The electrobinoculars' view of the former Rebel outpost was partially obscured by the jungle's undergrowth, making the job of observing the now Imperial facility difficult. Yet the sight of the seven Stormtroopers patrolling the north side of the structure wasn't easily missed; their white armor easily standing out against the colors of the wilderness.
What do you see? Chewbacca asked the man holding the electrobinoculars, who seemingly ignored his question. Chewbacca asked again, trying to keep his voice down.
"He said 'What do you see?'" Han Solo repeated. Solo, like all of the other Rebel soldiers were clad in green fatigues. In his hands was a Merr-Sonn Model G8, a blaster rifle that was there to supplement his own trusty DL-44 blaster pistol.
"I don't understand Shyriiwook," Kyle Katarn apologized as lowered the electrobinoculars from his eyes. "I didn't know he was speaking to me." He pointed towards the outpost with his free hand. "They've set up a good defense, all things considered. I see seven troopers; four at ground level and three on the second. There's an E-web set up on the second level as well, and two of the guards are carrying T-21's," he reported, referring to the long-barreled light repeating blaster rifles.
"I see about ten on my side," Kyp Astar reported through his comlink.
"That's seventeen accounted for," Han Solo began. "And eighteen unknowns, and that's being generous. When does this thing begin, anyway?"
"Right about now," Luke Skywalker replied as he reported the orders piped in through his earpiece from the Alliance War Room. With a quick signal the four rebel soldiers carrying blaster cannons, a group that was comprised from both platoons, took careful aim at the E-web emplacement on the second level. "Take it out," Luke ordered his two soldiers, causing Han Solo to nod his consent to his gunners.
Four large orbs of energy emerged from the jungle and converged upon the emplacement. They impacted on their target, sending chunks of stone flying out from the blast radius. The bodies of two Stormtroopers that were caught in the blast soon followed. The sounds of the multiple explosions sent the reinforcements inside of the base running to help. The soldiers carrying the T-21's fiddled with their guns as they ran to cover, while the other Stormtroopers opened fire upon the area the blaster cannon fire had originated from.
The jungle filled with red as both sides opened fire upon the other, causing several native creatures to flee in terror. The enemy blaster fire punched several burning holes into the log that the five commanders were using as cover. Both Luke and Keyan quickly dropped their guns and reached for their lightsabers. They were quickly reprimanded for doing so.
"Not yet," Kyle told his fellow students. "If you ignite those things, every single one of those Stormtroopers will start shooting at us. I don't think our cover could handle every shot."
"And there's more coming!" Han Solo exclaimed as several Stormtroopers, about twelve in total, poured out of the outpost. A shot from his DL-44 took out one before Han was forced to duck back under cover.
Even though the rebels clearly had the number advantage, the superior training and position of the Stormtroopers were able to even out the odds, and the odds were about to get worse for the rebels. The two soldiers carrying the T-21s poked their heads out from behind their cover, and opened fire upon the general direction of the rebels. Streams of red laser blasts covered the area, sending several tree limbs falling to the ground. Luke could hear the screams of the wounded rebels, and he could barely hear the bodies of those killed hit the ground.
Flaming chunks of wood erupted from the log the commanders were using as cover, but Luke Skywalker could still hear Chewbacca's roar of pain. He quickly looked over at the Wookiee, to see Chewie rolling on the ground. Chewbacca had been wounded on his leg, which had been accidentally been sticking out from the log and was hit by the automatic blaster fire. Luke and Han watched in horror as the injured Chewbacca rolled into the sights of the gunners. Luke could hear the gunfire converge a few meters behind him, the blaster shots hitting the ground and sending tiny explosions of dirt into the air. The gunfire quickly moved closer to the wounded Wookiee, and there was nothing that the soldiers could do. The blaster fire began hitting the log and then it finally came into contact with Chewbacca. Mercifully, it was quick. Luke stared in horror at the dead body of the Wookiee that had helped save his life on the Death Star as it continued to tumble down the small hill.
"You hit, kid?" Han Solo asked, snapping Luke out of the daze he was in. Luke frantically looked around, and was surprised to see Chewbacca still living and sitting behind the log.
"Chewie watch out!" Luke cried, forcing the Wookiee to shoot a puzzled look at the young Jedi. It was then that the blaster shot found its mark. Luke heard a disturbingly familiar cry of pain emit from Chewbacca's mouth, and watched the Wookiee begin the roll that would bring on his death. Luke reached out with the Force, desperately trying to prevent his friend from certain death. Chewbacca's roll began to slowly stop, yet it was still rapidly approaching the place where Luke had seen the shots end the Wookiee's life in his vision.
Chewie's tumble began to slow even more rapidly now, as Keyan quickly began helping Luke slow down the Wookiee. The injured Chewbacca came to a rest a few centimeters from the spot in which he had previously "died." Yet the gunners could still see him, and Luke could sense them begin to focus on their new target.
"Get him back to safety," Han Solo exclaimed as he rapidly moved to pull his friend from what the Jedi knew to be certain death. Luke physically reached out and grabbed one of Chewbacca's outstretched hands, and with Han Solo began pulling him back to cover. He was halfway back to safety when the gunfire began to shoot at him. Chewie roared out in pain once again as a shot pierced his other leg, right before he was back under cover.
"I think he'll be okay," Keyan said to everyone after he got a quick glance at Chewbacca's wounds. "If we get him to a medic within about fifteen minutes."
Within eighteen seconds of the Stormtroopers carrying the T-21s began firing upon the group, the automatic blaster fire abruptly stopped. Kyle ventured a look at the Stormtroopers and saw the gunners quickly get behind cover while desperately hitting the long-barreled guns. "I think now is our chance to retake this place," he told the troops. "That is if that gun hasn't had a major upgrade in the past seven months."
"What are you talking about?" Luke asked.
"Trust me."
Luke nodded, remembering that Kyle was once a Stormtrooper before defecting.
With an order both platoons, now numbering 43 men, leapt over their cover and raced towards the outpost. The surviving Stormtroopers opened fire upon the charging rebels, cutting down a few of them. Grenades thrown by several anonymous rebel soldiers exploded, cutting the Stormtroopers down to 25 men. With a snap-hiss that was barely audible over the gunfire, Luke and Keyan's lightsabers ignited. Luke swung his blue blade at the nearest Stormtrooper as the two sides collided, causing a deep gash to appear in the white armor. Two shots arced towards him, only to be reflected back towards the men who fired them. Unfortunately, both of the deflected shots missed their targets. Luke saw two Stormtroopers charge towards him, and he aimed his lightsaber towards them. With a swing, one Stormtrooper quickly became two while the other was far more lucky. The surviving Stormtrooper dodged the blade and swung his E-11 towards Luke's head. It connected with Luke's forehead with a sickening thud, causing Luke to lose his balance. With blurry vision, Luke could see the Stormtrooper adjust his blaster rifle and aimed it at Luke, intending to finish the young Jedi off. A yellow bolt quickly ended the hopes of the Stormtrooper, and another soldier soon helped Luke to his feet.
"Lieutenant Skywalker," Luke heard the soldier say. "Are you okay? You would have toast if Lt. Solo hadn't blasted that guy."
"I'm fine," Luke replied as he rubbed his forehead, feeling a small lump already forming. "How are we doing?"
"We've got them on the run, sir. They're retreating back into the outpost."
Luke quickly reactivated his lightsaber, and began to join the others as they raced towards the inside of the outpost. Several red balls of light falling down upon the soldiers blocked their charge. "Grenade!" some soldier yelled, causing the rebel soldiers to quickly fall back. The four grenades dropped by the Stormtroopers exploded a few seconds later, killing a few straggling rebels. Luke looked up at the second floor of the outpost and could see the five Stormtroopers prepare their guns, and he could also see the long-barreled rifles that had decimated the group and wounded Chewbacca. He knew that if they were able to drive the rebels back a little farther, the rapid fire would endlessly slaughter his troops. He felt the Force flow through his legs, giving them strength that would help him accomplish the feat he was planning to do. With a slight run to aid him, Luke leapt off of the ground and towards the second story of the facility.
"What the?" he heard a few Stormtroopers say as they prepared to aim their guns at the intruder. Moving on Force-aided instinct, Luke raised his left hand towards the Stormtroopers as he landed behind them. One of the T-21 gunners and a standard Stormtrooper let out a scream as they were Pushed off of the walkway. Luke turned his lightsaber towards the other Stormtrooper with the T-21 as he took careful aim at the Jedi. A three-shot burst was quickly deflected by Luke's lightsaber, two of the bolts slammed into the chest of the man who shot them, leaving Luke alone with the three remaining troops.
Luke pivoted to his side as the three white-armored Stormtroopers opened fire at him, and he could feel a slight burning sensation on his left shoulder as a lucky shot grazed him. His blue blade connected with a nearby enemy, causing an orangish-black slash to appear in the now dead man's armor. The other two soldiers slowly stepped back from the Jedi that had decimated them, firing sporadic shots at him. Each shot was deflected onto the floor, several centimeters from their feet. Luke calmly took small steps towards the retreating troops, continuing to deflect their shots back at them. It took a few seconds for the first one to fall, followed shortly by the second one, the victim of a quick slash. Luke calmly looked at the Stormtroopers bodies before leaping back down to the ground level.
The rebel soldiers were already within the main hallway of the facility by the time Luke was able to rejoin them. Blaster fire slightly chipped the stone columns that soldiers on both sides were using as cover, filling the air with dust. However, the Imperial troops were on the run. After every few shots, a small set of Stormtroopers blindly laid down cover fire as several others raced towards the end of the hall. With each retreat the Imperials took, the rebel soldiers advanced towards them.
"What's our status?" Luke asked a rebel soldier carrying a small backpack of communications equipment.
"As you can see, over here we've got them on the run. Lieutenant Astar has just entered through the south entrance and is encountering even less resistance than we are," the communications officer answered. "Lieutenant Astar is nearing the habitation portion of the facility, sir. And he's waiting for us to rendezvous with him for the final assault. He says that they've holed up in there."
It took a few more minutes until the platoons commanded by the Jedi and Han Solo managed to reach Kyp Astar's group. The sound of blaster fire echoed distantly in the background. "Are any of your men far ahead?" Han Solo asked the younger Rebel leader.
"No sir," Astar reported.
"Then what's that blaster fire supposed to be then?"
A look of horror dawned on Kyle Katarn's face as memories of AX-456 came back to him. "We've got to hurry," he said as he raced towards the sound of the blaster fire.
"What's going on?" Luke asked as he and rest of the troops quickly followed Katarn.
"Just hurry up!"
The sound of the blaster rifles firing grew louder as the rebel soldiers raced towards it, most of them wondering what was going on. At each step, the sound steadily increased in volume.
They were soon near the mess hall of the facility, a large area of the stone temple that had been converted into its present use. Kyle tightly gripped his blaster pistol in his hand and quickly swung the door open, trying to ready himself for what he knew was happening in that room.
He stared into the face of a Rodian rebel that was racing towards the now open door, hoping that this now open door would be his chance at survival. The Rodian ran less than a meter before a Stormtrooper shot the fleeing prisoner in the back. There were about twelve Stormtroopers in the room, all of them attempting to execute the eight surviving hostages that they had taken. On the floor of the mess hall, an additional thirteen bodies of various genders and species lay dead.
Kyle took aim at a Stormtrooper about to shoot an Ithorian in the back of the head, and fired off a round. The blaster bolt flew through the room and quickly impacted on the helmet of the Stormtrooper. While falling, the Stormtrooper's finger instinctively pulled the trigger on the E-11, causing the rifle to fire. The red bolts barely missed the Ithorian, who let out a loud sigh of relief from his mouths.
The rest of the rebel soldiers poured into the room, desperate to save the lives of their compatriots. Blaster bolts flew throughout the air and lightsabers slashed and deflected. When it was all over, there were no Imperial Stormtroopers left alive, and four very grateful hostages had been freed.