Chapter 02
Kachirho, Kashyyyk/ 19 BBY/ 11 hours before Contingency Order: 66
As the LAAT flew over the treetops, the commandos and ARC watched as the battle for Kashyyyk raged below. The haunting sounds of blaster fire followed closely by death rang even over the loud hum of the Gunship. Flashes from the lethal beams in various colors of blue, green and red streaked all around them both on the ground and in the air. Delta Squad loved being on the ground in the primary offensives, but only they could execute the truly demanding objectives.
Boss studied the schematics of Tree Vikkilynn from his portable projector. It was no military facility with dreadful fortifications and strategic points. It mainly consisted of three large areas. The threshold seemed the best location to fortify a defensive position. His team could handle it; he was sure about most of them.
As the LAAT flew out of the open battle and approached Kachirho, the Deltas felt a pang of guilt, common only to the original three. Their previous objective was located off to the far western reaches of the Wookiee city in the deeper end of the towering forest. As familiar land marks came into view, in their mind's eye, so did the mission. For all they knew, somewhere down there in the ruin was their brother, Sev. The LAAT pulled away to the east, closing in on the one large Wroshyr tree towering out above the bay. The Commandos never failed to marvel at the mountainous scale of the trees. Delta Squad's internal grief was suddenly ripped from them as the wing to their LAAT nearly collided with a laser blast. The pilot had swerved to avoid the shot. More and more followed, forcing the pilot to bank away in jagged maneuvers. Boss stepped up to the cockpit. The pilot acknowledged his presence without diverting his attention.
"The clankers have placed sentry towers around the base, Sir," he replied in a panic. The Delta quickly studied the area, and reasoned out a solution.
"Take us over one," he ordered.
"What! Are you nuts?"
"Just do it pilot," Boss barked as he turned around. He rejoined the others in the cargo bay to find they were all armed and ready. "Listen Deltas we got a net of sentry towers down there keeping us from the facility, we're dropping in on one and taking it over, copy?"
"Affirmative," they replied. Another barrage of laser fire sent the LAAT into a sharp bank, as it timidly approached from above. The Commandos inside stabilized themselves by attaching their grapples to the edge of the LAAT. The pilot's panicked voice came over the comms.
"You want a drop, you better go now!"
"I have a bad feeling about this," Keilbourn muttered. Boss motioned with his gauntleted hand.
"Go, go, go!" he barked as he threw himself out of the craft. He haphazardly repelled at a dangerous speed. To add to all the chaos, the pilot didn't dare stay stationary to hover over the tower. He swooped in a controlled descent at an angle just close enough for the Commandos to repel from. Boss was sure to retract his cable as soon as possible. Scorch and Fixer did too but with difficulty. Keilbourn however struggled. As he made contact with the tower, the domed peak was slick, causing his unsustainable hold to fail. The cable continued to drag him as the LAAT began to ascend away. Boss watched the horror unfold in slow motion.
He knew this would happen. An ARC didn't have the coordination of a commando, and this ARC was no Delta. To 38's surprise, Scorch leapt from his place on the large dome. He extended himself completely, enabling his reach of Keilbourn's rappelling cable. At this point, the two dangling troopers had cleared the dome and were just inches from clearing the outer rail of the tower. Scorch locked a hold of Keilbourn's wrist as he used his gauntlet's retractable vibro-blade to slice the cable. Following the clean slice, the two dropped from the craft. Again Scorch fully extended himself and grasped tightly on the outer rail. Boss moved quickly followed by Fixer. They reattached their cables and quickly rappelled down the dome. As Scorch looked up to the walkway, he spotted three Battle Droids. Their long faces eyed him as they leveled their blasters with their feeble, mechanic arms. Before they were able to let off a shot, they were immediately destroyed by the hail of blaster fire that rained from Boss and Fixer's DC-17s. The two Deltas hung by their grapples from the dome over the railing. Boss and Fixer disengaged their grapples and dropped with a clang on the walkway. As Boss assisted Scorch, Fixer circled behind him, blaster leveled and ready.
"Scrap metal," Fixer grunted as he kicked the cold, mechanical remains of the feeble battle droids. Keilbourn grasped the railing then swung his legs over the edge. Landing in a crouch, he drew his DC-15S, covering the Squad's left flank. Scorch pulled himself up with Boss' help. When his boots finally hit the metal, Keilbourn turned towards him.
"What happened to being temporary?" the ARC asked, catching his breath.
"Get smart with me and I'll throw you over the rail," Scorch snapped.
"Cut the chatter you two," Fixer growled over the comms. Boss motioned to the entry down the walkway. The Squad swiftly made their way to the edges of the entry.
"I want a charge on this door," the Delta commanded. Boss took the right flank with Fixer on the left and Keilbourn at the rear as Scorch planted a demo charge on the door's seal. Seconds after being placed, the charge went off. Fixer tossed a flash-bang grenade from his belt into the room. A second passed then they heard the contained blast, the Squad moved in like a well oiled machine of precision. Their movements were near perfect, even with a replacement on the roster. Keilbourn was no greenhorn. He may have been younger than the other Delta veterans, but Keilbourn had his own share of military field service. Alpha ARCs were just as formidable. They were stripped-down Commandos, personally trained by the host of the Clone Army, the bounty hunter Jango Fett. Though they generally work alone, they were not unaccustomed with teamwork; which was the key to an efficient room clearing. Boss fired single shots at a time, precisely shooting down droid after droid. Scorch had rushed in, thrusting his vibro-blade into one droid before tossing it into another two. One by one, the droids fell at the gun of the Commandos.
"Poor scraps never stood a chance," Keilbourn chuckled. Boss glanced over at him. He still wasn't warming to him, but the commando couldn't shake a feeling of familiarity from the ARC.
"I've said it before, I'll say it again," Fixer mused as he worked the tower's battery controls. "CIS software is chizk." The commando worked the computer, slicing into the system with ease. Boss looked through the transparisteel window to the other towers helping to form the defensive net of laser fire. He turned away to his demolitions operator.
"Scorch, set a charge on the primary generator," he ordered. Scorch turned away to execute the order. Keilbourn glanced over at the departing Commando.
"I'll cover you," the ARC said. He clomped on the floor to follow Scorch out. Scorch glared over at him quizzically for a moment as he clipped his DC-17 to his belt. He fished around before extracting his grapple once again. Keilbourn eyed the device remembering how his was now completely useless, just a waste of valuable space on his belt. Far below under a blanket of the eerie mist of Kashyyyk's morning, the lights of battle flashed violently. Scorch finished fastening his grapple, then plunged straight into what seemed like the midst of the battle. Over the com, Fixer's voice broke through.
"According to the schematics 62, you're leveled with the generator." From where Keilbourn stood, Scorch was barely visible through the mist. The ARC had clipped his DC-15s to his belt and shouldered his DC-15x sniper. Through the scope, he scanned any potential threats to Scorch's safety. Far below, Scorch dangled thirty feet from the railing. Using his vibro-blade, he cut through the metal casing of the tower. Once he had sliced through, he wrenched the panel off the side with his own hands. The Commando tossed it aside. He dug the blade into the plating beside the opening to keep his grip on the tower. With his free hand, he reached to his pack and extracted a portable demo charge. With the breach in the tower's structure, Scorch heard the functions whirring into action. Suddenly the two large turbo cannons fired from the top of the tower. The shots targeted the tower to their left. Upon the impact, the other tower exploded into a smoldering heap of machinery. Scorch expertly fastened the charge's magnets to the humming power generator. He took only seconds to punch in the correct controls. Suddenly, a hail of laser fire shot right at him, nearly shooting him down. Scorch hugged the tower, to create a smaller target. A sleek, four pronged Vulture droid screeched up to them in a strafe to target the dangling Commando.
"ARC, do your job and shoot them down," Scorch shouted. Keilbourn leveled his rifle and aimed for the craft's vital point. The ARC focused on the droid's glowing red eye on the head of the craft. He pulled ahead, leading the shot then steadied his breath. Keilbourn fired his rifle, sending a precise, blue laser bolt. The shot struck the Vulture Droid on the targeted eye, piercing straight into the brain receptor. By destroying the receptor, the droid's connection to the central computer was severed. Smoke billowed from the impact as the craft spiraled out of the air, crashing straight into the ocean below.
"Charge is set, forming up," Scorch declared, pressing one final button, stabilizing the device. Keilbourn continued to scan with his scope.
"Your clear 62," he said. Inside the tower's control room, Fixer and Boss targeted the tower to their right. Keilbourn still watching from the balcony turned his attention to the tower. He noticed the twin cannons rotating to target them. "Sir," Keilbourn called out over the com. "They're targeting us."
"Fixer, fire this blasted thing!" Boss shouted.
"Tower is targeted, firing!" the Delta announced. Another cluster of cannon fire erupted with a powerful pulse. Again, the tower exploded before firing off at them. The explosion engulfed the sky in flame as shards of metal rained down on the battle below. Scorch climbed back over the rail with ease as Boss again spoke over the com.
"Advisor this is Delta 38, towers have been neutralized. Awaiting exfil," Boss said. Suddenly, a hatch just around the bend of the walkway opened. Battle Droids emerged from the hatch, firing blasters at Scorch and Keilbourn. The ARC dropped to a roll to his left away from the railing. Scorch dropped to one knee and leveled his DC-17 in one swift movement. In his crouched state, Keilbourn too drew his DC-15s. The two factions exchanged blaster fire of blue and red. The two of them dropped the droids with ease. Suddenly one of the remaining Droids was knocked off of the walkway and clomping into view were three of the broader Super Battle Droids. They stood inches taller than the B1 standard Battle Droids and were manufactured with a tougher alloy. After knocking the Battle Droid out of the way, the SBD stepped up to the front of the group and fired it's wrist-mounted blaster. The blasts shot at the Commandos, who dived for cover.
"Oh great, these guys!" Scorch growled in disgust. Boss and Fixer emerged from the control room, firing away their DC-17s. Finally, their comms broke with the pilot's voice.
"Delta Squad I'm on approach thanks for clearing the skies."
"You can thank us by getting us off this thing," Fixer replied. To their relief, the LAAT Gunship approached the tower. The bow turrets were alight with green blaster fire. The suppression allowed Delta to easily board the Gunship. Boss helped pull Keilbourn into the hold.
"Hold tight ARC," Scorch remarked as Keilbourn grasped the net above.
"Let's go pilot, don't waste your time with these Droids," Boss commanded. The LAAT pulled away from the tower before accelerating past it closer to the facility. Boss extracted a handheld device from his belt. He pressed a flashing red button down with his thumb. "Boom," the Delta said simply. The explosion thundered louder than the previous two. The tower crumpled in half as smaller explosions followed. Fixer looked up at Scorch across the way. The Commando was standing at the very edge, watching as the tower went up in flames.
"That's gotta cheer you up, huh 62," he said.
"Shove off," Scorch growled under his breath.
Keilbourn looked up at the Delta with intrigue and concern. He like all of the Grand Army of the Republic knew of the reputation of Delta Squad. What few operations that were publically known, they were highly revered for. What was more, the ARC had even temporarily trained with the commandos on Kamino. The bounty hunter, whom hosted the clone troopers, Jango Fett, was the primary trainer of the Alpha ARCs himself. Because of his frequent business travels, the ARCs were group trained at times by either of the eleven Mandalorian overseers. Keilbourn himself had actually grown a relationship with Delta's trainer, Sergeant Walon Vau, a cold, shrewd cynic. To actually be a part of Delta to the ARC was an honor, though Keilbourn was perfectly aware that the feeling wasn't mutual.
Within very little time, the LAAT swooped down closer to the facility. The structure was surrounded by heavy vegetation. The entire architectural layout was of a natural wood décor. On the top of the building were large dome skylights, clumped together into a massive structure. In the front of the building was a large staircase with vast carved pillars. The intricate wooden doors stood tall and sealed. From the outside, CIS forces fought and pushed against beast-like resistance. The Deltas watched as numerous, large, dark hairy beasts thrashed their mechanical foes. The Wookiee warriors growled and howled battle cries as they fired intricate bowcasters or ripped Droids apart with their bare hands. The help of Republic forces was much needed, though Wookiees were vicious when needed to be and a fearsome force.
"Go brothers go," Boss mused.
"Deltas, we're at Tree Vikkilynn," the pilot announced.
"Take us down to the roof," Boss ordered. The pilot did as was told and descended to the roof of the base. The Deltas moved quickly, hopping down from the LAAT which hovered five feet above the roof. One by one, they stomped down, blasters leveled and ready for any threat. They filed over to the edge of the roof. Boss peered over to find that the Wookiee's valiant attempts were failing. Closing in on the front step of the base were five heavily armed Hailfire Droid tanks. The tanks signature two large hoop-like wheels carried the head of the tank and the two large missile pods. As Super Battle Droids laced the air with deadly blaster fire, clearing out the Wookiee forces, the Hailfires positioned themselves at the rear, focusing on the front doors.
"Sir they're about to breach the base," Fixer observed. Boss turned away and hoofed it to the large dome structure in the middle of the roof.
"Then we'll just have to cut them off," Boss said. The others followed him.
"A door breach charge should do just fine," Scorch said as he observed the glass.
"Then let's place it," Boss said. Scorch nodded as he crouched down on the glass, placing a small handheld device on the glass. He pressed three buttons on the face of the device.
"Charge set, clear out!" the Delta called out as he backed away hastily. Within a second, the charge detonated. The blast was minimal but had the Squad's desired effect. Where the charge once lay was now a hole six feet in diameter in the thick dome structure. The entire structure shook from the force of the blast but stayed intact. The Deltas latched their grapples on the edge from their belts. Before dropping, Boss stretched his hand out to Keilbourn. Without a word, the ARC locked wrists and leapt over into the gap as Boss and the other Commandos rappelled down. Before their boots managed to touch the bottom, numerous explosions suddenly sounded, shaking the entire base.