Star Wars VRMMO: Galactic Expedition

(Another shorter chapter. This arc is proving difficult to write long chapters so I am just trying to make it flow. Enjoy!)

It was mid morning and the sun was already high in the sky. The piercing waves of heat and light beat down on the dry soil of this world. Looking to the horizon, the view was distorted by the bending of light due to the heat.

Tyler wiped a layer of sweat off of his face. "Thire!"

The clone officer rushed over. "What do you need, sir?"

Tyler exhaled loudly. "You think there's a beach around here somewhere? It's too damn hot for this shit."

Thire tilted his head in confusion. "Don't we need to reach King Katuunko, sir?"

Tyler scoffed. "It's a joke, lieutenant. If we are spending the day together, get used to it."

Thire nodded slowly. "Yes… sir."

Tyler watched as Thire walked away and approached Yoda.

Yoda was standing tall, at least as tall as he is, gazing upon the horizon. "Beautiful this world is, hmm? Amazing the universe is."

The world really was quite beautiful. It almost looked as if they were standing at the bottom of an ocean but there was no water to be seen. The trees looked like giant formations of coral, pink and stretching into the sky.

Rys walked in the direction the ship flew in. "There's got to be a full battalion in there, probably packin' armor, too."

Jek charged up his minigun and chuckled. "We'll have something for 'em."

Tyler walked over to Yoda and Kai. "Did you guys feel that?"

Kai nodded. "It's the same feeling that I got on Christophsis but not as strong."

Yoda nodded. "Arrived, the Sith have. Troublesome, this may be."

Tyler scoffed. "We should have no problem dealing with them."

Kai smiled. "Yeah, even if baldy joins them."

Thire walked over. "I am more concerned about the armor they might be coming at us with."

Tyler shrugged. "Nothing we can't handle. Everyone got water and a snack?"

Thire nodded. "We are ready to move out, sir."

Tyler smiled. "Good. Let's get moving then." He pulled the Lazy Draco out of his inventory and completed the activation sequence. The drones began flying all over the place but mostly concentrated on the forward direction.

Thire laughed. "That's quite the useful tool you got there."

Tyler nodded. "Indeed. Let's grab some explosives and portable energy shields from my ship. They should come in handy."

Jek cheered. "Yeah! Now the general is speaking my language."

Tyler chuckled. "Keep it in your pants, soldier. There is a time and place for everything."

Jek nodded. "Yes, sir."

After retrieving their supplies, they began to move towards their destination. Almost immediately, the scouting report came back in the form of a detailed holographic map of the ground.

Tyler analyzed it and noticed that he was getting real time updates on where the droids were moving. "Based on this, we should move towards this valley. They will come right through it and we can give them a little surprise."

Yoda nodded in approval. "Great patience you have, Draco. One of the reasons you are a master, that is."

Tyler smiled. "That's one way to put it. I prefer to think of myself as an opportunist. I try to make the biggest impact with the least effort. It's worked thus far. Anyways, let's move. We should only run into one company if we're lucky."

They began to pick up the pace. Best case scenario, they would only run into the B1 droids. Worse case scenario, they would get sandwiched between their tanks and the B2 super battle droids.

Tyler pointed towards a spot in the forest. "Let's move that way. We can flank them if we are quiet."

Thire turned to his two clones. "Let's move towards sector -110."

The group started running while Kai and Yoda hopped to keep up. The humming of the CIS tanks began to get louder and louder until the enemy came into view. They quickly hid behind a few trees.

Tyler made some hand signs to the rest of the group. He would act as a distraction while the rest of them get behind the droids and take them out.

Tyler moved in the same direction that the droids were moving and prepared for his role. He watched as the clones and two Jedi circled around back.

Suddenly, he heard a humming sound that was slightly different than the tanks. He looked around curiously until he saw a sliver of a small drone hovering in the distance.

Tyler smirked. "Bingo. He pulled out his blaster pistol, aimed at the tiny visible portion of the drone, and fired. The droid hit the ground but all the droids in the group turned towards his position.

Tyler sighed. "Y'all ain't never gonna catch me lackin." He holstered his pistol and walked out in front of the droids with his hands up. "I surrender."

A droid with yellow paint that was sitting in the middle tank responded. "Really? That was easy."

Tyler nodded. "Indeed, this truly is easy." He then grinned as he saw Kai flying through the air towards the commander droid.

In response, Tyler ignited his two lightsabers and took off like a cannon towards the droids. He was almost too fast for their optical systems to keep up. He elegantly danced through the group of droids, taking down at least one with each step.

Once all the droids were dealt with, he deactivated his lightsabers and bowed as if he had just performed for a crowd.

Kai was sitting on top of the second tank he had just taken out and shook his head. "Enough of your theatrics, they know our position now."

Tyler laughed. "They know our current position but they can no longer follow us. There was a scouting drone following us that I took out. Regardless, let's go set up our trap and light a fire. These kebabs aren't going to cook themselves."

Tyler walked off dramatically towards their destination. The rest of their walk towards the valley was quite uneventful. Having knowledge of the B2 battle droids' position was quite useful. They are usually quite troublesome to deal with.

They soon arrived at the top of the cliff. They looked around just enjoying the sights for a moment before getting to business. They weren't in that much of a rush after all. It was only noon at this point.

Tyler pointed to the choke point that led into the valley. "Jek, can you rig the rocks on both sides of the valley to collapse?"

Jek subtly pumped his fist. "Yes, I can, sir."

Tyler smiled. "Good. Have Thire and Rys help you with that. I will cook some lunch for us."

Tyler jumped down to the foothold below and then walked into a small cave. He took a small grill out of his inventory and placed it on the ground before placing ten kebabs with meat and vegetables over the flame.

Kai laughed. "Is this what you call field rations?"

Tyler shrugged. "I have so much money that it would be a crime if I didn't waste money on this kind of stuff."

Kai chuckled. "Fair enough."

Soon after, the clones came into the cave and sat down on the rocks around the perimeter of the grill.

Tyler handed them cups of water. "Take your helmets off. Let's relax for a bit. My scouts will tell me when something happens."

The clones nodded and removed their helmets to enjoy the water. Tyler then retrieved the kebabs and distributed them to everyone.

Thire sighed. "I'm not sure if we have the equipment to take on a whole battalion. With respect, generals, maybe you should go on. Let us slow 'em down."

Yoda shook his head as he took a bite of the kebab. "All around us is that which we need to prevail. Yes. Hmm." He gestured to the group of them sitting around the fire. "Your faces, nice to see them it is."

Thire shook his head. "There's not much to look at here sir. We all share the same face."

Yoda nodded. "Deceive you, eyes can. In the force, very different each one of you are." He got up and walked around the group, pointing as he went by. "Rys, always focused on the enemy are you. For inspiration, look to yourself, and those beside you. Jek, concerned about weapons you are. Weapons do not win battles. Your mind, powerful it is. Hmm. Outthink the droids you can. Thire, rush not into fights. Long is the war. Only by surviving it will you prevail."

He turned away from the clones and walked back to his seat. "Yes. Hmm. Clones you may be. But the force resides in all life-forms. Use it you can to quiet your mind."

Tyler's comm started blinking as soon as Yoda finished speaking. Tyler smirked. "Looks like the party is about to start. Thire, you and your men will stay up here and hit them from above. Master Yoda, Kai, and myself will engage them headon. I sense that there are not just droids down there."

Yoda nodded. "Cold, brought by the dark side it is."

Tyler sighed. "They should just be small fry though. I doubt there will be any issues. Let's move!"

-GE-

A man in dark robes walked in front of a large group of droids. Behind him were a few dozen B1 droids, about a dozen B2s, and 6 tanks.

A woman rushed over to him. "Commander Stone, based on their path, they should be somewhere within this valley."

Stone smiled. "Good work, Rose. Ventress will be pleased with our success." He then turned to the droids. "KEEP MOVING! SCOUR THE VALLEY AND FIND THEM! REPORT IMMEDIATELY IF YOU FIND ANYTHING!"

The droids fanned out and started to search all of the possibly hiding spots around them. Several minutes went by and they found nothing.

A droid with yellow paint walked over to Stone. "Commander, there's no sign of them in the valley."

Stone scoffed. "They should be here. Whatever, let's head back and set up a defensive perimeter. We can't let them reach the king."

The droid nodded. "Yes, sir."

At that moment, explosions went off above them. The hanging rocks above them crashed down and destroyed two of the tanks in the back. There was now a wall of debris blocking their retreat.

Suddenly, Stone heard three people land on the ground behind him. He quickly turned and saw three of the faces that he hoped to never be within 20 feet of. The ȧssailants four lightsabers came to life, dying the ground below them with hues of green and purple.

Stone grimaced. "KILL THEM!" He ignited his own crimson saber and began backpedalling through the group of droids, hoping to use them as meat shields.

If the three Jedi in front of them weren't enough, blaster fire rained on them from above.

Stone rushed and took cover behind one of the remaining tanks. He quickly contacted Ventress. "My lord, we need support."

Ventress didn't even reply after glaring at him angrily and ending the call.