"We need to find a way to talk to them!" you suggest.
His face sets in grim determination, and he hauls you to your feet. "Come on!"
Together you run down the alley.
Next
As you emerge onto a long boulevard you see an angry mob of locals massing in the open. Mixed in with them are armed soldiers, and you can see rebel snipers in many of the windows on either side of the street. Looking back over the mob you catch a glint of silver in the sunlight, stumbling to a halt as you see a Centauri anti-personnel robot just behind the next row of buildings. As tall as two men, it has twin rotary cannons and rocket launchers mounted on a tall frame packed with sensors, all riding on a tracked chassis. Your stomach knots in a mixture of fear and fascination, but you don't for one second think that your troopers would last long against a squad of these metallic beasts.
At the other end of the boulevard, Terran troops are gathering. They're taking cover in doorways and windows and some have made it to the rooftops. Next to the growing mob their numbers seem tiny, but you know well what sort of firepower they carry.
Tethong steps out in front of his horde, waving for quiet. He speaks quickly but with power, telling everyone to remain under control. There are a few angry shouts from the mob, but Tethong's moral authority is obvious and very quickly the crowd settles enough that he feels comfortable turning away to face the Terrans. The Centauri war machines are still hidden from view, and you doubt the troopers have spotted them.
Next