Kuroishi began to ponder how the heck just the three Wraiths were going to be able to get past the security to the bridge with only hold out blasters and a few knives.  His plan so far had utterly backfired but somehow they were still making progress.

"Perhaps it is time to call in Argon with our stuff."  Kuroishi said mostly to himself.

Kuroishi began to reach for his comm when another idea hit him.  With the idea currently facing him he wished he had the Ninja Orchestra and Jazz band here to play a bit of music over the ship's P.A., but he'd have to make do with what he had.

"Better have one heck of an idea boss."  Ramon said as the doors opened.

"Oh I do.  Find someplace away from the survaliance cameras for a moment while I go get something that will get us past the guards without incident."  Kuroishi said as he headed off down the hallway away from the bridge.

He had to get creative for this one since by now the security forces would probably be on alert for intruders wearing station personel uniforms but there was still a chance to get past the guards and all he needed was to create a bit of havoc away from the bridge then if successfull there would be enough of an opening that he and the other two Wraiths could get in.

Supply closets seemed to be a rather consistant stopping point on his last few missions but so far they had proven to be life savers when equipement was short.

Putting together a nasty little chemical cocktail  Kuroishi just had to find a target high enough priority on the main deck to draw some of the marines away from the bridge to respond.

It was tough to duck the cameras to get to the supply closet and to a target worth enough to draw the marines away.  Then it became obvious, send it on down the elveator shaft to the gunnery and sensor control stations at the bottom of the shaft.  The bridge marines were the closest security forces that could respond to the emergency Kuroishi was about to create.

"Unless there is a species down there that breathes chlorine there is about to be one heck of a mess."  Kuroishi hummed to himself as he forces the doors opn and tossed his cocktail down the shaft. 

There would be enough explosive force in the device to force the doors open where it landed and the gas would just seep on out.  Closing the doors again Kuroishi regrouped with Wraith.

As Kuroishi anticipated a four man team of marines approached, then waited for the elevator.

Kuroishi motioned for the other members of Wraith to closely follow him.  Sneaking up on the marines was difficult but Kuroishi got close enough to the back two he could reach out and grab them.

"Excuse me would you happen to have any Deathwookie brand armor polish on you?"  Kuroishi said as he grabbed the two struggling marines.

The two marines he had were strong but not nearly as strong as Kuroishi was now free of the normal restraints that kept his body conditioned to his homeworld's gravity.

Stonefish and Mandor used the sudden burst of confusion to stab the other two marines before they could intervene.

With a carefull effort kuroishi used the great strength he had to break the marines' necks and end thier struggle.

"Who wants to trade for marine armor?"  Kuroishi said as he began checking to see if any where close to his size.

unfortunately there were no exact fits so the Wraiths were uncomfortable in thier new uniforms and armor but at least it didn't show that they were weaing the wrong size uniforms.  Disposing of the bodies down the shaft, Kuroishi marched toward the bridge already concocting a great cover story that was sure to get them close to the Admiral.

The trio aproached the remaining bridge guards and Kuroishi approached.

"We know who is behind these attacks and we must tell the admiral right away."  Kuroishi said as he got close enough.

"Why not use your comms to report it then?  And where is your other man?"  The opposing marine suggested.

"Because the enemy has our frequency and tipping our hand will only make matters worse.  Our other man is taking care of the chemical warfare unleashed upon the sensor control station.  Now let me pass man before the Great Death leader of the Fallen strikes again."  Kuroishi replied.

"Why didn't you say so.  Where is he now?"  The marine shot back.

"He's down in sensor control."  Kuroishi answered as he went through the now open door.

Some of his self proclaimed titles were more recognized then his name and once again it had opened a door for him, this time literaly.

Now getting out with the admiral in tow would prove to be interesting.
 
-----------------------
Kuroishi Wraith VEA
Daishi Raptor VEN
Assistant Writer Why Project Copyright Infringment
Ich bin hessliche amerikaner.
Nehmen mir zu dein frauen von vernunftig preis tugendhafte.
"And the sound of many heads hitting many solid objects was heard throughout the land." me

Aeon winces as he falls back to the ground. He must still be in shock because he doesn't even feel that bad. He reaches his hand around to the source of the stinging pain, and feels the burn mark through the armor. Hmmm, so much for shock he thinks as the feeling of burning returns to his lower back. Not feeling like attempting to stand quite yet, he looks around for his blaster and datapad. Spotting them, he leans across the floor, trying to move his leg as little as possible, and scoops them up. Upon inspecting them, he finds his blaster is fine, but the screen of his datapad is cracked. That's Fine he thinks, as long as it will but up. He thumbs the power button, and waits for it's BIOS to begin interfacing with his custom OS Kernel. It gives some errors as it boots, seeming as if some of the circuits have become damaged. "Sir, requesting permission to take a few minutes to fix this, Sir."

"How long will it take, Private?" Merrick responds, feeling a bit impatient with Techno-Boy on the ground.

"Five minutes, if all goes well." Aeon says, peering at the innards of his datapad, already having stripped off it's casing.

"You've got two"

DigitalAeon begins working, hands moving as if possessed, one of his compact Datapad tools making correction to the circuit boards, and damaged hardware. It seems that the internal sensor is completely fried, probably a power surge created by the impact. Thinking quickly he takes out his small hand held sensor and links it to the connector that the damaged sensor was connected to. He rips out the internal sensor, makes sure that no other systems are down, and then splices a wire between the new sensor and the datapad, replaces the cover, and palms the small sensor in the other hand. It's inconvinient, but the cover would not fit back on with the sensor placed inside. He runs the pad back through it's boot up process, and notices the process is lagging, one of his memory chips must have been fried. That doesn't matter much, and he doesn't have time to fix it. Once the custom operating system boots up, he goes into the new sensor, and tweaks it out a bit, turning it into a frequency scanner, and extending the range to about 20 meters. He programs the sensor to call on certain decryption programs he has already on his datapad and then sets it to transmit a signal to his helmet comlink if something of importance is detected. Thank the emperor I already had most of this setup up he thinks.

"Times up, Private" Merrick said, growing more and more impatient, anxious to use her axe again.

"All ready sir." And with a grunt he stands up.

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

They move through the city, dodging large patrols, and taking out a couple stray troopers that have lost their squads during patrols and combat. Battle rages around them as regulars fight with fury for the Emperor's cause, providing perfect cover for the scout to move towards more important targets.
Aeon catches a glimpse of a a Homeland Defense Force trooper coming around the corner, and squeezes off a couple of rounds of burning light into the troopers chest and eye. He turns to check his back just in time to see Merrick pulling her axe out of the blood soaked chest of another trooper. Fatigue is getting to Aeon, and the pain of his leg isn't helping much. He takes a side step towards the closest building and leans against he wall. Merrick gives him a repremanding look for his lagging, and is about to repremand him, just as his comlink beeps. It takes him a moment to realize it's the scanner he built.
Peering down at the scanner he checks the signal, and analyzes the code. He realizes it's voice comlink transmitions, and begins working on breaking the cypher.

"What is it private?" Merrick says, getting more used to the idea of having a bit-head in the squad, but still not quite liking it.

"Comlink transmitions, quick bursts, and high level encryption. I think it might be a local commander of some type giving orders to his squad.....trying to break it."

Aeon works diligently on his datapad, converting the cypher-voice into plain-voice. Slowly the plain white-noise seeming static starts to take the form of a voice, and begins to become intellegible. Yes, they're definetly commands.

"Sir, it's definetly commands, and if my scanner is picking it up, that means he's close, within 20 meters. I can home in on the signal, and give us a direction to go in."

"Excellent, Private, do so immediatly."

"Sir, I also request permission to retransmit the comlink broadcast to the Colonel to inform him of the enemie's moves.

"Permission granted"

And so Aeon begins his work, making short work of the rebroadcast, and shortly after getting his scanner to narrow down on the offending com-band. After being succesful, Shadow, Raiden, Merrick, and Aeon (with a grunt and a limp) go begin traveling in the direction of the command post.

"Welcome to the first assassination of the day, troops. Here's hoping there's many more to come."
  -----------------------
Jester Squad
TRP/PFC DigitalAeon/Drill Squad/2PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE [LoR]

Hashi crouched, hidden in the bushes at the entry to the large power facility, waiting for the rest to catch up. He was mid-yawn when a heeavy hand landed on his shoulder, causing him to spin around, silver blade drawn.

He stopped just short, as his night vision picked out Frog, with Sokudo and Tylen not far behind. "I must be getting lax, if you guys managed to get the drop on me." Hashi sneered.

"An Imperial veteran, a ninja, and a dark jedi. And you expected to hear us coming?" Frog let a slight grin cross his face, "Found us a way in yet?"

Hashi turned and pointed to a fenced off area, 50 metres or so from the main entry way, "Air conditioning vents, if we can find a way to stop the fans subtly, we can get in with ease," he took a quick scan of the area, "Where are the troops we had with us?"

Frog shook his head, "Just because we're a scout squad, doesn't mean we have to be subtle, oh no, not at all." Frog clicked his comlink a few times, and a roaring shout went up from outside the gates, as 30 or so stormtroopers ran into the complex, yelling and firing their blasters as much into the air as at the surprised guards.

Frog nodded his approval at the sight, "I told them to be as distracting as possible, shall we move along chaps?"

Not waiting for a response, Frog headed off in a low sprint across the dark yard, the other three Jesters behind him. He hit the fence at a run, quickly climbing up and over, landing quietly on the other side. He heard three other soft thuds as the others landed near him.

Sokudo was up in a flash, and looking for a way to shut down the fan, but slightly disappointed at the small amount of instrument panels about. Hashi had the right idea however, and was already loading a small grenade into his under-barrel launcher.

A quick bang later, and our four heros are scrambling up to the vent, and into the darkness of the plant beyond.
 
-----------------------
(-Vast Empire-) Sergeant Thomas "Firefrog" Phennir
TRP/SGT Firefrog/1SQD/2PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE [LoR][BoA]
Jester Squad
+ Advance Recon Commandos {ARC} +
The stupider people think you are, the more surprised they'll be when you kill them.

Frog's boot went through the vent in a powerful motion. The metal grill fell to the floor with a loud resounding clang, and the four scouts dropped into the heart of the power facility one by one.

They raised their rifles in anticipation of enemy troops charging at them with guns blazing, but apparently their grand entrance had yet to attract any attention from anyone in the plant. Outside, the regulars were putting up a fierce firefight, keeping most of the guards at bay.

Firefrog walked over to a data panel conveniently located a few metres away. Playing around with the keys with his expert slicing skills, he drew up a blueprint of the facility.

"Control room is a couple of floors up," he said after a moment, turning to his fireteam. "We'll head up there and take her out."

Hashi twirled his little knife in his right hand thoughtfully, "Should be a blast."

Frog nodded and jiggled the black satchel slung over his shoulder. In that bag were several proton explosive charges, those babies could punch a hole through the ass of the most harderned military installation no problem.

Of course, they had to be long gone and as far away from ground zero before the facility goes up in a cloud of ash.

Faces hidden behind helmets and masks, betraying no emotion, the silent warriors began the short walk over to the nerve centre of the power plant.
 
-----------------------
Sergeant Hashi Shiyun [IH] [SoA] [LoR]
- Jester Squad, Storm Platoon.

The frigate lurched again as turbolaser fire battered its shields.

"Who's firing on us?" demanded Admiral Markovski.

"One of the Golan stations, sir," responded Lieutenant Petrov from one of the sensor stations.

The view from the bridge was unpleasant, green slashes from turbolaser batteries on the Golan station hammered against the Frigate's failing shields and rattled the frigate. Outside, the Admiral could see Assault Gunboats circling his ship like vultures around a dying man, waiting for the chance to swoop in and take their prey.

"Sir, our shields are down!" cried a crewman from the deflector control station.

"Wait, the guns have stopped. Get those shields back up, Ensign!"

A new sound could be heard on the bridge now, a low fizzle from the electrical conduits. Power surged in the viewscreens, causing them to flicker and lose focus. The lights dimmed, and returned to full brightness.

"What's going on, sir?" asked Captain Pellew.

"Ion fire, from those damned gunboats!" replied the Republic Admiral.

"Sir!" came the call from across the bridge, "We're losing power across all decks!"

The lights on the bridge went out, and the small, red emergency lights came on in their place.

"That's it, we're out of the fight. We've been disabled. Call in the guards from outside."

Just as the Admiral spoke, the hatch opened, and three men wearing marine guard uniforms entered the bridge.

"Lieutenant," said Markovski, examining the rank insignia on the lead guard's arm, "Instruct your men to prepare to repel boarders. We have been disabled."

"Sir, I was just coming to talk to you about that, sir. We have received a report from the surface that a man known as the Great Death, leader of the Fallen, is part of the attacking force, and is coming here personally to assassinate you. We have to get you out of here, sir."

The Admiral blanched at the mention of the one known as the Great Death. In Republic circles, the man had a reputation as dark as the Maw.

"You have a plan?" asked the Admiral.

"Yes, sir. There is a small shuttle in the launch bay which is ready to go. I had one of my men begin preparations as soon as we received the report. We have to be careful, though. The Great Death has a reputation for being an excellent infiltrator. For all we know, he could already be on board. We can trust no one until we are off the ship, sir."

"Yes, well lead the way then, man. Let's go!"

As the Admiral passed through the bridge hatch, he spoke to the guards outside, "You two men, get down to the barracks and get every man ready to repel boarders. Move!"

The two guards dashed off down the corridor, and the four men continued down to the launch bay. As they approached the shuttle, Markovski could see plumes of steam and gas venting from the thrusters. The shuttle was indeed ready to go. The Admiral lead the way up the boarding ramp, and into the hold of the shuttle. He turned the corner to head toward the cockpit, and was confronted with a wall of fur and muscle as a Whipid stepped to block him. He whirled around to confront the grinning Lieutenant.

"What is this? What's going on?" he demanded.

"You are now the prisoner of the Great Death, leader of the Fallen," the man's grin grew even wider, and his eyes glinted evilly.

The Admiral saw only a flash of white, as someone hit him from behind.
 
-----------------------
Ramon Stonefish

-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
Version: 3.1
GCS/ED d- s:+ a-- C++++ UL P+ L++@ E---- W+@ N+ !o w--- PS PE t+ 5++ X-- R++ tv+ b+++ !DI D++ G e>++ h! r-- z-
-----END GEEK CODE BLOCK-----

Merrick took care of her wound as best she could back where they had left Aeon, while the other discussed who they should kill next. Aeon had taken the opportunity to do as much in the way of reparing his datapad as was possible away from home. Somewhere in the distance there was a huge explosion. Merrick looked up and grinned. "Looks like Frog made quick work of those power facilities." Right on cue, her commlink beeped at her. "So Sarge, what now?" Merrick looked at her team quickly and thought for a second. "Ditch the regulars, let them roam around the city creating havoc on their own, and come join me in the political precinct. We got wounded, and a lot of interesting people still to kill."

---

By the time Frog and his team caught up with them, Merrick and her team had moved several times. It appeared that every guard and other military personnel in the area had been charged with hunting them down. As usual, Frog and Hashi managed to make an interesting exit, choosing to break through the strongest part of the enemy's line, rather than take the small gap they'd left. Well, at least they had style, of a sort. "Hey Sarge. Ah you didn't mention you were one of the wounded." Merrick shrugged, then winced from the pain she caused herself doing so. "How's the guy that put that hole in your shadowsuit?" Raiden and Aeon laughed, and Frog nodded. "That's what I thought. So, what are we doing sarge?"

---

After they finally killed enough guards and troopers for the rest to reconsider rushing them again, Jester snuck off toward the army barracks and headquarters. Politicians were getting boring, and they'd probably killed enough of them to hamper the running of the planet for a while. Some well placed explosives could help to seriously limit their military power, and that was always good. At some point the rest of the army would be on this damn planet, and the less left to kill them the better.
 
-----------------------
Jester Squad
TRP/GSG Merrick/1SQD/2PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE [CotE][SoA]
-----------------------
To thy protection fear and sorrow flee, and those that weary are of light find rest in thee.
If you love something, set it free. If it doesn't come back, hunt it down and kill it.

Frog squatted on the top of the hill with Merrick, while the rest of Jester waited 50 or so metres down the slope. On the other side they could clearly see the military base below, soldiers running everywhere as they prepped themselves for the war that had already started.

"Doesn't look like theres much we can do against them, not when their this alert and grouped up," Frog whispered.

Merrick continued looking down on the mobilising force, "Yeah, but once they all leave to go fight, we can have run of the base without any resistance."

"The point of which being?"

"Chances are someone will be commanding the battle from in there, I'm sure it would help our forces considerably if we could get in and advise the enemy on their strategy." Merrick let a grin spread across her face, which Frog soon returned.

Moments later, Jester squad was making its way stealthily down the hill.
 
-----------------------
(-Vast Empire-) Sergeant Thomas "Firefrog" Phennir
TRP/SGT Firefrog/1SQD/2PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE [LoR][BoA]
Jester Squad
+ Advance Recon Commandos {ARC} +
The stupider people think you are, the more surprised they'll be when you kill them.

The Dominion shook from yet another blast from the Golan on the other side of the one captured by the Wraiths.

"How the hell do you kill one of those things without creating a planetary catastrophe?" blurted Fury as he almost took a header into a gunnery console.

"This is why we should allow the fighters to deal with this threat," yelled Captain K'wislin.

"Oh shut up and return fire."  For some damn reason, only one Golan had been captured and another immolated.  Granted, two others were in dire straights but were still firing upon Imperial ships and fighters.  The Raiders and Dark Dragoons had to hurry up and finish their tasks lest the enemy begin to hem in the fleet between the planetary defenses and the New Republic fleet quickly reassembling from the initial surprise.

Welcome news soon followed.  One of the shield generators had fallen.  While Golans still lay between the fleet and the planet, it was possible to get at least some resupply to those on the surface. 

Also, Wraiths were bringing in an Admiral.  Soon they would need another task.  If they could get off his command ship and get to the Dominion safely.
 
-----------------------
PRF/HG Fury/VEA/TADATH/VE [SCP][PoC][SotE:HC][SotE:VEA][IOC]
Prefect - Stormtrooper Corps
Administrator - Imperial Center

Hashi was back in his standard issue scout trooper armour. His shadowsuit had been stretched thin and blood stained as a result of the recent engagements with the enemy. A change of gear made him feel fresher, somehow.

His helmet was propped on his hip, a hand running through his wavy jet black hair. Black rings under his eye. On top of that, his boot was pressing against the chest of a certain brigadier general, formerly officer in charge of the barracks they had just taken over.

"So there I was, right? In the middle of this smoky cantina with this hooker jiggling on my lap, see?" rambled Hashi, with the air of one having a casual conversation.

"Listen! It gets better.."

But the poor general was not really interested in hearing what Hashi had to say. He was tied to a chair and gagged, and feeling intense discomfort from the sharp studs on Hashi's boot piercing his chest. Blood was already running down his tattered uniform.

"What in hell's blazes is going on in here?" roared a voice from outside the makeshift interrogation room.

The door flew open and in strode Colonel Timms, with an escort of a dozen regular stormtroopers tailing behind him. Hashi dropped his leg and slowly snapped to attention, a look of mischevious guilt on his face.

"Sergeant! You have no authori-" Timms's reprimand was cut short by the arrival of Merrick.

"Why good evening Colonel. Pardon Hashi.. the lad gets over enthusiastic sometimes," she said passively. Hashi held his breath as Timms visibly tried to hold back something short of an animal-like snarl. "I left him in charge of the interrogation for just a minute while I grabbed a drink," Merr added sweetly.

"My men are taking over this base!" Timms snapped irritably instead, turning to Merrick. "The 508th will be using it as our base of operations for now." His expression softened.

"Madam, would you be so kind as to step into my office. I have just the mission for your boys.." Timms said in a drastic change of tone, his eyebrows cocked in sarcasm.

"Certainly, Colonel."

"Thank you." Timms stared darkly at Hashi. "And next time, perhaps we should leave the interrogation process to my intel officer. I feel that he'll conduct a more proper and productive investigation than you would, Sergeant Shiyun."

The Colonel span around on his heels and marched out of the room, with Merrick at his side. Hashi snorted in indignation and turned his attention back to the man tied to the chair. His boot again found the general's chest.

"Riiight.. where were we?"
 
-----------------------
Sergeant Hashi Shiyun [IH] [SoA] [LoR]
- Jester Squad, Advanced Recon Commando.

With Afyon supported between Niko and Zek, Kain and TK bringing up the rear, and Kami and Rema on point, the squad weaved its way back towards the Golan hangar.
Moving swiftly across the steel floor once they reached the hanger, the Dragoons quickly dissembled the E-web, and proceeded to lug the gun into the nearby turbo lift.
Tired, nauseous, and nearly out of ammo, Kami cramped into the lift with the rest of her squad, and found herself next to Zek, whose stark white uniform seemed to make him a beacon among a bunch of dusty and smoke scented Dragoons.

With a gentle ping, the elevator announced they had reached their destination, and slid open, filling the lift with the screams and echoes of distant blaster fire. A chuckle made Kami glance over at TK, who stood closest to the lift door "What do ya know, they're still alive and fighting..."

Plagued by a brief moment of guilt as she remembered how the Dragoons had sent the Whipid guards up to this floor to make the regulars situation worse, Kami hoisted up her E-11 and her last half-empty cartridge, vowing to rectify their actions by killing the Whipids herself.

The Dragoons moved out of the turbo lift ,and pulling to the side of the hallway, stopped to discuss their options.
"We can't go back to get our uniforms without bypassing the command center," TK pointed out, gesturing down the hallway with his chin, "And unless there is another way around..."
"Maybe we would be able to get past? If they're too busy fighting..." Zek suggested weakly from where he was crouched near Kami, unaware of the amount of Rebels that the squad had previously encountered on this level.
"No," Rema interrupted, looked slightly haggard as he addressed the squad, "Either we find another way around, or we leave the uniforms and continue in our Rebel gear."

Kami looked down at the flimsy Rebel uniform she was clothed in,  more than aware that they were about to take on a larger and better equipped Rebel force, and found herself wishing that she had...at least... her hated and badly dented stormtrooper helmet on when they finally reached that blast door...

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

As the squad stopped in front of the blast doors, Rema walked over to Afyon who was leaning against the wall, shooing away his crutches.

"Niko. Zek. Watch the hall and give Afyon and myself some space." With a nod, the two troopers walked away.

"How are you feeling Sir?" Rema asked inspecting Afyon's physical condition. Every time he moved his shoulder, a flash of pain would go across his face.

"Ill make it." Afyon replied with no sound of pain in his voice. Rema took that as a good sign.

"Thats good. I was thinking, we need our armor and ammo. Even with the regulars help, we will still be at a disadvantage. The CC will undoubtedly be heavily fortified, since it is the rebels last stand. So i propose that we hit them from both sides. We help the regulars get to the doors and then go around the CC to get our armor. We can set up the e-web and a barricade. If the regulars attack at the same time, we stand a better chance at defeating them. Then once inside the main command center, we should be able to shut the entire Golan down." Rema explained. Afyon nodded and looked back to the squad.

"Alright everyone, lets go get our re-enforcements." Afyon yelled as he walked off toward the squad. Rema couldnt help but notice that he walked as if he didnt have a scratch on him.

Heading over to the blastdoor controls, Rema pulled his datapad and fiddled with the door for five minutes. Every program he had was too weak to break the security system on the door controls. What i would kill for an astromech droid.

"Hey Gunny, you hear that?" TK called from the other side of the hall. "It sounds like somethings on the other side of the door."

"Everyone fall back now. Double time people. Move!" Afyon yelled as a click sounded from the blastdoor. Slowly it grinded open while the Dragoons fled down the hall. Pushing themselves into notches and door jams, the Dragoons all leveled their pistols to the blastdoor. The entire squad froze as the doors slid back into the walls. Walking down the hall were the five Whiphids they had seen earlier. Rema heard a series of curses come from everyone in the squad.

Before they could even formulate a plan, the Whiphids saw them and called out.

"Who is there!! Show yourselves!" The group walked closer, two with heavy blasters, and the rest carrying large vibroblades. As they came closer they spied the white gleam off Zek's armor and seemed to recognize the team. "Your the ones from the Fire Control! You are the Imperials!!!" With a loud roar, the ones wielding vibroblades charged as the two with blasters took shots at the Dragoons. Concentrating the fire on the lead Whiphid, the three Dragoons at the front, Niko, Kain, and TK slowly began backing up. Rushing forward, the leader Whiphid took a few shots to the knee and collapsed to the ground. The other two continued forward, but dropped their vibroblades due to increased fire on their arms.

The first target of the Whiphids was Niko and Kain, both kneeling behind a piece of debris. With a wave of his huge arms, the alien flipped the debris over nearly crushing Kain and Niko as they scrambled away. The second charging Whiphid didnt do so well. As it approached TK, the rest of the rear Imperials opened fire on critical portions of it body bringing it to the ground. Rema quickly turned his gun on the Whiphid attacking Niko and Kain and opened fire. As the creature swung at the young imperials, the two Whiphids with blasters began opening fire on the rear Dragoons. Forced to duck back into cover, the rest of the Dark Dragoons were unable to fire at the alien attacking the other two Imperials. Cursing to himself, Rema stuck his head slowly out from his cover looking at the battle in front of him.

Niko had managed to scramble away, but Kain had taken a hit in the leg and was firing madly into his attacker. The attacking creature picked up a large piece of debris and waved it over its head as it brought it down on Kain. Before it could complete its forward swing, a hail of fire sliced through the creature. Blood ran from numerous holes in its body as it collapsed to the deck. Similar fates met the two blaster carrying Whiphids as fire pierced their body. Rema ran from his hiding spot heading for Kain. He was lying on the deck, his chest moving slowly up and down. Rema kneeled down next to Kain to find him unconscious. Afyon and Niko knelt down by him too, checking his status.

"Will he be alright Sir?" Niko asked looking at Afyon.

"He should be fine, we just need to get him to a medic."

Standing up, Rema and Afyon looked at their saviors. Rema quickly counted twenty Imperial Soldiers walking toward them. One with the rank of a Sergeant walked up to Afyon.

"Sir, Sergeant Melvin Strats reporting for duty."  Both leaders of Dark Dragoons noticed the black discoloring on the Sergeant's armor.

"Seen combat Sergeant?" Afyon asked.

"Just a little sir. The Rebels really didn't stand a chance against us." Strats replied with a smile.

"Good, now listen up here is the plan..." Afyon started as he walked with Strats back toward the blast door. Rema turned to the squad and noticed all of them huddled around Kain as two combat medics from the regular detachment tended to his wounds.

"Ok guys, break times over. Time to go grab our armor and raise the Imperial Flag on this rebel hellhole."

 
-----------------------
+ Advance Recon Commandos {ARC} +
"Only Trust your Allies as much as you can Predict your Enemies."
"Do you expect me to talk?" "No Mr. Bond, i expect you to die."
"Luke, I am your Fasha."
To Nom Anor, a truly superior Yuuzhan Vong.
TRP/ASL/CPL Rema/2SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE [LoR][OPE] [AM-B][AM-S][AM-P][IH][SoA]

Merrick came back in. "Alright, Hash, that'll do. We've got enough info out of them for now." Hashi looked upset but left the room anyway. Merrick and Frog lifted Hashi's victim back up so he was sitting again. Merrick quickly inspected his wounds to make sure they wouldn't kill him, then left all the prisoners alone in the room. She looked up to see Timms waiting for her again. "What?" He gave up trying to salute her. "Just wondering when you planned to leave this place, if at all, since the army do know we're here and are likely to come back and try to get their base back." Merrick shrugged. "You're the one that wanted this as a base of operations, Timms, so I guess we have to make sure they can't take this place back, hm?" He nodded slightly and Merrick sighed. "Ok, give my squad a bit of time to rest and then we'll get out there. Perhaps you could get onto Fury and request some help?" She walked off, again ignoring his salute, and found the Jesters lounging around in a room down the hall. They all looked up when she entered. "Hey boys. We're all gonna get a bit of rest, before going against the force that lives in this base. Timms wants the place, so you don't get to blow it up anymore." Frog and Hashi both looked disappointed. Merrick sat down and put her feet up. "Sorry. I'll find something else for you to use those explosives on, promise." Everyone laughed.

---

Merrick had quickly fallen asleep in her chair and had no idea how long she'd been asleep when Timms came in to disturb them. He apologised quickly. "Mm, no problem, what is it Timms?" He backed towards the door a bit when she stood up and picked her axe up off the table. Apparently her reputation was well known. "Er.. the force that left here earlier in search for us is getting close to the base again. Thought you would like to know before they were right on top of us." Merrick nodded and went about waking the rest of Jester. "I'm taking some regulars again Timms. 3 squads will do, the same ones if I can. They were most helpful last time, I am told. Dismissed." Timms nodded and left the room quickly. Merrick stood over Aeon for a second, before deciding to leave him to sleep and wandering out with the rest of Jester following. "Why're we leaving the new kid, sarge?" Hashi hurried to catch up and walk beside Merrick. "Cause he's injured Hash." Hashi nodded. "So are you sarge." Merrick looked at him. "Yeah, but I can still walk." Hashi nodded again and decided to leave it at that.

It was then that Frog decided to ask his questions. "Uh, what's the plan sarge?" Merrick stopped and turned around, scratching her head for a moment. "Well, either kill enough of this force to make it tough for them to make a proper stand outside the base, or somehow discourage them from wanting this place back at all. We've got their weapon placements and armoury. We've also got 3 squads from Timms again and he still has a couple in the city." Frog nodded and yawned. "So how exactly are we doing that?" Merrick shrugged. "Up to you, just don't kill the civilians."
 
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Jester Squad
TRP/GSG Merrick/1SQD/2PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE [CotE][SoA]
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To thy protection fear and sorrow flee, and those that weary are of light find rest in thee.
If you love something, set it free. If it doesn't come back, hunt it down and kill it.

"Kami."
Kami tore her eyes from the still form of Kain, and came to face to face with TK. "Come on," He said, his hand landing lightly on her shoulder, "He'll be okay." The combat medic crouched next to her threw Kami a reassuring smile, "The Sergeants right Private, just a few bumps." Still slightly apprehensive, Kami threw one more look at Kain, then rose to her feet. She knew those stupid Whipids would manage to screw something up...but she didn't think it would be Kain...

"Hey Rebel scum." One of the reinforcement troopers slid a few extra blaster cartridges into her hand, "For the fight." Kami flashed him a smile in thanks, clipped one into her E-11, and pulled herself up to her full height. Here we go again...

The reinforcements and the Dragoons formed up, and moved quickly through the blast doors which had been so considerately opened for them, Kain, a medic and a trooper staying behind to be retrieved later.  As they moved further up the dim hallway Kami looked about her, her senses on edge. Its quiet...too quiet... Kami grimaced at her own corniness, then realized that the Imperials had come into sight of the fire control room. The door was firmly closed, and, Kami noticed with growing disquiet, tthe security cameras were back on....

Strats and Afyon, who led at the front of the group despite his injuries, motioned with their fists, halting the troopers in the middle of the hallway. The two Sergeants conversed hastily, then turned back to the group and pointed out a few soldiers. Kami tensed as Afyon's finger rested on her, then on Niko and Rema. The three moved slowly forwards until they stood beside the Gunny, who pointed along the corridor and gave a seemingly nervous grin. It seemed like they were the bait.

Forcing down a rising sense of dread, Kami reached down to her left thigh and slid her combat knife into her left hand. The fact that the Dragoons were disguised as Rebels would give the three a moments hesitation to act. Which would give the rest of the group a chance to react to whatever trap might be set up ahead of them...

Kami began to creep forwards, then realized that Rema and Niko were walking loudly and quickly, as though they were on a mission of great importance. Feeling more green than ever, Kami jogged a few steps to catch up, then fell into step just slightly behind and to the left of Rema. The fire control room grew ominously as the trio continued up the hall, Kami concentrating fiercely on trying to outwardly remain calm.  It would do her squad no good if they were confronted and she broke out into a nervous fit as a result... especially if whoever confronted them happened to be a bunch of trigger happy private's like herself, who would shoot first and ask questions later...

When they were just a few meters from the control room, the blast doors slid open, revealing five Rebel troopers and their carbines, which were pointed directly at the advancing Dragoons...
Rema brought his arms up immediately, followed seconds later by Kami and Niko, "Don't shoot! We're friends!"
A Rebel trooper, a dark haired Corporal with half a face full of knife scars, let out a low snarl, "Sure you are. No sudden movements, and no tricks. Get on the floor! Now!"
Rema obeyed, dropping to his knees, but Niko and Kami hesitated, which only seemed to agitate Scarface, "DOWN! OR YOU DIE!"

Stuck halfway up the hall, between enemies and friends, Kami dropped to her knees, then to the floor, a thud from nearby suggesting that Niko had wisely done the same. Rema opened his mouth to protest only to receive a sharp blow to the head with the butt of Scarface's carbine. Kami lifted her head to check on Rema's condition and in return received a blow between her shoulders, which sent her slamming back to the floor. Damm stubborn Rebels... she thought fleetingly while trying to ignore the pain shooting up her spine.

"Sir..." She heard a young voice issue from the direction of the Rebels, "I'm not sure you should be treating them like this..." Kami felt the air swirl around her as Scarface spun about towards his squad mate, "You want to talk about morals kid?"

The moment provided by his manuever gave the Dragoons all the time they needed... and taking full advantage of the situation, Kami rolled onto her back, and in a split second, had sunk her knife into Scarface's foot...

Scarface let out a howl of pain which was swiftly muffled by Niko's blaster fire, which caught him in the throat and sent him flying back into the control room and into the path of his friends.
Rolling to her feet, Kami hooked her now free knife into the closest Rebel's throat, then pulled it free and stabbed it into the gut of another trooper who was now only just beginning to react. The soldier, a young woman around Kami's age, opened her mouth, let out a half-gurgle and glanced down at the blood streaming from her stomach. Kami ended her suffering with a blaster shot to her head.
Spinning around to attack again, Kami saw Rema kill the last trooper, which he had knocked to the ground.

Her heat beat racing at a million miles an hour, Kami let out a shuddering breath and pulled the Corporal to his feet, "That was a little too close for my liking..."
Rema nodded a brief agreement, then reached up and gingerly felt the back of his head,
"Ouch."

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

Hashi stifled a yawn as soon as he heard the E-Webs fire up, pulling his binocs up, he scanned the base entrance, and saw Merrick and her crew speed through the base entrance, in an obviously borrowed speeder craft. Tracing back where she'd come from, Hashi found the bulk of the enemy force, mostly the larger vehicles unfit for urban fighting, lumbering in on the main road into the base. Turning around, he sprinted quickly over to Frog, "Merr was right, they're coming in on the main road, doubtful they'll have any idea what we've got planned for them." The grin was unmistakable on Hashi's face.

Sitting about a metre up, in a command console & chair bolted to the side of the large machine, Frog mirrored the grin, "I doubt most of them even remember this is here, the technology is pretty old, although the tracking and targetting system seems to have been added later, as its rather up-to-date."

Frog tapped a trail of co-ordinates into the machine, and the display drew a line on the map display roughly equivilent to the roadway into the base. Pushing one of the larger buttons on the side of the console, Frog locked the pattern into the machine, and with the grinding of gears, the entire thing creaked slowly into place.

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

Merrick pulled the front end of the speeder up sharply, and turned the nose to one side, causing a short slide bringing the craft to a halt not far beyond the E-Web emplacement. Jumping over the side, she motioned to the regulars to take up defensive positions, then called the Jesters over to her, "This place is built, oddly enough, like a military base, so I don't think we'll have much problem defending it per se. Problem is we don't really have anything available to puncture those heavy tanks, so which one of you has a bright idea?"

The others looked blankly at each other, and it was Raiden who finally spoke, "Frog has the rest of the explosives doesn't he? Anyone would think he was saving them for something special. If we could get him to stop slacking off and get over he...."

Raiden was cut off suddenly as a loud whistling sound caught everyone's attention. There was a bang and a bright flash 500 metres above the entry gates, then several smallish objects fell to the ground, landing somewhat along the lines of the enemy column. Wherever one landed, there was another, not quite so bright flash. When the flashes stopped, there was assorted screams and howls from the enemy, and most of the tanks seemed to have a variety of large melted holes in them.

The Jester's comlinks suddenly came to life, "Who likes fireworks!" came Frog's voice, "Big bada-boom!" came Hashi's soon after.

Merrick pulled her amazement into line, and picked up her comlink, "I er, don't suppose you have any more of that up your sleeve, eh Frog?"

"Sorry ma'am, I get the feeling they stopped producing ammunition for this baby long ago, we were just lucky there was one still left in the breech."

Hashi's voice came again, "Lucky it didn't blow up in our faces, after decades of neglect more like it!"

"Enough chit-chat," Merrick cut in, "You boys did well, but they've still got a few lines of offense out here, so come give us a hand. And bring a tank or two if possible."
 
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(-Vast Empire-) Sergeant Thomas "Firefrog" Phennir
TRP/SGT Firefrog/1SQD/2PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE [LoR][BoA]
Jester Squad
+ Advance Recon Commandos {ARC} +
The stupider people think you are, the more surprised they'll be when you kill them.

Argon hit the ground hard, rolling to absorb the impact and coming up with his heavy blaster rifle already tracking the arc in front of him.

Unfortunately, he'd gotten used to hard drops into enemy territory, testament to how many of the bloody things he'd gone through.

The ship that had dropped them off was now making a soon-to-be-failed bombing run against the base defenses, giving a plausible reason for its presence here.

"Everyone get down okay?" said Kuroishi as he arrived at the rendezvous point to find all the others already there.

"I'm alive," said Fish, "I think."

"I'm here," replied Viper.

"Ready to go," said Mandor.

"I'm fine," said Sam.

"Good," said Kuroishi, "Viper, take point, Mandor, cover the rear.  Let's take down the AA defenses around the port ASAP.  Once the door is open, the VE regulars'll be here to clean up the rest."
 
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Argon Viper
Sergeant Major/Senior Writer, VE Today
IW COL Argon Viper{ret}
Fallen Angel and Proud of It!
"History is on the move, those who cannot keep up will watch from a distance, and those who get in our way will not watch at all" - Grand Admiral Thrawn
"Condemnation does not liberate, it oppresses" - Carl G Jung