Thanks for viewing my story! I'll have author's notes at the beginning of every chapter as a "previously on" note, and one at the end of the most recent chapter. Feel free to ignore these, they'll be in bold.
Stormtrooper Richards was hurled against the table, edge jamming into her spine, the momentum sending her tumbling over the table and sprawling onto the rock floor. Her attacker's footsteps rushed nearer, she seized her rifle, rose and struck the rebel in the chin, then his head, again, and again. The tables had turned, as the rebel was now sprawled on the floor. She fired her blaster three times, the rebel lay dead, sprawled on the floor.
Richards felt her lips, blood. Another day on the job.
Outside, the stormtroopers had finished running off the remaining rebels. They had secured their position on Tatooine about a month ago, still, some people would never be happy with progress. She stepped out. The scene was set in an orange hue, evening was beginning to cool the scorching planet. Some bodies littered the streets, civilians cowered off the main road, an empty, burning speeder lay in the road. Above, a star destroyer's blue silhouette set against the orange sky. Vanguard, the head of Travis' battlegroup, being brought in to spearhead the new wave of Tatooine's occupation. Two other ships made up the group, Collateral, unseen, high in orbit, and Reliant, which had not arrived, and wouldn't arrive for several days, apparently dealing with a last minute delay.
Sergeant Hummel worked his way down the halls of the Star Destroyer: Reliant, as it came into orbit. "Lieutenant, where are you?" He asked, pressing his hand to a switch on the side of his helmet, and passing several other stormtroopers. The Reliant's crew was all hands on deck, too many precautions for such a simple mission. Securing the local garrison.
"Just in Systems control." The lieutenant's voice crackled in the sergeant's helmet.
"What the hell are you doing down there? Sir."
"Just examining some of the new software we have installed."
"We're moving in-"
"An hour? We have time sergeant."
Hummel sighed to himself and switched the radio off. He picked up the pace, moving at a fast walk. He would have to walk half the length of the Star Destroyer before he reached the elevator, which would lead halfway up the bridge, arriving in systems control. "Well if the kid makes me late, the blame's on him."
The Star Destroyer's halls were packed with traffic as they prepared to deploy on Tatooine, which meant a lot of pushing in the halls. Still, he was eventually in the elevator, several officers joined him before they began their ascent.
The officers did not speak, Hummel shuffled and checked the safety on his blaster rifle. He cleared his throat over the low hum of the elevator. After a moment of silence it stopped, most of the officers walked out of the elevator, one stayed.
"Is this systems control?" Hummel asked.
The officer glanced at him, "It has been for the past two floors," he clipped.
Hummel sighed, "What level of systems control are you on?" He asked into his communicator.
"Level 3." The lieutenant replied.
"What level are we on?" He asked the officer.
"Level 6."
Hummel leaned against the back wall, this would be a long wait. The officer at least had the decency to press the correct floor for Hummel. Still, he had to wait as the elevator reached the bridge and the officer disembarked before the elevator headed back down. Then he was on his way, stopping on several floors as it descended back to level 3 of systems control.
Finally, he made it, stepping into an open room, grey and black like the rest of the Star Destroyer, but lined with long black columns, dotted with blinking lights: Red, blue, green. Along the walls were also various chairs, bathing in the glow of adjacent wall mounted terminals. Officers and technicians moved busily through the room or between various consoles, tapping at them sporadically. "Is this systems control?" Hummel asked one of the nearby technicians.
"Yes."
"I'm looking for a Lieutenant Yamamoto."
"Well, can you tell me what sublevel he's on?"
"Wh- sublevel?" The sergeant broke his gaze and held the button on his helmet again. "Lieutenant, what sublevel are you on?" He released the button.
"Sublevel 3B. Have you never been in the systems control sector before?"
"Sublevel 3B." The sergeant said.
"Ok, you'll want to go straight ahead and right to B section and down the stairs to level 3."
"Thanks," Hummel said, proceeding on his way, "and no lieutenant, I haven't."
The sergeant stepped into the room, it was sparse, computers lined both walls, only two people were there, a technician tapping away at a computer, covered head to toe in black, his helmet covering his face. And another figure, silhouetted against the window, holding a black helmet by his side, this helmet, however, wouldn't cover his face, it was a black rounded cone with black goggles. He didn't wear standard trooper armour either, but olive grey fatigues, black boots and gloves, and a grey metallic vest, an officer's battle dress. Just from his silhouette, Hummel could see his head was bumpy, with abnormally defined cheekbones.
"Lieutenant?" Hummel, stood at attention.
The lieutenant turned, he had the face of a clawdite, an alien race with wrinkled tan skin. Their eyes had a slightly reptilian look, as their pupils were somewhere between a circle and a narrow slit, and they had a deep, thick line running from the bridge, all the way through the nose.
The sergeant paused for a moment. "You're a changer?"
"Yes," the lieutenant spoke, bemused. "A shapeshifter. I thought it would be for the best if I displayed my true form for introductions. If it were to slip later it would cause, undue complications I'm sure."
"What are you doing, working in the empire?"
"Well, I have a right, just as anyone else. See this?" He put a finger on a long, wide scar running down his cheek. "I was training as an Imperial spy. Needless to say, my, talents, superseded their prejudices. When I got this scar, my shapeshifting couldn't cover it. It would be a defining mark, something none too useful for a spy to have. They were looking for an excuse to boot me regardless."
"So you joined the military?"
"Well, it was more of a demotion, I went through officer training school, the whole thing but I'm still on a mission that's a bit more simple than counter insurgency operations, well, technically it's exactly counter insurgency operations."
"How do you mean?"
"You'll notice this force we're sending in, is, a bit large. We had a tip off suggesting that there are jedi on Tatooine."
"Jedi? They're real?"
Yamamoto raised a hand. "Don't get bogged down in that right now. Magicians or not, they are high ranking rebel officers, and we're moving in to take them, alive or dead."
"Well why go in with the troops, don't we slow you down?"
Again, Yamamoto chuckled. "Don't be so cynical sergeant. You're my cover, and my muscle, for when I need it. You're also a line between me and Imperial command, as well as my handlers."
"And you're telling me all this in front of him?" Hummel gestured at the technician, who took no notice.
"He's an android." Yamamoto said, grinning at the sergeant's baffled expression, "you see, there's more going on than meets the eye. He was just telling me about the new navigation software we've had installed, I've always had quite an interest in computers. Anyways, the dropship, we'd best get moving."
"All passengers prep for departure, make sure your gear's stowed and you're strapped in." The pilot spoke over the loudspeaker.
The interior of the ship was cramped, two rows of metallic seats on either wall with little room in the middle. Above the seat there were compartments to stow additional gear, but Hummel simply took a seat and locked his blaster in a metal holster by the side of the seat. The lieutenant took the seat across, he now had the face of a human who looked to be in his thirties, handsome and clean cut, but still scarred, and now wearing his helmet.
"We'll be landing in the Mos Eisley spaceport. We have priority traffic so this shouldn't take too long." The pilot continued, "keep all hands inside the vehicle children."
"So," Yamamoto asked, "where are we headed?"
"Well sir," Hummel said, "apparently the other two are currently off duty until we arrive, they'll either be at the barracks, or, at this time of day, the cantina. Not much else to do in this backwater."
"You know the enlisted men well sergeant."
"Oh? And you officers keep it completely straight laced?"
"You, may have a point, off the record." He grinned.
Hummel stayed stone-faced under his helmet and laid back in his chair, still tensed, inertia tugged him to the side, the dropship must have been clear of The Reliant by now, steering towards the planet. It would soon enter orbit.
"How many drops is this for you sergeant?" The lieutenant asked.
"38, you?"
"I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you." The lieutenant must have been joking, though he showed no sign of it.
"Hey," another soldier spoke up. He couldn't be seen behind his helmet, but he sounded quite young. "Any of you guys happen to have some water?"
"We get our rations when we land kid." Hummel said.
"Have you ever been to Tatooine buddy? Hey, you're so dismissive about it, I'll trade ya' when we land."
Hummel scoffed, "oh yeah? What for?"
"Well, food, my rations? Credits? I got some nice holovids, y'know, gets awful lonely out on Tatooine."
"I'll pass, thanks."
"Hell, do you even know how they get water on Tatooine?" The kid asked.
"It rains, they get it from a stream?" Hummel said dismissively.
The kid laughed, "no, now all of you listen up here." He continued, slowly looking at everyone in the ship as he spoke. "If they tried that, there would be no cities on Tatooine. There's not enough water circulating in the atmosphere for much rain, they have to farm the moisture out of the atmosphere and condense it, and that still isn't a lot of water. Sometimes that isn't even enough, and with a couple hundred extra stormtroopers showing up, water supplies are gonna be tight, so-"
The ship shook, turbulence cutting off the kid's speech as the ship began cutting through Tatooine's atmosphere.
"Well any other tips kid?" Hummel asked.
"Yeah, stay in the shade."
"So you've been to Tatooine before?" Asked the lieutenant.
"Born and raised, then I had a year posted there as local militia."
The two fell into conversation, Hummel drifted off, not asleep, but lost in thought, motionless. Whatever the lieutenant's big plan was, whatever Imperial Intelligence's plan was, Hummel could handle it, as he had handled everything else that had come his way. One obstacle, then the other. He would have to, for the sake of the troop to the right and his left. With nothing left to do, he fell to deep breathing, steeling himself.
"5 minutes, landing prep." The pilot spoke again.
"Already feels hotter," the kid muttered.
"Ok everyone." The lieutenant was on his feet, blaster rifle in hand. "Prep for landing!"
Everyone got to their feet, best as they could, the ship shook violently. They stood in two columns, checked their gear and held their blasters ready. Their safeties were still on, but the arrival of a transport packed with Imperial troops was a prime target for rebels, considering the events of the past few months, risks would not be taken.
With a dull thump, the ship touched down, nearly knocking one stormtrooper from his feet.
"Hatch opening! Clear the ramp on my signal!" The pilot said.
The first sign of it opening was an echoing whirring, audible over even the sound of the engines. Then the seam of light began at the top rear of the craft, illuminating sand particles already pouring through from outside. It lowered slowly, it took about ten seconds, an intolerable wait for a soldier desperate to get his feet planetside. The lieutenant even had to hold one soldier by the shoulder to stop him escaping. The ramp lowered farther, low enough now for them to step out, but still they had to wait, until it was fully lowered.
The ramp stopped on the sand of Tatooine.
"Go! Go! Go!" The pilot yelled, his words echoed by the lieutenant. The two columns marched out in single file, the one on the left securing the left flank, and the right securing the right. They formed an oval at the rear of the transport.
"Unloaded!" The lieutenant gave a thumbs up to the transport's crew chief, and they cleared the transport, forming a wide, inverted v-shape at the edge of the launch pad. It was only now that Hummel could take in his surroundings, his mind so preoccupied with the drill of disembarking the transport.
The tan stone of the hangar didn't give him much of a view. Still, the clear blue sky and sand at his feet gave him enough of an impression. The rest of this hangar was sparse. Transports, cargo craft, and the crews working on them. The crews were covered in sand, it blew incessantly in the hangar due to the thrust from various engines. The hangar was essentially an open, circular pit. Since most Imperial Craft had no need for runways, they simply landed in these hangar pods, a fairly common design for backwater spaceports.
"Alright everyone, let's get moving." The lieutenant said. Any non-essential personnel had to clear the hangar quickly, even in run down spaceports like this, some craft always needed space to land. Another sergeant that had accompanied them on their ride took his men and left, leaving Sergeant Hummel, and his new commanding officer.
"So you've been here before yes?" The Lieutenant asked.
"No, but I read a map."
"Close enough sergeant, you're on point."