CT-57/395, better known to his comrades as Threnfive, dashed between the smouldering ruins of the city, bolts of plasma scything through the air around him, his booted feet dashed across the gravel and chunks of duracrete rubble.
He did not look to his left towards the Trade Federation battle droids that fired at him, but kept his head focused on the path before him, his brain measuring every step, making sure he didn't step on anything that he could slip on.
He ducked through an open doorway in a burnt-out building and stopped, not pausing to catch his breath, he dropped down to the floor and began to worm his way past the empty windows towards his comrades, CT-57/396 (Frinesix) and CT-57/397 (Thrensev), the pair were crouched by the windows, holding their blaster rifles in their gloved and armoured hands, Frinesix leaned up a few inches and let loose a pair of plasma bolts out of the window, on the other side of the street a battle droid went down in a flurry of sparks.
Threnfive crouched next to his two comrades.
"Where are Threenfor and Freinate?" Asked Thrensev, referring to troopers CT-57/394 and CT-57/398.
"They're dead, there are another squad of battle droids bearing down on our left flank, it shouldn't be long before they get here. Where are the rest of the squad?" Threnfive responded as he checked how much charge there was left in his blaster rifle's power pack.
"Don't know, the comlinks have been jammed, we can't get through." Replied Frinesix.
"In that case we hold our ground." Threnfive stated.
Several red plasma bolts shot through the window and hit the opposite duracrete wall, leaving scorch marks.
Thrensev stood up, holding his blaster rifle at shoulder height, he shot off several bolts towards the squad of Confederacy droids as they steadily advanced up the street, two droids were hit and crumbled to the ground, nothing more than worthless chunks of scorched metal.
Thrensev ducked back down as a volley of bolts were fired in his direction.
"Frinesix, cover that doorway." Threnfive ordered, pointing towards the open doorway through which he had dashed just a minute or so ago. Although he did not hold a rank of command, he was the unofficial leader of the squad, since their previous leader
CT-57/390 (Frinenty) was killed.
They and the rest of the legion had been defending the planet for the last few weeks against a Confederacy battle fleet.
The planet was Thryos, an Outer Rim colony, the focus of the Confederacy attacks had been on Throrus, the planet's capital, but s few weeks ago a duracrete metropolis teeming with life, now reduced to piles of smouldering rubble, it's citizens fled, the remaining Clone Troopers of the 580th Legion stuck defending a worthless prize, no-one would remember their struggle, the sacrifice of a thousand loyal cloned souls, now stuck forgotten, fighting to the last against unyielding mechanical opponents.
Frinesix began crawling across the floor, as Threnfive and Thrensev crouched by the windows, standing up occasionally to loose a few bolts.
Frinesix reached the doorway and leaned against it, using to prop himself, thus securing a more stable firing platform from which to cover the ruins on the other side of the street.
A whining sound filled the air above the remains of the city, as another wave of Droid bombers flew on another sortie, pointlessly bombing the debris.
The encroaching droids did not look up as the bombers cut through the smog, dropping their deadly cargo onto the remaining standing buildings.
The three Clone Troopers felt it as the building shuddered from the impact, dust filtered down from the ceiling as the upper floors disintegrated from the impact of the proton bomb.
"Contact on the flank!" Frinesix shouted as he loosed off several bolts of plasma towards the battle droid that had appeared in the doorway across the street.
The droid's head exploded in a flurry of sparks, and collapsed to the ground, revealing another identical droid behind it.
The droid fired twice, the first shot hit the duracrete next to the doorway, whilst the second shot passed within a hair's breadth of Frinesix's visor.
Frinesix swore and reeled back, "My helmet's sensors are out, I need to recalibrate them!" He stated as he moved behind the doorway, sticking to cover.
"Get it done quick!' Thrensev replied as he turned to cover the doorway, he aimed at the droid, which had stepped over it's companion's body and was now moving across the street.
Thrensev's finger began to squeeze the trigger, however, the droid was quicker, and a perfectly aimed blaster shot arced through the air, hitting Thrensev in his chest, the trooper screamed and collapsed onto the floor, hands clutching at the smoking hole in his torso. He writhed for a second, before laying still.
Next to him, Threnfive did not even bother looking at his comrade's body, he was a member of the GAR, created to fight and die for the Republic.
Each and every clone expected to live very short life on the battlefield, before dying in the name of the Republic. They asked for nothing more.
Threnfive turned and fired, the droid advancing towards them collapsed backwards as the plasma bolt smashed into its chest, frying its circuits.
"My sensors are back online." Frinesix stated as he turned back to the fight. He stood up and moved into the doorway; four battle droids were emerging from the building across the street.
Frinesix quickly fired, taking out one, before ducking back under cover.
Threnfive stood up and began shooting out of the window at the twenty or so battle droids that continued to march up the street towards them.
Frinesix moved out form behind cover, as he did so, a laser bolt hit him and he crumpled onto the floor, dead.
Threnfive, now standing alone against his metal opposites, stood up and ran over to take Frinesix's place in the doorway, he fired three times, three times he hit, wiping out the droid squadron threatening his left flank.
He stepped out of the doorway onto the street; he shot again, taking down the leading battle droid on the street to his forward.
This was it; this was his last stand for the Republic.
He moved forward, pulling out a thermal detonator from his belt as he did so, he ducked down behind a pile of rubble as a volley of laser bolts arced over his head.
Holding the thermal detonator in his gloved hand, Threnfive thumbed the activation switch and stood up, with perfectly practiced position and threw the detonator towards the droids, he ducked back down as the detonator landed in the middle of the street, given it's placement, it should take out about ten of the droids on explosion.
Threnfive's calculations were correct as the detonator, well, detonated, sending out a blinding flash of light, which vaporized eleven battle droids.
However the rest of the droid forces continued their endless advance, laying down a constant stream of blaster fire.
Threnfive crouched down and aimed his blaster rifle, he squeezed the trigger, and a bolt of plasma shot out of the end, finding its mark in a battle droid.
Threnfive aimed again, and squeezed the rigger, nothing happened. He checked the power pack; empty.
He searched in his utility belt for a moment before tossing the riffle aside and drawing his sidearm.
This was it. This was time for CT-57/395 to die.
Threnfive stood up and fired off a shot.
Ever since he was born, he had been taught to kill, to be the perfect soldier, emotionless, ruthless efficient, droidlike.
He fire again and a battle droid went down.
No one had ever cared for him or his fellows, they were just numbers in an endless army, each soldier identical to the next.
Fighting and dying for a Republic that they'd never even seen, for causes that they didn't understand, pawns in a giant, endless game of chess.
Threnfive loosed off three bolts in quick succession, each of them felling a droid.
And now he would die just like the rest of his comrade.
One of the battle droid's blaster bolts found it's mark, and Threnfive crumpled down onto the rubble, a smoking, burning hole in his side.
Without emotion, he stared upwards through hi visor at the dense smog that clouded the sky as his life ebbed away.
The life of a clone trooper was but so short, yet the GAR, and the war, would live on forever…