(Check out my other novel Aetheria!)
Napoli was standing with Obi Wan, Kai, and Tsuka. Kai and Napoli were nearly dying from laughter due to what was happening in front of them.
Tyler nodded endlessly. "Mom, I'm in the middle of an operation. I don't have time to catch up. I just need to know if I have permission to proceed." She presumably responded on the other side but only he could hear her.
Tyler raised his fists in frustration, silently roaring in his head. "Yes, mom, I'll make sure to call you more often. Gotta go bye!" He immediately hung up. "FUCKIN HELL DUD! JEWISH MOMS ARE THE WORST!"
Napoli absolutely lost it as he fell to the floor, rolling and laughing hysterically. Kai was a bit better at keeping himself upright.
Tyler glared at his best friend. "Naps, I swear to god, I will fucking murder you."
Over to the side, Tsuka was as stoic as ever. Some people wonder if anything phases him. Obi Wan walked over to Tyler. "So, what's our course of action?"
Tyler sighed as he pressed a few buttons on his wrist comm.
A voice sounded over the radio. "General, I need verbal confirmation for the target coordinates."
Tyler nodded. "Confirmation code indiana, delta, alpha, foxtrot. You may proceed."
Obi Wan nearly shit himself. "ARE WE BOMBING THE CITY?"
Tyler chuckled and shook his head. "No, only the fortification. I'd rather not commit war crimes."
Obi Wan sighed. "So what's the ETA on the bombers? We need to make sure we'll be ready to move."
As he said this, a clone rushed over. "General, the two Sith have retreated into the village."
Tyler shrugged. "Makes sense. They probably felt the impending barrage."
Obi Wan froze. "DID YOU JUST SAY BARRAGE?"
Tyler nodded casually, not wearing any particular facial expression. "Yeah, orbital bombardment. What about it? It's not like we can get bombers in there."
Obi Wan grimaced. "How did you even get that approved?"
Tyler laughed. "My mother is a senator on the war council. It's hard to not get things sanctioned."
Obi Wan shook his head before giving orders over comms. "Everyone find some cover, orbital bombardment is imminent."
All of the players and clones started shuffling around, finding trees and rocks to take cover behind. They were all danger close to where turbo lasers would be hitting so they would definitely need it.
The operator's voice sounded over comms. "Barrage commencing in three, two, one…"
A new sound pierced through everyone's ears. Turbo lasers that are mounted on cruisers are usually only fired in space so there is no sound when they are fired. Right now, the venator that was firing was within the atmosphere. Even though it was tens of thousands of feet in the air, the explosions were overwhelming.
Each round of turbo laser fire was like a hydrogen bomb going off in the upstairs neighbors apartment. As the rain of artillery hit the ground, the whole area shook as massive clouds of dust were kicked up. The shockwave shifted all of the rocks and the trees bent away from the epicenter.
Tyler had his helmet on so he was just enjoying the explosions. "I feel like this is one of those moments where the cool dude would smoke a cigarette. Anyone got a pack?"
Napoli whipped out a metal carton with cigarettes inside and passed it to his best friend. "You got a light?"
Tyler nodded. "I've always wanted to try this." After waiting for a few seconds, the explosions stopped and the shockwaves dissipated. "Here goes nothing." He took one of his lightsabers off his belt and ignited it. He held the cigarette in his mouth and raised the lightsaber to the end of it.
With a steady inhale, he ignited the cigarette using the heat of the lightsaber. He deactivated the lightsaber before clipping it back to his belt as he took a deep breath, filling his lungs with smoke.
As he exhaled, he chuckled. "I can't believe that actually worked. Definitely good to know."
Obi Wan could only shake his head. "I don't believe that is what lightsabers are supposed to be used for."
Tyler shrugged. "Shush. Let's just move out." He then switched over to the comms channel. "Recon squads A through D form up and move out. Everyone else should stay in defensive formation and follow the route they establish. We'll have two minutes of lag time between the two groups."
The four recon teams quickly navigated through the debris field, finding their way into the city.
After a short two minute wait, Tyler tossed his smoke to the ground, stomping it out with his boot as he released the last puff of smoke. "Let's move."
The group of almost a hundred moved into the village. The recon teams informed them that the safest route to the village square was moving several blocks to the east and taking a side road towards the square. From there, they would move to the main street and launch an assault against the AA cannons.
The main goal of this operation was to clear the AA cannons. This would also include saving as many hostages as possible. It would be difficult though as they are in the middle of the hottest area in the village.
Another thing to take into note is that the safest route never means the route with the least enemies. In fact, it actually means the route that has the least possible points for ambush and optimal amounts of cover to defend against any ambushes that do happen. These two things are the most important items to consider when entering enemy territory like this.
Before they could even reach the side road, they already met resistance that the recon teams were able to slip past. They do specialize in stealth operations after all. A large unit is not suited for this type of thing so they were forced to fight.
Around forty droids and players emerged from the buildings and alleys on either side of the street. Their red blaster fire lit up the street, scorching the ground and buildings.
Before any of the blaster bolts could hit, portable shields were deployed and all other found cover in or behind buildings. These portable shields were a recent invention by the engineers at Limitless. They produce and sell them to the Republic with barely any profit margin. The GAR then sells them to guilds with high enough reputation for use in the war. The reputation was important to avoid the enemy stealing the tech for as long as possible. They resembled the portable shields from Halo.
The four Jedi were out front leading the fight, slowly but surely cutting down the enemy forces.
Kai bitched and moaned as he flipped through an encirclement of droids, bisecting them all with a fluid motion. "Geez, these mercenaries are a real pain in the ass."
Obi Wan nodded as he perfectly deflected blaster fire into several droids and separatist players. "I agree. They are much more difficult to take down than droids."
Tsuka grunted as he took down an enemy player with a monk cut. "It is more honorable to fight a living enemy than an artificial one. Battle should always have lives on the line."
Tyler sighed as he casually mowed down swathes of droids by throwing them into each other using the force. "Stop complaining and just take them down. Those AA guns aren't gonna disappear by themselves."
They quickly dispatched of the remaining enemies, Kai taking the last kill as he was flipping through their back line.
Tyler waved his finger in a circle. "Standard scrapping protocol, we move in 30 seconds."
Guild members rushed to pick up the droid parts and player drops. Ever since his first major battle on Naboo, he learned to always collect scrap material. It proved to be an important source of funding as scrap is much cheaper to process than ore veins. Scrap already has the electrical components and alloys that can be harvested and sold or used.
Thirty second passed quickly. "Let's move, people." Tyler started walking again, leading the group. He was a fearless leader and inspired his troops.
They finally made it to the side street. Tyler quickly sent out an order. "Assassins, move on top of the buildings and take care of any stragglers."
The assassin that was right near him nodded. "It will be done." He immediately disappeared, hiding in the shadows.
As they walked down the street, they'd hear the occasional thud. This was the result of various assassinations occurring on the rooftops. The enemy's scouts were thoroughly eliminated. They were a mixture of commando droids and players.
After fifteen minutes of walking and no more ambushes, they reached the final turn. This intersection led to a main street that would lead right to the village square. Undoubtedly, there'd be a large battle here once they came out.
Tyler halted their advance as they regrouped with the recon teams. "Captain Chalamet, report your findings."
The Frenchman nodded and made his report with a fancy french accent. "The main street is heavily fortified but there is no other way into the square on the ground. They have gun turrets, barricades, and several layers of defense. It will be a hard fought battle."
Tyler sighed. "Just as I thought. Blaze, come here."
Commander Blaze rushed over and stood at attention. "Yes, sir."
Tyler smiled. "At ease, commander. We are about to commence Operation Reach-Around. Assemble back door squadron. We move out in 5."
Blaze nodded and saluted. "Yes, sir." He then rushed off to complete his orders.
Tyler then turned to his little green friend. "Kai, you ready for some fun?"
Kai grinned. "I thought you'd never ask."