Chapter 8 – Nova Regis
Hey everyone! I'm back with a brand-new chapter!
In other news, this story may be nearing the end – but of course, it will be a while before I can update up to that point. You know, I really want this story to have a happy ending – honest.
Also, guess what? My OC finally makes an appearance! I won't say anything much about him, but I did make him up specifically for this scene. He does turn up a few times later, but that's all I can say!
… Huh, how coincidental is it that my OC turns up in the eighth chapter, and eight just happens to be my favourite chapter…? I didn't plan that – honest.
An explosion rocked the ground as a blast from a Separatist tank hit the base of one of Felucia's giant fungus trees instead of the advancing ranks of clone troopers. They ducked as pieces of the tree flew overhead, their attention on the retreating droids ahead of them. The clones fired bolts of blue-tinged energy from their blasters, cutting down Battle droids left, right and center. But for every droid they shot down, there were another two more cut down by the expert handling of their Jedi General – Jedi Knight Nova Regis.
He was a human from the planet of Panthea, and as such, wore a gauntlet over his right arm that extended into an armguard – one with intricate designs in the gold metal. It was customary amongst his people to wear more pieces of often-elaborate armour, but being a Jedi, he had settled with the single gauntlet. He stood at well below the height of a clone and was tan-skinned like them. His dark reddish-brown hair was braided tightly and reached his shoulders, with small bronze-coloured loops tied at the ends. Some of the braids were tied back off his face, with two falling on either side of his face. He wore the customary light-coloured Jedi robes, the only difference being that the left sleeve bore the insignia of the 715th Clone Battalion – the very same one he now led – the swooping form of the Anthon Hawk that was native to his homeworld.
The lightsaber he wielded had a green blade, its slightly curving hilt inlaid with a green tinted metal that was reminiscent of the swords soldiers from his homeworld had once wielded.
Commander Kray – CC 4485 – led the 715th under the General while a separate division was led by Captain Diaz- CT 7912. The Commander was an easy figure to spot, on account of the two maroon-painted pauldrons on his shoulders. On his helmet was painted a stylized talon that cut down across the left side of his visor. Maroon and grey kama hung from his belt down to his knees. His shin guards, boots and armguards were maroon with lines running down the remaining pieces of his armour.
Captain Diaz, too, made a striking figure on the battlefield. The entire silhouette of the swooping hawk adorned his helmet, the bird's talons stretching to the bottom of the helmet. His knee and shoulder pads were painted maroon, as was the one pauldron he wore with the outline of a feather picked out in white. The ends of his kama were maroon, and his boots white.
Even as they fought, they heard the noise of an engine over the din of battle. Crouching low, Captain Diaz looked around and quickly spotted the incoming droid landing craft.
"Looks like the clankers are gettin' reinforcements!" He yelled.
Kray saw it too, as it approached the ground. He turned back to face his men.
"Prep a rocket launcher now! The only landing I want that thing to have is a crash landing!"
"Yes, Sir!"
Two troopers sprang into action; one unslung a pack he was carrying while the second hefted up a rocket launcher, resting the back end on the ground. The first unpacked a rocket which was quickly loaded into the launcher. The second trooper lifted the rocket launcher onto his shoulder and braced himself.
"You're clear – FIRE!" Yelled the first.
The trigger was pulled and the rocket blasted out of the tube, soaring towards the Separatist landing craft. The rocket struck between the two wings on the left side of the ship and exploded. Some members of the 715th cheered as the craft began a more uncontrolled descent, smoke and debris trailing behind it. But the craft was heading straight for the droid forces and under his helmet, Commander Kray's eyes widened. The General was right there! Ducking below a blast, he activated his commlink.
"Sir – you have to get out of there!"
But Kray shouldn't have worried – General Regis had already seen the incoming craft and turned around, leaping into the air. Behind him, the landing craft crashed into the droids they had been pursuing, crushing them under its bulk. As for the Jedi Knight Regis, he landed safely on his feet beside Kray.
"That was cutting it a little close, Commander, even for me," he said in accented Basic.
"I did give you a heads-up, Sir," Kray pointed out.
"Just before the crash!" Regis objected.
"Better late than never," Kray countered.
"I don't know how my Master ever managed with you," Regis said with a weary shake of his head.
"He managed somehow," the Commander responded, a smile in his voice.
The previous General of the 715th – and Nova Regis' teacher – had been Umbria Shrike. He had died earlier on in the war when his fighter had been opened up by Buzz droids in outer space. A grisly way to go, but this was war. Not everyone pulled through at the end of the day.
"Well," Regis said, looking towards the flaming wreckage of the landing craft. "I think that concludes our battle."
"I'll contact the Cruisers," Kray added. "Better tell them the good news – and that we'll be needing a pick-up."
"We certainly will, Commander," Regis said with a smile.
Commander Kray nodded and strode off to contact the Cruisers still in orbit. Regis knew that their forces up there were most likely still engaged in combat. It was likely that he and the rest of the 715th would have to wait awhile before they could return to Coruscant. Turning, he found that already some of his men were picking through what was left of the droids and making sure none were still operational. But just then, Regis frowned, sensing something; something that was approaching them. And whatever it was, it was hardly alive.
"Everyone stay alert!" He called out, unclipping his lightsaber from his belt once more, "We may have more company soon!"
Immediately, the clones snapped to, on guard as they took up positions and surveyed their surroundings. Another landing craft appeared through the smoke rising from the first. It swooped overhead, coming down to land behind them, turning so it faced them.
"Defensive positions!" Captain Diaz ordered.
At once, the clones took up their positions, some partly hidden behind fungus trees, others standing their ground in the open, their DC-15S blasters aimed and ready. Commander Kray stood ready to Regis' left. A little further back were the two clones who had successfully downed the first landing craft – Steg and Allos. Steg had already unpacked a second rocket and handed it to Allos who began loading it into his rocket launcher. From a little way ahead of them, Captain Diaz turned around.
"Make sure you two have enough rockets to take down at least one tank, got that?" He said.
"Sir, yes sir!" They both replied.
Finally the loading doors of the landing craft began to open, a ramp slid down to the ground so that the Separatist forces within could disembark. The Battle droids marched out first, Kray signaling his men to open fire, and so the battle commenced. Even as it did, Allos was already hefting up the rocket launcher back onto his shoulder, just as Steg spotted the incoming B2 Super Battle droids.
"Steg, how many rockets've you got left?" Allos called back to his companion.
"I got… four! Four left!" Steg exclaimed after a cursory inspection of his pack's contents. "It should be enough for two tanks at the most!"
"Alright, that's good news!" Allos grinned under his helmet.
Saying so, he took aim at the centre-most ranks of Super Battle droids and pulled the trigger. The rocket shot out, whistling past the heads of the clone troopers, over the Battle droids and exploded in the midst of the Super Battle droids.
"Nice shot!" Steg commended.
"Ain't it always?!" Laughed Allos in response.
The explosion had wiped out a good number of the Super Battle droids and even put a dent in the amount of regular B1 droids approaching. As they set about reloading the rocket launcher, the clones ahead of them continued to fire upon the droids. A few blasts went wild, but most struck a droid. However, their own side wasn't without losses, too, especially when the three tanks finally appeared. The turret of the middle tank swivelled and fired upon the front ranks of the clones.
"INCOMING!" Someone yelled.
A few clones managed to dive out of the way, but several were caught in the explosion. There were cries of pain from the wounded, other clones moving to cover them while their injured brothers were hauled aside for the medics. The tank to the left opened fire as well, but Regis thrust out his hand, his face creasing with concentration as he used the Force to deflect the bolt of energy harmlessly into the trees. He then darted forwards into the ranks of Battle droids, cutting them down instead of just deflecting blasts at them from a distance. And as he carved through the droids' ranks, they were forced to turn inwards if they hoped to shoot him. That left fewer droids firing on the 715th.
"Take out those clankers!" Commander Kray roared. "Diaz, you and your boys are clear – make the dive!"
"Yes, Sir!"
A group of fifteen clones – plus Captain Diaz – had scaled some of the fungus trees to the droids' right when the battle had commenced. While the fight had raged below them, these sixteen clones had remained hidden at the tops of the trees, awaiting the all-clear. Captain Diaz had already outlined their plan of action and their main targets were the tanks. And then came the signal from the Commander, and Diaz's men leapt into action.
They stood up – no easy feat when they were over thirty feet in the air, on top of now-swaying fungus trees – and took aim at the trees on the other side of the battling forces. On the underside of their DC-15 blaster rifles were attached ascension cables. They pulled the triggers near simultaneously, and over forty feet of cable flew out, the end clamping onto the opposing trees. Each clone gave their cables quick, experimental tugs to make sure the ends were secure. Once they were done, they unhooked the canisters containing the ascension cables from their blasters, and secured the back end of the cables to the trees they were standing on. From their belts, they pulled another length of cable, this one with a magnetic grip that attached to the ascension cables.
Diaz looked to his men, all of them giving him a thumbs-up, signaling that they were all good to go. In response, he gave them a single nod.
That was all the confirmation they needed.
Without a moment's hesitation, they leapt off the trees. The sixteen clones – troopers and Captain – swung over the droids, blasters held up and ready. As soon as they reached a certain point, they aimed their blasters downwards and opened fire on the advancing droids. Diaz and four of his men disengaged the back end of their ascension cables, swinging so low over the droids that they ended up running over some of their heads to keep up their momentum.
A third rocket whooshed past them, exploding against the tank to their right, which had been about to open fire. The explosion rocked it, but only the turret was disabled and the lower cannons continued to fire on the clones. Diaz and his men touched down – him and one clone on the middle tank, the other three on the left tank. Tome – the clone with Diaz – slid down to the tank's lower hatch and pried it open. The droid inside looked up at him.
"Hey, who are you?" It asked him accusingly.
"Don' matter," Tome replied, tossing in grenade before slamming the hatch shut.
He leapt off, closely followed by Diaz who had done the same with the top hatch. The explosions that ripped through the tank propelled them forwards, back over the droids. The three clones on the other tank – Spade, Web and Pier – had just left, too, with Web only pausing to drop a grenade down the barrel of turret. It didn't take long for that tank to go up in flames like its counterparts. What was left of the remaining tank was quickly dispatched by another rocket exploding into its lower half.
There was a groan of crumpling metal and the remains of the tank thudded heavily to the ground. But even as Diaz inwardly cheered the tanks' destruction as he swung out of the way, he saw something that was going to be an even bigger problem than those turrets – it was General Grievous. The Head Clanker himself had just arrived on the battlefield.
Dread coiling in the pit of his stomach, Diaz activated his commlink before holding it to the bottom of his helmet, trying first to get in touch with Commander Kray. Taking cover behind a tree, he began to speak.
"Commander! We've got a problem – the Head Clanker's here and the General's headed for straight for him!" Diaz informed Kray, struggling to keep the nerves out of his voice.
"What?!" Came Kray's exclamation of disbelief. "Grievous himself? Clone Intelligence reported he wasn't even in this system!"
"Well he's here now," Diaz said grimly.
"The General won't turn back." Kray stated flatly. "The only way we can help is by scrapping as many droids as we possibly can."
"Understood, Sir."
"And Diaz?"
"Sir?" The Captain paused.
"Tell your boys to be careful out there," Kray said, a weary smile to his voice.
"Will do, Sir," Diaz nodded even though his Commander wouldn't be able to see it.
The Captain closed his eyes and exhaled, focusing. When he got back out there, his men were relying on him to have a level head, to be able to command them properly. It wouldn't do anyone any good if he was distracted by worrying about the General. He was a Jedi. He could handle himself. Opening his eyes after a moment, he hefted a blaster in his hand and inhaled.
Then he was swinging back into the battle, ready to give the droids everything he had.
Well, that's it for this chapter. Thanks for reading!
Ooh, and so Grievous finally arrives on the scene! What will become of the clones and Jedi? The next chapter is one of the most important in the story, I won't lie. I'm not going to leave any spoilers here, so if you want to know what happens, be sure to leave a follow! And if you want to, leave a review – it's fun to hear from you, my readers!
So what are your thoughts of this particular Clone Battalion and their General? Honestly, it was fun writing them – as I said earlier, Nova Regis is an original character. You know, now that I'm re-reading his appearances in the story and how he interacts with people, I just realised he's strangely like me…
More (clone!) action in the next chapter!
A pivotal point is being reached!
Until then, everyone, stay safe!