"NO MERCY!" One of The Clone Offense Troopers yelled as they viciously assaulted the positions of the other stubborn clones, backed up by assault flyers and Clone Gunships.
A Stubborn lot, eager for the death raining down on them. The Offense Clones had quickly learned to start sixty-sixing (As in, surround a particularly dangerous target and shoot them from all sides until the target dies or the shooters do) any Mythos Clone they encountered, as well as the Verd and Nyx Clones. They lost one or two in the attempts on occasion, because the Mythos clones were deadly up close, and the Clones, for all their clever use of Squad Tactics and focused aggression and viciousness, did poorly in melee except at the most basic fist fights, which often forced them to go for headshots at close range on burst or full auto...single shots could not reliably penetrate the modern materials their helmets were using, through they had enough impact they were at least useful in knocking them back to deliver follow up shots. But the bombardment was brutal. Over 700 Offense and Defense Troopers lost their lives in the mutual bombardment, not just to the 777th, but the deadly, murderous forces of
Thomas Barran
who even now pressed in on them at all corners despite Clones standing to the last, surrounded by piles of dead before they themselves were inevitably torn apart in close combat by skilled, sadistic bands of warriors who knew even less fear and mercy than, admittedly, the Clones themselves did. But the Clones, even as their armor was rapidly penetrated by modern weapons, stubbornly now fought both the 777th and the Scar Tribes, adjusting their squad tactics to the most desperate, vicious levels to force their enemies to kill them to a man, Clones taking on horrible mutants, warriors adorned in the skulls and scalps of their foes, often armed with nothing but a nearly empty carbine, a final grenade, or often just their bare fists, to throw themselves at nightmarish enemies taken aback (though sometimes only momentarily by the Narrator's own admission) by an individual Clone's ferocity, scoring unexpected kills on much larger and more deadly opponents simply by going all in, with no thought or hope given to their own survival, only to the primordial urge to KILL THE ENEMY. DESTROY. DESTROY
ROBINSON FAMI--
(Narrator snaps out of Random Irwin Allen flashbacks with severe nosebleeds)
(Narrator promptly vomits in bucket without explanation)
(
Resumes)
The Kytrand Offense Trooper Clones pressed on, closing in closer and closer to their enemies defenses in spite of their constant bombardment, and losses, crawling over the dead, pulverized bodies of their own, making sand bags of both their corpses and the enemy's just to have a temporary barricade to shoot from and press the attack more, refusing to relent or retreat as much as the Defense Troopers utterly refused to give up ground unless killed, occasionally forcing their enemies to resort to overwhelming force to kill one, and thus making them waste ammo.
The Assault Flyers launched missiles and laser salvos at entrenched positions before a charge, individual troopers hurling grenades into nests. But the enemy Clones just seemed to dig in further, refusing to break...like the Kytrand Clones refused to relent, fully committed to killing the enemy at all cost, coordinating better on all fronts with actual Alliance Forces. As Nathan had predicted, there was simply no time to really start questioning who was helping them as The Clones aggressively supported units like those of
Gress D'ran
with gunship support and what Artillery and Sniper Fire They could spare, while doing their best to distract the enemy so friendly Mandalorians like
Minerva Fhirdiad
could get the kill
There was a ringing in the ears of OT-1128 as he ducked a fired Missile that turned a Squad behind him of
twenty into pink mist and chunky salsa.
"Man , feth this! We need
tanks!" He yelled at his squadmate.
"Thanks Captain Obvious!" the Squadmate shouted back, getting on the Comlink.
"Rancor 2. This is Ghost Kitty, Repeat, Ghost Kitty requesting tank support in Sector G-U-7." the Squadmate spoke.
"Uh, negative, Ghost Kitty, all local tanks are currently preoccupied..." came the Voice at the other end...
"CHIT!" the Squad Member yelled as a powerful mortar strike nearby knocked him down.
"I need Heavy Artillery, then!"
"Be advised, impact point is Danger Close." The Mission Coordinator on the other end advised.
"DO IT OR WE DIE ANYWAY!"
"Stand by."
Thick Heavy Booms issuing from nearby buildings made them both break cover and run.
The blast turned the street ahead of them into a carnage filled fiery wasteland. It had been shiny, once, like all the upper level stuff. Now this area wouldn't have looked out of place on Raxus Prime.
As the bombers and other fighters fell from Syd's earlier attack that had lit the sky started crashing into the buildings and streets below, 1128 spotted a
Seeker Rail Detonator clutched in the hand of one of his fallen brothers and picked it up. These weapons were among the only ones in the Offense Troopers arsenal that could reliably do significant damage on the first shot to multiple opponents, and he grabbed it, checked it's clip. Five shots left. Enemy Jamming Equipment would block it's rounds tracking ability, but anything it was dumb-fired at would still be hit.
"You look like you boys are having a tough day!"
1128 looked up and felt a sense of relief wash over him as he spotted a fair skinned, well built woman with dark hair in an elaborate bun and a grey catsuit with a green band of color around the waistline walking up.
It was one of their army's
Clone Ashla Healers. A Force User. Not a hair out of place amidst the carnage. It was eerie at times.
"Hey boys! Angel among us!" 1128 called out to his surviving Squadmates.
"Well there's a relief..." his Brother who had called in the Artillery Strike, 1129 said. "We'll die with only the minor cuts fixed."
"I have bad news. Epsilon has been triggered." The Healer explained in a Coruscant accent. "The whole Battlefield is gonna get real ugly, real quick when Phase One starts."
"The Boss seems to think a comprehensive approach is gonna be the go to option. Enemy seems to think it too." 1129 muttered, scavenging an intact Armor Piercing Grenade from an Offense Trooper's corpse.
"Well Epsilon is gonna be comprehensive alright. The same way a meteor strike is." The Healer answered with a frown.
1128 didn't press it. The Clone Healers and Clone Knights had objected to the
original implementation of Epsilon on Humanitarian Grounds in it's original form (Mainly because it had involved a merciless implementation of Nexus trained to carry swords in their teeth like that giant wolf from Dark Souls, Thousands of tons of toxic waste mixed with fuel, and, for some sick Troll reason on Syd's part, catapults tossing mounds of spoiled sandwiches at the invading forces). Nathan had been forced to compromise to lower it to a level of brutality that might be
looked down on but not necessarily
inexcusable. (And also because Syd's idea of the spoiled sandwiches on the catapults was stupid AF and immediately recognized for the trolling nonsense it was.)
"We must withdraw to better defended lines then." 1129 advised.
"Withdraw...I'm an Offense Trooper. I
hate withdrawing!" OT-5439 complained hefting his DC-15A on a makeshift sling with some basic gyro stabilizers, set to burst fire.
"But Epsilon is gonna be awesome!" 1128 said. "Positive attitude, Troopers! Don't let our evil counterparts see you sweat!"
The Squad, several in total including them, all gathered up and began to retreat to Site Bravo. As they crossed streets that looked like that burrito you left too long in the microwave, they saw Skyscrapers filled with their Clone Brothers taking heavy fire, and eventually exploded by the Merciless Mawite war machine, Barran's Forces crawling, inching over territory like a spreading disease The Offense and Siege Troopers coordinating what Artillery of theirs remained in that area to fight the Mawite Scum advancing. Those buildings collapsed from merciless bombardment or exploded. Shots rang out constantly in the air. And
everywhere the chanting of Mawite warriors could be heard in the chaos of War.
They were
thriving here.
That had to end.
A shot rang out. Slugthrower. One of the James Justice Clones in a High Rise. The bullet went right through one of their helmets and the Clone fell dead, forcing the others behind cover on the streets.
"You see them?" The Healer whispered as she kept her head behind a destroyed vehicle.
1128 crawled on the ground by a wrecked repulsor truck, peaked his head out
very slightly---and the bullet that followed struck and blasted off a piece of his helmet, but miraculously only grazed his scalp. He fell back, scrambling to avoid the deadly follow up shot that penetrated the entire truck. No sound, just like the last shot.
The Healer began chanting in Dathomiri, and a spectral flock of flaming birds materialized swirling around the area the team was in and obscuring the Sniper's Vision. 1128 and the others scrambled over to her new position, huddling next to her... except for one, who the Justice Clone nailed by spotting his head through the flock of flaming ghost birds for just a half second, killing him instantly.
"I
really hate their Sniping Clones." 1129 complained.
"Covering fire, 39!" 1129 ordered.
5439 hefted his DC-15A and fired through the spectral flock in bursts while the rest of the surviving team crossed a bridge that led directly into the high rise. Any surviving troops this way we're in danger from the Sniper. He
had to be taken out.
The interior gave away it had been some sore of condominium high rise for rich snobs, with gaudy taste in art. The area was rife with dead, the walls sprayed with gore.
And it was dark AF.
1128 turned on the small light system attached to his helmet, giving a small, weak red cone of light and he took point, the Healer close behind him.
The Clones stuck tight to their bros but not too tight they couldn't maneuver. Most of the Offense Clones on Coruscant had been armed with DC Carbines and Rail Detonators as a primary weapon. Only a few had been armed with the 15A as it was determined to best leave it with Snipers and those using it as a SAW due to the primarily Urban Warfare taking place across the area surrounding the Senate, which the Kytrand Clones and Nathan had made part of a borderline supervillain-like scheme to kill a ton of enemy combatants.
A Verd Clone armed with a Plasma Cannon erupted from cover in the bloody passages from a lobby room and every one dived, just barely evading the powerful bolt that would have insta-gibbed them at such ranges, in such enclosed spaces, His ears popped from the blast and there was an overpowering ringing in everyone's ears as 1128 fired his tail detonator and gibbed the shooter into a burnt, sloshing mess from a face shot, the blast wave of which was instinctively blocked by a Force Bubble conjured by the Healer.
They rose up, and came under fire from a hoard of Nyx and Mythos clones, bursts of fire lighting up the passages in a staccato fashion.
(John Wick Medley Plays)
The interior erupted in a chaotic mix of attack and retreat, blaster flashes lighting up the darkness as even the Healer got involved in the fight, using her Ion Relic Pistol to engage the various Nyx Clones. Unlike the Carbines carried by her allies, her Pistol actually could punch through the center mass of their armor in one to two shots, whereas everyone else needed three to five shots due to how behind the times their carbines were when it came to penetrating modern materials. The Offense Clones, as per their combat doctrine, responded to aggression with aggression pressing forward with repeated suppressive burst of their carbines in a highly coordinated counter assault that addressed combatants coming at them from all sides, constantly moving, the Healer aiding them by violently flinging pieces of shrapnel with telekinesis into heads as they charged into the thickest part of the attack force firing relentlessly, actually catching the enemy Clones off guard to the point they actually
broke with their own doctrine slightly and attempted a tactical retreat, but the battered, angered team pressed after them relentlessly shooting carefully at their opponents, 1129 tossing that grenade he had found earlier into a cluster and watching the explosion shred a few, opening up the rest to Blasterfire.
The Healer was taking one two to three at once, her gun-fu allowing her to cleverly manipulate them into opening themselves up to kill shots as they fought and charged their way up the emergency staircase, constantly being fired on above and below by determined, stubborn defenders, constantly retaliating with burst fire kill shots aimed at the joints and heads. They burst onto another floor after killing their pursuers and the ones guarding the entrance on the staircase to the next floor...and found themselves under an even
more relentless attack on the next. The Healer and 1128 led the fight, he emptying the rest of his Rail Detonator into a few mobs of Mythos and Nyx Clones who had had them dead to rights with the cannons they were holding, she placing headshots like she had some sort of Aimbot cheat turned on.
5439 sprayed the halls and rooms liberally, as the 15A could still reliably penetrate modern materials with relative ease, the armor piercing shots cutting through more than a few.
In thirty seconds, it was decided. Now, only 28, 29, 39, and the Healer had survived and they were nearly out of ammo. 1128 glanced to where he heard a shot, almost quiet. Bingo.
He crept up to the distant room slowly, took out his remaining grenade, and peaked, the Justice Clone trying to kill another Alliance affiliate team in the area. He softly tossed it in and ran as the room exploded five seconds after. He crept back, peaked in. Justice Clone was jelly spread on the walls.
Just then, a comlink message came in from Syd.
"Attention. Phase One Epsilon now in effect, get to cover."
At this, a massive
swarm, a
super swarm in
eight different places, not just here but around the Senate and the temple of the Jedi--flew out of the depths of the underworks, their parts smuggled to Coruscant in the thousands, then millions of parts.
B2 Super Rocket Trooper models in the
thousands washed over the battlefield skies, 700 per swarm
choking out the light of the sun as they flew above enemy positions even as they were being downed in the dozens by anti aircraft fire.
The rapid fire blaster cannon shots from both arms of the Rocket Droids came down as an endless laser rain over enemy combatants, a cloud of Droids over every major enemy force at play here, raining nothing but blaster cannon fire in the hundreds of thousands of bolts descending close and heavily to where
Thomas Barran
would almost certainly be aware as deadly bolts began to slam into enemies, each spiral swarm of rocket battle Droids coordinating their fire as they flew in one massive spiral cloud, still getting shot down as they coordinated fire on problem targets, trying to ruin everyone's day but the Alliance's. Nothing but death lasers rained down from the Droids onto every foe they could target, deliberately avoiding even small concentrations of Alliance Personnel as they blasted away at targets large and small, some even targeting tanks...
And Syd watched it all from above, preparing for the response.
Scylla AI
