-Chapter 5: Rumors Spread-
Location: Geonosis
"Everything is fodder."
Geonosis had been lost.
A major Separatist homeworld had fallen into the clutches of the Republic. With it came the capture of Poggle the Lesser and the loss of one of the most bountiful droid factories in Separatist control.
Suffice to say, it was a bitter blow to the CIS. The Republic had their fair share of losses as well, the Geonosians bravely defending their home against the Republic invaders. But in spite of all efforts, the planet fell anyway.
Count Dooku was convening with Doctor Scipio and his soldier, explaining the situation to them.
"As you no doubt know, the loss of Geonosis has been a very hard blow to the Confederacy. The Republic is in the midst of setting up a base there in order to secure their control." The old man stated. "But we cannot allow them to get comfortable. That is why I'm asking your soldier to travel undercover to Geonosis and to strike out at the Republic forces there. We wish for them to remain but also to be ineffective. They may be settling in, but we do not want them to grow comfortable."
"We understand perfectly my liege." Scipio bowed in acceptance. The soldier simply nodded his head in understanding.
"Then your orders are clear: seek and destroy objects of importance to Republic forces, but remain unseen. I would rather our secret weapon maintain his secrecy a while longer. You will not be encountering any Jedi resistance, but there are plenty of Clones on the surface. Eliminate as many as you see fit." The Sith disappeared from the holotable as Scipio began to ready his soldier. It had been several days since the disaster that was Malastare, and in that time the Republic had lain siege to Geonosis and conquered it.
This soldier was to be the Separatist response to such a loss.
"You're all up to date on your training, I see." Scipio mused. "Carbine working better for you?" He wondered. The soldier nodded. "One of these days I may have to give you a more talkative personality. You can't nod forever." The doctor sighed returning to his work. That was something he'd have to work on... in due time. The soldier gestured to his jacket, giving Scipio a questioning look. At first, Scipio didn't quite understand. But then he got the message. "Unfortunately, I have not designed an alternate jacket for you. You make a good point, blue does not blend in well in a desert. I shall immediately work on some alternate uniforms for you." Scipio explained. "But I do have something else for you," the doctor headed over to a workbench and returned with five small discs, "these are explosive charges, engineered to be lightweight and possibly throwable. You only need one, placed in the right spot, to permanently disable a vehicle." He said, describing the devices. "If these perform well, I can have more made for you." The soldier took all five and tucked them into his jacket. "Given that Geonosis is now under Republic control, we'll have to land you away from where they are gathered." Scipio pulled up a holomap of Geonosis, highlighting an area to the north. "I've picked out a set of coordinates several kilometers away. There's a personal speeder loaded underneath your shuttle, you can use it to reach the Republic camp." Scipio powered down the map and turned back to his soldier. "You heard Count Dooku. Go and make them pay for taking Geonosis from us." The soldier nodded. His opportunity for revenge had come two-fold. Not only would the Clones on Geonosis suffer for the cheap tactics used on Malastare, but they would also suffer for taking Geonosis from them.
The soldier made his way to the platform where his shuttle was waiting, more than ready to unleash a Separatist kind of vengeance upon his foes.
Geonosis was a desert world, dotted with mountains and rocks across plateaus of sand and dirt. From any distance, the planet appeared barren, stricken by sand storms and dust-nados. Any signs of life could be contributed to the towering spires with unique designs carved into them. Geonosisians primarily lived in cave networks deep underground, seldom rising to the surface unless it was absolutely necessary. As of recent years, Geonosis had become a true hotspot for Separatist activity, boasting a mighty battle droid factory which provided the legions of mechanical fighters that made up the Separatist Army.
This resource had fallen during the Republic assault. Destroyed and collapsed upon itself, this factory would never again build droids for the CIS.
Such a loss was a real blow to the Alliance. The Separatists needed battle droids and Geonosis was one of their biggest producers. They needed to find other means for creating an army.
But even though some things could not be salvaged, they could be avenged.
Which was what he was here to do.
The soldier looked out across the barren landscape, speeder by his side, as he determined the best way to approach the encamped Republic forces. He needed to plan ahead of time. On a remote world like this, the Republic could see him long before he reached their lines. By determining his best course of action now, he could enact it later when it counted. The scanners in his helmet determined that the Republic had split their camp between a primary headquarters and a supply depot. The depot was his primary target, all supplies the Republic needed would be stored there. Plus, it was weakly manned and not well protected. It seems the Clones assumed that there was no one to worry about, no one to attack them. The Geonosians had been driven back, battle droids had been destroyed and the Separatists had pulled back.
Their assumption would be their downfall.
The timing of his attack needed to be perfectly precise, which is why he had waited until dusk. With the sun setting and nightfall quickly settling in across the desert, his appearance would hopefully be better concealed by a lack of exposing sunlight. Quickly devising a plan of infiltration, the soldier hopped back on his speeder and began to drive away from the Republic base. He needed a wide loop in order to turn around and remain unseen as he approached. Flooring his speeder into top gear, he shot forward as the desert passed by all around him. Rocks flew by as he ate up the distance, streaking ahead as he prepared to make his move. The sun was sinking lower in the sky, turning the brown sky to gold as it cast its final rays across the landscape. His hope was to minimize any shadow he may cast, which explained the amount of distance he kept between himself and the Republic base. He banked in a wide turn, arcing around the desert to minimize any dust he may kick up. He turned his head to lay eyes on his destination. A line of multiple AT-TE's and tanks remained stationary in the supply depot, their massive forms standing out among the other supply crates.
They would be his first target.
Finishing his turn, the soldier quickly killed the engine and let his speeder coast towards the Republic base. He was thankful Scipio had decided to install a form of 'silent running' in the engine, allowing him to drive without making any noise, relying solely on physics and antigravity for movement. He angled towards the Republic vehicles, hoping to mask his presence with their size as he approached. The base was still several kilometers away, the soldier could only hope he would remain unnoticed before he arrived.
What he wouldn't give for a sudden sandstorm right now.
Slowly his approach, the soldier began to creep up on the nearest AT-TE. The sun illuminated the giant mechanical war machine, shining brightly across his long metal exterior. Having studied blueprints obtained by Separatist spies, the soldier knew more than a few weak points in the vehicle's design on which he could capitalize. The joints of one of the six legs would be his best bet, destroying just one of those limbs could put the whole machine out of action.
And the less functioning machines the Republic had, the better.
The soldier turned sharply and jumped off his speeder, letting the air brakes slow it to a halt. He would return for it later... or just steal another one. Crouching low, he quickly ducked behind a nearby supply crate and waited, listening for any chatter from nearby Clones. He heard none, the only noises coming from much further away, meaning he was alone with the Republic's greatest assets.
Too perfect.
Even if there was a Clone guard or two, he could easily dispatch them without worry. Now, it was time to get to work. Poking his head around the edge of the crate, he quickly sprinted underneath the mighty AT-TE. Looking up at all the mechanical components above him, the soldier quickly traced out the joint for one of the central legs. Retrieving an explosive from within his jacket, the soldier scaled up the interior of the leg and wedged the device right at the top of the central joint, between the armored body and the leg itself. Arming the timer for a set period, the soldier jumped down and quickly sprinted over to the next AT-TE. He repeated the same process before moving on to the next vehicle. Staying out of sight, he did this to each of the four tanks located in the depot. It was then that he realized he only had one explosive left.
How unfortunate. For a sabotage mission, Scipio should've given him more.
Realizing he needed to find another way to deal some damage, the soldier quietly crept inside one of the makeshift armories the Republic was using. Inside, he discovered plenty of blasters, rifles, rotary cannons... and one Clone. Fortunately, he had his back turned, not noticing the soldier enter. Quickly drawing one of his knives, the solider raced up and slit his opponent's neck. The trooper gurgled and coughed as blood flowed from his punctured neck. Readjusting his grip, the soldier buried his knife deep in the Clone's torso, ensuring complete silence. As the body slumped to the ground and his knife was sheathed, the soldier took further stock of the weaponry available. Perhaps he could put some thermal detonators to good use. But that's when he noticed a large weapon crate, the top removed a leaning against the side. Curiosity got the better of him and he peered inside the box, discovering a flamethrower. He had read about the Republic making use of them when it came to dispatching Geonosians, normally equipped by specialized Flametroopers. Hefting the weapon out of the box, he quickly checked it's fuel reserve. Relatively full, definitely good for a few more uses. The soldier suddenly realized he had found a replacement for his explosives.
Oh, this was excellent.
Picking up his newest weapon, the soldier lit the torch at the end and primed the fuel dispenser. Considering the multiple uses at his disposal, the soldier was having a hard time picking just one course of action. Smirking under his helmet, the Separatist determined a new use for this weapon: he was going to torch the whole base.
Well, most of it. He hoped.
Quickly glancing outside, the soldier noted that the sun had finally set. Darkness covered the area, a nightly chill setting in across the desert. The once brilliant light of Geonosis' sun had finally disappeared.
Soon a burning Republic base would illuminate the land.
This was the best time for him to get to work. Pausing for a moment, the soldier began to plan his attack. First, he would sneak through the camp, locate any Clones who were still milling about and pinpoint any potential guards on patrol. The guards would be eliminated. The other troopers avoided. Then he would lure the other Clones to the supply depot, drawing them away from where he wanted to work.
Then he would set fire to the barracks, while Clones slept inside. Hopefully, this would allow him to half the Republic forces here. Perhaps he could kill a few more in hand to hand combat later. Either way, this base was about to become a death trap.
The soldier quietly advanced outside and moved behind the armory, stealthily creeping around in the quiet of night. The base perimeter was fairly large, giving him plenty of distance to cover. Too much for his personal timetable. Switching his optics to thermal vision, he quickly pinpointed a series of targets right in front of him. Spread out across the base, he could see the bodies of Clones milling about or patrolling the area. He scanned around, checking to see if he could find a target more isolated from the others, one who would make for an easy kill.
Suddenly, he detected motion right behind him. He had been spotted!
"Hey, you there!" The Clone behind him called out. The soldier needed to act quickly, he couldn't afford being discovered! Lunging forward, he propelled himself into the air and lashed out with two hard kicks to the Clone's head. The trooper stumbled back, dazed from the assault as the Separatist landed on his feet. Not sparing any more time, the soldier grabbed hold of the trooper and promptly snapped his neck. Letting the dead body fall to the ground, the soldier quickly ducked back into the shadows behind another building. That's when he heard voices, his scanners registering more Clones talking. He snapped his head towards the noise and his thermal vision picked up three more bodies in the armory. The Clone he had killed earlier had been discovered. The soldier rolled his head in frustration.
This was not going according to his plan.
Good thing he had been both trained and engineered to improvise. Though he preferred to do everything right the first time, he always had a Plan B.
In this case, he needed to murder all the witnesses.
The soldier quickly advanced on the armory, sticking to the shadows. He kept his optics on thermal, not wanting to be surprised again. As he grew closer, he stuck close to the wall, quietly drawing close as voices continued to register in his helmet.
"What happened to him?"
"Don't know. Looks like an assassination job to me."
"But why him?"
"I think the better question is 'who?'."
"Better let command know. We could have another traitor in our midst." The soldier was at the door, ready to burst in. He quickly drew his knives, ready to kill. Bursting inside, he drove a knife through the back of the neck of one Clone before withdrawing, spinning around and stabbing another surprised Clone through the face. Blood soaked both knives as he advanced on the final Clone. Spinning his blades around, the soldier drove both knives into the sides of the Clone's head, impaling him. He held still for a moment, letting the dying body twitch for a moment before removing his blades from the head. Holstering his knives, the soldier decided it was time for a distraction, something to keep the other Clones occupied while he went about his mission of subterfuge.
He didn't have to wait long.
A sudden, thundering explosion echoed around the area, shockwaves shaking the armory. Seems like his explosives had run out of time. The AT-TE's were blowing up, and no doubt the detonations were enough to draw much attention. A second explosion followed closely after and was soon followed by another and another. Four simultaneous explosions rocked the camp, if that didn't grab someone's attention... then these Clones needed to be recycled. The clamor of shouting and running footsteps outside told him the distraction was working. Now it was time for him to work. Turning around, the soldier grabbed a can of spare fuel and began dousing the interior. If this was going to burn long and hot, it needed something to feed its flames. The smell of fuel filled the room as the soldier emptied the can. Picking up the flamethrower, he aimed his new weapon at the weaponry behind him and squeezed the trigger, filling the armory with a column of flame. Waving his weapon back and forth, the soldier ignited a blaze before quickly exiting the building, before anyone noticed. He quickly moved back outside and began sneaking around to the back of the armory, staying out of sight. Enveloped by shadows, he quickly ran towards the supply depot, planning on torching whatever ammunition or other essential supplies that may be hidden among the crates. He hoped to find find an ammo dump he could torch, possibly making an even bigger explosion and dealing more damage to the camp. He returned to the mountains of crates and wasted no time in pulling the trigger, setting fire to the supplies the Republic forces dearly needed.
The soldier quickly found a measure of joy in being an arsonist. Nothing like setting fire to equipment and tools of the Republic, torching them and rendering them useless. Knowing he could very well be spotted, the soldier sprinted from pile to pile, lighting fires and igniting the crates as quickly as he could. Destruction was at the forefront of his mind. He had a craving for vengeance and he was going to satisfy it. But sure enough, as he had predicted, he was soon spotted by a Clone. With a shout, the Republic trooper rushed him. Instead of dropping his tool, the soldier promptly turned it on his attacker, dousing the Clone in a sheet of flame. The trooper screamed in agony as fire consumed his body, eating away at the flammable suit he wore under his armor. The soldier watched for a few moments as the Clone dropped to the ground, writhing in agony. Savoring the pained look on the trooper's burnt face, the soldier ended his life by raising his boot high and crushing the Clone's skull between his foot and the ground.
But then he was spotted by another Clone. Two, in fact.
They both attacked him, moving in together as they sought to captured this foe. Dropping the flamethrower, the soldier rolled his shoulders in preparation. He would let them strike first. The Clones both threw punches simultaneously, aiming for his face. Raising his arms, the soldier deftly blocked both punches before wrapping his arms around the Clone's and twisting them around. Releasing them, he grabbed hold of both their heads and smashed them together. But as his dazed opponents struggled to recover, the soldier drew both knives and impaled them through the tops of their heads. The Clones stopped moving, twitching as blood began to trickle down through their hair. Removing his knives, the soldier sheathed both as the bodies fell to the ground. The sounds of commotion grew even greater, no doubt every Clone in the base had arrived to try and quell the flames. The soldier had done his duty, eliminating Republic artillery and burning through quite a few of their supplies.
Perhaps it was time to call this a victory and exit the premises.
But as he began walking back to where he had left his speeder, he stumbled across and entire squad of troopers.
"Hey you, Seppie!" One of the Clones exclaimed upon seeing the logo adorning his jacket. "Just where do you think you're going?" The soldier did a quick headcount. Five troopers were all that lay between him and his getaway.
Simple.
The soldier began to stalk forward, balling his hands into fists, more than ready to cut down these Clones. He didn't bother reaching for his knives, he was going to use his fists this time. The first Clone to attack him was quickly dispatched by a hard punch to the throat, collapsing his windpipe. The second suffered far worse as the soldier broke both his arms before snapping his neck. The next two charged in unison, much like the previous troopers he had killed. Only this time, he easily fended off one as he cracked the neck of the other before turning on his friend and silencing him with a broken jaw and kick to the throat. The final clone chose to let his opponent come to him, instead of advancing like his four dead friends. But once the Separatist drew near enough, the Clone lashed out with a kick... only to have his leg caught by the soldier, who promptly broke it. The Clone screamed in pain as his knee was bent at an unnatural angle before the soldier grabbed hold of his neck and crushed it between his hands. The Clone fell dead as the trooper glanced around to ensure there were no more Clones around. He'd like to be leaving now, feeling his job complete. But he suddenly remembered he still had one explosive left to use. Reaching back into his jacket, the soldier retrieved the disc and mulled over what he would use it for. Deciding he would rather leave than stick around, the soldier armed the detonator and tossed it over the mountains of crates, not caring where it landed. What he didn't realize was that his bomb had managed to land right at the feet of a group of Clones attempting to salvage some burning ammo crates. The explosive detonated seconds after landing... and ignited the ammo stores.
A massive column of flame erupted up from the even mightier explosion as the entire compound was rocked by a huge shockwave. That much destruction quickly grabbed the soldier's attention, forcing him to turn around and view the handiwork of his final explosive.
Not bad.
After regarding the burning column for a few seconds, the soldier moved to return to his speeder, climbing aboard the machine as he listened to the clamor of Clones recovering from the explosion, the screams of the burning and the groan of metal as it collapsed.
This would be something to remember for a long time. The Republic may have taken this world, but the Separatists would be back with a vengeance.
Vengeance that would be executed through him.
The soldier powered up his speeder and drove off into the desert, now turned cold by the lack of sunlight. Behind him, the desert would at least find some illumination from the burning wreckage that was once a Republic supply depot. He left the fire and flames behind him, knowing he had avenged the Geonosians and the army on Malastare.
Report by Clone Sergeant Zed: The Geonosis Incident
"Several days after taking control of Geonosis, our planetary outpost was attacked by an unseen figure. The supply depot was hit worst, most of our equipment and rations were torched beyond salvage. Our four All Terrain Tactical Enforcers were destroyed, investigations in the aftermath revealing small bombs had been placed along the leg joints but the explosions were powerful enough to also ignite the fuel reserves. Many of our men were killed, over two dozen. Most had stab wounds, indicating their assailant was equipped with a knife or two. One had been burnt to death and five of them had been brutally murdered by hand, as broken bones and bruising along the neck would suggest. But the rest were killed when an unseen explosive detonated a set of ammo crates. We found the flamethrower responsible for the torching by the edge of the camp, discarded after being used. The nature of this attack seemed to be in an effort to slow us down, to make us ineffective in maintaining our hold on this world.
And while I hate to say it, it worked.
In our current state, we cannot last long on this world. I don't know who was responsible for this attack, but they clearly knew what we were doing. Recommend that there be an increase in camp security and for new supplies to be delivered ASAP. If not, we wouldn't survive a Separatist assault.
Some of our men say they saw someone escaping on a speeder. However, there is no confirmation of this. Seems like anyone who did come across the saboteur ended up getting killed in a quick and brutal fashion."
Report #1123
Filed by Clone Sergeant CC-1784 'Zed'
As the soldier left Geonosis, Scipio stood over a table, working alone as he pieced together the final components to his latest creation. A blade wrought from pure phrik, honed to a sharpened tenth of a mechanometer and double-edged, the Pau'un doctor fitted the weapon into a series of grooves along the base of a sheath. Splayed out before him were a series of triggers, interconnected by the same wiring and connected to the same bulky gauntlet. They were all part of the same purpose: a new armament for his creation, new signature tools to give fear a face and take part in the definition of fear.
"Forged from an indestructible metal, built for the purpose of sowing destruction," he mused, holding the weapon in his hand, "to be christened with Republic blood." There was a wicked gleam in his eye as he looked forward to his creation's next deployment.
