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“In a manner of speaking,” Tann says, before changing the display on the holotable from the emerging battlefield into a depiction of the weapon her entire campaign had been fought over. It’s a strange-looking vehicle, larger than you would have guessed at a glance, elements of its design betraying the fact that it was engineered by neither the Republic nor the Separatists. “Wookiee engineers designed it,” General Tann says as part of her explanation, which surprises you. Not that the Wookiees aren’t on a level of technical parity with the rest of the Galaxy, just that the Decimator doesn’t seem like the type of weapon they would develop. She goes on to explain that the red orb at the center of the tank is essentially a miniaturized superlaser (which seems like an oxymoron, but you’re not a technician so you won’t question it), and that the cylindrical structures at its front are outpowered shield generators. The Chiss general’s overview of the vehicle ends with her explaining that they are extremely power-hungry, with the bulk of their mass consisting of a reactor and batteries, though the rear of the superstructure contains (cramped) space for ten troops.
After the improvised lecture, General Tann tunes the holotable back into the battle, where you can see a large number of Clones have managed to reach the outskirts of the old mining complex, their LAAT dropships being used to cover their positions. Unfortunately for your droids, it seems like the base’s garrison is lacking in artillery, the base’s static defenses aside, and the only heavier droids present are more geared towards offense than defense, such as Spider Droids and Persuader Droid Tanks, with the only MTTs and AATs available being the ones you arrived with. From initial engagement reports, General Shen-Jon isn’t leading his troops, which, according to General Tann, is unusual.
“He’s probably sneaking through the hills to take me out,” your fellow Separatist says with a sneer, “maybe I should just stay here, or,” that smirk from earlier comes back, “I could go out there and capture his new apprentice. She’ll probably be in the last wave.”
“New apprentice?” You ask, momentarily distracted from the plans you’re already going through in your head. It’s strange that a Jedi, even a Master, would be allowed to take a new Padawan so soon after losing their first.
“The last one’s sister, she lost her master at Geonosis too,” she chuckles, causing you to narrow your eyes, “probably the Jedi trying to get them both to overcome their grief.”
