Trooper

Boarding Party

I trained my blaster on the closed airlock door in front of me. I've been a part of so many boarding parties lately that I've lost track of how many it's been. Who were we after today? They never tell us what we're really up to, our job is just to take the ship and leave the rest to the officers. Such is life as a Stormtrooper in the Imperial Fleet I guess...

I looked to my left and right, on either side of me were three troopers that also had their blasters trained on the door in front of us. I'd been on enough missions with this squad that even with their faces hidden by our helmets on I knew who's face was behind each one. I also knew that it was very likely that not all of us would make it through the next fight. Who were we going to lose this time?

Maybe it's my turn?

I shake the thought from my head just as a loud metal-on-metal sound clangs through the corridor. There's a final bang as the docking collar locks into place and then the door in front of us opens. Two engineers jump through into the airlock, they immediately light up their torches and start cutting through the hatch on the other side. The smell is horrible, but it also kicks my senses into battle mode, knowing what's about to happen. I notice that my grip has tightened on my blaster, I've hunched down slightly so that my eyes are closer to the barrel so I can aim more accurately. I hear the engineers' torches extinguish and then they run out of the smokey airlock, here we go!

The charges on the cut door detonate in front of me. The visor built into my helmet does its job and prevents the flash from affecting my vision. Immediately two troopers in front of me charge blindly into the smoky void. I'm right on their heels and in an instant I can't see anything. I can hear blaster fire ahead, red flashes light up the expanse of smoke around me and I keep charging forward, my weapon raised and ready to fire the instant I see a target.

The smoke clears slightly, I can't see the troopers in front of me, but I can faintly make out some brown shapes further ahead. My instincts and training are fully engaged, without realizing my finger is peppering the trigger of my blaster which is spewing bolts of energy throughout the corridor in front of me. At first one, then a second brown figure slump to the ground when my rounds hit them square in the chest. The smoke clears before me as I rush forward, more of my targets fall as those further away turn to retreat. I consciously remind myself to not get cocky, I've been here before and I know that around the corner the enemy is regrouping and hoping we'll blindly run into their ambush. Why don't they learn? I think to myself as I take position along the wall to allow my squad-mates to form in behind me. They seem to think we're some sort of untrained drones that are willing to die for nothing. Maybe it's our anonymizing armour that helps them forget that we're people just like them?

Just then I feel a familiar tap on my shoulder, without needing to look back I know that my squad behind me is ready to proceed. That snapped my thoughts back to where they should be, now is not the time to start pitying the enemy. I move to the edge of the corridor, hearing my squad's boots on the polished floor behind me. I make a waving motion with my hand over my shoulder, prompting a trooper behind me to toss two flash grenades around the corner, one after the other. The first one detonates, but I'm holding my hand up giving the 'hold' signal to the squad at my back. The instant I hear the second blast I throw my fist forward and the entire squad is around the corner with blasters blazing. The plan has worked, the rebels had anticipated the first grenade and had blocked their eyes from it, but not the second, which caught them dead-on. They were firing completely blindly at us while we were taking them out quickly, a few troopers behind me fell to an unfortunate lucky shot, but not many. Just then two droids skirted directly through the crossfire, stupid droids! I took aim towards them, but they escaped into a bulkhead just as my blaster bolt ignited the wall behind them. I'm amazed they were able to make it through unscathed. "Oh well" I thought to myself, we'll round them up later.

A few moments longer and we've cleared the hallway. I dispatch pairs of my troopers into the various rooms and connecting corridors, cautioning them to watch for ambushes. I can hear the odd blaster shot off somewhere else in the ship, but it sounds like the main resistance has been eliminated. Time to report in.

I bring two rookies with me as I head back towards the access hatch. I instruct them to clear the bodies, Imperial, or otherwise, out of the hallway. After all, Lord Vader will be aboard momentarily and he won't be pleased if he has to step over a mess of downed soldiers.

A trooper calls out over my helmet comm that they've captured someone, a woman. I instruct them to bring her to me so she can be presented to Lord Vader. Just then I hear the distinct sounds of trooper boots standing to attention behind me, that can mean only one thing, Lord Vader has boarded. "Shit!" I think to myself, he doesn't surprise us often, but when he does it's always when things aren't quite ready. Which, of course, makes sense with him being a Jedi and all. I quickly hurry down the corridor towards where the woman was captured. Vader will want his prize, and as squad leader it should be me that presents her to him.

I got to the prisoner just as she was becoming alert after what was obviously a stun blast, a good thing too because troopers are known for smacking prisoners with the butt of their blasters when in close quarters such as this. I immediately recognize her as Princess Leia, a part of the Senate, which would have made things much worse if one of these troopers had managed to break her nose or worse. I tried to remind myself that these troopers were mostly still very young, they probably had no idea who they were dealing with, Stormtrooper training doesn't exactly allow much free time to pursue an interest in galactic politics.

"Who captured her?" I ask the huddle of troopers before me.

Two nod their heads and then look at each other with a confident swagger. "Rookies" I think to myself.

"Cool it" I order affirmatively then point to one of the troopers square in the chest, "You, with me." I then motion with my blaster towards our captive to get her moving.

We usher her down the corridor towards Vader's boarding party, it's not long before we join them.

"We captured this one during the attack" I say, Vader isn't one for pleasantries. I then take a step back, I can hear the rookie trooper next to me shuddering under his armour, but thankfully he managed to follow my lead. "Where's your swagger now?" I thought to myself, the first encounter with Lord Vader will do that to people.

My years of training and experience taught me long ago that it's best to not eavesdrop on Lord Vader's conversations. But it was impossible to ignore how defiantly the Princess spoke to him, all while maintaining a cool composure about her. I've never seen anybody speak to Vader in this way and be still alive this far into the exchange. "Did she just compare him to a dog?" I think to myself, the shock surprises me, but I don't flinch, Stormtroopers don't flinch.

Vader's voice suddenly gets louder, I miss what he says at first, but my attention snaps back just in time to hear him order "Take her away!".

Without hesitation, I step forward and grab her by the arm and we start moving back towards the access hatch.