Pax Empirica—The Wookiee Annihilation
The short story "Pax Empirica—The Wookiee Annihilation" was penned by Steven L. Kent and can be found within Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds: Prima's Official Strategy Guide.
Plot summary
Wayson Dower, a Stormtrooper, is part of a 200-man Imperial force (accompanied by three speeder bike scouts). Their mission, ordered by Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, is a reconnaissance operation on Kashyyyk to pave the way for the Wookiees' homeworld's invasion by the Empire. Captain Janzor, the unit's commander, briefs his troops. He explains that the target area, a treetop city, is so densely vegetated that transports cannot land directly. Consequently, the unit will proceed on foot, with minimal support. TIE/LN starfighters cannot effectively assist because the dense vegetation would make locating the target time-consuming, leaving them vulnerable to being shot down. Furthermore, the treetop cities' platforms are unable to support the weight of an AT-AT. Following Janzor's anecdote about the rumor that Wookiees are evolved banthas, the troops are given time to prepare and rest.
On their way to their quarters, Dower and his comrade Corporal Milo Strander make a stop at the Trooper's Canteen. Their conversation revolves around the mission and other GeNode troopers. The discussion sheds light on clones, specifically that they are programmed to overlook the identical appearance of their comrades, believe they are not clones, and develop unique personalities. They also take note of the three sergeants chosen for the mission. These sergeants, Oswald Strepp, Tak Bazierre, and Dalia, are from an earlier clone generation than Strander, making them more experienced. They also share a cold, strict, and by-the-book personality. After verifying their equipment, the troopers board a transport headed for Kashyyyk.
As the transport enters Kashyyyk's atmosphere, it strikes a large branch after eliminating a few Wookiees hidden in the trees. This impact throws Sergeant Bazierre from the cabin and into the forest. The pilot declares that the trees are too dense to penetrate, forcing the troops to disembark using the skylift (a device used to lower supplies and soldiers from the transport). Sergeant Strepp selects Dower to descend with the skylift and unload the supplies. During his descent, Dower observes Sergeant Bazierre's lifeless body. Everything proceeds smoothly until the skylift finishes unloading supplies, at which point a lone Wookiee attacks Dower, nearly killing him until Strepp intervenes with a single shot. After the skylift lowers the remaining soldiers, Dower tells Strander that he believes Strepp harbors a grudge against him. After Strepp assigns Dower to point and then guard duty that night, Dower confronts him, and Janzor instructs Strepp to ease up on Dower, although he still has guard duty. Janzor then informs the men that they must assault a nearby outpost to prevent it from sending transmissions alerting other Wookiees to the invasion.
Upon reaching the outpost, a Wookiee spots one of the speeder-bike scouts, thus compromising the element of surprise. Janzor selects five soldiers, including Strepp and Dalia, to storm the building. He instructs Strander and Dower to flank the building and eliminate any retreating Wookiees. He also forbids the use of thermal detonators to preserve the building. Strepp deliberately exposes himself to the Wookiees, drawing them out, allowing Dalia and other marksmen to eliminate them. After most of the Wookiees are eliminated, three retreat from the building, and Dower shoots them down, earning Strepp's respect. Janzor discusses the next phase of the attack with Dalia and Strepp while Strander and the other troopers establish a barracks. After examining the equipment in the outpost and realizing that the Wookiees are more intelligent than previously believed, Dower begins his guard duty.
Later, a large force of Wookiees silently eliminates another stormtrooper guard and ambushes the outpost. Dower rushes back towards the post and witnesses several stormtroopers retreating, including Strander. Strander advises Dower against returning to the outpost, and Strepp orders Dower and the escaping troopers to stay away. Janzor and a dozen other troopers are forced into the building by the overwhelming number of Wookiees (Dalia is presumably dead at this point). However, the Wookiees retreat when Strepp ascends to the roof of the outpost and opens fire on them. He draws their attention and continues to fire, instructing Dower and the other survivors to return to the drop site. Strepp informs Janzor that he is deploying a thermal detonator to facilitate their escape, instructing them to drop to the ground when he gives the order and then run for open ground. He detonates it, resulting in an explosion that nearly destroys the outpost, kills Strepp and Janzor, as well as other troopers. However, it also eliminates many Wookiees, allowing the surviving troops to escape.
Strander and Dower briefly converse and determine that there are five survivors of the battle: Dower, Strander, a soldier with Strander, and two troopers who escaped after Strepp used his detonator. Dower, Strander and the man with him, and the other two are an unknown distance apart. Strander suggests using beacons that will show their locations through their helmet's vision to reunite the group, but Dower argues against using their helmets, fearing that the Wookiees may be monitoring them. He suggests following Strepp's order to return to the drop zone. After running for some time, Dower spots a large group of primal Wookiees and hides. He witnesses them torture two soldiers (the two who survived thanks to Strepp) who are clinging to tree branches. The Wookiees poke them with branches until they fall and then maul them.
While still concealed, Dower notices a TIE fighter-sized spider with an extremely low temperature reading a meter of branches below him. He remains motionless until Strander finds him. Dower expresses remorse for not assisting the two troopers, but Strander reassures him that he could not have done anything against such a large group of Wookiees. Strander introduces the other survivor, Private Sterns Yennich. Both are unarmed. Strander explains that the two of them were part of a five man group retreating from the base. Strander and Yennich were unarmed and Wookiees eventually picked off the three men in their group who had weapons. They then decide to wait for nightfall so they can use nightvision and have slightly better vision than the Wookiees. While they wait, Yennich discovers the tortured troopers' weapons, and he and Strander scavenge them.
As night falls, the three advance as quickly as possible. Dower spots the spider again but ignores it and continues to run for the drop zone. Dower theorizes that the spider, living in the darkness under the treebranches, is blind or ultra-sensitive to light. Fortunately, the sun is coming up and will soon force the spider back into the darkness. Strander and Dower push forward through thick overgrowth, but Yennich runs towards a clearing with no branches that the spider is near. Dower tries to warn Yennich but realizes the audio on his helmet does not work. He watches the spider attack Yennich mercilessly with its icy claws. At one point it seems that Yennich will be able to shoot his way out but the spider bites through his armor, killing him. The spider then retreats down through the trees with Yennich's body just as the sun rises.
Dower realizes that since his helmet's audio is not functioning he has been rendered deaf and throws away his helmet. Strander takes off his helmet while he and Dower discuss what they should do next, but suddenly they hear a voice radiate from Strander's helmet. It is one of the three speeder-bike scouts who accompanied their platoon, and they soon appear near the troops. The speeder-bike scouts explain that they had been looking for the survivors of the platoon all night and mentions that a much larger attack force landed a few hours after theirs. Dower realizes that his platoon only landed to distract the Wookiees from the main invasion force, and when he, Strander, and Yennich were running during the night, the Empire had captured a continent.
Strander and Dower are returned to the cruiser, promoted to first sergeant, given medals, and will see no more action in the Kashyyyk campaign. Posthumuous medals are rewarded to the dead soldiers of their platoon. Dower briefly considers retiring and moving to a quiet corner of the galaxy, but then decides (probably due to his obedient clone programming, if he was a clone) that such a peaceful place only exists with the help of the Empire and he must serve the Empire and never retire.
Continuity
Clones
Pax Empirica, published in November 2001, offered insights into clone stormtroopers several months before the release of Attack of the Clones. The story reveals that at the time of the invasion, approximately 40% of stormtroopers originated from the same template. It elaborates on a component of the clones' genetic programming that allows them to disregard the identical appearance of their comrades. It also details the development of personality among the clones, a theme that is further developed in Revenge of the Sith
Wookiees
The narrative hints at the possibility that Wookiees may have descended from banthas. According to the story, Neimoidian traders crashed on Kashyyyk centuries ago while transporting a cargo of banthas, which quickly adapted. This could align with Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, which states that around 30,000 years ago, the Rakata transformed Kashyyyk into an agricultural planet using a machine that promoted growth and ecosystem management. The machine malfunctioned, resulting in the planet's extensive tree growth. The machinery itself, along with the nearby Star Map, were influenced by the Dark Side, which supposedly caused the extremely hostile environment of the Kashyyyk Shadowlands. The game also references the Wookiees' legend that they were not native to the world, suggesting that they were placed there as garden tenders for the agricultural planet.
Timeframe
Although the story is said to take place a few years before Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, the invasion of Kashyyyk led by Tarkin occurs in 19 BBY in Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader.