Ice Ball
Wars aren't won by dying for your cause. They're won by making the other man die for his. It's what I was taught; it's what I believe. It hasn't let me down yet.
We're just about ready to go now. I check my blaster rifle. It's an E-11, standard issue. I wonder for a moment whether I ever used this particular one before. Probably not. I check the power cells, the tibanna gas chamber, wipe some grime off the end of the barrel. There's something reassuring about its weight in my hands.
The captain briefed us a while ago. The enemy's dug in deep, and shielded. They're resisting, of course. They always do. If there's anything admirable about the rebels, it's their determination. They're always prepared to die for the Rebellion. This is good. It means we have the exact same aim in mind.
The walker shakes around us. The captain returns from the cockpit and tells us the rebels are using some kind of air speeders. We shouldn't worry. The walkers are too heavily armored for their blasters. We'll be to the generators any minute now, then we'll deploy.
I try to remember the name of this planet. The captain told us in the briefing, but I wasn't really listening. Oh, well. It's not really important. Just some ice ball, unfit for human habitation. I wonder if this one will be remembered like Yavin or Dantooine. We're wearing special armor for this one, it's got better environmental protection, so we won't freeze. I've turned mine off. It's plenty warm in the walker.
The ground shakes, suddenly, and nearby. As if something heavy has fallen. Some of us turn to each other and whisper anxiously. I thought they weren't going to bombard the rebels, because of the shields? If they changed their minds, they missed pretty badly, didn't they? Or maybe the shield deflected the blast back at us? The captain runs up to the cockpit and comes back. He's wearing his helmet, so I can't see his expression, but for some reason I think he's worried. His voice is a little shaky at first as he tells us not to worry. One of the others, I don't know his name, asks what we've got to not be worried about. The captain tells him not to be a smartass. Our walker shakes again. The captain tells us not to worry again. I'm not sure why; none of us are worried but him.
There are more of the sounds of the bombardment, or whatever it is, outside. The captain keeps telling us not to worry, which does more to make us start to worry than it does to stop us from doing so. Then there is one, very loud explosion. The pilots call out form the cockpit; the generators have been destroyed, get ready to deploy.
We make our last equipment checks and pull on our helmets. They're differently shaped from our regular ones. I remember the first time I put one on. I couldn't see anything. Now, though, my eyes adjust to the filters almost instantaneously. I can see just fine. We cluster around the egress hatch as it opens and the zip cords come out. I hook my foot into the loop of one, grasp the thick wire, briefly wonder what kind of metal it is, and step into the air. The zip cord stops just inches from the ground and I step off, releasing it. It soars back to the egress hatch with a sharp zip. Those of us already on the ground move to make room for the rest. The last few down are carrying heavy metal cases. They're black, stamped with the Imperial crest, the symbol of our Empire and its invincible might. They're E-Webs and their power supplies, I know. We pick them up, two to a case, and hurry off toward the rebel base across the snow. Someone looks back. He must be new. He shouts, and points. A few of us look. There are walkers going down, the rebel speeders zipping around them. I can't tell what they're doing from here, but every so often one flies in circles around the walker's legs, and the walker falls over. That must have been what was worrying the captain. No sense worrying now. We aren't on a walker any more.
The captain shouts at us to keep moving, to get to the base. As we run the walkers lay down suppression fire amongst the rebel forces which seem to be retreating, heading back towards us. The walker we rode in fires at the base, blowing a gaping hole in the ground a hundred meters from us. The new guy, the one who looked back, he shouts, They could have killed us! The rest of us remain silent, hurrying to the hole. We trust the walkers and their pilots. They wouldn't have hit us. Other squads from other walkers are running toward us. We reach the hole first. There is a corridor beneath us. The rebel base is underground. We drop down in. Other squads head for the main doors as our walker fires on them, trying to blow them in for the others. They're heavy blast doors though. It will take some time. Our entrance is quicker.
A voice calls through the base. Imperial troops have entered the base! Imperial troops have entered the base! It is cut off. We know our job. We spread throughout the rebel base, firing on all we see. We kill many. Word comes that Lord Vader himself has entered the base, whispered from trooper to trooper. We continue to spread. They continue to resist. Many cry out, For the Rebellion! Then they die. My beliefs hold firm.
