A Gift Before I Go

[Matthew Calderon]

Alderaan, Calderon Family Farmstead:

Nine years ago
...

Matthew had just recently become a Commando, and his armour was still bright and shiny. The man smiled as he walked into the Farmstead. House. The smell of his mother's baking filled the house as he made his way into the room he shared his his brother Valkren. He began to unbutton his coat, revealing his clean wrinkle free white shirt. He would carefully place his coat in the closet before touching his dog tags. He glanced at them:

Galactic Republic Commando
Matthew "Farm-boy" Calderon

Then a few lines that were blurred by his tears, tears of joy. He was happy that he had made it so far up...With some encouragement from his father and support from his family. He would wipe his face before sitting on his bed, he would stare at his footlocker which contained most of he's gear, leaning up near the door was his DC-17m blaster rifle. He would then look over to his brother's bed...Valkren was eighteen already...It seemed like just yesterday, they were out on the farm tending to the crops. He would sigh as he looked back at the door. His mother was still in the kitchen and their father was still on duty.

Matthew kept the light off as he laid on his bed... Sitting there, taking in the aroumas of his mother's cooking.

He didn't bother to look back over to his brother's bed, he didn't want to wake him, he had been working hard at his job at the spaceport and Matthew was proud. A smile would appear on his face. He was doing good.

[member="Valkren Calderon"].

 

[Valkren Calderon]

It was true, the job at the Planetary Spaceport of Alderaan had run the poor farmboy into the ground. He had began to work tirelessly to raise the money needed for his teenage fantasies..Alcohol and women mainly.. He and his friends from the local school had began to engage in the activity of drinking, and had fell in love. Now he knew why his father and brother had such a strong liking to it. After a hard days of work on the homestead, it was common to find the pair on the porch of the house, enjoying a drink when all their daily jobs had been finished. Mother bringing out fresh food and calling for both Valkren and his little sister, Erin. Eating a full meal with the entire family..

Ofcourse, that was on occasion that their father was home from work. Keith Calderon had been an officer in the Galactic Republic for sometime, it had seemed that most fathers around here had joined the military in some way or another, and the Calderon's Alpha just happened to be one of the highest ranking fathers around. Valkren liked it that way, in his young age he seemed to have sort of an ego, working two jobs and having now two family members in the military..It all made for some pretty impressive stories to brag about to his friends.

Two family members.

It was true, Valkren's big brother Matthew had joined up through the Republic Marines and climbed the ranks surprisingly fast. Matthew now a Republic Commando, young Valk' had often considered that his father pulled some strings to get him in the Tier One program. Although, it could have been that Matthew was just too damn good of a fighter, and he was..His little brother knew it too, just too proud to admit it really.

Valkren heard the audible creaks from a newcomer into the room that he could only assume was his mother, little sister, or older brother. Due to his father being on a tour, he had trouble sleeping. Recently his father had grown slightly further away from the family and the farmstead, still sending messages and visiting every once in awhile..But never staying for any elongated period of time. He felt as if he was consumed in his work..And when war is your work, it's never good to be consumed in.

The eighteen-year-old groaned slightly as he turned over, slightly surprised to see his older brother sitting on his own bed as his eyes struggled to open to a fully-awake state. "You got back late, huh?" Valkren ofcourse spoke of Matt's station at the Alderaan-Republic Military base, where a unit of Republic Commandos were currently at in preparation for an operation on a nearby planet.(But young valkren dont know that )

[member="Matthew Calderon"]

 

[Matthew Calderon]

Memories flashed through his mind, memories of tending the farms... Looking up to the sky and watching the birds fly overhead, the sweat dripping off his brow as he pulled out the weeds from the crops. He shook his head, that was easy compared to the training he had to do with a few other commandos. The young commando was readying his mind and body for an up and coming mission, while he hadn't received all the details, he knew it was going to mentally and physically strain him. He could let Valk' know that though, the teen had enough to worry about, he had friends, friends that were amazed when he spoke of his father and brother being in the Republic's army.

Matt's mind drifted to his father...They rarely crossed paths while on duty, he was busy being a commando, while there father was a high ranking officer. It then drifted to his family back here at home. His mother, and younger siblings. He hadn't thought of it much, but having the father, and eldest son of the house gone must take a toll on the family. The sound of his brother's voice filled the room and a bright smile would appear on the commando's face as he looked over.

"Yeah....Sorry bro, they had me running extra hard today." He would say as he sat up. He would look over to his alarm clock and smile, it was around midnight.

"Hey, wanna do something awesome?" He asked as he stood up, a glean of excitement in his eyes as he quickly made his way to the rifle sitting against the wall and picked it up.

"Let's go." He said as he waited at the bedroom door.

He could hardly contain himself, he quickly covered his mouth forgetting that it was late.
[member="Valkren Calderon"]

 

[Valkren Calderon]

Valkren let another grown escape as he pushed himself into a sitting position on his bed. "You know what else is awesome? Sleep."

The young Valk' would then throw off his covers, obviously teasing his elder brother as he swung his legs over and placed his bare feet against the old flooring. He quickly slipped on a pair of work boots and tossed on a shirt, already sporting a pair of rugged shorts that looked like they had seen their fair share of tree-climbing. Tree climbing sounded childish, right? Well it was, but it was one of the few things besides working that Valkren did to keep himself in shape, physically and mentally. Half the battle with climbing was mental, knowing you'd reach that next branch, deciding which one would hold your weight and which one would let you plummet to your death. It kept him on his toes, that was for sure.

He stood up, rubbing his eyes once more as the smell of Karen Calderon's cooking hit his nostrils. Often his mother made food for the three children that always got up early the night before, and Valkren loved her for it. It almost seemed like his sweet mother was glued to the kitchen with how much she would cook. As he followed Matthew out the bedroom door, he'd glance into the kitchen to try and catch what she was cooking for them, but then gave up when he couldn't get a good line of sight without disturbing her. He really shouldn't be up right now. It sounded crazy but bed times and curfews were a godsend nowadays,' forcing Valkren to get in bed and get enough sleep for the next full work day. Glorious sleep.

[member="Matthew Calderon"]

 

[Matthew Calderon]

Matthew would chuckle as his younger brother spoke in a hushed whisper. He would look back to his brother as he opened the front door and stepped out onto the porch. The cool air hit him like a wall.

"Sleep brother?" He would ask in disbelief. "Aye, sleep is for the weak." He joked. He then stepped of the porch and began to walk further away from the farmhouse. He wanted to get far enough away from the house so he could let Valk' fire his blaster. It was dark out, but the stars were bright enough to light the way. Their property was pretty big, it stretches out over a span of a few acres. Various animals would be found in their corrals, but he would keep walking past until he reached a vast clearing.

"Beautiful isn't it Valk'?" He would say as he rested his blaster on his shoulder. He would then look at his brother, he wore work boots, a pair of worn shorts, and a field shirt. He would then look down at his own attire. Combat boots, cargo pants, and his white shirt, neatly tucked into his pants. His dog tags hung low as the light from the moon reflected off of it.

He smiled as he readied his blaster and pointed it out to the open field. He would fire a shot, the discharge of the bolt caused a loud ring through the field. He would smile.

"Have you found time to practice your aim, or have you been drinking with your friends during your free time?" He would ask as he fired another shot at a tree, hitting it square in the centre. His brother had drank with the two military servicemen before...After a hard day's work that is, he had hoped the teen didn't get hooked on drinking. Matthew remembered when he first started drinking, he couldn't stop. The only reason he did was because his dad beat the crap out of him. With nobody to watch Valkren....Who knows what he does. The man shook his head before holding your his blaster to his brother.
[member="Valkren Calderon"]

 

[Valkren Calderon]

Valkren followed after his brother in the moonlight, taking precise steps over holes in their farmstead. He moved so easily in the dark, having walked these paths so often..Back and forth to the corralled animals and all along the fencelines that separated their own private section from some of the cattle land they owned.

"Sleep is also for the smart, Matt." He'd huff, before perking up slightly after the realization of where they were headed to.

Valkren watched as his eldest sibling fired off several shots into the familiar grazing field, before smiling and taking the weapon from Matt. He held the rifle in a resting position, it's barrel at the ground as he responded to his brother. "Only drinking with the ladies that you left behind, here."

As he made his retort, he'd shoulder the weapon taking a breath before sighting himself in. He'd squeeze the trigger gently as to not jerk the weapon off-target, the bolt leaving it's barrel and traveling to it's intended destination. The round hit just barely below Matthew's own, showing that he might have been keeping up to par with his rifling abilities.

However, he got cocky. Soon after that shot, he'd smirk and pull at the trigger again. This was no squeeze, but an actual pull. The round flew wide right, hitting a tree much further back, toward it's base.

Valkren lowered the weapon and made a sort of 'Whoops' face. "Uh, I wanted to hit that Sith in the feet."

[member="Matthew Calderon"]

 

[Matthew Calderon]

The elder Farm-boy could only laugh at his brother's comeback. He was a sharp one, must've got it from their dad. Matthew shook his head with a bring on his face.

"Hey! Those were..Ahem..Just friends..." He said with a bit of a nervous tone at the end of it. He often brought home girls, the commando did get little time to rest and relax when he wasn't hanging with his brother, he was in bed with the girl. He remembered on night he was in bed and his brother almost walked in on them, luckily their mother had called him off to the kitchen in the process unknowingly saving her eldest son from being walked in on.

He chuckled at the memory, then as he heard his brother's blaster shot snapped out of it. The man watched as the bolt hit the tree, the burn mark was a little lower than Matthew's own, and he was impressed. He gave a firm nod to his brother. He watched his brother's form, it was almost flawless.

But then there was the second shot. The bolt of energy was released from the blaster and it hit way off its mark. It hit a tree that was way off target, nearly hitting the ground in the process. The commando heard his brother's quick explanation for his slip-up. He shook his head slightly.

"Quick thinking...That's a good quality to have Valkren, though your cockiness got the better of you and caused you to hit that tree back there." The man said he would then smile.

"But nevertheless it seems you have been practicing here and not just in the bed brother." He would joke.

It had been a few weeks since he had last been home, he looked at his brother's hands, they were caloused and rough, normal for a farm worker...But you could tell it was from more. A combination of climbing on trees all day, and working when not has caused his hands to come stronger.

"Try again...Less cocky though, save the cockiness for your buddies at your birthday party." He said with a wide grin

[member="Valkren Calderon"][member="Valkren Calderon"]

 

[Valkren Calderon]

Valkren huffed out a laugh as he briefly shook off the cold air that produced goosebumps along his exposed skin. "Right..Friends." He stated before taking several more breaths to ready himself for the next rifling session. He shouldered the rifle once more, holding his breath as he lined up his target against the familiar tree in the distance.

"Speaking of birthdays..You haven't forgotten mom's birthday, have ya? It's comin' up in a couple days here." He stated before squeezing the trigger gently and calmy, letting a burst of three precise rounds escape the barrel of the rifle, all slamming into the tree. It didn't seem to be a very accurate burst, but they all hit their target.

The young Valk' lowered his weapon, grinning at his handiwork. "See, if that was a Sith; three rounds to the chest. He's done. The Republic should just drop you and hire me."

[member="Matthew Calderon"]

 

[Matthew Calderon]

The commando laughed, his brother obviously didn't buy his story of bringing girls over. The younger boy brought up their mother's birthday, it was coming up in a few days and he had to find a gift for her, but it had been some time since he had actually celebrated it. He would nod to his brother before giving a smirk.


“Of course brother, how could I forget mother's birthday!” He would say with a laugh. He then thought of his father, he hadn't been home in a while.


“I couldn't say the same for dad…” he would say his voice trailing off.


He watched as his younger sibling got ready to fire again. This time he fired a burst of rounds at the tree, each bolt hit the tree, they were not very accurate but they hit the target nonetheless.


Valkren would comment on his handy work, saying that if the tree were a Sith he'd have three rounds in his chest followed by a comment about the republic hiring him instead, that made the commando chuckle.


“It isn't just about the battle a distance away Valk’ you can't let your ego get the better of your thinking.” The commando would say as he looked his little brother in the eyes.


“What about the battle up close? Sith move fast…” he said as he quickly placed himself in front of his brother.


He would then smile.
[member="Valkren Calderon"]

 

[Valkren Calderon]

Valkren's posture changed all together after hearing the statement about his father. It was true, being on another tour meant for sure that their father would not return, even for their mother's birthday. Yet, duty called..They both knew it.

Valkren knew that soon, Matthew would be called aswell. It was only a matter of time. The Young Valkren looked up to Matthew as he offered the chance to practice some close-quarters-combat.

He blinked for a moment before leaning over and setting the weapon aside, "Well hopefully the sith won't be this close to me.." He stated once more as he looked up to his brother, who was significantly taller than him at this moment.

"So, what's next then?" He'd ask his eldest brother, awaiting further explanation of the next 'training' scenario.

[member="Matthew Calderon"]

 

[Matthew Calderon]

The teen's posture changed, he was clearly thinking about their father and how his tour hindered him. Soon Matthew would be called, he was in the process of getting ready for a mission...It was coming up fast, he didn't know when but soon. He'd be ordered to fall in with a few other commandos to assault enemy bases...Or something like that. Was he ready? No, he was a bit torn. He hated leaving his siblings alone with their mother...He hated leaving his mother alone while his brother was working and sister at school. Valk' then set the weapon against a fence post and looked up at him, Valk was definitely a bit smaller than the commando.

Valkren would say that he hoped that a Sith wouldn't get to close to him. The man's face would become stern as the boy spoke.

"Sadly the enemy does not care about out hopes...Our feelings they just take....Kill...Steal...Do what they want." He said as he felt himself grow angrier. The man would then attempt to launch his fist into his little brother's stomach hoping to supprise him.

"In the heat of battle you have to be on your feet...Aware, all your senses must be heightened...You must be ready for anything brother. If you hesitate you're dead." He said softly.

He readjusted his stance and brought his fists up in a readied position. He would then gaze at his brother with a stern look on his face. Waiting.

"Easy...Can you hold your own against me? I want you to go all out brother." He said with a big smile.


[member="Valkren Calderon"]

 

[Valkren Calderon]

The young Valk' would be caught off-guard, but his reactions were still up to par. The much bigger of the Calderon brothers swung his fist to Valkren's gut, only to meet both of his little brother's open palms, catching the punch. The pure power behind the eldest brother actually lifted Valkren up into the air slightly and pushed him back a good bit, Valk' shaking the pain off of his hands as he readied himself.

"Jeez man, I feel sorry for your little friend down there whenever you can't find a lady friend to keep you company." He'd smile after making the sexual joke toward his older brother before placing his own hands up, almost mimicking his brothers stature. In truth, it could have been an exact duplicate of Matthew, had Valkren not been smaller. He did learn most of his skills from Matt, after all.

He knew there was no way to win this fight with a full-on, brute frontal assault like an older Valkren might have done, so he'd have to use Matthew's size against him.

The age old saying was afterall: 'The bigger they are, the harder they fall.'

Now it was only the case of getting his older brother to actually fall. Valkren prepared himself and attempted to deliver a kick to the left leg, swinging his right about and using his momentum from his readied state(left foot forward, right foot backward.) Hoping to deliver a sort of 'charlie horse' that could leave Matthew hobbling for part of the squabble until he regained feeling in his leg, if it even connected.

This would hopefully leave Matthew open for a wide array of attacks the young Valkren could deliver. Ofcourse, Valkren was still much weaker than his Tier One operator brother. It was very likely that the attack could fail all together if not preformed right.

[member="Matthew Calderon"]

 

[Matthew Calderon]

It had been a while since he last fought his little brother. The last time they had fought it wasn't for training, it was over something stupid he didn't even recall it at this point. The older Calderon boy would be met by a resistance from his little brother which surprised him. The last time they fought th younger of the two was not as quick to block a punch. Matt's punch ended up doing nothing more than lifting the teen off the ground and giving him sore palms.

Valk then said something that made the elder brother smile. he could chuckle as he let his guard down a bit.

"Dear brother, you may believe whatever you want." He would pause to let in a laugh. "But I know you've been walking weird for the last few days. You sure it's just from riding horses?" He would say. Soon after he would notice that his brother had mimicked his stance. There was clearly a plan forming in his little brothers head. This made the elder brother smile. Thinking on his feet...that was good.

The older boy was caught off guard when his brother shot out with a kick. The man quickly jumped back, grazing the barbed fence behind him. That was close, if the kick connected Matt probably would've been walking bad for a while. Matthew smiled as he readied himself again before stepping back into range and attempting to throw a couple of quick left hooks to his brothers face, hoping that they'd get past his guard.

"You've been practicing I see." he said as he glanced over at the blaster. He knew if he could get it, it'd be a greater chance of winning, but of course that would require him to let down his guard, and a second was all it took to win a fight.

[member="Valkren Calderon"]

 

[Valkren Calderon]

Valkren left a laugh escape as he heard this statement from his older brother, actually distracting him from the incoming jabs to his face. He'd lift up his arms in protection, forcing him further back in the field as his brother threw each punch. Young Valk' was holding his own, but he'd lose if he kept up only a defensive position. He'd have to go on the offensive sooner than later, or else Matt would be able to reach the rifle Valkren had placed down previously, thus signaling the end of the battle.

As his arms slowly became more and more bruised from protecting Valkren's beautiful face from the fury of hooks and jabs that his older brother was delivering, Valkren would hatch and take action on a plan, suddenly opening his own defense up and attempting to grasp at one of his hands during his attacks, trying to pull Matthew past him the opposite way. This was another risky maneuver, leaving his face completely open. He hoped to use Matthew's pure momentum to move him off of his feet and leave an open space for the younger Calderon brother to make a run for the weapon.

[member="Matthew Calderon"]

 

[Matthew Calderon]

Matthew would hear a chuckle from his brother as he continued to punch him. Matthew was punching pretty hard, so he was supprised when his brother continued to block his face.

This made him think back to a time when he was sparing with another commando. "Come on Matthew if you want to be a Commando you have to think. When an enemy holds a guard up, you can't just bombard them with strikes hoping they'll crack under the pressure...You have to think." The man across him said, his hands still guarding his face the young officer nodded as he continued to pant, he had been thrown on the ground by the commando a thousand times, and at this rate by the end of the session it would be a thousand more. He would slowly rise and bring his fists up again. He would attempt to sweep at the man's legs but he easily jumped back. "Now that's thinking...But you need to be quicker." The memory faded. As he was brought back to reality he would throw a few punches not heeding his own memory, and just as he did, his brother opened his guard and let his fist in. The man would groan.

"Chit." Was all he said as his brother grabbed his right hand and twisted him in the opposite direction using his own momentum to throw him onto the ground further away from the blaster. He could only watch his brother. He had to think fast, but there was no way he could get to the blaster.

"You've got me brother..." He said holding his hands up, he still had his back to the ground. He hoped to trick his brother into dropping his guard, sure it was a long shot but he had to try.
[member="Valkren Calderon"]

 

[Valkren Calderon]

The young Valk's plan had succeeded, much to his own surprise. Thus, there was a bit of hesitation as his older and stronger brother crumpled to the ground, now behind him. He grasped the weapon that he had set against the nearby post, with the safety still on, and brought it back around to Matthew. The grin on Valkren's face was easy to see and ear to ear, obviously ripe with excitement at the thought of him winning one of his first 'fights' with his older brother in his now trained state.

However, Valkren was unaware that the fight could certainly be far from over. He kept his finger away from the trigger, mentally noting that it was still a live weapon, and should be treated as such. He kept the weapon barrel pointed at the ground just infront of his eldest brother's feet, only a couple of feet away from him. His muscles relaxed, his posture loosened, his heart rate slowed as the adrenaline soon came to a halt.

"Well then..Seem's like I'm better looking, and the better fighter." He'd let a chuckle escape, rolling his shoulders slightly and shifting his grip on the weapon. The teenager once again was cocky, unaware that there are no true rules to combat, even if it was somewhat of a training exercise with his brother.

The excitement certainly got to the better of him, this is where it had started..The spark, this was one of the only moments in young Valk's eighteen years of living where he actually considered enlisting. Here he was, combating a trained commando..And winning. Too good to be true..Or was it? Maybe all the times Matthew had instructed him had actually proven him worthy of something other than farming and working.

It was all because of him..Because of his brother.

[member="Matthew Calderon"]

 

[Matthew Calderon]

The look on young Valkren's face was priceless, he was obviously super surprised that he actually took down his brother. The teen had a smile plastered all across his face as he spun around and picked up the blaster. He was a few feet away from the commando's feet. He seemed to relax, and instead of pointing the blaster at his target, he pointed it at the ground. The teen would then start to joke, this made Matthew smile as he formed a comeback in his head.

"You may think you're better looking, but that's not all the ladies care about Young Valk." He would say, he stayed silent about the last part as he formed a plan in his brain. He would remember another thing from basic training, he was in the same exact situation... Only back then he was the one standing up all cocky. A memory would be brought back up:

The teen held the blaster in his hand. "Down now!" He would say sternly as he watched a commando sat on his knees. He felt himself become cocky, here he was in training aiming at a prisoner. The teen smiled brightly. "Okay Calderon...I give..." The commando would say with a smile. Matthew grinned and nodded as he turned around to start to walk away. The commando who was kneeling took that to his advantage. The commando quickly jumped up and put Matthew in a chokehold, the teen would drop the blaster. "Tap or Pass Farm-Boy" the commando said. Matthew sighed as he tapped the officer's arm.

The memory faded. He looked up to see Valkren still standing there. He would quickly grasp a handful of dirt and after to throw it up into his brother's eyes, while it was a dirty move Young Valk had to be taught that a battle doesn't end when one has the weapon. If the dirt hit it's mark, Matthew would scramble to his feet and attempt to punch him in the stomach. Hopefully he would drop to his knees.

He loved that his brother was willing to train with him... Willing to take a punch. He hoped he would enlist one day.

[member="Valkren Calderon"]

 

[Valkren Calderon]

Valkren was so giddy with joy at the fact that he had finally overtaken his brother, that he became completely oblivious to any movements that his older brother would make. Thus, resulting in a fist-full of dirt crashing directly into his face and clouding his line of sight. He panicked, the young Valk' letting out a yelp as he ducked his head into the crease of his left arm, still holding onto the weapon as he attempted to clear his vision. Still oblivious to the incoming attack from his older brother.

Suddenly, the air was knocked out of him as Matt's fist ended up in Valkren's gut, the rifle clattering to the farmland with a thud as he crumpled down along side it, gasping for air for several moments.

After catching his breath, a groan would escape his mouth as he rolled onto his back in agony. "Jesus do I feel bad for you on bad date nights.." He'd attempt to say in-between deep breaths, still gasping for air slightly.

He saw what he did wrong, cockiness once again. Honestly, he was utterly surprised that he fell for the same trick twice. However, he was slightly happy that it was only his own wrong-doing that brought about his downfall in this training scenario..You know, happy aside from the fact he could hardly see through his irritated eyes and that he probably had a few bruised ribs.

He was living, that was okay, right?

[member="Matthew Calderon"]

 

[Matthew Calderon]

The punch connected and his little brother helped, instantly the man felt a pang of guilt hit him, he hated to hurt his brother, but at the same time it was obviously teaching him to be less cocky. The rifle would clatter to the ground and his brother would drop as well after a few seconds the teen would speak, it was another joke. The commando applauded the teen's good sportsmanship, it was good that he knew it was to help better himself. He would kick the rifle away and crouch down next to his brother

"Bud, I never have a bad date night." He would say with a small chuckle, the truth was, more often than not he would find himself on the porch late at night wondering what he did wrong. But he laughed at the thought.

"Come on you should know... Remember that one time...yeah you were in the room...hah we tried not to wake you." He would say referring to the time he brought back a girl when Valk was still in the room. The man then noticed that his brother's eyes were irritated from the dirt he would bring his hand to the teen's face and run his thumbs over the teen's eyes attempting to clear the dirt out of his eyes.

"You did good Young Valk," he would say as he stood up and offered his hand for assistance.

"You know, there may be a early morning diner open somewhere...You hungry?" He would ask as he looked up to the sky.

[member="Valkren Calderon"]

 

[Valkren Calderon]

The young Valk' pushed himself to a knee, one hand still on his gut where his brother had delivered the devastating punch. He'd calm his breathing pattern, attempting to regain all of the breath that was lost.

"Don't remind me man..I don't wanna remember the nights I woke up in the middle of your so-called 'love makin.'" Valkren shook his head, pulling himself up from the dirt using his brother's hand, still panting for air somewhat slightly. Giving himself a minute or two, he'd eventually straighten his posture back up, wincing slightly at the bruise that was already forming on his stomach.

"Yeah..I wouldn't mind a drive or a walk anyways..If I even can." He'd think about attempting to playfully punch his brother, but he thought against it, incase Matthew's combat instinct was still into full drive.

"Think mom needed somethin' from the store anyways."

[member="Matthew Calderon"]