The Cold Front

Posted on Mon Jan 27th, 2025 @ 2:50pm by Major Babs Betany

929 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Some Like It Hoth
Location: Frostpoint Outpost (FP-02)
Timeline: Day 01 of deployment

Babs stepped off the transport ship, her large white boots sounding like a broken bell as they hit the metal floor. The sound echoed in the vaulted space of the frozen hangar, and her men snapped to attention. Frostpoint Outpost, FP-02. That is what the dossier had called this particular facility, and as the chill set into her bones she could see why. She removed her helmet and the skin on her cheeks immediately tightened with the cold. Her nose numbed and her breath formed a cloud in front of her.

She frowned, looking around it seemed their scans had not been mistaken. Babs had been promised an advance party, support from the near by tactical base. Where was the squad of troopers who were supposed to meet them from FP-01? The silence was damming. Her troopers stood in a relaxed parade rest, waiting for their orders. White helmets against white frost, each one looked to her like a broken promise.

They had only just landed on the planet and already their mission had gone sideways. “Right, split up, and be on your guard. I want this base checked and cleared. Let's hope our comrades are somewhere deeper inside the base. Any sign of uninvited guests are to be detained and brought to me for questioning. I’ll cover the ship and the Hangar entrance until the place is cleared. You two…” She pointed to the newest recruits, fresh out of training, Babs would need to keep an eye on them to make sure their lack of experience didn't get them in trouble. “Stay with me for now. The rest fan out. No one rests until we know this place is secure. And first one to find the generator and get the lights on in this place get's a bottle of Alderaanian brandy in the next supply shipment.” As she watched the troopers salute and head off, she felt a mix of pride and concern. It had been a long flight from the core, and the Imperials had not made their journey easy. They had arrived here by the skin of their teeth, and rest had been a luxury. Babs had hoped that upon arrival there would be a simple handover of base command and her men could get some much needed sleep. However it seemed that instead they would have to be on their guard.

Less than an hour later and Babs was sat in a tiny cupboard of an office with a list of problems as long as a Varactyl’s tail and a headache that even the bitter cold of Hoth couldn’t soothe. Someone had found her an improvised light running on batteries. She had a growing mountain of status reports and each one seemed to raise another problem. The generator had been stripped by an unknown salvage crew. Even if they could get it fixed with spare parts from the ship, there was only enough fuel to heat small sections of the base. They only had enough food to last a week and that was if they rationed.
With the heating down the water pipes had frozen and a number of them had burst and would need replacing. Whatever had happened to FP-01 was unclear, what was clear is that they had no supplies and scavengers had stripped most of the base’s key systems, including it’s generator.

She had contacted the Republic’s Orbital Space Station only to be told that supplies would be at least a week away, so they would have to stretch what they already had. It meant they would soon face an urgent expedition into the Starship Graveyard to salvage whatever useful material they could find.

Babs was about to send another message to her superiors to impress upon them the dire circumstances they found themselves in when she saw a blinking light on her computer screen. At last, someone had replied to her request for help. She ran a gloved hand through her bright hair. She quickly opened the missive, only to frown as it was not the Republic’s information she saw in the sender's line… but the Jedi council’s.

After reading it she gave into a moment of irritation. “Kriffing hells!” Her head thunked down onto the table, her hands pulling at her hair. Now they had a Jedi on their arse. One who would be arriving within the hour. She took a deep breath then sat bolt upright, before smoothing out her hair and grabbing her helmet. “Kark this.” She said as she got to her feet. She wasn’t going to let some Jay type waltz in here and catch her at anything less than exemplary. It wasn’t the circumstance that would define this moment, but how her and her men reacted to it.

United in strife, together in peace. The motto rang in her head. She straightened up and marched out of the room, pleased when she heard the faint hum of the generator in the distance. It was followed by the sound of people cheering and clapping all around the base as the lights flicked on. At least their engineer had managed to get the void damned thing working on a bootstrap and a prayer.

Her men were well trained, she reminded herself. She had to trust them the way they trusted her. Still it didn't stop her cussing under her breath as she strode down the frozen hallway.

A Jedi, now the only question remained was what could the damned Jedi council want all the way out here?

 

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