IE I: SCOUTS

VAULENT 6, GORATHION-SYSTEM

"Look, mom!"

Eva took the tray of fuming cookies out of the oven and held it in the air like a trophy. Eline stood next to her and spun a little. She was five and Eva seven when she held it in her hands with thick gloves isolating her from the hot tray. Mom walked towards her, breaking through the rays of sunlight that shone through the kitchen windows, and she looked at the fuming cookies with a hum.

"Honey, they look beautiful!'' Mom said with a sparkling smile.

Eva giggled. She put the tray on the counter to let them cool, and as the white vapour clouds rose in the air and were sucked in by the ventilation shaft, Eva looked in awe at the cookies she made. With a metal mould, Eva shaped the sticky dough into perfect, circular pats. With some help, Eline painted the figurines of Stormtroopers on the pats. They were sloppy, but it didn't matter. Precision was out of the equation.

When she shoved one in her mouth, Eva felt like her taste buds were overloading with happiness. That feeling became stronger when the evening drew closer to midnight when Vaulent 6 celebrated a full solar rotation. Dad remarked the chocolate tasted too sweet but he took them anyways. Eva and Eline made them, so he felt grateful to take them with a smile. Though he had something to say about the taste, he understood that precision didn't matter. A shaky arm wasn't bad.

That's all different now. Precision now draws the line between life and death. One misstep and another body is to be recovered from the battlefield, stacked on a pile of many other bodies the war has already, viciously claimed. Precision now matters.

Eva tightens her grip around her blaster. The memories of that day flash back like lightning. Looking down at the floor, her hands enclave the blaster's handgrips, and they feel the same as the tray's steel handlebars when she held it six years ago. Cold, tough, and heavy. It contrasts the burning nerves and Eva takes a deep breath to keep them under control. It's early in the morning, but her nerves allow no yawn to form.

Eva looks up and glances around. Sitting next to her is the Tech Goddess, Peyton, gazing at the bright screen of her datapad, jabbing and scrolling captivated. Ashara, on the other side of the cabin, whispers in Pantoran words softly, counting the medspikes in her backpack. Her golden facial tattoos on her blue skin shimmer a little as her lips move gently. Eva shifts her eyes to Ecklund sitting next to Ashara, checking her Firepuncher sniper rifle. Its hefty barrel is polished to the brim, hiding its old cracks. No one can tell the weapon is a veteran of the Clone Wars. Eva's eyes are immediately drawn to the twinkles on Ecklund's round glasses, shining like two stars. The quiet girl still hasn't said a word since yesterday evening.

The mission of today isn't different. It's the same as the previous two, but they both share a common danger: Rebel scum. They're not just underground terrorists anymore. Over the years, they've become formidable soldiers with experience and deadly blaster weapons. They get tougher to destroy and it fuels her nervousness. Even when she has already pulled off crazy acts that almost cost her life, the nerves burn nonetheless. Eva presses her hand against the cold bench and tries to escape from the heat, until it draws closer to Peyton's hand and touches it. Peyton looks up from her datapad and a smile forms on her face as she makes eye contact with her.

"Nervous?" Peyton asks.

Eva nods and a thin smile forms on her face.

"Just nervous about what we could stumble upon," she replies.

Peyton nods. "It'll be fine," and she grasps and holds Eva's hand. "You're with me in the team."

Eva smirks. "Sooo, can't get any worse, can it?"

Peyton chuckles and she shakes her head with a smile. "I guess not."

Eva chuckles and nods a little. "You're not bad, Peyt. I'm happy to be with you."

She tightens her grasp on Peyton's hand, feeling happy to feel the warmth of assurance. The last time they were in a team together was before everything went wrong, when the Spy invaded her life with violence and unmasked itself as the person she's known all her life. It's been months ago when Eva put the barrel on Lu's face, when her fury burned the hottest it could. The ashes it left behind still remain, and Eva can still feel the scars her fight with Lu left behind. Everything that happened gave her another view on the war, but also more strength to fight, and she smiles.

"Let's kick their ass," Eva responds.

Peyton nods.

Suddenly, the cabin door swishes open. Roslin steps out, holding her helmet below her arm with a piece of gum being chewed on in her jaws. The shine of authority never wears off in her commander's eyes and Eva feels the atmosphere changing.

"We're almost there,'' says Roslin, and puts her helmet on her head. ''Get yourself ready.''

With a nod, Eva sweeps the helmet lying on the bench next to her onto her head. Her eyes disappear behind the pitch-black visor and her hair is covered by the plastoid armour. Slowly, her heart starts speeding up until it races in her chest, unable to calm down.

"Form up," Roslin orders.

Eva stands up, grasps her blaster, and gets in line with the rest of her squad; Roslin and Ashara at the front, Peyton and her in the middle, and Ecklund at the back. She gazes at the cabin door ahead of her, ready to sprint out of it when it swings open.

"Peyton, you know the plan?" Roslin asks, tilting her head up.

"Yes, commander," Peyton replies. "Eva and I clear Sector C. So, nothing too fancy. Just sweep it and clean it."

Roslin nods. "Exactly. Now let's put words into deeds."

"Yes sir," Peyton replies.

The troop transporter comes to a halt and Eva feels her weight shifting forward. Lights flash red on the ceiling and a whirring sound fills the cabin. She clenches the grips of her E-10 in her hands until her hands ache. The cabin door swings open, pounding on the tarmac and Eva storms out of the cabin. She runs onto the street pavement, following her commander in front of her. Stormtroopers run out of another troop transporter, hurdling their way towards a vacant mid-rise office building in the middle of Vaulent Capital. The buildings of the city draw long shadows as the sun rises into the sky, burning in her back as Eva runs towards the front door of the office block. The front door is wide open, blasted out of its hinges as the first troopers vanish into the building. Eva hurdles past morning commuters, nailed to the ground by the sudden invasion of security forces. She follows her squad through the door and enters the building, immediately stepping into a hallway, dimly lit by rows of ceiling lights.

Roslin turns around and points to another corridor. "Peyton, that way!"

"Copy," Peyton responds. "Eva, on me!"

Peyton passes her and Eva continues to follow her through a corridor, splitting off from the rest of the squad. The pair raise their blasters and their boots pound on the ceramic floor plates on the same rhythm as her racing heart. The ceiling lights cast the corridor in a dim, white-yellow light and behind her, she hears screeches of blasterfire, muffled and far away. The shots don't make fear run through her veins; she's grown used to hearing blasters firing with death coming soon after. What does make fear rush through her, however, is what Eva gets to stumble upon. An insurgent taking her with the blast, a Twi'lek operative blowing up the support structure - out of experience, she knows the Rebels are more capable than what meets the eye. Despite the nervousness, the grown competence of the Rebels makes her feel all the more determined to prove them wrong.

They stumble upon a shut blast door in the middle of the corridor. It's undoubtedly hiding something, and Eva slams the button with her elbow, but it won't open.

"Peyt, it's locked," she says, glancing at her.

Peyton nods, lowers herself to the floor and drops her backpack. "On it."

"How long will it take?"

"Shorter than blinking your eyes," Peyton responds, zipping her backpack open and she glances up. "Set your stopwatch."

Eva smirks.

Peyton grasps her datapad and starts hacking the lock of the blast door. The screen's bright digits are reflected on her helmet as the Tech Goddess slices through the lock's firewall until she looks up at Eva.

"And?" Eva asks.

Peyton remains silent until her screen flashes brightly blue.

"Done," Peyton smirks.

The blast door screeches open and disappears into the wall. Once again, there's nothing the Tech Goddess cannot break in the digital realm. Great job, Peyt.

Eva enters through the opened blast door with her blaster raised, and Peyton follows and covers her back. Glancing around, Eva sees at the end of the hallway a doorway to a large chamber. It's dimly lit and she can see the orange sky through the roof windows. Suddenly, her eyes draw to a Rebel insurgent walking into view. Her heart skips a beat and the pair split up, hurdling to both sides of the doorway to take cover, hiding from the Rebel. She holds her blaster tightly against her body, trying to make her as small as possible. Her heart pounds in her chest as amidst the beats, a voice suddenly turns up.

"Get those packed!" one shouts. "We don't have long."

Packed? What are you packing?

"Did anyone pass through Corridor 7?"

"No," responds another voice. "The Imps are in Sector E."

"Good. Keep them boxed in there."

Keep them boxed in?

It becomes clear to Eva it's strategy, deliberate; intensify the heat on one side of the building to draw Imperial reinforcement away from the important areas. The Rebels throw every man they got into the pit of hell and ensure the monsters bite, distracting them from whatever they're packing before they vanish. Intel, armament, contacts, fugitives, hope… They should be stopped.

The footsteps of the Rebel slowly fade away. He seems to have walked away, and Eva shifts her head to Peyton, hiding behind the doorway on the other side. She nods, gesturing to take action before those Rebel scum set off with whatever they're packing. They still have the element of surprise and they have to use it while they can. On Peyton's belt, Eva sees a thermal detonator hanging from her waist. She taps on her own waist at the same position as Peyton's grenade, signalling that she has to use it. The element of surprise and chaos can work perfectly together. Eva can take them by surprise while the blast shakes them off of their feet. It can work.

Peyton notices her hand gestures and looks down at her waist, and nods. With slightly shaking hands, Peyton grasps it, puts her finger on the trigger, pushes it, and throws it into the chamber. She can hear the metal ball rolling over the floor and hitting a doorstep. Its faint beeps echo into the hallway and Eva closes her eyes.

"Hey, Virnox," one voice shouts, "the hell's that? Check the ammo box!"

Before the other Rebel can answer, a screech pierces through the air. The sudden flash is followed by a shockwave shaking the floor, shuddering it with terror. A man screams at the top of his lungs with agony as ceiling plates clatter on the floor. Eva opens her eyes as a cloud of smoke rushes past her into the hallway. She glances at Peyton. The girl nods, and Eva clenches her blaster and turns away from the corner, raising her blaster and running into the chamber.

As she steps around a gaping gap in the floor, Eva's eyes land on a Rebel soldier, lying on the ground and reaching for his legs. Or where his legs used to be. Without thought, Eva immediately hits him in the face with a screech. His head drops with a thud on the floor while Peyton makes her way, covering the right side of the chamber while Eva covers the left.

In the corner of her eye, Eva sees the silhouette of a Rebel traversing the thick smoke, trying to get away from the chaos. She raises her blaster and hits the figure in the leg. He drops to his knees, but before Eva can shoot him to death, another figure emerges from the smoke and he raises his A280 at her. Eva jumps to a steel truss pillar and crashes with her back into it as the blaster bolts shriek past her. Some hit the pillar and erupt in sparks. Feeling the impact of the blaster bolts through the steel, Eva takes a big gasp of air, clenches her hand, and moves around the pillar. Within a second, Eva's gunsight lands on the Rebel, fires, and hits him in the chest. She hits the other Rebel in the shoulder and he falls to the floor with a scream. Two more Rebel traitors dead.

"Take it!"

A man's shivering voice echoes through the chamber with panic, and as Eva leaps away from the pillar, she notices three dark silhouettes moving through the smoke away from her. They're trying to escape, heading for a narrow corridor, and through the smoke, Eva notices they're holding something in their hands. They have something they're escaping with. She has no doubt it's valuable. It must be. Any good mind would leave behind the useless scrap in a warzone, unless it's so valuable that the Rebel Alliance depends on it. She knows they can't escape.

Eva raises her blaster, trying to stop them, but a blaster shot shrieks past her and she shakes, leaping away to another pillar. She crashes into it, taking cover and bumps into the side of Peyton, taking cover here as well.

She turns to her.

"Peyt, they have something and they're getting away!" Eva shouts.

Peyton nods. "Go after them, I'll cover you!"

In an instant, Peyton turns around the pillar and opens fire, letting a rain of fire hurdling towards the remaining Rebels. Eva leaps away from her cover and runs towards the narrow corridor the three silhouettes escaped through. While Peyton distracts the other Rebels in the chamber, Eva runs into the corridor, stumbles through the doorway, and follows the three. She raises her blaster but she's unable to aim while running. She knows she can't stop to aim. She'd lose them. So, Eva runs on, trying to track them until they stumble into a perfect window of time. She chases the three into a staircase, climbs, and enters the highest floor of the office building. Her lungs burn with agony as she's almost unable to catch up with her breath, but she can't stop. Rebels are Rebels. They're scum. They deserve to die no matter what, and Eva's lust for Rebel blood never runs dry.

Chasing them, Eva raises her blaster again, a second attempt at hitting them. As her swaying gunsight lands on the back of a Rebel, she opens fire, but she misses and instead, hits the ceiling. One Rebel stops in his track, turns around, raises his A280 and before she can take cover, she's hit in the shoulder. Eva flies backwards with a scream and crashes into the floor. A shockwave rushes through her body and Eva groans, feeling her shoulder burn like flames. The pain makes her lungs gasp for air quicker than she's able to. Eva grasps her helmet, pulls it off and throws it onto the floor, gasping for air relentlessly as she tries to cool the fire in her shoulder. With clenched teeth, she glances at her shoulder and sees a burn mark on the armour. Luckily, it isn't one of the crevices the armour plates barely protect.

In the corner of her eye, she sees the Rebel soldier who shot her turning around a corner and vanishing out of view. She can feel the rage building up in her chest and her blood starts boiling. Clenching her teeth with anger, she can feel her fury starting to burn within her. You think you can take me? I'll get you, blasted scumbag.

She grasps her blaster lying on the floor, gets up, and starts running through the corridor. Eva runs around the corner and nears a wide-open emergency door at the end of the corridor. She runs through it, leaps onto the roof, and there, she sees the three Rebels running, trying to escape. The sun has already risen higher into the sky and whatever the Rebels are carrying reflects the sunlight. They're suitcases, and as her eyes land on the shiny cargo, Eva knows it's valuable and vital for the Alliance to survive this war. Take their intel away and they're powerless. She can't let them escape.

Running behind them, Eva raises her blaster, aims at them, and pulls the trigger. She misses, but the second shot is bull's eye. A Rebel lets out a scream and crashes into the roof with a thud. His suitcase clatters on the metal roof. One down, two left.

But then, Eva notices they're nearing the end of the building. The roof ends at the abyss, going down four storeys. She knows they won't drop themselves off the roof. It would be their death, and as she runs on, Eva sees her victory coming closer with each leap.

But at the edge, Eva notices there are handlebars of a red emergency ladder sticking out. One Rebel drops himself, takes the handlebars and vanishes. Eva realises it's their escape. No longer is victory coming closer; it's defeat. Running closer, she curses under her breath, realising the roof isn't where it stops.

Blasted hell, they're getting away.

She raises her blaster one more time, but due to her swaying, Eva misses the target. The blaster shot shrieks past the Rebel, nearly scorching his brown jacket as he drops himself to the roof, grasps the handlebars and vanishes from her sight.

No no no, they can't escape.

Her heart aches in her chest as Eva comes closer. Nearing the edge, she stops and peers down, but as soon as she sees the two Rebels climbing down the emergency ladder, Eva notices a speeder rumbling in the alley. Four other Rebels swarm it and notice her on the roof before she can fire back.

"Up there!" one shouts.

Eva leaps away from the edge, dodging the fire as they shriek past her into the sky. She crashes into the roof with her back.

"Come on! Get in now!"

Blasted hell, you kriffin' don't!

Staying low, Eva quickly crawls to the edge of the roof and peers down, and sees the Rebels with suitcases stepping in the speeder. She tries to aim her blaster but the other Rebels fire at her. One shot nearly hits her and the sparks fly in her face. She screams with shock, retracts back to her cover and curses under her breath. She can't get an opening to fire back, their cover fire is too tough to overcome. She peers over the edge again and she sees the last Rebel stepping into the speeder. Eva raises her blaster, aims, and hits the Rebel in his face before he can shut his door. He falls out of the speeder and his lifeless body slams on the tarmac.

Suddenly, the speeder shrieks away. The Rebels leave the dead body of their colleague behind in dust and speed away through the alley. Eva's pupils grow with frustration and she gets up in an instant.

"No no no."

Eva raises her blaster, aims at the speeder, and fires. However, her shots ricochet off the roof and are deflected into the sky. One shot hits the back window, making it shatter in pieces, but it has no effect. The Rebels speed away and vanish out of view, and Eva's heart plummets with frustration. They're gone from her sight and Eva lowers her blaster with clenched teeth.

"Blast it!" she shouts.

However, the fight isn't over yet. One last chance remains to take those fleeing Rebels down, and Eva reaches out for her wristlink. She moves it towards her chin and speaks.

"Ecklund, Rebels are fleeing in a speeder!" she nearly shouts at her wristlink. "Main road, southeast."

At the peak of a telecom tower in the far distance, Ecklund moves her wristlink towards her chin. The lonely girl sits at the top of it with her sniper rifle clenched in her hands, ready to shoot any fleeing Rebel in the head on sight.

"Got it," she answers.

The girl moves her sniper rifle towards the nearest avenue and looks through the scope. With the eyes of an eagle, Ecklund hovers with the crosshair over the road until it lands on a speeder, shrieking over the tarmac and running through a red light. She aims at the radiator of the engine hood and holds her breath until she pulls the trigger. A powerful shot crosses the sky and hits the hood's weakspot. Ecklund looks away from the scope and sees the fleeing speeder erupting in flames until it explodes. The speeder goes airborne, flips, and crashes with its roof on the road with flames engulfing it. Bull's eye.

Eva hears the blast and shifting her head in the direction, she sees a cloud of black smoke rising in the air. It twirls in the sky as the breeze blows over the roofs of the buildings. Lowering her wristlink, Eva feels a wave of relief rushing through her. Her heart calms down as she knows she's done her part of the mission, and a thin smile forms on her face. The Rebels had no chance of escape, and even when she almost blew it, they faced their inevitable demise. Knowing they're dead makes her smile grow all the more. They deserved it.

"You never fail, Ecklund," Eva whispers.

Eva rolls the dead body of the Rebel around and uncovers the metal suitcase he was holding for dear life. With intrigue taking her over, Eva grasps it, shoots off the lock with her blaster, and after a screech, the suitcase opens. It reveals rows of chain codes, metal pins as part of the Imperial method of identification. They're all in perfect shape, forged with precision and care to fool Imperial security, to cover the fact they're terrorists searched for the most horrible crimes against her world. Eva has stopped them, and with a glance at the chain codes, she shifts the wristlink to her chin.

"Commander, Sector C is clear," she speaks.

"Copy that," Roslin's voice crackles. "Return to rendezvous, the building is clear."

"Copy that," Eva responds. "See you soon."

All the Rebels that resided in this office building have been neutralised or captured. The pests that infested this building will all gaze at the steel bars with no longer time to witness the last sunrise of their birthplace. Knowing the Rebel terrorists will never see daylight ever again makes Eva gaze at the blissful sun with a smile. The blazing orange star announces another day during the Imperial Reign with another pack of Rebel hounds eradicated. With a sigh, Eva lifts the suitcase from the roof and walks back with the trophy in her hand. The job is over. Mission completed.

IMPERIAL ELITE

PART II

With the victory prize enclaved in her hand, Eva steps out of the ITT cabin into the vast hangar bay of the Academy building. It fills up with TIE Vulcan tanks returning from the raid and other ITTs unloading their troops. The golden rule they all follow is to leave everything that happened in the past. Captured Rebel blasters, hard drives, bombs - all the evidence that's retrieved from the hide-out is thrown on pallets. They don't matter anymore, not even the victory prize Eva holds in her hands. Lingering too much about what happened prior is distracting, and soldiers can't have that. Not even glancing at it, Eva slams the metal suitcase on a pallet while a grey protocol droid stands by, watching all of the loot piling up. The suitcase she retrieved isn't hers as it now belongs to the ISB to figure out what to do with it, and Eva forgets everything about it. It's a piece of evidence. The more they get to investigate, the more Rebels will be prosecuted and Eva is glad to help in the Imperial cause.

"Hey, Eva."

Eva shifts her head and sees Roslin approaching her.

"Commander?" she asks.

"Another mission completed," says Roslin, and she gives her a fist bump. "Good work you did there."

A smile forms on Eva's face. "Thanks. Was pretty rough out there."

"How's that shot wound?" Roslin asks.

She quickly glances at her shoulder as it's wrapped in a bandage. The wound still stings a little but the pain subsided quickly after Ashara pumped the painkillers into her veins. All that's left is a dull burning sensation to be neglected.

"It's nothing," Eva replies, turning back to Roslin.

"Good to hear," she nods. "Up for a drink at the canteen? You know, celebrating the successful raid?"

A smile forms on Eva's face, happy to accept the offer, but her thoughts drift away to something different that's far more important and it pushes her to decline Roslin's offer. Though she feels disappointed that she can't go with her commander, there's something so important that she can't leave it.

"I'd like to," Eva responds, "but no, I'm sorry. There's someone I have to visit."

Half an hour later, Eva steps out of the ITT that has brought her to the edge of the Capital. The tall, green trees cover most of the ground with shadows as white clouds scattered across the sky cascade over her. She takes a deep breath, smelling the freshness of the leaves that twirl over the ground in the breeze. Eva turns to the ITT driver sitting on his chair. A few months back, she managed to convince Academy Command to send out an ITT to take her to the outskirts of the Capital. They understood this trip was valuable to her, and so they respected her request.

"Hey, I'll be back within half an hour I think," says Eva.

The driver turns around to her. "That's fine, cadet. I'll wait here, but don't stay away for too long. I'm bound to a time slot."

"Yes sir," and with that, Eva walks away.

Walking over the dirt trail and passing some parents of children, Eva passes a metal sign of the Imperial Scouting Group. Some daycare employees walk around to take care of the Junior Scouts who run around having fun. After being pointed in the right direction by one of the daycarers, Eva walks through the trees until-

"Hands up!"

Eva stops in her tracks, instantly recognising the soothing voice of a little girl.

"I said, hands up!"

With a smile forming on her face, Eva raises her hands and turns around. With the warmth growing in her heart, her eyes land on Eline, standing on the trail behind her with a metal bow in her hands. The tensioned string trembles a little in her cybernetic hand as she points it at Eva, and she chuckles a little.

"Okay, you got me," she smiles, and she steps towards her little sister. "I surrender."

Eline smiles as she keeps the bow up. "You will, Rebel scum!"

Eva bursts into laughter. "You're calling me a Rebel?"

Eline chuckles and lowers her bow with a shining smile on her face. "Hi, Eva."

Smiling, Eva entangles her arms around her little sister in a warm hug, pulling her close to her. She can feel the heart of her little sister pounding in a constant rhythm. It feels like a symphony, one that makes the tension and the danger at the Academy wash away in an instant, and she pulls Eline even closer to her to feel her warmth.

Eline moves her head closer to Eva's ears.

"I missed you," she whispers.

"Missed you too," Eva whispers back, and she lets go of the embrace, looking at Eline's blue, twinkling eyes.

"How has it been, my little Scout trooper?" she asks.

"Astral," Eline responds in an instant. "Yesterday, we went out on a trip and searched for traces. We found the footprints of a Verdant Gazer."

The joy splashes off of Eline's smile and Eva can barely hold in the warmth in her heart as she listens with intrigue.

"And they also dump old starfighters here nearby and-, look, we made our own bowcasters."

Eva looks down at her metal bow and lifts it up with her hand. It's an elegant bow made from the outer exhaust pipe of an unknown starfighter. A single string spans from tip to tip and a little gunsight made from another component hangs from the bow to aim. It's rough and weathered, but it looks good for something made from scrap, and Eva looks up with bewilderment.

"You made this yourself?" Eva wonders.

"Yeah," Eline nods.

"It looks very good," Eva smiles. "It must be more powerful than my blaster."

Eline chuckles.

"And now you're playing as a Stormtrooper?"

"No," Eline replies. "I play you."

Eva tilts her head with surprise and her heart melts away by Eline's comment, left speechless.

"As me?" Eva blurts out, struck with warmth. "I'm honoured. Am I a good character in the game?"

"The best of the best!" Eline responds. "The most dangerous Rebel killer in the galaxy!"

Eva chuckles. "I love it, Eline. What's the mission?"

Eline's smile suddenly crookens with mischief. "Your mission?"

Suddenly, Eline grasps the E-10 blaster hanging around her sister's waist before Eva can respond.

"Your mission is to get it back!"

Eva's smile disappears. Even when Eline means it so innocently, a weapon in the wrong hands can quickly turn into trouble, and she steps towards her, wanting to take her blaster back, but Eline backs away.

"Hey, Eline, give back," says Eva, a bit worried. "It's not a toy to play with."

Eline's mischievous smile grows and she starts backing away. "Just catch me."

"Eline-,"

"Aren't you the best soldier of the Academy?"

Eva sighs with a bit of frustration rising in her voice, but she suppresses them. Fine, Eline. Wanna bet I catch you quicker than I kill Rebels?

Eline runs off with her blaster locked in her hands, and Eva starts running. She chases her sister through the woods, dashing past the thick trees and jumping over the logs of fallen trees. Eva closes in on her sister as she chases Eline onto a wooden staircase that leads them to a tree platform. It's suspended a few meters above the ground and Eva notices a steel cable suspended between the tree and another one 20 meters in the distance. As Eva catches up, Eline suddenly jumps from the platform and catches the cable with her metal hand. Eva stops in her tracks and baffled, she gazes at Eline surfing the cableway with her cybernetic as if it's nothing. Her metal hand leaves behind a trail of sparks until she ends up at the other side of the cableway and lets go. Eva is nailed to the ground with bafflement. You're kidding me?

"Hey, that's not fair!" Eva shouts to the other side.

Eline chuckles. "Come and get me!"

Eva sighs. Little wombat. Why did I even start with this?

She looks around to see if there's a way to catch up and sees a zipliner attached to the cable with two handlebars. She grasps them with their hands, leaps from the platform and ziplines to the other side. The zipline screeches as she speeds towards the tree. Nearing the end, Eva jumps off before the zipline comes to a halt and leaps onto the ground. She comes with her knees on the soil, gets up, and catches up with Eline.

Eva catches Eline and entangles her arms around her, stopping her from running further. "Got ya!"

Eline bursts into laughter as she lets go of the blaster and drops it on the ground. Eva's military instincts kick in and she pushes Eline to the ground. As her little sister lies with a smile on the ground, Eva bends over with her knees in the dirt and looks at her as if she pushed an alien to the ground to arrest him for robbery. The smile on her face grows as she pants heavily.

"You thought you could get away from me, didn't you?" Eva chuckles.

Eline smiles. "Mission completed, trooper."

"I thought so."

Suddenly, Eline's chuckles turn into wheezes and she coughs heavily like the stuttering engine block of a truck. Her cheeks turn red and her eyes start watering with pain. The concrete bits and heavy metals of the house collapse still remain in Eline's lungs, and Eva can see the agony in her sister's eyes for a moment. Eline reaches out for her jacket's pocket and pulls out her inhaler. Putting it on her mouth, she takes one big gasp and her lungs stop shuddering.

Eline has been recovering for awhile but the meds haven't done much. Perhaps it simply needs more time. The body doesn't like rushing in, and slowly after another gasp of her inhaler, Eline gets her stalling lungs under control.

Eva and Eline sit on the ground with their back leaning against the thick trunk of a tree, towering over them with lush, green leaves. With Eline's cybernetic on her lap, Eva carefully draws a black line over the white metal with a marker. Connecting the lines and filling up the goggles, Eva finishes the little figurine of a Stormtrooper. It fills the barren surface of Eline's metal arm. She looks up at her sister as her eyes fill with awe.

"What do you think?" she asks.

"It looks astral!"

Eva smiles and puts her back against the tree trunk. "Now, your arm is yours instead of a product of some corporation. Does it feel better now?"

Eline gazes at the figurine on her cybernetic and nods with a smile. "It looks less ugly now. Thanks."

Eva nods, feeling happy to help her. Ever since the air strike left her with an arm less, Eline felt her cybernetic was alien, like it didn't belong to her. Eline felt like it was wrong to wear it. Now, with Eva's own creative touch, it feels a little bit more human and she feels glad to make it feel like it's Eline's and not the product of a distant corporation on Kuat. With a smile, Eline bends over and puts her head on Eva's chest and wraps her arms around her older sister.

Next to her on the ground lies her helmet tied to her backpack. With the same marker Eva drew the figurine on the cybernetic, Eline drew her name and Eva within the outlines of a heart. The black lines dominate the armour plate protecting her forehead, and looking at it, Eva's heart warms up with joy, flattered by Eline's work of art. Even on the armour of a war machine, there's a hint of love Eva can find her way back with.

Entangling her arms around Eline, Eva's eyes land on her wristlink. Blast it. It's time.

Within a few minutes, the ITT is forced to depart, and Eva doesn't want to be stranded here. Even when her service stops, the service of another continues, and any delay is unaffordable in the tight schedules of the military.

"Blasted, I have to go," and Eva pushes herself from the ground and gets up.

"Can I come with you?" Eline wonders, getting up as well.

"To the Academy? Sorry, I can't take you with me," Eva responds.

The shine suddenly wears off in Eline's eyes as they fill with frustration.

"Why not?" Eline asks, gazing at her.

Eva lets out a sigh and looks away into the blue sky. She's told her many times why she can't go to the Academy, but Eline struggles to grasp it. Eva understands it, but it's for her own good to stay where she is. The Academy is a place that's often underestimated, and most cadets like her pay the full price.

"Eline, the Academy is tough," Eva sighs. "It's a big responsibility which I almost failed to live with. It's easy to lose your grip on reality there, and I paid the price."

That price being a best friend she had to kiss goodbye. The migration office still flashes before her eyes, seeing her walking away. The pain has subsided over the months, but it remains a soft, aching spot in her heart.

"The military demands from you to withstand the most life-endangering situations without question," Eva adds with a soft crack in her voice. "It's really dangerous."

Eline steps towards her, clenching her fists. "But I can take it! You're the best, I can learn from you."

"Eline, I know you're curious," Eva responds, and she puts her hands on her sister's shoulder, "but you're my little sister. You still have a childhood that I lost. I've devoted my whole life to the military to carry the weight of what I do. You're still a child and I want you to enjoy what you still have."

Eline draws a long face and rolls her eyes down, gazing at the ground.

"There's so much childhood left to experience," Eva says, almost whispering, "and-, the Academy won't run away. It will always be there for you, but for now, that path is closed and I want you to focus on the life you still have which I don't. When you're ready, there's still plenty of time for the Academy. For now, let's focus on your recovery and your childhood, okay?"

Struggling to accept the truth, Eline gazes up and nods, pressing her lips together.

"What if they come?" Eline asks. "What if they come again?"

"When they come, I'll be there for you," Eva responds. "They can throw everything onto us, but those Rebel scum will never split each other, got it?"

Eline nods, and on Eva's face, a smile forms, one of assurance and determination.

"Eline, I will always protect you. Anywhere, anytime."

!IMPORTANT AUTHOR NOTE! Happy New Year, and best wishes from The Netherlands! To kick off 2024, I'm starting with part 2 of Imperial Elite and finishing it is my New Year's Resolution. Enjoy!