Purge (Star Wars)

Service (Flashback ~17 BBY)

The bright white lights of the barracks spark on, waking the stormtroopers in an instant. They scramble to attention at the foot of their bunks as the Sergeant and two aids enter the barracks.

"Troopers!" the Sergeant bellows, "Yesterday you completed your training. Today you are soldiers of the Empire: Keepers of order! You will begin your service by reestablishing order in the town of Morwen where insurgents are trying to destroy the peace we brought to their world. Prepare yourselves. You will ship out in two hours. Bring glory to the empire!"

The troopers cheer with excitement for their first battle. The sound ripples through the room and instills courage in each of them, but not for TK-274. To her, the sound of their cheers is bitter and turns her stomach. Yesterday at the graduation ceremony, the cheers of the troopers had been deafening. They were overwhelmed with pride for their accomplishment and their fervent desire to serve the Empire with their whole being. The same Empire that had descended on their planet, taken them from their home, tortured and manipulated them. Now they cheer again at the prospect of inflicting a similar horror onto others. Her people had been conquered both in body and in mind.

The Sergeant turns on his heel and leaves the barracks as the troopers hastily equip their white, shining armor before heading to the armory where they will retrieve their weapons.

Clump, clump, clump.

The sound of armored boots fills the hangar deck as over 500 armed stormtroopers rush to their transports, nearly drowning out the sound of officers barking orders along the flight deck. Despite the drop ships having a maximum capacity of eighteen troopers, the officers load more than twenty fully armored troopers on board each. They are packed in so tight they are forced to set the butt of their rifles on the floor between their feet in order for everyone to fit.

The star destroyer navigates into the drop zone approximately 100 kilometers above the surface of the planet. Klaxons blare as the hanger doors below the drop ships gradually open. For a moment the ships hang there from their tethers then are all released at once, and plummet into the atmosphere.

Clump, clump, clump.

The sound repeats again and suddenly Ilyana is on her feet, standing beside her bunk aboard the Mantis before she is even fully awake. Her rifle is in her hands, raised, and aimed directly at Greez.

"Woah! Woah! Woah!" he yells while jumping back and throwing his hands in the air.

Ilyana's head slowly clears and she recognizes that she is not aboard that Star Destroyer, not about to be dropped into her first battle as a stormtrooper, the battle where her entire platoon had been killed and she had nearly died.

Clump, clump, clump.

Comes the rapid sound of footfalls through the ship overhead as the others had heard Greez's cry and came running. Ilyana suddenly realizes she has Greez at gunpoint and quickly lowers the rifle then throws it down on her cot.

"I'm sorry," she says as she backs down the tight corridor behind her away from the engine and toward the escape pods.

She runs her hands through her hair not only at the memory of the battle and the pain of her injury echoing in her mind but the fear that she may have just destroyed her chance on this ship and will be sent away, or worse. The memory of the Jedi cutting down the troopers along the walkway comes back to her along with his promise of what would happen if he thought she was a threat to her people. If he chose that fate for her she knew she would not win, she would not even try. She did not come here to kill a Jedi but if she was killed by one, so be it. The thoughts drown out the sound of voices coming from the engine room.

"Greez!" Cere calls out as she rushes across the upper floor of the engine room and drops down to the level below, igniting Trilla's lightsaber as she lands. She scans the compartment for a threat but upon seeing nothing turns to Greez. "What happened?" she asks.

"Nothing. It was an accident," says Greez as Cal and Merrin drop down into the compartment as well.

Cere lowers her lightsaber and notices the rifle on the cot: a DC-15LE, a modified version of the stormtroopers' standard issue DC-15; preferred by Purge Trooper division. Ilyana is nowhere to be seen. "What happened?" Cere repeats.

Greez sighs. He does not want to get Ilyana in trouble but cannot lie to his crew. "I was clearing a blockage in the fuel line and I woke her up."

"She drew her weapon on you?" Merrin asks, surprised.

"Yes," Greez confirms, hanging his head, "but I don't think she meant to. I just startled her, that's all."

"That doesn't matter," says Cere as she deactivates the lightsaber and turns to Cal, "She's dangerous, Cal. She can't stay on board."

"We could lock the weapons away somewhere," Merrin suggests as Cal begins walking toward the next compartment. He looks down at the rifle as he passes but does not reply to anyone.

The hallway is narrow and dark. At the far end a dim light on the ceiling weakly illuminates the doorway to the storage room. On either side of that doorway are two darker alcoves where the escape pods are. Cal steps under the light and catches sight of Ilyana in the alcove to the left. She is standing up against the wall with her arms crossed, as far from that dim light as possible.

"You want me to leave?" she asks.

"No," he says gently, "but I think we should put your weapons somewhere else."

"Okay," she agrees with a nod. She does not like the thought of not having access to her weapons but she likes the thought of being sent away even less.

"What happened?" Cal asks as he steps into the alcove and leans up against the wall opposite her.

"It was just a dream," she says, dropping her gaze from him to the floor and shaking her head. A moment passes and she can feel that he has not taken his eyes off her, expecting more of an explanation. She takes a deep breath and continues, "My first battle. I'd rather not talk about it."

He shifts his weight, "I understand. War never really leaves us does it? I'll talk to the others," he says and walks back to the engine room.