The massive AT-AT (All Terrain Armored Transport) walkers stomped across the snow-and-ice wasteland. 25 meters high, walking on four legs, moving at surprising speed for their vast size – 50 kilometers an hour on the flat terrain – they moved across the endless snowy plain, their laser cannon equipped heads swiveling from side to side, taking in the surrounding environment. In each of their bodies, they carried squadrons of elite stormtroopers from the prized 501st legion. Around their feet jogged the smaller, two-legged AT-STs (All Terrain Scout Transport), a standard precautionary measure against infantry.
The snow and ice fields extended endlessly in every direction around them...except for straight ahead. In that direction, buildings were coming into view on the horizon: shield generators, laser turrets, and spacecraft hangars.
They had found the rebel Echo Base.
The moment they saw the rebels, the rebels saw them. Alarms were sounded throughout the base. Alliance snowspeeders had been deployed and were converging on the invasion force. The walkers desperately tried to shoot them down, but the flying craft were much too small and fast for their weapons, which were made for ground targets anyway. The snowspeeders weren't having much success either: their light blaster attacks were having little effect on the heavy armour of the AT-ATs. They were trying to shoot at the weak point in the neck, but this was proving surprisingly difficult to do.
Suddenly, from the deployment platform of one of the AT-ATs something glowing bright red, spinning too quickly to be made out properly, flew out and arced through one of the snowspeeders, destroying it immediately, then returned to the platform and a clawed hand.
Lord Starkiller, the Emperor's assassin and successor of Darth Vader, plucked the lightsaber out of the air with his prosthetic claws and stowed it back on his belt.
He was a terrifying figure to behold, standing in the open compartment. His torso had been crushed years ago, moments after he killed and replaced Darth Vader, so he had been grafted to an exoskeleton for the sake of his continued survival. Much like my old master, he thought bitterly. He was completely enclosed in a black body glove. A metal ribcage covered his torso. His legs were hidden by a black leather floor-length combat skirt, although the heavy-duty black boots were visible when he walked or ran. His hands were mostly prosthetic, with just enough flesh left to channel the Force Lightning ability. For the icy environment, they had been gloved, but the large metal claws that extended from his fingers were left exposed. Scariest of all was the face supported above the metal-plated shoulders. Or, rather, the helmet that completely encased the face. With a Mandalorian-style T-shaped visor and Ubese mouthpiece, the well known mask of terror was good at inciting fear in most people. And he stood almost seven feet tall.
He had been reconstructed to intimidate, to terrify, and to strike fear into the hearts of all those who dared oppose the Empire. And he did it well, backing up his looks with brutal fighting techniques and massive powers in the Dark Side of the Force.
Calmly he took a moment to survey the battle. When seeing the rebels in action, it was easy to see how they had proved such a nuisance o the Galactic Empire so far. Although their forces were small, they had talented pilots who knew how to effectively use their forces and commit devastating hit-and-run attacks.
He broke out of his thoughts and saw that he was at the drop point; here was where he was to be inserted to make his calculated blow against the Echo Base. He calmly stepped off the platform and dropped the 15 meters to the icy ground, breaking his fall perfectly with the Force and physical techniques. He then walked over and jumped into a shallow depression in the ground; in the deepest corner was a hole, the entrance to the ice caves that led to a side entrance to the base.
Suddenly a new event in the battle caught his attention: one of the snowspeeders had fired a tow cable harpoon into legs of an AT-AT and was circling around it, wrapping up its legs; promptly the massive walker fell with a crunch onto its chin. Moments later, all the snowspeeders converged upon the helpless target and it exploded in a dramatic fuel cell rupture.
The rebels were ingenious improvisers as well, it seemed. No matter, their two-pronged attack – the imperial military attacking from above and him attacking from below – would be more than sufficient to finish off this base, and probably the rebellion, for good.
The half-mechanical Sith Lord walked towards the hole, breaking into a run to avoid the snowspeeder that crashed and detonated not ten meters away. Suddenly, his comlink crackled, and a nervous, shaky voice came out.
"Erm, yes. Hello, uh, my Lord. This is Captain Keenah. I've been, uh, assigned as your liaison with the attack group." There was a pause, during which Starkiller leapt through the hole, finding himself in an icy tunnel through the ground. "Be assured that I'm aware of your, uh, strict policy regarding job performance. I won't let you down, my Lord."
I hope not, thought Starkiller, narrowing his eyes behind his helmet. Suddenly out of nowhere, a rock came flying and smashed to pieces on his armour, knocking him back a couple of paces. Clearing the debris from his helmet visor, he saw what had thrown the rock; standing there, bellowing at him, was some kind of seven-foot tall white-furred humanoid monster. This had to be one of the Wampas he had been warned about. The Wampa charged at him, claws outstretched, ready to tear through his armour like wet paper.
Calmly, the Dark Lord of the Sith lifted up his left hand and suddenly the Wampa was lifted into the air with an unseen force. It thrashed around, trying to do something, but it was effectively immobile in the air. Starkiller used the Force to call his lightsaber into his hand, ignite the red blade, and throw it at the Wampa; it viciously impaled its torso. Ignoring the creature's cries of pain, he called back into his hand and let loose with a savage burst of purple Force Lightning. He then used the Force to throw it the far wall, where the dark side energy coursing through its body exploded. Before the battered creature could get up, Starkiller dashed over to it and finished it off with a lightsaber blow to the skull.
His ignited lightsaber still in hand, held in his Shien style reverse grip, he ran round the corner and suddenly the claws of another Wampa were tearing into his armour. Blocking with his forearm, he dashed backwards, away from the beast...right into the arms of another one. The Wampa grabbed him, tore at him with its claws, then threw him on the ground so hard he bounced several meters away. His heads-up displays were giving warning signs on the conditions of his suit.
Pushing against the ground with his metal clawed hands, he got to his feet and faced down the two Wampas, who were already bellowing victory roars. Okay, now I'm angry, he thought.
Just as the monsters charged towards him again, he let out a massive Force Repulse that pushed them back. Before they could recover, he swung with his lightsaber, the red blade cutting through both of them. While they roared in pain, he dashed back and shot Force Lightning from his hands, cutting into both of them. They would get no mercy; he electrocuted them until they died in hideous pain.
He then ran on; blasting through a wall of ice, he stepped into a cavern. To get to the ledge on the other side, he would have to jump across many pillars of ice. Should be easy enough, he thought. He took a running jump onto the nearest one, then-
Suddenly the ice pillar he had landed on crumbled and started to fall. With a yell of surprise, he stumbled on the failing pillar and barely managed to jump high enough to land on the next one. Just as he landed, that one started crumbling too. Hurriedly he jumped from one to the next, then the next. There were more than a few almost moments. But then he was almost there, he was almost to safety. He made the last jump and-
Without the slightest warning, a rock, thrown by another couple of cursed Wampa, hit him and knocked him out of the air. He was falling, falling towards the bottomless icy pit below him, falling to his death...
Somehow, through a combination of luck, skill, desperation, and his affinities in the Force, he managed to twist in midair and grab the nearest intact pillar. He had never been gladder for his prosthetic claws, the only thing that allowed him to hold on. Even as the pillar cracked, crumbled, and started to fall, he pulled himself up and jumped as high as he could go, grabbing on to the edge of the next one, pulling himself up, dodging another Wampa thrown rock, and jumping to safety on a stable ledge. He dropped to his knees, panting with exhaustion and relief. On another ledge, the two Wampas who had thrown the rocks stood roaring at him. In a few moments, they would take it into their heads to jump over and start fighting him.
Just then, his comlink crackled and the voice of Captain Keenah came through, even shakier than last time. "Ahem...my Lord, scanners are indicating that the ice caverns through which you travel may be...a bit unstable."
No kidding, thought Lord Starkiller angrily as he looked back on the pillars that had crumbled away. The captain's voice continued, making him even angrier.
"It seems that the vibrations from our walkers may be...partly to blame. It's possible that I...overlooked this while planning your infiltration route."
"You have failed me for the last time, Captain Keenah" spoke Starkiller into the comlink for the first time coldly, his voice raspy, screechy, and mechanical.
"If that is the case, I assure I take full-"
The Sith Lord constricted his metal clawed fingers, and thousands of miles away in orbit, Captain Keenah felt them invisibly round his throat as they choked him to death.
Just then, the Wampas jumped across the chasm. Lord Starkiller thrust out his hands, and the Force stopped them in midair, sending them plunging to the same deaths, they had intended for him.
Taking no chances this time, the Sith settled into a meditative stance and checked for any Force signatures; he was pleased to find that that had been the last of the Wampas. Drawing his blade, he stalked across the cavern. And then, there in front of him, was the entrance to the Echo Base.