Luna stared at the landscape around her. She stared at the large cliff with the bunker on top. There was the small spire next to the pit that served as her command center during the first campaign. She could see the large hanger in the distance where droid tanks rolled out to face her men for the first time. But the magnum opus was the massive wreck of a Techno Union ship in the middle of the canyon. It stuck out of the sand like a splinter embedded in skin. The metal creaked and groaned as it weakened with age. Within another year or so, this wreck would be rubble, with nothing left to resemble a ship.

And Luna wouldn’t have it any other way. She wanted nothing to remain of the Separatists. She wanted their droids to melt, their ships to rust on forgotten worlds, and those who supported them locked up and the key thrown away.

Perhaps, that chance would come soon enough.

“All company commanders report to the Command Point for briefing.” Luna sent an acknowledgement signal back and turned. It was time to leave this place behind.

Luna stood in the back with Rex. They watched intently as Commander Tano gave the briefing. She stood behind a hologram of the target. The droid’s main foundry on the planet, the only place Poggel the Lesser could be.

“This bridge is our first entry point.” Ahsoka explained, pointing at the thin bridge that went over the ravine that separated the foundry from the rest of the landscape. She turned to the artillery officers. “Focus your fire on the gun emplacements here and here.” Red dots marked the locations of the emplacements. “Because it’s only-”

“It’s only after the guns are taken out that we can push on the factory.” Luna rolled her eyes as General Skywalker interrupted his padawan. She knew her Jedi General well enough to see what he was doing. He wanted to make sure everything was done right, even if it meant taking over a briefing he trusted to his student.

Some of the clones, mostly those from other units, looked at each other in surprise as the General spoke. They weren’t used to a Jedi breaking protocol and interrupting a briefing. Some of the men from the 501st had to hide their grins, as this was the best form of entertainment before a battle.

“Now, expect stiff resistance-”

“And don’t forget to top up your energy cells and ration packs.” He did it again, making the alicorn shake her head in bemusement. She had a feeling the two were going to argue and she was going to have to break it up. “Once we leave, we won’t be getting resupply.” The Jedi turned obliviously to his padawan. “Anything else, Ahsoka?”

“No, I think you pretty much covered everything, in my briefing.” She said, muttering the last part so as to save what little face she had.

“Very well, troopers dismissed.” All of the officers stood up and went to ready their men. Luna decided to stay behind to make sure the two wouldn’t go overboard… again.

“Okay, what’s next?” Anakin asked as he walked away.

“You know, Master.” Luna’s face fell. She knew where this was going. “My briefings might go better if you didn’t interrupt me every time I try to-”

“I wasn’t interrupting, I was trying to help you.” Luna silently prayed for some miracle to save her from the coming battle, one she couldn’t end with a blaster.

“Which I would appreciate, if you didn’t interrupt me to do it.” Maybe if she snuck away, she wouldn’t be called out. “I just think you don’t trust me enough to give the briefing.”

“It’s not about trust, it’s about getting the job done right.” That was it. Anakin Skywalker just sealed his doom.

“So you don’t trust me to give the briefing. I knew it!”

“Now Snips, I didn’t say-”

“Luna trusts me!” Oh no, please don’t do this. Why was she always dragged into this?!

“Luna is loyal, Snips.” Wait, did they know she was there? “She trusts you on the battlefield.” Well, now the alicorn felt offended. She was standing right there! They just walked right past her! Sheesh, this was the last time she felt like staying to talk to them.

Luna left with a huff and walked over to the gunships that were landing nearby. The alicorn stood at attention next to Rex as the doors opened and General Luminara and her padawan, Barriss Offee, stepped out.

“Good day, General.” Rex said. “Skywalker is waiting for you.” Luminara nodded and walked away with her padawan. Luna marched alongside them as per protocol. All three could see Skywalker and Tano still arguing.

“At it again, are they?” Luminara asked.

Luna nodded solemnly. “Unfortunately, ma’am, and it’s a fresh one.”

“Again, Master?” Barriss asked in confusion.

“Let’s just say those two have a penitent of playing loose with regulations and rules of command.”

Luna felt like she should defend her General and Commander. But she was taught better than to question a Jedi like Luminara, a Jedi who felt themselves above others who were not as strict and disciplined as them. The alicorn often wondered how Gree was able to stand her. She could never follow a Jedi that wasn’t like Skywalker or Kenobi.

“... Well if you don’t trust me, then maybe you should just send me back!”

“Oh, don’t tempt me, Snips.” Yikes, that was low, even for them.

“If you are both finished.” Luminara said, effectively ending the dispute. “I believe we do have a factory to destroy.” The three stepped up and stood tall. Luminara looked at her pupil expectantly. “Well Barriss, aren’t you going to introduce yourself?”

The Padawan nodded and bowed. “Padawan Learner Barriss Offee at your service.”

Skywalker and Tano gave each other bemused looks before Ahsoka offered a hand to the new Learner. “Pleased to meet you, I’m Ahsoka Tano.”

“It’s good to see you two again.” Anakin added. Luminara sighed.

“I wish it were under more peaceful circumstances.” Luna couldn’t agree more.

“I’ll leave you to fill each other in.” She said at last, drawing everyone’s attention. She saluted and walked away. The alicorn almost didn’t notice the surprise look General Skywalker gave her.

Knave could not believe it. The plan of attack was to launch a forward assault, in parade formation! He knew General Skywalker was bold, but this was insane. He knew Luna felt the same way. It was turning into the first battle all over again. The losses were getting just as high as well. He turned back to check his platoon to see how they were doing.

While he couldn’t see their faces, he could tell how they felt with their habits.

Razorwolf was sharpening his knife with his shoulder pad. Something he did in anticipation for a fight.

Fierce was constantly checking his weapon, making sure there wasn’t a single dent in the weapon.

Circuit checked his helmet, tapping the side of it repeatedly every few seconds.

Osprey looked around, scanning the skies for Geonosians.

Gallus was the same way, except he was on top of an AT-TE and using binoculars.

Knave wished he had a habit he could fall into. But he didn’t have the luxury. Officers were meant to be seen as calm, cool, and collected at all times. If the officer was afraid, the rest of the unit would be running for their lives. It was the trust he earned from his men, the trust of an officer to get them back safely aboard the Venator after this battle was over.

In the distance, the large metal doors of the factory opened, and rows of battle droids marched out. Knave readied his rifle, his platoon doing the same.

Gallus pointed at the droid lines, motioning for the gunner to take aim.

“This is it, boys!” Luna shouted and the first droids opened fire. The clones followed suit, firing back at their enemy. Red and Blue energy bolts flew over the flat ground, some striking home on the droids and clones.

Knave ducked as a bolt slammed into a trooper’s chest, sending the trooper to the ground. The Jedi surged forward and their troops charged with them. Knave and his platoon joined in and closed the distance between them and the droids.

More troopers went down as the range shrunk. He didn’t even have to aim much at this distance. He whacked a droid with the barrel of his gun, and kicked another with the bottom of his boot.

--

Gallus directed the AT-TE’s gun, firing into the rear lines of the droids. If he could break up their reinforcements, it might make things easier for the men on the ground. “Just keep up the pressure, trooper.” He said. The gunner said nothing as he fired another round into a block of B2s.

A loud screech drew his attention behind him, and the sight before him made his skin go pale. Behind the clones were tall spires that reached high above them. From the tops of those spires came plagues of Geonosians. Some fired their sonic blasters into the backs of the clones, melting their insides with the concussive force. Gallus aimed his blaster and fired.

--

Razorwolf turned and fired his blaster, shouting, “Ambush!” He ducked as some Geonosians attempted to grab him. A trooper behind him wasn’t able to avoid their grip and was dragged off into one of the spires. Razorwolf prepared his knife as another Geonosian made an attempt at him. Instead of ducking out of the way, he made a wide slash at the creature, slicing into its right wing. The bug fell with a screech, and the trooper made sure to end its existence with a hard stomp to head. He groaned as bug juice covered his leg.

“Aw, gross. This is never gonna wash out!” His disgust had to be put down for the moment, as more Geonosians came in.

--

Luna rolled out of the way of a sonic blast and fired at the bug responsible. It was hit several times before falling to the ground. She spotted more of them approaching and had an idea. She removed the bandolier of grenades and flung it into the air. One of the bugs caught it and prepared to throw it back when she fired a single shot at it. The bolt hit one of the thermal detonators, creating a massive explosion that consumed the plague. Charred bits of Geonosians rained from the pitch black cloud.

The alicorn smiled in satisfaction at her large kill count. Her gaze fell to the large groups of droids that were advancing on her position. Guess it was going to get bigger before long.

Within the droid ranks, squads of droidekas rolled forward. She spotted them instantly and turned to one of her troopers. “Strike, front and center!” The trooper ran up and lifted a rocket launcher onto his shoulder. He aimed at the droidekas as they halted and opened their shields. Strike fired, sending a High Explosive round toward the group. The rocket struck the ground below the shield, sending shrapnel into the air. Bits of rocks and metal managed to penetrate the weaker shields of the destroyer droids, ripping them to pieces.

Another troopers followed Strike’s example and used rocket launchers to destroy the rolling death balls.

Luna smiled under her helmet. This assault was going well, much better than expected. She only hoped Ahsoka and Barriss managed to reach the reactor, otherwise this false flag attack may actually become legitimate. “Push forward!” She pulled out her vibroblade and charged toward the droid lines.

Dek crushed another bug beneath his foot. He had no time to react before a second Geonosian attempted to grab him. A quick roll to the right and some blaster fire ensured his survival and his enemy’s demise. He took a moment to look around and check on his squad.

Radar was dragging a wounded clone away from the combat zone, ignoring the incoming fire he was receiving. Junior was helping him by providing cover fire. Trigg was going ham with his blaster rifle, gunning down entire rows of droids with glee.

Dek couldn’t find the rest of his squad, so he had to hope they were simply further away from his eyesight. But there were still a good amount of clone corpses on the ground.

Gallus watched as the tanks blasted the remaining droid units away with their cannons. He felt like celebrating, but a development in the situation changed his tune.

The large factory door opened, and two columns of unknown vehicles floated out. He used his binoculars to get a closer look. The vehicles were box shaped, with a very large profile. He couldn’t see much in the way of weaponry, outside of the twin blasters on each side of them. Could they be a new sort of droid transport? The design looked a lot like the MTTs the Seppies use.

Luna watched as Captain Rex ordered the artillery to open fire. With how slow these things were, they were easy targets. The heavy cannons opened fire, and scored direct hits. The barrage lasted a few seconds, completely devouring the tanks in fire and smoke. Luna did her best to try and make out the situation, but her binoculars were unable to make anything clear.

Maybe the artillery was so good at its job that they blew the tanks completely off the bridge. But why were they deployed in such a way? It was too easy, her gut was telling her something was wrong, and her mind was keen to agree. She stared on a for a few seconds, and her gut was proven right. From the smoke came these new tanks, without a scratch or dent on them.

“Oh kriff.”

“How could anything survive that?!” Razorwolf shouted in disbelief.

“Probably anything with a ray shield.” Circuit estimated. “Which means…’

“Our fight just got more difficult.” Luna concluded. She turned to her troops. “Fall back, we’re exposed out here!” Just as she gave the order, loud pops filled the air. All eyes fell on the Super Tanks as rockets appeared from above the them.

“Take cover!” The troopers scattered as the rockets fell toward them. Within moments, they slammed into the ground. Troopers were either sent into the air by the blasts or turned to ash by the fireballs. Luna landed with several hard thuds on the ground, her helmet’s visor shattering on impact. Pain flared throughout her body as she struggled to get up. Radar managed to make his way over and drag her toward a rock formation, where other troopers were seeking cover.

The alicorn struggled to keep her eyes open, her vision fading in and out. With one last effort, she gave up and blacked out.

Gallus’ eyes widened as he saw the incoming missiles. He leaped from the AT-TE just before they hit. The explosion sent him sailing forward into the ground below. He rolled several feet, several of his bones snapping from the sheer force of the impact. The tanks were completely destroyed, reduced to nothing but flaming wrecks. The trooper couldn’t move. His muscles refused to obey him as they could not make use his broken and fractured bones. Two medics ran over and checked his vitals before picking him up and carrying him from the field.

Luna awoke with a start as something poked her side. Her eyes snapped open to see Radar packing away the spent needle. He saw her look.

“Easy, ma’am. It’s just some adrenaline. Normally, I’m against using this stuff, but we need you awake.”

Luna nodded and sighed. She could feel the energy coursing through her body, making it almost shake uncontrollably. Her eyes fell on Knave, who was standing above her. Rockets continued to fall around them, but the Lieutenant ignored them.

“Status Report.” She said simply.

“General Skywalker’s ordered a retreat. He wants us to lure the tanks onto the bridge so he can blow it out from under them.”

Luna smiled. That was definitely a Skywalker plan. “Then let’s make it tempting. Have our wounded moved from the field. I want rockets and heavy guns to fire on those things and make them cocky. Fire two volleys worth, then fall back. If they launch rockets, get clear. Understood?”

Knave saluted. “Yes, ma’am.” He turned and gathered his men. Luna watched the troopers move about as the rockets stopped firing. She only hoped she made the right decision.

General Skywalker placed another thermal detonator on the side of the bridge. So far, he placed half of his pack on the sides and under the bridge. On the other side, Master Unduli was doing the same. The two Jedi swung from stalactite to stalactite, placing explosives where they knew it would have the most effect. In less then three minutes, they finished along the bridge and hoped over to the surface on the other side.

They ran clear of the bridge as Anakin prepared the detonator. He checked to make sure his fellow Jedi was clear before pressing the large yellow button.

The explosion was massive, as a series of smaller explosions formed one large one. The bridge fractured, then collapsed, taking the Super Tanks with it. They crashed into the ravine below, exploding into fireballs and crushing each other under their own weight.

Skywalker could hear his troops cheering on the other side, and his eyes fell on the prideful smile of Captain Luna, who had her damaged helmet off. He waved back in celebration, but he suddenly had a feeling that something was wrong. He ran over to the door to the factory, but didn’t see either Ahsoka or Barriss.

“Where are they, they’re supposed to be here!” He activated his comms. “Rex, have you heard from Ahsoka?”

“Negative, Sir.” Not good, something must have happened to the Padawans. “But this place is about to blow. Evacuations ships are on their way, I suggest you get on one.”

“Not without Ahsoka.” He said with determination.

“My Padawan will not fail.” Luminara countered plainly. She didn’t realize that wasn’t what he was worried about. He needed to be sure if Ahsoka was okay. She may be a Jedi Padawan, but she was still young, someone who shouldn’t have to be on a battlefield. He tried to raise comms once more.

“Ahsoka, where are you?!” The doors opened, giving the Knight some hope. But that hope was quickly dashed when another platoon of droids appeared from within. The two Jedi activated their lightsabers and prepared for the next attack.

Luna helped the last of the wounded onto gunships as blaster fire erupted from the factory. She looked over to see the two Generals fighting off another wave of droids. Her instincts told her to go help, but her brain kept her in check. She still had men to get clear of the blast zone.

A loud explosion drowned out the distant fight, drawing attention to the massive spire. Explosions appeared all over the place. They had done it, the factory was destroyed. But where was Ahsoka, she didn’t check in!

The building collapsed in chunks, crashing into the ground. A massive dust storm kicked up and rushed toward the troopers.

No, she couldn’t have still been in there!

“Get down. Get down!” Gree called out. Troopers ran for cover. Luna raised a shield around the gunships as the wounded braced for impact.

She couldn’t. She was still so young! They were all too young!

The dust storm slammed into her shield. The alicorn grunted in pain as she felt every single speck of dirt slam into it with the force of a rocket.

They had just made up, became friends. They could’ve been sisters. But now, Ahsoka may not even be alive!

It was over quicker than it began. The dust had settled, the factory was replaced with a smoking crater, and Captain Luna was on her knees, sobbing for all she had lost.

It had been almost an hour since the explosion. Troopers were working within the crater to remove the debris. Tank lifters were used to lift away the bigger pieces. But for every bit of debris removed, three more chunks took its place.

Luna used her magic to do what she could, but she felt it was hopeless. Almost a lifetime of death and carnage had made it easier to just accept death. But not for General Skywalker, and if he still had hope, then she was going to make an effort.

Ahsoka may not have been born in a pod, but she was no less a sister to her or her brothers, and as her father had taught the young alicorn, Vods take care of their own.

“We found them!” She looked to see Rex and other troopers gathering around General Skywalker, who had just jumped into a hole. Luna opened her wings and flew over to their position. Where she could see Ahsoka and Barriss being assisted by the General and some medics. As soon as the Padawan was on stable ground, she attacked.

Ahsoka gasped in surprise as the alicorn wrapped her hooves around her tightly. It only took her a second to realize what was happening, and she returned it in kind.

“Don’t ever do that again!” Luna snapped with a relieved smile. Ahsoka laughed and rolled her eyes.

“With Skyguy as my Master, I doubt I could if I tried.” The two laughed, joined in by Barriss and the troopers. Skywalker tried to look indignant, but failed and joined in the moment of joy. For Ahsoka was alive, they had achieved their objective. That was all that mattered right now.

Author's Note

Happy May the Fourth!

And to think, this started a year ago on Geonosis, and now we're back on the same dust bowl as before.

I hope you all enjoy, and May the Fourth be with You.