Invasion in peril! Republic forces
struggle to take Nocturnus, a hostile planet
completely enshrouded in darkness. Shinobi
General Zavok and Captain Fang lead
a battalion against a constant attack by
a brutal enemy. Zavok's aggressive and
reckless strategies backfire, killing
many clones. Despite the Shinobi General's
dangerous tactics, Captain Fang's squad
successfully captures a critical airbase.
This further fuels the mistrust of Zavok's
leadership, dividing his men...
Antione and Bean were walking with Zavok "The insurgents have stopped up their attack, sir" "They want their base back. We can't let our guard down for a moment. Have all Nocturnus security reconfigured and locked down. Interrogate the prisoners if you have to. But I want this base under our complete control, and I don't want excuses". Fang came up to them "Sir, there's a transmission from General Espio" "I'll take it in the tower". They headed to the tower, but Bean saw Mighty working on a fighter and went up to him "Hey, how's it coming?" "Eh, tricky piece of hardware". Bean smirked "I think you got it easy. Zavok's got Jet stacking ordnance" "Yeah, well, I'm still waiting for him to thank us for handing this base over to him".
Fang and Zavok entered the tower and stood in front of a holo-table. It formed thousands holographic cubes which formed into Espio "General Espio, do you read me?" Zavok asked. "Congratulations on your capture of the Nocturnus airbase, General. It's refreshing to have good news" his voice was distorted. "There will be time for celebration when we've taken that capital", Espio sighed "Yes, well, I'm afraid that's going that's going to be more difficult than anticipated. Their attacks have increased, and their long-range missiles are forcing us to retreat from our position". This troubled Zavok "I was hoping we'd cut off their arm shipments and supplies when we took this airbase" "It seems they're receiving new arm shipments directly from a supply ship orbiting-" the hologram suddenly flashed. "Having difficulty transmit… They must be jamming our signals" "Can't we destroy the supply ship?" Fang asked. "We're trying, but with little success. Their fleet outnumbers ours and the extra ships were promised have not yet arrived". Zavok didn't seem to care "We'll have to make that capital regardless of the missiles. My battalion will meet you at the rendezvous coordinates". This surprised Espio "We cannot expect-" the cubes broke apart "I'm trying to get him back, sir" one of the clones said, "Don't bother. The enemy is jamming our transmissions. We are on our own".
Fang and Zavok were back on the airstrip "Have the battalion ready to move out in 12 hours. We're advancing on the capital" "Sir, should I try to get a message to General Espio? Shouldn't we coordinate our attack, especially in light of the recent threat?". Zavok crossed his arms "Espio has his hands full, same as us. We need to throw everything we have at them, now!" "We'd be marching into a blast zone, sir". Explosions suddenly went off in the jungle outside the base "Blasted insurgents" Zavok said angrily before looking down to Fang. "I realize you haven't agreed with all my strategies, Captain, but you are smart enough and loyal enough to obey my orders. Now prep those troops!".
Fang was in a hanger and had just told the others, Mighty wasn't happy "Those missiles have a 100-megaton yield. We won't even make it to the delta". Fang shrugged "What can I do? I've tried to reason with him. Those are the orders". Jet sighed sarcastically "Great, another suicide mission. The capital is too well-armed" "Why does it seem like he has it out for clone?" Charmy asked. Antione looked between them all "I think you're all overeating. Obviously, General Zavok knows what he's doing. Do you really think he doesn't care if he loses men?". Jet crossed his arms "Well he never seems to care that there are lives at stake when he makes his plans. Just look at the casualties" "Yeah, he's out of control. He's not acting like the other Shinobi. He has no respect for us" Mighty added. "Listen, I don't agree with him either, but I don't have another plan" Fang told them which made Mighty smirk "What about using the fighters to destroy the supply ship? We got their access codes and their own hardware". This surprised Fang "You were able to crack it?" "Well, Jet did. We can sneak right past their blockade, get where our ships can't and cut off arms to the capital".
Fang entered the top of the tower where Zavok was examining a map "Sir, with all due respect, might is suggest another option to help us secure the capital?" "What would that be, Captain?" Zavok said barley giving him attention. "My men have cracked the Nocturnus codes. With the starfighters, we could sneak past the supply ship's defences. We take it out, we cut off the arms to the capital". Zavok looked sceptical of this "And who do you propose would fly towards these starfighters? Are your troops now pilots?". Fang glanced away like he knew he had a point "My men may not be pilots, sir, but they are able to learn and adapt quickly. A few of them have already demonstrated that". "I'm afraid I can't afford to waste any clones on frivolous adventures. We're going to need everyone to take the capital". An alarm suddenly went off "Sir, we've got incoming. Long range missiles!". Zavok turned to the window and saw the missiles hit the forest near the base.
Fang entered the barracks where the others were waiting "The assault on the capital... will continue as planned" "So that's it? We're just gonna run straight into the missiles?" Jets said. Mighty smirked "Well there's another option. We go ahead with our plan and suffer the consequences". Fang shook his head "You would be court-martialled. If it were up to me and we had the time and the training, I would say do it… But it's out of my hands. And the truth is, you're not pilots". Jet rolled his eyes "Come on, if Bean can fly one of these things, we all can", Charmy shrugged "Yeah but he wasn't really flying, more like avoiding crashing. We'll be blasted out of the sky before we get anywhere". "Not if we're in their fighters. No one's gonna be shooting at us". Antione then entered the barracks making everyone go silent "Uh, what's going on?" "Nothing" Charmy said innocently. Fang left the room and Mighty followed him "This is about more than just following orders" "It is. It is about honour". Mighty was getting angry "Where's the honour in marching blindly to our deaths?" "It is not our call. We are part of something larger. We are not independent of one another". Mighty angrily stepped closer to him "I cannot just follow orders when I know they're wrong, especially when lives are at stake". Fang face turned very commanding "You will if you support the system we fight for". Mighty remembered five particular brothers he's lost because of the system "I do support it. I do. But I am not just another number. None of us are!". He headed back into the barracks "Mighty, where are you going?" "To round up some pilots".
In the hanger a group of clones were loading weapons onto a fighter than Bean is in. Mighty was watching "Alright, Bean, try it out. It should be easier". Bean carefully lifted the fighter off the ground "Okay, I think I've got it". The fighter suddenly started moved erratically before hitting random things in the hanger "Bean, what're you doing!?" Mighty yelled, "If I knew, I wouldn't be doing it!". Mighty watched as it crashed into more stuff and clones were running for cover "This can't get much worse". He then saw one clone on a comms unit, he ran up and pushed him out of the way as Zavok's voice came through. "Trooper, what's going on down there?", Mighty was trying to keep calm "Uh, yes, sir, everything's fine in the hanger, sir. Everything's fine". Bean flew over him making him instinctually duck "Why have the alarms been triggered" "Uh, it's just a drill, a safety drill, sir". He waved his hands trying to tell Bean to move away form him "Safety check occurs at 0600. Who authorized this drill?" "Um, we are decrypting the alien hardware, sir. A standard operating procedure". The fighter started firing around the hanger forcing clones to take cover, "Who is this? What's your CT number?". The fighter suddenly fired an energy torpedo at the hanger door completely disintegrating it.
Mighty clutched the top of his head in total shock when Bean finally managed to control the fighter "I've got it. It's easy. Just keep your hands level" he landed it. Mighty ran up to him "Are you crazy!? You could have gotten us killed". Bean got out and looked behind Mighty "Uh, I might still have", Mighty turned around and saw an angry Zavok walking towards them with Fang "Explain this. Now". Bean quickly stepped forward "Sir, we were decrypting the enemy craft when what appeared to be an enemy booby trap went off" "A booby trap?" "The fighter went haywire and had I not been able to get control of it and aim the missile at the doors, something worse might have happened". Zavok looked to Mighty "Is this true" "Uh, ye-yes, sir. That is what happened, no doubt". Zavok glared suspiciously at them before turning to Fang "Well, Captain Fang, it looks like I was correct. The Nocturnus fighters are dangerous and not fit for flight" "But, sir, we now know how they work. We just need practice" Bean told him. Zavok ignored him and walked away "Lock down these fighters. I don't want anything else exploding", Fang followed him. Mighty punched Bean's arm "Nice work. Now we know how to fly them, and we won't be able to get near them" "Oh, come on. That won't stop us. It's just procedure. We can sneak in and be out before Zavok knows anything". Jet came up to them while sarcastically clapping "I thought the plan was to destroy the enemy ship with the fighters, not our own hanger". Mighty sighed "Look, I agree we should go through with this, so are you two volunteering to be my pilots or what?". Jet shrugged "Eh, better that blindly walking into a bunch of missiles, so I'm in". "Me too. What's the plan?" Bean asked, "Something General Shadow once told me. He blew up a badnik control ship when he was just a kid, and he told me the trick was hitting their main reactor from the inside". Bean rolled his eyes "Oh, well, that won't be so tough".
Fang was patrolling the jungle perimeter with a group of clones "I want a full perimeter sweep. Stay on alert" when our trio appeared. "Mighty, what're you doing out here? You should be in the barracks" "I found my pilots. We're going after that supply ship". This surprised Fang "Are you out of your mind? It's a suicide mission, not to mention against orders" "It's the right thing to do. We have to try. If you're going to try and stop us, we need to know". Fang paused before sighing "I can't help you when you get caught" "I understand, sir" they headed back to base.
Antione was sleeping in the barracks when he opened his eyes and saw that the others weren't there. He looked around and saw Charmy "Hey. Hey, Charmy. Wake up" "Ugh. What? I'm trying to sleep". "Where are Mighty, Jet and Bean?", Charmy tried to hide his face "I-I don't know". Antione noticed "Don't tell me they're going to disobey orders" "I didn't' say that". Antione jumped out of his bed "You know we have to tell the General" "No. N-n-no, you can't" Charmy said desperately. "We have to tell him. If we know what they're up to and we keep our mouths shut, then we'll be complicit in their insubordination. Do you really want to be court-martialled?", Charmy looked afraid. Fang was outside the barrack when "Sir, look!" he turned and saw three fighters take off, he couldn't help but smirk.
They flew high above the base, Jet was struggling "I just want you to know I'm only doing this because I don't like Zavok", Mighty chuckled "That's good enough a reason". They then heard Bean laugh "I'm just doing it for fun". They got past the cloud "Whoa!" there was a massive battle taking place between Republic and Separatists ships. "Try to fly steady. We're going in!" Mighty said determinately. Jet saw a group of Republic fighters get shot down "I'm really not liking this" he looked behind them an saw a group of Nocturnus fighters see them but then veer off. "Looks like they think we're on their side" "I see the supply ship. Follow me" Mighty told them. "Let's do this" Bean said excitedly.
Fang was on the airstrip when Zavok came up behind him "Captain, my flight officer reports the launch of three starfighters. I thought I ordered those ships locked down". Fang nodded apologetically "Sorry for the confusion, sir. I authorized the recon of the delta in preparation for your attack on the capital". Zavok looked down at him "You took it under your own authority to launch such a reconnaissance?" "Yes, sir. I'm sure the report will make your strategy more effective" "I want that report as soon as they're back". Zavok headed back to the tower. Fang was about to get back to work but then saw Antione and Charmy heading towards the tower. He walked in front of them "Hey, where are you two going" "We are going to speak with the General, sir, regarding a personal matter" Antione answered. "Why don't you tell me? And I'll report it to the General", Antione looked to Charmy before returning back to Fang "On second thought, sir, it's not important". Fang watched them walk away "Yeah, that's what I thought".
The three of them entered the hanger of the supply ship and raced through, alerting the Egg Pawns inside. They kept going breaking through blasts doors until eventually they saw the reactor "Prepare missiles. Fire!" Mighty said. The three of them did so but shields appeared in front of the reactor stopping the missiles. "Shields. Hit the deck!" the three of them stopped and turned around to fire on the Pawns "This may have been a bad idea after all". A warning came on Jet's screen "Our shields sure are taking a beating". "We can't turn back now!" Bean said as he made his fighter drop one of the missile pods and he then jumped out "Cover me!". "Bean! Get back in your ship!" Mighty ordered, "Trust me, I have a plan. This is for the 501st. Don't wait for me" "Bean! No!". Bean grabbed the pod and headed for the door to the reactor "You've disobeyed enough orders today, sir. Follow this one, get out of here!". Jet watched him enter the reactor room, he sighed "Mighty, I know Bean, we better leave". Bean pushed the the pod in the direction of the reactor, he then turned and saw his two brothers rush out. He smiled "Live to fight another day, boys. Live to fight another day" he closed his eyes as the pod hit the reactor causing it to explode. Mighty and Jet raced through the hanger as the explosion was right behind him "Come on. Come on!" they just managed to make it out right before the entire ship went up in a ball of flame.
Fang and Charmy saw the explosion from below "They did it". The fighters landed in front of them, the two pilots silently walked up to them. "Where's Bean?" Charmy asked them, "He didn't make it. We couldn't have done it without him" Jet said respectfully. A group of armed clones came up to them "General Zavok would like to see them in the tower".
Fang entered the command centre with Mighty and Jet "You wanted to see them, sir". Zavok had his back to them "Indeed. It seems they have accomplished a very brave act. Unfortunately, they've also committed a serious crime by directly disobeying my order". Fang stepped forward "With all due respect, sir, the order to attack the cargo vessel was mine. If there's a punishment to be given, it should be directed toward me. I'm their commanding officer". Mighty stepped forward with a stoic face "General, sir, Captain Fang is attempting to take the blame for actions that were clearly mine" "Mighty!" Fang said angrily. Mighty ignored him "I request that his admission of guilt be denied, and full blame placed upon me". Zavok stood right in front of him "Oh, do you? You wilfully countermand my direct order and now you have the audacity to request who should bear the punishment of your insurrection!". He turned to Fang "Let me be clear about the punishment for the treason committed by Arc-06-1993 and CT-2006. They will be court-martialled, they will be found guilty, and they will be executed. Make no mistake, for crossing me, you will pay the price".