Child of War

Fallen Brother

I sat on the edge of the ledge, staring out over the landscape. The cool night air was soothing. 
The soldier approached me from behind and joined me on the ledge. "I'm sorry."

I met his gaze. "It's not your fault."

"How did you get here?" He scanned the horizon.

I sighed. "Slavers. They raided my planet. I was... seven. They destroyed everything and took a lot of the kids."

The soldier sat speechless.

"I rode around the galaxy for two years before I finally escaped." I drew my knees up to my chest. "Just my luck it was an uninhabited planet."

There was an awkward silence.

I cleared my throat. "So, what's your name?"

"CT-3567," he grinned at my surprise, "most people call me Hawk."

"Well, Hawk," I stood up. "We should get some rest. We'll need it."
————
The next morning we left at first light. It was raining and we were drenched before we reached the base of the hill. The sound of the droplets hitting my head was amplified by my helmet.

Hawk and I trudged through the soaking bushes for what seemed like hours, following Hawk's beacon.

Something crashed in the trees to our left.

"Hide." I whispered over my shoulder to Hawk.

He ducked behind a tree while I scaled another to get a better view.

A patrol of droids marched past only a few yards away.

I dropped from the tree and grabbed Hawk dragging him deeper into the forest.
————
Our progress was slow as we tried to avoid both the droids and inherent dangers of the planet. I took winding unpredictable paths through the woods, but stayed alert, knowing that we would leave footprints in the mud.

With each step Hawk's beacon grew stronger. Finally, we broke through the trees and found... the top half of a corpse. The soldier had fallen prey to one of the planet's great predators. He was long dead.

I couldn't see Hawk's face through his helmet, but I had some idea of what it must look like.
"I'm sorry." The words weren't enough, but I felt like I had to say them.

"It's okay. We're soldiers. We were bred to fight to the death." Hawk grabbed a device from his friend's arm and crushed it under his boot. "He's not the only beacon." He turned until a weak beeping sounded from his wrist. "The others are this way."

Without a word, I followed him into the trees.

A/N
Sorry about the wait. I got sidetracked by a different story for a little while. I hope to upload again soon. Have a nice day/night.