The 71st
Chapter Two
TK-117 was sitting in his quarters once again. After a hard-fought battle on Tatooine, resting and relaxation was all he needed. He lay in his simple bed, covered in only a simple white sheet, looking at a datapad. There, he was checking news straight from the Core Worlds. A notification popped up, informing him of a news update. He tapped it. The headline read Emperor Palpatine to Dissolve Imperial Senate after Long-Time Ineffectiveness. "Hm," said 117 to himself, "About time." Then, the comlink on his small desk beeped. 117 sat up, putting his datapad down. He was wearing a simple white shirt, and black pants. His short brown hair moved a little. He grabbed the comlink. "Hello?" asked 117. "Please report to the bridge immediately. Admiral Perox requests you, and the rest of your team's presence." The call was cut short then. 117 put the comlink down. He got his Scout Trooper armor and put it on, placing the helmet on his head last. He exited his quarters for the, what was it, 2nd or 3rd time? 117 couldn't remember. He strode out into the corridor.
"Admiral Perox," said General Hedan, "Shall we make the jump to lightspeed?" "I would prefer waiting until my Stormtrooper squad knows what the situation is." "Right, sir." General Hedan walked away, towards some computer console operators. The doorway to the bridge opened, about some 20 feet behind Perox. The Admiral turned around. It was TK-1225. "Reporting for duty straight away, Admiral." the trooper said as he walked towards Perox. Perox smiled thinly. "TK-1225," he said, "I wanted to congratulate you on your small-time victory against the Rebels." "Well, sir," said 1225, "I'd say it was anything but a small victory. You see, sir..." Perox stopped listening after that. He knew that 1225 would just talk about how great the Empire was or how great he was. That's what the loyal trooper was. A product of the system. That was Perox's only descriptor for him. As 1225 finished talking, the rest of the 71st Unit entered the bridge.
TK-117, and the rest of his team, stepped through the doors, to the Sentinel's bridge. He looked around. There were various 20-somethings in mundane gray uniforms operating computers, and filtering in and out of the bridge. The Scout had only ever been up here once or twice before. He started walking, going across the walkway that was situated in between two datapits. The crew paid no heed to him or the entire 71st Unit, instead just continuing to work on their computer systems. 117 stopped in front of Perox. "Reporting for duty, sir." 117 said. "As you should, TK-117," said Perox, looking at the others, "And the rest of you, come on. Step forward." The other 4 members that entered with 117 gathered around the central console at the front of the bridge. "Now," began Admiral Perox, "The Rebel ship that was leaving Tatooine was sighted heading towards the Anoat sector. More specifically, Bespin. You, and another unit, are going to be sent down to deal with them. Presumably the Rebel scum are heading to Cloud City." "Understood, Admiral." said the entire unit, except 228. Perox turned around, towards General Hedan. "Prepare all ship systems for the jump to lightspeed, General." General Hedan said, "Yes, sir." and pressed a few buttons, then pulled a lever. 117 looked out of the viewports. The stars were still, and then they weren't. Everything around the Sentinel transformed into a white and blue tube. 117 had never been in hyperspace before. He felt a little lightheaded. The Scout looked over at his teammates. 1337 was leaning on a computer console. "Ugh..." he said, "I don't feel so great..." 1337 leaned over the console. Perox looked at him. "You may return to your quarters, JC-1337." "Thank you, sir." he said. And with that, 1337 walked out. 117 looked back into the tube. Bespin couldn't possibly be worse than Tatooine. he thought.
117 stood on the bridge, along with the rest of the team. Including 1337, who had presumably returned from throwing up... 117 didn't want to think about it. He glanced over at KE-111. He was walking over to some tech sitting at a console. "Hey," 111 said, putting his blaster pistol on the desk, "Mind if I take a seat?" He pushed the man sitting at the desk. "C'mon," said 111, "I've done more work in these 2 hours than you have this whole week." The tech stood up. "That may be," he said, "But I've also done more work in a year than you have your whole life." "Alright," exclaimed 111, "That's it!" He raised a fist at the tech, but 117 interrupted. "Hey!" he yelled, "Take your blaster back, 111. That is no way to talk to a bridge officer." 111 grabbed his blaster and walked off. 117 walked back towards the main viewport. Perox turned around from conversing with General Hedan. "TK-117," said Perox, "Impressive commanding." 117 looked at Perox. He'd never been complimented by the man before. "Uh, thanks." said 117 awkwardly. As he said it, the Sentinel jolted. The blue tunnel they were in merely stopped existing and turned back into the stationary stars he knew. But there weren't just stars. Out in the distance was a planet. Bespin.
117 looked out into space. There was Bespin. It was a red-orange color. "Hm," said the Scout, "So where's this 'Cloud City'?" Perox spoke to him again, though not making eye contact, just looking at Bespin all the same. "It shouldn't be too difficult to find. It's the only piece of solid land on the entire planet." As the Sentinel drifted closer and closer to Bespin, 117 said, "Wow."
The Sentinel hovered in the atmosphere of Cloud City. Below, in the sprawling metropolis, citizens looked up to the sky, wondering what the Imperial presence was for. Then, the inhabitants of the city could see something emerge from the Destroyer. A shuttle. It flew in between, then behind various buildings. It landed far back, on a large landing platform. The wings folded up, and the walkway of the shuttle opened up.
Stryker Perox exited the shuttle that he had arrived on. He looked around him as he stepped out onto the smooth surface of the landing platform. There were skyscrapers surrounding him. It wasn't nearly as elegant as Coruscant, Stryker's homeworld. Behind him, the 71st Unit stepped out, as well as the 29th Battle Legion. Their cooperation during Tatooine had made them paired up now. Perox walked forward. The door in front of him opened. 8 men in blue and gold uniforms walked out, as well as a man in a lighter blue uniform. The men in the darker uniforms stopped. The man in the lighter blue stepped forward, towards Perox. "Imperials," he said to Perox, "I'm Baron Administrator Dominic Raynor. I welcome you to my city." Raynor attempted to shake Perox's hand, but the Admiral declined, saying, "I'm not here for pleasantries, Administrator Raynor. We must speak as soon as possible." Raynor smiled nervously. "And, um," he said, "Why would that be, Admiral?" "Matters of rebellion." said Perox.
117 and 1337 were commissioned for guard duty outside of the Administrator's office. Okay, well, not really his true office. His true one was considered a palace by the citizens of Bespin. 117 stood outside of the door, next to 1337. It was about early evening on Bespin. "Boring!" said 1337, "Right?" 117 looked over. "Um," he said, "Yeah. Sure." He looked back ahead of him. The rest of the Stormtrooper units were directed to stay in the shuttle while Perox spoke to the Baron Administrator. Then, the door opened. Perox stepped out. Raynor did not. He presumably remained in his office. Perox turned towards the two troopers, speaking specifically to 117. "The Baron Administrator and I came to an agreement," he said, "He states that the only reason we got into the planet was because they lowered the shields powered by Tibanna gas. During this meeting, I was notified that the Rebel starship we were chasing earlier got in at just the right moment. It appears to be heading to this portion of the city." Perox pulled out a datapad, showing 117 the display. There was an image of the city. "Evacuations are to begin at once." said Perox. "Yes, sir." the two troopers said. They moved towards the shuttle.
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And that was it. An entire chunk of a city had been evacuated, and was taken to Imperial shelters. Since then, the Stormtroopers had figured out why the Rebels were here in the first place. There was a Rebel ship trapped here, and the other ship had come to send reinforcements, and get both ships out at the same time. Everything seemed to rely on chance. And so far, the Rebels were lucky sons of-
117 stood in a plain building. The inside was white, shiny, and elegant. Their mission was to guard the Tibanna gas generators, which generated the shield around the planet. He was standing there with 497. The Shock Trooper sighed. "They'll never make it this time," he said, "They got lucky once, and they used up all of their chances." 117 looked at him, then looked back at a doorway. Still closed. It seemed almost as if the Rebels weren't here. But then, they were.
The door opened. 117 raised his A280c blaster rifle. And he was right in doing it. A human Rebel with gray hair ran into the room, pistol raised. "Watch out!" 117 yelled. 497 turned around, EE-3 raised. However, 117 shot the Rebel down before any harm was done. The man's body was smoking. 117 pulled out his comlink. "We've got hostiles in Sector 1, I repeat, hostiles in-" suddenly, his speech was cut off, when the door on 497's end opened, revealing not a person, but a thermal detonator thrown in. 497 ran away from it. "Ah!" he yelled, tackling 117 while he was at it. The detonator exploded. The two troopers were now clumsily leaning against a wall. "This place is a deathtrap!" yelled 497. Suddenly, the doors on both ends opened. Easily about 5 or 6 Rebels poured in. 117 ran, towards another door that led outside, but 497 raised his rifle. He got off a few shots before being noticed and shot back at. The two troopers ran outside, taking cover at a wall on the outside of the building. 117 got another call on his comlink. He answered it. "Hello?" he asked. "We're sending reinforcements to Sector 1, over." 117 put the comm away. He could hear more Rebels arriving at the building.
12 Rebel soldiers were now in the building were the gas generator was located. They stood around. One of them, a human male, stood up and said, "We need those detonators! Where's Demas?"
Demas and Lansor continued to sit in their cell. They had become good friends over the time that they knew each other. They still couldn't figure a way out of this hellhole. Demas sat, forlorn. Surely the Empire wouldn't just keep him here forever, right? But, maybe they were cruel enough to do so. Then, the convenience happened. As they were sitting, Demas felt more... powerful. He couldn't describe the feeling. He wasn't Force-sensitive, or else he'd have been long gone, murdered with the thousands of other Jedi nineteen years ago. Demas clenched his fists, then opened them, then back again. Lansor looked at him. "What are you doing?" he asked. All of a sudden, the door to their cell opened. It was a man in a black uniform with a bucket-like helmet. A Navy Trooper. "Agent Vancer wants both of you to report to the-" the man couldn't finish his sentence before Demas struck him, landing a clean blow to his face. The Navy Trooper fell out of the cell, and into the hallway. Demas bent down, getting the blaster from the man's holster. It was a DH-17. They were going to escape.
111 and 228 were in a very elegantly designed building. It was a caramel-brown color on the inside, with glass fixtures near the roof. The two were guarding a generator, much like other troopers in the area. There were also two troops from the 29th Legion, but they were on the other side of the building, about 20 feet away. 111 looked at MC-228. The guy never spoke. 111, or anybody for that matter, never knew why. Maybe he was just a mute. He didn't know. However, he didn't have much time to think about that when he heard blaster fire behind him. Only one of the troopers from the 29th came back to 111 and 228, his armor slightly scorched. "Rebels!" the trooper yelled. The three were behind the cover of a glass pillar in the center of the building. Blaster fire from about 10 different rifles ravaged the insides of the structure. "Ahhh!" yelled 111 in a long-winded fashion. The 29th trooper peeked his head around the corner, immediately getting blasted in the forehead. He fell backward, leaving only 111 and 228. 111 turned to 228. "We've got to do something!" he yelled. 228 nodded, pulling something out. A detonator. He threw it. The explosion happened. But, blaster fire kept raging afterwards. They were trapped.
Lansor and Demas climbed into the cockpit of the shuttle. It was a typical white, gleaming one. Demas sat in the passenger's seat. They had actually made their way to the Sentinel's hangar successfully. Lansor turned on some switches, lighting the control console up. "Well," said Demas, "You sure know how these operate." Lansor turned to him. "Yeah, I've commandeered one of these before. Long story." As he said this, the shuttle lifted off slowly. A voice came over the ship's comm. "Imperial shuttle Valkyrie, you are not authorized for takeoff. Please place the ship back on the hangar floor. I repeat-" Lansor shut the comm off. Suddenly, as Demas looked around, he could see Stormtroopers raising their blasters at the shuttle. "Go, go, go!" Demas yelled. The ship jolted forward, and out of the hangar. Blaster fire surrounded them for a second, before they headed into Cloud City.
117 and 497 sneaked around the building's rounded walls. There was no way that they could take the Rebels in there alone. They had their blasters at hand. 117 made another comlink call. "Hostiles in Sector 1, please send more troops down." As he said this, he looked up into the sky. There was a shuttle heading down. "There's no way they got ready that quick." said 497. "I know." 117 said quietly. The shuttle landed. It was a fair distance away, on a landing platform. 117 took his Pulse Cannon out, to see who exited the shuttle. He zoomed in the scope. Up close, he could see the walkway opening. Smoke plumes surrounded it. Then, two individuals stepped out. A Rodian and an Ishi Tib. The Rodian looked around anxiously. 117 recognized it. It was wearing the same uniform as on Tatooine. "No..." the Scout said. "What is it?" asked 497. "It's the Rodian," said 117, "He stole one of our shuttles, and now he's here."
"What?!" 497 whisper-yelled, "How could some Rodian steal one of our shuttles?" "I don't know," 117 said, still looking through the sniper rifle's scope, "But it's not just him. He's got a friend. Ishi Tib." "Great." 497 said. 117 put his Pulse Cannon away. "Okay," he said, looking back towards 497, "On the bright side, the Sentinel received the call, so we should be getting more soldiers soon." "Well, I guess that's better." As 497 said this, he looked up, seeing another shuttle. "Speak of a Devaronian, and he shall appear."
111 and 228 were still being pinned down by blaster fire when 12 Stormtroopers rushed into the building, blasters firing. One or two went down, but they were acceptable losses. 111 and 228 got up. They had been rescued.
117 and 497 were now at the other side of the building. It had been five minutes since the Rodian and his friend had landed. The two Imperials could hear the Rebels moving towards the building. The enemy soldiers walked in. 117 and 497 were still outside, when the shuttle they had spotted landed about 200 feet from them. They finally had reinforcements.
Demas entered the building, along with Lansor. There were about 12 fellow Rebel soldiers here with them, so it was safe. "Wow, Demas," one human said, "You escaped their Star Destroyer. Where's Hekter? He should have the detonators with him." Demas frowned, his eyes looking down. "Hekter was killed on Tatooine," he said solemnly, "But, I have a new friend. Name's Lansor Onn. He fought at Scarif." Some more Rebels came over. "Wow," one said, "I heard the planet got destroyed!" More then started to speak. ...Captain Andor and his droid... ...heard that Jyn Erso is dead... Demas listened on. The Rebel Alliance had won their first victory just that one day ago, striking from a hidden base. Demas suddenly tuned back in. He grabbed the knapsack off of his back, taking out 6 bombs. He pressed buttons on all of them, sticking them to the gas generators. "Well," the Rodian said, standing up after crouching to put the bombs on, "Now we wait."
"I heard the Rebel soldiers talking about some battle in there. They seem distracted." said 497. "Hm," said 117, looking towards the ground, thinking, "Have you got any grenades left?" "No." As 497 said this, a team of 6 Imperial Stormtroopers came walking up to them, all holding E-11s. "Commander TK-117," the one in the front said, "We're here for reinforcements." "Uh, yeah," said 117, "There are about 12 Rebels in there. We're gonna have to storm the building."
117 and 497, along with the many other Stormtroopers, shot the door down, rushing in, blasters firing. Several Rebels attempted to fire, but most just ran to the building's exit. After all Rebels were gone, and some were dead, 117 checked the generator. "Well," he said, kneeling down to look at it, "I think I can fix th-" He was interrupted when the generator started beeping. It got faster. 117 turned around. "It's gonna blow!" he yelled.
117, 497, and three other troopers dived out of the door. The others weren't so quick to make it, however. The explosion killed the remaining three. 497 looked around, his armor partially scorched. "They're setting charges!" he said. 117 looked at him. "What do you mean?" he asked. "They're trying to get their starships off of the planet!" 117 sighed. "So, great. Two battles in one day. Just what I needed." "Look," said 497, "This is serious. If the Empire loses another battle, do you know what that'd do to our reputation?" "Alright, fine." said 117.
Admiral Perox stood on the bridge of the Sentinel, staring out of the viewports that were overlooking Bespin's cloudy orange atmosphere. "Admiral!" yelled a voice from behind him. Perox turned around. It was Captain Skallon. On the surface, the commander of the Sentinel treated Skallon every bit his equal, but deep down, he knew that the Captain had only obtained his rank because of monetary influence, and not commanding skill. What a pretentious little... Perox was not able to finish his thought before Skallon continued speaking. "Our troops that were deployed to Bespin have detected several Rebel soldiers. There may yet be many more. Of course, we already have word of two transports, so if assumptions are to be made..." Perox blocked Skallon out of his mind. The bloated gas-bag just loved hearing the sound of his own voice. "Fine." said Perox, with what may have been too much assertion, "I want you to call in another Star Destroyer. Whichever one is closest to us." Skallon looked up at Perox. "Yes, sir." he said, walking away.
1337 and 1225 were stationed at a... well, station. It looked to be a small spaceport, condensed into one room. Signs hung above a reception area. 1337 read the list of planets-to-depart-to off.
Coruscant... Landing Pad 1138
Sterdic IV... Landing Pad 2577
Naboo... Landing Pad-
"Hey!" yelled TK-1225, "Hey, JC-1337, focus on the task!" 1337 turned around. 1225 simply stood, blaster in hand. "Uh, yeah." said 1337. As second lieutenant of the 71st Unit, he was third-in-command. Therefore, he thought, I don't have to listen to Mr. I Suck Up To Palpatine over here. 1337 turned his gaze to 1225. "Hey, 1225," he said, "I have a good idea." "What is it?" "You stand guard over there." As he said this, he pointed to the other side of the room. "Oh," said 1225, "That seems like it'll make a great tactical vantage point!" 1225 started to walk over to the other side. Everything was better without him monitoring your every move.
117 and 497 were scouting the rest of the closed-off area of Cloud City. That's when they heard the warped, deep sound of a ship leaving hyperspace. 117 looked to the sky. An Imperial Star Destroyer had just arrived, right next to the Sentinel. A comm call came over 117's helmet system. Static for a moment, then: "Cutting into the feed... This is the ISD Vengeance, under the command of Captain Theon Vranett. We were called in as backup. Stand by for reinforcements." 117 tapped his helmet comm to speak. "Yes, sir."
Demas and around 5 other troopers, including Lansor, were now trudging through the evacuated city. They had tried to make communications with their escape transport, but to no avail. Demas and the others were walking when they came across a small building. Demas walked in first, and that's when he noticed two Imperial troopers. The Rodian raised his blaster, firing at one.
Blaster fire almost hit JC-1337, but the alien missed his shot. The trooper dived out of the way, behind some cover. "Come on! Let's arm that generator!" yelled one Rebel. Where was 1225. "Die!" yelled a muffled voice. Well, that answered that question.
1225 had yelled for the death of several Rebels before retreating out of a door. He jumped off of a balcony, hitting the ground about 10 feet below. That JC-1337 was surely dead by now. Maybe not.
1337 was still behind his cover. The Rebels were oblivious to him. At least for now. He could hear several detonators being armed on the shield generator. "Now," he could overhear another Rebel say, "Half of you split up, and we'll get to the next generator." "Right." another said, and he could hear a few people leaving the building. "Oh," and the same one said, "Our sources report two Star Destroyers in the area. Get them to send out the X-Wings." What?! thought 1337.
117 and 497 had their blasters raised, with each of them facing the opposite direction of each other. "I heard something," said 117, "A ship, maybe." Then, the two heard a sound. It was the same sound that 117 heard earlier. It was a light whooshing sound. The two soldiers looked up. X-Wings. "We have uh, Rebellion ships in the area..." said 117. Then, 117 looked to his right. It was a Rebel transport. A GR-75. 117 looked closer. It sat on a platform in a small spaceport at the edge of the city. Suddenly, 117 could see Rebel troopers exiting the ship, blasters raised. The two also heard another sound. They looked up. Four Imperial shuttles were sent down from the Vengeance. They were a close-enough range to Cloud City, when one of the ships was fired upon by an X-Wing that came up behind it. The Rebel ship fired a missile, and a volley of lasers. The shuttle exploded. The right wing of the ship flew into the air, and toward the Imperial duo on the ground. "Look out!" yelled 117. The two dove out of the way. The wing made a loud clang as it hit the ground. The wing was on fire and was charred. 117 looked up. The other three shuttles had made it, thankfully. The Scout didn't know where the rest of the shuttle went. Then, he looked behind him, getting up. The door to the building behind him opened up. 14 Stormtroopers walked out.
117 looked in the crowd. 12 of the troopers were regulars, but the other two, 117 and 497 knew. 497 got up. "111!" yelled 117. "Huh?" 111 said, looking away from the sky, and looking at 117, "Oh, hi, commander. Thanks for assisting us." "Um..." said 117, when 497 patted him on the shoulder. "He's... special." said 497. "Mmh." said 117. He could also see another trooper walk out. It was 228. 228 walked past 111, 117, and 497, and sat down on the staircase in front of the building.
Admiral Perox had returned to his office for the time being. He sat at his desk, looking at a datapad that he held in his hand. He had received a transmission from another officer, far off in another part of the galaxy. It was a holovid, with the message, This and several other packets of vid data were sent out from Coruscant for review and recovery. Please view this holovid as soon as is humanly possible, and thank you for your service to the Galactic Empire. Perox tapped on the holovid. It was from the interior of some Imperial-built environment. Perox looked closer. There was a giant black screen with a blue sphere. A large number of officers were gathered around a man in white. Wait. "Krennic?" asked Perox to himself out loud. He continued to view the vid. Another familiar figure was present as well: Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin. Perox silently continued to watch. Tarkin turned around. Your work exceeds all expectations. Tarkin said. Krennic looked at Tarkin. And you'll tell the Emperor that? And that that was only an inkling of its destructive potential? As Krennic said this, he made a gesture with his hands. Tarkin began again. I will tell him that I will be taking control over the weapon I first spoke of years ago, effective immediately. Perox leaned in closer, focusing on the vid. The Admiral could make out a smirk on Krennic's face. After all, the holocams weren't that close. Then, Perox flinched. We stand here amidst my achievement, not yours! yelled Krennic, walking to Tarkin. Krennic continued. The breaches have been filled; Jedha has been silenced. Perox stopped the vid there. He put the datapad down, heading out of his office, and towards the bridge.
The Rebels were out of their hiding spots now. 117 and the others could see that. The Scout dove behind a pillar, taking cover from blaster fire. He peeked around the corner, firing his A280c. He could hear the sound of a Rebel dying, then hitting the ground. The evening sunlight of Bespin was shining upon him now. 117 looked up. An X-Wing was being pursued by a TIE Fighter high in the sky. 117 opened his comm. "497, where are you? We've been separated." He got a reply. "117, this is 497. I'm in a clear zone. No enemies." 117 looked around him. "Same here. Over." "I have an idea," 497 replied, "Let's rendezvous at the central building. So far as I can tell, Rebel scum have no business there." "Right." said 117, heading to said location.
"Captain Skallon, General Hedan!" yelled Admiral Perox as he entered the bridge. The two officers turned around. Perox, partially looking out of the bridge viewport, saw an aerial battle raging not-too-far from the Sentinel and the Vengeance. "What is it?" asked Skallon in his thick Coruscant accent, even more evident than Perox. "Were either of you sent data transmissions relating to Director- erm, former Director Orson Krennic?" asked the Admiral. Perox still couldn't shake it. The Battle of Scarif was still fresh in his mind. How could a team of Rebels infiltrate the data vault, and steal the plans to the weapon? Perox had tried to mentally think of every way it could've been done, but nothing added up. And besides, it's not like there were many survivors to ask questions to. Perox could attempt to speak with Lord Vader, but that would take much more work than he admittedly wanted right now. "Yes, sir." replied General Hedan, stepping forward slightly, "I believe that transmissions of Krennic were sent out for review and placement into Imperial archives." "Hm," said Perox, "What of the battle status?" "Not looking good, sir." said Skallon, "We have two of the three generators gone. And one is close to detonation." Perox grunted. "Move all troops to that generator. Now." Skallon turned back to his computer console, pressing a few buttons.
117 shot one more Rebel soldier before getting a comm message. "This is Captain Skallon. All troopers, rendezvous at the final generator. Now!" 117 sighed. Time for a new location. That's when 497 entered the came up behind 117. "Hey!" he said. 117 turned around. "What?" "Time to move to the final generator." "Oh, uh, yeah." The two troopers moved out.
1337 still sat behind the piece of wall that was still there. His blaster was on the floor. He could hear more Rebels talking about something, probably just making conversation. "C'mon, guys, please get here." said 1337. Right as he said this, the door in front of him open. 1337 flinched, but in came a swarm of Stormtroopers running in, blasters firing. Some were immediately blown away, but others lived and continued to fight. Some more got behind cover, and one of those was a Scout Trooper. "117!" 1337 yelled over the blaster fire. 117 looked over, stopping his blaster fire for just a second. When the Scout realized that 1337 was just confirming his still being alive, 117 continued firing his blaster.
Demas and Lansor were hidden behind the same small half-wall of cover. Lansor had since taken a blaster rifle from one of their fallen squadmates. Demas, on the other hand, was still wielding the Navy Trooper's DH-17. It was terrible for long-range. A human male Rebel ran between his own cover, and towards Demas and Lansor's. "Scanners are showing the generator is almost detonated," he yelled, "The Imperials have no chance! Let's get out of here!" Demas, Lansor, and the human all got up. The human was last in line. As Demas and Lansor ran out, they could hear an "Agh!" as the human man was shot to death. Lansor turned around, his eyes widening. Demas grabbed his arm. "C'mon, he's gone! We gotta go!" The two continued towards the two GR-75s at the spaceport.
A few more stragglers remained in the building trying oh-so-desperately to protect the generator. 117 shot down another one, a Sullustan. There 4 more Rebel soldiers left. Every trooper in the room fired at them. 2 left, and the other 2 remained, though. Two targets. Easy enough. Every trooper collectively shot at them. And then they were dead. "Okay," said 1337, standing up in the now-silent room, "Let's disarm that gener-" The trooper was cut off by the explosion. It lit up the entire room, knocking 1337 to the ground. Some other troopers flinched, including 117. 117 looked towards the other troopers to his left. "Okay, men," he said, "We've gotta get to those Rebel transports. We can't lose another battle. Go!" All troopers took off, and exited the building.
Perox continued to stand on the bridge. All signs pointed to the battle being over soon. Perox looked to his right, out of one of the viewports, expecting to see the Vengeance, standing mighty and proud. But, what he saw was horrifying. The Destroyer was being attacked and bombarded Rebel fighters. The bridge's shield generators were being destroyed completely, and the body of the ship was up in flames. Perox's eyes widened. Suddenly, a comm signal came over to the Sentinel. "Help... going down...." It was the voice of Captain Vranett. Perox pressed a button on the control panel, replying, "Captain Vranett, this is Admiral Perox of the Sentinel. Get to an escape pod, and board my Destroyer. There is a-" Vranett interrupted him. "No. No chance of..." he was cut off by static, then spoke again. "I'm on the bridge and there's a fire, along with coolant leaks in the-" Then, the signal was cut entirely. Perox found out why after a second. He looked out of the viewport, walking towards the rightmost one. The Vengeance's belly area had exploded, and was on fire. Flames engulfed the sides of the ship, emanating from the belly. And the bridge. It had exploded as well. Perox looked around him. Technicians officers, pit crew, and even Skallon and Hedan were visibly shocked. "Sir!" yelled a pit crewman. Perox turned around, looking at him. "What is it?" "Comscan is detecting that Alliance ships are beginning to move on our position. What do we do, sir?" Perox sighed. "Evacuate all Imperials from Cloud City." "Yes, sir."
117 and the rest of the 71st Unit, along with some others, rushed towards the GR-75s. Everyone knew that the Vengeance was going down, and everyone also knew that there was no recovering it. 1337 did the math. He'd said that the ship would continue to plummet into Bespin, until it eventually reached the core, where it would be completely vaporized. That was odd, 117 thought. Not the Vengeance getting vaporized in the core of Bespin, no. That was normal. What he found odd was that 1337 actually said something... serious for once. And it was a smart statement, too. Maybe 1337's a secret genius. thought 117 as he and the others ran toward the Rebel transports. 117 laughed in his head. Maybe being cooped up in a Star Destroyer for so long was finally getting to him.
The group of Stormtroopers rushed towards the transports. Some Rebels were still boarding the ships, including a Rodian and an Ishi Tib. 117 set his sights on them, raising his A280c, and firing. He hit the side of the GR-75 that they walked into, though not hitting either Rebel soldier.
Demas and Lansor climbed into the same GR-75. There were a few more soldiers that entered before the cargo door shut. Demas could hear blaster fire impacting the ship. The lights inside the cargo bay suddenly flickered on. "Captain, launch!" yelled Demas. And so, he did. The transport lifted into the air, and so did the other one. "We did it!" yelled Demas. The two ships continued off, in the direction of the Star Destroyer.
"Admiral, scanners are detecting two Rebellion GR-75s moving close." said a pit crewman on the Sentinel. Perox turned around. Before he could say anything, the crewman said, "Wait. One is moving away. We still have one more closing in fast." Perox stepped close, he silhouette overlooking the pits. "Pull it in." He walked away, yelling again, "Pull it in! Full power to the tractor beams!" "Right away, sir." the crewman said as he pressed a few buttons, and pulled a small lever.
117 looked into the sky. The damned Rebels had escaped again. He saw the Sentinel, and one of the GR-75s. It was being pulled into the tractor beams. It seemed that the other one had escaped, but at least they had one.
Demas walked into the cockpit of the GR-75. "Are we safe, Captain?" he asked. The pilot turned around, distraught. "Yes, but we've lost all communications with our counterpart ship. It looks like they've been captured." Demas sighed. "At least we made it out. In fact," he said, turning around fast, then back again, "You should probably set jump coordinates for the base." "Ah," said the Captain, "Yes. We should make the jump soon." With that, Demas left, going back to the cargo area.
----- ----- -----
117 and the rest of the troops stepped out of the shuttle. The Scout, as soon as his boots hit the shiny metal floor of the hangar, could see Perox, with General Hedan standing alongside him, walking towards the unit. 117 stopped, along with the rest of the soldiers behind him. The Scout Trooper braced for another scolding. Maybe he'll be nice enough to throw me out of the ship this time. thought 117. But, to his surprise, Perox simply stood, and put his hand out. "You've all done fine work today," he said, "We captured a Rebel ship, and with it, dozens of living Rebellion resources." 117 shook Perox's hand, looking behind him, into the back of the hangar. The GR-75 was there. It wasn't a smooth landing. The thing was lopsided. "You all have downtime, best spent on the shooting range, in my opinion." Perox walked away, and so did Hedan, but not before saying, "Good work, soldiers."
117 was now back in his quarters, safe and sound once again. He was laying in his bed, and picked up the datapad from his desk. He opened it, and saw that he received a new HoloNet News notification. It read Jedha City Destroyed in Horrific Mining Accident; Kills thousands. "Wow," said 117, "Hopefully the Empire could get some people off of there before that happened." He put the datapad back down, getting up, with his armor still on, and walked into the corridor.
KE-111 still had his X-8 Nightsniper on him in the shooting range. He took Perox's recommendation to heart, and well, he was having nothing less then a good time. He shot at the holographic soldiers, until they all ran out, and the simulation had ended. 111 turned around, hearing clapping behind him. It was TB-497, sitting on a metal bench. "You're okay," he said, "But I could probably beat you." 111 scoffed. What a fool, to think that he could beat the best of the best: A Shadow Trooper. It was just like the Academy. Every superior officer there doubted him: Reffer, Tentol, Caddus. They all hated him. But he outwitted them. Joke's on all of those guys, wherever they were at this point. 111 dropped his blaster on the ground, leaving the room, abandoning 497.
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Demas entered the cockpit of the GR-75 once again. They had entered hyperspace a bit ago, and had been in that state for a few minutes. The pilot turned around. "Ah, you're just in time, Demas." "For what?" The Captain wheeled back around in the direction of the viewport. "Just in time to see the show." With that, the man pressed a few buttons on the control panel, and suddenly, hyperspace was reverted to realspace. But there wasn't just blackness. There was a planet. Scratch that, two. Demas took a couple of steps forward, looking at the smaller green planet alongside the large red gas giant next to it. "Well, here we are," said the pilot, "Yavin IV, home base of the Rebel Alliance." Demas' eyes widened. "We- We're here. We made it to Yavin."
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Perox was standing aboard the bridge of the Sentinel once more. The ship was in hyperspace, and they were heading to a classified location, to drop off the GR-75 transport for closer inspection and interrogation of Rebel forces aboard. No wonder. Perox, and surely anyone with an iota of brainpower, would know that Yularen's men could far outshine a Star Destroyer's mandatory on-site ISB officer. As Perox thought this, Hedan came up to him. "Sir, reverting to realspace now." "Good." Hedan pressed button on the frontmost computer console, and the Sentinel was now back in realspace. Perox looked out. A giant sphere. Wait, no. A station. A battle station.
Perox had heard of the Death Star before, but he hadn't expected it to be this large. Perox was nearly short of breath. "Something wrong, Admiral?" asked Hedan. "I- I'm fine." replied Perox as he stumbled through a sentence, and as the Sentinel drifted closer to the Death Star.
----- End of Chapter Two -----
----- Chapter Three -----