Legends of the Stars

Chapter 8: Awakening

Chapter 8

The Awakening

Revan and his platoon hid in a pass about a quarter-mile from the ruined city. One soldier kept watch of the enemy fortress from atop a cliff with high-tech binoculars, vigilantly looking for the signal to strike. Jesse and Kaylah stood tall with the rest of Revan's soldiers, but they all swam in a sea of fear and doubt.

Across the valley, Jaden ran to one of the Imperial watchtowers surrounding the wall. Reaching the base of it undetected, he took out his hookshot and aimed it at the top. Launching himself up to its perch, Jaden swiftly knocked out the guard from behind. Meanwhile, Astra and three more fighters used their hookshots to zip up the other four watchtowers. With the scope in his goggles, Jaden zoomed in on each of them as they took out the remaining guards.

These five Astreans shot themselves up the wall and took down the patrolling officers undetected. Jaden and Astra ran across the top until they reached the security station near the gate. The Ark Knight used a pulse bomb to blow the door open, alarming the two Centurions inside. Unfortunately for them, they couldn't see through the thick, blue haze pouring in. But before they could fire their machine guns, Jaden and Astra sliced the barrels with their swords before knocking them out. The Princess examined the control panel and found the neon, red switch for the front gate.

"There you are," she said.

* * *

Back outside, the rest of the assault team saw the large metal door slowly slide open. Knowing Astra had paved the way forward, Revan unsheathed his sword, pointed it towards the ruins, and shouted:

"For the glory of Astrelm!"

All the other soldiers let out their battle cries and rushed towards the base. The Imperials were put on high alert as the alarm roared throughout the fortress. Centurion guards rallied at the front gate and fired at the assault team Activating the generators on their wrists, the Astreans used their energy shields to block enemy bullets. They themselves used their pistols to shoot Imperials gunmen off the wall. Once the Astrean reached the edge of the base, both armies clashed in a massive wave of hand-to-hand combat. The Imperials fought against the insurgent with swords, spears, axes, guns, and even shock rods. While they were slightly outnumbered, the Astrean assault team was made up of the best fighters in the kingdom

Jesse cut a handful of Centurions down with his katana. Kaylah hurled her spear through one of them like a javelin. Running to retrieve her weapon, she continued slicing Imperial swordsmen with its silver edge. More Centurions came firing at them with assault rifles. Jesse shot them down with his dual pistols. He emptied both of his rifles and switched out his cylinders. He released another round of bullets on his enemies. He reloaded once more. The gunslinger repeated this cycle again and again as more Centurions came his way. While each sibling was fearsome enough by themselves, their combined strength had unleashed a whirlwind of havoc on the battlefield.

The sounds of clashing swords and fired guns faded as more Centurions fell to the Astreans. Some of these victors froze once they felt seismic tremors beneath their feet. For a moment, they thought an earthquake was shaking through the valley. But once they heard the hum of energy cores powering up from inside the base, they realized what those tremors really were: They were footsteps.

Four Imperials Titans marched out of the front gate and attacked the assault team. Half of them slammed their fists down on the fighters below. The other half fired lasers from their third eyes, bombing the field with a barrage of energy. These explosions sent soldiers screaming through the air. And their bodies burning into oblivion. With these metal beasts on the field, the Astreans were losing ground fast.