“Welcome, everyone, to Task Force Bulwark, which is the leading force of Operation Bulwark. We are going up against a force that was able to decimate five squadrons of TIE fighters and two Lancer Frigates, and here is Warrant Officer Bacredi for our accompanying ships and squadrons.” said the Lieutenant.

“Okay, here we go: we have two accompanying dreadnaughts, the Lobo and Serenity, along with two Lancer Frigates and four CR-90s. Six squadrons: Twilight, Lincoln, Firebreaker, Spartan, along with us two, will be accompanying us.” Bacredi explained.

“Obviously, we have no idea what their forces are, but we will most likely be able to overcome that difficulty with numbers. They always say quantity over quality, eh?” Carmichael shuffled some papers. “Dismissed, other orders are on your datapads.”

Cayden watched as all of the pilots filed out of the room, save the two SCs.  He made a move to ask a question, but decided not to, and left the room as well.  He walked down the hall when one of the pilots ahead, a female, turned around and began running back to the conference room.  Cayden stopped in the hall, noticing she was of higher rank, moved to the side and saluted.

She ran past, not noticing him at all, and looked in the door.  "Damn..." she muttered.  She started to walk back to the other pilots when she noticed Cayden still saluting her.  "At ease, Senior Chief Petty Officer."

"Yes ma'am," he said, lowering his arm to his side.

She smiled, held out her hand, and said "I'm Master Chief Petty Officer Elizabeth Black.  And... you are?"

He shook her hand and said "Senior Chief Petty Officer Cayden Tavers, at your service."

"Hey, me and a few of the other pilots were going to have a drink later.  Would you like to join us?" Elizabeth asked, still smiling.

Cayden nodded and said "I'd love to, Elizabeth."

She smiled and said "You can call me Lizzie.  Everyone does."

"Yes Eliz- Lizzie," Cayden caught himself, smiling.

Lizzie ran off to catch up with the rest of her group, looking back to Cayden and smiled.

Cayden smiled back and watched as the group of pilots went up the turbolift.  She likes me, doesn't she? he thought, feeling a small pain in his stomach.

"Oh really?  Whatever gave you that idea, Cayden?" am imaginative squirrel said, appearing on his right shoulder.

Not now, Cayla... Cayden thought as he began walking down the hall towards the turbolift.

"Cayden... you have a serious problem and you constantly refuse to address it," Cayla said, her voice turning stern.

Cayla, I can handle it.  It's just drinks.  We are going into a combat situation tomorrow.  Hell, I might die.  One night among fellow pilots won't kill me he thought as he punched in his destination on the turbolift controls.

"Cayden, one night WILL kill you!  You have to think about-" she started before...

Cayla, one more word from you, and I will have you removed from my brain and permanently deleted. he thought fiercely, slamming the enter button hard.  He waited for her to retort again, but found out that she was gone.  The turbolift doors opened and he stepped inside.  The doors shut, and the lift zoomed to it's destination: up 3 floors.

He jumped out of the lift as the doors opened and ran down the hall to his room.  He quickly opened the door and rushed in.  He looked outside to see if anyone was watching, then he closed the door and locked it.

Cayden walked over to the bed and pulled out his trunk.  He opened it and began pulling various tools, clothes, uniforms, and weapons out of it and setting them on the bed in an organized fashion.  He stopped pulling things out when he found what he was looking for: a bottle of Giagorex III muscle relaxer pills.  He popped it open and took two of them.  He felt the soothing relief flow through him as the pain subsided.  "I swear... one of these days... I'm going to have to find a doctor who can actually fix crap like that... the surgery I had oh-so many months ago didn't fix that one bit.  Though... it was a fool's hope to think it actually would stop the pain and fix the veins..." he said, slowly standing up.

He walked over to his bed and picked up his M-70 Semi-Automatic Pistol.  I'm going to be relying on this thing a lot in the next few months... I just know it... damn TIE Interceptor can't hold an M-590 Assault Rifle... he thought as he started to place everything back into the trunk.

Once everything was safely put away, Cayden walked over to the door and unlocked it.  He stepped out into the hall and walked over to the turbolift.  He input his destination floor into the lift controls, and patiently waited for the lift to arrive.  The lift doors opened and Cayden smiled when he saw Lizzie standing inside.  "I'm sorry... I was just heading up to the bar," he said, stepping in.

She smiled back at him and said "What a coincidence... so was I"

The lift doors closed and began moving upward.  It stopped two decks up and the doors opened.  The pair of pilots exited the lift and walked down the curvy corridor until they made a left into the bar.  The pair entered the bar and headed over to a table in the corner.

"Where's everyone else?" Cayden asked, confused.

"Oh, ummm... they all had to... errr... go to a yoga class," Lizzie said, blushing.

He looked at her, skeptical, then said "I did that once... though, on accident... turned out I liked it."

"Really?  That must have been an interesting experience for you..." she said, leaning forward and resting her head in her hands, looking at him.

"Yeah, I guess... I mean... it was interesting..." Cayden said, getting nervous.  "So... it's just the two of us?"

"Aye aye, captain, that's the plan," Lizzie said, smiling.

"I see... ummm... would you like to eat, or sit here... or what?" he asked, getting even more nervous.

"We can do anything you want... just name it," she said, blushing.

Cayden turned around and waved the waitress over.

"What'll be you two?" she asked, impatiently.

"Umm, I'll have a glass of Raava, and she'll have...?" he asked, looking at her.

"I'll have a Corellian Light Ale," Lizzie replied, smiling.

"Alright, I'll be back in a few," the waitress said, smiling as she left the table.

"Raava?  That's a rich-man's drink... far too expensive for enlisted people like us," she whispered.

"I'm an extremely different enlisted person, Lizzie..." he said, leaning back in his chair.

"Indeed... are you some sort of royalty or something?" she asked, curious.

Oh damn... here we go... he thought as he said "I was once a prince, yes... until the planetary government decided to remove the royal family from the planet.  Fortunately, for us, we're all military officers.  So, instead of being exiled, they had us stationed a good distance away from the homeworld.  On this new planet, we've managed to build a sizeale population, military, and research program."

"And what planet is this, if I may ask?" Lizzie asked, leaning closer.

"I... can't tell you.  It's against the law to reveal the location or name of our base of operations," Cayden said, smiling nervously.

"I see..." she said skeptically.

The waitress returned with their drinks and placed them onto the table.  "I'll just leave the bottle of Raava here for ya," she said, putting the bottle onto the table.  She left them alone for the remainder of the evening, save to return and refill Lizzie's glass and bring more Raava to the table.

Cayden and Lizzie talked for a good portion of the evening, finishing a drink each every hour.  By the time the clock struck 22:00 hours, both were ridiculously drunk, and stumbled out of the bar together.  They both got to the turbolift and pressed random keys.  Fortunately, for them, the lift went to the pilot's barracks level.  They exited the lift and stopped in front of Lizzie's room.

"I... had a wonderful evenin', Cayden..." she said, exhausted and drunk.

"As did I, Lizzie..." he replied, smiling goofily.

Lizzie opened her door and started to move into her room, but was stopped by Cayden as he grabbed her, turned her around, and gave her a kiss.  Lizzie stood there, shocked and smiling.

"I... have no idea why I did that..." Cayden said, blushing.

"Good night, Cayden," Lizzie said, smiling.  "I'll see you tomorrow."

He smiled and turned around as she entered her room and closed the door.  He started walking down the corridor when an all-too familiar voice returned.

"Cayden!  Damn you!  What the hell have you just done?!?" Cayla asked, reappearing on his shoulder.

"Relax, pretty squirrelly... All I did was give her a kiss... no reason to be upset..." Cayden slurred out, smiling.

"Yeah, well... only reason is that you are engaged!  To Ashley!" Cayla yelled, smacking Cayden with her tail.

Cayden shook his head, and gasped.  "No... I didn't... I can't believe I... damnit!" he said, holding his head.  "What did I do?"

"You messed up... you had too much to drink, and now you have a problem to fix," she said, patting his head.  "We'll figure this out, Cayden... don't worry."

"I hope so, Cayla," he said, opening his room door.  "I hope so..."  He shut the door behind him, locking it.

OOC:

WC: 1589

Okay, anyone care to find out what the hell happened to my integrity?  Because I seem to have lost it somewhere... if you find it, please return it to me immediately.  kthxbai!

“Welcome, everyone, to Task Force Bulwark, which is the leading force of Operation Bulwark. We are going up against a force that was able to decimate five squadrons of TIE fighters and two Lancer Frigates, and here is Warrant Officer Bacredi for our accompanying ships and squadrons.” said the Lieutenant.

“Okay, here we go: we have two accompanying dreadnaughts, the Lobo and Serenity, along with two Lancer Frigates and four CR-90s. Six squadrons: Twilight, Lincoln, Firebreaker, Spartan, along with us two, will be accompanying us.” Bacredi explained.

“Obviously, we have no idea what their forces are, but we will most likely be able to overcome that difficulty with numbers. They always say quantity over quality, eh?” Carmichael shuffled some papers. “Dismissed, other orders are on your datapads.”

Well at least we get some payback this time I don’t think that it matters though, Lehon is still fresh in my mind be nice to get it off it so that I can concentrate on something else for a change wonder what everyone else is doing, well might as well take a shower before I go hit up the bar like I always do.

----Awhile Later----

Rocket looked around the room he had been assigned on board the Admiral Doreth he noticed that it was like every other room that he had on board a ship, well my rank changes but the room’s that they give me are the same just a little bigger and I don’t share with people oh… well at least there’s always a bar to go to.

Beep Beep Beep

Rocket looks at his datapad and sees that there is a new message and he press the open button.

----Just a Notification----
---To: Tuk’ata Squadron---
--From: Warrant Officer 2nd Class Bacredi Squadron Commander of Tuk’ata—
-Subject: Meeting-

Hello all of your since I took over Tuk’ata I have noticed that most of you do not know most of the Squadron so I have set up a night of just socializing before our mission so that you can get to know each better, so that we will move more like a unit in battle. Look at the attachment to find out which bar we are meeting at I will be there later I expect all of your to be there.

That is all

-----End Message-----

Great a socializing event just what I didn’t want to go though before a mission well I don’t know what he is planning but I will go along with this because it’s an excuse to get drunk and not get into trouble and maybe forget about Lehon for awhile who knows maybe there’s someone in the squadron that can help me with this pain that I am going though.

“Well time to please the masses, so that they can leave me alone.” alone Rocket says to himself
“Great now I am talking to myself what next you know what I need to stop this feeling sorry for myself I need to get out of this rut that I still find myself in, well there’s only one thing left to do know and that’s go to that bar and try to make friends again or just go into this depression drinking again.”

Rocket starts to walk towards the bar that was said with the attachment in the message and finds that it is a lot closer than he thought it would be once he gets into the bar he goes up to the bartender and says

“I need a table for sixteen set up over there.”
“Well a fella said that someone would be coming in here asking that exact question he also said that he would be here later.”
“I see so it’s already set up than.”
“No he said to wait till someone came in here asking about it before I got it set up while you’re waiting what can I get you?”
“I will have a spikedriver if you know how to make that one.”
“You don’t mess around do you well here you go.”

The bartender hands Rocket his drink and then Rocket sips it savoring the flavor of the drink after about a couple of minutes he notices that the table had been set up and goes over to it and sits in the corner where the light closest to the seat had gone out making the chair barely visible and sits down.

Well all that’s left to do now is wait for everyone else to show up.

OOC:

758 Words: Okay there it is once everyone get here I got something planed out that hasn't happened in a while and I already cleared it with Bacredi.

“Dismissed, other orders are on your datapads.”
Vanity sighed. This was a real mission now. There was no more traveling to random planets. There were no more competitions between squadrons in asteroid belts. This was her first real deal mission. She wasn’t sure what to think about it because everything was too confusing for her as it was. The revelation she had made to Cayden after going to Asteroid 19 still rang in her memory. It was honest. He was too… different. She had no word for it for she didn’t understand it herself.

She made her way back to her assigned room, noticing Cayden walking across another hall. Vanity stopped and watched, only to see the turbolift open to present a girl inside. The female seemed to smile at Cayden as he stepped inside. Wait a minute. Who was that? She doesn’t look like anyone from our squadron. Why did she seem so happy to see him? Curiosity begged to follow “The Prince” to wherever he was headed to, but Vanity shook her head. What did she care if there was some girl chasing after Cayden or vice versa?

Ignoring the event that had just occurred, Vanity stepped inside her room. She sat herself down on her bed and stretched her arms. It was a boring day. Nothing was making her angry, but she wasn’t happy either. Everything was just neutral. Of course, no one in Tuk’ata would know that because they always saw her in a rage. It became usual for her to be in one for all hours of the day. Fury. Rage. Anger. Vanity knew no different. And yet today was proving that wrong.

Now she closed her eyes as her mind wandered onto the person that brought her here. Korinth hadn’t been on her mind much ever since she left Nar Shaddaa. Sure, whenever things were going terribly—or what she perceived as terrible—immediately she blamed him. Though he had convinced her to be in the Vast Empire, it hadn’t been fair of her to assume that all difficulties would be of his cause. Cayden made her see things in a different light. Korinth was the person who was trying to make her see people differently. Vanity was rebelling that her past could be left behind her.

There was a beep and Vanity’s eyes trailed to her datapad that had a new message on it. Her hand reached over and opened it up.

----Just a Notification----
---To: Tuk’ata Squadron---
--From: Warrant Officer 2nd Class Bacredi Squadron Commander of Tuk’ata—
-Subject: Meeting-

Hello all of your since I took over Tuk’ata I have noticed that most of you do not know most of the Squadron so I have set up a night of just socializing before our mission so that you can get to know each better, so that we will move more like a unit in battle. Look at the attachment to find out which bar we are meeting at I will be there later I expect all of your to be there.

That is all

-----End Message-----

She cursed. Get to know each other better? She understood how to not shoot down her teammates after her incident in the simulator. Did she really need to be told to go and meet with people that already hated her? The looks she’d get as she approached the table would be the same as when she was at Asteroid 19. Some fear and some hate. Dangerous.

But what if the outcome would be different this time? What if some people actually attempted to talk to her? Would she cut them down or try to respond like a normal person? Who was she going to listen to? Herself or Korinth?

Vanity got up and walked out of her quarters. She went to the designated bar, but stopped at its entrance for a moment or two. The question still rang in her head. Me or Korinth? Who do I listen to? The decision needed to be made before she stepped inside, and, once she had, she finally did. Immediately when she stepped in, she could see the members of Tuk’ata at the table further away glancing up to see who was coming and, upon noticing her, give a look and then return their full attention to their conversations. Vanity strode forward anyway and took a seat at the table. The bartender asked if she wanted anything, but she shook her head. Never would she taste the flavor of alcohol whether she wanted to or not.

Her attention turned to the man who had just made a comment about bar fighting. She remembered his name was Slasher, but she decided not to start any sort of anything with this sort of man, so she ignored him and played with her fingers. Tuk’ata members were still gathering at the table.

OOC:

814 WC and it is more than 500 if you were to disclude the message.
This post is quite unlike Vanity. Turn for the better? We'll see.

So, Darian just came back to the navy…again. Already action time, apparently. Operation Bulwark or some such. At the time, Darian and his temporary wingmate and flight leader, Cayden Tavers, were loading bags onto an electronic cart. Squadron Commander and Warrant Officer 2nd Class Zhar Bacredi ran in as this was going on. Darian and his wingmate saluted him. Darian was soon left alone, as Cayden went into Bacredi’s office.

After some unexciting shouting by higher ups, there was eventually a meeting that they had to report to on the Admiral Doreth.

“Welcome, everyone, to Task Force Bulwark, which is the leading force of Operation Bulwark. We are going up against a force that was able to decimate five squadrons of TIE fighters and two Lancer Frigates, and here is Warrant Officer 2nd Class Bacredi for our accompanying ships and squadrons,” said a Lieutenant on the podium.

“Okay, here we go: we have two accompanying dreadnaughts, the Lobo and Serenity, along with two Lancer Frigates and four CR-90s. Six squadrons: Twilight, Cobalt, Firebreaker, Spartan, along with us two, will be accompanying us,” the Warrant Officer said at his cue.

“Obviously, we have no idea what their forces are, but we will most likely be able to overcome that difficulty with numbers. They always say quantity over quality, eh?” The unidentified-to-Darian Lieutenant shuffled some papers. “Dismissed, other orders are on your datapads.”

After the meeting, Darian decided to check his datapad to see if he for some reason had any special orders. He had three messages.

The first message is as follows:

---------------------------
To: Tuk’ata Squadron
From: Zhar Bacredi
Subject: Introductions

Hello Tuk’ata Squadron. I noticed that many of you do not know your fellow Squadron mates. For this purpose, tonight, while we’re waiting to arrive at Yetton, you are to meet each other, talk, and socialize. Learn who is in your squadron. Go to the bar marked on the attached map. That is an order.

That is all.
---------------------------

Darian read the next message.

---------------------------
To: Darian Rogue
From: Zhar Bacredi
Subject: Welcome Back

It’s good to have you back, Senior Crewman Darian Rogue. You may have always been a little strange DR, but you’re a good person. Glad you joined my squadron.
---------------------------

And then, the third message.

---------------------------
To: Tuk’ata Squadron
From: Zhar Bacredi
Subject: Re-placements

After the leave of “Amacuse” and some others, the squadron has been consolidated. Delta Flight no longer exists. Darian Rogue is now ?-4, Rocket’s new wingmate.

That is all.
---------------------------

At this point, Darian decided to follow his orders. He checked the map attached to the first message, and proceeded to the marked bar. There he found Rocket, Slasher, and some people he didn’t quite know.

He was immediately greeted by a random extended hand. Darian had no other choice but to take it and shake it.
The Twi’lek woman who it belonged to introduced herself as Senior Crewman Mehra Frei, callsign Lampyridae.
Darian replied with, “Senior Crewman Darian Rogue, at your service. Just call me DR. Nice to meet you.”

With that, Darian left her and went to bar, ordering the Corellian Ale that he was now allowed to have due to turning twenty-one two weeks before. Taking the ale, he went to the table, sat down (not without saluting the higher ranked squadron mates like Slasher and Rocket), and said, “Well, it’s good to be back in the navy. Warrant Officer Slasher, nice to see you again. Master Chief Rocketman, glad to have you as my wingman. Hmm… Something seems familiar about calling you my wingman. Didn’t this happen before?”

OOC:

WC: 600 exactly. I know the message about socializing isn’t the same as Rocket’s and such, but meh, a little creativity never hurt anyone.

=====Ship's Bar=====
A hearty laugh broke whatever reverie Stewart-Power was partaking in. In the sudden silence that followed, Thel realized the laugh was his own. He then followed up the laugh with a quite chuckle directed only at himself.

Through a much more blurry vision then he remembered having before, Thel gazed out and examined the various shapes around. Blinking a few times, he could tell that he was surrounded by his fellow pilots all sitting at the bar itself. The general chatter was amiable, though he stated to smell what seemed like aggression in the air.

Turning around, he saw his wingman and flight member, call-sign: Rocketman, intervening in between a flustered human woman, and an equally drunk marine. Suddenly the marine threw a punch at Rocketman. The pilot jumped back, as Thel and most of Tuk'ata Squadron skulked forward cautiously, as a warning to the beyond drunk Marine.

Moments later, Rocketman threw the man into a table, as more large and aggressive men stepped foreword. An unspoken word passed around the bar like wild-fire, as time slowed down and everyone turned watch the imminent violence: Bar-fight.

=====Beginning of bar-fight, Ship's Bar=====
The two forces clashed against each other in a wild array of swinging fists, flying feet, and improvised weapons. All the pilots and Marines in the bar got to their feet, very few of them leaving, most of them trying their best to fight their way to the thick of it. Due to the Marines outnumbering the Tuk'atan's three to one, the squadron was literally at the heart of it. A few other pilots were here and there were holding there own against the tide of nearly overwhelming Marines. Nearly that is, had the sailors in the bar not joined the side of the pilots.

The respect for the crewmen on-board the ship went up for Thel, as he and a sailor punched out a particularly large Marine. Instead of choosing fights of his own, and suffering from his lack of melee skills, he floated from fight to fight, giving his comrades-at-arms whatever advantage he could.

On one such fight, he teamed up with Senior Crewman Lorrant Jacobs, a flight member of his, and found himself against three other marines. Each Marine had a broken glass bottle in their hands, preparing to throw them at the pair. Just as they threw them, he dodged by diving downwards. In rolled to the side and got back up just in time to a table being smashed over the head of the stunned Lorrant Jabobs. The arrogant pilot collapsed in a heap on the ground, adding more blood the collecting pool of scarlet liquis on the bar floor. His fall had gone un-noticed by the remaining participants of the fight, and the chaos continued on, un-averted.

=====End of bar-fight, Ship's Bar=====
A small group of pilots and sailors, their back against the bar itself, resisting the advances being made by the Marines; is what greeted the sight of the Naval Security Officers as they stormed the cluttered entrance of the bar. The last sound of the bar-fight was the smashing of glass against the bar counter as two sailors finished the action of creating an improvised weapon to defend themselves. 

The Marines unwillingly started shuffling their way through the bar entrance, to the inevitable court-martial they knew they would face. The pilots breathed a collective sigh of relief as their immediate problem was solved. They then filed through the door, escorted by the Security Officers, to the brig. The pilots maintained a stoic silence, while the sailors freely let the security officers know their disappointment of the fight being over and of their inevitable victory had the security officers not broken the fight up.

=====Ship's Brig=====
The command pilots of Tuk'ata sat in the interrogation room, silently listening and occasionally acknowledging the mandatory lecture of their ‘stupidity’. It finished with the departing information of the death of one of their pilots; a Tuk'atan by the name of Lorrant Jacobs.

Though he wasn't very well liked, the news of the death still left a sullen impression of the Flight Leader as they walked morosely back to the squadron to relay the news.

OOC:

Word Count: 701. Finally got a post up, killed off an NPC, AND moved it along! Though feel free (as in please do) to post your perspective of the fight!