Avalanche

Dageer, Tech, Brain, Metal, Cell, and Dab sat at the top of a mountain, looking down to the road that the escaping clones were following. Now, the clones were already out of their line of sight, even though they had slowed down because of the wounded. However, the signs of the small camp that they set could be clearly seen.

While Cell was analyzing the road below, on lookout for the droids, Dageer was going over their plan again.

"Tech already set the charges. When the clanckers get here, they will probably stop to search through what we left behind. That is when we will blow the detpacks."

To make sure that the droids stopped, they had left very clear signs that they had been there.

If everything went according to the plan, at least part of the droids would stop there, and then Hell Squad would blow up a piece of the mountain, triggering an avalanche.

"Cell, can you see them?"

"Not yet, sir."

Dageer crouched next to Cell, and lowered his macrobinoculars. He could see farther than Cell, but still saw no signs of the droid army they were expecting. According to Sharp, they weren't too far behind, and clanckers didn't need to rest, only recharge.

Then he saw something at the far end of his line of sight. A group of the creatures they had been seeing in the last days was running towards them. Dageer focused behind the fleeing bunch, and soon the first B1 battle droids appeared, followed by B2 units and AATs. Thankfully, Droidekas had a hard time rolling on the snow, so Ventress didn't bother to bring some.

Right in front of the approaching Separatist force, Dageer saw Ventress herself. Suddenly, she looked up, directly at Dageer. For a moment, he thought that he had been seen, but then Ventress shook her head.

Dageer dropped down to the snow, in case she ordered any droid to search his position with binoculars. She probably felt that he was watching her, but even for a Force-sensitive being, the distance was too great to actually see something. Just in case, Dageer preferred to get out of sight.

"Retreat. Tech, are the charges ready?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. We have about an hour before they get here. Let's get ready."

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"Captain."

"Yes, madam? Bzzz..."

"Send a patrol ahead. I have a feeling we are about to catch up with the clones."

"Yes, bzzz... madam."

Very soon, three droids left the big group on STAPs, and flew ahead, lifting patches of snow as they went by.

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Hell Squad had moved from the top of the mountain to somewhere far from both the droid army and the path of the avalanche.

"Sir! They sent a patrol! Three clanckers. "

Cell warned them, and the clones all grabbed their blasters nervously, especially Metal. He was anxious to try out his new double-barrel repeating blaster. With a move from his hands, however, Dageer ordered them to stand down.

"If this patrol doesn't return, they will know we are here. We have to hide. Quickly, bury yourselves!"

"Erm... what?"

Instead of answering, Dageer used his hands to shovel snow over Cell, who was laying on the ground with his blaster and his binoculars by his side. The clones finally understood what he meant, and started doing the same.

Soon, six mounds of newly rummaged snow appeared. Under them, small patches of brown and black could be seen if one looked carefully.

"Our footprints!"

"Stop!"

Dab wanted to get up and erase the clear footprints on the snow, but Dageer stopped him. He could already hear the sound of the three STAPs approaching.

"They will be too worried about the camp to see them. Now, stay quiet!"

Even when whispering, Dageer was worried that the droids would hear them. The patrol arrived at the abandoned camp, barely three hundred meters away from Hell Squad. They made circles around the place, looking for clones, but aside from the mess of footprints and a few crates that were left on purpose, the clanckers apparently saw nothing.

At a certain time, one of the STAPs flew just a few meters away from Dageer, and he had to exert enormous control over himself not to fire.

After what seemed like an eternity, the patrol finally left, going back the way they came. Dageer waited a few more minutes before getting up, and brushing the snow off his armor. Some of it made its way through the gaps between pieces, and melted when touching his skin, making him shiver with the unexpected cold.

"Well, that was more intense than I expected."

"Behave yourself, Cell."

As always, as soon as possible, Cell complained, and Brain followed. Dageer knew that he couldn't find more loyal and skilled troopers, but sometimes the two clones behaved like they still were cadets. Even so, he couldn't help but let a small smile appear on his face. Cell was right, it really was intense, although nothing happened. He could feel sweat mixing with melted snow on his back.

"I say we get a little farther away. What do you think, sir?"

Dageer nodded, agreeing with Metal. This time, they moved the farthest they could while still having the ambush place in their sights.

Nothing unexpected happened again, and in half an hour they could hear the sounds of the marching droid army, muffled by the snow. After twenty more minutes, they finally saw the first droids appearing, and more followed.

Tech gripped the trigger anxiously, and looked at Dageer expectantly.

"Not yet. We have to let more of them walk into the trap."

However, as more and more seppies appeared, including Ventress, Dageer couldn't help but feel nervous himself. If they were discovered, or if the avalanche failed, Hell Squad would be as good as dead. They could fight off a two, or even three to one disadvantage, but not two or three hundred times as many enemies as they.

"Now!"

Less than half of the droids had entered the trap's area, but it was too risky to wait any longer. Besides, their objective wasn't to kill the droids, but block their path. Burying them was a bonus.

A cadence of explosions filled the air, making the Separatist army look up. At the top of the mountain, small pillars of smoke rose in the air, but that was all. For a moment, Dageer thought that they hadn't used enough detpacks, but then the ground trembled.

The top of the mountain shook, and snow and rocks started rolling down, soon forming a white wave of destruction. When it finally came crashing down on the droid army bellow, nothing was left of them.

Snow and dust were everywhere, and Hell Squad couldn't see anything for a while. When it finally settled, the sight startled Hell Squad. The whole road had been engulfed by the snow. Here and there, droid arms, legs and heads could be seen sticking out, sparks flying out of the broken components.

Cell whistled. It truly was a terrifying sight.

"It's a pity Three-four isn't here to see this. I doubt any clancker survived that."