Merrick trudged through as much of her paperwork as she could handle in one day. She gave up after accidentally signing, and then tearing up, a purchase oder for 100 suction cup ewoks for her window without even noticing it was a joke. She'd checked back through everything else she'd signed before heading out to the range to relieve some stress.

As usual, there weren't many people at the range Merrick chose. She was one of few sharpshooters around, and the only one really free to wander off to shoot at cardboard cutouts whenever she felt like it. She'd only brought the slugthrower this time, as missions provided more than enough practice with the blaster rifle. Its ammo was easier to carry. Despite usually taking both, there wasn't much call for her to use the slug rifle.

Just as she was half way through her last handful of ammo, Fury wandered up and watched her fire. She finished before even acknowledging his presence, but he appeared to have expected that anyway.

Merrick started to pack up her gear before saying anything. "Hey boss, you've reappeared again."

Fury smiled slightly and nodded. "Yeah, can't leave you in charge all the time. The recruits get scared, and will agree to any mission asked of them just to get away from you."

Merrick chuckled. "Ah huh, sure." She looked up and the darkening sky. "Well, I'm hungry, how about you?"

Fury nodded. "Yeah, all the disappearing does wear me out. Let's go get some chow."

Merrick shook her head and laughed, then set off to stash her gear back in her quarters before they went to the mess hall. As usual, Fury was completely uninterested in talking about Army matters, and Merrick was more than happy with that.
 
-----------------------
NightStalkers
XO/CPT Merrick/VEA/TADATH/VE [CotE][SoA][CoH]
SL/CPT Merrick/3SQD/2PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE
Verastinian Republic - Minister of Subversion
-----------------------
To thy protection fear and sorrow flee, and those that weary are of light find rest in thee.
If you love something, set it free. If it doesn't come back, hunt it down and kill it.

*****A number of years ago******

Merrick smiled as the guy came back with another round of drinks. Wow, he is trying really hard to get me drunk. Poor silly boy. He plonked her drink down in front of her, wobbled a little, and managed to find his seat without too much trouble. Merrick had downed her drink before he even managed to find his again.

"Sho.. what was I saying..? Oh, yeah.. thish army thingsh not so bad. You get to um.. kill people, order people around, and all that shtuff. And I haven't managed to die yet."

Merrick laughed at him, and he got self conscious and went back to finishing his drink. She rested her head on the table and closed her eyes. Wow, I don't think I've ever had this much to drink at once. Or twice. He looked back at her from his drink.

"Hey.. you ok?" Merrick gave him the double thumbs up without otherwise moving.

"Oh.. good." He finished his drink in one more gulp. "Sho.. you should come join the um.. uh.. oh yeah, army! Good times to be had.. good times."

Merrick gave him the thumbs up again and attempted to sit up, merely causing her to fall out of her seat. She looked back up at him. "Little help.. what was your name again..?"

He laughed and shook his head. "Call me Kip.." He offered her his hand, but when she took it to get up he merely fell over as well.

Merrick laughed at him. "You're drunk.."

---

Merrick woke up the next morning, at least she thought it was morning, with a massive headache and no idea how she had gotten back to her room. The guy.. what was his name..? Kip, that was it. He must have helped her. She vaguely remembered talking about joining the army. Must have been a line, he didn't look like a stormie.
 
-----------------------
NightStalkers
XO/CPT Merrick/VEA/TADATH/VE [CotE][SoA][CoH]
SL/CPT Merrick/3SQD/2PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE
Verastinian Republic - Minister of Subversion
-----------------------
To thy protection fear and sorrow flee, and those that weary are of light find rest in thee.
If you love something, set it free. If it doesn't come back, hunt it down and kill it.

Merrick looked down at what she had drawn. "Hm. Must be because I was thinking about the past." It was her parents residence on Ciutric. Well, she could only assume they still lived there. She hadn't had much contact with them since disappearing. They had sought her out once when they'd heard about her brother joining the army. Her mother had been slightly relieved to know she as alive, and would be taking care of Keef. But that was it. She shrugged and tossed the scrap of paper into the box where the rest of her sketches and such lived.

Throwing her drawing stuff on the floor, Merrick laid back on her bed and stared at the ceiling. She thought more about joining the army and becoming a part of Jester, making her smile. She'd missed being a squad leader, but it just wasn't the same without her old, crazy, squad. A bunch of kids didn't even come close to those she'd served with in Jester's early life. How could you beat going to a bar and watching Kip get smacked by every woman in the joint, courtesy of Dragoon.

Wow, I must be the only person in the army who wants to go back to being a grunt. Oh well, at least the pay is good.

Now memories of her childhood were trying to creep in. She forced them out, as they were still memories she didn't want to deal with. Whenever she thought of her 16 years on Ciutric, it made her bitter and angry for days, so it was best to avoid it. Eventually, though, she fell asleep, and the memories crept back as dreams.
 
-----------------------
NightStalkers
XO/CPT Merrick/VEA/TADATH/VE [CotE][SoA][CoH]
SL/CPT Merrick/3SQD/2PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE
Verastinian Republic - Minister of Subversion
-----------------------
To thy protection fear and sorrow flee, and those that weary are of light find rest in thee.
If you love something, set it free. If it doesn't come back, hunt it down and kill it.

(OOC: I finally got tired of my crappy old bio, so I got around to writing a new one. It's got a little part of the char dev in it, but you'll live. Enjoy.)

Skyalin stormed away from her mother into her very small and poorly appointed room. She always felt bitter about how little she had, even though she knew her parents struggled just to keep their family fed. She didn't feel bad about blaming them for all the things that weren't right in her life. Her first, and last, boyfriend had dumped her the very same day he had finally succeeded in getting her to show him where she lived. She had no idea it was only partially to do with how poor her family was, and that her father's words to the young man had been the deciding factor. At any rate, she'd seen him with a new girl the next day and decided right then that she would never expose her feelings to another person. That's what had started the fight with her mother. Some part of her knew that her mother was only concerned, knowing as she did about the break up, but she pushed it down and let nothing but a stern expression show. And that's how she remained.

----

On her 16th birthday, Skyalin had been promised a fancy (at least more so than usual) dinner and a real birthday present. Two weeks early, her father had lost his job and as yet had been unable to find a new one. All the money her mother had saved was all they had to live on until he could find new employment. Skyalin found herself blaming him for never getting her birthday treat, especially when her parents had worked so hard to give her little brother such a wonderful day for his 10th earlier that same year. It was less than a month before she'd disappeared off the planet and her parents thought they would never hear from her again.

----

While she had never considered herself to have any real friends, least of all the tried and failed boyfriend when she was 15, Skyalin ran into an old friend of her father's on a planet she hadn't heard of before winding up on it with no cash left. Not that the casual bar maid and dish washer jobs she had been taking gave her much to spend even on a good day. His name was Mindarl, and he'd always been the only friend of her father's that she had ever liked. He always showed an interest in her, and at times she'd thought it was because she was turning into a young woman, but he'd only ever sought to nurture her mind. He'd always refused to call her by her name, believing it was far too feminine for her. Instead, he dubbed her Merrick, arguing it suited her more, and wouldn't change no matter how much she protested.

Once he had assured her that he had no intention of telling her parents where she was, they sat down and caught up with each other. He had heard of her disappearance from home over two years ago but unlike her parents, had never thought Merrick dead. They talked for hours about life and her prospects for better work and a better future. Mindarl then offered to take her with him, for free, around some of the more populated planets, with better economies and more opportunities for someone he always referred to as "a smart young woman." Without much hope of surviving, or getting off this planet, any other way she happily accepted.

----

On one of the many stops that Min's cargo ship made, Merrick decided to see what the local cantinas were like. She hadn't much knowledge about the planet they were on, having stayed with the ship until Mindarl returned from his business. He'd merely told her to be careful and have fun. He promised to be back this way in a few days time and had organised a place for her to stay until then. She promised to pay him back, but he laughed and waved her goodbye. He'd never asked for repayment for any of the money he'd spent on helping her, but she was keeping a tally in her mind for whenever she had the means to pay it all back.

Sitting down at the bar, Merrick took a look around at the other occupants before ordering a drink. She noticed that the guy sitting next to her seemed to be watching her sip her drink slowly. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, noticing he looked fit and strong, his hair and clothes well kept. Not the usual patronage of a cantina. But then, the rest of the customers seemed to have a disciplined air about them too, there was much less shouting and fighting than was normal in the places she had worked. Her wandering attention meant that when the young man said hello, he startled her and she spilled her drink. She flashed him a fake shy smile and picked up her glass.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. Let me buy you another drink&"

----

Merrick smiled as the guy came back with another round of drinks. Wow, he is trying really hard to get me drunk. Poor silly boy. He plonked her drink down in front of her, wobbled a little, and managed to find his seat without too much trouble. Merrick had downed her drink before he even managed to find his again.

"Sho.. what was I saying..? Oh, yeah.. thish army thingsh not so bad. You get to um.. kill people, order people around, and all that shtuff. And I haven't managed to die yet."

Merrick laughed at him, and he got self conscious and went back to finishing his drink. She rested her head on the table and closed her eyes. Wow, I don't think I've ever had this much to drink at once. Or twice. He looked back at her from his drink.

"Hey.. you ok?" Merrick gave him the double thumbs up without otherwise moving.

"Oh.. good." He finished his drink in one more gulp. "Sho.. you should come join the um.. uh.. oh yeah, army! Good times to be had.. good times."

Merrick gave him the thumbs up again and attempted to sit up, merely causing her to fall out of her seat. She looked back up at him. "Little help.. what was your name again..?"

He laughed and shook his head. "Call me Kip.." He offered her his hand, but when she took it to get up he merely fell over as well.

Merrick laughed at him. "You're drunk.."

----

Merrick woke up the next morning, at least she thought it was morning, with a massive headache and no idea how she had gotten back to her room. The guy.. what was his name..? Kip, that was it. He must have helped her. She vaguely remembered talking about joining the army. Must have been a line, he didn't look like a stormie.

 
-----------------------
NightStalkers
XO/CPT Merrick/VEA/TADATH/VE [CotE][SoA][CoH]
SL/CPT Merrick/3SQD/2PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE
Verastinian Republic - Minister of Subversion
-----------------------
To thy protection fear and sorrow flee, and those that weary are of light find rest in thee.
If you love something, set it free. If it doesn't come back, hunt it down and kill it.

In order to keep her mind of the disturbing lack of any combat action, especially for her, Merrick had taken to accompanying the recruiters on some of their hops between worlds. Even her stint back in the ARC hadn't yielded any kills, and her office was starting to suffocate her. Even with daily weapons practice and fitness exercises, she felt like she was getting fat and lazy. At least attempting to help recruit, she could feel like she was contributing something to the army - and it would be the army, she'd not put her name as a recruiter to some light-headed fly boy.

On one of the jaunts she had included herself in, the recruiters had made their way to her homeworld. At first, Merrick had been uncertain about joining them, but she figured that there was no longer anything connecting her to the place anyway. That and anyone who gave her trouble wouldn't ever bother anyone again. Despite knowing her parents were still on the planet somewhere, she had no desire to search them out. She'd only distanced herself further from them since leaving, and she was fairly confident that they wouldn't be proud of her regardless of her rank and position. The only contact she kept with anyone from her home world was her friend Min, and he didn't expect to be in the area when she was. Besides, recruiting runs were much more successful in major cities, and her birth place couldn't be considered even close to one of those.


---

Most of the day was spent signing up young men that Merrick had little confidence in. They all seemed either too stupid or fat and lazy. So much for the new generation of the army. It wasn't until the late afternoon that she stopped reading long enough to listen to an argument between one of her men and an apparent potential recruit. At first she could only hear one side, so she slunk a little closer. She was mildly surprised to hear that the voice of a stubborn sounding young woman was on the other end of the argument.

"Oh don't give me that, sir, I KNOW you have female troopers. I'm not going to let you talk me out of this just because of my gender!" Merrick smirked at the remark from the young woman.

Taken aback, the trooper that she was addressing raised his voice at her. "Now you listen here girlie, if I say you're not fit and you can't sign, then you'll turn your dainty little feet right around and walk away."

Merrick shook her head. I wasn't that quiet all day was I? He can't have forgotten who is listening, surely.

She stepped out into view. "Now now Corporal, that is uncalled for. If the young lady wishes to join, then sign her up. Most of the canon fodder you've recruited today could learn a thing or two from this one." The trooper scowled at her, and made no move to do as Merrick instructed. She knew exactly what he was thinking, and her next sentence addressed the young woman in question.

"Running from something?" She stubbornly shook her head and Merrick chuckled. "If you say so. Don't think I'm helping you because you're a woman. I like your determination, and that's all." Merrick pushed the Corporal out of the way and signed the girl up herself, putting her own name under the column 'Member responsible for recruitment'. The girl - whose name was Lain - nodded as though it had been the expected outcome, and brushed past Merrick as she boarded their ship.

Merrick watched her go. "What, no possessions?"

Lain turned to face her, her face devoid of expression. "What kind of trooper would I be if I had to carry personal items everywhere?"

Merrick grinned and turned back to the men. "I think that's all we're going to get from this place, let's get out of here and head homeward."

---

The ousted Corporal remained in a foul mood the entire trip home, displaying much if it toward and around Lain. He appeared to think Merrick didn't know about it. She merely considered it a good primer for the treatment to come.
 
-----------------------
XO/MAJ Merrick/VEA/TADATH/VE [CotE][SoA][CoH]
Verastinian Republic - Minister of Subversion
-----------------------
To thy protection fear and sorrow flee, and those that weary are of light find rest in thee.
If you love something, set it free. If it doesn't come back, hunt it down and kill it.