Chapter 4: Heart of Darkness

Clone Wars Journal Entry 9 – Location: Felucia

"It's been said that the 501st got the best of the war. We also got the worst. On Felucia, the Seps dug their metal heels into the muck of that alien hellhole and dared the Republic to come in after them. So we did, only to be met with month after month of flesh-eating diseases, shrieking nocturnal predators, and other sights that haunt me to this day. Cut off and for all we knew abandoned by our superiors. Our only hope was Aayla Secura, our Jedi commander. Without her iron will, none of us would have come out of that mess with our sanity, or our lives. When her death came, I hope it was quick. She earned that much."

Exhaustion. Terror. Hopelessness. That was all Ghost and his brothers felt ever since they landed on the bizarre overgrown plant controlled world of Felucia. They’ve been stationed on that planet for a whole three days from now, and there was still no signs of any help coming to rescue them.

Ghost was currently camping out underneath a giant flower. He was currently by himself, contemplating on the past few days since he’s been here. He thought this was gonna be another simple mission. Land on a separatist controlled planet, wipe out the droids, destroy the factories and leave as heroes. Though this planet was by far the deadliest mission he’s ever taken part in ever since he was first dispatched to Geonosis. How did it come to this?

A few days earlier. The Liberator was hovering over the green planet below. Commander Fang was giving a briefing on the ships bridge on what their mission is as usual. The holo-table brings up an image of Felucia.

“Alright men. Today’s mission will be a reconnaissance mission. The CIS is entrenched on Felucia, and have beaten back several attacks. The 182nd Legion landed there last month to stop them; they haven’t been heard from since. It’s most likely they were all wiped out by the Droids. If not them then many of the planets dangerous lifeforms did. Though I still believe some of them may still be alive. As the Republics finest, it is up to us, the 501st Legion to liberate Felucia and bring any surviving troopers home safe and sound. Ayala Secura will be our Jedi Commander for this mission. Unfortunately she and her troops are currently involved in another battle. So until she arrives, we’ll have to fend for ourselves. Any questions?” He asks his troops.

Ghost was the first to raise his hand. Fang points to him, allowing him to ask his question.

“I haven’t read much about the life on Felucia. What do you expect we’ll be facing down there?” He asks him.

“You’re not gonna like this. But Felucia is home to many vicious predators. Such as Acklay, Rancors, even some of the plants are carnivorous. And perhaps the worst of them all, is the giant Sarlacc pit. Rumour has it that it’s ten times bigger than the one on Tatooine. Big enough to even swallow a Rancor whole.” Fang answered.

The Clones all look at each other in slight terror. Ghost was just as scared as the rest of his brothers. He just had to ask about the lifeforms on Felucia. But who knows, maybe it won’t be so bad down there…Right?

He assumed wrong. It’s been a whole week now, and there’s been no word from any 182nd legion survivors. What’s worse is that their squad was forced to split up to over more ground, and hopefully find the location of the CIS base of operations on the planet.

But there was no such luck. He has found nothing, his armour is dirty, and some of the men had succumbed to a deadly disease. Luckily for the 501st they got the best medic with them. X-Ray was able to synthesise and antidote using various plants around them.

He then suddenly hears a twig snap above him. Ghost held his breath and reached for his new vibro sword he stole from the Commando Droid. He slowly peeked round the corner, readying his blade and lunged out to whatever was out there. He tackled the source and readies his blade to strike, only to stop at the last second.

The source of the noise was revealed to be Apex. He was wearing a new type of marksman armour. It was painted a green camo colour to allow him to blend in with the environment. Once Ghost realised this he put his sword away, got up and helped his brother off the ground.

“Oh it’s you. Sorry Apex, I thought you were something else.” He apologised.

“It’s alright brother. I was just scouting out the area we’re in, making sure no Rancors were in the area. Any word from the Commander yet?” He asked him.

“Nothing yet. I’m starting to get worried now. We’ve been separated from our squad for three hours now. What if somethings happened to them.” He says out loud.

“If something’s wrong they’ll contact the rest of us. Splitting up may’ve been a bad idea, but it’s a big planet and the droids base could be anywhere. Too bad the creatures that live here only have a taste for Human flesh. One advantage to being a Droid, you can’t be eaten by a Rancor.” Apex replies.

Their small talk was then suddenly silenced by the sound of someone trying to contact them on their communicators. Ghost instantly answers the SOS without a moment’s thought.

“Mayday, mayday! This is Thunder Squad. Our forward unit is under attack by some kind of creatures! We are in need of urgent assistance immediately! Sending you all our coordinates now.” The call was made by Thunder.

As they were listening they could hear a bunch of random clones in the background shooting at something in a panic. “What is that thing?!” Was all they could hear, followed by a horrifying shriek. The sound of blaster fire can be heard which was then suddenly silenced and replaced by the sounds of the clone screaming.

Ghost and Apex wasted no time and ran west of their position in the direction of the coordinates Thunder sent them.

When Ghost and Apex arrived at the coordinates they came across what looked like a badly damaged AT-TE walker lying in a shallow river. Many 501st clones had already arrived at the location, including Commander Fang and the rest of Orion Squad, apart from Daxter and Thunder who were still missing. They also happened to notice a huge layout of clone trooper bodies lying about the area. Ghost noticed that some of them were 501st, but most of them were wearing red patterns on their armour.

“Ghost, Apex, thank goodness you’re alright.” Commander Fang says as they arrived on the scene.

“Where are they? Where’s Thunder Squad?” Ghost asked in a panic.

“I’m sorry Ghost. They’re all dead. They met the same fate as the entire 182nd legion.”

Ghost was devastated by this news. There’s no way Thunders dead, it can’t be true. After a long pause to mourn the loss of his brothers, he faced his commander once again. “What did this? What killed them, Clankers?

“No. It was a pack of Acklay. They ambushed Daxter and Thunder’s squad in this area. Daxter’s been trying to get the 182nd legions AT-TE up and running again. I guess all that noise attracted their attention… Listen to me, Ghost. Dax and Thunder’s bodies weren’t found in all this, so there’s a high chance they’re still alive.” Fang reassured him.

“Unless they were eaten by a Rancor.” Boomstick thought to himself. Probably best that he doesn’t actually say that.

“Sir! Movement to the north!” A random clone shouted out.

The clones all looked north of their position and were shocked to see two Acklay approaching them fast. They then suddenly hear the screams on a clone in the far back of them. They watched in horror as another Acklay stabbed him to death with one of its sharpened spiderlike legs. Next thing the 501st knew, they were completely surrounded by a total of six Acklay.

“IT’S AN AMBUSH!” Fang warned as he quickly pulls out his minigun and begins firing at the nearest one. All the clones began to open fire on these creatures. “Do not let fear consume you, men! We must wipe out these creatures quickly before they rip our unit apart as well!”

The clones fought hard with everything they got against the Acklay. Though regular blaster fire was proving to be ineffective against them.

“Regular blasters ain’t gonna cut it, we need heavy artillery!” Ghost called out.

“It’ll be my pleasure.” Boomstick says as he readies his rocket launcher at one of the Acklay approaching him. “Eat this you ugly son of a-“ He cut himself off by firing the rocket at the Acklay’s head, killing it dead.

Apex was having difficulties in taking down an Acklay. It was too close to use his sniper rifle. He was gonna have to improvise. He then remembered the mines he’s been carrying with him, and quickly started setting them around him. After setting them up, he started shooting at the nearest Acklay, drawing its attention towards him.

“Hey ugly, come and get me!” He shouted out hoping to attract its attention.

The plan worked and the Acklay was hot on his tail. Apex then started to run away from the mines as it got closer. As soon as it set foot on one of the mines, they all went off at the same time, killing the Acklay in the process.

Ghost and Commander Fang stood back to back as they blasted away at the two Acklay approaching them from both sides. Fang firing his minigun while Ghost was firing his rifle.

“So these are the same creatures General Kenobi fought in the Geonosian arena? I can understand how he struggled with it, especially without his lightsaber.” Ghost commented.

“Indeed. Lucky us that we have to fight a whole bunch of them on their planet.” Fang replied sarcastically.

One Acklay closes in on Ghost and attempts to strike him with one of its legs. Ghost rolls out of the way and pulls out a grenade. The Acklay turns around and lunges forward at him. Instead of dodging again, Ghost decided to shove the Grenade into its mouth. He then quickly moves out of the way as the as the grenade went off and killed the Acklay from the inside out.

Fang was too focused on taking out his target to be impressed with Ghost’s performance. As the Acklay lunged at him. Fang jumped onto its pack and stabbed it’s armoured back with his vibro blade. The Ackley ran around the area trying to shake him off, but Fang wasn’t budging. He then proceeded to grab the Acklay’s head by the mandibles and managed to steer it into a giant tree, causing it to fall to the floor. Fang then quickly got up and fired his minigun into the hole in its back. Green blood sprayed all over his armour as he turned its insides into shredded cheese. He kept firing until it was no longer moving.

The 501st troops were amazed by their commanders actions. This is why Fang was made Commander of the 501st. Not just because of his bravery, loyalty to the Republic, or impressive tactical mind. It’s because he would always put himself in danger to protect his men. Ghost and the others knew full well that that is what makes a great leader. An honourable leader fights and dies alongside his soldiers. But today is not gonna be the day they die. Not here on this alien hellhole of a planet.

“These things are tough to take down. Two more to go men, don’t let your guard down yet!” He shouts to his men.

X-Ray was hiding the wounded soldiers underneath the damaged AT-TE. There weren’t many hiding places in the area, so this was his only option. And right now that hiding place was being attacked by another Acklay trying to reach them with one of its legs. X-Ray fought as hard as he can to keep it at bay, but he couldn’t risk using explosives against it, not while he and the wounded troops were in a tight space. As he could do was use himself as a shield to protect the men in case the Acklay got through.

Fortunately for him, Ghost and a bunch of clones diverted its attention away from him. The Acklay charges for them but Ghost wasn’t afraid of them anymore. He then tosses his rifle aside and pulls out his vibro sword. He then manages to sever the Acklay’s front legs, causing the creature to shriek in pain and fall onto its back. Ghost then slashes the creatures throat causing it to bleed uncontrollably on the ground, staining the overgrown grass with its blood. Ghost then finishes it off by stabbing it through the chest.

“Thank you Ghost.” X-Ray says as he crawls out from under the AT-TE. “If you hadn’t- BEHIND YOU!”

Ghost turns around but wasn’t quick enough stop the last Acklay from smacking him into a rock. The impact left Ghost feeling dazed and unable to fight back. The Acklay approached him and readied itself to finish him off.

“GHOST, NO!” X-Ray shouted out to him.

The Acklay however was suddenly blasted in the chest by a rocket, greatly injuring it. X-Ray looked over to where Boomstick was, thinking he fired it.

“Good shot Boomstick.” He complimented.

“That wasn’t me. Look over there!” He pointed forwards.

The others were shocked to see that the rocket came from Thunder who was flying in on his jetpack. Ghost and the other were relieved to see that their brother had survived the attack.

The Acklay tried to get back up, but was on the receiving end of a couple shotgun blasts. The blasts came from Daxter who was on the Acklay’s left side. He then blasts the Acklay’s head off with his shotgun finishing it off for good.

Once the fighting was over, Daxter helped Ghost up while Thunder did the same for X-Ray and the wounded clones.

“I knew you weren’t dead.” Ghost says though he was still dazed.

“How did you survive?” Boomstick asked Thunder.

“When our squad was ambushed by the Acklay things got out of hand. Dax and I were the only survivors, we saved ourselves by accidently falling into a pit where they couldn’t follow. Once things quieted down I flew us out of there and made a beeline right for the AT-TE.” Thunder explained.

“Well the important thing is that your safe.” Apex says.

They then look around at all the dead clones, most of which was from the 182nd legion. “Wish I could say the same for the 182nd.” He added.

Commander Fang then rallies al the men together, gathering their attention.

“Alright men, rest up and restock your supplies. We’re gonna have to be fully prepared for the CIS when we find where they are stationed. X-Ray, tend to the wounded, make sure they’re fully healed up, rested and ready to battle again soon.” He ordered.

“It will be done.” X-Ray nods as he readies his medical equipment.

“Daxter, see if you can get the AT-TE up and running again, It could come in handy in case more Acklay show up, or the Droids.

“Yes sir.” Daxter saluted. He then immediately got his fusion cutter out and began making repairs to the AT-TE.

“The rest of you keep a look out. Warn us if anymore creatures try to sneak up on us.” He orders.

The troops all salute in unison and begin scouting out the areas around them. If they’re lucky, that might’ve been the last of the Acklay. But this is Felucia. There’s danger everywhere they look.

The 501st legion were currently resting up in their camp by the damaged AT-TE. X-Ray was tending to Ghost’s injuries as well as a few other clones. Apex was sitting on top of the AT-TE using his sniper rifle scope to watch out for anymore possible threats. Commander Fang was pacing the ground trying to think on what to do next.

It’s been an hour since he sent out an SOS to coruscant, but there has been no reply since. He was starting to worry that no rescue was coming, and they would end up stranded on Felucia and meet the same fate as the 182nd legion. The only hope they have of surviving this nightmare was Aayla Secura. He was able to make contact with her and the 327th Star Corps, led by Commander Bly. Unfortunately they were running late, and that was unacceptable to Fang. How many more of his men need to die by Felucia’s fearsome predators before they can finally return to the safety of the Liberator?

“Commander Fang.” Fang was snapped out of his pacing and turns around to see Daxter standing there.

“What is it, Daxter?” He asks him, straight to the point.

“It’s about the AT-TE. You want the good news, or the bad news first.” He asked.

“Considering what we just went through since we got here, I think we could all use some good news right now.”

“The good news is the AT-TE is still in proper working condition, mostly.” He started.

“Mostly?” Boomstick spoke up.

“That’s the bad news. The power cell’s dead. We’re gonna have to replace it in order to get her up and running again.” Daxter explains.

“Just great, fantastic.” Fang complains to himself.

“Shouldn’t the 182nd legions crashed gunship have one we could salvage?” Thunder then speaks out. “I remember seeing it while I was flying through the air. We could acquire its power cell to reactivate the AT-TE.” He suggested.

“That ain’t gonna work. I already scoped out the area. The gunships broken beyond repair. And as for the power cell, the droids must’ve stripped it out as I couldn’t find it anywhere.” Daxter explains.

“Just great, perfect!” Boomstick frustratedly exclaims.

Fang didn’t have time to come up with a plan as he hears Apex shouting down at them from above. “Sir, we got company! CIS units are approaching our position from the south.” He warned.

The clones listen for the droids and were shocked at the sounds of what sounds like a thousand droids marching in unison. The fact that it was getting louder and louder didn’t help matters either.

“Orders Commander?” X-Ray asked.

“We’ll focus on Daxter’s plan to acquire the power cell later. Once General Secura and the 327th arrive, they will assist us in pushing through their numbers. For now I need everyone to hold the line here. We must defend the AT-TE until Jedi Master Secura arrives. Do not let any of them through no matter what!” He orders his troops.

The clones immediately take defensive positions around the AT-TE, all of them pointing their weapons in the directions the droids were approaching. Some clones even went so far as to use the corpses of the dead Acklay as cover. Their numbers were few compared to what’s coming their way (thanks to the Acklay) They have to take what they can get.

Suddenly out of the fog, a couple Battle Droids emerged, which was soon followed by a huge amount of them. They all immediately open fire on them, to which the clones returned.

“Keep repairing the AT-TE, Daxter. We’ll cover you!” Fang ordered. Daxter nodded and took shelter inside the AT-TE, continuing the repairs.

Ghost and the others use a chopped down tree to provide cover while they opened fire agianst the droids. The droids continued to march towards them, not even flinching at how many of them were getting cut down by blaster fire. A group of Super Battle Droids then approaches them and raises their left wrists.

“Not this time Clankers!” Boomstick shouted out as he blasted them with his rocket launcher. “Is that all you’ve got?” He mocked them.

He then would come to regret that decision as even more Super Battle Droids began emerging from the fog. Suddenly from behind them a group of Droideka’s rolled out into the field. More B1 Battle Droids came towards them at both sides, leaving the clones severely outnumbered and surrounded.

“Me and my goddamn mouth.” Boomstick muttered to himself.

“We can’t give up yet. We can’t let any of them break through our formation. Keep fighting with everything you’ve got!” Fang shouted from the top of his guns as he practically mowed through row after row of battle droids with his minigun.

As Ghost was blasting away at the droids, he notices something approaching in the sky towards them. At first he feared that it could be an asteroid or a droid transport ship. But as it grew closer he started to feel a sense if relief for the first time since he landed on Felucia.

Out of the sky came a couple of Republic gunships. They all open fire on the droids bellow, forcing them to retreat. The gunship door opens and reveals a squad of clones with yellow markings on their armour. Their commander wore a combat skirt and shoulder pads like Fang. The only difference was the built in goggles resting in his helmet.

“It’s the 327th Legion. I knew help would come.” Fang shouts with joy.

The 327th clones all jump out as soon as the gunships get close enough to the ground. They all begin helping out the 501st and gun down any droid that gets in their way. The droids numbers were decreasing exponentially, forcing them to retreat into the jungle. The clones all cheer as the remaining droids run away.

The celebration however was cut short as they notice one of the gunships in the distance getting shot down by heavy cannon fire. The gunship crashes in the brush near their location. They sure were lucky that the ship didn’t crash right on top of them. They’ve already lost too many men to the planets lifeform. Getting crushed by a gunship was the last thing they wanted on their conscious.

Once everything had calmed down. The 501st joined up with the 327th. Commander Fang approached the commander of the 327th and shook his hand.

“Good to see you again, Bly. For a moment there, I thought you weren’t coming.” Fang started.

“I would never abandon my brothers, Fang. I’m sorry it took us long to get here. Is this all that’s left of your squad?” He asked.

“Unfortunately yes. We suffered massive casualties with the planets predators… Wait, where’s General Secura?” He asked him.

“She was… In that gunship that crashed down here. But don’t worry. I doubt that would be enough to kill a Jedi Master as skilled as her.” He reassured him.

“Acklay!” A random clone warned everyone. All of the clones turn in his direction and were shocked to see yet another Acklay approaching them. The clone tries to make a run for it but ends up tripping over a rock and tumbles into the river next to the AT-TE.

As the Acklay was about to kill the clone by bringing down one of its legs down on him. A blue lightsaber came out of nowhere and cuts through it. The Acklay shrieks in pain as the lightsaber starts flying backwards like a boomerang. The lightsaber was then caught by a female blue skinned Twi’lek Jedi. Unlike most jedi who all wore robes, she was wearing a skin tight black vest top, skin tight black jeans and black boots. She then leaps onto the Acklay’s back and plunges her lightsaber into its armoured back, finishing it off for good.

The members of the 501st were amazed by her skills in taking down a single Acklay like it was nothing. While for them it was one of the toughest things to kill so far. Ghost and his brothers couldn’t help but feel somewhat bewitched by her beauty. Ghost knows very little about the many different kinds of alien species across the galaxy. But from what he read about Twi’leks. They were considered to be the most attractive of them all. This probably would explain why the many clone bars he went to had Twi’leks as exotic dancers, and why the Hutt clans enjoy keeping them as slaves. But he can’t let her feminine charms distract him from this mission.

He then couldn’t help but overhear Boomstick, Apex and X-Ray whisper about her. “So that’s Aayla Secura. Wow, she’s even better then what the rumours said. X-Ray whispered to his brothers.

“I know she’s our Jedi General. But you gotta admit, she’s kinda hot.” Boomstick added.

“Now I know most of you haven’t seen a woman in three months, but let’s try to be professional about this.” Ghost whispers back to them as the Jedi was closing in on them. “Still, I guess I can understand why they would say that. Maybe next time I visit the clone bar on Coruscant, I should ask for a lap dance from a fine looking Twi’lek.”

“General Secura, we’re relieved to see you alive and well. Thank you for the air support.” Fang says to her as she approaches him.

“Your most welcome, Commander Fang. I take it your rescue mission was a failure with all these bodies lying around here.” She says as she looks over at the bodies of the 182nd clones in the area.

“Yes ma’am. With the unfortunate death of the 182nd legion, there is nothing left for us to do now. Except locate the droids base and destroy it.” Fang replied.

They were suddenly interrupted by the sounds of blaster fire coming from the direction of where the droids went. “Damn, they’re regrouping for another attack. General, with your permission. I would ask that you help us take out the droids base, so we could all finally get off this death trap.”

“I’m afraid I can’t allow that, Commander.” Fang was slightly shocked by this, but she continued on anyway. “The Chancellor has ordered that you and your men return to Coruscant, effective immediately. My troops and I will be taking over in the interim.”

“But General. Our dropships have been shot down, and we have no way of leaving the planet.” He pointed out.

“We’ve already called for a rescue transport to pick you up. But it’s going to take several hours before it arrives. Until it arrives, you are welcome to help us take out one of the Separatists outposts near our location. Bly, explain to them our plan of attack” Aayla orders her right hand clone.

Commander Bly then brings up a hologram map of where they currently are on Felucia. “This is where we currently are.” He then points to a big red dot that appears on the map a few meters away from where they were. “This is where the outpost is. It’s not the droids main base of operations, but it serves as a good launching point for our mission. There are several mor outposts located around Felucia, but the one we’ll be targeting is the fungal tree to the south of here.” Bly explained.

“Understood. Some of my best men and I will accompany you in destroying this outpost. Ghost, you, Boomstick and Thunder are with me. Daxter, Apex and X-Ray will stay behind and guard the AT-TE. That gunship that crashed near here is probably unfixable. See if you can acquire its power cell in order to reactivate the AT-TE.” He orders his men.

The clones all nod in unison and go their separate ways. Fang and the majority of the 501st travel south with the 327th, while the rest of them stayed behind with the AT-TE.

The Orion Squad along with a dozen 501st troops assist Aayla Secura on their assault on the CIS outpost at the giant fungal tree. Even though they were miles away from the tree, it was so huge that they could see it from a distance. Commander Bly brings down his binoculars over his vizor to check out he outpost. He can see six auto turrets places around it, as well as several droid snail tanks.

“What do you see, Bly?” Aayla asked him.

“The CIS offensive is being mounted from the fungal tree to the south. In order to advance on the base of operations, we  must take out their primary defence turrets.” Bly pointed out.

“We can help with that,” Fang spoke up drawing their attention to him. “Our troops will launch a full scale assault on the outpost, drawing all of the Droids attention to us. While Orion Squad will sneak around the back and take out those heavy turrets. Hopefully by then Daxter will get the AT-TE running again, you could use its heavy fire power for your assault on their main base.” Fang explains as he points to the various areas around the tree.

“I actually agree with that plan. What do you think, General?” Bly asks as turns to his Jedi general for confirmation.

“This plan could result in the deaths of a lot of troops if your Orion Squad fails. Are you sure they’re up to the task?” She asks.

“We are, General!” Ghost spoke up. We’ve been through tougher missions throughout the war. We’re determined to see this through to the end.”

Aayla Secura was impressed by Ghosts bravery. She can understand now why he was made an ARC Trooper. If the 501st Legion had complete faith in him, there’s no reason why she couldn’t trust him either to pull this off.

“Alright Commander Fang, we’ll go with your plan. I will lead the men on the front lines. Let’s move out” She says as she ignites her lightsaber. The troops already their weapons and prepare to march towards the fungal tree.

They begin to open fire on the droids stationed there. Being caught off guard, the droids didn’t have enough time to prepare as they got blasted to pieces by the advancing clones. The droid soon begin fighting back against them, some of them entering the snail tanks and taking aim at them.

“They’ve got tanks!” One of the clones warns.

“I’ll deal with them, keep pushing forward!” Aayla ordered them. She then leaps over to the snail tanks and cuts its guns off, preventing it from fighting back. The tank however starts moving forward at top speed in an attempt to ram into the clones.

“LOOK OUT!” Bly warned the troops.

The tank however was redirected by Aayla who used the force to cause it to turn away from the clones and crash into a tree. The tank exploded on impact. Aayla wasted no more time and began moving towards the other snail tanks approaching their position.

Ghost, Boomstick and Thunder make their way to the back part of the fungal tree, out of the view of the droids. Even if they did spot them, they were well out of firing range of the turrets. They scout out the area trying to locate the six turrets. Four were located at the bottom of the tree, while the last two were stationed at the top of its branches.

“Alright Ghost, what’s the plan?” Thunder asked.

The three clones huddled together as Ghost began explaining their plan of attack. “There are four turrets stationed at the bottom of the tree, and two more on its branches, so six in total like the commander said. Boomstick and I will take out the ones on the ground, and you will destroy the ones up there.”

“I’m not surprised. I handle all the high up targets, being the only Jet Trooper and all.” Thunder interrupted.

“You chose this remember. Anyway, let’s not waste any more time. Let’s finish this quickly so we can finally get off this plant infested hellhole.”

That they can all agree on. The sooner they finish the mission, the faster they can get back to the Liberator and have a well-deserved nap.

Ghost and Boomstick head towards the ground turrets while Thunder ignites his jetpack and flies up to the top. Thunder has no problem reaching the top of the tree’s branches. The only difficult part was aiming his EMP launcher at the turrets while dodging their cannon fire. He quickly realised that shooting while flying was gonna be close to impossible to pull off. But he had another idea. He ten flies in between the turrets and then quickly flies up again, causing the two turrets to blast each other. It’s a good thing the turrets were placed on the same branches, otherwise he would’ve been more difficult than it was.

Ghost and Boomstick arrive at the front of the tree where the remaining four turrets were. The Droids were currently preoccupied with the combined strength in numbers of the 501st and the 327th to notice them.

“Think you can blow them up, Boom?” Ghost asks him.

“I could easily do that no problem, if I had enough rockets.” This causes Ghost to look back at him. “I only got two rockets left, plus one of my own custom made rockets.”

“You have a custom rocket?” He asked in confusion.

“Yeah, Dax and I put it together. It’s a special rocket designed to split into several smaller missiles upon firing.” He then pulls out a small tracking beacon from his utility belt. “The missiles are programmed to lock onto the signal produced by these beacons, and anything they’re attached to.”

“Perfect, then let’s use those.” He says optimistically.

“We haven’t teste them yet. How do you know they won’t backfire and blow up in our faces?” Boomstick asks Ghost.

“Because they were built by Daxter, and ingenuity has never failed us once throughout the entire war. Hand me the beacons. I’ll place them on the turrets, you be ready to fire the rocket on my signal.” Ghost instructs his brother.

Boomstick nods and hands Ghost a couple of beacons. Ghost then makes his way over to the turrets. “I got a bad feeling about this.” He mutters to himself.

Ghost stealthily makes his way over to the turrets, using the trees giant mushrooms as cover to avoid detection. One by one he secretly places a beacon on the turrets littered around the tree. Once he was out of the way he takes out his flash light and flashes it on and off multiple times at Boomstick.

“I guess that’s the signal.” He thought to himself. He then places the special custom rocket into his rocket launcher and takes aim at the turrets. “Please don’t blow up, please don’t blow up, please don’t blow up!” He repeatedly told himself in his mind as he hesitantly pulls the trigger.

The rocket fires and flies into the air. Suddenly it begins to break apart and a dozen smaller missiles fly out of it. The missies lock onto the signals produced by the beacons and fly towards the turrets. The turrets all blow up at the same time, taking out the droids outpost. And multiple droids that were in the blast radius.

The Droids were completely outmatched. Their outposts defences have been destroyed. Their tanks have been taken out one by one by a single Jedi, and now their numbers were severely depleting due to the combined efforts to two clone battalions. No, things weren’t working out in their favour at all.

Suddenly to the surprise of the clones. The droids suddenly turned around and ran off in the opposite direction. It was if they were running away in terror. Strange, considering droids feel no emotion such as fear.

Ghost, Boomstick and Thunder meet up with the rest of the squadron, their commanders and Jedi general. The two commanders approach the three valiant clones to congratulate their victory.

“Nice work Orion Squad. The Separatists assault on Felucia has been severely crippled. We have them on the run.” Bly says with pride. He then turns to Fang. “You’ve trained your men well, Fang. You should be very proud.”

“That I am, Bly. Good work as always, Orion Squad.” He congratulates also.

“Thank You sir. But I have to ask. Why did the Seps just run away like that, it’s not in their programming to do that.” Ghost asked.

“You make a good point there. The Separatists may be weaklings, but that doesn’t stop them from fighting till they’re shut down.” Ayala spoke up.

Suddenly they were interrupted by the sound of a big thud coming from behind them. This was followed by another big thud, and then another. Something big was heading their way. They then see a blurred out silhouette in the fog, that was too difficult to make out what it was.

“What is that sound?” Boomstick asked.

“Something big is heading this way.” Thunder pointed out.

“Maybe It’s Dax and the other. Maybe he finally got the AT-TE running again.” Ghost suggested hopefully.

That hopeful hypothesis was then shattered at the sound of a monstrous roar coming from the direction of whatever was approaching them.

“I don’t think that’s the AT-TE. AT-TE’s don’t roar.” Bly pointed out.

The clones start to tremble with fear as the giant thuds started getting closer, causing the ground to tremble a bit. Until at last the mysterious shape in the fog became visible to them. Fear immediately took over the clones upon looking upon the monstrosity before them. It was a Rancor, but this one different to an ordinary Rancor. This one was a lot bigger than an ordinary fully grown Rancor. It had darker, paler skin, an armoured back with spikes. An elongated tail with spikes on the end. And perhaps its scariest feature, six ginormous tusks sprouted from the side of its head.

The strange looking Rancor was dragging along the ground the corpse of a dead Acklay, that was missing its head. The Rancor was currently chewing on its head, devouring what the clones thought at first was a top predator. Boy were they wrong.

“What the hell is that thing?” A random clone shouted while paralysed with fear.

“It’s some kind of Rancor. But I don’t recall them looking like that!” Ghost pointed out.

“That’s because it’s no ordinary Rancor.” Aayla spoke up. “This is an ancient subspecies known as the Bull Rancor. They’re the rarest breed of Rancor that can only be found here and on Dathomir. They’ve become so rare because they were nearly hunted to extinction by Transdosian poachers hoping to sell their tusks on the black market.” As she was talking, the Bull Rancor sees them and begins heading in their direction. “Bly, Fang, get your men far away from here now. I’ll hold it off.” Aayla instructed as she once again ignites her lightsaber.

She then charges towards the Bull Rancor and slashes at its legs with her lightsaber. The Bull Rancor let out a pain filled roar and retaliates by backhanding her with its right claw. Aayla gets sent flying through several giant plants until she ends up crashing into the side of the fungal tree. The Bull Rancor then gets on all fours and begins charging towards her, in hopes of impaling her with her horns.

“General Secura, watch out!” Bly shouted out pointlessly.

Aayla Secura was slightly wounded from that attack, but she was not beaten yet. The Bull Rancor charges through the giant flowers in its path and makes a break for her. Aayla leaps out of the way hoping to trick it into charging straight into the tree. However, the Rancor stopped at the last second and turned around. It was more intelligent and agile compared to its more common brethren.

“Don’t just stand there, blast that thing! We need to help the general!” Fang instructed, snapping his men out of their fear induced statis. The clones all open fire on the Bull Rancor. But its armoured back deflected their blaster bolts. The Bull Rancor turned its attention away from Aayla and faces the clones. It then roars at them, causing some of the clones to tremble with fear once again.

“I think all were doing is making it angry. Why couldn’t you have just listened to the Generals orders and retreated?” Bly furiously asked Fang.

“Because we troopers of the 501st are the strongest of the Grand Army of the Republic. We’re duty bound to serve as an example to all Clone Troopers within the Republic. What good are we if allow one Jedi to fight a monster like that all by herself. You can follow orders all you want, but we will do what we believe is the right thing to do. And that is killing that thing!” Fang spoke with pride and determination in his voice. He was the leader of the 501st. He will not yield to any threat big or small. He and his men will give it their all, even if it cost them their lives.

The clones of the 501st stand their ground and give the Bull Rancor all they’ve got. Boomstick fire his rockets at the beast, and actually manages to injure it in the right shoulder. The Bull Rancor once again goes on all fours and begins charging at them full speed.

“GET OUT THE WAY!” Fang shouted and started pushing his men to safety. Unfortunately not all the clones manages to get out of the monsters path. Some clones from the 327th end up getting impaired on the Rancors tusks, while others got grabbed by it, and most of them end up getting trampled underfoot.

The clones were horrified by the sheer brutality of this creatures rampage. The Bull Rancor then proceeds to devour the clone it was holding in its left claw. The clone screamed and flailed about trying to get free, but it was no use. They were then forced to watch one of their own get violently ripped apart by its sharp teeth before being swallowed whole. The Rancor then pulls the dead limping clone and throws him at the others.

“That things too strong, we’ve got to retreat now!” Bly panicked.

“No! We need to kill that thing before it wipes out any more men. Retreating will only result in leading back to our base. We need to make sure it stays right here!” Fang instructed.

As the Bull Rancor was about to make another charge attack. Aayla Secura recovers and leaps onto it’s back. She then plunges her lightsaber into a weak spot under one of the armoured flaps on its back. The Rancor roars in pain once again and tries to shake her off. The Rancor raises its claw trying to reach her, but the force pushes it away, causing the creature to accidently smack itself in the jaw.

“We gotta help the General!” Ghost says vigorously.

“He’s right sir. What are your orders?” Thunder asks Fang.

“Ok, here’s the plan. Boomstick will break right, fire some rockets to distract it. Thunder will take to the sky and attack it from above, while Ghost will attack from bellow. Aim for the joints in its legs.” He instructed.

“Yes sir!” They all shout in unison. They then waste no more time and begin their attack on the Bull Rancor.

The Bull Rancor starts charging into the fungal tree, causing Aayla to be carried forward by the momentum. Her lightsaber falls to the ground. But before she could use the force to bring it back to her hand, the Rancor grabs her and begins to repeatedly slam her into the side of the tree. Aayla was severely wounded by the Rancor, which in turn made her an easy meal for the Rancor.

The Rancor however feels an explosive force against its armoured back and roars in agony from the sudden explosion of heat. It then drops Aayla on the ground as it turns to face whoever caused its pain.

“Come get some you big ugly monster!” Boomstick mocked with a smirk (Even though we can’t see it since he has his helmet on)

The Rancor wastes no time and begins charging towards him. It then suddenly receives another explosive attack, but this time from above. It looks up and sees Thunder dropping grenades on its back. Once it was stunned, Ghost charged in and readied his vibro blade. He then notices Ayala’s discarded lightsaber and grabs it without question. He then ignites her lightsaber and dual wields with it and his vibro blade. As he closes in on the Bull Rancor, he starts cutting the joints in its leg. His vibro blade cutting the left leg, and the lightsaber cutting the right.

The Bull Rancor collapses onto the ground after being severely crippled by Ghost. Fang and his men then take offensive positions and open fire at the creatures face. The Rancor roars in pain as it was getting hammered by blaster fire. In an act of desperation, it begins to lash out blindly with its claws and tail. It slams its tail down, causing a mini earthquake taking down Ghost and his two brothers. It then swipes its claws at the clones in front of them, injuring most and killing others.

It then begins crawling towards Fang and Bly. Once within range it grabs the two of them.

“Commander!” The clones cried out. Even after all that, it was still putting up a fight. Just what was it gonna take to kill that thing?

Then when things couldn’t get any worse, the sound of another massive thud can be heard in the distance.

“Oh what now?! Please don’t tell me it’s another Rancor.” One of the clones complained. One Bull Rancor was trouble enough, a second one will leave them all dead or eaten.

Then suddenly out of nowhere, a huge blue energy blast flew out of nowhere and hit the Bull Rancor in the side of its head. This causes it to drop the two commanders and fall to the side. The clones all turn to the origin of the blast, and any fear and despair they felt during the Rancor attack had been replaced by relief and pure joy. The approaching thud and the blast had come from the now reactivated AT-TE Walker.

“I told you my men would pull through. Daxter’s finally got the AT-TE up and running again. This battle is as good as ours.” Fang expresses with joy.

The AT-TE then comes into dull view of the clones. They see Daxter in the pilot’s seat and Apex was manning the massive gun on top of it. The Bull Rancor gets back up again. It was severely wounded form the blast, with half its face burned and the three horns on its right side were broken off.

“It’s still alive. Hit it again, Apex!” Daxter cried out form the cockpit. Apex wasted no time and took aim at the Rancor again. He fires another huge blast at its chest, causing the beast to fall backwards.

The Bull Rancor then began to lose a lot of blood from that blast and even started having trouble breathing from it. Aayla and the clones all recover from the battle and gather around the downed Rancor, all of them aiming their guns at it.

“It’s still alive?” Bly asked in disbelief. This was indeed one tough Rancor. I guess Aayla was exaggerating about the Bull Rancor being the toughest and deadliest of its kind.

“Not for long. The blast from the AT-TE punctured one of its lungs. It’ll either die of blood loss or suffocation. Either way it’ll suffer a slow and painful death for the many men it killed today.” Fang says while holding back his hatred for the creature.

“No.” They all look over to Aayla Secura who was walking towards the Rancors head. She then uses the force to take back her lightsaber from Ghost. “This creature is neither good nor evil. It was only following its predatory instincts, as all living things do. It shouldn’t suffer just by living how nature made it out to be.”

Ghost has to admit, the Jedi did have a point. It didn’t choose to kill his fellow clones for the sport of it. They just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He then watches as Aayla Secura raises her lightsaber above the Rancors head and plunges it into the centre, killing it quickly and painfully, thereby ending its suffering for good.

“Sleep now mighty beast, become one with the force.” She whispers to it as the Rancor slowly closes its eyes and goes limp. The clones didn’t know how to react. In the end they chose not to care. All that mattered to them now was getting off this planet once and for all.

Two hours have passed after the battle with the Bull Rancor. After almost a week’s worth of camping out here, the Clones can finally leave Felucia. A couple dropships have landed in the clearing where their camp was. Ghost and his brothers watched as the 501st were being escorted onto the ships, while the wounded clones were placed in capsules and being brought onto the ship.

Commander Fang was with Commander Bly and Aayla Secura. The two of them shake hands before departing.

“You and your troops fought valiantly today, Fang. I guess you were right about the 501str being the best of the best in the army. I say you’ve inspired my own men.” Bly complimented, some of his men even showing signs of agreeing to what he just said.

“Thanks Bly. But Felucia’s not free yet. The Droids base is still out there. Until it is destroyed, this planet will still be under their control.” Fang pointed out.

“That is why we are here, Commander.” Aayla spoke up, drawing his attention. “I sense that the end of the war is growing near. We will do all that we can to liberate Felucia. But you and your men are needed elsewhere.” She then looks over to the Orion Squad clones. “You six, come here.”

Ghost and the other do as instructed and stand at attention to her. “That was foolish what you did back there with the Rancor. I clearly gave you a direct order to let me handle it.” They had a feeling they would probably get in trouble for disobeying a direct order. But Aayla wasn;t finished yet. “But, if you hadn’t intervened, I probably would be dead now. You lot are probably the bravest soldiers I have ever seen. With troops like you risking everything to save the galaxy, I know that this war will be a victory for the Republic. Well done Orion Squad.” She says with a slight smile.

The clones of Orion Squad all salute their Jedi general with respect for her kind words. With that said and done, the 501st began to board the dropships and prepared to leave the planet and return to the Liberator.

As they walked over to the gunship, Ghost couldn’t help but look back at Aayla one last time. “She truly is an amazing Jedi. Probably the best I’ve served with so far. Good luck Aayla Secura, I hope you and the 327th succeed where we failed and return home alive.” He thought to himself as he boards the gunship.

The doors then close and the gunships take off. At long last, the men of the 501st can relax and never again have to suffer another day on that planet. Here’s hoping that the next planet they get sent to isn’t infested with deadly creatures like Felucia. They’ve had their fill of horrors for one day.

“Boy I cannot wait to finally get outta here. I really hated that planet.” X-Ray commented.

“Amen to that, brother” Apex agreed.

“Commander Fang, what will our next mission be?” Daxter asked.

“Don’t worry boys. This one won’t be on another death-trap like Felucia. Once we return to the Liberator, we’re heading to Kashyyyk to assist the Wookie resistance. So I suggest you all get some proper rest and ensure all the wounded are back in fighting fit condition. They’re gonna need all the help they can get.”

So Kashyyyk is their next mission. Ghost was always curious about the Wookiees. Hearing rumours on how vicious they were on the battlefield. He was looking forward to seeing what they’ll be like against the Battle Droids once they arrive.

Clone Wars Journal Entry 10 – Location: Felucia

"When the 501st was finally rotated out of Felucia. Aayla Secura made a point of seeing us off personally, calling us the bravest soldiers she had ever seen. It's a good thing we were wearing helmets, because none of us could bear to look her in the eye."

To Be Continued.