Upon inspection of the desolate lands of an unknown, volcanic planet, an Imperial prison holding some of the most valuable resources for the now waning Galactic Empire continues to function at the best of its limited capabilities. The monolithic, blackened steel structure looming over the dark, ashen landscape.
A pitiful squad of five Imperial soldiers standing ever vigilant at their posts. Their once pristine, shining white armor now stained with: ugly laser burns, various asymmetrical dents, vibro scratches dug deep and coated in the ash pouring almost nonstop from the planet's enormous volcanic structures.
The squad's AT-ST making its ingrained patrol once more. Instead of this proud piece of Imperial craftsmanship standing tall and waltzing elegantly across the land, we see a hulking lump of rusted metal slogging its way across uneven terrain.
Its gears audibly groaning at the repetitiveness of their pattern along with the uneven weight of this tiered machine. And of course, standing proudly even at its weakest and most vulnerable, the oppressive red, slightly tattered banners of the Empire sway in the breeze. The Imperial cog defiantly raised against those who see it torn down.
Across this depressing reminder of how far the once glorious Empire has fallen, stands the tools of its continuing decline. A squadron of rebels – 12 strong and ever loyal to the New Republic – looming over their weak and desperate prey on top of a rocky outcropping in the cover of night.
Many of them anxious for the coming fight, and many of them merely children who haven't faced real combat in months. Their commanding officer, Po Har, stands to the side of their camp, lost in his worried thoughts. He takes the macrobinoculars away from his gray colored eyes, and looks back to his troops readying themselves.
Four loading up their blaster rifles, three prepping the only missile tube that was requisitioned to them; and his four most trusted, battle hardened soldiers doing their own assigned roles. One of them being a public relations officer with bright orange, slicked back hair and a finely trimmed beard with side stashes.
He's clad in the same black and gray, camouflaged fatigues as nearly everyone else. He goes around the camp and does what he does best for the other seven troopers. Going on and on about, "If we can blow up two Death Stars, we can do anything!" "We may not all be Luke Skywalker, but there's a Skywalker in all of us!" And all that kind of honeyed nonsense coupled with hearty handshakes and supportive pats on the back.
Following him is a woman nearly covered from head to toe. Dull purple colored armor plates protect her torso, abdomen, shoulders and biceps. The plates are purposely smeared with soot. A sheathed vibro-longsword is slinged over her right shoulder; it lightly hums with energy. Black. Connected to her dark green colored jumpsuit is a hood she always up.
Most of her pale blond hair is pushed back. A half mask covers the lower half of her face with only a bit of the scar on her right cheek peeking out underneath her right eye. Goggles with orange colored lenses are pulled down to protect her eyes from the smoke and ash.
She remains silent throughout this whole process and immediately follows him wherever he moves. As the PR officer continues his rounds, a pale skinned woman with bright blue eyes and white colored hair – wrapped in a large bun – surveys the soon-to-be battle ground alongside the Commander. She lazily swipes through the information on her datapad. Once she has what she wants from the survey, she immediately strolls towards the squad's lieutenant.
The lieutenant sits on one of their ammunition crates while adjusting the sight on his slugthrower rifle. He stops tinkering with it when he sees the white haired woman approaching. Unlike the other soldiers he's dressed in: a black, leather padded military jacket; has on black leather gloves, light brown khaki cargo pants, and black leather boots with steel toed plating.
"Whaddya got for me, B'el Sah," he asks her casually. She, on the other hand, stands attention and scrunches up when hearing her name uttered without the proper, designated rank added to it. "It's Reconnaissance officer Sah to you, Lieutenant Mateen. Remember, sir, that even though we're rebels we still address ranks accordingly."
Lieutenant Mateen rolls his eyes and sardonically replies, "Apologies 'Reconnaissance Officer Sah.' Now will you please tell me what you've learned about our 'soon-to-be friends'?" B'el Sah gives a small smile to her squadmate and gives him what she knows. "The Imperial soldiers here are only seven strong with the addition of the AT-ST piloted by two of said seven. The remaining five move within one group of two and another in three. They patrol within these boundaries" – B'el Sah hands him her datapad and points – "and switch positions every hour."
"The AT-ST has its own scheduled route that goes in a 180 degree angle of the prison's entrance and sides. Sense the fortress itself is firmly lodged within a mountain with no other way in, the front entrance is all they need to worry over. I can't say for certain how much opposition is within the prison itself, but as far as the front defenses are concerned, with some careful planning and luck, our forces will be sufficient enough to deal with them."
Lieutenant Mateen loads a long metal slug into the opening slot of his rifle, slides it into place and presses the lock. Afterwards he looks up at B'el Sah and motions to where the other troops are, "And you think those whelps will be ready?" B'el Sah thinks carefully on what to say as the lieutenant clicks the rifle's safety on, begins disassembly and stores the weapon in its bag. "Public Relations Officer Tallon will make sure they're ready, sir."
The lieutenant sighed before standing up, slinging the rifle bag's strap diagonally over his torso, and wiping the sweat off his forehead with his left hand; briefly combing through his dark brown, wavy, shoulder length hair. "If you say so, ma'am." "I know so, lieutenant," B'el Sah says with cold certainty, "Officer Tallon is persuasive enough, and you" – she pauses to look at the discolored vertical scar on his neck – "are like a hero to them. It will be quite easy."
Lieutenant Mateen grunts at B'el Sah's words, "Only idiots look up to another soldier who's just doing his job." "True, but they don't need to know that, sir," she replies before walking back to Commander Po Har. The lieutenant begins looking through his macrobinoculars to assess what B'el Sah had told him and making sure there won't be any surprises.
All while hushed whispers about him and his 'impressive record' in the rebellion are being said from the other seven troopers. The lieutenant does his best to block their pointless hero worship out of his thoughts as well as officer Tallon's speeches. 'No half measures,' he says inwardly to get into a proper mindset for the battle, 'No half measures.'
As B'el Sah returns to Commander Po Har's side, the older man puts down his macrobinoculars and looks over at her direction. His eyes are filled with grim anxiousness. He sighs before looking back at the prison, "There it is. Imperial prison depot 424." He briefly looks around the charred, molten landscape of the planet they're on.
"This place is hell, but that… that's far worse." He looks down on the ground with a saddened expression etched into his dark skinned face. "It's disgusting that in this day and age groups like the Empire still cling to slave labor." He pulls up the macrobinoculars to catch a glimpse of the AT-ST.
Without moving his gaze he tells B'el Sah, "Pretty heavy armament on the outside" – he looks over his shoulder; eyeing everyone's weapons, then looks back to B'el Sah – "You think full frontal assault's gonna cut it, Officer Sah?" The commander looks over to his men once more with worry in his aged eyes.
B'el Sah answwers bluntly, "It won't, sir." He nods, "Well… we do have a heavy armament of our own. If we can get on that AT-ST quickly then, maybe... there'll only be five Stormtroopers left over. W-we should be well enough to clear them out but… well I'm not sure. Our men are frightened and… even though our intelligence says this place has more or less been abandoned" – he strokes the bottom half of his face; his calloused hands brushing past his bushy white mustache – "I just don't know. What if there's more of them inside – too much for us to handle?"
The commander stews in his train of thought, and B'el Sah carefully thinks over what her next words will be. Officer Tallon, and the woman following, approach the commander from his left. The PR officer playfully pats him on the shoulder, "What are you feeling, commander?" Commander Po Har looks at him and then at the prison's entrance, "We have to get in there."
"I mean if we don't…" Po Har scowls a bit from the reminder of why they're here. He sighs, "We have orders from high command to free those slaves, and… and I… I just wish we were better equipped. Who knows what's inside?" His gaze moves nervously back at the AT-ST, "I just… I've got a bad feeling about all this."
Officer Tallon nods and then has a look of realization masking over his features, "I've just had an idea commander." Commander Po Har gives him his attention, "I'm listening Officer Tallon." The officer continues with great enthusiasm, "What if we staged a three pronged assault? We'll call it 'Operation Pitchfork'!" B'el Sah chimes in, trying her hardest to ignore the ridiculous name, "We could have an artillery team against the AT-ST – distracting it whilst the rest of the squad charges in."
"But we could also have a team that distracts as many of the Stormtroopers; long enough for the rest of the squad to come into range and take them by surprise," Officer Tallon interjects. B'el Sah nods, "A distraction group, an artillery group and a core assault group. If done right we could greatly minimize casualties on our side through this. What say you, commander?"
The commander nods with a reassured expression, "Seems simple enough. Now we just need to assign who to where." Lieutenant Mateen overhears all of this and joins the conversation. "I'll be artillery with a guard and an assisting mechanic… if you'd permit me commander." Commander Po Har responds inquisitively, "Do you know how to use a missile tube, lieutenant?"
"Better than whatever infant you have currently operating it, sir," Lieutenant Mateen says deadpan. Po Har thinks it over before saying, "Tell Private Wex he won't be needed on the missile tube; he can join the core group." Officer Tallon speaks up once again, "So we'll have Mateen who'll man the missile tube; Lana" – he gestures to the silent woman next to him – "and I will form the distraction unit and try to lure in as many as possible. All while you, sir, and B'el Sah" – she glares at him for doing the same disregard for 'certain' ranks like the lieutenant – "go off and lead everyone else on a frontal assault towards the door."
Shortly after the group discusses their battle plan, the technician for the missile tube, Wex, overheard the part where the lieutenant mans the missile tube instead of him. He looks over to the lieutenant and back to the commander, "W-whaddya mean give the missile tube to him, Commander, sir? W-we-we've been training for this mission! How do I even know he's gonna be able to shoot this straight?"
The lieutenant walks over to where the missile tube is being set up and loaded, his gaze fixed on the younger man who spoke up. "Kid, how many of those have you fired," he questions while resting his hand on the missile tube. The young trooper shakes his head, "I-I-I-I've been in 16 combat missions… simulated…" Lieutenant Mateen begins to tighten his grip on the missile tube and starts pulling it away from the technician, "Boy, back on Hoth I fired six of these while under heavy fire. And every missile hit their mark."
One of the workers on the missile tube's eyes go wide and his jaw opens in awe. Before they could say anything, the woman called Lana stepped away from Officer Tallon's side. She goes over to the Wex's position and places a fingerless gloved hand on his shoulder, "Let it go." She says before gently pushing him out of the way and taking her place back at Officer Tallon's side.
As the lieutenant takes the missile tube without any more protest, he turns back to the group and points to the other two troopers next to Wex, "You two, with me. Grab the needed supplies." Before they joined him one of them whispers to the technician, "See, I told you he was on Hoth," and then runs over to the lieutenant's side.
The two of them then converse and debate amongst themselves about the lieutenant's career as they wait for the okay to move out. Officer Tallon walks over to the Lieutenant Mateen, pats him on the back and jokingly says, "If Ewoks can do it, you certainly can." He leaves while the lieutenant gives him a glare that feels like he's staring into the PR officer's very soul. The troopers next to him wisely choose not to even chuckle. B'el Sah smirks at Officer Tallon's remark while finishing up whatever's left on her datapad, and Lana snickers beside the PR officer.
After the group agrees on where the artillery and distraction units position themselves; Officer Tallon clears his throat, "If I could have everyone's attention." Lana can feel one of the officer's 'famous' speeches coming and her eyes start glazing over in response. Lieutenant Mateen rolls his eyes for what's about to happen, hands over the missile tube to one of his soldiers, and walks over to Lana.
He whispers to her, "You think he's gonna go with 'that one'?" She leans over and whispers back, "Naw, I think he's gonna go with the 'other one.' You know, the other one he usually does. I think he'll go with that one." "Wanna bet," the lieutenant asks. Lana looks up at him, her facial expressions completely masked, "Five credits says he'll do his usual." Lieutenant Mateen smirks at her, "Five credits says he doesn't."
The two look on as Officer Tallon addresses the squad, "From the snowy fields of Hoth, to the forest jungles of Endor… let it be known this day…" As he begins to drum up the crowd, Lana grunts to herself and leans over to Lieutenant Mateen. "You were right," she grimaces as she slides him his winnings. The lieutenant chuckles and returns to his group.
He takes back the missile tube and familiarizes himself with its systems as the PR officer drones on. He continues with increased fervor, "… This isn't about us, but the Rebellion, the New Republic and the slaves inside this facility! By freeing just them we are changing the face of the galaxy ever so slightly to a brighter tomorrow! And should you die here this day, your name and the lists of your brave deeds shall echo throughout the galaxy forever! May the Force be with us!"
As his speech ends the entire crowd begins cheering as softly as they can to not alert their enemies. Shortly after, Commander Po Har orders all troops to have their comm-links pinned to next to their uniforms' collars for ease of use. Lana and B'el Sah sigh in relief that the speech is over, and Lieutenant Mateen begins moving once it ends.
His mind drifts off to when he heard Officer Tallon's speech before. It was on the first successful mission they did together where a shot he made was crucial to the plan. "No half measures," he mutters to himself as he and his team come closer to the right side of the prison. Commander Po Har comms to everyone (low volume) that the signal for the distraction unit will be the firing of the missile tube. Once the distraction team is active the core group will begin their advancement towards the prison. Everyone agrees to this and Officer Tallon and Lana move into flanking position on the prison's left.
The darkness, smoke and raised terrain served well as cover and camouflage from the Stormtrooper patrols. However, one of the lieutenant's teammates tripped on a loose bit of rock before diving back into cover. This causes a lot of unwanted noise and receiving the attention of one of the Stormtroopers.
He goes over to his patrol partner and points to where the noise originated. The second Stormtrooper comms to the AT-ST about what they heard and guides it to a rough estimate of the artillery team's location. When the lieutenant peaks over and begins lining up the shot, he sees the AT-ST coming around their position. He mutters to himself, "Aw shit…" Lieutenant Mateen keeps the sight on the imperial walker while backing away to different cover and quickly tells the others, "Move, now."
As Officer Tallon and Lana reach position they notice that the AT-ST is no longer following its scheduled route. B'el Sah and Commander Po Har see this happening too and B'el Sah quickly comm the distraction unit. "Change of plans; the lieutenant's in trouble." Lana looks over to her teammate, waiting for his orders.
Officer Tallon pulls out his blaster pistol, and jumps out of the pile of basalt he was taking cover behind. He shouts at the top of his lungs, "For the New Republic!" The PR officer fires haphazardly at the closest Stormtrooper to help assist in the distraction. He moves further downhill and takes cover before the Stormtroopers reorganize themselves. Lana follows suit and takes cover on the PR officer's left.
Lieutenant Mateen hears the hammy shrill of his comrade and grits his teeth. 'Not now! I haven't fired yet,' he screams inwardly while still hiding from the AT-ST. One of the more anxious troopers of the core team blurts out, "They're distracted now! We should get in there and…" B'el Sah coldly glares back at the trooper and sternly says to him, "Do you want to die?" He stops and gulps, "N-no ma'am." "Then shut up," she returns to her macrobinoculars and he doesn't say another word.
Lieutenant Mateen readjusts his targeting sight and steps out of cover. He takes aim at the detriment of getting within the imperial walker's line of sight. The lieutenant's vision begins to blur everything that isn't the walker out of his field of vision. Time feels like it has slowed to a crawl. All he can hear is his heart beginning to race loudly in his ears. He steadies his breathing and closes his eyes. "Please," he says so softly only he can hear it. He inhales and exhales one more time before pulling the trigger.