For Some, Tomorrow Will Never Come

[Brent Smith]

Brent inspected himself for a moment in the gleaming surface of his polished lock box. The armor, those familiar dark-socket eyes against the background of the white face plate was so natural to him. It was the face of a storm trooper, but it wasn't his. It must have been the blackness that drew him in. The soul sucking void that the helmet's eyes were made of just seemed to be so hopeless--he could never get used to it.

Satisfied that his armor was up to code, Brent, trooper WB-368, grabbed his rifle and briskly fell in with the others in his squad. They were on foot patrol today, the academy had said something about it providing a "sense of security and peace". He was ok with that. In a way, that was what he had signed up for. Sort of.

As he marched in formation behind HF-765 and GS-209, Brent couldn't help but notice how perfect of a day it was in Annaj. The foggy sky seemed to be parting just enough for a peek in by the beautiful sun. A few children were playing in the city streets, a man and woman were having a romantic moment on the street corner. But still.....

"Sarge, I have a feeling.... Something.... Just isn't right, I can't explain it," Brent said over the stormtrooper unit's closed comms.

"Explain," he demanded in a burlesque tone. "Fast."

"I--I just can't place it, sir. It feels like something is about to happen. Something we really don't want to."

"How long have you been on the job, private?" he asked emphasizing the last word harshly.

"A year, sir."

"And have you ever seen a better day?"

"Um, well no sir."

"Then shut up and keep marching. We got a good thing here and we aren't about to put it at risk because you got the spooks."

Out of the corner of his eye, Brent could see the other troops shifting, like they were trying not to laugh as they marched through the suburban streets.

"Yes, sir. My mistake, sir." Brent mumbled weakly.

[member="NT-6922"]
[member="Kei Garnik"]
[member="Samka Derith"]

 

[NT-6922]

Natassia looked at the marching patrol through her scope. The First Order had just sent a small patrol in response to her earlier actions in town. They looked careless, at least for troopers of the order... careless enough for her to place a shot, taking them by surprise.
The shot of her E-11 was not enough to kill them - the armor absorbed the hit, incapacitating the target. She jumped down from the roof and followed suit with another blast, uncaring of the people fleeing around her. She bumped a kid out of the way of a blaster shot from the troopers who started to retaliate, dragging him to a nearby store before closing the door with a violent pull - and, as she turned around, she whacked another one in the face. Three down, two to go.

Rising her rifle and shooting in the air several time, she decided to leave them a chance to leave unscathed.
"Run, Order scum!"
Oh, how did it feel good to be back in action. It felt like Hoth all over again - except better.
For a moment, she felt bliss, remembering the good old days - but she was brought back to reality as she remembered she was not a hero, just a relic of the past in her stormtrooper armor. The Empire was dead, she was supposed to be dead - the entire galaxy rejected what she represented. But she had to do it, for the people.

[member="Brent Smith"]
[member="Kei Garnik"]
[member="Samka Derith"]

 

[GhostOfProtocol]

The Ebon Hawk glided over the city, Annaj in the background. Both male pilot and T3 model droid looked worse for wear, both had gone for months without eating or charging. Kei Garnik had lived on Kesh after his job with the then president, now queen of Commenor [member="Lady Kay"]. He'd lived away from people, while the experience on Commenor had been benificial to him, he still couldn't forget the images of Korriban City being bombed. He was coping better though, still many sleepless nights but he was coping. T3 was a decent partner as well, he knew exactly what to "say" or beep to cheer a person up. That was his talent.

Kei guided the ship to a halt in the spaceport. Walking from the cockpit, he closed his fingers around the metal shaft of his lightsaber, dropping it into his travel pack, zipping it up. He clipped the DL-44 to his utility belt, patting T3 on the head as the loading ramp dropped. Both human and droid left the ship, heading for the city, heading for a trading outpost for a snack, some bantha steaks wouldn't go amiss, nor would blue milk or Correllian Cola.

Did Annaj have a McYoda's?

[member="NT-6922"]
[member="Brent Smith"]

 

[Brent Smith]

No sooner had the trooper relented than the assault hit them. And hit them hard it did. The first shot took down the trooper right in front of him. Brent raise his rifle, scanning the area for whoever or wherever this was coming from. Adrenaline shot through him as his first real firefight engulfed them. The sargent went down too.

"What the frells is he wearing? Is that one of our own?" GS-209 shouted firing a shot that almost hit a child.

"Don't shoot! There are civilians!" Brent shouted slapping his rifle down.

GS-209 pushed him in return, "Get you head in the game, soldier! Sarge and HF are gone!"

"Their bio readings show they are fine. Just stunned." Brent said taking a half step back. "I don't think they want to hurt anyone. Circle around, DW and I will take the front."

GS gave Brent a gesture, one of those hand signals that are pretty universal, before storming around to the other side.

Brent heard GS drop like a sack of bricks and he heard their assailant fire a few more rounds. DW took the offer, threw his rifle down and ran. Brent sighed and tossed his weapon away as he took cover behind some crates. He had an idea, it was a gamble and against all the SOP (Standard Opperating Procedure) it was all he has right now.

"What's your name?" he shouted from his cover. "Your real name?" he paused. "My name is Brent. Brent Smith. I don't think you want to hurt anyone. And to be honest, I don't want to either. So why don't we talk about this? Whatever the problem is, we can fix it."

[member="NT-6922"]
[member="Kei Garnik"]

 

[NT-6922]

"You are in no position to make demands! Be lucky I haven't aimed for your heads, or your squad would be more than incapacitated. Come out or flee!"
She scanned around, looking for any more hostiles, before realizing the last one to be conscious was the trooper talking to her from behind cover. Rushing from one point of the roof to another, she activated her jump pack, flying through the air and landing a few feet behind the man's cover, blaster raised.
"I am NT-6922, and I'm the law here. Not you order scum. So raise your hands up right now and tell me what the likes are you are doing it, or I swear to the stars I will fry your head."
She spoke in her cold, threatening tone, trying her best to kick back the part of herself that disapproved with her own behavior; after meeting Serenna, she was never the same. The pacifistic ways of the jedi really touched her, and the fact she developped feelings for the chiss didn't help her to stay focused at all times on her lawkeeping job. Nevertheless, she managed to overcome, and held the first order stormtrooper at gunpoint, waiting for him to comply.
"Your designation and name are also required for you to live.

[member="Brent Smith"]

[member="Kei Garnik"]

 

[GhostOfProtocol]

Kei saw the people sprinting away, that's one of the first signs of a problem. He instantly unclipped his DL-44 blaster pistol, moving towards the crowds, moving in the direction the people were running from. T3 offered a little beep, the little T3 droid had noticed the First Order troopers before Kei had, and the little droid's beeped might of saved Kei's life. Both droid and human dropped down behind a crate outside a shop.

Kei peeked over slighty, ducking down again when a first order trooper turned to glare at him. Someone had shot at the troopers, two of them were down on the floor. Kei could get behind people shooting at The First Order, they were ruthless men and woman, but they were still people. Kei motioned to T3-J8, both droid and man sprinting around the back of the shooter, both of them trying to save The First Order.

Kei was anti First Order, but they deserved to stand trial...

Wait, the shooter was a trooper? Kei stood up behind the trooper, the shooter, pressing the barrel of his DL-44 to the helmet of the trooper, T3 beeping.

"Drop it"

[member="Brent Smith"]
[member="NT-6922"]

 

[NT-6922]

Natalia was still waiting for an answer when she felt the pressure of the barrel of a blaster against the back of her helmet. Immobile, E-11 still raised, she spoke slowly and coldly. "You are interferring with law business and threatening a peacekeeping agent. I strongly advise you lower your weapon before action is taken."
As she spoke, she looked down at her wristpad. One of the latest attachments she "liberated" from the black marked, it controlled many things within her armor... jump pack included. The question was; could she reach it faster than the unknown man behind her could shoot? Probably not. Sighing, she lowered her blaster slowly... before crouching and elbowing the threat in the stomach, before activating her jump pack to reach a nearby roof, but not before dropping a smokescreen behind her. As she reached the safety there, she activated her voice amplifier.
"All citizens from Tayari plaza are recommended to leave the area and close the accesses to their homes. Anyone with a blaster will be incapacitated, and, if resistance is met, terminated."

[member="Kei Garnik"]
[member="Brent Smith"]

 

[Brent Smith]

Brent had already told her his name--when he asked if they could do this without shooting each other. That was almost as confusing for him as the woman saying she was the law here--when the First Order had been the ruling authority for a while now.

"I'm Brent, Brent Smith," he said again, looking down the barrel of her blaster. "I'm just here on patrol." he paused, feeling his throat tighten. "My dad--he got injured. I just had to feed my family somehow. I'm not--"

He was interrupted by the entrance of the other stranger, which he wasn't opposed to but why did everyone feel the need to point blasters at each other for goodness sake?

And just like that she was gone into the roof. Brent honestly didn't know what to do. He rose to his feet and dusted himself off.

"Look, you two can sit here and point blasters at each other all day if you want. But shots were fired and backup will be here soon," he said frankly. "I don't want to go to jail and I assume you don't either for assaulting troopers. So I'd recommend you clear out."

[member="NT-6922"]
[member="Kei Garnik"]