The Officer {Orson Krennic X Reader}

XVIII. Broken Pieces

I don't own anything.
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Orson got the four to quiet down for good. And you were glad. With the night falling fast, the last thing you wanted to wind down to was overhearing an argument.

Right now you are sitting around a fire Near and Ryuzaki made from the scraps of the crushed escape pod. Matsuda and Mello have disappeared to gather sticks or dry grass and Orson had taken to cooking a wild animal he killed some time that afternoon. No one saw him do it but you can't help but feel impressed.

You watch him cook the meat until the fleshy inside turned a dull pink and sizzled tenderly. "I sure hope you're not vegetarian," he says. "Otherwise you're going to have to make you're meal."

"I can manage," you say. He flashes a smile and divvies up the meat. Even with the limited resources available, he makes the animal taste like a first class meal. Or your attraction to him had put a placebo affect on how the meat tasted. "It's not much," Krennic admits as he serves Matsuda and Mello, who have returned with a pile of sticks, pinecones, and grass. "But it's better than starving."

"Where did you get to be such a good cook?" Ryuzaki asks, his voice rising slightly higher than his usual all-duty voice.

"I went to the Republic's Futures Program as a teen. I was friends with Galen Erso and he was one hell of a cook."

The Death Troopers nodded slowly, each interested in hearing more. But you had another question. "Did you ever have a deep relationship with Galen?"

"You mean as in love?" Krennic asks.

Matsuda smiles. "Yeah! You ever consider Galen a lover?"

"For about three years. Then he found someone else and while I was disappointed, we agreed it was for the better." The way his eyes flash shows that he clearly didn't think it was for the better.

"Well now Krennic's got something for (Name) over there," says Ryuzaki, a strange cool tone to his voice. "What do you see in (her/him) anyway?"

"Probably everything I don't," grumbles Near.

The five of you glance in Near's direction. You see Orson frown slightly but he keeps his voice level. "Well then we'll have to work on that." He finishes eating and then stands up. "Why don't you five talk for a bit? I'm going to see if there's anything worth salvaging out of the pod."

"I'm coming," Mello, Near, and Ryuzaki chime. Krennic tries to convince them to stay but they protest. With a heavy sigh, he gives in and let's them come.

That just leaves you and DT-MA sitting by the fire. You watch the four boys walk off, wondering why the Death Troopers would come apart at a time like this. Was it panic that was overtaking their minds? It seemed so out of character for Death Troopers.

You look at Matsuda. She's drawing in the dirt with her finger. It's too dark for you to see what it is. You can ask her about it tomorrow.

She looks up at you and gens a soft smile. "I guess it just you and me, eh?"  Her voice is heavy with that of an accent you didn't recognize. Apparently Basic wasn't her first language.

You nod slowly. You've never heard a stormtrooper talk in her accent, let alone without completely perfect speech. "So how did you guys get to become a team?" You ask, wondering if she'll tell a little more about herself in addition.

"Oh? I be new to team. Ze Director let me in though I fail inspection. He name me Matsuda. Ryuzaki and Mello oldest members on team. Near newer."

"Why did you fail inspection?" You ask. "You're a perfectly capable Death Trooper."

"I five millimeter short of height requirement. Death Trooper must be two meters tall." She pauses before slowly adding "And I be a girl."

The Empire had something against shorter Death Troopers and female Death Troopers? You started to question their methods. You were about to ask more questions when Krennic returned, the other three troops following him. "Well at least one of us listened to me," he said, clapping his hand on Matsuda's shoulder. "Why don't you all get some sleep? I'll take watch first."

"But sir-" Begins Ryuzaki.

Krennic shakes his head. "This is an order. Get some rest and I'll wake you when it's your shift." The four Death Troopers nod slowly and find areas around the fire to lay about.

You sit next to Orson, deciding to stay awake for a while. "You never answered my question from earlier," you said.

"About the Death Trooper names? They're from a show I watched as a teenager. It was about a serial killer who could write someone's name down in a book and they'd instantly die. The Death Troopers are named after four investigators who were trying to figure out who the killer was. I like to think of Barcalon as the killer and me and the Troops as the investigators." He laughs a little. "It's a little childish. But here's the thing: would you rather have a code as your name or an actual something you can call yourself?"

You nod slowly. You think about everything Matsuda told you and her interesting accent. "Matsuda said she was the newest in the team. You let her in even though she didn't make the inspection cut. Why?"

"Yes, Matsuda is the newest on the team but she's not the youngest. That award goes to Near. She was supposed to be an officer but she proved to be too good for that job. So she was allowed to try out as a stormtrooper. She exceeded everyone's expectations and so she was sent to inspection to take the positions as a Death Trooper. She wasn't tall enough and she has a slight learning disability. Basic is her third language and I'm honestly impressed with how far she's come. When I rescued her, she couldn't speak a lick of Basic. But she was smart. So I let her join my team."

"And the other three?"

"Near also didn't pass inspection. He has trust issues. I offered to take him under my commander and teach him to trust people when necessary. So far, he's been doing okay. He still doesn't trust you but that will come in time.

"Ryuzaki and Mello are the only two original Death Troopers from when I first received the rank high enough to have Death Troopers. Unlike the other two, both passed inspection but just barely. Ryuzaki is very intense and will take things to the extreme no matter how unnecessary it is. Mello doesn't know how to be human, only a soldier."

It was odd, to think Krennic would take in these misfits of Death Troopers. Was there a reason behind it all? Or was he being sympathetic to them because of their misfortunes? You glance at the four troops who have fallen asleep. So you ask the question. "Why did you chose them and not ones that passed the inspection with flying colors?"

A glint of sadness flashes through his eyes. With a quiet voice as to not wake the troops, he said "Have you ever heard of the Ilum Incident?" You shake your head. "Back in the Republic's Program, I went in a mission with Galen Erso to collect Kyber crystal samples for his research from the planet of Ilum, which is pretty much made of Kyber crystals. During one of the rendezvous, the cave we were collecting from collapsed. Galen's whole team was killed except for him and me and one other. All three of us walked away alive but not unscathed. Galen became mute and his muscles in his leg torn, causing him to limp. Our friend was hit in the back of the head and went blind in one eye and had difficulty hearing after that. And I gained a stutter and lisp, which I can still hear now and then.

"However that didn't stop me from becoming one of the top students in the Program and how a director of the Empire. So when I saw these four troops that most would reject because of what makes them different from every other trooper, I snatched them up. I want them to be treated like they're no different. And maybe even help them live a normal life if they survive to the end of the war."