"Escape. Hide. Find you later. Kill you then." -Boba Fett
Lothal
"Governor Pryce, our transmitters have detected the Rebel frequency..." Captain Yogar Lyste said to the politician... Thrawn had released him from prison upon Kallus's outing as Fulcrum. The entire ordeal had been eye-opening for the young officer. He shouldn't be so trusting... As his closest friend was in reality a Rebel.
"Thank you, Captain... Send an audio transmission..." The Governor replied... She felt sympathy for the young man. Her 'friends' in Higher Skies Advocacy Group were also cheating, lying, and deceitful traitors. She now resented Agent Kallus more than ever for persuading Lyste to attack her.
She stared out the viewport, watching the AT-AT and tanks lumber forward; the walker hindered by the terrain. The tanks, however, can bypass those obstacles with their repulsorlifts. And the jump troopers can simply fly over the highest cliff to reach their Rebel targets.
The tanks began to blast away chunks of rock to let the walker pass through the tight gaps.
"Send out droids to record the battle. Director Krennic will want to see our results..."
"That's definitely not good..." Ryder spied on the Imperial armor group blasting away boulders. The Acclamator in the background was also firing its turbolasers to destroy entire mountains.
However, Cassian noticed a very small detail that gave him a bad feeling...
"That's strange... Why aren't they just shelling us with that heavy transport?"
"It doesn't matter now. We need to get our transports loaded... Or we'll all die when they do reach us." Ryder said, his face stern...
"Launch the speeders..." Ryder yelled into his commlink.
The T-47 Airspeeders began launch sequence. Their engines roaring as they abruptly entered the sky.
"Green Squadron, keep them distracted while we load the transports. Target the walker's joints if you can. A walker is only as strong as its weakest joint..." Kallus calmly said to the pilots in the air. "Be on the lookout for anything they might be hiding. This situation isn't following normal protocol..."
"Copy that, Captain..." Wedge replied from his comms of his Airspeeder. He didn't like it at all. It was so much slower and weaker than an A-Wing or Headhunter. And to top it all off it doesn't have any shielding to protect the craft from fighter attack. It was basically a flying death trap fast enough to outrun a TIE Fighter in atmosphere.
The AT-AT stopped in its tracks. The base was in range... It began firing at the Rebels with its heavy laser cannons while the TX-225 tanks moved further on.
"Take out those tanks before they tear our shuttles apart!" Ryder yelled into his communicator. Ordering the speeders to divert their attention to the assault tanks.
"Copy that, commander." Wedge replied, scowling at the speed of the tanks. It was much, much faster than anticipated.
Turning around, Kallus faced the former Governor of Lothal. "Governor Azadi, you should go with the rest of the forces on the transports. Go to coordinates 099 067 for our rendezvous. The Empire has never really considered searching for things in that set of mountains. You'll be safe and have time to reassess the situation."
"I agree... May the Force be with you, Captain..." Azadi and the rest of the personnel turned and ran for the transports. They took blasters, packed equipment, and began to dismantle their mobile base at an alarmingly quick pace. The transports would be ready in about ten minutes; just enough time to spare before the AT-AT tears the ship to pieces.
"Attack Pattern Delta. Go now!" Wedge ordered, leading the airspeeders as they began to fly in loops around the slow hovertanks. Whenever it became visible, the speeders took aim with their targeting computers. Large bolts of hot red plasma began to be flung at the Imperial tanks. The impact of each laser either killed the gunner or administered severe burns to the armor.
Some tanks began to screech to a halt, as the blast of the lasers severely injured or killed both gunner and driver in some tanks. The surviving tanks could not aim at the speeders, however. TX-225r repulsor tanks are meant for use against ground targets. They excelled against infantry and light ground vehicles, but can't aim at the fighters correctly. The airspeeders were bought and modified to provide a useful counter to heavy tanks such as the TX-225r or the Imperial Armored Assault Tanks.
The engines of the GR75 Medium Transport roared to life. Azadi was finally getting away.
Lowering his binoculars at the peculiar sight of the AT-AT's halt, Kallus turned to Andor. "Is the ship ready?"
Andor raised his comlink. "K2, is our ship ready?"
"The U-Wing is ready for launch. I've also charged up the mounted weapons and magnetized their legs. Mainly because of the very dire situation..."
"Good. We're on our way..." Cassian cut the transmission... Looking at the AT-AT. "What's happening?"
The AT-AT's sides began to unhinge. And the massive hatches sealing the troop transport changed into deployment configuration. A dozen jump troopers in their white armor began propelling themselves towards the emptying base. Leading them, with shining green armor, was a Mandalorian warrior...
Kallus turned away from the main front. "Run!"
The Mandalorian landed on top of one of the airspeeders, and shot the pilot in the head with his EE-3 blaster carbine. The jump troopers did the same, but were less successful with their slower jetpacks.
"Blue Squadron, retreat immediately! Those jump troopers will tear you to shreds." Cassian said in his comlink, running towards the U-Wing.
Kallus and Cassian jumped into the U-Wing, which was already hovering for a quick takeoff.
"About time. That Acclamator was about to blast us out of the sky." K2 said nonchalantly.
"Not now, K2. Just get us out of here!" Kallus yelled as he sealed the doors.
The U-Wing and airspeeders flew away in different directions, to avoid tracking. They would all converge at the rendezvous point near the Southern Ocean.
The soldiers who stayed behind to defend the position were annihilated. The flamethrower on the Mandalorian's wrist disintegrated several Rebels with its intense heat.
The Empire didn't attempt to pursue. A shuttle was flying towards the Acclamator, carrying an important officer.
The Mandalorian returned to the Governor Pryce, who was in the main hangar of the Imperial Assault Ship.
"I didn't sign up for a battle. I'll continue my hunt for him, but you'll have to double your payment..."
Governor Pryce was unfazed. "Of course, bounty hunter. You can hunt for him on your own. I will provide the first half of your fee immediately. And when you bring that traitor to me, alive, you'll get the other half. If someone else captures him first, you will still receive your payment. Is that sufficient?"
The helmet hid a stern face. "That'll do..."
The Mandalorian flew away on his jetpack, flying towards his Firespray-class ship hidden at the edge of the mountain range.
The distorted chatter of Death Troopers signaled the approach of Director Krennic.
His cape flew with the faint wind as he stopped next to the holoprojector.
"Governor Pryce. I would like to see the capabilities of our prototype..."
"Of course, Director..." She showed a hologram of the AT-AT facing attack by T-47 airspeeders. Their blasters barely put a dent in the thick durasteel armor. The temple-mounted blaster cannons fired rapidly, making short work of the attackers. "As you can see, we have increased the thickness of the durasteel plating, especially on the cockpit and 'neck' area."
"Impressive... What about the legs? A walker is only as strong as its weakest joint." The Director said, his facing remaining coldly stern.
Pryce accelerated the clip until it reached a certain point. A rebel fired a smart rocket from her launcher, aiming directly at one of the legs. The rocket, which would've decimated an AT-ST or heavily damaged an AT-DP, only produced severe burns and slowed the speed of the joint's movement. But it remained intact and functional.
"I will relay this to the others at our next meeting..." Director Krennic continued. Before he could turn away, Pryce stopped him to tell him something.
"These Rebels were here for the X-Wings. Please inform the Tarkin Initiative that the location of our secret factory has been compromised. We need to move them back to Fresia."
The Director nodded... "I'll see what I can do about our X-Wing problem..."
The Director returned to his shuttle, which began to take off while Gozanti cruisers began to deploy reinforcements consisting of TIE Fighters, 2M tanks, AT-STs, and more jump troopers to secure the area.