Chap. 20 - Heaven Against the Follower

Silence reigned inside the Omni transport ship. Only a couple of droids routinely patrolled some platforms and corridors inside. But breaking abruptly with that silence, was Icarus, walking briskly towards the hangars. He was composed, but his walk was slightly faster than usual. Was something bothering him?

A few minutes later, he reached the hangar, where the deactivated B1 droids were waiting for his command. As he approached, they activated, taking the foolish B1 droids standing guard by surprise. Icarus passed next to them, without saying a word, in the direction of the Kestrel Nova. And the droids under his command followed him, hardly flinching.

Droid B1: - Hey. Does he leave without saying goodbye? -

Droid B1: - That was very rude. - Two very goofy droids commented.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that Icarus was trying to cover up a retreat. Something was tormenting him, something he realized. That place gave him a chill in his circuits, a strange sensation that he could not describe, but that screamed to him from the four winds that he was in a minefield.

Icarus hurried to the Kestrel Nova followed by his pathetic escort of three B1 droids. The ship was not far away, but every step he took caused him a disturbance. It was strange, because his circuitry didn't seem to detect anything out of the ordinary, yet his core was telling him that something wasn't right, and with good reason.

A short distance from the Kestrel Nova he saw them. Wag Too and little Tova, leaving the ship from the boarding gangway, accompanied by the imposing B2 droid that watched over his back. The three stopped at the sight of the super droid, but before they could ask what had happened, they heard it once more.

https://youtu.be/mpWfpM2ZfHE

That peculiar sound was unmistakable. Icarus raised his head worriedly and saw them: the two Vulture droid starfighters approaching from the horizon. He didn't know why they was back, but Icarus knew it was up to no good.

Icarus: - Enter the ship! Fast! -

He tried to yell at them, but they were too far away, and combined with the deafening sound of the fighters breaking the sound barrier, they weren't able to hear him. And as if it were a Deja Vu, the Vulture took a sharp turn in the air, and fell to the ground.

¡BAM! ¡BAM!

They fell right ahead, cutting off Icarus from reaching his ship. His companions looked at him scared, the sudden appearance of these strange flying droids would pose a danger, but before he could run to their aid, they appeared.

They were like ninjas, hiding in the shadows since who knows when. They were coming out from behind rocks, from cracks in the ground, from the top of the Kestrel Nova's fuselage, from everywhere. A squad of five commando droids.

The commandos surrounded those three who were on the outskirts of the Kestrel Nova. The B2 droid raised its hands and aimed its twin cannons at the nearest droids but knew it couldn't beat them. Wag Too couldn't even grab the rifle behind him and could only get between little Tova and the barrel of a gun of the blaster E-5 of one of the commando droids aiming at his face.

Icarus couldn't help them. Vulture starfighters blocked his path, their heavy cannons trained on them, ready to open fire if he attempted anything motion rude. Then, he heard something even more troubling.

https://youtu.be/_Pl0_8mrZi0

Icarus turned around and couldn't believe his eyes, although he had a feeling that something like that would happen. A huge column of droids marched from the Omni ship's hangars to its position. Hundreds of B1 droids dwarfed the scene, accompanied by dozens of B2 units. Several droidekas rolled in from the rear and positioned ahead, then spread out in a perfect ring of cannons and shields that left Icarus with no chance of escape. So, he arrived.

Kalani walked slowly through the formations of his troops as the B1 droids stepped aside. His chest up, his hands crossed behind his back, with an authoritative and triumphant demeanor. And it was not for less, because in a cunning move he had cornered his prey without any possibility of escape.

OOM-9: - Hey, calm down. I can walk by myself. - He broke the silence while being pushed by another commando droid from inside the Kestrel Nova.

The commando droid led OOM-9 to where the other beings were being held, and he joined the circular formation with hi soothers five similar.

Kalani: - Do you think you can escape after all? You come to me, telling lies to get disoriented and fall into despair. But I will not fall in your games, you dog of the Republic. -

Icarus: - It's not a lie. The Republic, the Empire, the Separatists, it was all true. We must not fight among ourselves. We don't know if we are the only ones left to re-establish the Separatists Alli... -

Kalani: - Silence! - He interrupted him angrily. - I'm already tired of so much bullshit. You will be deactivated, along with that pathetic group that follows you. And your organic pets, I will bury them alive under rock and snow. -

Kalani's words were blunt. The little girl hugged Wag Too, fearful for her life and that of her companions. Even some of the B1 droids in Kalani's own troops thought his plans too excessive. Everyone looked worried, but among all the shock, a metallic voice laughed out loud, but it wasn't Kalani.

The droids under Kalani's command watched with concern as Icarus laughed out loud as his face fell to the ground. Even his teammates thought that he had short-circuited and was acting illogically, but that was not the enhanced super droid's plan. Icarus raised his head, revealing an intense glowing red hue on both optical sensors that still worked for him, as he raised his arms to his sides, describing a perfect cross shape with his silhouette. It was creepy in every sense, and even Kalani could sense some nervousness.

Icarus: - You still have a lot to learn. But I don't blame you. You can only know how much the Sun can burn only if you fly high enough to find out. - He said with a more serious and gloomy tone of voice than usual.

[Reference to passage Biblical of Icarus]

That was inconceivable, but Kalani's metal body felt...afraid. A sensation that the droid could not assimilate.

Kalani: - FIRE! - He shouted fearfully of the figure that stood a little more than ten meters from him.

https://youtu.be/0AwAbHkPoSE

The Vulture fighter droids opened fire without hesitation. A small explosion made everyone lower their heads to cover themselves, but when they looked back at the field, they couldn't believe it. The Vulture starfighters did not fire at Icarus, instead, opening fire on the droidekas surrounding the droid standing in the shape of a cross in front of them.

The powerful shields of the droidekas could not withstand the heavy blaster of the starfighters, and they exploded in a stormy sequence one by one. Kalani couldn't believe his optical sensors, and it took several seconds for him to take in what had happened. His own troops attacking between them. How was it possible? Was it some mistake? No. There was no doubt. This was about of the work of Icarus. But those questions didn't allow him to predict what would happen next.

Icarus: - ATTACK! - He shouted to the four winds, and what happened next destroyed all logic in Kalani's computer.

Many of his droids turned on their own allies in a frenzy of point-blank fire. Two of the commando droids turned on their own, taking down with the support of Icarus's B2 unit the other four who could not foresee such action. They did not know that passed by, but with just one look, unit B2 and OOM-9 knew those two commando droids were on their side. But the battlefield turned to hell in a few seconds.

Blasters crisscrossed the small battlefield, explosions everywhere, the noise deadening that shook the earth and the air. Kalani turned to see the insane situation taking place behind him, not having enough time to plan a countermeasure. He knew that Icarus was responsible, there could be no other answer. He knew that if he destroyed it, it would be over, but when he took the blaster E-5 from one of the B1 units next to him to finish him off, he could see Icarus escaping into his Kestrel Nova ship, while two droidekas and Vulture droids shielded him.

Kalani accepted his instant defeat. He knew that he was already unreachable, because the only thing he could do now was command his still loyal troops to avoid as many casualties as possible. Which allowed Icarus and the rest to escape without much trouble.

Icarus: - Quick! Quick! Get on the ship! No time to lose! - He yelled at his companions as he ran accompanied by two of the three B1 units that were escorting him, since one fell serving as a shield for the supertactic droid.

The B2 droid took little Tova in his hands and carried her inside accompanied by OOM-9, Wag Too and the two commando droids. Icarus climbed into the Kestrel Nova while the droidekas made a small barrier with their shields, and when everyone was in the safety of the ship, the destroyer droids retracted their shields and accessed the interior of the Kestrel Nova.

One of the droidekas received a shot just before being there, which caused a failure in the stabilizers. He banked to one side and stepped off the Kestrel Nova's landing ramp as OOM-9 operated the controls to get the ship off the ground. The destroyer would have fallen fatally to the ground, except for Wag Too, who rushed forward to grab him. But of course, the little lurmen could not bear the weight of the droid.

Icarus: - Wag Too! Leave it! It's to mush dangerous! - He yelled from inside the ship in full flight, watching with concern as the lurmen clung with all his might to the railings of the landing ramp.

Wag Too: - No! We need it! - He yelled with all his might, while the droideka whose stability was hanging by a thread emitted worried beeps.

But before Icarus could reason with him, unit B2 faithfully complied with his order. He hurried towards the landing ramp and clung with him right hand to one of the shock absorbers while taking the droideka with him left hand. He couldn't lift it, but he had enough strength to drag it inside the Kestrel Nova with the small lurmen while dozens of blaster shots from the surface hit the ship's shield. But with everyone already inside, OOM-9 was able to close the door and ascend to the surface, followed by the two Vulture starfighters that joined the Kestrel Nova.

Meanwhile, on the ground, an enraged Kalani remained, doing his best to maintain his sanity in the face of such a crushing defeat. The battle was over, with all the droids that Icarus managed to turn against him destroyed.

OOM - Commander, they are too far out of our firing range. - He told his commander.

Kalani: - I already know that, idiot. Give me a status report. - He said furiously.

OOM: -Yes sir. We lost all the B2 units and the commando droids. The two Vulture units appear to have been reprogrammed as well. We have only a hundred B1 units left and six droidekas. -

Kalani put her hand over her face, trying to process everything that had happened, but this was no time to sit idly by, he had to be ready for the next attack.

Kalani: - OOM unit. Pick up the shells and take them to the hold. I want the entire field cleared as soon as possible. When you're done, head back inside the ship. -

OOM: - Roger. Roger. -

And so ends this passage that I really liked a lot. I think that in this way, somewhat exaggerated perhaps, it could be explained why Kalani only had a handful of B1 droids and some droidekas when the members of the Spirit faced them in Star Wars Rebels. Considering that a DH-Omni support ship is capable of carrying entire armies, including tanks, among many other things.