''I'll let you alone.''
The voice of the coroner subsides as he walks out of the room and everything goes quiet. Eva doesn't let out a word. She stands silently in the middle of the coroner's room, staring at two trolleys with two, white body bags. One has a white circle with an arrow pointing northeast imprinted, and the other one has a white circle with a cross below it.
She opens her hand and holds the two wedding necklaces of her parents. She expected them to shine as always, but she sees that both necklaces are completely grey, covered in dust. Eva can't believe both her parents died. Her mother died as a result of the B-Wing crash. The Imperial Army responded to the crash but was too late to save her and too late to arrest the Rebel pilot. Her father's death is a mystery. All that the coroner knew and told Eva is that his body was found at the BlasTech Facility. Eva saw their bodies in the bags, but even then she can't believe they are gone. It feels too surreal, too fake, too fabricated, as if everything is a dream as if this day never happened. The disbelief clouds her mind, unable to process it.
''Ms Eva?''
She doesn't answer, staring at the body bags.
''You can visit her now.''
Walking behind him, Eva follows the doctor through the grey, sterile corridors to another hospital wing. Walking through the corridors, she feels absent from her surroundings. The corridor feels cold and completely devoid of anything else. Personnel slowly start to emerge from doors to aid the wounded, rushing from room to room, wing to wing. Even when she bumps into one as they run past her, Eva feels nothing but numbness. Her mind is still unable to comprehend what happened. Her eyes are focused on the white shoes of the doctor as she follows him to a quiet hospital room. As she enters the room, the sunlight entering through the large windows interrupts her endless stare at the floor and she sees a young girl in a hospital bed. It's Eline, covered with a blanket, her right leg hung up and her left arm both covered in bandage. A transparent oxygen mask is strapped around her mouth, a pair of tubes is going into her nose, and her eyes are shut. The bandage covers the blisters she has on her head.
The doctor stands next to her, his white, sterile clothing reflecting the light of the sun entering the room through the windows. Massive clouds of smoke can be seen through the window, rising from the city blocks and beyond. TIE Fighters pierce through the smoke clouds, keeping an eye on the ground and the air.
The doctor shifts his head towards Eva as she keeps gazing at Eline's unconscious body.
''Ms Eva, your sister will make a full recovery,'' he assures her, but Eva can hear the doubt in his voice as she gazes at Eline.
As the doctor walks out of the room, his faint footsteps subsiding as he leaves her behind, Eva slowly approaches her sister with her eyes locked on her. The room is completely quiet. All she can hear is the beeping of the heart rate monitor, the faint whirring of the life-support systems, and her own breathing. There's a chair next to Eline's bed, and Eva sits down and leans with her elbows on the bed's metal railing. Seeing Eline's pale hand, Eva reaches out and holds it tightly. Eline's hand is cold and unresponsive. Eva feels nothing as she stares at Eline's unconscious body. Her mind is so clouded with confusion that she still can't process the situation.
Eva then carefully placed her head sideways onto the blanket on Eline's uninjured leg. She tries to feel the warmth Eline always gave her when she was present, but now it feels stone cold. Then, the situation starts to be processed in her mind. The death of her parents, her house in rubble, Eline in a coma, and even the inner warmth her younger sister always gave to Eva is gone. Tears start forming as her heart slowly starts to sink into her chest. Her heart starts to pound in her chest and she starts to breathe more heavily, and then Eva bursts into tears. She cries as loud as she can. Her cries echo through the corridors of the hospital.
Feeling nothing but ice, Eva keeps her head on Eline's leg as her tears roll over her cheeks. Her eyes ache as her tears are absorbed by the blanket. Her throat hurts as she swallows heavily, feeling horrible for the loss of her parents and the injury of her little sister. She knew they were a danger, but Eva never thought the Rebels would get this close to her. In a second she asked Oliva to come and help her with her failed geology assignment and the next she has become an orphan. It went so fast that Eva couldn't comprehend it. Now that the dust has settled, she can feel her entire body aching as all of her energy goes into crying.
Then, she feels a warm hand on her shoulder.
''Eva,'' she hears.
Eva shifts her head around and sees Oliva standing next to her in a desert-yellow jacket with the Imperial insignia shimmering on her chest. As Oliva grabs a nearby chair and shoves it towards Eva, she keeps her head on Eline's blanket and wipes off the tears with her hands, her eyes aching from the crying. Oliva shoves the chair towards her and sits down.
''I-, I'm sorry,'' stammers Oliva, the pity reflected in her eyes.
Eva doesn't answer as she stares at Oliva, and then shifts her eyes to the blanket, not feeling like she should respond.
Oliva swallows heavily. ''How is she?'' she asks.
Eva lets out a sigh and shifts her head around to Eline. Her eyes land on her sister's chest expanding a little as she breathes through the tight oxygen mask. Eva can hear her breathing through the mask, sounding calm, but frail and desperate nonetheless. Then, Eva responds.
''Broken leg, broken ribs, fractured arm, concussion, head wounds, blood shortage, and respiratory problems,'' her faint voice trembling, nearly above a whisper.
Oliva nods, understanding what Eva means, and she can hear the pain in her voice.
''Will she recover?'' she asks.
Eva stays quiet for a bit, and she lets out a trembling sigh. The doubt the doctor had in his voice shakes her. Not knowing what Eline's fate will be feels like a heavy weight on her chest, and she struggles to breathe. She has no idea whether she'll be OK, and it scares her. So will she recover?
''I don't know,'' responds Eva.
Oliva nods. ''It's a miracle she survived.''
Eva's eyes are locked on Eline's shut eyelids. Her eyebrows are still full of dust from the ceiling that collapsed onto her when the B-Wing charged through the house. Eva can't imagine what Eline saw in the last moments before her body shut down. The deafening roar of the engines, the bang of the crash, the sparkling flames, the tingling glass shards, the rumbling noise of the structure collapsing… Eline must've heard those before the house fell on her, but Eva doesn't know. She only saw Eline after she dug her little sister out of the rubble after the crash.
Eva lets out a sigh. ''She could've been dead,'' she says, shivering and she shifts her head around and makes eye contact with Oliva. ''I lost mom and dad, my house, and almost her.''
Oliva looks away to gaze through the window, trying to think about how to respond, but she realizes there's no way.
Eva lifts her head up, her cheeks cold from Eline's stone-cold leg, the usual warmth completely absent. ''Oliva,'' she stammers, her voice shivering. ''I don't know what to do.''
Oliva shifts her head back and swallows heavily. ''How much in rubble is your home?''
Eva lets out a sigh. Her home was a grey house she lived at since her birth with the olive-green crops swaying in the breeze around it. Her bed was comfortable to sleep in, and her blue bedsheets always isolated her from the cold when the thermostat turned itself down to save electricity. Building the treehouse behind her home with Eline and her dad was a fond memory. It was hard to punch the nails into the wood, but its construction remained for a year. Now, both homes are nothing but rubble, completely flattened by the Rebel B-Wing that charged through it. A history that was rich to her is now gone, and Eva feels the tears dwell in her eyes, seeing the B-Wing crash happening again in front of her eyes.
''My house-,'' Eva stutters, ''it's gone. It's nothing but rubble now.''
Oliva slowly nods, her breathing shivering a little. ''So you-, you have nowhere to sleep. I'm so sorry.''
Eva shifts her eyes to the windows, seeing the clouds of smoke still rising into the sky, and she starts to think about the future. I have no parents, no home, no place to stay. I'd have to go to the orphanage, and Eva starts imagining the crowded alleys of one of Vaulent Capital's orphanages, crowded with new orphans. She is probably by far not the only one who lost their parents, but imagining the crowded alleys makes her feel nervous to join the orphanage. Eva feels discouraged to go there as she imagines the crowded alleys.
''I'd have to go-, to the orphanage,'' stammers Eva, ''but I don't want to.''
Oliva gazes at Eva. ''You-, you could stay with us.''
Eva shifts her eyes to Oliva.
''With me and Lu. We can set up an extra bed for you.''
Eva's eyes still ache a little from the crying as she makes eye contact with Oliva. Through her turmoil, she feels a little happy that her friend offers her a place to stay, a place to sleep. She feels grateful to have such an amazing friend like Oliva on her side, but as she shifts her head back to Eline, Eva rather refrains from going with her friend. Seeing Eline's closed eyes, sleeping in her unconsciousness, Eva rather stays with her little sister. She can feel the tears welling up as Eva gazes at Eline. I-, I can't leave her behind. No, I just can't.
''I'd rather stay with her,'' says Eva, her voice trembling.
Oliva nods and swallows heavily. ''I understand you want to stay with her, but there won't be a bed for you to sleep in here.''
Eva shifts her head around to Oliva, and for a moment, frustration starts building up in her chest. ''Oliva, I-, I have to stay with my sister. I can't leave her alone.''
''You're not the only one here,'' replies Oliva. ''There are others here who need a bed to sleep in more than you.''
Eva gazes at Oliva, the frustration rising in her chest, but it quickly dies down. There are others here who need a bed to sleep in more than you. A city was attacked, and many people have been wounded. Oliva's right, I can't stay here. With pain in her heart, she slowly accepts the fact she has to leave Eline alone in a strange hospital room she's far from familiar with, and slowly, she leaves her sister behind.
''We'll just move this out of the way and get that cleared up.''
Lu moves a drawer out of Oliva's bedroom, and in an instant, they set up an extra bed for Eva to sleep in for the unforeseen future.
''If you need anything, Eva, you can ask me or Oliva,'' says Lu.
Eva nods. Despite the hospitality, she is still left with an incurable mix of sadness and fear.
That night, Eva tries to sleep, but she can't. Whenever she closes her eyes, she sees her parents. Her father in the BlasTech facility, guiding Eva through the assembly lines, her mother getting her prepped for school each day, and Eline keeping her up and running. She tries to think of something else, but whatever she does, she keeps thinking about them.
In the bathroom, in the pyjamas she got from Oliva, she takes a sip from a cup of cold tap water. Maybe hydrating herself will make her sleep better. As she takes a third sip of the water, she looks out of the window in the bathroom and she sees something. She shoves away the curtains that cover it and it gives her a view of the outside street. On a building adjacent to the apartment she sees a red poster lit by one light. On it is the white symbol of the Empire imprinted, with below some small text she can't read. The symbol makes her recall a memory of Eline sitting next to her in the tree house, her head tilting up, looking at her with her blue, innocent eyes, and telling her to follow her heart.
The Rebel Alliance killed my parents and put Eline into a coma. I can't let them go away with it. It's not what dad and mom wanted, but it's something my heart tells me, and it's the best choice.
''It's a nightmare we've seen too much in the last couple of years: a city in rubble, streets on fire, buildings levelled to the ground, hospitals filled with patients, and cemeteries cashing in.''
The next morning, Eva walks into the room with Oliva and Lu sitting at the dining table in the living room eating breakfast with the television on. The living room is a bit larger than her farmhouse, with a more urban style. As Eva steps into the room, she's noticed.
''Hi Eva,'' greets Oliva.
Eva sits down at the dining table too. Lu gives her a plate and some bread to smear some butter on.
''How did you sleep?'' ask Lu as she pours in a glass.
''Fine,'' answers Eva, her voice nearly monotone.
As Lu is finished pouring a glass for her, Eva looks at the television and listens closely.
''The Rebel Alliance has been intensifying its air raids on Imperial worlds exponentially.''
The news broadcast on the television shows a reporter of the Imperial HoloVision making his way through the piles of debris on the roads of the city.
''Yesterday this happened in and around Vaulent Capital, the main city on the moon Vaulent 6 in the Gorathion-system. I'm making my way through Overbrook Road and as you can see it is like a speeder graveyard. People were too scared to drive on and just abandoned their speeders and ran into nearby buildings, such as a group who ran into a supermarket, and that was before a pair of X-Wings bombed them.''
Eva sees the camera panning to an enormous pile of rubble with a group of rescue workers in red clothing traversing the debris.
''Here stood a supermarket two days ago, and yesterday around 60 people took shelter here and now it's just-, it's just gone.''
Eva hears the reporter's disbelief in his voice, and it makes her anxious.
''The emergency responders are still taking survivors out of the debris, like an hour ago when they rescued a 7-year-old boy. Sadly that was not the case with many others who didn't survive the Rebel air raid. Hospitals have counted at least 15.000 wounded people and 3.000 casualties.''
The footage of the destruction makes Eva want to do something, and it pushes the decision she made yesterday night when she couldn't sleep, and she wants to address it to Lu and Oliva, but she doesn't know how. She knows mom and dad didn't love it and when she discussed it with them during dinner it became heated. Not knowing how to start she slowly turns her head to the other side.
''Don't you think we should do something about it?'' asks Eva a bit stuttery.
Oliva looks up. ''About what? That?'' she asks and points to the television footage.
Eva slowly nods. Going in slowly might be a good way to address it.
''I don't know,'' shrugs Oliva.
''Well, Eva, we're civilians, we can't do anything about that,'' answers Lu.
Eva then realizes it isn't worth talking around it and then at some point attempts to address what it's all about. It's not working.
''So, I made a decision,'' stutters Eva. Her heart pounds in her throat. ''I'm going to join the military.''
Silence falls with disbelief as Lu shifts her head to her in an instant. Eva sees the despise in her eyes as Lu tenses her lips.
''Become a Stormtrooper?'' she asks.
''Yeah,'' Eva stammers. ''I want to join them,'' and then from nervousness, she goes into silent rage. ''I want to kick the Rebel Alliance so hard they can't get up.''
Lu lets out a sigh of frustration, trying to convince Eva otherwise.
''Eva, you can't join them,'' she says. ''Remember the story about my father I told you?''
Eva thinks and then she remembers it. She genuinely forgot about it until now.They had to face the enemy directly, Eva remembers, and they started to siege the city, but before they came even close to the city border, the division was slaughtered by Separatist forces, and mowed down until the soldiers had no limbs anymore. My father barely survived, leaving him the only survivor of the siege as his entire division was obliterated within days. Coming back, he was a changed man, afraid of everything.
When Lu told her the story, it remained in her mind for all the wrong reasons. Eva then started to believe in it after the incursion on the BlasTech facility and the moment her father told her about the glorification and the exaggeration in the conscription calls, but now it's completely different. Eva lost her father, her mother, her home, and almost her little sister. Lu, you can suffocate on that story.
''Lu, they killed my parents and they injured Eline,'' says Eva, enraged, her hands clenched. ''I can't let them go. The Rebel scum did horrible things!''
''Eva, it's not up to us to punish them. You can lose everything you have.''
''I've already lost half of what I have.''
''You have more to-.''
''I don't care. I've made my decision. I'm going to enlist myself today.''
''Eva, you don't know what you're starting on when you do that. Please listen to me, don't enlist, it's seriously bad for you.''
''It's worse to let the Rebel Alliance do this. I've decided, I'll be joining the Army.''
After that, Eva stands up and storms to her shared bedroom.
''Eva,'' she hears Lu saying, but Eva walks on and shuts the door.
If Lu doesn't let me, I'll let myself do it. I know better than her. I won't allow the Rebel Alliance to go unpunished. They killed my parents and injured Eline. I have to do something for them. I have to fight for them.
Eva takes on her school uniform, the only clothing she still possesses. The rest lie below the rubble. She puts on her grey, white-striped jacket with the white Imperial insignia on the chest and a black tie, grey jeans, white socks, and grey shoes with black laces. Even though it's her school uniform, wearing it makes her more determined.
She grabs her parent's wedding necklace and looks at it for a second.
''This is for you, mom, dad Eline,'' she whispers, and she puts both necklaces around her neck and grabs her school bag and walks out of the room.
As she's about to leave the home through the front door, she's confronted by Lu who's holding the door shut.
''Eva, please reconsider it,'' says Lu.
Eva sees the worries in Lu's eyes.
''Lu, I know your advice is genuine, but I've decided,'' says Eva urgently, yet not angry. ''I want to do this.''
Lu sighs. Then she puts a hand on Eva's shoulder.
''Then please remember this,'' says Lu. ''Don't lose yourself, it is easy to do.''
Eva is silent. Then she nods. Lu walks away from the door and opens the door for her. Then as she exits the front door she steps onto the street. It is windy as usual, yet it feels different. She crosses the street.
''Eva,'' she hears.
Eva turns around and sees Oliva caught up with her.
''I get what you're doing,'' says Oliva a bit stuttering. ''I understand it. I wouldn't do it myself but I understand why you would.''
Eva smiles a bit. She's happy that Oliva accepts her decision, something others aside from Eline never did.
''Please stay alive,'' says Oliva.
''Don't worry about me, I'll make sure I stay alive,'' says Eva with a smile, and they hug each other.
As she walks through the street, Eva finds a red poster with the white Imperial symbol hanging on the wall of a closed shop. She approaches it and reads the text.
Join the Imperial Military now, and fight for society's golden era of prosperity, peace and security!
Enlist at Uxrow Avenue 66.
Uxrow Avenue, that's the road where an office building of Sienar Fleet Systems is in the financial district of Vaulent Capital. It's the corporation best known for developing the Navy's and the Army Air Corps' TIE starfighters. The corporation has one of its many office buildings located here on Vaulent 6 in the financial district, and it's also where the conscription office is at. It might be closed though due to the Rebel attack of yesterday, but visiting it is still worth a try.
As she walks towards Uxrow Avenue, she sees the damage the Rebel Alliance inflicted on Vaulent Capital. Garbage trucks loading debris from collapsed and damaged buildings, an electricity company restoring transformers, an aid organisation setting up tents for the citizens who got homeless, and rescue units searching for people buried in the debris with sniffer dogs.
What she sees makes her feel more urgent to join the military to defend Vaulent 6 and to bring the Rebel Alliance to justice for the death of her parents. For the other, it is horrifying, for Eva the dust of the attack is motivating.
She arrives at Uxrow Avenue 66. It's a tall building, largely undamaged from the attack except for some broken windows with the large logo of Sienar Fleet Systems on the highest floor still intact. Eva looks through the glass door, and as she expected, the conscription office is closed, but she sees there are some crates in the waiting room. Seems like people have been here. Maybe the door is open.
Eva pushes the door open and enters the office. It is largely empty except for a couple of crates in the waiting room stacked on top of each other. The lights are off, and it is as quiet as the coroner's room. At the end of the waiting room are three empty booths. Eva approaches the central booth. At the back of the booth is a doorway that gives Eva a clear view of the administrative room behind the booths, and it's empty too.
''Hello?'' asks Eva.
After a few seconds, an Imperial officer with a grey cap and grey suit walks into the booth. Eva sees the officer is wearing a rank plaque of lieutenant.
''Hey kid,'' greets the officer, strict but friendly.
''Hi,'' stutters Eva a bit. Even though he sounds friendly, she gets a bit nervous. The officer is still ranked.
''I want to enlist myself,'' she stutters.
The officer sighs. ''The conscription office is closed,'' he says. ''We only accept packages from the Imperial Relief Network.''
The Relief Network is an Imperial aid organisation intended to help citizens in need in war-ravaged Imperial worlds and cities, like Vaulent Capital.
''Also, I need permission from your parents,'' explains the officer. ''Where are your parents?''
Eva swallows nervously, and she doesn't answer. It is too painful to answer his question. The officer then understands the ordeal.
''I'm sorry for your loss,'' says the officer. ''My condolences,''
Eva nods. ''I still want to enlist myself. When can I?'' she asks.
''As long as the city is dependent on outside aid, all conscription offices are closed.''
Eva is getting frustrated and her hands start to tremble.
''That could take weeks. Can't you just get me on the list?''
''Did you hear me, kid? We're clo-''
''My parents are dead. I'm not going away until I'm on the list. I can't wait for weeks until it's open.''
''Kid, I think it is better for you to go to the orpha-.''
''NO. All I'm here for is the conscription,'' she cries, and her eyes start to get watery. ''I'll set up a camp here if I have to.''
The officer then sighs. An officer is not stupid enough to kick out a girl who lost her parents.
''Alright kid, I'll see what I can do, but if I can't do anything for you, then it stops, OK?''
''Yes sir,'' answers Eva.
She's not recruited yet and she already acts like a cadet.
The officer shoves the computer standing on the desk a bit towards him and its screen lights up.
''Full name?'' asks the officer, looking at her.
''Eva Young.''
The officer looks down to his computer and starts tapping on the keyboard.
Finally, I'm being heard, thinks Eva.
''Take a seat in the waiting room, and I'll get to you when I have information,'' he says.
Eva nods.
She lies on the couch in the waiting room as the hours pass, thinking about the whole ordeal. I don't care how long I have to wait or where to sleep. I'm not going away until I'm enlisted.
As the sun falls and the ravaged city plummets into the night, the conscription officer puts on his jacket and grabs his working bag, preparing to leave as his job for today is over. As he walks through the room towards the front door, his eyes land on the girl, lying with her side on the couch and her eyes shut. He wants to walk on, but he knows he can't just leave the girl alone, so he walks back.
He comes back with a blanket and puts it carefully around the girl, not trying to wake her up, and puts a cup of water next to the couch on the cold floor. The Rebel air raid seriously dealt a punch to the newer generation, and it makes the conscription officer afraid of all the other kids in the city who are without the parents they need. With this thought in his mind, he opens the door and leaves the conscription office behind.