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Jack sliced through a battle droid, the metal hissing and screaming as his lightsaber blade cut with ease. He didn't linger on it, as a handful of blaster bolts flew his way. Effortlessly, he batted them back at their owners.
This war thing was a piece of Jogan fruitcake. He didn't understand why his brothers (and the rest of the Temple) were so on edge.
He turned around to address the clone troopers following loyally behind him. Leading a battalion was a sudden step up in authority. Only a short while ago, he was merely a padawan, when his apprenticeship was cut short for the necessity of protecting the Republic. He thought he was ready, but behind him was barely a fraction of the troops he was in charge of. It should have terrified him, but he was taught to treat big change as an opportunity to learn and grow. Roll with what the Force had given him.
"Good job guys, let's keep going." He waved them forward.
Jack ran ahead up a small hill, fueled by the excitement of finally getting the chance to apply his lightsaber skills. Practicing on a training droid or with other padawans had been boring him, and now he had a proper opponent, an opponent with unpredictable blows and attacks to defend against.
As he reached the crest of the hill, his face dropped at the sight below him. On the other side, as far as he could see, hundreds of battle droids and at least a dozen tanks marched towards him and his men.
He understood the apprehensiveness of the Jedi.
The few they had taken down were scouts, a small taste of what was waiting for them. There was no way he could handle that many droids. He had no choice. Fear bubbled up inside him, and he recognized it and cast it away swiftly, taking a deep breath.
"How should we take them on sir?" His clone commander stood next to him, analyzing the hell beneath them.
Right. Jack was in charge.
"Split up. Thin out their army. I'll go down the middle to try and take out some of those tanks."
"Sir, respectfully, we don't have enough men to properly accomplish that plan. Not without major casualties."
Jack thought some more. They were on a hill. "Stand our ground. We have the high ground; we have the advantage. Make them come to us."
"I'm with you on that one."
So they waited. Jack, and his commander, and his men waited for the droid army to march their way to the hill. He shut off his lightsaber, the blue glow hiding away until needed. Meditation was never his strong suit, his brothers were better at it than he was, but in the moment, he took a small dip in to the Force, searching for a better answer to his problem. All he got in return was more confusion.
A single red blaster bolt broke his deep thought. Reflexively, his blade came to life with a snap-hiss to hit it away.
If only the rest of the battle went as easy as that return. Swarms of bolts showered Jack and the clones. The air grew hot, radiating off of the bolts. Jack was grateful for the planet's cool atmosphere—earlier he had been complaining to himself that it was too cold. Faster than he had ever practiced, he deflected in defense, his arms growing weary after the never-ending onslaught. In front of him, droids were falling and rolling down the hill, crashing into other droids and making Jack's job easier. However, left and right, clones were being taken out of battle. Jack focused harder on his duty, the pain of his fallen troops stabbing through him as he physically felt the small ripples in the Force fade away.
At one point he got clever, using a Force push to knock a small group of droids clattering down the hill, emptying out a space and leaving room to breathe. The space quickly filled back in much to his dismay.
They were outnumbered, even with his advantage. It wasn't worth the lives lost to continue here.
"Fall back!" he shouted above the noise of the chaos.
His troops obeyed, still fighting as they drew their lines back to the forest of trees they had traveled through prior to the battle. There they would have cover.
Branches snapped under their feet as they assumed defensive positions. Tall trees covered in moss and small bugs and creatures surrounded them. Any other time, Jack would stand in awe at the life around him. Now, the life around him depended on his orders to make it out alive.
The wait was agonizing.
He felt a hand on his shoulder. His commander. "Might I suggest we climb sir?"
Don't have high ground? Make some.
Jack agreed with him and called out the order. He shut off his lightsaber again, clipped it to his belt without looking, and grabbed onto a low hanging branch, the bark rough under his hands. Scrambling up the tree was more difficult than normal; he was taking it slow, reserving his strength and energy.
With everyone settled, he held a hand out. Stay quiet.
A uniform march snapped through the same branches on the forest floor. The clanking sound grated through Jack's ears. Then, it stopped.
"Where'd they go?" A robotic voice questioned.
There's no way this would work, Jack thought. He mentally shook his head. He had to trust it would work.
"Search further in. They can't run from us forever." A different droid commanded.
The clanking feet marched away, splitting up in the maze of trees. Once safe, Jack let out a sigh of relief. They only had the tanks to worry about, waiting for them outside the forest barrier, but those would be smoother without the extra droids in their way.
"Good idea. Thank you," he whispered to his commander.
"Just doing my job, General."
General.
His first battle, and he already learned to despise that word.
He missed when there was peace in the Republic, or at least more than there was now. He missed his brothers, carefree and wide-eyed in the Temple as they grew up training together. The galaxy was so simple when a rough decision was choosing between the shoo bread back at the Temple or going out and braving the Coruscanti crowds (and the lectures from their Masters after returning) for the rare buttersweet puff as a treat. Jack shut his eyes and reached out; a slight trace of them proved they were still alive. They were too far apart for anything stronger. He told himself he would feel it if something happened to either of them. He had to.
Jack sighed, pulling himself back to the present. No way to get through this war but through.