Objective: 1
Tags:
Mia Monroe
I
Adonis Angelis IV
I
Diawl Hynafol
I
Sylor
Time slowed. Five militia were blown from the wall ramparts, killed by a combination of blasterfire and shrapnel from the explosion. Bodies arced through the air, faces frozen in the last expressions they would ever make. Muad instinctively ducked before diving behind a cratered-out vehicle. Flames hissed against the rain that fell onto broiling metal. A muffled sound caused him to look under the vehicle and see two kids, humans barely old enough to walk, cowering by the wall around what must have once been their mother.
Acceptable loss. Collateral damage. These were terms he knew well. Just because he knew them didn’t mean he necessarily liked what they represented. It was just one of the costs of war. But as his eyes adjusted from the most recent explosion, he witnessed something that made his blood boil. Families, kids, and the elderly lined the interior of the wall. Some sat while others huddled, and more than a few were covered by militia guards with blaster rifles.
A misguided attempt at protection? Hide them behind walls and close to your military forces? Even a Jedi walked near the two human toddlers, now orphaned by the battle. But the bearded human Jedi waved his green lightsaber to keep the young children at bay. Further down the line, several of the militia guards flagged the civilians. No, it wasn’t lazy and inept muzzle discipline. The civilians weren’t being protected as innocents but guarded as potential tools—possible hostages.
Which changed things.
He rose with violent intent. As he circled the burning vehicle, he raised his left hand and pointed it at a group of militia prison guards. The flames behind him swirled and flew in a tendril of blue fire to engulf the group of soldiers. They screamed and ran about; the water cascading from the heavens did nothing to soothe their torment. Muad could have killed them, ended their pain and misery. But sometimes mercy was unwarranted. Let the other militia guards see the skin and fur melt off as they choked on the fire that clawed down their throats to roast their lungs. Let them see their own fate if they stay.
Several along the line ran, dropping their weapons in their haste to escape. Not all ran. Two more Jedi joined the bearded one as they sprinted toward Muad. The leader outpaced the other pair until he swung his jade lightsaber to intersect Muad’s purple one held before him. Of course, Muad was less inclined to play with his food this time. Before the lightsabers met, he deactivated his blade, which allowed the green lightsaber to fly by unfettered.
Unfortunately for the bearded Jedi, the blade sprang to life a moment later and caught the Jedi in the midsection. Muad kept walking toward the approaching pair of Jedi even as the sound of the former Jedi’s bowels crashed upon the muddied ground behind him.
The two Jedi retreated into a cleft in the towering wall. Not a cleft, a stairwell. Several militia leaned around them, firing from the protective recess of the stairs. Muad snarled as he stepped first one way then another, the amethyst blade moving into position to block the incoming bolts mere moments before they arrived. His feet created a slurry of mud on the ground, and perspiration began to bead his brow even in the rain showers. Each reflected bolt flew out in search of militia, never failing in their endeavor. Muad knew eventually his position would be overrun. More likely from the dozens of souls heading down the wall into the stairwell. Soldiers with more blasters, blades, and grenades.
Well, technically not grenades. Thermal detonators. Devices with carefully charged and molecularly specific amounts of electrons. Electrons that were easily agitated by the force. His grinning face was the only hint of danger the two Jedi received before a dozen explosions filled the stairwell, shattering the construction and even cracking the hastily erected foundation.
Muad rose from the ground, half a dozen minor wounds across his body oozing blood, thanks to the shockwave and flying debris—a small price to pay. Along the base of the wall, the prisoners stood finally free of captors who were either thrown from their feet or used the chaos of the moment to desert. He pointed to several of the able-bodied.
“Help one another. Grab anyone who can’t get out of here and escort them to a safe zone. And keep your heads down!”
He scooped up the two toddlers with his left arm. Upon closer inspection, he noticed the girl's finely colored hair wasn't blonde but white—an eshani. The boy was blonde. But they clutched each other and Muad’s chest with such strength he figured a pry bar would be needed to disengage them. The woman the pair sat next to was unrecognizable beneath beaten and bruised flesh. It wasn’t the recent fight that caused the wounds. Blood had already coagulated and scabbed over. And the bruising was several hours old.
“The fething shabuir. Hut’uun hiding behind kids. Here, take these two …”
He tried to hand the toddlers over, but their hands were like magnetized ship clamps on his body. And then a new wave of blasterfire rang out, most seeking the backs of the escaping hostages. However, some fired in his direction. With a curse, he slung the kowakian monkey-lizard-like toddlers to his back, where they gripped his neck. Muad escaped the enemy fire by ducking into the ruined stairwell and looked up.
“Fierfek. Only one way to go. You two hold on, keep your eyes closed and … enjoy the ride?”
What the hell else was he supposed to say to a pair of toddlers who most likely watched their parents merc’d by people that they possibly knew. Sounds of approaching fighters echoed from where they entered the stairwell, and fighting echoed from above. Decisions, decisions, decisions. Stay and fight, with no likelihood of friendly assistance, or move his way to the top of the walls, where there was certainly fighting but a greater likelihood of allies.
“Sithspit.”
Muad bent and pulled a Jedi robe from an unalived combatant. He should watch his language and actions around the two kids. Hell, who was he kidding? They’d more than likely already heard and seen his previous actions. It couldn’t get any worse. His hands ripped the robe into long strips to wrap around the three of them, tying the children securely to his back. On a second thought, he tied a strip around their eyes and ears. There was probably going to be a lot more to do this day before he was done.
“Mhi cuyir ner ade.”
With his lightsaber before them, Muad ascended the broken steps to the top of the wall.