Setting the Stage

Just weeks after the battle of Geonosis, the Republic and Jedi council learned of a Confederation research facility designed to create a nano-virus that was focused towards the Clone Troopers. If completed, the Confederacy would have a weapon that could essentially wipe the Republic's entire military out without firing a shot. The Jedi Council dispatched Master Kast Fulier and his Padawan learner, Etain Tur-Mukan to investigate, but the military lost contact with the pair. While they were on planet, they were betrayed and Ghez Hokan, a Mandalorian warrior who was in charge of security for the nanovirus facility, captured Fulier. He killed Fulier and took his lightsaber, but Etain escaped. After the war broke out in the galaxy, four Commandos were gathered by General/Jedi Master Arligan Zey and his padawan Barden Jusik for a mission to find and destroy the facility. The commandos were: RC-1136- Darman, RC-1309- Sargent- Niner, RC- 8015 Fi and RC-3222- Atin. They were all from squads that had been destroyed, and they were together for the first time. After getting armed, they set out in a small starship headed towards Qiilura. They were followed by Republic Assault Cruiser Majestic, which would wait for their signal and be prepared to extract them.

The Battle

The commando team, Omega Squad, came out of hyperspace over Qillura and began to land their ship. However, on the way down, they hit a bird, destroying an engine and lost control. The team was forced to bail out. Niner, Fi and Atin all jumped, but Darman stayed behind and grabbed what gear he could, then jumped. The ship crashed and exploded below him, leaving a huge crater that would later be found.

Niner, Atin and Fi all landed safely. It was night by the time that they landed, and they all made it to RV Alpha, one of the many predetermined meet up points. Darman was nowhere to be seen. Niner decided that they would go to each of the RV Points and then the crash location if they haven't found Darman, then decide on his fate accordingly.

Meanwhile, Padawan Etain had escaped and fallen in with a farmer named Birhan, who sheltered her for the night. The next day, they found a new clearing- the crater that the transport left behind. They both realized that the Republic had arrived.

Darman was still alive, although slightly injured. He dug in near a road to hide, when two Weequays came down the road, looking for someone- most likely survivors of the crash. They checked the bushes and actually stepped on the soldier. Darman used a vibroblade and killed the one that stepped on him. When his partner came running, he was dropped by a bolt from Darman's DC-17. When the area was clear, the commando hid the bodies and took their weapons. From there, he went to a hillside, where he planned on constructing a hide for the day, where he could find his location and the rest of his squad. After finding where he was, he decided that the best place to meet them would be RV Gamma, nearly forty kilometers away. Along the way, he witnessed a group of enemy soldiers burning down a farm. He was urged to do something, and almost ended up taking out the soldiers, but didn't. But then he realized that they could be allies. He dropped one soldier with a head-shot, which alarmed the others. He killed eight others with a grenade and then took out the remaining four with his blaster. The civilians didn't know what to make of it. They collected themselves and told him to leave. They were terrified of what would happen if Ghez Hokan knew that they had seen him.

Meanwhile, Niner, Atin and Fi were buzzed by an airspeeder, which was searching for them. It flew over twice before the pilot spotted them. Niner aimed for the propulsion systems on the ship when it got a targeting lock on him. They both fired at the same instant, and the ship came crashing down.

By now, Ghez Hokan knew that there were some enemy soldiers on the ground. As did Dr. Ovolot Qail Uthan, the head researcher at the research facility. She enlisted his help to help keep the security of her operation. She gave him a hundred battle droids to help. She also told him that the Clones were created from Jango Fett, something that insulted him terribly.

Darman was still a ways from Gamma. He used one of his remote sensors when he reached a huge field, and was trying to learn all that he could about the area around him. After nearly fifty hours on the move, he stopped and stripped off his armor and cleaned it, and got something to eat. Soon, he succumbed to sleep.

Birhan was furious with Etain. The Republic had arrived, he knew, and he also knew what would happen if it was found that he was sheltering a Republic agent. He kicked her out of his home. A woman, Jinart, who lived with Birhan, urged him to let her stay, but he would have nothing of it. Jinart decided that she would go with Etain. Etain realized that there was something more to her than met the eyes. They went to a farmhouse, where Etain confronted her. She thought that Jinart was another Jedi. Jinart said that she wasn’t, but that she was not a local. She then told Etain where one of the soldiers, Darman, was currently.

The other three commandos were also in hiding, watching a group of local soldiers drinking. Atin had taken the onboard computer from the speeder and was getting what data he could off of it. While they watched the soldiers, a group of battle droids came over and killed the local soldiers.

Etain went out to look for the soldier, when a spotlight blinded her. Darman had found her. Mistaking him for Hokan, she tried to attack him, but he disarmed her. Darman told her to shut up and that she was going to get them both killed. He took off his helmet and told her who he was. He mistook her for a Jedi general, until she told him that she had no idea what he was talking about. She then asked him for his name - real name- and how old he was. Through the force, she sensed a child, and was surprised to find that he was the one that she sensed. Darman told her that he was ten years old.

Niner, Atin and Fi reached point Beta, which was a large hill without any trees. They went as close as they could and began to take an inventory of what they had. While they were there, ten battle droids and an Aqualish officer came up behind them. Atin, who was between Niner and Fi, engaged them first, destroying one droid, but was pinned down. Fi killed the officer and Niner joined in. They destroyed the rest of the droids and tended to Atin. He had been shot in the chest, but his armor held, giving him a bad bruise and some breathing problems. They gave him some bacta, then moved on to the next checkpoint, Gamma. Along the way, they learned that Atin was the survivor of two different squads, which was why he had been fairly distant from the others.

Darman and Etain sought shelter in a small house that they found. Etain told Darman not to call her Commander. She didn't feel that she had earned the rank. She also told him that she had plans for all of the Separatist buildings, including the research facility and the Neimodian's villa. Darman knew that this is one of the vital things that they needed and told her that they had come for the doctor. He also told her that the virus was directed towards the clones, and she was surprised to learn that he was a Clone. Looking over the directions, Darman found that their intel on the nanovirus facility was wrong. The building that they thought was the facility was really the garrison of Trade Federation Droids, while another building was the facility. While they were talking, Jinart came into the room, surprising Darman, who drew his gun and backed her into a wall. She told them that the rest of the squad was on their way to the next RV point, then changed from an old woman to her native form. She was a Gurlanin, and had infiltrated the base several times. She also told them that Hokan had been placed in charge of the garrison and knew of their presence.

By then, Niner, Fi and Atin had reached RV point Gamma and set up for the night. From there, they saw that Hokan had begun to light the fields on fire, denying them any cover there. The commandos assumed that the Separatists had found someone- Darman.

Jinart came into the house, told Darman of the fires, and told them that they would have to move. Darman knew where the rest of the squad was now, but he had to get out of his armor, so that he wouldn't attract any more attention to himself. He loaded that and all of his weapons into a handcart. They moved out.

Fi, Niner and Atin saw the fires slow down and stop, probably due to a steam. They debated using a comlink to contact Darman, but they decided that it would be too risky; the enemy could get a lock on their positions. While they were sitting, Jinart came up on them. She told them that Darman was alive. She also warned them that the facility that they were headed towards was a trap, that the real target was the villa. She also told them that Darman had detailed plans of the buildings and was with the Jedi Padawan.

Darman and Etain were walking down a road, without armor, looking for the next place to hide. They came along a house that was abandoned. Darman cleared the room quickly, and the two sat down for a small meal. They grabbed some supplies then headed out again. They reached another farm, and were taken in for the night there. Darman mined the front walk, then set himself up at the window to watch for any enemy soldiers. During the night, a group of seven enemy soldiers did come. One went to the door, and didn't knock. The family fled out the back door. Darman attached a grenade to his gun and fired it through the window, destroying part of the wall as he fired a second one. The man at the door burst in, only to meet Etain with her lightsaber. He went through the window and met two more Trandoshans. One shot him in the shoulder, and he killed both. They then left.

One of the things that Fi, Atin and Niner learned was that one of the planet's industries was gem mining, and that they were near a mine with plenty of explosives. They found the building that the explosives were kept in and went to take it. They battered down the door, only to get shot at from inside. To scare the soldiers inside out, Atin disarmed a grenade and tossed it in. Terrified that that would destroy the entire building, the two Weequays inside came running out. Niner and Atin shot both. They entered and began to pick out what they needed when they came across another Weequay. They cuffed him when he surrendered and brought him outside. The prisoner was Guta-Nay, Ghez Hokan's former second. He agreed to tell the soldiers what they wanted to know. They learned where the droids were stationed, at the communications center at Teklet. Using one of the loadlifters at the mine, they'd go and destroy it with the explosives that they found.

By this time, Ghez Hokan and his staff had found the damage that Darman and Etain had done at the farmhouse. Hokan was furious, for his soldiers had not reported in as ordered. Looking through the ruins, they decided that it was a single commando and a Jedi that did the damage. Looking around throughout the rest of the house, they found that the rest of the family was dead. Something had torn their throats out. While they were looking through the house, they learned from one of the droids that the pair was still being pursued. Hokan ordered all of his troops back to the base where he could defend it easily.

Darman and Etain were being chased by droids. Taking advantage of the terrain, the two jumped down a gully, then mined it. As the droids advanced, they destroyed the hill. Looking back, they found that they had gotten them all. Due to his helmet and armor, Darman was uninjured, but Etain was deafened by the blast. While they were hiding, another couple of droids came up, along with a couple of regular officers. They decided that the pair had escaped and left. Darman learned that Etain had used the force to get rid of them. While they were safe, Darman fixed his shoulder with some bacta that he had then Etain's ear. He learned that she could swear profusely in Huttese.

While that was happening, Niner was riding the hijacked droid loaded down with explosives down the road towards the communications center. After disabling the controls and passing several droid patrols, he made it into Teklet. As he got closer to the defense station, he armed the explosives and aimed the droid to crash into the fence surrounding his target. As the wall collapsed, he bolted, running over a tech and headed straight for the woods. When he reached it, he detonated his cargo.

Ghez Hokan was talking with someone off world about the recent infiltration when the comms went down. Through the droids, who were unaffected, he learned that Teklet had been bombed, and that they had no main communications system. He ordered every functioning droid back to the main base.

In space, the Republic Assault cruiser Majestic received orders to block any ship from taking off or landing on the planet. Another cruiser, the Vengeance, would be there shortly. A Techno-Union ship was also in space, but was not firing on the Republic ship. It was a bit of a standoff.

When Niner looked back at the town, he found that it wasn't there any more. He radioed the others and they all headed to their RV point. He had to get a transport, and brought out the sniper setting on his rifle to acquire something. A landspeeder and a speeder bike with a Trandoshan on each approached. Niner shot out the window of the landspeeder, forcing it off the road and shot the rider off the speeder bike. He got on the speeder and left.

Darman and Etain were still not at the RV point, and had bunkered down for the night. They talked for a while, then Darman began to instruct Etain a little on combat and how to fight more effectively.

Hokan was busy back at the base, fortifying the villa, much to Lik Ankkit's annoyance and dismay. It was part of a plan to force the Republic soldiers to split their forces between buildings. The researcher was in the villa for a short time, but was moved back to the facility to make the commandos unsure of her exact location.

Niner, Atin, Fi and Guta-Nay all headed to the RV point. Niner dispatched a small remote to look for Darman, which found him quickly. They agreed to send the remote over to the villa, then linked up at the RV point, a squad once again. Etain was surprised by the clones, and asked for all of their names. She also recognized Guta-Nay, who had chased her before. While she questioned him, Darman and the others updated themselves on what had happened. Jinart joined them, telling him of Hokan's plans, that the doctor and her staff were relocated again, and that the villa had a large number of droids and explosives. They decided that they would have to hit both targets, to eliminate the threat of the entire droid garrison. They decided that it would be best to detonate the explosives already in the villa, which would take out most of the droids. They gave Jinart a bomb and two cameras. Guta-Nay would also escape, being convinced by Etain that there were really two squads of commandos. They laid plans for the Weequay to hear, then had dinner. After they ate, Etain talked to Atin and found out what had been troubling him- that he had survived two squads and had a lot of guilt about it. After that, Etain used a Jedi Mind Trick to convince Guta-Nay to leave for Hokan, to tell him the information that they wanted him to hear.

While this was happening, Hokan was talking with Dr. Uthan, who told him that she was tired of being constantly moved. She also told him that the virus that she was working on was not finished. Instead of attacking just the clone troopers, it would probably attack any human. When they had finished, Hokan found that Guta-Nay had been captured, and he questioned him. He told the Mandalorian that there were two teams of Commandos, and that they were planning to attack soon. He also told him of the weapons that they were using and where they might strike. Using the lightsaber that he had collected from Fulier, Hokan killed the Weequay. He then told Hurati that he should split the droid forces to anticipate a two-pronged attack.

Etain learned through the force that Guta-Nay had been killed. She talked with some of the commandos about it, when they had their cameras that Jinart had planted, and they found that Hokan had split his forces. Etain ordered the commandos to call up to the Majestic and to give them some assistance when they required it, i.e., an orbital bombardment of one of the targets. They then had to come up with a new plan for getting into the research facility to capture Dr. Uthan. Jinart suggested using the tunnels that the local animals dug everywhere. Darman and Atin would infiltrate the facility, while Niner and Fi would provide cover from elsewhere. Once they got Dr Uthan, they would call for an extraction and leave the planet.

With Jinart's help, they found the right tunnels and began to move into the facility. The tunnels were fairly large, enough for both troopers, and they soon reached the outer part of the facility. They ordered Jinart back, and dug their way in. They hit the drain that they were aiming for and using a drill, weakened the drain. It took them about an hour. They then took their ram and broke it. They were now ready. They radioed Niner and let him know that they were in position. They were now inside the building and found an entry point. They set their charges and waited. Niner set off the charge that Jinart had planted in the villa, destroying the entire building and the droids inside of it. The entire area fell silent for a second, then Niner and Fi manned their E-Web blaster and opened up. As the droids found their position, they mowed them down. They then saw a large number of droids, about fifty, coming towards them, in-between the villa and the main facility. They radioed the ship in orbit and asked them to take care of it. The ship opened up, raining fire down on the droids.

Meanwhile, in the facility, Darman and Atin found themselves in a secure virus lab, and began to set charges that would not only destroy the building, but anything in the air for half a kilometer. They then set out, room by room, destroying the droids that they found. They were soon pinned down and forced to pull back to the first chamber, where they found Dr. Uthan with a Verpine Shatter gun.

In space, the Majestic disabled the Techno Union ship and left it drifting. The second ship, the Vengeance, stood by with a boarding party.

Ghez Hokan was also in the facility and was extremely mad when he learned that the emergency doors had been shut, preventing him from getting to the commandos in the base. While his officers tried to open the doors by overriding them, Hokan took out the lightsaber he had stolen and began to hack away at the doors.

The doctor was not a good shot, and missed the soldiers, who used a small EMP to disable her weapon. They also killed the soldiers in the room with her. They cuffed Uthan and brought her out the way that they came in, through the drainpipes.

Hokan finally got the doors open, and they began to search through the rest of the building for the doctor and any other staff still in the building. He tried to get the remains of the project, but it was sealed and locked, and only Uthan had the proper codes. Hokan was forced to go out after the commandos to get her back. He began to evacuate the research staff, but the two commandos with the E-Web cut them down. They shot six anti-armor grenades into the building, set their gun to self-destruct and ran for the extraction point. Etain and Jinart dug Darman, Atin and Uthan out of their tunnel, and they began to move towards the extraction point. They reached it as the LAAT-I gunship was touching down, but as they boarded, Atin was shot in the side and downed. They killed the assailant, then turned to Atin and began to treat his wound. They carried Atin and Uthan to the gunship, and found that Uthan had been hit as well. She was still alive.

Niner and Fi were still about a kilometer from the EP, when they heard a speeder. It was Hokan. Niner brought out his rifle and shot the speeder, throwing the rider off into the woods. Hokan was still alive, and began shooting at them when Fi raised his head. Niner shot back while Fi threw an explosive in his direction. They knew that they hadn't killed him when he threw an EMP at them, frying their helmets, so they decided to draw the Mandalorian out by pretending to be hit. Niner began screaming.

When Niner and Fi didn't show up at the EP, Etain began to worry. The gunship was loaded down with several clone troopers, an ARC Trooper, Valaquil, a medic, and General/Jedi Master Arligan Zey. Etain told them to wait and that the soldiers were coming, but the General wanted them to take off quickly. With some arguing, she and Darman set out to find Fi and Niner. They found Niner just as he was about to get hit by a vibroblade by Hokan. Etain killed the Mandalorian, and the squad, now re-united with the exception of Atin, they ran for the gunship. They arrived and got on. Etain told General Zey that she would never think of a clone as a soldier, but a person, and requested that she be reassigned to work with them. The General told her no, that she would help him here, on Qiilura, to help Valaquil and Jinart to free the planet. He gave her a choice to work with Omega Squad or to help him, and she chose to stay with the General. The ARC Trooper told them that they would have to leave now, and the gunship took off. Etain took a couple of seconds to say goodbye to the commandos, Darman in particular and then watched the gunship leave the planet.

Outcome

The Clone Commando Omega team destroyed all the research personnel working on the nano-virus, which effectively crippled the Confederacy’s efforts to create a bio-weapon geared toward the clone troopers. The mission also made several key points in the soldiers of the war for the Jedi. It is unclear how the Omega team will fare in the future, or how Etain and General Zey will work on their own mission.

Sources

Republic Commando: Hard Contact
(summarized by Andrew Liptak)