William returned to Sergeant Derez a short time later, his choice having been made. "Sergeant, I'm going to head for the wreckage. Taking out the cannon can wait. I don't want to go and take it just to have you get annihilated by that turbo laser." The sergeant nodded, watching as some of his men helped a limping soldier to the trench, his leg having to be amputated and replaced with a makeshift prosthetic made from one of the droids. When they were on the Emperor's Conviction, they'd be able to get him a proper replacement.
The sergeant looked back towards William, the faintest signs of a smile on his face. "Thank you, Captain. I was going to suggest you deal with them first. They were adamant on taking us 'traitors' down." William nodded, looking out to the trenches. He caught the list of death troopers on the side of his hud, trying to decide which four to pick. It took no time, and he pinged the four he wanted to come from the trenches and join him.
The moment William pinged the four troopers, their visors blinked, and the four looked to their allies. Static voices filled the air momentarily before the four left the trenches and joined Captain Jaeger. William watched as the four troops stopped in a line in front of him and turned back to Derez. "Sergeant, do you happen to have ground transport?"
Derez looked over to something lying on the ground, covered in tarp. "It's the only one we got...." He nods to two soldiers, and they walk over to the tarped vehicle, pulling it off to reveal that it was an Imperial-class 1-H Repulsor Tank. The blocky vehicle was mounted with one heavy rotational laser cannon, as well as two medium blaster cannons, one on each side. William was taken aback, surprised to see that they had a rather formidable vehicle here. If the loyalists did have AT-STs, this thing could take out at least two of them.
"Why have you not used this?" William asked, more out of confusion rather than being annoyed. The sergeant looked to the tank and sighed, walking over to the vehicle. William and his men followed, hearing the levitation rigs come to life and the tank beginning to float. He walked to the side and pointed to what looked like a scrap wall that guarded their flank. William looked to this wall and saw what it was made of: destroyed repulsor tanks.
"We had fifteen, but our old commanding officer tried to launch an assault against the loyalists. This tank you see here barely survived the bombardment they sent at us. They used their turbo laser to take out a majority of us and took out those who couldn't get away with the AT-STs." He said through painfully, failing to hold back a quake in his throat. "They killed my brother...." He began, but William placed a hand on his shoulder. The sergeant looked up to the armored man.
"Hold your tears, Sergeant. These men are no loyalists. They are monsters. I will avenge those that were taken by those beasts." William said as his troops entered the vehicle. William let go of Derez's shoulder and turned around, climbing up onto the turret and opening the hatch. Derez watched as William slowly entered, taking a seat in the commander's chair. The other four troopers were already in position, one driver, one co-driver, the one that controlled the side cannons, a gunner that controlled the main turret, and one that checked the power levels and made sure their vehicle stayed in shape. William looked back to Derez, nodding. "I'll try to bring her back in one piece."
Derez shook his head. "Make sure you come back in one piece, Captain. As much as it sounds appealing to take control of these troopers you're leaving me with, they creep me out." He laughs a little. William offers a chuckle before nodding again and closing the hatch.
He looked in the tank, barely seeing the two drivers. The two closest to him looked up to him, waiting for commands. William removed his helmet wiping his brow. "You may take off your helmets, troopers. It must be hotter than Tatooine in here." The two troopers nearest to him looked to one another, and William's statement caused the other two troopers to look back, their helmets entering William's view. They did not, however, remove their helmets. He sighed. "I don't need you to pass out due to overheating. Remove the helmets." He repeated, in a more commanding tone.
Their visors blinked, and simultaneously, they each removed their helmets. William was shocked once more, but this time out of horror. Each trooper had a metal computer on the back of their head, each had a blank expression on their face, but their eyes showed the truth to William. His elite killing force were merely slaves to him, programmed to do exactly what he wanted These were people, and the Empire had turned them into slaves of war. "When..." The word slipped out, William losing his train of thought at this revelation. He had thought they were just loyal and disciplined. Hell, they even sounded normal.
The closest to him, the main gunner, spoke. "William, Sir, We have always been like this. From the moment we were put under your command." He spoke in a monotone voice, barely any sign of emotion. William looked into his eyes, seeing that tears began to form. He looked to the driver, seeing that it was a woman. Her co-driver was a man with a scar over his left eye, the eye itself white and useless. The tech was another woman, the signs of hair growth barely visible. They all had the same look in their eyes, and William guessed that all of the other Red Death Troopers under his control had the same look in their eyes. William closed his eyes, holding back tears. With every passing hour, the Empire he adored was unravelling, and he was growing angry once more. His sister came into his mind once more, only fueling that fire more. He opened his eyes, looking out of the tank viewport.
"Driver, full speed. Head for that wreckage." William commanded. The woman acting as driver went back to the controls, the tank moving forward. William was going to find the truth, even if he had to kill the galaxy to find it.
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The mist hung around the battlefield, covering the wreckage that had been visible on the descent down. The crew and Storm Troopers were keeping a perimeter near the ship's torn hull, a large hole where the port hangar would have been. This wound had been the reason for the crash, shooting through the center of the ship. It had destroyed a portion of the spire, and it barely survived the crash.
The crew had been ordered by the captain to move the vehicles that had survived into this new hangar that the wreckage had made. Three AT-STs lined the aft wall, while a few trooper transports were parked on the bow wall. Two Stormtroopers guarded the entrance deeper into the ship, entire sections having been disconnected from the power grid to conserve what little remained. The only sections that had power in the aft of the ship were the bridge, which only used four of the many terminals within, and the turbo laser, their upper hand against the traitorous Army men.
The captain of the ship looked to the direction of the makeshift base for the traitors, a scowl on his face. Those lowly Army soldiers thought they could be equal to his fine and respectable crew? Preposterous! The situation he had been put in showed that he had to keep his crew, but more importantly, himself, alive and ready for evacuation. He was certain that the Empire was sending a fleet to rescue him and his men. He would report on how the Army stationed here failed to quell any hostiles on the planet and then destroyed them for the glory of the Emperor. He was sure to gain a promotion for dealing with such insubordination accordingly.
He then caught something in the mist. One of the Army's tanks. He laughed. They had lost most of them in their initial assault, and now they expected to take him out with a single tank? He almost grew hysterical at this pathetic attempt of a last stand. This tank would join their scrapheap. He turned to one of the officers. "Tell the AT-STs to eliminate that pathetic tank. I almost refuse to call it hostile, it will be dealt with in a fraction of a minute." The officer nodded, and the captain looked back to the tank. Something else caught his eye, however, a figure standing on the turret. A red figure that was standing peculiarly on the turret, its arms behind its body.
The captain didn't even have a chance to scream when he saw the green blast heading straight for his vile face.
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William watched as the blast from his shoulder cannons destroyed the bridge completely, the spire collapsing due to the strain of the impact. His armor moved back to cover the cannon, sealing his super weapon away. He wouldn't be able to use it again until his suit had returned to the Emperor's Conviction. He looked to the port of the vessel, seeing people scurrying around to prepare for an assault. He also saw the swaying boxy frame of an AT-ST walking out of this hole. He opened the hatch and jumped back into the tank, removing his helmet. "Gunner, make sure the turret is fully charged. Let's show these scum that they are nothing compared to us!" William shouted, watching out of the port to see two more AT-ST cabins walking out and towards their position. "Co-pilot, prep those guns, send a few shots to show we mean business." There was no vocal reply, but William watched as a series of four red bolts flew across the battleground, some making contact with one of the three AT-STs but causing no real damage other than causing them to stagger slightly, while others flew past them and hit the hull of the Star Destroyer.
William watched as the closest of the three AT-STs stopped moving towards them and took a stationary position, and a rocket flew out towards the tank. "Strafe to the left!" He shouted, watching as the rocket came closer. The driver took action, and William saw the rocket vanish out of his view, but he heard it soar past the turret; just barely. "Gunner, fire when ready. Co-pilot, harass that AT-ST!" The quad cannons fired at the AT-ST that had just attacked, scorching the hull. The AT-ST did not just stand there and take the assault, however, and fired its turrets as well. William felt how the tank shook as some of the shots connected. Luckily there was no major damage. He then heard the gunner speak.
"Firing main cannon!" William watched as a large red bolt flew past the smaller bolts and straight to the cabin of the AT-ST, seeing it explode immediately. When the smoke had cleared, the front of the cabin was completely gone, and the interior was little more than slag now. The first AT-ST tilted and fell to the ground like a tree being cut down, falling on its rocket launcher, causing yet another explosion as the launcher which had been ready to fire another shot came into contact with the ground.
"Driver, forward! Gunner, train on the next AT-ST!" William commanded, and he felt the turret compartment slowly rotating. He lost sight of the first target and soon caught a glimpse of the next, which continued to move while firing. His vision was becoming blocked with the chunks of debris getting kicked up into the air. The tank rotated to the right slightly so the Co-pilot could harass the third AT-ST while the Gunner prepared to take out the second hostile.
The second AT-ST fired its grenades, which would have normally been an anti-personnel defense attachment, but due to the droid attacks, the grenades were now anti-droid grenades. William watched as the grenades flew to where they were headed. "Full stop!" He shouted, almost hitting his head against the hull as the tank came to an abrupt stop. He had made the right call, however, as the grenades landed harmlessly a few feet ahead of them. Coincidentally, the Gunner informed the team that the cannon was ready to fire.
"Firing main cannon!" The tank shook slightly as the large bolt approached its target, hitting the right side of the vehicle. The hull dented as the bolt impacted, destroying the right side of the hull completely and causing the cabin to swivel, sending it crashing to the ground due to the sudden imbalance. Now there was one.
The turret turned back to focus on the final AT-ST, only to see the pilots popping out of the hatch with their hands up. William let out a sigh of relief, glad he did not have to destroy another vehicle that could prove useful in the future. "Stand down. They're surrendering." William commanded, and the three troopers relaxed. "Driver, approach the final AT-ST slowly." William could feel the tank moving, at a much slower pace than before. He grabbed his helmet and opened the hatch, popping out and looking at the two AT-ST pilots.
"We-we surrender!" One of the pilots stammered, not wanting to end up liquefied like the others. The other pilot looked to William, an expression of shock coming across his face.
"That's...That's that rebel hunter... Captain Jaeger...." He began to lower back into the cabin slowly, seeing a walking myth before him. "We're no rebels, sir. On the Emperor's word."
The tank stopped, and William looked to the ship. The crew and even the Storm Troopers all had their hands raised. William spoke to his men. "Put your helmets back on and make sure these men are all unarmed." He then turned to the Pilot and Co-Pilot. "You two enter the wreckage and head for the turbo laser controls. Don't need some trigger happy operator to fire their cannon unexpectedly." He saw their names blink on his roster, and saw them exit the tank, fully suited up.
The scared AT-ST pilot cowered, only the top of his head visibly from the hatch. The other pilot watched as the four troopers approached their allies, worried about what they might do to them. William hopped out himself and slowly approached the AT-ST, looking up to the pilot. "Why don't you come down and join your crew over there. I have a proposition for you."