Guest Poster - Padawan Erifia [Topic - Please; I'm just a little girl.]

When I first entered the barracks, I noticed it smelled of sweat and BO. I was a girl, why was I rooming with men? There were many of them all around, and at the end of the barracks there was a freshly built wall made of dark black plastic. I opened the door, and found it was my own room, and it had a lock inside of it for me. There was also Republic issue army clothes. Two switches of clothes.

I switched into them, and I opened my door. All the men stared at me. I looked down from them, and opened the door again. I laid on my bed and cried silently. I fell asleep, and early in the morning I was awoken by the Bugle Droid. I stood, and wiped the sleep from my eyes. I exited the room, and the entire company was having a hard time waking.

I walked outside, and I stood at attention. The Drill Sergeant passed me by, walked into the barracks and there was lots of yelling. I waited with my head down as the rest of the company filed out behind me. The stood in line with me. I looked towards the other two companies, there was company A and C, and both were all men too.

Our first task was a thirteen mile run. If we dropped during the run, then we had to be carried by our company, and that increased the difficulty of the task and if we were first we would get shower passes, if not then we went without cleaning.

We stood in order, and the run began. The first two miles were okay; but as it got further on I got more and more tired. But I wasn’t going to stop. And I couldn’t force run, because if they knew I had been trained as a Jedi they would all hate me for sure. The man next to me collapsed, and the other men kept moving.

“We need to get him,” I said softly. The others ignored me. I grabbed him, my legs felt weak, and my muscles ached from just picking him up. I began to walk. I couldn’t run, I had to walk. My legs felt like they were going to give out. I kept walking.

There so many more miles. So many more; I couldn’t walk them all with his weight. I saw another man had fallen. He wasn’t even in my company, his hat was different. I looked at him, as he wheezed on the ground. I laid the one on my shoulder down on the ground, and I grabbed the other by the arm. I then grabbed the other by his shirt collar. I pulled them by walking backwards.

My muscles burnt. I pulled on them I wasn’t getting far at all. I kept pulling and pulling, and it seemed that I wasn’t moving them anywhere. Had our companies just not noticed the men dropping? I pulled, and I tugged. My muscles began to give up. I forced them into continuing I had to be a good soldier. I could never go back to being a Jedi now. I marked a rock far ahead of me, and I pulled them past it.

I marked another rock, and I pulled them past it. I marked another one. I pulled them past it. I marked another one, and I pulled them past it. I tripped. There was another man. From the last company; I set him on top of the other two, and I pulled. It was too much weight.

I pulled. I pulled and I pulled. I finally fell from fatigue. My hands raw, and my legs feeling of rubber. I grabbed them and on the ground I pulled. Getting little further. I sat for a moment, and my muscles began to tense. I couldn’t do this… I cried… I didn’t belong here, I didn’t belong in the temple, where did I belong?

I stood and I kept pulling. I was so tired. My body ached so bad. I pulled harder and harder, and I marked a stone. I pulled further and further.

I pulled further and further. More and more. Finally I collapsed. I began to cry. Pain filled my body. It burnt, my lungs, my legs, my arms. I felt a hand on my shoulder, it was the first man who fell, the second too was standing.

“Come on tri’lek,” the name stung, but he had said it so kindly to me. I didn’t think he meant any insult by it. The second man spoke too, “Let’s go. We can make it to the end.” The last man shook, and he looked at them with me, “You dragged me, didn’t you?”

I nodded. He responded with, “Then let’s get you to the end.” He stood, and we began to run. It was so much easier without them, but I was so tired from having dragged them. I started to wobble and my legs gave out, and I hit the hard down with my cheek, or I would have except they caught me by the arms, and all three of them carried me as they ran. Once I got my strength back. I stood and ran. I was doing it, and I forced my muscles to work, and I saw the end, the platoons were standing at attention as the drill sergeants yelled at them.

I ran as hard as I could without force running. Before we got to the end line, the men stopped and let me cross first, why? Didn’t they want the shower tokens? I didn’t understand. Once I arrived across the finish line, my body gave out, and I fainted.

If you’ll excuse me, I am going to be so sore in the morning,

Sweaty and Dirty Hugs,
Erifia Apoc