Dusk, and the fading sunlight sinking behind massive spires and rocky outcroppings cast a fiery glow through the dusty skies, setting the crimson hued landscape aflame. Water vapour evaporated into the dry air, creating shimmering heat mirages and making the sunlight dance across barren hills. Rays streamed out, their direct light still hitting the tops of nearby stone pillars. Winds stirred up, and on the horizon the dazzling sunrise faded away to nothingness. In the last hours of light, the nocturnal creatures would begin to stir - ferocious predators and dangerous creatures that could kill with one single bite or sting. They would not be the only ones on the prowl tonight though.

Through the veils of growing shadows stretching down onto the landscape, several individual figures moved silently towards the distant shape of the Imperial outpost, whose dark grey walls stood out blatantly against the rugged beauty of the rest of the landscape. They had robbed the galaxy of everything else, so why not ruin the view while they were at it? Darting from cover to cover, crouching behind sand banks, ducking behind rocks and into crevices, the small force advanced steadily. Upon closer inspection, each one went armed, and while their uniforms seemed to be whatever they had available, there seemed a common theme of reds and browns - better camouflage for their work ahead.

The advance took time, and as they moved, the winds began to pick up. A sandstorm was on it's way, and while not the sort that would cause any real physical harm, it would still provide the sort of cover needed to avoid the sharp eyes and enhanced scopes of the Imperial Scout troopers. By the time they reached a long ridgeline of hard bedrock only a hundred yards from the structures, the air was full of swirling dust. The small militia coped by wearing bandanas over their faces, goggles or tinted visors over their eyes. Sand and grit did not harm leather and cloth, but it would wreak havoc on the white armoured suits of the troopers. Foolish that they should wear the suits regardless of the fact that blasters could pierce through the armour easy enough on high settings.

In orbit high above the planet's surface, an aging man stood before a holoscreen displaying an image of the landscape around the Imperial base, and while usually he would be unable to spot anything through the dust, when he overlaid the thermal imaging he could make out the positioning of both Imperials and the armed force right outside their walls. Dressed in full officer's garb, bearing proudly the symbol of the Old Republic, the man seemed ready to wage war. Lifting a hand, he signalled one of the vessel's crew to open a channel to the forces below.

"For too long this war has been fought on a single front, that front being where the Jedi are located. It is time we give the Empire something to think about besides the Jedi. Let's see how eager they are to pursue the Jedi when their raw materials run out and their shipyards burn. You are free to engage the hostiles at your leisure. Do not forget to jam their communications."

Communication Jamming. That was a good way of saying there was a rocket launcher aimed at the outpost's communication dish. So it was that the first attack on Geonosis was ready to start off. All that remained was to wait until the storm picked up enough that the last hundred yards could be crossed unseen.