Luna growled as she stared at the dustball where it all began. Before her stood the planet of Geonosis, mocking her as it continued to rotate on its axis. The war began on that planet, when the Clone Army first engaged the Battle Droids in open combat. She still remembered the losses she took that day, the brothers that were killed because of their lack of experience and the lack of leadership from the Jedi. They won, in the end, but that victory was apparently for nothing.

Word reached the Jedi that the planet had been retaken by the Geonosian Loyalists. Those bugs never knew when to give up. Now it was once again pumping out weapons for the Separatist War Machine, and it was up to the 501st, 212th, and the Galactic Marines under General Mundi to shut it down permanently.

She turned as the door behind her opened. It was Knave and Razorwolf, they walked up and saluted. Luna returned the gesture. “Alright, is everything ready?”

“Yes ma’am.” Knave answered. “General Skywalker has just briefed all Commanders. Our objective is to link up with General Kenobi and General Mundi and push onto the Shield Generator. Once that happens, we’ll launch the heavy assault on the factory itself and capture Poggell.”

“Alright, and what happens should one of the parties not arrive?” The two brothers looked to each other before Knave explained.

“There is no contingency plan, ma’am.” Luna sighed and facehoofed. Of course there wasn’t. This had Skywalker and Kenobi written all over it. Normally, she would get angry. But she was already there, and didn’t feel like snapping at her General… again.

“Fine, make sure everyone knows the plan in case something goes wrong.”

“I think you mean ‘when’ something goes wrong, ma’am.” Knave corrected. Razorwolf looked between the two, then spoke up.

“So, what was Geonosis like… the first time, I mean?”

Luna raised an eyebrow, then remembered that Razorwolf never served on Geonosis. He was deployed afterwards. “It was Hell, sergeant. That’s all you need to know.” With that, she walked away. Razorwolf watched her go, then turned to Knave.

“Got any advice?”

“Yeah, keep your eyes on the skies. The bugs love to fly.” Knave said, patting the sergeant’s shoulder before following their captain out of the room.

Cadence sat still in the dark. Well, for her it was dark. Her eyes were currently being adjusted to handle the unique atmosphere of Geonosis. The alicorn shuttered at the mere thought of going back to that graveyard. It was where she lost her original eyes, to that monster Count Dooku. Too bad he wasn’t on the planet, she would’ve liked to give him a piece of her mind, courtesy of her vibro-blade.

“Alright, Captain.” A clone said, though she wasn’t sure who. Her brothers all sounded the same. “All fixed up, let me just…” There was a soft click, and her vision was filled with bright white lights. After a few moments, the white faded away, and her world returned in full color. She looked to see Stitch and Loop standing over her, with Loop doing a small wave in the corner of her vision.

The alicorn smiled and waved back.

“G-good, you’re, eyes, uh, adjusted just fine.” He said, putting his hand down.

“Are they comfortable?” Stitch asked. Cadence moved them around without turning her head. She could feel them move, but it was a sensation she had grown accustomed to.

“As comfortable as they can be, Stitch. Thank you, and you, Loop.” The medics gave thumbs up and left. Cadence had only a moment of peace before Pops appeared in the doorway.

“Feeling alright, Captain?”

She nodded, but didn’t say anything. Pops walked over and sat down next to her. There was an awkward silence until Cadence broke it.

“Is everything ready?”

“As they can be.”

“How are the boys?”

“Ready as they can be, though some are more anxious than others.”

“Loop seemed more nervous than usual.” Cadence said softly. She knew what they were going through. No clone wanted to go back here. Not after what they had seen. The first time they were here, that was when Loop gained the stutter that earned him his name.

“Let’s hope we’re better prepared this time.”

“Just do me a favor, Cadence.” Pops said softly, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Don’t lose any more limbs, please.”

Cadence smiled. “I won’t, Pops. Promise.”

“Attention, all troopers report to the Hangar Bay immediately. This is not a drill!”

Time to get to work.

The gunships took off from the Acclamator Hangar Bays into the tanned skyline of Geonosis. Luna triple checked her blaster and grenades in preparation for this assault. Hopefully, a ship wouldn’t crash into her landing zone this time.

The transport shook as flak fire suddenly erupted all around it. She could hear the comms going haywire as pilots and commanders tried to coordinate a flight path through the wall of AA that stood in their way.

Bomber pilots were receiving coordinates to the known gun positions. Hopefully, their A-Game was there today. The gunship rocked from side to side as the pilot moved to avoid the incoming laser bolts.

Great, now there were Geonosian Fighters in their airspace. Just what Luna had wanted to deal with today. A large explosion from outside signaled the destruction of a gunship. For a split second, she could hear the screams of the surviving clones who were now in freefall toward the surface.

This was only the first few miles to the Landing Site!

“Mayday, we’re going down!” That was the General’s signal! “Our position is 5-” The message fizzled out. Luna attempted to reestablish contact, but to no avail. Kriff, the plan had already gone wrong. She knew it would!

Her gunship suddenly shot forward and a small explosion rocked the cabin. A large hole appeared in the rear of the gunship, and the velocity of the suction began to drag her men out of it. They screamed as they were sucked out into the atmosphere. Some tried to hold on for dear life, but the suction proved to be stronger.

Luna gripped the floor of the gunship, but was slowly sliding toward the large hole. She made one last attempt to get a better grip, but that proved fatal as she was finally forced from the gunship.

She began to spin in midair. Gunships and fighters flew past her. Flak fire exploded all around, and the ground was quickly approaching. Luna opened her wings, and felt them tug against the gravity of the planet. She managed to steady herself just above the surface, but it didn’t stop her dissent. The alicorn slammed into the ground, sending her helmet flying from her head. She rolled several times until finally stopping, leaving an imprint in the sand. Her eyes fluttered open for a second before closing and embracing the darkness.

Cadence tightened her grip on her blaster as the gunship touched down. The door opened before the greenlight lit, she was quick to jump out and put some distance between herself and the transport. Her troopers followed her example and moved forward. Other gunships landed and unloaded their troops, while AT-TEs were dropped from their transports. The walkers immediately began moving.

Cadence halted as Geonosian fighters flew down and strafed their position. Two of her troopers were immediately blown away by the concussive blasts. “Take them out if they come around for another pass!” She ordered a trooper.

The trooper nodded and readied his rocket launcher. He could see a fighter coming around. It flipped around and aimed straight at his position. The trooper lifted the launcher onto his shoulder and waited. The fighter came closer, and closer, and closer. It fired two shots before the trooper returned the favor.

The rocket launched from the launcher, and slammed dead center on the fighter. It exploded into a fireball and screamed toward the trooper.

“Uh oh.” He muttered before turning around and running for cover. The fighter slammed into the earth and dragged itself along the ground. The trooper continued to run, the wreckage coming up right behind him. He could feel the heat from the flaming ball of metal on his back. With a mighty leap, he jumped out of the way and landed face first in front of Cadence.

She stared at the trooper for a moment, then helped him up with a smile.

“Nice work, trooper.” She said.

“Thank you, ma’am.” The trooper replied as he dusted himself off.

“Got a name?”

“Just my number, CT-8127.”

Cadence smirked. “Well, former shiny. We’ll have to fix that.” A loud explosion drew their attention. Ahead of them was a flaming gunship dragging along the ground, which then flipped over and stopped a few hundred yards beyond their position.

“But that’ll have to wait, report to your squad, trooper.” 8127 saluted and ran off to join his brothers. Cadence watched him go before returning to her work.

“Alright, get this perimeter set up and prepare for the next assault, move it!”

Luna blinked as her head did everything in its power to float away. Her body was aching worse than she ever thought possible. Her vision was clouded and blurry.

She was never going to crash land again as long as she lived. Which would be impossible considering her current General. The alicorn slowly got up as her mind cleared, and her awareness returned. She was alone, near a large rock formation. Above her was the air battle between gunships, bombers, and fighters.

The Captain looked around, her blaster was located not too far away. But it was bent and broken. But where was her helmet? That was a custom job! If she lost that, or if it got broken, her armorer was going to kill her! She looked around, but couldn’t find it. Where could it have gone?!

Bzzzzt

Her ears perked up at the noise.

Bzzzzt

They swiveled around to catch the noise. Her eyes followed in their direction. There it was, buried slightly in the dirt! Huzzah! She was not going to get strung by her mane today! The alicorn used her magic to pick up the helmet and shake the sand out of it.

Luna never felt so happy to have a helmet on in her life. Now, if only she had her blaster. She checked her holsters and found a DC-17 still inside. Okay, good, so she wasn’t totally disarmed. Plus, her vibroblade was still in place.

“To any surviving units on this net, rally at Grid Section 100342. Emergency LZ has been established. Say Again, rally at these Coordinates.” Luna used her advanced HUD to check her map. She wasn’t that far away, only a klick if her math was correct. She wi=ould be there nice and quick.

The Landing Site was in chaos. With the tanks and gunships set up in a circle, the troopers were able to make use of the little cover they had. Unfortunately, the bug and clankers had no regard for cover as they charged out into the open. Heavy guns pounded the position, uprooting most of the defenses in place.

Cadence scanned the outskirts of the perimeter, looking around at the enemy forces. They were splitting into two groups, which meant only one thing: the bugs were going to try and surround them.

“Not good,” She said to Cody. “The bugs are splitting up.” It didn’t help that General Kenobi was still missing. His gunship never reported in and no word has come in from the stragglers. Cody said nothing as he focused on a single gunship out in the open, almost directly under the droid position. If there was any hope, General Kenobi was inside, alive.

“Boil reporting as ordered, sir.” Both officers turned to see the Dynamic Duo step up.

“Waxer, reporting as ordered, sir!”

“We got a crashed gunship, five klicks east of this location. We believe it’s General Kenobi’s.” Cody explained. “I need you to get out there and check for survivors.”

“Sir, Yes Sir!” Both troopers responded before charging out into the open toward the wreck. Cadence signaled a gunner to fire at enemy positions nearby, in hopes of covering the two as they ran.

Through her binoculars, she could see enemy tanks and bugs approaching fast. This was the third attack in the last hour. Her men didn’t have the ammo for this. The alicorn turned her attention to Waxer and Boil as they opened the gunship door. The two stepped into the gunship, and a few seconds later, they appeared, with General Kenobi and Trapper over their shoulders.

“They got the General.” She said with relief. She turned to some nearby troopers. “Micro, Blade, Pops, get out there and cover Waxer and Boil!” The troopers nodded and ran out, ducking down to avoid the incoming fire.

Micro ducked under a tank round that landed just a few yards away, any closer and he would’ve been paste.

Blade fired at an advancing bug, popping a shot right into its exposed right eye. It screeched before hitting the ground. The trooper fired a few more shots to make sure it was double dead.

Pops ran over and helped Waxer with Trapper. The two carried the wounded trooper back to the perimeter, setting him down next to Loop, who was looking over General Kenobi.

Cody stood over the Jedi and explained the situation. “We got no air support, two generals on the ground beyond our position, and a mess of bugs surrounding us.” In other words, they were in deep Bantha Poodoo.

“They were more than prepared for us, sir.” Cadence added. “They knew our every move.” Loop carefully injected morphine into the General’s neck, the Jedi grimaced as the uncomfortable sting that followed.

“Well, I trust General Skywalker and General Mundi will reach our position.” He said calmly. “We’ll just have to make sure we are still here when they arrive.” Cadence nodded solemnly and sat down next to Kenobi as Cody went back to organizing the defense.

“Are you sure, you’re okay, General?”

“Unfortunately, Cadence, I am used to ship crashes at this point.”

Cadence chuckled. “I guess General Skywalker taught you something after all.” Obi Wan joined in.

“I suppose, but don’t tell him that. He’d never live it down.”

The Emergency LZ was in chaos, with officers doing their best to make it more organized. Luna looked around to see Galactic Marines, 501st, and 212th troopers all organizing into their platoons. Any squads that had no platoon were folded into units that needed them. She watched as dead and wounded clones were pulled from the wrecks of gunships and loaded onto the surviving tanks.

Her eyes fell on a familiar sight, Razorwolf and Knave were talking to another 501st trooper. From his armor design, he was new to the unit, as he had yet to earn his blues.

“Our brothers are waiting for us at the Landing Site, we need to get there!” Razor argued.

“We need to wait for reinforcements, we’re too scattered.” The new trooper said calmly, though his posture was anything, but calm. Knave rolled his eyes.

“There are no reinforcements, we’re the reinforcements the General needs.”

“We can’t break through that!” The trooper pointed toward a large canyon, where small columns of smoke rose over the echoes of battle. Luna chose that moment to butt in.

“Are you doubting the 501st, trooper?!” All eyes turned to the alicorn. Razor and Knave looked relieved, while the new trooper looked shaken.

“Captain Luna?”

“Answer the question!”

“N-No, ma’am.”

“Good!” The alicorn punched his shoulder to emphasize her point. “Because the 501st will always get the job done, no matter the risk or the cost!” She turned and looked at the remaining tanks and troops, who were gathering around her to listen in. She smiled and turned back to the trooper.

“The first time I was here, we had to charge across open ground, battle around a crashed cruiser, and wipe out an army five times our size, and we’ll do it again.”

“What’s the plan, ma’am?” Knave asked as Razor readied his blaster.

“The plan, Lieutenant, is to punch through those lines, punch through to Point Rain, and kill any bug and droid dumb enough to get between Us and Poggell the Lesser!” She turned to the trooper from before. “So get ready, trooper, because you’re coming with us.”

The trooper saluted. “Yes, ma’am!”

“What’s your name, trooper?”

“Gallus, ma’am. Lieutenant Gallus.” Now Luna remembered. He was the recent transfer from the 212th.

“Alright Gallus, grab your men, we move out in ten minutes.” She turned back to the troopers. “You heard me, gather up!” The surrounding troopers scattered to grab their equipment and find their squads. Luna felt a hand on her back, looking around to see Knave standing behind her.

“Glad you made it.” He said simply. Luna smiled.

“Almost didn’t.” She turned back and went to find some spare weapons. Knave watched her go before returning to his platoon. They had a battle to win.

Author's Note

And we are here, at the Second Battle of Geonosis.

Who ever said Bugs can't aim is fired! (Literally and Metaphorically)