As the ship lowered itself, Lucky leaped off the ramp and landed in the bush. She already knew whta all this is about and had the added bonus of being a Scout, basic survival was second nature to her.

Before anyone could ask her where she was going, she was crawling away amidst long grasses and thick trees. Saphira was the only person who knew what she was doing slinking off in the distance, seemingly off to nowhere. saph was going to be doing the same thing...Or something similar anyway.

By now the noise the ship engines were making was almost non-existent because it was lifting off and leaving them there and because she was much further than where they had landed.

Along th way, she covered her tracks to confuse the troops and at one juncture where many trails led, she decided she would set a trap in the middle of that small clearing.

Using her combat knife she carved out a long and wide hole in the ground, set the knife aside and started scooping up the loosened dirt with her hands. This was going to be long and tedious work so she hoped the guys wouldn't come upon her anytime soon. The hole wasn't that big per se but she intended on it being deep enough, at least a few feet.

Under the hard surface, the earth was quite loose which enabled her to start doggy-digging her way down. Not really the best and most fashionable way of doing things but it would do the job quickly and efficiently and in the end help her achieve what she wanted. It seemed like forever, it was probably an hour later when she stood up and stretched. By no she had dug a good two feet, if she went a little deeper it would be enough.

A few minutes later, she came across a little bit of water which made things start to get muddy. Water could always be found a few feet underground, no matter where you were. She decided to dig a little more to make things a little muddier then stopped. This was good enough.

Clambering out of the hole, she looked at the few low mounds of dirt that surrounded her. I'll have to do something about those... walking over to one, she spread the dirt as much as possible to make it look flat. grabbing her knife, she did all the other small mounds and soon was faced with a piece of land full of freshly-spread, recently dug dirt.

Taking her knife, she started cutting down long, thin branches she would spread over the hole and surrounding area in the hopes of providing a good camouflage for her freshly made trap. Taking care to spread things evenly and make it looked like it had been always been there, she smelled the thick smell of rains. This rain would help her hide evidence a little more and make things slicker, the smell of fresh dirt would mingle with every other wet smell so no one would have any idea.

As she was finishing up, it started to pour. After shifting a few long, leafy branches over to one side she stood and admired her handiwork amidst the wetness around her. Satisfied, she made sure she hadn't left anything behind before carefully walking away, making sure to not break any branches an that the ones she had cut had been masked by surrounding dead wood.

Out of the corner of her eye, she didn't miss the ASL taking her leave while the others  where still in a bit of shock at the task ahead. Already the clock was ticking and the twi'lek was putting things into her mindset for the fun ahead. After all, nothing ever said the  couldn't have a little fun of their own.

Taking her own chance while backs were turned, Saphira vanished. Her silver  gaze peaking out from a set of trees as she watched a trooper turn to see that they were utterly alone. The others noticing and looking around to see if their leader had  just moved  up to the ship to grab something.  It didn't take long for the sounds of a squabble to carry over the wind and make her shake her head. Come on guys, get your priorities straight and move. Theres plenty to do.

Her lips curling up into a smile as she turned and drew off into the direction she had see Lucky go off to. Having an idea where she was going, the female slipped into a slightly off direction to mess with her. Knowing very well there would be traps set along the way that she also needed to work on. After all, everyone will be heading in this direction soon enough.

The clues will lead them out here. Even if they came down the path she was now, it wouldn't matter. Licking her lips as Saphira stopped briefly to start her own set of nasty surprises.  It was rather simple. A vine, slightly raised and tied  between two trees and gently covered  with some  dead earth.  Managing to do this to several steps, someone would manage a face plant. Careful to cover the tracks as best as she could, saph once more moved on when the rain started.


"Sith Spit." She cursed.


That wasn't what she needed. The rain pelting down was more annoying, but it still gave a slight advantage as she  listened and thought she heard something soon up ahead. However, she paused, and decided to circle around. Lucky was near and she could tell by the tingle of emotion she felt through her lek.  With the rain giving her slight aid, she was carefull to avoid branches as best she could when she saw Lucky. With a smile, Saphira approached and then drew to a crouch before  leaping out and yelling.

"BOO!"

And so the hunt began…or was it more of a game like Hide and Seek? Skjoll hated forests, it was the roots, the soft soil, and the fact that there was one particular mission that make made him uneasy around them. Well it was bright out still, Madman felt he could take his time – no need to rush in blindly after all. If it were the dunes of Tattooine, he’d do just the same while making a good deal of progress. Keep his head up, and his wits about him though he really had to stop, flex his new leg “Ah…them Imperial medical staff sure knew what they were doing. Isn’t that right, Leggy? I thought so.” He’d speak to the limb that he had been reunited with after a painful couple of weeks of healing and therapy.

Now all he had to do was figure out this first riddle, a clue. “Aww, but this is Impossible! No one could ever figure this out! Certainly not me, but maybe I will humor her…wherever in this forsaken rat’s nest she may be hiding…” He’d sigh, as he looked it over, scratching his head “Ah.” He’d ponder it over, but what was it that he had come to realize? Did he look over the words at all, did he figure it out? If anyone had been listening, they would get no details but as he nonchalantly stuffed it back in his bag as he looked around.

“Wed…Wed…AHA!” He’d point to a peculiarly shaped stone with decrepit vine’s hanging all about. He would kneel by the rock, flexing his fingers softly he would begin digging around the rock, for a good amount of time, that was before he noticed something dangling nearby, something tethered from a rope-like vine from a tree.

“Well…er, that must be it. Hanging there, ready for me to pluck…like an apple..or an Ewok.” He’d rant mildly to himself as he walked over to grab it, before tripping a tripwire and falling into a pit.

"I should have known..." Madman muttered as it took more then a few tries to climb out of the pit. His new leg still took time to get use too and by the time he got out he was furious. "When I get my hands on those two.."

Images of dumping both women into a puddle of mud came to mind for starters as he managed to grab the next box of a clue. Carefully, he made sure they hadn't rigged that to be trapped. Knowing Saph, she'd have the perverse pleasure at having something explode just to goad him. The small case clicked open, and only seemed to hiss. Revealing only a small paper with scribbled words on them.


What has two banks, but no credits?


"Another riddle..When this is over I'm going to need a drink.."


Madman grumbled and dropped the box. Making his way past the hole and looking carefully in case there was another nearby.



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




"I really wonder who triggered the first trap." Saphira thoughtfully spoke. A cruel smile played on her face as she helped Lucky with the last bits of the weather proofing.

"Credit says it was JellyBean." Lucky replied.

"I bet it was Madman. But you're on." Saph replied.


Both women laughed and  took out their own packs and started a fire. It was  cold enough they were starting to get a chill and the sun was already starting to wane on their first  day.

"If they think this is bad, they are in for a real eye opener in the coming weeks." Lucky replied as  she concentrated on sparking the fire.

"Well, at least we're near base. I haven't heard anything explode yet. Or calls for help. So either they are doing alright, or they are plotting against us." Saphira smiled as the last spark ignited the fire.

"We'll see.  It won't be too much longer before we start to hear them. The real fun will start in the morning." Lucky gave a devious smile.

Jelly bean and the others had already had their fun tracing through the city most of the day.  Aeos had to smack Jelly once for trying to sneak a favor from a local salesmen for some fresh fruit. Tempting as it was, they had their rations and had their orders. By the time they had made it to the woods, Jelly was miserable and it was already near dusk.

"How many more clues are there?" Jelly questioned. Kicking a stick as he  decided to take a few steps ahead of her.

"How would I know that? Just keep walking. Working together will be better then tracing all over on our own." Ae replied.


Jelly sighed and turned, taking a  few more steps before tripping over the first set of vines that were hidden. Falling forward as he hit his side and rolled with a grunt. Jelly kicked his legs free and stood as Ae started to laugh.

"Son of a -" He bent down to see the crude looking trap.

"Looks like we're on the right track." She replied. "We might want to look for more. If those two are setting traps..." 

"You don't need to tell me twice." Jelly replied, rubbing his leg and then stood.

They found they next set and moved on. Soon finding the hole that Madman had fallen in. Looking around they did find another box with the  next clue in it and were careful opening it. Knowing that from the last ones, it could be trapped or have some kind of nasty surprise in it.  Finding the clue, they  both knew it lead to the river.

"Well, that had to be the easiest clue they gave us." Jelly surmised. Taking a hand to wipe some rain from his brow.

"Nothing is easy as it seems. Just because they made the clue easy dosen't mean anything." Ae replied. "I think we need to start thinking about a spot for the night and a way to start a fire. As much as it's been raining we need to find some wood that will still burn."


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



The sound of running water might had been a blessing if it wasn't already raining.  Madman looked around to see if he could spot the next clue. However, it was already starting to get dark and the stream wasn't exactly in one spot. 

"Damn it! They could have hidden the clue  anywhere here. I'm going to have to walk up and down the bank to look for it." He cursed and  nearly snapped the makeshift weapon in half.

Thunder was then heard as Madman looked up through the trees. Great. As if it can't get any worse tonight. The sound and feel of a storm was rolling in. It looked as if his leaders picked a perfect day for them to be out playing in the woods. However, he wanted his item back and so did the others.

It wouldn't do him any good to try and look for the clue in the dark. Not unless he wanted to freeze and wallow in the cold all night and end up in a Bacta Tank. Looking around he saw what he needed for the night. Some boulders stacked on one another but formed a roof/ cave feeling. Large enough for him to sit under and be safe from the rain. Now all he would have to do is manage a fire and get settled for the evening.

“Damn woman. You smoke like a chimney” Jelly commented from underneath their cramped space of dryness. Aeos pulled one cigarette free with her teeth and pulled a log from the fire to lit it. She smirked at Jelly.

“I’m not addicted. I only smoke on missions. Besides, this is a nice little space for chilling.” She muttered while throwing a glance around her.

They managed to scavenge a good deal of flora on the river banks and had gather massive leaves from the tall phoenix trees nearby. The leaves were about one meter in length and half a meter in width. When freshly plucked the leaves were extremely soft and frail.  Give them a few weeks to rot on the ground and you had materials as sturdy as wood in your hands.  Which is exactly what Aeos and Jellybean had fashioned for themselves. A little roof of the leaves woven and held together with vines, and fresh phoenix leaves for mattresses.

While Aeos was seeing to their little humble abode, Jelly had busied himself with fishing. Of course completing all these tasks in the rain were no joke and both troopers were fairly annoyed with the whole predicament. But a few hours next to the fire with a good meal of fish quickly washed out the mood.

Aeos pulled from her cigarette again and took a deep breath reveling in the fresh  musky air of earth and rain.  Around them it was pouring, or as Aeos preffered in her native. It was saucing.
The two troopers were settling in for the night when they suddenly heard a scream.

Aeos bolted upright along with Jelly. Their combat knives ready.
“What was that?”

“Human. Definitely human.” Jelly responded.
“Could be one of the other guys fell into a trap.” Aeos muttered.
Jelly groaned

“I’m not going.”

“Yes we are. Come on.” She grabbed him by his sleeve and pulled him alongside with her away from the fire, the warmth and their shelter of dryness. Within sheer minutes they both were soaked as they started their usual tyranny of bundo-bashing.

They followed the second scream that followed and quickly managed to hone onto the source.

Aeos arched an eyebrow amused at the drenched form of Bellator trying to climb against the wall of dirt surrounding him. He fell into one of the traps.

“Didn’t think I’d see you so soon kiddo.” She muttered bending down and extending a hand to him. Jelly followed and they started pulling him out.

The fresh recruit flabbergasted at seeing his old Drill Sergeant only shook his head and groaned.

“Saph told me to meet Iron Horse at the coordinates she provided to me. I never thought it would in the middle of a bluddy jungle.” He  muttered.

“That is Saph for you.” Aeos sighed. Bellator only scoffed at this pulled himself to his feet. He looked miserable as he stood there drenched in water and mud.  Aeos glanced at herself and Jelly. They weren’t much better of themselves.

“Come on.  Bellator, you can camp out with us for the night. Lets get you cleaned up and fed.”