Chapter Nine: The Cavalry to the Rescue
The Doctor watched as the clones descended into the arena in waves of gunships. In one of the gunships stood Master Plo Koon, who was leading the charge. The gunships fired upon the droids, destroying several as the remaining droids opened fire on both the clones and the Jedi. The Doctor and the rest of the Jedi continued to deflect blaster bolts as the gunships circled the Jedi. Joclad Danva was shot down, and the Doctor mourned his loss for a brief moment as the swirling gunships descended to the ground, surrounding the Jedi in a perimeter of white armor and massive gunships.
"Go! Go! Go!" called the Doctor to the Jedi. They obeyed, and the survivors quickly ran to a gunship. Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Padme all boarded a gunship together. The Doctor saw Stass Allie safely board a second gunship with Shaak Ti, Luminara Unduli, Saesee, and Roth-Del Masona. She looked around and smiled when she found the Doctor. He smiled back at her as he boarded Master Plo's gunship. Alongside Plo and the Doctor were Mace and Ki-Adi-Mundi. Kit Fisto also managed to board just before the ship took off.
"Am I ever glad to see you, Master Koon!" beamed the Doctor.
"And I you, Doctor," said Plo, who was probably smiling under that mask of his.
"Pilot! Get us out of here!" ordered the Doctor.
"Yes, sir," responded the pilot. The Doctor shivered for a moment, realizing that the clones were clones of Jango Fett and, therefore, sounded exactly like him. He would have to get used to that. He would also have to get used to the fact that he might be called "sir" on occasion. Somehow, it bothered him that soldiers would call him "sir."
The gunships tore through the Geonosian sky as the battle poured out of the arena and became planet-wide. The Doctor saw that giant cruisers had infiltrated the Geonosis atmosphere and were pouring out more and more gunships with each passing moment. The sight of those cruisers was formidable, but all of it would be for naught if they couldn't capture Dooku.
"We need to take Count Dooku alive," urged the Doctor. "If he escapes, he'll rally even more systems to the Separatist cause."
"I agree," said Mace. "We'll get him, Doctor."
Just then, lasers from droid forces flew right past the Jedi. Their gunship accelerated past the initial barrage, and the Doctor saw a gunship carrying Eeth Koth, Tarados Gon, and Sora Bulq fly alongside them. There was another barrage of lasers from below, targeting Master Koth's gunship. There was nothing any of them could do to stop what happened next. The ship was soon engulfed in flames, and it crashed into the dusty Geonosis landscape. The Doctor, surprisingly, felt only one death among the three Jedi on the ship. He made a mental note to send a team out to the crash site to rescue whoever had survived.
The five Jedi Masters all saw an assembly area just ahead of their gunship. From there, they could stage their assault with whatever number of clones they were given.
It was Mace who called out to the pilot.
"Pilot!" he shouted. "Land in that assembly area!"
"Yes, sir," the pilot acknowledged, and the Jedi were soon landed at the assembly area. There were three clone officers, two captains and a commander. Mace disembarked from the gunship and headed for the commander, quickly strategizing with him. Plo and Ki-Adi-Mundi spoke with the captains. After Ki-Adi-Mundi had gone off to attack, Plo addressed the Doctor and Master Fisto, both of whom had not gotten off the gunship.
"I assume you shall be governing the efforts of this battle, Doctor?" asked the Kel Dor.
"To the best of my ability, Master Plo," said the Doctor. "But don't worry. In case I bog it all up, I've got Master Fisto here to rectify my mistakes." Both Kit and Plo smiled at the Doctor's jab at himself.
"In that case, Doctor, I don't think Master Fisto will need to do much rectifying," Plo complimented. "May the Force be with you."
"May the Force be with you, Master Plo," said the Doctor.
"Take us to the forward command center, pilot," said Kit. The pilot acknowledged, taking off as soon as Kit had ordered it. From his vantage point in the gunship, the Doctor could see almost the entire battle. Waves of droids poured out of the Geonosian spires to meet the new Republic Army head on. The clones were very formidable soldiers indeed, very adaptable. The Doctor couldn't wait to see if there were other types of clone soldiers besides the ones he was going to be working with now. If there were even more advanced soldiers, then the Separatist Army stood little chance against the Republic.
The gunship landed at the Republic command center, and there stood a commander, his armor accented yellow to distinguish himself from his inferiors.
"General, CC-8826 reporting, sir," said the commander, saluting him. The Doctor found it odd at first that the clones didn't seem to have names, only numbers. It dehumanized them in a sense. The Doctor didn't particularly care for it.
"Just Doctor will do, thanks," said the Doctor. "And please don't salute me, commander. I don't really care much for it." The commander looked confused for a moment at the Doctor's tendency to not follow military protocol, but obeyed him nonetheless.
"All forward positions are advancing, sir," said CC-8826.
"Very good!" said the Doctor. "Brilliant!" Kit Fisto joined the Doctor, and the two Jedi watched the battle unfold, calling out orders if necessary. As the battle for Geonosis raged on, the Doctor realized how effective and wise Master Fisto was. The Doctor was thinking that perhaps the Nautolan could be a good battle strategist on the Council during this time of war. He made a mental note to keep Kit in consideration for replacing the late Master Trebor on the Council.
The Doctor noticed that some of the Core ships often used by Trade Federation ships were taking off. The clones didn't have enough firepower to take them all down, but that didn't mean they couldn't destroy one or two of them.
"Commander, concentrate your fire on the nearest starship," ordered the Doctor.
"Yes, sir," said CC-8826. "Move all cannons to Sector 515." The clone soldiers under 8826's command acknowledged the order and locked their weapons on the Core ship closest to their position. The tanks that fired did so with giant green laser beams extending from the tank straight to the Core ship. The lasers busted right through the ship, causing its systems to fail. The ship came back down, crashing into Geonosis's surface and creating a huge dust cloud that covered much of the battlefield. The Doctor watched as the clones quickly adapted to the condition of the battle and continued to fight the droids as though nothing were wrong or different.
"You boys certainly are prepared for everything, aren't you?" said the Doctor to CC-8826.
"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir," said 8826.
The Doctor continued to watch the battle unfold along with CC-8826 and Kit. The droids got some minor victories over the clones, like the destruction of one of the AT-TE tanks or a few clones, but overall, they could not stand against the might of the Republic. More and more Separatist ships, both Trade Federation and Techno Union, were fleeing as fast as they could. The Doctor smiled at the scene, even though it was not yet over.
It was then that the Doctor felt an outpouring of emotion. It was not from him or Kit, or even from CC-8826, but from someone deep in the battlefield. He concentrated for a moment and soon found himself on a gunship standing next to Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. They were shouting at each other. What they were shouting about, the Doctor couldn't tell exactly. He did know, however, that their shouting match concerned Senator Amidala, who was nowhere to be seen. The Doctor soon realized that the outpouring of emotion he had sensed earlier was from Anakin, and it was because of Padme.
"PUT THE SHIP DOWN!" Anakin's voice suddenly pierced the Doctor's head like a javelin.
"I CAN'T TAKE DOOKU ALONE! I NEED YOU!" Obi-Wan shouted back. So they were trying to capture Dooku. The Count might prove to be too much for even them. The Doctor frowned for a moment before concentrating on their conversation once more. Geonosis faded away as Anakin and Obi-Wan became the only things the Doctor saw.
"COME TO YOUR SENSES!" shouted Obi-Wan. "YOU WILL BE EXPELLED FROM THE JEDI ORDER! WHAT DO YOU THINK PADME WOULD DO IF SHE WERE IN YOUR POSITION?"
Anakin took a minute to respond to Obi-Wan. The Doctor could tell that the Padawan knew his Master was right. Padme would get the mission done, putting it ahead of her feelings, whatever they may be.
"She would do her duty," said Anakin. Satisfied, Obi-Wan ordered the gunship to follow Dooku's speeder.
The vision faded, but the Doctor managed to lock himself onto Obi-Wan's Force signature. He could now find him wherever he went, for the time being. He didn't exactly know where Dooku was heading, but he could be sure that Obi-Wan Kenobi would soon be there. The Doctor frowned in thought, worried for Obi-Wan and Anakin, who were unprepared for the good Count.
"Sir," said CC-8826, dragging the Doctor by his spiked hair back into reality. "The droid army is in full retreat."
"Well done, Commander," said the Doctor. "Bring me a ship."
"Yes, sir," said 8826.
8826 recalled one of the gunships from the field, and it soon landed at the forward command center. The Doctor dashed aboard and addressed CC-8826.
"Commander, I'm leaving tactical command of this battle to Master Kit Fisto," he said. "He'll lead you to victory; of that I am sure."
"Yes, sir," said CC-8826.
"Thank you for your kind words, Doctor," said Kit, smiling and bowing. "May the Force be with you."
"And with you, my friend," said the Doctor.
The gunship lifted off from the command center, and the Doctor could once again see the entire battle. CC-8826 was right. The droids were retreating, unable to stand under the might of the Republic. The Doctor looked out and saw all sorts of bodies. Droid parts, clone bodies, even a few Jedi bodies. The sight saddened him, and it angered him as well. This kind of destruction would become normal, he knew, but even still, his righteous anger came forth for a brief moment. He quelled it fast, and he refused to look at the battlefield, instead focusing on Obi-Wan's Force signature.
The Doctor guided the pilot to wherever he needed to go. Occasionally, he would call out "Turn right!" or "Turn left!" and the pilot would acknowledge immediately. These clones seemed to follow orders almost without question. The Doctor wasn't too keen on this, either, but he imagined that the clones would become more questioning as time went on.
Eventually, the gunship came across a hangar bay. The Doctor reached out, and Obi-Wan's Force signature was strongest there. The Doctor would most likely find Dooku there.
"Pilot!" the Doctor called. "Land at that hangar bay!"
"Yes, sir," obeyed the pilot.
As the Doctor disembarked, he felt pain. Obi-Wan and Anakin were both in pain. Using his heightened sense of smell, the Doctor could sense burnt flesh. Lightsaber wounds. Obi-Wan's weren't as severe, only glancing blows, but Anakin's right arm just about screamed in pain. There was a duel here between the young Jedi and Count Dooku. Clearly, Dooku was unharmed, but a bit winded.
The Doctor swaggered into the hangar bay, putting a cheerful grin on, and once again found himself face-to-face with the condescending stare of Count Dooku of Serenno.
Oh boy! There's going to be major butt-kicking to be had! Sorry I haven't been posting for a little while. I've been caught up in things, and I've also been forgetting because I really do have short-term memory that reeks of sixteen different kinds of suck. Anyway, I'll post the remaining parts to AotC within the next day or so. I'd like to get those last two chapters onto the site before this Sunday because I'm leaving for France then, and I won't be back until July 8. I'll start posting TCW when I get back, or maybe I'll do the prologue and first chapter right before I leave. Whenever it happens to cross my mind that I need to post, I will.
Anyway, I think a progress report is long overdue. Don't you agree?
I: Finished
II: Finished
CW: Finished
III: Finished
IV: In progress
V: Not started
VI: Not started
Pertaining to Episode IV, I just need to do the Battle of Yavin where the Rebels go to destroy the Death Star and the ending portions, and that will basically be it for A New Hope. I'm drawing ever closer to the end, and it's really exciting. This is the single biggest project that I've ever tackled, and I think it's turning out really nicely. The only concern I have is how I'm going to divide Empire Strikes Back into chapters, but I should be able to figure that out pretty quickly. Other than dividing, I really should have no issue with these final two volumes of the story.
I haven't heard any of your thoughts about a Subspace Emissary novelization. That's still on the table if you guys would like me to do it. I'd be more than happy to finish it and share it with you, so let me know what you think of the idea in either a review or private message.
Anyway, that about does it for this author's note. Until the next chapter, my friends!