Thanks for bothering to read this. This is a tribute to all those soldiers in real life who sacrifice themselves for our protection, and who get so trained into attack mode, they can't see the enemy for the civilians. Enjoy.

"You're nothing soldier! You haven't got what it takes! Maybe this course wasn't cut out for you! Is that all you got? IS THAT ALL YOU GOT?"

The sergeant's voice cut through the waves of fatigue and snapped me back to life, with a surge of anger. "Nope." I muttered through gritted teeth. The small, cold droplets of rain pierced my face with a fierce intensity. The mud seemed to suck our tired, dirty boots downward, making running extremely difficult. I could see the men in front of me starting to slow, showing signs of extreme exhaustion. I put my head down, and started to quicken my pace. My lungs burned in protest, but I pressed on, soon overtaking the other tired hopefuls and joining the front of the pack leaving the wheezing sergeant with the stragglers. "I've got plenty more where that came from." I muttered, although I was starting to doubt that I did. To distract me from the pain, I started to think about the path that got me here.

….

I had joined the peacekeeping forces for one reason and one reason only; to prove to myself that I could achieve great things. Ever since I was a child, I had wanted to be a peacekeeper. I had watched the recruitment advertisements, and fallen in love with the discipline, the structure, and the respect peacekeepers demanded. As soon as I was 18, I completed the recruitment course with flying colors and signed up with the first regiment that would take me; the newly formulated 501st squadron. We were assigned to patrol District 11. As we exited the dropship the first thing that hit me was the stench of fresh manure, an excellent fertilizer.

"Cor Blimey! Can you smell that Galeo? Smells like a pile of shit!"

"That's because it is Lepidus." I said with a chuckle. Lepidus had been my best friend and roommate during the recruitment course. He had a strange accent, which none of us could pick, with equally strange mannerisms and turn of phrase. He always pronounced 'th' as 'ph'. He was smaller than most whilst still being more built than the others. He was never seen without his tattered black beanie, but we could always see black curls protruding from underneath. He had kept us entertained during the 18 month course with jokes, pranks and impersonations of the CO's (commanding officers). I deeply admired his enthusiastic approach to our line of work. The recruitment course had been designed to create a sense of camaraderie, and it succeeded perfectly. I looked around where I had landed. To our left was what looked like an enormous forest filled with berry trees, nut trees, and fruit trees. In front of us was the old, run down justice building, its sagging walls and broken down balcony a perfect welcome to such a dreary, dirty country town. To our right were fields of all sorts of crop being worked by people of various shapes, sizes and ethnicities, but they all had a common factor. They all seemed well fed. Sensing my thoughts, the CO muttered "They probably steal crops." I looked at him and saw he had the same look of disgust that I had. "We'll set 'em right."

As we were given a tour of the district by the 283rd squadron, which were to be replaced by us, I could see the plain cracks in the security here. Peacekeepers asleep on the job, obvious blind spots in the district, and blatant disobedience to rules and regulations. I stared at the people with the obvious features of contempt on my face. All my years of training had taught me to distrust locals, as they would kill you for their own end if they had a chance. As we passed yet another field with people bent over working, I noticed that whilst they were working they were all in earnest conversations with the people around them. Yet another crack in security. If they could talk to each other, they had perfect opportunities to organize a coup. My anger at these flaws continued to grow. By the time we reached Peacekeeper HQ I was boiling with rage. 'What had this squadron been doing all this time?' A tour of the facilities proved equally dissatisfying. Filth and lack of discipline seemed to be the dominating force in the building. As a soldier staggered out of his room, clearly drunk, he gave a half hearted nod in the direction of our CO and continued walking. I could see the CO turn three shades of red in anger.

"OI! Private!" he barked. The soldier spun around a look of shock on his face. "Where is your salute?"

A look of relief and comprehension crossed his face as he nodded. He then proceeded to give the sloppiest salute I had ever seen. The private seemed quite pleased with himself, before collapsing in a drunken heap. Our CO stomped off to the 283rd squadron's CO. After a heated argument, and a telephone call to the capitol, the 283rd were sent packing early to District 12. We watched them go, most of them so drunk they needed help packing their things. One soldier in particular's antics were so hilarious we videoed him with our telecommunicators. Lepidus found one guy struggling with his bag, and so, being the gentleman he is, helped the man pack his bag… with another soldiers things. We were all crying with laughter as the other soldier tried to find his things not knowing his roommate had taken them. It was late at night by the time they were all vacated. We moved into our rooms, and were immediately called in to do a security assessment. We were briefed in the Justice building's control room which contained all the security controls for the fence, gate, and cameras. Flashing monitors, controls, dials and switches littered the walls and room. It was an amazing testament to the Capitol's power. On one wall was a whiteboard, with the CO, Taurus, standing beside it. Taurus, was an older man of few words with a short back and sides like the rest of the squadron. He had a scar running from his cheek down his neck to his shoulder. He told us he had got it in a drunken bar fight back when he was a private. Thankfully to his connections in the capitol he had avoided trouble. "Settle down." barked the man in question. Quiet immediately descended upon the room. The mood was excited and expectant, mainly because for most men in this squadron it was their first deployment. "Right. As you know the 283rd has left the building, and that means that at this moment there is absolutely no security in this district."

"Same as always." yelled Lepidus. A chuckle came from the group, and even Taurus cracked a smile. "That means that since we are starting at ground zero, security wise, how about we build it all afresh. Wipe the slate clean of the old system and really crack down on the holes. Any suggestions?"

There was quiet muttering from the group as I raised my hand. "Yes you, the young man in the front"

"Well sir, I think that the first thing we should do is actually turn on the security measures that are in this very room." Taurus gave a chuckle. "Good thinking." He scribbled it onto the board.

"Secondly, we need to make sure that the people abide by the rules and regulations. This can be done by increasing punishments and strictness for breaches of the law. In order to make sure that people get the message about our strictness, we'll need a few… examples." I was rewarded an acknowledging nod of approval and more scribbling on the board.

"And thirdly, we cannot allow the workers to communicate unsupervised in the fields. They could be planning revolutions here, under the cover of work. We need an increased number of peacekeepers on the beat during work, especially during harvest so that they won't be stealing from the capitol." More scribble, a moments silence. Taurus was staring at me with a look of approval and, possibly even a hint of admiration. "Good, good. I like it. What's your name private?"

"Galeo. The name's Galeo sir."

"Well Galeo, how about you and I have a little chat in my office? The rest of you are free to go."

Confusion swept across the unit. Lepidus simply strolled out shooting me a questioning look. Everyone else took a second to react, but were soon fighting to get out of the door once they saw Taurus' unimpressed face. Soon we were alone. I followed Taurus into his office. It was made almost entirely of mahogany, with a whole wall full of books and a cluttered desk with personal nick knacks and paperwork. Taurus was quick at unpacking. I stood to attention as he sat at his chair.

"Right…uh…Galeo was it?" I nodded. He looked through his drawers and pulled out a file. My file! Wow, he was a quick unpacker. The CO continued to read my file whilst I stood there uncomfortably. "So you are related to him." He said as he closed the file. My fists clenched. "Who is that sir?" I asked already knowing the answer.

"Your father. He was THE commander Galeo. The commander who defeated the rebellion."

"Is this relevant to my career in any way, sir?" I said through clenched teeth.

"No, no. Just curious. Now I know that a great military mind can be inherited. I was thinking that since you have such an impressive lineage, and military tact, that maybe you could lead the security clean up."

My mouth opened in shock. I hadn't even fired my first shot at the enemy and I was already promoted! I regained my composure, and with a gruff nod said "I'll do it."

"Good. But remember this is a big job. Failure in any area will be entirely your responsibility."

"Don't worry sir." I said as I started towards the door. "It'll be fun."

After a few whippings, executions and extra peacekeepers on duty during harvest time the district came right into line in no time. Within three weeks the citizens were suppressed and under control. The quiet was so very peaceful. 'No wonder they call us peacekeepers.' I thought as I observed the rice fields. "Going well Kiddo." I jumped and spun around. It was Taurus. He pulled me aside with the words "Let's go for a little walk." After a short stroll across the rice covered fields, observing the workers, he began speaking.

"I like you boy. You got the mind of a soldier. You have the right instinct, ability and brains. I was looking through your recruitment course physical exam. A 93? That's better than I got in the test. I also saw you majored in 'battles of the rebellion'. Nice. That's what I did."

I nodded when appropriate. It was impertinent to talk while the CO was talking so I decided not to tell him that 'battles of the rebellion' was the only major available to a recruit.

"Anyways, what I wanted to talk to you about was your career in the forces. I got a message from the top brass in the capitol. They are offering a select, advanced course for people wanting to further their career. They asked me to give the invite to my top troops. I've already asked your pal Lepidus and he's in. You Interested?"

I was equal parts curious and wary. I'd never heard of advanced courses being offered to peacekeepers. "Uh…What will it entail?"

"Training that will put you at the top of your game. It can lead to opportunities in the CF."

The CF! The capitols' top troops for covert operations, the Covert Forces were shrouded in mystery and adventure. Most soldiers daren't even dream of being offered training, let alone be accepted. It was an opportunity I couldn't afford to miss.

"You can count me in, sir."

"Good. Go pack your stuff; the hovership will arrive in 0200."

"Thank you sir." And with a quick salute I ran to my room. There I found Lepidus packing his stuff.

"Feels surreal, hey buddy? I was just chuffed to bits to be a part of it."

"Yup. Looks like you and I are going to be toughing it out together." I said whilst grabbing my musty, old bag from under my bed. In my excitement, I started shoving everything in at once, not thinking about how it would all fit, inevitably leading to me having to repack the bag later on. The last thing I put in the bag was a picture of my father in full CF gear with his mates. "See dad? I'm one step closer. Who's the failure now?" I whispered as I put the picture in.

Like it so far? If so please review, im really anxious to hear how my first fanfic went. Any suggestions for storyline would be good too.

(BTW if you can spot the star wars reference you win brownie points, which…do…absolutely…nothing.)