The First Contact War

Chapter 30

Vandyne

"The goal in life's journey is not to arrive safely at your gravesite in a well-preserved body….

It's to slide in sideways, totally worn out screaming holy shit… What a ride!"

2623 30th September, Sargent Claire 'Hex' Darnell, Vandyne

"What a hellhole…" Hex sighed out loud to herself as she reload the SA-20 assault rifle, snapping the magazine back in with her palm. She held the weapon up and looked through the scope, moving forward and once again tripping over some form of debris. She grumbled loudly and stumble forward, looking back at the offending object on the ground with annoyance. This time some sort of locker door was to blame. The hinges were singed where it had once attached itself to the locker, the rest of it charred beyond recognition.

Hex moved forward down the hallway with her rifle raised, checking corners as she attempted to locate the rest of Anvil, her squad. They had unfortunately been separated when running away from pursuing Separatist Special Forces, the ones who were after the intelligence they obtained in the Vandyne capital, where she was now. As for a specific location, well…that would be a very rundown building in the middle of a town overlooking the capital city.

Hex turned the corner and cautiously approached a slightly opened door. She reached forward with her left hand and pushed it open, jumping back when a group of birds flew out in a hurry. She flinched when a few sets of wings struck her head and then cracked an eye open when the noise subsided. She kept moving forward into the room and then into a conjoining room, lowering her weapon a bit when she reached another hallway. She frowned when she began to wonder if radio silence was really a good idea when they would all be split up like this. Hex kicked a piece of concrete and watched it hit a wall as it sailed down the hallway, settling in a mound of dirt near another set of lockers. This was a school. A group of destroyed desks sat in a corner around piles of more rubble and destruction. Likely from O.A.A.F. bombing raids that used a mixture of dumb, smart and EMP munitions. It made sense seeing as Vandyne was one of the more industrialised Separatist planets.

She kept moving forward into another set of rooms, her rifle rising once again when she heard muffled voices on the other side of a closed door. She took cautious steps toward the door and then stopped, placing her ear near the door in an attempt to recognize the voices. When she couldn't make any of them out, Hex took the next best step and prepared to open the door. She straightened up and readied her rifle, reaching a hand out to push open the door only to have it forcefully opened from the other side.

"Surprise motherfucker!" Hex was grabbed by the top of her Plasmaproof vest and pulled forward, her eyes shutting tight in defence as a handgun was placed close to her temple. Hex opened her eyes and frowned, coming face to face with Clayton Miles, the field medic. He stared at her for a moment in complete shock before opening and closing his mouth a few times.

"Now would be a good time to put me down, Miles." She shot an annoyed glance at Miles as he lowered Hex to the ground, reaching a hand out to pat down the front of her vest.

"Jesus, Hex. I almost shot you in the face." Miles looked down at the ground as he adjusted the beanie on his head in embarrassment. Hex shook her head at him as she readjusted her gear. "I knew giving you a gun was a bad idea. What are you? Twelve?"

Miles looked up at Hex as she smirked at him. Miles was twenty-seven, but his boyish face kept him young aside from the usual wear and tear of war. That was what really showed in his tired eyes. Hex reached a hand out and pushed the beanie he wore down over his face, rubbing it in a little. He slapped her hand away and readjusted the beanie as another man walked into the room, taking one look at Miles and then at Hex.

"Hex, I thought Irish was with you?"

"I thought he was with you, Sir." She watched Sergeant Graham Dunn paced in front of a row of windows before sighing loudly, wrapping a hand around the radio attached to his vest. "I'm breaking radio silence."

Hex tapped a finger to her radio to make sure it was still in full function as she walked forward towards the window where Dunn was standing. She felt a twinge of pain tug at her ankle and grimaced, limping a few steps before regaining her composure. She felt a hand grab her left bicep and looked back to see Miles looking down at her ankle.

"Did you sprain it? You're limping." Before she could stop him he bent down and began feeling around her shin and ankle, her hand reaching out to grab the front of his vest and pull him up. "It's fine. I just stumbled about sixty-two times, but I can survive with a little bit of pain."

Miles shot Hex an unconvinced look and shrugged. "If you say so, Darnell."

He turned away from Hex and walked towards Dunn, her face contorting into a look of annoyance. "You know I hate when you use my surname. You sound like my mother when I did something that she considered bad," Hex blinked hard once and then walked over to the window beside the one Miles was positioned at. "I'd like to not go back there."

She saw Miles glance at her from her peripheral vision, looking as though he was about to say something when Dunn's voice rose. "Irish! Get the hell out of there!"

Miles and Hex both shot their gazes to Dunn who was beginning to tear off boards that had been nailed to the windows. "Get these boards off and get ready to shoot. Irish is across the street and coming this way with some friends."

Miles and Hex both turned to their respective windows and began tearing boards down. There was a commotion across the street from their building and then screaming could be heard. Hex bent down to a knee and switched to her other gun, an MK13-MOD 0.

"Irish get your ass over here!" Dunn yelled down towards the street where Irish could be seen stumbling out of an alleyway with two men running after him. Irish fired a few rounds behind him while he ran, the two men scattering to cover as Irish once again stumbled to the ground. Hex squinted through the scope and aligned it with where one of the men was hiding, waiting for him to poke his body out. Rounds sounded from next to her as Miles shot at the wall where the second man was. The bullets bounced against the wall and a few more civilians scattered. The man she was focused on responded to the firing of Mile's weapon and stuck his body out from cover. Hex smirked and then pulled the trigger, watching the man bend backwards from the force of the plasma hitting his head.

"Damn." She heard Miles laughing lightly from beside her, never ceasing his fire on the second man.

"Let's go Irish!" Dunn shouted angrily down at Irish who was still firing his weapon haphazardly at the man still standing. A garbage can being knocked over caught her attention and she pointed her gun towards the sound, seeing two more men running towards a speeder as cover. They began raining fire on Irish as he ran.

"Two on the left!" Miles yelled out as he downed another man, Dunn aiming at the one closest to him behind the speeder. He fired a few rounds and hit him, the body falling to the ground limply. The remaining man stood straight up and once again began firing at Irish, his gun stalling and then jamming as Hex focused on him.

"Got 'em." Hex pulled the trigger and the man fell flat on his back. Miles sighed and then stood up, watching as Dunn motioned for Irish to come to the window. Hex strapped the MK13 onto her back and then stood straight, grabbing her SA-20 as Dunn pulled Irish into the room, his breathing hard. He placed his hands on his hips and stood up, looking at all of them. "Thanks."

"Just be glad you weren't killed," Dunn crossed his arms and then looked between Miles and Irish. "What happened?"

Both men hesitated for a moment before Miles spoke up, a hand going to the back of his neck. "I think we got separated when we turned into a back alley. I turned around and Irish wasn't behind me."

"Yeah, there was a Commando clanker waiting in a corner and it forced me to turn down another alleyway to avoid gunfire." Irish finished for Miles as Dunn listened to them, his face remaining neutral.

"Alright," Dunn nodded at the two men and then grabbed his weapon from beside the window, reloading it. "At least now we can get out of here and back to the Prowler."

Dunn nodded at all of them and then made his way into an adjoining room. Miles followed behind Dunn and Hex walked forward towards Irish, patting a hand on his arm. He looked down at her with a slight smile and then straightened up, following Hex out of the room.

"We'll head to the extraction point immediately. We have the intel and that's all that matters right now." Dunn spoke as he continued to lead the squad down a long hallway, his gun raised at the ready in case more Separatist forces decided to show up. The end of the long hallway opened up into a sort of courtyard. It looked exactly like the inside of the school: destroyed and sullen.

"We'll cut through here. The dropship should be close to our location in a building not too far off." Dunn jumped down a short drop into the courtyard, Miles following behind him.

"More walking…" Hex heard Irish grumble from behind her and smirked, jumping down into the courtyard with a thud. As soon as Irish's feet hit the ground behind her a few men ran out from the doors to their right, gunfire soon following. All of them ducked behind concrete structures, returning fire. A few of the men fell quickly leaving two of them to duck behind pillars.

"Sync shot, Irish!" Hex yelled over towards Irish and aimed towards the man closest to her. "Take the one on the left. On my call!"

"Got it!" Irish raised his weapon towards the man closest to him, flinching slightly when a few bolts scraped the top of his concrete cover. Hex looked between both men and as soon as they both appeared from cover to fire she yelled out to Irish. "Now!"

Various shots rang out and the two men fell to the ground, the room once again going quiet. Hex lowered her gun and then looked around, standing up when she realized no one was left. Dunn nodded at Irish and Hex.

"Nice one, Hex, Irish," They nodded back at him as he looked around the open atrium. "Let's keep going."

Hex began walking forward ahead of the group as Dunn contacted the orbiting cloaked Prowler again. Hex stepped over a few more destroyed concrete structures towards a room with broken out windows. She stuck her gun through the door first, head peeking around second. She went to take another step when gunfire rang out again, shattering what was left of the windows. Hex smashed herself up against the wall, looking around the frame at a few stragglers. She aimed her gun at a few of them, taking them down quickly. Gunfire shot through the window and took down the last of the men, Dunn sticking his head through the window and looking down at the bodies when the coast was clear. He looked up and then towards Hex, raising an eyebrow. She slowly met his gaze and then smiled. "Uh, my bad. Probably should have stayed with the group."

Dunn remained silent as Irish and Miles came up behind her, Irish reaching out to punch her in the back of the shoulder. "Good going. Nice shots too."

He smirked at Hex as he walked past, Miles smiling broadly as he followed behind. She shot an annoyed glance after them as they all moved forward, this time as a group. They walked down another hallway towards a hole in the ground, all of them jumping through it into a small room in the basement.

"A dead end," Dunn walked up to the wall at the back of the enclosed room, reaching a hand out to feel over it. "The extraction point should be on the other side of this wall."

He stepped back and then looked at Hex, nodding. "Alright. Make it sing."

Hex smirked at his order and then reached back into a pack, grabbing some C17 and a detonator. She walked forward and planted the explosives on the wall, walking quickly back to the group.

"Fire in the hole!" Hex yelled out to the group before pressing her thumb into the button, turning her head as the wall exploded with a loud bang. Dust and small debris flew towards them and when the dust settled sunlight was pouring into the dim room.

"Wonderful. Let's go." Dunn took the lead once again and hopped over the now destroyed barrier out into an expanse of trees and brush. They moved forward until they came to a clearing on a ledge overlooking a vast area of completed and semi-complete skyscrapers and factories.

"There should be a building towards the centre. That's where our extraction point will be," Dunn looked over the buildings and then reached for a tactical visor attached to his vest, handing it towards her. "Hex, scan the area."

She nodded at him as she took the visor, kneeling down with the rest of the squad. She set her gun down by her side and slipped the visor over her eyes, turning it on. Hex looked out over the area and noticed a few hostiles patrolling a small area just in front of them. She brought her gaze to one of the centre buildings, which happened to be a semi-complete structure, and got the extraction coordinates. "I found our target."

She flipped the visor up and looked over at Dunn, pointing in the direction of the building. The squad followed her finger and looked at the building, Dunn nodding and smiling. "Good. Let's try and get over there without attracting too much attention."

"That seems to be a problem recently." Miles made a face and chuckled as Dunn and Irish took the lead, sliding down the short drop from where they were perched. Hex looked at Miles and shook her head, walking towards the edge. "Maybe just for you. You seem to make the most noise and attract the most attention," Hex looked back before jumping down the ledge, holding a finger to her chin. "Or maybe they're just attracted to the smell of fresh medic."

She smirked at Mile's scowl and jumped down from the ledge, looking back up to find Miles jumping down. He landed next to her and frowned, pushing her with enough force to make her stumble. "Remember you said that the next time you have a blaster bolt lodged in your chest and you can't breathe."

Hex frowned and followed behind Miles towards the cover that Irish and Dunn were stationed behind, hunching down to survey the three hostiles in front of them. Hex looked at the group and motioned to each one. "They're all stationed far enough apart that stealth will easily take care of them. If you guys stay here and cover me I can get it done."

Dunn looked over at Hex and nodded, raising a finger in the air and motioning in a circle. "Take points, gents. Hex will take the hostiles."

Dunn and Miles took to the left side as Irish and Hex moved to the right. She quickly started towards a hostile standing near a gate, staying hunched down and keeping a close eye on the two other hostiles. Irish took his place behind a piece of large pipe and nodded at her to move forward. She crept up behind the first hostile, pushing her gun to the side as she reached for her knife, unsheathing it and holding it at the ready. Hex walked up behind the man and slipped a hand over his mouth, bringing her knife quickly to his throat and shoving it in, twisting it a bit to make sure he wasn't going to get back up. The body struggled in her grip a bit as she slowly lowered it to the ground, unhinging the knife from his throat and then moving on.

Irish followed behind once again as she moved towards another hostile just to the left of the first. She moved quickly and overstepped a slight ledge, coming up behind the man and repeating the same actions. She slid the body to the ground and then moved towards the last. Hex walked swiftly up behind him and then froze immediately when he glanced behind him, whipping around towards her and shouting out something in Vandyne. He hit a button on a radio positioned on his collar, screaming into it as a plasma bolt struck his head. She relaxed as the body fell to the ground and turned around to see Irish, Miles, and Dunn quickly running towards her.

"Did he call in backup?" Dunn looked at Hex and she shook her head. "I don't know. He was screaming in Vandyne, but if I could make a guess I would say he started to."

"That means be on alert. They could already be moving in-" A flurry of blaster bolts whizzed past Dunn's head and they all ducked down, scattering to cover. Hex slammed her back against a concrete structure and peeked over it, seeing a group of hostiles making their way into the area on trucks.

"I've got you covered, Anvil. Give me some targets." A voice came over the radio as a large dropship flew overhead, kicking up dust as it flew towards the building where their extraction point was located.

"Nice timing, Firebird. Aim for the trucks just ahead of us." Dunn spoke into his radio and Firebird gave the okay, hovering just a few feet before the hostile group. 30mm plasma rounds rained down on the group, taking out all of the first wave of men.

"I'm picking up a lot more heat signatures heading your way. I'll keep you covered." Firebird took flight once again and flew higher above the area. Dunn stood up and threw his arm out in front of him. "Move now!"

Irish, Miles, and Hex all stood up and made a b-line for another group of large pipes that could be used for cover, skidding to a stop behind them as another wave of hostiles moved into the area. Hex peeked around the pipe and was met with a flurry of bolts hitting the pipe just next to her head, her body snapping back to cover behind the concrete structure. She looked to her left and saw Miles firing at the hostiles from behind a broken concrete blockade. She made the decision that he had the advantage from the side and from behind a more solid form of cover.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit!" Hex sprinted over to where Miles was positioned, shots just missing her form. Hex jumped and skidded behind the cover Miles now had his back up against, slamming into him a bit as she stopped.

"Nice seeing you here." Miles looked at her and smirked, her head shaking in response.

"No time for pleasantries. We're in the middle of a gunfight." Hex smirked back at him before peeking over the concrete slab, firing towards a group of hostiles. Two of them went down and the other bolted for another location, Miles taking him down as he ran. Miles smirked and looked at her. "I'm almost as good a sharpshooter as you are now, Hex."

Hex looked at him and began to smile. Her smile faltered when she saw another hostile running towards them from behind Miles, his gun up and ready. Hex grabbed the front of Miles' vest and pulled him towards her, holding her gun out behind him and firing a few rounds into the man. He fell to the ground lifeless as she sighed, sitting back on her butt as Miles stared over at the body.

"Jesus." He let out a breathy sigh of relief as he looked at her, her eyes going up towards the sky.

"Firebird, can you see the group in front of us?" Hex spoke into her radio as she darted her eyes around the sky looking for the dropship.

"Already on it, Hex." Firebird could be heard descending from the sky, hovering once again in front of the group of hostiles. Plasma rained down and took out the remainder of the hostiles, leaving a clear path towards their extraction point. "I'll meet you at the top."

With that, Firebird took to the sky again, hovering around the top of the building. They all began moving quickly towards the building, continuously scanning the wide open area for more enemies. When they reached the building they slowed down a bit, heading towards a lift in the back of a hallway overrun by weeds and other plant life.

"This shit is the best way up?" Irish's voice rang out and broke the silence, the scepticism apparent in his voice.

"It's the fastest and we don't have time to explore any other options, Irish." Dunn slapped Irish on the back as he walked past him onto the lift, the rest of them filing in behind. Irish leaned over the railing and looked up, his face scrunching. "I can't wait to see the terrace view at the top."

Miles snorted and smirked from beside him. "I expect to be blown away."

"Shut up and keep your eyes peeled." Dunn glared at both of the men and hit the button on the wall, bringing the lift to life. The lift began to rise rather quickly as they all stared out at the open land where they were in a gunfight just moments ago.

"Anvil, you got hostile air!" Firebird's voice once again lit up the radio and the panic that was present in the pilot's voice put all of them on guard, scanning the sky for a threat.

"Oh shit! Fuck!" Irish ducked down as a droid gunship came into view and began firing at the lift they were positioned on. The rest of them followed Irish's lead and took cover behind the short walls of the lift, the sound of heavy blaster bolts hitting the metal buzzing in Hex's ears. The sound between the gunship and the gunfire was deafening, forcing them all to keep their heads down as rubble and debris began to rain down. The lift suddenly began to rock and then disconnected from the wires on one side, tilting the car and forcing them to slide out onto a higher floor.

"We're some lucky goddam bastards!" The entire lift disconnected from its wires and fell a few stories to the ground as Irish yelled out at them, motioning for the squad to move. "Get up, get up, get up!"

The rest of them scrambled to their feet and ran towards a staircase that led to another floor. The gunship began shooting at them once more, bolts causing sparks as they hit metal beams in the small hallway they were running down.

"Fuck!" Hex felt a shot graze the back of her thigh and she stumbled a bit, regaining her composure and keeping up a steady pace with the squad. They ran up the stairs and into a large room with windows, the gunship keeping pace with them and hovering outside.

"I think this is the top floor!" Dunn yelled out over the noise of the gunfire, looking around and ducking behind some random structures. They all ducked down behind various structures as Firebird once again came over the radio. "Anvil actual, where the hell are you!"

"Top floor, running!" Dunn screamed into his radio as an explosion rocked the building, causing a structure collapse on the far end of the room and leaving a makeshift ramp leading to the roof.

"Get to the roof!" Dunn yelled over the gunfire once again and they all made a run for the ramp, stumbling up towards the roof. The gunfire ceased for a moment as they emerged into open air, Firebird coming into view at the far end.

"Move, move, move!" Firebird yelled over the radio as they moved towards the dropship, the sound of a gunship coming up on the left of them. The enemy gunship hovered by them for a bit before moving towards Firebird, beginning to fire in their direction right before they reached it.

"Shit, get everyone in here now! The building's unstable!" Firebird's desperate voice rang out over the radio again as chaos reigned. The building began to shake below their feet and then collapsed slightly, forcing all of them to the ground. Hex slid forward towards Dunn as Firebird began to lose control. She stared up in panic as the repulsers came down towards both of them, Firebird's panicked voice coming over the radio again. "Shit! Back up! Back up! I've lost control!"

Firebird got aligned just as it neared Dunn and Hex, flying over their heads with the enemy gunship right behind her. A large pillar creaked as it fell towards the building they were on, crashing into it and forcing the ground beneath them to collapse and drop all of them down to the floor below.

"The building is going fucking down!" Dunn screamed towards Hex as the floor collapsed once again, her body sliding on a slant towards the edge of the building. She attempted to grab at something to hold on to, but failed continuing to slide. Hex slid towards Dunn and he reached out towards her, her hand making a grab for his and missing. Hex slid uncontrollably towards the edge of the building and went over, grabbing the edge at the last minute and hanging on. She stared at the ground below her as her breathing got heavier, looking up just in time to see Dunn sliding off the edge. She made a grab for him with her free hand and caught his hand. Her arm strained to hold his weight above the ground below and She let out a cry of pain, looking up through watery eyes as a few concrete slabs began sliding towards her.

Hex's eyes went wide as the slabs hit the edge of the building and bounced off, chipping off the part that she was holding on to. Her body fell backwards and Dunn's hand slipped from hers, both of them falling a few stories to the ground as concrete rained down above them.

An explosion lit up above her before the world went black.

"Holy shit."

Hex cracked her eyes open when she heard a voice and squinted at the light around her. She blinked a few times before groaning, opening her eyes fully to take in where she was. A large slab of concrete was positioned on top of her body, but left just enough of a space at the bottom where Hex could see Irish coming towards her.

"Hold on, Hex," Irish grabbed for the slab, placing his hands underneath it. "Miles, any sign of Hawkins or the rest of the crew?"

"No one survived that!" She heard Miles' voice from somewhere nearby, but couldn't see him.

"Get Dunn away from the wreckage!" Irish yelled out towards Miles, motioning towards the direction she imagined Miles was in.

"I can't he's buried!" She listened to the panic and distress in Mile's voice and then felt her face fall. Dunn was buried.

"Try to get him out. I'm over here digging up Hex." Irish's voice took on a more calming tone, attempting to calm Miles in the process. Hex looked up at Irish again to see him grab the slab, lifting it with a grunt and then pushing it off to the side. He reached a hand out towards her and she grabbed it, allowing him to help lift her to her feet. When She stood and looked down at her body, assessing what damage she had or didn't have.

"Oh man, oh man…" Hex heard Miles' voice again and looked to her right, seeing him kneeling over Dunn who was pinned under a heavy slab of concrete.

"Jesus Christ, his leg looks like a popped sausage…" Irish walked over towards them and Hex cast her eyes down Dunn's body towards his legs when Irish said that. Her stomach turned at the sight of Dunn's right leg, bloody and deformed, underneath the slab. She walked quickly over to where they were positioned and kneeled down on the other side of Dunn, reaching out for his hand that was reaching for the air. He looked at her when she grabbed it, his conscious seemingly still disoriented.

"You're going to be fine, Dunn. We're going to get you out." Miles' voice was desperate as his eyes darted between Dunn's body and the concrete slab, trying to find an easy way to get Dunn out of his situation by causing the least bit of distress. Hex watched Miles stand up and quickly walk over to a pile of iron rods, grabbing one and then walking back over to Dunn. He shoved one end of the rod under the slab and tried to get leverage on it, poking it in different spots with the same failed result.

"Stop!" Irish's voice caught her attention and she looked behind her, seeing Irish yelling towards a silvery-blue speeder coming towards them. "Hex cover me!"

She let go of Dunn's hand and walked over towards the speeder, swinging her gun around from her back to the ready. Irish walked over towards the driver's side window, tapping on the glass with his gun. "Get out! Get out of here now!"

Irish and Hex both aimed their guns at the man as he exited the speeder, his arms raised above his head as he moved towards Irish. "Please! I help you, please!"

"No, you have to get out of here! Now!" Irish shoved his gun toward the man and he turned to run off. Irish shook his head and turned back to me. "Fucking civilians…"

"He was trying to help." Hex lowered her gun and looked towards Irish, seeing him shake his head once more and walk back over towards Miles and Dunn.

"Hex I need your knife…" She heard Dunn's strained voice and walked quickly back over towards him, kneeling down again.

"What for, Staff Sergeant?" Miles looked down at Dunn who kept his gaze on her, his hand reaching up again.

"We have to cut the leg..." Dunn looked hard at Hex as she stared at him. He nodded at her after a few moments and then looked between Miles, Irish, and herself. "A wolf in a trap will chew its own leg off to survive…"

Hex held on to Dunn's hand and placed a hand over his vest, seeing him yell towards her once again, this time with more authority present in his voice. "Come on! The bone's powder! It's just flesh and uniform keeping me here!"

She looked up at Miles to see him staring at her before Hex grabbed her knife, moving down towards Dunn's injured leg. She held the knife out in front of her and then looked back towards Dunn and Miles, seeing that Miles was now holding tight to Dunn's hand.

"Do it now!" Dunn yelled towards her and then put his head back. She brought her eyes back to the leg and brought the knife down. She felt the knife slice through what was left of tendon, bone, and flesh in his leg. A cry of pain sounded from Dunn and she cringed, throwing the knife to the side as soon as it had done its job.

"We have to go." Irish bent down on the other side of Dunn and grabbed underneath his armpit in an attempt to lift him up. Miles hesitated a moment when Dunn didn't respond to his shake, looking up between Irish and Hex. "Is he dead?"

"He's not dead, just passed out," Irish tried to reassure Miles as he began lightly dragging Dunn's limp body towards the speeder. "You're the combat lifesaver, man. You should know this, Miles."

Miles stared after Irish as he dragged the body, seemingly unsure of what to do. Hex reached a hand out towards Miles who just looked up at her. "Come on, man. We have to go."

He grabbed her hand and she pulled him to his feet, following after Irish towards the speeder where he was now pushing Dunn's body into the backseat. she looked back at Miles to see him mumbling to himself, looking around the area. "It was a three hour course…"

There was a sudden explosion to the left of them and it threw Hex off her feet. She groaned and rubbed the elbow that she had landed on, looking up to see the enemy gunship had made its way back to them.

"Let's go, let's go!" Irish was now screaming at everyone as he got into the passenger's seat of the speeder with Miles scooting into the backseat next to Dunn. Hex ran around to the driver's side and got in, slamming the door behind her and starting the speeder. She slammed her foot on the gas and the speeder jumped forward.

"Fortress, this is Anvil actual. We need another escape route. Do you copy?" Irish spoke into his radio as Hex drove the speeder back through the area where their first battle took place.

"Anvil, we're tracking you. There is another extraction point close to your location. Keep following the road three clicks west." Hex nodded at Irish when he looked at her, turning the speeder onto the main road with a loud whine of the engine.

"Oh shit, my leg. My wife's going to kill me." Dunn's groggy voice sounded from the backseat and Hex brought her gaze to the rear-view mirror, seeing him attempting to sit up.

"Stay down, Staff Sergeant." Miles placed his hands on Dunn's vest, pushing him back down into the seat.

"Where's the dropship?" Irish looked at her and she leaned forward to look at the sky above the car. "I don't know-"

As soon as the sentence left her mouth a row of explosions lit up the road in front of them. Hex swerved the car around the fiery aftermath and kept going, Irish reaching for his M303 grenade launcher. "We're going to need this."

"Can we shake it?" Miles leaned forward and placed his hands on the back of both her and Irish's seats, looking between the two. Irish glanced back at him. "Not fucking likely."

A short tunnel ahead gave them a brief moment of cover, but when they came out through the other side the gunship was nowhere to be seen.

"Do you see it? Where the fuck did it go?" Hex darted her eyes around the sky and the road in front of them. She kept driving, pushing her foot down farther on the gas to speed up in an attempt to outrun the gunship, which she knew was just a stupid thought.

"There it is! Get ready!" Irish pointed a finger in front of him, her eyes going towards the direction and seeing the gunship hover down above the ground right in front of them. It shot at the speeder a few times before Hex sped up more, rushing towards it and forcing it to pull away to the left of them.

"That was too close." Miles looked out of the window to his left as Irish held on tight to the M303 in his lap. Not soon after, the gunship was back in front of them and laying down fire. She looked up just in time to see another large explosion erupt right in front of the speeder. Hex swerved again and felt Irish grab the wheel in an attempt to steady the car. She leaned to her left and felt the driver's door give way, her hand reaching up in a desperate motion to grab the doorframe. Irish looked over at Hex as he kept his hand on the steering wheel, handing over the M303. "Burn those motherfuckers!"

Hex nodded at him as she grabbed the HE grenade launcher, holding it in her right hand and focusing it on the gunship that was behind them now. Hex steadied her aim and then took a shot, hitting the belly of the gunship as it flew back over them. It lost control and crashed in a heap right in front of the speeder.

"Son of a bitch!" Hex hauled herself back into the speeder as it began to lose control, both of her hands grabbing the wheel in an attempt to get back in control. The speeder swerved off of the road and towards the edge of land. Hex braced herself as the speeder hit a ditch, flipping itself over and rolling once before plunging headfirst into the ocean.

Turn around. Every now and then I get a little bit lonely and you're never coming round. Turn around…

Hex cracked her eyes open and placed a hand to her forehead. She heard the beginning of the song Total Eclipse of the Heart coming through the speakers of the speeder and she wondered when they had turned the radio on. It was probably the new radio station, Radio Comet, dedicated to songs from the Orion Arm only. She sat up straighter and opened her eyes completely, looking around and realizing they were still in the speeder. Only this time they were upside down underwater.

"Man…I don't want to die to this song…" Hex looked to her left and saw Miles staring at the radio from the backseat. Next to him was Dunn, pinned in place by the passenger's seat. He looked at her and cracked a subtle grin. "Hey, Irish. Do you know what kind of fish they have in Vandyne?"

Hex looked over at Irish who was still next to her and he looked at Dunn, shaking his head. "Negative, Staff Sergeant."

She felt a wave of what felt like nausea wash over her and closed her eyes, a hand grabbing Hex's shoulder and shaking her back awake. She stared at Irish as he searched her face. "You conscious, Hex? Stay with me."

She nodded quickly at him as he retracted his hand. She brought her eyes back to Dunn, watching him attempting to shift his position underneath the seat. "Nice play, Hex. That was some of the finest driving I have ever seen. Right there until the end," Dunn's eyes cast upward onto Miles. "Hit the light, Miles."

Miles reached a hand out and hit the light switch in the middle of the car, illuminating the inside.

"This seat won't budge. You're pinned in." Irish shook the seat he was seated on and huffed, Miles looking at him and reaching a hand out to help.

"The last thing we would want to do in a situation like this is panic, Irish." Dunn spoke to Irish calmly, placing his hands over his chest.

"When you speak like that, man, you scare the crap out of me…" Irish made a face at Dunn, continuing to shake the seat gently in an attempt to break it free. "We'll get you free, Dunn, you hear me?"

Irish shook the seat harder this time. It still wouldn't budge as Irish swore under his breath. Hex brought her attention back to Miles, seeing him jiggling the door handle. "How are we going to get out? The doors are jammed shut."

Irish looked up at Miles and then at the door he was still attempting to open. "Shit…"

"This wasn't how it was supposed to happen Irish," Irish and Hex both looked back at Dunn to see him reaching around for his pistol, handing it out in front of him. "Hex, take my gun. It's yours now."

She reached a tentative hand out and took it, staring at Dunn. Irish looked between Dunn and her, shaking his head. "What are you thinking, Dunn? What the fuck are you thinking?"

"For the wolf to survive it's got to chew off its own leg," Dunn looked straight at her as she repositioned the gun in her right hand, unsure of what he was going to say next. "Fire! Break the windshield!"

Hex felt a hand roughly grab her right arm and she looked at a panicked Irish. "Negative! Don't do it!"

"Now, Hex! Shoot out the window!" Dunn's voice rose in an authoritative tone, his right fist slamming into the back of the seat he was pinned under. "That's an order!"

She stared at Dunn for a moment before nodding her head, turning back to the windshield and holding the gun out in front of her.

"Don't you fucking do it, Hex!" Irish's voice broke into her conscious and she looked at him, her face going grim and angry. "What choice do we have, Irish?"

"You save yourselves. Get the hell out of here…" Dunn voiced his last words and Hex looked at Irish before turning to the windshield, firing one round into the glass. The initial sound was loud, but was then drowned out by rushing water. The rest of the glass cracked under the pressure and she held her breath just as the water took over the interior of the speeder. she opened her eyes to see dark, murky water all around her. Hex felt a hand push on her back and looked behind her to see Miles motioning for her to go. She nodded at him before swimming out through the front windshield and then in a general upward direction. She saw the smallest amount of light coming through the surface of the water and she kicked her legs and arms as fast as she could. When she surfaced she took in a large gulp of air, sputtering and choking in the process. she gasped for air as she looked around, seeing a hand reaching down towards her.

"Sergeant Hex." She looked up at the owner of the hand and saw it was Irish on a rescue boat. She stared at him for a moment before grabbing his hand, allowing him to pull her into the boat. Hex coughed a few more times as she leaned on all fours on the solid ground of the boat, her eyes darting back up and around the boat. She crawled quickly to the edge of the boat and scanned over the surface of the water. "Where's Miles? He was right behind me!"

"Calm down, Hex. I'm sure he's fine." Irish grabbed her hand and hauled her to her feet, her eyes never leaving the water. A few moments passed before a large splash sounded from a few feet away, Mile's struggling form emerging from the water. One of the marines next to Hex reached a hand forward to pull Miles in and she moved towards him, pushing him out of the way as she leaned down and held a hand out. "Miles!"

He looked over towards her and coughed, beginning to swim towards the boat. When he reached her he grabbed her hand, her other hand reaching out to grab the back of his vest. She pulled him forward and out of the water, the weight of his soaking wet gear too much for her and forcing them both to fall backwards. He landed hard on top of her chest and she groaned, his own form beginning to cough up the rest of the water he had accidentally swallowed.

"Jesus, man, are you okay?" Irish walked over to them and pulled Miles' body off of her own, sitting him up. Miles looked up at Irish and nodded, his gaze coming back to her as she sat up on her butt. He placed a hand on her knee and patted, cracking a smirk. "Thanks. I owe you one."

"Don't ever make me think you drowned ever again and we can call it even." She shook her head at him and smiled back, placing her arms on the top of her knees to catch her breath.

"Ah, Anvil!" All three of them turned their attention towards Captain Garrison who was coming towards them. A broad, relieved smile was present on his face as he looked between all three of them. "We have much to discuss, but after seeing the condition of all of you, I'll let you get some rest first."

A sigh of relief made its way from her mouth and she saw Miles and Irish doing the same, their gazes turning towards the ground. She leaned back against the side of the rescue RHIB boat as it made its way quickly back towards their home ship. Hex leaned her head back and stared at the water, all of the previous events replaying in a blur through her mind as the other dropship touched down on the waters surface to take them to the awaiting Prowler in orbit.

2623 31st September Earth Standard Calendar, Supreme Commander of Orionian Forces Douglas Shapiro, Orionian Military Headquarters, Spire Base, Albion

"Gentlemen, due to intelligence we managed to obtain yesterday from Vandyne, we now have uncovered a hyperlane that leads directly to the Separatist capital world of Raxus. We would pass several planets on the route that would need to be taken as well as launch a diversionary offensive to hide our intentions but we now have the capability to attack the Separatist capital and capture their parliament and deal a crushing blow. Which at the very least will end the war on the Eastern Front."

"So what's the plan." Asked General Wells, Commander of all Orionian forces on the Southern Front, Army Group C.

"Operation Flashpoint will take place on the 1st of January next year, giving us three months to prepare. A push will be made along the whole Eastern front with an emphasis on the south to divert Eastern front Separatist forces while the Intelligence Services will make it seem that the Eastern front offensive is a diversionary attack and the real one will come on the Northern Front. General Mathis, if you need to bring in more divisions to make the diversion a success then I can grant you another hundred."

"I'll see what I can do with what I have before I bring in more troops."

"That's all well and good, but the Separatists will notice a build up of our forces on a front which is controlled by the Republic and Mandalorians. How will we cover up the obvious build up." Inquired General Bahl, commander of all Northern Front Orionian forces, Army Group A.

"Simple, I've arranged for the Republic to take over the Southern Front in a months time and we will move most of Army Group C to their old positions and reinforce Army Group B. The 317th Legion, 12th Star Corps and 707th Attack Battalion will remain though. The 317th will be the Republic contingent that will assist our attack on Raxus and oversee and deals made with any Separatist captured leaders on the behalf of the Republic."

"How much of this Operation have we informed the Republic of?" asked General Wells.

"At this moment in time, none of it." answered Shapiro.

"And in future?" Asked General General Kym Lee of Army Group B and Eastern front Forces.

"The offensive on Raxus will be kept secret up to when the ships attacking Raxus enter Raxus space, at which point I will Inform the Chancellor and the Jedi Council."

"How many fleets are you going to need to make this Operation Flashpoint possible?" Asked Grand Admiral of the Fleet Ambridge.

"How many can you spare?" responded Shapiro.

"You want the new Carrier based fleets?"

"We have new Carrier based fleets?" asked Lee.

"Yes, the fleets consist of two Illustrious class carriers with fourteen Indomitable class frigates and three Acclamtors." the Grand Admiral answered.

"So we're shrinking the fleets then?"

"Yes, the super large fleets we had in defence of the Orion Arm aren't effective as large they are over the area they are used under the command of one Admiral so we're shrinking them to nineteen ships per Admiral."

"The Separatist Home Fleet consists of six Lucrehulk-class freighters, twelve Providence class Dreadnaughts, three Recusant-class destroyers and twenty Munificent-class frigates. With Thousands of Starfighters with one billion droids stationed on world. So we will need Seven fleets, eleven if possible at least." Deduced Shapiro.

"Will that be enough though? Even with eleven fleets and the hundred and twenty one divisions, it may be enough to defeat the Separatist fleet but will that be enough to take and hold the planet?"

"The objective is to capture as many Separatist leaders as possible and force them to surrender. And then we either have them surrender the planet, their planets or the Confederacy. If they refuse to surrender the planet the Navy will commence a orbital bombardment on all Separatist military and industrial targets then the Army will move in and secure the ground. And more troops can be brought in once the fleets secure domination of Raxus's orbit."

"And how will we ensure that as few as possible Separatist leaders escape?" inquired one of the Generals.

"ODSTs and other Special Forces will drop in and secure the Separatist Parliaments perimeter and any representatives' estates on world. Then when Army and Marine divisions arrive they will reinforce the ODSTs and other Special Forces as well as secure the capital Raxulon and surrounding area. Should the planet not surrender then all forces will move to crush the resistance wherever it remains." explained Shapiro.

"May I Suggest sending in the Praetorians," Intelligence Officer Schea stepped Forward, "So far they have been kept in reserve bar that run away one which is now serving in the 242. Why should we hold them back. They could easily infiltrate Raxus, kidnap the Separatist senators, destabilise the planet and escape before they were discovered."

"That may be true, but we are new to this galaxy. We joined this war to show our strength. Militarily, Economically and Politically to ensure our survival should the Republic not turn out to be a just, benevolent yet corrupt democracy. Or another threat emerges. The Praetorians are our secret weapon. One of the Aces we have up our sleeve. Why show them now when we don't need them beyond making the war easier for us."

"I'm not saying deploying the full three battalions but maybe a single squad or maybe equipping Vanguard with his old set of armour."

"He does have a point sir. Wouldn't they be more useful as an unknown mysterious threat than completely unknown?"

"I'll think about it."

"Glad to hear that sir." Schae said, a ghost smiling appearing on his face.

"Now then, back to the plan..."

Extract from the Daily Telegraph on 'Why was the Republic so successful as a political model for thousands of years'

A large part of the Republic's long-term political stability is owed to the Jedi. The order provided a unique combination of power ambassadors/field agent/secret police to hold the Republic together and stave off many cataclysmic insurgencies.
Another aspect of the Republic's long run may simply be that being "first to market" as it were made the other alternatives pale in comparison. If you're a world interested in long-term economic growth, are you going to tie your banner to the Republic or opt instead for the many Sith and smuggler empires that burnt out as quick they formed? By no means was the Republic a perfect political entity, but it benefitted from simply being the least despised option compared to all the other terrible options present in a dangerous galaxy.

A/N: Sorry for the wait for this one. The next chapter will have a Q&A so feel free to leave a question, either send me a PM or leave it as a review.