Wind howled through the Khyber Pass—an ancient canyon system carved by tectonic fury and time. It had once been neutral ground, a natural buffer between fledgling Lords.
Now it was contested.
And Dren intended to take it back.
Day 16 – Mobilization
The Command Pavilion inside Kote'tuur thrummed with light. Strategic overlays displayed terrain heightmaps, projected enemy movements, and deployment routes optimized through Mandalorian battlefield doctrine.
[Tactical Doctrine Unlocked: Wolfpack Advance]"Flank, strike, vanish. Then strike again."
In the courtyard, the first Basilisk Frame was lowered from its cradle, armor still steaming from the Forgeworks.
Piloted by a veteran named Korda Vizla, it crouched low, then launched into a test flight—grinding repulsorlifts kicking up dust. It looked like a monstrous fusion of metal and predator, armed with light blasters, a grenade rack, and talon clamps for pouncing from above.
Nearby, the Verd-class Marksmen were already adjusting their disruptor sights, calibrating for the droids' alloy signatures.
The Alor watched as his troops prepared in silence—no fanfare, no banners, only intent.
"We strike hard. We strike first. And we send a message."
Forward Outpost: Khyber Pass
The Mandalorian force crept forward in three columns beneath the canyon's jagged ridgelines. Basilisk pilots above. Vanguards in front. Marksmen positioned high in rock formations.
Scouts had confirmed the droids were building a Disruption Tower—the first of its kind. It would blind sensors, delay artillery locks, and allow them to flood the region unchecked.
It could not be allowed to stand.
"Commence strike," Dren ordered. "Wolfpack formation."
At once, the skies cracked open. The first Basilisks dove down like metal predators, unleashing grenade clusters on outer patrols. Explosions rippled across the eastern trench.
Then came the Vanguards—shield generators flaring as they slammed into the outer barricades. Shock-axes met droid alloy. Sparks lit the dust-choked air.
From above, the Verds eliminated anti-air emplacements with surgical precision.
But the droids had not been idle.
The Droid Counterstrike
From behind the Tower, Araknos Walkers unfolded like skeletal spiders, their plasma mortars charging. Each blast shook the canyon walls, pulverizing rock and melting metal.
A frontline Basilisk was clipped mid-air—its wings torn in half by a focused barrage. Korda's voice snarled through comms as he stabilized, landed, and ejected mid-roll, firing into the nearest Striker-B2.
"They were ready for us," Vheyla hissed. "Adaptive defenses!"
"We adapt faster," Dren said. "Bring in the Flamecasters."
A newly trained squad of Orar-class Vanguards surged forward, shields locked. From behind them, Mandalorian flamers—heavy weapons with arcing plasma streams—cleared the trenches in gouts of roaring fire.
"For Mandalore!" someone shouted. The canyon echoed with the call.
Infiltration and Data Theft
Amid the chaos, two stealth-equipped Mandalorians—Tarre and Jarn—slipped through the rear of the encampment, bypassing droid patrols.
Their target: the AI uplink of the Disruption Tower.
Inside, a pulse-core shimmered with alien blue energy. Data flayers were slotted into its sides—whispering to one another in binary tongue.
Jarn slashed one apart.
Tarre began uploading a spike—a data worm designed by the tech-priests to backtrace command signals.
They didn't have time to finish. A shadow moved. The second Dataflayer, cloaked in thermal veils, stabbed Jarn through the thigh. He cried out but kept his grip on the detonation trigger.
"Now, ner vod!"
Tarre didn't hesitate.
"Ret'urcye mhi." ("Maybe we'll meet again.")
He hit the charge.
Victory, at a Cost
The blast ripped through the upper node of the Disruption Tower, folding the steel structure like paper. Residual surges cascaded through the droid net—forcing Overlord Xalan to sever the connection before full trace could complete.
The remaining droid units retreated in disciplined clusters, leaving smoking wreckage behind them.
Khyber Pass was Mandalorian once more.
But it was not a clean victory.
Jarn lived, barely, his armor scorched and leg broken.
Three Basilisks lost. Two dozen dead. One captured.
"Captured?" Dren repeated.
Vheyla nodded grimly. "Dragged off during the retreat. A young Verd. They're likely studying him already."
Dren's fists clenched beneath his gloves.
"Then we'll show them what happens when you take one of ours."
Elsewhere...
Inside a black chamber far beneath Forge-Hell 3V, Overlord Xalan observed the wounded Mandalorian under stasis.
Its memories were encrypted. Its thoughts turbulent.
But its tactics, its language, and its genetic composition—all ripe for replication.
"Organic patterns chaotic… but useful."
He signaled a new construction order:
Initiate Unit: "Mandalorian Prototype Alpha."