THE RECRUIT

ZEREK III: Arrival

Classified Imperial Base
Medical Bay 06
Daro
LST: 03:15:43 // DAY: 20
RC-5570

Mech opens his eyes to a dimly lit medical room. He props himself up on his elbows. All the floor and ceiling tiles are familiar. Beds are neatly laid out evenly and the scent of disinfect is so overpowering it tickles the back of his throat. Somehow it feels strange bordering unfamiliar. It's significantly smaller than a Star Destroyer medical ward, for starters. He starts to sit up.

"Woah there, Captain," says a man with his identical facial features. A medical sigil on his shoulder plate. "Take it slow."

"Who?" Mech says holding the right side of his head. Why is he calling me Captain? He feels the edges of a bacta patch under his fingertips. He licks his dry lips, tongue tingling in the numbness of his mouth. "W-What happened? Was I injured?"

The commando medic glances to his left. Mech follows his eyes and spots two other commandos— ones he recognizes.

"Su cuy'gar," Mech says and lays back down.

"Now, Mech," says the medic pressing some buttons on the holoscreen divider. "Do you remember what happened?"

"What do you mean?" Mech says looking at the medic. "Cardshark just..." His voice trails off unable to bring himself to say it. The look of utter loss and despair in his brother's eyes stares back at him every time he closes his eyes. He focuses on the glowpanels in the ceiling. "Are we not in orbit above Umbara?"

No one answers.

"Where are we?" Mech demands.

Sparkstick and Hardcopy share a concerned look.

"It's like I told you after the procedure, sir— right before you nearly destroyed medical bay 03—" he says putting a hand on his hip, "We are in a Classified Imperial Base on Daro. There's been a complication with the inhibitor chips."

"Our what?"

The medic takes a deep breath. Concern and irritation creeping into his voice, "Sir, we have less than twelve hours to get off this blasted rock."

Mech is unable to control the pitch of his voice. "You mean desert our posts?"

The two other commandos frown not at all alarmed at what the medic is proposing. In fact, they look worried.

"We can't abandon the Republic!" Mech says sitting up and swinging his legs off the medical table. "The Jedi are counting on us!"

Tapcaf draws his blaster pistol. Mech pushes it up as the medic pulls the trigger. A blue PEP ring hits the ceiling sending down a shower of sparks. He twists the pistol out of Tapcaf's hand and points it at the commando.

"Sparkstick, put some stuncuffs on the medic here," Mech says gritting his teeth. I can't believe he would turn on us like this.

When Sparkstick doesn't move, Mech narrows his eyes at him. "Private, I gave you an order."

"Sorry, ner vod," says Sparkstick leveling his pistol. He pulls the trigger and a stun ring shoots out.

Mech steps out of the way but the stun clips his leg sending a muscle cramping zing into his knee and hip. He reaches for his blaster pistol with his free hand but his fingers touch an empty holster.

Three more rings of energy course into his body, the overload of energy dispersing over his armor and peppering his muscles like shrapnel. He crumbles further to the ground with each engulfing hit. His muscles burning and his joints numbing. Why, brother? Mech cries as unconsciousness envelopes his vision.