Trooper

Friend In Need

Florrum: 13 BBY
"Broken Remnant"
Jess

A thick haze of smoke hung over the battlefield. Snow mixed with dirt flew as droid bombs detonated. The spider droids were taking down troops with every blast. Jess rolled out of the way, narrowly missing one shot. A scream nearby caught his attention.

    He turned in time to see Ram's helmet fly off. His brother hit the ground, breath rattling through his teeth. Jess scrambled through the snow and fell down beside him. "Hey, no, come on!" He shouted.

    "We failed," Ram whispered. "All of us failed."

    Jess's eyes widened in horror as Ram's head rolled limply. He screwed his eyes shut, willing the sight away. When he opened his eyes, he was wearing stormtrooper armor and aiming a blaster at a group of people.

    He gasped, spying Ryn amidst them. She was clutching her necklace, her gaze flickering between the stormtroopers. Jess tried to pull his helmet off, but couldn't. Her gaze swept over him in fear. The commander walked before them and stepped back through the line.

    "Fire!" He shouted.

    Jess screamed as his finger locked around the trigger. His blaster lit up with red and the people before him fell. He closed his eyes, shaking his head, while several blasts hit Ryn. She collapsed to the ground, her crystal necklace stained red with her blood. Her beautiful blue eyes were frozen in fear, pain, and death.

    Jess sat up in a cold sweat. He drew in several shuddering breaths and scrubbed at his face. He stumbled off his bunk and glanced up, where Ryn was still sound asleep. Jess watched her nervously, then let out a small sigh of relief as she shifted. Silently, he crept out of the cabin and into the cockpit.

    He could make out the outline of the town in the distance. A few days had gone by since their first spice delivery, and that's all they had done since. He was looking forward to the time when they could move on from the pirate infested planet. Jess pinched the bridge of his nose as he slumped into his seat.

    A movement from behind caught his attention. Ryn rubbed her eyes and yawned, before giving him an incredulous look. "What are you doing?"

    He hesitated before answering. "Nothing. I couldn't sleep."

    "Whatever. You were asleep when I came in." Ryn crossed over and sat down in her own seat. "Did you have a nightmare again?"

    "You don't have to say it like that," Jess mumbled beneath his breath.

    "It's not a bad thing, you know. Everyone deals with that in their own way."

    "How did you know I have nightmares?"

    "You wake me up sometimes, but it's ok. Sometimes you say names and try to talk. I've heard you talk about a general, uh...someone named Ram, and me."

    Jess felt heat flood his cheeks. He was grateful for the pale moonlight drifting in. "Sorry, I don't mean to."

    Ryn laughed a bit. "It's fine. Do you want to tell me about it?"

    "I told you a bit after we met Cal, remember? I have nightmares about the Purge. Some things change but it almost always happens on Mygeeto, where I was during the order. Sometimes I see myself killing General Mundi again. Other times, I'm watching my brothers die, or I'm a stormtrooper."

"What about this time?" She subtly shifted closer.

"It started on Mygeeto. I saw Ram die, even though he didn't actually die on Mygeeto. Then, it shifted to another planet. I was a stormtrooper and we were being told to kill this group of people. You were with them. I tried to take off my helmet and talk to you, but I couldn't. I..." he paused resting his face in his palms.