Naboo, lake shoreline, 1100 Hours, 19 BBY Coruscant Time
The Reapers had advanced on the mobile command center outside of Otoh Gunga and the 199th was losing men fast. Jacob was ducked behind a fallen tree with a few other troops and commander Blackout a few feet to his left.
"General! We're sustaining heavy casualties! I'm not sure how much longer we can hold out without reinforcements, sir!" Blackout said, as a marauder landed a headshot on a clone next to him. Jacob also fired a few shots from the pistol Blackout had given him earlier, managing to take out a few cannibals, and used the force to crush a marauder in with a nearby boulder.
"Gearhead! See if you can get a transmission out on the emergency channel," he said through his commlink. "We need to close the gap!" He looked to the left at the reapers attempting to flank his troops.
"Give me some cover fire!" He said, igniting his lightsabers. The troops nodded and began giving everything they had to the advancing reaper forces. Knowing that deflecting their blasts was pointless, Jacob had to rely solely on his instincts, and trust in the force. He focused his mind as he dodged shots left and right, all the while turning the Reaper foot soldiers into piles of scrap and organic matter. Several husks began charging him in a fruitless attempt to surround him. With a smirk, Jacob force pushed the circle of husks away in every direction, sending them flying into trees and boulders, which disoriented them long enough for the clones to land their kill shots. It seemed as if they were finally thinning their numbers when a large meteorite hit the ground near the firefight. Jacob and the clones watched in disbelief as a massive, hulking figure climbed out of the meteorite. It didn't seem to have a lower jaw, but growled and roared like a Gundark.
"What're you waiting for?! Open fire!" Jacob commanded, pointing one of his lightsabers at the creature. The clones obeyed and unloaded on to the brute with little effect.
"This thing has some tough armor!" Blackout said, ducking behind a log and firing at the remaining marauders. Soren gave a smirk under his helmet.
"That's why we brought the big guns, sir!" Soren reached down next to his cover and pulled out a Z-6 rotary cannon and pointed it at the beast. The brute covered its face and gave a snarl and began charging at Soren.
"Soren! Look out!" Jacob said, jumping in front of the brute. The brute brushed Jacob off and slammed him against a tree with it's free appendage. Soren kept firing, despite the brute getting closer. It was barely five feet in front of him, when a downed tree came flying at the creature, knocking it down long enough for Soren, Blackout, and what remained of the clones, to finish it off. Jacob got up from the tree he had been slammed against and brushed himself off.
"Appreciate the assist, general. If it weren't for you, that thing would've steamrolled me," Soren said, handing Jacob his lightsabers that rolled over to him.
"What? What do you mean?" Jacob asked, clipping his lightsabers to his belt.
"So, you didn't throw a tree at…whatever this thing is?" Soren asked, kicking the dead brute in the side.
"I was trying to aim for its head," a voice said from the forest. Anakin, Obi-Wan, Cody, and a few surviving clones climbed out of the war torn woods.
"But it looks like you all had it covered," Anakin said, looking down at the smoldering corpses of the reaper ground troops.
"General Skywalker, Kenobi," Blackout said, as he and the other clones gave a salute.
"So, I take it those fireballs we saw falling from the sky were our reinforcements?" Jacob said, walking over to Anakin and Obi-Wan.
"Yes, Unfortunately. Several ships made it through the initial blockade, but we lost a dozen or so gunships in our initial descent," Obi-Wan said, holding his chin in his hand.
"That begs the question; what was blockading the planet? They definitely aren't separatists," Anakin said.
"I have no idea. But our whole evacuation plan has just gone up in smoke. What do we do now?" Jacob said, shaking his head. Anakin looked like he had an idea.
"Maybe we can get the Clairvoyance down here to-" as if a cruel twist of fate, the sky above them lit up in a blaze of orange and red. The group looked up to the apocalyptic sky, as the Clairvoyance split in two when a reaper beam bisected the ship.
"I hope R2 made it off of there," Anakin said grimly.
Obi-Wan had a worried look on his face.
"It appears we need a new plan,"
—
Malastare relay, 1230 hours, 19 BBY Coruscant Time. Onboard the Normandy SR-2
"What do you mean, we 'aren't in our galaxy?' How is that even possible?" Tali asked.
"I mean, I don't think we're in our galaxy. Or if we are, it's an uncharted sector of space," Shepard said, still looking at the galaxy map.
"You're right, commander. I've never seen any of these planets. There's no names, just, coordinate numbers," Traynor said, looking at her console.
"What do we do, Shepard?" Kaidan asked with a concerned look on his face. Shepard stepped down from the galaxy map podium.
"The mission doesn't change. We came through this relay to find the reapers, and that's still what we do. New Galaxy or not, we're going to find them," Shepard said, addressing his crew. The Normandy Crew all nodded.
"That's all well and good, commander, but, where do we start looking?" Cortez asked.
"I think I've got a pretty good idea of where to start. A message just came through on an emergency frequency," Joker chimed in. Shepard and the crew walked to the cockpit.
"Play it, EDI," Shepard said. EDI nodded and an audio playback came through the ship's speakers.
"This is Corporal Gearhead, designation, CT-4501 of the 199th Elite Ops Battalion, calling out to any Galactic Republic vessels listening. Our reinforcements have been compromised and we are under attack by an unknown enemy! The Supreme Chancellor's current status is unknown. Please provide immediate assistance! Not sure how much longer we can hold on. If anyone receives this message, we are holding out on Naboo. Transmitting coordinates now. This message will repeat. Gearhead out,"
"Well, looks like we know where the Reapers went. To this… 'Naboo,' Garrus said, leaning against the wall. Traynor shook her head.
"I've never heard of Naboo. Ever," she said.
"Or the 'Galactic Republic.' I don't think it's the Asari Republic. We don't have designations like that. Certainly not anyone named 'Gearhead.' And we definitely do not have a Supreme Chancellor," Liara said, scratching her head.
"My god. We really are in another Galaxy," Cortez said, slumping down in a chair in defeat. Suddenly, EDI chimed in.
"Shepard, we are only a few lightyears away from these coordinates. I estimate we can reach this 'Naboo' in approximately 18 minutes," she said from her chair. Shepard was silent for a moment.
"Do it, EDI. Everyone else, strap in. Time to see a whole new Galaxy,'
—
Back on Naboo
"It looks like they've backed off for now. Let's get back to the command center and plan our next move," Jacob said putting away his macro binoculars. Anakin walked up next to him as the clones kept their guns drawn and scanned the area.
"Took you all long enough to get here," Jacob said to Anakin jokingly.
"Hey, Naboo is a big planet. And these…whatever they are, didn't exactly make it easy," Anakin replied as they walked through the forest.
"You're telling me," Jacob laughed. "Even with a lightsaber they don't go down that easy,"
"That reminds me: why do you need that?" Anakin said, pointing to the blaster holstered on Jacob's belt.
"They're using projectile weapons. Some advanced form of slughtrowers. They're almost impossible to deflect," Jacob said, tapping the blaster. Obi-Wan walked next to them.
"Slugthrowers? And here I thought blasters were the most uncivilized weapon in the galaxy," Obi-Wan said with his usual sarcastic sass.
"I don't know general; a good blaster's saved my life more than I can count," Cody said, unholstering one of his blasters and scanning the tree line.
"Glad to have you with us, Cody," Jacob said.
"Likewise, General," Cody responded, giving a salute. Jacob suddenly had a realization.
"Wait a minute. Where's Rex?" He asked Anakin, fearing the worst. Anakin scratched the back of his neck.
"He's uh, on a special mission. With Ahsoka," he said, looking at Jacob. Jacob raised an eyebrow.
"Ahsoka? What special mission?" He said. Obi-Wan chimed in.
"Let's just say, Maul and his Mandalorians have become somewhat of a problem,"
"Wait. So the Republic is occupying Mandalore? To draw him out? And Ahsoka is leading the Assault? When did she-" Jacob was cut off by Anakin.
"Long story short, she's helping Mandalore reclaim its freedom with a detachment of the 501st. It…was good to see her," Anakin said, his voice lowering. Jacob could sense his eagerness, and a great sadness deep down in him. Obi-Wan also noticed this and the two of them exchanged glances. Jacob quickly changed the subject.
"So, if Rex isn't here to command his men, then who is?" He asked. As if to answer his question, Anakin's commlink chimed.
"General Skywalker! This is Commander Appo. We're nearing Otoh Gunga, but we have several men wounded and even more are dead." Appo said through the commlink.
"Copy that commander! We'll be at the rendezvous soon!," Anakin said.
"Appo must be close. They've cut off our long range transmissions. Aside from the emergency frequency. I hope. Come on, the command center isn't much farther. We need to get there before the enemy regroups," Jacob said, the whole group now running. He pressed a button on his commlink.
"Gearhead, this is General Bishopp. Have Turbo prep for incoming wounded. And keep your eyes open, I'm sure the enemy is planning another attack soon!"
"Right away, sir!" Gearhead responded. Jacob was relieved to hear his voice. Whatever these things were, they hadn't broken through the defense of the command center. Yet.
After a few more moments of running through the forest, they eventually reached the clearing where the command center was. Appo and his men came running from another side of the forest.
"Good to see you all in one piece, commander," Obi-Wan said.
"Likewise, Generals. Do we have a plan for rescuing the chancellor?" Appo asked, lowering his blaster. Anakin shook his head.
"We're working on that commander. For now, have your men get some rest while they can. And stay alert," he said. Appo gave a salute and walked over to his men. There were maybe only 30 clones, including the commanders, left standing.
"All wounded follow me to the medical tent," CT-1291, Clone Medic Turbo said. He walked over to Jacob after leading several clones to medical care.
"General. Our medical supplies are running dangerously low,"
"Ammunition isn't looking great either sir," Blackout added. Jacob gently put his hand up.
"I know, men. Turbo, prioritize more severe injuries and do what you can with limited supplies for the less severe. Blackout, I want a full inventory of our weapon and ammunition stock. We'll make it out of this," The two clones gave a salute and did their assigned tasks, but Jacob felt as if he had just told them a lie. Truthfully, he wasn't even sure if they'd survive another assault. Especially if they had any more of those large beast creatures. He walked back over to Anakin and Obi-Wan, who were watching the reapers decimate the planet.
"So," Anakin said. "What now?"
"Now, we try to collect ourselves and prepare for another wave. And hope that someone got the distress call. At this point, I wouldn't even mind if the Separatists showed up," Jacob joked. Obi-Wan kept looking up at the sky.
"Indeed,"
—
Back on the Normandy
"We are approaching the planet designated as 'Naboo,' Commander," EDI said, calling to the back of the CIC.
"Engaging stealth drive, Commander. There's a lot of reapers down there. It's gonna be difficult getting the Normandy down there. You might wanna consider using the shuttle to stage this rescue of uh, 'CT-4501,'" Joker said, as the Normandy entered stealth mode.
"Copy, Joker. Liara, Garrus, you're with me. Everyone else, standby," Shepard said, walking to the elevator in the CIC, with Liara and Garrus close behind. The ground team prepped for the assault in the armory. Shepard suited up in his usual N7 Armor, and grabbed his M-8 Avenger, M-97 Viper rifle, and his Phalanx pistol. Liara was in her usual combat gear, while Garrus opted for camouflage armor, due to the heavily forested nature of the planet. The three of them hopped into the Kodiak where Cortez was already prepped and ready to go.
"Ready when you are, Commander," he said, punching in the coordinates of the distress call. Shepard gave a nod and the Kodiak lifted off from the Normandy's Hangar.
"So, any idea what we'll find down there Shepard? If this is a new galaxy, what do we do about the locals?" Garrus asked.
"What do you mean?" Shepard asked through his helmet.
"Well, first contact protocols aren't really well outlined by the council. If we do meet an alien species, there's little direction on what to do," Liara chimed in.
"If they're hostile, we deal with it. But my guess is, whoever sent out that distress call, is no friend of the reapers," Shepard said.
"So don't shoot on sight. Got it," Garrus joked. The shuttle entered the atmosphere to Naboo as they saw several reapers attacking the Naboo security forces and Theed Palace.
"Getting close to the distress call commander. I don't think they've spotted us yet. They seem pretty occupied with that palace structure there," Cortez said from the cockpit. They all looked out the window and watched as several yellow star ships made a strafe run against a reaper destroyer, firing proton torpedoes at its center laser, taking it down in an explosive fury.
"Impressive. Though I can't say I've never seen a ship like that," Garrus said, not taking his eyes off the N-1s.
"Neither have I. Those weapons they used did not look like mass-effect technology either," Liara added. Cortez called up from the cockpit.
"Commander, we'll be at the coordinates in a minute,"
—
Back at the Command Center
"It's a solid plan," Jacob said, looking at the holo map Gearhead had up.
"Really? Are we even sure that shuttle is in the hangar?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Or if the hangar is still standing. Theed Palace is practically a pile of rubble right now," Anakin added.
"It's a chance we have to take. If those fighters are still in the hangar, Anakin and I can use them to draw the larger ships' fire, while Obi-Wan and the Clones use the shuttle to extract the Chancellor and the Senators!" Jacob said with a hopeful smirk on his face. Anakin and Obi-Wan both pondered this for a moment.
"Very well. Now, I suggest we-" Obi-Wan was cut off by Gearhead, who ran into the command center's mobile building unit.
"Sorry to interrupt generals, but we have an incoming ship," he said.
"Is it another squid ship?" Jacob asked. Gearhead shook his head.
"No sir, it looks like a fighter, but I can't be sure. It's hard to make out on the scanner," he said. Anakin had a glimmer of hope.
"R2? Did he make it out?" He asked.
"Not that I'm aware, general. But we're keeping our eyes peeled for him. It doesn't look like Republic in origin, but it also doesn't appear to be hostile," Gearhead said taking off his helmet.
"We're still not taking any chances. All men, to your stations!" Jacob commanded. The clones gave a salute and headed for the landing area where the Kodiak was beginning its descent, and readied their weapons just in case. The Kodiak touched down in the clearing and gave a soft thud as it landed. Soren looked over to commander Blackout.
"You ever seen a shuttle like this, sir?" He asked. Blackout kept his gun trained on the shuttle door.
"Eyes front, Lieutenant," Blackout said, keeping gaze on the Kodiak. The door to the shuttle hissed as it began to open, as the three Jedi Generals ignited their lightsabers. Jacob activated one of his and held his blaster pistol in the other hand.
"Be ready for anything," he said quietly to his men as the door the door to the shuttle opened. Four figures stepped out of the shuttle onto the soft grass of Naboo's forest floor.
"Hold it! Don't take another step! Identify yourselves!" Jacob commanded, with his lightsaber still ignited. The clones didn't move an inch and kept their weapons trained on the four strangers. Shepard looked around at the people before him, and was shocked to see that they were all, as far as he could tell, human too. Liara, Garrus and Cortez had their weapons drawn and pointed at the Republic crew. Shepard motioned for them to stand down and they all nodded. He slowly took off his helmet; an action that caused some alarm among the clones. The Republic crew was equally surprised to see another human and let their guard down a bit.
"We mean you no harm! I'm Commander Shepard of the Systems Alliance!" Shepard said, raising both of his hands.
"'Systems Alliance?' Is that a fancy way of saying the Separatist Alliance?" Jacob asked, raising his blaster again. Liara, Cortez, and Garrus all exchanged glances when Obi-Wan stepped in to try and avoid conflict and deactivated his lightsaber.
"You'll have to excuse my crass friend here. We've had quite a day of meeting rather unfriendly people. Though, might I ask what it is you're doing here?" He said, walking closer to the shuttle. The clones still had their weapons trained on them, as did Anakin and Jacob.
"We heard your distress call from our ship," Cortez said. The clones all looked at each other.
"It looks like the reapers didn't waste any time here, but we're to help," Liara said.
"Distress call? Men! Stand down," Anakin said, as both he and Jacob deactivated their lightsabers. The clones lowered their weapons.
"Excuse me miss…?" Jacob asked Liara.
"Liara T'Soni." She said.
"Miss T'Soni, but, did you say, 'Reapers?' Is that what those creatures are?" Jacob asked. She nodded as the group fully stepped off the shuttle.
"You've never heard of the Reapers? We definitely aren't in the Milky Way," Shepard said, that last part under his breath. The three Jedi walked over to the shuttle crew as Obi-Wan shook Shepard's hand.
"It seems we have much to discuss,"
END
Hey all! Hope you're enjoying the story so far! Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out. I'm trying to write longer chapters to give you all more to read at once! I sincerely hope you all like it so far, and I understand some of the logistics might not make sense with the vast difference of technology, but for me, and for this story, I'm really trying to focus on the character building. That being said, I'm happy to listen to your ideas! Constructive criticism is appreciated! As always, thanks for reading!
~JPfan
P.S. Don't worry too much about R2 ;)