If I had known all things, I would have hit him harder. Incompetent officers  are nothing new, but that doesn't mean I have to tolerate them. Twelve years of service down the tubes because I wouldn't sacrifice three squads to the stupidity of a greenhorn Lieutenant straight out of the Academy

We had drawn an assignment to deal with a nuisance uprising that was causing some grief to supply convoys along the Corridor . At least that was what the Brass called them, we called them pirates. So our wonderful Lieutenant gets the bright idea we can ambush them by hiding our fighter inside the cargo haulers bays, since it was the pirates targeted in the attacks. A feasible idea, if it wasn't known the pirates were using anti armour missiles to vent the cargo holds before they moved in.

So I did what any XO worth his stripes does, I led him aside and gave him my opinions, pointing out that the pirates had to have a spy in the city picking out the haulers that held cargos they could use. The Lieutenant, in typical IDF fashion,  threatened to have me charged with insubordination. He never should have taken off his helmet to dress me down. End result, my tactics switched out two haulers for two disguised armoured troop transports and our only casualty was an officer with a concussion and a broken jaw while a pirate cell was wiped out.

Two sets of discharge reports were signed and ready to go by the time I got base on Stormfall Station and I took the lesser of two evils and opted to retire early on my own rather than eat the discharge. The Major told me as I signed off that the reason I was given the option was my record up to then was a sure bet for promotion. I looked straight at the Major and replied with a shrug, " I was happier in the field with the men, and they deserve to be treated better than canon fodder." I handed back the flimsi, went to clean out my foot locker and bought a ticket off planet.

I heard on the holonews that the LT was killed three weeks later on a joint training exercise with some ground pounders. An anonymous message sent to me told me he had actually  been fragged in the latrine during field ops. I deleted it and laughed.

So, what exactly does one do as a civilian,was my first thought when I arrived rim ward. I didn't have much family outside the core, and I had very few skills that could land me anything other than manual labour other than flying And where does one look for a job, anyways? So I started were any good soldier goes, the first bar I saw.

.....


The miner was big, bigger than Harley really wanted to tangle with, and his issue was trivial. How was she supposed to know she wasn't allowed to wear her old uniform pants in the middle of a marketplace? And they had led to the question Harm really wanted to avoid. She looked the miner in the eyes and replied," No, I'm not IDF. I was once, but it didn't work out." Harley smiled as she tried to continue on passed the mountain of a man.

Harm got farther than she expected to when she heard him growl something about no good soldier before solid blow  to the back of the head spun her around and caused things to blur for a moment. Catching her bearings, Harley used the miner's momentum to spin her , bringing the backpack she wore around like a weapon to strike her attacker solidly in the midsection. Harm heard the sickening crunch of ribs and the miner went down. Harm saw him going for a weapon, but grabbed it first, then moved in to stand over her attacker," Now, you're lucky I'm retired, or you'd be dead. Instead," Harm powered down the pistol and dropped the pieces before looking at an approaching security officer and held up her hands, " No need officer, not pressing any charges."

The security officer looked at Harm, then the miner before nodding. Harley didn't think twice and retreated to the first cantina she saw. Sliding into a bar stool, she ordered just a bottle of spring water. As it arrived, all Harley could do was hang her head as a voice behind her asked about the IDF trousers she was wearing. With a deep breath, Harm spun and shrugged, " Are they? No wonder I got them so cheap as the thrift shop by the spaceport." and flashed a goofy smile.

illegal.



 Name: Harley Reedus
Alias: Harm
"Retired" IDF Pilot

Age: 34
Sex: Female

Appearance

5'11" and 162 lbs, Harley is fairly tall with an athletic build. She has let her blonde hair grow out to shoulder length. Her green eyes match the emerald stud earrings she tends to wear. She has no other piercings or tattoos, but has several scars on her back, thigh, scalp and side from being shot down once, and normally keeps them hidden.

She still tends to wear military issue pants and boots, with a bomber style leather jacket over  a tank top or shirt. She still has her service pistol and a hunting knife  she carries on a utility belt, along with a few other goodies she has in case of trouble.


Personality

Still tends to think like a soldier, but has learned to relax around people a fair bit. Is self reliant out of years of necessity, and tends to come across at first as a hard ass, until she gets to know someone and loosens up. Then she becomes more caring and friendly, but remains protective and loyal to those she gets attached to. Can be smart mouthed by times, normally in a playful manner and means no offence.

She has a deep rooted dislike of being underground  that she does not like to talk about

Orientation

Being a member of the Interplanetary Defence Force, anything other than hetero was frowned upon, but she has always been at least curious