Chapter 46 - Of war and politics (1/2)
Part 1
Near Cache 42
Hoth
In the middle of a hilly, frozen covered plain, a single unmarked APC took shelter in a secluded ravine. It was battered by freezing winds, which picked up snow and twisted it in a rather convincing rendition of a blizzard. A large cargo-hauler droid sat behind it.
Inside, the four occupants shivered despite their thermal armor, the APC's weather conditioner and a few additional heaters. There were two dozen full power cells neatly stacked in a corner within the troop compartment, to supply the soldiers for however long their mission took.
The passengers kept busy with small talk, bemoaning their chilling ȧssignment.
”How are we supposed to find that place anyway?” C4312, more commonly known as Cifor asked. The Clone, who most definitely wasn't a Republic trooper or in any way ȧssociated with the GAR, asked his brothers, who weren't part of the army either. No sire, and they had the documents to prove it too. They were even legit.
”That's why we brought the recon droids.” Sergeant Hall answered, while huddling next to the heater in the back of the APC.
”Anything left here undisturbed for the past four thousand years would be under few meters of ice at the very least.”
”More.” The Engineer in their group, Kal, muttered, without tearing his eyes from the terminal monitoring the scout droids.
”What the gear head over there said.” Cifor nodded.
”At least we aren't getting shot at by clankers.” Eltee, the driver quipped.
”Instead we're freezing our ȧsses on this forsaken ice ball.” Cifor grumbled.
”It's a nice place to stash up a cache for a rainy day.” The Sergeant shrugged. ”What are the odds that someone actually stumbled on it in this wasteland?”
”With our luck?” Cifor, looked incredulously at the NCO.
There was a beeping sound from Kal's console.
”You had to open your mouth, didn't you?” The Engineer grumbled. ”We hit pay-dirt. Oh, and there's a storm coming too.”
”Well, kriff. Once it's over, you're volunteering to lead setting up the equipment, Cifor.” Kel shook his head. ”You just had to open your mouth, didn't you?”
”Hey! The storm isn't my fault! Tell him guys!”
”Totally is.” Eltee smirked.
=RK=
”I didn't think that the time would come when I would enjoy working with clankers.” Cifor nodded sagely. He was inside the APC, keeping warm, while seven construction droids were busy ȧssembling the excavation equipment, that needed to cut through ten meters of ice and frozen ground.
”We're getting out to check if everything's set up all right.” Eltee gave his brother a dirty look.
”You're the gear-head!” The trooper whɨnėd. ”I'll only slow you down.”
”He might jinx it, buddy.” Kal added from his comfortable seat in the front.
”How many times should I repeat myself?! The storm wasn't my fault!” Cifor ġrȯȧnėd.
”What about that mess on Geonosis?”
”What?! You can't pin that on me! Tit was those Commando maniacs who brought that clanker battalion on our heads!”
”Uh-huh. The baby rancors in that pirate base we hit last month?”
”They were kinda cute...” Cifor muttered quietly.
”I knew it! It was totally your fault!”
”Enough. Just get out and check the gear. It should be ȧssembled any minute now.”
”What about you, sarge?”
”I'm feeling merciful today so I'm not sending you on a recon out there just to spare myself a headache. Move!” Hall glared at his brothers, wondering who he pissed off to be saddled up with this bunch of jokers.
”Uh, sarge... How are we supposed to get down there?” Kal asked. For a change the driver had dismounted too and was peaking at the rather steep and smooth hole leading to the upper part of a metal door. The rest was still buried under a loot of damp, half-frozen soil.
”We have climbing equipment as well as a few grav-harneses, like those used by the Shock Troopers.”
”Damn. You expect us to use something certified by those lunatics?!” Cifor winced under his tightly sealed helmet. So far his thermal armor was working as advertized so he hadn't started freezing. Yet.
”You're volunteering to test them.”
”Nah, I'll pass.”
”That wasn't a suggestion.”
”What did I do to deserve that?”
”Where should I start? Go get kitted.” Hall pointed at the nearby cargo hauler.
=RK=
Four lost droids and a lot of improvisation later, the Clones entered the underground complex. On a first look, it looked like a bust. Just a damp, dead end corridor. That didn't deter Hall, who following his instructions went half-way to the end, turned right and tapped four specific places on the wall.
For a few seconds nothing happened. Then a cringe-worthy grinding sound echoed in the small space. A panel slid up, revealing a camera and pair of bulky sensor pods.
”Identify yourselves.”
”Sigma-four-beta-niner-24143-56141-Gamma-Delta-Omega.” The Sergeant carefully pronounced each word and number.
”Code accepted. Password is Eldar.”
”Farseer.”
”Password accepted. Insert key.” A small opening appeared in the end of the corridor.
”Here goes nothing.” Hall muttered. The sergeant retrieved a tiny black box from his belt and inserted it in the key hole.
A few tense seconds of waiting followed, until a wave of static washed over the clones. Then they heard the unmistakable sound of magnetic clamps releasing and the blank wall slid back revealing dimly lit, gray corridor.
”Our target's in the far end of the facility. Another team will be checking for anything else of use.” The Sergeant muttered as they walked between two rows of sealed doors until they reached a massive blast door at the end of the second corridor.
”Additional authorization required to access Omega class items.”
”TK-0152-6642-5123-6553-D. Code-phrase Cherry Blossoms.”
”Authentication successful. Releasing Omega cache into your custody. Have a nice day.”
The armored door, which looked like it could shrug off multiple turbolaser shots, opened with a quiet hiss only to reveal a small room with four metal containers placed on a plain table.
Hall had expected something grander from a chamber supposedly containing superweaons.
He went to the containers and looked over the inscription on their tops. Three of them meant nothing to him. The fourth however was his target.
It was a simple thing. Two letters and two numbers.
CN-12
Just to be sure, the Sergeant carefully unlocked the box and looked inside. Yep. Two rows of chips within a stasis field as well as a pair of ancient data pads. He sealed it again and waved to Kal and Cifor to pick it up.
They were done with this frozen waste.
CIC
Republic Cruiser ”Chimera”
First Assault Fleet Flagship
High Orbit above Objective Alpha
Geonosis
”Admiral on Deck!” One of the troopers guarding the cruiser's nerve center shouted when Yularen stepped out of the turbolift.
”Carry on.” The Admiral snapped, while anyone without something important to do was busy standing to attention. ”Commodore, give me a status report.”
Pellaeon nodded and pointed at the main screen. ”Infiltration units are in position. We're conducting Ion strikes all over the AO, while simultaneously bombarding all know enemy positions which could be used to reinforce Objective Alpha. The ȧssault on the HUB is in progress.” The Commodore pointed at a rather large mountain near the primary target. There were multiple friendly icons all around it. ”The diversion force is at the jump off position and the units tagged for the main ȧssault are ready to exploit any opening.”
”It will have to do. Air dominance?”
”We have a third of our remaining small craft on call as well as six frigates for close orbital support.”
”It's time to see if the General's latest brainstorm is going to work.”
”It'd better. He's down there too.”
”Bring the fleet to condition two and launch the reserve fighters. I want us ready for any surprises. Cut off the bombardment at my mark and keep scanning for any enemy concentrations approaching the AO. I want any local dumb enough to show his head vaporized.” Yularen ordered. ”Mark!”
The rain of Ion bolts hammering the shields over the CIS's new droid factories and the desert around them suddenly cut off. Once the last one slammed into the ground, three divisions launched smoke grenades to cover their advance towards the Separatists' defensive trenches. At the same time, five infiltration teams slipped behind enemy lines with their newly-issued active camouflage and headed for the theater shield generators.
What Yularen hoped to be the final act of this invasion had began.
=RK=
Part 2
In the vicinity of Objective Alpha
Geonosis
Thick bolts of Ion energy slammed into the landscape before us, ravaging any electronics they could reach. Shields sparkled as they absorbed and reflected the power raining upon them, further saturating the surrounding area.
The wild energy released upon the helpless desert took the form of a terrible lighting storm. Blue forks slammed into the ground, discharging themselves into the soil and incidentally burning anything without a strong defense. Minefields either detonated with hellish explosions or simply fused into dangerous lumps of melted metal and no-longer stable explosives. Automated turrets became ugly ornaments as their internal components were melted into slag. The droids and locals caught in the open suffered similar, gruesome fates as they were fried by the Ionic storm ravaging the countryside.
It was beautiful sight.
When the pyrotechnics finally ended and the lighting storm dissipated, it was time. The divisions ȧssigned to the diversion roared to life and plunged headlong into the enemy defenses, thick smoke from hundreds of grenades and ECM obscuring their approach.
That was our cue too. A predetermined signal from my comm sent a platoon moving, with myself at the vanguard. Our light armors were already running in a stealth mode, making us invisible to most sensor and the good old Mark One eyeball. The movements of the armored division attacking the enemy positions would ensure that any seismic sensor in the area would be less that reliable even before the other Force Adepts and I started working our particular brand of ”magic”.
We moved through the smoke like ghosts. Little more than the odd shimmering outline heralded our passage. On our right flank, the battle was just beginning, with the enemy firing blind in the artificial darkness. A few tanks and APCs were torn apart by hostile artillery , before the leading elements passed the shield threshold.
Then the mutual slaughter began. The first tanks died under concentrated barrages of heavy weaponry within seconds, but a few lived long enough to pop additional smoke and ECM. The mad brew created by our engineers started spreading within the protective bubble, giving a fighting chance to the second wave of armor.
The battle was stating in earnest when we passed through the shields and jogged towards a large boulder, which was anchoring two enemy trench lines. When we got close, I enhanced myself with the Force, something that was finally starting to be less painful and reached the top in a single jump.
The squad of locals who were using the place as a forward observation post never saw me coming. I landed on the nearest one , crushing him beneath my boots. Moving faster than the Geonosians could follow, I slammed my right fist in the head of the nearest still living Separatist. The vibro blade built in my gauntlet extended and pierced his skull without even slowing down. In the same time I had raised my free hand and directed the Force to choke the life from his partner.
The remaining pair of locals had enough time to click in surprise and start raising their weapons, before I telekinetically picked them up and slammed them into the rust colored rock.
There was no time to waste. The observers death was going to be noticed any moment now.
I went to the edge overlooking my platoon and pulled them up with the Force. They wasted no time and jumped down the other side of the rock formation, relying on the grarv-harnesses I insisted everyone carry. I was the last one to hit the ground,
The impact made me stumble, and all that preventing my helmet from kissing the sand was Boil's helpful arm.
Kriff, using the Force to conceal us all in addition to everything else was a murderous after the stunt I pulled earlier with the Battle Meditation.
I forced the pain and dizziness away, straightening up. I knew I wouldn't be able to keep this level of Force use for much longer, though I really needed it until we were past the front line.
”Go. We need to keep moving.” I hissed and followed my own order.
If it wasn't for the Force shenanigans I was pulling out, we would have undoubtedly have been noticed the moment I dispatched those observers. The sheer strain brought me to a near collapse, but we did get behind the front-lines, a and into a small crevice that as far as we could tell wasn't under active observation.
Then I allowed myself to release the concealing technique and fell to my knees.
”General! Are you all right?!” Waxer sprinted to my position when he heard me fall.
”Do I look all right?” I managed to croak, while I was patting my harness for the last dose of the drug I brewed a few days ago. It took my shaking fingers a couple of attempts, but I finally twisted off the cap, then I put the bottle down and wrenched my helmet off, becoming visible.
The next thing I know was the alchemical concoction sliding down my throat, scalding my insides.
A few seconds later, the shacking subsided and I could feel myself being rejuvenated. I took a deep breath of the hot desert air and put my helmet back on, before reactivating the active camouflage.
”Let's go.” I ordered after using the force to further cloak our movement. Hopefully the rest of the strike teams were handling their tasks better than us, because I didn't think that our luck would hold much longer. It was a miracle that the enemy wasn't already looking for us.
=RK=
”This might have gone better!” Ahsoka grumbled. The young Togruta was busy deflecting blaster bolts, while her command unloaded shot after shot in the ranks of the Droids closing in on her unit.
The Force clearly hated her. That's the only way she could explain the ground falling away from behind her platoon to reveal a tunnel chock full of killer robots. The only good news was that the droids were as surprised as the Clones who fell in their midst, allowing Ahsoka to save a few of her men thanks to some fast thinking and the Force. Even then, three people were shot before they could react to finding themselves surrounded by the machines.
The fact that the tunnel was sealed moments later by a thermal detonator didn't help Tano's strike team. Their cover was blown and now they were being swarmed by what suspiciously looked like a whole kriffing battalion.
”Left flank!” The Lieutenant usually in charge of the platoon shouted.
”Of course. This is getting better and better…” Ahsoka grumbled and glanced in the relevant direction. Sure enough, there were at least a score of SB droids taking them in the flank.
That simply wouldn't do. Ahsoka hissed in anger, glaring after a near-miss. It wasn't enough that her master went a bit mad and get a lot of people killed, before landing himself into a bacta tank.
Nope. That had to reflect on her too, making many Jedi Masters question her integrity. If it wasn't for Obi-Wan taking her under his wing, she might have ended into the agri-corps or something just in case if that conversation between Master Kenobi and the Council she had accidentally overheard was anything to go by.
As if all that was not enough, now a bunch of kriffing clankers were killing her men! She not only saw, but felt them get hurt and die.
People under her command. Clones whose well being was her responsibility.
”No!” Ahsoka hissed.
Bursts of blaster fire popped the light shield of another soldier, before simply hammering enough firepower into him to burn through his armor. Another was blown to bits by a tiny missile.
”NO!” Tano growled.
The Force hummed around her, as if it was feeding by the anger she was feeling. The Jedi knew what she was supposed to do – crush her feelings and simply disregard feeling how her men were dying around her.
Once upon a time she would have tried her best to do precisely that, even if it meant more people were going to die.
Instead, Ahsoka forced her will over the Force, grappling it with mental fingers and channeling her will. Sparks danced in front of her eyes as she felt an incredible wellspring of power all around her.
”NO!” She shouted a third time and waved her free hand at the SB Droids flanking her position… and the Force eagerly jumped to obey her. A single bolt of crackling lighting jumped from her palm and slammed at the closest machine, frying it internals, before blasting the droid off its feet and burning out the one behind it. Ahsoka swept her hand left and right, disabling clanker after clanker.
Once the last one of the flanking force was gone, Ahsoka finally cut off her attack and smiled.
Then her eyes rolled back and she collapsed.
”Medic! The commander's down!” One of the Clones shouted before darkness claimed Tano in her sweet embrace.
=RK=
Part 3
In the vicinity of Objective Alpha
Geonosis
It was different this time. She could feel it all as if she had been blind up to this point.
Death screams. Fear. Desperation. Determination. Anger. Terror… and so much more.
The Force itself was alive with the emotions of the countless people fighting and dying all around her. It was supercharged by them, almost made tangible… and finally, Shaak Ti understood. It was so obvious. So easy to lose oneself in the malestorm surrounding her. So enticing.
The Jedi Master smiled as she let the downpour of emotions wash over her, using it to focus the Force around her into a weapon.
The time for stealth was over anyway. The Togruta and her platoon were just a few hundred meters from their prize and they had to cut through two mechanized companies to reach it.
There were six dug in tanks, at least ten APCs she could see and about two hundred ȧssorted droids and Geonosians blocking the way.
”Prepare grenades. Mix of EMP, frag and Thermal detonators.” The Jedi Master whispered.
The invisible troopers behind her complied, each of them removing explosives from their harnesses. Shaak Ti took a deep breath and let her mind expand outwards until she could sense each grenade, then she pushed even more and her consciousness flew over the enemy lines. She could feel the locals' alien minds as they huddled in their trenches, the cold, uninviting presence of the Droids and the dull shapes of the vehicles. The Jedi fixed that image in her mind and she picked up the grenades. The EMPs flew first, streaking towards every concentration of droids. They were followed by frags aimed at the locals and the Thermal detonators dashing under the vehicles.
The enemy saw what was coming, shouting and pointing at the raining explosives. A few had the presence of mind to try shooting the incoming ordinance, while most simply stared in disbelief. That feeling was suddenly replaced by shock and pain as the CIS position were claimed by fiery death. Scores of Droids fell down with their their electronics burned out. Dozens of the locals died from the explosions or were cut down by flying shrapnel. In the same time, tanks and APCs were consumed by fusion fire, that melted anything unlucky to be close enough.
”GO!” Shaak Ti shouted and surged forward.
The Jedi's lightsaber flew into her outstretched hand, igniting in mid-air. Her stealth field cut of and the energy was automatically dumped into the shield forming around her as she sprinted forward. The Clones followed her, shooting at anything that moved.
A few of the shocked survivors from the surprised attack tried to fight back and were gunned down for their trouble.
The Republic soldiers were almost through, when additional defenders sprang from around the generator. They were a mixture of SB Droids and Geonosian warriors, led by a pair of massive locals, who looked closer to walking tanks than to their lesser brethren.
Shaak Ti deflected the few blaster bolts sent her way and jumped in the midst of the closest enemy group. She reflected a handful of shot while flying through the air and sent a telekinetic blast forward before she hit the ground. Her attack threw the droids off their feet, leaving them easy prey for her flashing blade.
Meanwhile, the Clones were hammering shot after shot in the last line of defense, cutting down the locals one after another. Grenade launchers spoke, shattering the enemy flank farthest from Shaak Ti, while the center simply melted under the relentless barrage of blaster bolts.
That left the Jedi to deal with the pair of giant locals sprinting her way. They opened up with blasters built into their right arms, while long vibroblades extended from under the left. A squad of Clones tried to take Elites down before they reached their General, yet their accurate bursts blaster fire splashed harmlessly over the tough armor of the overgrown bugs.
Shaak Ti shook her head at the men charging her. The Force was still singing all around her, begging to be used. The Jedi raised a hand and pointed at the nearest enemy. She picked him up and slammed him into his buddy, sending them both tumbling through the sands. The Jedi Master picked up the same Elite and used the Force to crush the life out of him.
The Togruta frowned when she felt the life deserting him. Her instincts howled in victory. She felt sick, sweet satisfaction at taking a life through the Force. It made her feel exhilaration, yet at the same time.. it felt somehow wrong, off.
Her sudden confusion almost let the remaining Elite surprise her as he found his footing and sprinted at her, waving his vibroblade like a madman.
Shaak Ti got out from her stupor just in time to roll away from a vicious swing. She wasted no time and riposted with her lightsaber. Her emerald blade caught the alien's right hind leg at the joint and the insectoid stumbled with a cry of pain. The Jedi gave let him no time to recover and jumped on his back. She thrust her blade at the base of his skull and held it there for the few seconds it took to melt through the armor, despite the Geonosian's attempt to shake her off.
The armor yielded and the local died when the laser sword boiled his brain.
”Set the charges and let's get out of here!” Shaak Ti ordered. She glanced at the troopers and smiled. The demo experts were already half-way to the generator.
Now if only they could hold on until reinforcements arrived…
=RK=
”Ma'am, why aren't we attacking the generator?!” The Lieutenant commanding her ȧssigned platoon asked Aria after ducking under a sonic blast.
”We're a distraction.” She deadpanned and threw a frag downrange.
”That's those division's job, not ours!”
”We've got an insane killer Droid on our side.” The Sith apprentice spoke just as her grenade detonated, tearing apart a couple of the insects.
”You could have mentioned this before!”
”Need to know. Besides, this way's more fun!” Aria chuckled.
The ground shook and a massive explosion washed over their heads, throwing a pair of clones who weren't hugging the low cover off their feet.
A few moments later, once the echo of the massive detonation subdued, the Clones could hear heavy blaster fire and explosion coming from behind the enemy lines.
Aria peeked up from the small ravine she and the LT were using for cove. HK was over there, having fun with a heavy blaster. He was throwing the odd Thermal detonator too, obliterating the enemy groups that had survived the destruction of the generator.
”Well done, platoon. It's time to find something else important to break!” Aria waved her men forward.
=RK=
”You've got to be kidding me!” I decapitated a droid and stared at the familiar figure striding towards me, followed by a company of the locals and someone in heavy Mandalorian armor. ”Waxer, get two fire-teams and slag the generator. Everyone else, with me!” I ordered and sprinted towards the new arrivals.
The woman leading the enemy reinforcements could have been Aria's twin sister. So she was either another clone, or the original.
The enemy opened fire a moment after I used the Force to create a shield between us. Dozens of blaster bolts and sonic blasts slammed into the invisible wall of energy, giving a nice opportunity for my men to take aim and let lose. The first rank of the locals were turned into smoking piles of burned meat, though the Chiss woman deflected anything that came her way. The huge Mandalorian behind her simply shrugged off anything that hit his armor.