MARINE CORPS BASE VALTO, NABOO, MID RIM TERRITORIES : DAY 297 - 21, 409 YEARS SINCE THE FOUNDING/3644 BBY, 0431 HOURS LOCAL TIME


Kat felt nervous about reporting to her new unit. She could sense the stares, but chose to keep her eyes on the repulsortrolley with four duffel bags of clothes, gear and carbine, occasionally looking up forward to avoid running into anything.

There were almost 10,000 Marines reporting into Marine Corps Base Valto, named after it's home province. The largest Marine base on the planet and the third largest overall, it looked serene from the troop transport's viewport, with its nearby forests and gently rolling hills.

Kat felt lucky that at least she got her third choice. Too many Marines didn't even get that.

She was one of the later ones to arrive - that meant a long wait ahead of her. And the line moved too slowly. She pulled out reading materials on history and war. Eventually, even that grew too boring for her. All she wanted to do is to collapse onto a bunk.

We've been here for two hours! Damn it all…

She dozed off at one point, only to be rudely woken by the Marine behind her ramming his own 'trolley into her shins. After another agonizing hour, she finally reached the counter. She pulled out her military datacard, issued shortly after academy graduation. She handed it over to the receptionist droid. Further back, a pot-bellied Sergeant was leaning on his chair. Kat noticed the pile of pogey bait (snacks) on his desk.

Kriffing desk jockeys. Should've helped. Nothing like making us wait for hours. A deactivated droid could've done better.

The droid gave her back her datacard, alongside a sheet of flimsiplast. She skipped straight to the most important part :

"MERRICK, CATHRIA, PRIVATE, MCSN 502428419065/1927

ASSIGNED UNIT : FOX COMPANY, 605TH MARINE REGIMENT

REPORT TO UNIT BEFORE 2559 HOURS LOCAL TIME"

She stored the sheet and moved on towards the transportation hangar, and loaded up her bags into the cargo bay of an "Osprey" modular ship, this one modded to carry troops. She stepped into its cavernous interior. There were around thirty two troops laying about, far from its full capacity of 120. She took the nearest empty seat, secured her gear and lied down.

She was woken up by a Corporal. "Alright now, wake up! Get off the ship!" She got out with her gear and tried to find where to report.

After a slew of asking questions and walking aimlessly, she finally found the formation for Fox Company. After more waiting for half an hour, they marched towards the company offices. When they arrived, she noticed a lot of Marines were waiting on the balconies of the buildings behind them.

Kat felt like a zoo animal. She expected the Marines above to be throwing groundnuts on her soon. Her stomach turned ever so slightly.

The Marine that has been escorting them handed over to a weathered looking First Sergeant.

"My name's Foyt Hayko, and I'm Fox Company's First Sergeant. Anything you boots need help with in this company, come to me. You follow my orders, don't screw up and stay out of trouble, we'll get along just fine. Got it?"

"Aye-aye, First Sergeant!" The mass voices were muddled, with some struggling to mouth out the syllables quickly.

"Good. Report into the company offices. I want you to sling your rifles on your backs - we always manage to have someone losing it - not on my damn watch!"

Kat made a mental note to not ever get on his bad side.

"Bring in your datacards and flimsies, then after they've signed you in, hand in your rifles and required gear at the company armory. Then check into your designated rooms. Got it? Good? Dismissed,"

They all fell out. Kat got to her bag, sling on her rifle and got into the line. There were about thirty others in front of her.

She looked above. The regimental offices were painted with a large sign of the 605th's insignia - A black diamond with a skull and crossbones in the middle, adorned with four-point stars throughout. Above the skull read "605th Marines" in Aurebesh, while at the bottom of the crossbones read "Lucky, Daring, Lethal".

Let's hope that motto's true...

Then she noticed the smaller signs. A hastily put up sign indicated each battalion and company offices - Ground Floor was Headquarters Company, First floor was 1st Battalion : Their HQ Companies, Alpha, Bravo and Concord Companies, second was their own HQ, along Delta, Echo and Fox Companies, and then third floor belonged to Grek, Hyper and Ilum.

That meant going up an extra floor.

Yet even more waiting. My God…

"This is not what I expected when I enlisted," Kat said loudly to herself.

"Well, what did you expect when you did?" said a female voice in front of her. It was a Bothan with blue-ish grey fur."Well… I expected… less waiting? I knew it would suck in this way, but still…" "Can't change the Marine Corps, so it looks like we'll just have to hurry up and wait," The two giggled. The Marine Corps, with all it's absurdities and idiosyncrasies, is their home now.

"What's your name?" Kat questioned her.

"Lieth Vebioc," she answered without turning - they could talk but not move or turn. "Cathria Merrick… Call me Kat," "Nice to meet you, Kat. It's good to have made my first friend at the company," "You too...You infantry? "Yes, mortars… You?" "A breacher," "Ah, you love explosives, yes?" "It can be fun, but I'm no pyromaniac like you!"

"I'll have you know that indirect fire is the biggest cause for enemy combat casualties!" she exclaimed. Kat could feel her smirking even from behind. Mortarmarines and their smugness…

The line thinned and thinned, until Kat reached the front of the line. Behind the counters each sat a pair of one corporal and one administration droid. She handed the flimsiplast and datacard to the corporal, who handed the card to the droid to process it. He scanned the sheet, and raised an eyebrow. "Private...?" "Er...Yes, Corporal…?" "Well… Hmmm," He looked up at her, and back down at the computer again. "Everyone deserves another chance. Make sure you'll do good in my outfit," "Aye, thank you, Corporal," "... You're placed in 3rd platoon. The platoon sergeant will sort everything else later, got it?" he said as he took the card from the droid.

"Aye, Corporal,"

"Use your identification datacard to access your barracks room… Oh, and… Welcome to Fox Company!"

Kat and Vieboc then tried to check in their weapons into the company armory, but even after filling out forms and wiping their rifles down, the droid at the turn in counter said their weapons weren't clean enough. So the two sat down on the ground near it, and joined 4 other soldiers, also cleaning their weapons. Kat rummaged through all of her bags to find her cleaning kit, and started stripping her carbine down. "You all with Fox Company?" The four nodded.

"Name's Kat Merrick, 3rd platoon. And this is Lieth Vieboc, Weapons Platoon," "I'm Ei'raaii Opru, Third Platoon, same as you," the Mirialan beamed at her. " Anuym Khrol, Headquarters Platoon. I'm with Comms, so you'll be calling me to get some help," She was a Wroonian, and her yellow irises lit up as she jokingly said it.

" Name's Bol Dan - 1st Platoon's Medic. My family's from Polus, all the way out in the Outer Rim. You've probably never even heard of it… but we moved to Ord Mantell when I was five," said the Pyn'gani Marine. "And I'm Foutha Raedi from 2nd platoon… and the best looking, cannon-toting Marine to ever come from Tholoth!" "Nice to meet y'all," Kat replied.

They talked at length while cleaning their weapons. Ei'raai joined up to get some money for her tertiary studies, Anuym enlisted after having her home planet of Wroona attacked during the last war, only to be barely recaptured by the Republic and its Marines shortly before the Treaty of Coruscant - "I just wanted to be that person the same way all those Marines did for me, you know?

"I grew up in a rough home, tough neighbourhood. I just wanted to get out alive, have a nice career, you know? This seems to be a good place to start," said Raedi." "My father was a Marine Gunnery Sergeant for more than a decade before he settled down on Ord. Just wanted to follow his footsteps, you know…"

The six Marines tried to hand in their rifles again. The armorer accepted Dan, Khrol and Raedi's rifles. "You're cleared. Take these cards. They're tied to your rifle's armory number. Lose it, and you boots will be filling out forms and paying out of your pocket! Raar?" "Raar, Corporal!" the trio roared.

"And you three… your weapons are still NOT clean enough. Come back to me after it's actually clean,"

Kat, Vieboc and Opru had to spend another hour cleaning their weapons in stunned silence before turning them in.

Kat walked to her barracks room. She looked up onto the balconies again, there were still Marines looking down on them like birds. A pit formed in her stomach.

Kat entered her designated room, swiped her datacard and entered the room. There was space for two. A single bunk with lockers, wall closets and a pair of desks with chairs were the main features of the room. There is a pair of freshers to rear. An air-conditioner gave the room a slight breeze.

It was a little dinky, but it was par for the Marine Corps.

What should I expect, a high-class hotel?

Then she noticed it. The room was already occupied. The other side of the room had a desk topped with datapads and flimsiplast sheets. A few scattered pieces of trash on the floor. An opened assault pack was propped up on a wall. A uniform was hanging off the locker hook. And finally, there was a large lump laying on the bed opposite her side.

She decided to not disturb her new roommate and proceeded to bring all her duffelbags in. She started to unpack and square away her gear. She tried to not make noise, but eventually, she heard someone stirring awake.

"Uuuuggghhh…"

"Sorry!" Kat whispered. "You… you the new boot?" "Yes…" her eyes darted around the room. She saw a lance corporal insignia on one of his uniforms. "Yes, Lance Corporal," "Agggghh… be a bit quiet now. You can help clean my things off the floor when you're done…" "What?"

"Is he drunk?"

"You… you heard me, boot. That's an order…" before he turned away once more.

"Great. I thought I would be treated like an actual Marine now that I'm at an outfit, but here I am picking trash again," she thought as she tried to fit in her armor plates into the closet.


BARRACKS BLOCK 98, 2103 HOURS

They had just finished new Marine briefings, and all she wanted to do is to lay back after hours upon hours of looking at mind-numbing holographic texts and images. Kat was relaxing in her bunk when two Lance Corporals busted in.

"Are you the new boot?" a yellow haired humanoid asks. Kat nodded. "Third platoon?" the other asked. He was a tall, green-furred Lasat. She nodded again. "Come with us. All new boots have to… Come on!" Kat followed them to the communal area. Along the way, she saw others, presumably other boots, follow other seniors. She wondered what is going on.

Perhaps a new briefing of some sort?

She noticed that the two Corporals aren't walking side by side, rather, one to her front and the other to the rear. The feeling she had grew stronger and stronger, but it's not like she could just take off. She started to make some controlled breaths.

They escorted her to a room. It was empty save for some long tables and chairs, which has been cleared off to the side. There were thirty plus Marines. There were five others in the empty middle. She vaguely recognized them as her fellow new arrivals and one of them included Opru. He looked as confused as she was. Kat was pushed towards them.

"Ah, well finally, the last arrival is here!" said a rough but feminine voice. Kat looked at her and recognized the female human's rank as a Corporal. "Let us begin," said another voice from the crowd. "Kneel," she ordered. The new recruits reluctantly did so.

"You all know the drill. Grab them," Ten Marines rushed towards the quintet, and grabbed their hands and shoulders. They separated them and put them face down on the ground. The recruits begin struggling and protesting. The two with Kat slowly tried to remove the top part of her shirt. She screamed before she was cut out with a "I suggest you keep quiet, it'll be all over soon," from one of the Marines.

Then she saw a small but potent orange glow. As it was brought closer, she realised what it is - A branding iron. "What is that? And what are you doing to me?" Kat yelled in protest. "Just a standard... routine procedure, boot!" she snarled back.

The branding iron was bought closer and close, until it finally hit the top of Kat's shoulder. She tried to hold it in, but her screams joined the chorus of others who at that point had also been branded. She struggled against the Marines, until the pair finally let her go. A different Marine came to them and started pouring a clear liquid onto a bandage cloth, then put onto the branding site. It stung like hell at first, but it eventually subsided. Kat felt like crying at the same time.

She lifted the bandage to see the brand - it was a crudely shaped emblem of the Marine Corps.

She was propped up and made to stand in a crude formation in that dimly-litted room.

"Let it be known from this moment forth, that this is the first step of a long journey for these boots to become Marines! May they become true warriors until the end…" The Marines clasped shoulders. Kat could not longer hold it in - she started silently sobbing and laughing.

A deep masculine voice came out from beside her, accompanied with a firm clasp.

"Welcome to the fleet, boot!"


AUTHOR'S NOTES

I'm not usually one to spoil things, but I hope to get into combat by chapter 20... or 25 at the latest! My thesis isn't going too hot at the moment, so expect shorter chapters. Or less frequent updates.