Star Wars The Clone Wars: Saga of the 117th

by ShinyKeldeo

There were Hundreds of Clone Units deployed during the Clone Wars. That being so, there is no way each of their stories could be told all at once. This tells the story of the 117th Attack Battalion, a unit under the command of Clone Commander 7501, who will eventually take the name of Bronze. The story begins on Geonosis and follows their deployment across the galaxy.

| Journal of the 117th Attack Battalion |

| Zero Hour, Clone Wars, Geonosis |

| CC-7501 |

"After all those years of training in simulations, we finally hit the dusty plains of Geonosis. There isn't enough training in the Galaxy that could have prepared my men for that first battle, or me for that matter. Our unit landed behind enemy lines in an attempt to take out their long range artillery and any Droid Tanks they had on standby. Like most Commanders, our unit was joined by one of the surviving Jedi from the previous rescue attempt from the bug's death pit. His name was Kelen Rolin. If I had to fight alongside another Jedi, it would be him, no doubt. Now enough about that, it is my duty as Commanding Officer of the 117th to record the events that took place on that bloody day. So, let's start from the beginning..."

| Acclamator Class Republic Assault Ship "Divergent", Geonosis Orbit |

"All Troops Board Your Gunships and Prepare for Ground Assault! This is Not a Drill!"

That shrill voice continued to blare over the PA for several minutes, as the rookie Clone Troopers prepared for their first real combat mission. Ten LAAT/i Gunships were prepped and ready for departure as the Clone Troopers of the 117th Unit loaded up their ammunition and readied themselves for their first taste of combat. There was a lot less confusion than one would expect in this situation, everyone remained mostly silent and focused on the mission at hand.

Finally, the last of the Gunships was loaded, on board would be Clone Commander 7501, the designated officer of the 117th Unit. He looked over the troops in his Gunship, then down to his communicator.

"This is Commander 7501, all Gunships report status and prepare for departure."

He had a stern voice, a voice that commanded the attention of the men under his command. One by one each of the ten gunships checked in green. They would be deploying with four LAAT/c's which each carried an AT-TE Walker. Their role in this battle: land behind enemy lines and take out any long range artillery and non-deployed Anti-Infantry Units.

Command quickly radioed through the comms, 7501's Gunship would be landing near a Forward Command Center to pick up a Jedi Knight who would be assisting them in the ensuing battle, which was very much already underway. Soon the lights in the gunship dimmed, and a dull red light was lit by the Commander. As they descended, the troops checked their weapons and communicators, making sure they were as prepared as they could be for this battle. After entering the atmosphere the Gunship's doors opened, and the true carnage of the battle was shown to the Rookie Troopers.

"Commander, we're approaching the FCC, standby for landing."

Said the pilot, who began breaking off from the main force. The Commander nodded, and watched as the ground came into view. Thousands of his brothers were currently deployed on the Planet's surface, with Thousands more ready and waiting. He quickly noticed the lone human male Jedi standing next to the FCC. As they landed, the Jedi rushed over with the same sense of urgancy that he had to get back to his unit.

"I'm Kelen Rolin, I'll be assisting your unit in this battle."

He said, bowing to the Clone Commander. He gave a salute as the gunship lifted off.

"Commander 7501 at your service, sir."

The commander replied, focusing back to the battle at hand. There was already much radio chatter from his group, two gunships had been shot down before they reached their intended target. One had been hit but managed a crash landing just outside the designated LZ. They'd already lost one AT-TE walker as well.

"Pilot, get this bird on the ground as soon as possible! Let's get down there and back them up!"

"Yes Sir!"

It was soon that they had touched down in the established landing zone. They were deep behind enemy lines now, and they still had a ways to go. There was a hanger a few clicks north of their current position that housed some reserve tanks and long range artillery, that was their target.

"Alright, get your officers together, Commander. I want three groups, one on the right, one on the left, one going straight through the middle."

"Yes, Sir. Alright, Sergeants, get your units together. 7546, you're with me down the middle. 7443, take your unit down the left flank. 7594, right flank. Let's move!"

A resounding "Yes Sir" gave him enough indication that the troopers were fully committed to the plan. Not all of them would survive, of course. But they would go down fighting at least. The remaining AT-TE's began pushing forward down the center with Rolin, 7501, and his troopers. The two flanks pushed ahead a bit more, coming into a pincer maneuver.

Then came the waves of blasterfire being exchanged with each side. It felt like an instant, but in reality it was several minutes of fighting before they had finally broken through the outer defenses. They'd taken mild casualties, but pushed onward towards the hanger.

They encountered small pockets of resistance here and there, but for the most part the main army was occupied with the majority of the Clone Army. Within about half an hour, they had reached the hanger.

At such close range, there was little the long range artillery cannons could do against their force, and soon the cannons were offline. That was the beginning of their troubles. Now alerted to their presence, the previously offline IG-227 Hailfire Class Droid Tanks came online to fight the intruders.

The Clones held their ground, through all the screaming, all the blood, all the carnage that insued. Kelen Rolin stood side by side with Commander 7501 as the battle dwindled down to the last remaining Hailfire Tanks. Slicing through the wheel, Rolin brought the final one down. Then the word came through.

"All Units, the Droid Army is in Full Retreat. The day is ours!"

The remaining troopers of the 117th Unit gathered around the remaining AT-TE walker. There weren't many left... besides Commander 7501, there were only six other troopers who were officially members of the 117th Unit who survived the battle. Sergeant 7546, Medic 4676, Trooper 4633, Trooper 4578, Pilot 7434, and Pilot 7656, both of which were the survivors of the Gunship Crash before the assault.

As the Republic began pulling the Clone Army off of Geonosis, Commander 7501 bid farewell to the Jedi he had fought alongside.

"Rolin, it was an honor serving alongside you. I hope we can work together again someday."

"Your tactics were interesting, Commander, I like that kind of ingenuity. I look forward to that day as well. May the force be with you in all your battles."

After bidding farewell, the survivors of the 117th Unit were merged with other small units into the 117th Attack Battalion. Commander 7501 was named the Battalion Commanding Officer, and the 117th were dispatched into the Outer Rim Territories under Jedi General Amon Rictor, who happened to be the former master of Kelen Rolin.

The Clone Wars had begun.

| Epilogue |

"So, the first battle of the first day of the Clone Wars came to a close. Under General Rictor, the 117th was dispatched to the Outer Rim to fight the growing CIS Army like most other Clone Units. My time on Geonosis taught me something, no matter how prepared you think you are, there's always something you're not prepared for. I'm surprised we even survived that bloody battle, but living through it has prepared the survivors of Geonosis for the coming war. They know their enemy, now it's time to defeat their enemy."