Galaxy: A STAR WARS Collection

Walker

Talossa

2 Years After the Battle of Yavin

. . .

Wrrrrrrrr-kaCHUNK.

Kavis didn't know what he had done to be this unlucky. The team had expected there to be some kind of resistance, but no one was expecting this.

He could see the towering monstrosity lumbering through the thick forest, trees groaning and crunching as they were crushed underfoot. His knees were aching. He was crouched as far as the joints in his body would allow. Ten minutes was a long time to be locked in one position.

Kavis was a slightly taller than average man in his late twenties. He sported shaggy dark blonde hair and always kept his facial hair close, never longer than a few days growth and rarely ever shorter. He had been fighting with the Rebellion for a little over a year and a half. Upon seeing his natural born leadership skills, he had been placed in charge of his small squad of Rebels just a handful of months ago.

Through the small gaps in the leaves, he managed to – just barely – pick out three dark green helmets belonging to members of his squad. Thankfully, they were blending in well with the leaves around them. It gave him hope that those up above wouldn't be able to spot them either.

"I hoped I would never see one of these things in person." The voice spoke through the communication device hanging around his neck. It was the soft voice of Shynan Lasena. She was a young Theelin of pale skin with an almost lavender hue. There was a small collection of horns protruding from her temples, above which sat luscious cyan hair. She was a captivating creature by anyone's standard; she had plenty of admirers in the Rebellion.

Kavis was worried for the young girl. She was barely nineteen years of age. She must have been terrified.

"Do you think they've spotted us?" She asked.

"If they'd spotted us, we would've been atomised already," a gruff voice replied. It was the oldest member of the team, a human male by the name of Pax Noval. He was in his mid-forties and had been fighting with the Rebellion since before the establishment of the Alliance. He was a man with strong features, dark brown eyes and black hair that had just started showing flecks of grey.

The AT-AT stalked through the forest.

"Just a few more minutes," Kavis said into the comlink.

The walker had been deployed from an Imperial carrier a little over ten minutes ago. An explosion at one of the facilities the Rebels were targeting had triggered the deployment. Two more explosions in quick succession had taken place before the carrier had finally appeared, at which moment the squad had gone to ground in the hopes they hadn't been spotted yet. Now the walker was tracking towards one of the last untouched sections of the facility – the same facility that the team had been tasked with attacking.

If Kavis had to guess, the walker had been deployed as a deterrent rather than to actually cause any damage.

Another tree toppled over as the giant foot of the AT-AT struck the trunk. The walker was a little under fifty metres away at this point. If it continued on its current trajectory, it would come within ten metres of the squad's position.

"Everyone give me a quick check in," Kavis said. He just wanted to break the silence.

"Lasena here."

"This is Noval; I'm good."

"Spar here too." Rixa Spar. Human male in his late twenties. His defining features were his brilliant blonde hair and his incredibly strong jaw.