Alright, y'all, here's the story. It's been a little over a year since my last update because of an increasingly-busy life (work, losing a job, moving across the country to be with my then-girlfriend and now-wife, getting a new job that I actually enjoy, and just simply losing interest in writing this), and I can't guarantee that I'll be updating this often. But I will be trying my hardest to keep this going, ideally into the events of The Last Jedi with some posts that don't include the movies.
Thanks to smart grid for always being available to look over my work and ensure that the best possible story is released to you all.
An explosion rocked the Correllian light freighter Ghost as it continued to evade a swarm of pesky TIE fighters on their tail as they broke through the atmosphere of Yavin IV. Jun steadied himself against the wall inside the cockpit as the freighter banked hard to avoid incoming fire. Above and below, the manned turrets were operated by Captain Rex and a tall, purple-haired Lasat named Zeb as they fired on the pursuing fighters. With very few Rebel fighters left and no anti-air emplacements, they were on their own.
A sudden dip and rise nearly took Jun off his feet, and sent a number of unfastened boxes and objects crashed below and onto Jun. He was mad and annoyed, but he kept his usual cool head. Tensions were already high from the infiltration mission and their reaction to his... request for their ship to take him down to the surface to ensure the evacuation of the base.
"This ship is all over the place," Jun exclaimed to Hera Syndulla, captain of the Ghost and one of a large number of Generals in the Alliance military. "Do you think you could fly a little steadier so that I don't have to hold on for dear life just to walk a straight line?"
Syndulla let out an annoyed huff as she otherwise ignored him and continued to evade the TIE Fighters. He then looked over at the topographical display of the area and noticed that they were way off their original flight pattern. It wasn't out of the ordinary to not be directly following a flight path to a base in situations like these, but from the look of things the Ghost was way off course. "General, we're nowhere near the base!"
"Oh, my most sincere apologies," Syndulla replied with a snap, every word dripping with faux sympathy. She banked hard to the left to avoid an incoming fighter, not breaking her eyes from her viewport. "I'm not sure if you noticed, but I've got my hands full trying to get away from these fighters! I know what we need to do and where to go, so I don't need you breathing down my neck reminding me!"
The ship shook with another close explosion, and Syndulla forced the Ghost into a steep dive to avoid the pursuing Imperial fighter ships. Jun knew he wasn't going to force Syndulla to make it to the base without completely ignoring the pursuing TIEs behind them. He knew there was no way they could make it through this mess, no matter how good of a pilot Syndulla was or how accurate the gunners were. Some pilot would score a lucky shot and knock them all out before Jun ensured the evacuation and survival of the Rebel High Command.
With a nod of his head, Jun exited the cockpit and searched for any sort of an armory. He inspected every room, noticing more bunk space and mechanical tools than weapons. The ship was also an absolute mess, with clothing and waste strewn everywhere. CO Mendez and those in command of the SPARTAN-IIIs would have an aneurism if they saw how messy this place was. How the hell did this group get anything accomplished against the Empire?
Finally, after sifting through damaged ship parts and wires, Jun found exactly what he was looking for: an HH-12 rocket launcher. Unfortunately, he was only able to find one missile for the launcher, so he had no room for error with his plan. Jun shouldered the heavy missile launcher with ease and grabbed the explosive in his free hand and headed towards the rear hatch.
"Keep this ship steady, ma'am," Jun said into the communicator as he strode effortlessly around a black-and-orange droid.
"What are you talking about," Syndulla angrily asked over the communicator. The ship jerked to the right hard to avoid an incoming TIE fighter before she looked at the monitor showing Jun walking through the belly of the Ghost with his missile launcher.
She quickly put the pieces together and her eyes bulged. "Are you insane?!"
Jun arrived at the front hatch and slammed on the button opening the loading ramp. The fierce winds howled and whipped inside the platform as Jun saw the beautiful, clear blue sky as the ship cut through white, fluffy clouds.. Jun looked behind the ship and saw TIE Fighters swarming behind the Ghost like angry wasps, firing sickly green bars of plasma just missing the nimble freighter. They were jockeying with each other to get the best position for the kill, and they hadn't noticed .
"Just keep her steady," Jun said, calmly loading the missile into the launcher. Jun gripped one of the supports of the loading ramp tightly and swung himself around so that he was hanging off by his hand and foot wrapped tightly around the support. The intense winds nearly ripped him off the ramp, but he gripped the support tighter to keep himself rooted like an old tree.
He aimed his launcher at an open space within the mass of seven TIE fighters tightly tailing them. Silently, Jun did the calculations in his head for wind speed, wind resistance, trajectory of the fighters against that of the Ghost, gravity, speed of the missile when launched against the drag of the ship, and many other factors that would effect the missile. He also had to count on a delayed reaction from the Imperial pilots dogging them, but he knew they had nowhere to really go with their ships so tightly packed together.
The camouflage cloth around his neck whipping back and forth against the sharp wind, Jun's steely nerves never wavered. He knew he only had one chance of this working, and he needed to be absolutely right about where to aim the missile and when to fire. Luckily, Jun was as masterful at calculations as he was with marksmanship.
Jun inhaled and exhaled, then fired missile. The unguided missile streaked across the blue sky of the tiny moon, soaring at top-speed towards a mob of grey Imperial fighters. The ships, either too tightly packed together to do anything or their pilots completely unsuspecting of an attack like this happening, didn't know what to do until it was too late.
The missile dipped and weaved slightly before striking true in the heart of the TIE fighter swarm. The missile hit the right wing of the lead TIE, blowing apart one of the solar reflectors from the ship and engulfing the cockpit in a fireball. The wing tore apart from the high winds and its pieces collided with fighters surrounding it, sending the main part of the fighter and it's non-responsive pilot into a death-spiral. The pieces of the wing sliced through the cockpit of the nearest TIE fighter, instantly killing the pilot and sending fighter into an uncontrolled spin. The lifeless ship slammed into the TIE fighter behind it, disabling it and sending that ship into a violent tailspin towards the surface.
The wingless ship tumbled and spun back, violently crashing and taking out two trailing TIE fighters, turning all three ships into fireballs on a direct, collision course with the forest surface. Seven ships were suddenly reduced to three, much easier for the two gunners to concentrate on.
"You're all clear, General," Jun plainly said into the communicator, overlooking the remaining TIEs evade the twin rear gunners before being forced into a retreat. He looked out the side of the opening and saw below a hellish battle raging just outside the main base.
Orange fires dotted the main landing pad and significant portions of the forest surrounding the stone base, with pitch-black smoke billowing from the tree-line as the ship circled above. Jun magnified the visor and saw the burning husks of X-Wings and small transport crafts on landing pads. With his vision slightly obscured from the smoke, he made out a number of bleached-white Stormtroopers plus armored walkers approaching the main base.
Jun surveyed the nearby area, and found a small clearing several kilometers from the rear entrance of the base. Ordering General Syndulla to drop him at the clearing, he tried opening a secure communications line to someone – anyone – in Alliance Command to get a read on the situation.
"Syndulla, I'm not getting through to Command," Jun said as he kept an eye on the advancing Imperial forces. "There's too much interference. See if you can patch me through to General Dadonna."
"Chopper, see what you can do," Jun heard from Syndulla to their astromech droid. Jun heard the squat, black-and-orange droid beep and boop as it attempted to boost their communication signal.
As Jun waited and kept an eye on the Imperial troops advancing below, the howl of screaming TIE Fighter engines suddenly ripped through the clouds from above and dive-bombed the freighter.
"Commander, I've got TIEs coming in!"
"I know," Jun said, hanging on to the bulkhead with a grip that could strangle the life out of a Brute.
"We're going to have to drop you off over that plain below, hang on!" The ship jerked down as Syndulla forced the ship into bobs and weaves and tight rolls to avoid the TIE Fighters. Jun felt his stomach in his throat as General Syndulla put the ship into another barrel-roll to dodge a sky filled with more and more Imperial fighters.
Jun breathed a sigh of relief that the ship was going to land. Another minute on this ship with Syndulla flying and Jun would've had to clean the inside of his helmet.
Under heavy fire, the ship came to a brief halt and Jun leapt several feet to the ground, his boots sinking into the soft earth. The Ghost sped off and Jun immediately headed in the direction of the main compound. Hearing blaster fire off in the distance, he sprinted as fast as his legs could carry him towards the stone complex, hoping he could intercept any advancing Imperials from reaching the command center.
"Commander," he heard Syndulla squawk over the communicator. "Behind you!"
Just then, he heard deafening, heavy footsteps coming from beyond the tree-line behind him. He heard deep thu-thump sounds with the crashing and crushing of trees following closely behind. Jun turned and saw a massive four-legged monstrosity slowly, powerfully heading his way.
An X-Wing burst out from the clouds, making a bee-line for the massive walker, and opened fire. The red bolts of plasma, strong enough to punch through a TIE fighter with ease, looked to be absorbed by the thick armor of the walker, leaving behind only black scorch marks. The head of the walker turned slowly, tracking the lazy arch of the X-Wing, and blasted the fighter craft out of the sky with a pair of perfectly-placed laser bolts from the two cannons underneath the walker's head. The ship burst into a fireball and parts rained down in the forest.
The walker's massive head turned towards Jun's position and began lumbering towards the primary base. Jun wasn't sure if the massive war machine had spotted him or if it was simply heading towards the base, but he didn't want to wait long enough to find out. He kicked up a plume of dirt as he sprinted full speed inside the base, evading heavy fire from the walker and dozens of Stormtroopers pouring out of the forest behind the walker.
A flurry of red blaster fire impacted the stone wall and his chest, forcing Jun to slide behind a knocked-over pillar. Dust floated down and covered his helmet as his shield's slowly recharged.
It had been a winding, narrow journey from the rear entrance to the main base, sprinting around long corridors He'd picked up straggling Rebel soldiers along the way while avoiding Imperial Stormtroopers when he could. While he still managed to run into some and lose a few Rebel soldiers under his watch, he managed to avoid a significant firefight until reaching the Command & Control room of Massassi Base.
The Imperial Stormtroopers had eliminated most of the Command security team and had driven what little remained from their command center. Even with a small buff of reinforcements, the Rebels were unable to root out the Imperial soldiers from their positions. However, with the amount of fighting still going on, the Imperials were so far unable to
Jun checked one of his waist pouches and found his last remaining flashbang grenades. Relics of the age of humanity before FTL travel and interstellar warfare, flashbangs still served a purpose in the UNSC as a way of blinding Rebel and Covenant forces before storming in and eliminating the enemy.
However, without a way of knowing where the commanders held hostage were or having any way of communicating with them, they'd be caught in the area of effect.
Jun primed the flashbang and, after one last peak around the cover, lobbed the grenade into the command center. The tiny cylinder flew gracefully through the air, before clanging off several surfaces and finally rolling to a rest.
"COVER YOUR EYES," Jun shouted to the remaining Rebel soldiers. Jun activated his helmet's audio dampers and adjusted his visor's polarization to prevent the flashbang from blinding and disorienting him. If there was anyone who needed to see and hear perfectly, it was him.
There was a blinding flash followed by a deafening thump, and Jun emerged from cover as he reset his visor and audio dampers back to normal. Weapon raised and pointed forward, Jun led the charge into the command center.
Charging through the cloud of smoke, Jun had his rifle raised and was ready to fire. As he emerged through the command center, he saw the squad of Imperial troopers doubled over or holding their helmets from the affects of the flashbang grenade. Jun quickly disarmed the soldiers before instructing the Rebel soldiers to detain them. Meanwhile, Jun looked around and saw in a far corner the remaining Alliance commanders. Of the ten original commanders, three were missing and presumably dead. Front and center among the Alliance commanders was General Dodonna, with a small gash across his forehead but otherwise perfectly alright. He and the rest of High Command looked a bit dazed and disoriented, but that would soon wear off.
Also among the remaining Alliance commanders was Jaijuu Raikon, cowering in the back of the small group. Jun was less than happy to see the Pantoran officer, as the two often butted heads over defensive strategies and, most recently, the escape of the base. He was a brilliant, albeit rigid, tactician, but he was an incredibly arrogant and grating individual that Jun wouldn't mind not seeing again.
"It's good to see you again, General," Jun said with a sharp salute, which was promptly returned by Dodonna before he continued. "We don't have much time. There are only a handful of transports that haven't taken off yet. Are you all fit enough to move?"
"Most of us are," said the elder commander. "The rest can't move as fast, but they'll keep up."
As Dodonna and the Alliance soldiers gathered any available weapons, Jun heard a sharp burst of static and a panicked voice screeching over it. From the garbled transmission, Jun could just barely make out a male's voice and intense laser fire in the background. He only caught a brief moment of the man's transmission before it cut out…
"They're here!"
A series of forceful rumbles overhead shook stone and dust onto the heads of everyone Jun felt a lump in his throat form before returning to the moment.
"We're leaving this place now," Jun said bluntly to everyone in the room. He pointed to two soldiers and ordered them to lead the way. Jun stayed behind to make sure everyone, even the cowering Raikon, stayed together.
They twisted and turned through the stone-walled interior of the old base, having so far avoided running into any Imperial soldiers. Muffled explosions and violent tremors became stronger and more frequent as the group zigzagged their way through the depths of the base.
They rounded another corner and came upon two squads of Stormtroopers. Unlike the rank-and-file Stormtroopers, however, this group was clad in pitch-black armor. Their helmets were also more elongated than normal Stormtroopers, and their weapons looked more like they were designed for special forces than the standard soldier.
"DEATH TROOPERS," one of the Rebel soldiers shouted in a panic.
'Death Troopers,' eh?
Jun quickly brought his DMR to bear and aimed at the center of the first Death Trooper he saw. Unfortunately, the bullet ricocheted off the black body-armor and into the stone floor below. Jun fired another three shots, but each deflected off the armor as the menacing-looking soldiers advanced on their position.
The Death Troopers advanced on their position and opened fire, quickly cutting down a number of the Rebel soldiers and forcing the group to retreat and find another way out of the base. Another explosion, the loudest and most forceful of any thus far, collapsed behind
Han Solo peeked his head out from behind his cover and was promptly met with a red bar of energy impacting the stone next to his head. He whipped back around, eyebrows smoldering a little. He blindly fired around the corner before inching further from the edge of his cover. Looking over to his left, Han saw another position of entrenched Rebel soldiers become engulfed into a ball of fire from a nearby thermal detonator.
"Where the hell are they," Solo shouted to Leia, who was hardly paying attention. "They should've been here by now!"
While Han was trying to pick off stray Stormtroopers and regular Imperial infantrymen, Leia was busy trying to get a communication signal to their ships. Despite the destruction of the Deliverance and the arrival of the small Alliance fleet, the arrival of Vader's fleet wiped away any advantage the Rebels throught they had. Star Destroyers poured out of hyperspace, led by the enormous flagship Executor, and they have been making it a nightmare to fully evacuate Alliance personnel. For every three ships that took off, only one would manage to get away.
She last heard from Jun nearly a half-hour ago, and that was to report that he had most of the Alliance command with him as they were escaping from deep inside the facility. Since then, the shit truly hit the fan when the first couple of troop transports landed and deployed up to hundreds of Stormtroopers onto the battlefield. What little Alliance soldiers that were on the ground were undoubtedly overrun by Imperial troops and armor that were dropped off several moments ago, and it was only a matter of time until their air support was eliminated and they were surrounded.
She'd since lost contact with Jun and hadn't been able to re-establish it. She had hope that he and command would be able to make the rendezvous point before they had to evacuate the planet. But that hope dwindled and dwindled as more Stormtroopers landed on the surface and more TIE fighters filled the skies. Soon they would all be trapped on the moon and face execution, or worse.
"Chewie, bring the Falcon," Han said into his communicator. The Wookie roared over the communicator, and Solo got angry. "I don't care how long it takes! Get your furry butt over here now!"
Solo then turned to Leia. "If he's not out here by the time Chewie lands, we're leaving."
"He'll be here," Leia assured Solo. Han rolled his eyes and went back to picking off Stormtroopers from behind cover.
Please be here, she thought to herself.
A flight of Imperial bombers screamed overhead and dropped their payload into the tree line to their left, and the payload detonated over 70 feet away. A number of tall trees vaporized and turned to ash instantly, while the surrounding tries were burning bright and the smoke billowed high into the sky.
An Imperial AT-ST broke through the tree line on the far end of the base and quickly wiped out a pair of grounded Rebel starfighters plus whatever Rebel soldiers were stationed in that area. Leia tried her hardest to ignore the far-off screams of dying Rebel soldiers.
Meanwhile, another Imperial dropship landed across from their position and unloaded more troops onto the battlefield. Leia looked ahead and saw a pair of Rebel soldiers gunned down without mercy as they attempted to reposition themselves, while up above, more TIE Fighters broke through the atmosphere and joined the one-sided air battle.
Leia glanced around the corner for a brief moment as the Stormtroopers ceased firing. One of the Stormtroopers, sporting a thick black line going down the length of his armor, moved through the rest up to the front. He removed his helmet, revealing a bald head, brown, empty eyes, and an overconfident smirk.
"I am Captain Orion Durgen of the 57th Legion," the Imperial officer announced. The Stormtroopers took up positions around the group glared at the captures Rebels. Their fingers weren't on the triggers, but they were very close. "To all nearby traitors and terrorists, I am ordering you to surrender now, and you will live long enough to face judgment for your crimes against the glorious Empire!"
With neither Han, Leia, or any of the other remaining Rebels surrendering, the captain gave a short sigh. Leia swore he saw a shine to his eyes, like he was hoping this would happen.
"Very well," Durgen said, his speech dripping with faux regret. The captain slid his helmet back on and raised an arm. The surrounding Stormtroopers raised their weapons in unison and aimed them at the group.
Please, Jun, Leia thought as more Stormtroopers surrounded their position. We need you here, now.
Suddenly, a hail of gunfire and explosions rang out, but not on their position. Leia heard the panicked shouts coming from the encroaching Stormtroopers and blaster fire. She inched around her cover long enough to see that Jun and a small handful of Alliance troopers had were firing on the Imperial officer and his men. Behind them was some of the remaining Alliance High Command, running and limping away from the action and towards Leia's position. Solo and the rest soon joined in and opened fire on the Imperials.
The Stormtroopers were completely caught by surprise and suffered casualties before they could even turn and aim. The firefight was quick, and before long the entire force of Stormtroopers, including their captain, was dead. With the members of High Command following him, Jun jogged over to Leia's position, and the Senator did everything she could to hold back a big smile at the sight of him.
"You're late," she said. She tried to sound annoyed, but she was more relieved than anything.
"Had to take a detour," Jun replied, shaking dust and sand off of his shoulder. His head moved slightly, and Leia turned to see the approaching Millennium Falcon. The freighter touched down in a clearing at the edge of the tree line, and the remaining members of Alliance High Command quickly moved onto the ship.
One of the Rebel soldiers covering their rear was struck in the leg by a rogue laser blast. The man instantly collapsed to the ground and clutched his leg, screaming in great pain. On instinct and without question, Jun doubled back for the wounded soldier as half the rescue party was up the ramp of the Falcon.
As Jun was going back for him, an X-Wing suffered several hits to its rear from a TIE Fighter. The ship spun into a sickening descent towards Jun's position. Leia wanted to shout, to warn Jun to leave the wounded soldier and find shelter, but it was all happening so fast that she couldn't say anything.
The X-wing crashed close to Jun's position, swallowing the SPARTAN and the fallen soldier in a ball of fire. The fire burned bright and turned the earth surrounding the impact site into a charred black. The air stung with fuel, burning metal, and the stench of burning flesh.
Leia was in frozen in place. Even as angry-red bars of energy whizzed past her, she couldn't move. In an instant, the best chance the Rebellion had to defeat the Empire had been killed in a fiery crash that was out of everyone's control.
As the flames died down, Leia spotted Jun's heavily armored hand twitching and moving amongst the wreckage of the X-wing and she sprang into action. Against the shouts of everyone not onboard the Falcon, Leia sprinted towards the inferno with no thoughts other than saving Jun. Reaching the blaze, she saw Jun's armor heavily charred and smoldering, but it remained intact.
She attempted to lift him up, but it proved impossible because of how heavy and searing-hot the armor was. Even if she could lift him, her hands would've been burned. She called everyone over to help her lift Jun, and everyone except for those too injured to move carefully lifted the SPARTAN off the ground and into the Falcon.
With Jun safely inside the ship, Solo and Chewie piloted the nimble freighter through the busy aerial battle and avoided the Imperial fleet in orbit. Once they had their opening, Han sent the ship into Hyperspace.
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