got it out of somebody," I said with my voice breaking. I was supposed to figure this chip out and do something about it before a tragedy like this occurred. It wasn't fair. The minds of these men, it wasn't theirs anymore, it belonged to someone else.

"Hey," Trip stopped and looked at me. "The fact that you tried so hard to figure out these chips is a big deal. Don't give yourself a hard time about it."

"But... Cody and Wooley and Boil and-"

My voice faded and Trip sighed. "I know."

"Thanks for being an amazing friend, Trip," I said. I had to at least acknowledge him for that. Throughout this war, he had always been there to lift me up.

"You're a pretty great friend yourself, Sil," he said and we shared a small smile.

We continued towards a hangar, making sure to go through the smaller passages that weren't filled with clone troopers.

"Do you think the General is... gone?" Trip asked weakly.

"I-" I paused at his question. The memory of Obi-Wan falling down the side of the canyon played repeatedly in my head. "I hope he isn't."

I pressed my comlink. "Obi-Wan?" I asked. There was no response. Just static. "Obi-Wan come in," I tried a little bit more desperately.

"Maybe his comms are broken," Trip suggested.

I nodded in agreement. Trip and I came to the conclusion that we should head over to where we had last seen Obi-Wan. Maybe we could find him. This new mission proved to be difficult. Troops were everywhere, searching for the downed Jedi. We glided down the rocky paths to get lower into the canyon.

"Trip."

The two of us spun around to see Cody with his blaster out.

"I didn't know you were a traitor too," Cody seethed.

"I'm the traitor?" Trip fired back. "Cody, do you even know what you just did?"

"I only did what a good soldier would do," Cody replied without emotion. "And I have orders."

Not even a second passed and a blast rang out, echoing across the walls. My heart stopped as I saw Trip clutch his stomach. I took aim with my blaster before Cody could redirect his. I fired recklessly and quickly turned to Trip who was now on the floor. He was breathing hard so I took his helmet off for him. I slid an arm under his and tried to pull him up.

"Come on, Trip, we gotta go," I said, but he wasn't getting up. "Trip," I said forcefully, but he just looked at me sadly. Tears rimmed my eyes as I continued to speak in denial. "Come on, we can make it."

"I'm not gonna make it, Sil," Trip sputtered out.

"Yes, you will," I insisted with a shaky voice. "You just- you just have to get up. We'll find medical supplies on a ship and-"

"There's no time," Trip cut me off and my lip quivered.

The shouts of the men were getting louder and I could see Cody beginning to stir. I realized I had only made a hole in his shoulder and I felt a wave of relief. I looked back at Trip who was fighting for breath. I gauged the time it would take for the troops to get here and for us to escape. Maybe we could do it.

"Trip, just get up," I begged him. "I'll help you."

He chuckled darkly. "Sil, we've both been shot," he said. "I'm only going to slow you down. You need to leave, you have a future ahead of you."

Tears were streaming down my face now. I could see the helmets of the men from a distance now. They had caught sight of us.

"Go," Trip said.

Blaster fire zipped down the passage and I slowly stood up. I looked over to see Cody struggling to stand as well. There was no time.

"It'll be fine," Trip smiled a little.

"I'm gonna miss you, Trip," I said crying.

We shared one last look and I dashed down the passage. I managed to lose the troops. I stumbled drearily through hidden paths and under platforms. The darkness of where I walked fed my misery.

"Sil," a voice called my name and my head snapped up. "Thank the Force you're still alive."

I turned around to see Obi-Wan and I felt my emotions erupt all over again.

"I saw Cody shoot you down," I nearly whimpered.

Obi-Wan sighed as a dark expression washed over his face. "I know, but we need to leave."

Together, Obi-Wan and I crept around the Utapauan city. I kept my blaster on the ready, keeping it on stun this time. We hid behind a wall, listening in on a conversation Cody was having with the guys.

"Did you find Kenobi?" Cody asked.

"Sir, no one could have survived that fall," was the response.

"What about Sil?"

"Negative."

There was a pause. "Start loading your men on the ships," Cody ordered. "Move it."

"Sir, what about your wound?"

"I'll have it fixed on the ship."

Obi-Wan and I slipped away looked for a landing pad with a ship. "When did Cody get wounded?"

"I... might have.. shot him."

Obi-Wan appeared shocked for a moment, but it quickly disappeared with understanding. We continued our search for a way out and found a small ship. We hurried over and got ourselves seated. We wasted no time in taking off and escaping the planet that would haunt us forever.

😔