Star Wars

Rho 108

Episode 2

The Clone Wars

I had been stationed on the planet Rhen-Var, as a break from the fighting, when it fell to the Confederacy of Independent Systems. I remember that I was inside a small Republic outpost, training new pilots on the specs of the fighters that were being developed for us by Slayn and Korpil engineering, a company that had a special contract with the Republic for fighters.

"The V-19 Torrent, better known as an M-Wing, is probably the deadliest fighter under development there is. It is named for the unusual shape it has during flight. When on the ground, the wings fold up to become perpendicular to the ground, forming a ninety-degree angle with the body. When they fold out during flight, it forms an angle close to one hundred and fifty degrees. In addition, what appears to be a dorsal stabilizer on the fighter folds down to become an under slung Ion cannon, which can swivel around three hundred and sixty degrees. Any questions?"

One pilot raised his hand, and I nodded for him to stand up.

"Commander, Sir, what is the standard armament on the M-Wing?"

I smiled and motioned for him to sit down.

"A decent question. As I said, there is a single Ion cannon on the under slung stabilizer. It is extremely effective against droids and can be used to take out the engines of larger craft, like capital ships. There are two missile launchers on each side of the cockpit, and one blaster on the end of each wing."

I had barely finished speaking when an alarm went off. All of the pilots stood and moved out of the classroom to get to their different vehicles, be it Gunship or TX-130X tank. I hit the comm-link on the wall beside me and listened to the message.

"All Republic forces, this is General Obi-Wan Kenobi. A large fleet of Separatists is inbound on Rhen-Var. Evacuate all personnel immediately. This is not a drill."

I ran to get to my gunship and found Seraph already strapped into the co-pilot seat.

"Hey Commander, good to see you made it!"

"Cut the chatter Seraph, and get us airborne while I strap in."

"Aye, Sir."

I reached into the cockpit and grabbed my armor, donning it quickly as the Gunship lifted off the ground and hovered. I put on my helmet and keyed the mike for a direct link to Seraph.

"Go Seraph; take us to the Jedi Sanctuary."

"But Commander, you're not strapped in to your seat."
"Just do it trooper!"

I grabbed on to a steel bar that was there for troopers to attach their rappelling lines to, and held on as the freezing winds whipped up around me, making me shiver for the few seconds it took my armor to regulate the temperature. I activated the infrared scan feature in my helmet and looked down at the hundreds of troopers below the LAAT/i, their armor blending in with the snow and ice covered ground. They boarded other Gunships and transports that would form into convoys. However, I wasn't thinking about them or their chances. I could only think of getting to the Jedi in time.

I leaned out of the troop hold and peered ahead through the swirling winds, thick with snow. Only a few hundred meters away loomed the towering spiral of the Jedi sanctuary, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I was even more excited when a second Gunship appeared beside us, apparently with the same intentions. I saw the troop bay doors slide open and a Jedi in dark robes stood, outlined by the white backdrop. He waved at me and a transmission came in over the mike.

"Who's the pilot of that Gunship?"

I waved back at him and sent back an answer.

"Commander Gabriel, Master Jedi, call sign ARC-Angel. What would you have me do?"

"The Sanctuary is surrounded by droids and tanks, and it's too dangerous to try to go it alone. If you can land and save those Jedi, we'll provide cover fire and keep the tanks off of you, but the droids are all yours."

"Yes, Sir. I think we can handle a few pesky droids."

I reached around, grabbed a DC-15 rifle from the weapon container in the rear of the Gunship, and bent my knees as the Gunship started to descend. A few seconds later, we were on the ground, and I jumped out, rifle to my shoulder.

I could see the Jedi coming up a flight of stairs out of the corner of my eye, but it was the droids coming up more that I was worried about. When the first battle droid poked its head out, I kicked it and sent the droid tumbling down the stairs, slowing the others' advance. I heard the Jedi yell for me to get on board, so I made my way back, albeit slowly. I was still facing the stairs the droids were coming from. I blasted one with my rifle before a pulled a thermal detonator out of my equipment belt. I primed the grenade and threw it, yelling for Seraph to take off as I did so. I turned around and sprinted for the Gunship, which was about ten feet off the ground by now. As the Gunship rose higher off the ground, I leaped for it, stretching my hands out for purchase somewhere on the Gunship. I found a grip on the side of the troop hold, and I held on for dear life as the ground fell away from me. I felt scared, excited, and sick all at once when I looked down and saw how high we were, how my legs were dangling in the air. Then I felt a strong hand grab my wrist, and then more hands grabbed me by the back of my armor and pulled me aboard. I closed my eyes and lay on the floor of the troop hold for several minutes before I sat up. I looked around at the Jedi and saw they were smiling at me. One, an old, grizzled human, helped me stand.

"What you did was reckless and irresponsible. Thank you, trooper."

I nodded and made my way to the cockpit, sealing the troop bay doors to get ready for a planetary departure. I turned to the frequency the Jedi who assisted us called on and keyed the mike.

"Jedi, thanks for the assist. What's your name?"

A few seconds passed before I heard the crackle of a comm being used and heard the familiar voice.

"This is Anakin Skywalker. And you're welcome, Commander."

After the Defeat on Rhen-Var, we were ready to strike back at the Separatists. When we got wind of CIS activity on the planet of Raxus Prime, we were chomping at the bit to attack. I had been given command of the first Gunship striker squadron, other wise known as Hell's Horses, made up of fifty elite gunship pilots.

It was just before the initial invasion of Raxus Prime that they gave me this honor, and I swelled with pride when the Squadron symbol was pinned to my uniform. The symbol was that of a jet-black horse with a flaming mane and wings of fire. I still have that pin if you would like to see it some time.

Seraph was once again my co-pilot for this operation, and I looked forward to having his excellent piloting skills at my disposal.

I stood looking at my Gunship, proud of the symbol I had personally designed for it. It was the Hell's Horses symbol, but riding it was a person in Mandalorian battle armor, with wings sprouting from his back and a flaming sword in hand. It was my signature, and it made me stick out.

As I was involved in looking at my pride and joy, Seraph came and tapped me on the shoulder.

"Sir, I just got our orders."

"Well, spit it out. You weren't bred to stand around."

He reached into his equipment belt and pulled out a portable Hologram projector. He turned it on and a Jedi with lengthy hair and a thick beard appeared. I didn't recognize him, but I recognized the voice from the evacuation alert back on Rhen-Var.

"Commander Gabriel, this is General Obi-Wan Kenobi transmitting from Raxus prime. We have secured a small area five clicks away from a large Separatist base. I am requesting assistance from the Horses on a raid against the base. The success of this mission depends on your Hell's Horses and their abilities. Kenobi out."

I took the projector and turned and reached into the cockpit of the Gunship. I grabbed the boom mike and put out an all call.

"All Hell's Horses, report to your ships. I repeat, Hell's Horses report to your ships."

Raxus Prime is a filthy world, a planet sized garbage dump that usually wouldn't be worth attacking. There was something special about it though, and the troopers, especially the Horses, were looking to spill some droid oil.

The squadron was flying in a V formation, with me at the head. There wasn't much to look at on the ground, except for AT-TEs and TX series tanks moving over the trash and refuse that had grown into mountains. I felt sorry for the ground pounders, and especially for the ARC troopers who would be sent god knows where.

"ARC-Angel, this is General Kenobi, do you read?"

I smiled at the urgency of his tone. Jedi always got so worked up.

"ARC-Angel here, General. What do you need?"

The sound of an explosion echoed through the mike and a few seconds passed with no response. I wondered if he had been hit, but his voice came back a second later, hoarse from shouting, I assumed.

"We have a large number of tanks and walkers practically at the doors of the base, but there is a massive force of Spider droids and Hailfire droids heading our way. I'm uploading the coordinates into your helmet now. You're our only hope Commander. Hurry."

I pushed the throttle forward as hard as I could and transferred the coordinates to the rest of the squadron. They fell in behind me, single file, and we prepared to attack.

A few minutes after the message from Kenobi, we arrived on one of the grizzliest sites we had yet seen. AT-TEs and AT-XTs, along with dozens of tanks and hundreds of troopers on foot, were locked in combat with a small army of droids and CIS vehicles.

I gave the order to attack and hundreds of beams lashed out from the squadron, tearing into the droids and armor units. Explosions rippled through the enemy numbers as unit after unit was destroyed, their mangled hulks beginning to blend in with the surface of the planet. Things didn't go well for us after that though. When the droids realized what was doing more damage, they turned their attention to us, and I watched five of my Gunships go down in the first volley.

"General, these guys are tearing us apart! Can you handle the rest on your own?"

"Yes. Good job Commander, but I need you to do one more thing."

"Yes, General?"
"There's a Trade Federation core ship half a click from here that is attempting to lift off. Here's the coordinates. Take it down."

I turned the LAAT/i around and flew at top speed toward the core ship, passing the order along to the remainder of my squadron, thirty-five of the original fifty. Within two minutes we were within firing distance of the ship. It was massive, perfectly spherical in appearance except for fuel tanks that protruded from its sides. I marked the fuel cells on my targeting computer and fired all of my concussion missiles in one long, continuous volley. I saw a long crack appear along the side of the ship and it dipped slightly as it was lifting off.

"All units, target their fuel cells and pound the rupture on the side."

A chorus of "Aye, sirs" reached my ears and missiles flew out from the Gunships, splashing against the ship in washes of flame. I saw it list to the right and then it fell completely out of the sky, crashing into the ground and sending a plume of dust at least a click high into the air.

I was about to cheer when I saw an anti-aircraft turret out of the corner of my eye. I saw it belch flame and smoke and a round tore through the gunship. I grabbed the eject lever on the side of my seat and pulled it, launching me into the air. I drifted back to the earth slowly as my parachute deployed, but I saw a squad of battle droids beneath me, and I pulled out my pistol.

I landed in the middle of the droids, and was able to take down two of them, but a Super Battle droid muscled its way past the others, and backhanded me, knocking me unconscious.

"Ahh, Commander, so good to see you awake at last."

My eyes fluttered open and adjusted to the harsh glare of lights in the room. I tried to sit up, but I quickly realized I was bound to a table. It was sitting up at an eighty-degree angle which allowed me to see everything around me. What I gathered led me to believe I was in a ships detention center, but what caught my attention was a tall, aging man wearing fine clothes and a flowing cape. Attached to his side with a belt was a curved handled lightsaber. My eyes narrowed in anger.

"Dooku."

He held his hands out at his side and shrugged.

"In the flesh, Commander."

I glared at him, and then the memory of the Gunship being destroyed hit me like a freight train. I instantly thought of Seraph.

"Where's my co-pilot?"

The count folded his hands together and lowered his head, almost as if he was in mourning. His voice was tinged with sorrow when he answered.

"I am sorry to say that your friend didn't eject in time to survive the crash. Seraph was his name, wasn't it?"

My eyes widened in shock when he added this bit of information. I didn't remember getting asked anything earlier, but the thought of truth drugs always occurred to me.

"How did you know that?"

He smiled at me and waved a hand through the air. Sparks flew from his fingertips, and I grew fearful.

"The Force runs through all things, Commander. By reading the force, I can find out anything about a person, even what they don't know about themselves."

He held out his hand to me and took on a serene expression.

"Join me, Commander; lead the air forces of the Confederacy. Your skills surpass those of the Jedi and the rest of your brothers. You are special."

I gathered as much saliva as I could in my mouth, took aim, and spat at him. The dark Jedi easily dodged it, but the insult was not lost on him. He smiled and put his hand to his lightsaber. I heard the ruffling of a cloak and felt a stinging pain in my right arm. I looked down at it and screamed. My forearm had been completely removed. The count stood in front of me, gloating with lightsaber in hand.

"Give in to your pain, Commander. You can end it if you join me."

The sting had become an inferno in my arm, threatening to engulf my whole body. I squirmed, but I still cursed at him in defiance. The smile left his face and he removed my other arm.

"Come now, is it really worth the pain to serve a corrupt system? Someone of your abilities should be leading fleets, not squadrons."

For a few seconds, I did think of betraying the Republic. The pain was so severe that anything could have been better. I quickly pushed the thought from my mind as I stilled my body.

"My loyalty is to the Republic Dooku, and no amount of pain can change it."

Dooku roared in anger and lifted his lightsaber above his head, bringing it down in a slashing blow that removed both my legs. I screamed and started to cry. I was shamed by my reaction, but I realized any person would do it. Dooku put away his lightsaber and motioned to two droids standing at the edge of the room.

"Take him away. I have no need of him now."

He quickly left the room, and only after did the droids advance toward me. I tried to roll away from them, but they caught me and picked me up. I put up as much of a struggle as I could, but one of the droids clubbed me in the head. My vision was swimming and my ears were ringing horribly, but I could faintly hear the sound of blaster fire and the thumps of grenades outside the room. I looked over at the wall that the sounds seemed to be coming from and saw it was glowing bright orange. The droids apparently saw it too, because they set me on the ground and pulled out blasters. It was then that I saw one of my saviors, suspended upside down on a rappelling wire. The ARC trooper lowered himself down until he was directly over the droids, then he moved his hands and bashed their heads together. The droids dropped like scrap metal, and he flipped over and cut the line. By that time, the orange part of the wall had melted away, and I could see the rest of Omega squad standing there with a stretcher. The ARC trooper who had destroyed the droids picked me up and helped me into the stretcher. I could see the red streaked helmet of Captain Fordo through the blur in my vision, and I smiled. He reached down and patted me on the shoulder.

"Don't worry mate, we've got you. We're going home."

I nodded my head and tried to say something, but I quickly went unconscious.

"There has been massive structural damage to his arms and legs, Admiral. I don't see how he survived, much less how he can move."

"Well Taun We, you did raise the pilot caste yourself. You know that we're tougher than ground pounders."

"That may be, Admiral, but he is only a clone."

"You Kaminoans always focus on the negative."

I flexed my prosthetic fist and slammed it down on the operating table, putting a dent in it a meter wide.

"Enough, with all due respect to both of you. Don't fuss over me. I'm perfectly fine and fully recovered. I've spent two months here, and I don't want to spend any more."

Taun We looked at me sheepishly and nodded, while Admiral Renard smiled in satisfaction. He looked at the dent in the table and his voice became full of pride.

"Well Gabriel, are you ready to get out there and bust some droid flyers?"

I saluted and hit myself in the head, which almost made him laugh, while Taun-We smiled at me quizzically.

"Yes, Sir, I was made ready. Ow."

He returned the salute and waved his hand to dismiss me, and I turned and started for my barracks. Halfway there, I stopped outside a door that was open slightly, and I could faintly hear the sound of voices inside.

"Master Rancisis, what is the location of the Separatist fleet?"

"The Separatists are just outside the Kamino system, easily within hyperspace jump distance. We're lucky that we intercepted one of their transmissions, or we would have been devastated here."

"There is still a chance of that, Master Rancisis. The clone starfighters aren't ready yet, and the Jedi pilots we have available are ill equipped to turn back a whole fleet."

"No worries, Master Kenobi. There is a large detachment fleet of Republic forces two jumps out-system. If you can delay the Separatist forces for thirty minutes, we can have your reinforcements."

"I just hope we all live that long."

"Anakin!"

"I'm sorry, Master, but it's the truth. Against a fleet that large…"

A few more minutes of eavesdropping went by with little more information about the invasion, but it troubled me to hear Anakin and Obi-Wan arguing like that. I could sense the anger radiating from the room. I heard them stop talking and a pressed myself against the wall. Several Jedi walked out, including Kenobi, but I didn't see Anakin among them. I sat there for a few minutes before I heard him come through the door. I shot my hand out and grabbed his arm, only to realize that he had a prosthetic like mine. He looked at me and I could feel his eyes burning into mine.

"When were you going to tell us about this, Jedi?"

He looked at me a few more seconds before he lowered his face, and I let go of his arm.

"I'm sorry, Commander, but we didn't want to alarm you."

"Alarm me? And you don't think a few hundred landing craft trying to set down on the roof of the city, with no apparent idea of how they got here, wouldn't alarm me!"

At this point I was screaming, and I could feel a vein throbbing in my neck.

"Like I said, Commander, I'm sorry. But it was Master Rancisis's idea, not mine."

I nodded and looked at his right arm, which was covered in a long, black glove.

"How did you lose your arm, Anakin?"

He took his glove off and held out his prosthetic hand. It was a bright gold color, much better looking than the chrome color of mine.

"Count Dooku took mine off in a duel. I think this is better than a regular hand though. Stronger."

I smiled and my respect for the Jedi grew a little more.

"Well, we both have something to hate Dooku for then."

He looked at me quizzically and I held my arms up to the light, and then lifted up the legs of my tunic to show him the other prosthetics.

"He took all of mine."

"Trooper, hold that line, don't let those scrap pile rejects get through! You, Sergeant, pull your men together! I want this area sealed off, and I want it done yesterday!"

I was barking the orders like a commander trained for ground combat, urging my men to fight for the lives of their brothers inside as I held my DN bolt caster to my shoulder and fired the weapon at a nearby droid. Dozens of lightning bolts shot out and overloaded the droid, sending it crashing to the ground. I pulled an EMP grenade from my belt, primed it, and threw it into the middle of a cluster of droids. One droid caught the grenade and bobbled it before he could get a hold of it. I heard a shriek and then the grenade went off, causing the droids near it to overload and blow up.

"Great throw Commander!"

"Yeah Boss, way to go!"

"Cut the talking and get to shooting Trooper! We have to hold this hallway or the clankers will get to the unfinished clones!"

Suddenly, the droids stopped their firing and put away their weapons. Some of the troopers fired potshots at the immobile machines, but they quickly stopped when they heard something that sounded like thunder, rolling down the hallway. I instantly realized what it was.

"Droidekas! Everybody take cover!"

My warning came too late. The droids rolled in to view in their balled up forms. The Droidekas unfolded and brought their weapons to bear, instantly cutting down five of the thirty troopers in the hallway, and taking ten more in the next few seconds. I dove forward and slammed the butt of my bolt caster down on one of them, and then I powered my fist through the carapace of another. I could feel my fury overtaking me as I ripped my hand out of the Droideka. I turned to face the other droids and they looked at each other in misunderstanding. That didn't last long, because I smashed the head of a Super battle droid in, then turned the bolt caster on the others and released a charged blast that instantly fried the circuits of five droids. They fired on me, but it was already too late for them. The surviving troopers began firing at them as they advanced, fixing vibro-bayonets on to the ends of their rifles. I would have promoted each and every one of them that day if I could have. They charged in and pummeled droid after droid, stabbing them with the vibro weapons. I saw one trooper bodily knock down a droid and then put three rounds through it.

Within minutes we had cleared the hallway of the machines and were pushing them back to their dropship. They circled up around the dropship to protect it, but it was a futile action. One trooper stepped up with a guidable rocket launcher, and I motioned everyone to protect him while he did his job.

I didn't hear the trooper fire the rocket, thanks to sonic dampeners in our helmets, implemented after the battle of Geonosis, but I did see the rocket fly up into the air, leaving a beautiful white contrail behind it. A second later, the rocket came back down and slammed through the thin armor on the top of the dropship, penetrating deep within the internal structure and detonating. The result was amazing. Shrapnel went everywhere, but the bolt buckets took almost all of it, and what reached us was usually only a few centimeters in diameter.

Most of the troopers cheered, but I kept my head. I knew there would be more droids, and I was right, but not how I expected.

I looked up in time to see a droid starfighter bearing down on us, and I dove out of the way just as it began a strafing run, tearing up the platform under our feet and catching two of my men in the blast. I saw their armor and bodies flash fry under the intense heat of the plasma weapons, and the sickly sweet smell of burnt flesh entered my helmet's air scrubbers. I gagged, but I pulled a stim pack from my belt and removed the needle's cover. I stuck the needle in my neck and depressed the injector, letting the synthetic adrenaline course through my veins, wiping away any exhaustion or nausea.

"Come on troopers. Let's get inside before that thing comes back."

"Gabriel! Gabriel, over here!"

I turned around and put the bolt caster against my shoulder as a Kaminoan with a pale blue crest on his head came towards us.

"Prime Minister Lama Su! Where is your personal guard?"

He shook his head, and put his large hand up to cover his face.

"They're all dead, Commander. The droids overran our position when Master Shaak-Ti left to help the ARC troopers we keep in reserve here."

I nodded and was about to reply when I caught a slightly garbled transmission.

"All Re—lic for-, Fleet has arr-, the b—le is over, repeat, the bat--- over."

I cheered and told my men the good news. With the cloning facilities in Tipoca city safe, the Grand Army of the Republic would live to fight another day.

I went to Coruscant the next day, along with Obi-Wan and Anakin, who couldn't help but congratulate me on the defense of the eastern side of the facility. Apparently, they had gotten their fighters shot down and they landed in the water, where a Kaminoan picked them up and brought them back. They had saved the third generation of clones, still in their fetal growth stage. I felt proud to sit beside the two Jedi in the shuttle we were using.

Now, I hate urban fighting, jungle fighting, and being on the ground in general, so seeing as Coruscant is one big city, I was extremely nervous. When we landed at the Senate docking station, I honestly wished that I had just refused the visit with the Chancellor. I stepped out onto the metallic ground in full civilian clothing, extremely uncomfortable with my surroundings. After the fierce fighting and being enclosed in my armor again, being out of it so soon made me feel naked.

A squad of Senate guards escorted us inside the building and up a flight of stairs. We passed the Senate chamber as we climbed, and we quickly arrived in the Chancellor's quarters. Palpatine greeted us warmly and led us into his office, where he requested we sit down. Normally, I wouldn't, but he insisted, and orders are orders if you get my drift.

To interrupt my little retelling here, have the rebels had any more large battles with the Empire, like the Battle of Yavin? I've been in here so long I can't even remember the last time I flew a TIE fighter. Say what? A battle over Endor? Isn't that a forest planet? They got the Death Star again, didn't they? And the Emperor and Vader? So Vader is gone now huh? He was a good friend. I'll miss him. Oh, of course, I'll get back to the story.

Palpatine handed us a large tray filled with the most delectable foods you could ever imagine. I gorged myself then and there until they would have had to roll me out of the room had I not stopped. Palpatine smiled at me and stood up, and I could see a medal in his right hand. I instantly stood up and saluted, thinking that the Jedi would be receiving it, but the Chancellor chuckled and pinned it on my shirt.

"For going above and beyond the call of duty, in and out of the elements you were trained for, and showing exceptional bravery in the face of impossible odds, I hereby gift you with the Cross of the Republic Guardian, and the new rank of Fleet Marshal Commandant."

My heart swelled with pride as I heard the words spoken to me. The Fleet Marshall Commandant was a rank that had been developed for the best of the best pilots by the Kaminoans. Until then it had been a purely theoretical rank, but when I received it I gained control of every single fighter in the Republic Army, though I would only be able to command those in the immediate fleet I was in, while the others were turned over to my subordinates.

"Sir, I will do honor to the rank in your name."

"Very well, Commandant. I do hope that you will."

The next day I received the order to mobilize for battle. I would not see Chancellor Palpatine again until he became the ruler of the Galactic Empire.

Muunilinst, an Intergalactic Banking Clan held world, a stronghold of the CIS. The IBC was one of the first nations to join the Separatist movement, and it supplied most of the funds to "persuade" unwilling systems to join.

I was part of the massive force mobilized to capture the planet. The fleet consisted of ten legions of ground troops, almost ten thousand clone troopers total, one thousand Gunships, twenty Acclamator class Assault Cruisers and one hundred elite pilots flying M-wing fighters. General Obi-Wan Kenobi of the Jedi Order took command of the ground forces while his Padawan, Commander Skywalker, and I led the fighter assets.

My M-wing was unique, a thing not seen often in an army of genetically identical soldiers. It had a custom paint job, fire red with the jaws of a Ranha shark painted on the nose. That in itself is special, because the Ranha is the fiercest predator on Kamino, but what made it even better was the fact that the Omega Squad ARC troopers had painted it. I could not have been more proud of it, not even if Jango Fett had built the thing by hand.

Forgive me, I'm rambling a little. I'm not as young as I used to be. I'm forty years old, but to a clone with growth acceleration, that's the same as eighty years.

There I go again. I'm sure that you want to get back to the story.

I stood on the Bridge of the Red Aifer, now my official home away from home. I was a newly initiated member of the 501st legion, one of the originals on Geonosis. Admiral Renard was standing beside me, updating me on the battle strategy as we looked at a Holo-display.

"Gabriel, you'll be leading a strike force against the frigates protecting the capital ships. It will consist of one wing of the available troops, made up of Blue, Red and Green squadrons. You will have two wing men, Captain Santik and Captain Ferrous. Commander Skywalker will lead the rest to cover you and disable the capital ships' engines."

"I understand sir. Just make sure that young Skywalker keeps his own men safe. He's a good pilot, but not what I would call a team player."

He laughed as I left for the hangar, but I was serious.

"Alpha Wing, form up on me and prepare for attack run. Beta Wing, follow Skywalker and give us a little cover."

"Yes, Commandant, Right away."

"Commandant, Vulture droids!"

My targeting display went wild as it automatically counted the number of incoming bogeys. They were pouring out of the ships like ants, and they easily outnumbered us five to one.

"Skywalker, hurry up and give us some cover. We need to get those frigates."

There was nothing but static on the comm.

"Skywalker, where are you? Dang Jedi! Alpha Wing, prepare to-"

"I'm here Commandant, don't worry."

A streak of blue and white shot past me and I barely got a glimpse of Skywalker's wedge shaped Aether sprite star fighter, followed closely by Beta Wing.

"Do that again, Skywalker, and I'll shoot you out of the sky. These are my men, not yours."

Skywalker pulled off an amazing barrel roll as he laid to waste three Vulture droids.

"Sorry Commandant, but I was having difficulties with my comm."

I bet you were, I thought to myself.

"Alpha Wing, continue with primary objective. Arm your payloads and fire at will."

"Aye-Aye, sir!"

Some people say that you can't hear anything in space. I say they are all liars. The sounds of the miniature nuclear weapons impacting against the frigates, ships firing their lasers, all of it mingled to form what we call the chorus of battle. It's a beautiful sound.

As I armed my payload and readied for a bombing run, I was startled by the sudden call of a missile lock signal. I looked over my shoulder and saw that I was being tailed by two Vulture droids. I had one advantage over my attackers though. I swiveled the under slung Ion cannon until it faced the two fighters and fired. One droid crashed harmlessly into the side of the frigate I was attempting to destroy, but the other flew into the hangar of the ship and exploded, setting off a chain reaction that tore the frigate in half.

"Holy Crap, did you see that thing explode?"

"Way to go Sir!"

"He's a one clone army!"

"I know I'm great and all but you're flooding the comm with all that." I switched over to another frequency. "Skywalker, what's your status?"

"Some kind of ship just obliterated gold squadron. I'm going after it."

At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to see that ship shot down. Sixteen men lost, killed by a single pilot. I wanted vengeance, but protocol came first.

"Negative Commander, I am ordering you to stay and finish this battle."

"With all due respect Commandant, if I don't take it down, we could lose the battle."

That point of view caught my attention and I saw a way to fulfill both my thirst for vengeance and my duty to the men.

"Get him, Skywalker."

"Thank you sir."

I was preparing to take command of Beta Wing when the hologram projector in the cockpit of my M-wing flashed to life, displaying Admiral Renard, who was apparently very content with the battle.

"Commandant, report back to the Aifer. We've got a special assignment for you."

"NARC troopers? You have got to be kidding me."

I was standing beside the Admiral, looking at six of the biggest clones I had ever seen. Muscles rippled underneath the form fitting "glove" that proceeded trooper armor, and I was genuinely scared.

"No joke, Commandant. You are the senior pilot and the most highly trained in commando insertion and out-of-element combat. You'll be delivering them to the objective and then joining them. Those prosthetics ought to come in handy."

I looked over the NARCs again and shook my head.

"What am I supposed to get them there in? A LAAT/1 is too large to fly into one of those CIS hangars, and an M-Wing doesn't have the armor for a boarding action."

The Admiral grinned at me and held out a hologram projector. There was a small whirr and then the picture of a large, cylindrical shaped craft came on the display.

"You expect us to go in there in a tube?"

"It's no tube, Gabriel. This is the future of boarding vehicles. We call it the Shell. It's designed to breach a capital ships hull and jettison the opening. That way, any droids waiting to ambush you will get smashed. It has boost, lateral thrust and braking rockets, and its way too small for capital ship guns. You only have to worry about enemy fighters."

"Well, that makes me feel better."

"Us too, sir. We love a little excitement."

I turned around and came face to helmet with one of the NARC troopers. I stepped back and looked at the black robe painted on his armor, complete with hood and skull face on his helmet. He held what I took to be a Vibro-scythe in his right hand.

"I'm Reaper. I'm the leader of these troopers. Let me introduce you to them. Over there are Dragon and Cerberus," two troopers nodded toward me and snapped off a quick salute, "and the last three are Lion, Tiger and Kodiak." The last three waved

"Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my."

"Whatever. Anyway, we're itching to bust some droids. Let's get going, shall we?"

"Good idea. There is only a forty-five minute window of opportunity here."

Reaper had begun to walk off, but as I finished he turned around and laughed.

"That's forty more than we'll need, Commandant."

"Santik, Ferrous, cover us in transit. I have to get these troopers inside that cruiser at all costs."

"Aye-Aye, Sir. We won't let anything get near you."

It was dark inside the Shell, lit only by the stars from outside and the occasional explosion. The super troopers didn't make a single sound. I don't even think that they breathed. It was like being in a cramped room with six skeletons.

As we approached our target, a C-29 Allegiance class Dreadnought, a digital display in my helmet ticked off the kilometers till insertion, while a clock counted our time left until they got their engines operating again. We had thirty-five minutes left.

Two minutes later, impact alarms began squealing in my helmet. I silenced them and checked on my distance display: two hundred meters. I dumped all of the available fuel into the rear boosters and sent us hurtling toward the Dreadnought. The pure speed pressed me back in the seat and would have caused my brains to leak out of my ears if not for my helmet.

The Shell slammed into the side of the Dreadnought and powered through the outer hull, which automatically sealed behind us. It took several walls to stop us, and from what I could tell we were deep inside the core of the ship. I heard clattering outside and I held up my hands to keep the commandos from getting excited.

"Don't worry guys, I have a few surprises."

I reached down and flipped a switch on the display that was glowing a bright red. I heard a shriek and then there was only silence. The EMP generator had worked pretty well. I slammed my fist down on the door eject button and suddenly I was in open air. I unstrapped myself and tore out the seat, clearing the way for the NARCs to come through. Reaper was the first to exit, followed immediately by the others. When they were out, Reaper handed me a DC-17 Carbine and pointed toward a blast door at the end of the hall.

"That's a problem. I don't have enough firepower to get through, and the bridge is directly that way."

I thought for a minute and then an idea struck me.

"Reaper, give me a thermal detonator and stand back."

He did as I asked and I got to work. I smashed my DC-17 apart and extracted the plasma core, and then I attached it to the thermal detonator with wiring from the shattered carbine. I held it up and showed the commandos, who were awed.

"He wired together a plasma grenade. He's good."

I stuck the grenade by the door, primed it and took off toward the Shell. After three seconds I heard a muffled explosion and then klaxons started going off. I grabbed a spare DC-17 out of the Shell and followed the NARCs through the massive hole in the door. We hadn't gone fifteen feet inside when a force of droid marines found us and opened up. I took a blaster bolt to the arm, but it didn't damage any circuits, so I was safe. I felt sorry for the droids, though. The commandos were fast. I mean like lightning. I swear they could deflect the droids fire, and when they got into hand-to-hand combat the clankers had no chance. Kodiak had wrist mounted Vibro-knives, Lion and Tiger had Vibro-claws built in to the knuckles of their armor, Loki used a Vibro-axe and Cerberus ripped through them with a DC-17 pistol in one hand and an electrified Pulse hammer in the other. They were like gods of war, and they shook me to the core.

It was over quickly, and Reaper motioned for me to stay close. I had no ideas about reminding him who was higher ranked. As far as I was concerned, they were in charge.

We faced a few little battles along the way, but they were all smaller than the first. I had a feeling in the pit of my stomach that it was too easy, but I ignored it. Maybe I shouldn't have, I don't know, but the next instant we were surrounded by skeletal, bipedal droids made of grey metal and wearing sandy colored cloaks. They had staffs in their hands, and when they lifted them up, electrified orbs came to life on either end of the steel poles. Only then did I realize we were up against the most feared droids of them all: MagnaGuards. I raised my carbine and fired at one but it deflected the blast. They began to press forward, and I counted them up. Seven, one for each of us, and it was going to be a tough fight. Reaper unstrapped something from his side and handed it to me.

"It's an overload spike. Stab it in the droid's skull and it'll shut him down."

I took it and watched as the droids stepped closer and closer. Then, they struck. One charged me and raised the staff over its head and tried to crush my skull, but I deflected it with my arm and put two rounds through its face. Any other droid would have been destroyed, but the MagnaGuard kept on attacking. When it thrust the staff at me again I dodged around it and jumped on its back. It spun around and around, but I locked my arms in place around its neck and held on. When it slowed down a little, I grabbed the spike, rammed it into the back of its head and let go. I got up quickly and pulled out my carbine, but it was not needed. The MagnaGuard held its head and screamed. Droids aren't supposed to scream. They don't feel pain or emotion, but this one acted like a human.

I turned around and saw that one of the MagnaGuards had Reaper pinned and was choking him to death. I unloaded a full clip into the droid and watched it fall over, shut down for good. I walked over and helped Reaper up, and the rest of the commandos quickly joined us. They all had nicks and rents in their armor, but they were alive. Reaper pulled out a portable holo-projector and analyzed the ships schematics.

"Ha. Those were the last line of defense. We're only ten meters from the bridge."

We ran double-time to the bridge, and when we breached the blast door we found the Nemoidian crew ready to surrender. I told the commandos to tie them up and take them into custody, and then I activated the comm in my helmet.

"Admiral Renard, the ship is ours."

"Good, Commandant. I just received word from General Kenobi. He and the ARC troopers have the Banking Clan leader. The day is won."