Star Wars Fanfic - The Padawan Path

Chap. 24 - Time Trial

Hammer heard Roy's question, but did not want to answer him. I was still too young for that. The captain, the clone closest to the Padawan, had appreciated him since they met him in their first battle. Fearless, brave. A little silly sometimes, but always because he believed it was a good thing. But Hammer more than anyone noticed how that damn war was consuming him.

He may be a Jedi in training. He may be a daredevil. He may be one of those who goes head-on against the enemy. But he was still a damn teenager. Never mind that his body was mostly metal and wires. His mind was still sixteen years old. Sixteen fucking years. What young man of that age should be in the bloodiest war these times have ever seen? No matter what justification they wanted to give, it would never be enough.

Hammer: - You've done enough. Stay in the rear and rest. -

Roy: - No... I can still... fight...

Hammer: - It's an order... lieutenant. -

There was no way to refute that order. In terms of power and respect Roy may have had the advantage, but Hammer was still his superior, and by mentioning his rank he made that clear. That was a decision he couldn't even refute.

Roy could do nothing but grit his teeth as the captain headed inside the Lucrehulk, leaving a handful of a hundred men to guard the hangar in case he needed to retreat or in case of a possible separatist attempt to regain ground. In fact, he didn't even leave Roy in charge, but rather another lieutenant in his group. Not because of a lack of trust in Roy, but because he knew that the young man was not in a position to lead any group.

And with nothing he could do, Roy simply sat down to repair the minor damage his R6 droid sustained. Silent.

Meanwhile, the battle inside the Lucrehulk was ruthless. Thousands of droids stood between the clones and victory, as it was not for nothing that they were the Separatist ships with the greatest troop transport capacity.

The battles in the long corridors became endless. The clones' shields resisted thanks to their alliance that allowed the blaster shots to dissipate, but that did not prevent the force that the clones' arm had to withstand. Shield bearers had to be rotated to avoid fatigue, as that force would be capable of dislocating a shoulder if too many shots were concentrated at the same time.

On the left Lucrehulk, Commander Tukk led his men in the lead, sweeping away the countless hordes of droids that tried to stop him but in vain. Under his command, the boys of the 194th knew no fear, and fought with exceptional fierceness.

On the middle Lucrehulk, General Pablo had already traveled halfway to his destination when the advance of the other ships had barely taken its first steps. The presence of a Jedi master was undoubtedly a great tactical advantage, making progress through the endless passages of the ship much easier.

However, the third Lucrehulk was not as lucky.

By chance of the Force, this Separatist ship had been left in the fleet reserve, as an emergency force, therefore, inside it were all the divisions of droids it transported that had not yet been deployed. Hammer's advance was severely affected, as there were so many droids that not only was overcoming them a problem, but so many destroyed metal bodies created a barrier that the shields could not cross as easily due to their own weight.

Meanwhile, without being able to do more than contain their helplessness, Roy and the rest of the clones could do nothing but listen on the common channel to the difficulties that the advance group was suffering. With every second that passed, the Padawan restrained himself from disobeying his captain's order and joining the battle. The other lieutenant in charge was a clone nicknamed Nine, due to his serial number, CT-9999, a calm soldier who would surely follow Roy's orders if he decided to go to the front, but who couldn't do much in that situation either. Just listen... and wait.