There sat the walking behemoth, nested in the valley with no way out. It's four titanic claws pounded at the ground, tearing up roots and shooting a slew of mud into the air. It's chassis was weathered and scorched from the constant attacks it endured. The bulbous body of it was painted entirely in brown in the hopes that the fighters overhead would have a difficult time tracking it. Most of the time, it worked. Only it's own lasers brought attention to it. Ten canons were strapped to it's back, each a dense column of metal brimming with power and energy. Four were meant for long range distances and the rest were for the unlucky few that managed to get up close to the giant metal beast.
Eight seconds, R-JJ2 thought, sitting at his station, that's how long they usually last up close.
The glow of the green-yellow monitor in front of him bathed him in a warm light and turned his chassis the same shade of yellow. He looked up and over to the comforting sight of another skeletal B1 battle droid: R-KM1.
He snapped his head to R-JJ2, the sudden swivel of his neck joint enough to cause the raucous noise of metal scraping against metal.
"What is it?" He said.
Though he'd never say it to R-KM1's face, he rather liked his voice. It was a guttural crackle that struggled to punch through a wall of static. The noise was not too dissimilar to the snap of a bone or a fire gone out of control.
Fitting, he's real violent.
"Nothing," R-JJ2 said, "I'm just re-calibrating my photo-receptors."
"I don't believe you. When you look at me in-between firing positions—like now—it means you have something to say," R-KM1 replied.
I need to transfer to another squad, he knows me too well.
He needed a good lie, anything but admitting that he liked his voice. It'd mean his was inferior in some way, and he did in fact hate it. He sounded too similar to the clones, as if he were speaking into a box. Though his voice was deeper.
His head moved infinitesimally as a good insult came to mind.
"I was just thinking if I'd be able to tell a screeching bird apart from the sound of your voice."
R-KM1 was unfazed, "it took you that long to come up with that? Your processor must be slow today. Which means if we get into a firefight up close, we'll lose because of you, and I swear if we die because of your stupidity I'll scramble all the parts of my dead body back together just to kill you again myself."
"Roger that," R-GH1 said from further down the walkway. One half of his face was lit up in bright green as he leaned out of his seat to see them both properly. His voice was high-pitch, sounding as if he were constantly trying to raise the pitch of his voice even higher but never quite being able to do so.
"Really? You're taking his side this time?" R-JJ2 said.
"Yes, his side is the most logical. You are going to get us killed by operating at a lower clock speed. Make a better insult next time, that was your worst one yet," R-GH1 replied.
"A clone could've come up with something better," R-MN4 said from even further down the path. His voice was the second highest-pitch of the crew and the most obnoxious to R-JJ2's audio-receptors.
"Ok, I get it"—R-JJ2 threw his hands up in defeat—"I'll delete that one from my memory banks."
"Quiet down, fighters coming in," R-KM1 said.
R-JJ2 locked his photo-receptors back onto the screen. His focus flickered between the foreground and the monitor. Through the blast-proof windows lining the center walkway he could see the rushing rivers of mud flowing down either side of their position.
It was morning out. It would've been sunny had it not been for the relentless storm wading through pouring down an onslaught of sharp piercing rain not too dissimilar to the plasma bolts now going up and down the valley. R-JJ2 rather liked the feeling of his chassis rumbling with the vibrations of the canons. It reminded him of the factory where he'd been created, and of the first meeting between his squad-mates. Even back then they'd been rather playful with each other. They threw around insults and made bets on who could kill the most clones. And then they'd been assigned to this station, an impenetrable walking fortress with canons the size of a small ship.
R-JJ2 nodded to himself, I've got a good life for a droid like myself.
An image displayed the outside view on the upper right corner of R-JJ2's monitor. Off in the distance, past the hills on either end of their location, rays of sunlight pierced through the gray clouds like a blade through flesh. They illuminated large swaths of the clouds making them appear phosphorescent, like giant jellyfishes of light and darkness twirling around frantically.
From the inside of the Anti-Air Walker or AAW for short, it looked as if there was a constant detonation of explosives in the distance or a raging fire fighting desperately against the rain. R-JJ2 couldn't discern if there really was a fire or not, and frankly, he didn't care if there was. Neither did he concern himself with the state of the battle going on a couple thousand feet away. He enjoyed the tingle of pleasure he'd get from viewing such a beautiful sight, nothing else.
"Target acquired," R-KM1 said, red-tinted goggles already placed over his photo-receptors.
R-JJ2 sat up straight, alright, time to get to work.
"Approaching at twenty five degrees," he said.
"Thirteen on the sky," R-GH1 reported.
These were the times R-JJ2 enjoyed the most, when they were aligned and working as one instead of constantly messing around with one another. He never was good with his witty comebacks like R-KM1. He had a superior processor and was of a higher rank. Already, R-JJ2 could feel the jealousy tainting his circuitry. With the twang of a phantom pain, he terminated the thought and regained his focus.
Their minds combined into one, a mesh of circuitry and processors linked together through the strength and power of the AAW's chassis.
"Target locked," R-KM1 continued.
"Firing," R-JJ2 replied.
The quintuple canons screeched to life. In not a single section of the AAW could they escape the noise and it only grew louder over time. The canons fired out with intermittent shrieks that would tumble over each other causing such a ruckus that it sounded as if it were fired in bursts rather than one continuous stream. The air would stay unsettled and woosh with the after effect of the canon fire.
"Target neutralized," R-KM1 said.
"Twelve on the sky," R-GH1 reported.
"Exiting cool-down in ten seconds," R-MN4 said.
It was almost like a song or a dance. They would unknowingly get into a rhythm, playing off of each other. R-KM1 would lead the way while the others swayed onward in a waltz, swatting each ship out of the sky with columns of pure plasma. They spun in a cycle like the barrels of the canons strapped to Aderv's back.
It satisfied R-JJ2 to no end. Nothing could ever compare to it. Not even firing the flak canons on a Dreadnought would feel as good.
I've never manned the canons on a ship before, but I doubt it's as good as this. I'd be jealous of us if I were stationed anywhere else.
His mind cleared and so did the skies.
R-KM1 pushed the goggles off of his photo-receptors and twitched as he looked at R-JJ2 below him, silently telling him to move the AAW forward. R-JJ2 didn't spare another second.
With a tap at his monitor, he linked with the core of the AAW.
Named ADRV or Aderv by his crew-members, the droid core of the AAW was a simple one. It was made for brute strength and sufficient mobility for a giant walking heap of armor, claws, and canons. His head was a mouth-less bulbous thing that almost matched his body. His eyes glowed red in a hateful glare much like the B2s.
"Aderv, here's the coordinates," R-JJ2 said. In an instant, he began to walk. "How's the joints? Still stiff?"
Aderv sent a reply through the monitor. It showed up on all stations.
"Affirmative. You promised this chassis would be better."
"I know, I know. It looked more robust from the outside but I guess they're all just copies of each other."
"Like us," R-GH1 commented.
"He's not a copy of us," R-JJ2 said, thumbing at R-KM1, "he's one of those old models."
"Yes, old and superior. There's a reason why they keep me around and why they recycle models like you," R-KM1 replied.
R-MN4 threw his legs out of his station, extending an arm out to grab a battery on a shelf beside him, "we're all recycled, K. Each day there's less of your model and more of us."
"Who cares what model is out there," R-GH1 said, not allowing R-KM1 to voice his response, "all I care about is killing these Republic dogs."
"Roger that," R-JJ2 said, no thoughts of remorse or empathy for the enemy ever crossing his mind.
War and battle were all he'd ever known. It felt natural to him, like a bird taking flight or a human taking their first steps. The rumble of a blaster coursing through his hands was the life force of the galaxy flowing through him. He was merely a vessel for it and he liked that, being part of something greater than himself. A single cog in the machine. It eased the pains of life, acted as a balm for his metal plating. His squad-mates were much like that too, but together with them, he felt a strength like no other. It wasn't the all-powerful might of a titanic metal beast like the one he was sat in now, no, it was the strength of unity. Together, they were the protons, neutrons, and electrons of an atom bonded together. That was the strength he felt beside them.
But the power of a good chassis was still just as alluring.
He felt a slight tremor course through his body, a sign that Aderv was moving. It always amazed him how Aderv absorbed the shock of each step. He'd seen him walk from the outside before, gazed at how even mighty ships fell under the force of his feet.
If only my chassis was like that. Then I could crush all clones in the palm of my hand. I'd be given a hero's return, all the other B1s would love me. They'd want to be me—
"R-JJ2!" R-KM1 shouted at him, waving an arm frantically through the air.
R-JJ2 shook his head, throwing away all his wild fantasies in the process, "what?"
"I've called your name three times now. Are your audio-receptors malfunctioning? We aren't anywhere near a repair center so you'd better not be in need of one."
"No, I'm fine sir. I was just thinking of how it'd be like to have a chassis as big as this one," R-JJ2 patted the side of his monitor which was welded directly to the AAW.
"Oh, that would be the dream," R-MN4 said from down the way. He reclined against the back of his seat, twisting his upper body to gaze at the others. He draped an arm onto the headrest of his chair, "one single step and you could crush an AT-TE."
"Don't think so narrowly," R-GH1 commented, "you could do much more than just that with a chassis like this"—he threw his arms out, gesturing at the whole structure around them—"with a big enough gun, you could take down an entire Destroyer."
R-KM1 extended his snout out to R-JJ2, "perform well and maybe one day you could take a control of a vehicle like this all on your own."
"Really?" R-JJ2 nearly shouted.
"No," R-KM1 shook his head, "you fell for that one so easily. I said to increase your clock speed not slow it down."
R-JJ2 slouched back down, hiding his head behind his monitor, "I forgot to once the shooting started."
"Do it now. I'll stall them for a few seconds if the next attack starts prematurely."
Always embarrassing me. I'll get him back, like I always do, R-JJ2 glared at R-KM1 as best he could with his stoic eyes. His determination to keep fighting both the enemy and him only grew with time.
"I have to optimize the coolant anyways," R-MN4 said, twisting his body back into proper alignment, "did you three notice? That was almost our fastest run yet."
"Almost?" R-KM1 questioned.
"We were off by just one second. I start counting once the guns spin up and I stop after the last fighter is downed."
R-GH1 tapped away at his monitor, "I'm still optimizing. We can definitely go faster. I would say three additional seconds could be saved."
R-JJ2 glanced to the view outside. The battle past the hills was still raging on. Blue and red lights flashed against the yellow-gray of the sky in random bursts. The colors helped to cool his processor at times. They were pleasing to look at, about as much as the indents and scratches of his own chassis. Each was a mark of a past battle—close encounters with death that had his fans running at full speed. He needed that sort of cooling now as he sped up his processor.
"All ready to go?" R-KM1 said, snout extending towards him again.
"Yes sir," R-JJ2 said with a salute. Internally, his mind reverted back to thoughts of eliminating the enemy and nothing else.
Almost as if on cue, Aderv stopped in place.
They were nearing the end of the valley. R-JJ2 could see the edge of it another hundred feet or so ahead. If they were to be shot at now, they could make it out to the forest past the ridge of the valley. The trees were needle-like at their tips and just about reached the ground floor of where Aderv stood. The streams of mud at either side of them flowed down over the edge, feeding into the forest itself. Soon, there would be bodies swimming down with it. In the flash of a light, it would be over, life would end. The forest would devour the clones, feeding on their bodies to replenish the life of the planet. Often times, R-JJ2 would gawk at the brevity of life and the fear of death would spike within him, but in that same moment, he would shake the feeling away. There were still fighters on the sky and he wouldn't waste energy thinking of death when he could imagine ways to get revenge on R-KM1 instead.
"All units, perform at maximum capacity," R-KM1 ordered.
R-JJ2 replied with a roger, almost in unison with everyone else.
Just as usual, R-KM1 led the dance, "Fourteen—"
A fierce rattle shook through Aderv, nearly throwing R-JJ2 out of his chair. He clung for dear life onto his monitor, hugging it to keep himself from being torn away. Clangs and crashes erupted from elsewhere inside the AAW. Out of the corner of his receptors, a cluster of glowing green batteries rolled onto the floor, spreading chaos through the command bridge. Luckily, no one was in the spherical head of the AAW.
"Bombers coming in close range!" R-GH1 shouted.
R-KM1's guttural voice broke through the chaos of the rumbling and crashing around them, "collective readjustment!"
R-JJ2 pulled back, his processor was already working at full speed. His fingers tapped away with a deftness he would've struggled to achieve a few seconds before. Lines of code processed through his CPU like a rushing waterway, his mind wrapped around his station, his focus never leaving it.
He took a glance at the outside view again. Through the haze of the clouds, he spotted the Republic Y-wings soaring down from above. Somebody overhead had been watching and planning the attack for some time.
The lengthier canons continued their work while the shorter ones lit the sky in red. Each cylinder of plasma left ribbons of white steam in their wake as they burned through all the rain. The bombers twisted and turned. One lit up in a ball of flame and smashed down onto the ground, throwing up mud and water. The remaining six continued their descent.
"Divert all targeting focus to close-range," R-KM1 said.
"Roger," R-JJ2 said.
The red bolts lit up the sky, melting through steel and causing a few torpedoes to detonate harmlessly mid-air. More of the fighters went up in flames. One by one they fell like flies being torched to death. The clones inside rarely if ever ejected. This time around, one did. His parachute went up and within the same second R-JJ2 fired at him. The cloth of the chute went up in flames. He tumbled around in the air, falling to his death.
The satisfaction of an easy kill nearly registered in R-JJ2's processor. That was until an LAAT caught the clone mid-air.
"What?" R-KM1 said, he brought a hand up to his goggles, shoving them closer to his face, "R-GH1, where did he come from?"
"I don't know. There isn't a blip on the radar," R-GH1 replied. His screen flashed lighter shades of green, shining dully against his chassis. It was completely blank. A second later, a dozen dots blinked onto the screen, "more fighters coming in! I don't see the transports on here."
"It's a full assault," R-MN4 said, his fingers ran frantically across his monitor, "I'm optimizing as best I can."
"We might have to bail again," R-KM1 said. His body was completely still, belying the storm swirling inside of him, "let's focus on those bombers first. The transports can't do much damage to us."
R-GH1 flinched as more dots began to appear. It was the transports and there was more than just one. The dots appeared all around, completely filling up the screen, "R-K! There's more transports! They're landing below us."
All of them looked to R-KM1 for further instructions.
R-JJ2 tapped his feet against the metal flooring in excitement, this is the worst it's ever gotten, the perfect scenario for getting our best time.
R-KM1 still had his goggles on, he didn't dare take them off or let the thought go through his head, "just take out the bombers, we'll have a better chance at keeping Aderv alive. We can lose the clones and their transports in the forest to the north."
Collectively, R-JJ2 and his squad-mates responded with a simple, "roger, roger."
Metal fingers clacked against glass screens, the room filled with the hum of internal cooling systems working at full speed and the buzzing of monitors flickering constantly.
The smaller canons began firing, their quad-barrels spun endlessly until they were glowing bright red. Smoke wafted up from them, intermixing with the rain and flowing back up into the clouds—back even into the stars where all things would eventually return.
Their forces were only a few miles away, past the crests of the hills surrounding Aderv. They didn't so much as spare a glance their way. It was only the four of them against an entire armada of clones.
R-KM1's hands fiddled with the sticks at his lap, "three bombers down, three on the sky."
"Firing relentlessly," R-JJ2 replied, "how's the cooling, R-M?"
"Efficient as can be," R-MN4 said, his body operating a few degrees higher than usual. The calculations he was making was pushing his hardware to it's limit. Past a certain point, he would begin to falter but he wouldn't let himself fail so easily. No battle droid wanted to be the downfall of his team.
R-JJ2 didn't bother to spare a glance up to R-KM1, "sir, I believe now would be a good time to achieve our fastest time."
"I think you're right, R-J," R-KM1 shifted in his seat, grabbing a tighter hold of the controls, "all units, operate at maximum capacity, full speed. I want to be out of here in less than a minute."
Their fingers tapped away, concern for their withering joints went to the wayside. A beat began to play in R-JJ2's head with their bodies as the drums and the blaster-fire as the string instruments. One by one they fell into sync. R-KM1 pulled the trigger and called out targets and their number on the sky. R-JJ2 fired his half of the canons separately, picking and choosing which to shoot for the fastest outcome. R-GH1's radar blinked furiously, he pointed out each of the bombers before they broke through the clouds. R-MN4 let the coolant flow naturally to it's greatest speed. More torpedoes pounded the sides but none deterred them from their objective. They would make the clones work for their deaths.
The entire planet seemed to rumble with blaster fire and missile impacts. Mud splashed up by all the blows clogged Aderv's joints, rendering him completely immobile. The rain poured relentlessly onto the barrels of each canon directed up at the sky.
R-MN4 swiped at a few sliders on his monitor. R-KM1 was about to speak but he cut him off, "clog cleared. We're really pushing this chassis."
"We can do better than this," R-KM1 said, "full power, I want complete destruction of these bombers."
The third wave came down, throwing their torpedoes prematurely, a poor attempt at stalling their inevitable deaths just a few seconds away. Fireballs of metal and burnt flesh popped on the sky. In the slosh of the mud below, the transports dispatched their troops. The clones, dressed in brown cloaks and white armor, sprinted straight for Aderv's feet. A few wielded rocket launchers which they pointed at the joints of Aderv's legs.
The first blasts did little damage, only leaving a small dent in the wide pillar of his leg.
The clones slipped and tumbled in the mud. Orders were issued out and the rockets were loaded again.
R-GH1 spoke up, "R-K, the clones are approaching the underside."
"We're almost done with the bombers, we'll leave before they arrive," R-KM1 replied, "disregard all power and canon limitations. Use everything past their limits. We won't let the clones take control of this vehicle."
"This'll be fun," R-MN4 said.
On the sky above, the last wave of bombers continued trailing in.
R-JJ2 deactivated all warnings and set the canons to fire at triple the capacity. The barrels would melt along with the battery packs but that no longer mattered.
This is all routine, R-JJ2 had to remind himself, it hurts to destroy a good gun like this, but it's for the better. He patted the side of his station, see you around.
Six bombers were all that were left on the sky. They had nowhere to evade as they honed in directly onto the AAW's canons. The entire sky was lit up in red like a splash of lava sent up straight from a volcano. All bombers were engulfed in the sudden torrent of plasma. They melted to pieces, the molten metal clanged against the top of the AAW's chassis.
R-KM1 threw off his goggles and jumped to his feet. "All duties completed, everyone out!"
Together, they jumped from their seats, grabbing their blasters from nearby. Another rumble coursed through the AAW's chassis. On R-JJ2's terminal, a message appeared, this one straight from Aderv.
"Hurry up!" He said.
"I know, I know!" R-JJ2 shouted, "I just have one last thing to do."
He sprinted over to a shelf of scrambled batteries and pulled one from it's spot dangling an inch away from tumbling to the ground. He stuck and armed a detonator to the side of it and propped it back into it's place. Behind him, more metal feet clanged against the floor. A skeletal hand grabbed at his shoulder and brought him into a run.
"You heard Aderv, he isn't as patient as us," R-KM1 said, his snout just a few inches away from his.
They jumped down the steps below the command center. It led down into the emergency exit: a simple metal cable in a shaft that would bring them to the ground. R-JJ2 grabbed a handle for the cable and spared not a single moment, throwing himself onto it with the handle magnetically attaching itself to the steel pole. His blaster dangled from his back as he fell at a controlled speed to the ground.
Seconds later, his feet sent up a splash of mud that covered his abdomen brown. Usually, he'd comment on this but their situation was dire.
He almost wanted to ask R-KM1 if he believed that they would be dead soon, but that would only indicate that he wasn't sure of their situation or that he wasn't focused. The last thing he wanted to do was give him more ammo to use against him in a future argument. His legs brought him straight to the glaring eyes of Aderv's true chassis, the spherical head of the AAW.
R-KM1 and the others formed a small half-circle around him as he worked to undo the latches holding Aderv in his armored container.
"Almost there," R-JJ2 said, throwing open the panel on the side of his head. Inside was a glowing green cylinder that almost seemed to throb brighter as he laid hands on it, "there we go," he hoisted Aderv above his head and shoved him into place on the rails on his back where his comm-pack would usually go.
"I hope you're secured in tight, it's going to be a rough ride this time around," R-JJ2 said.
"When has it ever been otherwise?" R-GH1 said.
"That's true, but this time is worse," R-MN4 commented.
R-KM1 pulled ahead of their small group, his steps even and measured on the slippery mud, "keep quiet and follow me."
Even now he's doing better than us….maybe if we die today, I could get a better processor like him.
R-KM1 pointed to their right, towards a few trees bundled on the slope of the hill, "we'll go there to get good cover first and then make a run for the forest," he glanced behind his shoulder. At the same moment, the side of the AAW's chassis blew into thick chunks. A few disfigured clones went flying out with it.
R-JJ2 admired the view, "that was amazing. It's a shame we couldn't salvage the chassis."
A hand pulled at his shoulder again. He twisted his head, coming face to face with two black photo-receptors staring him down.
"R-JJ2, I've calculated the chances of us getting out of here. It isn't looking so good. Don't worry about us, get Aderv out of here, we'll give you covering fire," R-KM1 said in almost a low whisper.
R-JJ2 shook his head furiously, "negative sir, I can't leave you all. Who's going to correct my mistakes on the AAW or call me a gonk droid on our next rotation? Not any old standard B1, it'll be you."
R-KM1 pulled him again ignoring the only compliment he'd ever heard out of R-JJ2's vocalizer. He sent him ahead of R-GH1 at the front, "I don't want to separate from you either but you must get Aderv out of here. He is the true objective."
"But—" R-JJ2 ducked as the first of the bolts came in. The first of the trees were just a foot away, "you can make it! I'm sure of it sir!"
"Just keep going!" R-KM1 shouted back, "R-MN4 stay with me and give R-JJ2 covering fire. R-GH1 make sure he gets to the forest."
They both responded with a roger, roger and for once, R-JJ2 hesitated.
He slowed down just as he crossed the tree-line.
R-GH1 pushed at him, "keep moving, J. They're fighting hard to get you out of here. Don't fail us at the end."
That was enough to spur him on.
If he wants only me to get out of here, then so be it. But I will miss you all.
R-JJ2 broke out into a full sprint, not caring if his joints would be damaged in the process. He didn't dare look behind him, not even as the bolts continued flying in and the sound of wheezing circuitry exploded into the air.
His joints screamed as he went flying past the final tree. He bounded up towards the ridge of the valley right up onto the edge, one foot away from leaping over it and into the sea of green trees below.
A flash of burning pain shot up through his foot and suddenly he was on the ground. He plunged three fingers into the mud, crawling further on. More steps slapped against the mud behind him, they grew louder as time went on.
R-JJ2 shook his head, I can't help it, I need to know if it's them.
He pushed himself onto his side and looked behind him.
White armor stood in stark contrast against the gray skies. The brown cloak of the clone fluttered with the raging wind.
He brought his blaster up to his visor.
"Get away from me, Republic dog!" R-JJ2 shouted, his voice crackling in a near imitation of R-KM1's voice, "I won't surrender to you!"
He eased a hand onto his back, pushing at a button. Aderv responded with a light chirp.
See you around, Aderv.
"Surrender?" the clone said with a laugh, "in no circumstance would I ever consider such a thing. Not for a clanker like you."
The clone fired but it wasn't the shot from a blaster that took R-JJ2 to the warm embrace of death. It was Aderv committing his final act in life.
In R-JJ2's last moments, he thought of the few weeks he'd spent with his team. In not a single one did he recall the pain of blaster fire or the ache of an unfulfilled duty. He only heard R-KM1's raspy voice, R-GH1's analysis of their current predicament, and R-MN4's wild gestures as he spoke of future operations spent together.
I had a wonderful time, everyone, R-KM1's face was the last to flash in his memory, You never said it sir, but I think you did too.
For once on the battlefield, a single B1 turned towards the giant fireball that had spawned past the hills to their east. His processor acknowledged the event, sending a single message back to the control ship.
"The AAW has been destroyed and so has the crew."
He marched onward, unfazed by the flashing lights ahead.
The battle continued and so did the war.