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Chapter 3 – Campaign in Hoth
The sea seemed endless from the island. The waves splashed on the on the island's rocky and steep coast. Rey loved the sound of the sea. It helped her calm down. And being calm was a very important trait for a Jedi. Patience, peace of mind and calmness were necessary for someone hoping to become a Jedi. For the Jedi were not mere warriors. They were members of a spiritual order hoping to preserve peace in the galaxy. In fact, the first Jedi were monks.
Rey had been practicing for months under Luke. Luke was like a father to her. He was telling her stories about the old Jedi or his own adventures when he was still a young man fighting the Empire. He showed care for her, something which her real parents had not been able to do. Luke cared for Rey as if she was his daughter. He had been alone all those years on this island. His only companions before Ray were the birds in the sky, flying and chirping charming melodies.
As the sun was setting, painting the seemingly endless sea with a rosy like color, Rey was trying to dodge the laser fired by the small training remote droid of Luke and to reach her lightsaber. She fell on the ground, dodging the enemy fire, and crawled to the stone upon which Luke had placed her lightsaber. She quickly got up, picked it and dodged another enemy shot. She then activated her lightsaber and used it to deflect the enemy fire.
Luke smiled. "Excellent!", he said. "You have improved much in dodging and deflecting enemy fire. Although this skill is simple, it is essential for your survival. Remember, most enemies you will face are equipped with blasters and rifles, not lightsabers."
A smile appeared on her face.
"Thanks Master. I will do my best to improve even more."
"I am sure you will, but I believe you've trained enough for today. Let's rest a bit."
Rey followed Luke to the top of island's hill. They sat on the grass and looked at the endless expanse of water. No matter how many times she had watched it, the scenery always looked amazing. She gazed at the stars in the sky, which were being reflected on the water of the sea. From the top of this hill, the night sky always looked beautiful.
"I love watching the night sky.", Rey commented.
"Indeed. It easies your mind and makes you calm.", Luke replied.
"I used to do the same thing back in Jakku. Me and Char watched the stars together and thought about the vastness of the galaxy. "
"Char?". Although Luke had heard about Finn, this was the first time he heard from Rey about this Char.
"A childhood friend of mine from Jakku. It's been almost six years since I last saw him."
Rey could not help but smile remembering her time with him. "We were very good friends. We were always together, talking and playing and staring at the night sky. He was even helping me with some of my work."
"Where is he now?", Luke asked.
Rey sighed. "I don't know. He left Jakku to go study on an academy. He did not tell what exactly he was going to study but he promised to come back to Jakku when could. I hope that he is healthy and well so I can see him again one day. "
"I am sure he is fine and that you will meet him again."
"I hope so. He was a caring person, friendly, polite, always standing up to injustice and helping those in need. I wonder what he is doing right now."
Next morning, as soon as the bright sun appeared on the clear blue sky, Rey began her training, swinging her lightsaber left and right, amidst the tens of red and blue flowers whose fragrant scent was intoxicating. Her moves were fast but precise and strong. Her swift moves and the power behind each of her movements made her a difficult opponent to defeat. Her lightsaber skills had improved a lot since her duel with Kylo Ren.
Luke was sitting upon a large stone and watching carefully her movements, instructing her on how to move when needed and correcting her when she made mistakes. He had to admit that Rey had made huge progress and that soon she could return back to the Resistance. He was still indecisive as to if he was going to return with her or stay in the island.
"Excellent swordplay!", Luke said. "But let's see how good you are with the Force."
With a move of his hand, tens of stones lying on the ground were elevated and thrown at Rey. Rey used the force to push them back.
"Great. Your force push has certainly improved.", Luke said. "But this is not over yet."
The training remote droid appeared and Luke continued, "You will have to both dodge its laser blaster and destroy it using the Force."
The droid fired at Rey, but she was able to dodge the fire. She then used the force to lift up a stone and threw it at the droid. The stone hit the droid, blowing it up.
"Good. You are more than ready to return to Leia and help her fight the First Order."
"What about you, Master? Won't you be coming with me?"
"I….."
Rey sighed. "I do not want to leave you here all alone on this island. You should return. You will be of great help, not only to the Resistance but also to me. I may not be able to defeat Kylo Ren on my own."
"This is a challenge you will have to face on your own.", Luke replied. But seeing tears on Rey's face, he could not but change his mind. "Alright, I'll be coming with you."
"Great!", Rey said with a broad smile on her face.
"But I will only be advising you, do not expect me to fight for you. You cannot always rely on me and I want you to be able to face the dark side on your own, because I am too old now and one day I will die. So, I want to make sure that you have no need of me and you can defend freedom in the galaxy without me. That way, I will die in peace when my time in this world is over."
The Republic forces on Hoth were under the command of General Andrew, an experienced military commander who had fought in many conflicts, including the Galactic Civil War on the side of the Rebels and against the Empire. A short mustached man in his late sixties, he was not one to be underestimated. He was in his office, discussing with Finn on the strategy that they would follow. Finn had been sent to Hoth by Leia, along with some Resistance soldiers, to assist the forces of the Republic on Hoth.
"So, Finn, I do not believe that the First Order will be able to take hold of this military base.", Andrew said. "I certainly do not underestimate them, but the defenses are too strong and we have too many men. As long as we are not lured into attacking them and fighting the battle on their terms, victory will be ours. All we have to do is to hold on until the enemy is forced to retreat due to high casualties. Admiral Ozel will be supplying us, so we can fortify here for as long as we want."
"Rest assured General that I and all of my fellow soldiers will do our best to repel the attacks of the First Order. We shall not fail you. All of us are ready to give up our lives in defense of this base. The enemy will be pushed back for sure."
"Your commitment to our cause is commendable. But I do not believe that we will have much of a trouble. The Admiral of the First Order forces attacking us is some kid who has only fought two battles. I'll show him what a veteran like me can do with the right resources."
On the bridge of the 'Conqueror', Char was discussing with Max on how to defeat the enemy.
"According to Michael, the fortifications of the Republic base in Hoth are extremely strong.", Max said. "The ones in Anthora seem like a playground compared to them. They have thousands of laser cannons, anti-aircraft guns and other heavy artillery. They also have tens of thousands of soldiers, all experienced in combat. Not only are we outnumbered and outgunned, but the General in command of the fortress is an experienced and cautious commander with many victories on his record."
Char sighed. "It also seems that an outflanking maneuver like the one we pulled in Anthora is impossible to repeat. All of Hoth is a huge icy plain. A direct assault is also out of the question. There is only one way we can defeat them."
"What way?"
Char smiled. "An army marches on its stomach."
"So, what you are proposing is-"
"That if we cut their supply lines, they will eventually either starve to death or be forced to come out and fight us on our own terms."
Max laughed. "It seems that you always have a solution for every problem that arises."
"Once we land, order the Stormtroopers to dig a trench around the enemy fortress. We shall also place there all of our artillery and use the tanks too as artillery, since we do not have enough cannons. We will also be placing anti-aircraft guns on strategic positions to shoot down enemy vessels attempting to supply the Republic base."
The three Star Destroyers under Char's command descended onto Hoth and landed on some distance from the Republic's base. As soon as the Stormtroopers landed on the planet, they began marching towards the enemy base. When they reached the outskirts of the enemy fortress, they placed the heavy artillery, anti-aircraft guns and machine guns to protect their construction project from any enemy attacks and began digging a trench which would encircle the enemy base.
Despite their uniform, the Stormtroopers were feeling the coldness of Hoth. They felt as if they would be frozen at any moment and were shaking; so cold was the weather. It did not help the fact that the air was windy. In order to dig a trench around such a huge perimeter, they had to work for whole weeks. All day long, they would have to work under heavy enemy fire coming from the enemy artillery.
Finn was in General Andrew's office. Andrew looked worried and Finn could see sweat on his forehead. Andrew was indeed nervous and worried. He knew that if the Stormtroopers completed the construction, no supplies could be brought to them. So, sooner or later, he would have to either surrender or attack the enemy, thus abandoning the advantage offered by the strong fortifications of the base.
"What can I do for you, General?", Finn asked.
"The enemies have been building their trench with astounding speed. If their project is completed, we would be cut off and the Republic fleet will not be able to resupply us. So I want you and your men to make a daring raid and set on fire their construction sites. This should delay them."
"I'll do my best, sir."
The sun had set and day had given its place to the darkness of night. The Stormtroopers on Sector D of the construction project were tired after another day of hard labor and were about to cease their work and rest for a few hours. They had been digging under terrible weather conditions for hours but they had almost completed the trench on this site. Next morning, they would finish the construction and move to another Sector. As they were about to rest, suddenly, they came under intense fire.
Under the cover of darkness a small team of Resistance soldiers led by Finn had launched a daring raid at Sector D. Their goal: kill the workers and set explosives to disrupt the construction project. The Stormtroopers threw away their shovels, pulled their blasters and began firing back but the element of surprise meant that many of them were killed by the Resistance soldiers within the few first minutes. The redness of blood mixed with the whiteness of snow.
The Stormtroopers retreated and fell back to the incomplete trench, taking cover and preparing for the upcoming Resistance attack. The commander of the unit, lieutenant Quattro, contacted the HQ with his comlink and shouted, "We need reinforcements right away in Sector D. We are under attack! I repeat; we are under attack! We cannot hold on our own much longer. The trench is incomplete and as such offers only partial protection. We need reinforce- Aaa!"
A blaster fire penetrated the forehead of Quattro, instantly killing him. The Resistance soldiers had jumped onto the trench and were firing with rapid fire at the Stormtroopers.
Char was in his tent with Max. They were discussing the progress of the construction project. They hoped to complete it as soon as possible for they too would have problems with their supplies if the siege was prolonged for too long.
"Sectors A and B have been completed, Sectors C and D are almost complete and Sector E is midway done.", Max said. "In a week, at most, the trench will have been fully constructed. Once this is done, no supplies will get to the Republic base."
"We need to step up the construction. The seventh fleet of Admiral Nick will resupply us in about fifteen days. But we won't be getting any other supplies any time soon. So we will be able to last more than them enemy only if we prevent them from being supplied. As such, it is vital to finish the construction project as soon as possible. For if we fail to prevent them from being supplied, our supplies will end before theirs do. And if this happens, we will be forced to end the siege."
"The soldiers work all day long. They are at breaking point. We cannot push them any further."
"We must if we are to emerge victorious!", Char retorted. "Victory is all that matters. I cannot be defeated. A defeat right now will mean the end of my career."
Max sighed. "I understand, sir. I will try to step up the construction."
"Good. Now go and-"
Suddenly, an officer rushed into the tent and said, "Sir, the enemy had launched a raid in Sector D. The soldiers have attempted to take cover in the trench, but since it is incomplete the enemy had no difficulty overrunning our positions."
Char clenched his teeth. "Damn!", he shouted. "Send lieutenant Jerrid to push back the enemy!"
The few remaining Stormtroopers in Sector D were fighting tooth and nail to keep their position. As the Resistance soldiers were about to finish them off and set up their bombs, Jerrid and his men arrived. The Stormtroopers fired with machine guns and blasters at the enemy, causing many casualties.
"I and twenty men will delay them!", Finn shouted. "The rest of you set up the explosives."
Finn and twenty of his men fired with their blasters at the enemy troops while the rest of his men began setting up the bombs. But a stray blaster fire hit one of the bombs causing a huge explosion. The sound of the explosion was deafening and the smoke could be seen from miles away. Almost all of Finn's men died in the explosion.
"Retreat!", Finn ordered. "They are too many of them. We cannot hope to defeat them!"
Under heavy fire, Finn and his men managed to escape back to the base. Their mission was a close failure.
Next morning, as soon as Char woke up, Max entered his tent. "Sir, I am glad to report to you that the explosion caused only minor damage to the construction site. Thankfully, one of their bombs exploded before they could set up all of their bombs. They have also taken many casualties, so it is unlikely that they will try it again. I have done my best to motivate the troops to work harder."
Char smiled. "Good. Everything goes as planned."
In less than a week, the trench was completed. The entire base was surrounded by the First Order forces and cut off. The anti-aircraft guns installed at strategic positions made sure that supplies could not be brought by air either.
Day and night, the First Order artillery would fire at the Republic base while the infantry would hold back and be on the defensive. This situation would last for over two months.
Finn knocked the door to General Andrew's office.
"Come in!", the elderly General said.
"Sir, why have you called me?"
"I've got a message from Admiral Ozel. He says that he cannot supply us neither by air nor by land as the fortifications of the enemy have cut us off from land and their anti-aircraft guns have already shot down five of his supply vessels and he does not want to waste any more supplies and ships on us. He wants us to fight on to the bitter end. "
Finn's heart beat fast. He was afraid. He knew that defeat was imminent. But despite his personal feelings, he had order from General Leia which he could not disobey. "I will fight alongside you. We shall bleed them!"
Andrew laughed. "It's good to know that but you will not need to do so. I will disobey orders and will surrender. Our supplies are diminishing and without food and fuel, we cannot do much. Since defeat is irreversible, it will be futile to fight on. While I am not afraid of death, I do not want to waste the lives of my men in a pointless fight. My only term for surrender will be that you and your remaining men will be allowed to leave the planet."
"But…"
"There is no point in persuading me to change my decision. I am ready to face the consequences of my action. I am an experienced General and I know when a battle is lost."
A messenger holding a white flag in his hands was sent to the fortifications of the First Order. Two Stormtroopers led him to Char. The messenger fell on his knees before Char and said, "I have a letter from General Andrew. He wants to surrender the fort to you and here are his terms."
Char read the letter. The General's only term was to allow Finn and his men to leave Hoth. Char could not care less about Finn and so he immediately agreed to Andrew's request. "I accept his terms. Inform the General of my decision."
Char had managed to take over the Republic's base in Hoth and achieve an unexpected victory despite having less troops and facing a formidable fortress. The next day, General Hux spoke to him through a hologram projection.
"Admiral Char, congratulations. You have managed to take over Hoth and completed successfully your mission. As such, I shall promote you and place you in command of the 18th Fleet. Your next mission will be to join up with the 7th and 9th Fleets for an attack against the Republic's shipyards at Foerost."
"Thank you. I will not disappoint, sir."
