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When You Give a Man Power
Chapter 50
“Move! Everyone to your battle stations!” One of the many squad commanders appointed by Jango to delegate orders yelled out, ordering everyone into position.
I was atop one of many taller buildings with my ion cannon aimed and waiting for the AATs to come rolling through that shield. Several others were atop the various buildings tall enough to give us enough sight over the walls while keeping us out of the thick of it.
“Bet I can get more kills than you Bane,” I said over our voice channel.
I got a snort in reply. “In your dreams Corvo.” He deadpanned.
“Alright well I will be keeping tabs on how many I manage to take down. The man with the most kills gets all the booze he could want for a night. Bet?”
A moment of silence fell over us as I adjusted the scope, giving me a picture-perfect view of the numerous droid drop ships unloading the battle droids as they marched in formations all grouped nice and tight.
The droid's tanks hovered among the hordes of droids. It was an intimidating sight. I couldn't deny that much. An army fearlessly marching towards us with endless numbers. They were like ants completely ignoring the blaster cannons on the walls that had managed to be salvaged after we took the city. There weren’t nearly as many as before but I would take anything by this point.
Clusters of droids were dismantled and tossed aside by the cannon fire, but the droids simply marched on, uncaring. My keen eyes even noticed various Republic forces amidst the ranks of the droids. There were even my old power armor designs made into droids.
The things marched alongside everything else all but drowning the ground from view like a tide of army ants set to invade and destroy all in their path.
Everyone was set up at key choke points along the various gates that led into the city. Speeders that had been scrapped for parts, furniture, or even pieces of metal had been set up at the points to reinforce and make the choke points narrower.
The droids had already passed the shields with many of the various pirates, smugglers, and bounty hunters opening fire across the city. Droids dropped like flies each blaster or ion shot took them down easily yet for as flimsy as these things were it didn’t matter.
They were mass-produced garbage but it was mass-produced garbage that could overwhelm anyone or anything should they not be taken seriously. The red and blue glow of our forces’ shots zipped to and fro across the battlefield as the droids opened fire back. None of their blasters hit anyone yet.
They were like a line of musket men using their numbers to make up for their poor accuracy. Add enough guns and bodies and you would be bound to hit something eventually.
The droids were nigh endless with them just pouring in. The droids themselves as we had anticipated were supposed to be the vanguard with the tanks hovering in their main cannons primed and ready to tear down the gates.
When the tanks passed the shield I opened fire. My shot had long since been lined up with my target. The blue bolt struck true hitting the lower portion near the repulsor lift the tank used for mobility. Even after all this time the Trade Federation hadn’t fixed the weaknesses of their tanks and various forces.
The ion charge sparked blue tongues of electricity that surged wrapping around the tank like burning serpents before it fell barrel-first into the ground, the hum of its power fading away. Various droids around it were shoved down and crushed under it with the others following my lead shooting the tanks down.
Some hit their mark and others whiffed with droids near the tanks sparking before falling over smoking. The surviving tanks turned to open fire on either the gate or the various posts we had set up. Taking my cannon after it cooled down enough and charged up another shot, I took out one of the tanks aiming for a crew on a tower not far from me.
The shot was timed just right when the tank was about to shoot, instead, it spun out of control, the cannon spun and fired its payload right into the side of another tank about to shoot through the gateway. Fire bloomed along the molten metal that acted as shrapnel embedding itself in and tearing down any droids close to the explosion.
I turned towards the crew who let out a collective breath of relief looking in my direction before I spoke into our collective group call. “Next time don’t miss. Every shot counts especially when all of our lives are on the line. Understood?”
They all nodded at me giving looks of respect as their backs turned ramrod straight. They redoubled their efforts making sure not to miss again.
Their shots along with the others who had missed became better but they still missed some shots on occasion. Life or death situation aside they were using unfamiliar weapons that were bigger and heavier than what they were used to.
We managed to keep the tanks at bay for a time with the dismantled ones acting as roadblocks before the rest of the tanks just fired on the remains, destroying them and rushing in all at once. Too many for us to take down, they opened fire on the gates.
The durasteel withstood a few shots as the metal glowed and had scorch marks across it. The barrage continued while we returned fire, the tanks now ignoring us while we poured everything we had to take as many down as we could.
“The gate is coming down and we can't hold them. Everyone tried to take as many tanks down as they could. Even if it’s just one per squad, that's at least a few less tanks we have to fight on the streets!” I roared over the blaster fire into the comms.
The various squads heard me loud and clear doing their best to try and take as many as they could down. The gate didn’t last long before the durasteel doors had been blown open with a gaping molten hole with a horde of battle droids swarming into.
The instant the droids entered through it they were scrapped by several heavy rotary blaster cannons I had modified used by groups who had created fortified walls to hide behind on the streets. The droids were destroyed by the dozens in a matter of seconds yet it wasn’t enough.
Turning my ion cannon and taking out another tank before one of them aimed right for me, the tanks now aiming higher up with the gate being taken care of.
“Oh shit! Everyone get down and get to the fallback points.” I dived off my perch just in time.
A red bolt struck the tower destroying it, sending smoke, fire, and debris raining down below. Tossing my ion cannon with it being too heavy to a nearby rooftop banging against the roof and sliding along it before I landed right after it.
The tanks opened fire on the various positions the squads were perched at but to my relief, they had heeded my words and had immediately left those positions behind. Looking down at my ion cannon seeing it was damaged but it could do one last thing for me.
A few quick tugs of some wires in its internals began to create a loud ear ear-piercing squeal. Picking up the cannon that was beginning to spark and smoke ominously I spun once, twice, three times before tossing it up and over the wall where the tanks had been.
A bright blue glow was followed by a deafening explosion that sounded like thunder. All the cannon fire from the tanks had stopped from that side for a moment. A feral smile was on my face nodding to myself before running when more cannon fire came.
Running and jumping over various rooftops avoiding the artillery from the tanks which was decimating the various tall buildings that gave us a vantage point across the city. The droids themselves couldn’t have been intelligent enough to do that…
My form rushed along like the wind had come to life. A leap to another building, grabbing a pipe to the side swinging off of it changing my angle while maintaining momentum.
With a thud several figures worse for wear raised their blasters only to pause seeing it was me. “Alright, people take up positions! And you four,” I point at four different squads, “If you survive this battle you need to work on your aim.”
They just stared at me wide-eyed, not even arguing or giving me glares. “Get to positions!” I yelled, repeating myself imitating my old boot camp drill sergeant.
They all ran to their positions taking cover near the edges of smaller buildings that would be harder targets for the tanks to hit over the wall. “This is suicide. We can’t win!” One of the grunts said loud enough for everyone to hear.
I paused and appeared right behind him. Hand on his shoulder I pinned him to a nearby wall. “We don’t need to win. We need to buy time. That means you take down as many droids, tanks, and even Jedi as you can. We are fighting to run away.” I jabbed my finger into his chest hard enough to make him wince.
“Do you got that?” I asked him and he just shook his head. “Good.” I turned to look at the others who watched us. “Eyes on the street below. Those blasters aren’t going to hold forever.”
They all followed my orders, all of them watching the streets below as Bossk’s entrenched squads went to town holding and even pushing the droids back several times. The tanks even had to blast the remains of the fallen droids that had clogged the hole multiple times.
Eventually, the droids coming through the now bigger hole managed to land a few shots, winging two and killing one of the makeshift turret gunners. I watched as the ground squads missing one rotary blaster had created a big enough void for the droids to now form up and march through the street gaining ground.
Enough so the various fighters below us had to make a tactical retreat tossing grenades and explosives into the oncoming metal tide. I could hear the hearts of those around me like they were machine guns as they watched on in horror.
“Hold…” I said loud enough for them to hear me.
They gulped. One squeezed his blaster's handle hard enough that his gloves creaked and strained. Another whispered a prayer in a foreign alien language I didn’t understand. They all did as told. No one even made an attempt to pull the trigger too early.
“Hold,” I said it again when the droids marching reached us up here as the machine army marched on. They tensed up some wanting to run and I glared down at those who thought to break formation. A good long hard look was enough to make them hold their position.
Others tensed up but followed their orders. The tension grew, becoming nearly stifling for the people around me. Yet I was unfazed. I had been through worse if not just as bad seemingly hopeless situations.
Yet I survived and beat the odds. This was no different. The droids marched on walking past several small metal objects that stuck out oddly but they didn’t even bother looking at them.
Pulling out a detonator that had a series of buttons on it. A press of one had some of the pulse mines go off with forked tongues of electricity snaking their way up the droid's bodies. They spasmed in place before slumping over or falling to the ground.
What had to have been several hundred battle droids were now taken out with a click of a button. The various criminals all let out a collective sigh of relief before they tensed again when more marching greeted our ears.
More blaster fire followed through the hole, the droids shooting at those who had fallen back to their fallback points before they opened fire again. The droids were once more pushed back and couldn’t get anything through the gaping hole.
That was until the destruction of a nearby turbo laser emplacement on the wall got blown up in the distance with a series of bangs that had me wince.
“Ground forces pull back. The tanks have your position and will be firing on you.” I didn’t know what the tanks were doing but I wasn’t taking any chances.
So far the droids have been the only things coming through the breach. But they have been smart about what they are doing. Smarter than they should have been. They tended to have a single-minded determination that followed simple orders without questioning them or finding alternative methods of achieving them.
But they weren’t doing that here. The ground squads despite not falling under my command did as ordered and fell back shooting into the tide of droids that poured out of the hole once more.
Everyone on the rooftops looked up at the orange streaks coming down. They were like arrows or javelins tossed high into the sky kissing the system's star before streaking down in fire as the missiles landed in the nearby street where they had been positioned.
“Move!” I yelled out moving back while tossing a few people who were in arm's reach away from the stray missiles. Most of them had enough sense to run and leap aside the missiles impacting and destroying the surrounding rooftops. Time around me slowed before I pulled out my DL-44 and fired at several missiles that would have killed several other groups.
Each blaster shot prematurely blew up each missile before they could get too close. The people stared up in horror, their expressions slowly shifting from calm acceptance to confusion before the visible wave of force from the explosion slowly formed, quickly growing in size knocking them back as the fire briefly illuminated the darkness of the city with the clouds above getting thicker and darker.
Fire and smoke made me cough when I breathed it in while looking around surveying the damage. Several buildings had completely collapsed with the few squads on them dead as I saw the occasional limb sticking out of the rubble.
Looking around some were torn to pieces from the explosion, their limbs and body parts charred black falling from the sky or lying near me and others. The survivors got up looking shellshocked before they watched me move forward.
Seeing I was still alive and ready to fight they grabbed their weapons despite the tremors that ran up their hands like a junkie going through withdrawals. I didn’t hold it against them. Before all of this and everything my past lives had gone through, I would be petrified. Not enough to run but enough to know it wouldn’t end well for me.
Looking down into the streets seeing the horde of droids marching down it. I know they were just machines but a part of me acknowledged the fear and dread at seeing an enemy march forward uncaring if they die or not. They walked over or bashed down any defensive barriers that were left standing which weren’t many.
Surveying what I could of the ground and seeing only a few pulse mines had survived the barrage. Taking the detonator before addressing the gathered survivors.
“Get some distance they are going to be firing more missiles and artillery this way. Harass them but do not engage in a prolonged fight with them. Use hit and run tactics and flank whenever you get the chance.” Those near me nodded despite the looks on their faces telling me they would have preferred to be anywhere but here.
The others over the comms acknowledged the orders with various groups running and leaping from roof to roof. Clicking another button, what's left of the mines went off destroying all the droids that marched into the street yet again.
Like last time more missiles came from above any that got close to me and the various squads under my command were swiftly shot out of the sky before they got a chance to get close to anything. Fire and shrapnel rained out of the blackened sky as I leaped from the rooftop.
It all just rushed by me as one moment I was gunning down hordes of droids along the other streets they managed to force their way onto the next I was tossing pulse grenades at some tanks with such accuracy and finesse Koby would be proud.
I was anywhere they needed me while giving orders to those under my command in areas that sorely needed the droids harassed. I was in charge of light assault operations. They needed droids flanked and picked apart? Then we are the ones to go to.
The things were relentless. Even with me clearing smaller streets all on my own with my count already reaching over a thousand more just kept pouring in.
The plan Jango had given everyone was that our task was to slow them down as much as possible while those mechanically inclined worked on my ship getting it fixed and ready to leave the system. I could have helped with that but Jango also knew that I was even more capable of handling the droids and helping delegate his orders while keeping things from unraveling.
Or unraveling not as fast. I couldn’t be everywhere at once despite easily handling hordes of the droids but even I would begin to grow tired doing this for several hours.
The others were doing alright considering what we were up against but they couldn’t keep the tide of rising metal from flooding the streets. Case in point the retreating bounty hunters who fired grenades from my grenade launchers at the swarm of droids.
The first wave of them was destroyed in a wave of flame and shrapnel before a giant form walked through the flame blaster cannon aimed and firing at them.
Before it could hit any of them I took my collapsible bow, took a trick arrow, and let it fly free. The arrow hit the mark in one of its photoreceptors piercing it before a current of electricity ran through its internals. The hulking behemoth twitched and spasmed before it fell over alongside the two behind it about to rain hell upon the guys retreating.
They looked up, each waving at me before running off. The various battle droids opened fire on my position but I was already gone having dropped down to the street appearing in front of them. With a flex of my knees, I weaved through the droids my vibrosword drawn.
The droids fired anywhere and everywhere only shooting where I had been which may as well have been a small eternity since I was last there. In a matter of seconds, I had passed a half mile before jumping to the rooftops again. Didn’t even bother to turn around as the various droids had stopped shooting before they all toppled over and were sliced to pieces.
“Jango, how are things going with my ship? Cause whatever the crews are doing they need to work faster because everyone is getting overwhelmed.” I asked him hoping for some good news.
I know I could survive this. If it came down to it I could fight my way through the droids, get into the wilderness, and hide out there for a long time until they stopped searching and found a ship to get off-world.
But I’m not leaving the others. Not Jango or Bane nor the various criminals that are fighting for their lives. It’s an easy thing to think about leaving people to die, it’s another thing entirely to be presented with the choice and go through with it without any hesitation or guilt over what you are about to do.
“They are getting their Corvo, your droids are being dispatched to help keep the enemy back and reinforcements are on their way,” Jango responded quickly and succinctly. Despite hearing blaster fire in the background he was pretty chill when he was talking to me.
Just as the man had said the familiar sound of rotary weapons winding up before the bright red glare across several streets before it disappeared alongside the various metal steps of the droids marching into the city.
A part of me was ecstatic at the battle before me. The part of me that wanted to cut loose but I restrained it. Not yet. Deep down I knew that time was coming and soon. Despite the battle raging across the streets I knew deep down that even if they managed to get the ship fixed there was no way they were letting us fly out of here.
With the tactics the Republic and Trade Federation have used so far, it’s safe to say they have the planet surrounded from orbit. Anything that isn’t one of their ships isn’t getting in or out.
An explosion had me leaping across several buildings almost gliding like a ghost in the night seeing Bane alongside several others pushing back against the tide of droids.
Taking my blaster pistol and firing several shots each hitting several dozen droids. Bane whirled around with a blaster aimed at me but he paused before giving me a grunt.
“I count one thousand seven hundred and thirty-six droids, Bane. What’s your count?” I give him a smug smile.
He glowered before smiling back. “Your mines and explosives don’t count.” He said back as if he had won the argument yet I didn’t fail to notice he didn’t list off his numbers.
“And yet I still have you beat. Better catch up or you're buying everyone drinks once this is done.” My smile was sickly sweet as Bane's eye twitched in agitation.
But the others around looked between the two of us before one of them nudged his friend. “Free booze?” He asked excitedly. His buddy nodded happily back.
I tried not to laugh when Bane looked ready to punch both of them and those around him were getting excited at the idea of free drinks. “Best of luck to you Bane… don’t go dying on me since I don’t have anyone else that would be as satisfying to beat like you.”
Bane's smile turned a smidge more gentle, almost heartwarming even. He nodded back with a tip of his hat. “Same goes for you, Corvo. Not until I beat you once and for all.”
I quickly left their group behind backing up either my own squads when they faced too much opposition but couldn’t retreat or help any ground squads getting overwhelmed. It was a madhouse set on fire and the fire was just spreading despite everyone’s best efforts to contain it.
Yet a growing excitement that was as much dread was that they had fought nothing but droids this entire time. No flesh and blood troopers or Jedi. That darker part relished in the carnage around me yet another part was concerned about the others. Not just Jango and Bane but the grunts under their command.
Not all of them deserved to die like this. It’s a given they all have done some messed-up things, others more than the rest but even then it was for survival. Some might be monsters but not the majority. A case of one's environment leading them to make some desperate choices and do things most people wouldn’t do but would if placed in their shoes.
It’s something that has stuck with me back in my days being the general of the Minutemen and even before that in my time fighting against the Chinese. Even with the raiders some of them were not half-bad people, just being a raider for some of them was all they knew.
I cared for my people. It’s something I could never let go of. I closed my eyes, clearing my thoughts till it was only that dark part that relished in the conflict that was left. My heart hardened as it always had to be to ensure whatever needed to be done was brought to a conclusion.
Rushing down various buildings occasionally into the streets and alleys tearing through the droids like they were paper mache with my hands the things incapable of doing a thing even if they had me surrounded. Explosions came from each gateway into the major roads for the city lighting up the night sky in the distance across the city.
It would seem the tanks had finally decided to join the party. Weaving through the droids around me, easily destroying them, I lost count after five thousand had been dismantled by my hands.
I didn’t even bother drawing my vibrosword after first using it, realizing it would be best to save it for something far more dangerous and it would be pointless to use it on something that my hands and body could easily handle. That and I’d like to give Bane a chance in the competition since using a blaster for every single one just wasn’t fair for the man.
After all, it’s like I am making a five year old look bad in a shooting contest. It would also make it even more satisfying when I flexed on him that I mostly used my bare hands!
Leaping over a large gap across a bigger alley seeing three tanks moving along the street shooting at the few trying to hold them back. The crew about to use some missile launchers was blasted to pieces when one of the shots landed on them.
Those that were left were about to retreat but stopped when they saw me leap from a building and grab the front tank's cannon before it lurched its repulsors groaning under the newly added strain.
It veered off to the side despite my weight even with the equipment on me shouldn't be enough to make it do this. The tank neared a building I climbed up standing atop the barrel finding my balance maintaining it easily despite the speed and angle the tank was tilting towards.
With a bend in my knees followed by a flex, I landed atop the middle tank's canopy where the hatch was. Ignoring the previous tank and droids screaming in terror as they crashed into the building before it collapsed atop them.
Grenade in hand about to go down the hatch before I paused and leaped up and over the blaster cannon shot that impacted and blew out the back of the tank I was standing on. The tank backed away both side blaster cannons firing trying to hit me after rolling along the ground going into a full-on sprint.
The blasts tore out chunks of the duracrete but not a single one even came close to landing. The tank swerved and veered trying to get a bead on me but it was too late. Palming the grenade and tossing it at the main gun where it landed inside the barrel.
Already down an alley before the blast greeted my ears and back up to the rooftops. In the distance, I could see several of my squads firing down into a distant street trying to support other groups that were getting overwhelmed.
“Everyone fall back to the next position. Corvo and his group will begin the next stage.” Jango gave out his orders with everyone following them.
Everyone was worried and I couldn’t blame them. Even with me having dealt with so many droids it didn’t matter. There was a reason why people grew wary of Zerg rush tactics in RTS games. Why worry about making each unit exceptionally good when you can mass spam a bunch of cheap crappy units that could just overwhelm everything in the game?
The first stage was never intended to beat them or keep them out of the city. We all had unanimously agreed on that. It served the purpose of taking out some of the tanks making the fight further in the city easier.
That and taking out as many droids as we could but that was negligible with just how many they could field and unlike other battles according to Jango and Bane they have even more than they normally would have. Further driving home the point that this was a trap and they wanted us dead. Badly.
“Bossk, Cradossk, is it in place?” Jango asked on the comms line only those put in charge could hear.
“They are in place.” Cradossk hissed over the line chuckling ominously.
“Good. Corvo, begin the next phase while the others fall back.”
“Roger that.” I turned towards the others in the distance.
“Alright listen up and listen good. Our job right now is to slow down the enemy forces as much as possible. Unlike before we believe this time around they won’t just have those dumb as rocks droids marching in here but flesh and blood troopers who have some nasty combat experience when it comes to dealin’ with people like us.”
I prattled on giving my crew a fair warning of what was coming. Let it never be said I wasn’t honest with my troops. Just as I would prefer to know exactly what to expect even if I didn’t like it. It’s why I even bothered telling them in the first place. Well, that and the possibility it would help any who were foolish enough to believe nothing beyond a droid would be coming in.
But those types of people died off before they could make it to the city. No one that naive and foolish could survive up until this point.
“No one gets too entrenched in a fight. Hit’em hard and fast, no theatrics, get in, get out. That simple. Stick to the rooftops and alleys, and above all else stay with your squads.”
The people under my command nodded their heads before fanning out with their assigned groups. The droids marched unimpeded beyond a few traps from some regular explosive mines slowing them down if you could even call it that.
It was like the many droids destroyed didn’t even matter. Just a drop in the bucket. Except this time just as we all had assumed there are Republic troopers mixed into the crowds of battle droids.
They moved sticking to cover while keeping an eye on the tops of the buildings and the alleys. Looks like they knew enough to know what we would do. A snort escaped at the idea that would save them. One particular group was fending off my men so I stepped in to rectify the issue.
“You outer rim scum! You’ve lost just give-- huh?!” The man was yelling while shooting his rifle at my men above, keeping them pinned down, forcing them to retreat since it’s a waste of time trying to get them.
Just when he was about to lob a grenade up top I appeared right in front of him. One moment he was about to toss the grenade the next his head was twisted a hundred and eighty degrees his hand dropped the primed grenade.
Catching it and rushing towards his squad mates who fired in my direction. One was tossed into the four others with the grenade shoved down his throat where you could see the red glow and bulge of it coming from his neck. A rush of air and heat at my back with a lack of heartbeats told me they were dead.
Sidestepping and weaving through a wall of blaster fire taking apart the squad like a surgeon on an operating table. Two fingers into a man’s temple had him go glassy-eyed before slumping over. Another had his head decapitated by a knife-hand strike.
Two of them fired their rifles after a moment of hesitation but it faded away once they realized their comrades were already as good as dead. Rushing towards the two leaping with my body parallel to the ground.
Performing a corkscrew spin avoiding the shots and seamlessly pulling out my pistol shooting six shots total. The two firing abruptly stopped their bodies falling to the ground with the rest behind them slumped over steaming scorch marks either in their heads or where their hearts were.
On and on it went with my men and me doing everything we could rushing around the back lines of our enemies harassing them before leaving as quickly as we arrived. More troopers were becoming intermixed amongst the droids.
Taking care of a side street filled with droids and a handful of troopers with three of my subordinates. “We got’em! At this rate, we will be out of here and enjoying ourselves.” One of them beamed happily already imagining whatever delights he could.
“Save it Andron,” A female Rhodian interjected, giving him some stink eye, “We ain’t out of the thick of it yet.” She looked towards me to back her up.
“She’s not wrong. Wait…” I held a hand out silencing them as I heard something. I don’t know what it was but it was real. “We’re not alone.”
The others frowned, turning serious weapons raised and ready as rain began to fall further darkening the abyss above looking like a god's black tears with lightning and thunder crackling above as if they were demons anticipating a bountiful harvest this night.
The rain and lightning helped hide whatever made the noise as the few scattered droplets quickly turned into a downpour.
The others looked towards me questioning if I had truly heard something. A hand gesture and they followed their orders heads on a swivel. Then a cloaked figure appeared at the end of one of the alleys.
The cloak hid whoever was underneath it but the gathered criminals had seen enough or heard enough to know what they were. Just as I had watched plenty of movies and shows to know what I was looking at.
Then to my group's collective horror, several more figures appeared around us from the rooftops to other alleys flanking us. A collection of blue and green lights illuminated the night with the rain hissing against the azure and emerald beams.
