Bloodlust: Crisis/Chapter 9

The first rays of morning sunlight were lancing over the horizon when the holographic image of Chatt Onakkit appeared before the assembled forces on the wall surrounding the city. Artel looked on, surveying the Separatist armies gathered beneath him, and tapped his lightsaber with one hand while holding a blaster rifle with the other.

"Citizens of Atairis-Deta," Onakkit's voice resounded over the city. "You have chosen to fight rather than to surrender. Therefore, we will kill every man, woman and child inside the city that stands in our way. We hope that you acknowledge these terms, and that you have a nice day." The immense Skakoan's booming laugh faded as the image disappeared and the droid forces below readied their weapons, aiming them directly at the wall.

"This is it," said Artel, looking across at Ballo.

"Yes, sir," replied Ballo, his face set and determined. Beside the clone commander, Baron Administrator Hyarkis was snivelling, clinging to a small rifle while looking down at the army with fearful eyes out on stalks.

Artel loaded his rifle, and his forces followed his example. Hyarkis fumbled with his weapon and almost dropped it over the parapets of the wall, but, after receiving a murderous glance from Artel, he and all the others were ready.

There was silence for a few moments. The droid army stood, motionless, and for a brief fraction of a second Artel imagined that the command hadn't been relayed, and the droids would never attack. But then they did.

The ground beneath the wall resounded with the noise of ten thousand droids loading their weapons. Artel wiped a stray bead of sweat from his brow and aimed his gun down, in the vague direction of one of the many tanks.

It seemed Artel wasn't going to shout any words f encouragement for the troops, so Ballo did that for him. "For the Republic!" he shouted, answered by a roar from the rest of the troops, before the battle resumed.

Artel's finger never left the trigger of his rifle. He fired down relentlessly, cutting away droid after droid after droid after droid until his hands were red, chaffed and sore. He used the Force to take out one of the tanks, but he was so tired it was all he could do to make it fall onto its side, harmlessly crashing into the dirt.

But no matter how hard they tried, the droid army could not be driven back. The tide kept coming forth, pounding on the wall with a thousand metal fists, blaster shots fizzing through the air until streams of red and blue were all that could be seen. Artel watched as a tank took away part of the wall's parapets and saw Hyarkis fall from the wall, screaming in pain. He reached out with the Force, tentatively grabbing the falling Baron, just in time to save his life... but too late to save his arm, which had been blown off in the explosion.

Artel sensed the wall crumbling before it actually happened. "Get off the wall!" he shouted before leaping off it, falling through the air for a hundred metres or so before landing lightly on his feet and igniting his lightsaber. The rest of his rag-tag team were scrambling down the many hand- and footholds of the wall, abandoning it and gathering at its foot, defending the inner wall and the gate into the city.

The wall fell. With an almighty crash it crumbled, stone disappearing under the pressure of countless blaster bolts. A mushroom cloud of dust rose up, casting a shadow over the city, before the droids were right on top of them.