Rex, Fives, and Echo remained concealed in the tall grass, watching with growing concern as a massive Separatist transport vessel slowly descended through Maridun's atmosphere toward the ground below.
Bly's voice crackled through their comm units: "Rex, what's your status? Are you seeing anything significant?"
"Confirmed Separatist dropship inbound," Rex reported grimly. "Large scale deployment imminent."
"Copy that. Return to base immediately—we're evacuating General Skywalker to a safer location," Bly commanded.
The imposing droid transport eventually touched down near the Lurmen village, its massive hull settling onto the prairie with mechanical precision.
As the vessel's boarding ramp lowered with a hydraulic hiss, a formation of B-1 and B-2 battle droids marched down in perfect synchronization, quickly establishing two defensive perimeters on either side of the gangway. Following the mechanical troops came a corpulent Neimoidian officer, his elaborate robes and arrogant bearing immediately identifying him as someone of significant rank.
"Ah, so this is the primitive world of Maridun?" the Neimoidian asked the protocol droid beside him with obvious disdain and superiority.
"Affirmative, General Durd."
The Separatist general remained lost in thought until he noticed the Lurmen village leader approaching their position. He then forced his features into a patently false smile and declared, "Greetings! I am General Lok Durd of the Confederacy of Independent Systems."
"I am Tee Watt Kaa, leader of this colony settlement. You should know that—"
"I trust you are fully aware that you exist under the benevolent protection of the Separatist Alliance, are you not?" the General interrupted with casual arrogance.
"Your droid garrison's presence here is well known throughout our community."
Lok Durd walked past the Lurmen leader dismissively, speaking with insufferable condescension: "Then you should consider yourselves extraordinarily fortunate to live under such a powerful and generous umbrella of protection."
Tee Watt Kaa hurried to keep pace with Durd, walking beside the general as he attempted to maintain diplomatic relations: "General, please understand that we are a peaceful people who have committed ourselves entirely to non-violence."
Lok Durd completely ignored the Lurmen leader's words, waving him away like an annoying insect: "If you truly believe in peace as you claim, then step aside and allow me to conduct a proper inspection of my new territorial acquisition."
Tee Watt Kaa could only watch helplessly as Durd issued commands to his battle droids to begin their systematic "inspection" of the village—though it quickly became apparent that this was less an inspection and more an act of deliberate intimidation and destruction.
The battle droids immediately began demolishing various pod dwellings with mechanical efficiency, causing many Lurmen villagers to flee in obvious terror and panic.
Wag Too, who had been standing at the back of the gathered crowd, asked in horrified disbelief: "What are they doing to our homes? We haven't taken any hostile actions against them—why are they destroying everything we've built?"
Ahsoka's voice carried bitter anger as she explained the harsh reality: "The actions of these battle droids are controlled by programmed directives, and they all follow the explicit orders of that arrogant Neimoidian."
While the emotional impact on the Jedi was significant, the three Avengers members felt overwhelming fury at their forced helplessness in the face of such blatant oppression of innocent civilians.
"Are we really going to sit here like complete cowards?" Scott demanded angrily, his frustration with their tactical inaction clearly reaching a breaking point.
Ahsoka looked desperately toward the two Jedi Masters and Steve, her eyes filled with obvious pleading as she silently begged them to take some kind of action to help the panicked and defenseless Lurmen people.
Unfortunately, Steve shook his head with firm resolve: "As much as I hate watching these droids terrorize the Lurmen village, we absolutely must maintain concealment right now. Revealing ourselves would only make things worse for everyone."
Anakin nodded in reluctant agreement: "Steve's right. All we can do at this moment is remain hidden and observe how this situation develops. Premature action could doom us all."
Ahsoka clenched her fists in overwhelming frustration before lowering her head and reluctantly following the clone troopers, Jedi Masters, and Avengers away from the village perimeter.
Meanwhile, the battle droids continued their systematic "inspection" of the village, and after an extended period of destruction, they reassembled in formation before General Durd. The droid commander stepped forward to deliver his report: "General, comprehensive search complete. No evidence of Galactic Republic presence detected within the settlement."
"This is not the first time your droid forces have subjected my people to this treatment, General," Tee Watt Kaa said with barely controlled anger.
Durd smiled with malicious satisfaction: "Then, village chief, we will unfortunately need to conduct even more thorough inspections in the future to ensure your continued... cooperation."
"So we represent such a significant threat to your mighty battle droid army," Tee Watt Kaa replied with bitter sarcasm.
Durd's smile widened unpleasantly: "Your people are far more perceptive than their primitive appearance might suggest."
After completing their destructive inspection, the Separatist forces departed, leaving behind a devastated Lurmen village with damaged homes and traumatized inhabitants.
Wag Too immediately ran to his father upon seeing him return from the confrontation: "Father, are you injured? Did they harm you?"
Tee Watt Kaa simply shook his head in silent defeat and exhaustion.
Wag Too spoke with obvious relief: "At least it appears the Jedi and their allies remain safe and undetected."
Tee Watt Kaa responded with angry frustration: "It is precisely because of their presence that we Lurmen find ourselves in such mortal danger."
"Father, you cannot blame them for circumstances beyond anyone's control," Wag Too argued passionately. "We need to find a practical way to deal with that Neimoidian general. When he returns—and he will return—he will not show mercy to our village."
"Wag Too, are you suggesting that we abandon everything we believe in?"
Wag Too replied with unwavering determination: "If abandoning our traditional beliefs is what it takes to ensure the survival of our village and our people, then yes, I would rather make that sacrifice."
In the tall grass far from the village, the Jedi, clone troopers, and Avengers waited anxiously for developments, each of them clearly struggling with anger over what they had been forced to witness.
Rex paced back and forth in obvious frustration, sighing heavily before saying, "I simply cannot understand why the Lurmen refuse to stand up and defend themselves against such obvious aggression."
"Because they completely lack the courage necessary for resistance," Ahsoka said with bitter disappointment.
"On the contrary, Ahsoka," Aayla corrected with philosophical wisdom. "Sometimes it requires far greater courage to maintain your principles and beliefs in the face of overwhelming adversity."
Hope gently placed a comforting hand on Ahsoka's shoulder: "Ahsoka, I understand that this situation makes you angry—it makes all of us angry. But we cannot force them to abandon beliefs they have held sacred for generations. That kind of fundamental change takes time and must come from within."
Ahsoka bowed her head and remained silent, still processing the complex emotions of the situation.
Anakin refocused everyone's attention on their immediate tactical concerns: "Right now, our primary objective should be finding a way to acquire transportation off this planet."
"What's our strategy, General?" Hardcase asked, ready for action.
Anakin smiled with confident determination: "It's actually quite straightforward. A brand new starship has just landed on this planet. We simply need to wait for the optimal moment to acquire it."
Rex's voice carried obvious enthusiasm at this prospect: "Stealing from the Separatists? I absolutely must participate in this operation."
Scott also voiced his eagerness: "Plus we already have detailed intelligence about their base layout and defensive positions."
Hope was about to add her own thoughts when something in her peripheral vision caught her attention. Turning her head, she spotted a distinctive red photoreceptor glowing in the tall grass nearby.
"Battle droid!" Hope shouted urgently, pointing toward a reconnaissance droid that was attempting to crawl out of the vegetation and escape with intelligence about their position.
Steve immediately grabbed his shield and hurled it with precision at the mechanical spy, striking it down before it could transmit their location. He walked over to retrieve his shield while commenting grimly: "It appears the Separatists are conducting comprehensive reconnaissance of the entire area, not just the village itself."
After considering the tactical implications, Aayla looked up at the group with urgent determination: "We need to take immediate action because we cannot be certain whether that droid managed to transmit intelligence about our presence here."
Bly quickly issued orders to his clone team: "Flash, Cameron, Lucky—the three of you return to the village and establish concealed observation posts. If the droids return in force, report immediately."
"Domino Squad, same mission parameters," Rex added, coordinating their surveillance network.
"Where are the rest of us going?" Ahsoka asked, ready for whatever mission lay ahead.
Steve replied with tactical certainty: "We're going to establish overwatch on their base of operations. If I remember correctly, there's a massive tree structure nearby that should provide excellent elevation and concealment for monitoring the entire Separatist installation."
Aayla pointed toward the enormous tree rising from the plains in the distance: "That one should serve our purposes perfectly."
The group made their way to the giant tree and climbed up into its massive branches, positioning themselves on sturdy limbs that provided an unobstructed view of the Separatist base in the distance.
The solitary Separatist dropship now sat motionless in the center of the installation, surrounded by a reinforced battle droid battalion conducting regular security patrols around the vessel's perimeter.
"It seems our corpulent Neimoidian friend is not only ruthless but also quite paranoid about security," Scott muttered with obvious disdain.
Rex pointed toward the front of the base complex: "Look at what they're bringing out of the main facility."
The battle droids and General Durd emerged from the base, escorting what appeared to be a modified AAT tank equipped with an unusual cannon configuration that none of them had seen before.
"It looks like that mysterious cannon you two discovered is finally ready for deployment," Anakin said to Scott and Hope.
"Yeah, but we still have no idea what its actual function is," Scott replied with growing concern.
Ahsoka voiced everyone's apprehension: "What exactly is that weapon designed to do?"
"There's only one way to find out for certain," Hope said, activating her suit's shrinking capability and flying toward the base, with Scott following close behind.
At the Separatist base, the rotund Lok Durd admired his newly completed weapon system with obvious pride. After ensuring the installation was complete, he activated his holographic communication device to contact his superior. After several moments, the blue-tinged holographic image of Count Dooku materialized before General Durd.
"Count Dooku, my lord, our revolutionary new weapon system is finally operational and ready for comprehensive field testing."
"Durd, this project had better prove worthy of the significant time and resources invested in its development."
"I can absolutely guarantee its effectiveness, my lord."
Durd turned toward the weapon emplacement, gesturing dramatically to address his assembled droid forces: "Today marks a glorious milestone for the Confederacy of Independent Systems! This revolutionary weapon will deliver swift and decisive victory to our cause on battlefields throughout the galaxy. Its unique design allows it to completely destroy all organic matter down to the molecular level, while leaving our mechanical forces entirely unharmed."
The assembled battle droids responded with enthusiastic electronic cheering.
Durd then announced with theatrical flair: "Now... I require a few volunteers for our initial demonstration."
Suddenly, the majority of battle droids took several steps backward in obvious self-preservation. Two B-1 battle droids, slower to process the implications, remained standing in their original positions, unwittingly volunteering themselves as test subjects.
Durd looked at the two confused droids with malicious satisfaction: "Excellent! Both of you proceed to the designated testing area and await further instructions."
"Us?" The two droids looked behind themselves and realized that all their companions had created a clear path leading directly to the testing ground.
"Proceed immediately," Durd encouraged with false enthusiasm. "For the glory of the Confederacy of Independent Systems!"
The two battle droids hesitated momentarily before reluctantly walking toward the designated target area.
Scott and Hope hovered near the weapon system, watching as the massive cannon began rotating to track directly toward the position where the two B-1 droids now stood waiting.
Following Durd's command, the weapon fired a massive projectile that arced through the air before impacting the testing ground where the volunteer droids were positioned. The explosion that followed was unlike anything they had witnessed—flames spread rapidly across the terrain like some form of advanced incendiary weapon. When the conflagration eventually subsided, both battle droids remained standing completely unharmed, while all the surrounding vegetation and small wildlife had been reduced to ash and scattered across the scorched earth.
Durd smiled with triumphant satisfaction, turning back to Dooku's holographic image: "My lord, as you can observe, the weapon performed exactly according to specifications. All organic life was completely destroyed while our mechanical forces suffered no damage whatsoever."
Count Dooku's voice carried impressed approval: "Most impressive indeed, General Durd. However, I believe the weapon requires testing on a broader variety of organic specimens to ensure absolute reliability under all battlefield conditions."
Durd laughed with evil anticipation: "That is precisely why I selected the planet Maridun for these trials, my lord. The native population here offers no resistance whatsoever and will serve as perfect test subjects for our weapon's capabilities."
Scott and Hope were horrified by what they had just witnessed. The destructive potential of this weapon was beyond anything they had imagined—a device capable of committing genocide while leaving infrastructure intact. They immediately flew back to the giant tree to warn the others of the impending catastrophe.
Meanwhile, at the edge of the devastated testing ground, the Lurmen healer Wag Too had secretly witnessed the weapon demonstration and was already dispatching urgent messages to his allies via the traditional method of messenger insects, hoping to warn others of the approaching threat.
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