Andar "Cursed" Bacardi slowly strolled along the path given to him... or at least the path to the warehouse. His SSK-7 Heavy Blaster Pistol was strung into his shoulder holster, his pinstripe suit was as clean as a autopsy table, and the local security force had not found him yet. And with the population of the city, and the estimated size of the security force - they most likely never would. Bacardi looked around, no one, and he quickly grabbed his Comlink out of his jacket pocket. Cocking his head back and forth again, he noticed no one - again, he clicked the Comlink three times, signaling: Location. A second passed and Bacardi had gone a half a stride, and the Comlink clicked five times: At Base. Paladin was at the warehouse, he shuved the Comlink back into his jacket pocket and began to set course to the warehouse.

Three minutes and two blocks later, Bacardi turned up at the warehouse. It looked the exact same as it had earlier, and Bacardi's tall and fit figure looked like a dot on a map. He went over to the front door, stepping on the gravel with his Corellian shoes, the gravel made a crunching sound every stride he took. Standing outside the door, grabbed the Comlink out of his pocket again and clicked it once, a blaster immediately came to the door. It opened. Stepping inside, Brightstar was the one holding the blaster. "Its good to see you to," Bacardi said with a smirk, he turned around and closed the door, then padlocking it - Brightstar did the rest.

"Bacardi, we are moving out." Hassar said as he came up to Andar, Hassar's tall and slim body was in line with every other body around him and Andar. "You, Rex, and I are going as a team, and Lucky, Sam, and DoomBlade are as well. Load up." Hassar walked away from Bacardi, and Bacardi looked after him. In the distance was two unarmed Seraph-Class Speeders, inexpensive speeders, but able to haul a load. The back turret had been replaced with one passenger seat and a cargo hold. Bacardi was excited. Moving over to the crates again, opening the lid to a crate he reached in and to his surprise came out a DC-15S Blaster Rifle. "Great," he thought, he searched the room again. His eye got caught on a rack of Sniper Rifles, pacing over to the rack he grabbed the once that appealed most to him - the DC-15x Sniper Rifle. Now moving over to the speeders, he loaded his weapons in the hold and after checking that Rex's and Hassar's weapons were in there as well, he shut it.

"Clear?" Brightstar asked the speeders, they all gave a thumbs up and an affirmative nod in reply. Brighstar raised her blaster pistol at the warehouse garage door and took cover behind a barrel, on the other side of the speeders the Falleen and another human trooper did the same with themselves. The door opened and a whoosh of fresh air came in, and as soon as that came in, Hassar hit the speeder's engines and they were out. The other speeder was close behind. The garage door closed in a blink of an eye. Now at the outskirts of the town, the two speeders split. Bacardi, who was sitting in the back seat began to look over his gun as Hassar pounded the engines towards their destination. Giving up on his gun, he cocked his head back up, his hair swaying in the wind. Their destination was straight ahead, over a few hills and rivers. They had to stop about half a kilometer from their target so no one else could find it. Hassar pulled into a patch of brush that concealed the speeder perfectly. Luckystar, Sam, and DoomBlade's speeder had gone the other way, to their target.

"Lets move out," Andar said as he hopped out of the speeder and opened up the cargo hold. Deciding not to bring his DC-15S and x he brought his SSK-7 out of his shoulder holster, his hand still on the cargo hold door. He checked if Rex and Hassar had both gotten their weapons out, Bacardi slammed it shut. Bacardi still in his pinstripe suit was a little bit less lenient to trod in the mud than the others, so insead he took huge strides onto rocks and other things that would keep him from getting his clothes dirty. Now standing outside the target, the sun began to fall and they got on their knees and they began to observe their target. A large collection of stone buildings and wood sheds, equipment littered the place. Two large cultivating trucks sat, off, outside the smallest of the stone buildings. Rex pointed at the trucks and raised his blaster, and he sprang from their hiding spot.

He ran towards the first truck and slid under it. Bacardi stood back and motioned for Hassar to go as well. Hassar sprinted towards the second truck and moved under it. Soundless sparks began to fly out of the trucks as they worked and Bacardi stood guard, his SSK-7 Silenced Blaster Pistol raised at the ready, no one was coming. Rex sprang from his hiding spot and caught cover by the truck, and Hassar did a second later. They both motioned for Andar to come, Andar moved his hands to dodge the bushes and sprang from the hiding spot. He was now alongside Rex, Hassar's footsteps came from behind him as they went farther into the complex. Grassy patches came and went as they moved farther into the complex, no one had stopped them yet.  Rex aimed his blaster rifle towards a door as sounds came from it, Hassar jumped for cover and Bacardi moved by a barrel and raised his SSK-7. Rex slowly paced backwards and moved behind the same barrel as Bacardi, a slightly bulging site from the average bystander. The door opened.

"Well I'll be damned," a man said as the sound of the door opening came to Bacardi's ears. "No one out here on a sunny night, jeeze these people need to get outdoors more." The man's footsteps came closer to Hassar, Bacardi tracked him as he came into sight. He was three paces from Hassar's hiding spot. "What the?" Bacardi sprang, Rex did as well. Rex raised his blaster rifle but Bacardi hit it down, not wanting to attract attention. Bacardi raised his SSK-7 and fired once - it missed. The man turned around and reached for his belt, there was a Blaster Pistol attached to it. Hassar sprang to soon and the man dodged him and at the same time punched him in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. The man had thumbed the blaster's safety and aimed it at Hassar's body that lay on the ground. But Bacardi was a step ahead, he had fired twice, they had yet to hit, they hit. Dead center. The man fell to the ground dead, and with a scream from his dying self - three lights flickered on in the windows that were near the door.

"Go, go, go." Bacardi whispered at Rex, he pulled out a fake New Republic ID of some random joe and threw it on the ground. He motioned for Hassar to go as well. They were all on a sprint now. Bacardi heard voices behind him but didn't dare to look back, they had cleared the stuctures and were now halfway to their speeder, running through patches of mud Bacardi keyed his Comlink: "This is Gamma team to Beta team, mission is a partial success. Retreating from premisses." Bacardi saw the speeder and hopped in the seat, Hassar and Rex were on step ahead of him. Bacardi reached down into the cargo hold and grabbed a Com Headset. He began to flick with the controls.

"*static*...*static*... This is Pemk Co. Security Force, we have a worker by the name of... *static*... down... *static*." Hassar had ignited the engines and they were flying towards their destination, Bacardi keyed the switches again. "*static*... *static*... Anyone out there?" Bacardi gave up and set the Com set down. The speeder flew down a stony road and they were near the garage, the garage automatically opened and to there surprise Lucky, Sam, and Doomblade's speeder was already present. They entered and the garage door closed, they all got out and saluted.

Luckystar walked over and opened her mouth to speak: "What happened, how many were you able to sabotage?" Bacardi, Rex, and Hassar hung there heads in shame. None of them wanting to speak the truth, they had only gotten two trucks, that was close to complete failure. Rex took the initiative and paced forward, most likely in Rex's mind his steps were heavy and he walked one pace. It felt to all three of them like minutes. "Well?" Luckystar spoke, wondering why none of her troopers were speaking a word. Her eyes were filled with wonder at how many they had actually sabotaged.

"Two, we sabotaged two." Bacardi walked away, as did Hassar. They saluted and relieved themselves, both of them heading to a cantina. The only one Bacardi could think of off the top of his head was that restaurant in the hotel lobby, two minutes later - they were there.

The dull drone of freighter engines and the sound of machinery filled the air as Daniel and Jager neared the city's landing pads. Jager was slowly beginning to hate D' and his inane chatter about nothing really in particular, this coupled with the grinding and humming noises that emanated from the pads made Jager's hangover that much worse,

"I thought you said some fresh air would clear my head... I cant even hear myself think" Jager managed to state when D' went to take a breath.

"I did... but, uh.. sorry" was all he could say as he stopped outside a small repair shop.

"Hey Listen, I gotta head into here and pick something up... mind waiting outside?"

"Whatever, just... hurry" Jager grumbled, relieved that he finally had a break in the one sided conversation that started back at Ma's. Taking another cigarette out of the quickly diminishing packet he contemplated his next steps.. He knew that these people were important, that much was obvious... but he had no idea how he was gonna get any information out of them. And what about Bright and the Jesters, if these people were involved with the NR they'd probably be keeping tabs on him and if he suddenly disappeared for a brief period someone might put two and two together and see through Jagers weak, yet passable disguise.

Guess I'll just see where this take me he mumbled to himself,

"Alright, i am done... who were you talking to?" D' asked as he emerged from the shop with to medium sized packages under each arm,

"What's that?" Jager said, raising in eyebrow and motioning towards the packages

"These, starship parts..." D' responded hastily, it was clear that they weren't starship parts.

"You dont have a starship..."

"Did anyone ever tell you that you ask to many questions?"

"Anyone ever tell you that your a terrible liar?", Daniel was clearly starting to sweat

"SHUT UP" he shouted Agitantly, Jager quickly backed off. if he was going to gain these peoples trust this was the wrong way of going about it.

"Right..." Jager sighed, taking another drag on his cigarette, "Where to now?"

"Back to Ma's" D' mumbled as he walked off, still hugging the packages under his arm.


=======


The apartment block was oddly quiet when the two returned, the place seemed even more run down from the street. Daniel hurried upstairs, Jager on the other hand took his sweet time. The moment they entered the apartment D' raced off to one of the rooms and locked the door. Zed was throwing cards aimlessly onto the table and both Jess and Mae were curled up on the couch asleep.

Jager pulled up a chair next to Zed and introduced himself,

"Jager" he stated, holding his hand out

"Name's Zed" he replied, quickly yet lazily shaking Jagers hand. Zed was a big guy, probably 6'5" and buff. He's stature reminded Jager of a few imperials he knew back on Tadath, in fact everything about Zed from the way he looked to his posture to his overall personality seemed to say ex-military.

"There a problem spacer?" Zed said gruffly catching Jager off guard,

"Uh.. no, why?" 

"Your staring at me, listen... I don't swing that way", Jager paused did he just call me..

"no, no no.. that's not what... never mind" Jager stammered, quickly getting to his feet, Zed smirked

"I was just messing with you... In any case, I think Ma' wanted to see you. Back room, knock"

"Thanks" was all he could really say.

========

The door opened before he had a chance to knock,

"Come in, take a seat" Ma's voice offered. Walking in Jager was startled, the room was properly carpeted from wall to wall in a dark red, the walls had wallpaper and a bookcase lined the read wall. Ma' sat behind a large desk with a monitor on it and a few files scattered around. She seemed a farcry from the tired old women who he shared some smokes with on the balcony earlier that day.

"This is nice..." Jager stated in awe.

"Just take the seat," she repeated in a stern manner. Jager sat down slowly, this could be some sort of trick after all

"By now, i think you've already figured out that something is going on with my little family... Am i right?"

Jager simply nodded, she seemed a bit pissed and Jager wasnt about push her,

"Well, you have a choice... We either continue here, or I have Zed escort you to the nearest spaceport and you leave the planet"

"In other words, Zed'll take me to a dark alley somewhere and off me?" Jager corrected her, smirking sarcastically. She returned the smirk,

"Well.... yes, that's one way to put it.", Again Jager paused... this entire thing stunk, and he knew if he accepted it that there would be no backing out.

"Alright, I am in" he stated

"I can tell you a few things, its better that no one know the whole picture..." she began, "Have you ever heard of a group called 'Chaos'?"

Jager shook his head, "Cant say I have... Sounds New republic"

"You'd be right on that one... This little 'Family' is an active cell for Chaos"

Jager mentally began pumping his fist in the air, "So... what do you guys do?"

Ma' shook her head, "All in due time".

"So where do i fit into this, i mean... you've only just met me" Jager questioned, it seemed a bit odd that he was just plucked off the street and offered this,

"To tell you the truth, it was never my choice... Zed seems to like you, Same with D' and Jess..."

"Thats not the question, Why me?"

Ma' paused and sighed, "Necessity... the local security force got a lead on one of the our members and he killed himself in their custody. A functional cell needs four members, you'd be the fourth"

"Sounds fair enough... how do you know I'am not part of the KSF though?" Jager queried

"Jager, the KSF are nothing but thugs... they would of killed us the moment they got a hint of NR involvement. And the fact that you are an off-worlder adds to that. The KSF don't trust off-worlders, and they don't use them as agents"

"Cant argued with that logic" Jager stated sarcastically

"Of course, I dont trust you fully either...." She finished, shooting Jager a cold stare, "If i ever think your not who you say you are... no one will ever hear of you again"

"If you thought that, I wouldn't be here..." Jager corrected as he got up and left the room.

Back in the living room things hadnt changed much D' was still locked in his room, Jess and Mae were still alseep and Zed was still playing his card game. Again Jager pulled a seat up,

"How'd it go?" Zed asked, still focusing on his card game

"I'am joining"

"Welcome aboard then Spacer" Zed replied, handing Jager a few cards.

Gates was kneeling on the roof of the hotel. He'd been there for several hours. He had a spotter's scope that he occasionally peered through, looking at the streets and alleys around their hotel. He also had a datapad on the lip of the building, which was keyed into the security cameras of the hotel.

Gates and Orobos had set it up earlier. No one expected a big, hairy, being, that frankly looked primitive, to be a brain. Even less would they expect a tall, earnest-looking young man to be in cahoots with such a person. This helped when Gates talked to the female clerk whilst Orobos hacked into their computers.

The bigger stormtrooper had finished, given Gates a quick nod. The human wrapped up his going-nowhere conversation and walked away. The clerk had been hanging on his every word.

"Nice," Orobos said sarcastically. "I didn't know you were such a charmer."

"Hey, I can read that romantic crap I get from my cousins when I'm not blowing shit up or killing people."

"Wait, you actually read that stuff?!"

"Skimmed it. What?"

The other left the elevator shaking his head. Gates shrugged, continued to the roof, where he set up the watch outpost. A spotter scope, his datapad, and a sidearm were all he needed, and a packet of smokes if someone came up. He had proximity sensors to watch his back.

After an hour or so, Gates' comlink buzzed; it was one of his squadmates.

"Gates, this is Helena. You're relieved. Take all your gear with you; no one can see in this darkness."

"Yes ma'am."

He packed up his spotter's scope, slid it into his jacket; the datapad was turned off.

He wiped the dirt off his pants and walked down the stairs.

Garryll stopped at the hotel suites, dropped off the datapads and scopes. He then turned to leave.

"Hey, where are you going?" asked Inyk, who'd been reading something.

"Smoke." he rattled the box of cigarettes.

The other nodded. Gates went downstairs. He left the building, going into a nearby semi-lit park. He lit up a cigarette.

He was just about to put it into his mouth when someone screamed.

"God damn it. Just when I was about to get some peace and quiet."

He stubbed out the smoke, crushed it with his heel, and sprinted towards the scream.

He turned a corner and saw this; a trio of masked thugs smashing into a convenience store; the lady behind the counter was screaming as one pointed a gun at her.

Gates sighed. He took off again, running quickly and silently, and body-slammed the first man into the sidewalk. He fell unconscious when his head hit the sidewalk. Gates pried his gun from his grasp, fired a shot into the legs of the next thief.

The last turned, arm hooked around the clerk, using her as a human shield. Gates lowered his gun, dove to the side, barely dodging several laser blasts.

They chewed apart a bench. Gates threw the now-useless gun at the robber; it hit him in the face. He let go of the girl. Gates smashed into him, giving him a good clubbing.

Several cops showed up. "Perfect timing." Gates muttered.

Helena heard her comlink buzz frantically; she panicked and didn’t hesitate to pick up.
It was Gates.

“Helena, there’s cops here, there was a robbery and I need back up. There are several of them and I can’t keep them occupied for long” He whispered in his own comlink.

“What hold on, what happened?” She questioned.

“I just witnessed a robbery, no time for chatter... CHHH” the comlink ended.

Helena smirked to her self, tossing an old badge from the NR she had found on one of her travels, around in the air.

I have plans for you little guy.

She hurried off to the street; it wasn’t far, so Gates didn’t have to occupy them long.  The sound of distant chatter meant Helena was close.

“Right Gates, I’m nearby, don’t let them notice I’m here, I have a plan, once I give you the okay, you can show them the bodies, up until then, keep them talking. Knowing you, you’ll think of something” She whispered into the comlink, trying not to be heard.

The broken glass shards from the windows where they had broken in were scattered across the pavement, the shops contents and packages were opened and smashed. Gates nodded towards one of the police men, and told them to gather round him and the clerk, as if he was about to leak some deadly information. Taking the opportunity, Helena quickly rushed to one of the unconscious body’s which seemed vulnerable and searched his pockets; she took his wallet, and pocket knife, along with a few other items he seemed to be carrying.

I’ll be taking that thank you.

She smirked to herself before putting the badge deep into the mans pocket. She quickly but silently crept away, making sure she was hidden in a nearby bush.

“All set, you may show them now” Helena gave off a slightly evil giggle before sitting back and watching the event unfold.

In the warehouse, Lucky picked out her weapons carefully. She took an SS-K7, a DC-15 Blaster Pistol which she holstered inside her dark suit jacket and some spare clips and a silencer. She looked at the binoculars, debating whether to grab  a pair or not. In the end, she did take one and slid them into a concealed pocket in her jacket.

Once Bright opened the door, she immediately jumped into the Speeder and took the controls as Sam and NoVa jumped in after her. They sped away, heading to their target area and getting to work. She knew that Brightstar was watching their every move and that comforted her in a way for an unknown reason.

Once they had reached their target, their sabotage operations immediately went underway and soon, they had completed their task and hopped back on the speeder only to stop a short while later at a rendezvous point the squad had given themselves once their task was complete.

While they waited, they sat in the speeder in silence, someone occasionally tried to make small talk with everyone else but after realizing that it wasn't working, they resumed their dead silence as they waited for Bacardi and the rest of the squad to join them.

When the trio arrived, they all looked disappointed. After Lucky had queried a few times on how they did, Bacardi spoke up  "We only managed to get 2." She had to admit that was disappointing news, but they would do better next time around.

"Let's get back to the hotel then, I assume that we will be getting new instructions shortly."

Hopping back on their speeders, they zoomed back to the warehouse, making sure they were not being followed and close to an hour later, they were all in the hotel lobby.

When they got there , it was buzzing with activity, through hearing gossip and asking a few innocent questions, they got all the details on the murder, all of which they already knew of course but they didn't want to blow their cover.

When she got to her room and had shut the door, she got a message on her data pad from Brightstar. She and her team had to investigate the murders in the hotel. that would be done in the morning as they were all drained and were in desperate need of some rest.

OOC:

Cursed, could you edit your posts to exclude Wrex and DoomBlade as Wrex is in reserves and  DoomBlade is AWOL and include Alan on your team instead please and thank you.

“Another drink?”

Kami jumped from where she had situated herself near the buffet table to catch a breath. She turned to see the dark gaze of the NR delegate Jon Orquis. Her lethargic state immediately vanished,

“No thank you. I think I've had enough.”

“Suit yourself,” Orquis delicately grasped a long stemmed flute of champagne, stepping sidewards and effectively pinning Kami in place, “You look like you're enjoying yourself, but I know better. These kind of assignments are much more wearing than those on the battlefield don't you think?”

Kami forced herself to remain calm, schooling her face into a neutral expression. This man, despite his easy smile and clean cut attire, was her enemy, “Actually, I'm having a great time. The people of Kolstor are most hospitable.”

Orquis frowned, the clear cut reaction a sign that the alcohol provided at the luncheon had hit its mark. For someone who had spent the last few hours carefully picking his conversations and avoiding Kami and Vasili, he had grown bold enough to confront her.

“Jon!” The other NR official was abruptly at Kami's shoulder, one hand latching possessively onto her companion's arm, “I''ve been looking all over for you!”

Orquis's frown deepened at the obvious anger in his partner's stance, “I was just getting a drink.” The woman, Mika Saprin if Kami remembered correctly, looked pointedly over her shoulder. Kami followed her gaze to see Ardric Riles watching them, an anxious expression on his face. Orquis seemed to give in, his shoulders dipping as he sighed and took a large swig from his glass, “But of course, duty calls.”

He turned, walking back towards the dancefloor, leaving Saprin in his wake. The other NR delegate turned on Kami, her words icy, “You do our job. We'll do ours. Leave Jon alone.”

Despite herself, Kami smiled. Possessive indeed. And on a first name basis.

Mistaking the gesture as a challenge, Saprin scowled, storming off to rejoin the Chief Minister and her partner.

“Making friends are we Kami?” Cyneques walked up, deftly depositing a fresh glass in Kami's hand. He waved away the beginning of her protest, “You've done the hard yards now, most of the ministers have already made up their minds.”

“And?” Kami questioned, her eyes still following Ardric as he led the NR duo away.

“We have more friends than we originally thought,” Luan's voice was softer now, even though they were in a relatively secluded spot, “Though whatever additional support your men can scrounge up will be most welcome.”

“Give them time, they'll do their job,” Kami answered, the mention of the other VE forces causing a spike of anxiety to flare up in her chest. What she would give to be out there with them.

Cyneques offered an understanding smile, “You burden yourself with your thoughts. Care for a dance?”

“Maybe later,” Kami apologized, “I should really go and track down my wayward date.”

Cyneques let out a snort of laughter, “Best of luck. Last I saw he was in the company of a virtual gaggle of young ladies.”

Cursing under her breath, Kami gripped her drink tightly and swept off into the milling crowd.

*        *        *        *        *        *        *

Ardric Riles pulled Mika aside as she emerged from the ladies bathroom, leading her down a small corridor and onto a wrought iron balcony overlooking the dance floor. The Sergeant allowed herself to be led, pulling herself free of his grip only when they had reached their destination, “What is it?”

“I've just received some strange reports,” Ardric hissed at her, “Unmarked men, moving about the streets at will. They're not locals, and their behavior is extremely circumspect.”

“We already talked about this Minister,” Saprin still seemed disgruntled from her run in with the VE Sergeant moments before, “You and I both knew that the Vast Empire would have a hidden agenda whilst on planet. As we ourselves do.”

“You were supposed to be monitoring them, stopping them from doing...whatever it is they're doing!” Riles paused, lowering his voice to an acceptable level, “I have far too much riding on this deal for it to all go wrong now. And Sharpe and Cyneques now have far too many allies for my liking.”

“Politics is your arena Minister, not mine,” Saprin bit back, “We'll deal with Sharpe and her men. You control your party, you are, after all, their leader are you not?”

Riles growled deep in his throat, “It's not that simple, and you know it.”

Saprin sighed, “Look, I'm sorry, but I need to go and find Jon. He's had too much to drink and he could embarrass himself.”

Riles nodded and Mika swept past back into the corridor, forsaking her usual farewell in her haste. He thought for a moment, contemplating all possible actions. Finally, he raised his comm and keyed it over to a private channel. Rasta, the head of his personal security force answered immediately,

“Yes sir?”

“I want Sharpe and the other one killed,” Riles ordered calmly, “A speeder accident or something equally as discreet. We don't want to anger the Vast Empire.”

There was a momentary pause, “Of course sir.”

“Contact me when it's done.”

Both Gates and Helena walked into the elevator, giggling away at each other.

“Good work there Gates, I mean that” She smiled.

“Thank you, Now are you going to push the floor button or not?” He smirked, looking at Helena who seemed to be in a world of her own, finger hovering over the button.

“Uh, yes, sorry about that”

They both waited a few floors in the elevator, listening to the highly annoying elevator music.

“Seriously, who comes up with this crap?”

They both laughed before feeling a slight judder as the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. As they both stepped out, they exchanged a quick smile before heading off to their rooms.

“I bid you a farewell until the morning then” She smiled lightly.

“Indeed” He saluted, before turning his back on her and heading off in the other direction.

Each of the squad members rooms were close, just so Tanus and herself could keep and watchful eye on things.

The rooms weren’t posh or high class by any standards. Helena dug into her pocket for the entrance card; she swiped it to let herself in. Her room contained one double bed, a random chair in the corner, a rotten downed dresser and a stale smelling bathroom. She was rather disgusted at the fact she didn’t even get complimentary soaps or bathrobes.

She emptied her pockets out onto the dresser’s surface. She smiled to herself as she placed the knife, wallet, and other things out in a neat line. She began rummaging through the wallet, examining the cards it contained and the money the person had on them. It wasn’t a lot, but Helena wasn’t that bothered, it was money to her.

She sat on the edge of the dampened down bed, with stained sheets, and pulled out her datapad. She typed a message out to all squad members to meet in the lobby in the morning at 0900 sharp.

She gazed out to the window, daydreaming into the city lights, before finally drifting off to sleep.

***0600, Tadath***


Verk’s eyes popped open from the turbulence caused by re-entry of the Tadath atmosphere. Shaking the sleep from his head he grabbed the controls of his Belbullab-22, taking it out of autopilot. It had been a good month and a half since Verk had last set his eyes on the planet of Tadath, home to the army of the Vast Empire. As he smiled to himself and readjusted the controls, Verk headed the shuttle towards the landing pads, hoping to find a familiar face and get back into the groove of things.

The comm. Buzzed slightly, “Unidentified craft, you are entering restricted airspace. Please state your name and purpose or be shot down.” The robotic voice said over the shuttles comm.

Verk shook his head, “This is Corporal Verkur returning from leave.”  He said over the comm.

There was silence for a moment before a human voice came over the comm.

“Welcome back Corporal. Proceed to landing pad B9. An escort will be waiting for you there.”

“Much appreciated, out.” Verk sighed to himself and clicked off the comm., heading towards the designated landing pad.

Verk landed the shuttle easily, the hiss of the landing gears hydraulics spewing some excess gas as the pistons compressed. Shutting everything down Verk popped the hatch and hopped out of the cramped shuttle, taking a deep breath of the cool dawn air. Damn it’s good to be back. Been long, too long. Before he got two steps, Verk was approached by three suited troopers, and a single officer. The officer motioned to Verk.

“Follow me.” The officer stated, obviously annoyed that she had been selected for such a menial task.

Shrugging Verk followed the tensed woman towards HQ. I have not been back for a few minutes and already I’m in trouble.


***0630, Army HQ, Just outside Rizzit’s office***


Verk sat in red and black arm chair just outside General Rizzit’s office, waiting for his turn to be seen. His feet crossed at the ankles, stretched out before him while his hands, linked at the fingers cushioned his head from the wall behind him. His eyes always on the move, Verk scanned the office, settling on Rizzit’s secretary who had a scowl on her face, generally upset with Verk’s relaxed manner. Verk sat up when the speaker on her desk crackled to life.

“Send him in.” The voice said.

Verk was already up and moving, stopping just before he opened the door to take a deep breath. Cracking his neck, he opened the large wooden door and stepped inside. The office was large and open. A few chairs dotted the black carpeting, and a half full book case stretched across the wall to his right. In the center of the room, was a large wooden desk, opposite that was a large window overlooking the grounds of the facility below, the General sat at his desk, a pile of papers strewn across its surface. Taking a few steps forward, Verk clicked his heels and saluted.

“Please, have a seat.” Rizzit said, waving one hand and rummaging through the papers with the others.

Verk relaxed slightly and took a seat, waiting patiently to be acknowledged. Rizzit sighed and looked up, nodding to Verk, accompanied by a brief smile.

“Welcome back Corporal. How was your leave?” The General asked, even though Verk knew he could care less.

“Nothing special just glad to be back with the army sir.” Verk responded, keeping it short and sweet.

“Good, now on to business. Storm was sent off on a mission just the other day, and as I recall, you were the ASL of Jester for a short time before you went on leave, correct?”

“Yes sir.”

“Well, now that you’re back, it is time you went back to work. You are being put back into Jester, but as a trooper again.” Rizzit said, picking up a file from the mess on his desk, he handed it to Verk. “The rest of the platoon has already left, but a shuttle will be provided for you. As a quick note, you are to go in civilian clothes. This is not the usual mission. Your squad is currently on the planet Kolster. You will be briefed accordingly once you arrive and find Jester. Good luck and welcome back solider.” Rizzit spoke quickly and once finished he stood and held out his hand.

Verk stood and shook the Generals hand, stating that it was good to be back. Saluting Rizzit, Verk turned on his heel and quickly left the office, making his way to the Jester barracks and his old room.

Verk took his time as he crossed the main grounds of the military installation. As he walked, his mind drifted to his time away from the VE, his trip back to Nar’Shada to visit his friend Nagado, and take care of some important business concerning the deaths of his parents many years ago.

Verk took a deep breath as he neared the Jester barracks, the cool morning air rushing into his lungs. Moving closer to the doors he pushed his way in, only for his mind to be flooded with old memories. Everything looked just the way it had when he left. The lounge and bar, as well as the meeting room which Verk passed on the way to his room.

Verk stopped momentarily to examine the metal door, running his fingers over its cool surface, just before it slid open, revealing a dark space within. Stepping inside the lights fizzled to life. It looked just the way he had left it when he first left. Not a piece out of place. Verk smiled and dropped his bag on his bed. Snapping back to the task at hand Verk quickly changed his clothes, donning his assassins outfit once more, mixing two of the suits to make a black and gray one.

Sliding his ryyk blades into their respective sheaths, Verk  quickly looked over his room and swiftly left, darting down the hall and out the barracks doors towards the hanger. Within a few moments Verk arrived, looking around till he found a shuttle pilot and ask him for directions to the shuttle that would take him to Kolstor. With directions in hand, Verk made his way down the line of shuttles till he came to his, a simple yet effective ship that would get the job done.

Stepping inside the craft Verk found the pilot napping on one of the ships bunks. Verk shook his head and jabbed the man in the ribs. Jolted from his nap, the pilot rubbed his side and looked up at Verk.

The pilot groaned, “What was that for you prick!? And what do you want?” He said.

Verk shook his head, “You were napping, and I have somewhere to be. You are supposed to take me to Kolstor, and I suggest you hurry up.”

The pilot grunted as he stood, making his way to the cockpit and sitting down in the pilot’s seat, strapping himself in. The pilot fiddled with the console, the ion engines humming to life, and the loading dock folding away, the back hatch sliding closed. The landing gears hissed and lifted, and the craft took off.

Verk sighed to himself and took a seat towards the rear of the shuttle, sitting down and strapping himself into the lightly cushioned bucket seat. Pulling up his cloth mask, and the cowl of his cloak low, Verk hunkered down and waited for the shuttle to arrive at Kolster.


***1351, Kolstor, Landing pad Y7***


Even with the added hyperdrive, the ride still took a few hours. Verk stood at the rear of the shuttle, waiting for it to touch down and the rear hatch to slide away. The ship jerked and shifted as the landing gears engaged and made contact with the durasteel platform below, Verk held onto a low hanging bar to stabilize him during the rickety landing.

As the metal door slid away, and the exit ramp rose, the sun of the backwater planet snuck in, trying to blind the newcomer and catch him off guard. This time though, its efforts were useless. Verk’s cowl and mask did well to help keep the light low, and stop the sun from temporarily stealing his vision. Sighing he stepped from the shuttle, quickening his pace to find a crow, and then matching the pace of the others around him.

Verk had been on Kolstor before, and new the lay of the land, its people and ways to lose a pesky follower. Granted it had been many years since the day he had assassinated one of the planets previous diplomats, but it had seemed a good business opportunity, and the planet had fared quite well since then.

Moving with the crowd, Verk made his way through the city, his black and gray robes hiding his ryyk blades beneath, and within easy reach. The first task at hand was to locate the landing platoons that Storm had used for their own crafts. The pilots knew where to find the squads, and that would be Verks link to the others.

Verk moved quickly yet cautiously, taking great care not to draw any unnecessary attention. Since he had a basic idea of what was were, Verk took his time in making has way to the Storm landing areas, taking notice of how things had changed since his last visit, and remapping the area and committing it to memory. After his half hour of walking in circles and refreshing his memory, Verk finally made it to the landing pad. Two of the three shuttles had missing pilots, and the third was fiddling his thumbs as he watched a holo recording.

Verk coughed to clear his throat, “Ahem. I am looking for the Storm? Know where I can find it?”

The pilot turned his head and looked Verk up and down. “Industrial district’s been getting some bad weather recently. People been using the warehouses for shelter.” The pilot turned his attention back to the holo recording.

“Thanks for your help.” Verk said.

“Yea, yea. Now le…” The pilot turned back towards the robed figure, but he was gone, nowhere to be seen.

Verk moved silently through the shadows of the alleys of Kolstor, making his way to the industrial district. The smoke and smog grew thicker and thicker as Verk drew closer to the warehouses, then without warning it quickly faded, not that the air was cleaning, but visibility increased. Moving through the buildings one by one, Verk took notice of each, trying to locate the other VE troopers.

The last warehouse he came to was nearest to the water, one side facing towards the shipping roads, two to other buildings and the last towards the water. Since it was the last one, it had to be the one being used by Storm.

Verk was surprised when he stepped into the large metal and wooden structure. Unlike the others, this one was well lit, and one wall was set up with monitors and all sorts of other computer equipment. Off to his left he saw gas lines, most likely used for filling up speeder bike tanks. To his right were piles of boxes, empty, yet so many. In the middle sat massive amounts of weapons, ammo, and armor.

There were a few others in the warehouse; one was sitting next to the weapons pile, a look of satisfaction and accomplishment spread across his face. That kid needs some attention. Shrugging Verk moved towards the computers and radios, hoping to find someone he knew.

Verk stopped, a hand moving towards a ryyk. “I don’t think so. Both hands up where I can see them.” The voice said from behind, as well as the distinct noise of two rifles clicking and waiting for a trigger pull.

“Turn around, now, and take off that mask so I can see your face.” The voice said.

Verk sighed, “I want no trouble, I am here for the same reasons you are.” Verk said as he turned, pulling back his cowl, and the face covering down. “Names Verk, used to be in Jester and was once its ASL.” Verk raised his hands once more.

The green skinned man looked Verk up and down. “Well, if you are who you say you are, then one of the SL’s or member of jester should be able to identify you.” The fallen tapped his comm., “I need an SL or a long time member of Jester back at the warehouse. I have a man here saying his name is Verk, and I need conformation.”

The com was silent for a good five minutes, not a single com tap either. The two gunmen raised their rifles and clicked off the safeties, taking aim and readying to fire. Things were not looking good for Verk’s near future.

“Well, since no one has anything to say about your so called good nature, it’s time you left, or died.” The fallen said, motioning the weapon towards the nearest door.

“Oh you have to be….” Verk started, but was cut off by the crackling of an active com link.

“Maze, repeat that last comment. I thought you said Verk was back, but I was busy at the time.” The familiar voice of Bright was a much welcomed reprieve.

“Yea, I have a guy here who says his name is Verk. What do you want me to do?” Maze replied.

There was silence for a moment, “… Well, I want to talk to him, give him a com and let him get suited. His arrival could not have been better.” Bright said, confirming Verks identity.

“Roger that Bright, Maze out.” Clicking off his com, Maze turned to Verk, “You lucked out buddy. Suit up and grab a com set.” Maze clicked his safety back on and walked away.

Verk dropped his hands to his sides and turned around, shaking his head and looking for a com set. Once he found a fully charged set that was not being used, he put on all the necessary components and opened a channel with storm.

Verk pressed two fingers to the throat mic, “Hey Bright. It’s Verk.” He said smoothly, leaning on the desk and scanning the monitors, trying to figure what the others were up to.

“It really is you. How long has it been?” The female voice queried?

“A good month and a half I would say. How’s it been?”

“It’s been better, but listen, I’m kind of busy right now so suit up with whatever you can find in that pile of hardware and help out where needed. I’ll be back when I can, Bright out.” The com clicked and died, ending the quaint conversation.

Sighing Verk turned away from the glowing monitors, and towards the pile of weapons and armor. As he walked over to the pile and got a better view of what was actually there, Verk began to notice that some of it was quite new, and rather expensive. Assault rifles and grenades, armor of all sorts colors shapes and sizes. One duffel bag caught his eye though. It was all black, and printed in yellow block lettering were the letters K.S.A.F. which deduced to be Kolstor Special Attack Force. Stepping over several weapons and a few other items, Verk came to the black bag and knelt down, grabbing the zipper and pulling it the length of the mesh bag, revealing its contents.

All Verk could do was smile. Zipping the bag back up he stood, pulling the bags straps over his shoulder he scanned his immediate area for any weapons. Not too far away he saw a pile of M4 pistols and ammo cartridges, as well as a pile of M-590 assault rifles and clips. Verk moved over to the two sets of weapons, picking up one of each, and extra ammo for both.

Looking around Verk found a suitable place to get changed in private, a corner hidden in the dark, and away from the others. Moving to said location, Verk unzipped the bag once more and got changed. It only took a few moments, but once he was finished, Verk was quite comfortable, and actually pleased with how he looked. Stepping from the dark and into the light, his new attire was revealed.

From head to toe, Verk was clad in a black swat uniform. From the standard issue combat boots, to the military style hat and bullet proof vest, Verk looked pretty good. On the vest as well as the hat, the same yellow block letters were printed for all to see. On his hip sat the m4 pistol, and attached with a strap and held firmly in his hands was the M-590. Within easy reach sat the extra clips for both weapons.

Flicking the safety off and then on again, Verk aimed the weapon around the room, getting a feel for its weight and flipping through the regular, thermal and night vision modes of the attached scope, and then the switch to change from single round semi automatic, three round burst and full auto modes. With everything set and ready, Verk moved over to Maze and the other VE soldier.

“You know, you actually look pretty convincing in that getup.” Maze said, a faint smile crossing face green face, and then vanishing.

“Yea, I get that occasionally. So, what’s next on our to do list hmm?”

Helena tossed and turned all night. The sticky, high temperatured air sweeping in though the windows made it hard for her to breathe. She was queen when it came down to complaining about everything. The sheets would do the Mexican wave; they were on and off the bed repeatedly.

“Argh, when is this going to end!” she screamed at the top of her voice. Surprisingly, none of the other troopers had heard her.

The sounds of people down in the lobby were annoyingly loud, but Helena didn’t want to complain any further and just forced herself to sleep once again.



Helena made her way over to the coffee table that was located off to the side of the lobby. The cup stains on the surface made Helena feel ill, so she decided to lean again a chair. Her arms folded, leg crossed over the other one, and weight completely depending on the chair not moving.

“A quick strike would be good, but we’d all have to sit down and plan it, it can’t just happen at a random moment. We have to think things through so we know how to frame people other than ourselves. Our actions have to go unnoticed.”

Helena nodded towards the room that the strange man had hidden away in.

“You all saw that man there, we can’t be too careful around here. The place is crawling with people who could squeal”

She paused, taking out her hipflask and taking a quick sip of it before putting it back into her belt pouch. It had only just become a habit, the coffee that is.

Her hip started to make a beeping noise, along with Tanus’. They both grinned at each other before nodding sternly.

“Right, we all have to meet Aeos in the warehouse, at 2200 hours” Tanus spoke out.

“We can all plan the strike, as long as we have enough time to meet Aeos. I’m sure you all don’t want to see it when that woman gets angry”

The whole squad nodded briefly before heading off into their rooms to collect important items to take with them.

The smell of an apartment fire and garbage woke Jager from his unscheduled sleep. For a while he just lay there in the trash skip, his thoughts clouded by what he guessed was some sort of concussion. After a few minutes of thought gathering Jager attempted to drag himself up, which he soon realized was a mistake as a sharp pain shot from his chest. Zed's kick cracked one of his ribs and left a large boot shaped bruise. 

With a painful heave, Jager pulled himself out of the skip and onto the ground. The fall was more then he anticipated and with a Thud and a dull moan he lifted himself off the ground and up against a wall.

"I gotta find a new line of work" he muttered before the pain caused him to throw up. As he stood there wiping the vomit of his mouth a sharp beep echoed from inside his coverall pocket. After a few moments of rummaging he found the source, his data pad. Amazingly it had survived the fall with only a few dings but it still worked.

"Its nice to know I'am still wanted" he thought as he checked his messages. He had one new message, no name, just

"Meet at the bar, 1h, urgent"

Jager went to check the time received to see if it was still relevant when he realized that it didn't specify which bar... he guessed that it was from either Zed or Ma', he was hoping it was from Ma' as Zed may still be a little paranoid. Slowly Jager made his way down the alley, away from the front of the apartment block. He stopped once he was down the street and looked back, Black smoke was rising from a few floors and a Larty was patrolling overhead. The streets themselves were swarming with KSF and on lookers.

Jager made note to stay out of sight and stuck to whatever shadows he could find. The limp given to him by the cracked rib, the smell of garbage and his torn coveralls gave Jager the unintentionally look of a homeless man, but if he was stopped by a curious KSF officer it wasn't going to hold up.

Jager had walked a few blocks before he started to guess what bar the message referred to, it was so incredibly obvious that it hurt a little...


====

Jager stood outside the bar where he first ran into Ma' and her kids. He was apprehensive at entering in case it was some sort of trap, in his head he ran through a few possible outcomes. Either Zed was going to kill him inside... or apologies, but someone this seemed unlikely. Alternatively it could be Ma' waiting inside to kill him or it could be a KSF ambush. As he stood contemplating the outcomes another sharp beep emanated from his datapad,

"Round back, Hurry up"

It was seeming more and more like a trap but still Jager continued. So there he stood, alone, hurt and smelling of garbage in an alley behind a third rate bar on a planet he had never heard until a week ago, meeting someone who would possibly kill him, and yet he wasn't in the least bit afraid... more tired of this shit and ready to go home.

"Corporal Jager Luth, Jester squad," An all to familiar voice stated behind him.

"How long have you known?" he said, not turning around,

"Since I first met you," On this Jager slowly turned around. Ma' stood a few steps behind him with that all to familiar smirk on her face,

"If your gonna kill me, hurry up... its been a really long day" Jager said with a tone of sarcasm in his voice,

"Its funny you know, all this time we thought we had it all planned out but when it came down to it, we were all just apart of someone else plan."

Jager had a feeling that this was going to take a while so he took a seat ontop of a trash can. Ma' lent up against a wall and continued

"The plan itself was perfect, and now looking back on it... it was to perfect."

Jager shifted uneasily, "So, you'd frame me for killing the head of the KSF and then everyone thinks the Imperials are to blame, NR come out on top..."

Ma' nodded, "That was the plan, except you missed one thing... The head of the KSF's second in command was loyal to the NR. He was the one who suggested the plan to my superiors. Right then and there I should of seen through it... but i didn't... and now, look where we are"

"Seen through what?" Jager queried,

"That the second in command was using us for a means to an end, think about it... if you had a chance to kill the man above you and move up without implicating yourself... you would take it, hell we've lost more cells in the past seven hours then we ever did to Selto."

"So... he used you to help himself, then killed off the only ones who knew about it. Doesnt explain why Selto was dead when we got there"

Ma' shrugged, "I guess he didn't trust us to do it. You do know that If you died there he would of claimed that it was a Joint NR/Imperial plot to destabilize the Kolstor government and people would of believed him... Selto, for all his faults was still a good man."

"Then why did you kill him?" Jager asked, again in that sarcastic tone.

Ma' sighed "Why?... its my Job, as it was your Job to infiltrate Chaos and kill it. In the end Jager, we're all disposable cogs in someone's plan..."

"So... how does it stand between me and you?"

"...that's just it, i have nothing against you, Nor do you against me. In the end we both failed"

Jager paused for a moment, "What about Zed?"

"Zed.... Zed hasn't found me yet, I still wager that he thinks this was my doing. hopefully in time he will catch me and I can explain it to him, but I am certain that this is the end of his and my friendship."

"Jess?" Jager added,

"Dead... killed in D's backup plan... I don't pity her, I just wish it didn't have to end like this. I thought of them as my children, and in the end I was the one who killed them."

The two sat in silence for a moment before Jager spoke up,

"So... what happens know?"

Ma' smirked as she wiped a tear of her cheek, "Mae and I are leaving... My superiors have cut all contact with me, which usually is a bad sign. As for you, I suggest you leave Kolstor... You and I are possibly the only ones who know what really happened here and that makes us a threat to some very powerful people."

Jager rose, wincing and placing a hand on his rib, "Its been fun..." he stated extending his free hand. Ma' placed a piece of paper in his palm, to which Jager shot back a confused look.

"Going away present, That rib looks bad... there is a apartment number of a friend of mine... he's a doctor and a good man, he'll help and wont ask any questions."

Jager quickly examined both sides of the card, there was an address for a warehouse on the back,

"Whats there?" he asked,

"Your friends are using it as a safe house,"

"How did you find this out," he asked in a slightly dumbfounded manner,

"Ah, that would be telling you to much... no one person ever gets the full picture. Take care Mr. Luth"

And with that she walked off down the alley and disappeared, leaving a bewildered Jager standing alone. 

=====

The Doctor Ma' referred Jager had no idea who the man in his surgery was, but he had a good idea who he might be. A bandage, some painkillers and a bottle of cheap wine was all he gave Jager in what could only be described as the fastest physical examination the Corporal had ever had. gradually Jager made his way to the warehouse where Jester had apparently setup shop.

Jager waited across the street at first, as he scoped the place out. A solitary figure stood alone outside pretending that he wasn't on guard duty.

"Jori..." Jager muttered as he slowly got up and limped over towards the warehouse door.

"Hey, you cant go in there" Jori demanded, Jager however continued until the private Jumped infront of him and blocked his way. 

For a second Jager contemplated headbutting the over enthusiastic private, but instead slammed the empty wine bottle into his stomach and pushed the winded private to the ground, He was in no mood for anyone's shit at the moment. After a deep breath he Stepped over the temporarily incapacitated trooper and into the warehouse.

Verkur and Maze stood inside talking about something when both turned in a semi-astonished fashion to face the battered and bruised Corporal. Jager proceeded to walk past them, both troopers stood silent as he continued further into the warehouse. Aeos hopped down from her perch on top of a crate and blocked Jager,

"Corporal..."

"Cigarettes..." Jager replied,

The platoon commander shook her head, Jager sighed and quickly sidestepped her... the fact that he had just side stepped his platoon commander was apparent to Jager, but finding a place to lay down and sleep for the next week seemed alot more important... that and finding a cigarette.

An empty table was as good a place as any to finally rest. Jager lay down and took a few more painkillers, he still hadn't really worked out how he should be feeling at the moment... and by the looks of things he might never know how to feel about the events, but one thing was fairly certain.

He was never coming back to Kolstor ever again.

Tanus had assembled the squad out around the side of the hotel which was a kind of cross between an alleyway and extremely small street. It was practically abandoned apart from a large man asleep slumped against the wall, bottle in hand and snoring loudly. They gathered around Tanus who told them pretty much all he'd told them in the lobby. It was nearing three in the morning.

They'd be going in with non-standard weapons and in black suits. No armour of any kind. They weren't expecting to get caught up in a fire-fight. This was going to be a quick strike against the guards the the embassy to stir up some chaos. As soon as the guards were down they'd make there way out in two teams as not to be followed easily.



They'd gone and gathered their equipment from the back room they'd stashed it. They'd picked out some small arms and a few heavier weapons. They carried them out in duffle bags between the squad and left at separate times as to try not to arouse suspicion. They moved down the street to another apartment. After an hours walk they reached the second apartment they'd rented out a room for the week though they didn't expect to be using all that time. Judging by the fact it was situated near a large industrial warehouse and the building around it where in varying states of disrepair it was for lower class citizens.

They walked in and checked in. The Rodian behind the counter just sneered at them, or at least that's what Orobos thought he was doing. As they walked up the stairs the rodian who'd taken care of them turned around and started talking to the man sitting in a chair by the door in some strange language consisting of short clicks of the tongue and long slurred sounds.

They changed into there black gear and loaded up their weapons. Orobos pulled a large balaclava over his head but his dark fur would suit him well for the operation. Once they were ready they climbed out of the window and onto a small fire escape. Orobos slid the ladder down to the ground and he slid down it into the alleyway. The squad moved up in single file and moved to the end of the alleyway. The embassy was only five minutes away as long as the back-roads they'd selected from a map of the city were clear they'd make it there quickly enough.

They moved quickly across the wide open street. Orobos felt venerable crossing it expecting something like a sniper to start shooting down on them. Though that was only instant from the previous missions he'd been on. They reached the cover and darkness of the second alley. They'd have to go through two more before they were right outside the embassy. Orobos glanced behind at the street. The street light flickered but apart from that it was quiet with only distant sirens blaring in the distance to indicate that there was any life in the city.



They made it across a few more streets and alleyways with no incident. They'd spotted what looked like a local gang and a police patrol soon passed scaring them away. The squad was now crouched low in the shadows between some sort of disco. Orobos could hear the thumping of the music from inside. They wanted people to take notice. The rest of the street sure would. The other building was pitched black and boarders over the windows.

"Alright split up into our teams. when you hear the firing move up to the embassy quickly."

They nodded signalling they understood. Splitting up the squad move quickly out of the shadows in two teams. Tanus Inyk followed by Orobos moved up to the left of the compound. Helena lead Garryll and TX around to the right.

Jori coughed. It still hurt where Jager had hit him in his stomach with the bottle. Shaking his head, he got up and walked around a little bit, always with an eye on the door.

I might as well go to sleep. I’m not going to get any action out here. If I go to sleep, then I have to set up something that will make noise if someone approaches. Let’s see… the only way to get to the door is through this alleyway. Maybe if I can put something on the ground that will make noise, I can catch somebody if I happen to nod off. Yeah, that’s it.

Jori picked up some bottles and tied them together, then sat them at each side of the alleyway. That way, if anyone come through, they would knock over all of the bottles and make just enough noise so that it would wake him up. Jori sat down against the wall and closed his eyes. He knew that in the shadows with his shadow-suit on, he would be invisible to almost anyone.

Like I was told, I have to relax and that’s what I’m doing.

He had been asleep for almost forty minutes when he heard a small scraping noise. Opening one eye but not moving anything else, he saw movement at the end of the alley. Opening the other eye and looking up, he saw that a figure was stepping through the trap he had set up. Quietly and quickly getting to his feet, he crouched as he moved forward, carefully staying in the shadows. He was near the edge of the blackness when the figure tripped and fell. Seeing the sudden movement, Jori froze. Luckily for the figure, it was already at the end of the trap and it fell without making hardly any more noise. It got up and moved forward slowly, moving slowly while scanning the alleyway for any movement. It didn’t see anything because Jori wasn’t moving. He was barely even breathing.

If I can maintain the element of surprise, I might be able to subdue him before he knows it.

When the figure passed Jori, he turned and started moving toward carefully towards it. The figure stopped all of the sudden and Jori threw all caution to the wind, crashing into it before it had even started to turn around. When they hit the ground, the figure managed to turn and get a hold on Jori. Hitting blindly, he managed to land a blow where the regular being’s throat would be. The figure rolled away coughing as Jori climbed to his feet. He charged before the figure was completely on its feet, ducking under its leg as it kicked out and straightening up as he was under the leg and lifting the figure up into the air. Jori heard a crack as it come back down, landing on its back as its head plowed into the ground. Getting up, he caught his breath and warily walked over. He checked for a pulse and was satisfied when he found a strong one.  After pulling out a bacta bandage and applying it to the bleeding area of the figure’s head, he searched it for ID and weapons. He surprisingly found no weapons and absolutely no ID whatsoever. Making sure he wasn’t going anywhere by binding his hands and feet together, Jori opened the door and leaned inside.

“Uh… anybody who is listening. I have someone out here that might be real happy to come in. Should I bring him in?”

Bacardi opened his eyes to his data screen flashing above his eye. His data screen was, well... nothing. It was a light that was built into his nose from a micro chip, it displayed orders, messages, it displayed everything. And at this moment it displayed a message. The recipient's name was shown in the top left hand corner, and the date right below it, and then the entire message: "Waky, waky people. It's 700 hours, please meet at the hotel restaurant as soon as possible. We have business to attend to. Look for Alan and I in the booth in the far left corner." Bacardi moved his legs over the bed and looked around, his eyes still drowsy from the sleep that was deprived from him. Getting up he hopped in the shower, for one minute and thirty seconds he was in the shower wanting to pass out. Turning off the shower and grabbing a towel, he dried himself and got dressed.

His grey suit, with pink tie stood out from the regular clothes of the members around him. Bacardi walked through the hotel lobby, a slight bulge was shown were his SSK-7 plus silencer was holstered. His fake KSF ID and Badge were stowed away in his back pocket, and... he was starving. Moving out the double doors, he felt a slight breeze as he walked down the street. The restaurant was visible from his current position on the sidewalk, he walked towards it and bursted through the doors to find Lucky and Alan occupying the corner. Bacardi ignored them for a second and walked over to the counter, motioning for the worker. "Cup of caf please, and..." Bacardi reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a vial of whiskey. "... add some of this into it for a tip." The female worker nodded, and walked away. Bacardi took out his wallet and slipped out a Plastic Card.

"Here you go, sir." She said, handing back the bottle and Bacardi took it. He then handed her the Plastic Card and a 10 Chip. She thanked him and Bacardi walked towards Alan and Lucky. Sitting into their booth, he greeted them and took a sip of his coffee... "Strong." He took another sip and coughed. "Good god, how much of this did she..." Bacardi reached into his pocket and took out the vial: 20 ounces of the strongest whisky, all of it, into this cup.

Tanus peered around the corner, looking to the left and right to make sure no one was coming. He didn’t want that to happen just yet. He crept in the shadows, careful to be sure he was seen by nothing; the shadows had become his ally, and in this case, he had to make sure that he didn’t betray that trust. Inyk and Orobos were quiet behind him. Tanus gave quick look back to see them. Inyk was doing incrdibly well, being sure to match Tanus’ every move. Orobos, depsite his bulk, was barely noticable in the shadows. He commed in to Helena to see how she was doing.

“Target is in sight. Also, the disco doors seem to be opening up. It must be closing time for the place.”

Tanus smiled. Perfect. Tanus ran across the street, careful to stay out of the glow on street lamps. He checked his holster to see a small pistol at his side. It was really more of a pea shooter by most standards, but for the night’s raid, it would suit him perfectly. His rifle, which was little more than a variant of one of his own, was a repeating slugthrower, capable of sweeping through enemy armor as if it were paper. The others chose weapons of their own preferences; for Tanus,it represented speed and efficiency.

Tanus set his back against one of the fences leading into the embassy grounds. He looked up over it, seeing that there were spotlights going across the grounds. Tanus looked up to see the watch tower guards, sweeping back and forth in large waves. Tanus merely shrugged at the notion; it wasn’t as if they’d see his face anyway. He just had to make sure he didn’t get hit. He commed in to the others.

“Okay, the plan is to get over the fence and into the grounds. After that, what I want us to do is just start raising hell. Fire off some shots in the air, throw off a few flashbangs, whatever we need to do. All we need to do is make a lot of noise. If NR troops do start to show up, kill them if you have to. Remember, we only need to kill them if they make the first move. Go. Now.”

Tanus gestured and Orobos got down low. Tanus stepped on his back and vaulted over the fence, landing gracefully in the dark. Tanus didn’t turn as Inyk came over right behind him. Orobos was ocer last, as Inyk and Tanus had to help him over. All three moved quietly into the shadows of a close building; Tanus looked behind him to see speeders pulling up for people to go home form the disco.

“Okay boys, its showtime,” Tanus said.

Tanus raised his gun into the air and opened fire. Machine gun pops and blaster rounds filled the night sky as people screamed and ran over ot the embassy to see what was going on. Tanus kept firing, even as spotlights swept across the field, searching for the source of the fire. Now Tanus just needed the NR to do its part.