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The hologram appeared above the command consol. The transparent schematics of a Rebel base rotated slowly as the commanding officer spoke. Except for the lone voice, the entire briefing room was silent. Not even the holoprojector made so much as a whisper. Other officers stood flanking the CO as he delivered the briefing to the ground assault crews and other personnel. Commander Phylle, second in command of the main infantry division stood on the far left of the line. Next to him was his boss, General Riseon, commanding officer of the 23rd Stormtrooper Division. In the center was General Veers, leader of the new AT-AT Battalion. On his right was Commander Igar, his second in command and most trusted officer. The last two in line were Admiral Tarob and Major Gannett. Admiral Tarob was the Imperial Star Destroyer Exodus' captain and Major Gannett was the communications link to the Imperial Fighter Corp. This mission required everyone's cooperation to pull off.

"Gentlemen, this . . ." spoke General Veers, pointing to the hologram. "is the Rebel Base at Tirpitz. This is their main starfighter base in the region. Intel reports that this is the home of four X-wing squadrons and three Y-wing squadrons. It may also house the new B-wing bomber squadron but that is unconfirmed at this point. Intel also states that this base serves as a repair facility for their bulk transports and is a hub for their supply chains, thus the reason command has ordered us to destroy it."

The schematics grew as the hologram focused in on the outer defenses. The facility was built into a cliff face that rose over 60 meters. The ridge line continued south while the elevation decreased. A dense forest grew on the opposite side of the ridge leaving an open area about 20 meters wide. Multiple paths lead to wide open areas where atmospheric-capable capital ships land for repairs. The hologram moved half way down the ridgeline and stopped.

"We will be landing the 71st Armored Assault Division here and marching in. There are minor anti-armor emplacements located here . . ." he said while pointing to a larger laser cannon battery on top of a ridge, "and here." He said pointing to the second hidden in the tree line on the opposite side of the first. Each cannon a couple of tens of meters away from the LZ. Five AT-ATs stepped into image and fired upon both of the defense cannons. The hologram scrolled forward and a red square appeared around a clearing on the map. A tank sized square appeared on the wall, close to the first. "Now, for General Riseon."

General Veers stepped back and General Riseon walked to the hologram. He pressed a few buttons on the console and the view shifted. The AT-ATs stepped forward and knelt to release the troops. "The AT-ATs will release their entire infantry compliment there, from here, the infantry will enter a series of caverns and proceed to the base underground." He pointed to the square on the cliff wall. The General turned to the gathering of squad leaders, AT-AT commanders, and pilots. "They use this underground system to ambush attacking forces from behind. We hope to land fast and take this system of caves before they can mobilize." The door blew and squads of stormtroopers rushed inside. "General Veers, please continue."

Again, the two switched places and the view focused on the AT-ATs. They walked forward and came to a halt just outside the range of the guns on the facility. The camera view zoomed out in a wide angle. Above the base, a large pair of doors was highlighted. "After releasing the infantry, the walkers with move down the ridge and hold just outside the base defenses waiting for our bombers to commence an attack run on these doors and the facility itself. Now, the problem is that we will most likely be detected before we get to this point so our forces will sit in wait for them to launch, ambush them and then bomb the facility. With their fighters and defenses busy with ours, the Walkers. . ." they began moving again in the visual "with proceed to attack the base. Once we break through these walls, we will target the main generators for the shield protecting the base. Once that is down we will begin the second portion of the infantry assault. General Riseon, please."

This time the General remained standing as Riseon stepped forward. "The rest of our forces will be landing inside the base to try to cut down on casualties. From here on out, you are to search for any information you can find and destroy anything else. As you know, after Hoth, the Rebel Alliance disappeared. Their hit and run strikes are growing old with the Emperor and we have been unable to track them back to their main hide away."

The hologram shut down and General Veers stepped forward. "Alright, this concludes the briefing. Report to your stations because we launch in under two hours. Dismissed." Most people stood and either stayed to converse or left to inform those beneath them. One such person remained sitting.

"What are you thinking about?" asked a person behind him. Skyline Essential, Elite Imperial AT-AT Commander, turned around to face the speaker.

"I don't like it." Said Sky. "We are marching in without infantry. . ."

"Who will be covering are rears in the caverns."

"The air support will be arriving, after, after mind you, the attack begins."

"Uh, yeah."

"And they didn't explain how we are landing. They just say we are starting a few klicks south of the base."

"I see what you mean." Said the man. He stood and stretched. "Does it really matter though? This is going to be a cake walk."

Sky remained sitting. "I believe it when it's over."

"Yea, well, I'll see you later. I have to go find Catlett. I am still having a problem with my aerial targeting system and since we are going after a starfighter base, it would be wise to have that operating at peak performance."

"Alright, see you in a few Mike." The man walked out the door and the rest of the room began to clear out. "I'll believe it when I see it."

* * * * *

Commander Essential stepped into the launch bay. Heavy drop ships were being loaded with the AT-ATs while the smaller Gamma Assault Transports were being loaded with troops. He stopped on a walkway and watched his AT-AT being loaded. The huge bay doors opened and the AT-AT backed in slowly. Sky watched through the magcon field as Tirut II, Tirpitz's second moon, rotated slowly underneath the Exodus. The Star Destroyer remained in hiding from the Rebel patrols. In one hour, they would launch. The whines and groans of the walker continued to rise to the top of the high rise and Sky was startled by a voice behind him.

"I heard you have your doubts." Said General Veers. Skyline jumped to attention. "No, this is just two friends talking."

"Wow, that took only an hour. Word travels fast huh?" Sky said as he turned around to watch his walker. Veers joined him.

"There isn't much I can say to calm your fear. Only thing I can think of is remember your training and you will get through it." Veers handed Sky a data pad.

"Standard issue pre-mission one liner huh? Is this rest of the briefing?" Sky asked as he pocketed the data pad.

"Yes, the codes, comm. channels, and call signs. The group name is Inferno." Veers stood and clapped Sky's shoulder. "Come on, I'll walk with you to your AT."

* * * * *

"Alright boys, this is it. Are landing restraints in place?" asked Sky as he sat down in his command chair. Through the view screen, Essential could see the bulkhead in front of him and around him.

"Yes sir, just finished with them." Said his pilot, First Lieutenant Deraux. As he walked in the command station. He sat in his chair and began system checks. Second Lieutenant Mangles, the gunner, stood up from his chair and began a run down on the weapon systems.

Sky flipped the comm. channel open. "Sergeant Wallace, come to the front of the walker please." He stood and moved closer to the view port. Below him were a couple of rows of speeder bikes. Behind them was a Chariot-class LAV, one the stormtrooper leaders would be using to direct the battle in the caverns.

"Yes, sir?" said a voice behind him.

"Are we ready?" he asked as he turned to the Sergeant.

"Yes, sir. She running optimal but the communications array is on the fritz. I think when we went in to be serviced, some wires were crossed. I have Corporal Grohm working on it now."

"Hmmm. . . that's not good. How bad?"

"We can't reach anyone but those within a kilometer radius of us in any direction." He said while he pulled a datapad out. "Make that a click and a half. It seems that it's not getting sufficient power."

"Anything else? Mechanical problems, computer systems, etcetera?" he said as he turned back to observe the crew in their procedures.

"No sir. Only the comms. Now if you will excuse me . . ." he was interrupted in mid sentence by the deck rocking.

"Inferno 3, this is AT-AT Dropship 3, Theta 3. We have just launched and will be reaching the LZ in 30 minutes." Spoke an electronic voice through the room.

"Synchronizing, now." Said Deraux as he programmed the timer.

"Understood, Theta 3. Out." He turned his attention to the engineer. "You have that long to work. Dismissed." The man turned back to the job at hand and Sky sat back in his chair as the crew finished their checks. He turned the PA system on once more. Major Robinson, 30 minutes till touch down. I suggest your troops buckle in."

"Understood Commander." Came the reply. The deck vibrated and the engines droned as the massive drop ship sped through the atmosphere. So far, there were no discernable hostilities. But that could be a bad thing.

"Five minutes!" came the call from the pilot. Deraux fired up the drive systems and readied the release for the restraints.

"As soon as we land, I want us to form up with Inferno 4 and proceed to our Target Alpha." Said Sky as he pulled the datapad from his pocket. He began to transfer the data and watch the clock.

"One minute." Deraux said, the deck began to vibrate more violently and change in angle. They were braking. Then the deck began rocking and explosion could be heard outside. "Sir, it seems we are under fire."

A loud thud resounded through out the cockpit and the call came. "This is Theta 3. Inferno 3, we have landed in a hot zone. Rebels have surrounded the LZ. Release."

The doors in front of the cockpit opened wide and sun light replaced the harsh fluorescent lighting. The sound of multiple clamps releasing from lock down echoed through the drop ship and the AT-AT took its first step. Outside the transport, he could see the heavy laser cannon batteries firing from the tree line and the ridge.

A burst of static came over the comm. channel. "Inferno 3, this is 4. We are on your left flank. Lead on." said Inferno 4. Commander Essential looked at his scanner a watched as 4 marched out of its own drop ship and took up a position close to his.

"Alright, Inferno 4 we are proceeding to Target Alpha." The AT-AT rocked as a blast from one of the cannons struck it in the under chassis. Alarms rang out but the crew members silenced them. The two walkers began to move forward towards the emplacements. "4, watch out. Those things can pack a punch. Mangles, how long till firing range?"

"Less than thirty seconds. It appears the drop ship over shot his landing and we needn't walk too far. Bringing up targeting bracket." He replied, working furiously to prioritize the hostiles that seemed to be everywhere.

"Maximum firepower, readings indicate shielding around the cannons." Ordered Essential. He clicked the PA. "Wallace, did that last blast do any damage?"

"Negative sir. It just rocked us pretty good."

The AT-AT stopped moving and braced itself as the head swiveled and Mangles squeezed the trigger. The walker rocked once more as the crimson bolts struck out. A brilliant explosions would have blinded the crew but the view port darkened as the cannon disappeared in a wall of flames and ceased firing.

"And the comm. systems?" asked Essential.

"Still down sir. We can't find the source of the problem." He replied. "Not sure if we can either, it seems to be deeper in the walker than we can get to right now."

"Understood. Continue on Sergeant." Said Sky. "Deraux, proceed to the next target."

"Roger, moving to Target Beta."

The AT-AT jerked forward and the battle raged around the massive walkers. The Rebels that spearheaded the counter attack were merely mechanics stationed at nearby repair bays. Both Inferno 3 and 4 were walking in tandem, destroying small bands of Rebels as they moved. Nothing the Rebels had could stop the walkers. The only two weapons that could, were already destroyed. A small alarm went off and Skyline turned his attention to the sensor screen.

"Inferno 4, incoming aircraft. It seems the Rebels don't like our presence here." He said. "Mangles, prepare for aerial targeting. We will get whatever our fighters can't pick off. Deraux, hold position and kneel."

Both men acknowledged and continued with their orders. Sky watched the screen. Any minute the Imperial TIE Fighters would destroy the swarm of fighters. Seconds passed and an ice chunk began to form in the pit of his stomach. Too much time passed and the fighters were still coming. He could make the fighters out on the horizon. X-wings, B-wings, and what appeared to be Y-wings. They were still pretty far out for him to be sure. "Inferno 1, this is 3. Why aren't our fighters intercepting the Rebels?"

General Veers replied fast and could not hide the irritation in his voice. "Inferno 3, haven't you been paying attention to the comm. traffic?"

"No sir, our comm. is only good for a certain distance. What happened?"

Their was silence. The fighters were growing closer. "Exodus is under attack. It seems a Rebel convoy arrived unexpectedly and is putting up an impressive fight. Our fighters have their hands full at the moment. These, are ours."

"Yes, General." By the time the conversation was over the fighters were in firing range. Multiple alarms rang out as the fighters drew beads on the walkers. The trails of many warheads could be seen. "Rebel scum, Mangles, use the heavy cannons while they are bunched and use the medium repeaters to target individual fighters. Deraux, I want to be inside that base in minutes, forget waiting here. Get me there now."

Both men said nothing but hurried to their duties. The AT-AT started to pick up speed as it made a brake for the Rebel base. The cannons began to fire repeatedly, in the volley of laser blast, Skyline noticed some of the torpedoes exploding. "Sergeant Wallace, get whoever you can, open the hatches on the roof and equip yourself with the E-web blasters. We have incoming targets and need all the help we can get."

"Yes, sir. Heading up there now."

Only a few fighters were disappearing but the majority of them were still coming. Explosions erupted all around. The trees were burning and the ground was soaked in the blood of the Rebels foolish enough to hold their ground. Inferno 3 was now moving at half speed. It was all it could manage while firing all its weapons. A bright flash lit up the area behind them and a concussion wall almost knocked Inferno 3 to the ground. Inferno 2 was not so lucky. It toppled and crashed head first into the dirt. Another explosion rocked Inferno 3 as the Rebels took advantage of the downed walker.

"Inferno 1 to all remaining Imperials. They've destroyed our drop ships and the troop ships are en route. Our only hope is to hurry up and destroy their shields." Commander Essential hadn't waited for those orders. He was already half way there when it was issued. Inferno 1 and 4 were following but were really far behind. "Inferno 3, slow down and allow us to catch up. If we move together, we have a better chance of making it."

"We'd also make a bigger target 1." He bit back. Immediately Sky regretted what he said but decided to continue on, ignoring General Veers. "Continue Deraux, we are almost there." The fighters were thinning out over Essential, but that was because they were called to space. The battle against the Rebel convoy was degrading fast. The Exodus was just getting beat. A Nebulon-B frigate, two Corellian Corvettes, and an assortment of armed transports would have been a decent threat by themselves but the fact that there were almost a dozen squadrons of Rebel fighters, was turning the tide of battle. Attrition was wearing down the Imperial squadrons. So much in fact, that TIE Bombers were being forced to engage fighters and refrain from attacking the capital ships. Essential thought they were dying or rearming. Either way, it meant it was slightly easier for the walkers to proceed.

As soon as Commander Essential walked within fifty meters from the wall, all the defenses opened fire. Inferno 3 returned fire but there were too many of them. The AT shook as an explosion rippled across the walker.

"Commander, we have an armor breach on the port side. Targeting the weapon responsible." Spoke Mangles. He twisted the cockpit to get a better line of sight on the target, a small missile launcher that was still rearming. It never got a second shot.

A burst of static followed by a high pitched whine startled the crew. Someone was trying to contact them. Skyline started punching through frequencies searching for the culprit. It wasn't long before voices broke through the static, it sounded vaguely familiar.

". . . s is stormtrooper squadron BU, unit BU-934. . .we have broken through and are awaiting new orders. Repeat, this is stormtrooper squad. . ."

Skyline interrupted him. "BU-934, this is Inferno 3. We have made it to the wall defenses, what is your current location?"

"Ah, Commander Essential, Major Robinson here, we are in an observation room over looking many of the walkways that lead to the defensive wall. I have Inferno 4's squadron with me as well."

"Where are the other two squadrons?" asked Sky. Fire alarms began ringing. "Wallace, deal with those, main holding bay."

"The first squadron was wiped out when the Rebels collapsed their own tunnel. Second squadron is at half strength so we set up a checkpoint four wounded in the caverns. Hold on." Moments passed and all the guns ceased firing." Commander, one of my men finally hacked the system and took control of the automated defenses. Sir, the Rebels are attempting to wipe the databanks clean. I'm going to search the base for those Rebels."

"Understood." Sky watched as men clad in white armor stalked through the walkways, firing at anything that bothered to resist and some that didn't. "Mangles, target those launch bay doors on the mountain side."

The cockpit raised high and the incline of the deck increased to thirty degrees. Once more the AT rocked as the heavy durasteel doors came crashing down from their heavy hinges. The head returned to the normal position and swung back and forth searching for targets. Nothing was firing upon the walker but flashes could be seen in windows.

"Deraux, put us in the corner next to that hatch. I want to check it out." Said Sky as he stood from his chair and checked his blaster. He opened the hatch and walked through the command tunnel to the armory on board. Sky braced himself as he felt the walker kneel. Pulling his comlink from his pocket, Sky called for Deraux and Wallace. Both men arrived in seconds. "Okay I want you Deraux to come with me. Wallace, I hate doing this to you but I need one of your men."

"You can take Ryjerd. He's not the best mechanic but he's strong." He turned and bellowed down the passage way. "Rayc! Get you butt over here."

A large muscular man came rushing down the hallway and stopped a less than a meter from Sky. Skyline was of an average height around a meter and a half but Rayc was as tall if not taller than a wookie. His arms and legs seem to be as big as the AT-ATs legs.

"I don't recognize you, are you new?" asked Sky as he handed Deraux a blaster rifle.

"Yes sir. I was just transferred from the stormies because of my height."

"Not surprised, here." Sky said handing him an assault rifle and a couple of bandoliers of ammo. "Wallace, make all the repairs you can. I shouldn't be too long. I just want to scout the surrounding area. Come on, lets go." He grabbed a rifle for himself and a few frag grenades.

Sky opened a side hatch and extended the ramp. As he disembarked, he could see Inferno 1 and 4 waiting outside the walls. "If Veers knew what I was doing. . ." He walked to the access hatched and pressed a button. Nothing happened. He tried a different one, still nothing. He reached out for another but Rayc grabbed him and pulled him back. Rayc then leveled his assault rifle and blew down the door. "Thanks." Sky muttered.

Rayc went in first, no firing, and Sky followed in behind him. The room was small but had six other doors. In the middle of the room was a bank of computer and monitors, Sky made a move for them and then turned to Rayc. "I got this one." Then he sat down and turned one on. Deraux did the same and they tried to hack the system. Deraux had more success than Sky. The wall on the immediate left of the door opened and a bank of monitors were reveled. On the screens were security cameras all over the compound. Sky watched one as the Gamma Transports land. Then the rest of them. One squad of troopers was heading his way. The first trooper entered the door and saluted.

"Unit RG-34, sir. Do you need assistance?" he asked, the rest of his squad falling in behind him.

"No, but we found what appears to be a security checkpoint here and. . ." Sky pointed to one on the far end. "an early warning system if you now how to use it. Deraux."

"Yes sir?"

"This monitor says Corridor 31. Where is that?" he asked.

I took Deraux a moment to pull up a map of the facility, it took another to display it through a holoprojector. A red indicator and a blue indicator popped up with the display.

"Alright, this appears to be us. So now we know to avoid that door." Said Sky pointing to a door on the opposite wall. "Can you download that map to our data pads?"

Deraux pressed a few more buttons. "Done."

"Alright, RG-34 proceed with your mission. Deraux, Rayc, lets go." Sky said. He opened a door and walked down the corridor with his own contingent of guards. The three of them checked every door and every hatch for anything when the happened upon a heavily protected checkpoint. They all dove for cover but nothing fired at them.

"They must not have seen us." Said Rayc.

"Don't know how they could miss you." Said Deraux. Rayc retaliated with a jab at Deraux's arm. "Ouch you son of a . . ."

"Shut up!" said Sky. He peeked around the corner. "I don't think it's manned." Sky stepped out from hiding and stalked down the hall, weapon leveled at the door. The other two followed suit. Nothing moved behind the barricade. Sky lowered his weapon and punched a door release button and the hatch slid open with a long and loud screech. It had obviously been damaged, but by what?

They stepped through the door and turned on the lights. The lights came on and the men were surprised to see what they saw. Holding cells, and they were all opened. Slowly and carefully the three men checked each cell. Each cell held something different. Dead bodies in some, nothing in others but before they made it halfway down the detention center, somebody dropped a piece of metal on the floor. Essential signaled with his hands to go straight to the end of the room. They moved down the hall and stopped before the final cell. They could hear heavy breathing coming from inside. Sky held up his hand and counted down from three. Two, one. . all three of them swung their weapons up and rushed the cell.

"Freeze!" yelled Sky. The man inside jumped about twelve feet in the air. Beside the prisoner was a dead man in a Rebel uniform. He dropped his weapon and hugged Sky. There was something off about this man. He was an older gentleman, clean shaven and wearing half of what appeared to be a uniform that wasn't Imperial.

"Thank you!" he cried. "Thank you. I thought I would be trapped here for eternity. I'm uh. . . Corporal Smith, number uh. . . AB-123."

"Commander Essential."

"First Lieutenant Deraux."

"Second Engineer Ryjerd."

"What happened?" asked Sky.

"When you all attacked, the guards set up a defensive perimeter here but in the confusion they released the prisoners by accident. We over took the guards and proceeded to escape. I uh. . . got lost from the uh. . . main group and ended up back here to find this lone guard." He said. He picked up his weapon. "So how do we get out of here?"

Sky stood there and thought about it. He could proceed to search the base or escort the man back to the security room where half of the stormtrooper squad was. "Um. . . we have to continue searching the base, if you head back that hallway, take a left, go through a four-way intersection, turn right at the next intersection, and continue down the hall, you'll come to a group of stormtroopers. Tell them who you are and they'll take care of you."

The man blinked and smiled. "Thank you again Commander." He turned and hurried off down the hallway.

* * * * *

After an hour of searching the base, they found a few documents but found nothing of great importance, so they headed back to the security room. When the entered through the door, they saw Corporal Smith in binders. Sky was stunned.

"What are you doing?" he asked as he walked over to man. "What happened?"

"I got lost and couldn't find my way back. I ran across their patrol and they wouldn't believe me." He said.

"Excuse me sir, you know this man?" asked one of the stormtroopers standing over him.

"Yes, he's an Imperial trooper, he killed a Rebel who was holding him prisoner." Sky said. "Release him." Sky ordered.

The trooper bent over and released the binders. The man stood up and was knocked to the ground by a large explosion. Every trooper rushed to a console and to the monitors to see what was going on. There hadn't been any kind firing in the past thirty minutes. The monitors showed flames enveloping a building on the far side of the compound. After everybody's nerves calmed, they noticed someone missing. Before anything could be said General Veers stepped through the door.

"Where is the prisoner?" he asked searching the room. "Where is General Panoz?"

Sky froze. One of the troopers pointed at Sky. "He released him sir. Said he knew him."

"You did what?!?" Veers went ballistic. "First you disobey orders in battle and you undermined my authority. Then you release the Rebel Base Leader? That's the last draw. Troopers, take the Commander into your custody. Commander Skyline Essential, you are under arrest for treason against the Empire. Take him to my walker."

The binders Sky just released a man from were snapped around his wrist and he was led away.