OK! This took an incredibly long time and I severely underestimated how long it would take to release these. Due to school, and personal/family issues, I will be restricted to every few weeks, if not every few months. I apologize and wish I could do more, but this is the sad reality. However, if it takes me years, I will finish this. I am also drawing up plans for two sequels, named "The Admiral" and "The Patriot", and two independent star wars stories about an Imperial Officer with a conflict of interest, and if Thrawn had a Chiss accomplice in his rise to power. Without further ado, here is the first installment of Clicker's Arc about Geonosis. (I am not sure that if this will play out to be one massive story that is the ENTIRE Geonosis Arc, or just by the different episodes), and then move to Tusk which will be a single chapter, and Shard in turn which may be multiple chapters, then a mile stone of a battle with General Grievous. Just showing my cards so you guy know what to look forward to. If any new/returning readers have suggestions or questions, please leave a comment and ask, I would be happy to answer! (I hope you realize I have nearly called one of my teacher's 'Shard' instead of his given name 'Shears' more than once, just so you are aware of the impact this is having on me XD) -Cloaked Writer
Airspace of Geonosis, 22BBY, The Clone Wars
The swarm of Republic LAAT gunships filled to bursting with Clone Troops, all painted with striking green accents on their armor. Inside one of the gunships, stood Luminara Unduli and her apprentice, Barriss. He peered down at the surface with a monitor, a feeling of doubt beginning to creep it's way into her mind. Generals Kenobi, and Mundu were recovering from injuries, and Shard had to leave the system due to the damage the assault would have on his men. She lifted her chin, looking towards the pilot.
"Captain, the only safe landing zone is south of Skywalker's position." She told him.
"Yes, General!" He said, momentarily glancing backward towards the Mirialan.
"Barris? I assume you have made the necessary preparations?" She asked her Padawan Learner, glancing back to the teenager ever so slightly.
"Precisely as you instructed, Master" She said, closing her eyes and bowing.
"Buckle your belts and check yourselves soldiers, we're going in!" The Clone lieutenant named Buzz said, his battered helmet turning around like the menacing bow of a ship.
At his cue, all the Clones readied their blasters. The planet was still under hostile control, after all. An ambush or surprise raid from the sky could happen at any moment.
Clicker, his men, and the men of the 501st sat in a semi circle on the ground in the briefing. Commander Tano was leading the meeting... sort of. General Skywalker, as all reports polity underlined about him, he couldn't keep his mouth shut.
"This bridge is our first way point," Ahsoka began, pointing towards a holographic cutaway map of the area. General Skywalker's blue astromech droid, R2-D2 stood by, silently projecting the hologram.
"Focus your fire on the gun emplacements here and here, because it's-" She said, pointing towards the map and causing large red spheres to appear, showing where the hostiles were. However she was cut of by her Master, who stepped in front of her.
"Because it's only after we neutralize the guns, can we push forward to the factory"
"I was... Yes, we can push for the factory. Now expect stiff resistance-" She attempted to continue, before being cut off and pushed out of the way again by General Skywalker.
"And! Don't forget to top off your energy cells and ration packs. Once we leave, there will be no resupply. Anything else, Ahsoka?" Anakin finished, turning towards his Padawan.
"No. You pretty much covered everything. In my briefing." She said, with a distinct edge in her voice.
Clicker ran his hands through his hair. He had just cut it before Shard announced that they were going to Geonosis, and he had not had the time to dye it his favorite shade of blue yet. Getting used to this bickering would take some time to get used to.
"Very well. Squad, dismissed." He said, and the troops stood up, moving to their respective duties. Clicker slipped his helmet back over his head and moved to turn away, catching more of the argument between Ahsoka and her Master. Come to think of it, I'll never get used to that He thought dryly.
But Clicker had to admit; It payed to have Jedi around.
Jedi Skywalker, cutting through legions of droids with a charisma and flair rivaling any propaganda either side could dream up. His apprentice behaved and fought like his miniature, and even Clicker had to chuckle when they both got fired up at one another. There was nothing, that could amount the the Jedi's moral boosting abilities on the battlefield. But even then...
He had nothing against the Jedi, neither did the other men...
But there was that slight... distrust, that we were not equals to them. Not rank wise, of course. We were subordinate troops, and needed to obey our superior officers, but some Jedi had behaved with a certain condescending manor.
It was that same manor of condescending dislike that had draped over Jedi Master Luminara Unduli.
Clicker was picking at the droid brain of the Geonosian model of battle droid, seeing if anything useful could be scavenged from the data-banks, when the 41st Elite Corps and Jedi General Luminara Unduli and her Padawan learner Barriss Offee, arrived in their gunships, and were greeted by Captain Rex, before moving towards Anakin and Ahsoka with the fluidity of ghosts. He was too far away from the group to hear what they were saying, but he saw Anakin and his Padawan still arguing, when the Mirialan pair approached. There was a brief exchange, what Clicker assumed to be introductions, and they began their own respective plans. Clicker turned back to his droid. He felt something moved across his face, and he removed his helmet quickly; he didn't want to be bit by some sort of insect. However, when he touched the source of the discomfort, he saw that it was a bead of sweat.
He grunted and flung it off his finger. I'm not nervous. Why should I be nervous? he reasoned with himself. But, he knew he was right to be nervous. Shard knew how to implement these troops, and make sure nothing happened to cause them to rise up. The Jedi didn't know how to do that, did they?
He looked around, his men readying their weapons and AT-TE's, as well as the few AT-SATs that survived. For their sakes, he hopes they did.
He heard fast paced footsteps behind him, and turned in time to see the Padawans Ahsoka and Barris go flying past with backpacks on. He glanced towards the Masters, and saw Luminara seemed completely calm about letting her Padawan go, but Skywalker seemed restless. He returned to his battle droid head; no sense in stalking superior officers. Besides, it wasn't his concern on what the Jedi did with their apprentices. He frowned and tossed it to the ground; nothing useful in the tin brain.
Clone Marshal Commanders Gree, Rex, and Clicker were summoned by the Jedi Generals in order to explain their plan. Once the Clones were all present, General Skywalker stepped forward, his R2 unit activating a hologram of the battlefield.
"We have sent our Padawans out to attack the central system of the Factory, and we need to organize a diversion. We are going to march across the bridge in Parade Formation, in order to entice them out of the factory, and have their full attention. This will be incredibly dangerous, so I need your men to be prepared to fight." Anakin said, his hands folded behind his back.
"What if we need to fall back, Sir?" Clicker asked him, pointing towards the bridge.
"Chances are ten to one that they have a trap in wait for us, either a flanking maneuver, or else mines." he finished, his dark helmet glaring in the alien sun. Anakin pondered for a moment, then spoke.
"You have a point. How about some of your men, and the AT-SATs stay in reserve with the cannon barrage, so we can have a strong final defense if or when we are forced back." Anakin reasoned. Clicker blinked behind his helmet.
"Y-yes, sir!" Clicker said, slightly stunned. He had figured that the Jedi would simply disregard his request, and that he and his men would be devastated in the attack; but Anakin showed clear concern for him and his troops.
"I agree with Master Skywalker. You and your men can hold our line, however if a group of your remaining Skulls could hold up the rear in anti-flanking formation, that would be most appreciated." General Luminara asked.
"Of course, I'll talk to Snatch right away."
"Very good. We need to speak to Rex and Gree on our formation, you should probably tell your troops right away." Anakin said, nodding towards the holographic table.
"Yes, Sir!" Clicker said, saluting and walking away.
He approached a dormant gunship and slipped inside, trying to steady his shaking hands as he removed his helmet; his eyes incredulous. The Jedi cared about them?
Clicker approached Snatch, who was speaking to the two other Skulls that had survived. He was wearing no less than a dozen Pauldrons collected from his dead Skull warrior kin around his waist, making it appear from a distance that he wore a Kama.
"Snatch, I have one last mission for you and your boys, then we can get you up to space to rest." Clicker told the battered Clone.
Snatch hesitated, before sighing slightly.
"Alright, what do you need?"
"You will be taking up Rear Guard Formation behind General Skywalker's and General Luminara's columns of troops. They want to draw out the droids into a fight in order to divert attention from some saboteurs they sent in."
"Those saboteurs will be in for a hell of a time in those tunnels; I am surprised they didn't ask us to do it, or bring in Commandos..."
"They sent their Padawans in. All you have to do is make sure nothing surprises them from the air or from behind. Hopefully nothing will happen, but there is no one I'd trust more than you leading the defense." Clicker said, praising his brother's skills. He had hoped that the showered kindness on the brother would make him bend. It worked.
"Alright, alright! we'll do it, Sir." He said, his body language indicating thanks, and appreciation. He then moved away, and began talking to his squadron. He even tossed a Pauldron from his belt towards one of the nearby 300th Clone troopers, considering his worthy to stand at his side. Clicker was not authorized to comment on such things, but he made a mental note of the small usurpation of the chain of command in Shard's absence.
"Here come the droids... Everybody steady, steady! Keep marching!" Anakin said to his troops, as they marched forward in a sea of white with bespeckled black 300th Skulls scattered throughout, blasters raised in an attack ready formation.
"I hope the Padawans are past the bridge by now..." Luminara said solemnly.
The droids began flooding from the factory, an endless mass of orange and dark grey metal surging forward with a pre-programmed yet unflinching resolve for blood.
"That looks like a lot of droids..." Anakin commented.
"Well it is a droid factory," Master Luminara said with a small amount of humor in her voice.
"as long as we can destroy em' faster then they can make em', we'll come out on top." Skywalker said with a confident grin on his face. Luminara chuckled.
"I love your simple logic, Skywalker." She said, before the both of them activated their lightsabers.
The droids opened fire, a wall of red energy bolts burning through the air towards the columns. The Clones surged forward, however, four did not. Snatch and his three men held back by the tanks, observing the sky and making sure that nothing came out to attack from the ground or the sky.
The wait was hardly five minutes. Hordes of Geonosians gushed from the stone monoliths that were scattered across the surface like towers.
"All troops, open fire! Throw Incendiary Charges and fire! I want those things cooked!" Snatch shouted. He rushed towards the tanks and threw a dormant power pack at one of the turret gunners to get his attention.
"Take down all the towers, now!" He shouted up. He raised his blaster, and began firing at Geonosians. He only had his left eye, and that was beginning to develop a twitch, but he knew that he would fight them with his bare hands if he had too. And while Geonosians were strong enough to kill Regs, he knew that they would have their work cut out for them if they tried grabbing some of his men, and that was not even close to what would happen if they laid one claw on him.
Bursts of orange fire-balls exploded in the air, sending eaves of heat and fire towards the towers, dislodging hidden cashes of Geonosians that were likely part of a wave system. Snatch redirected his fire towards the green spheres of sound, causing them to pop prematurely and explode in the air. In a single minute, the attack force was gone, with only one Reg casualty. The cannons moved forward, as well as the rest of the 300th Detachment.
However, from the factory, the living incarnation of death hovered out with a heavy mechanical grumble.
"Looks like the Seppies have a new toy," General Luminara said, glaring through a pair of electrobinoculars. Clicker stood beside him at attention, observing the battle field through his antenna binocular lense.
"Rex, pick your targets," Anakin said, turning his head to look at his Captain. Rex's acknowledgment was hardly heard through the mechanical din of the cannon's claws digging into the ground, and the barrels lowering to target the new mechanical monsters. They fired round after round of plasma shelled concussion rounds, filling the air immediately around the factory with black smoke. The firing ceased, and the smoke cleared to reveal that the vehicles were completely undamaged.
"Sir, Nothing could withstand it!" Rex called out, incredulity leaking into his voice.
"They must be rayshielded," Anakin replied, anger radiating from him, as his comlink chimed.
"The bombs are active!"
"The Padawans were successful!" Luminara said smiling.
"And just in time!" Anakin added.
The great shells of these tanks opened to reveal a gigantic array of cannons, which were then fired into the air.
"Get down!"
Clones scrambled this way and that, trying to avoid the crushing screen of missiles that were on their way to destroy the entire attacking force. Snatch felt something slide under his foot; an unsteady rock, as he fell flat on his back. looking up, he saw one of the rounds heading right for him. He struggled to get up, when suddenly, the Jedi were there. Anakin hoisted the clone up and used some enchanted Jedi leap in order to dodge the missile.
Clicker watched, stunned.
He saved him, he risked his life to save a clone.
The rest of the battle went by in a blur, the only memorable parts being the destruction of the factory, and the resulting dig in order to retrieve the team, and that the Jedi once again risked their lives to stop the advance of the droid mechanisms by destroying the bridge.
But Clicker couldn't get that image out of his head, of an all powerful Jedi saving someone below him.
All the stories said they operated like that, but it was just incredible to see it actually unfold before his eyes, disproving the quiet rumors that perverted the Holonet.
The Jedi were all right.
This took ages, but here is pt 2. More too come within the month (hopefully). Cloaked Writer out.