The Story of the Fighting Fifteenth

Untested Iron Part 4.5

Captain Arshen Marki stood atop the command podium of the Republic Assault Ship Mornbright as it rumbled through the sea of hyperspace. To his left and right stood Executive Officer and acting Wing Commander Kilan Ret and Jedi General Saeren Baiin, Squadron Leader of Paethos Squadron. Around the bridge, clones in their sharp and inelegant armour sat at operations stations monitoring various shipboard functions and systems. Arshen gave a mental sigh at the visage. Despite the years of planning that the Kaminoans obviously had undertaken to train and equip the Grand Army of the Republic. Somehow, they had never once considered the need to provide non-combat uniforms for the administrative roles that their finely honed and precisely cloned army would inevitably have to undertake. "Armies are built on logistics and administration!" Marki recalled one of his instructors at the Coruscant Judicial Academy passionately declaring to a classroom of first-year logistics and tactical Judicial Cadets. A trooper looked up from his navigation station, his pinched expression and tone as plastoid nipped and tucked in undesirable places masked by the helmet's visor and vocoder as he passed along a report.

'We are sixty seconds out from the Churba System Captain,' reported the CT.

'Thank you, trooper,' Arshen said simply, once again mentally grimacing at the reiteration that he had no way of knowing which Clone Trooper he was talking to as he lacked the heads up display that generated the troopers CT number and rank glyph. 'Communications, inform the crew we are preparing to drop out of Hyperspace,'

'Yes sir!' called the trooper at the communications console. They don't even adhere to our naval traditions! Arshen mentally raged as the trooper tapped a communications switch.

'Attention all personnel. Dropping out of Hyperspace in sixty seconds,'

The report dutifully echoed through the ship as the helmsman reached for the Hyperspace lever at the fore of the bridge.

'Dropping out of Hyperspace... now,' the trooper reported as he pulled the lever back into the deactivated position and the blue-black tunnel of Hyperspace stretched away revealing the black and white of space.

'Navigation, bring up a map of the Churba System, I want sensor officers scanning the system for hostile contacts, helm, move us into orbit of New Cov,' the naval captain issued as the grunt of the ships four sublight engines grumbled from aft.

'Yes sir!' rang through the bridge as troopers complied diligently with their orders. Arshen turned to face the steely-eyed Iktochi Jedi Knight on his right, the Generals eyes locked on the dark void past the transparisteel viewport.

'General Baiin, once we're in New Cov orbit I'd like you to launch Paethos Squadron to provide what limited fighter screen you can,'

'We will try Captain,' the Knight said with stern determination 'I will inform my pilots,' he said before bowing and stepping off the bridge.

Arshen turned to his executive officer, Ret was a short man of stocky build with the bellow of an instructor but a dependable XO, he'd been the first officer on dozens of consular-class space cruisers and served in some of the most arduous postings imaginable across the entire Galactic Republic.

'I have to consult with Generals Alli and Marr about our deployment plans, Commander Ret, you have the bridge,'

'I have the bridge,' Ret reported dutifully in the sacrosanct naval tradition as Arshen made a sharp about-face and stepped off the bridge.

++++

Captain Arshen stepped off the Turbolift to a flurry of clones as they rushed across the Mornbright, linking up with their platoons on the amidship boarding platform. Heading aft through the sea of troopers he made his way to the sparsely filled briefing room. At the centre of the briefing room sat a circular holotable. Its projectors generating an image of the urban domes of New Cov. Surrounding the table stood four Jedi. Two generals and two commanders.

'Generals Marr and Alli. Commanders-,' Arshen said in choked reply. Do they even have surnames? Naval protocol doesn't account for that! he mentally scowled before continuing forwards to inspect the topographical survey of the planet they would be protecting.

'So, what will your troops be dealing with Generals?' Arshen continued, his voice slipping back into the patterned cadence of a Republic Navy Captain.

'Topographical, botanical and zoological studies of New Cov over the centuries have shown the planet is comprised largely of jungles that contain a large variety of carnivorous plants and animals,' reported Marr in her impassive tone.

'That means civilian populations have been almost exclusively contained to domed cities for much of the planets inhabited history and that also means we will have to try to concentrate separatist assaults into these areas otherwise our troops would most likely be slaughtered by the terrain itself.

Arshen's face paled at the report before steadying 'Is there anything the Mornbright can do to assist?'

'Once the initial delivery of troops is completed unless you are able to manage precision fire support the potential risk of civilian casualties is too high for the Mornbright to provide support within the city and when you're engaged by the Separatist Navy itself, I very much doubt you will have the firepower to spare to support us,' Alli said, shaking her head as she did.

'Very well then Generals. I will leave the ground deployment to you,'

++++

Clone Captain CT-2923s stomach lurched as the clamps released from the dorsal half of his Low Altitude Assault Transport/infantry Gunship. The rapidly nicknamed "Republic Gunship" picked up below him as repulsorlifts engaged and the rush wind flooded into the open-air troop bay of the red and tan aircraft.

'Well boys this is certainly a better landing than Geonosis!' he said with a stiff grin.

'That isn't hard sir!' boomed CT-2423 at the aft of the Gunship. As the chatter once again died down, 2923 tucked his DC-15A blaster carbine onto the magnetic clamp at the middle of his back and turned towards the bow. Stepping forwards into the forward troop hold and free hands-on the airframe he looked out upon the approaching dome. He was aboard one of 5 Gunships transporting the 144 strong 87th Infantry Company, 5th Legion to the planet's surface. The 87th would be the tip of the spear. Pathfinders for the entire legion.

'Captain CT twenty-nine twenty-three!' called Clone Lieutenant CT-2319 over frequency 'We're beginning landing cycle!'

'Understood Lieutenant!' 2923 yelled back over the din of the rushing air before returning to the troop bay and switching back to the company command channel 'Alright brothers of the eighty-seventh! Radio check!' an instant later a flurry of reports echoed across the line as platoon commanders relayed the command and squad leaders disseminated the check to their respective commands. A communications specialist turned to face CT-2923 in the troop bay as the radio chatter died down.

'Radio check complete sir!' the clone corporal dutifully reported.

An instant later the grey ferrocrete of a building rooftop manifested below the gunship as its engines drew down to an idle.

'Go!Go! Go!' 2923 barked through his vocoder as he and his troopers disembarked thegunship. Dust and debris kicked up as the gunships repulsorlifts pushed againstthe rooftop before launching into the sky to begin its Combat Air Patrol.Immediately waypoints and headings appeared atop 2923s built-in map and platooncommanders began issuing orders, their troops moving down to the roadway andadvancing inwards towards the city centre dropping glowrods as they went tomark cleared sections of their Area of Operations and points of strategicinterest. Half an hour later as the all-clear was given the RAS Mornbrightdescended from its hover above the city of Ilic and began to disembark hercomplement of troopers and armour into the city centre before launching oncemore to defend the skies of New Cov from Separatist invaders.