Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed or Star Wars. They belong to their respective copyright owners. This story is not created with commercial aim. I make no money from it.

Phase 5: The Naboo Affair

=RK=

Part 4

Staging point Anvil

Naboo

Maximilian Veers' hand went to his breast where three ribbon's gleamed in the morning sun. He could still scarcely believe their presence. They designated him as a brand new captain, a promotion that came with a new job. Veers' was the unlucky sod chosen as the new commander of the Damned 29th. Technically that was GAR's 29th independent Regiment. In practice, Veers had to unkriff an unholy mess that was a composite understrength battalion made of the survivors from its parent formation.

Ever since the invasion of Naboo began, the 29th had been impossibly, unlikely unlucky. They got mauled again and again, with officers finding themselves on the wrong end of blaster shot, artillery and air strikes and two companies even got afoul of an orbital strike that wiped them out without leaving a trace.

The most senior officer left in the 29th was a young lieutenant with even less experience than Veers had. With casualties across the planet mounting, there simply weren't enough officers to go around. Apparently someone put a good word or two in Maximilian's file which was a mixed blessing – he got promoted all right. It looked like it was going to be short lived, however.

Veers' had been in command for mere three hours – not enough time to even get to know his subordinates, much less begin fixing the mess that the 29th turned out to be after suffering crippling casualties and their luck struck again. Staging area Anvil was supposed to be secure. That's why the 29th was pulled back into it so they could recuperate and rebuild.

Someone forgot to tell that to the Separatists. The space battle that has been going on and off for a whole month now was heating, orbital strikes lanced down gutting both Republic and Confederate units and the airspace was chocked with duelling fighters while bombers attempted to slip under the massive fur-ball above Theed.

As far as Maximilian could tell, that was par for the course on Naboo. Ever since the clankers landed there had been fighting all over the place with the most vicious being in the vicinity of the capital. As his luck would have it, that's where he ended after leaving Geonosis and getting couple of weeks of R&R. Veers did earn his new rank, though there were times he wished it wasn't so. The price was the virtual destruction and disbandment of the armour battalion he landed with. The five crews that survived the fighting were broken and sent to different formations. He was permitted to keep only his driver along with their light hover-tank and that might have been a blessing. There were only three such machines still operational in the 29th with the rest of their forces being walkers and few locally built APCs.

"Hound Actual, Overlord Actual. Be advised, multiple CIS ships are entering the atmosphere and heading towards Theed. We believe they intend to use their mass and shielding to attempt bypassing the capital's defences and land troops within the city. The 29th is to pull back into Theed and link up with First Guards Division..."

Maximilian blanched. This was Ryloth all over again. Whoever was running the clankers apparently saw what Veil did over there and decided it was time to try it on the Republic. A crash landing capital ship, even a frigate if it hit the ground mostly intact could cleave through most of the defensive lines around the capital. If one of those Seppie big battle wagons made it down in one piece it could disgorge a whole army before a proper response could be mounted. What the kriff was the fleet doing?! Bloody fly-boys...

"Overlord Actual, Hound Actual, roger that. Hound Elements will proceed to Theed ASAP. Hound Actual, over. All Hound Elements, Hound Actual – we've got a new job..." Maximilian sighed. With he 29th's luck it would be miracle if he saw the next sunrise.

=RK=

Solleu river

below Theed

Naboo

"Ouch time again." General Roos Tarpals groaned. He shook his head, yet stars continued to dance in front of his eyes.

A Lerraa trilled in pain, then the cannons mounted on its back roared and a moment later something exploded downrange. Rapid fire Raaptur emplacements thundered and the echo of their fury crashed upon Roos. He groaned and spluttered when dirty water splashed over his face. It tasted vile – of blood, metal and chemicals he didn't want to think about.

"General!" A Militiagung grabbed his forearm and pulled up Tarpals to his unsteady feet. The warrior splashed something into his eyes and suddenly Roos could see even if the liquid felt like it tried to burn its way into his skull.

"Report!" Tarpals wheezed. He frantically looked around. The defensive line dug in around the riverbed below Theed was in tatters.

Separatist tanks were advancing hovering just above the water with speeder mounted droids acting as screens. Republic walkers and infantry poured fire across the river and Lerraas were getting into position to flank the offending enemy machines. Good. Someone kept their head in all this chaos.

The Militiagung shook him and pointed at something behind. Roos turned and his eyes widened impossibly.

"Big ouch." The general muttered in sick fascination. So that's what knocked him out.

There was a huge ship – bigger than anything he had seen with his own eyes sitting just couple of kilometres from their position. An enormous trench, wider and probably deeper than Solleu river was dug into the plan and through the concentric lines of Republic and Gungan defences. Tarpals didn't even want to think how many good people were crushed to paste by that thing.

From where he stood, Roos could see small figures crawling above the ship and heading straight into Theed – the upper level of the behemoth was just tall enough for them to jump down on the plateau where the Naboo city was built.

That wasn't all as a nearby explosion and a keening scream from a mortally wounded Lerraa reminded him. The allied defences were broken and the machines were pouring through everything they had into the breach. That ship was bad enough. Tarpals couldn't allow the enemy to gain another avenue of approach if he could hep it.

"Rally to me!" The general roared into his comm. "Hold the riverbed!"

A troop of Militiagungs appeared from the tree-line and slammed their shields into the soft soil to brace them better. Then they mounted their blaster carbines – courtesy of the Republic to special attachments hooked into the shields and opened fire from behind their cover. The bulky silhouettes of GAR heavy troopers moved on the other bank and large laser bolts and missiles raced across the water to strike the approaching Separatist tanks. Vultures screamed through the air in a diving bombing run. They braved the Raaptur fire and the thin forest belt across the river became a screaming inferno. A damaged Vulture caught fire and spun out of control only to crash through an unfortunate clone squad before jamming itself under an advancing walker. The following explosion tore apart both machines.

A friendly bomber turned a pair of tanks into burning wrecks that soon disappeared into the river then it was shredded by a hidden AA emplacement before it could nail a third.

Tarpals was screaming orders hoping to motivate his Gungans and be heard. The line had to hold!

"GO! Take that rocket launcher!" He pushed one of his warriors towards the charred remains of a Republic squad while shooting at the droid speeders flying above the river.

The water itself was on fire now and more air strikes from both sides lit up Solleu's banks. The ground shook and the general was back on the muddy ground. His head spun and his vision was blurry. Yet he still could see the grounded enemy ship. There were all manners of weapons mounted upon it and they were spinning, aiming...

"The biggest ouch..." Tarpals hissed. He glared at the doughnut shaped craft and pointed his blaster at it – somehow the weapon remained in his clutches as he was knocked off his feet for second time. Roos knew it was useless, but didn't care. He spat his defiance and pressed the trigger again and again.

The ship exploded into fire and Tarpals knew he and his men were dead. It was firing and there was no way to hide from such weapons.

Roos frowned. He was still alive. This couldn't be the afterlife, right?

The general blinked at the Separatist ship. It was on fire. Streaks of light were hammering it from the air. He looked up and saw a swarm of Republic fighters descending from the heavens. They were dying by the dozens as the grounded ship brought every gun it could to bear upon them.

Artillery – both Gungan and Republic – arched through he skies and slammed into the huge eyesore. Bombad tanks crawled to the edge of the plateau and blinding lances of light speared into the beast's hide.

Roos laughed suddenly overcome by battle lust. Even such a ship couldn't kill him! The line would hold!

"To me! Fight!" Tarpals screamed as loud as he could.

Cannons thundered and the thin line of Militiagungs nearby were torn into bloody chunks as more Separatist tanks came through he burning river. A missile slammed just below the turret of the closest one, its warhead sliced through the armour as if it wasn't there and the tank simply blew up. Its friends wasted no time and turned the Gungan that killed their buddy into vapour.

Roos looked wildly around. He had to stop those things! His eyes paused on a lone Lerraa with its crew turned into steaming piles of offal and he sprinted towards the living weapon emplacements while the tanks were busy murdering a squad of Republic troopers.

Tarpals got to the animal and guided it until the cannons were aimed at the tanks. He was going to have time for just a single salvo so he carefully took aim heedless of the danger. The nearer tank shot at him and somehow missed with the shell passing between Roos and the animal scorching his face and arms.

The general didn't miss. The four cannons mounted upon the Lerraa's back barked as one and the tank staggered as a quarter of tiny holes appeared in its side. Then it blew up.

The last thing Tarpals saw was the flash of that explosion. There was light and he was flying through the air. His whole world was burning and he tried to scream through the impossible heat burning through his skin. Roos hit something and then there was only blessed darkness.

=RK=

Hammer Actual

Solleu river

below Theed

Naboo

Maximilian knew that the 29th's luck wouldn't be striking again. His first command as a captain was gone and barring a miracle he would follow them soon. That battleship landed in the middle of his battalion and the mere after-effects of its crash was enough to wipe almost everyone in the 29th. Only a pair of hover-tanks and a single walker survived and then the curse struck again – a shot down Vulture of all things took out the walker, then Veers was left with just a pair of light tank to somehow stem a tide of determined Separatist tanks coming over the river.

So much for getting to Theed...

"Go right!" Maximilian shouted to his driver while cranking the turret to the left so he could engage the incoming tanks.

A shell exploded against their shield, then another leaving them vulnerable to a follow up shot. Maximilian's return fire gutted the leading Confederate tank, then their hides were saved by a crunchie of all things – a missile slammed into the back of the enemy machine.

Veers knew he wouldn't be able to thank whoever saved them because mere seconds later the position that missile came from was turned into a dead zone by an air strike. The pair of Vultures responsible for it came screaming low above the water and Maximilian's last remaining tank was torn apart by their laser cannons. He knew his turn was next when salvation came into the form of a Naboo Starfighter that blew a Vulture out of the sky with a missile then blasted the other with its cannons. The fighter made a barrel roll before getting shredded by enemy AA fire coming from behind a nearby crop of trees.

"Overlord Actual, Hammer Actual!" Veers tried to contact command again but ever since that battleship landed every channel was jammed. The captain cursed. He couldn't call help and the enemy was pushing even more tanks over the river. His thumb was numb from holding the trigger button down, the ammo was actually running low, yet there was no end to the enemy, nor a sight of any reinforcements.

"Get us behind those trees to the left!" Maximilian snapped. He couldn't meet the coming tanks head-on – oh, he and his driver were already dead just as the rest of the 29th but if he played his cards right, Veers could drag a few more of the clankes to their tin version of the Corellian hells. Besides with a bit of luck he might get to avenge the pilot that bought them couple of minutes to live.

The hover-tank shook as a shell struck its shields. Veers turned the turret to the right and slammed three shots at the offending enemy tank. The Confederate machine managed to send another shell at them, it hit too but the shield managed to tank it before popping. The Separatist machine wasn't so lucky and Maximilian scored another kill. As their tank disappeared within the trees he wondered how many times he became an ace today. Not that it mattered – he was bound to die forgotten in this forsaken valley.