//------------------------------// // 10. Behold a White Horse // Story: Star Wars: Republic Commando: Brothers All // by TJAW //------------------------------// "…if the GAR were made up of average humans, you simply would not have a functioning army now. Clone troopers are optimized humans, and only two percent of the population could be as tough, resilient and aggressive as these men are." -Mij Gilamar, on reports that clone troopers do not feel pain, because they were created for war, and bred for it *** It was a cold, clear night in Equestria, with the kind of deceptively tranquil beauty found in an old painting. For a nation that had been at peace with its neighbors for a millenium and experienced only brief internal threats, that tranquility was the norm. Even the newly formed Equestrian Armed Forces were supposed to be nothing more than a means to ensure peace and public safety; they were a 50,000 pony safety blanket. That simplicity was a blindfold, willingly put on so that ponies could go about their lives without worry, treating danger as an exception rather than a rule. Their lives, carried out in a near-paradise, exempted them from hardship and the hard choices that came with it. The worst cruelty inflicted by one pony upon another – outside of acts of violence confined exclusively to criminals and the mentally unstable – was schoolyard bullying. By the sheer power their princesses purportedly had, Equestria had avoided conflict for centuries, and grown complacent in that peace. They’d read about happenings abroad and tell themselves “It couldn’t happen here”. When streaks and flashes of colored light began to dance across the sky, ponies throughout Equestria came out to watch the spectacle, presumed to be a gift from Princess Luna herself. Streaks of crimson and cobalt with sparse samples of gold and green danced back and forth in a pseudo-organized cascade of colors. From the looks of wonder on the ponies’ faces, it was easy to tell what they thought of the display. Many undoubtedly wished they could be among the stars to experience the divine dance for themselves. Those wishes would come true in a way, as much for those who wished as for the others who merely watched. And those same wishes would bring the end of a fragile peace that had endured for centuries. *** “Coruscant, wake up!” Octavia shook the commando as she said his name. “I’m up, I’m up. What’s going on?” “There are lights shooting across the night sky. It’s beautiful, you have to see it!” He got up and grabbed his gear, as he just wasn’t comfortable going anywhere without it. It only took a few seconds to attach his backpack, put on his helmet and attach his weapons to his armor. Octavia led him outside, where Vinyl was staring at the sky. Dozens of other ponies seemed to be doing the same. “This shit’s trippy,” The DJ mumbled. Everypony was spellbound by what was happening in the sky. Their comments about how beautiful they found it were a broken record. Coruscant looked up to see what they were all so captivated by. It was a familiar sight for him, and it didn’t bode well for anyone or anypony on that world. Republic and Separatist fleets had engaged each other in orbit, and it was only a matter of time before Equestria was caught in the middle of an open war. *** “Knight platoon, load up!” A lieutenant barked. The flight deck on the RAS Arbiter bustled with activity as fighters and gunships launched. The Republic fleet had met the enemy in combat and was deploying its ground units planetside. The hastened timeframe for the assault hadn’t been explained, but it was presumed that it was to keep the Separatists from digging in on the planet too much. They’d already had a large presence in-system for a week. CT-2418/6600 “Cipher”, obeyed the officer’s order. He and the rest of his platoon hustled onboard a Low Altitude Assault Transport/infantry. The craft could be deployed from space despite its name, but it couldn’t leave orbit from a celestial body with normal gravity under its own power. The mostly-white LAAT/i, designated Burner 3-0, was painted with deep blue stripes and some red around the nose, in contrast to the red with green that most gunships used. But then, it was attached to the 501st Legion, so it warranted the unique appearance. As soon as the unit was onboard, the bay doors slid shut, and the compartment was lit only by light flowing through the vertical windows in the sides. The troopers within grabbed onto the handles above them to steady themselves for the coming flight. Cipher and the rest of his platoon were one of four that were part of a company tasked with securing landing zones for a battalion from the 41st Elite to deploy to. His unit would have to destroy a networking device that was responsible for coordinating anti-aircraft artillery. It was going to be them against however many droids were thrown their way. The area of operations was a city, which had been seized less than 8 hours earlier in the dead of night by CIS forces. Intelligence was being procured by Advanced Recon Force troopers who’d deployed to the area of operations shortly after it was seized. The recon and guerilla warfare specialists had been tasked by General Ataan to obtain information on troop movements and high-value target locations. There were also two commando squads already planetside, both performing operations, Tau and Delta. Delta Squad was in the AO, if Cipher’s memory served him right. The briefing said they’d already established informal contact with the local government, though their status as “alien” life had not been officially confirmed to the public. So a first-contact scenario had already occurred, but this battle would be the first public example of it. The diplomatic aspects were unimportant to the clones, but they knew to expect as much fear from the locals as the Seps would be getting. After about a minute, the craft lifted off, and three others followed suit. They flew from the hangar and began their descent. Through the viewports in the sides, the passengers could see the streaks of blue and red light darting back and forth through the vacuum of space, as the Republic and Separatist fleets exchanged fire. Explosions lined the area between them, marking the final positions of fighters and bombers sent by both sides. A group of droid tri-fighters headed straight for them. One of the gunship’s side-mounted turrets fired and tore a wing off from one of the attackers. A pair of ARC-170 strike fighters swooped in and fired at the group with their laser cannons, picking them apart. They missed one in the pass, but the tail gunner on one of the fighters fired a burst that hit the droid’s pilot core. The nimble craft fell apart, the fragments maintaining their momentum. The LAAT/i began to rumble as it entered the planet’s atmosphere, heat from atmospheric friction lighting the exterior aflame. The clones standing near the sides could feel a temperature increase for a short while before the rumble stopped and the craft stabilized. Their hearts began to pound. Red streaks of light flew up at them and the ball turrets on the sides of the fuselage returned fire. The wing-mounted beam cannons fired forwards, as did the chin-mounted laser cannons. The gunships were unleashing a hailstorm of sapphire plasma at the defending droids. The ship’s hum deepened as it decelerated, raising its nose momentarily as it came to a hover a meter above the ground. The craft’s weapons kept firing, albeit more cautiously. Bay doors slid open and clones released their grips on the handles above them, moving those hands to their DC-15S blaster carbines. They disembarked, their boots hitting the ground in a park or garden of some kind, the gunship’s crew providing covering fire as the thirty troopers headed to cover. It was early in the morning, but with the smoke filling the sky it wasn’t a very pleasant-looking one. Cipher moved to cover with the rest of his 9-man infantry squad. Heavy blaster fire had them pinned down, and the only solid way to get rid of it was for the gunship to take it out in spite of the heavy anti-aircraft fire. The gunship did exactly that. Bolts of plasma from its cannons scorched the ground and destroyed enemy turret emplacements, giving Knight platoon the opening it needed. The gunship took off in a hurry, trying to get out of the enemy’s line of fire. “Squad 2, cover fire! 1, 3 and 4, advance!” The platoon’s lieutenant - a clone that went by "Jay" - ordered over comms. Cipher and the other eight members of his squad obliged the officer and began laying down heavy fire on the main concentration of droids. Many of them didn’t react fast enough and got hit, being blown away by the heavy firepower. Using the opening, the other three squads moved up, using benches, statues and foliage as cover. The temporarily decreased volume of incoming fire gave them more time to move and more time to shoot. The droids were now firmly on the defensive. “Droids on our left flank!” Cipher shouted. He fired a burst at a group of droids trying to hit his squad from the side. One bolt blew a clanker’s head-sensor unit to pieces, causing it to malfunction and blast another droid in the torso before it shut down automatically. His squad blew away the cover shielding the others and he threw a thermal detonator into their midst, obliterating the rest. “Flank secure, regrouping.” Cipher’s squad joined up with the rest of the platoon, laying down fire as they advanced. The unit grouped around a small communications hub coordinating AA fire. That was the unit’s objective. A pair of super battle droids appeared from behind the hub and laid down heavy fire. One of the men in Cipher’s squad took a blaster bolt to the face, shattering his helmet and leaving the now-exposed flesh underneath charred and riddled with shrapnel. Several troopers threw thermal detonators at the pair of droids. The platoon followed with a flurry of blaster fire, gradually wearing down the hulking masses of metal, melting their armor and frying the circuitry underneath. “Smoke, get a charge on that console!” The lieutenant ordered. “Give me a few seconds… It’s armed, 20 seconds, everyone clear!” The clones who weren’t already in cover took shelter behind low walls, benches, fallen trees and finely-made marble statues. Every one of them counted down under their breath or in their mind, waiting for the boom. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4… Cipher counted internally. “Fire in the hole!” The charge they’d planted went off like thunder, turning the communications hub into two-and-a-half tons of scrap metal. Assuming they’d been the first to complete their objective, all the Sep’s AA in the area of operations would be uncoordinated and easier to trick with countermeasures and decoys. “Vanguard One, Knight platoon here, objective destroyed. One man KIA.” The LT reported to the company commander. “How are Castle, Paladin, and Bishop doing?” “This is Vanguard One. Castle platoon has destroyed their objective, and AAA in the southeast sector of the city is out of the fight. Paladin and Bishop are continuing the first phase of their operation. Proceed west to rally point Eta and rendezvous with the commandos from Delta Squad. You’ll work together to secure a building with several VIPs and a few dozen civilians. Gunship Burner 3 will provide support when possible.” “Copy.” The officer gestured for his unit to follow him. The clones moved into the city. The first thing they noticed was that there were signs everywhere, advertising all sorts of products. Most of them seemed to be written in Galactic Basic text, though the language was foreign to them. Many of the models in the ads looked like colorful livestock, and some of them blended avian and mammalian features. The architecture was impressive, much of it made from bricks and stones. Elegant arches and flourishes gave a vaguely Coruscanti feeling to the city. As their platoon moved through the streets, the clones watched for snipers and would-be assailants. All they saw in the buildings was frightened natives peeking through windows. They were 10 meters from rally point Eta when they came under attack from a large building draped with banners and advertisements. There must’ve been at least thirty of them firing from the windows. “Ambush! Get to cover!” The LT boomed at the top of his lungs. He was close enough to the others that he didn’t need to use comms. The platoon moved to get behind stone barriers and bundles of metal barrels filled with water. A man from Cipher’s squad, “Crow”, was cut down rushing to safety by a droid sniper, the magenta beam burning through his side. His screams pierced the din of battle. “Sergeant!” The wounded man screamed. It was a scream they’d all heard a million times. Clone troopers had no mothers or other loved ones to call for when mortally wounded, like most organics did. The closest figure they had to a parent in their lives was their training sergeant. Of course, that only applied when the pain wasn’t so intense that it prevented them from forming coherent words. Blaster fire was one of the less painful ways to die on the battlefield. Another clone dropped to sniper fire. “Hold on, Crow!” Cipher ran back out into the line of fire, firing bursts at the building one-handed. He used his free arm to throw the clone over his shoulder. The sergeant moved back to cover as fast as he could with a hundred kilos of dead weight on his back, hoping the sniper wouldn’t get him next. But he couldn’t just leave a brother behind. When he got back to cover, he laid the man down. He was making choking sounds. The wound seemed too serious for Cipher to treat. “Just hang on! Medic!” “Burner 3, this is Knight, we need air support now! Danger close!” “Copy that, we have your position. ETA 30 seconds.” A medic nicknamed Scalpel reached Cipher and Crow, and began assessing the wounded clone. “He’s choking on his own blood. Take his helmet off!” Scalpel shouted over the cacophony of combat. Cipher obliged. There was blood all around Crow’s mouth and inside his helmet. A blaster shot directly hit a water barrel, flash-vaporizing its contents and bursting it. Steam clouded the area. The medic removed a pack of synth-flesh from his belt and applied it to the wound. It would stabilize the clone for a few hours. He followed it up with a shot of bacta to accelerate the healing process and alleviate pain, and propped the wounded man against the cover they were hiding behind. “Damn it, there’s a Tri-Fighter on our tail!” The crew of the incoming gunship blasted over the clones’ comms. Cipher looked up in time to see a focused burst of fire from the droid fighter destroy one of the gunship’s engines, tearing off the starboard wing. “Burner 3, mayday, mayday!” The gunship came in from the north and crashed in the middle of the street, skidding to a halt between the clones and the defending droids. It was mostly intact, but the starboard engine and wing were destroyed, the nose was crumpled, and the port cargo bay door was torn off. The vessel created a form of cover that would allow the clones to regroup and advance, and the open cargo bay would allow them to scavenge gear. “Sergeant, there’s a PLX-1 in the cargo bay,” the LT said. “Get inside, grab it and take some shells!” Cipher vaulted over his cover, thankful the bay was open on his side and not the droids’. There was some kind of fluid leaking onto the floor, which made the irregular incline tougher to traverse. In the corner, he spotted a rack of weapons. An E-Web repeating blaster folded up with its tripod, a pair of EMP launchers, a CR-24 flame rifle, and finally a PLX-1 rocket launcher. He grabbed onto a torn section of the interior and used it to help climb the slippery incline, doing his best to ignore the blaster fire hitting the exterior hull just a meter from him. Once he reached the weapons rack, he grabbed the launcher in his left hand and tossed it down to the street, then grabbed the armorweave pack containing shells for the weapon and tossed it downwards. He did the same for the other weapons on the rack and their respective ammunition, then slid back down. “Grab the plex and blow those clankers!” The sergeant grabbed the launcher, loaded it and rested it on his shoulder, attaching his carbine to the back of his torso plate while it wasn’t being used. “Squad 4, draw their fire while he takes the shot!” One of the other squads moved to front of the crashed gunship and began firing at the droids from behind cover. They seemed to be protected enough that casualties would be unlikely. Cipher crouched and walked to the rear end of the craft. Once he cleared the other side, he took a knee and aimed at the façade. He fired one shell, the sapphire orb streaking to the target in the blink of an eye, then impacting and decimating the two levels of droids firing at them. The entire face of the building crumbled. “Targets neutralized!” There was a satisfied grin under his helmet. The trooper regrouped with the others and dropped the launcher next to the rest of the scavenged weapons and ammo. He pulled his carbine from his back and let his arms hang free. Four humanoid figures approached in the distance, coming from the south. The limited HUD in Cipher’s helmet said they were friendlies. *** Boss saw the platoon of clones just a bit before they saw him. He led his squad closer to them, and met them by the wreckage of a crashed gunship. “Nice of you to join us, Delta,” The lieutenant said with no perceivable bitterness. That was a good sign. “Lieutenant CT-2418/0224. Troops call me “Jay”. This is Knight platoon.” Boss nodded. “We’d have been here sooner, but we got pinned down half a klick south of here. Sitrep?” “We took out our first objective, and we got ambushed here by several dozen droids. I called in precision close air support to take out the droids on that façade,” Jay pointed to the side of a building, the upper half of which was severely damaged. “And the gunship was shot down by a tri-fighter. It crashed here, and I had one of our sergeants scavenge weapons from it. He took them out with a PLX-1.” “Casualties?” “Two dead, one wounded. I don’t know about the pilots, we haven’t had time to check.” The lieutenant turned his head. “Crow, how’re you doing?” “On my feet, sir.” A private with much of his side missing stood up shakily. “Stay close to Scalpel, and try to stay out of harm’s way for now.” He nodded. “Sir.” “Squad 3, check on those pilots. If they’re alive, get them out of there.” Jay turned back to Boss. “What’s the plan?” “Sev?” “Just a sec.” The sniper tossed a holographic projector onto the pavement and it lit up, displaying a detailed diagram of the building, which was a brighter hue than the surrounding structures and sewers. “The target building is connected to a subterranean maintenance tunnel, which are connected to the sewers. We’ll go into the sewers and head for the maintenance tunnel, eliminating any security along the way. Once we get there we’ll contact you. Follow our tracks as closely as possible so nobody sets anything off. We’ll do the same thing in the tunnels,” Boss explained. “Okay. Where do we come in?” Jay asked. “That’s the tricky part. We don’t have positive intel on the composition of enemy forces, their locations, or civilian locations. For now, we’ll do most of the work, because the longer we remain undetected, the better our chances at minimizing civilian casualties. Once we know more, we’ll coordinate the hostage rescue portion of the op.” “Keep the projector for now. It’s connected to the others we have, so we can provide visual aids once we reach the next planning phase.” “Understood.” “Lieutenant, the pilots are still alive, the crash just knocked them out!” A trooper yelled. “Good to hear! Have them read to move ASAP.” The officer replied “Delta, if you want to take any weapons or ammo we recovered from the wreckage, that’s fine by us.” Boss nodded and led his squad to the gunship. “Yes! Dreams really do come true!” Scorch grabbed a flame rifle from the gun pile by the bay and fondled it. He looked around some more. “Fierfek.” “What?” Sev asked. “There’s no spare tanks for this baby. I’ve got a minute of burn, and nothing after that. At least I’ll have room to carry the array gun.” “Oh. I thought it was something serious. Di’kut.” Fixer grabbed an EMP launcher and several ammo tubes, and attached them to his backpack. Sev didn’t take anything. “Alright Deltas, let’s go.” The four of them moved to a nearby manhole – or ponyhole, they weren’t exactly clear on the terminology – and slid down the ladder one at a time. “Ugh. I’m glad we’ve got shields to keep this from sticking, because I’d hate having to clean this osik off.” Sev remarked. “Same here,” Scorch agreed. “Focus on the mission, not how pretty your boots look,” Fixer reprimanded them. “But that does smell foul. Probably methane.” “Agreed. Deltas, seal your helmets, activate your filters. We don’t want to breathe these fumes if we can help it. And hold fire until we’re out of the sewers or we might ignite the fumes.” The squad moved quickly and quietly along the path they’d decided to follow. It was mostly uneventful. Mostly. “Something just touched my leg,” Fixer stated. The others took his claim very seriously. “Osik. Think it’s a dianoga?” Scorch asked. “No, it felt more like firm flesh than tentacles.” “Good. Dianoga give me the creeps.” “There it is again!” Fixer said. A reptilian emerged from the sewage and attempted to chomp Fixer’s leg off. In one lightning-fast motion, the commando drove his gauntlet vibroblade right into the creature’s skull. It fell back into the water, lifeless. Fierfek. Sometimes I forget how good Fixer is with that vibroblade, Boss mused. He hoisted the creature from the water to inspect it, grunting as he picked it up. It was a few meters long, but less than one meter tall. There were ridges on its back and tail. Its maw was long and fairly wide, with teeth jutting out and a round snout. “Hey, I think you found a Trando mommy!” Scorch quipped. “Ugh, she’s even uglier than I thought,” Sev added, playing along. Boss dropped the corpse, then shared a laugh with the rest of the squad. They moved onwards to the maintenance tunnels. Fixer took point, followed by Scorch, then the other two. The hacker opened a door to the tunnels slowly and silently, peeking his blaster through the opening, then following it inside. The others followed suit, and Sev shut the door as quietly as it’d been opened. “Knight platoon, this is Delta lead.” “Copy, Delta. Sitrep?” “We cleared the sewers and just entered the maintenance tunnel. No security, but we have encountered a large, carnivorous reptilian creature on our way in, a local fauna. A few meters long, less than one tall, weighed around a couple hundred kilos. Took it out with a vibroblade to the skull. There might be more, so watch out.” “Thanks for the heads up. We’re heading down now. Out.” “Alright, Deltas. Move.” The squad advanced through the tunnel, which was completely linear other than a few small side rooms. It was eerily quiet, save for the hum of gas flowing through pipes and their own faint footsteps. The tunnel was apparently clear of threats, as they’d travelled its length without incident and the rooms on the sides were clear. They climbed the ladder to the target building. Boss went first, gently popping the hatch linking it to the structure. He activated his night vision filter and looked around. It was a decent-sized janitor’s supply closet, no threats. “Clear.” As soon as he was up, he motioned for the others to follow and got on comms. “Knight, this is Delta.” “Copy. No resistance so far.” “Tunnel is clear. Enter it and wait for our tactical assessment. We’ll let you know when to proceed. Out.” “Orders, sir?” Fixer whispered. Their helmets were designed to prevent sound from escaping, but it didn’t hurt to be safe. “On me. Stealth is our top priority, so kill the shabiise quietly. If it comes to blasters, be efficient and use necessary force only; if we’re lucky, we might not be heard.” “I wish we had some Verpine guns like Skirata and those Nulls use. Or those suppressed deece carbines they issue to shadow troopers, even if they’re a little wimpy,” Sev mused. The squad exited the room. The halls were dark, though a few offices with small lights on indicated power to the building was still flowing. “Split up, search this wing of the building for anything that might tell us where the hostages are, and what we’re dealing with. Stay in contact, ROE is unchanged. Move out.” They split up, heading separate ways. The clones would be able to handle themselves on their own, and if things got too intense they could still regroup quickly enough. A few minutes seconds into his pseudo-solo foray through the claret-hued halls, Boss found a map of the building on a poster, plus a few paragraphs written in multiple languages, one of which was in Galactic Basic. He already had the schematics, but this’d tell him what each area was, and what was going on pre-invasion, which could also provide useful information. The first thing he did was send an image of the annotated map to his squad. Then he read the info blurb. The 79th Annual Equestrian Fashion Show will take place here in the Maris Convention Center from the 2nd of November to the 8th. We are proud to be host to this prestigious event, which is expected to mark the start of a grand new season in fashion for ponies and griffons across the world! We are also host to the following distinguished individuals: Photo Finish, of PF Productions: The prestigious and famously eccentric designer and fashion photographer hailing from Germaney. Her new line, which will be revealed here, goes by the tagline “Surrender to the Future”. Rarity, of Carousel Boutique Inc. and Bearer of the Element of Generosity: A rising star in the industry, whose dresses have taken Equestria by storm, capturing the hearts and minds of all who wear them. Goldenhoof, Head of Prance: The new Head of our province of Equestria, who unexpectedly seized the position mere months ago from the incumbent of 30 years, who was ousted by the Regional Court. The hostages they took must’ve been the ones here early, because I know it’s the 1st today. That means a lot fewer civilians to take care of. Anyway, I think I can figure out who our VIP is. Boss proceeded down the halls, stopping when he heard footsteps coming from around the corner. It wasn’t one of his squad, or else he’d have seen their colored silhouette on his HUD. He pressed himself against the wall, waiting for their source to come into view. It was a human in sand-colored fatigues, wielding a Separatist-issued blaster and wearing a Confederacy of Independent Systems emblem. I’ve seen intel reports saying the Seps were recruiting organics. The reports said they’re for ops droids are too dumb for, Trandoshans are too brutal for, and their Nimbus Commandos are too elite for. First of these Wet-Seps I’ve seen myself. “Deltas, we’ve got Sep organics in the building. Watch out.” The others flashed their acknowledgment lights on his HUD, letting Boss know they heard him, but were busy. The commando continued to stare at the soldier. I think I’ll have a little chat with him. Boss lunged out, grabbed the man and pulled him back to the shadows. He activated his comms, so whatever he said or heard would be transmitted to the. “Try anything and you’re dead,” Boss whispered into his ear. “What do you want?” The soldier grunted. “Tell me where the hostages are and how many of you there are.” “Forget it.” “Alright then, we’ll do this the fun way.” Boss extended the vibroblade in his gauntlet and held it against the guard’s throat. “I’m thinking of a number between… One and ten.” “Oh, uh, um, three!” “Hm. Lucky guess. Now tell me what I want to know, or we’ll play another round.” “O-okay! There’s thirty of us, barricaded in the event hall with the hostages. Me and three others in the surrounding section of the building. We’re holding the hostages until a ship can evacuate us and we can use them as leverage. That’s all, I swear.” Boss thrust his vibroblade straight into the man’s temple and dropped his body to the floor. “Heard that over comms, Boss. Kandosii,” Scorch complemented. “I’ve already bagged two of these guys,” Sev stated. “I got one too. He was in a security room. I’ve got a live feed of the event hall,” Fixer added. “Delta Squad, form on Fixer’s location.” It took them a few minutes to reach the security room, even with 40’s location on their HUDs. Once they did, Boss had Sev drop a holoprojector in the room. “Knight platoon, this is Delta lead. Deploy your holoprojector and sync with ours.” “Copy… Done,” The lieutenant responded. Boss zoomed in on the holoprojection of the structure and highlighted the event hall, or rather, dimmed the rest of the building. The hall consisted of a large floor with a stage and runway-like extension on one end. A floor above it were two lengthy balconies that ran on either side of the room, parallel to the runway. A third, smaller balcony was on the third floor, directly opposite the stage. A skylight was on the roof above it, and it looked like there were already fast-ropes deployed there from when the building was seized. A ground-floor entrance to the room was directly below the third-floor balcony. “This is our target. The fifty-three hostages are all on the bottom floor, and there are thirty Sep organics in there with them, twenty on the bottom floor, four on the side balconies and two on the upper balcony. Deltas 1207 and 1262 will quietly take the upper balcony. I want one of your squads to take each of the two second-level balconies, one to take the ground level entrance, and one to take the skylight with Delta 1140 and I.” “Alright, so what’s the plan?” “Deltas 1207 and 1262 will discreetly take position on the upper balcony. Six to fifteen seconds after they’re in position, you have your two second-level squads head in to take the balconies, which will alert the guards; at that moment, ’62 will throw flashbangs into the bottom floor and provide cover fire for your men, and ’07 will begin to take out any targets that present a threat to civilians. Five to eight seconds later, another squad of yours will fast-rope down with ’40 and I, landing on and around the stage; they’ll be directing their fire in all directions except the entrance, and within a short period of time they’ll be as focused on a fight coming almost entirely from above. Ten to fifteen seconds after we hit ground, your fourth squad will breach the main entrance to the hall – at that point the last place they’ll expect an attack to come from,” Boss explained. “How can we ID hostiles from civilians rapidly if they’re bunched together?” Knight’s CO asked. “Hostiles are bipeds, all of them humanoids, wearing tan fatigues and wielding E-5 blasters,” Fixer advised. “Civilians are more… colorful, and they’re all quadrupedal.” “So in other words, ‘Four legs good, two legs bad’,” Scorch summarized. “Okay. I’ll have my men get in position. Squad 2, up top. 3 and 4, stack up on the side balconies. Squad 1 and Crow, follow me, we’re taking the ground floor.” “Deltas, you have your orders. Move.” Boss and Fixer headed to the roof via a nearby staircase. By the time they were at the top and about to go back outside, a squad of 501st was heading up the same staircase. From the roof, Boss could see the damage this battle had already caused, the pseudo-Coruscanti architecture of the city scarred, and in some cases burning. Just another world among thousands in this war. And it would only get worse. The two commandos discreetly hooked onto the ropes trailing down into the hall, and the squad of troopers with them began to hook up. They stayed low, avoiding detection from the guards below. “Delta 1138, ready.” “Delta 1140, ready.” “Delta 1207, ready.” “Delta 1262, ready.” “Cipher. Squad 2 ready.” “Stripe. Squad 3 ready.” “Bones. Squad 4 ready.” “Jay. Squad 1 ready. All Knights, stand by.” “Sev, Scorch, go,” Boss ordered. There was a brief pause, a few seconds long, and some movement in the upper balcony visible from the skylight. “Overwatch position secure,” Sev said. A few seconds later, he spoke again. “Overwatch ready.” Eight seconds passed. “Squads 3 and 4, breach on my mark. Mark!” Lieutenant Jay ordered. A couple of crashes came right on top of each other, the sound of doors being kicked down. It was nine versus four on each of the balconies, and the defenders were eliminated in seconds. Flashbangs exploded on the floor, and blue lances began to impact guards one at a time. Crimson blaster fire was already cascading upwards from the bottom floor, towards the mid-level squads. No casualties were taken yet by the attackers, but they had to pick their shots carefully to avoid hitting civilians in a dynamic environment riddled with living and inanimate cover for the defenders, a difficult task under heavy fire. “Ready up. We’re heading down on 3. One, two, three!” The ten of them descended into the chaotic chamber. It was two seconds before they hit the floor, and once they did, they rushed to cover. The flow of the battle changed dramatically, as it was much easier to hit the defenders from an angle where they were taller than their hostages. A Separatist dropped dead every two seconds or so. Five of them defenders died before the final group entered. “Squad 1, breach!” The main entrance crashed down, and more clones came in. The defenders, unprepared for the new arrivals, fell even more rapidly as they took fire from five groups of clones. It was only another thirteen seconds before the last Sep was killed. When the firing stopped, the air reeked of ozone and scorched flesh. The hall was severely damaged. The attackers took a tally of casualties. Two dead clones, making a total of four members of Knight platoon killed in action since the landing nearly an hour ago. Six civilians had been killed in the fight, though by whose hand was undetermined. Delta Squad shortly received orders to redeploy elsewhere, and the men of Knight platoon awaited further orders. There was no telling if they’d be reinforced there, replaced by other clones in defending these civilians and given new orders, or if they’d be redeployed and leave the civvies to fend for themselves. For Equestria, and Equis as a whole, things were still going to get worse.