Chapter Three: The Plan
Just beyond No Man's Land...
"Unorthodox indeed," the general sighed as she laid down in the mud alongside her officers. Commander Green was to her left and didn't look too happy about this plan either. Being neck-deep in grimy mud and soaking in it for hours while waiting for Seppies to come isn't exactly fun.
Turning to Tag, who was a couple men down on the other side of Kao, the marshal called out to him, though in a hushed voice.
"Is Medallion company in position yet?"
The lieutenant pulled out his set of binoculars and looked around until he spotted the two squads. "Just about, sir," he reported, "The perimeter should be set up by the time the tinnies start their assault." Green grunted at that, "And how long again until that is?"
"Eh, only another hour or so according to our scouts. They can't see much from the building, but it doesn't look like the droids are in formation yet."
The clone sitting immediately next to Oni's right, Captain Lucas, shifted. His armor popped out of the mud before crashing down with a 'smack'. "Remind me to maim Domino after this is all over," he said to the general. Oni glanced at her captain with a less than enthusiastic look. "At least you have a bodysuit that keeps out all the grit from the mud," she said. Her Jedi armor was uncomfortable at the moment, not being as weather-proofed as the clone plastoid. The black material that she didn't dare to call a bodysuit was more for looks than actual protection. She'd probably need a good hour in the refresher to get it all out.
"Might I bring up the custom clone armor topic again?" Green asked sarcastically, "I told you that your armor isn't as efficient as ours." Tag's black visor stared at the ground, "Oh my god." Lucas shook his helmet and groaned, "Not this again."
Oni sighed in annoyance, "The next chance you have to chew my head off for an hour, be my guest, but this time I'd rather spend it worrying about the plan."
"Alright," the marshal said in a sing-song voice. An open invitation to prove he's right won't be taken for granted.
Lucas rolled his eyes and wiped away the rain that covered his visor. Unintentionally, he smeared mud, blocking a portion of his vision. "Nevermind Domino," he growled, "I'm gonna kill the di'kuts at GAR Intelligence for this." At times, the captain hated them more than the droids they were fighting.
Oni brought up her comlink and used a finger to clear off the sludge. "Alright, boys, are the charges set?" Static was her answer; still, she waited.
Green gave Kao a questioning look, not aware that explosives were part of the plan. His brothers also glanced his way, looking for confirmation of some sort. Through their internal helmet comms, of which General Kao could not hear, Lucas was very skeptical.
"Domino didn't mention that. What is she up to?"
Green grunted and cautiously peeked at the general from the corner of his visor. He wasn't sure if her Jedi radar could pick up what they were saying. To him, the Force was a mystery and rather terrifying.
A rookie's voice came over Oni's wrist comm. "In place, sir. Harper and I are on our way back with whatever we could find," he said, sounding a little out of breath as he was running back to the lines.
"Were you able to recover anything?" asked the Jedi. The clone's voice came back more consistent, and the group could hear orders being barked out in the background. "A few rifles, ammunition, rations, and a few medpacs from a walker." Kao nodded in approval and glanced at Green. "Good job, Dakota. Drop the ammo off on the first perimeter and send someone to run the supplies to the medical train."
"Yes, ma'am."
Lucas, Tag, and Green all turned to the general for an explanation. "Domino didn't mention charges," Tag stated the obvious. Oni narrowed her eyes, not enjoying that one of her few allies was questioning her now too.
"Let's go over the plan," said Oni, who began drawing shapes in the ground. Two squares were carved next to each other. Kao dug a little 'x' inside each of them and then looked at Lucas. "The scouts have taken position on the fortieth floor of each of these buildings. Once the droids amass for their assault, the scouts will come back and aid us in the inevitable battle." Three inches down from the squares, Oni etched two curved lines to symbolize two armies fighting each other.
"We are going to take out the advancing droids to buy some time for the medical train to get as far as possible. Like Rehd mentioned before, none of those men will be able to walk for six days straight."
The plan was pretty much a "go out with a big bang" feel to it. The droids were already gearing for full-fledged assault on their base, so the whole battalion needed to move as soon as possible. Domino's suggestion was for those able to fight to pretty much act as a shield for the wounded to retreat. At some point, the droids wouldn't follow them any longer, as they need to keep their position within the city. The plan was shaky, but it was better than sitting in a mud pit and waiting for the droids to slaughter them.
"Leading them to have to rest," Lucas commented. He realized what Oni had caught onto and leaned in, giving her plan a more supportive glance. She took this as encouragement and continued. "Exactly. In order to do so, we cannot have the droids following us for very long."
Kao smirked, "So we blow them up." The officers, excluding Green, looked amongst themselves with hope brimming in their eyes. "As soon as the droids reach No Man's Land, we'll cut them down so far that they can't possibly think of following us without sacrificing resources from other warzones. Even if they try, by the time they recuperate, we've already disappeared within the untrackable swamplands. And thanks to the weather on Lothal right now, the vulture droids can't really operate. Besides, all air support has been sent to Kenobi's front based on radio chatter."
"Clever," the marshal's voice came.
Everyone turned to him, shock apparent on their faces. Oni raised a brow at her commander and side glanced at her mud painting. "So you approve?" she asked plainly. Green nodded crisply and shrugged, "It's logical and involves blowing stuff up. I like it." This made Kao unable to hold back a smile. Finally, they agreed on a set plan.
"The ARCie agreeing with the general," Lucas said, turning to look towards the city, "Well that's something you don't see everyday." Kao nodded in agreement, though decided against joining in on the teasing. Green expected a retort from her but was pleasantly disappointed.
Oni blinked her eyes. The pair of macrobinoculars she borrowed barely spared her vision from the rain and wind. Mud caked in between the plates of her battle armor and seeped very uncomfortably through her jumpsuit. Green's suggestion of clone armor poked into her thoughts, but she quickly cast it out in favor of her pride. Plus, it looked as though she would only have to suffer for a few more days.
After surveying the progress of the mission one more time, Lt. Tag pulled himself out of the sludge and took a low knee. "Ghost and Domino spotted a few droid tanks being prepped. All we have to do now is wait for the Separatists to start forming up and marching."
The general nodded in approval and turned to the two officers to her right. "I need the both of you to update the plan to the rest of the men and make sure they are ready. Make sure those medpacs reach the medical train."
"Yes, ma'am," Lucas and Tag said in unison, making quick work of completing their tasks.
"You said General Kenobi is distracting the droid army on his side of the city, correct?"
Kao turned to Green and tried to sense where he was getting at. They had discussed this back during the briefing; Green was never a man to miss details or second guess them later on...unless they were regarding her plans. "He's likely holding a good portion of their attention," she finally replied, "So, yes. The droids won't be able to send reinforcements after us without pulling from Kenobi's front."
"The Separatists have been playing defense so far," Green added, "This is the first time they have gone on the offense. Sure, they've pushed us back pretty far, but they have always returned to their perimeter. I'm wondering what they're hiding in there."
"What did you see when your team scouted the city?" Oni asked. The marshal did not have the time or security to search the entire city, but he at least found a route through that could possibly lead to the Separatist HQ.
The commander reached into one of his pouches and pulled out a small datapad. Turning the device on, he brought up the general schematics of the city. Kao scooted closer to get a good look. Green looked up at her for a moment and then pointed towards a massive plaza near the middle of the city. "We were able to at least see this from our scouting position on the outskirt skyscrapers. There were at least two battalions of B1's down there, and a couple lines of tanks to go with it."
"No human shields or proton cannons?" Oni asked somewhat humorously.
Green gave out a small chuckle. "This isn't Ryloth, general. All of the city locals were absent during the bio-planetary scan, remember?" Kao rolled her eyes, though with a smirk planted on her face. "Okay, okay. But if their anti-aircraft turrets aren't there, then where?"
"I guess we'll have to wait for Delta Force to get here to find out," the marshal said reluctantly, "We were barely lucky to get a view of the plaza considering how the city is densely packed with skyscrapers. The Seppies could be hiding their HQ and air base anywhere in there. Once we can get air support, we'll know."
Kao sighed and took another look at the map. "I'm seeing a pattern here."
Green raised a brow underneath his helmet and grunted curiously, giving her his attention. "Oh?"
"The Separatists always seem to defend their cities the same way. A radio tower guarded by some sort of anti-aircraft turret, a very well hidden HQ, and then an airbase within the city's abandoned industrial district." Oni's brow furrowed in thought. "When we were on Muunilinst, what were the droids hiding from us that Delta Force recently discovered?"
"A ray-shielded droid factory on the west side of the city," Green stated, confused by her revelation. Oni smirked at him, "And where would this droid factory be weak from if it just so happened to be on the outskirts of the city while the north, east, and south sides of the city are pre-occupied?"
"The west." Green grumbled, "Oni, what are you getting at?"
"Green, we're headed for the west side...where the droid factory probably is," Oni said with a surprised face, "Delta Force just recently found the Muunilinst droid factory, so the one on this planet's capital wouldn't have had time to relocate. Once reinforcements from both Kenobi and Tano arrive, we might be able to take that factory down and shut down reinforcements to the droid army. From there we may have a better shot of finding the turrets, taking them out, and returning air support to our side."
Green looked at her agape for a few moments. "Now you're starting to sound more like an ARC than a Jedi. I like it." Oni scoffed half-humoredly and looked away. "I guess I get it from you."
"Oh, if only," Green mocked. Turning serious, the clone commander pointed towards the west side of the city. "If the droids get a sense that we are headed west, do you think they will fortify that part of the city?"
Kao nodded, "Most likely. But we'll establish a new base further away from the city and wait until our reinforcements get here." Green had a look of approval and put the hologram away. "I can't wait until John gets here to help us turn these tinnies into scrap metal."
Oni smirked as she wiped away the mud drawings out of sheer boredom. "The thought of two Greens terrifies me," she said with a laugh, flicking the brown goop away. Her eyes locked onto the scorched battlefield to see tiny white and shamrock green figures running back and forth, slowly making their way back.
"We'll behave, I promise," Green chuckled.