With the speeder moving at a brisk pace, Marienna sat in the heavy silence that had fallen upon the the two lieutenants. The wind whipped through her hair, the steady speed keeping it suspended in the air as though it were in the midst of the act of flight. It had not been lost on the young lieutenant that the situation which had just unfolded before them seemed to take a toll on Corwin, a visible toll. Not only had he lost his stomach, all traces of color had left his skin. "Are you alright, Lieutenant?" she finally brought herself to ask. Once more with a level tone that would betray nothing of how she truly felt in the moment. Marienna also fundamentally understand he was very much not alright, despite whatever he would answer to say otherwise.
Marienna could feel her own emotions rising within her, and she would do everything in her power to push them back down so that they may never see the light of day. Her eyes were burning from holding back the tears. Tears for the horror that she had seen today, for the injured, for the dead. It was senseless violence, it seemed to serve no purpose at all. Someone had fired the first shot, a shot which would have killed her had they left minutes earlier. She needed to know who had done this, though this was not a logisticians question to ask. There was pain, anger and frustration. But, as always she had to prove her continued worth. To her superiors, she was ever present, calm, collected. She reacted swiftly in a poor situation, just as Corwin had done. She supposed, when she really thought about it, this was how she survived and in fact, excelled in her position. She got the job done, no matter what the personal sacrifice. Though in truth, she wanted nothing more than to explode and let her emotions burst forth and tear her asunder.
For a brief moment, from the corner of her eye, as they drove on she caught Corwin turning to glance at her before moving rather swiftly to look head on. He seemed to refuse to look at her after that point. Perhaps it was the blood she could feel had dried and tightened against her face or her neck. Perhaps it was the stench of the mud and death that clung to her uniform. She mused briefly on the subject of what he truly thought of her. Did he think her heartless for her reaction or lack there of? Most would. It was best for her not to dwell on the situation, however that would be to her own downfall as far worse thoughts and memories would come spilling forward. She piloted the craft on toward their base.
"It's pretty shocking...the first time you see something like that..." Marienna spoke softly now, but directly. There was still very little of any kind of emotion in her voice, it was more of a candid observation. She couldn't be certain it was Corwin's first exposure to this kind of attack while assignment. It certainly wasn't hers. "I wish I could say you forget, or you get over it... you don't." Marienna kept her eyes forward, looking directly at the road ahead as the two continued on. "But it gets... easier. With time." This was true, and Marienna knew she was running a risk by speaking as she had been. He likely did not want to discuss the matter. But then again, she didn't expect him to say much.
"Awhile back, I was on assignment to Wookie Planet C." Marienna began something of an anecdote she felt might be appropriate, or perhaps this was her own way of coping with her assorted trauma. Wookie Planet C, of course was better known as Kashyyyk. The Empire felt a little re-branding might help quash the spirit of the ever rebellious wookie population. "Survey remaining assets after the Imperial bombing campaign... and prepare most of the local population for redistribution." Redistribution was the language they used to avoid calling things as they were. Yes, they would redistribute the wookies across the Empire, but as slaves bought and sold. This was the price for their open insurrection. Marienna continued in the same tone of voice, though it trembled ever so slightly if one had paid enough attention. "Terrible, awful rain... Like you wouldn't imagine. The skies just opened up and it felt like it would never stop. Well, we were coming in for a landing when we were shot down." She sighed a bit, as though struggling to hold something back.
Marienna could remember every last second of it. Marienna wanted to forget all of those seconds. The troop transport that carried her and several other members of their division fell from the sky, fast and hard, crashing down through the canopy through the massive branches of the thick grouping of great wroshyr trees. "The hatches had been opened, as we all thought we'd be out soon... but I fell out." The feeling of free falling was terrifying, thinking on it she just gripped her hands tighter in that moment against the wheel. Falling and watch the transport below you finally crash down allowing the fire to spread and the screaming to begin. "I caught hold of the edge of... what had once been one of the great sky bridges, the kind that connected tree to tree." It had been a bridge until the transport took it out on the way down. Marienna still bore the scars on her arms of the jagged shards of wood sliced through her uniform and her flesh, leaving her a bleeding mess pelted by the onslaught of raindrops, struggling to hold on to frayed rope for her life. "That's when they came out of hiding... and began picking us off one by one, if the crash hadn't killed us already." It was at this her tone dropped, audible sadness came from her for the first time.
Sitting there, Marienna could feel her heart begin to race as she recalled the sounds of blaster fire, the smell of the smoke as it billowed higher and higher into the sky. "A trooper from a nearby regiment found me... pulled me up. 6 of us, lowly bean counters lost their lives that day..." Marienna trailed off, bringing to mind the image of herself, as though she had some kind of out of body experience. Watching as she collapsed into the trooper, crying hysterically, sopping wet with rain and blood. "It's not supposed to happen to us." Her matter of fact tone had now returned, the guard walls raised fully, protecting her from herself. "But it does. Today it did."
Her time on Wookie Planet C was recorded in her file, as well as the standard review of her performance. The incident however, briefly mentioned, glossed over. An Imperial attempt to downplay the extent of the rebellion on planets like Kashyyyk. Instead her story remained on the planet, resting without peace where the downed transport undoubtedly still lay, grown over. Two tears flowing, rolling down her cheek, quickly wiped off, she regained her composure as the pair arrived at the entrance to the Imperial compound. "And it will happen again...maybe here... maybe elsewhere." Marienna powered down the vehicle and exited. If she was right, and that attack was an act of rebellion or revolution, they would see more violence and bloodshed here on Qiilura, unless they were pulled from the planet. That seemed unlikely, she was acutely aware of how expendable she was.
Looking around, it felt different now, like the base was somehow quieter. Walking into the structure, it was clear it was now manned by a skeleton crew. It would seem the majority of the staff had been dispatched to deal with the situation that was unfolding, or were simply off elsewhere on the planet performing their regularly scheduled duties. There was something in that moment that felt incredibly wrong. Off. Her hand rested on the hilt of her signature blaster. "Just in case..." she whispered quietly to herself turning to look at Corwin, even if he could not look at her. She wondered if all the warmth he had felt toward her was gone, if he just misunderstood her reaction. Or he understood all too well.
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