The Path of a Jedi Book 2 (The Bad Batch x Reader)

Chapter 22

You all gathered staring into the sky at the imperial forces. Omega clung to your leg with fear as she took in the massive ships.

"We can't leave now, we would never make is past those ships," Tech explained, "it would be a death sentence."

Omega looked at Tech frightened by his words and Wrecker smacked him hard on the shoulder nodding his head to Omega. Tech cleared his throat, "but we are going to be fine."

"Very convincing," Echo muttered sarcastically.

You shook your head, refusing to give up, "come on, let's get back to command and see if the Empire has made contact."

The others nodded and followed you as you ran to the command center, Rex approached you first, "what are you still doing here?"

"In case you haven't noticed there is a blockade around this moon," Hunter responded, "we can't go anywhere."

"Have they made contact yet?" you asked, looking past Rex to the holodisplays.

Rex shook his head, "not yet."

You looked around, "where are the senators?"

Rex gave you a knowing look, "they all fled at the first sign of trouble, they went back to Coruscant. All except Organa, he had already sent his ship off."

You shook your head in anger, "so they abandoned the people who fought for them? What kind of a leader does that?"

A new voice sounded from behind you, "not a good one I am afraid." You turned to see Bail, "when things get hard, it is not easy to find people who are truly willing to risk their lives for a cause."

"You're still here," Wrecker commented.

Bail nodded, "I am, but I must admit in a situation like this, my knowledge is all but useless. Which is why I must turn to you master (Y/N), not only for your strategic ways, but for your ability to inspire those around you. Those left will need a leader, a leader that they are willing to die for," he paused, "we need you to be a general again."

You let Bail's words sink in. For so long you were trying to forget the Republic, to try to let that remain in the past. For so long you wanted to find a new part of yourself, wanted to be someone else because it made forgetting easier. But now, you needed to be yourself again, you needed to be a leader and a fighter, not for yourself but for your family, for everyone left.

You looked up and nodded to Bail, "gather everyone left, bring them here."

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There were probably 200 people left in the base as they crowded inside the command center. Bail had introduced you and the people seemed to welcome you and look up to you almost instantly.

You raised your voice so everyone could hear you, "if the inquisitors follow imperial procedure, they will begin to unload troop carriers for ground assault."

You gestured for Echo to plug into the holotable and Tech began talking as a few mechanical images appeared. "These are the new imperial walkers, designed specifically for rugged terrain and pressurized so they can survive on the moon without being affected by the lack of atmosphere. They have one weakness and it is at the neck of the machine," Tech explained gesturing to the location on the hologram.

"People manning the cannons need to take out as many walkers as possible," Hunter added, "those things will tear apart this base if they get inside."

"Their helmets also allow them to survive out there," you explained, "meaning for us to attack, we actually have to wait for them to make it inside the base."

"But our helmets also protect us," Tech added.

"Which is why only us will meet the ground leader once they arrive," you continued, "if we draw enough of them in, only them will our ships be able to take off."

The soldiers nodded to you as you continued, "we will have several groups in waves throughout the base, draw the troopers as deep as you can, lead them to the tunnels of the mines. The other groups will be waiting at the ships to evacuate. Those left will rendezvous at the Marauder, it will be the last ship to leave so make sure you are on it."

Echo shifted the hologram and a few digits appeared, "this is our secure channel, make sure you com devices are tuned to it or you will be cut off from the rest."

You nodded to everyone, "you all have your assignments, reports to your stations and prepare, I have no doubt the invasion will begin soon." You sighed, "may the force be with us."

The batch gathered around you, "do you really think this will work, general?" Wrecker asked.

You smiled sadly, "I have hope, Wrecker, but this will be our greatest test and one thing is for certain... not all of us will make it out of here."