"Captain Keeli, how long do you estimate we can maintain our defensive position here?" Ima-Gun Di asked his trusted adjutant while surveying their increasingly desperate tactical situation.
"Sir, no more than seven days at maximum," Keeli replied with grim honesty. "That timeframe might extend by a few additional days if we strictly ration our food supplies, but if the Separatists continue launching coordinated assaults at this intensity, we won't last nearly that long. The Republic's orbital fleet is being systematically destroyed by enemy forces, which means the droids can now deploy ground reinforcements virtually unopposed."
"What do you recommend as our best course of action?" Ima-Gun Di inquired.
They were currently positioned at a narrow pass between two elevated positions, with their main base located deeper into the canyon where most of the clone troopers and Twi'lek civilians had taken shelter.
"We can only hold this position as long as possible, though I honestly don't know how long that will be," Keeli stated frankly. "We were forced to abandon significant quantities of strategic materials and heavy equipment during our withdrawal, but even with those resources, we'd still face starvation and dehydration with the same inevitable outcome. No one can predict how many waves of attacks the droids will launch, so our only option is to hold the line until we die fighting."
Although General Ima-Gun Di would never openly acknowledge it, the Separatists had undoubtedly achieved overwhelming success in their assault on Ryloth, with a substantial portion of the planet now under their direct control.
While there weren't many battles remaining to be fought, each engagement was absolutely critical—including the defense of the capital city, key resource extraction areas, and the few remaining Republic strongholds.
"Sir! Enemy drop ships incoming!" a clone lookout called out urgently.
Ima-Gun Di observed the formation of droid landing craft towing countless armored vehicles across the distant sky. He immediately issued tactical orders: "All units, target those transports and fire at will!"
Keeli and Syndulla both nodded and immediately began coordinating their forces. Simultaneously, the heavy laser cannons mounted on their AT-TE walkers swiveled to engage the incoming spacecraft and began laying down concentrated fire.
Hyena bombers and Vulture droids immediately began launching counterattacks against the Republic positions. Although several drop ships were successfully destroyed, many more reached the surface safely and began deploying their mechanical cargo.
The B1 battle droids and B2 super battle droids that disembarked from the landing craft immediately commenced firing on the clone army positions with overwhelming volume.
Ima-Gun Di ignited his lightsaber and moved to engage the enemy, while Keeli joined the battle with his DC-17 hand blaster and tactical coordination.
A devastating storm of red and blue blaster fire began tearing through the ranks of droids, clones, and Twi'leks alike, inflicting heavy casualties on both sides of the conflict.
"Assault squadron, advance and flank their ground forces while concentrating all anti-armor fire on their heavy units," Keeli commanded through the tactical communication network.
More than a dozen AT-RT scout walkers moved forward at maximum speed, and although several were quickly destroyed by enemy fire, the surviving units continued fighting with determined courage.
The freedom fighters under Syndulla's leadership also launched a coordinated offensive. Numerous battle droids began falling in significant numbers, but the tactical situation was far from as optimistic as it initially appeared. Additional drop ships continued landing across Ryloth's surface, delivering ever more mechanical reinforcements.
Before the battle had commenced, Pietro sat alone in the shade of a gnarled tree, contemplating the various incredible people and situations he had encountered since awakening on this alien world. He had met a Jedi general called Ima-Gun Di, a clone commander named Keeli, and the Twi'lek resistance leader known as Syndulla.
In summary, Pietro had absolutely no idea what he should do next or even where he truly was in the galaxy.
All he understood was that there was a massive war engulfing this region of space, involving clone troopers, battle droids, the planet Ryloth, something called the Galactic Republic, and an organization known as the Confederacy of Independent Systems—and that he was completely alone in the middle of it all.
Thanks to the Loki scepter exposure and subsequent isotope enhancement procedures, his entire physiology had been fundamentally transformed. He possessed accelerated reflexes, superhuman velocity, enhanced metabolism, and numerous other abilities. But his cognitive processing had also been dramatically improved, though this sometimes made him impulsive in both action and thought. After gaining his supernatural powers, every aspect of his being had been doubled, including his mental capabilities. Tony Stark had theorized that this enhancement might explain why Pietro could perceive events so rapidly while everything around him appeared to move in slow motion—he was essentially thinking at "fast-forward" speed.
However, this also meant that multiple thought processes were often occurring simultaneously in his mind, which could sometimes become overwhelming and confusing. At this very moment, numerous questions were racing through Pietro's consciousness: Where was he exactly? What should he be doing? Where were the rest of the Avengers? Had Wanda been injured? Was Vision safe? Were the others alright? Had they also been transported here? What were they doing right now? What was his next move?
The overwhelming cascade of questions began driving Pietro toward a state of mental anguish and near-panic, until a string of silver, bell-like laughter reached his ears and snapped him back to awareness. When he opened his eyes, he saw Twi'lek children running around playfully, completely absorbed in their games and blissfully unaware of the larger conflict consuming their world.
The scene before him immediately reminded him of Sokovia—not the most hospitable country in the world to call home, but it had been his homeland nonetheless. He recalled memories of Wanda, other neighborhood children, and their parents during happier times.
Ryloth, much like Sokovia, was a place plagued by constant warfare and conflict. To be completely honest, witnessing those battle droids attacking innocent civilians and joining the fight against them felt disturbingly familiar—he supposed war manifested similarly regardless of location.
Pietro smiled warmly at the children who continued enjoying their innocent games, though this peaceful moment was shattered when clone troopers received warning of an imminent enemy assault.
Pietro tensed immediately as he watched clones and armed Twi'leks running to defensive positions, while civilian non-combatants were moved to more secure locations under military escort.
While helping organize the civilian evacuation, Sergeant Grit called out to Pietro: "Hey, move it! What are you still doing here?"
"It's Quicksilver," Pietro corrected automatically. "What's happening?"
"More droids incoming," Grit replied hastily before grabbing his DC-15 rifle and departing for the front lines.
"More droids?" Pietro muttered to himself with growing understanding.
Around him, Twi'lek freedom fighters and clone troopers ran without hesitation toward the sounds of intensifying combat.
Pietro now clearly realized that he had stumbled into an interstellar war between two galactic powers, with the planet Ryloth apparently representing just one of hundreds of worlds currently engaged in fierce battle across the galaxy.
Then again, evil robots attacking villages full of innocent civilians was perhaps a little too familiar to Pietro's experience, so...
He rolled his neck to loosen his muscles, smiled with grim determination, and launched himself forward at maximum velocity.
Meanwhile on the battlefield, clone trooper numbers were steadily dwindling, but the survivors continued maintaining fierce resistance against the relentless droid assault. Only three AT-RT scout walkers remained operational.
"Captain Keeli, the right flank is about to be overrun—take several squads and reinforce that position immediately!" General Ima-Gun Di shouted to Keeli, who was providing covering fire with his blaster.
"What about you, General?" Keeli asked with obvious concern.
"I will hold this position," Ima-Gun Di replied with unwavering determination in his eyes. "Go now, Captain. That's an order."
Keeli wanted to protest the decision, but recognizing the absolute resolve in the Jedi's expression, he had no choice but to follow his commanding officer's direct orders.
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