Character
// On a border planet somewhere in Sith space..\\
“It’s just another boring patrol,” Jacen said with a huff.
“Quit your whining, 710.” A gruff voice ahead of him yapped back.
“Both of you shut up. I’d like to do this quickly. And quietly.” The commander said, casting a quick glance at Jacen and the other trooper, before turning back to Jacen, “For the record, 710, boring is good.” He said again, walking back down the line and gave a small, reassuring smack to Jacens shoulder before turning around and retaking his place at the head of the column.
“Boring is boring…” Jacen muttered under his breath, stepping over a small fallen tree as he continued walking, obeying his order to keep quiet,
This wasn’t the idea he originally had for his gallant service to the Sith. Shipped off to a border world in a small garrison simply to establish an Imperial presence on a planet that didn’t want them there, but didn’t do anything about it. Sixty days Jacen had been here, with sixty patrols with Squad 13. The garrison had been here for a year itself and in that time? Never a peep.
It bred complacency. Complacency that Jacen abhorred.
“It’ll pass.” they said, they all said. The twelve other members of Patrol Squad 13.
Thirteen soldiers in Squad thirteen? Someone got a real good laugh out of that, Jacen remembered thinking.
“Everyone gets here thinking they’re going to remain the top little soldier. It’ll pass.”
“Welcome to the rest of your life, 710.” They continued to joke, first the squad, then the rest of the Garrison. All taking their turns ribbing on Jacen. It was tradition, they said finally. The newest soldier always got the ribbing, so the former newest soldier always cheered whenever the new guy showed up, finally. Sometimes it was a few days or even a few hours, sometimes months, as Jacen had learned firsthand. Two months and not only did they not get any new soldiers, they didn’t get any supplies. Thankfully, they were plenty supplied already, but it was…odd.
A place the Empire seemed to want to forget.
How none of them ate their blaster, Jacen never knew. How could you call yourself an Imperial and let yourself go like this? Resigning yourself to this fate where the best you could hope for was some poor soul took your place as the newest soldier in the Garrison? It was…disgraceful.
Still…it wasn’t all bad. The food was serviceable, the quarters were…fine. It was mostly Jacen’s pride that was suffering.
He continued to complain silently to himself for a few more minutes, the night time wildlife the only sounds he heard aside from the sounds of the squad moving through the foliage.
“Hold,” Squad Lead had ordered, holding a hand up in a fist as he put a hand to his ear. Then, with urgency, he whipped his head around, “RTB," He couldn’t contain the yell, gesturing madly with his hand, “The Garrison is under attack!”
// ISD LADY OF FORTUNE \\
Jacen sat on the uncomfortable metal chair, his helmet in his lap with his fingers idly tapping away on it as his eyes glazed over, remembering that night. The night his squad..his entire garrison died. When he called for evacuation, he scarcely believed anyone would actually come get him. Why waste the resources for one Stormtrooper? Yet, someone did.. Eventually. And now he was here,
The ISD Lady of Fortune, sitting in a room of wall to wall grey panels and white lights, typical Imperial design, surrounded by Stormtroopers. Every single one of them bore a different unit marking on their armor. Not a single one of them matched. Not a single one of them were from the same system, even. Every now and again, a new Stormtrooper would walk in through the door, and every single one of them had the same reaction. A bewildered look around before silently finding a place to wait.
It had been like this the past week. The Troopers had their own barracks, but every day they assembled in this room, and one or two of them would be summoned past a wide door on the far end of the room for several minutes before coming out, looking like they’d seen a ghost, and silently leaving the room not once answering the questions of the other troopers. It put Jacen on edge. Far as he could tell, the Star Destroyer was travelling through Imperial space, gathering individual troopers from each system, and then interviewing them. It had something to do with the attack, he thought, it had to. Nothing else made sense. But that didn’t bring him any comfort.
Was that why everyone was so…unnerved walking from the room? Were they all part of some attack? Were they told they were being punished? No, that made no sense. If they were being punished, the Sith would just punish them… right? Or maybe…
Jacen shook his head, willing the thoughts to go away. It didn’t matter, he thought, he was here now, and the path ahead of him was clear… for the next immediate step, anyway. Wait to be called, go discuss whatever had to be discussed.
He shifted uncomfortably in the metal seat, and waited.
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