Naboo
The city of Theed
20 BBY
The Galactic Republic is the sworn defender of liberty, freedom and justice for all the galaxy. For thousands of years it had reigned supreme. But now, the Republic is at war with the Confederacy of Independent Systems, better known as the Separatist Alliance, which consists of thousands, if not millions, of battle droids and assault crafts. They dream of spreading terror and fear across the galaxy. But that's where people like me come in. Like my squad mates, I came from the planet Kamino, where I was bred and trained in combat. I was also given a codename: CT-4263. Most of us have nicknames like Breaker and Pons, but I never got one. Not yet, at least. The Republic had created a clone army led by the Jedi Knights to turn the droids into scrap piles. We go wherever they go, making sure the galaxy will never fall to them. The war has been going on for two years now, but I swear it will end soon with the Republic victorious…
The gunship doors open, sunlight flooding in. I don a DC-15 blaster rifle and jump out onto the streets of Theed, my fellow troopers following. Our white armor is unmistakable in plain sight. Over the comms, I hear our squad leader briefing us as the gunship departs. "We're just in time," he says as civilians run to their hiding places. "Local forces barely fought off the Separatists' first wave; now the Seppies are landing an armored Multi-Troop Transport loaded with battle droids." I peer through my binoculars and see a large, brown transport set down some deactivated droids. They stand up and grab their blasters off their backs as their commander, a battle droid with yellow spots on his head and chest, gives them orders. "Best bet," our squad leader continues, "we stop the advancing MTT before it reaches the royal palace. Got an arsenal of ion disruptors that should do the job. If we fail… well, then things get ugly."
We went to work fast. I managed to find an ion disruptor right near the riverside. Before long, blaster fire draws the attention of our air support: V-Wing starfighters and N-1 Starfighters from the local pilots. As they zip through the sky engaging vulture droids, I approach the slow-moving MTT with a Heavy trooper with a sentry gun. I take aim, charge up the disruptor… and an explosion takes out the heavy. It messes up my aim. I misfire and blast the disruptor near some battle droids wiping out some Specialists. The explosion had come from an Armored Assault Tank, which rumbles down the street, twin blasters firing and its main cannon recharging. For anyone who dares come close, the AAT counters with high-explosive shells from the lower holes. I silently swear and rush off to locate another ion disruptor, shooting down any battle droid who notice me.
As I escort another trooper with a disruptor, I see a Naboo Starfighter shoot down a vulture droid, its remains slamming into a surprised battle droid. The trooper blasts at the MTT, disabling it temporarily. But we did not do enough. I watch in horror as the transport blasts down the palace doors. As we pushed back inside the palace, I contact my squad leader. "We need to fall back! They blew down the gates!" "Copy that. All troops retreat to the palace. Repeat, retreat to the palace."
A Sergeant speaks up on the comms. "Sir, I don't see why. The sector my men are holding is clear." Suddenly, I hear a whooshing sound, something being sliced and screams. The Sergeant replies again, this time panicked with blaster shots ringing out. "Not clear! NOT CLEAR! AAAAAGH!" His line goes dead. I don't have time to worry about him. Our next objective is to defend the west and east atriums. I arm a thermal detonator and chuck it at some droids. They yelp before it explodes in their faces. The fighting is intense, but they're too strong. We're forced to fall back to the throne room. If we lose there, it's over.
We manage to hold the throne room for at least five minutes before the droids stop coming. Clone troopers take aim at the entrance in case some of those clankers decide to play hero. "Brace!" someone yells as a smoke grenade covers the door. I rest my finger on the trigger, breathing slowly. Jumptroopers ready their packs. "Something's not right, Commander. They should be coming through just about now." I mutter. "Ggk…aack…hhnnnggg…" I whirl around to see our commander dangling in the air, clawing at the air. We all stare at him in shock. "C…commander?" He suddenly is sent flying out the window screaming! We turn back to the entrance. Instead of a droid squad, we see a Zabrak with red and black skin and prosthetic legs. "Droids are the least of your worries…" he growls menacingly. "For you now face a Sith!" The Zabrak draws a long, gray tube-like object and two red blades ignite from it.
"Open fire!" someone yells, and we unload on the Zabrak. He twirls his weapon with supreme accuracy, deflecting our bolts. I lob another grenade at him, but he holds out his hand, making the grenade stop in midair, and hurls it back at me! A Jumptrooper shoves me aside to avoid the blast. The Zabrak is cutting us down by the second. We don't stand a chance! Before he can slash me, he is flung back. I look behind me to see a human woman fling off her robes and ignite her lightsaber, the blue blade shining. The Zabrak growls and charges at her, prosthetic legs clanking. Battle droids and super battle droids charge in and fire. As we fire back, the Jedi and the Zabrak duel behind us. I shoot down as many of the droids as I can as they only leave scratches on my armor. After a while, I hear one of them yell "Retreat!" "Roger roger." They fall back and leave the palace as we chase them off. As I turn to see the Jedi, she is also victorious. Only a strand of her blonde hair had been burned by the Zabrak's lightsaber and she had a few cuts, but her opponent was nowhere to be found. A stealth ship rose from the ground and flew off as the Jedi switched off her lightsaber. "Darth Maul is a formidable combatant, I'll give him that." "General," I say as I walk up to her. The droid army is in full retreat. The locals will have their city back." "Very good, trooper. Return to base. I'll see to the city's repair." "Yes, general. We'll keep fighting with all we've got. For the galaxy. For the Republic!"