Author note: Whose POV do yo want to see besides my OC's and Numa's? Please leave a comment on what you think. This chapter is inspired by the game Titanfall 2 by the way. Thank you and enjoy the next chapter.
"Built to Kill"
Day 15-20:00:00
Ion
3km south-west of unknown Imperial Foundry, Geonosis
The planet of Geonosis was far more broken than anyone of us has expected. Instead of hearing roars of the native creatures, the rotten carcasses of Geonosians were all over the planet surface. I sure wasn't interested to find out why, and Numa was dead certain the Empire was responsible.
After long hours of observation and recon on a hilltop near the foundry, we decided to knock on their door during night time, where our dark shirt and rough armour will render us nearly invisible.
"Just so you know, this isn't Ryloth. We have to stick together." Said Numa as the two of us headed down the mountain and towards the main entrance of the foundry. The Empire made it look like an ordinary quarry on purpose, but we both know that there's more than just a few miners on this site. "Make sure you still have the suppressor I made. We're going to need it." I whispered. "Still there. Hasn't moved since I installed it." Replied Numa.
We slid our way down to the bottom of the hill for the last few meters and dropped behind crates of mining tools. "Stay out of the DP's spotlight." Numa reminded. "So we're going to blow up all the tibanna fuel for the machines here? Shouldn't we look at what exactly they're building?" I suggested. "We should. If we don't get to blow up this place, at least we can spread the word to some other rebels." Answered Numa.
"Two imps coming from your right." Numa said as two beams of flashlight approached our hiding spot, just far enough not to blow our cover. "Here. Use this blade. I stole it from one of the imps when we hit the spice mine in the Jixuan desert." She handed me a stormtrooper knife with a blade at least seven inches long. "Too bad it's still running today." I commented.
We creeped up the two stormtroopers as they passed by us and stabbed them from behind. Within seconds, the stormtroopers stopped breathing and became dead weight. We dragged them behind the crates, where it would take a month for the other guards to find. "Go left. It's darker over there." I said. We ran towards a hollow transport container, where we could stay out of sight. As I sprinted towards the container, a Mining Guild worker strolled out. He spotted me almost instantly, but was knocked unconscious when I kicked him back inside the container.
"Problem solved." I said when I crouched and measure his heartbeat to make sure he's dead. And indeed he was. My CQC skills are improving. "We still have to walk a bit down if we want to get deeper into the facility. Unfortunately we'll have to take the long road." Said Numa. I looked back and grinned under my skull-like mask. Another chance for me to teach her something. "Unless we rappel down when no one's looking. The watchtower on the other side of the quarry is going to be an obstacle. Can you take the guy out?"
Numa glanced at me with a smile on her face. She already set up her DC15A on the side window of the container. "Hey. I told you I'll make a sniper out of myself one day. Back at my hometown." I nodded in response, reassuring her. "I'm counting on you then. See you down there." I headed outside the container and fired my cable into the walls. Once I made sure it was safe to jump, I leaped off the wall and down towards a vault door.
As I made my approach, I noticed two sentry droids watching the door. At the same time, I looked up at the watchtower that could've exposed me. The glass was shattered, and the stormtrooper inside lay dead, with his rifle hanging off the edge of the tower.
I grinned and drew my sidearm, where I could hold it and use my knife at the same time. I aimed on one sentry droid, and with two well placed shots, I pierced the sentry droid's data brain plating and made it fall to the ground.
The other sentry droid turned its head and noticed its companion lying on the floor. It tried to raise the alarm, but before it could, I stabbed my knife into its exposed circuits at the back of its neck. Seconds later the sentry droid shut down, and I placed it down carefully to create less noise.
"Numa, you're clear to come down. Make it quick." I whispered and aimed my rifle at the nearest stormtrooper I can see, just in case. "What are these droids? They look a lot tougher than any of the droids I've seen." Numa asked as she rappelled down the wall.
"I don't know. But I do know they're specifically made for defence purposes. The Empire even stationed some of them at the spaceport in Hong Kong." I answered, recalling the day I left Earth for Ryloth. "Where is Hong Kong?" Said Numa. "Didn't I tell you before? It's my hometown." I replied.
I pulled down my thermal visor and scanned every detail beyond the vault door. I saw lines of red and orange moving slowly in front of me, with probe droids hovering past my visor every two or three seconds. "Shit! Now I know what this place is. It's a factory. No wonder there are sentry droids everywhere. There's probe droid presence inside too." I whispered.
"Damn…then this place is not built for organics like us." Commented Numa. "And more difficult to shut down by just blowing up tibanna cans. We'll have to set off a reactor or simply disrupt the processing line by blowing up the weak spots. Like the second battle of Geonosis." I suggested.
"That is if the reactor is even within this facility. We need to pull the schematics of this place. Better find a terminal once we're in there." Numa said as she pulled out some utilities in her backpack. "Get ready for breaching." She said to me.
I drew my rifle and aimed it towards the vault door, fingers on the trigger. As the door hissed open, a probe droid appeared from nowhere, but luckily it didn't see us. "Let's go." I said. The true face of the foundry revealed in front of us as we dashed into the vault door. There was a series of platforms on our left specifically for organics. But the rest of the structure were all assembly lines. Not just sentry droids, but also other machines that were for the Imperial Army.
"Yep. It's much more that just a quarry. Sentry droids, walkers, RTTs, ordnance...you name it. The biggest weapons factory in the galaxy is factory Alpha, this place is probably next in the line." I commented in awe. "Speaking of factory Alpha, when are we going there?" Numa asked with a grin on her face.
"Dunno. But we're bringing that place to the ground when we do." I answered. "There should be a terminal along the assembly line. Better hurry before another probe droid comes." I continued as I ran down the stair on my left. "How is it that you seem to know so much?" Asked Numa. I'm not too surprised to hear that, since with her family stressing her out with slavery, there's really nothing useful she can do. "I make use of every field trip in the old days. They have factories on Earth too, just a smaller scale." I replied.
"Look. I think I see a terminal we can access. Over there." Numa pointed at a console on the other side of the gap. The console was only 20 meters away from us, but there was an abyss and several rows of non-stop assembly lines between us and our objective. "And how are we supposed to get across? Onto the assembly line?" I asked in confusion. "Hey, you said it. Not me." Replied Numa. I looked around for an alternative, but unfortunately, our luck is running dry today. "Here's hoping I can reach the top of that belt."
I leaped off the platform and extended my arm. My chest slammed against the first assembly belt, but I managed to get a solid grip and mantled on top of it. "Better move quick. These belts move pretty darn fast. We might get separated if we don't be careful." I pointed as I hopped from belt to belt and onto the platform with a console on it. Standing there was another two sentry droids and a carbon black protocol droid.
I launched myself at one of the sentry droids, causing it to be disorientated. I then drew my DC-17 and shot both of its eyes, rendering it inoperable. The second sentry droid stared at me with its angry crimson eyes, but it was tackled by Numa before it could get a clear shot at me.
The sentry droid recovered, and launched its left arm at Numa, trying to punch her. While Numa was fighting the sentry droid, I twisted the protocol droid's head off its body. I threw its head into the abyss below and looked back, just in time to see Numa kicking the sentry droid's head, destroying its data brain. "I'll watch your back. Numa, plug into that console." I said to my friend. "Man, I'm getting cramps just trying to hit that sentry. Imagine what it's like when they're mass produced." Commented Numa.
"Tough grunts, right? I mean even a handful of them can strengthen the Movement." I replied with a fake smile on my face. Numa is right, these sentries are probably twice as dangerous as the B2s during the Clone Wars, but they aren't exactly the smartest of all either. We'll need another program if we want them to last.
"Alright, done. That took me some time. Check your hologram." Requested Numa. I pulled out the disc-shaped device from my harness and activated it. Almost instantly a blue three-dimensional map of the factory appeared on top of the hologram. "The reactor is at the end of the assembly line. It's gonna be a long ride. Wish I had a jetpack with me." Numa sighed. "Heh. That reminds me. The Empire build them on my homeworld." I said casually, in contrast of the tense atmosphere we're in, mostly because we could be crushed by some mechanical limbs or shot by droids.
"We'll have to do it the hard way. No other options." I continued along an alley on the platform that followed the assembly line, Numa was right behind me. But a probe droid appeared in front of us before we even made it halfway to the other side of the alley. I held up my rifle and fired a short burst into its red eye, penetrating through the droid and sending it to the blocks of pool filled with molten lava below. "Let me take the lead. You don't have to do the shooting all the time." Suggested Numa.
I was far from tired. But since she asked, there was no reason to reject her offer. Besides, I'd be thrilled to get out of the factory as soon as I can. "Sure. Just make sure we're going the right way. I'd hate to fall into the wrong hands, again."
"So do I." Said Numa.
The two of us made it to a large platform with multiple floors. I couldn't really see what's waiting for us, since I was watching Numa's back. But as soon as I heard gunfire, I had to turn around. "Contact! Sentries are all over the place!" Shouted Numa. I noticed two sentry droids on my left and fired another few bursts at them, one managed to withstand the laser bolts, while the other staggered, but eventually got back on its feet. I aimed my rifle at the crippled sentry's head and fired again. This time its data brain burst open like a watermelon, and its body collapsed to the ground.
"Aim for the head if you can!" I shouted as I advanced towards the remaining sentry droid. Its cannons unloaded a cluster of red bolts at me, forcing me to duck behind a supply crate. As it stomped past my hiding spot, I jumped up and strangled it, allowing me to throw the droid off balance. After a few seconds of struggling, I finally managed to pull off the droid's head with brute strength and got back on my feet.
Numa and I both advanced towards the other side of the large platform, unloading rounds on the half a dozen of sentry droids as we moved forward. I glanced at my friend and saw her utilizing a downed sentry droid as a shield. I crouched behind her and fired a volley of blue laser bolts at the sentries' heads. Some were direct hits, while the rest were either misses or not enough to take down the droids.
I fired again on the nearest sentry and didn't let go of the trigger until it fell on its back, sending off a loud clang. I rushed up the stairs while trying not to be spotted by the remaining sentry droids. As I made my way to the second floor, I saw another sentry droid shooting at Numa less than five meters away from me. But I must've been making too much noise, because it turned its blaster at me less than a second later.
I ran up to the sentry, barely missing its shots. I grabbed it's right arm and slammed my head against its data the droid was tougher, and I nearly smashed my thermal visor in the process. Somehow it wasn't just programmed to shoot at organics, it flung its left arm and sent a fist of steel into my face.
My sights became blurry and I fell to the ground. I sure was glad the shock didn't knock me out on the spot, but now I was at the mercy of the sentry's cannon, and I was going to lose consciousness any second.
Before I blacked out, I saw blue and crimson flying in all directions. I just hope that Numa can make a stand and keep herself alive for the betterment of her home.