"Go behind enemy lines,'' they said. It'll be a quick op! they said." groveled Deuce as he kept watch through the sights of his DC-15. Down below he could see Krest and the rest of the second team moving along the outer perimeter walls of Sylas base. Thankfully for them, the lack of lights left the empty dorms and factory buildings of the surrounding area in total darkness as night fell.
"Anything on the scope?" came Krest's voice through his helmet comm.
"All clear right now boss," Deuce replied, scanning the entire base for signs of enemy activity. "You're clear to move."
"Copy that, movin' in." Krest acknowledged.
"All clear on the north end," said Sharpshot, the other sharpshooter that was stationed with Deuce to keep overwatch. Sharpshot crouched next to Deuce began scanning the area as well. "The General's team will meet up with the Captain shortly.
"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be back at your spot? Ya' know covering the General?" Deuce asked, glancing away from his rifle over at Sharpshot.
"Eh, it's all clear. Plus I thought you'd like an actual sharpshooter to look over your post and make sure you don't miss anything." Sharpshot teased.
Deuce groaned in annoyance, "Ugh, whatever. You know even if-"
"Wait-wait-wait, you see that?" Sharpshot interrupted, focusing his sights on a group of red blips sticking out of the ground.
"See what?" Deuce asked, scanning the area with his rifle.
"Two-thirty-two west, look at those red lights," Sharpshot instructed.
Deuce zoomed in on the red lights and inspected them. "Wait a sec..."
"Those are LR-57 antennae!" Deuce said, calling Krest on his comm. "Captain! Be very careful!"
"Wait, why?" Krest replied. "What's going on troo-WOOAH"
Through his scope, Krest could see the ground underneath the team begin to upheave as Krest and his men triggered the antennae and the hulking LR-57s rose up from under the surface and turned their attention towards Krest's team.
"DEUCE! WHAT THE HELL ARE THESE THINGS?" Krest shouted into his comm.
"LR-57 combat droids! Seppies must've set them up to trap any returning troops!" Deuce informed, taking a shot at one of the droids. The shot merely bounced off the droid's cylindrical hull.
"You gotta aim for their sensor eye!" cried Sharpshot. "A direct hit'll knock em out!"
"Copy that!" Krest replied, "Oh, and feel free to help out anytime!"
"Copy that," Deuce acknowledged focusing his sights on the sensor eye of one of the droids before squeezing the trigger. The shot pierced straight through and the droid spasmed seized before collapsing in a pile of dead metal.
"Look at you!" Sharpshot laughed, firing a shot. "Maybe you can shoot worth a damn!"
"Stuff it!" Deuce said taking another shot that bounced narrowly missed the droids sensor and struck his hull.
"Or maybe not!" Sharpshot laughed harder, getting to his feet. "I'm goin' back to cover the General. If those things are around they've got to be all over the base!"
"How're you doin' down there sir?" Deuce called out to Krest.
***
"These walkin' trash cans have us pinned!" Krest shouted into his comm as he fired a volley from his pistols into one of the droids' faces before rolling behind cover as it opened fire on him. "Leadfoot! Get the array powered up, we'll cover you!"
"Consider it done!" Leadfoot nodded, running over to the array's power switch.
"Everyone to defensive positions! We need to buy Leadfoot time to get the array back up!" Krest said tuning his comm to contact Skitarr. "General we've-"
"Droids! We've encountered them as well!" Skitarr shouted. "We've got several casualties, I'm going to try and make a run for your position!"
"Uh Boss, I've got some bad news. Looks like your little firefight didn't go unnoticed. We've our scopes on a whole mess 'a clankers marching toward you. Get that message out and get outta there!" Deuce cut in.
"Copy that, don't hesitate to pick 'em off. If your position gets compromised, fall back to HQ!" Krest instructed.
"Sir-"
"That's an order Deuce! If you can't hold out, fall back to HQ!" Krest shouted into his comm. "Leadfoot! Where are we on that array?!"
"I'm workin' dammit! Clankers pretty much melted the power converter! It'll take some time but I might be able to get it fixed!" Leadfoot replied trying to make sense of the mess that is now the power converter.
"Well, time is one thing we ain't got! Now get those hands workin' before we're all dead!" Fodder shouted.
"Captain! Send a runner to call in the reinforcement squad! We'll need backup to deal!" Skitarr said.
"Wait, General! We've almost got it!" Krest retorted. "Dig in, and hold your position."
"Fine," Skitarr said reluctantly
Krest fired another volley, but in the dark without any night vision, Krest's aim was lackluster. The droids began to close in all around them as they kept up the intense fire.
"Droid poppers! Who's go-AACK! " Krest was blown off his feet as a high powered blast landed near them, taking out several troopers along with him.
"LEADFOOT WHAT'S THE HOLDUP?" Krest shouted, getting to his feet.
"Let's hope this works!" Leadfoot said, cautiously hitting the power switch on the power converter. The converter sparked and sizzled with blue arcs of electricity. Leadfoot's hopes of success waned as the converter continued to struggle and sputter. "No, no, no, come on ya' piece a' scrap metal! Work with me here!"
Krest dodged another incoming blast, grabbing a hold of a wounded trooper and pulling him to safety. "What's going on over there?"
"There's too much power comin' in! The converter isn't working fast enough and the damn thing's gonna overload!" Leadfoot began adjusting valves and meters in a desperate attempt to regulate the incoming power. The converter continued to strain and groan as it desperately tried to handle the influx of power. In a bout of frustration Leadfoot--using the stock of his DC-15--hit the side of the converter as hard as he could which miraculously got the converter up to speed. The converter ceased its sputtering and shifted to a steady low hum, prompting Leadfoot to shout in triumph "HAHA! I've got it-ACK!"
"LEADFOOT!" Fodder cried.
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Krest | A Star Wars Story
FanfictionCaptain Krest was your typical Clone officer. He led his men in the 76th Defense Corps with distinction and made it his duty to make sure they lived up to their reputation. Krest and his men however grew accustomed to fighting without the guidance...
