Cadence had thought about returning home for a long while. She wanted to visit and see how the new cadets were coming along, see old friends in Maintenance, and talk to her creator, Ya Pe. The alicorn had gotten her wish, but not for the reason she hoped.

Pops had come running into her quarters, informing her of the Generals’ discovery: General Grievous was planning an attack on Kamino. Anger burned in her chest at the thought of the cowardly general even thinking of an attack on her home, and the rest of the clones in the 501st and 212th felt the same. She was sure Luna was a raging mess when she heard the news.

The sun was shining for once on the planet, as if welcoming her defenders with open arms. She marched in front of her company down the ramp onto the platform leading into the main hangar. Troopers from the PDF stood at attention to greet them. From the corner of her visor, Cadence could see General Kenobi and General Skywalker talking to General Shaak Ti, the Jedi in charge of training on Kamino.

Cadence never knew the Jedi personally, but the troopers that were trained in her care spoke volumes of her generosity and kindness. Perhaps if she was given the chance, she could thank the general herself.

But that would have to wait, as she had a home to defend.

Luna stood among the other captains in the briefing room. Commander Appo was going over the strategy the defenders would take.

It was a textbook defensive strategy. They would set up defenses along key intersections and force the droids into a killing zone. The facility designs would cripple any number advantage the droids might have. She stared at the layout of Topica City. Her home, the city from which all her brothers were created. The captain remembered the days when she would play in these halls as a child with her sisters.

--

The young Luna ran down the hall with a large grin on her face. It was her day off and she planned on enjoying it with her sisters. A few Kaminoan scientists stared at her as she passed. Not once did she ever see one with a smile. But who cares, she was going to see Tia and Cady.

The alicorn turned a corner and smacked head first into another being. They both fell to the ground, the later dropping the blasters he was holding in his scrawny arms. Luna shook her head to clear the headache and looked at her obstacle. It was a clone, she thought it was. He had a face similar to her brothers. His body, however, was a whole other story.

The clone had a large hunchback, scrawny arms, and skinny legs. He was bald and his skin seemed to be shriveled up like a raisin. It was CT-099. The defective clone she heard about from her brothers.

He blinked for a second before looking at the filly who knocked him over.

“Oh, ello there.” He said, his voice sounding just like her brothers, yet softer. “And who might you be?”

“Umm, PL-025, but everyone calls me Luna.” she said, standing up.

99 perked up. “Oh, so you’re the ‘special clone’ I’ve been hearing so much about.” Luna shrugged. It could’ve been her, or it could’ve been her sisters. Her eyes fell upon the DC-15 rifles that littered the floor.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” She exclaimed, activating her horn. “Here, let me-”

“Don’t worry about it, Luna.” 99 said with a smile. “I got it.” He stood up and bent over to grab the blasters. “Now, you better get going. The way you were running, you must be in a hurry.” His smile never faltered. Not once did his voice drip with malice or sarcasm. He truly was the gentle defect that the others told stories about. The alicorn nodded in thanks and ran off, excited to tell her sisters about her meeting with the famous Clone 99.

--

She was walking down that same hall, only now it was barren. Most of the Kaminoans were evacuated to a nearby shelter, despite their belief that the Defense Fleet was too large for any Separatist attack to break through. Only the most necessary workers remained to keep the facility going. After all, they still needed fresh troops to be trained up.

Luna watched as a squad of cadets marched past her on the way to target practice. The looks they gave her made her laugh. Guess some stories about her circulated all the way back to the cadet corps. She could only imagine what they were told.

The lights dimmed and were replaced with a dark red. Alarms blared, and the hall suddenly became more active as clone troopers ran in the direction of the armory. The squad of cadets were led by their instructor to the barracks and Luna ran toward the armory to grab her equipment. She placed her helmet on and activated her comms.

The net was live with warnings from officers about the droid fleet above the planet. It was time. The battle of Kamino had begun.

Cadence organized her company within the hangar. General Kenobi ordered all units to be placed on full alert. So far, no landing craft made it through the blockade, but when it came to Grevious, anything could happen.

She watched as Commander Havoc, of the elite Rancor Battalion, organized whatever troopers he could find to defend the city. He called over some men from the 501st and assigned them to the picket positions to act as snipers. They were needed to hold back the droids long enough for other units to arrive, if any were available. Some of her men were placed in picket position, while the rest prepared to defend the hangar.

A loud splash drew all eyes to the outside world, where a trident-class assault ship appeared from below. A second one followed, and the crash from above announced the presence of the third.

“Close the doors!” The large doors began to close just as the assault ships climbed up onto the platform. All guns were raised as the troopers prepared to defend their home.

The doors proved a futile effort as the first ship rammed right through one door and the second used its tentacles to force the other open. All blasters opened up, targeting the closed hatches of the ships. Cadence’s eyes widened when the tentacles swept through the lines of troopers, sweeping them aside and crushing most. She jumped clear as the mechanical tentacle wiped out her position. As soon as she landed, the doors opened and aqua droids were deployed.

She fired her carbine into the forming rows of droids, knocking out several. But those were easily replaced as more were deployed. The aqua droids returned fire, taking down several troopers.

“Hold the line!” She called out. A trooper to her left goes down from a round to the shoulder. Stitch immediately gets to work and drags the wounded clone away to be patched up.

--

Micro ducked as a bolt almost nailed him in the face. He fired back and ended the droid that dared try to kill him. He sent several more shots into the ever growing mass of battle droids.

The roof suddenly exploded as the third assault ship drilled through and deployed its cargo into the hangar. Micro raised his rifle to try and destroy what he could, but more droids dropped from the ceiling than he could count. More of his brothers went down from the intense fire they were receiving. One of his squadmates is hit in the head, going down immediately.

“Kill them all!” Comes a raspy mechanical voice from within the mass of aqua droids. Micro felt a shiver go down his spine as he saw the owner of that voice. General Grievous. The droids began their march forward as more clones fell. Micro ran back to the rear, knowing that he stood no chance against the infamous Jedi killer. His knee suddenly gave out as a bolt went through. He falls to the ground with a groan. The trooper reaches out to begin crawling when a heavy foot slams into his back.

Micro cries out in pain as the foot slowly lowers itself. He could hear his bones breaking from the sheer weight. Above him, General Grievous laughs.

“Your pain is music to my audio receptors.” With a final sickening crunch, Micro could no longer feel any pain in his legs, but the rest of his body cried out in agony. The droid general flung the crippled trooper to the side and continued on his path, leaving his army to finish off the remaining clones.

Micro crashed into a pile of crates, losing his helmet in the process. He tried to stay awake, but the amount of trauma his body had suffered proved too much. His world darkened.

--

Cadence helped drag Havoc’s dead body away from the fighting. The last remaining troopers of the 212th held their ground, forming a line in front of the hall leading into the main hallway. She looked around at all the corpses of Kamino’s defenders. Their bodies were still as the droids marched over them like discarded trash. If her troopers kept up this defense, the hangar would become their deathbed.

“Fall back, second platoon, cover the retreat. Medics, grab what wounded you can and move back into the barracks!”

She stood tall and fired into the advancing droid lines. She needed to buy time for her company to escape. The second line of defense should be ready when they see the retreating troops. This fight was far from over.

Luna fired at the droids as they advanced down the hall. The floor was littered with clone corpses and droid scrap. The walls were blackened with burns from the onslaught of blaster fire. The alicorn turned as another trooper fell. Her platoon sized element was reduced to only two squads worth of men.

Her company had been scattered when the assault ships crashed through the walls and roof of the facility, forcing them to defend their isolated positions, and separating them from their objective: the Archive Room. The alicorn ducked down as a B2’s grenade exploded behind her. A trooper flew above her and slammed into the ground, his armor charred and splintered. She fired and destroyed the Super before dragging the clone back behind cover. He groaned in pain, which gave Luna some relief that he was alive. She turned back to fire her blaster again, taking down large numbers of droids. But more kept on coming.

--

Behind her, Trigg threw a thermal detonator into the squad of droids coming down another hallway. The explosion engulfed the aqua droids and damaged the walls, blackening the once pristine white walls. The clone raised his blaster and fired into what was left of the unit. His squad followed suit, quickly destroying the rest. Just as the last droid fell, another, much larger unit appeared in the entryway. Trigg hears the cry of one of his brothers as he was hit, then another, and another.

He turned to see he had only four of his nine troopers left standing. “Fall back!” He ordered, firing into the entryway to cover their retreat. One of his men grabbed a wounded comrade and helped him back. Trigg held down the trigger, the constant fire heating up his blaster. He slowly backed up, keeping his front toward the enemy. After several seconds of firing, his rifle had enough and shut down, smoke emanating from the barrel with a hiss.

“Kriff!” The sergeant turned and ran for cover behind a crate. The droids returned fire, pinning him down. “This is not my day.” he muttered, flinching as a bolt hit a little too close for comfort.

--

Luna watched as the wounded clone was carried back by Radar, praying for his safety. The droids were piling into the hall, their constant fire overwhelming what was left of her men. With a frustrated groan, she gave the order.

“Fall back! Rally at the Landing Pads!” She raised a shield between her and the droids. The alicorn could feel each hit as it slammed into the wall of energy. It was a strain, but she would hold until the last of her men cleared the room. She watched as Trigg made his way through the door and turned with his new rifle raised. With a grunt, she lowered the shield and ran for the door. Trigg fired over her head to provide cover, knocking out droids as best he could.

Luna ran with her head low to make herself as small of a target as possible. In a last ditch effort, she dove through the door. Trigg slammed on the lock and blasted the panel, sealing the door shut. “That oughta hold ‘em for a few minutes.” He said as he helped Luna to her hooves.

She took some time to catch her breath, then spoke. “Time to set up a proper defense. I just hope some of the others made it into the Archive Room before it’s too late.”

Osprey closed the door that led into the Archives Room. So far, only a handful of troopers managed to reach the area before the Assault Ships cut them off. He looked around at the clones who were with him. There were some familiar faces, like Dek. But the rest of them were shinies, replacements for the men he lost just a week ago. Now he was going to lose more. But this was in the defense of their home. This time, it was truly a planet worth dying for.

Blaster fire suddenly drew everyone’s attention to the door leading into the main hall. It was light, meaning it was a small firefight. Each trooper readied a blaster as the sounds of combat slowly died down.

Dek swore he could hear something among the blasters, a swishing of energy and the screams of troopers. His heart raced as it was a sound he heard before. He raised his blaster and wrapped his finger tightly around the trigger.

The sounds died down until only one blaster was firing. In an instant it stopped with a blood curdling cry. Dead silence followed. All eyes and blasters were on the large doors. The troopers waited for any sign that they would open.

Two red lights pierced through the coor and began spinning clockwise at high speeds. Dek began to pray as memories returned. Memories of a monastery and the dead clones with missing limbs. The lights spun around until there was a bright orange circle in the middle of the door. The melted metal hissed from the heat. The piece of the door was suddenly shoved forward, slamming into two troopers unfortunate enough to be in its path. Every remaining gun was unleashed upon the newly formed hole, disappearing into the smoke.

Osprey watched as nothing happened within the smoke. They were wasting ammunition. He silently signalled the men to cease fire. The silence returned.

Dek could hear his breathing and his visor fogged up. But his blaster remained firmly trained on the entrance.

A red lightsaber flew through the hole and sliced through a trooper’s neck. “Open fire!” The clones opened up once more. The assassin from Teth jumped through and used the Force to retrieve her saber, blocking the bolts with her secondary. Once both sabers were in hand, she went on the offensive. She launched herself onto a clone, knocking him to the ground. Another clone was forced against the wall and knocked unconscious. Osprey fired at her, but his shots were easily avoided. With the first swing, she sliced his blaster in half. On the second swing, his torso was split open. The trooper fell to the ground with a loud thud. It burned, more than he could imagine. Osprey struggled to move. His lungs desperately gasping for air.

Dek fired rapidly in a vain attempt to land a shot, but the sith assassin was too quick. One by one, she either knocked out or killed the troopers until he was the only one left.

He slowly backed away as he kept firing. The woman simply kept pace while blocking each bolt with a swing of her saber. After a few seconds, she put one saber away and raised her hand toward him. The hand closed into a fist and Dek felt his windpipe close without warning. His instincts took over and he dropped his blaster in favor of desperately clawing at the invisible force around his neck. He was slowly raised into the air. The woman raised her lightsaber toward him and pulled back.

Dek was dragged through the saber, the light impaling his chest. In an instant, she dropped his corpse and flung it against the wall.

Ventress smirked at the pitiful clones; clearly, they were no match for her superior abilities. Now all she needed were the two sets of DNA. One of Jango Fett, the other of the mysterious Alicorn, Captain Luna.

Cadence watched her troopers push the droids back. It seemed the droids were not as prepared for this invasion as they hoped, as their numbers were not efficient enough to take the city. She was expecting hope to fill her up with energy and drive her forward. But all she felt was dread in her but. Something was wrong and she knew it. Separatists do not make this kind of mistake. They never bring too few battle droids, numbers were always their biggest advantage. So what was different about Kamino? If Grievous was not after the city itself, he had another objective in mind.

And there was only one thing the murderous cyborg could want. With fear in her eyes, she activated her commlink.

"General Kenobi! Grievous is after the Fett DNA!"

"I say again, Grievous is after the DNA!" Luna's eyes widened. Osprey's squad was in the DNA room. If the Droid General got there before she could reinforce, they will be slaughtered!

She turned to Knave. "I need a heavy weapon squad with me, now!"

Ventress tossed the dead clones aside before entering the Data Chamber. In the center of the chamber was a large tower with rows upon rows of DNA samples. Only two were required and thanks to her master's assets, she knew where to find them. All it took was an access code and the Mango Fett DNA was her's. The same was said for the Alicorn DNA.

The Sith Assassin had already acquired the files and simply needed to escape.

The activation of a lightsaber and the presence of the Force complicated things. Behind her stood Anakin Skywalker, his lightsaber held in a defensive posture.

"I was beginning to think my presence had gone unnoticed." Ventress said smugly. It hid her fear well. Her mind would always flashback to their first encounter on Yavin IV. The anger, the rage, the strength. It made her feel weak and helpless in comparison. Something a true Sith must never be.

"You weren't planning on leaving without saying goodbye now, were you?" Was he trying to hide his fear? She could not sense it. Perhaps he never truly feared her. Maybe, in his eyes, she was simply an annoyance.

Well, she would make this Jedi fear her. Ventress attached the two samples to her belt and grabbed her lightsabers. Her goal was to escape. But maybe she could end Skywalker's life along the way.

Trigg helped a wounded trooper get to cover behind a stack of crates. His men were out in the open on one of the landing platforms. A platoon of aqua droids slowly marched toward them while firing their blasters. The clones returned it in kind.

The clone sergeant drags his comrade over to Radar, who was helping another trooper with a shoulder wound. The clone grunted in pain as he administered the bacta. “Easy, this should stem the pain until we get you to the aid station-”

“No! I can still fight.” The trooper grabbed his helmet and placed it back on his head.

“Lieutenant Warren, as the platoon’s medic I highly advise-”

“This is our home, Radar. Every clone is going to fight today. I will not be the exception.” The Lieutenant grabbed a pistol from his holster and stood up. It was a painful endeavour, but he was able to stand tall and look toward the enemy. He turned to face the medic, who had begun work on Trigg’s comrade.

Radar rolled his eyes under the helmet. “Fine, but put it on record that I thought this was completely idiotic.” Warren smiled under his helmet.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” On that note, the clone officer marched out and took aim. “For Kamino!” He fired a volley into the droid ranks, hitting one in the arm and another in the head. The rest of the platoon increased their veracity, and soon the entire droid unit was scrapped on the ground. Warren grinned at the result.

“Alright men, let’s drive these clankers back!” The clones charged forward, just as more droids appeared from the facility.

Luna ran through the torched halls toward the DNA Room. Dead clones littered the floor, all of them missing limbs and twisted in sickening angles. All of them were members of her company. Brothers she had sworn to protect. Soldiers who deserved better fates than this. Behind her was Sergeant Coyote’s Heavy Weapons Squad. Each of them carried the big guns of the Republic Military, from the Z-6 Rotary Cannon to the Cip-Quad AutoCannon. If Grievous was going to take the DNA, then he was going to have to get past a large wall of high energy plasma to do it.

She ran down the halls until she reached a door with a large hole in the middle. Through that hole, she could see a squad of clones utterly ripped apart. She could smell the burning flesh, even through the filters in her helmet. Her stomach churned as she cautiously stepped through the entrance and walked among the dead.

A gasp of air made her head swivel around. On the ground near the door to the Archives was Osprey. His chest was scorching, his armor chipped and blackened. He struggled to breathe as she ran over.

“Osprey!” She placed a comforting hoof behind his head. He coughed as he struggled to speak.

“C-Captain, I… I’m sorry. I…”

“Save your strength, Osprey. It’ll be okay.”

“Ma’am… Ventress- *cough* has… the DNA. The General- *wheeze* w-went after her.” His arm shook violently as he pointed further down the hall. “T-t-that way.” He gave one last gasp and his arm went limp. His head laid back and his eyes closed.

“Osprey.” She whispered. “Please. It’ll be okay, just st-stay with me.” Coyote and his brothers removed their helmets and bowed their heads in respect. “Please. Please.”

Cadence shoved the droid to the ground and fired over a dozen bolts into its chest. Once it was reduced to a smoking wreck, she looked up and saw the 212th charging forward.

They were doing it. The droids had overstretched themselves and were now being overwhelmed by the Republic Forces. She couldn’t help but laugh at the irony. The droids being overwhelmed by superior numbers.

Shaak Ti stood next to her and smiled. “It is almost over.”

Cadence tried to reply, but something nagged at her mind.

Jedi… Kill…

The alicorn held her head to silence the voice.

“Captain?” Cadence blinked and looked at the Jedi General. The expression on her face reminded Cadence of something. It made her feel loved and comforted.

“I-I’m fine, ma’am. Just… a little tired.” Shaak Ti nodded.

“I understand, it has been a long day. But it is not over yet, I’m afraid.” Cadence nodded and readied her blaster. Shaak Ti activated her lightsaber and the two ran forward to join the others.

Ventress stared at the army of clones surrounding her, Skywalker standing among them with a victorious grin on his face. In the hands of one clone was the Fett DNA.

“I suppose you expect me to surrender.” The Sith Assassin mocked. She felt anger surge through them all. These were clones of the 501st, Skywalker’s personal army. She has killed hundreds of them at this point in the war. They had no intention of taking her alive.

“Actually, I was planning on having the clones execute you. Right now.” Ventress’ gaze shifted to her wrist comm. It beeped to signal her escape. In the distance, she could see a kaminoan ship flying toward her. She could sense General Grievous on board.

“Not this time.” With a massive Force Push, she shoved them all to the ground and jumped. She landed inside the open hatch of the ship. She sat down and said nothing as Grievous steered the ship toward what remained of their fleet.

The Sith grabbed the DNA container from her belt. The one that she had hidden in her clothing. She may have failed to get the Fett DNA, but she had succeeded in acquiring the Sample her Master truly wanted: Captain Luna.

Luna stood in front of what remained of her company. They stood at attention with their rifles shouldered. In front of them all were coffins, filled with the bodies of their fallen brothers. Osprey and Dek among them. Luna had her helmet removed. Her pain was hidden behind a steel gaze. The Battle of Kamino was a major victory for the Republic. But it came at a terrible cost.

“Company!” She shouted. “Present, Arms!” The troops lifted their rifles and held them in front of their bodies, holding them up like flagpoles.

“Today, we honor those who have given their lives to protect more than just the ideals of the Republic. They gave their lives in the defense of our home, our planet, our brothers who have yet to see the harsh realities of war.

Today, this became more than just a war for the Republic. It is now a war for our survival. A war that we, the Clone Troopers of the Grand Army of the Republic, will win. Their sacrifices will not be in vain. We will not vanish from the Galaxy. Our Legacy will be assured because of the sacrifice these men made.”

She placed a hoof on Osprey’s coffin.

“These men were my friends, my vod. Soldiers that I swore to lead and protect. I failed them, but I will not fail with you.” She turned to her men. “This I swear, as a Captain and as a Sister.” The silence was deafening. Nothing was said as the coffins were lowered. Not a sound was made as the flags were gently lifted up. Not one soldier moved from their position as the bodies of their brothers were lowered into the calm ocean below.

Not a word.

Cadence tossed and turned in her bed, her eyes shut tightly. “No… I can’t…”

The pink alicorn stared coldly at the prone form of Obi-Wan Kenobi on the ground. He reached out to grab his lightsaber, but a clone’s boot stood in his way. Cadence looked around. The Jedi Temple was burning, with the bodies of Jedi and Clones mixed together in an infinite sea of carnage. She raised her rifle. Kenobi looked at her, pleading. She snorted and fired. Her brothers joined in, firing in a pattern that littered the Jedi general’s body. He screamed in agony as his body withered away into ash.

Cadence did not stop firing. Not as the Jedi’s body disappeared, not as her brothers moved on to slaughter more, and not as Luna and Celestia stood behind her and executed their own Jedi Generals.

All the while. The same voice, her voice, repeated: “Good Soldiers Follow Orders.”

“... Orders…” Cadence muttered. “Good. Soldiers. Follow. Orders.”

Author's Note

I was originally going to release this as part one of the finale, but I decided to release it early as a little something.

However, the final chapter for Part 2 will be released on July 31st, as scheduled.

Let me know how excited you guys are for the finale in the comments down below.

and I'll leave you guys with a question: Why would Dooku need Luna's DNA?