The female Sith apprentice charged Dom after her ally had been crushed by the chunk of metal, anger and fury showing in her eyes as she struck at Dominik relentlessly. The Master Jedi didn't miss a beat though, for he saw the blaster fire aimed directly for Xid. Time seemed to slow as the man, aided by the Force, sped past the female apprentice and reached Xid in the blink of an eye. Saber drawn Dominik redirected the blaster fire immediately, keeping his focus on their pursuers as Sela regrouped with them. 

Dominik's focus remained on the Sith that chased after them, attempting to make it to the doorway before Xid could close it.

Sela struggled to keep her person intact. She parried and swiped, then locked blades with her opponent. The Sith was the more experienced out of the three apprentices so he easily shoved her back. She twisted her head about, deflecting another incoming blaster, to see the door open. 

“Dominik, close the door. I’ll keep the blasters-”

She was interrupted mid sentence by another stab at her middle forcing her to step to the side. Her blade came up to block a side swipe, forcing her farther away from the door. The Imperials laid down a rain of blaster bolts that aimed to catch anyone brave enough to venture out. As Sela spoke, both the apprentice and Lord were attempting to rush at the outpost.  

Seeing Sela take a blaster bolt to her middle, Dom took a few steps and pushed back towards the battle. 

The Master looked back at the troopers that were firing at the enemy, then to Hoss, and finally to Xid. 

"Commander Hoss!" He called out, "Stay with Xid!" There were a few moments as Dom took a deep breath and solidified his decision, "Xid! Close this damn door and don't open it until you get the all clear from my com link! The rest of you, on me!”

Xid jerked his head up and looked to protest. 

Dominik saw that look from Xid but spoke before the boy could say anything first. "Close the door, now!" He demanded before turning back to the battle and pushing forward, the rest of the troops following him and giving the Jedi cover fire as he pushed the Sith Lord and the apprentice that challenged them. 

"Sela! Get back! On me!" Dominik called, loud and clear, just as the Republic troops began to fire back at the Empire's small force, attempting to cover Sela so she could double back and regroup with Dominik. 

Sela made a leap with her feet, sending her flipped over the sith and closer to Dominik. The movement hurt  as the earlier shot managed to nick her side. She had gotten sloppy in her defense while she continued to try to move backwards toward the post. The Sith wasn’t allowing it. He began to try to push past her, putting himself between her and the escape. 

A Republic trooper’s shot clipped the reckless Apprentice on the shoulder causing him to crumble to one knee. 

Dominik charged the Sith lord as soon as he realized the Sith was making an attempt to block Sela off from her escape route. 

Dominik met the dark-sider full force, challenging him with a strong overhead strike, then another strike as the Sith parried the first. They held against the others challenge, their sabers crackling as they were pushed against the other, both Force-users eyeing the other fiercely. Dominik held the defense, trying to give Sela more time to get back and closer to the outpost. Dominik pushed off of the Sith lord and deflected a tuned shot to his chest. The female apprentice moved to help her Master and struck at Dominik from his side, making the Jedi turn to parry. Another well tuned blaster shot found a mark and seared through skin and some muscle over Dominik's right upper arm. The man clenched his teeth as he listened to the skin sizzle and sear with the heat of the blaster bolt. 

"Sela keep falling back!" Dominik instructed as he challenged the Sith and his apprentice, dodging blaster bolts that threatened to tear through him with each passing moment.

Seeing her attacker down, Sela rushed forward. Her foot slammed on his shoulder as she flipped off and over. His hand brought up his saber to slice at her back. She twisted about and batted it away. Her feet landed hard on the ground while she skidded back toward the door. With a heavy breath, her eyes glared at the two Sith still attacking Dominik. 

She turned and launched herself at the exposed female’s back. Landing a shallow slice, she then raced toward the slowly closing door. Her figure darted past Dom while the female Sith twisted about to find her attacker. 

Following Sela's lead, Dominik took steps back towards the door to the outpost. He deflected one blaster bolt into the chest of an Imperial trooper, the blaster fire of his own strike team equaling the hail of fire that Dom was attempting to deflect. The older man held one hand over the searing wound, his main hand holding his saber steady and deflecting any bolts that threatened his figure. 

"Everyone inside, now!" He yelled to the troops, waiting for them all to turn and retreat inside before Dominik followed after Sela, sliding in just as the door sealed shut. 

Silence enveloped the small space, with just the heavy breathing of the group filling the interim. 
"Barricade the door," Dominik began, taking a deep breath and removing his hand from his arm, "these walls are thick, but if they're determined, they'll find a way in."

Sela winched as she examined her wound. The blaster fire had eaten past her clothes and into her skin, leaving it reddish where it contacted. She placed her hand out to stop Xid from approaching, inhaling sharply.

“I’m all right Xid, it’s just a scratch. Focus on the mission,” She leaned against the wall to balance herself. 

In the backdrop, their squadron were working on finding pipes or other scraps to barricade the rustic door. Already the imperial troops and Sith were pounding away at the door. The sounds of hissing showed them that their enemy refused to be derailed. After a few minutes, they managed to reinforce the door with scraps. 

Dominik had found more heavier pieces of scrap and metal, and along with what the troopers had placed, Dom used the Force to move these heavier pieces in place. The door was thick, luckily, so cutting through it with a lightsaber would be harder than normal. 

Looking to the wound on his arm, Dominik examined it for a short time, his focus moving to Sela momentarily, gauging her actions and facial expression to see just how much the wound was bothering her. He finally moved a hand and removed the rebreather from his mouth. The devices made breathing polluted air easier, but they didn't help the man maintain his breath during battle very well, as they were slightly restrictive of how fast they could take in and filter air. 

Sela seemed to be adjusting to the pain. Her wound was shallow and in time, would heal fine with some time. After she inhaled, her posture straightened up. 

Knowing that sitting and talking about the battle and their wounds would get them nowhere, Dominik then moved to Xid. 

"Padawan Terrik," he began, taking a deep breath as he regained himself from the heat of the battle, "what are we looking for? To get this outpost back online, what do we need to find?"

Xid sensed the Master approach and turned his head. He paused in thought a moment, recalling his information. 

“The outpost should have a central room where systems are monitored and assessed. A control room of sorts. I need to get in there to turn the defense systems on. Once on, I can use them to force the Imperial back.” 

Xid lowered Navi onto the ground. “Navi, can you access the vents and slice open the doors? We’ll obtain a map and assemble there.” 

Navi buzzed, clicked in an aggressive fashion. Xid shook his head then reprimanded the droid for uncooperative behavior. 

“Navi, please.. We need to locate and secure the central command or the Imperials will terminate us and more will follow the same result.” 

At the mention of them being killed, Navi rattled and scurried off into the nearest open vent. His metallic steps faded the deeper he went. Xid turned to the others. 

“Look for a large console. All of the systems should be connected and accessing one will be effective.” He caught Sela’s slight disapproval at his speech pattern, a habit he fell into during intense stress. The padawan realized his mistake, but it was too late to correct it. 

“I’ll scan the far right and toward the back. When you find one, let me know immediately.” With those words, he began to walk away from the barricade they created. 

Little was said amongst the group as they all spread out to search for the console. Dominik kept his senses out wide, allowing himself to feel for any disruptions in the Force, anything that would tell him if more were coming. No doubt there would be. 

The large room was dark, particles of dusk and much worse floated through the air around them. Dominik used his lightsaber to shed some light around himself, looking for anything that looked like a control console. 

About ten minutes of searching went by before Commander Hoss called out, "Jedi! Over here!" He said, looking to Xid who was relatively close. Dominik came quickly after he heard Hoss, stopping next to the trooper and looking at the old, dusty, beat up control console the soldier had found. 

Xid’s head snapped into Hoss’ direction then rushed over. When his figure reached the rustic machine, he crouched down and gestured for the tools. One of the troopers slide the kit over. He began to remove the bolts while he spoke. 

“After I’m done repairing it and access it, I will need the power turned on.” 

Sela spoke up, “Dominik and I can get the power. We should also do a perimeter check and ensure the Sith haven’t clawed their way inside.”     

“Commander Hoss, you and the rest of your squad, stay with Xid. We can communicate with our wristlinks should something go wrong. Xid, your mission is to get this tower up and running, at all costs. [i]Do not[/i] face these Sith alone, without Sela or I, do you understand?” 

Dominik held a hand out to emphasize how serious he was when he instructed Xid not to face the Sith alone. There was no question in the skill they had over the boy, not to mention there were three of them.

Xid nodded solemnly. 

Dominik glanced around, his eyes scanning the dark room and finding an industrial stairway that he hoped would lead into the upper levels. He examined it from where he stood before turning back to the group. “Hoss, keep your locator on. This place is going to become a maze the farther up we get.” 

The older Jedi took a deep breath and examined the group. He was confident, but not cocky. He only wished they could have afforded more help. Unfortunately, everyone in the group was all that could be spared, and they had a very strict timeline on top of it. 

Council’s orders, six hours or at first signal for an extraction which meant that they had little time for distractions; little time for Sith trying to interfere, and little time before the battle reached the outpost and air extraction became impossible. And if they weren’t able to meet their rendezvous with the shuttle, they’d have to go by foot. 

Needless the say the Jedi Master was on edge, and pushing hard.

“As soon as the power is on and the tower is operational, rendezvous back here, this spot. I’ll signal for our extraction and we’ll be on our way back home.”

Pushing hard, but not discouraged. 

“Any questions?”

“It’s a basic directive so yes.” Xid felt confident he understood it, but he didn’t like the risk. However he knew he couldn’t argue with the older master. His fingers picked at his rebreather, adjusting the device and inhaled again.   

The rest seemed to agree with various head shakes or nays. Without additional comments, Sela began to follow Dominik. Her lightsaber floated to her hand again and she readied to ignite it again. 

Dominik wasted no time in taking the lead, feeling Sela closely behind him as they left the small group and started up the stairway. A few minutes of silence went by as Dom walked at a calm but steady pace, his lightsaber ignited and held out in front of his body in order to give the pair some light.

“He’s still young… Sela. He’s got a long way to go and plenty of training left. I know he’s lacking in some places, but he’s a smart boy.” Dominik said suddenly, quietly, glancing back at his companion for a moment and grabbing eye contact. He had seen the looks they gave each other, caught the clues when they spoke, and he could sense the uneasiness between the two. 

“I started late, as a Padawan. But there’s always time to improve, and he shows enormous potential. I hope you see that in him.”

Sela sighed, “It’s not his youth that I’m struggling with and he’s been with me for two years already. He was brought to the temple rather young. It’s his skill set and mindset I’m having troubles working with.” 

There was a sense of guilt in her words over admitting the truth. 

“He’s not a fighter.”

“There are plenty of Jedi who don’t fight on the front lines, Sela,” Dom interjected quickly, but he fell silent again and let Sela finish talking. 

“That is what worries me. How many Jedi who can’t defend themselves have survived? How many have you heard perish throughout the war? I’ve got many names I will never be able to see, including Ceris, my first padawan.” A bitterness edged into her tone at the Jedi’s fate. 

“He won’t be without these skills forever. Let him indulge in his interests, move him to a temple far from the front lines, and teach him. Learning doesn’t have to constantly be on the battlefield.” Dominik’s voice was quiet, both to allow him some sense in listening around them, but also to show Sela that he understood. 

“If only it was that easy. While I might be his master, the war continues and every day the Republic loses ground. Time isn’t on our side when the Sith threaten everything we are. As for indulging in his natural gift… I don’t agree and fear it might not keep him on the right path.”

Dominik knew the war was at its highest peak, and the Jedi Council pushed hard for Padawan’s to learn as they go. Taking a Padawan learner from the front lines to a Temple wasn’t ideal, but if it kept that Padawan alive and aided in the learning process, the Council might make an exception.

“We can’t very well give up on those we’ve promised to protect and train. It’s not a decision the Council makes lightly, but if it would benefit his growth as a Jedi, he [i]can[/i] be taken from the fight and trained somewhere more peaceful.” There was a moment of silence before Dominik continued, “Even if you don’t take him from the front lines, it is not uncommon for a Jedi to take on more than one Padawan, especially in wartime. Our young ones learn from each other, it could benefit him.”

Sela paused in her search for Sith, her eyes snapped to Dom with a bit of a surprise. 

“I’m not sure that is wise. My main concern is if I can handle two learners and not put one’s progression above the other’s. If the new padawan is a fighter, I will admit I might lean more into his education than Xid’s. How would that benefit Xid when clear favoritism is shown?” 

“It wouldn’t benefit him.” 

The master left a moment of silence to add weight to his words. 

“But as a Jedi Knight, and a teacher of your Padawan, it is important that you’ve identified that issue and that you work hard to prevent it… Our purpose as teachers is not just to help the younger generation learn the ways of the Force and grow as a Jedi, but it is also for the teachers themselves to learn from their students. There is never an end to what a Jedi can learn, and a Padawan only helps one expand upon that knowledge.” 

The words Dom spoke could be traced back to his own growth as a Padawan. Even in that moment he was learning how to aid others in their own growth as Jedi. 

“True, but gaining another padawan this soon might give Xid the impression I’ve given up on him. Being a tech focused Jedi isn’t easy from what he’s told me. I personally don’t understand the purpose or desire to be connected to droids or machines in general.” 

“Right there, Sela. [i]That[/i] is why we must learn from our Padawans. Give him a chance and Xid could show you why being connected to droids and machines is useful. Give the boy a chance, nurture that talent that he has, encourage him, and see where it takes him. One of the greatest things a master can do for their Padawan is to help them find their talent, and to expand upon it. There’s no telling where it could take Xid.” 

“I just hope it doesn’t lead him to the dark side. Navi, Xid’s creation, has tendencies that are concerning.” Sela glanced around, still seeking any sight of forced entrance.  

“As long as you’re there guiding him, Xid cannot be influenced. You are a strong Jedi, Sela. Strong Jedi make for even stronger students. If you need any guidance, you can always speak to the Council, or to me directly. You’re not alone in the struggle.” Dominik said, glancing back at his companion and giving her a reassuring smile as he moved his lightsaber from one hand to the other. 

The Master stopped suddenly, his words trailed off into nothing as his head swiveled. He could sense them now, even more than before. Upon his face he felt a slight draft; there should be no draft in an enclosed, shut down outpost. 

“Just ahead. We’re not alone inside this place anymore.”

“Shit,” Sela cursed as she pushed forward, moving down the tunnel. 

She came to a sudden stop. Before her, a small hatch hidden in the wall was cut completely open. It was obviously done by lightsabers. 

“I think we’re too late,” her head twisted about to see the three tunnels leading away from the main one.  

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