After eliminating all space forces, the League forces turned their attention to their next objective: the planet's capital, where the largest number of factories and warehouses were located. A bombardment was not possible due to the high concentration of civilians, so a more direct approach would be required by deploying troops on the ground.
To achieve this, new prototypes would be put into use, including the APAPs (All Purpose Assault Pods), rapid-deployment capsules launched from the mesosphere from Legado-class ships, followed by Tyzon- and Dragon-class shuttles. Fortunately, anti-air resistance was minimal due to the limited military presence, consisting of a single base, and the fact that most of their forces were tied down fighting the rebels.
The ships opened their hangars, releasing all their shuttles toward the capital. The passengers could see their comrades' capsules descending like meteors toward the planet's surface.
Above the planet, the sky filled with red trails. Inside one of these, five soldiers endured the shaking and friction until, at around 150 meters, the thrusters began to slow their descent.
"Impact in one hundred," the sergeant's voice marked.
"First drop, rookie?" said the voice to his right.
"Yes… I'm a bit nervous. This is my second deployment."
"Relax, Daniels. This will be a walk in the park, just like in the simulations."
"You hear that, Johnson? We said the same thing the first time we were deployed."
I couldn't help but wonder how many times they had been deployed to be this calm. My friend Ramírez, almost as if reading my thoughts, asked:
"How many times have you been deployed?"
"Me, eight times, and Johnson twelve. But the most veteran is definitely the sergeant, right sir?"
The man in question only glared at him before returning his attention to their trajectory and adjusting course.
"Don't mind him. The sergeant's been at this since before everything was founded. They say he was on Tatooine when it all began, just a teenager back then."
Basically, we were in a capsule with what was probably one of the most veteran members of the armed forces. How the hell was he only a sergeant? Unfortunately, our conversation was interrupted by a violent shake in the capsule.
"Hold on, kids—turbulence coming," Johnson said seriously.
Crash
The capsule tore through the façade of a building like a projectile, kicking up a cloud of dust, glass, and concrete. One after another, capsules fell over the city, crashing into vehicles, parks, and avenues alike. At first, they encountered no resistance, until the droid forces reacted. AAT units raised their cannons to maximum elevation and fired into the sky, but the number of capsules exceeded their shots.
The capsule doors opened, allowing the occupants to exit after disengaging their harnesses.
"Hot zone, hot zone!"
The soldiers exiting the capsules grabbed their rifles and began clearing the streets and avenues. Fortunately, the capsules carried equipment storage on their exterior, and there were also supply-only capsules. Some were luckier than others, landing far from direct combat zones.
In the city center, several capsules had landed inside one of the parks. Where civilians once walked, B-1 battle droids now roamed—some crushed by the impact, others opening fire on the capsules. As the soldiers emerged, they responded with equal or greater firepower. These operations and movements were tracked by the fleet from space thanks to the capsules' and soldiers' transponders.
"Brown squad here, we are in sector X-0-2-7 under heavy fire. Unable to leave the area and with no apparent cover. Requesting support from nearby squads."
"Command here. Yellow and Orange squads, redirect your course to support Brown squad and secure the supply capsules. You must also mark landing zones for the first wave of shuttles."
"Copy."
After acknowledging the order, our squad moved through alleys and secondary streets while explosions and gunfire echoed through the main avenues. In one of them, the fighting was so intense that we were forced to intervene to push through.
"Ramírez, set up over there and deploy. Johnson will cover you. The rest, with me."
At the edge of a building, Ramírez set up the bipod of his MG-3, while the rest of us moved closer and closer to the battlefield. As we advanced, B-1 droid bodies lay destroyed, riddled with bullet holes.
Finally, at the end of an alley, we stopped, waiting for the sergeant's order. On the other side, intense fighting could be heard—the relentless metallic footsteps of incoming droids, mixed with gunfire and blaster shots. At last, the sergeant gave a signal we all recognized. We took our positions as trained, waiting for the right moment.
We watched as the droid army passed in front of us toward our comrades. Once they passed, we turned the corner, took firing positions, and opened fire. The droids were quickly overwhelmed and destroyed. Once they were all down, we advanced step by step, finishing them off just in case, while waiting for Ramírez and Johnson to regroup with us. Meanwhile, the sergeant went to speak with the man in charge of the defense.
"Sergeant, thank you for your help."
Now that I was closer, I could see what they had endured. Their MG-3 general-purpose machine gun had been discarded on the ground, its barrel warped from heat. They had been defending themselves with M4A1 rifles and whatever equipment they had left—EMP or frag grenades. Judging by the wounded and dead, there were more than two squads here—at least four or five capsules' worth. If things were this bad here, I didn't even want to imagine Brown squad. Maybe by the time we arrived, none would be left.
While my thoughts wandered, the sergeant continued speaking:
"How long have you been holding here, soldier?"
"Since the drop—about an hour, but it's felt like days. Are you our relief?"
"I'm afraid not. We're heading to sector X-0-2-7 to support another squad."
"In that case, I wouldn't get your hopes up. We heard another squad already tried to help them but had to fall back due to AAT armor in the area. If I were you, sergeant, I'd request new orders. Also, the shuttles left a few minutes ago—they'll be here soon. We could use your help defending this point."
"I'm sorry, but our orders are clear—support Brown squad and recover certain supplies 200 meters east of their position."
Upon hearing this, the soldier led the sergeant to a small circular device on the ground—a projector. When activated, it displayed the city's layout.
"The position you're referring to is here, about 200 meters from the squad's last known position. But getting there is suicide without support. Not only is the area nearly inaccessible, but for some reason, the city's government—or what's left of it—is ordering the droids to concentrate there. Not just droids—also the few remaining tanks in the city. If I were you, I'd contact command."
"Thank you for your opinion. Do you have supplies here?"
"Barely. We lost our only machine guns, and our defense relies on explosives and traps. We've only got a couple of magazines per man left because of those new tin cans. If only we had the first-generation rifles…"
"You know as well as I do why we can't use them. They take more space and carry less ammo. Though I prefer the FN FAL to this M4—and even more my old Thompson. Shame it's no longer in service, only for export."
The conversation was cut off by the sound of engines slicing through the air, along with anti-air explosions attempting to shoot down incoming shuttles. In our zone, one Dragon and two Tyzon shuttles landed, unloading infantry armed with the standard FN FAL rifle and MG-3 machine guns. Their pristine uniforms contrasted horribly with the already-deployed troops.
From the Dragon shuttle also came two ASCOD Pizarro/Ulano IFVs and a Leopard 1 battle tank.
As we watched the vehicles and troops pass, Ramírez and Johnson finally regrouped with us, and the sergeant gave new orders:
"Alright, boys. First, we resupply from the shuttle deliveries. Then we support the column pushing toward the city's control center, where fighting is expected to be heavier. Move out."
"Yes, sir!"
"Hey Daniels… back to the slaughterhouse."