**Chapter 657: Red and Blue on Caramm V**
**Scene 1**
**Caramm V Surface – Battle Zone**
**Gar Saxon POV**
It was strange serving under a Jedi as a Mandalorian.
Gar Saxon stood at the head of his strike force, the newly formed Republic Armored Commandos. Clone troopers clad in gleaming beskar armor and equipped with jetpacks moved in perfect formation behind him. Saxon's own armor was a striking fusion of red and blue — Dagon had made it clear he didn't want the clans to abandon their colors just because they now fought under a Jedi banner. The combination looked surprisingly good, the red of Clan Saxon blending with the blue accents of the Republic.
Saxon raised his blaster rifle and fired a burst at an incoming CIS gunship, the red bolts slamming into its hull. His jetpack flared as he rocketed forward, leading his troops in a devastating assault on one of the enemy-held cities.
"Push them back!" Saxon roared over the comms. "For Mandalore and the Republic!"
The commandos responded with disciplined ferocity, their beskar armor shrugging off droid blaster fire as they tore through the Separatist lines. Jetpacks screamed as they leaped over barricades, landing among droid ranks with vibroblades and heavy blasters. The sight of Mandalorian warriors fighting alongside clones in beskar was something the CIS forces had clearly not been prepared for.
"Flank left!" Saxon ordered, gesturing sharply. A squad of commandos obeyed instantly, jetpacks carrying them around the side of a ruined building to catch a group of B1 battle droids in a crossfire. The droids were shredded in seconds.
One of the clone sergeants landed beside him, voice steady through the helmet comm. "Enemy gunships regrouping at the spire, sir. They're trying to cover the retreat of their ground forces."
Saxon grinned beneath his helmet. "Then we give them something better to worry about. All units — advance on the spire. Show them what real Mandalorians can do."
**Scene 2**
**Caramm V Surface – Armored Assault**
**Dagon POV (Overwatch)**
From the bridge of the *Olympus Mons*, I monitored the ground battle through multiple feeds. Warden-class Dropships provided heavy fire support, their rotary cannons and missile banks proving effective against clustered droid forces. However, they had a clear weakness against the faster CIS gunships, which darted in and out of their firing arcs.
On the ground, Grizzly tanks and 2-M repulsor tanks rolled forward in coordinated waves. Their concentrated fire targeted the enemy T3-B heavy attack tanks — the Separatist version of the Republic Juggernauts. These enemy vehicles were weaker in armor, so the strategy was simple: target the wheels with high-explosive shells while missiles destroyed the main hull.
"Keep the pressure on," I ordered through the battle meld. "Support the Mandalorian commandos. Push toward the central manufacturing spire."
The ground shook as tanks fired in unison, destroying another wave of enemy armor. Warden dropships swooped low, their heavy weapons clearing paths for the advancing troops. The battle for Caramm V was turning decisively in our favor.
**Scene 3**
**Caramm V – Republic Command Post**
**Dagon POV**
It took a full day of heavy fighting, but Caramm V was finally under Republic control. The dictator Ado Eemon had been captured, his regime shattered. The massive droid manufacturing facilities were now in our hands, their production lines being repurposed or dismantled.
I stood in the newly established Republic command post on the surface, reviewing the casualty reports. Losses had been acceptable given the scale of the operation, but every fallen clone and Mandalorian weighed on me.
"We leave fifty Venators and twenty Accumulators here for guard duty and to help restore order," I announced to the assembled officers. "The rest of the fleet will jump to Lantilles for resupply and redeployment."
Grace stood beside me, her presence a steady comfort. "The Bothans have already begun sending intelligence updates. This victory will ripple across the Mid Rim."
I nodded. "Good. We're turning the tide. But the war is far from over."
As the fleet prepared to depart, I looked out over the recovering world. Caramm V was free. One more step toward victory.