General Mundi met us at the wide opening of the plateaus for the landing site to now be fully exposed to us. The closer we got to the landing point, the destruction of the somewhat failure of the landing site. It was still a circle, but currently being swarmed by both Geonosians and battle droids. In any normal situation in a battle, I would be running headfirst and creating a pathway for my legion to get through. Since I have two master Jedi I might as well take this opportunity to work with them as we advanced towards the landing site.
The air support came soaring down and circled around the landing site, dropping their charges to clear the entire perimeter for us. You could feel the shaking of the ground while dust almost blocked our entire view of the landing site. Thankfully we could hear the soldiers cheering the closer we got to the landing site.
If I were to rate this invasion and my first battle with the Grand Army of the Republic so far, our crash landing was about a four out of ten, it would've been a little higher if we would've crashed on a plateau rather than in the middle of a battle zone. Traveling to the landing zone was a seven out of ten since my back is now scratched up to pieces due to the missiles blasting me from what seemed like across the planet. The pain still hasn't settled in yet as I imagine once we are done taking out the shield generator and have a moment to take in a breath, it'll hit and it's going to hurt.
I ducked underneath the tank for us to see General Kenobi was resting against some supply crates looking as if he was thrown into a cyclone and thrown into a cliff. I watched as Commander Tano crouched down next to General Kenobi for General Skywalker and I to stand next to each other in front of him.
"Well, what happened to you?" General Skywalker asked him while a tiny smirk displayed on his face.
"I might ask you the same question." General Kenobi responded for General Mundi to join us in the small circle.
"Eh. It's a planetary invasion, if things would've gone right then there might have been a true problem General Kenobi." I responded by grabbing my water canteen for a quick sip.
"Fair point. What happened to you?" General Kenobi asked as I shrugged.
"Got hit by two missiles. I'll have it checked once we're done."
"Glad to know that you're still in one piece, Brigadier. Cody, I want you to make sure the men are resupplied and getting themselves ready to march on the shield generator. The rest of you, catch your breath before we discuss the next step of the invasion." General Kenobi ordered for me to go find Kix. Now that I'm not under an extreme amount of heavy fire, he can now look at the damage.
"Brigadier General sir." The formality. Captain Rex was walking up behind me for me to turn.
"Yes Captain. Is there a problem?"
"No sir. Just wanted to say thank you."
"For what pray tell?"
"Well for... um...well...catching me after the jedi tossed me off the fortress." This is a little odd. Why is he thanking me? This is my job. I wouldn't thank him for destroying the battle droids. Whenever someone has thanked me for saving them, or at least seemed very genuine about me saving them.
"You don't need to thank me for that, Captain. I'd hate to lose the commanding officer in my first battle in the war so just consider me a guaranteed safeguard from now till the end of the war. On the note of safety. Do you know where Kix ran off to by chance, wanting to get this cleaned up before the attack on the shield generator." Using my thumb to point to my back as the burning sensation was about to start.
"Does it hurt badly?" His voice cracked a tiny bit as I looked over my shoulder to see if it's gotten worse.
"It's about to start feeling worse. Just rather get ahead of the storm ya know."
"I'll have Kix here in no time sir." Captain Rex held up the com close to him. "Kix, this is Rex. The Brigadier General has requested your presence."
"On my way Rex." You could hear Kix was scurrying over to us as if he was waiting for me to ask for his aide. He stood next to Captain Rex for me to turn to look at my back.
"Now tell me Kix. How bad does it look?"
"Pretty bad case of turf burns on your shoulders and the back of your forearms. I'll clean the wound then wrap it up." Kix motioned me to sit down on a crate while Captain Rex stood in front of me. He began slowly dabbing the cleaning solution onto the open wounds, making me flinch a few times but quickly getting used to the burning.
When I looked up to Captain Rex, he seemed as if he was about to say something but stopped as two troopers were almost speed walking towards us. I couldn't see their faces underneath the helmets, yet you could easily tell they were either anxious or excited by how fast they were coming towards us.
"Fives...Echo. Is there something you need?" Captain Rex walked to them as they were looking directly at me.
"We wanted to speak to the Brigadier General. The vids of her taking down the tower with just her shield spread around the army fast." Wouldn't be the first time that soldiers have come up and wanted to talk after a battle. It doesn't bother me at all, as a matter of fact I welcome it considering that I've just popped out of the sky.
"She's currently receiving medical attention. Aft...
"They're alright Captain Rex. I can talk and be treated at the same time." The two clone troopers looked like two kids receiving gifts by how quickly they were approaching me.
"Yes, Brigadier General."
"Brigadier General this is Corporal Fives and Echo." Captain Rex introduced them as I looked at their armor. Both had blue patterns along their arms and the side of their legs while the one named Echo had a handprint directly on his chest.
"Good to meet you. I'm OW OW OW KIX!" Kix dabbed the cleaning solution into a deeper burn that caused me to jump up from the box I was sitting on. "Why didn't you tell me you were going for one of the big burns! Golly golly golly!" I walked around for the second to see if I can walk off the pain before continuing the treatment.
"Sorry Sir I was hoping you'd be distracted by those two." Kix commented for me to sit back down.
"Always such a delight Kix, hurting our new Brigadier General before we even finish the invasion." Fives chuckled to then rest his arm on Echo.
"I'm Vaitiaré Brumarch. Is there anything I can help you with? Or did you want a friendly conversation? Either works for me gentlemen." I told them as the two of them looked at one another.
"We were both curious on how you were able to destroy the tower with just a shield and General Skywalker giving you an extra push." Fives kneeled next to me as Kix maneuvered my arms so he could wrap up my shoulders to keep the sand out. Along with not having to take me to the med bay for them to patch me up. We could be leaving any second and I'm not trying to miss the destruction of the shield generator.
"It was quite impressive sir." Echo added for me to think of a good way of answering that question without sounding like it's just my species of people with this ability.
"How much do you know about The Cretaciian people?" Kix finished wrapping up my shoulders to then sit and listen.
"Brigadier General and Captain Rex. General Kenobi is ready for the debriefing of the next mission." Commander Cody approached us before I could give Fives and Echo a good story.
"Ask me that question again once we're done destroying the shield generator." Telling them as Kix finished the final touches of the wrapping. I thanked Captain Rex, Commander Cody, and I began walking to General Kenobi for the meeting.
General Kenobi was still sitting by the crates with his right hand sitting on his side. He must've been hit or had a much rougher crash landing than I imagined. I think I have something that can make the pain a little more barrable if they already haven't poked him with pain medicine already.
"How are you feeling, General Kenobi?" Asking him as I kneeled next to him.
"For being shot out of the sky will tend to take you a little out of commission."
"I have something in my kit if the pain is still bothering you. It works a little quicker than the medicine they use."
"Well, if you're offering Brigadier General, I won't say no." I opened the tiny medical pouch to pull out a small bottle of chopped up Lolast roots that were about the size of my pinkie. I kneeled for him to take the jar to quickly chew it up.
"Give it about five or ten minutes to kick in." I would be taking one, but it works a little too well for when you're in battle.
"Thank you Brigadier General." Getting back up from the ground as the rest of the commanding officers came to where we were meeting. General Kenobi placed a holopad in front of him and displayed the shield generator.
"Our combined forces should be enough to destroy the shield generator. Anakin, you'll need to take a small squad through the shield, as close as you can get to their gun emplacements. From there, you'll be able to temporarily jam their scanners. So, they are unable to target the incoming tanks. Once the tanks knock out the shield, Master Mundi can bring the rest of the troops in with the gunships."
"Consider it done, Master." General Skywalker responded as I looked at the map for a few more seconds before it was turned off.
"Since you and Captain Rex work well together from what I saw. Snips and I will head straight into the shield generator while you and Captain Rex head up the south side of the shield generator. How does that sound, Brigadier?"
"Sounds like a plan. Just let me know when you plan on sling shotting me into the shield generator or canon so I can make sure I have enough stamina ready to go."
"Next time Brigadier."
The tanks were beginning to move out as I waited for Captain Rex and the men that I would be leading into the shield generator. Perhaps we deserve a ride over considering that we just ran and yes, I do mean ran all the way to the landing zone. Yes, I think hitching a ride would be an excellent idea for all of us because even though the walking and running doesn't bother me, doing this all-in sand must be killing their feet.
When Captain Rex was approaching me before I stepped out in front of the tanks with my hands raised. The tank stopped as I held up the signal for them to wait, then walked towards Captain Rex along with the men who were looking up at the tank.
"We're hitching a ride, men." Without hesitation the men began climbing up on the tanks except for Captain Rex who looked up at the men who were climbing up then back at me.
"What?" He didn't respond and then began climbing up the tank. Was he upset that I decided for us to hitch a ride? I've been in plenty of battles in my life and if there's any moment whether it be five seconds or five minutes to get the men off their feet to take a breather then it will happen.
The tank began moving as we were all situated on the tank comfortably. Some of the men were catching a quick nap, others cleaning their rifles, or they were talking to their other brothers. Captain Rex was working on cleaning his pistols as I was working on getting the mountain sand that is currently in my boots.
I untied my boots to hold them over the side of the tank for sand to begin pouring out of it at a steady rate. Guess running across the planet will do that to ya, but I hadn't expected that much sand! Good thing I can't feel it, well only the weight of the sand in my boots. Captain Rex scooted closer to me to then watch the sand falling out of my boot, to then take off his boot and followed my lead.
"Hadn't realized there was this much sand and pebbles in my boot." He commented for me to nod along.
"Fighting on the beach and desert worlds are not my favorite. Don't even get me started on how much I hate water battles. I don't mind too terribly dealing with sand in my shoes, but the moment I'm drenched and trying to do what I just did. I'm not a happy trooper." The sand finished for me to put my boots back on as he nodded in agreement.
"How long do we have until we reach the shield generator?"
"Fifteen minutes."
"Perfect. Wake me up when we get there."
"Wake you sir?"
"Do you not take quick naps before a battle if they're available? It recharges you a lot more than you think Captain Rex. Wake me at fifteen please." Captain Rex didn't answer as I sadly couldn't read his facial expressions under that helmet. I moved my body downward as my body was lying in a nice angle for me to put on my sunglasses and closed my eyes.
This wasn't sleep at this point, this was me resting my eyes for as long as I can before the battle. I could feel my body beginning to relax for the brief time I had to enjoy the sound of the walker engine, the smell of grease and metal, and the swaying of the walker moving back and forth.
There was a resemblance from the boats I used to pilot back home in my spare time. The smell doesn't match the warm air, salt water, and tropical fruits when I used to go down the rivers for a relaxing ride. Regardless it's a feeling that is helping me rest my eyes. What would really help with resting my eyes would be a glass of red jujam with a few slices of freshly cut satsava and the shield generator would be a walk in the park.
Every so often, I can see memories of my youth.
The sun is shining down on the beautiful and rugged black-sand turf beaches across my island. Hearing the waves smacking against my sailboat as I raced the great water creatures all around the island. The smell of the salted water whenever it would splash against me as my boat would glide with the roaring waves. Even tasting the salt water in the air as I would almost fly over the enormous waves that would smack against the beaches.
Most people on my planet prefer doing all their sailing, fishing, and sports with engine-based boats, and depending on what I do for the day I do use such boats. But for morning rides I always use the outrigger sailing vessel. When I turned with the wind, I loved feeling the rush of the water against my fingers.
But the memory of the day I went on the final hunt for the great Zutrick will never fade from my mind. I was always on the hunt for one creature as it would constantly swim around my island, looking for food, or even wanting to swallow me up whole. Either way I was determined to claim it as my stead to show that I was worthy of being a great soldier at the academy and to my people.
According to legends it's only known as Zutrik.
This creature has a large diamond-shaped upper body with a flattened head which sports as its blunt snout above its mouth, along with short barbels protruding from its nostrils. Its body is black as night with what looks like grey stripes across its body. In its mouth there are what seem like an endless number of sharp teeth that could easily tear my body apart without a second thought. The Zutrik has prolonged wing-like pectoral fins that give it enhanced speed in the water. Sadly, that's all I've seen because whenever I get close enough, it jumps out of the water to create large waves, so my boat is pushed back.
My people have legends that only nine people have had the ability to wrangle the beast to ride into war. The list of those who've attempted can go around the planet about three times, maybe ten or twelve if we really dove into ancient history. Those who have tamed him have won countless victories and many wars.
See. The way that you must wrangle such a creature is to look for it when it's least expecting it, such as on his way to its feeding grounds. This is easier said than done otherwise it would've been wrangled by now. It comes up only once or twice a month to feed and you have the tiniest of windows to snatch it before it either eats you or just swims to the bottom of the sea never to be seen.
That day there was not a single cloud in the sky, the sun was beating down more heat than usual, yet I was on a crusade. Zutrik hunting grounds are about three and half hours of sailing from my island and I'm not due back to the academy till tomorrow. This gives me until the end of the day to find it and wrangle it.
When I arrived at the hunting grounds, there were two large rocks that were good to climb up and see if they were lurking around in the area. The water surrounding the rocks was crystal clear blue, allowing me to look down and see the different types of fish swimming around it, eating the algae, which brings the fish that can consume those fish, and slowly the rest of the cycle comes to these rocks.
Climbing to the top of the rocks with my bag filled with towels, ropes, food, a dagger, an expandable spear, and an umbrella. Though I enjoy laying in the sun, I'm not going to get burned alive just to catch Zutrik. I've got drill at four a.m. and being sunburnt while doing the morning drill is painful.
Also in my bag was a set of binoculars to watch out for other fishermen, and even tourist ships that come out to take a glimpse of it. There are some days that when I think I have a good chance to get him, a bunch of rowdy tourists from all over the galaxy showed up to get vids of it jumping out of the water. I was so close that day!
Yet this day I will take him! He will be mine and I will ride him in battle!
I laid down onto of a towel with the sun glaring down on my back, binoculars in my hand as I looked for any movement within the water. It was completely calm as you could even see a fish come up to the surface for a split second. The sun was drying me out like a sea sponge from sailing over to the feeding grounds as I continued to watch the water for any sign.
"Brigadier General sir. We're at the generator." Captain Rex tapped my shoulder to then give him a thumbs up.
Fifteen minutes must've gone by quickly since the tank was slowing down and the men were beginning to climb down from the tank. I woke up before Captain Rex could wake me to see that we were almost in front of the shield generator.
I was the last one to climb down the tank to begin stretching my thighs for the direct assault onto the generator. Captain Rex was making sure that each man had everything ready for the charge along with a little boost in morale. After cracking my neck, I walked over to Captain Rex for the men to immediately stand in attention.
"Gentlemen. You are to always stay behind me when we get through the shield generator. While I'll be taking the main heat of the cannon and blaster fire, you are to focus on any bugs that come swooping in or if they have any snipers deciding it would be a good idea to get the jump on us. Keep calm, don't go ahead of me without my order, is that understood?"
"Yes Sir!" They said in unison for me to motion Captain Rex away from the men.
"I need you to be my extra pair of eyes for me in case they try to take a cheap shot at me."
"Yes Sir!" He responded as we began moving to our location.
The order was given for me to look down the path that would lead us to the large boulder where we would meet General Skywalker and Commander Tano. My shield expanded to cover my chest and stomach region as I stood right in the middle of the pathway. Taking in one deep breath as I motioned for the men to begin following me.
When we entered through the shield generator, I placed the shield in front of my body and quickly took all the main blaster fire that was being aimed towards me. Rocks and more dirt were once again being blown up around us as I kept taking on the main gunfire.
"Incoming Brigadier!" Captain Rex warned as I built up speed as the cannon fire was coming straight towards me. With my shield I smacked it away from us for it to explode against the towers that were trying to take out the men.
"That is one handy shield their Brigadier General!" Fives cheered as he continued firing at the bugs.
"Thank you, Corporal Fives! You should see what I can do with it in the snow." I told him as I pulled out my falchion sword to slash one of the bugs that was coming straight towards us. His head rolled across the ground as we left it behind to continue onward.
A bug was about to fly down on me, but Captain Rex stopped him as he took him down with a singular shot to the head. Another attempted but I hit him with my shield as hard as I could, causing his head to almost flatten on one side. The shield landed into the side of a rock for me to run over and pull it out.
General Skywalker just arrived at the large boulders as we were crossing over a trench to meet them. I could see the cannons and turrets that were firing down on them as we arrived behind the boulders. Commander Tano was last to arrive for both her and General Skywalker to pull out these tiny little bombs that would apparently take out these tanks. They looked no bigger than my fist! How are these little bombs supposed to destroy giant canons!
"Let's jam their scanners." General Skywalker started as he looked at my shield.
"Mind if we play a little ball Brigadier General." I shrugged to then take a few steps while blocking the blaster fire from the tower.
"Throw it!" They both tossed the bombs as my shield which was now acting as a bat smacked against them. Launching the bombs directly towards the canon fire. We repeated the process with a few more as the canons were all out of commission from the bombs. General Skywalker ordered for the tanks to be brought up to destroy the tower.
"We best get back boys unless we want that tower falling on our heads!" General Skywalker suggested as we all made a run back to the canons.
"BRIGADIER GENERAL!" Echo yelled for her to turn and see two bugs had a hold of him and were about to fly away.
"HANG ON ECHO!" I yelled but Captain Rex beat me to the punch as he shot both bugs, causing Echo to begin falling from the sky. I hurried over to then hold out my hands to catch him bridal style. When his body was about to land in my hands, I bent my knees for him to land directly into my arms.
"Wasn't expecting you to fall so quickly for me." I smirked for him to shrug at my comment.
"Hehe don't think I'm worthy enough to fall for you." Putting him down to then catch up with the rest of the group before being crushed to death.
We watched as the shield generator was destroyed by the canons as the tower began crumbling before our own eyes. Sand and dirt were blown in the air and the blast was coming directly towards us. I used my shield to block out what dust and sand was blown in my direction since my sunglasses were barely keeping any of the dirt out of my eyes. Next battle I must remind myself to grab any sort of goggles I brought with him because having all this sand in my eyes isn't helping at all.
Once the dirt was settled, General Ki-Adi-Mundis ships landed directly in front of the destroyed shield generator where the remaining bugs were now surrendering to him and his men. We got that done in less than a half hour? I'm rather impressed with our speedy work and now all that's left is the droid factory, arrest Poggle, and not deal with Geonosis anymore.