Ahsoka was also getting a headache from the endless stream of reinforcements. Combat droids had practically filled the entire corridor. Stormtroopers hid behind them, firing frantically, completely blocking the path to the stairs. And the elevator was still bringing them up, batch by batch.
"We have to get to the next floor, quickly!" Ahsoka shouted to Veronica from behind cover.
"I know! 50 floors down!" Veronica took a small, spherical bomb from her backpack, closed her eyes, and threw it into the pile of droids. Following a beep, the bomb unleashed an invisible pulse. The clustered droids were all instantly paralyzed, collapsing to the ground in a heap of scrap metal. Some even began to burn. The lights in the corridor suddenly went out.
Veronica stood up from behind cover. Her left arm was already in attack mode. The cannon at its tip flared with a blinding white light.
"My turn! Haha!"
The concentrated explosive, meticulously crafted by Amir, was launched by a powerful force, flying with a tail flame toward the stormtrooper line at the far corner.
With a huge bang, scorching flames and the shockwave of the explosion rampaged through the narrow space.
All the stormtroopers in the blast radius were turned into human torches. But they wouldn't feel pain, because the impact had already stopped their brains from thinking. The few closest to the center were left as nothing but mangled limbs.
Seeing this, the group of Resistance fighters abandoned their cover and charged forward behind Ahsoka.
Having a Jedi in the team wasn't just for charging the enemy. Her greater role was blocking bullets!
Ahsoka, holding her two lightsabers, expertly used the defensive-focused Shien of Form V, deflecting all incoming blaster bolts.
The chance of the group behind her being hit was greatly reduced, and their suppressive fire became even fiercer. Especially Veronica; while her mechanical left arm's blaster unleashed a torrent, her right hand was also firing aimed shots with a blaster pistol.
The stormtroopers who had escaped the blast by being far from the corner didn't dare show their heads after a few failed attempts to counter-attack.
"Calling Fulcrum! Enemy reinforcements detected outside the atmosphere! It's the Target One cruiser!"
"What?!!" Ahsoka rushed forward, did an agile spin, and reverse-sliced a combat droid's torso. Despite her shock, she attacked calmly.
"How can it be such a coincidence?! We already cut their communications!" Ahsoka shouted.
"Confirmed, Fulcrum! Enemy support has arrived!" Another voice sounded in her comm. Ahsoka's face turned cold.
Gritting her teeth, Ahsoka quickly thought of a countermeasure.
This battle was predicated on the enemy cruiser being out of commission. Even at the fastest, based on Amir's description, that level of damage couldn't possibly be repaired by now!
"Take the first and second floors immediately! Move all the supplies from the warehouse!" Ahsoka's attack became frenzied. Like a beast, she charged straight into the enemy formation. Her lightsabers slashed up and down. Like a Valkyrie on the battlefield, for a moment, she was unstoppable.
Hearing that enemy reinforcements had arrived, the other Resistance fighters' eyes also turned red. They attacked even more fiercely. The enemy's defensive lines were broken, one after another. Soon, they reached the stairwell.
"Calling Fulcrum!" The message came again, this time with a hint of excitement. "The cruiser's underside is severely damaged! It's already begun experiencing localized explosions, and no fighters have launched... Wait! Only one ship is descending!"
Ahsoka breathed a sigh of relief. A single ship was no major threat.
She cut down the last stormtrooper and looked at the devastation around her with a "Hmph." The base's entire security force had probably been 80-90% wiped out by them. The remaining resistance was negligible.
"Everyone, start moving supplies to the ships! Veronica, you're with me!" Ahsoka ordered again.
These two floors stored a large amount of food, medicine, and equipment. Because moving them to the lower floors was too troublesome, the supplies were stored on the upper floors, closest to the hangar. The rest of the supplies were stored around the other hangar on Floor 101. They had scouted this beforehand.
Besides the rescue, these supplies were also crucial. The Resistance was in short supply of everything.
The area closest to the landing pad naturally had the most troops, but it had already been taken by the Resistance's strength.
"Report, Fulcrum! We cannot intercept that one ship. It is heading for the base's central hangar."
"All other enemy fighters have been destroyed. Our losses... two comrades." At this point, the pilot's voice dimmed.
"Pull yourselves together! This is a battle! This is the first offensive we have launched against the Empire, and we have proven our path with victory! We will continue to be victorious in the future, until the moment the Empire is destroyed!" Ahsoka said to her comrades, including the pilots on the other end of the comm.
At this moment, all their eyes turned red. Even the Rodians shed tears. They had longed for a great victory, to oppose the Empire's evil! For the justice in their hearts!
This victory would be spread to every corner of the galaxy. Everyone harmed by the Empire could enjoy the joy of this victory. This was enough to dilute the despair in their hearts, to stir their fighting spirit, and to light the fire of hope.
And the fire of hope would eventually converge, forming a prairie fire!
Everyone gritted their teeth and began to rush into the warehouses, moving supplies toward the ships at the landing pad.
Ahsoka and Veronica looked at each other and charged into the stairwell without hesitation. This level of victory was not enough for them. They could do more!
. . .
Din Djarin spun his blaster pistol fluidly around his index finger. Behind him lay two motionless stormtroopers.
He had already reached the door of the room where the child was.
This mission was much easier than he expected. He thought he'd have to fight a tough, frontal battle.
But it was just one squad of stormtroopers and four combat droids.
The Mandalorian clearly didn't realize that this force was enough to defeat an entire Core World royal guard, or to massacre several towns on an Outer Rim planet.
Mandalorians were undoubtedly powerful warriors. Their race used to be able to go head-to-head with the Jedi. Although they had declined, their killing skills had not been lost from their clans.
He steadily raised his blaster pistol. Din Djarin pressed the door switch.
What he saw was a simple facility: only one operating table and some support machinery. The surrounding tables were covered with boxes, filled with test tubes. The tubes stored a blood-red liquid.
Din Djarin cautiously scanned the surroundings, moving slowly into the room. He checked every corner that could hide an enemy. Finally, his gaze locked onto the area behind the operating table.
"Come out." The Mandalorian's voice came from his helmet, muffled, deep, and cold.
"Don't... don't kill me! I'm just a researcher... I didn't do anything!" As he expected, a young man crawled out from behind the operating table.
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