First Pep Talk

Inside a hangar bay, dozens of tank members stood in formation with six Sovereign-class tanks behind them. Before the platoon was a young Pantoran woman with a lieutenant's bars on her uniform. There was silence between Riya Pashen and the rest of the platoon. She had just arrived here several hours ago when informed the division will be moving out tomorrow at dawn for deployment. Deep down Riya felt somewhat nervous, yet she buried it inwardly, letting her hard earned confidence take over.

"Platoon, attention. Eyes on me." She declared in a tone that demanded immediate focus.

All of them gave it, watching, preparing to see if the "cadet" was made up. She would meet their silent challenge.

"I'm Lieutenant Riya Pashen. Some of you have been in this game longer than I've been out of the academy. You've seen real fire, real losses, real days when the only thing between you and the void was your crew and your machine. I respect that. I won't pretend to know everything you do… yet."

Some of the troops shared some looks in reaction, caution and even slight amusement between two. Riya looked back and forth to the whole platoon as she kept her hands clasped behind her back, continuing.

"What I do know is where I come from. I was born with nothing, learning that life is not a charity case, clawing my way till I made it here before all of you. I owe our Republic everything, giving me a purpose beyond the demands of survival. Not in some shiny polished wayâ€" in the way that means I'll fight like hell for what I love. That's why we're here.

The Krayt Ironbacks aren't just another unit. We will become the hammer that breaks through when others stall. We roll over obstacles, fix what shatters mid-charge, and come out the other side because we have to—for the people back home, for the ones who never got their shot, for each other."

Her words sink in, as the troops became more serious in attention to her, realizing this new officer was serious.

Walking down the line the lieutenant went on. "I won't ask you to trust me right away. Earned trust doesn't come from words or the bars on my shoulders. It comes from what we will do as a team."

Subsequently Riya narrowed her eyes. "But know this: I will lead from the front. My tank—will be right there with yours. When we move, we move as one. When we fight, we fight smart, we fight hard, together.

We'll prove our new division's worth the only way that matters—by winning for the Republic."

Reaching the end of the line Riya Pashen twisted around facing all of them from the side, finishing her pep talk with these final words. "You've got questions, doubts, stories—bring them. My hatch is open after formation. For now: mount up, check your systems, and be ready. Dismissed."

At her command the platoon broke formation and began to scatter, some talking among themselves, some kept staring at Riya and others headed their separate ways to carry out their preparations.

The lieutenant had to suppress the urge to sigh before marching over to her new Sovereign tank. Awaiting her in front of it with arms folded across her chest was a tall heavily scarred Iktotchi female in maroon and gold uniform common in their outfit. Her stoic brown eyes locked on to Riya before she nodded.

"At least you're honest LT. Let's see if you're really up for it." Subsequently the towering horned woman offered her right hand, saying. "Sergeant Taraal Keth, I'll be your gunner."

Riya only hesitated for a second before she took the hand with hers and gave it a firm shake. "I'll be counting on you, Sergeant."

"Oh I'm here too." A jovial voice called out from behind the tank. Looking in that direction Riya soon saw a green Twi'lek male shirtless, wearing only his pants and combat boots and wielding a fusion cutter in his left hand. Waving in an easy confident manner with his free hand the fellow said. "I'm Renn Vorr, your chauffeur, you could say."

He chuckled at his own joke while Riya raised an eyebrow. She had heard worse admittedly. Clearing his throat Renn then gestured to their machine. "She's a beauty isn't she Boss? Fresh out of the factory it seems."

"Indeed it is," Riya acknowledged, giving the tank a closer inspection. As for Sergeant Keth she then remarked.

"I recommend we test her systems and get a feel for her before we ship out tomorrow. Just to be sure everything is in order."

"I'm with ya sarge. It would be really nice to take this baby for a spin.

Finding herself in agreement Riya turned to her crew replying. "Let's do it. We’ll check the engines first."

Renn beamed in reaction and Taraal nodded in approval. It was time to get to work.