THE RECRUIT

HERF: Clearance

Classified Imperial Base
Barracks
Daro
LST: 05:43:08 // DAY: 10
Taipan

The crowd cheers rattling the walls of the gladiator arena. Another Rancor had just fallen to the blades of the Zabrak. Taipan grins, quietly clapping from her hiding spot. The Zabrak walks out of the arena disappearing behind the wooden doors. She crawls out of the ventilation shaft, snags two jogan fruits from a passing Twi'lek carrying a tray of hors d'oeuvres, and scurries into the hypogeum of Sycorax.

Taipan ducks under two Wookiees carrying a crate of blades. They yodel angry curses at her as she leaps over a table of helmets. She glances back touching her fingers to her brow before turning and rushing on.

As she rounds the corner into the Zabrak's quarters, something flies across the space. She slides into cover behind a pile of boxes and peeks out. The Zabrak, her mentor, flings another object to the floor. She takes a closer look and recognizes his vibro-blade gauntlets. The yellow knives sense the lack of use and retract into their hidden housing on the gauntlets.

The Zabrak shuffles to the far wall dropping the scabbard of a vibrosword. His wild eyes are dim and stormy as if every fight knocked off a year off his life. He leans back against the wall and slides to the floor. He drops his head into his hands.

Taipan slowly steps out from her hiding spot and makes her way over to her mentor. She tosses him a jogan fruit and he catches it without looking up. She takes a seat next to him against the wall and bites into the fruit.

The Zabrak finally looks up. The yellow in his eyes returning. He tosses the fruit in his palm and says, "How was it?"

"The crowd was wild," she says wiping the juice off her chin with the back of her hand. "A few low bidders nearly fell into the arena when you side-stepped the rancor and it slammed into the side wall."

The Zabrak smiles nodding and takes half the fruit with one bite. He leads his head against the wall chewing.

Taipan copies the gesture feeling the cool of the structure against her back. She sighs taking another bite of her fruit.

"The Bounty Hunter will be here soon," says the Zabrak.

Taipan looks at him raising her eyebrows. "With the weapons?" She asks eagerly.

The Zabrak nods and takes another bite. "Until then, find me the med kit." He uses his forearm to clean the fruit juice on his chin. "That rancor got a lucky hit." He looks down at his biceps and uses his ring and pinky finger— of the hand with the fruit still in it— to squeeze the large gash bleeding down his arm.

Level 04 Balcony
Daro
LST: 06:30:36 // DAY: 10
Taipan

Taipan jogs alongside the other recruits. She mentally maps doors and hallways as she passes. She counts the steps it takes to get from one side of the level to the other. 48, 49, 50. We're about halfway across.

She looks up a level seeing two squads of recruits each led by a commando trooper. She counts their heads. 10 stormtroopers per squad. Her group reaches a turbolift. Squad Sergeant inserts a clearance card and the doors open. They all enter.

She watches the base level of the installation shrink as they ascend. TIE fighter's high-pitched engines screech through the hollow mountain. In her corner eye, she glimpses a hanger door opening as two of them twist into the base.

The early sun turns the sky a greyish blue. It certainly is strange not seeing the vastness of space with its numerous stars. The atmosphere on this planet smells weird. It also lacks the chemical smell from the artificial oxygen she is used to in Sycorax.