MOUNTAIN WAFARE TRAINING CENTER CAVEKC PROVINCE, CORULAG, 3644 BBY - WEEK 13, DAY 1, 1357 HOURS


Kat felt her newly issued combat equipment slowly killing her as the ruck march went over the hill.

The mix of composite enhanced plastoid armor on their entire body, as well as a new closed-face helmet and added durasteel plates on their torso plate carrier added up to an extra fifteen kilos.

In her plate carrier she carried five magazines, two thermal detonators, one flash grenade, an individual first aid kit (IFAK), spare energy batteries, a multitool, a vibroblade and an issued canteen.

In her backpack she carried two extra magazines, three more flash grenades and detonators each, two days worth of rations, a sleeping pack, insect repellent, her 1-½ litre bottle from the PX, wet wipes for "bathing", more energy batteries, a weapon cleaning kit, another IFAK and finally, a military-linked datapad for communications, information and navigation. All that added up to another extra fifteen kilograms. The armor had systems to help with lightening the load, but it's still not enough for her.

She also swore that the dark colours of the Marines' woodland camouflage pattern on the armor and the combat suit below absorbed more sunlight and retained more heat. Their combat armor had a temperature and environment regulation system, but they were not allowed to turn them on for now. She felt that they needed to stop somewhere before she passed out from heat stroke and exhaustion.

Kat looked at the arid mountains around her - they had mountains as tall as 1000 meters with sharp rocky cliffs. The training area they were at right now is already about 3000 meters above sea level. At this height, she wondered if there's any animals around.

"OK, rest now! Ten standard minutes! Fall out!"

She tried to look around for Izzac, Beeral and Jorvy - she found them not too long after, sitting in a circle - they opened up space for her before she sat down.

"Hey, Kat! You look like you're about to pass out!" said Beeral. "Aren't we all? The mountains are killing me! Why can't they let us turn on our armor systems, anyways?" "Did you doze off during briefings? They're only going to let us do that in the final week… something about getting us used to the suit or something…" said Jorvy. "That's ridiculous!" "You know, Kat, for someone who's joining the infantry Marines, you're quite the whiny wisecracker, aren't you?" said Jorvy.

"Doesn't mean that I can't complain about the things they're doing wrong! I know the Marine Corps can do better!" "Change is not an easy thing when there's 150 trillion Marines across thousands of Republic systems, you know? If you want change, you'll join the Senate!" "Please! The Senate couldn't change if their lives depended on it!" Izzac shot back at them.

"Hey, now! I'm here to rest, so either we talk about something nice or we shut the stars up, alright?" yelled Beeral.

"I... I'm going for a drink…" Kat murmured almost to herself before turning away from them. She rummaged through her day pack before pulling out a pack of unfinished ration crackers and a pack of cheese sauce, also unfinished. She finally pulled out her canteen and started eating in silence while staring at the mountains. She tried not to think of the taste. A flock of kurian birds were flying not too far above her, oblivious to the Marines below. She looked at their yellow-red feathers, short tails and large talons, wondering "What do they hunt for food up here?" She finished her snack and took two large swigs from her canteen. She emptied her mind out, filling instead with the large mountains, rocks and majestic flying birds.

"Marines! Back in formation!" They all ran back.

"Single file on the sides! Watch your patrol spacing!"

They all fell out towards their assigned positions, making sure to not get too close together. They hiked up a mountain, watching out for loose rocks on the cliffs and unseen enemies. One squad would go through while the other moved slower, staying on watch. Kat felt the oxygen thinning as they got higher and higher. They were already high enough when they started - "how long does this go on?"

Behind her, she heard the sounds of someone slipping - and then screams followed.

"Alright now, focus. Keep moving," Sergeant Sceiwulz said. He seemed to be unloaded by the mountain trek.

The commotion slowly faded away as they hiked further. Then, came a new sound - the whine of engines. Kat recognized it as those of an RP-12 "Raptor" dropship. It landed possibly a mile back from her current position - there's no way to know now.

"What happened? Is everyone okay?"

She tried to push back the thoughts as she scanned the horizon for imaginary enemies. Even still, she felt something inside her sink into an imaginary oblivion.


1504 HOURS

"I heard someone from Grek Company was the one who fell this afternoon… They say he's dead now," said Beeral. "That explains the dropship," replied Jorvy. "You heard it too, Jorvy?" Kat asked, swirling her drink around with a spoon.

"Yeah, I did…" "I heard something of a slipping sound… I thought someone just tripped… I didn't know he actually fell,"

"The mountains are dangerous, especially with all this gear with us… and the distance didn't allow anyone to get him in time, too…" said Izzac with a hint of worry.

"They must've thought us to keep our distance for a reason, but…" trailed off Jorvy. "It's because of explosions. If we bunch up, a detonator or shell could get us all at once," said Kat. They all nodded.

Just as they were about to continue, a fellow private came to them. "Hey, Merrick. Sergeant Cxaroz wants to speak to you," and left.

"Huh… Well, fun's over, guys…" she got up, shouldered her rifle and briskly walked to the waiting Sergeant. The Nautolan Sergeant was staring into the dark.

"You wanted to see me, Sergeant?" "Yes, Private. You'll be on watch from 2430-0130 hours, understand?" "Aye, sergeant," "Good. Get yourself ready,"

She walked back to the group and sat down before saying, "Sarge's put me on 2-hour watch,"

"Sucks to suck," shot Izzac. "Oh, give me a break, Izzac," she shot back. She reached down into her pack and found her gold - a pack of powdered instant tea. She poured it into her canteen and shook it to mix it.

"I'm going to need a lot of these…."

Kat silently pulled out her flimsiplast notebook and started writing. She intended to send a letter back home when they returned to base.

Dear mother and father,

We have about three weeks left in infantry training. We have learnt how to clear buildings and caves, fight in mountains, jungles, deserts, snow, seas and even zero gravity. The experience I find to be mixed - long stretches of boredom only broken by moments of excitement and even fear. The only thing left is to go through all of this again, but with our new armor they issued us this week. It's quite heavy, so I can see why they made us train without it first.

Kat then heard a stone come loose and levelled her rifle in its general direction.

"No further movement. Must've been a stone or a hound...or something…"

She returned to writing, making sure to watch out on 5 second intervals.

I will be truthful, to you - the Marine Corps, even with all the bad things I've went through so far, is one of the best things I experienced. There's nothing like pushing yourself to the limit everyday and knowing you are doing this to help those who can't defend themselves. Speaking of which, there's rumours of escalating action all of over the galaxy - from Balmorra to Naboo to Tatooine, more conflicts have arose in the past standard year. Our instructors told of a possibility that we might be sent further away. In that case, I implore you to not worry about me - you both know that I've wanted to join up since I was fourteen. And most importantly we all know the risks involved. But if we don't do it, then who else?

Send my regards to all my friends and family back home.

Your loving daughter,

Cathria


JUNGLE TRAINING BIOME THREE, MARINE INFANTRY ACADEMY CORULAG -WEEK 15, DAY 4 - 1631 HOURS,

"Hey, Kat! We'll stomp you little rutts!" yelled Jorvy. "Oh yeah! We'll… we'll wreck you so hard even the scrapyards won't want ya!" Kat yelled back as she got on up the lifts and then onto the autowalk. She looked down to glance at Jorvy and her squad.

Kat was selected as squad leader for today's variable gravity combat training. They had to play a game of capture the flag, and her squad was on offense.

She looked on the one of the variable gravity biomes they are set to train in - This one was a mountain jungle biome, and according to the briefing 15 minutes ago, they had set the gravity at three-fifths gee - not too strong that it feels heavy, not too light that we're flying around like dust.

The plants were a mix-mash of whatever the Republic military's agricultural research could grow together. It reminded her of the mountains she went to a couple of weeks earlier. The biome was 100 square kilometers in area, though it could be segmented off according to training needs. There were ten jungle biomes of this type on Corulag alone.

She used her helmet optics to get a closer look - the trees had entangling thick branches and vines, with large roots that are sure to impede ground movement. There's no discernable lanes or roads through the dense jungle. Two streams jaggedly crossed each other near the middle. There were artificial hills of various sizes still covered by plants, though none went above 30 meters. Still, that is enough to pose a slight challenge.

She had an idea, and walked back towards her squad.

"Okay, squad, anyone got any ideas?" "Yeah, how about we jump and keep ourselves above the treetops? I think the thick canopy can cover us." said her ASL. That seems like a good idea but mine is to use the branches and vines to navigate- Ah, wait…!" she suddenly grinned. "I think I could take my team down the middle among the trees to suppress, while team Bravo and Concord will flank on left and right above the trees. We'll use the canopy for concealment and send out recon. After that, get some enfilade fire down on them from the sides. After we've determined the weaker side, the team nearest will approach the flag and take it. We'll withdraw as soon as possible. I'll give orders on who's covering who then, raar?"

"Raar!"

"Let's go, Marines. Buckets on."


Kat and her team were lying down behind some large tree roots as they waited for the flanking teams to get into position. Her comlink crackled.

"Concord, this is Alpha. Spotted three targets in the right flank, over,"

"Copy, Concord. Wait for further orders… Bravo, Alpha. Anything of note?"

"Copy, Alpha. We've got three on guard on the left and two on patrol route, over,"

"Copy. Alpha to all teams, stay on watch, and standby for my orders, out,"

Kat closed her helmet comlink with a sigh. They had 30 minutes left to carry out their attack and return. She took another closer look in the center of the clearing - there had been 7 troops guarding the middle, with Jorvy among them. They were dug into the barricades as well as the singular building holding the flag. An idea popped into her head.

She signalled all teams to get ready and turned to her team.

"Bravo and Concord, this is Alpha. Require you throw smoke as close to the closest targets, then suppress and charge, how copy, over?" "Solid copy, Alpha," "Good luck, teams, out,"

"Ok, let's go… you, and you… I want two detonators up the middle… On my signal," Kat ordered her team. She saw the smoke grenades fly up from the flanks almost simultaneously. When the flank teams started firing, she threw a smoke grenade in front of the middle position. "Dets, now!" She saw the training detonators fly into the smoke. "Supressing fire! Rest of you, move!"" One of her teammates started firing, as the rest started running. She slowed down a little, not wanting to accidentally get caught in the blast. Once she heard two blasts, she picked up again to close the distance.

She emerged from the smoke and saw three figures to her left, hunkering down. She aimed and squeezed the trigger nine times, taking them out. She took cover behind a barricade and started to fire at the remainder of the squad, now in disarray from the multi-directional attack. She saw IFF(Identification - Friend or Foe) dots on her helmet interface. "Friendlies coming through the flanks!" she yelled into the radio. "Watch your fire!"

"Deh's and Juil's down!" screamed the Concord team leader.

"Concord, Alpha. Copy. Take care of your casualties and up security around the target building, how copy, over?"

"Copy all, Alpha. Out,"

"Bravo, take the back door of the building, get ready to breach,"

"Affirmative, Alpha, out,"

"Ok, let's go, team. Stack up and get ready. No dets- Bravo, Alpha. We'll go in first, then you, watch your fire at the doorway. how copy?"

"Solid copy, Alpha, out,"

The team stacked up, with Kat at the rear. "Go! Hit it!" Concord team went in as fast they could. Kat heard five shots and the ocean blue glow of the bolts light up both of sides of the room. She went in and saw Bravo team across the room- one fired into the rear left corner. She aimed the barrel across the room, making sure to not accidentally flag her squadmates.

"Clear!" A voice echoed throughout the room.

"Concord, get ready to evac your casualties - you got the ACLE (Adjustable Cord Loop - Enhanced) cords?" "Yeah," "Good. Use them to secure your casualties - we don't want them flying in this lowered gee- Bravo, you cover the rear. We'll scout the front, carrying the flag," "Affirmative,"

She went to the center of the room, taking the flag and turning the holographic off. She stored the flagpole in her pack.

She went outside to see Bravo and Concord with the casualties. The remaining members of Concord were strapping the casualties onto their shoulders with a fireman's carry.

Kat went over to one of them and took the cord and strapped in diagonally around the casualty and the carrier's torso. She tightened the cord. "This too tight for you?" "Just a little bit more," She tightened it a little bit more. "I think that's fine.

"OK, let's move! Watch your movement while in the trees! We have fifteen minutes to cover a mile! Go!"

Kat strode herself foward, the lowered gravity helping her movements. As soon as she reached the forest, she jumped up onto the nearest branch. She secured her rifle sling and took deep breath.

She leaped and swung amongst the branches and vines, making sure not to slip or crash. The team finally reached their starting point. Kat took out the flag and set it down in the slot. She looked at her chrono. There was 2 minutes left.

She looked worriedly into the jungle. Where are they? The exercise would fail if the entire team isn't through when the timer runs out. 1 minute.

Her heart was beating faster with every second. Come on, come on…

A group of ten Marines crashed through the jungle and sprinted through. They had made it. Alpha Team cheered. Kat checked her chrono. 28 seconds left.

"Hell of a job, Marines!"

Kat started laughing uncontrollably.


Author's Note

One chapter left before we get to the fleet! Also, I'm experimenting with putting military communications into the story. My goal is to be as authentic (if not accurate) but at the same time not too boring.

Another thing I would love to do is to put a book that I'm inspired from at the end of each A.N. from Chapter 16 onwards.

What do you think of all that? Suggestions are welcome!