Some time later.
After engaging the cloaking device on my gunship, Thire brought us back to the half-destroyed pod. Sparks could be seen flying. Thankfully all around us was just dirt, otherwise it'd probably start a fire. It was buried several feet into the ground. It wasn't looking good for these clones.
As the clones began to salvage what they could, we soon saw a gigantic shadow cast downward, causing us to look upward. Even I was taken aback, seeing this in person. This was one of the focal points of Star Wars in my opinion. The vast array of spacecrafts, armored vehicles, weapons, you name it. The series really did that justice, especially during the Clone Wars!
'Holy...', I inwardly thought, gulping at the size. You could string a hundred of my gunships together and it wouldn't even come close to the size of this thing. It was heavily armored, and served as a transport vessel. It could carry hundreds upon hundreds of troops, armored vehicles, you name it. The Separatists would send these spaceships out for planets they intend to conquer, or if they're under heavy fire from The Republic. Initially, it would make little sense as to why they would bring such a gigantic craft here when it's just the five of us for this little challenge. But as the saying goes, they're really bringing out the big guns so they can secure this victory.
Now that I'm thinking about it, I really do think I've been placed right at the start of the Clone Wars, the time should be 22 BBY. This ongoing situation is becoming more and more familiar to me. One of the big events to take place around this time is the kidnapping of Jabba the Hutt's son. And where we are right now, if the Republic does secure victory here as it did in the show, it will allow the Jedi to get a good foothold in the Outer Rim so they can start making deals with the Hutts.
I can probably take on some missions from Jabba personally too. His influence is one of the largest out of the entire Outer Rim. But there is a caveat to that. Jabba has quite the taste for women of different alien species. If I do enter that lion's den, I'll likely need to hide who I am. It's great that this helmet can mask my voice. While I wondered if this truly was the case here, I heard one of the three clones speak up, still mouth agape at the gigantic spaceship flying overhead. The clones had already introduced themselves to me. Thire, Jek, and Rys respectively.
"Did those Seppies seriously just bring in a C-9979 landing craft? There has to be a whole battalion of droids in that thing!", Rys said in disbelief.
"They're bringing out the big guns. I say we take some of our own.", Jek said, only to bring out a big Blast Cannon from the half-destroyed pod.
"Only carry what we must. Travel on foot, we will.", Yoda said, reminding the clones.
"Are you sure you're up for this challenge, Master Yoda? That's an entire battalion of those Clankers. I know a Jedi's strength is equivalent to a hundred of them, but we're still heavily outnumbered. We don't know who sent them here for that matter either.", Thire said, shaking his head.
"Likely Count Dooku, it is. Regardless, prevail, we will. The Outer Rim secured, it will be.", Yoda said, responding full of confidence. Was that just from his strength alone, or would that include the couple of clones and I beside him? But just this conversation alone did confirm one thing. We'll be going up against Battle Droids, the Separatist's specialty. That only provides further confirmation that I'm in the Clone Wars. Knowing that, I shifted my eyes toward the Lieutenant.
"How many droids are we talking about here? How many are in a battalion?", I asked. I may be a bounty hunter now, but I wasn't too big on military terms like the clones are used to speaking. I don't plan on joining any armies for that matter, either. As long as it's a contract to which Yoda affirmed by verbal, I'll be doing my own thing. I could potentially work for the Separatists too, depending on how things go from here. That's the beauty of treading the lines of light and dark.
"Five-hundred and seventy-six. And that doesn't include any Droidekas or Droid Officers that could come with 'em. I seriously hope it's just a B1 Battalion we're dealing with.", Thire said, answering me. A half a thousand droids, huh? That definitely is an insane number, seeing as we're just five. Droids aren't exactly the greatest in terms of combat power, but they swarm their enemies with sheer numbers alone. Regardless, I inwardly smiled in my helmet.
"I say we take the fight to them. You've got a hired hand with you now. I can take care of a lot of those droids myself.", I said with a reassuring voice. The clones halted once I said that.
"I like that confidence. What is it that you can do, exactly?", Thire questioned.
[Seeker Missiles and Super Missiles are now online.] Adam's voice suddenly spoke, causing me to smile even wider.
"How's the capacity?", I murmured softly but loud enough for Adam to hear it. Each game treated ammo differently. I was pleasantly surprised seeing how many missiles I could store.
[Two-hundred and seventy-five.] Adam answered. [And your Power Suit can self-replenish your missile count, over a period of time. Do not expect it to happen that frequently in the midst of combat. You'll need to find an opening to charge them. Consider this another new feature of your Power Suit. I am doubtful we'll come across a single Recharge Station. I was able to do this by converting your excess Energy Tanks. Do keep in mind your Power Suit will also generate power idlily too.] Adam continued, shedding some light on another new feature.
First a universal translator, and now, an automatic missile replenisher? How thoughtful, Adam. I can't exactly use Energy Tanks out here in the real world, so Adam was able to take that excess energy and convert it into an ability I could actually use, making my firepower that much more deadly. I'll need to keep my body in check, as if I sustain injuries, they'll hurt.
Seeing this change, I smiled again, and looked at Thire through my helmet.
"You all might want to step back a little.", I suggested.
"A live demonstration, huh? That works. That way, we'll know what we're working with.", Thire responded with a nod.
A hot wind stirred around some coral dust in the air, swirling around as the clones parted some distance from me. I didn't have to pick any particular direction, as long as it didn't directly hit the crashed pod or my cloaked gunship. The three clones' rifles were lowered, but their position remained wary. Alert. They had survived the crash here onto Rugosa, and they were about to assess the strength of an unknown bounty hunter. Surely nothing can go wrong, right?
"Keep your eyes on the coral tips, guys.", I said, drawing my line of fire. As I did, I let Samus's memories flash through me, ones that showed me how to use this Power Beam. It wasn't the Power Beam I would be testing here. Adam unlocked Seeker Missiles and Super Missiles. That's the firepower I was looking for right now. It was as if it came naturally. The blood flowing through my veins, and anticipation soared. Kneeling down a bit, I took aim, and allowed the Power Suit to do its thing. Five icons beeped in my visor in succession, locking onto five of the targeted coral tree. Whooooosh!
Five missiles shot out, creating a spiral. It arched high, firing away like igniting some fireworks into the air. They shot out quickly, and flew around in random directions at the beginning. Yet as if acting on their own, they split midair and began homing onto each of the five tips that they locked onto. BOOOM!
Explosions flared across the coral tree. The coral itself split apart, flinging debris in all directions. The Seeker Missiles even cracked the tree down the middle. It still stood in place. Yoda remained silent, but he was assessing the ongoing demonstration in his thoughts.
"Most impressive. I didn't think that arm of yours would be a walking grenade launcher. Should do well against those Clankers.", Thire said, amused by the first attack.
"That's just the beginning. The real show's about to begin. I need to focus for this one. I'd stay back.", I responded, becoming more serious. I don't know how much a Super Missile will do. The normal missiles seem to have enough power that is equivalent to a clone's RPS-6. Would a Super Missile be five times that, seeing as it requires five missiles to launch it?
I was about to find out.
I smiled again. This time, I was in a full kneeling position. I rested my left arm on my Power Beam. Its internal plates began to shift, emitting an electronic hum. A green glow began to swirl around the Power Beam, gathering at the tip. That was the cool thing about Samus's Power Beam. Most attacks that came out of here had a color that signified what it did. Green was the use of Super Missiles. WHOOOOSH!
With a much more powerful force, the single Super Missile launched out like a small meteor. It left a white-hot contrail. BOOOOOM! I aimed at the base of the coral tree. Initially, nothing happened. And then, a burst of plasma-lit shrapnel denoted from within the tree. The clones flinched, seeing the destruction a single Super Missile caused. It even began to ignite the remains of the coral tree on fire. A shockwave responded to it, being blasted in our direction. Even I was left agape. The clones had to duck to avoid the debris of the coral tree. Yoda erected a shield with the Force, blocking any incoming damage with a single wave of his arm.
"Holy shit.", Thire cursed. "Just what is that armor of yours made of!?"
"Trade secret. It's impolite to dig into a bounty hunter's past. I'm here now, and that's all that matters.", I replied, grinning. The coral tree was now entirely destroyed, leaving me satisfied. I wasn't sure about the durability of it, but just the sheer size of it was noteworthy. These coral trees were quite big.