The Renegade: Episode I: The Compliant

Chapter Four: The Trooper

Three years out of the Imperial Academy Lenor had become popular among her peers. Especially after Lord Vader's single word compliment. She was proud having earned his praise but she also feared the attention from the Sith Lord. She didn't know if she had addressed him popularly after winning the obstacle course. But what she did know was that her rivalry with

TK-560 was over. They were comrades now.

It was strange. She hadn't seen TK-560 since commencement. Some of the other cadets said she had been assigned to a special program called Project Harvester, which made sense since she was the top ranking cadet.

"How's your arm?" TK-249 asked. Lenore had finally learned his real name. It was Harillo Rethos. She called him 'Rillo for short, but only when they were alone.

The two of them were stationed on Coruscant. The two of them had become inseparable during the last three years of service. He became her surrogate brother. Harillo truly listened to her. He encouraged her. He trusted her. That was something Lenore never had back on Lothal and it made all the difference.

Harillo found the Imperial Capital boring. But it beat getting shipped out to Endor or any other planet with extreme weather. He suspected his father had something to do with the underwhelming assignment, but Lenore convinced him not to be so pessimistic about the post. They were new troopers and had a lot to learn still. But perhaps they would get a chance sooner rather than later to prove themselves. There was a buzz throughout the base about a new assignment. Something unlike anything in the galaxy.

"Believe it or not it hurts more than I thought." She looked down at her forearm at the freshly inked Galactic Empire Emblem. It was popular among stormtroopers to get tattoos. Especially since they couldn't decorate their armor the way the Clone Troopers had in the past. But their tattoos were a result of a lost bet and not personal expression.

"Ha, I bet." He scanned the streets switching his helmet's view to heat sensory. "No activity."

"No news is good news I suppose." She said but she could sense his boredom. Harillo had a lot to live up to. His father's high success rate in Imperial strikes had helped occupy fifteen percent of territories in the Outer Rims. But it was his brother Harillo felt he had to measure up to. TK-303 had been a star fighter in the Imperial Navy and had just been assigned to Black Squadron.

"Hey who'd you bet on tonight?" Harillo asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Lenore avoided answering. Like many other troopers they were regulars at placing bets on fighters, podracers, battle droids, and anything else that distracted them from the inevitable doom of a galactic civil war. Any day now they could be sent to the front lines.

"That's the whole point of me asking buckethead." He retorted.

"I ain't the only buckethead here," she laughed as she saluted a small patrol unit moving past them. "But I know better than to give you tips on gambling."

"Fine." He said. "Bet you went for the podracer from Theron. He has the best engines."

"Maybe." She didn't. She had betted on the only podracer who had modified her pod herself. A vulptereen from Tatooine.

"Alright alright. Keep your insider information to yourself. You could use a win." Harillo said as his comlink went off. "TK-249 here."

"This is TK-888. Requesting back up in Block 5." TK-888, whose civilian name was Rol Gwyer, had done well in the Academy. He, TK-454, TK-345, and TK-127 made up Unit 56.

"The Market Sector?" He asked, surprised. "What, did the fruit stand run out of meiloorun?"

"Non compliant vendor eviction. Need assistance with crowd control."