Chapter 5 - Defeats and victories
=place: Tarthis; 2212, 22 BBY=
The battle in the Thartis system had been going on for three hours now, and Republic forces had suffered heavy casualties in successive waves of missile attacks from bombers. At the same time, defense drones have set up nearly impenetrable defenses against Republic missiles and fighters. By quickly gathered a group of 3 Venators escorted by 30 Consular-class corvettes, and 8 Munificent-class, joined with a group of Admiral Zudenn Nebarother 12 Dreadnought-class, 20 Arquitens-class, and 8 Acclamator-class. The entire force suffered casualties flying here in an ambush in the system between Tarthis and Subari, where it lost 10 corvettes to another Longsword attack. His fleet then moved out of Hyperspace where the Terrans expected and their relatively small force composed of artillery cruiser, 2 heavy cruisers, 4 destroyers, and 10 frigates together with 24 corvettes managed to destroy 7 ships on start. But the number of Republic ships was still 64 to 41 Terran ships, many of which were much smaller than Republic ships.
For this reason, Thartis's defense commander Rear-Admiral Seyran Bahadurlı ordered a retreat to the planet, where air-to-space missile batteries could inflict additional damage on the invading fleet.
One of the latest FF-S3 Saberfish fighters[1] flew to Thartis with a flaming wing. In an attack on one of the Republic ships, he was hit and his shields were breached. Since none of the ships in the fleet were built to house starfighters, they had to land at an airfield on the planet. The landing was relatively easy, and as soon as the fighter settled down, a group of engineers ran towards it.
The pilot, Sleggar Law, opened the cockpit, took off his helmet, and accepted a drink from an engineer who approached the cockpit in a special vehicle.
"Lieutenant Slegger Law." - said the engineer to the pilot - "Call a medic?"
"No need, sir. The only injury I have is on this fish's wing." - replied Sleggar, patting his fighter.
"Anyway." - began the engineer - "This 'fish' has broken engines and launchers on the left wing, upper part. We'll patch the hole and stabilize the recoil due to the lack of engines, but you'll have much worse maneuverability and slightly worse acceleration, especially in the atmosphere. Plus, you'll have 9 missiles instead of 12, so you'll have to rely on that so you don't end up out of ammo."
"I can always just use my laser cannons in the nose of the fighter and fight at close range."
"That's probably what got you hit."
"Attention golden squadron, the Golden leader here!" - Slegger's squadron commander suddenly said over the radio - "Berlin has been destroyed, and the enemy is pushing through the left flank with frigates and fighters. We have to block them. Rebound in my position."
"This is Gold 9." - said Sleggar, using his callsign - "I'm doing repairs on the surface of Tartis. I won't be able to join in time for the rally."
"Understood, Gold 9. Join Peking's defense screen and await further orders. The rest is unchanged."
Meanwhile, in orbit, Admiral Zudenn Nebar was already smiling, thinking about victory. The bomber droid kamikaze attack managed to destroy the enemy heavy cruiser. Admittedly, it cost him more than 3/4 of his remaining bombers, but he destroyed the most powerful enemy ship on his right flank and could use it to outflank the enemy command ship, a slightly over 750-meter heavy cruiser.
This ship possessed unimaginable firepower and was directly responsible for at least 4 of his heavy cruisers being destroyed and one of his Venators crippled with barrages of huge torpedoes and 4 huge energy lances. This artillery ship fortunately had the same weakness as all artillery ships, close-quarters engagements.
He sent the 6 Arquitens-class to charge through the weakened right flank, covered by 4 Munificent-class, hoping for a decisive blow, but the enemy commander quickly dispatched several ships to stop the attack. However, this wasn't enough to stop his attack and the enemy was about to collapse under his firepower when another volley of rockets from the surface of the planet arrived, damaging all his Munificents, weakening the pressure on that flank, which ultimately led to a halt to his attack despite heavy casualties on both sides.
"Have you finally located the enemy bases that are firing those damn missiles?" - Zudenn asked furiously.
"Unfortunately not, sir." - replied one of the officers - "The enemy has set the jamming of our scanners so strong that the only reason they can communicate is because of this line of drones."
"Do we even have an approximate location?"
"Yes, sir. We've been able to limit our search to these areas."
As soon as the officer said that, the area from which the shelling had taken place lit up on the map of the planet. This was a radius of some 100 km, so five minutes of orbital bombardment of the entire area should have completely obliterated these positions. The only problem is that there are several cities in this area with a combined population of 3 to 6 million. But these are only barbarians from the Outer Rim. Even if he turned this whole planet to ashes, no one would even budge. He quickly ordered preparations for an orbital bombardment.
"Sir, I detect a repositioning of enemy reserves." - said one of the officers aboard Lagos.
"Follow their position and keep me updated." - said Rear Admiral Seyran Bahadurlı. Since the start of the engagement, he has already lost 9 corvettes, 4 frigates, a destroyer, and a heavy cruiser, more than 1/3 of his original strength, with the rest damaged. And the enemy still had at least a dozen ships, including two Venators, in reserve. Only the rapidly relocated mobile orbital missile launchers prevented the enemy from overwhelming his fleet.
"Sir, hostile forces are changing insertion relative to the planetary plane, but not moving forward."
This surprised Seytan, who quickly ordered him to show it on his displays. At this, the officer tapped quickly on his command post, and an image of several Republic units appeared in front of Seyatan. They were all starting to point their beaks at the planet.
Suddenly, Rear-Admiral Bahadurlı understood what was happening, but before he could say anything, the same officer said - "The enemy reserve forces are powering up their armaments. They are shooting!"
The citizens of the Terran Federation took refuge in subways, cellars, and other such places. Aware of the battle in space, they understood that if something were to happen, the enemy fleet might launch bomb attacks, or just some debris would fall. As a precaution, a group of soldiers was with the civilians, mainly calming them down.
In one second, it was over, and hundreds of craters appeared in the place of the city.
Rear-Admiral Bahadurlı watched in horror at the cruelty of the forces of the Republic, no, the Core Dictatorship. One officer said they counted the deaths of 5,432,000 soldiers and civilians and destroyed most of the airfields and anti-ship weapons.
"Sir!" - one of the officers suddenly shouted - "Shiroyama has broken formation and is charging the enemy flagship."
"Order them to turn back!" - ordered Rear-Admiral Bahadurlı - "Let all ships prepare for the immediate retreat. Send the remaining drones to a suicide charge on the enemy ships and open fire with all remaining rockets and torpedoes to cover our retreat. Send this information to Terra. Our government needs to know. And send this commander an enemy message."
"To an enemy commander?!" - one of the officers shouted.
"Don't question, just record." - Sairan said. Moments later, everything was ready and they would start recording a message - "To the commander of the tyrannical fleet of the Republic. Know one thing. I will find you and I will personally destroy you. I swear on this planet you just bombed that I will find you and make you pay. End of transmission."
The Terran Federation fleet then withdrew to repair damage and regroup.
=location: Merinda city, Tarthis; 2 days after invasion=
The orbital bombardment destroyed most of the equipment and eliminated more than half of the military personnel on the planet. Taking advantage of this, the Republic army began massive reloading in 4 locations on the planet, quickly conquering almost all other cities. The last line of defense was set up by 20,000 Terran Federation troops, along with 1,000 IFVs, 300 mortars, 100 artillery pieces, 80 anti-aircraft vehicles, and many anti-tank and anti-aircraft launchers.
From the Republic's side, 96,000 clones, along with 1,920 scouting speeders, 480 LAATs, 288 AT-TEs, and 216 SPHAs were preparing to attack. However, the greatest advantage of the Republic was frigates that could fly in and destroy any fortifications without destroying entire cities. The remaining air defense systems were not enough to destroy them.
"So our plan is to infiltrate and destroy enemy ships?" - asked one of the commanders at the strategic meeting - "Should I remind you that all our drones, planes, and cargo ships are junk? Instead of using repulsor lift vehicles as the backbone of our military, we still mostly have wheeled and tracked vehicles. And I don't think civilian vehicles will be able to break through point defense on these frigates."
"The enemy has stopped and is regrouping." - replied another of the commanders - "He will attack most likely tomorrow, so if we send a special team, we can plant explosives in the reactor. As the enemy approaches, we'll blow them up. We have some equipment to fake some anti-ship weapons. This should buy us some time. We only need 3 days and the relief will arrive."
"Again, how do you want to smuggle our people in there." - the previous commander interrupted him - "We don't have any special forces on the planet!"
"I can do it myself." - said a young girl in active Symphogear, suddenly appearing in the room - "I'm skilled enough to infiltrate their lines and plant charges on all enemy ships."
"No way." - said the first commander - "How old are you, 16? We can't bet on a child for this plan to work! It's not smashing robots, it's killing people. You're not ready for this."
"I've been ready since my family died in Tiuline." - said the girl and the commanders froze for a moment. Tiuline was one of the cities that were orbitally bombed.
"How long will we last in combat without this operation or if it fails?" - asked the third commander.
"36 hours at best." - one of the officers replied.
=location: Ryloth system=
Captain Mar Tuuk stared at the orange planet below. Ryloth was an important strategic point, so a fleet from Techno Union was sent to secure the system. In addition, Emir Wat Tambor, taking advantage of the death of Senator Orn Free Taa in a terrorist attack and the actions of several extremists, began to occupy and loot the planet. Although the Cham Syndulla resistance movement grew in strength, it could only destroy a few hundred droids on patrol, monthly. It was barely noticeable to his army of over a million droids that occupied the planet.
"Sir, we are detecting several signatures from Hyperspace." - said his lieutenant, droid B1.
"Indicate the composition and affiliation of the fleet."
"Yes, sir. The fleet consists of 7 ships. 6 frigates and an unknown ship about 1 km long. Affiliation is the Terran Federation."
"So they arrived sooner than I expected with the new ship. This will be a good way to gain publicity and promotion. Provide any scans and data we can get of this new ship."
"Yes, sir. I'd also like to report that an enemy ship wants to make a connection."
"Hmm. This might be interesting. Connect."
Instantly, an image of a middle-aged man with brown hair, blue eyes, and pale skin appeared on the screen.
"Ah, isn't that Captain Karlos Nelson, 'The Destroyer of Yam'ria'." - Mar said - "Your reputation precedes you."
"A family duty." - answered Karlos - "After all, having the same surname as one of the most famous admirals on our humble planet gives a certain reason for pride and duty. But back to the point. I'd like to ask you to surrender. He guarantees you the opportunity to leave peacefully with your ships and droids if you leave this system immediately. If you don't agree, I'll be forced to show you why I got the nickname 'The Destroyer of Yam'rii'."
"I know your service history. You may have destroyed 12 ships using only 3 of your own, but the Yam'rii were far inferior technologically, and most of them were similar in size to yours, not 4 times as large."
"But they were also purpose-built warships, not heavily armed transport ships. Anyway, I don't want to waste my time. Are you giving up or not?"
"No." - said Mar, immediately ending the transmission, then turned to the droid - "Do we have early scans yet."
"Yes, sir. The ship is heavily armed and most of that armament faces forward but also has many visible ports for broadside guns. It doesn't look like it has much room for fighters."
"Raise shields and order frigates 3 and 4 out of hyperspace and join the formation. 5 and 6 are to be kept in reserve. Send the first wave of fighters, they will carry out a standard bombing attack. Do I have any additional information on other enemy ships?"
"Yes, sir. 4 of the frigates are the so-called Genova class, but 2 are the new Alamo class. According to the data, it has a main energy gun, two smaller energy guns on the sides, two heavy torpedo launchers, multiple missile launchers on top of the armor, and at least 24 point defense cannons. Their shields and armor are comparable to ships of their size in the Republic Navy, but their speed and maneuverability are much higher."
When the Terran Star Destroyer got to the maximum range of its main guns, which had a much longer range than the turbolasers, it opened fire. The hits were felt aboard the Lucrehulk, but the shields held firm. Simultaneously, the fighters began closing in on the formation of Terran ships but were almost annihilated by the barrage of missiles.
The new missiles were specialized cluster missiles. Outwardly, they looked like any other, but at a properly programmed distance, they split into hundreds of smaller ones, which then exploded if the target got close enough.
"Intriguing." - said Captain Tuuk, not concerned about losing hundreds of Vulture droids - "This new cluster ammo is extremely dangerous to the incoming waves of fighters, but they can't use it if their own fighters are in close combat with our fighters. Take notes and send data to the command. Also, give me additional scans of the explosion sizes. Our droids don't have shields, so they could fall from anything."
"Yes, sir." - replied the droid. Suddenly Lucrehulk shuddered again, and the droid asked - "Umm, sir. Shouldn't we strike back? Shields can't last forever."
"Of course, we should do it." - answered Capitan Tuuk - "Let ships 1 and 3 begin the approach with a bow attack from the left flank. 2 and 4 from the right flank. They have orders to concentrate on enemy frigates. Have them send their fighters, but they're not supposed to start attacking until the enemy gets within combat range of the medium turbolasers. Order ships 5 and 6 to stand by. Our enemy will want to take advantage of this moment and directly attack this ship. Then 5 and 6 will come out of Hyperspace and with the help of 3 and 4 they will surround his flagship and destroy it. At the same time, 1 and 2 together with the fighters will repel the frigates."
The droid quickly relayed the orders and the 4 ships obeyed immediately, launching the attack on a fixed course. At the same time, the enemy flagship halted its long-range attack, and the frigates changed formation, creating two arrows that were aimed at the heavy cruisers of the Ryloth occupying forces.
Suddenly all the ships sped up. The Terran frigates began to move away from the Terran Star Destroyer, which accelerated towards Captain Tuuk's flagship while holding down fire from its main guns.
At one point, Capitan Tuuk ordered - "Let 3 and 4 turn around and begin the pursuit of the Terran Star Destroyer, the rest stay the same. Do we have any new data on this ship?"
"Yes, sir. It appears that she only used half of her main guns during the previous salvo. Their total number is 8."
"So he's got something up his sleeve. A really intriguing opponent. Send extra power to the front shields."
Captain Tuuk returned to watch the battle. The frigates fired a quick salvo at heavy cruisers 3 and 4 from all their guns. Several new torpedoes that penetrate the shields managed to hit the engines but didn't completely destroy them, only damaged them. Immediately after this, the frigates began their retreat with 1 and 2 chasing them. Waves of fighters were dispatched, but despite their appearance, AA cannons were quite numerous at the back, which combined with a volley of rockets, greatly depleted the approaching fighters.
However, a few broke through and began harassing the Terran frigates. In one case, they even penetrated the shields and damaged the engines of one of the Genowa-class ships. At the same time, the Terran Star Destroyer continued to advance, coming within range of the turbolasers, but still not firing its cannons. Effectively kept 3 and 4 out of reach. Finally, Captain Nelson's ship has entered the perfect position to activate the final stage of his trap.
"Signal 5 and 6. You may also open fire." - said Captain Tuuk, smiling as he watched the arrival of the last two ships of his fleet. At the same time, a wave of turbolasers began to fly from his ships and the two arrivals.
However, the Terran Star Destroyer also opened fire with all its guns, turrets, and missile launchers. Some were blocked by the shields of ships 5 and 6, but many others simply went through them, plunging into the armor of his fleet's ships and detonating internally, destroying both ships in seconds.
Mar watched in shock as his ships were destroyed. No ship in the galaxy should have such firepower. 'The Destroyer of Yam'rii' played with him. Then his droid spoke - "Sir, the enemy is again calling us to unconditional surrender. If we don't agree, they will destroy this ship."
"Reply we accept." - Mar stared, now horrified, at the newest Terran ship as his own ships stopped firing and began disabling their donkeys. After a moment, however, they smiled and added - "Reconnect with enemy commanders."
Captain Nelson's face reappeared on the screen and he said - "It's a pity you saw sense so late, but at least we'll have 5 new ships for our fleet. Or maybe we'll give it to the Twi'lek."
"I understand, but could you tell me how you defeated me?" - Mar said.
"It's very simple, I knew about your fleet composition beforehand. One of our ships has been intercepting information from this system continuously since the war broke out. As well as blocking your broadcasts. I want my ship, Kilimanjaro, to be a secret for a while longer. Additionally, your ships have a weakness of needing to disable particle shields every time you want to send fighters or open fire with kinetic weapons. Additionally, since the main weaponry is energy weapons, they are relatively weak. A few hits on target from our new Railguns with special ammunition and they are done. By the way, my Marines should be landing in the main hangar in about a minute. I wish they would find you there."
"Of course. I may have lost, but at least I will follow the basic rules of war."
Minutes later, the 4 Hercules-class transport ships carrying the 138th division entered the system, escorted by a dozen corvettes. 138th was unique in that it consisted entirely of Twi'leks. The population of the Terran Federation has nearly doubled due to the influx of refugees, mostly aliens. Thanks to this, the creation of such a division was possible. In addition, their humanoid appearance meant that apart from a small change in the helmet, everything else could stay the same. This division also specialized in operations on high-temperature or even desert planets, such as Ryloth.
=location: the city of Nabat on Ryloth=
"How did the Terrans already break the blockade!?" - shouted an angry Wat Tambor.
"Looks like it, sir." - replied the Tactical droid commander TX-20 - "However, their transports have not entered the atmosphere yet, but we have detected several vehicles the size of large shuttles leaving their hangars. They are most likely Dropships or Gunships."
"Can you stop them?"
"I am using local populations as living shields. The Geneva Convention under which the Terrans fight prohibits attacks on civilians, so launching a direct orbital attack or bombardment on that position is 21,937 to 1. And as long as the guns are operational, enemy transports cannot risk landing."
"But how do they know about them? After all, they had only just been built, and moving them to Ryloth was an extraordinary political effort on my part."
"From the information from the orbital battle, I conclude that the Terrans must have known in advance about the number of our fleet and its location. They probably also know the equipment, numbers, and positions of our units. I suggest relocating them as soon as possible."
"I will take this into account."
Meanwhile, a total of 4 the D77-TC Pelican[2], flew to the city, each carrying 12 soldiers in the first wave.
"Listen gentlemen." - said the squad leader, Amokzalit Kirule - "We came today to liberate our homeworld and its inhabitants from the regime of the core worlds and those damned corporations. The enemy is mostly droids, but you still have to be vigilant. Due to the stretching of our forces, there is no possibility to count on air support. Additionally, we liberate this world, so we minimize the use of standard grenades, mortars, etc. Standard Rifles and EMP Grenades only, unless I order differently or the situation is dire. Is it clear?"
"Sir, yes sir!" - replied the branch.
A few seconds later, the pilot spoke up - "ETA to the landing site, 30 seconds."
The Pelicans then began landing procedures, and the soldiers quickly ran towards the forest. The objectives were to reach the city as quickly as possible and set up a FOB there before the enemy could muster enough troops to defend.
Within a minute, the Twi'leks had reached one of the buildings at the edge of the city. Although, considering how fortified it was, it was more of a bunker. The droids quickly began strafing the general position of the Terran soldiers, but thanks to personal shields and quick response, no one was caught out in the open long enough to receive a direct burst. The Terrans started to return fire, but more droids arrived and the attack basically stopped.
"Sir, there's no cover further. If we start approaching, losses will increase quickly." - one of the soldiers said.
"I see." - answered Amokzalit, then activated the communicator - "Husmola, Senhecuc, get ready."
"Yes, sir." - answered the soldiers simultaneously. They had a missile launcher 'Jormungand'. Thanks to various settings, it could simultaneously act as an anti-tank and anti-aircraft rocket launcher and a mortar. One option was EMP rounds.
"I take the left bunker, you take the right one." - Husmola said.
"Ok."- replied Senhecuc.
Seconds later, EMP rounds hit both bunkers, eliminating the droids inside. The Terrans then stormed in and took out the few remaining active droids. They then quickly advanced into the city and manned several buildings, creating a foothold in the city. After that, they open a communication channel with their commanders.
"General, we've established a foothold in the city." - said Amokzalit - "We have not suffered any losses at present. But we haven't seen a single civilian, and the city itself seems deserted. It's possible they fled to the center to avoid being caught in a fight."
"I see." - replied the General - "Continue the operation."
"Yes, sir. Kirule out." - replied Amokzalit, after which he break off the call and said to his soldiers - "The enemy can strike back at any time. Squad Echo is to be on guard for an hour, then they are to take turns with Delta. Hojnavu, Iniktobom, Uutasmeki and Nap'veva are to go scouting. The scouts have exactly 2 hours of time, then I consider them MIA. I also declare radio silence until further notice."
"Yes, sir." - answered the soldiers.
Half an hour later, Hojnavu, Iniktobom, Uutasmeki and Nap'veva were roaming the empty streets of the city.
"Am I the only one who finds this lack of people in the city disturbing?" - Hojnavu asked.
"No, but the others keep it to themselves and stay focused on the mission." - replied Uutasmeki.
"The absence of bodies and any signs of a struggle means they were most likely not killed." - replied the Iniktobo.
"I've been reading the history of the galaxy. Just because they can live doesn't mean they will last that long. Slave labor is relatively common on planets controlled by corporations. And that's if they didn't wipe out the entire species first." - replied Hojnavu.
"Enough of this talk." - Nap'veva interrupted them - "Considering how much time we need to get back to the FOB, we have half the time left. Hojnavu, Uutasmeki, check the southern sector. I and the Iniktobo will check the courtyard."
"Yes, sir." - answered the soldiers.
Hojnavu and Uutasmeki moved through the streets of the ghost town.
"More streets and no single living soul." - Hojnavu said.
"Don't call the wolf out of the woods." - Uutasmeki said.
"What?"
"Adage I learned when I was on Terra. Basically, stop talking about it like that, or we're going to run into something. Like the droid squad."
"AND? We should sweep them away in a few seconds."
"And here it turns out that they have several B2s with grenade launchers. Our shields and armor may be strong, but I'm not going to test them."
Suddenly they heard a noise. The two immediately went into the infrared and saw the heat readings. It was a Twi'lek figure, but much shorter, most likely a child. Hojnavu quickly took the initiative, removed his helmet, and said - "Don't be afraid kid, we're Twi'lek just like you."
Then a little girl with turquoise skin and brown eyes came out from behind one of the buildings. When she saw that these soldiers were Twi'lek, she quickly ran over to them and asked with a smile - "Are you from the Resistance?"
"Close." - Hojnavu replied, putting his gun on his back - "We are from the Terran Federation. Now we are tasked with liberating our homeland. But I haven't seen anyone else anywhere but you."
Suddenly the girl turned pale - "The droids have taken everyone around the courtyard and are keeping them there. Including my father."
"I'm sorry." - replied Hojnavu - "But it won't be like this for long. Tonight we will destroy all the droids in the city and free your father. What's your name anyway?"
"Numa." - answered the girl.
"Come with us to the rest of our squad. There you will pass on any information to our commander." - Hojnavu said. He then put on his helmet and offered Numa his hand, which she accepted and they started walking back to their FOB.
"Thought you were going to ask her about her mother." - Uutasmeki said through the communicator inside the helmet so that Numa couldn't hear him.
"She didn't want to talk about it, so it's better not to ask. Even I know when to shut up." - replied Hojnavu.
Once they rushed back to the FOB, they found the other two scouts along with Amokzalite, who immediately said - "I see you found a local."
"Yes, sir." - replied Uutasmeki - "Her name is Numa. She has information about the droids and what happened to the locals. She'll help us for sure."
"That's good because we can expect a counterattack soon." - Amokzalit said - "A few minutes ago, our guards found and destroyed one probe droid, so they should attack soon."
"What if they threw Gutkurr on us?" - Numa said a bit scared.
"Gutkurs?" - repeated Nap'veva, somewhat surprised.
"I saw a few frames with them as they headed towards the courtyard." - replied Numa.
"They are also holding hostages and cannons there." - Iniktom said.
"But how can we attack droids and protect civilians at the same time?" - Hojnavu asked.
"We should conduct a standard diversionary attack." - said Amokzalitem - "Next, a small squad will eliminate the droids from behind and free the hostages. But the problem is finding the right approach."
"Umm..." - Numa began softly.
"Yes, Numa." - said Amokzalite.
"Maybe you should use the underground tunnels." - Numa said.
"Do you have underground tunnels here?" - Husmola asked.
"Yes." - said Numa - "They run all over the city. I used them to avoid droids. I even know one that leads to the courtyard from the east side."
"We're in the west so it would be a great attack from behind." - said Amokzalitem - "Hojnavu, Uutasmeki, and the rest of the Alpha team will follow Numa through this tunnel. You are to free the hostages, and only then start eliminating the cannons. At the same time, I will lead the rest of our men in a direct attack. We're attacking exactly one hour after the clocks are synchronized. 3, 2, 1, now."
A few minutes later, the main group led by Amokzalitema was rapidly moving through the streets, watching for any sign of trouble. Their armor had active shields and their weapons were ready.
Suddenly the silence was broken by a clatter in the distance. Something was coming, and fast. Amokzalite quickly ordered them to disperse and prepare for the impending threat. Seconds later, a large group of Gutkurr arrived, and almost immediately Amokzalite ordered them to open fire. The armor of these large insects was hard, but Terran weapons could pierce it with a few hits.
The bugs quickly rushed to the first place where the Federation soldier was and began to devour him alive. His friends tried to help him, but the next insects coming towards them forced them to back off and focus on them.
Seeing the dire situation, Amokzalite ordered their limited number of explosives to be used. However, this order only came after 3 more soldiers were caught in the jaws of these creatures.
Explosions quickly filled the streets, killing or injuring more than 2 dozen of these bugs. However, there are still at least a dozen left. Approaching one of the Terran soldiers, they grabbed his hand. In desperation, his colleagues wanted to help him. Moments later, the creature was dead, but the soldier screamed in pain as his hand was hit by friendly fire and fell with the overgrown insect to the ground.
A little further on, the same thing happened to another soldier's leg. Another was knocked down by several Gutkurrs and hit his head hard on some rock, then stopped moving. Nap'vev was about to be knocked down as well, but his teammate noticed this earlier and sent a well-aimed burst that knocked the creature back and was quickly finished off by Nap'vev before he had a chance to get back up.
By this point, the number of Gutkurr alive had dropped to a few preying on dead soldiers. Not wanting their comrades' bodies to be mauled more than they already were, they quickly shot the remaining insects.
Amokzalite stared furiously at the wreckage. Numa said the Republic had a few cages of those bugs, but he never expected them to have that many. Additionally, they were dispatched like some enraged war animals. It's a good thing the Terran soldiers' weapons are better than the Galactic standard, or they'd be wiped out completely.
Despite this, he had 4 killed and 3 wounded. He also had to leave a medic and a few guards to defend them while they retreated to the earlier FOB. In total, his unit would shrink by about 12 people. Still, they had a mission to complete and will continue to do so.
In the meantime, the Alpha team was moving through the tunnels and arrived at the site well ahead of time. Waiting just a few minutes ahead of schedule to arrive at the same time as the main group. When the time finally came, the soldiers made their way through the tunnel, where there were dozens of cells. In one of them, they found a droid, but quickly shot it. They finally reached the square and took up positions, waiting for a sign that the attack had begun.
As soon as an hour had passed, Amokzalite ordered his men to attack, quickly executing several droids. In the next few seconds, the shock effect wore off completely, and the droids began marching toward them. Several soldiers were hit, but thanks to the shields, they were unharmed.
But then the TX-20 used its tank to destroy a piece of cover the Terrans were hiding behind, injuring 2 of them. Seeing that the enemy had gained fire and numerical superiority, Amokzalite ordered a retreat. TX-20 learned the map of the city in advance and sent several teams of droids to block any escape routes while he personally led the largest group with his tank to destroy the Terrans.
Then the Alpha team launched an attack from the rear. The few droids left to guard the prisoners fell within seconds, and half of the soldiers began freeing the civilians, while the other half quickly destroyed the gun crews before destroying the command consoles to render them useless.
As soon as the TX-20 realized what was going on, he wanted to take his tank and blow up those Terrans. Or at least that's what he was trying to do before two EMP rounds from Husmol and Senhecuc. Without the tank, the Terrans quickly began eliminating the remaining droids with lethal efficiency learned from years of training and service.
Over the next hour, the Twi'leks began methodically eliminating the droids in the city. With no tactical droid to lead them, the smaller squads that had to make the encirclement stood their ground and were quickly eliminated one by one.
At that time, the transports of the 138th division began to enter the atmosphere in the glow of the setting sun. The excited citizens of the city thanked their liberators after the battle was over and wished the rest of the Terran forces good luck. The Republic/Corporate occupation of this city is over, and with any luck, it will soon be all over the planet.
[1]Saberfish from Gundam.
[2]Pelicans from Halo