The following day, 0700 hours

And so at dawn, the hopeless Republic forces did the unthinkable. They attacked.

They attacked the battle droids as they disembarked their ships fresh out of the factory. They attacked before they could set up their charging stations and recharge their depleted power cells. They attacked before their processors could make sense of what was happening and calculate a proper defense.

Out of options and with no real strategic experience, General Odefi chose to launch a full frontal assault on the western flank of the massing army with three of his four available regiment; the other regiment laid in reserve ready to pluck any gaps in the line and exploit any breakthroughs that were achieved. Admiral Zvit and the Star Destroyers remained in orbit for the time being while the pair of Arquitens hovered closer to the surface providing fire support for the troops on the ground but were kept out of range of the enemy artillery, particularly their heavy cannon. Until it was destroyed, the Republic ships could not get close enough to engage the Lucrehulk and live through it.

"General, we're nearing the enemy lines. How are things over there?" Hamar called in the comms as he observed his surroundings from his position on the commander's seat of a TX-130 with Karel at the controls. After driving unopposed for four klicks they were deep into enemy territory and were bound to be confronted at any moment.

Inspired by the Mandalorians' fearless attitude in the face of certain death, General Odefi chose to lead from the front and set an example to his men. His gunship took evasive action as it was being targeted by the enemy air defense batteries. The Separatists had realized that the gunships at the center of the formations made for the best targets as they often carried the Jedi in the most protected part of the formation, and if they were destroyed the shrapnel could hit other gunships flying nearby.

"Do not worry about us, Colonel," General Odefi shouted into his comlink, the cacophony of flak fire around him drowning his deep voice. "You have your mission and we have ours."

"We copy you. Good luck, General."

"Likewise, Phoenix."

The hot air around them was filled with tension as a formation of Hyena bombers flew overhead. But their concerns were not on the enemy bombers as Karel kept his gaze fixed forward, occasionally glancing at the indicators and sensor readings around him. Just then, an incoming transmission from Admiral Zvit came through the Mandalorians' comms.

"Phoenix, be advised: Our fighter wings have identified several smaller artillery units around the heavy cannon south of your location," the admiral warned as he looked at a hologram of the battlefield on the surface. They were engaging the enemy in five different fronts: one was almost won, another was reaching a stalemate and the other three were at risk of collapsing if those cannons were not neutralized soon.

"Copy, Admiral. We'll take care of that cannon and whatever droids we find," was the lieutenant colonel's confident reply. He had full faith in his and his son's abilities, but he was careful not to be arrogant and underestimate their opponent. Though he was not specialized in armoured warfare he remained aware that although the tank's shields and armour provided decent protection from the front, its rear was much more vulnerable. Hamar banged twice on the hull of the TX-130 tank as he observed their surroundings from the commander's seat. "Alright, Karel. You know the plan. Load armor-piercing shells."

"Loading armor-piercing!" Karel replied in haste.

With the press of a button the auto-loader prepared an armor-piercing round on each ordnance launcher as Hamar took control of the medium twin laser cannon turret. The tank accelerated suddenly, pressing Karel against his seat as he pushed the engine to full throttle. The thundering boom of the enemy cannon firing was becoming louder and louder and it shook the ground as they approached the artillery emplacement. The tension in the air was palpable as Karel adjusted his grip on the controls, steeling himself for the battle that was to come.

"Enemy cannon is up ahead!" Hamar cried out as the aforementioned artillery piece fired again at the Republic ships. As the tank climbed a small hill it didn't take them long to spot their prey, but they weren't prepared for what they saw.

The Mandalorians and their tank were facing south, parallel to and above the heavy cannon as it fired high into the air and which required a crew of two squads of battle droids to operate smoothly. With each of its shells reaching a weight of almost five tons and a length of three meters, that cannon was capable of piercing through the shields of almost any capital ship in the galaxy. To make matters worse, four smaller J-1 proton cannons were stationed around the heavy cannon to defend it against air attacks by bomber and fighter squadrons, while four DSD1 dwarf spider droids patrolled the perimeter. The cannon fired again and its crew got into action, opening the breech at the back of the cannon and ejecting the spent shell. Then another team of battle droids carried another shell from a nearby MTT and inserted it into the breach. The barrel of the cannon then elevated further as it tried to hit a base twenty five klicks away.

"Guess we have to keep our word to the admiral now," Karel stated as he observed the enemy position through his HUD, his former self briefly surfacing as he retreated behind the cover of the hill while they planned their attack. He half turned in his seat to look at his father, then said, "That cannon has been firing non-stop for hours, it must be overheating. If I can get close enough I could put an armor-piercing round in it."

"Cannon's the least of our concerns right now," Hamar replied to his son's idea. It was a good plan, but they needed something better. "We have to make good use of our first shot before they spot us. Focus your fire on the transport and the proton cannons and I'll take care of the droids. Once we're done with those we'll get rid of the cannon."

"Got it," was Karel's reply. The tank climbed back up the hill and overlooked the gun emplacement pit once more. Karel lowered the guns to their minimum elevation possible and positioned the tank in a hull-down position so that only the main guns and frontal armor were exposed while the lower armor was covered by some rocks. The enemy proton cannons were certainly capable of piercing the TX-130's armor, but the Mandalorians hoped that any defense the enemy put up would be no use as they had the high ground.

With no more time to waste Hamar manned the turret again and lowered his rangefinder as he observed the enemy position once again, searching for their first target of the day. He decided on the transport full of artillery shells that was close to one of the smaller cannons, and if they were lucky the blast would destroy or at the very least damage the nearby proton cannon.

"Transport two hundred meters away, traverse thirty degrees left, elevation minus eight degrees," he called out from his position in the turret.

In a moment Karel had the transport in his sights and he repeated the transport's position out loud to confirm they were looking at the same target. After a tense moment of silence Hamar cried out a command, and the battle began.

"Fire!"

In an instant the transport burst in flames, the adjacent cannon being disabled by red-hot shrapnel piercing its barrel as the tank was rocked back by the recoil of the cannons. Thinking they were being attacked from the air, the droids were oblivious to the tank as Karel took aim once again while the cannons reloaded.

"Proton cannon hundred and sixty meters away, traverse forty two degrees left, elevation minus seven degrees," Hamar called out as he began opening fire on the spider droids, instantly destroying one as they finally spotted the direction the shots were coming from. Then the droids opened fire on the tank, but their first shots missed entirely as Hamar destroyed another spider droid.

"Target acquired!" Karel replied just as the tank readjusted its position to fire at its new target.

"Fire!"

The tank was jolted backwards again as the cannons fired on another unsuspecting target, after which Hamar gave the order for Karel to fire at will. They worked in perfect synchrony, Hamar finding targets and Karel destroying them with deadly precision. Inside the tank one could only hear the blaster bolts hit the hull, shaking it violently as the blaster fire forced Hamar to drop inside the tank and close the hatch. At that moment the proton cannon farthest from their position opened fire on the Mandalorians' position, its shot falling short of the tank and instead hitting the ground ahead of it as Karel moved the cannons to aim at the immediate threat.

The earth under the tank began to give way as the enemy fire had dislodged the ground the tank was resting on and sent it downhill. The Master Chief hastily got into action and once again set the engine to full throttle; the stabilizers were working at full capacity trying to keep the tank from toppling over.

As the tank was about five meters from the bottom of the hill Karel momentarily diverted power from the tank's rear repulsorlifts generators to the ones at the front, using some expert driving skills that could only have come from spending hundreds of hours in a simulator. The tank landed flat on the ground, damaging its rear repulsor array as they took the brunt of the fall. With the rear repulsorlifts damaged the tank became much slower and less maneuverable, losing two of its main advantages over the enemy. But despite being damaged, outgunned and outnumbered the plucky Mandalorians did not panic. With the vulnerable rear hatch and underside safe from enemy fire and the ordnance launchers now having a clear line of sight, their grim work continued.

A shell from another proton cannon flew a few inches overhead as Karel turned in the direction it came from. As the tank turned to the left it was met by one of the spider droid trying to flank the tank, and the latter's heavy laser cannons did short work of the small droid. Now with the proton cannon firmly in his sights Karel fired the armor-piercing shells in the ordnance launchers. With a sickening crunch the two rounds penetrated the J-1's reloading chamber and exited through the opposite side with enough velocity to embed themselves in the heavy cannon's side armor. But the fight was not over yet, and as Karel was focused reloading the ordnance launchers Hamar observed the battlefield through his viewport, nervously searching for the last proton cannon and spider droid as the tank moved forward and closer to the heavy cannon. Its droid crew raining down ineffective small arms fire on the tank's shields and top armour. Karel now elevated the tank's pair of heavy laser cannons to aim at the droid crew and fired them at the same time, silencing the droids and destroying the cannon's barrel.

At that moment the last cannon and droid appeared. They were both hiding behind the cannon, the J-1 at the back end and the spider droid at the front. This tactic was a trap, for whichever one the Mandalorians attacked the other one would open fire at them. With no time to weigh his options, Karel turned the tank to face the J-1 about 30 meters ahead of him. He fired the heavy cannons at the proton cannon and almost instantly it was utterly destroyed, but before he could switch his attention to the last spider droid it fired on the tank from the side and landed a direct hit on the tank's right heavy laser cannon from point blank range. The side armour was completely destroyed as the overheated laser cannon exploded right next to the Janseks. The tank was rocked violently and they were shaken in their seats. But by some miracle of the Force they were uninjured and the tank's ammunition had somehow not cooked off, which could only have meant a gruesome death for the pair.

But they weren't out of danger yet, and without skipping a beat Hamar gathered himself and shouted, "Full reverse!"

The lumbering vehicle hastily backed out, dragging its right side through the ground as the repulsor array had been destroyed entirely and the tank was now tilting to the side. The spider droid rotated its cannon as the tank reversed away, trying to predict its position to fire at the reactor. Karel kept his gaze fixed on the droid's cannon until he caught a glimpse of red coming out of the tip of the barrel and he immediately brought the tank to a halt.

"Hold on tight!" he shouted to his father.

The shot graced the hull and Hamar, knowing what to expect from his son, shielded himself with his arms around his head. The Master Chief activated the tank's speed boost and the overtaxed power plant behind him sent the tank charging forward towards the cannon. He tightened his grip on the controls and with milliseconds to spare he put the tank on a harsh turn to the right. It slammed into the side of the cannon and was left facing the spider droid as it tried to process this unorthodox maneuver. Before it could react, however, Karel fired the ordnance launchers and obliterated the droid with a pair of high explosive missiles.

Karel slowly released his grip on the controls, the adrenaline leaving his veins as he flopped down on his seat and began breathing slowly to calm himself. A grunt was heard from behind and above him where his father sat. Hamar stretched as much as he could inside the cramped tank, then said, "This is the first and last time I let you drive."

The younger Mandalorian responded with a chuckle which quickly turned into a fit of laughter; near-death experiences seemed to be the only thing capable of bringing his old self back for a short moment. The already failing power plant finally gave out with an unceremonious puff of smoke that filled the cockpit and the two Mandalorians exited the wrecked tank.

"It was worth it," said Karel as he pulled himself up through the tank's top hatch. He sat on top of the tank, admiring their handiwork as he watched the droid units turned to smithereens and allowed himself a brief moment of celebration. "I should take a picture of this."

Not one to bask in recent successes, Hamar laughed briefly before speaking in the comms. "Admiral, this is Phoenix One. The cannon is out of commission. Your ships are clear for attack."

Back at the bridge of the Fortitude the Admiral could hardly believe what he was hearing. The middle son of a wealthy family on Coruscant and a graduate of the Carida Academy, he had heard about the Mandalorians' martial prowess but he never truly believed they were anything out of the ordinary. But now, hearing the voice of a man who had volunteered for what was essentially a suicide mission, he briefly considered that maybe the stories were not as embelished as he might have thought.

"Admiral, do you copy? Mission accomplished, the cannon has been destroyed," Hamar repeated in the comms.

"Copy, Phoenix," the Admiral finally replied. "Unfortunately we are not able to attack just yet."

"Come again, Fortitude. Did you say you can't attack?"

"Affirmative. Stand by, the General should be arriving at your position as we speak."

Karel dropped down to ground level and looked up as multiple gunships emerged from over the mountains to his right. They landed on the dry, rocky soil of the gun emplacement pit and clone troopers began pouring out of them to secure the position and establish an observation post. The Mandalorians then jumped into the nearest gunship, ignoring the dust that was lifted into the air as they were greeted by General Odefi inside the transport's troop bay. They both noticed how the Kel Dor was still shaking from the adrenaline of his first battle; his plastoid armor had some small scrapes, dinges and scratches and he held firmly to the handrail in the gunship's main hold. The gunship took to the skies once again and headed east towards the enemy battleship.

"Care to tell us why you're not attacking, General?" Karel asked bluntly, not even bothering to greet the Kel Dor Jedi Knight. Hamar glared at him, but otherwise did not reprimand him as the General replied.

"I believe someone else will be able to answer that question."

He pressed a button on his gauntlet as the troop bay's doors closed and a hologram of a Republic officer appeared from his holoprojector, a bluish hue radiating from her dark skin and her olive-drab uniform.

"Gentlemen," she said, greeting the Mandalorians with a small smile.

"Nice to see you again, Commander," Hamar replied with a smirk. "Mind telling us what you want us to do this time?"

Commander Tamm huffed and shook her head, but welcomed the playful banter with the lieutenant colonel. However, the seriousness of the situation was not lost on her, and she straightened herself as she spoke.

"As you already know the shipyards in orbit above Gyndine are a KDY research and development facility and when the Confederacy attacked we set our contingency plans in motion. We believed we had been able to secure or destroy all files in the shipyards' database, but we were wrong." A transmission appeared on the Mandalorians' HUDs and they opened it. The transmission included an image of a data disk and displayed its position inside the enemy battleship through a transponder beacon inside of it. "The data disk you are seeing right now has fallen into enemy hands and is held inside the battleship. It is encrypted, but we don't know how long it will take the Separatist to crack the encryption."

"I'm guessing you're not telling us what's in that datadisk," Karel remarked.

"Indeed, but I can tell you what's not in it, and it certainly does not contain millions of exanodes worth of blueprints and reports vital to the Republic that cou-"

"We are losing this battle, and you halt our attack for this?" Odefi interrupted her, perceiving the commander's orders to get some reports as an insult to his duties as a Jedi Knight and now Jedi General.

The commander did her best to appear calm and composed, but like many of her fellow officers she was annoyed by the General and his order as a whole. To her, the Jedi were the least well suited people in the galaxy to lead the Republic's army. But before she could explain the seriousness of the situation Karel spoke up, turning to address the Jedi. Odefi didn't need to use the Force to sense the irritation in his voice, but he was unfazed as the Mandalorian spoke.

"Our priorities have changed, General," he said, mockingly addressing the Kel Dor by his new rank. "Losing Gyndine is an acceptable loss, but that intel is worth more to the Republic than a hundred of you Jetii. You should let us handle this."

"The Master Chief is right," Commander Tamm noted, grateful at the young Mandalorian's apparent agreement on her opinion of the Jedi. "If that data disk is decrypted by the enemy, they will know exactly what our technological capabilities are: our classified projects, weapon systems, ships' specs and weaknesses. They would know everything. So I suggest you listen to them."

Odefi sighed in exasperation, as he was aware of the harsh reality that although he outranked the Mandalorians they were more familiar with missions of this gravity. The Kel Dor swallowed his pride as Hamar, who had so far tried to avoid taking a side in the discussion, contacted Admiral Zvit.

"Admiral, this is Phoenix One. Can you hear me?"

"We copy you, Colonel," Zvit replied. "What do you need?"

"We have been informed of the situation and we're on our way to retrieve the intel. If we fail there will be no other way to get that data disk back and we can't let that happen. If we don't give you the all-clear within the next hour I want you to open fire on that battleship."

"Have you gone mad? If we're still inside that ship that would kill us all," Odefi interjected as soon as he heard Hamar's idea.

"Then we'll have to be fast," Hamar shot back at the Jedi. "Do you understand, Admiral?"

"General, what are your orders?" Zvit asked after a moment.

Odefi remained quiet as everyone waited for his response, and the enveloping silence in the gunship's troop bay was as oppressing as the empty vacuum of space. But desperate times called for desperate measures, and after praying to the Force one more time, the general spoke.

"You heard the colonel. Give us one hour and we'll do what we can."

"Understood. Good luck, everyone."