Beep. Beep. Beep.
"Uggghhhhhh..." Flurry groaned, trying to move her arm out to slap the alarm clock from her hammock bed. She had no desire to get out of bed, she just wanted to sleep in! She kept trying to reach out and grab it, but it was too far away. And without trying to keep herself balanced, she rolled out and fell onto the metallic floor with a thud. "Owww..."
"Flurry, come on! Get up!" Lyra shouted from the hallway.
"I don't wanna..." Flurry whined.
"Come on! Greet the day!"
"Ughhhhhh... whhhyyyyy..."
Struggling to pull herself up, she slapped her hand down on the alarm. Her eyes could barely open and the smallest smidge of light hurt them. Whining she tried to walk but she ended up slamming her face into a wall.
"Oww...."
And trying to grip control again, she tried to slip her feet into her boots that were on the ground, but with no such luck. The boots fell over, and she just whined some more from being unable to put them on so easily. And trying to reach out for her armguards failed as well as the pieces just fell from the rack, which only made her whine some more.
The morning sun rose over the temples on Yavin IV. It was time for everyone to get up for another day of work. Now everyone had basically gotten used to walking up at 0600, it was a normal waking time, at least those who had the day shifts. But there were some who never could get used to waking up so early; that especially included two of the new arrivals from the day before.
A yellow-orange hand knocked on the door of one of the quarters. "Rainbow, Applejack. Come on, you gotta get up!"
"Ugggggghhhhh, go awayyyyy..." Rainbow whined. "It's not time for school yet..."
Sunset was taken aback. How tired was Rainbow, she couldn't have been that sleepy?
"Rainbow, come on! You have orientation at 0800 hours, and I want you and Applejack for training later!"
"Nooooooo...."
"I'll come in there!" Sunset warned.
"Sunset, come on..."
Sunset playfully rolled her eyes and opened the door. She marched inside, and the crashing noises inside scared the daylights out of a poor employee who was walking outside.
"Hey, stop it! Why are you so strong!?"
And moments later, Sunset was pacing backwards out of the room, dragging Rainbow Dash by her bare feet across the hard ground.
"Hey! Stop it!"
"You awake?"
"Yes, I'm up, now let go of my legs!" Rainbow barked. Sunset did set her legs gently back on the ground, and Rainbow slumped back to her quarters to get dressed.
After struggling to wake up, and getting breakfast into their systems, the four adults and Flurry were requested to go to another temple building on the base. By orders, the five of them were required to attend a quick seminar to go over a few things before they were to go off on their assignments for the day.
Walking into the briefing room, where they saw several other people within the seats. Various Rebels of all shapes and sizes and races spread throughout to participate in the seminar as well. The group could only presume these were new people who had recently joined the Rebellion just like them.
Soon, the group of five took their seats near the front, close by to a Vulptereen man with spiked teeth sticking out of his long snoot, and a Selkath. One seat remained in the front row, next to Applejack, and she saw an Aleena man waddling towards them.
"Mind if I sit here?"
"No of course, go ahead," Applejack nodded.
The Aleena man jumped and climbed into the seat, getting nice and comfortable in the spacious seat. The Aleena people were very short, like Lurmen or Patrollians, but very loyal and kind.
“So what is so important about this?” Flurry asked, leaning over to her mother.
“It's orientation. I know it's not exciting, but this is important to know and then they’ll move on,” Bon Bon shrugged. “Just stay on your best behavior.”
“I always stay on my best behavior,” Flurry protested.
“I was talking to your mother.”
“… oh.”
After a few minutes of waiting, the head of the meeting finally arrived and stood in front of the briefing room. A Miralian woman with light blue skin and the natural black diamond tattoos. “Hello everyone, my name is Tika Enzar, I am in charge of SR here on Yavin IV, and I just want to say, thank you all for joining us against our fight with the Galactic Empire. It is always welcoming to see new recruits ready to join us. Before we discuss certain rules and policies on how to behave here, we'd like to run through a few quick policies regarding life insurance. Now if you will direct your attention to the monitor, we can get through this session in under 20 minutes.”
Rainbow Dash restrained herself from groaning out loud. Frankly, she had been through a dozen of these before, and she never found the excitement in them. But she still kept herself on her best behavior, understanding that this was important, even though she knew how to behave around people.
“First off and foremost, I want you all to understand that I know joining our cause is scary, which is why I am open to any and all questions.” And someone in the room raised their hand. “Yes, young man?”
“Um, I have a family I’m trying to protect. What happens to us if we… you know?”
“Well we do have several policies in place to protect you and your families in the event something bad happens to you,” Tika explained. “All new hires are eligible for life insurance through Naboo Mutual Benefits Association.”
“But how much does it cost?” A Rebel pilot questioned.
“Well monthly it costs around, ehhh, 500 credits.”
Everyone collectively groaned.
“Not all of us are exactly rich, you know?” A Sullustan snarked.
“I’m aware of this everyone, but it is very difficult to find a company that’s willing to fund an organization that’s trying to undermine the government,” Tika said, rather flatly. “Anyways, moving on, we do have health insurance for you all and… yes, young lady in the front?”
Flurry Heart lowered her hand. “I had a question. You have under a list of clauses, the ‘Death and Dismemberment Clause’, what does that do?”
“That means if you lose a limb, we will provide artificial replacements,” Tika explained.
“… How many people lose limbs around here?” Flurry asked, her skin turning cold.
“Well we’ve had a few incidents involving Imperials who’ve used lightsabers, there was a case where one of our members had lost his eyes and then died a few months later…”
Now Flurry and her mothers were looking terrified.
“Or a case where arms were ripped off by angry Wookiees… but this clause is here to help restore any employees with lost limbs.”
And Rainbow Dash raised her artificial limb. “Are we allowed to replace any artificial limbs with better ones? Because I just have this flimsy battle droid arm, and I kind of need five fingers, not three…?”
“Yes, you are.”
Rainbow fist pumped in the air. “Yes!”
“Moving on; that covers all of the life insurance policies, but we do have some harassment policies we need to discuss as well. Now I’m sure most of you are well behaved, but I’m just going to tell you them because it is my job,” Tika continued.
And on the monitor, a series of bullet points were displayed in front of them.
“Number one: please refrain from calling others nerf-herders,” Tika instructed. “Number two: respect all species. The Empire is strictly against anyone who is not homo-sapiens and we’d like to show the Empire just how wrong they are. So this is why the Rebellion is open to all species.”
One of the new employees slowly raised their hand; an Abednedo one at that.
“Does that include me?”
“Yes, Brau, that includes you. I know we’ve only recently discovered your kind, but yes, Abednedos are welcome,” Tika continued.
And another hand went up, a Trandoshan hand.
“Yes Trandoshans as well. I know your species doesn’t have the nicest reputation, but we are open to them as well.”
And Tika saw the hand of a Kyuzo raised as well.
“Yes, you too. Everyone, it doesn’t matter where you came from. It doesn’t matter if your species has the best or the worst reputations in the galaxy. The only way we can defeat the Empire is if we help one another. It does not matter if you are a Changeling, a Trandoshan, a Pyke, a Gungan, it doesn’t matter who you are. Just be kind to your fellow employees, always wear pants on duty, keep things safe for work, and remember what we are fighting for. Understand?”
Everyone in the room gave a few affirmative grunts and nods in response, understanding the woman’s words.
“Okay, moving on. Number three; please maintain all Rebel Droids. I understand that they may seem to be tools, but they are more effective and helpful as teammates than you realize.” And Bon Bon raised her hand. “Yes ma’am?”
“Does it matter what type of droids are working with the Rebellion?” The Mandalorian droidsmith asked.
“What do you mean by that?”
Bon Bon rubbed the top of her helmet, awkwardly. “Well I have two astromech units, but I also have some Storm Army issued droids from the Clone Wars with me as well. They’re good, don’t worry, but I was wondering if they would be allowed as well.”
“Technically, yes. What kind do you have?”
“All operational units consist of one IG unit, one tactical, a single buzz droid, and three commando units.”
Tika admittedly was shocked to hear those words. “I… see. Well, as long as they remain loyal and helpful to our cause, I see no reason as to why they can’t be a part of our team.”
Lyra leaned over to Bon Bon with a smirk. “I’d like to see her react to a droid battalion joining the Rebels, wouldn’t that be a surprise.”
Just then a Wookiee raised his hand.
“Yes, Rantha?” Tika asked.
“Rahhhh! Arraraaah rah.”
“That’s a good question, but yes, ripping arms from people’s sockets does qualify as assault and harassment,” she explained, calmly. “Anyways, moving on,” Tika continued, flipping over to another slide. “While fighting in a war is tiresome and difficult. we do offer plenty of vacation days, but I highly recommend you save some because we will be helping some rebel cells move to here later this year.”
Everyone let out a collective groan.
“How many more cells can there be?”
Another person raised their hand.
“Yeah, I had a question,” a Weequay man asked. “So these vacation days, does it matter what we do? My partner and I, well, he and I were considering possibly going to someplace calming for a vacation day, but we don't know what company policy is on that...?”
“No sir, you and your spouse are free to do what you’d like on your vacation days, as the company is planning to put in some more fun activities here on base to make sure that we have something to keep our allies stable during these times. But If any of you are planning to go on a trip outside of Yavin IV, we strongly recommend staying away from Canto Bight, because they will rip you off, and from all of the reports we gathered,” Tika said, flipping to another slide, showing a listing of various races and species that were commonly seen throughout the galaxy, “Canto Bight is extremely racist, and none of us in this room, except for humans and Abednedos, would be allowed in. In addition, any time you spend there would only inflict more suffering to the child slaves.”
Everyone looked at each other awkwardly.
“You know, someone should really do something about that…” a Pantoran man said, shaking his head in utter confusion.
After the rest of the seminar by Species Resources, Flurry walked through the halls with IG-11 to go to the spot where her first place of training would be. Her arms were covered all the way up to the bare shoulders with the clone trooper armor, a second piece to match her existing one she wore on Tatooine, the day she met Team Six. She still wore long pants and her dusty boots as she trailed to the doors of the meeting spot. After they found the room, IG-11 gave a reassuring pat on her shoulder and let her go inside to set her off on her first day.
Inside, there were a handful of young recruits, probably newbies like her. Although they definitely looked more prepared to handle combat practice more than her. She lined up with them, adjusting the armored pieces on her arms, getting some strange looks. But their attention was drawn to the bark of the drill instructor.
“Attention!”
Everyone, even Flurry stood up straight. Although out of everyone, Flurry was the only one who seemed a little anxious. The instructor revealed herself; an Equestria woman with bright yellow skin and fiery shortened hair. Flurry swore she had the exact style and cut as Rainbow Dash, just hers was a full on solid color instead of a wild rainbow. She was dressed in what she assumed was a blue pilot suit; shown by the top of the suit dangling around/tied around her waist, and sported a white tank top, and a piece of Clone Wars armor on her right side, branded with a wolf logo.
“My name is Spitfire! I like many of you, are a part of the Rebel Alliance. I know some of you might not know me, but I’ll make it clear. I’ve been with the Empire before, I know how they function. But we will not act the same way! I’m going to whip you all into the best soldiers the galaxy will see; we will show them that we will not stand down, and we will not take any more of the Empire’s crap! I don't care who you once were, I don't care how good you were in your neighborhoods or shanty towns, you're in my turf, and nobody takes a crap unless I say so! Understood!?”
“YES MA’AM!” Everyone shouted.
“Excellent,” she grinned, her eyes not visible behind the sunglasses. “Now let’s see who we’ve got to work with here…” she pulled out a datapad containing the list of names. “Gyaos?”
The Zabrak woman stepped up. “Present and waiting ma’am!”
“No need to step forward newbie, I just wanted you to confirm your name,” Spitfire acknowledged. “Gemle?”
The Rodian man raised his hand up to salute, giving her a silent sign of respect.
“Excellent,” she nodded. “Pox?”
Flurry silently waited as she called on every new recruit's name. It would only be a matter of time before hers would be called.
“… Burvo?”
A human man saluted.
“And our last one, got my late notice… Flurry Heart,” Spitfire said, stepping towards her. She could see the sweat dripping on her forehead in fear. “So you’re the daughter of a Mandalorian and a Jedi, eh?”
Flurry tittered. “K-Kinda.”
“You’ve got the Force kid?”
“Well, yes—”
“—Well FORGET THE FORCE!” Spitfire snapped. “Because you can’t rely on the Force to solve all your problems! And while we value every Force-user that joins our side, you need to learn how to survive in the field without it!!!!”
The teenager gulped and slowly nodded. “Y-Yes ma’am.”
“Good," Spitfire hissed. "Now! Come with me!" She opened another set of doors, letting light from the outside shine in. "We're going to your first obstacle course!"
The group followed the instructor out the doors and soon were on a dirt path, going deep into the forest...
The walk through the forest was mostly quiet, with the few recruits chatting to each other, or the sounds of the wildlife around the group. A few animals made calls as they went along their business.
Flurry Heart was quiet during this entire walk. While getting chewed out at by Spitfire wasn't as bad as other times she was yelled at (she remembered being yelled at for far greater ordeals than this), she was locked up during their walk. Sure, Spitfire allowed some social interaction among them (or at least didn't hear them speak), but Flurry didn't know what to say. All of these teenagers and young adults were new to her, and she felt like an outsider. She swore all of their eyes were watching her, despite only four sets of eyes watching her.
One of the recruits, a Mikkian in her early twenties tilted her head to the male on her left. "Hey. Who's the new girl, with the purple and blue hair?"
"I dunno, some newbie I guess," he shrugged. "Can't say I ever saw her before."
"She showed up yesterday," the Snivvian in front of the human man answered. "Daughter of some Jedi and Mandalorian. Don't get any stranger than that."
"Can't be any stranger as some of the other things around here. Assassin droid nurse?" A Gran recruit shivered. "No disrespect to the general, but that is a massacre waiting to happen."
Flurry's pacing was slowing down a little; not because of their remark, but mostly because she just hoping to get out of their eyesight. But the recruits just passed her by, not bothering to slow down because of one quiet girl.
"Slowing down a little, Mando," the Zabrak teen said with a bit of arrogance, brushing past her shoulder. "Don't slow us down at the training course, 'kay?"
Flurry said nothing. Once again, she didn't know what to say. But she couldn't bring her eyes away from a bright yellow-orange Mikkian girl. "Hey, don't worry newbie. We're all in this together, they're just teasing you," the Mikkian said with a warm smile. "What's your name?"
"O-Oh. I'm Flurry," Flurry said, almost stuttering. "Y-You?"
"Tazza," the Mikkian replied. "Nice to meet you." Her eyes lingered to the graphic on her shoulder piece. "Are you really a Mandalorian?"
"Kinda," Flurry answered. "I get it from my mama's side."
"Ah, I see," Tazza replied, nodding her head. She looked back, seeing Flurry's rather shy expression as she darted her eyes elsewhere. "Hey, don't be shy, it's okay. I'm new too, we all are."
"Some more than others!" The Zabrak shouted back.
"Cool it, Gyaos," Tazza rolled her eyes. "So is it true that you have a nurse droid?"
"Yes."
"And said nurse droid is an assassin droid?"
Flurry gulped. "Y-Yeahh...???"
"That is cool!" Tazza squeaked. "I never met an assassin droid before, and your family owns one?"
"He's been in our family all my life," Flurry shrugged off. "It's not that big a deal, mama's good with droids."
"Hey, nobody is just that good with droids. Reprogramming something as deadly and dangerous as assassin units? You can't just be good, you have to be amazing. Much like fighting against the Empire, you can't just be decent, you have to be top skill."
The seventeen-year-old felt herself shrinking in shame. "Which I am not."
"Yet," Tazza corrected. "We don't know what you can do, maybe you're strong and you just don't know it yet."
"Maybe. We'll see," Flurry looked away. Her eyes looked at some of the various recruits who were all in front of her, noting some familiar races that she had commonly seen, but a select few that were different to her. "Who's the guy two people ahead of us? The one with the massive spiked shell on his back?"
Tazza looked ahead, noting a muscular man with scales; horns on his head and on his snout, along with his entire shell-covered back being covered in spikes. "That guy's an Anguirun, from Angura. Strong species, apparently they can turn themselves into living cannonballs because of their shells, but not a lot of history to them, at least that's what the professor taught us."
"... Huh," Flurry thought. "Well what about that guy, all the way in the front?"
Tazza squinted, noting one of the members walking ahead of them; a strange being with medium blueish skin, but a face that looked horrifying; like a decaying human turned zombie.
"That guy's a Carpenthian; nice people, but they keep getting a bad rep for being money-grubbing and parasitic," Tazza replied. "Apparently they can actually disguise themselves to look like humans, but it was Admiral Raddus's suggestion that none of us should be ashamed of who we are and just embrace who we are."
"That sounds nice," Flurry smiled, for once.
"It is. I cannot tell you how invigorating it is to walk around without being judged or hassled," Tazza said with a sigh of relief. "Oh! We're here!"
Spitfire halted the group, and everyone moved a bit closer to take a look at the course in front of them. Set up in front of them was a Pelta-class frigate, sitting on a tarmac entrenched near a waterfall. It sat near a brook turned outpost; with some metal plates placed on the ground for walking paths, bridges over the brook, some crates scattered about, etc.
"This is where your first test will be. You'll be split into two teams, and from there, you're going to perform in a specific scenario that could be one of many scenarios you'll encounter in the field. Your goal is to make sure you get the job done with no slip ups that could compromise your plan; but be wary, you must be prepared for anything. Anything can happen, and anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. So watch each other's backs and remember you're working together. I don't wanna see anyone playing dirty, or leaving a man behind. Understood?"
"YES MA'AM!"
"Good! Now split yourselves up into teams or I'll do it myself!"
Almost immediately everyone had split into two teams; with roughly six people on each team. Tazza had joined up one side, and gave Flurry a head tilt, gesturing her to join her. Realizing her chances would dwindle, Flurry quickly moved over to Tazza's side to be a part of that team.
"Now that's more like it," Spitfire grinned. "Red team," she looked to the left side. "You will go straight to where the red flag is mounted and await further instructions." The Red team quickly scampered off into the woods to where they were supposed to go. "Blue team, you'll be going over to that ridge over there and you'll also wait for further instructions. Now get a moveout, we start the simulation in ten minutes."
Quickly, the Blue team ran further into the woods towards a ridge that overlooked the entrenched arena. There was some rocks set up to act as a cover/barrier on the edge, which thankfully didn't move when some of them pressed their weight against it. Flurry reached into her holster, grabbing a WESTAR-35 blaster pistol holding in her hand in the event she had to use it. And so now, she and her team waited for their instructions...
A few minutes passed, and soon enough the simulation began. Flurry huddled with her group on the cliff, overseeing the frigate to await instructions. Soon enough, their com units clicked with static until their commanding officer spoke.
"Okay; Red Team, Blue Team, this is control. There is a bomb planted inside of that frigate; you need to disarm it if you're going to get all of your members out alive. Red Team leader, report,” the technician called from his station.
Hidden in several shrubs was the Red Team; an Anacondan, a human female with brown skin, a Snivvian, a Rodian, a Nikto, and the team leader; a blue Roonan.
“The six of us are in position, awaiting orders,” the Red Team leader reported. “Loxal out.”
“Okay, now you Blue Team, report your position.”
Hidden behind several boulders was the blue team which consisted of Flurry Heart, Tazza, along with a Pantoran, a Klatooninian, a Lurmen, and Gyaos, the Zabrak girl from earlier. “We’ve taken position, although our new teammate here is slow to take cover,” the Zabrak glared, making Flurry sink a little.
“I’d advise keeping derogatory statements down on a minimum, this is a team effort after all,” the technician interrupted. “Red Team, there are four guards standing on top of a small tower, and the shield blocking off the ship is in the control box a few kilometers to your left. I recommend a silencer technique.”
“Roger control,” the Red Team leader replied. His eyes looked over Snivvian. “Think you can take care of a few targets for us?”
The Snivvian grinned as he pulled out his sniper rifle. “I’d be happy to.”
“Now come on Red Team, let’s get that power box,” the leader ordered, leading the other two teammates behind him.
“Blue Team, the Red Team is disposing of the guards on the tower and the power box. Take care of the ones on the ground.”
"Roger control," Gyaos replied. "Come on slow-pokes, let's go kick some butt!"
One by one, the rest of the group followed after the eager Zabrak down a hillside, carefully sliding down and trying not to make a sound. Luckily none of the acting guards below could see or hear them. The Red Team meanwhile was quick to respond for their part of the mission. While a few guards were standing at a watchtower, it didn't stop the team's plans. First to move was the Anacondan who slithered through the bushes right past their tower without being spotted.
Then without them noticing, he climbed up the tower's legs as careful as he could, tail still wrapped around his blaster. And right on cue, one of guards left the tower to climb down to the ground to check out a disturbance. Quickly and quietly as possible, the Snivvian charged his sniper rifle for stun, and fired a shot at the guard's chest, subduing him and letting him drop.
"What was that?" One of the guards asked, hearing the noise. The Anacondan stunned another guard in the back, distracting them long enough for the Snivvian to stun the other two that were on the watchtower. With them gone, the rest of the team could creep away to the power box. The Red Team leader focused on trying to undo the controls to the box while the others stood around.
Just then, more guards emerged from a door that opened up. Quickly, the Nikto and Rodian recruits set their blasters to stun and fired at the guards, unfortunately missing them. The guards shot back, hitting a few shots at the trees nearby, almost hitting them. Red Team leader didn't snark at them, but just quickly did his best to keep turning off the shields.
Meanwhile, the Blue Team finally lowered to the ground, seeing an assortment of guards that were running out from an opposing side to try and take on the Red Team.
"Come on guys, it's showtime!"
Gyaos and the others stood up, firing their blasters at the guards with the stun settings turned on. Two of the guards went down, but the other four kept firing. Quickly they hunkered back down for cover, only briefly moving up to try and take a shot at them. Gyaos and Tazza managed to get shots in, although not enough to bring them down. Flurry however, was staying hunkered down, worried about being shot in the head.
The Lurmen rolled out from their hiding spot, with an assortment of rope in his hand. He rolled right past the guards without them catching him, until he rolled across from them with his rope. Before they could act, the Pantoran recruit and Tazza got a few more shots in, finally nailing the remaining guards.
"Alright, guards are down, come on, let's move it!"
Quickly, the group got up, chasing after the Zabrak who had taken charge. Tazza was about to join them, until she saw Flurry was still cowering.
"Hey, Flurry, it's okay. They're down," the young Mikkian smiled.
Flurry raised her head. "O-Oh. Sorry, I uh... well..."
"First time training?"
Flurry said nothing, just letting her sinking shoulders and shameful face say it all. The Mikkian just gave the new recruit/possible friend a quick hug and patted her back.
"We're all new. It's okay. Now come on, let's disarm a bomb!" Tazza said with a skip in her step.
"You make that sound way more fun than it actually is!" Flurry pointed out, running after her.
Now with the guards on the outside taken care of, the two teams met up in front of the frigate, ready to continue.
"This is command speaking," the technician replied. "We have just received new orders; the bomb has been activated. It will detonate in three minutes. It should be inside the main cockpit of the ship; find it, and disarm it."
One by one, everyone quickly ran inside the ship via loading ramp. Inside, they could see a massive hangar, filled to the brink with various soldiers dressed in armor, worn particularly for testing in these situations. And there was so many of them, it was hard to narrow down the exact number.
"Come on guys, we can take them out!" Gyaos shouted. "Fire!"
Everyone on the Blue Team opened fire on the soldiers, trying to blast them. The Red Team on the other hand, took their chance with the soldiers being occupied and ran for the doors to disable the bomb. Flurry however, kept herself hidden behind cover as everyone else got up to shoot.
"What are you waiting for, come on kid!" The Klatoonian recruit yelled, urging with his free hand. "Get up, take a shot!"
Flurry didn't want to. But she realized within those passing seconds if she was going to help these Rebels and take a stand against the Empire, she'd need to 'grow a pair' as she heard many young adults on Tatooine shout at her, and fight. She quickly stood up, holding her blaster with both hands, ready.
She took a few shots, getting the attention of one particular soldier in front of her, but she didn't hit him. She managed to hit the wall behind him, which only scorched the paneling. She shot and missed again, hitting the side of a piece of cargo. And one of the soldiers managed to stun her shoulder, making her scream in pain. She was thankful the blasts weren't real, but it still hurt a lot.
"Blue Team! We have a problem! There's a second bomb activated, it's in the room with you! The soldier on the catwalk!"
Flurry and some of the recruits looked up, seeing a soldier above getting closer to a control panel dangling from the ceiling with a massive red button intended to rig the bomb.
"There! Shoot the target, they'll hit the bomb in 10 seconds!"
"AHH!" Flurry yelped, trying to move her arms up, but with one shoulder in pain, it made her grip on her blaster more difficult than before. She aimed at the target, and pulled the trigger. The blast over the target's head, hitting the ceiling. She shot again, it went on the right side, pouncing on the wall. And when she shot again, it only scraped a chip off the target she was supposed to hit, still not hitting it. Her arms kept shaking, and the yelling weren't helping either.
Without another warning, a red ominous light flashed in the room, making an alarm sound.
"Oh no! What did I do!?"
And with the imitations of a tremoring explosion mixed in with a sound effect blaring over the speakers, the simulation had deactivated. All natural lights were restored, and Spitfire was seen walking into hangar of the faux ship with a datapad in hand.
"Mmm, mmm, mmm," Spitfire shook her head. "Very reckless move, tsk, tsk, tsk." She tapped a few buttons on her datapad. "By not stopping the target, you just killed the hostages, yourselves, and your team outside."
"We only lost because someone couldn't keep her arms still," the Zabrak sneered.
"Hey, you try hitting a target while you lose all feeling in one of your arms!" Flurry argued, furling her eyebrows.
"Hate to be that way, but when you're in a crisis, you're going to have to learn to adapt to the situation!" Gyaos barked back.
"Hey, enough!" Tazza snapped, stepping in between them. "Flurry is new to this, Gyaos. Don't go barking your head off at her. Yes, she needs to learn how to practice some more, but she's not the first person who screwed up."
The Zabrak got up in her face with a heavy sneer. "Don't you dare remind me..."
"Hey, I got a better idea," Spitfire interrupted, towering over the two recruits. "How about you two knuckleheads break it up, or I'm going to assign you both to sanitation, in the men's, womens', and genderless showers... and you'll especially be sanitizing the refreshers."
That threat was enough to lock them both up, and break off their dispute in complete silence. A brief buzzer noise went off around the training simulation, confusing some of the newer recruits.
"Alright everyone, that's an hour and a half off for lunch. Meet me back at the classroom by then and we'll commence with the last training regiment for the day."
Elsewhere on the base, Rainbow, Applejack, Lyra, and Bon Bon followed Sunset Shimmer to another facility to do some training of their own. Within their ten minute walk, Sunset took them through more parts of Yavin IV's base; passing through more of the quarters and technicians rooms, getting a quick gander at a bar, and even a look at their medical facilities.
Soon the five of them went inside a training course. It was set up much wider than the course that Flurry was finishing on, with a lot more open space to run around. And judging by the barriers that were set up, and the snipers that were sitting on the edges of the course walls, they could immediately guess where this was going.
"I know it's been years since any of you have had to fight, which is why I wanted you all together for this training exercise."
"Come on, Sunset. We still work out, we're not out of shape," Rainbow cockily said, folding her arms.
"We're not in our mid-twenties anymore, Rainbow. Times have changed, enemies have changed, everything has," Sunset shook her head. "I've been dealing with the Empire for over fifteen years; in that time, I've had to get stronger, faster, smarter than we were before. I don't know how rigged the Clone Wars were, but I remember how much misery we were in when the floor got pulled from under our feet. I don't want that to happen again."
Pressing a button on her wrist, she saw a door had opened up for her. She gave the group of four a brief nod, and walked through that open door, closing it behind her. As they waited, Lyra adjusted her armor, making sure it was fitting and not chafing her in places. And luckily the helmet made it clear for her to see, and didn't strain her vision.
"Nice helmet, Lyra," Applejack compilmented.
"Thank you," Lyra smiled underneath. "Bonnie made it for me for my birthday a few years back. A lot more comfortable than I imagined. Certainly more than that prototype she got from... someone I cannot name," she said, not wanting to trigger any anger from her wife.
"I'm hoping some day maybe I might get a chance to make one for Flurry," Bon Bon added.
Sunset quickly appeared from a viewing tower, just above where the training course was. Standing next to her was a young woman in her early thirties, with tan skin and shortened blond hair. She wore a professional officer's outfit, but a small patch with an insignia of two uppercase Beshs were visible.
"Omega, set the course for variable THX-1158," Sunset ordered.
"Yes General," the woman nodded, pressing the controls.
Several small turrets lifted from out of the ground, and on metallic surfaces, aimed at the four adults. Immediately, the turrets opened fire on the four of them, shooting stun rounds towards them. Quickly the group ran forward, trying to get away from the turret fire. The blaster shots were dangerously close to them, almost hitting them just by mere seconds.
Quickly reaching for her side, Bon Bon pulled out her WESTAR-35 blasters and fired a stun shot back, hitting one of the turrets. Lyra also pulled out a pair of similar blasters, trying to shoot at the various targets that shot above them. Applejack and Rainbow wanted to shoot back, but they were more focused on trying not to get hit.
"Don't you two have blasters!?" Lyra asked.
"Run and gun? Are you nuts!?" Applejack yelled.
Lyra and Bon Bon then saw a set of turrets on their right side, and started to shoot back towards them.
"What is the point of this exercise again!?"
"I don't know, Sunset never said what it is!"
Sunset then pressed a button from the control tower. "Jet Fire, Jet Storm, give them a little more challenge."
Flying from a balcony space were two figures; dressed in Imperial jet trooper armor. However, they were completely removed of all dark purple paint, instead covered in bright white paint like the original clone troopers, with the exceptions of the personalized colorful streaks across the armor.
"Oh come on!" Rainbow pouted.
The jetpack flyers fired their weapons at the group, forcing them to split off into two different directions. They were still running forward, but now they no longer stayed as one group. Hiding behind some cinderblocks for cover, Rainbow and Applejack scrambled for their blasters to hit the jet troopers. The two moisture farmers fired multiple shots at the troopers, but none of their marks hit them. They were so off-guard and startled they weren't even paying attention or calming down to try and shoot; this wasn't the charging forward Midnight troopers on Tatooine.
Eventually, Applejack managed to hit a shot on one of the flyer's shoulders, which had a bright blue glow like an alert signal. The flyer stopped shooting, and flew back to the area where they emerged from. Eventually, Lyra managed to strike a shot on the chest plate of the other flyer, and so they went back as well.
Turrets still fired upon the women, forcing them to keep on running. They looked up ahead, noticing a staff with a red glow attached.
"Wait! I get it now! It's capture the flag; or staff, whatever it is! The clones did this exact exercise!" Lyra realized. "Avoid the targets and stick together!"
Not arguing amongst themselves, the four adults agreed and converged back together as a group. Up ahead, there was more troopers shooting at them, trying to take them out. Rainbow shot the first guard, preventing him from shooting Bon Bon. Bon Bon then shot a second guard who nearly took them out via sniper rifle. Lyra got a lucky shot with her blaster, taking out a small target that deactivated a turret. And Applejack, with a swift kick, slammed her foot into another energy port, breaking the energy to another turret.
With no more enemies firing upon them, they ran up the steep hill structure and grabbed the staff. The red light turned green, and the entire system chimed with a victorious tune.
"Aright!"
"Whoohoo!" Lyra cheered.
The married couple looked to their left, seeing Rainbow Dash and Applejack, clenching their knees, trying not to fall or pass out from how far they ran. Lyra and Bon Bon however were still standing upwards, although they were panting just as much from the amount of running and agility they had to exercise.
"I don't think I had a workout like that in a while," Applejack panted.
Rainbow tried to pat her friend's shoulders, but her hand missed.
"I... knew we still had it! Still in shape... aaaahhh..." and Rainbow collapsed onto the ground. "Kill me."
Applejack looked at Bon Bon and Lyra, who were both visibly panting and trying to catch their breath, although not as out of shape as they were.
"How come you two aren't keelin' over?" Applejack asked, raising a brow.
"I've worked with my wife for sixteen years as a bounty hunter. We've had to deal with everything from low-time crooks to thugs wanted by the Hutt families. That kind of job requires you to be in peak shape," Lyra said, still trying to catch her breath.
"We work out," Bon Bon just shrugged casually.
"Not just on the job, I know you and I do a little bit of working out in the bedroom," Lyra said with a cheeky grin.
"Oh you are so naughty," Bon Bon elbowed with a sly grin.
This only made Lyra giggle like an immature child some more. The doors at the end of the course opened up, with Sunset walking through holding a datapad in her hand.
"So uh... how did we do?" Applejack asked, afraid to know the answer.
"You did okay," Sunset said, rather bluntly.
"What!?" Rainbow and Applejack said in unison.
"That's impossible, we're Jedi! We're better than this!" Rainbow protested. "I can't be out of shape! I don't have any flab, I'm not gaining weight! I mean I'm not as ripped as I was before, and yeah I get more tired than usual but... oh no..." Rainbow whimpered. "I'M OLD!!!" The veteran wailed hysterically.
"You're forty-three years old," Applejack deadpanned. "We are not that old."
"And I'm forty-two," Sunset pointed out. "Look, so you guys have been a bit out of shape, it happens. Just based on what happened here, I can tell you haven't forgotten everything, and you still know how to use a blaster. We just need to train you all to make sure your physical strength is back up again."
Rainbow stopped with the melodrama, but she was still pouting.
"Come on, you girls did fine. It means that you're not weak, and you can still get back into shape like before. Come on, I'll go take you to do to try another exercise," Sunset ordered, getting the group to follow her.
"Can't we take a break first?"
"We will. After we do this next exercise," Sunset reinforced.
"Awww..." Rainbow pouted some more.
Later that evening, after some lunch and break time, Flurry and the other recruits were hailed over to come back where Spitfire had ordered, and were now gathered together as they followed her to a new training arena.
"Welcome new recruits to the last training regiment of the night! After this regiment, you all are off duty for the rest of the evening. But today; you're going to learn about hand-to-hand combat," Spitfire grinned.
Up ahead was a training ring where two heavy Rebels were fighting; a Mimbanese and a Trandoshan, both of them using boxing gloves to fight one another. The Trandoshan's punches were hard, but the Mimbanese threw a much harder hit. And with one final blow, the Trandoshan went down with the sound of a buzzer. Moments afterwards, the Mimbanese walked forward to offer a hand, which the Trandoshan accepted as he was assisted to stand back up. The two of them gave a simple fist bump, and went their own ways.
"The Midnight troopers you will no doubt face will use simple blasters to try and shoot you; many of which have little to no training because conscription soldiers are cheap, and most of which don't get any real training aside from the highly elite Death Troopers," Spitfire announced. "But every once in a while, you'll face one or two opponents who will decide to be a bit more physical with you than you will expect. It's important to understand how to fight hand to hand combat as well as using weapons; if you should enter a situation without a blaster by your side, it is important to know how to stand on your own two feet. But we have one rule inside this ground; we do not fight to the death!"
Everyone looked at one another as she gave her instructions.
"If your opponent does not get up after ten seconds, you are victorious. But when you fight; you will fight to the best of your abilities. Raw strength only; no underhanded play. If I see any of you try some underhanded tactics... well, I hate to imagine what will come after. Understood?"
"YES MA'AM!" Everyone shouted.
"Excellent," the coach grinned. "See I knew you recruits could. Now, who will be brave enough to step up to the ring?"
Almost immediately everyone except Flurry took a step back. It only took her seconds to catch on, and seeing she had to step up made her shrink.
"Thanks guys. Really loving the camaraderie here," Flurry deadpanned as she took two steps forward.
"The new girl huh? That's bold of you. And because I'm in a good mood; I'm going to offer you a chance to pick your opponent; either one of our recruits... or one of our professionals."
"Umm--"
"--Too slow. Gamera!" Spitfire hollered.
The Trandoshan that was seen fighting in the ring earlier stepped out from the corner he was at, drinking a quick cup of water.
"Yesss?"
"I know you were just fighting earlier, but would you be okay with helping me train our new recruit here?"
The Trandoshan gurgled with a set of scary eyes that looked at Flurry. "I'd be happy to lend a hand."
Moments later, both Flurry and the Trandoshan man were in the ring. Flurry had to strip from her dusty Tatooine clothes into a pair of spandex shorts and a tank top. The only protection she was given was a mouth guard so her teeth wouldn't be broken, and a set of boxing gloves. Otherwise, she was still vulnerable to attack.
The Trandoshan stretched his arms and applied the boxing gloves to his hands as he got ready.
"Okay, first round! Flurry versus Gamera! Begin!"
Flurry felt squeamish as she tried to take a stand, moving a few feet forward to get ready for the fight. She held her fists up a little bit, but they were shaking visibly.
"Tighten your armssss," Gamera suggested as he got into the proper boxing pose. "You don't want your punchesss to be loosssse."
Flurry, still in the fighting stance did just that. She kept her arms by her sides, tightening them as the Trandoshan boxer suggested.
"Now throw the first punch," the lizard insisted.
"What!?" Flurry squeaked.
"Punch me, go to town!" Gamera offered, opening his arms up as if he was inviting her to just assault him.
There are only so many ways this can go wrong.
With a gulp, Flurry took a few steps forward, still making her feet shimmying on the ground to not freeze in place. She threw a punch, hitting him in the chest, but with no affect. She punched him twice, this time using both fists, but nothing happened. Even going for three, it didn't do anything.
The Trandoshan stretched his head, moving it from side to side as he got into the fighting stance again.
"Some of your opponents will be easy to knock down. Otherssss... not so much," Gamera instructed, throwing a punch at Flurry. Flurry got hit in the stomach, making her yelp from the pain. She clutched her stomach, but she didn't fall down. The boxer looked at the teen, clicking and snarling. "One punch and you're not down... good. I like fighting newbies who don't go down so easily."
He punched her again, and she nearly dropped to her knees. The gloves were soft and didn't hurt as much as a real Trandoshan's fist would have, but she felt the raw strength from the warrior.
"Kid, try to block. Stop me from punching you," Gamera ordered.
Flurry, still trying not to drop, slowly moved back up and tightened her fists again. "H-How?" She groaned.
"If I throw a punch at you again, raise your fists to block my punch. Stop me from hitting you," Gamera said, still moving in place. He punched her in the shoulder this time, making her yelp. Flurry took another punch to that should again, and just when the Trandoshan was about to go for a third time, Flurry moved her fist up to block the punch. Gamera gave her a rather scary grin. "You're learning kid."
Uh oh.
The Trandoshan punched her back, hitting her in the stomach.
"AGH!"
"But the one thing you shouldn't do, is let yourself be open to attack."
He punched her again, hitting her in the shoulder.
"OW!!"
"And never, never let your guard down," this time his glove slammed into Flurry's face. The glove was soft, but his punch was hard. And with the final punch, Flurry Heart collapsed to the ground. She felt the wind knocked out of her system as she tried to get up, but she couldn't. She could see in front of her, but she felt as if she couldn't talk. The Pantoran recruit slammed the ring ground in front of her, yelling at her to get up. But she didn't. She could feel her lungs trying to collapse, preventing her from talking or trying to make any coherent words.
Her hand tried to push against the ground to lift herself, but she couldn't bring herself up. Ringing in her ears didn't help much either.
"... Three! Two! One!"
The buzzer went off.
"Gamera wins again! You're dead, newbie!" Spitfire declared. "Better luck next time."
Flurry slowly pulled herself on her back, trying to look up. All she saw was the massive light that hung above the ring. And eventually the Trandoshan appeared before her eyes, kneeing down a little and observing her wounds.
"Think you can get up?" Gamera questioned.
"I..." Flurry wheezed, trying to speak. "I..."
"Hang on kid. I'll give you a hand," Gamera said. He offered a hand to the poor girl who slowly accepted it. She pulled her hand and helped her stand up, and kept her from falling over again. "I recommend going to the infirmary."
Flurry wheezed some more, trying to breathe. "Why didn't you just finish me!?"
"You would be an easy kill. But then again, I'm not a bad guy," the Trandoshan hissed. "Come. We better make sure you don't have any broken bones."
The Trandoshan helped Flurry walk out of the ring and led her to the hallway to take her to the infirmary. The others however had their attention drawn back to the coach.
"Okay, enough staring folks. Now, who's up next?"
Flurry laid on one of the medical beds, her left eye wincing at the light as the medical droid analyzed her. She felt pain every time she tried to move, that only made her more resistant to wanting to cooperate. Moments later, IG-11 marched into the room, standing next to her bed.
"Owww..." Flurry whimpered, trying to move her pained muscles away from the medical droid's cold hand. Even him trying to touch the blackened parts of her eye hurt like the dickens.
"Sir, I'm in the middle of helping a patient," the medic said to the assassin unit.
"I am this child's nurse droid. I must require you remand her to my custody," Eleven replied.
"Sir, I assure you she will be alright, I'm finishing patching her wounds," the medic argued.
"Very well. But if you harm this child, I will have no choice but to dismantle you."
Not taking his threats seriously in the slightest, the medical droid continued to patch Flurry's wounds without further interruption. Luckily IG-11's presence didn't hinder the progress of his work.
"You have some mild bruises, and your eye has been blackened. I recommend keeping ice on your wound, until the pain has been removed," the droid instructed. The doctor then looked at IG-11's scopes. "Does my work exceed your expectations?"
"It is acceptable," Eleven confirmed.
"I will allow you two to be alone," the doctor nodded, walking off to take care of another patient.
IG-11 paced closer to Flurry, scopes looking down at her. His left hand extended out, opening a palm. Flurry slowly grasped his palm, and the nurse droid's fingers gracefully held her hand. Despite cold steel, they weren't sharp that it would hurt to hold.
"Your mothers have been notified. I will stay with you to make sure you are safe."
And in no time at all, the married couple were in the medical bay, booking it.
"Oh Sweet Solaris!!" Lyra panicked. "Flurry, are you okay!?"
"Sweetie, are you alright?" Bon Bon stammered.
"Flurry Heart will be fine," the medical droid answered, walking back towards the two parents. "Her injuries are not critical. All she requires is some ice, and bandages over her eye. She'll regain her other eye's sight within a few days." The medical droid reached for a drawer, applying a single bandage over Flurry's hurting eye after applying some materials to help it heal faster. One-eyed Flurry looked back to her moms, tired, hurt, and upset.
"Baby, does anything else hurt? Can you move your legs, is anything broke--"
"--Mama," Flurry said, interrupting her. "I'm fine. I promise, I'm okay."
"How did you get hurt?"
"I got my butt kicked trying to learn how to box," Flurry deadpanned, not even trying to hide it. "And also I can't shoot for bantha droppings!" She jumped out of the bed, her boots hitting the floor.
"Wait, kiddo, stop. Look, training isn't easy, so--" Bon Bon was about to say.
"--So I'm going to get my butt kicked, I know! But I cost my team that I was supposed to be working with a chance of doing well, which means if you put me out there, I'll most likely get people killed! I can't even stand against a muscle-bound Trandoshan! Just leave me alone..."
Pouting, the one-eyed girl left the medical ward, leaving the two parents alone with IG-11.
--
Flurry sat by herself on the loading ramp of the Sweetie Drop, eating a dinner she cooked for herself. Her parents didn't bother her, knowing she needed some time to calm down before she was ready to speak to them again. They leaned against a side of a wall, watching over her to make sure she was still okay while everyone else worked.
Eventually a small personnel carrier passed them by, stopping beside them. Getting off the carrier was Silverstream, Gallus, and Ocellus who had been helping elsewhere. One of them was about to say something--
"Just leave her alone right now, guys," Lyra suggested. "She's not exactly in a talking mood."
"Did she spar with Gamera?" Silverstream tilted her head, with one ear flopping to the side.
"If by Gamera, you mean a hulking Trandoshan, then yes," Bon Bon confirmed.
"Eh, no one ever beats Gamera," Gallus shrugged. "Not even the other Trandoshans around here. Evenly matched."
"I guess her first day of training didn't go well today?" Ocelllus asked, her wings buzzing a little bit.
"No, it did not. I wasn't there, but from what I heard... it didn't go well," Lyra shook her head, sighing. "Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe we shouldn't have come here..."
"Now, hang on," Bon Bon interrupted. "Look, I was hesitant to the idea of signing up to join some Rebellion and fighting in a war again, but what else were we going to do? Tatooine doesn't exactly have much in terms of positive growth for a young girl," she said, looking back at Flurry. Now she was seen petting the top of Cheep, and giving him a brief hug for some comfort. "Especially for a girl who doesn't have any real friends. Well, had."
"She can't be that bad, can she?" Gallus asked.
"I don't know, I wasn't there. I just hope tomorrow goes easier," Lyra prayed.
Coruscant
The aftermath of the escape from a few days before was now being cleaned up. And keeping a watchful eye from afar was the one man who led them all. He stood, looking out the massive window of the former Chancellor's office, now referred to as the Emperor's office. The man that stood wore traditional Chancellor robes (still desiring to clutch onto a small shred of the past), with pearly white skin and gray hair. He held a small glass cup of Gruvian Tovash, an alcoholic drink, and was taking several sips as he tried to adjust to the news.
Groups of insurgents breaking into the archives; stealing valuable plans to help defend the galaxy? But the recent plans, he approved them. And they couldn't have a weakness, if that's what those insurgents were looking for. There's no way they could find one.
Just then, he heard a chiming coming from his desk; a hologram transmission was coming in. Taking another sip, he walked over and sat in his chair, pulling forward to look. A projection of the dark lady herself; Midnight herself known. The Emperor looked at her a bit stiffly, but his dead-eyed, blank face did not change.
"Midnight. What do you have to report?"
"The small group of rebels have escaped with the TIE Defender plans. A futile effort, considering Thrawn's specific designs, but I believed it was best to inform."
The Emperor's expression hadn't changed, and he just took another sip of his drink. "I see. Well, have you had anything else to report?"
"No. Although, Captain Phasma has informed me that Jedi are slowly coming out of hiding. I thought they had all been perished, but it would seems as if not all of the remnants have been deceased. Have you sent out any teams to search for the names I provided?"
The Emperor leaned back in his chair slightly, making it creak. "I've been waiting for reports; there haven't been any sightings of these three Jedi. If they even are alive--"
"--If those two survived, then so did the others," Midnight said, stern but calmly. "You know how they can be, Blueblood."
"Yes... yes I do," he said, voice gone sullen. "But I believe I have something you will find much more interesting. Imperial spies have informed me they've found a massive collection of Storm Army remnants on Cato Neimodia. And according to all the data, this means only one hideout will remain."
"Excellent. I'll inform the Death Watch to meet up with the Colonial Company to take care of them," Lady Midnight replied.
"I still question this tactic; why wipe them out? Why not simply capture them, imagine how strong the battle droids would be on our side?"
"Because there are only so many of them left; and in the end, their dwindling numbers cannot be replaced. But the Midnight Trooper Corp... we can recruit endless troopers at our disposal. I'll inform you of our progress. And let me know if any of our forces find those Jedi... I want them alive."
No other words were exchanged, and so she turned off the hologram projection, leaving the Emperor alone in his office again. He took his drink, hand now shaking as he drank it. But as he took the last sip, he didn't set it down on the desk. But his hand unknowingly drifted away from the desk, almost lowering the cup in his lap. His heart started to pound, and he could hear ringing in his ears. Moments of his life started to flash before his eyes, moving all very quickly. He remembered the day of the great Purge, all of the noises echoing in his head--
CRACK.
The cup in his hand had been shattered into bits of glass, his hand putting too much pressure. His hand started to bleed from the cut, and the sound finally made him snap out of his state. No one around had seen him make the glass break, mainly because no one was in his office. Not changing his expression aside from mild shock, he reached for his desk and applied some bandages around his hand after removing the glass shards.
"I'm fine!" He said, to an empty room. He didn't know why he had expected someone to answer, he did like his isolation. But at the same time, he missed the days of nice, invigorating debates with fellow Senate members. And now, he was all alone.