SACRIFICE
by: Travis A. Jones
Disclaimer: Reads as a three act script and I am not attempting to make money off of it, just enjoyed writing in this style.
ACT I
SETTING: The confines of the Darna system, a well populated star system that has recently peaked the interest of the Galactic Empire. Rebel bases have reportedly been spotted by Imperial spies and it’s the job of Admiral Pak to locate the nefarious Rebels and bring them to justice, either by death or capture. An Imperial Star Destroyer hovers above the planet Salara.
Pak: Lieutenant, I want you and several stormtroopers dispatched to check out what’s wrong with this planet, Salara.
Lieutenant Seese: Sir, pardon me for asking, but what is wrong with the planet? I thought we had cleared Salara off of our list of possible bases.
Pak: No lieutenant, there MAY be rebels down there, and yes, our probe droids have found nothing but a desolate, yet livable planet that was obviously occupied by the rebels, as evidenced by the readings of X-Wing class starfighters. There have also been some signs of movement, but maybe nothing more than native species.
Lieutenant Seese: Sir, with your permission, I’d like to take 10 stormtroopers for this mission and some biker scouts.
Pak: Fine, take what you need. With this being your first mission, I want you to have all the help you can get. I highly recommend that you take trooper UT-341; he’s one of those "special" types of troopers that we don’t have many left of.
Lieutenant Seese: Yes sir! (Salutes with Pak returning one back.)
INTERIOR: Ship hanger with several Imperial Shuttles in the background. In a small clearing, Lieutenant Seese is briefing his mission to a group of stormtroopers and two pilots, with all viewing a bluish hologram image of the suspected rebel base.
Lieutenant Seese: So that’s the mission, go down to Salara, split up into twos and see if there are any signs of rebel troops. A complete sweep will be done of the base down there and report ANYTHING that seems to be suspicious or odd. The scout troopers will do a quick sweep as well on their bikes; just do a 360 around the compound, okay?
Scout Trooper 1: Check, sir!
Lieutenant Seese: Any questions?
Stormtroopers: (In unison) No sir!
The Imperial Shuttle CLYGER proceeds to the planet of Salara, a planet that is known only for it’s abundance of usable, though totally isolated land. When viewed from space, the planet appears to be bright and golden since it has a high amount of yellow flora and wheat with very little else save for a lakebed here and there. The empire considered this planet worthless since civilization never took root. With the rebellion slowly growing, the once ignored systems are watched more carefully since they provide the perfect hiding place for heroes to grow.
SETTING: THE SUSPECTED REBEL BASE AT SALARA. A shoddy, ramshackle mess of buildings that have long been neglected. Blaster marks are dotted all along the sides of the buildings, all of which takes up a total of only what could be described as two city blocks worth of space. The CLYGER lands atop one of the buildings that has a landing pad for smaller spacecraft. The roof bends under the weight of the CLYGER, the age of the antiquated building showing itself to the Imperial squad.
SEESE: (Talking over a hologram image of the base.) Okay, troopers, split out and do your mission, report in every 5 minutes, scout troopers depart and check out the outer rim of this base. Move!
Stormtroopers/Scout Troopers: YES SIR!! (All rush out of the ship with the scout troopers rocketing out of the ship last with their speeder bikes).
SEESE: (Steps out of the ship to scan the base, his com link comes on just as he’s about to look around) <"Sir, we’ve found something, a rebel, we think."> Okay trooper, are they alive or dead?
UT-341: By the looks of his movement sir, I’d say he’s still alive, but he appears to be unconscious.
SEESE: Bring him to the ship, now!
UT-341: Yes sir!
A few minutes pass before two stormtroopers drag a haggard looking young male. A beard and long hair adorn his face with blood stains splotched all over his clothes.
SEESE: (Slaps the face of the man). GET UP! You treacherous scum, wake up! (Continues slapping, but the man doesn’t wake up.) (Turns to the pilots in the shuttle.) Can you make a quick trip back to drop him off to the medical staff? I want this rebel to wake up by means of medicine or by torture!
PILOT 1: Yes sir, do you need reinforcements?
SEESE: No, it appears that this base was long abandoned and maybe somebody missed the call to retreat. He looks as bad as he smells.
The stormtroopers load the unconscious male onto the CLYGER and Lieutenant Seese watches as it bounds skyward, a smile rips across his face in glee; his first mission is becoming a great success already and it’s only been 20 minutes.
SETTING: INTERIOR OF THE CLYGER
(A rustling noise is heard in the back bay of the ship.)
PILOT 1: Did you hear something?
PILOT 2: No, wait………...
(In the background, the unconscious prisoner moves and sits up, his eyes are bloody red, teeth exposed as if he had not eaten in a millennia. Slowly, he stands up as the CLYGER leaves the outer atmosphere of Salara. A slow walk turns to a quick pace and before he can get to the front of the ship.)
PILOT 1: He’s up! Dammit, blast him!
PILOT 2: (Stands up to draw his blaster, only to have his arm engaged by the right hand grip of the prisoner, in a second it’s broken off at the elbow.) AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGHHHHHHHHH! (A fountain of red splatters across the cabin of the CLYGER, blinding the other pilot.) Kill him!!!!!!! Kill him!!!!!!!!! K……………………(The pilot has his neck ripped to shreds by the sharp and jagged teeth of the prisoner, the pilot drops to the floor, followed by the thud of his decapitated head, in a pool of blood.)
PILOT 1: Ugh, I can’t see, I can’t see!!!!!! AAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUGHHHHHHH!!!! (The pilot fights to see while holding off the man with his left arm, only to feel the deep sinking of teeth into the flesh of his forearm.) (The shuttle CLYGER careens off course and at a high rate of speed, heading towards the bridge of the Star Destroyer.)
SETTING: STAR DESTROYER BRIDGE
PAK: What the??? Does anyone have communication with the CLYGER? What in blazes is Seese doing?
Lt. LORO: Sir, we’ve tried to hail them repeatedly, there is no response!
PAK: Shields up!! NOW!!!
Imperial Officer: Too late sir, they’ve passed the reaching point of our shields, they’re headed straight for us!
PAK: Evasive action, all crew!!!
(In the blink of an eye, the CLYGER slams top speed into the bridge of the STAR DESTROYER, blowing up the upper half of one of the first DESTROYERS made for the empire. The lights of the ship blink and sputter out, the thrusters lose momentum, the ship floats alone in space, a vessel being drained of life.)
SETTING: REBEL BASE ON SALARA
In the late day hours on SALARA, Lieutenant Seese notices a bright explosion above him, almost as if a star imploded. He silently wonders what he just saw, his mind lightly dancing around the thought of it being the Star Destroyer. Thinking that it’d be highly unlikely for a vessel of that magnitude to be destroyed without a fight, he resumes his viewing of the base interior from his high vantage point.
UT-341: (Coming across on a comlink.) Sir, we may need you down to our location, we’ve found something.
Seese: Another rebel?
UT-341: No sir, we’ve found their main area of operations and base of information.
Seese: I’ll be right there, where are you located?
UT-341: 10 degrees south of the landing zone, 300 meters.
Seese: Check. (On the way down, Seese sees some movement to his left. A shadowy figure in a corner stands tall.) (With pistol drawn, Seese moves cautiously towards the figure.) I’ve got my weapon drawn, come out and show your face…rebel! (The figure still stands, just moving back and forth) Come on!!! I’m warning you! (The shadows move slowly back and forth in a rocking motion of the corner) Okay, your call! (A shot from Seese’s blaster strike its target, more and more blasts occur, until the figure drops to the ground. Seese walks up to his victim, a blood soaked and battered Wookiee, a likely character to be found with the rebels. With his foot, Seese kicks the side of the hairy creature, which stands well over 7 feet tall. On closer examination, Seese notices that a chunk of the Wookiee’s scalp has been literally eaten. The stench of death is overwhelming for him as he slowly steps away; a stench that couldn’t be from his deadly pistol blasts, Seese makes the assumption that this creature has been dead for a while.)
UT-341: (Coming across on a comlink.) Sir!? Are you alright? Sir!??
Seese: Coming trooper, I just took down a thing of some sort.
Seese quickly departs the scene, not noticing the gradual rise and ascension of the mighty Wookiee as Seese gathers distance from him. Eyes red as fire, the Wookiee opens what’s left of his jaw to emit a deadly howl.
ACT II
SETTING: INTERIOR OF THE MAIN AREA OF OPERATIONS, REBEL BASE
Broken monitors and screens adorn the command area of the building. Blood stains adorn the walls, the stench is overwhelming; a stagnant feel of death is felt all around the complex. Seese steps in to what he believes is mud, a mistake that is harshly felt when he realizes it’s a mix of blood and internal organs.
Seese: What happened here? Did the rebels get ambushed by a bunch of stray Wookiees? I just killed one on my way over here!
UT-341: (Points to the command table.) Look sir. (With a touch of a button, holographic images emerge on the table; many different people are screaming and running around. One figure emerges out of the chaos to address an audience that is not there. It appears to be a plea for help.)
Holographic image of a woman: <My name is Katira Sol, I am a lieutenant with the Rebellion, if you see this message, GET OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My base has been overrun by a horrific virus, my people are dying, only to rise and……(unintelligible)……DO NOT STAY HERE, NO ONE IS LEFT ALIVE…………….(turning her back to the audience) they won’t stop until everyone is gone………….gone……>(takes her blaster out and starts firing as a mob approaches. Soon she is seen being taken over by a crowd of 20, her limbs being ripped apart as her ear piercing screams erupt. The image shuts off immediately.
Seese: That’s it, this mission is over. Although…… it could be a tactic by the rebellion to just scare us away, right?
UT-341: (Shoots a glance towards Seese.) Sir, the rebels are dead.
Seese: (Sighs. Speaks into his comlink.) < This is Lieutenant Seese, I want all members of the recon to report back to the landing pad, immediately. Report!>
VG-919: <Team 1 reporting back now, sir!>
CN-800: <Team 3 reporting back now, sir!>
KB-110: <Team 4 reporting back now, sir!>
Seese: <I’ve got 3 teams left to report in, report!! Where’s team 2?>
UT-341: Sir, that’s my team.
Seese: Oh. Sorry. Embarrassed, Seese switches his comlink back on to get responses from the Scout Trooper teams and team 5. <Team 5 and 6, report in, now!!>
MO-990: <Sir, we’ve got problems, team 5 is dead and our bikes are gone.> < Our blasters are almost nonfunctional………..wait…………….NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!<
SILENCE
Seese: <Team 6!! Team 6, are you there, come in!!!> (Panicky and nervous) Uh….I think that we’ve got to leave, now!
UT-341: Sir, we’ll cover you. (All three leave the main building.)
Three figures run as fast as they can, a stormtrooper leads with Lt. Seese following; a second stormtrooper covers the rear of the entourage. Heavy breathing can be heard as they approach the building where the landing pad is.
Seese: Wait, that Wookiee I shot, he was right there and now he’s gone….keep your eyes open for anything.
CRACK!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seese turns around to see the Wookiee in question tower above him holding the remains of a stormtrooper, his entrails flowing down the silky white blaster armor and down the arms of the Wookiee.
GAWHORRRLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Wookiee barks in anger as he plunges his mouth into the torn upper torso of the unfortunate stormtrooper.UT-341: Sir, stand back, I’ve got him! (Five blasts from UT’s blaster rifle find their way into the skull of the Wookiee; whose head explodes immediately after the first volley, a tangled mess of brown hair and blood lie in the dusty ground.) Sir, I suggest we go!
Seese and UT-341 make their way up to the landing pad, only to find 5 of the possible 6 stormtroopers that reported to be present.
Seese: Addressing a very tired and haggard stormtrooper who is awash with blood and broken armor plating. What happened to your partner, trooper?
VG-919: Sir, he was taken by a mass of rebels, I tried to save him but they tore his body armor off and ate him sir. I barely escaped with the help of my grappling hook and line, I had to climb out. I did get bitten some, but other than that, I’m fine.
Seese: (In disbelief.) Eaten? What type of virus is this? (Takes out his binos and scans the base. A large movement can be seen to the left of their position. Seese does an auto correct on the clarity and almost drops his binos at the sight.) We’re not going……..
UT-341: Sir, I’ve tried to raise communications with the CLYGER, there is no response; nor is there any response from the Star Destroyer.
Just then Seese’s light and innocent thought about the large blast being that of the Star Destroyer feels like a heavy and overpowering weight upon his psyche.
Seese: There’s no response trooper because there’s no ship left. There’s close to 200 rebels approaching our position right now, our safest place right now is this landing pad and I’m hoping that they can’t climb walls.
UT-341: Sir, I’ve blocked all entrances and have trigger sensitive charges on the door panels, in case they decide to break through.
Seese: Good job UT. (Turning his attention to the injured Stormtrooper.) How are you doing?
VG-919: Collapses.
CN-800: (Checking VG-919’s vitals.) Sir, he’s dead.
Seese: CN-800, keep his weapon here and throw him off the landing pad, maybe it’ll create a diversion for the rebels or something.
CN-800: Yes sir! (Grabs one side of VG-919 as another trooper grabs the other to lift the body and throw it off of the two story landing pad.)
A stream of rebels run over VG-919’s body, bypassing it completely; their attention is totally focused on the remaining squad above them.
Seese: UT, any ideas, this building will crumble if we don’t move soon!
UT-341: Sir, I can fire a grappling hook over to that building (points to a 3 story structure that lies 100 yards away). It might not be much of a help, but at least we can get to a more secure area.
Seese: (Nods).
UT-341: (Takes out his grappling hook, mounts it to the undercarriage of his Blastech 11 and fires towards the roof of a metal building.) Sir, I’ve got an attachment, but we have no firm area to mount the rope!
CN-800: I’ll secure the rope, the rest of you make your way over. (Grabs the rope and pulls it tight, securing it to his utility belt and grabbing onto the backside of the building’s edge.)
The small shack of a building rumbles underneath the squad’s feet. A large blast is soon felt. BOOM!
UT-341: Sir, the charges have gone off, we must move if we’re to live.
Seese: (Angrily) Well just don’t stand there, someone move!
LX-989 makes the first move, sliding his Blastech rifle into his holster, he grabs the line and begins to make his way over, hand over hand over hand over hand.
UT-341: (Stopping the next trooper from moving onto the rope.) Do not move until he makes his way over! I’m sure the Lt. would not want the line to break.
CN-800 huffs and digs his boots into the dirt of the roof, his fingers clinging to the edge, all in a struggle to keep a tight line.
Seese: This building isn’t going to hold much longer, I don’t care, get to moving, I can’t afford to see us fall to our deaths here.
NB-201 makes his way onto the rope, repeating the action of LX, the rope bows under the heavy weight of two troopers, one of whom is just halfway across. Lying below, a maddening crowd raises it’s hands up in the air grasping for what they hope will fall to them.
BOOM!!!!
UT-341: That was the second charge sir, if the third one goes off, this building will be in ruins.
Seese: (Nervous and scared) This mission was supposed to be simple, why did they send me down to this death trap!!? WHY!!? WHY!!! (Crumples down and sobs.)
ZAP!!
(Seese lies motionless on the ground while UT-341 looks over him with blaster raised.)SE-101: Sir, did you kill the Lt?
UT-341: Yes, he was violating order 99. Remember order 99? (Taps his helmet with his right index finger.)
SE-101: (Happily) Yes, sir!
UT-341: (Moves over to CN-800) Can you make it trooper?
CN-800: (Struggling) Yes, sir, you need to get moving.
UT-341: <Sir, this is LX-989, I’ve made it to the other side, all clear.>
SE-101 takes a hold of the rope, just as hands break through the roof of the building, clutching and grasping for something to get a grip on to.
CN-800: What was that?
UT-341: (Blaster raised, he fires at the mass that is trying to break through the roof’s floor.) Never mind trooper, keep your focus, we’re almost there!
(The building shakes more and more, the mass of rebels keeps growing larger as they make their way through the many holes in the roof.)
UT-341: (Blaster keeps firing upon those that make their way through the holes.)
AAUGGHHHHH!!!!!!!
(UT looks over in horror to see CN-800 being drawn and quartered, his limbs being ripped at the joints, a red stream of blood flowing down the shiny white armor, guts and intestine eaten whole as the wild eyed trooper sees his own death occurring.)UT-341: <SE, NB, you need to move faster, that cable line is no good!> (Presses a button on his wrist, the smell of fuel suddenly emits, then a rocket blast is heard as UT-341 propels his way over to a 3 story structure where he finds LX and NB waiting.)
(The building that UT just left crumbles into a large mass of rubble, bodies stir and begin to make their way out, bodies with nothing left but upper torsos crawl their way out, all headed towards the stormtroopers’ way.)
UT-341: <Sir, this is SE-101 reporting, I’m making my way towards your location, I have several rebels behind me.> <Keep moving trooper, we’ll cover you!> (Addressing the rest of the squad.) Take aim at that group of rebels, heavy firepower, now!
(All three raise their rifles and fire volley after volley of laser blasts at several dozen rebels, heads blow off, torsos get ripped apart as SE-101 runs as fast as he can towards the metal building.)
SE-101: (Reaches the door of the building.) <Sir, I’m at the front, I don’t have a cable line, and I need one dropped down to me, hurry!>
The large black metal door of the building zooms up, eyes as red as fire stare out of the darkness towards the stormtrooper, hands extended they grab his legs.
SE-101: (Lands on his back and is dragged into the building.) <Nooooooooooooooo, get off, get off! Blaster fire. . aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk…………….(munching and chewing are heard over SE’s intercom link)
UT-341: (Head perks up at the sound that is heard from SE’s comlink.) There’s just us then and they are in this building. We need a plan to get out of this planet and we haven’t had much time to find useable transport. Did you two see anything during your patrol?
LX-989: Sir, all of the fighters that I saw were stripped down, although I did see one of our speeder bikes sitting untouched just to the right of this building.
NB-201: Negative sir, there was no evidence found of any useable transport; it’s a junkyard.
UT-341: (Looks around, surveying the immediate area.) I have one thermal detonator with me. If we can draw the crowd to that satellite tower, perhaps it’ll destroy them all.
The problem is that we need to draw all of them to that location, including the rebels that are in this building.
(All three stormtroopers look at each other, as if knowing that they could all die pulling off such a tricky maneuver.)
UT-341: Get your blasters ready, attack formation echo!
(NB-201 moves to a metal doorway located on the roof and blasts it open with his rifle. LX-989 throws down his whole lot of flares into the dark abyss of the second level. Both troopers wait for the light to find a floor to rest on before making any judgments.)
NB-201: Sir, no signs of any movement.
UT-341: Move then, we can’t waste anymore time!
(LX-989 jumps down to a lit hallway made of a mixture of stone and metal. With blaster raised and head light on, he does a 360 degree turn, all the while listening for any noises.)
LX-989: Sir, no evidence of any rebels.
(UT-341 jumps down next to LX and keeps watch behind him. NB-201 jumps down between the two troopers and takes over for LX-989.)
UT-341: According to my readings, there are only two ways out of here, in order to get the most out of the rebels; I suggest we take the harder of the two.
LX-989: Meaning, the same way that SE took?
UT-341: Affirmative. Let’s go!
(All three troopers move in a stacked file position, LX’s right hand glides across the wall, while his helmet light makes for a lit path for them to follow.)
NB-201: (Keeps moving behind the two other troopers, keeping watch of what’s behind them.) Wait, did you hear that?
(Before the other troopers can respond, a mass of arms and gaping mouths rise from beneath the grated floor, breaking through the mass of metal that the troopers are standing on, UT-341 and LX-989 move forward to avoid the swell of rebels.)
NB-201: (Startled and panicked) Wait! (Starts to move but three hands grab his right ankle and drag him down.) (Attempts to blast the rebels but misses and shoots his own right foot off.) Arrghhhhhhhh! (The streaming blood makes the rebels more ferocious as the tear into his exposed flesh.) No……..no……….(Grabs into his utility belt as he is being dragged down and produces a small detonator, with a flick of a switch, it is activated.) <Sir, I suggest that you run!>
BOOM!!!!!
(A blast rocks the entire building, sending a plume of smoke and fire down the hallway, UT-341 and LX-989 run at breakneck speed down the narrow passageway, until they both fall off of a ledge and into what can only be described as a dimly lit large hall with 70 or so rebels stirring about.)UT-341: We don’t have much more time left here, that doorway should be to our left.
(LX-989 draws his blaster and fires into the crowd of gathering rebels as their steps soon turn into the form of a running pace. UT-341 makes his way to the main door, blasting away any rebels that come his way.)
UT-341: (Finds that the door does not automatically open, underneath him lies scattered parts of trooper armor, strewn with blood, suddenly an arm with black mesh and tattered armor grabs onto his belt.) What the?!
(SE-101’s mouth opens wide to take a bite out of UT’s thigh. GWOORRRRRR!!!)
UT-341: (Pulls his blaster around and blows SE’s head completely off, spewing blood and brain matter over the floor.) Always thought he was out to get me……(looks towards LX-989) let’s go trooper!
(LX-989 runs towards the main door where UT-341 is standing at, the door is noticeably not moving up.)
UT-341: Ready?
LX-989: Ready sir!
UT-341: (The door whooshes open, only to slam back down as soon as the button is let go off.) This is a problem….let me try the resonator. (The door opens up and then slasm down once more. The door is opened up once more this time with UT-341 shooting the control panel in an attempt to keep the door open, it fails as the door slams shut once more.) This is a bigger problem. Hold them off, while I try to fix this!
LX-989: (Blasts away at the mob of rebels that are coming in, heads blast open, limbs fall off, there seems to be no end to the amount of rebels that were holed up in the building.) I can’t hold them off much longer sir; my rifle is beginning to overheat!
UT-341: Here, use mine then! (Hands his blaster off to LX) There! (Door rises up slowly as UT-341 holds two frayed lines together to complete the circuit.) Come here trooper, I have a job for you!
LX-989: (Rushes over while blasting away at the rebels.) Yes sir.
UT-341: Hold these lines together, I’m heading off to the satellite tower, I’ll try to get them to follow me, but you must hold this door open at all costs, got that?!
LX-989: (Nervously) Yes, sir!
UT-341: (Trots outside the building and into the open, where the rebels that were believed to be just in the hundreds, have now doubled in size, slowly marching towards UT.) Keep standing there trooper!
(The base is now completely dark with some scattered lights here and there, and the twin moons providing the best of light.)
LX-989: (Holds the circuit together with one hand while blasting away rebels with the other.) C’mon, you rebel scum! (A laser blast comes from LX’s left and strikes him in the chest.)
LX-989: (Stunned and lying down. The door begins to slam shuts, LX crawls towards the doorway and attempts to hold the heavy metal door open with his arms, pushing back as hard as he can. Unknown to him is the reality that the rebels have clawed into his paralyzed lower torso and are ripping it apart.) Aaarggh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Intestines are un spooled as the door slams shut on LX’s head, smashing out his brains and crushing the heralded armor of the stormtrooper.)
UT-341: <LX-989, do you copy?> <LX?> (Stares about as a crowd begins to form on all sides of him, a slight opening exists as a passageway towards the 5 foot tall tower.)
(UT-341 runs towards the tower, blasting away any rebels that get near him, bodies fall to the ground, but a mass of 30 or more rebels blocks his path to the tower. WHOOSH! With one blast of his rocket pack, UT-341 times his jump with the blast to clear the rebels, an arm takes hold of his left leg and instinctively UT blasts away at his captor while taking hold of the tower’s ladder with his right hand.)
UT-341: Uugmmmmmmppph! (Pain shoots through his body as he practically does a full body press into the side of the tower’s ladder. Sliding his blaster into the holster, UT quickly climbs hand over hand up the side of the tower, not giving in to looking down upon the overwhelmingly large crowd that waits for him below. Reaching the top of the satellite tower, UT-341 scans the crowd and notices familiar faces of the crew that came with him, most notably the face of Lt. Seese.
Seese: Gwarhhhhharrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!! (Moves with a limp, arms down at his side, his face is chalky white, devoid of life, he stares directly into the eyes of UT-341.)
UT-341: Sorry sir, orders are orders. (Takes out the thermal detonator and adjusts the setting to full capacity and arms it. From atop the tower, UT throws the thermal detonator onto the crowd below of what has now turned out to be 400 rebels.)
Voice: <UT-341, can you hear me!?>
BOOM!
(The thermal detonator ignites below the tower, ripping all 400 rebels and assorted members of the ill fated crew apart in all manners imaginable. The tower crumbles underneath the feet of UT-341 and collapses in a pile of rubble.)ACT III
SETTING: Interior starboard bay of the Executor. (Captain Ohdoun is briefing Darth Vader about a small mission that had been sent out to recover a stranded recon team on the planet of Salara.)
Vader: So, Captain Ohdoun, you expect me to believe that a rebel fortress has been in existence on this planet? Who was responsible for this recon mission?
Ohdoun: Why, Admiral Pak sir, he orchestrated the mission. From what his last report said, probe droids had discovered signs of rebel activity.
Vader: Admiral Pak is as useless as he is brainless; he is responsible only for the destruction of an Imperial Navy vessel and the lives that went along with it. I want you to order your men to annihilate all signs of that rebel fortress; it is of no use to me!
Ohdoun: Yes, Lord Vader.
SETTING: Interior of an Imperial Shuttle that is circling the remains of the rebel fortress on Salara.
Pilot 1: You see anything, any signs of that "recon" team?
Pilot 2: No, and there are no distress signals either, guess that one reading that we picked up prior to entering the atmosphere was a false one.
Pilot 1: Okay, orders are orders, let’s blow this dump up.
(From beneath the Imperial shuttle small metallic balls are released, timed thermal detonators litter the ground of what remains of the rebel base. The shuttle makes two sweeps and then jets off. Suddenly, a figure moves from beneath the rubble of the tower and struggles to get up, knocking off bits of metal and stone from his body. The figure looks skyward towards the departing Imperial shuttle. Slow and gregarious movements are soon replaced by a brisk and breakneck pace as the figure’s feet dig into the ground.
UT-341: (Huffing and puffing, speaks into his comlink.) <This is UT-341, do you copy?!> (UT runs faster and faster as the Imperial shuttle slowly begins to makes it’s ascension skyward.) POOF….PAKOW!........(UT tries to muster some power out of his rocket pack, but to no avail, he keeps running faster and faster, the ringing of the detonators flash inside his head.) WHOOSH!!!!!!!!!! (With a leap, UT-341 rockets towards the Imperial Shuttle.) <This is UT-341, do you copy?!!!>
Pilot 2: Hey, did you hear that? Where is he?
Pilot 1: He’s tailing us; but we can’t go back down, too risky, open up the back bay platform!
(The door of the back bay slowly opens while a dirty white speck rockets itself towards it.)
UT-341: (The rocket pack sputters and gurgles.) <Reverse your thrusters, I’m losing power!>
Pilot 1: <No can do!>
UT-341: (Pushes all of his available fuel tanks to their limit, racheting up his speed to it’s highest level.) FOOM! (His body is propelled to the back bay as the rocket pack gives out, leaving him scrambling for something to hold onto as he begins to slide out the door and back into the open sky. Beneath him, a bright orange explosion occurs, destroying all that remains of the doomed rebel base. Suddenly, the door makes it’s ascent back up and UT throws himself over and slides down the door into the back bay of the shuttle.)
Pilot 2: Welcome! (Looks UT-341 over.) Geez, I’ve never seen such dedication in a stormtrooper, maybe they decided to let you keep your brain after all! Haw, haw!
UT-341: (Stands up suddenly, surprising the young Imperial pilot, and grabs him by the collar, putting his helmet to the now startled pilot.) Listen here, I’m not just some brainless trooper and I don’t have the patience or time to see your smug face, now I suggest you leave me alone!
Pilot 2: Er…okay, hey, I was just joking! No hard feelings?
UT-341: (Sits down while the two pilots chat with each other.)
Pilot 1: You got lucky, that is not an ordinary stormtrooper officer. He’s one of the old guard.
Pilot 2: No kidding?! I thought that almost none of those troopers were left around.
Pilot 1: (Looking back at UT-341.) Yeah, he’s almost a relic; I think they either put him in Captain Pak’s unit to provide some wisdom or to get rid of him. You do know that this guy wasn’t supposed to make it, right?
Pilot 2: No, I’m just following orders.
Pilot 1: Yes and the underlying order is that Captain Pak was to be led to this system, find Salara, and in his infinite wisdom mount an attack on a useless rebel base. The whole empire knows that there’s been a hideous virus that’s existed in their water supply for years.
UT-341: (Takes off his helmet as the Imperial Shuttle docks inside the Executor, it lands with a thud onto the floor. His head rises up, gray hair adorns his scalp, scars of old battles stretch across his face, and a sigh of relief comes out of his cracked lips.) Yes, there are not many more of us left around.
END