If I didn't die from a blaster to my head, I'd surely die of heat stroke. The Empire was an idiot to stage an offensive attack on such an inhospitable world, where the only thing worth noting was how much sand there was. Jakku was by far my least favorite place in the galaxy, and the battle going on before me didn't raise my thoughts of this place either. The focus of the conflict wasn't even the soldiers fighting and dying; it was the Star Destroyers looming overhead, one by one either crashing into the hot dunes or flying away from the fight. Streaks of smoke diced the sky into uneven sections as ion blasts and torpedoes were sent from one spacecraft to the next. The poor Imperials were outnumbered 10 to 1 in the sky and a good 5 to 1 on the ground. Jakku would, without a doubt, be the Empire's last attack for a long time. Their casualties were just too much for them to sustain.
Endor was a major defeat for the Empire. Not only was the second Death Star destroyed, but the Emperor and Lord Vader were gone with it as well. It was estimated that at least 1/6th of the Empire was killed that day, including all the troops on the forest moon of Endor, the Death Star, and all the Star Destroyers that went down. But the Rebellion had lost a good portion, too. If it weren't for the shield being destroyed just in time, the entire rebellion would've been killed, and the Empire would still be standing tall. I was there, during the battle of both Death Stars. It was traumatizing the first time, being on the station, just barely making it off before it blew up. The second time though, I was with the rebellion, and nearly died that time as well. The fact I lived this long was a miracle.
And to think that just a few years ago, we were losing. Hell, a few years ago, I was winning with the Empire. And thank god I got the hint before things went south, and I went down serving the Empire. Dragging my eyes back down to the skirmish in front of me, I could tell we were pushing the Stormtroopers back with every blaster bolt we sent at them. Bringing my thoughts back to the battlefront, I raised the blaster rifle and joined in on the volley of fire that drove off the white-armored Imperials. A few Stormtroopers still fired back at us though, so it wasn't like we one yet. The heat I was experiencing gave me motivation to fight harder. The sooner this battle was done, the sooner I could return to a cozy life on Hosnian Prime.
And of course, my thoughts were taken away when a thermal detonator landed at my feet in the sand. The moment I realized what it was, I was knocked back into the dirt with sand flying up all around me. the world was muffled and the sky was hazy. Faint, distant yelling was the only thing I could hear above the ringing in my ears. Slowly lifting my head up, I could see the rebels around me. Their faces were unrecognizable at the moment. Two helped me back onto my feet and held me steady so I wouldn't fall over. I looked down and made sure I had all my body parts still in tact. Luckily I counted all limbs and appendages correctly, and nothing seemed to look too bad.
"Yeah! That's right, run you cowards!" I could hear someone say in the distance.
"Let's see how you like being on the run now!" Another said.
"We're going to hunt you down like the dogs you are!" Said another. These rebels had no respect for the Empire. Sure, they did horrible things, they worked hard all their life and barely had any enjoyment. They were violent and evil, all true aspects of the Empire. But the Stormtroopers, the grunts and lackeys of the Empire, they didn't deserve this. They were brainwashed, fed lies. This wasn't their fault. They all had families to come home to. Who cares if we let them escape? Maybe they deserve it, finally free of the Empire's grip. I felt empathy for them, because I knew what it was like to be a commoner in the Galactic Military. It was horrible, but unlike most of them, I was able to leave before it was too late. Most of these rebels hadn't fired a blaster in their lives before signing up in the Rebellion. They don't know what it's like to be the cannon fodder of an organization you didn't want any part of.
The Stormtroopers were all running now. Where did they expect to go? This planet had practically no life on it, and no one would dare help the Galactic Empire now. Damnation on a desert planet was a worse fate than a quick blaster to the head. So why run? Looking around, I could see all the sand-covered bodies of rebel and Imperial troops. They were everywhere, under debris, in plain sight, laying up against metal scrap that was once used as cover. Both of these factions, rebel and Imperial alike, had people I cared about. I still had good friends in the Empire when I defected. I made some new ones with the Rebellion. I didn't dare look at any of their faces in fear that they might be someone I had known.
It was eerily quiet now. Besides the few rebels that ran after the fleeing enemies, no more blaster fire could be heard. No more explosions. Just a few cheers from the rebels and the wind. And, very quietly, I could hear a faint beep. It was a loop, two beeps, pause, two beeps, pause. And it continued. The look from the other rebels confirmed I wasn't going insane. I walked with the others to try and search for what it was. I was on my own two feet again, searching frantically for the sound. The reason I was so desperate to find it? I recognized the sound; an escape pod.
After digging around in the dust for what seemed like an eternity, I finally saw the damn thing half way in the sand down in a dune. "Over here!" I called out, and soon a small party was on their way down to the crash. Bad news; it was an Imperial escape pod. Good news; someone I know could still be alive inside. Cracking open the pod, my men and I stood, blasters ready, as the door opened with a hiss. Inside was a man and a woman; the man with a rebel cloak, and the woman with Imperial Captain badges. I didn't recognize either of them, but I knew what my teammates were thinking, as well as the boy in the escape pod.
We just captured a high ranking officer of the Galactic Empire, knocked out cold and free for capturing.