like a bunch of dead womp rats rotting in the sun!'
Before Des could answer, one of the junior troopers, a young woman named Lucia, ran up and snapped off a crisp salute. 'Sergeant! Lieutenant Ulabore wants you to assemble the troops by his tent. He'll address them in thirty minutes,' she said, her voice earnest and excited.
Des flashed a smile at his friend. 'I think we've finally got our orders.'
The soldiers stood at attention as the lieutenant and Des reviewed the troops. As it always did, the inspection consisted of Ulabore moving up and down the ranks, nodding and giving half-muttered approvals. It was mostly for show, a chance for Ulabore to feel as if he had something to do with the success of a mission.
Once they were done, the lieutenant marched to the front of the column and turned to face the troops. Des stood alone in front of the unit, his back to them so he could be face-to-face with his superior officer.
'Everyone here is familiar with our mission objective,' Ulabore began, his voice unusually high-pitched and loud. Des guessed he was trying to sound authoritative, but it came across as shrill.
'I'll leave the specifics of the mission to the sergeant here,' he continued. 'Our task is not an easy one, but the days of the Gloom Walkers getting easy jobs are long gone.
'I don't have much else to say; I know you're all as eager as I am to end this pointless waiting. That's why I'm happy to inform you that we've been given the order to move out. We hit the Republic outpost in one hour!'
Horrified gasps and loud whispers of disbelief rose up from the ranks. Ulabore stepped back as if he'd been slapped. He'd obviously been expecting cheers and exultation, and was rattled by the sudden anger and lack of discipline.
'Gloom Walkers, hold!' Des barked. He stepped up to the lieutenant and lowered his voice. 'Sir, are you certain those were the orders? Move in one hour? Are you certain they didn't mean one hour after nightfall?'
'Are you questioning me, Sergeant?' Ulabore snapped, making no attempt to keep his own voice down.
'No, sir. It's just that if we leave in one hour it'll still be light out. They'll see us coming.'
'By the time they see us we'll already be close enough to jam their transmitters,' the lieutenant countered. 'They won't be able to signal back to the base camp.'
'It's not that, sir. It's the gunships. They've got three repulsorcraft equipped with heavy-repeating flash cannons. If we try to take the outpost during the day, those things will mow us down from the sky.'
'It's a suicide mission!' someone shouted out from the ranks.
Ulabore's eyes became narrow slits, and his face turned red. 'The main army is moving out at dusk, Sergeant,' he said through tightly clenched teeth. 'They want to cross the valley in darkness and hit the Republic base camp at first light.'
'Then there's no reason for us to move so soon,' Des replied, struggling to remain calm. 'If they start at dusk, it's going to take at least three hours before they reach the valley from their current position. That gives us plenty of time to take the outpost down before they get here, even if we wait until after dark:'
'It's obvious you don't understand what's really going on, Sergeant.' Ulabore spoke as if arguing with a stubborn child. 'The main force isn't going to start moving until after we report our mission is complete. That's why we have to move now.'
It made sense: the generals wouldn't want to risk the main force until they knew for certain the valley was secure. But sending them in during the light of day guaranteed that the Gloom Walkers' casualty rate would increase fivefold.
'You have to comm back to HQ and explain the situation to them,' Des said. 'We can't take on those gunships in the air. We have to wait till they ground them for the night. You have to make them understand what we're up against.'
The lieutenant acted as if he hadn't even heard him. 'The generals give the orders to me, and I give them to you,' he snapped. 'Not the other way around! The army is moving out at dusk, and that's not going to change to fit your schedule, Sergeant!'
'They won't have to change their plans,' Des insisted. 'If we leave as soon as it gets dark, we'll still have that outpost down by the time they reach the valley. But sending us in now is just?'
'Enough!' the lieutenant snapped. 'Quit braying like a bantha cut off from its herd! You have your orders, now follow them! Or do you want to see what happens to soldiers who defy their superior officers?'
Suddenly it was clear to Des what was really going on. Ulabore knew the order was a mistake, but he was too scared to do anything about it. The order must have come directly from one of the Dark Lords. Ulabore would rather lead his troops into a slaughter than face the wrath of a Sith Master. But Des wasn't about to let him drive the Gloom Walkers to their doom. This wasn't going to become a repeat of Hsskhor. He hesitated for only a second before slamming his fist into his lieutenant's chin, knocking him cold.
There was stunned silence from the rest of the troops as Ulabore slumped to the ground. Des quickly took away the fallen officer's weapons, then turned and pointed at a pair of the newest recruits.
'You two, keep an eye on the lieutenant. Make sure he's comfortable if he wakes up, but don't let him anywhere near the comm.'
To the communications officer he said, 'Just before dusk send a message back to HQ telling them our mission is complete so they can start moving the main force into the valley. That will give us two hours to achieve our objective before they get here.'
Turning to address the rest of the troops, he paused to let the gravity of his next words sink in. 'What I've done here is mutiny,' he said slowly. 'There's a chance anyone who follows me from here on in will face a court- martial when this is over. If any of you feel you can't follow my orders after what I've done here today, speak up now and I'll surrender command to Senior Trooper Adanar for the rest of the mission.'
He gazed out across the soldiers. For a second nobody spoke; then as one they all raised their fists and gave two light raps on their chest, just above the heart.
