"The rate of terror attacks on the planet Farrackge has been the top in the Qiilura system for this standard year of 21,410 ATF. With an average rate of 15 incidents and 300 civillian deaths per month, this could escalate into anarchy if not properly subdued..." GALACTIC SYSTEMS CONGRESS HEARING ON GALACTIC-WIDE TERRORISM, CORUSCANT: Day 150, 21,410 YEARS AFTER THE FOUNDING OF THE GALACTIC REPUBLIC


FORWARD OPERATING BASE APALIS, 30 KILOMETERS NORTH OF KDARSAC, ORHLEAN ARCHIPELAGO, FARRACKGE : DAY 160, 1632 HOURS LOCAL TIME


When 3rd Squad got back to base after another 3 hours continuing their patrol (thankfully with no further incidents), they were greeted by medics from both Ion and Fox Companies, who accompanied them to the aid station. After a physical examination and full-spectrum body scan, the medics found that the occupants of the lead vehicle - Merrick, Wolverton, Voedtar, Juol, Moekned, and Yoeven - all were physically uninjured but had slight concussions. After prescribing them painkillers, the medics let them go. The Ion Company members went straight back to their barracks, but the Foxes exited to their relieved and awed company mates.

"Whooo! Look who's going to get their Combat Action Ribbons!"

"Get some!"

"Raze it, Marines! Oya!"

"Get 'em, Marines!" said Merrick modestly. She was only grateful that she survived - the low-yield IED had exploded somewhat prematurely. Had it exploded when it was "supposed" to, the vehicle could've been flipped over much more violently, with potentially catastrophic results. She walked towards their shared barracks with Ion Company, passing by the mess hall.

I could use a bite...

She stepped in, full kit and rifle slung, and was impressed that the dining facility was air-conditioned - a welcome respite from the sticky, moist heat outside. The mess hall was located in a formerly abandoned Farrackgean building, and so had the trademark architecture. Places where explosions and high caliber bullets and bolts had punched through were fixed with plastcrete. Marines in various states of wear - ranging from loose-fitting PT clothes (which all Marines wear as sleepwear or off-duty clothing on deployments) to full battle gear. All of them carried their weapons, from pistols in holsters to rifles slung across their backs. Kat recognized some members of Headquarters Company chowing down.

The meal line was staffed with a mix of droids and Marines on kitchen duty, who looked bored out of their minds. Kat looked. There was the usual mass cooked meat, which is served in some sort of wine-coloured sauce. "I wonder if there's alcohol in there..." Then one thing caught her eye - rice. It wasn't a staple back on Brentaal IV, and it wasn't a normal serving in the Marines due to its short shelf life after being cooked. Rounding the menu out was the usual fruits and vegetables, and nutrition-laden drink.

She arrived the HQ Co. table when LCPL Khrol waved to her. "PFC Kat! Have a seat with us!" As she sat down, SGT Avrock, the company's supply sergeant said, "So, you got yourself into a proper fight, huh?" "Aye, Sergeant." she replied. "Everyone's going to be talking about this for the rest of the day..." " 1/1 had shots fired but they didn't see him,so...How does it feel to be the first squad to actually shoot back at the enemy?" asked CPL Tarranac. "Mixed. Excited from the adrenaline rush... Angry, that they almost got us with that blasted IED... and kind of shocked from the blast... and to be alive." "You did a hell of job, Merrick. You survived getting hit at the bad part of town." said GYSGT Vuory in an encouraging manner. He is Fox Company's top intelligence NCO, and had read up on their area of operations more than anyone else - knew things that no one except the spooks knew.

"You have to count your blessings out here, Merrick. It's the only way to stay safe out here." he advised. "This not your first round, ain't it so, Gunny?" "No. Before I came to the 605th, I did a tour - non-combat, just advisory duties - but building up a military intelligence after a bloody conflict was a massive undertaking." "Hmmm..."

"Kat!"a smooth voice called. She turned around to see Wolverton and Argyll walking with their trays towards them. "Are you two alright?" "We're great! A hell of an adrenaline rush that was!" exclaimed Wolverton. "Yes... If only those weren't real people." gripped Argyll. "They shot first, at least... That makes things easier." reasoned Avrock.

She was right - the rules of engagement have been endlessly drilled into them - do not fire unless fired upon, have a positive identification of weapons shooting at them and even then they must make sure there are no civilians anywhere in the killing range of their weapons. Then there was the escalation drills for dealing with suspicious behavior: order them to stop, flash a red warning light rigged onto their weapon (or shoulder rig), fire stun bolts at the suspected offender, and then as a last resort, fire lethally at center mass to kill.

Unfortunately, even then, with all they had done, they all knew that civillian casualties during any prolonged operation is inevitable. In fact, Kat thinks that the reason why those drills and trainings existed in the first place - "It would be a lot worse that it is already without it."

"Yeah. Easier." she reluctantly admitted.


SQUAD "HOOCH", 3RD SQUAD, 3RD PLATOON, FOX COMPANY, 605TH MARINE REGIMENT, FOB APALIS : 1702 HOURS LOCAL TIME


"You alright? Kat?" asked Argyll as they entered their "home" for the next six months.

Twin bunks that was bolted for stability and durability but not much else. There were at least ten different places for each Marine to hang their weapons, armor and clothing off of. Kat only wore a ballistic helmet and durasteel plate carrier, so she took up less space and left it towards her bunkmate, LCPL Xand Ekari, who didn't mind wearing the full plastoid and durasteel amor set, and was asleep after returning from the short firefight.. The only other things in the room other than the bunks and lockers for the 15 people of 3rd Squad, 3rd Platoon was two sets of tables and benches, and a viewscreen to watch the HoloNet from.

"Kat?" Bea asked again. "Oh, yeah.. I'm just a bit rattled, that's all, LCPL. I'm fine." She absentmindedly stared into oblivion as she removed her helmet and PC. "It was my first firefight did good out there." she reassured her. "Thank you, Lance Corporal." she gratefully expressed as Argyll climbed into her own bunk.

"Oh, and Kat? Call me Bea. You're not a boot in any way, anymore. Not until I get promoted, at least." she lightheartedly snickered.

Kat inwardly facepalmed herself.

Of course.


GREENHILL DWELLINGS, KDARSAC - DAY 161, 1700 HOURS LOCAL TIME


The next day, she was up on the turret. It was the most exposed position to be in while in the Lynx, but even then it was pretty well guarded with thin but durable steel plating covering her from almost all degrees - the only danger she had was from someone dropping grenades from straight above, but they had wire mesh wrapped around what's left exposed, allowing anything thrown to be bounced back. Turret firing assistance and motion tracking systems helped with looking out for potential threats.

"So why do I feel as naked as an infant?"

"See anything out there, Kat?" asked Xand from below her. "Nope. All sowled from my view up here." "What?" "Clear, it's all clear, you dope!" "You and your weird sayings, Kat?" "Yeah? You have your weird accent!" "Keep the comm chatter clear, you two!" yelled Lovell.

"This is Fauwcon...copy all." She internally winced every time she had to use her callsign, which thankfully wasn't much at all. She had gotten it during one of their final pre-deployment exercises : Argyll had ordered her to recon a suspected a suspected enemy position. Not wanting to walk the extra meters, she had gotten the "bright" idea of climbing onto a tree to do the order. She was attacked by a Nabooian hawk - apparently, she had climbed too close to its nest, and hurriedly tried to get down safely while being attacked by the predatory bird.

She mis-stepped about 8 feet off the ground, and fell with a loud thump. She was uninjured, but when her squadmates got to her, the last thing she said before passing out was "Fauwcon!", the (old) Brentaalian word for a bird of prey. They all didn't live it down for at least three days. And so the name stuck... at least on comms, because not everyone wanted to yell out the mouthful that is "fauwcon" every time.

She rotated the turret around, watching for anything suspicious. There was none so far. There was the usual happenings of the locals trying to live their lives.

Then she spotted something. Someone - a tall adult male - was walking fast. Way too fast. "This is Fauwcon. We've got a Sigma Bravo, bearing 074, heading our way, over, "a Suspicious Being callout wasn't a light one to be done. "Fauwcon, this is Galyar - copy that. Escalate, over," "Copy all, out!" Her heart rate soared. She keyed the mike on the turret. {Republic Forces, halt!} she yelled. She had always struggled with Farrackgian. Dammit. He didn't stop. She reached to the warning light button right next to the turret. A bright red beam shone in the offender's face even in full daylight. {Galactic Republic Forces, halt or we will fire!}

He walked even faster, breaking out into a jog. Is he hostile? Should I escalate? The other vehicles are calling out for orders to stop, but still he continued. "If all our forces combined still doesn't scare him, what will?" She readied the turret to stun. She wondered if she could fire. Shooting at unseen enemies from hundreds of meters away is somewhat easy, and at times could even be exciting. But she could see his face, brown skin with brown eyes and features baked by the sun. {Halt, or WE WILL FIRE!}

"If I shoot this man, I will possibly turn him into an enemy of ours."

Then Kat saw it. An object in his hand. She squeezed the trigger. A blue ring of stun bolt cut its way towards him. It struck him, and he dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

"I just shot someone. I just shot someone!"

She felt sickened. "This is Fauwcon... Sigma Bravo down... over..." She felt the Lynx stop. "Out of the vec, Kat! We're securing him!" yelled Xand. She dismounted, rifle in hand and reluctantly headed towards the man she had just stunned.

"I didn't kill him, so... why do I feel so bad?" she tried to justify herself.

Kat raised her rifle at him as 2LT Cavell, who tagged along this time, ordered LCPL Kahu to cuff him and bring him back to FOB for detainment. He picked it up. It was a plastic explosive - no larger than two fingers on an adult human hand, but was enough to deal signifcant damage if thrown in the right place.

"This is Falcon 3-Concord, we have a Sigma Bravo detained... Advice how to proceed, over... Uh...Copy all, out." he keyed off his comms and started waving gestures towards everyone "Good job, PFC Merrick. Let's bring this back." Cavell praised her stoically as they mounted up to RTB.

His words echoed in her mind on the uneventful journey back to base.


"ROUTE GRANNYAR", BLUEPOINT DWELLINGS, KDARSAC - DAY 165, 1000 HOURS LOCAL TIME


"Ring the door, and talk to them. Don't be assertive - we don't want to scare these beings," ordered the Ion Company 2LT with them as 2LT Cavell and Kat's fireteam - Argyll, Aireasknapt and newcomer Gacklen, who just arrived out of the infantry into Fox Company the day before they departed for war. The others set up a cordon of security along the street.

"Good day. I'm Second Lieutenant Fion Cavell of the Galactic Republic Marine Corps and we're here to keep you and your people safe. Have you seen any suspicious activity or beings lately?" he stood in the doorway of one of the dwellings. Kat tried to present as non-threateningly as possible, resting her rifle against her chest but still keeping her finger close to the trigger without the civilians noticing.

But the Twi'lek female clammed up, shaking her head, infant in her arms.

"Listen, ma'am. We're not here to harm you. We check all the homes here in random order so no one would know if you talk to us." She slightly backed away from the door and shook her head harder.

"I... ma'am...Perhaps we could speak inside?" He turned to Kat's team and another team from Ion, then signalled all of them to enter. "Jarlus." he nodded towards the Ion 2LT before they moved together.

Kat entered the dwelling. It reminded her of her family's apartment back on Brentaal, with it's modest size and cozy interior. But Farrackgean interior design and furniture gave the place a unique feel to it. CPL Argyll was in the living room, standing near the woman, still cradling her infant. The rest of the team fanned out and searching though the home but not touching anything in the dwelling. 2LT Cavell approached the woman, now seated in a comfortable looking chair.

"What is your name, ma'am?" he asked soothingly.

"...Seero...Nasaeyna..." she stuttered.

"Seero... we're on the hunt for some bad people who are harming this community. If you know anything, it's best to tell us so we can help. You are in a safe enviroment. No one will ever know that you spoke to us, or what we spoke. We'll try to make sure of it." he assured her.

"Are you sure?" she asked, a thick accent coloring her voice.

"Yes."

"I know not much, but I seen people sneaking in weapons out the next street sometimes. And old Talcwo's son was killed in a drive-by shooting upstreet last week - I heard it from my fresher." she pointed towards the west.

"That was just before we arrived." she thought.

Both Cavell and Kat's eyebrows raised when they heard that new information.

"Anything odd? Who was he. Species? Sex? Build? Height? Do you know any possible motives, suspects, alibi?"

"Average looking male Bothan - nothing stood out about him. Not at first. When I got there an hour later, the local militia had sealed off the place. I could see there was the label of the Farrackgean Federationists branded onto his body. Then I remembered there were rumours he rolled with some Authoritarianist groups, but I don't dare to find out. That's all I know...I...I... swear," she trailed off. Her facial expression betrayed worry and fear.

"This son... What was his name, Seero?" asked Cavell.

"Værno."

"I see. Thank you, for putting your trust in us, Mrs. Seero. We'll make sure this stays confidential. Good day, and stay safe ma'am. We'll be taking our leave now." he signalled them to egress out of the house.


ON ROUTE "KRANEG" - 1020 HOURS LOCAL TIME


Kat thought hard on their new findings while in the turret.

The pre-deployment briefings had mentioned hit and run attacks, as well as the Federationalists and Authoritarianists - the former being made up of those who wanted the planet, and system to be independent of Republic (and by extension, Rochtaan) rule. The latter were pro-Sith Empire guerillas and secessionist local politicians during their short-lived 2 year rule over parts of the planet during the last great war. They who survived the mass executions, but didn't give up their ideals tried to live a double life of being apathetic towards the Galactic Republic in public and carried out terror attacks, smuggled arms, kidnapped beings and performed destabilization in secret. There's another name for them - Imperaelii, though it is never used openly.

"Rooting these bastards out is going to be a pain. Ack, great.. I sound like Wolverton, don't I?"

They knocked on every door and talked to the locals, which lasted them the better part of 4 hours, thankfully with no incident - they did hear shots go off in the distance sometime in the middle.

They turned from the residential neighborhood into the 3rd Commercial Sub-District, onto a street the Marines deployed before Ion nicknamed "Route Kroduw".

"Hey, is that a dead body? Bearing 090, 50 meters to the right?" some chirped over the convoy's comms. "Stop the vecs. Let's check it out,"said Cavell The convoy hovered up as close to the body as possible before everyone (sans the turret gunners) exited. "Ion, form a security perimeter around the convoy. Kurtalla, Bmestari, follow me. "ordered 2LT Jarlus.

The Marines approached the body. It was a Mirialan male, his body splayed out wide for all to see. Fresh blood pooled under him. Definitely dead.

As the distance between Kat and the body decreased, the clarity of his injuries increased. The first thing she noticed was a deep gash cut diagonally across his brains. Cauterized brainmatter lined the wound. She looked down and noticed two bullet holes, jagged in nature. It was so different from the clean, round blaster bolts she was used to.

Damn savages, that's what these beings are.

"We need a corpsman!" called out Lovell. Ferhal stepped out. "Aye, Sergeant!" "See what you can do with this being," ordered 2LT Cavell.

Ferhal knelt down to inspect the body. He held back for a while. Kat suspected he was nervous - It was his first dead body after all. His looked over the wounds, before turning the body over. As she did so, some of the brainmatter of the deceased poured out onto the concrete walkway. Kat had to hold her gag reflex in. "The... the entry wound is from the rear, sir. The holes are much smaller and rounder here. I suspect the bullets tumbled when it went inside of him." Ferhal explained to everyone. Everyone knew.

The bullet shattered into pieces inside of him before coming out. That's a hell of a way to go.

"And sir... I think I have an explanation for the large head wound. But I don't think you want to hear it." Xand timidly suggested.

"Speak up, Marine. What is it?"

"I think it came from a lightsaber."


20 MINUTES LATER


They loaded the body onto the back of the Lynx before they headed to the nearest law station to hand the body over. As they turned into "Route Raka", Kat stood silently in the turret, overwhelmed. She considered herself tougher than average - she had never flinched when watching scenes from war holofilms. But reality always will have a way to outdo fiction. As gunfire popped in the far distance, she juggled her brainpower between looking out for threats and processing what she had just seen.

She wondered -How do I tell this to mother and father back home? Should I? Do they even want to hear it? Will they even understand? And the dead Mirialan- there's someone with a lightsaber around here? What if it's a Sith Lord trying to-

The radio crackled to life. "All Falcon callsigns, this is Falcon 6-Concord - Callsigns Falcon 4-2 and Falcon 4-3 has been hit and is currently in heavy contact. Quick Reaction Force inbound. All callsigns will be on maximum alert, out."

The message reshuffled her perception. The gunfire in the distance - Was that them? Are they alright?

She then shut off her emotions. There is a time to process and deal with emotions. On mission is not one of them.

Not yet. Not yet.

That was for the behavioral therapists back at the FOB to do.


FOB APALIS, 1500 HOURS LOCAL TIME


When they got back after their patrols,, the first thing everyone from Fox Company was to hear the news of Falcons 4-2 and 4-3 : originally Weapons Platoon's Mobile Heavy Anti Tank and 60MM Light Mortar Squads, redesignated Mobile Assault Squads 2 and 3. The (no longer) boots of 3rd Platoon - Kat, Xand, Carford, Gacklen, Flach, Traddaur, Feardeann, Opru and Govf - weren't as close to the Marines from "Weps" as much as they liked, due to CPT Vlogel's way of deploying troops on exercise - the "Weps" always stayed slightly further back.

That day, however, the remainder of Weapons Platoon was up front at the company comms center. Kat's squad (Falcon 3-3) joined them. "How's everything, SGT Fornach?" Kat asked one of the anti-air squad SGTs. "Not good. We have one critical and two others wounded. Good news is we have air support inbound," he turned around and talked to one of the commoperators. "...ETA momentarily." "Thanks, Sergeant." "Hey, Marines!" he called out to the members of Falcon-3.

"Get some chow and freshers-up. I hear the mess hall still has some snacks left."


20 MINUTES LATER


Kat had eaten some smoked meatbars, but she hasn't freshened up yet. As she started making her way back to the comm center, she saw a convoy of five Lynxes enter. It was Falcon 4-2. She ran over to them as they opened the rear of the vehicle. Six Marines carried three blood-soaked stretchers. She tried to piece everything together : CSGT Mourall of the mortar section had shrapnel peppering his arm and torso, CPL Gallarkch was shot in the shoulder, and finally, LCPL Lieth Vieboc. She had been shot twice in the torso. Kat had to hold back her tears as she escorted them to the aid station. "Hey, let me take over!" she yelled to one of the stretcher bearers. "No need! Just go take care of our vehicles back there!"

Kat ran back towards Fox Company's motor pool. She saw the uninjured members of Falcons 4-2 and 4-3 climbing in and out of their vehicles. Curious, she decided to take a look. She saw that the one vehicle had heavy hull damage from an explosion and bullet holes, while the others were only peppered with bullets. She then peeked inside.

The rear right seat and bulkhead of the vehicle was stained with dark red blood. Some of it pooled at the bottom of the floor. Kat couldn't stand it any longer - she violently vomited what little of her stomach content is left. It was one thing to see blood and gore, but it was another to see those of your friends and comrades. She continued dry-heaving until a voice asked her,"PFC Merrick. What's going up?" It was CPT Vlogel. "Just a bit shook up, sir..." she regretted saying it as it came out. She knew what his response would be - she had seen it inflicted upon others.

"We can't afford to have Marines like that in a place like this. Pick yourself back up and do your duty, Marine." he said, and left to talk to the Falcon 4-2 Marines.

One of the Marines from 4-3, SGT Croag Frayzer, came up to her as he disappeared behind the silhouette of a vehicle ."Are you alright, Kat?" "I'm fine!" she huffed. "Listen, I know CPT Vlogel can be a huge nogturn," she whispered. "Don't mind him. You can be shocked during a time like this. What's important is that you pick yourself back up, and do it quick. Lives depend on you out here."

She immediately felt better. "You're right, SGT. I feel better from that already, thanks - anything I can help you lads with?"

"Can you take a large bucket of water and bring it here? Might help for you to take a walk."

When she bought it back, there were droids performing maintenance and cleaning on the damaged vehicles. "Ah," muttered Frayzer as she bended out of the vehicle. He immediately dipped the sponge in his hand into the water and it immediately turned red. "Can...I... Can I help?" asked Kat sheepishly. "Ah, no need, Kat-" "Please. Let me do something. Just... please. It's better for me this way."

She mulled it over. "Alright. Take a cleaning sponge and clear out from the other side."

"Thank you, Sergeant."


FOX COMPANY COMMON ROOM, FOB APALIS - DAY 166, 2000 HOURS LOCAL TIME


She couldn't believe they lost them in surgery.

"...CSGT Dak Mourall was a good Marine, husband and being. From a troubled life on Tatooine, he turned around from it and decided to protect others in the best way he knew how. He would never leave a fellow Marine or being in the dust. A fighter through and through, until the end... I... know it is not easy to deal with the loss of one of our own. I am as well - his loss has hit us all hard. Such losses is a part and parcel of warfare, and that's why the mission must go on." CPT Vlogel momentarily paused.

"We would leave you to process and mourn for a short moment, but never forget what we're here for. Act with the most honorable and best of conduct befitting for a warfighter, a Galactic Republic Marine, and a force for galactic good. CSGT Mourall was a good Marine, and he wouldn't have it any other way. Dismissed." The company commander solemnly finished the eulogy in front of his memorial - his military ID tags, rifle, boots, helmets and clothing were neatly arranged on a makeshift shrine. After standing silently for a minute, he walked off.

The Marines of Fox Company were left to process their feelings. Some, mostly from Weapons Platoon and especially Mourall's former AT squad, wept openly. Some others had their eyes moistened. Others stared at the memorial in silence. Kat couldn't bring herself to cry. They had just lost their first Marine. She wanted to, but an unexplainable force was stopping her. She slightly sobbed, still in her formation position.

She walked back towards her squad hooch and took her toiletries. Kat instinctively went to the freshers - she knew there would no one there at this time.

She undressed, opened the shower to it's maximum settings and stepped in.

She cried as loudly as she could under the almost scalding water, the strong water pressure masking the sounds and sights of her tears.


Author's notes and Review Replies

- This was difficult to write! I'm still busy working on my thesis, but it's coming to a close now...

- I changed a large detail regarding Cal Fletcher and Kat Merrick in the last chapter because I didn't feel like it fit the universe that well. Read it... if you want to :3

To pbtv : Yay! I know you've been waiting for this! Thanks for sticking around for so long!