Chapter 1: Reflections of a simple soldier
War, that's all they ever talk about, war. Well, to be more precise I suppose what everyone talks about is the Empire, but really the Empire is just a conduit for war. A well refined and efficient war machine, that's what the Empire is and everyone has their place. What can you do for the Empire? How will you give your life to the Empire? That's what they asked me. My teachers, my parents, and hell even my so called friends would ask me that. It made me sick. Why should I give my life to the Empire? Why should I care about getting revenge for what happened over 1000 years ago? When I was young I would question my parents about this and I found the answers to be quite painful. Every time I would bring up the Empire in a non-patriotic way I was severely beaten. I loathed my parents for this, but it wasn't the pain that made me hate them. No, rather it was their undying, unquestioning patriotism to the Empire that disgusted me. It was as if they worshiped the Empire. Needless to say I quickly learned not to bring up my opinions again. In fact I got very good at concealing my thoughts as well as my opinions so that every one of those stupid psychologists would think I was a true patriot through and through. Looking back on it now I wonder if my parents were truly that patriotic, or were simply trying to protect me. I guess I'll never know, hard to have candor conversation when the Empire is always looking over your shoulder.
The evil stupid Republic, 'they' must be punished; 'they' must be destroyed, for the glory of the Empire. I've heard that phrase since as long as I can remember. It never made sense to me. If the Republic is so stupid how did they nearly exterminate us 1000 years ago? From what I heard about the Republic it was a wonder they hadn't already destroyed themselves. No one else seemed to think this though so and as a kid I felt like a genius in a room full of idiots. However, I was not nearly as smart as I liked to think I was. If I was intelligent I would have studied hard in school and tried to become an engineer. That way I could help build ships away from the front lines. The pay would be good and I wouldn't have to risk my life for this stupid war. Studying was for 'nerds' though, besides running and shooting was way more fun. So that's what I did, I ran and I practised shooting and I got pretty damn good at it. I was running marathons regularly by the time I was 12 and had gotten a perfect score at the local gun range. I was the fastest in my class and the best shooter and I knew it. It wasn't long before the Empire took notice too and by the time I was 16 I was drafted into the army into a special ops unit for training. I would be forced to risk my life for the Empire after all. I wasn't the genius in the room; I was the dumbest of them all. Hell, I was even dumber than the Republic.
Control and order that is what the Empire thrived on. Unlike the Republic where corruption and crime were rampant, the Empire was virtually crime free. While the Republic response to crime was pathetic by any standards, the Empire has a very strict policy against crime. In fact you would have to be mad to commit a crime in the Empire considering almost everything was considered treason. So unless you were high ranking enough in government or military that you had enough people to cover your ass, you didn't even dream of committing a crime. Unless of course if you were one 'them'. The rules didn't apply to them. They could do as they damn well pleased. It didn't matter if you were a simple soldier or the general to the largest army in the fleet, they treated you like vermin. To 'them' we were all just servants to do their bidding. For they are the gods of the galaxy, they are the Sith. I had never met a Sith in person before joining the military and nothing could prepare me for what I saw. I say the word meet very loosely, Sith never actually talked to recruits at training, but it didn't make them any less terrifying. As they walked around headquarters with their black hooded cloaks and their cold dead eyes, they sent chills down everyone's spine. I had only feared death before being forced into the military, but now I feared the Sith as well. I hated them and feared them and because I feared them I hated them even more.
The Sith however at this point were the least of my problems. While I didn't want to join the army all together, I was glad that was put into special ops training. Special op units were better trained and better equipped than basic infantry. That meant they were more valuable and were less likely to be put on suicide missions. Basic infantry however were placed wherever they were needed and while they were certainly better trained and equipped than the average Republic solider, they were still very disposable. What I didn't know is that to motivate soldiers in each spec ops unit at the end of training they cut two thirds of each group and sent them to basic infantry, where they are promptly sent to the front lines. What's worse is that either my class in school was the slowest and worst shooters in the galaxy or my group at special ops training was filled with the best soldiers in the Empire. Looking back on it, it was probably a combination of the two. Whichever was the case it didn't matter, I was one of the weakest soldiers there and if wanted to stay I would have to train harder than I had ever during my entire life, much harder. Of course I say this as if there was extra time to train. Since this is where the Empire determined where you would end up if you weren't cut, they had to test you in everything. Military operations from infiltration to mass assault were taught and practised as well as any weapon and military equipment the empire had to offer. The time you were given off was to make sure you had enough energy to make it through the program. I unfortunately did not have the luxury to use this time to rest, so instead I trained and hoped through sheer adrenaline and determination I would make it through. I focused on my strengths, short to medium ranged weapons in close quarter combat, in hopes that my weaknesses would be overlooked. It seemed to work as I quickly rose up in rank, though I feared it would not be enough as I was still on the verge of being cut and exhaustion had started to kick in. It was at this point that she showed up. Most Sith couldn't care less about us new recruits, but she was different. She was very excited to meet us, because unlike other Sith who were obsessed with gaining power, she only cared about one thing. Her name was Lord Odyne, and all she cared about was pain.
They called it interrogation training, we called it hell. The Empire decided that to simulate capture we would undergo interrogation training at the end of the program. The idea was that if you were captured by the enemy you would be likely be already exhausted from battle. However, they conveniently didn't take into account the Republic laws on interrogation. The truth be told I suspect this entire training was meant to simply please the Sith, because you would never be tortured this ruthlessly in the Republic. Along with Lord Odyne there was small man who acted as your doctor. He was colloquially known as the 'Holy Man' and he was quite literally your life line. Sith are famously known for being the best torturers in the galaxy; however they are also known for getting too carried away. A lot time and money was spent on training us and we still needed to be able to fight once the training was over. The 'Holy Man' measured your vitals and determined if the torture had to be toned down or all together stopped. I don't know how he managed it, but Lord Odyne always listened to him. I can only imagine what he had done for the Sith to give him that much respect. Most of the time it didn't matter as recruits usually gave up long before their bodies did. Each of us was given a code word and we graded on how long we lasted before either giving up the code word or our body vitals became too low. Most people dreaded the training, I on the other hand couldn't be happier. Despite being completely exhausted and in desperate need of rest I looked forward to this opportunity. It would be the first time I could openly defy the Sith. I would never give her my code word, I would never break.
The first day was physical torture. Lord Odyne had us all go through a series of torture machines that ranged from classic water boarding to the electric shock chair. While these were all incredibly painful, no one gave up and Lord Odyne actually seemed bored. Then suddenly a smile came across her face and we all shivered in fear, the serums had arrived. The serums allowed the Empire to simulate events that would normally cause permanent damage. They were all worse than you could possibly imagine. One of them even managed to simulate being eaten and burned alive simultaneously. By the end of the second day two thirds of the group had given up. This made all the instructors very pleased, it was apparently a new record. Most of the time only a quarter of the group made it passed the second day. It is hard to imagine, but the third day was far worse. It is to this day the most painful experience of my entire life. Unlike the days before there were no machines or serums, just you and Lord Odyne in a small dark room. The doctor was in another room monitoring your brain waves and then would signal the Sith to begin. The serums were indeed painful, but not perfect. If you concentrated hard enough you could force your brain into recognizing that the pain you felt was not real and eventually the pain would go away. However when Lord Odyne mentally attacked you there was no escape, you simply had to endure it. The pain was so intense it could not be described; there was simply nothing to compare it to. Most of the men only lasted an hour; the stronger willed soldiers lasted a couple hours more. I on the other hand kept going; each time she attacked it simply fueled my defiance even more. It mortified me though when I realized my defiance wasn't annoying her, in fact it excited her. She saw me as a challenge, someone whom she did not have to hold back on. It felt like years had gone by and I finally couldn't take it anymore. I gave up. In actuality it had not been years, it had been 12 hours and by the end she was smiling so much you would think this was the most fun she had in years. In fact it seemed that all the instructors were smiling. No one had lasted that long in quite some time and they seemed to think their training played a significant part in my endurance. I was not smiling however, I had failed. I tried with every fiber of my being to defy the Sith and I had failed.
Apparently the body does not like being pushed to the absolute limit and then subjected to physical and mental torture, because after the torture had finished I collapsed. I was out for an entire month and during that time a lot of controversy occurred over my current situation. According to the numbers I was ranked just one person below the top third. Normally that wouldn't matter as the Empire was very strict when it came to its numbers. However, this time there were a lot more other factors to consider. For one thing most soldiers' military strength here increased linearly, however I appeared to increase exponentially. Many of the instructors were curious on how long this trend would last and thought that sending me to basic infantry seemed a waste of potential. There was also the small issue of the interrogation training. The training was not meant to determine where you ranked but rather how much Intel you would receive on future assignments. If you couldn't make it through the first day you were only sent on missions that were not information sensitive. If made it to the second day, you may be sent on information sensitive missions, but the Intel given would be vague and strictly need to know. Fully passing the training meant lasting over three hours on day 3 and if this was accomplished you would be authorized to top secret Intel should it proved necessary. Lasting 12 hours though, that showed determination. Such determination could prove very useful on the battlefield. In the end it was actually the Sith that tipped the balance. Lord Odyne not only insisted that I not be cut, but that I be put into one the most elite military units there was. I like to think she did this because she saw what a potentially strong soldier I could become. However, at the time it seemed more likely she simply did it to thank me for being so much fun. One did not simply defy a Sith's request though, so with only a small amount of grumbling I was sent to one of the most elite units there was. I was sent to the Death Troopers. Their job was to hunt the most dangerous soldiers the Republic had to offer. The Death Troopers hunted Jedi.
The Death Troopers were a relatively new unit. Originally it was thought that the best way to deal with a Jedi was to send a Sith. However, most of the time the more powerful Sith were too busy playing power games with other Sith to bother hunting Jedi. That left only the weaker Sith who wished to prove to the others in the order how strong they were. While they were still often successful, there we many times where a Sith would be sent out and would never return again. Not that anybody in Empire would mind of course. I always felt alone when it came to my feelings on the Empire, but I was not alone in my hatred of the Sith. Many soldiers and officers despised the Sith for their lack of respect for chain of commanded and just their arrogance in general. The military decided that they needed a more reliable solution to the Jedi problem and Death Troopers were the solution. Death Troopers were highly trained and well equipped soldiers and we specialized in the capture and or death of Jedi. We also wore black armor instead of white as to strike fear into the hearts of the Jedi. Or perhaps we wore black simply because the engineers who designed our suits thought it looked cool.
The instructors in special ops training ended up being correct. My skills did increase exponentially, at least for a short time. While the training had gotten harder, it was also more specialized and mostly just reinforced what we learned in special ops training. I also must have been a late developer, because while the training was harder I found it to be much easier, especially now that I could focus on what I was good at. I quickly rose up in ranks and became one of the top soldiers among the new recruits. During training we would watch videos of Jedi to understand their fighting style to learn how to bring them down. Despite claiming to be complete opposites, the Jedi and the Sith were actually very similar to each other. Unlike regular soldiers, the Jedi and Sith wielded a weapon called a light saber. The light saber was effectively a laser sword that could cut through anything and could block and reflect laser fire. The Jedi typically had green or blue light sabers, while the Sith predominately had red. The colors apparently had significant meaning, but I hadn't bothered to learn what they were. The Sith also wore far less armor than regular soldiers and the Jedi wore even less armor than the Sith. This meant that a single laser blast to the head could actually take one of them down. The Jedi though, moved unbelievably fast and no matter how many men were firing at them it was next to impossible to hit them anywhere, let alone the head. They never used any ranged weapons though, which I found incredibly stupid. Well, I suppose they technically did have one ranged weapon, the Force. It was what separated us from the Sith and Jedi. It was the source of their power. The Force not only allowed both the Sith and the Jedi the ability to move and jump far faster and higher than any normal being, it also gave them psychic and telekinesis powers. Sith and Jedi who were strong with the Force could throw objects of massive size and could seemingly stop laser blasts in mid-air. The Force was not just restricted to objects though, both Sith and Jedi could use the Force on people as well. In fact it was common place for Sith to Force choke officers that they didn't like.
It was during this training that I truly discovered why Lord Odyne did what she did. While Lord Odyne was obsessed with pain, it did not make her stupid. When probing my mind she found my undying hatred for the Sith, but more importantly she found my incredible determination to beat them. Despite their Force powers, I would never stop training until I was better than them. She suspected that this undying hatred, this unending determination would apply to the Jedi as well. She was not wrong. I soon learned that the Jedi also thought themselves as gods, but what was worse was that that despite their actions they always insisted they had the moral high ground. I later grew to hate them even more as I found that they did things that were just as bad as the Sith, and in some cases even worse.
By the time I was 19, I was finished my training and was ready for the battle field. It would be quite some time though before I would encounter any Republic soldiers, let alone any Jedi. The Empire intelligence gathering was very good when it came to movements in the Republic, but was rather pathetic when it came to the Jedi. My first experience in battle came when our unit of new recruits accidently ran into a Republic patrol unit. No matter how much rigorous training you did, nothing fully prepared you for the battle field. Some of the recruits would freeze in place in sheer fear, unable to move. Others, who were masters of all battle tactics, seemingly forget everything they had learned and would simply charge at the enemy head on, only to be mowed down horribly. With all the laser fire and explosions going off all around you it was tempting to stay at the back and simply wait for it all to be over. However, I had learned that soldiers who tried to hide in the back during battles were forced later to the front lines on pain of death. The Empire did not tolerate cowardice. So I moved forward, but I did not charge at the enemy. I analyzed the battle field and I quickly found that there safe spots throughout, much like different eyes in a raging multitude of storms. The eyes were constantly moving though, so you had to be quick to stay in them. There were a few close calls but unlike many of my brethren, I survived the encounter. In the battles to come I got better at analyzing the battle field and a soon learned there were not only 'safe spots' but areas where I could utterly destroy the enemy. You see battle was not just about having good speed and reaction time. It was about knowing where and when to fire, before the enemy was even there. It was not something you could train for; rather it simply must be learned through experience and instinct. I had never wanted to be a soldier, but I had to admit I was pretty damn good at it. Hell, I even enjoyed it a little. Then I encountered my first Jedi and all hell broke loose.
The Empire had sent an entire battalion to deal with two Jedi they had found. I thought it was completely and utterly overkill. I couldn't be more wrong. Everything I had learned in previous encounters had been completely useless here. There were no safe spots when fighting the Jedi, it was all just one big chaotic storm and the only way to survive was move as fast as physically possible. Tanks and other vehicles were being thrown by them in every direction and men fell to the ground by their own laser fire. I didn't care though, this was my chance. I would beat them. I would survive and I would beat them. However, I didn't beat them; I didn't even come close to hitting them. I did survive though, which was better than most. Our entire battalion had been wrecked and the Jedi had escaped. In the future we would be more successful at capturing or killing the Jedi. I also found that as I became more accustomed to fighting Jedi I eventually was able to hit them. I still had yet to kill or capture one myself though. However, I was surviving and making progress and at this point that's all that mattered.
Since the Death Troopers job was to hunt the mortal enemy of the Sith, we saw more of them than any other unit did. Their condescending attitude and forceful nature took its toll on all of us, especially the officers. I noticed that they were far worse when they were being watched and it made me wonder if like soldiers in the Empire, they simply were acting the way they were expected to. However, they seemed to do it far too easily to be forced into it. Finally one of the officers couldn't take it anymore and decided to stand up to one them. To give him credit he still looked determined as his head rolled across floor. That was the day I got my first promotion.
I never thought myself much of a leader, but the pay was better and I got better equipment so I was happy. It also meant that instead of just pretending I didn't receive the stupid order's my superiors gave, I could give my own. I like to think it was my own cunning and overall performances that lead to my further promotions, but reality it was that my superiors kept dying by one way or another. As an officer I had gathered quite a reputation for being...different. Most officers tried to inspire their troops and calmly give orders to their soldiers from a distance. I didn't have time for such nonsense. I was brutal, to the point, and apparently swore more than most both on and off the battlefield. I also didn't hang back, but instead moved up to the front lines with the rest of my men. The Empires strict entry to special ops training meant that only the best were assigned to the Death Troopers. However, this also meant that basic infantry had a surplus of soldiers, while the rest of units were always in short supply. To solve this problem the basic infantry soldiers would fill the gaps from mission to mission in the other units. The Empire often didn't tell you though just how many of your men were from basic infantry so if you wanted something done on the battlefield you had better do it yourself. It was also why I didn't bother trying to inspire my troops, since I figured most would be dead by the next day anyway. Both my willingness effectiveness to fight in the front lines had gained me the respect of many of the soldiers in the Death Troopers. However, they also thought I was a bit mad. Perhaps they were right, but who could blame me. This whole war was madness.
"1st officer David Baramore report to the bridge." said a voice through the speaker. Well I suppose it was time I stop dwelling on the past. If I was going to survive this war I would have to focus on the present.