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Chapter Ten: The Bloodbath of Muunilinst
"Everyone remembers Muunilinst in their own way. We all had our own experiences on that hellhole. Me? I remember the mud, and huddling in my foxhole, being too scared to sleep because of Sep artillery. Even now I still flinch whenever someone sets off fireworks." – Excerpt from an interview with CT-0025, aka "Hedgehog"
Two Hundred Miles West of Harnaidan, Muunilinst
Thunder sounded in the distance.
It was not a natural thunder, after all real lightning was not so endless and terrifying. Real lightning couldn't churn up the ground and completely destroy the bodies of any of those hapless enough to be near when it struck.
It had been the only sound that had any true consistency for the past two weeks. Well, that and the constant pattering coming from the rain, which had reached record highs and been pouring down on and off for the past two weeks. It would have normally been considered as nothing more than inconvenience by most of the planet's habitants, but some of them were grateful for it.
Because if there wasn't so much rain the ground would be soaked in blood.
For two weeks now the Confederate forces under Darth Vader had waged their campaign against the Republic army entrenched on Muunilinst. After the first battle in space the droid armies had spread like a cancer across the surface, replanting their flag in settlements and cities that the Republic troops were simply unable to defend.
For the first few days the Confederates held the initiative, gaining ground with little resistance as most of the Republican troops had quickly fallen back to Harnaidan to consolidate their strength. It is worth mentioning that this was the same location of High Port Space Center, a massive skyhook that had escaped damage in the war so far and the only way out for the Republic forces on the ground.
Regardless, the droid legions advanced, their masters confident that they could storm Harnaidan in a fast, devastating assault while the navy circled the skyhook and prevented any escape. A quick, simple victory.
How wrong they were.
On the sixth day as Confederate forces began marching towards Harnaidan, their enemy finally showed themselves. Under the command of Mace Windu himself, a division sized force of TX-130 tanks commenced a savage blitzkrieg operation on the Confederate flanks, inflicting heavy losses on an enemy that had thought them beaten.
The Confederates quickly responded, rallying to Rune Gunray who had taken to leading from the front. Even though he was not a Force user, Gunray was able to match Windu in the area of battle strategy and tactics, turning what would have been a Confederate rout into a fierce armored battle.
Fighting lasted for five hours with both sides suffering heavy losses before the Confederates fell back, unwilling to risk more casualties among their organic troops. The engagement was a clear Republic victory, even though they suffered high losses. With this battle the Confederates realized that capturing Harnaidan would be no easy task.
In the aftermath General Vader devised a plan to beat the Republic through attrition, imprisoning them within Muunilinst's capital and starving them into submission. To this end Harnaidan was encircled by a large force of nearly 500,000 battle droids and organic soldiers, along with plenty of armor and artillery support. The navy also contributed by maintaining absolute air superiority over the area, while the rest of the invasion force would spread out to cement Confederate control and root out any stragglers.
The plan worked spectacularly for the first three days, until the Republic struck a second time.
In almost total radio silence a Republic fleet of two hundred ships had been assembled at Valc to relieve the beleaguered garrison. They caught Admiral Delaz's ships completely by surprise, and the admiral was unable to prevent the destruction of a full third of his remaining forces before pulling back to the edge of the system. With the Confederate fleet beaten back, the Republic ships wasted little time securing the orbit around Harnaidan, saving the Sector Army from collapse and bombing the Confederate force besieging it into oblivion.
While neither Darth Vader or General Gunray were among the casualties, it was a major blow to the Confederates, and what had seemed a decided battle was now much more uncertain.
In fact, this would have been the death blow for the Confederate attack on the Muunilinst had the following not occurred. At this point in time a Confederate relief force arrived, carrying with it supplies and fresh troops, and most importantly a sizeable escort of warships. While not the largest force, it was big enough to increase the odds to 2:1 in the Confederacy's favor. A considerable turn of fortune for Delaz, who before had been hopelessly outnumbered.
With the arrival of this force, Delaz with Vader's consent ordered a do-or-die charge on the Republic fleet. The battle was chaotic, with Confederate and Republic warships exchanging fire at almost point blank range. Formations didn't matter and victory was decided by who could fire first. Entire fighter and bomber wings were lost in combat, victims of flak or exploding ships. There were even cases of ships ramming one another, their bridges vaporized by turbolaser fire or proton torpedoes from bombing runs.
Delaz's gamble was partially successful. He succeeded in breaking Republican orbital supremacy and preventing the ground troops from being cut off, however he failed to completely drive the enemy fleet from the system. From there the battle in space quickly devolved into a stalemate, with neither side willing to leave their respective side of orbit to engage.
On the ground the story was much the same. While the Confederates still possessed a numerical advantage, a combination of bad weather, guerilla warfare and stubborn Republic resistance prevented them from advancing very far. Under orders given by Commander Asher, various clone commando units were sent into the countryside, harassing their enemy and disrupting supply lines. At the same time commando droids snuck into the major cities still controlled by the Republic and began sniping anything that wore a Republic insignia or a lightsaber. The two sides lived under a cloud of fear, and the civilian population suffered as they both hunted down anyone that was suspected of giving aid to either Republic troopers or Confederate commando droids/organic snipers, depending on which side of the line they were on.
That brings us to where we are now, a quaint little town far from Harnaidan. Composed of a mixture of human immigrants and Muuns, it was a rather normal place. Life had been hard on them with the fighting raging on the surface, but the town had managed to escape relatively unscathed. Until now.
For one of the town's Human residents was a Republic sympathizer, and when a Republic commando squad had shown up at his house, begging for food and shelter while they rested, he couldn't refuse. Unfortunately for him, this was witnessed by a plain-clothed Confederate soldier, one of many who had been tasked with locating the enemy which had become such a thorn in their side.
The very next day a squad of organic Confederate soldiers along with a full platoon of B2 battle droids surrounded the man's house, an OG-9 spider droid looming over it all. Against such overwhelming odds the clones stood no chance, and they were dragged out of the house along with the man and his family after a brief firefight.
Once they were all apprehended, the Confederate officer in charge, a Muun Major, stood before them all in the town's main plaza, a holopad in his hands.
"By order of High General Darth Vader, anyone who is discovered to be assisting enemy saboteurs and/or commandoes is found guilty of both treason and espionage against the Confederacy of Independent Systems. The penalty for these crimes is death by firing squad. As per protocol, the properties of all accused persons will be seized by the state as compensation. Does the accused have anything to say before their sentence is carried out?"
The Major ignored it, but he could practically feel the gazes of the town focused in on either him or the people on the ground before him. Many of their faces were ashen, and some were shedding silent tears. From what he gathered the man whose sentence he was currently reading was rather well liked.
In the end it didn't matter, he decided. Regardless of his past, the man before him had aided the enemy, however indirectly, in killing his comrades. In his eyes, and also in the eyes of Darth Vader as fate would have it, that was unforgivable.
The man looked up at his captors, and the Confederate noticed that aside from a flash of hatred there was also desperation in the man's eyes. "Please, let my family go, they have nothing to do with this!"
The Major glanced at the rest of the man's family, his eyes resting for a brief moment on the two young children encircled by their mother's arms. Tears streaked down their faces, and he couldn't help but notice that the youngest, a girl, seemed no older than five.
When he seemed to hesitate, one of the clones that was being held captive spoke up. "He's telling the truth, they're innocent. Let them go and I swear my men and I won't put up any resistance."
The Major nodded, agreeing to the deal. He would have let the children go anyway. He wasn't heartless. Though he would have considered executing the wife as well if the clone hadn't spoken up. "Very well, your wife and children are free to go. Release them."
The droids guarding the family allowed the mother and her children to leave. The youngest started bawling, screaming that they couldn't leave their daddy alone. The Major did his very best to ignore it. I do this for my nation and people.
"Your sentence will now be carried out. We will allow you to be blindfolded if you so wish."
The clones spat at him, while the father looked at his family and smiled, ignoring the super battle droid standing above him.
The Major sighed. "Very well. Ready!"
The droids standing above the captives primed their arm mounted blasters, while the town's residents began murmuring in distress.
The girl kept sobbing and screaming.
"Aim!"
The downpour intensified, and the wind howled. The Major briefly squirmed even though he was wearing a poncho.
"Fire!"
A series of staccato cracks went off, and five bodies slumped to the ground, the backs of their heads smoking. Their grisly job done, the Confederates disposed of the bodies before quickly moving out, leaving the town to deal with its grief.
On that day a community wept while a family was torn apart by loss.
And in the distance, thunder sounded.
Darth Vader's HQ, Munn City
Munn City, while not as large as Harnaidan, was still a sizeable settlement, boasting a population of 3 million citizens and a wealthy economy. It had been captured early in the Confederate invasion, and this along with its impressive communications facilities had led to Vader making it his base of operations on the planet.
The Confederate general and his command staff had commandeered the city hall, which was more akin to a palace than a city's center of governance. It was patrolled by a full company of B1 battle droids along with two AATs in support. To top this off AA guns had been placed in and around the facility as part of a larger air defense system that covered the entire city. It's easily defensible nature combined with the many conference rooms and a prime comm. system made this the logical choice for a command center.
That, and it was quite luxurious too. Vader might operate on a system of merit, but even he had to admit that rank had its privileges.
Currently the Sith and his officers were in one of the conference rooms, a table projecting a 3D map of the battlefronts in between them. Delaz was attending via holoconference, unable to attend personally with the situation in space still unresolved. Vader himself stood at the head of the table, with Rune to his right. The rest were a menagerie of colonels and low ranking generals.
The atmosphere was thick with tension, as everyone present knew that this campaign was of prime importance to the war as a whole. And it was going badly.
"Report," Vader boomed, his voice covering all other sounds in the room.
"Sir," a colonel replied, his hand moving to the map. "As you are well aware, our forces have become bogged down by bad weather and enemy guerilla operations. We've had to halt our advance because of this, and the Republic has used this chance to fortify their positions."
The man manipulated the hologram, causing it to show the positions of Republic forces and their fortifications relative to their own troops. The picture wasn't pretty. Legions of clone troops were dug in around a large mountain range, its peaks tall and steep. There were multiple redoubts that housed cannons and AT-TEs protected by barbed wire, repeating blasters and minefields. A death trap for any attacking force without the adequate means to overcome it.
"Normally we would bypass this position before cutting it off and bombing it," another officer, a general continued. "Unfortunately the Republic has learned from the mistakes of the IGBC in the first battle, and they have devoted a significant amount of fighters and AA to this area to prevent any aerial incursion. To make matters worse, this is the only way to Harnaidan accessible to our forces."
"What of the other paths?" Vader asked, more for the benefit of others since he was already aware of this. "Harnaidan is the center of Muunilinst, politically and economically. It would have more than one way to get there."
"Any other time and you would be right sir," the same general replied. "However the other roadways have been lost to flooding. They're basically giant mud pits now. This wouldn't be a problem for our repulsor equipped vehicles, but our enemy has excellent foresight. Our scouts report that the Republic has set up massive minefields on both approaches that go around the mountains, and the rest are guarded by Legion sized detachments. The rest of our forces are currently engaging them, but so far they've reported no progress."
"We have the enemy encircled but we lack the ability to fully close it," Rune muttered, crossing his arms as he stared down the map. He then lo0ked up to Delaz. "Is there anything the fleet can do to help?"
The man shook his head, his expression grim. "Anything I could do would either be countered by the enemy ships in orbit or their air defense on the ground. You have to understand that when we launched our counterattack most of my forces were made up of Munificents and Recusants. We beat the enemy back, but we took a pounding in the process. The Republic lost multiple ships too, but frankly if my fleet makes any move from our current position we won't be able to stop ships from slipping through and bombing our positions."
Some of the officers looked like they were about to protest when Vader raised a hand, silencing them. "Admiral Delaz has done admirably, but we cannot rely on him. We must use what he have here, on the ground, to achieve victory. Does anyone have any suggestions?"
For a moment the room was silent, before finally one of the officers spoke up. However, when his opinion was given another was quick to reject it, and this quickly led to an argument involving everyone in the room aside from Rune, Vader, and Delaz. It continued like this for half an hour, and eventually Vader called an end to the meeting, giving orders to reconvene tomorrow. With that the officers slowly filtered out, or their holograms faded away if they were attending from another location. For their part Vader and Rune left the room last, immediately making their way through the building in silence. They ignored the battle droids standing guard, keeping their gazes straight as they made their way to Vader's quarters.
After some time they reached the aforementioned destination, the door of which was guarded by two BX commando droids instead of the regular B1s. After giving a brief salute the droids held open the doors (another testament to the wealth of the city's mayor. Real wooden doors made from Alderranian Oak and gilded in pure gold? There were Senators who couldn't afford that), allowing the pair to enter. When the doors were shut the duo entered a luxurious suite that was fit for royalty. Cream colored walls accented with gold designs circled the room and played host to several pieces of art painted by the Coruscanti master Marcus Dontelli. Expensive and very hard to acquire under the best of circumstances. A plush, spotless dark red carpet served as the floor, keeping the pair's boots from making any sound. Two couches sat on either side of a low table carved from the Roshyr trees of Kashyyyk, second in quality only to Alderranian Oak.
Rune immediately went to sit on one of the couches while Vader himself simply went to the large window at the rear of the room. For a moment there was silence save for the continuous repetition of Vader's death rattle.
"So, what are you really planning?" Rune asked, unable to take the silence any longer. "We both know that such an obstacle wouldn't hinder you one bit. So obviously you have something else in mind."
Vader stared out the window for a moment, appearing to gather his thoughts. Eventually he responded. "There are two reasons. First, I do not wish to reveal the full extent of my powers until absolutely necessary. It is always best to hold an ace up your sleeve."
The nemoidian nodded. That was understandable, considering what he had been told about Darth Sidious. Against such an opponent, there was no such thing as being overcautious. "And the second?"
Here Vader paused, still staring out the window as if it would divulge unto him the secrets of the Force. "Not all of the conditions have been met for this battle to be a success."
"What do you mean by that?"
The Sith now turned back to Rune. "While a victory here is of immense importance to the Confederacy, it is only part of a larger game. You've seen how the war is going across the rest of the galaxy. Even now Grievous is in a worse situation than us on Eriadu, and everywhere else our advance stalls as the Republic stiffens its resistance. What is the reason for this? What resource does the Republic have that the Confederacy cannot call upon?"
Rune paused, thinking on the subject before realization dawned. "The Jedi."
Vader nodded, and Rune looked on as the Sith began pacing around the room. "Indeed, while I have shaken the Jedi up with my involvement in this conflict, I have not truly demoralized them. To do this I need to eliminate or at least severely injure one of their more prominent members. One of the High Council."
The Nemoidian's eyes glinted as he smirked. "Isn't Mace Windu fighting on the frontlines at this moment?"
Vader nodded, and Rune could tell that he was grinning under that mask. "He is, and wouldn't it be most unfortunate if something were to happen to him?"
Rune's smirk widened. Now that would be a fight to see! "Would you like me to have teams track him down?"
Here Vader shook his head. "No, I have another task for you."
The Confederate general perked up, interest evident on his face. I wonder what it is this time. "What would you have me do?"
"While I focus on Windu, I need you to find a way to break the Republic's defense line in the Harnaidan Mountains. So long as they hold them and the situation in space doesn't change we won't be able to do anything."
Rune nodded, having expected as much. Those mountains were becoming a real pain in their ass. "How long do I have to find a solution?"
"I did say that I would be reconvening the officers tomorrow, but I've decided to reschedule it for two days instead. You have until then."
Here Rune groaned as his head drooped. He just knew he would be getting little sleep tonight. "I know I'm a damn good officer, but even I have limits!"
He could feel Vader's amusement. "Look at it this way," the Sith said as he took a seat on the opposite couch. "You'll get to become acquainted with all sorts of caf flavors. I hear the owner of this place has a fine stock of Tarisian Vanilla."
Rune glared. "I hate you."
"That means I'm doing my job right."
Republic Absolute Defense Line, Harnaidan Mountains
"INCOMING!"
At this shout all the soldiers in the area dropped what they were doing and scrambled for the nearest cover. Mere seconds after shots from Separatist artillery guns rained down upon the Republic forces, engulfing the area in a sea of chaos, upturned earth and burnt or shattered corpses.
The artillery fire continued for a full minute before it finally ceased, and when it was over the troops began leaving their hiding places, albeit ready to jump back in at a moment's notice. The Seps had a habit of pausing their barrages briefly before resuming them, catching multiple troops off guard.
This had been the routine of the troops stationed in the Harnaidan Mountain range for the past few days. Spend all day watching and waiting for any Separatist attacks. Briefly pause this watch to avoid being killed by artillery fire which was always at random intervals and always ended almost as soon as it began. End a shift to eat whatever passed for rations that day and get a meagre amount of sleep. Then rinse and repeat.
Frankly Asher was surprised that more of the non-clone troops hadn't cracked under the pressure yet.
He was impressed with Kota's militia actually. They had performed just as well as the next clone, and had been involved in combat several times against Separatist forces. No one could question their courage or martial ability, and it was safe to say that they had earned many a clone's respect amongst the Tenth Legion and beyond.
The reverse was also true. While at the beginning a fair amount of the militiamen had been outright hostile to the clones, that attitude had been changed almost overnight by their fighting alongside clone soldiers. They saw that the clones bled, fought, and suffered just like any other human being, and the only real difference between them was the fact that clones aged faster than normal. Asher had seen multiple strong friendships formed between clone troopers and members of Kota's militia, and he himself got along with the officers and rank-and-file rather well now.
That was probably the only good thing that had come out of this mess. Where friendships were formed under fire, they were also torn apart in blaster fire and blood. There were countless wounded and dead, and as the battle went on the death toll just kept rising with no end in sight.
The sound of screaming dragged the clone from his thoughts. Shaking his head to rid himself of his inner distraction, Asher quickly made his way over to the source of the commotion, and was quickly greeted with a heartrending sight.
Multiple beings were gathered around where a repeating blaster had been set up, most of them medics but some of them soldiers that had been attracted by the noise. In the middle of the group Asher could see one of the militia, a male human who looked barely out of his teens, cradling the limp form of what appeared to be one of his compatriots. Asher saw that the corpse had once been a member of the militia as well, a female human.
The boy, for that's really all that he was, was wracked with heavy sobs, his arms circled around the corpse and refusing to let it go. No matter what the medics did the boy wouldn't budge, and Asher saw that the boy was starting to get angry by their repeated requests to let them take the body. He knew he needed to step in now before things went further.
"What's going on here?" he demanded, everyone straightening slightly at his presence. He was in commander mode now, and the tone of his voice and his posture demanded respect.
"Sir," one of the medics said, settling for a nod instead of saluting since they were in a combat zone. "I saw that Corporal Nyla here wasn't moving, so my unit and I tried to see if we could help her. Once it was clear that she was… incapacitated we decided to take the body and put it in a more appropriate location, but as you can see we are having difficulties."
Asher nodded, leveling his helmeted gaze on the still sobbing soldier. He appeared to have settled down somewhat now that no one was trying to take the body from him, but the boy was still a wreck. Asher knelt down next to the boy, putting his hand on his shoulder in a futile gesture of comfort.
"Son, I need you to let her go," he said gently, trying to be understanding to the boy's loss.
The militiaman kept sobbing, completely ignoring the clone officer. Asher held back a sigh, this wasn't his forte. "I need you to listen to me soldier. I know it hurts, but she's gone. There's nothing-"
"No!" the boy shouted, startling everyone as he glared at Asher. "I'm not letting her go! You can't take her from me! I won't let y-"
He was cut off by a resounding smack, and the crowd stood shocked as Asher stood up, his voice brimming with authority. "Get a hold of yourself man! We're in a warzone! I know it hurts, but you've got to keep yourself together or you'll end up dead just like her!"
Everyone simply stared, while the boy gaped at him. Asher mentally sighed as he once again knelt next to the boy. "You've got to let them take her son. It's not good for everyone to see a dead body lying around. Don't worry, I'll personally see to it that they treat her well."
The boy looked torn, his grip on the girl's body just as strong as ever. "I… I don't want to leave her…"
A clone stepped forward, accompanied by a militiaman. "We can take over for Private Zhang sir. There's no need for him to stay here."
Asher nodded, silently grateful to his brother for inadvertently giving him a way out of the situation. "Very well," he acknowledged before turning back to the boy. "Go with them. Get yourself some food and sleep as well. You've earned it."
The boy hesitated before nodding, allowing himself to be led away by the medics. He never once let go of the body though. Asher turned back to the crowd that had gathered. "Back to your posts! The Seps could attack at any time, and I want us ready for when they do."
The crowd quickly dispersed, and the lead medic stepped forward as they left the scene. "Thank you for the assistance sir. I'd spoken with Corporal Nyla before. Apparently she and Zhang were planning on getting married after the battle was over."
Asher clenched his fists. This was just far too fracked up. "Damnit," he said through clenched teeth. "This is why Command needs to develop regulations against fraternization in the irregular units. I can guarantee you that Private Zhang is going to be compromised when he goes into battle."
The medic gazed towards the medical tent, his eyes and voice forlorn. "They aren't the first people this has happened to, and they certainly won't be the last before this is over."
Asher nodded, his voice bitter. "We're all going to lose something to this damned war. It's only a matter of time."
The medic nodded. "If you'll excuse me sir, I need to get back to my unit."
Asher waved the man off, and before long he was also moving along. Duty called after all. And it waited for no one. Grief stricken or not.
Fifty Miles West of Harnaidan, Muunilinst
In the middle of a large area of hills that had become akin to a mud pit from the heavy rain a lone Confederate AAT sat camouflaged and ready. It was one out of a squadron of five that was spread out over the area, and like many of their brethren they were engaged in a deadly cat-and-mouse game against the Republic's own armored forces.
The tank itself was painted in the same drab gray and blue color scheme as most Confederate vehicles, and on the side of its turret it had the profiles of three TX-130s and an AT-TE painted in white. Underneath these the word Elise was painted in bold white letters.
Currently the Confederate tank was ensconced between two hills looking out over a relatively flat area. A recess had been dug into the ground to reduce the AAT's profile, and camouflage netting had been thrown over the top to reduce their chances of being spotted. This meant that the rapid firing guns on mounted on the sides couldn't be used, but considering that they would be spotted if they missed the first shot that didn't matter.
The tanks squadron had been tasked with watching this area in order to make sure that no Republic units slipped through. So far their unit had destroyed two small armored columns with their large guns, and severely weakened a third. One might assume that with this many casualties the Republic would have sent in forces to flush out the Confederate tanks, but due to receiving pressure from all sides and the fact that the Confederate tankers kept moving their vehicles to new locations they had been unable to do so.
This second fact meant that the unit of TX-130s currently making their way across the flat area had no idea that they had just walked into a death trap.
"All units, this is Phantom-1, enemy sighted. You'll be receiving targeting data from other tanks shortly. Make sure you only mark a target that hasn't been claimed already. Phantom-1 out."
Inside his AAT Lieutenant Dieter Bauer grinned fiercely. "Roger that," he said, even though the transmission had already been cut. "Get ready boys! The fun's about to start back up!"
The sounds of men working to ready the tank filled his ears, and the Confederate soldier kept sporting his grin as he fingered the controls that allowed him to drive the tank.
"Elise is good to go! She's as ready to fry some Republic ass as ever!" a cheerful sounding voice sounded off. That was Corporal Bask Yutani, who was responsible for making sure the tank stayed functioning and that there were no mechanical or electrical problems. He was a cheerful young man who had signed on with the Confederate Army at the start of the war, but nonetheless he sported a fierce hatred for the Republic that was eclipsed only by his love of machines.
"Auto cannons and missile tubes are primed and ready," a sullen sounding voice sounded from Dieter's left. "Not like we'll be needing them this time."
The tank commander spared a glance behind him at the source of the voice. Alexis Hegel was a reserved man that was somewhere in his mid-thirties. Like Bask he had joined the army at the beginning of the war to fight the ever hated Republic. He was normally quiet, making the occasional quip or dry sarcastic comment depending on the situation. He was responsible for the auto cannons and missile launchers.
There was a moment of silence, and Dieter began to sport an annoyed frown as his last subordinate took a long time in his report. "Observation?"
He groaned as a series of mechanical giggles began sounding out. For their parts Bask snorted while Alexis simply ignored the byplay altogether. Dieter looked up to the area at the top of the tank, where a pair of legs belonging to a B1 could be seen. "Observation!"
The rather unsettling (to anyone else at least) giggles abated, but they still could be heard. "Heeheeha, I can see the little tankies all the way from here~! Heh heh, five hundred meters out and moving like little slugs! Oh~, can I watch 'em burn, boss? I wanna see them make lots and lots of lights!"
Suddenly the droid's voice took on a much more serious tone, and it began rattling out calculations. "Recommend adjustment of firing angle by point zero five degrees. Targeting data has been modified to account for atmosphere and recoil. Slight warping has been detected in main gun's barrel, but effect is calculated to be negligent. Conclusion: situation is optimal."
Dieter sighed as the report concluded. Like all other AATs that were crewed by organics, they had a single OOM model command droid to man the tank's scopes and fire the main gun. The reason for this was that OOM's were very useful for processing targeting data at a faster rate than organics, being able to account for the smallest deviations or fluctuations in numbers that would otherwise be missed.
Unlike other AATs however, their droid observer had suffered from a glitch in its system that caused it to develop a dual personality. On the one hand it could be borderline insane with a massive sadistic streak and could act in an almost childish manner. Other times however it became an emotionless machine devoted solely to making sure that the first shot taken by the tank would be the only one that was needed. It was highly efficient in either of these personalities, and due to the fact that its sadism was confined solely to enemy troops (not that it ever actually got the opportunity to get its hands on one) Dieter's superiors had decided that there was no need to fix the anomaly. And to be honest, the droid had kind of grown on him and his men. Aside from the extreme desire to see carnage and destruction the droid was fiercely loyal to Dieter and the rest of the crew, and when the chips were down it was extremely useful in a fight.
"Thank you Rock, keep up the good work," Dieter said. That had been a strange day when the droid suddenly decided that its name was Rock and when asked why it had simply replied, 'Because Rock sounds like rocket and when there's rockets I get to see ALL the lights!'
"This is Phantom-1 to all units. Prepare to fire on my mark."
The tank suddenly grew quiet as they waited, well aside from Rock's occasional mechanical giggle. Dieter's eyes were glued to the screen, which displayed a view of five TX-130s, one of which was centered in Elise's crosshairs. Targeting data courtesy of Rock's input popped up, and Dieter watched as the droid adjusted its aim accordingly, making sure this shot would be the knockout blow. He slowed his breathing as he waited for his commander's order.
Come on…
"Fire!"
As soon as the order was given Rock pulled the trigger, and Elise shook as the massive main gun let loose with its destructive power. It and four other guns sent a high intensity conglomeration of plasma at several times the speed of sound towards their targets, and before the Republic squadron could begin to react they were all blown into piles of scrap.
Cheers broke out from the crew, and Dieter smiled as Rock let out and exclamation of "Yay! The lights were pretty and big and bright~!"
It was just another day for the crew of the tank Elise.
Harnaidan City
The city of Harnaidan was the jewel of Muunilinst. Its high buildings and beautiful architecture in the classical style drew many in with their grandeur, making the city quite the popular tourist spot. Not only that, it was the epicenter of business on the planet. Corporate magnates, bankers, merchants, and everything in between congregated in the city to practice their trades, with huge amounts of credits flowing in between them. In the middle of this was the IGBC, which had practically made the city their playground in terms of business and politics.
At least, that was before the war.
When the Clone Wars first began and the IGBC declared its loyalty to the Confederacy, life had continued relatively normal for the city's denizens. For first five months the city had went on as it usually did, though there had been some discontent due to the fact that the Separatists had practically occupied the planet to access its resources. Harnaidan got its first taste of the war when Obi-wan Kenobi and his army had stormed the planet. There had been casualties and collateral damage, but the city had stayed relatively intact, and once the Republic had rooted out the Separatists reconstruction efforts had immediately gotten under way. This was part of Palpatine's "Hearts and Minds" policy which was geared to winning back the loyalty of the various systems that had seceded. And for a while, things had gone back to a semblance of normalcy for Harnaidan.
Then the Separatists launched their counterattack.
Darth Vader was a very different commander from Kenobi. He tried to avoid civilian casualties as much as possible, and would crack down hard on any officers he suspected of using their positions to abuse denizens of occupied territories, but when it came down to it he simply wasn't shy about causing collateral damage. Unlike his Jedi counterparts he understood that in war a commander had to make decisions that would see people, both soldiers and civilians, get killed. He accepted this as a reality of conflict, no matter how he actually felt about it, and because of that Darth Vader was able to commit to strategies and tactics that many of his enemies simply could not counter.
It was due to this that Harnaidan was now a smoking ruin, a shell of its former self. Multiple buildings had been reduced to rubble, marring the once pristine city's image. Thousands were homeless, living on the streets or in the destroyed remains of their homes. The Republican forces had done what they could to alleviate the situation by setting up refugee camps within the city, but there were simply too many to take all of them in.
The city now lived under an atmosphere of tension and fear. Not only did the residents of Harnaidan have to live in fear of an eventual enemy attack, they also had to watch out constantly for the Separatist snipers that had taken to killing anything that looked affiliated with the Republic. The Commando droids were ruthlessly efficient in their task, killing multiple clone and non-clone soldiers in broad daylight. Their activities weren't limited to simple sniping either, as sabotage had become another threat to be on guard against. Dozens of people had already died in explosions and sniper attacks meant to make things as inconvenient for the Republic as possible.
It was as they said, "War is Hell."
Rahm Kota inwardly snorted. Whoever had coined that phrase had no idea just how right they were.
The aging Jedi general was ensconced within his office, looking over reports from the frontlines. It was grim. The various commanders reported that while they were holding off the enemy, casualties were mounting for their forces. And the Separatists showed no signs of letting up in their assault.
Encircled and outnumbered with their only chance of escape being the skyhook at Harnaidan, just like he had known would happen when Windu ordered them to regroup when reinforcements arrived instead of launching a counterattack like they should have. He had tried warning his friend, but no, a Jedi doesn't attack, it goes against the Code, blah blah blah.
"And look where our damned Code has gotten us," Kota muttered as he continued reading through reports, currently skimming through a request for supplies from the 14th Legion.
He looked up as his intercom beeped, indicating that his secretary was paging him. "Pardon the interruption sir, but Knight Brightstar is here to see you."
"Good, send her in," he replied, and seconds later the door opened to reveal Mallie Brightstar in her beige robes. The girl looked somewhat haggard, and it was easy to understand why. She had been placed in charge of the Medical Corps on Muunilinst, and with all the wounded they had been receiving everyone that had medical training had been worked to the bone. There were just so many, both from the frontlines and even in Harnaidan, where Separatist guerilla tactics were taking their toll.
Kota nodded to the young Jedi as she walked over to his desk, carrying a stack of flimsy sheets instead of datapads. They'd had to stop using datapads after the Separatists tried to hack the system once. They nearly crashed the army's entire mainframe. "Knight Brightstar, it's good to see you."
Mallie offered up a small if strained smile, indicating just how much stress she was under. "Likewise General Kota. Here are the figures you asked for, I've taken the time to organize them by theater and Legion to make it easier to browse through."
The old general nodded his thanks before smiling. "Thank you. Please, have a seat. Would you like some caf? I was able to get my hands on genuine beans, imported from the Core."
"I would love some, thank you," Mallie answered as she poured herself a mug. The girl took a sip of the drink, her smile becoming a little more genuine. If there was one thing that was universal, it was the adult love of caf.
While the girl enjoyed the brief reprieve that Kota had given her, the general busied himself going over the reports. They made him frown at the sheer volume. Too many names are on this list, and all of them so young. Damn it all.
"Is everything alright, Master?"
Kota looked up to see Mallie gazing at him with concern, and he put on a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Everything's fine Knight Brightstar, thank you for the concern. Was that all?"
The female Jedi hesitated for a moment before nodding, standing from her seat. "Yes, I believe that was everything. Thank you for the caf, Master."
Kota nodded. "Anytime my dear."
With that Mallie exited the office, once again leaving Kota to his own devices. Heaving a sigh, he poured his own mug of caf as he began looking over the reports brought to him by his subordinate.
Even generals had to slug it out against the unending paperwork once in a while.
A little over ten miles away from Kota's HQ, a predator closed in on its prey.
This predator was not a natural one. Flesh was replaced with cold unyielding metal and fangs were replaced with the macabre length of a high-energy sniper rifle. Mercy was unknown to it, compassion and valor were disregarded as unneeded. All that remained was programming, and a purpose imprinted in its faux mind from the first moment it was activated.
Kill.
Kill effectively, kill silently, kill without mercy, kill without restraint. That was the sole reason for this machine's existence, and it would fulfill it until its body failed completely. And even then it might still find a way to succeed.
Hopefully it wouldn't come to that though.
Were it inclined to such gestures the BX Commando droid would have shaken its head. Such thoughts were wasteful, there was no point in having them when it could be coming up with dozens of new ways to teach those frail clones an entirely new definition of hell.
If there was one thing that riled up a reaction from the droid, it was the infernal clone troopers. They were a prime example of why flesh was inferior to the unassailable might of Confederate steel. They nurtured such pointless things as bonds and friendships, when all those led to was pain and a reduction of one's ability to fight. But then again who was it to complain? If the clones wanted to waste their time with such frivolities, then let them. All the more fun for it when it got to make them watch their brothers die.
The droid's AI scolded itself. It was wasting time with these thoughts! It had a mission to perform, and it would perform it to the best of its ability. Whatever the cost.
With that the droid focused its attention back to the crosshairs of its sniper rifle. It and its partner, which was covering the rear in case the enemy caught wind of them, were situated in a moderately sized skyscraper that had once been an office building. Now it was just an abandoned building, left to rot like so many others in the past two weeks. The building provided a good vantage point, being situated directly by a large plaza that had plenty of open space. The perfect killing field.
Currently the droid's aim was focused on a five-man squad of militiamen from Kota's personal force. They were currently off duty from the looks of it, all of them wearing only their fatigues and a side arm.
The fools. If anything the militiamen were even worse than the clones. At least the clones had been bred for warfare, whereas these filthy meat sacks were just playing at it like it was some sort of game.
It would have to teach them a lesson.
Making sure that the rifle was steady, the droid began to account for various factors that might influence the shot, such as wind and humidity. Thousands of algorithms were run dozens of times in the span of half a second. The situation was optimal.
Carefully, slowly, the Commando droid shifted its aim so that the crosshairs were focused on the head of what appeared to be the squad's ranking officer. He was smiling at a small human girl while he gave her a bar of chocolate.
His head was perfectly exposed.
With no hesitation whatsoever the droid pulled the trigger, the sniper giving a loud crack! The shot hit the man square in the forehead, and the extremity exploded violently.
The reaction was immediate. The girl fell on her bottom in horrified shock, a scream erupting from her throat. The remaining members of the squad had drawn their side arms, standing around dumbly as their gazes flicked wildly in every direction in a vain effort to locate the source of the shot.
They were quickly reminded why this was a terrible decision when the sole female member of the squad received a new hole in her chest.
By now the three soldiers left were hiding behind some rubble as cover while civilians panicked and ran in every direction. The girl was still in the same spot where she had fallen, traumatized into immobility. The droid noted absently that the soldiers were holding back a hysterical woman and man as they tried to run for the girl. That rubble prevented it from taking another shot, and it noted with what could probably be called annoyance that the squad was still at over half its original combat capacity. That just wouldn't do. But how to lure one of the soldiers out so it could get another kill before moving on?
Suddenly a cruel idea formed in the droid's metal mind, and quickly it shifted its aim.
A single shot snapped out, and everyone in the square fell deathly silent as they saw the concrete next to the girl explode from a plasma bolt. For her part the child was trembling with fear. The threat was clear.
Either come out or she dies.
No one made a move, and the droid would have groaned in annoyance if it was so inclined. Perhaps they didn't understand that it was serious? It would have to remedy that.
The droid sighted in for a second shot, and after making sure that it wouldn't actually hit the girl squeezed the trigger. Somewhere in the plaza a hidden female screamed as the girl's hair on the left side of her head shifted as if being blown by the wind. The edges of it were singed from how closely the plasma bolt had passed by.
Once again there was deathly silence, and briefly the droid considered whether or not it should actually injure the girl to get its point across when suddenly one of the soldiers sprinted from his cover. He was making a mad dash for the girl.
He wouldn't make it.
Another shot sounded out.
The droid recoiled as the wall next to it explode in small chips, surprise echoing across its programming as it realized it had been spotted by a clone sniper.
I stayed too long.
Frantically the droid picked up its weapon before rushing out of the room, its partner already running ahead with its blaster rifle aimed down the corridor. The two machines of death made their way to the bottom of the tower in record time, sprinting for the rear exit. Reaching that, they came into a dark alley that was open on either side. Quickly the two droids chose to go left and dashed in that direction, but before they could exit the alley they were intercepted.
The Commando droid could only watch as its partner was tackled into a wall, a vibroblade jammed into its chassis. Its AI rankled in distaste.
ARC troopers.
It would have moved in on the elite clone while it was distracted by its partner, but the sound of footsteps alerted the droid to another threat. Quickly it spun on its heel, using the bulk of its rifle to deflect the lunge another ARC had made for it. Forcing the clone back, the Commando droid quickly dropped the rifle in favor of drawing its vibrosword. Releasing a mechanical growl in an attempt at intimidation, the droid leapt at the clone with its blade raised high.
The ARC wasn't idle, quickly ejecting his wrist-mounted vibroblades with an audible schink! The clone parried the droid's strike with the smoothness of a natural born predator, immediately countering with his own stab at the droid's chassis. Pirouetting, the droid deftly avoided the strike, swinging its vibrosword in a wide arc aimed at decapitating the clone's head.
It was not to be, as the clone leaned back almost to the point that he was parallel to the ground, the blade passing mere inches above him. Like a viper the ARC shot forward, his right arm cocked back for a punch and the vibroblade glinting menacingly. Reacting with almost preternatural speed the droid deflected the blow with its left arm, however it was unable to exploit the opening this created due to the fact that the clone's partner landed a shot with his pistol. While the bolt failed to penetrate the droid's tough chassis this did knock it off balance, forcing the machine to leap away before its opponent landed a blow.
The droid landed on the wall of the alley a couple of meters above the two clones. It wasted no time in throwing a smoke grenade before hurtling back down with incredible speed, leaving spider web cracks in the wall where its feet had been. Landing back on the ground in a crouch, the droid wasted no time in leaping at one of the clones, who were forced to rely on their hearing and motion detectors due to the infrared countermeasures built into all BX series units.
Normally the clones would now be at a major disadvantage, but since these were ARC troopers the field was still roughly even. If any clone, or any human for that matter, could take on the BX series it was them.
The Confederate war machine was upon the two elite soldiers, its vibrosword creating a whirlwind of cold steel as it twisted and turned in ways no human could hope to replicate, fighting with all the abandon of an entity created solely for war.
The droid stabbed at one of the ARC's necks, hoping to score a quick kill and even the odds. The clone just barely dodged, launching a vibroblade-tipped uppercut in retaliation. The droid swiftly back flipped from the strike before launching a swift kick to its rear. The move was rewarded with the droid's steel foot impacting the plastoid armor of the other ARC.
Knowing it had only momentarily stunned the clone the Commando droid rushed headlong at its opponent, focusing solely on him. The ARC raised his fists in challenge, and soon the two were engaged in a brutal fist/blade fight. The ARC moved to punch the droid in its right side, but the machine soundly dodged the blow before retaliating by swinging its vibrosword in a wide arc at the clone's neck. The ARC ducked the swing, quickly going for an uppercut. The droid jumped back, crouching low as it readied for the clone's next attack. This attack came in the form of a roundhouse kick from the clone, but the commando droid was ready. Grabbing the leg, the droid viciously yanked the limb back before using it to sling the clone into the wall.
The clone gasped in surprise and pain, but before he could do anything the droid lunged forward, determined to take this opportunity to erase one of its enemies. With unerring precision it drove its black blade straight through the clone's heart, its glowing white eyes the last thing the ARC saw as everything went black.
The droid was quick to remove the blade from the now corpse's chest, but as it was turning towards the remaining clone it noticed something rather crucial.
Its sniper rifle was missing.
Even as the droid's AI processed the implications of this, its main processing unit was fried by a shot from the high powered rifle, which was held in the hands of an enraged ARC trooper.
"You piece of Separatist shit!" he shouted, blasting away with the sniper rifle with wild abandon. The droid jerked, the high powered bolts drilling through its armor with ease. With a metallic thud the Confederate machine fell lifelessly to the ground, just another piece of scrap metal.
Darth Vader's HQ, Munn City
Vader would have sighed if he could. He and the senior commanders were once again gathered in the meeting room, after having taken a couple of days to let tempers cool. They were currently waiting for Rune to arrive, and then they could start the conference.
Speak of the devil, and he shall appear, Vader mused as the Nemoidian general briskly entered the conference room, a datapad in his hands and an exhausted but triumphant air about him.
Vader was truly curious to see what his subordinate had cooked up this time.
"General Gunray," he said amicably as Rune sat at his customary spot; that is, at Vader's right hand. "We are glad you could join us. I trust your efforts have borne fruit?"
While the rest of the officers looked confused at this, Rune simply nodded. "Yes, General Vader. But before we get to that I believe a preliminary report is in order."
Vader nodded in agreement, before turning his gaze to one of the lesser generals.
Understanding the Sith's intent, the man nodded before activating the table's holoprojector, showing an image of the current battle lines. "As you can see, little has changed since we last convened here, gentlemen. We are still maintaining pressure against the enemy, but they are being stubborn. The Harnaidan Mountains remain impenetrable, and the other approaches are either massive mud pits or mine fields. We all know what happened the last time we tried to simply smash our way through. Due to enemy AA and the inclement weather we haven't been able to properly utilize our air support, and this has severely limited our power projection capabilities."
The general fell silent, his report finished, and with that Vader turned towards the naval liaison attending the meeting, as Delaz was currently unavailable. Needing no prompting the man quickly said his piece. "Admiral Delaz reports no change in space. He is confident in his ability to hold off any assault by the enemy, but he has expressed concern about the length of the campaign. If we take too long to drive the Republic off the ground there is a strong possibility that more Republic reinforcements will arrive."
Inwardly Vader shook his head. That was highly unlikely. After Palpatine's unexpected stunt with the Republic reinforcements Vader had gone to great lengths to make sure that there would be no repeats of that debacle. Even as they spoke the Confederate Navy was engaging in holding operations across the galaxy, tying down as many Republican naval assets as possible so that he could finish up. He'd had to order several operations be aborted to achieve this, and what's more he hadn't bothered informing Dooku of this so by the time he reported it to Sidious there would be nothing they could do.
By doing this though Vader knew that he had sacrificed the momentum he had been riding for the past six months, but he was fine with that. The Confederacy needed to consolidate what it had gained, not conquer even more territory.
It would mean that the war would become longer and bloodier, but victory was never achieved without some sort of sacrifice.
Shaking himself back to the here and now, Vader nodded at the liaison's words, before facing the assembled officers. "We have engaged in this debacle long enough. Harnaidan must be taken within the next three days. Any longer and we risk failure."
The room fell silent at Vader's declaration. Eventually a colonel found his voice.
"Sir… that, that is impossible. We'd never make it past the mountains."
Vader stared the man down, and he quickly began to sweat. "I find your lack of faith disturbing. The mountain range will not hinder us. Soon it will not even be a factor. General Gunray," he said as he gestured to Rune, who had plugged his datapad into the table. "Has found a way to defeat the Republic's supposed 'Absolute Defense Line'."
Realizing that was his cue, Rune quickly cleared his throat. "Yes, after studying the mountains I've found a way to remove them from play. To accomplish what I have in mind however I'll need three divisions to provide a distraction…"
As Rune outlined the details of his plan, Vader simply sat back and smirked under his mask as all the officers worked out the details and planned the logistics of the operation. It was times like this that he truly appreciated the commodity known as competent underlings, something that had been a rarity in the Empire.
His smirk grew as he contemplated the battle that he would soon be fighting.
Prepare yourself, Windu. I am coming.
Author's Note: College life is a bitch.
That is the biggest reason this chapter is so late. I've had so many tests and essays it isn't even funny.
I'm sorry if the chapter isn't up to par with my normal standards. I'm just ready to move on with this thing. Next time, we'll be dealing with the battle's conclusion, and that long, LONG awaited fight between Vader and Windu!
On a more positive note, one more day, guys. One more day until Battlefront! I can't wait! Now Episode 7 needs to get here and my year will be complete.
Do please leave any comments or criticisms you have on the chapter, I'd love to see what you guys think.
Til next time.