Chapter 6: People die in Hospitals

Zako ordered the second wave of GATs to advance and engage the Republic's incoming second wave of fighter tanks. The repulsor tanks kept circling each other in a dizzying confusion for the commanders observing the battle. In the confusing mass of skirmishing fighter tanks, Zako ordered his STAPs and speeder platforms to charge and take advantage of the chaos. The opposing team sent in their 74-Z speeder bikes to counter his move. The Republic gunships had all been shot down and Zako kept his remaining hunter-seeker droids on his side of the battlefield, away from enemy anti-air tanks.

"Sir, the enemy artillery is starting to pull back," a brown colored B1 battle droid informed Commander Zako.

"Have the bio cannons roll out into attack positions!" The droid artillery moved forward as the clone guns slowly reversed. A few of the 74-Z speeder bikes managed to break away from the others and made their way for the Confederate artillery. The clone bikers aimed for the legs, hoping to topple over the droid artillery. The bikes' light blaster cannon could not penetrate the armored legs of the bio cannons. The remaining hunter-seekers were put to work shooting the speeder bikes.

Zako's sole OG-10 heavy homing spider droid made its way through the ranks to the front line. The droid's spheroid body was larger and better armored than the OG-9 and the spider was equipped with the standard antipersonnel laser cannon on top and two gatling cannons on the bottom. The expensive spider walker cost considerable more than their predecessor and wasn't mass-produced as the OG-9 was.

Both armies continued to keep their massed infantry formations from charging one another. Each commander waiting to see if the long range blows from their heavy vehicles would win the day. The OG-9 spider walkers traded laser blasts with the AT-TEs. The AATs exchanged fired with the clone scout walkers. And the fighter tanks from both sides were caught in the middle of all of it. The barren, flat plains on which they fought provided neither side with much cover. When the heavy homing spider droid reached the front firing line, it quickly tore its armored targets to pieces with its powerful gatling cannons.

KJZ-8267 finally had the opportunity to blast the ARF trooper when the clone slowed down to maneuver around some particularly dense trees. The GAR speeder blew up and the pilot droid turned his STAP around to return to the rest of his teammates. Before he left, KJZ-8267 noticed the clone got up from the speeder wreckage and leveled a blaster at him. A quick salvo from the STAP's cannons put the ARF trooper down for good.

A large group of clones gathered across the opposite end of a swallow stream. OOM-9 guessed that the Republic realized that his army was heading to their base and sought to delay him. The first wave of super battle droids marched against the advancing clone forces. The clones were performing exemplarily, destroying a mix of B2s sporting an island camouflage pattern and the standard silver soldiers.

The trees provided adequate cover for the clone troopers and they continued to grow bolder with each machine that fell to the soil. The clones started to march out from their cover, continuing to fire until the last super droid finally fell. OOM-9 led the second wave, consisting of B1s and dwarf spider droids. The clones, now out in the open and standing in the slippery stream, turned from deadly sharpshooters and clumsy clods. Clones were shot in a quick and efficient manner. Cluster of three purple bolts spewed from OOM-9's gun. One of the clones even slipped on a wet rock and fell on his own. Before the trooper could get back to his feet OOM-9 blasted him in the chest.

More and more droids pushed forward and crossed the waterway. The clones continued to dwindle in number and effectiveness.

An AT-OT lumbered forward to block the droids' advance. The transport's open top design made it vulnerable to attacks from above. However the clones made use of the jungle canopy as cover. Mounted on his advanced beetle, OOM-9 activated the shield generator and head for the eight-legged walker. Within range, OOM-9 primed a thermal detonator and chucked it into the open top of the walker. The following blast killed the thirty-four clone troopers sitting in the walker's passenger seats.

The infantry reinforcements may have been dead, but the walker was still operational. Two other beetle troopers came up from behind OOM-9 and began to assault the transport. The pilot droids on these beetles were armed with the KGB acid gun. A tank mounted on the droid's back supplied acid to the gun by means of a connecting hose. The brown kag beetles they rode were immune to this form of acid, thus droids could use the acid gun without fear of accidentally splashing and injuring their mounts. The KGB acid gun was perfect for eating through the AT-OT's metal legs. However, the walker did have eight legs, and it wasn't until three were dissolved that the AT-OT collapsed to the ground.

A pair of AT-RTs danced around the trees and approached OOM-9's position. OOM-9, three DSD spiders, and a clutter of infantry faced off against the nimble walkers. Three armored scout tanks attacked the walkers from the rear and were successful in their attempt to shoot the riders off their vehicles. A platoon attack craft sped in and dropped off one hundred and twelve fresh battle droids to lend a hand. The droid infantry finished mopping up any lingering resistance and the battle group resumed its march toward the enemy base.

Their advance was again slowed when the jungle rumbled as herds of AT-OTs moved to intercept OOM-9. The all terrain open transports proved to be poor shots against the speedy STAPs and beetle mounts.

Putting one foot in front of the other, the dwarf spider droid DSD-08 crawled underwater. DSD-08, like the battle droids around him, was capable of functioning underwater. Anchored by his weight, DSD-08 didn't float in the water. Likewise the bulky super battle droids had no problem. Even the anorexic B1s were easily able to anchor themselves to the floor. The B1s and B2s selected for the underwater maneuver were painted in island camouflage. The B2s were dull tan with green stripes streaking across their bodies as if they were war wounds.

The patrol boats and PACs slowed down to wait for KJZ-8267 to return. The droids marching under the water gained a slight lead on their overhead allies. The security droid SSA-719 had emerged from the top hatch of a patrol boat with a pair of electrobinoculars. The maroon-marked droid scanned the area for signs of his missing teammates.

The STAP-mounted pilot droid finally returned. "Where are your wingmen?" SSA-719 asked.

"We split up. They didn't return?"

"They haven't reported back and neither of the control ships in orbit are picking up their signals."

"One of the clones may have gotten away then," KJZ-8267 admitted.

"He'll alert the base. They may reinforce their defenses or move to intercept us."

Still riding on the outer tread cover of a tank droid, previously looking at her distorted reflection in the water, Major Katen turned back to look at the chatting droids. "Either way it makes no difference. We're still going to kill them all anyway," Katen said with a voice full of genuine confidence. Of course, SSA-719 and KJZ-8267 had the same high opinion of their army as Katen did, though their beliefs were more due to their personalities than their programming.

"We are commencing flanking maneuvers against the clone army," EEK-176 transmitted to Commander Zako. The brown and white command droid lead the side attack from a STAP-2. Zako's army was given a break as EEK-176's forces emerged from out of the nearby jungle and started to cut across the clone army's flank. EEK-176's reinforcements consisted primarily of STAPs, ASTs, GATs, beetle troopers, and various models of droid infantry. A swift force utilizing speed to throw off the clone army's ability to effectively counter the new threat.

Zako mounted an armored scout tank painted in the CIS blue and gray color scheme. Inverted imprints of the CIS emblem were on the front and left side of the repulsor craft. Armored scout tanks were equipped with a twin laser cannon on its left side and two blaster cannons at the bottom. The tanks had good armor and descent firepower but the pilot was exposed to enemy fire.

"Now's our chance to end this. All units charge!" Zako led a pack of ASTs in a direct assault on the enemy army. Following behind the swift repulsorcraft, the droid infantry charged en masse. The spider walkers kicked into overdrive to keep up with the rest of the charge.

The AST group kept loose formation, allowing individual tanks to dodge incoming enemy fire from the AT-TEs. Reaching the edge of the clone army, the ASTs split up, speeding in-between the large walkers, purposefully running down GAR infantry.

EEK-176's forces cut across the side, also focusing on the enemy infantry and avoiding potentially deadly confrontations with the larger Republic walkers. EEK-176 and his wingmen blasted away at the infantry assigned to protect the GAR artillery, allowing beetle troopers to move in and eat away at the large vehicles with their acid guns.

Thor and the other clones reached a shallow stream. The water ran red with the blood of his brothers. The weak water currents carried countless clone corpses downstream. There were so many bodies they often bumped into each other, causing a clunking sound.

Then the clones heard another clunking sound, but it wasn't the sound of drifting clone corpses but the footfalls of droids marching through the jungle. The clones moved into positions behind trees and waited for their enemies to come within sight.

The droids did not disappoint and were soon firing at the clone squad. Many droids fell quickly. The B1s did not survive long enough to consider taking cover behind trees and the B2s considered the tactic unnecessary since they were so heavily armored.

Very slowly, the clones began to take casualties, but not from the B-series battle droids. A spelunker probe droid, more commonly referred to as a chameleon droid, was winking in and out of existence around the battlefield. The droid would scuttle to a clone while cloaked, then open fire behind the trooper. Three clones were killed before Thor realized what was happening.

He readied his rocket launcher and ignored the other droids, waiting for the spelunker to show up again. Thor did not have to wait long. The droid reappeared behind a clone and Thor immediately fired his rocket launcher. The blue rocket slammed into the droid, but the clone was too close and caught in the blast as well.

The battle droids continued to advance on the clones, mercilessly killing the valiant fighters. A grapple droid was in the rear ranks, slowly making his way up to the front, a foreboding omen that guaranteed their death.

The grapple battle droid never got his chance as Thor soon found himself the last clone standing. He blasted a B1 and turned to see a B2 right in front of him. The super shot Thor in the chest with its tri-shot and the clone collapsed to the ground.

Thor felt his chest burning; he could smell his armor melting. His blurry vision faded into darkness. With their skirmish a success, the droids turned and continued on their journey towards their assigned waypoint.

The Mark IV recon droid explored the large Republic base built on the side of the mountain. Troop centers, an aircraft hanger, columns of unmanned AT-TEs. The Confederate droid explored uninterrupted until it literally ran into a Republic R-1 recon droid.

The two droids both backed up and examined the other. Each realized that the other was an unfriendly and started shooting. Blue lasers from the R-1 cut through the air toward the Mark IV, which shifted to the side and spitted violet lasers at the R-1.

The two recon droids ended up circling each other, neither able to land a decisive blow on the other. The floating fighters hovered into the ranks of empty AT-TEs. Some of their missed blasts ended up hitting the armored walkers, doing no damaged against the heavy armor.

There was a Kaminoan droid cleaning one of the AT-TEs and went to investigate the faint sounds of blaster fire. The uni-wheel worker droid inadvertently stumbled right into the recon droids' fight. The worker droid was right in the center of the encircling droids and was accidentally plastered in the head by the R-1. The worker droid became the Mark IV's makeshift shield. The Kaminoan droid fell to the floor and a purple laser whizzed past the space where it's head was a second ago. Unblocked by the worker droid's face, the violet blaster bolt smashed into the R-1 recon droid.

Victorious, the Mark IV continued its secret survey of the Republic base.

Katen's amphibious assault group finally came within range of the enemy base. The Republic was oblivious to their approaching doom until a clone on guard duty noticed the droids approaching.

Sirens blared throughout the base as clones rushed to their defensive combat positions. Squads of troopers rushed out onto the beach to set up EWHB-12 heavy repeating blasters and autoturrets. A fighter tank escorted by a pair of personal clone walkers also positioned themselves on the beach.

Dwarf spider droids, B1s and B2s began emerging from the water onto the beach, blasting away at the clone defenders. DSD-08 was the first spider droids to crawl out onto the beach, his entrance made more dramatic by the waves splashing forward and back. Using his cannons rapid-fire mode, DSD-08 quickly fired three shots and killed three clones. Seconds after the first infantry made their way out of the water that the tank droids and PACs reached the edge of the beach.

The clones put up a commendable defense, but were simply outnumbered and without the benefit of proper preparation. Two tank droids teamed up against the single IFT-X and tore it to pieces. One of the fighter tank's clone walker escorts was taken down by combined fire from dwarf spider droids.

The Trade Federation patrol boats, unable to traverse land, parked themselves at the water's edge and each attacked with their forward facing blaster cannon. From a patrol boat's hatch, SSA-719 shot at a gun emplacement with his rocket launcher.

SSA-719's explosive attack caught the attention of a blue marked clone lieutenant who aimed his own rocket launcher at SSA-719's patrol boat and began firing.

Katen's tank droid reached shore and rammed through a troop of clones. The large droid stopped to allow Katen and the other riders to get off. Katen saw two clone troopers dodge and survive the ram attack. She knocked the closer one upside the head with her staff and pulled out her pistol to shoot the other.

3B3-888 left the tank droid he was riding and lead other battle droids across the beach. The battle droid sergeant was armed with an RD-4 radiation launcher and lobbed grenades at individual clone troopers, causing them to be launched into the air when hit. 3B3-888 had to aim the shots at the feet of the clones in order to get the comical airborne effect. 3B3-888's group made their way through the clones to get at the last remaining Republic vehicle.

More clones started to pour out of the base with more droids continued to emerge from the water. The CIS vehicles were the deciding factor in the fight, as the last remaining clone personal walker was put down by combined STAP fire, depriving 3B3-888 of his intended target.

A fourth missile hit SSA-719's patrol boat and the vessel sank into the water. SSA-719 leaped from the wreckage to the water below. A final, underwater explosion from the ship propelled the maroon-marked droid through the waters. The destruction of the SSA-719's patrol boat caught the attention of KJZ-8267 who turned his STAP and gunned down the clone lieutenant responsible for the offense.

For a moment, it seemed the droid captain wouldn't make it. The old security battle droid's thoughts involuntarily turned to the second time he had 'died.' After his defeat by the two Jedi Knights on Naboo, he was put back together and tasked by OOM-9 to protect Viceroy Nute Gunray and Rune Haako. While OOM-9 was leading the droid army at the Battle of Grassy Plains, SSA-719 was guarding his masters in the Theed Royal Palace throne room when he was taken out by a blaster bolt to the head. SSA-719's defeat lead to the capture of Gunray and Haako at the hands of Queen Amidala herself.

All of the battle droids Zako saved from Raxus Prime were exceptionally successful during the Naboo campaign, with the exception of SSA-719. He had been destroyed twice and failed twice. A long time ago, SSA-719 had asked Zako why he chose to specifically revive him.

Zako had answered that experience is what was important, not victory. Zako had explained to SSA-719, and the other droids, that consecutive successful victories were the worst thing that could happen to an army. Military forces that experienced constant success would grow complacent and grow to rely on the same strategies and tactics. When a new or difficult situation would arise, a smug army would not be able to adapt and survive to different battle requirements.

SSA-719 was never clear on why he was picked since there were so many battle droid failures Zako had to choose from. Perhaps it was SSA-719's close experience of often working directly under OOM-9 or maybe it was just luck. Either way, SSA-719 didn't know, but he wasn't about to let it all end for nothing.

Underwater, SSA-719 got to his feet and started marching forward. He emerged out onto the sandy beach with the other droid infantry and targeted another enemy repeater with his rocket launcher.

More clones fell to battle droids' blaster rifles or were crushed under the treads of the tank droids. The marching droids left hundreds of footprints embedded in the sand as they kept moving ever forward. Behind most of the droid infantry, SSA-719 increased his movement speed to a dash in order to reach the fighting in the front.

Out of the corner of his vision, SSA-719 saw another rocket launcher wielding clone. He swiftly took aim and fired, only to be surprised to see a blue missile whiz past his head, barely missing him. However, the security droid's rocket did not miss and the various limbs of what used to be a clone were strewn in different directions.

For all the walkers the Republic threw at OOM-9, there was only one AT-TE included in the attacks. The walker had difficulty moving through the trees and its weapons were more ineffective in the dense jungle. All the GAR's squat walkers did poorly—the AT-TE, the AT-OTs, and clone scout walkers. The anti-infantry personal walkers and AT-RTs performed much better in maneuvering through the forested environment.

It did not help the Republic when their spy satellite was hacked and turned against them, severely crippling their ability to coordinate their ground troops in the confusing mazes of jungle.

The last remnants of the clone army were being swept away by EEK-176 and Zako's combined forces. The artillery was defenseless against the mounted beetle troopers and the heavy homing spider droid turned the tide against the Republic walkers. So surprisingly, the infantry were the last to be wiped out.

With the clone army exterminated EEK-176 transmitted the good news to OOM-9. "General OOM-9, I've successfully assisted Commander Zako in destroying the clone army, what are your orders?"

"You and Zako are to take your armies and rejoin me," OOM-9 transmitted back.

"Roger roger."

OOM-9 surveyed the area with his electrobinoculars. His forces had fought their way through the jungle and had finally reached their destination. The base was built around a mountain. The jungle had been cleared away so that any attackers couldn't use the dense foliage as cover for an advance. Large turrets and heavy vehicles stood guard, ready to engage at a moments notice. The base seemed to be on high alert, but the GAR seemed content to stay put and wait for the CIS to come to them.

Two super battle droids approached OOM-9 with a single clone trooper prisoner. "General, we've captured this clone sneaking around our forces." OOM-9 didn't turn around to address them and instead continued studying the base.

As if he wasn't paying attention OOM-9 spoke. "What do we have here? A spy, or, more likely a coward who retreated from one of the previous skirmishes."

"Your humor emitter requires an upgrade, because that wasn't funny. And if you dare think that I'll give you any information on how to get into the base your logic processors need a tune up too," the clone snarled.

Without turning around, OOM-9 pointed his gun backward and shot the clone in the chest with the shotgun function. "Stupid clone overestimated his worth," OOM-9 said. "We do not need his codes or knowledge for such a simple task."

"Yes sir," one of the supers responded in a deep voice.

A green-camouflaged command droid approached OOM-9. "General, our troops are in position to begin the attack."

"No, we shall hold here and wait for Commander EEK-176 and Zako to arrive. The Republic isn't going anywhere."

Soon enough, the beach was cleared of any living clones but the droids were halted in their march into the base. The clones had the common sense to lock the doors behind them when they had attempted to repel the attackers. Katen called up some pilot droids wielding fusioncutters to slice the doors open.

The droids soon forced the doors open. Two B2 battle droids went in first, followed by 3B3-888. The battle droids started to pour into the base with gusto, spurred on by the fact that they were another step closer to victory.

"They've sent in the supers!" 3B3-888 heard a clone guard cry before being blasted. In the narrow hallway, CIS droids were on one end and clone troopers on the other. There was no cover or room to maneuver. 3B3-888 activated one of his V-1 thermal detonators and threw it over the B2s in front of him. The explosion incinerated the core of the clone throng.

The survivors continued to assail the droids and the front super battle droids were destroyed. Now the first in line, 3B3-888 fired his radiation launcher and plastered the clone opposing him. The B1 rushed forward and smashed the next clone with the butt of his launcher. Once on the ground, 3B3-888 crushed the clone's neck with his foot.

The droids went to turn through a corner but were halted by clone troopers continually throwing thermal detonators around that corner. When the detonators stopped coming, the droids assumed the clones had run out of the annoying explosives. The battle droids turned the corner and charged.

EEK-176 and Zako's army regrouped with OOM-9's army with little incident. "The jungle is relatively clone free now," EEK-176 stated as he approached OOM-9.

"Due to the fact that half of the jungle has been burned down," Zako coughed. Unlike the droids, the human officer was not immune to the toxic smoke that had engulfed a large portion of the area.

"What is the plan of attack?" EEK-176 asked.

OOM-9's head shifted forward slightly, but the command droid did not answer. Five silent seconds passed before OOM-9 spoke. "One of our recon droids has infiltrated the base and has marked the area for orbital bombardment. The attack will begin momentarily; all we need do is keep them from escaping. Our combined forces will completely encircle the base so that no one will escape alive."

Zako wondered if spreading their army around the whole base would leave any one area thin of droids and give the Republic the opportunity to blow a hole through any point in the barricade, but decided not to question OOM-9's decision.

The droid army was already covering the base in a semi-circle. It did not take long to move some troops around and complete the trap. All the while the Republic continued to sit in their base and wait for the CIS to come to them. EEK-176 and Zako left OOM-9 to take positions at equal intervals in the circle so that the leaders could maximize their effectiveness.

"They are overconfident in the effectiveness of their turrets," OOM-9 said to a nearby thermal detonator battle droid.

"They'll soon be offline and unable to use them," the droid grenadier answered.

DSD-08 marched through the corridors of the Republic base. The large droid was barely able to fit in the confined space. But there was also little room for his targets to move and the spider droid had an easy time blasting away at his enemies.

KJZ-8267 was directly behind DSD-08, occasionally throwing thermal detonators over the spider droid's dome head when they deemed their opponents dangerous enough.

Outside the base, the tanks droids and STAPs had destroyed all defensive turrets and kept anyone from evacuating the base.

Katen and SSA-719 had led a strike force to invade to troop barracks. They were met with a much weaker resistance than they expected. "We must have killed more on the beach than we thought," Katen said after she shot the final clone in the head.

"Right right," SSA-719 agreed, remembering his close call with destruction.

"Are you okay?" Katen checked the droid out.

"I am functioning normally."

"We'll have Karl take a look at you later just to be sure."

"3B3-888 reports that he is beginning his attack on the command center," SSA-719 informed Katen after hearing the sergeant's transmission.

"We better hurry and back him up."

3B3-888 led the battle droids straight into the command center. A clone guard raised his DC-15S blaster but a Republic officer grabbed the barrel and pointed it towards the ground.

A Rodian officer, who 3B3-888 assumed was the one in charge, approached him. "You take prisoners, yes?"

The Rodian spoke Basic in a heavy accent but 3B3-888 was able to understand him. "Yes," the droid replied, choosing not to answer with 'affirmative,' in case the Rodian couldn't understand the longer word.

The recon droid sent the signal to begin the orbital bombardment. The lasers rained down from the heavens upon the Republic base. Some of the blasts struck the mountain near the base. The high-intensity blasts provoked the mountain to erupt, spewing molten lava into the air. The clones and the droids could both feel the ground start to shake and quake.

The mountain was actually an inactive volcano that had been jolted from its slumber. The lava flowed fast and free, enveloping much of the Republic base within a few short moments. OOM-9 called a cease-fire to the 8th Fleet, not wanted to invoke further wrath from the geyser.

"What the…" Zako was astonished at what he saw through his electrobinoculars.

From another position in the attack circle, EEK-176 commented about the event to a super battle droid. "What fools. They built their base at the foot of a volcano?"

From inside the Republic command center, non-clone officers started to panic and abandon their posts. "What have they done?" "Who built this base on a volcano?" Amidst the confusion, someone had the decency to press the alarm button and signal all base personnel to evacuate.

Clones started to run, but with the surrounding area having been cleared of trees, they were susceptible targets for the droids hiding amongst the trees. AT-RTs were quick to escape the lava flow, only to be gunned down by the droid army. The speeder bikes were slightly more fortunate as some managed to escape into the jungle's wilderness.

An AT-TE plodded away toward the droids, but was too slow and was engulfed in the lava. The six-legged walker kept going even as it started to sink. The gunners fired in an attempt to take some droids with them.

The already toxic air became blacker and un-breathable as the volcano spewed its poisons into the atmosphere. The lava started to get closer to the droid army. Zako transmitted his concerns to OOM-9. "General, should we pull back? The lava's getting dangerously close."

"No Commander, I don't want any clones to escape. Kill them all."

"Yes sir."

After another minute of killing helpless Republic personnel OOM-9 realized that the lava was getting too close and transmitted instructions to his army. "All units pull back, the area has become too dangerous."

Some of the CIS soldiers and vehicles fired at the clones while moving backwards while others turned and ran. There were few living clones left and soon the droid army was in full retreat. Zako escaped on his AST, OOM-9 on his advanced beetle, and EEK-176 fled on foot.

The Republic command staff was being held hostage in their own command center. 3B3-888 was lording his radiation launcher at the prisoners while Major Katen contacted General OOM-9 for further instructions.

SSA-719 held the imagecaster at Katen's eyelevel. A blue image of the droid general appeared.

"General, we've taken the Republic base and captured its command staff."

"Good work, Major. Call in reinforcements to occupy the base. You and the others are to advance to the cities."

A bold clone prisoner decided to test Katen's patience. "I never thought I'd see the day when a human would be taking orders from a droid. Do you answer with 'roger roger?'"

Katen glared at the clone, picked up her electrostaff and shoved it into the clone's foot. The clone howled in pain. Katen pulled out her pistol and shot him in the face. "Any of you have anything else to say?" The room was silent. "I thought so."

Katen noticed a human Republic officer staring at her. "You giving me the eye boy? Cause I'll rip it out." The Republic officer turned his eyes to the floor. Major Katen turned back to the hologram of OOM-9. "Sorry for the interruption General."

"Quite alright."

With the Republic's two major bases taken out of action, Wor Tandell's local population began to take a more active interest in picking sides. The planet's security chief made contact with the droid army and was taken to see OOM-9.

"I am willing to support the Separatist cause under one condition," the human security chief said.

"And what would that be?" OOM-9 asked.

"A significant portion my security forces, backed by several mayors from various cities, have sided with the Republic and are harboring remnants of the clone occupational forces. I request that my loyal security personnel be kept out of the fighting. After all, that is why battle droids are here. To do battle, no?"

"Your request is reasonable, but I trust you'll be able to handle the civilian population? You would know how to best handle them and I don't want the civilians feeling like they traded one occupying force for another."

"You're not staying?"

"We will eliminate the clone threat. But there are other Separatist worlds under attack that need protection. Once my forces have left a new group will come in to set up a permanent garrison. You will not be abandoned."

"If I could ask one more favor…"

"What else do you request of me?" OOM-9 masked his irritation.

"Could you not take prisoners when fighting my rogue security forces? A trial would look bad and would stir up resentment of officers' friends and family. It would be easier if they all just died in battle. I have enough problems to attend to without worrying about trials that might mix public opinion."

"Their total extermination will not be difficult, if you've given me all accurate information on your armament. All I request is that some of your troopers perform support roles. Nothing much, just a show for the press to prove the planet sides with the Confederacy."

"Yes, that is possible."

"Then we are in agreement then. I must be going; I have clones to kill." OOM-9 dismissed the security chief with the wave of his hand and two super battle droids escorted the human out.

"These city campaigns should operate swiftly and smoothly. There are no Republic military bases left and the clone ranks should be thin," OOM-9 commented to the holographic images of Katen and Zako. "By dividing our forces and engaging all rebellious cities simultaneously we will crush all resistance in one fell swoop and end this pointless conflict."

On the bridge of the droid control ship Magna Musai, Dr. Quartz approached OOM-8. "No one told me we had torture facilities aboard the Magna Musai." The Skakoan had been going through the ship's directory after assisting RKT-421 in hacking the Republic spy satellite. The prospect of torture intrigued the doctor, and he thought the practice might give him inspiration on how to build new and better weapons.

"You were busy. Commander EEK-176 was in charge of the assignment. He was able to break the clones and his methods can now be used across the galaxy to extract information from captured clone troopers."

"The Republic is slow, but eventually they'll catch on and teach their clones techniques to combat our interrogation methods. We have to continually update our methods to keep them guessing," Dr. Quartz explained.

"You wish to be assigned to this task?" OOM-8 considered that the Skakoan just wanted to torture some clones for fun.

Quartz's pressure suit vocalizer malfunctioned, causing a weird noise instead of coherent words. The doctor had to manually adjust and correct the problem using a dial on the suit. "Yes, I have some excellent ideas that would prove most interesting."

"Very well, I'm sure General OOM-9 wouldn't object as long as you don't neglect your other duties."

"Sir, we're picking up three ships entering the system," a droid interrupted the conversation.

"Are they ours?" OOM-8 asked the pilot droid.

"No sir. They appear to be Republic ships; they're small but heading right towards us. Shall we activate our shields?"

"They're too small to be an attack force. What are they up to?" OOM-8 asked himself.

The Sprint-class rescue craft cleared the Separatist blockade and headed straight for the planet. Three droid starfighters that were on patrol managed to follow the Republic ships.

"They've escaped sir."

"Even better, they'll lead our starfighters to their destination," OOM-8 proclaimed. The command droid then turned and waved a security battle droid over. "Escort Dr. Quartz to the torture rooms."

"Roger roger."

The planet's security forces primary vehicles were green colored Gian speeders. The local speeders were easily dwarfed by the larger CIS armor. Homing spider droids and AATs could defeat them in a single hit. Armored tank droids, STAPs, and ASTs could also easily dispatch the exposed crew, since the Gian utilized an open design.

Even with the clones leading Wor Tandell's rebellious security forces, they still were abysmal fighters. EEK-176 was piloting a beige GAT and, with the help of his AST wingmen, was able to defeat a trio of Gian speeders with ease. "The Naboo security forces were more of a challenge than these idiots," the commander said over the comm for all to hear. As if to prove the commander's point, a speeding 74-Z bike smashed into the side of an MTT.

A LAAT/i gunship appeared on the scene and hovering in the air, providing support fire for the Republic ground troops. Battle droids scrambled for cover. One of them ended up hiding behind a food kiosk. "Where's our anti-air?" EEK-176 said over the comm.

"Reporting," a baron battle droid named E2BA-89 said. E2BA-89 led a squad of five other baron battle droids to their airborne target.

"Easy kill," E2BA-89 stated as the six baron battle droids fired their twin missile launchers and brought the gunship crashing to the ground. The droids' success caught the attention of a Gain speeder, but the baron battle droids simply fired their rockets again and destroyed the ground speeder.

A trio of droid grenadiers bombarded a clone scout walker that was rushing to take the destroyed Gian speeder's place.

Despite the intense urban street fighting there were almost no civilian casualties, as the locals had the common sense to steer clear of the battles.

The Sprint rescue craft had led the droid starfighters straight to a clone hospital. The building was gray colored with a few red markings, the trademark Republic color. It was actually two three floor tall buildings connected by a two floor tall intersection in the middle. On the roofs were air pads large enough for LAAT gunships to land.

The thirty-meter long medical frigates landed near the hospital. The three Vulture droids landed in walking mode, transmitted their location back to the control ships in orbit, and began to attack the transports.

Each of the three droid starfighters sported a different color scheme. One of the fighters was the traditional Trade Federation brown. Another was painted in the gray and blue CIS color scheme. The third was painted blue with black horizontal stripes over it with green eyes instead of the common red.

The med runner's shields protected them from the droid starfighters' attacks. However, the Sprint-class rescue craft lacked offensive weaponry and could not return fire. The droids' concentrated attacks stripped the shields of one med runner and the transport was soon destroyed.

A squad of healthy clone troopers left the hospital to repel the droid attackers. Their DC-15A blaster rifles were little cause for concern but the Vultures turned their attention to the clones anyway.

While the fighters and troopers exchanged fire with one another, a clone lieutenant wielding a PLX rocket launcher exited the hospital. A single, well place rocket destroyed the brown droid starfighter. The lieutenant prepared the launcher for the next shot, fired again, and took out the blue and gray Vulture.

Only green eyes remained. The droid decided flight over fight, converted back to flight mode, and retreated.

The hospital was on the outskirts of a city where Major Katen, SSA-719, KJZ-8267, and 3B3-888 were fighting. Still, commanding the 8th Fleet from orbit, OOM-8 informed the CIS troops of the clone hospital and sent them to take it before the med runners evacuated the injured clone troopers.

The CIS attack group was able to quickly make its way to the hospital's location. With a few volleys of missiles, a hailfire droid destroyed the two remaining parked med runners. STAPs and ASTs secured the perimeter while MTTs and MUTs closed in on the target building. Clone troopers that went outside to investigate were soon forced back where they came from.

Clones armed with DC-15x sniper rifles harassed the droid infantry as they disembarked from the CIS transports. Plasma battle droids and dwarf spider droids that were released by a MUT provided cover fire for the other troops. The green plasma blasts easily shattered the hospital windows and kept the enemy snipers at bay.

One plasma battle droid launched a pair of plasma grenades up through a window. A second later the room exploded, though the droids couldn't tell if anyone had been killed in the blast.

"Why don't we blow the place to hell with the bio cannons?" Katen asked.

KJZ-8267 answered: "OOM-8 said that Dr. Quartz has taken up running the torture chambers and wants fresh subjects to test on. This hospital is sure to have numerous injured clones we could easily capture."

"Dr. Quartz is running the torture chambers…." Katen trialed off. The Skakoan scientist had seemed a little off to her, but then again she wasn't exactly a well-adjusted person herself.

Katen and 3B3-888 led an attack group straight through the hospital's front doors—where four waiting clones immediately greeted them. Katen shot two of the clones before ducking behind a potted plant. 3B3-888 killed the third and a super battle droid shot the fourth.

After the initial fight in the reception area, more battle droids poured into the building. A human receptionist tried to hide, but gave away her position with her constant sobbing.

"Sergeant 3B3-888 and I will take the left building, SSA-719 and KJZ-8267, you two lead the attack on the right." Katen's plan was to simultaneously take both sides of the hospital. "And someone shut that crybaby up!" The CIS officer referred to the weeping receptionist.

A security battle droid went over to the receptionist. "I advise you turn off your tear ducts and mute your mouth before you irritate the Major further."

SSA-719 and KJZ-8267 took their share of the troops and disappeared through the door leading to the right half of the hospital.

The human officer and B1 sergeant gathered their soldiers and went through a pair of double doors connecting to the left half. Only a few security battle droids were left to guard the reception area.

A flame battle droid took point, going down the hallway, followed by a pair of B2s. The trailing B1s split up and searched the rooms on the first floor. No one was finding any targets.

"This room is clear," 3B3-888 heard a B1 report.

"They may have evacuated everyone off the first floor," 3B3-888 suggested to Katen.

"They can only go so far up before they're trapped," Katen replied as she knocked a desk on its side to see if anyone was hiding behind it.

"All rooms are secure," a B2 reported.

"Well, lets move up to the second floor shall we?" Katen said in a merry tone, gleefully of the carnage that was to come.

This time, the two B2 battle droids took point as the group move up the staircase. A clone was waiting in front of the door leading to the second level. The soldier got off three shots that splattered upon one of the supers before his was killed by their tri-shots. Using their powerful arms, the supers knocked the flimsy door down rather than just open it.

They were answered with a maelstrom of blue laser bolts that cut the two silver droids down. The orange marked flame droid was next and let loose a salvo of fireballs in the direction of the attack. The blue bolts stopped coming, replaced by the screams of clone troopers melting in their own armor. The other CIS droids came up, following behind the flame battle droid.

"This place smells like death," Katen commented.

"Well, we are in a hospital," 3B3-888 said.

"So this is where organics go to die?" SSA-719 observed.

"They're supposed to be repaired here," KJZ-8267 answered.

"Organics die in hospitals more than anywhere else don't they?"

"Hospitals may have a higher percentage rate than other structures, but does it really matter in the end? Organics seem happy to die anywhere."

"I don't know if they're happy about dying. The semblance of joy might be their brains malfunctioning knowing they're about to be terminated."

"I thought organics being happy was a malfunction," KJZ-8267 said.

"You're thinking of Commander Zako and Major Katen, they aren't exactly typical examples of how organics are supposed to behave. They may not be happy but most organics seem to be."

"That or the average organic is just stupid," KJZ-8267 theorized.

"Yes that seems probable," SSA-719 agreed.

KJZ-8267 and SSA-719 were having a much easier time. Their team had a grapple battle droid with them that did most of the fighting. There were few clones to fight, even as they cleared the second floor. They did find an unusual amount of organic medical personnel. The medical droids were outnumbered by the organics three to one. KJZ-8267 guessed that this only meant that there would be more victims for the torture chambers.

"Why would the doctor torture medical personnel? I doubt they have valuable information," SSA-719 said.

"Why wouldn't he? They work for the Republic and that's reason enough. They'll probably be trial subjects and whatever works Quartz will use on the clones and officers," KJZ-8267 explained.

The B1 battle droids were occupied rounding up the medical personnel one the second floor, so KJZ-8267 and SSA-719 took the grapple droid and went up to the third level without the others.

The droids' prediction of light enemy resistance proved to be accurate as they only encountered nine healthy clone troopers—four of which were immediately taken out when the grapple droid chucked a table at them.

SSA-719 killed another two with a thermal detonator and KJZ-8267 shot two. The grapple droid closed in and grabbed the remaining clone and broke his arm, but didn't kill him, instead leaving him to be taken prisoner with the other incapacitated clones and medical personnel.

On the other side of the hospital, the battle droids and clone troopers were blasting away at each other on the third floor. Medical personnel panicked and ran around like demented womp rats, often getting in the line of fire. While the clones watched their targets, the droids continued to fire with wild abandon.

"The Senate's going to wish they negotiated a warranty once they see how many of their clones fall to us!" Katen said as she jabbed a clone trooper in the throat with her electrostaff. After she finished she waved over a B1, "you, sneak up to the roof and kill anyone who tries to escape."

"Roger roger."

Three clones held out behind a wall. "Sir, I called in for evac, they'll be here in three minutes."

"That's fast."

"The gunships were already deployed to evacuate our forces within the city."

A V-1 thermal detonator rolled toward the clones, the explosion catching one of them. The remaining two made a mad dash for the stairwell leading up to the roof.

The two clone troopers made it to the landing platform on the hospital rooftop. All they had to do now was wait for the gunship to arrive… and they could see it off in the distance.

"We made it!" The very moment the clone completed his declarative statement a hidden droid pointed his radiation launcher and fired. The green grenade landed in-between the two clones, propelling them in opposite directions. One was launched so far he was knocked clear off the roof and fell down to his doom.

The LAAT/i gunship arriving to the late clones' aid was shot down by three Vulture droids and a Scarab starfighter.

OOM-9's plan of attacking all rebellious cities at the same time proved to be effective and within two days the droid armies were packing up and being re-loaded back to the orbiting 8th Fleet.

Back on board the bridge of the colossal Magna Musai, OOM-9 received a transmission from Captain Mar Tuuk. Dr. Quartz walked onto the bridge, summoned by OOM-9, the Skakoan doctor waited his turn while OOM-9 conversed with the hologram. Katen, OOM-8 and Zako were already occupied with various duties on the bridge, eliminating any chance of Quartz passing the time with small talk. Not that Dr. Quartz was all that interested in small talk, he just hated doing nothing while waiting on someone else. Dr. Quartz was a genius droid and weapons designer after all, in his opinion, people should be waiting on him, not the other way around.

"I have put in a request to be given time to infiltrate Kalaan, but it appears that I have been denied," OOM-9 said. The droid general's request had yet to be officially answered, but OOM-9 thought it was safe to assume that Tuuk's transmission meant the 8th Fleet's military forces were going to be assigned a new mission that would take priority over Kalaan. "I take it a more urgent matter requires my support?"

"Yes, General Durd requests your assistance on the planet Chorax. Your file indicates you've fought pirates on the planet before. General Durd thinks your experience with the planet would be of great benefit as he is currently faced with a pirate insurrection and Republic invaders."

"We shall report to Chorax as soon as my troops have been loaded," OOM-9 said, knowing he was pushing back the attack on Kalaan. But the droid general was more than happy to aid his allies.

A robed Jedi walked right past the droid guards onto the bridge. The Jedi lowered his hood and OOM-9 heard the telltale snap-hiss of a lightsaber being activated.

"How dare you raise that lightsaber against us," Quartz said in a snarky voice.

"How did you get in here?" OOM-9 asked the Jedi. OOM-9's voice was calm, but the truth was, he was extremely frustrated that a Jedi had gotten all the way to the command bridge without even a warning.

"I hitched a ride in one of your landing craft, I hope you don't mind having to entertain a guest. Hmm, from the way you conquered Wor Tandell I would have thought Sev'rance Tann had been resurrected."

"Unfortunately for you, I am much more skilled and I'm not going anywhere," OOM-9 boasted to the Jedi in a pathetic attempt to lower the Jedi's morale. OOM-9 guessed that this was the Master of the Jedi who had suffocated on fumes in the jungle. He remembered reading the report and doubting that an experienced Jedi would die from such a cause.

"You orchestrated this battle?" the Jedi asked.

"It was more of a team effort, really," OOM-9 spoke the truth.

OOM-8 pressed a button under a control panel and a hidden compartment supplied him with a SE-14 blaster pistol.

"I think its time you were taken offline, droid." The Jedi moved closer to OOM-9, ready to block any incoming blaster fire from any of the security battle droids that dotted the scene of the bridge.

"Big mistake you old wizard," Katen remarked as she charged the Jedi. Her electrostaff clashed with his lightsaber. Zako and the security droids formed a semi-circle around the two. Katen and the Jedi locked weapons, and Ashley gave him a shove, propelling him back. Quartz saw the opening and fired his wrist rocket, only to miss his target by mere centimeters.

Zako activated his ZK-II war-axe and waited for an opportunity to strike. A ZK-II war-axe was a jet-black single-handed axe that had a violet tipped lightsaber edge that could be turned off and on. When the opportunity came, Zako attacked and was easily parried and repulsed. In response, Zako and a security droid both fired at the Jedi, who reflected back both blaster bolts. One of the blasts whizzed past the unarmed OOM-9, who had grown irritated of the fight taking place on the bridge. OOM-8 unleashed a blaster bolt, but it too, was also easily reflected.

"Give me that," the droid general took Zako's axe and threw it at the Jedi. The axe caught the Jedi in the face, and pinned him against the wall. For a second the Jedi didn't move, stuck up against the wall, then his head fell in two and his dead body slumped to the floor, leaving a trail of blood from where the axe was still imbedded in the wall.

"Perform a sweep of the ship. Make sure no other hostiles are aboard. And I want guards posted at all power sources vulnerable to tampering." Later, they were going to have to perform a complete overhaul of fleet security routines and procedures. This couldn't be allowed to happen again.

Thor opened his eyes to be met with the face of an IM-6 medical droid. The clone trooper lay on the jungle floor unsure how long he had been unconsciousness. He honesty thought he was dead, but the IM-6 changed that.

"Medic reporting," the hovering robot said in a feminine voice.

"Yes I can see that." The clone looked around for his brothers, but none of the others looked like they survived the ordeal.

Author's Note: The heavy homing spider droid first appeared in the videogame Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds.

The Republic's R-1 recon droid first appeared in the videogame Star Wars: Battlefront.

The Trade Federation patrol boat first appeared in the videogame Star Wars: Starfighter.

The green-eyed Vulture droid with black horizontal stripes over a blue body is a color scheme from one of Hasbro's Titanium Series Vulture Droids.