Star Wars: The Clone Wars Elements

by Barrobroadcaster

Chapter 3: Fast Reaction

Mash's ears eventually stopped ringing. A mortar must've exploded just next to them, right where the walker had been on the road. Quick review of the diagnostic displays showed no critical damage, but the legs were drawing increased power.

Outside his viewport was just more smoke and flames. But through the smoke he saw the distinctive movement of battle droids. The B1s weren't marching, but scouting through the rubble, checking to see if any of the clones were still alive. Any that were found alive would be executed on the spot. And they were making their way towards him.

Instinctively, he powered off the walker. The walker's legs lowered its body, the gears retracting the limbs into the body of the tank. He climbed out of his chair and made his way back into the interior.

"Bang, you there? Beans?"

"We're here, Mash," Beans said. He was the tail gunner and sensor operator for the walker.

"Barely," Banger said. He was hanging off Beans, his armor scuffed and blackened a bit. "Just made it in before the second mortar hit. Barely missed the left-center leg."

"I powered down the walker. Droids are closing in." They had to speak fast and act even faster. Not that there was much the three of them could do. They needed options.

"So what? We grab some blasters, try to shoot our way out?" Beans asked.

"Nah. The ammo," Mash said. He slumped down in a jump seat and took off his helmet. Sweat dripped down his face. "You guys make a run for it. I'll... I'll stay back here. Set off the rest of the mass driver rounds. Blow 'em all to hell."

Mash gave a grin smirk, completely obscured by his helmet. "Negative, trooper. No glorious sacrifices today." There was no guarantee a plan like that would even work. Droids were crawling all over the city. Even if detonating the walker took out a squad of them, they were still in hostile territory.

"Well, what're we gonna do, then? Comms aren't working and we don't even have a landing zone," Beans protested.

Mash nodded. "Orbital comms are down but local are still working."

"So, what? We signal Brick for a pick up?"

And there was the idea. "No. A drop off."

"Drop off what?"

Mash keyed his comms. "Zeta-Four to Lambda-Four. Brick, you there?"

"Copy, Mash, go ahead."

"Brick, we've got droids everywhere down here and the column is out of action. Zeta-One is down, repeat, down."

"What's your location? I'll pull you out."

"Negative, air's too hot. Need you to drop equipment at the following coordinates."

"Equipment? What do you mean?"

Banger and Beans both looked at Mash but said nothing. They stared at him, expressions somewhere between concerned and convinced he was outright crazy.

"Get back to the Resolute and get the new heavy assault vehicle. Drop it south of the city at the RV point."

"You mean the prototype? I'm gonna need the heavy gear to get that."

"Then get it," Mash said. "And hurry." He cut the comms and moved to the back of the cabin. Beans and Banger followed him, the latter steadying himself on the bulkhead as he did.

The standard All-Terrain Tactical Enforcer's interior was divided into three sections: the front cabin where the crew and troops were stationed, the gangway in the middle with the boarding hatches and the rear cabin. They made their way to the rear cabin where the cargo was located. Cargo was simple and included spare blasters, additional ammo for said blasters, two unassembled E-web blaster cannons(with extra-cushiony chairs) and the reason they came here.

"Mash, that's not a good idea. That model's a death trap."

"Not any more," Banger interjected. "I modified it. Replaced the accelerator with a new one off a BARC."

Both Mash and Beans turned to him. "Why exactly did you feel the need to replace the accelerator?"

Banger smiled. "Because they explode! I wanted to see if it would work as a makeshift demolition round. Thing's are volatile and unstable, they blow up if you barely touch 'em. And to answer your next question, better than expected."

"What the hell was the next question?"

"We don't have time to debate." He grabbed the speeder bike, forcing Beans and Banger to grab it as well. They sat it down on the back deployable ramp of the walker. "Besides, you're going to hate the next part."

"Why? What's the next part?"

---

"Have fun, boys! Make sure to clench your jaw good'n tight!"

The walker lowered its rear hatch. Out shot Mash and Beans on the speeder bike. In order to counterbalance the unstable repulsorlift stabilizers(really a bad design if the stabilizers are unstable), Beans had to be the counterweight. Meaning he had to sit behind Mash and hold onto him for dear life.

Mash gunned the bike's thrusters again, shooting them down the street in a burst of speed. The few droids that saw them whizz past barely had time to process that they'd seen anything before they were already past them. They didn't react quickly enough to register that they were clones on a speeder bike, or to shoot them thankfully. Their only problem was if STAPs showed up, a tank blocked their path or the droid starfighters above decided to swoop down for a shot at them.

But something did decide to occupy the street directly in front of them.

"Are those Crab Droids?"

Yes, they were Crab Droids. Oddly enough, they were adorned with crystals, gems and jewels of various kinds, so much so Mash could see them shimmering in the distance seconds before they were upon them.

To their credit, the Crab Droids noticed the clones.

"Brrep?"
"Brepp-brepp."
"Kttrrrrkrrrbrrrbrrrm."
"Brepp-brepp-brepp?"
"Brrrrrbb-brrlll-brrrrpp-brrrrp."

Whatever conversation the bejeweled Crabs had didn't lead them to pursue the speeder. They were getting closer now to the edge of the city. And that was when the tri-fighters decided to take notice of them.

*Skew-skiskew-ski-skewskewskew!!*

Lasers from the needle-nose blaster of the droid tri-fighter ripped holes into the street near the speeder.

"Gaaah!" Beans grabbed Mash tight as Mash nearly rolled the speeder bike. They survived the first pass, barely, and were still speeding down the street. High above, the droid tri-fighter was already banking, this time coming at them head-on. The odds of them surviving another round were not something Mash wanted to calculate.

As fate would have it, he wouldn't get the chance.

---

Payday had been bred and trained to be a pilot. Destroying the squadron of patrolling Vulture Droids had been easy. The standard CIS droid starfighters were meant to swarm opponents, not use squad tactics. Archer Squadron had flown in, destroyed half of the Vultures head-on while their gunners had taken out the few that survived to bank around and pursue them. Then, it had been an easy mop-up of the rest by just hunting them down and blasting them. Their programming prevented them from fleeing; securing the Crystal Empire's airspace had taken a couple of minutes.

Then, the Droid Tri-Fighters showed up.

Of course, the Seps had been holding them back. They liked holding the best stuff in reserve. It was a good strategy that worked out for them often, one that the Republic hated. Same as with their tanks and droids on the ground, they used their basic, cheap fighters to wear them out or lure them into a false sense of security, then send in the elites.

"Dive, Archers, dive, dive!!" He shouted the order into his comms even while pushing forward and turning the yolk. His Y-Wing quickly rotated ninety degrees and dove, knifing through the air and down to the ground. It was risky at such low altitude but necessary. In a fraction of a second, Payday's view changed from sky to the rooftops of buildings as his nosedive took him right towards them. He turned and yanked back the yolk again, cut the main engines and went straight to repulsorlift.

Red streaks blasted the rooftops of the buildings he'd just seen, sending a cloud of debris into the air. Three tri-fighters blazed past overhead, flying low enough to blow back the dust cloud with their thrusters.

Payday was alive. "Leader to squad, acknowledge."

Twelve green acknowledgement lights glowed back at him. He exhaled. The squadron was alive, against all odds. Thanks to their training, drills, and extra drills and training, they were alive. But for how long was up to him. They had all mirrored his maneuver, getting as low as possible and cutting the engines to just hover. They were barely a few feet off the ground, on repulsorlifts.

"Leader to two, what's your status? You copy, Stacks?"

"I'm green, Payd. I think I'm in a park."

"Eight to squad, I'm tracking the Tri's now. I don't think they can see us."

"Good," he said. Then he switched his commlink to check on his gunner. "You there, Spray?"

"I'm here." Payday and Spray, they made a good team. "Nearly broke my spine with that dive, but I'm alright."

"You'll be fine. You got eyes on those tri's up there?"

"Not tracking any- wait, there's one. No way we can get a lock on those things from down here."

Payday looked over his shoulder. Their astromech, R8-D3, was a little displeased over having to purge the thrusters to keep their Y-Wing from overheating, but relieved to not be vaporized. Right now, the droid tri-fighters were the biggest problem.

Based on what little Spray had told them, Payday figured the ships were using their speed to comb the airspace above the Crystal Empire. They flew in a grid pattern, each ship in the droid formation crossing over a different area, scanning. If any one ship sighted an enemy, they would all respond and move to that ship's position, becoming a swarm. Republic interceptors had a similar strategy, but also kept a few ships flying high over the scanning ones to prevent ambushes and also to save fuel. Droid brains were fast to react, but slow to process new details.

Which is what gave clone pilots a slight advantage: creativity.

"Spray?"

"Yeah?"

Payday converted power to the thrusters, gripped the controls tight in his hands. "You think you can get those tri's attention?"

"Yes, but why would I want to?"

"I've got an idea. Squad, I want each of you to ping me with your position and watch for me on radar. Gunners, the moment I'm over your heads, you fire straight up. Acknowledge."

"The hell have you cooked up this time, Payday?"

"Just be ready," Payday said. His squad acknowledged him; the occasional wisecrack or comment was pretty usual for clones. If asked about the colorful commentary, the typical clone response was "blame it on my genes." Jango Fett was also known for his certain brand of humor.

"Spray," he said to his gunner alone, "next time you see a tri, shoot at it."

Silence for a moment, then green. "I see what you're getting at. I don't like it, but I see what you're getting at."

A minute passed. Then another. Spray didn't just fire, like his name might suggest, but waited for the opportune moment. One or two of the tri-fighters passed over, but in a wide pattern. He wanted to get one when it was just right.

"Be ready, squad."

The fighters were coming around again. It was a pattern, precise and orderly, mechanical. Like a machine. It was easy to predict, but still deadly. To kill droid fighters, you had to be smart, you had to be quick, and when the time came-

"Now!!" Spray yelled and fired. Blue bolts from the turret's laser cannons shot in the path of the tri, the fighter nearly hit. With enough time, Spray could've gotten the pattern down and shot it out of the sky, but right now, they didn't have time. The tri began to bank around, recalibrating its sensors to differentiate between the clone bomber and the ground. There was no hiding now- it was coming for them.

Payday hit the thrusters and their Y-Wing shot off. He nearly clipped the roof of the building directly in front of him in the rapid ascent, but they were up now, above the streets. And the tri's noticed them right away, all of the tri's. He nearly spun the yoke and yanked it back, turning his ship into a sharp bank, the sharpest he could make it. He had to pull the maneuver to prevent the tri-fighters from clipping him with an early shot. No, they would wait at least a few seconds to achieve a target lock. Being droids just meant they'd get it faster.

Would he be fast enough? He couldn't even look behind to check, but he saw three red blips tailing him on his sensors. Barely a second after they leveled out and three were already on him. Just a few more seconds, a few more meters, almost there, so close, so close. He looked at his position on the sensor readout, nearing closer to his first squadmate hovering on the ground. They were so close.

*Kssshou, kssshou!* One of the tris fighter. *ksshouksshou* And then another one. Red bolts blazed past him, just overhead, bright enough to nearly blind Payday and his gunner. With the droids' linked targeting systems, they were calibrating their shots. The first shots were close, the second were closer and more rapid. The next? Probably wouldn't survive to wonder.

"Now, eight!!"

Just as his ship flew over Archer-Eight's location, the clone gunner fired. The lasers from his turret fired straight up, not trying to track the tri's but just firing straight up. The laser fire wasn't enough to blast them all but it did clip one of them, and that was enough to tear one of its engines off the fuselage and send it spinning right into the dirt.

Payday pulled his ship into another bank. "Five, now!!"

He leveled out and blew over another wingman. Again, lasers shot up from the ground and caught a tri, blasting it to pieces.

They raced over a park near the center of this part of the city. "Two, now!!" Stacks' gunner Straps blasted another tri out of the sky. Soon, the entire enemy squadron of tri-fighters had been destroyed by the gunners of Archer Squadron. The last one, Payday went head-to-head with and dipped his bomber's nose slightly at the last second to let Spray blast it.

"Haha, got 'em!"

Payday took a moment to catch his breath. His squadron, all twelve Y-Wings, took to the sky again, free of droids.

"That was some nice shooting, gunners."

"If one of you says that line that 'timing is everything,' I swear I will shoot each and every last one of you down."

"Hahaha," that got a few chuckles out of the squad, Payday included.

"Why not say it was the Force instead?"

"Alright, alright, cut the chatter, guys. There's still droids in this city and we've got walkers down. Form up by three and let's go save our armor."

"Archer-One, I've got something new on sensors."

"What's it look like?"

"It's one of ours, one of the larties is carrying it but it's... new."

Payday checked his sensors and then did a visual scan, spotted the LAAT/c carrying it. He should've been just barely able to make out the walker, but he was able to see it from here. And it wasn't a walker.

"Well, this day keeps getting more and more interesting."

"Think we should've stayed on the ground?"

"No. We wouldn't want to be anywhere on the ground right now." Payday thought himself that if the droids knew what they would be facing at that moment, they probably wouldn't be on the ground either. If their programming allowed it.

Comments

[Bronycommander]

Love the "droid conversations" you did. The fact your Story has the sombra tag gained my attention

[Barrobroadcaster]

11369308
Thanks for reading! Yeah, I couldn't get enough of the Clone Wars either. I really like Bad Batch so far, too, and I decided to come up with my own clones and droids and make a story for it. This is for fans of the show, first and foremost. And yeah, it's important to show that the droids are more than just mindless robots in a Star Wars story. They've always had at least a little personality of their own.

I imagined the Crab Droids from Episode 3 like shining things, sort of like the way hermit crabs adorn their shells with things. My idea was that the Crab Droids find bits of metal and debris and weld it to themselves as additional armor. Anyway, thanks for reading again, more surprises in store!

[Bronycommander]

11369344
indeed and you're welcome! Why i said sombra, got a like for him recently through a friend. I love bad batch too, though frankly, I still prefer the legend version of Kamino and order 66

And I tried myself on 2 star wars fan fics myself.

Silly question, ever thought about OCs appearing?

[Barrobroadcaster]

11369363
Well, the clones are my OCs, original characters AND original clones. Created them just for this story and Battlefront 2. And other stuff. I also have a few Separatist pony OCs but otherwise, gonna keep it to a minimum.

[Bronycommander]

11369366
of course. sorry, old habit, was just curious about ponies here.

my story, was to show not all imperials are bad. funny is, it inspired a friend to do such a work on his own, which in return inspired sort of a sequel fo me

[Barrobroadcaster]

11369371
Indeed, the Empire was not all bad and that's shown elsewhere as well. Some people genuinely think that the Empire's ruthlessness was merited, that the order they established was worth the liberty they gave up. And we all give up some amount of liberty to live in a society with order. The Empire just went too far.

It's just a fact of life that there is no perfect system of government. In America, we were taught that our government has a balance of power to prevent tyranny and corruption. But now, we've come to realize that the system did not stop corruption; it only slowed it down. People are imperfect, and the relationships and things we create and do will also be imperfect. But we must keep trying, keep pressing onward and improving. Even a dictatorship can be benevolent and even a democratic representative republic can be corrupt and tyrannical.

Still, I'm a pro-Republic guy and this story won't have the Empire in it.

[Bronycommander]

11369378
Of course. Me, I only did empire to show they are not all bad.

I do like republic too. its just...the staging. You see, I wrote my story when I first go here and given how Palpatine directs how the clone wars go, I could not imagine how Equestria could fit I there without complications, or later problems, you know?

Although...I kinda had a brief battle droid idea in mind in my story.

[Barrobroadcaster]

11369381
Well, not to spoil anything but think about where they're at now. The crystals in the Crystal Empire? I know a few reasons why Palpatine might be interested in those.

[Bronycommander]

11369468
classic bf2 mygetto flashbacks