When the Cavalry Comes.

VIII

A/N - As I mentioned earlier, Cejanr was the last of my more light hearted books. When the Cavalry Comes goes dark around the middle of the book. Also, I will be switching to weekly updates until further notice. I'm sorry for the wait and I will try to make the chapters longer to make up for it. They'll be getting longer anyways, because WTCC spans from Umbara to just after Order 66 and that is way over 80 1-3 thousand word chapters.

Cavalry hobbled along on her splinted foot down the central road, avoiding the mines Fives had pointed out ahead.

She trusted Krell knew what he was doing and she didn't openly question his orders, that would be treason. But this plan seemed to be suicide for all of them.

Then again, how many times had her squad broken regs and done something that seemed disastrous and worked out well? Krell had a plan. It wasn't the plan she was familiar with, but a plan was better than nothing.

She stifled a yelp as another mine went off a few feet away from her from a kicked stone by Neon. Everyone turned back to look at him.

"Sorry." He muttered. Cavalry muted herself. Embarrassing noises weren't a good thing at the moment.

Fives dropped back beside her and tapped his helmet. Cav got the message, switching to a private channel on her internal speakers.

"The Captain is trying to find a way around this mess. There's practically a wall of mines ahead of us." Fives's voice crackled in her ear. "How are you holding up, Kid?"

"If I blow my foot off will it stop hurting?" She grumbled back. She bit back her following comment. Barely. Treasonous thoughts make for a traitor's mind. But still- no. Control. You keep your mouth shut, your head down, and you follow orders.

Fives chuckled at her comment. "The great Cavalry admitting to pain?" Cavalry said nothing. Fives cautiously stepped over a mine. "Gotta admit Kid, I was a little wary when Rex brought you along. But look at you. Broken ankle in a minefield and you still are keeping up just fine."

Cavalry huffed, hiding a wince. "The minefield is probably why I can keep up. Can't slow us down if we're already going slow." She hobbled around a second mine.

"Get down!" The captain's yell of warning came just in time as blasterfire erupted around them. Cavalry turned towards the blasterfire, raising her modified rifle and shooting into the darkness. She shuffled forward and blinked twice in rapid succession to switch to infrared view. She wished she had gotten a rangefinder, because the dark, misty jungle was so choked with organic matter it was almost impossible to see through.

She stumbled and fell sideways, instinctively freezing with a squeal as she connected with the ground. Thankfully, it didn't explode under her and she scrambled back up.

She heard the order for retreat go up among the din and crackle through her helmet. She fell into ranks as they fell back, her ankle throbbing.

She almost stepped on a mine when Neon yanked her back, saving her life. They made it nearly fifty feet before the enemy closed in behind them.

She pulled out her metal fire striker, thinking on her feet, and turned around just long enough to chuck it behind her and set off a mini reaction, which got them some breathing room.

Krell was not happy when he found out about this. Cavalry was in pain and starving, dehydration from the thirteen hour march and the battles fought and lost that day making themselves known. The bezalisk General began to advance on the Captain with a roar, and Cavalry forced herself to tune back into reality and pay attention.

"CT 7587, do you have a malfunction in your design?" He roared. Captain Rex flinched. "You pulled back your men from taking the capitol!" He stared at the general, his mouth open behind the helmet in shock. Fives noticed his captain's plight and stepped in.

"With all due respect sir, Captain Rex just saved this platoon!" He yelled, stepping towards the bezalisk. Krell pulled out one of his lightsabers, still folded, and activated one end of it. The brilliant green end was dangerously close to Fives's helmet.

"ARC 5555, Stand. Down." He growled, his voice dangerously soft.

"Sir. Yes. Sir." He snarled back, mimicking the general's tone. Krell put the lightsaber away, and turned back to the Captain.

"Sir," Captain Rex began, tipping his visor up to meet the jedi's eyes. "I followed your orders, even in the face of a plan that was in my opinion, extremely flawed!" His voice rose. "I have a duty to follow your orders, but I also have a duty to my brothers. We lost men today, not clones," He tore his helmet off and stared the general right in the eyes. "Men! Men that I swore to protect when I took the captains pauldron on my shoulder."

Krell didn't seem surprised, to his credit. He scoffed. "I suppose your loyalty to your men is to be commemorated. Well, Captain Rex, your bold disregard for my orders seems to have struck a chord with them. Dismissed." He spun on his heel and marched away, leaving Captain Rex standing there.

"I think he almost complimented you." Fives mocked, glaring at the general's distant form. The Captain shrugged tiredly.

"Who can tell anymore."

Cavalry shut her mouth with a click she was glad her annunciators didn't pick up. The rare show of emotion from the Captain and his haste to defend Fives was not something she was accustomed to seeing. There was a moment of awkward silence and everybody shuffled their feet. A clone from her shiny batch, Dogma, spoke up.

"You heard the General. Dismissed. We need to set up camp for the night. Captain?" He turned to Rex for directions. The older clone seemed to be lost in thought for a second before he spoke.

"Stay close. Let's find a good natural shelter in the area and settle down. For you Walking Wounded, see a medic and get as best patched up you can. Food, water, and Rest now are our priorities for the moment." He said. There was a round of salutes and 'Sir yes Sir's that went around.