WotH-2 Chpt 2

==War on the Horizon - Chapter 2 / Book 2==
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===Trade Federation Assault===
Date: March 26, 3017/03.26.7956CRCLocation: Beloria, Independent world
Losk Shigro looked out at the vast array of droids and tanks that were lined up in the fields surrounding the mercenary's base. A sense of pride filled him as more landing craft landed and dispersed more and more droids to join the assault. This was the first test of the more 'independent' droid forces, and as such, he had one of the first production models of what was being called a 'tactical' droid.
 
"Have the cowards stepped outside of their shields yet?" Shigro turned to ask the Tactical droid that stood nearby. 
 
"Negative," the droid replied. "They have not left the safety of the base's shields."
 
After the local star began to set though, things began to go wrong. 
 
"Tactical Droid," Shigro peered through the Electrobinoculars that he had bought years ago. "Do you hear that whistling noise?"
 
Before the droid could answer, an explosion ripped the Neimoidian from his chair and threw him to the ground. The darkness was now illuminated by the destruction of the artillery pieces, the flames of ignited Tibanna Gas showed the wreckage of half of the artillery pieces that had landed. 
 
Then Shigro began to scream and cover his ears and head as the ground began to shake. A War Droid with blaster barrels for hands appeared out of the darkness, a searchlight on its shoulder shining a light on the remaining artillery pieces before it rotated and began to shoot ion cannons at the AATs that turned to face it, the assault tanks melting away and exploding as other war droids followed.
Even the smallest of them stood as tall as the nearby trees among the surrounding forests. The largest of them had a skull for a face, a glowing red eye gleaming before a red laser cut across the B1s that covered the fields.
 
The large one also had another trick, and a large bore weapon in its shoulder thundered, a slug the size of a hovercraft carving its way through several multiple troop transports.
 
But Shigro simply hid as the giant war droids decimated large swaths of his forces before vanishing into the night once again, the only sign that they had even been present was the scattered limbs and craters of destruction from the weapons they had used. 
 
With shaking hands, Shigro pulled himself out of the crater that he'd fallen into and looked around at what had once been a grand droid army.
 
"Sir, we must counterattack," the tactical droid crawled toward him, the head, an arm, and torso all that remained of the machine. "If we are to maintain operational control then you must give the order."
 
The Neimoidian shook as he tried to process. But he couldn't hear anything, there was a loud ringing in his ears, but nothing more. Eventually, the ringing slowed, and he could make out what was being told to him.
 
"Sir, your orders?" he heard, but when he tried to speak, nothing but air came out of his mouth.
 
So he breathed for a moment more before he tried again. 
 
"The Savages can have this world," Shigro finally climbed to his feet and surveyed the area. "Someone else can deal with these monsters."
 
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===Where Do you Need Us?===
"Damage report!" Sheppard's voice came over our secured comms, his Cyclops coordinating the entire operation.
"We've got some armor state red here. Those tanks hit harder than we expected," I responded. "A few weapons need to be replaced, but Alpha Battalion's still solid and able to fight."
 
(("Bravo's having to drag a few lighter forces back with 'em!")) Sheppard informed me over a private channel. (("Couple of Rookies and Regulars got cocky and we lost a couple of mediums to missile fire."))
 
"Which rally point do you want us at?" I asked. 
 
(("Beta. I want you at Beta. I have a feeling that things are only going to get worse from here."))
 
"They outnumber us more than a hundred to one," I replied. "If things only go well for us, then Murphy's got worse plans for us later."
 
I glanced at one of my displays to make sure that I was headed in the right direction before nodding to myself and switching my mic back on.
 
"Alpha's moving to Rally Point Beta. Let me know where you need us next."
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===Reasons for a tactical retreat===
The local star peeked over the horizon, the light shining down on what had been a hellish battlefield during the night and revealing that which had been hidden by the shadows.
 
There, on the plains that surrounded the Marksman Base, lay the remnants of a shattered force. Droid parts littered the fields and the artillery guns were all either aflame or destroyed. Craters deep enough to bury the droids were embedded in the ground next to the Trade Federation artillery pieces, and the few landing craft that had been on the ground were broken, their wings and repulsors damaged by the fighting.
 
Flames of Tibanna gas still burned wherever the storage had been ruptured, and the flattened heads of massive slugs were embedded into whatever it was that had finally stopped them.
 
By contrast, the Marksman base appeared pristine, with a shimmering translucent shield rising in a dome over the buildings.
 
"You mean to tell me, that you have fled at the sight of our objective?" Nep Valva, the head of this expedition glared at Losk Shigro. "You were given all of the tools needed for success and yet you have failed."
"They struck in the night, and took us entirely by surprise," Shigro shook his head, trying to get rid of the low buzzing noise that he could still hear. "They were outnumbered, but it did not matter, for they stood as tall as the trees around us, and destroyed much of what we deployed."
 
"Luckily for you," Valva sat down. "I believe in second chances. So you will have another opportunity to prove yourself. You have three days to consult our archives and figure out how to deal with these mercenaries. Then, you will execute your plan. And if it is not successful then the consequences will be fatal. You know just as well as I do that there can be no loose ends on this one."
 
"I will require a cruiser on standby for orbital fire support," Shigro looked at the image of the planet. "What were our orders involving the civilian population?"
 
"It is as I said before," Valva leaned forward. "We were told to leave no loose ends."
 
"Then I will complete my plans and consult with the tactical droid. He was able to analyze their attacks. Perhaps there will be more that he has for us to utilize against this foe."
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Chapter 2-2