Another chapter, really excited about this one guys, I'm actually really starting to form a plan of just how important to the overall Clone Wars this force has become. I'll give some additional explanation in the next chapter as to the strategic impact the RVC is having.
Chapter 8
Location: Dreadnought Basilisk, in orbit over Yag'Dhul
"So far our forces have secured their immediate objectives," Commander Vay informed Admiral Drexel, "The Harrin system has been secured in space and droid ground forces have been routed and destroyed."
"Excellent," Admiral Drexel responded, "We should be able to begin fortifying Yag'Dhul shortly."
"I've secured six V-150's from KDY, those ion cannons should be able to keep the planet properly defended," his chief of supply responded, "Add that to some XX-9 turbolaser towers and the inevitable legion of troopers guarding the cannons and power generators and we'll be in great shape."
"How long?" Drexel asked.
"It'll take at least a month, we've been gathering the materials and equipment for some time and we have KDY crews to install everything, planning this has helped."
"Excellent, tell the convoys to get going, we need to push the Separatists even harder to keep the pressure on," Drexel ordered, and pulled up the local sector map, this showed a series of planets with several squadrons of Separatist ships in orbit, "Launch squadrons of starfighters to destroy as much as they can. We have momentum, let's keep it."
"Aye sir," Commander Vay responded.
"Excellent news Admiral," a voice piped up, this one belonging to Captain Sizer, the RVC's primary public relations officer, "Our recruitment offices are reporting massive influxes in their doors."
"More recruits, excellent," Admiral Drexel nodded, "Any numbers?"
"Preliminary…about eighty thousand on Coruscant's district six," Sizer replied, "Kuat and Anaxes have also reported quite a lot of recruits walking in to volunteer, same with Corellia, Eriadu, and Rendili."
"Speaking of Rendili, you have a request for contact from Rendili," Commander Vay said.
"I knew they couldn't hold out from joining in, KDY, CEC, and Incom have already hardened their reputation, couldn't let their Dreadnought Heavy Cruisers go without representation," Drexel laughed, "I'll take the call now. Get the next phase underway."
"Aye sir," Vay said with a salute.
Drexel returned the salute and walked to the communications room, where he ordered the call to Rendili, who he knew was waiting for him to contact them.
"Admiral Drexel," the answer came almost immediately from the head of Rendili StarDrive, Bengila Urlan, who in effect controlled Rendili as a whole, "I see Kuat's doing just fine?"
"Indeed we are, I hear you want your piece of the glory Mr. Urlan?" Drexel asked.
"In a manner of speaking," Urlan replied, "I have had my engineers coming up with a couple designs for your new fleet. We've noticed your designs don't necessarily fill some necessary roles."
"Oh really?" Drexel asked, ignoring the shot at KDY.
"We've got a design for your heavy cruiser role and a design for an escort corvette," Urlan stated.
"A heavy cruiser? You wanting your Dreadnought Class in RVC red?"
"No, no, no, no Admiral, I said a new design, we call it the Assault Frigate Split-Bow, a heavy hitting warhorse built from some of our Dreadnought parts," an image appeared on the holotable, and Admiral Drexel was shown a clean design, "It cuts down on costs but retains our company's reputation for hard hitting firepower."
The ship had fins above and below the engine nacelle connected with a spine to a Dreadnought-like head and two prongs coming off the chin and splitting away like a KDY design Drexel knew of.
"This looks an awful lot like another design of KDY's Mr. Urlan…" Drexel mused.
"I must say your insinuation is quite insulting, but for the sake of the war effort I'll let it slide," Urlan shrugged, knowing that they wouldn't say no.
"As will I," Drexel smirked, "Now you said you had another design, an escort Corvette."
"You remember when KDY wasn't the king of warship design for the Republic? Well, we haven't," Urlan proudly declared, "Taking direct inspiration from the Hammerhead Cruisers of old, we have created this, the Hammerhead Corvette. The beauty of this ship is its heritage and small crew, fifteen crewmen and three officers."
"Well…a Hammerhead? That kind of design hasn't seen use in…two thousand years."
"It is only right they return to the battlefield now."
"Well, if you can get us a enough ships we'll use them," Drexel nodded.
"Just what I had hoped to hear Admiral," Urlan grinned.
"Very well, I assume you don't want your own heavy cruisers joining us?"
"No, the government doesn't want our Home Defense Fleet straying as far as your operations would take them."
"Well, I expect that your new ships will be ready soon, we have a lot of new recruits and we need ships to pair them with," Drexel directed.
"Of course, Rendili StarDrives always lives up to the standard."
With that the transmission ended and he smirked at the new victory that this had brought to the RVC and Republic as a whole. When the RVC had originally been conceived Rendili had been absent, refusing to take part. But now they had come to the belief that the glory from their struggle was too much to let their competitors, Corellian Engineering Corporation, Incom Corporation, and Kuat Drive Yards, take all to themselves. So they'd put their best foot forward to show that they too were patriotic and willing to perform their role in the fight underway.
Location: University of Commenor, Planet Commenor
"And so the distinctive characteristic of struggle is the yearning of life's great and never-ending quest for advantage. It can always be disguised as a noble cause, it can always be made something that it really isn't. But for the exam remember one thing, struggle, and by extent conflict is the quest for winning advantage to make life easier and try and guarantee it for the victor," Professor Allan Challis stated matter-of-factly to his anthropology class but saw a hand raised before he could dismiss class, "Yes one question."
"If all struggle is inherently for power and guaranteeing life where is the struggle for those two things in this current war?" the young student asked.
"The answer to that is rather simple, from all I have learned from friends on both sides, is that the Republic wishes to retain its control over the galaxy, plain and simple. The Separatists want to gain more local independence and rid themselves of the controlling force that is the Republic as they see it. But, they are being used, used by a Dark Lord of the Sith to further his own selfish evil aims. As we all know no living being would truly believe in the kind of violence perpetrated by the droid armies."
It was classic academic bluster he knew, but he had to say so, his new commission depended on it. Commenor had need for serving officers, and his own number had been called. It was optional of course, but not many people who had served their draftee service had the intellect he did. Most people of officer caliber stayed on to form careers, but those with careers were quite few to Commenor. So, he'd been asked by an old friend to enlist with him in the Republic Volunteer Corps and Commenor would give him a commission. Truth be told on this particular campus he hadn't been particularly well-liked, seeing as the University had a very unpopular position of being against the war. This would separate him from the school and possibly help the school at the same time.
After dismissing the class for the last time he got to his speeder and drove home, as he walked through he saw that his wife was sitting there. He took off his professor's robes and ran a hand over his beard. Challis knew that tonight he would have to tell his wife, just so long as his new uniform had not been delivered before he arrived home. However seeing it laid out on the couch in the living room he knew the gig was up.
"You're going aren't you?" the soft voice of his wife Cyllia asked from the kitchen.
"You…found it huh?"
"Came earlier, just after lunch," she responded, walking out her eyes not leaving the red and black uniform with the metal rank insignia and command tubes with red tips.
"Are you mad?" Challis asked.
"Mad? No, I'm rather furious dear," Cyllia responded with her hands on her hips, "How could you not have trusted me enough to not say anything?"
"I didn't want you worrying darling," he tried responding.
"And this…this is better? Just deciding one day that you'd go off to war?"
"They need serving officers," Challis replied, "Anaxes, Carida, and Coruscant have already provided more than five hundred thousand troops and officers."
"And I'm sure that now you must be part of Commenor doing its part!" she sighed irritably, trying to keep her emotions in check, "So go on, go off and get your glory and adventure," she continued, now tears beginning to form in her eyes, "Maybe get yourself killed…" she finished, nearly sobbing.
"Cyllia…" he tried to start and placed his hands on her shoulders, "You've always supported me and I've always been thankful, but I'm asking one more time."
She turned around and looked to him with a smile and tears on her cheeks, "You're my husband and I will always support you. Just promise me that you'll come back."
Despite knowing that in war this was not necessarily within in his power to do so, he knew he had to say so, "I'll come home, I promise."
"Thank you…"
Location: Bridge over the Axii River, Planet Harrin
The rainy season hadn't been anticipated to be an issue. On a holotable to a general it wasn't, but to a pair of PFC's sitting in a foxhole guarding a slight hill near the one bridge leading to the capital. Wyatt and Eva were the only ones in the forward foxhole for the company. This foxhole was a better one than the one they'd had a few days ago. They'd seen a few skirmishes over the past few days, but nothing like what was now known as The Crossroads Ambush.
They hadn't had any replacements yet, and they'd been paired with another pair of battle buddies who had also lost half their fireteam. But unlike them they hadn't lost their fireteam leader. But Eva did have to take on a DLT-18 with their fireteam not having one. So they'd dug in until the 2nd Legion could bring up the flank, this foxhole was similar to their last one and had a lot of camouflage up on top, but the rain kept dripping in drop by drop on Wyatt's knee as they both sat there waiting and keeping an eye out for the Separatists. They poked at their rations, trying to eat and keep an eye out.
"You can see it from here, the capital," Wyatt mumbled.
"Take that and it'll be over…" Eva smirked, "At least we've got some hot grub."
"At least this planet," Wyatt sighed.
"Then the next and the next," Eva mused and took another bite.
That fact got both of them just quietly contemplating just what they were in for. They were in this for the long haul, and after their first taste of war on the frontlines they truly knew just the kind of hardships they were in for. They were sitting in a foxhole in three inches of water and mud with more rain coming down and the threat of an attack looming over their heads at every waking moment. A few splashes coming from behind them and they knew they were being visited by their platoon leader, Lieutenant Yuno.
"How you two holding up?" the older officer asked the two as he sat down at the entrance to the foxhole, a hand on the overhead branches of their cover.
"Okay sir," Wyatt replied quickly, giving a quick salute in the cramped hole.
"Just got the word, Mahan's gonna be okay, they're sending him home."
"And Chane?"
"They're sending his body back as well along with Deeks and Pyke," Yuno said, "We lost them too."
"That's five casualties in the platoon."
"The rest of the company didn't do much better, twenty in total," Yuno nodded, "Keep an eye out kids, get some sleep. One at a time, three hour shifts."
"Yes sir," Eva replied as Yuno got up and continued along.
"Fine, fine, let's finish eating," he said in response, "I'll take first watch."
As they quickly ate Wyatt kept a look out, remembering that their training had prepared them somewhat for these long nights of frontline watch. The whole legion was behind him, but no one was in front of him, no one but droids. And droids didn't need sleep.
"Alright, I'm getting to sleep, wake me if there's anything," Eva yawned, the toll of the past few days weighing heavy on her.
But sleep still came with no small amount difficulty. She covered her face in her plastic rain jacket, and leaned against the dirt wall of the foxhole as Wyatt slipped his helmet on and brought the DLT-18 over to him. The weapon felt foreign to him, as he was used to his grenadier A280 was his baby, but this larger weapon pointing at the open road before them was odd. No one saw anything, as there weren't any red dots signifying potentially hostile enemy droids. But one dot appeared as he waited and he pointed the blaster at it. It hadn't been him who'd done it, but it was noticed.
"What is it?" Wyatt asked, looking through the night vision at the terrain and the rain.
"Saw something moving in night vision," came the response of Corporal Hilix of third squad.
"Wyatt, Eva, you're closest, check it out," his squad leader ordered.
"Roger that," Wyatt sighed, and tapped Eva, who stirred slightly, "Something's out there, come on."
"Are you kidding me?" the blonde groaned as she rubbed her eyes under the raincoat.
"Nope, get up, you can go back to sleep when we figure out what may or may not be there," Wyatt said with a grumble himself.
She threw off the raincoat and slipped her helmet on and the two grabbed their blasters and left their foxhole and began slowly approaching the red dot. It was in a ditch at the road where it turned to follow the river. The two knew that there could have been something there, and if that was the case they could easily be cut down.
"Easy," Lieutenant Yuno advised the two troopers who began creeping forward, blasters at the ready.
"See anything?" Eva asked once they got to the first ditch.
"Nah, nothin'," Wyatt responded shaking his head, "Check the…wait a second…"
He jumped down into the ditch and saw that the water inside was muddied up. Something had been there. Wyatt pointed at it and then motioned that he was moving towards what could have been the source. The two carefully tracked the muddy water and watched carefully for any sign of hostiles. He saw bootprints in the muck by now, but they weren't all that big he noticed.
"Hey!" Eva yelled as he looked down to measure his foot against one of the prints.
He looked up to see her pointing her weapon at a shape around the corner. And Wyatt did likewise. He saw immediately that it wasn't a droid. This was a person, and he trained his blaster rifle on their shape as they refused to show themselves.
"Come out! We will fire!"
The two troopers saw two more shapes, heads, pop over the road lip. He caught sight of them so clearly that he could point out their hoods on their jackets. Both of them moved closer and the three people that were there panicked. The furthest to the left leapt up, arms in the air and revealed that it was just a child. The other two did likewise, the youngest and smallest shaking their bare hands in fear.
"It's okay, come on out of there," Eva ordered the children and they hesitantly obeyed.
Each was wearing a set of clothes that could be described as well-worn and possibly hand-me-down in origin. These were no city-kids, Wyatt sighed as he saw the familiar sight of farm children.
"Eltee, they're kids sir," Wyatt said calmly, "We're bringing them in."
"Very well, don't want to be letting these kids just running loose out there," the lieutenant said calmly.
"Come on, it's okay," Eva gently said to them.
"You-you won't hurt us?" the oldest of the children, no more than ten years old, asked quietly.
"No, of course not," Eva responded, and reached up with one hand and lifted her hand to her helmet and removed it, showing them that she was a flesh and blood, and not a Clone.
"We're people just like you," Wyatt assured them, "Come on, you're going back with us, and we'll take you home in the morning. It's dangerous right now."
They shepherded the three children back to their lines, keenly aware of the danger they faced. But they knew these children were both a risk and a charge to protect. They had no clue if these children were spies for the enemy or just curious, but the key to survival was being careful. That was the lesson that the two of them had learned. But that didn't mean that they were being careful enough. Red blaster bolts from the opposite line of woods let them know that immediately upon returning to their lines.
"Droids incoming!"
All of the RVC troopers jumped into their cover and immediately opened fire on the distant droid lines as out came battle droids led by two lines of super battle droids as a battalion of five hundred battle droids marched at them. The children were thrown into a foxhole in the rear as the mortar teams swung into action and Eva and Wyatt looked out from their foxhole and opened fire. Blue bolts slammed into the droid ranks and they saw them falling one by one at first and then began to be carved asunder as explosions ripped into their ranks.
Then the sounds of heavy thuds come in as well, and the trees were parted as OG-9 Homing Spider Droids broke through. The tall droid walkers fired their beam lasers at the RVC positions and their heavy lasers blasted away. Wyatt knew that their own tanks were on the other side of the river and that they were not ready. But Lieutenant Yuno was already calling in artillery strikes. The rounds came in fast and hot, and the glowing blue explosive rounds blew apart the heavy droid walkers.
While Eva and Wyatt fired away there was a tree cut at its base from a spider droid's beam. It creaked and groaned, and fell right on top of them, crushing their foxhole's covering roof.
"Eva!" Wyatt said as he fought to move but really couldn't, shaking away the hazy feeling of being hit with the weight of the tree crashing down on them, "Eva you okay?"
"I can't move!" she responded from next to him, but all they could see were the dirt, branches, and leaves right in their visors.
"Fall back! Fall back!" Yuno yelled to the platoon, as that was all that was on this side of the river.
The unit of troopers ran as fast as they could back to their lines across the bridge as another wave of droids stared advancing. But in their rush to evacuate the north bank, Eva and Wyatt found themselves forgotten and left behind. The droid waves advanced towards them, and both heard the clanking of the droids approaching them. The ground shook as the artillery now shifted to their own position, pounding the droids that took up positions in their own, guarding the opposite shore.
"We gotta get out of here!" Eva shouted quickly as she frantically tried pushing through the tree on top of them.
"No, stay down the artillery's about to come right down on top of us, and stay quiet. The droids will pick up our comms," Wyatt said and grabbed her arm and pulled her down.
As he did that he heard a the sound of thuds and a screeching from their missile batteries aiming right for them greeted their ears.
"I hope you're right!" Eva yelled back as she ducked into the lowest part of their foxhole.
"Me too…"
The ground shook as dozens of explosions pulverized the ground and the droids around them, some were very close, shredding and coating their tree-covered hole in dirt and debris. They had no way to tell how many droids were above them. But there weren't going to be very many in a moment. Hopefully they would still be there. After a bit the bombardment stopped and the droids halted, but they were right on top of them. The enemy was still there but the two troopers didn't know, they'd fallen unconscious, ears ringing, armor battered, and bodies unable to cope with the pounding.
Droids now patrolled the former positions of the RVC troopers. They searched the foxholes one by one, but when they came to the foxhole where the two young Tanaab troopers were laying still. A pair of B2 lifted the larger splintered trunk from their cover and the two troopers, half covered in leaves and branches and dirt, were unveiled. The droids examined them, and when a tactical droid saw the two troopers it decided that they were better use to them as prisoners.
"Take them to the capitol," the droid ordered, and both troopers were clamped in restraints and dragged to the rear through the field of destroyed droids.
A speeder met the two super battle droids there and they were thrown inside. From there they were driven to the capitol, at a base just outside the city. Watching this speeder was a careful set of eyes from the sensors of the RVC Star Destroyer Conviction, and ready to mobilize for rescue were the best the RVC had to muster, the Caridan Commandos.
Well it was a shorter one, but a fun one to write. Hope you all enjoyed, as usual let me know your thoughts and I'll address anything that I can.
I am also thinking of starting a new Star Wars fic about a small New Republic garrison versus a larger but still small Imperial force, a bit more personal of a story, focused on characters and a game of cat and mouse. What do you guys think of that?
Next Chapter Preview: A rescue is in order, and the starfighters now take the offensive once again.