Star Wars: Shadows
Prologue
The soft whir of the LAAT/i gunship was reassuring, at least for a few moments. None of the soldiers had ever been in a real battle. They had faced live rounds before, they had even lost brothers in training. But the commander of the 224th battalion would have been lying if he said he wasn't scared. Clones were made to die, but they were still people.
"Doors open in two minutes." The pilot yelled. The gunship began it's entry into the Geonosian atmosphere. When the doors clicked open, anti-aircraft fire exploded all around. The geonosian fighters had engaged with the GAR gunships. One of the enemy ships flew by too close for comfort, leaving behind a trail of thick black smoke. Commander Cassus clutched his rifle a little tighter. They were almost to the ground when things got tricky. Two geonosian fighters shot a wing off the right side of the LAAT/i.
After two full rolls, the ship fell like a rock. Thirteen of the thirty men jumped out. The rest burned in the wreckage. Cassus hit the ground hard. After rolling once he was on his feet and firing into the column of oncoming B1 battle droids. His DC-15a cut down the first row of five. Then the machines opened fire. The other soldiers were already up and shooting. The field of dust was a cacophony of shouts, blaster fire, and explosions. Then the enemy fire stopped. Fifty yards away from the Commander was a pile of around thirty droids. He counted seven men besides himself still moving.
"Status report!" He barked at the private.
"Six confirmed dead. The rest of us are wounded. We're running low on ammunition. Captain Jynx and the rest of the battalion have begun their attack on the droid tank factory. We are ten kilometers from their location. No other assets." Derek said somberly.
"Let's move. Form up and move towards the factory." Cassus took point, Jogging at a brisk pace, even for a clone. After a half hour they began hearing the shots of artillery. Cassus stopped, listened, and then turned east.
"Sir, the factory is North, not east." Derek said skeptically. "Where are we going?"
"A quick detour." They came up to a small cliff. Cassus heard the men give a small gasp, and a few cussed in mandalorian. Fifty feet below them were twelve artillery guns, each one firing round after round towards the factory. If anyone from 224th battalion was still alive, they wouldn't be able to enter the factory with these guns pounding the area just before the entrance. If the squad attacked, they would be killed almost instantly. Then one man shot his ascension cable into the ground at his feet. Slowly, one by one, every man did the same.
Cassus did the same. Without saying anything, the men jumped. They stopped three meters above the ground, then let go. Droids began firing at them at once. Screams flooded the helmet com system. Men dropped all around him. He ran out of ammo for his rifle and switched to his pistol. Then he realized he was the last man standing.
"Come at me Shabuïr. For the republic!" He yelled charging at one of the super battle droids. The two raised their arms to shoot, but Cassus shot the first twice beneath the arm. The second attempted to shoot through its companion. Cassus shoved the decommissioned droid forward, using it as a shield. When he was right next to the next one, he fired three rounds point blank into the head of his attacker.
Two columns of B1s marched towards him. He saw a pile of artillery rounds eight meters from him. He threw the grenade on his belt. With one flash of light his world went black.