Quantum Entanglement: Howzer and Aurelia

28. Shifting Protocols

"Alright men, look sharp," Howzer commanded from beneath his helmet, walking in front of his lined-up squad. "We've got a new patrol group coming in, and the better we train them, the less we have to clean up after them. Got it?" 

"Yes, sir!" they chorused.

"At ease," he answered, and they turned to watch the fresh batch of troopers arrive. It had been a few months filled with rotating platoons and training drills, with a heavier focus on the doonium mine and refinery. The new group approached Howzer's squad, and there was some surprise at the mixed group: there were clones as well as other humans, all walking toward them with their helmets at their sides. As they arrived, they halted as one, moving into formation and pulling their helmets on, waiting quietly for orders. 

The day wore on, full of training drills and procedures for various scenarios. The occasional theft was the extent of their worries, and the Empire hadn't seemed concerned enough about them to improve any protocols, so they went through the motions with familiarity. After hours of practice and review, they were finished, and Howzer dismissed the newbies. His squad lingered, pulling their helmets off and exchanging a few quips and jabs.

"Cantina tonight?" asked Steady, stretching his neck side to side. 

"I'm in!" Demo answered, clicking an attachment off the muzzle of his blaster and tucking it into a thigh pouch before holstering his weapon. 

"Too loud," a grumble came from behind.

"I agree, Loner. And I'm gonna use the extra shower time if the two of you go," said Zip, who had been absent from the last adventure as well. 

"I'll come!" a bright voice announced, as a trooper with dark green marks on his armor poked his head out from behind Howzer's shoulder. "If that's alright..."

"Sure thing, Fireball. We'll get you settled right in," Steady answered congenially. 

"It's nothing like Kashyyyk though," Demo warned, grinning mischievously. 

BOOM. A barricade exploded in the shipyard as a ground transport plowed through it, careening toward the distant canyon. The men startled into action, pulling helmets on and drawing blasters, and Howzer took immediate command. Mounting a few nearby speeders, the rest piled into a low-altitude assault transport and took off in pursuit. Two of the speeder bikes raced along the top of the canyon, finding a narrow point where the canyon path the transport was on seemed to converge. Aiming their blasters at the rock walls opposite each other, they created a rockslide with a flurry of well-placed shots, and the boulders tumbled into the canyon below, creating a formidable obstacle.

The stolen transport skidded to a halt, spinning sideways as the rocks crashed down in front of it. Howzer and his LA-AT team were not far behind, coming in for landing to cut off their escape. Troopers spilled out its sides, sprinting toward the stolen transport with blasters drawn. A small group readied to break into the steering compartment, and the rest approached the rear. Fanning out into position, they stood at the ready as two moved in to place a detonator on the back door. With a single arm signal, they folded to the sides for cover, and with one last drop of the hand from the Captain, it exploded, causing the large metal panel to fall off its hinges. 

Filing in with weapons at the ready, the clone troopers discovered, as the dust settled, that the transport was not full of weapons or credits, but thin, sallow-skinned Twi'leks with raggedy clothes cowering before them with their arms in the air. Demo hesitated, aiming his blaster back and forth between two adolescents that couldn't have been far into their teens, looking quizzically at Steady from beneath his helmet. Howzer glanced from face to face, searching for anyone in any position of authority and finding none. He leapt back out, heading to the front of the transport, where his brothers had apprehended the three in the drivers compartment, who were now standing in the headlights with their hands behind their heads, guarded on every direction. 

"What's going on here?" Howzer demanded. 

"Ryloth needs to be freed!" came the thickly-accented answer from a tall female Twi'lek with a fierce glare. 

"So you're kidnapping your own people?" he challenged, addressing her now. 

"Kidnapping? We are releasing them from slavery!" 

"They're employees! Hired by the Empire!" yelled Loner from behind Howzer, who waved a hand to silence his comrade. 

"Look at them, Captain," said the Twi'lek woman, quieter yet more emphatic now. "Do they look like employees?" 

He turned to look at the crowd behind him, where his squad had gathered the stowaways in a messy cluster. They looked fearful and confused, as well as tired and resigned. His brow furrowed beneath his helmet, and he turned back to the woman. "Did you take any weapons? Credits? Materials?" 

"No, only our brothers and sisters. You can understand that as a clone, no?" 

Howzer hesitated, glancing to his side where Zip and Steady had rallied behind him, now being joined by Demo and Fireball. Thoughts racing, he considered the situation, pulling his helmet off in a show of humanity. His squad did the same, lowering blasters and releasing the tension a bit as they showed their identical yet unique faces. The pause lingered for a moment, then was broken by the singular sound of a light thud followed by quickening beeping. 

"Grenade!!" shouted Demo, and everyone sprang into action, diving for cover anywhere it was found. The blast rocked the canyon, and the ensuing chaos was a blur in Howzer's memory.

* * * 

"That's the entire report?" Rampart's smooth voice queried as he strolled across the line of Howzer's squad.

"Yes sir," Howzer answered, standing at the end of the line, chin raised.

"Hmm," the Admiral said thoughtfully. "It's a shame. These insurgents are getting more organized, and they are becoming an increasing source of trouble. How they managed to get an entire group out of there on foot is beyond me, but they are clearly more capable than we previously thought. In the future, Captain, don't waste the manpower or time in pursuit. Simply obliterate it from the air. That would have dealt with the problem without losing two of your men."

"But sir, it was full of civilians," Howzer answered hesitantly.

"Civilians, materials... whatever it is," Rampart bulldozed, and a few clone troopers shifted minutely in their armor, "It needs to be made clear that their efforts will only be met with great loss."

"Yes sir," Howzer said automatically, insides churning. 

"You're dismissed."