Part I: Emergency
Chapter 1 – Zero Hour
Well, this is it.
For weeks, years, we've been training for this very moment. We were bred from our genetic birth to be the perfect soldiers of the Grand Army of the Republic, and now the time to earn our position and showcase our purpose has finally come.
With this Separatist movement building throughout the Galaxy over the last two years, we all knew that such anti-Republic beliefs would, in time, escalate to open war. What we didn't expect, however, was that the Seps would be able to construct billions of several differing types of Battle Droids to back up their independence.
A regular horde of mindless drones that only know how to shoot a blaster and reply to everything with 'Roger, roger'; that's clearly all we needed now.
"The initial wave of the invasion consists of the Jedi's two-hundred and twelve-strong Strike Team led by General Windu. Their intent is to sneak into the Geonosian Arena and rescue General Kenobi, Commander Skywalker, and Senator Amidala."
I was seated in front of the hologram projection set in the gunship's passenger compartment, broadcasting the image of Commander CC-1042 originating from yet another of the hordes of LAAT/i and LAAT/c classes of military gunships awaiting takeoff in the hangar. Preparations had already been completed from what I can tell, as each of the LAAT/c ships were loaded with an AT-TE ready to take down. I took a quick gaze at the LAAT adjacent to us, making out the same transmission in the hold of that transport as well – no doubt other members of our team. Commander Four-Two was the officer in charge of the 272nd Regiment, one of the numerous formations of the Republic Army that called the Relentless home – the Acclamator-class military transport that was currently among another forty waiting in orbit around Geonosis for the advance order to be given. The Commander looked no different than the rest of us did in the rather uncomfortable standard Republic-issue plastoid armor; his distinctive yellow armor markings didn't show up too clear on the projection.
In the gunship with me were our officer, six-man squad, two pilots, and two gunners. The officer leading us was our squad Sergeant, CT-04/009, though he came to be known merely as 'Sarge'; like the Captain, his armor was lined with specialized colorings to separate himself from the other troopers – it was customary in the Army for Sergeants to dress in green-marked armor. I met Sergeant Zero-Nine one day by chance in the mess hall during the first week of advanced weapons training a year ago; fate would have it that we were later put in the same training squad. All that time though, I had no idea he was in the officer program. Yet now, due to what our trainers deemed as 'sufficient team performance', I was placed in his squad – fate strikes again.
Next we have our heavy fire support trooper, CT-09/139. In the months leading to this day in our squad training, Three-Nine took it upon himself to further his physical training, making him slightly…buffer than the rest of us. I never much saw the point, but I suppose it helped him carry that PLX-1 portable missile launcher – and perhaps even to knock around a few Battle Droids if it came to it. Still, I'm surprised his armor could fit him at all.
CT-06/087, our slicing expert and medic, was fully equipped with a good supply of medicine, portable bacta tanks, and bacta injectors along his belt. I was skeptical at first at the effectiveness of a field medical specialist on the squad, thinking that if one of us was shot and was being tended to, he would be next. Training changed that for me though – Eight-Seven proved that he could tend to a wound while fending off hostiles with the DC-15S, and for that I must say that he is probably the one in the squad I respect the most beside the Sergeant.
Every good squad had need of an efficient sniper, and CT-10/014 took the role quite well. I swear that DC-15x sniper rifle of his is like an extension of his body – or at least he likes to act as if it is. The one thing he prides above all else is his marksmanship. In his words, 'The ability to sink a precise bolt in a gearhead's sweet spot could mean the difference between fighting and dying for nothing, or getting to plant another kill mark on your armor and gazing at it with pride when you have nothing to do'. One-Four's sniping was among the best in the regular Army, which was surprising to most due to the fact that we weren't even a commando squad.
Then there was me, CT-12/025. I can't say I received any specialized training like those three; I'm just another trooper in the service of the Republic toting the good-old DC-15A rifle with some emergency supplies, power packs, thermal detonators, EMP grenades, a couple charges, and a small vibroblade on my belt – same with the many among the thousands of standard infantrymen to be deployed, well, minus the vibroblade. In my belief, sometimes a knife would probably come in handy in close-quarters combat over a thing like a blaster, especially a long rifle like the 15A, but I suppose the other squad members were so accustomed to their blasters that they couldn't get used to a knife. In fact, the Sergeant would often joke with me that the lightsaber wasn't a weapon available to the Army. Myself though, during combat training I took special care to equate my skills with both the rifle and the knife for top efficiency in combat. I suppose I'll find out today if it was all worth it.
Finally, we had CT-07/113 and CT-09/072, the squad's other infantrymen each armed with the standard loadout and a 15A rifle. Of all the infantry in the Republic Army, I don't think you could find two as good and reliable as they.
Occupying the gunship's ball turrets were two specialized gunners, CT-02/065 and CT-03/074. I hadn't served with the two in training, but I heard the two were pretty much dead-eyes that were on-par with One-Four with a turret. Of course, I wouldn't let him catch me saying that, he'd probably take that as an insult or go into a speech on how a gun turret wasn't a 'real' weapon. CT-05/098 acted as pilot and CT-07/111 the co-pilot; a shame the Republic hadn't any fighters to offer at the moment, the two could probably beat out an entire Sep blockade force by themselves.
With that, the eleven of us made up Squad Alpha-Five stationed aboard Gunship 5187 of the Relentless.
"General Yoda will be spearheading our assault on Separatist military structures, as well as taking up the responsibility of establishing a forward command center," Four-Two continued briefing.
The hologram image of the Commander disintegrated in favor of a three-dimensional layout of the planet surface around the Arena, which occupied the center of the map. Core Ships of Trade Federation Lucrehulk-class battleships along with Hardcell-class Techno Union transport ships lined the area between the sharply-peaked Geonosian spires.
"The possibility of enemy resistance is extremely high; you must not forget that this is the Seps' main droid production facilities. Intelligence states that there may very well be over a billion produced Battle Droids ready to be sent out on this planet along – no clue how many are operational. There are no signs of Battle Droids yet, but I-"
"What is it, sir?" quickly asked a Clone from one of the other larties.
"Strike that, 272nd – advance scouts are reporting that Battle Droids are flooding the Arena even as we speak. The Jedi Strike Team is currently engaged in battle with Separatist forces within the Arena; no word on the fates of General Windu, General Kenobi, Commander Skywalker, or Senator Amidala at the moment. I'm still awaiting orders on how to proceed, but I would be prepared to take off immediately. All pilots, ready last-minute flight checks; tank and walker crews to your stations immediately," the Commander ordered as he spread his right arm horizontally aside. The image kept on the Commander as he obviously became occupied handing out orders among his own crew, motioning and gesturing to off-screen crew members.
"Check your weapons – can't have any jamming or malfunction reports once we get into the thick of things," Sarge followed-up with as he stood at the head of the gunship.
"That's alright, because hulky over here can be a good shield while we switch out," One-Four sarcastically added as he pointed to Three-Nine with his thumb.
Three-Nine patted the PLX-1 he had laid out, "Watch it or you'll find one of these rounds shoved up your-"
"Cut the chatter you two," Sarge interrupted. "Nine-Eight, One-One, we're expecting the take-off order any minute now; Six-Five, Seven-Four, we'll likely receive heavy fire once we reach the planet surface so you'll have to be ready to give quick responses to orders."
The two gunners replied with a simultaneous "Yes sir," double-checking the control mechanisms in the ball turrets.
"Is there any intelligence on these new-model Battle Droids that are supposedly being produced here?" I asked.
"Only the bare minimum at best; from what I hear, they're taller, bulkier, downright nastier versions of their B-1 predecessors – stay cautious when encountering one. We're expecting the enemy ranks to be primarily filled with B-1 model Battle Droids supplemented by the new models and Destroyers. No intel on any Sep vehicles to speak of, unfortunately; we'll just have to pick out information as we encounter them…or take them apart."
"Four-Two to all 272nd Legion units: we've been given the order," the Commander announced as he centered his attention on the transmission once again. "Hangar doors are opening; deploy all units on the double! Target is the Geonosian Arena. I repeat: target is the Geonosian Arena. Foes in the structure consist of B-1 and B-2 class Battle Droids, Destroyers, and Geonosians. Reports are slowly coming in from our advance scouts that the primary Droid Army has been deployed outside the Arena. All LAATs, take-off immediately!"
"You heard him, take us out!" Sarge relayed to the pilots.
"On our way, hold tight squad," Nine-Eight informed us through comm systems from the cockpit.
Around us, hordes of larties separated from their docking clamps as they followed the order to head out. I could pick out the Acclamators positioned nearby doing the same, and soon enough the transports filled the space around the capital ships, speeding toward the planet like a meteor storm. Sarge slammed his fist twice on the wall separating us from the cockpit – the signal for the gunship's side hatches to slide closed, effectively shutting out my view of the deployment.
"We'll be receiving more specified orders any moment, sit tight," Sarge informed.
There was a quick jolt, followed by some vibrations along my feet and a whipping roar from the engines as the ship joined the armada. Soon enough, as Sarge promised, the Commander's image returned to the hologram projector, once again bringing the attention of the gunship's occupants to the center.
"All units, I'll be handing out your advanced orders now. Group Alpha, you'll be infiltrating the Arena from the air along with some other gunships from other teams, including General Yoda's squadron; your task is to pull all surviving Jedi out of that death trap as quickly and efficiently as possible. Latest reports indicate that the Jedi Strike Team is losing badly by the outnumbering Battle Droid security unit, so speed it up. Groups Beta and Chi will prepare for mass deployment and join up with our main forces to spearhead our assault one the Droid Army advancing on the plains. Assist the main force in establishing our forward command center before the Droid Army can overrun our position. Good luck men, Four-Two out."
And with that, the Commander's image disappeared no sooner than we had taken in our almost suicidal mission.
…almost suicidal.
"So, swoop in over a structure guarded by thousands of Battle Droids and Geonosians, pick up the Jedi that are already spread about in combat in disarray, and leave for the plains without getting shot either on the ground or in the air," Three-Nine reiterated.
"No problem, right?" asked One-Four.
"Not really, no."
"Remember the primary mission objectives; we're not there to fight the Droid Army just yet. Once we get all surviving Jedi aboard, we're taking off – in other words One-Four, keep that hot head of yours cooled down until we get to the plains," Sarge made sure to remind.
"First battle and I don't even get to go all-out from the get-go, how disappointing."
"Oh, I think you'll have plenty of chances for that," I stated.
"Alright hold on, we've arrived in the atmosphere of Geonosis now," Nine-Eight informed the gunship crew.
"Distance to the Arena, pilot?" Sarge asked.
"…er…zero-decimal-zero-one, sir," Nine-Eight muttered.
"…in other words…" began Sarge.
"We're right on top of 'em!" co-pilot One-One proudly yelled.
"Open bay doors. Turret gunners, ready aim; all units prepare for anti-air fire!" Sarge ordered.
As the side hatches slid open, the passenger hold that had been filled with a dreary shade was quickly overtaken by the contrasting light of the Geonosian sun. I stood at the edge, peering at the horizon and the seemingly endless desert plains filtered with mountainous rock formations and spires. The burning orange skies were silhouetted by the wedge-shaped Acclamators as other Republic forces began their landing and deployment.
I then turned my attention below, eyeing the center of the gargantuan coliseum, picking out a collection of blue and green lights, taking special attention to the purple one that stood out; the Jedi's lightsabers were pointed outward at all directions of the perimeter, swinging about to deflect incoming shots as their wielders gathered to form in the center. Surrounding them was a circular horde of besieging Separatist Battle Droids, pouring blaster fire upon the survivors of the Jedi Strike Team as they slowly continued their advance. Suddenly, the sweeps of blaster rounds heading back and forth between the two parties eerily cut off.
The Commander's voice chimed in the comlink of my helmet – an open transmission to all units.
"What's this? Separatist units have stopped firing and have formed a perimeter around surviving Jedi. Keep up the advance; whatever this is, it'll buy us some time."
"Commander, long range open comms are picking up some dialogue from the Arena, it appears to be an announcement by Count Dooku; patching it through now," reports a Clone.
"…you have fought gallantly; worthy of recognition in the archives of the Jedi Order – but now, it is finished. Surrender, and your lives will be spared," came a sudden deep, commanding voice presence.
Count Dooku.
"We will not be hostages to be bartered, Dooku!" replied General Windu.
"Then…I'm sorry, old friend."
"Blast, the Battle Droids are readying weapons again," I announced from my vantage point.
"Alpha Teams, we're out of time! Move in now!" ordered the Commander.
I felt the pressure gather around my feet as the gunship began its harsh descent into the Arena. The scene below drew closer as a few other larties dropping quicker than us passed below – assuming the lead was General Yoda's. I could easily pick out several of the Battle Droids raising their blasters to meet us on the way down.
What gracious hosts the Separatists must be.
"Six-Five, Seven-Four, pick off the Destroyers around the drop zone," yelled Sarge over the roar of Sep fire.
"Around the survivors, a perimeter create."
From what I heard about General Yoda, he was a cunning warrior; calm even in the thick of battle, with enough wisdom to fill ten fleets worth of ships. As collected as he was though, I could hear the sense of urgency in his voice. I could understand why though; the initial Strike Team was two-hundred and twelve-strong – judging by the circle of survivors, there were no more than twenty left.
On my left was portside gunner Seven-Two, wasting no time carrying out the orders he was issued. As the ball turret rotated about, in a flash the sphere's dome barrel produced a spread of neon green beams centering into a deadly pinpoint laser, unleashing upon the waiting Droidekas within the Separatist ranks below. Personal shields held them only for a moment, as the tri-legged Destroyers soon found their armor pierced across the middle. I took up my rifle once the squad of Destroyers were down, rubbing my index finger along the trigger as I took view of the Battle Droids waiting behind the now-vanquished Destroyers. I felt connected to the rifle's sheer power through the vibration of the recoil as I squeezed the trigger, sinking a round of bolts into the easily-breakable armor of a team of standard B-1 model Battle Droids. Seven-Two joined me on my right as the ship touched down on the desert surface, providing a defense between a portion of the survivors and the Droid Army. I poured fire into one of the menacing Super Battle Droids up ahead; I could pick out the blue flares of my rounds puncturing the droid's chest several times before I finally took it down.
"General, we can take it from here. Hurry and pile in!" I heard a Clone yell in the distance through the storm of enemy fire.
Good, at least the rescue was proceeding well.
"Gunners, cease fire; we don't want to risk hitting our allies, it's far too chaotic to locate allied positions to a tee," Sarge ordered.
"Aye sir, holding fire," replied Six-Five.
Crimson blaster rounds from the Separatist ranks intensified, forcing Seven-Two and I to take cover behind the gunship's opened portside hatch to the right of the ball turret. It gave me an opportunity to see the starboard side – One-Four and One-Three were both down on one knee as they poured covering fire into the opposite end of the Sep ranks, accessible now with the survivors' circle dispersed. The support received from troops aboard other ships landed nearby with the intent of taking in survivors certainly made things easier. Three-Nine was taking cover in the forward section as he loaded a fresh round into his missile launcher. Sarge and Eight-Seven assisted in putting up support fire from just outside the ship.
"Looks like we won't be picking up any new load, squad; the surviving Jedi are all packed in," Sarge yelled through the barrage. "Just keep it up with the covering fire!"
I removed two grenades from my belt – one EMP and thermal each. I tossed the EMP back from behind the wall; as soon as I heard its detonation, I followed up with the detonator. I quickly gestured to Seven-Two with my index and middle fingers toward the right, to which he nodded in reply. Wasting no time following the explosion from the thermal detonator, I immediately withdrew from my cover and put up a heavy barrage into the cloud of smoke, dust, and ripped metal from the grenade; Seven-Two rushed behind me and assisted in the barrage to my left. Easily visible through the cloud were the numerous blue and orange marks each representing either the impact or destruction of a droid.
"Droideka!" yelled One-Four.
"On it," replied Three-Nine.
As Seven-Two and I continued the assault, I could hear behind me the firing off a missile, followed by the intense cracking of the round's impact and the follow-up explosion.
"Good shot, Three-Nine," Eight-Seven congratulated.
"Never accepted anything less."
"Allied LAATs are starting to take off; our job's wrapped up here – take us up, pilot," Sarge commands, slamming his fist twice along the canopy wall as he and Eight-Seven climbed back in.
"Yes sir," Nine-Eight replied, "I'm flying us to rejoin allied forces along the plains."
I turned momentarily in time to see a blaster bolt speed across One-Four's face, just barely missing impact. "Anywhere but here would probably work!"
"Good enough for me, now hold tight," advised One-One.
With all aboard, the ship lifted off from the Arena surface. I continued to lend support by dropping a few more Battle Droids until Seven-Two tapped my forearm.
"The gunners can take it from here; you should probably replenish those two grenades you tossed – this battle's arm from over."
"Agreed, take these," remarked One-Four as he offered a spare EMP and thermal detonator taken from his belt.
"You're sure you won't need them?" I asked while accepting the grenades into my hand.
"Hey, I'm a sniper – extremely long-range is my speciality, and I never did have much of a throwing arm."
"I appreciate it, thanks One-Four."
"Anytime Two-Five, anytime…half the stuff they issue me I'll probably never use anyway."
I took a final look at the Arena as the ship finished gaining altitude and now in the process of joining up with the other LAATs. The horde of Battle Droids that had once filled the structure's ground level – the surviving ones, anyway – were now in the process of dispersing to the exits…
…leaving behind the carnage in its wake. Scores of Jedi corpses, shattered droid wreckage, and even a few Clones killed in the droid counterattack – they were all scattered about the Arena grounds. It mad me angry to witness so many dead Jedi; when learning of our Jedi officers in the early parts of training, they sounded like a band of courageous and noble warriors.
And now, a little fewer than two hundred of them and some of my comrades-in-arms lie dead in the Separatists' wake.
These were the first – and certainly not the last – casualties of a war that will plague the galaxy.
With the infiltration of the Arena complete, we joined formation with the gunship squad heading for the Republic assembly area on the plains, located just adjacent to the foot of a spire formation. A good number of the Acclamators that had pushed for the planet surface had now completed landing procedures on the plains, deployment ramps extended to send out the troops aboard. Thousands of foot soldiers had gathered in front of the vessels escorted by several AT-TEs and TX-130 fighter tanks spread among their ranks. Behind them, a line of mobile assault cannon walkers – the SPHA-Ts – that continued to grow with their supplementation of additional units from the Acclamators.
"You know, it's strange…" Three-Nine suddenly muttered.
"What is?" asked Sarge as he turned his attention away from the assembly area.
"Well this planet is one giant Sep base, right? Yet our gunships were able to escape from the Arena intact without much damage. All I'm saying is that I find it a bit odd no one's shooting at us right now. Where's the anti-air fire?"
No sooner did he finish that sentence, a volley of fire streamed past the lead gunship up ahead – followed up shortly after with a second that tore through the forward section of the ship on the lead's right, engulfing it in a fireball.
"…there it is," I muttered.
"Take evasive action!" Sarge barked.
"Already on it sir, just make sure no one falls out," replied Nine-Eight.
The ship tilted as it began its sharp right turn to both avoid the incoming anti-air fire and maintain formation as the lead gunship began loosing altitude. Everyone aboard grabbed onto one of the handles lined above us; after all, Nine-Eight had a good point, it wouldn't do much good to fall off. Luckily for us the anti-air died out as we lost altitude and closed upon the assembly area, thereby ending the maneuvers to everyone's relief.
"General Yoda and General Windu are landing at the assembly area, we'll follow them down," Nine-Eight informed us.
"Alright; we're to link up with allied forces on the ground as soon as possible anyway," Sarge answered.
The larty formation split up once we flew over the Republic landing area, with several of the ships continuing on as we headed in. We touched down within the ranks, giving me a closer look at the activity taking place within the assembly area. With the exception of the mobile assault cannons, most Republic forces had been deployed and were now on the advance to meet the Droid Army deployed up ahead from the scores of Core Ships and droid factories.
"I'll be taking the gunship to assist our aerial strike teams; good luck," Nine-Eight wished to Sarge.
"Same to you as well; I'll radio in if I could use some air cover," Sarge acknowledged as he stepped out, taking a gaze upon the cockpit.
"Always available, sir," Nine-Eight assured as he formed a salute within the cockpit.
I did the same along with the rest of the squad. The desert sand beneath my boots made a light squeak as the soles cushioned against its surface. I dug my right toes into the sand for a moment, removing them to find the boot's pure white color mucked with a faint orange stain. After standing on the metallic floors of the Relentless and the gunship for so long, it was quite the change of scenery. Sarge walked up next to me as the gunship took off, electrobinoculars in hands and was taking a look through them at the area up ahead.
"The enemy must be advancing on our position by now," I remarked.
"And in greater numbers than I originally guessed." He lowered the scanner from his view and offered themto me, "Have a look for yourself."
I held the electrobinoculars to my visor, peering through them; the display broadcasted a zoomed image of the distant Separatist ranks up ahead.
The lines of Battle Droids and Super Battle Droids seemed to stretch endlessly.
Within the infantry ranks, I could pick out several quad-legged walkers; my guess was that they were some kind of anti-personnel vehicle.
"I received some information on enemy vehicles from one of the field officers just after we landed," Sarge began. "Within the infantry ranks are the Dwarf Spider Droids of the Commerce Guild. Anti-infantry and armor very resistant to small arms fire, so I wouldn't engage one directly with a blaster rifle if you could help it. If you have no choice though, just avoid that anti-infantry blaster and plant a charge."
I brought my view above the infantry ranks to a wheeled vehicle, picking out what looked like missile launchers on both sides.
"What about the wheeled unit?"
"Hailfire Droid constructed by the InterGalactic Banking Clan; just leave those to the gunships, there isn't much you could do to it. It acts as fast-acting ground-to-ground or ground-to-air missile artillery; in addition, there's a pair of blasters on the forward underside, so never approach one from the front."
One of the vehicles truly stood out – towering above the Separatist forces was a four-legged spider walker, which I guessed was somehow related to the Dwarf Spider Droids.
"And the large spider walkers?"
"Homing Spider Droids of the Commerce Guild, meant for heavier ground attacks. The walkers and gunships can take care of them; avoid the anti-personnel cannon mounted beneath its body."
Spotting nothing else I didn't recognize already, I lowered the scanner and handed it back to Sarge.
"I didn't spot any myself, but there's good reason to believe they have AATs as well. You remember the data gathered from the Battle of Naboo, right?"
"Of course, every detail," I replied.
"They also passed along intelligence on a tank droid of the Corporate Alliance, the Persuader-class enforcer. The thing is a fortress on treads, stay away from any you encounter."
"I didn't see anything of that sort out there, what does it look like?"
"It's a round tank – three treads, one on each side, and a large one in the middle. The sides are lined with laser cannons and ion cannons, and the thing has torpedoes, thermal dets, and concussion missiles as well."
"…you were right, that's quite the droid."
"Well regardless, I need to pass all of that along to the rest of the squad. We'll be commencing our attack fairly soon, and be prepared to receive enemy fire at time."
"Understood."
As Sarge rushed off, I drew the small hand-carried vibroblade I carried on my belt, leveling it with my left hand to bear the blade away from the rifle while using the same hand to support the rifle – holding the barrel with the hand's thumb, index, and middle fingers, and clasping the knife handle with the other two. I kept the two down, but was ready to attack at a moment's notice.
Here we go.
