Disclaimer: I own none of this. The ideas are mine, though.
This is written from the perspective of a military agent, so it uses military time, and some abbreviations. The two I use are listed below, to avoid confusion.
PFC – Private First Class
KIA – Killed in Action
I was a little bored, so I wrote this as a challenge for myself. Enjoy!
FROM THE JOURNAL OF CIPHER NINE, RECOVERED AFTER HER DEATH
HOTH, 11 ATC (AFTER THE TREATY OF CORUSCANT)
GLACIAL FISSURE, ON THE EASTERN ICE SHELF
The 14th of Telona, 11 ATC
0800 Hours
Entering the area with Gundark Squad. Advancing on the White Maw position. Estimated ETA: 7 Days. Traversing terrain on foot and with grappling hooks due to weather conditions. Command has given me a half dozen Tauntauns to move supplies and any wounded or prisoners.
1100 Hours
Ice collapsed beneath Corporal Jaave and PFC Trayes. Two Wampas emerged from the fissure, apparently an underground cave system. Specialist Hadley neutralized the hostiles by blowing the ice, resulting in a cave-in. Remains have been marked with a holo-designator for later recovery if possible. Lost all but one of our Tauntauns to the collapse.
1900 Hours
Sheltering within a defensible fissure. Will continue the advance towards the wreck of the Vehement Sword, locally referred to as the 'Broken Blade', once visibility improves. Slaughtered the remaining Tauntaun to stretch our food supply.
15th of Telona, 11 ATC
0500 Hours
Began heading east towards the starship graveyard. Have Specialist Yaxley attempting to radio about possible instability in the ice shelf.
0700 Hours
Stopped when Corporal Gayne raised concerns about supplies. Resolved issue by pooling resources and reducing my personal food allotment. Will make a note about the Corporal to command about inability to cope with hardship.
1700 Hours
Thwarted a White Maw ambush. Spotted blood in the snow and discovered the remains of Helix Squad. Marked site with a holo-designator for later recovery if possible. Used remaining medpacs on PFC Engal and PFC Neris.
2100 Hours
Found another fissure; sheltering in place for the night so PFC Engal and PFC Neris can rest. Comms have received no response; White Maw may have a jammer.
16th of Telona, 11 ATC
0300 Hours
Had to rapidly evacuate the Fissure; a pride of Manka Cats followed the scent of blood from the two PFC. Personally neutralized six of the pride, while Specialist Kurn neutralized the other two. PFC Neris succumbed to her injuries, while Specialist Hadley was KIA by the Manka Cats. Their remains have been marked. We move on. Left the remains of the cats outside the cave to deter further pursuit. Hopefully other predators will focus on that, rather than us.
0900 Hours
Found another fissure to shelter in and rest. Put several tripwires and noise traps to guard against further ambush. Inventory of supplies has revealed that we have 2 days of food left at half rations. Have cut rations of myself and Corporal Gayne to third rations to provide further supplies.
1800 Hours
Morale is low. Best estimate is another 5 days before we reach The Vehement Sword. Bunking down for the night. Will swap watch with Corporal Gayne.
17th of Telona
0800 Hours
Had to execute PFC Guhl. He attempted to desert with several supplies, and when cornered, burned what he had. Was able to recover some, but not all supplies. Have forgone rations for myself to ensure there is no more incidents. Morale is at a breaking point.
1700 Hours
Built a shelter using compacted snow and smaller chunks of ice. Have scavenged comms equipment to build a heater. Morale has been boosted by the heat, but I still worry. No help is coming, taking out the White Maw is our only hope of living past this hellish tundra.
18th of Telona
0200 Hours
Corporal Gayne split his rations with me. Refused to eat until I had had some. Dismantled our heater and pressed on. Visibility is poor due to a small storm. Hope this doesn't make the climb tomorrow too much harder. PFC Engal and PFC Shalth have started questioning why we are here. I don't blame them.
1100 Hours
Finally reached the cliffs at the edge of the fissure. We set up camp and rebuilt the heater to conserve energy before the climb.
1130 Hours
After breaking down the heater and splitting its parts between Corporal Gayne and I, we began the climb.
2300 Hours
We finally made it to the top. What was supposed to be an 8-hour climb became a 12-hour climb. Specialist Yaxley took the lead and thing went fine until about halfway up the cliff face. The ice cracked, and Specialist Yaxley directed us all further north. When he made to follow, the ice split. I don't think I will ever forget how loud that was. One second, there was a cliff face, and the next a gulley in the ice appeared where he had been hanging on. We made it to the top and moved onward. We're all out of holo-designators, so I recorded the coordinates of the cliffs.
19th of Telona
0100 Hours
We built another crude shelter and assembled the heater. I'm not sure I have the energy to prevent a mutiny anymore. I'm not sure I would blame them. I'm taking first watch. Specialist Kurn relieves me in 3 hours.
0700 Hours
I was awoken by Corporal Gayne. During PFC Engal's watch, PFC Engal deserted and has vanished with the heater. Damn him; I hope he walks right into the White Maw's encampment. With no source of heat, we break down the shelter and continue. PFC Shalth has grown quiet; I will have to keep an eye on him.
1300 Hours
PFC Shalth collapsed. When we tried to get him moving, his heart just stopped. He's gone. We found a cave nearby and have pulled his remains in with us. We need to find the White Maw while there's still enough of us to make a difference.
1500 Hours
I can't ignore the facts. We haven't eaten in 37 hours. This cold is going to kill us before the White Maw do. Corporal Gayne and Specialist Kurn don't like it either, but we need to survive. If we fail, the fleet is going to burn. The Empire is going to burn.
1700 Hours
I made sure to grab PFC Shalth's holo-tags. I can't undo what we did or give peace to his family. I can only tell them his body was un-recoverable, and that he died a loyal agent of the Empire. We used his weapon to build a small heater. It won't last more than 6 hours, but it'll be enough. We attack tomorrow. These bastards are the reason 8 of my agents are dead.
20th of Telona
0200 Hours
We're beginning our advance. Corporal Gayne has the explosives for the jammer, and the Specialist is covering him. I'm going in.
2200 Hours
The White Maw have been neutralized as a threat in this sector. Corporal Gayne sacrificed himself to destroy the jammer, detonating the explosives and taking out two of their heavy commandos in the process. Specialist Kurn and I have radioed to base and have a shuttle in route. We're going home.
I may do more of these; not 100% sure yet. Let me know what you guys think!
I'll see you guys next time!
Ameridane