Star Wars: 30 Years Later The Real Story - Chapter 3

FN-2187 felt his blood boiling and he could feel the adrenaline filling up his system. He would lie to say that he was not nervous. He was absolutely terrified, but the training he had been put through since childhood showed the results in this moment. His terror fed his focus and his nerviousness cleared up his useless thoughts.

– “Landing in approximately 30 seconds”- claimed the voice and he knew it was time to show what he could do.

– “Just remember your training and don’t give them the chance”- said the Leader of his squad- “For the First Order!”

Everyone shouted in response and then FN-2187 felt the ship where they were touch the ground with a big impact.

– “Forward!”- shouted the leader and the doors of the transporter opened.

FN-2187 training was definitely of great help since a normal person would have immediately gone to his knees and maybe dirtied his pats in the same situation. However, no training could ever have prepared him for the reality of combat. As soon as the door opened multiple blaster bolts flew inside and immediately some stormtroopers in the first line died without the possibility of even move.

– “Move faster!”- the squad leader who had been one of the lucky ones in the frontline jumped out of the ship and knelt behind a box- “Take cover and shoot back!”

FN-2187 knew he had to get out of the ship immediately or it would be his coffin, so he ran as fast as he could and for some reason his body made his roll as soon as he felt his foot on the ground. This move saved his life since an energy bolt passed over his head a second later and hit a stormtrooper behind him.

– “Teams A and B, advance to the center of the village as fast as possible in fan formation!”- said the Squad leader- Team C, cover fire and watch our backs!

FN-2187 was in the team C, so he started to look for his objectives to shoot but the chaos around him was just too overwhelming. In the moment he tried to take a peek above his cover he saw blaster bolts flying like mosquitoes and he saw many fellow stormtroopers who he had eaten and talked with to fall down next to him to never stand again. “Slip” ran next to him shooting to the enemy like trying to cover him.

– “Team A requesting for support”- said a voice for the intercomm- “casualties increasing by the second.”

The defense of the village was unexpectedly well prepared. The stormtroopers were having serious difficulties in taking the village which was supposedly to be defended by civilians. He could see the enemy and he was absolutely sure that he could shoot them down from this distance. He rose his blaster and aimed at one of the defenders. It was a clear shot and he placed his finger on the trigger. And then he thought again in what he had just mentioned before.

– “Civilians…”- he whispered and he saw the face of the person he was going to shoot. It was a woman who was dressed as a farmer and who may be in her forties- “she is just a civilian…”

He doubted again and could not pulled the trigger. These people were not soldiers, they were just villagers trying to defend their homes and families. Why were they attacking them? If they were soldiers of the Republic or members of the Resistance he would be more than ready to shoot but this was something that was not correct.

– “Team C”-the voice of the leader sounded again- “A X-wing starfighter has been found in the sector B4-35. Go and destroy it. There may be members of the Resistance, so be prepared to fight.”

– “Objective found!”- shouted one of the members of the team- “it’s about to take off… shoot!”

The team started to shoot and FN-2187 knew that the blaster bolts would be innefective on the highly resistant armor and he knew that they would have more problems as soon as the pilot activated the shields. He calculated that they had 15 seconds before it would be impossible to stop the enemy. This time he did not doubt since this person was a trained soldier. He aimed his blaster and shot at the only place that could affect the internal mechanisms of the fighter. He shot to the turbines which were still igniting and he aimed specifically to the internal burners and fuel conductors.

– “Excellent shot!”- said Slip following his example and after just a few shots the turbines stopped working and they exploded destroying the internal circuits for good.

The starfighters would not fly again and the rest of the team advanced with confidence knowing that the pilot was already trapped.

– “Stop!”- shouted 2187 trying to warn them- “take cover!”

However, it was already too late. The torpedo shooter from the X-wing activated and turned around pointing at the team. 2187 could only grabbed Slip and pulled him to the ground behind some rocks in the area. Immediately after he heard the gun shooting at them and the area was blasted away by the powerful torpedoes that could cracked even the armor of a tank. 2187 found himself flying in the air before hitting the floor very violently. He felt all his bones to be about to crack and he thought he had lost conciousness for some seconds before reacting again.

– “Are you Ok, 2187?”- he could hear the voice of Slip who was some meters next to him-. he was also on the floor but he seemed to have recovered- “I think the team was destroyed.”

2187 did not stand up immediately. He made sure he could move every part of his body and that he did not have anything broken. He thanked the people who had build his armor and then he stood up and went to where Slip was.

– “Thank you”- Slip said passing 2187 his blaster which had flown many meters away- “if you hadn’t pulled me out… I would have…”

2187 was going to tell him that this was not the moment when there were more explosions near his positions and FN-2187 got distracted and then he heard “Slip” uttered a painful wail. When FN-2187 turned around to see his friend, he saw that he had fallen and he had a huge hole in his ċhėst armor. A blast bolt had destroyed his armor and also had destroyed his right bracer. He rushed to him desperately trying to help but he only could hold him powerlessly. Slip raised his hand which was bleeding profusely and touched his helmet trying to say something.

– “I… wanted… to help…”- said with a weak voice before dying in FN-2187 arms.

Even though he had seen many of his comrades fall, he did not feel much since he had been trained to accept the possibility of death on his missions, but when Slip died, it was different… more personal. He remembered all he times he had helped Slip and then he remembered how he had tried to cheer him up while the rest had isolated him. He felt great fury combined with sadness but then desperation clouded the rest of the emotions and it was as if something broke inside him.

– “Where…?”- he started to look for the pilot who was near wanting to take him down in revenge for Slip, but the enemy was not around and 2187 supposed he had already escaped- why…? why…?

He stood up and saw around in confusion looking at the battle who was ocurring not very far from his position. He saw the bodies littered around the battlefield. Villagers and stormtroopers were together there and he realized it did not matter which side you were, once you died it was meaningless.

– “Am I going to die like that too?”- he wondered and then he realized that all this was meaningless- “What am I doing here?”

One day he would die and he would be just like Slip and those many corpses around him. He would just stayed behind and then… what else?

– “Why…?”- he asked to someone that was not presence- “why am I fighting? why am I risking my life? Why is the First Order attacking civilians? what do I gain from it?”

He had been taught since childhood that the First Order wanted to bring Peace and Order to the galaxy but in his two missions he had only seen the First Order bring death and suffering. He remembered the eyes of the representative of the miners and the eyes of the civilians fighting against him now and he realized that he was not a hero, in those eyes he was reflected as a monster.

– “Why am I doing this?”

He felt a great wave of dizziness. He had forgotten he was in the middle of the battle. He didn’t know what to do and all his training has been forgotten and he just stood there like a statue waiting for something to happen.

– “Advance FN-2187. Don’t be in the way”- he heard his Liutenient on the comm and then he felt he was being pushed. This took him out of his confused state and he just noticed his surroundings.

The battle had ended and the surviving villagers were being gathered in the center of the village. He then noticed that Captain Phasma was there in her Silver armor next to Lord Kylo Ren who was the right hand of the Supreme Leader who was wearing his typical black armor. It was the first time that 2187 saw him and he felt an aura was more dangerous than the one he felt from Captain Phasma. If Captain Phasma made him feel like he was a mouse in front of a cat, then now he felt being an ant in front of a lion.

– “Stay here”- ordered the liutenient and FN-2187 looked at the scene unfolding in front of him. An old man who seemed to be the leader if the village was brought to Lord Kylo Ren and he was interrogated.

– “Look how old you’ve become”- said Lord Kylo Ren

– “Something far worse has happened to you”- said the old man without showing the slightest fear and using a voice one would use to talk an old friend.

– “You know what I’ve come for”- said Lord Kylo Ren who seemed annoyed by the attitude of the man.

– “I know where you come from”- replied the old man whose voice could be heard by all the people present- “before you called yourself Kylo Ren.”

– “The map to Skywalker, we know you found it”- said Lord Kylo Ren ignoring the man’s previous words but 2187 felt that Lord Kylo Ren was getting angrier- “and now you’re going to give it to the First Order.”

– “The First Order rose from the dark side”- said the old man who sounded like he was trying to convey something to Lord Kylo Ren- “you did not.”

– “I’ll show you the Dark side”- he said and FN-2187 saw the fear in the eyes of the old man.

– “You will try”- the old man said regaining his composture- “but you cannot deny the truth that is you family.”

– “You’re so right”- said Lord Kylo Ren and FN-2187 felt a great fear and he knew what would happen next even before it happened.

FN-2187 saw Lord Kylo Ren taking out a metallic device which generated a laser blade and he saw how he used this weapon to slay the old man who had no chance at all and fell to the floor dead. Almost instantly someone shot a blaster bolt from the shadows. FN-2187 had not seen this but Lord Kylo Ren just raised his hand in the direction of the balster bolt and incredibly the energy beam was stopped in midair. FN-2187 was shocked and terrified… what kind of monster could do that?

The man who had shot was captured and brought to Lord Kylo Ren. It was obvious he was terrified but FN-2187 was surprised to see how he controlled himself and tried to maintain a calm appearance. He was definitely a veteran and a brave man. He was forced to kneel. Lord Kylo Ren knelt to be at his level. The prisoner looked at him with no fear in his eyes.

– “So, who talks first? You talk first or I talk first?”- he said and FN-2187 felt great respect for this man.

He still felt anger since he had been the one who had shot Slip but at the same time he understood that it was a combat and he just had done what he had been trained to. It was useless to blame him since Slip had already died and nothing was going to change that. Furthermore, 2187 knew he would die very soon if not in some seconds.

– “The old man gave it to you”- said Lord Kylo Ren and FN-2187 had the crazy idea that he had read the prisoner’s mind.

– “It’s very hard to understand you with all that…”- said the prisoner trying to evade his words.

– “Search him”- ordered Lord Kylo Ren and the stormtroopers who had brought the prisoner started to check his pockets and clothes.

– “Nothing, Sir”- informed one of the stormtroopers after some moments.

– “Put him on board”- ordered Lord Kylo Ren and the stormtroopers obeyed immediantely pushing the prisoner into the personal ship of Lord Kylo Ren. FN-2187 knew that what waited for the prisoner was not going to be pleasant. Maybe it would have been much better for him to die in a fast and clean way.

– “Sir, the villagers”- said Captain Phasma who had waited until Lord Kylo Ren dealt with the prisoner. FN-2187 had another bad premonition of what was going to happen.

-“Kill them all”- said the robotic voice without a trace of pity nor mercy.

Immediately all the stormtroopers aimed their blasters at the terrified villagers who did not understand why they were being attacked. FN-2187 saw the eyes of the pitiful civilians and he felt that he had to do something. Maybe there was a way to save them, maybe if said something…

-“At my command”- said Captain Phasma who also showed no compassion at the helpless civilians in front of them- “Fire!”

The bolts flew mercilessly to the people who could do nothing more than cry and beg for mercy. The wails and shouts of anguish ripped apart the soul of FN-2187 who could not understand why they had to use such brutal ways. There were even children among them and he saw how the mothers and fathers used their own bodies to protect them even in their last moments. 2187 felt a huge outrage inside him. The villagers were defeated and they were not a threat anymore. This act was useless and cruel and definitely not what someone who affirmed to be a defender of peace and order should do, then FN-2187 noticed that he was the only one who was not shooting, his comrades didn’t doubt even for a second. He wonder why and he wonder what would Slip do if he were here now… the answer was clear, he wold have also shot. This was what they had been trained for…

– “No…”- he said sighing with sadness while watching to his comrades with pity- “this is what we’ve been brainwashed to do…”

He knew that he would have problems. This was his last opportunity and he knew Phasma was monitoring him. He only needed to shoot some bolts and he didn’t have to even hit the targets to pretend but he couldn’t force himself to do it and for him… Phasma, Kylo Ren, the First Order, the Resistance and all this stupid war… all of this was meaningless and he didn’t care anymore. More importantly… this was wrong.

-“This is wrong”- he said to himself and then he understood and it was as if a veil had fallen from his eyes and he could see clearly for the first time.

He understood why he had felt that strange feeling all this time. Until now he had obeyed all the orders he was given to the letter and without even think about it, He even felt guilty for failing to obey the orders he received from Captain Phasma when she ordered him to kill that man… but now he understood and it was clear why he couldn’t force himself to do it.

-“I can’t do it because it is wrong”- he said feeling like a free human being for the first time in his life- “I don’t want to shoot because it is wrong”

The orders were wrong, his superiors were wrong, Phasma was wrong, Kylo Ren was wrong, his fellow stormtroopers were wrong, all this situation was wrong… the First Order was wrong.

The reality of the situation made him undesrtand many things and one thing that he also understood was that he could not continue here. He had to escape but he couldnt in the moment. The execution ended quickly and FN-2187 stayed there motionlessly looking in horror what had happened. He knew the protocol and he knew he should return to his transporter but he couldn’t stop watching the bodies of the villagers and especially the children who were now looking to the sky lifelessly with a regretful and wondering expression. Until the last second they couldn’t understand why they had to suffer such cruel destiny.

– “I’m sorry…”- he whispered to them feeling his lack of power to defend them- “I’m sorry…”

In that moment, FN-2187 felt a chill in his back and when he raised his head he saw Kylo Ren staring at him with great attention. He couldn’t see his expression behind the helmet, but he knew that he was analizing him. He felt a great pressure coming from this monster and he felt that Kylo Ren could see though him completely as if he could read all his thoughts and even his intentions. so he stayed very quiet and didn’t even think at all. He felt like a rabbit who was in front of a lion waiting to be devoured. The moment was very terrifying and it seemed to last forever.

“…”

After what seemed to be an eternity, Kylo Ren seemed to lose interest in him and just boarded his ship. Only then FN-2187 allowed himself to breathe but then the energy beam that had been stopped in midair followed his original course and provoked an explosion that surprised him and this reminded him that Kylo Ren wasn’t human and that for him FN-2187’s life and probably any other life in the galaxy was meaningless.

This event was later known as the “Massacre of Tuanul” and it was a testament of the brutality that the First Order was capable of. The news spread fast and many whispered in rage about this. One of those was a young scavenger who heard the news while exchanging some parts she had managed to found for food. She felt sorry for the innocent villagers and she wished she had been able to help them but then she sighed knowing that even if she had been there, she could have done nothing more than increase the number of victims. She took her rations and returned home to prepare for another day of work the next day.