Chapter 21: Blizzard
July 20, 2227.
"Fresh meat incoming." the sentinel announced outside.
Iulius had heard him from the little office (inside what was previously a locker room for the workers) the troops had arranged for him.
He put down his datapad and walked out. The shoulder still itched, but he could use it normally.
On his left, the battered and bruised soldiers of the 231st Division were garrisoning the last piece of the ring the Empire had taken. It was just another workshop, but the main goal was three sections further: the first of the three major hydroponic greenhouses that supplied the rebel defenders, and which sat behind a very strong defensive line.
Getting out, he also found Qathora and Galen. The former was taking a nap, the latter was already looking toward the arriving troops. Iulius went and gently shook the Togruta's shoulder.
"Qath. The replacements are here."
She woke up quite abruptly, rubbed her eyes and shook her head. "Great. More material for the grinder." she commented fatalistically.
It was hard to counter that pessimistic statement: in the last few weeks, of five attacks, only one had succeeded, and it had resulted in more than 5.000 dead and 8.000 wounded. It was appalling just how many people could die in such a limited space.
The rebels had planned their defenses well: after the assault of a week before, they had learned to make sure everything in front of their line and the fallback line was completely clear of anything that could provide cover. The imperial attackers were completely exposed and the only way to survive was to charge at walls taller than them from which the enemy could fire almost entirely covered. And inside the constrained corridors, the imperials couldn't even use artillery or any heavy vehicle to tear down those walls.
The result was that not even Starkiller, with all his abilities, could hope to reach the walls under such a heavy fire. The only way to go forward was to throw waves over waves of men against the fortifications.
The least Iulius could do for those people was to grant them relief as soon as possible. Luckily, the actual zones of fighting on that ring were so small, being the two ends of a corridor, that a division each was more than enough to hold the line, and he had 20 of them assigned to the campaign.
The head of the column arrived. The soldiers were marching in an orderly fashion and preceding them were the Astarte twins, who deviated and went to greet Iulius.
"I hope you guys rested well." Iulius said.
The twins made a judging look. A mixture of apprehension and frustration. "We are fine, but what about you, sir?" Aiolin asked rhetorically.
Indeed, the Lord-Protector was aware of not being in his best form: the last few days had gone with little to no sleep because of the constant fire from both sides, the rebels sending out patrols regularly to poke the imperials with shots and detonators. Even if the soldiers and the officers had asked him to ignore them and sleep more, fear compelled Iulius to jump off the bed and immediately check on the situation. His armor was dirt and he hadn't shaved in a while.
"I'm fine." he said, trying to dismiss their worries. He then turned toward Qathora and Galen. "You two gather your things, you're accompanying the column back."
Qathora and Galen also were not happy to hear that. "And you?" the Togruta asked severely.
"I have to stay here with the men."
"By the stars, Iulius!" she snapped. "Even Cody and his guys are in the back resting. You haven't left the front since the start of this battle, how can you lead an army lucidly in these conditions?!"
"Even the medic recommended that you lay off for a bit." Galen added a little calmer, but even him was starting to find the Grand Admiral a bit too stubborn.
"I'm fine, guys, really. And I still get reports every day from outside. Everything is under control."
Qathora sighed in resignation, but before leaving, she offered one last advice. "You want to prove those idiots on Coruscant that you will not break. But being so inflexible will make the price much worse." and she walked away, followed shortly after by Galen.
For sure, he was aware of that, but that was also the reason why he was preparing a new offensive in secret, on secret channels with Garrick Versio and Octis.
And for that plan to work, another large attack inside the corridor was necessary.
As the soldiers went past him, Iulius was also reached by the commanding officer, who had already given the instructions and were now supposed to present themselves. A tall man with the rank plaque of a Major-General and another Human with the field uniform and the rank of a Colonel arrived and made the salute.
"Major-General Kavener and Colonel Doreen of the 43rd Division, reporting for duty, Grand Admiral." the senior officer greeted.
Iulius returned the gesture. "Greetings, gentlemen. I hope you and your men are ready for the task ahead."
"We are, sir." the Colonel replied.
Iulius then waved a hand to invite them to follow him, so the officers and the twins walked behind him until he brought them to the small command post that had been set up.
"Twins. Set up the sound dampeners." he ordered discreetly.
The twins looked at each other, a bit surprised by that request, but nonetheless they did. Generating a force field that was barely visible but which contained the sound in that very limited area.
"Listen up, as you already know, we need to take down the rebel greenhouse that is three blocks away from our position." Iulius started explaining on a small hologram showing that part of the ring he was interested in. "We need to take it down, but a frontal assault would be way too costly. That's why I devised a new plan." he tapped a command on the table and a small animation started playing.
"We will have to open a path at least through the first two lines. Then, once we're upon the final one, and the rebels will concentrate all their available forces there, I will have the 95th Legion storm the place while the 77th and the Special Forces will attempt a landing operation behind the greenhouse. Hopefully, that will caught the rebels off-balance, and give us a chance to conquer the greenhouse more easily."
"Seems simple enough. What's the conformation in front of us?" Kavener asked.
"Worse than usual: we are near a control room, which is already at the end of a corridor where only three men in line can get through at the same time, but we also have to take a workshop and a depot before reaching that room and gain access to the next section."
The officers looked at the model and their expressions became grim.
"There is no room for maneuver at all." Doreen said.
"Welcome to Ringo Vinda." the Grand Admiral replied grimly. He then turned toward the Astartes. "Twins, make a small recon. See what we're up against and if you can, sabotage their defenses. We start the attack in two rotations."
The twins nodded and then quickly disappeared toward the enemy lines, passing among the large mass of troopers that were taking their position while the survivors of the 231st were gladly packing their bags in order to get out of there.
July 21, 2227.
Most of Echo Base had already been evacuated, but a few key supplies and personnel still needed some time. Now two regiments of recently formed militiamen of the New Republic, made up of volunteers enlisted in the recent months all around the Trailing Sectors, were manning the set of trenches that defended the main entrance to the Base on the Ice Flow.
Supporting them, Edrix had left a turian battalion. It was also made up of rookie soldiers, but they had the extensive training of their regional army and their commanding officers were instead veterans of the first years of the war.
Still, this was only a small force meant to act as a rearguard, and eventually to be sacrificed if the situation required it. The only exception were Jordan and his Legionnaires, who at that moment were discussing the situation with Rieekan and Leia in the command room.
"Our drones confirm that the imperials are landing an entire heavy armor unit at Moorsh Moraine, just outside the deflector shield. The good news is that the AT-AT will be upon us in three hours." Jordan stated.
"And the bad is?" Leia asked.
"That we have nothing left that can pierce those things." Michalina commented grimly. "We have already evacuated the bombers and fighters. All we have left are the patrol speeders, and their cannons will never blow the shields of the walkers."
"We need to slow them down in any way." Rieekan declared. "The ion cannon is doing its job and keeping the Star Destroyers away from our transports, but it won't matter if the imperials reach the base so quickly."
"For that, the Captain already has...an idea." Thabo added in a resigned tone.
The officers looked at Jordan, who calmly pointed a finger on the map. "The three of us will ambush the imperial column here, in the Kerane Valley."
"You three alone?" Leia asked baffled.
"They have to pass through a crevasse, and since they are in a hurry, they won't have the time to cover their own flanks. That valley is full of caves that we can exploit to hit them, weaken their forces and then return back to the base in time for the evacuation."
"I guess that would be something." Rieekan said. "But you can't bring enough explosives to sabotage all the walkers."
"I know. But our air squadron has Luke, so I trust they will find a way to slow them down even more." Jordan replied calmly. "Remember: we are not supposed to beat them, just to give time for the last supplies to get shipped out."
"Though I do wonder what the Admiral has in mind." Michalina commented.
"He has a plan and he is our superior. That's all we need to know." Thabo instead intervened.
With no more objections in the room, the Legionnaires took the Mako and hurried toward the high end of the valley. The imperials had no air support to speak of, since even the TIEs would need extensive modifications to fly in that freezing temperatures. Therefore it was easy for them to reach the edge and look down.
However, they didn't need to do that: the higher backs of the AT-AT were peeking out of the canyon. The Legionnaires quickly laid their bellies on the snow to avoid any chance of being detected while the walkers advanced and their steps made the earth and snow shake.
"That's a lot of firepower, boss. Are we sure we want to do this?" Thabo asked a little ironically.
"We are the only ones who can do this." Jordan replied seriously. "Each of us has the explosives for one of those walkers. We move around with the jetpacks, Micha places the charges where they are most effective, then we retreat."
"My favorite part of the job." Michalina smirked under the helmet.
They materialized their jetpacks and then waited until the last AT-AT was in front of them, then they jumped on it.
"The engine is located between the body and the legs. We need to get down there." the woman explained while pointing down.
"Nothing simpler." Thabo commented.
Indeed, it was simple with their armors, as the magnetic boots and the nanobots in their hands gave them the ability to stick to the vertical walls of the machine, even when it was moving and shaking. They easily reached the juncture where the legs were welded to the body, and Jinx quickly found a conduit near the main engine where Michalina opened a breach with a laser cutter and then planted a time bomb. The Legionnaires then jumped back on the edge of the crevice and waited.
A few seconds later, the AT-AT halted in its tracks as fireworks literally started sparkling from beneath the belly, loud bangs confirmed the tendency and, a few more moments later, the head exploded due to a chain reaction. The walker, deprived of its commands and controls that kept it on its feet, fell toward its right, which just happened to be the one where the Legionnaires were.
The crash was loud, but at least the walker crouched below the level of the Legionnaires. They could hear the sound of the people down below wondering what was happening and rushing to see if they could help their comrades who were still inside, since every AT-AT was supposed to carry a platoon-worth of soldiers.
"Guess we got their attention." Thabo noted.
"Yeah, which means taking out another one won't be easy."
"I might have a better idea than jumping like crickets from a walker to another…" Michalina suggested.
"What's going on out there?" Veers asked to one of his officers in a hologram.
"The tail walker has suffered a catastrophic failure of the main core, sir. But it was way too powerful and abrupt. I think we're under attack!" the man reported with an urgent calmness.
Veers reflected. Inside that canyon, who could have possibly have the time and possibility to reach such an out-of-reach point of an AT-AT, plant a bomb and then leave unnoticed?
Then the answer came pretty quickly. "The Federals must have left some Legionnaires to help the rebels. If they resorted to such a tactic, they must only be a handful. Administer the first aid to any survivor, but leave the rescue to the recovery team. We need to get out of this canyon as quickly as possible. I repeat: don't stop marching."
The officer made the salute. "Yes, General."
"Get us out of this trap hole, guys." he said to Tyrn and Novat, who both nodded and pulled the levers forward for full throttle. The whirring of the beast's legs became more prominent as it stomped its way toward the end of the canyon.
Veers pulled down the digital periscope and tried to take a look around the edges of the canyon, but he couldn't spot anything. After all, if they were Legionnaires, they could just become invisible for a short period of time.
He was feeling vulnerable, which was ironic when he sat inside the massive walker, armored to the core, but after all, he knew that the AT-AT was not invincible, either.
This situation was all Ozzel's fault. Had the guy not been so conceited and had not come out of hyperspace right above the planet, the Empire could have hoped to take out their shield generator with an orbital strike. Instead, he had been forced to land his unit far from the rebel base and to take an approach path cutting through that treacherous valley.
The only meager consolation was that, according to rumors, Ozzel had choked to death while reporting his reckless maneuvering to Lord Vader, and now Piett had been promoted Admiral in his stead.
Veers had to say this: rising through the ranks was quite easy under Vader, but perhaps being put in such a position of responsibility from that man wasn't a reason to celebrate.
In all honesty, the General couldn't wait to get this battle over with and return under the command of the Lord-Protector. He, at least, was a normal human being, and the worse he ever did to any subordinate who seriously screwed up was to demote him and send him to prison.
Nearly half-an-hour had passed since the first attack, that an explosion rocked the right side of the canyon. A huge avalanche came down and large chunks of rock and ice tumbled down on another AT-AT, the second to last of the column, and caused a strata of floor to break, revealing a large hole on the side of the trail. The walker fell into it with its right legs and the pilots could do little to react.
All of a sudden, the machine was stuck, and in a way that prevented the last walker to get past it.
"Blizzard-1, this is Blizzard-7. Blizzard-6 is blocking our path." their commander reported.
"I see it on screen, Blizzard-7. It's useless to think about it: unload your stormtroopers and help Blizzard 6 until a recovery team arrives. We have to proceed."
"Understood, Blizzard-1. Hit those bastards for us, too."
"You got it." Veers concluded.
"There it is. We're out of the canyon!" Novat announced much relieved.
Internally, Veers also breathed much easier. Clearly, the Legionnaires could not entirely keep up with the walkers. That was the reason why they didn't manage to get to him, the head of the column, before getting out of the valley, but if that damn trench had been longer, who knew what those bloated super-soldiers would be capable of doing.
But they were finally out. There was a fog marking the end of the trench and the entrance into the ice flow that the scanners indicated was leading to the main entrance of the rebel base. With the five walkers left, Veers ordered to start the advance and the AT-ST followed the pace.
"Sir, enemy troops in sight." Tyrn warned.
"I see them." Veers replied calmly as he watched the trench in the distance. He spotted a few laser and ion turrets, but even those should not have been enough to penetrate the shields of the walkers. "All Blizzard units, commence the attack."
Just a few steps forward, and the colossal walkers were in range of the enemy fortifications. Tyrn opened fire with the heavy guns. The first shots hit slightly beyond the trench, since the rebels were of course offering a very hard target, from their positions. The following burst from the other walkers was more effective and hit the front of the trench, shaking it violently and it was at that point that the Coalition returned fire.
"Enemy aircraft on scope." Novat alerted.
Veers soon noticed said aircraft: simple patrol airspeeders. They fired on the walkers, but had little to no effect.
"Leave them to the ITT." he replied, then opened the channel with the other walkers. "All Blizzard units, this is Blizzard-1. Proceed with the attack, we will deviate slightly and aim straight for the shield generator."
One after the other, the remaining walkers acknowledged the order and continued moving forward, gunning down some of the speeders while the AT-ST and the ITT covered their blind spots.
Then, as they arrived in front of the trench, the leading walked was suddenly hit by two ion bolts.
"This is Blizzard-4. We've been hit. Commands are not responding."
Soon after, the enemy threw missiles, heavy blasters and another passage from the airspeeders to the walker.
The other walkers laid down some suppressive fire, but the barrage turned out to be too much.
An explosion created a large hole under the belly of 4 and the commander's radio went silent as the walker crumbled down.
"They are using ion launchers to take down our shields." Veers alerted on the radio. "Colonel Tanns, order the infantry to get down and protect the walkers."
"Roger that, General. Commencing deployment."
"Blizzard-1 to all units. Lay down cover fire. Don't mind the batteries."
The AT-AT halted their advance and instead unleashed a rain of fire on the enemy positions.. The AT-ST instead moved forward to provide another target and cover the disembark of the snowtroopers. One of them got too close and was blown up by a rebel rocket.
However, the maneuver worked: the rebels, focused on either keeping their heads down or targeting the minor walkers, couldn't stop the snowtroopers from disembarking and start their advance.
As the Mako sped on the far side of the Ice Flow, the Legionnaires could notice the AT-AT in the distance and the intense line of bolts flying between the two sides.
"Damn it. They're tearing them to pieces." Thabo noticed worried.
The imperials were advancing much faster than anticipated. But things seemed to go a little better when two speeders went for the last walker of the formation and one of them used a tow and rope to tie its legs and have it crash down when it couldn't notice what was happening.
It didn't change the overall flow of the battle, though: the allies were forced to retreat to the second line, and the snowtroopers had heavy cover fire, which helped limiting their losses until they were right on top of their foes.
"Look out!" Michalina warned.
Jordan looked up on the screens and noticed that a speeder had been hit and was falling on the snow along the Mako's track, just a hundred meters forward.
The speeder crashed on the snow, but didn't explode, so Jordan decided to pull on the side and rushed out to see if there were any survivors. He needed to move fast, because he noticed that an AT-AT was on that same vector, and its steps were very long.
The Legionnaire approached the still smoking speeder and noticed that the pilot was already pushing up the cockpit, which was partially jammed.
He also was both surprised and relieved to see who the pilot was.
"Luke!"
The Jedi turned his head and a hint of happiness on his face appeared as well.
"Jordan! So good to see you."
"Me too, kid. But we need to move!" Jordan exclaimed as he literally tear the cockpit away.
Luke recovered his lightsaber, then Jordan yanked him out of the seating. He took a look at the rear gunner, but he was already dead, so the two sprinted away just in time before the walker smashed the speeder under one of its feet.
They went back on the Mako and rushed away, heading toward Echo Base.
"Boss, most of the transports have already departed. Only one last batch." Michalina said after scouring through the comms of the Coalition.
"The imperials are already upon the base, they won't get out in time." Thabo noticed.
"No, they won't." Jordan realized. "But I think I've got an idea. Contact Captain Girthis." he said, referring to the commander of the Turian battalion.
As he drove the Mako on top of the Flow and even gunned down an AT-ST that was chasing the retreating Coalition forces, Jordan was finally able to speak with his fellow officer.
"Girthis here."
"Captain, this is Bridger. Get your men back inside the base, we'll have a better chance to fend off the imperials."
"I was just thinking the same thing. Can you give us come cover?"
"You got it."
The Mako rolled around a little, drawing the fire of the imperial vehicles, which never managed to hit it given its speed. With a daring maneuvering, Jordan and his team single-handedly delayed the imperial advance just as much as needed for the survivors of the trenches to retreat into the base, but the landscape was filled with dead and the wreckage of the Republic turrets.
The militia had by now completely broken. The remaining soldiers were rushing to the final transports, hoping to get a ride out of that hell. Only the Turian, with their famed iron discipline, were still moving sparsely but in a fighting retreat, and as soon as the first of them reached the door of the base, they stopped to open fire on the imperials, giving their comrades more cover against the advancing snowtroopers.
Then a massive explosion occurred at the end of the valley, right from the direction of the shield generator.
"There goes the shield." Jordan said. "Come on, boys…" he added to the Turian outside.
Despite taking more casualties, half of the Turian unit was still on its feet and ready to fight. Staying at the turret, Thabo almost overheated the machine gun of the Mako until the main door of the hangar, by now entirely empty, was closed.
Taking a breather, Jordan turned toward the other passengers. "Thabo, get the vehicle back to the Constantinople and prepare her for takeoff. Luke, are you injured?"
"I can fight." was the Jedi's simple answer.
"Good. You and Micha come with me."
The three dismounted from the tank, after which Thabo rolled it across the hangar to reach a secondary one that would bring it in the landing spot of the Constantinople.
The Turian soldiers had already reformed their ranks and were pointing at the door, sure that the imperials would have breached it quite soon. Jordan quickly found the CO and went to greet him.
"Captain Girthis, glad you made it."
"We owe it to you, colleague." the Turian replied calmly. "Now, what was that idea?"
"We need to draw the imperials toward corridor 2B." the Legionnaire explained, pointing in the direction he meant.
Michalina and Luke were left stunned but quickly caught up the reasoning.
"You want to release the Wampa on them?" the Jedi asked.
"Those damn chimps are blaster-proof. They won't stop the imperials, but I'm sure it will throw them in disarray for the time we need." he turned again toward the Turian. "Set up a few barricades, we will defend them to make the imperials believe we have something of interest in that direction and hope they take the bait."
"On it." the officer replied promptly and turned around to give instructions to his men.
"Micha, prepare a few charges beyond the intersection with the corridor. Once we free the Wampas, we'll block the main hallway, too."
"Leave it to me." the woman replied and rushed away.
"This is it, Luke? Are you ready?"
"I am." the young man replied with absolute security as he gripped his lightsaber and then materialized his Slayer suit.
They both took position with the rest of the infantry, which was scattered behind what little cover was left in the hangar, as they prepared to offer a first resistance against the imperial assault. After a few minutes, the door were suddenly hit by something very strong. The sound that accompanied the smash made it clear that they were the shots of an AT-AT. The first burst bent the massive doors, the second one blew them apart, separating the two pieces and creating a breach large enough for the first snowtroopers to barge in.
"Open fire!" Jordan ordered.
With his Mattock rifle, he quickly gunned down three troopers; Luke ignited his lightsaber and started sending back blaster bolts; the precise volley of the Turians also put down almost every imperial that got through the breach, but a few of them still managed to find some cover and return fire. Their comrades, seeing that simply running in was deadly, organized themselves, putting a squad to provide cover fire from the breach while the others tried to advance.
They took casualties, and only managed to hit two of the defenders. But then Jordan heard another explosion on his left, where a secondary entrance was supposed to be.
"The North-Western entrance has been breached." a voice on the PA announced, probably some operator who decided to stay behind.
Jordan quickly realized that they would soon be flanked.
"Fall back. Into the hallway!" the Legionnaire ordered. "Luke, you and me will cover them."
"Got it." the Jedi replied.
While the Turian rushed deeper into the cave, Jordan and Luke marched in rear, keeping their eyes in the directions from which the imperials were still advancing, the Legionnaire kept gunning down the snowtroopers, and each shot found its mark every time, to the point that the imperials coming from the hangar became extremely careful not to expose themselves and their fire became blind.
Luke, on his part, deflected many bolts, and the troopers coming from the secondary entrance were forced to come out from a tight space that limited their offensive power.
Thus, the two handily managed to assure the retreat of their comrades and then to lure the imperials into the hallway they wanted them to go.
The Legionnaire and the Jedi dashed until they met the first barricade set up by the Turians.
"Here they come!" Luke warned before he and Jordan jumped over their heads and took cover.
The snowtroopers barged in, only to be met by a wall of rifles that unleashed a rain of bullets and cut down many of them.
The allies opposed only a quick resistance: enough for Jordan and Luke to reach the sealed door of 2B, next to which Michalina was almost done planting the charges.
"Spirit to all Alliance personnel. It's time to leave." he finally announced on the comlink.
He and Luke once again stood as rearguard, allowing all the Turians to withdraw safely behind the charges before Luke also left, Jordan unsealed the door, then quickly rushed behind the set of charges while the snowtroopers kept firing at him.
"Now, Micha!" he yelled.
From a safe distance, Michalina pressed the button and the explosives blew up, destroying the roof and creating a wall of rocks that blocked the passage to the imperials. Jordan barely avoided the avalanche.
As he drew his breath, he heard a faint roar, then numerous blasters firing and a scream following up.
He shook some of the snow off his armor and turned again toward his people. "That should buy us a few minutes. Come on, everybody to the transports, we're leaving."
"R2 should have brought my X-Wing on the other side of the mountain." Luke said.
"Then take it, then meet us in orbit, kid. Any news about the Falcon?"
"There is no ship left in the base." Michalina reported. "We are the last ones."
"Good." he concluded. "Now let's get out of this snowball."
July 22, 2227.
With great struggle, Veers managed to open his eyes, only to discover that he had a bandage covering the left one. His head hurt as if somebody was hammering from the inside. He didn't recognize the roof, which didn't look like that of the AT-AT's head.
His body felt numb, but he was able to move it. He laid on his right side and pushed himself up with the arms, realizing that he was wearing the tunic of a patient.
He gurgled as he felt his shoulders burning and he wasn't able to stretch his arms all the way there.
"Careful, sir. Your skin is still crumbling."
Veers turned toward his left. On the opposite side of the room, leaning his back onto another bed and with his right arm hanging from the bandage, there was Novat.
"Lieutenant." the General murmured. "Where are we?"
"On the medical transport MT 9841." the driver replied ironically. "Heading back to Naboo for advanced medical treatment."
Veers massaged his head. "What happened? Last thing I remember, we destroyed the shield generator."
"Yes. And then, one of the last rebel speeders left decided to fly into our cockpit. And you thought it was appropriate to lose time and throw me and Novat out of the way instead of ducking."
"Novat. Where is he?"
"He only hit his head a little. He is with the regiment, organizing the transfer."
"Okay...what happened on Hoth?"
"We won, of course." the man replied with a smile. "After we destroyed the shield generator, Lord Vader came down with his First Legion and stormed the rebel base. They took out most of their forces, though presumably half of their forces had already left."
"What about our unit?"
"Only Blizzard-3 came out unscathed. We're gonna have to make a new recruitment drive, I believe. Oh, and Lord Vader sent you his regards, and said that you might be mentioned for the Imperial Medal."
Veers hummed. He looked around, seeing there were other wounded sleeping in that bay. He recognized other drivers and some of his stormtroopers and tried to wrap his thoughts around what they had just accomplished.
Clearly, that rebel base was important for them, or they wouldn't have tried so hard to hide it and defend it. But what was its real purpose? It couldn't just be used by the Coalition to supply weapons to the Commonwealth, as the Intelligence had hypothesized, since Hoth was on the complete opposite side of the border between the Commonwealth and the Republic.
And the Federation had deployed Legionnaires to protect it, which made that base even more of an asset for the enemy.
He tried to think, but his head was still heavy for the painkillers. Veers leaned back on the pillow and grunted as the shoulders irked.
At least, he thought, he was going to see his family again.