A Different Type of Soldier
Chapter Four
The Mission
The Commander stared down at his writing desk with a tired look in his eyes. He had stayed up for the past few nights finalizing his research and now, he knew it was finally done. He smiled as he signed his number on the bottom of his journal and tossed the pen down on the desk. It was officially finished. A relieved chuckle left his lips as he leaned back and massaged his tired face. He did it, he really did it.
There was a sudden knock on the door and the Commander looked to see the familiar face of Lieutenant Pitt walking into their shared room. The blue stripes to his armor were already faded from a few months of wear but they suited the tall clone. He wore them well. The Commander himself had to get a new uniform once again because of his growth spurts. It had been nearly a year since he received his last one and he had quickly outgrown it in typical clone fashion. He was now over 7 years and stood several inches taller like a regular eighteen-year-old. Unfortunately, he was always going to be a head shorter than Pitt who liked to still poke fun about him being the baby of the unit as he was in fact the youngest and probably always will be.
"What are you so happy about, Cap?" Pitt asked him as he ducked in through the doorway. He removed his helmet and carelessly tossed it on his bed.
"Looks like you could finally get a good night's sleep now. I am done, finally done with all of this bloody paperwork," he chuckled happily. "I just sent the growth results to General Greed and we are all set for the Harvest this year."
"It's done?" Pitt asked in amazement as if he wasn't expecting it to have been approved. The Commander was working on this project for nearly six months with the help of Pitt and Desden. It was a long time running but they finally finished it. Desden had taken the opportunity to replicate the seeds for the harvest trade. They had crates full of them stored in the warehouse to trade with the local farmers when the time came. The Captain couldn't wait till it did because then, the town would get the help they needed and rightfully deserved.
"Yes."
"I can't believe it," Pitt huffed in disbelief, "You really did it."
"Yes," the Captain repeated with his knowing smirk.
"So when does the convoy head out?" he asked curiously.
"I was talking to the rest of the Battalion after explaining the situation and we determined that it would be best to start the harvest this week. It's last minute but the farmers had already reaped their crops and the earlier we get them the seeds, the more time they would have to sow and collect another harvest before the frost. However, the exact time we leave is up to you," the Captain grinned. The Lieutenant's mouth dropped open in shock as he realized what he was saying.
"What?"
"Congratulations, Lieutenant Pitt, you are the Convoy Commander of this year's Harvest. I am sure you will do perfectly fine arranging the vehicles, getting all of the gear loaded, and deciding routes and travel times." Pitt let out a pitiful wail as he realized all of the work he had to do and the Captain took the opportunity to laugh at him.
"But, Sir, I am awful at making convoys. You remember the first time I did it?" Pitt gasped. "Now I swear you just like to dump all of your work on me."
"You would be very right about that," ED-0001 chuckled as he relaxed in his chair. "I do love to dump my work on you. However, I also got wind that the Commander of Blue Lion Company is in desperate need of a replacement and their company has been skimping on leadership for a long time. He is getting old and looking for someone to take his spot when he leaves. I made a bet, he took it. If you can run this convoy you got the position if you want it. Well, after all the paperwork of course."
"Sir-"
"Don't call me sir."
"Captain, I literally just got promoted, why would you want me to do it again so soon?" he asked him. ED-0001 smirked. When he had first arrived at the unit PT 3149 was the most pitiful excuse for an officer anyone could find in the far reaches of the Galaxy. He was getting pushed around by the lower enlisted soldiers for no good reason at all. The Captain thought he was going to be another spineless soldier but after one conversation with him, he knew he couldn't be farther from the truth. Pitt was a natural born leader and the Captain knew he was going to do great things. The only thing he needed was confidence, a bit of assertiveness training, and the opportunity to succeed. Captain ED-0001 was going to give him all those things.
However, instead of telling his subordinate all of that, the Captain simply shrugged with the stupid happy grin on his face.
"You will figure it out eventually, but first you need to figure out our Company's routes this year," he said only to earn another respectable groan from Pitt as he flopped helplessly back on his bed. Even though he was fully on it, his long legs hung off the bottom of the bed making him look more like a giant than he already was.
"When we get so lost we can't even find our way back, we will then see my ass being demoted for not getting the quota in."
"If anything like that happens, we need to make sure that the villages are set first. We cannot have the Rebels taking advantage of them because of our mistake," the Captain warned.
"I don't understand why the villagers would ever side with them, especially after all of the aid we have given them over the last year," he replied. "The Rebels couldn't even protect the capitol when it was attacked. They ran away when all of the Jedi were killed like cowards. The Emperor's the only one who tried to stop it. If you think the villagers are going to side with the genocide causing Rebel's that's a bunch of-"
"Hey, I am just saying it's a possibility," the Commander interrupted him. "With the way the Avarice Battalion were treating the villagers before, blood seeking cowards doesn't sound like a bad choice. If this harvest runs smoothly and they villagers accept the trade, we probably don't have to worry about Rebels or hostile civilians for the rest of our lives."
"That means you should do this convoy just to make sure I don't mess up," Pitt suggested wryly. The Captain glared at him and walked over to grab the clone's helmet, dropping it down on his chest. The Lieutenant let out a grunt as it hit him and groaned as his hands latched around it.
"No, that means you gotta get your ass in gear and get me those convoy plans. When you are done I will send them out to the other Companies to let them know we are leaving," he smirked. The Lieutenant grumbled something to himself about the work load before slamming his helmet back over his head and walking out off the barracks room. The Captain chuckled to himself as he watched him go. "Don't worry Pitt, everything will be fine."
…
The Commander walked through the motor pool where all his men were trying to load the carriers with the bushels of seeds they had produced. They had ten villages to cover in a span of only a few days in order to collect their crops for the legion. He needed to make sure that they were ready to leave as soon as possible. Though the Lieutenant was getting the entire convoy set up as best as he could, they were already behind schedule. The other units had already headed out on their routes and Green Lion Company was left in the dust still loading their cargo and doing last minute maintenance on the vehicles. The Captain had full faith in Pitt's leadership, but he had a little less faith in the people seeing it through.
"Sit on your own time!" he scolded a group of troopers that were hiding behind a few empty storage crates to avoid work. At the sound of his voice and at the sight of his red pauldron on his uniform, the soldiers were sent scurrying back to their own work. He knew that being the Commander was definitely intimidating to the privates who had very little rank and little color to their armor, but sometimes it really came in handy. Though an officer usually wasn't out in the motor pool at all, with how far they were behind schedule, he needed to make sure all hands were on deck. If they didn't make this trip on schedule they would not only miss their deadline but also miss giving the seeds to the villagers at prime planting if they were to get another harvest in before the snow fall. If the villagers went hungry again for the winter because some of his troops were slacking off he would rip his company a new one and starve them too. He picked up an empty storage crate himself and tossed it onto its nearby assigned freighter.
"Hey!" he heard someone call out angrily. He turned his head to see RD-9999 yelling at the other privates who were mulling about. "Why the hell is the Commander loading these crates? Get off your asses and help load them!" The Captain found the crate he was carrying lifted out of his arms by quick soldiers and he was grateful to see even more soldiers getting to work.
"Sorry sir, I have been trying to get them to work but when one group works another sneaks off. It's hard to keep everyone together," the Private apologized and the Captain waved him off. You couldn't get all of the lazy eggs in line but most would do. Though the Red headed storm trooper was still as hot headed as ever, the Private was really getting himself and the other lower enlisted in line. They had come a long way since the Commander had first gotten to the unit and that was enough to sate his aggravation with the slack in the work.
"Put these to the back of the carrier. We would need to unload the seeds first and then we can fill the crates with the crops," he told Private Red who then relayed it to the soldiers who were stacking them up in the ships. They all answered with a quick Yessir before the Commander was on his way again. As he was passing the gate once more he heard a sudden static come from the inside of his helmet.
"Captain ED-0001, this is Private BX-5757, over," he heard the young soldier's voice come in through the radio in his armor. The Commander lifted his wrist and pressed a button on his plating.
"BX 5757, this is ED-0001, Come in."
"Sir, we have received contact from Red Lion Company. They have sighted small groups of Rebel forces on their route, over."
"What is their status? over."
"Sir, they have not received hostile contact. Captain SD-0103 of Red Lion Company advises armed guard on the convoy, should we prepare?" The Commander frowned as he looked up and out of the motor pool's fences. Their outpost was located on a rather flat terrain where they could see effortlessly for miles around however, they weren't nearly close enough to any village to see any significant detail. They had not received alert of Rebel's approach to the planet but they could have easily flown in under the radar with how spread out their forces were. The Commander didn't think the Rebels were stupid enough to make a direct attack on the outpost. He would have waited to see what was to come of their sudden appearance on the planet, however they needed to make the convoy now if they were going to make the quota. After giving one more look at the empty vastness of Resembool's farmland, the Commander returned to his radio.
"BX-5757, I will order the company to the armory after they are finished in the pool. Tell Captain SD-0103 to watch her ass, do you copy?"
"Yes Sir, I copy."
"Good, relay this to Lieutenant PT3149, over and out."
The Commander frowned as he looked back at their progress on the carriers. They were still far behind and now they needed to get more things done to arm everyone. He straightened himself out and marched to the center of the motor pool.
"COMPANY! FORM UP!" he bellowed and suddenly there was a flood of privates running towards him in their shiny white unbeaten armor. The commander waited for them to get into formation in front of him, which took a little pushing and shoving. Though all of the soldiers were older than him by at least a good two years, they were still bumbling fools, maybe even fresh out of the academy. Once they were all done jostling around, the Commander sighed to himself as he looked upon part of his subordinates. They all waited silently for what he was going to say.
"I have just received a transmission from Red Lion Company. Apparently, they have spotted a small group of rebel forces on their convoy. Security codes are now being changed from low to high. I need all of you to stay alert while working out here and on the convoy. Resembool is one of the largest sources of food for our legion. If it goes down our Avarice Battalion and many more will surely starve. We need to protect it. We also need to finish our mission and fulfill our quota," he sternly told them. He got some quiet whoops from the formation. They were bloodthirsty and eager privates, and Edward didn't blame them. They didn't get to do much on the quiet planet. However they gravely misunderstood the idea of combat. "After you stop lollydagging and start actually working for once and get these carriers fixed and filled. All of you need to go to the Armory and take up your assigned weapons. This convoy preparation is lagging. Now get your butts in gear. Fallout," he finished.
The formation dispersed faster than it was gathered and the Commander watched the soldiers haul ass back to the carriers to finish their work. He was at least glad to see that they saw the severity in the issue. He needed to get this company on route as fast as possible. All of the other companies were already beating the early fall heat and trying out the new trading system. With the Rebel's spotted in the north he knew something was up. All of the Lion Companies out right now are in danger. The sooner they got done the sooner they would be out of danger. If the Rebels were only in the northern quadrant, he knew that they were at least safe. But he didn't know how fast those bastards could travel.
…
"Sir-"
"Lieutenant for fucking sakes don't call me sir. I don't need it from you," the Commander scolded the lower ranking officer as they roared across the landscape towards their next village on route. They had finally taken off and were able to pass through several of their villages already. It had only been a day and they had yet to see any sign of the rebel forces they were warned about. His men were all on edge, expecting an attack at any moment, but if they weren't then he would be concerned for them.
All of the villages they visited had traded rather eagerly with them after he had explained the situation and the seeds to them. The seeds, if planted within the next few days, would give them another harvest before the end of the season. He was glad to see them take them and promised the same next year.
"Captain, Blue Lion Company just spotted the rebels on their route," Pitt told him.
"Did you talk to Red Lion recently?" he asked.
"No, they didn't respond to our transmission. We tried to reach Yellow Lion as well but to the same result. Do you think they made hostile contact?" The Commander frowned as he heard this suggestion. The radio transmissions were not poor at all across the planet of Resembool as there were very few mountains to block their signals. They should have been able to reach the other companies even as far away as they were. He didn't want to admit it to Pitt, but there was definitely something wrong with this scenario.
"How much crop do we have?" he asked the officer.
"Excuse me?" Pitt said, as if he didn't hear him right.
"How much crop did we collect? We went to six villages already so we should have a substantial amount. How much do we have?" he repeated. The lieutenant looked down at his clipboard which papers were battering hard in the wind that was rushing through the carrier's open doorways.
"One thousand four hundred and forty bushels, Captain." The Commander cursed as he heard that number. They needed two thousand bushels to get their portion of the quota. They needed at least two more villages to reach that. They needed to finish their route. If they had a surplus at the previous villages he would have taken their troops straight back to their post. However, they needed their quota or else General Greed would pull another one over on them which would be far worse than any rebels could do to them, or even worse it could have been Lieutenant General Lust. In many cases, more than there should have been, Clones and Storm Troopers who did not fulfill their missions were scrapped, regarded as waste and killed for treason in others. However it was just stupid of him to lead them right into the enemy where there could have been ambushes set up all along their route.
He worried about the other companies in the Avarice Battalion. Resembool was an important planet, a strong hold in the support of the Central Troops however it lacked protection. Only soldiers from the Extravagance Corps who specialised in supply, transportation, and support were stationed there. Though all of them knew basic combat skills, they had little protection from the Vainglory Corps who made up nearly the entire infantry of the Central Army. The Avarice Battalion's main objective was to feed the legion. Now that Red Lion Company and Yellow Lion Company were unresponsive, it was assumingly left to only two small companies of only forty men to protect the entire planet from the Rebel forces. Since the Central Empire took over the planet, they never made an appearance on Resembool until today, and the Commander found this extremely unsettling.
"Lieutenant, what should we do?" the Commander asked suddenly which greatly offset the man more than anything.
"W-what- Sir, I know I am the convoy commander but… I think you should decide for this one. It could get serious-"
"I am not asking you as the convoy commander. I am asking you as a friend, Pitt. What should we do?" he rephrased.
"I… I…," Pitt stumbled not knowing what to say. It was unheard of that a Commander would ask a simple Lieutenant anything on their opinion. Soldiers of the Central Army weren't supposed to have opinions. After a little bit he cleared his throat. "Honestly I think we should follow through with this. Though they are out there, we are armed, we can fight. We won't go down easy. We weren't programmed to fail." The Commander smiled at that comment and chuckled.
"You're right with that," he laughed.
"Captain, you made something great and giving it out to the villager's definitely will make great progress in this bare planet, not to mention make our quota that much easier to obtain. We didn't come all this way just to pass up our balls in the hallway. If they come we need to show those scum what we can do, what we are really fighting for."
"Very well," he agreed. "the next town over should be Xenotime and then Liore. Let's finish this thing."
…..
The town of Liore was very quiet and Captain ED-0001 didn't like it. The shutters were locked on some of the houses and the square just seemed abandoned. He could have assumed that it was because they were coming to take away a portion of their crops and that they didn't want to be pillaged again like all of the previous times, but even for that the town seemed too eerie. He had his men unload the seeds and put them on small transports so that they could move them through the village. The quicker they got this over with, the better it would be for all of them.
"I don't feel good about this," the Commander said to Lieutenant Pitt as he hopped off of the carrier they were riding with his blaster rifle in tow. He never really liked blasters. They were too impersonal when you killed someone. It just felt senseless. He used it to get out of the academy he was placed in and never touched one since. Pitt nodded his head as they watched the company line up the small transports. "We might have to make a run for it after we get the crop."
"You know I can't run," Pitt told him nervously, referencing his developmental defect that resulted from his giant frame.
"Well try as fast as you can, if you can't make it I will carry your ass back to the post," the Commander grumbled. He didn't even look at his subordinate when he said that as his eyes were too busy scanning the building's windows. They were all eerily vacant.
"I will hold you to that," the man smiled.
The Commander and the lieutenant started to walk towards the trading post at the end of town with first platoon in firing squad formation. He thought it to be best if they weren't just bunched up in a mess where the potential Rebel forces could have just dropped a grenade on them and be done. The Commander ordered First platoon to head out first with Blue squad and Red squad spaced out on the left and right correspondingly. Second Platoon will follow and third would guard the carriers. He knew that in this way it could have been more difficult to take them out as a group and have to try individually. However, he just hoped that his precautions didn't have to come into play. This was their last stop on their route, their last few pounds of crops they needed to gather. This was the last place they needed trouble.
Their squad lead the officers to the door, quickly securing the area around the shop. Lieutenant Pitt handed him the clipboard that he carried at his side at all times. It held the inventory that Sergeant Supply provided on their seed and crop counts. It was updated every hour and after every trade just to ensure its accuracy. He did not want to lose anything and did not want to take any extra risks. He took it and looked it over once as the Lieutenant took up a position by the door.
"I got us covered out here, make it quick," he told him.
"Quick is my middle name."
"You have yet to tell me your real name you know," the Lieutenant smirked and the Captain glared at him.
"Well you have my middle name now," he snipped but the Lieutenant just waved him off. The Commander took in a huge breath as he carefully opened the door to find the shopkeeper waiting lazily behind the counter like nothing was the problem until he saw their helmets. The Captain recognized the man as the same person who gave them trouble when they had first began designing the seeds and it seemed he wanted to stir the same trouble there. The man was absolutely mad during the whole exchange. He started cursing the existence of the Central forces and seemed even ready to fight him one on one though armed with nothing but his bare hands. They were definitely really upset by the Battalion's past treatment even with all of the aid they had provided to make up for it. The Commander had to calm him down from an angered rant to even explain to him what they were trying to do. He was very offset by this idea however luckily agreed to listen. The Commander tried to give the man his description of the genetically altered seeds but the man had absolutely no knowledge of science. He thought he was trying to trick him and the Commander had to constantly rephrase himself to get the point across. It was taking nearly twice as long as it should have and he felt his nerves reach their breaking point. He mentally apologised to the Lieutenant for not listening to his orders on being quick about it.
"And why do they grow so fast?" the man asked for the thirteenth time. The commander took in a deep breath to calm his annoyance with him.
"Okay, think about it like a vehicle right?" he said stiffly. "It can keep going until it runs out of fuel just like you keep growing until you reach a certain age. We just made these seeds more efficient to reach that point faster, like me. I grow to a normal maturity of 24 years of age in only ten years. This seed can be fully grown in only a month."
"And-" the man started in for another question but he angrily cut him off.
"Look the whole idea is that we are trading you this seed for the food so that you could plant it and get another harvest in before the frost. Why is that so hard to understand!"
BOOM! There was a loud explosion from outside that rattled the entire shop and sent both him and the keeper to the ground. The dull sound of blasters firing and screaming of orders could be heard through the walls and the Commander had a sinking feeling in his stomach. He stumbled to stand up but another explosion sent him back into the counter. The Rebels were here. They were waiting for them, all of Avarice Battalion was getting hit and they were the last target.
"But where were they hiding?" The commander mumbled under his breath. The Rebel forces couldn't have flown in or else they would have seen them and his troops would have signaled. He felt himself freeze up as he realised that they were already in the town. He was an idiot, he walked the entire Green Lion Company right into the middle of a trap.
He quickly tried to unhitch his rifle from its sling but before he could reach it he was pulled back, an arm reaching around his neck choking him. The Commander gasped as he tried to pull the store owners arm off from around him but he wouldn't let go. It only got tighter
"That was a mighty fine deal you had there but your stupid troops have been ravaging our towns for too long," the man grunted through his teeth as his arm tightened around his neck. If it wasn't for his helmet he guessed he would have felt the man's blood thirsty breath on the back of his head. His lungs burned for air and he felt himself gag as his lungs started to give out. The man was stalling the whole time. He was stalling him in the store so that the Rebels could have gotten into position. He couldn't believe he was that stupid to fall for it.
The Commander struggled to reach down to his belt and grab his rifle where it was still slung. It was bulky and he managed to misfire into the wall of the shop as he tried to swing it around his side. The bolt sizzled harmlessly into the wall creating a scorch mark where it had hit. The Commander felt the arm tighten even more and he thought his neck might have snapped under the pressure as the store owner realised what he was doing however the man was too slow to stop him. With blind aim behind him he pulled the trigger purposefully and suddenly the arms fell slack and he gulped in air greedily through the filters on his helmet. His throat was on fire as if he drank an entire flask of Lava. Though he definitely just saved his life, quite literally his neck, he didn't even want to look behind him to see the man he just shot.
Suddenly the door to the shop opened and the Commander raised his weapon at the person charging in. Before he pulled the trigger however, he stopped himself as he saw that it was Pitt. The man started to pick him up in a rush, jabbering about something incoherent to him.
"The squad, it's gone! We don't know where they are coming from-"
"The buildings. We need to find cover. We need to get back to the carriers," he ordered him. The Commander pressed the button on his communicator and brought it up to his face.
"Third Platoon, this is Captain ED-0001, get the carriers running! Get everyone on the transports, do you copy?" he yelled into it. There was static filled silence and he felt fear lick his nerves. He pushed the button in and tried again. "Third Platoon, this is Captain ED-0001, get everyone to the transports, do you copy?" But it was to the same result. He looked over to the Lieutenant who was checking the doorway to see if the coast was clear to make it through. The Commander didn't even have to look very far to see some of the soldiers from their squad laying flat on the ground, red coating their white armor. He rushed over to the Lieutenant and grabbed his shoulder.
"Pitt we need to go, now," he told him. The man nodded his head and they rushed through the doorway. They ducked behind some barrels that were outside the shop. The sound of blaster fire was loud and near deafening in their ears. They tucked their knees into their chests so that they were completely covered behind the barriers. If their legs were shot then there was definitely not way they were getting out of there.
The commander peered out from behind the barrel and he saw some rebels race across the street in their stupid blue uniforms. He never knew why they wore something so bright with little armor at all but it surely made their jobs easier when they had to be. He shot a couple blasts out of his rifle and the two men fell amongst the white armor of his own fallen soldiers. They wailed and cried from their injuries but were incapacitated from the fight.
He felt his breath hitch as he realised how many of his own men scattered the street. It looked like nearly all of first platoon was gone. He couldn't hear fire from the left or right meaning that his two other squads were gone. Third platoon was unresponsive so he could only hope that second was holding out. He just didn't understand. How could the rebels have killed so many of them if they were so spread out. The mortars couldn't have wiped out his entire platoon, it wasn't possible, and the rebels riflemen were terrible shots. There was no possible way, unless….
"They have a sniper," Pitt exclaimed as he fired a few shots into the fray.
"Where?"
"Up in the second story window, few blocks down lefts side!" With his directions, the commander quickly peered around the barrels they were behind and scanned the buildings. He caught sight of an open window on a cottage few blocks down. He could just barely see the tip of a blaster sniper rifle sticking out of it when red hot bolts fired in the direction he assumed were his men. Unfortunately, he wasn't naïve enough to think that they missed. He quickly picked up his communicator and tried to contact them.
"Second Platoon, this is Captain ED-0001 come in," he said into his communicator. There was static and he felt himself hold his breath. Was anyone going to pick up? Who was left? Just as he was about to try again he heard a scratchy voice through his helmet.
"Sir, this is Sergeant DD-9980, they are creaming us out here. We have nowhere to go, stuck on the corner of third, dead end alleyway, over."
"There is a sniper up in the cottage across from you, do you think you can get them?"
"Negative, they have us pinned down, we can't move-"
"What about your other squad?" the Captain asked.
"They're all dead, sir! Mortar fire got 'em. They're gone!" The Commander sucked in a huge breath and looked over to where the Lieutenant was covering him. She could not have put it any better. They were getting creamed.
"Sergeant, try to get your men out, I will try to take care of the sniper," he told her.
"But, sir-"
"Over and out, Sergeant," he finished. He reached over and grabbed the Lieutenant's blue pauldron and shook his shoulder. "Come on, we need to get over to that building. I need you to cover me until I get to that wagon over there. I will suppress fire till you follow, alright?"
"But Sir-"
"Don't call me sir, Pitt," he scolded him, "not now." The lieutenant nodded his head and shifted his fire to the buildings on their right. The commander noticed that there were some Rebels camped out in the windows. He would have to make his run quick. As soon as Pitt started firing, he was out running towards the wagon in the middle of the street where a whole bunch of rubble was piled up from the previous motars. He ducked and dove behind the structure and assumed his own position to cover his friend. He motioned for him to follow him and he started to fire at the men in the lower windows. He managed to get one of them but his fire soon caught their attention. Pitt slammed into the wall of the rubble next to him, slouching real low as his tall figure could barely fit behind it. He was panting heavily, the short run having winded him too easily.
"Where to now, Cap?" he asked as he peered over the wall of their cover just to almost be shot in the head. The Commander yanked him down out of the way as he got up and shot another soldier out of the lower cottage window.
"Where the second artillery round hit, there was some upturned stone and a fountain that would provide enough cover for us. It's farther than it was to get here. Can you make it?" he asked him.
"Ye-yeah, I think I can do that," the Lieutenant huffed as he tried to calm down his breathing. The Commander glared at him and grabbed the chest plate of his friend's armor, bringing him right close to his face.
"Can you make it?" he asked him more sternly. There was brief silence but the Lieutenant nodded his head.
"Yes, definitely." The Commander looked him over once but then nodded his head in return. They needed to make it. If they didn't take out that sniper they were all dead. The Lieutenant picked up his rifle and began to fire rapidly, giving the Commander enough time to sprint off towards the new designated destination. He saw a few rebel soldier approach on land and he gave them a few blasts to the chest as he scrambled into their new position. It was a rather large outcropping of rubble, the stone was turned up in just a way that if you stood in the center you would be protected on nearly every side they could have easily placed at least three storm troopers there. However, the Commander was still questioning how far the sniper could see down the street.
The Commander quickly set up a position and motioned Pitt to follow like before. He started to fire at the last few Rebels. He didn't hear firing from any other forces. He didn't know where Second Platoon was, if they were still there or not. They were approaching where the Sergeant said they were but he couldn't see her or her subordinates anywhere. As he shot another Rebel out of the cottage he heard a sudden yell. The Commander felt his heart freeze. He didn't even have to look to know what happened. The lieutenant was hit. Pitt was hit. He dared himself to glance over and saw the Lieutenant lying just a few yards away from the makeshift cover with a pool of red blooming on his white and blue armor from his hip.
"PITT!" he screamed not knowing what to do. He saw the man's panting breath's through his armor. He couldn't run fast enough. The Commander cursed himself as he wrapped the sling of his rifle around his arm and fired one last shot, clearing the windows of the Rebels in the southern section they were running through. He quickly pushed himself up and sprinted out to where the man had fallen.
"I asked you if you would make it!" The Commander growled as he fell to his knees next to him. The coast was clear but he didn't know for how long.
"I will never lie again," the man wheezed as he held his wound. It didn't look like it hit anything vital, but it needed to get medical attention quick. The Commander touched it lightly and the man winced.
"Shut up you idiot," the Commander scolded him and quickly lifted the man up slinging him over his shoulders. The man weighed a ton since he was so tall, but he forced himself to carry on. The man yelped as his wound was digging into his shoulder. Sprinting as fast as he could, he carried the man to cover and nearly threw him in before tumbling in after him. The lieutenant screamed as he landed, his wound jarring even more, spewing out what little part of it wasn't cauterized by the heat of the bolt. The Commander scurried over to him, keeping his head down incase there were any bolts aimed for it.
"I hate being so fucking slow," he groaned as the Commander started to rip off his armor to get a better look at it. Luckily their black under armor was designed to also work as a compression bandage and it was skin tight. He tossed the heavy armor to the side and looked at him. He was bleeding, badly, but it seemed to be only a couple inches deep, the armor taking most of the blow. To have penetrated their armor the bolts must have been high caliber or else they would have just dispersed like a huge sock in the stomach, leaving you breathless, but alive. The commander reached into his small personal medical kit and pulled out some creme to cleanse the wound as much as he could at that moment.
"Shut up, you will live," he huffed at the lieutenant as the man started whimper as he massaged the paste in as best as he could. It was nasty stuff and burned like hell, but if it kept you alive for a little longer they would do anything. "I promised that I would get you out of here didn't I? Even if I had to carry you."
"Cap…," the man mumbled after a long pause where the Commander was able to bandage his wounds up a bit. "I don't think any of us are getting out of here."
"Don't say that, Lieutenant-"
"You know it's true!" Pitt retorted.
"Yeah? Well I still don't need you to say it!" he yelled at him. "I am going to get you out of here! We will find second platoon and -"
"Sir-"
"Don't call me Sir!" the Commander shouted. However just as he finished he heard a hot sizzling crackle through the air. A red bolt of fire pierced his shoulder right between his plating and he was sent flying backwards with the force. He screamed as he felt the bolt burn his skin, his muscles, and even his bones as it went straight through him. He hit the ground in a daze and everything went quiet for a minute. He growled obscenities and he rolled over like a worm, pain igniting in his arm like he never felt before. He fell back to the ground helplessly as he tried to get up but his right arm was a dead weight. He hit his head back off of the stone. The Commander cursed the high heavens as he grabbed his right arm in his left and dropped it, knowing it was completely numb.
"Sir!" he finally head the lieutenant scream.
"Fuck off Pitt!" the commander cursed at him, fire and anger breathing out his nose. Keeping his head down he crawled back over to where Pitt was laying, rubbing dirt in his wound along the way. He go to Pitt's side and flipped over on his back. "Lieutenant, I need your communicator-"
"My.. but why-"
"I can't move my arm," The commander admitted to him.
"Your arm-" the lieutenant started but cut himself off as the commander nodded his head. He couldn't feel it at all. He didn't know if it was because of the bolt's energy, his adrenaline, or because it really was busted but he couldn't use it. He would have used his own communicator but he couldn't push the button if it was on his left arm and his right was out of use. Pitt, after a moment of acceptance, leaned over and held his arm near the commander's face. The Captain pressed the button with his working hand and called into it.
"Green Lion Company, this is Captain ED-0001, I am ordering all remaining troops to find safety. Get out of here if you can and return to the post, do you copy?" he said to anyone who would listen. There was static, but the lines were all silent. He felt a lump in his throat stick and he tried to clear it as he pressed the button again. "Green Lion Company-"
"Sir," he heard the Lieutenant's voice mumbled through his helmet. The commander looked up from where he sat and over to his partner. The blue emblazonment and pauldron symbolizing his rank and position stood dirty, bloody, from their failure of a mission. The commander could almost see the hurt in the clone's eyes through the dusty helmet on his head. They were pained, but not of his wound, of something even more substantial than that. "Sir, I… I think we are done."
The commander felt his entire being go numb as he looked around. The village that they were planning to feed, to save in a sense, stood in rubble from the fire fight. There was broken down buildings, fires scattered. Their mission had left the town in desolation. All he wanted to do was to change it, to make it better, but now like Pitt had said, they were done. He didn't know how many soldiers died so far, but he knew in his heart that Green Lion Company was no more. He heard the patter of feet behind him and the light humming of charged weapons. He looked behind him to see the disgusting blue uniform of Rebel soldiers, pointing their blasters at them. Doubting they were set to stun, the Commander saw the Lieutenant raise his arms in the air. The Commander of Green Lion Company, Captain ED-0001, regretfully followed suite. They were through.
