KOLUS CITY MAIN SPACEPORT, DAY 85, 3644 BBY - 0511 HOURS LOCAL TIME


Kat awkwardly got out of the ship and into the spaceport terminal. The Marines of the 605th had finally given a long period of leave, and each battalion was rotated out for two weeks. As the 2nd Battalion, that meant they had to wait an extra 2 weeks after the announcement, with the senior Marines pushing the boots hard for extra PT, range and field times and last-minute signing up for extra classes in the meantime.

Now, she's back home, away from the daily chaos and craziness that is the Marine Corps. She looked forward to spending the time with her family and few friends. It could be the last time she did so.

She walked out into the arrivals terminal - Shortly after a young man came to them wearing a sky blue and onyx black service uniform walked up to her.. Redd Zanaly. "You crazy nexu, you actually did it! I wasn't THAT serious when I told you to sign up!"

"Can't help it when my friend is such a charming recruiter!" Redd laughed. " "At least you made a better choice than I did. The AeroSpace Forces won't force you to ruck march 50 kilometers every week," "Hey, we do 10 klicks every two weeks!"

"Hahahaha...Alright, let's talk about your training heroics over lunch. Want to go to Jopp's?" Kat asks. "Why not, my flight to tech school is in 2 hours..." he said, shrugging.

Kat and Redd walked into Jopp's. Kat savored the sights and smells - it was a "grease joint", restaurants with cheap, fatty, flavorful and unhealthy food. The place was well lit, with cheap modern Brentaalian decor and smelt of overly reused oil and artificially flavored was perfect for the two friends to catch up. They took a line in front of the busy counters.

"It's been a few years since we've been here, isn't it?" "Yeah. During our secondary education graduation?" "What a riot that was," "I remember you stuffing down all the kezbes until you literally passed out!" "Oi! It's not a graduation party if you don't enjoy yourself!" "That's right, that's why you're treating me to this meal!" "What? Hells no! I'd pay for your drinks, though..." "I'll get myself the most expensive drink then.."

Kat proceeded to elbow him in the ribs - hard.

After they ordered, they picked out a table off to the side. Kat had two kezbes - deep-fried sandwiches with smoked meat, vegetables and gravy on the side. Redd had a spicy fried-chicken with fried potatoes, and the most expensive drink - "The Mixer" milkshake - a secret recipe that is an unlikely combination of citrusy, fruity, vanilla-ey and chocolate-y, the latter two being rare, foreign flavors on the planet.

"There goes my paycheck!" "Okay, okay, I'll get it out of my pay next time!" Redd smirked. "I'm sure you could afford it, what with you Aero troops sleeping in hotels and eating from galaxy-class chefs…" "I had to eat from the same rations as you jarheads, you know…" "Sure you do. How come I don't hear that you signed up until… 2 weeks ago?" "They didn't let us communicate until then," "Really? Hmmm… What specialization did you get?" "I'm a weapons system gunner," "What type?" "Gunship… I got medium guns on the Osprey," Kat was impressed. She had seen it fire once during their last field exercise. The largest gun on the modular starship was powerful enough that they were required to stay at least three hundreds meters back when its ordnance landed to avoid friendly fire.

"That's amazing! Who knows you'll be supporting me in the field one day…" "I'll try to hit the enemy extra hard for you," joked Redd. "I'm glad I listened to you, Kat. I've been loving the AeroSpace Forces so far. "Don't get too excited now, once you get to your unit you'll feel like deserting," "Yeah, but that's the Marines. I'll be sipping Corellian ale, sleeping on actual beds and shooting Imps from orbit," quipped Redd.

Kat gulped down her drink before she suddenly said, "You know, we've been called up." "Really? Where? When?" "They're not telling - operational security things - we don't even know whether it's a normal expedition or a combat deployment." "Damn. Do you think you're ready?"

Kat was stunned into silence. She chewed on the last of her greasy kezbe.

"I don't know." she finally replied.


2 HOURS LATER


Kat had messaged them yesterday, but her mother's expression when she opened the door betrayed that the e-mail networks didn't send her message to the house in time. Again.

"Oh, daughter!" Leesa Merrick cried out as she pulled her daughter into a tight hug. "Your father will come home soon…" "Where is Father?" "He's wrapping up things at work… How long will you be home, Cathria?" "Ten days, mother." "Come in. I'll make some arrad soup for you," "No need, mother," Kat assured as she stepped into her home, the once-familiar place being more foreign the longer she was away.

She quickly took out her dirty clothes from her two-day journey and chucked it into the washer before taking a short nap - all she wanted is to get rid of the shiplag. When she woke up, she woke up to her parents chatting away in the kitchen. "Hello, Father. How are you?" she asked as she lowered herself for a hug before sitting down beside them. "I'm alright, Cathria. Will you be?" "What do you mean, Carus?" Kat's mother asked.

"My outfit's being called up to move, mother." Leesa Merrick looked confused. Kat was reluctant to explain, so her father did it for her. "She's going to war." Kat gulped loudly. She realised what her job entailed, and the Galactic Republic, for all intents and purposes, was never truly "at peace" - there was always conflicts in a few hundred star systems at once, especially in the aftermath of the Great Galactic War and the Treaty of Coruscant - but the possibility of going to war hasn't fully hit her… until her father described it in that way.

She finally spoke up. "Yes, but we don't have any information on that yet. It's more likely that we're going on a non-combat expedition," she attempted to assuage her parents.

Expedition is such a benign way to describe what is basically a non-combat deployment where a unit is temporarily deployed to an area, typically for peacekeeping or large-scale training programs with local planetary, or system forces, or anything else that does not involve combat with an enemy force. She knew the statistics - currently for every Marine on a combat deployment, there's about ten thousand others not deployed or on non-combat expeditions. So her chances were not great nor terrible.

"Have you seen the HoloNet news recently? The conflict on Balmorra, the civil wars on Alderaan and Ord Mantell, the occupation of Taris… The galaxy is not safe anymore!" cried out her mother.

"Mother, my apologies - if you didn't want me in harm's way, you shouldn't have let me sign up in the first place." Kat calmly said. She didn't want to be confrontational. Not now.

She got up, went to her mother and held her in her arms.

"I promise you, I won't try to be a hero."


BRENTAAL UNIVERSITY, 3100 MILES NORTHEAST OF KOLUS CITY, 4 DAYS LATER


She wasn't fully comfortable wearing her dress uniform, but she did it anyway.

She could feel the stares as she walked through the campus. The midnight blue and silver Marine Corps uniform is said to be the most striking, despite its relative newness compared to other branches.

The last time she wore it was during boot camp has changed, and the uniform has along with it - Her sleeves were adorned with rank of Private First Class, and above it on her left sleeve was the insignia of the 605th Marine Regiment.

1 week earlier

"Hayree? It's Kat." "Hello! It's been so long. How are you?" "I'm fine - busy with schoolwork - How about you? I heard from your parents your in the Army now?" "Marines, but yeah, haha…" she trailed off before continuing. "I'll be on leave soon - how about I come to your place so we could catch up?" "Sounds good! Oh, and wear your best uniform! I want to show off my friend!" " Dammit, you! I'll do it." "Great! The more the merrier."

She arrived at the university's largest female dorms, and waited outside. As she waited, some passers-by pointed and whispered at her. One even wolf-whistled as loudly as he could as he jogged by. Kat felt like coming up to him and socking him in the jaw, but she didn't want to be the subject of an off-duty conduct briefing.

Hayree Podtrau stepped out with shiny black hair and green eyes that popped. She was wearing a piece of elaborate, light orange colored clothing. Her face lit when she saw Kat, ran over and hugged her tight. "Look at you! You're bigger now! Is that fat or muscle, though?" "All work, my lady!" The two laughed. "Come on! Let's go get lunch! I just finished work… I'm famished!"

The two friends spent their time catching up over a damla platter. Conversation were halted to stuff a piece of bread, stew and vegetables or a short sip of drinks.

"Remember when the three of us went hiking in the Mitah Mountains and you ended up falling into manka dung?" "Yeah, you wouldn't be near me for the rest of the day!" "That's nothing compared to what you have to go through now isn't it?" "All I do most of the time is waiting, cleaning, getting yelled at, listening to boring briefings and classes and filling out forms. The fun stuff only takes up a quarter of the time…" "That sounds like you regretted joining up…""What? No! I love infanteering and military life..."she said, full of doubt. "Buuut…?" she quizzically asked.

"I wish parts of it could be hell of a lot kriffing better." "I agree on that one!" exclaimed Redd. "I understand. I could never join - I can't see myself fighting this pointless, endless war. The Republic and Empire have been fighting each other for centuries at this point..."

Kat was confused and somewhat shocked - Why is she saying all this? "I support you, but I don't support the war, you know?" Kat suddenly remembered a conversation she had long ago with Redd - he didn't like the war or the military, "but look where he is now…"

"Hayree… I can see where you're coming from. But this is the Imperials we're talking about. It's not some imagined threat. Remember the bombing of Gorn'tahla?"

Brentaal IV was relatively untouched as a Core World planet, with one major exception - the attack on the Emerald City. 10 bombs were detonated across the trade and tourism hub, before a platoon of Imperial Commandos revealed themselves, took hostages and barricaded themselves in various buildings.

When it was over four days later, over 15,000 Brentaalians were dead. Both Kat and Hayree couldn't even talk when it happened, but they were alive for it nonetheless - Where is she getting these ideas? She sighed before letting the silence rule over.

"...Listen, you can have your opinion on anything else, but I'll tell you this - the Imps hate us - they'll never see us as equals or co-exist with us peacefully. The Bombing proved it. Most of the wars we've had with the Sith Empire were started by them!" "I-... you're right. I just don't like endless wars and violence."

Kat was somewhat relieved that she could make her point of view, though she hated that she had to debate this with her in the first place. "Neither do I… Listen, let's talk about something else… You mentioned Kael Werchel before?" "Damn, you had a governor's son as a classmate? He must be real popular…" said Redd.

Kat would rather talk about Hayree's classmate than fight with her. Then, the incident came to the forefront of her mind again. She pushed all thoughts of it down.

I'm not doing it again.


KOLUS CITY MAIN SPACEPORT, 10 DAYS LATER

Her parents insisted on sending her to the spaceport. The entire time, her mother held her hand and refused to let go. They had a long breakfast at one of the restaurants, overinflated prices be damned. Most of the meal was silent - Kat knew they were trying to be stoic for her.

When it was time to go past the gates, her mother and father pulled her into the longest hug she ever had. In the middle of it, her mother started sobbing. "May the God of Gods keep with you best. I love you, my daughter." It took all of Kat's willpower to not break down right there and then. She reluctantly let go and started moving, looking back with every other step. Finally, her parents were no longer in sight.

She fast-walked into a nearby refresher, and then into a stall. She let herself loose, and bawled her eyes out.


MCB VALTO HALL FIVE, DAY 120 - 0944 HOURS


Kat was already sick and tired of all the briefings. And yet, the entire regiment is being called for another briefing, once again.

"Hey, Xand!" greeted Kat as she sat down with her squad "Oh, hello, Kat!" smiled Xand back. "Know why are we here today? If I have to sit through another conduct awareness or safety briefing, I'm going to fly into a black hole!" she whined. "Oh, stop whining! I'm hearing scuttlebutt that we're starting our pre-deployment briefings today," "Briefings? Ugh, please don't tell me we're listening to some 'intelligence' wonk droning on for 8 hours…" "I asked a combat vet from Headquarters Company, and he said pre-dep briefings going to take longer than that!"

She sighed… and decided to change the topic. "So, Xand… What's this new girl I've been hearing?" "Veera? I haven't told you about her yet? Oh, she's amazing and she's working in her family's construction company - good money, I'm told!" "Must've made more than us, at least…" Kat drily remarked. Xand had met the Twi'lek in a cantina in Tallus City a few weeks before, and was the reason Kat was able to go on solo liberty trips unimpeded.

"She likes Stars Unbound, which is the best band ever!" "Yeah, I like some of their songs…" "And she's helping me with my more… feminine side, too! Can't do a lot of that in the Corps… She's so good with fashion," "That explains why you don't look as frumpy on libo now as you did, huh?" "Oh, shut up... We've been seeing each other for over two months now… but I feel like she's my soulmate…" she swooned. "Isn't that a bit early to be feeling such things?" Kat asked.

"No, I could feel it's different this time. My past partners never made me feel this way, you know? If we're deploying soon… I think I'm going to propose…" "What?! Are you serious?" "Might as well, right? We already love each other and spend all our free time together, so…?" "I… I think you should think this through better, but it's your choice. And I'll support you no matter what," said Kat.

"Xand's getting married?" interrupted Cadford, who was sitting beside Xand listening in all this while. "Dammit, Hunter, can't stop scaring us to death, aren't you?" said Kat. "I'm planning on proposing," "Really? Congratulations!" the two then continued chatting on.

Kat always had problems with relationships of all types, so romantic endavors are always a distant and low priority for her. "It would've been nice, but…" For her, it was most likely that friendship would be the closest relationship she would have. "Good for Xand, though. I'm happy for her-"

"Attention on deck!"

It was LTCOL Lu'gve again. "At ease. Good morning Marines! I hope you had a good long vacation full of fun, food… and maybe a being...or ten." The entire hall momentarily roared with laughter and chuckles. Kat playfully elbowed Xand's sides.

"But let's return to business. We are here to officially brief you on our upcoming combat deployment..." The hall came alive again. My God. Combat! Where are we going? "...in support of Operation Burnshield." What kind of name is that? Isn't their any other more dangerous, cooler names?

"Silence, Marines! Now, I will turn the show over to our intelligence officer, CPT Cole." The regimental SGM's voice roared out "Attention on deck!" as he came onto the stage. "At ease, Marines. Please pay close attention to both the holotable and the projected screen. No information is to be recorded or be bought out of this room IN ANY FORM. Now we've got that out of the way, this will be a general briefing. Further briefings will include more detailed and specific information." A holo of a planet was projected from the table. It looked like the planet had more oceans than landmass. "This is the planet Farrackge, located in the Tuard system of the Qiilura Sector." Qiilura? Isn't that… on the side of the galaxy?

"This planet has been a relatively new member of our Galactic Republic, only dating back to a thousand years ago." "During that time, it has endured multiple civil wars, mostly from political strife. Which brings us to our last major war. During that time, a major faction calling themselves the Imperaelii, managed to take over a quarter of the planet with the help of Imperial troops. We managed to drive them off, and all major leaders were executed. However, anyone below a certain rank was automatically pardoned. We believe that is the reason there continues to be conflict today, however, and that's where you all come in." Kat slightly leaned forward.

"Landmass on this planet is divided into archipelagoes, and this…" The planet blurred into a group of large and medium-sized islands. "...will be your area of operations. This is the Orhlean Archipelago. It is about 10 kilometers square wide, with a population of 200,000 - and a mix of urban areas, farmlands and bronzium mines. Our regiment will be responsible for this area. Two companies, Echo and Fox, will be responsible for one city - Kdarsac, just slightly out from the main archipelago." The table showed a large island to the southwest. Oh great.

"The civil war has been going pretty fierce, Marines. There is a scattered but prominent enemy presence in the region - lots of violence. Our mission is to whittle down that presence and stabilize the region. Hearts and minds, Marines. This might be a combat operation, but working with the locals will be paramount to our success. We will not be wildbeings out there."

We'll be in the thick of it.

"Now, another thing to note is that the Farrackgians have a strong tradition of using projectile , we all know that most of the Marines in the regiment have seen such a weapon, let alone being fired at with one. We will be putting you through extra medical exercises with the 9842nd Medical Battalion to deal with such injuries during operations. This might be our first combat deployment in over three years, but I know you all are up for the task. That is all for this general briefing."

The hall buzzed with chatter again. Cadford turned to her and said "By the stars! We are in the thick of it, aren't we?"

Indeed we are, so it is.


TRAINING AREA 15, A WEEK LATER - DAY 127


"Republic Forces! Halt or we'll shoot!" yelled out PFC Vieboc, rifle at the ready Opposite her, PFC Opru fast-walked. "Republic'Parden! Stardd wu'keerd… wu'keerd-shim!" she yelled again. Opru continued. Vieboc called out "Bang!" Opru dropped to the ground. Vieboc approached her, rifle drawn.

"You're dead!" yelled out CPL Feardenn.

"What?"

"He had a hand grenade hidden in his clothing. He detonated when you approached. Alright… next!" he gruffly yelled out. Despite his rank, he was one of the few with combat experience, having deployed to Alderaan for 6 months before transferring to Fox Company's weapons platoon.

Kat stepped out as PFC Opru went back to the far edge again. "Go." Opru started her walk again. "Republic Forces! Halt or we WILL shoot!" she was nervous. "Republic'Parden! Stardd wu'keerd-shim!" when Opru didn't halt, she shouted out "Bang!", aiming lower than center mass. Opru dropped, but continued to crawl. Even though it was not real, she felt her heat rate climbing. She aimed at her, and shouted "Bang! Bang!" Opru dropped, not moving.

"Congratulations, PFC Merrick. You're a war criminal now."

"What? Why?"

"You didn't get a positive identification on any weapons before firing. OK, Marines! If you don't see any guns or explosives on their hands or body, you can't shoot them. Not even stun rounds."

Ridiculous.

"Next!"


MCB VALTO, DAY 149 - 0600 HOURS


The pre-deployment phase properly begins with filling out wills and yet more forms, medical and dental evaluations, and even more endless forms of briefings and classes in things Kat never knew the Marines had classes for, including cultural sensitivity and native language classes - "Never put your thumb in between the middle finger and ring finger - it's considered obscene!" "Always take things with two hands!" "Observe respect for local culture and norms, and you'll find your mission going a lot smoother."

The most important was specialized deployment training, with Marines participating in various wargames, standing guard over pretend "speeder bomb" wrecks, trying to communicate with non-Basic speaking "locals" and fording small rivers. One training involved CPT Vlogel talking to a "local" as an explosion, followed by blaster shots rang out from far away. She then began flailing her arms while screaming in a non-Basic language to do what Kat presumed was cussing them out. Their assigned interpreter could only freeze in fear.

Another involved them being shot at with live bullets from projectile weapons as they crouched along a ten-feet deep trench. "If you don't keep down enough, you WILL get your head shot off, and your family back home will get your life insurance." However, it didn't stop SGT Mel Dovr of the Support Platoon from getting a bullet in his right shoulder when it ricocheted off the berm. The medically-trained sergeant would be evacuated and miss the deployment.

Then came the inventorying and shipping. Marines toiled away in the sun for days, carrying all types of equipment into shipping containers. From their light vehicles, communication and medical equipment, heavy weapons, weapons, gear and vehicles' spare parts and repair kits, medicine, clothing, ammunition, rations, water and a dizzying list of things that Kat couldn't even remember.

The Marines would carry their equipment into one container, only to have it ordered to be taken out and put into another container, then another. By the end, the Marines had used "supply and logistics" as a cuss word.

The weeks flew by for Kat. With the entire regiment busy, there was no Command Sergeant Major to yell at them for having the collar of their uniforms undone, or hours of sitting in the barracks waiting to be called for formation.

The final wait at the tarmac of the base's spaceport, was however, the longest wait they experienced. As the Marines of the 605th lay on the hard ground, using their duffel bags as makeshift pillows, they received news of a delay, then another… and another. Kat was almost relieved when she saw the dropship.

As they got off the dropship onto the troopship's hangar, she saw the hangar was busier than usual - typically, it was relatively empty, but this time, there were crew and droids milling about, directing Marines to their berthings, directing emptied aircraft to take another wave of Marines, carrying boxes of equipment and performing maintenance on both the hangar and the spacecraft.

Kat simply shoved her two duffel bags into her compartment before collapsing on the berthing. The company first sergeant would be too busy to do any inspections. Screw her.

We're going to battle now.