ARC Fordo was speaking into his comm as the clones behind him were being overwhelmed by the seemingly endless swarm of machines.
"We need reinforcements," Fordo transmitted. "We need—"
Fordo spun around just in time to see the last of his forward clone squad being gunned down.
In a flash, Fordo raised his blaster rifle, destroying several drones. A moment later, he struck a hulking war machine with his rifle's stock, pumping a final shot into its head before hurling the weapon at another drone.
Fordo drew his sidearm and fired at several advancing drones, then spotted a fallen DC-17 blaster rifle.
Snatching it up, Fordo unleashed a sustained barrage, taking out a large cluster of machines as he slowly retreated to a more defensible position behind friendly lines, with additional clones rushing up to support him.
"Fall back! Fall back!"
In a green blur, a diminutive figure carved through multiple Ultron drones, then used the Force to repel a large group of them.
"Hold your positions! Hold your positions, you must!"
"General Yoda!"
"Captain Fordo, take the high ground you must," Yoda instructed the ARC trooper. "A tactical advantage, we need here."
"Understood, sir."
As Mace swooped down to engage another wave of aerial fighters, one was struck by drone fire and crashed directly into him.
As he fell, he suddenly felt a grip on his back as he was caught mid-air. Looking back, he saw his rescuer.
"You alright, Master Windu?"
"Much appreciated, Mr. Parker."
Peter nodded, concentrating on his surroundings as the clone fighter he was web-slinging from maneuvered around Sector Four.
Windu surveyed the battle below and identified the optimal insertion point. "I need to get down there."
"You got it."
Releasing his web-line, Peter watched the Jedi Master plummet toward the contested bridge with his purple lightsaber ignited.
Crashing into a cluster of droids, he sliced through several before quickly holstering his lightsaber and unleashing a Force push to clear breathing room.
"Master Windu," Yoda acknowledged as the small Jedi deflected and cut his way through the surrounding enemies.
At that moment, Mace issued the command.
"Advance!"
From this point, the Republic task force surged forward and retook the bridge from the encroaching droids and drones.
"Forward! Maintain pressure on the right flank!" Captain Fordo bellowed.
"Sir, what about our left wing?" a clone called out.
"The Jedi and Avengers will secure the left flank."
Back at the Jedi Temple, the clone shuttle finally touched down, its side hatch sliding open as two Padawans disembarked with their clone escorts.
Seeing their sanctuary under assault, they felt a surge of righteous anger.
They charged forward, cutting through multiple drones before finally spotting their respective Masters ahead.
Ahsoka rushed forward and executed a spinning saber combo, slicing through a dozen drones before landing beside her Master.
"There you are," Anakin said, Force-pushing several drones away from Heavy, who seized the opportunity to continue mowing them down with his rotary cannon. "Where have you been?"
"Elsewhere, Master," Ahsoka replied, fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with her mentor. "Peter, Barriss, and I were with Commander Thorne. We were doing what we could when Ultron launched his attack."
"Where's Peter?" Anakin asked.
"I don't know," Ahsoka said with concern. "He's... out there somewhere."
Anakin frowned at that news. "I hope he's alright."
"He lifted a building off himself, didn't he?" Ahsoka asked with a slight grin.
"Yes, to save you and the others," Anakin said, his own smile appearing. "He'll be fine."
Speaking of Peter...
Peter was currently engaged in frantic combat with multiple Ultron machines attempting to overwhelm him. His hands rested on his knees as he caught his breath.
"Well... that was a workout," Peter panted slightly, temporarily lifting his mask.
He wiped away a bead of sweat and pulled it back down when his suit suddenly activated, multiple systems illuminating around it.
"What—"
"Hello, Mr. Parker," a synthetic female voice said in his ear. "Do you require assistance?"
"Whoa!" Peter exclaimed in surprise, startled by the voice. "Who are you?"
"I am the artificial intelligence that Mr. Stark integrated into this suit," the female AI explained.
"Oh, right..." Peter said, then yelped, ducked, and leaped into a spin as drones fired energy blasts at him.
"It appears you're in considerable danger, Mr. Parker," the AI observed, her voice carrying a note of concern.
"Yeah, I'm fighting for my life!" Peter shouted, grabbing a chunk of debris and hurling it with full force at an approaching group of machines.
"Noted," the AI responded. "I apologize for not activating sooner. There are training protocols that restrict my interaction with you. You might want to engage Instant Kill mode—"
"Not yet!" Peter grunted, grabbing a drone's arm and using it as an improvised club against other machines.
"Understood, the decision is yours."
"Yeah, I... wait, what's that?"
Several drones managed to intercept him mid-swing and latched onto him. Peter nearly lost control of his web-line.
Soon he was being swarmed by Ultron drones closing in from all directions. He punched and kicked with everything he had, pushing them back, but it was only delaying the inevitable.
Thinking quickly, he web-zipped toward a building wall, braced himself, and slammed into it at full speed. Most of the drones were either destroyed or knocked loose by the impact.
The remaining ones were dispatched with punches, kicks, and web-shots before Peter took a moment to catch his breath while clinging to the wall.
"Okay..." Peter exhaled heavily. "Just... give me a second."
After a few moments, Peter looked ahead and witnessed the chaos escalating before him.
How had this happened? Where had Ultron assembled such an army?
He knew the Separatists had their own factories, producing battle droids by the millions, but these machines were emerging from within Coruscant itself.
When had Ultron managed this?
Some didn't even resemble typical Ultron drones—they were just various robots of different sizes with certain similarities.
"Hacking," Peter muttered. "Of course he can do that."
Shaking his head, Peter leaped forward and rejoined the battle.
He had become separated from Barriss and Ahsoka, as well as Thorne and the other Coruscant Guard, but he believed they were managing.
He hoped they were.
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