Chapter 4 Submission

SUBMITTED BY: RES Ferail / Army Reserves LCP / / Reserves
HOLONET REGISTRATION: <dustin_vanbacon@hotmail.com
SUBMITTED ON: 2008.05.15

The loud crack and whir of mechanical components made the cockpit of an A.T.S.T. Not one of my favorable places, neither did all the swaying caused by the way the walker moved, if I tried hard enough I could remember basic when my partner had thrown up his rations across the control panel. That was awhile ago. The walker bucked as it stepped into a lower hole and I jerked in my seat. The private in the seat beside me watched his targeting controls; I glanced at my chronometer, our patrol was almost over. I gave a sigh and directed the walker onto a side road. I could imagine all the insects in the night air humming and chirping, I wished I could hear them but the engine’s rumble was deafening my ears. My uniform was doing little against the cold that crept in through the open view port and my hands began to get numb.

The walker was going slowly, fit for patrols. But made it an easier target, this was going threw my mind when I saw something move. I remember reading somewhere that in the dark when you are contemplating your fears you imagine or “see” objects moving. My mind began to wander down this train of thought when I noticed a red dot flash across part of the gunners face. My heart raced as I grabbed the controls in a rapidly sweating palm and wrenched them sideways, the head of the walker turned and I could hear the unmistakable whine of a blaster rifle. It glanced off the armor and into the night.

Automatically reverting to training I began to call off targets as rebel infiltrators emerged from the forest in front of us. “Three left one up right” the gunner responded by firing his laser cannons at the single trooper standing against a large tree, I assume he was trying to use it as cover but if you ever saw what chin mounted medium dual laser canon did to a tree you wouldn’t stand behind one. Now the gunner and I knew this lesson well as we had applied it to other situations and well let’s just say a tree was burned to a crisp and all that remained of the poor foolish rebel was a small pile of smoldering clothes and ash.

The gunner, PFC Nima was an excellent gunner and while shooting the trooper behind tree, had lined up the grenade launcher with the small group who were trying to assemble an outdated rocket system. Now the grenade we were equipped with tended to blow things to really small pieces and involved lots of blood and gore. The blast was loud and could probably be heard for a long ways around, but… it got the job done. Lets just Not much was left of that group of rebel nerf herders. Ill say it now and ill say it again and again if I have too no one stands against the Empire, no one!