Alright guys here is our first sidestory. This will be an ongoing sidestory that will serve as an intermission between arcs and follow the ventures of Alpha-74 from the first chapter. I will also use it for battles from the Legends lore. Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN STAR WARS!

Chronicles of Dune Pt.1

Alpha-74 walked through the halls of the Accumulator class cruiser. He passed rows of troopers, each saluting him as he walked past. Seventy-Four simply nodded at them all.

After he and the other Arcs had been reactivated during the battle of Kamino, they had been assigned to different theaters. It had only been sixteen months after the war's start and things have progressed this far. He had seen battle on a variety of planets and seen many of his rank and file brethren die.

He was expecting this. Death and casualties are unavoidable in any war. What bothered him though was the manner in which many of them died. The high death toll was brought on by one thing and one thing alone.

Negligence.

The jedi "generals" leading them were incompetent. They didn't know how to lead troops. How to fight a war.

They shouted out orders that made no sense. Threw clones out into the fray without a second thought. They were meant to preserve life right yet they so callously discarded the lives of his brothers.

He had yet to see one competent jedi that cared for their troops. They saw them as useless fodder. Meat to the grinder. Living droids.

All but him. They sometimes treated him differently because he was an "exclusive" model. They saw him as a clone like the others but granted him some leeway due to his class being an Arc. Still to them he was just another clone regardless, just with a little boost.

This time he had been assigned to aid a general, Roblio Darte. Their force was being sent to Parcellus Minor, a backwater planet, under the clutches of the seps.

Seventy-Four entered the bridge of the cruiser to find his general going over battle plans with the clone captain assigned to him. Clones were taking on names now. It had started at the top with commanders and captains then trickled its way down.

This was what he called himself for some reason. From the one time he explained it, he compared the clones he led to the wind blown sand that makes it up and that he was what held them all together. He was the bed that made their foundation.

"Ah,Seventy-Four! Glad you can join us. I was just making battle plans with General Darte here. We should be dropping out of hyperspace now at any moment. Intel says the seps got a small force here so we should be done pretty-" Erg was cut off as they exited from hyperspace.

However, while they expected and planned for light resistance, it was quite the opposite. There was a massive formation of seperatist starships. Most of their force had already been lost in space as evident by the wreckage that floated around in the void.

"Battle stations!" Yelled Erg to his troops.

Clones scrambled to different seats to try and get a handle of the situation. He grimaced behind his helm. Faulty intelligence again.

The ship shook as they began to take fire. Seventy-Four took position alongside Darte and Erg.

"This isn't good. We're heavily outnumbered and our forces are in confusion. We need to retreat and regroup." He said, finally breaking his long silence.

"No." Said Darte. "We continue on our course. We can handle this. All hands move us forward, we're going to break that blockade."

Seventy-Four gritted his teeth together.

"That fool!." He thought to himself.

He was going to get them all killed. Reports were already streaming into his hud of the battles condition and the habitation of the planet. They weren't going to be able to land any of their heavy equipment even if they did make it-

The ship shook violently. Alarms were balring all over the place.

"We took a direct hit!"

"Our shields are failing!"

"Reports coming in of an overload in the ship's engine block! We're gonna go down!"

Seventy-Four hear the panic in his brother's voices. They were afraid. They were bred for this yet to actually experience being near death was different. Nothing like the simulations.

Their jedi general stood there for a moment. Seemingly lost in thought.

"Abandon ship! All hands get to the gunships! We have to get out of here!" Yelled Erg as he took command of the situation.

Troopers and officers alike rushed to the landing bay Erg had managed to get Darte out of his trance and get him to a gunship. Seventy-Four followed behind them. This battle was going to be a tough one if this was how their general responded.

~OOO~

Seventy-Four took cover behind the heavy tree limb that made up the planet's natural surface. Troopers adjacent to him, awaited a signal. With a nod, he sprung from cover, peppering the droid forces passing by him with fire from his Westar M5 blaster.

Soon enough the troopers with him began to add to the fire. It wasn't long until the droid convoy was reduced to scrap metal. They had taken light casualties, with only a few of his men being wounded, and two deaths. They had been reduced to hit and run tactics since being grounded.

Despite their small numbers they had been able to keep the seps at bay for a long period of time but he didn't know how much longer that would last. Their wounded were rising. They were running out of supplies.

They wouldn't be able to do this forever. After the ambush, he had returned to their temporary headquarters to meet with Erg and Darte. They too had led their own forces in ambush.

He found Erg inside, cleaning his blaster. Darte was nowhere to be found. Erg looked up when he saw him.

"Ah ya made it back Dune? I got the reports from one of the men. I knew you Arcs were good but damn are yall good!" he said as he approached Seventy-four, fist outstretched for a fist bump.

Seventy-Four smiled behind his helmet, and gave him the fist bump he wanted. The arc had come to befriend Erg during their time on the world. His positive attitude and ability to rally the troops was an easing addition to the disaster they were in.

Funny enough, the captain had even decided to name him. Called him Dune. Seventy-four never answered to it of course but his persistence in getting him to accept the name was admirable.

Erg said if he is the smaller form of the Republic's bedrock, then Dune is the cultivation of everything that formulates the republic. The hopes, dreams and ideals of every single clone that serves.

Erg was helmetless, smiling widely at the arc. The captain had a spiked mohawk, and a small goatee. He was the complete opposite from Seventy-four and his standard cut and appearance.

"How about when we get off this rock we get a couple of drinks with the boys, eh Dune?" Erg asked.

Seventy-Four just nodded.

"Indeed..Erg." He responded

"Great! I know the perfec-" Erg was interrupted by his comlink buzzing.

Apparently Darte was mustering them for an attack. Erg put his helmet on and grabbed his rifle as he walked out.

"Look's like our plans will have to wait. Duty calls brother!" He yelled as he ran out.

~OOO~

Seventy-Four checked the pulse of the trooper that lay beside him. Dead. Insides pretty much flash cooked by the bolt that struck him.

He took a few more potshots into the fray. They were bogged down by the vegetation and scattered by the mass droid forces. Darte had made a mistake by sending them so far out.

Right now Darte was alongside him, slicing down battle droids. Erg was further ahead, having been sent out with a small force to slow down the droid forces. Like them, he too was under heavy fire.

Seventy-four heard groaning from beside him. He looked down to find a downed trooper, trapped in the brush. The arc began to let loose a barrage of fire, while moving to free his wounded brother.

Once freed, he dragged the poor soldier back towards a cluster of their troops where a medic could get to him. He was lucky that Seventy-Four was there to get him.

The same could not be said of many of their brothers. There were a multitude of white armored bodies laid out far ahead of them. Troopers too wounded to move themselves to safety. The dying and already dead.

He hoped they would be able to get their brothers back to safety and give them aid. They just needed one last push and they could gather up all their wounded with ease.

"Dune come in. This is Erg! I'm falling back with the remainder of my men. There were too many of them. They overwhelmed us. I'm going to need cover fire!" exclaimed the Captain.

Dune directed his troops to fire on the droids that Erg said he would be coming from. It didn't take long for him to see the Captain and what remained of his forces fighting their way back to them. He was right, hIS forces had been decimated.

Only Erg and a handful of men remained for the force that had been sent ahead. Behind them were a group of super battle droids, firing at them from behind. He saw one of the men go down from a barrage of gunfire to his back.

"Come on..Come on.." he muttered.

They were almost there. So close just about-Seventy-Four noticed a red beam coming down towards them from the sky.

"Oh no.." He said as he knew what it was.

"Erg move faster the seps are firing down on-" his sentence was interrupted as the beam came down in their area. The force was strong enough to knock many troopers into the air and into the brush. He was barely able to keep his footing.

It was then he noticed why the seps had done that. The beam had started a fire. The flames were spreading through the vegetation.

He saw a group of wounded clones consumed in the blaze unable to get away. He could feel their pain from so far away. That was the fate that was going to befell all their brothers if they didn't get them.

"All men get our wounded outta of there! We will not let them be burned alive!" He yelled as clones ran off to try and save as many of their wounded brothers as possible.

"Erg respond! What's your status?" He said into his comms.

There were a few coughs and groans but eventually the captain survived.

"Still..alive. Only me and Thrust survived. Everyone else is dead. Making..our way..to you." he said weakly.

Seventy-Four could see the captain supporting a wounded brother, while still firing away at droid troops. The inferno was slowly racing behind him. He had to get out there to help

As Seventy-Four went to help, he was stopped by a large hand. He looked to see the face of General Darte. The jedi was looking away from him.

"Leave them.." He said.

Seventy-Four was confused. Did he just..

"General..what?" he asked.

"Leave them! I have already called for evac it's too late for them. All of you leave behind the wounded! We're leaving!" he yelled.

All the clones around them froze for a second as if confused at his words. Those who had no brothers with them, abandoned their original objective and began to rally to the general. The few who still had wounded carried the few they were able to get back to them.

"General! There are still wounded out there. If we move fast enough we can get them and the captain." Seventy-Four said in defiance.

Darte still would not look at him.

"No it's too late. The blaze is too strong and spreading too quick. We wouldn't be able to get them all in time." As he said this gunships began to drop down.

Troopers began to pack into them. Once full the ships would leave. There was one waiting for him and Darte.

Seventy-Four could see Erg now. He was so close. Still fighting to escape the blaze, fight off droids and save his wounded brother.

Seventy-Four took up his rifle and went to sprint towards him. If he could get to him, he could get them both out in time. However, as he ran he started to notice he was no longer touching solid ground.

The arc was floating in the air. There was only one person capable and that was the jedi. He looked back to find the jedi using the force to bring him back into the gunship.

No matter what he did it was futile. He could only watch in dread as Erg was surrounded by the droid, still fighting.

Before the bays closed as he was forced into the ship, his last image was of Erg reaching out to them before being consumed in the fires. He had to cut off his comms so he wouldn't hear the screams. He was certain all the clones in here did the same thing.

They didn't wanna hear their brothers being burned alive.

Beside him, the general had slumped against the wall and was in the fetal position, head buried in his arms. He was certain he was weeping. Seventy-Four clenched his fist tightly.

How dare he. It was his fault. All his fault..

Theeeeeereee we go. So pretty much this sidestory will have the complete opposite tone of Cresh's own tale. This is to show what if Cresh never got a good jedi general but instead the complete opposite. What if he wasn't able to foster the kinship with Tracyn. What if he was the stickler and not the cpatain. Just some things im experimenting with. Anyhoots see yall monday for the next big arc.