Chapter 5: First Line of Defence

Clone Wars Journal Entry 11 – Location: Kashyyyk Orbit

"When the Separatists' invasion of Kashyyyk caught the Republic flatfooted, a detachment of the 501st was sent in to stop the bleeding until reinforcements could arrive. It was a textbook suicide mission and we knew it. As we fought our way into Kashyyyk's atmosphere, most of us believed that the only way we'd be getting off this planet was in a body bag."

It has only been a few hours since the Liberator has left Felucia’s orbit, and has begun its long journey to Kashyyyk. The men of the 501st were still recovering after their gruesome mission on the giant greenhouse of a planet. Some were in the med bay being treated by X-Ray and his staff of medical droids. Others were taking a long rest before beginning their next mission. Felucia has indeed been hard on most of them, some clones even coming close to losing their sanity after barely making it off that rock alive.

The members of Orion Squad (apart from X-Ray) Are currently resting in their sleeping quarters. Their armour were currently hanging on a rack by the door. It has been properly cleaned and polished from all the mud and Acklay blood that stained them. Ghost was sitting at a desk writing in his journal. Daxter was making repairs to his and his squad mates equipment. Apex and Thunder were sleeping in their bunkbeds. And Boomstick was doing some push ups.

“Ninety Eight…Ninety nine.” He starts to struggle now as his arms felt like they could snap at any moment under pressure. But he shook it off and kept going. “One…Hundred!” He did it. He was able to do one hundred push ups, must be a new record for him.

“You shouldn’t be pushing yourself too hard, Boomstick. You should conserve your energy for the Droids when we reach Kashyyyk.” Ghost spoke up interrupting his brief celebration, without even looking up from his journal.

“I had enough rest. I need to increase my upper body strength so I can handle my rocket launcher better. Who knows, maybe I’ll be strong enough to wield two of them at once.” Boomstick boasted.

“You could do that. But what happens when they both run out of ammo and your hands are unable to reload. You’d be dead, and all those push ups would’ve been for nothing.” Ghost pointed out.

As much as he hated to admit it, Ghost did have a point. What good is blowing stuff up if he has no hands left to shoot rockets with. Boomstick may be a bit over the top when it comes to explosives, but even he wasn’t arrogant enough to warrant a pointless death by having his hands full.

They were then suddenly interrupted by the door opening. The squad members all look in the direction of the door and see X-Ray walking in.

“X-Ray, how are the troops doing?” Daxter asked.

“They’re all fine. Some of them may need to be in the bacta tanks longer than others. But otherwise they’re all going to make a swift recovery. Though I personally think it be best that they don’t take part in our next mission until they’ve fully recovered.” He then has a brief pause to get his breath back before continuing. “Anyway, I came to tell you that the Commander wants all of you on the bridge for briefing of the next mission. We’re nearing Kashyyyk.”

The clones wasted no time and already began getting ready. They quickly put their armour back on. Boomstick then goes over to Apex and Thunders bunkbed and gently slaps their faces, waking them up.

“On your feet boys, it’s go time!” He announced excitedly.

Apex and Thunder groaned as they slowly climbed out of bed still half asleep. They were still exhausted from Felucia, and even their bodies were aching all over from all the punishment they took from the Acklay and the Bull Rancor. Why couldn’t they just go back to sleep. They understand that it’s their duty as soldiers to fight for the Republic, but they’re not Droids. They need their rest.

But instead of voicing their complaints they just did as they were told and put on their armours like the good little clones they were.

“Ugh, what I wouldn’t give for a cup of Black Caf right now.” Thunder thought to himself. He then looks over at Apex and he could instantly tell that he was thinking the same thing.

Once the members of Orion Squad got their stuff together, they marched out of their sleeping quarters and made their way to the bridge.

On the bridge of the ship. Commander Fang was once again giving the men of the 501st a briefing on what their next mission entails. Behind him through the ships windows, they can see that the Liberator is still traveling through hyperspace. Fang then brings up a hologram image of Kashyyyk and the droid blockade around it.

“Alright men, as you all know, the CIS are laying siege on the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk. The beleaguered garrison has been sent to aid the Wookiees in fighting the Seps. But they’re numbers are growing drastically. We must aid them in holding back the Seps until more reinforcements arrive.” He then points over to the CIS blockades. “But before we can get down there, we must punch through the Sep blockade over the planet. In order to do that we must weaken their forces. We will start by taking out their support ships. Then we will focus on taking down the Droid Cruiser like we did last time. Any questions?”

None of the clones raised their hands, so Fang took that as a no and continued on. “Good. Now I know some of you are still recovering from Felucia. So I will allow the most able bodied troopers to fly their ships out there. Everyone else will remain here and man our cruisers turret grid.”

As he was explaining the plan. The clones realise that the Liberator has finally arrived at Kashyyyk. Upon arriving they were immediately fired upon by the fleet of Droid ships.

“Let’s make this quick boys, every second we waste in space means the death of another trooper and/or Wookiee. Move out!” Fang instructed.

Ghost, Boomstick and Daxter were among those that chose to take part in the space battle while Apex and Thunder chose to stay and mind the turret grid. They’d prefer to save their energy for the actual battle down on the planet surface then waste it in a starfighter cockpit.

Daxter however was stopped by Fang who called out his name. Daxter turns around and faces his commanding officer. “Not you, Daxter. I have a special task that only you can do.”

“Ok sir, but what task would that be?”

When Fang told Daxter that he had a special task that only he could do, this was not what he had in mind. Apparently Fang wanted him to use his engineering skill to repair and modify one of their LAAT Gunships, so that they could fly it into the enemy cruiser and take them by surprise by bringing a squad of troopers in the transport. Unfortunately the gunship suffered some damage after Felucia, so this could take a while.

“After you and Ghost risked your lives to infiltrate the Droid Cruiser during the battle over Coruscant, I figured it be best if you have a lot of backup this time. Once was lucky, twice is when you should be cautious.” Fang spoke up while Daxter was repairing the gunship.

“Understood sir. I should be able to get this ship ready in 40 minutes, maybe 50.”

“You have 10 minutes tops. I’m sorry Daxter but we’re short on time. The Wookiees need us. Do you understand?”

“Yes sir. I’ll have it repaired in ten minutes.” Daxter then began quickening his pace on repairing the gunship. Every second wasted means another death down there on the planet. There’s no tome to lose.

Ghost and Boomstick arrive at the hanger area and rush to their ships. Ghost broke for the nearest 170 Starfighter and climbed in its cockpit, while Boomstick went for a V-Wing Bomber. As Ghost was getting ready to take off, he couldn’t help but notice a random clone get into the same ship as him. Ghost has never met him before, and judging by the look of his armour, he’s probably new.

“You there. I already claimed this ship.” He called out to the random clone.

“I know sir. I Just wanted to offer my help to you. With your partner staying abord to repair the Gunship, your gonna need someone to watch your back.” He said hesitantly.

Ghost climbed off the ship and examined the new clone. His armour was brand new, not a single scratch or dent anywhere. “Your new here I take it.”

“Yes sir. I was transferred to the 501st legion to replace the men you’ve lost on Felucia.” He replied and stood at attention.

“Is that so? Hey Boomstick, we got ourselves a couple of Shinies helping us out.” Boomstick gave a slight chuckle upon hearing that.

“Shinies, sir?” The clone asked in confusion.

“That’s right. Your armour, it’s shiny and new. Just like you. What is your name, Shiny?”

“My designation is CT9021. I don’t have an actual name, sir.”

“I see. In that case I’ll just call you Shiny until you can give yourself a better name. Now then, get in the backseat, I’m driving.” Ghost ordered.

“Yes sir.” Shiny then climbed into the backseat of the ship and manned the turret gun.

Without a moments delay, Ghost powered up the ships engines and took flight, followed closely by Boomstick’s V-Wing. They then join in on the space dogfight taking place over Kashyyyk. They notice that the Trade Federation Cruiser was surrounded by two Banking Clan Comm Ships. If they were to get the Gunship safely to the enemy cruiser, they’ll have to take out their support ships.

“Sir, we got fighters!” Shiny warned. Ghost however paid them no mind and continued flying towards the support ship.

“Boomstick come in.” He waits for a bit until Boomstick was finally able to pick up on his radio signal. “Focus your fire on those Banking Clan ships. Shiny and I will cover you from the enemy fighters.”

“Copy that, Ghost.” Boomstick replied. The connection was then cut off. Boomstick fires multiple bombs at one of the support ships and takes it out no problem.

“Nice. One more to go.” Ghost added. He then provides backup and begins firing his ships missiles at the ship. Shiny then notices a few Vulture Droids closing in on them. He takes aim at the droid starfighters and fired the back gun. He struggles with the recoil of the gun as this was his first mission in the war. His superiors were counting on him though, and he just can’t give up now. He tried again, and this time he was able to shoot them down.

“I got em sir!” He shouted out proudly, as if a child was impressing their parent.

“Great Shiny, but don’t get too cocky.” Ghost Replied quickly, trying to keep his attention on flying through space and avoiding getting shot.

Boomstick then begins to circle around and target the second support ship. Now that most of the enemy fighters have been cleared out, he can continue with his bombing run undisturbed. He wastes no time firing many bombs at the ships engines, causing the ships internal system to be set ablaze and combust into a fiery explosion.

“Ships are down Ghost. The cruisers alone now.” Boomstick radioed in.

Soon both he, Ghost and Shiny were receiving a signal from Commander Fang.

“Good job boys, but we’ve got a problem. The Seps cruisers heavy turrets are pounding our shields. If this keeps up our shields will be disabled and we;;l be at their mercy. You must destroy those heavy turrets before that happens.”

“We’re on it, Commander!” Boomstick replied before Ghost for a change.

The two of them turn their ships around and begin targeting the droid cruisers massive cannons located on both sides of its hanger entrance. Boomstick drops several bombs on the one on the left while Ghost fires his ships missiles at the one on the right. And just like that, those heavy turrets were no more.

“Well done, pilots. Now return to the Liberator for your next objective.” Fang instructed.

With that compliance, Ghost and Boomstick turned their fighters around once again and made a beeline for the Liberator.

Back on the Liberator, Daxter had just finished making repairs and modifications to the LAAT Gunship. And by the looks of things going on around him, such as Commander Fang and a bunch of clones heading his way, and Ghost and Boomstick docking their fighters in the hanger, just in time too.

Ghost, Boomstick and Shiny all exit their ships and approach Fang and the gathered clones. After finishing the last final adjustments, Daxter joined as well.

“Before I begin, is the Gunship ready, Dax?”

“Yes sir, just finished the modifications like you said.” Daxter replied with a salute.

“Good work. Alright men, here’s what I want you all to do. I have assigned you men the mission of infiltrating the Separatist Cruiser and cripple the ships defences from the inside. Ghost and Daxter were able to pull this off during the battle over Coruscant. But that was because there were other cruisers out there, providing distractions, allowing them to slip in there unnoticed. This time will be different though. This time it’s just us out here, so all eyes will be on us. But that is where the Gunship comes in. I need you men to fly that gunship into the enemy hanger, land it, and destroy the ships internal systems. Will you do that?” He asked with in a tone of voice that sounded more like an order than a question.

The clones all salute and reply with “Yes Sir”. If they did it before they can do it again. And this time they’ll have a whole squad to back them up in case of another droid ambush.

The clones all prepare to board the gunship. Ghost and Boomstick hung out in the back area with most of the clones. Two clones manned the turrets on the wings of the ship. And Daxter sat in the cockpit to fly the ship.

“You ever flown one of these before?”

Daxter looked back to address the clone sitting behind him. “Only in the simulations. But I never crashed it, so that’s something, right?” He asked hesitantly.

“Sure, just try not to crash for real ok.” The clone replied.

Daxter nodded in response and began powering up the gunships systems. The gunship closes its doors and prepares to take off. “You got this, Dax.” Ghost called out to his brother. Daxter gave him a thumbs up and began to ease on the throttle as the gunship exited the hanger and ventured out into space.

As soon as the gunship exited the Liberator, all droid fire was focussed on it. Luckily for the clones the gunships armour was too thick for the Vulture Droids blaster fire to punch through. The clones manning the wing turrets fire its green lasers at any incoming ships, making things easier for Daxter to fly them all into the enemy cruiser.

Dealing with the droid fighters wasn’t difficult at all. And with the cruisers heavy turrets destroyed, they don’t have to fear being shot out of orbit. The gunship then finally arrives at the cruiser and makes its way into the hanger. A couple of Battle Droids were in the hanger as the gunship landed. They all drew their blasters and open fired on the gunship, which was entirely useless. If Vulture Droid starfighters and light turrets couldn’t break through the ships armour, then what makes them think they have a shot.

The gunship doors open and the droids get blasted to pieces by the squad of fourteen clone troopers, including Ghost and Boomstick. After a brief shootout, the clones were able to secure the hanger bay.

“Commander, we’re in.” Ghost told him through his helmet comms.

“Alright troopers. Make your way through the ships and destroy their critical systems such as their fuel and life support systems.”

The clones obey and all head deeper into the ship. Ghost and Boomstick were about to join them but Fang had more to say.

“Ghost, Boomstick. Let my troops handle this, I have a special job for you two. The Droids have a battle plan holocron that could prove useful to us when we get down there to aid the Wookiees. I need you two to head to the bridge, steal it, and bring it back to the Liberator.”

“What about me Sir?” Daxter asked.

“You stay with the gunship and guard it. You don’t leave until everyone is back aboard. And remember, only use plan B in case things start to go wrong, understood?”

“Yes sir” Daxter replied. Ghost and Boomstick weren’t sure what Fang was talking about when he said plan B, but they decided not to think about it and began heading off deeper into the enemy cruiser.

“Wait Ghost!”

Ghost and Boomstick stopped and turned around. They see that the one who called out to them was Shiny.

“I wish to assist you in stealing the holocron, sir!” He demands with pride but also a slight hint of hesitation.

“Sure rookie, I ain’t got no problem with that. What do you reckon Ghost?” Boomstick asked.

“If your up to the task, then I say a little extra help would be much appreciated.” Ghost reassured him.

Soon he, Boomstick and Shiny all head off again and exit the hanger area.

As Ghost and Boomstick were making their way through the enemy cruiser, they could hear the sound of blaster fire coming from all around them. It would seem that the clones are making their presence known by blasting any Clanker that crossed their path. They can use the infighting to their advantage, and make their way to the bridge without detection.

“How come they get to have all the fun while all we’re doing is sneaking around and stealing holocrons. Had I known there was a stealth mission I could’ve had Apex take my place.” Boomstick complained.

“Apex needs his rest for when we go down to Kashyyyk. Look on the bright side. If we run into a group of Clankers, you’ll get to blow them up.” Ghost pointed out.

“Clankers sir?” Shinty spoke up.

“It’s what we call the Seps Battle Droids. It’s because they’re just a bunch of emotionless machines that make a clanking sound every time they take a step forward. Since this is your first time in the field I can understand your confusion, as you’ve never fought one before.” Ghost explains as they walk through the hallway.

“Yeah…Those droids I shot down were actually my very first true Droid kills…Did I do good out there, sir?” He asked.

“Of course you did, Shiny. You were assigned to the 501st, which is the best of the best within the Grand Army of the Republic. If you weren’t any good you wouldn’t be here with us.” Ghost pointed out.

Shiny did not think about that. He heard rumours about the skills of the men within the 501st legion, but he always it to be a bunch of arrogant boasts. But in the span of only a couple hours with them after being transferred to the Liberator. He now knows that they really are the best of the best, and he hopes deep down that he can live up to their legacy and go on many missions with them.

“Shhh, get back!” Boomstick whispered as he pulled Shiny back and hid behind a wall. A bunch of Super Battle Droids ran past them to engage the invading clones. Luckily for them they moved too fast to even notice them. The three clones let out a breath of relief. Once the coast was clear they moved onwards.

Ghost, Boomstick and Shiny close in on the bridge of the ship. As they get closer they peer into the window and see that the bridge is manned by a couple B1’s, two Commando Droids and a new kind of droid that Shiny has never seen before. The Droid was about the same height as a Magna Guard (About 1.94 meters tall) It also had a build similar to them in terms of appearance. It’s head was almost square shaped and it had three glowing yellow eyes. It’s body was completely black with bright yellow patterns all over it.

“What kind of Droid is that?” He whispers to the others.

“That Shiny is one of those T-Series Tactical Droids. Though this one looks nothing like the previous ones we’ve encountered in the war.” Boomstick explained.

“That’s because its no ordinary Tactical droid.” Ghost soke up as he pulls out his holodisk. He activates it and brings up a hologram image of a regular Tactical Droid, which had a more boxlike body compared to the one they saw. It’s head was like a B1’s except it had a visor attached to it. “This is what a regular Tactical Droid looks like.” He then changes it to the one in bridge which stood taller then the regular one. “And this is one of those new Super Tactical Droids. This is my first time seeing one in person. The Seps created these droids to create strategies and lead squads of Droids against us. But despite their superior intelligence and battle tactics, they were just another bunch of Clankers. These ones however are different. They’re far superior to their predecessors. And if this one is leading the attack on Kashyyyk, it’s no wonder why the Republic is currently losing.”

“Just say the word.” Boomstick then readies his rocket launcher. “And I’ll blow the smart Clanker to pieces.”

“Not yet. First we must make sure the holocron is indeed in there.” Ghost then looks around inside the bridge and sees the Tactical Droid looking through its battle scymatics. He then starts to listen in on the Droid who was talking to General Grievous on the bridges holotable.

“How may I serve you, General Grievous?” The Tactical Droid spoke out with a deep menacing autotuned voice.

“Admiral Kraken. I demand to be informed of your progress of the invasion of Kashyyyk.” The General replied with a hint of frustration in his voice.

“My forces are close to winning this confrontation. The Republic has sent reinforcements to combat us, but they will never get past my blockade. A bunch of clones have infiltrate my ship, but my droids will put a stop to them momentarily. I take it the mission to capture the Chancellor has succeeded?” He asked.

“No. The Jedi were able to rescue him, and Count Dooku was killed by Anakin Skywalker. Me and the Separatist leaders are currently in hiding, preparing for our next strike. Once you have secured Kashyyyk, we will join you.”

“Understood sir, I will have Kashyyyk ready for your arrival.” The call then ends. Then to the clones surprise the tactical Droid known as Kraken pulls out a blaster from under the table and points it at the door.

“You might as well come in, clones. I know you’re out there.”

The three clones were shocked by the sudden and unexpected callout. Ghost then secretly signals Shiny to hide in the air vents they passed on the way to the bridge. Shiny looks back at the grate in the wall and quietly makes a dash for it.

Ghost and Boomstick put their weapons down and place their hands on their heads as the two Commando droids force them inside and then down on their knees.

“We meet at last, Orion Squad.” Kraken spoke as he looks down at them like the meat bags they are.

“How did you know we were out there?” Boomstick asked.

“I calculated that you would attempt to steal the holocron to give your allies an advantage against us. You clones are too predictable.” Kraken gloated.

“Some clones maybe, but you nothing about the 501st. We don’t go down easily. Who are you supposed to be anyway?” Ghost asked.

“I am Admiral Kraken. Leader of the Kashyyyk invasion force. You clones think aiding your comrades down there will make any difference? My forces outnumber yours five to one. Even the clones you brought here to sabotage my cruiser have failed to accomplish even that. Observe.”

He then brings up a hologram images of the clones sent to take out the engines and life support systems. Ghost and Boomstick were horrified to see that they were all dead. They only movement that could be seen was from the Gonk Droids just sitting in the background. Ghost clenches his fists and slowly looks back up at Kraken. Although his face was covered by his helmet, Kraken could tell that he was staring at him with a mighty rage.

“Did you honestly think I’d allow you to perform the same attack twice? I know about you and how you destroyed one of our cruisers over Coruscant. I calculated you’d attempt that again, and by bringing reinforcements, you only gained massive casualties. As a Tactical Droid, it is my programming to predict these little things.”

As Kraken was monologing, Ghost and Boomstick notice Shiny in the vents behind him. Ghost gently shifts his head over to the holotable where the holocron was. Shiny gave a thumbs up and carefully crawled towards the table until he was underneath it.

“And now.” Kraken then aims his blaster at them. “You will be joining your fellow meat bags in death.”

“We know… But today is not that day. Now!” Ghost called out.

The Droids didn’t have time to react as Shiny dropped down from the vents and blasted the two Commando Droids in the head killing them. Kraken turned around and was about to fie his blaster at him. But Ghost and Boomstick get up and tackle the droid. Ghost pulls out his vibro blade and stabs Kraken in the back. “That was for our men!”

He then pulls the blade out and the Tactical Droid hits the floor, followed by his blaster. They then begin blasting away at the B1’s manning the ships controls. Once things have quieted down, shiny grabbed the holocron.

“I got it, sir.” Shiny says as he waves the holocron around.

“Nice work, Shiny.” Boomstick says as he lightly punches his shoulder.

Ghost nods in agreement. He then contacts Daxter through his communicator. “Dax, this is Ghost. We’ve secured the holocorn but… The Droids have killed the men we brought here. Only Boomstick, Shiny and I are left.”

There was a long pause on Daxters end. Ghost wasn’t surprised. Though they’re all clones, its not easy seeing the men you fought alongside suddenly die like that. They didn’t even go out fighting, it was a slaughter. “I understand. I guess this means we’re going with plan B after all. You lot get back to the ship quickly.”

Before Ghost could reply, Daxter had already hung up. Ghost then turns to the others. “Let’s move it boys, we must get off this ship or else our brothers deaths would be in vain!” He ordered.

They then wasted no time and made a run for it for the exit. Unbeknownst to them, Kraken suddenly started moving again, revealing that h was still operational despite getting stabbed through the back. He reaches for his discarded blaster and takes aim at Ghost. Shiny looks back and sees this.

“Look out!” He warns as he pushes Ghost out of the way as the red blaster bolt was heading towards them. Though Ghost was successfully pushed out of the way, Shiny ended up stumbling into the blast by mistake. He ends up getting shot in the chest by the bolt and falls to the floor, the holocron still clenched in his hand.

“Shiny!” Ghost cried out as he rushed to his brother. He examines his wounds, but it was no good. The blast has punctured his internal organs, he doesn’t have much time left. In a fir of rage Ghost was about to pull out his blaster pistol and finish off the Tactical Droid but Shiny stopped him.

“No sir. You gotta get yourselves out of here.” He then gives him the holocorn. “Take this and get it back to the Commander. Please.”

“I’m not leaving you behind!” Ghost shouted out.

He then suddenly shudders in fear at the sound of a bunch of Droideka’s arriving on the bridge. “There is no escape, meat bags. You will all die together.” Kraken said as he gets back up. The Droideka’s change out of ball mode and all take aim at them.

“Sir… Are the air filters on your helmet on?” Shiny barely spoke up.

“Of course they are. They’re always on whenever we enter a Droid ship in case there’s no air.”

“Good…Then I suggest…you take a deep breath now.”

Ghost and Boomstick were confused by what he meant. Shiny then pulls out his blaster and takes aim at the bridges windows. Quickly realising what he was doing, Ghost and Boomstick grabbed hold of each other.

“What are you-“ Kraken then looks to where he was aiming and quickly panics. “Destroy him before-“

Shiny then fires his blaster at the window and everything in the room suddenly gets sucked out into space. Including Kraken, the Droideka’s, and the clones. Because of the air filters built into their helmets, they were able to survive the vacuum of space, at least for a while. They then begin to look around for Shiny, but they couldn’t find him anywhere.

Until Boomstick pointed behind them. Ghost looked in horror at seeing Shiny’s dead body floating around in space. His helmet was damaged by the blaster, so his air filters stopped working. All Ghost could do was reach out to him, even though he and Boomstick were drifting further and further away.

Suddenly the gunship they came in on appears behind them. A few surviving troopers open the doors and gently pull in the now unconscious Ghost and Boomstick. Once the ship was air sealed again, the quickly removed their helmet and put on some oxygen masks, reviving them. Daxter then begins to fly the gunship back to the Liberator.

Ghost and Boomstick slowly begin to wake up in the Liberator’s med bay. The first face they see was X-Ray’s who was healing their wounds with bacta. “Welcome back, boys.”

“X-Ray? Where are we?” Ghost mumbled as his body was slowly regaining consciousness.

“It’s alright, Ghost. You made it. Your back on the Liberator.”

Ghost turned to his left and see’s Thunder and Apex standing there. “ and don’t worry about the holocron, Daxters already given it to the Commander.” Apex continued.

Ghost however was still upset over what just happened with Shiny and Droids.

“What’s wrong?” Thunder asked.

“The men we brought with us to the cruiser were all slaughtered. Including a rookie clone. CT9021.” Ghost replied.

“None of that was on you.”

They all then turn around and see Commander Fang enter the med bay. Once he gained their attention, he continued. “Every single clone in the army knows what they signed up for. We all know that there’s a high chance we could die in battle.”

“This was different!” Ghost shouted out. “This was his first ever mission in the field. He never even had a real chance to know what it’s like to be a member of the 501st. I said that I would guide him, but I failed.”

Fang approached Ghost and sat down next to him. “A true soldier has to learn to deal with loss. But that does not mean he cannot mourn the men he loses. I believe that every clones death means something, even in death they have helped the Republic gain a slight advantage over the CIS. Shiny gave his life to ensure you and Boomstick return to us with Kashyyyk’s only hope of survival. Thanks to him, Kashyyyk and it’s Wookiee natives have a shot at beating the Droids.” He pauses to allow what he said sink into Ghosts mind. He then continues. “With the battle scymatics in our custody, we now know all their battle strategies. The time has come for us to get down there and liberate Kashyyyk. Once you lot are fully rested, we could use your help.”

Fang then stands up and leaves the room. X-Ray continues to trat him and Boomstick with bacta.

“Hold on a moment. What are we gonna do about the Clankers Cruiser. We failed to destroy its internal systems. We won’t be able to go down to the planet with that ship still there.” Boomstick pointed out.

Daxter then enters the room and fills them in on what happened. “Don’t worry about that. The Droids Cruiser is no more.”

“What? But how?” Ghost asked.

“I initiated plan B of course. Plan B was to send in a couple of Gonk Droids to destroy the systems in case the clone squads failed.”

“Gonk Droids? What can they do? They’re just a bunch of trash bins on legs.” Boomstick then started to laugh a bit upon hearing that.

“On their own yes. But These Gonk Droids were filled with explosives. I directed them to the ships internal systems and detonated them after rescuing you two. Now that the ships out of the way, there’s nothing stopping us from heading down to Kashyyyk and freeing the Wookiees.”

“Haha, your ingenuity strikes again, brother. Who would’ve thought Gonk Droids of things were able to succeed where we failed.” Ghost spoke up.

“Sounds like a lot went down while we were manning the turrets. What exactly happened out there?” Thunder asked as he and Apex sat down on the bed next to Ghosts.

“You won’t like what I’m about to tell you, that’s for sure.” Boomstick added. They then start telling Apex, Thunder and X-Ray about Shiny and how he sacrificed himself to ensure Kashyyyk’s freedom.

A few hours later, Ghost and Boomstick were fully rested. They and the rest of the 501st legion were preparing to board their gunships so they can head down to Kashyyyk to aid the Wookiees and the beleaguered garrison. Outside of the ships hanger bay, they notice that a couple more Republic Cruisers have arrived to finish off what remained of the Separatist blockade.

“Alright men. Now that the Seps blockade over Kashyyyk has been severely crippled, there is nothing stopping the 501st legion from heading down to the planet’s surface and fighting back against the droids forces down there. And with the help of the holocorn retrieved by a very brave rookie, we now have a fighting chance against them. SO enough delay, lets get down there and liberate Kashyyyk once and for all!” Fang ordered his men.

The clones all let out a brief cheer and all begin boarding the gunships. As the gunships took off and left the Liberator, they began making their way down to the planet surface.

Ghost was looking out the window to the destroyed Droid Cruiser. He could no longer see where Shiny’s body was amongst the debris everywhere. As heartbroken as he was over his death, he had to keep all his focus on the mission they’re about to tackle down there.

“Thank you, Shiny. Thanks to your bravery and dedication to the Republic, we may have a fighting chance against the Seps down there. I’m sorry you never got a chance to properly fight in this war. All I can do from here on out, is continue fighting in your name, as well as the many others who died for this…Wish us luck, brother.” Ghost thought to himself as he bids a final farewell to his fallen brothers. Let us hope their deaths weren’t in vain.

Clone Wars Journal Entry 12 – Location Kashyyyk Orbit

"As the 501st finally broke through the Sep blockade over Kashyyyk, I took a long look back at the battle that continued to rage over the planet, and wondered why so many had to die for a bunch of walking carpets. Then I followed my orders, and turned planetward."

To Be Continued