It is hot.  My undersuit is maxed out with perspiration, and I watch a trickle of sweat roll down my cracked chestplate as I check my weapons one more time.  I watch the tank drive away into a tiny dot and finally disappear.  My left leg aches, still smoking from the cauterizing I gave it before I sent the team packing to the rendezvous.  I injected a numbing shot into it as they left and I lay the last vial next to me and continue my gear check.  My ‘steel-shredder is at half charge, the ‘15’ has less than that.  I take the scope off of my M5 and attach it to the DC-15 rifle.  I adjust the beam setting to maximum and set it back on the rock next to me.  My two fully charged ‘s’ blasters are holstered and the DC15s is zip-strapped to my dark green shoulder harness.  My hand touches the two grenades and I check my gauntlets for charge.  I zip-strap the core detonator to my right thigh.  I count in my head the surprises I have for my visitors and I close my eyes.  Today is a good day to die.

“Today is a good day to die, sir.” The clone trooper had said to me as we left the complex.  “Everyday is a good day to die, troop” I replied dryly.  We had started this mission three days ago.  A small squad was inserted into enemy territory to retrieve a disk with plans for a new CIS superweapon.  Twelve clone troopers, four clone commandos, a jedi named Anakin Skywalker, and me.  I am ARC trooper A-34, a droid-killing machine trained by the legendary Jango Fett.  We are soldiers of the Grand Army of the Republic, and each and every clone in a shell would give his life for that Republic. 

The mission had been an unbelievable success.  No one was killed during the drop, no one had died during the mission.  I have to give Skywalker credit.  Though technically not a General, the Jedi was as good a leader as we could have hoped for.  He let me lead the men, and constantly involved me in strategy sessions.  The guy was sharp, and wasn’t afraid to use lethal force on non-droid targets.  The commandos became our sniper support and we walked in and out of the complex like a beginner’s training course.  The commandos are at the top of their game.  They had trained to adulthood as a unit by men Jango had personally selected, and it showed.  Every shot from their DC-17’s counted.  I had to admit the troopers had held their own, too.  It is easy to forget how good they are when commandos and ARCs get all of the credit.  I was also impressed at the way we all worked together with Skywalker here.  It was like he had some sort of camaraderie factor.  I have to admit that I enjoyed it.  We were all one unit, and we got out of the complex unscathed.  The closer we got to the LZ, the more cautious Skywalker became.   He said something about dark side voodoo mumbo-jumbo.  I don’t know if it was just his leadership, but we all felt it.  And we knew that it would not be an easy out.

The first ambush took out two of the clone troopers.  The entire mission had been quick-paced stealth, but this was battle, and we moved quickly to flush out and destroy our enemy.  Skywalker was quicker.  I thought my photoreceptors in my helmet were malfunctioning.  The ambush was over, two men were down, and we pressed on.  The second ambush was different.  I saw the coiled droidekas moving towards us and barked commands.  As the first droideka unfolded, Skywalker’s lightsaber flashed and flew towards it.  I was firing volleys into it’s ‘face’ when the lightsaber lanced it.  He used the force to pull it back to him, and the droid exploded.  The second droid had pinned down part of the group, its shield protecting it.  The commandos began to execute a plan, and one commando shot from the brush to draw fire.  He was gunned down by a third destroyer droid I had not seen.  I cursed my stupidity and instinctively threw a thermal detonator at the droideka.  When it whirled to face me, another commando ran up behind it with a det-pack, throwing it into it’s midsection.  It bounced off of the weak forcefield.  The commando, now being peppered with blasts from the other droideka, picked up the pack and forced it into the midsection.  He disintegrated with the droid in a fireball I felt through my armor.  Droideka number three fell when I heard one of the commandos inform us of three lancer droids coming towards us.  I turned to see one of the clone troopers impaled on a lance, and propelling towards the rocky wall we were pinned against.  Another clone screamed, then another.  Then I heard Skywalker over my com, “three-four, take out the one with the radio pack”.  I had already raised my rifle and targeted the droid.  I squeezed the trigger before the last words came across, and noticed the droid’s speeder heading towards Skywalker.  Another alerted warning, and I saw the cliff faces produce twenty or thirty battle droids.  All of my instincts kicked in, and we formed a circle in the crater, decimating anything that showed a patch of metal big enough to place a blaster bolt into.  Skywalker had taken control of one of the speeders, and his lightsaber removed another lancer’s head.  The droids had fallen and all we could hear was the roar of two speeders.  Anakin and the last droid faced off, and I found myself grinning inside my helmet as they flew towards each other.  I had heard a fellow ARC named Fordo tell of Skywalker’s mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi dealing electronic death from the helm of a speeder bike, wearing clone armor- no less!  This was as Fordo described it, I know it only took seconds, but as I watched it, it seemed like an hour.  When the moment of impact was inevitable, Skywalker jumped into a forward flip, his lightsaber blazing.  The droid was cut vertically from stem to stern and Anakin rolled away as the two swoops exploded in a fiery climax.  The troopers whooped a cheer for our commander.  Again I noticed my smile as Skywalker told us to pick up our gear.

Our numbers had been halved as we set out.  While we walked, Skywalker began asking questions about my gauntlets.  I explained how I had rigged the Super Battle Droid’s arm cannon to the gauntlet and still retained the gauntlets other features.  A hardware man himself, he told me of the modifications he had made to his starfighter.  We came across a battledroid encampment that evening.  Skywalker decided that we would need the tank they had so we would take it.  It was fortified by several quick-set turrets and we really had no idea how many droids were there, Stealing the tank would take a tremendous amount of patience and planning, but with Skywalker leading us, we devised a plan. 

As we stealthily glided into the camp, One of the clone troopers’ DC15s exploded in his hands.  I had heard of this phenomena, but had never witnessed it.  The ‘15’ had been rumored to fail periodically, and I could not help but wonder how many times that failure cost the lives of my clone brothers.  All of the turrets came online, and chaos enveloped our plan.  I remember very little past destroying two of the makeshift cannons before my leg gave way and I dropped.  I blacked out as I realized my helmet had been blown off of my head.  I snapped awake when I heard an inhuman roar.  My first instinct was to snatch my shredder and jump up.  I put weight on my left leg to stand, and crumpled to the ground.  One of the commandos had fallen near me, and I reached for his rocket launcher.  Empty, damn.  I heard the roar again and realized it was not an animal at all.  It was Skywalker.  He was a picture of focused rage.  I swear his eyes glowed as he swung at the droids with his saber.  A large blast came near taking his head off and he turned to face a spider droid.  Spider Droid?  Frek, I hadn’t seen that coming.  It was a massive, four-legged tank.  It fired again, and Skywalker deflected the bolt with ease, sending it into a droideka nearby.  His rage focused on that spider droid as he threw the lightsaber into its cannon.  It backfired the gun but the droid advanced on him anyway.  He roared again and raised his hands, using the force to crush the cockpit of the immense droid.  As he squeezed, the last of the droids in his radius imploded upon themselves like a severe vacuum.  The spider fell, and Anakin dropped to his knees, his body convulsing slightly as the anger bled out of him.  It was the most incredible thing I had ever seen from a force-wielder.  The surviving commando ran to him and helped him up as one of the two troopers retrieved his damaged lightsaber.  He chuckled as he attempted to turn it on.  The blade was maybe the size of a commando vibroblade.  They walked towards me, their muffled words becoming clearer as they got closer and the pounding buzz in my head cleared.

“…last tank.  I managed to not destroy.” Anakin looked at my leg, wincing. “Can you walk?”  The commando took off his helmet and ran his gloved hand through his mohawk.  “You’ve lost a lot of blood, vode”.  I nodded and leaned against a rock shelf.  I saw the pain he was holding in his eyes.  He had just lost his three brothers.  The troopers were taught better, sometimes too much better.  They were already prepping the remaining tank for rendezvous.  Skywalker was angrily talking into his com-lik.  The commando injected a painkiller into my leg.  “Not that you need it, sir.”  He chuckled dryly.  “I did not even know you guys bled.”  I tried to smile, but winced when he tied a zip-strap around the top of my leg.  “That will slow it down.” Then to Anakin “what’s the word on the evac, Commander?”  Skywalker walked towards us, his eyes very dark.  “They won’t change the LZ.  We can’t stay here.  I’m sorry three-four.  Can you walk?”  Before I could answer, one of the clones ran to us “Sirs, two full units are closing on us.  They have another spider droid, Commander.” Anakin flashed a look at me.  I spoke quickly, and in the most commanding tone I could muster. “Give me what kit you can spare, get in that tank, and get the hell off of this shithole, before I make you carry me.”  I held my eyes on Skywalker as the others went to finish prepping the tank.  “I could carry you, you know.” He said, half smiling.  “Thanks, jedi, but the mission is paramount.  YOU are paramount.”  His brow furrowed. “Me?”  I nodded “Chancellor told the template you were going to be an important man in the coming years for the Republic” I swallowed, tasting blood.  “After today, I understand why.”  He looked so innocent at that moment, not at all like the man I saw rip apart a spider droid with raw energy.  He thought for a moment, absently biting his bottom lip, searching for words.  “I will honor your memory, trooper.”  With one hand firmly on my shoulder, and his other hand using the force to stop the pain in my leg, I felt a calmness wash over me.  He placed something in my satchel, and walked away, a sad smile on his face.  As he walked away, he began barking orders at the two troopers.  The commando walked to me carrying a satchel.  “Here is what I could scrounge up, sir.”  He knelt beside me and went through the contents.  “Do you want my ‘deece’?”  He was not sure whether to ask, I could tell.  The DC17 is as personal to a commando as their brothers.  “No, keep it, but give me your sidearm.”  He slid the 15s from the holster, checked the charge, and set it next to me.  I unsnapped my pauldron’s rank flash from the harness.  “Take this, you’ve earned it.”  He looked at me, confused.  “I bestow on you the rank of Commander.  When you get Skywalker and the plans to Coruscant, find A-87, tell him Hip-ka from A-34.”  My voice cracked as the adrenaline began seeping away and my body’s shock wore off.  “They are starting a new program, you should be in it.  A-87 is the triple-zero contact.  Understood?”  He nodded, numbly “Yes, sir”.  I clasped hands with him.  “I am proud to have served with you.”  He nodded “Die well, brother” with that he walked to the tank.  “I will” I muttered as I heard the tank drive away.

I hear the motion detector go off and snap completely awake.  The muffled explosion from the south brings a smile to my face as the explosives I planted rip through the oncoming enemy.   “Surprise number one.”  I power up my shredder and switch the DC-15 on.  I turn to look over the shelter of rock I lay behind.  I throw the DC15’s barrel over the rock and aim at one of two red-shouldered battle droids.  I fire the gun, and Commander One becomes scrap.  Commander Two has dropped to the rear, and I see a droideka roll towards me.  Another blast rips it in pieces, flapping to a stop.  I take out a super battle droid carrying an anti-tank gun.  I notice that one of the other droids goes for the gun, and I take his head off.  The last full shot is into the mechanism on the AT gun, no need to leave it useful.  I get lucky and set off the projectile casing inside.  I laugh quietly as I toss the drained rifle.  A quick count verifies that I have killed over 500 droids since my activation.  As I prep my WESTAR M5, my shredder, my first and last subgun, I tally the number to 525 after the anti-tank round.  Jumping from my cover, guarding my ruined leg, I start pumping heat into the onslaught of durasteel.  I switch it to my left hand and begin firing my starboard gauntlet blaster.

535….

551…

The shredder jams from heat and I swing it into a droid that is close.  Another Droideka is unfolding, and I throw a switch on the rifle and shove it into the midsection before falling carefully into my shelter.  I hear metal scrape as yet another droideka wishes they had been given at least on hand to remove such object.  The gun overloads and after a quick boom, parts rain on me.  ‘Goodbye old friend”, I whisper as I do another quick count.  My gauntlet will fire four, maybe five shots before losing charge.  I see on the motion detector a small contingent has moved close.  I set a grenade to three seconds, and throw it, chucking the second right after it.  As one grenade explodes close, maiming a few stragglers, the other grenade has infiltrated the mass of them.  Another explosion, this one quite intense, and I see more parts fly.  Grabbing the satchel, I move to the spot my would-be attackers occupied, leaving my helmet behind.  I waited quietly, snagging the commandos’ DC15s from its perch on my harness.  I count again and grin.  Adrenaline and training were in control of my body, and I watch ten super battle droids ambush my helmet.  I walk towards them with barely a limp and fire the pistol with my left hand, smashing holes into every brainbox I aimed at.  I belched the final flurry from my wrist cannon, and within seconds the squad is a pile of scrap.  I feel my left bicep explode in pain and see a pair of SBDs moving towards me.  The pistol drops from my left hand into my right and two shots later, they join their metallic brethren.   I stop at the pass and count again.  Over 600 now.  I spin from behind cover and quickly choose targets.  I fire five more kills before the barrage of plasma cuts the air around me and the pistol takes a hit from a stray blast.  I drop it and throw a thermal detonator at the opposing wall, banking it to the ground close to the center of ambush group four.  I pull my balanced ‘17’ blasters from my holsters and turn.  Again my thigh slips, making me remember the pain again.  I grit my teeth and begin walking towards the spider droid, still out of its’ sight.  I pick off stragglers ambidextrously and keep walking, my senses on overload, putting a finger-sized hole in everything that moves.

618…

623…

627…

The spider droid begins to shift and I unsnap the SBD blaster from my gauntlet, shrugging it to the ground.  With my fingertips, I depress a switch on the left gauntlet, then holster my left blaster.  As I walk to the spider droid, four SBDs and Commander Two move towards me.  I fire two holes into Commander Two’s Head and let loose flame from the left gauntlet.  The four SBDs fall, sizzling as the flamer sputters.  I draw the left blaster again and begin spraying the spider’s lower sensors, still several feet above my head.  The other hand drops and provides cover fire on the advancing droids.

628…

632…

I lift my right gauntlet and fire my grappling hook at the massive walking tank.  I feel blaster shots pelt my armor, several sinking into my flesh, as the zip line pulls me to the control dome.  I scrambled to the top of the droid, and drew surprise number three from the bag.  Anakin’ saber hissed as the short blade popped out.  I could feel something wet in my arm as I unwillingly let go of one of the blasters.  I cut a small hole in the top of the droid, and shove my dead left arm inside, the lightsaber falls to the ground.  The droid bucks and churns, trying to kick me off.  My arm works like an anchor, and I feel the muscle and ligaments tear as I fire with my right blaster.  I hit several droids at the bottom and grin as I realize that there are over 100 droids and a half-dozen tanks below me.  I finally hit the hydraulics in two legs and the whole thing begins to tilt.  The last blaster shakes from my hand and I reach in the bag for one final surprise.  I arm the core detonator and shove it deep into the spider as it falls into the center of the army below.

The droids surround me as I fade in and out of consciousness.  I begin to grin as I hear the tell-tale beep of the final count tick on my final surprise. 

Today is a good day to die. 

And I laugh out loud as the heat incinerates 500 meter radius around us.  Had I lived a few moments longer, I may have seen the LAART-I gunship fly over the destruction, on its’ way to the destroyer that would take Skywalker and my three clone brothers home.