Hello all! I'm finally back with another chapter. Sorry for the delay there. I had a fever of 100.5F the last couple of days, and spent most of it asleep and in a near-constant state of delirium and pain. Not completely over it right now, but at least I don't feel like I'm knocking on death's door. No medications, no doctors, no fear (because kriff fear). That's how I roll. But I'm glad to be back and bringing my amazing readers the next chapter. So enjoy!
Freya awoke and stretched on her small bed. She turned her head on her pillow and looked at the small table beside her bunk. Three pair of gloves sat beside her satchel of herbs and flowers from home. She picked up the datapad that rested there and turned it on, bringing up a photograph of herself and the rest of the team. She had taken it on the unit's shuttle the day before, during a training exercise. Drakken was sitting next to her, looking aggravated at the concept of her snapping the picture. Gallen was giving the camera lens blaster fingers. Lago grinned, and "The Scout Twins" As she called Mets and Coleth, had an arm about the others' shoulders. Daraay looked emotionless as always in her helmet, Felian had a visible smirk, and Dall looked grumpy as always.
"Mm." She sounded as her lips formed a smile. Her mother Marta had always told her that home is where the heart is. Freya knew that her heart still belonged to Breoh'Lar, to her family, and would always. But now she couldn't help but feel like she had two homes.
She climbed out of bed and got dressed. She brushed her long hair and tied it back, and threw on her cap. The team had trained most of the previous day, and she was unsure of what they might be doing today. Freya luxuriated in sliding on her gloves, and gave herself a cursory look in the mirror before she left her room. Drakken was already up and sitting at his desk. He looked over as the hatch whooshed open and Thorne entered the room.
"Well, good morning sleepy-head." The commander greeted. Thorne dropped into her chair and spun about twice.
"Mornin' Drakken." She answered. "What's on the agenda?"
"Nothing for today really." Tharcourt replied. "Just have to finish my monthly operational report for Ozzel. Expense reports on fuel...food...cleaning supplies, the works. He likes to know how efficiently everyone on his ship is operating." He gave a light scoff. "I'm sure he'll be thrilled to learn that half of our operational record and expenditures are off-the-record, and above his pay-grade."
"Well, the fact Laird Vader hasn't choked ye t' death yet should tell 'im you're doin' yer job." Freya commented.
"Ugh. Yeah, that." Drakken agreed. "The admiral probably has never had to deal with that problem. There's fear of failure, fear of the unknown, and fear of Vader. The latter is a great motivator." Freya gave him a wide-eyed look of exasperated agreement.
"So today is an off day?"
"Sure. My orders are as follows; everybody train a little at their leisure and in whatever field they want, and they can have the rest of the day to entertain themselves. That extends to you too."
"An' leave you here to write reports…what's technically my job, I might add?"
"You wrote the training report yesterday." Tharcourt shot back. "And filed the requisition forms I needed. Oh, and oversaw refueling of The Huntsman. Let me have something to do, for Kriff's sake." Thorne giggled.
"No." She stated wryly. "Ye got enough t' do, runnin' this gaggle o' hooligans. I'm the administrator here. Let me do all the borin' stuff."
"Alright…" He sighed. "I'll let you do the next report. Happy? Now go make the troopers follow my orders. It's a real important job, I assure you." Drakken said the last part cynically, and Thorne stuck her tongue out at him. She walked into the commons room to find Gallen, Mets and Lago already there.
"Mornin' men." She greeted.
"Good morning, ma'am." Gallen greeted. Mets gave her a respectful nod and Lago smiled. "Any orders?"
"Aye. Somebody get me a big ol' cup a' caf, please an' tank ye." Lago immediately did as she asked, and Freya thanked him. "Now, yer orders are for everyone to train or study a lil' in some form or another, then yer t' have fun and relax the rest o' the day. C'mander Tharcourt's orders."
"So we're ordered to have a free day." Ekks said, entering the room. "I can do that…maybe."
"Well since yer struggling with understandin' orders, won't ye go tell everyone to meet in here." Thorne said, and took a long drink of the caf. "I got a crackin' idea for how to kill time." She winked at the Corellian. "A…mental exercise as our dear c'mander calls it."
Soon, all members of the team were gathered in the commons room, finding places to sit or stand as they entered. Daraay busied herself with working on a blaster, and Dall scrolled through medical texts on a datapad as they waited for whatever speech or instruction was to come. Thorne even relieved Coleth from guard duty, temporarily 'Closing the shop' for the duration of the meeting. They munched on protein bars as Thorne took the stage in the center of the room.
"Alright. I know the lot of ye know each other as well as ye do yer own toenails." She began. A few of them chuckled. "But I realized that I haven't really had time to get to know some of you as well as I'd like. So I'd like t' ask a little about each of ye. We'll call this an educational exercise…aye, fer the good o' the team. If I get too pers'nal, stop me dead." She looked about the room. "Corporal Dall. I think I know the least about you, an' since I almost got ye killed already, I'd like to start with you." The medic looked up from his datapad.
"I don't question the legitimacy of this order, only the validity of the results, ma'am." He stated, the huffed a sigh. "What do you want to know?"
"Well, where are ye from?"
"Corellia." Dall answered.
"How come you never mentioned that before?" Ekks said, his hands outstretched questioningly. "We're practically twin brothers!"
"If you were my brother Ekks," The medic said dryly, "I would have strangled you in the womb." The entire room burst out laughing. When the noise died down, Freya asked another question.
"You wanted to be a doctor then?" She queried.
"I was a veterinarian." Dall explained. "And a good one. But I got tired of it and joined the military."
"Aw. I ne'er knew you loved animals, Dall. That musta been a fun job." Dall gave her a smirk.
"Ever see what passes as pets on Corellia?"
"No."
"Didn't think so, ma'am." He stated. Ekks snickered. "But when you learn surgery working on sibian hounds, treating a foul-mouthed jack-leg in the field is a dream."
"You got family back hame, corporal?" She asked.
"Yeah. My parents and a sister. Father is a veterinarian. My mother installs turrets on gunships. My younger sister is in academy, learning to be a pilot."
"I'm sure she'll make a great one." Thorne said with a smile. Felian. Yer the best tracker in the galaxy and ye hate broiled mynock. That's about all I know about you. How'd you learn t' be sech a great hunter?"
"My dad taught me tracking and bushcraft, ma'am." Sergeant Felian answered. "Had me hunting big game by the time I was ten. He was uh…a veteran of the Clone Wars."
"Oh. Like the old man." Gallen said. Felian looked toward him and made a strange face.
"No…not exactly. But he raised me with a good skill-set. I figure I'll do twenty in-service and go be a gamekeeper at a big biological park out in the Mid-Rim. Might steal Dall to be the vet for the preserve."
"Long as it's not Corellia." Dall shrugged.
"I hear that." Ekks mumbled.
"So ye got parents back hame, sergeant?" She asked. Felian smiled sadly.
"My mom is. My dad died a couple years back. Old age got him."
"Sorry t' hear that." Freya said with a nod. "But I think he raised ye right, sergeant." Felian nodded. "I know most of yer backstory, Lago, but I'd bloody love fer ye to teach me to speak droid."
"Yeah, I can do that…sure, ma'am." Lago said happily.
"Whaddabout you, Ekks?" Thorne inquired.
"Hm?" The team's pilot responded suspiciously.
"What were you a doin' before ye joined the Empire?"
"Um…trying to make some credits and attempting not to die, mostly." He said indifferently. "Other than that, I'd rather that twenty-year period stay classified."
"Fair enough." Freya smiled, knowing that Ekks was in many ways a pirate working for the unit, and respecting his privacy on the matter. "Mets? Coleth? You two never run alone. What's yer deal?"
"We met in training." Coleth said. "And we haven't been able to get rid of each other since."
"Yeah, we're the best and second-best speeder-bike riders around." Mets added. "I'm best, of course."
"Yeah, in some messed, alternate dimension maybe." Coleth shot. "I'm the best rider. You're best at breaking bones."
"Can't make an omelet without bustin' a few eggs." Mets grinned. "Back in academy, they called me 'The Extreme'."
"Oh?" Thorne sounded. "And why would that be?"
"We were practicing rappelling down a building." Coleth explained. "And Mets bet everyone ten credits he could make it down in twenty seconds or less. Know what he does? Leaps off the kriffing building into a tree and breaks every branch on the way down." Freya stared in disbelief. Mets grinned triumphantly.
"Ten…seconds…flat." The scout stated. Freya started laughing and shook her head.
"Extreme." She said playfully. Thorne then looked at Daraay. The sergeant stared back.
"I joined the Empire. I became a Deathtrooper. I got assigned here. Ma'am." She stated. Freya narrowed her eyes.
"Do ye 'ave no friends or family, Daraay?" She asked softly. The imposing woman gave a small smile.
"Yes ma'am. I got assigned here." Daraay said and gave a cocky flip of an eyebrow. Thorne smiled and nodded gently, understanding fully the meaning behind her words.
"And a' course I haven't forgot you, Gallen." Freya said, turning to the sniper lastly. "What do ye do besides composin' the soundtracks fer our missions?" He grinned.
"Careful on the blaster, but with the ladies I'm faster." He stated, and leaned back on his bench proudly.
"Know what I think, Gallen?" Thorne said.
"What's that, ma'am?" He returned.
"I think that you think you're a bigger hit with the lassies than they do." Everyone broke out into laughter at the marksman's expense. Gallen groaned and slumped in his seat.
"Maaaan…" He whined. "I can't catch a break." Freya took a little pity on him and changed the subject.
"When did ye start lovin' music like you do, Gallen?" She asked.
"I guess when I was a kid." He answered. "I grew up on a little farm. Nothing to do there besides watch the plants grow. It was a major drag. I took up shooting and listening to music to pass the time. You know something? Music isn't just a distraction, cats…it helps you focus on what you're doing, you know? It sets the mood."
"Ahh…" Dall said dismissively.
"Nah, I get it." Thorne smiled. "Me people love music too. Ye wouldnae believe how much we use it fer weddins, fun'rals, parties…we got marches fer battle and airs fer eatin' dinner. Drinkin' songs an' love songs. Fer feck's sake, we e'en got a song about a melon the size o' a house." The troopers chuckled.
"What's it like on your world, ma'am?" Gallen asked. "You said everyone there is trained to fight, I bet you have some far-out stories to tell."
"Aw." Thorne waved. "Don't be getting' yer hopes up, Gallen. It's frightful borin', especially in me own home."
"Oh come on, I'm sure you have at least one good one." Ekks pressed. Freya rolled her eyes.
"Aye…aright…I may 'ave one or two stories ye lot might like."
Tharcourt heard a tremendous peal of laughter from outside his office, and narrowed his eyes. What in the void could be so funny? He stood from his desk, ready to see what had caused some of his men to be making so much unwarranted noise, when another bout of guffaws and clapping came through the walls of his office. Now he was almost afraid to go see what the ruckus was about. It was, however his duty, and he opened the hatch and stared out at the scene before him.
Freya was standing in the middle of the commons room, obviously in the middle of a story. Gallen, Ekks, Mets, Coleth, Lago and Felian were sitting on the benches before her, in the process of laughing uncontrollably. Daraay was seated by the blaster repair table, helmet off, watching Thorne with a repressed smirk. Drakken leaned against the door frame as she continued on with her apparently amusing tale.
"An' air bootlair got so maud wae it on th' mead, he went an' fell o'er his own feckin' feet. Crash! O'er went me ma's fein dishes, coops an' all!" The troopers laughed heartily. Freya gestured angrily with her hands. "Me Auld Yin a' came roarin' doon the stairs an' intah th' room. "Och, Ye bevied fool! Owl thraw ye oot an yer bahouchie fer this un' ye mark me werds, ye sack a' hammers!" The room shook with laughter. "Me da' took 'im oop by th' scroof a' his neck wot like a tooka, an' poor auld Gee went as limp as' a bone fish 'e did. He carries 'im right tae the windae, sets 'im outside all careful like wot like a bag a' rubbish, an' he closes the windae!"
Ekks was red in the face from laughing, and Mets was slapping his leg as he was bent almost double trying to catch his breath. Drakken held a hand to his mouth, stifling a laugh at the story, resulting in a very undisciplined snort. He didn't know whether to interrupt this spectacle, or let it play out. Freya looked back at him, her cheeks red from laughing and her animated way of telling the sordid tale. She smiled and giggled, and went back to the story.
"Well me ma come a waftin' in all demure an' regal. She taks ein look aboot, an' joost knooowwws." She leaned forward. "Ye know how women are!" A chorus of laughing broke out. " She thunders out; 'Ye nae shouldnae been so thattulyiesome, hoosband.' She says." Freya recounted, waggling her finger like a cross mother. "She opens wide th' windae and 'elps air blottered bootlair intae the hoose again, and she doosts off 'is coat an' says 'Ye shouldnae feel so waisome, ye poor, poor lad. Ye lay doon an' I'll get ye soom water. I'll deal wit' me hoosban' later.'"
"Stop! Stop!" Gallen begged, wiping tears from his eyes.
"I only understood half of that, and it was still great!" Mets exclaimed.
"What happened to your dad, ma'am?" A voice asked. They all looked to see Dall sitting on the other side of the room by the caf dispenser. He'd been pretending not to listen the entire time, and only now spoke up.
"Well…" Freya replied, a bit calmer now. "He sorta drooped like a wilted daisy, shakes 'is 'ead an' says 'Och…I'll be 'avin no supper tonight." Everyone laughed again, and Dall even cracked a smile.
"Glad to see you all are enjoying yourselves…" Drakken commented, finally coming further into the room.
"Twas yer orders." Freya reminded him, narrowing her eyes playfully.
"And executed faithfully, it seems." Tharcourt added.
"Sir, you should get her to tell you the one where she spent the night in the…what was it called again?" Lago spoke up.
"Aye, the moor." Thorne replied.
"Yeah, that one was great." The young stormtrooper said. "I'd have been scared to death with those hound things running around."
"Well…I did say for all of you to take the day off." Drakken muttered. He leaned back up against the door to his office. "Oh what the Hell? I'll sit here for a story. I still don't know much about your homeworld. I'll call it educational." Thorne smiled triumphantly. The fact that Drakken was going to join them as well made the gathering complete in her mind.
"Right, so the story a' how I come inta possession a' me lucky stone again…" She began. Drakken raised an eyebrow. "I was fifteen an' rearin' t' prove I was all growed up. So I drank me a couple a' pints, took the staff from me clan's armory an' set out intae the wildlands…"
"Wait wait…" Tharcourt interrupted. "You were fifteen and you drank beer?"
"Nae ya be silly, I drank ale." Several of the troopers chuckled. "I hiked all day an' didnae ken whar I was. I thought a' headin' hame, but that wouldae taken me knowin' where I was a' starting from, and where I was a goin' in the first place."
A few minutes later, and Tharcourt was leaned against the wall, stroking his short goatee as he listened to her story. It was obvious that she was actually telling the truth, and Drakken was amazed that she had been so adventurous and fiery even in her youth. Though he doubted the existence of the supernatural entities in her narrative, most of the hazards of her youthful escapade were no doubt real and terrifying, and yet she was laughing about them.
"An' there I was, alone oot on th' dark an' foggy moor. Aye!" She said the last part loudly, making a couple of the troopers jump a little. "Not a moon in sight t' lit me way. Foul spirits flyin' about, I's surrounded by deathly bogholes and the 'owls a' the shuckhoonds."
"Shuckhoonds?" Drakken asked quietly.
"Big, black auld wolves wit eyes like firebrands, Drakken, now stop interruptin'!" This was met with a few laughs, and he himself found it funny. She was a Hell of a storyteller, and it was nice to see her opening up and speaking so candidly with the other members of the team. From the very beginning of the unit, Tharcourt had wanted all of the members to be close and share a deep camaraderie with one another. She was still somewhat new, and no doubt this would help even more with her becoming a part of the unit.
"All I had was me staff to banish all the goblins, an' come morning I was sure I had proven I could hauld me own. Asides almost gettin' et, drowning in a bog an' avin' nae t' eat, I was fightin' fit an' sittin' pretty! I picked me way through the wilderness and back hame." She said. "Me mother was sure cross with me fer sneakin' off, but me dear dad said I was more a man than many he knew!" Gallen nudged Lago, chuckling.
"And what about your lucky rock?" He asked, already hearing this story once, and knowing where it was going.
"Aye. On me way back, I tripped o'er a wee stone. I figured since that was the worst that had happened to me, it was lucky." Everyone laughed, including Drakken. "So I fekkin' kept it." More laughter.
"Got any more, ma'am?" Gallen asked.
"Aye, I got more 'n a few, but ye'll get no more out of me today, Gallen." Thorne answered. "I'm sure I have things I ought 'a be doin'."
"Well…what about a song then?" The sniper urged. Freya rolled her eyes. "Come on, song. Song. Song." He chanted.
"Song…song…" A few of the others broke in.
"I swear, ye troopers are like wee children." Freya sighed. "Alright. One song. Wish I had someone playin' some strings or pipes, I gotta do this bloody thing manually." A few of the men chuckled. She cleared her throat. In the most beautiful voice Drakken had ever heard in his life, Freya began to sing:
"Should we part 'midst loving words
An' thoughts of words untold
Keep the warmth of all we had
And the love found lang th' road
We drink to 'ealth an' 'appy times
A sigh fer those who lie cauld
A cheer for friends who from vict'ry march
And fer love found lang the road
The heat, the rain th' shroudin' mists
We walk till numb and bold
Cannae cease the smile upon our lips
Fer the love found lang the road
So if we're ne'er t' meet again
Lang may yer days unfold
Take this kiss and remember me
An' the love found lang th' rooooaaad."
The room was dead silent. Mets' mouth hung open, and Ekks stared in disbelief at the hauntingly beautiful music that had just flowed from his commanding officer's lips. Lago looked spellbound, and Daraay's eyebrows were raised in surprise. Dall blinked several times, shook his head, and decided that the ensign was crazy for joining the military instead of being a singer. Drakken didn't know what he was feeling. She hadn't simply sung the air, it had felt as though she were feeling every word as it escaped her lips. She turned to him, no doubt to gauge his reaction, and Tharcourt gazed into the green eyes of the young woman who was now suddenly even more beautiful in his mind.
Gallen started clapping. It wasn't an uproarious applause, but a slow, reverent clap that was soon picked up by many of the others. Thorne looked back to her audience, and gave a sweet smile and a curtsey. She joined Drakken by the hatch to the office. He closed his eyes and gave a kind and respectful bow of his head.
"Beautiful, my dear ensign." He said. "And the story was…entertaining, if not enriching." Thorne giggled.
"Aye. Some fables got no moral save for 'things happen'." She returned. Drakken scoffed.
"You men go do something productive now. Since we're in a sharing mood, how about you do a little cross-training?"
"Yes sir." A chorus of voices answered, and the troopers filed out of the room. Tharcourt turned back to Freya.
"So…how much of it was true?" He asked. "Your stories?"
"All of it." She answered nonchalantly.
"You really got lost in the wilderness at fifteen, and had to stave off wild predators all night?"
"Aye. The best o' tales are told from experience." She said.
"Well, I'm glad your little adventure was so uneventful." Drakken said. "It could've been much worse." Thorne gave a little smile and sighed.
"I only told the funny parts." She admitted. "I may 'ave left out the fact that was two days and nights…and how I almost died a bunch of times." She shrugged. "Got a bloody scar on me back from a shuck, nearly drowned, and got boakin' sick on bad water. Story's not very funny with all that included. Did prove I was hard enough though, I think…and it makes fer a great story." He placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Freya, you're the toughest girl I ever met." He said softly. She brought her hand to her shoulder and grasped his hand warmly.
"Ye 'ungry, Drakken?" She said with a playful smile.
"I guess I am." He answered with a grin.
"Well, whaddya say we go grab a bite to eat?"
The song Freya sings in this chapter was from "Along the Road". I wrote the lyrics to accompany a slow air I composed for the bagpipes, mainly because I was tired of playing the same old tired numbers ad nauseum. I'm going to include it on the "soundtrack" for this story when I do the reading on Youtube. And yes, I play the bagpipes...a little. In all actuality, I play smallpipes, which are about as similar to playing highland greatpipes as driving a Prius is to driving a McClaren F1.
And we finally get a little more backstory on some of the team, including Felian. His father was a clone wars Veteran. He's 22, and the clone wars started in 22BBY...and we're now coming up on 1ABY. Hmmm...
Oh, and the title of this chapter; "Kaserne" is German for barracks. Rather fitting, eh? Just a day in the barracks for the team. It's these kinds of moments where we get to know them so much better. But I'm sure there's another big mission on the way for them soon. I will try to have the next chapter up soon, hopefully in the next couple of days if I fully recover. So until then my loyal reader, please review, favorite and hit the alert button! Until the next installment, cheerio!
