When the Cavalry Comes.

IL

They were surrounded. Droids pressing in from every angle. Buildings coming down around them, and they were on their own.

Cav braced her back against the wall, panting harshly into her helmet. Whiteout was behind her, the rest of her squad scattered about the vicinity. She scanned the terrain, desperately looking for a way out, a place to regroup and come up with a plan. She unmuted her coms and drew a slightly raspy breath.

"Sound off."

"Whiteout here, condition good. Got your six, Sarg."

"Viper here. I'm alive. Got incoming from the north, south advancing as well." Cav glanced up at Viper's position, seeing him squeeze off shot after shot with a sniper rifle into advancing B-1s.

"Bait and Lure checking in." Lure's voice crackles over the line. "Bait, the di'kut, got thrown back from a det and damaged his transponder."

Lure waved from his position ahead of her, crouched behind some rubble. Bait popped his head up next to him so she could see him.

"You confirmed the identity? You saw the blast happen?" Cav asked, remembering how Umbara could have turned out with a wince. Something else wearing clone armor...

"Yes and yes. Got any ideas how we're gonna get out of this, Sarge?"

Cav gritted her teeth. "Trying to figure that out. Anybody got eyes on a potential spot we can regroup?"

"I got a building, waiting on visual diagnostics to finish to tell me if it's stable" Viper's voice crackled. "Stable. Bad news is it's on the other side of the wall of clankers on the twins' side."

"Haar'chak. Ok, Lure what do you have. Viper get down here." There was a scrambling of plastoid on gravel as Viper ducked down the half collapsed stairwell and out a shattered window.

"We're almost out of munitions over here. We're both on our second of three spare power backs and three dets between the two of us." Cav bit back a second curse, scanning the terrain.

"Viper, do you think the beacon can be activated from your point? I'd like to get this over with as soon as possible." That was their objective, to get to a point and place a beacon, then defend it for five minutes. It was turning out to be much harder than she had thought.

What was Dogma thinking with this sim?

"Possibly. It's not the best place defensively but it will have to work." Viper verified. On top of the only sniper trained person in their squad, he was the one Dogma had requested have the beacon. Cavalry really didn't like so much only resting on one person, but they didn't have a choice. She was thinking that line far too much recently.

"Ok, here's what we're gonna try. Lure, you and Bait still have you rappelling lines and spikes, yes?"

"Correct."

"Viper, in front of the twins, see that damaged wall? I need you to shoot that rebar holding it to the one next to it. Bait, you have the better arm of you two, throw two of your dets at the base of the wall. Both of you lock your rappelling spikes into the wall, when the dets go off, pull. When it comes down, run like hell. Me and White will cover you while you do." Cav relayed her plan quickly. Whiteout gave her a look.

"You think that will take care of the droids? That puny section of wall?"

"Nope. But it will clear their only cover on the way to Viper's chosen point." She raises her twin blasters, thumb idly rubbing over the engraving on the handles reading ARC 5555 on them before laying down coverfire for the twins as they set to work. The wall came down with a mighty crash, sending dust up everywhere.