With the gunship doors closed, everything suddenly seemed to become so much more real. Jiyan Krik stood in the dim red light, wedged among a dozen and a half or so clone troopers, including Commander Blue and one of his Lieutenants. The chatter was idle, but Krik stayed silent. He was entirely focused on the task at hand. Two hours ago he had given the order to jump to Ord Mantell, and since then he had done nothing but meditate, preparing himself for the battle at hand. Now, however, he stood in the passenger area of an LAAT gunship, still in the hangar, waiting for the signal to head planetside.

The wait seemed to drag on forever. In the distance, the sounds of a naval battle indicated that the Red Draigon and the three other Venators had made contact with the Separatist blockade. Krik's thoughts fell briefly on whether or not he had made the right call. If the fleet failed to penetrate the blockade then the assault was doomed to fail as well. Either way, men would die today, and it would be at Krik's command. But if he let himself get caught up in guilt, he would fail as a General.

After what seemed like hours but could have only been minutes, Krik heard the whir of the gunship engines and felt it lift from the hangar floor. The chatter among the clones picked up, and the Lieutenant's name was revealed to be Kai. Despite the situation, the clones seemed to be utterly without fear. This is what they were trained for, Krik tried to remind himself. It was reassuring to see such eagerness from his men. The gunship jolted slightly as the gunships entered the atmosphere, and almost instantly the boom of the anti-air guns grew deafening. Krik could hear explosions either side, but it was difficult to tell whether they were detonating flak rounds or if another LAAT had just been shot down.

"I'm going to have to land sir, this can't be flown through." The pilot's voice came over the comm. A new wave of excitement rushed through the men in the passenger bay. This was finally it. The gunship touched down, skidding a few feet along the ground before finally reaching a stop. The sound of the guns grew louder, and the air became thick with the ring of blaster fire. The light switched to green. The doors slid open. 

Krik flicked his lightsaber from his wrist, and the blue blade hummed into life. The Jedi Master went into autopilot, running from the gunship into the thick of the battle. He could hear screams behind him, to the left and to the right. Battle cries, cries for help, cries of pain. Krik deflected an incoming laser bolt, and then another, and then another. Bolts of red tore down towards General Krik's forces, and bolts of blue rushed back to meet them. Until the AT-TEs were in place atop the surrounding towers, there was little the First Regiment could do to force an advance. For now it was a game of getting as close as they could with minimal casualties. Krik sheltered behind the wreckage of an LAAT gunship and Commander Blue came up at his side. 

Krik looked back at his troops. The majority of them had made it to ground, but they had landed much closer than they had intended, and right into the firefight. The first AT-TEs were beginning their ascent of the buildings, and some were landing in support of Blue's battalion. Their mass-driver cannons let out a tremendous boom as they sent crowds of battle droids flying. Krik's attention was devoted to a nearby LAAT. It was smoldering and cries could be heard from inside. Two clone troopers were prying the door open. "Get away from there!" Krik shouted to the pair, but his voice was lost among the cacophony of blaster fire and explosions. Both clones entered, and a moment later the flames engulfed them as the ship exploded. There was so much death already and the day was only just beginning. 

"Commander Blue." Krik turned his attention back to the Clone at his side. "Rally your men and prepare to advance. I will lead the charge and try to draw the majority of the fire. We just have to push on slowly until the AT-TE walkers are in position." Krik glanced at the nearest tower. Two walkers were crawling up the side, and were close to the top. "If we get caught up here, our assault is doomed to failure." Krik left the commander with that, and jumped up over the LAAT, back into the line of fire. Instantly a target, the Ongree Jedi stood at the tip of the spear, flicking away red bolts with ease as they hurtled towards his men. The AT-TEs would not be fully effective until Commander Zeta's men took out the shield, Krik knew, but for now all they could do was fight on. Jiyan Krik just hoped that Vail's forces were faring better than his own.