AN:Pretty sure nobody's done this one before :D. A squadron of 8 First Order stormtroopers, the stern, silent and color-based alphanumerically named footsoldiers of the First Order, wind up on Remnant, most likely to either not hit shit or hit the jackpot and turn into actual 'good guys', much like that one African-American stormtrooper. Except in a way that, y'know, makes sense because it takes time.
Malachor. First Order excavation site.
Bolts of scarlet blaster fire lanced through the dusty, ashen surface of the former sith world of Malachor. From the top of a black, charred temple ruin, two squads of Stormtroopers of the First Order, clad in their usual white battle armors, fired a continuous stream of shots toward an advancing squadron of Resistance soldiers. The small skirmish now saw 16 First Order troopers facing off against 52 poorly-trained and poorly-equipped Resistance members.
The two squads of eight soldiers were known as Harbinger and Terminus, respectively. Leading was Terminus squad, with the only Lieutenant among the two. The squadron was made up of 17-year-old troopers, just off Cadet training on Starkiller base, with the 20-year-old Lieutenant leading them akin to their 'father'. Harbinger squad knew better than to disobey him.
Harbinger's leader, Sergeant A-0, AKA Absolute Zero or Ace, kept his eyes down his Blaster's scope, shouldering it as he fired bursts in attempts to snipe the enemy. Two of the Resistance troopers fell, nailed by some of his shots. The boy wore the standard officer's kit, including the orange shoulder pad and black collar it attached to, over his normal armor pad.
Sitting beside him was his second-in-command, in pure white armor much like him, BR-0, or Bravo, readied his stun lance and shield, whilst firing slightly aimed shots at the enemy in a more suppressing fire pattern. He was a Riot Control Trooper. A glancing shot slammed into his shield, knocking his left hand back slightly. Still he remained steadfast, setting the shield firmly back onto the ground and firing from behind it.
Third one in was C8-L, the team's heavy gunner. Everyone called him Cy. He was the one laying down a continuous stream of Blaster fire regardless of his ammo. Some shots he got lucky, but not all of them. He kept the heavy blaster steady on its bipod, eyeing down range toward the bastards. A blaster round tore one Resistance member's chest wide open.
Fourth and fifth were R3-D, or Red and CR-17N, AKA Crimson. Twins, as in seeming clones, but with different personalities. Red served as the team's incinerator trooper, whom right now was forced to use a Blaster pistol to defend himself(Being also clad in the trenchcoat and heavy heat-resistant armor of a Fire Trooper) and Crimson was the team's Jetpack trooper, the fast-assault unit with a Blaster pistol pair. He was technically the team's gunslinger, but he wouldn't dare fly off into danger. Not right now at least.
Following up on sixth was FB-8R, Frostbite. Clad in an armor with blue stripes and an engineer's symbol on his chest, the boy served as the team's hacker and right behind him, on seventh was C0-8T(Cobalt, or Cole for friends), manning his own Heavy Blaster. Cole had a set of experimental Powered Armor which allowed him to carry both his Heavy Blaster and flame thrower.
Finalizing the circle was GR-37, Gray, or simply Ghost. The trooper manned a sniper rifle variant of the Heavy Blaster, with single-shot ability and powerful heat sinks. The shots were designed to pierce ray shielding and do some serious damage still. It had a smaller bipod and a frontal grip attached to a rail system, as well as a 14x Scope. The officers leading the Resistance teams found themselves with vaporized heads before the exchange of blaster fire even started, which sent most of the grunts in disarray moments later.
"Keep your fire steady, C8. You're wasting blaster bolts." Ace said, scoping in a soldier making a run for cover. He squeezed the trigger of his Blaster and the bolt was hurled out. The shot hit the Resistance member in the heart, sending him tumbling to the floor, dead. Frostbite's sniper hollered and a second soldier that followed that one had his insides flash-boiled, killing him instantly.
"Roger." The gunner responded, shouldering the blaster better and adjusting his aim. Rock and black, ashen sand boiled below a resistance soldier's feet. He adjusted his aim and fired upward, sending three shots that nigh split the Twi'lek woman in half. Stray blaster fire hit the cover of the gunner, slightly heating the strange rock the Temple was made of, but missed him.
"How long until those damned archaeologists finish their search...?" Murmured Cole in annoyance, aiming his Blaster and firing short bursts, instead of the tidal wave fired by Cy. Ace sighed, then told him "Calm down, C0. Patience is required at the moment." as he scoped in another Resistance soldier... The bastards were incredibly close at this point. This one, not so much. Her head was now charred by a Blaster.
A ping sounded off in Ace's ears. He tapped his com, then said to his team calmly "Lieutenant has ordered we fall back into the temple and destroy the artifact, so it does not fall into the hands of the Resistance. Says Terminus will hold them off until we accomplish our orders. And to die well." to which Cy looked at him and asked "You cannot be serious, sir. They're asking us to leave them alone to deal with 40+ Resistance troopers?" a hint of worry clear in his otherwise stern, inquisitive voice.
"The Lieutenant can handle himself, C8. And from what the Resistance unit has shown so far, they're incapable of breaching even our basic defense. We move." The Sergeant returned almost mechanically, standing to his feet and signaling his squad up and moving. He signaled Crimson to fly up and lay down a wave of blaster fire whilst the others moved. The Jetpack trooper nodded, flying high and utilizing his jump agility to fire at the Resistance troops moving up. The others hauled up their gear and moved quickly with the Sergeant into the opening at the side of the temple, left by a detonator.
Ace admired the outside of Malachor one last time as blasters slammed against rock A charred wasteland, in which pillars of black stone were much like a forest in the far distance. The Sith temple was a blackened structure which showed little symbolism from the Sith, but still enough that, even to a Stormtrooper of the First Order, a chill would shoot up the spine. The soldier sighed, then showed his team to advance, tapping his mic twice for CR-17 to land. The boy dropped and rolled into the hole, then nodded and kept his pistols drawn.
The team advanced through the dark corridors of the place, their helmet lights the only thing illuminating their path and walls around them. The old Sith Hieroglyphs on the walls had an eerie sense of urgency to them, despite the soldiers being unable to understand them. The tall columns, pillars and the Sith Lord statues. The soldiers respectfully stood silent, marching, their weapons lowered. They headed down a large stairwell that led into a central hall, a large place, with sixteen Sith statues surrounding them and forming a circle, in the center of which was the RnD team.
The artifact was a large pyramid, with a scarlet Kyber crystal laying at the top in what seemed to be a mechanical pedestal, with four arms holding it in place. It seemed active, with a strange ancient terminal residing on the right, controlling the power flow. The chief scientist, Moterrey, walked up to them. The man was clad in a black uniform which had a grey labcoat over and he looked rather pissed for an aging one.
"I heard what the Lieutenant ordered. We cannot allow you to destroy this artifact. It is too important!" He protested, stepping in front of the Sergeant. The Stormtrooper sighed, then said "Lest you back up, you'll find yourself with a blaster hole in your chest cavity, chief scientist. You can present what you've found so far to Supreme Leader Snoke and Kylo Ren once we're off this planet."
"You don't understand! This is-" He cut off as the Riot Trooper stepped up and aimed his Blaster at the man's head. The Sergeant took out detonator charges, sidestepping the Scientist, who looked on, afraid, as the boy planted the bombs, followed by two more of his retinue doing the same. The Sergeant looked back and gave hand signals to the heavy troopers, both of which immediately readied and aimed their blasters at the only entry point. Both Heavy Blasters were aimed at the stairwell, while the others planted the bombs.
The Sergeant finally reached the top, with the Kyber Crystal to attach the bomb to, when the first Blaster round burst into the hall, slamming into the floor next to one of the soldiers. The men immediately drew their weapons and Ace retaliated with three direct shots into a Resistance trooper's chest. He swore behind his breath, then signaled the entire team forward as he went down the stairs, aiming down his Blaster's scope and firing, shot after shot, forcing the Resistance troopers to take cover near the stairwell... The idiots were funneled in.
He grinned, then signaled Red forward while keeping the Scum pinned down with the other two. The Flame Trooper powered his main weapon, a small flame appearing at the nozzle of the weapon as he rushed forward. He skidded to a halt in front of the stairwell, aimed parallel to it... And let loose a blade of fire powerful enough that it sent the first soldier in the line flying, ablaze, while burning six more behind him. Screams of pure pain were all that was heard. The flame canvased the stairwell for about 6 feet forward and several more Resistance troops were caught in the blaze. Probably a dozen now lay, twisting and turning to put out a napalm-induced fire that didn't want to die.
The other troopers fired blasters in a continuous stream up the stairwell, but the Resistance found purchase. Twelve soldiers fired their blasters in response, hitting Red in the shoulder and throwing off his aim. He released the trigger of the flamer and staggered, before slinging the weapon on his back and turning about, drawing his Blaster pistol. He ran behind the two gunners, turned, knelt and fired his pistol, killing a rebel.
Six more Resistance members marched down the stairs and fired blasters. The response was a hail of heavy blaster fire from the others. The soldiers without heavy weapons knelt and fired back, while Ghost sniped at the officers that still survived, coming in toward them. Red growled, then looked to Ace and said "The Lieutenant's vital signs have flatlined, sir! HUD has just updated!"
"Dammit...!" Growled the Sergeant, firing the weapon with a renewed vigor. He watched his team-mates join up with him, firing away too. Ghost told him via com "Sir. Activate the detonators. I detected three more Resistance transports that have just deployed. Fifty more are coming down the stairs now." calmly as his rifle howled, sending a beam of scarlet energy down into a soldier's chest. The Sergeant sighed, then said "Harbinger Squad! It has been an honor! Remember, we die today for the grace of the First Order and our Supreme Leader!"
"FOR THE FIRST ORDER!" Called out the soldiers in a conjoined anger. "AND FOR THE LIEUTENANT AND HIS MEN!" they then finished, focusing fire. The Sergeant took out the transmitter, flicked the cover off and slammed his thumb on the switch... The detonators started flashing and beeping. Ten seconds...
The soldiers' rifles howled, burst and hissed as they overheated, but they kept up the fire with no remorse, whilst more soldiers walked into the room. The science team had been killed in the exchange.. Five seconds.
The team formed up, firing continuous bursts, silent and stern as always as they gunned down Reb after Reb with their weapons. Bodies piled on the stairs as shots rung by their ears and helmets. They chanted something in Mando'a, an ancient warsong of the Mandalorians... Brothers All... Two seconds...
"Bal...
Motir ca'tra nau tracinya.
Gra'tua cuun hett su dralshy'a.
Aruetyc runi cet slarycina solus cet o'r.
Motir ca'tra nau tracinya.
Gra'tua cuun hett su dralshy'a.
Aruetyc cet slarycina runi trattok'o.
Sa kyr'am nau tracyn kad, Vode an!"
ZERO.
The detonations echoed in the background as the Stormtroopers lowered their weapons... First the base, then the middle, then the support pillars for the Crystal... And finally the Crystal itself... The scarlet Force-imbued energy within the Kyber crystal shined, turning bright white as it enveloped the room. The Resistance members gasped and their leader ordered a fallback, all too late. The fire consumed all.