The droid forces had begun to surround the rebel base, forming a semicircle to prevent any rebel from escaping. Meanwhile, on the rebel side, many soldiers were making their final checks before what would probably be their last battle. The base commander was one of Dax's trusted men and had been with the movement since the beginning. He was in the command center, trying to achieve the most with the least. At that moment, according to artillery observers, the droid forces were finishing the semicircle, blocking any possibility of reinforcements or escape.
"The situation does not look good for us, so we will try to do the most possible with what we have. The droid forces are about 2,000 meters from our current position. Our first line of defense is 500 meters from here and consists of a minefield, accompanied by a line of interconnected trenches at 200 meters, and finally where we are now: an old mining complex abandoned years ago, labyrinthine tunnels where we will resist the droids for as long as possible.
They have tanks, so it is very likely they will begin with a concentrated barrage against us, but for that we have our little friend, courtesy of our allies, which will force them into our engagement range and into the minefield, where once they are within range our forces will throw everything we have at them. Give the order to the artillery to fire on the densest droid formations and leave the stragglers to us."
The commander let the silence settle in the command room. No one argued with the plan.
"Transmit the order," he finally said. "All positions are to prepare."
"Yes, sir."
At 500 meters from the base, on the front line, Ilyan was crouched in the mud of the trench, his new rifle resting on the edge and his eyes fixed on the horizon. Both he and his comrades could hear the metallic footsteps of thousands of droids approaching their position, until on the horizon a black line could be seen that seemed to cover everything.
The droids advanced in perfect synchronization, without the nervousness or doubt of a living being. But these were machines whose only function was to eliminate them, or at least that was what they had been told.
"Here they come," murmured one of the soldiers beside him.
The droids did not know they were there, nor about the minefield, so when they entered it, several explosions began to detonate. This did not stop the droids, who continued advancing. It was not until the first tanks entered the field that Ilyan clenched his teeth, his hands trembling on his rifle at the sight of such overwhelming numbers, his gaze constantly shifting between his comrade and the droids. Then suddenly a massive explosion seemed to shake the world, throwing him off balance and knocking him to the ground.
"What was that?" he said, disoriented.
"That, kid, means the left side has been detonated," replied one of the older soldiers, grabbing his arm and pulling him to his feet.
"And what does that mean?" he asked, still groggy from the blast.
"It means all the mines in that sector were detonated at once."
All at once. That meant the number of droids had reached an optimal point for detonation. The downside was that a simultaneous explosion was not the same as sporadic blasts forcing a staggered response from the droids.
"Why are they coming toward the right side—and here?"
"Because they think the strongest part of our defense is where the explosion happened. Their tin brains must know there's more resistance, but they don't know where."
Quickly, everyone in the trench took position, ready to fire, when several red flashes passed overhead, striking the mountain where the mine was and some of the old buildings nearby, reducing them to rubble. These explosions did not seem to affect the droids, who kept advancing toward the defenders until a cacophony of sound erupted from the trenches. From them, several rifles and DShK machine guns easily pierced the droids, who responded by sending even more droids and some tanks.
Then another explosion of similar magnitude engulfed the machines in flames. Arms, legs, and parts of droids were blown almost to the trench itself. But this did not stop the droid horde, which continued advancing over the wreckage, this time with tanks at the front. These were capable of resisting both medium-caliber rounds and DShK fire while firing what appeared to be something similar to HE shells.
The fighting outside the trenches continued until nearly nightfall, when the defenders finally began to retreat through the network of trenches, forcing the droids to take them. There were scenes of droids falling into booby traps, fighting in bottlenecks, and losses on both sides. Finally, when the last men entered the mine, the total losses amounted to 1,380 confirmed rebel casualties and more than 12,000 droids of various types destroyed, along with a limited number of tanks. Both sides considered the battle a victory.