Chapter 3
Location: Training Camp Bravo-6, Carida
The observation post was simple, a square repulsorlift platform with a control small podium with the controls and safety railing on the edges. It had room enough for a half dozen people, and offered no creature comforts. But it would do.
Admiral Drexel had taken the craft along with the diminutive Master Yoda with his aide, Lieutenant Kuat, piloting the craft to the landing pads near the training grounds on the outskirts of the base. The tall landing pad was empty aside from a pair of sentries. They stood there, waiting on the approach of their incoming guests. They heard them as soon as they saw them, three LAAT/i gunships, coming in for a landing.
Drexel noted the figures standing within the troop bay of the one that landed closest to them, counting fourteen altogether, including two men that were definitely not Clones. As they landed he saw who they were, Jedi Knights, Obi Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, two of the finest Jedi Generals the Republic had. This meant that the Clones that had come with them were some of the elite frontline troopers, either the 501st Legion or the 212th Attack Battalion. The other two gunships each held one squad from each of the two units.
The two Jedi stepped off as soon as the gunship landed, and walked up to Master Yoda.
"Master Yoda," Obi Wan greeted, "Admiral Drexel, it is a pleasure to meet you."
"Thank you Master Jedi," Drexel replied, "It is an honor."
"We've seen the full scale of your fleet over Kuat before we were summoned to Carida Admiral," Skywalker piped up, "Most impressive. Your pilots also seem to have taken a keen interest in showing off their skills."
"I've heard," Drexel replied, "Our Corellian friends have been quite…effective with their training."
"Yes, well we're here to see the other half of your forces' abilities," Obi Wan said calmly, bringing the conversation back to their purpose in being here.
"Of course, if you'll step aboard General Kenobi, the 3rd Legion is begun to conduct their combat exercises."
The Jedi stepped aboard and Anakin looked back at Captain Rex, who along with Commander Cody, were readying their troopers.
"Rex, get your men ready, we'll be back in a little while."
"Yes sir," the blue-painted Clone Trooper responded with a salute.
The repulsorlift platform lifted off and they took off for the hills where the numerous vehicles were lined up and already advancing on a hill with several buildings being lit up by the red and blue practice rounds. They saw the white dots that each signified an infantryman moving forward, marching in columns behind their T1-APC's. The twin-gun turrets were laying down heavy fire with their troops holding fire. The T4-A Tanks were in front of them, firing their long twin laser cannons and coaxial repeating laser cannons at enemy positions. It was a powerful and methodical advance that was noted immediately.
They all noted the infantry moved in a choreographed manner, walking in two lines behind their vehicles. All of the troopers had their outside hands on the shoulders of the man in front of them with the lead man holding onto a handle on the tank in front of them to keep pace. Each had their blaster on their arm, aimed ahead of them with their legs moving in sync with each step.
"There seems to be a very measured tactic," Obi Wan noted, watching the attack from the platform.
"Very methodical," Anakin agreed, "Relying on their armor to prevent casualties and using heavy fire to keep the droids pinned down."
"Our whole ground force is built around mid-range and long range engagements using the superior range and penetrating power of the A280 and the rate of fire of the DLT-18 repeating blaster," Drexel said calmly, "Our armored forces are built for mobility and survivability. With the T1-APC, its shielding, with the T4-A, its armor. Both are tested designs in small-scale Outer Rim combat. We've added three additional designs using both vehicles."
"Simplifying maintenance and production," Obi Wan agreed.
"Indeed, we've used the T4 chassis as the base for two self-propelled artillery pieces. One uses the AV-7 cannon and the other uses a large container fitted with twelve proton torpedo tubes with the several ammunition types ranging from armor piercing to high explosive to fragmentation rounds," Drexel continued, "We used the T1 as a chassis for an anti-aircraft mount, using enlarged laser cannons with fast-tracking targeting scanners. Tests have indicated that one vehicle can shoot down a full squadron of droid starfighters while on the move."
"Impressive set of weapons Admiral," Anakin said as he watched the troopers below start sweeping through the town, clearing every building as a vehicle and its infantry came up to it, "But do your troops know how to use them?"
"That's why you're here isn't it?" Drexel smiled, "My troops are ready for another round."
"I'm sure the boys would love a challenge," Anakin stated confidently.
"Excellent, they're in for one."
"Cody, get your men aboard and take off. We'll give a landing site, set all weapons to their training settings," Obi Wan ordered
"Yes sir," came the commander's voice on the commlink.
"I'll send a platoon from this unit to the shoot box. That's where the troops face off against one another. Basically, it's a pit with several walls of various sizes and designs we change up every so often. Should be a perfectly neutral ground for this battle."
"They're on their way."
Training Camp Bravo-6, Carida
"New mission ladies!" Lieutenant Yuno yelled out to the assembled platoon, moving into the gathered three T1-APC's where the platoon was assembled after their latest success in training, "First platoon, we've been called by the old man to send a squad to the shoot box."
"The old man?" Wyatt whispered from where he was sitting next to his friend, Eva.
"Which one?" Eva responded.
"First squad! Mount up!" their squad leader, Sergeant Ferox, "Let's go."
The squad immediately piled into their tank, all twelve of them. They got into the vehicle in their trained order, with the DTL-18 gunners closest to the hatch and Sergeant Ferox next to them and the four-man fireteams seated next to them. Their ride was smooth but anything but quiet, they were ready and eager to go and attack the shoot box as they always did. It was their favorite thing to do in training, it wasn't a run and a fight tacked on at the end. It was a fight, from start to finish, nothing more nothing less. The shoot box was what separated the men from the boys, and was a source of pride for the troopers of the RVC.
"We're here, Bravo," Sergeant Ferox called out, "You're up first."
"We're first!" Wyatt heard his fireteam leader whoop. Corporal Mahan, a young Taanab dockworker from the other side of the planet, yelled out, "Let's go Bravo!"
"Told ya we did too well today," Eva growled, "I knew this would happen."
"Oh come on," Wyatt laughed, following everyone out of the vehicle and stepped out, "How bad could it…be…"
What they came out facing was a unit of Clone Troopers with two Jedi standing in front of them, speaking to the commanders of the units. The two groups just stared at one another, their black visors masking their faces, contorted into expressions of surprise, anger, annoyance, fear, and anticipation. The two Jedi looked back and forth, noting the tension through their connection through the Force.
"Get into ranks! What are we a bunch of womprats let's go!" Lieutenant Yuno yelled out, seeing the situation before him.
The RVC troops quickly shuffled into their platoon block, standing at attention.
"First platoon reporting sir," Yuno stated firmly through his helmet speaker to the Admiral himself and saluted crisply.
"Very well Lieutenant," Admiral Drexel saluted back, "Bring your first team forward."
"Yes sir," Yuno stated, and spun around and yelled out, "One-one Bravo! Front and center!"
"Shit," Wyatt growled, not liking being first, as he and the others had learned.
The four troopers sprinted forward, their fireteam leader on the far end. Wyatt held his A280 tight, with his Viper Underbarrel Grenade Launcher attached. He'd restocked his chest mounted grenade sling which was sling directly over his chest, with the powerpacks to his A280 under it in a neat line on his left hip and on his right hip he had grenades. All of them were practice rounds, really just a mix of droid poppers and flash bangs. He was the fireteam grenadier, and was one of three in his squad.
Next to him was Eva, who stood at the far end of the line, her gear being the lightest, but today she was the Combat Lifesaver, with their medkit in her big black backpack. On his opposite side was PFC Chane, their support gunner, with the team DLT-18 repeater and several of the more bulky powerpacks on his chest. Their other man was their fireteam leader, Corporal Mahan, who had the same battle gear as Eva, but had a long-range commlink on his helmet and the actual guts of the receiver as a bulge on his pack with an antennae on the side.
"Rex! Your men first," the darker clothed, younger Jedi called out.
Four Clone Troopers stepped forward, each with blue stripes on their dirty, dull white armor. Two had DC-15A's, one with a DC-15S, and the fourth had a Z-6 Rotary Blaster Cannon. The Clone Captain who'd been called out was more elaborate, with a markings that they didn't recognize. He had a shoulder pauldron and black skirt with an antennae on the side of his helmet.
The Clones had stepped forward, barely ten feet from the RVC troopers, with Wyatt facing off with one of the Clones holding a DC-15A. There were four other Clone Troopers, these ones in orange with what they recognized as a Clone Commander standing near them. These ones would have their chance soon enough, but he was more concerned with himself. They were familiar with the Clones, it was hard not to be. Everything they did they compared themselves to how the Clones did things. So for them to be obviously facing off with them here and now was a big deal.
"Now, troopers, you are here to take part in a series of combat exercises as a gauge to judge the progress of the Republic Volunteer Corp's training regimen," Admiral Drexel spoke out, stepping in between the two lines, "This will be a no-holds barred fight to the finish. No objectives except to destroy the opposing team."
"Remember, we are all the same team, soldiers of the Republic," one of the Jedi, Obi Wan, added, "Please take care to use your common sense when you're in there."
"Any questions?" Drexel asked, looking at his own men.
"No sir!" they all said loudly.
"And you men?"
"Sir no sir!" the Clones responded quickly and precisely, answering as one voice.
"Very well, take your places, and we'll begin," Drexel said, and the men turned to move, and Drexel waved the fireteam over, "Kick their ass troopers."
"Yes sir."
The four of them jogged over, with their comrades cheering them on. Eva was just basking in the attention, herself being a joker and usually the life of the party within their squad and in their platoon. As they opened the hatch to step in Wyatt had to snatch her from the back and drag her in with them. They were confronted with the elevator down into the pit, which was bordered by a tall rayshield. The elevator took them down, and they waited for the signal to engage.
"Alright, I took a peak at the pit, we've got an open middle ground with long short pieces of cover in the middle and tall walls on the edges. Chane, you and me will move on the right, you lay down cover fire. Wyatt, you and Eva move quickly into the middle and hit cover, we'll cover your movement. Use that Viper as soon as you come around the corner, hit the middle with a killshot," Corporal Mahan ordered them all, "Pin them down, I want those Clones in one place so we can use these scopes and blast them!"
"Roger that boss," Wyatt replied.
The light in the elevator flashed yellow, signaling for them to be ready as it descended and the four of them stacked up. The elevator hit the bottom, the light flashed green and then the doors slid open. The fight was on.
"Go!"
The four troopers sprinted out and were greeted with the light of day and the reality of facing soldiers bred for war with only six weeks of training under their belts. But they rushed forward anyway blasters tucked to their shoulders. The first to hit the front was Wyatt, who quickly fired off a stun grenade towards the Clones' door. The round flew out and he ducked down behind the middle right wall as Eva rushed past him and the round went off with a blue wave effect similar to a shot from a stun blast from a blaster. None of the Clones were in the vicinity, but it gave them pause enough for Chane to set up with his DLT-18 and let rip.
The rapid fire blaster began laying down huge amounts of fire, sending out the blue stun shots so quickly that there was less space between shots than were lengths of the combined individual blasts. These hammered into the Clones' cover as they fired now, one aiming at the form of Wyatt as he peaked around and fired from his left shoulder with his A280.
The accurate fire came right at him and he had to duck back, flattening himself against the wall as Eva opened fire on the Clone that had attacked him. One Clone dove between cover as they all lit up the opposite side of the wall where one had opened fire, and Chane redirected his fire at him. But the Clone Z-6 operator had been waiting on this, and he came around the corner on a knee and opened fire on Chane.
"Hit that guy Wyatt!" Eva yelled, pointing at the target spraying their position.
Wyatt pumped the action on his Viper and fired another grenade at the Clone in a rush. The rocket propelled grenade bounced off the wall behind the Clone gunner and went off in the air, catching the Clone in the back, and Corporal Mahan opened up on him while he was disorientated. Three shots struck the Clone gunner in the chest and he went down.
"One down!" Mahan yelled out proudly, "Advance, you take right, we take left!"
"Copy!" Wyatt responded.
"We'll cover you, bound up," the man ordered, "Chane cover fire!"
The two poked around again, laying down heavy suppressive fire as they saw one of the Clones with a DC-15A rush between cover and poke around to fire as Wyatt and Eva sprinted past two walls to the corner where Wyatt led them past it after clearing the corner. He stuck to the inside wall while Eva scooted further to the pit's main wall with blaster forward, conscious of any Clones poking around the corner.
"We're in position Corporal," Wyatt stated into his comm as he got to the end of the wall and poked his rifle around and fired at the shimmer of white armor across from him, but missed.
"Cover us, we're moving," the Mahan snapped quickly, and the fire stopped and Eva stepped up along with Wyatt who laid down some fully automatic fire from his A280.
"Wyatt look out!" Eva yelled as soon as they'd opened fire.
Wyatt saw the blue practice bolt streak past his peripheral vision almost immediately after she'd said that. His instinct to follow the bolt saw him watch Eva crumple against the wall with a loud groan, stunned from the waist down as she laid onto the trigger, sending a wild spray of bolts in the vague direction of the Clone that had shot her.
"Eva's hit!" Wyatt yelled into his comm link as he fired another grenade at the Clone at the corner looking straight down at them.
It went off against the ground in front of him, but he kept firing rapidly as he shuffled over to her as soon as the Clone was pinned and Eva had popped a smoke grenade to mask them. Wyatt latched onto her armor as the Clone came back around the corner to fire another few bolts at them but his immediate vision was obscured the bolts missed. Eva however kept firing, nothing but numbness in her legs.
The Clones stayed back, knowing that they were in for more of a fight than they'd originally anticipated. The four of them hadn't seen the Viper coming, the stun grenade had caught them all off guard and had led to their gunner getting a trio of practice blasts into their chest. So the unit had fallen back on their training, firing and moving, aiming to cut off the RVC troopers' advance time and time again.
"We're pinned down," Corporal Mahan called out, "Chane's down, I'm hit. Keep up the pressure on the right Wyatt. You're last one mobile."
"Dammit," Wyatt snapped, amazed at how quickly the fight had turned.
"I can't move on my own," Eva gasped, groaning as she tried pounding on her legs to put the feeling back into them as they leaned back against the wall in cover.
"Alright, we'll try and move forward, try and keep their attention fixed on you, we're more mobile."
"Copy," Wyatt responded, "Lay down and fire from here, I'll fire from the other side. Let's keep these Clones pinned."
Wyatt shuffled over to the other side of the wall and aimed at a Clone's rifle that was firing at the other two troopers opposite them. He fired at the Clone, zipping his rounds right past the rifle, coming close to striking his target. The other Clone opposite of him fired a quick burst in his direction, which forced him to flinch back and return fire.
"We need to move," Eva growled, "They've got us separated."
"You can't move remember?"
"No but you can," she grinned behind her visor, "I'll cover you."
Wyatt shuffled over to the corner as the fog began to fade away.
"Go!"
He sprinted forward, A280 to his shoulder as he gravitated to the side so Eva could have a clear field of fire and she lit up the entire area as he breached the smoke screen. The Clone trooper's DC-15A was clearly in his field of view and he began to sprint as fast as he could. He fired the instant he saw the Clone in his HUD.
The first shot hit home and the Clone crumpled backwards and he saw the form of the other two Clones aiming at Corporal Mahan at his position. He fired immediately, and the closest one dropped with the combined power of two shots to his back and the last one with the DC-15S fired immediately, making him duck down from ten feet away.
However, he was too slow, and he felt the stinging and then numbness of the shot that struck his shoulder and sent his rifle clattering to the ground. This was bad, he didn't have his best weapon, and the Clone Trooper more than likely knew it. So he began trying, with his left hand, to try and grab his SSK-7 Blaster Pistol that was on his right pistol plate hanging from his waist. That was awkward, and he didn't grab it in time, as the blaster rifle pointed in his face as he looked down the barrel.
But a single shot struck the Clone dead center, and he flinched back and saw behind him, it was Eva, who noticed her killshot and rolled onto her back and lifted her arms in victory and whooped ecstatically. She'd figured it out, and it took him a moment to realize it as well, they'd done it, they'd won!
Standing around the pit cheers from the RVC troops sang out as they celebrated their rather unexpected victory. Many had their helmets off, others waving their rifles or helmets. The Clones were all looking amongst themselves in surprise, while trying to figure out the way the fight had gone and quickly pinned down how the battle had progressed and why they'd ended up losing in the end.
The Jedi and the Admiral were very much active in their analysis.
"Looks like our men were overpowered," Obi Wan surmised.
"It wasn't a fair fight," Anakin grumbled.
"I underestimated the effectiveness of that grenade launcher, who's the man using it?" Captain Rex asked.
"Lieutenant!" Drexel called out, "Who was the grenadier of that fireteam?"
"Private First Class Wyatt Lullian," Lieutenant Yuno responded.
"My compliments on a job well-done," Drexel said, motioning to the troops as they started picking themselves up off the ground.
"Mine as well, he knows how to use that thing," Rex added.
"Our secret is our firepower. We don't have the same training, same experience, but we make up for it massive amounts of fire for a small unit. It's the way we plan on evening the odds."
"Just barely it seems," Rex chuckled, "One missed shot and that battle ends differently."
"But it ended our way this time Captain," Drexel responded, "And that's the only time it matters, the one before."
"We're not done here sir," Commander Cody spoke up, "The rest of my boys want a crack at them."
"Fair enough, let's go."
Commenor, Chasin City
The docks around Chasin City were a mighty sight. The great volume of ships of varying sizes was an incredible sight for most who visited. But such a high traffic place was perfect for hiding.
Deep in the depths of the seedier part of the docks was a pair of hooded figures with E-5 Blaster Rifles held in their hands. They weren't any ordinary smugglers or thugs, the two Sullustans were Separatists. They stood in front of a door that led into a complex run by a Separatist spymaster and smuggler, running spies and intelligences to and from the fortress of the Core where the Republic's forces prevented any sizeable force from running amok.
It was a sizeable operation, with no battle droids, but over thirty spies and soldiers in an old apartment complex that was a run-down box in the lower levels. But on the inside it was modern, clean, and operating as efficiently as any other spy nest in the galaxy. Here they relayed the latest news and movements on Republic forces and movements and intentions. But that operation was about to end, and it wasn't the Clones that were going to do it.
Waiting in the shadows gray armored special operations troops crept forward. There were nearly fifty of them, each with a set of armor that was bulkier than their regular counterparts. Their closest aesthetic counterparts were another renowned special operations force, the Clone Commandoes. In fact they shared part of their name with their GAR counterparts.
These were the Caridan Commandoes, the elite special operations unit of the Core which had long waged a war against pirates, smugglers, slavers, and gangs of all kinds. They were now the elite special operations of the Republic Volunteer Corps, and were on a mission, destroy the Separatists' spy rings in the Core. They'd successfully done so a few times, but now they had a jackpot. Leading them was a legend on Carida, a veteran of several wars, Colonel Myec, leader of Caridan Commando Team Dagger.
They were organized into teams of six commandoes within three platoons each with six teams organized into a single company which bore the name Commando Team Dagger.
"Dagger-6 all stations," Colonel Myec whispered into his comm, "Report readiness."
"Dagger-1-6, Green," came the response from his first platoon, situated opposite of him where he was with second platoon.
"Dagger-2-6, Green," second platoon's commander continued. They were with Myec, on the right-hand side of the building in an alley like first platoon.
"Dagger-3-6 green, overwatch in position," third platoon added.
They had two of their teams on overwatch in a run-down apartment complex situated fifty meters opposite of the target with their gunners dominating two streets that passed through the square that the target building was part of and had a deadly crossfire. Their other four teams were in position in the building ready to establish themselves as a blocking force and emergency assault unit in case they didn't crack the target the first time.
Each rifleman was armed with an A280 with a Viper grenade launcher with their support gunners equipped with a DLT-18/C, a version of the DLT-18 that had its barrel shortened. Their snipers had the A295 as their mainstay rifle. As an added measure every single one of them had suppressors on their blasters, to eliminate sound.
"All Daggers, execute operation," Colonel Myec ordered once he had the green signal from his unit.
The platoon began shuffling forward, blasters aimed forward and advanced in columns towards the building, watching the balconies that were segmented all around the building for each apartment to have their own balcony. But this made it dangerous to assault without overwatch.
The gray camouflaged commandoes emerged into the reddish light that seemed to pervade the night of the lower levels. Myec himself stayed back, maneuvering to give himself a position to watch and command his unit.
"Snipers, take out their eyes."
Two blue circles of stun blasts from the opposite building smashed the bodies of the two Sullustans and the commandoes rushed forward, a team to a window. Two men clapped restrainers on the two Sullustans and dragged them away.
On a signal one man smashed the window in front of them in a shower of glass and a handful of flash-bang grenades got thrown in. The weapons went off and dust was kicked up inside that wafted out of the windows as the commandoes rushed in. Half of them backed away and activated the jetpacks built within their armor backplates and zoomed upwards.
Myec saw blue flashes erupt in the windows as his breached. Yelling and screaming from the enemy as they were attacked by the surprise raiding force were easily heard. The commandoes had set their rifles to stun, easily subduing the sleepy and shellshocked CIS personnel. Myec's week of planning and scoping out the building were paying off. But it wasn't over.
"We've two squirters!" his comm spoke up, and he saw the lights of a pair of speeder bikes light up the alley behind the building.
"I've got 'em," Myec replied and ran forward with his jetpack powering up.
The speeder bikes, a pair of Geonosian models with Sullustans on them, zipped out and moved down out of the street and back into another street, too quick for his overwatch to open fire. But not too quick for him. His jetpack lifted him into the air and he zoomed up, and his HUD picked out the enemy speeder bikes and traced their path thanks to the assistance of all the security cameras placed around the area.
"Cutting them off!" Myec called out, and saw that the other twenty-four commandoes from third platoon were moving to assist. But he was the only one close enough to do anything about these Sullustans.
He angled himself to intersect the Sullustans, timing his jetpack's speed to hit them broadside. As he zipped out into the street one of enemy speeder bikes was right there, he spun and plowed a kick into the shoulder of one of the Sullustans, sending him spinning and tumbling onto the street, to get killed by a speeder that was coming from the opposite direction. Myec continued the pursuit, and the enemy now knew he was the last target. An E-5 emerged and was fired at him, and the speeder bike began picking up speed. His jetpack wasn't going to keep up, so he decided to end this, aiming his rifle's Viper at the front of the speeder he fired.
The rocket propelled round impacted just in front of the vehicle, and the flash bang did its job, causing the Sullustan driver to lose his concentration and didn't see the turn coming up. The bike impacted a barrier to protect the sidewalk and the Sullustan was propelled over the top and over the edge of a deep abyss that smaller ships would go down to access the lowest levels.
Coming to a halt the Colonel grimaced at the deaths of the two men he'd wanted to take prisoner.
"Squirters are KIA," he sighed into his comm, "Status?"
"Building is secured, all hostiles neutralized."
"We caught them entirely by surprise Colonel, we have a large cache of computer banks, untouched."
"Get the intelligence spooks over here to get what they can. The Admiral's gonna love this."
Another chapter complete guys, and I'm really excited. I'd taken a few minutes to trace out a potential battle and I've set the stage for it. And another thing, I'll also be doing a more realistic fighting style, I never liked the way the Clones fought, too wasteful of life for not enough in terms of results. They also don't use their armor very well and have little use for artillery aside from a handful of occasions. The force I've created does.
So let's see what happens when I can turn them loose.
Next Chapter Preview: A target is spotted, and the preparation begins.