The Terran Calamity

by F35B

(Formerly United Freedom) The Republic finds a small planet on the edge of their space but little do they know the repercussions of their actions. The Terran Eagle will not accept any compromises, nor will any of her citizens. (Halo Inspired Universe) (Star Wars Canon Universe)

7. Meat Grinder

DRUM ROLL PLEASE FOR YOUR PROCRASTINATING, NERDY LOOKING ASS AUTHOR PRESENTS, his lame-ass excuse for his dumbshitfuckery,

(Also known as an Author's Note): Hello,

I don't know if I rewrote this maybe 5 times while adding some bits to the last chapter. Eh, whatever. Just know that whatever happens the next chapter will come out, no matter what.

We are going the full 10 rounds with this one!

Just know I do have personal life ahead of me and despite the fact that it's break I have a lot of things I need to do. (Including procrastination)

I played way too much video games, which include but are not limited to, anything with zombies, Phantom Forces, Minecraft, and HOI4. (aka procrastination)

Oh yeah, and I changed the timeline a bit, see if you like it or not, it doesn't really change much. Also name change! I felt that the og name I chose was outdated and not actually representing the story, so here we go, new name, woo hoo.

If you have any questions i'd prefer a PM but a review will also do though i respond to PM's faster than I do Reviews. If you have any suggestions on how I can improve my writing just shoot me a PM as well, considering this is where i'm feeling a bit wobbly. This chapter is more soldier-focused, but next one will be more from a command POV alongside some Jedi POV's so, yeah wait and see.

Before people start telling/yelling at me that the CT-numbers are 4 digits, I'm aware, I made it 8 digits though since I decided that 6 million (Canon) is crazy low for the clone army, besides 4 digits allows for only 10,000 clones (You see the problem now?) while 8 digits allows for 90,000,000 numbers for CT's. (You catching on to this yet? Hmmmm?

I hope you are)

I might change parts of this chapter in the future.

That's all anyways, enjoy!

}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Location: Koyot Suburban District, Whiskey Outpost (29)

Colonel Joshua Ammar, 48th Marine Battalion

}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

An alarm squawked away as red flood lights began to flash in the outskirts of New Nihon, the wailing of air raid sirens seemed to never cease as the whirring of Republic LAATs began to get closer. It was something that was all too normal for Colonel Joshua Ammar as he rushed out of his M25 Puma LPC and towards a broken building that used to be a bakery and was now serving as the Forward Operating Base for the 48th Marine Battalion.

Being from the Outer System world of Veridian IV, a mountainous desert world, the planet had regularly suffered from Insurrectionist activity, the local group nicknamed, the Terran Hand had taken his parents from him in a bombing at an early age as the young man of Arab descent as a result signed up for the UTSC at the ripe age of 16.

Since then he had gone up the ranks as he was soon a Colonel and now a commander of a Marine Battalion on Strangreal. His job now was to defend the town of Koyot, the city was literally empty, though there were a few civilians that refused to move, most left in a dash for the safety of the New Nihon Spaceport to get away from the Republic advance. A few Planetary Guard Units from the UTPDF had also retreated to the lines of the UTSC forces, bolstering his numbers.

He had seen the readouts of his enemy, there were as far as he was concerned, his area was the only landing so far, all flooding the Koyot District. Each has an estimated 10,000 men or more, spearheaded by elite divisions with heavy armor support and maybe orbital support.

Not to mention the many 200,000 reinforcements that may arrive.

His mission parameters? Defend the rest of Koyot with at least 2,000 men under his command lest he let the Republic in New Nihon with no guarantee of backup or withdrawal.

"Gilgamesh, do we have a visual on enemy forces?" asked Ammar, he was forward leaning on a tactical map readout as the holographic were moving to and fro, each analyzing quadrillions of bits of data every millisecond as it popped on the table.

As this was happening an AI avatar popped on the table, the figure was dressed in ancient garments that resemble ones worn by any that lived in ancient Mesopotamia.

"We have a readout coming from the Wombat Drones in near Koyot, we should be connected to the feed soon," said a gravelly but still somehow smooth voice behind the stone mask of the AI as a readout soon popped on the tactical holo map of the camera feed of the F-99 Wombat that was above the Republic landing zones.

He was amazed that the drone was yet to be shot down but he guessed that was the benefit of active camo. The F-99 was well over retirement age but then again, a good design often refused to die, something that Ammar was a bit grateful for. Though the Wombat would obviously be outmatched by current-generation fighters, it was more than suited to do its original purpose, recon, and if needed a surgical strike.

He looked at the footage, the camera seemed to focus on bunches of white armored men in the streets, all advancing forward toward the metropolitan areas that he was to defend. He had to wonder why the Republic hadn't utilized any standard camo designs, but those reasons would be out of his context.

He had to wonder about the armor used by the Republic, either they were hiding it, or were just plain stupid.

He saw multiple Walkers, all either 2, 6, or 8 legs, like insects slowly making their way towards the city center, clanking their way through the streets as white men seemed to storm and move around them.

To him it looked as if he was about to quash an ant colony. But he had other problems to worry about, though the CIties AA had worked wonders on the landings, it hadn't repelled them, more rather, it 'relocated' them.

"Get a line to General Kalifkuz and Colonel Huygen, Republic forces have concentrated most of their manpower in my sector," said Ammar as Gilgamesh nodded and bowed as he disappeared in the sea of never-ending code, sending a message to Ammar's superiors.

'How the fuck do you feel safe in that thing?' He wondered to himself as he saw multiple AT-OTs walking, each being as open-topped as any car in the California District of the North American Province on Earth.

"Colonel, line with the General and Huygen established!" said a radio operator as Ammar nodded.

"Put them on screen"

"Colonel!" a voice rang out from the General, a thick Euro-Slavic accent emanating from the man as his uniform was covered in the UTSC Camo Pattern. "I heard you are in a dire situation"

"Yes General, most of the Republic has landed in my sector and has taken over some suburban areas, currently their ships will rip us to shreds before Admiral Keyes can make contact with them again, I am asking for a nuclear strike to be authorized lest my sector falls," he said, finishing his request to his fellow officers as Kalifkuz nodded, he seemed to go back to his table as he thought for a moment.

"Colonel, I will approve of your request for nuclear strikes to be authorized, Colonel Huygen, I think you know what you must do now," said Kalifkuz to the Air Force Colonel as Huygen nodded as he disappeared from the screen to order the Air Force to launch nuclear weapons to Ammar's location.

"Thank you, General, I will radio back after the first engagements," said Ammar with a salute as Kalifkuz returned it back subtly.

"Godspeed, Colonel, only God will protect us now, I'll contact any nearby ships and Admiral Keyes to assist you in case for some god-forsaken reason the nukes don't work, reinforcements are on their way," said the old army man as he disappeared from the screen. It now turned into a waiting game as Ammar finished his last-minute setups, the Terrans had finally dug themselves in and waited for the inevitable Republic assault, nukes or not.

"Get the HAGARS ready to fire their munitions, after the nukes tell them they have the green light to let loose," said Ammar as a control operator nodded, relaying the Colonel's orders to a nearby HAGARS unit.

He hoped that his artillery from the 188th Marine Artillery Brigade, both Conventional and Rocket, would pound the Republic into submission, considering he had the 'high ground' with the Republic being situated near the lower areas of the plateau on which the Koyot Suburbs resided on, he would rain down hell on the Republic before packing up and moving to a different location, rinse and repeat.

He had already contacted the remaining naval vessels in the area and requested their support which they pledged to give before the nukes.

A loud boom resounded as Ammar looked at the map and saw the Kharkiv Class Frigate dish out its impressive missile array before retreating back to wherever the main Terran fleet was. 2 Republic vessels were on fire, however, a couple still remained.

Now he was just waiting for the Air Force to bring down the remaining Venator that may contradict his plans, the advantage he held would be rendered mute otherwise for obvious reasons.

'Come on, be useful for once,' he thought, referring to the Air Force, the branch that was largely neutered after the 21st Century and had been referred to by many as a 'budget sucker'.

He got his answer as 5 plumes of smoke rose from the sky as they slammed into the Venator, as the whole sky seemed to light up and turn into a bright white flash as the sky thundered.

}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Location: Forward Command Center, Koyot Suburban District

CC-43-2783 Captain Jolt

}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Jolt just sighed, his day had been degrading ever since he had landed on this damned world. Now he had to link up with the 501st and 184th which was beginning to become harder and harder every passing second because the AA of the Terrans was relentless.

He had linked with the 1st battalion though under tough conditions and even then that link was only so small it looked as if it would collapse any second as the Terrans put pressure on his forces to close it.

"When is General Fornce scheduled to land?" he asked, his general had yet to make landfall near his location, being held up by the remnants of any Terran vessels in space.

He had to admit the Terrans had put up a very good fight against the Republic, crippling the amount of manpower the Republic could offer to the board, but he still had hope considering most of the invasion/landing fleet had made it relatively unscathed from the pounding of Terran Coilguns and other monstrosities.

"The General is scheduled to arrive in an hour or so, they are being held up and delayed from remaining pockets of Terran resistance in the atmosphere," said a Clone Officer in the dark teal colors of the 716th Sky Legion as Jolt just sighed, he was just not in the mood today.

He had seen a lot of action within his time in the Grand Army of the Republic, his men blowing up, their vehicles blowing up, the whole schmuck, this was normal to him, but the Terrans seemed to amplify that by magnitudes incomprehensible by even the strongest Jedi Grandmasters.

He had fought in many battles for the Republic against the CIS, winning some, and losing some. Brothers lost in the haze of battle. It was the side effect of war.

Sarrish however was a hellhole that he would like to not remember again having lost so many brothers in the fight against the CIS and Sarrish Defense Forces who used brutal tactics to kick the Republic out of the system.

He could only hope it would not repeat here again, but then again the Terrans always had something hidden up their sleeves.

He looked around from his field of view and he saw the rubble of Terran settlements, and houses in disarray as he looked down the street, fires were glowing brightly despite the blistering sun. He couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for the Terrans but a job was a job.

He had taken control of some of their city outskirts so he was now just waiting for the clone battalions to take their objectives but it seemed they would be delayed and that they had to be rerouted because of the unexpected AA resistance the Terrans put up.

He saw overhead a Terran vessel poke out from the clouds as its front ignited with blue electric sparks. Soon a loud boom emanated from the vessel as thousands of missiles streaked away as they slammed into 2 Republic vessels, an Acclimator and an Artiquens.

Another rumble seemed to fill the air as Jolt saw the two ships go down in fire and flame as he just sighed and cursed internally, the culprit ship then turned away as many clones in the FOB began to cheer on the Republic Venator, the Corellia going after the Terran vessel, but alas it was in vain as the Frigate entered the Terrans form of FTL.

It was as if a black hole had opened up for a split second before it closed, laying a blanket of "calm" on the planet, for now.

The cheering died down as hundreds of explosions went off nearly a couple blocks down as massive flames rose from the sky, indicating an airstrike. Jolt just grunted as he returned to his command staff. He had enough, he just wanted to take the damned city and kick the Terrans off their own planet.

Whatever he was dealing with it wasn't the droid army that was for sure.

"Sir, some of our ARF troopers are reporting in, they spotted the enemy forces and are returning their feed now," said a nearby clone as Jolt looked at the Holo Screen as he spied the enemy vehicles.

Jolt looked at what his ARFs were seeing, a lot of defenses that looked like they were designed to make the Republic suffer MAXIMUM casualties.

Though he could spot some of the more open defenses, broken buildings converted to bunkers, what seemed to be armored vehicle blockers, the occasional gun emplacement, he knew there were likely many more hidden away in the vast sprawls of downtown New Nihon (Koyot District), something that made him remember Sarrish, his mind returning to the massive losses suffered by the Republic on that planet.

He saw what looked to be a silhouette of an armored vehicle, it looked pretty mean to, having a massive main gun as far as he could tell, or did it have 2? Then again it was a silhouette and he couldn't really identify what else besides what looked to be an auto turret on the top.

He had to hope his walkers could deal with them, the only real 'Armor' he had with him were a handful of Saber Tanks and then again they were lightly armored and would most likely fare poorly with this behemoth on their hands. He had to hope his even fewer number of Juggernauts could deal with them.

He was about to make a command to request the ARF Troopers move just a bit closer but then the ground rumbled as the feed went super bright before being cut off.

"WHAT'S HAPPENING?" Jolt yelped as his Command staff was thrown into disarray. Despite the strong communication equipment on the Forward Command Center, the consoles and displays all scrambled as many were trying their absolute best to get back online but it was in vain.

"Sir, WE LOST CONTACT WITH THE FLEET!"

"WORKING ON REBOOTING SYSTEMS!"

"I CAN'T CONTACT THE CORELLIA"

"RADIATION LEVELS SPIKING!"

Jolt's head began to spin at that last remark, Radiation, he couldn't believe it, he stepped outside as he looked up, and he was met with a horrific sight.

The once mighty Venator, Corellia was now a blackened hull, around it 5 ominous mushroom clouds erupted from within as the sun seemed to be blocked for a few moments, then came the sonic boom.

A massive dust cloud rose from the sky as the Corellia began nothing but a massive paperweight, slamming and jutting its superstructure into the ground for all to see, like an ugly and horrific skyscraper. It mortified Jolt who was now left with no communication, loss of material and men in the crash area, and most importantly, his fire support.

"Try to reconnect and reboot your systems! Try and send a message by foot to the nearest 501st outpost," said Jolt with a bit of urgency as the command staff hurried to regain their connection.

Then explosions began to erupt all around as Jolt looked around frantically, his mind panicking as blocks began to blow into massive billowing pillars of gray smoke. Bright tracers came crashing down as a nearby AT-TE blew into a million pieces, followed by another and another, buildings being leveled as dust began to rise and block the visions of the clones.

"IT'S AN ARTILLERY AMBUSH TAKE COVE…"

Yelled Bolt when a rocket landed 'near' the Forward Command Center, flipping it as Jolt was knocked to the ground as he slammed his helmeted head onto the asphalt floor. His vision began to slowly turn black as he was knocked out.

}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Location: Strangreal, New Nihon, Koyot District

Lieutenant Denis Mykolasin, 48th Marine Battalion

}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

"Copy, artillery strike inbound, hunker down we have shot out," squawked a radio in the helmet piece of Lieutenant Denis Mykolasin. He charged the handle to his MA8, loading in 60 fresh rounds into his gun.

"Roger Whiskey Outpost, hunkering down," he responded.

He looked to see his Marine Fire Team also do the same ducking in the building as smoke plumes slammed into the Republic positions inside the suburbs, large smoke clouds erupting from the impact spots on the horizon.

"Damn, that's big," said a younger Marine, Private First Class Jack Vargos, hefting a large M720 LSAW in his large hands as he slammed a belt into the ammo tray.

"Heh, not as big as those nukes, Air Force finally did something fucking useful, coños de mierda." (Fucking pussies) said another Marine in a heavy Spanish-Latin accent, Corporal Mendoza Kappa, the Latino speaking his mind on the largely useless Air Force Branch, all while loading in a fresh Magnum mag into his M7A and strapping it to his chest as he brought his MA8 to bear.

"You wish they would do more huh," said Lance Corporal Vincent Nuyhen, the man of Asian descent loading a BR100, the 32 round mag making an audible click as it hit the maglock.

"Cut the chatter, we have incoming orders!" said Denis as the rest of his squad just grumbled, all locked and loaded and ready for a fight.

"Copy, all Marine Squads in the area, be advised Republic assault is inbound on your sector estimated 5 minutes, Artillery and Air support will hit what they can, however, it's up to you to finish this fight, godspeed and Ad Astra, Whiskey out," said the radio operator over the comms, as Denis nodded a bit from the operator, not that anybody noticed.

"5th Platoon! I need all of you in positions! We got 5 minutes to prepare to give these cyka's hell!" said Denis, his heavy Russian accent dragging out his sentences while adding authority to his voice as the 50 Marines of 5th Platoon spread out and pointed their guns in the direction of incoming Republic forces.

Denis had never really commanded a platoon before, really only commanding on relief missions, or training exercises, so this was his first dip into the boiling waters of active combat. Being from the Vladivostok Pacific Metropolis Area on Earth, he had grown accustomed to tight spaces and large sprawling metropolises, something that Koyot reminded him of.

His voice was a huge reason why he was able to command under fire, authority, and strength were key to commanding a group of rowdy Marines and whipping them into shape and making them in the quotes of one of the drill sergeants that trained him, "Mean Green Motherfuckers."

He set himself right next to the machine gunner, PFC Vargos as he looked out the barricaded shop they were in, they were situated on a curb, going up and leading near the borders of the Koyot Suburb District and the Okoyo Metropolitan District and had a commanding view of anything that came up the roads and they had their flanks protected by some light armor and fellow Marine Fire Teams/Platoons.

All they had to do was wait for the inevitable.

"Heard this 716th is composed of veterans eh?" asked Vincent as they chatted a bit before all comms were ordered to be silenced.

Denis looked out to see some Pelicans and Goshawks as well as a handful of Osprey's make their way towards Republic lines, blasting away with whatever they had, hopefully softening the Republic assault forces.

A Pelican fired its Main cannon and a loud BRRT could be heard, though muffled by the sealed helmet as he looked at his HUD. The UM-18 PAS allowed him to peer from a nearby Wombat Drone camera as he looked at the incoming Republic forces, advancing slowly across the streets.

Soon Denis heard a sound that sounded like an engine as the rest of his squad tensed up a bit. Denis looked out as he saw a sedan driving awry, swerving here and there as his gunners seemed to be locked on, adrenaline pumping.

"HOLD FIRE, WE HAVE CIVVIES!" Yelled out Denis in the comms device strapped on the inside of his helmet as he marked the sedan on the battlefield so the rest of his platoon wouldn't fire on it.

The Sedan sped past as it zoomed towards what Denis presumed was the New Nihon Docks or Spaceport for evacuation. They were most likely stragglers, most of the Citizenry had moved out and away towards the more defensible areas of the Metropolitan Areas of New Nihon.

"Stay on your toes, we don't need the media to crawl all over us," he said, forgetting where he was as Mendoza just scoffed a bit.

"And what? Getting run over by some Alabama bastards is somehow better than some media paparazzi fuckers?" Mendoza asked in a sarcastic tone, chewing on some gum as he spat it right back out.

"Just stay alert and identify your targets dammit," responded Denis, a bit annoyed as Mendoza again just shrugged.

Soon a clunking noise could be heard as Denis looked out the window to see some Clone troopers, blasters up and ready as they marched down the street. Denis looked to see Jack have an itchy trigger finger as he tapped the young marine's shoulder and reminded him to keep his shit together.

"Wait for the boys with the rockets, we got enemy armor closing in," said Denis as the young marine nodded. Denis looked at his HUD readout as he saw a small team of 3 Marines hefting an FGM-51 and pointing it to the streets, ready to fire at first sight.

"Rocket teams! Fire at will!"

A plume of smoke was their signal as an AT-TE popped right into view as a 178mm ATGM streaked through the streets and slammed dead center in the cockpit, killing the AT-TE Pilot and destroying the large walker as the Clones surrounding it scattered, though not for long.

"OPEN FIRE OPEN FIRE WEAPONS FREE," yelled Denis through his comm channel as the Marines let loose a barrage of projectiles towards the Republic forces.

The volume of fire was joined by the machine gunners as large swaths of clones fell to the incoming fire, red mist and blobs splattering all over the streets as clones were peppered and spiced with 7.1mm and 9.5mm ammo as they fell to the asphalt roads.

Sweeping suppressive fire kept the clones hiding as one Marine hefted an MPAIM 12, his mate beside him loading the tubes and tapping the Marines shoulder as the Marine sent downrange 4 50mm HESS projectiles as they blew up behind Republic cover, mutilating hiding Republic clones as shattered armor flew in the air.

It wasn't long however until the Terrans lost the element of surprise as blue bolts came crashing back toward Terran lines as Denis saw a marine right next to him get hit from a heavy bolt from a DC-15A knocking the Marine back a bit though the shields took the brunt of the attack, shining the man in gold as he got back up and kept firing.

Denis fired his weapon in consecutive bursts, taking down clone after clone. Soon his counter read zero as he took the MA8, flicked out the magazine and grabbed a new one from his ammo pouch on his waist as he inserted the mag into the magwell, a satisfying click following as he slapped the forward assist button, closing the bolt as the counter once again read 60.

A bolt whizzed by his head as sparks flew all around as his gunner, Jack began to reload his weapon. Vincent put out some serious lead down range, the 9.5mm rounds ripping and tearing into Clone Armor and flesh as blood splattered the streets.

Another Marine fired his UTAS-52 loaded with 8 Gauge in a 3 round burst, the 24 pellets dumped at 1000 rounds per minute slammed into 2 Clones who managed to flank them, shredding their armor as flesh and skin flapped away in small flanks of skin, it was a brutal scene.

"COVER THE MG!" he yelled into his comms as Jack hurried to load in a new belt to his gun, a new Machine Gun opened up as fire once again spewed from another building as Jack loaded in a fresh belt, not even bothering to secure the canister to the bottom of the gun as he charged the handle and fired once again.

Then a white plume of smoke shot out of nowhere and slammed into the building of one MG nest, silencing it as multiple others followed. The marksmanship of the clones began to kick in as a 3 Marines were taken out by consecutive shots made by a squad of clones as the Terrans fired back.

"Shit! They have rockets inbound! Hunker down!" screamed Denis as the Marines of 5th Platoon hunkered down and stayed behind cover.

Denis saw some wink off the HUD but most survived.

"Return fire! I want to know where those came from!" he said as the fire resumed once again, filling the air with whines and bangs.

A marine soon came up behind Denis, the Marine had a special camera set strapped on his helmet, mounted in a way comparable to 21st century night vision goggles as he pointed and marked on the HUD where the rockets came from to Denis without saying a word, getting right back into the fighting as he fired an MA8.

"All right! Rocket Teams I want a counter-battery fire at these coords!" said Denis as he got the ok lights from the remaining rocket teams as plumes of white smoke streaked from their positions, slamming into Clone Rocket teams, blowing up their positions and leaving nothing but smoke clouds.

The battle began to however turn in the Republic's favor as Clones began to pile on, charging in droves as the Terrans tried their best to brave the waves of tibanna bolts whizzing past as it seemed to be endless.

Some more buildings housing Terran soldiers blew to smithereens as Saber Tanks joined the fray, though some were destroyed by rocket teams, some survived and began blasting away with their side-mounted heavy laser cannons as small arms fire ricocheted off the angled armor of the TX-130's.

"We're pinned down! Where's our armor support? We are being shredded out here!" yelled Denis into his comms as his communication was picked up by Whiskey Outpost. Soon heavy bolts slammed into the Marines in rapid succession as E-Webs of the Republic finally opened up, any unlucky to be hit immediately had their shields knocked by the blow as a Marine went flying as a bolt hit him dead center, vaporizing half of his torso as another 2 shots hit him in quick succession. It was the Republic's version of a .50 Cal.

Another marine alongside him had his shields fail as he was struck in the head and crumpled to the ground, not getting back up again as Denis fired a retaliatory burst at the culprit, a bloody yelp sounding from a nearby wrecked car, indicating he hit his target. Another rocket streamed out from Terran lines as it slammed into one of the E-Web emplacements blowing it to smithereens.

He saw MG positions get overrun as the Republic tactic of throwing men at problems began working its bloody magic as he cursed a bit as a fellow Marine threw a frag downrange, blowing up a car as 3 Clones went flying in the air from the explosion caused by the car.

"Unfortunately your armor has been delayed and will likely not arrive in time 5th Platoon, however there is a nearby Army Mechanized Battalion, see if you can link up with them at these coords, good luck and godspeed," said the operator as Denis just grunted, he pulled up a map on his HUD as he saw where the beacon was, a shopping mall. Wonderful, maybe he could grab a fucking donut.

"All right Marines! Full retreat! Rendezvous at these coords, you did a good job today 5th Platoon, move out!" Denis said as the Marines of the 5th Platoon nodded and began to file out of their positions, firing back at the Republic advance as the skies were clogged in hazardous dust material, Denis was glad his filtration system on the UM-18 worked, the closed system cycling fresh oxygen for him to breathe.

As Denis was retreating with his fellow Marines, Jack was struck in the leg as he screamed in agony, his shields which were pounded at all day gave out as his leg was compromised, the blaster bolt scorching his leg as he dropped his LSAW.

"Shit! Jack, hold on!" Mendoza said as he went back, firing at 2 Republic Clones dropping them both as Jack flipped himself over and grabbed his LSAW pointing it at the Republic clones, spraying wildly as Denis ran over to assist as well as a couple of other Marines including Vincent, though they were quickly cut off with a hail of blaster fire as they pulled back, firing as they went.

"Shit! Flak is too heavy, we'll cover your retreat LT! Meet you at the waypoint!" said Vincent through the internal comms as Denis sent a "Roger," right back as he fired his MA8 wildly, hitting a couple of clones.

The 2 Marines pulled their fellow comrade to the safety of what seemed to be an abandoned building as they applied a healthy portion of bio-foam to the wound as Jack hissed in pain.

"Leave it, it'll only slow us down," said Denis as Jack tried to reach for his LSAW resting on a table.

Jack nodded as Mendoza dropped his MA8 rifle and replaced it with Jack's LSAW, slamming a 60-round magazine in the secondary mag-well. Denis gave him a stare as Mendoza grunted and shrugged.

"Can't be left defenseless, sabes ¿verdad? (You know, right?)" he said as he rubbed the weapon a bit.

"Just move and let's get out of here, I don't know if these white kurwas take POW's or not," Denis cursed in Polish as Mendoza just grunted.

"Sin mierda (No shit) they fought brainless droids, put 2 and 2 together," said the jacked Latino Marine as the 3 moved towards the safety of friendly lines as well as towards the link beacon.

As they 'ran' dodged into houses as Republic forces began to swarm their old positions. It became increasingly impossible to dodge Republic Clones while simultaneously carrying the PFC to safety.

Denis looked upward at the sky to see the faint colors of the battle currently going on in space, he marveled at its bittersweet beauty. Fighters went in and out of the clouds as Republic vessels combusted into orange flame. He shook himself out of it with Jack's grunt, reminding him that he had to keep the wounded Marine on his shoulders.

They began to pick up the pace until they turned a corner at an intersection that led to the shopping mall in question and turned right into a nearby Republic AT-TE as its turret aimed right at him as clones started to surround them as they shouted for their surrender, he swore he saw his life flash before his eyes as he closed them and rose his hands.

"What I'd tell you, they do take prisoners," said Denis as Mendoza just grunted as he dropped the LSAW, raising his hands in the air after standing Jack upright.

Then all of a sudden a loud boom was heard as the 3 Marines jumped a bit as well as the surrounding clones as the AT-TE was pierced by a shell.

The AT-TE combusted into flame as it fell down limp as gunfire echoed through the wrecked streets. Dirt and debris kicked up as Clones fell to and fro, exploding in red visceral displays of gore or being peppered by small arms fire from both soldiers and marines.

A Clone started to scream as he was on fire and half of his armor was ripped off, he soon fell, on fire as the fat and oil in his body were consumed by the flame.

It was enough to make Denis take his helmet off and throw up before getting back up to assist Jack and Mendoza again as a corpsman ran over to assist Jack.

"Holy Shit!" Yelled Mendoza as he stumbled backward a bit, though still gripping Jack to keep him up as the corpsman began to work on him.

An M105 Centipede MBT soon rolled out of the shadows, its gun aimed at the dead walker as it moved towards the 3 marines a man's head popped out of the chassis of the M105 Centipede.

"You boys need a ride on za Panzer?" he asked in a gruff German accent as Denis sighed his first breath of relief since he arrived here.

}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Location: Strangreal, New Nihon, Koyot District

CS-44-1882 Sergeant Kolta, 716th Sky Legion

}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

"GO GO G…AHH," yelled a clone trooper who was immediately peppered with gunfire coming from a corresponding building, the sounds echoing through the dead streets of the suburbs as the body came down with a liquid thud.

One clone, Kolta ducked for cover as he ran over the bodies of his 716th brothers, all sprawled out, either dead or dying as blood and debris made up the streets. Their goldish armor seemingly mixed with the red splatters that dotted their bodies.

Kolta and the rest of his platoon were assaulting an important roadway to gain access to the City and subsequently, command and control centers as well as any government officials if there were any left.

A faint whirring was heard as he looked up to see a Terran Gunship fire upon one of the AT-TEs in the armored convoy, blowing it to smithereens as AA fire followed it as it pulled up and away as it made a turn and entered in a strafing run, screaming right towards a group of soldiers from one of the assaulting Platoons.

One Clone fired a PLX-1 at the gunship down the throat as the gunship's shields gobbled the projectile like it was nothing as it shone a bright golden light.

Kolta's eyes widened as he dived into the safety of a house and broke the glass window and rolled on the floor, dust everywhere, he picked himself up as he saw his fellow brothers looking for cover as well.

He motioned for some to come towards his position, the gunship still screaming bloody mechanical murder as a loud BRRRRRTTT noise could be heard, seconds later dust kicked all over the battlefield as red mist seemed to mix with the rising dirt and debris.

The Pelican gunship swerved away but not before a lucky Clone hit it with an RPS-6 Rocket Launcher as the gunship began to careen as its weakened shields seemed to shatter from the impact as it smashed into a couple of housing blocks, smoke rising from the impact site.

Another whirring sound could be heard as Kolta looked out from the shattered window of the house to see an avenging gunship, this one seemed to be of a different design, being slimmer and having what seemed to be dual rotor fans of some type and bristling with cannons, slam a missile right on top of the now unlucky clone with the RPS-6.

Another loud BRRRT sound could be heard as cannon fire slammed into a Saber Tank, gutting it as its insides turned out in a massive metal scrap heap.

Another boom was heard as 3 100mm shells from the AV-44 slammed into an AT-TE, making it explode to what seemed to be the heavens as the gunship turned away for friendly lines as some Clones fired Rockets at it, both RPS-6 and PLX-1's but the craft seemed to be 2 steps ahead, firing red flares and chaff all over the skies as it escaped from the rockets fury.

"Kriff," said Kolta as he picked up his DC-15S, the carbine variant of the DC-15A as he checked his power cell, the full charge still and the barrel cold, he had yet to actually fire a shot in anger.

"All right boys! Our objective is to assault that center over there, once we take it we can potentially link up with the rest of our boys, move when we have armor" said Kolta's commanding officer through a comm unit as he readied himself for the assault. For the past 3 hours it had been hell for the Republic, already Kolta had lost connection with the FOB meaning a lot of the orders had come from their localized commanders.

Kolta then saw his signal, an AT-TE firing its main gun as it obliterated a Terran housing unit, scorching those inside. Gunfire erupted from a couple of buildings as soon as the clones peaked their heads out, blowing brain matter out of their helmets as they crumpled to the ground as Kolta held behind his cover.

He moved up as he linked with 3 other clones as they moved into an alleyway, pushing up as slugs whizzed past at hypersonic speeds, making clapping sounds as they rippled in the air. Kolta heard a yelp behind him as he turned around and dived behind some cover that was provided by a dead AT-RT, its driver headless as drying red splatter was everywhere.

Kolta turned to see the source of the yelp as he saw one of his comrades, Hunker having his entire leg ripped and shredded as he was screaming bloody murder and trying to crawl to cover. Kolta provided assistance as he pulled Hunker behind the AT-RT, leaving behind the clone's trusty DC-15A as he took off the clone's helmet.

"AHH!" screeched Hunker, gripping his leg which was done to some pretty gnarly bits of bone and shattered plaster, "I'll kill each and every last one of those…" he said as he began to drift as Kolta began applying some bandages to Hunkers wounds.

"Come on brother, stay with me," said Kolta but it was worthless as Hunker drifted away, his head slumping on the twisted metal of the AT-RT as he died from the amount of trauma and blood loss.

"Damn," he said quietly as he dumped a dew bolts into a Terran who made the mistake of popping out of cover, pumping the young man full of blaster bolts as he maybe took it a bit to personal, shooting the dead body a couple more times, just to make sure the kriffer was out of the fight.

He ducked down again as a flurry of bullets came thundering past as whizzing and cracks filled his eardrums.

"MOVE IT TROOPERS MOVE IT FOR THE REPUBLIC!" yelled a CO as the Clones rushed down the streets and buildings, busting down doors and throwing themselves into the hell pit that was the streets of Koyot.

Kolta moved his way to a building as he spotted 2 Marines inside, he was with 5 other troopers as he made signals for them to light them up. The 5 clones fired in rapid succession nailing the 2 unfortunate Marines as they both fell though not before one fired a burst from his weapon, nailing a cline in the head as red brain matter splattered all over the floor as the clone fell to the ground, his empty head making a wet splat combined with his cracked duraplast.

Kolta tried his best to not throw up at the nasty sight as he and his ad-hoc squad pushed forward sweeping corners as one clone burst into a door only to be lit up by a Terran shotgun, the blast being heard as the clone was thrown into the broken halls of the building as a racking sound could be heard from the room.

Kolta and his men moved up as he threw a detonator in the door frame, pellets whizzed past as another shot rang out as adrenaline began pumping into Kolta's body. The detonator blew as Kolta sprang forward and fired his blaster 9 times at the offending Terran, silencing him for good.

He felt a sharp pain in his hand as he looked to see blood dripping from it as his hand was peppered with holes, literally as it took every single ounce of willpower to not scream. The Terran at least got some form of revenge. He dropped his blaster, took a bandage out and looked for assistance as a fellow clone came running over, bacta patch in hand as he applied it to Kolta;s hand, hissing slightly at the pain as he tried to not scream from the stinging sensation.

Soon the cool wave of calm came crashing over him in relief as the bacta began to work its magic.

"You ok brother? Think you can still shoot?" asked the clone as Kolta nodded a bit as he knelt down to pick his blaster up from the broken floorboards of the building. He took it as he popped out the nearly dead energy pack and replaced it with a new one, the beeping sound resounding in his ears as he moved up with more clones this time, it seemed this building had become a ministaging ground for some of the clones.

"We move in 4 minutes! Get ready, FOR THE REPUBLIC!" said a Clone CO as the rest of the clones chanted the last phrase, all waiting for the ok signal to swarm what seemed to be the last Terran defenses.

Soon the Clones lined up, ready to charge when the signal called for it as Kolta waited anxiously. Soon the ok signal was given in the form of rockets streaming out and slamming into Terran buildings as Clone rushed out and fired wildly and were met with a hail of steel as some fell though most survived, firing back and tossing thermals at the Terrans.

Some TX-130's joined the fray as Kolta saw the light hover tanks fire their Heavy Laser cannons at the enemy, bolts slamming into buildings, then a rocket streamed out and slammed into one as it blew into a black husk of twisted metal and body parts as it swerved off the road and crashed into a building, flaming all the while.

The clones scattered as the alien barks and rips of Terran Weaponry started to engulf the streets as clones dove for any cover available though a lot were unlucky enough to be hit by 2-5 rounds of 7.1 and 9.5mm rounds as blood ran high and submerged the streets in thin pools of eerie red.

Kolta could hear his breathing as he worked up his confidence to peek but it was quickly shot down when he saw a fellow brother do what he was going to do only to immediately have their head vaporized as brain matter covered his surrounding brothers.

He hunkered down as an explosion rocked the hangar bay as an FGM-51 Spike slammed into a group of clones as the situation deteriorated for the Republic. But it wasn't for long until backup arrived in the form of more TX-130's and E-Web's as sweeping fire from the heavy blaster emplacements that were finally setup began working their magic.

He saw an E-Web bolt slam into a Terran Marine as the Marine seemed to fly a bit as another Marine was also hit, his shields flickered out of existence as Kolta took the opportunity to nail the man in the head 3 times with his blaster in rapid succession.

Kolta, with at least 7 other clones stormed a Terran position, blasters at the ready as they fired wildly at any Terran they spotted. Kolta spotted one panicking, his helmet was off and he was reaching for a sidearm as Kolta and 2 others shot him repeatedly till he moved no more.

One Terran ducked behind cover and pulled a UTAS-52 as the Marine fired in quick succession, melting 3 unlucky clones as Kolta hit him a couple times, the shields shrugging off his bolts however as the Terran fired again as Kolta ducked as the drywall was absolutely mauled by the 8 gauge buckshot as Kolta kept his head down low and peaked once again, the Terran was gone.

"Hah! We got these dogs on the run! After 'em boys!" said a Clone CO, his kama flowing in the wind as he pointed the 716th troopers in the direction of the retreating Marines. The Clones went after them as Kolta fired his blaster at the retreating Terrans, nailing some though failing to kill his targets, their damned shields saving their blasted lives for another day. If only he could carry an E-Web…

"MOVE MOVE MOVE!" yelled another CO as the clones moved up the streets with heavy armor support from an AT-TE. Kolta stayed near the armored beast, firing his DC-15S whenever the opportunity arose.

All of a sudden a massive explosion erupted nearby as Kolta felt his body become weightless as he flew through the air and landed on his back as dirt covered his visor, white noise ringing in his ears as he got up from the explosion, the AT-TE was now engulfed in flame as he tried to find his DC-15S, not having any luck as he looted a nearby DC-15A, the heavy blaster would have to make do for now.

Then another explosion happened near him as he was knocked to the ground again, a UTSC Attack craft decided to be daring as it fired its extensive armaments only to be shot out of the sky by at least 3 RPS-6's and 2 LAAT's that were nearby.

He ran into another building as he waited for a bit, some clones gathering as he looked around from hsi position, a TX-130 moved down the pathway, as he watched it with focus. It turned a corner and then combusted, as a large tracer went zipping through it, killing it as it slumped down as its repulsors failed.

Soon a large armored vehicle revealed itself from the smoke as Kolta's eyes widened in fear. It was a large beast as it fired its main armament at a squad of unlucky clones, blowing them to the heavens as Kolta ducked again. This was not what he needed.

"Firefek"

}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Location: Outskirts of Koyot Suburban District of New Nihon

Commander Peter Mueller, 25th Mechanized "Panzergrenadiers" Battalion

}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

"All personnel, begin startup sequences, Republic Assets spotted in the Koyot Suburbs and any nearby garages are to be put on Status Alert Level 1, best of luck and godspeed!" said an intercom as multiple tank crews of Garage 13 ran to their armored behemoths, jumping in and connecting to neural interfaces as engines roared before running silent, like a tiger in the thick of the jungle.

One Commander Peter Mueller ran into his tank, an M105 Centipede named Tigers Eye, the name painted in bold orange and black paint on the turret as multiple Covenant Armor Silhouettes were also painted and cast alongside the name, covering a huge surface area of the turret, indicating Peter and his crew's experience.

Alongside these patterns, an ancient symbol of the German Iron Cross joined the extensive Tiger Stripes running up and down the turret which joined the camo nets to make some sort of pattern.

"Ready for this commander?" asked a voice as Peter looked to see his gunner, Corporal Kenny Conolly sitting in the gunner seat. Kenny was one of the newer crew members of Peter's crew, an accident on the Cascadian Training grounds had injured Peter's gunner, Kurt Heisen and had vacated that spot in his crew, but he was quickly replaced by Corporal Conolly.

"Yes, ready as I'll ever be, just stay on those guns, ja?" said Peter, his accent heavy in his German ancestry. Though Kenny may have never been close to Kurts's accuracy, he was still a pretty good shot, maybe he would prove his worth to Peter in this battle.

"Yes Commander, will do" said Kenny as he turned back in his chair. Orders began to flood in as the software began to sort them for Peter to issue to his crew.

"Driver! Coords have been assigned to us! Take us there, safe driving," said Peter as the driver, Jared Meyer grunted as he pushed the gas.

The tank began to trudge forward as a Technician in a bright orange vest and lights began to lead out the tanks through the garage areas and into the main base areas as the Centipedes moved into a convoy formation, though began to spread out after a while, snaking down the roads that made up the Suburb Areas of the Koyot District,

"All armor divisions move out and take up any defensive positions, the enemy has been spotted out around central areas of Koyot, get ready to shoot and scoot!" said Peter's commander of the 25th, Colonel Keens Haden as their tank was joined by the other armored vehicles.

The 'Dumb' AI loaded an APFSDS as Mueller saw the indication of it being loaded in the gun breach.

"All units hunker down and keep to the sides, we called in an artillery strike near your location," said a voice over the comms. Peter looked on the battlenet and saw the positions of the HAGARS launchers, all within City lines, the software identified the white plumes of smoke as M912 ARM projectiles as they streaked across the sky, slamming into Republic positions near the eastern parts of the City.

"Damn" said Kenny, "That's a big ass explosion!" The child inside of him was instantly satisfied as he looked with childlike wonder as he looked out the periscopes to see large plumes rise from the stricken areas.

"Yeah and we are going to be even bigger if you don't keep your ass on, stay on those optics!" said Peter as the young gunner muttered an apology before returning to his post.

"Be advised tankers, we have incoming air support," said a voice over the comms as flights of multiple Super Pelicans and Ospreys crested over the horizon as they fired their extensive armaments of missiles from their hardpoints as well as their 50mm Rotary Coil Guns, and 70mm Autocannons.

Their cannons pulverized the Republic forces that were hiding inside some buildings as some Seagulls came in and dropped off their troopers, running out to set up a perimeter as the craft lifted off again, returning to friendly airspace.

Some ships were not as lucky as a few Pelicans and Goshawks were shot down as Peter saw a Goshawk crash nearby into an apartment building.

"Glad we ain't on the receiving end of those," said Meyer, grunting a bit as he drove the tank and parked inside a partially collapsed building, gun aiming down the center of a large intersection that bordered a parking lot for a small grocery store, setting a choke point for any incoming Republic armor.

"Kenny, get on those guns and ready to fire at the first whitey bastards you see, ja?" asked Peter as Kenny nodded his head, the turret turned and aimed at the intersection.

There was also at least a platoon of Army Soldiers from the Mechanized Battalions as well as an Ox IFV and 3 Gazelle APC's in the rear. The Ox being on the opposite side, making a crossfire as the APC's stood in the rear, ready to exfil the soldiers when called for. The armymen scrambled into buildings as they set up their positions, ready to defend as they anxiously waited.

Intel from an overhead cloaked Wombat drone had informed the Soldiers and Tankers that Republic Armor was advancing this way, now all they had to do was sit and wait.

Soon they were rewarded when Peter heard a faint clanking sound, it sounded to be one of the Republic walkers, coming up the road and behind the sprawling buildings.

"Wait for it Kenny," said Peter as he noticed his gunner get physically nervous, finger hovering over the trigger that would send a 150mm Sabot right through Republic armor if it dared to peak the corner.

Soon a sort of boxy, 6-legged walker, which was quickly identified as an AT-TE came clanking around the corner, flanked by smaller AT-RT's and some Clone Troopers. All marked in either dark blue or light blue with stripes and patterns running all around.

"What is the point of their armor, to be flashy?" asked Meyer as he chuckled at the clones that stuck out like a sore thumb.

"Yeah well we are about to show them that zis isn't a fashion show," said Peter as he tapped on Kenny's shoulder.

"Fire on my command," he told Kenny as the young gunner nodded.

The AT-TE began to close in, 700 meters, 600 meters, 500 meters.

"FIRE!"

Kenny pressed the trigger as the 150mm Gun on the M105 sent a 150mm Sabot round straight through the streets and slammed into the leading AT-TE, as the large vehicle slumped and blew to kingdom come as its escorts scattered, though a lot being pounded and shredded by the Ox's 50 mm Autocannon which blasted away at the Republic soldiers.

The screams of dead and dying were muted when the Tigers Eye fired a 150mm Canister shot, spreading around pieces of shrapnel flying at mach speeds as it worked like a giant shotgun, cutting down clones who dared to peak or not.

THe AT-RT's went in a charge as some were taken care of by the Ox's 50 mm Autocannon though most still stood as Peter tried to point the 25mm Auto cannon on the Tigers Eye towards the incoming walkers.

"SCHEISSE! THE CANNONS ARE JAMMED!" said Peter into the comms as the soldiers outside seemed to get the message.

A roar of gunfire followed as Machine gunners opened up from their vantage points in 2 story buildings, cutting down the remaining AT-RT's in droves.

The Panzergrenideirs lived up to their name as multiple MPAIM 12's were fired at the Republic, shredding the Clones that were unfortunate to be caught in the weapons blast radius into mince meat.

Then all of a sudden an AT-TE came around the corner and fired its Mass Driver Cannon at the Ox blasting away with its Autocannon. The round struck true as the Ox shuddered from the blow as it physically recoiled, it turned its turret to the AT-TE and began blasting through the rounds to hit the already dead AT-TE corpse as the current AT-TE seemed to use it as a shield.

"SHIT! We're hit! Our shields are completely dead! We have to fall back a bit," said the Ox's Commander as the wounded IFV reversed, still blasting away as it fell back behind the cover of buildings.

"Copy Ox-23, Covering your retreat," said Peter into the comms, his voice monotone yet filled with stress from combat. Another shot rang out as Peter saw an Army Rocket Team with 2 MPAIM 12's wink off the HUD, an explosion standing where they once stood.

"I need you on those guns Kenny! Try to wallbang that motherfucker!" said Peter as the 25mm Hornet Killer on the top of the turret unjammed and rotated its linkless system, feeding the cannon ammo as he fired it, sending burst after burst of 25mm cannon rounds, the projectiles either ricocheting off the dead AT-TE or hitting nearby abandoned buildings.

The 150mm cannon on the Tigers Eye responded as it fired a sabot round, nicking the AT-TE that was firing at them as the round sailed past.

"DAMMIT, what the fuck were the technicians on?" yelled Kenny frustrated as he slammed the console.

"It's all you, Kenny, don't blame some rowdy tech guys with your skill issues," said Meyer as Peter just scoffed a bit.

Another shot rang out, the AT-TE firing again as its round slammed into a Gazelle APC, hitting the armored vehicle dead center and piercing its energy shields, blowing the APC to kingdom come as it hit a fuel tank, cooking the crew inside alive.

"Fuck! Kenny, where's my Sabot dammit!" yelled Peter, annoyed.

"I'm getting it, if you could tell the autoloader to move faster that would be fan-fucking-tastic!" yelled back Kenny as the 150mm shell loaded again, Kenny sighted in and fired, hitting dead center as the round pierced through the dead AT-TE and went down the throat of the other one hiding behind it.

"FUCK YEAH, FUCK YOU, YOU REPUBLIC BASTAR…" yelled Kenny but he was cut off when the Tigers Eye recoiled a bit as alarms went off.

"What the fuck just hit us?" yelled Peter as Meyer went to work on backing up a bit.

"Looks like that cannon is still operational and we have a brave motherfucker on it," said Meyer as he marked the cannon on the battle net.

"Kenny, I need another round down range," said Peter to the young gunner. No response.

"Kenny! Can you fucking listen!" he said again, again no response.

Peter looked to his side to see the gunner limp, blood covered the display panel as he touched the young gunner, he checked his pulse, his gunner was alive, but he had a nasty wound on his head and was out cold.

"Fuck." said Peter as he troubled to move the gunner out of his seat as he moved Kenny to his commander chair. He scooted over and placed himself in the chair of the gunner, moving the joystick to tha camera as he sighted the gun on the AT-TE, still moving as it sent another round downrange and slammed into the M105.

"Shields at 40% Integrity!" said Meyer as he steered the tank to show one of its angled plates.

"Fucking hell I know! Apply some foam to Kenny's wound, I don't need to be switching gunners every damned month," said Peter as he zeroed in on the target as Meyer worked on opening a medical pack and taking out a can of biofoam.

'Lets give you a warm welcome motherfucker,' said Peter as he loaded in a HESP warhead. The squash round indicated its loading in the breach as Peter slowed his breathing.

He depressed the trigger as he let a 150mm HESP round right towards the clone gunner as it slammed into the gun. Causing a massive explosion as the clone seemed to cease to exist, the high-temperature plasma melted all material in a 50-foot radius, including the poor clone bastard.

Peter fell back a bit as he looked at the screen, he looked back to see Kenny awake again, still looking dazed as he touched his forehead and groaned.

"I told you to keep on those guns didn't I?" asked Peter in a sarcastic tone as Kenny just groaned.

"I could've died and that's the first thing you say to me?" asked Kenny as Meyer just chuckled a bit. Peter just motioned for them to switch seats as Kenny nestled himself back on the gunner seat holding his head a bit as a headache came crashing down on him.

"Think you can still shoot?" asked Peter in a softer tone as Kenny just nodded as he returned to operating the 150mm Cannon.

"Tankers! Well done! Republic assault forces have been routed away, however we have withdrawn Marines inbound, they are retreating from their sector, cover their retreat from the Republic, a link beacon has been deployed near a shopping mall, godspeed," said the operator at Whiskey Outpost as Peter just sighed again.

"Here we go again," said Meyer, laughing as he put the tank into full throttle, moving out of their position and heading towards the shopping mall, where the radio said it was the rendezvous point.

The tank rumbled through the dead streets, nothing seemed to move, either dead Marines, Planetary Guards, or Clones lay across them as it sprawled the streets, dust seemed to fly everywhere.

"What can you see?" asked Peter as Kenny peered through the scopes, the VISRAV optics detecting nothing out of the ordinary. It gave Peter eerie chills up his spine, the feeling of being watched from above…

Suddenly a loud explosion happened behind them as a rocket slammed into the M25 LPC trailing them, the small Armored car combusting into a million pieces as the rest of the armor convoy scattered.

"Shit! CONTACT!" Yelled a grenadier before he was cut down by a hail of blaster fire, the soldiers scattered from their LPC's as the APC's moved away from the battle, reversing back as the Tiger's Eye trudged on, firing its 25mm Autocannon at incoming Clone troopers, melting them as the top mounted autonomous 50 cal turret joined in the fray.

"We have arrived at the beacon! We have some Republic forces nearby and are requesting some aerial support!" said Peter into his mic as he was joined by another M105 as the 2 MBT's rumbled along as they neared an intersection. Marines were already at the location as they seamlessly linked with the mechanized soldiers of the 25th in defending the Mall Plaza.

"Copy Tiger's Eye we read you, Goshawks are in bound 5 minutes over," replied the operator in Whiskey Outpost as Peter just grunted as the 25mm Autocannon cut down a Clone with a rocket launcher in hand, hitting the munition in the tube and blowing the poor clone to pieces.

Peter then worked on linking with the other M105 near them as he gained contact with them.

"Centipede-12 we need a cover on our left flank, reported Republic armor is nearby at intersection," said Peter into the comms.

"Copy Centipede-23 we read you, covering your flank," replied the other tank commander as the other M105 moved to cover the Tigers Eye's flank.

The M105 poked around a bit as it prowled near the intersection, Kenny peered out the gunner sights as the turret turned its gun down the streets. Soon the VISRAV optics identified a group of 3 Marines, one seemed to be wounded, headed right into the face of an AT-TE.

"Crap! I got 3 friendlies walking into a trap, one looks to be in bad shape," said Kenny as Peter nodded at the intel.

"Meyer! Move us in the direction of that walker! They're trying to cut off the Marines retreat, these guys are going to be their first victims if we don't do something," he said as the driver said nothing and moved the 70 ton monstrosity of Terran iron turned its turret as it came into full view of the AT-TE, its armor gleaming in the setting Strangreal Sun.

"FIRE AT WILL GUNNER!" said Peter as Kenny depressed the trigger, letting loose a 150mm sabot round as it made a clean cut through the AT-TE. The Tigers Eye was also joined by the other M105 as it made a pincer movement, firing its secondary armaments at any nearby clones, all colored in goldish highlights.

"Nice one! Maybe you ain't a rookie after all huh?" asked Meyer as Kenny just rolled his eyes as the M105 moved its way to the Marines arriving at the Shopping Mall.

"I'll ask if any of those guys need to hitch a ride, we have a long day ahead of us," said Peter as he got out of the tanks hatch, poking his head out.

"You boys need a ride on za Panzer?" he asked as a couple of the Marines nodded their heads, they all looked exhausted from the fighting that had occurred, from Peter's intel, the Republic had cut pretty deep and taken most of the Koyot Suburbs, though the Republic had stretched their lines as they began to stabilize, turning Koyot from a prosperous area to a wartorn wasteland.

The Marines began to hop on as the Tiger's Eye began to move towards an encampment, where Peter and his crew could hopefully catch a couple of Z's as he looked around the wartorn area as he sighed as the sun began to set.

A loud explosion happened seconds later as the skies filled with smoke as Peter dived back into the tank. Panic on the radio set in as reports of infiltration were flooding the waves.

"Here we go again," he said.

}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Location: Strangreal, Landing Point Kashyyyk

Lieutenant Appo CL-23-1119 501st Legion

}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

"Move," Lt. Appo said as a group of 6 501st clones moved in the shadows as they went down the alleyways of Koyot, the suburbs were all but dead quiet as they moved up, quiet in their movements lest they alert any hiding Terrans to their presence.

Appo raised his DC-15S Blaster, his sights aimed on an abandoned building as he scanned it with his helmet mounted macrobinoculars, the night vision mode helping him cut through the dark somewhat as day turned into night on Strangreal.

"Sir I have 4 enemies marked downrange, look to be some of their Planetary Defence Forces," said Jumper, a Clone who was always quick to jump to the trigger, hence his nickname, though it could be solved with a bit of authority in Appo's experience.

"Take the shot, they're unshielded, go for the head," Appo said as he and 3 other Clones lined up their shots. They all fired at least 2-3 shots each as the Terrans crumpled to the ground, one was knocked a couple of meters off his feet as the quiet of the night resumed its deadly tone.

"Good shot, keep moving, we don't need to be sitting pretty, we need to be on time to the target," said Appo as his squad of 501st moved to their positions, climbing the ladder of a motel and sitting on the roof of the 2 story building as they watched an intersection.

In Appo's opinion there seemed to be way too many intersections for his liking, but he wouldn't complain. The enemy could literally come out of nowhere, just like Umbara.

"How are we linking with the second squad?" asked Appo as his radio/demo man, 'Krazy' looked up, his helmet adorned in paintings of dead droids, as a small explosion was drawn under his left side of his visor.

"Second Squad has reported it has encountered some difficulties getting here sir, they were attacked by some feral animals and one of them is heavily wounded, they should be here in 10 minutes," said Krazy, not really living up to his nickname given to him as Appo nodded as he kept his DC-15S downrange as he sat in a prone position, his macrobinoculars scanning for anything out of the ordinary.

"Targets should be down there, ammo dumps marked," said Appo as he directed his squad to move towards what looked to be a concealed dumpster, when they arrived he tossed off the netting and inside was tons of precious ammo.

"Huh, rumors were true, they do use slugs," said Jumper as he held up a Terran bullet to his eyes inspecting it as it gleamed a bit in the moonlight, he picked up what looked to be an engorged pistol, he looked at the writing as his macrobinoculars translated the english on the side of the gun to galactic basic. An M7A Magnum.

"Rumors? Really? Did you seriously just land on this planet Jumper?" asked another Clone, Jives as he looked slightly annoyed at the unaware trooper who was holding the Terran pistol to the sky, looking at it in childlike wonder.

"What? I'm just saying, no one has used these types of weapons in millennia…this thing must mean business, I mean look at the size of the projectile, it's ridiculous…" started Jumper as Appo silenced him with a raise of his hand as Krazy set the charges to the ammo dump. Jumper in the meanwhile put the pistol in an empty holster in his belt, something Appo noticed but didn;t say anything, war prizes were a rare treat, something rarely experienced by the Clones.

"Get moving, these explosives have a fuse," said Appo as the clones hurried towards the motel parking lot, its surface cratered by earlier bombardments. Appo with the rest of his men went behind cover of a broken room in the motel as they looked out the broken windows, an explosion happened moments later as a large orange-gray cloud rose from the sky, indicating the chain reaction caused by the initial explosive.

"Good work, second squad has sent us rendezvous coordinates, should be a 10 minute trip," said Krazy as Appo nodded and ordered his troopers to head to the rendezvous point. Once they arrived at the abandoned park they looked around, tree's to their left, park equipment to their right, and the ever so calming chirp of the native avian creatures of Strangreal.

"I don't see them anywhere, what's taking them so long?" asked Jumper as he twiddled around a bit, twitching as he began to become nervous.

"Bah! Stop being a tank-kid! I'm sure they're somewhere, they aren't gonna be clanking around like droids," said Krazy as he nudged Jumper a bit with his DC-15A, poking fun at the trooper.

"Yeah Jumper, though you have your souvenir to save you?" said Jives as some of the other clones chuckled at the nervous trooper. They waited for at least another 6 minutes before Krazy broke the silence.

"Say after this what do you all want to drink?" asked Krazy, referencing the small refreshing taste of beverages after they were done with their mission.

"I don't know you'd have to ask Jumper, he's the picky one, ain't that right Jumper?" said Kak, another trooper who chimed in the conversation as he looked over to see if he would get a response from Jumper. None.

"Jumper? Jumper this isn't funny…" said Jives as the rest all of a sudden noticed the absence of Jumper.

"Where is he?" asked Appo as he looked over, he hadn't really chimed in to the conversation, just listening from abroad but now one of his troopers was missing.

"Don't know LT, we were just poking fun at him for a bit, can't be that emotional," said Krazy as he looked around as the clones began to sweep around Appo took out his DC-15S and raised it all around, looking for the missing trooper, then he stepped in something as it made a sickening squelch. He looked down as he saw a horror that was beyond his comprehension.

Jumper was on the floor, mauled beyond recognition as he lay there in a pile of his own guts and cracked plastoid as blood oozed from the body. The other clones rushed over to Appo's location as they looked around and began to panic. Appo knelt down as he turned the dead trooper over, taking the M7A out of the holster on Jumper's belt, taking it and putting it in his own.

"Spread out, we got a Terran somewhere," said Appo as the 4 other Clones began to spread out into groups of 2 with Appo doing his own thing looking around the area, his blood rushing as his heart pounded in his chest.

Suddenly a blaster noise was heard as screams echoed as the other clones were alerted as they ran towards the area to see Krazy firing his DC-15A in vain as Kak was speared by an invisible object, bright flaming blue as Krazy's bolts seemed to bounce off the shimmering object. A roar soon ensued as the figure revealed itself, it looked to be something out of a horror movie, it was reptilian in its features and had four jaws each spreading out and away from its face as it roared again as it charged the troopers.

"OPEN FIRE OPEN FIRE KILL IT KILL IT!" said Appo as he yelped in surprise, firing his DC-15S with surprising accuracy as bolts hit in rapid succession, though this only seemed to anger the Sangheili warrior even more as it charged into Krazy as it slammed the poor trooper into a tree, mauling the trooper as it left the bloody corpse filled with stab wounds on a tree branch as it charged the other troopers.

Soon Appo was the only one remaining as the Sangheili finished off the other trooper as Appo looked around, he was a dead man. He saw his comrades, all tangled up and shredded, all with very large stab wounds through their chests and pieces of their helmets ripped. He turned and looked the Sangheili in the eyes as he shouted.

"Alright you big ugly, come and get me!" he said as he fired his DC-15S at the creature point blank, causing the shields to short circuit as the Sangheili body slammed Appo to the ground. He grunted in pain as he began to crawl for his dropped blaster but he was grabbed by the neck as he was hauled up, face to face with the Sangheili warrior.

"So weak and uncunning, you are, you have put up a good fight, but it was not good enough, prepare to meet your end, clone," said the Sangheili as Appo felt a bit of a burning sensation in his lower abdomen, just as it seemed over for Appo, he pulled out something from his holster, the M7A Magnum that he taken off of Jumpers body, he fired once, twice, three times as the Sangheili roared in pain, as he dropped the clone as Appo fell to ground with a thud.

The Sangheili was about to charge again but a blaster round landed right near him, then another and another as the second squad soon arrived in full force, firing their blaster at the Sangheili as Appo picked up the M7A again and began to firing rapidly, however at the 4th shot the gun flew out of his hand as he missed all of his shots, the recoil being to much as he gripped his wrists in pain. He fell to the ground as he began to black out, he was tired and he wanted to sleep.

A medic arrived as he managed Appo's wounds, though Appo was already knocked out as he began to replay the nightmare that just ensued in all of its brutality.

}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Location: Strangreal, Landing Point Kashyyyk

CC-10-1002 Commander Blasko

}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Blasko looked at his readout on screen, his head was spinning. It was a natural reaction when your enemy decided to unleash a weapon that hadn't been seen by the Galaxy in millenia and when you had artillery rained down on you from hell.

"I am afraid I can not provide any support from above, because of their ground-based weaponry as well as the unpredictable movements of their fleet we are unable to provide any support, so unfortunately you will have to assault the city on your own," said the hologram of Admiral Wulif Yularen, his face stern but also solemn as he said his words.

"Understood, Admiral, we will make due, may to force be with you," said Commander Blasko as the feed cut off, he was exhausted from battle.

"So what are our options now?" asked an exhausted Captain Rex, his helmet on the side of the table, sweat evident on his forehead as he looked ready to collapse as on could see sweat on his forehead from the overhead lighting.

The 184th and 501st had fought with the Terrans tooth and nail for each and every block and they eventually took at least most of the suburban areas of the city; it seemed that for every Terran death, 10 clones would fall. It was not a sustainable battle that was for sure.

Now they had no orbital support since the fleet had to retreat to the upper atmosphere where they would sit and wait for the clones on the ground to do the hard work. Great. Nevermind the fact that because of the ongoing battle in the skies, they had literally now place to send their wounded besides the already overflowing medical tents as casualties were stacking up.

Blasko just shook his head, "Our options are a bit limited, but we can still directly assault the city with our numbers, if we use these roads here we have an opportunity to encircle any Terran defenses," he said while pointing to the map, he made a sweeping motion with his finger.

Their options were a bit limited considering that their recent advances had ended in failure, pushing them back pretty far, though they still controlled most of the Koyot District, as it was known by the locals, they had still yet to capture the docks or any major gains in the Metropolitan areas.

"Then we would have to rely on the 1st and 716th to cover our flanks and as far as I'm concerned they are being bogged down by the defenses these Terrans put up according to General Skywalker," said Rex, biting his lip as he leaned on the holotable a bit.

Honestly in all of his years in the Galactic Republic, Blasko had to applaud these Terrans, they were pretty tough people. Not only had they managed to nearly halt the Republic advance, they also managed to re-route the Republic fleet into the atmosphere and also kept their casualty ratio high for the Republic.

So far only 2 Jedi had made it to the surface, with General Forcne being delayed and General Sidal and his battalion had been reassigned to take over the enemy space station, which the original assault team of unmarked shinies failed to take.

Thank god none of the Jedi were killed, yet..

Speaking of Jedi, Blasko heard some incoming AT-RT units, indicating Master Noza was back from a scouting mission with the 184th's ARF detachment.

"Master Noza, is it good to see you in one piece," said Blasko as he walked towards the AT-RTs as Master Noza hopped off one of the 2 legged walkers.

"Same with you commander, tell me how are our forces doing?" asked the blue tortuga, his voice gravelly as he strides towards the holo table and places his hands on the edge.

"Our forces are currently in deadlock with the Terrans, for every block we take the Terrans seem to become more intense in their defenses. It's getting to the point where we don't think we can take the city without serious orbital support, even then they still control most of the airspace in the city due to their AA systems," said Blasko as he read the long list of events that had happened while Noza was on recon duty. The day on Strangreal was seemingly dragged out by battle that Blasko didn't even realize that nighttime had fallen.

"Well that is unfortunate, it seems they fight with iron hearts, what's more disturbing is their lack of force signatures, during the reconnaissance mission I could not sense their positions, It troubles me deeply," said Noza as his voice lowered as Rex nodded, he knew how Master Noza must have felt, just earlier before they split, General Skywalker had told him that he had similar worries, not being able to detect a Terran in the force had shaken the Jedi General to his very core.

"We understand Master Noza, however without any orbital support I don't believe we can beat these Terrans without them gutting our battalions," said Captain Rex, the battle was taking its toll on everybody's mental health.

"We have to try soldiers, by taking their capital we have a chance to end this war faster as well as cripple a potential partner for the Confederacy," said Noza as he looked at the holo-map. To Blasko his Jedi General was right, the Terrans had to be stopped in their tracks before they make an impact on the current war at hand, and the impact would not be favorable to the Republic.

"We have sent small squads out towards the frontlines to probe for any weaknesses but I'm afraid we lost contact with most of them, however some have had successes in clearing any small storage units of the Terrans, so we may be able to to push a small offensive towards their docking areas near the cities bay," said Rex as the holo-map showcased the small squad based battle happening all around.

Blasko was a bit worried, these were some of the best ARF's the 184th could offer and they were barely completing their objectives whilst taking heavy casualties, they haven't even seen the Terrans special forces yet and if he were to believe the rumors, he was in for the mother of all nightmares. He was sure Rex shared his worries as well, considering most of the 501st squads reported no successes or just never reported back at all.

"We have reason to believe the Terrans have deployed some of their special units in the city, though we have yet to confirm these reports," said Rex as the holo table switched to what seemed to be a green armored behemoth that looked like it could kill an entire Republic Sector Army.

"Spartans, read all about them, or at least what I could get my hands on, apparently they mean business and could very well destroy the entire operation in one fell swoop with very little effort if at all," said Blasko as he just shook his head. He had read anything, ANYTHING he could find on these mystical beings, but information was limited on these supersoldiers, but from what he had read, these Spartans as a whole could threaten the existence of the Republic in its entirety.

"Maybe General Skywalker could deal with them, they just look like some old clankers in large metal suits," said Fives, chuckling a bit as he tried to lighten the mood, getting some light laughter here and there though the mood quickly turned somber as a supply tent blew up, indicating they were not safe from the ungodly reach of Terran Artillery.

"I wouldn't underestimate our enemy, for they could use our ignorance to their advantage," said Noza as some 184th troopers in the tent nodded. Blasko heard these demi-gods of Terran engineering could literally dodge the fastest bullets the Terrans had to offer, what was the point of underestimating them?

"But it's nothing you Jedi can't handle, right?" asked Fives, his helmet coming off as Noza seemed to stare at him for a bit, enticing everyone in the tent. The Clones all had worried faces, this was the last thing they needed to hear on this hellish planet, a team of highly trained supersoldiers that could very well slap their asses right off the planet in a good bloody bath.

"It is something we would have to figure out once we engage with the enemy," said Noza as the Clones relaxed a bit, though still tense as ever.

"Well I think that concludes this meeting, after we will discuss our plan to take their docks and link with the 1st Battalion, men you are all dismissed," said Blasko as the meeting finished as the Clone Officers began to get up and leave for their barracks.

"Blasko," said a voice as Blasko turned around at his name to see Rex standing there still looking at the holo-table.

"You think these 'Spartans' will kill the Jedi?" he asked as Blasko looked on with an almost blank face.

"If they aren't careful, these guys don't joke around," said Blasko as he pulled up his limited files he had on the Spartans. He pulled a file that was available to him and that he had brought along as he opened it as information began to pour out of the file and on to the holograms.

"This one in particular caught my eye, they called him Master Chief, this guy might not be the most dangerous, but he seems to be the most resourceful when it comes to curb stomping his enemies," said Blasko as the number 117 was soon all over the place, in pictures and in words.

"Though they never mentioned it, it seems they have been in a massive war before they met us, this man single handedly won the war for them in a technical sense," said Blasko as Rex looked a bit as his jaw dropped a small bit, not noticeable but still there.

"Damn, so these Terrans know a thing or two huh, guess we are doomed," chuckled Rex as Blasko just shook his head a bit.

"We'll see in the morning, we still have recon teams arriving back, after we collect all the intel then we'll make our move, besides this 117 guy is already retired apparently," said Blasko as Rex just nodded a bit before placing his helmet on again. Rex's helmet always intrigued Blasko, a mix of both Phase 1 and 2 gave it a nice aesthetic as well as combining the best of both worlds of P1 and P2.

"I guess we will see Commander," said Rex as he walked off to go talk to some of his 501st troopers. Blasko was left in the tent as he walked out, it was dark, well over dark as he walked along the paved roads of the parking lot he was standing in, the street lights were all but out as well as any lights brought by the Republic lest they tempt the Artillery Crews of the Terrans with target practice.

He looked up to see the faint silhouettes of the Republic fleet in high orbit, like guardian angels, except the angels couldn't do anything. It frustrated Blasko that orbital support was within his grasp yet was still too slippery to get a firm hold on. Then he saw what looked to be a faint shooting star as he watched it streak across the sky, faster than normal. He then saw a Republic vessel combust as it started to fall to the Planet. Then another and another as he saw in the far distance blue portals seemed to open up.

"Ah Kriff"

}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Location: Enemy Space Station (Ontario)

CC-93-0269 Commander Kasi

}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

"We are boarding, take cover and charge your blasters troopers!" yelled Commander Kasi as the clones of the 2765th charged their blasters and inserted blaster packs into the weapons as a beep indicated full charge.

Many of them would never hear the beep again, and many of them never knew that as they lined up in the landing bays, ready to be cut loose, either out of the bay alive or dead. This would be one of their first actions of any conflict anywhere, basically their baptization by fire.

Explosions shook the LAAT they were on as multiple LAATs and their escorting fighters were shot down by the CIWS of Ontario, though most would make it, it was enough to give many minor PTSD.

"Remember the plan, spread out and shoot any Terran Scum you see!" he added as the clones nodded as they readied themselves. Unfortunately or fortunately for Kasi, his Jedi General Jirax would not be part of this event, being scheduled to land later after the first wave.

He couldn't help but feel uncomfortable, Jirax was supposed to be side by side, deflecting bolts as the 2765th would blast away, not that Kasi was mad or anything, just disappointed that this was his General, Skywalker seemed like a better choice but Kasi wasn't Rex nor Jax so he couldn't do anything about it.

He had heard from intel that this station was in fact a massive Coil Gun, which had him questioning 1 thing, why didn't the Terrans use it? Judging from the split seconds he had to glance at the station he could see why it was obviously undergoing maintenance.

Its massive superstructure was covered in building infrastructure in which he later learned that the 'superstructure' was in fact a massive naval gun.

If he was a naval officer he would have just blasted it to pieces but no, he had the wonderful job of trying to capture it, because the Republic wanted to know more about the Terrans and their ODP's in general.

"We make a landing in 10 seconds!" yelled a LAAT Pilot as the transports cumbersomely landed in the Hangar Bays.

The Clones braced themselves until finally, the doors opened as they rushed out into the massive hangar bays of the ODP from the relative safety of their LAATs.

An eerie silence greeted them as many Clones began to tighten their holds on their blasters.

Then a yell echoed through its chambers.

"CONTACT!"

The clones scattered as the alien barks and rips of Terran Weaponry started to engulf the hangar as clones dove for any cover available though a lot were unlucky enough to be hit by a variety of calibers, ranging from the standard 7.1x84mm to any unlucky bastards that were hit with .50 Caliber Rounds from machine gun emplacements.

Rounds seemed to ricochet everywhere as the noises of the Terran guns were amplified by the cavernous spaces of the Hangars. The LAAT Pilots unfortunately were as unlucky as ever, a lot of them dying to the suppressive fire of Terran weaponry, their cockpits exploding into red matter as many did not lift off again, a somber fact noticed by Kasi and a few others.

"GET TO COVER ITS AN AMBUSH!" yelled Kasi as he dove into a pile of crates alongside at least 4 to 5 of his men. The staccato of fire rang in his ears as sparks and blood flew in the air until finally, it stopped. The Hangar seemed to fall quiet for a few seconds as the Clones got up and returned fire.

This time the fury of their blasters aimed at the Terran defenders. Many were shooting wild, shooting anything they thought moved, using the tactics of extreme suppressive fire as the whines of blaster rifles filled the air, then a small round device seemed to roll near Kasi.

Kasi knew what it was.

"GRENADE!" yelled a clone in vain.

Kasi and a few others leaped away from the explosive as it went off with a loud bang, a large blue flash went off as plasmic elements went off, vaporizing and burning any of the surrounding clones that were too slow to dive out of the way, white noise was ringing in Kasi's ears pounding in his head as if it would flower out and explode.

Multiple other explosions went off, all consisting of the same material as the first one. Plasma Grenades were not a joke, not that Kasi knew anything about them, this was his first encounter after all.

"Everyone move forward and spread out! Prime grenades!" said Kasi as the 2765th trooper began to advance under the resurgence of Terran fire as they all primed their thermal detonators, throwing them as the volume of fire lessened as explosions went off.

Kasi turned to see a Terran Marine floundering as an explosion from a detonator seemed to disable her shields.

"They have shields?" said Kasi in a low tone, he probably should have listened to that intelligence report a bit more intently, but nonetheless he promptly sent a flurry of fire from his trusty DC-17s as the blaster bolts slammed into the Marine, scorching the armor as the marine was knocked back, a feminine grunt resounded from the marine as she grabbed something.

The marine fired back as she retreated from the fire from the clones with a pistol that looked to be of some serious caliber it ripped into a nearby clone near Kasi, making a nice gash in the clone's neck as he fell to the ground.

The Marine was met by a volume of fire but managed to creep back into a service corridor.

However, some Marines would not be as lucky as the first, at least 8 of them laid out, dead or dying as their armor was covered in a mosaic of blaster scorches.

The same could not be said for the at least 50 to 60 Clone Troopers, whose armor was ripped and perforated as blood seemed to flow down the floors of the hangar, as if a creature came in and went on a rampage.

Kasi stood up as the Clone secured the hangar bays, he saw one of his brothers go and flip a 'Dead' Marine with his foot to make sure he was actually dead. He turned away as he went to inform the surviving assault squads of their next mission when they landed in the hangar bays…

"KRIFFING HELL"

He turned to see the supposed dead marine get up and take a round object as it stuck to one of his brother's legs as the marine managed to get a grip on the poor clone's leg, knocking him down as they struggled as 2 more Clones came to assist their brother. Then an explosion happened, instead of a blue hue, this one had a black smoke cloud as Kasi looked up to see a gruesome sight.

One of his brothers was absolutely mauled, seemingly only having half of his body intact as he could see the innards of the trooper spill out as body parts seemed to be mangled as if someone had cut the Clone in half vertically.

Another trooper was slammed into a crate as his helmet dripped blood, most of his upper torso and head gone in red mist as shrapnel poked out of the corpse.

The third was still mostly intact and moving as his entire left leg was missing its armor, tendons, muscles, and bone mangled and showing as medics began to treat the wounded clone who was screaming bloody murder.

The marine was also in a similar situation, only dead as his armor was filled with shrapnel and his head bent at an unnatural angle as blood seeped out from the lifeless corpse. Kasi nearly threw up. Most weapons in the arsenal of most militaries in the galaxy cauterized wounds and caused minimal bleeding, it seemed the same would not apply to the Terrans whose weapons were made to make any Medic go insane.

It sickened him to his core.

"Make contact with the secondary landing groups, tell them we made landfall on the space station, and tell them to bring in heavy support," said Kasi to another clone trooper as he turned to the assault teams, something inside told him they weren't going to make it. He was then tapped on the shoulder by a fellow clone.

"Sir, the General has made his landing, we have secured most of the Stations primary Hangars and he is requesting a meeting with you," said the Clone as Kasi scoffed.

"Finally," he said as he walked to a different Hangar Bay, the noises of the Terran guns rattling in the distance as whines of the Republic weaponry echoed. He wanted to speak his mind to the young Jedi General but his training from Kamino told him better.

When he arrived at the makeshift FOB he saw a similar scene from his landing zone, blood, and a lot of it was splattered all over the place. His stomach was currently flipping over and over again he thought maybe it would gain sentience and vomit too.

Then he saw his General with his command staff as he walked up to what looked to be a sort of Forward Command Center as he was greeted by his General in the usual fashion.

"What is the situation Commander Kasi?" he asked as Kasi took out a data-pad he had brought along with him on his person.

"Currently we have secured half of the Hangar Bays and are currently working on capturing the interiors of this station, from our current position they are bleeding us dry, I suggest we fall back and regroup our forces," he said as Jirax nodded as his lips contorted a bit. Kasi did not like that look one bit but didn't say anything.

"Good, it seems, however, these Terrans are not giving in, we need to attack the center mass of their formation, this will crumble both their defenses and morale, then this station will be under the control of the Republic," said Jirax as Kasi looked on, he was puzzled at Jirax's plan, it made more sense to Kasi, who was a product of the esteemed Arc Trooper Program, to attack the enemies leadership and cut the head of the snake. But being the ever loyal trooper he was to the Republic and Jedi, he would follow his orders.

"Yes general, i'll ready the men and any reinforcements to attack General," said Kasi as Jirax nodded with authority as Kasi turned to leave and make preparation to assault the Terran lines. Then all of a sudden the station seemed to shake as the innards began to rumble, knocking both personnel and materials down.

"What's that causing the shaking?" asked the clueless Jedi as Kasi ran over to one of the bay windows. He looked out to see the Republic Fleet in disarray as a blue streak went through one of the accompanying Venators.

"I think we have a much bigger problem at hand…" said Kasi as something slammed into the station, as everyone was knocked to the ground.

}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Location: Strangreal Upper Atmosphere

Admiral Wulif Yularen

}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Explosions blanketed the skies above Strangreal as fighters danced to and fro as Yularen looked out the durasteel windows. Never in his experience had he fought an enemy as vicious or cunning as the Terrans. They made the droid army under Grievous look like some carnival attraction on Naboo.

He wondered how this could have been avoided. Him losing nearly an entire fleet to capture this supposed world of minor importance wasn't necessary was it? Or maybe this world was more important than the Republic thought and the Intel community screwed up yet again.

He sighed as he held back a massive headache as he signed off communications with Commander Blasko.

His ship had been harassed all day by Terran fighters and bombers and the occasional daring small ship, though they weren't his main concern they had been a considerable morale drain to his fleet.

Now he was basically denied access to the lower skies of Strangreal due to the absolutely monstrous defense network of the Terrans, either they had those damned coilguns in the ground or launch nukes like it was no big deal, it had chased him, who had orbital supremacy to the upper skies like a frightened womp rat from a stray blaster bolt.

Now he had to sit here and look at the groundside commander, Admiral Forles, who was sitting in his flagship, the GRNS Kanka, an Accilmator Assault Ship. Forles had been contacting Yularen all day, pestering him at every opportunity on the importance of the ground operation.

"How are we freeing up air support for the groundside operations? Our boys are currently being slaughtered down there!" asked Forles, his voice smug and annoyed at Yularen as the Admiral sighed. Forles was never an Admiral, only the term Politician could fit him and his idiot brain. IN Yularen's opinion.

"As I had said to Commander Blasko, i'm afraid we can not spare any air power at this moment, currently the enemy fighters are mauling our own and if we spare even a fraction we have the risk of being overrun," said Yularen sighing in defeat as Forles just stared at him blankly, though Yularen could swear he could see Forles' and his intent to kill Yularen at any chance, whether it be by physical or more 'bureaucratic' means. Yularen however could care less about anything that came out of the old slob's mouth.

"Well Admiral, if you can't spare any airpower then we can not advance into the city, all of ours are being used to defend our supplies so this invasion can be sustained, if you do not spare any, then I'm afraid that we would have to withdraw from the planet," said Forles, he checked his nails a bit as he returned to the holotable as Yularen just sighed. He wanted to rip his head open.

"I understand that Admiral but know that if we can't defend ourselves then any possible reinforcements can not make it to you and it would waste our resources, we are trying our best to free up any spare squads but it is becoming increasingly difficult," said Yularen, his tone monotone though one could tell he was pretty annoyed if they could see his eyes.

"Understood Admiral Yularen, I'm afraid however if you do not get them in time then…" the feed was cut off from Admiral Forles as Yularen looked up, he was puzzled.

"What is happening, why has the connection been severed?" he asked a nearby officer as the officer went to work finding out what happened.

"Umm sir, it appears that we are being jammed by high intensity electromagnetic frequencies and this has disabled our comms network, we are working on a solution now and should have it back up in about 10 minutes, however we still have contact with General Sidal and the Station boarding teams." said the officer as Yularen nodded as he sighed a bit.

He wanted to just lie down and sleep off his nagging headache that was pounding on his head since the beginning of the battle, his head was wrapped in a bandage and had red splotches, having hit his head against a console earlier due to the inertial dampeners being taken out of commission, sending the Resolute II on a wild ride if it was hit by any Terran projectiles.

Then an alarm began to blare as the bridge turned red as he snapped out of his daze, as he ran to the front of the bridge. A panicked expression began to cross his face, this could not be good.

"What is going on?" he asked in a panicked tone.

"We are picking up intense radioactive signatures, our sensors number it to be 10 appearing somewhere near our portside!" said a panicked officer as Yualren looked out to see the emptiness of space greet him, his panicked expression evident as his blood pressure began to rise out of fear.

"We lost contact with the station and General Sidal!" said a pit officer as Yularen looked over. That was not a good sign, he was ordered by Republic high command to capture this station at all costs, apparently the Research Division back on Coruscant were more than interested in this piece of 'Terran ingenuity' as he was told by one of the directors at their HQ on the Galaxies capital planet. He did not want to piss off the directors there.

Then a massive ship appeared on the horizon along with its escorts as 10 neat portals opened up as Yularen saw a massive behemoth of a ship come rumbling out as it fired its main guns at the fleet, taking out 3 ships in one mighty blow as its escorts followed suit though with less success, kill a combined 7 ships as MAEC Rounds came sailing past the Republic fleet.

"Focus all fire on that battlegroup!" said Yularen as panic was evident in his voice as the Republic fired multiple volleys of turbolaser fire as some Victory's joined the fray with their missile barrages.

Then a Venator combusted, its middle exploding as vessels of all sizes began to combust from the bottom. Blue streaks came rising up like spirits of the dead as vessels and their spines crumpled like a sad wet tortilla.

Yularen's eyes widened with dread, this was a diversion. "It's a trap! Move all guns upside down and engage the enemy at full po…!" he wasn't able to finish his sentence as the Resolute II was slammed with a 600 ton projectile, as the whole ship shuddered from the blow as Yularen hit his poor head again on a console and blacked out.