This choice: Or maybe something else? • Go Back...Chapter #5Tank troubles. by: Barlen   Anakin, his Padawan Ahsoka, his former Master Obi-wan and the squad of clone commandos behind them all stare in awe at the sight before them: a separatist droid factory they had been sent to destroy.
The factory in question was supposed to still be under construction, built on a nameless, untamed, yet mineral rich world in the Outer Rim in an uncharted system that only had a string of numbers for a name, a great hiding spot. At the moment it was supposed to only have the infrastructure up and running to build cheap, simple B1 droids (and even then only at fraction of the output it would be capable of completed) and just basic defenses up- enough to keep the local wild life and any nosey drifters at bay, but not much else.
In other words, a big juicy, lightly defended target. One that would, if left alone to be completed and expanded, would extend and possibly change the tide of the war. It’s only real defense It’s aforementioned remote location, which was kept secret until a captured separatist general, a trade prince from one of the wealthier families funding the war, gave it up in exchange for a more comfortable stay in prison and pardon at the end of the war. Hence only the small experienced strike team of two Jedi, and Delta Squad (and a Padawan still new enough that she still squeaked) to blow it up.
Of course, as fate often dictates for these people in particular, things were not to be so easy. Instead it looked like they were lied to about it’s defenses which were far, far more than deadly than what they were told... or rather they were before someone or something took a sledgehammer to the place!
Anakin whistles as he surveys the mechanical carnage: busted clankers everywhere, and not just B1s, there was also loads of supers and droidekas, enough that they would be scary... if they weren’t already among the “violently dismantled”. In fact judging by all the equally busted towers and gun emplacements, it looked like the place was a lot better defended than the good prince had said it was.
Anakin briefly wonders weather their informant lied to them or was intentionally misinformed- he was a pretty lousy general, as most princes with wealthy families looking to have some “fun” with a droid army tend to be, but shrugged it off as a moot point, unless this was a trick, it was the truth now.
“Wow... who, or what, did all this?” Ahsoka asked, flabbergasted at the destruction.
“Good question! Part of me wants to thank them for doing our job for us, the other part of me wants to yell at them robbing us of all our fun.” Delta-62, aka “Scorch”, the demolitionist of delta squad remarked, before forlornly pulling out a satchel charge. “I was looking forward to blowing this place up!”
“Cheer up Scorch, they might have left some of the assembly line intact.” Delta-38, or “Boss” the leader of delta squad says, patting Scorch on the shoulder. “After all, we’ve got to make sure this place is a complete write off.“
“Fingers crossed!”
Anakin chuckles and shakes his head as the group walks out of the forest hiding them and onto the factory grounds proper, he’s liking this group of clones already, it’s a shame they haven’t been together on any missions before.
Their journey is uneventful, aside from one not quite dead defense turret that turns on and targets them- only to spark and pop off it’s mounting with a small bang, and roll away, smoking. Anakin takes a whiff as it rolls past and crinkles his nose, smells just like that capacitor C-3PO blew when he first tried to power him up years ago as a kid- if he had to guess, whatever hit the place must have damaged the power supply and when it tried to charge it’s guns... bang!
The procession stops when they round the corner and reach the main gate, which has been smashed through... from inside the plant, and leading out from the mangled blast door is a pair of very big tracks, left by a very big set of treads.
“Well, that’s ominous.” Quips Obi-wan.
“I’m betting it was some sort of new ultimate battle droid that went nuts and started shooting everything the second it booted up.” Scorch offers.
Boss just shakes his head. “That’s too good a bet.” This gets nods from everyone.
The group follows the tread marks to where they stop, then look around. There’s there no sign of what made them... but the spot lines up with several huge holes burned straight through several of the now very defunct turbo cannon towers... and in a circle all around the spot are a staggering number of tiny craters from missed/deflected turbo cannon shots and blaster bolts...
“No sign of whatever did all this, and there’s no more tracks in the mud, so whatever it is, it can either fly, or it’s back in the plant... or both.” The young Padawan says, staring at the ruined blast door, and gulping nervously.
“All in favor of going back to the ship and glassing the place from orbit?” Scorch says, volunteering both his suggestion and hand. Asoka’s hand immediately joins his, however the other, less humor prone clones simply check their blasters grimly, and Obi-wan and Skywalker share a look, before taking a moment to focus on the force...
They both take deep calming breaths, and listen. The force is mostly calm out here... aside from a very obvious echo of the battle can be seen and felt, even by those without the gift to do so. They both let it in and see a massive tank simply plow through the blast door, slowing to a stop where they now stand... the war machine is like nothing either have seen before.
It’s huge, advanced looking with sharp angles and glowing components to be seen in the gaps of its armor plating. It moves on four tread pods with guns mounted on their tops and sides, while the front has a thickly armored prow. As for the tank’s turret it has a huge pair of what appear to be glowing plasma cannons as it’s main gun battery, while on the top of it a turret appears to be two pairs of missile batteries and a small port in the behind the hatch that starts popping out drones. Finally the rear end of the vehicle has vents on top constantly emitting heat, and a pair of boosters below them.
The echo continues with all the droids and defenses that had, up to this point, been focused on the factory entrance in anticipation of the vehicle’s exit, opening fire! However it’s no use as a large hexagonal energy shield immediately springs up around the tank, completely protecting the it and it’s minions from the withering barrage. Protection in place, the tank and the drone promptly fire back, to far more devastating effect! Their guns quickly and efficiently target and fry the droids, mowing down even the shielded droidekas! While the smaller guns handle the droids the tank’s main guns and missiles go to town on the cannons, it’s barrels letting loose an ominous whine as they glow brighter and expand, before collapsing down again and letting loose a thunderous thick blue stream of plasma with a loud THOOOOM!!! Putting the massive holes they’ve already seen in the towers here in the present. As for the missile pods, they don’t appear to be full of solid ordnance, as they appear to be guns when they open up that fire glowing orbs that home in on targets and explode!
In less than two minutes every bit of separatist tech outside is steaming scrap metal and all the local wildlife has hauled ass far, far away from the very one sided and noisy battleground. The tank then stows it’s weapons and trundles back inside the factory, swarm of drones in tow. And with that the vision of the recent past ends and as it does both Anakin and Obi-wan blatantly realize they could feel something very important flowing through the monstrous machine in the echo: the force! It didn’t seem to be aligned to one side or the other, but the sense of the force was strong with it, empowering it, not quite like anything either Jedi had felt before, save for the crystals in their lightsabers, and even then to far greater effect.
The two share a look, before reaching out with their senses into the factory and then down past it... finally both sense the tank, force still flowing through it, though it’s apparently at rest. They can also feel something else... some sort of structure deep under the factory. It feels... ancient like the Jedi temple, but far, far older.
“It’s still in there, deep underground... I think.”
“Sir?” Fixer, or Delta-40 asks.
“We can... “see” a very recent memory of what happened here...” Anakin explains, telling the clones and his Padawan the vision and as he does he can feel anxiety build in all present... even the commander, not that he lets it show.
Boss hums to himself for a moment before saying: “Look like the septs dug too deep and payed the price... Still we need to at least look and make sure this whole factory is destroyed inside... Master Jedi, you said you can feel the “tank”, and something else?
Obi-wan nods. “Yes, I’m not sure how but the force flows through it and the large structure it seems to be protecting, we should be able to sense it if starts moving and make a run for it. More than that, I’d like to get a look at whatever it’s guarding, assuming it doesn’t take offense to our presence.”
“Uhh, are you sure that‘s a good idea?” Anakin asks, more than a bit incredulous.
The Jedi master takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “No not really, but if we go back without poking around someone else will get sent back here to check. Besides this our job anyways.”
Without any other argument besides: “this is a dumb idea!” the group enters the facility... and several minutes later find themselves cornered by the tank, and it’s friends. Said friends:   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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