Basic Explosives/Combat
Spec Ops

Beep,beep,beep,beep. Shadow hurridley puts the explosive down. But because of his lack of concentration, he sets off the alarm, and now he is dead. Luckily this is only a simulation.
"Private Shadow_Demon, you have set of the alarm system to the place you were going to blow up, the guards are all over you now and you are dead. At this rate boy, you are never going to make it onto the battle field, and make the Empoire proud to have you as an explosives expert. Yeah your combat with the Spec Ops gun is good, but your explosives are like a dog trying to house train. You need more work, or you going to get kicked out."
The Seargent walked out.
Shadow was fuming.
"How dare he criticise me like that, its not my fault that  I have 2 minutes to set a bomb, wire it and get out of there before the alarm goes off or the guards turn up. Ah, well I will just have to keep practiscing this stupid thing, but I really want this kit." So with that thought in his head he set up the scenario again and tried it again and again. For some reason Shadow wasn't having any luck.
"Aaarrrggghhhh, I have 2 weeks to get this working properly and everything go right, or I dont get to go to the battlefield. If I dont pass my Explosives test, I dont get my Combat with Spec Ops and there goes my current goal of being sneak and shoot, or sneak and blow."
So Shadow set it up again and again.
Finally after two long and aganizing hours he finally completed it. The bomb as wired, the alarm had successfully been diactivated and the bomb was wired and ready to blow.
"Yes, finally, I have completed it. Yahoo!!!!!!" cried Shadow.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Two Weeks later.
                                         
"Allright, you are all part of a very elite and difficult course designed to teach you to blow things up, infiltrate certain aspects of a camp and give you squad mates some cover. This will be your final test. Here is the scenario:
Your squad mates are coming back hot. They are taking fire from every direction possible. What you need to do is wire the entrance, and walls surrounding it and blow just as you mates come out. You have approxiamtley 2 minutes in which to lay the explosives, deactivate any alarms and wire it to blow.
The ways in which you will fail this test are: You set off the alarm, You blow it too early and your team mates end up dying and Set it off too late, the guards get past and you all die.Alright, good luck." said the Seargent, then it was on

Shadow rushed around getting bearings, markers, explosives and alarm identifiers. With his test he had 3 alarms to deacitivate before he could do anything. 1st was easy. 2nd, not so easy, but finshed it. Not the 3rd was the most trouble. He had 1:30 left. He got to the third. Did everything he was spose to do, buyt still wasnt deactivated. So he searched the alarm carefully.
"Ah. tricky, there is a trip switch, Hadnt found." mused Shadow.
Shadow, then set about to defuse it. Click, done. 50secs left. Shadow now rushed around setting all the explosives, wired them and took cover in some nearby bushes. He laid he is remote next to him and pulled outhis gun to give his squad some extra cover. 15secs left before they come out. He checked his magazine.Full, cool. Everything was in order and in place. 5,4,3,2,1.
His squad came flying out. He blew the explosives. Now all he could do is wait till the smoke cleared before he could tell whether he failed or passed.
30secs, later, the smoke clears, and his Squad is save and the guards are on the other side of the wall.
He had passed. He felt so relieved.


At the ceremony, as he got up to get his badge, the Seagent also gave him something else, becuase he had also pulled out his gun to give his squad support, found the hitch to the third alarm, and successfully blew the wl he handed Shadow, the Elite Spec Ops kit, with a G3 automatic gun, Thermal explosve packs, alomng with the normal ones, and a suit of light but very thick Spec Ops armor.
"Shadow, you are now allowed to go into combat with this Spec Ops kit, Congratulations." said the Seargent

Comments: Well, looks like we have a lot of initiative for a new recruit. Impressive! Sorry to say that I have to fail this story. While I have not read it extensively, it does look fairly good on the surface. The reason I cannot pass your story, is that Spec Ops is not an acceptable specialty to start with. If you went through and read the topic: "That Specialty Thingy" you would know this much. Anyways, catch me on IRC. We'll work something out for you. You will have to abandon Special Operations, at least for the time being.

Certification Story 1:
Platoon Commander's choice: SecuriTech ESPO Walker 101

The room was slightly dark, as the lights were dimmed to let the viewers watch the holovideo without any glare. Three senior officers were watching the projection with mild interest. It was showing the excerpts of a trooper's specialty training, with commentary from his teachers, explaining how well he had adjusted to the course and how much potential he showed. They were watching the eighth lesson, when the trooper started to get nervous. Beads of sweat started to role down the back of his neck. Thoughts of doubt and apprehension began to plague his every thought. He wondered why they hadn't gotten bored yet. What could they be finding interesting about what he did? Looking at the highest ranking officer, the trooper was surprised by the intensity with which he was watching the projection. Shifting his view to the other two men in the room, he saw the same look. Looking back at the holoprojection, the trooper saw himself sifting through the inside of broken down speeder, scooping sandy sludge from the bottom.

  The next few minutes seemed to bend into a time that would never end, prolonging the trooper's anxiety as if intentionally. Finally, the video came to its closing moment when it showed the trooper receive his graduation certificate in the Vehicle Crewman specialization. Then the holoprojector shut down and the room's lights brightened. Turning toward the trooper, Rizzit said, "Very well done. Even through some of those close jams you always seemed to pull out ahead. Whether that is just luck or actual skill is still to be determined."

  Kairo let out a visible sigh. Raziel smiled. "Don't worry. You looked pretty good there. Some of those stunts were, insane, but somehow you pulled them off."

  Fury took his turn in the speech, by adding, "You have some potential."

  Kairo didn't know whether this was to be taken as a high complement or not, but decided it was best to say something. "Thank you, sirs." Kairo felt awkward saying the last word, but couldn't retrieve or change the past.

  Looking at Fury, Rizzit received a nod and began a short speech. "Now that you have finished your main training as a Vehicle Crewman, it is time for you to prove your abilities. To do this, you will be going on a variety of missions in a certain field that you choose. These will help to show us how well you have actually learned your instructions and to see if you can remember all that you've learned in the heat of battle. In your first mission, you will be controlling an ESPO walker 101. You will be leaving later today at fourteen hundred hours. You will be accompanied by another soldier that you apparently work very well with. This mission is to test both of your skills. You will be sent to Cepany. You're probably wondering why you would use a walker there. A group of supplies is being transported from a certain building in one of the warehouse districts of the planet. It contains some needed supplies. You are to make sure that the convoy makes it to a nearby landing pad. Then guard the workers as they transfer the supplies to a waiting shuttle. At this time, for secrecy, even though you are a trusted member of the army, you will not be told what is inside the supply crates. We hope that the convoy will not be attacked, but as you know, Cepany contains a few unpleasant people. If news gets out about what is inside those containers, we have no doubt someone will try to steal what is inside. Here is map of the area in which you will be escorting the convoy." Rizzit proffered a datapad toward Kairo. "You partner will be meeting you at the landing pad. Do you have any questions?" Rizzit concluded.

  "Just one, if this convoy is caring something that will definitely attract some sort of trouble, why are you only sending me and someone else. If it is that precious, why take the chance that we might lose it?" Kairo inquired.

  "Good question," Fury started to answer. "Even though the convoy contains things the Army needs, it can be replaced in a matter of days. It would cost us roughly a quarter of a million credits and time, but it can be replaced. Hopefully, you won't fail, and we have full confidence that you won't. So, even if you fail, we will only lose money and time; you would lose more than us though. You are a Squad Leader of this army and a very good vehicle pilot, so you should have no problem. Otherwise, we need to concentrate more on who we make our squad leaders and how we train our troopers." For a moment, it seemed like Fury was making a joke, but Kairo was unable to tell. "Any other questions?"

  "No sir. That was all." Kairo said.

  "Then you are dismissed. Prepare for you mission. Good luck." Rizzit said.

  Kairo stood and saluted the three men in the room. Turning around, he left Rizzit's office and headed for his room. After leaving the Army command building, Kairo walked across the lawn and entered the DarkDragoons' barracks. Once he had arrived at his room, Kairo opened the door and stepped inside. The mission, he assumed, would only take a few hours. He decided he would only need to take a jumpsuit and the vehicle crewman armor he had received upon his graduation. Pulling out the two things he needed, Kairo took of his uniform, which he had worn to the meeting, and slipped into the jumpsuit. Next, he pulled out a duffle bag, into which he placed the armor. He also grabbed an E-11/F and Kylon-3 blaster. Next, he picked up a datapad, some personal items, and comlink. Looking at his chronometer, he saw that he had over three hours until he had to be at the landing pad. I guess I could take a nap. Maybe I should call Valtrina.

  Pulling out his comlink, Kairo signaled Valtrina through the comlink he had given her to keep in touch with him. She didn't answer. He signaled again, but there was no answer. "She's probably at some meeting herself. Oh well. I can at least say I tried." Kairo said to himself. Lying back, he set his alarm to wake him and feel into a light sleep.

____________________  Two Hours and Fifty Minutes Later _____________________

  Kairo was standing next to the shuttle that would take him to Cepany, waiting for his team mate. His bag of equipment hung across his back. The two ESPO walkers they would be using for the mission had already been placed inside the shuttle's cargo hold. Tapping his foot, he checked his chronometer. I guess he has more time. It isn't his fault I try to get places earlier. Calm Kairo, calm. Kairo wasn't one to wait too long though, and after five minutes with no one showing themselves, he began to get agitated again. Finally, a specter pulled away from the main entrance the landing pad. The landing pad was surrounded by a circular building, which protected it from all sides if the base was ever under attack. Since the shuttle was in the middle of the area, Kairo had difficulty making out the person he would be working with. Not that big, plus he doesn't look to be that tall either. Long hair also. Who is this guy? Then Kairo noticed that it wasn't a he. It was a she. Then, he was finally able to make out the person, and realization dawned on him. Idiot. She ran up to him and gave him a hug. "Hey, Valtrina, Are you really my partner?"

  "No, I just ran all the way here to wish you luck." Valtrina said seriously.

  "Really?" Kairo asked doubtfully.

  "No, now let's get on board and go." Valtrina released her grip and ran up the boarding ramp. Kairo nodded to a technician who was standing near by and followed Valtrina into the ship. He found her a few moments later sitting inside the ships lounge. Placing his bag on the floor next to hers, he sat down next to her. The next moment, he felt the ship left from the surface of Tadath and begin its flight to Cepany. After a couple of minutes of silence, he asked, "What are you thinking about?"

  "Just what we are supposed to be doing on this mission. I suppose we got the same meeting and information. Do you think we will be able to handle it if a group of people attack the shipment?" she repositioned herself, so he could wrap his arms around her and she could lie on his chest.

  "I'm sure we can handle anything. We were the top of our class. No one came close to us. We can handle a few dissident people who wish to cause strife. I'm betting it will be one of the underground rebel groups of Cepany that will try to get the supplies. My squad had a run in with them awhile ago." Kairo though back on the experience and his face tightened. "I have a little grudge against their leader, so if I can hurt their misguided cause, I will."

  Valtrina tilted her head up to look at him and said, "What did they do to make you hate them that much?"

  "There were a few bad things that happened the night the mission ended. My ASL suffered sever mental trauma, and a member betrayed us." Kairo shook his head. "Let's talk about something else." They spent the next hour enjoying each others company. Realizing they only had a few more hours until they arrived at Cepany, they decided to get some rest. Grabbing their bags, they left the room. Once they found a crewman of the shuttle, they were guided to a room where they could spend the rest of the trip in peace. Dropping his bag on the floor, Kairo heard a little sound from inside. Oh well. The armor is meant to get hit once and awhile. Falling forward, he landed on one of the beds. Flipping over, he watched as Valtrina carefully placed her bag at the bottom of her bed. "You should be more careful," she said to him. Smiling, he closed his eyes and began to sleep. After being in the Army for long enough, he had adapted the ability to fall into a mild state of sleep rather quickly.

  Before he knew it, Kairo was being shaken awake by Valtrina. "We're here. God, you'd think you hadn't slept in your whole life." Kairo sat up and stretched.

  "Sorry," Kairo grinned. Valtrina rolled her eyes.

  "Curse your smile. Honestly, that's sometimes the only thing that keeps me around." She taunted. Kairo beamed which exasperated her. Sighing, she picked up her bag and entered the refresher unit to change. Taking his cue, Kairo locked the door to the room and quickly changed. Valtrina knocked before exiting the refresher unit. Kairo informed her that he was dressed. As she exited, Kairo finished stuffing his clothes into the duffle bag. "Can't you at least try to be a little tidier?" Kairo shook his head and mouthed "No." Rolling her eyes, she left the room. Kairo, not wanting to lose track of her, picked up his bag, left the room, and almost collided with her. Outside their room stood a crewman, who looked like he was a bit nervous. "Yes?"

  "I'm here to guide you to the cargo bay where you will enter your walkers and leave the ship. Here is a map. On it is where the caravan is waiting for you. Please hurry. You only have an hour until you have to be there." The young man then started off down the hall. Exchanging looks, Kairo and Valtrina followed. After walking through the shuttle, they found themselves inside the large cargo bay. At the far end, their two walkers stood awaiting them. "Good luck. We will be waiting." The attendant saluted and walked back in the direction he had brought them from.

  "It must be to be a Senior Sergeant." Valtrina remarked.

  "Not so much. Basically the same as Corporal, except for a few perks." Kairo stated and began to walk across the hall. As they arrived at the walkers, Kairo nodded to Valtrina and began to climb the ladder that hung off the side of his vehicle.

  She stopped him a moment and said, "You seem different."

  Kairo looked down at her and said, "Huh?"

  "No, not like, different, different. It's just, your mannerisms of changed since we walked across the cargo bay. I can't explain it." Valtrina gave up and walked to her walker. Kairo contemplated what she had said for a minute then climbed the rest of the ladder.

  What did she mean that I was different. I'm not different. Kairo thought defiantly as he started the walker's system check. As the two walkers finished off their preliminary checks, the cargo bay doors began to slowly open. Bright day light streamed into the hollow chamber and forced Kairo to squint for a moment before his window tinted to adjust for the glare. Once the walker had been checked out, Kairo opened a comchannel to Valtrina and said, "Let's do this. I'll take the lead position. Just follow me until we reach the convoy."

  "Will do," her voice came back. Settling into the controls, Kairo closed his eyes, tilted his head backwards slightly, and relaxed for a moment. Bringing it forward again, he opened his eyes and moved the walker forward, away from the freestanding ladder. Pulling out the datapad with the map the attendant had given him, Kairo hooked it up with the walkers navigation computer and downloaded its contents so that the map was completely displayed along with the radar and other navigation displays. The shuttle that had brought them to the planet and that would take them back to Tadath was resting in the middle of cramped landing pad. The ship seemed to barely fit inside the small space. The landing pad was surrounded by warehouses, which could provide easy cover for anyone wanting to watch their progress. I don't like this place already. He pushed the throttle forward and ran across the open area as fast as he could. Ahead of him loomed the large warehouses and other buildings. Looking at his navigation display, he saw which route he would take and turned his walker slightly so it would enter the proper street.

  The entire area was deserted. That's probably why they chose it Kairo followed his laid out course without any problems. He kept checking his scanners, making sure there were not any contact blips or other disturbances. Once and awhile he would separate from Valtrina so they could scout the surrounding area of their path. They would then meet a few warehouses ahead and continue along, Kairo leading the way. As they walked down an extended path that was blocked on one side by a long warehouse and the other side with a cluster of buildings, Kairo came to a conclusion. This is where they will spring a trap if they do. It's the perfect area so far. But, I have only just now set the path we will take. If they do attack us, that means that they have people waiting all over this district. Kairo felt a wave of anxiety wash over him for a minute, but he pushed it down just as fast as it had appeared.

    As they wove in and out of the various sized buildings, Kairo's mind wandered slightly to the last time he had visited the planet. It had started off as an enjoyable vacation, until they found out about some odd circumstances happening around them. The DarkDragoons had decided to investigate, which culminated in them trying to capture the rebel leader, Grenton. Grenton was able to escape with the aid of Tay'ren, a once supposed loyal member of the squad. Zafo, the squad's assistant leader, had been forced to relive one of his most tragic memories when another member of the resistance spoke to him of Zafo's father. It had taken Zafo awhile to recover, but he still held some of the scars. Kairo had left earlier then the appointed time that the vacation was scheduled to end. He had left the squad to finish relaxing. He had sworn to himself that he and Grenton would meet again. Bringing himself out of his reveries, Kairo realized that they were only another hundred meters from the Imperial warehouse.

  "We're close," Kairo said into the comlink. "When we arrive, I'll do the talking. You are known to, well, you know."

  "Come across a little coldly?" she enquired.

  "Something like that," Kairo said as they turned a comer in their path. Straight ahead of them loomed one of the largest warehouses so far. At the end of their street, the building stretched from one side of the buildings to the other. It probably continued past as much as they could see, but the other warehouses up to it confined their field of vision. It was then that Kairo took his second note of the area. We can only see so much at one time. A forest provides horrible vision as well, but you can still make out objects through the trees. We wouldn't be able to tell if anyone was attacking us until they really were attacking us. Kairo was liking this job less by the second.

  Once they had arrived at the perimeter of the warehouse, they stopped in front of the main door and waited. After a few minutes, the doors slid slowly open. From the opposite side came three men, all equipped with heavy weapons and armor of some sort. The leader of the group touched his helmet and spoke into his comlink on the one of the channels the army sometimes used. The ESPO comsystem caught the transmission and sent it into Kairo's ear. "Are you our escort?"

  Kairo smiled and set his comfrequency to match. "Yes we are. Are you ready to go?"

  "Not quite. Please, come inside for a few minutes. One of our drivers has, well, lost his nerve. Follow us." The men outside turned around and walked back through the dark opening. Kairo waited a second and followed. As soon as the two walkers had entered the warehouse, the doors slid shut behind them. Kairo left his walker on standby as he exited the vehicle. Climbing down, he walked over to the three men. The lights inside the section of the warehouse they were in had been dimmed to a lower level. He pulled off his helmet as he crossed the small gap between him and the three men. Once Kairo arrived, the three men caught sight of his rank and saluted. Kairo saluted them back. They must not have very high ranking people here if they saluted me. Kairo smiled and said, "My name's Kairo, and this is Valtrina. How long do you think your preparations will take?"

  "It is a pleasure to meet you, Kairo and Valtrina," The man who had spoken earlier greeted. "My name is Corbin Westland. We should be finished in a matter of minutes. We don't want to waste any more time with this stuff here. We've been informed that his is a very important shipment to the Army. Do you know what's in it?" He asked genially.

  "Unfortunately, I do not, but even if I did, I still would be able to tell you." Kairo smiled.

  "Of course. Sorry to have asked. Please excuse us as we finish our preparations. When next we meet, we will be inside our hover transports." The three men turned around and walked into the gloomy shadows.

  "Oh, and I come off cold." Valtrina said as she crossed her arms.

  "Hey, I wasn't cold. They just asked the wrong question." Kairo defended himself. You might as well ask, since you have time. "So, what did you mean earlier about me being different?"

  "Oh that." She sounded a little embarrassed. "Well, it's just, you always seem to change a little when you start to do something. Like you switch gears and become someone different. I don't know. You sorta lose that happy glint in your eye and you don't smile as much. You just become a lot more serious and tense. Like a cat ready to pounce."

  "Really?" Kairo asked rhetorically.

  "No, I say this about all my boy friends. I guess it's just your way to handle things. Maybe it was from when we were on Dathomir. When we were children?"

  Kairo tensed as those memories shot to the front of his mind. "Geez, it seems like this whole mission has become one big slide show of my life."

  Valtrina looked taken aback. "Did I say something wrong?"

  Kairo stood there a few seconds then took a deep breath. "No. I'm sorry. Let's go back to the walkers. We can talk later. K?"

  She nodded and looked at him with a slightly worried glance at him. Pushing a loose hair back into the bun she wore when in her armor, she placed her helmet back over her head and moved toward her walker. Kairo carried his helmet with him. He felt hot, which only added to his angry mood. Whenever he thought of his past experiences as a small child, he always got defensive and slightly angry. Climbing back into his walker, he placed the helmet on the control panel and leaned back into the pilots' chair. Letting out a sigh, he knew he would have to apologize more fully to Valtrina later. I really am different than I thought I was.  Kairo dwelt inside his own mind over the next few minutes, trying to find answers to new questions. As soon as I find an answer to one, ten more jump into its place. After ten minutes of waiting, three large hover transports could be seen approaching. Kairo sat upright in his seat and brought the ESPO out of its slumber. Turning himself around, Kairo moved toward the now opening doors.

  The man's voice, who Kairo had talked to earlier, came through the speaker in Kairo's helmet and said, "Lead us to that shuttle of yours. We can only go forty kilometers per hour though, so you will have to go slower than you are used to going." Kairo sent him an acknowledgement.

  Kairo switched his channel to the one he and Valtrina had been using and said, "Guard the rear of the convoy. I'll see you later." Kairo looked out the side of his walker and saw the respective ESPO hold back. It passed from view behind one of the bulky cargo vessels. Kairo then took a closer look at what he was guarding. He was unable to discern the make of the vehicle, but a swivel mounted cannon was clearly visible on the top side of the vehicle. There were probably other defenses built into the odd chassis, but Kairo didn't have time to stop procession and look.

  They made it to the first turn without interruption. Great, only about another hour to go. I hate going this slow. Kairo maintained a slight gap between him and the rest of the convoy so he could warn them of an ambush sooner. Ten meters before they entered the long street that Kairo had marked earlier for a possible ambush, he sent a warning through the convoy to stay alert. Kairo took his vehicle forward, into the warehouse made tunnel, weapons charged and ready. His hands hovered over the controls. One finger hovering over the throttle while the other hand rested on the accelerator. He checked his scanner over and over again, searching for something. Then, a small dot appeared at the end of the street on his display. It was hidden behind the corner. Suddenly, the radar display became blurred. His mind became three times as alert as synapses connected and adrenaline rushed through his body. From around the corner, not one, but two dark forms emerged.

  Kairo knew they had to be walkers. His first thought was how the separatist organization had gotten their hands on some form of walker. Then, they ran passed one of the gaps in the buildings and light revealed them for what they were. Each vehicle looked like a horribly deformed mass of machinery. Kairo had heard of star ships being made out of cobbled together pieces of other fighters, but nothing in his life had made him think someone would attempt to do the same with walkers. It seemed like a desecration. If nothing else, he knew he had to inform Rizzit and Fury of this development, one way or another. Weapons and armor piled together. To legs extended from the bottom. It looked like the legs had originally belonged to some form of ESPO walker. The cockpit curved forward from the main part of the body slightly, giving the walker a bulging appearance. It looked like a miniature cockpit of a tie fighter had been placed atop the legs. Kairo's eyes traced two laser weapon mounts that were attached to the side of the cockpit. He couldn't tell if they were able to move or not, but decided it was best to think they did. Those were the only similarities between the two vehicles. One vehicle had some sort of missile rack on top of its cockpit. The other had multiple antennae extensions, which Kairo assumed were causing the disruption in his vehicles navigation display. It was probably also jamming communications.

  Everything that Kairo was able to discern about the vehicle was taken in the blink of an eye. As soon as the walkers had appeared, Kairo had already launched the vehicle forward at full speed, weaving from side to side and firing off both of his light blaster cannon and heavy stun cannon. He was lucky. His opponent had taken for granted the element of surprise. His enemy had thought that Kairo would take awhile to respond to their assault. They had been gravely mistaken. Their error cost them one of their walkers. Kairo had hit one of the ugly's legs, completely destroying the leg joint. Kairo assumed it was because they had cobbled the vehicles from old parts, thus their equipment was weak. Realizing this, Kairo would take full advantage of it. The first walker fell to the side as its leg was shot out from under it. Laser fire shot out from its sides as it tried to track Kairo. Before it hit the ground, it fired off all of its missiles. Without slowing down, Kairo prayed that he would make it. Two seconds before his walker collided with the four missiles, he swerved to his right into a small alley which was almost completely invisible from the main street. Kairo ran down the entire strip and made a sharp left hand turn.

  Looping around the entire building, Kairo arrived a minute after he had disappeared, right behind the antennae ridden walker. "Too bad," Kairo taunted and fired off a concussion missile. It hit the walker directly in its back. The walker blew apart into flaming pieces of wreckage. A moment later, Kairo heard a voice over his built in comlink say, "We need support at the middle of the convoy. We are taking heavy damage. Can anyone hear us?"

  Yes. Kairo pushed the vehicle forward, passed the flaming walker. As he passed by his first victim, Kairo fire two precise shots into the back of the vehicle. It exploded without hesitation. Rushing past the first convoy, Kairo saw it begin to move forward past him, trying to get away from the fire fight behind it. Opening the shared channel with Valtrina, Kairo said, "Try to hit them in the back. Their armor is weak there."

  Kairo heard a faint response from Valtrina. She was too absorbed in combat with her assailants to divert enough attention to talk. As he arrived at the second vehicle in the convoy, he saw that it was being ripped into from a walker on top of one of the buildings. The turret on top of the transport was unable to tilt high enough to fire upon its harasser. How the vehicle had managed to get a top the warehouse, Kairo didn't care as he tilted his vehicle as high as it would manage. He was able to only barely get a target lock on the ugly. Firing off a missile, Kairo was shocked to see the enemy walker run forward, off the edge of the building to escape the missile. Kairo watched with his jaw hanging open as the vehicle flew across the street. "That's impossible." Kairo said. Not really, you just saw it happen. Kairo moved his ESPO to the opposite side of the street to try to see the walker again, when laser fire hit the side of his vehicle. Looking down the street, he saw another walker running towards him. It had four laser emplacements on its body.

  Grimacing, Kairo turned around and moved the vehicle out from the view of the walker firing upon him. Kairo yelled into his comlink, "Get moving already." The transport didn't have to be told twice. As it started moving toward him, Kairo made it all the way across the street. The convoy vehicle slid past him, as Kairo waited for his shot. A moment before, the transport moved from in front of him, he pushed the walker forward at full speed and ran directly toward the other walker. Take off guard, the walker was left upon for him to fire upon. Before he was able to fire a clean shot though, the walker on top of the buildings peppered the ground around him with laser fire, forcing Kairo to jink left and right to not get hit. Kairo then found himself in a predicament. The third transport was too far away for him to dodge behind again, and he was pinned between two walkers, directly in their sights. Suddenly, the walker on the street exploded. From its smoky remains ran another ESPO walker. Valtrina. Before the walker on the roofs was able to respond the new addition, Kairo swung his vehicle around and aimed directly at its position. Together, Kaior and Valtrina fired their lasers at it. The walker recovered in time though, and started to jump across the brink again.

  Kairo was ready this time. As it began to fly through the air, he fired off one of his concussion missiles, leading it a couple of meters. Unable to swerve out of the way, the walker collided with the missile in midair. Shrapnel and sparks flew onto the surrounding area. "That takes care of them." Kairo said into the comlink. "Catch up with the other two convoy vehicles as fast as you can. I'm going to take a shortcut and get the front again. Valtrina, keep him safe." An acknowledgement came through the speaker. Kairo left Valtrina to guard the rear again as he sped into an adjoining alley. Ten minutes later, he had caught up with the two other convoy vehicles. Only another fifteen minutes until we reach the shuttle.

  Kairo was on edge the rest of the way. He started to relax when they were within two hundred meters of the landing pad. Unfortunately, it wasn't over. Two more walkers stepped into position ahead of him. Kairo felt his stomach knot as he saw their assorted weapons. Each packed three laser cannons and some sort of missile launcher. Well, I could pull something and probably die, or try to be smart, but you already know what you're going to do Kairo. Kairo hesitated only a second as he faced down his opponents. If they had that much weaponry on them, he guessed they were very cumbersome and didn't turn quickly. Banking on that fact, Kairo ran forward, directly toward the middle of them. "Don't distract them," Kairo told the transports. "Just trust me and don't shoot." He couldn't spare any more words as he concentrated on his task of dodging both of the cobbled together walker's laser fire. Beads of sweat rolled down his neck and forehead as he molded himself with his walker, trying to move in a totally random pattern and confuse his opponents by precisely firing a shot at them when he had the chance. Finally, he shot between them. As they continued to try to track him, he curved around and behind the walker to his right. As he ran behind it, the other walker accidentally fired into the side of its friend. Kairo also fired into the ugly as he ran by it. Receiving fire from both sides, it crumpled beneath the impacts. It fell forward and collided with the ground, smoke pluming out of multiple holes in its armor.

  After firing his shot into the ugly, Kairo had kept his extremely tight curve so he would end facing the other walker. Confused by the shock of destroying his own opponent, the enemy walker was easy prey for Kairo's lasers and concussion missile. As the hopefully last ugly exploded and fell to the ground, Kairo moved the walker back to the convoy. Valtrina was just arriving with the third transport, when Kairo said into the comlink, "Let's finish this fun little trip."

  The rest of the trip was thankfully uneventful. When they arrived at the landing pad, they found three other walkers already destroyed with only their charred remnants remaining. Not too smart if they though they could mess with that big a shuttle, even from behind. Over the next thirty minutes, Kairo and Valtrina stood guard as the hover transports moved into the shuttle and unloaded their cargo. Once they were finished, Kairo and Valtrina moved their walkers back into their original position and climbed out from them. Kairo saw the transports make a turn and disappear on their way back to the warehouse as he looked out the cargo bay doors. Not even a thank you. A voice rang through the ships intercom and said, "We will be taking off in a matter of moments. We do not want to remain here any longer. The cargo bay doors are now closing." Kairo heard a whoosh as the doors behind him started to close. "I would ask the crew and all guests to find a seat and wait there until we are out of Cepany's atmosphere. Thank you." Kairo grinned and ran with Valtrina back to their room.

  Once inside, they dropped their bags on the floor and sat down on two chairs inside the rooms. They felt the shuttle lift off the ground a few minutes later. Once the intercom spoke again and said it was safe to move around again, Kairo stood up and moved toward his duffle bag. Pulling out his clothes, he shook them out and moved toward the refresher unit. "Where do you think you're going?" Valtrina said from behind him. She was carrying a towel and a change of clothes.

  "To take a shower?" Kairo asked.

  "No, I'm taking a shower. You will have to wait." She informed him as she quickly walked past him and entered the refresher area.

  I can't believe I let her do that. Dropping his change of clothes by the refresher door, Kairo moved to the bed he had used earlier that day and dropped onto it. It was then he realized he still had his helmet on his head. Pealing it off, he shook his head and sprayed the area around him with tiny droplets of sweat. Falling backwards, Kairo waited for Valtrina to finish her shower. Thinking back over the mission, he remembered to tell Rizzit and Fury about the cobbled together walkers. I better not forget. I'm sure they will find the news very interesting. Twenty minutes later, Valtrina stepped from the refresher unit, toweling her hair. Getting to his feet, Kairo walked across the room and entered the refresher.

  After his shower, he left the refresher unit with his hair still slightly wet. He sometimes let it dry the rest of the way, since it was almost impossible to make his messy hair cooperate. Falling onto his bed, he started to fall asleep. A moment later, he felt Valtrina lie on the bed next to him and snuggle into his arms. Smiling his exasperating grin, Kairo fell asleep with the women of his dreams in his arms. They stayed that way for the rest of the flight back to Tadath.

I hope it's good. I think it is, but I don't know if this is what you were really looking for or not...

Comments: Allright, good work! This is exactly what I was looking for, except maybe a LITTLE longer. This is NOT to say I want a novel though I look forward to seeing your next story.

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

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

Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will be victorious in ten thousand battles.
You may forget the past, but it always has a way of haunting your future.
Men can die, but a symbol is eternal.

Combat Engineer
    Explosives Deployment

    Sam headed to the demolition wing of the academy for his explosives deployment class. Sam has been waiting for this class a nice long while.
    He entered the class room and took his seat. Moments later most of the seats were filled. The instructor entered the room and rummaged through his papers.
    Sam looked around the class and saw a few familiar faces from prior classes. He nodded at them politely and turned back around.
    "This class is about explosives deployment. This is primarily a theory class, because it is to dangerous to have you all practice this. We can't afford to send anyone home, the Empire needs you all. But your final exam will be a simulation," said the instructor as he gestured to the simulation booths at the back of the room, "Now we shall begin with the types of explosives that can be used in creating obstacles, to hinder your enemy's mobility, by foot and vehicle."
    The instructor ducks down behind his desk. He then returns with a moderately large box. He opens the box and pulls out a thermal detonator.
    "Many of you have seen these before and know that they are good for taking out enemy troops and immobilizing small vehicles," stated the instructor, "But these if planted in strategic points can cause large obstacles for your enemies to over come."
    He reaches back into the box for another item. He pulls out a DRX mine.
    "Planting this thing into the ground a detonating it, will make one heck of a crater. Heck really you don't even have to put it into the ground, you could just toss it on the floor and still make a really large hole in the ground," the instructor laughed, "this is a DRX mine for those who have not seen one before."
    He sat the DRX mine next to the thermal detonator on his desk. He reached again into the box for a third item. He pulled out what looked to be a proton grenade.
    "This here is an EMP grenade, this sucker doesn't cause craters or anything but it can short out anything electrical with in a ten meter radius," stated the instructor, "That includes most blasters and vehicle electronics. That isn't a physical obstacle but an obstacle none the less."
    The instructor brings out models of each item and hands them to the students. When Sam receives his, he immediately begins to examine the exterior for all the switches and keying devices on the explosives.
    "These are just replicas of the real ones. You can open them up and see the inner workings of these devices. Just don't break them," said the instructor, "You must also remember that when creating obstacles, that you make sure that your team is far enough away from the blast zone. We don't need to lose any soldiers due to your mistakes. If we were to lose anyone it would be best if it were you. That way you can't make a similar mistake."
    "That seems really harsh," Sam thought, "But he does have a point."
    The instructor allowed them a few moments to explore the items, while he prepares the next part of the course. Sam quickly opened up the DRX mine, because he had not seen one up close and one that was not ready to blow at any given moment. The inner workings were amazing. A high explosive core just behind what appeared to be a pocket that could be filled with many small pellets or something of the sort.
    Next Sam opened the EMP grenade. The few electronics that were inside, where attached to a large power cell. With further examination and using his knowledge from his electronics class, he saw that the power cell was wired to short, which was to send out the electromagnetic pulse.
    Finally, he opened up the thermal detonator. Sam had used these before. They release a huge amount of heat and cause a massive explosion, the dangers of this device is clearly apparent. If one was not killed by the blast they would be burn severely and scarred badly.
    The instructor finally returned with a large box of what appeared to be data pads. "These data pads will guide you through a simulation, where you all will have to use these devices to stop an enemy convoy passing through the area," stated the instructor, "As I said before, it is to dangerous to allow you all to do this kind of exam in the physical being. This way we will be able to score you all quickly and return results to you."
    The instructor quickly handed out the data pads and assigned a simulation booth to each student.
    "Now, your objectives are to utilize all of these devices properly and secure the two convoy trucks that are holding a prototype rebel weapon. Do not destroy the trucks. You may destroy any of the other craft and infantry, but make sure that the goods on those trucks are unharmed," said the instructor.
    The instructor headed to his desk and flipped a switch. All the data pads flashed on and text began to scroll across the screen.
    Sam quickly read the text. It was a more detailed explanation of the objectives. It told them all the equipment they had, an estimated time of when the convoy would reach them, how many explosives they had on hand to use, and a general idea as to was kind of protection the convoy had.
    After the text was done scrolling, the scenario began. Sam began to examine the area around. He saw a bridge crossing a moderately large river. Most of the area was wooded along with many shrubs and bushes. The trees could be utilized for making falling obstacles and the shrubbery could probably be used to heat things up a bit.
    Sam moved his way to the bridge and climbed underneath it. He placed a DRX mine on each side. They were placed on the opposite side that the convoy was coming. Before he placed them he filled the small chamber will small pebbles and rocks he found on the shore of river. He checked his data pad to find out how much time he had before the convoy would come.
    "Ok, I've got twenty minutes to finish up these explosives," Sam thought aloud.
    He next headed to the shrubs at the base of the trees. He placed a thermal detonator on the side of the tree not facing the path. He did this on both sides and on two or three trees on each side a good distance from the bridge to hopefully trap the trucks holding the weapons in between the broken bridge and fallen trees. He checked the time again and noticed he did not have much time to do anything else. He then began to set timers on all of the devices.
    "I sure hope I estimated these times right. If I did the leading vehicles should be on the bridge just as it blows and some of the rear vehicles will get crushed by the falling trees," Sam thought.
    Moments later Sam saw the convoy coming down the path. They did not have many infantry men around the convoy.
    "Maybe they thought the vehicles would be enough," Sam mumbled quietly.
    Just as the leading vehicles made it to the middle of the bridge, the DRX mines blew sending the small rocks and pebbles through the thin metal bridge and clanking off the vehicles. The blast made the bridge give way and sent the light vehicles into the river. Seconds later the thermal detonators went off and trapping the convoy trucks between the collapsed bridge and trees that began to smoke and catch fire.
    "Great it worked," Sam said as he re-read the end of his objectives, "He pulled out his com-link and called in a pickup team to get the weapons and neutralize the remaining troops.
    Then Sam saw what appeared to be troops heading towards where he was.
    "Those can't possibly be the pickup team already," Sam said.
    Moments later Sam realized that those were rebel troops coming to aid the convoy.
    "This isn't good," Sam said, "I better do something to get them away from the convoy so the pickup team doesn't have to put up with more than they bargained for."
    Sam rushed towards them yelling and tossing rocks at them. They began to fire upon him.
    Narrowly dodging the shots, Sam darted into the woods. To Sam's surprise the troops followed him. All Sam had on him was a thermal detonator and two EMP grenades.
    The Rebels were still firing at him as he ran between the trees. Sam quickly grabbed one of his EMP grenades and lobbed it at his pursuers. The blast sent out a wave of blue energy and shots stopped coming at him.
    Sam slowed down a bit, trying to catch his breath. He turned around and saw the Rebels banging on their weapons to try to get them to fire again. Then one of the Rebels pulled out a vibroblade and started to chase Sam again. The others soon followed suit.
    "Great! That is something I wasn't expecting," Sam said, "An EMP isn't going to do anything against that."
    Sam ran a ways then stopped and turned towards his enemies. He pulled out his last EMP grenade and activated it. He dropped it at his feet and stood there. It then blew up sending a wave of blue energy out. Just as it blew, Sam pulled out his thermal detonator, armed it, and dropped it at his feet again. He then ran to the right back towards where he stopped the convoy.
    The Rebels kept on running towards where Sam was. The glare from the energy made it difficult for them to see Sam run to the side and drop the thermal detonator. They reached where Sam was and began to look about in confusion. Just as one alerted the rest to the explosive, it was to late the grenade blew up and killing most of the squad.
    Sam made it back to the convoy, just as the pickup team was removing the prototype weapons from the trucks. He sat down to rest, just as the simulation ended.
    Sam stepped out of the simulation booth and looked about and saw that everyone else had gone. The instructor approached him and told him that he would send in the results of the exam to the proper authorities and wished him a good day.
    Sam left the class room and headed to the lounge to relax after the stressful simulation.


I hope I did this one right. Oh, and sorry for posting twice in a row, but I didn't think anyone else was going to post one anytime soon.

Comments: Good job. The length is decent, and your details are more than sufficient. Keep up the good work.

-----------------------
TRP/CPL Sandwich Sam 2SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE [LoR]
*DarkDragoons*
Roses are #FF0000
Violets are #0000FF
All my base are belong to you.

Certification Story 2:
Assistant Squad Leader's Choice: AT-PT:  ( )

  Awaking early in the day had never been something that Kairo liked to do, but over the years, he had trained himself to cope with the small amounts of sleep he sometimes was forced to have. When he was a child, he had been forced to perform the most grueling physical work out every morning. Unfortunately, by the time he had escaped his terrible owners, the pattern had been imprinted on the very core of his being. Things tended to happen that way with people. After either being forced to do something or choosing to do it out of their own free will, their mind or body accepted it to be second nature. Not a part of them but closer than anything else could be. Some called it a habit, others called it an odd quirk, but Kairo was different. He could stop at any point in time and force himself to forget about it, but it would be like ripping a small piece of his life away. He had never had very many constants during the few years he had been alive and free. Struggling through one thing and onto the next, the things that he had been able to keep with him had been close to family to him. Being an orphan and a slave as far as he knew, Kairo learned to only rely on himself. When he was older and joined the Vast Imperial Army, learning to trust others was the hardest thing for him to accomplish. After the first few months, the people he had worked with and the troopers who were placed under his command became his family.

  It was six thirty in the morning when Kairo finished one of the army's obstacle courses. He had chosen the hardest one this morning. It ran through part of the jungle surrounding the base, then went through varied climates inside small bio-domes, and finished with a hundred meter swim. Pulling himself out of the lake, Kairo let the now rising sun dry his half naked body. He felt exhilarated and full of energy, yet tired and anxious at the same time. Gotta love adrenaline. Kairo absently thought as he lifted himself off the ground. Walking through the army base, Kairo entered the Wilcard barracks and headed for his room. He saw Dinin, one of the newest members of the squad, walking toward him down the hall. Dinin was also an early riser, but unlike Kairo, he liked to get up that early. Still not used to being in a squad where he wasn't expected to salute his commander, Dinin stopped where he was and came to a rigid attention. Waving Dinin to relax, Kairo said, "You don't need to do that. I'm only your SL. I'm not an officer yet. Plus, I'm not really in uniform." Kairo motioned at his bare upper torso.

  "Sorry. I forgot that you don't like people doing that to you." Dinin apologized.

  "I just don't deserve it." Kairo mumbled to himself as continued on his way down the hall. Once inside his room, he checked the chronometer on the chest. Meeting in Rizzit's office at eight. That leaves me enough time to clean myself and go.

  "Hey slave boy." A voice said from behind Kairo.

  "Hey Valtrina." Kairo said turning around to see Valtrina sitting at a small table Kairo had put in his cramped room. "What are you doing here?"

  "I came to take you back to Dathomir. What do you think I'm here for?" Valtrina laughed as she stood up and hugged Kairo. Holding the embrace for a minute, Kairo remember he had a meeting to get to.

  "Sorry to kiss and run, but I have to hurry. I have another mission today." Kairo explained as he pulled away and moved to his closet.

  "Another Vehicle Crewman mission?" she asked while she lied down on his bed.

  "Yep." Kairo said from the depths of his closet. Thunk. "Damnit!"

  "You ok?" Valtrina called from the bed, tilting her head up to look into the closet.

  "Stupid helmet," Kairo said as he stepped from out of the closet, holding his vehicle crewman armor at his side. Throwing it on the bed next to Valtrina, he moved to his dresser and pulled out a towel and uniform. "See you in five minutes." Stepping into the refresher area, Kairo disappeared from view.

___________________________ 8:00 AM Galactic _____________________________

  After exiting the refresher unit, Kairo had remained and talked with Valtrina for awhile. After thirty minutes, she had had to leave for her own meeting. Kairo then decided to get something to eat. Afterward, he wondered the halls until seven fifty then hurried to Rizzit's office. Once he had arrived, Kairo remained standing at attention and threw a salute. The room held three other men and a woman: Peacemaker, Rizzit, Raziel, and Merrick. Fury must be busy this time. Though, I don't know why I should expect the Prefect of the Army to be at a meeting.

  "Ah, there you are Kairo, right on time. I was beginning to worry you would be late." Rizzit said from behind his desk.

  "I think he knows enough to not keep us waiting." Merrick said from a chair positioned against the wall to Kairo's right.

  "You can sit down now." Rizzit stated. Kairo relaxed and sat down in the only remaining chair. "I read your report from your last mission to Cepany. It said that there were other walkers attacking you?" Kairo nodded. "It also said that they were pieced together from other parts, even star fighter cockpits." Kairo nodded again. "After I read your report, I immediately informed Fury and the other officers in this room. Fury sent out a team of experts to try to track down the source of these, uglies. They succeeded, but barely survived long enough to give us the information. We need to move quickly to make sure they don't get away or change their base of operations."

  "They, sir?" Kairo interrupted.

  "Oh, right. The men we sent found out that the vehicles were being created elsewhere on Cepany, by a joint association of pirates and smugglers. Apparently, they have been stealing parts and pieces from supplies and scrap heaps throughout the system. They then drop the parts off at a large construction area they have set up in the mountains. Engineers and scientists then piece them together and create these monstrosities. Later, they sell them on the black market and keep the best ones for themselves. I think you know where a large part of their commission comes from?"

  "The rebel group on Cepany." Kairo assumed.

  "Right." Rizzit said.

  "When are we going to deal with them?" Raziel said from his position in a corner of the room.

  "When we get the orders to. They aren't a priority right now, and they haven't opened in any real from of action against the Vast Empire. We will have to wait until that time." Merrick informed everyone.

  "Anyways," Rizzit continued, "You are going to lead a team of five other vehicles against that installation and destroy it. No protecting anything this time. This is a search and destroy mission. Minus the search part."

  "Sounds fun." Kairo smiled.

  "I like this kid." Peacemaker said his first words in the meeting.

  "Thank you sir." Kairo responded.

  "Can we get back on topic?" Rizzit asked sarcastically. "Now, you will have to use AT-PTs on this mission because, like I said a minute ago, the installation is in the mountains of Cepany. Thankfully, the area isn't heavily wooded, but it is in the bottom of large valley. The two mountains that form the valley are Mounts Olfalf and Gartrag. on the Plinton continent. They are a part of the mountain chain that runs through the center of the region." Rizzit tossed a datapad to Kairo. Skimming through the files, Kairo found a map and the names and specialties of the troopers he would be working with. "As you can see, you will be leading a fine group of men there."

  Good, Valtrina isn't with me this time. Probably won't be again, since it is well known that we are together. "When do we leave?" Kairo asked.

  "In two hours. I'm sure you've already packed." Rizzit grinned.

  "Of course." Kairo responded.

  "Good. The walkers have already been loaded onto your transport. You guys will be flown ten kilometers from your target area and dropped off. From there on, it is up to you guys to destroy it. Air support will be standing by if you fail. As a last resort, a switch has been placed inside your walker. Flip that, and you will send out a signal for the bombers. If you guys fail, we want to make sure that place doesn't build anything more. Try not to destroy the main office buildings though. If we can, we want to capture all the research that they have. Everything else can go. Another reason we aren't just sending the Tie Bombers is because we don't want too much attention. Cepany doesn't exactly like us a lot, and having a few bombers flying through the mountains would be suspicious. The media would fabricate something, and it wouldn't be good. This way, you guys can go in and take them out without anyone really knowing. If they send out a distress signal, people will be wondering what they were doing there in the first place. Anyways, I don't need to be telling you the politics of it all. Get ready and meet your team in the hanger at ten sharp. Do you have any questions?" Rizzit finished.

  "Nope," Kairo answered.

  "Then we can get out of here." Raziel said. "Your office gets hot with five people in it Rizzit." Kairo stood up and gave them all a salute. As he left the room, Kairo heard Raziel and Rizzit arguing over the temperature inside the room. Laughing to himself, Kairo headed back to his room to change into his armor and grab a few supplies. When ten o'clock rolled around, Kairo was waiting inside the hanger. A large transport shuttle was resting on one end of the bay. As he reached the back end of it, he saw that none of his supposed team mates had arrived, unless they were already inside.

  Pulling a technician toward him, Kairo asked, "Has anyone already arrived?"

  "No, sir, just you." The technician seemed a bit flustered, and Kairo let him walk away to finish some task.

  Shaking his head, Kairo leaned against the side of the shuttle and dropped his bag to the ground. He was already wearing his armor, but the helmet was lying inside the bag, taking up half of the space. A minute later, two troopers in Vehicle Crewman armor could be seen approaching across the expanse of the hanger. About time. Once they reached him, Kairo said, "A bit late, aren't you?"

  "I thought we were right on time," A large man with broad shoulders and neck the size of a watermelon replied arrogantly. He was at least a half a foot taller than Kairo, who was six feet and two inches tall. Next too the man stood a short form who Kairo guessed to be five feet and four inches tall.

  "I'll be the one to decide that." Kairo responded, raising his chin and holding his body so it seemed like he was the one looking down at the man. "What are your names?"

  "This bulky thing that is supposed to be human is Charlie. I'm Fellina," the shorter from answered.

  Great. Another girl. Couldn't we just be sexist for one? "Thank you. You could learn something from her." Kairo told Charlie. "Do you two know anyone else that is coming?" They both shook their heads. Great, I get to lead a squad that doesn't really even know each other. They waited for a couple of moments in silence. Then three more figures could be seen crossing the room. One of them had the tell tale signs of a Twi'Lek, Leku hanging across his or her shoulders from underneath the helmet. The other one seemed to be a Trandoshan by the looks of him. Kairo couldn't really tell from underneath the arm. And standing between them was another shapely form encased in Femtrooper armor. Two girls. I hate you Rizzit. "Nice of you to join us. Names please."

    "I'm Krix." The Trandoshan said as he pulled of his helmet. Underneath was a red orange, scale covered face of the species.

  "I'm Ti'wana Bartho." The Twi'lek responded. "She's Jordan."

  "I can talk." Jordan grunted. She was also short. "Who are you two?" she motioned toward Charlie and Fellina."

  "Enough." Kairo yelled over the ensuing greetings. "We can do this onboard the ship. We've wasted enough time. Now, I don't want to see a single person out here after I count to fifteen. Otherwise, they might enjoy some extracurricular activities." Kairo said the last part with a hint of an evil smile on his face. None of them wasted any time boarding the shuttle. I should have expected Rizzit to give me the best men, which means they will have the most attitudes. I just have to show them who is boss. Sometimes, I hate my life. Taking a deep breath, Kairo entered the ship and walked down one of the two hallways that ran along the ships length. Poking his head through the cockpit's door, he said to the pilots, "We're ready."

  "Good, we don't want to be late. We only have a twenty minute window where one side of the valley won't be watched. We'll be there in about four hours. That is when we are dropping you off, not when we reach the planet. Be ready." The pilot stated.

  "Thank you." Kairo carefully walked back through the hall as the shuttle's repulsor lifts raised it from the hanger bay floor. Trying to find the room the five troopers had gone to, Kairo found them arguing inside a large room that had to serve as a form of lounge. It had one large table with a tables running around it. They were seated in to groups: Charlie and Fellina on one side, with the other three sitting along the other. Krix and Charlie were yelling across the table some not so friendly remarks when Kairo entered. "Nice to see you all getting along. It will make this so much easier." Kairo shot them both silencing looks. "I'm this squad's leader for this mission. Do what I say, and we might come out of this alive."

  "We've handled worse than a couple of pansy ass uglies before." Charlie said.

    "Sit down and let me finish, please." Kairo said quietly but with ice in his voice, but with a pleasant expression on his face. "Thank you. Now, as I was saying, this isn't going to be your every day mission. You get this done, and it will save the army a lot of trouble, meaning for some of you the attention you so seem to love. Botch it up, and you won't like the attention you get. I'm going to placing us into three groups. One of you is going to be with me. That will make communication easier, and let me give you orders a lot quicker. Charlie, you are with Fellina. I'm sure that will make you happy. Krix, you are with Jordan. And Ti'wana, you are with me. Any problems?" Kairo waited a second then continued. "Good, I wasn't going to change it if you did. I don't have a map of the exact lay out of the base. All I have is a picture of the area where it is. The picture was taken before the installation was established. It won't be of much help. I've been told you are all proficient with walkers. Good. I like to do things quickly and efficiently, but don't be surprised if I vary from the plan and improvise. If they don't have time to respond, great, but if they do, I want as many of their walkers destroyed as possible before they do. Now, we have about three hours and forty-five minutes before we get there. You can do whatever you like during that time, but I suggest you try to start getting along. Even though we are in three groups, we are still a team. Any questions?"

  Jordan raised her hand, "Where can we get something to eat?"

  Kairo smiled, "That, I can't help you with, but I can help you look."

  "No sir, that's ok. I can find it myself." She replied.

    "Anyone else?" No one responded. "Then you are dismissed from this informal meeting. Meet at the back of the ship in three and a half hours. I want us ready before we have to be. Just incase." After making sure no more arguments were going to break out, Kairo walked through the ship until he reached the cargo hold where they six AT-PTs rested. Exiting the hold, he entered the first room down the hallway. Dropping his bag on the floor, Kairo found himself inside a cozy room with a couch and small food processor in it. Well, I found some food. Getting nice glass of some liquid, Kairo laid down on the couch and sipped at it. It had a citrus flavor, which refreshed Kairo. He always liked to pick a drink from random but had always had an affinity toward Corellian drinks. Shutting his eyes, Kairo tried to sleep for the remainder of the flight to Cepany. If these Pirates and Smugglers don't kill me, my own squad will.

__________________________ 2:00 PM Galactic ______________________________

  Why can't I just let them do it by themselves this time? Kairo asked himself as he walked out from the room. He had a comfortable nap, almost too comfortable. Pulling at his armory, Kairo adjusted it as he walked into the hanger so it would lie properly. Never sleep in armor again. Twitching his next to the side, Kairo loosened the tight muscles as he approached the waiting troopers.  "You're all a little early."

  "We got bored, so we decided to wait here until we could go blow this place up and be done with it." Krix responded. The two groups were still parted. Charlie and Fellina were standing next to two AT-PTs while Krix and his friends were standing next to three others. The lead walker had been left alone.

  At least they know that one is mine. "Apparently, you guys aren't getting along yet. I should have shut you all up inside small closets together until we got here, but I'll just have to hope that once we start getting shot at, you'll listen to me and help each other." They've come this far in their training, so they will have had to work with other people. Unless they've come up through the training like I did with Valtrina. I'll have to mention that to Rizzit once I get back to Tadath. If I get back to Tadath. He walked across the hanger and stepped next to the lead walker. "We'll be arriving shortly. I felt us enter the atmosphere a few minutes ago, so head up into your walkers. I'm going to number you all now. If you give your group an order with that number, do it. Charlie and Fellina are Bravo two; Krix and Jordan, you are Bravo three; and Ti'wana and I are Bravo one. Let's do this right the first time. Be prepared to take down a small armor, which I hope it won't be." As Kairo started to climb up the scaffolding that was stationed next to the AT-PT, he heard someone speaking through the ship's comunit.

  "We'll be dropping you off in three minutes. Once we land, the cargo bay doors will open, and you will be given two minutes to disembark. Once you are off and finished with your mission. Send us a message on this channel." Kairo memorized the group of digits as the voice spoke them. As he dropped down into the cockpit, he moved to the pilot's seat and initiated the start up sequence. Once the main display was on, he entered the channel information into the list of frequencies. As the AT-PT was finishing its systems check, Kairo heard the same voice from early through his helmet this time. "We are about to land. Be ready." A second later, Kairo felt the AT-PT give a small lurch then saw the hanger bay doors begin to open.

  "Let's move." Kairo said, pulling the walker away from the scaffolding.

  "Roger," Fellina responded.

  "Yep." Kairo thought it sounded like Charlie.

  "Let's do this." Jordan almost yelled into through her mike.

  "Death," Krix stated.

  "I'm on your right," Ti'wana said.

  At least they aren't bickering any more. Kairo thought as he pulled the walker out of the shuttle. It was midday on Cepany, but the high mountains in front of Kairo cast a shadow across the surrounding land. This should help us not be seen too soon. "All right, stick close and move in pairs. Stay within fifty meters of each other. We're heading for that high pass in the mountain ahead of us." Kairo looked through the walker's view port and scanned the mountainside in front of him. The group of six walkers would be coming down at the base from Mount Olfalf Kairo had looked at the surrounding area from the map Rizzit had given him and chosen this direction due to its secluded access to the valley. He figured that the main entrance to the valley would be guarded along with a path that went through Mount Gartrag. The pass that the walkers would come through had a river running down the valley side of the mountains with trees and brush surrounding the area. Kairo hoped to use the river and trees as cover, until they were close enough to attack the base. Let's hope it works.

  Leaning back into the seat, Kairo switched his scanner to maximum output, allowing him to see things farther away. It would give his presence away sooner, but if there was anyone on this side of the mountain, then they would have seen the group land. Once everyone had made it halfway up the mountainside, Kairo ordered, "Bravos, follow me up to the pass." A few responses came back this time, but everyone followed the order. Maybe I shouldn't have been so worried about their team work. Maybe they were just fighting to ease the tension and break the ice. Not how I'd do it, but it might work for them. As the side of the mountain became steeper, Kairo slowed his walker down a little and brought in his sensors scanning range. He hadn't picked anything up. Positioning the walker in front of the opening to the pass, Kairo saw that the group would have to move through in a single file. Sith spit, it looked a lot bigger from the Arial view. "Here's the deal, we're going in single file. I'm first. Everyone just form up behind me. Once on the other side, fan out slightly along the river and pick up speed. They might have sensors even on this pass, so when we come out, we are making a run for the base. Remember; take out the defenses, then the walkers, and then anything else that comes at us. Try not to destroy the buildings."

  Push the throttle forward, Kairo brought up his weapon systems and linked them to his liking as he moved through the narrow pass. To either side of him was a wall of stone. Nothing was growing here. Kairo couldn't hear the river ahead of him, but he knew that it would come out of the mountainside on the other side of the pass. Five minutes later, his walker was poking out from the face of the mountain. This side of Mount Olfalf was almost a sheer cliff. The river was gushing forth beneath his walker's feet. It had sprouted from the mountain somewhere in the middle of the jagged pass. Moving the vehicle carefully, Kairo brought it down into the group of trees in front of him while making sure he didn't move the AT-PT's legs too far apart. The river could be strong enough to grab the legs and pull them apart, effectively pulling the legs out from underneath him. Looking at his display, Kairo saw that nothing was showing up. They could just have it really well hidden and covered so the sensors wouldn't even pick them up.

  The rest of the group caught up with him halfway down the river base and formed a small rectangle, three in front and three behind. Moving rapidly down the mountain, Kairo saw the buildings in the center of the valley in a wide clearing. The trees line ended about one hundred meters from the main buildings. The area had four hangers from what Kairo could tell. And they look big enough to hold six to ten walkers each. Great. Three construction zones were laid out on opposite side of the base, forming a triangle pattern between them. A supply area was along side each of them, and five power generators were stationed in the middle of it all. Kairo could see five weapon turrets mounted at varying areas along the perimeter of the base. A landing pad and a large undistinguishable building were off to one side.

  As Kairo drew closer to the turrets, he saw that they were equipped with a twin laser cannons and some form of missile launcher. Just like what you would find on a walker. I hate these people. "Watch it, this place is a lot more heavily defended then we thought it was." Kairo broke the comsilence. As if his words were a signal, the nearest turret started to turn and track Kairo's position. There goes the surprise, but at least we are close enough that we might be able to lock down the hangers before the pilots can get there. "Move in for the attack. Bravo three, to the right and destroy the turrets that way. Bravo two, go to the left and do the same. Only go as far as halfway along the perimeter of the base then move toward the center and take out the power generators. You have my back Ti'wana." The group of AT-PTs surged forth from the river like a strong wave of metal. Stepping out from the water, the groups split apart to deal with the turrets. They'll be a pain in the neck if we have to deal with them and whatever uglies they can get operational before we come.

  Targeting the nearest turret, Kairo swerved to the side then dodged quickly to the right, dodging the first sprays of oncoming laser fire. Hands barely grazing the controls, Kairo got a target lock on the turret and pelted it with his twin laser cannon. The first shot crumpled and blackened one of the turrets cannons, while the other scraped the paint of the side and left a few black scars running across its side. A missile shot over Kairo's walker and hit a turret that had just spun position to fire. With its laser out of commission, the turret fired two missiles in quick succession. Ti'wana's missile had just hit the other turret, sending sparks and flames into the air, when Kairo stopped his walker and used the force to bounce his targeting reticule down then sharply back up, bringing the first missile right into his sights. Ten meters from Kairo, the missile was struck by one of his lasers. Running through the ensuing smoke, Kairo swerved to the side to dodge the second oncoming missile, while Ti'wana fired a well placed shot of his own.

  Aiming where the turret's weapons met the swivel base, Kairo unleashed another surge of energy that annihilated the connecting metal and wires. Running at fifty-five kilometers per hour past the turret, Kairo heard it through his walker's armor hit the rocky ground and explode. Checking his sensors to make sure that his man was still with him, Kairo ran toward the first construction yard. A half-way made walker was visible through the construction platforms robot arms. Firing off a missile, Kairo set the platform on fire and destroyed the armor less shell of the mockery. He could see the power generators ahead of him. If we can destroy those, the rest of the turrets will be deactivated, and they won't be able to send out a distress signal.

  "Help me lower the generator's shields. Once they are down, fire a missile through," Kairo told Ti'wana. Once they were within range, the started to layer the outer shell of shields, watching them sizzle and slowly weaken. Checking his scanner, Kairo saw Bravo two start to attack the generator across from his. Bravo three was just moving into his scanner's range. Suddenly, a laser shot skimmed the right side of his walker. "What the hell?" Dropping his rain of fire, Kairo lurched forward and spun his walker around, ignoring the ensuing pull of inertia on his body. Three uglies were standing next to the construction yard. They must not have gotten the power down before they got to the hangers and were locked out. Gonna make things much more interesting.

  "Ti'wana, behind us!" Kairo yelled into the comlink and pushed the vehicle forward. "Get behind them. That is where their armor is week. Plus, they aren't as fast as us. The Smaller one is mainly a recon one while the bigger one is the one with all the power." Laser fire was glancing off the sides of Kairo's walker. Time to change that. Putting the throttle to its maximum output, Kairo veered to the side and exited the uglies' line of site, by moving behind the flaming construction pad. Use the force of his beginning momentum, Kairo catapulted around the building with amazing speed. Squinting from the pressure, Kairo pulled out of the circular movement tangent to the two walkers. Bingo. Targeting the middle of the heavy walker's back, he unleashed a stream of laser fire into the connecting joints. The smaller recon uglie exploded into a pile of scrap metal a second later. "Nice shot Ti'wana." Kairo exclaimed as he moved his walker through the smoking debris. "I'm moving above the usual speed parameters due to the tight loop, so I can't stop quickly enough. Move past me and head to the hanger next to me. Move to the front. I'll meet you there while coming from the other side." Ti'wana's AT-PT came running from Kairo's blind spot and ran right past him.

  Glancing at the power generators, Kairo targeted the weakened one and fired a missile. He was taking a gamble by not knowing if the shields had fully collapsed from their previous assault, but the missile soared right through the air and detonated against the cylindrical heap. Feeling the shockwave slightly hit his walker; Kairo turned to his right and moved his walker between the two hangers on his side of the base. After the first turn, he saw no walkers, which surprised him, but when he turned the second corner, he saw Ti'wana dodging fire from two heavy uglies. Smiling, Kairo quickly targeted them from the backside and destroyed one of the walkers before they knew he was even there. Using the distraction, Ti'wana shot the legs out from under the remaining walker and ran over to Kairo. Examining the front of the hanger, Kairo saw it only had one large entrance. The inside of the hanger was empty except for a few spare parts and fuel cells. Turning his walker around, Kairo moved to the adjoining hanger. It's doors hadn't been opened yet.

  "Target the tops and sides of the door and help me seal it shut. If we liquidate the metal around the sides, the door won't be able to open once it cools and solidifies." Kairo explained while he himself started to blast key points on the right side of the door.

  "Two more walkers, coming from the right,"

  "Keep sealing those doors. I'll take care of them." Kairo ordered and pulled his walker away from the hanger. Bringing his walker to bear, he reversed his direction and ran toward the oncoming walkers. Before they were even within range, four twin laser bolts hit them in the back, causing them to stop and crumple to the grounds in smoldering heaps.

  "Bravo two here. We finished off the turrets on this side and destroyed two of the generators. Bravo three sent us a message saying that they took out the last generator and had engaged two walkers when we were heading your way sir." An AT-PT moved from around the corner of the hanger, along with a second one close behind it.

  "Thank you. Now let's go help.." A burst of static cut Kairo off, then "We need immediate assistance, they have some sort of.."  It ended their, with another burst.

  "Follow me." Kairo ordered and led the way around the hangers. The three other walkers formed up behind him. When the came around the last corner, they saw the wreckage of the generators spewing copious amounts of smoke into the air, like a beacon in the middle of the area. An AT-PT was standing across the way, next to the second construction building. It was firing its lasers at an object hidden behind the other pair of hangers. Pushing the walker forward, Kairo was unable to reach the walker in time. A large beam shot forth from behind the hangers and pierced the walker. NOOO! As the group got closer, Kairo could see that the shot had hit the walker right below the cockpit and could make out a trooper fleeing the flaming wreckage. A moment later, the AT-PT exploded. Where is the other walker though? "Bravo two, go around behind the hangers. We'll attack whatever it is from both sides." There was no response, but Kairo saw the two walker reverse direction on his radar. He also so a large unknown mass around the corner along with a tiny dot that he hoped was the remaining AT-PT.

  As he came around the bend, Kairo first saw the AT-PT darting between the legs of a large walker. Before he had time to rejoice though, he looked up at what the AT-PT was running underneath. It was another cobbled together uglie, but it was built in the shape of an AT-AT with some improvements on the model, if that was possible. It wasn't nearly as tall as the regular model, but it was still tall enough for the AT-PT to fit under with a few meters to spare. It had a sheer black paint job, making it stand out in its surroundings, but also giving it a more fearsome look. Its legs were had the design of an AT-AT's with the same armor, which would pose problems from the AT-ST's weapon systems. Its torso looked like it was a LAAT/I, which was the only way Kairo could describe it. It had its retractable side panels replaced with solid metal, the wings taken off, and the cockpit removed. Kairo assumed that the cannons on top would be used for long range and anti-air use, since it wouldn't be able to fire them at the units on the ground. Due to the delegation of energy for the legs, it only had two laser turrets and four rocket launchers, which were what was worrying Kairo the most.

  The head of the walker was the same design as the AT-AT's with the same weapon systems. Kairo had gone through all of these mental examinations in a matter of seconds from years of being in the fields of combat and his exceptional training instructors. Holy Father of the Galaxy. "Sir," It was Krix' voice. He must be in that last walker fighting that monstrosity. "Watch out, it has shields." Kairo received this fact with shock and dismay.

  "Everyone fall back behind the hanger. I'm pretty sure this is the last thing they can send at us. It looks pretty big, so we should be able to out run it." Kairo pulled back on his controls and returned around the corner of the hanger.

  "Are you expecting us to retreat?" Kairo heard Fellina asked aghast.

  "No, just regroup. We need a plan to attack that thing. We should be able to buy a few minutes on the other side of the hangers, unless the walker decides to destroy its own base. Can you make it Krix?" Kairo asked as he checked to see if Ti'wana was still with him.

  "He's right behind us," Fellina said from Bravo 2, who was running behind the AT-AT ugly and around the hanger.

  Good. Weaving to the right, Kairo tried not to wince as multiple lasers shot pummeled he ground around his walker. Rounding the bend, he continued around the hanger with Ti'wana and met up with the other three pilots. "What are we going to do about Jordan?" Krix asked from his beaten walker.

  "We'll have to pick her up after the fight. Hopefully, she went and found some shelter. Right now, we have to consider that thing. Did either of you two even damage it?" Kairo asked Krix.

  "I don't think so. It jumped us by surprise. We were sealing up one of the hangers when it just blew out the doors of the other and proceeded to almost annihilate us. It has shields too."

  "I know. But, shields can be taken down." Kairo vaguely said out loud as he tried to come up with a strategy in the few moments that they had bought from their hasty retreat. "Here is what we are going to do..."

___________________________ Two minutes later _____________________________

  You're crazy Kairo. But who is more the idiot, me, or the people who are following me? He had positioned his walker in the middle of the base, next to the still blazing flames of the power generator remains. The rest of the squad was no where in sight, but that was what he wanted. He was thankful that the uglie was even slower than he had guessed. It apparently packed quite a punch, but either it had thought they had left, or it was extremely slow. Or it just can't turn very fast. I bet it could go fifty clicks in a straight line. Zooming in with the walker's built in macro binoculars, Kairo studiously watched the edge of the hanger, where he hoped the walker would be coming from. If it decided to turn around and follow Bravo 2 instead of Ti'wana and me, this might not work. A glint caught Kairo's eye, then a front of a laser cannon poked around the edge of the hanger. Here it comes. A moment later, the front of the head was visible. Pushing the throttle to the max, Kairo leaned against his inertia and headed straight at the uglie.
  He had two missiles left at his disposal, but he wasn't going to use them quite yet. Firing his lasers at the head, he caught their attention. A second later, laser fire came flying at him. Veering off to his right, Kairo curved around in the direction he had come from. Using instinct and randomness, Kairo evaded the incoming fire. He knew he was like a fly to them, but he was only the bait. Another moment passed, and the front half of the walker was now in clear view. Bracing himself, Kairo put his walker into the generator flames. Orange and red obscured his view, but the heat was slow to fill his cockpit. The AT-PT's sensors were going wild, telling him he was overheating and that he was going to explode any second. "Now!" Pushing back to the right, Kairo exited the fire to aim back at the now completely visible uglie. But it wasn't just him who left the fires. Two other walkers rushed out behind him.

  They had been waiting on the opposite side of the fires to wait for his signal. They then plunged in behind him. The other two walkers appeared from the hangers to the left, forming a right angle with Kairo's group and the uglie at the vertex. "Fire" Five missiles streaked out toward the ugly. A second later, they were followed by another wave. As expected, the uglie's lasers and missiles caught the first wave in mid flight, but one missile still got through along with the second wave. Six missiles hit the walker's shields at almost the same time. "Hit it with whatever you have left." Kairo ordered as his walker covered the ground between him and uglie quickly. Three last missiles arced out, but only one got close enough to hit. Crossing his fingers, Kairo held his breath for an instant as the tube of light passed through the area where the shield had been a minute ago. Slamming into the side of the uglie, the missile exploded and ripped the right laser turret to shreds and dented the outer plating.

  "Take out its weapons!" Kairo yelled as he got a clean shot off at one of the rocket launchers. Watching it explode, he raced underneath the vehicle's front legs and kept moving to the back. Spinning around as he came out the back end, he caught sight of the left laser turret and fired his lasers at it. A rocket came plummeting from the sky above him, forcing him to break from his shot. Pushing the throttle into full reverse, he was able to narrowly dodge the incoming rocket, which fell to the ground in front of his view port. He wasn't fast enough to escape the heat and shockwaves though, which damaged right leg and plating. As the smoke cleared in front of him, he pushed the vehicle forward as best as it could move, but it could only limp at a pace of fifteen kilometers per hour.

    Scanning the uglies remaining systems, he saw that the rest of his team had been able to destroy the left laser turret and the rest of the rocket launchers. Someone had also damaged its rear right leg. "Shall I take it out sir?" Krix asked. Checking his display, Kairo saw that Krix was off to the right of the walker.

    "No, just take out its front laser turret and crumple its front legs." Kairo ordered.

    "Roger," Ti'wana answered. The battle ended a few seconds later. After its weapons had been disabled, the uglie knew it was finished. When the four walkers converged fire upon its front legs, it fell forward onto the ground, where it would remain until later. "What now sir?"

    "We call in our pick up." Kairo answered. Turning to his communication controls, he entered the comchannel he had memorized earlier. "The base is secure, get your asses in here. We have one person on the ground, and we don't know if there are anymore inbound forces."

  He waited a second and was about to repeat the message, when the comunit crackled to life. "Roger that. Does anyone need medical assistance?"

  "No." Kairo responded. Switching channels briefly, he said to the squad, "Bravo two, go make sure there are no more defenses and secure the research building. Krix, find Jordan and get her onto your AT-ST."

  Going back to the shuttle's channel, Kairo heard the pilot saying, "We'll be on the southern end of the base. Meet us there in three minutes. We also have commandos ready to take care of any ground resistance and secure the base. Your task of taking care of the heavy defenses is done." The message ended there, leaving Kairo slightly speechless. He acts like we did the easy part...

  "Ok, changes of plans, Bravo 2, make a quick run around the base then move to the southern section for pick up. Krix, still find Jordan then get there as well." Turning his walker around, Kairo hobbled to the southern section of the base. It took him the whole three minutes for his damaged walker to get there. As he arrived, the shuttle was finishing its landing procedure and deploying the commandos. The rest of his squad had also already made it.

  "You're holding us up Kairo." Fellina joked.

  Don't mind her. Just try to get the walker to the shuttle, and then you can deal with all the snide remarks. As the walker limped into the shuttles hanger, he was almost ready to get out and push it, thinking that might help it move faster. By the time he had brought the AT-PT through its shut down sequence, the shuttle had already lifted from Cepany's surface, and the rest of his squad was waiting for him at the other end of the hanger."

  "Finally." Krix growled.

  "Shut it." Kairo said with a half smile. "Good job everyone. That was a tough fight. I'm sure you will all get recognized for your efforts. Are you ok Jordan?"

  "Yeah, just a little battered and bruised." She responded with a week smiled. She was leaning on Krix's arm.

  "You can all go get some rest. Our task is finished. We have another long flight back to Tadath." They all nodded and walked off. Moving back to his compartment he had spent most of flight in before, Kairo hit a button which retracted a panel to allow someone to look out into space. As he glanced out, he saw three more shuttles, move down into the mountains. Apparently, they knew we wouldn't be able to take over the base as well. I hope they don't decide to destroy that AT-AT uglie. I'm sure Rizzit and Fury will want a look at that. Settling back into his comfortable position, Kairo lifted off his helmet and sighed. Not as bad as I thought it would be. As the shuttle broke through Cepany's atmosphere, Kairo was almost asleep in his seat, letting the days events unfold again in his dreams.


  I hope it's good enough.
Comments: Okay, this was really good work on your part. You sort of have a knack for knowing how these vehicles operate as well as their weapons systems. Good work again on creating characters...you have a definate gift for that. I will be selecting your next story. Look for a reward soon.

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

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

Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will be victorious in ten thousand battles.
You may forget the past, but it always has a way of haunting your future.
Men can die, but a symbol is eternal.

[OCC: I could have sworn I posted this yesterday...maybe I posted it somehwere else accidenatly?   /OCC]

Vehicle Crewman Training:
Track/Wheeled Vehicle Repair

Zafo found himself leaning against one of the many bustling corridors. He looked at his watch and let out a sigh. Many people had passed by or run into him without apology, but none were the person he was waiting for. Just as he was about to give up and head to his vehicle crewman training session alone, a voice from within the crowd called out to him.

"Oh my God, Zafo, I'm so sorry!"

"It's about time" Zafo let out mockingly.

Sarah's small form emerged from the pushing traffic of people. She was gasping for breath as she took a lean on the wall beside Zafo.

"It was my alarm clock..." She began before Zafo interrupted her

"Don't worry about it. Now lets get going shall we?" Zafo said trying to find an opening to enter the flow of people. When at last the opening came, the two future crewmen shuffled into the crowd and followed it until it passed by where they wanted to be. As if exiting a highway, both Zafo and Sarah shuffled to the edge of the crowd then finally left it as they entered the classroom. The classroom was completely empty, contrasting the crowded hallway on the other side of the door. Their steps echoed as they made their way across the room and passed through the door, bringing them outside. The horde of new trainees all had a seat in front of the podium, listening intently to Zafo's usual instructors teachings. He acknowledged Zafo and Sarah with no more than a glance. Zafo looked around, and saw the Colonel standing off to the left, having a conversation with Sherman. He greeted the two newcomers and they all continued on with their conversation, waiting for Barkley to arrive. When at last he came running over, the Colonel ended the conversation and moved on to why they were all there.

"These are your last three lessons before your official exams" He began, the thought of nearly being done put a smile upon Zafo's face. "Each one consists of repairing a specific type of vehicle. You've learnt the universal characteristics, now we are getting into detail. Today, you will be repairing tracked and wheeled vehicles, which usually tends to be tanks. These three lessons will all take place in the hangar you found yourselves in yesterday fixing the speeders. Our great driver we be leaving here at ten o' clock sharp, whether you are here or not. A specialist will talk to you about the type of vehicle you will be repairing, and as usual, you will have to pass his test. Officially, you only require to do one, but I strongly recommend you do them all. When you are finished will all of these, you will see me again for your three one on one final exams. I am looking forward to this, it's not everyday we have four students graduating from this program. Anyways, here comes the driver, Todd. I'll see you all again in the near future."

The Colonel and all the other trainees faded out of view as the transport brought them across the field the four future crewmen had recently raced across, and to the hangar. Zafo thanked the driver as he disembarked and walked towards the corner where their previous lesson was located, followed by the rest of his classmates.

When he got there, his jaw dropped. Sitting before them were four massive forms. They were at least twenty meters long and easily ten high. Long shafts protruded from its massive armored head like cockpit. The wheels themselves, towered high over Zafo's head. Absorbed in his awe, he failed to hear the instructor who was now standing right beside him.

"Quite impressive, aren't they?" The woman repeated

All Zafo could do was nod his head. The vehicle was having a similar effect to the others, who were frozen in place.

"Alright, enough oogling!" The instructor snapped. She was now standing at a small podium, pulling out charts and disks from her bag. She pulled out a datapad as she continued talking;

"This magnificent vehicle, is the HAVw A6 Juggernaught; A vehicle used by the Old Republic in the Clone Wars. Luckily, we have managed to acquire a couple, not only for this lesson, but hopeful future use. I'm sending out some specifications now.

Zafo's datapad beeped at the receiving of a new message. He opened it and read the new information about these mechanical beasts. Thoughts of rolling through a battle field in such a thing, blowing up everything in site were passing through Zafo's head. Taking out small rebel fortifications with those two rocket launchers at the flick of a switch&A tap on the shoulder brought him back to reality.

"Tracked and Wheeled vehicles, are the only kind you haven't dealt with yet, am I right?" The instructor questioned. The four students nodded their head, even though she knew the answer to her own question. "You already know just about everything there is to repairing and maintaining fine imperial vehicles. However, tracked and wheeled vehicles have some specifics of their own. As do walkers and repulsor vehicles, but you've just already learned most of them even though you don't realize it. Wheeled vehicles have an elaborate suspension system not found on other types of vehicles. You have slight suspension systems on walkers but they do not even come close to matching the effectiveness of the one found on this vehicle. Every wheeled has its own independent suspension system, which is itself, connected to a larger suspension system for each side&

---------------------- An Hour and a Half Later ----------------------

"Now for all of you to get to work on these bad boys" The instructor released a great smile "A small amount of things have been purposely damaged for you to repair them. When I say small, I mean small compared to how much can go wrong with such a big, complex vehicle. Spare parts and such are located in this corner here. You have eight hours to complete the job."

Eight Hours!?! Zafo thought "Wow, this is going to be a lot more complicated than I was hoping

"Have Fun" The instructor said, gesturing towards the four towering Juggernaughts.

Zafo took the first few minutes of his time, simply walking around rolling death machine. Thick plates of armor protected its insides from attack. The huge wheels towered over Zafo. Thoughts of crushing rows and rows of cheap speeders raced through his mind. He snapped out of his crazed daze and tried to figure out where to start with the repairs.

"The power core, that does sound like a good idea Zafo thought to himself.

He climbed up the vehicle and lowered himself through the hatch at the top. The inside of the tank was nicely lit, making everything clearly visible. Off to his right, Zafo saw the entrance to the cockpit. Off to the left, there was another hatch in the ground, no doubt leading to the vehicles electronic, mechanic and power systems. He opened it up and lowered himself into a small room full of wires, panels and such. As he correctly guessed, this would be where he would make most of his repairs.

He picked up a toolbox conveniently lying in the corner, beside the hatch and walked towards the power core system. He had to hunch over a bit to stop from hitting his head on the ceiling, which was no high than five and a half feet. He got down on his knees when he was in front of the power core containment area. He slid aside the safety glass and hit a few buttons, raising the power cells from their protective holding compartments.

Zafo was shocked to see five rather large power cells instead of the one or two he was used to seeing. Three of which were not even properly connected. After properly connecting them and making sure the entire small area was in working order, Zafo ascended back to the main level and headed towards the cockpit. Finding all the problems on this beast would take ages without using a systems check to detect the problems. Even then, it could take a long time to repair; there was just so much that could go wrong.

Zafo pulled open a screen and flew his fingers across the keyboard in front of him. Within a couple of seconds, they systems check was underway. While Zafo waited, he examined the rest of the cockpit. It was defiantly more complicated than your standard speeder, or an even more complex walker, but it was something Zafo could see himself comfortable operating. Not as much mobility as a walker, that's for sure, but this thing had the armor and the power.

Zafo's daydream ended with the beeping that indicated the check was over. He swept his eyes across the screen, picking out everything that was written in red.

"Cooling Systems, Suspension, Wheel Related Problems&" Zafo read aloud. The list continued. Uttering a sigh of despair, Zafo headed back down into the hatch bringing him below the main hallway. He searched amongst the many compartments and sections until at last he found the cooling systems. The problems were immediately obvious; there was no cooling liquid in the tank, plus the pump appeared to be broken.

He set to work on the pump first. The motor was in bad shape. It was very basic however, so repairing it would be rather simple. After replacing a couple of small components and cleaning it up, the motor was in running order. Zafo gave it a fresh power cell before draining the tank of the old, foul smelling liquid remaining. He then watched the blueish liquid pour back into the tank from the container that was now in his hand. Satisfied with his work, Zafo decided to move on and take a look at the suspension.

Giving the suspension a proper repair job would prove to be very time consuming. The only way to access the suspension system was to remove some of the wheels from the outside and actually get within the bowls of the vehicle. Removing one of the monstrous wheels proved to be long tedious, greasy work. When at last he managed to succeed, Zafo climbed into the small area from which the suspension could be accessed. He opened up a small control panel located directly the right of the entrance to try and pinpoint the problem displayed on the screen in the cockpit. Within a couple of seconds, a small flashing arrow indicated that the problem was with the rear suspension; it seemed as if it was not even connected.

Carefully making his way around wires and support beams, Zafo made his way towards the rear suspension area. He scoped the area, trying to find any visible problems. Firstly, he noticed that a thick wire had gotten caught on one of the wheels and had been ripped apart; that problem was the reason for it not showing up on the computer. After hooking it up and giving it a more thourough checking, Zafo set work to them immediately...

---------------------------------------Many Hours Later---------------------------------------

At last, Zafo emerged from the massive vehicle, face and hands all covered in grease and oil. He saw all the other trainees and water basins desperately trying to work the filth out from their hair before it got too dry.

The instructor has right in front of his face before he even realized what was going on.
"You finished just within the allocated time limit," she menaced "I'm not going to pass you all that easily." With that, she stormed off towards the vehicle Zafo had just spent the last long time of his life working on.

He walked lazily over to one of the washing basins and began to rinse out his hair before he heard that familiar voice behind him again.

"How do you think you did?"

"Not too badly." Zafo answered, still scrubbing at his face.
"Oh, she's coming back." Sarah said before walking away, back to her basin.

"Good news class," the instructor started, "You all failed."

A look of horror spread across the faces of all the trainees. The terrified and saddened they looked, the greater the grin on the instructors face became.

"I'm just kidding with you. You all passed wonderfully, see you next class."

[OCC: It may seem that this story ended abruptly and quickly, but it has been in the making for far too long. When I work on it, it has been paragraph at a time. That's not the proper way to write one of these, but I had also done enough as to not want to restart. With this one out of the way, hopefully they will be coming more often and be more smooth. /OCC]

 
-----------------------
~ZaFo
*DarkDragoons
+ Advance Recon Commandos {ARC} +
ASL/SSG ZaFo/2SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE  [BC] [EW2]
~Keep on Rocking in the Free World

~Training: Communications Technician~
Primary MOS: 31 T Communications Technician, 31W Communications Operations Chief.

Level 1: Equipment and Procedures
Story 1: Installation, Utilization, & Operation of Basic Comm Equipment

-=[Equipment]=-
Additional items expected to be handled by a comm. tech: Military-grade data pad, planetary communications rig, droid repair kit, computer repair kit, diagnostics kit, lightweight tool kit.
 
"Training battlegrounds"

      Typex3 was sleeping in his training Camp; it was 3 Am in the morning the alarm Rung "Riiing..." Typex3 woke up eager to start his new basic training on how to set up his camp with his newly discovered equipment. He then headed out for class; along the way to Storm Troopers, he looked over his data pad trying to see where his class started.

"What a weird place, so confusing" He said while looking over the classroom.

He was the first one there, ready for any kind of learning or action in a mission. The students started to come one by one, and then the teacher appeared with his crocked shades. The teacher commanded everyone to salute him and each other.

The teacher said on his mind "although all of these students are PFC, Typex3 is brighter than any of these". "Alright class today you will be learning the basic skills of the equipment setup, and how to identify them" the teacher said. "I'll Give you 10 minutes to set up your camp" He said.

Typex3 ran to his camp the fastest of them all, and wasted no time. He then headed out for fresh air, suited up in his standard storm trooper costume, to begin the day.

He first organized his camp in an organized fashion leaving him to deal with his Technician equipment after. He gently position them and identified them closely, while discovering there use for urgent missions. Typex3 then grabbed his Military-grade data pad, logged in to see his training section.

"Story Mode- Level 1 procedures; equipment identification and setup".

Typex3 followed systematically on how do identify each of the equipment. He then kept searching on his data pad figuring the system of each instrument and where to locate them in case of an emergency. He soon read about each learning about the use and how to operate them in a basic matter.

After typex3 understood all the procedures and identification of each instrument, he position them according to how is best useful for him in case of any mission. Typex3 grabbed the droid repair kit, computer repair kit, diagnostic kit, and lightweight tool kit and position them on the left side of the counter where his standard storm trooper suit was located.

He placed his military data pad on the right hand side counter of his bed. He then grabbed each of his instruments and looked closely at there system understanding there capability of working and the things/operation they can undertake in a mission.

Typex3 spends nearly two to three hours learning gradually how to use the data pad and the planetary communication rig. The other 5 hours were on trying to learn about the repair kits in any occasion when an instrument breaks in some kind of accident or when a droid needs repair.

At one a clock in the afternoon, he was finished understanding how to set up his equipment and how to understand the basic operations they had. He then awaited the inspection, in the mean while typex3 sat down reading the 31 w communication technicians guide located in his data pad for record keeping. As well as his 31 t communications technician guide on how to follow each procedure in each level.

Typex3 while reading saw a bunch of troopers waking up with nearly an hour till inspection. He saw there disorganized camps with instruments opened up with broken pieces. He was surprised that the equipment was still up and running.

His head nodded, shaking and saying in a commanding voice; "early is on time, on time is late, and late is unacceptable".

Typex3 then went to take shower before inspection, cleaning his suit and rank over his suit. He then waited by his camp with everything in order waiting for inspection by a superior.

Then the Instructor called time, Typex3 ready as always then sat down to wait Until the Instructor checked the work.
Typex3's data pad soon began to beep, it was a skills test on how aware the equipment was at any time, any place.

"It seams that the pad gives me a certain amount of time to complete three tasks to decide weather I'm good on the level 1" equipment setup and basic Knowledge. Typex3 had only a minute to complete this tasks, first he ran to his data pad to locate his simulation mission, he then ran to his planetary communication rig to inform his simulation squad how to enter an door or a place that was after for them to go.

Then the computer generated a simulation mode, which enabled him to repair his computer in case of a breakdown. Then they told him a few quick questions on what to do in case of a droid breakage and other stuff involving tool usage and diagnostic usage as well. He finished the simulation course with a good score under 3 minutes. His pad was generated for him to overcome any situation at any place, any time. However, typex3 as usual was ready, and he completed the simulation test in a good score. He then headed with his data pad outside awaiting a superior to check up his work.

The Instructor had this look in his eyes when he saw the garbled mess that the other students did, but when I rolled up his eyes into typex3's Camp setup, he was not surprised. Typex3 had all his equipment like the instructions told him to do. He was neat and ready for any orders, any situation that might happen in a mission. In addition, the instructor looked at the scores of the students on his data pad. He gazed quickly at the scores looking for mines at the near bottom.

Typex3 had one of the best scores in the simulation drill making him the most awarding member in the drill team Of Communication technician. Typex3 was thrilled, he then was the only one that during the end of class, stayed longer to know more of what he learned on his data pad. The instructor was more than happy to help typex3. During that day, typex3 learned the basics of analyzing communication technician equipment, and camp setup.

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

~Dark Dragoons~
Death Unseen!

TRP/PFC Typex3/2SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE

Material Science
    -Combat Engineer

    Sam strolled through the academy on his way to his next class. It had been a long while since he had been in the academy for training. His next training course was "Material Science." It was just another simple theory class in which Sam was certain he could pass with ease.

    Sam entered the class room and took his seat. Not many of the students in the class appeared to be happy about taking this course. Sam, on the other hand, was just glad to be back in a classroom away from any battles.

    Moments later the instructor stood up from behind the counter.

    "My name is Tiils and I will be your instructor for this important course," he said, "Everyone should have received a data-pad with all of the information that will be covered in this course. I hope that you all read it."

    A look of horror swept over the entire class, with a few exceptions. Sam started to browse the table of contents in the data-pad. Some other students began to franticly look about their desk to find their data-pad as if it was going to appear to them.

    "For those of you that do not have your data-pads, you need not worry. There are text books under your seats in which you will have to obtain the information from," laughed Tiils, "Anyhow let's begin. There are two major types of materials that you all will be dealing with sooner or later, the organic and inorganic. In this course we will be focusing more on the inorganic materials such as, Dura-Steel, Titanium, and other common metals. Along with this, I will briefly cover the tools that can be used to manipulate these substances. Well, that is if time permits."

    "Dura-Steel is probably the most common type of metal you will encounter when dealing with fortifications and barricades. This is one of the strongest metals that will be at your disposal, though there are others," Tiils said.

    Tiils continued on how durable Dura-Steel is against blaster fire and when nearly any explosive hit it or went off next to it, how little damage it took. Many times enemy troops are killed from shrapnel that deflects off of the Dura-Steel armor of military buildings and heavy vehicles. He also related to the class how it was used in making bridges strong enough to with stand AT-ATs walking over it with out giving.

    About an hour later, Tiils finished his Dura-Steel rant and moved on to the lighter metals.

    "One of these light metals, you all, along with your squad mates, deal with every time you go into battle. It is the metal that most blasters are made with," said Tiils, "It is a titanium-aluminum alloy, which makes them tough and resistant but still light enough to where it will not limit the movement of a trooper."

    "You there," Tiils said gesturing towards Sam, "What kind of blaster do you tend to use?"

    "Well, I generally use a Hold-Out Blaster, when in close quarters," said Sam.

    "That is a nice blaster. It is made of the titanium-aluminum alloy. Has it ever been hit by stray fire during any of your missions?" Tiils asked.

    "I don't believe so," Sam said.

    "That is a good thing, because the one draw back of this alloy is that it can heat up pretty quickly. Most often smaller firearms made with this do not have any heat protection on the energy cell and the heat from a blaster shot could cause it to over load and blow up, but that is beside the point," laughed Tiils, "Moving on."

    Tills droned on for another hour and a half about the titanium-aluminum alloy. How it was efficient to make small side arms and the benefits of the heat conducting properties of this alloy.

    Near the end of Tiils' lecture, Sam began to think about the heat conduction of this alloy. He thought about how it could be used to set up traps or take out enemy troops with a few well placed shots.

    "Uh, Sir?" Sam asked.

    "Yes?" Tiils replied somewhat startled.

    "You said that this alloy conducts heat really well. I was curious as to how quickly it disperses heat," Sam asked.

    "Well, this is a first. I don't believe I've ever had a student actually ask a question before," Tiils said, "But, to answer your question, the rate at which this alloy disperses heat is roughly a quarter of the rate in which it takes in heat."

    "So, multiple shots to a weapon made with this material or explosives contained in a crate made with this could cause massive upset to an enemy base or troops, right?" Sam asked.

    "Well, in theory yes, but most often on crates with explosives there are heat shields, but on a trooper yes I guess it could cause a chain reaction," Tiils said, "For instance, a small fire arm erupting on a trooper could send super heated shrapnel and hit another weapon, which may destroy heat shielding."

    "Hmm, very interesting. Thank you sir," Sam replied.

    "Any time," Tiils replied, "Now, I think it is time for you exam over what you have hopefully learned."

    Tiils hit a few keys on his datapad and told everyone to connect to the data stream. As soon as all the students were connected, the exam started to be downloaded.

    Moments later the exam had started. The questions started off relatively simple like "What is one of the most common materials that Combat Engineers will deal with?" and then they progressively got harder.

    An hour later some of the students started to finish. They handed in their datapads and left. About this time Sam was only half way through his exam. The questions were tough. One question was "What is the molecular ratio of titanium to aluminum in a titanium-aluminum alloy that was used in many small fire arms?" Sam dwelled on this question for a while.

    After two hours had passed, Sam had finally finished his test. There was still about half of the class still taking the exam. Sam stood up and walked up to Tiils' work table. He handed in his datapad and was about to leave when Tiils stopped him.

    "I am quite astonished that you asked such an interesting and thought provoking question," Tiils whispered, "That is rare. I bet that you already have ideas as to what you can do with that."

    "I do," Sam laughed quietly.

    "Something tells me that you passed this exam," Tiils whispered, "I'll send your results to Rizzit when all of the students have finished their exams. Don't be a stranger around here. I'd like to chat with you sometime outside of class about your unique ideas."

    "This is one odd fellow," Sam thought to himself as he nodded and left.

Comments: Well, I do agree: your instructor is one odd fellow. In other news, good work on this particular story. I was most impressed.


-----------------------
DarkDragoons

TRP/SSGT Sandwich Sam/2SQD/2PLT/1CMP/1REG/1BAT/Tadath/VEA [LoR][BM][GS]

"Only the willful can perform the miracles of the mind." -- me

Level 3: Theory
"Story 1: Hardware Theory"

It was 5:00 a clock on the morning as Typex3 gently slurped the hot fresh coffee. He without wasting time checked out for any mission updates located in the main files of his data pad. He glazed his eyes through his useful tool as he found out that there was yet another mission he most accomplish before he could move on as a fully qualified technician.

Typex3 looked for the main goal outline that the data pad has acquired for him in order to manage hardware theory.

The data pad quickly stated that in order for him to pass this so-called hardware theory he must be compatible with all sorts of technical functions of communication systems provided for him. It also stated that the trooper will come to have some understanding of the theory behind their equipment and how it works. They will learn all the theories possibly needed for their field as a communications technician. Trooper will now undergo an intensive course on communication theories you bring trooper up to the brink of current technologies and methods for sustaining communications, improvising with inefficient hardware, and even hiding transmissions in enemy transmission.

Typex3 wasted no time into suiting up his equipment and technical hardware. He first quickly suited his Shock Trooper armor, following up with his Military-grade data pad, planetary communications rig, droid repair kit, computer repair kit, diagnostics kit, lightweight tool kit.

The young boy soon log in once more into his data pad finding the right course of classroom he must be attending to. As Typex3 was walking through the shallow halls of the Strom Trooper Spec Academy, he bumped into his long time pal, Lance corporal Ryan an acquaintance of the Empire.

After the harsh and unexpected bump, Typex3 Grinned and said, "No time no see my old pal, what brings you to this academy?"

"Haven't seen you in a while as well, as in for me, I have decided to take a course on Communication technician" Ryan said while taking a glance at Typex3's equipment.

"No way, you too have decided to take this Spec?...Wow, as you can see I'm a trainee myself. I have been working very hard to get this far, I have already completed 2 courses on CT already. What about you Ryan?" Typex3 said while staring at his Omni communicator hanging out of his back.

"I have also passed two courses dealing with basic operations and stuff; as a matter of fact I'm heading out for Room CT#265 in the Left wing of the academy. I am running late Typex, I will see you around, maybe we could plan something out, so we can have the same class since you're in the same course as me. Talk to you later man," Ryan said while running up the stairs up the second floor.

Typex3 looked back, reaching for his data pad, which contained his classroom number. The data pad stated that his room was indeed the same as Ryan; CT#265.

Typex3 quickly ran up the stair heading towards the same direction as Ryan.

"Ryan wait up!" Typex3 screamed at the hall.

Ryan turned around and took a step back with shocked eyes, "Whats the matter, your going to be late for class dude"

"No man, I have you for class, I didn't notice until now," Typex3 said.

"Oh then lets go shall we, the professor is awaiting his students about now", Ryan said while looking at the Halls Time watch.

Typex3 and Ryan ran through the halls bumping into troopers, as they finally reached there destination. They both took as seat while class was about to start. The professor took the initiative of speaking about certain hardware used on the Technician studies. He reviewed some of the essential equipment used to describe there purpose in modern technology. The professor gave out a list of papers giving all the items required on the CT fields of studies. Typex3 and Ryan soon glazed at the hardware, learning there basic functions and uses for battlefield analysis, and battlefield communication.

As always, the academy provided a simulation based on every course of studies, in which this case was hardware Theory. Each of the troopers must undergo through a training course based on how they operate and use the hardware in a real mission.

Typex3 along with Bryan took the initiative of studying each item before usage in the simulation. They each followed instructions before starting them up.

[-Automatic door system- This devise is used to get into the rebel automatic door system, This devise also undertakes several seconds of dissociating the door while the technician Confabulates the door's properties.]

[- Global communication system- This devise is used to communicate with your squad and companies. This communicator can communicate up to four people at the same time.

The professor wanted tow people to pair up with; he let the troopers decide since it was not mandatory for him to choose. Typex3 soon stepped in the simulation with Ryan, the task was not combating. In fact this time was different, is to learn the operations of the hardware in tough situations.

Ryan and Typex3 soon builded up camp, setting up and each grabbing the hardware for communication. The simulation system drove each other apart, they will each have to find the tools given to make there way and get to each other. Typex3 was given the task of using the global communicator system while Ryan had the Automatic door system. Typex3 stayed on one side of the big simulation area while Ryan was in the deep area where the rebel alliance was located. In order for Bryan to escape Typex3 must undergo his skills of field/Hardware analysis to help him escape from the rebel forces.

On the other hand, Ryan has to use his automatic door system to help himself get out of there if any situation of the rebel maximum-security door crossed his path. Typex3 and Ryan had both 30 minutes to complete the task.

-Simulation Drill CT#3 Hardware
-Time: 30 Minutes
-Task [ The Global communicator has to help his ally by helping him/Her of a maximum security base located 30 degrees North of the central base where the global communicator standing.
- Weather Foggy, Night, 32 F
-Ryan's situation [Undercover, Getting the plans of Capital ships]
- Undercover, No one must find out your there.

Typex3 quickly configured the global communication system, While Bryan suited up in his Shadow suit as he grabbed his door system ready for any rebel door obstacle. Typex3 finished configuring his devise, He soon communicated with Ryan.

[OCC; This dialouge is between me and Ryan, we alternate everytime we speak.]

"LC_Ryan can you hear me?...Over"
"Yeah PFC_Typex3...Over"

"I Need you to please listen closely as I am only going to say this once, according to My CT Hardware you are located North of where I am. Since the weather is foggy, we are going to escape from the main tunnel heading south to the Rebel coastal sea. You will have to escape from the rebel camp by heading west were you will find 3 droid blocking the entrance to the main door where the Rebel plans are located. Instead of heading through the main door, you will find an opening through a small air Vent. You will then make your way through, then you will end up inside, move as quite as you can, Grab the plans and go the same way you got back out. Go trooper, we don't have much time&" Typex3 whispered fast while looking a way of possible routes where he could escape.

"Got that, Right away" Ryan replied

In the mean, time Typex3 looked over his Communication hardware finding the weather condition to his advantage. He concluded since the weather was foggy and the night was young, that he could get Bryan through the fastest Riskiest way through the Rebel's coastal field. Interrupting his field studies, Bryan Popped out;

"Typex, I have done what you said, I'm located right underneath the vent where I got the goods"

"Good, Good... Now we need to find a way out of here. If you put your effort we could get out of here in a matter of no time, but it is going to be risky. Do you want to do this? Typex3 asked

"Yeah yeah, lead the plan" Ryan replied

"Okay Head down east where you will find a vent underneath the hall. Go through there while keeping quiet, if no you are going to get the Droids patrolling Cranky. After that, you must exit on your first left through the vent. This will take you to an underground route that you must have access to; you have to find a way to open the rebel door system. When you do so, you must run all the way south where the rebel coastal guards are located. You must swim all the way without anybody seeing or hearing you, be very careful. Once you cannot swim anymore forward south, then you must go ahead and stop at the entrance sector where you were located. Open the main door and run south west as indicated on your Comlink. Then you are done, you will find me on a building with big gates". Typex3 Replied almost running out of breath.

---20 Minutes passed---

Ryan had escaped with a couple of bruces, rashes, and a wet body.

----End transmission----

Simulation Score- 8.3/10
Difficulty- 3.8/6
Time finished- 32 minutes
Final score- PASSED [-2 Minutes]


-----------------------
DarkDragoons
TRP/PCF Typex3/2SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE

"You must unlearn what you have learned. Once you start down the dark path,
Forever will it dominate your destiny, Consume you it will"

PFC Zenima strode out of the training facility, he had only just completed his training and been sent to join the mighty Dark Dragoons, a special trained squad to deal with most things the Empire needed done.  Although some things Mike would be able to do and some not.  The stormtrooper was most skilled in just melee and rifle fights but less experianced with vehicles and placing bombs and stuff but know doubt PFC Zenima would be tought this.

Walking into the Barracks of the Dark Dragoons, Mike spoke to a soldier walking about "Sir, I have just been placed in this squad and ready for advanced training Sir!"  Mike had never really been one for words, he was more the action sort.
 
-----------------------
Private Zenima, Skilled Warrior, Trained Legionaire

Metal Fabrication
-    Combat Engineer

Sam walked casually to his next class. "Metal Fabrication, in this course students will be educated on how to manipulate metals and will be expected to demonstrate their knowledge by constructing a metal structure either a bridge, barriers, etc." He read as he walked along.

Sam turned down a hall way and paused. "This seems really familiar," he said quietly to himself. He continued on down that hall way trying to remember what class he had in this area before. Then he saw someone that quickly jolted his memory. It was his material science professor, Tiils. Sam hoped that he would not have to learn under him again. Tiils was a bit too odd for Sam's liking.

Sam crept down the hall trying not to draw the attention of Tiils. Sam made it to his classroom without alerting his prior professor. Most of the students in the class had already taken their seats, but there was no sign of a professor. Just moments after Sam had taken his seat Tiils entered the room.

"Please don't let him be the professor for this class," Sam hoped in his mind, "For that matter please don't let him see me."

Tiils moved to the back room without even looking at the students. "Ah ha! There you are, " Tiils' voice could be heard from the back room, "I wanted to know if you had any scraps of metal that I could use for my theory class?"

"Mmm, well here is some titanium-alloy you can have," a scratchy squeaky voice said.

"Great this will work," Tiils said. Moments later Tiils emerged from the back room with a large box and was followed by a hunching and balding old man. The old man stopped and turned towards the class as Tiils headed out the door. As the door closed, Sam let out a large sigh.

"Mmkay, people this is Metal Fabrication and my name is Hammon," the old man said and he rubbed one had on the back of the other, "You will be learning how to manipulate different metals and will be required to demonstrate your knowledge by crafting a scaled model of a bridge that must support a specified amount of weight."

Hammon began to fumble around behind his counter for some equipment. Moments later he arose with a metal box and he set it on the counter. "Mmkay people, here are some tools you will be using," Hammon said.

"This is a welding torch used to cut metal and in combination with this is used to heat metals to make them more malleable," Hammon said holding up a torch and a cup attachment, "These, people, will probably be what you will use most of the time."

Hammon pulled out another tool that looked just liked the welding torch but smaller. "This is a spot welder, mmkay," Hammon said, "This is used to put welds in small spots for fitting purposes."

"This is the final item that you all must be familiar with," Hammon said holding up a spray can, "this is a spray that cools down metals quickly but not so quick that it will cause the metal to crack and break."

Hammon placed the items back in the box and went in to the lab. He returned wearing an orange lab coat and goggles. "Mmkay, people follow me into the lab and we will start learning how to use these tools properly," Hammon said, "When you enter the lab, make sure you get some goggles and a smock. Don't need any accidents."

The class arose and headed towards the lab. Sam was one of the last ones into the lab. Hammon paired up students to work together and assigned them a work station. "All the tools you will need are the in cabinets above your workstation," Hammon said as he handed out instruction sheets to each group.

Sam had been paired with a female Zabrak. She was quiet and quite beautiful. Sam had made it a policy of his to not get involved with people he works with. Sam introduced himself. "Hi," She said quietly, "My name is Aine."

"People, listen up, mmkay," Hammon said as he handed the last instruction sheet out, "Your first task will be to use the welding torch to cut a sheet of metal to the specifications on the sheet. When you all have finished, continue on with the welding torch instructions, but stop when you reach the next tool, mmkay."

Sam lit the welding torch and handed it to Aine. She proceeded to cut her piece of metal and then handing off the torch to Sam. Sam cut his metal and began to compare his piece to hers. Aine's sheet was a perfect rectangle and Sam's was slightly curved on one side and a bit crooked. Sam has never really been good at cutting with a torch.

Their next task was to cut four holes in their sheets, one in each corner. Once again Sam's amazing cutting skills got him more elliptical holes and Aine achieved perfection.

"How do you manage to do so well with a torch?" Sam asked.

"Oh&my father was a metal smith," Aine said, "And I used to work with him when I was little."

After twenty minutes of cutting everyone had finished. "Mmkay now shut off your torch and put on the heating attachment. Turn the focus of your torch from the cutting setting to the wide setting," Hammon said, "People, if you don't do this only a small spot on the heating plate will be hot enough to work."

Sam watched as Aine put the heating plate on and adjusted the settings on the torch. She was like an expert at this, but her prior experience has given her a large head start. She lit the torch and began to shape one of the metal tubes that they had cut earlier. When she finished she handed the torch to Sam. Sam attempted to do everything similar to how he had seen Aine do it. His lack of steadiness made it difficult to do, but he still managed to have a decent out come.

Hammon had been walking about the lab observing and giving aid to any of those that needed it. When he came by Sam and Aine's work station he looked at their products so far. Aine's made Sam's look like scrap from a junk heap. "Very good work, Aine," Hammon said as he moved on.

The two continued to shape the metals that were listed on the instruction sheet. As always Aine's products turned out far better than Sam's, but the more he did the better he got.

Roughly thirty minutes later, the entire class had finished their shaping tasks. "Mmkay people, now you are going to assemble your structure using spot welds," Hammon said, "Then when I have come by and checked you off then you may assemble it fully with welds."

Sam looked at his metal pieces. All of the twenty pieces were just slightly misshapen. Aine's pieces were quite precise and accurate. Sam could only think of what his bridge was going to look like. The image of a blown up AT-ST placed across a river popped into his head.

Aine began to assemble her pieces. Sam watched her intently and making notes of where she placed her welds, among other things. Her welds were quick and precise. Moments later she was finished and handed the spot welder to Sam.

Sam started on assembling his bridge, doing his best to do it in a similar fashion to Aine. He was in deep thought, making every attempt to be as precise as his partner. The sounds of someone getting burned by the welder could be heard every once in a while. This caused Sam to mess up on a weld from just being startled by the random yelps of pain.

What seemed like five hours to Sam had only been forty-five minutes. His bridge was now assembled with spot welds and it did not look to terribly bad. Sam carefully set his bridge up right next to Aine's and compared the two.

Seconds later, Hammon came by, "Hmm, well done people. You may now move on to full assembly of your bridges."

Aine handed Sam the solder and soldering iron. "You go first," Aine said quietly.

Sam nodded with a hint of uneasiness and began. He prepared each solder point with the solder paste. He applied the solder to the iron and the metal flowed down the solder paste like water. It sat on exactly where it needed to be and cooled. It hardened and secured the joint in place. Sam used this method on all the parts of his bridge that needed it; at times too much solder was applied and made the joint lumpy.

Sam finished his soldering and handed the equipment off to Aine. "That was really quite easy," Sam thought to himself as he watched Aine solder her bridge together. Aine quickly finished her soldering in what seemed like seconds.

Sam got the attention of Hammon. He came over in his usual manner, rubbing his hands.

"Hmm, well I guess it is time to test them out," Hammon said, "People, bring your bridges over this way once you have finished your soldering and we will check the weight limits."

"You first," Sam said quickly to Aine.

She set her bridge across the two tables and waited for Hammon to return with the weights. He slid a bolt through the middle of the bridge and fastened it down. He then hooked a bucket on to the bolt. Hammon took some notes in his datapad and continued. He placed a weight in the bottom of the bucket and paused. He continued to place weights in the bucket. As more weight was put in the bucket, the bridge began to bend. After the tenth weight, the bridge collapsed, dropping the bucket to the floor and crumpling in half.

Hammon lifted the bucket with both hands and placed it on a scale. He punched in a few numbers and the scale calculated the total mass of the weights in the bucket.

"Mmkay, not too bad there," Hammon said, "123.8 kilograms of mass, that is right about average."

Sam began to feel a bit uneasy about putting his bridge up for the test. He sat his bridge in the same place and the bridge before it and stood back. Hammon followed the same procedure as before. Sam looked away as Hammon did this.

Moments later, Sam heard the thud of the bucket hitting the ground and his bridge crumbling. He turned around and saw Hammon carrying the bucket to the scale and punching in the same numbers as before and getting the total mass of the weights.

"Hmm? Quite impressive for a first attempt," Hammon began, "152.4 kilograms of mass."

Sam was dumbfounded. "How could mine hold more than Aine's? It just doesn't make since," Sam thought to himself.

"People the reason his held more was the way the supports were crafted. The supports on this bridge were more curved due to inaccurate cutting, but in turn added more strength to the structure as a whole," Hammon said, "Mmkay, well you two may go. I'll send your results in to Rizzit for review."

Sam still dumbfounded at his success, walked out of the room and slowly down the hall. Aine came up beside him. "It was nice to meet you Sam. Maybe we will be working together in the future."

"Yeah, I guess it is possible," Sam replied, "Sorry about beating you out, I honestly didn't think my bridge would hold anything."

"It is quite alright," Aine replied, "I knew it was going to out class mine. I've been around that kind of stuff my whole life."

I'll take this for you Rizzit, since you are so busy right now. Good job Sam. The only thing about it you switched from past tense to present tense once or twice. Everything about the actual course work was reall nice and detailed.

-----------------------
DarkDragoons

ASL/SSGT Sandwich Sam/2SQD/1PLT/1CMP/1REG/1BAT/Tadath/VEA [LoR][BM][GS]

"If I offended anyone by any previous statements, then well it sucks to be you. If I offend anyone with future statements then once again, it sucks to be you. Go cry to someone who cares." - Me

[OCC: The other story missed]

Level 2: System Controls
Story 2: Basic Electronics

  After comprehending computer operations, Typex3 had yet another task that will determine his skill to repair/analyze computer systems. As a Communication Technician he must understand basic principles of repairing in order to overcome difficult situations on a battlefield, whether is computer data corruption or wiring problems with the protocol datapad.  A Communication Technician must be ready for any problem at any time, repairing his equipment is a crucial development to his skills. If a trooper learns basic/Complex repairing skills of his/her equipment, He/She can excel at any task given for deployment.

With enthusiasm floating around, Typex3 was undoubtedly ready to take his SPEC to a completely new level. Typex3 knew if he could succeed at repairing computer data along with protocol interface problems, that he would be a quality Technician. Still inexperienced, the young Tpex3 gathered his given equipment from the previous mission. His Datapad suddenly began to inform him about the specific items he must bring to class. After fully understanding the equipments configuration manuals, Typex3 went ahead and gathered them closely.

- Antennae: Broad beam- High frequency.
- Holonet Transceiver: The unit to receive and transmit holonet broadcasts.
- Rectenna Dish: A long range sensor component.
- Subspace Comm Detector: Detecting communication frequencies in subspace.
- Transmitter: Simple device found in communications equipment.

The next step the Datapad instructed was to deploy to an imperial store located in the main building of the SPEC campus. There, Typex3 will have to buy equipment in order to get the specific equipment needed for the Electronics class. Typex3 walked along the crowded campus in search of this " Imperial Store". After much walking and desperation, Typex3 finally found the store and entered with his list of equipment needed.

"Greetings, I'm here from CT SPEC course, #Basic Electronics class. Here is a list of equipment in which I have been instructed to obtain", Typex3 addressed to the clerk of the store while handing his list of equipment with a notification of security for verification.

- Magnon Spirograph: Used to measure efficiency of hyperdrive systems.
- Micron Calipers: Device used to make tiny little adjustments. Used for hyperdrive repair.
- Power Calibrator: analyze and repair electronic circuitry.

"Very well then, hold for a couple of minutes while I talk to the technician and configurate your equipment", the clerk said while heading over the store's technician.

After 3 minutes, the clerk returned with a sheet, and the new equipment. Typex3 was instructed to read over the sheet and sing it carefully on the dotted line provided in order for him to receive his equipment. Typex3 skimmed through the 8 paragraph paper explaining the equipments guarantee and instructions and singed the paper. Typex3 then added the equipment to his portable COMM. Link along with his other equipment and headed out for class on the other side of the SPEC. Academy.

                                                                                            * * * *

Typex3 took a quick glance at his Datapad for specific instructions on where his class was located.

SPEC Academy building F-3  Floor: 36  Class/Room: CT# Electronics 1

Typex3 had exactly 15 until the F-3 # CT bell is rung, He had no choice but to use his speeder bike and rush through the academy's driving facility. Typex3 leaded his equipment safely into his speeder bike and speeded away in a blast leaving engine smoke through the streets of the academy. With only few minutes left and an estimated 3 minutes until arrival, Typex3 went on maximum velocity delivering ultimate speed's reaching an overdrive in the speeder bike's system. Nevertheless, Driving at high speeds where prohibited by the academy's CoC. Typex3 was found chased by a sergeant police enforcer of the academy. Typex3 was forced to withdraw from his speeder bike into the hands of the sergeant. The officer quickly wailed his ID number and entailed it into his Police Datapad.

- Lance Corporal Typex3, Primary MOS: 31 T Communications Technician.
- Passed Courses:  4/10 %
- Academy Felony: 0 %  - Changed- 10 % [ Incident: Driving at high Speeds]
- Tickets Obtained: 0 Changed- #1 [Driving heavily] #2 [Property Damage]

"You might head over to your respective class trooper, may this be your first warning"

The Police enforcer left in his modernized Nightfalcon speeder bike. Typex3 in the mean time looked at his Datapad for the time; It figured that he was 10 minutes late. Typex3 hesitated and drove carefully in his speeder bike until he reached the building. After taking a high technical elevator to floor 36, Typex3 quickly went in search of the class, and opened the main door and took a seat next to Ryan. After receiving punishment for his lateness, the instructor ended his brief meeting and began with the instruction of the class oversees.

"Please refer to your respective manuals underneath your seats, There you will find all of the instructions given for the class. Once you have understood successfully the task at hand, droids located in each row will evaluate each of your simulation performances according to your repairing skills." The instructor said while walking around and moving his hands fluently.

Typex3 opened his manual, It entailed the following:
The Basic Electronics course will help them to understand the insides and outsides of their computer in the hopes that they can make repairs to their laptops and other equipment when needed. Each trooper must undertake several repairing tasks in order to qualify in classification of this course.

Equipment- Repair Tools/Tasks:
 
* Antennae, Transmitter-[Power Calibrator]- A Trooper must understand the problem with the equipment as well as to repair transmitting Spectrum rays of communication.
* Holonet Transceiver- [Power Calibrator][Micron Calipers]-  A Trooper must identify the problem as well as repair internal protocol data, while using a tool for hyperdrive repair and adjustments.
* Rectenna Dish, Subspace Comm. Detector- [Power Calibrator] [Micron Calipers] [Magnon Spirograph]  A Trooper must undertake a difficult task in repairing COMM. Links. This task will prove there overall ability in the Technical field.

* Simulation Objectives:
- Time for Completion: 30 Minutes
- Complexity: 7/10
- Objective: Perform each task given with the trooper's equipment.

                                                                                            * * * *


Typex3 successfully read the instructions manual; He then took all his equipment and lined up being the first one in line for his row. The droid gave him a mechanized welcome, the droid suddenly displayed a screen on his body witch stated a mechanized ultimate technology clock.

"Are you ready Trooper?.." the droid said before starting the clock to 0.

"Indeed.." Typex3 responded with all his equipment in a basic COMM Unit formation.

"1...2......GO" The droid screamed with his mechanized voice.

                                                                                            * * * *


Typex3 quickly took a long breath and began to configurate his equipment that was already damaged in protocol intercept data. Typex3 started out from easy to hardest to repair. He quickly launched his Antennae/Transmitter using his Power calibrator he was able to detect Protocol corrupted data inside the hard drive of the system. 

Corrupted Protocol [s]
*MPID- Multi Protocol Interface Data- This protocol is a crucial to communication expertise dealing with Communication frequency, Specifies mechanisms to manage traffic flows of various granularities, such as flows between different hardware, machines, or even flows between different applications.
*PSN- Protocol Communication Network- This protocol is used to communicate to different network arrays.

After identifying the problem with the antennae and transmitter, Typex3 needed the same tool to resolve the problem. Nevertheless, the tool does not work just by itself. Typex3 needed to hijack protocol data in order to access the protocol panel where the Power calibrator can delete any malicious corrupted data in the protocol system. Typex3 went ahead and used his previous technical skills to access the protocol system of both the antennae and transmitter. After doing the previous operations, he was able to mount the power calibrator onto the control panel where the threats of corrupted data were found. Typex3 was able to reconfigurate the system data of the antennae and transmitter.

                                                                                            * * * * 18 minutes left


Typex3 quickly used his Power Calibrator in the next system: The Holonet Transcriber. Since the Holonet was a Hologram broadcast, it was more complex to find where exactly the problem lied, for anonymous reasons. Nevertheless, Typex3 began to read about the Holonet Transcriber manual and found an article listing way of him to solve problems using Homorganic Protocols.

Corrupted Protocol [s]
*HPNT- Homorganic Protocol Network Technology- This protocol is the leading system data in which a Holonet Transcriber uses to Communicate using Hologram data in 3D form covering a large portion of the field in which the communication is taken place.

With his same knowledge of Communication prophecy, Typex3 with a little bit of hard work was able to hijack the system into the control panel where he can easily recover data from the Holonet and repair the NPNT using his power calibrator.

                                                                                            * * * 10 minutes left


With only one task left to complete, Typex3 took 5 minutes trying to understand basic principles of the Magnon Spirograph. With the knowledge of the equipment, Typex3 quickly configured both the Reactena Dish and the Subspace Communication Detector. Having a huge trouble trying to access the control panel, Typex3 was left with a punishing decision. He must skim through the manual finding out what he can do to enter the control panel of both systems. If he does do that, Typex3 will not be able to finish it in time. However, Typex3 adamant nature allowed him to make quick and demolishing decisions. Typex3 took his last resourse, Hijacked unnecessary data, and corrupted a protocol himself in order to enter the control panel illegally. After spending nearly 8 minutes on both: Reactena Dish/ Subspace Comm Detector, Typex3 moved to faze two and resolved the protocol problem in both systems.

-------Simulation Complete-------
Ability in Technical field: 8/10
Penalties: #1 [Illegal Data Corruption] #2 [Unnecessary Protocol Hijacking]
Efficiency: 7/10
Overall Simulation Score: 7/10

-=[Passed]=-

Comments: Well, you certainly have an intresting style that you've adapted. I'll pass it, but in the future try not to make it seem so much like a video game.

-----------------------
’ DarkDragoons
FTC/LCPL Typex3/2SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/TADATH/VEA/VEEC

-=[DEATH UNSEEN]=- >- Fire Team Captain~
Primary/Training MOS: 31 T Communication Technician
--------------------------------------------------------------
%We often give our enemies the means of our own destruction% -Aesop
--------------------------------------------------------------

Fire Support Tactics
Lvl 1

Galant Rendar sat on the top of a bushy sided hill in the dead of night with three other troopers, completely concealed by the rocks and dense undergrowth in the direct area of the hilly region the team was in. He had been placed in command of this small team in order to raid a minor rebel fuel station since the local imperial freighters didn't have enough fuel to get out of the sector and get their cargo into imperial space safely and all the others higher then PFC Rendar were busy working on other, more important missions that were simular to his own job.

Galant pointed at the recontrooper that was assiged to the team and gave him the proper hand signals to tell him that Galant wanted abit of scouting done on the outpost about a klick away from them. The Recontrooper crouched alittle higher then he was to get a good veiw and used his long distance microbinoculars to check guards positions, fuel crates, and on anything else that was deemed important to the mission.

About three and a half minutes later, the RT lay down flat with the other three and began drawing a map in the dirt, using sticks stuck in the dirt as markers for the fuel, pebbles used as guards, and leaves for spots that seemed to be easy targets for a quik'n easy way into the outpost. Galant nodded to the RT and then looked to his two gunmen, each designated G-1 and G-2, and activated his comms to a squad only frequency.

"Alright. This map shows us that there are about thirty guards, 5 on each corner and the last are patroling inside the perimeter." He motioned to the crude map, "We will move in from the north-west side where their primary power generator is and blow it so that the lights go out and the comms are shut down on their end." He said drawing and arrow and an 'X' on piece of bark that was the 'power generator', "Then, we will hole up in the power 'shed', and take out as many guards as possible from there." Galant said almost sighing, "You and you, "He pointed at RT and G-2, "Will move from there and check on the cargo crates while G-1 and I give covering fire, "He handed a small hand-held scanner to RT with a nod, "RT, use this to take the scans, G-2, you will cover RT as he takes his scans." Galant nodded to the pair, "Once done taking scans, drop your blue flare for one of our drop ships to come down and pick us and the crates up, if the crates are not fuel, we have orders to fall back to get a safe evac fro the HZ." PFC Rendar looked around at the others through his tainted visor, "Understood?" He asked the three seated infront of him, three green lights came on. "Good, May the Empire's honor be with you." And then, the squad moved out.

Up and down hills, up and down, dive under a tree branch, leap over a rock, anything that was in Galant's way he went around, over, or under and he had to trust that the three stormtroopers behinde him were staying within three feet of him. their average blaster rifles bobbing up and down with their bodies like they were at sea. Galant looked at a the timer in the bottom left of his helmet and judging by it and the distance between the outpost and the mini-map on the hill, he descided that they could stop where they were now and move more stealthally instead of looking like a stampeed of rancors. He held his hand up and dropped to the ground. He heard three others fall in behind him.

He jabbed his hand at the RT and made a hand signal tell the RT to take a peek around. The RT nodded and stood to his knees, he slunk forward without a sound and disapeared into the darkness of the shrubs, Galnt lost veiw of the RT's camo aromour that matched his own and the gunmen's. Only a minute later the RT appeared from, the bushes and nodded. 'Its on', thought Galant. He stood to his knees aswell and slunk through the bushes with the three behinde him again. They came up on the outpost instantly and Galant saw it for the first time with his own eyes. It was basicly just a ground level landing pad littered with fueling equipment, a few overhead detection lights, a communications amplifying tower, and a small power grid attached to a shed with three windows, each pointing in a different direction(North, east, and west) with a wooden latched door. The guards looked idal, some playing cards, other dozing off. 'Unsuspecting prey to the Empire.' Galant almost chuckled but turned back to his team and gave a nod. G-1 moved forward, carefully avoiding the spot lights that were set on the center of the landing pad and the gazes of the thirty guards. He used a small sticky explosive and stuck it too the door of the power shed. G-1 then silently made his way back to the team where Galant held the detonator to the mini-bomb. Galant readied his weapon and then checked to his team. He flipped the switch and the door was blown into the 5x5 meter wooden shed, the outside was reletivly un-harmed except for a few burns.

"Move!" PFC Rendar said over the squad comms and with that he dashed forward and soon found himself and his three teamates in the space of the power shed where Rendar unleased a clip of blaster fire into the pwer generator which spluttered and died in a sea of smoke and burnt bits. Then the blaster bolts started comming. The rebels were now all on their feet and firing at the power shed, or rather, the Stormtroopers inside. G-1 took the west window and let out a flurry of blaster fire while Galant set up on the East window and followed suite while RT and G-2 fired out the door to clear the 15 odd meter dash across open duracrete to the cargo containers. Galant waved his hand and off they went whiloe Galant covered their mad run against death through a sea of searing blasterbolts. G-1, and Rendar readied their own weapons and sent a rapid fire flurry out the frontal door and took down three guards that were foolish enough to be standing in the centre of the landing pad. The other two were half way when G-2 stumbled, and fell, where he was mercilessly blasted into a charred corpse by the damned rebel scum. Galant yelled and let a few more rallies of his own steaming bolts of heated energy into the rebel numbers, taking out another one and disarming another while RT kept running. Once RT reached his position, Rendar and G-1 begain firing even harder to keep the attention of the scout and on them. The scans are all that mattered right now.

Rt waved his hand and ran back to the pair in the charred and ruined shed. The little red light flared from RT meaning the cargo boxes were empty. "No...No...NOOOOooo..."Galant fell back into the shed and sat for a moment, letting G-1 unleash a hellish fire inot the rebel guards. RT entered the shed and twisted around, firing his blaster and Galant Rendar looked out the front door and less the five meter away was the body of G-2. "Fall back..out the north window." Galant said and he was the last out, with one last glance back at the charred remains. 'Too bad', Galant thought, 'He died for nothing.'

twenty minutes later at a pure run, the remaining trio came to a hault and RT lit the blue flare. A transport came down and picked the team up and they were carried off planet to an Imperail SD, where Galant gave his report to the CO and went back to his quarters to find the following message lodged under his door.

"Congratualtions, Simulation Level one FST completed. However, your mark suffered for the following reasons:

1) You left the map on the hill untouched.
2) One trooper was lost in the line of fire.

Other then these things. You have passed."
---------------------------

And then.  There was dark soon replaced by artificial lighting of the barracks the simulator was set up in. Galant sighed and and said, "Damn, those things get more real with every passing year..."


((Well, there you have it...My first spec story...and Im not even sure I did it right..how sad :P Im also sorry for any grammer errors..I seem to make lots of those...))

Yeah, you said it yourself, Grammar. The most common two things you did were a couple fragment sentences and also a lot of run-on sentences. Some of those paragraphs are just on long sentence combined with ands, buts, thens, etc. In your next story, try to break apart some of your sentences into shorter sentences and don't keep using and then, or other conjunctions and prepositions. Also, there is a nice spell check attached to the comnet box. Use that as well. There were quite a few misspelled words. Anyways, the main story was good and clever, and it showed you know about fire support. For that you pass. Just spend a little extra time on your next one. Sorry for taking this one of you hands as well Rizzit. I figure you don't mind, since you're busy enough.


-----------------------
TRP/PFC Galant Rendar/2SQD/1PLT/1CMP/1REG/1BAT/Tadath/VEA

Indirect Fire Operations
Lv: 1
Story: 2


Twin Blade rushed outside. The sun was just coming out into the air. A comlink message came in from his new instructor. TB got into his armor quickly and sprung out of his barrack. The message kept repeating itself: "Get to class, do you know what time it is?" TB then sprinted out of their like a man just avoiding a train. TB thought to himself "What does my new instructor want, it's like 2:30 in the morning!" as he ran to a building nearest him.
   
"Your late&"The instructor said as he pointed down to a seat. TB saw the same guy before that was tied up on the other side." TB tossed him a smirk and he tossed a grin back. It didn't seem like they were enemies anymore, or so he thought. "You're going to be learning how to handle artillery. Big weapons that are mounted into the ground. They only require one person to handle these extreme weapons, but they cause heavy drawbacks when you let loose." The teacher shrugged "Also&.These weapons will over heat if you use them constantly. If they do overheat, then you are out of luck, because the weapons will cool down on their own and won't let you fire.
   
TB's teammates looked at each other. They obviously never had seen a teacher of this magnitude before. He presented himself in a very strict appearance, but when he talked, he seemed very calm and cool with his own pace. The instructor lead the class outside, to three mounted machine guns in the ground. "In most situations, you won't have enough of what you need&."The teacher glanced around. "So this will test your skill!" He said as he gave off a grin. "You can your teammates will have to survive a thirty minute coarse out here. TB looked around, it was an open terrain with about zero coverage. "You will be up against a series of driods that will attack when they are ready too. But first before this, a demonstration is necessary before I let them all attack you, neh?
   
The instructor then pressed a button while he was manning the mounted machine gun in the ground, and a piece of steel shaped like a rebel lifted up. TB's instructor then pulled a trigger as hundreds of blaster bolts drew away from the heavy mounted gun. Smoke was everywhere and they couldn't see too much from all of the blasting. TB and his classmates looked at where the target was after the smoke cleared. What he saw made him in aw. His teacher had shot straight threw the middle of the target, which would easily kill or wound someone very easily. His teacher spoke again: "This is what the effect would be after training in this field for the number of years that I've had.

"Your coarse will begin now!" His teacher said as he pressed another button. TB quickly got a hold one of the machine guns. TB's teammates and TB arranged themselves in a circle. The terrain was very bleak. It was just all land with two hills on one side, and clear land on the other side, except for some bushes. TB saw driods coming from above the hills. He gave out some common hand signals that all storm troopers should know by now.  His squad mates then gave him back the same hand signals, giving TB acknowledgement that driods were behind him too. TB then pressed the trigger ever so slightly, as to not even let the driods now that harm was coming their way. TB's blast was the first out of any of the weapons there. All of his shoots missed though, one just nearly clipping a driod in the soldier. Shoots came in from the driods. TB guessed his instructor didn't care about their safety, as they were not just repeated lasers. Three of his teammates kneeled on the ground and held their blasters to their shoulders letting out precise shoots.

TB let out an array of shoots, each of them barley hitting, it didn't look as if he was doing to good. The two other teammates that were manning the guns didn't look as if they were doing any better. Their shots just flew into the air not hitting any target. At least TB's shots were clipping the driods. Before long the teammates that were behind him ran out of energy in their guns, not going to be able to fire.

Before long TB and the other machine gun manners were out of energy for their guns, and it seemed all was lost. The driods slowly advanced toward the group inching there way slightly before. It seemed that all the storm troopers that lay before them had their backs together. A ding went off, they had made a 30:00 mark that the instructor had set.

The instructor came out slowly and pressed a little button. The driods stopped in their positions. "You have reached the thirty minute mark, but you were going to die on the spot if it wasn't for me. Let's see, TB, please step forward. TB looked around at his teammates who were looking at the ground. He slowly advanced forward. Your accuracy was highest for all the gun handlers, falling at a 25% accuracy rate. Even though that may seem really bad, you actually have one of the highest accuracy rates that I've seen. It's very rare that someone that is trying to man a gun for the first time. Very impressive indeed. As for the rest of you. Great job on this, I thought you were going to do fairly poor on this compared to the other classes. You didn't seem like you could do this. Of coarse, all of you would probably be in the burial grounds at the moment, but this is the practice coarse, this is the time when you SHOULD screw up. This way in the field you don't mess up, and you learn from your mistakes. That is all for today, dismissed.

TB looked up, it was as easy coming as it did to come out. He didn't think he should be impressed with himself though, because he didn't think he had done to good in his own mind. He slowly went to his barrack. It was about 5:00 pm. "Long Day&"TB said before getting into his bed and slowly falling asleep.

 
-----------------------
Squad: Dark Dragoons [You wish you were here:P]

TRP/PFC Twin Blade/2SQD/1PLT/1CMP/1REG/1BAT/Tadath/VEA

Heavy Weapons Specialist
Fire Support Tactics


Durandal let the warm water from the shower flow over his body. Then just as he thought he had just started, the water cut. Regulation timing really sucked at the academy he thought as he pulled a towel and dried off.

He quickly got dressed and sat on his bunk in his barracks, going over the past five hours or training that he had gone through. And it had only been the bookwork, not interactive part that was in the morning. He looked at his data pad, his handwriting showing the Ten Commandments of Fire support quickly scrawled. The class ran back in his mind.

--- Five Hours Earlier ---

Lieutenant Colonel Jackson stood in the front of the class, looking over the 7 privates sitting before him, quietly paying attention. His deeply tanned skin was pulled tight across his face, and there were many wrinkles, the ages had not been kind to him. His eyes were a dark brown, and set in his skull. One look in them and you saw the pain and fear he had seen in his younger days. He must have been at least 70 years old, older than the very Empire possibly.

"The first thing, that you must learn to be even a mediocre Heavy Weapons Specialist are the Ten Commandments." He said, his voice quiet, dark, almost distant, but strangely firm, from years of practice. He had a hard gaze upon the students, and he continued, "One: You will always know where you are. Two: you will always know where your infantry is. Three: You will always report your position at every halt point. Four: You will always have communications. Five: You will continuously update your fire support plan, adding new targets and deleting old targets when stopped. Six: Thou shall use mortars first if you have any. Seven: You shall complete and distribute a Fire Support Matrix to mortars teams, commanders, scouts and troops. Eight: You shall always designate a priority of fire. Nine: You will always use mortars and heavy weapons in the planning process when present. And Ten: You shall plan for enemy smoke and illumination for each mission."

He finished, watching us scrawl down those Ten Commandments, those ten guide lines. So vital to victory, yet so overlooked when one who is inexperienced talks about Heavy Weapons.
"Your First lesson, is to learn that Heavy Weapons primarily, provide fire support, and suppressing fire power, taking care of heavy enemy artillery and large infantry squads, all while protecting your squads, allowing them to move forward and take positions further along the battle field."

We all sat now, listening to his words, as he spoke, seemingly from experience, his voice almost a whisper, his eyes looking off to some distant past. It seemed as if he was re-living a war from some distant past, his rugged face frowned and he looked back at the class, "As fire support you primarily want two things, high ground, and cover, you don't want to be standing at an emplacement, mowing down enemies, for some pot shot, green rookie to come and get a lucky shot to your leg cause all you have for cover there are three thin poles to hold up the gun. And, as you all know, high ground means enemies are easier to see, and you can easily keep track of your infantry."

He turned around and brought up a hologram, "But if you're on the move as a team, the best way is to not be too close, two small squads, each covering the other, to move slowly up the field. You always want to find clear lines of fire to the enemy, and try to watch the other squads flank, just in case, they will be watching your's."


The hologram showed two squads of men, in older armor, from a war long gone, with colors on the shoulders and helmets. The professionally guarded each other, and were fighting a droid enemy. One in each four man squad had a heavy repeater, and used them to make covering fire, but the droids were relentless, just when it seems like they wouldn't be able to move forward the repeater from the other squad moved out and added his support, making short work of the droids. Thus the squad moved forward and signaled the first squad to come up, marking enemy locations via the tac-map on their data pads.

The Lieutenant Colonel stared at the hologram then looked up, "Just remember to keep your heads down, and don't shoot your own allies in the back. Don't be a hero, just provide cover for your squad mates, and together you can accomplish any mission."

After that he set a data pad on each desk and sat at his desk. "In each data pad," he said, "are diagrams of different formations squads' use that you will remember from boot camp. With it are the added movements that are best used to move and defend. Copy them to your own data pad and study them, you will be using them tomorrow on the firing range."

---4 hours later, the end of class---

Durandal walked out, holding his data pad, looking down at it, poring over the last maneuver, where the second squad moved to the right flank while the first held the enemies attention and forced them to pay full attention to the gunfire from the first squad. Called the foxtrot maneuver, it was bound to work even better against rebels and rebel simulations that it did against the droids in the data pad videos. Quietly he pocketed his data pad, and headed off to the barracks.

[OOC: I wasn't sure if i should end it here, or expand on a few other things in the last bit, maybe describe the teacher more, but i figured this might be good enough, if not give out the word, and whats wrong and i'll fix it ^__^]

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In this life we are nothing without our brothers and our rifles.

A Twi'Lek With a Gun
Becoming A Sniper

"Rise and shine, Miss Niobi!"

The Twi-Lek woman rose from her bed with her purple shoulders emerging from under the covers. She was used to sleeping in the nude from her days with her master. Still, her form ached pretty badly as she finally understood the rough training the army put her through. Cracking her back and flitting away her third head lock from her eyes, she slowly went into the shower.

Her rations were neatly put on the table, figuring she could take a more expensive meal plan when she had earned it. Still, the bruises from basic training had remained, and she longed for a real meal, but deep inside she knew... no luxury today meant a better chance for it tomorrow. As time passed, however, she realized how precious "Library" was... and he soon turned from a luxury to an information necessity.

He couldn't stay in the barracks, so she took the option of the apartment. His shiny chrome always woke her up early so that she could get to her next training session. Her uniform was always neatly pressed, and knew how to shine her armor well from shining Library up for company.

"The weather for today seems lovely, Miss Niobi!"

"Every day is nice to end someone else's, Library." Niobi quipped. "Such is the army life."

"Though I have been keeping track of your progress as you ordered. You're melee skills are up to 34% above the average soldier at your stage! Your ettiquite at 67%!"

"And my gun skills?"

"I prefer to look at the positive aspects, Miss Niobi."

"Under average..."

"... -28%" Library replied sadly.

"At least you're honest..."

"No, Miss Niobi. I'm a protocol droid..."

At last getting on her custom helmet, she did her stretches and gathered her gear, putting her com in her helmet. Raising the helmet, she quickly ate her rations for the day. The place was kept neat as she also paused to give Library a tune up of oil.

"Well, at least with your promotion to Private First Class, they do see great potential in you." Library replied, trying to cheer her up. "According to what mistakes they have seen you make, they will try  you with a sniper gun."

"Once I get used to being shot at, I'm sure I can get much better."

"That's the spirit Miss Niobi!"

"In the meantime, save some energy and shut down for awhile."

"Of course... good hunting!"

With that Niobi left her apartment in her full uniform. Most Twi-Lek helmets had room for two appendages, but with her three, they required modification. With her sniper rifle hoisted on her back, she reported to the firing range. Saluting the superior officer in charge, she kept her poise.

"Private First-Class Niobi Tem reporting, sir!"

His voice was that of a seasoned fighter under his superior armor. It was hard to tell his age from the com, but he couldn't be under forty.

"Ah yes! You're Seargent informed me about your progress. Having a little trouble with blasters, I hear. I'm Senior Seargent Benson."

"Honored, sir." Niobi replied.

Taking his files, he looked through the progress reports she had as she remained in attention.

"You're shooting ability isn't the problem, from the looks of it. When it comes to shooting in the stress of battle, though, you can't hit the broad-side of a Bantha. We'll be putting you in a sniper simulator to see if you're calmer when you're away from the action. Go ahead and replace the power cell in that rifle of yours with ours. It'll keep track of the accuracy of your shots."

"Yes sir"

She took a moment to reload it, as it was slightly different than her blaster rifle. Getting it out was fine, but getting it in was proving problematic. The officer in charge stood there for a moment to assess her movements as he did any other new soldier.

"You never held a gun in your life before the Imperial Army, have you?"

She paused what she was doing, not betraying her frustration in her respectful tone.

"No, sir."

"You're at least not afraid to play with the thing until you get it right. That's the important thing." Seargent Benson added. "Been getting used reloading the blaster?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good answer. I could tell by the way you eventually figured it out. You're probably still a little slow with the reload, which is why you're carrying an FWG-5 and a few daggers."

There was a pause before her answer, amazed that he could read her like a training manual.

"Yes, sir"

The Seargent laughed and patted her on the shoulder.

"You're a good kid. Now get in there and I'll run you through the basics."

"Yes, sir."

Upon entering the chamber, they were in a battle simulator program on a snowy mountain and several targets at a distance below with decent cover and a height advantage.

"Now then, Private. Here are the basics to sniping. You're here to kill a target with one shot. Once that shot goes off, you have given away you're position. In this beginning setting, your targets below won't have the ranged weapons to hit you back, because we are working more on stealth and setting up your target... any questions?"

"Sir... is environment a key issue to keep in mind when firing?"

"It always is, private. You have an energy rifle, so your firing won't be impared, but getting maximum coverage is vital. Also never forget to use your scope. Head shots are difficult at your level, so aim for the chest to kill them quick. Last thing you need is reinforcements heading in your direction."

"Sir? What about mechs? Where would you aim for those?"

The Seargent gave out a good laugh.

"No mech's in this sim, Private. But for future reference, if you can stop the pilot, you can stop the mech. So you're first target would be where the pilot is if it's visable. Second would be the movement of the vehicle. I've seen snipers good enough that they can shoot out bolts to hamper the movement of a mech, but you're still in the basics... third, if the mech has a gunner, he is usually easier to hit since the cannons are often easier to spot... but for right now, assume firing position and I'll evaluate you."

Taking her position at the high ground, she laid down on her stomach and used her scope to get the finer details of the situation. It was a patrol in front of a big building and the soldiers below didn't notice her. Using her scope to get a closer look at the base, she noticed two gun towers around the area.

... So the simulation didn't [i]start[/i] with people being in range, but it had that possibility.

Biting her lip under her helmet, she was getting excited. She saw how the targets below were patrolling. If she could catch one of them alone, it would make things easier on getting the others as a whole. One of them turned a corner away from two others who were below. Aiming carefully, she aimed for the chest on one and pulled the trigger.

Bullseye!

The second one was alarmed, however, and started looking around in alarm... she knew she had no time to celebrate.

She got him in the small of his back which caused him to yell, but he would be dead. Soon other soldiers were starting to arrive and she rushed behind her rock in order to take cover, but she kept her scope on the tower. As predicted, one of the targets was up there, and likely looking for her... Aiming, she fired and missed, but followed up with two or three shots to finally get him.

Soon several more were going up the hill, and she kept her sights ready and kept firing at the ones in front of her, killing a few more, but the buzzer went off in the simulation.

"Smart for a rookie, but you lost you're focus when they started coming after you... you forgot to check your side."

Letting out a frustrated sigh, she waited for the report. The Seargent came out from behind the door with a note pad and results.

"You did excellent for a first time. You were smart to scout ahead and predict enemy patterns. As long as you know you're safe, you're a crackshot. All we have to do now is get you some real action to get you over that. Once that happens, I'd say you'd be a great sharpshooter."

"Thank you, sir."

"You're a smart rookie, Private. Don't you forget it, neither. That's better than a rookie who's good for nothing and doesn't want to be anything. I'll send this report to your squad leader and he'll give you further orders on your training. Dismissed!"

"Aye, sir!" Niobi replied with a salute.