••Scomath
      21:00
      1 klick from the Separatist Base

Two figures laid flat atop a tall ridge. Their target—a monstrous Separatist base—loomed in the distance. Its dark durasteel walls contrasted sharply with the vivid color of the planet's flora. The surrounding area had been deforested and flattened with dirt to create enough room for transport vehicles to easily maneuver in and out of the base. Mounted searchlights were spaced out on the wall, their light allowing the stationed guards to have a clear view of any possible threat.

"I don't like the look of this."

Aayla Secura shifted her gaze from the distant fortress to Commander Bly, who was scouting the area with his binocs. "What is it?" She asked. Her expression grew taut.

"There's more security than we expected." Bly replied. "Those droids have us ten to one. We don't have enough men to go through with the original plan."

"We will improvise, then." Aayla said. She pushed herself to her feet and looked down at Bly. "Gather the men. I will scout ahead and give you a signal when it is safe."

Bly nodded. "Yes, general." He watched her leap into the undergrowth before he turned and slid down the backside of the ridge.

***

Aayla studied the wall from afar, memorizing the movement pattern of the searchlights. In order to reach the entrance point, they'd need to traverse across open territory, which left them vulnerable to attack. Aayla found herself wishing she had accepted aid from Anakin Skywalker when he had offered it.

"General Secura, the men are in position." Commander Bly said, breaking her train of thought. He crouched beside her with his DC-15 in hand.

"Good." She replied. A small smile tugged on her lips as she gave him a playful side glance. "Call me Aayla from now on."

Bly sheepishly rubbed the back of his helmet with one hand. "Yes ma'am." He chuckled.

Aayla chuckled as well, but the moment was short-lived. Soon, her attention was back on the wall, watching the light beams sweep across the open area. "We'll need to time this right if we are to reach the wall." She narrowed her eyes to focus on the nearest searchlight.

It went to the left first, nearly crossing beams with another. Then it made its way back to the right, passing mere feet in front of where Aayla and Bly were concealed by the fronds of a large fern. When it had moved on further to the right, Aayla made her move.

She leapt out of the undergrowth, pushing off the ball of her foot to propel herself forward. Bly soon followed, but he could not move as quick due to twenty kilos of gear weighing him down.

Upon reaching the wall, Aayla pressed herself flat against the cold durasteel and waited for Bly to do the same.

"I count three directly above us." Bly said. As he tilted his head back, his visor's HUD outlined the droids in a yellow glow. "Standard battle droids. Nothing we haven't seen before."

"Let us be prepared for the worst. These droids are no pushovers." Aayla nodded to him.

Bly turned and fired an ascension cord up the wall. With a little tug, he confirmed it was secure and allowed Aayla to scale the wall first.

Once she reached the top, she dismantled the droids with a few swings of her lightsaber. She relaxed from her fighting stance as Bly clambered onto the wall.

"We must keep the element of surprise. Come." Aayla swiveled around on her heel and darted down the pathway.

They soon arrived at a door. Bly immediately got to work on the panel, applying the codes he'd been given to bypass the locking mechanism. To his dismay, the panel flashed red instead of green.

"The codes aren't working." He huffed.

"They have to work. Keep trying." Aayla replied. She held her lightsaber in a tight grip, prepared to fend off any threat that rounded the corner.

Bly tried to punch in the codes a few more times, but the panel continued to mockingly flash red at him. "They still aren't working. The droids didn't know we were coming, how could they have possibly changed them?"

Aayla frowned. She could hear a droid patrol approaching. They didn't have much time. "Let me try something." She said, turning towards the panel with her lightsaber ignited. Her brilliant blue blade sliced downward, effortlessly melting through metal and circuitry alike. Surprisingly, the door opened.

Bly could only shake his head, amused by her actions. "That was a very 'Skywalker' thing to do."

Aayla would have laughed if she weren't currently undetected in an enemy base. "Believe it or not, some of his tactics are worth trying. The non life-threatening ones, that is."

"All of them could be considered life-threatening if you're stupid enough."

The interior halls of the Separatist base were lined with clear panels that gave off ambient light. The color scheme—reminiscent of the Separatist fleet—included varying shades of black and grey, the only pop of color stemming from the crimson red stripes on either wall. High ceilings allowed for larger droids such as the B2-RP battle droid to pass through with no trouble, but that didn't necessarily mean they were stationed on this particular base. It could simply be protocol to construct buildings with high ceilings so that they could accommodate them, should the occasion arise. 

"Alright, Galle, we're inside." Bly spoke into his wrist comm.

<<Roger that, Commander. Pinpointing your location now.>> A brief moment of silence passed before Galle spoke again. <<Take a left at the next intersection.>>

Bly made sure the coast was clear before following Galle's instruction. "What now?"

<<There should be a set of blast doors just ahead of you.>>

"I see them." Bly said, lifting his head to check.

<<Once you pass through, turn right through another set of blast doors.>>

Aayla held up her hand before they could go any further. Peering around the corner, Bly spotted an incoming patrol of battle droids.

"That's not an option." He expressed discreetly, tightening his grip on his DC-15.

Suddenly, the mournful wail of an alarm ripped through the silence. The lights went from a neutral white to an aggressive red. Behind them, the blast doors closed with a loud hiss.

"Kriff." Bly cursed under his breath. His heart rate quickened as the steady thuds of marching droids grew closer.

<<Commander, are you there? What's going on?>>

"The alarm's been tripped somehow, we're trapped." Bly raised his blaster rifle to fire a few shots at the droids while Aayla used the Force to slow them down. "Find us a way out of here!"

<<Right away, sir!>> Galle replied. <<Head down the hall. There should be a door that leads to the maintenance room.>>

Bly gestured for Aayla to follow him. As they neared the door, two more patrols of droids rounded the corner to block them. Bly stood behind Aayla for protection while she used her lightsaber to deflect a flurry of shots that would've otherwise hit their target. He managed to take out five droids before Aayla used a Force push to dismantle the rest.

The door closed with a soft whoosh behind them as they entered the room. Various machinery and tools of all sorts littered the room.

"Galle, I thought you said there was a way out!" Bly exclaimed.

<<The blueprints show a door located on the wall to your left. It leads outside.>>

Bly turned and immediately recognized a problem. The door was blocked by storage containers. "Stupid droids..." He muttered.

"We've got company!" Aayla shouted as she raised her lightsaber to face the droids that had entered the room. She noticed Bly struggling to move the storage containers and cursed under her breath. "Bly, cover me! I'll move them!"

Bly ducked behind a machine as the blaster fire from the droids intensified. Occasionally, he'd peek out and return fire before slipping back behind cover. Meanwhile, Aayla lifted the containers using the Force and set them aside.

She had just finished unblocking the door when a stray blast hit a tank of flammable liquid. Seconds before it exploded, she thrust out her hand and pulled Bly closer with the Force. They barely made it out the door before the explosion tore through the room, the sheer force of it launching them thirty feet through the air.

The acrid fumes of scorched plastoid filled Bly's nostrils as he struggled to reorient himself. His ears rung as he forced himself into a sitting position, adrenaline numbing him to the pain. Aayla then came to mind and his heart leapt into his throat. Did she survive? If he survived, surely she did as well!

"Aayla!" He called out in a hoarse voice despite not being able to hear himself.

Suddenly, a strong force hauled him to his feet before he could even comprehend what was happening. He whirled around and came face to face with Aayla. However, there was no time to express his relief. She was already tugging him towards the rear entrance of the base wall.

With adrenaline pumping through their veins and an inferno consuming the Separatist base from within behind them, Aayla and Bly disappeared into the night.