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ComNet > Stormtrooper Corps > Archived Stormtrooper Corps Story Board > Red Exodus (Blackjack and Eclipse)
 
 
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Topic:  Red Exodus (Blackjack and Eclipse)
Ron
ComNet Veteran
 
Ron
 
[VE-ARMY] Sergeant First Class
[VE-DJO] Uninitiate
[VE-ICS] Privateer Captain
 
Post Number:  1047
Total Posts:  1218
Joined:  Apr 2008
Status:  Offline
  Red Exodus (Blackjack and Eclipse)
January 17, 2011 9:13:40 PM    View the profile of Ron 
First Lieutenant Auslaut was only twenty when he came out of the academy as a made officer.  He was thin and had a mottled, curly head of black hair which he pulled back with a comb.  At the moment, he was desperately trying to comb back one stubborn curl with his hand, an impossible task as he was sweating profusely with anxiety over his soon-to-be meeting with his assigned Platoon Commander.  Most officers who came straight out of the academy were assigned positions as Platoon Adjutants, which they would hold for anywhere from six months to six years.  Depending on the quality of their service (as well as how wealthy their family was), a young officer could find himself with a Platoon or even a Company of his own within only a few years. 

Those were the dreams of young Auslaut.  Though he had no live combat experience, he was incredibly intelligent and was top of his class.  He was a proud fellow and took his job very seriously.  He also had high expectations of his fellow officers, and always reminded his peers of their responsibilities. 

So when Auslaut first met Sovakas Ron, former Squad Leader and infamous Privateer, he was needless to say- quite surprised.  He was only delivered the directions to meet with Platoon Commander, formerly Captain Ron; which upon receiving he instantly assumed that he had been a Captain in the Army and had lost a rank or two due to his honorable discharge and career as a Privateer, and only later upon re-entering the service been temporarily wait-listed for his former rank.

When he was finally let into Ron's office at the third and fourth barracks at the Stormtrooper Corps Headquarters of Operations on Tadath he was rather shocked.  For no sooner was the door shut behind him, than he saw Ron for the first time, and not even in uniform but in civilian clothes.  Ron, now in his mid-fifties, was well built for his age, was barely graying on either side of his head and goatee, and had gathered a few wrinkles around his eyes and brow.  He had in his mouth, the biggest Rheagent Cigar that Auslaut had ever seen, and had (as the remains of several previous cigars in his ashtray suggested) successfully covered the entire roof of the room with a thin layer of smokey haze.

Ron gave a toothy grin (cigar hanging from the right side of his mouth all the while) and indicated for him to take a seat in front of Ron's very disorganized desk.  After wading through several stacks of papers, Auslaut cleared a space on the chair and sat down.  He instantly noticed the mark of a non-commissioned officer's uniform in the closet behind Ron's desk, and noted it for later use.

"Farst Lautenant Auslaut, I praysume?" Ron asked.  The cigar slightly inhibited his speech.

"Yes, sir." Auslaut replied.  He held out his hand to shake, but Ron was not looking for it; rather he was thumbing through Auslaut's paperwork.

"Twainty yars of age?" He said, half surprised.  Auslaut confirmed what the paperwork had.  Ron chuckled and continued to read through the information.  "Keep getting yonger and yonger."  He only skimmed the next three, and completely skipped the fourth page, throwing the papers on a large stack on the right side of his desk as he asked, "Ya know what a 'Blood Saint' is?" he asked.

"No, Sir?" Auslaut replied.  He was only half listening.  At the moment the chaos and disorder of the room, combined with the heavy smoke and fumes (Ron disliked open windows) were making him feel a bit dizzy.  "No I can't say that I do, Sir."

Ron threw down a pack of paper in Auslaut's lap, printed on the top in bold red Galactic Basic was the name Blood Saints, all the papers contained articles by various authors.

Ron took out the cigar from his mouth, exhaling a cloud of smoke as he did so.  "They're a media group.  Extremely dangerous.  Army Command has made it a priority to eradicate them completely.  They don't want this propaganda to get out."

Auslaut blinked and said, "What system are they based in?"

Ron replied, "Started and currently limited to the planet Bakura.  We got some hints that it may spread to other planets and moons in the system as well.  Better to stop it now than later."

This was completely unexpected for poor Auslaut.  He was told that he wouldn't see any work for at least three months, maybe four.  His job was to assist and learn under a pen and paper commander, not a glorified trooper.  He suddenly felt very sick.

"You alright?" Ron asked cautiously.  He waved his hand in front of Auslaut's face.

"I could use some air." he replied stiffly.

"Of course, of course." Ron said.  He opened the west window and motioned for Auslaut to stand next to it.  "Must be the smoke.  You'll get used to it."  Auslaut regrettably knew this to be the truth.

Ron walked back over to his desk and pressed the intercom for his secretary outside.  "Hello?  Robbins?  Yeah, do me a favor and page Sergeant Major Garryll Gates and Senior Sergeant Skarr.  Have them get their squads suited up and ready for a Type 2 deployment scenario.  Have them come down to my office.  What?  I don't care, have them tell the men it's a drill.  Yeah.  Right.  Ok.  Thanks."

He headed back over to the window.  "Looks like the air's helping.  I'm having the Squad Leaders over now so that you can see them.  It's good meeting you Lieutenant."

Auslaut saluted and stuttered a reply, "Thank you... uh.."

"Captain Ron." Ron said, shaking Auslaut's hand.

"Captain?" Auslaut said quizzically.  The image of the non-commissioned officer's uniform still burned in his mind.

Ron's eyes narrowed, and his grip tightened as he said, "I don't like to repeat myself unnecessarily, Lieutenant."

"Yes, Sir!" Auslaut replied nervously.  "Of course, Captain, Sir."

OOC:
Right.  There's enough there to whet the appetite I think.  All are free to post, troopers just limit yourself to the barracks and training yard until Garryll and Skarr receive their orders in story.  If you haven't already guessed, for now I have an NPC as a Platoon Adjutant named Lieutenant Auslaut.  You'll be seeing a lot of him.  Feel free to mingle between squads for now if you choose, just know that later on you will be separated during the actual mission.  Further instructions will come from your Squad Leaders.  Let's get this story rollin'.
Captain of the Fortunato
Initiate of the Dark Jedi Order
Platoon Commander of Storm Platoon
PC|FSG|RON|2PLT|1COM|1REG|1BAT|TADATH|VE [WM][CCA][QCT][CoR][BC][CoZ][AS-H][AS-1][AS-2]
[This message has been edited by Ron (edited January 17, 2011 9:18:35 PM)]
[This message has been edited by Ron (edited January 17, 2011 9:23:51 PM)]
[This message has been edited by Ron (edited January 17, 2011 9:26:06 PM)]
Garryll Gates
ComNet Veteran
 
Garryll Gates
 
[VE-ARMY] Sergeant Major
[VE-ICS] Privateer
 
Post Number:  1444
Total Posts:  2159
Joined:  Sep 2007
Status:  Offline
  RE: Red Exodus (Blackjack and Eclipse)
January 18, 2011 7:40:19 PM    View the profile of Garryll Gates 
“Ha!” crowed Corvin, throwing his hand down. “Pure Sabbacc!”

The rest of the Blackjacks threw their hands at the deck in disgust. The newly-promoted Sergeant gleefully raked his spoils into his pockets, while the rest of the soldiers stood from the table and pulled their smaller piles into their kit bags or straight into their footlockers.

Sergeant Major Gates flipped the cap off of his face, noting that the long, drawn out card game had come to its conclusion. Sighing, he removed his feet from the second table in the Blackjack squad barrack’s small lounge and planted them on the floor, then forced himself to his feet, half a mind to walk back to his room at the end of the hall and scrounge up a pack of smokes or gum.

That particular idea dissipated when the barracks command line started buzzing. The little comlink earbud he’d set down on the table shook as it vibrated to get his attention. “Duty calls, once again,” Garryll muttered, as he slipped the device into his ear and activated it. “Blackjack Lead, go ahead.”

“Sergeant Major,” the man on the other side of the communications said as a greeting. “The Platoon Commander would like to see you in his office. He also wants your squad ready for a Type-2 deployment.”

Gates poked his memory, trying to remember the specifications of a Type-2 deploy. When he did remember the details, he wasn’t too happy. “You want my boys on combat status in the next hour? That’s insane! We just fought our way through half a bloody army less than three days ago!”

He’d raised a hand to his head in astonishment, and was gesticulating as if to emphasize his words to the man who really couldn’t see him. Gates’ fingers brushed the line of stitches that crawled from just left of his nose up across his eye and fell just short of his crew-cut, and his other hand crushed into a fist. The desk-bound soldier on the other side of the line was oblivious to his annoyance. “The Platoon Commander would like to see you, sir. He’d like your squad ready for a deployment.”

“Very well,” Gates replied. “Blackjacks! Gather ‘round.”

The soldiers moved forwards or at the very least turned their attention to him. Once he had their attention, he passed on the order’s he’d been issued. “Prep for Type-2 Deployment. Full armor, weapons and kitted out in an hour or less.”

Various sounds of displeasure rose from the ranks, and Corvin had the presence of mind to ask the question on Gates’ mind: why?

“Hell if I know. Hav - no. Wait. Havock’s been bumped up to Company CO. I have no idea who’s leading Storm right now. They must want to see us in action?” Gates trailed off halfheartedly.

Shaking their heads or shrugging their consent, the Blackjacks began to dig into their gear for their armor or weapons and personal gear. Gates nodded and left the building, picking up his duty pistol and holster and strapping them on as he walked briskly from it.

A dry wind disturbed the cold, but bright day as he walked across the small assembly area, bordered on one edge by the first and second Storm squad barracks, one edge leading onto the main STC HQ base road, opposite it, the PC’s offices and the third squad barracks, and on the forth side, the Storm armory and the final squad barracks. A group of Stormtroopers were marching past on the main drag, but Gates paid them no mind. They weren’t part of either Wildcard or Storm, so he had only the tiniest chance of actually knowing any of them. A pair of Stormtroopers in every-day uniform emerged from the PC’s office complex and saluted Gates; he returned it quickly and kept moving forwards.

The door into the offices hissed open at his touch, and he stepped into the building, the heat of the building blowing into him as it tried to escape outside. The door shut behind him, and the artificial breeze died down.

He oriented himself and then walked directly to the PC’s office, knocked once, and then entered. Two men were inside, the one behind the desk in civvies and smoking, grey just barely touching at his temples. Across the room was a man - boy, really - looking fresh-faced and young enough to be the first man’s son. Gates had a hazy feeling of recognition on the older of the two, but the younger was an unknown. Either way, he had a rather uncomfortable feeling about either leading him and his squad into combat. One was too young to know enough about combat not to get under his feet, and the other didn’t look amazingly disciplined.

“Sergeant Major Gates reporting,” said he, and saluted. The younger of the pair turned and returned the salute quickly, his unstained First Lieutenant’s bars at his shoulders. Gates stomach dropped further.

The man behind the desk looked up and removed the fat cigar from his mouth and waved it at him. “I’m the PC, Captain Ron.”

Nowhere on the man did the rank ‘Captain’ seem to have branded itself, but the name did tickle his memory enough to bring the man back into focus. Ron, one-time leader of Wraith, at one time one of his fellow SLs in the creme of the STC crop. Rumors had suggested everything from his death to turning into a freighter captain shipping vegetables everything between. Maybe freighter captain wasn’t too far off? he mused, followed by, At least it isn’t the academy kid.

“Pleasure, Captain,” Gates said, addressing his new boss in the same way he’d introduced himself. “Myself and Blackjack at your disposal for whatever you’ve got cookin’.”
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ESL/SGMGarryll Gates/4SQD/1PLT/1COM/1RGT/1BAT/Tadath/VEA/VE [RoM][ICE] [IH] [CCA] [BC] [SRP] [AS-1] [ES1] [CoS] [EW1] {RESx3} [ESC09] [RoTx2] [CRoS] [AoT] [CoZ]

God is not on the side of the big battalions, but on the side of those who shoot best.
For Tadath, for the Empire.
Only in Death...does Duty end
Do not ask why you serve; only ask how
War is coming, with all its glory and all its horror
Njall
ComNet Member
 
Njall
 
[VE-ARMY] Private First Class
 
Post Number:  417
Total Posts:  481
Joined:  Dec 2008
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  RE: Red Exodus (Blackjack and Eclipse)
January 19, 2011 12:43:54 AM    View the profile of Njall 
“….it was tough, yes, but they managed to succeed and I think they’ll be alright for a long time now.”
 
Njall was sitting in the kitchen of his apartment, talking with his brother Reidar, a Petty Officer in the Vast Empire Navy.  At the moment, Njall was telling Reidar about what he had experienced on Mandalore when he travelled there after transferring to the reserves.  Njall had been on Mandalore until around three days ago, when he had mysteriously turned up on Tadath and promptly requested a return to active duty.
 
“That’s good then.  You’re right though, with Vaerich in charge of them I’m sure they’ll be fine.  Since you’re back though, are you going to transfer back to an active squad?”, Reider asked.

“Hopefully,” Njall said, “Although they haven’t gotten back to me in a …. Wait, hold on a second.”

Njall heard his comlink go off.  He picked it up and heard the monotonous voice of an auto-recording,

“Private First Class Njall, your request to transfer out of the 80th Regiment and back into active service has been……approved.  Please report to Major Skiinterfeldt in the divisional personnel office for your new assignment.”

Njall grinned.  He glanced at Reidar and said,

“It’s been approved.  Now go away and do something else, i’ve got to go an report to someone in order to finalize this.”

-----------------A couple hours later----------------------

Njall walked into the Eclipse Squad barracks and looked around.  He sighed.  Finally, he was back into the army.  Njall walked over to the office of his Squad Leader, Senior Sergeant Skarr.  He came to attention in the doorway, saluted and walked in. 

“Who’re you?” Skarr asked

“Private First Class Njall, sir!” Njall replied, “I’ve been assigned to Eclipse Squad and am reporting in now.”

“Ah, so you’re the new fellow.” Skarr said, “Welcome.  You’re in luck, I’m pretty sure we’re going to be deploying for a mission sometime soon, so you’ll be seeing action again before you know it.  I have to report to the Platoon Commander soon so in the meantime why don’t you just get settled in.  Maybe head down to the shooting range, to get in some practice before we deploy.”
"Alright sir, will do.” Njall said

Njall made a swift about turn and exited the office.  He grabbed the E-11 from his pack and exited the building, heading for the range.  As Njall walked to the range, he couldn’t help going over the events on Mandalore over and over again in his head. 

“Look,” he told himself, “That time is over for me.  I told them I needed to return here.  Whats done is done, stop thinking about this and move on.”

Njall entered the range, pulled out his rifle, dropped into a firing position and began unloading a blaster shots into the targets downrange.
TRP/PFC Njall/1SQD/2PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE [FCE] [AS-H] [AS-1] {RCRT}

Private First Class Roberticus "Njall" Archaeon
Eclipse Squad
Storm Platoon
Phoenix Company


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Clearly Canadian
~In Memory of Paladin Squad~
Balac
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Balac
 
[VE-ARMY] Lance Corporal
 
Post Number:  18
Total Posts:  137
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  RE: Red Exodus (Blackjack and Eclipse)
January 19, 2011 5:53:02 PM    View the profile of Balac 
Balac lay in his bunk in the barracks, contemplating the outcome of the mission and the rewards from it. His first mission, and he had been promoted to Lance Corporal, and recieved the Emperor's Will 1st Class. He had been shocked, proud and utterly surprised when presented with the award, even more so with the promotion. A smile spread across his face, the first in a long time out of combat. He felt something he hadn't felt in a long time; he felt he belonged. Ever since that fateful day before he joined the Vast Empire, he had just been another Mando merc, now... now he had a real purpose, a real reason to keep going, a reason to live: he had a family again.

Well, as much a family as they can be Balac conceded.

He was interrupted from his thoughts by the sound of footsteps. A man entered, fairly taller than Balac, probably older too. The man looked around, then headed into Skarr's office.

Balac dropped back into his thoughts, reliving the mission behind closed eyes. Shortly after, the man left the office, taking an E-11 out of his pack, he headed out of the barracks.

Balac stood and went into Skarr's office. "Sir," he said saluting, "Anything new for the squad?"

"At ease," Skarr replied. "We may be deploying for something soon. We'll find out soon enough I'm sure. Also, we've got a new trooper joining Eclipse, Private First Class Njall. He was just in here, headed to the range to get some practice in, might as well go say 'Hi' in the meantime."

"Yes, sir." Balac replied. He saluted again and left, heading to the range.

Getting some fresh blood for the squad, always a good thing. Just hope he's not too fresh Balac thought.

He entered the range, moving to the man he now knew as Njall. He watched for a good few minutes. Njall was a good shot, hitting close to the center on most of his shots.

"Good shooting," Balac said by way of greeting, "Are you PFC Njall?"

"I am," Njall replied, "And you are?"

"Lance Corporal Balac," Balac replied, "Welcome to Eclipse." It felt somewhat odd having a title in front of his name. He hadn't thought about it before.

"Thanks," Njall replied, putting a fresh clip into his E-11.

"How about a little sport, vod?" Balac asked.

"What do you have in mind?" Njall replied. Balac saw him straighten slightly.

"A little shooting competition. Ten shots, close as possible to bullseye. Loser owes us both drinks." Balac answered.
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TRP/LCPL Balac/1SQD/2PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE [EW1C]

Pirunir sur'haaise!
[This message has been edited by Balac (edited January 19, 2011 5:59:12 PM)]
[This message has been edited by Balac (edited January 19, 2011 6:57:15 PM)]
Nitemare
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Nitemare
 
[VE-ARMY] Private Second Class
 
Post Number:  15
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  RE: Red Exodus (Blackjack and Eclipse)
January 19, 2011 7:38:09 PM    View the profile of Nitemare 
Sitting in her bunk nitemare couldn't help but catch up on her holo-book, reading the text she delved into the novel, one about a lone merc overcoming an invasion of droids.

As a new figure emerged from the outsides of the barrack nitemare looked over as she saw him looking around and shrugged taking it in as a new eclipse member coming in "seems we are getting new soldiers" she stated while chuckling, seeing as balac also looked upon the guy possibly wondering who he is she turned off her holo-pad and checked her gun "I need target practice" she said as she saw the guy leave the barrack and shortly after balac exited heading for the range.

nitemare stood up and walked out the barrack also heading to the range, after arriving she noticed balac and the new guy engaging in a shooting game "Men" she said as she chuckled and walked over to the range, taking her gun and checking it for anything that could make it misfire, after finding none she took aim and with the first shot blew the head off a practice dummy.

nitemare grinned as she witnessed the new guy doing pretty well, her lekku hanging round her neck she took aim again and started to unload into targets.

Turning her attention to balac she commented on his promotion "Grats, Lance Corporal" she said with a sarcastic tone as she continued firing upon the intended targets
and then turning her attention on the new guy "New here, I presume?" she asked curiously as she awaited his reply.

(I know its a limit for the desired length but seems my muse is short yet again)
Like a child you whisper softly to me, your in control..just like a child,  now i'm dancing, its like a dream no end and no beginning, your here with me....In the midnight hour I can feel your power!

Annoy me and die
Irritate me and suffer
Anger me and scream in pain
Try and gain control and I will castrate you with my blade

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Skarr
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Skarr
 
[VE-ARMY] Senior Sergeant
[VE-ICS] Pirate Swabbie
[VE-VEEC] Word Slinger
 
Post Number:  388
Total Posts:  2102
Joined:  Feb 2010
Status:  Offline
  RE: Red Exodus (Blackjack and Eclipse)
January 19, 2011 9:07:58 PM    View the profile of Skarr 
Newly promoted Senior Sergeant Skarr watched Balac walk off towards the shooting range. He rather liked the young man. He seemed dependable and Skarr had never had problems with Mandalorians. Skarr also pondered about the new guy. It was obvious that Njall had been in the Elite Stormtrooper Corps before, probably long before Skarr became a soldier. This was what Skarr had been encountering more and more. People he did not know. Everyone had a history here, except for the new recruits, and that was fine by Skarr.

The Eclipse barracks was an empty place with everyone migrating to the shooting range. On any other day Skarr would join them, but he needed to report to the new platoon commander. His comlink began beeping as he withdrew it from his pocket. “This is Skarr,” he said as he flipped the device on.

“Senior Sergeant, the Platoon Commander needs you in his office now. And your squad must be ready for a Type 2 Deployment.” The comlink clicked off. Well that was rude, Skarr thought. The Deplyments were still fresh in Skarr’s mind. The squad needed to be fully armed and armored. Within the hour. Skarr sighed and walked off to the shooting range to announce the new to his squad.

He found Balac, Nitemare, and Njall shooting down the range, firing at the holographic targets. Skarr whistled at the three of them to get their attention. The three of them stopped firing and turned to him, faces eager. Skarr looked over the room quickly to find Dirge was absent from the room, he shrugged slightly.

“Alright everyone! We need to be fully armed and armored within the hour, no if, ands, or buts!” Skarr ordered quickly. “Oh, and someone let Dirge know if you see him.” A chorus of “Yes sir”s rang out from the squad. They sprang quickly into action, making Skarr proud of them. Skarr turned on his heel and left the barracks, heading for the Platoon Commanders’ Office. His eyes squinted in the light outside.

Skarr began walking briskly, passing various stormtroopers who were marching down the road. The barracks was fairly empty, most squads were on missions nowadays. The platoon offices lay ahead of Skarr, it was an area he had been to rarely. He had never had need to enter the office. Now that he was squad leader, Skarr was sure he would see these offices more and more.

The door opened and a blast of warm air hit Skarr. The halls of the office complex was fairly empty as well. Not many people were working for this new PC just yet. He found the appropriate door to the right office and knocked. The door slowly opened and Skarr peeked his head inside before entering the smoke filled room.

Three men occupied the room. One of them was really young, looking a couple of years younger than Skarr. He stood behind the desk. In front of the desk stood Garryll, with whom Skarr traded nods. And behind the desk sitting in the chair was a man Skarr did not know. The man was rather under dressed for a PC, wearing the closest thing to civilian clothes possible. Skarr smiled as he saluted.

“Senior Sergeant Skarr, ready, willing, and able,” Skarr said formally. The young man saluted back, but there was no such response from the PC. The Platoon Commander simply exhaled a puff of smoke and stated, “Captain Ron.” Skarr felt as if he should know who this was. After all you didn’t get to be platoon commander from collecting bottle caps. But no memory of the name surfaced to Skarr’s brain.

“So what requires the services of Eclipse Squad that entails a Type 2 Deployment?”
SL/SSG Skarr/1SQD/2PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE [ES2] {RES}
Author/WS Skarr/Lotaith/VET/VE
AS-2/SGT Skarr/STCA/VEA/VE

"Abandon all hope ye who enter here" The Inferno, Canto III, Line 9
"May God have mercy on my enemies, because I won't" General George Patton
"I only get paid if I survive, and I like getting paid."
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Corvin
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Corvin
 
[VE-ARMY] Sergeant
 
Post Number:  611
Total Posts:  818
Joined:  Jul 2009
Status:  Offline
  RE: Red Exodus (Blackjack and Eclipse)
January 19, 2011 9:50:07 PM    View the profile of Corvin 
"Come on, hurry it up!" Corvin snapped, fumbling with one leg-piece. Sabacc cards were crunched underfoot, completely forgotten. "We haven't got all day!" He felt strangely light-headed, focusing on the familiar suiting-up procedure in an attempt to keep his mind off the exact circumstances.

The ASL. I'm the Frakking ASL for the entire frakking squad...And a Sergeant to boot.

Corvin still wasn't sure why Garryll had appointed him, but he had no intention of letting the boss down.

"We've got an hour." Red muttered after a few seconds and a struggle with the helmet seals. The trooper dragged one finger along his combat knife's side as he spoke. "And you're the one with half the pieces off. So much for leading by example, huh?"

"Less talk, more preparation." Corvin retorted. "Your forty-five clean?"

"On it."

The leg plate went in with a click, the front and back pieces snapping together. That just left the gauntlets and helmet. Every Blackjack was intimately familiar with the armour fitting process, from both drills in training and countless repetitions before each mission. The newly appointed ASL found it and the accompanying banter strangely relaxing.

"Come on, Blackjack." he called. "Don't want to let those Eclipse jokers show us up, do we?"

"They seem alright." someone commented. " Heard they took down a Jedi."

Corvin snorted, flexing his hand to make sure the plates were correctly aligned. "Course they did. Next thing you know, it'll be one trooper with a grenade, a needlesack, and a knife. Then, it'll be a whole squad of Jedi. Load of nonsense, all of it. Those filthy cultists're all dead, and better that way."

He straightened, wincing as the movement reopened cuts from shards of crystal. He was still hacking up grains of the stuff, and had developed a minor cough. The medics had said it should be gone in a few weeks.

"Equipment checks!" he called. "Come on, do I have to say this?"

He was met with muttering about his parentage, and not a few rolled eyes.

"Yes, very nice. Check the frakking guns, unless you want us to be toting sluggers again!"

AP rounds and explosive ammunition be damned, Corvin thought as he followed his own advice. When it came to putting something down quick and for good, nothing could match an E-45.

Quickly and efficiently, he ran through the pre-mission checks. Sliding one gloved finger around the power cell socket, he checked the tip for accumulated carbon. Satisfied that it was clean, he made sure the barrel wasn't deformed and that the plasma cartridges were fully pressed in.

Factory damage or serious wear and tear might be rare, especially for SCOPE-issue weapons, but it only took one to ruin your day.

Besides, it was standard-procedure, and if there was one thing Corvin believed in, it was procedure. That, and Imperial supremacy. There was just one last thing on the list.

Picking his SCOPE helmet from its shelf, he held it by the brim, then lowered it into place with the hand not holding the gun. There was a click as it slid into place, followed by a quiet hiss as the vacuum seals activated. The HUD followed a moment later, icons flashing across his vision.

Corvin could see his deformed reflection in the locker metal, faceless and bone-white. He breathed easier, feeling strangely complete. He never felt quite right without a full suit on.

Someone spoke up, their voice thoughtful. "What's so urgent it needs a Type 2, anyway?"

"You'd be surprised," Saphira replied. "Just hope it doesn't involve crystals again."

There were a few chuckles as the squad busied itself with last-minute checks and preparation.
ETRP/SGT Corvin/4SQD/2PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE[ESC09][AoT][IH][HotC][RoM]
~BLACKJACK~
*Vehicle Pilot*
Read the bloody manual!
"Never believe a rumour of my demise. I have as many lives as a cat. Also as many teeth, as many claws, and the same cheery, cooperative disposition." Peter Wiggin, Xenocide
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"The Committee has also voted to change the name of the position, simply because no one liked the fact that its accronym spelled out Noo. "
[This message has been edited by Corvin (edited January 19, 2011 10:05:28 PM)]
Ron
ComNet Marshal
 
Ron
 
[VE-ARMY] Sergeant First Class
[VE-DJO] Uninitiate
[VE-ICS] Privateer Captain
 
Post Number:  1058
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  RE: Red Exodus (Blackjack and Eclipse)
January 20, 2011 8:51:54 PM    View the profile of Ron 
"So what requires the services of Eclipse Squad that entails a Type 2 Deployment?" Skarr asked.

"I like this one." Ron laughed.  "No nonsense about him!  Gets right to the point!"  He laughed deep and bellow-like, each successive 'hah' coming with a small cloud of smoke which rose up in tiers one after the other.  He shook his head smugly, doused his nearly spent cigar in a glass of whiskey, and turned back to the closet behind him to change into his uniform and field coat.  The two Squad Leaders and the Adjunct strained their necks so as to see whether or not there were actually officer bars pinned to his shirt, but as Ron stood in the closet, one shoulder was buried in several hung articles of clothing and the other was behind the left door post.  After putting on his uniform, he put over it a long field jacket, which made it impossible to tell whether or not he truly was an army Captain.

Turning back, he dismissed the disappointed looks on their faces and said, "We are in a war, as you may well know gentlemen, and in war I am afraid there is very little time to rest.  We are lucky enough to have an assignment away from the current front however, on the planet of Bakura.  An underground movement has found it's way to the surface and it has become our responsibility to burn them out.  I will deliver more explicit orders once we are assured the safety and privacy that a transport ship in the dead of space can afford us.

"But for now," he grinned, "I'd like to see these distinguished men of Eclipse and Blackjack for myself.  Sergeants you are dismissed to attend to your men in the few minutes before I arrive.  Lieutenant, I would be obliged if you would accompany me."

After spending a few minutes looking for his hat and sword, Ron walked to the door and motioned for Auslaut to follow.

"Wouldn't you rather have me do a bit of organizing here, Sir?"  Auslaut asked hopefully. 

"That's an order, Lieutenant."  Ron's voice called back dangerously before he closed the door.  Auslaut followed dismally. 

As they saw Ron and Auslaut approaching the field, Garryll and Skarr proudly shouted their orders, first separate, then in unison.

"Blackjack!"

"Eclipse!"

"Atten-tion!"

When Ron came to the line, he looked appreciatively at the quality appearance of the armor and posture of the men.  Divided into two groups of red and white, Ron walked past each man (and woman), getting a glance of his own reflection in their black paneled eyes with every stride.  When he came to the end of the line, he stopped next to both of the Squad Leaders and nodded to Auslaut.

"At ease!" The Adjunct's voice was loud, but cracked.  It would have to do for now.  Ron left the side and walked to the front of the troops, stopping at last to speak.

"My name," he started.  "is Captain Sovakas Ron.  I am the Commander of this Platoon, and am responsible for every man-jack of you.  As long as you remain in this Platoon you will do as I say, follow me where I go, and fight for me where I fight.  No man so much as sleeps unless I say they can."  He paused to light a cigarette.

"Right.  Any questions?"

Typically when this kind of question is raised it is rhetorical, and the smart trooper will remain silent.  When Ron asked this one, the general interpretation was to remain silent.

"I said are there any questions?"

Most commanders would have stopped with the first question, but sometimes troopers will be asked a second time.  Again, as with the first time, many troopers simply remain silent in hopes that the commander will interpret the silence as a solid "No."

Ron was not one of those commanders.  He turned in annoyance to the squad leaders and said, "Sergeants, your men may not speak Basic but I'll be damned if they don't say "No, Sir."

Garryll and Skarr both yelled "Stormtroopers..." but were cut off by an overwhelmingly powerful "No, Sir!" from them.

Ron let out another puff before shouting to the squad leaders, "Sergeants Garryll and Skarr, your men are dismissed.  Have them packed and ready at the docks in 24 hours, we leave tomorrow for Bakura.

As he turned back to his office, Ron heard behind him,

"Eclipse, Blackjack, you are dis-missed!"
Captain of the Fortunato
Initiate of the Dark Jedi Order
Platoon Commander of Storm Platoon
PC|FSG|RON|2PLT|1COM|1REG|1BAT|TADATH|VE [WM][CCA][QCT][CoR][BC][CoZ][AS-3]
[This message has been edited by Ron (edited January 20, 2011 8:56:13 PM)]
Garryll Gates
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  RE: Red Exodus (Blackjack and Eclipse)
January 23, 2011 7:44:19 PM    View the profile of Garryll Gates 
Freed from the constraints of command, the two squads noticeably relaxed began to mingle, taking their buckets off to be less formal. The two SLs stood at the head of the group.

“Huh,” Gates remarked dryly to the other man. “Guess the old army axiom, ‘hurry up and wait’ really applies here.”

Skarr chuckled quietly. “I’ve never met the PC before today, to be honest.”

“Well, he took a shine to you,” Garryll responded. “I’ve met him before; must have been months or years ago. Probably...Arkania, maybe?”

“So you know him?”

“Uh, not so much. We never served in the same squad, so I never got to really talk to him. Oh well.”

“Mm. How ‘bout that Adjutant?”

“Nothing special, if I had to say. Prob’lly shitting his aristocratic drawers that he’ll be flying into possible combat rather than manning a desk. When I was his age, I was a private, not a first L.T. He won’t have the experience if things start going south.”

“Agreed. But you know Ron knows his way around a combat zone?”

“Certain. As you and I both know, you can’t make SL without combat experience,” Gates reassured the other man. They spoke for a few more minutes about the local sports teams and the last campaign, before the two squads began to separate back to their barracks.

Blackjack trooped back to their building, helmets and combat gear in hand. They looked a little put off, but fully relieved, not to be going back into combat immediately. One by one, they filed into the building, and split to their personal rooms. Garryll walked to the end of the hall and slid his barracks room door open, stepped in, and slid it shut again.

Sighing, he shrugged his duty jacket off and sat down at his desk. Idly, he wedged a cigarette into the side of his mouth and lit it, then put his booted feet on his desk and leaned the chair back onto two of its feet. Gates folded his arms behind his head to help him balance, and was reminded once again of a trophy he’d received from the aptly named planet “Sump.” The planet had claimed his shoulder, an unlucky blaster bolt cauterizing most of his shoulder right out of existence. He’d gotten a prosthetic to replace the muscle and bone, and it was smooth enough, but in times like this, it was easily remembered by the tiny whirrs it made as it shifted.

Again, the Blackjack sighed. That, the countless dings and bruises, the scar he’d received for the last fight - Gates had to admit. He’d lost that sense of invincibility from his youth. He’d never been significantly hurt for so long in his service; a five-year veteran in the Elite of the Stormtrooper corps without major injury must be a lucky, lucky man.

Garryll stood, shaking his head. Didn’t matter what his service record looked like right now - he had to make sure he was ready for the deployment tomorrow. The officer’s barracks room/office wasn’t huge or too spacious, but the decorations were downright spartan. A bed, wardrobe, desk, workbench, footlocker for his guns.

He drew the only chair over to his workbench and began removing rifles and pistols from the footlocker and placing them on the bench. Carefully, he checked each weapon’s sights, barrel, trigger mechanism, clips, firing mechanism; he disassembled all of them one by one and made sure all the pieces were in good repair. He grunted in satisfaction at the conclusion of his weapons check-up, and stowed them away back where they’d come from. The clock read a few hours had passed. Gates wasn’t surprised at the passage of time, and the ashtray full of cigarette butts testified to the fact. Yawning, he shook his boots off and climbed into his cot, planning on catching a few hours of sleep before the mission began.
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God is not on the side of the big battalions, but on the side of those who shoot best.
For Tadath, for the Empire.
Only in Death...does Duty end
Do not ask why you serve; only ask how
War is coming, with all its glory and all its horror
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  RE: Red Exodus (Blackjack and Eclipse)
January 23, 2011 8:21:38 PM    View the profile of Valthir 
Valthir sighed, drawing it out for a few seconds. He stood still inside the Eclipse barracks, fully armored,  staring with an eyebrow quirked at the frenzied amount of activity from the four troopers. Looking down at himself, he allowed himself a small smile. Based on what they were doing and the rate at which they were doing it, there was either some kind of inspection occurring very shortly or they had just been given a mission. Regardless of which it was, if it was even either one of those, he was ready.

Standing at a little under the average height of a human and being rather slim, Valthir wasn’t exactly an authoritative figure. This made a great many people underestimate him, which usually tended to be a costly mistake for them. An added benefit of his stature was that it allowed him to move about relatively unnoticed, as was the case here. Valthir had been standing at the doors for more than a few minutes, and had yet to be noticed by any of the occupants of the room.

Though, that time had not been wasted away idly. The entire time, he had been reading up on each of the troopers now under him, as well as the Squad Leader of Eclipse, Skarr. The squad was . . . interesting, to say the least. It seemed to be a small squad made up majorly of a few slightly experienced troopers. Valthir smiled ruefully at this.

I’m in command of troopers who have about as much service time as I do. All I want to know is who was insane enough to choose me.

Fully up to date on the bios of the troopers of Eclipse, he stepped forward, making his way towards where the office of the SL was supposedly at. So focused on their tasks, the troopers didn’t even notice they had a fifth being in their midst.

Reaching the door to the office, he raised a hand and tapped lightly on the door frame. Opening the door after a few seconds of no answer, he peered in. There was no sign of Skarr in the room. In fact, it didn’t even look like it had ever been used. There was nothing on the bare surface of the metal desk and the shelves lining the walls held nothing but dust. Frowning, he stepped back out and looked at the door. It seemed to be brand new. There were no scratches and no smudges on it and the floor beneath his feet showed no wear and tear. Nothing. The room even smelled unused.

Stepping back, Valthir considered trying to contact Skarr, but decided against it in the end. Where ever he was, he probably wouldn’t want to be bothered. He was about to turn and walk away when he heard the distinctive clunk that marked the approach of an armored Stormtrooper. Turning his head to the side, he watched the trooper approach.

Even if the trooper had been helmeted, he could have accurately pinned down her identity. The subtle curves of the Stormtrooper armor suggested a female, and as Eclipse only had one female, it had to be the Twilek going by the callsign Nitemare.

As she stopped a few feet from him, he fully turned to face her and inclined his head in a quick nod. He noticed that she didn’t return it. The standoff continued for another minute before she broke the silence.

“Who are you?”

“Me? I’m just passing through. Inspection and all that.” he said, intent upon amusing himself for a little bit before revealing his true identity.

She narrowed her eyes before replying, “I don’t think you are. Who are you?”

Well, at least this one has some brains. Oh well, the gig’s up.

“Fine. I’m Valthir, your new Assistant Squad Leader. Now, where is Skarr?” he said, looking behind her at the other three troopers who were gradually beginning to notice his presence.

“Not until you prove who you are.” the Twilek insisted.

Valthir remained silent for a few seconds before stepping around her and approaching the other three troopers, who all looked up as he did so.

“I’m Valthir, your new ASL.” he said, again inclining his head.

To their credit, they reacted with less suspicion than the Twilek.

“Ok. So I’m assuming you want to know where the SL is, right?” one of the trio said, accompanied by nods and half-salutes from the other two.

“Yes. I do. Thank you for being more understanding and nicer than your squadmate behind me. I appreciate it. Now, where is he?”

“He was called away for something. We don’t know what, only that we were ordered to be ‘armored and armed’ within an hour.”

Valthir nodded slightly, and looked up sharply, hearing footsteps. Another Stormtrooper entered through the doors, obviously Skarr. Valthir threw a quick salute as the SL strode up to the group.

“And you are?” Skarr said, clasping his arms behind his back as he appraised the trooper before him.

Do I need to get a name tag? I may need to . . .

“Me? Oh, I’m your new ASL.” Valthir replied.

“Right. Valthir. So you had to follow me from RAIDERS, eh?” Skarr said, chuckling a bit.

“That I did. So, what’s up?”

“Our new Platoon Commander ordered a Type 2 deployment for Storm and is on his way down to see both Eclipse and Blackjack, so if you all will follow me . . .”

With that, he turned and walked back out, followed by the rest of Eclipse.

***Later***

It was nearly time to leave for the shuttles. Valthir looked up from the watch, and around at his room, which was downright bare. He was a minimalist, owning almost nothing outside of the necessities. Getting up off of his bed, he walked to the opposite wall and retrieved his knife from where he had thrown it. After removing the knife, he inspected the wall, grinning as he saw a few grooves punched into the wall. They were so close together, that it was almost impossible to tell them apart without looking closely.

“Fantastic.” he muttered to himself, making his way back to the bed.

He was about to throw the knife again, when he heard a knock on his door. After giving the person or person permission to enter, he again returned to his knife throwing. The knife had just thudded into the wall, quivering as it settled in, when the door slide open and Skarr entered.

Looking around, the SL remarked dryly, “How . . . inviting. Alright, it’s about time to leave. I’m assuming you’ve read up on the squad? Good. I suggest you suit up and get your weapons.”

“What about the briefing?”

“That’ll happen en route to the planet.”

Without another word, he turned and exited. Sighing, Valthir again got to his feet and retrieved his knife. Instead of returning to his bed, he slipped the knife into its sheath, and grabbed his armor. A few minutes later, he was suited up. Grabbing his helmet off of the bed, he placed it on his head and turned it. It sealed with a hiss.

Grabbing the sheathed knife, he opened the door and slipped out.
ASL/CPL Valthir/1SQD/2PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE

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Balac
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  RE: Red Exodus (Blackjack and Eclipse)
January 25, 2011 5:41:52 PM    View the profile of Balac 
"Well Njall, I can't accurately say who won, so... I guess we'll just have to buy each other a drink then." Balac said.

With a grin Njall replied, "I guess so."

It had been a while since they had been inspected by their new Platoon Commander, Captain Ron. They were in the barracks, waiting for the time when they boarded the shuttle to head to Bakura. He couldn't settle on a decision as to why they would need to go to Bakura. It was just a planet on the isolated edge of the Outer Rim that exported metal, fruit, and repulsor lift components.

"What could be on Bakura that we'll be needed for?" Balac asked to no one in particular.

"Something that'll get us out of these barracks," Nitemare replied with a chuckle.

"True enough I guess," Balac conceded.

Skarr entered the barracks, "Alright Eclipse, let's go we're heading out."

"What's the mission Skarr?" Balac asked.

"We'll be briefed when we get on the shuttle." He replied.

They arrived at the shuttle as the Blackjack troopers were entering it. Stepping inside the shuttle, Eclipse lined one side of the shuttle with Blackjack opposite. He noticed that one of the red clad Blackjack troopers was staring in his direction, he was sure the other trooper was slightly tensed up. He checked the trooper's name, Corvin.

He opened a com channel to Corvin, "Yeah, what do you want?"

"Nothing that you could offer, Mandalorian." Corvin snapped in reply. The channel cut out and Corvin turned away.

Balac continued looking at Corvin for a few seconds, Hnh, someone else with a grudge against Mandos... never seen that before...

Balac looked away, wondering what the next mission would be while they waited for their briefing.

After a couple minutes of waiting, Ron entered the shuttle and they lifted off. When they passed the upper atmosphere, Ron declared, "Well, let's get started then, shall we?"
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Pirunir sur'haaise!
[This message has been edited by Balac (edited January 25, 2011 5:45:31 PM)]
Garryll Gates
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  RE: Red Exodus (Blackjack and Eclipse)
January 25, 2011 8:04:07 PM    View the profile of Garryll Gates 
The shuttle shuddered as it left the atmosphere, and the generator kicked in to activate artificial gravity. Both squads had been strapped in for the ascent, but they unbuckled and stood up when the power kicked in and the g-forces wouldn’t flatten them against the floor. Ron and his young adjutant sat at the closest seats to the cockpit. Directly to the sides of them sat the two SLs.

“Well, let’s get started then, shall we?” Ron said. All (minimal) conversation ceased. “Very well.”

“As I’ve already informed you, we’re travelling to the planet of Bakura. Lieutenant, please close the cockpit door.”

The young man shot up and closed the door quickly. “Thank you. So: here’s the mission. A media - propaganda group, really - called the Blood Saints is based on the planet.”

A few troopers chuckled at the unfortunate acronym of the group. Gates snorted once, and then re-focused on the briefing. “So: we’ll be hooking up with one of the garrisons on Bakura, and get some backup. Eclipse: here’s your mission.”

Skarr looked, if possible, more attentive. The Eclipses also perked up. “An informant has turned on the organization and is feeding us information on the hideouts of the group. Skarr, you’ll meet with the intelligence officer at the garrison in relation to the location of the hideouts. Once you’ve been given the location, your objective is to burn down all of the hideouts as you come to them.”

The Eclispes nodded confidently. Gates thought they looked a little inexperienced, but they should be fine. Ron turned in his seat to address the Blackjacks. “Blackjack - you’ll be tasked with the informant himself. You’ll be working with the intelligence group on the garrison a bit more extensively, as we don’t actually know who this guy is.”

Both squads digested the orders for a moment. Corvin raised a hand. Ron pointed at the newly-minted Blackjack ASL. “Sergeant?”

“Why is this group so important?” he asked.

“Good question,” Ron replied. “AHC has decided that this group is too dangerous to be taken lightly. They’re a smattering of deserters from the VE who have become disillusioned with the Empire. Army, Navy, they’ve grouped together to sabotage our cause.”

It struck a chord with the ASL, who spat “Traitors” under his breath followed by some incoherent muttering curse words. None of the rest of the troopers looked too happy about this news either. Gates frowned at that news, simply because if the Blood Saints were an ex-military group, it meant they’d be a good deal more dangerous than the standard rabble that seemed to plague them on these types of raids.

“I’ll leave operational details to the squad leaders, then,” Ron finished, waving at the two SLs. “You’ll be following their orders on the ground, after all.”

Gates waited a few moments for Ron to finish, and when he had nothing further to put forwards, the Blackjack SL waved his troopers in. “Very well. I’ve little information on the situation so far as well, so we’ll be moving quickly on the ground. Our first order of business will be to link up with the intelligence officers, see what he’s got for us. We’ll stick with the standard marching orders, but a little bit on weapons, first. We’ll be operating in a high-civvie dense area, so weapons are hold unless given order to fire or fired upon. No shootin’ from the hip.”

The Blackjacks nodded, satisfied with the explanation and checked their weapons or armor or sat to catch a quick nap. Gates did none of the above, and just watched his troops move about, making sure nothing crazy happened in the short time they’d be on the shuttle.
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ESL/SGMGarryll Gates/2SQD/2PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE [RoM][ICE] [IH] [CCA] [BC] [SRP] [AS-1] [ES1] [CoS] [EW1] {RESx3} [ESC09] [RoTx2] [CRoS] [AoT] [CoZ]

God is not on the side of the big battalions, but on the side of those who shoot best.
For Tadath, for the Empire.
Only in Death...does Duty end
Do not ask why you serve; only ask how
War is coming, with all its glory and all its horror
Corvin
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  RE: Red Exodus (Blackjack and Eclipse)
January 27, 2011 1:06:11 PM    View the profile of Corvin 
Corvin frowned, flipping the fire selector on his E-45 to the left and onto single-shot.

He risked a quick glance at the Captain, who'd already turned away and was gesturing animatedly at his adjutant. The man seemed to have aged a good decade since Bogden. As Corvin watched, he shook his head emphatically, waving his cigar in one hand, and the Lieutenant nodded unhappily. Corvin looked away.

"You heard the boss," he said tersely into the squad channel after a moment. "Check safeties, and toggle off automatic."

There were a few grumbles, but the cabin soon echoed with the clicking of selectors. Corvin checked his weapon again. You could never be too sure.

One slip of the finger, and you had blaster bolts flying everywhere, and things started to get messy. You never wanted to lose troopers to carelessness, even if some were Mandalorian filth.

Corvin tensed up again, one eye on the corner of his HUD and the clumped up Eclipse troopers. The ASL hadn't wanted to believe it, but he'd heard enough Mandalorians speak to recognize the man's rolling accent instantly. His reaction had just confirmed it. To see a Mandalorian wearing, desecrating stormtrooper plate (again) and not be able to do anything about it....

Corvin clenched his jaw and checked his rifle again, trying to distract himself in the procedure. Taking out the power cell and checking the charge coils kept him busy and, more importantly, made sure he couldn't succumb to the temptation and shoot the frakker in the back.

Fellow trooper or not, Corvin wouldn't hesitate to gun him down at the first sign of betrayal. Mandalorians were violent, honourless filth who wouldn't hesitate to steal children and use them as cannon fodder. He never wanted to see that happen again.

He was suddenly glad that the two squads would be working apart on the mission.

"Ten to the ground." the pilot suddenly announced over the com, and Corvin jerked upright. There was a sharp clack as the back of his helmet slammed into the headrest. Shaking his head, the Sergeant slotted the power cell back into place and flipped the 45 around into a rest position across his chest.

"Orbital control says a storm's brewing over the southern sea," the pilot added as an afterthought. "Things might get a little rough."

Right on schedule, the shuttle started to tremble, jerking erratically from side to side. The overhead lights flickered and dimmed, as the shuttle automatically diverted power to the repulsors. Someone swore as a satchel burst open, spilling charge packs across the corrugated troop bay floor.

Corvin simply tightening his hold on his E-45, supplies clipped to his belt or under his drop seat. Compared with an orbital drop sans pod, this was fairly routine.

On both sides of the bay, the Blackjacks and veteran Eclipses were bracing themselves. The newer troopers followed a few seconds later, trained routines kicking in.

At the front of the trooper bay, Ron was calmly making his way to the cockpit doorseal. His adjutant was staggering behind him, wavering like a drunk as he tried to keep up. The two disappeared through the doorway and it closed behind them. After they came back a minute later, the flight became noticeably less rocky.

The troopers of Blackjack and Eclipse waited in their seats, busying themselves in various pre-mission rituals. Some checked their equipment again and again, others made bad jokes and swapped stories, talking for talking's sake. No two troopers reacted in quite the same way.

The Lambda shuttle dropped through the clouds, skimming over the churning sea and turning inland. Hail pinged off the lander as it sped over fields, plains, and finally traffic lanes and towers.

Coming to a stop over a circular pad, the lander turned and landed smoothly, Here, there was just a light drizzle, making the walkway's metal gleam and giving the permacrete a sleek appearance.

Inside, the troopers turned to look as the boarding ramp hissed down. Through the gap, Corvin could see armed figures in grey System Defense Force fatigues standing a respectful distance away, several shifting from foot to foot. Rain splattered onto the end of the ramp, glinting as it was illuminated by its guide lights.

Saphira had already thrown off her restraints and risen to her feet, twirling one of her blades in one hand. Corvin was sure she was smiling. He still had trouble understanding the Twi'lek at times.

Garryll exchanged a few quiet words with Ron, finishing by nodding at the Captain. Skarr was talking to his troopers in the back, the squad clumped in a group. Corvin couldn't see the Mandalorian, something which didn't put him at ease.

"Come on, Blackjacks." the SL barked, dragging Corvin's attention back to the mission. "Move out."

The squad filed down, Corvin following directly behind his superior. The rain constantly pinged off the squad's armour, running off the plates and making them look vaguely like insect carapaces. Distractedly, Corvin set his helmet sensors to filter out the noise of the impacts.

"Time to meet the greeting party." Jelly muttered from his position as the defense force troopers raised their weapons. Corvin couldn't really fault him for the sentiment.

He felt off-balance too, as though someone had turned up the gravity. It wasn't just him, either. The whole squad seemed tense, ill at ease.

It was as though they were being watched.

====

A dozen meters above them and a few meters to the left, someone else was watching the whole thing play out. The tower was under construction, but with strikes by the union over bans on droid usage, no one was coming back here for a while.

Getting the job as a guard had been simplicity itself, especially with help from the Martyr. He'd spent some time choosing his position weeks beforehand, stashing the materials in a wall with his "employer" none the wiser.With the others off-duty, he was free to fulfill the Marytr's mission.

The thing about the Corps, the man remembered as he rested his rifle on a block he'd left there two days earlier, was that it relied too much on technology. You could put all the latest gadgets in a suit, but there would always be ways to get around them. Failing that, they were still only as reliable as their occupant.

Take thermal sensors for example. They were life-savers for night-ops, and the ones in stormtrooper helmets could see temperature differences up to a hundred meters away. He'd used enough of them to know that for a fact. Problem was, that meant they were useless if there was something hot enough between them and the target, such as a cooling repulsorlift, or a lander drive on standby. The man had chosen his spot well.

A quick turn of a knob, a click, and the landing pad seemed to leap forwards in his sight. Manual scopes might not have all the holos and whistles, but they did the job.

The man let his rifle barrel drift across the disembarking troopers, adjusting his aim up and down for each one. The red ones were almost too easy to pick out. There, the leader. Odd looking rifle in one hand, not a standard E-11. Seemed confident enough, but probably looking for an ambush. Helmet facing forwards, probably glancing from side to side inside it. SLs tended not to be stupid.

The man tightened his finger on the trigger, a faint smile on his face. If he fired, the shot would go through the gap between the helmet and the chestplate, ricocheting off the inside and reducing his torso to pulp. Just a single squeeze of the trigger. But he couldn't. The Marytr's orders had been clear.

With a regretful sigh and a last look, the man lowered his rifle, and climbed back inside. Reaching into a satchel on the floor, he fished out a small comlink, a 20 credit model you could find on almost any planet in the galaxy, and pressed the send button. There was a beep, followed by a crunch as the man crushed the transmitter under one boot.

On a narrow set of frequencies, there was a brief cough of static, then another, and a third. In a city, with its thousands of com transmissions, these would go unnoticed as standard interference.

Unless, of course, someone was listening for it.

OOC:
Bit long, yeah. Sorry. Got carried away. Squads landed.
ETRP/SGT Corvin/4SQD/2PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE[ESC09][AoT][IH][HotC][RoM]
~BLACKJACK~
*Vehicle Pilot*
Read the bloody manual!
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  RE: Red Exodus (Blackjack and Eclipse)
January 30, 2011 1:53:12 PM    View the profile of Skarr 
The ship had landed gracefully and it’s ramp was extended to the ground. It was the Senior Sergeant’s first time on Bakura and he was glad he was here, even if the circumstances were undesirable. The planet was brilliantly beautiful. Skarr couldn’t imagine any kind of war taking place here. But it was his duty to burn the hideouts to the ground, marring the elegant architecture. And in a way, he was glad about it. His mission was simple, take out the numerous gang’s strongholds. No semantics involved. Simplicity at it’s finest. Kill. Destroy. Leave nothing behind.

The young man didn’t enjoy killing. But it was simple. Squeeze the trigger. Aim. Fire. It was pure reflex. He barely had to think. At least, he would not have to deal with the informant. Skarr didn’t want to have to put up with a slimey, degraded traitor who would look for the first chance to slip a knife in between Skarr’s shoulder blades.

Eclipse Squad debarked the shuttle. His squad lined up in front of Skarr. They stood at attention. Skarr smiled slightly. He had been waiting for this since he joined the army. He looked at each of them in turn. The slight Nitemare, the grizzled Dirge, the quiet Valthir, the soldier Njall, and the stoic Balac. They would do well for this mission.

“Alright, lady and gentlemen, our job is simple. We get to blow shit up.” Skarr explained. “Now if we continue onto the barracks, we can get to the explosions.” A few of the squad members chuckled under their breath. The barracks lay ahead of them, so the explosions could commence very soon. Skarr turned on his heel and threw a nod to Garyll as he continued towards the barracks.

Skarr pulled a datapad out of his pouch. He had to look at the name of the intelligence officer again. After all, the intelligence officer would be leading them to the hideouts that the Blood Saints were using. This mission was important. If the informant was to be protected, the flow of reinforcements had to be cut off. His squad trailed behind him as he stalked towards the barracks.
SL/SSG Skarr/1SQD/2PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE [ES2] {RES}
Author/WS Skarr/Lotaith/VET/VE
AS-2/SGT Skarr/STCA/VEA/VE

"Abandon all hope ye who enter here" The Inferno, Canto III, Line 9
"May God have mercy on my enemies, because I won't" General George Patton
"I only get paid if I survive, and I like getting paid."
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Garryll Gates
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Garryll Gates
 
[VE-ARMY] Sergeant Major
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  RE: Red Exodus (Blackjack and Eclipse)
January 31, 2011 8:54:23 PM    View the profile of Garryll Gates 
Gates warily looked around; the combat sense had kicked in once again. The rain pitter-pattering off of his armor reminded him all too vividly of dozens of campaigns and missions that hadn’t progressed in good weather. He was in a potentially hostile area, but at least he knew there were going to be enemies. The Eclipses had already departed, with a few defense force troopers.

The remainder of the DF squad approached them, one wearing a sergeant’s chevrons. Gates nodded to the man and the non-com began to lead them down the same road that the Eclipses had gone down.

The Defense Force barracks complex was only a couple hundred meters away from the spaceport, and their escorts left them once a man in Intelligence uniform began to approach. “Sergeant Major?”

“Yeah?” Gates asked, turning to the man. Corvin turned his head, too.

“Follow me, please.”

They were led into a large building set up that was buzzing with activity. The officer knocked on a half-open door. “Sir?”

“Enter!” a voice spat from inside the room. Gates waved at the Blackjacks to go stand outside, except for Corvin. The two men stepped into the room after the intelligence man.

“Captain, Blackjack lead for you, sir,” said the intelligence man, an operator/agent by the looks of his chevrons.

“Stormtroopers, huh?” said the man. “Blackjack. Good.”

Gates took his helmet off and held it under his arm. “I know we’re going after the informer, but that’s the extent of my knowledge.”

“Fine. You’ll be operating with him,” the Captain said, nodding to the man who’d led them in. “He’s the case officer and handler on the informer. His team is in charge of the intelligence and meetings with the informer.”

“What, he’s got no name?” Corvin said, not deigning to removing his helmet.

“Names are need-to-know,” the Captain said. “And you don’t need to know.”

Gates kept his face composed, but inside he was just shaking his head. The intelligence community was so paranoid so often.

“It doesn’t matter, Corvin,” Gates said to his ASL. “We’ll be working with your team then, agent?”

“Aye,” the man said, stepping up to the desk. “We’ll be operating undercover; you’ll be the muscle, our protection. No offense, but you’re about as subtle as a three-legged bantha.”

“I’ve heard others describe my squad as such,” Gates snorted. “We can handle that.”

“Very well. We’ve gotten all the info we can from this informant, so we’ll be reeling him in, now.  So, we’re moving out as soon as possible. Let me just get into civvies and then we’ll meet up with my team.”

Gates nodded and left the room, replacing his helmet as he went. Blackjack was loitering in the rain, guns in hand, rain dripping off of their visors.

“What’s the mission, boss?”

“We’ll be running muscle for the intelligence team. We’ll be in the area where they’re searching for the informant.”

The officer emerged from the building, a startling change from his clean-pressed uniform. “Good? Let’s go.”
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ESL/SGMGarryll Gates/2SQD/2PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE [RoM][ICE] [IH] [CCA] [BC] [SRP] [AS-1] [ES1] [CoS] [EW1] {RESx3} [ESC09] [RoTx2] [CRoS] [AoT] [CoZ]

God is not on the side of the big battalions, but on the side of those who shoot best.
For Tadath, for the Empire.
Only in Death...does Duty end
Do not ask why you serve; only ask how
War is coming, with all its glory and all its horror
THX1138
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THX1138
 
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  RE: Red Exodus (Blackjack and Eclipse)
February 3, 2011 3:04:31 PM    View the profile of THX1138 
Therex was usually a very humorous and talkative fellow. If you knew him. Joining a new squad had been difficult, considering the fact that he was still only a field medic and yet they had him on the front lines fighting. He had originally been with the Wraith squadron, until he took an extended leave of absence to deal with a particularly annoying family issue. He had some skill as a combat engineer, and he was an entry level medic. None of that would be helpful with their mission.

  Therex had opted to stay behind most of the other troops in his new squad. They had the combat experience that he lacked, and he had a thing about living. He slowly departed from the ship, wishing that he had stayed at base a little more to complete his studies.

  The leader left into a small building and the squad fanned out watching the area. Therex found a rock and pulled out his two Trandoshan Suppressors that his father had given him as a graduation present. He ran a cloth down them, trying to keep his mind off the many ways one could die. That was one of the occupational hazards as a medic, you know the most gruesome ways someone could die. You could be shot and slowly bleed out of a half-cauterized wound, or get stabbed and die later from poisoning due to infection. When the bolts really started to fly though, shrapnel became an ever present danger.

  Despite all of this, Therex could hold his own in a fight. Some other power took over and made it possible for him to focus on just surviving. His original training had involved a lot of hand-to-hand fighting. He could shoot a gun, but their was something about a blade that seemed more honorable. Anybody could shoot you from 50 yards and be done with it. But with a sword, you saw the face of your victim, saw them die, felt the pain of death. More honorable.

  Therex checked his vibroblades, stored in the gauntlet of his armor, as the CO came back out of the building. I hate this part
"He has his orders, and when a Chiss accepts orders he carries them out, period."

"He's in there, I was gonna shoot him but I was... busy."

"Chiss don't invade the territories of others. We don't even make war against potential enemies unless we're attacked first."

"You have to admire the Chiss. They don't just steal your technology—they make it better."

TRP/PSC THX-1138/ 3SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE/
Garryll Gates
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Garryll Gates
 
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  RE: Red Exodus (Blackjack and Eclipse)
February 4, 2011 3:55:24 PM    View the profile of Garryll Gates 
The officer motioned for the Stormtroopers to wait a few seconds before following him from the base, in order to make it less obvious that they were following him. Gates focused on the retreating Intel man’s back as he left the base, fixating the man’s shirt and hair in his mind, increasing his confidence in recognizing the man.

A comlink crackled a minute later; it was the officer’s tiny ear-bead. “Alright, let’s go. We’ll be in constant contact; I’ll point out my team when they show up.”

“Roger,” Gates said. “Blackjack, move it up.”

The base was just outside the city, as it was near the star port. Blackjack formed two loose lines and marched quickly in the direction of the Intel officer, guns in hand but fingers safely outside the trigger guards.

The intel officer entered a marketplace, the civilians of the city going about their business, buying goods and trading with one another. The comlink buzzed in his ear again.

“See the man in the red hat and the ridiculous blue hair? That’s one of my men.”

The man in question was yelling at a merchant, who was yelling back over some goods.

“Seriously? I thought you guys were supposed to be inconspicuous...” Corvin replied, using the Stormtrooper’s wide T-visor to divert people’s views to something he wasn’t actually looking at.

“Yes, well...” the intel man mumbled back. “There - there’s another. She’s blue’s partner. She’s in a beige tunic and short brown hair, cloak.”

“Damn. So he’s the obvious one, then?” remarked Saphira. The woman in question was quietly going about her business, a small basket on her arm and was relatively short.

“Indeed. Last of my team...there he is. Older man, grey hair. Eyepatch,” the Intel officer picked out the last member of his team. “You’d likely approve of him. He’s an ex-Stormtrooper from the Emperor’s days.”

“Great. Now that we’ve met the crew...” Gates said, prompting the intel officer. The civilians were paying a lot more attention to the Stormtroopers that had just entered their marketplace. Gates turned the intimidating T-visor of his Stormtrooper’s helmet back and forth, focusing it on individuals for a split second to give them the impression that he wasn’t here for them, but if he was, he’d know.

The intel man approached the old fellow, and they ended up next to one another in line. Gates could only hear half of the conversation. “Nice seeing you here. Have you seen our mutual friend recently?”

“No,” the older man responded, but his audio wasn’t as clear as the intel officer’s. “He wasn’t at our most recent meeting place. I was considering checking the warehouse district where he once let slip that he occasionally hid out.”

“I don’t remember him telling me that,” the intelligence officer replied.

“Oh, I think we may have accidentally gotten each other’s jackets once...”

A dry laugh escaped from the intelligence officer. The two men exchanged pleasantries as they continued to stand in line. Eventually, they came to the front of the queue and split up.

“Stho’,” the intelligence officer said into his commlink, his mouth half-full of some hot pastry. “We’re headed for the warehouse district. You’ll be following the distinguished old gentleman. I’ve given him your comlink code.”

“Very well. What will you be doing?”

“Secret stuff,” said the man, wiping his fingers off on his shirt-edge. “Following up on another lead. Follow his lead.”

“Blackjack; move out,” Gates ordered, gesturing after the old man. Some civilians in their immediate vicinity shrank back at the red-and-white plastoid moving through the crowd. 

OOC:
We’ve met up with one of our contacts, and are now headed to the warehouse district. We’ll be investigating one of the informant’s hidey-holes. PM me if there’s any confusion.
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ESL/SGMGarryll Gates/2SQD/2PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE [RoM][ICE] [IH] [CCA] [BC] [SRP] [AS-1] [ES1] [CoS] [EW1] {RESx3} [ESC09] [RoTx2] [CRoS] [AoT] [CoZ]

God is not on the side of the big battalions, but on the side of those who shoot best.
For Tadath, for the Empire.
Only in Death...does Duty end
Do not ask why you serve; only ask how
War is coming, with all its glory and all its horror
Balac
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Balac
 
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  RE: Red Exodus (Blackjack and Eclipse)
February 6, 2011 12:58:50 AM    View the profile of Balac 
The ship had finally landed; it was the first time that Balac had been to Bakura, or the first time he'd admit to anyone. As Eclipse departed, Balac stuck to the middle of the squad. He was sure Corvin wouldn't hesitate to try something, and he didn't feel like taking chances, yet. He was glad that the squads would be, and hopefully stay, separate during this mission.

"Alright, lady and gentlemen, our job is simple. We get to blow shit up." Skarr explained. "Now if we continue onto the barracks, we can get to the explosions."

Balac smiled, explosions always worked to relieve frustrations, tension, and all manner of ill feelings. Admittedly, he hoped there would be some gun play involved as well, but that was just extra fun.

They headed off to the barracks, escorted by some Defense Force troopers. Even escorted, Balac felt uneasy, or perhaps because of being escorted, although it made little to no difference.

Once they reached the barracks, the Defense Force troops departed from their side and they were met by an intelligence officer.

"Senior Sergeant Skarr?" The man asked.

"Yes?" Skarr responded.

"I'm assuming you and your squad will be doing some demolitions work on the hideouts?"

"That's right." Skarr confirmed.

"Good, if you'll follow me, I'll lead you to the armory and then we can get underway." The man said.

"Do you have an estimate, or and exact count of how many hideouts we'll be leveling?" Skarr asked.

"More that I'd like, and enough for you to have fun with, I'm sure." The intelligence officer replied, "There's a potential for some hostile encounters too, so be sure to keep your guard up."

Needless to say Balac thought.

"Of course," Skarr answered.

They entered the armory, and were lead to a wall lined with explosives. Balac was slightly disappointed, standard military-grade explosives with a compact size, an expected choice, but Balac would've preferred something with a little more kick to it.

"Here you are, standard explosives, compact and easy to carry, enough power in one to do the job nicely," The man announced.

"Good, Eclipse, load up!" Skarr ordered.

Each trooper grabbed a bag, explosives and a detonator. Between the squad, they should have more than enough to deal with the hideouts.

"Well, I can tell you are more than likely looking forward to this. Is this business or pleasure to you?" the intelligence officer asked.

Skarr faced the man, as did the rest of the squad.

"Both." Skarr replied.

"Indeed. Well then, wait here and prepare I'll be back in a few minutes. We'll start our 'tour' soon."

The intelligence officer left and Eclipse settled down to wait.

"Nice. Clean. Simple." Balac stated.

"The best kind of mission." Skarr said.

Nitemare gave a slight chuckle and Dirge just grunted in reply. The squad fell into conversation as Balac stared off into the distance, the largest explosion of his life playing in his mind.
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Pirunir sur'haaise!
Njall
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Njall
 
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  RE: Red Exodus (Blackjack and Eclipse)
February 6, 2011 2:19:13 PM    View the profile of Njall 
Njall looked around the armoury, for what seemed like the hundredth time.  The walls looked bare now, at least compared to the way that they had been before Eclipse had gotten started with the explosives.  Under his helmet, Njall grinned.  This was the kind of mission he enjoyed.  Simple and straightforward, but with the promise of action.  Njall heard footsteps and looked up, as the intelligence officer entered the room, this time wearing civilian clothing. 

“Is your squad ready, Senior Sergeant?” The officer asked.

Skarr nodded.

“Alright, let’s get out there,” The officer continued, “No sense in wasting time.”

Njall got to his feet and headed outside, accompanied by the officer and his squad mates.  As they got outside, Njall glanced upwards, towards the sky.  The sun was setting now, within an hour or two darkness would be upon the city.

”That’s good,” Njall thought, ”If there are any guards, it’ll probably be too late before they see us.”   

The squad followed the officer down a side street.  They were all scanning the area, looking for possible hostiles. 

“Do you have any idea of how many guards will be at these hideouts?” Skarr asked the officer.

“No idea, but I’m hoping that it’ll vary depending on importance.  With luck we can use that to our advantage.” The officer replied.

“How could that be an advantage?” Valthir asked.

“The first hideout that we’ll be visiting seems to be a low priority one.  It seems to be an armoury, and not even a bigger one, at that.  As such, the guard quantity should be fairly low and your squad should have no trouble taking them out.  After that, we’ll set the explosives in the armoury, on a timer so that they’ll go off a while after we’ve left.  When the explosives do go off the Blood Saints will probably send troops to investigate, this will mean weaker defences at another base.” The officer explained.

“Is that the hideout?” Njall asked, pointing to a building near the end of the road.

“Yes.  You all know the plan.  Meet me here when your task is complete.” The officer said.

“You’re not coming with us?” Balac asked

“No,” The officer replied, “I don’t have any explosives and if I got shot, you wouldn’t have a guide to help you complete the rest of the mission.  However, I will give you this.”

He handed a blueprint sheet to Skarr.

“Those are the blueprints for the building.  I have marked the two weak points on the sheet.  If they are both exploded then the building will collapse.  Good Luck.”

Njall shrugged.  He walked with the squad up to the building.  Skarr halted them near the building’s fenced perimeter for a final briefing. 

“Listen up guys.  We’re going to travel as a group for this one, I don’t know what we’re up against and we’ll be a more effective fighting team if we’re all together.  The weak points are on the inside of the building, at the left and right corners of the building, if looked at from our point of view.  We’ll set the explosives to go off after…..about a half hour.  That should give us enough time.  Everyone got it?”

All of the squad members nodded.

“Alright then,” Skarr ordered, “Let’s move out!”
TRP/PFC Njall/1SQD/2PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE [FCE] [AS-H] [AS-1] {RCRT}

Private First Class Roberticus "Njall" Archaeon
Eclipse Squad
Storm Platoon
Phoenix Company


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Clearly Canadian
~In Memory of Paladin Squad~
[This message has been edited by Njall (edited February 6, 2011 6:37:12 PM)]
Skarr
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Skarr
 
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  RE: Red Exodus (Blackjack and Eclipse)
February 6, 2011 5:39:22 PM    View the profile of Skarr 
The first hideout wasn’t much, Skarr thought as he examined it from the fence. It was a warehouse that was a bit on the small side. Which worked out rather well. It seemed the Blood Saints were using the building only as an armory anyway. He spotted a few guards, patrolling the catwalks. He looked down at the blueprints and turned back to his squad.

“Listen up guys. We’re going to travel as a group for this one, I don’t know what we’re up against and we’ll be a more effective fighting team if we’re all together. The weak points are on the inside of the building, at the left and right corners of the building, if looked at from our point of view. We’ll set the explosives to go off after...about a half hour. That should give us enough time. Everyone got it?”

The squad nodded. All of them were ready to get in there and get to the fireworks.

“Alright then. Let’s move out!” The team snapped to action and began making their way towards the gate. It was the only clear way in, Skarr did not want to take the time searching the fence for any holes or weak points. He clicked on his comm. “Let’s try for some quiet kills first. Shoot only after you’ve been spotted and the alert has been called.” The gate was up ahead and only sported one guard, who stood in a gate office.

The Senior Sergeant halted his squad and moved quietly up to the checkpoint. It was open doored to Skarr’s advantage and he slipped in. His arm went around the guard’s neck and his hand went over the man’s mouth. The guard struggled, but Skarr held tight and twisted, feeling the muscles and bones snap. Skarr let the man down easily. He exited the guardhouse and motioned for the squad to continue on.

The gate was opened quietly, it only rattled slightly as each soldier passed through. The yard was near empty only a few vehicles sat in the parking bays. Skarr sent Njall and Balac forward to the door. The two flanked either side of the double doors and began to open both slowly. The rest of the squad took up positions to observe the inside. The doors opened all the way and Skarr seen that it was clear, at least the ground floor was. The catwalks on the second floor had five guards walking down its lengths.

Eclipse Squad entered, taking cover behind the various supply crates. There was no way all of them could be taken out, without an alarm sounding. Skarr wished he would have brought a suppressed weapon along, but he would have to do without. The room offered no help either. There were no stairs leading up to the catwalks and there was no way any of them could get to the stairs without being seen. Skarr activated his comm again.

“Alright, there’s six of us here and five guards on the catwalk. We can take all of them out at once, but the alarm will be raised. But it’s the chance we’re going to have to take. It’s going to be me, Valthir, Dirge, Njall, and Balac. Sorry Nitemare. Pick the target closest to you and on three, we fire.” Clicks came over the comm, indicating affirmatives from all five soldiers.

Skarr lined up his shot and seen from his HUD that the rest of the squad was doing the same. “Alright, one, two...”

OOC:
Eliminate the guards. An alarm is raised and a firefight commences. Choose whether or not we split up at this point or fight our way together to both weak spots of the building. Expect for there to be moderate resistance. Simple guards at first and not many. A little later, some Blood Saints that are at least moderately armed and armored come into play.
SL/SSG Skarr/1SQD/2PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE [ES2] {RES}
Author/WS Skarr/Lotaith/VET/VE
AS-2/SGT Skarr/STCA/VEA/VE

"Abandon all hope ye who enter here" The Inferno, Canto III, Line 9
"May God have mercy on my enemies, because I won't" General George Patton
"I only get paid if I survive, and I like getting paid."
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Ron
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Ron
 
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  RE: Red Exodus (Blackjack and Eclipse)
February 6, 2011 8:36:05 PM    View the profile of Ron 
Laughter, drunken and muffled, leaked through the heating vent in the thick walled chamber; setting an eerie mood.  A young woman sat at the end of a long table, in one of many seats holding one of many outlines of the meeting that would be held but an hour from now, in the empty office.  She was remarkably beautiful.  Renowned amongst the Blood Saints, partly because of her brother: founder of the secret society, and partly because of her own work as a double agent.  Because of her sacrificial and effortless missions and dealings with the Vast Empire, the Blood Saints were able to keep running while staying completely hidden from the Vast Empire.  Her last mission however proved nearly fatal, and nearly gave away everything.  That's why she came back, to keep the secret. 

The door clicked and opened, squeaking as it did so.  The sound of footsteps, familiar and terrible followed, revealing at last the figure of her brother Marx.  The young woman shot out of her seat and rushed to her brother, embracing him and on the verge of tears explaining everything to him.  Marx held nothing back as he wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her back soothingly so as to calm her down. 

"I'm sorry." she whispered brokenly.  "I had to come back, they almost found out about us."

"You should have stayed, all the same." he said softly.  His voice was calm and reassuring.  She broke away from him and sat down at the table with her head down.  Her long blond hair fell down over her crossed arms, and spread evenly over the table. 

"I'm sorry." she said.

"So am I." he replied.

Marx walked past her and around the table, stopping at a large picture of a man who looked like a much older Marx.  He pulled out a copy of Red Chronicle, and read a small part of it to himself.  It was white paper, covered from heading to footer in deep red ink.  From the corner one could read an inscription which identified it as the "first edition".

"Do you remember much of father, Laura?" he said to his sister.  His eyes didn't leave the paper when he asked her, but his tone of voice indicated that he was not just making small talk.

"I remember he was very serious." she said, lifting her head.  "I remember how much he cared about us."

Marx realized the sentimentality of the question and put forth the more precise question, "Do you remember how he died?"

"You said he was killed by the Vast Empire."

"I said the Vast Empire killed him."

She looked at him quizzically and said, "That's what I said."

He laughed threw the paper down on the table in front of her.  "Laura." he hissed.  "He killed himself, because of the Empire.  I was there.  I was waiting for him to come home, he was coming back from Alderaan.  That was the day it went away, you know.  When he finally came back I hid to surprise him.  Turned out he surprised me.  He was crying, and he was mad.  Kept on saying that he could have been dead, that he could have been one of the billions on that planet when they destroyed it." Marx paused and broke away, looking at the picture on the wall.

"Then he killed himself."

"How?" she asked.  She was shocked, surprised, but strangely curious.

"How?" Marx said.  He turned to her with a disgusted look on his face.  "I just told you our father killed himself and you want to know how?  Why does that, of all things, matter to you?"  he rushed up to her and grabbed her arm violently.

"Never mind then." she said.  Her face was drained of color, and she felt cold and vulnerable.  Marx held her arm with an iron grip.

"He blew his brains out, you bleeding bitch." he rasped.  Then he grabbed the paper and held it an inch away from her face.  "This paper started because of him.  The Blood Saints started because of him.  You know why we use red ink to print our issues?  Here, smell it and see if you can tell me."

He shoved the paper up to her nose.  The metallic stench of it was unmistakable. 

"Bl-blood." she stammered.

"That's right." he said.  "His blood.  The blood of Machiavelli Satturn, our father, was used to make the first copy of Blood Chronicle.

Her eyes were wide with fear as he said this and she began to feel very sick. 

"At first I didn't know why he did it.  But soon it was very clear to me.  Clear as I see you now.  He did it because he couldn't live under the Vast Empire, because he couldn't live knowing that billions of his fellow men from Alderaan died rather than live under those swine."

"The Vast Empire has nothing to do with it!" She said, cautiously.

"It's the same thing." he said.  "It's just another form of the Galactic Empire.  They have the same Stormtroopers, commanders, philosophy, and blood-thirstiness that the empire had.  Only difference is that they're here, now, and I'm the only one who can stop them."

"We, you mean." she said.  "We're the only ones who can stop them."

"Oh Laura." Marx said.  "I forgot to say, he also killed himself because he was a coward.  Because he was afraid that he couldn't protect his family."

"What do you mean?" she said.  Her voice was raised and hostile, and she was beginning to sweat.

"Rather than put his family in danger, he killed himself." Marx said quietly.  His eyes burned into hers, and she detected a cruel smile beginning to form.

"I have never put our family in danger!" she yelled.

"You just have.  Stormtroopers have been deployed on the planet.  They're hunting down Blood Saints."

"Impossible!" she shrieked.  Her eyes widened with fear as she saw Marx's hand slide down to his blaster holster.  In desperation she broke away from his grip and rushed towards the door, only to fall in pain as he shot out one of her knees with his blaster pistol.

"The least you could have done." he hissed cruelly.  "Was take out as many as you could before you died."

He shot out her other knee.

"You can't do this to me!" she yelled between tears.  "I'm your sister!" 

He shot her three times in the chest before throwing down the pistol on her smoldering corpse.

"I have no sister."

He closed the door behind him.  Marx wiped the sweat from his forehead calmly, and walked down the hallway towards his office.  As he entered, he was instantly approached by an armored man with a large blaster rifle.

"Marx Satturn?" he asked.

"Yes.  Might you be the man they call 'Zigguratt'?"

"Aye, sir.  That's one name they call me by."

Marx smiled and said, "They say a lot about you.  Another such thing is that you lead an army that no other can defeat."

"You'd be surprised to find that most rumors are really true."  He said with a wry grin.

"Then I believe we have some business together."

OOC:
Mercenary, freelance, pirate, call it what you will.  It's an army of the toughest men you've ever faced.  Head to toe in the finest armor of black and red, they'll give you trouble.  I've also introduced two new NPC's and given you some back story.  These guys are very difficult to kill.  Continue flushing out enemy bases, and good luck facing these guys.

Don't be afraid to make you're own NPCs or to sidetrack from the main story a little bit to incorporate your own stories.  You shouldn't be dependent on me to keep your troopers stories alive.  Be creative and take charge of your characters!
Captain of the Fortunato
Initiate of the Dark Jedi Order
Platoon Commander of Storm Platoon
PC|FSG|RON|2PLT|1COM|1REG|1BAT|TADATH|VE [WM][CCA][QCT][CoR][BC][CoZ][AS-3]
Garryll Gates
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Garryll Gates
 
[VE-ARMY] Sergeant Major
[VE-ICS] Privateer
 
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  RE: Red Exodus (Blackjack and Eclipse)
February 7, 2011 11:02:14 AM    View the profile of Garryll Gates 
The old intelligence officer walked briskly from the marketplace. The Blackjacks also left the market a few seconds later, marching quickly. The warehouse district was a half-dozen blocks from the market, and there were few people in the streets of the route they took.

“The address is 183-15C,” the old man mumbled into the comlink. “The entire building belongs to the source. Hopefully, he’s in there.”

“Alright,” Gates responded. “Time to do what we do best. Let’s take this guy down, Blackjacks.”

The Blackjacks broke into two fireteams, one following Corvin and one after Gates. They moved through the streets, counting addresses as they went.

“B quadrant...C,” Threx said from behind Gates. “Where next?”

“Three blocks north, then take a left, then one more block, and viola!” said the intel man.

Gates relayed the instructions to the squad, and they moved down the street until they came to the turn. Corvin poked his head around the corner and waved his team around it when he spotted no one.

“One-eighty one...two...here,” said Corvin, stopping in front of the building and pointing at it. The Blackjacks gathered around the building and raised their rifles.

“Break and enter,” Gates ordered. “Standard unknown-building entrance. Stack it up.”

The squad quickly moved over to the warehouse, and did last-second preparation. Corvin checked his rifle and tapped his helmet; Threx ejected and re-inserted his gauntlet vibroblades. Saph tapped her rifle and the knives in her belt.

Corvin stepped in front of the door. He looked at Gates, who lifted three fingers, dropping one, two, three. An armored boot rose and kicked in the door.

The Blackjack ASL stormed into the building, while Garryll tapped the small but powerful speakers of his helmet, and yelled, “Imperial Stormtroopers! Come out and surrender or be fired upon!”

The rest of Blackjack poured into the building, checking corners and looking around. The warehouse wasn’t huge; it was only a few dozen feet deep and a bit shorter in width. Most of the space was empty shelves and dusty furniture that had been stored there before for some reason, but signs of one-time habitation were visible.

A futon and small, knee-high table were in a small cleared out space. Behind it, there were three boxes; one was a refrigerator, the second was a computer terminal and a small monitor, and the last was a safe. The first two were still plugged in.

“Jackpot,” Gates said. “We need to secure the computer and safe; hopefully there’s another clue in there, because there’s no one here.”

“Stormtrooper leader -” the old man’s voice crackled violently over the comlink, heavily scratched up by static. “I -- saw armored --- armed men. They’re ----- your way. I ---”

“What? What?! Repeat, dammit!” Gates responded, scowling. “Dammit!”

“What, sir?” asked Corvin, touching the computer’s compact keyboard.

“We’ve got company incoming. No idea how many, but they’re apparently at least marginally dangerous.”

The Blackjacks were well-trained, and they immidietely spread out, cocking rifles and raising them to their shoulders, weapons aimed at the front of the building, not assuming the enemies would use the main door, not if they had any training at all.

“Any other information on the guys?” asked Saph. “Nothing else?”

“No,” Gates replied. “But they’ve made a move, so we must be getting close to something.”

OOC:
We’ve discovered a clue, but we need some time to break the encryption. Too bad that enemies are coming, right? There are a half-dozen enemies; one of the heavily armored mercs in Ron’s post (tough guy to bring down) and the rest are trained ex-soldiers, but with lesser weaponry and armor. Setting is a smallish warehouse
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ESL/SGMGarryll Gates/2SQD/2PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE [RoM][ICE] [IH] [CCA] [BC] [SRP] [AS-1] [ES1] [CoS] [EW1] {RESx3} [ESC09] [RoTx2] [CRoS] [AoT] [CoZ]

God is not on the side of the big battalions, but on the side of those who shoot best.
For Tadath, for the Empire.
Only in Death...does Duty end
Do not ask why you serve; only ask how
War is coming, with all its glory and all its horror
Balac
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Balac
 
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  RE: Red Exodus (Blackjack and Eclipse)
February 7, 2011 5:32:33 PM    View the profile of Balac 
"Fire." Came the command.

Balac fired, as did the rest of the squad. At the sound of the reports, the guard he was aiming at turned quickly, only to have the bridge of his nose erased by the blaster bolt flying in his direction. The guard fell back slowly, trailing smoke and fell off the catwalk. A few short, sharp screams went off followed by gurgling and a couple more thuds as the other guards were killed. Shortly after, a wailing sounded in the warehouse.

The comm crackled, "Alright, the alarm has been raised, prepare yourselves." Skarr ordered calmly.

A door to an office burst opened farther back, followed by a hail of blaster fire flying towards Eclipse. The troopers dropped and opened fire.

"Ha, here's where the fun begins!" Balac announced.

"Suppress them!" Skarr ordered. "Form teams, I'll take Njall and Nitemare. Valthir, you take Balac and Dirge. Let's see if we can get to that door and silence them. Then we'll each head to one of the weak spots and level this building, meet back here when you've planted the charges. GO, GO, GO!"

"You heard the man, let's go!" Valthir ordered. Valthir, Dirge and Balac poured fire into the doorway while Skarr, Nitemare and Njall moved to the side. They settled into a position and returned the favor while the other three Eclipse troopers moved out of the direct line of fire.

From the door came a few more guards, once they left the safety of the doorway, they were taken down under a short hail of fire.

"Ok, get to your spots, plant the charges, and get back to the entrance, eyes peeled the whole way." Skarr ordered over the comm.

"Got it, let's move it." Valthir responded. Valthir took the lead, Dirge came next, offset a bit to the right and Balac took up the rear, positioned to the left of Valthir and Dirge. Blaster fire sounded from the approximate area where Skarr and the other two Eclipse troopers were.

"Good, more company." Balac stated.

"Enjoying this are you?" Dirge asked.

"Well, I enjoy actively participating in a nice exchange of fire more, but getting to set an explosive works too if that's what your asking."

"Quiet, keep your ears open, not your mouths." Valthir ordered.

Balac fell silent with a small chuckle, he was sure he heard something that sounded like footprints behind them.

They reached the corner of the building marked as one of the bombsites. Balac set two charges, one against each wall, just to be sure.

"Alright, that's the easy part, now to get out of here." Valthir said.

They started heading back, after moving a few feet, from the buildings corner, a couple of men in armor stepped in front of them about 15 feet away.

They raised the big rifles they were carrying, "Where do you think you're going?" The armored man in the lead asked.

Sometimes, I miss my beskar'gam Balac said to himself.
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TRP/LCPL Balac/1SQD/2PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE [EW1]

Pirunir sur'haaise!
Njall
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Njall
 
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  RE: Red Exodus (Blackjack and Eclipse)
February 7, 2011 11:10:48 PM    View the profile of Njall 
As Njall jogged down one of the side hallways, he heard the blaster fire from the direction of the other group quickly come to a halt.

“Valthir’s group must have taken out the rest of the guys over there; it sounds like they’re in the clear.” Njall said into the comm.

“Quiet Njall,” Skarr replied, “Pay attention to where WE are.  They might be all right, they might not be, but if we don’t get our target it won’t matter.”

Just as Skarr finished his sentence, Njall heard a faint noise from behind the group.  Njall spun around and saw the shape of a slightly armoured human.  He quickly unloaded a string of shots from his E-11 into the un-covered neck and stomach of the man.  The would-be attacker fell to the ground and lay still. 

Nitemare asked, “What the hell was that?”

“Guard, I think.”  Njall said, “He tried to hit us from behind” 

Nitemare nodded and instinctively glanced backwards, but there were no other guards trying to ambush the Eclipse’s from behind. 

As the three stormtroopers approached the doorway at the end of the hallway, Skarr held up his hand and they slowed to a walk.  Beyond the doorway was a much larger, somewhat empty room.  From what Njall could guess, the weak spot that they were targeting lay on the far side of this room.  Cautiously, the three of them entered the room, looking around warily for any foes. 

There was only one in the hallway, and I can’t see any around here, Njall thought, Either this place is really badly defended or they’re all hiding somewhere.

They managed to take a couple more steps before the action began.  Without any warning, blaster bolt began to rain down from above.  Njall looked up and saw a series of metal walkways above them, near the roof of the room.  A group of about five guards were positioned on the walkways, giving them an excellent position from which to ambush their targets.  Njall immediately jerked his blaster upwards and began to return fire.  Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Nitemare and Skarr doing the same.  Although the guards initially had had the element of surprise, it became apparent that they were no match for stormtroopers.  Quickly, one guard keeled over, shot dead.  Another one, hit, fell screaming from the walkway until he slammed into the ground.  In due time, a third guard was also killed and the remaining two, realizing that it was an un-winnable fight, began to slowly back towards a doorway which joined with their walkway.  A quick shot from Skarr took out one of them, but the other managed to run through the doorway, and escape.

“Should we try and get up there, to finish off that last one?” Njall asked.

“Don’t bother,” Skarr said, “It’ll probably be too much hassle and, besides, he’ll die soon enough, when we destroy the building.”

Njall nodded in acknowledgment.

He, Nitemare and Skarr made their way over to the corner of the room. 

“This is it, according to the blueprints.” Skarr said, “Let’s lay the charges quickly, so that we can rendezvous with Valthir’s team.”

All three troopers began fastening charges to the wall.
TRP/PFC Njall/1SQD/2PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE [FCE] [AS-H] [AS-1] {RCRT}

Private First Class Roberticus "Njall" Archaeon
Eclipse Squad
Storm Platoon
Phoenix Company


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Clearly Canadian
~In Memory of Paladin Squad~
Valthir
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Valthir
 
[VE-ARMY] Corporal
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  RE: Red Exodus (Blackjack and Eclipse)
February 8, 2011 9:06:50 PM    View the profile of Valthir 
The armored being had barely just finished his sentence when Valthir raised his rifle and let off a quick burst of bolts. Each bolt hit its target, though not in any vital spots. Regardless, it produced its desired effect, which was to get the rather idiotic soldiers to take cover while the trio of Eclipse troopers regrouped.

As the enemy soldiers lunged behind some boxes, Valthir did the same, closely followed by Dirge and Balac.

“Split up and draw their fire. I’ll see if I can spot them and point them out.” Valthir said quickly, a plan forming in his head.

With a nod from each, Balac and Dirge both went their separate ways, leaving Valthir alone behind the cover of some boxes. The room was more densely packed than the main room, which suited him just fine. It gave him more hiding spots, both behind and on top of the boxes. Quickly, he tested the flexibility of the armor he was wearing and, very satisfied, scaled the large stack of boxes he was hiding behind. Luckily for him, the room was not lit very well and so, his black armor blended in very well with the darkly colored boxes. That, combined with his stealthy movements, quickly allowed him to traverse across the close stacks of boxes, and close in on the trio of enemy troopers.

Idiots. They didn’t even bother to spread themselves out. Instead, they clump together where one good grenade could take them all out.

Looking around, Valthir took note of his location, based on the roof, which held a few dim lights, one of which was directly above him and seemed to have short-circuited, as it was unlit. Relaying the information and orders to his squadmates, Valthir perched himself on the edge of the boxes and waited.

Patiently, he watched the soldiers as they spun here and there as various clanging sounds were made, in an attempt to keep every direction in their sight. Slowly, their fear and anxiety built up until they were practically jumping at every little sound.

“In position.” Balac said over the comm, echoed by Dirge.

“Good. Hold. Wait for my signal.” Valthir whispered, more out of habit than anything as the voice traffic over the comms.

After a few more minutes of waiting, the armored figure that seemed to be the leader sent the other two figures off, probably to check on the “noises”. Both had made it just past the point where Valthir knew the two Eclipse troopers were lying in wait at, when he moved.

“Now.” Was all that was said, and the trap closed around the three enemy soldiers.

At almost precisely the same moment, Balac and Dirge both erupted from their hiding spots and overtook their target, while Valthir leapt from his hiding spot toward the supposed leader. While the leader was too far away to take down with that leap, he was just the right distance for another form of attack.

Without a single utterance, Valthir leapt from the stack of boxes and grabbed the knife he had strapped to his leg. As he landed, he carefully handled it, to make sure he didn't accidentally stab himself. Landing heavily, he tucked into a roll and as he came out of the roll, he used his momentum to throw the knife towards the leader. The raw speed and power the knife gained from the transfer of momentum was just enough to plunge into the being’s shoulder, twisting him around just as he brought his weapon to bear. A laser bolt flew harmlessly past Valthir’s head, though a little too close for comfort. But he didn’t even bother looking towards it, as he was already up and moving, sprinting towards the armored being. He closed the distance quickly and took the being down with a tackle. Snatching his knife out of the wound, he plunged it through the soft material just below the helmet, at the sealed joint where it met with the rest of the armor. It sunk up to the hilt and the man gave his last breath with a shudder. Withdrawing it, he cleaned it off as best as he could and slipped it back in its sheath.

“Status.” Valthir said.

“Target neutralized.” was the reply from both.

“Good. Move out.”
ASL/CPL Valthir/1SQD/2PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE

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[This message has been edited by Valthir (edited February 8, 2011 9:09:51 PM)]
Corvin
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Corvin
 
[VE-ARMY] Sergeant
[VE-DJO] Uninitiate
 
Post Number:  634
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  RE: Red Exodus (Blackjack and Eclipse)
February 9, 2011 8:28:55 AM    View the profile of Corvin 
The stun grenade skittered across the floor grating, bounced off a chair leg, and promptly exploded. Shattered glass and duracrete flew everywhere, pinging off the Blackjacks' armour. A thick dust cloud hung over the room as shelves clattered down across the warehouse, interfering with helmet sensors and making it difficult to see more than a few feet away.

"Wait for a clear shot," Garryll barked. "And watch the terminal!"

Two more clattered down from broken windows, and Blackjacks threw themselves out of the blast radius as they went off. Shattered crates and debris were everywhere, and the overhead light-panels flickered on and off.

Corvin turned from side to side, gaze skittering across the gloom and up to the windows. They'd most likely come through there, or the walls if they had a demo charge.

He smirked. If they thought that a few grenades would put the Blackjacks down, they were in for a surprise.

There was a blur of motion in the corner of his eye, followed by the crash of shattering transparisteel.

"Contact!" Corvin yelled as he swung around. The message was echoed by two or three other troopers at the same time.

More windows abruptly shattered as grey-clad figures rappelled through them, firing as they came. They dropped in pairs, all three groups wielding cut-down carbines.

Blaster bolts exploded all around Corvin as he opened up with the other Blackjacks. One, and then another, of the attackers collapsed as they took hits from the high-powered rifles, but then they rallied and returned fire in earnest.

These weren't the usual cannon fodder. These troopers were using tactics taken straight from stormtrooper specialist training, with the equipment and accuracy to match. For the first time since the mission's start, Corvin felt a flicker of doubt, one that he repressed almost instantly. Training just meant they were traitors.

Corvin rolled to one side as blaster bolts cut through where he'd been standing, coming up with his rifle raised. He braced and squeezed the trigger. The stock jerked back into his shoulder, and a flurry of bolts hissed from the weapon. His target jerked and writhed with each hit, then collapsed as a stray shot took off his helmet with the better part of his head still inside.

"Kill the traitors!" Corvin yelled, pushing another clip into place. "For the Empire!"

Anything else Corvin might have said was cut off when another volley of blasterfire slammed into him. One shot tore the rifle from his hands, sending him staggering back. The rest slammed into his chestplate, warping the plastoid and burning him.

Gasping, Corvin wavered and slumped against a crate, his world narrowing to the blur of the overhead light-panel. There were flashing lights and lines of text across his HUD, but Corvin couldn't make any sense of it as he drifted in and out of consciousness.

The firefight raged on, both the stormtroopers and their attackers taking cover behind the few remaining crates. There were three of the armoured Saints, and they were very good shots. Most of the Blackjacks had blackened armour, and more than one  was out of action.

For all that though, the stormtroopers had numbers, heavier guns, and Blackjack's trademark zeal on their side. It was all the Saints could do to return fire and keep the Blackjacks pinned.

That is, until the mercenary burst through the door, rotary blaster cannon in one armoured hand.
ETRP/SGT Corvin/4SQD/2PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE[ESC09][AoT][IH][HotC][RoM]
~BLACKJACK~
*Vehicle Pilot*
Read the bloody manual!
"Never believe a rumour of my demise. I have as many lives as a cat. Also as many teeth, as many claws, and the same cheery, cooperative disposition." Peter Wiggin, Xenocide
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"The Committee has also voted to change the name of the position, simply because no one liked the fact that its accronym spelled out Noo. "
THX1138
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THX1138
 
[VE-ARMY] Private Second Class
 
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  RE: Red Exodus (Blackjack and Eclipse)
February 9, 2011 5:43:42 PM    View the profile of THX1138 
Therex was kneeling down beside one of the wounded soldiers, when the fire fight subsided slightly. It sounded like they were winning. Then a door near him opened and a large hulk of a man (lacking proper hygiene of course) came through heavily armed. Therex slowly retracted the blades from his gauntlets, preparing himself in case the fight didn't go to well. After he had patched up his patient, Therex stood up and moved towards the man, joining his squad in firing.

  The Trandoshan Suppressors and whatever the rest of the squad was using was not working. Therex tapped the squad leaders shoulder.

  "Sir, I have an idea."

    Therex quickly explained his idea. It involved a few of the squad, including himself would go around the group and start firing from behind. It was risky as they could be caught and at that point they would be sitting ducks. His squad leader agreed and asked for volunteers.

  Five minutes later, Therex was in the middle of a small group of volunteers. They had exited the building and were looking for the right spot to make a new entrance. One of the people in the squad actually knew how to do that, so Therex and the rest of the squad stood back, waiting patiently. The demolitionist stepped away from the wall and told them to find cover. When everyone was safe, he blew the charges.
 
  The small squad rushed in firing while Therex walked into the smoke and started attacking with his gauntlet swords. It was incredibly difficult with all the smoke, but at least he had picked targets at the edge of the shooting, so there was little chance of being caught in a cross fire.

I wish I had stayed home, where the hardest part of my job would have been surgery.

OOC:
Sorry if this does not match the story. I kinda got lost and just started writing.
"He has his orders, and when a Chiss accepts orders he carries them out, period."

"He's in there, I was gonna shoot him but I was... busy."

"Chiss don't invade the territories of others. We don't even make war against potential enemies unless we're attacked first."

"You have to admire the Chiss. They don't just steal your technology—they make it better."

TRP/PSC THX-1138/ 3SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE/
[This message has been edited by THX1138 (edited February 9, 2011 5:46:28 PM)]
Corvin
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Corvin
 
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  RE: Red Exodus (Blackjack and Eclipse)
February 9, 2011 6:43:08 PM    View the profile of Corvin 
Corvin could taste the smoke on his tongue. It stank of oil and coolant, and made it harder to breathe. Raindrops pattered down onto and all around him, and spires reached up to the sky, whisps of smoke drifting past as Corvin watched. Red blurs moved in the corner of his vision, and his bare head was resting against something hard. Corvin was sure something was terribly wrong, but he couldn't quite place it.

He was on his back, and there was a strange tightness in his chest. His hands were limp at his sides, empty.  He was lying on something hard, and there was a faint, growing ringing noise in his ears.

His hands were empty. Empty.

All troopers will keep their weapon on hand unless ordered otherwise.

Corvin stirred. He had to find his rifle.

The noise intensified and Corvin managed to make out words and phrases. Some seemed to come from directly next to him, while others echoed across the plaza. There was a rather impressive amount of wreckage across the street for some reason.

What happened?

"Repeat, what did your men do, stormtrooper leader?"

That was from nearby, a harsh rasp of a voice and mangled by com distortion. Corvin stirred towards it, managing to turn his head. It was from a helmet. His helmet.

The memories came rushing back. The mission, the firefight, and then...impacts. Darkness.

"What the hell was that explosion?" Rasp Voice demanded. "Reply, damn you!"

"Blackjack lead here."

That was Garryll, voice controlled and level now that combat was over. Corvin rolled over, and saw the squad leader standing on the edge of the duracrete pavement. Squealing sirens heralded the approach of local law enforcement.

"All enemy troops downed, mission success."

"That doesn't explain why City Protection's saying a block's gone up in smoke. Make this good," the helmet crackled.

"It's just a warehouse," Garryll replied, looking at the remains of said structure. " Was a warehouse. Squad's fine, situation normal. Might have made a bit of a miscalculation though."

"Miscalculation?" the man almost shrieked.

"Demo charge and a gas pipe," Garryll clarified. "All good now, though. We're all fine. How're you?"

As he spoke, Corvin grasped the helmet and slipped it back on. There was a chime, and he relaxed slightly at the enclosure.

Wincing as he moved, Corvin pulled himself to his knees and onto the curb. One of the new troopers, the Chiss medic, saw him and made his way over from where'd he'd been talking to a Blackjack cradling one arm.

"Take it easy." the blue-skinned trooper said quietly. "You took three bolts to the chestplate. The plate took the worst of it though. Should be fine with a meddroid later."

Corvin nodded, and the medic emptied an autoinjector into his arm. There was a prick, a momentary nausea, and the world seemed to sharpen.

"Thanks," Corvin gasped. "Think I needed that."

"It's what I'm here for," the Chiss medic muttered, more to himself than to the ASL, then whistled as he looked at the smoldering ruin behind the squad. "Don't know whether to be proud or appalled."

Corvin glanced at the wreckage, and grinned. It was a fairly impressive heap.The walls had collapsed onto each other, and chunks of permacrete and broken girders were everywhere

"It's what we do. Blow stuff up. Or shoot it. Or both." Corvin slurred, still disoriented. "Your idea, 38?"

"Close enough," the medic said, slightly hesitantly, and handed Corvin his rifle. Corvin took it with a nod, and he shakily got back to his feet. The world seemed to wobble, but that quickly faded.

"We had to pull out again, sir." Garryll was saying over the com. "No sign of the target inside, but we did get a data core before we blew it."

The ASL was holding a cylinder by a clump of wires. It swung back and forth in his grasp.

"Your boys can chop it up for answers at their leisure. More particularly, answers to why our target wasn't here."  he finished, slipping the core into a belt pouch as he spoke. Around him, several troopers were moving into a watch formation, weapons raised.

There was a moment of silence.

"Get back to the RV point," the man on the com said at last. "I'll clean up your mess and call off Protection's teams."

"Much obliged, sir." Garryll said cheerfully.

"Back in my day, we had troopers who could follow the damned orders." the operative snapped., then abruptly closed the channel.

"No pleasing some people, is there?" Corvin interjected.

Garryll shrugged.

"No. Now that all of the squad's back up, we'd better report in before he blows a gasket. Or a City Protection speeder gets here."

The Squad Leader gestured.

"Blackjack, move out."
ETRP/SGT Corvin/4SQD/2PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE[ESC09][AoT][IH][HotC][RoM]
~BLACKJACK~
*Vehicle Pilot*
Read the bloody manual!
"Never believe a rumour of my demise. I have as many lives as a cat. Also as many teeth, as many claws, and the same cheery, cooperative disposition." Peter Wiggin, Xenocide
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"The Committee has also voted to change the name of the position, simply because no one liked the fact that its accronym spelled out Noo. "
[This message has been edited by Corvin (edited February 9, 2011 6:50:18 PM)]
[This message has been edited by Corvin (edited February 9, 2011 6:57:41 PM)]
Balac
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Balac
 
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  RE: Red Exodus (Blackjack and Eclipse)
February 12, 2011 4:43:52 PM    View the profile of Balac 
"Good. Move out."

Balac smiled, filled with an adrenaline rush after the ambush. The armored beings had good armor, but it could definitely be improved upon.

"Now that that's over, we should get back and meet up with Skarr. I have a feeling that they aren't the only ones wearing armor that we'll be facing." Valthir said.

"All the better." Balac said quietly.

The comm crackled to life and they heard Skarr's voice, "Are you guys at the rendezvous point?"

"Yes," Valthir answered, "where are you?"

"We'll be meeting up soon, ran into some company, heavily armored." Skarr replied.

"We met some of them on our way back, take care."

"Hold your positions, out." Skarr ordered.

"Alright, spread out a bit and keep watch, they should be here soon." Valthir ordered.

Balac and Dirge moved in separate directions, putting their backs against boxes and out of sight of the door, while Valthir moved as best he could into a shadow of the stacked containers. They could still hear some intermittent blaster fire coming from Skarr's direction.

"Contact." Valthir whispered through the comm. The doors opened and a few men came through the door into the warehouse, none heavily armored at least. They walked a bit further, "Fire," ordered Valthir. Balac and Dirge aimed around the corners of the boxes they were against and sighted, then fired, dropping two of the three men. The third one dropped and rolled close to Valthir's position, Valthir took his life with a stab to the back of the head. At that moment, Skarr, Njall and Nitemare appeared.

"Alright, let's go, we haven't more than ten standard minutes before the charges go off." Skarr ordered.

Balac and Njall moved to the doors, opening each one slowly so they could see past the door the other was opening and be protected by the door at their side. Seeing no one they cautiously waved the rest of the Eclipse troopers through the doorway.

After a quick check of their surroundings, they carefully, but quickly, made their way back to the gate.

"Okay, four minutes left. Let's hurry up so we can watch the fireworks." Skarr said.

They hurried back down the road and met the officer.

"Any trouble?" the officer asked.

"Not too much." Skarr replied. When the last word left his mouth a tremendous explosion went off down the road, with more explosions going off as the contents of the armory cooked off.

"Beautiful!" Balac announced.

"We should be going, they'll be sending more to check the area. I've already decided which hideout we should be taking out next, it's a bit more heavily guarded though." The officer said.

"Lead on then." Skarr ordered.
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TRP/LCPL Balac/1SQD/2PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE [EW1]

Pirunir sur'haaise!
[This message has been edited by Balac (edited February 12, 2011 4:46:37 PM)]
Skarr
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Skarr
 
[VE-ARMY] Senior Sergeant
[VE-ICS] Pirate Swabbie
[VE-VEEC] Word Slinger
 
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  RE: Red Exodus (Blackjack and Eclipse)
February 12, 2011 5:59:00 PM    View the profile of Skarr 
The explosives were set and Skarr admired his handiwork. A slight beeping came from all three devices. A half-hour before the place came down. He had to admit he was slightly worried about Valthir’s group. Skarr had heard the shots too. He had wanted to tell Njall that they were going back. But he had not. Valthir could handle himself. As could Balac and Dirge. Nitemare and Njall were done with their charges and the small beeping punctuated the silence.

Skarr bent over to pick up the satchel full of explosives. Just as a blaster bolt exploded over his head. He went into a roll as Nitemare and Njall turned around, pulling weapons from their sides. Three armored men stood in red and black, blasters raised and firing. The three Imperials took cover behind wooden boxes full of artwork as more blaster fire splashed the walls behind them. Skarr peeked over the edge of the box to find that their enemies had also taken cover. So much for dumb thugs, Skarr thought. One of the guards jumped up and fired at Skarr.

“We need to take these guys out, fast.” Skarr commented. Clicks came over the comms. Skarr dashed to the next set of boxes. He heard a loud thump as one man hit the ground, he had heard no blasts.

“Target neutralized,” Njall said. Skarr nodded. Now it was time for the two others to die. He seen one of the guards behind a box a few feet away. Skarr slipped a knife out of his sheath and ran up to the man, slipping the thin blade under the man’s ribs. Another man was down.

“He’s down,” Balac announced. Skarr was relieved all three guards down. “Let’s move out!”

***

Nearly ten minutes later, the building went up in flames. Eclipse Squad watched the warehouse collapse in on itself. Skarr admired the explosion, the armory made it an even better explosion.

“Beautiful!” Balac said, a bit breathless. The fire crackled and sirens rang off in the distance. The officer sighed.

“We should be going, they’ll be sending more to check the area. I’ve already decided which hideout we should be taking out next, it’s a bit more heavily guarded though,” the officer explained.

Figures, Skarr thought. “Lead on then.” Eclipse Squad followed the officer away from the burning remains of the hideout. Sirens came closer as the squad sprinted from shadowed alley to shadowed alley. The officer was leading them to another hideout, but Skarr didn’t know where. His comm began beeping.

“Skarr, here.”

“This is Auslaut. Hold your position, a trooper has been transferred to Eclipse Squad and we are sending him your way,” the Lieutenant informed him. The officer looked back and shrugged. He walked up to the end of the alley and observed the emergency vehicles zooming by. Skarr decided they would wait for this new soldier.

“Where are we going?” Skarr asked. The officer did not look back. “Ten blocks from here. An old office building.” The Squad Leader nodded. They would soon move on. A new trooper would rendezvous with them and Eclipse Squad would continue the destruction of the hideouts.
OOC:
Not the best post I could have done. But it took me a few hours and a couple interruptions to do this. After Demented has rendezvoused with us, we will continue on to the next hideout.
SL|CoT:A/SSG Skarr/1SQD/2PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE [ES2] {RES}
Norith Skarr
Senior Sergeant, Vast Imperial Army
Commander of Training Assistant
Squad Leader of Eclipse


"May God have mercy on my enemies, because I won't" General George Patton
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