Deadly Troubadour

The following was compiled from an interview with Sergeant Ral Xirces, a highly decorated combat veteran with almost twenty years experience. He adds to the little heard perspective of the Hammer Troopers views on the conflict between the United Empire and the terrorist organization the Restoration.

 

On Hammer Suits:

 

The suits are great. Before these were finalized we were having a real issue with depressurization fatalities. You have a fleet of ships flying into combat, under heavy fire, you’re going to get holes occasionally knocked into those ships, shielding or no. One hole and an entire cabin loses O2. Anyone who can’t get to their own air supplier is gone. The idea finally catches on to just make the air supply part of standard uniform.

 

Not only that, this baby I’m wearing now has polarized armor plating, independent air supply switchover, atmosphere scrubbers, magnetizing boots, the works. Plus it’s self contained, and can be pressurized. I am just as comfortable in this thing planet side as I am on the outside of a Star Cruiser.

 

Yeah, I’ve never been fond of the new name. Hammer. Shit, someone wants a tough sounding acronym. High Armor Maneuverable Military Emergency Response. What does that even mean? At first they were just Highly Armored Personally Pressurized Infantry Exosuit. Still clunky, but at least you know what it is. But some brass didn’t like the idea of HAPPIE. Ask me anyone who prefers HAMMER to HAPPIE has never been in the thick stuff. When I tell my boys to suit up, I tell them to get Happy.

 

On the former Government and the Order of Paladins:

 

Sure, they had their good points. You can see see their fingerprints all over the best laws of the UE. But at the end, the old Government was ruled by a shadow cabinet of religious whack-a-doo cultists. Everything they did had to be in line with the will of the Source. The Source would guide them. Definitely it was the Order of Paladins that led to the overthrow of the former Government.

 

You had ten guys, and gals too, answerable to no one and who got all of their answers from a mysterious Source that only the initiated could feel or hear. And how do you get initiated? You have to live with them from before you were old enough to stop pooping your pants. All their teachings and “training” was kept in secret. What do you think they made those kids do? If anyone but the Paladins operated like that it would be called what it is: a cult.

 

Some of my worst combat memories of the Revolution are of the liberation of some of their temples. We had brainwashed kids attacking us with energy swords. I don’t like to think about what we had to do to survive.

 

On the Terrorist Restoration:

 

I almost feel bad for them. They’ve been brought up so long in this Source bullshit that they can’t accept it isn’t real. Entire planets are like this. Which if they left us alone would be their right. But some of the Paladins who went into hiding are back to their old tricks of leading behind the scenes, urging violence against the UE.

 

You know they’ve actually spread rumors that us Hammer Troops are clones. Sure, our armor looks similar so we must be the same underneath the helms. And clones are abominations to the Source making it the duty of Source believers to eliminate clones. Can you believe that bullshit?

 

Sure we could en masse take of the suits, but do you think the Restoration would let an opportunity like that pass by? A group of unarmored Troopers? Any chance of that happening ended when the Restoration bombed New Moon Station. That space station was over 70% non-military personnel and families. And the Restoration said they attacked because it was armed. Of course it’s armed. Everything has to be armed because of the threat of restoration attack.

 

At the end of the day my job, the job of every trooper, is to protect the UE and its citizens. Right now our biggest threat is the terrorist element and aggressive planets. It is my firm belief that both are being led in secret by Paladins who want to reclaim their role of puppet master of the universe.

 

Questions concerning the rumors that the United Empire has a secret police force that is led by a former Paladin went unanswered and prompted Sergeant Xirces to end the interview.