Arming Ensign Wirret [IC, Closed]

"Excellent. We'll discuss it somewhere a bit more private." Miller smiled, paid the shopkeepers, and departed with Kate and Wirret to a common area of the space station. Miller made sure to find a secluded bench where the group wouldn't be bothered, and prepared to share his story. He began in an even tone, "Now, Bill, Kate, and I all had fairly normal lives once. This was before we had trouble with the Confederate government, and had to live a life on the move. But this is my story. It all started many years ago, at the height of the Terror Wars. It was a major conflict within the Confederacy between the government and a galaxy-wide band of genocidal terrorists called the Enemies Of Humanity. Had they won, they'd have gone on a quest to end all human life outside the Confederacy in the universe. I was fighting them from day one, as a young soldier in the Ayrannic Planetary Guard. When the Enemies Of Humanity first reared their ugly heads, I was on the front line. Then they switched to terrorist tactics, and spread like a virus throughout Triangulum. I was conflicted, whether I should join the Confederate military or maintain a vigilant guard over my home. Then the EOH murdered High Admiral Stephen Henderson, and thousands of others. I had to fight them directly. I couldn't live with myself if I hadn't. I joined a squadron of Intergalactic Peacekeepers. Naval Commandos would free an area from EOH hold, and we would be sent there after to finish off the resistance and maintain order."

After a brief pause, Miller went on, "I really believed in what I was fighting for, you see. As such, I stood out in the field, and was quickly promoted. In a matter of months I rose from private to specialist. And then came Brentaar VII, where things got interesting. My platoon was charged with defending a hospital for the Confederate Military. We expected it to come under attack, just not one so vicious as the EOH launched. There must have been thousands of them, against my platoon of fifty and a few companies of two hundred. Altogether I think we had just under eight hundred. The EOH must have come with at least five thousand. We defended the hospital for hours, hoping for reinforcements that were slow. Fortunately, our men had better training, equipment, position, and purpose than the attackers. We fought like demons, I tell you. We weren't letting those scum touch our wounded brethren."

"After the third day, we began losing ground, and had to fight room to room over the hospital. The EOH forces eventually started shelling our roof, and it held up, but caught fire. There were terrorists all outside. There was a small group of barricades just beyond the hospital. My friends were grabbing the wounded, and struggling to carry them there through the smoke, flames, and flying lasers. I was one of about fifteen who covered the rescuers so the wounded could be evacuated. The wounded survived, and most of us managed to exit the hospital before it caught fire. Then, those of us left manned the various barricades, and held off the EOH. Reinforcements finally arrived a few hours later, and we routed the insurgents. For covering the rescuers, I was awarded the Cross Of Kellerman, the highest award for valour in the Confederate Military. I was also a rarity receiving it, not being in the Navy. Usually goes to them. But anyway, back to how I came to my current life."

"After the battle, I was promoted straight to Master Sergeant, and assigned new missions. I took them of course. But one day on leave, I was visiting a friend of mine who was in the infirmary. The man was a cousin of mine, who had served with me at Brentaar VII defending the hospital." Miller smiled at that, and added, "This is where Kate comes in."
The doctor nodded towards Miller, and then continued the story. "The man Miller speaks of had been wounded on a later mission, and I was in charge of his care. He was Miller's cousin, and had been in critical condition before arriving in my care. After a while, I received orders to cut his life support. I refused. I didn't want to give up on the patient, and I was facing arrest. But it seemed like the right thing to do, and we did something no one expected. With the help of Miller, I conducted an armed defence of the trauma room. We held off a great deal of security, always using non-lethal rounds. But then Miller's cousin flat-lined. When this happened, we decided it best to depart, but security was still coming down on us. We left down a fire escape, and found Nyla a short way outside, delivering supplies to the medical centre. We explained the situation, just as more security raced towards the launch platform."

A new voice suddenly concluded, "And then, charitable soul that I am, I came to the rescue of these two, got them off planet. The brilliant doctor and the decorated war hero. Both needed an escape from the Confederate government, which I was happy to provide. They joined my crew to run from the law, but over time, began to love what they were doing. And several years of work later, here we are, still together."

With that, Tallahn stepped forward, and then seated herself besides Wirret, wondering how the Wakuran would take the story.