DD: post your stories on here for reviews and criticism when you are done. Those of you doing rough drafts, I only want the final version. Oh, at the beginning be sure to post what skill the story is for, and what your specialty is thanks.

So if yur a scout, post:

Wilderness Survival
Scout Training (or something like that)
 
-----------------------
Second Lieutennant Rizzit
Wildcard Platoon Commander
Army of the Vast Empire
PC/2LT Rizzit/3SQD/1PLT/COMP/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE[OPE][OTH][EW1][RCoD][CRoM][CoH][OPA][SoA][SoS]
Everything expressed truly from your heart and soul is as pure as gold in the minds of anyone who listens!"--Rizzit

(OOC I hope I did this right or I wasted a few hours. Can't wait to here everyones comments. OOC)

  Basic Electronics/Wiring
  Combat Engineer training

"Well I guess as the old saying goes, There is no better time than the present," Kairo said as he stepped through the door to the training center. Looking around he saw a lot of young men and women roaming the halls and chatting. As Kairo walked up the front desk he selfconsciously thought about how odd he must look in front of these lower level troops. Putting behind his doubt he said,"Hello, Kairo reporting for my twelve ocklock Basic electronics/wiring training."

The receptionist wore a odd expresion on her face as she scanned through her files for his registration. "Hello, sir, Everything is prepared. Please hook up your datapad to the port so we can load up the directions to your session."

As Kairo pulled out his datapad and hooked it up he wondered if he would ever wind up like that. Sitting behind a desk all day a guiding people to their destinations. No, he decided, he would always stay in the service and protect the Empire. "Thankyou for your time. Have a nice day,"Kairo said as his datapad finished downloading and he turned away to leave.

Looking down he pulled up the simulater number and headed down the hall. As he entered the room he saw only one other person. "Hello, am I in the right room for wiring training?" Kairo asked as he pulled up next to the man.

He appeared only middle aged, but he looked like he had seen enough battle for a lifetime. "Ah yes. You must be Kairo. No you are in the right room, but for your training we have decided to try our new course. We beleive that by teaching you and putting you directly into the action that your training will stick better. And having more that one person would make this teaching process harder." As he finished he pulled out a backpack. "Here, you will need this during the sim," he said with a gleam in his eye.

As Kairo took the pack he realized he had a long day ahead of him.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 hour later . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


"So do you have everything?" the instructor concluded.

"I sure do. So I take it I start the sim now?" Kairo said as he stood up and put on the backpack, which he now knew was full of wires and battery packs.

"You catch on quick. Now to shorten the sim time, you will be put inside an enemy base. You will have to find your way to the entence and rig it to open for your allies to enter. Are you ready?" He asked as he stepped behind the controls.

"Yes, but do I get any weap.." His phrase was cut short as he was launched into the simulator. When everything appeared to stop swirling together, Kairo abserved his barings. He was inside a small supply room with a small datascreen that was shut down and locked up. "Apparently not." He muttered as he slid out his datapad. "Hmh. already making me use my training I see." Kairo thought as he slid the pack off of his shoulder and pulled out a few cables and a tool kit.

Popping off the outer casing of the screen Kairo survayed the inerds. "Looks like the normal thing to me." Kairo said as he went to work. First he followed the three protruding wires to there sources. He found one to be the power line, the other to be the in feed, and the last to be the out feed. Taking out a wire cutter he split the in and out feeds. Picking up his datapad he connected a wire to both the in and out feed of it, and attached the other ends to the open feed. Imediatly as small ignature appeared on his datapad. Pulling the file up he was pleased to see that he a had actually properly connected into the bases main system.

Finding out where he was and the main doors, Kairo quickly diconnected his pad from the screen and packed everything up. Opening the door to the room, he quitely stole out and headed down the hall. The walls seemed to rush by him as he hurried to the doors. Stepping into a room with only two doors he headed to the other side. He found it locked and started to head back when the door slammed shut. Looking around he found a small device on the ground. Opening the hatch he felt his stumache plummet. It was a bomb. "Oh great. I guess this is the real part of the training."

He quickly took out his tool kit and pooped open the access panel. The next few minutes were a blurr as he followed wires and subsystems, discerned between power packs and the actual explosive. In the end he hoped he done everything like his instruter said. Looking at the counter he saw he only had a minute left. "Well here goes. Closing his eyes, he cut the wire. Pausing a moment, Kairo slowly opened his eyes.

The counter was stooped at thirty seconds. "Sheesh, That was close."
Suddenly the simulator shut down.

"Good work. You passed your test. I hope to see you back here tommorow." the instrstor said as he finished up his file and sent it in. "Have a nice day."

  "That guy was way to cheerful," Kairo said as he got up and heade for the door.

(OOC Hope I didn't bore you. Tell me if it is wrong I will delete it.OOC)
 
-----------------------
Private First Class Kairo
If it has a Rebel insignia, shoot, ask questions later
SL/SGT Kairo/2SQD/1PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/Ve[CDS][BoA]

Cook Training:
Knife Handling

"Aaaah! **** my finger!!!" A trainee screamt as he accidentally sliced off a part of his finger.

TK looked at him with a scared look as if he knew something similar was about to happen to him. TK walked  on towards the changeroom where he had stored his knifes and apron. The trainees looked at him with a confused look.

"What's that Sergeant doing here?" A trainee whispered to another trainee as he sliced a lump of meat in half with a vibroblade.
"I don't know...But he must've seen combat, look at those medals in that clean uniform." The other trainee replied.
"Heh, when I get out of this hell hole I'm applying for a field cook position. I need some fresh air..." Another trainee whispered.
"You should watch what you're cutting these knifes can be very dangerous." A leading trainee advised.
"Aaaah! My penis!!!!" Screamt one trainee.

After that little event TK was even more frightened, it took him courage as he walked on with both hands hovering over his groin area. The changeroom was only a short walk from the entrance. TK quickly equiped his apron and unsheathed his vibroknife. As soon as he stepped out of the door he was stopped by a Master Chef with an outrageous accent.

"Aah, Senyor Serzhent Bowman yes?" The Master Chef enquired.
TK quickly snapped to attention and replied "Yes Master Chef!".
"Eh, no need to stan at the tension in zhis kischen vee have a lot of akzidents from zhis kind of thing. Vell let me introduce my self, I am Serzhen Virst Khlass Master Chef  Du'ponte and I vill be personally teaching you zhee basic of zhee knife handling techniques." The Master Chef informed.

----------------------------------------------
*Thirty Minutes Later*

The Master Chef threw a nuna and successfully sliced it into five equal pieces. TK looked on with amazement, with determination in his mind TK threw his Nuna in the air and attempted to slice it but his knife was stuck in the nuna. TK was outraged and started to stab the nuna repeatedly with his vibroknife.

"Aaah Serzhent! you have mastered zhee art of basic food preparation. I especially liked zhee vay you added that human touch into your skillz!" The Master Chef congratulated TK.
"Err, thank you Master Chef..."TK replied with a confused tone in his voice,

The two sergeants then moved on to the next table, this table was situated alone within a moat. As TK stationed himself in front of the table the Master Chef walked out of the now enclosed area. TK looked at the table and saw a large piece of bantha meat with twelve knifes sitting beside it. TK picked up a knife and realised that it was a combat knife by it's weight.

"Ok Serzhent! Zhis is your final task for zhis subzject. You vill have to cut zhee meat into zhree pieces. But as you do zhis, targets will appear and move around zhee moat if zhey kahm close to zee table you vill fail.You may start..." The Master Chef Informed.

TK quickly started the hard process of cutting bantha meat. As he slowly sliced through the meat a target popped-up. TK quickly threw the knife he held at the target and picked up another knife. By the time he was half-way through the whole process he only had four more knifes including the one he held in his hand. The target started to move in closer towards the table, TK kicked down a target, he knew that he had to conserve his knifes if he was to pass the task. Finally the meat of sliced into three pieces and TK threw his knife at the final target.

"Congratulations Serzhent! You have passed zhis subzhect!" The Master Chef congratulated.

  -----------------------
Senior Sergeant David "TK-112"Bowman
*DarkDragoons* - Vast Empire Army
TRP/SSG TK-112/2SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/1REG/VEA/VE [CoR] [IH] [BoA]
"Winner of the let's imitate TK-112 for a day competition"

Cook Training:
Field Cooking

"Aaaah! My arse is on fire!" A trainee screamt as he ran from his burning field kitchen.

TK looked around, the training field was large and filled with field kitchens and trainee cooks. Bullets flew by every now and then forcing TK to duck down everytime he hears a bang. This training field was dangerous, it gives the trainee a feel on what it feels like to cook in a combat situation. TK looked to the right and saw a corporal in his field kitchen, this corporal manned a medium repeating blaster and open fired towards droids that were programmed to take over his field kitchen. One thing that he had not yet realised though was that...his food was burning...

Ok...my field kitchen should be over...oh crap it's on the other side of that landminefield...

TK looked at his datapad to confirm the location of his field kitchen. It did not help much as the map only said:

      x <----you are here (D=deathtrap)

................. ................
..............  .................. <---------minefield
...............  .................
............... ..................
.............D DDDDD........
..................................

                              X <-----fieldkitchen

Out of frustration TK started to run towards the minefield. As soon as he arrived he watched as dozens of trainees exploded into tiny pieces as they tried to make their way through the minefield. TK was scared as he did not wanted to die in training, especially cook's training. He looked to his right and saw a bridge and a sign saying "Use bridge to evade death".

Is it just me or are trainees naturally dumb?

TK walked on the bridge leisurely and watched as trainees get blown to little pieces. A group of trainee looked up and saw him walked on the bridge. They looked at him with awe and amazement.

"Look at that senior sergeant!" A trainee pointed out.
"I don't know but he must've had combat experience! Look at him breeze through the minefield!" Another trainee replied.
"Heh, when I get out of this hell hole I'm applying for a mess cook position. I need some fresh food!" Another trainee shouted.
"You really should watch where you're going in a minefield, mine's do blow people up." A trainee informed.
"Aaaah! My penis!!!!" Screamt one trainee.

After a short while he finally arrived at his field kitchen. He was awaited by a Master Chef, this one seemed to have ample combat experience.

"Aaah, Senior Sergeant Bowman right?" The Master Chef asked.
"Yes Master Chef!" TK replied as he snapped to attention.
"You don't need to stand at attention on the field, that way the enemy will know who I am and I will be killed." The Master Chef replied.
"Aye aye Master Chef!" TK replied.
"Well today I will be teaching you the technique of field cooking, in other words...fighting with a burning wok in your hand." The Master Chef informed.

----------------------------------------------
*fifteen gruelling minutes later*

The Master Chef open fired and succesfully shot a string of targets while he held his stew pot in his other hand. TK quickly held his burning stew pot and E-11 and fired towards the moving targets.

"Aaah! ****!!! My already exploded penis!" A trainee screamt from the minefield.

TK tried again but this time he shot the medic on a speeder bike who was about to evacuate the trainee. The medic and the speeder bike luckily landed on the bridge instead of the minefields.TK was now frustrated jumped out of his field kitchen  with a wooden spoon and furiously attacked the targets.

"Hmm, good method of improvising..." The Master Chef commented.
"Die fool die!" TK shouted as he bashed a target into the ground.
"Ok Sergeant, you've passed!" The Master Chef informed.
"Wha? isn't there a last test or something?" TK asked.
"Well getting here itself is already worth 80% of the mark" The Master Chef replied.
"Oh...Sweet...." TK answered.

  -----------------------
Senior Sergeant David "TK-112"Bowman
*DarkDragoons* - Vast Empire Army
TRP/SSG TK-112/2SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/1REG/VEA/VE [CoR] [IH] [BoA]
"Winner of the let's imitate TK-112 for a day competition"

Vehicle Crewman Training:
Vehicle Operator



As he glanced at his watch, Zafo's walk turned into a jog, and then a run. The last thing he wanted to do was be late for his first lesson. He continued to blast through the hallways, knocking people over, trying to make his way to his classroom in time.

...1 minute left...

I must be getting closer

...30 seconds left...

How big is this place!?

...10 seconds left...

I Think I see it!

    ...9...8...7...6...

As the door closed behind Zafo, he was extremely shocked at the sight he saw before him. Before his eyes was a huge room, complete with plenty of simulators and other various training devices. One corner of the room was enclosed. This was to be the actually "classroom" where Zafo worried he would find himself sitting for days on end, learning the same stuff over and over again.

There were all ready six other imperials sitting at their own table. As Zafo entered they all turned to look at him.

"You are just on time Mr..." Stated the officer in the front of the class

"Zafo" Zafo continued for him.

"Well Zafo, if you could just take a seat so we could begin our lesson."

"Welcome. I am Colonel Dorr Fesh. You are all here today, and for the next while to learn how to pilot, repair, and use in combat various vehicles of the VEA. My staff and I will make sure that once you leave my class, you will know everything there is to know about vehicles. You will be learning how to pilot/maintain all vehicles but you are probably going to want to specialize in a vehicle. Just let me know, and you will be givin extra training/assignments concerning that particular vehicle. Understood?"

A muphled "yes" carried itself across the room.

"Now to Begin" Dorr Began...
"You all have a model of the basic controls of all vehicles right in front of you. Some are more complicated, some less. Some are changed around, but the basic of basics is basically the same. You got your radar, located up here. A bit below you've got your communications radio, which will prove incredibly valuable in combat. Here is the standard controlling stick/wheel of the vehicle. It will take more than just this to actually control the vehicle, you have to combine that with engine thrust and head rotaion, if you are dealing with a vehicle such as an AT-ST and so forth. This little thing up here Is called the..."

The colonel went on for about an hour naming the various aspects of the standard control unit. As he would explain something, Zafo would make sure he new where it was, what it looked like and how it felt when in his hand.

"Is that all clear?" the colonel asked. Once again a "yes" rippled across the room.

"Now" the colonel began once again. "If you are wanting to go anywhere on your vehicle, you are going to want it to be ON. The process is simple enough. First, you must enter the activation code. Secondly you must make sure that there is nothing wrong with the engine, which can be achieved by looking at this monitors this is very important..."
***** 3 Hours Later *****

"Now you've learnt the basics of the basics, but what is the use of it, if you can't incorporate it into a real vehicle" said Dorr "Please follow me to the training field."

All students got up exceptionally quickly, all wanting to pilot the vehicle of their choice. They got up and charged through the door, nearly knocking the colonel over. Zafo was happy to see that their hopes of piloting massive AT-AT type vehicles was crushed when they look at 7 identical landspeeders. A moan of disapproval echoed through the students.

"These" the colonel started "are not standard landspeeders. They have been modified to be exactly like the control model you have on your tables. What you have to do, to pass this course is simple: Start the engines of your vehicles, travel in a straight line for 1 kilometer then stop your vehicle. Do it under 2 minutes, and you pass. This particular landspeerder requires no activation code. Also, to add to the intensity, it's a race. First one finished, gets first choice for their vehicle tomorrow. Are you ready? Go."

Zafo sprung into the landspeeder that was directly in front of him. He concentrated on what the colonel had said earlier that day about starting the vehicle. The first thing he did was check the sensors to make sure everything was fine with the speeder. The sensors told him that it was low on fuel. He looked and the ground beside his vehicle and saw a fuel canister. He hopped out of the speeder and forced the speeder to chug the fuel, every second counted. When the tank was full he ran to the side of his speeder and got in. He smacked the right buttons and pulled the right levers, then threw the thrust lever forward. The landspeeder lurched forward with incredible speed. The feeling of controlling something even as small in power as the speeder was incredible.

Zafo watched as the finish line drew closer and closer. He quickly dropped the speed of the speeder as he crossed the line. He reversed the process he did to start the engine then immediately looked behind him. As he turned his head another speeder zoomed pass the line. Followed by another and another. Two more passed 15 seconds later. Two of them however, stopped in the middle of the field.

They must have forgotten to check the fuel levels in their speeders Zafo said to himself. Silly mistake, like the colonel said always check the sensors before doing anything.

"Times up!" Zafo heard the colonel blast through a megaphone "All of you at the line pass, you two in the middle, see me after class." Even though they were half a kilometre away, Zafo could tell how distressed those to troopers were. He would be too if he had made such a stupid mistake. "Well done Zafo" the colonel continued "You get to chose which vehicle you will specialize in first."

Zafo was incredibly pleased with himself. This might actually work for me. He strolled back to the building where they started. On his way through the door he heard the colonel screaming at the two troopers who stopped in the middle of the field "What were you thinking!? If that fuel tank was completely empty and you tried to start that thing you could have blown yourselfs up! Never. Ever. EVER. Make that mistake again. ALWAYS check your sensors!"

Zafo decided not to listen in on any more. He continued through the room, which he had entered earlier that day. He walked out with much more confidence that he entered with.
As he exited into the crowded hallways of the training facility, his face exploded into a grin. He had made it through stage one.

 
-----------------------
~ZaFo
*DarkDragoons*
TRP/LCPL ZaFo/DD/2PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE

Scout Training:
Wilderness Survival:

"Alright Sergeant."  The pimply eighteen year old upstart lieutenant started.  "Since you are combat seasoned and trained for special forces, you aren't getting the typical run of the mill evaluation here.  The training officer was kind enough to give you a much harder task to approach, I trust that meets with your approval."  The lieutenant continued sarcastically.  Afyon grumbled as he stood impatiently, arms crossed in order to prevent himself from doing something rash to the smart ass lieutenant.  "We will be dropping you in the middle of a dense jungle.  Due to the climate and the heavy atmosphere, the temperatures will hit almost fifty degrees during the day and cool down to about twenty at night.  You will be given a small flask of water, water filtration gear, a pistol with an extra clip, a flashlight, sleeping bag and a tent.  Your mission is simply to survive for two nights.  During this time you must make yourself a meal from what you can find around you and start a fire to cook it on.  We will monitor your progress and will airlift you out if you begin to suffer severe heat stroke.  Any questions?"  The lieutenant asked as he looked up from the clipboard in his hand.

"None you would want to hear."  Afyon replied.  The almost laughed at the Lieutenant's ridiculous stare of confusion.  "Where can I pick up my gear?"

"It is being loaded on a shuttle as we speak, you are to report to the hanger in ten minutes.  Good luck Sergeant."  The Lieutenant answered.

"As if you care."  Afyon replied as he headed out the door.  He quickly made his way towards the hanger and boarded the shuttle just in time.

"Welcome aboard Sergeant."  The pilot said as Afyon stuck his head into the cockpit to let them know he was ready to head out.

"Thanks."  Afyon replied.  He turned and sat down in the back.  He quickly changed into the clothing he was given for the jungle and inspected the gear inside the pack he was issued.

Twenty minutes later, he got the signal that they were approaching the drop zone.  It seemed in order to spice up the mission further, they were going to make Afyon parachute into the jungle.  God I love what these damn training bastards have up their sleeves.  Afyon thought as he strapped on the parachute.  He attached his pack to a cord that hung from the bottom of the parachute pack.  Thirty seconds later, the door was opened and the ten second count began.  On ten, Afyon lept out of the shuttle and after counting to two he yanked the cord.  The parachute stalled for a quick second before fully deploying.  About two minutes after he had jumped, Afyon aimed for an open spot in the jungle brush.  He prepared for a hard landing, only to be surprised when he heard a loud splash followed by a very wet feeling.  The gap he had aimed for ended up being a marsh.

"Dammit!"  He shouted as he quick swam towards the edge.  Once on shore, he pulled on the cord to get his pack out of the water.  He wasn't surprised to see that it wasn't waterproof.  He left the parachute in the water and unstrapped the pack.  It wasn't worth pulling it out.  Afyon strapped the wet pack onto his soaked body and made his way into the jungle.  After a thirty minute walk which seemed like an eternity thanks to the wet clinging clothes, he managed to find a spot which looked like as good a place as any to spend two miserable wet nights.  The site he had chosen was on the bank of a river which swelled in this area to look like a lake.  He knew the running water would mean that the water would be easier to purify than that of the marsh he had had the pleasure of landing in.  Since he had no mission specifications other than making a meal and surviving, Afyon set up his tent, complete with bug netting which he was thankful for, and he crawled in.  He took a sip from the small flask of water he had and decided he may as well get some sleep during the hot part of the day.

"Sir, he may have succeed in passing every test to date, but do you honestly think your experiment will succeed here?"  The man demanded.  He continued to walk one step behind a menacing looking man in green and black robes.

"We have worked long and hard on making this procedure work, it is now time to put it to use.  If he can break the seal of this temple and destroy the last bastion of his grandfather's spirit, his soul and power will be mine to command.  He will be the most powerful of my servants and I will prove to that damn foolish Emperor that my technique is more effective than his.  The Emperor swayed one powerful jedi to his side and had him kill hundreds.  I will recruit hundreds to my side, the Dark Jedi ranks will be filled by the offspring of the light Jedi.  Soon we will take command of the Dark Jedi and will rage a campaign so terrible that all will fear us."  The man in the black and green robes declared as the group of three made their way towards a run down temple in the middle of a dense jungle.  The approach to the temple was littered with old, crumbling stone walkways and statues covered in thick moss.  A minute later, they were standing at the foot of the steps leading into the crumbling temple.  The man in the robes looked over to the man walking in front of them.  He was dressed in white robes and had a blaster and a lightsaber strapped around his waste.  "Corran, you know your mission.  Inside the main room is a seal that is powered by the spirit of a Jedi Master who's soul inhabits this temple and protects it.  You must shatter this sphere or you will fail to complete your training."  The robed man stated.

"Yes master."  Corran replied.  His eyes gaze a glassy gaze towards the two men before he made his way up the temple steps in a zombie like fashion.

Afyon woke up suddenly in a cold sweat.  He tried to recall what was happening and then he heard the noise which had awoken him.  Outside, a pair of predatory birds had raced paced, picking up prey as they went.  The cold shrill of the creature they had caught pierced the jungle air.  Afyon shuddered at the sound of the painful shriek.  After a few seconds, the birds had passed by leaving the jungle silent with the exception for the usual chirps of various insects and birds.  Afyon took another sip from the flask and took out his filtration gear.  He made his way outside an gathered water to put into the purifier.  Then he had to figure out something to eat.  He took out his flashlight and looked around the area where he was.  Ultimately he decided to settle on a diet of the most appetizing greens.  He poured some of the filtered water in the pot he was given and stuffed it with greens.  Then he looked around for something to start a fire with.  Everything's too damn wet.  Afyon thought as he looked around.  Finally, he piled several branches into a fire like structure and ignited it with a pistol shot.

Ten minutes later, the greens seemed tender enough to eat and Afyon shoved a couple in his mouth.  They were moist and rather chewy but ultimately he had tasted worse crap from typical rations.  He drank the remainer of the purified water he had made and then crawled back into the tent to sleep.  With any luck, he'd sleep through until the next night.  Afyon awoke around 15:00 the next afternoon.  His first task was to purify more water for the day.  Once he had poured the water into the purifier, he drank the rest of the
water in his flask and laid back down in the tent.  The heat was swealtering and the humidity made the climate almost unbearable to Afyon who was used to far lower temperatures and drier climates.  He knew all he had to do was simply keep hydrated until the next morning and judging from the heat, that'd be about all he would be able to do.

Three hours later, the temperature had begun to fall as the jungle was transformed from the quiet, lazy jungle of the day time to the cool, bustling bastion of animal activity at night.  Afyon decided he may as well eat the rations and drink what water he had before catching some more sleep.  With any luck, the shuttle would be by early in the morning to take him out of this inferno.

The next morning, Afyon awoke to the sound of a repulsorlift landing near his position.  A moment later, a man called into the tent.

"Sergeant Afyon?"  The private asked.

"About time private, let's get the hell out of here."  Afyon stated.  He climbed out of the tent and quickly threw all the gear back into his pack.  He slung the wet pack over his shoulder and made his way onto the shuttle.  He felt wet and damp from lying in the humidity soaking wet for two days.

"Welcome aboard Sergeant and congratulations.  You passed your mission.  Good work."  The pimply Lieutenant who had given him the debriefing said as Afyon boarded.

"Nice of you to bother to show up to pick me up."  Afyon grumbled as he threw his pack on the floor and flopped down on one of the seats.  His filthy wet body immediately stained the cushions on the seat, must to the disgust of the young Lieutenant.  For his own good, the Lieutenant kept his mouth shut and simply walked forward to the cockpit to inform the pilot they were ready for liftoff.

 
-----------------------
+ Advance Recon Commandos {ARC} +
SL/SFC_Afyon/2SQD/2PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE/[LoR][IH][CoH(2)][SoA]

Scout Trooper Training:
Repulsorlift and Hovercraft Operation

A pair of speeder bikes nearly knocked Afyon over as they blew by.  He looked around cautiously and then quickly made his way across the motor pool to where a corporal was standing by.

"Ah welcome Sergeant, right this way please."  The corporal instructed.  "Now today I am giving you an overview of how to operate repulsorlift and hovercraft vehicles.  Of course, there is limited difference between the two, the primary one is the altitude range.  Hovercrafts, as their name indicates, hover just a couple meters off the ground max while repulsorlift vehicles can sometimes have an altitude range of twenty-five meters."  The corporal dragged on.  "Now let me explain to you in detail just how a repulsorlift coil works."  He continued as he walked towards one of the vehicles.  Afyon nodded and followed the corporal over to the vehicle.  For the next twenty minutes, he simply tuned out the annoy natterings of the corporal and thought about what kind of test runs they were going to make him perform.  Afyon was jolted out of his daydreaming by a landspeeder that flew past them.  He looked down at this watch.

"Alright Corporal you've nattered enough.  I am not here to learn the science of the repulsorlift coil, I'm here to pilot vehicles now shall we get on with it?"  Afyon demanded.  The corporal looked stunned for a moment then closed his gaping jaw and led Afyon over to the simulator.

"Now then Sergeant, I've prepared two simulations for you.  The first will be piloting a small hovertank over a rocky hillside, the second will by piloting a speeder bike through an obstacle course I've programmed.  These missions should be challenging enough for an experienced soldier like yourself, if not, I can arrange to make your life a lot harder very quickly."  The corporal grinned.

"Cut the wisecracks and get on with it."  Afyon grumbled.  The corporal led him over to the hovercraft simulator and Afyon climbed in.  He quickly strapped in and took a moment to examine the controls before hitting the start button.  A moment later, a very lifelike rocky hillside appeared through the windshield of the virtual tank.  Afyon slowly accelerated the tank and pulled back to lift it to it's maximum altitude which Afyon learned was a mere two meters.  "Lovely..." he grumbled as he began to navigate around the rocks.  The tank bounced violent as he passed over the smaller ones, it was nearly impossible to find a fully clear path.  At one point, the tank shudder and bounced right off a rock which Afyon had gussed incorrectly about its size.

"Dammit Sergeant, if you were in a real tank there'd be nothing left of it by now."  The corporal stated over the commlink.  The tank bounced again over a rock as Afyon continued up the hill.

"Shut your trap wise guy, you try running this program of yours, you'd have the same problems!"  Afyon shouted angrily as he passed over the top of the ridge and gunned it.  He passed between several boulders and raced through the finish line ending the simulation.  The simulator opened a few minutes later and Afyon climbed out.  He was slightly bruised from the rough ride but nothing too serious.  It was time for the bike training.

Afyon climbed into the tight bike simulator and hit the start button.  A forested area appeared before him with various blue hoops.  The next hoop he was to pass through would turn red.  Afyon gunned the accelerator and raced through the first three hoops.  The next one was up high on the left, Afyon backed of the accelerator and pulled up hard, racing through the hoop at a steep angle.  The next five were a series of tight up and down turns and then led into a spiral pattern. 

Twenty minutes and a hundred hoops later, Afyon landed the bike back at the starting pad and the simulator shut off.  Afyon climbed out slowly, the wild ride he had been put on had made him a bit dizzy.  He had taken high g-forces for a sustained period of time and it would take him a while to feel exactly normal again.

"Congratulations Sergeant, that was an amazing performance.  You pass."  The corporal exclaimed.  Afyon gave him an angry glare and walked awkwardly out of the motorpool building.  He'd let Rizzit deal with the paperwork.
 
-----------------------
+ Advance Recon Commandos {ARC} +
SL/SFC_Afyon/2SQD/2PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE/[LoR][IH][CoH(2)][SoA]

Combat Engineer
    Basic Electronics/wiring
   

Sam entered the academy and head to the classroom that he was told to go.
    He entered the room and is greeted by the instructor.
    "Today you will be learning basic wiring," said the instructor, "You will be rewiring a DD6 blaster for your final exam in this class."
    "Well, let's get started," replied Sam.

    "I'm just going to tell you what you have to work with on most occasions," stated his instructor handing him a basic wiring kit.
    "First there are the clamps and various screwing items," stated the instructor, "There are also some extra wires, for obvious reasons, and a small fusing tool, which is used to fuse wires together."
    The instructor hands Sam his wiring kit and a small handbook of small electronic equipment. The instructor heads to a different room to get practice supplies. Sam flips through the small handbook and looks at all the items that he would soon be able to work on efficiently. There are small radios, clocks, com-links, and a variety of small arms.
    The instructor returns with a small radio. Sam flips to the page with the model of radio the instructor just brought out. Sam looks at a diagram of the wiring for the radio.
    "This looks really simple," Sam thinks to himself, "I wonder if all of them are this simple."
    He flips to one of the blasters. This diagram has a lot more stuff but is still straight to the point of how it functions.

    "Well I see that you are somewhat eager to learn about basic electronics," the instructor remarks.
    "Yeah, I am...kinda," replies Sam.
    "Well here you go, this is a broken radio," says the instructor, "You will need to fix it, basically."
    His instructor turns around and begins to look for something in his large teaching book. Sam looks at the busted radio. He grabs it and opens it up. As he looks through the inside, he quickly notices what is wrong, before the instructor turns around.
    Sam grabs a wire and his fusing tool out of his kit and begins to work on the radio. His instructor turns around.
    "Whoa, hold on there a second!" says the instructor.
    Sam looks up, puts the cover back on the radio, gives it some power, and turns it on.
    "What?" Sam asked with a clear sound coming out of the radio.
    "I didn't get to explain what I wanted you to do or even look for," replied the instructor, "But I am amazed that you fixed that thing so quickly, many of my students take around thirty minutes to an hour to even figure out how to use the fusion tool."
    "Heh, do you want me to undo what I just did and do it again or can we go on?" Sam asked.
    "Oh what the hell, you seem to have a pretty good idea of basic electronics. I will just give you a practice exam with the DD6 and if you do not ace it then we will just have to go through all the lessons. If you do ace it then I'll just call that your exam and send your results of to Rizzit," said the instructor.
    "Okay," replied Sam.
    His instructor heads to the back room again to get the DD6 blaster for Sam's exam. Sam flips off the radio and looks for the DD6 in his handbook. He looks and the complexity of the small blaster.
    "I didn't think that blasters could be so complex," Sam said quietly.
    He studies the diagram and sees all of the different resistors and capacitors. He works on getting familiar with the diagram and how the blaster is constructed. He reads a small description at the bottom.
    "There are some points on the blaster that should be looked at first, before you open up the unit to check for wiring problems. First, is the safety on? Second, does it have ammo or is it loaded? Finally, is there something in the barrel?"
    "You would have to be an absolute idiot to not notice if it is out of ammo or if something is in the barrel," Sam thinks aloud.
    "After you open the unit, there are some general problems that could go wrong with this blaster. If it over heated check for melted wires and blown capacitors. Next, check to see if there are any wires which may have shorted, they usually have scorch marks around where they are connected."
    "Well here you go Sam," said the instructor as he places a bunch of pieces on the table in front of Sam.
    "What is all this?" Sam inquired.
    "These are the pieces you will use to construct the DD6 blaster," stated the instructor.
    "Oh, I thought that I was going to have to fix a broken DD6," said Sam.
    "Nope, I kinda thought that would be too easy," said the instructor, "I have already assembled the outer casing and the main board. Now all to have to do is wire it correctly and that is it."
    "Oh, okay that is a bit easier than constructing the whole thing from just a bunch of pieces," laughed Sam.

    Sam began with attaching the power cables to the main board. Then, he proceeded to the firing mechanism and everything else.

    After a good hour or so, Sam attached the power supply and put the completed unit in the blaster's outer casing.
    "Well, I'm all done," said Sam, "I don't think I missed anything."
    "Good, now let's go try it out to see if you passed," replied the instructor.
    They head to a small shooting range down the hall. The instructor flashes his ID to the guard and they enter.
    "Put this on," said the instructor as he tossed a vest at Sam.

    Sam puts on the vest and grabs a face shield. He picks up his newly constructed blaster and loads a few shots into it. A guard gives him the okay to start shooting. Sam fires all his shots, steps down from the box, and puts the safety on the blaster.
    "Well done Sam, well done," says the instructor, "You have passed. I shall send your results to Rizzit now."

[OCC: In the future, I'll work on making these a tad shorter /OCC]

Vehicle Creman Training:
Terrain & Weather Conditions & Operation

Zafo and his comrades were already soaked. They had been standing outside for no more than 5 minutes. Thunder was crashing and lightning seemed to be striking everywhere.
This will be one fun classZafo said to himself sarcastically as a lightning bolt struck in the field in front of him.

"What a wonderful day for the lesson we have today" The instructor began, his mouth twisting into an evil smile "Your lesson today is how to manoeuvre through rough terrain and harsh weather conditions. The Battlefield is not always going to be a warm, sunny environment that smells nice and has plenty of beautiful plants. Sometimes, in order to avoid being detected or for a variety of other reasons you won't be travelling over the easiest terrain."

"When you are using walkers" The instructor continued "One thing heavy rain might do is loosen up the soil. Put loose soil on a steep slope and that can give you a problem. If the ground is really muddy and the slope is rather steep, the slightest miscalculation can send you and your walker to the ground. With a wheeled vehicle, you have much more traction in a similar situation but at high speeds your traction could be compromised. Tracked vehicles or speeders are best to use in this situation. A tracked vehicle has little chance of slipping in harsh conditions. Speeders are notfor people who have slow reflexes. They travel at really high speeds, not that easy when you going through a forest You need to adjust the height so that you stay no more than 1.5 meters from the ground. Going to high on a slope can confuse the auto-adjusting system and cause you take a dive into the ground. Speeders though, are more sensitive to wind..."

************************* 3 Long Hours Later ******************************

"Wow. Exam time already. Didn't that go by fast?" The instructor said with a smirk. The class just grumbled in return.

"Since you've all been so enthusiastic today" The instructor continued "You won't be using your favourite vehicles" The class groaned again, this time much louder than before. "When I call your name, I will tell you what kind of vehicle you have to use. The course you will be following is marked in orange on the ground and on the trees. It is a circle, so you will start and end here.

"Jackson" The instructor called "You will be using an AT-ST" Judging by the look on Jackson's face, he wasn't ready to face these harsh conditions in a vehicle much different than the speeder he usually used. Zafo watched as Jackson walked over towards the AT-STs. He was relieved to see that Jackson picked the one beside the one Zafo used. As Zafo watched Jackson make his way over the muddy hill, he noted that me made 2 not to important mistakes already. He looked over at the instructor to see if he noticed the same mistakes. His question was answered when he saw the instructor mark something down on his sheet.

************************* 35 Minutes Later ********************************

"Zafo" The instructor called "You will be using a Speeder Bike" he said, waving his hand in the general direction of where they were stored. Zafo walked over, nearly slipping on the mud and climbed onto the bike that was closest to him. Luckily Zafo thought to himself I don't have to worry about mud.

Zafo started up the Speeder Bike. He used to race swoops with his friends before he joined the empire, which are very similar to the military edition bikes. Zafo listened to familiar humming of the speeder's engine as he slowly glided towards the obstacles courses' starting line.

"Well you know what to do" The instructor said "Oh, and I forgot to mention something earlier, time counts. Go when you ready"

If the instructor thought that would intimidate Zafo, he was 100% wrong. Speeder Bikes were meant for speed, and Zafo was a rather experienced swoop rider. A flash of lightning brightened Zafo's vision for a split second, followed by a crash of thunder. Zafo revved his bike to the max, before launching the bike forward at an incredible speed of 450 km/h. Within seconds, Zafo was right in front of the first obstacle, a simple hill.

Luckily I'm not with my walker Zafo thought to himself With all that mud, it would be hell getting over that hill

Zafo simply gradually adjusted the altitude of his speeder by laying pressure on the foot pedals. The hill went down at relatively the same slope on the other side, so it caused no great trouble. Zafo tried to see if he could make out any trail markers as he flew past the world around him at an incredible speed. In the distance, Zafo saw an orange beacon straight ahead. Zafo accelerated the bike even more causing it to go an incredible 500 km/h. The beacon which seemed to be at least 5 km away would be reached in several more seconds. A sudden gust of wind caught the speeder bike a flung it to the right hand side. In response, Zafo immediately dropped his high speed and took a hard left. He had been travelling rather high for a speeder bike, which is probably why the wind had caught him. If he had been travelling any lower, at the speed he was going, we probably would have ended up crashing into a big rock.

When Zafo reached the beacon, he brought his bike to a complete stop. Looking in all directions for any kind of orange mark. After a minute of looking around, Zafo saw a rather small orange line pointing directly into the forest.

Just great, a forest Zafo thought to himself I don't think it can get any more dangerous than this.

Shaking off his minor nervousness, Zafo flew the bike into the forest. The trees were relatively thin, for the moment. Zafo kept the bike going at a steady 125 km/h. He was not comfortable going any faster under these circumstances. Zafo had to take a hard left swerve to avoid what would have been a very ugly collision with a particularly big tree.

The forest was steadily growing thicker and more dangerous. Zafo was taking many sharp abrupt turns, dives and hops to avoid hitting the massive trees. Just when Zafo thought if it got any more dangerous, he would get him self killed, the forest abruptly stopped. There was an incredibly long rock plain. As Zafo sped out of the forest, he caught sight of a sign that was planted into the rock. Zafo halted the bike and slowly brought it back so he could read the sign. It read;

Caution 20 meter gap 1 km ahead

Up until this point Zafo thought the course was rather easy. Clearing a gap that size would be no easy task. So far Zafo had had the luxuory of skipping over many terrain difficulties he only would have noticed with a walker. Zafo thought for a second before proceeding to the gap.

I need to go at a decent speed, around 300 km/h until I get within 100 meters of the gap. Then I'll slam down the accelerator to give a big speed boost, 25 meters before the drop, ill bring the bike down, then slam the altitude pedals down, causing a spring type effect. Hopefully that'll be enough to make it over

Zafo gathered his wits and started riding towards his worst fear, at the moment. As he drew closer, he kept repeating the plan in his head, over and over again. When Zafo reached the 100 meter mark, he did just as he planed. The bike lurched forward, the engine screeching in protest as Zafo tried to make it accelerate faster than it was capable of. Zafo's mental 20 meter line approached and he did his "hop".

Zafo watched as the solid ground underneath him turned into a plunge into darkness. A cold draft from the bottom of the canyon rushed up towards him. His heart started to beat at a very high pace, once the bike had began its decent. Zafo slammed both pedals down the second the bike made it clear of the canyon, so the speeder would not go plunging into the dirt. A cloud of dust rose from the place where the speeder "landed" on the rocky surface.

Zafo continued to follow the path. Up ahead, he saw a canyon, through which he guessed he was going to have to manoeuvre. Unlike the forest, this canyon was more a test of up and down moving as opposed to side to side. Zafo brought the speeder to a comfortable speed, and began plunging and rising to avoid smashing into large outcrops of rock that shot from one canyon wall to the other.

Once Zafo emerged from the canyon, he saw another beacon not to far away. The field that separated Zafo from the beacon was a field full of terrain related hazards. At this point the wind had really picked up, that was probably going to cause a problem for Zafo. The field was filled with small hills, small forests large rocks and other things that would make this part of the course difficult. Due to the high winds, Zafo decided it would probably be best if he traveled at a high speed even through the forests.

Zafo felt himself being pulled back as he accelerated the bike to 475 km/h. His body was sore from being battered against wind and raindrops. On Zafo sped over the hills, through the forests, around rocks, down drops and across 5 meter long canyons. When the base of the beacon came into sight, Zafo realised that this was where he started. Pulling the speeder bike to a halt in front of the instructor, Zafo pulled off his helmet and looked over in his direction, waiting for some sort of feed back.

The instructor began; "Zafo, you continue to impress me with your vehicular capabilities. Every exam, you consistantly pass my standard expectations. Congratulations" 
-----------------------
~ZaFo
*DarkDragoons*
TRP/LCP ZaFo/2SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE
~Keep on Rocking in the Free World

Combat Engineer Training
Metal Fabrication

Kami walked into the small classroom designated for her next course and stopped mid-step. Her classroom was in fact a small workshop, dank concrete walls with a few tables and chairs scattered in-between large metal processing machinery and small furnaces, all capable of bending and twisting metal to their needs.
A loud cough behind her snapped Kami out of her brief reverie, and she stepped aside to make room for another trainee, a familiar looking dark skinned Lance Corporal, who had passed the last few tests of the course alongside Kami. The Lance Corporal took a few long legged strides into the room before he too came to a halt, his eyes going wide as he took in the organized mess in front of him.

"Hmmpf..." A char faced instructor popped his head up from behind an anvil, "How do you expect to learn from the doorway? Take a seat."
The Lance Corporal looked back at Kami with his eyebrows raised, but Kami just shrugged and flopped into the nearest chair a few feet away. The instructor grinned at her, then disappeared once again into a pile of metal.
The Lance Corporal slid into the chair next to her, bending his long legs under a stray piece of steel pipe, "This is....a little strange" he murmured to Kami as a large group of trainees walked into the room, chatting loudly. Kami flashed a smile at one of the newcomers before answering back, "As long as it serves its purpose, I don't give a damm."
The Lance Corporal chuckled, a striking smile flashing over his face, "Me neither. I'm just itching to get this course over and done with, so I can get back to the field."
He extended a hand, "Name's Rand."
Kami clasped his hand gently, "Kami."
Rand nodded, "I know who you are. You're making quite an impression on the instructors here."
Kami felt a slight flush of embarrassment rise to her cheeks, "Girl's gotta do what she needs to pass."
Rand laughed, "True." He threw her a wink "But you're making the rest of us look second rate."

"Hrrmmmpf!" The instructor jumped dramatically out from behind his anvil, scaring a few of the students near the front of the classroom, "Are we all here? Hrrmpf??"
He looked around, then apparently satisfied, pulled a projector out from amid a pile of metal scrapings. "Welcome to Metal Fabrication."

He dumped the projector on top of his anvil and activated it, speaking as he attempted to clear up the picture, "In this course, you will learn the basics of metal manipulation, what metal is, how it is composed, how it is obtained, and how it is twisted into the form that serves us so well today..." He span about and gestured to a weapons holster on one of the trainees belt, "The form of weapons, vehicles, and military structures."

The instructor banged the top of the projector then 'Hmmpffd' happily as first clip of the slideshow slid into place. "Today's test will be theory, though I will be letting you experiment with a few pieces of my equipment later on, which you may or may not come across in missions in the future. I will also give you a demonstration in structure development, so when you need a barricade of some sort to save your life, you can make the strongest metal barricade possible."
The instructor pulled a pile of booklets from a precariously balanced shelf, then began to hand them out to the trainees. "The slideshow goes for a little over three hours. You may take notes during the slideshow, but you will not be allowed to use them in the test at the end of the day. After the slideshow is completed, I will guide your through an hour or so of practical work, then you will have forty minutes to complete the test that will see you graduate from this course."
He raised soot covered hands, palms upwards, "Any questions?"
Kami stifled a groan and readjusted her position on the rickety wooden chair. This was going to be a very long 5 hours....

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

Five hours later Kami rested her forehead in soot covered hands.
"So sick of metal..." Rand mumbled from next to her, rubbing his eyes against the bright glare of the sun, and nursing a furnace induced burn on his right arm.
Kami nodded her agreement, then looked up, her eyes running over the char colored students on her class, most of which were sprawled about the small courtyard nursing overworked heads.
Kami's mind was still running at a thousand klicks a minute, reviewing the different metals, their breaking points, the strongest metal formations...
Rand's hand clasped her shoulder, "Yo, earth to Kami. Mr. Metal God looks like he's finished marking the papers."
Kami straightened just in time to see the instructor stride out of the nearest building.
He walked over to his students, his eyes squinted to narrow slits in order to see them in the sunlight, before making his way slowly among them, silently handing out the graded papers.

Moans and cheers broke out among the trainees as success or failure was announced by the bright red mark on the last page of the test.
The instructor walked up to Rand and Kami, the last members of the class to receive their marks, handed them their papers, gave a loud 'Hmmpf!', then turned on his heel to scuttle back to the shadows of his classroom.
Rand gave a loud whoop from next to her, waving a paper graded with an 80, "Who would of thought any of that info sunk in!"
Kami flipped through her pages, then felt her heart jump as an 89 flashed up at her in bright red.

Rand let out another whoop at the sight of Kami's score, then draped an arm about Kami's shoulders.
"C'mon Kam, lets go celebrate!"
Caught up in the big man's enthusiasm, Kami laughed, and allowed herself to be dragged to the mess.

 
-----------------------
*DarkDragoons*
-=silly caucasian girl likes to play with samurai swords=-
-=pretty...what do we blow up first?=-
TRP/CPL kaMi/2SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE [LoR] [CoR] [IG]

Cook Training:
Kitchen Safety

Aaah, back to base... This phase of my training will be done in an indoor environment... Thank God! No more land mines, No more trainees with Penis defects! Ohkies... Kitchen Safety, show me what you got...

TK walked towards the indoor facility in a more relaxed manner only to be greeted by a Stormtrooper Commando wearing a chef's hat instead of a helmet. TK halted infront of the commando and showed him his identification pass.

"Senior Sergeant David "TK-112" Bowman reporting in for Kitchen Safety Training!" TK informed as he stood at attention.
"Welcome Senior Sergeant! I am Senior Sergeant Arkan, your Kitchen Safety instructor. In this course you will be taught the basics of MOKT!" Arkan informed.
"Senior Sergeant, MOKT? I've head of MOUT but what is MOKT?" TK Asked.
"Senior Sergeant, MOKT stands for Military Operations: Kitchen Tactics!" Arkan answered.
"Oh God..." TK muttered.

The two walked inside.
The indoor facility consisted of a kill house with a kitchen situated right in the middle of it. Hanging from the roof was a viewing room where the instructor could see everything that was happening down below.

"Now Senior Sergeant, you've learned how to cook, you've learned how to shoot. Now inside that kitchen there are a set of twelve grenades, one proximity mine and a blaster rifle. These are all set to stun only so don't worry. However your opponents will be a squad of trainees attempting to raid your kitchen. They are armed with light rifles that are also set on stun.

Your objective is to boil three eggs while deffending your kitchen, you may set traps using the mines and the grenades but whatever happens. Those eggs mus NOT be harmed. Are you ready Senior Sergeant?" Arkan explained.

"Bring on the cannon fodder..." TK confidantly said as he walked into the kill house.

TK navigated through the maze... With great difficulty he finally arrived at the kitchen. He looked around and saw his equipment. He knew that he needed to utilise the traps to its maximum pottential. With extreme care, TK grabbed six grenades and started to deploy them with trip wires. He then looked at the proximity mine.

What kind I do with that I wonder... Hmm, I might be able to turn it into a grenade... Arrr!

TK started to boil the eggs. It didn't seem to be a very hard task. Suddenly, he heard voices... Whispers that came from the corridor in front of him.

"Hey, I heard that the OPFOR is a Senior Sergeant." One voice whispered.
"Must've had combat experience! Just look at the way he set this corridor up with traps!" Another voice whispered with a tone of amazement.
"Becareful, stun setting still does damage to your brain..." A more careful voice whispered.

Suddenly a huge explosion was heard....

"Aaaah! My arse is burning!" I trainee screamt.
"Aaaah! My penis exploded into three different parts!" Another trainee screamt.
"Aaaah! This mine is real.... Medic!!!" A lucky trainee screamt.

Well... That's three down, six more to go I guess... But didn't Arkan told me that this is stun gear? Crap! I don't want a grenade exploding next to me!

TK swiftly threw his grenades into the next room which created a huge explosion. Parts of the wooden wall were punctured creating a rather large hole. TK could see a group of downed trainees laying still on the ground and two more senior trainees looking towards their comrades. TK used this to his advantage and shot the two trainees with his rifle effectively incacipitating them.

Damn it, I can't believe that my rifle is the only thing that's set on stun... Hmm that jsut shows that there's no such things as fragmentation grenades and land mines that are set on stun. Oh well... Poor trainees... Better them than me I guess. Hmm I think I'm forgetting something. Aaah! My eggs!

TK looked at his eggs and found that it was boiled to perfection. Arkan approached him and swallowed all three boiled eggs in the same time. TK looked back in amazement.

"Senior Sergeant, these are the best boiled eggs I have tasted in a MOKT course. Just don't tell any pottential recruits about this little incident that occurred today. Think about it as an easy combat experience." Arkan Commented.
"Senior Sergeant, of course..." TK replied with a smile in his face.
"Senior Sergeant, with that you have passed this section of your training. Good luck in the future." Arkan informed.
  -----------------------
Senior Sergeant David "TK-112"Bowman
Field Cook in training
*DarkDragoons* - Vast Empire Army
TRP/SSG TK-112/2SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/1REG/VEA/VE [CoR] [IH] [BoA]
"Winner of the let's imitate TK-112 for a day competition"
"You will obtain your ass upward! Fall your cranes and you will grip your noses! 0015 it is hour" - Faulty online translator

Vehicle Crewman Training:
Navigation

Zafo's feet slid lazily across the floor. Approached the door of the vehicle education section and swayed to the side, before opening the door.

Why? Zafo thought Why the hell do we have to do this at 1:30 in the morning?

Zafo was even more miserable when he saw the room before him was empty. He let out a loud groan which was answered by a rolling sound. A technician got up from under a simulator, and pointed to the door. "They are outside, Corporal"

A draft of cold night air greeted Zafo as he opened the door. The rest of the class was already standing outside shivering. "Finally" Zafo heard a private groaned as Zafo joined the group. "Shut it, You" Zafo answered bitterly. He was too tired to be mocked.

The instructor, who seemed as tired and annoyed as the rest of the troops, said very little. All he would say whenever anyone asked him about anything was "This is a secret skill testing mission, which will determine how independent you can be. Information will be loaded onto you datapad at the last second" Nobody knew what he meant by that, but they all played along

"Zafo" The instructor started "I'd like you to go first. You are doing the best of anyone in this class, so you deserve to hit the sack as soon as possible"

"Why thank you, Sir" Zafo answered, incredibly pleased to receive the compliment

Zafo walked into the airspeeder with the instructor that was parked behind the podium. Once they were both in, this instructor signalled to the pilot to take off. Once they were airborne the instructor turned to Zafo and said;

"This Task is to determine your navigating capabilities. Accurate maps may not always be provided for you. Sometimes you will only be given a general direction, or general coordinates. The reason this lesson is at night is so you can see the starts, which are a very important navigation tool. Do NOT go through the forest. If it is required for you to go through, there will be a path going through. If there is no path, and you  think you have to go through the forest, you are going the wrong way. There will be times in a real battle situation where you might have to travel through a forest at night, but you will be using a decently fast speeder, and I don't want to have any accidents"

The airspeeder continued to soar over forests, plains mountains and cliffs. Zafo thought he reconized obstacles from previous training missions, such as the huge canyon he had to jump with the speeder bike. The pilot brought the speeder to the ground on an elevated circle in the middle of a large plain. The instructor walked out of the speeder and motioned for Zafo to follow. He clicked a remote in his hand, and a small area lit up, revealing an armed speeder.

"Your mission" the instructor began
"Follow the directions that will be loaded onto your datapad. It's fairly simple. Different parts of the course will test different skills in the field of navigation. Good Luck"

He tossed Zafo a data disk then climbed back into the airspeeder. It slowly rose then darted over the trees and out of view. Zafo popped the disk into his datapad and loaded up the necessary information. He then climbed into the small speeder and started it up. He placed the datapad on the dashboard so he could easily glance at it whenever necessary.

Zafo slowly pulled the speeder out of the illuminated circle into the blackness of the night. He hit a switch which fired up the lights. They went decently far. Far enough to give Zafo time to either stop or get out of the way if he was going to hit something. The datapad's instruction said he had to travel northeast until he reached a cliff. Going through the cliff would be a tunnel complex which would bring him to a second and final field.

Zafo glanced down at the compass to check which way northeast was. He had to adjust the compass properly so that it would give him the right direction. "I have a feeling someone is going to forget to do that and screw themselves over" Zafo thought. He turned the speeder counter clockwise until the little arrow showed him he was facing northeast. He gunned the speeder forwards, keeping his speed regulated so he would have enough time to dodge obstacles.

The field was pretty clear. Only the occasional boulder or lone tree got in Zafo's way. When Zafo thought he saw the dark tree line growing closer, a huge bantha like creature sprung in front of him from out of nowhere. It came from so close in front of him that Zafo had no time to stop or turn. Right when Zafo thought he was in serious trouble, he saw an opening big enough for him to fit through underneath one of the beast's legs. Zafo threw the speeder forward and swung himself through the opening. He looked behind him as he saw the beast's mighty foot stomp down. Had he been just a second slower he would have been in serious trouble.

Shortly after Zafo's close encounter, he saw the massive dark for of the cliff rising up against the night sky. The speeder's lights began to reveal the rocky surface in front of him. He slowed the speeder down a great deal so he could find the entrance into the underground cave complex. After cruising along side the cliff for about 30 seconds, a piece of cliff vanished, revealing a massive tunnel. Zafo brought the speeder round into the tunnel.

The headlights revealed most of the narrow passage. It had many rock outcrops and thing obscuring the path. After Zafo had travelled 100 m into the cave, a voice echoed inside the cave;
"Even when travelling through darkened tight passages like this one. Speed is important. A sensory grid will be passing through this passage at a speed of 100km/h, if it passes you, you will loose 30% on your test score. Good Luck"

"Fantastic" thought Zafo as be brought his speed up to 150. It was a treacherous passage. Zafo found himself constantly swerving, slowing down to avoid head on impacts, then speeding up to make up for the distance lost between him and the grid. At last he noticed the slope rising and he saw the night sky up ahead. He fired the engines and blasted out of the tunnel. Rising up into the air, he carefully adjusted his engines so once he descended he would not take a nose dive.

Once his height had been regulated, Zafo brought the speeder to an incredibly low speed and glanced at his datapad.

"Now you must follow the following bearings, using the starts to give you your directions." Zafo read to himself. He looked down at the compass needle and watched as it went crazy spinning clockwise the counter clockwise.

Zafo looked down at the first bearing the glanced into the sky. By this time he had completely stopped the speeder. He sat there gazing at the starry sky. He then noticed stars, which vaguely formed the shape of a Yavin 4 wildflower, which indicated to him that was his direction of travel. After travelling for the proper duration, Zafo stopped the speeder and gazed up at the sky once again. After travelling in his new direction for a bit, Zafo had entered in a path through the forest. When he travelled as far as he was suppose to in that direction he stopped right in the middle of a three way intersection in the path. Once again, Zafo gazed up at the sky. Three constellations were clearly visible. When he gazed up at them, he was reminded of a picture from a book he had been looking at the other night, and how it explained that these constellations were often confused for what direction they indicated. Zafo searched through his thoughts and came to the conclusion that it was the middle path he should take.

There were a couple more of these intersections before Zafo left the forest. In the distance he could see a glowing light. He noticed a tower within the light's radius that was located where he was to finish his mission. Zafo accelerated as fast as he could and blasted into the lit-up field. He hit the breaks and threw a leaver causing him to do a fancy 360 finishing move.

A couple of impressed whispers rose among the waiting crowd.

"Well Done" Zafo heard as the Instructor ran up to the speeder. "You pass, for sure, the details are on this paper if you're interested"

Zafo grabbed the paper and nodded in thanks
"Maybe tomorrow" He moaned as he stumbled off back towards his sleeping quarters and get the rest of his beauty sleep.

 
-----------------------
~ZaFo
*DarkDragoons
+ Advance Recon Commandos {ARC} +
TRP/CPL ZaFo/2SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE
~Keep on Rocking in the Free World

Vehicle Crewman Training:
  Tactics and Movement
 
  Reaching the same classroom they had used two days ago, Kairo thought back to that day and went through the door. 'I wonder if Talbon will be our teacher for this lesson. He's a bit eccentric, but at least we'll remember what he has to say from now on. No other teacher I've had would ever have thought to set up the vehicle to explode. Well, most of them anyways.' Grinning as that thought entered his mind, Karo stepped out into the hanger. One end of the hanger had been opened to reveal a large field. Half the class sat in the center of the hanger around a small table. Next to them was a line of At-Sts. Seating himself next to the student who had been slightly burned at the last lesson, Kairo looked at his chronometer. 'This teacher does like to show up at the last second doesn't he.'

  Turning to the student next to him, Kairo asked, "How close were you when your vehicle went off?"

  "Was that broadcast over the news last night or something? How is it that everyone knows about it. Stop bugging me." The student turned away with a look like his pride had been shattered.
 
  "Don't mind him. He's just sore because he was the only one who didn't move away from his vehicle in time." A woman next to Kairo informed none to quietly. "My names Valtrina Demorvitano. You can just call me Trina. You were the one who finished first yesterday, weren't you?"

  "Yeah, I was. My names Kairo. Nice to meet you." Kairo said extending his hand.

  "Like-wise," she replied, taking his hand and shaking it."Ah, It appears our teacher has arrived. And just to let you know. I will be the one who does the best today."

  Before he was able to respond, Clevick Talbon stepped in front of the class. "I am glad to see you are all here on time today." Kairo looked around and saw that the rest of the class had arrived while he had been talking with Valtrina. "Today, we will be going over tactics and movement. Let us now discuss the finer points of movement. When you are being shot at, it isn't wise to stay in one place." He let out a small chuckle, and resumed. "You should always remain moving, in enemy fire. Following the same pattern, though, would be like committing suicide. A good way to randomize you movements and confuse the enemy is to use a vary well know maneuver. It is called the 'Dodge and Weave'. You may think this only applies to foot soldiers, but it doesn't. There are many ways to execute these movements. A few of them are well suited to speeders and At-Sts. Here is a small video clip." Talbon said as he put a small holo-projector on the table. "As you can see. .  ."

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . Fifteen Minutes Later .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

  "Now that we are finished with the basic movements , I would like to impress the importance of tactics upon you. When you are in a battle, planning ahead can mean the difference between life and death. Sometimes you may know ahead of time what to expect. Other times you will be faced with a problem and have only a matter of minutes to plan a strategy. In battle, the army with the bigger equipment and the large task force is not always guaranteed victory. While sheer force may be able to dominate a battle, tactics and strategy are a very useful tool. When faced against imposing odds, a good soldier or commander will use his enemies weak spots, terrain, and a properly thought out strategy.

  "Since I have nothing else to add to this subject, it is time we put these useful techniques to the test. On the table in front of you, there is a datapad for each of you. On it is a map of the area outside. You have to get to a small outpost and enter it, within an hour of leaving this hanger. Not to hard, but there are many obstacles. Mines, enemy robots, weapons emplacements, and hazardous terrain.

  "There is more than one way to get there, and none of them are easy. Some of them are more difficult than others, but it is up to you to figure out which. The person to make it to the area the fastest and with the least damage will be able to choose who they want to go against, next class. You will understand at the next lesson, what I mean. Your vehicles weapons have been disabled except for it's twin blaster cannon. This will make you rely more on your maneuvering than fire power. I will give you all thirty minutes to look over your map and data, enter your designated vehicle, and get ready to head out. You will leave the bay one at a time, so that you will all have an equal chance at the course and that it has time to replace any lost equipment. I will be back." Leaving the small group, Clevick started to walk outside.

  Grabbing a datapad, Kairo went toward the shut down vehicles. Looking at the number on his datapad, he walked over to the second At-St. Once he had arrived, he looked up into the awesome beauty of the vehicle. It was a wonder what sentient beings had accomplished through technology. The grandeur of its form, as it waited in front of him, awed Kairo. He had used these vehicles in simulators before, but they didn't compare to looking at the real thing. Climbing inside, Kairo pulled up the file and started to read it. There were three ways to get to the designated area: a winding canyon, a large glade, and a wide sandy route. He immediately crossed out the woods, because he didn't want to deal with moving between trees. He then decided not to go through the miniature dessert,in case Talbon had created any small sinkholes. That left him with the canyon. Pulling up the file, he read about the many obstacles that ran through it. Trying to plan ahead. 'I doubt he put all the obstructions into this file, but I can at least plan ahead for what I do know.'

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . Twenty-five Minutes Later  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

  Finished with his planning, Kairo checked the time. "Here he comes," he said, as the lieutenant stepped back into the hanger. It took him a minute to reach the At-Sts. Once he had arrived he said load enough for everyone to hear, "I hope you are all ready. If not, too bad. Ready to go Victor?"

  'That must be the first person. I better get ready. I don't know how long he will wait to send me out.' Watching the first student run through the open doors, Kairo started up his vehicle. The monitors showed that his vehicle was in the green. Settling into the controls and mentally going over his route, he saw Talbon exit the hanger. 'I wonder where he is watching us from.'
 
  As the minutes rolled by, Kairo began to get twitchy. 'Calm down. It is just a lesson quiz.' Looking at the chronometer, Kairo took a deep breath. Exhaling, he thought, 'It's been fifteen minutes. The course isn't that long. Good thing I'm not last. I'm starting to get impatient.' A figure could be seen entering the hanger bay. "Finally," Kairo grunted as Talbon approached.

  "Ready to go Kairo?"

  "Yes." Kairo stated.

  "You can head out whenever you wish than." Talbon replied. Turning around, he started to head back outside.

  Pushing the throttle forward, Kairo ran out of the hanger bay. Turning forty-five degrees to the right, he spotted Clevick enter a small building. "Must be where he's watching us from. Ok here we go." He pushed his speed up to fifty kilometers per hour. As he approached the artificial canyon, Kairo looked ahead for any extra surprises. Entering the canyon, he judged it to be about half a kilometer wide. 'That leaves me some room to maneuver, but not to much.' Pushing the At-St forward, he moved down the first stretch. The canyon went straight forward for five kilometers, until it came to a fork in the road. 'Ok, time to go forward with my choice.'

  Following the route he had chosen earlier, Kairo went down the left fork. Looking down at his sensors display, Kairo saw nothing out of the ordinary. 'I can either turn left or right. If I go left it is a long windy route. The roght path is twice as quick, but there are two turrets and then a wide area of mines. Well. I planned this out, so it should work.' Sighing, Kairo spotted the next fork. Pulling up his weapons display, he powered up his cannon. 'I have one shot. Please don't flip on me.' Without slowing down, Kairo approached the sharp turn. The At-St swung around the corner. Feeling the force of the turn hit his body, Kairo saw the two turrets spin toward him. Firing off the cannon, Kairo hit the one on his right. The one to his left continued to track him. Jinking the vehicle from side to side, Kairo dodged passed the turret and ran around another corner. Slowing down as fast as he could, he slid to an abrupt stop that made him lurch forward in his seat.

  "I didn't get hit!" Kairo exclaimed. Remembering that he was on the clock, Kairo looked down at his sensor screen again. There were multiple, blinking red blips on the display. He had stopped only a few meters short of the first one. "Cut that a little close. Better try not to rely on my luck from now on." He carefully walked the At-St through the mine field. About three minutes later, Kairo moved out the other side and headed toward the next obstacle.

  'What's next again? Oh yeah. Some drones, but those are a long way off. I suspect this is where he put something in that isn't in the file. Better stay sharp.' He had entered a long chasm with high cliffs on either side. Pushing the throttle back up to fifty, he positioned himself in the middle. Once he was halfway through, he started to hear a small rumbling. Looking at his sensors, he checked for any seismic disturbances. Nothing showed on the display. The roar was getting loader. Kairo was looking in all directions to place the noise. As it was reaching a climax, a load crack emanated from above his head. Tilting the vehicle upward, Kairo saw a group of boulders pounding their way down the mountain. The crack had originated from a small outcropping that had been broken off by a falling boulder. Pushing the throttle all the way forward, Kairo shot the At-St forward. Weaving from side to side, he dodged the falling boulders as best as he could. His concentration was split between where he was looking and his display monitor to keep track of the falling objects. Feeling his concentration begin to wain, Kairo scanned ahead for the next turn. "Only. . Another. . Few. . Meters. ."

  Running full speed around the turn was not the wisest choice. His vehicle slammed into the wall and along with Kairo inside the cockpit. "Ow." Kairo choked out. Checking his damage displays, he found that he had attained some damage. He had only lost his small twin cannon, which he knew would dock him points. "Oh well. Can't change that now. Better get going."

  Pushing the vehicle forward once again, Kairo sat back into his chair. "I still have to get through those two drones. I better recheck that area of the file again." Keeping the vehicle at a steady pace, Kairo pulled out his datapad. "Lets see. I know I shouldn't be reading and driving at the same time, but I have about a straight stretch for the next five minutes. I got passed the first turn with the mines. I got passed the boulders, even though that isn't on here. So all I have left is to get passed two robot soldiers that have set up two E-webs, and get inside the outpost. Doesn't sound to hard." As he finished reading, Kairo put the datapad away. Bringing his full focus back to where he was going, he moved the At-St around another bend.

  'Next turn and I start the old dodge and weave. That sounds so wrong.' Kairo thought. As Kairo turned the corner, he pushed the throttle up to seventy kilometers per hour. Seeing the two specks up ahead, Kairo started to swerve left and right. Blaster fire ricocheted around him. His movements became erratic. With no seeming rhythm, Kairo moved left, right, right, left, left, pause, left, right. While keeping with his movements, he shot off random fire at the drones, hoping a random shot would hit one of them. Reaching the end of the canyon, he ran past the two drones. He pushed the At-St as fast as it could go. The outpost drew closer and closer. Finally, he sped through the open gates and came to a stop.

  Jumping down from the vehicle, Kairo saw a large holodisplay on the far side of the outpost. Talbons overlarge features were spread upon it. "Very good job. I am most impressed. You did receive damage when you slammed into that wall though. There is a speeder out back waiting for you. Have a nice day. You will be informed, as to who came out on top today, at the next class." The display went blank.

  "That went better than I thought. I better get cleaned up. Those things really get hot after awhile." Swiping at his brow, Kairo walked outside of the complex and got in the vehicle.

  A small man was sitting there. "Have a good lesson?"

  "Yeah. Could you take me back to the housing area? I need to get cleaned up." Kairo inquired.

  "Certainly, sir."

Comments: Good work. On a side note, when you're expressing your character's thoughts, please Italicize them. Other than that, I have no problems. Look for equipment in the mail.
 
-----------------------
Senior Sergeant Kairo
Squad Leader
*DarkDragoons*

SL/SR.SGT Kairo/2SQD/1PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE [CDS][BoA][CoR]

"Others will only believe in you, if you believe in yourself first." -- Kairo

Combat Engineer Training:
Metal Fabrication

As Squall walked into the room, he immediately caught the wiff of burning metal.  From out of the corner of his eye he caught a few men cutting metal, and some burning it together.  The instructer walked over to Squall.

"Ah, you must be here for the Metal Fabrication Spec," observed the instructor.

"Yes, its my fifth class in the Combat Engineer Field."

"Yea, I heard about some of those.  Well, lets get started.  First, you are going to have to read some booklets, and take a few written tests on the safety of modeling and molding metal.  You could easily get hurt if you don't know what you are doing.  After that, we will spend a few hours doing different exercises with molding and modeling metal until you get the hang of it."

"Alright.  Lets get started," replied Squall

The instructor snapped back around and started walking away.  Squall followed him to the small cubicle where he would take some written tests.

-----*****-----

After reading the booklets and studying them over, Squall was given the test booklet.  It was pretty easy for him, because he had just got done studying for a few hours.

After the tests, he looked at the questions he got wrong, and made some corrections so that he actually knew what he was doing.  He passed the written part, now to go learn how to manipulate metal.

"You are going to have to set up baracades in the field for your squad that could save your life in a bad situation.  Today,  we are going to learn how to weld the pieces of metal together, and twist them into forms so you can actually construct a small building."

The instructor handed Squall and a few other trainees the cutting torch.  Squall flipped his mask down as the instructor started cutting the metal into a few different shapes.  Squall followed the same actions with his pieces of metal until they looked like the instructors.  He practiced this a few times, then things got serious.

The instructor brung a long piecec of shrapnel over to a heating oven, and tossed it in.  Within a few moments it was red hot.  The instuctor took it out, and hammered it some more, bending it into a large arc.  He placed it over the metal so that it kind of looked like a small hutt.

Squall tried the same, but had a few problems.  He prematurely brung the metal back out, and it wouldn't bend right.  He had to do it again, so that would take some points off of his score.

After welding everything together, the students stood back and let the instructor examine their projects.  He looked at some of them with a happy face, and at others with a confused face.  Squall closed his eyes when the instructor looked at his.

"Alright, you guys did a great job.  Squall, why do you look so tense?"

"I am just a little nervous to see how I did on my score," replied Squall.

"No need to worry about that son, you just recieved a 20/20.  One of the best Metal Fabrication students that has come through this course.  Great Job.

Squall grabbed his certificate and headed back to the barracks for some rest.

Comments: This is a difficult subject to write about, so I'm going to be a bit lenient. Normally, I'd ask for you to go into a bit more detail than you have on what you did. Again, this is the working of metal, and not everyone is knowledgable of such things. Therefore, I'll pass you this time, but please try and make your future stories longer.
 
-----------------------
Squall Lionheart
Lance Corporal
*DarkDragoons*
+ Advance Recon Commandos {ARC} +
----------------------
TRP/LCPL Squall/2SQD/1PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE [LoR] [EWI]

Vehicle Crewman Training:
Defensive Operations

  It was the morning of another lesson for Kairo. He had been told to arrive by eight and not be a minute late. He had risen early to fit in a workout, which he had been required to do when he was a slave on Dathomir to keep him in physical shape. It required a long run, acrobatics, a mile swim, and muscle building. Kairo cringed at the memories of his tortured youth, when he his family had been murdered by pirates. When he had been sold by the pirates to a clan of witches on the planet, and how the witches had beaten him. Shaking his head, Kairo brought his mind back to the present. Why did those thought come back to me now?  Kairo wondered as he stepped out of the refresher unit. It has been a long time since then, and I thought I had put the past behind me. Of course the whole reason I had joined the army was to help hunt down the peoples who put me on the go forsaken planet. No. The past is behing me. I'm here now to help the VE bring peace back into this war torn galaxy.  After putting on his clothes, Kairo picked up his datapad and holstered his blaster which he always carried with him. As he left his room, he turned to head in the direction of the training area.

  But why now?  Kairo continued to debate with himself as he left the army barracks and walked across part of the VE base. It isn't like I've seen anything that would remind me of that time in my life. I promised myself to forget them when I finally got out of there. But the past always does have an unfortunate way of creeping up on you.  A few minutes later, Kairo entered the training area, still deep in thought. Before he knew it he had entered the familiar classroom. "Wow, I'm here already." Kairo muttered, glancing around. The room was empty. Glancing at his chronometer, he saw that it was seven forty-five. Where is everyone?  He walked into the hanger they usually used and found it deserted as well.

Suddenly, a holoprojection appeared in front of him with Clevick Talbon's image. "Greetings. I hope you receive this in time to make it to where I am holding class. It will be held in simulator room nineteen. Have a nice day." the image faded out.

What the hell. Why didn't he just tell us to go there in the first place? Now I have to move halfway across this stupid building, go up a floor, and make sure I have the right room in only thirteen minutes. I thought I would be able to get there early. Kairo ran out of the classroom and down the hall. Four minutes later, after a series of halls, he entered a turbolift that would take him to the next level. Stepping out he checked a map to make sure he was heading in the proper direction. Great, just another four minute run. That leaves me...three minutes.  He estimated taking off in the direction of simulator room nineteen.

After making a wrong turn and having to backtrack, Kairo finally made it to the designated room with three minutes to spare. Placing his hand on the wall, he rested a minute to catch his breath. After he had recuperated, he pushed open the door and stepped inside. Almost all of the class was already there. "Nice for you to join us." Clevick chortled. "I hope the change of rooms didn't cause you any trouble."

  "No...I'm good." Kairo stated, sitting down in a chair next to Bale Sander.

  "We are still missing a student, but seeing as it is now eight O'clock I will be forced to not allow her to attend this lesson." A few whispers of shock could be heard from some of the students. "I am sorry to inform you that some of you will not be able to continue your training from here on out. There will be a cut in the number of students that will continue on in this specialization. I will be forced to drop four students, including the one that is late. Whoever has the lowest grade compiled from the last three lessons and today's lesson will be the ones to get cut from this class. Now, let us move on to something more enjoyable. Today we will be discussing defensive operations. This is a very important aspect of a vehicle crewman's training. If you can't protect yourself properly then you are going to be shot down rather quickly. We have talked about maneuvering a vehicle, knowing how to use it properly, and different areas that are best suited for those individual vehicles. Now we will discuss some finer things. It has been said time and time again that a good defense is the best offense. In any type of vehicle, you should always be thinking defensively before thinking offensively. Before you go charging into a battle, you should always think things through and try to figure out the best possible way where you will receive the least damage.

  "When enemy fire is coming at your walker, you should immediately try to dodge the incoming fire before trying to take out the person that is firing at you. Movement is a very good defense. We have discussed multiple types of movements in past lessons. Now is the time to put them to use. Being able to dodge an enemy's fire is not enough to have a good defense. You will also have to be able to eventually destroy whatever is shooting at you to eliminate the threat. To do this, you will need to know your weapons systems. It is time for us to go into the different types of weapons on different vehicles. On most types of walkers you will find..."

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .An Hour Later.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

  He has finally found a way to bore me when talking about vehicles. Kairo thought as he tried to pay attention to Clevick Talbon's ramblings. I already knew the weapon capabilities of an At-St. Oh well. A least he is finally winding down. "That should give you all the basic knowledge you should need when you use most types of vehicles weapons. Now, let me tell you why I have asked you all to come to the simulator room. Today, we will be having a quiz. It will encompass all that you know, and will require you to use everything I have taught you, including today's material. You will each be given a simulator which will give you control over and At-St. Your mission is to stay alive as long as possible. The longer you are able to move the better. You will be defending a small base from an over powering NR task force. You will not be allowed to just run and hide, because when the small base that you are protecting is captured the simulator will end. I hope that you will all do well today. This quiz will count as fifty percent of your grade until now, so if you fail this your grades before now really won't matter. Please come and receive a datapad with your simulator's number on it. I will see you after you have finished."

  The class filed forward from their seats to receive their number from the instructor. As Kairo approached, he saw fear in some people's eyes, determination in others, and a sense of ease from others who thought they had nothing to lose. Valtrina was right in front of him in the line. She turned around and said, "I have something to tell you incase one of us doesn't pass this exam. I have had it out for from the start. I've known about you before you ever knew me in this class. You see, I am from the same planet as you. I'm from Dathomir also. I was part of the clan that bought you as a slave. My mother was the one who you were forced to serve. I was told you were going to be my husband when I was younger, but don't worry. I have no intention of having you as my husband. I was told to go out and find you, but once they let me go, I never went back. I was the one who was supposed to bring you back after you escaped. But I had other plans. I was going to learn all I could about the galaxy and make a name for myself. I decided the best place to start would be the Vast Empire Army. What an odd sense of irony fate has. I never thought I would run into you here."

  A clearing of the throat brought Valtrina back from her out pouring of guilt. "Can you finish your discussion some where else, Valtrina? You are holding up the line." Stated Talbon, holding a datapad for Valtrina to take from him.

  'Oh. I'm sorry." She said, snatching the datapad from his grasp and walking a little bit away.

  "Here you go Kairo. Good luck.' Clevick encouraged.

  "Thanks." Kairo said walking over to Valtrina. 'Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

  "I wasn't sure if it was really you, and I was afraid of what your reaction might have been. Anyways, I thought you should know the truth."
 
'I appreciate it, and don't feel bad. I've put the past behind me a long time ago." Kairo informed. Hoping he wasn't just saying it.

  'Well, we better get to our simulators." Valtrina said.

  'Yeah.' They stood there a moment longer in an awkward silence, and then moved away to their respective simulators. Lifting up the hatch, Kairo stepped inside. Closing the hatch, he settled into the controls, trying to forget what he had just heard outside. Turning the simulator on, he squinted as his eye adjusted to the bright image that was before him. He had been placed on a large barren field. Behind his walker was a small building that was being defended by three E-webs, two walkers, and a few ground troops. Kairo immediately looked down at his radar to make sure the enemy forces hadn't arrived yet. The area was clear except for the friendly blips of his allies. Checking his weapons display, Kairo made sure they were all in the green and ready to go. He also ran a short systems check, which told him that he was in the green.

  Kairo then pulled up a small screen which he would use to scan the horizon of incoming troops. A few minutes passed without him seeing anything. Then off to his left he saw a small haze begin to appear. It rapidly began to get larger, revealing itself to be a speeder bike that was scouting ahead. When it was five hundred meters away, it came to a stop. Way out of my range. He must be waiting for support. A minute later two more speeders appeared. Now things will be getting interesting. The three speeders started to approach the outpost as another group started to come into focus. The first group stopped just within the range of the walkers and dropped off to troopers who exited the vehicle to start setting up a turret of some kind. Then the next group of three speeders repeated the process a matter of seconds after the first had finished. Finally all six speeders rushed the outpost. Blaster fire erupted out of the tip of the speeders, aiming for the At-Sts. Kairo moved his walker to the side, dodging the first bolts as he opened up fire and tried to put his targeting display over the incoming vehicles. Meanwhile the buildings E-webs started to fire at the speeders.

  Kairo pushed the throttle forward to give him some more maneuverability. Finally, an unfortunate speeder crossed into his line of fire. The explosion sent the speeder next to it off course to run right into the sights of one of the E-webs. As that speeder was reduced to scrap a third one was also destroyed. Three down, three to go. But taking the last three out would be a lot harder, since they had reached the walkers. Kairo turned to the right to give chase to one of the vehicles as it rushed by him, when blaster fire from another walker blew it to bits. These guys are good. Seeing a speeder make a sharp turn around one of his allies At-Sts, he tried to hit is with his lasers. It was approaching rapidly his direction, while exchanging fire with him. Taking a chance, Kairo stepped into the speeders fire while placing the speeder into his sites. The At-St withstood the speeders lasers easily, but the NR vehicle couldn't withstand a single shot. Kairo looked down at the radar to find that the defenders had destroyed the other speeder and that two more enemy blips had appeared on the side of his map.

  As he turned his walker back into the direction of the incoming forces, blaster fire started to hit the ground in front of him. He quickly reversed his movement and made a full turn around the other direction. He saw that the four people who had been dropped off had completed their turrets. Pulling up his targeting display, Kairo placed on of the turrets in his sites while dodging back and forth. Once he had a target lock, he launched one of his concussion grenades at it. With out taking the time to take satisfaction from the explosion, he moved the reticule over the second turret. But before he was able to launch another grenade, one of his allies was shredded to pieces by the turret. The other walker quickly launched a missile to silence the gun. Looking out across the field, Kairo's heart sank. Three NR tanks had made it within range of the base while he had been busy taking care of the turrets.

    With the same thought in mind, Kairo and his ally moved forward to engage the tanks in a last attempt. The three tanks started to fire at the walkers, but they both moved slightly ahead of the tanks weapons. Once they we're within range. The two walkers launched two missiles at the first tank, which hit its cockpit. Swerving left and right, Kairo tried to dodge the incoming fire, but it was too overwhelming. He saw the other At-St explode out of the corner of his eye. Then he felt the controls die under his grasp. His walker plunged forward, since its left leg had been blow out from under it. The screen went blank and the simulator shut down. Calming himself, Kairo pushed open the door and stepped outside. The rest of the class was waiting for him except for Valtrina. Then he saw her across the room exiting her own simulator.

  Talbon walked up to them as they met with the group of students. "I can't believe it. You were both destroyed within a matter of seconds of each other. You didn't know you were in the same sim-run did you?"

  "You mean that was her in that other At-St?" Kairo questioned.

    "Yes. You two were the last to be destroyed. You both have past every test I have given you and you seem to work quite well together. You can rest easy. Go back to your rooms and get cleaned up. You are definitely going to be coming back next lesson. As for the some of you." Clevick said, turning away from Kairo and Valtrina.

    Kairo turned toward Valtrina. "Looks like we make a pretty good team."

    "It does appear that way. So you don't care that I was supposed to be the one to bring you back into subjugation?"

    "No. Like I said, I've put the past behind me. But it does appear that fate still had something to say about it. Well I am going to go back to my room. I need to get cleaned up again. See you at next lesson."

    They parted ways as they exited the simulator room. Kairo headed back in the direction of the army barracks. You may forget the past, but destiny will always remember.

Comments: Good work, I'd definately say this is your best work yet. I like the fact that you seem to have an ongoing side-story added into your specialties as well.

-----------------------
Senior Sergeant Kairo
Squad Leader
*DarkDragoons*

SL/SR.SGT Kairo/2SQD/1PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE [CDS][BoA][CoR]