419.22 // Operation Acklay’s Pincer
Private Sa’nem Haldrek was my bunkmate on board the “Trapper.” I had originally been assigned a press room, but, I wanted to give the most accurate account of the current conflict so I bunked up there by choice. Sa’nem was a Tholothian woman, in her mid-twenties. She was well known in her squadron for being forward-looking, stalwart, and good-natured, the perfect person to sit back-to-back with in a shell crater. She had a Zeltron partner back home on Eriadu and the two were bidding on a house.
We both mutually watched out the viewport, the green marble of Vohai under us. We saw the spectacle of the “Elation” detonate, all hands lost. The blood drained from her face and she looked ashen, just as I did at the time. Not long after we boarded our drop ships and descended, hitting landfall. Our assignment was to hold the landing zone as a fallback point in case the assault on the city nearby failed.
I was asking her about why she’d volunteered for such a dangerous mission, given that it had few to no incentives. She simply replied that ‘It was the right thing to do- these people are suffering under the Wyld.’ Midway through our conversation the shooting started. A force of Wyld troopers had regrouped and initiated a counter attack, hoping to surround our advanced force to cut off their escape. Sa’nem shoved me into the mud behind the pile of crates before taking two bolts to her chest that were meant for me. After the short foray, all went calm.
Private Sa’nem was one of 1,500 casualties between the fleet battle overhead and the ground engagement on Voahi. Followed by the 1,700 casualties lost on Ryloth days later. All volunteers who received no meaningful incentives to serve and defend the peoples out here in Wild Space. All doing so simply because, as Sa’nem said so simply, it’s the right thing to do.
Jedi diplomats brokered a deal in the Senate recently which is expected to commit the Republic fully to continuing the war in the Rim. The announcement was met with mixed reviews across the Republic for obvious reasons. It’s the right thing to do. But the cost of doing it is always high, and should not be forgotten.
With the two successful battles on Vohai and Ryloth behind us, everyone here on the front lines are looking to High Command for how to ensure that those sacrifices were not made in vain.
Reporting of this story given with the consent of the Haldrek family and Sa’nem’s partner.
Reporting from Vohai, this is Andee Nevaro