January 20th, 1991
Saudi Arabia
Joint American/Republic Air Base 'Frulan'
1900 Hours
Intelligence officer Mark Straton was hunched over a table covered in maps in his makeshift command center. The map was marked with red pushpins indicating the locations of several radar and missile installations on the outskirts of Baghdad. To deal with these threats he requested a force of SpecOps soldiers, a request that was quickly granted by Coalition command. Right on cue, Sergeant Dennis Wilford and Sergeant Albert Hall, members of U.S. Army Delta force and the British Army Special Air Service respectively, entered the tent and saluted. Returning the salute, the officer ordered the men to stand at ease.
"Alright Sergeants, I'll give you the rundown. Our satellites have pinpointed the locations of the Iraqi radar and missile emplacements preventing us from properly laying down the hammer on Baghdad. You'll have to be inserted the under cover of darkness and take each installation one at a time."
Sergeant Hall scratched his chin as he looked at the map. "Expected resistance?"
"Anywhere from three to five squads per local," Straton replied, "As such, I've requested the assistance of Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi to accompany you on this mission."
Sergeant Wilford narrowed his brow in confusion. "I've only heard rumors of the Jedi sir. What is he? Some kind of sorcerer?"
"For simplicities sake, I'll just say of a sort. His abilities are not to be underestimated either way, Sergeant," Straton said, handing the men a pair of folders holding the more specific aspects of their mission. "Now go ready your men. You dust off in three hours."
Hall and Wilford stood before their men on the tarmac, waiting for Master Kenobi to arrive. Suddenly, a man in a brown cloak walked over and stood between the Sergeants, lowering his hood. Hall and Wilford saluted, the latter slightly reluctantly, and Kenobi respectfully bowed his head.
"Allow us to show you the troops, Master Kenobi", Hall said respectfully before cocking his head at his American counterpart.
"Deltas!", Wilford shouted, "What do we do!?"
"Kick ass and take names, sir!", his five men yelled back.
"Do we have any equals?"
"Sir no, sir!"
Hall addressed his men next. "Blades! Who do we fight for?"
"Queen and Country, sir!", the Brits yelled back.
"Who wins!?"
"He who dares win, sir!"
Kenobi smiled at the Terran operators' gung-ho attitude. "I am impressed. Your spirit is remarkable. I'll be honored to fight alongside you." The Americans and Brits all saluted, and the Master put them at ease. The teams loaded up on their separate helicopters, Kenobi joining Wilford and the Deltas. Once they were loaded up, the Black Hawks cranked up and lifted off from the coalition base.
To pass the time and ease his nerves, Wilford made sure his weapons were in proper working order. He checked his sidearm and then began a standard inspection of his carbine. Obi-Wan watched quizzically. He had never seen anyone expect a weapon so thoroughly. "That is very impressive." Wilford looked up at the Jedi but didn't say anything before he looked back down at his weapon. He separated the Colt 723's upper from its lower and removed the bolt carrier group, checking for any buildup that would impede proper function. After ensuring it was spotless, he reinserted the part and slammed the upper back down on the lower, pushing the pins back in and then racking the charging handle.
"My father died in a war in Vietnam… his gun jammed, and he got shot in the face by a Viet Cong guerrilla", the Sergeant said solemnly "I never got to know him well, was only three at the time, but I got the story from one of his squad mates… ever since, I've made sure to keep my weapon in perfect working order, and I make sure all my men do the same. I don't intend on sending any of them home in a flag-draped box." Obi-Wan bowed his head respectfully and placed a hand on the Sergeant's shoulder. "Your dedication is admirable, and you have my word that I will do everything in my power to keep your men safe."
Dennis looked at this man, this strange sorcerer, and gave him an appreciative nod.
After crossing the border into Iraq, the choppers stayed low to the ground to avoid radar detection. When they were approximately ten clicks out from Baghdad, the Black Hawks flew southeast to start at the first station. Once they landed, Wilford, Hall, and Kenobi hopped out alongside the other men and started making their way on foot towards the first installation. After about ten minutes, they came to a ridge overlooking said station and Wilford used his binoculars to gauge the defenses.
"Hmm… ten guards with small arms… nothing too heavy… let's do this." All the men made sure their weapons were loaded and chambered and Obi-Wan unclipped his lightsaber from his belt before they made their way down and crept up to the station, avoiding the spotlights. When they came up to the wall, Wilford peeked around and saw a guard armed with an AK-47 smoking a cigarette and mumbling something to himself. He then motioned to Hall to take his men around the building. The British Sergeant nodded, and he led the SAS unit around the other side of the complex.
"Perhaps I can help", Obi-Wan said as he stepped forward. He reached around the corner and waved his hand, and suddenly the Iraqi soldier turned and walked inside the gate. Wilford was flabbergasted. "What the hell did you just do?"
"The Force can have a strong influence on the weak-minded. He's going to find a nice place to sleep and stay out of our way", the Jedi responded with a cheeky grin. Wilford smirked and they crept along the wall until they reached the gate. "Alright, we got to get this done before they can call for backup. Hall, you in position?" he asked into his radio.
"Affirmative, standing by" the Brit responded.
"Engage on my mark. Three… two… one… mark!"
The operatives broke through the gates at each end of the installation and started laying waste to their foes. One of the unarmed Iraqi soldiers grabbed a machete and charged at Wilford but was quickly dispatched by Obi-Wan. The squad leader gave the Jedi an appreciative nod before they resumed their assault. Obi-Wan then saw another Iraqi rushing towards the radio and used the Force to grab and pull him away to prevent him from alerting the other stations. After all the Iraqis were either killed or otherwise incapacitated, Wilford and Hall requested casualty reports from their men. The Delta and SAS squads affirmed to their commanders that they had received no casualties, just one or two men being slightly shaken up.
"If we keep this up, this night just might go well" Obi-Wan said to Hall, who simply slightly smirked in reply.
Then the coalition team began to head towards the next installation.
The mission proceeded without much fuss, the coalition forces successfully disabling each station in rapid succession. By the time they were approaching their final target, the sun was starting to rise over the eastern horizon. As they hid behind a small rock formation, Sergeant Hall examined it through his binoculars. Then he gasped when he saw something surprising. Two men wearing flight suits, one of the USAF and the other of the Republic Security Forces. Both were gagged and held on their knees at gunpoint. "Damn," the Brit cursed. "Seargent Wilford, we have a problem" he continued, holding out the binoculars to the Seargent.
Wilford took them and looked where Wilford gestured, and his blood ran cold when he saw the prisoners. "Son of a bitch… this wasn´t supposed to be a rescue mission."
"Is something wrong, Sergeants?" Obi-Wan asked as he crawled up behind them. "The enemy has two of our pilots as prisoners." The Jedi quizzically scratched his chin. "Would rescuing them jeopardize the mission?" Wilford nodded. "The extra time it would take to free them would give the enemy a greater opportunity to sound the alarm."
Meanwhile, Hall´s knuckles were turning white due to how hard he was squeezing the binoculars. After biting his tongue while his British counterpart spoke with the Jedi, he finally broke his silence. "We got to get in there and get them out" he said.
"This is the last radar post, meaning we take it out, we complete the mission. Being able to rescue some of our boys is just icing on the cake."
"Yes, but if we attempt to get them out, we risk getting all of us killed when they call for reinforcements" Wilford argued.
Hall simply looked at him. "Never leave a man behind, that's our creed."
Wildford sighed. "Fine," he said. "We'll do it your way."
Obi-Wan admired Hall's sense of loyalty. "Very well then, Sergeant Hall," he said giving an affirmative nod. "What are our options?"
A short time later, inside the Iraqi missile installation, an interrogator was beating the American pilot back and forth across the face. "What your target?! What you planning?! Where next American strike?!", he shouted in broken English as he bloodied the pilot's nose and gave him a swollen black eye. After the beating stopped, the American spat a broken tooth and a mouthful of blood onto the ground and sneered at the Iraqi.
"Fuck… you." He spat more blood directly onto the Iraqi's uniform. "American pig!" the angry man exclaimed before backhanding the pilot to the ground. He pulled out his Tokarev pistol and was about to execute the prisoner when an explosion went off at the front gate.
The coalition strike team poured in through the smoke and opened fire on the Iraqis Obi-Wan charging in alongside them with his lightsaber drawn. The general ran for cover as the men guarding the prisoners were shot and killed. Just as Hall had predicted, they were unable to prevent the enemy from sounding the alarm. Reinforcements would no doubt be on their way in short order, but their main priority was rescuing the prisoners. Obi-Wan severed the restraints of the prisoners and pulled them into cover while the rest of the team ensured the compound was all clear. Once the gunfire died down, Wilford requested a sitrep, and all the Deltas and SAS operatives called out in the affirmative, informing their COs that they had sustained no casualties. "Looks like we're all clear" the American Sergeant said as Obi-Wan set the pilots down to rest.
"Sergeant Wilford, US Army Delta Force," he introduced himself as he gave the men a drink from his canteen. "Looks like you boys got it pretty bad." The Republic pilot quenched his unbearable thirst and shakily nodded.
"They… they're savages" he gasped. Dennis patted the man's back and stood up, when out of the corner of his eye he saw the fat Iraqi general peeking out from behind his cover, aiming his pistol at Obi-Wan's back. The Jedi was getting an after-battle report from Hall and wasn't paying attention.
The force screamed him a warning, yet before he could pull out his lightsaber, he felt someone slam into him, and a gunshot echoing off the installation's concrete walls. Hall saw Dennis fall to the ground and immediately swung his L9A1 around and emptied the magazine into the Iraqi, the fat pig's body collapsing into the sand riddled with bullet holes. The medics immediately rushed to Dennis' aid, trying desperately to tend to his wound.
Obi-Wan knelt beside the American, a concerned look on his face. "How is he?" he asked.
"He took it in the upper leg. He isn't walking on that anytime soon" the medic said. "Of all the damn times to get hit" Wilford said angrily. "You didn't have to do that for me" Obi-Wan told him. "Yeah, keep telling yourself tha-Araghh!" he said, grunting in pain when the medic began putting his leg in a splint. "Get him to the back, and out of potential lines of fire" Hall ordered. The two soldiers quickly did as they were ordered.
"Alright group up, the enemy probably has reinforcements enroute already," the British sergeant continued. "We have to get out of here fast." Obi-Wan froze for a moment as he got a bad feeling. "I'm afraid we're too late." Hall ran up the staircase of the installation's lookout tower and used his binoculars, grimacing when he saw a convoy of enemy vehicles approaching.
"Damn… we may be in over our heads," he cursed. "Can we use their radio to contact HQ?"
"It took some knocks, but I can make it work. Just give me a minute" a Delta said. "You have thirty seconds, get that thing running!" Hall ordered.
The Iraqi vehicles rolled up to the installation and their occupiers filed out, a column of soldiers charging the gate. The coalition operators took cover and opened fire on the attackers, felling several of them in a hail of bullets. Obi-Wan blocked several of the rounds sent his way, his lightsaber utterly disintegrating them, but quickly took cover alongside Hall.
"RPG team front, by the truck! 100 meters!" an SAS operator yelled out. Hall looked and saw two Iraqis readying said rocket launcher. Obi-Wan then decided to chime in with an idea.
"Throw a grenade, Sergeant! I'll handle the rest!" The Brit nodded, removing a grenade from his vest, pulling the pin, and lobbing it as hard as he could. The Jedi then used the Force to make the grenade sail perfectly to its target, the Iraqis shouting in fear just before their bodies were incinerated by the explosion of the grenade, the vehicle, their own ordnance all at once. The American and British operators cheered at the sight of the explosion, but their celebration was cut short as they saw yet more enemy vehicles headed their way.
"We're running low on ammo, Sergeant!", one of the SAS men shouted over the continuous gunfire.
"This may be our Alamo" another trooper said. Hall smacked the pessimistic man's chest. "Then we fight until the last round like they did! We're taking as many of them with us as we can!" he told him. Hall continued to fire until his rifle ran dry and then began taking potshots with his pistol. As the Iraqis reached the gate and Hall fired the last round in his magazine, the lead vehicle of the convoy went up in flames, followed shortly by several others. Unbeknown to the strike team, a flight of F-117s were up above, taking full advantage of the radar-less corridor they had created earlier in the night, which they used in addition to their own stealth coating, to begin to strike Iraqi positions in Baghdad as well as assist the SpecOps team.
The coalition strike team cheered triumphantly as the cavalry finally came. A pair of Black Hawks arrived shortly afterward, which landed inside the installation to extract the team. After loading up the wounded, which now included four others alongside Wilford, the choppers lifted off, dodging the poorly aimed groundfire from what little Iraqis remained.
"Hey Saddam! Enjoy the firework display!" Wilford said whilst nodding to another Delta, who then pulled out a detonator and pushed the button. The facility was then rocked by a trio of explosions, killing any Iraqi that had been sent inside.
"What was that!?" Obi-Wan asked him. "A trio of C4 charges, had Brian here set them up in case we couldn't hold them off" Wilford replied. The trooper in question simply shrugged. "I like blowing things up" he said honestly. Obi-Wan simply chuckled in response.
After a nearly two-hour flight they finally landed back at the FOB. The wounded were immediately rushed to a medical station near the airstrip. "Kenobi!" Wilford called as he was about to be taken away.
Obi-Wan walked over to him as he was placed on a stretcher. "Thank you for your help today, I don't think I or any of my men would have gotten off nearly as well as we did without you there" Wilford told him. "And without you, I might not be here either. I have no words for my appreciation for you saving my life" Obi-Wan sincerely replied.
"Yeah well, I'm sure you would've done the same, if you didn't have your little laser sword that is" Wilford said jokingly. "May the Force be with you Seargent" Obi-Wan said.
Wilford was silent for a moment. "May it be with you as well" he finally replied. Then the medics took him away.
"Master Kenobi" a voice called. Obi-Wan turned to see Hall standing there.
"General Neni is waiting for our debrief" Hall said.
"Let us not keep the good general waiting then" Kenobi replied.
Hello all! My apologies for such a long wait between this chapter and the previous one. College has sadly kept me extremely busy. I would also like to thank my friend LongLiveTheEmperor for helping with this chapter. Now I will end this chapter by noting that there is going to be a maximum of three to four more chapters in this story. After that, we shall move on to the actual main series, to which this served as a prologue showing how the technology of this world will interact with that of Star Wars. It is not perfect, but given that Star Wars is science fantasy, nothing was ever going to be when having to deal with real-world science and physics.
Any way onto the reviews!
George Cristian810: Earth won't be just getting rid of its weaponry the moment blaster tech gets introduced don't worry. That would completely disrupt logistics on every level. Though we will probably see some introduction of blaster in certain sectors at least during the post-Clone Wars environment. In terms of the Republic helping in such a relatively minor conflict comparatively speaking, it's more nipping the bud before it gets out of hand, for the same reasons the Gulf War Coalition was made in the first place. So that global oil supplies aren't threatened. The Republic doesn't want anything interfering with their acquisition of possibly limitless resources the Unknown Regions might have.
Many Faced Mage: Thank you! Earth's unity will be varied. United when dealing with external threats and challenges, but still very divided when it comes to Earth based ones.
DS2010: Yeah, hence why I decided to give him a dedicated chapter to show off his skills.
Peter HK: Whilst history would teach us to be suspicious, the information available to us won't be just available to Earth the moment the Clone Wars start. It will become more obvious later in the war, but I won't spoil that just yet. I have also read those stories; they are interesting but not perfect. Then again, nothing is I suppose.
thatguyzeech: Yep, those are some of the reasons why the Republic has interfered in the Gulf War, and why we'll see more of Earth during the Clone Wars.
Ke-Pa: Right now!
Guest: Yes.
That's all for now folks. See you in the next chapter!