I like your style of writing, it's quite refreshing compared to the samey stuff im used to. There's quite a few missed full stops and bad grammar however, I'll expect to see an improvement next story. Remember that a spell check will only check if a word is spelled properly, it wont tell you when you used the singular when it should of been the plural - You need to doublecheck that yourself.

Regardless, good work. Pass.

Hm, I had to think about this one.

I think the actual navigation segment needs to be extended before I can pass this, it should really be the focus of the story, as opposed to just a few lines. Try and add more about your journey in the vehicle, maybe encountering some problems that would require you to write about using the techniques you've learnt.

There is a definite improvement in your writing as opposed to your previous story, I commend you for that.

Sorry about the delay on this one.

This is your best so far, it's a clean pass and I have very little to really comment on.

However, you don't seem to have made any changes to your second story even though it failed. You just need a bit more detail into the grit of the subject matter, similar to what you did so well here. I'd recommend you fix that up before continuing again.

OOC:

Okay Sorry, I know I am supposed to wait for number 2 to get re-checked. But got this one out of the way and just wanted to get it out there. Figured if the other one is graded this could kill two birds so to speak. Don't hurt me!

OOC:

Vehicle Crewman – Story 4
Course: Defensive Operations
Course Type: Practical
Course Description: Troopers will learn how to defend themselves while inside a vehicle. A lecture may precede the course, and a competency exam will follow. Like in the previous course, troopers will be examined in at least four different vehicles that are dependent on their selection of sub-specialty.

Havock rubbed her eyes. They felt like burning balls of sand, after starring at the holoscreen for hours. The class had been working on their newest exam, this one was to be able to defend ourselves while in a vehicle.
They had spent the better part of a day working on different vehicles. The physics, techniques and best weapons to use while in a vehicle. Of course, the vehicles weapons themselves didn't factor in on this exam. We had to decide what weapon we were most comfortable with and could use while driving a vehicle.

The holoprojector showed images of so many repulsor vehicles Havock had actually lost count at this point. Her classmates were not doing so well either, she could swear someone was snoring behind her.

“And so, you can see here that using your natural since of balance is very important while operating the vehicles. You may need to defend yourself while driving using your personal weapons rather than relying on the weapon systems on the vehicle.” Sergeant Harris looked around the darkened classroom.

The projector cast a spotlight on the screen in the front of the room, and was the only thing illuminating the area. The dim light, the hum of the projector, Sergeant Harris’ voice. All of that equated to Havock’s eyes drifting closed.

SNAP! Havock jolted up in the desk, her knees whacked the underside of the table. She jerked her head up to look at the unhappy face of Sergeant Harris, who had just used his pointer to wake Havock up. Way to go Private Narcolepsy !  

Harris continued walking through the room checking to make sure the troopers were fully awake now.

“There are some basic principals you are going to all have to become familiar with if you are going to be able to maintain control of those vehicles while doing anything else.” Harris returned to the front of the room. The holoprojector showed a cross-section picture of a speeder bike and a rider.

“Okay, number one, while riding the vehicle you all have your own mass. You can see here a person seated on a bike, this point here.” The pointer slapped the screen at about the navel of the rider. “This is their center of mass.”

“Number two, whatever action you take is going to cause something else to happen. So when you are accelerating forward, your mass is transferred rearward. So as the vehicle accelerates the riders mass will transfer to the rear of the vehicle. You can feel this when the bike accelerates you should feel yourself glue to the seat and your body mass push back as the bike goes forward.”

“What does all of this mean?” We all knew that was rhetorical, and sure enough Harris immediately continued. “You need to accept these two things, ingrain them as part of your sub-conscious,  to be able to control that vehicle while at the same time being able to fire your weapon at a target.”

He looked around the room as he paused for a minute. “On the course tomorrow you are expected to keep your vehicle on the course, which is little more than a straight line people. The hard part is going to be keeping that vehicle from crashing while you use your weapon to shoot the targets. Tomorrow morning we will meet at the Vehicle Garage and I will give you more details on the course.”


The class was dismissed and Havock walked back to her bunk. She entered the empty room and stood in front of her bed. She looked over her bunk tiredly, before sighing and stepping over to go through her cabinet. She looked through the weapons she had available for the course tomorrow. There was her E-11 Blaster Rifle, her Hold-out Blaster, and her DC-15s Blaster Pistol. The DC-15s looked like the best choice. She organized everything, setting it up for the next day. Then she changed and headed to the gym for a work-out before bedding down for the night.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Havock made her way to the Vehicle Garage the next morning. She had her gear all set and her DC-15s blaster strapped to her waist holster.

Sergeant Harris was waiting for her class in the rear of the garage. Havock had her eyes on the few troopers who had already assembled and had to catch herself as she tripped over some vehicle parts that were laid out next to a land speeder which had seen better days. Glancing around with the hope that no-one saw that little lack of grace, Havock continued and joined the group.

Seeing that everyone was assembled, Sergeant Harris punched some buttons on the holoprojector. An image of a very generic landspeeder type vehicle popped up. “Keep your eyes on the holo, this is what you should expect to see on your course. But keep in mind each course is different.”

The computerized landspeeder began the course, and as Harris had said in the classroom the day before  seemed to make very few turns or twists moving almost in a straight line.

The pilot, which was little more than a stick figure on the holo, stood up. Targets appeared on either side of the vehicle in turn. The stick-like pilot easily took out each target in turn, while keeping the vehicle on the straight path through the course. The entire course seemed to only be about five standard minutes long.

Harris reached over and pushed another button, causing the images to shrink and disapate before Havock's eyes.

“So there you have it. We have set up a number of vehicles of various uses at the starting points of four trails. You will be given a vehicle at random when you arrive at the starting point. Each course is different, so keep your wits through all of them. Remember what we went over in class and use your mass to keep yourself stable. I'm in no mood for any troopers to go tumbling out of their vehicles because they didn't realize they needed to use some balancing ability out there. Well lets go, dismissed.”

- - - - - - - - - - - -- - - -

It took Havock ten minutes to walk over to her first assigned course. She reported to the officer stationed there and he directed her to a M-31 Airspeeder. The vehicle had a large body, the pilots canopy was located slightly behind center. It was large, bulky, yellow thing. Havock knew that the hardest thing wouldn't be balance so much as not steering the speeder the same way she was trying to shoot but rather to keep it straight while she shot at targets. They had gone over that tendency in class as well.

With one more check of her blaster, Havock hopped up into the open canopy and fired up the engines. She made sure the nav computer was all set so that she could see the course ahead of her. She didn't need to worry about weapon controls this time since she was herself providing the weapons.

She hit the controls and she was off. As suspected the bulky speeder took wide turns as she adjusted on her way to the course. At least they give us some room to get used to the vehicles before we are actually expected to shoot things at the same time.

The course was directly in front of her now. She made some adjustments to her speed, it was more important to hit the targets with control rather than finish quickly this time. She stood up, her legs slightly wobbling under the gravity of the vehicle. Feeling comfortable she got her blaster out and aimed at the first target. She fired two shots and they both made contact with the target, not bullseyes but they hit it. Havock quickly adjusted her weight and turned to the other side of the vehicle to hit another target. Then back again, they zig-zaged from port to starboard back and forth for the rest of the course. Havock let out a yip when she hit the last one dead on in the bullseye. Guess I'm getting better at this.

She brought the airspeeder back and landed it neatly at the start. Then she made her way over to the second course. This time she was given a landspeeder. Piloting the landspeeder was almost identical to the airspeeder for the coarse since the only real difference between the two are their respective max altitude. The course itself had a few changes in the location of targets. Havock had no trouble getting the vehicle through and hitting all of the targets, she even got three bullseyes this time.

Next was a beautiful Starhawk 2b Speeder Bike. Havock was quickly learning to appreciate speeder bikes and had become very fond of them since joining the academy. They were fun to drive on Corellia but to really understand them and to become as good of a pilot as she had was even better.

The bike required more concentration on balance for Havock. She had to use her legs to keep the bike upright, and rely on only one arm to maintain speed and direction. She had never been more thankful that the courses were not advanced enough to have them doing all of this and making turns and direction changes.

She came up on the course, pulled out her blaster and fired a neat shot right on the bullseye of the first target. Whoa, nice, okay can't get cocky. Keeping the blaster up she turned slightly and took out another target, then another, and another. She turned her body to get a fifth target and moved her legs too much causing the bike to turn, Havock had to get control of the bike before it completely left the course. She did and hit the target, more like grazed it on the edge. The remainder of the targets fell to her wrath for making such a ridiculous mistake. She did not look forward to Sergeant Harris' critique of that one.

Havock arrived at the forth and final course. She looked at all of the vehicles lined up, wondering what she would be piloting. The officer in charge came up to her with a very mischievous smirk and handed her a board about a meter in length.

“What's this?” Havock held the board as if she had just been given a slab of nerf, smelly nerf.

He was already looking down at his datapad, and scoffed. “That Private, is your vehicle for the course.”

Havock looked back at the Skimboard, now holding it in both of her hands. She raised her eyebrow, “What am I twelve?”

“Heh, no.” He looked up at her, as if he was making sure. “Listen Private, you need to know how to pilot ALL repulsorlift vehicles. And that is a repulsorlift vehicle. So if you would please make your way to the course, princess.” He shook his head and mumbled something as he returned to something on his datapad.

Havock stood for another second or two before shrugging her shoulders and heading to the start of her final course. She had ridden one of these before, really every kid on Corellia had a Skimboard at one time or another. It was nothing more than a flat board, rounded at both ends. The one she rode as a child was colorful, but this one was just plain black.

Havock placed her feet on the board. She couldn't help but feel kinda silly riding a Skimboard at a Stormtrooper Academy. She got her blaster ready and with a push she was off. The board was the hardest by far to control. She constantly had to bend her knees to keep from falling at high speeds. Although it did provide a lot of movement for her upperbody. She took out one, two, then three targets. She was getting better with it, now able to twist her hips to change the direction of the board. She was nearing the end of the course and everything was looking pretty good. She had hit all of her targets and was navigating the Skimboard with no trouble. She decided to have some fun. Havock pulled her legs in tight and flipped, doing a 360 to her right side. She came out of the loop and shot the last two targets. Her fancy flying prevented her from getting a direct bullseye, but she was close on both.

As she exited the course the officer looked up at her and just shook his head again. She walked past him, “Alright Private you are dismissed. And next time try to stick closer to the book, this isn't a playground.”

Havock smirked as she continued to walk, “Yes sir, I will.”

OOC:

Vehicle Crewman – Level 6
Course: Tactics and Movement
Course Type: Practical
Course Description: Troopers will be assigned 1-2 vehicles of their choosing. From there they will be shown the proper way for them to move around in the heat of a battle. A competency exam will follow, requiring troopers to come up with their own plan of attack, including their own movement pattern (for each vehicle).

The simulator smelled awful. Havock just hated being next to last. Sergeant Harris spoke to her after class about the next exam, he wanted to go over the tactics section again since she was not quite as clear on that.

“Listen Havock, all you need to do is practice in the sim. Then come to class tomorrow with a holo showing how you would navigate two vehicles in such a situation.” He shrugged, “its easy.”

Hav did not look convinced. “Okay, thank you, sir.” Havock made her way to the exit to get in line for the simulator.

“Oh and one other thing.”

Havock turned and raised her eyebrows. She looked at Sergeant Harris. He was a middle-aged man, with thin and short blond hair. She could see that he was muscular beneath his jumpsuit. And Havock was painfully aware that she had no idea what the man was about to tell her.

He must have noticed her mind wander because Harris smirked. “Congratulations on your promotion, Lance Corporal.”

“Heh, thank you sir.” Havock genuinely smiled, shook Harris' hand and headed down the hall.

Now here she was in the smelly simulator going over the attack plan again for the third time now. She had already practiced with a few vehicles trying to get the feel for them while on a battlefield. She needed to focus on just two though and just one major combat maneuver per vehicle.

Going back over the lesson in her mind, if anything to help her get focused on the objectives. Havock remembered that using these vehicles off-road would affect the condition of the training lands by disturbing vegetation. That is why each vehicle movement pattern had to be slightly different depending on the radar positioning tracking systems. The changing vegetation can affect turning radius, velocity.

“uggh” Hav held her head in her hands and groaned at the information, that was starting to make her head hurt. She tapped the datapad on her forehead a few times. Think, think, think.

The tracking systems in the sim were programmed to record the position of the vehicles every second. This data then is used to measure Havock's quantity of travel per day, quantity of travel on and off roads, dynamic properties of turning radius and velocity, and vegetation.

Havock choose her first vehicle, easy a BARC speeder, one of my favs. The sim accepted the program with a 'beep', then rolled up a screen.

=======Simulation Vehicle Movement========
        Scenario number 1  -  LCPL HAVOCK

        =======Begin Recording=========

The screen cleared to reveal a desert terrain, Havock could see the mountains off in the distance. She would have to come up with a movement pattern against a JG-8 Landspeeder. In the next scenario she would pilot the landspeeder and go up against the speeder bike.

The BARC was faster than the landspeeder so she had a tactical advantage there.

She hit the accelerator toping out the speed as she moved into the battlefield. Finding the landspeeder on her radar Havock closed in on its position.

There was little vegetation on the desert plain, but there were boulders. Havock had to adjust the elevation of the bike and the speed to compensate for the conditions. The one she really had to watch was the heat. In these hot climates vehicles had a tendency to overheat, which would lead to a burn out. That would mean more time in this smelly cockpit.

Choosing to take a low approach Havock pulled the bike around the first boulder, crisscrossing the landspeeders path. “Frak!” The landspeeder opened fire, Havock had to twist and turn the bike, keeping her balance and finished her path across. She managed to duck behind another boulder then nailed the accelerator.

She shot the bike like a slingshot in a long arc. When she came around that boulder she was perpendicular to the landspeeder. She opened fire and took out her target easily.

With a 'whoop', she completed the turn and headed back towards the starting point.

======== Recording Complete ==========

Havock took a deep breath, and replayed the recording she just made. Everything looked good, Havock could use that for the BARC. Now she needed to create a plan that would counteract that using the landspeeder. She literally had to out-smart herself. Great, lets find out how smart I really am.

Now I know what the bike is going to do. Deviate course, swing around that boulder and come around on the side...okay got it.

=======Simulation Vehicle Movement========
        Scenario number 2  -  LCPL HAVOCK

        =======Begin Recording=========


Havock could see the bike on her radar. Accelerating, she watched as the bike came towards her. Knowing what it was going to do almost seemed unfair. But then again the landspeeder stayed on a straight path for her the first time.

Havock shifted turning the controls off to her right. Attempting to cut the bike off at the pass. The bike was just too fast for the landspeeder. Then the bike came across her field of vision having some fun she opened fire, knowing the bike was too fast to be hit. It made its way  behind the rock to her left.

Thats when she hit the brakes. As the bike came out from around the boulder there was no longer a landspeeder to be adjacent to. Havock opened fire as the bike drove out right in front of her taking it out.

“whew, That wasn't so bad.”

======Recording Complete========

Havock climbed out of the simulator. As she took her helmet off she shook her hair, that the sweat had matted to her head. Caden walked over to her. “Hey Hav, how'd it go?”

Hav was still scratching her head as he walked up, she grabbed a tie and put her hair back in its usual ponytail. “Not too bad. You finished?”

“Heh, yep just gotta get it all ready for class tomorrow. You too right?”

Havock smiled, “Yeah, I'll see you in class okay.” She waved and headed back to towards her bunk. She wanted to hit the fresher and shower before heading to bed.


The next day Havock presented her holovid of her vehicle movements. Her classmates had come up with many different patterns, depending on their specialty. When it was Havock's turn she walked up to the podium in the front of the room. She was horribly nervous to talk in front of the whole group. Public speaking was not her best quality, it was something she needed to work on.

"Okay so you can, umm, see the Speeder."

Harris raised his hand, Havock could barely see it in the dimmly lit classroom. Not to mention the holo projector glaring in her eyes was blinding. "What type of speeder is that Lance Corporal?"

Havock nodded. "Right, its a BARC Speeder, similar to the 74-Z military speeder bike."

Harris nodded and motioned for Havock to continue. "The speeder bike had to navigate the course with a JG-8 Landspeeder. The bike had an advantage in that it is faster and more, ummm, manuverable." Havock was starting to sweat but she managed to describe the course and the path the bike took to avoid the initial attack of the Landspeeder.

"Now you can see here." She pushed some buttons to bring up the second scenerio. "The Landspeeder was able on the second pass to adjust and use its slower speed to an advantage, outsmarting the bike and succeeding in the attack."

Havock allowed the holovid to play and answered a few more questions from the class before returning to her seat and watching the last of her classmates finish theirs.

After the lesson Havock was tired from being in the darkened room and her eyes were burining from the holovids. She yawned then gave a friendly wave to Caden before heading to her bunk for a nap.

OOC:

Vehicle Crewman – Level 7
Course: Terrain, Weather Conditions, and Operation
Course Type: Lecture/Practical
Course Description: Troopers will attend a seminar/lecture on the different types of weather and terrain. They will be expected to know how to tell the changes in terrain and weather before it comes up on them. Once this has been accomplished, troopers will be shown the proper way to operate their vehicles in various weather conditions and on various types of terrain. Once again, vehicle types are dependent on sub-specialty choice.

‘Ring’, ‘ring’, ‘ring’. Havock shot up in bed, grabbing her pistol from under the pillows in one swift motion has she did. Her eye twitched at the alarm clock, pistol still raised. With a growl, Hav, dropped her arm down with a thud to the mattress and got up to silence the annoying clock in a more conventional fashion.

Havock sat back down on the mattress, sliding the pistol back under her pillow as she plopped back into a sitting position. She rubbed her eyes and face trying to wake herself up, then her data pad ‘beeped’.

Havock let out a growl as she stood back up to get the datapad whose sound was now invading her space. “Oh come on, can’t a girl get any sleep around here?” She pushed a few buttons and realized it was an event reminder. “Oh, new VC  class today. Weather, huh?” Glancing at the chrono on the nearby table, Havock could see that she needed to be in the Maintenance Garage in just a bit over an hour, which only led to another string of curse words under her breath.

Running to the fresher to get washed and ready Havock had no time to even glance at the reading material she should have had prepared for class today.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Havock walked up to the garage and waved quickly at Caden as she joined the already assembled group. Sergeant Harris was pacing, pushing buttons on his datapad. Glancing up, he stood a little taller looking over at Havock as she arrived.  Harris quickly finished up whatever he was doing on the datapad and with a ‘pfft’ he put the pad in his pocket.

“Good morning, Troopers.” He looked at the group of young men and women. “Congratulations on getting this far in your training. Today we are going to start learning about controlling these vehicles in various climates. First I’m going to give you the basics, some techniques you can use. Then you are going to be assigned a vehicle, by me, that vehicle you are going to run them through as many weather conditions as we can find. And yes that may mean a trip off world to find some in-climate weather.”

Caden looked over at Havock, his eyes we’re desperately searching for an answer, but Hav couldn’t understand the silent question.

Caden chewed on his lip for a second before lifting his hand into the air, “Sir.” Harris pointed at Caden, his arms slumped just slightly, as if he dreaded these questions troopers managed to come up with.

Caden took a deep breath. “Sir, can you tell us what vehicle we will be piloting? At least will it be part of our sub-specialty? And where will we be going? And…”

“Corporal!” Harris interrupted what was quickly turning into a string of even more questions, he took a long breath before continuing. “We are going to have a lecture which will cover all of those questions. In fact, let’s go so we can get started. Dismissed.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The class had all taken their seats by the time Sergeant Harris walked through the doors. He kept the lights on, which was a nice change after the last few lectures that involved long periods of time in a darkened room staring at the holoprojector.

“Weather conditions can challenge the best drivers. You need to remember three “P’s”: Prepare, Protect, and Prevent.” He turned and wrote the three words on the board behind him. “First we prepare. How do you prepare for weather, I know I can read your minds. You need to keep your vehicle maintained. Check the engine, the tire tread, keep the windows clean in those AT-ATs, and make sure the fluid levels are where they should be. By maintaining the vehicle you can reduce the possibility of an accident occurring. Second, make an emergency kit. You need a glow rod, jumper cables, and abrasive material for traction, a shovel, snow brush, ice scraper, flares, and blankets. All of these items should be prepared ahead of time and in your vehicle when you travel. Third, plan your route. Make sure you have plenty of time to get where you are going, do not rush. Be familiar before you leave with the map and terrain of the location you are traveling to.” Harris finished the last few sentences as he wrote an outline of what he just said under the word ‘prepare’ written on the board.

“Next we have protect. Use your safety gear, make sure your helmets and comms are functioning properly before you roll out. Don’t try anything stupid while in route, you should be focused on the mission and maintaining the safety of your squad with that giant hunk of durasteel your driving.”

“Last, we prevent. We prevent problems from happening before they happen. I better never catch you guys drinking on duty, that’s number one. Watch your distances from other vehicles and objects, use the radar. This is the most important when the weather is not perfect, you need to take slippery, wet, and snowy conditions into account. Make sure you are well rested when you are driving, even if that means you may need to rotate drivers.”

“Now I'm going to show you an example of what could happen if you don't follow these rules.” Sergeant Harris tapped on a few buttons in the console of the pedestal near where he was standing. The lights dimmed as the holoprojector buzzed to life.

The light projected an image of a snowy landscape. Hav could see a tracked vehicle make its way on what had to be an icy road in those conditions. They could hear the comm traffic between the driver and the instructor sitting in the passenger seat. The driver was tasked to refuel two other army vehicles while traveling on local roadways.

Harris spoke up, “The driver was briefed before he left base. He was to clear the snow from their vehicles and conduct preventative maintenance checks on the vehicle before leaving. Then while in transit they were to maintain proper speeds for these road conditions.”

Havock drew her attention back to the holo. The roads were clear, but a light snow started to fall just as the operation began. The snowfall continued to increase and the roads became covered in snow. As the driver crested a hill the comm cracked to life. The instructor was advising the driver to slow down. Unfortunately the driver overreacted pressing the brake pedal causing the vehicle to loose traction. The rear of the vehicle jackknifed into the oncoming traffic lane, striking a civilian vehicle and continued to skid along the road hitting yet another civilian vehicle before finally coming to a halt.

Havock swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat as the lights came back to normal and the holoprojector switched off.

Sergeant Harris returned to the front of the room from a chair he must have been sitting in the front row. “Now that accident cost one civilian their lives. Can any of you tell me how could that driver have prevented that accident from happening?”

“The driver shouldn't have been driving in those conditions without their certification.”

Harris shrugged. “Thats true enough, perhaps when the snow started to cover the roads the instructor should have taken over. Alright who else?”

Caden raised his hand. “Sir, the tires should have been covered when the driver was told to do preventative maintenance, that's part of maintenance for a tracked vehicle going into snow conditions.”

“Excellent Corporal. Yes, he should have thought of that when he was reminded to do his maintenance check. Alright one more people.”

“He shouldn't have hit the brakes.” Havock spoke out of turn and got a few looks from her classmates.

“What was that Lance Corporal?” Sergeant Harris raised his eyebrows has he looked over the seats to stare at Havock.

“His vehicle was in a skid, the last thing you should do is slam on the brakes when your in a skid. You ease your foot off the pedal then look and steer in the direction you want the vehicle to go in and don't over steer either. Everything needs to be smooth and gradual, if you start jerking around you'll never get the vehicle under control.” Havock finished with a shrug and slid back down in her seat.

Harris was nodding in the front. “Lance Corporal Katash is correct. That is the exact procedure for dealing with a vehicle in a skid. Very good.”

“Alright troopers, here is the deal. You need to drive smart and defensively out there. Pay attention to the other drivers and terrain. Anticipate problems so you can solve them before they happen. The most common mistakes drivers make in bad weather are driving too fast for the conditions and underestimating stopping distances.” He paused to look over the classroom. Havock silently wondered if he was making sure they were all still awake.

“Tomorrow morning 0800, I want to see you at the Maintenance Garage geared up and ready to go. You will be separated into groups and transported to your vehicles location. Dismissed.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“No, I have no idea where we're going. They won't tell us we just have to meet at the Garage and then we're off.” Havock spoke excitedly into the comm to the tiny version of her foster father, Jed.

“That sounds great Hav. Well if its a speeder bike in the city you should be fine.” He laughed a bit. Probably remembering the numerous times Hav would sneak away on his speeder bike and take a joy ride through downtown Coronet.

“Heh, yeah wouldn't that be nice. But I doubt it, Jed.” Havock glanced at her chono. “I've gotta run, just about time to head over to the garage.”

“Alright, take care of yourself Hav.”

Hav smiled. “You too, old man.” They both laughed as the image faded and shrunk until it was gone.

Havock grabbed her gear and headed out.

When she arrived at the Garage, Sergeant Harris separated them depending on their sub-specialty. That worked out well since there were so few troopers at this point anyway after being separated Havock was in a group with just three others. They boarded a transport and were instructed to strap in. One of the other troopers asked about where they were going which resulted in a terse, “you'll be briefed in flight.”

During the flight it was explained to the four troopers that they were traveling to a location in the north region of the planet that was currently experiencing blizzard type weather. Great so snow, how did I know it would be snow.

Havock threw on some extra layers of clothes and was careful to cover her hands and neck with some extra protection. She had no desire to get frostbite on a training mission. As she and the others disembarked from the transport she could see a few various repulsor vehicles lined up in the road, or what she could see of the road from all the snow, ahead. The snow storm made it difficult to make out what Harris was saying when he wasn't yelling directly in the face of the person he was talking to. So Havock waited her turn, shifting from one foot to another to keep as warm as possible in the freezing temperatures.

“Okay Havock, you ready.” Harris shouted into Hav's face when it was her turn.

“Yes Sir.” She yelled back to him.

The rest of the conversation was  a series of shouting with the occasional, “what?” Havock learned that she would be taking out an airspeeder. The particular airspeeder was very similar to the Incom T-47 Airspeeder that Havock was familiar with. She also learned that she just had to follow the navigation system in the airspeeder which was uploaded with the route she would have to follow. This course was fairly simple, no real objective, just navigate the vehicle in the horrid conditions for about five kilometers then turn around and come back.

Havock ran to the cockpit of her airspeeder, more to get out of the cold than for real excitement at the moment.

She checked the systems and strapped in as the engines and computer fired up. She made a quick com check, when she heard the affirmative from Sergeant Harris she started on the course laid out by the computer.

She was coming around the third kilometer when she heard some cross communication breaking though on her channel. Sounded like one of the other troopers on the course ahead of Havock had lost control and was trying to call in a mayday. Havock couldn't really do much to help she just needed to keep an eye out to avoid a collision. She saw the other speeder, almost under control but also at an almost dead stop right outside of her viewport. Havock knew better than to slam on the breaks, so she left the speed completely alone raised the altitude of the speeder so she could cleanly fly right over the other speeder without crashing. 

The rest of the flight was uneventful. She managed to make it to the checkpoint and return back with little problems. As she powered down Hav realized she must have been holding the controls tighter than she thought, her arms and hands where a combination of numb and throbbing.

She could not wait to get back on the transport and leave the freezing temperatures, she never wanted to be in a warm climate more in her whole life.

OOC:

Vehicle Crewman – Level 8
Course: Electronic Maintenance
Course Type: Lecture/Practical
Course Description: Troopers will learn how to do perform basic maintenance on the electronics systems in a vehicle. This should consist of basic system checks, and how to fix basic problems that can be solved without actually having to go and work on the vehicle itself. Vehicle selection will depend on the instructor, and can be of sub-specialty if so desired.

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Gunnery Sergeant Clayton “Creeper” Rouillard. Havock read the name on her datapad over and over again as she got ready in her quarters. It felt like it had been a while since she had been to one of her vehicle crewman classes.

Havock had moved to the advanced class, which meant a new instructor and probably some new classmates. She had heard about Creeper before. She remembered hearing the other students in her previous classes praying they would never get stuck in this particular gunnery sergeant's class. From the stories she had heard, he was apparently one of the toughest instructors there was.

That was just great, Havock had never been the best student, and now she was going to be with one of the strictest teachers out there. She just knew she was going to fail, the only solace she could think of was that she would be amply prepared to re-take the course.

Reading lower on the datapad the words 'Electronic Maintenance' sprawled across the screen. She decided it would be a good idea to read  up on the material again before arriving at her class. That could also be because the last time she tried to work on the electrical system of a repulsor tank the shock she received landed her in medbay for two days.

A hand made contact with Havock's shoulder pushing her back into the wall. “What the frak?” 

A tall man with gray hair stood in front of her with a raised eyebrow. She was only a few steps outside the classroom she would be spending the better part of her day in. He slowly took the datapad out of her hands and examined it. “Last minute studying, Miss...Katash?”

She straighted herself and finally read the name on his uniform. Great, only I would get caught by the damn instructor. “Yes, sir.”

“Good, maybe you will actually be able to answer some of the questions in class today. Let us just hope you drive a vehicle better than you walk down the corridor. After you.” He moved aside and gestured with his hand for her to enter the classroom. Havock nodded and timidly took her datapad back as she entered the room.

It was a small class, and none of the faces looked familiar. It was just as well, she needed to focus so that Creeper didn't embarrass her beyond belief.

The older man's boots clanked on the floor as he quickly made his way to the front of the classroom and flipped a switch on the holoprojector bringing up an image of the circuits in the firing control of a Repulsor Scout.

“Gunnery Sergeant Rouillard, I won't shoot you if you call me Gunny but I might if you call me Creeper. This...well lets see if you people are capable of studying. What is this a diagram of?”

A dark haired woman shot her hand up so fast, Havock wondered if it would fly off at the shoulder. Apparently Rouillard knew her, at least based on the long and lingering sigh that came from him before calling on her. “Okay Kai, lets hear it.”


“Firing controls.” He said nothing but waved his hand to indicate she should go on. “Oh right, umm, for an AT-AT.”

Rouillard slapped his forehead in frustration with the trooper. He didn't seem scary to Havock, just a guy who had been teaching green troopers for so long he had heard every ridiculous question and answer in the book. “Please tell me someone else can do better.”

The trooper next to Havock rolled his eyes and lifted his hand off the desk. “That is so a repulsor scout control panel, not a AT-AT, geeze girl.”

“Yea, congrats Max. You still know everything.” Kai shook her head and started whispering to her friends sitting next to her.

“Well duh.”

“Enough!” Rouillard got everyones attention. “Let's move on shall I?” He hit another control and dimmed the lights in the classroom. “This diagram is well and good, but you nooblets get to start with some basic electrical systems before I watch you electrocute yourselves on this stuff.”

The screen changed to the undercarriage of a generic tracked vehicle. The systems and engine were all drawn and labeled. “The first major component in the electrical system is the battery. It stores the power that runs all of the other auxiliary devices in the vehicle. Here is the starter motor, which starts the engine. Finally we have the alternator, this is the device that charges the battery and keeps it running.” He turned the lights back up slightly and addressed the class. “These three components keep the vehicle in driving condition. If any of them fail, you won't even start your vehicle much less be able to power the more complected systems. If something goes wrong electrically these are the three places you check first before anything else. If your targeting computer doesn't power up it may not be the circuits or a fuse, the battery may be dead and its not getting power in the first place.”

Havock rushed to try to take notes, and shook her head at the horrible attempt at a drawing she had made. She felt a nudge on her arm. “You can draw a diagram of me later on baby.”

She sneered and glared at Max. “They will need one to put you back together again if you think about calling me 'baby' again.”

“When we arrive at the hangar to perform your exam, you will all be assigned a vehicle in your specialty area that has some kind of electrical problem. You will diagnose this problem and find the quickest solution. Speed and accuracy are important here, since you will be doing this during combat once you are in your squads.”

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The large hangar was one of many on the tarmac. The large open bay was filled with vehicles of different sub-types prepped with their electrical issues for the students to solve. Havock knew that she would be working on the group of repulsor vehicles that were clumped together just past the large open bay doors. There were five vehicles in a row and a sergeant standing in front of them holding a datapad.

“Name.”

She muttered her first name as usual. “Ayme Katash, reporting for exam.”

The man scanned his list. “Hmm, Katash, right. Got it. Okay they put you in the repulsor tank over there. You can use anything in the hangar to diagnose and repair the tank, and I get to stand here and watch you.” He muttered under his breath something about never playing sabacc with Creeper again.

“Right, thanks.”

She climbed into the tank to find a dead control panel and several dark screens that should have had tactical displayed on them. “Great, so no power at all.” She flipped a few of the switches just to be sure.  Havock grabbed her gear and climbed back out of the cockpit to inspect the systems buried in the engine.

Of course the battery was toast, so she quickly found a compatible one and replaced it. Going back inside the screens were now all lit, but not as bright as they should have been. “Ugh, what now?” The dimming was probably an alternator issue, since she was quite sure the brand new battery she put in was functioning.

She located the alternator that was running, and by all accounts looked just fine. She almost left it to check the fuses, but at the last moment noticed something off about the belts. Havock quickly moved to shut off the engines and once everything had come to a stop she saw the belts leading to and from the alternator were loose, which would exactly fit the problem she was seeing on the screens on the control panel.

It took some tinkering but she managed to tighten the belts and get them back on the alternator in a decent amount of time. When the engine cranked back up all systems were normal.

The rest of the class seemed to have finished and had lunch by the time she checked back in with the sergeant. He had very little to say to her, but it sounded like he muttered 'you passed' before he walked out of the hangar to find better things to do.

OOC:

Vehicle Crewman – Level 4 – Story 3
Course: Computer/Automation System Repair
Course Type: Theory/Practical
Course Description: Troopers will be taught how to program and repair each of the computerized systems and automated functions of the standard Imperial interface. Troopers will be taught how each of these systems functions in isolation and in conjunction with other systems, including communication protocols and underlying media. Troopers will then be expected to demonstrate that they have attained this knowledge by repairing a system which has been set up by the instructors. The scenario will be based on the trooper's chosen class of vehicle.

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“Ow. Son of a bitch!” Havock shook her now very sore and scorched finger before putting it up to her mouth.

“Woah, nice job Hav.”

“Shut up, Max.” She rolled her eyes and looked back at the computer control panel laid out in front of her.

For now, the class was just working on understanding the internal components found in most imperial vehicles. There were some variation based on the sub-type and model, but for the most part she was looking at the inside of a vehicle computer system.

Gunnery Sergeant Rouillard came up behind the pair. “You should avoid completing the circuit with your fingers in the future Havock.”

She groaned in her head. “Yes, Sir.”

“Now where did this lovely computer terminal, or rather whats left of it after it found its way to you two, come from?” His eyes had already left the two troopers and was scanning the rest of the classroom, more than likely to pick his next victim.

“Its from a repulsor tank, Gunnyman.”

Havock cringed pretty much everytime Max spoke, but this time she actually moved away from him to avoid the smiting he was about to get.

“A Yutrane-Tackata Hovertank T1-B, sir.” She softly added as she continued to try to disconnect the motherboard from the hard drive so that she could re-connect it a minute later.

“Well ya, what the show-off said.”

“Shut up Max.” Rouillard grumbled. He slapped Havock on the shoulder in approval before continuing to make his rounds.

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“When we talk about standard Imperial interface, we are talking about the electrical, mechanical or optical characteristics necessary to allow the exchange of information between two or more systems or pieces of equipment. Now in our case, we are specifically looking at our in-vehicle computers and comms and keeping them communicating with base ops. You do not want your computers to stop interfacing during a mission, its not a fun thing.”

Gunnery Sergeant Clayton “Creeper” Rouillard made his way through the classroom as he spoke, the image of a computer panel displayed on the screen in front of the students. He was an intimidating man and enjoyed being that way. Rouillard had been in the army for more years than Havock had been alive. He stood well over two meters in hight, with steel gray hair kept short to his skull.

“In the army, this standard permits command and control, we non-noobs call that C2, functions to be performed using communication and computer systems. Now a communications protocol is a set of standard rules for data representation. To send information over a communications channel three things are required: signaling, authentication and error detection.” He had managed to arrive at the front of the classroom now and punched the buttons to change the image to that of a common comm unit that could be found in any standard Imperial vehicle.

“Communication protocols for a  standard Imperial network communication have features intended to ensure reliable interchange data over an imperfect communication channel. All communications can be hacked. Don't delude yourself, and do not listen to your over-zealous comm tech. This is why we use codes when we communicate and encrypt files. So your goal is not to fix the comm channel, its to make sure the equipment in the vehicle is in working order and you can send messages, thats it.”

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It was cold. At least they didn't have to leave the hangar to take their exam this time. But damn was it cold today.

The class had been split up into their sub-specialties, which meant that Havock was heading towards the Aratech 74-Z Military Speeder Bikes. It had been awhile since they had been able to work on speeder bikes, which were her favorite. This exam she had to fix the computer system, which consisted of sensor, comlink and comlink-jamming device located between the handlebars.

“Alright, is everyone here? Looks like it, lets just get started.” Rouillard quickly walked up to the group of students waiting to get their hands on the speeder bikes. “Each of you gets their own bike, and each bike has a problem with one of the computer interfaces. Fix the problem, then follow comm protocols to check in. Well what are you staring at, get to work.”

The comlink on her bike was nothing but static, which wasn't a good way to start things. The sensor relay was fraked. Which was messing with the signal for the comlink, sounds like fun. Havock took the panel off the sensor terminal. She was careful this time not to get herself shocked as she checked the connections on the wires.

Rouillard had told them that this should be a fairly quick exam. Of course he also said that it was quick because if we were on a mission and without our computer and communication systems we were pretty well screwed so we had better learn to fix them quickly.

Her hands felt the loose relay before she actually saw it hiding in the dim light behind the terminal. Finding where it plugged into was just as tactile a task, but she managed. Thankfully she had been able to really study the circuit board in the classroom despite Max's annoyance. The sensor screen blinked to life and began to link up to the base op computer to download information. Well thats a good sign, now I just hope this comlink doesn't crap out on me.

The lights on the control panel flickered and then showed green. That should mean that the computer was sending and receiving information now, and that the comlink would work. Here goes nothing.

Havock keyed in the code for base ops and pushed the button. “Havock to base, 10-41.”

It took a second but the crackled response came back. “Base to Havock, 41 confirmed, comlink reported in.”

“10-4.” She let out a breath she didn't even realize she had been holding and with a nod to Max, who was still fighting with his controls, headed back to the barracks.

OOC:

Vehicle Crewman – Level 5 – Story 2
Course: Power Generation Systems Repair
Course Type: Theory/Practical
Course Description: Troopers will be taught how power generation is achieved in standard Imperial systems, particularly in vehicles of the trooper's chosen class. They will be taught the repair of the primary, and backup systems which achieve and maintain power generation in those vehicles, including routine maintenance and field repair. Troopers will then be assessed on their retention of this knowledge with a practical examination.

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The large room smelled far cleaner and more sterile than it should have. Havock watched as another person came and left while she remained on the treadmill. The makeshift gym she used while living with the Retathorn gang on Corellia was not nearly so nice. She had another spec class later on that day and decided to read the material while working out rather than siting in the barracks.

Power Generation System Repair

Havock sighed as she read the title once again. Sounded so boring to her, but at least she was almost done. It was nice to be in the smaller more advanced class, although that also meant that the instructor was even more aware of what you were or were not able to do. She hated to screw up, especially in front of a class of her peers, which is why she was running on the treadmill with her nose in a datapad.

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Gunnery Sergeant Rouillard looked about as thrilled as Havock to be in class. Even though it was late in the afternoon he looked like he had just rolled out of bed. She seriously doubted that would effect his ability to nail her if she messed up though.

“Alright, today we talk about power systems. In your vehicles that boils down to fuel cells, your backup is your battery which you are all familiar with.” He clicked a few buttons and the schematic of a basic fuel cell illuminated on the screen behind Rouillard. The man rubbed his unshaven chin and pointed tiredly at the diagram. “Fuel cell. A direct current is what is providing the power that makes the vehicle run. Our fuel cells run on a polymer exchange system, which keeps the temperature cool until the vehicle runs then the heat from the engine is what generates electricity. Easy, neat, efficient, its the imperial way.” That got a few chuckles.

“The cell will operate in any temperature, that should not be a factor in repair. But the membranes in the cell itself will degrade over time. This is why we need to change them out slightly less frequently than the battery. This isn't something you will be doing in every mission but it is something you will do at some point.”

Rouillard brought of a very boring holovid of an overly cheery woman changing out a fuel cell on a tracked vehicle. He assured the class that the process was the same, with very few adjustments, on all sub-types. One thing Havock noticed right away was that this process was not difficult, but the tools needed would make it a nearly impossible task in the field. A suspicion that was backed up by Rouillard as soon as the vid ended.

“If your vehicle breaks down in the field, your battery will run the engine for a good long while. More than enough time to get you back. And in our larger vehicles you will probably be carrying extra batteries.” Rouillard got a very large smirk on his face and he sat back on his desk to take a long deep breath before continuing. “Do not get it in your head that you can fix the fuel cell, or by-pass the fuel cell. I'm not going to tell you the whole story, but needless to say there once was a recruit who thought they could by-pass a fuel cell in the field. Took us almost eighteen hours to get him back out of the engine, and it broke one of my vehicles. Do not do it, cause next time it happens I'm leaving the idiot in the engine.”

Max raised his hand. “So, what your sayin' is...our job is to maintain the fuel cell, and if something breaks worry about the battery cause thats all we need to make the thing run?”

“You really worry me, Max.” The instructor sighed and groped his desk in search of his mug of caf. “Yes, that would be damn near exactly what I just said.”

“Now even though your battery and fuel cell are your power sources, do not forget about the various relays that pump the power to your electrical systems. Your power generation system runs the whole vehicle, it makes all the other systems run. So maintain it, or you will find yourself with a very heavy vehicle to carry to your objective. Personally, I would rather drive my vehicle.” He clicked off the holoprojector and brought the lights up to a normal level. Havock had to blink in a vain attempt to speed up her eyes adjustment to the brighter light.

“Tomorrow we will meet at the simulator, you noobs will be taking a pretend trip with a vehicle in your sub-group and you will diagnose and correct a power related issue. Until then you are dismissed.”


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Havock hated simulators, they felt so fake. You can touch the trees, get dirty from the dirt, and even get shot but it still felt fake.

“Good morning, Miss Katash.” A young sergeant held out his datapad which he was using to check the class in. “Looks like we all are here now. You will be doing this exam on your own. Each of you will have a turn in the simulator. When you go in a random vehicle from your sub-group will be there in a random poor ambient condition. You won't be going anywhere, your job will be to diagnose the problem and fix it while dealing with the weather, blaster fire or whatever else is occurring around you.”

A few of the other recruits grumbled and she could hear words like 'great, joy, wonderful' muttered under their breath.

She watched a few of her classmates go in and return from their exams. The sergeant called her name and she clutched her vehicle crewman gear as she watched the durasteel door slide up to reveal a very dark landscape. She took a deep breath and stepped inside.

A loud crash of thunder came simultaneously with blinding lightning as the door sealed behind her. Through the rain and  the dim light she could make out the Mekuun Swift Assault Five Hoverscout waiting for her to repair.

By the time she reached the entry hatch she was soaked to the bone, and slightly nervous by the lightning that seemed way too real. Don't get struck by lightning in the sim, you will never live that down.

She shook some of the water off her face and stomped over to the control panel. “So whats wrong with you? You really picked a lovely location to break down.” Her teeth started to chatter which ended her little conversation with the hoverscout. It was for the best, she really didn't need anyone catching her talking to a ship.

The diagnostic pinged. “Power failure, gee I'm so surprised.”

She prepared herself to get wet yet again and jumped out to inspect the engine farther. The relays all checked out, which meant the fuel cell went kablooey. Looking at it the fuel cell and the battery looked like hell, she suspected the lightning was the culprit. “Heh, nice.”

Running yet again inside she threw a compartment open in the cargo area that contained some spare mechanical parts and a couple of batteries. She grabbed one  and made her way back to the rain yet again. It was a lucky thing that the relays were saved from whatever had happened. Havock quickly removed the charred battery and replaced it with the new one. She had to be extra careful when attaching the terminals. She was worried enough about the lightning she really didn't need to be electrocuted by the hoverscout instead.

Once everything was ready she ran back to the control panel and the engine started right up. “Good hoverscout.” She rolled her eyes and jogged to the exit. She almost tripped as she reached the door, due to a very loud crash of thunder. This caused her to more fall out the exit into the hallway than walk and got some very interesting looks from her classmates. She didn't blame them, she would look at a soaked trooper almost falling on her face odd too.

“Everything alright there Havvy?”

She sighed and looked up at Max. “Yea fine, your turn, have fun.” She walked off to find dry clothes and something very warm to drink.

OOC:

Vehicle Crewman – Level 6
Course: Repulsorlift Vehicle Repair
Course Type: Theory/Practical
Course Description: Troopers will be taught more on how to properly operate repulsorlift vehicles. They will be taught the repair of the repulsorlift vehicle's structure and systems, including routine maintenance and field repair. Troopers will then be assessed on their retention of this knowledge with a practical examination.

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The hydrospanner clanked across the tarmac, the woman that threw it laid under the sled and silently watched it go. Havock sighed and shook her head. She had been trying to study for her repulsorlift vehicle repair all day. After spending hours reading about every repulsor vehicle she could think of, she decided to come down to the hangar and put some of what she had been reading to practice. Unfortunately, the repulsor sled she was working on was not cooperating.

“Everything alright noob?” One of the certified techs stood over Havock's legs looking amused.

“Havock. Not noob.” She stood up causing the man to step back quickly and snatched the hydrospanner off the ground from where it had finally come to rest. 

“Gar.” He pointed to himself. “You know, you think thats hard, try repairing that frustrating thing with your helmet and gear on in who knows what conditions.”

“Yea well, if I can't figure out how to change this fuse I'm pretty sure they won't let me fix any more of them in the field or otherwise.” She grimaced and crawled back under the sled. With a click the fuse popped into place and the indicator light on her diagnostic interface turned green. She slid back out and wiped her hands clean. Her gaze narrowed at Gar while he stood there smirking. “Something else you need?”

“Just one thing. Where did you get a name like Havock anyways?”

She shrugged and looked up at him. “Where'd you get a name like Gar?”

He smiled then bowed, chuckling to himself as he walked away.

Havock sighed and shook her head tempted to just let it fall down on her arms that she propped up on her knees. Giving up on an impromptu nap, she stood patting the sled as she rose. “Sometimes I think hunks of junk like you are more intelligent then some men.”

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It would have been considered a nice day by most. The sun was shining down on the perfectly formed path in the woods. Unfortunately, Havock was not most people. She hated the forest, and simulators bugged her even more than real-life mother nature.

She had been walking alone on the dirt path for twenty minutes and had started to think she may have lost her mind along the way. In her simulation, she was part of a training squad that had reached camp for the day but had lost one of their vehicles on the path. Given that the squad had secured the path, Havock was sent to repair and reclaim the vehicle before nightfall. This should have been a fairly simple task, but nothing had been particularly easy since joining the army.

“What the hell?”

In front of her on the path was a 74-Z Speeder Bike, or what was left of one. Pieces of the bike were strewn across the packed dirt, it was hardly recognizable. The whole sensor array was disconnected, a thrust flap here, the maneuvering controls there. She froze and scanned the surrounding forest. When they left this bike was broken but in one piece, which meant she was not alone.

“Great.”

She didn't see any movement, beyond the wind in the trees and a random critter or two. She tentatively took a few steps forward then knelt down to pick up the power cell that had fallen to rest on the ground, all the while keeping her eyes on the forest. Satisfied that there was nobody in the area anymore, and if there were they were far better at stealth than she could ever hope to be and there was nothing she could do about it.

She examined the wreck that should have been a simple power failure or loose fuse, now she had a puzzle to put back together. The fortunate thing was, whoever did this appeared to be more interested in destruction and less in scavenging. “Well if the parts are here there is hope to fixing you.” 

Havock collected the spare parts and started by reconnecting the larger parts. She had to re-align the directional steering vanes at the front tips of the twin outriggers. Once all the major parts were back together she started to work on the handlebars. The comlink was fried and hers didn't seem to have range to call the squad, or it was being jammed. She glanced up again at the forest as that unpleasant possibility crossed her mind. 

Shaking her head at the state of them, she carried the maneuvering controls over to the almost put together speeder bike and sat on the seat. Looking out over the forest she pulled a hydrospanner out of her tool kit and got to work. The sun was quickly setting she estimated another twenty minutes max of daylight. Then it would be too dark to work and she would have failed her exam. That was not something she wanted to happen. The maneuvering controls snapped into place. She checked to make sure they worked by twisting them and watching the directional flaps turn slightly less in the same direction.

A branch snapped.

Nature told her to flinch but she managed to stay still with her hands still grasping the handlebars of the maneuvering controls. She took a deep breath and scanned the tree line while she continued to collect parts. The non-essential ones first, so they could be placed in the cargo compartment just under the seat.

Havock kept her breathing slow and even, holding it every now and then to listen more intently to the sounds around her. The trill-like creaking of the crickets came and went, she heard leaves rustle but when her gaze found the source it was always some small creature waking up to prepare for the night.

Once the power cell was connected to the repulsor engine the bike should have been ready to make the journey back to camp, she hoped. The cables matched up and didn't show any signs of damage, nor did the power cell leak any fluid, these were all good signs.

Her boot gently touched the ground as she climbed back on the seat of the bike. There was less than ten minutes of daylight, the sun was already below the tree line dimming the light available. She knew what was about to happen. The engine would crank, and from somewhere in the forest she was going to get shot at. She wasn't very happy about it, but at least she knew what to expect.

As soon as the sound of the engine made it to her ears the shots pelted into the dirt all around her. She spun the bike around, causing a plume of smoke to surround her. She hit the thrusters with her hands and attempted to get some more altitude with her feet. Unfortunately she was having trouble getting the bike to climb very far off the ground, but at the moment it was high enough.

The trees zipped by, and she couldn't hear or see anymore bolts being fired in her general direction. She considered relaxing but knew given her luck she hadn't yet outrun them. Havock could see the camp just ahead, she didn't bother slowing down.

“Hey!” One of the troopers jumped out of the way as she broke through the tree line. She twisted the controls and slid sideways several meters before finally coming to a halt just before slamming into the commanders tent.

Havock sucked in air trying to catch her breath and was just about to yell something about people with blasters in the forest pissing her off, then she noticed a group of troopers huddled together near her. They were snickering.

One of them held up their blaster and made 'pewpew' noises which caused the rest of them to irrupt in laughter. Havock clenched her teeth and jumped off the bike so hard the stabilizers failed. She let her eyes close as the sound of crashing metal resounded behind her. The laughter got louder.

That was it, she took off all out running at the troopers. The commander stepped in her path and grabbed her at the shoulders holding her there to prevent her from attacking his troopers. “Whoa there Private, calm down. The guys were just having some fun with you.”

She continued to growl but stopped pushing against the man keeping her from probably spending the night in lock up.

“They may be jerk-offs but at least you passed.”

Havock frowned and made eye contact with the commander for the first time. “Sir?”

“You repaired the bike and got it back to camp before night fall, so you passed. Now lets find something to distract you so I don't have to do paperwork when you kill my troopers.”