Chapter 31: Retaking Thule
The planet Thule had been conquered by the Republic early in the war. It was the semi-arid planet where Anakin Skywalker had destroyed the Dark Reaper. While Thule no longer held any weapons of mass destruction, the Confederacy had decided it was time to take it back. And the Separatist Alliance had chosen General OOM-9 for the task.
Before commencing with an all-out attack, OOM-9 sent Trade Federation super freighters to insert Z1 special ops battle droids and Trade Federation probe droids on the planet and its moon, Sivvi. The Z1 droids made contact with the planet's CIS loyal locals, small groups of humans, Ubese and Arkanians, who were more than happy to point out that the Republic was primarily stationed in and around the city of Kesiak. They also revealed that the Republic had built an anti-orbital cannon on the moon. The Trade Federation probe droids confirmed the locals' claims.
The Republic had taken the old Separatist shield generator complex on Sivvi and converted it into an anti-orbital cannon. A clever choice, OOM-9 guessed the Republic intended to use the cannon against the planet itself were it ever to fall under attack by the CIS again or suffer from a populist uprising. It was an ingenious idea to compensate for the limited number of clone troopers available. The Republic was getting better at waging war, OOM-9 had to give them that.
When the 8th Fleet exited out of hyperspace, there was only a trio of Venator star destroyers to oppose them. It was not the Venators that were the problem, though.
"All ships hold position. Engage the cruisers at long range," OOM-8 ordered the 8th Fleet. The old command droid turned to his successor. "General?"
OOM-9 studied the readouts for a second. "Yes, begin the operation."
"Roger roger."
The Lucrehulk battleship, Profiteer, broke away from the rest of the fleet and headed towards Thule's moon. If the droids wanted to successfully take Thule, they would need to remove the moon's anti-orbital cannon out of the equation.
None of the Venator star destroyers moved to block the Profiteer, they were too preoccupied with the rest of the 8th Fleet. The Profiteer unleashed a group of Vulture droids, Scarab starfighters, and C-9979 landing craft before it was targeted by the anti-orbital canon. The shields held out fine, but TH-1066 and Z23-Y75 would have to hurry to take the large gun out.
Soon the Profiteer's core sphere detached and descended down towards the moon, escorted by more Scarab starfighters and Vulture droids. The rest of the Profiteer broke away from the moon to get out of the anti-orbital cannon's range.
On the way down to the moon's surface, the core ship and landing craft encountered a pair of Consular-class cruisers, but the Republic ships didn't engage the CIS transports. They went past them to join in the space battle. But the Separatist transports weren't without challengers. When the Separatists got closer to the surface of the moon, a swarm of gunship fighters moved to attack, but were held off by the Vulture droids and Scarabs.
The core ship touched down on the rocky surface. GATs and homing spider droids started to exit from the core ship. A sizable force of IFT-X fighter tanks and AT-RTs were patiently waiting for their Separatist opponents to emerge onto the battlefield.
"The Republic has correctly calculated our landing trajectory, we must clear and hold the landing site before moving on to the enemy cannon," TH-1066 said. The tactical droid was riding his custom painted armored scout tank and led a group of STAPS, speeder platforms, and armored scout tanks. The planet Thule was high in the sky, but the beautiful view was wasted on the tactical droid, who had more important things to deal with.
Z23-Y75 was operating a gray and blue ground armored tank. His wing mates were 3B3-2998, in a beige colored GAT and SSA-306, riding a red hued GAT. The GAT trio's first challenge were a pair of AT-RTs that had foolishly chosen to take on the three ground armored tanks alone. The GATs' dual blaster cannons were more than adequate to destroy the small walkers. A pair of IFT-X fighter tanks tried to move in on Z23-Y75's tank squad while they were dealing with the AT-RTs, but a pair of homing spider droids destroyed the Republic fighter tanks.
A small army of clone personal walkers flooded the immediate area surrounding the core ship. The white colored walkers were easy to spot among the rocky, brown soil of the moon's surface. The homing spider droids were quick to cut the small walkers to pieces.
A trio of IFT-X fighter tanks came to attack the preoccupied spider walkers. A Scarab starfighter in the sky had gone without a Republic air unit to shoot down, so the Scarab then turned downward towards the trio of fighter tanks. The Scarab managed to destroy the centermost fighter tank, but the destroyed tank's wing mates broke away. The armored assault tanks that had started exiting the core ship destroyed the other two with their primary cannons.
A flock of 74-Z speeder bikes blew threw the area, the clone bikers dropping time bombs around the spider walkers and AATs. The explosives detonated near the heavy vehicles, but were not powerful enough to take them down. Some of the CIS speeder platforms chased the Republic speeder bikes away.
Another trio of IFT-X fighter tanks came barreling down into the CIS landing site. Z23-Y75 and his wing mates were able to circle around behind the tanks, as they were busy focused on the homing spider droids. Z23-Y75's GAT group was able to destroy the tanks from behind before they could cause any significant damage to the spider walkers.
Other GAT squads had to go around destroying clone scout walkers that had set up guard positions surrounding the core ship. TH-1066 and his force of recon vehicles would scout out an enemy location and order an appropriate number of GATs to deal with the problem. The homing spider droids and armored assault tanks (being much slower than the GATs) focused on general defense of the core ship.
"Z23-Y75, my scouts have identified artillery units entering the landing zone," TH-1066 warned the command battle droid. "Destroy them quickly or the core ship will take considerable damage."
"Roger roger."
The scouting units had tagged the artillery's' locations and uploaded them to the CCC, which then sent the coordinates to Z23-Y75 and his squad. SSA-306 and 3B3-2998 broke away from Z23-Y75, and each droid took down his assigned AV-7 anti-vehicle cannon.
When the Galactic Republic's three artillery units were destroyed, the CIS had established dominance of their chosen landing zone. Knowing they couldn't take down the massive core ship without the aid of heavy firepower, the remaining Republic vehicles started to retreat. Some of the slower GAR walkers had no chance of escape, and instead chose to fight even though they knew they would be destroyed, their clone operators preferring to die fighting over dying trying to flee.
"The troop transports are leaving the core ship," TH-1066 informed the other droids. A gray and blue MTT exited from the core ship, flanked by two MTTs painted in the old Trade Federation brown color. "Battle group Gamma will escort the convoy. Group Beta will defend the core ship."
Z23-Y75 was in charge of group Gamma, a force comprised of AATs and GATs. The AATs took the front position in the convoy; the more mobile GATs protected the sides and rear of the three MTTs.
For the next three minutes the convoy encountered no ground-based attacks from the Republic. The occasional gunship targeted the convoy, taking on the AATs specifically. Z23-Y75 knew the Republic air units were trying to dispose of his group's heavy hitters.
The Separatist convoy was closing in on the anti-orbital cannon complex. The Republic was running out of time. The Republic gunships had deprived Z23-Y75's group of all but one of its AATs. Two separate squads of Republic IFT-X fighter tanks moved in to engage the GATs. The two opposing sets of fighter tanks hammered away at each other with everything they had. But the lone AAT was able to add the extra muscle that put the GATs over the top on the TX-130 fighter tanks.
The Republic fighter tanks were destroyed, but at great cost to the Separatist's ground armored tanks. The last AAT had also been destroyed. Z23-Y75 still had his wingmen, but his force was nothing compared to what it had been a few moments ago. They wouldn't have enough firepower to properly defend the three MTTs.
The situation was resolved when TH-1066 had ordered hailfire droids and NR-N99 tank droids (which were previously occupied in other areas of the battlefield) to come to the convoy's defense. The other areas of the battle would fall out of the Separatists' favor, but the convoy had to be protected. TH-1066 and his scouting units also joined in providing support for the convoy of MTTs.
TH-1066 and two speeder platforms raced ahead, but soon had turned around and retreated back to the safety of the larger CIS vehicles. "I have identified an A5-RX battle tank moving to block our progress."
"We'll handle it," Z23-Y75 and his wing mates surged forward and peppered the tank with missiles. The A5-RX retaliated in kind, but was put out of commission when one of the hailfire droids joined in on the missile extravaganza. The hailfire droids continued to roll on ahead, destroying several enemy turret towers with their powerful missiles.
Republic starfighters in the air grew sparse as the trio of MTTs stopped in front of their destination, though a large gate barred their way. The three troop transports released their B1 battle droids. A single MTT could carry one hundred and twelve B1 battle droids into combat. With the three transports combined, they had unleashed three hundred and thirty-six battle droids in all. The droid infantry planted a detpack on a door near the gate. Once the door was blown off, a squad of droids rushed in and shot, the two clones at stationed at the gate controls, and manually opened the gates.
As the gates opened, the MTTs moved out of the way to allow the NR-N99 tanks droids to proceed first. Some of the battle droids hopped onto the outer tread covers of the tank droids as they passed in order to get a free ride.
The tank droids scoured the large complex for enemies, though they mostly just found desperate clone infantry operating EWHB-12 repeaters and a few scattered clone scout walkers. The Separatists blasted their way through the light defenses, occasionally dropping off groups of battle droids to plant time bombs around power regulators that they passed by. After six power regulators had been destroyed, the power readings from the anti-orbital cannon disappeared.
"Mission success, the anti-orbital cannon has been disabled," Z23-Y75 uploaded the progress through the CCC to the other droid officers.
A clone commander walked through the brightly lit halls of the Republic command center in Kesiak. Though the typical observer would not recognize the clone as a commander. Instead of the usual yellow markings designating a clone as a commander, this specific clone had his armor custom painted for his identification markings to be purple. It was an unusual sight but the trend of clone troopers, especially experienced clone troopers, painting their armor in custom themes was starting to catch on in the clone army. The clone commander stopped when he reached a Neimoidian.
"What is it, Commander Krane?"
"General, we've lost contact with our forces stationed on the moon. We think the Separatists have taken out the anti-orbital cannon. And our fleet in orbit around Thule has been defeated. Our capital ships were outnumbered roughly three to one. And I'm sure I don't need to remind you that droid control ships carry many more starfighters than Venator star destroyers. All fighter squadrons stationed on the Venators were lost."
"This is an unfortunate turn of events. That the Confederacy would send such a sizable force to take back Thule is surprising. And what is even more surprising is that they knew we had an anti-orbital cannon. These Separatists appear to be very well informed about our strategy."
"Shall I have your shuttle standing by?"
"The battle is not yet lost, Commander. I do not intend to allow the Separatists to take back the planet so easily. But it cannot hurt to have the shuttle standing by."
"Yes sir."
The Neimoidian turned to leave.
"Sir, where are you going?" Commander Krane asked.
"To the tanks. I can't let the troops have all the fun without me. When you're finished with the shuttle you're welcome to join me."
"Yes sir, of course I will, sir."
Thule was almost always suffering from lightning storms. The scorch marks from the endless lightning bolts darkened the ground of the world. The whole planet seemed to be soaked in shallow shadows with the exception of bioluminescent moss that grew on a few of the rocky outcroppings. The moss gave off an eerie greenish light.
The Separatist invasion force added new lights and shadows to the planet's exceptional color scheme. Scores of C-9979 landing craft, XT Beetle transports, Trade Federation drop ships, Neimoidian transports, and VACs began their landing cycles. The goal of the first wave was to clear safe zones so that the core ships could land. Scanners had picked up a large energy signature to the northeast of the Glaciarium's core ship's designated landing zone. Whatever it was, OOM-9 wanted it dealt with before moving on to Kesiak.
The dark blue and purple sky was buzzing with belligerent gunship fighters, gunship bombers, V-19 Torrent fighters, and LAAT/i gunships. The Republic aircraft tried to stop the CIS transports from landing, but were countered by the Vulture droids, Scarab starfighters, E-STAP starbombers, and Mankvim-184 interceptors that came down with the Separatist drop ships.
"We need to clear that landing zone for the core ship," EEK-176 piloted a mechanized assault flyer. The MAF was the CIS equivalent of the LAAT/i gunship, though it was wasn't utilized as much as it's Republic rival was.
"Roger roger," KJZ-8267 flew with a squadron of E-STAP starbombers.
Clearing the selected landing area was not an easy task. The area was protected by several medium turrets and an assortment of vehicles. In the first pass, EEK-176 lost four other MAFs that were flying alongside his own mechanized assault flyer. Though they managed to destroy a couple of A5-RX battle tanks, it was clearly a loss on the Confederacy's part. KJZ-8267's E-STAP starbomber squadron flew in immediately after the MAFs made their first run. The starbombers were much more successful, employing the simple strategy of blasting the entire area into a green-hued chaos with their plasma bombs.
When EEK-176 swung his assault flyer around for another attack, he found that the bulk of the Republic defense forces, including all of the defense turrets, were destroyed or impaired beyond the point of functionality. The Republic was quick to send in more tanks, specifically anti-air tanks, though now the CIS held the edge.
A pair of gunship fighters blazed past EEK-176's MAF. The droid gunship's turret laser swung around and blasted one of the Republic fighters. The other gunship fighter rolled away sharply to avoid the same fate, but was instead shot down by one of the E-STAP droid starbombers.
Despite there being a plethora of enemy ground units still in the area, the Glaciarium's core ship touched down anyway. The Republic's anti-air tanks were never designed to combat armored ground vehicles and they also lacked the power to threaten the integrity of the core ship. The homing spider droids and dwarf spider droids that were the first off the core ship were able to clear the rest of the landing zone with ease.
Squadrons of hunter-seeker droids reported that the high-energy signature that the scanners had picked up was an energy shield protecting wreckage of a down Acclamator assault ship. EEK-176 guessed the wrecked Acclamator was a causality of the previous battle on Thule and the Republic was trying to get it in working order again.
"We're moving out," Captain SSA-719 informed Commander EEK-176. The security battle droid was driving a red HAG. "We need you to drop that energy shield before my ground troops reach the Acclamator."
"We'll take care of it," EEK-176 replied. The Separatist air units had plenty of time to locate the shield generator; the CIS ground forces faced considerable opposition and weren't going to reach the downed Acclamator quickly.
Various CIS aircraft had flooded the area, yet no one had yet reported on sighting any shield generator. EEK-176 flew his MAF away from the core ship, searching for the target. The command droid spent several valuable minutes searching and scanning, yet found no shield generator. Though EEK-176 was treated to some spectacular views of the various ground battles between the CIS and Republic. Whether it was STAPs and 74-Z speeder bikes chasing each other around or hordes of battle droids and clone troopers gunning each other down with bloodless precision, the dark surface of Thule was lit up in a chorus of vibrant colors.
Eventually the long-range scanners picked up two distinct power signatures that were near the Acclamator wreck. KJZ-8267's squadron got to one of the energy signatures first. "They're using energy farms to power the shield," the pilot droid informed the other flyers. After a few bombing runs on the energy farm, KJZ-8267 warned EEK-176 of a problem. "The energy farms are also powering their own shielding. We need to send in ground troops."
"Requesting elite infantry units," EEK-176 swung his MAF back around to where the core ship was parked.
When EEK-176 got back to the core ship and set down, six marine battle droids were ready and waiting for him. The droid marines entered the MAF and EEK-176 took off for the energy farm KJZ-8267 was at. It was a short trip, interrupted a few times by gunship fighters, but EEK-176's mechanized assault flyer made it to the energy farm in one piece.
"We've cleared the area of enemy defenses, you're clear to land the troopers," KJZ-8267 informed EEK-176.
"Roger roger." The MAF touched down and the six marine battle droids got off.
"Enemy walkers are approaching the energy farm," KJZ-8267 warned. It was perfect timing on behalf of the Republic; the droid marines were out in the open and vulnerable. The E-STAP squadron and the single MAF tried gunning down a squad of AT-RTs that tried to intercept the marines before they reached the interior of the energy farm.
The MAF was much more effective at targeting the small reconnaissance walkers than the E-STAP starbombers were. Though the bombers also got a chance at eliminating a few of the slower clone personal walkers.
All six of the droid marines made it inside. A full eleven seconds after the marines had entered the structure, they reported back to the flyers. "We've disabled the energy farm's shields and are leaving the area. You are free to commence attack."
EEK-176 figured there must have not been much of a defense inside the energy farm. The marine battle droids were good, but they completed their task so fast EEK-176 estimated that there must have been only two or three clones standing guard inside the energy farm. In a few short passes, the E-STAP starbombers destroyed the structure while EEK-176 picked up the droid marines.
The trip to the next target was riddled with interruptions from gunship fighters and anti-air tanks. The Republic aircraft cutting through the dark Thule sky had long abandoned any discipline or formations early in the battle. The most EEK-176 and KJZ-8267's group came across was two or three fighters at a time, manageable numbers for the MAF and twelve droid starbombers. It was the random, roaming herds of anti-air tanks that the CIS flyers had to take detours around. Though they avoided the anti-air tanks, KJZ-8267 reported their positions to the droid ground forces. Small strike groups of hailfire and NR-N99 tank droids were dispatched to wipe out the Republic anti-air tanks.
The second energy farm was much more heavily defended. The Republic had figured out what the Separatists were doing, and had no intention of letting them succeed.
The E-STAP starbombers focused on the defensive turrets first before moving to attack the A5-RX battle tanks. EEK-176 chose to target a few clone scout walkers that were scattered about the area.
When the Republic's defenses were broken, EEK-176 once again dropped off the droid marines. And once again more Republic ground troops moved in to try and destroy the elite droid infantry. The MAF's beam cannon tore into a pair of TX-130 fighter tanks. The E-STAP starbombers destroyed an RTT that was trying to bring in clone infantry to defend the energy farm.
All six droid marines managed to make it inside the energy farm. The droid marines had a couple of clone troopers to kill and a handful of surprisingly aggressive Kaminoan worker droids.
"The shields are disabled. It's all up to you now," one of the droid marines reported. Just as with the previous energy farm, KJZ-8267's squadron began their bombing run as EEK-176's gunship retrieved the marines.
The shield protecting the Acclamator dissipated almost the moment SSA-719's artillery units were within firing range. HAGs, HAG-Ms, HHAG-Ms, and bio cannons started hammering away at the assault ship's already damaged armor. The AT-TEs and clone scout walkers guarding the Acclamator started to move towards the attacking droid artillery, though they would have to face off against homing spider droids and tri-droids first. To the droid army's surprise, the Acclamator started to lift off.
"The assault ship is functional! It's trying to escape," SSA-719 warned the others.
"We'll blast them into scrap metal!" KJZ-8267 and his starbomber squadron arrived and bombed the dying Acclamator. Two passes and the assault ship began falling back towards the planet. In a stroke of good luck, the Acclamator crashed on top of the Republic walkers that were moving to face off against the spider droids.
Five hundred and eighty-nine kilometers west of the wrecked Acclamator a blue and gray C-9979 landing craft flanked by two Trade Federation drop ships touched down. General OOM-9 had sent Commander Zako to lead the assault against the Republic's two main air pads. Armored assault tanks started to file out of the C-9979 landing craft one by one. Commander Zako was piloting the fourth tank out of the transport. A pair of gunship fighters strafed by, firing upon the first three tanks out of the landing craft. Though none of the tanks were destroyed, the incident reminded Zako why it was not always good to be the first one out of the transport.
B1 battle droids, B2 super battle droids, dwarf spider droids, crab droids, and human CIS soldiers filed out of the two Trade Federation drop ships. Most of the B1 battle droids in the group were painted in the black and gray camouflage pattern, the same pattern worn by the CIS soldiers. The B2 super battle droids were painted in a 'shadow' color scheme. The B2s were mostly black but had a few areas of dark, dull purple and a few highlights of silver. A red CIS symbol was painted on the B2 droids' right arms. It was an uncommon paint scheme for B2 battle droids (as super battle droids rarely came in color schemes that deviated from the default one), but it worked to their advantage on the dark planet Thule.
Commander Zako exited his AAT from the rear hatch; he wanted to address his troops in person rather than by transmission. He felt that it would inspire the troops better, especially since a significant portion of the infantry was comprised of humans in this particular attack group.
"General OOM-9 is counting on us to destroy the enemy's air power. If we fail all the advances we made will ground down to a halt. We are not going to let that happen. Move out!"
Zako returned to his tank, and just in time as a full company of clone troopers was marching on the CIS landing zone. The AATs fired the first shots but the fight was primarily between the two opposing infantry groups. The difference in the armor between the two opposing sides was stark. The blinding white armor of the clone troopers made them stand out clearly while the darker color patterns of the B1, B2, and human troopers helped them blend in against the background of the shadowy planet. The dwarf spider droids and crab droids were more noticeable but had quality armor to protect them from enemy blaster fire.
The armored assault tanks had to break off from helping the CIS infantry when a group of clone scout walkers started closing in. The AATs were more than capable of defeating the walkers. The real challenge came after the scout walkers were destroyed. The AATs came under bombardment from a pair of AV-7 anti-vehicle cannons. The AATs moved to target the artillery but were cut off by a trio of TX-130 fighter tanks.
With assistance from a few B1 battle droids wielding E-60R rocket launchers and some Separatist assault troopers, the armored assault tanks were victorious over the TX-130 fighter tanks. The AATs then moved to the take out the AV-7 cannons without problem.
The ground forces pushed onwards undeterred by the gunship fighters and LAAT/i gunships buzzing around overhead. There were more than enough Vulture droids and Scarab starfighters to keep the Republic aircraft busy for the moment. It was a trio of AT-XTs that had Commander Zako worried. The assault walkers managed to destroy three AATs before themselves being destroyed.
But now the CIS vehicles were within firing distance of the first Republic air pad. The remaining AATs attacked, prompting a pair of refueling LAAT gunships to take off from the air pad and escape. The gunships circled around to the side and hit the AATs hard. All too quickly, Zako's tank was the last one left. But now the two LAAT gunships had been shot down by human assault troopers.
"We need more firepower. Bring down the bio cannons," Zako ordered. Three VAC transports came down, each one dropping off a bio cannon. The artillery quickly unrolled from ball mode and plastered the air pad with crimson artillery blasts.
As the bio cannons finished their work, Zako pulled his AAT ahead. At this point the bio cannons were lacking adequate protection and Zako's answer was to push ahead and keep the Republic focused on him.
Zako's strategy worked. The AT-RTs he came across stopped to fight his tank, rather than run ahead and tackle the bio cannons. More and more CIS transports started landing at various areas of the battlefield. New groups of battle droids and CIS soldiers fought against clone trooper platoons. Some new AATs were even dropped off to help Zako's tank.
Zako kept his tank group moving at a constant pace. Even when they came across Republic walkers and fighter tanks they did not slow down, instead fighting the enemy vehicles on the go. They ignored the battles between the infantry hordes altogether. Zako knew the last air pad had to be taken out as quickly as possible, and then he could turn around and help the others afterwards.
On a nearby hill, a pair of plasma battle droids was wiping out a squad of clone troopers. A pair of AT-RTs was dashing across the plains to deal with the tall battle droids. Plasma battle droids were deadly opponents when sent against enemy infantry, but they were lightweights against vehicles. Zako sent his tank on a short detour to block the path of the two recon walkers. A few bursts from AAT's the secondary laser cannons and energy launchers sent the all terrain recon walkers to the junk pile.
The tanks were once again on the right path. A pair of clone scout walkers was destroyed and Zako had range on the last air pad. Though several turrets, walkers, and clone troopers protected it.
Commander Zako had allowed his attack force to be spread too thin. He was sure he would have to pull his tanks back and regroup before striking at the air pad again. But luck was on Zako's side as a squadron of shielded E-STAP droid starbombers swooped in and bombed the air pad and its defenders at the last moment. With their task completed for them, Zako's ground forces had an easy time mopping up the few Republic ground troops that had managed to survive the shielded E-STAP squadron's bombing run. Zako transmitted to OOM-9 that his assignment was complete, and then turned his tank around to go back and assist his other troops still fighting.
The Confederacy had held the advantage of numerical superiority since the start of the battle. The further the battle progressed and the more Separatist transport ships touched down on Thule's surface the worse the odds became for the Republic. According to estimations from the central control computers on the Scrapyard and Magna Musai, the clone troopers on Thule were now outnumbered three hundred and fifty to one. And the odds would only continue to lean against the Republic. Yet even against such horrendous odds the Republic refused to surrender and fought the Separatist army every step of the way to Kesiak.
But the droid army was growing ever nearer Kesiak. All that stood between the droid army and the city was a Republic base. To get to the base the CIS army had to cross a large area of mostly open terrain. There were occasionally rocky outcroppings and hills to provide infantry some cover but most of the fighting was done brazenly out in the open. Medium-sized groups of battle droids and human CIS soldiers fought against their clone rivals at random intervals on the battlefield. Occasional bands of ASTs would harass the clone infantry as they zipped about the battlefront.
The main CIS attack force was led by a deadly OG-10 heavy homing spider droid. There were two regular OG-9 homing spider droids, one at each side of the heavy homing spider droid. A tri-droid followed behind each of the two homing spider droids. In between the legged walkers was a large group of B1 battle droids, B2 super battle droids, dwarf spider droids, and various classes of human CIS troopers. There were even some HouseKarl battle droids sprinkled in with the rank-and-file troops. Due to the layout of the battlefield and the current battle situation, the HouseKarls had been sent in with ranged weapons such as elite E-5 blaster rifles and particle beam E-5s sniper rifles rather than the ZK-III battle-axes they would typically be seen using. Though the HouseKarls were spread out and so few in number that they didn't make much of an impact on the battle save for the fact they never seemed to go down.
The Republic struck at the main CIS attack force in waves, sending clusters of IFT-X fighter tanks in groups of three or four. There was also the occasional but ineffective trio of AT-RTs. The large spider walkers kept their formation, swiveling their turrets around to target their foes. Charged with defending the main attack group from vehicle attacks were squads of AATs and GATs. The faster repulsor tanks zipped about the battlefield, moving to block the GAR vehicles from seriously impeding the main attack group.
General OOM-9 participated in this battle personally. OOM-9 drove a dark gray and blue GAT. His wing mates were Katen and Sledge. Katen droved a yellow GAT while Sledge had a red one. Their little GAT trio was quite colorful, even more so when they unleashed their red hued blaster bolts and violet colored missiles.
3B3-888 and DSD-08 led the main infantry group that marched alongside the spider walker attack group. The groups of clone troopers that challenged them were always smaller in number, plus the CIS troopers had the added advantage of the large spider walkers helping them out with the clone infantry from time to time.
A lighting bolt came down from the sky and struck right in front of the main infantry group. 3B3-888 and DSD-08 had come dangerously close to being taken out of the fight by the planet's weather. The dwarf spider droid DSD-08 whined.
"It would be nice if lightning stuck at the clone infantry from time to time," 3B3-888 agreed with the irritated spider droid. The B1 sergeant was using an E-8 heavy projectile launcher. 3B3-888 found the E-8 a most agreeable weapon, it was powerful enough to damage enemy vehicles that got too close to the infantry group (especially AT-RTs), yet was able to fire at a rate that was acceptable for combating clone infantry. An E-8 packed less punch than an E-60R rocket launcher but more than a bulldog rocket launcher rifle. And of course the E-8 launcher had a faster rate of fire than the E-60R and a slower rate of fire than the bulldog RLR.
DSD-08 was still annoyed at being almost zapped by lightning. DSD-08 headshot another clone sergeant to calm his circuits. Killing clones put the dwarf spider droid at ease, the more dead clones, the higher his chances of surviving a mission intact.
"Highly accurate shooting," a nearby black and gray colored B1 battle droid congratulated DSD-08 on his superior marksmanship.
An IFT-X fighter tank got too close to the infantry group, and had somehow eluded the attention of the various homing spider droids and tri-droids. 3B3-888, DSD-08, and several infantry wielding anti-vehicle weapons turned their attention to the tank. They attacked, but didn't destroy it.
The IFT-X fighter tank blew up after OOM-9 and his wing mates burst forth and finished it off with a barrage of missiles.
"Thanks for giving us some cover, General," 3B3-888 transmitted.
"We're trying our best. There hasn't been a break in the enemy's attack for a long time," OOM-9 replied.
"The battle will be over by the time we reach the city, the Republic won't have any troops left by then," Sledge optimistically said.
A LAAT/i gunship flew in low and launched a pair of rockets at OOM-9's tank trio. The tanks quickly broke formation and the blue rockets impacted harmlessly on the planet's surface where the tanks had been in formation only seconds before.
"What's with all these fighters? I thought Zako reported the air pads destroyed," Major Katen complained. There were still plenty of LAAT gunships, V-19 Torrent fighters, and gunship fighters fighting with Vulture droids, Scarab starfighters, and Techno Union interceptors in Thule's dark purple-blue sky.
"They can't refuel or reload, but they're still in the sky," OOM-9 pointed out the obvious to Katen. "Now, regroup."
"Yes sir," Captain Sledge and Major Katen both answered. The two wayward GATs rejoined their leader. Together the fighter tank trio challenged a clone scout walker that was on its own with no support. It was hardly a fair fight. Though a pair of AT-RTs sought to change that. The two recon walkers fired on the GATs as they scrapped the scout walker. A trio of ASTs turned course to intercept the two walkers and blasted them with their laser cannons. Even though the role of ASTs was scouting and support, they had more than enough firepower to bring down the fragile AT-RTs.
A pair of LAAT/c gunships dropped off two AT-TEs right in front of the main attack group of spider walkers. The homing spider droids, tri-droids, and their accompanying infantry horde immediately starting blasting the armored walkers the moment they touched down on the ground. OOM-9's fighter tank squad also turned to help, though they made sure to stay out of the way of their allies' attack. The two AT-TEs were destroyed within seconds of their deployment. The only thing the two walkers had accomplished was giving a morale boost to the CIS troops (especially the human infantry) for having destroyed the walkers so quickly and without casualties.
With renewed vigor, the CIS infantry surged forward amidst an open battlefield filled with heavy vehicles and aircraft. The clone infantry were being hit hard. Some of the smaller groups of clones started to retreat.
The Republic responded by sending in two more AT-TEs via LAAT/c gunships. But just as before they were instantly destroyed by the Separatists' main battle group. The walkers provided a brief distraction so that the ever-incoming squads of IFT-X fighter tanks could close in. Yet the AATs and GATs were still able to push back the Republic's dwindling supply of fighter tanks.
Now it was the Confederacy's turn to drop in reinforcements. A quartet of VACs let loose some hailfire droids and NR-N99 tank droids. It looked as if the Republic would be overwhelmed completely.
Two more LAAT/c gunships brought another pair of AT-TEs to the battlefront. Though this time they landed the walkers behind the main group of spider droids rather than in front of them. Of course the two tri-droids were still able to fire on the walkers immediately. Some of the infantry did an about-face and assisted the tri-droids in attacking the AT-TEs. The homing spider droids ignored the problem and kept pushing forward, it would take them too long to turn around and make them vulnerable to enemies coming at them from the front.
OOM-9's tank squad had to boost back around to the rear of the battle to help take out the AT-TEs. OOM-9, Katen, and Sledge had nearly depleted their tanks' supply of missiles when the walkers were finally destroyed. Though the AT-TEs did manage to destroy the left tri-droid before they themselves were scrapped.
When OOM-9's tank squad moved back up towards the front of the fighting they saw that the situation up front had worsened. Many of the newly deployed hailfire droids and NR-N99 tank droids had been destroyed. The number of functioning AATs was also starting to wear thin. The remaining GAR vehicles weren't being destroyed as swiftly as before. Heavy weapons infantry had to start filling in the hole left by the reduced CIS vehicle count.
A single IFT-X fighter tank managed to destroy three GATs that were actively trying to eliminate it. The IFT-X then swiveled around and shot a NR-N99 tank droid full of missiles. Then it boosted away and blasted a hailfire droid from behind. The motions of the tank were lucid and precise, as if the pilot knew the movements of his opponents ahead of time.
"That fighter tank is exceptionally talented," OOM-9 stated. "That is no clone. Only a Jedi could make that tank so miserably effective." OOM-9's tank trio closed in on the annoying IFT-X fighter tank. "You two take him from the sides, I'll get his attention."
"Understood, General," Katen said. The red GAT and yellow GAT broke away from the blue and gray one.
OOM-9 fired the rest of his missiles; none of them hit the tank. But he certainly got the tank's attention. The two fighter tanks soon ended up circling around each other, firing red and blue blaster bolts past one another. A pair of missiles from the IFT-X shut down OOM-9's GAT for good. OOM-9 exited from his ruined GAT. The IFT-X had no time to target the command droid though. Katen and Sledge tried to hit the fighter tank, but it effortlessly backed away the moment it was in danger.
"How'd he do that?" Katen demanded.
Though the IFT-X's movements weren't without flaw. The tank had escaped the grip of the GATs but had backed away into the line of fire of the heavy homing spider droid. OOM-9 observed as the spider walker's two gatling cannons cut the IFT-X fighter tank to ribbons. Though the heavy spider droids symphony of red colored doom was not the end of the tank's operator. A small flash of violet light cut through the red lasers and sprang forth towards OOM-9.
The flurry of dancing violet light stopped a few meters from where OOM-9 stood. The brilliant violet light emanated from the hilt of a lightsaber. And the lightsaber was held by a Neimoidian.
"Zif Korlo. I might have known it was you," OOM-9 raised his custom E-5 blaster rifle at the Jedi.
"I'm sorry," the Jedi was confused. "Do I know you? I've destroyed so many of your kind already and I can't really tell the difference between any of you."
"Maybe you'd remember me if there was an angry blonde woman standing next to me." There was a gentle breeze coming in from the east, carrying with it the stench of death. OOM-9 couldn't smell it, but Zif Korlo could.
"Now I remember. Commander OOM-9." Zif didn't remember individual droids too well based off appearance, but he remembered humans. And Ashley Katen was certainly memorable.
"Actually, I'm a General now," OOM-9 informed Korlo before firing upon him.
"Congratulations." Zif Korlo effortlessly evaded OOM-9's attack, but was caught in the crossfire by a yellow GAT. The Jedi leapt up on onto the tank as it tried to run him over. Using the Force, Zif Korlo forced the GAT to crash into a nearby outcropping.
The GAT's bottom hatch opened up and a human female fell out.
"Ouch. You play rough," Katen got up and activated her electrostaff.
"Ashley Katen," Korlo said.
"Glad to see you remember me, Zif Korlo," Katen said back.
"How could I forget?"
Katen attacked. She hit hard and fast but the Neimoidian Jedi was able to parry away everything she offered.
"You're as energetic as ever," Korlo said between parries.
"And you don't know when you're beat," Katen's electrostaff locked against Korlo's lightsaber.
"I see you got a new staff. This one is much better," Zif commented.
"Yeah, it's made specifically for dueling Jedi." Staff and saber clashed again, but now Korlo was on the offensive, and was pushing back Katen fast. The Jedi suddenly had to back flip away when a few pink colored rockets rushed his way. OOM-9 had used the bulldog RLR feature of his custom gun.
"Careful OOM-9! You almost hit me!" Katen stumbled back from the blasts.
"You're fine. Stop complaining."
Zif raced towards OOM-9, who had now switched his gun to elite E-5 mode. But the Jedi had to break off and roll away when Sledge's red GAT came in to gun him down. Korlo tossed his lightsaber with incredible force and speed and sliced off the ends of the GAT's blaster cannons.
With her GAT now unable to attack, Sledge pulled the tank over and got out. Sledge was suited up in a KSV-1 combat suit, the same kind Katen wore. Though the armor plating on Sledge's suit was gray where Katen's was blue.
Normally Melissa Sledge wouldn't fight alongside the droid army like a common enlisted soldier. But she couldn't resist seeing the beauty of Thule (though until now it had been through the viewport of a tank).
Sledge activated her electrowhip and tried her hand at beating Zif Korlo. The other CIS infantry in the area didn't move to help their General and his officers with the Jedi, they were too busy fighting clone troopers.
The whip laughed and cackled as it sliced through the air at Korlo. But the Jedi was always able to parry or evade the weapon at the last possible second. Katen jumped in the fight again, making it more difficult for Sledge as she had to make sure not to accidentally hit her friend. Korlo was more than capable of taking them both on at the same time, yet couldn't or was reluctant to strike down the two women.
When OOM-9 started shooting at him again, Korlo had had enough. The Jedi wasn't about to defend himself against all three of them at once. He snared Katen and Sledge with the Force, lifted them up into the air, and sent them crashing into OOM-9.
"You certainly are an interesting battle droid," Korlo spoke to OOM-9.
"I'm getting tired of Jedi being surprised at how good I am at fighting. It's what I was made for." OOM-9 knocked the two women off of him. Katen and Sledge got back up and the three Separatist officers entered fighting stances.
"Not that," Korlo said.
"Then what?"
"I've never seen a droid so interested in human women before. You're always surrounded by them."
This was completely unexpected statement to OOM-9; he had never noticed it before. When OOM-9 and Korlo had worked as allies, Katen and Sledge had been around then as well.
"I'm attracted to their personalities. Their violent…violent…personalities," OOM-9 stated. As if to demonstrate the droid general's point, Sledge cracked her electrowhip and Katen violently twirled her electrostaff, kicking up some of Thule's dirt in the process.
Katen paused. "Hey wait a second. General, did you just call us ugly?"
"What are you talking about, Major?" OOM-9 continued to fire at Korlo as the conversation continued.
"You like our personalities? Guys say that when a women has a sub-par physical appearance."
"Relax, Major; before you overheat. You look good for a woman your age." What OOM-9 said was true, Katen aged well by human standards, though to a droid she was a wreck. Droids didn't age, not in the way that organics did. And OOM-9 found that over the years the aging in his human friends was starting to become more noticeable. OOM-9 preferred things to stay the same, but there was simply nothing to be done about the aging process of organics. At least his human friends had the courtesy to never change their hairstyles; OOM-9 and the other droids would have never been able to handle that. Zako had always buzzed his hair off on a weekly basis without fail, a style that pleased the droid (as droids don't much care for hair and never have or want any hair of their own). One time Katen had considered growing out her hair but OOM-9 and the other battle droids badgered her enough that she gave up and kept it short the way it always was.
"What? You're mean, General," Katen pulled his commando SE-14 blaster pistol and joined in on firing at the Jedi from long range. Sledge also pulled her commando SE-14 pistol and did the same.
But Korlo suddenly found himself having to dodge and block blasts from an entirely different direction from where the three Separatist officers were. The Jedi discovered that a chameleon droid had stealthy moved into position to take him out. OOM-9 and his two ladies' bickering was actually a distraction to keep Korlo's attention away from the chameleon droid as it moved into position. Though now attacking and without it's camouflage up, Korlo had no problem targeting the droid and taking it out with a swift lunge.
Zif Korlo's personal fight with OOM-9 and his officers had taken up too much time. The clone troopers were now sparse in the area and more droids turned to fight the Neimoidian Jedi. Two crab droids and a dwarf spider droid had joined in on attacking the Jedi.
Just as it looked like Korlo would be completely overwhelmed an AT-RT sped right in between the Jedi and the Separatists trying to kill him. When the recon walker had past the Jedi was gone. The Confederates turned to see that Zif had jumped onto the walker and rode on the driver. The droids fired, but missed.
"Don't worry. He won't get away," OOM-9 said. "They're moving to the base. And it's time to bring in the bio cannons to blast it into atoms."
Just as OOM-9 had stated, a group of bio cannons that had been waiting patiently in the back of the battle were rolling forward and deploying to positions close enough for them to bombard the base. The few lingering tanks the GAR had left were more than occupied with the still advancing spider walkers, GATs, and AATs. And there were precious few Republic aircraft left in the sky, far too few for any of them to target the artillery droids. The bio cannons were also out of range of the base's defense turrets. Within the span of three minutes the base was blasted into oblivion.
"All forces move on the city!" OOM-9, Katen, and Sledge were marching with 3B3-888, DSD-08 and the infantry horde now. The bio cannons retracted back into ball mode in order to move faster.
When the CIS army passed the smoldering wreckage of the Republic base they were faced with yet another major obstacle. Two A-6 juggernauts were rolling straight towards the bulk of the droid army. ASTs and GATs boosted ahead of the other CIS units and attacked the juggernauts from the sides.
"Artillery deploy, smash those wheeled tanks!" OOM-9 ordered. The bio cannons were quick to comply. The combined fire from the bio cannons and the other vehicles was enough to blow up the first juggernaut, but the second was nearly upon the CIS forces. It seemed intend to roll over and crush its enemies. But before the juggernaut could complete its goal, a squadron of E-STAP starbombers flew in and plastered the large tank with plasma bombs, stopping it in its tracks.
"I heard you needed some assistance, General OOM-9," KJZ-8267 transmitted.
"Excellent timing, Lieutenant KJZ-8267."
The Scrapyard's core ship started to touch down behind the advancing CIS army. The reinforcements inside the core ship were more than enough to overrun the city several times over.
"It's all right Commander, you can stop now," Zif Korlo told Commander Krane. Krane had run the walker past the now-destroyed Republic base and right towards the city gates. "We don't want to get too far from the front line." The AT-RT came to a halt and the Jedi jumped off, he was weary of holding onto Krane, AT-RTs were only meant to seat one.
"Sir, that droid army is going to be at the front gate in minutes. We need to fall back to the interior of the city."
"We still have troops. We cannot give the Separatists ground now."
"General, there are too many. And they're landing another core ship. We cannot fight them all and survive. You were almost killed. We need to get to the shuttle."
"I was fine. You worry too much, Commander. And we are not running to the shuttle just yet."
"Will you at least get behind the city walls?" Krane pleaded.
"No. Not yet. You get inside the city and prepare the men. Make sure the gate is locked behind you."
"What about you, sir?"
"I'll follow shortly. You have your orders, Commander."
"Yes, sir."
The Separatist army was making its final march to the gates of the city. Fresh infantry and vehicles provided by the Scrapyard's core ship engaged the city perimeter defense turrets. A sizable force of clone scout walkers and AT-XTs stood guard in front of the main gate to the city.
A good number of specialized droids joined the ranks of the more common B1s and B2s this time around. Baron battle droids, thermal detonator battle droids, grapple battle droids, flame battle droids, droidekas and plasma battle droids were deployed from the core ship to assist in the upcoming urban fighting. The droids held the numbers to fight in the open streets. And if the clones tried to force the battle inside the city's buildings then they would be nothing but fodder for the close-range specialists like the grapple and flame battle droids. Though they still needed to make it past the city gates.
The turrets and clone scout walkers traded fire with the homing spider droids and AATs. The single OG-10 heavy homing spider droid was still functional and shredding GAR combat units with its gatling lasers.
The various types of CIS infantry pressed forward against the clone troopers, the firepower of the vehicles flying over their heads.
"General, Korlo is back," 3B3-888 fired his E-8 projectile launcher in the direction of the Jedi.
"He should have fled while he had the chance," Sledge said over the roar of laser fire.
Zif Korlo was closing in on OOM-9 and his squad. The Jedi kept deflecting shots that whizzed his way. Katen ran up to be Korlo's first challenger, but the Jedi merely leapt up over the Separatist officer and kept going. So casually avoiding Katen made it clear to the others that Korlo was going after OOM-9. Major Katen was about to turn around and try to attack the Jedi from behind but was forced to pay attention to a trio of approaching clone troopers that shot at her.
Sledge struck at Korlo with her electrowhip but the Jedi batted the strike away with his lightsaber. Sledge backed away when Korlo started to get close. The Jedi was more than willing to let her cower away, but he was not expecting OOM-9 to lunge forward at him.
OOM-9's ZK-II war-axe met Zif Korlo's lightsaber. The lightsaber whined and screeched against the war-axe.
"New toy?" Korlo asked.
"New to you," OOM-9 answered as he broke the lock and swung again.
"An axe variant of a lightsaber, now I've seen everything," the Jedi attacked.
"You haven't seen everything just yet," OOM-9 returned the attack.
3B3-888 and DSD-08 would have been able to help OOM-9 against the Jedi if they weren't forced to deal with a pair of ARF troopers that insisted on getting in on the fight. And Sledge had slinked off to help Katen; OOM-9 faced Zif Korlo on his own.
Korlo knew he had to end the fight quickly before the others finished off their clone adversaries. He wasn't about to assume that the clones would take down the Separatist fighters, specifically the well-armored dwarf spider droid. Korlo grabbed OOM-9 with the Force and lifted him up into the air.
"Sorry but you can't choke me with the Force," OOM-9 said before firing his custom E-5 blaster rifle with the flechette shotgun setting.
"You have an answer for everything, don't you?" Korlo dropped the droid.
More clones were rushing into their little fight. Zif could feel their presence on the battlefield and knew he now held the advantage of superior numbers, at least in this specific fight.
Several clones dropped dead, and the reason was soon apparent. The Z1 special ops battle droids had dropped their cloaking ability and were wiping out the clones that threatened OOM-9 and his crew.
In a few frantic seconds Korlo found himself alone.
"What was that?" the Jedi asked.
"Your doom," OOM-9 shot at the Jedi again.
The Jedi backed away from OOM-9 and instead struck at the nearest Z1 battle droid. To Korlo's surprise, the battle droid avoided the slice completely and followed up with an attack using an elite E-5 blaster rifle.
Korlo naturally evaded and moved to slice at the black battle droid again, only to have the droid catch him by the wrist mid-swing. Sledge then tried to shoot the Jedi with her commando SE-14 blaster pistol but the Jedi swung the droid around and the shot hit the Z1 battle droid instead.
"Sorry," Sledge said. The Z1 was fine but Korlo had let go and was on the run again. 3B3-888 sent a rocket chasing after the Jedi.
"A little late to the party," Katen told the Z1 special ops battle droids as they approached. The Z1s had acted as advanced scouts on the planet and could not join the big battle immediately, though they now finally arrived.
"KLO-657, take your team and infiltrate the city service ducts. There should be a mechanism that will open the main gate," OOM-9 ordered.
"Roger roger," KLO-657 acknowledged. The special ops infiltration team sprinted quickly across the battlefield to their destination. The few clone troopers that stood in their path never had a chance.
Zif Korlo was beset by a trio of black colored super battle droids. He redirected enough blaster bolts to bring down the centermost battle droid. He threw his lightsaber at the B2 on the right and sliced it in the waist, while also rolling out of the way of the other's attack. Korlo used a Force push on the last B2 droid, but used a little too much force and sent the super battle droid careening halfway across the battlefield.
The three super battle droids had provided enough of a distraction that OOM-9 and the others were able to catch up to the Neimoidian Jedi.
"Just because you paint battle droids in custom colors doesn't not mean they're elite units," Korlo told OOM-9.
"We'll see about that," the droid general shot back with his words and his gun.
A blue and gray Sheathipede shuttle flew down from the sky. It flew in low to where the Jedi was and two HouseKarl droids dropped out of it and landed on Thule's surface. The HouseKarl battle droids KV-11 and KV-12 had been absent from the battle up until this point. The two HouseKarl battle droids wielded ZK-III battle-axes and set out to use them against the Jedi.
While Zif Korlo was preoccupied with dueling KV-11 and KV-12, OOM-9 and the others were interrupted by squads of clone troopers coming to their general's defense. Both sides seemed to be at a standstill, until a red HAG came in close. The artillery tank should have been focused on the larger vehicle fight, but instead chose to close in on the Jedi.
Zif Korlo recognized this new threat and broke past the two HouseKarl battle droids to deal with the heavy artillery tank. The Jedi jumped on and started to cut into the tank, but the hatch popped out and SSA-719 welcomed Korlo with a few shots from his SE-14 blaster pistol. The Jedi was able to block the blaster shots but was caught off guard when the security droid threw a punch. The strike caught the Jedi in the shin and Zif Korlo fell backwards off the tank.
Being a Jedi, Zif Korlo still managed to land on his feet and fought off numerous more attacks. The two HouseKarl battle droids tried to close in on Korlo again but the Jedi was adamant about keeping his distance from them, he couldn't fight them both and block all the blaster fire coming his way, there were enemies at too many different angles now. A LAAT/i gunship dropped down from the sky in hovered in the air near where Korlo and his opponents were fighting. A few clones riding in the gunship fired down at the various battle droids, who of course returned fire.
The last of the clones on the ground near Korlo had fallen and the Jedi was starting to be surrounded despite the fact that he was getting aerial support from the gunship. The Jedi gave a mighty jump and landed in the gunship. SSA-719 tossed up a V-1 thermal detonator and miraculously the grenade landed perfectly in the gunship. Zif saw the grenade at the last second and jumped backwards out of the LAAT right as the explosion took out the unfortunate clone troopers. The gunship rocked and swiveled but was able to regain its bearings. The Jedi landed on Thule's soil once again, leapt up again, and caught onto the edge of the gunship.
Even as the battle droids fired upon him, the Jedi pulled himself back up onto the gunship. Zif Korlo waved goodbye as OOM-9 and his soldiers kept firing at the gunship even as it retreated to the interior of Kesiak.
KLO-657 and the Z1 battle droids reached the entrance to the city service ducts. Their journey to the entrance had been rather easy, given the circumstances of their situation. But the various vehicles from the Republic and CIS were more than preoccupied with one another, giving a spectacular laser light show right above the battle droids' heads. The special ops droids only drew attention from small, scattered groups of clone troopers. Most of the clone troopers were preoccupied with the vast amounts of more common CIS soldiers. And the Z1's black armor made them blend in with the ground of Thule better than most. But the clones guarding the service ducts entrance saw the droids coming their way. There were four regular clones armed with DC-15A blaster rifles, a clone sergeant equipped with an EMP launcher and a pair of EWHB-12 heavy repeaters. The battle droids took a few hits from the DC-15A rifles, but none of them went down. The clones fell down dead the second a blaster bolt connected with their armor.
The Z1 droids then hacked the door open and entered the service ducts. The black battle droids were engulfed in an eerie green light emitted from lights fixed on the dusty old walls. The ducts were much roomier than they would have guessed. They were certainly large enough that a dwarf spider droid could fit in. KLO-657 had ordered the Z1 dwarf spider droids in the group to stay outside and help with the larger fight; he didn't realize they'd have no trouble moving about the ducts. Though they didn't really need the spider droids, they could handle this on their own. The Z1 spider droids would be more useful helping out on the battlefield. So the situation turned out all right.
The Z1 droids kept moving, occasionally running into clones on guard duty, typically in groups of three or four. The Republic was wise to post so many guards here. During the first Battle of Thule during the Clone Wars, the Jedi Master Mace Windu had used this very set of service ducts to reach a mechanism that forced open the gates of Kesiak the first time around. Though the CIS had posted guards back then as well. Just as the B1 battle droids had been no match for Mace Windu, the clones were no match for KLO-657 and his Z1 battle droids.
The Z1 battle droids reached the room with the gate mechanism, though it was full of clones. One of the Z1 battle droids tossed in a thermal detonator and cleared the room in a single strike. The special ops droids then entered the room unopposed and manually open the front gate with a switch.
"General OOM-9, the gates are open. You may move your troops into city now."
The fight outside the city walls was nearly over. The very moment the large gates of Kesiak swung open, there were hordes of B1 and B2 super battle droids running through them. A few STAPs buzzed just overhead of the infantry swarm. Though the STAPs could have gone over the walls in the first place without a problem, OOM-9 had kept them back until everyone else could get in.
On the ground the Confederacy was able to make considerable headway into Kesiak before they were seriously challenged by the Republic. The marching of the Separatist battle droids was even louder on the paved streets of Kesiak. Trade Federation drop ships and Neimoidian transports trying to insert reinforcements directly into the city were repelled by anti-air turrets the Republic had constructed around various points in the city. The Republic staged mainly hit-and-run attacks with 74-Z speeder bikes and IFT-X fighter tanks. Only when Confederate grounds troops reach firing distance of the Republic's anti-air turrets did the clone troopers stand and fight.
Commander Krane observed the chaos with a pair of electrobinoculars. "Captain, keep the fighting in the streets. Do not fall back to the buildings." The clone commander had noticed that there were numerous specialty units hidden in the Separatist infantry ranks. Krane was no fool; he knew that the droids were hoping they would try to push the fight inside the buildings where the droids' superior numbers wouldn't hold such an advantage over the clones. He didn't like the odds his troops would face if they had to fight flame battle droids inside a building. Better to fight them out in the open. It wasn't ideal, but Krane had few options to choose from.
"Yes sir," the clone captain acknowledged.
Krane rode off in his AT-RT and let his troops do their jobs. The clone commander was not leaving out of cowardice, but he had finally received word that Zif Korlo was back inside the city and needed to meet with him. Clones were expendable and they knew it but Jedi were not, and Krane needed to go and convince Korlo that it was time for him to evacuate Thule.
OOM-9, Katen, Sledge, SSA-719, and 3B3-888 were riding on the tread covers of a NR-N99 tank droid. The tank droid they rode on was only a small part of a large attack force that comprised of a few GATs and hundreds of droid and human infantry.
As luck would have it, they ran into Zif Korlo. The gunship SSA-719 had damaged with his brilliant thermal detonator toss was now permanently parked in the streets of Kesiak. The gunship's clone pilots and turret gunners had left the ship to fight with the Jedi on foot. Though more clone troops and a few AT-RTs were rushing to Korlo's defense.
The streets were alive with the sounds of blaster fire intermingled with the cries of dying clone troopers and the whine of breaking battle droids. Korlo kept back, deflecting shots away from his troops as best he could.
The NR-N99 tank droid eventually tried to run over Korlo, but the Jedi got away. OOM-9 and the others got off the tank droid, but instead of going after Korlo, they had to deal with his clone troopers.
"Stop running and face me, Korlo!" OOM-9 yelled after the Jedi.
"Make me!"
"Have it your way. You can fight my troops instead."
The Jedi came to a screeching halt. The grapple battle droid GD-79 stood right in Zif Korlo's path. The large battle droid attacked with a series of swipes, Korlo was able to block them all put was nearly knocked down more than once. Korlo was surprised at how strong the droid was and decided it was better to evade than block.
A pair of droidekas rolled in and stopped the Jedi from running from the grapple droid.
"I am not in the mood for droidekas right now," Korlo grumbled and dodged another punch from GD-79.
Suddenly the clone troopers and AT-RTs started dropping like flies.
"They're flanking us from the west!" a clone yelled.
New Confederate units cut in on the Republic from the side and were dealing serious damage. An AAT was at the front of a large group of crab droids, dwarf spider droids, and octuptarra droids.
Krane dashed into the heated battle at the last moment and whisked away Zif Korlo again. The clones fought on without their general. Interestingly enough, the downed gunship's clone pilots were the last to die.
Commander Zako exited from the AAT's rear hatch. "Was that Zif Korlo?"
"It was," OOM-9 replied.
"Wow, small galaxy. How's he doing?"
"Not as well as we are," OOM-9 answered.
There were fewer and fewer enemy vehicles. The Republic was mostly relying on EWHB-12 heavy repeating blasters for serious firepower at this point. Separatist aircraft were now able to move over the city, though now the ground troops didn't need much air support anymore.
OOM-9 and the others were once again riding on the cover of the NR-N99 tank droid, though SSA-719 and 3B3-888 opted to hold on to the external handrails of Zako's armored assault tank. They had gone ahead of the main group, chasing after Korlo's AT-RT.
"They're following us," Korlo could feel his pursuers through the Force.
Commander Krane already knew that without the assistance of the Force. "Sir, we need to leave. This planet was never strategically important anyway, not since the Dark Reaper was destroyed."
"We're going to have to slow them down, or they'll have a clear shot at our shuttle."
"I've already prepared for that, General."
"Good."
A bolt of lightning struck down near the moving AT-RT.
The AT-RT had long been gone from OOM-9's sight, but patrols of STAPs informed OOM-9, and the entire droid invasion force, of where Zif Korlo was.
Dozens of troops from different attack groups had broken away from the various fights in the city streets to converge on Korlo's location. The Neimoidian Jedi was near Kesiak's ancient Sith temple.
When OOM-9's attack group arrived, Zif Korlo and Commander Krane were no longer on an AT-RT. Zif Korlo stood tall and strong, as if he were preparing for a fight he knew he would die in. Commander Krane had a Z-6 rotary blaster cannon ready.
"You're persistence impresses me, OOM-9. Not just the expert movements of your army but you yourself keep fighting on the frontline. You fight like a Jedi," Korlo declared.
"Come now, Korlo. I fight much better than a Jedi." OOM-9's soldiers spread out.
"But the time for fun and games has come to an end," Zif Korlo turned to his clone commander. "Commander Krane, finish them off."
"It will be my pleasure," Korlo made a hand signal and clone commandos started to attack from various hiding places. The Republic and Separatist soldiers fought each other, fueled by the hatred that the long battle on Thule had spawned.
Zif Korlo did not join in on the fight, instead observing. Commander Krane had forced the Separatists into whatever cover they could find. Zako's AAT and the tank droid were having trouble pinning down the clone commandos.
Neither side seemed to be able to get the upper hand on the other. The battle was stuck at a draw, until a MAF flew into the area. To pulled in low and slow and six marine battle droids jumped out of the moving aircraft, landed on their feet perfectly, and attacked the some of the clone commandos from behind.
The clone commandos were not ready to suddenly fight enemies from two sides. That's when Zif Korlo decided to join in on the battle. But instead of drawing his lightsaber, the Jedi merely stretched out his hands towards the sky.
A bolt of lightning struck the MAF and it went spiraling down to the street.
"What was that?" Sledge squealed.
"Did you turn into a Sith when I wasn't looking, Korlo?" OOM-9 yelled.
More lightning came down, down on the Separatists. The NR-N99 tank droid was hit and destroyed. Zako's armored assault tank was hit next. More lighting came down at the infantry, but they were much smaller targets and therefore harder to hit.
"He's using the Force to guide the lightning, he's not creating it," OOM-9 figured it out. If Korlo was that powerful he was have used this attack by now. But the lightning storm was gradually getting stronger and now Korlo and encouraging the lighting to strike near where OOM-9's soldiers were. "We need to break his concentration."
"I can do that," Katen broke out from cover and hurled a thermal detonator at the Jedi. Krane saw the incoming explosive and kicked it away once it hit the ground near Korlo. The thermal detonator exploded too far away, leaving Zif Korlo and Commander Krane completely unharmed.
Though Korlo was now taking fire from a completely new direction. EEK-176 and his two co-pilots had freed themselves from the crashed MAF and were making a rush at the Jedi. EEK-176 had an RD-4 radiation launcher and his two pilot droids wielded SE-14 blaster pistols.
Zif's concentration was clearly broken. He grabbed his lightsaber and snapped it alive. Korlo had to deflect the pistol shots while avoiding the radioactive grenades entirely. Krane couldn't turn to meet the newcomers; he was still preoccupied with keeping the other Separatists pinned down in cover with his Z-6 rotary cannon. Commander Zako and his tank crew had left their ruined AAT and joined in on the fight. Having driven a tank all day, Zako was dressed only in his officer uniform. Though currently lacking his FR-8 shock trooper armor, Zako still charged in as if he were wearing it.
New Confederate reinforcements started to show up and the clone commandos started to fall one after another. Among those late to the fight were HouseKarl battle droids, Z1 special ops battle droids, BX droid commandos, and human Separatist shock troopers.
There were too many elite CIS units in one place. Soon Korlo and Krane were the only ones left on the Republic's side. The Jedi general and clone commander started to fall back, Krane still firing his Z-6 rotary cannon and Korlo deflecting any shots that went their way. The two made an impressive team. They were backing away to their parked Nu attack shuttle.
"Surrender yourself, Korlo. We were allies once so I'll give you a break. If you give up now we'll take you alive," OOM-9 offered.
Korlo returned no answer; he was too busy trying to keep himself and his clone commander alive. Finally Korlo unleash a massive Force push, knocking down nearly all of the Separatists that were attacking him and his commander.
OOM-9 was still standing but he stopped firing on the Jedi and his clone.
"This is the city where Anakin Skywalker brought down the Dark Reaper. The Dark Reaper is destroyed beyond repair. What else is here? What is the Republic looking for?" OOM-9 asked. The soldiers that had been knocked down were starting to get back up.
"There is nothing here but dust, darkness and shadows of the past," Zif Korlo cryptically answered.
"Then you won't mind if I take this planet back."
"You have led your troops admirably, General OOM-9. I applaud you and you're your troops' efforts."
"Flattery will get you nowhere, Korlo," OOM-9 replied.
"Oh, but I mean it. But if you really wanted to impress me, you would have captured the anti-orbital cannon on Sivvi and used it to destroy my armies before you even touched down on Thule."
"There was no guarantee that you wouldn't have a shield generator to protect you. And I wouldn't want to give your troops an opportunity to re-capture it and use it on my army once it landed. I am no fool Korlo. I already had what I needed to destroy your clone army. If I had gotten greedy all I would have done was give you a chance, however small, at a last minute victory."
Everyone was ready to fire on the Jedi again but OOM-9 ordered them to cease their attack. Korlo and Krane were right at the entrance to the Nu shuttle.
"You're on the wrong side of the war, Korlo. You will realize it before the end," OOM-9 said.
"Here's a parting gift, courtesy of the clone army you clanker!" Krane tossed an EMP grenade. The various battle droids that the grenade was propelled towards dived out of the way. The EMP grenade did no damage but provided an excellent distraction.
Zif Korlo and Commander Krane entered the shuttle and it quickly too off.
EEK-176 aimed his radiation launcher.
"No, let him go!" OOM-9 stopped the command droid.
EEK-176 lowered his weapon.
"But General, he knows about us," SSA-719 protested.
"He thinks he knows us. We know him, and we may be able to use that to our advantage in the future."
Two Pelta-class frigates and a Consular-class cruiser also took off from different parts of the city and joined in the Nu attack shuttle in fleeing for the stars.
"He will be a dangerous adversary," SSA-719 warned.
Commander Zako walked over to one of the Z1 special ops dwarf spider droids. It was ZSD-3. "You're covered in dust and blood. How'd you even get clone blood on you?" Dwarf spider droids, no matter what kind, always attacked from a distance when they could. "We're going to have to get you cleaned up."
"You can clean like a little sissy maid later," Katen jabbed a finger in Zako's chest. "In case you've forgotten, we still have a battle to win. Just because the Jedi ran away doesn't mean this fight is over."
"No, the battle is over," 3B3-888 corrected Katen.
"We're receiving reports from the CCCs that clones all over Kesiak are surrendering," EEK-176 told Katen.
Zako seemed rather distracted looking up at Thule's beautiful purple-blue sky; he even neglected to provide a snarky comment back to Katen.
"I love this planet, it reminds me of home," Karl Zako said.
"A little," Ashley Katen admitted.
KJZ-8267's starbomber squadron ended up chasing the Nu shuttle and the other ships off the planet. They managed to successfully bomb one of the Pelta-class frigates. The 8th Fleet destroyed the other Pelta frigate and the Consular cruiser. Zif Korlo's Nu shuttle was the only one to make it past the 8th Fleet. The Nu attack shuttle zipped into hyperspace.
"I'm sorry sir, I don't know what happened back there." Commander Krane sat in the co-pilot seat. Krane was not used to failure, especially failure on such a colossal scale that they had lost their entire military force.
"No need for apologies, Commander. The battle was doomed to failure from the start."
"Surely you don't mean that, sir."
"No I do. I know that battle droid. The one that's leading that army. I've worked with him before."
"But it's just a battle droid, sir."
"This particular droid is odd. But very intelligent. I worked with him to hunt down the pirate lord Dool Pundar."
"Isn't Pundar that Neimoidian that…"
"Yes," Korlo cut Krane off. "The one who deserted the Trade Federation military and became a pirate lord. For years he has been an irritant to the Republic in general and an embarrassment for the Trade Federation. Back when the Federation was a part of the Republic, I led a mission to capture Pundar using some of the Trade Federation's military forces at my command."
"The Trade Federation was supposed to scrap their droid armies after the incident on Naboo," Krane said.
"They obviously didn't. And I don't blame them. There were huge pirating problems back then. The Trade Federation needed some kind of defense."
"Sounds like an excuse for the Federation to build up a great army to bully lesser systems."
"They weren't going to get away with that after what happened on Naboo. But the droids were still operating unofficially. I wasn't going to turn down the power they offered. The Republic's Navy was a joke before the Clone Wars broke out. I needed those forces if I was going to take down Pundar's pirate gang. OOM-9 was a useful ally and an exceptional battle droid. Still, Pundar did escape us."
"Exceptional sir?" Krane asked. "Didn't they just overwhelm us with superior numbers? Isn't that always the Confederacy's strategy?"
"Except OOM-9 is smart about it. He also has a herd of competent officers under his command. We must be cautious. I'm certain we'll meet that droid and his army again before this war is over."
Author's Note: The planet Thule and its moon Sivvi appeared in the video game Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
The black super battle droids introduced in this chapter are based off the super battle droid included in the Battle Pack: Battle on Mygeeto from 2008.
I often take different color schemes for droids and vehicles and include them in this story. The variety makes it more interesting I think. I occasionally come up with my own ideas (the black and gray camouflage B1 battle droids) but I try to stay with color schemes that have been done already. A lot of the ideas come from toys and video games that rarely make it into other Star Wars media. Which is too bad, because some of them are very creative and look really cool.
Overall, I try to paint a picture that OOM-9's forces are visually a mess of different color schemes. OOM-9's army is meant to look vastly different than other droid armies where all the droids and tanks are painted a specific color scheme and left at that. Though standard colors for the CIS units are still common even in OOM-9's army. OOM-9 uses troops with a specific color scheme when it is advantageous to do so, such as using the darker color themed droids on Thule or sending out the red B1 battle droids first when he reclaimed Geonosis. Of course there are only so many of any one color type and the others end up joining in too.
I also use a lot of uncommon weapons, droids, and vehicles in this story, for both the CIS and the Republic. I've seen a lot of different designs from video games and toys over the years and most of them are used once and forgotten about (ex: the grapple battle droid, flame battle droid, and plasma battle droid from Jedi Power Battles, the baron battle droid, thermal detonator battle droid, and bio cannon from Galactic Battlegrounds or the marine battle droid from Battlefront II). So I've thrown a lot of them into this story. It also partly explains why OOM-9's army is so effective, there is so much diversity in the weaponry, droids, and vehicles used. OOM-9's army has something for almost any situation. And overwhelming numbers don't hurt the CIS army's chances of success either.
Zif Korlo and Commander Krane are characters of my own creation.
The subject of age of come up again in this chapter, as OOM-9 likes to occasionally tease Katen about her age, knowing he'll get a response out of her. For those that wish to know: Zako, Katen, and Sledge were born in the year 50 BBY. OOM-9, EEK-176, SSA-719, KJZ-8267, and 3B3-888 were created in the year 34 BBY. Dr. Gatling Quartz is the oldest of OOM-9's group, being born in 64 BBY.