Chapter 21: Battle of Hoth
"By a Bantha's breath" Ki-Adi said. "What are those?"
"They're at least three times the size of an AT-TE, if not more." Rex marveled.
"Whatever it does, I can tell it delivers quite a payload", Obi-Wan mused.
"Echo Station, 3-T-8." He said into his communicator, "We've spotted Imperial walkers. Repeat, Imperial walkers on the north ridge."
As the speeders exited the hangar as quickly as safely possible, the men and women in the trenches took cover as the walkers began firing on their positions. As they began returning fire, they felt the speeders fly overhead, Luke at their head.
"All right, boys, keep it tight now." Luke said.
"Luke, I have no approach vector." Dack said angrily as he quickly tried to correct his aim, "I'm not set."
"Easy, Dack. Set up for Attack Pattern Delta." He led the speeders past the walkers and swung around to the right. "All right, we're going in." He dived at the walker high from the side and flew between its legs, blasters firing the whole time.
Obi-Wan looked at his former apprentice "What do you think, Anakin?"
"Those Walkers are obviously slow and is made for attacking defensive positions or fortresses. But we'll have to see what it can do on-screen", Anakin replied.
The Walkers marched on, ignoring the fire they were taking from the speeders. The men in the trenches tried to return fire, but it was difficult with the amount of fire they were taking from the walkers. The damn things were essentially mobile, fully-automatic artillery. From the bridge of the lead walker, General Veers watched the battle unfold.
"That armor's too strong for blasters." Luke cursed after another failed fire run.
He decided it was time to get creative. "Rogue Group, use your harpoons and tow cables. Go for the legs, it might be the only way we can stop 'em." He threw his speeder to the deck and lined himself up to enact his plan. "Dack, stand by."
"What is he-oh..." Ahsoka began before a smirk graced her lips. "Quick-thinking, Skyguy Jr!",
"I wouldn't mind following Luke's strategies", Rex added while the rest figured what Luke was planning with the cables.
"Luke, we've got a problem in fire control. Break off while I cut in the auxilliary."
"Too late! Get that tow cable ready." No sooner had he said so did the speeder get rocked by a blaster bolt going off near them and Luke heard a small explosion behind him. "Dack? Dack!" he received no answer. Dack was dead behind him.
On the ground, the walkers continued their advance while increasing their suppressing fire on the trenches. They had taken out many static artillery pieces and were nearly halfway to the base when Vader contacted them.
"That doesn't look good for the Rebels...", Obi-Wan grimly mused.
"Yes, Lord Vader." General Veers said confidently. "I've reached the main power generators. The shield will be down in moments, you may start your landing."
"They would have to to get out of there, otherwise they have a Sith Lord to deal with", Kit Fisto pointed out while Anakin frowned, not wanting Luke to be near Vader at all after what the Dark Lord did to Obi-Wan and Ahsoka.
Meanwhile, Luke was setting up for another run on her plan. He looked over his left wing and saw a familiar face.
"Rogue Three." He called out.
"Copy, Rogue Leader." Wedge said.
"Wedge, I've lost my gunner. You'll have to make the shot. I'll cover you. Set your harpoon and follow me on the next pass." Taking the lead, Luke lead Wedge on the same approach he had taken, keeping low to the ground and coming up under the walker.
"Fire!" Luke called out.
The magnetic harpoon shot out from the rear gun and attached to one of the walker's back legs.
"Good shot, Janson!" Wedge said as he brought the speeder into a hard turn. He circled the walker a few times, letting out more and more cable each time.
"Cable out, let her go!" Janson the Gunner shouted behind him.
"Cable detached." Wedge confirmed.
The walker tried to take another step but got caught up in the seven rings of high-strength cable wrapped around it. it physically tripped and fell forward onto it's face like a trapped animal. The rebels cheered as a pair of speeders flew at the incapacitated walker and blew up the head, which caused the whole thing to explode.
"Ho-ah!" Wedge cheered. "That got him!"
"I see it, Wedge. Good work." Luke agreed.
The audience were clearly astounded at Luke's coordination with his teammates and his impressive strategies, seeing that Anakin's side of him gave them some respite at the meantime.
In the command center, the Rieekan and Leia were in the middle of a debate.
"I don't think we can protect two transports at a time." Rieekan argued.
"It's risky," Leia agreed, "But we can't hold out much longer." An explosion rocked the base, making ice fall from the ceiling of the room. "We have no choice."
"You really don't, sir." Rex said, "Give the order"
Rieekan nodded grimly. "Do it."
"Evacuate remaining ground staff." Leia ordered.
Meanwhile, Han and Chewie were still working on the Falcon where the Wookie roared at the lack of progress. "No, no! No! This one goes there, that one goes there. Right?", Han argued with his first mate.
"There is a battle raging outside, and you're worried about your transport." Luminara commented.
"That's Solo for you." Shaak Ti added, having been too familiar with the smuggler.
Back at the front, the Walkers continued their advance. However, they continued to concentrate their fire on the artillery pieces, destroying them one at a time and taking their time in doing so.
"All troops will debark for ground assault." General Veers told one of the soldiers he was carrying, before turning back to the battle. "Prepare to target the main generator."
Luke brought hie speeder alongside another in preparation for another pass.
"Rogue Two, are you alright?" he called.
"Yeah." Replied Zev, the pilot who had found him and Han. "I'm with you Rogue Leader."
"Set your harpoon. I'll cover for you." Luke ordered, taking the lead position in the formation.
"Coming around." Rogue Two said as they made their approach.
"Watch that crossfire, guys." he could see the Walkers growing larger when she heard Rogue Two scream over the radio as his speeder exploded next to him. His own speeder soon rocked as he too was hit with a glancing blow. He tried to pull up, but found that he has lost most of his control. Knowing that the only ending was a crash landing, he fought with the controls to make it one he could walk away from. He managed to land his speeder face first in the snow behind the lead walker.
"Luke!", called out Anakin and Ahsoka at the same time.
"What is he going to do now?", Asked Ki-Adi.
Windu shrugged. "Improvise."
He let out a sigh as he shook his head clear, unhooked his harness and struggled to get the canopy up, but in doing so, he saw the other walker was on a direct course for his ship. He tried to get Dack out, but his buckle had fused together, making it impossible to undo. The Walker came closer, the massive legs covering the ground quicker than he expected. Thinking desperately more so than quickly, he grabbed his lightsaber and a blaster before he leapt from the wreckage of her speeder as the walker's foot came down on it, crushing it and Dack beneath it's tread.
"That was a close one...", Obi-Wan said, sighing in relief.
Back at the base, Han ran through the corridors to the command center, doing his best to stay upright as the base was rocked by Imperial fire. The command center was an abandoned mess; strategic maps overturned and the staff evacuated but for a single station and operator, over whose shoulder Leia was watching.
"You alright?" Han asked.
Leia looked back and frowned. "Why are you still here?"
"Heard the command center had been hit." Han replied as he began climbing over debris to reach Leia, who had returned to what she had been doing.
"You've got your clearance to leave."
"Don't worry, I'll leave. First, I'm gonna get you to your ship."
"See? He cares for her than his own skin. Truly an act of chivalry", Shaak Ti praised the smuggler while Anakin's eye twitched.
"Let's just hope Jabba doesn't send any Bounty Hunters after them", Padmé said, worried.
"Please don't jinx it, Senator", Ahsoka pleaded.
"Your Highness, we must take this last transport. It's our only hope." Threepio pleaded with her. Leia responded by pushing past him and Han and walking over to another station.
"Send all troops in Sector 12 to the south slope to protect the fighters." She said.
Suddenly another explosion sent snow falling from the ceiling and a voice came over the intercom.
"Imperial troops have entered the base. Imperial troops have entered- "it cut off before it could finish.
"Just as predicted, the Imperials would have them at their hand", Obi-Wan sourly admitted.
"They have hope, Master Kenobi. I'm sure they can still fight another day", Luminara assured him.
Han walked up to Leia and grabbed her arm. "Come on. That's it." he said, giving Leia a hard look. The brown-haired Princess closed her eyes.
"Give the evacuation code signal." She ordered before Han began pulling her away. "And get to your transport!"
"Retreat is always a viable option." Windu commented. "If they fall here, the Rebellion will suffer a blow to their morale."
The battlefield, despite being made of snow and ice, was charred and burning in places, most of them ruined artillery pieces. The troops had received the retreat signal and were doing just that, abandoning their trenches as the Walkers came within spitting distance. The walkers, seeing the rout, fired on the fleeing troops. Using the confusion as cover, Luke ran up underneath the last walker and aimed his gun at the transport's belly.
"What is little Skyguy up to?" Ahsoka muttered.
"Something astounding, probably." Anakin replied with a smirk while those who fought alongside him looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Anakin, reckless is the default setting for your tactics."
"Okay, astounding and reckless."
Instead of a laser bolt, it fired a magnetic grappling hook. It attached itself to the hull and pulled him up to hang just under the surface.
Using his lightsaber, he opened a hatch a hatch and tossed in a small thermal grenade. He had five seconds until it exploded, so he quickly detached herself from the grappling hook and fell, the snow thankfully breaking her fall. He looked up and saw the walker stop as her grenade caused a cascade of explosions to rock the transport, ultimately causing the cockpit to explode and the whole thing to fall sideways.
"Very impressive", Yoda praised the young Skywalker on screen. "Remarkable potential, he has"
"All right, that was clever." Windu admitted.
"See? Astounding and reckless!", Anakin said in complete pride for Luke while Rex, Plo Koon, Ahsoka and Obi-Wan groaned.
The lead Walker saw none of this, its commander focused entirely on his objective. He watched as the fleeing troops were cut down like wheat, the transport even shooting a speeder out of the air during a brief pause it it's advance. He pulled down a targeting computer and looked through it to see the highlighted outline of the generators. He gave the order and the generators exploded in a massive ball of fire.
This caused the hallway Han and Leia were in to collapse. Han saw it coming and quickly pulled Leia back. The Princess let out a scream as the pair fell backward. Han recovered quicker and took a look at the wall before cursing and pulling out her communicator.
"Transport, this is Solo. Better take off, we can't get to you. I'll get the Princess out on the Falcon." He grabbed Leia's arm and pulled her to her feet, before taking off again. They passed by Threepio, who quickly turned and ran after them, yelling to be told what they were doing.
Meanwhile, the wall of the command center burst open as a team of Snowtroopers stormed in, followed by the imposing figure of Darth Vader. The Dark Lord took in the damage before leading his troops to their next target, the hangar.
"They need to leave. Now", Anakin said, putting emphasis on the last word and glaring at the Sith Lord.
"It is fortunate that many of their staff had evacuated.", Luminara stated.
"We can thank Ozzel's clumsiness for that", Kit Fisto mused.
"Wait! Wait for me!" Threepio yelled as Han ran to a door, opening it for Leia and following after her, leaving Threepio on the other side. "How typical." He drawled as the door opened and Han's arm reached out to pull him through.
"Hurry up, goldenrod!" Han yelled at Threepio, "Or you're gonna become a permanent resident!"
As Vader closed in with his troops, Han and Chewie tried to run, but the engine on the Falcon refused to turn over. Inside, Chewie screamed as he was pelted with vented steam.
"How's this?" Han told him, making some adjustments.
"Would it help if I got out and pushed?" Leia asked snidely.
Han rounded on her. "It might." He replied. It would allow him to ditch the dead weight if nothing else.
"'Good to go', she says." Han said sarcastically.
"Ma'am, might I suggest you- " Threepio said before Han held a finger up, silencing him. "It can wait."
Han ran to the cockpit and began the activation sequence. The ship initially started powering down, but Han soon fixed that with a solid blow with his forearm.
"This bucket of bolts is never gonna get us past that blockade." Leia said, her, Threepio and Chewie joining Han.
"This baby's got a few surprises left in her, sweetheart." Han replied.
"Let's see about that, Solo", Anakin challenged the smuggler.
"Well, he has surprise us many times already, Anakin. So why not?", Obi-Wan said.
Outside, the Snowtroopers began setting up the laser gun turret. In response, Han flipped a switch and a hidden gun dropped down and began firing on the turret.
"Han, switch over. Let's just hope we don't have a burnout." They heard the familiar sound of the ship powering up, and Han smiled. "See?"
"Someday your gonna be wrong," Leia said, sitting behind Han, "And I just hope I'm there to see it."
"Punch it!" Han ordered. Chewie pulled the switch and the Falcon made a fast exit just as Vader entered the hangar.
The audience breathed out a sigh of relief, just before the group would be at the clutches of Vader and the Empire. "A close one, that is", Yosa mused with a chuckle.
Luke saw them leave as he made his way to the evacuation point and saw Artoo waiting for him in his X-Wing.
"Artoo! Get her ready for takeoff." Artoo beeped and whistled as Luke climbed into the cockpit. "Don't worry, Artoo. We're going. We're going." Luke pulled them into the void expecting to have to run an Imperial blockade, but found that the fleet had already left. Counting himself lucky -again- he veered off the route Artoo expected him to take, making him beep in confusion.
"Nothing's wrong, Artoo. I'm just setting a new course." He to said to Artoo, seeing the translation on screen. More beeping. "We're not gonna regroup with the others. We're going to the Dagobah system." A whistle and some bleeping. "That's alright. I'd rather keep him on manual controls for a while."
"Here we go...", Ahsoka uttered, with the audience looking forward to see what has become to the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order.