TGP212th: The riot began as a protest over the GAR's tactics, with everyone attending having their own beef with the GAR for various reasons. I give one woman's story in this chapter, hope it makes sense. No worries about any wording goofiness! I do it all the time. :) We only have internet available on our phones where we live, so I type everything up on mine, which takes a long time and I make so many mistakes.
Spacing out the chapters is helping!
Cozzizzie: I was just finalizing this when I got your review. Here you go ;)
...
Ravi focused on the man's eyes, but kept the blade that danced between his fingers in his peripheral vision. You could tell a lot about most people's intentions just by clocking the nuances within eyes and this man's were no different or less telling. The gleam in them had altered after the failure of his last attack, and were now a mixture of weighed options and calculation.
The armor Ravi wore wasn't penetrable by the blade he possessed, so the area of attack was limited. And the trooper was as nimble, if not more so, than he.
"You coming or what, sunshine pants?"
Ravi kept his arms up in a defensive position, ready to receive his opponent's advance, but he tilted his head to the side and jeered the words.
The waves of frustration and indignation practically radiated off the man, but he held his ground. Just barely.
Ravi grinned beneath his helmet, enjoying the rise he was getting out of his opponent. It didn't seem to take much, and the private had plenty more where that came from. He could be REALLY annoying if he wanted to.
He opened his mouth to make a snide comment about the man's questionable choice in footwear, when the shot of a blaster cracked through the air right behind him.
'What are you lot doing?"
All three troopers started and turned. Commander Thorn stood in the opening of the alley, his head swiveling to regard each one of them in turn before scanning the crowd. His arm was still raised, blaster pointed to the sky. He reholstered the weapon before putting a hand on his hip and pointing an accusing finger at them.
"You're supposed to be clearing and containing, not starting ring-fights. Get to it."
They stared at him for a moment before Trust spoke. "Didn't know you were planet-side, Sir. Are weapons authorized?"
"Just got back. And they are now."
He unclipped a set of binders from his utility belt and tossed them to Ravi.
"Bring that one in." He gestured to the man with the blade.
Ravi heaved a sigh, but dropped his defensive stance to step towards the man, flicking the binders open with his thumbs and motioning for him to lay his wrists out.
The man gave him a look that said he thought the private had completely lost his mind, before cold fury clouded his face and he lifted the blade to strike.
...But it fell from his hands and he collapsed face-first on the permacrete as Commander Thorn's stun round hit him in the chest.
"Nice shot, Commander!" Ravi nudged the prone form with the toe of his boot.
"Didn't think he was that stupid...would've been cooler if you hadn't used a stun round though."
Thorn gave him a long, measuring once over.
"Take him to the complex. You all-" Thorn pointed a finger at the remaining people around them, pausing to look at each face in turn, before crossing his arms over his chest, "beat it."
They snapped to obey, filtering out of the alley and scattering across the square and Thorn followed with one last look over his shoulder and a small, agitated shake of his head.
The three troopers exchanged glances before their attention fell on the girl who remained in Hatch's grasp, her hands still covering her face. He released her shoulder and waved a hand, signaling for her to clear off as well.
"Better get going, too."
She pulled her hands away from her face and glared up at him.
"I won't do ANYTHING you say."
Hatch took an involuntary step back, shocked at the venom in her voice. He lifted his hands in a placating manner.
"Easy, Ma'am."
She stood shaking, hands rolled into fists at her side and glowering between him and Trust.
"With respect Ma'am, we're just asking you to clear off," Trust offered, trying to diffuse her temper.
But his words only seemed to infuriate her further.
"Clear off?! It's your fault she left. You ruin...everything!" She made to charge at him but Ravi grabbed her from behind, hoisting her kicking and thrashing, into the air.
"You two sure have a way with the ladies." She was squirming and fighting his hold, battering any part of his body within reach, but without enough force to do any damage. "Guess she's coming with us."
He glanced over his shoulder at the form lying on the ground behind him and back to Trust and Hatch.
"My date's cuter than yours."
The tilt of their helmets told him they were rolling their eyes.
"You're lucky you're holding a girl right now, ner vod," Hatch replied dryly as he brushed past and stooped to retrieve the binders Ravi had dropped. He looked around for the stun baton which had flown from Ravi's grasp during his fight with the man, but it was nowhere to be found. Someone in the crowd must've pocketed it.
He secured the man's arms behind his back before he and Trust lifted him between them and they all headed back to the complex.
...
Juni squirmed in the soldier's grasp, wriggling and twisting and huffing with everything she had as he carried her across the square. He either didn't feel it or didn't care, unresponsive and unfazed by it all.
Nearly at the complex, he finally spoke to her.
"You know, if you keep acting like this, they're going to put you in a cell with the crazy ones. Not the safest place to be, Ma'am." He stopped at the edge of the street to look both ways before continuing on.
She settled a little, considering his words. His tone hadn't been cruel, the words not spoken as a threat, but more as an honest warning.
She cast a glance at those they passed who were also being taken into custody. Most looked like ordinary citizens, but there were a few characters that made her cringe. Just a bit.
She let out a breath and tried to will the fight within her to subside. It was surprisingly easy, as once she stilled her thrashing she found herself almost entirely spent.
Ravi felt her go lax in his arms, bringing her hands up to cover her face once more and he could feel her sobbing. Despite her frantic behavior she was still capable of seeing reason, at least regarding what he said.
That, or she had finally spent the rage within her.
Inside the complex, there was barely space to move, and he looked around, not really sure of what to do with her now that they were here. Trust and Hatch peeled off to the left at the signal from a CSF officer once they entered. Ravi spied Fox in one corner gesturing with his arms and fought his way over.
Fox caught sight of Ravi and stared at him for a minute before shaking his head.
"I'm not even going to ask where you've been or what you've been doing, but if she needs to be processed, take her to the waiting area in D-4."
"Any word on Surge and Sarge, sir?"
"Both in medical. You can go check on them and grab a bite after you drop her her off. Come back down here afterwards, we've got a long night ahead."
Ravi nodded and made his way to the D block passage. He stopped at the door of the waiting area and set the girl down on her feet, hoping she wouldn't become fiery again. She didn't, and the trooper guarding the door nodded to him as he stepped to the side and let them enter.
Ravi guided the girl to an empty seat and gestured for her to sit down. She did without protest, tucking her legs up to her chin and wrapping her arms around them.
"Wait here. Someone will be along to process you, ok?"
She nodded numbly.
Juni could feel the weight of the soldier's stare before he turned to go. And out of the corner of her eye she watched him pause to give her a backwards glance at the doorway, before he stepped into the hallway and was gone.
...
An hour later Ravi found himself walking back down the hallway to the waiting area, a holopad in one hand and with orders to process and clear as many people as possible.
He had found Lex and Surge, who had woken up, and both seemed to be doing fine. Turns had been there as well, with a broken arm, and he'd stayed to chat with them while trading stories of the riot and downing a rations bar.
But now it was back to work. The un-fun kind. He frowned, twirling the holopad's stylus in his fingers as he walked. He wondered if the girl he had brought was still there.
He stepped into the waiting area and found that it had thinned out somewhat. He looked for the girl and found her still sitting where he'd left her, although now she sat solemnly, with her hands in her lap and staring dazedly out the window.
Juni was watching the citizens outside, some in line, others walking by on the street as though they didn't see their surroundings, some stopping to stare, some muttering. It seemed like a different world than a couple hours prior. Orderly and calm, no longer hate and screaming and chaos.
How contagious that had been.
She had come to the protest that morning with a heart freshly smarting and anger bubbling inside her, but she hadn't really planned on losing herself so completely. She hadn't anticipated the protest turning to ire, or how easily it had loosed a chord in her soul.
"Hey! You're still here."
Juni looked up to see the same soldier who had carried her in staring down at her. He had a scrawl of paint on the side of his helmet that looked like a small 'x' that she remembered.
He waved the holopad in his hand and gestured to it with his other.
"You can come with me and we'll get you processed out of here. If you're not opposed to me being the one doing it?"
Juni stared at him for a minute, confused. His tone was friendly... and he was giving her a choice? Did that mean he had chosen to come back to her?
The person who was flat out wailing on him and screaming in his face just a bit ago?
She felt very ashamed then, and nodded, not trusting herself to speak.
He held out a hand for her to take, and she took it, letting him pull her to her feet and then following him out of the room and through the building.
He led her to a small room off the same hallway furnished with a single table with a chair on either side. He gestured for her to sit and then took the other chair across the table or himself.
She watched as he pulled off his helmet and set it to the side before laying the holopad on the desk. He propped an elbow on the table and rested his chin in his hand, tapping the 'pad a few times with the stylus.
A form appeared on the screen and he tapped the first square, his other arm falling to hold it in place.
"First name?"
She didn't answer and he looked up at her. She was staring at his face with a look of unease. He blinked at her before smiling.
"You won't have to look at me for too long if you answer." He joked.
She sucked in a breath and shook her head.
"Sorry. It's Juni."
"Last name?"
"Hoylin."
"Age?"
"22."
He squinted at her. "Really?"
She sighed and gave a meek chuckle, running a hand through her ponytail in a habitual way.
"Really."
He grinned at her and continued.
"Occupation?"
"I...work part time at the University's library."
"Are you a student there?"
She nodded and he filled it in.
"Address? I promise not to send you flowers."
She felt the corners of her mouth lifting and shook her head. "Dorm at the University."
He paused at the next square, tapping the stylus against the desk a few times before asking, "Reason for attending the...protest?" He had almost said riot, but seemed to change his mind.
She stared at the desk for a a few minutes before answering.
"My friend...she ...her family lives on a planet recently overtaken in the war. The soldiers there, they..."she paused to glance uncertainly up at Ravi, as though she was searching his face for something, before looking away and at the wall.
"The villagers were made to leave. They weren't asked or allowed to take much. They were just...kicked out. Kicked out of their own homes. So their village could be turned into a base for the GAR." She looked up at Ravi. " It wasn't a danger zone. Not even close. They didn't have to leave!" Her face became angry for a moment before it faded and was replaced by sadness. "They lost...everything. Their home and land. Their livelihood. They have nothing left now."
She ran a finger along the edge of the table, her jaw trembling.
"She had to leave. This morning. She couldn't attend the university any more. They have no way of paying the dues. She had to go back to her family and hope they can find someplace to stay. I don't...know when or if I'll see her again. She was like a sister to me, and now she's gone."
Juni let her hands fall to her lap and she stared at them for a long time. She could feel the soldier staring at her, but he said nothing. His hand hovered over the square, but he didn't enter anything, just watched her.
She sucked in a breath, willing herself not to start bawling again.
"Sorry." She whispered. She swallowed and spoke to the desk. "I went because I was angry at the GAR and its soldiers. Because I wanted to do something about it. I wanted to protest and I wanted to be heard. And listened to. I don't know how, or what I was expecting. But...I didn't want what happened. I didn't anticipate that. And I didn't...expect...to go crazy."
She looked up at him again, shame in her eyes and regret in the line of her mouth. Her eyes passed over his face again and she brought her hands to her mouth.
She heard the screech of his chair as he pushed it back to stand and walked over to her. He reached down and took one of her hands into his and fumbled with something at his belt.
Juni closed her eyes, expecting the cold plastoid of binders to encircle her wrists.
But the soldier placed something on the table and knelt beside her, holding her hand up and rummaging around in the box he had set down with his other hand.
She looked down at him, confused. "What're you...?"
"Got it!" He said triumphantly, and she watched him unravel a roll of binding cloth one-handed. He looked up at her. "Hold still while I wrap this, ok?"
Juni was too shocked to move, so she sat still as he asked, while he wrapped her hand. She watched the bruises on it disappear beneath the bandages as he did so. He did it with a steady efficiency which led her to believe he had done it many times before, although she got the impression he was doing it much more delicately than he was used to.
When he was finished, he placed that hand back in her lap and reached for the other one, balancing it across his knee as he reached for more bandaging.
"I had no idea they were so...I mean, I just..." She held up her bandaged hand and stared at it incredulously. "I guess I hit a lot of people."
The soldier started chuckling and looked at her for a moment before returning his attention to her hand.
"...she said so crazily, yet cutely."
She stared down at him for a moment in shock before beginning to laugh. She laughed for a few minutes while he finished wrapping.
When he was done he let go of her hand and sat back down on the floor, a leg out in front of him and an arm on his other knee. He grinned at her.
"Cute when she smiles, too."
She stared at her hands, then fixed him with a small grin of her own, before her face fell and she looked at him sadly.
"I can't imagine what you must think of me. Acting like I did, you must think I'm a loonie."
The soldier blinked at her for a moment before shrugging.
"Everyone's a little crazy about something."
She stared down at him, considering his words. Then she shook her head. "No, that's not a good reason." She reached out a hand to run her fingers over the bruises on the side of his face that she had been staring at earlier.
"I'm so sorry."
He shook his head and stood, walking back to the other side of the table and sitting down. He picked up the holopad and stylus.
"What're you going to write?" She asked as he began scrawl in something in the box.
"That you came to see me, of course."
He looked over at her like it was a ridiculous question to ask. When he finished writing, he slid the pad over to her.
"Needs your signature at the bottom."
She took the stylus he was holding out to her suspiciously, and glanced down at the display, slipping her eyes over the answer boxes.
Reason for attending:
Justifiable concerns regarding GAR procedure. Loss.
Charge(s)/Action to be taken:
None.
...
Haha, what am I doing? That didn't turn out as planned at all.