- CASTLES CRUMBLING (A.S.) -

- 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘-𝐓𝐖𝐎 -

somewhere beyond the clouds

THE GROUND WAS COLD, even through Regina's booted feet. Though no snow fell overhead, freezing the wind whipped Regina's long hair; the chilled the air had caused the ground to freeze. This was a peculiar planet, all around.

Blue stepped up beside Regina, handing his Jedi general a pair of macrobinoculars. He stayed silent as he usually did, simply waiting for Regina to initiate the conversation.

Taking the macrobinoculars, Regina peered through them, staring at the terrain in front of her. Everything seemed rocky, though a scarce amount of plants grew here and there. In the distance stood a wide mountain range, blocking their point of entry to the compound that they were supposed to capture.

"Shouldn't be too difficult," Regina informed Blue, giving the macrobinoculars back to her commander. "Though it's just a little too early to tell."

"Exactly what I was thinking, General," Blue replied in his stiff, quiet tone.

"On with the plan, then." Regina nodded, glanced at Blue, then turned to her troops.

"General, sorry to interrupt," came Breaker's voice from behind. "But some of the men don't know the entire plan. Could you run through it again?"

Regina turned to face Breaker, a smile on her face.

"What happened, Breaker?" she asked. "Did you fall asleep during our briefing?"

Breaker, whose helmet was on his head, took the thing off and came closer to Regina.

"No," he said quietly, looking around. "But I can tell you who did."

"Get out of here, Breaker." Blue shook his head with slight annoyance. "You know the plan just as well as I do."

"Aren't you the one who came up with the specifics?" Regina raised her eyebrows. Breaker's unusual—and rare—blue eyes squinted.

"Like I was saying, Copper back there fell asleep during the briefing and..." he began.

"He's lying, General!" Copper called from over to the side of the campground; he, like most of the clones, was already sectioned off into a group—this was one part of the plan.

"Breaker, you're leading Copper's group," Regina instructed. "He'll run you through the plan that you helped create."

"Yes, General, sir," Breaker saluted, putting his helmet back over his head and—looking quite guilty—walked away. Regina couldn't resist another smile. She really did like Breaker, no matter how reckless and thoughtless he could be.

"One can imagine how he was promoted to a captain," Blue muttered as Breaker finally reached Copper and the troops around him.

The plan was a simple one. Regina had them squared off into four major groups, each of her most trusted men responsible for each division. Regina, Blue, and Breaker had their own men that they were leading, in addition to the battalion's two ARC troopers, Clipper and Topper who would both be in charge of the fourth. 

With a simple nod to her commanding officers, they finished settling into their assigned groups. With her small squad gathering around her, Regina directed her men to the transport shuttle. This particular set of troops would be headed south with her, to the fortress's blind spot. While the other groups were attacking from the other three directions, Regina's force would take the base from the most unsuspecting area.

Everyone piled into the three ships that were bound for a remote destination. The flight wouldn't be a terribly long one, but it would be long enough. Regina let her troopers board first before she herself stepped into the ship.