𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 @generalkenobii » obi wan / kennedy .
assist the republic. be paid handsomely for it. it’ll be easy.
easy her ass. in fairness , kenobi hadn’t stated that it would be easy , but training soldiers isn’t hard. not when they are all accomplished soldiers. not when they’re trained to listen and do and die as told. that that’s uncomfortable in a way. her people , in a heartbeat , would sacrifice themselves for a cause they believed in , but they weren’t bred to die. weren’t bred to be nothing more than a tool wielded by a republic of citizens who refuse to do the same for them.
citizens who look at her in disgust or in fear when she passed in the streets , undoubtedly remembering tales of mandalore of old , and receive the same look whether or not she’s wearing her helmet. at least when the republic decided they had had their use of her , she wouldn’t be caught unable to defend herself. she would die fighting or she would win. simple.
the clones have it easier ; the tides of war are on their side. sentiment favors the republic. for now. all for now. in a few months , maybe even just a few weeks , when the outposts remain and life doesn’t return to normal , when the planets realize the republic is taking a hands on approach and wouldn’t ( she knew soldiers and war better than she knew politics , but she knew enough to know the galaxy was permanently changing with this war ) relinquish it in the near future . . . things would change. resentment would be sown. the clones would be the ones bearing the brunt of that. that would be prove difficult
but in the here and the now , what was difficult was the vaping warzones.
an explosion rocks the ground and shreds of earth rain down around her. her weight shifts , stabilizing herself as she continues firing into the approaching droids. the chatter over the comms ticks towards frantic ; they’re caught between a rock and a hard place. literally. boxed in. swearing under her breath , she blinks sweat from her eyes and immediately scrambles forward and towards the droids as a spider blasts the canyon wall. the screams of several clones burst over the comms then silence. the sinking feeling in her gut tells her they’re doomed. the only way out is through not viable or up.
slamming the butt end of her shotgun into a droid , a forceful sidekick careens it into its brethren blaster firing wildly and taking out several droids as she launches herself into the air. narrowly dodging a blast from the spider , she fires into the mass of droids overrunning her previous position. they’re not going anywhere upwards with that kriffing spider droid lingering around. her gaze slips to the battlefield as she flies towards it , seeking out kenobi before she drops in behind him shooting down a b2 wordlessly. “ in my professional opinion , we should evacuate. upwards. i’ll give you a lift. be ready. ” with that she’s taken off again , unhooking a droid popper from her belt as she weaves expertly through the blaster fire , firing a rockets to clear herself a path towards the spider. no room for debate. he can call himself a general and he can be one of the most skilled in his lifetime ; war is her blood and her life.
the next few moments pass quickly , in heartbeats. the popper leaves her hand connects with the massive droid’s body just as it crackles to life. the droid stills , systems knocked out. flames erupt from her wrist , cooking the homing laser ; she circles , relying on her armor to protect her from blaster fire as she cooks it. and then it explodes. she’s not certain how. only knows that the force of it flings her . slams her into the nearest canyon wall and she tumbles to the ground. groans on impact , hands pushing up herself upright til she can get legs beneath her. jittery , jelly legs that don’t want to cooperate. stumbling , about to fall she catches herself , drags herself upright on kenobi. the readings within her visor flash at her ; she ignores them. “ going up! ” kennedy pants. sinks armored claws into his robes and launches them into the air before the jetpack can fail her.
they clear the ridge by several hundred meters before she lands , releases kenobi and steps away. steps away and promptly drops to the hard ground , legs giving out beneath her. ripping her helmet off , she grits her teeth and pushes upright against the earth. pushes upright and gets no further than forearms straightened. her legs don’t , won’t fold in , push her the rest of the way. doesn’t stop her from trying again , throat working and mind whirling trying to decipher what’s happening when she remembers the readings on her visor. her throat works.
“ we have a problem. ” with great effort , she twists herself about to face him , props herself up one arm. stay calm. it’s fixable. maybe. they’re stranded and her back , already broken once by the republic and replaced by a prosthetic , is broken. again. she can’t feel pain at all , can’t feel anything below her waist now. but she can feel fear , thrashing in her belly. kennedy swallows it down , uses her teeth to pull a glove off so she can wipe sweat from her face. “ did anyone else make it out? ”