Chapter 75: ARC Troopers
Fighting a war tests a soldier's skills, defending his home tests a soldier's heart.
Recap: Separatist attack! After the destruction of the Republic outpost on the Rishi moon, General Grievous and Asajj Ventress plan an attack on the planet Kamino, home of the cloning factories. Meanwhile, aboard a Jedi cruiser, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, Storm, and Obi-Wan Kenobi examine an intercepted message from General Grievous.
A cruiser was traveling in space. In the communications bridge, Anakin, Obi-wan, and Storm were all gathered. Each had their respective clone commanders as they had managed to intercept a transmission.
"We are decrypting the audio, sir," said one of the navigators.
"The clone planet of Kamino will be a dangerous target," said Ventress.
"Just make sure you hold up your half of the mission. We must stop the production of new clones if we are to win this war," responded Grievous.
The transmission then ended.
"Kamino," said Anakin.
"They're going to attack our home planet," stated Rex.
"The Separatists are taking quite the chance even considering this," said Obi-wan.
"With all due respect, General, if someone comes to our home, they better be carrying a big blaster," stated Rex.
"I concur with Captain Rex, sir," replied Cody to his general.
"This is personal for us clones," chimed in Sark.
"We'll make sure Kamino is secure. Looks like we're defending the homefront," said Storm.
"Tell your troopers in the 501st they're going home," ordered Anakin.
"Yes, sir!" saluted Rex, as did Cody and Sark to the Jedi.
Meanwhile, the Separatists were getting ready to make their move. Grievous was aboard his ship as he sat down and was being contacted by Ventress.
"All is ready, General," said Ventress.
"Good. We will attack Tipoca City first," said Grievous.
"I have the exact locations of both the clone DNA room and the clone trooper barracks," replied Ventress.
"Both shall be annihilated under my hand," stated the cyborg.
"Our hands, General. Count Dooku assigned us both this task," said Ventress as she reminded the cyborg that they were supposed to work together.
"But of course, assassin. I look forward to meeting you."
"Seems you guys forgot someone!" said a voice. Another transmission appeared as it was Sunset. "Seeing as Dooku himself doesn't trust you two to complete the mission, I have to play babysitter!"
"Stay out of this, Sunset!" growled Grievous as he didn't like the girl interrupting their meeting.
"Let's be clear, I'm the main distraction for most of the clone forces. I can do my job effectively and buy you guys time. Whether you two complete your tasks remains to be seen. Just know that if one of you screws up, it's on your head!" stated Sunset.
Grievous growled as the transmission ended.
"Are the aqua droids prepared for phase two of the plan?" asked Ventress.
"Yes, mistress," replied a droid.
Ventress then walked to the window as she was already on Kamino. In fact, she was currently underwater in a squid-like droid that was heading for the facility. Approaching the facility on a Republic cruiser was the Jedi as they docked.
"Masters Kenobi, Storm, and Skywalker. Welcome to Kamino," said Shaak Ti to her fellow Jedi brethren.
"Greetings, Generals," said Lama Su.
"I wish our arrival wasn't under such circumstances. We believe Grievous is planning a Separatist attack on Kamino," said Obi-wan to the pair.
"But the Republic blockade is far too strong. They would not dare," responded the prime minister of Kamino as Shaak Ti's face was shown and thunder boomed.
Walking around one of the many halls were Fives and Echos. The two clones were taking in their home as memories were brought to them.
"Look around, Fives. Feels like yesterday we were here," stated Fives to his friend.
"Heading to target practice. Remember that?" chuckled Echo.
"Do I ever," responded Fives when they heard a clattered.
A clone was carrying a stack of weapons when it got their attention. But it wasn't just any clone.
"Hey. 99!"
"Echo! Fives!"
The genetically deformed clone heard the voices as he saw some friends who he hadn't seen in quite a while.
"You actually remember us?" said Echo in surprise.
"I remember all my brothers. Is Hevy here? Where's he?" asked 99 as both clones made a face.
"There was an incident on the Rishi moon outpost," said Echo with a heavy tone.
"He saved our lives, but he gave up his own," replied Fives in the same manner.
"Oh. I... I see," said 99 as he pulled out the medal Hevy gave him when they left.
"Hevy gave you his medal?" said Echo as he and Fives were shocked to learn that.
"So why have you returned to Kamino?" asked 99.
"The Generals received word of an impending attack here," stated Echo.
"Well, how can I help?" said 99, as he was also willing to defend his home from invaders.
Up in space, a Republic blockade was formed in front of Kamino. Lines of Republic cruisers were ready as the attack was about to be on them. Within seconds, the Separatist fleet emerged from hyperspace.
"Attack formation Echo-3," said Grievous as he got up from his chair.
"Status," said the tactical droid to the droids at the controls.
"Deflector shields raised."
"Destroyers in position."
"Forward cannons ready."
"Landing craft prepared."
"All ships are in position," responded the tactical droid to Grievous.
"Commence attack!" stated the cyborg.
The Separatists ships began to open fire on the Republic cruisers in front of them. The cruisers also did the same, as it was now an all-out brawl.
"The Separatist fleet is pressing their attack, sir," said a navigator to the Admiral.
"Contact command at Tipoca City," said the Admiral.
Down on the planet, sirens were ringing. Everybody was scrambling as many clones were getting into their fighters. Anakin was shown hopping into his fighter as he was to lead the space defense against the attack. He powered up his ship as R2 gave some beeps. He then rocketed out of the hangar with his team of fighters. In a command room, Storm, Obi-wan, and Shaak Ti were in front of a hologram of the planet of Kamino as they saw the entire battle play out.
"Shore up our defenses," said Cody to the clones at the terminals.
"The fleet is not as large as I expected," stated Shaak Ti to Obi-wan and Storm. "Begin the air strike."
"Good to see you, General. Ready to have some fun?
You know me, Broadside," smiled Anakin. "I'd rather be up here than stuck in a command center."
The Jedi Knight then led his squadron as they charged forward. They were zooming about, firing and taking out the Separatist ships. Pieces of the ships began to fall.
"Warning! Falling debris!" said an automatic voice as the Jedi and their clone commanders saw it on the hologram.
"Grievous appears to be sacrificing his transports in favor of protecting his command ship," said Shaak Ti.
"Something's not right," responded Obi-wan as he stroked his beard.
Speaking of the debris, they fell to the planet and splashed underwater. Approaching them was the squid droid that Ventress was on.
"Reinforcements have arrived," said a droid.
"Send out the aqua droids to assemble the assault craft," stated the assassin.
"Focus on the cruisers!" said Anakin to the fighters as they blasted another. "I'm going to press the attack, Master."
"No, Anakin. Wait! It's too easy," said Obi-wan.
"Not even Grievous would attack so recklessly," chimed in Storm.
"Master, the battle's up here in space, not down there," said Anakin.
"The debris from the destroyed Separatist ships is the key," said the Jedi Master to both Jedi Knights.
"What are you thinking?" asked Shaak Ti.
"I think I'd like to go for a swim," replied the Jedi Master.
The Jedi Master was now underwater in a craft as he explored the area where the debris fell.
"Nothing as of yet," said Obi-wan as he reported in.
"Only you could be worried about the ships I already shot down," stated Anakin over his comlink.
"Wait a minute!" said Obi-wan as he saw something. As his ship got closer, he saw Aqua droids as they were wielding pieces of the debris together. "Aqua droids! It looks as though they're assembling assault craft. Anakin, I was right! Those downed transports were hiding ships for an underwater assault. Anakin, come in!
"Hold it right there! Do not move!" said one of the Aqua droids as they saw Obi-wan.
The Jedi Master tried to escape when the droids jumped onto his watercraft. They began to punch the ship to get to the Jedi. One of them shot at the window as it made a crack. Obi-wan was trying to shake them off as alarms blared. Obi-wan pushed the eject button as his seat shot upwards. As it opened up, some droids still held on, and Obi-wan emerged with his lightsaber. He slashed at them as he continued to swim upwards.
The Aqua droids aimed upwards to shoot at the Jedi swimming away. Obi-wan clutched his throat as he could feel his breath slipping away. He was still far from the surface when he heard sounds from some nearby aiwha. The Jedi Master had his hand out as he grabbed onto a nearby aiwha who emerged from the water and flew through the air.
"Thanks for the lift, friend," gasped Obi-wan as he almost ran out of oxygen. He then looked forward as the squid droids emerged from the water onto the city's roofs. "Anakin, the city is under attack! I need you down here now!"
"On my way!" said Anakin as he left the remaining ships to be handled by the pilots and the cruisers.
"Storm, the city has been breached. Prepare all defenses!" said the Jedi Master.
"Copy that, Kenobi!" said the boy over his comlink. "Troops, prepare for invasion!" shouted Storm to all the clones in the entire facility as he ran out with Cody, Rex, and Sark in tow.
"Sunset!" said Ventress over her comlink.
"Let's start the party!" snickered the girl.
The girl was then ejected from her ship as she was in the air. She then transitioned to a dive; the girl pulled out her lightsaber as she spun and began to pick up speed. Her speed and momentum pierced through the roof and landed as alarms were blaring.
"Intruder!" shouted some clones.
Sunset began to use her lightsaber as she reflected the blaster shots back at the clones as they fell. She then used the Force and swatted the remaining clones away as they hit the wall. The girl then ran as she was making her way to the rendezvous point to meet with her comrades.
In the docking bay, alarms went off as clones got into defensive positions. Echo and Fives were summoned as they stood before the clone commander defending the bay.
"Sir, you sent for us?" said Echo.
"It's a dangerous assignment, but I want you two up on the bridge in sniper positions," ordered the clone commander.
"Yes, sir, we're on it!" responded Echo as he and Fives left.
The hangar doors closed as the clones were behind the cover and had their blasters aimed. The squid droids then began to drill their way into the city. The Aqua droids filled out and began to fire. The clones engaged all over the city as the entire place was a battlefield.
"Watch out!" shouted a clone as a tentacle swatted some of them into the wall.
Both sides were having troops fall as they were engaged in combat. Storm had his lightsaber out as he deflected shots from the droids in his path. Rex, Sark, and Cody were behind the boy providing cover as they shot while running. They came to a crossroads as the Jedi Knight went one way, as the clone commanders went down the other path to help the main force.
In the hangar, more droids appeared as emerging from one of them was Grievous.
"Kill them all!" shouted the cyborg.
The Squid droids spread out, and all began to drill their way in as the power went out. Some of the clone vials broke apart and began to shatter the others. Everywhere, there was a huge battle. Ventress was shown emerging from one of the droids as she smiled and made her way to the rendezvous point.
Running along the hangar bay was 99 as he handed out weapons to the clones and ammunition.
"99, get out of here!" shouted the clone commander as he saw the defect running about the field. He was then shot in the chest as he was too focused on the clone defect. "This is no place for you." Another shot came to the clone commander, who sat up and got hit in the helmet as he went down.
99 quickly grabbed a bag of grenades as he took cover and saw the rest of the clones falling around him. He took a deep breath as he left. Anakin had finally made it back to the city as he was with Obi-wan in defending a hallway crawling with Aqua droids.
"There aren't enough droids here to capture the city. They're trying to distract us. Go protect the DNA chamber; I'll deal with Grievous." said Obi-wan to his student.
"Got it," said Anakin as he turned and left.
"Storm!" said Obi-wan over his comlink.
"I've got my hands full right now!" said the boy as he was on the city's roofs.
He was charging ahead toward a whole platoon of droids. Behind him, from a distance, were clones providing coverfire for the Jedi Knight. The teen slid along the roof and slashed at any droids in his path before stopping. He then leaped onto another roof that overwhelmed the troops as he left the clones to finish up. The boy repeated the pattern as he handled the battle on top of them.
Fives and Echo were snipping on one of the bridges as they shot at the Aqua droids marching on the path below them.
"Fives, keep firing! We can beat these guys!" stated Echo to his pal.
"99!" said Fives as he saw the clone appear.
"I... I brought you some ammo," said 99 as he put the backpack he was carrying on the floor.
"Is there a better spot than this? A better defensive position we can take?" asked Fives.
"Droids! Behind us!" shouted Echo as he warned both.
"Look! Grenades!" shouted 99 as he pointed to a bag when Fives shoved him to the side to avoid getting shot.
Fives grabbed one of the bombs from the backpack and threw it at the droids as they exploded.
"Thanks, 99. Good job!" said Fives.
"Look out, there's more!" said 99 as he pointed to the smoke and saw figures emerging.
As it turned out, it wasn't droids but a group of kids.
"Cadets! What are you doing here?" said Fives as he saw the group.
"We got separated from our group," said one of the boys.
"Where were they taking you?" asked Fives.
"The barracks."
"Oh. I know the best way there!" stated 99 as he began to lead them.
"Keep firing! No mercy!" said Grievous as he was walking along the hallway.
The droids kept their barrage as they took out the clones guarding the DNA chamber. The clones were falling one by one, as only Commander Colt remained as he took cover behind a wall as a group of droids was about to be on him. He took a deep breath and was about to engage when he suddenly found himself being choked and lifted into the air.
Ventress emerged as she had a grip on the clone. She slammed him into the wall as his helmet came off. With her other hand, she turned on her lightsaber and pulled the clone commander into her plasma sword as it pierced through him before he fell to the floor.
"Your skills are impressive. Perhaps a match for my own, assassin," said Grievous as he appeared.
"Count Dooku may have taught you how to swing a lightsaber, General, but that hardly makes you my equal," fired back Ventress.
"And yet I am the General in charge of this assault," said the cyborg.
"And yet both of you need a babysitter!" shouted Sunset as she made her presence known.
The girl flung a clone to the wall as he was knocked out.
"In case you both forgot, Kenobi and Skywalker are here! Which means they are coming for us at this very second!" said the bacon-haired girl.
"Leave the talking to the adults, Sunset!" growled Grievous as he couldn't stand the girl.
"And yet you're the one who is acting like a child!" responded the girl as both got in each other's faces and growled.
"If you both want to fight, be my guest. We have a few rounds we could spare," smiled Ventress as she wanted to see her comrades brawl and find out which one of them was the better fighter.
"Remember, assassin, you are to recover the clone DNA," said Grievous as he turned back to Ventress.
"Why not just destroy it?" asked Ventress.
"Because the DNA could unlock new possibilities for us. Even the dumbass here knows that," said Sunset as she gestured to Grievous, who growled at the comment the girl made.
"Keep playing with your droids. I'll handle breaking into the DNA room," stated Ventress to the cyborg as she looked to leave.
"Shall I provide you with a droid escort?" asked Grievous as he grabbed Ventress' arm.
"My dear General, there's nothing you have that I could want," flirted Ventress as he stroked Grievous' robotic mouth part and left.
"And as for me, I've got a boy toy that gives me oh so much pleasure. Which reminds me," said Sunset as she turned on her comlink. "Oh, Storm!"
"Huh?" said the boy as he was on a roof when his comlink went off.
"Storm."
"Sunset!"
"Oh, you do still care for me. I mean, I thought Twilight would have stolen you all to herself. Glad to know that you decided to be with me instead." said Sunset as she leaned against the wall.
"Where are you?!" shouted the boy as he deflected a shot aimed at his head.
"Storm, you have alot to learn about girls. Like when they're trying to set the mood. You don't skip to making love without a little foreplay involved," flirted Sunset.
"I'm not playing, Sunset! Tell me where you are, and we can settle this!" demanded the boy.
"That's more like it! I can't wait for you to punish me for being such a bad girl," said Sunset in a seductive tone. "I'll send you my coordinates. Be ready for some fun, boy toy." The Sith girl turned off her comlink and sent the boy to where to meet her.
"You seem to enjoy that a bit too much," said Grievous as he witnessed all that.
"What can I say? Sometimes a girl likes the good guy. Especially if they're cute and know how to have fun. Now then, I have a date with my boyfriend. So do try to keep it down and give us some privacy. Less you want me to go apeshit on your ass!" said Sunset as she left.
Fives, Echo, 99, and the cadets had made it to the barracks as they closed the doors.
"What are we going to do?" asked one of the boys.
"A Separatist victory means death. For all of us," said 99 to both clones as they had their helmets off. "The cadet is right; what are we going to do?"
"We fight!"
A voice came as Rex, Cody, and Sark appeared and removed their helmets. All three clone commanders had each taken a section of the attack and managed to conquer it as they left the troops to gather together while they went to ensure the cadets were safe.
"But our training's not finished," said one of the boys to the clone commanders.
"Look around; we're one and the same. Same heart, same blood. Your training is in your blood." said Echo to the cadets. "And my blood's boiling for a fight."
"This is our home. This is our war," said Fives as he backed up his friend.
"What about weapons?" asked a cadet.
"The armory. Just a few corridors away, here in the barracks. I can retrieve all the firepower that we need." said 99. "So, who wants to blast some droids?" chuckled the old-timer as they all nodded.
The droids had made it to the communication center as the doors opened. Shaak Ti pulled out her lightsaber and began to engage them. She cut them down with ease.
"The droids are spread thin. We must press our offensive now!" said the Jedi Master to her comlink to send the message to everyone.
Ventress had made it to the cloning room as the door opened up. She approached the chamber and grabbed a container of DNA. At that moment, a lightsaber turned on as it shined blue.
"I was beginning to think my presence went unnoticed," said Ventress as she looked behind.
"You weren't planning on leaving without saying hello, were you?" taunted Anakin.
"Here it is. Everything we need is here."
"Excellent work, 99," said Rex as they all made it to the armory.
"Hurry up; the droids have almost reached the barracks," said Cody as he, Sark, Rex, and 99 grabbed what they could.
"Let's get into position," said Sark as they all ran back, carrying the stuff.
Grievous walked along a hallway with his droids in front of him as they approached a door.
"Open up," said a droid as he knocked on the door.
"Get those doors open and scare the remaining clones out of hiding!" ordered Grievous.
"Roger, roger."
The droid shot the lock as the door opened to reveal some clones directly behind it; they shot the droid and a few others.
"Blast them!" shouted the commando droid as they began to fight back. The clones got up and ventured deeper into the hallway to regroup.
"All too easy," snickered Grievous.
"Define easy, General," said Obi-wan as he appeared down the hall from the cyborg.
"Kenobi!" growled Grievous as his arch-rival appeared. Kenobi turned on his lightsaber as the cyborg pulled out two of his own.
Speaking of arch-rivals, Storm made it to the place where Sunset wanted him to be as the moment the boy opened the door, the girl was lying in a seductive pose.
"So glad you could join me, Storm. I was wondering if you found Twilight more attractive than me."
"I'm not here to play your games, Sunset! I'm here to end this!" said the boy as he turned on his lightsaber. For Storm, it was business with him.
"My, my!" said the girl as she got up. "By the way, the deal's still on the table. Join me, and we can rule the galaxy. And as an added bonus, I'll let you do whatever you want to me. I'll be at your beck and call!"
"No deal!" declared Storm as he wasn't falling for Sunset's temptress ways.
"You're such a good guy. Oh, do you get my heart beating a bit? Sometimes the bad girl likes the hero, especially if they're cute." said Sunset, continuing the act. "By the way, how far have you made it with the princess? First base? Second Base? Third Base? Oh, or have you both hit a grand slam?"
"Shut up!" shouted Storm as he lunged forward as Sunset backflipped a few meters away.
"Does Twilight like it when she's on the bottom or the top?!" asked Sunset, continuing sexual innuendos.
"Ahh!" shouted Storm as he went for more attacks as Sunset leaned back and sidestepped.
"I just wanna know, is all?!" taunted the girl with a sinister smile as she dodged more attacks. "Have you both kissed yet!?"
"AHH!" growled Storm as he tried to hit the girl.
"No? Ah, then let me," said Sunset as she ducked a swing from Storm and then quickly popped up to plant a quick peck on the boy's cheek before swinging again and missing her.
Sunset cartwheeled before being tackled to the ground. Storm grabbed her hands as he interlocked his fingers with hers and pinned her arms above her head as he was on top of her.
"It's over!" shouted Storm.
"Glad to know that you appreciate that I like it rough," said Sunset licking her lips. "But for me, boys like it when I'm on the top."
Sunset then got her legs under Storm's midsection and pushed him off. The Jedi Knight stumbled as Sunset took that moment to tackle him to the floor as they rolled around for a bit. She had him in an armbar and yanked on his arm. Storm countered as he rolled Sunset onto her back while still applying the hold. The boy then showed off his strength as he lifted the girl who was still applying the hold as he looked to slam her.
Sunset quickly reacted as he rolled behind Storm and did a sunset flip, only for the boy to roll through and go for a sliding knee as the girl laid back on the ground to avoid getting hit. Sunset grabbed Storm's legs and pulled him down to roll him up, but the boy rolled through. Sunset went for a kick to his head as he was coming up while still on the floor, but Storm ducked his head and then went for a kick on the ground. Sunset moved out of the way as she lunged and was behind Storm as she applied a sleeper hold on the boy.
Storm quickly countered as he fell on his back to roll through and have Sunset's shoulders pinned to the ground. The girl let go to get out as she sat up, allowing Storm to apply his own sleeper hold; his legs wrapped around the girl's midsection as he tried to get her to pass out.
"I wouldn't mind if your hands were lower," snickered Sunset while in the hold as she was referring to certain objects on her chest.
Storm tightened the grip of his hold as he looked to get the girl to pass out quicker. Sunset could feel the air in her lungs fading as she turned her head and planted another quick peck on Storm's cheek. That got the teen off guard for a few seconds as Sunset took advantage of that. She was able to get out and fling Storm over her head.
The boy quickly got to his hands and knees as Sunset was charging at him. The Jedi Knight got up, and before, Sunset could punch him, he managed to get his own punch in as he hit the sith girl. Sunset felt the punch as she stumbled back and put her hand to her cheek. She felt pain as she looked at her boy toy and her eyes turned furious.
"Alright then. You want me to stop playing?! You want me to be the villain?! Fine, then I'll be the villain!" growled Sunset as she turned on her lightsaber.
Storm turned on his blade as the girl rushed toward him and their blades clashed. Three separate battles were taking place at the same time. Anakin was dealing with Ventress, Kenobi fighting against Grievous, and Storm taking on Sunset as all three figures from evil and good clashed. Each one was telling a different tale.
For Anakin, he lunged forward at Ventress, who flipped over him. She landed and turned with her hand to use the Force to push Anakin into the chamber. The Jedi Knight quickly recovered as he lunged forward, and Ventress intercepted his attack. They made it out of the room and into the hallway as they continued their fight.
With Obi-wan, he was dealing with Grievous' dual-wielding style. The Jedi Master ducked and moved his blade to his sides in rapid succession to avoid Grievous' attacks. It was going well until Grievous held Obi-wan's blade in place with his as a third arm popped out and grabbed hold of his face to fling him over the cyborg.
He tried to stomp on Kenobi's face as the Jedi Master moved out of the way. Grievous did a few more stomps as Obi-wan rolled out of the way of them. The cyborg grabbed the Jedi and threw up as he collided with the ceiling and then over him again.
"Kenobi, Kamino has fallen. Your clone army is doomed," said Grievous as he approached the downed Jedi.
"I beg to differ, Grievous," replied Obi-wan.
The Jedi Master put his hands out; this time, he tossed Grievous to the ceiling. When the cyborg fell to the ground, Kenobi force-pushed him again until he collided with the wall at the end of the hall. The cyborg had all his arms out as he saw the Jedi Master getting to his feet. Grievous then began to spider crawl away as Obi-wan chased after him.
The droids had now breached the barracks as Echo, Fives, Rex, Sark, and Cody all ran along the beds. They took cover behind some crates as 99 rolled some grenades to Rex and Sark as they tossed them at the B1 droids firing at them. The droids kept coming as Fives, Echo, and Cody moved back one row of boxes as Rex and Sark were at the far end.
"Cadets, now!" shouted Rex as he gave the signal.
The bunk beds slid out, and the cadets were shown as they fired blasters at the droids. The droids turned around as most of them were shot. Soon they disbursed as they took cover.
Anakin and Ventress were still fighting as they traded blows and attacks. Both were spinning in place while moving back to avoid the strikes from their foes. Anakin went for an overhead attack as Ventress used her legs and flipped the Jedi Knight over. She took her chance to run as Anakin got up and went after her.
Storm and Sunset were fighting as the door to their room opened, moved to the hallway, and continued to fight. They, too, were moving along the hallway as they continued their fight. Sunset managed to Force push Storm to the ground as she leaped over him and ran. The boy got up and chased after her.
All three pairs were now chasing one another as they came to a section of the building, as they all clashed their blades. On the top level was Obi-wan with Grievous, the middle level was Anakin with Ventress, and the teens on the bottom. The baddies all pushed back their foes before running again and splitting up.
Obi-wan followed Grievous as he was on one of the city's bridges. He looked around but couldn't see where the cyborg had gone. As he walked, Grievous was shown under the platform the Jedi Master was on. He then climbed up and appeared behind Obi-wan as he turned around. Grievous then pulled out two lightsabers and spun them rapidly while approaching the Jedi Master.
The clones held their ground against the droids in the barracks as Cody tossed another bomb.
"Last one, Commander! Make it count!" Rex said to Cody as he handed the last grenade 99 gave him.
"I'll get more!" said 99 as he got up and began to hobble away.
"99, you can't!" shouted Sark as he tried to warn the clone that it was dangerous.
"I'm a soldier. Like you. This is what I was bred for." said 99 as he was trying to prove that despite being a defect, he was a clone trooper.
The droids noticed 99 hobbling away as they began to shoot at him. A few shots hit 99 in the back of his leg, and he fell to the floor.
"99! No!" shouted Echo.
Echo looked at 99, who managed to get back to his feet, despite being shot. He then turned and came out of cover as he began to shoot at the droids. Echo and Fives emerged and began to engage the droids in close range as 99 took that moment to run. The remaining droids fired in his direction as they shot 99 in the back. He felt the blaster shot as he grunted and winced in pain before collapsing to the ground. As they saw their fallen comrade, all three clone commanders had their hands out.
"Commander Cody!" said Shaak Ti over his comlink.
"Yes, sir!"
"The droids have been pushed back to the main hangar," informed the Jedi Master as she was with some clones; they were shooting down the last of the Aqua droids.
With Obi-wan, he was still dealing with Grievous. The pair walked in a counterclockwise circle with the cyborg still spinning his blades. At that moment, one of the squid droids had its tentacles coming down on the bridge as it tipped them both over. Obi-wan was hanging on for dear life as Grievous had all his arms out and stuck to the platform. The Jedi Master lost his grip as he plummeted towards the water as the structure crashed into one of the buildings. Grievous crawled over to the edge to see if Obi-wan was alive but saw nothing.
The cyborg then crawled to were an escape pod was waiting. He entered it as he took off. Just as Grievous left, an aiwha appeared as on its back was Obi-wan. The Jedi Master latched onto one to avoid the falling debris when it tipped over.
"We've got to stop meeting like this, my friend," said Obi-wan to the creature.
The clones in the hangar began to fire at the squid droids as they exploded. Storm and Sunset were on top of one of the roofs as their battle took them there. They traded blows and swings as both clashed; their blades were held in place. The boy managed to trip the girl as she fell to the floor. Before she could react, Storm grabbed Sunset's arm and put it behind her back as he had his lightsaber raised to her neck. He then had the girl lean over a railing as he pressed himself into her back.
"It's over, Sunset! You've lost!" said Storm as he ensured the girl saw that her forces were being defeated. "Surrender!"
"I'd rather die than go back to see her!" growled Sunset as Storm knew who she was talking about.
"Then let me help!" said Storm. "I'll plead my case for you!"
Sunset heard what Storm said as she hesitated a bit. The girl was surprised to see that her rival was willing to stand up for her, given that she was the villain of this story. She felt Storm's grip on her arm loosen as if he had let up the pain. The sith girl turned around in Storm's arms as she looked at him. The teen looked at the Jedi Knight as they stared into each other's eyes. Sunset put her hand, cusped Storm's cheek, and stroked it as the boy let her. The boy brought his hand up as he ran it through Sunset's hair; he could see that Sunset was vulnerable at this moment, as if she was debating on whether or not to accept his offer.
"I'm sorry," said Sunset softly.
She then kneed Storm in the stomach as he bent over. The girl had her lightsaber fly into her hand as she bent down to plant one final peck on his cheek. She then backflipped over the railing and landed on the pod's top as Storm came to his feet and looked at her.
"I'm still the bad girl, Storm! And I'd rather die than suffer her wrath. But hey, at least being bad means I get to see you more. Tell Twilight to try not to keep you all to herself. I want you, as well." snickered the girl as she entered the pod, and it took off.
"Enjoy yourself," asked Grievous to the teen as she sat down.
"Oh, definitely," smiled Sunset as they zoomed ahead to make one last stop.
"Move it, troopers, on the double!" shouted a clone sergeant to some troops. "Fire!"
The clone had a rocket launcher and pulled the trigger. It traveled and took out the last squid droid on top of a roof as it crashed below. And down below on the platform was Anakin and Ventress as their chase had brought them to the outside like their comrades.
"Look! It's the General," said one of the clones.
Anakin and Ventress continued their fight. The assassin ran as Anakin leaped from the smoke to deliver a downward slash. Ventress turned to block it as Anakin went for some swings, which caused the assassin to move back. Anakin caught Ventress off guard with a roundhouse kick; it got her to fall to the ground. The Jedi Knight stuck his hand out as he used the Force to pull the container from Ventress' belt to his hand.
Ventress growled as she got up and charged forward. She made more attacks as Anakin blocked them. She then transitioned to kicking and making step-up attacks that made the Jedi Knight fall to the ground as the canister was knocked from his hand. She put her hand out and used the Force to bring it to her. Just then, a hand caught the container as it stopped. It was a clone as soon more showed up with all their blasters aimed at Ventress.
"I suppose you expect me to surrender," said Ventress as she saw the clones all come to back up the Jedi Knight.
"Actually, I plan to let the clones execute you right now," said Anakin, as he wasn't going to show mercy to his foe as Storm did with Sunset.
"Not this time," snickered Ventress as she heard a noise and looked up at the sky.
She thrust her hand out to use the Force and push the soldiers to the ground as Anakin held his ground. Ventress then ran while deflecting some shots and hopped onto the pod as it zoomed by. She then entered inside as all three Sith generals were leaving the planet and making their escape.
Inside the barracks, the cadets climbed down as they kicked the down droids with their blasters.
"We did it. We held them back!" said one of the boys to the rest of the cadets.
Meanwhile, Echo, Fives, and the three clone commanders were all gathered as 99 was held in Echo's arms.
"We lost a true soldier," said Cody to his pals.
"He really was one of us," said Sark.
All five clones took a moment to laminate the death of one of their comrades and even beloved brother. They honored him as, in the heat of battle, 99 stepped up and showed true bravery.
Sometime later, everyone was cleaning up and tending to their wounded. Rex, Cody, and Sark were shown walking side by side as they approached two certain clones.
"Echo, Fives!" shouted Sark as he got their attention.
"You both really stepped up in the heat of battle," said Cody.
"We did what we had to do, sir," replied Fives as he and Echo stood at attention.
"What any clone would've done," replied Echo.
"Both of you showed valor out there, real courage. Reminded me of me, actually," said Rex to his men.
"Echo, Fives, you're both officially being made ARC Troopers," said Cody as he gave the two clones a new promotion.
Both Fives and Echo were stunned and happy to hear that. That was their goal from training with the rest of Domino Squad. It was their dream to be ARC Troopers. And now they were living that dream. Granted, they had lost most of their squad members and friends along the way, but that was even more reason to keep fighting to end this war. To honor those who couldn't be there with them.
"I don't think the Separatists will be coming back here anytime soon. But if they do, Kamino will be lucky to have clones like you defending it," said Sark, praising both of them.
"Good job, men!" said Rex to his troops as they all did a collective salute.
Storm was in the command center as he was overlooking some of the results they suffered from Sunset's invasion with her allies. He spoke with Obi-wan as they began discussing their next course of action. Both soon concluded that they would report what happened to Kamino to the Jedi Council on Coruscant. With that, they rounded up Anakin and prepared to head home with their clone commanders in tow. Once he was alone in his quarters, Storm contacted Twilight. The Jedi Knight informed the princess of what Sark told him as the girl gave a sad look to hear of 99's passing.
Author's Note: Who would have thought that carbon copy characters would make for such interesting differences? While there may have been Jedi involved, the true story was on the clones. The chapter speaks enough for itself that I don't think there's much for me to expand. As always leave a review expressing your thoughts and comments.