"I would like to believe this is a story I'm telling. I need to believe it. I must believe it. Those who can believe that such stories are only stories have a better chance. If it's a story I'm telling, then I have control over the ending. There will be an ending, to the story, and real life will come after it. I can pick up where I left off."
-Offred; from Ch. 7 of the Handmaid's Tale
Steady breathing. In and out; in and out. Firm concentration, okay? Don't get distracted. Remember to breathe, remember to stay as still as possible. At least for now. Focus on that hairbrush. It's been pretty quiet lately, so take in as much practice as possible. Just remember to...
"Genevieve!"
The shout of her name, with the slamming of a fist on her door, caused the twenty-one year old to let out a surprised shriek. She should've expected someone to come by her room eventually, she just didn't expect it to be so soon. Genevieve had gone to her room in order to have some privacy so she could get some practicing done. It had been almost a full week since the last time the Resistance and the First Order clashed; while the temporary peace and quiet was nice, it was also unnerving. Usually, the First Order was looking for some way to cause problems — be it attacking a nearby system or trying to enslave planets through terrorism and fear — and the Resistance would have to come in and stop them. But, for some reason, there was nothing going on. Well, that wouldn't be entirely correct. While it a confrontation between them had been on a standstill, there was always something going on.* Leia had told everyone to make themselves ready for any form of attack from the First Order — check all weapons, bomber ships, and X-Wings; make sure every blaster is fully functional; check and recheck every engine on every ship. She wanted to ensure her soldiers were ready when the time came. For Genevieve, she had double, even triple, checked every single major function of her ship. She may not be the best mechanic in the Resistance, but she was very thorough.
Another slam on the door. "Genevieve, I know you're in there!" It was her sister, Alessia. The nineteen year old was a naturally impatient person, a trait that was definitely inherited by their mother, Lupita. To make matters worse, Alessia's attitude tended to be less than satisfactory. Another slam. "Can you come out already?" Alessia shouted. "Farrah has been telling me to look for you."
With a groan, Genevieve stood from her bed and hurried to her door. Farrah Clarkson was her supervisor, having served as the Resistance's head mechanic for quite some time. For Genevieve, she didn't exactly care for Farrah all that much; she found the older woman to be too strict, too serious. While war was something that made people serious and strict, it was something that Clarkson took to whole new level.
Opening her door, Genevieve glared at her younger sister. Alessia simply rolled her eyes as she started walking away. "I was taking a break, you know that, right?" the twenty-one year old exclaimed.
"I don't care if you were sleeping," Alessia snapped. "Get back to your station before Farrah flips her shit."
With a huff, Genevieve slammed her door behind her. Alessia may be a good fighter, but she had a generally terrible attitude.
-Major Minus-*
"You're late." Farrah shot a glare Genevieve's way as they walked through the ship's engine room. "You're lucky you have Alessia who's willing to go look for you. Honestly, I don't understand what General Organa was thinking when she assigned you here."
"She thought I had a shot at fixing things," Genevieve interrupted, "not bickering and wasting more time."
Farrah's glare intensified. "Don't go thinking just because a princess has a soft spot for you, you'll get away from any punishments," she growled. "You're under my supervision. Do I make myself clear?"
"Crystal."
"Good," the older woman grumbled. "Get to work."
Genevieve glared after Farrah as she walked away. Again, she didn't really care for her supervisor all that much. Farrah took everything too seriously, and apparently having someone as important as Leia assign you to a place based on skill was a burden in Farrah's eyes. Scoffing, Genevieve started on her work. The idea that Leia had some kind of soft spot for her was preposterous. The general treated all her people equally, no matter what. Genevieve didn't get any special treatment, and Leia didn't go assigning her to be a mechanic because she favored the young woman over anyone else. It had been skill that led the twenty-one year old to being a mechanic, nothing more. Genevieve's parents may have been unhappy with the decision, but once Leia had her mind set on something, it was hard to change it.
"You okay?" Turning her head slightly, Genevieve saw Kia, a mechanic just a year or two younger than her. The two women had a pretty close friendship, mainly because of their closeness in age. When Genevieve nodded, Kia gave a sympathetic smile. "Farrah's a bitch," she said quietly, leaning over a bit so they could talk quieter. "We all know it. The way I see it, she doesn't like how young her workers are becoming."
"You'd think she'd be happy the Resistance has so many young followers," Genevieve grumbled. "General Organa can't run a military without younger and stronger soldiers."
Kia nodded. "The Resistance wouldn't be what it is without people like Farrah or Leia," she sighed. "As miserable as some of them are, they're important in their own way."
Genevieve simply nodded in response.*
-Major Minus-
For Genevieve, the remainder of her day was rather uneventful. It was the same routine for her. She repaired any minor repairs that needed inspecting; she helped with checking and stocking weapons; she made sure the engines of every vehicle they had was running smoothly. Genevieve's schedule may have seemed busy with all the things she had to do, but it was stuff she'd done plenty of times before. It was so ingrained into her, it was ordinary to her, almost boring. Of course, when it came time for any attacks against the First Order, that was when it was exciting. When there were those damned standstills, Genevieve was dying for something to happen. She didn't have to be a soldier or a pilot to crave that adventurous feeling.
But, sadly, there was that nagging voice in the back of Genevieve's head that reminded her of Farrah's previous words. The ones about how punishment should not go ignored. That could mean a lot of things. Farrah either planned some unnecessary penalty for Genevieve's behavior and tardiness, or she'll get Leia involved, or she'll get Genevieve's family and Leia involved — in all honesty, there could be a number of different scenarios involving Farrah coming up with an over the top punishment, which would definitely include the aforementioned people. For Genevieve, she found all of those scenarios to be frustrating. Mostly because they could happen. And as the day progressed, the thought of the twenty-one year old having to endure something like any of the frameworks she thought of made her stress. Genevieve didn't want Leia or her family to think of her as someone who didn't take her job seriously. She felt her contribution to the Resistance was just as important as the next guy's, but there were moments she found herself unable to really work well with certain people. Farrah happened to be one of those people.
With a frustrated sigh, the young woman buried her face in her hands. All she wanted was to go back to her room and resume her practice. That always made her feel better; it helped clear her mind. She didn't want to feel so stressed out. But, however, much to Genevieve's dismay, all she could do was wait and see what happened. She could only hope the whole ordeal she had with Farrah earlier would be left alone.
(A/N):
Guys, I'm really sorry for the wait on this chapter. I tried to get it done and up as soon as possible, but I got sidetracked by school and work. I know it may not seem like a valid excuse for some, but for me, school and work are a top priority. I tried to make this chapter as well written and interesting as possible, but it didn't turn out the way I hoped it would. I had to rewrite it a whole bunch of times because I didn't like how it originally turned out. If you guys could help me out with this story, point out what I could improve on and how to make the characters a little more interesting, I'd greatly appreciate it. Constructive criticism is always welcome.
STAR WARS does not belong to me. All I own are my OCs and the subplots I put in. If you've got ideas for OCs and/or subplots, PM me or leave a review.
Like I've mentioned before, I am new to the STAR WARS fandom. I'm familiar with a lot of the big name characters (i.e. Luke, Leia, Darth Vader, R2-D2, etc.), but I'm guaranteeing you, when the time comes to write them in, I won't do it correctly. If you notice I write a character or other canon part of the franchise, like the Force or the Resistance for example, don't hesitate to let me know. The one thing I'd hate to have to deal with is writing something from STAR WARS incorrectly, then being told later, and having to pretty much rewrite this whole story to fix it. That's the main reason why I'm asking you for help early on. I'd like to get everything write the first time around so I won't have to change anything later on.
Hopefully that little rant made sense.
Let me know if there's anything that needs improvement.
Thanks.
A.J. Menendez
