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When the GAR got that call from the Coruscant Guard, they at first thought nothing of it. Not until they opened the message, and their worst fears came true. Before them stood Marshall Commander Fox, in full armor damaged in some places. He was panting with the sound of blaster fire behind him in the background. His attention was clearly divided between them and the battle behind him.
"To all frontline units, this is Commander Fox speaking. Do NOT, I repeat, Do NOT return to Coruscant for any reason. All civilian, Jedi, and Senate personal have already been evacuated. The Coruscant Guard is holding the enemy forces back for as long as we can. Regroup into your cruisers if you are not already and go to Kamino. Enemy forces are making their way also. All units already on Kamino, please be advised to begin evacuation of all personal. Planetary bombardment is spied as the main objective. To all batchmates of Coruscant Guardsmen, good luck and stay safe. Vod'e An. This is Commander Fox, signing off."
The message was ended with the Commander turning to return fire to an unknown enemy. Static being the last thing anyone could see as they scrambled to board their cruisers and try to go back to Coruscant. But the planet's location had been deleted from the galactic maps. They returned to Kamino with stiff understanding that they could not help their brothers on that final line on Coruscant.
---
The 212th could only wish that their brothers could trust them. As they exited hyperspace, all of their comms pinged individually. With final personal messages for each batch mate or former squad mate of a now Coruscant Guardsman. Some men broke down crying right then and there. others stood firm until they were alone or with their squad or batch in private to break down. Cody was the same, breaking down in pain filled tears in Obi-wan's arms as he listened to his youngest batch mate's final message to him. a message full of encouragement and love. There was no hate, no disgust, none of that stiff Commander Fox that Cody had gotten used to over the course of the war.
The rest of Fox's batch mates received the same message with different words but the same meaning. Wolffe vowed bloody vengeance. Ponds ordered his men to ready themselves to take back Coruscant. Bly demanded reinforcements to back Ponds up with him. Rex was getting things ready to provide relief to the men of the guard still alive. Their Jedi were in total agreement.
---
It took over three months for them to properly prepare and not a word from the Guard had been heard. Those who cared were getting nervous and far more worried than they had been before. The members of the Senate that had cared about the Guard demanded to be able to go as well. Not wanting to hear second hand how everything went. And so, the entire Grand Army of the Republic and the Jedi Order who could fight returned to that missing planet. Praying that it wasn't a graveyard of Vod'e they never truly worried about until now.
It hurt not knowing what was happening to their brothers fighting in the war they had only heard about. Had only seen in simulations and never actually fought in. "They have members of the GAR, don't they? Surely, they could be helping those pencil pushers learn!" General Skywalker mocked. This led to the 501st shutting him out of the planning. No doubt the man was to into listening to the Chancellor to be of much help right now. Ahsoka was still allowed, since it was discovered that she was dating a member of the original Wolfpack turned Coruscanti Wolfpack. Fenrir. Second in Command to Chemical, and one of the few survivors that the known survivors had been unaware of.
"I'm glad we were not the only ones who lived. Here is hoping that will remain true. For all the Guard." General Plo Koon said softly with his sons curled around him with the aura of a mourning family. Many brothers were scared that they would be walking into a graveyard full of bodies of natborn and clone.
---
When they got to the planet, there was no sound. No lights coming from the planet, nor an enemy cruiser floating above its surface. "Did they leave?" A member of the 94th asked and was met with silence. Until the cruiser was spotted drifting away in large pieces instead of just one large ship. Almost as if it had been blown up from the inside. They hailed to the planet but received no response. They tried it again but still no answer. Not until a soft sound of static was heard and the one receiving it pleaded for the Guardsman to answer. A garbled response was heard, with the sound of pained moans and distant shouting for bacta. The GAR descended onto the planet in mass. Not waiting for permission to go.
They found the planet in ruins. What once stood as a machine juggernaut, laid in broken pieces with bits of life in some areas. They cared not for the planet itself. They cared for their brothers who need help. The open comm led them to a small encampment of clones in red. A medic shouting for supplies with patients everywhere. Another clone was hyperventilating in a corner, the marks of an ARF trooper on the shoulder plate. His massif was curled up under his curled legs as the trooper rocked back and forth in terrified shock. The medics in the area were barking orders to get the injured medicine. Ahsoka sobbed, grabbing the medic's attention and making the barely injured guards react with blasters aimed immediately.
The Torguta didn't care as she darted over to the trooper in shock and hugged him tightly. "Hound!" She cried and the massif woofed as it was crushed under the weight. The trooper jerked and his eyes looked at her with a glazed shock. "Soka?" The man asked and she sobbed with a nod. An eased look overcame his expression, and he hugged her back. "The Bosses'll be so happy to see you. Don't know where they are, or I'd tell them. Look Word! It's Soka! Can you see her or am I finally dying?" The ARF trooper said with a cheerful expression. Ahsoka sobbed harder and the medic, Word, smiled softly. "Yeah, kid. I can see her too. You aren't dying."
That snapped the other GAR medics into actions as they flooded into the makeshift medical center. Word and his other medics all froze as their patients were tended to along with them. Kix approached the head medic and crouched to be at eye level with him. The medic also had bandages wrapped around his neck, but they looked to be very old. "You let me handle this one. Get yourself taken care of while we do what we can, alright? We have the watch." The CMO of the 501st spoke and the Guard medic melted to fall limp in a pile of hurting limbs and muscles. No one faulted him, not when they truly looked around at the scene before them.
It was Ahsoka who spoke again. "Do you know where anyone else is? How to contact them?" She asked and Hound nodded. "Some of the comm relays still work. CMO Stitches has a base near the slums on level 2001. Stone has his boys in the prison with Thire clearing out a place in the Senate Dome. No one's heard from Fox or Thorn. Not since the cruiser exploded. Not since Uso and his boys took it down. Those boys should still be flying about somewhere with the arcs picking up survivors. Ritz and the others are still missing but Dagger and the other Corrie bad batch are on the hunt for them." Hound said as Ahsoka scratched her fingers into his hair and soothed his shock and terror into calm and safety. Rex was taking notes and giving orders to the teams still in LAATS. The ships took off without another word.
"What about Circuit and his group?" Ahsoka asked and Word grumbled. "Idiots are still taking care of the intel we gathered from commando and command unit droids. Should still be in his lair on level 300. Watch out for the ais he built though; things have been set to kill mode for those not on Guard safe lists." The medic was mumbling with Kix translating. Ahsoka looked to Rex and the blonde nodded in understanding. Soon it was just two squadrons of 501st boys and Jesse keeping watch while the medics worked. New LAATS were called to transport the Guardsmen to the Venator.
---
The 104th were flying over the destroyed planet when they found a flare shot towards them. They moved to the location and found a group of badly injured and damaged troopers. One of which was holding a piece of debris from falling on their obvious medic. The trooper was the size of Wrecker, and his helmet was clipped to his belt so his face could be seen. Bandages wrapped over the left eye and head. The medic was working on a severely injured trooper. "I am glad we found you alive, troopers. May we assist you?" General Plo asked and the big trooper just smiled with obvious relief. The Kel Dor used the force to remove the weight from the trooper's back and laid it on the ground nearby.
The medics they brought with them scurried over and started to work on the injured with Wolffe looking up at the trooper. "Any other troops that you know of in the area?" He asked and the commando motioned to the Sergeant approaching. "Sorry, Commander, but Titan doesn't talk much. I'm Sergeant Uso and leader of the crew of the Victorian. We know of a few other units still wandering the planet that aren't accounted for, but getting into contact with them is difficult right now. We have to wait on Kickback to bring the ship around. Jazz and Code have the only real form of communications right now. Once they're on sight, we can call all soldiers and have them make their way to the Senate Dome. Been hearing that Commander Thire has plans for a base there. Plenty of space."
The Commando was splitting his attention between Wolffe and his medic. Who looked like he was three seconds away from passing out. The sniper, Deadeye, was also looking like he wanted to pass out. "Hacksaw, they've got it. Worry about yourself and Deadeye. Let them worry about Turnip." Uso said as the Deadeye slid down the ruined building, he was perched on to flop onto his back with a groan of tired aches. The medic, Hacksaw backed off the patient and let the other medics work as he laid beside of Deadeye and sighed tiredly. Uso looked to Wolffe and smiled a bit nervously. "Usually, it isn't like this. So, apologies for no real salutes or acknowledgement." Uso said and Wolffe waved him off. "I don't expect it. You've all been through a hell we never wanted you to. The least we can do is back you guys up." He said and the commando smiled a bit more tiredly.
"Serge! Coming in hot from the right!" Deadeye and the group all looked to see a Republic vessel approaching them quickly. Uso's shoulders slumped in obvious relief. "Kickback." He said softly. And Wolffe knew that they were getting a better start than they hoped for.
---
When the Bad Batch was alerted to their own given mission of retrieving the missing Bad Batch squads, they were a little miffed. They thought they were the only Bad Batch out there. Then their newest member, Omega, corrected them gently. "Technically they are all part of the Guard. Commander Fox didn't want them being decommissioned and just transferred them here with Nala Sa's permission. Him using the excuse that "If the GAR gets one, why not give the guard a few to see how they do here. It wouldn't hurt anything.'" She said and it did make sense."But how did he get three different batches?" Tech asked softly. Omega smiled and with a giggle answered. "He snuck all three batches off Kamino with timed received units. Making it look like he was retrieving his batch of enhanced clones. When really, he had already gotten one batch. Now he has three. Hiding it by making it look like Nala Sa already decommed the other two."
The four were shocked that a reg cared so much that he would pull three different batches under his unit. Now they were looking for two of those three batches, having heard Commander Wolffe's unit check in with news that Sargent Uso and two other squadrons had been found. They found the level and lair Captain Rex's unit spoke of and knocked. The Tech look-alike answered with a blaster aimed at them. "We're here to evacuate all units in this area. Hound warned us about the ais a trooper named Circuit built being on kill mode?" Hunter asked and the trooper blinked with open surprise. "I am Circuit. And yes, they are. I have injured here so until a medic is available, we can't leave yet." The now named Circuit answered as he fixed his goggles. His hair was longer than Tech's, braided back into a bun. The trooper was quiet as he let the five of them inside the room. Seeing all manner of creatures made of metal and electronics watching them.
They also found a few laying at the side of injured troopers and Tech moved to their side within minutes, helping the medic there with whatever they needed. "Where's Dagger and Jester?" Omega asked and Circuit's lips twitched in a smile. "Probably trying to drag Chalk and Caboose back from doing something stupid with the explosives they found yesterday." Wrecker grinned widely. Hunter huffed when his batch mate giggled. He got onto his comm and reported in.
"This is Sergeant Hunter, found both target squadrons but unable to muve them as they have severely wounded troops. Over?"
He received far too many responses to understand them.
---
"This is Commander Thire of the Coruscant Guard. Senate Dome is secure! I repeat, Senate Dome is secure. All units are ordered to regroup here until further notice. Thire out." The youngest commander of the Coruscant Guard's voice was heard over the comms of every guardsmen. Those who were still unaccounted for arrived to the Dome with obvious relief and hope. Those with injured were seen to first by the GAR medics and the Jedi Healers on sight. Those who were just tired and hungry were seen to by their batch mates and reunited with their brothers in the Guard. The last few to arrive were Commander Stone's unit followed by Commander Thorn's unit. Yet Commander Fox's unit was still missing.
And the Guard was unwilling to rest until their missing Commander and brothers were found, dead or alive. They had no want to see them left here on this hellhole of a planet alone. So, the Jedi Shadows and Commandos all spread out to sweep the whole planet. They found the dead and the unconscious. They found the pinned and buried. The lost and scared. Until the last level that was safe to go was scouted. And yet, Commander Fox and his small squadron of Commandos were still missing. The Jedi called upon the force to try and find them. The last remnants of their force presences led the GAR to the destroyed Guard HQ. They found the battered squad curled up in the darkest corner of the base they could find and only one of them was awake.
A medic the 501st recognized as Dogma. Who was keeping Commander Fox alive by pumping blood and sedatives into his body by hand. The Commander was heavily injured, with a lightsaber wound along his torso. The injury looked to be stitched up with unpracticed hands. And yet the man was still alive. Which was all the GAR actually cared about as they safely returned with their precious cargo. And once all were accounted for, one way or the other, they took their brothers off the planet and into the Venators. Far away from Coruscant and the graveyard it would have become for their brothers.
---
The GAR and the order were hesitant to return them to the new capital of the Republic. With the stories the Guard had been telling them. With the scars telling them what the Guard would not or could not. They had been walking wounded since the start of this war. And now, the GAR was unwilling to send them back. And so, they took them to a different planet and left them with the Jedi Order to watch over them. Leaving to retrieve the members of the Order who could not fight and the same with the brothers. They left without a word and disappeared once the natborn officers had left their ships. The GAR no longer called themselves that, now they went by the Vod'e.
They no longer answered to the Senate who left their brothers in such a condition. Thus ended the Galactic Clone Wars.