With the conversation of yesterday night still fresh in her mind, Eva walks behind ACY-4, her heart already pounding in her chest. As she follows the droid through the corridor, holding her helmet in her hands, she mentally prepares herself for the test. She had to wait the entire day until night fell, and all day she's been feeling her heart pounding in her chest, repeating everything she's exercised in the last months. She knows it will be hard and dangerous, but she trusts her instincts and the skills she developed during intensive training at the Academy.
''Eva, this is yours.''
At the Trooper Armament Bay, where graduated soldiers get their first weapons and equipment, a grey droid hands her a pitch-black body glove and grey armour pieces to put in. The armour pieces feel lightweight in her arms as Eva puts them all down on one of the various grey tables in the room. Putting the armour pieces down, she looks in awe, finally being able to wear a true armour suit. The training suits were different and lacked the plastoid armour pieces. This was a true armour suit that could be taken to battlefields and withstand blaster shots.
Looking at the rest of her squad, Eva figures out how to put it on. First, she pulls off her off-duty suit, taking off her jeans and body suit and putting it on the table. Taking off her off-duty suit, she feels the cold air blowing over her skin as the ventilation shafts suck out the warmer air.
Eva sees how Ashara puts on the black body glove, and it looks simple. Holding it in her hands and tugging the fabric, she lowers the body glove to put her feet in the leg sleeves. Putting her feet on the floor, she pulls the body glove over her legs until her waist. She pulls it further up to her shoulder and reaches out for the arm sleeves dangling down. She pulls the sleeves over her arms one by one until the black body glove covers her entire body except for her head and her throat.
Now the armour pieces. On the table lie 18 individual armour pieces which mostly overlap each other, but how can I attach them to the body glove?
''Ashara, how do these work?'' she asks, shifting her head to Ashara.
''They magnetize onto the suit,'' replies Ashara, putting on one of the leg armour pieces. ''I'd start with the feet and go up from there.''
''Right,'' answers Eva, and she shifts her head to the armour pieces lying on the table.
Start with the feet and go up from there. Right.
Eva reaches out for the boots and puts them on. They fit her feet, and after putting them on, she puts on the remaining armour pieces. They magnetize onto the body suit, hearing a soft click each time she puts the armour pieces in the right place. They only magnetize when they're correctly positioned, so it's a bit of experimenting and shifting the armour pieces around. As she puts on the last armour pieces on her arms and the gloves on her hands, she notices that the wrist armour piece has a wrist link, used as the main communication device. Tapping on the buttons on the wrist link makes it cycle through available comm channels and establishes or breaks the connection.
Testing out her flexibility, Eva stretches her arms and legs, and she feels as agile as she were in the training suit performing the upward bend yesterday night. The body suit sits tightly around her skin, but it fits excellently, and the armour pieces protect her sufficiently. She reaches out for the helmet. It's sleek, stainless, and as hard as steel, but it feels lightweight and it blends in with the rest of her grey body armour. The visor is black and goes from the eyes to the side of the helmet.
Before putting on the helmet, Eva ties her long hair into a bun. Putting on her helmet, she discovers her visor has a head-up display, showing the battery power of the rifle linked to her helmet in the upper left corner. Eva is thrilled to wear such an advanced helmet, as the training helmet lacked the HUD.
Having a helmet on her head makes Eva feel more secure of herself, and it suppresses her pounding heart a bit. She puts off the helmet as it feels a bit more heavy, and she puts it on the grey table.
Then, Eva reaches out for the grey utility belt lying on the table. She straps it around her waist and rotates a button to make it sit tighter. She checks what it has and finds out the utility belt holds three power packs. a holster for her blaster and a C1 personal comlink to contact her squad members in case the wrist link malfunctions.
After putting on the metal backpack on her back, she grabs her parents' wedding necklaces and stares at them as they shine in the light. The urge to avenge them becomes stronger each second she stares at it, and Eva is determined to use this power for good. This day is for you, mom, dad, and you too Eline. She puts both necklaces around her neck and contrast the black body glove. After that, she reaches out for the helmet and puts it on.
As she's finished putting on her armour suit, Eva sees ACY walking towards her with a couple of blasters in its metal hands. The droid's metal body shines in the white fluorescent light.
''Eva, this is your blaster,'' says ACY with its female voice. ''It has already been linked to your helmet.''
''Thanks, Acy,'' replies Eva, picking the blaster from the droid's metal hands.
As she grabs it, Eva notices the blaster is an E-10 again, the same one they've been using in the training. Why an E-10 again? I thought we'd get an E-11 for this test.
''Acy, why do we still have these?'' asks Eva, shifting her head up to the droid.
''I have no information on that,'' replies ACY. ''Apologies.''
''No, it's fine,'' says Eva, and shifts her head down to the blaster.
As long as it's working, it's fine . She attaches the blaster to her holster hanging on her belt, and after the rest of her squad receives their blasters and put on their backpacks, Eva follows the droid out of the Trooper Armament Bay.
They arrive at the large hangar bay of the Academy, and Eva sees there are multiple tanks, troop transports, and several Stormtrooper platoons standing by. Their white, shiny armour makes Eva forget some of the fear and nervousness she has as excitement takes over. Now she gets to do nearly the same kind of mission as the Stormtroopers.
Eva and her squad follow ACY-4, and they form themselves up along a different squad of cadets. She stands in perfect line with the rest of her squad as she then sees an officer walking towards them. Eva assumes he's going to instil some courage, but then she notices that this man isn't actually an officer. The man is wearing a white suit you usually see Imperial scientists wear, and on his chest is not the Imperial insignia imprinted. Why does a scientist seem to lead this test?
''Cadets of squads VSRC005 and 004. Today is a big day, as we'll be testing the skills you've developed during our intensive training here at the Academy,'' says the man.
Eva has never seen this man, but she can already tell that he's nervous by his somewhat heavy breathing. Who is this guy?
''I want you all to comply with every order that is given as they're there to ensure your safety during the raid on the Rebel outpost. If you feel scared or nervous, trust your instincts, your training, and your squad mates. Only that will get you to succeed. Is that clear?''
''Sir yes sir,'' cry the cadets.
''After the test, if you feel shaken, afraid, traumatised, or anything else out of the ordinary, report immediately to your ACY droid. I want you to stay as mentally healthy as possible. I don't want any of you to stay awake during the nights or see the incursion happen all over again in your mind for all the wrong reasons.''
The man's worry and heavy precautionary measures make Eva think that this test won't be similar to the SimArena, not even in the slightest. It makes her afraid of what's about to come she hasn't thought of. Is this test so experimental that it relies on heavy monitoring in the aftermath? Is there seriously a danger we all get traumatised? She feels afraid of the danger, but she doesn't let it impact her. She knows she has to be top-notch in order to succeed, and getting Rebel scum to drop to their knees is still something that gives her a bit of excitement.
''Is that understood, cadets?''
''Sir yes sir,'' they cry again.
Then, the cadets are ushered in tight formation to the ITT troop transport, the grey, boxy ground vehicle with angular edges and big repulsor engines housed within its clean hull.
The ITT troop transport shakes as it drives out of the Academy's hangar bay. As she sits on one of the metal benches with her helmet sitting on her lap, Eva looks outside the small rectangular window. For the first time in months, she sees the city again. It's night and the windows of the buildings are all lit up. People walk along the sidewalk, passing by the windows of shops. Eva smiles a little as she sees the city again. All that time she was held at the Academy for training, and now she's driving through the city, on their way to the Rebel outpost.
''Alright, listen up.''
Eva turns her head away from the window and looks at Roslin with the taskmaster from The Well standing next to her to give her guidance. Then a hologram turns on, displaying a three-dimensional map of the building they'll raid for the test. The hologram hovers a meter above the cabin's floor.
''So this is the hide-out we have to clear,'' says Roslin and she lowers herself onto her knees to look at the hologram from up close. ''Before we raid, it will be surrounded by Stormtroopers. The Rebel hide-out is comprised of two separate buildings, one of which will be invaded by us and two Stormtrooper platoons.''
Then a small rectangular shape on the front of the building flickers red.
''Together with the troopers, we'll enter the building through this door. The troopers blast the door open and step inside. We'll split up into two separate teams. Me and Ashara form Team A, Eva and Peyton form Team B.''
''What about Ecklund?'' interrupts Ashara.
''Ecklund is already on-site at a higher vantage point. She's our sniper, that's why,'' replies Roslin, shifting her eyes up. ''Shortly before we arrive, she'll take out the insurgents guarding the front door.''
Ashara nods.
''Anyway, when we split up, Ashara and I clear ground floor, Eva and Peyton clear the second floor and gradually we clean up the building from Rebel scum.''
Eva smiles a little, noticing that Roslin is speaking her language, but it isn't enough to heal her trust in the girl.
''We know how to do this,'' says Roslin, looking at the eyes of the girls. ''We've been training for this with all our sweat in the Arena, and don't forget to survive. As the leader of the team, I don't want to lose any of you. Understood?''
''Got it,'' say the girls one after each other.
Teaming up with Peyton makes Eva feel less of her nervousness. If she had to team up with Roslin, it would seriously jeopardize the test as they both distrust each other. Though it's all about reliability and not trust, remembering what Roslin told her yesterday night, the lack of trust in her commander still damages each other's reliability. Eva knows Roslin is relying on her, but she isn't sure whether she should rely on her. She's still obnoxious no matter what.
''Our squad's comm channel is number 7, Battle Command is channel 1, and the operation's channel is 2,'' says Roslin.
After the short but concise briefing of Roslin, Eva detaches the E-10 from the holster of her belt and holds the handgrip tightly. The cold metal suppresses the nervousness a bit, giving her the feeling of security. With this, she knows she can mow down any threat.
Meanwhile, Kirbley walks through the corridor with his father next to him. His heart pounds in his chest as they and other officers rush to the military's command centre.
''Today's the moment of truth,'' says his father.
Kirbley lets out a sigh. ''I hope so. If not, we have a lot of explaining to do to the Army and High Command. If this test fails, they'll pull the plug out of Night Force.''
''But they won't,'' replies Father. ''I have faith in Carter's lead over the training program, and so should you.''
''It's not him,'' says Kirbley. ''It's Night Force itself. I had too little time to research such a complex matter, and the-, never mind. You already know what I'm about to say.''
''Son, we're at war. I know 4 years isn't much and I understand that it's complex, but sacrifices have to be made. We have to keep the war effort pushing onward and protect the citizens of the Empire. Everything we stand for, peace, security and order are at risk, and the time to protect them is running out. Time has become a luxury, and soon, the Galactic Civil War will lead to a climax. It will be the moment of life or death for everyone.
Kirbley lets out a sigh as he starts walking again through the grey corridor. Though he's nowhere near agreeing with him, it's something he has to accept. He's on a path without an intersection to steer away from the bumps that harm Night Force. All he can do is anticipate them, and although he has faith in Carter's training, it still doesn't sit right with him to send cadets to a battlezone within a few months of their training. It's risky, and it's the risk of failure he fears that could be caused by the bumps of Night Force's path of no return.
Kirbley and his father enter the centre of Battle Command. It's a military station located in a sub-building of the Academy and operated by Imperial Intelligence and serves as the centre of Vaulent's military operations. From within this heavily fortified structure, Battle Command coordinates all the strike forces of the Army and the Navy, sending out orders to the military bases and outposts on the moon.
Kirbley walks over a catwalk with on both sides rows of computer screens, covering the monitoring stations of Battle Command in a blue-white hue. The fluorescent lights shine dimly and Kirbley enters the center of Battle Command, a large circular room with a holotable in the middle, and radar screens surrounding it. Officers in grey and white suits walk around the command room with datapads in their hands and tapping on the buttons of radar screens.
A couple of men in grey uniforms stand around the holotable, and Kirbley notices that one of them is a colonel with the insignia of Imperial Intelligence imprinted on the chest of his jacket. As his father walks to the colonel and shakes his hand, talking about the status of the raid, Kirbley stands a bit away from the holotable, giving the people who know what they're doing some space.
In the corner of his eyes, he sees captain Carter entering the centre, approaching him as he keeps his eyes locked on the holotable.
''Nervous too?'' asks Carter as he approaches him.
''More than nervous,'' replies Kirbley, looking at his father exchanging some dialogue with the colonel.
''And we're just starting,'' says Carter, letting out a sigh of nervousness as he shifts his head to the holotable.
''I know. What's the status?
''The Army's tank battalion is ready to block the road once the raid starts, the Navy monitors the air space, the Capital Police Department patrols the city more intensively, and MI's snipers watch the building.''
''And the ISB?''
''Keeping an eye on the comm frequencies.''
Kirbley nods. The safety measures Imperial Intelligence took while planning this raid seem exceptionally tight. All the more reasons to believe that this raid will go without a hitch.
''Planetary Authority and Sector Command have already been notified,'' says Carter.
''Good. How many forces will partake?'' asks Kirbley, shifting his head to Carter.
''4 Stormtrooper platoons, 5 snipers, 6 TIE Vulcans of the 17th Tank Battalion, and 4 TIE Fighters. And a hundred here and a dozen at Vaulent Air Command. I don't think the Rebels have a chance of escape.''
That's more than enough to support the cadet groups, but Kirbley keeps having a sensation in his mind that tells him it's not enough. However, he has faith in Night Force and the training programs. Although his concerns, his confidence in the operation is still there. He trusts the clever minds of Imperial Intelligence and that of his father convinced that the raid will succeed and that all of the cadets will survive and achieve victory. Nonetheless, this moment of truth still makes his heart race in his chest, knowing the risk they're taking despite the great number of active forces.
''Hey Eva.''
As she keeps staring out of the window, she feels a pat on her shoulder and turns around and sees Roslin standing in front of her.
''Remember what I told you yesterday night?'' Roslin asks, her jaws chewing gum as always.
Eva doesn't answer, remaining silent.
''Let me repeat it,'' says Roslin. ''Now is the time to prove yourself to me. Prove to me that you can put the team in front of yourself. Stick to the plan and do whatever's necessary.''
''Understood,'' replies Eva.
''And don't forget that I'm your commander,'' says Roslin. ''You'll do everything I say, and don't you think disobeying my orders, understood?''
''Yes sir,'' replies Eva.
Roslin nods. Eva can still see the distrust in her eyes, but she's determined to prove herself to her commander. As Roslin walks away to the driver compartment of the ITT, Peyton walks towards Eva with her grey helmet in her hand.
''And Eva, ready for the test?'' asks Peyton.
''I can't feel more ready than this,'' says Eva, and she slams her chest plate with her fist, giving off a dull thud. ''Especially with this armour.''
Peyton smiles. ''Plastoid never fails.''
Indeed. It never does.
Eva wants to say something, but she's interrupted by Roslin, holding her rifle tightly in her hands.
''Alright, we're nearing the hide-out,'' says Roslin. ''Form up.''
After grabbing her helmet and putting it on, Eva instinctively forms up and walks into line, forming a square with her teammates as they stand in front of the troop transport's back door which will open outwards when they exit.
''Eva,'' says Peyton, standing next to her in line and shifting her head to her. ''You wanted to kick ass, right?''
Eva shifts her head to her, recalling the moment months ago when she told Ashara they'd kick the asses of Rebel insurgents when they passed the pre-recruitment program. Thinking back to that moment gives her a smile on her face. From that point to where she stands now makes her smile even more, knowing what she endured and had to go through, and seeing where all of it led: this test. And she's ready for it, knowing the challenges she has already overcome at the Academy.
''Now you got the chance to kick them,'' says Peyton, smiling.
Eva smiles as she switches the rifle from her right to her left hand. Peyton does the same and they bump their rifles against each other.
''For the Empire,'' says Eva, hearing the blasters clatter.
Peyton smiles behind her helmet. ''For the Empire.''
As Eva feels the ITT coming to a stop, she hears a whirring sound filling the cabin and sees a pair of lights above the backdoor flashing quickly, speeding up her heart as it pounds nervously in her chest.
''Alright, this is it,'' says Roslin.
Eva awaits nervously for the backdoor to open.
Then the backdoor opens and goes down to the ground, forming a ramp.
Within the blink of an eye, Eva starts running behind Roslin, storming out of the cabin. She hears her boots pound on the metal ramp and feels the hard tarmac as she steps onto the road. The street is completely dark and Eva sees the local law enforcement setting up a roadblock with their flashlight covering the buildings in a blue hue. She sees police speeders blocking the entirety of the street and hears the roaring engines of TIE Fighters filling the night sky, and as she looks over her shoulder, Eva sees more ITTs entering the street and Stormtroopers running behind them, their white armour shining as they're lit up by the streetlights.
Eva and the squad run towards a building in the street and she sees it's a large apartment complex with little windows. It's as if the architect made sure people associated the building with a plain, concrete block. She holds her E-10 tightly in her hands as she sees two men dead, lying on the pavement next to the front door. As they approach the front door, Eva looks around at the other buildings on the street, scanning the rooftops, and on one of them, she can see a person with a long rifle standing. That must be Ecklund, the sniper.
''Make way for them,'' cries Roslin as they approach the front door.
Eva runs behind Peyton towards the exterior wall next to the door and pushes herself against the hard concrete. Through her helmet's visor, she sees a Stormtrooper with red markings on his armour wearing a bulky backpack running towards the door, while the other troopers stay behind.
Eva's heart pounds as she sees the Stormtrooper holding a thermal detonator in his hand and sticking it to the door. As it magnetizes to the door, making a metallic thud, the trooper presses a button and Eva sees a red light flashing continuously paced. The trooper stands back and she prepares herself for the blast.
Eva tries to think of all the possible scenarios, trying to mentally prepare herself for everything she could stumble upon when she enters the Rebel hide-out, but her pounding heart and her heavy breathing stop her from doing so. Her nervousness keeps her from filling her mind with useless thoughts that would otherwise distract her from the mission and she shakes her head. She can't try to think of all the scenarios that are possible as she knows she has to focus on the test. She has to concentrate. Eva keeps her mind empty as the red light of the detonator flashes more quickly.
Then it explodes and blasts the door open. She feels the shockwave going through the concrete wall and a cloud of dust and smoke rises over the pavement. Through the smoke, she can see the first Stormtroopers entering the building.
''Come on!'' cries Roslin and as the team leader, she's the first of the squad to enter the building.
Eva follows Peyton through the door opening into the dark hallway of the building, hearing her boots pound on the metal door lying on the floor. The hallway they've entered is completely dark as the local authority cut off the power. It's so dark she can barely see Peyton in front of her.
''Lights on!'' cries Roslin.
Instinctively, Eva presses a button next to her rifle's scope, activating its flashlight, revealing a long hallway with turns and doors and a dark hallway on her right.
''B, up!'' cries Roslin, and gestures with her hand to the doorway that leads to the building's staircase.
Following Peyton, Eva walks to the staircase with her rifle tightly in her hands. Looking over her shoulder, she sees a group of Stormtroopers following them too. It makes her feel relieved to have Stormtroopers supporting her and Peyton.
With their boots pounding on the metal stairs, she runs up and instinctively raises her rifle, ready to shoot any Rebel who enters the staircase. After her failure at the SimArena, she doesn't allow herself to get surprised once again as she prepares herself to hit the trigger at any moment.
Walking in front of Eva, Peyton climbs the stairs until the last 10 steps, walking slowly up with her rifle raised and Eva follows her carefully, her rifle raised too.
''Hallway's clear,'' whispers Peyton.
''Copy,'' replies Eva.
Carefully, they climb the last steps of the stair and step onto the second floor of the Rebel hideout. As Eva climbs the last step, she sees the hallway is completely dark too. The walls and floor are grey, the ceiling is white, and the pillars standing on each side of the hallway are brown-red, supporting the ceiling and the floors above them.
Directly at where the staircase ends, there's an intersection splitting the hallway into three other, narrow corridors, each being as dark as the other.
''Sergeant?'' asks Peyton, lowering her rifle and shifting her head to one of the leading Stormtroopers.
Eva looks over her shoulder while keeping her blaster raised, and sees one Stormtrooper gesturing to his fellow soldiers.
''Vector 7, 8, 9 take left hall,'' says the Stormtrooper sergeant, shifting his bucket to his colleagues. ''10 and 12, forward,'' and then he turns to Peyton and Eva, ''I go with you two.''
''Got it, you take the lead now,'' says Peyton.
''Copy that,'' replies the sergeant, and he raises his rifle and starts walking into the right hallway of the intersection.
Giving the lead to him? Eva wonders why Peyton is handing over the leadership to the sergeant, but she assumes it's because of the trooper's experience. Peyton is probably a bit scared, and understandably so.
Eva and Peyton follow the Stormtrooper through the dark hallway. Her footsteps echo between the pounds of her racing heart as Eva walks slowly with Peyton on the right side of her, both having their rifles raised.
Then, the Stormtrooper raises his hand and stops walking. Instinctively, Eva and Peyton stop too, and she starts hearing something. Eva focuses on the sound and hears a faint, muffled sound of people speaking unintelligible words.
Suddenly, Eva startles as she hears a door sliding open and hears two men panicky talking to each other. Instantly, Eva steps towards a pillar and hides behind it, fully covering her body as she keeps her rifle close to her and sees Peyton do the same, taking cover behind the pillar on the other side of the narrow hallway. To hide their presence, they deactivate their rifle's flashlights. The Stormtrooper takes cover behind a pillar a bit further away from Eva and Peyton.
Eva's heart pounds heavily as she realizes there are Rebel insurgents stepping into the corridor, talking panicky about the presence of Stormtroopers.
''Notify the comm station,'' Eva hears a man say, ''and tell them to erase the databanks.''
Erase the databanks? What would they have to erase , wonders Eva with her heart pounding in her chest. The planetary coordinates of the Rebel Alliance's headquarters? Intel they managed to gather from espionage? Whatever they're erasing, Eva knows they have to prevent the databanks from getting erased, wherever they may be. Information the Rebels try to erase could be valuable to the Empire and as she stares at Peyton hiding behind the other pillar, she can see behind her helmet that the slicer is thinking the same.
''Yes sir,'' she then hears someone else say, hearing the silence filled with faint thuds on the floor.
She knows they have to act now, and Eva nods to Peyton, gesturing that they should open fire now. Peyton nods shakily back and through her visor, Eva can see her hesitating to act. She can see her hands shaking, and honestly, Eva feels her hands shaking too, but it's a feeling they have to overcome. They have to complete the test.
Eva gestures with her head again, trying to encourage Peyton to make the call. Peyton nods back again and finally, she peeks around the corner with her blaster and opens fire. The corridor lights up with red flashes as Peyton fires multiple shots and Eva peeks around the corner too. She sees a Rebel insurgent raising his blaster and she aims the blaster and pulls the trigger. She hits the Rebel in his leg, causing him to stumble to the floor but he keeps holding onto his blaster and aims at her. Before he could fire at Eva, Peyton hits him in the shoulder, dropping dead to the floor and making a loud thud.
''One man down!'' she hears the other Rebel cry.
Through her blaster's gunsight, she sees the other Rebel insurgent raising his blaster too but before Eva could aim, the foe has already aimed at her. Then she sees at least four Rebel insurgents emerging from the doors and charging through the corridor with their rifles raised. The other Rebel hits the pillar Eva takes cover behind and she sees sparks hitting her chest plate as she goes back to her hiding, holding her blaster rifle tightly against her body.
The sparks that flew off caused her heart to sink, thinking that she was hit, but after a quick inspection of her armour suit, she sees she wasn't hit and she sighs heavily out of relief. However, she spares the last sigh as she knows it isn't over yet.
She sees Peyton attempting at aiming at the Rebels but she's open-fired upon too.
''There are too many of them!'' cries Peyton. ''Five of them!''
Eva nods shakily as she holds her rifle tightly against her body. Her hands start to tremble as she keeps seeing sparks flying off the pillar. Then she suddenly hears the blaster fire cease, followed by loud thuds on the floor, and then silence.
''Sector clear,'' she hears the Stormtrooper say.
Eva peeks around the corner of the pillar and sees the Stormtrooper in the middle of the hallway with the five Rebel insurgents lying on the floor. The sergeant hit them all in an ambush, and Eva realizes she and Peyton drew their attention, giving the Stormtrooper the chance to shoot them all down with ease. One Rebel tries to reach out for his rifle but before he could touch it, the Stormtrooper shoots him in the head.
''Come on,'' says the Stormtrooper, his blaster smoking.
Eva shifts her head to Peyton and nods to her. Peyton nods back, she's fine.
With her hands still shaking a bit, Eva turns on her blaster's flashlight, steps away from her cover and walks towards the Stormtrooper with her rifle raised at the dark end of the hallway. She's prepared to shoot anyone who emerges from the rooms adjacent to the hallway.
As Eva walks past the bodies from the left side, with Peyton passing them from the right side, she hears a faint sound. Eva focuses on the sound and hears it coming from behind them, but it's so faint that she starts to think it's her mind messing with her. Eva shifts her head to Peyton, and through her helmet, she sees it's not her mind that's messing with her. Peyton is hearing it too.
''Stop,'' says Peyton and she turns around with her blaster raised.
Eva turns around simultaneously towards the source of the faint sound. However, her gunsight points at nothing.
''Step aside,'' says the Stormtrooper and he walks between Eva and Peyton.
The Stormtrooper walks with his rifle raised towards the source of the sound.
''Eva, cover our backs,'' says Peyton, gesturing her head.
Eva nods and she turns around with her back towards the Stormtrooper, hearing the sound coming from behind her again. Her heart pounds heavily as she keeps her rifle raised and the gunsight aimed towards the dark end of the hallway. Hearing the footsteps of the Stormtrooper echoing through the hallway, Eva looks over her shoulder, seeing the soldier approaching the body of one of the dead Rebels. What is he doing?
''Eva,'' says Peyton, noticing her distraction.
Eva shifts her head back and focuses on covering their backs, looking away from the Stormtrooper and facing the hallway's dark end. Her flashlight doesn't light up the entire length, so she trusts her eyesight. In the dark, she can barely see closed doors and an intersection in the distance.
''Kriffin' hell!'' she hears the Stormtrooper exclaim. ''It's a bomb!''
Eva's heart sinks in her chest as she turns around instantly. A wave of anxiety immediately washes over her as the three words of the Stormtrooper sinks in, it's a bomb. Within a fraction of a second, she sees the Stormtrooper jumping towards Peyton and her, feeling the soldier's arms bump against her chest plate. Then she's blinded by a flash and deafened by an explosion. She feels the heat piercing her armour as she feels her back impacting the cold floor. A high-pitched screech overwhelms her as she sees shades of white and orange slowly fading away, and she starts to see the outlines of the hallway through the thick smoke, noticing the plates of the ceiling ripped apart. The screech slowly subsides and the hallway becomes silent again, silent enough for Eva to hear her heart pounding in her chest. She lies nearly lifelessly on the cold floor, almost unable to process the situation. She feels dizzy as if she's spinning around uncontrollably, and she tries to dissect what had happened. It's a bomb , the words of the Stormtrooper echoing through her mind. It's a bomb, it's a bomb. A BOMB.
As she starts hyperventilating, fearing the absolute worst, Eva pushes herself from the floor but her legs are obstructed by the heavy body of the Stormtrooper sergeant lying lifelessly on top of her.
As she tries to catch up with her breathing, Eva pushes the Stormtrooper off of herself, shoving the trooper onto the floor. Feeling dizzy, Eva shakes her head and breathes heavily behind her helmet. With her hands shaking, she pulls off her helmet and throws it onto the floor, making a loud bang. She touches her forehead with her trembling hands and she feels wounds, burn wounds, engraved in her skin. It aches and stings, but Eva feels happy to feel it. She reaches out for her neck and feels the two wedding necklaces of her parents still hanging, sighing out of relief. Dank ferrik, I'm still alive.
As her eyes start to adapt to the dark, her eyes then land on Peyton, lying lifelessly on the floor next to her on her stomach. Eva starts to gasp for air uncontrollably as she shoves herself closer towards the girl and she turns her body around. Eva pulls the helmet off of her head and slams it onto the floor. Her hands tremble as she sees Peyton gasping for air and opening her eyes. She survived too.
''Peyton,'' sighs Eva, gasping for air, relieved.
''Yeah,'' whispers Peyton, her hands trembling. ''I'm fine.''
Eva smiles as she starts to catch up with her breathing, feeling happy that she and Peyton are still alive. Eva grabs Peyton's helmet and helps her stand up, giving her the helmet as she stands on her feet. As Eva grabs her own helmet from the floor, she sees Peyton lowering herself to the floor and shaking the Stormtrooper's body. Eva approaches her, her steps echoing in the hallway.
''He-, he's gone,'' says Peyton, her voice trembling as she stands up.
Eva steps next to her and stares at the lifeless body of the Stormtrooper, his previously shining armour, now charred, cracked and covered in ash. Eva realizes that one of the Rebels activated a detonator before he died, trying to take her and Peyton with him in the blast. She feels rage starting to rise in her chest as she realizes a Rebel insurgent nearly killed her in a gruesome way. Death by a blast is something she wasn't prepared for and never thought of facing in the first test.
''He sacrificed himself,'' says Peyton, her voice still trembling as she shifts her head to her. ''For us.''
Then Eva realizes that this Stormtrooper saved their lives. He put himself between them and the blast, protecting them from the heat and thus getting her and Peyton to survive.
''I know,'' replies Eva, still gasping for air and she keeps staring at the body.
Knowing that the Stormtrooper saved her life, suppresses the rage piling up inside of her, feeling thankful for him. However, she feels sad too, upset that this even had to happen.
Then a question arises in Eva's mind. I nearly died here. Why didn't we know they had bombs? Those scumbags could've flattened the building if they have more charges. Did whoever planned this test even know about this?
''Why didn't we know this?'' asks Eva, catching her breath.
Peyton shifts her head. ''Lack of intelligence. It would be hard to know their arsenal without an inside man.''
Eva nods in agreement. Peyton is right about that. Without an Imperial spy among them, it would be nearly impossible for them to know the Rebels' entire arsenal and what they're capable of. They could roughly estimate their firepower, assuming the Rebel insurgents all use the same model of blaster rifle (usually A280s), but knowing the content of their entire weapon shed would not be possible. Eva understands why her superiors didn't notify her or Roslin about their access to thermal detonators, but it remains an ache in the back of her mind.
Peyton taps on her wrist link and moves it towards her mouth to radio in.
''Roslin, you copy over?'' she asks.
Eva shifts her head to Peyton, waiting for an answer, but all they get back is the silence with a blaster shot occasionally echoing faintly through the corridor, originating from deep within the Rebel hide-out.
''Roslin?'' Peyton asks.
Again, no response and Eva starts to fear they're jammed.
''Jammed?'' she asks.
''Yeah,'' replies Peyton, shifting her head to her and letting out a big sigh. ''The channel's dead. Dank ferrik.''
''So we have to go forward alone?'' asks Eva.
''If we want to make Roslin proud, yeah, we have to,'' replies Peyton.
Eva nods. Though she's determined to complete the test, being alone with Peyton and without more troopers supporting them makes Eva's heart pound in her chest, but she trusts her instincts and that of Peyton. The training they've had at The Well and the SimArena is not for nothing, and they should utilize everything they've learned.
''Let's get them to pay,'' says Peyton, her determination to get the Rebels to pay for their deed visible in her voice. ''We can't let this trooper die for nothing, can we?''
''Yeah,'' replies Eva. She feels the rage starting to rise in her chest.
Peyton nods, the burn wound on her forehead shimmering a little in the dark. ''We have to stop them from erasing the databanks. There must be highly valuable information on them.''
Eva puts the helmet on her head. ''Well, let's head out. Let's kick their ass for him,'' she says, pointing to the Stormtrooper on the floor.
''Follow my lead then,'' says Peyton, smiling as she puts on her helmet and she turns around.
''Yes sir,'' replies Eva, and she follows Peyton with her rifle raised.
Squeezing the E-10's handgrip, Eva walks through the corridor as she tails Peyton, her heart pounding in her chest. They stumble upon a shut door on their right, and she gets into position to clear the room. Following her training, she stands at the left side of the door and Peyton on the right side.
Peyton slams the door button with her elbow after which it slides open. Immediately, Eva walks into the room with the blaster's grip squeezed in her hand as she scans the room. Looking through her gunsight, she looks around but the room is empty. It's clear.
They proceed to walk through the corridor and scan the remaining rooms but they are all empty. Only one room remains which is at the end of the corridor, and as Eva and Peyton approach the door and get into position to raid it, Peyton slams the button, but the door isn't opening.
''Blast it,'' exclaims Peyton, slamming the button repeatedly. ''It's locked.''
''Can you open it?'' asks Eva, holding her blaster tightly.
Peyton doesn't answer as she reaches out for her backpack hanging on her back. She takes out her datapad and starts connecting it with the door button as she plugs her device in through a cable port.
''I can get into the door controller,'' says Peyton as her datapad lights up her grey helmet. ''I could force it open.''
Eva nods as she sees Peyton relentlessly tapping on her datapad. She notices things flashing on her screen but she can't make out what they mean.
''Stand by,'' says Peyton, staring at the screen.
Eva tightens her grip as she holds her blaster against her chest, feeling her heart pounding relentlessly, but as soon as this door opens, she won't let it stop her from raiding it.
''Aaaaaaand…. Got it.''
Then, the door starts to screech as Peyton puts away her datapad, and with her rifle raised, Eva stands ready to clear the room. Then the door slides open into the wall and she steps into the room. Her gunsight immediately falls on a Rebel turned with his back to her. She pulls the trigger and hits him in the back. He crashes against the metal cabinet and stumbles lifelessly on the floor with a thud as Eva enters the room. In the corner of her eye, she sees the black barrel of Peyton's blaster as she follows Eva into the room.
As she scans the room for more Rebels, she sees it's a well-lit storage space with metal cabinets next to the walls and in the middle of the room, stuffed with metal boxes. Then, Eva hears footsteps on her left growing louder as she pans around. Within a fraction of a second, she pulls the trigger and hits a Rebel in his shoulder as he enters the storage room through a door and he collapses to the ground. His A280 rifle clatters on the floor as Eva approaches the open door as it's the only one in the storage room.
Eva approaches the door with Peyton following her closely and sees the door connects the storage space with another room through a short corridor. Then she sees a Rebel peeking around the corner on the other side of the corridor and aiming his rifle. In an instant, Eva jumps out of the way as she hears blaster shots jolting through the room, barely missing her. She pushes herself against the wall next to the door as she holds her blaster.
''They've broken through!'' she hears a male voice cry. ''Do it, now!''
Eva's heart pounds in her chest as she tightens her grip. She doesn't know what they're doing exactly, but all she can think about are the databanks. We have to stop them, now!
Eva peeks around the corner and aims her blaster at the Rebel. She misses, but after taking cover and looking around the corner again, she hits the Rebel in his leg. The Rebel collapses to the floor, screaming at the top of his lungs and reaching for his knee. Hearing the agonizing scream of the Rebel makes Eva grin from ear to ear. This is what she wants, hearing them scream for their lives. As the Rebel lies on the floor with agony in his voice, Eva pulls the trigger as she approaches him, shooting him in the head. Eva runs through the short corridor into the adjacent room. She sees it's a computer room with large cabinets standing next to the walls with lights flickering.
With her blaster raised, Eva sees three Rebels in the corner of her eye. Instantly, she pans around and shoots one in the chest. Before the others could hit her, she jumps towards the back of the computer cabinet, throwing herself against the wall and taking cover behind the computer's metal housing. She sees the sparks flying off the metal as the Rebels open fire on her. Her hands start to tremble as the sparks hit her metal boots, vanishing as they bounce off and hit the floor, but she can't give up. We must be close to the databanks. They can't be erased. We have to go now!
As Peyton takes cover behind the wall in the short corridor, she aims her rifle and hits the other two. As she hears them collapsing on the floor with a thud, Eva steps away from her cover with her rifle raised, her gunsight landing on the dead Rebels lying on the floor. This room is cleared, but she sees there's a doorway behind the Rebel bodies that leads to another, bigger room, and she sees a Rebel officer running into it, his eyes locked on her. Eva could see the panic in his eyes, and her heart starts to pound more heavily. Not because of the nervousness, but because of the pleasure, the pleasure of seeing a Rebel in panic.
''Close it!'' she hears a male Rebel cry.
Then, as Eva runs towards it with her blaster raised, the door in front of her closes with a bang. Eva nearly crashes into it as she stops in her track and slams on the door with her foot, but it doesn't open.
''Blast it!'' curses Eva, lowering her rifle. ''It's locked.''
Peyton catches up with her. ''Eva, stand back,'' her voice shivering as she gasps for air.
Eva steps away from the door and squeezes the handgrip of her blaster. Peyton then aims her rifle at the door hinges and opens fire. The blaster shots screech as they hit the metal hinges, and as Peyton fires on the two hinges one by one, she stops firing and lowers her blaster. Instantly, Eva slams the door with her foot, and it topples over away from her and deafeningly slams onto the floor, feeling the floor shake. With Peyton covering her back, Eva runs through the open doorway and with her rifle raised, she enters the adjacent room and sees a Rebel on her left, hitting him in the stomach as she pans around. Eva sees two officers sitting in chairs tapping on buttons. As soon as her gunsight lands on one, they both raise their hands.
''Don't shoot!'' cries one of them, reaching out with his trembling hands to cover his face, fearing a shot in his head.
Eva's finger hovers above the trigger, hesitating to comply. Her blaster sways as she aims it at an officer's face, his eyes and shivering voice betraying his fear and panic. She rather shoots the officer through his heart as there is no place in the galaxy for terrorists, but she knows she has orders, orders to take anyone who surrenders into custody. Her eyes then land on the blaster sitting in the officer's holster around his waist as he slowly lowers his hands. That's a DC-17 hanging in his holster.
The officers then slowly stand up from their chairs. ''We surrender. Please, don't shoot.''
Eva's heart pounds in her chest with the pleasure of seeing them afraid. This is what I've signed up for, making those Rebel scum fear for their lives they soon won't have, and she approaches the officers with her rifle raised.
''Drop them!'' she cries.
The officer nods, slowly reaching out for his DC-17 as his hands tremble, and he throws it on the floor. His colleague does the same and drops it on the floor and slides it with his brown shoes to Eva.
''Peyt,'' says Eva, shifting her head to her.
''Yeah, on it. Maybe I can revive the comm channels,'' says Peyton and she lowers her blaster and reaches out for her backpack. She takes some metal tie wraps out of it and throws it to the officers one by one. ''Get yourself handcuffed.''
The tie wraps hit the floor as the officer shifts his head down. As the Rebels reach out to the metal tie wraps and start handcuffing themselves, Peyton runs to the computer the officer was sitting at.
''Get away from the computers,'' says Eva, holding her rifle tightly.
The officers walk hastily away from the computer as they hold their handcuffed hands against their waists. Eva walks towards them and pushes them on their shoulders, making them sit on the floor.
''Yeah, keep them there,'' says Peyton, looking over her shoulder.
''What are the databanks doing?'' asks Eva as she looks over her shoulder to Peyton, slowly lowering her blaster.
''They're erasing the data,'' replies Peyton. ''I'm not sure if I can save everything,'' and she starts plugging her datapad into the computer.
Eva then shifts her head back to the Rebel officer she's standing next to. ''Otherwise, we'll get the information from you, Rebel scum.''
The officer then scoffs at her. ''You think I'm opening my mouth about what's on that computer? Forget it, I'm not going to tell you anything. You nor the Empire will get me to talk.''
''Yeah, suck my ass,'' replies Eva. The anger starts to rise in her chest as she looks at the officer, seeing hate in his eyes grow and she knows its hate towards her and the Empire. It disgusts her to see it, and she starts to feel the urge to pull the trigger. ''We'll break your mind open if we have to.''
''And you think the Empire is a utopian regime?'' scoffs the officer.
Filled with rage, Eva lowers herself to the floor, looking at the officer's face straight on. Memories of her family flash before her eyes. Her father taking her to BlasTech and guiding her around, her mother ensuring she's always prepared for school, and Eline entangling her arms around Eva to hug her. All of the memories flashing before her eyes make her rage grow as the memories of the B-Wing crashing into their house and Eline in the hospital bed with broken bones in plaster appear. Her heart pounds with rage as she looks at the officer's eyes, the eyes of a monster.
''The Empire makes every planet it touches flourish in every way. Do you think the Alliance is better? A terrorist organisation waging a war, killing citizens in the process?''
A smile then forms on the officer's face. ''That's what war is, and sadly it's a cost we have to pay,'' he says as his smile disappears, ''and we're willing to pay it for a better galaxy. All for a galaxy without an empire that enslaves its citizens to follow its agenda, brainwashes its children, and destroys peaceful worlds, killing so many in the process. It's time for the Empire to burn down.''
Filled with rage, Eva pulls off her helmet and drops it, hearing it pound on the floor and she looks at the officer with her own eyes as she tries to hold back the tears. ''You monsters killed my mother and my father and nearly my sister too. Your saddening Alliance bombed our city, killing many of the civilians you tried to prevent. You and your Rebel Alliance are nothing more but a pack of monsters!''
''Eva, Eva!''
Peyton pulls her arms up, forcing Eva to stand up.
''Calm down Eva,'' says Peyton, her helmet still on. ''This is not the time to steer off plan. Focus on the mission now, torture them later when they're in the slammer.''
Eva slows herself down as Peyton keeps her eyes locked on her. She starts taking deep breaths to slow down her heart. Eva nods as she feels herself calming down.
''Good,'' says Peyton, letting out a sigh. ''Now just keep an eye on them. I still have to save a portion of the data.''
Peyton steps away from Eva, turning her back to her as she grabs her datapad lying on the computer desk.
As Eva shifts her head away, she hears the same officer scoff again.
''Putting children in charge of the war effort,'' she says to his colleague. ''Looks like they've become so desperate to let their next generation do the work.''
''I know,'' she hears the other stutter.
Eva tries her best not to get distracted by them as the anger starts to flow back.
''They're creating their own monsters this way.''
Her heart skips a beat as Eva shifts her head to the officer, looking at his face as he's turned to his colleague.
''The Empire is such a joke, getting their kids killed like this. Their parents should be ashamed of themselves.''
Then, Eva breaks.
The officer stops talking as he falls over on the floor with a loud thud, a circle burning on the back of his head. The barrel of her blaster smokes as her hands holding it tremble. Her tears splash on the floor as her eyes ache until they couldn't hold them for much longer. With her hands shaking, Eva lowers her blaster, gasping for air as the rage boils inside her. You. Monster. This is what you get, your deserved punishment of justice. For dad, mom, Eline, and the Empire.
''What?''
In the corner of her eye, she sees Peyton looking at her with disbelief. ''Eva, what- what did you do?''
Eva struggles to explain her action, but she knows full well what she did. She executed an officer right in front of her, and he deserved it. And there's another officer in custody too, looking with terror in his eyes, his hands shaking as Eva knows he's thinking the same. No matter the fear, he thinks the same about the Empire and her parents. Her head shifts to the officer and aims her rifle at him as a question arises. Why did the Rebel Alliance attack a city, knowing full well there are citizens living in it? This is why they deserve to die.
''Rebel scum,'' hisses Eva, her voice shivering with rage.
''OK Eva, that's enough!'' cries Peyton, jumping towards her and pushing her blaster down. ''Get yourself together and act like a soldier. One of our orders was to capture anyone who surrenders and you're disobeying it and you know it!''
''Peyton, they attacked the city and killed a lot of people,'' says Eva, shifting her head to Peyton, ''and they knew they were targeting a city. I want to know why they attacked us and ki-''
''Shut up, Eva!'' exclaims Peyton, pulling off her helmet and holding it in her hand as her eyes widen in disbelief. ''We're here to raid, not to interrogate. We have clear orders from command and you heard them loud and clear, and you know we're failing the objectives if you go on like this!''
''You don't understand, Peyton!'' cries Eva. ''They took everything from us. Parents, homes, loved ones, a sister. No matter our orders, they deserve to suffer for everything they've done against us and the Empire!''
Eva raises her E-10, trembling as she directly aims it at the Rebel. Her eyes start to water as the rage and vengeance take her completely over.
''Eva, be a soldier for a minute or two!'' cries Peyton.
Her blaster shakes as Eva tightens on the trigger, ready to blast your head off if you don't answer my questions.
Then, a ray of light flashes in the corner of Eva's eyes as a deafening blast echoes through the room. She gasps as she knows she didn't pull the trigger, and then her heart sinks in her chest as she sees Peyton slamming onto the floor, her lifeless body lying sideways on the floor with a smoking burn mark on her shoulder.
Then, Eva hears another blast echoing through the room. Her legs burn with pain and she tumbles and drops to her knees. Eva groans as she drops to her knees and slams on the floor with her chest, hearing her blaster clatter on the floor as it slips out of her hands. She tries to get up from the floor but she feels her body shutting down, feeling her muscles numb. Eva puts all of her power in her muscles and with pain, she manages to push herself around onto her back, staring at the ceiling.
Reaching out for her leg, Eva sees a burn mark smoking. Touching the armour on top of her leg, she feels it stinging as she grits her teeth, and she realizes she's been hit. Then, as she shifts her eyes, she sees Peyton still lying on the floor. Eva stares at her lifeless body lying sideways on the floor, her arms spread and her cheek resting on the metal. Eva's heart starts to pound with anxiety, starting to fear the worst had happened.
No. Peyton is dead. No…
Tears start to form in Eva's eyes as she hears footsteps on the metal floor growing louder, and in the corner of her eye, she sees a silhouette walking into view. Her heart sinks as she recognizes the silhouette. The black armour, the grey stripes on the dark helmet with a green visor, shaped like one of an older Stormtrooper helmet model, and a grey symbol with two wings on the shoulder. It's the spy from the BlasTech facility, the very person she saw killing Stormtroopers and holding her at gunpoint in the storage room. It's him.
With her mouth drying up, Eva crawls backwards, away from the spy as he keeps approaching him. Eva pants as her mind floods with thoughts. What will he do? What will happen to me? Will I be captured by him and the Rebels? Am I going to die? Did Peyton die?
Her back bumps against a wall and she presses her helmet hard against it. Her eyes tear up as the spy lowers himself to the floor with his knees on the metal towards her, keeping his eyes behind his green visor locked on her. The spy then pulls out a knife and Eva startles as he keeps it below her chin. The metal blade vibrates as she shifts her head up, recognizing it to be a vibro-knife, a deadly weapon designed to slash an enemy in bits with ease.
Her head trembles as her watery eyes are locked on the vibro-knife, the blade vibrating so much that it's nearly invisible. Her tears drop on her metal chest plate as she shifts her eyes to the spy's visor, trying to deduce what his next step will be. Will he slice off my head as a trophy? Will he slash my throat or pierce my chest? Her mind races with her possible causes of death as anxiety is now fully in motion.
''Kid,'' says the spy, his voxscrambler toning down his voice.
Eva trembles as she looks at the spy, her throat drying up as she swallows heavily. The spy's voxscrambler changes his voice so much that he sounds like a monster of the shadows of the Rebel Alliance and her heart pounds in her chest.
''Consider this a lesson, my child,'' says the spy, still holding the blade under her chin. ''Joining the military has become your biggest mistake.''
He moves his vibro-knife further to Eva's chin, now barely inches away from slashing her skin. She can feel the blade's vibration through the air as the spy bends towards her, his helmet now nearly touching her face.
''The Rebellion will burn down your Empire and the New Order,'' says the spy, ''and you'll learn the futility of your allegiance to the Imperial system. Security and order will burn down to make way for peace and freedom.''
Please. Please don't. Through her anxiety, Eva feels disgusted as she hears freedom and peace said by a Rebel. Peace always existed before you guys showed up, and freedom is a joke. Peace only exists because we sacrifice freedom for security and order, and it has always been working right from the start.
Then, the spy moves his blade and Eva gasps and closes her eyes, fearing her throat had just been slashed open. Then she realizes he didn't slash her throat. Instantly, thinking she would feel the blood spewing out of her, she opens her eyes and sees the vibro-knife stuck in the floor between the legs of the captured, Rebel officer, his tie wraps still keeping his hands tightly together. The Rebel grabs the blade with one hand and frees himself, cutting through the metal tie wraps.
''Kid.''
Eva shifts her eyes to the spy, gasping for air as her head trembles.
''This is not your fight.''
In a flash, the spy grabs his blaster, charges it up, and before Eva could blink her eyes, he puts the barrel on her forehead. Eva gasps for air as she feels the cold barrel hit her forehead, and before she could process what happened, a blue light flashes in her eyes and a stinging pain goes from her head through her spine. She feels her eyelids become heavy, her muscles cramp, her heart skip a beat, and Eva falls sideways onto the floor, the side of her helmet slamming onto the metal.
Her eyelids close as her body shuts down. Eva's mind gets empty as she's unable to think, but through her eyelashes, she could see the last frames before she shut down, the spy holding Peyton's datapad in his hand and tapping relentlessly, and then everything went black as her mind shut down.