Commy, a communications officer in the 105th under General Zelina Du'ahn, was working his shift inside of the communications tower under General Krell's ever watchful gaze. Of course, the communication officers under General Du'ahn's command had one more command than the communication officers in the 501st; they were to keep an eye on Krell. After everything that had happened, Commy was in complete agreement with that command. He hated seeing the way that Krell was treating his brothers; he had many friends in the 501st, with some being made back on Kamino while others he'd bonded with after many times on the battlefield with them.

Currently, he was at work decoding the Umbaran transmissions and trying to see if he could intercept anything from the enemy forces. At least, that was what was occupying part of his attention. He was also focused on Krell, as Captain Rex had just entered the tower and was currently approaching the General.

"General Krell...I respectfully request you reconsider court martialing Fives and Jesse," the captain said, standing straight and firm behind Krell. Commy wished he could see Krell's face; the General would be easier to read then.

"The actions of Arc Trooper 5555 and CT-5597 were a clear act of treachery, and disregard for my command. If punishment isn't swift, their defiance may inspire others to follow suit," Krell said sharply. Under the safety of his helmet, Commy scowled.

"Sir, the men are with you; it's just that some of them feel you're putting their lives in danger needlessly," Rex explained.

"All the more reason to send a clear message that I am in charge and insubordination will not be tolerated."

Then why are you too cowardly to try and put a stop to General Du'ahn's insubordination? Oh right, you know you're outmatched; you wouldn't dare, because you know you wouldn't stand a chance. I'm sure General Du'ahn could take you by herself and she also has the support of all the clones on this base, Commy thought.

"The truth is these clones have had a difficult time respecting my command since the beginning. I've seen it before; some clones are just...defective." Behind Krell, Rex was stiff, looking like he's swallowed something particularly foul. Commy was giving Krell a dirty look from under his helmet as the general continued. "They aren't able to succumb to authority. You're right Captain; I don't think I can court martial them. It will only be a waste of time, and that's something we don't have. I'm afraid they'll need to be disposed of; prepare a squad for execution."

Commy froze, and every head in the room turned to Krell as the general walked past Rex, who spun around in shock. "What? B-b-but Sir!"

"You heard me Captain! Have it done immediately, or I'll do it myself!" Krell thundered. The communications officers all exchanged glances, and across the room, Commy caught Radar's eye, another member of the 105th. Radar inclined his head, and Commy nodded in confirmation, discreetly sliding his hand to the side to prepare a message for Captain Cruiser.

This was something that the General would want to know of immediately.

*****************************************

Cruiser was frantic.

The execution he'd been informed of would be happening at any moment, and he still couldn't find General Du'ahn. He'd scoured the base from top to bottom, yet for some reason she was nowhere to be found. The last thing she'd said to him was that she needed some alone time to clear her head again, lest she do something incredibly stupid—her words, not his—but she hadn't said where she was going, and she wasn't in any of her usual spots. Cruiser ground his teeth in frustration; why was it that he couldn't find her now? Where was she?

"Captain."

Cruiser spun around gratefully at the voice of his General, snapping into a salut almost immediately.

"I was told you were looking for me?" General Du'ahn said as she approached, a small frown tugging at her lips. "What is it?"

"Ma'am, I received word from Commy earlier that General Krell ordered the immediate execution of Jesse and Fives."

"What?" General Du'ahn exclaimed sharply, now fully aware. "How long ago was this?"

Cruiser was glad she didn't ask why she was just now finding out; she probably knew he'd been tearing apart the base trying to find her. "Long enough to assemble a firing squad," he replied grimly.

"Where did he even find someone willing to carry out such an order without so much as a court martial?" General Du'ahn asked angrily, already moving in the direction of the communications tower.

"Dogma," Cruiser said simply. "Ma'am, arguing with Krell about this would be pointless—"

"I'm not going to see Krell, Cruiser, I'm going to stop an execution. Krell would want to see it, so it'll be somewhere within view of the tower and somewhere out of the way. I believe I have a good idea just where it's taking place, and we're going to interrupt."

Cruiser frowned. Just what was she thinking of doing? "Ma'am?"

"Don't ask, Cruiser; just make sure that Fives and Jesse have a comfortable place to stay after this under my care."

That sounded ominous; but an order was an order, and with General Du'ahn, it was best not to question those orders because they always had a purpose. "Yes General," Cruiser said promptly, snapping on more salute before he turned away and headed off to make preparations.

****************************************

"Line up the prisoners!"

Fives forced himself to relax at the call from up ahead. Their time had officially run out; this was really happening now. He felt like he'd swallowed something rotten as he and Jesse was led to stand in front of a random wall on this enemy base, prepared to be gunned down by comrades for being heroes and doing the right thing.

There was nothing right about this in the slightest.

Fives scowled when he saw that Dogma was the one leading the squad. Rex stayed behind Fives and Jesse looking uncharacteristically defeated, and among the squad Fives noticed Tup was there as well. He did his best not to feel the sting of betrayal at the sight.

"Well...I've officially lost my sense of humor," Jesse said next to him.

The two of them were lined up in front of the wall, facing the firing squad, and Dogma approached.

"Would the prisoners request to be blindfolded?" Dogma asked. Fives glared back in response, and Dogma's expression soured slightly. "I'll take that as a no," he said stiffly, moving out of range of the firing squad to stand off to the side beside Rex.

"I hope you can live with yourself, Dogma," Fives spat at him as he walked away.

"Ready your weapons," Dogma called out as everyone came into position. The firing squad all hefted their weapons to their shoulders at the same time.

"Never thought we'd go out this way..." Jesse whispered beside Fives.

"Aim..." Dogma called, and the group unanimously took aim at Jesse and Fives. Fives felt resistance bubbling up inside of him. This was not about to happen. He couldn't believe that they would actually go through with this. Well, Dogma he could, unfortunately; the others he couldn't. Dogma took a breath to issue the last order, Rex looked away, and Fives stepped forward to say one last thing—

"Stop!"

All eyes shifted at the sound of the voice, and Rex's head whipped around at the speed of light. Coming from the left at the pace of an acklay on the prowl, General Du'ahn strode with purpose, each hand on a lightsaber and two of her men—Nex and Gambit—flanking her. She held out a hand and the two stayed off to the side as she strode forward, placing herself directly in front of Fives and Jesse. If any of the men in the firing squad took a shot, they'd hit the General; the thought caused alarm in nearly every eye, but the General ignored their expressions.

"Stand down, soldiers," Du'ahn said firmly, meeting the eyes of every single man there.

"General—" Dogma said, stepping forward to protest. General Du'ahn was on him in the blink of an eye.

"I said stand down, Dogma," she said angrily, her voice ringing with such authority and force that Dogma snapped his mouth shut. General Du'ahn fixed everyone with a chastising glare that had several people ducking their heads in shame before she even began to speak. Rex just looked at her with pure gratitude in his eyes.

"When I heard that a firing squad had actually been put together for this, I was shocked," Du'ahn said, her voice ringing clearly for everyone to hear. She turned to point at Jesse and Fives. "Every man on this base knows that these two are heroes, whose actions saved countless lives, while the coward up in that tower doesn't even deserve to stand in the same room as them," she said firmly, gesturing sharply up towards the communications tower.

"All of us have tolerated Krell's orders, but for myself, this is the last straw. The 501st is composed of great, loyal soldiers who follow orders and get the job done; but you are also men—not droids to follow any and every order. You can think and chose for yourselves, chose to do what you know is right, and you can chose not to follow an order that you know is wrong; this right here, is the definition of wrong, and I'm calling Krell out on it right now. No soldier should have to go out this way, and if this is how acts of heroism is rewarded, then I shudder to think of what will become of the 501st one day, as I know for a fact it is made of heroes. If this is how heroism is rewarded, than every man on this base but Krell will one day find themselves in this very spot." Du'ahn fixed each and every one of them with one more hard stare. "Lower your weapons soldiers; there will not be any execution today, no matter what Krell says."

The men in the firing squad exchanged a look before they all wordlessly dropped their weapons at their feet and snapped to a salute, standing straight, firm, and exuding an air of respect for General Du'ahn. The General nodded to her two men on the side, who stepped forward to undo the binders on Fives and Jesse.

"I'm taking these two men into my custody; whatever orders Krell gives concerning them no longer apply," Du'ahn said firmly. Dogma stepped forward.

"B-b-but we have orders Ma'am! We can't disregard them, we have to go through with this!" Dogma protested.

"Good luck finding someone who will go against mine to obey Krell's, Dogma," Du'ahn said, her voice just a tad bit softer but still full of firm authority.

"General Du'ahn...can you even do this?" Jesse asked in shock as the binders were taking off of his wrists.

"I don't care if I can or can't Jesse; either way, I'm doing it, and no one's going to tell me differently," Du'ahn said firmly. Five's respect for the woman shot up to the stars at her words, and as soon as the binders were off of his wrist he snapped to a salute.

"I can't begin to thank you for what you've done General Du'ahn," Fives said sincerely. General Du'ahn placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"At ease, Fives," she said gently. "Don't thank me yet; thank me once Krell's gone and you're all safely back under General Skywalker's command...and call me Zelina."

Five's inclined his head, falling into the commanded position with his hands behind his back and feet spread apart. General Du'ahn turned to Captain Rex.

"Captain, I'd like you to join me; I'm going to go have a word with General Krell."

"Where are Fives and Jesse going to be?" Rex asked, concern wrinkling his forehead.

"I've asked Captain Cruiser to arrange somewhere comfortable for them to stay, and I'm sure he will also be sure that they have a guard to make sure no harm comes to them either. Don't worry Captain, they're in good hands now," Du'ahn reassured him. She turned back to Fives and Jesse. "I'll be sure to tell General Skywalker what you two have done; you'll get proper recognition for this, I promise."

With that, she turned and left. Fives stared after her for quite some time, watching as both Zelina Du'ahn and Captain Rex conversed in hushed tones on their way to the communications tower.

"Now that is a General that's earned her titles and reputation, and lives up to them," Fives said respectfully as Nex and Gambit started to lead them away.

"One that I'd gratefully follow to the death," Jesse pitched in.

****************************************************

The door slid open as General Du'ahn typed in the necessary command, and she walked in with a well-practiced ease, Rex one step behind her with his helmet under his arm. "Why General Krell," she said sweetly. "You didn't need to ask for us, we were already on our way."

Rex hid his grimace. This was going to escalate into a fight faster than he'd expected.

"I ordered those clones to be destroyed," Krell growled, spinning around to get right in her face. General Du'ahn didn't let him finish.

"Men, Krell. I won't listen to you speak of them in a degrading way anymore. They are men, and they are now in my custody, not yours. There was a line, and you just crossed it."

"You can't do that," Krell growled.

"Watch me," she shot right back, her fist clenched.

"You forget your place," Krell rumbled.

"And you forget who I am," she snapped, eyes ablaze.

Krell snarled at her, and Rex tensed up when he realized each of them had a hand on one of their lightsabers. He wasn't the only one who noticed it either; every eye in the room was centered on Krell and General Du'ahn, their rapt attention fixated on the two.

The moment was shattered when one of the communications officers—one of General Du'ahn's by the name of Radar—interrupted.

"Generals...we have an incoming transmission," he said hesitantly. It sounded like he'd been hoping the fight would break out between the two and they'd finally get to see who would win. Almost everyone's money was on General Du'ahn.

"Put it through," Krell growled in frustration, turning away from General Du'ahn. Everyone turned their attention to the communications console as the image of a trooper materialized, kneeling on the ground with his blaster in hand.

"General, the Umbarans have stepped up their defensive. We're holding them off, but their squadrons have ambushed one of our platoons seizing weapons and uniforms. We believe they may be planning to launch a massive attack," he said. With that, the message ended and the trooper's image dematerialized. Krell turned to Rex, while General Du'ahn stared thoughtfully at the spot the trooper had just been in, a light frown tugging at her lips.

"It looks like you have your stay of execution, for now," Krell growled stiffly. "Prepare your platoons to move out immediately. We need to pre-emp the enemy by hitting them now with everything we've got. We're finally going to take the capital."

As Krell spoke, he moved to the lift, folding his arms over his chest and fixing Rex with a hard stare. "And Captain, make sure that the troops are aware that the enemy may disguise themselves as clones to try to trick us."

"I will sir," Rex said through grit teeth, sending a glance back towards General Du'ahn as the door slid shut. "It seems every time you go to make a move against him, General, something happens."

General Du'ahn pulled herself out of her reverie, fixing Rex with a strange look. "The time will come, Captain, I promise. But we can't forget priorities; we're still in the middle of a battle, and we still need to take the capital." Then, more to herself than to him, "That doesn't mean that one of these days he's not going to find himself hit by a stray bolt of friendly fire..."

Rex had to hide the smile that came from the comment, and he heard several of the communications officers stifle their laughs as coughs. "Will you be joining us, Ma'am."

General Du'ahn worked her lip between her teeth for a few moments, brow furrowed thoughtfully as she stared at the communications console. "My men won't Captain...but I will. Something about this...I don't know, something feels off, and just in case something does happen, I want to be there to stop it...but I feel if I brought my men I'd be putting them needlessly in harm's way. No...the 105th will be staying behind to guard the base...but I'll go with you."

Rex nodded, then hesitated for a moment before he decided to speak once more. "General, if you don't mind me saying...I'm truly thankful for everything that you've done for my men. Your actions alone have saved countless lives, and I'm grateful for everything you've done for us. You have my respect, and should you ever need anything, all you need to do is ask," Rex said, standing at full attention in front of her. To his surprise, General Du'ahn fixed him with sad, tired eyes.

"Thank you Rex..." she said gently. "That means a lot to me. But you've already done so much yourself. The only thing I could possibly ask of you would be to keep an eye on General Skywalker for me...not even he knows how much I care for him," she said so quietly Rex was sure he was the only person who heard her. She clasped him on the shoulder, smiled just slightly, and then left the room.

Rex was left wondering if what she had insinuated was what she had truly meant.

***************************************************

"Stay alert; the enemy has our weapons, and our armor."

Zelina tried not to frown as she heard Rex's statement carry from her spot near the middle of the group. That statement didn't sit well with her, and now, out here in the wild forests of Umbara among the 501st, something about the statement continued to seem wrong. Her sense that something was amiss grew stronger with every step she took, and yet for the life of her she couldn't figure out what.

"They may try to trick us with an ambush," Rex continued up ahead. Somewhere off to her side, one of the men—Tup, if she recalled correctly—was jittery, checking and rechecking their flank with his blaster swaying side to side. A few moments later, Tup slung out his arm to stop Dogma's progress.

"Watch out Dogma! I saw that thing attack Hardcase; it'll chew you up and spit you out," Tup explained, staring at an irregular mass on the ground as he picked up a rock. "Here, watch," he said, tossing the rock at the mass. Suddenly, the vines around it came to life, waving in the air like vines as its giant maw—the mound in the ground—opened up to reveal rows of wicked looking teeth that jutted of its mouth like a snake dislocated it's jaw to reach for whatever had touched it.

"Ew!" Dogma exclaimed. "Ahg, gross!"

A shudder of warning suddenly ripped through the Force, and Zelina whipped around. "Get down!" she commanded sharply. Her order was followed without hesitation, and a moment later blaster fire ripped through the clearing where the men had been standing just moments earlier.

"We're under attack!" came one shout as return fire began.

"Where's the enemy?" came another.

"I don't know, I can't see anything!"

The Force was screaming at her to look, to see, but Zelina couldn't see the enemy firing at them either. She craned her neck, scaling a nearby tree to see if she could get a better view from up above. No one questioned her actions; they just focused on doing what they needed to be doing. Explosions erupted everywhere, blaster fire whizzed through the air, but Zelina kept climbing, listening to the direction the that Force gave her. Something terrible was happening, but she couldn't see what yet, and she had to see soon or the price would be terrible...

Down below, the 501st got the mortars ready. Alarm ripped through Zelina for reasons she couldn't explain. "Hold off on the mortars!" she shouted down. "Don't ask, just do it!"

Pulling out her macrobinoculars, Zelina focused on peering ahead into the enemy force. For several long moments, she couldn't see anything, but finally she spotted the form of what looked like a trooper. Just as Krell had suggested, they were disguised as the soldiers.

For some reason, that conclusion didn't sit right with her.

"I'm getting a closer look!" she shouted down to Rex, taking off without waiting for a reply. Sticking to the canopy, Zelina swung closer to the other group, coming to a stop just above them. She activated her shoto blade, but held it defensively instead of offensively as she dropped down to the middle of the group below her.

To her surprise, no one fired. What did happen next horrified her.

"General Du'ahn! Am I glad to see you! What are you doing out here?" One of the so-called Umbarans in disguise said in an obviously clone trooper voice. Zelina stood up straight, took one look at the men around her lowering their blasters, and then brought her attention back to the firefight in front of her.

"Lower your weapons..." she said softly, then louder. "Call off the attack, stand down!" she said sharply, already reaching for her com link to call Rex as they all fumbled to understand what was happening.

"Rex! Rex come in!" she shouted into the device. "Stop firing! We're firing on our own men!" She looked around her and bellowed at the top of her lungs for all to hear, enhancing the sound with the Force.

"Take off your helmets! Stop firing! No one is in disguise! We're all on the same side! We're firing on our own men! Take off your helmets and show your faces, no one here is Umbaran!"

Only some of the fire slowed, and with a growl, Zelina reached over and took of one of the helmets of the men standing around her. "Everyone here is on the same side!" she bellowed, waving her lightsaber to call attention to herself and to illuminate his face. "Stop firing, take off your helmets, and show your faces!"

Finally, the firing slowed down, with men on both sides grabbing the blasters of their comrades that were still firing to stop them until the firing ceased completely. Disbelieving gasps of horror and shock echoed around the forest, and Zelina released the man in her grip as the others also took off their helmets. Many men around the forest collapsed to their knees, overcome by the fact that they had fired upon, and in some cases just killed, their own brothers. Zelina's shoto lightsaber clattered out of her hand, and she leaned against a tree, trying to regain her breathing and get enough presence of mind to keep leading despite such a horrifying revelation. She was just glad she'd discovered the truth before many more men had been killed, that she'd told her men to hold off on the mortars...

"Get me a platoon leader...one that received the orders...now," Zelina whispered to one of the men that moved to see if she was all right. She felt like she was going to be sick, and she was dizzy and faint, but she straightened up and called her lightsaber over to her with the Force, clipping it back onto her belt. She looked around at the men, and realized with further horror that these were some of Obi-Wan's men, men of the 212th battalion. "The rest of you...start...start tending to the wounded immediately. I'm going to...going to return to the 501st...and see what's happened on their side."

With that, she left the mourning men of Obi-Wan's group and returned to Anakin's men, dread causing her steps to be heavy and slow.

There was heavy casualties on both sides, despite the fact that the attack had been stopped before too much damage could be done. Men with armor painted both blue and orange adorned the ground as soldiers kneeled beside their brothers and did all they could to keep them in the land of the living. Shoving her pain at the sight down as far as it could go, Zelina got to work kneeling down beside the injured as well and healing as much as she could with the Force. Healing wasn't her specialty, and she didn't have much knowledge or experience with it...but she could do something, and she would.

She lost track of how many men she'd healed somewhere after twenty-seven, and by the time one of the 212th found her she was utterly drained but somehow still going.

"General Du'ahn; I found a platoon leader. It's...it's Waxer, Ma'am," the trooper said. Something in his tone of voice spurred Zelina to immediate action. It was urgent and grim, suggesting he was seriously injured.

"Waxer?" she repeated, following the trooper at a swift pace. A little ways away, Rex spotted her and approached, as well as Dogma and Tup. "I fought with Waxer on Geonosis; we were dispatched together to rescue General Kenobi from a crash-sight. I was still a Padawan then..."

"He's in pretty bad shape, Ma'am," the trooper said softly, and Zelina finally spotted him up ahead. Zelina hurried her worn pace, coming to kneel beside him immediately and grimly taking in his injuries. She didn't think she could do much, but that was something that could remain to herself. She could still try.

"Waxer..." she said gently as she placed her hands over his wounds, trying to stich them back together through the Force as the three men from the 501st, the trooper who'd found her, and Boil from the 212th looked on. "Tell me who gave you the orders to attack the 501st," she commanded gently. Waxer gasped in pain as her hand brushed against a particularly nasty wound.

"It...it was General Krell..." Waxer gasped out, clutching her arm. "He sent us to these coordinates to stop the enemy. We thought they were wearing our armor..."

Waxer coughed again, and Zelina realized painfully that there was nothing more she could do for him, and that there was no way for her to save him. Waxer's eyes moved over her shoulder to settle on Rex. "But...but...it was..." Waxer took another rattling gasp, a tear trickling out of his eye as he stared at Rex. "You..."

With that last word, Waxer went limp in Zelina's arms, and she supported him in mournful silence for several long minutes. She gave a silent prayer to the Force, gathered up her pain and grief at what had happened on this battle field, and then gradually released it back into the Force.

When she stood up, she was full of determination and—thankfully none of the other Jedi were around to sense this—vengeance. What had happened here would not go unpunished.

"Boil," she said firmly. "Gather up the remainder of your men and your dead and return to wherever General Kenobi is. Tell him what's happened, and tell him I'm handling it."

"Yes Ma'am," Boil said quietly, his voice slightly warped by emotion. Zelina turned to Rex.

"Rex, gather up the 501st...I need to have a word with them before we return to base..."

"Of course General," Rex said promptly. The same fire that was in Zelina's eyes was burning in Rex's as well.

******************************************

"We all know who's responsible for what happened out there. What we don't know is why," Rex said as he prepped the men for General Du'ahn's speech. She stood off to the side, observing those in front of her with a calculating eye as Rex spoke. "Something has to be done."

General Du'ahn stepped forward. "Normally, what we're about to do would be highly treasonous. But not now, not with me backing you. Don't think for a moment that what we're asking you to do is treasonous, because it is not. What General Pong Krell has done is the treasonous action, and I will not rest until he has paid for his deeds. However...if any of you chose to opt out in case this backfires...do it now."

Collectively, the entire group stepped forward, and Rex beamed in pride at them. General Du'ahn allowed herself a quick smile before her expression became serious again and she nodded sharply.

"From this point forward, we're entering uncharted territory. This hasn't happened in the war—no one expected it to happen—but it has now. General Pong Krell is a traitor to the Republic, and out here in the middle of nowhere Umbara, we're the only ones who can stop him. That's exactly what we're going to do. Men of the 501st; you're about to arrest a Jedi."

*****************************************

When they returned to the base, Zelina sent Tup to tell Cruiser what was happening. Her men were going to be on high alert as to what was happening, and scouts of the 105th were to tell the members 501st who hadn't been out there what was happening as well. Word was spreading fast, and as Zelina lead her group of the 501st forward to the communications tower, men left and right stepped out of the way. Silence hung over the entire base, and tension was thick and expectant in the air. They picked up men of the 105th, including Nex and Cruiser, along the way.

Krell was alone in the communications tower when they arrived. The men moved ahead of Zelina, circling around the room and centering their guns on Krell before Zelina, Rex, and Cruiser entered the room last. Rex and Cruiser flanked her, while Zelina took up point and stood directly behind Krell, just out of arms reach. She unhooked her lightsabers as the door slid shut behind her; there was no way Krell was going to go down without a fight.

"General Krell, you're under arrest," Zelina said firmly, activating her lightsabers as she spoke. "I suggest you allow us to relieve you of duty quietly."

Krell turned to face her, eerily calm. "It's treason then," Krell said in a tone of mild...amusement, was it?

"Surrender, General," Rex said firmly, drawing both his blasters and leveling them on Krell. Zelina tensed and nodded towards the two Captains so that they would signal their men to back away as Krell moved forward.

"You're committing mutiny, Captain," Krell said smoothly.

"Explain your actions," Rex growled.

"My actions?" Krell asked innocently as a few of the men started to circle behind him. Zelina shook her head no, warning them to stay as far back as possible and away from the window with simple gestures.

"For ordering your troops against one another," Rex snapped.

Hurry up Captain, Zelina thought. The only reason why the fight hadn't broken out yet was because Zelina knew Rex needed the closure of knowing why Krell had done what he'd done.

"Oh, that...I'm surprised you were able to figure it out, for a clone..." Krell said superficially, arms still folded behind his back. Zelina's blades hummed in the silence as the men all exchanged glances. Some of them started to move closer despite Zelina's warning.

"Surrender General. You're outnumbered," Rex stated firmly. A warning raced through the Force, and Zelina crossed her arms in front of her in a sudden defensive position, creating a shield with the Force.

"Move!" she bellowed the same time that Krell performed a Force Repulse. Men went flying everywhere, and even Zelina slid back a few steps.

"You dare to attack a Jedi!" Krell bellowed as he activated his twin double-bladed lightsabers. Zelina pulled out of her own defensive position, standing defiantly before Krell.

"You, Krell, are no Jedi," she declared, bringing her lightsabers up at the ready. With that, the two Generals finally crossed blades.

Zelina did her best to hide the feelings that were associated with the double-bladed lightsabers, and she ignored the fact that Krell had four arms and four blades; she'd faced the four-armed four-bladed Grievous, so she could take on Krell.

Though Krell also had the Force, and when she'd taken on Grievous, Obi-Wan had been beside her.

Zelina called heavily upon the Force as she threw herself at the General, her two blades of violet and green a blur of motion against his four blades of blue and green as they exchanged a flurry of blows in the communications tower. Krell's snarling face bore into Zelina, but she ignored him, drawing on her reserves of strength and conviction to push him back. She was constantly moving, while Krell only had to move his feet every now and then. She ducked and jumped, weaved between the blades and lashed out with her own precise and rapid-fire attacks. She tried to make each blow count, making her attacks not only swift but also trying to hit strategic points designed to cripple Krell. She got several cuts in, though Krell also burned her a few times because she came so close to his blade. She took a swing at one of his extra arms, unfortunately unable to sever one but also able to run a long gash along his arm.

Thankfully, the men had started to lay down some cover fire from her, though it wasn't that constant as they had to be careful not to accidentally hit Zelina in the process. Still, the occasional blaster bolt thrown into the fray was a welcome sight when it didn't come too close to hitting Zelina.

With a roar, Krell used a Force Push, sending Zelina flying backwards and smashing into the wall so hard she saw spots appear in her vision. While she was recovering she heard the shattering of glass, a sound that signaled that Krell had jumped out of the window to the ground below.

She was both grateful that she had placed men down there and fearful for their lives as they were now faced with the hulking terror of Krell all on their own.

She could hear the blaster fire start flying down below before she even got to her feet, waving off Cruiser's offered hand for help. "Get down below," she shouted. "Stay at a distance, don't get too close or he'll slice you in half!"

Once the tower stopped tilting, Zelina rushed forward and jumped out of the hole that Krell had left behind, using the Force to steady her landing and avoid cutting herself with the shards of glass below. As she landed, a controlled, small Force Repulse sent the Glass scattering in a circle far away from her. She got to her feet immediately, running after Krell with some assistance from the Force. Off to the side she could see Polix and Var in the AT-RT's that were chasing down Krell. Some of the men obviously hadn't gotten the memo to stay back, as they were still getting too close to Krell.

"Get back," she shouted. There's already been enough men lost as it was. Her orders were followed to the letter, and the men pulled back to a safer distance, the blaster fire still raining down on Krell as he pushed forward in an attempt of escape. Zelina was quickly catching up again, but she didn't think she was going to reach him before he entered the forest. He'd already killed and injured enough to clear a straight path to the forest, while Zelina was still weaving in and out of blaster bolts and side-stepping bodies in order to catch up to the lumbering general. Eventually the blaster fire behind her quit, and she could sense a tense stand-off happening behind her, but Zelina kept pushing. She had to catch up to Krell; Krell was her first priority at the moment.

When she entered the trees, she was cautious. Krell had disappeared from sight, and he had the advantage of surprise. Zelina glanced around; she wasn't about to give him the advantage of the high ground either. With a small grunt, Zelina scaled the closest tree and pulled herself onto the overhanging, highest limbs that would support her weight before she started moving from the more comfortable height. Now Krell wouldn't be dropping down on her from above; that was one less thing to worry about.

Zelina took several deep breaths, steadying herself and finding her center in the Force before she continued on. She'd sweep the area with her Force Senses if she wasn't so sure that Krell would be masking himself. She'd have to rely on her other senses to make progress finding him, and she'd have to stay on full alert, lightsabers activated. He was in here, somewhere, biding his time...waiting...

Way back behind her, she could hear the men finally enter the forest as she crept along in the canopy. Suddenly worried for their safety, Zelina started to backtrack towards the group, intent to protect them in case Krell decided to avoid her and go right for the men, who were open and easy prey down on the ground. She kept her eyes open for Krell's lumbering four-armed bulk, grinding her teeth in frustration that she still had not found him.

Blaster fire erupted somewhere off to her right, and Zelina instinctively turned and raced in that direction. The closer she came, the louder the sound of blaster fire and lightsabers grew. Bracing herself, Zelina masked her presence, running along the upper limbs of the canopy as she came across the carnage that Krell was currently wreaking. He was just getting ready to finish off the last handful of the small group he'd attacked when Zelina jumped down on him from above, digging her shoto blade into his shoulder and causing him to howl in agony. Fully aware that she was in a vulnerable position, Zelina deactivated her shoto to allow herself to fall to the ground, but was too slow in doing so and found herself in one of Krell's hands. Krell grabbed ahold of her and then threw her over his shoulder, sending her flying forwards into one of the trees. She hit so hard she heard something crack, felt pain rip up her left leg, and her vision went black with pain. She was still conscious...but she stayed on the ground, her ears ringing.

She stayed down like that for several long moments, waiting for Krell to come and finish the job; she was sure that she'd broken a leg...

The sound of footsteps approached her, twigs crunching under someone's boots. However, the presence she sensed approaching was not hostile. Blearily, Zelina lifted her head, struggling to see the figure approaching in her swimming vision. A man in all black, a lightsaber hanging from his waist, and messy semi-long golden hair crouched down in front of her, his piercing blue eyes holding her gaze with fiery determination as he held out a hand to her.

"On your feet, soldier," Luke Skywalker said firmly. "You're not dying on me now."

Zelina blinked at him in surprise, but rose on his command, reaching for his proffered hand for help. The moment she grasped his hand, she found the strength to rise to her feet, renewed energy coursing through her limbs and making the agony in her leg bearable. Before she could even let go of his hand, Luke disappeared, and where the vision had been moments earlier there was now empty space.

Coming back to reality with a jolting bump. Around her, the men had taken up a defensive line, protecting her while she'd been down. Gratitude rushed through her, but she didn't want to waste her newfound strength just standing there; who knew how long it would last? She called her lightsabers back to her hands, and launched herself at Krell once again.

"You should have listened to the Arc Trooper from the beginning, General," Krell growled tauntingly before he started laughing, locking their blades in a deadly position that would get whoever lost the battle of wills and strength killed. "He was right; I was using them. You've all been my pawns. Now here you are, injured and outmatched. What makes you think you can defeat me?"

Zelina called upon the Force, putting all of her Force potential into a powerful Force Push that sent Krell flying backwards in a powerful gust of wind. She kept up the wind, determined to hold him down as long as possible.

"Because, Krell...I know the Force isn't done with me, and so long as the Force isn't done with me, it will make sure that I live. Sorry to disappoint, but I plan on living a long time ahead of now," Zelina growled, advancing on him in determination. He launched at her again, but Zelina sidestepped him, ducked low to avoid swinging blades, and cut a clean gash across his back in return. As he arched in pain from the wound, she came up with her violet blade and cut off his two left arms, leaving only his two right arms. Krell howled to the sky, spinning around to finish Zelina off in a flurry of determination.

"You know...Dooku thought the same as you. He thought that because I was injured, I was going to be a pushover; you were both wrong," Zelina growled, blocking his attempts much easier now that she only had to avoid one double bladed lightsaber. Krell howled in fury and attacked her once again, but Zelina danced out of the way, registering in the back of her mind that the men were no longer firing, but leaving the fight between the two Jedi. "You're not going to get out of this alive Krell; one last chance to surrender."

"To the likes of you; a pathetic slave girl playing Jedi? Never!" Krell growled, and, despite herself, Zelina's temper flamed. With a loud battle cry, Zelina rushed forward, the air literally sparking with electricity as she rushed forward for a final attack. Krell swung at her injured leg, but Zelina hopped over the effort easily, batting aside his lightsaber with one blade, blocking his attempt to flip the blade around to impale her with the other, shorter one, and then stabbing the violet one that had just been freed forcefully through the turned Jedi General's chest. He froze up in shock, and Zelina used a simple Force Push to get him off of her blade. Krell fell to the ground with a thud, and with a flick of her wrist Zelina pushed his last lightsaber far out of his reach. Fearlessly, Zelina approached the fallen Besalisk, placing a foot on his chest and leaning in close to look him in the eyes.

There were still a few questions she wanted answered.

"Why did you do it? What could you possibly hope to achieve?" Zelina asked, her voice low. Around her, the men started to inch forward cautiously, blasters trained on the dying General.

"Because I can; because you fell for it. Because you are all inferior, including you, slave girl," Krell laughed back. Zelina shifted her foot higher and pressed down on his chest wound, getting further in his face.

"That's not what I asked, and you know it," Zelina growled.

"But you're a Jedi; how could you?" Rex demanded, stepping forward.

Krell laughed again, though there was more pain in his voice. "I am no longer naïve enough to be a Jedi. A new power is rising; I've foreseen it...and so have you," Krell said, turning his blazing eyes on Zelina. Zelina stiffened. "Yes, you have; the Jedi are going to lose this war, and the Republic will be ripped apart from the inside. In its place is going to rise a new order..."

"You're a Separatist," Rex growled.

"I serve no one's side, only my own. Soon I would have served a new Master."

"Dooku," Zelina hissed. "Sorry to disappoint, Krell, but if Dooku would have been interested in you, he would have contacted you; he already tried to recruit me, and I was all too happy to deny him."

"Mark my words girl; the Jedi are going to fall, and you along with them."

Zelina pursed her lips, putting more pressure on his wound. "That may have been what you saw, destruction, but I've seen hope among the destruction. Even if we lose this war, it will simply be one small loss in the bigger picture, and we will come back from it. We may get kicked down," she glanced around, shifting her injured leg. "But we will always get back on our feet."

"Your fools...the whole...lot of you...and you're no better...than any other agent of the dark side," Krell growled, his breathing labored as the last of his life began to flicker out of him. "I can sense the darkness in you...you can too can't you? You've sensed it growing, and your fear of it has just been feeding it. One day, you will see things my way. One day, you too will fall," Krell growled. Zelina leaned in one last time, putting more pressure on his wound.

"The difference, Krell," she hissed. "Is that I know the line, I know my demons, and I know when to stay my blade. I may slip, but I will get right back on track. I will never fall to the dark side, no matter how tempted I may be."

Krell laughed in return, and he was still laughing to his last dying gasp. Zelina stepped away in disgust, staring down at Krell's unmoving body for several long moments. Soon, the adrenaline and energy she'd experience left her, and the pain in her leg returned ten-fold. With a sudden and violent sway, she collapsed to the ground. One of the men closest to her managed to catch her before she could hit the ground though, and cries of 'General' could be heard all around her.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," she murmured. "Just...just a broken leg, we can get that patched up in no time. Just...let's get back to the base. I want to rest as long as I can before I have to start explaining why I killed a Jedi Master."

Her mind was going blurry again, and she barely heard their words of consent before her world went utterly dark and she slipped into exhausted unconsciousness.

************************************************

When Obi-Wan received word of what had happened among the 501st and the 105th, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. What he thought next was how he hoped he wasn't around when Anakin found out. As if that hadn't been enough, not long after he'd heard news of Krell's betrayal, he'd received the news that Krell had sabotaged the airbase's communications console so that no transmissions could get through. He only managed to get that piece of information after they'd repaired it. It didn't help that now he'd found out that Krell had been killed and Zelina was injured and under close medical observation while Cruiser and Rex led the two battalions to defending the airbase.

Despite how panicky and worried the reports of the past few days' activities that were flooding in had him, Obi-Wan had waited until his duty as a General was over and he had secured Umbara to go and visit Zelina. The men all around the base were haggard and looked haunted; he couldn't blame them, after what they had just been through.

Of course, someone had to tell Anakin eventually what had happened. He wouldn't be allowed out here of course, as he was needed elsewhere, but whenever he did catch ahold of Zelina again, and whenever he reached his men of the 501st again...

Well, it was definitely a good thing that Krell was dead.

When Obi-Wan reached the medical ward, he spotted Zelina immediately. The men had given her the best corner, and her leg was propped up on a pillow, obviously in the last stages of healing after getting the bacta treatments it had needed. Her head was bandaged as well, and she had small, fading scars from a lightsaber blade that had also been mostly healed by the bacta. She was smiling and joking lightly with a few of her men, reclined on the bed and talking with ease. Obviously the news had reached her that Umbara had been secured, as he had also been told that until that news had reached them Zelina had been giving orders from the bed despite the medic's commands for her to rest herself completely.

When Zelina saw him, her face lit up. "Obi-Wan! How nice of you to join us. Where were you five days ago? Or how about when Anakin left?" she teased him lightly.

He shrugged, mirth twinkling in his eyes. "Oh, just fighting an entire army to capture a capital city, not much. You?"

She shrugged as well, taking on a mock serious expression. "Nothing much. Just silently battling a reckless Jedi Master with no respect that irked me more than most until it was revealed he was a traitor, at which point I engaged in a fight to the death. Sounds like we've both had rather boring adventures this time around, don't you think?"

Obi-Wan chuckled slightly before he took a seat beside her. "We do need to speak of that, by the way. The Council want to know what happened as soon as possible, and since I'm here now I might as well get it. You'll be recovering for quite some time from what I've heard."

Zelina grimaced. "Uhg, don't remind me." She nodded to the men that were gathered around the bed. "All right boys, you heard him. Jedi bonding time; you all can go do whatever needs to be done. General Kenobi and I need to do some catching up."

"All right Ma'am, you take care of yourself now," One of them said as they all reluctantly started to shuffle away.

"I will, don't you worry," she returned, smiling as she watched them file away. The smile slipped off her face the moment they were gone, and she sighed. "I don't even want to think of how Ani's going to react to all this..."

"Not well at all," Obi-Wan commented. "Be glad he's on the other side of the Galaxy right now so that you don't get swamped as soon as he finds out."

Zelina grimaced. "That just means that when he does, it's going to be building up until he sees me again."

"True," Obi-Wan said with a small smile before he settled back into seriousness. "Now...why don't you start from the top?"

Zelina sighed, looked away for a few split seconds, then met his eye and began to recount all that had happened in the past few days.

********************************************

Internally, Darth Sidious, also known as Chancellor Palpatine, was screaming.

He'd just received news of what had happened on Umbara, and although he was playing the concerned leader of the Republic on the outside, he was brimming with fury on the inside.

He'd taken Anakin away from that planet so that Krell would be put in his place solely in the hopes that Krell would kill that slave girl brat Du'ahn. He'd known Krell had been playing for the opposite side for a while now—it was hard to miss—and he'd known that Krell would see killing Du'ahn as an opportunity to catch the Sith's eye. Yet the buffoon had failed to kill Du'ahn. Sidious wasn't upset in the slightest that Krell was dead; he never wanted the being in the first place. It was just infuriating that yet again the girl had slipped through his fingers. He wanted her dead, and she should have been dead by now! He was Darth Sidious—no one that he truly wanted dead lived past the point he decided to dispose of them!

She'd been setting back his plans with Anakin Skywalker long enough—he was tired of her being a hindrance to his master plan for the Chosen One of the Jedi. Anakin Skywalker would fall and become the apprentice of Darth Sidious, and the girl would die before this war ended.

One way, or another.