Battle Of Vutala

by blue yoda

It's a turning point in the clone wars,and Jedi general Orion Grey leads the republic forces on the misterious planet of Vutala,but when he gets in trouble,Obi-Wan Kenobi is sent to rescue his childhood friend. But after the traumatic experiences that Orion been through,can he be trusted? And what's the secret behind the forming of 232th legion? Rated T for language.

Author Note:

hello guys,sorry about being late in "The Jedi's secret lives"...
I'm hoping I'll post new episode soon, and it (probably) will be on Kit Fisto and Aayla Secura.
Don't forget to follow and comment if you liked the story!
yours truly,
blue yoda

Crisis in Vutala!

As the Jedi are desperately trying to stop the separatist forces from entering the mid rim,Jedi general ORION GREY and his Padawan are leading a counterattack in the god-forsaken planet of VUTALA.

The bridge of the fearless,the flagship of the 17th attack squadron.

Jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi stood at the watching zone,staring into the hyperspace,his mind in deep meditation.
"Master?"
Obi-Wan turned. He smiled faintly to his former apprentice,Anakin Skywalker.
"We are waiting for you master. The briefing is about to begin." said Anakin.
"of course,of course" said Obi-Wan,his voice distant.
He and Anakin walked to the briefing area of the bridge,where the blue holograms figures of the esteemed Jedi masters Mace Windu and Yoda,together with the bony figure of the supreme chancellor Palpatine were waiting for them.
"Master Kenobi. Anakin." greeted the chancellor,a smile on his face. the chancellor seemed quite cheerful,as opposed to the Jedi masters,whom both looked serious and groom.

"as you know," started Mace Windu. " the separatist campaign is extremely effective. General Grievous is stretching our forces all across the outer rim,while using his massive droid army to relentlessly attack our supply lines. Master Agan Kolar has suggested we take the battle to Grievous,to try to cut off the supply lines to his bases on Muunlist,Cato Neimodia and Felucia. The council and the supreme chancellor" Windu nodded towards Palpatine. "Has moved the 237th legion,in command of Master Orion Grey,to the planet vutala that dominates the vutos space-route. If the 237th will manage to control Vutala,we could cut one of the major supply lines to Grievous's command center in Cato Neimodia." a holomap appeared,showing the hyperspace route.
"we planned to take the planet by failed. Dooku sent a fleet that ambushed master Grey's fleet in Vutala,and Grey crash-landed on the planet,and we estimate only half of his troops survived. we thought they were all dead,but two days ago they managed to send a message to the Jedi temple. We are sending you,masters Kenobi and Skywalker,to support master Gray's force,in order to take Vutala."

"Very careful,you must be." interfered Yoda. "damaged,this planet was in the Sith wars . strong,he had become,with the dark side."
"I agree." said Palpatine."the natives of this planet are very dangerous indeed." on the holo-projector appeared a humanoid like figure,with a grey skin and tattoos. "the Vutalans quitted the republic after the great Sith wars,and quickly retreated to their ancient tribal society. In the moment the name of the lord of most clans is Alurin. We don't know if he is a supporter of the confederacy,but he is a passionate man. If he did turned to Dooku,he'll be a fanatic ally." Palpatine seemed worried. "Be careful Anakin. They may look like a civilized folk to someone as trusting as you,but they are savages."
A clone officer entered the room. He saluted Anakin and Obi-Wan.
"sir,we are about to enter the Vutala system."
"Goodbye,than,and good luck." said Palpatine. His figure disappeared.
"Anakin," ordered Obi-Wan while looking at the Jedi masters,"prepare the men."
"Yes master." Anakin left the room,sending a worried look behind his shoulder. in a minute Obi-Wan heard him starting shouting orders.
Obi-Wan signed heavily and turned back to Yoda's hologram.
"I sense that you want to talk with me,masters."
"Yes. About Orion Grey." said Windu,every word carefully selected.
"Remember,I do,when younglings together you were." said Yoda,his voice nostalgic.
"Yes. Me and him and Quin."Remembered Obi-Wan with a sad,distant smile. "Always giving you trouble,master."
"The patient one,you was. The wise one. Quinlan Vos,the bold one he was."
"and Orion was the funny one. The joker." said Obi-Wan.
"Yes. but we are afraid that he is the joker no more." said Mace Windu.
"what do you mean?" asked Obi-Wan. he knew exactly what Windu meant,he just wanted to know if he had the guts to say it out loud.
For a moment,there was silence.
"His master's death." finally answered Windu. "it changed him."
"A dark man,he had become. Very unstable,he is now."
"The death of my master changed me too. but I realized that he is now part of the living force. I came into peace with his death."
"You had time to meditate,and the support of your fellow Jedi. Orion have none of those." noted Windu. "we suspect that Orion's guilt and anger..."
for a moment,the connection was lost. Yoda's and Windu's figures blinked,and then reappeared.
"We have some connection problems." said Windu,his voice worried. "we don't have much time."
"2 Months ago,Orion reported to the council about his victory in the Esocaus system. He demanded that the council will let him lead a mission to kill Dooku. Hatred radiated from him. We refused,of course.. assassination is not the Jedi's way." Windu said with severity. For a moment,the connection was lost again.
"...entered without permission to the close Sith section of the archive. Master Nu believes that some Sith scrolls were taken from the archive."
"And you think that Orion took the scrolls?" asked Obi-Wan with confusion. "It can't be. Orion will never-"
"Orion Grey stole the Sith scrolls from the archive." said Windu with finality. "He had motive,opportunity and means. The council needs to talk to master Grey."
"Careful,you must be,master Kenobi." interfered Yoda. The rest of Yoda's speech can't be heard,for his holo-figure disappears yet again,and this time it didn't came back.
Windu looked worried. "Master Yoda is in diplomatic mission to the Fulora system. Something must interfered with his side of the connection..."
He then looked at Obi-Wan. He spoke loud and clear,the meaning of his words sharp as a knife that cut deep into Obi-Wan's heart.
"The council gives you full authority to relieve Orion of his duties."

"May the force be with you,master Kenobi." said Yoda with formality.

the Jedi masters disappeared.

Obi-Wan turned away from the Holo-projector and walked toward the bridge. the bridge was humming from action,and in the center of it stood a tall man. Obi-Wan approached him.
"How are things going,admiral?" He asked amiably.
"Very bad,master Jedi." answered the admiral. "Do you know what we have to do for you and your little army make it to this god-forsaken planet? no? let me tell you." the admiral turned. he was a bit taller than Obi-Wan,with short,black hair and black eyes. his nose looked broken,and he was. for admiral Tros Idlan wasn't a "rich bastard" (like he used to say) like the rest of the admirals,but a street-boy who Wend his way through the corridors of the fleet until he became one of the fleet top admirals.
"we need to make sure that this fleet won't end up inside a black hole or a sun or friggin' asteroid field! Plus,we need to make sure that we are ready to face the mighty CIS fleet that is probably waiting to blow us into oblivion. and we-and by we I mean I, 'cause those clones are the worst officers I've seen in my all kriffin' life!- need to make sure we all reach the same place in the same time!"
"Don't worry,my friend,we'll be fine." said Obi-Wan,hardly managing to keep a smile off his face. he moved to one of the Holo-projector,hearing the admiral behind him grumbling about "kriffing Jedi optimism" .

"Commander Cody,report!"
"Yes sir!" answered the clone,his body stretched in detention,his yellow-stripped helmet under his hand. "are efforts to contact our forces on Vutala have failed. we suspect that the sepies are jamming our signals. The troops are on the transports. General Skywalker is briefing his men."
"Tell him to hurry." interfered the admiral. "we are about to jump out of Hyperspace."
"Copy that. Cody out."
The admiral leaned over the ledge to one of the clones. "Hey,you!" He barked. "get me a voice-channel"
"Yes sir! you are online sir!"
"This is admiral Tros Idlan,commander of the fearless. we are about to jump out of Hyperspace,straight to hostile territory. red alert is on. I repeat red alert is on. all guns are to be manned. we are going to enter defensive position Omega-29. all ships are to open the hangar doors and set loose their fighters..."
"Sir! we are getting out of Hyperspace in 3...2...1!"
"copy that." said the admiral,disconnecting the com-channel.
the blue hypnotizing look of the Hyperspace suddenly changed.
instead,a star-system appeared. the main planet was blue and grey,covered with blue oceans and grey rain-forests. Around the planet,swirling around him in fixe distance,there was two moons,one of them small and covered with white-blue ice,while the other one was broken to two pieces,each one larger than a space-station,and each one surrounded by moon-shards larger than a star destroyer. Obi-Wan looked as one of the shards flew right towards them.
"Oh,shit." said the admiral. He leaned towards one of the clone officers and shouted at him to break left.
while the admiral was shouting at the poor clone about his horrible navigation skills,Obi-Wan looked carefully at the screen,in the way a terrified man in a jungle looks at a bush that just moved.
he was sure he saw...someting. the force tried to say something to him,but this planet...radiets the dark side. he can't...focus.
Obi-Wan felt like he carries a star on his shoulders...he was so,tired. Obi-Wan searched something to lean against,anything. he grabbed the admiral's straps.
"What are you...?" asked Tros. but then he saw Obi-Wan's face. "Oh shit. we need a medic!"
"N-no." said Obi-Wan. he managed to stand up. "I'm fine. It's just...the dark side is very strong in here. I tried to reach out through the force,and I-"
"Sir!" one of the clones dashed towards admiral Idlan and Obi-Wan. "are sensors detected enemy ships!"
"Where?" asked the admiral,his voice turning from worried to energetic.
"Right there,sir." the clone pointed at the viewing screen. the admiral turned. right there,behind one of the larger moon-shards,cruised eight separatist battleships.
"kriff!" he turned back to the clone. "why didn't you discovered it earlier?!"
"I-I don't know sir" stammered the clone,clearly terrified.
"We'll discuss it later,private. for now..." the admiral grabbed his com-channel. "You better go." he said to Obi-Wan. "tell Skywalker to get movin'."
Obi-Wan rushed for the elevator,hearing the admiral ordering the fleet to find cover behind the moon-shards and start firing over the separatist ships.
Once Obi-Wan was in the elevator,he breathed with relief. This planet's aura,was almost...wicked.
the elevator buzzed and stopped. Obi-Wan walked out,and entered hangar C-2. this hangar was large like one of the halls in the Jedi temple,and was full with combat equipment and armored clones. Commander Cody was instructing a group of soldiers with a clone that Obi-Wan failed to recognize.
this clone wore one of the new commando armors,with the jetpack and the hand-missiles. he was covered with the gray-blue markings that marked him as one of the 237th legion's soldiers. that's weird, Obi-Wan thought that all of Orion's soldiers were on Vutala.
Commander Cody suddenly noticed Obi-Wan. "General Kenobi." he stretched to attention. "This is Sargent Sharp. he's one of the 237th commandoes,and a member of the Pre-Attack Surveillance Team. He and his team did an amazing intel job on Vutala."
the clone pulled his helmet out and sent his hand for shaking. "I'm a great fan of your work,General. especially your operations on Ordus-Prime,Tinos, and Odesus." said the clone with enthusiasm.
"Ahh..Thank you,Sargent." Obi-Wan turned toward Commander Cody. "Commander,the fleet is under attack. get all men ready for drop."
"I-I afraid I can't allow it,sir." interrupted Sharp.
"Pardon?" Obi-Wan asked,a dangerous tone in his voice.
"See those men over there,general?" Sharp pointed toward the unit that he was briefing. "these are my brothers. I'll do everything,everything,to help 'em. And right now, the only way I can help them is by explaining them about the dangers they gonna face in this goddamn planet. And without my briefing,Sir,they will die." said Sharp with simplicity.
"Very well,Sargent. this class will move out last. but meanwhile,commander Cody,I want the men on the drop ships,ASAP."

"We only have a couple o' minutes,shinies,so let's get to work." said Sharp.
he draw out a large sword,slightly curved,made from a red shiny metal. "this is a Chutar, the most common weapon on the planet,and every Vutalan warrior master it."
"but,sir,this is only a sword. I mean,we have blasters." interrupted another clone.
without a word,Sharp hurled the sword at a wall 100 meters away. the sword's edge embedded in the wall at a depth of 30 centimeters.
"The Vutalans take pride in their ability to throw the Chutar. some of them can hit a small branch as far as 300 meters. It can cut through your armor like butter." Sharp looked at the clone that interrupted. "your name,kid?" the clone Stood up, his body taut at attention
"Shipshape,sir!" said the clone with proud. "but my friends call me Ship."
Sharp took a step forward. "Am I your friend?"
the young clone realized his mistake. "No sir! you're my superior officer,sir!"
"You bet I am. Now,I want that Chutar in my hand in 30 seconds. Go!"
After 25 seconds,Sharp continued his briefing.
"The Vutalans also wield this." Sharp pulled out a weirdly designed riffle. the riffle had 2 muzzles,one of them looked like he's meant for sniping,and the other one looked like a shotgun.
"This is the most common riffle on the planet. It's an old weapon,but he stills hold up. you can change modes from snipping" Sharp pressed a handle and the muzzles changed. "to rapid-firing mode. an excellent weapon. He can pierce your helmet in one shot...half a mile away."
Sharp looked at a certain point on the hanger wall,his eyes unfocused. "the laser beam would come out of your head,hitting a tree. and you won't scream. you won't have time to scream..." he turned to the clone troopers,and pointed at a random clone.
"You. Have you heard that sound?"
"what sound,sir?" asked the clone,clearly confused.
"The sound of a laser beam,piercing human skull! it's a "swiii!",no! a "plash"!. and the smell... like burned meat." the clone fell to his knees.
"Sargent,that's enough!" Obi-Wan interfered. he heard the Sargent screaming from the other side of the hangar,and came running.
"What happened?" asked Obi-Wan. "Are you Okay?"
"No." said the clone with his teeth clutched. "Get off me!"
he pushed the Jedi away and stood up.
"time...for my meds..." he whispered. he extracted a little box from his webbing and pulled out a red pil. he swallowed the pil and took a deep breath.
"i'm...sorry." he said and smiled faintly. "I forgot to take my pills."

"This is admiral Tros Idlan,calling all hands. report for battle duty immediately. code yellow. I reaped,all hands to battle positions,code yellow."
"Time for us to go,shinies." says Sharp cheerfully,but in his eyes Obi-Wan detects sadness and exhaustion.
He wears his helmet and walk towards one of the LTAAT. The young clones,still terrified from what seems like mental breakdown they just witnessed,don't follow.
"What happened,shinies,got cold feet?" he asked with contempt.
"No sir!" they answered in chorus and ran toward the LAAT.

Ob-Wan opened his com-channel to the admiral.
"What's going on admiral? I sense danger."
"The scanners show more separatist frigates on the other side of the planet. We need to wrap things up quickly. I don't have the firepower nor the ships for a fight."
"copy that. Anakin!" shouted Obi-Wan. "Let's get !"
Anakin,just in the middle of showing off about something,turned to Obi-Wan.
"Yes master. Well boys,this tale will have to wait for another time. Let's move!"
"Yes sir!"
Obi-Wan ran to his LAAT,and hold onto one of the handles. He turned to commander Cody. "Let's get this battalion moving,commander."
Cody replied with opening his comm-channel to the pilots and ordering them to move.
the hanger doors slowly opened,and the LAATs started swirling out to the outer space,in the very moment the separatist frigates showed up from the other side of Vutala's moon.
"open fire!" ordered Obi-Wan unnecessarily,for the well trained pilots already started to fire upon the swarm of vulture droids who attacked the LAATs.
The massive,manacing CIS frigates opened fire on the helpless republic ships.
"general Kenobi!" said the hologram figure of the admiral. "I must withdraw my forces! they are destroying us!"
"copy that,admiral!" shouted back Obi-Wan with urgency. "get your men out of here!"
"sir!" shouted the pilot. "there are 2 vulture droids behind us! I can't shake them!"