The second battle to take Fort Anaxes was going very well until it wasn't.
Rex's four-pronged attack strategy worked exactly as he'd planned. He led the main force heading straight toward the fort. This attack vector was the riskiest group and would face the most flak, so it made sense he would be the one to lead this group. Vaughn was holding back enemy forces to the west, Fives and Echo had taken several squads due south, and Jesse was focused on the southeast. They were doing everything they could to confuse the droid forces.
Lucky for them, tactical droids seemed to be in short supply these days. There was no evidence the droid forces had anything more intelligent than a senior B-1 droid leading them. With Trench still embroiled in the air battle, taking the fort just might actually go to plan.
"We're one click out, Captain," reported Venture, from the lead tank. Rex was riding atop the tank, binoculars in hand, looking for more signs of enemy forces. So far, they'd run into two pockets of droids, but had little issues dispatching them. It was almost too easy.
It was only his sixth sense that allowed him to duck before a blaster bolt took his head off.
"Take cover!" he shouted, sliding off the tank and rolling behind a nearby outcropping. Not every clone could leap off the top of an All Terrain Tactical Enforcer and land without turning an ankle, but Rex never seemed to have an issue with landing from tall heights. Several of his men joined him at the outcropping, taking turns to pop up and exchange potshots with the enemy.
"It's no good, Captain. We're pinned down," Greatness reported, hissing as a blaster bolt caught him in the arm.
"They're behind us!" Dogma shouted the alarm as commando droids emerged from the treeline.
Rex pivoted, focusing intently on hitting the precise joint in the neck that could take the elite warriors down in one shot. The fact they were seeing commando droids in larger numbers now was a testament to how close they were getting to the fort. A near miss to the back of his head reminded him he still had swarms of droids behind him.
They were outnumbered and needed more troopers.
"Vaughn, what's your-"
"Can't talk, Rex. Got spider droids all over us at the moment."
Shab!
"This is Jesse. We're just mopping up in the east. We'll reinforce you from the back, Vaughn.
"Much appreciated, Jesse."
"Fives, what's your status?" Rex spun to take out more droids behind him, and then turned back to the commando droids.
"It's quiet back here. Droids have stopped following us."
More droids were emerging from the treeline. Rex emitted a string of colorful language as he focused on firing in both directions at once. He was breathless from pivoting and firing so much, but still managed to vent his frustrations.
"Sounds like they're all on you, Rex," Fives calmly observed through the command channel. "Permission to assist."
"Granted. Get your shiny shebs over here." Rex couldn't keep the tension from his voice as another trooper went down next to him.
"Shining. Shebbing. And, coming."
Rex shot a sharp glance sideways as another trooper went down with an all-too-familiar cry of pain.
Rex couldn't keep the tension from his voice as Greatness caught a bolt in the head and slumped silently slowly toward the ground. He'd only just transferred into the 501st from Bly's unit, wanting to be with his batchmates. Rex and Bly had personally gotten involved in the transfer.
Nu kyr'adyc, shi taab'echaaj'la, Greatness.
Another trooper went down next to him. Rex didn't have time to glance over to see who it was, but he took the time anyway. His men would never be just statistics to him and they all deserved acknowledgment and remembrance.
Discovery had taken twin blaster bolts to the chest, shattering his chest plate, and embedding the remnants deep within. Super Battle Droids notoriously aimed directly at the gut, their hits rarely survivable.
He'd been the most curious shiny Rex had ever met. He'd started out as a Marine, but Bacara transferred him over with a note on his flimsi file: 'Good luck with this one.' He'd matured into a fine trooper and Rex had been hoping to make him a squad leader.
Nu kyr'adyc, Discovery.
Rex's comm crackled back to life. "More bad news, Rex," Fives' voice was calm and steady, "additional droid forces just moved in our position. But, we haven't been idle over here. I'm going to send help."
"What does that mean?"
"I have to go, Rex. Trust me. Fives out."
Trust him. The thing was Rex did trust him. He had absolute confidence in his men. They were the best of the best. Granted, the new shinies were... he still had no idea what to make of the Spaartis, but his seasoned 501st troopers were the finest soldiers in the GAR.
They only had half their original number of Spaarti left and, although they were classified as infantry, Rex wouldn't have brought them on this campaign if given a choice.
He hadn't been given a choice.
He'd deployed them in the first battle and it had been a disaster. He was trying a new strategy now. He glanced up at the AT-TE where most of the Spaartis were sequestered safely inside. He'd assigned them to 'shadow' roles, learning tank operations. If any of them showed an aptitude for it, perhaps they could become a part of a tank crew one day. But one thing was sure - he wasn't sending them into the fray. They'd been eager to learn the duties, and the tank crews had been willing to take them on even though it meant a tight fit in there. None of them wanted a repeat of the blood bath of the first battle.
Not all of the Spaartis were up there, though.
Feeeeeeek and his squad were the only exceptions. He'd allowed them to deploy as regular ground troops. The newly promoted sergeant assured him his squad could handle it. Rex hoped Feeeeek was right. Ten troopers should still be in their vating tanks.
He glanced over to where he'd last seen the Spaarti Squad. A steady stream of blaster bolts came from behind an outcropping. Not all of their shots were hitting their mark, but they took out some droids. And, they were still alive.
They'd taken heavy losses in the first battle, both Spaartis and regular troopers. But, Feeeeeek's squad was still alive. Maybe there was some small glimmer of hope for these too-young-infantry troopers he'd been sent.
"Captain! On your six!" Rex spun around at the shouted warning from Hardcase. He only saw the shadowy outline, but it was enough for him to identify the danger. He spun around and took out the commando droid with a clean shot to the head. The electrostaff aimed for the center of Rex's spine lightly clattered off his backplate, leaving him with just a minor tingle. There was no time to thank Hardcase for the warning. Three more commando droids leapt from the trees to take the place of the fallen one.
Rex despised commando droids. Their blank, unblinking eyes, their eerily natural movements, and their cat-like pounces reminded him of giant metallic loth cats. He didn't recall eliminating the three commando droids that had approached him, but their smoking remnants were evidence of his actions.
Dogma's cried out in alarm as another droid pounced from the trees pinned him to the ground, and prepared to stab a vibroblade through his eye. Rex took careful aim, but his blasters issued an overheating alert. His tibanna cartridges were dangerously hot. If he didn't stop firing, his blasters would explode in his hands. He'd seen it in sims during ARC trooper training. Alpha made it clear this was something you wanted to avoid if you valued your hands.
Rex holstered his blasters, feeling the heat of them burning into his hips even through the armor and synth-leather holsters. Rex launched himself at the commando droid, knocking him off Dogma. They rolled on the ground, wrestling for control of the vibroblade. Rex prepared to headbutt the droid, fully aware of the concussion risk. He was spared the monster headache and an equally horrible lecture from Kix by Dogma's quick actions.
"Captain, lean back!"
Without questioning, Rex arched his body away from the droid as far as possible. The droid's head exploded in a shower of metallic shards. As Rex extracted himself from the droid's grasp, he winced, pulling a shard from the gap between his armpit and chest plate.
"Thanks, Dogma."
Dogma nodded. "Thanks for saving me, Captain." His gaze fell on the shard in Rex's grasp and the blood seeping down Rex's dirtied armor. "Sorry about that."
"Worth it to see that droid's head explode." Rex tossed the bloodied shard aside. "We've got company. Form up."
The two 501st troopers positioned themselves back-to-back. Droids were coming from both directions. Rex checked his blasters and heaved a sigh of relief. His DC-17s had cooled enough to fire again. A good thing, too, considering the relentless B1s, Rollies, and SBDs. He didn't spot any more commando droids. Rex had nightmares about the things. OK, he had nightmares about a lot of things. But, he was convinced commando droids would be his downfall.
"Fives, how far out are you?"
"Still two klicks. But your backup should arrive any sec-"
"Commando droids!" Dogma's warning cut through Fives' words as more of the wraith-like menaces nimbly leapt from tree to tree.
"Do you see your backup?"
"Captain, there's more commando droids coming up on our flank!"
"Wait, Rex, those are-"
Rex couldn't hear Fives over the loud retort of Hardcase's heavy gun. He aimed at one of the commando droids but hesitated, meeting its blank, soulless gaze.
Why wasn't he firing on the droid? And why wasn't the droid firing on him? The droid locked eyes with him, then abruptly turned and began firing at the SBDs, targeting their vulnerable processing units.
A second commando droid joined the first, targeting the B1s and systematically eliminating them.
"Incredible, they're not shooting at us," Dogma expressed his disbelief over the comms.
Even Hardcase had momentarily halted his barrage, observing the unusual spectacle of the commando droids assaulting their own ranks.
"Hey! Stop that! You're supposed to be on our-"
"Hold on! What's happening?"
"Why are they targeting us?"
"They've got Echo's signet," Dogma pointed out.
"Some have Fives' markings!" Hardcase shouted excitedly.
Rex employed his helmet cam's zoom feature. Sure enough, the droids had been crudely painted on their helmets with the markings of the two ARCs. The bright blue substance used as "paint" looked to be the hydraulic fluid that often oozed from the tanks after they were struck.
I'll never look at hydraulic fluid the same way again.
It was jarring to see commando droids with ARC markings, but they were demolishing the other droids on the battlefield.
"Rex!" Fives attempted to reach him once more on comms. "Those commando droids are-"
"We see them, Fives. Impressive work."
Switching over to a private channel, Fives exhaled deeply, the sound clearly audible through the comm link. "I was worried you'd be upset."
"Because I ordered you to destroy those droids, and you deliberately disobeyed me? Again?" Fives had made a habitual habit of being loose with regulations. If such actions didn't have such deadly consequences, Rex would be inclined to let it go.
"I apologize, Rex, but-"
"We'll discuss this later. Rex out."
His troopers were effectively taking advantage of the disoriented B1s. They wouldn't find a better opportunity to advance. Rex contacted Fives on the comm once more.
"What?" Fives snapped, before quickly amending his tone. "Sorry, Rex. Fives here. What do you need?"
Suppressing a sigh, Rex wished he could remove his helmet to pinch the bridge of his nose — a gesture he often used to stave off a Fives-induced headache.
"Your modified droids won't target us, correct?"
"No, of course not. We programmed them exclusively to target each other. Please avoid destroying them if possible. They can be reused."
Rex watched a commando droid flawlessly coordinate its descent into a rollie, timing it perfectly to bypass the shields. The pair of droids fired simultaneously, resulting in an explosion that obliterated every droid in the vicinity. "I'll do my best. They seem to be doing a good job of eliminating themselves. Also, Fives?"
"Yes?"
Rex wanted to extend his gratitude, to praise Fives for his efforts. However, the words remained stuck in his throat.
Allowing Fives' disobedience to continue could lead him down a dangerous path. Court martial, decommission, even death. He and Cody had both just been down that path and only made it back because of the intervention of their Generals. Without such intervention, they'd both be fish food somewhere at the bottom of the Kaminoan sea at the moment.
His voice roughened as he addressed Fives. "Be cautious of the route you take. There's some treacherous terrain to the east."
"Sinkholes. Sticky mud. Unpleasant surprises that way. You told Jesse about a dozen times. I'm aware, Rex. We're steering clear. Is that all?"
His voice was still tense.
"Yes, Rex out."
Fives would undoubtedly avoid it; he wasn't foolish. Yet, that hadn't been the sentiment Rex intended to communicate. He decided he would speak with Fives once the battle had concluded. He wanted to encourage the independence that made Fives an exceptional ARC while instilling enough sense in him to ensure his survival. It was a fine line to walk and he wasn't always sure he was up to the task.
Their immediate vicinity was now tranquil, strewn with fragments of destroyed droids. The Fives-Echo-modified commando droids stood sentinel, their unblinking eyes staring vacantly.
"Move out!" Rex commanded, uncertain how to handle the peculiar droids. The commando droids fell in line with the troopers.
"This isn't strange at all," Hardcase remarked sardonically over comms.
"Strange or not, they saved our hides."
"No doubt. It's just weird that-"
Rex allowed his soldiers their idle chatter. A chilling sensation crept up his spine, foretelling that the most challenging part of the battle was yet to come.
# # #
Assisted by their newly found commando droid allies (a term Rex never envisioned using), they advanced another half-kilometer closer to the fortress. Fives' contingent joined them as they ascended the last ridge towards the fort. Vaughn and Jesse were still tied up engaging droids, which was just as well. The more they took out in the field, the less they could expect at the fort.
Rex had no doubt they would encounter fierce resistance upon their arrival. They'd seen scattered groups of droids all beating a hasty retreat back behind the safety of the fort's defensive walls. This would be much easier with air support, but their air support was still tied up with breaking the blockade. They would just have to make it work with the ground forces. He was still feeling optimistic, though. They'd made it this far with most of their remaining forces, intact. He'd even had time to throw a bacta patch on the aching hole underneath his left arm. With a little bit of luck, they just might take Fort Anaxes.
He'd allowed the men a few moments to remove their buckets and take a water break. Appo's unexpected comm crackled in from Rex's wristcomm.
"Rex, Krell is ordering you to alter your course."
"What?!"
Rex brought his gauntlet up to his wrist and start pacing, trying to grasp the implications.
Appo's voice was low, as if he was on the bridge and trying to avoid being overheard. "Apologies, Rex. He just re-established communications and demanded I forward the revised plans. I delayed him as long as I could, but I couldn't refuse a direct order."
"Feeeeeeeeek," Rex muttered under his breath, appreciating the freedom to vent a bit of frustration when it was just him and Appo. A certain understanding had formed between them.
The aforementioned trooper looked up from where he was taking a water break with his squad. He perked up at the mention of his name and looked eagerly over at the Captain. Rex made a dismissive gesture. "No, not you."
"What?" Appo said in confusion.
Since command didn't know they'd named the most promising of the new troopers "Feeeeeeeek," Rex decided not to clarify. "When did these orders come through?"
"Just now."
"This throws everything off, Appo."
"I understand, and I agree. However, you have to execute it, okay? I'm sending the updated route now."
Rex had a bad feeling about this. As the map loaded, he stared in disbelief at the updated route.
"Appo, no! This will lead us in from the east! The landscape there-"
"I tried to reason with him. He remains adamant that it's the optimal approach."
"Connect me to him." Fury surged along his spine, and his intuition warned him he wasn't in the right frame of mind to deal with their interim General.
"I can't do that, Rex."
"Appo," Rex growled in warning.
"Krell stated he'll only communicate with me and Admiral Yularen until he arrives and assumes control of the ground troops."
There were so many things wrong with that statement.
A chill ran down Rex's spine. "Krell is en route?"
"He was in transit when he called. And, you best get in the habit of addressing him as General Krell."
That was the least of Rex's worries.
"What do you mean by 'assume control of the ground troops'?"
Appo avoided answering. "I have to include the Admiral back into the call. He's standing right here."
Rex heard the characteristic click and background noise indicating he was back on the general channel.
"Captain, I understand you have concerns about your orders?"
"Admiral, the new route detours us and unnecessarily endangers the men and equipment."
"I am aware, Captain."
That's it? 'I am aware'?
"Admiral, we're only a half klick out with a clear path to-"
"General Krell believes that approach is too straightforward."
Rex sputtered out the words. "T-t-too straightforward? Admiral, with all due respect, we just fended off a half battalion of battle droids, a quarter of which were commando droids. They threw their most expensive hardware at us out here. We're getting very close, Admiral." He glanced to the side where the ARC commando droids were standing in perfectly neat rows waiting for further orders.
He avoided mentioning some of those commando droids fought on their side. He'd creatively work that into his report later.
"Be that as it may, General Krell was very explicit in his orders. Your plan is flawed and you need to change it."
Flawed? Wait- were these the Admiral's words or Krell's, or was the Admiral just going along with what Krell said?
"With all due respect, Admiral, we've nearly taken the fort."
"You said yourself you are still a half-klick out and have encountered heavy resistance. Therefore, you will follow General Krell's instructions to the letter. The enemy is expecting you to approach from the front and you have lost the element of surprise. As such, you will divide your forces. A small team will proceed on your current route while the main group advances from the east. The enemy will not expect this routing and you will regain the element of surprise."
Yeah, it'd be surprising if any of us make it out alive.
"I..." Rex was at a loss for diplomatic words, so he blurted out his thoughts. "I object."
"Your objections are noted, Captain." A frosty edge underlined Yularen's voice. "Do I need to remind you that your reinstatement as Captain was recent? And that came after extensive debate over whether you merited the rank again. It would be unfortunate to think we made the wrong decision."
Was Yularen threatening him? To remove him from the 501st?
"There's no mistake," Rex responded through gritted teeth, and belatedly added, "sir."
"Good, now execute your orders."
The comm shut down with a resounding click.
'Execute your orders.'
A chill ran down his spine. He stared at the inside of his bucket, his vision temporarily blurring. What do you do when your orders don't make sense?
# # #
Conveying the updated orders to the men was one of the most challenging tasks Rex had ever faced. Many had taken off their helmets to consume rations. This somehow made it even harder as Rex had to meet their gazes while delivering orders that seemed illogical and could possibly lead many of them to their doom.
Fives and Echo were charging their pet commando droids using spare outlets off the tanks. The droids sat on the ground leaning against the tanks, like tired troopers taking a break. It was... disconcerting.
"New orders?" Fives demanded, tearing Rex's gaze away from the incongruous sight. "From whom?"
"These orders came directly from General Krell." Rex's voice turned bitter as he uttered the name; it felt like ashes in his mouth, akin to speaking of death. His mind raced back to the brothers they'd lost in the first battle. This wasn't meant to happen again. They'd strategized meticulously.
"Krell wants us all dead."
Fives' bold words were met with gasps. All eyes turned to Rex for his reaction.
Rex drew a deep breath, mustering patience for Fives. The issue was that he shared Fives' sentiments entirely. Rex deployed some negotiation skills he had picked up from the Jedi to respond (though the Jedi weren't always the most adept battle strategists, making them imperfect role models for a clone captain). "Skywalker's plans often appeared risky to us as well, but we prevailed. There might be some wisdom in catching the enemy off guard…" Rex continued to persuade the men, restoring the confidence shaken by Fives' bold declaration.
"Check your gear. We're moving out soon. Dismissed." He signaled to the two retreating ARC troopers. "Fives, I need a word."
Fives' stance was tense as they walked away from the group for a private discussion. The others were fully aware of what was transpiring and discreetly averted their gaze, including Echo. They moved far enough from the group to speak candidly even without the anonymity of their helmets. Rex attached his helmet to his belt clip with excessive force and rounded on Fives. "What in the name of the brotherhood were you thinking? Were you dropped as a vatling?!"
Fives' scowl deepened as he averted his eyes. His jaw clenched repeatedly and he didn't meet Rex's gaze as he spoke. "This plan is disastrous, and you know it."
"You undermined me before the men. This is difficult enough without you challenging my authority." Rex's fury made him tremble. "I have faith in you, Fives. I've defended you time and again. Cody and I both risked our reputations for you, first to get you directly into the 501st, and then for you and Echo to become the youngest troopers to enter the ARC program. I still believe in you. You have incredible potential. But sometimes, Fives... " Rex began to pace, trying to channel his emotions and energy. He knew not all of this was about Fives, some of his anger was frustration regarding Krell. He couldn't keep still. "... you... you... you do something like this and I don't know if I can rely on you to support me."
Fives' gaze returned to Rex, his eyes brimming with hurt. "That's not fair, Rex. I'll always have your back."
"Then act like it!" A part of Rex recognized that he was overreacting. His anger at Krell was seeping into his relationship with his men. The temporary General wasn't even present and yet was creating cracks within Rex's closely-knit troops. Rex inhaled deeply. "Listen, Fives—"
"I understand. I screwed up." Fives' voice wavered.
Rex placed a reassuring hand on Fives' shoulder. His brother leaned into the touch, rather than pulling back. It was an encouraging sign that Rex hadn't ruined everything between them. "I want you to lead the vanguard. Krell specified a single squad to spearhead the assault. Forget that. I'm dividing the men evenly, giving you ten squads. You'll continue on the original path. The rest of us will follow Krell's orders and approach from the east."
Fives' eyes widened. "You're both adhering to and defying the orders!"
"I intended to explain that to you after the briefing. Appo and Admiral Yularen were monitoring the briefing. I had to relay the official orders."
Fives looked crestfallen. "I didn't give you a chance to explain before I discredited you before the troops."
"You primarily criticized Krell, but the effect was the same. Now, if General Skywalker has taught us anything, it's that-"
"There's an art to skillfully disregarding orders?"
Rex cracked a smile. "Exactly, and don't interrupt your Captain, Lieutenant Fives."
"L-l-lieutenant?" Fives' mouth fell open. "You're promoting me?!"
"Yes, and Echo as well. Echo, step forward; I know you've been listening."
"Uh, sorry, Rex. I... uh... was just worried about Fives." Echo stumbled over his words as he emerged from his hiding spot behind a nearby tank.
"Anyone else back there?"
"Only Kix, Denal, Hardcase, and Coric. No one else."
Fives couldn't help but grin.
Rex knew he shouldn't be encouraging this behavior, but he couldn't help himself. He tried to maintain a stern tone as he summoned the others. "You may as well come out and witness this. Alright, men, fall in. Echo, Fives, take your positions at the end." The troopers aligned perfectly, spaced to accommodate their helmets clipped to their sides. "ARC Trooper Fives, ARC Trooper Echo, for your resourcefulness in the Battle of Anaxes that saved countless lives, and your ongoing exemplary service in the 501st Legion, you are promoted to the rank of Lieutenant." Fives and Echo stood straight, but their eyes sparkled with pride in their accomplishment. Kix, Denal, Jesse, and Coric reflected their emotions; a fleeting moment of joy amid the strain of battle. "I'll file the flimsiwork after we capture the fort. General Skywalker can sign it upon his return." Rex's voice dropped to a whisper. "And he can tell General Krell where to shove it." He cleared his throat, and declared loudly. "At ease."
Peals of laughter erupted as the men swarmed around Fives and Echo, congratulating them with vigorous pats on the back and playful jibes about their new ranks.
"Do you have ambitions to be a General, Echo?"
"Clones don't become Generals, Denal."
"Well, we should. We'd do a better job."
Fives extricated himself from the group. "I have some strategies for breaching the fort's outer defenses."
"I'm all ears, Lieutenant." Rex gestured for them to rejoin the main group of troopers. "We need to get the troops into formation. You'll be leading the forward vanguard out first."
Fives gave Rex a friendly pat on the back, and they slipped into the familiar and comforting discourse of military strategy.
Perhaps, against all odds and despite Krell's machinations, everything would turn out alright.
# # #
A/N: Hello all! I've been "in the zone" when it comes to writing. So, I've been writing more than I've been posting. I've written hundreds of new pages for Rex II and also "Ando." I thought it was time to start uploading some of the new content. These particular pages were handwritten and had to be typed up. It was time-consuming, but worth it. This will be a multi-part battle, but I think you'll enjoy the action in it.
I used ChatGPT-4 to proofread this chapter, feeding it to the AI in one-page chunks. I'm hoping that using the AI as a proofreader will eliminate some of the double words and missing words that slip into my writing as a result of my migraines. Here is the prompt I used:
Please check the following passage for typos and readability. It is a Star Wars fanfiction based upon the episode: "The Carnage of Krell." If changes are needed, please list what changes need to be make the changes, and list in a bullet pointed list at the end what changes you have made to the text. If there are changes that are optional, but would improve readability, please list these changes as well. The tone of the piece is casual, but dramatic and compelling. It includes Star Wars vocabularly including words from the extended universe like: krek, shab, and fek which are Star Wars curse words and used when characters are upset. It also includes some words written in the Star Wars language of Mando'a which is spoken by some of the clone troopers. Thank you.
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