The Battle of Hoth
Thanks to LordBod1970, Ironknight3307 and DS2010 for favouriting and following this story
Rebel pilots gathered in the hangar of Echo Base as Leia and Kali gave them their final briefing. "All troop carriers will assemble at the north entrance." Leia told them. "The heavy transport ships will leave as soon as they're loaded. Only two fighter escorts per ship. The energy shield can only be opened for a short time so you'll have to stay very close to your transports."
"Two fighters against a Star Destroyer?" pilot Hobbie Kilvan asked sceptically
"The ion cannon will fire several shots to keep any enemy ships out of your flight path." Kali told him. "Once you've made it past the energy shield, proceed straight to the rendezvous point. Stop for nothing, is that understood?"
"Yeah." the pilots all chorused
"Good luck." Leia told them.
"Ok, everybody to your stations. Let's go!" Major Derlin ordered, and everyone jumped to it.
~8~
On the ice plains outside Echo Base, Rebel troops positioned themselves along the snow trenches and readied their weapons, while other troops loaded power packs into large gun turrets and swung them into position, ready for the impending battle.
~8~
The first transport ship was soon fully loaded and it took off from Echo Base, escorted by two X-wings. In the the control room of Echo Base, Juno was monitoring the transport's progress on her screen. "Star Destroyer moving to intercept the transport." she reported.
Leia and Kali had returned to the control room and Kali was manning another console. "Stand by, ion control." she said into her headset. "Fire!"
Echo Base's powerful ion cannon fired two giant red energy beams skywards. The beams reached space, overtook the transport and it's escorts, and struck the incoming Star Destroyer, disabling it long enough for the transport and escorts to get safely away into hyperspace.
~8~
"The first transport is away." the tanoy in Echo Base announced, and everyone cheered, glad that at least some of the Alliance had made it out safely.
Luke hurried through the hangar until he reached the airspeeder he had been assigned to. His gunner, a fresh-faced young man named Dack Raltar, was already seated in the gunner seat. "Feeling alright, sir?" he asked Luke.
"Just like new, Dack." Luke replied. "How about you?"
"Right now I feel I could take on the whole Empire myself." Dack replied flippantly.
"I know what ya mean." Luke laughed, then he slipped his helmet on, strapped himself in and their speeder took to the sky, ready to lead the fight.
~8~
Trooper at Echo Base's northern perimeter outpost were ready and waiting for the inevitable attack. Presently, several large objects came into view on the horizon. The station's commander took out his electrobinoculars to see five towering Imperial All Terrain Armoured Transports marching ominously towards them, accompanied by several All Terrain Scout Transports. The commander immediately got onto his wrist comlink to the command centre. "Echo Station 3-T8. We've spotted Imperial walkers." he reported urgently. "Imperial walkers on the north ridge."
The army of walkers continued to march ever closer and the AT-ATs soon opened fire on the outpost, their powerful laser cannons making short work of the Rebel's turrets.
"Echo station 5-7, we're on our way." Luke announced as he and his squadron of speeders flew to the rescue. The speeders zoomed over the outpost and raced towards the oncoming walkers, ready to try and hold them off long enough for the evacuation to take place. "Alright boys, keep tight now." Luke advised his squadron.
"Uh, Luke, I have no approach vector." Dack warned. "I'm not set."
"Steady, Dack. Attack pattern delta." Luke replied.
"Go now." Dack acknowledged, readying the speeder's weapons.
"Alright, we're going in." Luke announced, and he flew the speeder in a strafing run at the lead AT-AT, Dack firing the speeder's laser cannons at the walker but to no avail. Undeterred, Luke then made a run at the second AT-AT, expertly flying the speeder right between the walker's legs, then Dack fired at the third walker. "Hobbie, ya still with me?" Luke said into the radio to Rogue Four.
Hobbie's speeder took flank alongside Luke's and they swung around ready for another pass. The AT-ATs meanwhile continued to fire relentlessly at the outpost's defences, completely undeterred at the speeders buzzing them. One AT-AT fired at a speeder and caught it in a glancing blow to the aft section, sending the speeder crashing down to earth in flames. Luke's speeder made another run at the lead walker, the cannons firing at the head, but it was no use.
"That armour's too strong for blasters." Luke realised, and did some lightening fast thinking. "Rogue group, use your harpoons and tow cables." he ordered. "Go the legs. It might be our only chance of stopping 'em." He then swung the speeder around ready to make a run at one of the walkers' legs. "Alright, stand by, Dack." he said to his gunner.
"Uh, Luke, we've got a malfunction in fire control." Dack told him worriedly. "I'l have to cut in the auxiliary."
"Just hang on." Luke told him as the speeder was buffeted by flak. "Hang on, Dack, get ready to fire that tow cable." But before Dack could do anything, one of the AT-STs fired a shot at the speeder which caught it in a glancing blow and causing the malfunction weapons control to short out, fatally shocking Dack. "Dack? Dack?!" Luke cried anxiously, looking round to check on his gunner, but Dack was slumped dead in his seat. With his gunner gone, Luke had no choice but to abandon his shot.
~8~
The AT-ATs continued to march relentlessly towards Echo Base, destroying anything in their path. In the cockpit of the lead walker, General Veers was informing a hologram of Darth Vader of the attack's progress. "Yes, Lord Vader. I'm heading for the main power generators." he reported. "The shield will be down in a few minutes. You may start your landing."
~8~
Luke flew his speeder into formation next to Wedge Antilles' speeder. "Rogue Three?" he called.
"Copy, Rogue Leader." Wedge acknowledged.
"Wedge, I've lost my gunner. You'll have to take this shot." Luke told him. "I'll cover for you. Set your harpoon. Follow me on the next pass."
"Coming around, Rogue Leader." Wedge acknowledged as he flew his speeder towards one of the AT-ATs.
"Steady, Rogue Three." Luke advised.
"Activate harpoon." Wedge ordered his gunner, Wes Janson, who fired the speeder's harpoon and scored a direct hit on one of the walker's legs. "Good shot, Wes." Wedge praised, and he then flew the speeder around the walker's legs, wrapped the cable around them. "One more pass." Wedge muttered as the cable began to tighten. He then made one last pass of the legs and the cable became fully taught.
"Cable out, let her go!" Janson called.
"Detach cable." Wedge ordered.
Janson promptly released the cable from the speeder. "Cable detached." he reported.
The AT-AT managed to plod forward one more step before becoming entangled in the cable around it's legs and tripped, landing head first in the snow. Wedge then flew the speeder straight at the fallen walker and Janson fired the laser cannons at a weak spot on the walker's neck and the AT-AT exploded in a spectacular fireball. "Whoo! That got him!" Wedge laughed.
"I see it, Wedge. Good work." Luke acknowledged proudly.
~8~
The personnel in Echo Base's command centre had been following the battle's progress. "I don't think we can protect two transports at a time." Rieekan told Leia.
"It's risky but we can't hold out much longer." Leia told him. "We have no choice." And as if to prove her point, the whole base shook from fire from the attacking walkers.
"Launch patrol." Rieekan conceded.
"Evacuated remaining ground staff." Leia ordered Kali, who passed the order on.
~8~
Han and Chewbacca were still working hard to get the Millennium Falcon ready to escape. "No, no, no! This one goes there, that one goes there, right?" Han told Chewbacca.
In another part of the hanger, R2 was being hoisted into the droid socket of Luke's X-wing. "R2, take good care of Master Luke now, understand?" 3PO told him
R2 beeped an affirmative answer.
"And do take care of yourself." 3PO said sincerely
R2 beeped in response, telling 3PO to take care too.
"Oh, dear, oh, dear." 3PO sighed as he set off back to the command centre to help Leia and the others.
~8~
The fierce battle on the snow plains continued to rage. The ground personnel bravely tried to fend off the attacking walkers, but their weapons wouldn't even scratch the AT-AT's thick armour as the massive walkers lumbered ever closer towards the base. The AT-STs meanwhile made short work of the ground defences. Aboard the lead AT-AT, Blizzard One, General Veers prepared for the next phase of the attack. "All troops will debark for ground assault." he told the Snowtrooper commander, who went back to the walker's main body to prepare his troops. "Prepare to target the main generator." Veers ordered the walker's pilots.
~8~
Luke's speeder and Rogue Two flew in formation, both doing their best to avoid the heavy fire from two AT-ATs. "Rogue Two, are you alright?" Luke asked.
"Yeah. I'm with you, Rogue Leader." Zev Senesca acknowledged.
"Well, set harpoon. I'll cover you." Luke told him.
"Coming round." Zev acknowledged as the two speeders made a run at the two walkers.
"Watch that crossfire, boys." Luke warned.
"Set for position three." Zev told his gunner. "Steady."
"Stay tight and low." Luke advised. "This is it!" Suddenly, Zev's speeder received a direct hit from one of the AT-ATs and was blown to bits. Then another shot hit Luke's speeder. "I've been hit!" he hollered as the speeder's cockpit filled with smoke and sparks. All he could do was brace himself as the stricken speeder crash landed in the snow. Unhurt, Luke unhooked his seat restraints and pushed the cockpit canopy open to see that he'd landed right in front of one of the AT-ATs, which was coming straight for him. Luke quickly turned around and checked Dack's pulse, but the young man was gone. Luke then searched an equipment compartment for a grabble gun. He found it and jumped from the speeder just in time. Luke was forced to hit the deck as the walker's foot stomped down on the speeder, crushing it as if it were a toy.
~8~
Han entered Echo Base's command centre to find it a scene of complete destruction, with consoles smashed and wires dangling from the ceiling. Leia, Kali, Juno and 3PO were all still there, huddled around the few consoles that were still working. You alright?" Han asked the women.
"Why're you still here?" Leia asked, not looking at him.
"I heard the command centre had been hit." Han replied.
"You got your clearance to leave, Han. No point in getting yourself killed." Juno said.
"Don't worry, I'll leave." Han said as he climbed over the wreckage to reach them. "But first I'm gonna get you all to ya ship."
"Your Highness, we MUST take this last transport." 3PO implored Leia. "It's our only hope."
"Send all troops in sector 12 to protect the fighters." Leia ordered one of the surviving staff.
Suddenly, another laser blast hit the command centre, causing the whole room to shake and knocking 3PO backwards into Juno's arms. "Imperial troops have entered the base." a sentry reported over the radio. "Imperial troops have..." The transmission was promptly cut off.
"It's over." Kali said grimly, seeing that the end was near.
Leia swallowed hard, accepting the truth of the situation. "Give the evacuation code signal." she ordered Kali. "And get to your transports." Han then took her by the arm and hustled her away.
"K-one-zero... all troops disengage." Kali said into her headset, then she threw it off and she and Juno followed Han and Leia.
"Oh, wait for me!" 3PO hollered as he followed them.
~8~
"Begin retreat! Fall back!" the commander of the north perimeter station hollered, and he and his troops all began to scramble for the safety of the hanger as the AT-ATs continued their relentless advance. The remaining speeders were unable to stop them, for the Empire had wised up to the tow cable trick and the AT-STs were now flanking their bigger cousins to prevent any further attempts to trip them up.
Luke ran behind the AT-AT that had destroyed his speeder and fired his grapple gun at the underside. He then winched himself up and used his lightsabre to cut open a maintenance hatch and he tossed a thermal detonator inside the walker, then he released the cable and fell into the snow. He picked himself up to see the detonator explode and cause a chain reaction to tear through the walker before it toppled onto it's side.
~8~
Blizzard One marched relentlessly towards the shield generator, it's laser cannons making short work of anything that tried to stop it. "Distance to power generators?" Veers asked.
"One-seven, decimal two-eight." a pilot replied.
A speeder charged at Blizzard One, but the AT-AT simply blasted it out of the sky as if it were swatting a fly. Veers lowed the electrorangefinder and lined up the main generator in his sights. "Target. Maximum firepower." he ordered, and Blizzard One's cannons fired an intense salvo of laser blasts at the generator, which exploded in a huge fireball.
~8~
Han and the women hurried through the base's crumbling corridors towards the transport's landing area, 3PO lumbering behind them. Suddenly, a laser blast from outside caused the corridor ceiling to cave in and it was only by quick use of the Force by Juno that the four Humans weren't crushed by the huge chunks of ice. When the dust settled, they could see that the corridor was completely blocked. "Can you shift it?" Leia asked Juno.
Juno shook her head. "Not without bringing the rest of the roof down."
Seeing that there was only one thing for it, Han took his comlink from his pocket. "Transport, this is Solo. Better take off, I can't get to ya, I'll get 'em out in the Falcon." he said, then grabbed Leia's arm. "Come on." he urged, and led her the other way towards the hanger, Juno and Kali following them.
"Where're you going?" 3PO asked as he saw the four Humans rushing the other way.
"Change of plans." Kali called over her shoulder. "C'mon, 3PO!"
3PO then saw the blocked corridor and hurried after them, cursing his metal legs for not being as fast as those of organic beings.
~8~
The abandoned command centre was in ruins as a platoon of Snowtroopers burst in accompanied by Darth Vader himself. Vader didn't even give the devastation so much as a second glance as he strode on through.
~8~
Han and the women reached the door to the hanger. Han opened it and ushered the women through. "Wait! Wait for me!" 3PO hollered as he clanked behind them. "Wait! Stop!" The door promptly slid shut in front of him. "How typical." he grumbled to himself.
The door then slid open again and Juno's arm grabbed the droid by the shoulder. "Come on." she urged, dragging 3PO in behind her.
Chewbacca was waiting anxiously outside the Millennium Falcon as the quintet arrived in the hangar. He frantically waved for them to run faster.
"Hurry up, goldenrod, or you're gonna be a permanent resident!" Han yelled as they all ran for the Falcon. Chewbacca and the four Humans all scrambled up the ramp into the ship and 3PO brought up the rear.
~8~
Vader and the Snowtroopers marched determinedly through the crumbling corridors, none of them even flinching at the falling ice.
~8~
The Millennium Falcon's engines spluttered and failed to start. Chewbacca was working in a conduit as Kali jumped back to avoid a jet of steam. Han and Juno were working at the engineering station, while Leia observed their efforts. "How's this?" Han called.
"Would it help if I got out and pushed?" Leia asked sarcastically.
"It might." Han retorted.
"Captain Solo, Captain Solo..." 3PO ventured as he clanked up to them. "Sir, might I suggest that you..." Han pointed a warning finger at him and pushed past him. "It can wait." 3PO said to himself.
Han entered the cockpit and flipped a few switches. The control panels on the back-head lit up, then blinked out. Han gave the back-head a good thump and the lights came back on. "This bucket of bolts is never gonna get us past that blockade." Leia said pessimistically as she and the other women joined him.
"This baby's got a few surprises left in her, Sweetheart." Han retorted, sitting down in his seat.
"Well, now would be a good time to reveal 'em, Hotshot." Juno said, looking out of the window to see Snowtroopers setting up an E-web cannon.
Han flicked a switch and a small laser cannon on the Falcon's underside blasted the Snowtroopers, stunning them. "Come on, come on!" he yelled to Chewbacca as the Wookie joined them in the cockpit. "Switch over. Just hope we don't have a burnout." The Falcon's engines whirred into life. "See?" Han said triumphantly.
"Some day you're gonna be wrong and I just hope I'm there to see it." Leia grunted.
"Look, can we escape now, argue later?" Kali grumbled.
"Good idea." Han conceded. "Punch it!" he ordered Chewbacca, who hit the control to power up the thrusters.
~8~
Vader entered the hanger just in time to see the Millennium Falcon zoom away.
~8~
Luke trudged through the snow towards the landing area when he saw the Falcon fly away. Satisfied that his friends were safe for now, he made his way to where his X-wing was waiting for him. "R2, get her ready for take off." he called.
Wedge passed him on the way to his own X-wing. "Good luck, Luke. See ya at the rendezvous." he called.
Luke then climbed up the boarding ladder and settled down into his cockpit. R2 beeped impatiently, anxious to leave.
"Don't worry, R2. We're going, we're going." Luke assured him as the cockpit canopy closed.
The X-wing was soon safely out of Hoth's atmosphere and in open space. But instead of heading on the course that R2 had programmed into the navicomputer, the fighter headed in a completely different direction, causing the droid to beep in concern.
"There's nothing wrong, R2. I'm just setting a new course." Luke told him.
R2 asked him why
"We're not gonna regroup with the others." Luke replied. "We're going to the Dagobah system."
R2 had been to the Dagobah system once before and didn't relish the idea of going back there so he made up an excuse that the auto-pilot wasn't working.
Luke wasn't fazed at all. "That's alright. I'd like to keep it on manual control for a while." he said.
R2 could only beep worriedly to himself as the X-wing made the jump to lightspeed, next stop: the Dagobah system.
Author's notes: And here's the Battle of Hoth, Empire's big action set-piece. It's interesting to note that with this film, Lucas and Kasden decided to put the big battle at the beginning, then concentrate on the character stuff for the rest of the film. It's certainly a different approach, but it worked for this film. As you can see, I've put both Juno and Kali with Han and the others aboard the Falcon, so they'll be involved with all the Falcon and Bespin stuff from here on in. Not much to say about this chapter, so I hope you like it and I'll see you all next time.