A/N- This chapter is set about five to six weeks after the fifth chapter of City of Fire. This Chapter also hints at what will happen in that story.
A/A/N- Before anyone talks about the quality of the writing or the length of the chapter, just remember that while I do strive to improve, I am not perfect and will likely make mistakes and can miss them.
Chapter 2- Hell's Pass
"Kriffing Hell, they have not let up that artillery fire once during the last five days." Commander Jax yelled to X1 and X2.
"I'm sure they'll attack soon. They'll have to." X2 yelled back just as more artillery fire burst around them.
They were located at a place that the soldiers of Outer Heaven and the WSF nicknamed Hell's Pass. It was really more a series of passes and canyons below them with
Clone troopers, Rebel soldiers and Stormtroopers were crouching in their trenches and foxholes, unable to move out of them. Shrapnel had killed or injured dozens of soldiers and many more were unable to reach the front lines as the artillery fire prevented them from moving forward. Further back, waiting to counterattack the forces of Outer Heaven were units of battle droids and WSF soldiers and tanks armed to the teeth with machine guns, assault rifles and tank destroyers.
All of a sudden the shelling stopped and the clones, rebels and Stormtroopers were on edge. Some reinforcements moved forward to the forward trenches before the sound of artillery fire resumed. However, instead of bursting with shrapnel and high explosive, smoke burst from the landing shells, obscuring the sight of most of the soldiers. The various captains and other commanders began shouting out their orders, with some ordering their troops to begin firing into the smoke. Some grunts of pain could be heard coming from within the smoke but then the sound of bullets bouncing off metal could be heard. The rumble of engines told Jax that there were some tanks or some assault guns or both were moving forward to crash into their lines. From his fortified command post, Jax could see the shadow of an oncoming attack force. The sound of artillery fire burst from the incoming vehicles and caused plenty of damage to Jax's already bruised defences as the shells landed.
Suddenly, the bombardment of smoke ended and a number of soldiers and tanks could be seen. No order was needed. The combined defence of Rebels, Clones and Stormtroopers began firing at the enemy soldiers while Anti-tank guns and artillery firing at point blank range engaged the enemy tanks and assault guns in a desperate attempt to halt the onrushing storm.
The Outer Heaven Luftwaffe then made an appearance over the battlefield. A few dozen 'Stukas', a few He-111 bombers and about two dozen Fw-190 fighter-bombers flew overhead, the 'Stukas' and Fw-190's attacking the allied armour and exposed strongpoints and the He-111's attempted to cut off the front by demolishing key pieces of terrain and attacking the reserve positions. No allied air support never made it to Hell's Pass for they were ambushed by swarms of Bf-109's, Fw-190's and Me-262's and suffered horrific damage, forcing the survivors to return to their bases.
Commander Jax saw that, despite having air support and knocking out several strongpoints and dug in tanks, the initial wave of Outer Heaven attackers were now very much pinned down in the open. "We have them pinned down boys. Keep the pressure up." Jax called out, also transmitting his rallying call to those who were not near him. His rallying call had the desired effect and the Clone, Rebel and Stormtrooper defenders intensified their defensive fire, knocking out many tanks and assault guns and killing or wounding many of the Greenskin attackers.
Jax's hopes of defensive victory were dashed when the forces of Outer Heaven sent a much larger attack wave forward, equipped with Tiger 1 and 2 tanks, Jagdtiger tank destroyers and Sturmtiger assault guns and placed at the front and was then radioed news from elsewhere along the front meant that even though he could hold on for a while yet, events elsewhere forced an inevitable retreat. "X1 and X2, we need to pull back. General Wilkinson has radioed in saying that the enemy has broken through the line further into the desert and that we'll be outflanked and surrounded if we stay here."
"Did he say where we are to retreat to?" X2 asked loudly over the noise of shellfire and small arms fire.
"We are to fall back north then we are to cover the demolitions of the remaining western ports under our control. Once that's done, we're moving to the Northern Dune sea in the North East." Jax explained, narrowly avoiding shrapnel whizzing over him.
"Sounds to me like we're linking up with Jabba then." X2 responded.
"Jabbas. We're linking up with multiple versions of him." Jax corrected.
"If there's multiple versions of Jabba, does that mean that there's multiple versions of us?" X1 asked inquisitively, even with a battle raging around them.
"I'll let you know later." Jax replied, cutting off the question for the time being.
Jax nodded to a trooper next to him, and the trooper launched a flare into the air, signalling to the WSF and droid reserves that they were to pull out and that they were to cover the retreat. Upon seeing the flare, the Droids and the WSF began moving into positions that overlooked the retreat. The AT-TEs were taking intense damage from the enemy tanks and the AT-ATs had been effectively destroyed when their legs were so badly damaged that they toppled over. Only a few tanks and several scout walkers were left intact from the front line as they retreated through the rearguard.
The forces of Outer Heaven snapped at the heels of the retreating Clones, Rebels and Stormtroopers, causing serious casualties and generally making the retreat uncomfortable. When they began encountering the rearguard, their pursuit became a cautious advance. The forces of Outer Heaven were then halted by a massive artillery barrage that lasted just over 50 minutes and they delayed their renewed advance to ready themselves for a counterattack that never came.
Jax's forces retreated successfully, albeit in tatters and with very few heavy vehicles left. The AT-TEs were eventually so damaged that they destroyed by their own crews and their wrecks placed at several choke points near the exits to the pass, which further hindered the Outer Heaven advance. They reached their new lines a few days later where replacements were waiting and began waiting for the inevitable Outer Heaven attack whilst engineers and demolition teams began destroying anything of value that could be used by Outer Heaven. Some of the seriously wounded who had missing limbs or had lost an eye or had become deaf were sent to the rear areas to get bionic limbs or cybernetic eyes or hearing aids.
While the agonizing wait began, news came through that the battle of Coruscant was heating up. Samgon had landed a few airborne armies behind their lines there and had caused immense damage to many veteran units including the 212th, 501st and the Coruscant guard, breaking through the frontline in the process. Furthermore, news also came through that Outer Heaven had captured Ryloth and were besieging Naboo.
To Jax, X1, X2 and their soldiers, the news seemed bleak, especially as this meant that both Coruscant and Naboo had priority for reinforcements and that they were going to have to make do with less.
Everyone who took part in the battle agreed on one thing; with the amount of corpses and scattered body parts and the burning wrecks of vehicles littering the battlefield, Hell's Pass had truly earned its name.
A/N- I hope you have enjoyed reading this chapter and please review.
A/A/N- Just incase anyone was wondering, most of the chapter takes place within the space of a day with the end of the chapter taking place days later.
Also, quick question, did anyone play Star Wars: Elite Squadron when it came out? If you didn't, then you probably won't recognise either X1 or X2. By the way, bit of trivia, Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron has its roots in the cancelled Star Wars Battlefront 3.
Next Chapter, we will see multiple Jabbas.