Star Wars: Rebellion and Betrayal

Chapter 37

Grand Admiral Leneh Rod watched the battle unfold from the two-seat cockpit of her modified AT-ST. This was one of the greatest perks of holding the rank of grand admiral. She could basically do whatever she wanted. Even if that meant leaving behind her fleet to lead ground forces, a job more suited for a general within the Imperial Army.

Besides her one major defeat over Kuat, she boasted an exemplary military record. The freedom that came with such success gave her time to develop the weapon she was sitting in. The weapon was her chance to redeem herself in the eyes of Coruscant's ruling elite as well as the Emperor himself. If she could just prove its effectiveness in battle, it could be mass produced and prove to be a valuable asset to the Imperial arsenal.

So far, her plans had progressed slower than she would like but she had already used the weapon to thwart multiple rebel missions and, most importantly, kill a Jedi. Now was another chance to do just that.

Until now, the weapons operator, a lieutenant named Shardan, had been firing blindly into the dark forest, unable to find a target. The AT-ST had gotten more than half of the way from the airfield to the forest when Leneh spotted just what she had hoped to see. The bright flash of purple light streaking along the edge of the woods could only be one thing. Shardan noticed the glow as well and was already looking at Leneh for orders.

"Follow the Jedi. She is our main target," Leneh said, still sporting a blank face.

"But what about the rest of the rebels? They are fleeing deeper into the forest."

Leneh gave a dismissive hand wave. "They are not our concern. Have Commander Cyad take squads one and two to pursue the rest of the rebels. Squad three will remain with us and squad four will return to the refinery to defend against a potential counterattack."

"Right away, Grand Admiral," Shardan replied before relaying the orders down the ranks of stormtroopers in front of the AT-ST.

A stormtrooper with an orange pauldron soon turned around and saluted before splitting up the groups. Twenty stormtroopers charged into the woods, ten began marching the other way, and ten more fell in line behind the AT-ST that was now nearing the edge of the forest where the Jedi was last spotted.

"Infrared scan, now," Leneh ordered.

Shardan went to work, tapping a few buttons on the control panel to his left. "I am reading a few dozen life forms but only two of them are humanoid. They seemed to have stopped moving."

"Take us there," she replied as she leaned forward in her seat.

Shardan was suspicious of what they were about to walk into, but it didn't matter. The weapon had just survived a mortar attack and three rockets, so he still felt safe. He shrugged and turned the AT-ST in the right direction and started to move. The walker trounced through the thick forest, its powerful mechanical legs snapping branches and knocking over smaller trees. A path of destruction was all that was left in its wake.

After a few minutes of walking, Leneh's AT-ST stepped foot into an open forest meadow. In the middle of the waist-high grass was a face that Leneh had been waiting to see again. It was Lena, standing alone, purple lightsaber ignited at her side. Leneh grinned and got up from her seat. She walked back to a small ladder in the middle of the cockpit. She opened the top hatch and climbed the ladder until she was halfway out the opening.

"I always thought you were just ignorant, girl," Leneh shouted. "Now I think you are downright foolish. What do you hope to gain from this? You saw what this very machine did to your precious master. While his sacrifice saved your pathetic life, he won't be here to save you now."

The entire time Leneh was speaking, Lena was standing still with a determined look on her face. "I wouldn't be so sure if I was you. I know your secrets, remember."