Chapter 07

Kachirho, Kashyyyk/ 19 BBY/ 0 hours after Contingency Order: 66

Eyeing the BARC Speeder strapped down in the rear of the LAAT's cargo floor, Scorch had no intention to actually take part in any more objectives for the Republic. Upon boarding the gunship, he was greeted by a familiar presence.

"Delta 62, nice to see your okay," said Clone Advisor 01/425. The Clone communicated through Scorch's comlink in his helmet. The Advisor had been assigned to coordinating Delta Squad throughout the entirety of the war. It was slightly comforting to the Commando.

"Good to hear from you Advisor," he replied.

"Well let me fill you in." At this point, Scorch was making his move. He moved to the cockpit's entrance and sat on some crates off to the side. Discreetly with his back away from the others, he reached back into his pack and expertly worked a handheld demo charge. The Advisor continued to debrief Scorch. "Early before the Invasion, the CIS had previously deployed forces into numerous cities here on Wawaatt Archipelago. They came via C9969 Landing Crafts which have now been hidden from our view so an airstrike is a no go. Previous recon has informed us that only two of the four that have landed have deployed their MTTs. The rest are reserves. Those troops could possibly turn the battle to their favor."

"Is there a vital point?" Scorch asked, mustering as much curiosity as he could pretend. From behind, Scorch prepared the final settings for the hidden demo charge.

"At this time we only have one suggestion, and that's the ammo cache in between the two crafts. A well placed demo charge would set it off and may take out the crafts."

"May? We're going to storm into the middle of a CIS camp with a 'may'!" One of the troopers exclaimed.

"What a chizk strategy," another swore.

"What's wrong Shinie?" Scorch mused. "Scared of a few Clankers?" The Trooper glowered at the Commando. Finally Scorch received the distraction he needed. Artillery explosions shook the hull of the LAAT, covering the sudden thud of the charge falling behind the crate. He then casually made his way to the other end of the LAAT.

"Advisor we'll observe for a better target before insertion," Lieutenant Aro replied. As the artillery's volume intensified, Scorch made his play. He quickly hit the hatch at the rear of the craft. It opened freely, the gust of air coursed through the craft's open hatch. The Troopers' outcries were canceled out by the outside explosions. Scorch mounted the BARC speeder quickly and severed the straps with his vibro-blade.

"Feirfek, they hit the wing!" Scorch bellowed into his com. The Commando then kicked off on the floor, sending the BARC speeder overboard through the hatch. Still holding on to the handles, he grabbed the remote detonator from his belt, and pressed down on the red button. As the Commando dropped in a free fall mounted on the speeder, the perfectly functioning LAAT Gunship exploded. The ball of red flame filled the pale sky, raining hot metal and debris down on the green canopy. The Commando kicked on the repulsor engine. The speeder gunned into life as the Commando reached the canopy of the forest. Scorch pressed a control on the speeder, activating the environmental map. He found he was close to Grunnrurr which was just miles to the East of Kachirho. Scorch accelerated down the canopy after banking sharply down west.

It was dark. But slowly and surely, it was getting lighter. However, with every inch that Sev climbed, his arms would ache even more. His grapple recoiled back into his belt. He knew that only five more feet, and he would find it. His least favorite part was having to move his gloved hand around the trunk of the tree to search for the grapple. The black covering that served as his gloves were starting to tear by the many times that the grapple's teeth would dig into the black fabric and cut into his fingers. His blood started to trickle down his hand. But he didn't care. He was a Commando. Not some average White job. Commandos had higher skill levels and tolerability than the normal Clone Trooper. He had been climbing and scaling the tree for what he thought to be twelve hours. Once there was hardly any lax to the cable, he started to search for the grapple. As he stared at the vast trunk searching for the grapple he swept his sore hands on the tree, he noticed a small amount of light. Not enough to navigate or spot a grappling hook with, but the atmosphere was slightly lighter. That's when he knew that he was at the highest section of the Shadow Lands. Only an hour of climbing at his pace, and he would be out and into the beginning of the friendlier jungle. This discovery energized him and made him feel like his effort and work was paying off. He couldn't wait to see his pod brothers again. He was sure that they were still on the same planet. Thinking of Delta Squad energized him even more. He thought about them wondering what they were doing at that very moment. Boss was probably just making sure Scorch didn't get into any trouble. Scorch was probably telling one of his stupid jokes and Fixer was tinkering around with some techie nonsense. That was Sev's drive. For him to complete the last hour or more of climbing, He would have to focus on his thoughts of Delta Squad. His thoughts were then suddenly interrupted by a slight pain in his hand. He had found the grappling hook. But he found it the hard way. His fingers were bleeding again. At this point, the fabric had been completely torn away by the sharp teeth. He lifted his hand up to his cracked dry mouth. He sucked the blood then spewed back to the ground. Although he hadn't had anything to drink in hours, blood was definitely not what he was looking for. He grabbed the grapple then with the same hand pulled the cable out of his belt. He then tossed the grapple into the air. The teeth of the metal three pronged contraption dug into the wooden trunk. Once again he started his climb. He retrieved the thoughts of his Squad again and used it to help him climb the tree. With every stab of the vibro blade into the trunk, he felt them getting closer.