Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter. This is gonna finally begin the Umbaran arc. I hope you guys are excited for it.
Let's get to it.
CT7567Rules: Probably will have one survive, but probably not both. The starfighter version of the F-20 may not show up until like the very end of the Clone Wars, given that at this point in time the F-20 program had been cancelled for years.
chaosmutated: Not just the Americans, but the entire Terran Alliance. The Terran Star Forge is under construction by this point, but won't be finished until the early 2000s, well after this story will end. It will begun operations between the end of this story and the start of the next story in the series.
RandomFanAuthor: Each country does still have its own military for its own defense. But, the Terran Starfleet is associated with the entire Terran Alliance, not just certain countries. It will also be associatyed with any other planets that join the Alliance. Every country, and later every world, that is part of the Alliance contributes men and women to man the ships of the Starfleet. Hope that answers your question.
Chapter 40- Darkness on Umbara
(April 16, 1993)
In the hangar bay of the Resolute, Anakin makes his way over to where a gathering of commanders is being held.
The Republic had launched a campaign to take the strategic planet of Umbara. A space battle had resulted in the destruction of the Separatist fleet, due in part to assistance from Terran Su-36s and SF-15s that were accompanying the Republic fleet.
As a hologram of the area they'll be attacking is brought up, Obi Wan begins the briefing. "Master Tiin and Colonel Mofaz will be supporting my troops in the south, while Anakin and Colonel Rommell's battalions come in from the north and take out enemy reinforcements. It is imperative that we conquer the capital city as quickly as possible and hold it," he says.
"Our biggest problem is going to be the local militia. The Umbarans have allied themselves with the Separatists and are heavily armed. ARC Troopers Fives and Echo will be assisting my units on special assignment," Anakin says.
"Ready to do our part, General Skywalker," Echo says.
"Glad to have you on board, boys," Rex says.
"Just like old times, Rex," Fives replies.
"Remember, Anakin. Cody and I will be 12 clicks to your south. We're counting on you to take out those local fighters, or, I'm afraid, the capital will never surrender," Obi Wan says.
Anakin smirks. "Does my battalion have to do everything?" he asks sarcastically.
"You seem to always volunteer," Obi Wan says before walking off.
"All right. Let's go!" Rex calls. He and the other clones begin to board the LAATs.
Anakin turns to Colonel Rommell. "It's good to finally be working with you, Rommel. You ready for this?" he asks.
Rommell smirks. "See you on the ground, Skywalker," he says before boarding his LAAT. The Terran troops will not be using helicopters in this battle.
The rest of the troops of the 501st that will be landing, as well as the men under Rommell's command, which are 1,000 men of The Royal Canadian Regiment. More Canadian troops, from the Royal 22 Regiment, are accompanying Colonel Mofaz. The Canadians will be armed with a mix of blasters and normal firearms.
The LAATs take off from the ship and head down towards the surface. Anti aircraft fire immediately starts filling the sky around them. Some Umbaran starfighters head for them, but are shot down by missiles from escorting Su-36s.
"There's a lot of surface fire," Rex comments.
"They ain't got nothin' we can't handle, sir," Hardcase adds.
A moment later, of blast of energy hits a nearby LAAT, downing the gunship.
A moment later, the pilot calls back over his commlink, "General Skywalker, I'm turning the lights out. Our night vision sensors are having a tough time in this chop. I hope we don't overshoot the landing site."
"Just get us as close as you can," Anakin responds.
The swarm of gunships descends towards the surface. As they get closer to the ground, clones begin to mount AT-RT walkers being kept in the back of the gunships.
The gunships sweep low over the ground and begin to deploy the AT-RTs, deploying about 40 of them. The gunships then pull up and circle around as the AT-RTs continue forward.
Umbarans open fire with their blasters, as their own artillery fires massive balls of energy towards the incoming AT-RTs.
AT-RTs weave through the incoming fire, trying to get close to the artillery. However, before they can get close enough, a pair of Terran SA-10s swoop in, strafing them with their 30mm cannons. The artillery pieces explode one after another as they're struck by the massive rounds.
The clones manning the AT-RTs cheer as the Warthogs streak overhead. The two strike fighters make another run to destroy the remaining artillery in their path, destroying all remaining artillery and killing a number of Umbarans. One SA-10 pursues an incoming Umbaran starfighter and fires its cannon, destroying the starfighter.
Seeing that the major threats are destroyed, the gunship pilots move in and begin to set down. Their sides open up, and clones and Canadians move forward, firing their blasters all the while. Faced with a concentrated assault, and still recovering from the shock of the SA-10 strike, the Umbarans pull back.
Anakin and Rommel move quickly towards a slight ridge, Anakin twirling his lightsaber and Rommel firing his assault blaster. Rex runs up beside the two and says loudly, "This map has a ridge at 23 degrees north, northwest."
"Good. We can use it as a staging area," Anakin says as he blocks several blaster bolts.
Anakin and Rommel charge off the ridge, Rex right behind them. As he runs, Rex shouts to the troops around him, "Keep movin'! We got to claim that ridge! The other battalions are counting on us!"
With no artillery left to support them, the Umbarans continue to fall back under the relentless assault.
"Don't stray too far! The Umbarans could have rigged the whole place with traps!" Rommel shouts to the troops around him.
A little bit behind them, Tup yells, "I can't even see the enemy!"
"That's why they're called the Shadow People, Tup!" Hardcase yells as he continues to fire his minigun.
A few moments later, Hardcase trips over what looks like a vine. Tup helps steady him, and says, "It's just a vine. Keep moving, Hardcase."
"Yeah, I got it all under control," Hardcase says as he and Tup move on. Neither of them notice the "vine" begin to move.
That is, until it lashes around Hardcase's leg, yanking him into the air. Those in the immediate vicinity look over and see the creature now revealed, now using one of its tentacles to grab another clone.
One of the Canadian troops nearby reacts quickly, raising his C7 assault rifle and firing the M203 grenade launcher attached to it. The grenade hits the creature's mouth and explodes, killing it and making it drop Hardcase and the other clone.
"Thanks," Hardcase says.
"Anytime," the Canadian soldier says as he reloads the grenade launcher and turns around to resume the charge.
The Umbarans by now are in open retreat, pulling back beyond the ridge and disappearing into the strange plantlife that dot the landscape.
The clones and Canadians move up onto the ridge, and begin to take shelter in ditches and crevices, waiting for any sign of enemy activity.
In one trench, Anakin, Rommel, and Rex survey the landscape, looking for any sign of the enemy. Using some binoculars, Anakin takes a look to the south, and can see distant explosions.
"General Kenobi's battalions, sir?" Rex asks.
"They're pushing towards the capital. We'll need to move out as soon as the men are ready," Anakin says.
A clone, Dogma, runs up behind the three, and says, "All platoons have reported in, General!"
"Get some rest," Anakin says.
"Thank you, sir. I'm fine," Dogma says, still sounding very formal.
"The General's giving you an order, Dogma," Rex says.
"Of course, sir!" Dogma responds before turning around and walking off.
"He's wound tight, but he's loyal," Rex says as he turns back to Anakin and Rommel.
"That may be a slight understatement," Rommel says with a grin.
"He kind of reminds me of you," Anakin says to Rex.
"Maybe…back in the day," Rex says.
Unknown to the clones, a number of Umbarans are sneaking close to them, concealed by the plantlife and the fog. One of them releases a small device that looks a mechanical bug, which scuttles over the ground over towards the clones. Catching the clones off guard, it shocks one to death and scuttles off to find another target as the clones open fire on it.
Before the clones can hit it, the Umbarans open fire with their blasters.
"Ambush! They're behind us!" a clone cries out as he tries to mount his AT-RT, only to be hit by blaster bolts and killed.
Further from the action, Fives says urgently, "The enemy's circled behind us!"
He, Echo, and Rex don their helmets as Rex says, "Everybody, we must defend our backs!" The three clones, along with Anakin and Rommel, hurry towards the area of the fighting.
Anakin quickly spots and destroys the buglike thing. He and the others then join the fight, trying to find the Umbarans.
However, it's immediately clear that it's not going to be easy to spot them. Rommel sends a quick radio transmission, then says, "I just called for an air strike. We need to get off this ridge and try to keep the enemy on it. Give the bombers a clear, unobstructed target."
"Good thinking, Rommel," Anakin says before shouting, "Everyone, move out now!"
Clones and Canadians alike race down the ridge, firing their blasters and assault rifles behind them to try and keep the Umbarans at bay.
Within a minute or two, all the troops are off the ridge and holding positions at its base, trying to keep the Umbarans on the ridge.
"All here, sir," Rex reports to Anakin.
"Stay covered. We have to hold the position," Anakin says.
After a moment, Tup asks out loud, "Are you sure those bombers are coming?" Nobody answers.
Then, they hear engines rumbling, but sounding much different from a Y-Wing. Looking up, they see a welcome sight as a Terran SB-1B, a space capable variant of the American built B-1B Lancer bomber, heads right for the ridge. The SB-1B had just entered service a few weeks earlier. It was equipped to be capable of electro-magnetically jettisoning its bombs over a target in space, or conducting normal air drops in atmosphere.
The SB-1B flies low over the ridge, opening its bomb bay. Then, once in position, the pilot rapidly releases 40 Mk82 500 pound bombs. The bombs rain down on the ridge, tearing it apart and killing all the Umbarans on the ridge.
The clones and Canadians cheer loudly as the bomber does a circle overhead to confirm the results of the strike, then heads off to support Obi Wan's forces.
Within a minute, a pair of Republic fighters and a gunship descend towards their position. As the gunship lands, its doors open, revealing Jedi Master Pong Krell, who steps out of the gunship and walks over towards Anakin.
"General Krell's here?" Dogma asks in confusion.
"Something big must be going on," Echo says.
"Master Krell. My thanks for the air support," Anakin says.
"Indeed, General Skywalker. The locals have proved more resourceful than anticipated," Krell responds.
"But that's not the reason for your visit," Anakin guesses.
"No. The Council has ordered you back to Coruscant, effective immediately," Krell says.
"What? Wh-why?" Anakin asks.
"I'm afraid a request was made by the Supreme Chancellor, and the Council obliged. That is all they would tell me," Krell responds.
"Well, I can't just leave my men," Anakin protests.
"I'll be taking over in the interim," Krell says placatingly.
"Don't worry about a thing, sir. We'll have this city under Republic control by the time you're back," Rex says.
"Master Krell, this is Rex, my first in command. You won't find a finer or more loyal trooper anywhere," Anakin says.
"Good to hear that. I wish you well, Skywalker," Krell says, resting a friendly hand briefly on Skywalker's shoulder before standing aside to let Anakin board the gunship, which quickly takes off.
Rex walks up beside Krell and says, "Your reputation precedes you, General. It's an honor to be serving under you."
"I find it very interesting, Captain, that you are able to recognize the value of honor, for a clone," Krell responds.
Rex looks at him in confusion. Krell glances at him out of the side of his eye and says, "Stand at attention until I address you!"
Rex snaps to attention, as do other clones nearby.
"Your flattery is duly noted, but it will not be rewarded. There's a reason my command is so effective," Krell says. Krell walks among the troopers as he says, "And it's because I do thing by the book. And that includes protocol. Have all platoons ready to move out immediately. That is all." He walks off, the clones glancing among each other.
Krell walks over to where Rommel is standing. Rommel sees Krell approaching and salutes him. "General Krell," he says simply.
"Colonel Rommel. It's a pleasure to finally meet one you ASAT commandos. I must say, I've been more impressed with what I've heard of you Terrans that what I've seen of clones," Krell says.
Rommel stops himself from narrowing his eyes, already not really liking Krell for putting down the clones, as he had heard what Krell had said to the clones.
"Your reputation is known even among us Terrans. I look forward to seeing if your skill as a commander is as good as the stories say," Rommel says.
"And I look forward to actually seeing Terrans in action," Krell says before walking off.
The clones and Canadians form up and gather their gear, then begin marching behind Krell and Rommel in the direction of the capital city.
About an hour in, Krell calls back, "Quicken that pace, battalion! This isn't some training course on Kamino!"
Rommel narrows his eyes slightly, wishing Krell would be a little less harsh. He understands the need to be tough on troops some time and make sure they remained disciplined, but Krell was not respectful about it at all.
Suddenly, he sees some flying creatures approaching. Behind him, he hears Rex call, "Ready weapons!"
Rommel also pulls out his blaster pistols, and opens fire. The clones and Canadians do as well. The creatures dodge the blaster bolts, and one picks up a clone.
The troops continue to fire, until Krell leaps up into the air and tackles the creature carrying a clone. He pins the creature to the ground, draws his two double bladed lightsabers, and kills the creature. He then cuts down the second as it flies overhead.
Krell stomps over to the creature, slams his foot down on it and demands loudly, "Anyone else wanna play with the animals?" After a moment, he says, "Didn't think so." He resumes marching, and the rest of the troops follow him.
(11 hours later)
Krell and Rommel continue marching at the heard of the army.
Rex walks up beside Krell, and says, "General Krell, Colonel Rommel, the top of this ridge will make a good place for the men to make camp."
"The men don't need rest. They need the resolve to complete the task at hand," Krell says, not even looking at Rex.
"But, sir-" Rex starts to protest.
"CT-7567, are you reading me?" Krell demands.
"Excuse me, sir?" Rex asks.
"I asked you a question, CT-7567. Do you understand the need to adhere to my strategy?" Krell says.
"General Krell, with all due respect, if you wear the men by marching without rest, they're not going to be able to fight. I understand you're determined to finish this campaign quickly and capture the capital, but if we don't give the men some rest, they're not going to be able to fight at all," Rommel says firmly.
Krell turns to Rommel, narrowing his eyes slightly. The two stare at each other for a moment before Krell says, "Very well. CT-7567, tell the men to take 5 minutes," Krell says.
Rex walks off while Krell continues to look down at Rommel. "I understand you are likely not used to someone like me, but let me remind you of the difference in rank between us, Colonel," Krell says.
"Yes. But let me also remind you, General Krell, that in all technicalities I do not fall under your command. Me and the men under my command are not part of the Grand Army of the Republic, but of the Terran Alliance. I am only bound to follow the orders of General Kenobi, as he is the overall commander of this invasion," Rommel responds.
Krell continues to stare Rommel down for a moment before he says, "I will say that the rumors of you Terrans possessing a spine of iron do not disappoint." He pauses, then says, "I will show you respect, Colonel Rommel, if you will return me the same respect."
"Very well, General," Rommel says before walking off to talk to some of the Canadian officers.
Five minutes later, the men are back on their feet and resuming the march. It's not too much longer before they come over a rise and see the main road to the capital city up ahead.
Rex walks up to Krell and reports, "Sir, we're ready to bring our forward platoons in for a surgical strike on the city's defenses."
"There won't be any need, Captain," Krell responds.
"Sir?" Rex asks in confusion.
"All platoons will execute a forward assault along the main route to the city," Krell says.
"But, sir, General Skywalker's plan was to surprise them with multiple attacks. If we come in from the main route, they're likely to engage us in a full-frontal assault," Rex says.
"Change of plans, Captain. I'm in command now," Krell responds.
"General, marching along the road is going to expose our troops to any traps or hidden enemy forces. It's gonna put them right in the kill zone," Rommel says.
"I will make my decision as I feel necessary, Colonel Rommel," Krell orders. He then turns to Rex and says, "My order stands, and you will follow it explicitly. Do I make myself clear, CT-7567?"
"Yes, General," Rex says slowly.
"Now, engage!" Krell orders. Rex walks off to gather the troops.
About 100 clones begin making their way down the road. As he watches them go, Rommel makes his decision, and walks over to a platoon of Canadian troops. "Men. With me," Rommel says. The Canadians immediately snap their assault blasters to the ready and follow Rommel onto the road after the clones.
"General Krell is a little reckless," one of the Canadian troops mutters.
"Gotta agree with you there. He doesn't seem to care as much about his men's lives," another man says.
"I understand your sentiments, men. However, we have to show General Krell the respect he deserves unless he proves beyond a doubt he doesn't deserve it. He may be reckless, but for the moment we will follow along with his plans," Rommel says.
The troops fall quiet again. Then, up ahead, two landmines go off, knocking two clones flying.
"Mines! Nobody move!" Rex shouts loud enough for the Canadians and Rommel to hear him. Everybody hits the ground immediately.
For several moments, nobody moves. Then, two clones walk up to the clones that got knocked flying by the mines. "Oz is down." "So is Ringo."
"Can you sweep 'em?" Rex asks Fives and Echo, who nod and begin using devices to locate the mines.
"Watch your step, men," Rommel says warningly.
The clones and Canadians slowly advance along the road. But, after only a few moments, a blast of energy lands at the rear of the clones' formation, knocking several clones flying. Then, Umbarans appear out almost out of nowhere, firing their blasters at the clones and Canadians.
"We're completely exposed!" Tup yells as he fires his blaster.
Not caring about chain of command or whether he actually has authority over the clones, Rommel yells, "Fall back! If we fall back, they'll follow us, and we'll be able to hit them!"
Rommel and the Canadians start running back along the road. Not even hesitating, the clones follow them.
As they retreat back along the road, Krell is watching. "Feeble-minded clones," he mutters. He then turns to some other clones and orders, "Get in there and save their necks!"
About 80 clones and a few AT-RTS hurry forward to support the retreating clones and Canadians. With their additional help, they stop their retreat and open fire on the pursuing Umbarans. Umbarans begin to fall one after the other. Finally, the remaining Umbarans turn around retreat back up the main road.
As the blaster fire stops, Krell stomps towards Rex. "CT-7567, do you have a malfunction in your design? You've pulled your forces back from taking the capital city! The enemy now has control of this route! This entire operation has been compromised because of your failure!" he yells at Rex.
"General Krell, in case you haven't noticed, Captain Rex just saved this platoon. Surely you won't fail to recognize that," Fives says.
"ARC-5555, stand down," Krell says threateningly, igniting one blade of his green lightsaber, holding it close to Fives.
Rommel steps forward and draws his lightsaber from his belt, but refraining from igniting it yet. "Enough, General. I issued the order to retreat. And in case you haven't noticed, we actually killed a lot of Umbarans doing it, and we hadn't advanced very far to begin with. I understand you are an all or nothing kind of guy, but I doubt you are so blind as to not see that my maneuver was a success," Rommel says firmly.
Krell turns to Rommel, glaring. Then, Rex says, "I followed your orders, General, until Colonel Rommel ordered us to pull back, although I would have given such an order myself had he not done so. I followed your plan even though I thought it was, in my opinion, severely flawed, and cost us men. Not clones, men!" He removes his helmet as he finishes.
Krell looks between Rommel and Rex. Finally, he focuses on Rex and says, "You have a spark of tenacity, Captain. I'll give you that. I know that I don't command like the Jedi you're used to serving, certainly not like General Skywalker. But I have my way. It may be difficult, but these are difficult times. And it's proven effective. I suppose your loyalty to your men is to be commended. They seem to admire this. That's important to an effective commander."
He pauses, then says, "All right, Captain Rex, your opinion has been noted. Dimissed." He then turns to Rommel.
"And you, Colonel Rommel. Clearly you're a maverick, and while I am displeased at your intervention and ordering my troops, I admit I can't argue with the results. I think this will be a most interesting partnership," he says before walking off.
Fives looks between Rommel and Rex before saying, "I think he almost complimented you."
"Eh, it's hard to tell," Rex says.
Suddenly, more blaster bolts start falling around them. Rommel reacts instantly, shouting, "The Umbarans regrouped! Take cover and return fire!"
The Canadians and clones take cover and begin returning fire, determined to hold their positions against the Umbaran assault.
And, I'll end there. I hope I did well with this chapter.
So, I decided to go with Rommel as the featured ASAT member since I haven't used him yet. Hope you like his dynamic with Krell so far.
So, I hope you liked this chapter, and I hope you're excited for the next one. It'll be up within the next two days. Until then, leave a review, and stay tuned!