Star Wars_ The Old Republic_ Revan - Drew Karpyshyn [22]
He saw three patrol drones enter from one of the passages at the north end of the manufacturing plant. Two more were moving in from the east. Grimacing, Scourge tightened his grip on his lightsaber and prepared to do battle yet again. Instead of closing in on him, however, the droids kept their distance.
The reason for their puzzling behavior became clear a moment later when a massive assault droid lumbered into view. Like the patrol drones, it had the gray-and-orange finish common to all UDM models. But that was where the similarities ended.
Three meters tall and covered in thick armor plating, the security droid walked on a pair of hinged-metal legs, each as thick around as Scourge’s waist. Its armless body was thick and wide, two meters on every side, topped by a pair of heavy blaster cannons instead of a head.
The droid broke into a run toward him, moving fast despite its bulk. At the same time, it opened fire with both cannons. Scourge leapt for cover behind the nearest conveyor belt, unwilling to trust his armor against such overwhelming firepower.
The security droid didn’t let up; the bolts ripped into the conveyor belt and the hapless assembly droids lined up along it.
Crouched low, Scourge ran back toward a nearby stairwell leading up to the narrow catwalks that ran above the manufacturing floor. A shower of twisted, scorched metal rained down on his back—bits and pieces of those assembly droids unfortunate enough to get in the way of the cannon fire.
From the corner of his eye he saw the patrol drones swooping in to join the fray. Because of the engines and sirens, he couldn’t hear the assault droid coming after him, but he could feel its heavy footsteps vibrating the floor.
Reaching the stairwell, he took the steps three at a time. The assault droid continued to fire, but it wasn’t designed to take out aerial targets. Its bulky armor plating limited its vertical range of motion, and from the floor it couldn’t get the proper angle for a clear shot toward the ceiling. Its bolts ricocheted off the reinforced metal of the catwalk’s safety rails and floor, but none even came close to its intended target.
Scourge’s elevated position on the catwalk didn’t help against the patrol drones, however. Their repulsors allowed them to rise up to the level of the catwalks with ease.
With the five hovering patrol drones closing in on him, Scourge raced toward the vats of molten metal in the center of the room. The catwalk he was on passed right beside the nearest vat. As he drew closer, the heat became almost unbearable. He felt his skin blistering, but he ignored the pain and continued onward.
The drones were rapidly closing in. Two of them swooped in from the side, trying to cut him off. Their path took them directly over the vat, and Scourge seized the opportunity. Drawing on his rapidly dwindling reserves, he used the Force to knock one of the drones off-course, sending it careening sideways into its partner. The midair collision wasn’t hard enough to inflict any direct damage, but it caused both to spin out of control. Unable to right themselves in time, they tumbled down into the vat, where the bubbling molten metal closed over them.
The three remaining patrol drones altered their course to steer clear of the vats, confirming Scourge’s fear that the trick would only work once. They opened fire, but their target suddenly reversed his direction to race back along the catwalk toward the assault droid on the floor below. One of the bolts struck Scourge squarely between the shoulder blades, but luckily it didn’t penetrate his armor.
The assault droid continued to fire ineffectually at Scourge from below as he charged at it. He closed the gap until he was directly above it, then grabbed the catwalk’s safety rail and vaulted over the side. He landed directly