Chapter 28: Battle of Zesrop
An explosion took the lives of three clone troopers. A minor setback for the clones as they still had nine left alive fighting.
3B3-888 ducked back to cover. He only had one thermal detonator left, and then he would be down to just his E-5 blaster rifle. It was a dependable weapon, but it couldn't work miracles. There was little chance the B1 battle droid could blast all the clones before being shot up himself. The odds were against 3B3-888 as his squad mates were laying in pieces around him.
The clones' armor was not the usual blinding white; they were sullied by dust and blaster marks obtained from prolonged battle. Just from the look of them 3B3-888 could tell that these particular clones were no pushovers. The clones took cover wherever they could find it: crashed speeders, empty supply crates, or random debris.
A single shot rang out and took off a clone's head just as the clone had peeked out of cover. 3B3-888 had not pulled the trigger. The shot had come from behind and above him. There was no need to turn and look behind him, 3B3-888 knew the shot had come from an E-5s sniper rifle, and a clone had been killed. There could only be allies behind him.
"Get behind cover! Watch your heads!" the clone sergeant barked orders at his surviving troops. A second sniper shot soared through the air and nailed the clone sergeant in the helmet before he could follow his own advice.
3B3-888 tossed his last thermal detonator, destroying part of a wall that a clone was hiding behind. The expected sniper shot hit the clone before he could change to a new location.
3B3-888 was suddenly reconnected back to the CCCs in orbit. He suddenly was aware of where and who his allies in the area were.
"EEK-176 finally took care of the last communications jammer," 3B3-888 told KJZ-8267.
"The clones must have put up one hell of a fight. EEK-176 doesn't usually take that long to complete his objectives."
A trio of droidekas rolled past 3B3-888 straight towards the area of rubble where the clones were hiding. The Jango copies were quick to recognize and react to the new threat and two of the destroyer droids were blasted to pieces before they were able to deploy into attack mode. However, the third survived. With shields encasing the droid, the clones didn't stand a chance. A few tried to fight the droideka in vain. Those that fled were gunned down by KJZ-8267's sniper rifle.
"You are rather skilled with that sniper rifle. Perhaps you have found your calling?" 3B3-888 turned back and looked up at the pilot battle droid. KJZ-8267 had perched himself on the second floor of a half destroyed building.
"No, I still prefer an armored scout tank. I can get more kills faster with the advantage of being able to travel swiftly about the battlefield." KJZ-8267 had long ago evolved beyond his programming of a pilot battle droid, but he still preferred vehicles to infantry combat.
With a strong connection to the network, the CCC told the droids where the nearest battle was taking place. 3B3-888 and KJZ-8267 rushed to help their comrades.
The battle droids and clone troopers had been fighting in the suburbs surround the city of Zera. 3B3-888 and KJZ-8267's destination was a scorched cul-de-sac where clones and droids were killing each other with near-impeccable precision.
But none of the clones' accuracy or military training could save them from the death that was Veronica Vex. The human female moved with inhuman speed. She could change location faster than the clones could point their blasters at her. Despite having an E-5 blaster rifle on her, she preferred to close in and kill her prey with a red-bladed ZK-II war-axe.
Combat was quick and very brutal. Veronica Vex was responsible for most of the brutality. The blood on the battlefield matched her short, spiky, red hair. The female officer wore a KSV-1 combat suit, the same model worn by Ashley Katen in combat. Though Vex chose to forgo wearing a helmet entirely. While Vex wore the standard black body glove, her armor was much more colorful than Katen's uniform blue. Vex's boots were gray, and her chest piece was purple. Her left wrist guard was black while the right was orange. A yellow belt was wrapped around her waist.
After another kill Vex found herself out in the open with no nearby clones or droids to run to. The clones finally had their chance to gun her down without fear of hitting their allies. Vex saw it coming, four clones raised their DC-15A blaster rifles, and then blew up into hundreds of tiny pieces.
A rocket from an E-60R launcher had annihilated her would-be murderers. Vex turned to acknowledge her rescuer. "I love a man who knows how to handle his rocket launcher."
"I am not a man. I am a security battle droid with masculine programming," SSA-719 corrected. SSA-719 normally would not mind being called a man, nor would he usually bother to correct the individual, but Vex's statement had a sexual tone. SSA-719 had been teased before, by Ashley Katen, but SSA-719 knew Katen was playfully joking. Veronica Vex was someone new, and SSA-719 couldn't understand whether she was joking or serious.
"I know all security battle droids have masculine programming. You don't have to be so specific."
"With you, I apparently do."
It looked like the skirmish had been won. Only a handful of clone troopers remained, and the battle droids were closing in on their positions. A B2 super battle droid got close enough where he was able to grab a clone trooper by the throat.
Before the B2 could strangle the clone to death, his arm was suddenly severed and the clone fell to the ground, grasping for breath. A second slice cut the super battle droid up the middle.
"Jedi!" a B1 battle droid called out before being decapitated by a blue lightsaber.
"Where's a Jedi?" Vex's attention was previously on one of the surviving clone troopers.
"There, the one with the lightsaber," SSA-719 aimed his rocket launcher and fired.
"Of course a lightsaber, what else would he have?" Vex snipped at the security battle droid.
The Jedi destroyed several B1s and B2s and even a chameleon droid that thought it was being sneaky before Vex was able to catch him and pit her axe against his saber.
Unable to risk blowing up Vex along with the Jedi, SSA-719 turned his attention back to the few remaining clone troopers, who were making quiet a nuisance of themselves since the Jedi came to rescue them.
With the aide of the Jedi, the fight had become a match. Until KJZ-8267, 3B3-888, and a droideka showed up to turn the tide back in the Separatists' favor. They were not the only reinforcements the Confederates received however. A dark blue and gray armored assault tank slowly moved into the cul-de-sac, followed by and army of dwarf spider droids and crab droids.
The last of the clones had finally fallen, leaving the Jedi to deal with the Separatists on his own. As Vex and the Force-user continued to fight, the droids encircled the pair. Finally the Jedi had enough and used the Force to push Vex away.
The human Jedi stood with his saber at the ready, observing the various kinds of battle droids and the tank that had him surrounded. The spider, crab, and B2 battle droids were nearly motionless, only the B1s were jittery. Vex was about to charge in at the Jedi again, but was held back by SSA-719. "Don't get me wrong Red, I like being handled by you. But right now let me go! I have a Jedi to kill!"
The top hatch of the tank opened up, revealing a human CIS officer.
"That's quite enough Lieutenant Vex," Zako called out to the still-struggling woman.
"But, but, I wanna kill the Jedi!"
"You will have to wait." Commander Karl Zako turned to the Jedi. "Deactivate your lightsaber and surrender or I will let her kill you."
"I surrender," the Jedi switched off his deadly weapon. "I wish to discuss the terms of my army's surrender."
3B3-888 came up and snatched the lightsaber out of the Jedi's hand.
"I am General Penn Jakeson of the Grand Army of the Republic, at your service," the Jedi gave a courteous bow. "And you are?"
"I am Commander Karl Zako of the Separatist Droid Army. And I am not at your service." Zako exited from the tank and then paused, waiting. Penn Jakeson wasn't sure what he was waiting for.
KJZ-8267 came up to Zako. "General OOM-9 has approved your heading the negotiations on our army's behalf."
"You take orders from a battle droid?" Penn asked.
"Yes, I do. And it is a lot safer than taking orders from a Jedi General. You Jedi know nothing of how to conduct a proper war." Zako turned to 3B3-888. "Get that lightsaber out of here," he pointed.
"A wise move," Jakeson commented. With the lightsaber removed from the area completely, Jakeson couldn't snap it back up with the Force at some point if the surrender talks sent sour. "You are an intelligent one, aren't you?"
"If I wasn't intelligent I'd probably be an officer in the Army of the Republic," Zako swiftly and sharply responded.
B2 battle droids brought over a table and two chairs from out of a nearby wrecked house. The Jedi and the Separatist officer sat at opposite sides of the table. The surrounding droids kept their weapons trained on the Jedi.
Two B1 battle droids came up and stood at attention at either side of Commander Zako. These two particular B1s were painted entirely in a black and gray camouflage pattern. Though rare for most of the B1 battle droids in the Separatist Army, it was a common paint scheme applied to some of the B1 battle droids that guarded Zako's homeworld of Zakkudos; to better help them blend into the alternating black and gray soil that covered the planet. OOM-9 received a great deal of his battle droids from Zakkudos and his troops were occasionally littered with the black and gray camouflage B1s. They were usually kept in reserve but OOM-9 had deployed his army to its fullest extent on Zesrop and thus they were now a noticeable presence on the battlefield.
"We have numerous outstanding issues that need to be resolved before I order a surrender. This may take a while. You wouldn't have anything to drink, would you?"
Karl Zako started grinding his crooked teeth, annoyed by the Jedi's calm and smugness. Commander Zako turned to KJZ-8267. "Could you please find us something to drink?"
"Roger roger."
"And take Vex with you." Zako didn't want Vex taking a shot at the Jedi while they were engaged in negotiations for surrender.
Veronica Vex did as she was told, but not without a lot of semi-audible grumbling.
The suburbs surrounded the city of Zera like a moat. EEK-176 was on the opposite side from where Commander Zako and the others were. After completing his mission to destroy the Republic's communications jammer, the battle droid officer had wanted to continue his push into the city. But fierce clone opposition and local civilian leaders wanting relief supplies halted his advance.
"But Senator Zuuk promised us relief supplies!" the human whined at Commander EEK-176. The white and burnt umber painted command battle droid would rather join his nearby troops in the intense fight than listen to the demands of ungrateful civilians.
"I have ordered some supplies sent to our location. But you must wait until after the clone armies have been destroyed before we can begin to properly restore your planet and its people," EEK-176 lectured the fidgety human. The sounds of blaster fire and mortars filled the air. EEK-176 was used to such sounds, even finding them enjoyable. The human was not so accustomed to it, though it didn't stop him from complaining.
"We've been waiting for days."
"The battle for your planet has taken days," EEK-176 countered with the obvious. The Republic armies had deeply entrenched themselves into the planet, and were putting up an impressive display of force.
The population of Zesrop was eighty percent human and Zeltron, with eighteen percent Rodian and Twi'lek and two percent other. Though the eighteen percent that was the Rodians and Twi'leks controlled seventy percent of the planet's wealth. It was the wealthy elites that purchased protection from the Grand Army of the Republic to quell the uprising of the working class backed by the Confederacy of Independent Systems.
The humans and Zeltrons of Zesrop were a hardy bunch, but most were not trained soldiers. The reality of war hit them hard, though the spoiled elite had been hit harder.
A trio of Sheathipede type B escort shuttles came in for a nearby landing. "You see," EEK-176 pointed. "Assistance has arrived as I had promised."
The human was about to start complaining again, but held his tongue as he saw OX9 worker droids unload crates of food and water. He rushed over as if he were entitled to it all for himself.
A sudden nearby explosion rocked EEK-176 off his feet. The command droid didn't know what caused the explosion, but he had a good idea of what would be coming next. He quickly regained his composure and snapped up his E-6 blaster rifle. EEK-176's prediction was correct as he saw three white figures rush through the smog of where the explosion had taken place. EEK-176 let loose three shots, and all three clone troopers fell down dead.
EEK-176's vigilance was rewarded by the arrival of six additional clones, followed by a clone personal walker. Nearby B1 and B2 battle droids rushed to assist EEK-176 in dealing with the attackers.
The clone troopers went down fast, but not before destroying their own weight in battle droids. Things were going badly for the battle droids. EEK-176 ended up having to do most of the clone killing himself.
However, the command battle droid did not have to proper arsenal to deal with the personal clone walker. The small walker was specifically designed to deal with infantry, and it did its job well. The clone walker targeted the B2s first, seeing them as the greatest threat. Once all the super battle droids were lying in smoking ruins the walker turned to the B1s.
"Fall back! Fall back!" EEK-176 commanded.
Another squad of clones came up from behind the advancing walker. The battle droids were pushed all the way back to the parked shuttles. The OX9 worker droids ceased to unload their cargo and retreated to the relative safety of the interior of the shuttles.
A dwarf spider droid was making his way up from the rear of the Separatists' side of the battlefield. "DSD-08, target that anti-personnel walker!" EEK-176 ordered the spider droid.
Four fully charged shots from DSD-08's cannon brought the clone personal walker to a halt. Four droidekas rolled in to help the surviving B1s deal with the clone infantry.
Now the clones were falling back, only to be aided by a heavy clone personal walker that stomped up to meet the droidekas. The heavy personal walker was basically just a better-armored version of the standard personal walker, with slightly more powerful blaster cannons.
DSD-08 was not bringing the heavy walker down fast enough. "Mortars, attack my mark," EEK-176 ordered a pair of thermal detonator battle droids that had joined in on the fight. The high-flying mortar explosives silenced the anti-infantry walker immediately.
Smoke from the ruined walkers mixed with the dust caused from the explosions. The remaining clone troopers pulled back and disappeared into the fog of war. EEK-176 and the other droids remained on their guard; slowing approaching the smog the clones had disappeared into.
Suddenly, a pint-sized figure in a brown robe burst through the dust. A short, yellow lightsaber snapped to life in the figure's gloved hands. The Jedi rushed at the nearest B1, which reacted remarkably fast, but his shot missed completely and the short Jedi cut the droid off at the knees and then decapitated him.
The other battle droids immediately started firing at the Jedi, who bobbed and weaved in and out of the deadly bolts with style and grace. Four more battle droids fell to the yellow blade.
EEK-176 nearly caught the Jedi with a blaster bolt but the warrior leapt up and landed right on the command battle droid.
EEK-176 was suddenly looking into a pair of bulbous yellow eyes.
"What have we here?" the hooded Jedi asked. He held his lightsaber up to strike, but made no move to finish the command droid.
"Jawa parasite!" EEK-176 tried to smack the Jedi, though he easily bounced away.
"You're an interesting one. I've never seen a color scheme like that before on a command battle droid," the Jawa Jedi tutted. "And the CIS emblems on your shoulders, you are rather unique. You are an important droid, perhaps?"
"You will certainly find me important, as I will be the droid that destroys you," EEK-176 leveled his E-6 blaster rifle at the Jawa.
"My my, aren't you an impatient one." The Jawa Jedi switched off his lightsaber. "I wanted to have a little chat to find out about your custom colors, and yet you're ready to fight me again already? Did I not just demonstrate my superiority a moment ago? You don't stand a chance against me. I offer you a brief respite, and you throw it back in my face. If you were smart, you would call for reinforcements while we talked, but, perhaps you are not so intelligent or unique after all."
"I don't need reinforcements to deal with you," EEK-176 angrily replied. DSD-08 beeped in agreement, stomping his feet in anger at not being taken as a serious threat by the Jedi.
"Really now, such anger. You really should get to know me before you start hating me."
"You sliced up my troops, you're a Jawa, you're a Jedi, you're an officer in the army of the Republic, there's plenty enough about you to hate already."
"Hate leads to the dark side."
"I'm a droid you yellow-eyed fool. What do I care of the ways of the Force? As far as I'm concerned all it does is give you an unfair advantage in battle."
"So single-minded. Must you always think in terms of combat and war?"
"I am a battle droid. Battle is my primary function."
"Yes yes," the Jawa conceded. "I supposed its true you know of nothing other than fighting. But, where are my manners? My name is Del Nittin, General in the Grand Army of the Republic." Del Nittin could have destroyed EEK-176 and been done with it, but his Jawa-strength curiosity for interesting technology won out over his military duties.
"It doesn't matter who you are. You're going to be dead in a few minutes."
Del fiddled with his headset translator that allowed him to speak basic. Though his face was concealed entirely by his hood, no one could tell he was wearing one by looking at him. "Not that again, I told you…"
The Jedi fell silent as a gray and blue flitknot speeder pulled up to EEK-176 and Major Katen dismounted. "Oh, the HouseKarl battle droids are never around when you need them, huh?"
"Indeed," EEK-176 agreed.
"The what-now battle droids?" Nittin asked. The Jedi's question went ignored.
"A Jawa huh?" Ashley Katen activated her electrostaff. "Come here you little runt, I wanna see what you look like under that hood." Katen lunged, adjusting the angle of her strikes to match the height of her opponent.
Del Nittin was caught by surprise; he was not expecting a challenge from a human. Bobbing and weaving away from a series of serious strikes, the Jedi found that he needed to take his new opponent sincerely.
After Nittin evaded the latest strike and backed away he seized Katen with the Force and lifted her into the air, preventing her from attacking with her electrostaff.
"Release me and I'll kill you," Katen threatened.
"Don't you mean: release me or I'll kill you?"
"I know what I said," Katen pulled her commando SE-14 pistol from the holster on her right thigh and started shooting.
Del Nittin released his grip and Katen fell to the ground with a loud thud. The Jawa had to turn his attention back to EEK-176 and DSD-08 as the two droids had started shooting at him.
Nittin grabbed the flitknot speeder with the Force and threw it against DSD-08. The dwarf spider droid wasn't even fazed.
A charged power shot from DSD-08's cannon vaporized the ground where Nittin stood only a second before. "This whole trying to kill me thing is getting kind of old," Del taunted.
"You being a smug Jawa Jedi is getting old," EEK-176 kept firing.
"Well if you continue to refuse to talk then I'll just have to destroy and dissect you later." Del Nittin was poised to burst forth toward EEK-176 at Force speed but stopped when he heard loud stomping coming his way. He knew it wasn't the spider droid so what was it?
GD-79 came barreling through and nearly squashed Del had the Jedi not rolled out of the way at the last second.
"All right, seriously," Nittin snapped. "This is getting…" The Jawa was cut off as GD-79 turned around and tried to stomp on him. Katen also came back in the fight, viciously trying to swat the miniature Jedi.
Between the grapple droid trying to step on him, the bloodthirsty human female trying to smack him, the command droid and spider droid trying to blast him, Del Nittin couldn't take much more before he would make a mistake. One slip up would mean his doom.
"Enough," Nittin bellowed in his squeaky Jawa voice.
"Yeah, you've had enough," Katen exclaimed as GD-79 caught the Jedi in a kick. The Jawa flew far threw the air. A deafening "Utini…." was heard until the Jedi landed with a thud.
The kick had carried Del a great distance. He had managed to use the Force to cushion his crash, preventing his body from being broken. He had landed far back into Republic lines. Clone troopers rushed to his assistance.
"General, are you alright?"
"I'll survive. But we need to fall back to the city, now."
"General?" The clone was dumbfounded as to what had caused the Jedi to fly threw the air and why he was ordering a retreat. "We're ready for our next attack. If we retreat now we'll lose our momentum."
"I said fall back! I want all surviving troops to regroup in the city! And I want the shield generator online!"
"Yes sir," the clone nodded in acknowledgement.
Veronica Vex finally returned carrying a tray holding a clear jug of water and two empty glasses.
Vex preceded to serve the two military officers water, mimicking a maid as best she could. Though it was clear through her motions that her efforts were filled with sarcasm and anger.
"What, water? This is the best you could do? I hate water!" Commander Zako whined.
"We are in the middle of a battle right now," Vex managed her reply in a mockingly sweet voice.
"I hate the taste of water," Karl Zako grumbled.
"You are a weird one," Penn stated. "In all my time in this galaxy, I've never heard of a human that hated the taste of water."
"Yeah, well how do you like the taste of defeat," Zako waved his hand over at the various droids still keeping their weapons trained on the Jedi.
Neither Jakeson nor Zako made a move to drink the water Vex had so carefully poured. The red-haired woman started to get annoyed that her efforts were wasted.
"Perhaps you should take a drink, Commander," Vex suggested. She started to grind her teeth in frustration.
"Very well, negotiating a Republic defeat is thirsty work," Zako drank from the glass.
Penn Jakeson watched. The jug the water had been transported in was transparent; assuring the Jedi that there was no secret compartment that could dispense different liquids to the separate glasses. Penn wouldn't put it past the Separatists to try and poison him during negotiations. Confident that the water was safe to drink, Jakeson downed his entire glass.
As soon as Jakeson put down his empty glass on the table, Veronica Vex seized Zako and started making out with him.
At first Commander Zako struggled, but after realizing what Vex was up to he stopped and submitted to her aggression.
"I didn't know Seppie officers were allowed to fraternize," Penn chided as the two kissed.
"Just because Jedi aren't allowed attachments doesn't mean the rest of us are prohibited from having fun," Zako answered when Vex finally released him.
"I see. Well…." Penn stopped talking and started choking. Horrible gagging sounds emerged from his mouth as he gasped for air. The Separatists watched, motionless.
Penn started coughing up a bright pink, foamy substance. A few seconds later pink foam started leaking out of his eyes, nose, and ears. If there were any other orifices leaking pink foam the Separatists couldn't tell. Penn's face started to melt, sizzling pink fumes rising into the air. The Jedi finally fell over backward onto the ground and died, gurgling sounds, sick fumes and frothy foam still emanating from his body.
"I think I'm gonna be sick," Zako said as he looked at the dead Jedi's still bubbling corpse.
"I wouldn't if I were you. Wouldn't want to puke up the antidote," Vex said.
At the mention of the antidote Zako turned to Vex. "You poisoned me?"
"Dr. Gatling Quartz poisoned you. I saved your life," Vex answered. When Vex started making out with Zako she had slipped the pill that would save his life into his mouth. Zako had figured out enough to swallow it.
"Why did we do that?" Zako angrily demanded. "If we wanted to kill him we could have just shot him right there! Or waited for the HouseKarls to arrive! They still need to be tested against a Jedi!"
"Because that was so entertaining," Dr. Quartz walked up. The Skakoan had been hiding behind a pair of dwarf spider droids.
"Needlessly risking my life is not entertaining!" Zako pointed.
"Awww, com'on," Vex latched onto Zako. "You got to make out with a beautiful woman, what are you whining about?"
"Zako, quit making out with your girlfriend," KJZ-8267 chided.
"Wha…? She's not my girlfriend."
"Hey," Vex crossed her arms. "You're mean. I just saved your life." Veronica batted her crazed-looking eyes. Her eye shadow was a heavy onyx black.
"You became an officer just to break the dress code, didn't you?" Zako asked.
Vex inhaled. After a brief moment she answered, "yep. You found me out. They told me I had to dress up while I was around Zincer though. It was a huge pain in the ass. Don't have to deal with that anymore now."
Commander Zako hadn't forgotten about Quartz. "We'll see what OOM-9 has to say about this," the Separatist officer accusingly pointed at the scientist.
"I had already authorized it," OOM-9 approached from the rear ranks of the battle droids.
"General?" Zako was unhappy his friend and commanding officer was so willing to risk his life so unnecessarily.
"Really, Doctor." OOM-9 addressed Quartz. "This poison is nothing like the usual weapons you provide for me."
"That's because it isn't mine. A colleague and old friend of mine wanted to test it in the field. I was happy to help."
"Test?" Zako blurted.
"Field tested," Quartz corrected. "You are quite safe. It was perfected in a laboratory before it was given to me."
"We still need to test the HouseKarls against the Jedi. We had one to test them against. I have a hard time believing you would put someone else's weapon ahead of your own," OOM-9 commented.
"This situation was just too good to pass up," Quartz offered. "There are still plenty of Jedi left in the galaxy for us to kill."
Commander Zako let out a sigh; he was tired of having weapons tested on him. First the HouseKarl battle droids, and now this. "So, we were never actually going to negotiate a surrender?"
Just as soon as Zako had finished his sentence than a blue shield enveloped the city of Zera.
"I don't think the Republic is planning on surrender," OOM-9 answered. "I prefer a good fight anyway."
The clone army accomplished a masterful retreat. They were slow enough to point and shoot enough firepower to prevent a full on Separatist charge, yet fast enough that they weren't overwhelmed. The swifter Republic fighter tanks provided a distraction while the slower walkers plodded along in reverse. The IFT-X fighter tanks did well in evading enemy fire and returning as good as they got, even outmatching some of the AATs and homing spider droids.
STAPs of various color schemes buzzed around the battlefield, making near-useless strafing runs against the durable AT-TEs. The clone troopers were too preoccupied to shoot them down, as were all the Republic's vehicles. And the cannon gunners on top of the AT-TEs were too slow to accurately track the speedy aerial platforms. The STAPs were basically ignored, but didn't make full use of their advantage.
The AT-RTs suffered the greatest casualties in the Republic retreat. They had the speed but not the same mobility as the IFT-X tanks. They rushed to the front but were favored targets of the CIS ground armored tanks. The GATs had the maneuverability and firepower to quickly quell the small reconnaissance walkers.
NR-N99 tank droids and hailfire droids pulled up from the back and starting causing the Republic a serious problem, though many of the droid tanks were eliminated as well.
The retreat went well for a couple minutes but the staggering number of Confederate units finally managed to turn it into a route. The CIS soldiers and battle droids pushed back the clone troopers while the tanks destroyed the walkers. The remaining Republic forces finally retreated behind the safety of their shield generator.
OOM-9 ordered the CIS army to halt its advance before they entered into the bubble shield and the waiting defenses of clone EWHB-12 repeaters. Battle droids and human CIS soldiers glared at the clone troopers staring back at them from the opposite side of the glowing blue wall. The front most homing spider droids and AT-TEs could have been firing upon one another if not for the shield blocking the way.
When the battlefront was cleared of immediate threats, OOM-9 ordered bio cannons and HAGs all around the bubble enveloping the city.
OOM-9 observed from a pair of electrobinoculars while atop a dark gray and blue AAT. "Open fire!" The bio cannons and heavy artillery guns let loose a powerful, and loud barrage, but the shield did not waiver. OOM-9 let the bombardment continue for a full three minutes before ordering a cease-fire.
"General, what do you plan on doing about the shield?" SSA-719 knew OOM-9 was up to something, though the security droid wasn't sure what.
"I will lead a strike team into the city to destroy the shield generator. Once it's down all other troops will advance on the city in unison."
"If you're going to use the HouseKarls, then I'm coming. I am here as an observer after all," Lieutenant Vex cut in.
"Very well."
"And Red has to come with us too," Vex grabbed onto SSA-719.
"You're becoming rather attached to my officers," OOM-9 said.
"Yes I am," Veronica Vex grinned.
"We will depart as soon as the explosives have been brought up, prepare for deployment," OOM-9 instructed Vex. OOM-9's team was nearly ready, the order for preparedness was meant specifically for Vex, whom was the only organic being coming on the strike mission. OOM-9 knew healthy organics regularly had to use the refresher every few hours or so, and OOM-9 did not want to make any sudden stops on the way. The danger level for the mission was high, and the cost of replacing the team would be astronomical if they were destroyed. OOM-9 wanted to be sure that nothing caused the slightest impediment in their progress. "The liberation of Zesrop has been delayed long enough."
OOM-9's army began amassing around the exterior of the Republic's shield. The bio cannons and heavy artillery guns renewed their attack. OOM-9 hoped that the majority of the clone forces would keep their gaze on the bulk of his army at the shield, thus allowing his team to slip in unnoticed.
OOM-9, SSA-719, Veronica Vex, and the twelve HouseKarl battle droids entered the sewer system under the suburbs. They guarded 8EX, 5TE and a squad of B2 super battle droids that carried nine bombs that were to be used to destroy the shield generator. It took two super battle droids to carry a single bomb.
"Have fun, General, Captain," Zako waved off OOM-9 and SSA-719.
"We will, Commander. If I'm feeling generous we might leave some clones for you to kill."
"I'd appreciate it." OX9 worker droids sealed the strike team in the sewer.
The squad couldn't go thirty seconds before Veronica Vex started talking.
"Yueech!" Vex held her nose. "This place reeks! I would have preferred a straight march through the shield into enemy fire than face the stinky stink of this stink tube." They could still hear the artillery blasts slamming against the shield above ground.
"You could have stayed behind," OOM-9 offered. He found the situation quite humorous. Over the years, OOM-9 had heard a vast ocean of complaints from Zako and Katen about how difficult it was to breathe or smell bad things based on what planet they were on or what situation they were in. Apparently they weren't such big whiners as Vex was having the same trouble they would be having. And yet again OOM-9 was grateful he couldn't smell and didn't need to breathe.
"But then I wouldn't be with Red," Vex responded.
"You're the one of requested that I join the mission," SSA-719 reminded Vex.
"Details, details."
"Details are everything," SSA-719 said.
"I'm supposed to be observing the HouseKarls. If we really wanted to test them, we should have marched right through the shield instead of sneaking around down here. Give me a break here. Can't you at least keep me company?" Vex pretended to pout.
"We should be silent. We should be under the shield by now and we don't need you giving our position away," SSA-719 responded.
"Fine," Vex frowned and bit her lower lip and crossed her arms.
OOM-9 was worried about Veronica Vex. He wondered whether her position as an observer would become a permanent one. She was a skilled fighter, famous for her acts of bravery in the Clone Wars up to this point, but she was hardly a professional officer. She seemed to have anger and attachment issues, and had more personality problems than Ashley Katen. OOM-9 theorized some other Separatist officer was trying to dump Vex under his command to be rid of her. OOM-9 already had a collection of semi-crazed humans under his command; another CIS officer probably figured adding one more wouldn't hurt.
They could no longer hear the artillery strikes against the shield. The elite strike team continued to move on in relative silence, for it wasn't easy to be completely quiet with a team of super battle droids stomping along carrying heavy explosives.
"Sir, what are your orders?" the clone commander asked Del Nittin.
The Jawa Jedi was muttering something to himself in Jawaese.
"Sir?" the commander asked again when he thought the Jawa General hadn't heard him. Del switched his headset translator back on.
"What about communications?"
"They're still down, sir."
"We're trapped in here like womp rats," Del complained.
"We could attack, sir. If we had continued to press the attack as planned, instead of retreating, we would not be in this situation."
"We can't attack now! There are too many of them! There were too many before! We can't attack and we can't call for help. What are we supposed to do?"
"We could send out our speeders on reconnaissance. We have the STAPs clocked at 400 kph; our 74-Z speeder bikes can outrun them. We can see if any of our troops in the neighboring cities have survived," the commander offered.
Del Nittin didn't know what this clone's obsession with leaving the protection of the shield was. "Out of the question, all our other forces were doing worse than we were before the communication blackout. There's no one left on this planet that can help us win this fight. Besides, they may have more than just STAPs to chase down our speeder bikes."
The Jawa scratched at the side of his robed head. "What is the progress of the conversion of the local factory?"
"Sixty-five percent. But even if we finish, it won't matter. Extra weapons won't matter if we don't have enough men who can shoot them."
"It will still give us an advantage. Our weapons are wearing out."
"We can't just sit and do nothing, General. What about the shuttle?"
"What do you want to do? The fleet was destroyed days ago."
"Send the shuttle back into Republic space. Deliver the request for aid directly."
"You're insane. One shuttle is never going to get past that Separatist fleet. We had lost all of our cruisers and not even managed to take out one of theirs. There's no way one shuttle could survive."
"What if you flew it, sir? Used the Force?"
"There is only so much a Jedi can do," Del calmly lectured the clone. "We Jedi are not as invincible as we'd like to think." The dire situation had nearly caused Del Nittin to sink into despair. But he had recognized the fear that started to swell within him, and had put it in check. Fear was not the Jedi way.
"It may be possible," Del began to pace back and forth. "What fighters do we have left?"
The clone commander turned to converse with a captain for a second, and then lower-ranked clone handed him a datapad.
"Four V-19 Torrent fighters, two gunship fighters, eight LAAT/i gunships, two LAAT/c transports, and one Y-wing," the commander read off the list.
"Excellent. We may have a chance. Ready them all for flight."
"Uh, sir. The Y-wing is damaged and is currently undergoing repair. The shuttle needs refueling."
"Then get those aircraft operational, Commander. Highest priority."
"Yes sir."
OOM-9 and his strike team had exited out of the sewers unnoticed. At first it had seemed that the plan had worked well. The clones were distracted by the Separatist army outside the shield and had no inkling that the CIS would strike using the sewer system.
But soon OOM-9 and his squad were ducking into allies and behind dumpsters as they evaded clone trooper patrols. The Republic was not quite as stupid as OOM-9 had theorized. OOM-9, SSA-719, Veronica Vex, or any of the HouseKarls could have easily dealt with any of the clone patrols they hid from. But they needed the element of surprise, for if they were found out, the shield generator would assuredly be guarded beyond reach if the Republic realized the droids had snuck underneath the shield.
The droids had had the city layout uploaded to their databanks before embarking on the mission. They also knew the approximate location of the shield generator from the long-range artillery fight. So the battle droids knew where they were going. But the closer they got, the more clone patrols there were.
"We're not going to be able to keep this up," Vex whispered.
"Agreed. But we have little choice," OOM-9 responded.
Just then a small human child appeared from behind a parked speeder. "Over here," the child motioned in a loud whisper.
Humans were a persecuted majority on Zesrop. They were the ones the Confederacy was fighting to free. OOM-9 made a snap decision to trust the filthy human child. "Let's follow," OOM-9 stated.
"What if it's a trap?" SSA-719 asked.
"Then we kill them all," Vex answered before OOM-9 could.
The human child led them to a dirty collection of tents and shacks. Various humans and Zeltrons came out of their pathetic dwellings to greet the battle droids.
An elderly Zeltron male, the de facto leader of the impoverished community, met with OOM-9.
"What has happened? Why are you residing in these improvised dwellings?" OOM-9 asked. OOM-9 knew the humans and Zeltrons of Zesrop were poor but they were not this poor. The droids had passed by many low-income housing structures as they snuck about the city.
"The clones forced us out of our homes. They claimed we were Separatist supporters. We are, of course. But they had no right to do that. We posed no threat against them."
"Persecution of the working class is the way of the Republic," OOM-9 stated.
"Yes. Which is why we support you. You fight for those who have no voice in government. You fight their greed and corruption on a galactic scale and now you are even helping our planet specifically."
"It is our duty," OOM-9 nodded. The battle droid general declined to mention that he fought against the Republic more out of enjoyment than any sense of duty to the underprivileged that had been exploited by a system of economic inequality. But in any case OOM-9 and the battle droids fought because they were ordered to. The fact that the battle droids of the CIS were basically slave-soldiers was lost on the Zeltron (and most peoples of the Confederacy or the Republic). It would have been funny if not so sad, a working-class Zeltron complaining about his plight to a soldier slave. OOM-9 preferred the people of the Zalost system, who treated him as an equal.
"What are you doing here exactly?" The Zeltron asked. "We thought there'd be more of you."
"More will be here shortly. We will bring relief supplies after the battle is over. We cannot help you at this current time. We must first destroy their shield generator."
"Yes, yes. Of course," the Zeltron felt stupid. "We can send a guide to take you right to the shield generator. Past the clone patrols."
"Are you certain you can get us past the clone patrols unnoticed?"
"Yes, we've been studying their movements for some time. We've not much else to do."
"Very good. I accept your offer of assistance."
The battle droids knew the layout of the city, but not the routes of the clone patrols. However, the young Zeltron woman who guided them knew both well. Several times the battle droids cut through empty buildings to bypass clone checkpoints.
The trek was much smoother and swifter and soon the battle droids were in sight of the shield generator.
"This is as far as I care to go," their guide told OOM-9. "Can you handle yourselves from here?"
"Affirmative. You can go. We'll take care of it."
"Thank you," the Zeltron bowed to OOM-9 and snuck off.
"Coward," Vex snickered.
OOM-9 and the battle droids observed the generator's defenses. Several heavy clone personal walkers and repeaters were guarding every side of it. There were several clone squads spread in-between the guns and walkers. An AT-OT was patrolling about in the immediate vicinity, carrying a full complement of clones ready to be deployed at a moment's notice.
The HouseKarl battle droids were tough but they weren't unbeatable. OOM-9 didn't like their odds in this fight.
"What are we waiting for?" Vex asked in a whisper. "They aren't going to just leave their posts. Let's go get 'em."
"Not yet," OOM-9 said. "There, the factory nearby," the command droid pointed.
"We're going to hit the factory and it should take out the generator," SSA-719 guessed OOM-9's plan.
"Correct. They know that generator is what's keeping them alive. But I deduce that they would not have such tight security on that factory."
"Roger roger."
The CIS group stealthily moved in towards the factory. OOM-9 was right, the security on the factory was nothing compared to the shield generator. The droids were able to sneak inside without even confronting any clone guards.
But the battle droids had another problem that they weren't even aware of. A hidden Republic prowler 1000 exploration droid had noticed their movements and rushed to report their activity to the Republic.
A clone lieutenant interrupted the defense planning of Del Nittin and his clone commander.
"General, Commander."
"This had better be important, Lieutenant," Del said.
"It is, General. One of our recon droids has spotted a group of battle droids sneaking into the factory."
"What?"
"One of our recon droids has spotted-" the clone lieutenant began to repeat himself again.
"A recon droid?" Del interrupted. "What are those clone patrols for, Commander? Show?"
"No sir."
"Then why did it take a droid to find out those Separatists?"
"I don't know, sir."
"Uh, sirs, what are your orders regarding the Separatists?" the lieutenant asked.
"To stop them of course," Del snapped. "What? You need an order to do the obvious?" Del Nittin was beginning to think that an army of droids was starting to sound better than an army of human clones. Or at least a cloned army of a different species; cloned Jawas sounded like a good idea to Del.
"Sir, they're already inside the factory. They could cause catastrophic damage if the situation is not handled properly," the lieutenant explained.
"The factory?" Del thought for a moment. "The shield generator is right near it. Why wouldn't they target that? It would leave us defenseless…." Nittin figured out what the Separatists were doing.
"General?" the clone commander asked.
"I will handle this personally," Del Nittin declared. "Commander, I want all openings to the sewer system sealed off and guarded, heavily."
"Yes, General," the commander answered. The order confused the clone, but he followed it anyway.
The factory was populated primarily by Kaminoan worker droids working to convert it into a munitions plant. The worker droids weren't designed for combat, and were helpless against OOM-9 and his team. The few clones that were guarding the interior of the factory were also no match against the Separatists.
"Plant eight of the charges around the factory's support pillars," OOM-9 ordered the super battle droids as he shot and destroyed a worker droid. "The ninth, plant at the power core."
"Acknowledged," 8EX stated before carrying off one of the bombs with 5TE.
OOM-9 did an about-face and blasted another Kaminoan worker droid. Vex came in from OOM-9's side, carrying a worker droid's decapitated head in her right hand. "This is way too easy, General," Vex dropped the head and kicked it into the wall. "As the official observer of the HouseKarl battle droids, it is my recommendation that we-"
"Too easy?" Del Nittin declared as he entered the room. Several clones filed in after the Jawa. "Things just got a lot harder."
Before anyone else could make a comment, SSA-719 appeared from around the corner and shot his E-60R rocket launcher at Del Nittin. The Jedi dove out of the way, leaving the clones to take the full impact of the purple explosive. OOM-9 and Vex fired their E-5s at the clones that weren't blown into little meat chunks.
Del snapped his yellow lightsaber to life and rushed towards OOM-9 and Vex. Though he almost instantly found himself having to back flip away as a large, double-sided battle-axe nearly sheared him in half.
"These must be the droids I'm looking for," Del said before the HouseKarl lunged at him. The Jawa Jedi flipped away to safety yet again, only to be nearly incinerated when OOM-9 switched over to the flamethrower function of his custom E-5 rifle.
While Del Nittin kept OOM-9, Vex and a couple of HouseKarls busy, the remaining droids were easily able to kill off the Jedi's supporting clone troops.
But the clone numbers were seemingly inexhaustible. Even after all the B2 super battle droids had planted the bombs and joined in on the fight the CIS was still being overrun.
Finally the time came when the Separatist fighters started to regroup and retreat. The Jedi and his clones assailing them every step of the way.
After a couple of tossed thermal detonators from both sides there was a pause in the fight. OOM-9 and his droids held their fire against Nittin and his clones, which likewise didn't shoot. The droids were starting to run low on energy and the clones had no desire to resume a fight where they were being slaughtered.
"Surrender, droids. You're tough but you aren't invincible," Del Nittin proclaimed.
"There are eight bombs planted in this factory, I think your time would be better spent searching for them instead of chasing me, Jedi," OOM-9 said.
"What?" Del asked as a HouseKarl tossed a V-1 thermal detonator, causing a distraction and impairment of vision, and letting the droids start on their escape.
"Sergeant, you and your squad find those charges; I'll go after the droids."
"Yes sir!" the clone answered in response as the Jawa Jedi leapt towards the fleeing droid general.
"Where are we going?" Vex asked. Her question went unanswered, so Vex simply followed the lead set by the battle droids. The battle droid squad was able to travel a decent distance before Del Nittin got in front of all of them. They were now at the edge of the upper level of the factory, at a small station platform that connected to a rail jet system that could take the battle droids all the way out of the city.
"You really think you can stop all of us?" OOM-9 asked the Jawa as the battle droids got into fighting stances.
"Yes," Del answered back, lightsaber held up.
"Then you are a fool," OOM-9 declared. Vex looked like she was about to jump out of her skin. She was antsy and wanted to attack the Jedi, but followed the lead of the droids in holding their positions.
"It is you who is the fool," Del corrected OOM-9. "You came under the shield through the sewer system. You were going to sabotage the factory in hopes that the resulting explosion would take out the nearby and better-guarded shield generator. Well, I figured out your plan, I've thwarted your little sabotage plot and I've had all the exits back into the sewer sealed. You've failed and now you're trapped here."
"There's more than one way out of this city," OOM-9 shot back.
"You think my army's going to just let you march right out of the city? Ha! I don't know why you ran to the rail jet system, I'm sure you knew I had that transit system locked out even before I set up the shield. I've beaten you, admit defeat."
"You Jedi are so full of yourselves," OOM-9 lectured. "You forget the simple fact that we outnumber you right here and now. You're going to die."
OOM-9 fired the Bulldog RLR version of his blaster; missing five shots he sent the Jawa's way. After dodging the incoming projectiles, Nittin lunged fourth at OOM-9, but was blocked by a HouseKarl wielding a ZK-III battle-axe. The Jawa Jedi pulled back as the axe swung his way, but now he was in the line of fire of the super battle droids and HouseKarls carrying ranged weapons.
Del Nittin was near impossible to hit, his small size and Force-boosted speed working well in his favor. The few shots that came close to him he was easily able to deflect with his lightsaber. The greatest threat to the Jedi came from SSA-719's rocket launcher, which wouldn't be blocked by a lightsaber. Though the security battle droid wasn't able to get a lock on the constantly moving Jawa.
More clone troopers showed up to help the Jedi. The battle droids kept moving as they fought the annoying Jedi and his clone reinforcements. SSA-719 broke off from the main battle group to go to the platform's control station. Vex followed him.
SSA-719 found that the door had been locked out. "Here, allow me," Vex started cutting at the door with her ZK-II war-axe. "No need to waste a rocket on this door."
The pair busted in and SSA-719 started up the rail system's control computers. "Ha ha. So easy," Vex figured out what the security droid was doing. "We just unlock their system lock," she chuckled. "If they wanted no one to use this thing, they should have just destroyed the controls entirely."
"It's a good thing the clones are not that smart, or destructive," SSA-719 said as he hacked into the system. It only took a few short moments to get through the security and access the transit system. Hacking was not SSA-719's specialty, but he was certainly better at hacking than Republic clone troopers were at locking computer systems.
A clone burst in after them but Vex moved to protect SSA-719. She swiped at the clone with her war-axe, but was surprised when the clone caught her arm mid-swing and disarmed her. Vex then punched the clone in the helmet with her fist and vaulted him over her, sending the clone crashing into SSA-719. A second clone came in and Vex immediately tackled him before he could get off a shot.
After a short struggle Vex managed to pin the clone on the floor and then shot him in the head with her E-5 blaster rifle. She grabbed her war-axe and then turned to help SSA-719 but found that the security droid had already overpowered his clone opponent and broken his left arm and right leg. Though severely injured, the clone still tried to move. SSA-719 picked his rocket launcher back up but instead of wasting a rocket he smashed the heavy weapon down on the clone's head, creating a sickening crunching noise as armor and bone caved in.
"I love hearing that pop," Vex exclaimed.
"Right right," SSA-719 agreed. With the transit system back online, the pair left the control room and rejoined the others in the battle with the remaining clone troopers and Del Nittin. Though the battle didn't last much longer.
The last of the clone troopers had been killed and Del Nittin once again found himself outnumbered on his own from a battle that yielded no Separatist casualties. "Interesting droids you have there," Nittin addressed OOM-9 while blocking blaster bolts with his yellow lightsaber. "Purple markings? You running out of colors to identify all the different battle droids under your command? Black would have been a much more sinister color."
"That will be the identification color for the next battle droid," OOM-9 joked.
Del Nittin lunged at OOM-9 but was parried away by the command droid's ZK-II war-axe.
"And what is up with you?" Del continued to talk and fight at the same time. "You're the second command droid I've seen with Confederate emblems painted on your shoulder plates today."
A beeping noise emanated from inside the Jawa's robes. The Jedi paused and grabbed the comlink from inside his cloak, answering the incoming call as if everything was fine. The battle droids paused, knowing the Jedi would just continue dodging if they kept attacking. The Confederates were curious as to the Jedi's incoming message so they allowed him to answer.
"Sir we've found and deactivated all eight bombs, the threat to the factory is over," the clone sergeant said over the comlink.
Suddenly, a massive explosion went off in the reactor room that started a chain reaction that engulfed nearly the entire factory in a massive fireball, though the transit platform OOM-9 and his droids were on was spared. The nearby shield generator was caught in the blast, and the city became vulnerable to Separatist attack.
"How is that possible? My clones said they found all eight charges!"
"I lied, I planted nine charges. You really shouldn't take the word of your opponent," OOM-9 smugly lectured the Jedi.
Del couldn't believe how stupid he had been. The tiny Jedi started cursing in Jawaese. His high-pitched freak-out was quite amusing.
"You made him mad, General," Vex laughed.
"What kind of would-be, moronic General would choose to risk their personal safety in risky battle like this?"
"Why can I not partake in the pleasure of battle? You Jedi Generals do all the time," OOM-9 responded.
"Battle is not supposed to be pleasurable!"
"Look who you're talking to. I'm a battle droid. Combat is my primary function!"
"I thought cost-cutting for your corporate masters was your primary function."
OOM-9 lunged after that last comment. Del danced away. A HouseKarl fired an elite E-5 blaster rifle, but Nittin impressively blocked all three of the quick-fire shots.
OOM-9 and the other droids backed away onto the rail jet. "We'd love to stay and kill you, but we really must be going. Goodbye, miserable vermin," OOM-9 called to Nittin as the rail jet departed. A HouseKarl threw the Jawa a V-1 thermal detonator as a parting gift, but Nittin was able to escape the blast radius.
A LAAT/i gunship touched down near the Jawa, and took off following the fleeing train. Del Nittin was pleased to see that the gunship was carrying four clone commandos, as well as a squad of nine regular clone troops. "Pilot! Stay on that train! Get us close enough to deploy!"
"Yes sir," the clone pilot acknowledged.
Two other LAAT/i gunships quickly followed after Del's in pursuing the fleeing rail jet train. Most of the train cars didn't have roofs, and the open-air environment would allow the gunship to deploy the clones directly to the battle droids, but would also allow the droids to fire upon it as it tried to do so.
"Target in sight," 8EX declared when Del's gunship closed in on the rail jet train.
"They don't know when to give up, do they?" Vex asked with an evil smile.
"Open fire!" OOM-9 commanded.
"Attack orders verified," 8EX and the other super battle droids hammered away at the still approaching gunship. The gunship fired back, prompting the droids to get out of the away of the incoming fire. The LAAT/i was then in position over the train and Del Nittin and the clones dropped down and attacked the battle droids. SSA-719 aimed his rocket launcher and destroyed the gunship as it tried to pull out of the way.
Three of the HouseKarls kept Del Nittin busy while the other droids focused on the clones. The commandos proved to be a temporary challenge, but three were soon carved into pieces by the powerful ZK-III battle-axes a good portion of the HouseKarls wielded. The last clone commando tried to decapitate OOM-9 with his knuckle plate vibro blades but instead was decapitated by OOM-9's ZK-II war-axe.
The second gunship was closing in but this time SSA-719 destroyed it with his rocket launcher before it could deploy its clones onto the train.
"Last one!" 5TE called out as the remaining gunship closed in.
The final gunship was just above the train and the clones were just coming down when SSA-719 destroyed it. Half of the clones made it onto the train while the other half either died in the blast or were thrown off course and missed landing on the train entirely.
Without the commandos, the regular clones died fast against such elite battle droids. Del was the sole survivor of his faction again, but didn't stick around. As soon as the final clone died and he was alone, the Jawa ran for the edge of the train and leapt off. The battle droids ran to the edge and fired, only to see that the Jawa had landed on the back of a clone commander riding a 74-Z speeder bike. The bike veered away, with the droid's blasts still chasing it.
"Good work, Commander," Del was grateful that he was at least able to escape alive and that he had at least one competent clone on his side.
"Thank you, sir."
"Now, take me to our aircraft."
"Yes sir. Right away, sir."
The rail jet train had made it to the Separatist side of the city. Though along the way the battle droids observed that the clone army had begun a counter-attack after losing their shield. OOM-9 made contact with the larger network once again. Battle information was wirelessly uploaded to him that revealed that EEK-176 was under heavy attack and that Commander Zako was directing the battle from a command center constructed in the Separatist-held suburbs. The battle must have been going badly if Zako had withdrawn from a frontline combat role and took to trying to direct the battle.
OOM-9's group soon saw why EEK-176 was having such a hard time. An A-6 juggernaut with AT-RT escort had rolled out and was engaging EEK-176's AATs, GATs, hailfire droids, homing spider droids, and NR-N99 tank droids. The Republic was winning. "We need reinforcements!" OOM-9 requested of Zako. OOM-9 boosted the audio feedback so Vex and the other droids could hear Zako's response. The interference to the CCCs was bad, but being a command droid, OOM-9 had a stronger connection than the other droids.
"All military forces have engaged. You are the reinforcements, General," Zako replied.
"Understood, Commander."
"Why do we got to do everything?" Vex complained.
"What's wrong Vex? I thought you enjoyed violence," SSA-719 chided.
"I do Red, but how are we going to stop that thing?" Vex asked as the train came to a halt.
"I have an idea, let's go," OOM-9 urged his squad towards the battle. It took OOM-9's squad a good deal of running before they reached the battle site, where they joined EEK-176's infantry in hiding amongst the rubble of ruined CIS vehicles.
"Nice of you to join us, General," EEK-176 greeted OOM-9.
"I wouldn't miss this for ten worlds," OOM-9 replied.
"You have a plan to deal with that turbo tank?" EEK-176 asked.
"I do if anyone has a spare time bomb," OOM-9 answered.
Blaster bolts came toward their direction from clone infantry. But the battle droids and human CIS soldiers had plenty of cover, and there weren't that many clone troopers to worry about. The real threat was the turbo tank and its AT-RT support.
"Right here, sir," a black and gray camouflage B1 came over to OOM-9 and handed over a Merr-Sonn TB-47 time bomb.
"Excellent," OOM-9 declared. "Now we just need a ride."
KJZ-8267 and 3B3-888 pulled up on two armored scout tanks. "We can help you with that, OOM-9," KJZ-8267 was happy to be back in a vehicle again.
"SSA-719, Vex, KV-1, with me," OOM-9 quickly ordered. OOM-9 and KV-1 crouched on the dual laser cannons affixed to the left side of KJZ-8267's AST. SSA-719 and Vex did the same thing on 3B3-888's armored scout tank.
The two armored scout tanks took off, though at a slower than usual speed for battle as the ASTs were designed for only a single pilot in mind. They attracted some fire from clone troopers and one of the more observant AT-RTs but OOM-9 and Vex were able to blast anyone who threatened them.
The ASTs pulled up alongside the top of the A-6 turbo tank. The four passengers hopped off onto the roof of the tank and the two armored scout tanks pulled away in order to avoid blaster fire from more AT-RTs that had noticed them.
Vex shot the clone gunner on top while SSA-719 fired rockets down at the AT-RTs that tried to shoot them off the turbo tank.
"Cut a hole right there," OOM-9 directed KV-1. The spot of armor OOM-9 targeted looked to be directly above the cockpit of the juggernaut. The HouseKarl battle droid's ZK-III battle-axe easily sliced a hole in the tank's armor.
OOM-9 set the time bomb and dropped it in the hole. "Everyone off the tank!" OOM-9 shouted. KJZ-8267 and 3B3-888 came around again on the ASTs and gave OOM-9 and the others a ride off the tank. As soon as they were away there was a detonation inside the juggernaut's cockpit. A chain reaction went off destroying most of the turbo tank.
With the juggernaut gone, the battle droid and human CIS infantry ran from cover and attacked by the clone troopers and the AT-RTs. The few surviving CIS vehicles were now the lords of the battlefront and the Republic assault fell apart in minutes. Soon EEK-176's battle group was pressing forward into the city once again, running double time to catch up with the other attack groups that had already pushed further into the city.
A Nu-class attack shuttle, four V-19 Torrent fighters, two gunship fighters and one Y-wing could be seen launching from the city of Zera and fleeing upwards towards space. None of the CIS forces could currently spare them any attention, leaving the 8th Fleet blockading Zesrop to deal with the Republic air units.
The capital ships of the 8th Fleet were ready and waiting. Turbolasers poured towards the Republic ships that scrambled to get past the blockade. It was a suicide run for the V-19 Torrent fighters and gunship fighters as they had no hyperdrive capability. They were merely there as a distraction.
The CIS was aware of this fact, and paid particular attention to the shuttle. The two gunship fighters were the first to be destroyed as they flew interference for the Nu shuttle. Then a V-19 Torrent exploded.
The Nu attack shuttle started to take hits and then was blown into smithereens. Then the remaining three V-19 Torrent fighters bit the dust. The Y-wing was barely able to blow past the blockade and escape into hyperspace. A seemingly small loss on the Confederacy's part, though they didn't know that Jedi General Del Nittin and his clone commander were the one's on board the Y-wing. Del knew the Nu shuttle would be a prime target and thus opted to escape by the seemingly unimportant Y-wing.
A black and gray camouflage command battle droid carrying a RD-4 radiation launcher approached OOM-9 and EEK-176 as they conversed about the effectiveness of the HouseKarls when facing clones versus Jedi. The battle had dwindled down to nothing and the droids finally had a break. "General OOM-9, Commander EEK-176. The Republic leadership wishes to negotiate a surrender."
"Very well. I will conduct the negotiations personally. Commander EEK-176," OOM-9 turned to his second in command.
"Yes, General?"
"Collect my best troops to accompany me."
"Eh, the HouseKarls or your favorites?"
"The HouseKarls have had enough fun for one day. And Lieutenant Vex may come as well. She follows wherever Captain SSA-719 is anyway."
"Roger roger."
As EEK-176 left, OOM-9 opened up a link to Separatist Senator Zok Zuuk.
"What is it, General OOM-9? I'm a very busy man, but I have a feeling I know what you're about to report," the Neimoidian said.
"Zesrop has been liberated. The clone armies have been destroyed. The local, pro-Republic leadership has fallen. You may send your relief supplies and diplomats. You will find the humans and Zeltrons of this planet to be most agreeable."
"Just what I expected to hear. Though I am sorry to inform you that the Zalost system will not be able to send you a vast influx of new ships for the 8th Fleet. The relief effort for Zesrop is a new burden on the taxpayers, and we dare not ask any more of them at this time. I could bring up the issue in the Senate to see if I can't get more ships for the 8th Fleet from the Confederacy at large. Though it will be extraordinarily difficult to get any funding. Most resources go into replacing the capital ships General Grievous loses."
"It is alright, Senator. I prefer the high-quality ships that come from the Zalost shipyards anyway. I can wait."
"Very good, General. I will send the supplies immediately."
"Thank you, Senator Zuuk."
Diplomats and OX9 worker droids could handle the politics and restoration of the planet. OOM-9 preferred to have fun waging war across the battlefields of the galaxy.
The last structure on Zesrop under Republic control was the capital building. It was a large and vastly under-guarded structure, but it really didn't matter since the Republic was surrendering. OOM-9, EEK-176, SSA-719, KJZ-8267, 3B3-888, Zako, Katen, and Vex entered the building, and were met not by clones, but by a MSE-6 mouse droid that led them to the building's war room.
There were several high-ranking clones present: a commander, a captain, a lieutenant and a sergeant. A few low-ranking clones guarded the various doorways of the war room. There were a few Kaminoan worker droids and an IM-6 medical droid. Then there were the various Rodian and Twi'lek government officials and business leaders that made up the list of the former masters of the planet.
"Welcome, we have been expecting you," a fat, blue Twi'lek greeted the Separatists as they entered the cramped room. Its task complete, the mouse droid scurried away back through out the door where it had just led the Separatists.
Neither OOM-9 nor any of his soldiers said a word. Then without warning, all of the war room's doors slid shut. CDC-76 and his BX droid commandos had secretly entered and hacked into the building's security system. OOM-9 had complete control. The Republic leaders were trapped in the control room, and B1 and B2 battle droids accompanied by droidekas were running rampant through the rest of the facility.
"What's going on? What's the meaning of this?" a wiry Rodian businesswoman demanded.
"We're taking back the planet," OOM-9 answered before blasting the clone commander.
The clones brought up their blasters, but the room was cramped and crowded, and the Separatists easily moved about with their melee weapons, killing the clones as the civilians tried to get out of the way. SSA-719 smashed the clone captain into a bloody mess with his RW-B power war-hammer. KJZ-8267 sliced off one of the clone lieutenant's hands with a ZK-II war axe. 3B3-888 split the clone sergeant in two with a ZK-III battle-axe.
The clones were dead within seconds of fighting, with the CIS taking no damage. Then OOM-9 and his friends took to killing the worker droids. They also put up no real fight. Major Katen had the pleasure of being the one to catch and destroy the IM-6 medical droid.
Then the government officials and business leaders were left on their own. No amount of begging, bargaining, running, or even fighting back saved Zesrop's greedy elite from the battle droids and their human friends.
A single Republic being was finally left. "Please stop," the fat, blue Twi'lek pleaded. "We surrender. The battle is over. You've won! Take my money! Take my planet! Take whatever you want! Just don't kill me!"
"There is just one more thing for us to take," OOM-9 cryptically declared.
"What? Whatever it is, you can have it," the Twi'lek nearly sobbed.
"Your life," OOM-9 struck the Twi'lek across the chest with his ZK-II war-axe. The war room was now a morgue. Bloody Republic corpses were strung out everywhere. Already having control of the building, and thus no real need to secure the war room, the Separatists left, Vex and Katen laughing.
Author's Note: Zesrop is a planet of my own imagination.
I introduced B1 battle droids and command battle droids that are painted in a black and gray camouflage pattern in this chapter. This is an idea I came up with on my own, though I was inspired by the battle droids from Star Wars: Battlefront II that were coated entirely in a brown and beige camouflage pattern. The black and gray pattern for these droids is the same for the battle uniforms of the CIS human soldiers I created for this story. After observing a variety of B1 and command battle droid color variations over time, I think that the black and gray pattern is a reasonable addition to the pool of possibilities. Plus it looks cool.