Icarus walked away from the ship with his small escort of three B1 droids that he directly controlled remotely. These droids were too old and required a mainframe computer to function properly. So, Icarus had to program its nucleus to exercise that central command function. In a way, the B1 units behaved like an extension of Icarus itself, rather than independent units like the OOM and B2 units that remained on the Kestrel Nova.

They were heading calmly towards the Omni ship that lay on the rocky ground of that part of the planet. A thin layer of snow covered the area, and small ice crystals fell gracefully from the sky. It was a landscape worth appreciating, but the droid looked around with concern. He couldn't detect any sign of movement, and that made him even more alert.

He got close enough to see the Omni ship in detail. The hangar doors were open, surely destroyed by the impact of the landing. The command post seemed intact, as well as some storage spaces inside the transport ship. Icarus approached the hangar, where a ramp extended to the ground, implying that at some point, while the ship was still operational, someone had left or entered the interior. But before he could enter the hangar, a strange sound caught his attention.

https://youtu.be/mpWfpM2ZfHE

Icarus looked up and couldn't believe it. Two distinctive Vulture droids soared through the skies at high speed. They came out of nowhere, like a shadow looming out of the darkness, and would have gone undetected had they not broken the sound barrier with a thunderous impact. The fighter droids soared overhead, spun around, and plummeted to the ground.

¡BAM! ¡BAM!

The two starfighters fell to the ground behind them, cutting off their escape route to their ship. The droids' wings unfurled, allowing them to become a ground unit that, while slow, could sustain close combat thanks to its two centrally located laser cannons. Cannons aimed at Icarus and his droids. Then he heard them:

https://youtu.be/_Pl0_8mrZi0

From inside the Omni transport ship, hundreds of B1 droids marched in a rectangular formation over Icarus's position, accompanied by dozens of B2 units and commando droids that quickly surrounded them, dwarfing Icarus' puny escort. It was not clear who could do such a thing, but it was certain that this unnecessary deployment of troops was nothing less than a show of force. Someone was playing with him, and he had to find out who it was.

Then, from among the formation of the strange force that still did not identify itself as hostile or friendly, an OOM unit emerged, with its characteristic yellow markings on its armor escorted by four other B1 units.

OOM: - This is in restricted territory of the Separatist Alliance. Please. Identify yourself. -

Icarus: - Separatist Alliance? -

OOM: - Just as you heard. Now. Identify yourself. - The tone of this OOM unit was much more challenging, and had a higher pitched tone than OOM-9.

Icarus: - SD-87451 Proto 1 Commander Unit. Code name: Icarus. I need to speak to your commander. -

OOM: - SD-87451 Proto 1 unit. We have no record of its identification number. - At that, all the droids raised their weapons and pointed at Icarus. - I'll repeat it one more time. Identify yourself. -

Icarus was in serious trouble. Surrounded from all sides, with hundreds of blasters pointed at his head, he had no chance of escaping and it seemed that this battalion had not received its identification code before the fall of the Separatist Alliance. But before giving another command, the OOM droid reached its hand to the side of its head.

OOM: - Sir?... Yes sir. We have the intruders in custody... Yes... Yes... Roger. Roger. - It seemed that he had a communication with someone through a private channel. Then he turned to Icarus. - The commander wishes to see you. We'll escort you to the command room. -

Icarus took a step forward, following his captors, but seeing that the intruder's B1 unit was following him:

OOM: - You will go alone. -

Icarus gave the order, and the B1 units under his command shut down, wrapping themselves around their legs, just as they used to transport themselves in the cargo compartments. The large droid army returned to their positions, leaving only a couple of units to watch over the disabled droids. The Vulture droids took flight, disappearing into the distance. They were probably waiting elsewhere for orders, or just doing reconnaissance missions.

Icarus followed the OOM unit into the Omni dropship, escorted by four B1 and two B2 droids, ready to open fire on him if he dared to escape. He had no weapons, just the lightsaber he had hidden in his arm compartment, but it would be useless if he didn't know how to deflect blasters like the Jedi did.

It took them approximately ten minutes to reach the Omni's cockpit. Along the way, Icarus was able to see all the inactive droids, and the hundreds of ammunition and bombs stored. This was without a doubt the perfect opportunity. Whoever this mysterious commander was, he had to make them join his cause.

Finally they arrived, a huge metal door leading to the cockpit. The escort droids stood aside and waited as the OOM unit operated the terminal. The door opened, and Icarus entered, accompanied by the droid OOM. It was a huge cabin, with dozens of computers and panels operated by B1 droids. And there it was, another super tactical droid unit, its back to him, staring out the cockpit windows at endless fields of snow and rock.

OOM: - Commander. We brought the prisoner. -

The droid spun around, displaying its perfectly intact breastplate, adorned with fine gold eye-shaped detailing on its chest plates. His two hands remained together, resting on his back, with his erect and proud pose. Without a doubt, the programming of this droid was going to be quite a challenge.

Super tactical droid: - I never thought that another like me would have survived all this time. - He said with an authoritative voice. - But... Why isn't your identification number registered in the database? -

Icarus: - The truth is, I was only in combat for one day. I fought over the capital city of Mygeeto before it all came crashing down. And tell me. What unit are you exactly? I couldn't find any record of you before I came to this place. -

Super tactical droid: - I am Kalani. And I was assigned to this planet by Count Dooku. After several days of orbital patrol, our fleet engaged a Republic little fleet. They took us by surprise, and this is the dishonorable result. He made a dramatic pause. - I don't expect you to understand all this protocol, but a lot has happened since we crashed here. Unfortunately, their mere presence is a threat to the Separatist Alliance's operations in this sector. If you don't have an identification code to support it, we'll have to disable you. -

Icarus was in a serious bind. It was possible that these droids had been operating on this planet for years before the fall of the Separatist Alliance, but for obvious reasons, it seemed that they had not been aware of the changes in the galaxy in these five years. He had to think of something, and fast.

Icarus: - Very good. Let's try this. - He said calmly. - Activating Overlord protocol. Activation code 603541@alfa. -

The droids present stopped what they were doing and turned to face the newcomer. They were stunned, for they never thought to hear that again.

Kalani: - That's General Grievous' personal code... How come you have it? -

Icarus took a few steps forward, stopping defiantly before Kalani's face.

Icarus: - Because I am the second in command of the Great Separatist Army. -

Kalani took a step back. His defeat in the power game had been crushing, and now he had no choice but to submit to the newcomer.

Droid B1: - That was unexpected. - He said in a goofy tone.

Kalani stepped back and moved out of Icarus's path, lowering his head in submission. Icarus walked in front, and triumphantly sat in the ship's captain's chair, while all the droids looked stunned at what was happening.

Without wasting a second, Icarus modified his hand to insert it into the ship's terminal, accessing the records to review them in detail.

Droid B1: - That's new. Can you do that? - He told Kalani foolishly.

Kalani: - Silence. - The superdroid advanced and positioned itself next to Icarus. - What are you exactly? -

Icarus: - In a few words: I am a model of a super tactical droid 2.0. An improved and more efficient version. -

Kalani: - And what makes you so special? - He said something annoying.

Icarus: - That is not relevant now. Instead. I need a full status report on your unit. -

Kalani: - 476 B1 units, 217 B2 units, 35 droideka units, and 2 Vulture units. Sufficient supplies to be operational for another fifteen years. -

Icarus: - Is that all? -

Kalani: - I'm sorry to say yes. We lost many units in the landing. And others could not stand the weather. -

Icarus: - Why haven't you left the planet? -

Kalani: - There are only three shuttles left. It is impossible to withdraw without leaving the greater part behind. -

Kalani's information was true, and Icarus could check it directly from the ship's database. It seemed this Kalani superdroid was competent, and surely could be put to good use. Still, there was something that bothered Icarus, but he didn't know what it was.

Kalani: - And how is the war going? -

Icarus: - Unfortunately. The war was lost. The Separatist Alliance was destroyed when the droid army was disabled, and the Republic became the Galactic Empire. - He said as he disconnected from the terminal and was preparing to leave the room.

Kalani: - Negative. That disengagement order was a Republic trick to surrender us. I will not fall into that obvious trap. -

Ícaro: - As much as it costs me to say it... That's the reality. -

Icarus left the room, leaving the droids inside in great confusion. But the most confusing was Kalani, whose head jerked sometimes, as if he was fighting something inside.

OOM: - Sir. If the Separatist Alliance was defeated. What should we do? - He said while looking at his former commander, who was looking resolutely through the window of the control cabin.

Kalani: - I didn't fall for the Republic trap once. I will not fall a second. -

-------------------------------------------O------ --------------------------------------

Meanwhile, inside the Kestrel Nova, a somewhat nervous Wag Too was seen, pacing nervously from one place to another.

OOM-9: - Can you stop, please? It makes me nervous, and I don't even know what that is. -

Wag Too: - I'm sorry. It's just that I'm very worried. -

Tova: - We not let Icarus go alone. Might be trouble. -

Wag Too: - I agree. We should go see if anything happened to him. -

OOM-9: - That goes against the commander's orders. -

Tova: - But... - The girl stopped talking when she saw the imposing B2 approaching her.

B2: - The commander entrusted his security to us. We can't let anything happen to you. -

The little girl stepped back a bit, perhaps a little intimidated by the imposing figure of the B2 droid, although that was not its intention. However, there was no fear in her eyes, and with that ingenuousness that characterizes children she did not hesitate to answer.

Tova: - Icarus order protect us. But not where. If you go with us outside, you protect us. -

The two droids looked at each other in astonishment, while the lurmen only smiled at the genuine intelligence of the little girl.

B2: - That makes sense. - He agreed after a few seconds of analyzing it.

Wag Too: - Good. What are we waiting for? - He said as he mounted his rifle on his shoulder.

OOM-9: - Wait. - He said as he put his hand to the side of his head.

Tova: - What happens? -

OOM-9: - Commander's message. It seems urgent. -

Wag Too: - What's going on? What does it say? -

OOM-9: - "Start engines and prepare to depart immediately." -