Turning the tide! As Separatist control
over vital but isolated supply routes
expands, Republic forces invade a key
planet, the darkened world of Nocturnus. In
the midst of helping Espio the Chameleon's
battalion conquering the Nocturnus capital,
Shadow the Hedgehog is called away to
Mobotropolis. His battalion is temporarily
placed under the command of Shinobi General
Zavok, a shrewd and temperamental
leader. Zavok's reckless strategy forced
Captain Fang to retreat with his platoons
in a disastrous defeat...
A Nocturnus fighter flew over the battlefield firing on the clones, Fang shot at them, but the pilots were ray shielded. They focused their fire on them forcing them to retreat. Fang turned to Mighty "We've got to move before those fighters come back" "Fang, I need cover!" they saw Cat trying to help the wounded clone on the other side of the road. "Jet, take the right flank. Antione, take the right!" Fang ordered as they ran out giving Cat cover while he got the wounded to safety "You're gonna be okay, buddy" he said to one before giving him an injection. Zavok was taking cover behind a rock, there was a dead clone at his feet which he kicked away without showing any respect. His holo-disc showed Espio "The capital city's too fortified. We need your battalion to help us take it" "Resistance from the Nocturnus has been greater than anticipated. We're holding our ground at the moment". Espio nodded "We've gathered intel on an airbase to the west. It is resupplying the capital's defences". Fang ran up to listen "If you capture that airbase it will sever the capital's supply lines, allowing the rest of our forces to move in" "I'll see to it that the airbase is placed under our control". Espio shook as if an explosion went off near him "Remember General Zavok, the entire invasion depends on your battalion". The message ended and Zavok turned to Fang "Captain, have those coordinates mapped and all troops ready to move out immediately" "Yes, General".
After the battle, the battalion was heading in the direction of the airbase. They reached the top of a hill and saw the base in the distance. Fang used his binoculars "The base is heavily guarded, sir. There are at least three tank divisions, plus guns" "We'll advance along the central gorge and engage their forces in a full-forward assault". Fang used the binoculars to examine the gorge ahead of them "The gorge is narrow, sir. We'll only be able to move our platoons in single squads. Perhaps a closer recon will tell us if there's a more secure route". "Espio and the other battalions are holding off the enemy right now while they wait for us to take out this base. We don't have time to look for a more secure rout", Fang reluctantly nodded "Yes, sir".
The squads met at the bottom of the hill, Fang stood in front of them "Alright, listen up. We'll assemble the squads into two divisions. We'll move straight up this gorge towards the airbase at the far side". This angered Cat "The casualties are going to be high" "Is Zavok trying to get us killed?" Charmy said sounding terrified. "You know, I wasn't sure that Zavok was crazy before, but now I'm positive" Jet said. Mighty nodded in agreement "We had to retreat from the capital because of the general pushed a flawed strategy. Now this?" "I don't know. Could be fun" Bean said excitedly. "Well, I for one agree with the general's plan. We're running out of time, and this is the best option" Antione said defensively. Jet turned to him clearly angry "No recon? No air-support? We don't know what we're up against. They have weapons we've never seen before". Fang stepped closer to them "A few of General Shadow's plans seemed reckless too, but they worked" "Yeah, but General Shadow is usually leading his men up in the front, not brining up the rear like General Zavok. A full forward assault would leave us too exposed" Mighty said. All the clones started talking "This isn't a good idea" "We need a better option" "It's gonna be a meat grinder". "Mighty" Fang said gesturing walk with him, once out of ear shot of the others "It would help if you'd ease their minds". Mighty scoffed "Oh, you mean coax them into following another suicide mission? We lost a lot of men last time" "Zavok may do things differently but he is effective in getting them done. He's a recognised war hero". Mighty made sure no one else was around "He may have had some victories, but have you seen his casualty numbers? More troops have been killed under his command than anyone else". Fang sighed "That's the price of war, Mighty. We're soldiers. We have a duty to follow orders and it we must lay down our lives for victory". He was about to walk back to the squad but Mighty grabbed his arm "Do you believe that? Or is that what you were engineered to think?". Fang glanced back at him "I honour my code. That's what I believe".
They were travelling through the gorge in separate groups with Mighty and Bean leading one "Everybody stay alert. Fingers on the trigger" Mighty told them. The ground suddenly shot, and a large mechanical worm burst through. It was covered with turrets that fired down on the clones "Blast it!" Mighty yelled. They tried aiming for the cockpit, but it was ray shielded. They saw more appear "We need rocket launchers!" Bean said. Fang appeared with his group with rocket launchers "Get down there! Move it troopers!". Cat was trying desperately to get the wounded to safety when he and Jet saw one who's legs were crushed underneath one of the worms. They ran up to the spider clone who handed his rocket launcher to Jet "Take it. Take it" "Thanks, buddy". Cat dragged the clone to safety as Jet took the launcher. Fang ran up to him "Go! Keep moving!". They both ran towards one of the worm and once it was in range Jet fired a rocket which destroyed the worm.
"Everyone regroup, now!" Fang told them. They ran through the trees which slowed down the worms. The clones made it to a path "Spread detonators around the here. We'll trap them into a bottleneck". They did so and then they ran up the hill for cover. The worms broke through the trees and headed towards them. Bean grinned and waited for the worms to get into position and then pressed the detonator. The bombs went off destroying the remaining three worms. None of the clones cheered and just stared blankly down at the explosion "Let's move out!". They cautiously slid down the hill and slowly walked through the wreckage. They saw one of the worms light up "That one's still got some juice. Waste it" Fang said making Bean come forward with a rocket launcher "Sure" he fired blowing open the cockpit. A wounded Nocturnus soldier crawled out towards them for help. Fang walked past him "There's some juice left in him too" he said coldly, Mighty then shot the wounded soldier in the head as they past. They went further along and saw more of those bat creatures eating one of there wounded brothers. Cat suddenly ran forward angrily "Hey! Still hungry" he fired at them. He killed one and the other tried to fly towards the Fang, but he shot it "Everyone, keep moving" he said calmly. Jet saw Cat kicking its body "Hey, Cat, leave it".
They got further through the jungle, but they heard stomping, Fang used his binoculars and saw giant crab tanks with massive cannons on their top coming towards them. "Fall back! Fall back, now!" they ran back but multiple clones were killed by cannon fire. Fang's commlink activated "Captain, continue your attack" "Sir, we're overpowered. We need reinforcements". They used the rocks for cover "The rest of the battalion is holding the entrance to the gorge, Captain. They're guarding it so your troop can break through to the airbase. Stand your ground. Do not fall back. That is an order!". Fang watched as dozens of clones were screaming as the tanks picked them off. Cat, Mighty and Jet came in with the wounded. Fang stood up "All right, you heard the general. Let's go" "You can't be serious" Jet said. Mighty sighed in exhaustion "I used to think General Zavok was reckless, but now I'm beginning to think he just hates clones" "The captain is right. Now, let's move out" Antione said. Mighty turned to Fang "We can't take them head-on" "You got a better idea?", Mighty didn't say anything "Then this is it". Everyone but Cat ran out and fired everything they had at the tanks. Bean shot a rocket directly at one, but it did nothing. The fire forced them back to cover as more clones were getting killed. Cat was about to go out to get the wounded when Fang grabbed his shoulder "Forget it. We have to leave them". Cat turned to him "We can't just leave them, sir" "You don't have a choice. That's an order". He walked away form Cat who said "You sound like General Zavok", Fang stopped and turned back to him "Look, Cat, it's more important to save yourself right now. You can patch up the wounded later". "We're… We're finished" Charmy said, giving up, "We've still got some fight left in us, Charmy and I've got an idea. Mighty, I have a job for you".
Later in the battle Fang's men were doing their best to distract the tanks when his commlink activated "CT-1994, where are you?" "General Zavok, we've come up with a plan to take the airbase. I've dispatched two men on a stealth incursion into the airbase. They've been ordered to co-opt starfighters and use them against the tanks". He guessed Zavok wouldn't be happy with this and "You did what? You put this entire assault on your hope that two clones can do what your entire group could not?". Fang sighed "Sir, the rocket launchers don't work on these tanks, and it'll be easier to slip by undetected while the rest of us keep the tanks occupied". "Captain, you will launch a full-forward strike immediately! Or you will be relieved of duty" he cut off. Fang stood up "We need to hold out as long as we can. I'm trusting Mighty and Bean to pull this thing off".
Mighty and Bean were getting close to the base "The second they spot us, I start blasting" the latter said annoying the former "Bean, can't you take it easy for once? Stick to the plan instead of guns blazing". Bean chuckled "Sorry, it's just how I am. My commander on Soleanna said by growth chamber had a leak. Made me hyperactive". They reached an electric wall with a large flight path on the other side. They saw a tree that's branch went over the wall "I have an idea. Start climbing" he told Bean. Mighty started placing bombs on the bottom of the tree before following Bean up the tree "I prefer a good fight to all this sneaking around" "Keep quiet". They both jumped off the branch and landed inside the base "I didn't think this would actually work". They saw a line of Nocturnus fighters, they quickly hid by a pile of crates and Mighty detonated the bombs causing the tree to collapse onto the wall. The Nocturnus all ran towards it and taking advantage of the distraction they, both ran to a fighter each. "So how do I start this thing?" Bean asked, "Well, how should I know? Start pushing buttons". They sat down and a spherical ray shield formed around them. When they moved there hands the fighters moved which confused them further. Nocturnus finally noticed them and fired but the ray shields kept them safe. They clumsily flew up and fired as best they could on the base's weapons preventing them from being followed. They both started laughing as they headed in the general direction of the tank battle.
Cat was in cover when he saw more of the bat creatures flying overhead, he suddenly looked deranged and fired at them madly while screaming. Jet tried to stop him "Hey, Cat, bring it down! You're wasting heat!" a crab was about to step on them, but Jet quickly pushed Cat out of the way. Fang faced another crab when he suddenly saw Mighty and Bean arrive in the fighters. A huge grin formed on his face "The big guns have arrived!". The fighters shot down destroying the tanks with little difficulty. The clones all cheered "Way it go, boys!" "Yeah!", Bean was glad none of them could tell he felt very sick from the spinning. Fang then heard marching and saw that the rest of their battalion was coming in to take the air base.
The base had been taken, the remaining Nocturnus were captured and thrown in the brig. Fang and the others were on the airstrip "Despite Bean's flying, you two saved us all" Fang told them. Jet chuckled "Bean did look a bit greener than usual then he came out of that fighter". Zavok walked over to them "Captain, report. What is our situation?" "General, we have taken the base and cut off enemy supply lines to the capital". Zavok crossed his arms "Luck has smiled on you today, Captain. Consider yourself fortunate". Fang took a step closer to him "It wasn't all luck, sir. A lot of men died to take this base" "The price for such victory. Perhaps one day you'll realize this". Fang glared at him and clenched his fist but Zavok didn't notice and walked away "Dismissed". Mighty went up to Fang "He's the one who will never realize".