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Topic:  Regents: Behind Enemy Lines
Amacuse
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Amacuse
 
[VE-NAVY] Master Chief Petty Officer
 
Post Number:  610
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  Regents: Behind Enemy Lines
March 22, 2011 3:09:13 PM    View the profile of Amacuse 
OOC:
Alright Regents, listen up!  Time for some fun!

1st Lieutenant Drac, our graciously awesome Fleet Commander, has given me our orders, and we have until Sunday to complete our mission... that includes returning to VE Space, so I can report to Drac that the mission is a success.

Our mission is as follows:  Using a squadron of captured T-65 X-Wings, we are to infiltrate the Shipyards of Giju and destroy the communications array.  Once it is destroyed, escape the system and return to friendly space.
[*]We have until Thursday to familiarize ourselves with the Incom T-65 X-Wing.[/*]
[*]We have until Sunday to complete the mission and return to friendly space[/*]
[*]Our fake squadron name to get us past the NR defenses will be the "217th Kath Squadron"[/*]

To familiarize ourselves with the Reshie fighter, we will be in the simulator until noon of Thursday (CST), then we will depart VE Space for Giju.

A-6 shall be filled by PO2 Sarah Goldwater, our squadron medic.  She has some experience in flying, and her medical skills may come in handy in case we decide to land on the Reshie station and blow the comms array to pieces.

Oh yeah, one more thing: I'm going to be pushing you hard.  So... if it seems like I'm being a jerk, it's because I, myself, am being pushed by my superiors to get this job done.  If you are being too slow in posting, you will be reported to the Fleet Commander, and you will have to explain yourself to him.  That means all things relating to the VE that are not pertaining to this story some second.  This is your top priority until it's completion at 2359 on Sunday (CST).  So, with that... Regents: Behind Enemy Lines


Cayden walked into the squadron barracks, a smile on his face.  "Regents, gather round!" he said, sitting in the tall-backed maroon-red chair behind a desk.  As the rest of the squadron gathered around, he shuffled a few papers on his desk, then said "Regents, do you know what I have here?"

"Ummm... random papers, sir?" PO2 Sarah Goldwater asked sarcastically, garnering a few chuckles from the group.

Cayden smiled and said "Not exactly, Sarah.  I have here, orders, for our next mission.  We are to go to Giju and-"

"Sir, with all due respect, don't we have a training exercise we're going to do?" Vanity asked.

"Vanity, the training exercise has been scrapped for a later date," he said, smiling.  "Now, we are to go to Giju and destroy a New Republic Communications Array located in the orbital shipyards.  How we are getting in is the fun part..."  Cayden pressed a button on his comlink and said "Bring in the crate."

Two engineers came in carrying a large crate.  They set it down next to Cayden's desk, saluted, and left the barracks.

"Regents, I give you... our costumes of the occasion," he said, opening the crate.  He pulled out a Reshie flight helmet and tossed it to Vanity.  "We are to dress like the Reshies, talk like the Reshies, and heck, even smell like them.  So grab that Mon Cal perfume, cologne, whatever you use... cause in two days, we're Reshie pilots heading to Giju flying T-65B X-Wing Starfighters."

"But sir, we don't know how to fly the X-Wing," Vanity said, staring at the helmet in her hands.

"That is why we've been authorized temporary access to X-Wing flight simulators, to familiarize ourselves with the Rebel craft's flight systems.  Any questions?" he asked, smiling.  "None?  Good.  Report to the Simulation Hangar in one hour.  Dismissed."

==VEN Simulation Hangar - Reshie Fighter Wing==
Cayden smiled as his squadron entered the hangar, the lights gleaming off of his freshly polished Reshie flight helmet.  Well... the flight suit is rather roomy..., he thought, walking over to the squadron commander's simulator.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen all, to the Reshie Fighter Wing of the Simulation Hangar.  Grab a simulator, and we'll get started.  The simulation we are running is a simple shake-down, to get us prepared for flight.  After a while, several A-Wings and X-Wings will be deployed into the scenario, and we'll engage them post-haste.  When that is complete, the simulation will be over, and we'll depart for Giju.  If you have any questions, file them with the complaint department," he said, pointing to the trash compactor.  "Now... let's show them how real pilots fly!"

OOC:
WC: 441

Alright Regents, we have until Thursday to familiarize ourselves with the X-Wing.  Get posting!  That is an order.  Failure to do so will result in you speaking with the Chief of Naval Warfare about why you are not being active.  I know some of you have RL to factor in, so urge you to be as active as humanly (and Twi'leki) possible.

Rewards (35,000 - 65,000 ICs, depending on comment content) shall be given to those who have posts that are commented upon by any of the other commanders here in the Vast Empire Navy.  I shall be giving those rewards personally, out of my own account (making me exempt from this).

So... there's your incentive to post.  Good luck to you all.

/me salutes
Master Chief Petty Officer Cayden "Amacuse" Tavers

Squadron Commander of 153rd Vast Imp. Fighter Squadron Regents

SC/MCPO Amacuse/A-1/S:153 Regents/W:58 Javelin/ICF-II Chrome Fox/TF:R/2FL/SFC/VEN/VE (=AE=) (=*SAE*=) [MC:2] [LSM] [GCM] [CBV]
[This message has been edited by Amacuse (edited March 24, 2011 10:56:00 AM)]
Avalar
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Avalar
 
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  RE: Regents: Behind Enemy Lines
March 23, 2011 8:18:11 AM    View the profile of Avalar 
Vanity was a bit annoyed at the sudden change in tasks. She had just returned to the Vast Empire, barely remembering how to fly the normal TIE Fighters in the first place, and now here they were learning to fly an X-Wing. Though the news would make any other person happy, it ticked her off. Yes, there was a certain joy to disguising one’s self as the enemy, and she knew that joy, but at the same time she was… nervous. The simulation might be, well, a simulation, but this was in preparation for real life. This was not some joke.

As Cayden briefed them on their mission in the simulation, she felt herself beginning to panic. Then she scolded herself for feeling that way in the first place. You are a pilot of the Vast Empire. You’ve flown fighters before. This is not any different from anything else. It’s just a fighter that looks different and has a different name. If you succumb to fear, you will die. And you don’t want to die. You have a reason to live. At this last thought, Vanity met eyes with Cayden. This had been the first time since she could remember that meaning had entered her life. Yes, she realized that her life wasn’t as bad off as others. In the back of her mind, she had always known that. Even though she had trouble getting along with others, and even though she believed that people couldn’t change, she was beginning to realize that there had to be some reason she was alive. Korinth had taught her that much.

Korinth…

"Now... let's show them how real pilots fly!" and at this last point, Vanity immediately snapped to attention. Cayden and Maroy began climbing into their respective simulators. Avalar hesitated and then made her way to the one marked as hers. She situated herself inside the cockpit and looked around. It was amazing exactly how much of a difference there was between a TIE and an X-Wing. Vanity began touching the controls, familiarizing herself with the differences. The visibility in the X-Wing was much greater than that of the TIE. Pretty much all of the controls were directly in front of her.

“Well, isn’t this going to be fun?”

The simulation began to start up. Avalar strapped herself in as the simulation blinked to life. They were in a hangar that reminded her of another simulation she had done before. No matter though, Vanity began messing with the buttons, searching for the basics to get her up in the air.

“Regents 2, requesting to launch.”

“Roger that Regents 2. Disengaging docking clamps now.”

With that, Vanity flicked the X-Wing to life. She began to ease the fighter out of the hangar and into space.

“Regents Squadron this is Regents Lead. We’re heading down into Beggar's Canyon on Tatooine.” Vanity silently followed Cayden down towards the planet. Once the squadron had made it through the atmosphere Cayden came back on the com, “Alright Regents Squadron, take some time to get used to the controls. Practice basic maneuvers, and keep your eyes peeled. Who knows what enemies may be lurking around.”

Once again, Vanity didn’t answer. Instead she pulled out of formation before Cayden was even done speaking. She’d do just fine learning on her own, and she didn’t need to be told twice that the simulation was for flying practice. As she began to test the X-Wing’s speed, she watched her computer, amused as the blips went further and further away from her.

Avalar began to practice flying, all the while thinking to herself. Something was bothering her again. It wasn’t just the mission ahead though that was bothering her as well. No, there was something else that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Vanity pulled into a vertical reverse. The unsettling feeling of flying straight up and then shooting back down made her think harder somehow. There was one constant in the equation. She could place her finger on it now.

The realization helped to clear her head a bit. Vanity glanced back at the computer to see… more blips than she remembered. Had that much time really passed?

“Regents Lead, enemies approaching!”

OOC:
WC: 702
Though it felt like I wrote much more than this considering it took several hours. Not exactly my most exemplary of posts, but it'll do for the time limit.
FM/LCW Avalar/A-2/S:153 Regents/W:52 Javelin/ICF-II Chrome Fox/TF:R/2Flt/SFC/VEN/VE
Amacuse
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Imperial Templar

 
Amacuse
 
[VE-NAVY] Master Chief Petty Officer
 
Post Number:  617
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  RE: Regents: Behind Enemy Lines
March 23, 2011 1:48:20 PM    View the profile of Amacuse 
Cayden grabbed the central yoke and smiled.  So this is what it feels like to be on the other side of this thing?  Interesting... he thought as he felt the hum of the fighter as it lifted off the hangar deck.

He let his hands navigate the dash as the ship piloted itself to the planet below.  Weapons control here... Shields here... hyperdrive... ohhh... hyperdrive, here... astromech droid speech thing there... IFF here... torpedo count there... thrust pedals down there... yep... definitely not build by Seinar Fleet Systems... he thought as he touched every control like a 5-year old kid who just got a brand new toy.  "Regents Squadron this is Regents Lead. We’re heading down into Beggar's Canyon on Tatooine."

He started to perform basic flight maneuvers when he started to see the squadron loosen up the formation.  “Alright Regents Squadron, take some time to get used to the controls. Practice basic maneuvers, and keep your eyes peeled. Who knows what enemies may be lurking around," he said, smiling.  "Also, feel free to perform basic flight maneuvers... we need to be able to fly like the Reshies when we hit Giju."

He started to go up into an immelman when Vanity came over the comm.

[[Regents Lead, enemies approaching!]] he heard Vanity say over the comm.

"Regent 2, check your IFF.  I'm reading only 12 friendlies... and get back into formation," Cayden said, tapping his IFF monitor.

[[Regent 2 moving to intercept approaching hostiles.]]

"Damnit Vanity, return to the squadron immediately!" he yelled, checking his IFF again.  "Maroy, you're in command.  I'm going to get our little rebellious pilot back into formation."

[[Roger that, sir.]]

Cayden pulled his fighter towards Vanity's direction, when several large turbolaser blasts crossed his fighter's nose, almost ending his run there.  "Son of a kath hound!  Where in blazes did that come from?" he yelled into the comm.  Cayden rechecked his IFF.  "Regents Squadron, on me.  We have some Reshies to kill.  Two squadrons and one CR-90.  We're going in ot!"

The squadron raced to where Vanity was engaging the Reshie squadrons, when the illusive CR-90 came flying out of the canyon laser cannons blasting at the approaching Regents.

[[Regents, pull up!]] he heard Maroy yell.

Cayden flew his fighter underneath the Corellian Corvette, taking note of a particular symbol on the starboard side of the ship.  No... it can't be...

[[Hostile unidentified X-Wing squadron, this is Captain Rostov of the HMIC Pelican.  Surrender, or be destroyed.]]

Cayden sat in shock as several A-Wings crossed his viewport.  The Pelican?!?  Why did the computer put Onderonian forces in the simulation and not New Republic? he thought, pressing several keys on the console.  "Computer, run diognostic on simultion.  Look for tampering with program software."

"I'm sorry, Master Chief, but the program has not been tampered with in any way.  It is as it was originally programmed," the computer said after taking several seconds to go through the program files.

"But I'm fighting Onderonians, not Reshies," he said, confused.

"The program creates a neural interface with one random pilot in order to create a scenario that will challenge all," it said again.

"So, naturally, you chose the unstable person as the template for the scenario... just great..." he said, shutting the computer interface off.  "Regents, listen up!  We're engaging Onderonian Forces.  The computer has decided it's be funny if we chose me as the template for the scenario.  Hit them hard, and hit them fast.  These pilots are trained to never give up, even when they're only one blast away from death.  They'll give their lives for their cause.  Do not fail me, Regents... this is just a simulation, after all..."

[[Onderonians?  Aren't we supposed to be training against Reshie pilots, sir?]] Maroy asked, surprised at the new information.

"Indeed we are, Maroy... indeed we are," he said, turning his fighter around and firing on the CR-90's shield generator.  He looked behind him and saw two A-Wings on his tail.

[[Regent Lead, this is Regent 6.  I'm coming to assist.]] Sarah said, as if she could read his mind.

"Thanks, Sarah.  I'll try to stay alive until you get here.  Vanity, status report?" he asked, worried for Vanity's safety... both mentally and emotionally.

OOC:
WC: 706

Man, am I good or what?

Avvie, you're up!  Try not to shoot me down this time...
Master Chief Petty Officer Cayden "Amacuse" Tavers

Squadron Commander of 153rd Vast Imp. Fighter Squadron Regents

SC/MCPO Amacuse/A-1/S:153 Regents/W:58 Javelin/ICF-II Chrome Fox/TF:R/2FL/SFC/VEN/VE (=AE=) (=*SAE*=) [MC:2] [LSM] [GCM] [CBV]
[This message has been edited by Amacuse (edited March 23, 2011 2:37:49 PM)]
[This message has been edited by Amacuse (edited March 24, 2011 10:55:21 AM)]
Avalar
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  RE: Regents: Behind Enemy Lines
March 23, 2011 7:22:01 PM    View the profile of Avalar 
Vanity had sighted them first. She wanted to be the first one in the heat of things. Then Cayden came on the com.

"Regent 2, check your IFF.  I'm reading only 12 friendlies... and get back into formation.” She was taken aback. 12 friendlies?! There were definitely hostiles in the area. It was a simulation, and he had already forewarned them of Reshies. How could Cayden have missed them? She wasn’t born yesterday.

“Regent 2 moving to intercept approaching hostiles.” Vanity spoke as she flew into the fray. She pushed her fighter to intercept the X-Wing squadron, dual firing as she broke into their formation. Quickly, she locked onto one of the fighters and began to follow him.

As she focused on the task at hand, she heard Cayden over the com, “Damnit Vanity, return to the squadron immediately! Maroy, you're in command.  I'm going to get our little rebellious pilot back into formation." Rebellious pilot? I’m not going to sit there when the enemy is upon us! Cayden’s comment caused Vanity to begin to fly recklessly.

Avalar followed the X-Wing into the canyon. She knew she had to be careful, but she had complete confidence in her abilities with the fighter now. Besides, the enemy was an X-Wing too. Anything it could do, she could do too. This was a game now. Whoever wasn’t paying attention would surely be smashed into the canyon walls. Even so, Vanity played with fire.

As Vanity barreled through the canyon, and, finally, shot down her prey, she caught some of the chatter on the com, “Regents, listen up!  We're engaging Onderonian Forces.  The computer has decided it'd be funny if we chose me as the template for the scenario.  Hit them hard, and hit them fast.  These pilots are trained to never give up, even when they're only one blast away from death.  They'll give their lives for their cause.  Do not fail me, Regents... this is just a simulation, after all...” Suddenly Vanity felt herself freeze. Onderonian?! That means I just shot…

The canyon wall was fast approaching. Vanity snapped back to reality and threw the yoke just in time to clear the wall. She shot back into the sky and began to reorient herself towards the dogfight.

“Onderonians?  Aren't we supposed to be training against Reshie pilots, sir?” My question exactly. Why are we fighting Onderonians?!

"Indeed we are, Maroy... indeed we are,” What kind of answer was that? Vanity became lost in thought. I was born on that planet. Why in the world would we be fighting them of all people? I know this is a simulation… a blast from behind her broke her thoughts. Vanity began maneuvering herself away from the fight. She looked down at her computer. An A-Wing had decided to make her its new project.

“Regent Lead, this is Regent 4.  I'm coming to assist.” The com still lived as Vanity began her trip with the A-Wing. She tried to lead it down into the canyon, just like the X-Wing before had done, but suddenly another X-Wing appeared in front of her. Vanity swerved, avoiding an almost collision, “What in the world was that about? Trying to kill both of us?!” she said off-com. Now she was heading in another direction entirely. Unfortunately, that direction was straight towards the CR-90.

“Vanity, status report?" she heard Cayden say. But her mind wasn’t focused on the com anymore. Now she was flying around the CR-90 which was firing at her. Holy hell! How’d I manage this one? Vanity began trying to fly away, the A-Wing still shooting at her from behind. A couple of the shots connected, and Vanity hurriedly raised her shields just as another X-Wing—for all she knew it could have been the same one—came at her again. She began to dive away in order to avoid a collision, but even though one enemy was gone, the CR-90 was still ever present.

The maneuver had caused Vanity to come too close to the CR-90 for her own comfort. The turrets began firing upon her, connecting several times. Just as she was being shot Cayden came over the com again, “Vanity! What’s your status?!” there was worry in his voice now.

“I’m getting hit up over here! My shields are minimal, and wings are damaged!” Vanity yelled over the chaos, “Cayden, they’re drawing me close to the CR-90. I don’t know how to get out of this!” it was the closest she had ever come to asking him, of all people—or anyone for that matter—for help, but she knew that if she didn’t get someone over to help her, she wouldn’t be “alive” much longer.

“I’m coming, Regent 2! Hang in there!” she had never heard him sound quite as concerned before. But that was not something she could focus on right now. All around her was chaos. The turrets constantly fired on her. She directed all of her attention to navigating around the surface of the ship for every time she tried to get away, one little X-Wing would come in and push back up against the wall.

“I’m getting tired of this game!” The longer that the game continued, the angrier she became. Now she was infuriated. “I’m going to ram right into you! I swear!” and with that, Vanity banked away from the CR-90. As it had every other time, the X-Wing came back, but this time Vanity began quad firing at him instead. I don’t care if you’re Onderonian or not! I’m done with you! The two fighters came within seconds of colliding when Vanity finally hit her mark. The enemy fighter exploded and she shot past it, trying to avoid as much of the debris as possible. As she looked down at her computer to see if the A-Wing was still there, she noticed it was gone, and in its place was someone familiar.

“At least that wasn’t me this time.”

“Cayden—”

“We’ll save the talking for later. Right now, let’s go finish this mission, as a team,” there was a hint of scolding in his voice, or maybe that was just her own thoughts. After all, she had disobeyed his direct orders. If he had followed them in the first place, the whole situation would not have even happened.

“Yes, sir.” Vanity replied reluctantly and dejectedly. She followed him back to where the rest of the squadron was. With Cayden’s permission, Vanity shot off to help Maroy shake off a X-Wing she had managed to pull up. Now used to the way the X-Wing flew, she was able to shoot it down easily.

Soon there was only the CR-90 and a fighter or two to take care of. Vanity sighed to herself. At least she didn’t shoot down her flight lead, and at least she had managed to make it through this far. This was the best simulation that she had done ever before. Period. Maybe she was learning something after all. Or maybe she had learned nothing at all.

Either way, there were still a couple enemies to take down, “What’s the plan Regent Lead?”


OOC:
WC: 1,190

See? Vanity is capable of shooting the right people. Your turn to wrap this up Amacuse.
FM/LCW Avalar/A-2/S:153 Regents/W:52 Javelin/ICF-II Chrome Fox/TF:R/2Flt/SFC/VEN/VE
Amacuse
ComNet Member
Imperial Templar

 
Amacuse
 
[VE-NAVY] Master Chief Petty Officer
 
Post Number:  628
Total Posts:  1047
Joined:  Feb 2010
Status:  Offline
  RE: Regents: Behind Enemy Lines
March 24, 2011 11:51:37 AM    View the profile of Amacuse 
Sarah smiled as the fighters lifted off from the hangar.  I haven't flown an X-Wing in... well, several years now she thought, reflecting on her prior service with the Rebel Alliance.

Sarah was a defector from the Rebellion, joining the Vast Empire a few years back when the goals of the Rebellion, in her opinion, "turned from liberation to galactic domination."  After she made that discovery, she resigned her position in the Rebel fleet, and left. NR space.

Coruscant - New Republic Naval Command - 4 years ago

Sarah walked into her CO's office, frowning when she saw the office was empty.  She walked over to the desk and sat down in her commander's chair, fingering a datapad in her hands.

She was about to leave when her CO, a captain, walked in.  She immediately stood up and saluted.

"Ms. Goldwater, how may I help you today?" he asked, smirking.

"Sir... I've come to submit my resignation," she said, holding out the datapad.

The captain took it and looked it over.  "I don't accept, Sarah.  You're the finest field medic I have, not to mention a pretty good pilot to boot.  We need you now, more than ever.  The Empire is regrouping for another attempt at retaking Coruscant.  We need each and every pilot available now more than ever."

Sarah stared at him, feeling pity for them all.  Then, her face grew cold, and she stood up.  "I quit, Captain.  End of story."  And with that, she walked out of her CO's office, never looking back once.

Simulation - Tatooine - Beggar's Canyon - Present Day

She flew her fighter past several X-Wings as she fired several laser cannon blasts into the A-Wing in front of her.  The poor shielding of the craft failed, and the lasers tore the little fighter into pieces.

[[Hostile unidentified X-Wing squadron, this is Captain Rostov of the HMIC Pelican.  Surrender, or be destroyed.]]

HMIC Pelican?!?  That's not New Republic... she thought to herself, locking on to another A-Wing.

[[Regents, listen up!  We're engaging Onderonian Forces.  The computer has decided it's be funny if we chose me as the template for the scenario.  Hit them hard, and hit them fast.  These pilots are trained to never give up, even when they're only one blast away from death.  They'll give their lives for their cause.  Do not fail me, Regents... this is just a simulation, after all...]]

[[Onderonians?  Aren't we supposed to be training against Reshie pilots, sir?]] Maroy asked over the comm.

Good question, Maroy... what happened to the New Republic scenario?

[[Indeed we are, Maroy... indeed we are...]] OKay... not what I needed... she thought, blasting the A-Wing in front of her to pieces again.

She was about to lock on to a third, when several laser blasts started coming from her rear.

[[Regent 6, this is Regent 5.  Looks like you have a zealot following you... shall I dispose of it?]]

"Negative, Beta Lead.  I have plans for this one..." she said, setting her course for Cayden's fighter.  "Regent Lead, this is Regent 6.  I'm coming to assist."

[[Thanks, Sarah.  I'll try to stay alive until you get here.  Vanity, status report?]]

Great... no report from Vanity... she thought, setting herself up behind the A-Wings on her SC's tail.  The cross behind her began firing at her again, but this time she barrel-rolled out of the way, allowing the blasts meant for her to tear the A-Wings to pieces.

[[Thanks, Sarah.  I'm clear now... oh buggar, that X-Wing just got on... wait, never mind.]]

She smiled as she watched the X-Wing crash into the HMIC Pelican.  "That's a pretty nice burn mark on your hull, Onderonian ship.  Where'd ya get it?  Friendly fire?" she asked, laughing.  She broadcasted her message on the general frequency, enabling the Pelican to pick it up.

[[Sarah, don't antagonize the hornet's nest.]] She heard Regent 5 say.

"Yes ma'am.  Proceeding to next target," she said, moving to follow another X-Wing.

[[What’s the plan Regent Lead?]]

OOC:
Now, to finish this simulation.  Time to be Cayden.


“Vanity! What’s your status?!” Cayden said into the comm, leting his emotions take control for a split second.

[[’m getting hit up over here! My shields are minimal, and wings are damaged!  Cayden, they’re drawing me close to the CR-90. I don’t know how to get out of this!]]

Cayden dropped the target lock he had on the A-Wing in front of him, swerved his fighter around, and said "I’m coming, Regent 2! Hang in there!"

Cayden raced to where Vanity was dog-fighting with a lone X-Wing.  He just got locked-on to it when Vanity vaped it seconds before colliding with it.  “At least that wasn’t me this time," he said, grinning when he saw Vanity's fighter right in front of him.

[[Cayden-]]

"We’ll save the talking for later. Right now, let’s go finish this mission, as a team," he said, his tone getting slightly darker, but the feeling of pride he felt for her... Is it pride?  Or is it something else? he wondered, flying back towards the squadron.

[[Yes, sir.]] She sounds depressed... gonna fix that later, I will he thought, watching his IFF to ensure she didn't break away.

3 fighters, and that CR-90.  Heh... only one thing to do... he thought, checking his torpedo count.  Full... I'm one greedy son of a kath hound.

[[What's the plan, Regent Lead?]]

"Regents, on my six!  Check torpedo count, and follow me!  I'm transmitting targets on that CR-90 for you to hit with your torpedoes.  Hit them hard, hit them fast.  If we do this right, it'll go down hard!" he said, turning his fighter back around to hit the Corvette.

Regents Squadron formed up into a V-Formation behind Cayden's fighter, and flew towards the Corellian Corvette.  They accelerated hard, pushing the fighter to it's limits, trying to reach the Corvette faster.  When each fighter flew over near the CR-90, it launched all of it's torpedoes into the designated targets

(Bridge, Engines, Weapons, Escape Pods, Life-Support, Shields)

Cayden was first, and he hit the Shields hard, Disabling them with ease.  Well... there's my payload he thought, watching the rest of the squadron perform the attack.

Vanity and Maroy were up next, both firing on the Engines.  Their combined torpedoes nearly shut the engines out of commission.  Regent 4 came up the rear and closed the hole, by placing her's right into the Engines, shutting down their forward thrust.

Not bad... for a pair of rookies and one vet. he thought, smiling.

Regents 5 and 6 came up next, and hit the Weapons Control hard, knocking it out with a combo of torpedoes and laser cannon fire.

The remainder of the Squadron hit the Bridge, Life-Support, and Escape Pods hard, knocking them out of commission for good.

Cayden watched as the Corvette crashed into the canyon, a nice-sized explosion erupting from the site quickly there-after.

"Beta and Gamma Flights, intercept the remaining fighters.  Alpha Flight, on me.  I want to fly over the wreckage," he said, taking the Rebel fighter down into the canyon.

They flew over the crashed Corvette, skirting the large plume of smoke.

[[Sir... they're all dead here.]] he heard Vanity say.

"Indeed they are, Vanity..." Cayden replied complacently.

[[Then why are we still here?]] she asked.

"I want to see what my foolish desire for liberty has caused..." he said, a tear running down his face.

[[And what is that, sir?]]

He was about to answer, then the timer started buzzing.  "Alright Regents, good work... report to the readiness room, and I'll be along shortly... and Vanity?  I want to see you in my office," he said, ending the simulation.

He climbed out of the simulator and waited for everyone else to clear the deck.  When he was sure no one was left, he closed it behind him and proceeded to his office.

Inside, he found Vanity sitting in the chair in front of his desk, not noticing... or refusing to notice... her Squadron Commander walk in.

He sat down, shuffled a few papers to the side, and asked "Vanity... what the hell happened?"

She sat there, either complacently or thinking, but not quick enough for Cayden.

"I'll tell you what happened: you disobeyed my orders to stay with the Squadron.  Were that actual combat, we'd all be dead now.  Now, I know you have it out to kill me... and I'm actually surprised you've been rather civil with me lately, but regardless of your feelings toward me, this job needs to get done without a hitch.  One kink, and we're dead.  I don't really care for dying, as long as I die for a just cause... I just... don't disobey my orders again, alright?"

"Yes, sir..." she said, almost absentmindedly.

"Good... now... before we rejoin the rest of the squadron, I need to clarify something.  What are your feelings towards me?" he asked.

OOC:
WC: 1484

...

Avalar... you can answer that question...

Ellesmere... post from the end of the simulation to the readiness room.  Whatever is entailed there is entirely up to you.

Oh yeah, number one rule here: have fun! 
Master Chief Petty Officer Cayden "Amacuse" Tavers

Squadron Commander of 153rd Vast Imp. Fighter Squadron Regents

SC/MCPO Amacuse/A-1/S:153 Regents/W:58 Javelin/ICF-II Chrome Fox/TF:R/2FL/SFC/VEN/VE (=AE=) (=*SAE*=) [MC:2] [LSM] [GCM] [CBV]
Ellesmere
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  RE: Regents: Behind Enemy Lines
March 24, 2011 10:03:42 PM    View the profile of Ellesmere 
Ellesmere’s adrenaline was pumping. She still wasn’t used to flying a fighter and the whole fighting experience the Imperial Navy was giving her. She had been surprised in her capabilities as a rookie pilot and was satisfied with the things she had accomplished during this simulation. Her last simulation had ended with her ending up pulverized so this was very much an improvement though she had her Squadron as backup in this, which comforted her somewhat. They were all working as a team and teamwork is what she enjoyed best.

When the simulation had ended and she was standing on deck, she couldn’t wait for the actual mission to start. Her juices were flowing and she had a good feeling about the outcome, though she knew to not act too quickly on them. When they were dismissed from the simulation deck and she was headed to the ready room, her mind started to wander. She thought about her mother MaryAnn and her father Avery. She thought back to her days working with them in many repair shops and how they had felt when she announced she was going to join the Navy. I wonder how they’re doing now, if they are well… Shaking her head vigorously, she willed away those thoughts and started the deep breathing ritual she had adopted shortly before arriving here. It helped her focus and clear her mind, she couldn’t afford to think about family and friends just now; she had a mission to complete. All that could wait when she got back….

As she headed toward the readiness room she made a wrong turn and had to go back on her steps for a few minutes, she felt silly for having done the mistake but she figured she would know the route by heart as she went down there more often. After all, she had only just joined this Squadron and this was her very first mission with them, she didn’t really know much about them and she knew much less what they’re normal gear was since they were going in disguise this time around.  As she was doubling back for a second time in the past few minutes, she noticed some people were giving her odd looks.  Not minding them, she payed more attention to her surroundings and was soon on the right track. People can stare and point my way all they want, I don’t give a damn what they think

She soon reached the readiness room and upon entering the room found it to be almost empty. The only person who was there, she knew as Maroy. Taking a seat a respectful distance away, she silently surveyed the individual seated across from her before looking away and surveying the rest of the room. It looked somewhat bare with only the bare necessities present. As she patiently waited for everyone else to show up, she realised that she was starting to want some coffee or some other drink to calm her some more as her breathing exercises weren’t helping much and she was starting to itch for action, but at the same time she was nervous as hell though she made an effort for it not to show on the outside.

After a few minutes of waiting people started to walk in and she started to relax a little. Things were about to get started and not a moment too soon.

 
OOC:
WC: 570

It's not my best work but I find it a good start,things will improve as I get used to writing on the Navy side of things
FM/LCRW Ellesmere/A-4/S:153 Regents/W:58 Javelin/ICF II Chrome Fox /TF:R/2FL/SFC/VEN/VE
Avalar
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  RE: Regents: Behind Enemy Lines
March 25, 2011 9:11:48 AM    View the profile of Avalar 
Vanity's heart seemed to skip a beat. Her mouth went dry and she was having trouble trying to get out an answer at all. He had just asked her... about her feelings. What do I even feel anymore? I set out to kill him, to hurt him, but I can't bring myself to do it. I couldn't the other times when I had the chance, and I can't now. What is wrong with me? She sat there in silence, trying to come to some conclusion, but she found nothing. Nothing at all.

"Vanity? It's just me. Forget about rank... forget about who I am in the military... it's just me here, your friend," he said, smiling softly.

"Friend?" she shook her head, "I don't know the definition of that word. The only person that ever called me 'friend' betrayed me and left me." she clenched her fists and looked away from Cayden.

"Vanity... I don't know who hurt you, but I can promise you that I won't... I swore never to betray anyone I cared about again..." he said solemnly, opening a drawer and pulling out a picture frame. A tear fell when he looked at the picture.

"Wait, what do you mean by that?" Vanity suddenly looked back at him, "Cayden...?"

Cayden sighed and put the photo down on the desk. "Over a year ago, I left Onderon because of political issues resulting in my expulsion from the Royal Naval Academy. I not only left Onderon, but I also left my fiancée, Ashley. I, again, betrayed her by allowing the creation of a subconscious projection of her on a mission for the Empire. I betrayed her one last time several months ago by not protecting her. She died on Csilla while I was away on a personal mission. She died serving Bimmiel... something I can't seem to accomplish lately..." Cayden said, choking on his words. "Surely you must have heard about Epsilon... about how I foolishly flew into a flock of X-Wings... I was given the Cross of Bravery for that! I was awarded for a suicide attempt, Vanity! A suicide attempt! I couldn't save my father... I couldn't save my fiancée... I can't even kill myself..."

The sudden confession made Vanity sit a bit straighter in her seat. It was one of those times when she was reminded of Korinth's words. Your story isn’t the worst in the world you know. There are many people who have gone through heck and back again. There are many people even here who have stories worse than yours. She knew it to be true, but she had never expected Cayden to come out so openly and admit that he was no better than she was. Suddenly they seemed as if they were on the same level. He wasn't just an Onderonian prince. He was a person who had gone through the hell of life. "I...... I'm sorry....." was all she could even think to say. But there was one part of the story that bothered her though she place what it was. "You..... you had a fiancée?"

Cayden smirked, feeling a slight pain in his chest. "Yes, I did... her name was Ashley Clearwater. We were the best of friends growing up... then, one day four years ago, we just... hooked up. And we've been together ever since. The whole family loved her... hell, we were going to originally be married on the threshold of the Royal Palace. She was my wingman in the Academy, during Onderonian Liberation... through life itself. And I failed her... I failed Onderon... I failed Bimmiel... hell, I'm probably failing the Vast Empire..." he said, pulling his knife off his hip. He placed it on the desk, and pushed it towards Vanity. "Here's your chance to kill me..."

That did it for her. She jumped up from her seat, grabbed the knife, and threw it at the wall behind Cayden, "You know what?! I understand depression! I understand what it means to want to die! I understand how it is to go through what feels like hell! No I cannot say that I have gone through everything that you have because I haven't! But you know what?! I have found that there is a reason to live! We have a purpose even if doesn't seem obvious now!" she slammed her fists on the desk, "I hate people. My mother died as well as my unborn brother. My father neglected me thereafter and soon disappeared. I was sent to an orphanage that practically abused me! I eventually ended up on Nar Shaddaa where terrible things were done to me! I found my father and killed him! I shot him point blank!" at this last statement Vanity took a breath. She stared at the desk that Cayden was sitting at and eventually fell back into the chair she was sitting in before. "I understand wanting to die Cayden. I hate people. I don't believe that people change. But I've come to realize that I'm alive for some reason," her eyes traveled back up to Cayden's, "You serve the Vast Empire. What you do here is good. I won't tolerate this kind of behavior from you regardless of how highly you're ranked. You know why I won't? Because I've seen the Cayden that was happy before. I know you have a life to live that is worth living. So stop whining and get it into gear or else you won't be serving our Squadron any better than I do by disobeying your direct orders."

Cayden stared at her, stunned. Then, he said "Vanity... I'm sorry... I haven't let myself feel the full-effect this had on me... I've been too preoccupied with the war against Onderon, and my job here, I haven't taken any time for myself..." He grabbed Vanity's hand and held it tight.

Vanity felt the rage in her die down when Cayden grabbed her hand. She felt her cheeks get hot, and suddenly her thoughts from when she was flying alone came back to her. The thing that had been bothering her ever since she came back....

"Just... promise me you'll stay alive. Promise me that." she couldn't look at him. She couldn't be vulnerable. It just wasn't allowed. Not her. Someone else. But not her.

Cayden cocked his head, then smiled. "Vanity, I promise. I'l stay alive. But, I cannot guarantee the safety of Emperor Moore... next time I see him... he dies. That's it. He dies. End of story," he said, standing up. As he stood up, his datapad went off. He checked it, then his face grew darker. "Come on, Vanity... change of plans... we're going to the readiness room."

"Yes, sir." Vanity said and stood as well. But instead of leaving the room, she approached him. Carefully she reached up and kissed his cheek, her heart racing at full speed. Her brain was denying the action. It was denying her feelings. But for once she decided to let her heart win out. "We can get through this. Both of us," she whispered. Then she smiled, something that was very rare. "Our reign, their pain. Let's do this."

OOC:
WC: 1,194
This is what happens when Amacuse and I collaborate. I know it gets cheesy and a bit mushy right at the end, but oh well. Did you see it coming?
FM/LCW Avalar/A-2/S:153 Regents/W:52 Javelin/ICF-II Chrome Fox/TF:R/2Flt/SFC/VEN/VE
Amacuse
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  RE: Regents: Behind Enemy Lines
March 25, 2011 6:00:12 PM    View the profile of Amacuse 
Cayden's brain simply shut down.  What... in... blazes... just... happened? he asked himself.  He tried to rationally come to an explanation, but couldn't come up with anything.  Here's a girl who's tried to kill you... multiple times... and she just kissed you?  Yep... I'm a dead man...

Cayden's face turned a new shade of red... it was so new, it doesn't have a name in the galactic color database (that has, like... 45 billion different shades of red name and catalogued).  He smiled and said "Yes, we can do this... together."

The pair of pilots walked out of the office and went to the readiness room.

When Cayden walked in, he was simply beaming with new-found joy... something he didn't think possible in this place.

"Regents... we have a slight change of plans..." he started, grinning.  "FLEETCOM has decided to play a simple mind game with us, those crazy jack wagons... Anyway, we're not going to Giju..."  Groans eminated from the squadron, and he just simply smiled again.  "Nope... instead, we're going to the Belgaroth System, to hit the rather small shipyards there.  However, security is heightened here than at Giju, due to some local disturbance... something about the facilities on the surface, nothing to concern us.  It just makes our job more fun, because not only do we have to get in there to destroy this Array, but we have to be believable too.  We have to be a Reshie X-Wing squadron."

"But how?" Sarah asked.

"By letting our emotions govern how we do things.  If we let our hearts control our actions, we will be able to accomplish this mission," he said, looking at Vaniy and smiling.  "Suit up, Regents!  We depart within the hour!  Dismissed!"

Captured and Impounded Craft Hangar - X-Wing Section - 1 hour later

Cayden sat in the cockpit of his fighter, running over the controls one last time before departure.  Throttle is here... why here?  Doesn't make sense... Weapons are here?  Interesting... I need to sit in fighters more often... he thought, playing with the throttle.

He looked up and saw Vanity walking to the fighter next to his, and smiled.  I can't seriously... but... she tried to kill me... twice!  but... why hasn't Cayla butted in? he asked himself, letting the throttle go.

He grabbed his communicator and said "All Regents, sound off!  We have the green light to go!"

[[Regent 2 on stand-by]]

[[Regent 3 on Stand-by]]

[[Regent 4 on stand-by]]

[[Regent 5 on Stand-by]]

[[Regent 6 on stand-by]]

[[Regent 7 on Stand-by]]

[[Regent 8 on stand-by]]

[[Regent 9 on stand-by]]

[[Regent 10 on Stand-by]]

[[Regent 11 on stand-by]]

[[Regent 12 on Stand-by]]

"Alright... Let's move out!"  Cayden flipped on the main power, and piloted the fighter out of the hangar.  He rested his hand on the throttle, then with a small grin, he pushed forward, accelerating the X-Wing out of the atmosphere.

When he was clear, he checked his IFF and saw that the remainder of the squadron managed to keep up with him.  "Set course for the Belgaroth System, Regents.  We jump on my command."  He heard the affirmative from the squadron and smiled.  "I'm going to take this time to say a few words: today, we show our enemies that we can not only fly Imperial craft, but their's as well.  Today, we show them that even in their security zones, we can hit them hard.  Today, they will learn why Regents Squadron is to be feared!  Today is the day that they hear us say 'Our Reign, Your Pain!'"

With war-cries and cheers in his headset, he smiled and said "Regents, on my command!  We're going behind enemy lines!"

He engaged the hyperdrive, propelling the squadron into hyperspace bound for Belgaroth.

OOC:
WC: 624

Regents, this is your Commander speaking.  We will reach Belgaroth at 1900 (MST) today.  If you are going to get a CD post up before we get to Belgaroth tonight, you have 3 hours to do so.  Good luck.

MCPO Amacuse, out.
Master Chief Petty Officer Cayden "Amacuse" Tavers

Squadron Commander of 153rd Vast Imp. Fighter Squadron Regents

SC/MCPO Amacuse/A-1/S:153 Regents/W:58 Javelin/ICF-II Chrome Fox/TF:R/2FL/SFC/VEN/VE (=AE=) (=*SAE*=) [MC:2] [LSM] [GCM] [CBV]
[This message has been edited by Amacuse (edited March 25, 2011 6:03:55 PM)]
Avalar
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  RE: Regents: Behind Enemy Lines
March 25, 2011 9:58:04 PM    View the profile of Avalar 
Why? Why in the world did you do that? What compelled you to do that? He’s the man you’re trying to kill and you KISS HIM?! Vanity tried to keep her face as blank as possible as she walked with Cayden to the readiness room. How can you even love someone? Every person you’ve ever known as betrayed you and taken advantage of you. Just look at Korinth. Look at what he did to you! As her mind began replaying the scenes on Onderon, she felt herself go numb. All of her emotions washed away as Cayden talked. Even as he told them they weren’t going to Giju, she didn’t react. Even when he smiled at her, she didn’t react. There was nothing that she could react to. Her emotions had decided to temporarily stop.

And that was how she was even as they prepared and then left for the hangar. As she and the others of Regents entered, she stopped in the entrance. Her eyes gazed around and suddenly the fact that they were going on a mission made her come out of her daze. Behind her she heard the voice of someone new.

“You ok?”

Vanity turned to see the new squadron member, Michele.

“Yeah. It’s nothing.” She replied rather abruptly. The girl seemed slightly taken aback, but she nodded and left anyway. She’s probably one of the only ones of the squadron who hasn’t heard about me from the others who knew me before. If she had, she probably wouldn’t have talked to me. Vanity sighed, and then continued to her fighter.

She strapped herself in, feeling the X-Wing controls once again. It’s amazing how different it is. So strange. I like the TIEs better. As she began messing around, re-familiarizing herself with how things felt in the simulation, Cayden’s voice came over the com.

“All Regents, sound off!  We have the green light to go!”

“Regent 2 on stand-by.” She started. And quickly the sound off went down the line. All the while she still thought about Cayden. He seems so happy now… maybe this is part of my purpose. I guess I’ll have to see.

"Alright... Let's move out!" Cayden called and soon they were all lifting off out of the hangar. After a bit, Cayden began speaking again.

"Set course for the Belgaroth System, Regents.  We jump on my command." Vanity confirmed and then kept listening, "I'm going to take this time to say a few words: today, we show our enemies that we can not only fly Imperial craft, but their's as well.  Today, we show them that even in their security zones, we can hit them hard.  Today, they will learn why Regents Squadron is to be feared!  Today is the day that they hear us say 'Our Reign, Your Pain!'"

Her mind began to refocus itself to the task at hand, and, with pride for Regents, joined in with the war cries, "Regents, on my command!  We're going behind enemy lines!" and as soon as Cayden engaged the hyperdrive, she did too.

As they flew, Vanity grabbed a private com link to Cayden. “Regent 2 to MCPO Tavers, sir.”

“Yes, Regent 2?” The formality was sickening to her, but she felt so awkward that it seemed like the best thing to do.

“I just wanted to say… about earlier…” here she paused.

“You mean our discussion in my office?”

“Yes… well…” Vanity was trying to find the words to say. What was she even trying to say in the first place? Why did she even contact him? “Sir, I do apologize. I don’t know what came over me—”

“Vanity, it’s not like you to be formal.”

“I know… I just…” and here she decided to be honest, “I’m very confused. I’m very lost. I know I tried to kill you more than once, and then I went and did what I did. Believe me, I only know about as much as you do. This feeling has been bothering me ever since we met again on Onderon. I’ve never felt this before… it’s strange and I don’t understand…” she sounded childish. She sounded like a kid who just discovered a new emotion. Everything that was coming out of her mouth was completely unlike herself. Always she had been Vanity who was emotionless and cold; The girl who had shot her father. But now, now things didn’t make sense.

“It’s ok. I’m here for you. I can help you.” Cayden’s voice was concerned and encouraging. There was silence over the com. Neither of them spoke, but then Cayden’s voice came back again, “And right now, we have a mission to focus on. We’ll figure things out when we get back, but right now, I need your all. Our Reign, their pain, as you reminded me.”

Vanity felt herself chuckle. “Yes. And by the way, just for the record, call me Vee.” That was the name Korinth had designated for her, but she didn’t care anymore. She would leave Korinth back on the main ship, but on this mission she was to be a hundred percent. She would give her all. Nothing that happened on Onderon or Nar Shaddaa existed anymore.

She was free… for now.

OOC:
WC: 872
Yay for being out of character and strange and stuff. XD
FM/LCW Avalar/A-2/S:153 Regents/W:52 Javelin/ICF-II Chrome Fox/TF:R/2Flt/SFC/VEN/VE
Amacuse
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  RE: Regents: Behind Enemy Lines
March 25, 2011 11:40:14 PM    View the profile of Amacuse 
"Alright Vee.  I'll see you on the other side," he said, smiling.

[[See ya on the other side.]]

Cayden flipped off the comm, and sat there, reflecting on his travels after... after, well... Ashley died...

Flashback - Onderon - 1 month ago

Cayden looked out the cockpit viewport of the Serenus as several Onderonian Security Officers boarded the ship.  He put his helmet on, secured it, and grabbed his rifle as he ran to the cargo hold.

"You the captain of this ship?" one of the Security Officers asked.

"Yes, that is correct.  Privateer Captain Cander Tarwin," Cayden said, handing the Onderonian officer his papers as proof.  "And here is my proof of ownership of the ship."

The officer looked over the papers, then handed them back, saying "Welcome to Onderon, Captain Tarwin.  Feel free to trade your corn meal in the Commercial District.  Also, take care to visit the National Museum of Imperial History, and learn about the triumphant rise of our beloved Emperor Moore from a simple commoner to an Onderonian War Hero."

Cayden looked at the man and said "Thank you, sir."

The officers left, and Cayden sighed.  I didn't think that would work... guess they're not too keen on intelligence on the security force... he thought, grabbing the controls for the hovercrate full of corn meal.  I'm going to sell this, then head to the Palace... wonder if I can get in there too...

Flashback - Onderonian Royal Palace - later that day

Cayden stopped in front of the main gates to the Palace District, whistling low as he saw the open gates and no guards present.  Either Moore is arrogant, stupid, or he's expecting me... I'm going to go with stupid, he thought, checking his rifle.  Full mag... hope I don't have to use it...

Cayden walked into the Palace, and noticed that few soldiers were around... in fact, the only people around were simple commoners!  Well, shoot me now... commoners in my palace!  Now, I'm going to kill him he thought, grabbing the handgrip of his rifle.  He navigated the Palace corridors as if he still lived there, then stopped in front of his old room.  He noticed that it was the only door not open, and he approached it.

Cayden touched the door, then smiled.  He pulled out a keycard and slid it into the access panel.  It glowed green, and the door slid open.  He walked in and saw that nothing had been touched since he left Onderon over a year ago.  Either no one really entered this room... or this is a trap...

Just as he thought that last part, a dozen Stormtroopers surrounded him.  Emperor Moore walked into the room from the balcony, grinning evilly, and said "Cayden, Cayden, Cayden... this was the most simple trap I could think of... and you fell for it... This is indeed, a grand day for Onderon."

Cayden smiled inside his helmet and said "I believe you are mistaken, Your Excellency.  I am Cander Tarwin, a Privateer Captain from the Corporate Sector Authority.  I-"

"Save it, General Tavers!  I know it's you!  You may have fooled the port officers, but you can't fool me!  I've embedded your voice into my head... I can't ever forget it.  Now, you will join your foolish father-"

"My father was not foolish!" Cayden yelled, pulling his rifle up and firing at the Emperor Moore.

The projectiles bounced off harmlessly, and Emperor Moore simply smiled.  "You cannot touch me, Cayden.  I have upgraded myself with a personal shield emitter," he said, laughing.  Kill him."

The Stormtroopers fired their blasters at Cayden, the bolts bouncing off Cayden's armor harmlessly.  He raised his own rifle and shot the three nearest troopers square in the chest.

The other soldiers ceased fire and took two steps back.

"Any other takers?" Cayden asked, looking from left to right, the light from the sun outside glinting off the visor of his helmet as he turned his head.  "No?  Good... now, if you excuse me, Your Excellency... I'm here to gather a few things..."  Cayden walked over to his desk and pressed a button located underneath it.  A small alpha-numeric pad popped out of the top, and Cayden input a code.

The pad glowed green, and was promptly replaced by a small, flat, rectangular box.  Cayden grabbed it, putting it underneath his arm as he slowly backed out of the room.  "Thank you, Emperor... we'll be seeing each other soon," he said, running out of the Palace the way he came.

Hyperspace - X-Wing Cockpit - present day

Cayden woke up when the ship jolted as it fell out of hyperspace.  Cayden checked the astrogation logs, and saw that they have arrived.

"Look alive, Kath Squadron.  We could be attacked at any moment," he said into his headset, grabbing the yoke.

He flew the fighter towards the shipyard when an unfamiliar voice broke the silence.

[[Approaching X-Wings.  You are in a restricted zone.  Identify yourselves, or be destroyed.]]

Charming, those reshies...  "This is 2nd Lieutenant Cander Tarwin, Squadron Commander of the 217th Kath Squadron.  I am transmitting ident. codes now," he said, pressing a few keys on his console.  Those codes had better work... else we're going to have company real soon...

Cayden's flight suit was starting to ctick to his skin when the Reshie Security Officer spoke again.  [[Lieutenant Tarwin, this is Captain Rostuko.  What system did you come from?]]

Cayden's heart rate spiked, causing him to lose focus for a moment.  Then, he took a deep breath and said "We just finished up with a scouting mission on the Codian Moon, and are stopping here to refuel.  Following refueling, we are to continue onwards to Coruscant to report our findings to the Lusankya."

Silence... the unbearable silence... floated in Cayden's cockpit, as he waited in anticipation for Captain Rostuko's reply.

[[Kath Squadron, you have been granted access to refueling stations on the auxillary refueling pads.  Access to the main shipyard is restricted due to faulty docking mechanisms in the fighter bays.  However, if your pilots need to rest a bit, they are more than welcome to use the shuttle service to reach the planet surface.]]

Cayden sighed, then said "Thank you, Captain.  Proceeding to Refueling Station Delta now."  Cayden switched the comm to the Regents Channel and said "Kath, listen up.  We're going to be landing at Refueling Station Delta to refuel.  Once there, we're going to use the shuttle services provided by the Reshies to land on the main shipyard.  That is our current objective.  Let's do this, Kath... we don't have much time left..."

OOC:
WC: 1102

Alright "Kath", listen up!

We need to get on that station, take one of those shuttles for our own purposes, and get onto the main shipyard.
Master Chief Petty Officer Cayden "Amacuse" Tavers

Squadron Commander of 153rd Vast Imp. Fighter Squadron Regents

SC/MCPO Amacuse/A-1/S:153 Regents/W:58 Javelin/ICF-II Chrome Fox/TF:R/2FL/SFC/VEN/VE (=AE=) (=*SAE*=) [MC:2] [LSM] [GCM] [CBV]
Amacuse
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  RE: Regents: Behind Enemy Lines
March 26, 2011 8:30:35 PM    View the profile of Amacuse 
Cayden landed his fighter on the refueling pad.  Several New

Republic engineers approached the fighter with a refueling

tube.  Showtime... he thought, opening the cockpit. 

He stood up and said "Make sure she's topped off.  I don't

want her dying out on the return journey to Coruscant."

"Yes sir," one of the engineers said.

Cayden climbed bown from his fighter and smiled when the fightr was fully refueled.  He pulled out a blaster and shot the two engineers. 

"I'm really sorry about this... but I have a mission to accomplish," he said, smiling.  He pulled out his communicator and said "Squadron, this is Kath 1.  Hangar secured.  Proceeing to command deck of the refueling station."

Cayden ran to the hangar door as the rest of Alpha Flight landed in the hangar.  He saw Vanity get out first, and smiled as she climbed down from her fighter.

Vanity looked at the bodies near Cayden's fighter and said "Couldn't let us in on the fun... sir?"

Cayden smiled and said "There'll be plenty more on the shipyard for us to play with, Vee.  Now, if you excuse me... I have to see the commander of this station about some poor engineers..."  Cayden gave a slight chuckle, then walked off the hangar.

Blaster held at low-ready, Cayden walked onto the command deck.  Several of the officers were working at the terminals, while one was standing in front of a hologram of the station.  Cayden raised his blaster and shot the commander in the back of his head.  The other officers turned around, drawing their blasters as well.

They were about to fire when Vanity came onto the command deck and shot the officers dead in the chest.

Cayden looked at her and said "Thank you, Vee."

Vanity looked at Cayden and said "You're welcome, sir."

Cayden walked over to one of the terminals and pressed several keys.  "There's a shuttle prepared to head to the shipyard in 35 minutes.  Vanity, get-  Vanity?"  Cayden turned around and saw that he was alone.  "Typical... she save me, then runs off to kill more..." he said, smiling wide.  He pulled out his communicator and said "Kath, listen up!  Alpha Flight, report to hangar bay bravo.  Beta and Gamma Flights, land and assume the duties here on station.  I don't want the Reshies thinking we've taken one of their refueling stations... yet.  Also... clean up any Reshies Vanity leaves behind.  Shouldn't be too many."

Cayden ran to the turbolift and descended to hangar bay bravo.  He walked onto the deck and saw three dead engineers lying next to the shuttle.  "Vanity... you are one blood-thirsty individual."

Vanity came out of the shuttle, her knife dripping with the still-warm blood of the engineers.

"Yeah well, on Nar Shaddaa you don't exactly go around pretending everyone's your friend. Besides," her face suddenly became quite dark and scary, "I like the feel of the kill. It's satisfying." she took the blade in her hand and wiped the blood off onto the dead engineers' uniforms.

Cayden watched her and smiled. "You know... you're actually kind of cute when you're standing over your kill..." he said, smirking.

"Cute is not exactly a word I would ever expect to hear on a mission. We gonna keep standing here or what?" Vanity stood back up and sheathed the knife back into its place.

Cayden reached down and grabbed the ID tags off the bodies. "No... here come the others now..."

Maroy and Michele came running up, blasters drawn and held at the ready.

"Maroy, Michele... you're kind of late... heck, I was late for the action. Everyone on board. Maroy, you have the helm. Michele, go with her. Vanity... with me," he said, smiling. "We have a mission people! Let's get a move on!"

OOC:
WC: 630

That last 2 sentences says it all, Regents... I mean, Kath!

XD

Posting is good now... especially now!
Master Chief Petty Officer Cayden "Amacuse" Tavers

Squadron Commander of 153rd Vast Imp. Fighter Squadron Regents

SC/MCPO Amacuse/A-1/S:153 Regents/W:58 Javelin/ICF-II Chrome Fox/TF:R/2FL/SFC/VEN/VE (=AE=) (=*SAE*=) [MC:2] [LSM] [GCM] [CBV]
Avalar
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  RE: Regents: Behind Enemy Lines
March 27, 2011 10:41:10 AM    View the profile of Avalar 
All of them headed over to the ship they were to take and boarded. Vanity and Cayden headed towards the troop compartment of the Sentinel-class landing craft. Michele and Maroy headed off to control the ship.

Once inside, Vanity sat down, staring off into space. She thought about the mission ahead of them. The feel of the kill was coming back to her. It satisfied the hunger she didn't know she even had.
Cayden sat down across from her, holding his blaster in his hands. "Vanity... why didn't you kill me in my office when you had the chance?"

She looked up at him, then looked away. "You're wondering that now?" her eyes kept glancing back at him. His pressing eyes were enough to set her off. "I'm not going to tell you. So don't try asking again."

Cayden smiled and said "Alright... I won't ask again... then how about I ask this: why did you kiss me?"

She ground her teeth together. He was pushing all of her buttons all of a sudden. Vanity stood and paced to the opposite side of the room, facing away from him. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Son of a freaking kath hound, the hell you don't!" he said, getting up. "I gave you the option to kill me in my own office with my own weapon, and instead you push me against the wall and kiss me as we were leaving?"

"Maybe I don't want to talk about it." Vanity growled in a low voice. She didn't want to be vulnerable to him. How could she open up to him when everyone in her past had taken advantage of her or deserted her? No. Whatever had happened was all a lie. It had to be.

"Well... I guess you'd expect me to be the decent human being and respect your wants... well, you're wrong. As your commanding officer, you are hereby required to discuss any information regarding your feelings to me," Cayden said, crossing his arms.

"And what if I said no? What if I have no idea what came over me and that was the honest truth? Would you buy it?" Vanity punched the wall. "No. You wouldn't."
"You're right I wouldn't. You don't do things for no reason, that much I have learned. Now... explain to me how someone goes from wanting to kill someone to wanting to kiss them?" he asked, his hand dropping to his holster.

Vanity hugged herself. No. I can't be honest with him! I can't! But I can't lie either. What am I supposed to do? He already knows too much about me. "I can't let you in. I just can't. You have to understand." her voice was still angry, but there was something else too. She tried to mask it as best she could, but it was still there.

Fear.

"Vanity.. I can't understand if you don't let me. Let me help you, Vanity... let me in..." he said, sitting down. His hand fell away from his holster and rested on his lap.

"Do you not understand everything I've told you before? Do you not understand that I can't just take someone's word?" And even as she was speaking, she realized he was unintentionally giving up more information. There was no winning. Vanity sat down and stared at the floor. "Korinth..." she whispered.

Cayden cocked his head to the side and asked "Korinth? Who's Korinth?"

Vanity shook her head, tired of being angry. "Someone from my past..." the memories began rushing through her head.

Cayden sat up and said "I think I got that much on my own... but, who was he?"

"Who was he?" She took out her knife and began playing with the blade, "The person who helped me escape. The person who betrayed me. The person who said he was better and tried to help me by sending me to the Vast Empire. The person who, when I went to Onderon, pretended to be my friend and then.... then took..... advantage of me...." at the mention of this she bit her tongue so hard that blood welled in her mouth. Somehow the taste kept her... sane. It kept her from driving the knife into herself or Cayden. As long as there was blood... she was ok.

Cayden cocked his head again at the mention of Onderon. "What was he doing on Onderon?" he asked.

"Why he went there, I don't exactly know myself. I just know that he works for Emperor Moore." Vanity shook her head, "But why inquire about him? He just destroyed my life. Nothing big there. He was the man I thought I could count on... the man I thought I lo..." and at this word she stopped. That was it. That was the word. The feeling. The emotion. No. It couldn't really be. She just thought it was something wrong with her mind.

"Wait... rewind... he works for Emperor Moore? How'd you figure that out?" Cayden asked, completely disregarding the rest of what Vanity said.

She glared at him. "Of course you'd ask about him. I forget you're from Onderon too, 'Prince'. How'd I find out? Well, I had snuck onto a ship that went to Onderon, and Kornith cleared my name when Moore's people found me and brought me before him." she leaned back so that her back was resting against the wall, "That was it. Didn't have to deal with him anymore after that. Korinth is a poison though. I should've realized that when I found out he was working for that man, of everyone else he could be working for."

"What did Moore want, Vanity?" Cayden asked, his tone growing darker as he said it.

"He thought I was there to destroy his perfect little rule. No matter how many times I told him I wasn't here as a spy or anything like that, he wouldn't believe me. Korinth stepped in and told Moore he knew me," Vanity looked at Cayden strangely, temporarily forgetting that she was telling him more information than she had intended to about herself, "Why are you so interested, Cayden? Is it just because you're one of the Tavers? Or is there something more there?"

"Emperor Moore used to serve Onderon as a general in the Royal Army... until he decided to take the throne for himself. This was 6 years ago. Now, though... even when I prevented him from capturing the throne from the Royal Family... he does the one thing no one expects. He gains the throne by popular election," Cayden said, looking out the nearby view port. "I removed the Royal Family from total power in favor of a popular elected office... the Head of the Ruling Council. I paved the way for his victory. I signed the death warrant of a free Onderon. I'm the reason why I am fighting a losing war against him."

"Well... that explains why Onderon is so screwed up these days. If I had stayed there, I wouldn't have voted for him. I'd rather have you, Prince." Vanity stood and walked over to Cayden. She sat beside him.

"You better swear that you will not betray me because I have already given you way too much information for my liking. I opened myself to Korinth and he took that chance to hurt me... twice. If you do anything to betray me, I will kill you and that's a promise." then she hesitated, "And since I'm already screwing myself over, the answer to your question... I can't kill you. Not anymore. There's something about you that prevents me from being angry with you for long. I try to hate you like I had started out... but I can't. And I can't will myself now as much as I want to." she looked at him, "Those are some of the most vulnerable words you'll ever hear me say. I don't approve of anything I am doing right now, but my mind has lost the battle."

“Vanity... I already promised you that I will never betray you. I'm not one to break promises. I swore an oath to protect Onderon, an oath I'm going to fulfill someday. But, for now... not betraying you is one promise I can fulfill right now," he said, grabbing Vanity's hand.

She sighed, "I want to believe you. Believe me I do." she leaned against him slightly. "It's not easy to keep to myself all the time... I just wish that everyone I put my trust in would just... would just stop turning their backs on me." Vanity held Cayden's hand tightly. The feeling of someone being there for her was overwhelming. All of the negative emotions just washed away. Like when I was with Korinth the time after I had killed my father. He was there for me. He reassured me. Even when he was being fake then, he still showed more care for me than anyone I've ever known or come to know.

Cayden smiled at her and said "If you have problems believing me, you can ask my brother and sister. They'll tell you that I am someone who can be depended on, no matter the situation or task at hand. And I'm not going to turn my back on you... ever."

People don't change... or do they? Am I not changing now? Vanity thought as Cayden finished speaking. She rested her head on his shoulder. The closer she got to him, the faster her heart would beat. Never.... never felt this way before... Just around him... her thinking became fragmented. Logic was abandoning her. She no longer had control of her emotions.

"... I trust you... for now..." she heard Cayden laugh almost silently, but she didn't quite understand what was funny about her statement. "What?" she locked eyes with him.

That did it. She was gone. And by the looks of him, he was too. Cayden placed his hand on her cheek which was burning up by now. He leaned in towards her, and kissed her. Vanity wanted to pull back at first when her mind screamed, 'No!', but her emotions were flaring over the years of torment and torture. Instead of backing away, she kissed him back. She gave in to the good emotions that she had come to fear for so long. She let go, and, in turn, let him into her heart. Whether the decision was the right one to make, she had no idea.

Vanity was in the dark again. She was treading a path she couldn't see. But if there was anything that she knew, it was that she was strong enough to handle it. After all, she wasn't the only one who had gone through heck and back again. Cayden had too. And somehow, they understood each other.


OOC:
WC: 1,802
Almost 2,000 words of conversation. Holy hell.
And if anyone ever questioned my gender before, they don't now.
Promise this is last time I write semi-mushy stuff (with Amacuse's help no less)? We'll see. XD
FM/LCW Avalar/A-2/S:153 Regents/W:52 Javelin/ICF-II Chrome Fox/TF:R/2Flt/SFC/VEN/VE
Ellesmere
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  RE: Regents: Behind Enemy Lines
March 27, 2011 1:16:48 PM    View the profile of Ellesmere 
Michele followed Maroy as she made her way to the cockpit of the shuttle and took the pilots’ seat, following her lead Ellesmere quietly took the co-pilot’s seat and strapped herself in. After they made sure everyone was onboard, the ramp was raised and they were soon off to the shipyard.  The shipyard of Belgaroth wasn’t too far away from their present location which left little time for Michele to know her squadronmate seated beside her; but she was a little afraid to start a conversation at this point in time. Since they had time to kill however, she decided to give it a shot and see what the outcome would be.

“We haven’t had the opportunity to talk much since I’ve been assigned and so I would like to formally introduce myself; I am Michele Bourdeau.”

“Pleasure, I’m Maroy” Her fellow squadronmate manning the controls replied.

A deep, awkward silence followed that brief conversation in which time Michele took the opportunity to familiarize herself with all the controls, once she felt comfortable with everything…or almost… she got straight to work and attempted to lessen the workload on Maroy’s shoulders. After a few minutes Maroy cleared her throat and asked “What pushed you to join the Navy?” in a sort of excitable voice which took Michele by surprise, recovering quickly however she didn’t hesitate to answer the question.

“I had been working in repair shops with my parents my whole life and in my late r years decided to work the shipyards since I wanted less monotonous work; after a while you saw the exact same things in the repair shops so it got kinda boring…You knew which engine had what problems and which part needed to be ordered and how much they cost, etc… Same went for any other parts; I just used engines as an example… Anyway, after working the shipyards a while I found that I didn’t really feel fulfilled, so I joined the Navy in the hopes that it would do the trick.”

“Did it?”

“I can’t say just yet but I think so, when I was in BT I felt happy there. I mean sure it was hard,, I didn’t expect it to be a cake walk and I don’t expect things to get any easier but I enjoy the everyday challenges this has brought me thus far and I always tend to meet interesting people along the way. I ‘m rambling…Tell me about yourself”

“I’d…rather not; my story may bore you…”

“Go for it, I thought my story would bore you as well”

“Well…”

Before anything could be said they noted their approach to Belgaroth.

“Almost there you two back there, let’s get ready to have ourselves a par-tay!”  Maroy called out loud enough so that Cayden and Vanity could hear her. As they got ever closer, Michele felt butterflies start to flutter in the pit of her gut and her hands shook slightly. In an attempt to calm her nerves she took a few deep breaths which rewarded her with an odd look from Maroy who  had been occasionally throwing glances her way.

“You alright, mate?”

“Fine, thanks…”
FM/LCW Ellesmere/A-4/S:153 Regents/W:58 Javelin/ICF II Chrome Fox /TF:R/2FL/SFC/VEN/VE
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  RE: Regents: Behind Enemy Lines
March 27, 2011 1:44:37 PM    View the profile of Maroy 
Maroy's X-Wing dropped out of hyperspace in formation with the rest of the squadron. She'd managed to fly well enough to qualify for the mission, but her simulation scores were well below the recommended limit. She kept reaching for the controls that weren't there, and sat much straighter than intended, judging by the seat design. No matter how much she trained in the simulator, the ship just didn't feel right.

After a few moments, Amacuse's voice came over the squadron channel.

[[Kath, listen up.  We're going to be landing at Refueling Station Delta to refuel.  Once there, we're going to use the shuttle services provided by the Reshies to land on the main shipyard.  That is our current objective.  Let's do this, Kath... we don't have much time left...]]

The rest of the squadron idled around the station while Alpha flight headed down. By the time Maroy landed and got out, Amacuse had already taken out the engineers and officers and was heading towards the shuttlebay. Sithspawn, does he have to go that fast? He took the last open turbolift...

When another one opened up, she hopped inside along with their newest member, Michele. She was the replacement for Ruwe, who'd been abruptly promoted to command of his own squadron. Maroy had been very sorry to see her friend go, but the new girl seemed okay.

Finally the doors opened and they charged out with their blasters pointed at... nothing. Bodies in New Republic uniforms were strewn about, with Amacuse and Vanity being the only ones left standing. The Sentinel-class shuttle sat in the middle of the hangar, casting shadows on even more bodies.

Amacuse waved them both over. "Maroy, Michele... you're kind of late... heck, I was late for the action. Everyone on board. Maroy, you have the helm. Michele, go with her. Vanity... with me. We have a mission people! Let's get a move on!"

Great... put a bad pilot and a recent academy grad in charge of flying a shuttle through enemy territory. Brilliant leadership there, Amacuse.

The two less experienced pilots boarded and headed to the cockpit. Maroy slipped into the pilot's seat and glanced around helplessly at the controls. Well, that's probably the throttle... and that's obviously the flight stick. At least I'll be able to take off without crashing.

She finally figured out enough to get the shuttle off the deck and into space. She got the ship pointed correctly and relaxed a little, prompting her new squadron mate to speak up.

“We haven’t had the opportunity to talk much since I’ve been assigned and so I would like to formally introduce myself; I am Michele Bourdeau.”

“Pleasure, I’m Maroy.”

Silence reigned for a few seconds as Maroy grasped for a discussion topic. She decided to fall back on one of the basics and ask about the woman's history.

“What pushed you to join the Navy?”

The suddenness of her question startled the human, but she quickly recovered.

“I had been working in repair shops with my parents my whole life and in my later years decided to work the shipyards since I wanted less monotonous work; after a while you saw the exact same things in the repair shops so it got kinda boring…You knew which engine had what problems and which part needed to be ordered and how much they cost, etc… Same went for any other parts; I just used engines as an example… Anyway, after working the shipyards a while I found that I didn’t really feel fulfilled, so I joined the Navy in the hopes that it would do the trick.”

So, a small-world mechanic. With all the royalty and pompous people in this squadron, though, that's probably not a bad thing. Brings some more balance.

“Did it?”

“I can’t say just yet but I think so, when I was in BT I felt happy there. I mean sure it was hard, I didn’t expect it to be a cake walk and I don’t expect things to get any easier but I enjoy the everyday challenges this has brought me thus far and I always tend to meet interesting people along the way. I‘m rambling…Tell me about yourself.”

“I’d…rather not; my story may bore you…”

“Go for it, I thought my story would bore you as well.”

“Well…”

A short warning sound went off indicating the close proximity to the shipyards. She turned around to yell into the back compartments.

“Almost there you two back there, let’s get ready to have ourselves a par-tay!”

That sounded a lot better in my head... they're probably used to it by now, though. She looked over and noticed Michele was showing signs of first-mission anxiety. I used to do that, up until... oh, wait. I still do.

“You alright, mate?”

“Fine, thanks…”

"Anyway, to make a long story short, I got kicked off the civilized half of my homeworld and nearly starved to death, escaped in a crude hand-made starfighter, got picked up by the New Republic, then escaped and was intercepted by a Vast Empire task force. At least they aren't as xenophobic as the old Empire." She smiled briefly, then turned back to the controls.

"Anyway, get ready. We'll be landing in just a moment."

OOC:
Just getting caught up. 851 words, which is way above my average
FM/PO1 Maroy/A-3/S:153 Rhegent's Reign/W:58 Javelin/ICF-II Chrome Fox/TF:R/2FL/SFC/VEN/VE (=*A*=) [GCM]

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Amacuse
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  RE: Regents: Behind Enemy Lines
March 27, 2011 7:00:35 PM    View the profile of Amacuse 
Cayden slowly moved back from Avalar, a smile creeping up on his face.  He was about to say something when the shuttled shook violently.  We must have landed... he thought, standing up.  He straightened his flight suit and walked to the loading ramp.

Vanity walked over, drawing her knife.

"Vanity... we won't be needing weapons right now..." he said, smiling.  "No... we're going to do it my way now."  He lowered the ramp and descended onto the flight deck.

Several security officers approached and said "I'm sorry, sir.  This area is off-limits to you."

Cayden smiled and said "Officers, we're here because the refueling station doesn't have the supplies we need.  We sent a transmission from the station saying that we're coming over."

"Let me check with Command," the officer said, grabbing his comm.

Cayden watched the officers walk several steps away to have a "private" conversation.  He drew his blaster and shot the three officers in the back.  "I'm sorry about this..." he said, grabbing their ID tags.  "Michele, Maroy... head to the comms array, place the charges, and back here as soon as possible.  Vanity, you and I shall head off the Reshie soldiers that are on their way here right now," he said, grabbing one of the Reshie's blaster rifles.

OOC:
WC: 213

Yes, extremely short.  I want you three to finish the job.  Good luck, Regents.
Master Chief Petty Officer Cayden "Amacuse" Tavers

Squadron Commander of 153rd Vast Imp. Fighter Squadron Regents

SC/MCPO Amacuse/A-1/S:153 Regents/W:58 Javelin/ICF-II Chrome Fox/TF:R/2FL/SFC/VEN/VE (=AE=) (=*SAE*=) [MC:2] [LSM] [GCM] [CBV]
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  RE: Regents: Behind Enemy Lines
March 27, 2011 10:13:40 PM    View the profile of Ellesmere 
Michele went down the shuttle ramp quite happily; she still wasn’t used to this much flying so any opportunity she had to be on solid ground she took. As she watched from a respectable distance, Cayden had a short conversation with one of the Reshies and as they turned away to go and have what she assumed to be a somewhat private discussion, levelled his blaster to their heads and shot them all down. She was impressed by the way this man did things, she was cool and collected when handling a weapon but she didn’t have as steady a hand as he seemed to have. It will come with practice, I imagine…

As she and Maroy were instructed to place some charges on the comms array, a flurry of questions came to her. How are we to know where it is? How many soldiers will we be up against if any at all, assuming we’re not spotted? Pushing away all the silly rookie questions, she set out to follow Maroy who seemed to know where she was going. As they made their way down a series of hallways, she felt increasingly uneasy about things and kept her weapon at the ready.

“Relax, no one seems to be home today” she heard Maroy say over her shoulder as she kept moving onward.

“I can’t…something doesn’t feel right here, there should be more people busily going about their business, we haven’t encountered much as of yet”

“They may just be-“

“Hey!” As she whirled around she saw a soldier start after them, as she started jogging off she twisted her upper body so that she faced him and fired a shot which landed square in the centre of his chest.

“Nice shot, now let’s move!” Maroy spoke up as both hurried along, wondering how many more soldiers were now after them.

“It would have probably been wise to have hid the body..As of right now it’s in the open in the middle of the hallway which isn’t the best thing for us.”

“Too late now, we’ll deal with any resistance as they show themselves, right now we got some charges to set, so let’s go!”
As they rounded the next corner they were met with four more soldiers whom they made quick work of disposing. The more bodies that lie around, the more people there’ll be coming after us… After unceremoniously piling up the bodies in a corner, they quickly continued on their way to find where the communications array was located. They didn’t have to look too much further however; it was located without too much difficulty after a last encounter with two more soldiers.

“Let’s do this quickly and get out of here” Michele said nervously as she watched for any visitors wanting too see what they were up to. As Maroy set the last charge, Michele started to quickly retrace their steps back the way they came though she was mentally trying to plot another route. Should they go back the way they came and risk finding a welcoming committee or should they take an alternate route if at all possible to get back to their Squadron?
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  RE: Regents: Behind Enemy Lines
March 28, 2011 6:14:40 PM    View the profile of Avalar 
"Michele, Maroy... head to the comms array, place the charges, and back here as soon as possible.  Vanity, you and I shall head off the Reshie soldiers that are on their way here right now," Vanity watched as Michele and Maroy took off without a second thought. She turned back to Cayden who was now holding a blaster rifle. She followed suit and grabbed the other one.

“Finally, I was hoping to see some action out here.” She said as she secured the gun in her hands. In the distance, she could hear as the Reshies began mobilizing. Cayden looked back at Vanity and smiled.

“Me too. Let’s kick some butt!” and with that the two of them ran up ahead and took cover behind some of the ships near the entrance they were beginning to come out of. Vanity immediately began firing upon the Reshie soldiers. Cayden fired from the other side. As they did, Vanity noticed that soldiers weren’t moving much further than the entrance. She intuitively knew what that meant. They weren’t sure how many people were firing upon them.

With that new knowledge, Vanity made sure to move herself to another location as often as possible. Cayden caught sight of her antics, and soon he followed suit. The two were making good work of them, that is, until Vanity moved too soon. One of the shots hit its mark, which was her leg. She rolled behind the ship she had started out behind and winced as she looked at her leg. Nothing too bad. As long as I don’t think about it and keep firing it’ll be like I was never hit. The more they believe there are several of us, the better.

Quickly she got back up and began firing again. I hope Michele and Maroy hurry up. I don’t know how long we can hold this up with so many people coming out of there. She hoped that the Reshies wouldn’t eat up 500 shots by the time the two pilots came back. Luckily, she wasn’t alone in the matter. Vanity began firing less though, just in case.

Suddenly Vanity yelled out, “Cover me!” she had just seen something gleaming in the artificial light, and she instantly knew what it was. Vanity hopped out of her spot as Cayden worked to keep her relatively safe. She grabbed the grenade that was lying beside one of the bodies and then headed back behind cover. Her leg was throbbing and she felt a bit dizzy, but she shook it off.

She lied in wait until the Reshies had stupidly gathered themselves close together, and it was then that she threw it. “Fire in the hole!” The explosion was a gorgeous sight to her. Man, I missed this stuff. What was I ever thinking leaving the VE? But she began to remember exactly what she had been thinking, or rather not thinking, when she had left.

=Flashback 5 months ago=

Vanity gathered all of her stuff together. Korinth had been wrong. The Vast Empire wasn’t helping at all. As far as she was concerned, she had given the whole Imperial thing a chance, but it just wasn’t working for her. They were just a bunch of stupid people like the rest of the bloody world. Screw what Korinth has ever said to me! The whole thing about people’s lives being worse than mine, I don’t care! People don’t change. I’ve said that from the beginning, and I am right. All anyone does here is stare at me or tick me off. And then there’s that Cayden guy… I loathe him. I completely loathe his existence! If only I had killed him when I had the chance! She slammed her baggage shut, forgetting that she was trying to be quiet.

She huffed and then looked around. No one was in the barracks at this time of day. She made sure to take note of that. It worked perfectly for her escape. Good-bye Tuk’ata. And good-bye Vast Empire Navy. She was leaving for good, and good riddance.

But just as she was coming to the barracks door, it opened, and standing in the doorway was none other than Cayden. Vanity felt her pulse speed up. Why? Why did he always have to show up when she didn’t want him around?

“Where are you going?” Cayden asked, glancing over Vanity’s stuff.

“Is that any business of yours?”

“I was just asking. But really, I don’t remember hearing anything about you leaving. Did you file leave?” at this she felt herself freeze.

“Y-yes. I did. It must not have gotten through yet.”

“Well, I can technically keep you here until I get that file you know.” Vanity bit her cheek. This man was getting on her nerves again!

“But you won’t.”

“Oh you think I won’t?” he closed the door, “Vanity, going AWOL is not something you want to mess with. I can tell you’re not planning on coming back.” She huffed like a whiny kid and turned to head back to her room. “Come back here. I didn’t say you had the right to leave this conversation.”

“I’m sick of you and this place!” Vanity yelled, whirling around as she did so.

“If you really feel that way, you’ll resign. You’ll do the proper thing, and then go to… wherever you’re going. Speaking of which, where are you planning on going?”

“Well, Prince, I’m obviously not going to take refuge in Nar Shaddaa. Where do you think I’d go?”

“I wouldn’t know. You don’t exactly talk about yourself.”

“Your favorite place, Prince. I’m going to Onderon.”

=End Flashback=

That’s right. Cayden had saved her from getting in trouble with the Vast Empire. He had saved her from a lot of things now that she thought about it. He had allowed her to go to Onderon, though he had no idea that she had snuck on a ship to do it. But that was just how she was. She didn’t like to do things the right way half the time. Her time on Nar Shaddaa had been dark and cruel, but it had instilled in her a sense of always needing to be sneaky.

Now, Vanity thought about these things as she kept firing upon the Reshies. Where are those two pilots?

OOC:
WC: 1,051
FM/LCW Avalar/A-2/S:153 Regents/W:52 Javelin/ICF-II Chrome Fox/TF:R/2Flt/SFC/VEN/VE
Maroy
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Maroy
 
[VE-NAVY] Senior Chief Petty Officer
 
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  RE: Regents: Behind Enemy Lines
March 28, 2011 9:59:38 PM    View the profile of Maroy 
Maroy lead Michele towards where she thought the communications array was. Their boots clanged slightly against the polished metal flooring. She'd paid extra attention to the few deck plans she'd received during briefing, but they lacked detail and it wouldn't take much for her to get lost. The corridors were eerily empty, though they should be filled with busy soldiers and technicians. There's something not right here... but that poor girl looks like one more surprise will send her into shock.

“Relax, no one seems to be home today.”

The comment did nothing to ease the woman's tension. “I can’t…something doesn’t feel right here, there should be more people busily going about their business, we haven’t encountered much as of yet.”

“They may just be-“ A sudden flurry of activity from behind them froze her mid-sentence. It's a trap!

“Hey!” The soldier lined up a shot at Maroy's head as the two pilots started sprinting forward. Michele whirled around and shot the man right in the chest, sending him spiraling to the ground.

“Nice shot, now let’s move!” There's bound to be more... Maroy clutched her somewhat inadequate blaster pistol closer. It helped calm her nerves a bit, but not by much. If Michele had been more skilled in reading Twi'lek body language, Maroy's lekku would be sending a loud-and-clear signal of fear.

“It would have probably been wise to have hid the body... As of right now it’s in the open in the middle of the hallway which isn’t the best thing for us.”

“Too late now, we’ll deal with any resistance as they show themselves, right now we got some charges to set, so let’s go!”

Six dead rebels later, they reached the comm array. The green alien pulled out the handful of small but deadly explosives and began looking for strategic places to focus on. Her wingmate stood in the doorway, looking extremely nervous. She looks just about how I feel right about now...

“Let’s do this quickly and get out of here.”

These pylon thingies look pretty important... one for each. One on this control panel, two on this hatch thing...
Finally, she reached up and set the last one next to the door.

"They're set for remote detonation or five minutes, whichever comes first. I recommend we get out of here sometime before that happens."

"Sounds like a plan to me."

The two women turned back the way they came, being extra careful not to run headlong into any New Republic guards. Maroy pulled out her comlink and double tapped to indicate that they were on their way back. Let's hope there's still a place to go back to... Not that Vanity will need help. She had to smile at that. She's about the toughest, most ruthless person I know...

They had to blast their way through a few dozen more groups of guards, but thankfully they were in small groups of only two or three. Either they don't know we're here, or they're really bad planners... Finally they burst through right on top of Amacuse and Avalar.

"Charges set and primed, sir!"

OOC:
528 words, go ahead and wrap us up Amacuse.
FM/PO1 Maroy/A-3/S:153 Rhegent's Reign/W:58 Javelin/ICF-II Chrome Fox/TF:R/2FL/SFC/VEN/VE (=*A*=) [GCM]

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Amacuse
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Amacuse
 
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  RE: Regents: Behind Enemy Lines
March 29, 2011 2:09:21 AM    View the profile of Amacuse 
OOC:
Amacuse: My apologies for editing this. As I mentioned in the PM, though, I needed you to stop a bit earlier than that for my post to start. I assure you, this won't be a common thing.

-Drac


"Charges set and primed, sir!"

"Excellent!  Everyone, back on the shuttle!" he yelled, firing another volley at the bulkhead.

The four pilots ran to the shuttle, blaster fire coming from behind as they boarded the ramp.

Cayden ran to the cockpit and sealed the loading ramp.  "Maroy, Michele: get on the forward turrets!  Vanity, up here with me!  Strap yourselves in, everyone!  This is going to be one hell of an escape!" he yelled, firing the shuttle to life.

The shuttle lifted off the deck and flew out of the hangar, leaving the station behind.

"Sir, they're scrambling fighters!" Vanity said, checking the radar.

"Great..." he said, turning the comm on.  "Kath Squadron, this is Kath-1.  Scramble all fighters and intercept incoming X-Wings!"

Several blasts impacted the ship's shields, jostling the shuttle as it blasted it's way to the refueling station.

"Alpha Flight, listen up!  The second we land, make for your fighters.  We're getting the hell out of here!  Maroy, what's the time on those charges?"

[[3 minutes, 29 seconds sir!]]

"Excellent!  Right on schedule!  When the-  HOLD ON!" he yelled, forcing the shuttle into a dive as several missiles soared past is viewport.  Let's see what she's got he thought, pulling the shuttle into an immelman.

He brought her nose up, accelerating hard on the ascent.  The enemy fighters accelerated with him, decreasing the distance between them.  Then, he slammed on the break and threw the shuttle into a dive.

Maroy and Michele blasted the cannons away at the incoming fighters, forcing them to scatter away from the relentless barrage of laser cannon fire.

Cayden pulled up and raced towards the refueling station.  He was about to get back on the comm when he saw several X-Wings zoom past him.

[[SC, this is Beta Lead.  We're intercepting the enemy fighters now.]]

"Thanks Beta Lead.  Hold them off until we get to our fighters," he said, smiling.  Cayden looked over to Vanity and saw blood on her hands.  He then looked down at her leg and frowned.  "Vanity... when did you get shot?" he asked, putting the shuttle on auto-pilot.

"Cayden, it's nothing... I'm fine..." she said unconvincingly.

Cayden moved her hand off the wound and sighed.  "I need that medic..." he said to himself, grabbing the first aid kit.  He pulled out a clean bandage, securing straps, and some disinfectant spray.  Cayden clened the wound with a damp cloth.  "I'm sorry about this, Vanity... I don't use bacta on my troops..." he said, grabbing Vanity's hand as he sprayed the disinfectant on the wound.

Vanity squeezed Cayden's hand tight (nearly cutting the circulation off), not making so much as a squeal of pain as the spray hit the wound.

Cayden put the spray aside and put the clean bandage on, securing it tightly over the blaster wound with the straps.  "There... that'll hold until Sarah can look at you on the Iron Fox," he said, smiling at her.

"Thanks..." she said, looking out the viewport.

The shuttle touched down, and everyone onboard pounded down the ramp.  The four of them ran to their fighters, avoiding the bodies of dead Reshie soldiers as they entered the hangar.

Caydel climbed into his fighter and fired it up.  Come on... yes! he thought as it began to lift off the deck.

He flew it out, closely followed by the rest of the squadron.  "Alright, Maroy... time?" he asked, calculating the jump to hyperspace.

[[30 seconds, sir!]] she replied into the comm.

"Perfect.  Alright Kath, making the jump to hyperspace in 3... 2...(Drac's edit begins)

1," he said, pulling the lever.

The squadron of X-Wings jumped into hyperspace, leaving the system behind as the charges detonated, destroying the communications array and doing some damage to the exterior of the facility.

Cayden exhaled, a grin crossing his face.  "Regents... mission accomplished," he said, trying not to laugh at his corniness.  "When we get home... I buy the first round."

7 hours later

The return journey went by in silence.  Regents Squadron exited hyperspace over Abrae, the gleeming hull of the Dead Gun a stark contrast against the black of space.

"Dead Gun, this is Master Chief Petty Officer Cayden Tavers, Squadron Commander of Regents Squadron.  I have a priority message for 1st Lieutenant Drac.  Message is as follows: Communications Array neutralized.  Zero Casualties.  One wounded, not severe.  Mission Accomplished," he said, smiling.

[[Roger that, Commander.  The Lieutenant will be pleased to hear the good news.  Dead Gun out.]]


OOC:
WC: 743

Drac, I believe you had one more post to make?
Master Chief Petty Officer Cayden "Amacuse" Tavers

Squadron Commander of 153rd Vast Imp. Fighter Squadron Regents

SC/MCPO Amacuse/A-1/S:153 Regents/W:58 Javelin/ICF-II Chrome Fox/TF:R/2FL/SFC/VEN/VE (=AE=) (=*SAE*=) [MC:2] [LSM] [GCM] [CBV]
[This message has been edited by Amacuse (edited March 29, 2011 2:09:50 AM)]
[This message has been edited by Drac (edited March 29, 2011 7:40:16 AM)]
Drac
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Drac
 
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  RE: Regents: Behind Enemy Lines
March 29, 2011 7:51:30 AM    View the profile of Drac 
OOC:
From Amacuse's perspective


"Sir! I've got ships ahead on the sensors! A whole fleet!" Sarah sounded pretty alarmed.

"What? How'd they deploy a fleet to intercept us already?"

"Hold on...that's our fleet! What's the Dead Gun doing here?" And indeed it was. The whole of the 2nd Vast Imperial Fleet was heading straight in toward Belgaroth.

Cayden's comm system pinged, then Drac's voice came through, "Master Chief Tavers, thank you for opening the way for us. Excellent work and congratulations on a job well done."

“No problem, sir- but you didn’t mention you’d be joining the party.” Cayden couldn't quite keep the anger out of his voice.

Drac's reply was simple, “I won’t apologize for doing the necessary, Regents Lead. Now, a flight control officer is standing by on the Chrome Fox to get you coordinated with your Taskforce.”

"Just what are we doing here, though? This's way outside our normal operating areas."

"We need ships. We're stealing them. The Reshies just stole a bunch of those ships from the Remnant, so....I suppose you could say we're taking A Page from the Rebels' Book. Fly well, Regents. I'll see you on the other side."

The comm channel beeped to signal Drac's departure. Amacuse shook his head and shared a few choice words with the empty channel before getting the Regents hooked up with the Chrome Fox.

OOC:
Regents: You'll be continuing, along with 2nd Fleet, in the mission I've linked to above. Group orders have been issued there. Excellent job on this mission, guys. I'm very impressed, especially when I take into account the time constraints I put on you. No squadron's been asked to do something like this in the time I've been in the VE and you guys got it done- and in style. Awards, etc for this mission will be forthcoming, so look forward to getting some shiny new metal bits to wear then.
CNW|1LT Drac|VSD Dead Gun|TF: Aurek|2Flt|FC|VEN|VE
Chief of Naval Warfare
"Think Akbar, but Imperial."
Captain of the VSD Dead Gun
[This message has been edited by Drac (edited March 29, 2011 7:54:43 AM)]
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