CRACK

  Everything seems to slow, the sparks leaving the end of the slugthrower, the slug leaving the barrel and the next chamber slides over. I have an incendiary round after this one. I adjust my aim slightly, so slightly most outside observers would have missed it. It's a minuscule adjustment to the right and I pull the trigger again.

  CRACK

  The beast is smiling manically and twirling his blades of light. Some of the bridge officers are standing up and pulling their blasters, their eyes showing fear and hope and righteous fury. The slug flies into the lightsaber and melts. The second one approaching the beast as the molten slag flies into the manic face of the beast. The beast roars in pain as some of the molten metal sears into its eye, it spins its lightsabers again and the second slug too is molten. Again the metal splatters into the flesh and face of the beast as I place my left hand over my right, getting a much more stable grip and a better hold. I still have the holdout blaster in my boot, but I’d need to bend to grab it. There’s the sharpened hairpin, but that won’t help now, better keep both hands on my slugthrower. My Ancestors’ weapon will keep me safe. I breathe out in a whisper as time speeds back up to normal, taking a few tentative steps forward as I breathe: “Maker keep me.”

  The Clones start firing at the beast, yet he is more successful in returning the fire. Five Clones fall to their own, or their comrades' shots and the beast jumps towards me. I pull the trigger and with another crack fire spews from the slugthrower. The beast jumps back to avoid the flames. As he jumps he flicks one of his sabers and I suddenly feel off balance, lighter on my left and pain. In his returning jump the beast re-directs two blaster bolts towards me and I feel myself being thrown to the ground by the impact and something more. Jedi Magics my mind supplies, as my arm pulses in fiery pain.

  It burns and it’s so much worse than when I had been shot in my left arm, my missing left arm, or when a blasterbolt scraped my head, never mind my gut wound. This time the blaster bolts hit me in the chest and stomach. Breathing is harder than it was before and the pain is bad, even despite the adrenaline. Where’s my slugthrower? Pa’d kill me if lost it. My right hand is empty and I strain my head to look for it, thankfully it’s just in reach.

  I stretch my right hand to grab the weapon and I chamber the next slug, blaster fire continuing to go off in the background. I need my slugthrower, I need my ancestors' protections. I’m struggling to breathe, but I’ll be damned if the beast outlives me. It’s fucking laughing as it’s slaughtering the bridge officers and security Clones. The laughter stops and suddenly the bridge is eerily quiet. I try to activate my comm, set to an emergency frequency, with my hand still holding my slugthrower. I have to send out a message to the escorts. I need to warn them, to explain, to save them. The hum of the lightsabers fades as they’re extinguished. I finally activate the commlink and set it to all emergency channels, thank the Maker allmighty.

  “This was pointless. But maybe this will do to have Dooku make me his new apprentice.” The beast speaks.

  I use my rage to help choke out my next words through the pain: “You … are a monster. Why? Why do any of this? You'll fail, you must know this.”

  “I have seen what the Republic becomes. The new order that will emerge and I very much plan to join the new top. Dooku is my way there.” The monster says.

  “I shoulda shot ya the moment I metchya.” I’m struggling to breathe, “But if I die you’ll at least die with me.” I think some blood is dripping down my face. I think I have an open wound on my forehead, likely caused by the monster shattering the glass from the navigational displays.

  The monster rolls his eyes at my threat as he slowly approaches me from the opposite side of the bridge: “And yet you didn’t. Instead I will blame the ordeal on you. You came from a Separatist world after all. I’ll blow up the bridge and the clones will be silent for fear of what I can do to them.”

  “That relies on you … not monologue-in’.” I say. I swing the slugthrower towards the monster and hold the trigger down. Five cracks in rapid succession. Five flashes of fire. Five slugs flying towards the monster. Towards destiny. Towards death.

  “FIRE ON THE BRIDGE TOWER!” I bark as I start praying to the Maker. Guide my aim, let the slugs fly true, let the devil be slain, deliver me, keep me, save me.

  The first slug is dodged, a slight movement of the monster's torso allowing it to fly past. The second slug impacts the monster in where his secondary heart should be. The third, is turned into slag by its lightsabers and burns through the robes and presses into its flesh. The fourth pierces its hide, likely hitting a lung or the other heart and the fifth pierces the devil’s chest where its liver should be.

  I start to laugh as the ship shudders and the devil falls to the floor, fists clenched against its wounds. The laughing hurts, but it feels too damn good to stop.

  “LONG LIVE THE REPUBLIC!” I shout as the bridge’s systems begin to fail and the gravity fades away. I start coughing heavily, its wet and my mouth tastes like iron, but I manage a couple more words before my mind goes blank: “May the Maker preserve me, for I’ve killed a fuckin’ devil.”

  I chuckle as I feel the bridge tower shudder again and again. I feel water around my eyes and I don’t know if it’s for relief or pain. My last thought as the darkness envelopes my mind is that I hope my parents are okay.

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  R4 is confused, her little brother asked her to stay in his room. That was very much unusual for him, especially when he has been feeling off. More confused and … she may consider terrified. His heartrate has been higher than usual and his alcohol consumption has increased to post battle levels. She quickly starts running a subroutine on a new way to try and get her brother off the hooch, it won't serve him well in the long run after all. Returning to her primary thought process, she thinks her brother's increased stress has to do with the foreign crew and serving under a commanding officer again, but little Thraken never had problems with that before, so she may have made a mistake in her simulations somewhere, as unlikely as it is.

  Of course, she doesn’t stay in Little Thraken’s rooms, that would be unproductive and father always said that a productive droid is a happy droid. She sees the wisdom in it, so she will be productive and happy. She rolls through the hallways, receiving the occasional nod from a Clone unit or a greeting whistle from another droid as she goes.

  The klaxons are blaring. Not unusual for whenever battle is joined, but her curiosity is piqued. Usually she is on the bridge when battle is joined and she feels … underinformed of the situation. She decides quickly to rectify this mistake and a quick plug into the ships computer later she navigates towards her goal. A few uses of Little Thraken's codes and easily surpassing a minor firewall some idiot failed to update and …

  “You … are a monster.”

  Little Thraken was in trouble. He was wounded. Calculations start rushing through her mind, thousands upon thousands of minor calculations being made within the fraction of a second. Until, after approximately one (1) second, a course of action is decided upon. She begins rushing down the hallway at full speed after hijacking an elevator to get her to the bridge. If she could she would fight with her brother and protect him like a good sister should.

  Combat systems: online

  Emergency blaster charge: 91.03%

  Combat systems: active

  Objective: Save little brother.

  Target value: Absolute

  Delay?: Not permissible.

  Target value: Absolute.

  Chances of Completed Objective: 2%

  Adjust parameters to include surprise attack.

  Redefine successful Objective completion as ‘Victory’.

  Chance of Victory: 11.02%

  Adjust parameters to include likely damage done to foe by Little Thraken,

  Chance of Victory: varying between 60% and 100%

  Adjust parameters to include usual recklessness of Little Thraken.

  Chance of Victo-

  Adjust parameters to include injuries Little Thraken has already sustained.

  Chance of V-

  Adjust parameters to include injuries Little Thraken will likely sustain during transit.

  Chance of Victory: 55.20974%

  She did not like those odds. The doors begin to open as she slides in and turns around to plug in and change the direction of the contraption, ignoring the Clone units’ complaints and questions. With maximum acceleration of elevator it will take approximately one (1) more minute for her to reach he bridge.

  A Clone unit grabs her and pulls her from the port, causing the override she had placed on the speed to cancel. Approximate arrival one (1) minute and thirty (30) seconds.

  “Hey there, what’s wrong?” One Clone unit asks, designation Captain CT-2314.

  “Little Thraken in trouble. General Krell is hostile. Enemy on board. Thraken wounded, condition worsening. I am helping!” She belts out in a series of whistles.

  The elevator shaft shudders. Something is wrong. She gets out from the Clone unit’s grip and plugs herself back into the port. The Dreadnought class heavy cruisers have opened fire on the bridge connection.

  Damage: substantial.

  Elevator shaft compromised.

  Alternative routes?

  … searching …

  Negative.

  Alternative routes?

  … expanding parameters …

  … searching …

  Route found.

  She changes the elevator’s direction. There is a docking hatch on level three.

  “What’s going on?” The Clone Captain asks, demands, requests.

  “Dreadnought class heavy cruisers have opened fire upon the bridge connection of the Venator class battleship/carrier. Alternative route found. Will go and rescue Little Thraken from traitor unit designation Jedi General Krell.” She replies.

  “What? Wait if Krell’s a traitor then maybe we can-” One of the Clone units starts.

  “If what the droid says is true we need to get to the bridge now.” The Captain orders, “Bring us to the Hanger. I need to comm multiple brothers.”

  She considers complaining, but the Clone unit may be able to get Little Thraken out faster and safer than she at this point. She adjusts the elevator’s destination and they exit on Hanger level and begin running. Some Clone units ask questions of their running Captain and the others, but they ignore them or tell them to do some things of minimal to no importance to the mission objective. None of it really matters, all that matters is getting to her little brother! The chance of victory was decreasing by entire percentiles the longer they take!

  They finally get to the hangar bay and jump on the first LAAT they can get a hold of. The pilot was slightly confused when the Captain explains the goings on in rapid whispers. R4 plugs herself into the LAAT’s systems and gets the engines hot. The Clone units grab oxygen packs for their armor and climb aboard. The LAAT leaves a second later and races towards the decapitated bridgehead.

  The door opened and she quickly scanned the area. No structural damage on the actual bridge.

  “Circle around to the emergency airlock.” She orders.

  “Do as the droid says.” The Captain affirms. It takes an agonizingly long five (5) seconds for the LAAT to have adjusted her position. R4 doesn’t bother to wait, the moment the LAAT has made the connection she rolls onto the bad of the airlock and begins unlocking it. And Captain Mi-Kus complained her having access to Little Thraken’s primary override code was a security risk! Shows what the flesh-thing knows.

  She finally makes it through, the Clones following her into the airlock. The door closes behind her and she unlocks the second door much faster. As she rapidly rolls into the bridge she is greeted by a visceral picture. Forty corpses. Forty dead clone units, some of them hadn’t even managed to leave their posts before being murdered in the General traitor unit’s opening swings. The General traitor unit’s body is lying in the walkway between the trenches, with Little Thraken’s body lying with his head against the windowsill of the transparasteel windows. She rushes forwards, ignoring typical, ingrained, behavior to ‘double tap’ the enemy.

  “Force.” She hears one of the Clones mutter.

  She makes a quick scan and would weep if she could. He was alive! Alive! Alive! Alive! He needed medical treatments asap. Her quick scan revealed less than she would have liked, a new subroutine was allocated to gather arguments for improving her scanning equipment. What her scan did reveal, though was not good, her brother was missing his left arm, had multiple blaster wounds, a collapsing lung, holes in his stomach and multiple superficial cuts. Maker he needed surgery and a bacta tank. Why were fleshies so fragile in the first place? Why couldn't they be safer, better, stronger- why can't her brother be whole?!

  “He requires immediate medical care. We must be careful in moving him. We must secure the bridge within the underside hanger bay of the Venator and return to Republic space post haste.” She beeps out.

  “Wait are we taking orders from a droid?” One of the clone units, neither the Captain or the medic, who was currently double checking her assumptions, said.

  “Cool it 55, she’s his droid and I have to agree with what she said. He needs medical attention, we need to secure this bridge in the lower hangar bay and we need to get the kark out of here.” The Captain affirms. Good, he has sense.

  The medic sets up the stretcher and coaches two of the clone units to move Little Thraken onto it. She rolls over to the Jedi traitor as they affix Little Thraken with an oxygen mask, revealing her blaster and supercharging it.

  Risk of blaster failure: 0.5%

  Good enough. She fires off and rolls over to her little brother as a couple Clone units jump in surprise at her adding a new orifice to the monster that hurt her family. Better late than never on the 'double tap', shows the traitor unit to hurt her family. She moves to secondary escort position beside her brother as they move him into the LAAT, the oxygen mask affixed to him alongside the inbuilt life support attachments assuring his safety for the small space walk into the gunship.

  It takes precisely thirty one (31) minutes, twenty (20) seconds between Little Thraken getting knocked out and him receiving emergency medical care. Far too long in her opinion. It takes another three (3) whole hours before the bridgehead has been moved into the ventral hangar and another hour on top of that until they made the first jump back to Mon Cala. Maker keep Little Thraken, because she was going to kill him when he woke up.