Star Wars-Doctor Who: The Clones And The Daleks

CHAPTER 11: A Rescue Foiled

182 seconds prior

Two large doors on the dorsal face of the massive ship, each door being hundreds of meters long on their own, separate towards the starboard and port sides of the vessel. Out of the main hangar flies two Low-Altitude Assault Transports, the Grand Army of the Republic's main mode of transportation for small groups of soldiers. One glides ahead of the other, a unique paint job of blue stripes and zig-zags, with the face of a rancor adorned beneath the cockpit. It leads the second towards the south end of the ship, where a gaping hole was torn in the hull less than 30 minutes prior.

These gunships weren't meant for prolonged spaceflight, so this job is going to be short. In and out. No questions asked, no kinks. Just in and out. The pilot of the blue LAAT expertly soars at quick but steady speeds over the pale grey exterior of the Valious. Many a mission have been flown in this beast, the ARC pilots flying it know it inside and out. No sound can be heard in the vacuum, just the raspiness of the oxygen tubes and the roar of the repulsor engines.

The second gunship zooms along behind the first, trying to keep up. Even the specially trained pilots aren't as skilled as the ARC pilots. Just goes to show the rigor of Advanced Recon Commando training.

The aft of the StarDestroyer is about one kilometer due south. At top speeds of 600 kph and on a straight-shot path, they could arrive in 10 seconds. Unfortunately, the path isn't straight. Hundreds of tons of debris orbits the massive spaceship, requiring the precise piloting of the ARC pilots in front to lead the regular pilots on their tail. Barely breaking 400 today.

The surface of the Valious is but a weightless junkyard, sheets of durasteel, fuel cannisters, and worst of all, lifeless bodies drifting aimlessly in the void of space. The artificial gravity inside the ship barely affects them out here. It's strong enough to keep the debris near, but still weak enough to allow the free-range of a faint orbit. Sickening. These men didn't need to die this way. Thousands upon thousands of lives, unwillngly created and taken away so fast. For all the ideals of the Republic, few envision this.

Brothers in arms, brothers in blood, blood spilled over the moons of Ruusan. If the ARC pilots weren't ARC pilots, they maybe could have been thinking those thoughts. But ARC Troopers are soldiers. Hardned to the core. Only the best of the best Clone troopers become them, and for good reason. A trooper who grimaces at the sight of a shiny cadet, with his armor fresh off the conveyor belt, floating in the blackness of empty space, is not an ARC Trooper.

Many would say it's desensitizing. Some would say brainwashing. They call it war, and everyone would agree on one thing;

War is hell.

"Captain, we're nearing the bridge. 30 seconds to drop-point," the head pilot informs his commanding officer.

"Make it 10. Gun it," the captain replies.

"Sir!"

The pilot shifts into high gear, accelerating the LAAT/i to the 500s of kilometers per hour. The pilot just behind follows suit, zipping up to high gear and dodging the foating graveyard. The ship below turns into a blur, zooming away as more ship zooms in and out of view.

"Large debris up ahead," the copilot pilot announces.

"Evasive action," the pilot replies, spinning the ship into a barrel-roll to the right.

The second ship follows, rolling sideways to evade the massive chunk of metal spiralling out of control. That must have been the engine-room's hull. Both gunships safely pass the debris field, arriving at the drop-point in 10 seconds exactly after the captain's order. Just as an ARC trooper is expected.

"Drop-point reached, sir," the pilot says, "Preparing to lower tow-cables into the hull-breach."

The red-armoured ARC Trooper captain and a pair of his best troopers await in the passenger bay, assembling the tow-cables that will lift the prisoner into the gunship. The second LAAT/i hovers several meters away, awaiting the opportunity to rescue the stranded troopers inside. The back hatch of the first ship lowers into the hole on the back of the ship.

"Opening back hatch into drop-point."

Just beyond the improvised opening stands Ghost Company, all blasters pointed at the weaponless Dalek, who continuously screams silently in the airless room. Wyssick and Apoc reach out for the tow-cables.

"Drop tow-cables," the captain orders.

"Dropping cables."

The two ARC Troopers toss their lines to the pair inside, who both catch their cables and tug them towards the prisoner. Each cable is attached to a winche inside the LAAT/i, originally meant to carry BARC Speeders, repurposed for "junk-tugging".

"Secure the prisoner," he orders the two inside.

Apoc wraps his cable around the Dalek's left side, while Wyssick wraps his cable around the Dalek's right. The Doctor directs their hands into a secure fastening, looping the cables several rounds about the Dalek's damaged suit. When the cables are tightened sufficiently, The Doctor fixes the hook on each cable inbetween the loops, ensuring the monster won't escape easily.

Apoc taps the comlink on his gauntlet.

"Prisoner secured," Apoc informs the captain.

"Retrieve the prisoner."

"Retrieving the prisoner," responds an ARC Trooper, "Activating winches."

The two troopers activate their winches, coiling the cables in and tugging the prisoner towards the gunship. The Ghost's all step back, allowing the Dalek some space to be dragged, bur following close behind. No funny business for these boys.

The Dalek is resistant, but can't fight back. It skids across the metal surface, the scratching can be felts in the trooper's boots. The creature spins it's head-dome back and forth, as if trying to curse the clones. He's lucky they can't hear him.

The cables pull the prisoner off the edge of the platform, and it swings forward in the artificial gravity. The tow-cables tighten against the back hatch, and continue tugging it straight up into the LAAT. The three ARCs on board walk to the edge, stepping into the ships gravity-field, and try to lift the tow-cables away from the wall. The Dalek continues rising, flipping it's eye stalk and bent appendage in defiance.

Ghost Company raises their blasters as the genocidal creature floats into the blue gunship, not taking aim off it for even the slightest of moments. The Dalek bumps into the bottom of the back hatch, hitting it's head, agitating it even more. The ARCs lift the beast into the ship, shutting off the winches once it is vertical on the floor.

"Prisoner retrieved, secured in upright position," one trooper recites.

"Close back hatch and prepare to deliver the prisoner," orders the astute captain, "Retrieval ship 2, prepare for survivor pickup."

"Retrieval 2, preparing for-"

BOOM!

The second gunship is destroyed in a fireball as a Separatist Dreadnought enters the system, immediately firing upon the Valious, the first victim of Count Dooku's personal warship.

"Enemy ship in firing range, Retrieval 2 is lost! Repeat, enemy ship is atracking," the pilot loudly, yet cooly exclaims, "Taking evasive action!"

The blue LAAT/i zooms away at maximum speed, leaving the troopers of Ghost Company behind. The ARC captain comes on the comlink.

"The Separatists have entered the system and are volleying cannonfire, your evac has been compromised."

"What about us, commander? What are we going to do?" Apoc shouts back.

"We must get the prisoner to the bridge safely, you'll have to get out on your own. We can't risk exterior evac with that battleship so close. Good luck."

"Sir," Apoc concedes. It is too dangerous, even for a group of expert ARC Troopers.

The gunship soars back to the hangar, blasting debris away with rockets and laserfire to make a clear path. One this is for certain, this prisoner is getting to the General in one piece.