Chapter 2: Droids
An entire day had passed, with the SPARTANs, Jedi, and Clones all getting four hours of sleep before the binary suns came up. Kathryn groaned in discontent at the planet's short day-night cycle as she sat up from her makeshift bedding inside one of the large pods. She stood up, stretching her back and arms, and stepped outside. She found Commander Bly helping the local Lermin population lift baskets of fruit on top of each other, with Rex sitting on a nearby ridge. Rex pulled out what appeared to be binoculars and looked up, his expression turning rather grim very quickly.
Kathryn looked up herself, finding there to be what appeared to be a landing craft of some kind, but it dwarfed the standard Pelican dropship that the GC used. It looked as if it could carry two full battalions of soldiers and enough ammo to keep them fighting for days. Rex ran over to Kathryn, pulling her attention away from the craft. "SPARTAN, we need to find the others."
"What's wrong?"
"That's a Separatist ship." Rex led the way through the small village, stepping into the healer's hut with Kathryn a step behind him. "Generals." He said, looking to Anakin and Secura, who were also joined by Alice and Ahsoka. "We got company, and not the friendly kind."
"Separatists?" The Lermin healer asked. "But this is neutral space!"
"It won't be neutral for long if the Separatists have their way." Anakin responded. Just as he finished speaking, the rest of Gamma, including Aphrodite, burst through the door.
"Captain, we came as fast as we could." Willow said, looking at Alice. "What's our next move?"
"You need to leave." The Lermin leader said, stepping past the SPARTANs. "You've brought this menace with you."
"Father, you can't blame them." The healer said.
"He's right." Alice said. "As far as we know, these Separatists shouldn't even know that the Jedi are here."
"That doesn't matter; your presence here puts all of us in danger." The elder responded. "I'm still going to ask you to leave."
"But you'll need our help to fight them off." Ahsoka retorted.
"We would sooner die than kill another." The elder responded, Kathryn picking up the slightest hint of elitism in his voice.
"Ahsoka… if the Lermin want to stay neutral, we can't drag them into this war." Anakin said, sitting upright.
"See to it that they leave." The elder addressed his son. "Now I need to see what our new visitors want."
The healer rushed outside and grabbed a few handfuls of fruit, handing them over to Ahsoka and the Clones. Ahsoka packed the fruit away into her carry pack as Rex and Bly helped Anakin up. The group quickly made their way outside, seeing a company of bipedal robots wielding blaster rifles headed by a rather fat, green, amphibian alien that wore an ornate robe in dark blue. She saw the fat alien shove the Lermin leader aside as the robots began opening fire on the village, taking no particular aim. The droids kicked baskets over, shot through homes, and shoved Lermin aside. "What the hell are they shooting for?" Kathryn asked, ducking back into cover, keeping out of sight.
"Violence is all these droids are programmed for." Ahsoka responded.
"She's not wrong." Aphrodite responded. "Their 'A.I.' matrix is incredibly low-grade. They're barely even capable of independent thought."
"How does she know that?" Ahsoka asked.
"She's an Android, long story." Kathryn responded, following Rex and Bly into the tall grass surrounding the village.
After around twenty minutes of walking, everyone took a rest inside a small clearing protected by an outcropping of rocks, Bly and Rex setting Anakin down on the ground to rest. "You know…" Rex began. "I can't figure these villagers not wanting to fight! No sense of pride I guess."
"I'd call it a lack of courage." Ahsoka said, sitting against a rock.
"It takes courage to stick to your beliefs." Secura responded. "They're pacifist, and that's their decision."
"We need a ship that can actually be on the ground." Anakin said, changing the subject. "And I'm pretty sure that the only one around her belongs to the Separatists."
"Sir… are you talking about stealing from one of the clankers? Count me in!" Rex said.
"Well, first we just need to find them." Ahsoka said.
Kathryn heard a soft whirring coming from the bush. She quickly drew her Hard Light Bolt Pistol from Slipspace and fired a single shot. The bolt impacted on a strangely shaped drone with numerous cameras and sensor equipment. "I'm pretty sure we just did." Kathryn said, sealing the weapon back in Slipspace.
"Probe droids?" Anakin asked, amazed at the speed which the SPARTAN obliterated the droid.
"Did it have enough time to get information back to its commander?" Willow asked, inspecting the wreck.
"I don't know… it's possible." Anakin responded.
"Well… how are we going to find that shuttle?" Anakin asked, inspecting the dead probe droid.
"Simple." Alice said, pressing a hand to her ear. "Captain Haywood, can you run a surface scan of all topography within fifty kilometers of our location, specify energy signatures." Within an instant, a topographical map appeared in Alice's neural lance, which she quickly transmitted to the Hard-Light emitter on the palm of her jumpsuit. "Their dropship is here, about two kilometers away from our current location." Alice focused in on the map, the Separatist dropship coming into clear view. "Their defensive line looks tight, with hundreds of those droid things, and at least two dozen armored vehicles. One of them looks like a self-propelled artillery piece. Let's get moving, it's not far from here."
Alice began leading the way through the tall grass, coming into view of another large tree which stretched at least three hundred meters into the air. The SPARTANs were rather surprised to see the agility that the Jedi possessed, Secura and Ahsoka climbing the tree rather quickly with the assistance of the Force. Anakin lagged behind slightly due to his injuries. The Clones, having no talents in the Force, fired cables from an under-barrel attachment on their DC-17 Blaster Rifles in order to climb the tree. The SPARTANs simply called their armor into real space, using that in conjunction with their numerous augments to climb the thick tree.
Ahsoka, Secura, the Clones, and the SPARTANs all knelt down on the thick branch of the tree, overlooking an open field. At the end of the field, just at the border of the tall grass, was a large Separatist encampment with at least three hundred droids, ten tanks, a Droid Dropship, and a dozen Spider Droids. Ahsoka, Secura, and Rex all took turns looking through their only pair of binoculars while the SPARTAN's enhanced vision allowed them to see with relative clarity.
Anakin finally managed his way up the tree, causing everyone to look back over their shoulders. "I hope you're feeling better, Master." Ahsoka said. "Because look what we found."
Anakin chuckled, taking the offered binoculars. "I'm getting stronger all the time, Snips." Anakin looked through the binoculars, seeing the massive compound constructed around the dropship. "But… I'm not sure that I'm ready for that one." Anakin looked past the dropship, spotting a small CIS shuttle being unloaded by B1 Droids. "That shuttle's our ticket off this rock."
"It's not going to be easy, sir." Rex said. "Their security line looks almost flawless."
"Movement." Alice said. "Four tanks are leaving the compound, one of them has that artillery piece."
Anakin looked back through the binoculars, spotting both the strange artillery tank and the fat Nemoidian sitting atop it. "Looks like the Separatists have a new toy."
The group watched for a few more moments, seeing the Nemoidian give some kind of speech to the lifeless droids before him. The droids, for some reason or another, decided to end his speech with a bit of a celebratory dance. This dance consisted mostly of the droids bobbing their bodies up and down, drawing a few audible laughs from Aphrodite as she watched. A pair of B1 Battle Droids was sent out towards the ridge, just between the tree and the compound. Alice looked back to Anakin, who simply shrugged.
The group watched as the artillery tank lined up a firing solution, and then fired a strangely shaped capsule at the pair of droids. "They're testing weapons on their own droids?" Willow asked, watching intently through the scope of her Binary Rifle.
"This is unusual." Ahsoka commented.
Just as the capsule impacted, a bright flash appeared at the point of impact. From the flash emanated a burst of flame at ground level, searing the surface of the planet and stopping a few hundred meters before the tree that the SPARTANs were watching from. As the fire instantly disappeared, leaving faint wisps of smoke in its wake, all of the land within a one kilometer radius of the impact was swept clean of life, leaving the pair of droids standing where they were.
"It took out… every living thing." Ahsoka said, accenting what every SPARTAN was thinking.
"What in the Mantle's name was that?!" Alice shouted, causing the Jedi and clones to recoil.
"This is… unbelievable." Kathryn said as Alice connected her palm's Hard Light projector to the Prowler in orbit.
"Captain Haywood, are you seeing this?" Alice asked the small golden hologram of Haywood which rested on her palm.
"You're goddamn right I did." Haywood said, visibly angered by what he saw from orbit. "Protocol just changed, your new orders are to destroy all traces of that weapon and ensure these Separatists pay the price for creating it. I'll notify FLEETCOM Alpha that protocol has changed. As of right now, The Hood Protocol is in effect. Haywood out." Haywood cut the communication from his end, leaving Alice's palm empty.
"What does that mean?" Ahsoka asked. "What's going on?"
"We now have the green light to engage the Separatists." Alice explained, preparing her weapons. "The GC is at war."
"All over this one weapon?" Rex asked. "I'm not complaining that the Separatists made new enemies, but why over this one weapon?"
"You're unfamiliar with our culture and what our society is built on." Jane responded. "The Mantle of Responsibility is the core belief of our society, and the GC Military holds it in high regard. That barbaric weapon goes against everything we believe." Jane practically spat out the last sentence.
"Where are they going now?" Secura asked, seeing the armored column and three hundred droids begin rolling out.
"They have to be going back to the Lermin village, there's nothing else in that direction." Anakin explained.
"Damned savages…" Willow muttered under her breath, her grip tensing on her rifle.
"What do we do from here?" Alice asked, her voice finally evening out and returning to a stable tone.
"We get a shuttle and destroy their communications array, and then we go back and help the villagers." Anakin responded.
"But the Elder said he didn't want our help." Ahsoka said.
"There's a difference between dragging somebody into a war, and dooming them to extinction." Anakin said, sighing.
"How do we plan on doing this?" Kathryn asked. "I'd imagine a frontal assault is out of the question."
"It's almost night time." Anakin explained. "We wait for the suns to set, then we distract the patrol long enough so Snips and General Secura can scale the wall and open the front gate for us."
"Alright." Alice responded, stowing her Light Rifle in Slipspace and relaxing against the tree.
As the binary suns set, letting the unfamiliar constellations of the Andromeda Galaxy reveal themselves again, the GC and Republic warriors descended the tree, sneaking through the tall grass towards the dropship's compound. The Jedi and Clones noticed the SPARTANs moving with a new sense of purpose, their angry expressions almost burning through the blue visors of their helmets.
Ahsoka and Secura split off from the main group and snuck around towards the front of the compound, stopping at the edge of the tall grass. The SPARTANs, Clones, and Anakin stopped off to the left of the compound, just in front of a stopped Droid patrol. Anakin extended his hand and pulled a stone towards the group with the Force, catching the lead Droid's attention. "What was that?" The B1 Battle Droid asked in an almost comically high-pitched voice. The Droid noticed the stone begin rolling towards the tall grass, and proceeded to follow it.
Anakin quickly pulled the Droid into the grass and stuck it through with his lightsaber, quickly extinguishing the blade. The rest of the droids, finding their commander missing, slowly approach where they last saw their missing commander. The SPARTANs all ignited their Hard-Light blades at the same time, decapitating the remaining four droids in quick succession.
"You're clear, go!" Anakin whispered into his communicator, prompting Ahsoka and Secura to run out from the tall grass, narrowly avoiding the scanning searchlights as they approached the compound wall. Both Jedi used the Force to assist their jumps as they began scaling the wall.
The SPARTANs waited a few moments, hearing the distinct sounds of a lightsaber cutting through Droids, following the grinding sound of the front gate opening. The second team rushed past the scanning lights and entered the compound with the SPARTANs taking point. The SPARTANs, already being inside the compound, cared little for stealth at this point. Alice called forth a pulse grenade from Slipspace, tossing it into a small command bunker near the front of the compound. The grenade detonated, releasing pulses of energy every few milliseconds as it broke the Droids down to slag.
The rest of the SPARTAN team stormed in, firing their Hard Light weapons with ruthless efficiency. The GC soldiers, much to the surprise of the Republic's warriors, fought with an unbelievable speed and efficiency. The SPARTANs seemed capable of communicating even during a battle, working together to cut their way through dozens of droids before Anakin could even destroy three.
As a Spider Droid moved in on the SPARTANs, the Clones were left slack-jawed as Kathryn sprinted forward at an incredible speed, her shields absorbing the incoming blaster bolts. She swiftly sent a kick into one of the forelegs of the Spider Droid, causing it to stumble and provide an opening for her to empty her Bolter's energy cell into the Spider Droid's central eye. She quickly ducked into cover, allowing her shields to recharge while the rest of her team finished off the remaining Droids in the compound along with the Jedi and Clones.
As Kathryn stood up and ejected the spent energy cell, she found the Clones and Jedi staring at her and the rest of her team, mouth agape. "How…" Was all Anakin could manage, seeing the level of destruction wrought by the SPARTANs.
"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned?" Aphrodite asked with a slight grin, yanking her blue Hard Light blade out of a Spider Droid's chassis before deactivating it. "But in all seriousness, it's classified until OMI deems it declassified."
"Fair enough…" Anakin responded. "C'mon, let's go commandeer this shuttle."
Anakin led the way towards the shuttle, which was parked behind the massive dropship. Ahsoka stared in awe at the SPARTANs as they walked, tossing their weapons back into Slipspace. "Sir! Shield generators." Rex said, pointing to a pair of dome-shield generators resting by the shuttle.
"Grab them; we're going to need them." Anakin responded, opening the shuttle's rear door. The SPARTANs climbed in behind Anakin and the rest of the Jedi while the Clones carried the shield generators on board.
Kathryn and the SPARTANs all sat in the relatively small seats of the CIS shuttle. Alice actually had to duck down slightly as she sat because of her height. Anakin, being the only surviving pilot from the crash, made his way into the cockpit and prepared the shuttle. "That was… impressive to say the least." Bly began, looking to Alice. "Not even Clone Commandos preform that well."
"I can't say that this was too much of a challenge." Alice responded. "Frankly, these Droids are a small threat to us when compared to some… past enemies."
"Being?" Rex asked, lurching forward slightly as the shuttle began to take off.
"Classified." Aphrodite interjected.
Just as the shuttle lurched forward slightly, the SPARTANs willed their helmets back into Slipspace, revealing their features again. The Jedi and Clones were struck by the newly apparent contrast. The SPARTANs in their full armor appeared as angels of death, capable of reaping untold amounts of destruction with ease. With their helmets off, they were little more than average humans in appearance, albeit slightly taller. The horrid thought crossed Ahsoka and Secura's minds at the same time, what if all of the people from this new galaxy were like SPARTANs?
After a few minutes of flying, the shuttle touched down and the rear door opened, allowing the SPARTANs, Clones, and Jedi out. Outside awaited the Lermin village, with a rather angry looking elder. "I thought I was quite clear with you when I told you to leave."
"The Separatists are coming back." Anakin explained. "And they certainly don't have good intentions."
"They didn't do us any harm last time, and we've done nothing to provoke them." The elder responded. "They have no reason to do anything now."
"Did they need a reason to ransack your village?" Alice asked, pointing to the dozens of holes in various tree pod huts after the previous encounter with the Droids. "They're coming back with the intent to use you and your people to test a new toy. Whether you like it or not, our philosophy can't damn you to extinction, no matter how little regard you might have for your own lives."
The elder proceeded to mumble something under his breath as he walked away, leaving his son behind. "I, and many of the others appreciate what you're trying to do, but we're very much set in our ways." The son said, attempting to rationalize his father's behavior.
"We're just doing our jobs." Anakin said. "Now, we need to get to work."
XXXXX
After a full night cycle of working with the Force and Slipspace Manipulation, the SPARTANs receiving clearance to use the technology from Haywood, a makeshift barricade of unused tree pods and metal scrap from the Republic Corvette wreck was constructed on the main road to the village that the droids were marching towards.
Many of the local villagers, under the advice of the SPARTANs, barricaded themselves inside their homes. Some of the locals who were more steadfast in their tradition were still working outside, occasionally stopping to watch the barricade be constructed. The Dome Shield generators were placed at either end of the village, and prepared to be activated by remote sensor.
As Kathryn and Ahsoka worked together to move a rather heavy piece of plated metal, Kathryn's augmented ears managed to make out the noise of Droid servos whirring. She quickly notified her team through her Neural Lance, and shouted out to the Clones and Jedi. "Droids inbound!"
The Clones, Jedi, and SPARTANs rushed over to the makeshift barricade, peeking over the top of it. They saw a full company of B2 Super Battle Droids, accompanied by a company of B1 Battle Droids as well as two CIS Battle Tanks. The artillery piece was located in the center of the two battle tanks, which had formed a line roughly one kilometer from the village.
The entire scene seemed to remain eerily still for a few moments, with that stillness broken by the firing of the large cannon on the back of the central tank. "Raise the shields!" Anakin shouted as the slow-moving projectile barreled upwards, nearing the apex of its arc. The shields were activated by Rex and Bly, causing a large semi-translucent dome to set in around the village. The Separatist weapon impacted a few dozen meters in front of the shield, sending out the familiar pulse of fire that swept all life away. The flames met the shield, running up the sides and around the protective wall of energy before fading away, leaving a scorched wasteland before it.
"It held!" Alice said. "What now?"
"We need to meet the droids in the open, or else they'll just walk through the shield and destroy the generators." Anakin explained,
"They can just walk- No… never mind." Willow said, preparing her Binary Rifle.
As the SPARTANs, Clones, and Jedi all stepped through the shield, the Droids began charging. The initial charge was made up of mostly B1 Battle Droids, with the occasional B2 mixed in. "Let's go SPARTANs!" Alice shouted, firing her Light Rifle as she advanced. Kathryn and Jane, being the fireteam members outfitted for close quarters, sprinted forward alongside the Jedi while Willow and Alice remained with the Clones.
As the two SPARTANs sprinted forward, surprised to find the Jedi keeping up, they fired their weapons as their shields absorbed incoming blaster bolts. Ahsoka and Secura began sticking closer to the two SPARTANs while Anakin sprinted through the advancing Droids, making his way towards the artillery tank. Kathryn was rather surprised at Ahsoka's agility and speed as she danced her way around the clunky droids, cutting them apart at the waist with her lightsaber. Secura fought in a more reserved manner, keeping on the defensive.
Kathryn's Neural Lance received a quick notifying signal from Jane's, prompting her to wheel around and fire her Bolter into the head of a B2 Battle Droid that was firing upon her squad mate. Kathryn quickly activated her wrist-mounted Hard Light blade and sliced through the neck of a droid that was aiming at Ahsoka. As the GC-Republic forces fought, they actually began to push the advancing droids back. The now-advancing Republic and GC forces were soon met with the onslaught of the B2 Droid Company.
The SPARTANs moved to regroup with the two Jedi, finding them to be taking most of the fire from the advancing Droids. The SPARTANs took advantage of the B2s focus on the Jedi and fired their collective weapons at the large group of B2s, the hard light rounds cutting them down. Kathryn and Jane both tossed pulse grenades in the largest concentration of droids, breaking them down into scrap with quick pulses of energy before the grenades' energy collapsed on itself, crushing any remaining droids within their immediate area.
As a few shots from Willow's Binary Rifle caused an entire squad of B2 droids to cease existing, a small explosion sounded off from the main tank in the armored column, the artillery piece on the top of the tank splitting in half and sliding to the ground. Kathryn spotted Anakin lifting up the fat Nemoidian with the Force as they finished off the remaining battle droids.
As the last B2 droid fell, the SPARTANs willed their weapons back into Slipspace and relaxed their posture. The SPARTANs felt that familiar feeling of pride as the Clones and Jedi looked to them with a sense of awe. The heaviest injuries sustained during the fight were a minor burn on Jane's right side, and a flesh wound on Willow's chest from a stray blaster bolt.
"Excellent work, Gamma." Alice said, admiring the scene before her. "Kathryn, assist General Skywalker with the prisoner."
Kathryn nodded and made her way over to Anakin, who was standing over the sitting Nemoidian, his arms crossed. The Nemoidian's eyes widened as the SPARTAN approached. He had seen what these soldiers were capable of, and feared them greatly. "Keep away from me, Republic scum!" The alien shouted, backing away from Kathryn.
Kathryn completely ignored the Nemoidian and turned to Anakin. "General, I assume that the Republic wants this bastard?"
"You wouldn't be wrong." Anakin replied, looking down to the alien.
"How long will it take for your Republic to find you here?" Kathryn asked, drawing a look of confusion from the sitting alien. Just as Kathryn finished asking her question, a group of three diamond-shaped starships entered the atmosphere, drawing everyone's attention.
"Well… that was eerie." Anakin said, looking to the ships. "They're here. I'd imagine that our Admiral has a few questions for you."
Author's Note:
Sweet Jesus, sorry it took me so long to update this. I've been swamped with classes, work, and a severe case of Writer's' Block Syndrome.
Now that I've got myself situated, I plan to have a weekly update schedule with every update posted on either a Wednesday or Thursday.
Keep the reviews coming everyone, I appreciate every one of them!
