Disclaimer: BioWare and LucasArts created the Old Republic world... but the Paladin, that was me!
The Sith fleet dropped back into realspace near Dantooine. The troopers of the 322nd Regiment had awoken an hour earlier to be ready to launch. They gathered in the assault hangars near their ships. The majority of the regiment would take common shuttles to the battle, but the SAU would launch in armed landing craft. These were variants of the shuttle with an elongated fuselage. They had a pair of fixed blaster cannon for the pilot and three twin repeater turrets, one on either side of the troop compartment forward of the wings, and one between and above the twin engines in the rear. The troopers gathered at the docking bay doors to watch the opening moves of the battle.
Outside, a single Republic destroyer hung in space over the northern hemisphere. Its captain bravely got underway and moved to position his ship between the Sith fleet and the Enclave. The Sith fighters were the first to launch. Twelve full squadrons of the angular spacecraft roared off the catapult rails and joined up in formation. Behind them came the first wave of bombers. Sixteen squadrons cruised toward the planet; they would strike the destroyer and pummel the Republic defenses before the troop transports landed. Picket ships cruised in lazy figure-eights while they waited for the transports they were meant to escort. Another eight bomber squadrons waited on the catapults to strike targets for the ground forces with four squadrons of fighters as emergency reserve.
The prelaunch tone sounded; Sarna and her squad boarded their landing craft and strapped in. She saw Tash with another squad and gave him a small smile. He winked at her and mouthed a silent good luck. The transports left the launch bays and formed up; picket ships led the formation as they descended toward the Enclave.
Sarna watched out a viewport as a small fighter force rose from the surface to join the destroyer; there were perhaps a dozen. The small group came out to fight, seemingly unconcerned that they were vastly outnumbered. She raised her macrobinoculars for a better view. The Republic fighters were of a design she had never seen before. There was a single large engine in the tail; the wings had a slight downward curve with an engine nacelle at each wingtip. The fighters were armed with heavy blaster cannon in the wing roots and an unmanned twin repeater turret mounted atop the fuselage, just behind the canopy.
"Oh… no." Sarna recognized Tash's voice.
"What's the trouble?" asked Yun.
"Those are Aratech AT-17J Paladins," said Tash worriedly. "They are specifically designed to be flown by Jedi. They have a heavily reinforced frame and a ton of thrust-Jedi can withstand massive acceleration. With a Jedi ace in the cockpit, those things can outfly any other snub fighter ever built."
As he said it, the fighters split into pairs, spread out, and climbed toward the Sith interceptors. They moved faster than any spacecraft Sarna had ever seen. The first two squadrons of Sith fighters accelerated away from the main group and closed in to the merge. The Jedi defenders began a series of radical maneuvers. The wingtip engines pivoted, allowing the Jedi ships to change direction with blinding speed, or even fly backwards. Both sides opened fire. Each Paladin could engage two enemies at once: one with the heavy cannon, and one with the turret, which was linked to the movements of the pilot's head. The Jedi broke the first Sith attack effortlessly; they were simply too agile to be beaten by anything but sheer weight of numbers. The rest of the Sith fighters moved in; the fight lasted another ten minutes. The Sith took astounding losses, but the last Paladin finally exploded. The bombers separated and began moving to their targets.
More Republic ships came into view; a swarm of common Aurek strike fighters and three frigates had been hiding behind the planet.
"It's a trap!" cried Yun.
Tash shook his head. "Not enough of one."
Only a handful of Sith interceptors had survived the fight against the Paladin fighters; the last four squadrons began launching from the cruisers. Suddenly, there was a flash of light. Three Hammerhead-class cruisers and five destroyers dropped out of hyperspace behind the Sith fleet. They immediately began launching spacecraft.
Tash shrugged. "Okay, now it's a trap."
The reserve wing of Sith fighters and bombers could not stop both threats. They turned and headed after the Republic battle group, leaving the Sith bombers and transports guarded only by picket ships and the remaining fighters. The Sith flight leader was no coward; he did not hesitate to take on thirty-plus fighters with five. The first group of bombers turned away from Dantooine and made attack runs on the frigates and destroyer in low orbit. The large ships were quickly smashed by multiple hits, but their defense guns took many bombers with them. The surviving bombers were much lighter without their load of torpedoes. They wheeled and courageously moved to assist the fighters. The two groups of spacecraft met about twenty kilometers from the transports; the Sith were annihilated within minutes. The remaining Republic fighters bored in towards the transport group. The picket screen shifted formation, placing themselves between the fighters and the shuttles.
Kaiya turned to her troops. "Warm up the guns!"
Soldiers raced to the turrets and made ready to defend the ship. The pickets trained every available turret toward the incoming Aureks. The Republic fighters launched a salvo of torpedoes and turned away before they entered gun range. The pickets' quads and twin guns filled the sky with scarlet bolts. They were able to shoot down several torpedoes, but a few leaked through the curtain of blaster fire and two of the escort vessels were reduced to flaming debris. The fighters reloaded their tubes and came in for another run, and another. The fighters were soon out of heavy ordnance, but they had methodically destroyed all but one of the pickets. They split up and tore through the formation, targeting the vulnerable transports with their blaster cannon. The landing craft turrets rattled and chattered as the gunners tried to hold off the Aureks. The last picket brought down three fighters, but more circled like sharks.
The trooper manning the tail gun on Sarna's transport whooped gleefully. The soldiers craned to look out the rear viewport and cheered at what they saw. One of the Republic cruisers had been blown in two. The Leviathan and two frigates were racing to the rescue with a mixed group of bombers and interceptors. The last Republic fighters fell to a combination of turret fire and the newly arriving ships. The transports slowed; the bombers raced past them to strike the guns on the ground.
"This isn't over yet," said Kaiya. "There aren't enough bombers to take out all the AA guns, and we won't have any air support of our own until they can reload."
The bombers made several runs each, then turned back for the cruiser. The shuttles carrying war droids went in first to draw fire away from the 322nd. The guns began firing as the transports entered the atmosphere. The air defense commander was no fool. Instead of letting his gunners aim for specific targets, they were ordered to fire in interlocking patterns, making sure that the entire sky was well-covered. The shuttles started taking hits. The landing craft tried returning fire, but the guns were well-protected in shielded positions. The shuttle next to Sarna's lost a wing and began a slow roll as it fell. Sarna's own transport shook as it took fire. Several hits drained the shields, then a blaster cannon bolt struck the 'shoulder' of the landing craft between the cockpit and the left wing. The port gunner was killed instantly. Two other men were less lucky; their seats broke loose and fell out the hole with the hapless soldiers still strapped in. The rest of the troopers remained safe in their seats for the time being.
"Jump belts!" cried Kaiya. Each trooper reached under their seat and retrieved an emergency repulsor belt.
"Keep in mind, those repulsor coils will burn out after about a minute," shouted Tash. "If you use them when you are too high, they won't do you any good. Remember: wait till late, then activate."
Kaiya unstrapped to lower the ramp. One by one, the troopers buckled on the belts, got out of their seat harness, and leapt from the crippled lander. Sarna checked her gear and moved to the intact starboard hatch. Yun jumped; Sarna followed right behind him. The wind roared outside her helmet; Sarna briefly struggled to breathe, then relaxed as she fell and the air thickened. She concentrated on shaping her arms and legs to stabilize her fall and looked around. There was Yun, to her right and ahead. Sarna pulled her arms and legs in and swooped over to him. The two linked arms and waited to be low enough to use their belts. At 2500 meters, Sarna hit the activation stud and the repulsor belt hummed to life. She immediately slowed to a survivable descent speed and extended her arms, leaning to aim for a large clearing. As Sarna approached the ground, she tilted feet down and unslung her carbine. She hit and rolled, coming up into a combat crouch. She extended her carbine's stock and swept the immediate area; it was clear. Yun dashed up and they took cover in a small clump of trees on a hill.
Sarna and Yun took a moment to look around and get their bearings. All across the sky the AA fire was tearing into the assault force. They were now low enough for the small force of defending Republic troops to use shoulder-mounted rockets. The shuttles began popping decoys and maneuvering wildly to avoid. As more and more were hit, the troopers began jumping rather than try to ride the transports to landing. Troopers were landing in open fields all around the Enclave, but the units had been mixed and scattered. Some transports had made it to the ground and unloaded; they were now pinned on the ground, unable to take off due to the heavy fire. The Leviathan was invisible in the daytime sky, but its batteries were engaging the defense guns. Bombers roared by, striking whatever they could see.
Sarna turned to Yun. "Any sign of Tash or the captain?"
Yun shook his head. "What do we do?"
Sarna clicked on her comlink. "Corporal Sarna to any SAU personnel, does anyone copy?"
The comm crackled. "Sarna? It's Tash; I'm with Kaiya and a small group of SAU troopers. I jumped before you did. What is your location?"
Sarna checked her wrist computer. "About two kilometers due south of the Enclave. There are small firefights going on all around."
"Did you say south?" asked Kaiya.
"Yes, south," replied Sarna. "According to my map, I'm between the Sandral and Matale farm complexes."
"You must have jumped late," said Tash. "Stay clear of the Matale estate. There are a dozen farmers barricaded in the main building, and the grounds are defended by battle droids and gun turrets. Our droid support is advancing from the south to deal with them. The rest of the SAU landed north of the Enclave, and we're fighting our way to the edge of the compound now. We ran right into the Jedi Council making their escape." As Tash said it, a Foray-class destroyer lifted off from the Enclave with four Paladin fighter escorts. They climbed away, angling to avoid the Sith fleet.
"There they go now," grunted Kaiya. "I only have about ten troops left here, Sarna. I can't take the Enclave with that few, even with the Jedi Masters gone. We need your help, Corporal. A couple of shuttles from the 322nd managed to land safely about half a klick east of you; they are taking heavy fire. Get to them, get the troops organized, and move on the Enclave from your side. I'll send a droid platoon from our reinforcements to secure the shuttles for our return to the Leviathan."
"Understood, Captain Turnell," said Sarna. "Are there any Jedi left in the compound?"
"The Masters are all accounted for," replied Tash, "but there could be Jedi Knights or Padawans. Keep your eyes open. Good luck."
Sarna cut the comm and turned to Yun. "We head east to link up with some other troops, then we move on the Enclave. Sounds like things aren't going well."
The two troopers began walking. They crested a low rise and saw the shuttles a klick away, with a battle raging around them. The transports had landed in the open, and Republic soldiers were firing on them from several rocky outcrops. The Republic soldiers had an elevated position, solid cover, and a pair of light repeaters; the Sith were being badly mauled. Each shuttle had carried a full platoon, but only two dozen remained, and they were pinned down, taking cover behind the landing gear or in whatever shallow holes they could find.
Sarna grabbed Yun's shoulder. "Can you hit them from here, with a standard-issue rifle?"
He smiled grimly. "You bet I can."
"Right, then." Sarna found a small boulder for cover. "Start picking them off. I won't shoot until they get wise to us."
Yun dropped prone and took careful aim. He fired, killing a repeater gunner. Yun's second shot missed; his third wounded a Republic rifleman. The Republic soldiers realized something was up. The soldiers on the nearest outcrop swiveled and returned fire. They had been spotted, so Sarna began shooting. She couldn't be accurate with a carbine at this range, so she scattered her fire to harass the enemy. Yun fired again, killing another soldier. With the pressure taken off, the pinned squad was able to set up a heavy repeating blaster on a shielded tripod. The gunner opened up, suppressing the soldiers in the rocks. Sarna began moving in, as did several of the other Sith. With the tables turned, the Republic soldiers fell back towards the Enclave. The Sith squad advanced to the rocky outcrop; Sarna and Yun joined them there.
Sarna looked around. "Who's in charge here?"
A female lieutenant in a flight suit raised her hand. "By rank, it's me, but I'm a shuttle pilot."
"The Republic was aiming for officers and senior NCOs," one of the troopers explained. "Our command are all dead. If you have a mission for us, we'll follow your orders."
Sarna took a deep, calming breath. "Right. My orders are to collect you and assault the Enclave from the south. War droids are moving in to protect the transports. Shuttle crews will stay here and wait for them." She pointed. "Let's get the heavy repeater up into the rocks and search the bodies for supplies. They'll counterattack from the Enclave soon."
The gunners moved the repeater, tripod and generator. The rest of Sarna's new platoon checked the shuttles and dead soldiers for supplies. Aside from the usual grenades and blaster power packs, she recovered the macrobinoculars from a dead lieutenant. Sarna organized her force into three rifle squads plus the repeater section and Yun. She ordered her people into defensive positions with the heavy repeater on the left flank and Yun on the right. The Enclave was just over half a kilometer away, protected by another high ridge with a commanding view of the open plains. Sarna raised her macros and scanned the ridge. The Republic had managed to build a proper fortified position for their last line of defense. Most of the earthworks were simple fighting holes with sandbag parapets, but the gun nests at either end were hardened with rocks and boulders. The remaining squad or so of Republic soldiers were dug in, watching her across the low ground. They appeared to be waiting for something. Sarna wondered what it was, and then she saw the reinforcements. A large group of what appeared to be armed civilians climbed the ridge from the Enclave side; they wore hunting camouflage and were armed with sporting rifles.
One of the troopers snorted. "It's the local militia-we're up against weekend warriors!"
"Stay alert," warned Yun. "There are a lot of them, and if they are decent shots, hunting rifles could give us trouble."
"Give me a break," said the skeptical trooper. He stood up and shouted towards the militia. "Drop those guns! If you surrender now, you won't be killed."
One of the militiamen put a bolt right between the trooper's eyes. "Get off our world, Sith, before we blast you off!"
The Sith opened up. The Enclave defenders took good cover and returned fire. The Republic squad had split into two fire teams, each with a light repeater, anchoring the ends of the defense line with the militia in the center. The engagement quickly became a stalemate. Sarna had the heavy weapon, but couldn't advance against the defenders' superior numbers. The militia slowed their fire, and started aiming carefully, making their shots count. Two Sith troopers fell and the rest were forced to hunker down. With the Sith suppressed, a mixed group of soldiers and militia tried to break cover and charge, but were driven back by heavy fire from the repeater. Yun got two and the other troopers killed three before they could make it back to their lines. Sarna directed the repeater crew to fire intermittent bursts across the defenders' position, just to stop them charging again. The enemy was too far away for grenades, and she didn't have the firepower to suppress so large a force.
"We can't get bogged down here, we need to move!" Sarna ground her teeth. "Yun, Second Squad, follow me. The rest of you, keep up the fire, keep them occupied. Use grenades if they rush you again."
Yun, Sarna, and a half-dozen troopers dropped back behind their rock outcrop and down to the bottom of the hill. Sarna led the way, running a couple hundred meters to the side, then crossing the low ground to the base of the Republic ridge. She went prone and began crawling up the ridge, slanting towards the Republic right flank. They made the crest without being spotted and took up positions; Sarna saved the heaviest cover for Yun.
"All right." Sarna spoke into her comm, so the rest of her troops could hear. "Yun, you have the first shot; take out the right side repeater gunner. Repeater section, on Yun's shot, focused barrage on the left side repeater. First Squad, Third Squad, keep hitting the militia. Second Squad, grenade the gun nest as soon as Yun shoots. Fire on my command. All teams sound off."
One by one, the various teams reported ready. Sarna brought her carbine to shoulder, then gave the order. Yun fired, hitting the repeater gunner right in the upper chest. The Sith repeater section cut loose with a stream of constant fire, suppressing the other Republic repeater. Then things went wrong. The grenade from Sarna's squad landed short, exploding outside the gun nest and leaving the rest of the fire team unscathed. Another Republic soldier grabbed the fallen repeater and swung it around to fire on the flanking Sith. One trooper was killed, but Sarna and most of her squad hit the deck in time. Yun blew the gunner's head off. Sarna called for him to stay put; she and her squad ran up to the rim of the hole and riddled the rest of the Republic troopers with blaster fire. They dropped into the hole and began firing on the militia. Now the defenders had a squad with sniper support on their flank, and had to split their fire. The remaining Republic repeater couldn't shoot at Sarna's squad without hitting their own people, so its crew desperately tried to take out the Sith heavy repeater. But the heavy weapon had a gun shield, and its crew was relatively safe.
Sarna threw smoke grenades and the squad vaulted up out of their hole, rolling up the militia line. And then Yun fired again, and the Republic repeater fell silent. First and Third Squad broke cover and charged, and the militia began to panic. A militiaman stood out of his hole, firing wildly with his rifle. Sarna burst out of the smoke and drove her bayonet into his chest. The militiaman screamed and thrashed and the bayonet got stuck in his body. As he fell, he pulled Sarna with him and they went down in a tangle. The rest of her squad kept going as Sarna struggled to extricate herself from the wounded man. He clubbed her with the butt of his rifle; her helmet prevented a concussion, but it still hurt. Sarna snarled and fired once, finishing him off. She clambered to her feet, reached down to pull her carbine loose… and got a good look at the dead man's face.
The militiaman was just a boy, couldn't have been more than fifteen.
Time seemed to slow; Sarna froze, unable to look away from the kid she'd killed. He had strawberry-blonde curls escaping from under the builder's hard hat he'd been wearing for armor. He had the very first wisps of a moustache, and his beard was still a year or two away. His hazel eyes were wide open in shock, but completely empty, and they bored into hers. Sarna's breathing grew ragged, and her eyes stung with tears inside the helmet.
She jumped as a blaster bolt went by her head. What had seemed like an eternity of staring at the dead boy had only been a few seconds. Sarna shook herself. He was armed, and he was trying to kill me. Doubt later. This fight isn't over, and they're counting on you to lead this platoon. With some effort, she shook off her daze and moved to catch up with her squad.
First and Third Squad had crossed the low ground and attacked the heights head-on. They took heavy casualties from repeater fire and grenades, but First Squad managed to wipe out the second Republic repeater crew. The surviving Sith troopers pressed the militia from the front and both flanks; the repeater section hammered away at them. The surrounded militiamen dropped their rifles and stood out of their holes with their hands up.
One of the gunners chuckled. "Too late, chum." He opened fire and gunned down the militia to the last man.
"What the hell, they surrendered!" cried Yun, appalled.
The gunner shook his head. "They had their chance."
A flash of green cut him in two. The Jedi slashed the second member of the repeater crew, then turned the weapon on the Sith. A dozen troopers were killed or wounded, and the rest scattered, running for cover. Yun aimed carefully, hitting the repeater barrel where it extended through the shield. The Jedi left the now-useless weapon and jumped out of the rocks. She flipped in midair and landed in a three-point crouch, saber arm back along her body, then stood, radiating an aura of righteous wrath. "I am Padawan Belaya of the Jedi Order. You Sith scum will pay for this atrocity."
A/N: This fanfic is written with the usual conventions of a video game, meaning boss fights. However, since Sarna and Yun are infantry soldiers, their bosses are scaled appropriately. Even with special training, a couple of troopers are in real danger vs. a Padawan. As always, please review!