Krest | A Star Wars Story

Chapter 10: Rendezvous

For a major battle, there was little resistance for Krest and his men. Mostly just sand, sand, and more sand. The other battle groups like General Kenobi's and Mundi's were no doubt facing the brunt of the enemy defenses and from what he gathered they weren't faring too well. What with Kenobi's forces pinned down in the middle of a defensive square while Mundi made his way through the catacombs with his tanks. Meanwhile, Skywalker lost most of his forces and was nowhere to be seen. The party of survivors hiked in the direction that Scraps had told them led to Shaman's position and hopefully, the General's. As the sand shifted beneath their boots each and every trooper was on edge. Most of these troopers survived the first battle of Geonosis and knew all too well what awaited them deep in the catacombs of this forsaken world. As they entered a canyon an eerie silence surrounded them. Silence usually meant tranquility during peacetime but in an active battlefield silence only meant one thing: they were being stalked.

"Keep your heads on a swivel boys, buggers could be anywhere."

"Damn creepy crawlies always give me the shivers," Shellshock muttered, scanning the surrounding cliffsides for any openings that Geonosians could flood out of.

They continued on through the canyon, being careful not to make too much noise in case a sleeping hive was nearby. Krest himself felt on edge, his ears were constantly listening for the faintest click or flutter of insect wings that signaled a Geonosian presence. His hands clutched at his DC-17s tightly; trigger fingers ready to fire. He was wired beyond belief.

"Hey Cap'n! Look! On top of that cliff!" Hissed Krests comm.

Krest looked up and saw the wing of a crashed gunship poking out over the canyon.

"Ascension cables now!" Krest hissed into his comm, pointing up at the cliff.

Three troopers packing DC-15s jogged up to the cliffside and fired cables up towards the top.

"Cables set," said one of the troopers flashing a thumbs up.

"Scraps, Fodder, with me. The rest stay down here and secure the area." Krest ordered, taking a hold of one of the cables and began scaling the cliff. Fodder and Scraps followed suit while the rest of the group secured the surrounding area. After a short climb the trio reached the top and to his relief and dismay sat a downed gunship sporting the particular nose art of a Shyyyo bird; massive birds that lived on Kashyyyk. The same nose art on the gunship that Skitarr was in when the assault began. From the looks of it, both pilots died on impact--and so did everyone inside. If such a reality was true, then the situation was grimmer than previously thought.

"Help me pry the door open!" Krest said, holstering his DC-17s. Then, with the help of Fodder, and Scraps they managed to pry the side door open. A distinct hiss echoed inside the gunship and the trio were suddenly staring down the bright blue tip of Skitarr's lightsaber.

"Back you filthy insects!" growled Skitarr's voice.

Krest peeked behind the lightsaber and saw his General staring at them with fear and pure survival instinct in her eyes. Krest holstered his DC-17s and removed his helmet.

"General, it's me, Krest," he said cautiously. He slowly extended his hand towards her lightsaber.

Her wild eyes darted to his hand, watching as he wrapped his fingers around the handle and switched it off.

"General, it's okay...we're friendly," Krest said.

"Looks like somebody forgot whose side they're on." Fodder spat under his breath.

"Quiet." Krest snapped back. "Grab bring me a medkit."

"Fodder motioned for Scraps to follow him and the two descended down to retrieve a medkit while Krest calmed Skitarr down.