Zhiss moved first, drawing fire and gaining distance. Valsil was next. He dashed laterally, into a thick patch of brush, and emerging -- almost haphazardly -- in the midst of a squad of Republic troopers. His saber found its way into his hand.

"Friendly, friendly!" one of them shouted.

"I heard her the first time," Valsil replied brusquely, nodding in the direction of Lu. She'd asked Zhiss for a report just before the ambush, and Valsil assumed she was in charge. He gave her the quick version. "We have one wounded in the trees. They're coming down. Do something." Without any further explanation he ignited one of his blades, and leapt up onto a branch.

Valsil clamored up the tree with a combination of nimble footwork and force-jumps. His lightsaber seemed to act like a laser magnet, and more than once he had to pause his ascent to ward off a heavy barrage. Fortunately the Republic forces on the ground were able to level the playing field. It was slow going, but the jedi kept his feet and swatted away the enemy shots methodically. He was nearing Leto's position, but as he got closer, so did the Mandolorians. He closed his eyes. [i]There is a lane,[/i] he sensed. [i]Move fast.[/i]

He didn't stop to think about it; once the thought occurred, he extinguished his lightsaber and sprang off his branch. He landed on a clear limb, and snapped the saber onto his belt. Overhead was a dense patch of leaves, hiding him from the mandolorians, and within reach, a vine, running to Leto's tree. Valsil grasped it with both hands and swung his feet up, locking his ankles. He pulled himself out along the vine, several meters above the forest floor, now littered with fallen Mandolorians. He was exposed only briefly as he scrambled up the vine, and Republic fire helped cover his vulnerability. Soon he was finding footing on Leto's tree, just a few branches beneath the padawan.

Their eyes met. Leto wasn't exactly familiar yet -- but masters were masters, and padawans were padawans. "You need to stay calm," Valsil said, as a bolt singed the bark near his head. Something exploded below them, shaking the whole tree. "The most important thing is to control your emo-" The branch under Valsil's feet burst in a shower of splinters, and Valsil flew backwards, arms flailing. He caught himself on another vine, then dropped the rest of the way down to the ground, grimacing. "Emotions," he finished quietly, stifling something dangerously close to an annoyed tone. "Hmmm."

-----------------

"Watch your aim, stupa, that's one of ours." Segan never took his eye from his scope, but he knew Stokes' shooting when he saw it. He followed the Jedi down to the ground to make sure he survived the fall. Then he cursed again. "You have any idea who that is?" he asked.

"How would I know who that is?" she replied. "Firing." She let a burst loose high and right. The Mandolorian on the receiving end ducked into cover left, where Segan had a better angle. His first shot did the trick -- the second and third were just for emphasis "Hit."

"It's a boy," Segan said, mimicking a midwife. He raised his aim and traded shots with an enemy behind cover.

"Malkina?" She said the name with disdain. "The hell is he doing out here?" She spotted friendly forces moving across the clearing. "There!" She said, motioning with her whole hand. "That's.... What unit is that?"

"Hell if I know," Segan replied, slapping the release on his power pack after besting his second Mando. "No one is where they're supposed to be. Get to them, be useful, I'll cover you."

"On three." Stokes checked the firing lanes, and then ran towards the nearest friendly uniform.