The crew of the crashed destroyer all stood before William and the two Red Death at his side. There had been more inside the aft section of the vessel, and the two troopers that had rounded up the crew had brought them out. The two that had gone to the turbo laser command center reported that the men there had given up without a fight, and actually believed that the troopers were there to rescue them. They were conflicted about using the cannon to annihilate their Imperial brothers, and were being kept here by force. They were brought back and now stood with the mass of people, closest to the entrance in case they needed to run back to the cannon in the event of an attack.
William looked over at the crew members, their exhausted faces and eyes staring back at him, waiting to hear this proposal he had. They all looked like they had been worked to the bone, running low on rations and getting little sleep. He cleared his throat and spoke.
"Members of the Imperial Navy, I am Captain William Jaeger, captain of the Emperor's Conviction. I have come in response to your captain's distress call." There were some voices of glee, happy to finally be able to get off this rock. "However, after learning what your captain has done to the Imperial Army men, your fellow Imperials, I've decided his fate, as you may have noticed." He points to where the bridge had been, the smoldering durasteel still giving smoke. "So I am not here to rescue his crew, but to recruit you into mine. Given your position, I find that you have difficulty denying this offer." The crew looked amongst one another, debating whether or not to follow their strange savior. "I promise that I am your only way off this planet. Your distress signal was only received when we left Imperial space, and entered an Ex-Separatist zone. If I leave you here, you will die on this cold planet. Either due to the droid attacks or to starvation. You decide." The crew looked to one another once again, then a unanimous voice of agreement came from the crew.
William nods, a grin spreading on his face. "Good. Now, stay here and make sure you all live long enough for me to disable that gun, understood?" William points towards the general direction of the surface cannon that took down their ship. The newly found crew members replied, saluting towards William and turning back to the ship. William walks over to last two AT-ST pilots, who were walking back to their vehicle. "Hold, pilots, I need to speak with you two." The scared pilot jumped a little before turning with his partner to face their new captain.
"Y-yes, Captain?" The first pilot asked, trying his hardest not to act scared and failing tremendously.
"You're coming back with me to the camp. Mount up." William commanded. The two pilots nodded and returned to moving to their AT-ST. William turned to look towards the Red Death, still conflicted at the recent revelation he had discovered. "Watch over the tank and our new crew mates. We'll get them all out of here soon enough." The closer of the two simply nodded, showing he had heard William's commands. The two made sure that the crew had returned to their shelter, leaving only them outside in the makeshift hangar.
William then heard the sounds of blaster fire, turning to see flashes of light where the Army encampment was. The droids were attacking once more. William rushed towards the AT-ST, where the pilots had just climbed in. He got on top and stood on top of the cabin. The two pilots looked at him, surprised that he moved so fast in that clunky looking suit. "Come one, pilots. Let's go save our troops." William shouted, his legs locking into place as his boots magnetically locked him on top of the cabin. The two pilots looked to one another and nodded, closing their hatches and taking the commands. The AT-ST began to move, one foot forward, then the other, causing William to sway with every step. "Turbo Laser command, do you read me?"
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Sergeant Derez had his back pressed against the trench wall, taking cover from the blasters and the crystal shrapnel it was creating. He could feel the ground tremble as the droid army advanced towards the trenches, a feeling of dread flooding through his body. Derez looked to the right, watching as one of Captain William's soldiers took a rocket to the chest, sending them falling to the ground with a new opening in their chest. The soldier reached up to touch the hole the rocket had created, but then went limp due to the shock and blood loss. That was the second one that fell, which made him wonder how many of his own men had fallen already.
One of his men ran up to him with a look of horror on his face. "Sir, the cannon is about to fire!" He shouted over the blaster fire. Derez's eyes widened, and he looked towards where the crashed ship was supposed to be. Through the fog, two green blasts shined, and grew brighter as it approached.
"Everyone, get down!" He shouted, most troopers ducking in the trenches. The death troopers knelt, but continued to fire at the droids.
The two shots landed and caused the ground to shake violently. Pieces of crystal flew into the air, as well as droid parts. All of the debris that was just made was sent into the air and just as quickly rained down upon both sides. The soldiers protected their heads and pressed their backs against the wall to avoid getting a load of crystal shrapnel embedded into their bodies. Derez could hear some of his men groaning as they got hit, cursing himself that more soldiers had just died. Soldiers he had promised to get out of here. He then wondered why that was not a direct hit. They could've easily annihilated their position had they not been using the cannon to fend off the droids that attacked their position. Then it hit him.
Those shots had directly hit the marching droids, taking out more than three quarters of the attacking force. Derez looked over the trench and sure enough the field had new scrap heaps waiting to be collected, and only a fraction of what had just been overwhelming them remained. Derez let out a battle cry, joining the death troopers in firing at the droids. His men looked over the trench and saw they now had a fighting chance and joined their commanding officer, firing at the remaining droid forces.
The roar of the men soon subsided when they heard the heavy echo of a walker approaching. They looked over and saw one of the AT-STs approaching. Panicked, they began to hide once more, failing to realize that the weapons were turned towards the droids. Derez knew this was the Captain, having his assumption confirmed when the red helmet popped up from the cabin. The AT-ST began to open fire on what was left of the droids, destroying the attacking force in mere moments.
William looked to the trenched, a fist raised high. "Well done, soldiers! You are victorious!" The soldiers looked up, seeing a familiar helmet, cheered, more ecstatic to see that the AT-ST was not hostile. William looked to Derez and nodded, but Derez could not return the gesture, looking down at one of William's troopers lying in the trench dead. They had been saved yet again by this captain, but how many more times could he save them until his luck ran out? Derez could only wonder as William approached him.
"Sergeant..." William looked over Derez to see his fallen trooper. a sigh escaping his chest. He hopped down into the trench, patting Derez on the shoulder. "It's alright, Sergeant. They were doing their job. No need to feel terrible about it." Derez did not look at William, simply staring at the dead soldier. William released the man's shoulder, turning away. "The wreckage is ours, and the crew work for me now. Any animosity between the two of you will not be tolerated. If you want to hold a grudge against any one, hold it against their captain." Derez could hear William walk away, causing him to turn to look at him.
"Captain, are you heading to the cannon now?" Derez asked, watching as the armored man easily crawled out of the trench.
"That was the plan, Sergeant. Can't call my ship in if that thing is still operational." William replied, looking to the side as two Red Death troopers approached the AT-ST, aiming on joining him. He found this strange, for he did not request any of his troopers to join him. He would have to investigate this when he returned to the Emperor's Conviction. He turned to face Derez. "Stay alive until then. That's an order, understand?"
The sergeant let a light grin spread on his lips and saluted William. "Yes, Captain." William nodded at the sergeant, walking back to the AT-ST. He had a cannon to destroy.