NOVEL NEXT Chapter 27: Training Rebels(2)
Going through supplies must be one of the more annoying jobs, apparently. After the shuttle dropped us off, the Republic hired a smuggler to bring certain Separatist parts to Onderon and the rebels.
A trustworthy smuggler, apparently.
And somehow, he had managed to bring in a tank. Which was obvious by the large separatist colored tank, which was being pushed into the training area with Rex, Saw and a few other rebels.
However, I saw that they were about done, so I picked up the bags and began making my way towards them, and Ahsoka sensed me, turning around to me with a nod. Which I responded with equally.
And with that, she began speaking.
"The pilot in the front hatch controls the tank, the shelves and the short range blasters. The commander in the top hatch controls the turret and the main cannon. You have to take out both chambers. Otherwise, the tank will remain operational." She said, turning towards Rex with a nodded, and then me.
I smiled at that as I reached into the bag, right hand finding 2 round objects before taking them out, and throwing them at Rex.
Ion Grenades, or Shock Grenades.
And with that, Rex began climbing onto the tank, throwing a single detonator into the forward hatch, and another into the second hatch.
And with that, a ringing sound was heard, signaling that the ion grenades had been loaded up, and were about to detonate, and Rex performed a back flip off the tank, landing just as the entire tank was enveloped in a bright blue light, electronic light.
And with that, Anakin spoke up.
"Everyone, divide into teams of 2, and we'll practice assault on both hatches." Anakin said, and the rebels began forming up into 2 rows, beside their chosen or not chosen partner.
Lux Bonteri and Saw went first, and I threw both of them their respective grenades, ignoring their small talk.
Saw pushed the smaller Lux back as he rushed forward, heading for first hatch, he used both his arms to lift the suprisingly light hatch, and he spent good time doing it.
Lux meanwhile rushed past Saw, jumping for the main gun-barrel of the tank, likely aiming to achieve the same results which Rex did.
But even now, knowing his impending disaster, I knew it would happen. He had absolutely no balance, and he was spending too much time climbing up, and he deicded to take a breather at the tip of the barrel.
As if gravity didn't exist.
But it did, and he fell off, ontop of Saw. Halting any of his attempts in the first hatch, as both of them rolled back down to the ground.
"Sorry about that." Saw said, as he lifted himself off the ground and stretched his hand out for Saw to take, however. The angry and rash man that he was, he slapped the hand away.
"You're a terrible solider, Bonteri." He said angrily, and I sighed.
"And so are you, Gerrera." I said, standing infront of the downed man, arms crossed as he looked up.
He looked up at me angrily, as he slowly stood up and stepped closer, as if to be intimidating.
"Rather than blaming it on others, focus on yourself, if it had been me instead of Lux, you'd still be down on the ground. But with electric as the cause, you used both hands to open the hatch, when one is clearly enough. And you looked at Bonteri while he was climbing, you had more than enough time to finish your hatch before Lux even got onto the barrel, especially since you pushed him." I said, refusing to stand down. Saw seemed to play the gruff and angry man for a few more seconds, before he sighed and accepted the critique.
And with that, Saw returned to his sister. And the rest of the rebels got their turn.
"Did you need to be so harsh on him?" Ahsoka asked me, as she stood beside me.
"He's welcomed the rank of "leader" with open arms, and so he must understand it's burdens. He's put to different expectations than the rest, and dissing your teammates while in training, will do neither him or anyone else any good, no matter how much he looks down on the `highborn`" I said, and she looked at me questioningly.
"I thought the Jedi were best at sensing hatred." I said, but I continued on.
"His eyes, they tell the entire story themselves. Saw does not loathe Lux, instead I think he see's Lux as a rival. But Lux has a certain loathing for those whom were born into the higher ranks of society, and those who lived a comfortable life. The reasoning may live in his history." I said, and Ahsoka made an "ah" sound.
And with that, we continued training them, and they all surprised us.
Surprisingly, these Onderon rebels, or perhaps the people in general were quite, stubborn. According to the few texts I read during my time in Kamino, rebels with clear mindsets are exceedingly rare, especially during these last 5000 years of peace.
It seems that the standard of, do or die. Which was often found back on Earth, wasn't as profound in Star Wars, it might be due to the larger scale of things, and how the faith and nationality of many planets was in the Republic, rather than their own planet.
Or perhaps simply due to the light restrictions on re-settling and travel, meaning you could easily just migrate away from your planet if a corrupt form of governance was put in, or if the rulers were simply not relatable to you.
But Onderon rebels had that setting, do or die. And they had a lot of talented people amongst them, Saw was likely the most obvious and profound one, but Lux also had some talent.
And there were some nameless ones, to the series. Whom were quite talented.
Like Alexander, a lieutenant and good friend of Saw, he often wore a mask, hiding his lower face and a bandana on his head.
And another was Aaron, a mostly unknown rebel, and he had a pretty heavy talent for close up fights and actions, he had a natural responsiveness to combat and hostile situations in general, which had given him an unfailed score in neutralising the tanks.
But, with that we began moving onto the destroyers. The main problem, or secondary problem within the Droid Army, in terms of mass-produced foot soldiers or grunts.
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