AUTHORS NOTE : I will be leaving for spring break this Wednesday (3/7/18) and will be unable to write the next chapter in the story for little over a week. I look forward to writing Chapter 25 when I get back. I hope you enjoy this chapter and thank you for your reviews and support!
Chapter XXIV
"Is attack Group A ready?" Thrawn asks Vince over the transports comlink.
"Yes, Grand Admiral." Vince replies from his separate transport craft.
"Send them in."
The walkers come to a stop less than a quarter mile away from the Rebel held mountain ridge. Stormtroopers crowd behind the walkers towering legs.
Alpha Group's commander reaches for the com in his helmet linked to the command transport, and High Admiral Vince. Vince's voice comes through, "Captain, move your troops into position and assault that ridge."
"Yes, Admiral." the Stormtrooper says before turning to his men, "Alpha group move out!"
The commander non discreetly waves his hand in the air for his troops to follow. They walk around the walkers legs and out into the plain's tall grass, marching towards the ridge. Once past the walkers, they spread out within double arm intervals of each other.
"Blasters off safe." the commander says, "Remain vigilant, these Rebels have the high ground."
"Troopers incoming." Cassian says as he stares out the control room viewport.
Ahsoka walks up beside him to look herself. She sees the Stormtroopers, and the four walkers behind them. Their armor has stopped, they just sit idly by, doing nothing.
"Something's not right." Ahsoka says, "Why have those walkers stopped?"
"Not sure." Zallar grumbles as he grabs the machine gun, "But those Stormtroopers won't be a problem."
"Wait until they hit the flash mines, hit them while they're confused."
"Got it."
Ahsoka can't help but think how strange the Empire's strategy has been since their return to Thakwaa. Considering how reputable Thrawn has made himself to be, his actions are very off.
Perhaps, Ahsoka thinks, That's what he wants, to be….Unpredictable.
The base of the mountain erupts in white flashes as the Stormtroopers hit the mines. They yell and groan to it's blinding effects.
"Now!" Cassian orders, "Open fire!"
"No wait!" Ahsoka yells, but she's too late, Zallar fires at will.
The machine guns red lasers fly down the mountain towards the disoriented troopers. One by one, they are struck by its fire and they disappear as their bodies fall dead in the grass.
Thrawn smiles, faintly showing a small bit of the ecstatic sense building in him.
"There," he says, "in the rockside, they have revealed their machine gun nest. All armor, aim your guns in Sector Eleven. Turn their bunker into rubble."
Cassian, Zallar, and Ahsoka watch as the AT-AT's move into position, with their guns aimed towards them.
"Get out!" Ahsoka yells.
Zallar takes off out of the control room. Cassian freezes where he is as he stares at the walkers with his eyes wide.
"Cassian!"
Ahsoka grabs him right as each of the walkers fire two rounds at their position. Ahsoka pulls Cassian back as the control room is blown apart by the blasts impact. Instantly they feel the hot flash of the explosion and its immense pressure. Ahsoka is smashed into the wall between it and Cassian as they are thrown by the blast.
The two crumple to the ground, dizzy and ears ringing, but otherwise unharmed. Cassian forces himself to look up and sees the large hole left by the impact. Fire burns from the destroyed crates and holotable that has been tossed onto its side, and black smoke smolders at the mouth of the hole.
Cassian looks at Ahsoka, who lays beside him, he shakes her in an effort to wake her up,
"Ashla! Come on, get up!"
Ahsoka rolls over onto her side, gets onto her hands and knees, and wipes away the trickle of blood running down her face from where Cassian smashed into her.
"I'm fine." she says, "Let's move!"
Cassian and Ahsoka stumble out of the now destroyed control room, right as the walkers fire another round into the mountainside. The two get on their feet as the hall is filled with dust and their backs are stung by the small fragments of rock that fly into them.
"Get out!" Ahsoka yells.
They run out of the hall towards the hanger, still in a daze.
Thrawn hits his comlink, "Zulu Company, advance. Be aware of anti personnel mines at the mountain base."
"Yes, Grand Admiral." Zulu Company commander complies.
The one hundred Stormtroopers of Zulu Company move out from behind the walkers.
"Form two ranks!" the commander orders, "Shields in the front, blasters in the rear."
Half of the company, wielding the shields and batons of riot control troopers move forward in a perfect line. Behind them, are Stormtroopers carrying blasters. The company moves together across the plains, shields out and ready for the Rebels attack.
Thrawn contacts one of the walkers, "AT-AT 2167, advance behind Zulu Company and act as support."
The far left walker steps forward and follows close behind Zulu Company. It aims its guns at the mountainside and opens fire. The shots smash into the mountains timber, splitting trees, and sending earth flying. Saw's partisans scramble to avoid being hit.
"Take out those troopers!" Saw yells, "Use grenades!"
Saw pulls a grenade out, activates it, and throws it down the mountain towards the troopers. The grenade rolls in the grass for a few seconds before going off and taking out five and critically wounding two.
A Talpini carrying a DH-17 automatic blaster, steps out from behind a tree and fires down at the riot troopers. The troopers are unharmed by the blasts as the shields deflect the rounds, however it does slow them down. The walker fires a round in the little aliens direction, the explosion kills him and three others near him.
The Stormtroopers start to run, and Saws partisans at the base of the mountain find themselves in hand to hand combat with the riot troopers and their batons. The troopers dispearce into the woods as they get up the mountain.
"Attack!" Saw yells as he charges the riot troopers.
Saw takes his EE-3 blaster and shoots two Stormtroopers before smashing the butt of his rifle into the helmet of a riot trooper. The trooper falls to the ground and Saw shoots him twice in the chest. Another trooper fires twice at point blank, but Saw is quick to dodge the blasts and shoots the trooper in the head.
Saw looks up the mountain to Idryssa's position, "Idryssa! You handle the riot troopers!"
Idryssa looks through the scope of her DLT-19X sniper rifle and adjusts the crosshairs to be centered on the helmets of the troopers. She sees a trooper running towards a Twi'lek named Beezer, she sets the crosshairs right between the lens of his helmet and squeezes the trigger. The shot hits the trooper right where she hoped, and the trooper falls dead at Beezer's feet.
Another shot from the walker hurdles in Idryssas direction, she jumps out of the way and the shot slams into a tree behind her. The trees trunk goes weak as it snaps at the base with a tremendous crunch of the wood splitting. Idryssa looks above in horror to see the tree start to fall in her direction, she stumbles back onto her feet and narrowly avoids being crushed.
Idryssa quickly catches her breath before getting back up, grabs her rifle, and uses the fallen tree as cover while she continues the cut down Stormtroopers.
Thrawn watches the distant battle outside the transport and through his macrobinoculars. He can see the pockets of smoke billowing from the mountainside, red blaster bolts from both sides fly up and down the mountain, and he watches the fighting climax and the carnage it unfolds.
The holopad on Thrawn's belt chimes, he reaches for it, and holds it in front of him. The device projects an image of High Admiral Vince.
"Zulu company is overwhelmed, Grand Admiral. The commander has requested to pull."
"Order them to retreat, then call in the TIE bombers. I want camera droids on the scene the moment those troopers return, make sure those droids are ready to film the strike."
"I will, Grand Admiral. However, many of our TIE fighters and bombers have been destroyed."
Thrawn's eyebrows furrow, "Destroyed? How?"
"A single fighter has deployed from the enemy fleet, it has destroyed ten of our fighters."
Thrawn rests his forefinger on his chin as he thinks to himself.
"What is the status of this fighter?" he asks.
"It's an older model, an ETA-2 Actis-class Light Interceptor. Honestly, Grand Admiral, these fighters have been produced since the Clone Wars."
A revelation comes to Thrawn, he knows of these fighters.
"And flown by the Jedi. Fascinating."