First of all, I'd like to thank Georgie9uk for his review of Chapter II. Also, I'd like to clear up some things. I realize that the Republic would never be able to fight the Empire because they were in different time periods and the Empire evolved from the Republic. However, I've written this story simply to entertain the idea of "what if?" so we'll see how it goes from here. Yes, I realize I've screwed up Star Wars but it's fun!

The Confrontation - Part III

On the planet Carnosis, in the Outer Rim Territories of the Galaxy, a major battle was being waged. General Obi-Wan Kenobi and Commander Anakin Skywalker led their Republic forces against Commander Agarra of the Galactic Empire. Their Republic Assault Ship, the Liberator, had taken heavy damage and crashed on the planet during an entanglement with an Imperial Star Destroyer, the Devastator. Now, General Kenobi gathered his troops and fought to protect his ship, and the lives of its crew.

Captain Ronet watched from the downed Republic Assault Ship as the battle began. He felt cowardly for not being a part of it. The captain had fought bravely during the Battle of Naboo but his brother had been killed in action and so he gave up his army duty to lead the simple life of a warship captain. He missed his beautiful wife and his daughter who was only two years old. Naboo had not been hit very badly during the Clone Wars but he always feared for their lives. He missed his infantry days and wanted to fight again. He suddenly made up his mind. In a swell of pride and courage, the captain rushed outside to the five clone divisions doing repairs on the ship. "Take me to the battle, right now!" ordered Captain Ronet. The clones didn't know what to think of him.

Meanwhile, the battle began on the field. Obi-Wan Kenobi's mind was clear as he ran forward to meet the Imperial Stormtroopers. Beside him, his Padawan issued orders to the clone commanders through his comlink. This battle would be difficult. Obi-Wan slowed down his pace as he deflected the first round of blaster fire. "Those troops have terrible aim," Obi-Wan thought to himself. "Pity." He began to focus, calling upon the Force to help him deflect fire towards his unknown foe. The menacing troops began to fall as they were struck by their own blaster bolts. The clones unleashed their own firepower and even more Imperial forces fell. Obi-Wan felt a great disturbance in the Force as he saw Anakin Force-push an entire platoon of Stormtroopers back into their own ranks. He was troubled by Anakin's dark presence and his chilling smile as he lifted an enemy trooper high into the air and crashed him into the ground. He sent a wave of Force energy towards Anakin and was relieved to see his eyes clear and the Force become less troubled. They continued the fight as ships flew above and around them and the sound of explosions was heard everywhere.

The clones were fighting bravely although the AT-ST's and AT-AT's were able to take out many troops. Both sides of the conflict had speeder bikes and they looked eerily similar. The Empire, however, had only 90 speeder bikes deployed while the Republic had 310. 120 of the clone bikes attacked the scout troopers as one taskforce, while 190 helped the battle against the AT-ST's in another group. The AT-ST's were too powerful though and only six were destroyed. All the Republic bikes fell, due to friendly fire from the AT-TE's or Imperial engagements. All 90 of the Imperial speeders had been destroyed but now the last 10, a group of elite scout troopers attacked the AT-TE's with their advanced speeders. Two AT-TE's were destroyed by plasma grenades before the elite scouts were stopped.

Another battle ensued in the air. All 59 Republic Gunships and 19 Dropships as well as 36 SPHA-T's and 47 AT-TE's were quite busy attacking the 20 Imperial AT-AT's and 30 AT-ST's. The massive AT-AT's managed to destroy two AT-TE's before being distracted. With all the AT-TE's already on the battlefield, the dropships were free to attack the large walkers. Their shielding was so great that the gunships simply couldn't break through. One dropship flew too low and a few good shots from an AT-ST sent it hurdling into a walker's front legs. The walker slowly fell forward and the remaining gunships blew it up with concussion missiles. The AT-AT's now focused on the gunships but they were maneuverable enough to escape all but the worst fire. However, the Empire's latest threat came into view: 48 TIE fighters, 12 TIE Interceptors and 12 TIE Bombers flew over the battlefield, deployed from the orbiting Star Destroyer. They went after the vulnerable dropships while the gunships attacked the TIE Bombers and Interceptors, their laser beams blazing. Several bombers broke through and destroyed five AT-TE's and one SPHA-T before themselves being destroyed. All but two of the Interceptors had also been destroyed. Meanwhile, the 18 dropships had destroyed 13 fighters while eight of them were demolished. The remaining 50 gunships destroyed all but four fighters, which now retreated to the Devastator. The gunships again focused their attack on the ground forces, but many had already been taken care of.

While the vicious air battle took place, massive walkers from both armies fought against each other. Only 20 AT-TE's were needed to attack the small, fragile AT-ST's and all were quickly annihilated (the speeder bikes helped), with only one AT-TE lost. The remaining tanks now fought the AT-AT's that had been trying to destroy the powerful SPHA-T's. The massive mobile turbolasers cut through the walkers' shields and even their thick armour plating. With all forces narrowing in on these immense walkers, they soon began to fall. Republic forces stopped the attack when only the lead AT-AT was left. All the stormtroopers had either fallen, been severely injured or had been captured. They were sure Imperial Commander Agarra wouldn't be issuing any more orders. The Republic too, had suffered much damage with only 20 gunships, five dropships, 20 SPHA-T's, and 25 AT-TE's remaining. Only a few hundred clones were left. The battle was over. Against all odds, General Kenobi had won.

Captain Ronet finally came into view of the battleground. It had taken a long time for the clones to be convinced because Obi-Wan had issued such strict orders and the transmission on the captain's speeder bike had broken down. Eventually, the captain had nine clones on speeder bikes and an additional sub-division on foot come with him. The rest continued repairs on the Liberator. As they rode up to the General, both he and Anakin had surprised looks on their faces. "Captain, I wasn't expecting you here," said Obi-Wan. "I wanted to help but it looks like the battle is over," the captain replied. "We still need to capture the commander. Would you like to lead the division I'm sending in?" asked Obi-Wan. "Thank you, General," replied the captain. Obi-Wan turned to Anakin. "Organize the troops and keep command over them as they move the equipment back into the ship. We don't need any of it now. The clones can go inside, too." "Yes, Master," replied Anakin.

While all of this was happening, Commander Agarra had been plotting from inside his AT-AT. He had no plans to fail yet. He realized they would try to capture him and decided to set up a little surprise for them. He still had three platoons of elite Stormtroopers inside the massive vehicle but he decided not to use them unless necessary. Secretly, he opened the side hatches of the AT-AT just enough to drop a few mines around its perimeter. They landed in the soft sand and no one was the wiser. "Let them get through that!" he said to himself. The Carnosian winds quickly covered the mines with sand.

Captain Ronet's division of 100 clones was soon ready. He had half of them hold backup positions while the other half went up to see if they could climb up into the vehicle somehow. The forward sub-division had been split into five groups. The captain watched as his clones surrounded the vehicle, looking for a way to climb into it. Suddenly, something triggered an explosion and three of the groups were blown apart, the clones' bodies flying a dozen feet into the air. The two remaining groups attempted to retreat but set off another mine and half of them were killed. Only one unit made it back to the captain but there was no time to say anything because the side hatches of the AT-AT had opened up and now the captain was being fired upon. The elite Stormtroopers were smart, highly trained, highly deadly marksman. Half of them descended to the sand on repelling harnesses while their comrades kept up a barrage of fire from the top of the AT-AT. Once the first group had hit the ground and started firing, the second group quickly came down to join them.

Both Obi-Wan and Anakin had turned as soon as the first mine had exploded. Obi-Wan raced to help out the captain, who he knew hadn't battled in ten years and was a bit rusty. Anakin turned back to supervise the clones. He knew Obi-Wan could handle the situation for a moment, until he got the few remaining gunships back into the Liberator.

Meanwhile, Captain Ronet was feeling scared. He was in over his head and he knew it. His backup clone sub-division was fighting the elite Stormtrooper platoons, but they were no match. The captain ducked behind a ridge just as Obi-Wan came running up. "What's going on here, Captain?" Obi-Wan asked. "I don't know, sir. My division was looking for a way inside. Suddenly we were under attack. It was some kind of ambush," replied the frightened captain. Obi-Wan and the captain both looked up to see the blue-coloured lieutenant fall. "We won't last much longer against this," Obi-Wan thought. He risked a glance over the ridge to assess the situation but was met by a salvo of blaster fire and a wave of pain in his left shoulder. He fell back behind the ridge for cover, his lightsaber landing several feet away and felt another searing pain in his calf. He looked up to see Commander Agarra leaning out of his AT-AT, smoking blaster rifle in hand and a cruel grin on his face. "General? Are you okay?" questioned the concerned captain. "Yes, I'll be fine," said Obi-Wan. He accessed the Force to begin his healing.

Anakin felt an unsettling wave of pain through the Force. "Obi-Wan!" He quickly told a clone sergeant to finish loading and repairing the Republic Assault Ship. Then he took off to help his fallen master. He accessed the Force to try to stay calm and knew Obi-Wan was trying to heal his wounds. He only hoped he would be there in time and could keep control of himself.

The captain looked over the ridge and saw that the clones were now pushing the Imperial forces back towards their AT-AT. "We're winning," he thought to himself. He jumped up to help out his diminished taskforce and they soon had the Stormtroopers in full retreat. The captain came up to the legs of the AT-AT, weary of any mines still left. He unexpectedly heard the sound of something hitting the sand, behind him. He wasn't even able to turn before a strong arm was wrapped around his neck and a blaster was pointed to his head. The Clonetroopers, shocked at their leader's capture, became confused and hesitant. It was what the elite Stormtroopers had been waiting for. The remaining clones were quickly wiped out. The commander, holding onto the captain, walked over to Obi-Wan and, keeping a respectful distance, picked up his lightsaber. He ignited it and quickly walked back, dropping the blaster (after slicing it in half) and holding Obi-Wan's lightsaber menacingly close to Ronet's neck. The hairs on the captain's neck were vapourized and sweat quickly trickled down his uniform.

Commander Agarra turned in time to see Anakin Skywalker arrive and quickly examine his master's wounds. He stood, lightsaber ignited in his trembling hand and anger burning in his dark gaze. "You're going to regret this, Commander," Anakin spat out. "I doubt that, young Jedi," came the commander's reply. Obi-Wan sensed Anakin preparing to pull the lightsaber away from Captain Ronet's throat. "Anakin, no," said Obi-Wan. In his enraged state, he doubted Anakin would have enough control to pull away the lightsaber safely. "Master, I can do this," Anakin said, the struggle to control his temper evident in his voice. "Trust me." "No, Anakin. I can't let you risk it." "Master, I --*" "NO, Anakin! It's too great a risk" Anakin flashed a look of disappointment at Obi-Wan and powered down his lightsaber. "Seize them!" ordered Commander Agarra. The elite Stormtroopers quickly put the Jedi's hands into energy cuffs. Obi-Wan's leg injury blazed as he was dragged to his feet and a trooper handed Anakin's lightsaber to the commander. "Bring me my shuttle," said Agarra. One of the Stormtroopers took off on the commander's personal speeder bike (previously hidden in his AT-AT) to retrieve his landing shuttle.

While they were waiting for the shuttle, Obi-Wan tried to contact Anakin through the Force. All of his attempts were in vain. He knew Anakin would think Obi-Wan didn't trust him but Anakin was too overconfident. Besides, the captain's life was at risk. Obi-Wan looked down at his shoulder. It had been hit in the exact spot where Dooku's lightsaber had pierced it on Geonosis. That had left a deep scar, one that would never disappear. He sighed, feeling that Commander Agarra would be only too pleased to give him a few scars to remember him by.

The Imperial Shuttle arrived in minutes and landed a few dozen feet away. Obi-Wan and Anakin were roughly pushed forward. They stopped before the lowered landing ramp and the commander came up to face them, a wicked smile on his face. "Any last words, General?" he asked teasingly. "Let the captain go. He's innocent in this. It's us you want," came Kenobi's grim reply. "Get in," said Agarra cruelly. Obi-Wan and Anakin were forced into the cargo section of the shuttle and their energy cuffs were chained to the wall. The commander entered, still holding Obi-Wan's lightsaber at the captain's neck. "Actually, I don't think I really have a use for you," he said. Captain Ronet barely had the time to scream before the lightsaber pierced him. The shuttle took off and the captain's body was thrown into the Carnosis sands. The commander went up to the pilot. "Alert my Star Destroyer to prepare two prisoner's cells. We need to accommodate our Jedi guests on the way to see the Emperor," he said, turning back and giving a chilling smile to Obi-Wan and Anakin. "I have a bad feeling about this," Anakin said bleakly.