//------------------------------//
// Chapter 7: All According to Plan 
// Story: Star Wars: The Clone Wars Elements 
// by Barrobroadcaster 
//------------------------------//

Admiral Dua Ningo watched as the Republic's reinforcements arrived. At the outskirts of the Crystal Empire, opposite to where the Republic landed, he waited to board a Sheathipede-class transport shuttle along with Cydon, a few droids and their ally Queen Crysalis. All but the droids watched as the Republic's own transports began landing. For Chrysalis, it was her first time seeing something like this, but she was watching it intently just like the rest of the Seps. Dua took note of that small caveat.

"About forty or so tanks, three squadrons of Vultures, a squad of Tri's, some gunships, transports, artillery and a whole mess'a battle droids. Oh, and two landers. All in all, not a lot. Replaceable. Buncha broken tinker toys is all," Dua said. Credits and war material were not a problem for the CIS; they had more battle droids, tanks and fighters than they knew what to do with, literally. Though, that was partly because most of the Separatist leadership lacked imagination.

What the CIS gained from this battle was material they didn't have: crystals. Crates of crystals taken from the Crystal Empire along with a few artifacts stolen from the now-fallen Crystal Palace were being loaded onto two Hardcell-class transports and were moments from departure. Crab droids were loading the last of them; Dua had to do a double-take when he noticed the crabs themselves seemed to be decorated in jewelry.

Chrysalis said nothing in response, so Dua continued. "The Republic sure knows how to wreck a party. Or start one, one or the other. We got enough goodies outta that palace to get some projects of our own off tha ground. That's thanks to you, mah lady."

The clouds broke above the Crystal Empire. A large, grey triangle-shaped vessel pierced the cloud layer and began landing, the first Acclimator-class Republic Assault Ship of the taskforce.

Dua put his hand on Chrysalis' shoulder. "That's our cue to leave. Time ta get while tha gettin's good."

"You are all fools," Chrysalis finally said. Her voice was cold, hard and bitter. Dua imagined she felt the same way.

Dua sighed, put back on his sunglasses and bit the end of a breath stick, an alternative to death sticks that didn't contain the spice and other toxins the regular ones had. Quitting smoking was not easy for any species in any galaxy.

"I'll bite," he said, corner of the stick hanging out of his mouth. "What's buggin' ya? Neva lost before?"

She turned back to him. "This conflict has been going on for far longer than you... or they, or anyone else can imagine. Those Jedi... they're right about one thing and that's that this war will not be won by petty trinkets and baubles. Magic is power here, admiral. You and your robo-men had better understand that fact."

Maybe other Separatist officers would've sneered or talked down to Queen Chrysalis in that moment. An alien from a backwater world, no money, property or resources to her name, no galactic holdings to speak of and not even much understanding or care for what happens off-world. No, too many in the CIS command structure were imperialistic or elitist on their own, but not Dua Ningo. He wasn't rich like other Separatists; he knew what it was like and how folks got by without money.

So, Dua Ningo just grinne back at her. "More than one kinda magic, sweetheart. You stick with us, we'll show you a thing or two. Still got a few surprises for these turkeys. I got plenty'a tricks... up my sleeve."

She continued glaring at him as they boarded the shuttle. "I want Skywalker. Or whoever he cares about. Get him to me and I'll make sure this entire planet is at your disposal."

The old Sullustan's eyes widened a bit, not that anyone could notice. "That a fact? What makes you think that boy loves anything 'cept stickin' wavy his glowstick around?"

"I know. He has strong feelings, that one, and I can use them. Just bring him to me- alive, admiral. And I promise that all this world and its magic will be used against the Republic," Chrysalis said.

They boarded the shuttle and took off. The two transports lifted off behind them, broke the atmosphere quickly and departed Equestria for parts unknown. They were not accosted by the Republic, or anything else for that matter. Where they were going, only they knew, vanishing into the stars above. Vanishing for now... but not for long.

Such was the nature of the Clone Wars. Too often, the Republic would come in, there would be a battle, sometimes it would last weeks or only a day like it had here. If the Republic won, they would stay and rebuild, leave only after everything was accounted for and reconstruction was on its way. If the Republic lost, they would limp away in their ships to the next safe port, gather and plan their next move. The Separatists cared more about looting than they did rebuilding; when they conquered a planet, they took what they needed and when they lost, they took as much as they could and left.

For all the talk of liberation and the Republic's corruption, the CIS acted more greedy than revolutionary. Perhaps the Republic was right about them... or perhaps the truth was somewhere in between, hard to see. Chrysalis and Dua Ningo knew this about each other: they needed one another to further their own goals. Dua knew that the CIS itself was an alliance of such conveniences and they didn't tend to last long. Maybe he could fix that, maybe.

And if he couldn't, removing the Republic's golden boy would be good enough.





Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor were so relieved their daughter was safe, they almost didn't notice the massive ships landing near them. The recently-refitted R.A.S. Prosecutor landed just a few meters past the city streets, right where the tanks had originally landed. The ship had just been recovered with help from Delta Squad after it was nearly stolen by a group of Trandoshan mercenaries. Instead of returning it to the front lines, the ship was working more specialized roles. It extended its massive 'legs'- landing gear, and the ramps into its cargo bays lowered. Walkers, speeders, a few TX-130s 'fighter tanks' and others all deployed from the assault ship, but these vehicles were here to rebuild, not destroy.

"The Republic Engineering Corps will be fully at your disposal, your highness," Skywalker said. "I personally assure you and your people that they will not leave until your city has been properly restored."

"Thank you, general. But for now, we must contact Princess Celestia and make sure our people are accounted for," Cadence said.

"Of course. We'll get in touch with her right away," he said with a slight bow. They thanked him silently, both of them weary from what had transpired, and a clone officer escorted them to a holocomm terminal they'd set up. He would wait a while, but Anakin wanted to speak with this Princess Celestia as well, especially if there were shapeshifters that could be disguised as ponies.

"Speaking of accounting, it's probably a good time to make our report to Master Windu. Let me do most of the talking, okay?"

"Could've predicted that," Ahsoka said.

Over at the main command post, Rex had already set up the portable holoterminal. The shimmering blue hologram of Mace Windu floated in midair, depicting him standing and scrolling through a datapad. Anakin knew that was usually a bad sign.

"This is most concerning, Master Skywalker. It appears our intelligence reports grossly underestimated Separatist involvement in this system."

"Shouldn't be a surprise when it happens this often," Ahsoka commented, louder than a whisper, not trying to interrupt or start trouble.

Anakin might have chided her for the criticism, even if he agreed with it, but Master Windu did the opposite. He put away the datapad "Indeed, padawan. That's one of the reasons we assigned Master Kenetan Krace to assist you with this mission."

"Master Krace?" Anakin asked, surprise clear in his voice. "Master Windu, he's... Master Krace is missing in action."

"Actually, that's not the case," another voice from behind them said. Anakin and Ahsoka both turned to see a new person entering the tent, another Jedi. "My master is currently on another assignment."

"Your master?" Ahsoka asked. "You're Master Krace's padawan, then?"

The Cathar woman nodded. "Correct. I am called Junala," she said, giving a slight bow as she did. "To ensure success, care was taken as not to mention details of his objective until now. Master Krace is taking a great risk but I am free to tell you that he is unharmed and is actively engaged on another mission."

"He's on another mission... well, that's some good news," Anakin said.

"And when were we going to be informed of this?" Ahsoka asked.

Junala bowed her head. "You weren't. The details are presently classified. He will contact us when he is ready."

Ahsoka was on the verge of sighing or rolling her eyes, but Anakin only grinned at her. He trusted people, especially strong people that were on his side to do the right thing. His padawan, however, preferred having everyone on the same page. If they're all working towards the same goal, it didn't make sense to hold others back if they were more adept in some areas. It is a war, isn't it? They need every advantage they can get, because their enemy has plenty.

But complete trust is fragile and only lasts until the first betrayal. Master Krace hadn't lied to them, but they hadn't been told the whole story, either.

"There are some, myself included, that believe we have significant intelligence leaks. Master Arligan Zey has sent Master Krace to find where these leaks are... on the opposite side of things."

Ahsoka's eyes lit up. "So wait- he's infiltrated the Separatists?" The others might have chafed at her bluntness, but they didn't show it.

Master Windu rubbed his chin. "It's clear that our intelligence reports on Equestria were extremely lacking. It's very concerning that the Separatists were able to mask such a substantial droid presence and launch an attack on a Republic ally so quickly."

"This isn't the first time this has happened. During the Dark Reaper Crisis, they moved a large army to the Kashyyk System without us knowing and used one of the moons for their experiments," Anakin reminded them. "Orbital scans didn't reveal much because of all the forests. We didn't expect to have that problem here on Equestria, but maybe they found another way to sneak battalions of battle droids here without anyone finding out."

"If that's the case, they could have enough to overwhelm us. We lost half our walkers and the 501st has a lot of injured men," Ahsoka reminded them of that.

Mace Windu was quiet for a long moment. "I'll see if I can route some reinforcements to you. My former padawan and his forces are nearby and might be able to help."

"YOUR former padawan?" Ahsoka blurted. Still such a young one. But Anakin was also curious as to who it might be.

"Master Rahm Kota. He and his forces are quite... independent, but they've proven themselves very effective. They recently dealt with a crime syndicate smuggling commando droids to Republic outposts." Mace folded his arms. "You may have difficulty cooperating with him. He's very unorthodox."

Anakin shrugged. "Well, that's fine by us. What do the clones under his command think of him?"

Mace either smirked or grimaced, maybe both, but said, "There aren't any clones under his command."

Both Anakin and Ahsoka's faces went blank at the same time. "...What?"





While Mace Windu explained exactly what Kota's Milita was to Skywalker and Tano, Mash and the surviving members of Zeta Squadron returned to the Resolute.

"Here's to our new squadron leader!" Banger said. He clicked his glass heartily against Mash and Beans' glasses.

Mash forced a slight smile onto his face. "Not an ideal way to get promoted."

"True. True," Banger said, and the crew had a moment of silence. Over half of Zeta Squadron's walkers, their pilots, engineers and gunners didn't make it back. There weren't any bodies to recover with most of them. Burning, melted wreckage was all that was left. That was the reality of war: it wasn't safe and any of them, or all of them, could be gone in an instant. With that reality, there was one thing left to do when all was said and done.

Beans raised his glass again. "To our brothers."!

"To our brothers!!" They all eagerly toasted to that.

The mess hall was still lively. The fact that they were all brothers was one of the best things and the worst things about the clone army. Every man lost was a member of your family, but every member still alive understood and felt it. It made sharing the burden easier. Sure, they were a bit closer to their squad than the division and closer to the division than the legion and so on but they all felt it. They shared the burden together and the deck clones and gunners were able to join the mess and keep spirits up despite the absence.

Even though there was half their squadron missing, the absence wasn't as felt in the mess hall thanks to the naval officer clones and marines. They were never alone, never short of their brothers. They drank, exchanged stories, bets, memories, speculations about what would happen next.

"Admiral on deck!" They all immediately stood. Every clone in the mess hall, seated or otherwise, snapped to attention with perfect precision. This was the time when they truly looked like identical clones: when duty was on the line.

"At ease. At ease." Admiral Yularen walked into the mess with his hands behind his back. The mustached man looked more like a businessman than one of the most prominent naval officers and tacticians in the Republic. Perhaps that was because of his prior career in the Corporate Sector, but no one could question his capability.

Even more surprising than the admiral being there was when he walked up to Mash's table and stopped right in front of him.

"Lieutenant Mash, is it?"

"Sir, uh... yes, sir, it is, sir."

The admiral nodded. "Actually, it's Commander Mash now. If you feel you're ready for it."

"I..." he stammered, suddenly finding himself in something of a shock. "I, I'll do whatever the Republic needs, sir. Does this... this mean I'm taking command of more than just Zeta Squadron?"

Yularen nodded again. "I'm afraid it does. I apologize for thrusting such a big responsibility on you all of a sudden, but I'm afraid we have no choice. You're being put in command of our task group's combined armored forces. Both the forty-second armored division here on the Resolute and the seventy-fifth on the Adjudicator."

"I... commander? I'm going to be in command of all the walker squadrons?"

"Try not to look so surprised, Mash, you're the best man for the job," Banger said.

Mash looked around and saw all his brothers looking back at him. He thought of those in Zeta Squadron, both the ones with him... and the ones that didn't make it back. The ones that should've been there.

"I appreciate this sir, but... why?"

The admiral smiled at him. "You saved a lot of lives during the rescue mission. You noticed something no one else did, and you took action on it, action that saved our operations on this planet. You turned what could have been a terrible disaster into a rocky but successful mission."

Mash didn't know if 'rocky' was the way to describe it, but he didn't complain. He still felt guilty. "I... I could've saved a lot more, sir. If I'd acted sooner."

Yularen sighed, then looked down, almost apologetically. No, completely apologetically. "That is the reality of command. And you faced it. Like General Skywalker, you improvised when you needed to. You coordinated the efforts of your crew and even Archer Squadron to achieve mission success. For some soldiers, just getting out of there would have been a priority but you... you put your duty, the lives of the innocent, before your own safety."

"And ours," Beans added. Speaking out of turn was a bit of a given after three pints of juma. "Sorry. Sir."

"You are all being commended for your efforts. And thankfully, the ponies have... accepted your version of discretion when it comes to their property during the mission. After all, we need you back out in the field immediately. The Republic Corps of Engineers is staying to repair the damage to the Crystal Empire. You and your crew we need to find the Separatist base of operations on Equestria. And remove it."

"Sir, yes sir!" Mash said, echoed by his brothers enthusiastically. They snapped to salute again.

"The three of you work well together. You have a lot of experience as a tank crew, don't you?"

"Sir, yes sir. Since Raxus Prime, we've been with Zeta," Banger said.

"Hmm, very good. You two will serve as the commander's advisors. With appropriate increase in rank, of course."

"Nice," Banger said.

Yularen smiled. Maybe he did enjoy doing this. "Take a few hours to rest. When you're ready, report to the bridge and we'll discuss where and how our remaining armor can be deployed," he said. With a tight and crisp turn, Admiral Yularen left.

Mash, Banger and Beans all slumped back into their chairs the moment the admiral left the room.

"Wow... me, an advisor. Do I get a commando squad like Delta?"

"Uh, HE'S the commander, Bang. Not us. And I think we'll still be on the frontlines. Just with more to carry there."

"Yeah. A lot more," Mash said. He could hardly believe it. One lucky hunch and then the fact he remembered the prototype, next thing he knew, he was a commander. It was a lot to take in.

Thankfully, Banger knew just what to do about the situation. "Well, that's another reason to drink, isn't it?"

"You got that right!" They clicked glasses one more time and downed the rest of their drinks. They had rested enough; they headed right to the bridge. Maybe it was that they were tankers and liked to keep moving, or maybe enthusiasm was bred into them. It didn't matter because they had a job to do- for their brothers and for the Republic.

End of Prologue