Trial by Fire

[Lord Zedd]

Stormtrooper Captain Desh entered the hospital room occupied by the squadron he’d recently assigned to one of the verse’s less desirable primes. His eyes immediately locked onto the bed and the man sitting in it. Knox seemed comfortable enough, but his arm was in a giant cast that seemed impractical and unwieldy. Desh knew from experience that it was designed to hold Bacta directly on a wound. A pain to move in, but it wasn’t a long-term thing. That was the magic of Bacta, after all.

Knox looked up at the entering captain, as did his three compatriots Cade, Grace, and Laci, who were seated in various places about the room. Desh took note that no one stood to salute him, shake his hand, or so much as greet him in any way. Instead the conversation merely trailed off as they observed his arrival. An officer of lesser experience and ego might have demanded that respect be shown, but Desh was wise enough to read the attitude of the room.

 “How’s the arm?” Desh asked as soon as he was noticed, speaking out of genuine concern.

“They already fixed me up,” Knox responded, gesturing to the cast. “It’s getting better.”

“Glad to hear it,” Desh nodded his head, before looking amongst the others. “Everyone else alright?”

“I lost a hundred dollar watch down there,” Cade remarked, forcing himself to smile. “Also, my back hurts.”

“Yea, I’m sure,” Desh chuckled. “Good to see it wasn’t worse.”

“Yea, but captain, what the hell?” Laci said, finally asking the burning question. “That dude is going to get us killed.”

“Zedd’s a little unorthodox, but he gets results,” Desh responded. “You all have seen it twice, now.”

“Sure, but one thing he’s right about is needing a squadron of badasses, not grunts like us,” Cade jumped into the conversation. “We didn’t have a clue what we were doing down there.”

Grace looked between everyone, silently. As the least experienced member of their little band, she didn’t quite feel confident enough to join the others in going after their supervisor’s supervisor. Instead, she just nodded her head in agreement.

“Trust me, the good work you’ve all done hasn’t gone unnoticed,” Desh said to counter the growing outrage. “We’ll be rewarding you.”

“By taking us out of Zedd’s command?” Laci asked.

“Not quite,” Desh shook his head.

“How about Specific Skills school?” Knox joined in pressing the captain.

“It’s not that easy to get people into those,” Desh once more shot them down. “And you’ve got a lot more to do before they’ll let me enroll you in something like that.”

“Doesn’t sound like we’re getting a damn thing, then,” Knox remarked with an extra loud scoff.

“Easy, soldier,” Desh resumed an authoritative tone for his warning. “You got banged up, but you’ll be a hundred percent before much longer. Not everyone’s that lucky.”

Knox rolled his eyes. He didn’t apologize, but he didn’t press the issue. Cade and Laci did not offer any smart remarks, either. Grace bit her lip, unsure of what to say. She felt the same as the other three and wanted to join in, but the time for that was certainly past. Desh didn’t push the conversation any further. These four weren’t the type of blindly loyal troopers that wouldn’t question their orders. They were going to be naturally insubordinate, but that didn’t have to be a bad thing. The Empire utilized all types of personalities in all types of roles. Desh just needed to figure out what role was good for them. Again, something an officer of a lesser mind would miss.

“You’ll be happy to know that you’re temporarily reassigned from Zedd,” Desh said after the silence had become just piercing enough. That statement alone seemed to lift the mood of the room.

“So, he’s getting his super troopers, after all?” Cade questioned, sounding a bit amused.

“Actually, we’re putting him on ice for a little bit,” Desh remarked. “His job is to lay low and learn a little more about the Omniverse. A little time to himself will do him good.”

Laci and Grace exchanged bewildered looks. Cade scratched his head, and Knox was the one who announced what all four of them were thinking. “You know he’s going to get pretty deep into some real shit, right?”

Desh contemplated that for a brief second before deciding he’d better tell the secondaries the whole story. “Yea. And that way we’ll know exactly what we can expect from him when he’s left unsupervised.”

Cade laughed aloud and buried his face in his hands. Good God, Desh had no idea what he was getting his people into by ordering them to play catchup to Zedd’s antics. At least it wasn’t their problem.

“And us?” Laci dared to wonder aloud.

“Take a few days off, get rested and recovered,” Desh instructed them. “When you’re ready to go, I’ve got a new assignment for just the four of you. Until then, I need to get everything ready anyway. Sound good?”

The four murmured and nodded. Nothing about Imperial work really sounded ‘good’ to them, but at least they were free of Zedd for the time being. It was something to be enjoyed while it lasted.

“Good. See you in a few days,” Desh said as he began to exit the room. “And you can show up in something a little more casual. You won’t need the armor for this one.”

As the captain left, the Stormtroopers looked between themselves while pondering those instructions. Their internal thoughts didn’t last long, since without the brass present, they could resume talking shit about the hierarchy.

[Lord Zedd]

A short vacation had been nice after such an abrupt introduction to the Omniverse, but it was unfortunately time to get back to work.

Knox sat at a table in a Tier One station on an early morning, encumbered by his bulky stormtrooper armor. It had been awhile since he’d worn it, so he felt a little more burdened than usual by the heavy suit. It was supposed to protect him, but he surely didn’t have much confidence in it. The memories of being shot were still fresh in his mind, and even though he was assured it was able to resist many types of attacks, he was pretty sure the Vorticons of Tier Seven weren’t the only ones to figure out a way through the Imperial armor.

His helmet sat on the table before him, along with the other three belonging to his usual squad, each of which were equally excited to be there. Cade was hunched over, dozed off due to the long wait too early in the morning. Laci was texting and scrolling through her smartphone, but Grace was intently watching Knox’s previously wounded arm. Despite the bacta infusion, Knox had a bit of a shake in the healed appendage. His friends had all noticed it, but he was hopeful that it was nothing. That was at least what he was telling them. He grabbed it with his other hand to try and stabilize it upon noticing the attention it was drawing.

Thankfully, Sergeant Sull entered the room, looking at the four of them as he walked. They all looked up, after Laci jabbed Cade to wake him up. They each noticed that his same stormtrooper armor managed to look a little more professional, somehow. He definitely had a presentable quality about him.

“Morning, everybody,” Sull broke the silence as he entered, stopping by the edge of the table.

The only response he received was a collection of murmurs. It was enough for him. After all, he had good news for the group.

“After we gear you up, you’ll all head home to pack your swimsuits and sunglasses,” Sull ordered. “You’re being sent to Costa Del Sol for a little while.”

“The beach?” Laci perked up first, sitting up a little straighter. “Like, the Vasty Deep?”

“That’s right,” Sull smiled warmly.

“...Aren’t they currently being fucked up, right now?” Cade asked, not sharing the blonde stormtrooper’s excitement.  He'd seen the news about the state of affairs. “Like, badly?”

“Should feel just like Tier Seven,” Knox chipped in with wistful sarcasm.

“We’re all going, with multiple units,” Sull interjected. “We’re not going to fight the war for the Deep, we’re filling in the back line while they fight the war, themselves.”

Knox and Cade looked to each other and shrugged.

“Basic patrol actually doesn’t sound terrible, after Zedd,” Knox commented.

Grace found herself nodding in agreement.

“Good,” Sull continued. “Head to the armory and get your new gear, then head back and pack everything you need. Be ready to cross the Nexus by 17:00. Any questions? No? Good.”

Grace and Cade both went to raise their hands, but Sull had already turned and left.

“I can think of worse places to be,” Laci said as they stood and reclaimed their helmets.

“Really? ‘Encroaching digital darkness’ ranks near the bottom of my list,” Knox replied.

“With any luck, we won’t be anywhere near it all,” Laci retorted.

“...Now you’ve done it,” Grace spoke up.

The other three had to laugh. Hopefully they hadn’t tempted fate too badly.

The four stormtroopers took their time getting outfitted for new armor, their weapons upgraded, and acquiring various other gear they needed for their trip. After that, they returned to their apartments and began packing up personal items, as well as making sure everything was good to go for their indeterminate time away.

Before long, the day had passed, and they were moving towards the Vasty Deep with the rest of the reinforcements.