CHAPTER 38 - DAY Of DESTINY
On the last day of our 5551 training, the squad rose early and went to the mess to have the morning meal. As was normally the case these days, sergeant Dreyfus and Yalasa did not join us.
It was an important day for all of us. A day of destiny. If we did well, we could be transferred to a unit under the direct command of Lord Vader. But no one wanted to to talk about that in case it stirred up unwanted emotions. So our conversation turned to a different subject. The Death Star.
"I read last night that we are still in the Alderaan system" Said Davos. "It's been three days since we destroyed the planet. Why are we still here?"
I had read that too on my datapad, but had not thought anything of it. But now Davos mentioned it, I was curious as to why we were still in the Alderaan system.
"They could be waiting to intercept rebel ships." I suggested. "Some may come here not realising Alderaan is destroyed or hoping to look for survivors."
"Survivors from the destruction of the planet?" Timor snorted. "Don't you think that is unlikely? The whole planet was blown to pieces in seconds. Imperial authorities confirmed it."
After the destruction of the planet, imperial authorities had announced the event on media channels. Most ships would know of Alderaan's destruction by now, perhaps with the exception of the odd smuggler vessel which was staying out of communication to avoid detection.
"Perhaps they hope that some ships managed to escape from the planet." I countered. "The rebels may not believe the imperial reports."
Timor grunted in reluctant acceptance of my argument. For once, Timor was acting relatively seriously. It seemed that he was in no mood for jokes today.
"But why would the Death Star stay here just to intercept starships that may come to the system?" Asked the new recruit, Kann. "Surely, a fleet of star destroyers would be better for that."
I shrugged. It was a good argument. The others nodded, except of course for Skeen who as usual was staring vacantly into space.
"I spoke to a trooper from my previous squad just after the destruction of Alderaan." Said Wark, one of our two clone troopers. "He heard a tech officer say that the Death Star received damage during the destruction of the planet. It's possible we are stuck here until repairs are carried out."
The rest of us smiled and shook our heads.
"Very unlikley. This station is indestructible." Said Mandala, voicing the opinions of the rest of the squad. "There is no way that the station could be significantly damaged."
Again, we all nodded in agreement.
Wark also nodded in agreement. "Yes, you are right, Mandala. But it is possible that they may have received light damage. Or perhaps they need to refuel."
"Yes, but the minor repairs or refuelling surely won't take three days." Said Davos.
We all murmured agreement. The idea that the station needed to remain in the system for repair or refuelling seemed implausible to us all.
"Perhaps the scientists on the ship are doing tests on the effect of the explosion." Suggested Davos. "To see how the destruction of the planet affects the rest of the system."
"Surely, science vessels would be more efficient for that purpose." Interjected Mandala. "It doesn't make sense for the Death Star to stay just for that."
"Yeah, this is a battle station." Said Timor looking at Davos scornfully. "It exists to crush the enemies of the Empire and enforce the will of our great Emperor. The Death Star's not going to wait here so that a bunch of egg-heads scientists can test space rocks."
Everyone, including Davos, nodded agreement. I couldn't believe the Death Star would waste its time with trivial science projects. That seemed totally ridiculous.
"Maybe the Emperor is about to launch a campaign against other rebel planets and bases." I proposed. "Maybe we are waiting here for reinforcements to arrive."
"The Death Star? Needing reinforcements?" Timor snorted. "You are joking, right?"
"Yeah, Timor has a point." Said Mandala. "The Death Star can easily defeat any fleet that the rebels could throw together. The Emperor has confirmed that it's firepower is unmatched in the galaxy."
The other troopers solemnly nodded in agreement again.
"True." I said. I realised that my suggestion wasn't as logical as I thought.
"Plus, there are squadrons of attack ships and legions of ground troops ready to be deployed." Continued Mandala. "No rebel planet would be able resist an invasion launched from the station. The Emperor can easily crush any resistant to his will that we may face."
"And even if they somehow manage to resist." Added Timor. "We can blow their planet to shit with the super laser." Timor bashed his fist on the table.
"Yeah, Alderaan has demonstrated that the station is fully operational." Davos spoke with pride. "Any rebels will now know what the station can do and that the Emperor will not hesitate to use it. They will now have no choice but to bow to his will."
"Or face total annihilation." Timor grinned maliciously.
I nodded and smiled grimly. I imagined how the station would quickly destroy all resistance to the Emperor's just and wise rule. The Emperor's dream of a galaxy free from war, chaos, criminality and treason was coming to fruition. He had vowed to bring lasting peace and prosperity to the galaxy. And he was fulfilling his promise as we all knew he would. All that the Emperor asked in return was the complete obedience of the populace and the utter destruction of his deceitful, insidious and duplicitous enemies whose only goal was to sabotage his noble plan for their own selfish gain and lust for power.
When I reflected on that, I felt a great surge of pride in serving the Emperor as an Imperial stormtrooper. The Death Star and the imperial fleets would destroy the planets and ships of the enemy. But we stormtroopers would always be needed to assault, occupy and impose obedience on those places that the Emperor's mercy saved from total destruction. The task may take a generation, but there was no doubt that the imperial forces would eventually cleanse the galaxy of the Emperor's enemies. I felt honoured and privileged to play a small part in this great and noble cause.
"I heard that it is Lord Vader who has insisted that we remain in the system." Said Lonn, our clone recruit who joined us yesterday.
"Really? From who." I asked intrigued. My fellow troopers leaned forward. Lonn's rumour had caught our attention.
"When I was on guard duty the day before I joined you, I heard two generals mention it." Said Lonn.
"Did they say why what Lord Vader was waiting for?" Asked Davos.
"No." Lonn shook his head. "They said it was for an unknown reason."
"Did they speculate on the reason?" Asked Mandala with obvious curiosity.
"No. Nothing detailed" Replied Lonn again. "Just a suggestion that Lord Vader was awaiting an incident or event that would be of benefit of the Empire."
"I wonder what that could be?" Asked Mandala obviously rhetorically.
"Don't wonder too much." Grinned Timor.
We all chuckled in agreement. Stormtroopers never speculated on the plans of Lord Vader. All we knew was that anything Lord Vader planned would bring certain victory to the Galactic Empire and the Emperor. That was a fact we all recognised. Wasting time on speculation was futile exercise.
At that moment, Yalasa entered the mess and called us to training. We all eagerly got up from our chairs and headed to the armoury. Our day of destiny was to begin.
After equipping ourselves with our armour and blasters in the armoury, we went to the training hall to continue with the training exercises.
We still had 4 of the 15 training exercises to complete against live opponents. We immediately started with scenario 12. We completed scenarios 12 and 13 successfully at the first attempt. But we found a problem with scenario 14. After five attempts, we were still unable to successfully complete it.
Scenario 14 was a pursuit scenario. It started with us pursuing the fugitives down a wide corridor. Half way down the corridor, the fugitives would turn and charge back towards us so that we had to confront them head on at close range.
Our instinct was to try and perform an orderly withdrawal. However, because our opponents moved forward so quickly, they always ended up right among us, causing us to fail the exercise for being too close to the enemy. We simply could not perform an orderly retreat fast enough to keep sufficient distance from the enemy as required by the exercise.
Frustrated by the our constant failure in the exercise, sergeant Dreyfus called lieutenant Denlin to ask for assistance. The lieutenant came over to our group. As training officer overseeing the exercises, he was not permitted to give us solutions to any problems we came across. Each squad was supposed to work out any problems for themselves, just as we would have to do in the heat of the mission. But he was allowed to comment on any suggestions we made.
"Right, men." Lieutenant Denlin looked at us with a serious expression on his face as we stood round him with our helmets under our arms. "I want to hear all suggestions that could increase your chances of succeeding in this exercise."
There was silence. I tried to think how we could reasonably change our positioning or tactics to allow us to fall back quicker. But I couldn't think of anything.
"Come on, men." Sighed lieutenant Denlin. "There must be something."
There was silence for a few seconds. Then at last someone spoke.
"I have a suggestion, sir." I turned to look at who had spoken. It was the new human recruit Kann. He looked embarrassed again, just like the time when I asked him why he had been looking at Yalasa so much.
Everyone stared at him waiting for him to speak.
"Well, trooper Kann." Said Denlin looking at him expectantly. "Tell us what you are thinking."
"Well, I was thinking, sir..." Kann gulped hard and cleared his throat. "...that we could just flee from the enemy, sir."
I stared at Kann in shock. All the other other troopers in the squad glared at him in horror. Dreyfus had an expression of pure fury on his face. Yalasa sneered at Kann with an expression of disgust.
"What do you mean by flee, trooper?" Growled sergeant Dreyfus.
Although sergeant Dreyfus had been very receptive to suggestions made by regular troopers in other exercises, they had usually related to adjustments to tactics or positioning. None of the previous suggestions ever involved carrying out acts that could be regarded as cowardly, shameful or dishonourable. Although sergeant Dreyfus was open and tolerant to most suggestions, the idea of fleeing before the enemy was obviously inconceivable to him.
Kann looked around at us nervously. But lieutenant Denlin nodded at Kann and encouraged him to continue.
"Well. If the enemy charge us unexpectedly, we should just flee from them, sir." Said Kann. "That's the only way we can keep our distance and remain within the exercise parameters."
"Stormtroopers do not flee." Yalasa glared at Kann with an expression of contempt on her face. The other troopers in the squad nodded and growled agreement.
Kann bowed his head in shame under the scornful gaze of Yalasa and his other fellow troopers.
"Yes, stormtroopers are not supposed to flee from the enemy. That is true." Denlin's voice broke in, distracting our attention from the shamed Kann. "In a standard mission, Stormtroopers fall back in an orderly manner or..."
For a moment, lieutenant Denlin's voice faltered slightly.
"...or they fight to the bitter end." Lieutenant Denlin's eyed seemed to glass over. "And fight to the last man for the glory and prosperity of the Galactic Empire."
Yalasa and I exchanged knowing glances. I was sure that lieutenant Denlin was referring to the all-female stormtrooper company which was destroyed on Alderaan. By the way she raised her eyebrows, Yalasa obviously thought so too. We had both seen the despair on Denlin's face when Alderaan was destroyed and the female unit he had founded was definitively annihilated.
Denlin recovered his composure and looked around at us before continuing. "Yes, that is what stormtroopers do in a normal mission."
Denlin put his hand on the Kann's shoulder. Kann was still looking down at the floor in shame.
"But this is not a normal mission, men." Lieutenant Denlin looked at us grimly. "This is a mission where we must do everything that is contrary to what we have been trained and conditioned to do. The normal rules do not apply."
We all looked at him blanked face and confused.
"Trooper." Denlin snapped his fingers at me. "Is there anything in the mission rules, instructions or objectives which prohibits you from implementing trooper Kann's suggestion? Is there anything in the scenario rules that say you cannot flee the Enemy?"
I felt the eyes of every trooper on me. I thought about it for a few seconds. Everyone knew I had studied the rules in detail. Timor did not call me anal-boy for nothing.
"No, sir." I replied. "The scenario rules only say that we should take all necessary steps to ensure we keep a reasonable distance from the enemy."
"So there is no rule prohibiting you from fleeing then?." Said lieutenant Denlin.
"No, sir." I felt myself swallow hard.
"What about the rate of fire requirement?" Interjected Davos. "Each scenario requires us to maintain a minimum rate of fire. If we run, we will have to reduce our rate of fire. If it falls below the minimum requirement, it will cause us to fail the scenario."
Lieutenant Denlin turned to me again. "Trooper. How does moving fast affect the rate of fire requirement?" When he asked the question, I had the impression he already knew the answer.
"The rate of fire requirement is dependent on the speed at which we are moving." I answered. "The faster we move the lower the rate of fire we are required to maintain. If we sprint, the rate of fire requirement falls to zero."
"So there is no objection to fleeing the enemy on basis of that our reduced rate of fire will cause us to fail the scenario then?" Asked Denlin.
"No, sir." I answered.
"Is that also your understanding, trooper Kann?" Asked Denlin.
"Yes, sir."
"And you, Yalasa?"
Yalasa still had an expression of disgust on her face. "Yes, sir." She said reluctantly. "I believe the interpretation given by the two troopers is correct, sir."
Denlin turned to look round at the whole squad. "Is there anyone in the squad who knows of any rule that would prevent you from fleeing the enemy?"
There was a murmur of "No, sir" from all the troopers.
"Then perhaps you should consider implementing trooper Kann's suggestion." Lieutenant Denlin smiled and looked at each one of us in turn. "The most important thing is to complete the mission objective. That is the only thing that matters. If there is any tactic or action that allows you to complete your mission object, then you should not hesitate to use it."
We all looked at lieutenant Denlin in silence. The idea of fleeing before the enemy seemed cowardly and abhorrent to me. I knew the others would feel the same. But I understood lieutenant Denlin's reasoning. If we wanted to meet our mission objective and fulfil the will of the Emperor, we may sometimes have to do things that may seem dishonourable or disagreeable.
"Well, sergeant." Lieutenant Denlin turned to sergeant Dreyfus. "What do you think? It is your decision. You are the one who must lead the men in the field."
Sergeant Dreyfus looked around at the blank faces of his troopers. We looked back at him, awaiting his response. He was our commanding NCO and we would do whatever he decided.
Sergeant Dreyfus looked over to Yalasa. She simply nodded her head. Sergeant Dreyfus grimaced and nodded back to her in acknowledgement.
"Alright, sir. We'll do it." The disgust on sergeant Dreyfus' face was clear to see as he turned to address us. "If the enemy charge you, you will flee the enemy. Understood, troopers?"
"Yes, sir. understood." We all shouted in unison.
"Good." Smiled Denlin. "That's settled then."
"Right. Corporal Yalasa." Ordered Dreyfus. "Deploy the men for the exercise. We shall try the new tactic straight away."
"Yes, sir." Replied Yalasa.
Before Yalasa gave the order to deploy, she walked over to trooper Kann. She put both her hands and his shoulder and looked into his eyes and simply said. "Good work trooper."
The rest of us did the same, each walking up to Kann and putting our hand on his shoulder and nodding to him in recognition of the courage he had shown in making his suggestion. The last person to approach him was sergeant Dreyfus. He patted Kann on the shoulder and smiled just slightly, before walking away.
Afterwards, Yalasa turned to us. "Right, men. Helmets on. Let's get to work."
The next time, we did the mission we passed easily. When the fugitives turned to charge us the next time we started the exercise, we fled down the corridor away from them and thus completed the exercise successfully. I felt ashamed in having to flee in the face of the enemy. But I accepted the sacrifice, knowing that it was the most efficient and effective way to complete the mission objective.
We also needed a few attempts at the final scenario 15. Scenario 15 required us to pursue the fugitives down a wide corridor, arranging for them to escape through a closing blast door. As we ran towards the door, we had to request central command to close the door just at the right time so the fugitives would escape through it, while ensuring that it would close just before we reached it. The objective was to make the fugitives think they had evaded our pursuit.
The first two attempts, we didn't get the timing right and the fugitives ended up trapped on our side of the door. But on the third time we got it right and the fugitives successfully escaped through the blast door before we reached it. We practiced the scenario another few times to drill ourselves in closing the blast door at just the right time.
By midday, we had completed all 15 missions successfully. We ate our field rations in the training hall before practicing every scenario several times during the afternoon. By the end of the day, we were well drilled in successfully executing all the training scenarios.
In the early evening, we commenced the assessment which would determine the destinies of us all.
We successfully completed the first 13 scenarios without problem. Just before the beginning of scenario 14, Lord Vader appeared on the observation balcony alongside Lieutenant Denlin. Lord Vader intended to watch us perform scenario 14; the scenario in which we had to flee before the enemy.
I felt Lord Vader's influence invade my spirit, causing an irresistible feeling of confidence, force, pride and power to surge through my very being. Every one of us stood a little straighter, held our heads little higher and carried out each action with more dedication and determination. As Dreyfus and Yalasa barked orders to us through their comms, I could feel an additional authority in their voices. I felt one with Lord Vader, one with my squad, one with the Empire and one with the Emperor. I understood then and there that there was nothing that would stand in our way. That with such power on our side, the traitors and rebels who opposed the Emperor were doomed to failure and utter destruction. It was a glorious and beautiful feeling.
Scenario 14 commenced with us pursuing the three fugitives down a wide corridor. We ran after the three men in coloured clothing, shooting to miss. As per the scenario description, the three fugitives suddenly turned and charged at us. Sergeant Dreyfus and Mandala were hit by blaster rounds at close range and both went down, feigning death. The rest of us fled away from the enemy, occasionally turning to fire until we reached the end of the training area.
Within 15 seconds, it was all over. Through his comm lieutenant Denlin ordered us to leave the training area and prepare for the next exercise. I glanced at the observation balcony. Lord Vader stood observing us for a moment, then with an elegant swish of his dark cloak, he departed through the exit. We would not see him again for the rest of the assessment.
With Lord Vader's beneficial influence and power surging through us, we completed the final scenario successfully with no problem. Lieutenant Denlin dismissed us from the training hall and we went to the armoury.
In silence, we deposed our equipment and went to the mess to eat. This time even Yalasa and sergeant Dreyfus joined us. We all sat in silence, each one of us absorbed in his own thoughts.
After eating, we all returned to the barracks and went to our bunks. We had only been there for 10 minutes when lieutenant Denlin entered the quarters. Dutifully, we jumped to attention and awaited his orders.
"All troopers of squad B shall report to the armoury." Shouted lieutenant Denlin. "You have been transferred to a new unit with immediate effect."
"Yes, sir." We all shouted in response. Swiftly we all filed out of the barracks and, with pride swelling in our hearts, headed to the armoury. We had succeeded. From now on we would serve under the direct orders of Lord Vader. It was our day of destiny.
When we arrived at our new sleeping quarters in another part of the Death Star, I selected a bunk and started checking that the Empire issued clothing and equipment were all there. Kann selected a bunk next to mine.
Timor came up to Kann and patted him amiably on the shoulder. "Well, Kann. You really know your orders. That was one hell of a suggestion. Fleeing the enemy? That's a tactic I'd never expected to see in the stormtrooper corps."
Timor turned to me and grinned, his arm round Kann's shoulder.
"You're in good company with Kann here." Timor said to me. "It looks like there are two anal-boy pussies in the squad."
Kann looked round at Timor in obvious annoyance.
To my surprise, I found myself laughing out loud.
PSYCHOLOGICAL SECTION
REVIEW OF JOURNAL - TROOPER LC-9087
The squad have been transferred to a new unit under Lord Vader's command. Psychological review to be transferred to section 438.
Recommended that emotional blockers be increased for all squad members to counter heightened emotional reaction that may result from their transfer to Lord Vader's command.