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Baron's lungs were on fire. His legs were shaking. His forehead was drenched in sweat. Breathing hard, he tried to spur his legs to go faster. He could hear the sounds of battle raging around him - the harsh claps of blaster fire; the dull thumps and sharp cries of pain as his brothers were gunned down around him; the emotionless, mechanical drones of battle droids calling commands to each other. The air stank of blood, smoke and oil, intermixed with the heady scents of the forest they were fighting in.
A stinging pain jolted through his left ankle, and he fell on his face, his momentum sending him skidding forward a few meters before stopping him at the foot of a felled tree. As the looming shadow of a battle droid fell over him, Baron remembered Krell's old mantra: "If you fall behind, you're left behind"…
Baron rolled onto his back, staring up in terror at the thing leaning over him. It was a commando droid, black as night with a spindly body, wedge-shaped head and glowing yellow photoreceptors. A blaster rifle was clutched securely in its metallic claws, aimed at the center of the clone's forehead.
He squeezed his eyes shut. This is it, it's the end, I'm going to die here like the rest of my squad -
There was the sound of an energy weapon igniting nearby, a flash of yellow light beyond his closed eyelids, the sound of sparks and the clang of metal hitting the dirt. For a moment, all was silent. Baron was just starting to wonder why he wasn't dead yet when a woman's voice interrupted his thoughts.
"You alright there, soldier?"
Baron's eyes sprang open in shock. He found himself staring up at a pair of concerned violet eyes. The owner of said eyes was extending a grimy hand out to him, her other hand squeezed tightly around what looked like a yellow beam of light.
The pilot swallowed, accepting the offered hand and allowing her to pull him to his feet. He winced at the pain in his ankle as he gingerly put weight on it.
"I-I th-think so. Sir… uh, ma'am. Sir."
He mentally smacked himself. Yes, very eloquent.
"Th-thanks."
Kriff, what the haran was wrong with him?
Ignoring the clone's barely coherent stuttering, the Jedi smiled warmly. "Rule number one," she said gently. "No one gets left behind."