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INFORMATION AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC DISCLOSURE:
DOCUMENTS#: TOD57374, AXC38902, LSV34099, LSV88971
ALLIANCE GRAND MEMORIAL LIBRARY, CORUSCANT
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A COVER LETTER by First Sergeant DAARMO LOWE (501st Stormtrooper Legion, Gamma Company, Fifth Battalion), addressed to the parents of Flight Lieutenant CONNIE SPRINGER on RAGAKO, sent shortly following the BATTLE OF HOTH.
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Springer,
Please find enclosed an electronic copy of a letter found upon the body of your son, Flight Officer Connie Springer, at the time of his death upon the planet Hoth.
I commanded the stormtrooper platoon that happened upon the wreck of his combat aircraft and oversaw the recovery and respectful burial of his remains. In doing so, my unit discovered and decoded the attached personal message, which was found stored on his datapad.
Though I was your son's enemy, I have seen enough of this conflict to grieve deeply for the loss of life I have witnessed to date. Our current war is one fought with harsh methods and with too little room for compassion. As an Imperial soldier, I have no doubt that I would have disagreed strongly with Connie Springer over the necessity of the fighting currently raging across the galaxy, had I met him in person. Despite this, I can understand and admire the noble motivations which led him to choose the path he took. I did not know your son, but I can believe beyond a doubt that his bravery, idealism, and determination were marks of the tender care with which you raised him.
Please accept my sincerest condolences. I hope you will join me in praying that an end to this sorrowful struggle will soon be in sight.
Respectfully yours,
Daarmo Lowe, First Sergeant
Imperial Army
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Dear Mother and Father,
If you're reading this, then I'm sure you now know that I am dead.
I hoped more than anything that this letter wouldn't have to be sent. I meant the promise I made to both of you about coming home, and home was something that I thought about every day. I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise, and I want you to know that even though I did everything to try and come back alive, I'm not upset that my luck ran out. I don't regret anything. I've been very happy ever since I arrived here; I've made close friends, and I couldn't have been prouder of what I was able to do for the Alliance.
We've made an agreement with each other that as long as one of us survives, they'll visit the families of those of us that didn't make it. Hopefully this means you'll be able to meet many of my friends very soon, and that they'll be able to tell you about everything we went through together.
Don't worry about me—I'm all right. I'm not sure who is going to win this war in the end, but I have faith in my comrades, and I'm sure that, one day, the galaxy will be free again. I don't want you to be angry or sad about what happened to me. Just know that I would be happy as long as I know that the two of you can find the courage to smile a bit once I'm gone.
I love you both so much. I couldn't be more grateful for having such wonderful parents, and I hope you can both live wonderful, long, happy lives.
Your son,
Connie
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EXCERPT [p1309-1310] fromTHE BATTLE OF HOTH
by DR. MARCO BOTT [Cmdr. (ret), New Republic Starfighter Corps],
Professor of HISTORY [Coruscant Central University, Dept. of Galactic Military History].
…nothing short of a minor miracle. Indeed, according to Alliance communications logs, all contact with the designated data deletion team was lost around 1620 hours. At that point, Alliance commanders assumed the worst, and, for twenty-three terrible minutes, it seemed that all hope had been lost, and that the location of the fleet's designated rendezvous point had been compromised. Without a way to warn the fleet in time, the Alliance's struggle seemed all but doomed.
But then, in a series of events that it is possible we shall never fully understand, the automated signal confirming the code database's deletion and destruction was sent at 1643 hours local time.
Further research and inquiry has failed to uncover any specific details of how the Security Brigade's deletion team broke its way into the cryptology facility before holding out long enough to ensure that they completed their mission. Imperial battle reports describe in vague terms a fierce firefight that erupted in that sector of the base corridors, with casualty figures listing as many as a dozen stormtroopers injured or killed by the three-man team. The impact of this determined action, however, is beyond question. Without a doubt, this small, elite squad of three soldiers single-handedly saved the Alliance from total and complete defeat.
In light of these new discoveries, several monuments to Echo Base's Interior Security Brigade have been built in recent years across the galaxy. The first, a plaque with the names of the Brigade's eighty members, was placed in the post-Yavin section of the Alliance Grand Memorial Library on the twentieth anniversary of the battle. The second, a black marble cenotaph, was recently erected in a park near the central commercial plaza in Coronet City on the planet Corellia.
In addition, most of those who fell at Hoth are remembered in spirit at the Monument to the Unclaimed Soldiers on Coruscant, established on the tenth anniversary of the founding of the New Republic. In her memorial address, Mon Montha, whose own son ranked among the fallen that day on Hoth, solemnly related that due to the decentralized, guerilla nature of the Alliance's war against the Galactic Empire, the names of those who fell resisting tyranny were recorded for only 68 percent of all Alliance combatants, while proper burial was ensured for only less than three percent of the fallen. The Monument would be, in effect, a tomb for both the unknown dead and for those without a known final resting place. Since its construction, millions of visitors from across the galaxy have visited the site to pay respects to fallen friends and relatives, leaving the monument surrounded in a sea of flowers and gifts that, if anything, only add to its solemn impact.
Among those so memorialized are twenty of this author's former comrades and squadron mates, eighteen of whom fell during the battle for Hoth, and a further two who perished in the years of fighting that followed. Peace be upon their memories…
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ALLIANCE OFFICIAL RECORDS
WILL AND TESTAMENT OF:
FLT. LT. ARMIN ARLERT, 57TH SCOUTING CORPS TAC. AIR SQN. (b. 27:11:3)
TO BE EXECUTED FOLLOWING AN OFFICIAL NOTIFICATION OF DEATH, OR IN THE EVENT OF A DECLARATION OF MISSING IN ACTION FOR A DURATION EXCEEDING FIVE (5) STANDARD YEARS.
In the event of my death, please transfer the entirety of my financial assets, personal belongings, and other possessions to EREN JEAGAR (ALDARAAN (former), b. 27:3:30, CID# 789421180) and MIKASA ACKERMANN (ALDARAAN (former), b. 27:2:10, CID# 789189090). In the event that neither of these two individuals are still living, please donate said funds and personal effects to the ALDARAANIAN ORPHANS' FOUNDATION.
A small amount, totaling no more than 2,000 STANDARD CREDITS, is to be used to cover the expenses of a memorial capsule bearing my family name, containing the enclosed set of holographic images, to be delivered to the Aldaraanian asteroid field in a traditional Return Ceremony.
*SIGNATURE*
LEGAL NOTE:
As of the Galactic Standard Calendar Date (GRS) of 55:3:13 [20:3:13 ABY], the conditions of this will and testament have been fully implemented according to the last wishes of the individual specified herein.
Due to the interval of time between the testator's declaration of death and the de-facto legal ascension of the New Republic allowing for this document's execution, the testator's total assets had accumulated to a value of 35,667,800 STANDARD CREDITS due to return on financial investments.
In light of these outstanding circumstances, which the testator could not have forseen during his lifetime, the New Republic Board of Executors and Administrators has determined upon review to deposit these funds in trust under the administration of noted philanthropists Hannah and Franz Müller (CARIDA, b. 28:7:16 and 26:9:9, CID#s 556181990 and 556123401), for the purpose of the future development and upkeep of the Orphans' Foundation.
*SIGNATURE*
*SIGNATURE*
*SIGNATURE*
WITNESSES: *SIGNATURE* *SIGNATURE* *SIGNATURE*
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INSCRIPTION:
MONUMENT TO THE UNCLAIMED SOLDIERS
CORUSCANT, GALAXY PARK
IN MEMORIAM
AMONG THE STARS,
THEY FELL IN THE NAME OF FREEDOM,
THOUGH WE KNOW NOT WHERE.
THEY LIE, LOVED AND REMEMBERED,
BESIDE FRIENDS AND COMRADES.
MAY THEY REST FOREVER IN PEACE
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OOOOO
-THE END-
OOOOO
This chapter completes Armin and Annie's story arcs.
Chances were, this kind of ending wasn't exactly what you were expecting… That said, this was always the way this fic was always going to end. Even from the very start, I had this story outlined as an eight-chapter work, with the final chapter already completely planned out and partially written from the beginning. I'm sorry if I disappointed anyone who was expecting a thirty-chapter or fifty-chapter work, but I never really intended to go that far with this particular storyline!
The inspiration for this story and for the Star Wars setting actually came from a transcontinental flight I made that crossed over Greenland. Looking out of the airliner's window, I thought the landscape below offered a striking resemblance to what I'd always imagined the planet Hoth to look like. Without anything else to do on the long flight, I turned my mind to Star Wars and came up with this concept for a story. Throughout the process of writing Flaming Water, Frozen Earth, I've really come to appreciate just how appropriate the Star Wars setting is for our Shingeki no Kyojin characters. At the same time, the lethality we've grown to expect from Attack on Titan aided me in trying to portray the defeat at Hoth, which was canonically near-catastrophic, in its full glory and horror.
Again, as Jean would say: "Not everyone gets a dramatic death, it seems."
I've enjoyed blending Attack on Titan and Star Wars, and I am toying with the idea of continuing this narrative from some of our surviving pilots' POVs. I have a few ideas regarding where to go from here, but given that my setting and cast of characters will have completely changed, it is likely that it would appear as a completely new and separate fic if I ever get around to writing it. I'll stop short of making any promises, though.
As always, thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed Flaming Water, Frozen Earth, and don't forget to review and favorite!