Episode 0

Surviving the Crucible

 

 

 

        The distant sounds of AT-AT fire could be heard over the horizon, accompanied by the screams of dying Rebels strugglnig to flee their wrath. For 3 years, the Empire had been entertaining these Rebels and their delusions of restoring the Republic of old in this silly Galactic Civil War, but it has gone on for long enough. For every victory the Empire had obtained, the Rebels claimed 3. It was becoming an embarrisment. So when news that the Main Rebel Base had been found on the remote ice world of Hoth, the Empire came down like a hammer on a anvil. Those who didn't die in the innitial assault were captured or executed. 

        Fortune was smiling on Spirit Company today. Outpost Gamma had yet to be hit, but they knew they were coming; they could see the AT-AT and AT-ST sillouttes encrouching on them. The Transports contianing most of the major personel were away, but the one Spirit was to take was destroyed by Tie Bombers while it was being fueled, leaving the company to take refuge in nearby ice caves as they trie to formulate a plan on how to get out of here alive... if they even can.

        "This is not good..." A male Ovissian named Greil said as he looked through a pair of binocs towards the approching Empire force. "I estimate we have 20 minutes before they get here." He lowered the binocs and went back down to the rest of his squad. There were originally 150 people in this troupe. Now there's only a staunch 33; most were caught in the fireball when their transport blew. 

        "And once again, you're a beacon of positivity." A female Pantoran named Luth joked. The ribbons and medals on her coat signaled that she was the one in charge of this unit. 

        "i wasn't trying to be."

        "Can we just focus on getting out of here alive, please?" A human female named Tilith demanded. Her right arm was replaced by a robotic replica. 

        "Again, i'm open for ideas!" Luth retorted rudely. "Last i checked, the only ships left are Snowspeeders, so unless someone wants to pull a kamikaze, we're trapped between death or surrender."

        "Enough!" A female albino Shistavanen named Ikle shouted, having had enough of their constant bickering. Her clothing suggested she was once an Imperial, as most Shistavanen's are, but were now emblazoned with the Rebel colors and insignia. "If you're willing to listen, i have an idea."

        The three looked at each other; they didn't have much of an idea to work off of, so they should listen to her. She only has been in their company for a few months, so trust towards a former Imperial, especially during a siege, is a little hard to come by. "Go ahead." Luth said, having no other ideas.

        "Thank you. Now, those are AT-AT's they brought down here, right?" She climbed up the path Greil came down, taking the binoc's from his hands as she did. "Meaning they had to use a transport to do it. For a large scale operation such as this, they aren't going to use Gosanti's; that would be too risky; they needed something with firepower to defend itself should the need arise."

        "So you're suggesting we steal one of these transports." Tilith figured out.

        "Yes, exactly. If we can find the landing zone, we can swipe a ship, fly back here and get everyone out. The question now is... where is the site?"

        "And how do you suggest we get there?" Greil asked. 

        "Like Luth said, we have Snowspeeders."

        "Only three, though."

        "It's going to have to do." Luth said. "We don't have much of a choice. Our options went up in smoke when those bombers took out our transport." Greil wasn't too sure about all this. "We'll be dead either way, so we should at least try this plan of hers." She looked up to the humanoid wolf, who had pulled out a holographic display. "What are you doing?"

        "Checking if my Imperial Codes still worked, and they do. I have a topographical display of the battlefront." She came back down and placed her communicator on the floor. With a tap, it expanded so that everyone could see it. "Here's Echo Base." A large area of the local map lit up in red. "Here is where we are." A section a few kilometers away from the battlefield lit up in green. "And here..." A huge area to the north of them let up blue. "...is the landing zone..."

        "Alright..." A voice from the distance said. A male Trandoshan, covered in so much winter gear he could pass for a Wampa, tossed away a smoke and got up off a weapons crate. He was decked out in combat gear. "So who's going transport hunting?" Grom asked as he shouldered a heavy blaster.

 

        Moments later, the trademark whine of the Snowspeeders engines filled the skies as the trio of ships sped alone the horizon. They kept low to the ground to avoid being caught on Imperial sensors. Ikle, her eyes glued to the holographic display, rode on the side of the lead speeder as her claws kept her from flying off. Her team, comprising of Grom and two other soldiers- a weequay and a twi'lek, both male- rode in the harpoon gunner seats. 

        As they rounded a large hill, Ikle gestured to the pilot of her speeder to land near the northern base. He nodded and motioned the speeder to do just that. The other two followed right behind.

        Hovering off the base, Ikle leaped off the speeder as the hatches opened to let the team out. "We'll have to hoof it from here." She said. "Any closer and they'll see the speeders, then they'll know something's up." The pilots of the speeders nodded. Their passengers closed the hatches for them and jumped off. Seconds later, they sped back to join the rest of their comrades. At the very least, they'll be able to slow the Walkers down to buy time.

        The team nodded to each other before running as fast as their legs could carry them. The packed snow made movement difficult, but not for Ikle; she was light on her feet. She reached the top of the crest minutes before the others did. That gave her time to scout. She brought up the binocs and looked through them towards the substantially sized landing zone.

        As the rest of the team joined her, they gulped. "Are those..." The weequay trooper started to ask.

        "Star Galleons?" Ikle finished for him. "Yep. Imperial models, too, so they're packing firepower."

        "Have you served on one?" Grom asked as he walked up beside her.
        
        "No i have not. I never actually saw one in person until now." She lowered the binocs and handed them to him. "At least there's no shortage to choose from." She said as he looked through them.

        "Why not just take a shuttle?" The twi'lek asked.

        "I don't see any." Grom replied. "If they're there, they must be hidden behind one of the Galleons. Besides, we're pressed for time, and the closest ship we can get to is a Galleon."

        "Lucky for us then that they're all almost unguarded." Ikle said. "Save for a small guard force, seems everyone joined in on the siege." She pulled out her E-11 Blaster and looked to the others. "Let's get going." They nodded. With a step, they slid down the hill. Ikle stayed on her feet while the others stayed on their backs.

        Reaching the bottom, the four ran as fast as their legs could muster; thank you, repulser lifts for flattening the powder. As they ran, Ikle attached a cylinder to the end of her blaster, something one of the troopers found puzzling. "What are you doing?'

        "Something that was in prototype when i left." She fired a test shot in front of them to prove it. The laser was translucent and the gun made no noise. "A silencer. Perfect for assassination's." They all looked at her suspiciously. "Blame Inferno Squad- they wanted these for the Scipio mission." 

        Reaching the lowered ramp of the Star Galleon, the four huddled at the bottom of it, hiding behind the metal to avoid any detection. "I can see why this is a AT-AT transport." The Twi'lek commented as he peaked in. "The inside is huge.... but there's still a AT-AT in there. And i couple of AT-PT's, if i'm seeing things correctly."

        "If they're not in battle, they must be having issues." Ikle said. "Bad motors in the legs, maybe."

        "You said you never saw one before now." Grom pointed out. "So how in the world are we going to steal this?"

        "Simple. We storm the bridge, take the controls, and lock every imp behind a blast shield until we figure out what to do with them... and if i were a betting woman, i'd say the bridge is in the nose."

        "And how do you propose we do that?" The weequay asked. 

        "How, indeed." She walked out from behind the ramp and looked to Grom. "Cry havoc and let loose the lizards of war."

        Grom then smiled a evilly wicked smile. He's been waiting to let loose; his blood was growing cold thanks to this damnable planet. Now... now he has a chance to let loose and warm back up. He snickered evilly as he rubbed his hands together. "Hehehehe... my favorite words." He sneered as he approached the ramp.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSqLVZRlvrU   Chaos Drifters (Instrumental) - No Guns Life soundtrack

 

        Climbing up it, he was a little disappointed that it's just a small skeleton crew in the hanger... but given the siege, it was to be expected. "Excuse me!" He called out, getting the attention of every imperial in the hanger. "Can someone tell me the way to Kashyyyk? I got sidetracked on my way to score some pelts." The troopers and hanger personnel all readied their weapons, pointing them directly towards him. He snickered as he cracked his neck and flexed his shoulders. "Ah, i love my job."

        With a good shot from a crouched Ikle on the ramp, she blasted the door controls on the other side, closing that door to prevent any reinforcements from coming in. The imps were surprised, wondering how that happened... and were soon going to wish they were outside. Grom took off his many coats and let them fall, revealing a ripped and scared up body underneath. He pulled out a pair of serrated Vibroblades and took up a stance. "Now who wants some quality time with daddy...?" He snarled sinisterly.

        The troopers opened fire, but Grom spent years training to be a hunter; there was no way they were going to hit. And with his reflexes, any shots that would've hit were swiftly deflected. He closed in on them with blinding speed. He threw one of his blades, stabbing one of them in the head while going to another, slicing across his gut.

        With one swift motion, he spun around, pulled the sword out of the troopers head and sliced another with it. He heard the cocking of a shotgun behind him and jumped up, avoiding the blast. He landed on the shotgunners shoulders and stabbed down through his body. He jumped off and swung, crashing that body into someone else.

        At the top of the ramp, the two troopers watched on in shock and horror. Ikle, not so much; she's seen Trandoshans fight before. This is actually tame compared to hunters like Bossk. "... that man scares me." The weequay gulped.

        "Then be glad he's on our side." Ikle said as she and them ran into the ship proper.

        Leaping up, Grom flipped one of the blades around and spun like a propeller, slicing someone down the middle. He flipped around, winked at one of the troopers, then came at his head with a open mouth.

 

        The interior of the ship was just like every other Imperial vessel: cold, sterile, and lifeless. It made navigating a new ship difficult for the three of them, but Ikle's senses kept them on the right track. It wasn't long until alarms started blaring, all thanks to Grom in the hanger. She could smell the blood this deep in. 

        Hearing footsteps approaching from around the next corner, Ikle ducked behind a support strut, hoping they wouldn't see them. Please let the helmets live up to their infamy and have lousy vision. 

        She didn't have to worry as the troopers ran down the other hallway on the opposite side from where they came. That was lucky.... but that luck ran out when they rounded that corner and came upon the bridge corridor... with about a dozen guards on standby. "Right..." She tsked. "Guess an intruder would raise the security level here." She shrugged. "Alrighty..." She readied her blaster while motioning to the two to hide behind cover and give her covering fire. "... who wants to play with mommy?"

        The Snowtroopers opened fire; the hallway was going to be a plasma scoring nightmare at the end of this. Using her advanced agility, Ikle moved faster then they could keep up. She fired her stealth blaster, getting a few good hits in before the guards decided to take cover, wondering how they died so easily. Rather pointless as she was still a'comin'. 

        Auto-turrets came down from the ceiling and fired upon her. She ducked behind another strut and assessed her situation; she's fast, but she's not auto-turret fast. She was going to have to rely on her backup. The two troopers fired at the turrets, gaining their attention. She moved up as fast as she could, which got their attention. Then the troopers fired, then Ikle moved. Fired, then moved, fired, then moved. It was repetitive, but it worked. 

        Grabbing a E-11 off the ground, she aimed at both groups of troopers that ducked behind cover and fired ceaselessly until they moved no more. 

        The Weequay and Twi'lek moved up scavenging up some heat clips along the way. Ikle holstered the E-11 she picked up and aimed the silenced one at the door controls. One shot later and the three stormed into the bridge, quickly taking out the two guards and subduing two of the three officers; the third was shot in the leg by the silenced shot.

        Ikle approached the pilot and grabbed her by the back of the throat. "Now, tell us  how to pilot this thing." She demanded.

        The pilot grunted, feeling her spine being crushed. "Or else what?"

        The modified blaster was put right to her nose. "Or else you're gonna have a bigger hole to breath out of and vent that brain of yours. Now tell us how to fly this thing!!"

 

        Back with the rest of Spirit Company, the remaining troops were holding out as best they could against the encroaching Imperial forces, but it was like a loth-cat going up against the Death Star; it's impossible. They are 33 tired fighters using what very few cannons remained whilest using the caves and the remains of their ships as cover against 5 AT-AT's, flanked by 6 AT-ST's and a platoon of Snowtroopers. If they had their Snowspeeders, it would be a even fight thanks to their tow cables, but as of right now... they're screwed. 

        The worst part was how smug the Empire must be feeling. The AT-AT's aren't even firing; the commander of this group was so confident of his victory, he didn't see the need to waste precious ordinance of a scant few scum. The Troopers could use the exercise, anyways; they've done nothing this whole invasion except sit in the hold and wait.

        "Keep firing!" Luth ordered. "Even if we die today, we're gonna make the Empire work for it!" She aimed down the scope of her sniper rifle and fired, hitting one of the Snowtroopers in the chest, sending him into the powder.

        "I don't know about you..." Greil opened up Grom's footlocker and pulled out a mobile sentry gun. "But i'm not planning on dying today!" He walked up tp the makeshift barricade, got in an opening, and fired. The bolts came out quick, forcing many of the Snowtroopers to take cover behind the walkers. 

        The AT-ST's moved up and fired a barrage towards the encroached Rebels. Many fell back into the caves to avoid the heavy bombardment. The ground shook under the heavy fire, but once it stopped, they slowly came back out, but that distraction allowed the Snowtroopers to get closer. 

        Tilith, having ransacked their destroyed transport, pulled out several rounds of heavy ammo and ran behind cover. These things were heavy; how does Grom carry them so easily? Must be a Trandoshen thing. "Won't do much damage to the camels..." She grunted as she loaded a rocket launcher. "But this'll do something to those chickens." She shouldered a rocket launcher and fired. It missed the walkers but took out a sizeable chunk of troopers. 

        But there were more- there was always more. The AT-ST's moved up first. They were in breathing distance of the rebels when the head of one of the chicken walkers suddenly blew up, followed by the one to its left. Their flaming carcasses fell down just as a Speeder flew overhead... but it wasn't one of theirs. 

        "Is that one of ours?" Luth asked. Tilith just shrugged. 

        The new speeder pulled a sharp right turn just as the other three crested over the hill with the caves, firing their blasters to destroy most of the other AT-ST's.

        "I know those are ours." Tilith responded.

        The new Speeder joined up with the others and the four made another strafing run, taking out a large portion of the troopers, which made the commander furious. The inclusion of the Speeders changes things. Now he had to take this seriously. He ordered the AT-AT's to ready their cannons.

        But it may not be needed as a shadow was cast over the battlefront. Passing above was a Star Galleon, one of the ships used by the Empire to transport their walkers; Gozanti's and Y-85 Titans may do the job, but it's only one at a time. The Galleons can deliver them 6, 7 at a time.

        "Um... that's not good." One of the troopers bemoaned, looking up at the ship as it passed over them.

        "No... no it is not." Luth responded. This is the last thing they needed right now. The ship slowly turned, taking up a position behind the Rebels. The main cannons on the ship were armed and pointed straight down towards them...

        Good, the commander thought. The Galleon has brought reinforcements to flank the rebel scum. With this, they'll be able to take them all out in just one salvo. He ordered his forces to make ready and aimed towards the encamped enemy. As the Snowspeeders made another turn to attack and hopefully distract the Galleon, it fired....

        ...straight into the Imperial forces. Duel-Cannons and concussion missiles tore through the walkers like they were butter. A couple had their heads blown off while others were taken out at the legs, leading to amusing pratfalls in that case. The commander was one of the unlucky ones; the entire body of his AT-AT was erased, leaving behind towers that were once the legs. The few troopers that remained turned and ran; they were no match for one of their own ships.

        The Galleon turned to the left and lowered down, extending landing struts that touched down on the snow. The encamped rebels turned around and watched as the starboard ramp lowered and the main door open. Standing at the top was Grom, with one of his vibroblades shouldered while he leaned on the other. "This is the part where you. 'say thanks for the save'."

        Luth laughed in relief, taken aback by the huge ship they got to facilitate their escape. "Haha... oh, Grom, you beautiful bastard, i could kiss you."

        "Please don't. You're not my type; too squishy."

        She rolled her eyes and turned to her company. "Alright, folks! Let's load up what we can and get off this ice box of death!" The troopers all howled in response before going to do just that, grabbing anything and everything valuable and useful they can find and loading it up onto the ship.

        Luth ran up the ramp. Knowing Grom, he probably left mutilated bodies everywhere and they'll have to clean up. But much to her surprise, there weren't any. There was the evidential scorch marks and vibroblade slashes on the walls, but... no bodies. "Ok, what did you do with the bodies?"

        He pretended to be hurt and offended. "Oh, you wound me, Luthy. Do you really think i would do something with those bodies?" Yes. That was a very clear and definite yes. She didn't even have to say it; her face said it for her. "Rude. But i did nothing. One tip and the ones here in the hanger fell out. They're currently in a pile back at the landing zone."

        "Then it won't be long until the Imps send forces to claim this ship." She noticed the nearby door and went to it. She stopped and pointed to it, wondering if it was the way to the bridge. He nodded and she continued her stroll. 

        As she did, the survivors of the company began to haul in everything valuable they could salvage; data logs, weapons, food, weapons, repair tools, and weapons. "That save could not have gone better." Greil commented as he passed Grom by, lugging both their footlockers behind him. 

        Grom noticed his presence and reacted as such, only until he noticed what the Ovission had strapped to his back. "Wait, is that my sentry gun?" He ignored the manic lizard and kept hauling in. "I expect that back!" He shouted as he followed him. 

 

        Luth called it; it did not take long for the Empire to notice one of their Galleons was missing. As Luth entered the bridge, finding the Twi'lek and Ikle at the controls, they could see a squadron of Tie Interceptors blazing towards them, hugging the snow so close they were kicking up a cloud behind them. "That didn't take long." Ikle commented.

        "Well, we are stealing one of their Walker carriers." Luth commented. Ikle slyly chuckled before hitting one of the buttons to her side. The main cannons of the ship opened fire on the approaching Ties. Several were destroyed but the rest scattered in different directions, making it difficult for the cannons to hit them. "Smart pilots."

        "Irritating pilots." Ikle grumbled. "Are they almost done back there?"

        "{We're done back here.}" Tilith announced over the commlink. 

        What fortitous timing. "... well, guess that answers that." She hit a few more buttons on the console and the ship powered up.

 

 

        The snowspeeders flew into the main hanger hold and landed just before the door closed up and the ramp ascended. The Galleon, the engines and repulsors whining, lifted up off the snow, kicking up a large display of powder that quickly covered the rebels side of the conflict. 

        The Interceptors turned and fired towards the Galleon. The point defense cannons returned fire, creating flak that forced the most of the Interceptors to dodge. One lucky shot took off a wing and caused that Interceptor to spin into the snow, turning it into a sled for a brief second.

        The engines flared, and the Galleon began its ascent to the heavens, with the Interceptors in hot pursuit, firing relentlessly. There weren't any cannons towards the rear, so they were at their mercy. Thank goodness the shields were strong and holding steady. They can hope that it lasts till they get to hyperspace. 

 

        Inside, the ship rumbled with each blast that connected, but it wasn't enough to worry about. Not yet, anyways. The pilots of the Snowspeeders got out and relaxed, as did the two from the Speeder that came out of nowhere and helped save their bacon. They climbed out of their Speeder and slid down the front, completely and utterly exhausted.

        "Who are you guys?" Tilith asked as she approached them.

        "We're from Echo Base." the harpoon gunner panted. "The Imps completely took it over."

        "Good thing you guys escaped and found us then."

        "Survived... would be a better way of putting it." The pilot of the speeder exhaled. "We were lucky to get out of there alive." The ship rumbled again, and this one was a lot more steady and prolonged then before. They must be in the atmosphere. "Though it sounds like we were better off on the ice cube."

        "{Moment of truth folks!}" Luth said over the intercom. "{Let's see if we can get out of the system. If any of your homeworlds have gods, better start prayin'.}"

 

        Passing through a thick cloud layer, the Interceptors flew overhead and turned back, firing once more. The shots hit the shield and strafed along it all the way to the back. The shields were slowly fading away; they weren't going to last long under the fast strikes. 

        Before long, the ships broke out into space, and into bedlam. The Imperial Blockade had caught several ships in their attempt to flee and were in the process of boarding them or destroying them, usually the latter. In the distance, covering a large away of stars from view, was the megalithic Super Star Destroyer, the Executor. A legendary symbol of the Empire's might and cruelty... but it and several other Destroyers were turning, as if they were going to leave. 

        Too bad that isn't stopping the Interceptors from continuing their barrage, or to prevent the other Destroyers to turn their attention to them. 

 

        On the bridge, Luth looked out at the chaos that surrounded the planet. They really wanted to destroy the Rebellion today... "By the stars... look at how many there are."

        "Look at how many they caught." Ikle commented. The ship shook again, violently this time. They were getting through the shields. It wasn't going to be long until the puncture a hole. They need a way to take them down; they were moving to fast for the defenses to get a clear shot at... and she just got one.

        "Ergh! Stupid Ties. Just leave us alone already!" The twi'lek shouted.

        "I think i know how to get rid of our pests." Ikle said as she went for the communications console. She pulled out the officers credentials and flipped through it. "Head towards the nearest Destroyer."

        "Are you crazy?!" They shouted. "You're get us captured! Or worse!"

        "Just trust me." She found the ships registry and flipped on the console. They stayed silent to avoid getting her angry; best to let her do what she's doing. "This is Star Galleon 44-G, requesting covering fire." That's what she's doing?

        It wasn't long until a reply soon came back. "{Star Galleon 44-G, you are on assignment to Hoth. What do you think you are doing?}"

        "Rebels trying to escape launched a surprise attack on our ship in an attempt to claim it. We fought them off, but suffered damages. A few survivors captured a squad of Tie Interceptors and are attacking us right now. We are requesting assistance before we are blown out of the sky." She picked up the officers code cylinder and inserted it. "I'm transmitting our codes now. Hurry before we're dust."

        It was a long, long silence as they waited for a reply, but eventually... "{Codes check out. Sending Titan Squadron to assist. Hurry up back to base so we can get back to hunting these filthy Rebels.}"

        Eveyrone on the bridge breathed a sigh of relief. "Affirmative. Over and out." Ikle disconnected the call, and exclaimed an exhale loudly. She leaned on the wall and slid down it. "I can't believe that worked."

        "You're telling me." Luth breathlessly chuckled. "So where do we go?"

        "Who cares, as long as it's not here." The twi'lek shouted.

        "He's right." Ikle grunted as she got up. "Our coordinates to the Rendezvous Point went up with the transport. For now, let's just head to a nearby system so we can relax and regroup. Sadly, Star Galleons have a Class 3 Hyperdrive; we're gonna be on the highway for awhile."

 

        Outside, the Tie Interceptor Squadron made another pass, firing another salvo that was close to taking out their shields, and they would've done so too, if it weren't for the arrival of Titan Squadron. The tie Interceptors broke off and sped off in different directions, with the pilots confused as to why their own forces turned against them. Their confusion didn't last long because their ships didn't last long.

        Zooming past the Overseer, the crew on the bridge looked at the launch point of their surprising saviors. If only they knew what they were a part of.. heh, the captain would freak out if they learned they just destroyed their own fighters and allowed the Rebels to take on of their transports.

        Banking onto its side, the Galleon 'flashed' the Destroyer as it flew past, masquerading as a turn. Once it was far enough away and once coordinates for a world were set, the Star Galleon blasted off into Hyperspace....

 

 

 

Star Wars
Spirits among the Stars

\