Blaster fire fell heavy around them. Rain swung her radiant orange lightsaber with precision, deflecting yet another shot into the enemy line before diving for cover behind a crystal formation. Mira was already there, a worried expression on her face as she saw their clone allies dropping like flies all around them. Christophsis was overrun by the Separatists' confounded droids. Senator Organa and what troops he had left had been steadily pushed back over the course of the battle. How had a simple relief effort gone so horribly wrong?

Rain jumped back into the fray, Mira right on her heels. Rain dodged several more blaster bolts, cutting down as many clankers as she could before running for shelter again.

"There must be some way we can stop their advance!" Rain growled, her brows furrowed in frustration.

They couldn't afford to lose this fight. The Separatists couldn't be allowed to have the upper hand! Mira looked over at her sister, the glow of her lightsaber bathing her face in a bright yellow luminance.

She shook her head sullenly, "We can only hold them off as best we can and pray that the Republic sends help soon."

Rain gritted her teeth, "If they were sending help, don't you think it'd be here by now? You know perfectly well we can't retreat forever. Because of the Separatist blockade, there is no way off this planet for us. If we can't turn the tide in our favor, we're as good as dead!"

Mira opened her mouth to reply but a blaster bolt passing dangerously close to her head stopped her from whatever she was about to say.

"Fall back!" a clone to their right shouted.

The surrounding troopers regrouped and retreated to there next line of defence, followed closely by the Jedi padawans. They lined up behind a business centre and waited, weapons in hand, for the steadily approaching droid army to reach their position again.

Rain turned to one of the clone troopers next to her, "What are Senator Organa's orders? Has he come up with a plan of offense?"

"The Senator's orders have not changed. We are to hold them off as long as we can until forced to retreat. Going on the offensive now would be suicide," the trooper responded, sounding just as perplexed as Rain felt.

"I need to speak to the Senator. Where is he?"

The clone silently pointed to another business centre a few buildings down from them. Rain glanced back at the advancing enemy line in alarm. They'd already come so close to the Senator's position? That meant that they were even more pressed for time than she'd believed.

Rain broke rank and started in the direction she'd been pointed. A light hand on her shoulder stopped her in her tracks and she turned to see Mira.

"Shouldn't we stay here?" her sister asked.

"This can't wait," Rain insisted, breaking away.

She strode quickly toward her destination. The Senator soon came into view. He was flanked by two clones, standing amidst the rubble of a dilapidated building that offered decent cover. The three of them stood around a hologram projector. The Senator was standing with his shoulders slumped, his head hung low, his brows furrowed. He looked like a man ready to embrace defeat.

"Senator!" Rain addressed him.

His head snapped up immediately, a look of surprise on his face.

"Padawan Callyn," he said, "Has the enemy's advance been stopped?"

An explosion rocked the ground under their feet.

Rain grimaced, "No. I've come to suggest a new strategy."

"Padawan Callyn, while I'm grateful for any help you have to offer--"

"Senator, we're standing on a battlefield right now," Rain reminded the confused-looking Senator, gesturing to their surroundings, "There is no need for formality. My name is Rain."

Organa nodded slowly, "Rain. While I'm grateful for any help you have to offer--"

Organa's second attempt was again cut off, "If we're going to survive this battle, we need to hit the enemy and hit them hard. We have to take out their big guns."

Organa sighed heavily, "What are you suggesting?"

"Our forces will continue to hold off the enemy's advance as best they can. Meanwhile, we'll have someone sneak away to one of the business centres back down the main road. They'll climb to the top of the building, wait till the enemy line reaches their position, and then launch a surprise attack from above. If one of the tanks can be hijacked, it could be used to deal a massive blow to the rest of the droid army."

"No single person could pull that off," one clone spoke up.

"No single trooper could pull that off," Rain corrected, "Which is why that someone will be me."

"If you dive into the middle of that army, you'll be shot down in seconds," Organa insisted, "The risk is too great."

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"I believe I can do it," Rain said resolutely.

"Look, Miss Rain," the trooper spoke again, "It's great to have confidence in your abilities, but I have a tough time believing even a Jedi Master could pull of something like this alone."

"I am well aware of my own strengths and weaknesses, trooper," Rain countered, "I know I can do this."

Another explosion rocked the ground underfoot. Debris was thrown into the air, signalling that the enemy was nearing their position. Rain looked to Organa in expectation. He considered her for a moment, then solemnly nodded his head.

"Go," he said.

Rain inclined her head in gratitude before racing off.

"Rain!"

Rain turned her head to see her sister and a handful of troopers running toward her. She slowed her pace and waited for them to reach her.

"Rain, where are you going?" Mira asked, sounding out of breath.

Rain laid a hand on her sister's shoulder, "I have a plan." As Mira opened her mouth to reply, Rain cut her off, "No, you can't come with. Stay here and make sure the Senator is safe. Don't worry; I'll be back."

With that, she set off again, stopping only long enough for her to snatch away a passing clone's blaster.

"Sorry, I need this," she insisted.

She switched the blaster to ascension cable, and approached one of the towering architectures lining either side of the main road. She aimed the blaster upward and fired. The long cable snaked skyward, latching onto the side of the building and pulling Rain up. She grabbed onto an out-jutting ledge and looked down. She smiled to herself as she saw the enemy tanks were almost in place. A few more minutes and she would be able to set her plan into motion. Her gaze wandered back up the road where a hail of blaster fire could be seen as the opposing sides were locked in combat.

Hang on, she thought silently, praying her sister would be safe.

Mira was not the type to leave her post unless specifically ordered to, and Rain had tasked her with looking after the Senator. By the look of it, the enemy line was nearly on top of the Senator at this point. Rain shifted her focus back to the enemy troops directly below. The tanks were in place. Rain walked to the edge of the ledge she stood on, braced herself, and jumped.

She plummeted downward, feeling the wind whipping through her hair and nearly tearing her cloak from her. Rain grabbed her lightsaber and ignited it.

I seriously need to build myself another lightsaber, she thought, I'd be so much better at dual-bladed combat.

She landed lightly on top of the head of a virus droid, plunging her lightsaber into it and sending it careening toward the ground. Rain leapt again, targeting the nearest tank. She threw open the hatch, silently noting a blaster bolt that passed uncomfortably close to her. She was already drawing fire. Rain jumped inside the tank, cutting down the few droids she found there. Moving to the control panel, she hastily turned the tank around and fired on the closest virus droid. It came crashing down, throwing up a cloud of debris and narrowly missing Rain's tank. She let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding before rounding on her next victim. A virus droid turned on her, firing and striking the hover tank. It rocked dangerously.

No, Rain thought fiercely, It's too soon! I've hardly done anything yet!

She shot at the tank next to her, grounding it. But the enemy was catching on and starting to send fire her way. Rain gave up on taking precise shots and started firing wildly. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest as the entire enemy faction turned on her. At least she had their attention.

Time to abandon ship.

She crawled out of the hatch and jumped down, pressing her back to the tank. She was surrounded by battle droids and it took all her concentration to deflect their shots.

Not good, she thought, gritting her teeth.

A ripple in the force caught her attention, filling her with the sudden urge to run. With no other option, she launched herself into the air, clearing a good twenty paces before landing lightly on her feet. The tank she'd been standing by mere seconds ago promptly burst into flames as it was struck by a missile.

I'm lucky they didn't think of that first.

But she had no time to stop and further consider the thought. She now had no cover and an enemy squad closing in on her.

I guess the others were right, Rain thought despairingly, This idea was suicide.

Her lightsaber cut swiftly through the air again and again, sending back shot after shot.

What do I do? Do I surrender? If I surrender, I might last a little longer.

Rain glared defiantly at the brainless clankers surrounding her. Surrender was definitely not an option she liked, but it looked to be the only one she had.

Clenching her jaw, she lifted her lightsaber high in the air and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Stop!"

She quickly deactivated her lightsaber and lowered her arm to her side. The droids stopped firing. One of them looked to his fellow.

"Do we take prisoners?" he asked, his robotic voice grating on Rain's nerves.

She rolled her eyes, handing off her lightsaber to one of the B1 droids and raising her hands in defeat. She noted with silent triumph that the enemy's advance had stopped. Mission accomplished. At least for now.

"Uhhhhh," the B1 droid seemed to consider his fellow's question for a long time.

Rain quickly became impatient.

"Of course you take prisoners!" she insisted.

"We do?"

These droids were even dumber than Rain had thought.

"Yes! You do!" she snapped.

Before the battle droid could answer, a flurry of blaster shots suddenly downed several of his squad. The droid looked around in alarm, and Rain took the opportunity to snatch back her lightsaber from the hands of her captors.

"Nevermind," Rain said, addressing the confused B1, "Looks like you won't need to be taking any prisoners today after all."

She cut him down, looking up to see a squad of clones racing toward her, shooting down the clankers in their path. Mira could be seen at the head of the group, her lightsaber drawn. Rain felt a twinge of unease at the sight of her sister in the line of fire. The enemy was advancing again, forcing Rain to retreat.

"Mira!" she shouted, skidding to a halt as she reached her sister, "Did you guys seriously come to rescue me?"

"It was my idea. You're welcome," Mira answered saucily.

Rain grinned, "I knew you'd have my back."

Mira smiled back before waving to her men, "Hey, let's get back while we're still in one piece, shall we?"

One of clones nodded in acknowledgement, "You heard her, men! Move!"

What was left of group sprinted back to their line of defence.

Well, Rain thought, So much for that offensive.

She and Mira broke off from the group and headed for Senator Organa's position.

He greeted the twins with evident relief, "Rain, Mira! Thank goodness you made it back safely. I had my doubts about sending a rescue team but you two have certainly surprised me today. Thank you, Rain, for your bravery. You bought us some valuable time. I suppose a rescue was the least we could do. In other news, I received word from General Kenobi and General Skywalker. They've engaged the Separatist fleet and successfully breached the blockade. Help is on the way as we speak."

Rain turned to Mira, "Well then, what are we standing around for? Let's try to look busy for when they get here, shall we?"