Clone Wars: Day 67
Coruscant: Clone Barracks

More paperwork, one of the banes of being an officer in the Republic Army. Luna dreaded it whenever she had to do paperwork, she could never understand how her older sister thought it was “therapeutic.” These papers were reports that needed to be filed after the recent battle of Fresia. Seperatist forces attempted to invade the planet, but elements of Army Group 2 managed to push them back and destroy their fleet. It was a swift victory, but there was still the task of documenting everything, especially since the battle required support from local resistance and the Senate demanded an answer as to why. Luna rolled her eyes, she wasn’t one for politics, but she hated the Senate, with their misguided attempts at controlling the Clone Army. With a sigh, she placed the last signed paper on the pile, glad to finally be able to go back to her room and get some much deserved sleep.

Before she could stand up, the door to her office opened and one of her troopers stepped in. It was one of her lieutenants, Knave. He saluted casually as he approached the desk.

“Captain.”

“Lieutenant.” Luna responded with the same casual salute. “What brings you here, if it’s more paperwork, then consider yourself fe-”

“General Kenobi just sent out marching orders.” Luna’s eyes widened. She wasn’t expecting to be back in the field so soon. “Where? Another attack?”

Knave shook his head. “Negative, we’re going on the offensive, ma’am. Muunilinst.”

The 501st stood tall and proud as their brothers from the 212th marched onto the Acclamator. The sound of thousands of armored boots stomping on the ground nearly drowned out the roar of the starship’s engines. AT-TEs followed closely behind the infantry battalions, along with the regiment of SPHAs that were to be used in the attack. Luna spotted her younger sister, Captain Cadence and her Ghost Company marching ahead of the artillery section. The midnight blue alicorn hoped she was doing better. The memory of seeing her on the ground, screaming as her vision was burned away by a lightsaber, replayed over and over again in her mind. She stayed with Cadence until her eyes were replaced with cybernetic ones. Since then, they haven’t seen each other much.

The 212th and 501st were usually placed in separate areas of combat, with Commander Skywalker leading the 501st in battle while General Kenobi would coordinate with the rest of their forces.

Once the last SPHA squadron passed her company, she turned her head and ordered. “Company, column left, march!” She turned her head forward and marched out, turning left onto the pathway. Her troopers quickly followed, marching in perfect sync. The next company followed behind hers, then a platoon of AT-TEs, followed by two more clone companies. They marched toward the Acclamator, parading down the pathway.

The massive ship was the main transport/cruiser of the Republic Army. Not as strong or as big as a Venator Class, but was great for actually landing on planets. Coruscant was currently working creating specialized landing zones for the Venators, but until that happens, the ships would have to be loaded through transfers via gunships. Considering the fact that the entirety of Army Group 2 was being deployed to the planet, it was deemed simpler to just used the Acclamators as transport ships.

Once the Company marched into the hangar, they stood at attention in formation as the rest of the 501st boarded the cruiser. Once the rest of the troops and equipment were aboard, the door closed and the clones felt the ship lift slowly into the upper atmosphere. Some nearly fell when the ship jerked against the planet’s gravity, earning a few chuckles from their fellow troopers.

“Battalion, dismissed!” Came the order. Luna about faced and gave the order.

“Company, fall out!” The troops stood tall before dispersing to separate areas of the hangar, while the alicorn marched away to the briefing that General Kenobi was preparing to hold.

Cadence overlooked the battle plan as the General explained each step. There was to be a massive assault which would drive the enemy forces into the open, where the SPHAs would then be able to pummel them with a constant barrage, which would cover the troops as they advance into the outskirts of the city.

The 212th would attack the left flank while the 501st charged the left. The center was going to be held by General Voolvif Monn’s 203rd Storm Brigade. The youngest Alicorn looked over at the Shistavanen wolfman, who stood in silence as Kenobi explained his role.

At the same time, a squad of ARCs led by Captain Fordo would infiltrate the city, take out the main artillery battery at the base of the enemy’s HQ tower, and await the General’s arrival before capturing the base and forcing the Banking Clan to surrender. Once Kenobi leaves, General Monn will lead the attack into the city and destroy as many active droids as possible before the units are shut down by the Clan.

It was bold, everything had to go right or it would turn into a slugfest. Cadence just hoped the Clan would surrender quickly. She turned her head to see her sister, Captain Luna, studying the map like a hawk. Luna lost a lot of troops on Geonosis, and while it was a victory, Luna did not take her losses lightly. Cadence’s men were lucky, they only lost about a squad’s worth of men during the battle, and most of them were from the Arena assault.

But Cadence still remembered what she lost that day, as her cybernetic eyes clicked when she blinked.

“Study this map and prepare your men.” Kenobi ordered before looking toward the ARC Captain. “Fordo, gather your team, I wish to speak with them.” The ARC nodded silently before pressing a button on his wrist comms. After a few seconds, the two left, leaving the Clone Officers alone to go over their strategy once more.

“This is bold.” One clone said.

“But it’ll work, the General hasn’t let us down yet.” Another one argued.

“True, but this is too much like Geonosis.” Luna stated, silencing the room. Most of the clones were there on the frontline, and those that weren’t saw the casualty lists. The one thing no clone wanted to see again was a death toll that high.

“We must take caution.” Luna continued. “I suggest our armor take the brunt of the assault, and we use the hills as cover for the gunships to avoid their anti-air defenses. We hold the line until those heavy guns arrive. Once they begin their barrage, we advance slowly.”

“What’s our ROE?” Cadence asked.

“The city is abandoned, it’s only purpose now is to serve as a shield for their factories and as a way to hide from invading forces. So we are allowed to level the city if need be. Any further questions?” None. “Then let’s brief the troops and the pilots.”

Acclamator Hangar Bay

Captain Luna stepped into the hangar bay, a question for General Kenobi on her mind. All around her, troopers and pilots were preparing for the attack. Some of the shinier troopers conducted drill to pass the time, others made sure their weapons were clean and primed, and a select few were playing cards inside a parked gunship.

She looked around to find the Jedi General talking to his padawan, who was performing maintenance on his personal fighter. Luna then remembered that Commander Skywalker was put in charge of the space forces for the assault. Rumors among the troopers spread, most were about the fact that Kenobi argued against it, but the Chancellor overruled the decision. As the alicorn approached the two Jedi, she could faintly make out the conversation over the noise of the busy hangar.

“... I’ve argued this before, but the decision has been made.” Luna winced as she heard the sternness in his voice. General Kenobi was a generally fair and friendly man, but when he was angered or annoyed, it was ugly to witness. “May the Force Be With You… Commander.”

With that, the General walked away, ignoring Luna, who watched him go before turning to the padawan; Anakin sighed before turning back to his work. The dark blue alicorn frowned, then walked over to the Commander.

“Master, I just want to…” Skywalker turned to see Captain Luna standing behind him, rather than Master Kenobi. Somewhat embarrassed, the padawan looked away for a second.

“Sorry, sir, I’m not General Kenobi.” The alicorn smiled slightly. “But I can offer some advice.” Anakin raised an eyebrow, but remained silent. “Trust your instincts. I relied on them more often than not, and it hasn’t led me astray yet.”

Skywalker didn’t say anything, he just stared at the trooper as if she had just declared herself a Jedi, which she sounded like when she gave that piece of advice. With a cough, the Jedi padawan nodded his head.

“Thank you, Captain, I shall take it into consideration.” With that, he turned back to his fighter. Luna laughed a little at the semi-bland delivery of the response. Commander Skywalker was not known for being gracious to others, especially when out in the open as he was.

Luna fought alongside the Commander since his recovery after Geonosis, fighting in skirmishes has formed a small bond between them. One that she hoped would last, as Skywalker was one of the few Jedi Luna felt she could trust. She gave the Commander a pat on the shoulder before walking away, once again beginning her search for the General.

Muunilist: Orbit

The massive fleet appeared out of hyperspace, the planet Muunilist rotated slowly below them. In front of the fleet, however, was a massive array of Banking Clan Orbital Defense Towers. Vulture droids were immediately launched, the clone fighters charged forward to meet them. At the front of the fighter attack group, was Commander Skywalker.

“All Squadrons to me.” He ordered. The two swarms clashed, the fighters beginning their own personal duels for dominance.

As the fighters engaged, the Acclamators flew closer to the planet before unleashing their cargo from the hangars. Hundreds of gunships raced to the planet below, quickly breaking through the upper atmosphere. The gunships dove down until they neared the ground, the bottom of the transports barely scratching the surface. Mountains towered over them as they sped through the valleys.

Inside one gunship, Captain Cadence readied her blaster. “ARC Troopers, deploy!” Came the order from General Kenobi.

“Yes sir.” Cadence watched the specially marked gunship bank left before flying away from the main force. The blast doors opened up, allowing the wind to blow freely through the ship. The gunships crested the hill and the city came into view. Cadence stuck her head out of the ship to see the city ahead.

From the city came a storm of anti-air missiles.

“Evasive action!” Gunships scattered to avoid the projectiles, some were not able to maneuver in time, many being consumed in fireballs. Shrapnel from one such explosion slammed into the engine of Cadence’s gunship, knocking many of the troopers off their feet. Two troopers fell from the gunship, their screams echoing through the squad comms. Cadence tried to use her magic to catch them, but the ship was moving to fast for her to see them. Two crunches were heard through the radio before static buzzed. It was quickly silenced.

The damaged gunship managed to land on the ground, its left engine coughing up black smoke through the exhaust. Ahead of them was a massive droid army coming to greet them. Cadence and her men launched themselves from the gunship, joining the rest of the 212th in their charge into the droid lines. More missiles were launched, destroying several gunships above. The Battle of Muunilinst had begun.

Luna jumped from the gunship before it touched the ground. As she did so, several LAAT/c’s lowered to the ground and dropped the AT-TEs from their magnetic hooks. The slow moving walkers immediately opened fire at the mass of droids advancing on their position. AATs and Hailfires fired back, destroying one walker, and damaging another.

A trooper to her right goes down with a scream as a blaster bolt rips through his shoulder. Luna catches the trooper before he could hit the ground. She took one look at the burn on his armor before placing her ear on his chest. The trooper’s heart was still beating, and he was still breathing.

“Medic!” She called. “I need a medic here!” She looked around the mass of troops charging across the open ground. Among the troopers, she saw two familiar medics assisting an injured gunner.

“Kix! Radar!”

The two medics looked to her position, then quickly spoke to each other. About five seconds later, Radar stood up and ran to her position. He jumped over craters, ducked under blaster bolts, and weaved his way through the sea of clones charging forward. He slid the last few feet on his knees to avoid a blaster bolt aimed for his head.

“Where’s he hit?”

“The right shoulder.” Radar took a quick look, and nodded.

“Alright, I’ll take care of him.” Luna sighed in relief.

“Thank you, Radar.” She was about to move on when the medic spoke up again.

“And Captain… Never make me do that again.” He said sarcastically. Luna smiled under the helmet, then moved on. Radar watched her go before getting to work. “Alright, buddy, let’s get ya bacta’d up.”

Cadence ducked under a torrent of blaster fire, two troopers that were behind her stood no chance as the bolts ripped through their chests. She quickly used her magic to drag them into the cover before a medic looked at each of them, then shook his head. The alicorn sighed, then reloaded her blaster.

She looked back to see her company finding what cover they could. Most of the AT-TEs were still functioning, but their pace was slow as AAT cannon fire grew thick. A stray shot impacted the top turret of a walker, destroying the gun and vaporizing the trooper operating it. Another blast wiped out a squad of troopers out in the open.

Cadence had to think of something fast before her unit was annihilated. They needed air support. She activated her comlink. “This is Captain Cadence calling any available gunships.”

“This is Wing 5, Captain. Whatcha need?”

“I need airstrikes on enemy armor at coordinates 700, 990, Marker 9, over.”

“Understood, Captain. Making our attack run.”

The alicorn looked up to see two sets of missiles sail over the battlefield, impacting into tanks and droid squads. A few seconds later, the gunships flew over the frontline, and opened up with their blasters and beam cannons. Droids and tanks were cut apart by the oncoming fire. Cadence watched for an opening, and grinned when she found it.

She turned to her troopers. “Follow me, boys!” She charged forward, blasting at the droids that were still in front of her.

“Come on!” “Go go go!” “Eat this clankers!” were the shouts of the troopers of the 212th as they charged forward, their slow moving walkers advancing behind them, providing cover fire.

Cadence quickly closed the distance between her troops and the remaining droid units, forcing the gunships to back off in fear of friendly fire. She blasted three droids before slamming her gun into another, lifting a fifth into the air, and smashing it into two more. The fight turned into a one sided melee as the 212th fought their way through the thin lines of B1s and B2s. A trooper to her left is smacked in the head by a B2 armed with a grenade launcher. Before she could stop it, it fires into a group of clones, sending them flying through the air. She fired at the droid several times to make sure it went down, then continued her assault.

The droid lines crumbled under the clone onslaught, and the remaining forces fell back to the city limits.

General Kenobi watched the battle from his makeshift command post. The post was a group of parked gunships set up in a small circle to act as security, as well as a way to quickly move troops and provide air support. It would make due as the portable command post was still being set up by the engineer squad.

Obi-Wan watched as the 212th broke through on the right flank, then turned his attention to the left. He could see the 501st making a steady advance, but the amount of wounded troops being brought to the rear gave the Jedi a pretty good idea of how costly it was becoming. The center was already on the outskirts of the city, so overall, the battle was going well. Once the artillery batteries were ready, it would go even better.

But he was still worried about his padawan. Anakin had never commanded troops before, and while he was highly skilled, he was brash and quick to temper. If he became too focused on a dogfight, it could cost him and his squadrons.

Obi-wan would just have to trust his student, and hope the Force would guide him well.

Luna ducked as a string of bolts impacted her cover. Gunships flew overhead to provide support, but it was still slow going. The droids had set up several positions inside the city, turning the buildings into fortresses. The AT-TEs didn’t have the range to effectively take them out. She needed that artillery support, and she needed it now.

“Captain Luna, report.” Came the voice of General Kenobi over the comms channel. With a groan, she activated her headset radio.

“General, my unit is pinned down. The droids are using the buildings as cover and we cannot advance. I need priority artillery support, over.”

“Understood, Captain. The batteries have just landed, they’ll be ready shortly.”

Thank the Force for that. “Understood, General. We’ll hold position until support is ready, out.” She deactivated her comms, and turned to her troops.

“Don’t worry, boys. The big guns are here!” She activated her commlink. “This is Captain Luna, I need fire support at coordinates 770,991 Marker 7, over.”

“Understood, Captain. Heavy rounds inbound.”

“Get your heads down!” Luna shouted as the sound of heavy blasters filled the air. The troopers dove for the ground as the massive plasma round impacted the buildings in front of them. It was a hurricane of rounds that impacted the building, within seconds the once great structure crumbled, effectively eliminating the targets inside. Dust kicked up, creating a chalky fog that fell over the clones. Luna groaned before standing again.

“Alright, let’s move out!” She ordered. “Get the wounded back to the landing site. I need those walkers moving at the double. Troopers stay behind them, use them for cover!” The troopers got up and followed orders. Some went with the medics to assist the wounded while the rest took cover next to the AT-TEs that were still able to move.

A platoon of troopers moved up to Captain Luna, who then turned to her company and their AT-TE escort.

“Alright, let’s move!” She about faced and marched forward toward the city. The rest of the company followed quickly behind, marching toward the city.

Cadence smirked at the sight before her. Her troops had reached the city limits, and were engaging in street fighting. Thankfully, the streets were massive, which allowed for the walkers to easily move in and support the advance. The constant artillery barrage helped too, wiping out entire squads of droids and tanks with ease. She ordered her troops to halt, wanting to consolidate her troops before advancing further into the city.

She set up a small Command Post on top of a rubble pile that was once a building, which gave her a near perfect view of the city in front of her. Droid troops stood in front of a massive smoke cloud, creating from a clump of burning tanks. The smoke obscured everything behind it, but that didn't deter the alicorn.

"I want all squads to advance through the smoke, we need to get into the city center as quickly as possible."

Watching the battle on a holotable were several members of the Banking Clan. The Muuns watched in horror as their troops were being pushed back into the city.

“Those guns are destroying our forward positions.” One pointed out. “The Republic is breaking through!” The building suddenly shook as a loud explosion echoed through the chamber. The Clan members looked around in shock as the shaking grew violent. When it finally stopped, realization kicked in.

“Sir, our cannon at the base of the tower has been destroyed!”

“Their range is greater than we thought.”

“It must be their artillery!”

“What are we going to do? What are we going to do?!” The leading member shouted. He turned to a bulking figure standing in the shadows, and pointed an accusing finger at him. “I don’t know why Dooku sent you here if all you’re going to do is stand arou-” His rant was interrupted by an armored hand wrapping around his long neck.

“I mean…” He choked out. “Whenever you’re ready.”

The armored creature growled before marching away, dropping the Muun to the floor.

Durge growled as he approached the hangar. How dare the little creature talk to him in that manner. He was Durge, the deadliest bounty hunter in the Galaxy. It was a title he was proud of and now he was going to prove it to those fools cowering in their tower.

He entered the hangar bay, where several rows of IG units sat on speeder bikes. Their engines revved as their leader approached. He sat down on his personal, activated the engine, and grabbed the lance offered by one of the IG units.

The Gen’Dai revved his engine, then flew from the hangar, past the remains of the tower cannon, and charged toward the large column of smoke.

Pops marched forward with the rest of his squad, making their way through the thick smoke that obscured the city in front of them. The rest of the 212th were already engaging on the other side, quickly wiping out any and all Droid units. His troopers quickly walked through the smoke, and the sight in front of them brought back memories. Lines of troopers and AT-TEs charged forward into a massive line of droids. But the clones were taking advantage of their experience, and were crouching low and using the walkers for cover.

The clone sergeant urged his men forward and the squad quickly joined the fray. One of his troopers readied a rocket launcher as an AAT came into view. The trooper aimed at the droid tank, fired, and scored a direct hit. The tank exploded into a fireball, blasting away several nearby droids in the process. Pop was about to congratulate him when something appeared from the smoke. A line of IG units on speeder bikes charged forward, their lances lowered. Pops watched in horror as the droids charged into the clone ranks, running dozens of them down. He aimed his rifle and fired erratically in a vain attempt to stop the charge. Two other troopers did the same, only to be run down by a pair of IG units. He watched them go flying into the air and land with hard thuds several feet away. He continued to fire his blaster to avenge them, never seeing the lance aimed for his back.

The IG unit was about to hit its target when a bolt found home in its head. The action sent the droid veering right past Pops, who stared in shock as the speeder crashed into a pile of rubble.

He then turned to the trooper who fired the shot. The trooper was firing at other targets before being impaled by another IG droid’s lance. Pops watched as the trooper’s corpse was carried for several dozen feet before the droid lowered its lance, allowing the body to slide off the weapon and roll several more feet.

Pops ran for the trooper, being weary of anymore speeder bikes. He kneeled down next to the trooper and examined him. His armor was punctured. Blood poured from the massive gaping wound. Pops nearly vomited when he saw the ground through the hole in the clone’s chest.

Cadence watched the smoke through her binoculars. She heard several explosions and blaster fire, when her comms net was suddenly bombarded with cries of panic and agony. She had no time to decipher what any of it meant before spotting something in the smoke. In an instant, hordes of IG units on speeders charged through, and began cutting down the troopers caught in the open.

The alicorn’s eyes widened before she grabbed her blaster and began firing. The rest of the troopers hiding in the rubble did the same, but the droids proved to be too fast for them. Cadence could only watch as entire squads were run down by the droids. She turned her attention to the droid leading the charge. It looked distinctive compared to the others. She opened fire on the droid, unleashing a full auto barrage on the target.

Durge looked back, slightly annoyed at the terrible attempt to kill him. He aimed one of his pistols at the four legged clone and fired three shots before turning back to driving.

Cadence continued to fire, until three blaster bolts hit her in the leg, the chest, and the wing. She went down with a cry of pain, however a trooper caught her before she could fall off the rubble.

“Loop, get over here!” The trooper shouted. A clone medic ran up and immediately went to work.

Sergeant Hardlight of Carnivore Company sighed. His company has been ordered to stay behind and guard the artillery. The captain may have been fine with hanging back, but not him. He wanted action. Why bother carrying a Z-6 if he wasn’t going to use it to blaster droids? There was no way the droids were going to get through, not when the 501st was attacking.

“On the right!” A trooper shouted. “Incoming!” Never mind, he was wrong. The sergeant turned to his squad.

“Get ready, boys!” He revved up the rotary cannon and aimed to the right. Through the smoke that obscured their right flank came a large line of IG units on speeder bikes!

“Oh kriff!” Hardlight shouted as the droids quickly closed in. Before he could order his squad to open fire, the droids began sweeping the artillery camp. Their lances scraped the repulsor engines of the artillery tanks, causing massive explosions that were disintegrating the massive vehicles. Hardlight and his squad opened fire.

The troopers did their best, but the speeders were simply too fast for them to hit. Hardlight tried to aim ahead, as they had been trained to do with fighter attacks, but the targets were a lot smaller than Vulture droids.

The clone sergeant turned to see his captain firing from a small dugout position. The captain aimed at two IG units that were charging right for him. He hit one, but the other reached him too quickly. Hardlight watched as his captain was lifted into the air, impaled on the lance, before his body was dropped back into the dugout.

“Dammit! Take cover!” He shouted to his squadmates. “We need to-” A loud clunk caught his attention, then rapid beeping made his eyes widen. He and his squad dove for cover as a massive explosion engulfed the SPHA. The explosion also engulfed three of Hardlight’s troopers who screamed as the fire consumed them.

Hardlight could only watch as his brothers were consumed in fire, screaming as they were boiled alive in their armor. His mind flashed back to Geonosis, and the brothers he lost in the same gruesome manner.

Dammit. Not again.

Obi-Wan watched the battle begin to crawl. Why had the artillery stopped firing? He never gave an order to cease fire.

“General Kenobi, our cannons are being destroyed!” Well, that answers that question. Kenobi turned his attention to the massive fire where his cannons used to be. He watched as the camp was in chaos. Troopers were scattering, IG units were running them down, artillery vehicles were blowing up, and an armored figure was leading the attack. With a glare, the Jedi lowered his binoculars. There was only one thing he could do.

“Mount up.” He ordered.

“Yes sir.”

Luna ducked behind her cover as a droid turret hit her position. “Dammit. What happened to my artillery support?!” The alicorn watched as an AT-TE was hit by a rocket. She followed the trail to a four story building. She gave the location to a rocket trooper, who fired his own rocket into the building.

Troopers were pinned down behind cover as the droids used more buildings as defensive positions. The captain had to think of something fast before her company was completely bogged down. A rifleman to her right was hit in the leg. Luna pulled him back before a second shot could finish him off. Radar immediately went to work on the clone.

“Well, ain’t this a fine mess, ma’am?” He joked as he worked on the trooper’s wound.

Luna sighed. “I just want to know what happened to my support, we need to break through.” She looked over to observe the battlefield in front of her.

Three walkers stood in a line to cover the infantry, their turrets fired at anything and everything that moved within the buildings. Clones huddled behind cover, occasionally making a brave move to a new location or firing at a droid they spot out in the open. Medics dragged dead and wounded troopers away from the fighting before treating them.

Luna looked back at the three AT-TEs that were lined up, and idea forming in her head. She ran up to the tanks, dodging the blaster fire that came her way. She jumped on top of the middle AT-TE and turned to her company. Her brothers watched her in awe and fear as she stood tall on the walker, never flinching at the blaster bolts hitting her spot.

“Troopers, to me!” She called out. “We’ve got to break through and take this city. The ARCs are counting on us meeting with them at that control tower! Our brothers are counting on us!” She opened her wings and readied her blaster. “Now follow me, brothers!” She then jumped from the tank and ran toward the building. A droid gunner spotted her approach and aimed at the alicorn. Before it could fire, however, a blue bolt slammed into its head, knocking it clean off.

Troopers jumped from their cover and made a beeline for the nearest buildings. The fighting in the streets quickly changed into room by room engagements. If a room was too tough to take, the AT-TEs would annihilate them with their main cannons before advancing up the street.

Luna jumped through an open window into a room full of droids. Before they could react, she unleashed a full auto barrage from her carbine, quickly taking out them out. She then ran into the next room and repeated the process, and again, and again, and again until the floor was devoid of enemy troops.

Once the last droid was destroyed, she took a deep breath to calm herself. It was after she exhaled that her ears picked up on something. It sounded like… speeders?

The alicorn looked out of the nearby window to see a swarm of speeders approaching her from the rear. They were clone lancers. But why were they being deployed? She looked the lancers to the direction from which they came, and saw a huge column of smoke rising into the air. She took out her binoculars to see what was left of the artillery camp.

“So that’s what happened.” She said solemnly.

Hardlight groaned as his vision returned. The screams of wounded troopers echoed in his ears. The very first thing he could see was his helmet, charred in some areas, and a piece of the visor was broken off. The trooper attempted to get up, but pain in his back kept him on the ground. A clone medic ran over and immediately checked him over. Once he performed a medical check, he called over two more troopers.

“I need a stretcher!” Hardlight tried to lift his head, but the medic kept it down. After a few seconds, the sergeant felt himself being lifted up, and sudden fatigue forced him to close his eyes once more.

Loop finished placing the ointment bandages on Captain Cadence’s wounds. The alicorn of the 212th was still unconscious, but she was alive at the very least. The medic sighed as he finally had a chance to catch his breath. He felt a hand on his shoulder, forcing him to look at who it was. It was Pops, one of the few surviving members of the speeder bike attack. The fatherly clone kneeled down to match Loop’s level.

“How is she, kid?”

“S-she’s okay, sir.” He said, stuttering slightly. “Just, just a bit banged up. The armor took, took most of the damage.” Pops gave him a soft pat on the back before turning to look at him.

“We got other wounded that need care, kid. I’d get to it, I’ll watch over the Captain.” Loop looked at him before nodding and getting up to help the other clones.

Pops watched him go before looking back at Cadence. He remembered the last time he saw the alicorn like this. It was back on Kamino.

CT-9095 was overlooking the training of his company, including an unusual trooper. She wasn’t like him or his brothers, as she was cloned from a different host. While they host was top secret, the fact that she was different from them was not.

He watched as she struggled to fit in with the others, always the odd trooper out. At first, 9095 didn’t care. If a clone couldn’t do what they were made to do, why bother with them. She would only slow them down. But after seeing her determination, including spending extra hours in the training simulator, spending hours on a single scenario until she got it right, it made him realize that she wasn’t as different as he thought.

So he made it his goal to not only train her better, but also help her fit in with the others. He taught her Mando’a, how to play cards, how to talk to others, and how to be a leader. She obviously took those lessons to heart, as by the time the 212th was formed, she was selected to be the company commander, and not a single clone objected.

Later that night, as the rest of the company was going to sleep after a long night of partying, 9095 put his armor away in his locker. A near silent cough caught his attention, making him turn to see Cadence standing behind him. He saluted quickly.

“Captain.” The alicorn giggled.

“At ease, sergeant.” She then sat down on the bench, motioning for him to do the same.

“I just want to thank you, for everything.” 9095 was slightly surprised. He didn’t actually expect troopers to thank him. With a cough, he spoke.

“Cadence, I only got you started.”

“Bantha Osik.” She said, surprising the clone further. “You helped me fit in, far more than you know. So just take the appreciation, Pops.”

9095 raised an eyebrow. “Pops? I’m only a year older than you.” Cadence shrugged.

“The whole company calls you that, Pops. You’re like a father to a lot of us, I just take it a little more literally.”

Pops. He could get used to that name, especially if the whole company called him that when he wasn’t around. It actually rolled off the tongue rather well.

Pops smiled at the memory, then gently stroked the alicorn’s hair. “Don’t worry, little vod. Pops is here.”

General Kenobi stepped out of the Base Tower, the ARCs and Banking Clan prisoners in tow. He was half expecting to fight his way out, but was genuinely surprised to see the 501st camping around the area. The city was quiet, almost too quiet. He marched out into the open to see Captain Luna waiting for him. She stood tall and saluted.

“General, the Tower Square is secure. All droid forces are being pushed back to the very center of the city. The Storm Brigade is advancing while the 212th and 501st consolidate.”

Kenobi nodded. “Excellent, then all we need to do is get the Clan to officially surrender.”

“Yes sir.” Luna then raised an eyebrow. “And sir, if I may ask… why are you soaking wet?”

Obi-Wan sighed. Memories of that creature devouring him were still as fresh as the liquid covering his body.

“It’s a long story, captain.” A loud explosion suddenly echoed throughout the city. “What was that?”

Luna looked around, none of her troopers had fired, and the area was cleared over an hour ago. “I don’t know, General.” In an instant, a strange ship flew over their heads. Luna ducked her head as the fighter flew over.

“That’s not one of ours.” Kenobi pointed out.

“No, General.” A second fighter flew overhead, one both the Jedi and alicorn recognized.

“That was Anakin!”

“Yes, General.”

Obi-Wan activated his wrist comm. “Anakin, come in.” The two fighters had a quick dogfight in the air before the rogue fighter dipped back toward the ground. Luna watched as Skywalker’s fighter followed it down.

“Scatter!” The troopers ran for cover as the Jeci opened fire on the fighter. The shots missed and instead impacted the ground around Kenobi and Luna.

“You’re supposed to be in space, leading our forces.” He said calmly, as if his padawan didn’t just fire high energy blasts at him. The two fighters continued to fight, destroying several buildings in the process.

“Under control?! I don’t think so. You’re place is with your squadrons, Young One. Not-” He ducked as the two fighters once again flew over his head.

“Not chasing one ship through the city streets!” After another burst of plasma, the two fighters took to the air, becoming specs in the eyes of the troopers.

“Anakin, I am also sensing something strange, but you must let that ship go, it’s baiting you.” As the call went through, Luna watched with her monocular helmet attachment. The two ships flew off into space. They were going to jump. Luna quickly activated her coordinate map, and activated the emergency tracker beacon on the jedi’s starfighter. Every ship had a beacon that could be activated by troopers on the ground. It was incase any ships were stolen and the troopers who witness it could quickly track it if it escapes.

“Do not follow that ship. Anakin do you hear me?! Do not follow that ship! That is an order! Anakin!” Kenobi was frantic now. His padawan refused to listen to him, and he feared the young Jedi was falling into a trap.

“Padawan, if you-” The signal cut as the fighter jumped into Hyperspace. Kenobi glared at the spot where Skywalker’s fighter once was before turning to Luna.

“Do you have the coordinates?”

Luna nodded. “Yes, General.”

“Take a squad and follow him.”

Luna hailed over a squad of her best troopers, twelve in all. Once that was done, she had a Consular Class cruiser pick up the squad. The pilots were quick to punch in the coordinates. It lead to the Yavin System, more specifically, the Fourth Moon of Yavin.

Why would the fighter bring him there? It must’ve been an elaborate trap if the Commander was being led so far away from any battlefields.

Luna had a bad feeling grow in her chest as the cruiser launched into orbit and jumped to Hyperspace.

Author's Note

Another Chapter Complete. Answer me this?
- Who was in that fighter?
- Where have we seen Yavin IV before?
- Will Anakin and Luna survive their encounter?