Star Wars: Light in the Dark

Part 3: Family Ties

Revan stayed in the company of the dying stormtrooper, looking at him with a slight, innocent smile. The stormtrooper slowly reached his hand's to Revan's face, and put his hand on his cheek.
"I.. I know we used to f-fight as k-kids.. but do you th-think mom and dad ever imagined this?" The stormtrooper softly said.
"No, no I don't think they ever thought our childhood fights would come to us on the other side of the field of battle." Revan replied to him.
"I'm sorry it had to turn out like this..." The stormtrooper sighed 
"It's fine. When you went to the Imperial Academy, you said you were going to be out in four years. But here you are, five years later..." Revan said, feeling a tear welling up in his right eye.
"My com-manding officer asked me to stay for two more years because of a lack of infantry... I'm sorry, Revan. This should have.. never..happened..." The stormtrooper wheezed, sighing his last breath as his hand went limp in Revan's.
Revan laid the soldier's hand on his chest, and used his fingers to close his eyes.
"Rest in Peace, Decmond... I'm sure mom and dad are glad to see you again... and I'll see you too, one day, big brother..." Revan said, feeling the tears escape his eyes, falling down his face and dropping onto the armor of his oldest brother.
Revan momentarily sat there, remembering his time in school when his brother would teasingly knock his books from his hands, push him out of bed, and stick up for him in fights. He remembered when Decmond came home wearing his Imperial dress uniform, his nice looking dress grays and black pants. He wore a nice few ribbons on his left chest, and name on his right. His black cap with the imperial insignia.
That was 5 years ago, when Decmond enlisted at 17 with his parent's permission.
Revan remembered how much he earned to enlist and be like his big brother and sister, but no one knew much from his sister, and they were never very close anyways.
Revan wiped his tears, and said "You served with honor and distinction until the end, brother."
Revan slowly stood and walked back to Dantek, who stood blissfully unaware at the end of the street.
"You done? We will be lucky if the empire doesn't know where we are now." Dantek snapped at him.
"Let's go... we need to get to the safehouse..." Revan said quietly.
The pair walked in silence for a few miles, feeling as if they're being watched, but always alone.
They passed empty house after empty house, some houses scarred by blaster marks, some houses have parts blown out if them by grenades. It's hard to think the empire would go to such extremes to find a small rebel cell. Revan could only imagine the fear in the children's eyes, the tears shed, the families torn apart by the empire. He could only imagine how the city has been ripped apart in just days, and the resistance's main purpose, to oppose the empire and protect the people, has been failed.
Revan walked in silence, listening for any noise other than the sounds of their footsteps.
Dantek finally speaks first after what seemed like an eternity.
"I wonder where Decmond is right now. Hopefully he is stationed somewhere nice, maybe on Kashyyk. He always wanted to go there. Maybe we can call him at the safe house."
Revan bit his lip, clenching his rifle, not wanting to tell Dantek what happened to Decmond.
"Hey, I grabbed this flag for you before we left the base. I know you like flags." Dantek said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a scrunched up red and white flag.
Revan unfolded it and saw the red background with a white Starbird on it.
Revan smiled, a smile larger than he has in a while.
"Thank you, Dantek... This means a lot to me."
And it did. After Decmond, any form of kindness was welcomed.
The young soldiers thought the battle was over, and they could start a new life somewhere. Little did they know, it was just beginning.