Kami walked down the ramp of the shuttle which had carried Iron Horse back to Tadath, relishing in the cool breeze as it whipped through her loose hair, sweeping it behind her shoulders. Behind her, Angel and Varron trampled down the ramp with less finesse, both involved in a heated argument about who claimed victory for the sabacc game which had been interrupted by their arrival on planet. Virius followed the two of them, careful to stay clear of waving arms and claws, his dark eyes scanning the landing pad about him.
JR and Eviscares came next; both men involved in a more reserved conversation, and then...came Howmi, moving warily down the ramp, his artificial leg flashing silver in the weak afternoon sunlight.

Letting her squad pass by her and continue on towards the barracks, Kami waved thanks towards the captain who had shipped them uneventfully from Cepany, then strode over to meet the dour faced man hovering at the edge of the landing platform.

"Sergeant," The man dipped his head slightly, "I bring word from the Major."

Clasping the datapad the clerk held out to her, Kami offered a half smile in thanks, then turned and began to follow in her squad's wake, scrolling down the lines of text.

Congratulations in making it back here in one piece Sergeant. I was contacted earlier by a Commander Saunders who informed me that the Rumbler has been safely recovered and is now undergoing repairs upon Cepany. He thought you'd be please to know.

Get some rest, then come and see me. Saunders had more to say.

Pausing momentarily to re-read the last sentence, Kami swallowed the sudden trepidation which swirled up within her chest, before sliding the datapad into the duffel bag she carried. Ahead of her Angel paused, gesturing for Kami to catch up. Pushing the thought of the upcoming meeting to the back of her mind, Kami flashed him a grin, then jogged over,

"We have a meeting to attend."

Angel's smile faltered as he picked up on the trail of his squad leader's thoughts. Wiggling his fingers in between hers he asked, "You think bad news?"

Kami matched her stride with Angel's, weaving her way with him through a squad of soldiers training at the front of the barracks. "I just...have a bad feeling. The rebellion's put me on edge."

The duo followed the faintly limping form of Howmi past the first barracks building and towards the shining Iron Horse barracks in the distance, both remaining silent in brief remembrance of their previous mission.

Angel swept amber eyes to hers, their brightness sparkling with mischief. "Food, shower and then the meeting."

Kami flashed him a particularly stunning smile. "Sounds like a plan."


*        *        *        *        *        *

Hours later, Kami strode into the newly appointed Company Commander, Major Rizzit's office, Angel one step behind her. Dodging a precariously stacked pile of papers, Kami swept green eyes over the jumble of reports on the desk in an attempt to find any sign of life. Beside her, Angel cleared his throat,

"Anyone home?"

The pile of papers to Kami's left jumped in response, revealing a pair of curious eyes, followed by the disgruntled face of the Major. Relieved to find two friendly faces staring back, Rizzit pulled himself the rest of the way out of his paper prison, dusting down his uniform with both hands. "I asked for equipment list and an equipment request list from the entire company," He grumbled, jumping over another pile of documents to reach his desk, "Eighty percent of this is a bunch of requests for money, tanks and ships that I just don't have."

Plopping down behind the shining wooden desk, Rizzit sighed with finality, then turned his unwavering attention to the two young officers, "Feeling better?"

Both snapped a smart salute at their commanding officer before Angel answered, "Better, yet a little wary about whatever you've got planned sir."

Rizzit grinned, a rare expression reserved for less stressful circumstances, "Good and bad news, what do you want first?"

"Bad news." Kami dropped down into the chair opposite the Major, "It's about Logan isn't it?"

Rizzit's eyebrow arched, "I keep forgetting than you two have more than a hunch about certain things, but yes, its about Logan." He paused to allow Angel to take his seat, then continued, "He's escaped."

Angel let out a string of curses in numerous tongues at Kami's side, whilst she sat still; absorbing the news with an abruptly present rage. Swallowing some of her anger, she managed to choke out a single word, "How?"

Rizzit offered a sympathetic look, "He reached Cepany, underwent the first stages of interrogation and was transferred to a small holding cell while greater security was scrambled. Halfway to a new maximum security prison the convoy transporting him was ambushed by men who had obviously been tipped off about the route by insiders."

"More traitors..." Angel growled, blackness darkening the bright amber color of his eyes.

Rizzit nodded, "Saunders is just as angry as you two are. He's personally looking into the incident...but the truth is there's not much even her can do on Cepany soil. Too many knives hovering at his back to stop him making any decisive decisions or changes around there."

Kami shook her head in disbelief, "This is getting nastier by the second."

Rizzit let a slow smile creep over his features, "Which is why you're going back."

Angel's voice was deathly calm, despite the raging storm inside him. "To kill Logan."

Rizzit pulled a face, "To infiltrate the rebellion and track Logan down. That man is obviously important enough for them to risk charging out in the streets and openly opposing the Vast Empire, so that makes him a very important objective for us."

Kami arched a perfectly shaped eyebrow, "Wait, infiltrate? Iron Horse?"

Rizzit's smile widened, "That's the good news. After hearing about how you performed during the flight to Cepany, I've had some ideas regarding your squad's area of expertise."

He leaned back in his chair, folding his arms about his chest. After letting the air hand for dramatic effect, he leaned forward, catching his weight on his elbows and starting intently at the two squad commanders. "How would you feel about making Iron Horse a recon squad?"

"Recon?" Kami hesitated momentarily to let her thoughts catch up to her. The move made too much sense for her to object outright. The vast majority of her squad were training or had trained in combat engineering, while Angel was quickly learning sharpshooting and Virius slicing; all were specialties wasted within the cockpit of a tank. Similarly, Iron Horse had recently shown that their skills with tanks were none too hot, whereas their skill on foot using hit and fade tactics against the enemy had kept them alive against all the odds onboard the Rumbler.

Beside her, Angel flashed a lopsided grin, "If anyone's good at not being seen Kams, it'd be us."

Kami hesitated again, letting her gaze slide back to Rizzit's, "So if we lose the tanks, what do we get?"

Rizzit's grin was now identical to Angel's, "I'll show you."


*        *        *        *        *        *       

Kami circled around the sleek black craft before her, admiring its curves and lines. The 5000 racer speeder bike seemed to glare back, comfortable in its superiority as one of the fastest speeder bikes the galaxy had to offer.

"Wow." Angel breathed, running a hand along the saddle, "You can keep my tank for sure."

"These have been modified to carry a single blaster cannon, so they aren't without firepower." Rizzit stood within the center of the large warehouse, his dark gaze watching Kami carefully, "What do you think Sergeant?"

Kami flicked her eyes to him, allowing a mischievous smile to tug at her lips,"What else?"

Rizzit strode forward to meet the challenge, snatching a crowbar from the floor of the warehouse as he did so. Moving throughout the nine speeder bikes sitting uncovered beneath the weak artificial light of the warehouse, he stopped at a large unmarked crate. Hooking one end of the crowbar beneath the crate's lid, he heaved down, splintering the wood with a loud crack. Tossing the lid and the crowbar aside, he reached within the crate and pulled an object free. He tossed the object to Kami, who reacted quickly to catch it. Angel walked forwards to look over Kami's shoulders as she rolled the object about in her hands, coming face to face with the visored yet modified face of a stormtrooper. The helmet was unmarked, and colored in a non-reflective layer of black.

"Storm Commando armor," Rizzit said, leaning against the crate, "Utilized by Nightstalker and Wraith Squad, both of which have had a great deal of success with it."

"Why not scout armor?" Angel asked, "That's generally what recon squads wear."

"Because I don't want you to be seen Sergeant," Rizzit responded, "You go trekking around in bright white armor on Cepany, you not only mark yourself as Vast Empire soldiers, but Vast Empire soldiers who are sticking their noses in where they shouldn't. You move in disguise or in this armor. You hit and fade, you scout out their organization, hurt them where you can safely do so, then report back to me."

"We'll need training," Kami said suddenly, "I don't doubt the adaptability of my men, but this is all new equipment that we can't afford to jumble with in enemy territory."

Rizzit dipped his head in agreement, "You're still a relatively untested squad, so I'm willing to give you two weeks to make yourselves into an elite infiltration and sabotage unit."

Angel let out a brief, sarcastic laugh, "That should be easy."

Kami tore her eyes from the helmet within her hands, "We always like a challenge Angel."

Her ASL winked, "That we do."

Rizzit walked over from the crate to stand before the Horsey's, "So, does this mean you think that Iron Horse being recon is a good idea?"

Kami tucked the helmet under her arm, "Already have training regimes set out sir."

"Good," Rizzit chuckled as he motioned at the remaining crates, "Other goodies in there for you to sort through."  As he turned and began to make his way to the warehouse entrance, the Major paused to call over his shoulder, "Come see me in two weeks."


*        *        *        *        *        *

The next day, Kami stood easily before her squad within a large domed training room. And beside her, stood an unusual looking human sized droid..."HK-47," Kami said in a way of introduction, tilting her chin towards the droid, "He's&ah&an assassin droid who's become aware as of late."

JR crossed his arms over his chest, "Aware?"

The droid's glowing eyes trailed over to lock onto the Sergeant, who gazed back curiously, "You mean, beyond what he's been programmed to do?"

Kami nodded, "According to the training officer, he's quite capable of recognizing a range of objectives. So...he's taken a place in the squad."

Virius, who was crouched nearby let out a dubious laugh, "A droid? Acting as a scout?"

"More like a bullet shield," Varron muttered, provoking a few laughs from the other members of the squad.

"I think you'll find," Kami continued, unperturbed, "That he'll come in handy in the field." The finality of her statement saw the room fade once again into silence. 

"Ok." Kami let her gaze sweep her squad, "So you've probably all gathered that the first test is a simulation. I'll hand you over to Eviscares, as he designed this simulation primarily for Iron Horse."  Kami stepped back to allow the newly promoted Fire Team Captain to step forward

Feeling a bit uneasy at first, Eviscares calmed himself and began: "Thank you Kami. As everyone might know, some of the most vital skills of a recon squad include intrusion, evasion and proper extraction. In this exercise we will train in urban terrain, which is considered to be one of the most dangerous terrains at all."

Each squad member nodded in agreement, in basic Stormtrooper training they had discovered that urban terrain was double edged. It was easy to move unseen, but it was also a prime environment for ambushes at every corner, up every roof and in every building.

As Eviscares went on, he pushed a small button on a remote control he held, and a map appeared at one of the walls. "This is the imaginary city of Northtrens.  It is currently held by New Republic forces, yet is under siege by the Vast Empire. Iron Horse has recently led a hit and fade mission in which the landing field was successfully destroyed. Unfortunately, during the attack, an accompanying squad lost one of their troopers." The map shifted to zoom in on a small building on the other side of the city. "Objective Beta is the former police station on planet in which the lost trooper is suspected of being held."

The projected map zoomed back out again, panning to a location marked Delta. "Now, there is a simulated version of Wraith Squad standing by for his extraction at this point. Our job will be to infiltrate the city by inflatable boat on the river from Point Alpha. From there we will have to find a point to land and destroy the boat. The vessel will have to be sunk so that it doesn't attract attention. From there, we break into fire teams and scout out the area surrounding the police station. We will be providing Intel about troop locations, security measures, and communications systems to the awaiting 'Wraith Squad'. This Intel is what will measure our success or failure at this mission."

Eyes were rubbed all over the room as the map dissolved from the screen and the briefing room's lights came back to life. From her seat next to Angel, Kami gave Eviscares a sharp look. "And how do we get out of the city?"

"That's where the fun comes in," the Lance Corporal replied with a smile on his face "we will have to improvise a way to get out of the city. Any other questions?"

Leaning forward, Angel spoke, "What are our mission parameters for detection? When do we fail?"

"If any garrison is alerted to our presence, mission over." Eviscares replied, his smile turning into a fiendish grin. "I worked up a real doosey for us. We only have two weeks to prepare ourselves, so if this mission seems tough...it is." Nodding to Kami, the Fire Team Captain took his seat as the rest of the command staff too center stage.

"Evis is right boys." Kami said, turning to face the squad. "We don't have a lot of time. This mission is something we're more than likely going to run into soon. So let's get it work on getting it right ok?"

A thunderous "AYE!" roared from the assembled Horseys, followed by some excited hissing on the part of Varron. Angel raised his hands for silence, then began his brief.

"The fire teams for this mission will be as follows. Kami will lead JR, Varron, and Howmi on Fire Team Charlie. I will be leading Evis, HK, and Virius on Fire Team Gamma. Charlie will approach from the east, Gamma from the west. Now, moving on to equipment." Pausing to produce a small comlink from his right breast pocket, Angel held the device up for all to see and continued, "There are the Hush-88 comlinks. With these we can stay in limited contact, rather than having to maintain total radio silence for the mission. If we use them too much, however, the NR troops will detect the encrypted signal, so be cautious."

Turning towards his Squad Leader, Angel nodded his completion.  "I know you all have questions, but save them for the mission. Everyone gear up, simulation will start in 10 minutes."





  -----------------------
Iron Horse Squad
SL/SSG Kami/1SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE [LoR] [CoR] [IG] [GCA] [BC]
TRN/KAD Kami/Training 1-3/VEDJ/VE
-=Surrender to your darkest dreams, and you'll live as you've never lived before...=-

(o^_^o)

God I hate simulators Angel lamented as the virtual water splashed over the bow of the boat to cover his helmet. His hatred wasn't borne out of the missions themselves, but by the handicap they put on him. As he started growing in the Force, Angel began to find that he had become more and more dependant on his abilities. Sharpshooting became alot easier when using the Force, as he could anticipate movements and clear his mind.

All of that was nullified in a simulator.

A black stone bridge, silhoutted by pale light from the single moon of the planet, rushed overhead. Checking his small datapad, Angel found they were almost to their destination. Raising his hand, he signaled his team to ready themselves. A quick glace to his left revealed the second of the two boats, lead by Kami, bouncing its way through the choppy waters. Activating the Light Enhancers in his armor's helmet, he  turned his attention back up the river and spotted their landing zone.

"Evis, point Alpha is 200 meters ahead, one o'clock." Angel said quietly to the boat's pilot." the junior trooper nodded affirmative and gently adjusted the boat's course towards their destination. The second boat followed suit, dropping a bit behind to stagger their arrival times.

When their distance shrank to 20 metes, Angel signaled Eviscares to cut the motors. The boat slowed to a drift, crawling silently towards the shore. In front of the boat appeared a small rocky outcropping leading up to the base of a short wall. Reaching into the bottom of the small water-borne craft, Angel picked up his Whisper Subsonic Sniper Rifle by the muzzle. Just as the nose of the boat contacted the outcropping, he leapt, landing in a crouch on the shore. He quickly spun and secured the boat, allowing the others to disembark. Virius was the first off, creeping up to the wall, sensor equipment in hand. HK clunked off, his metallic body gleaming slightly in the dim moonlight. Eviscares came off last, brandishing a vibroblade. As he stepped off, he jammed the blade into the inflated portion of the boat. Losing air with a quiet *whoosh*, their small boat sank to the bottom of the river.

Slipping his right arm through the sling of his rifle, Angel motioned for Gamma Team to take up cover positions on the wall, securing the site for Charlie's landing. Virius gave him the all clear sign, indicating he picked up no transmissions or life forms in the general vicinity. Nodding his approval, the Team Leader set up his bipod on top of the wall and activated the illuminated scope, a single thought repeating in his mind.

God I hate simulators...
 
-----------------------
Senior Sergeant Jikkyo "Angel" Nimiichi
=[Arrogant Elitist]=
AS-2/ASL/SSG Jikkyo "Angel" Nimiichi/Iron Horse Squad/WildCard/Phoenix/Dragon/ Osiris/Army/VE [LoR] [RoM] [BC] [CDS] [WM] [GRoM] {BoA}
------------------------
The Angel of Death
CM/DJK Jikkyo "Angel" Nimiichi/Eagle 1-1/Sith/VEDJ/VE/Lopen [VP:1]
------------------------
He who sheds man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed. The three shall spread their blackened wings and be the vengeful striking hammer of God..

      Gavyn landed softly on the ground at the base of the wall, making little noise. Gavyn stood up straight and looked around. There were several stormtroopers looking in his direction, raising their blasters in his direction. Gavyn looked behind him for help from his new squad leader, but did not see her.
      Gavyn put up two fingers, making the peace sign. "Uhh... peace?"
 
-----------------------
"A painless lesson, is one without any meaning. One who does not sacrifice anything, cannot achieive anything."

Private First Class Gavyn Kanu
Iron Horse Squad
TRP/PFC Gavyn/1SQD/1PLT/COMP/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE [LoR]

Gavyn reached the other side of the street and found himself in a dark ally. Looking around he saw rubble from the building scattered across the ground. I will have to remember to watch my step.... In front of him the rest of the team continued down the ally. There was another rumble in the distance, getting louder as they continued on there way. Ahead was another street crossing there path. A window or two gave of a faint glow as they approached. A curtain rustled and for a brief second Gavyn could see a fearful face peering out at them. The second they were spotted the face hid itself again.

Gavyn felt awkward in his white Stormtrooper armor, while the rest of the team were all wearing black armor, hardly visible in the night. The Rebels can probably see me a mile away... The team stopped at the next opening as the Lizard man flicked his tongue in the air.

"There are civilians in a few of these houses," he reported.
"Yes, I have seen one of them already," said Kami. "Proceed with caution," She warned.

The five "Horseys" dashed across the intersection, and back into almost complete darkness. Horsey...? Is that what she called me? Wierd... Gavyn tripped over one of the pieces of brick that were scattered across their path. Gavyn stuck out his hand just in time to catch himself on the wall. The entire team looked around at him raising their blasters slightly "Uh.... sorry," Gavyn whispered. If I could see the look on their faces... I bet they're all really mad. I'm not making a very good impression... Damn boots...
 
-----------------------
"A painless lesson, is one without any meaning. One who does not sacrifice anything, cannot achieive anything."

Private First Class Gavyn Kanu
Iron Horse Squad
TRP/PFC Gavyn/1SQD/1PLT/COMP/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE [LoR]

Gamma team crept silently up the winding stairwell of the building. Personal items were strewn about, as the inhabitants had fled once the Imperial assault had began. A single holopanel flickered on and off at the top of the stairwell, giving a strobe effect to the fire team's movements. Angel motioned for Virius to come to the front. Leaning towards the junior sergeant he whispered. "You take point. Keep those scanners going. If something moves, I want to know about it."

"Roger that" Virius responded. Slinging his E-11 back across his shoulder, he stepped in front of the team leader and made his way silently up the stairs. Angel was two paces behind him, eyes seraching the darkness ahead for any sign of an adversary. Hk-47 was directly behind him, his photoreceptors easily adjusting to the dim lighting. A light stream of water began to drip down the center of the stairwell's opening, forboding of the beginnings of rain outside.

Suddenly Virius halted, holding his free hand in a closed fist to warn the others to stop. Angel crept forward to his side, and Virius put his sensor equipment up to his leader's faceplate. "Two, top floor. Bio's indicate human." The slicer whispered.

"Roger that." Retreating down the stairs a few steps, he approached Eviscares. "Two humans, top floor. Take HK and act accordingly. If they are a threat, take them down."

Evis merely nodded in acknowldgement and moved ahead, tapping HK on what served as its shoulder. The droid, with surprising stealth for something of its weight and proportions, followed the young Lance Corporal up the stairs. Angel checked his datapad, which gave him a real time display of their proximity to the station. This is taking too long...

"Kami," Angel whispered into his hush-98 comlink, "What's your status and position?"
 
-----------------------
Senior Sergeant Jikkyo "Angel" Nimiichi
=[Arrogant Elitist]=
AS-2/ASL/SSG Jikkyo "Angel" Nimiichi/Iron Horse Squad/WildCard/Phoenix/Dragon/ Osiris/Army/VE [LoR] [RoM] [BC] [CDS] [WM] [GRoM] {BoA}
------------------------
The Angel of Death
CM/DJK Jikkyo "Angel" Nimiichi/Eagle 1-1/Sith/VEDJ/VE/Lopen [VP:1]
------------------------
He who sheds man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed. The three shall spread their blackened wings and be the vengeful striking hammer of God..

Verron disappeared over the side of the building silently. Gavyn looked around at the view from the rooftops it was incredible. Having grown up in the jungle, Gavyn had rarely seen buildings larger than a single story, and the house were scattered. Here however the buildings rose hundreds of storys tall, and they were all jammed together. This doesn't look like a very comfortable city to live in... everything's so close.

Verron reappeared on the side of the building and hissed "vehicles acquired sir."

"Good job soldier," whispered Kami as they walked over to Varron. "How far?"

Varron answered quickly, "Three buildings to your right."

Varron disappeared down the wall again as Kami signaled for her troops  to come closer. "Were going to jump from building to building, we can't risk being seen," she said. They all nodded their heads and backed away  from the wall several steps. "Gavyn, you first,"
Kami said, "You can do it."

Finally, something I can do well. Gavyn looked at the distance and smiled. Gavyn could jump far distances easily, having grown up in the jungle, jumping from tree to tree, this would be simple. Gavyn dashed to the edge and jumped, soaring over the gap and landing several feet from the edge of the next building. Gavyn turned around and waited
for the rest of the team.
 
-----------------------
"A painless lesson, is one without any meaning. One who does not sacrifice anything, cannot achieive anything."

Private First Class Gavyn Kanu
Iron Horse Squad
TRP/PFC Gavyn/1SQD/1PLT/COMP/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE [LoR]

"Figures."

Angel sighed audibly at the news from Eviscares. Out of all the buildings in the city, they just happened to pick one with a squad stationed in it. According to the markings on the walls, the fire team was only three floors from the top level of the batle ravaged building. "Virius," Angel said, calling the Sergeant to him, "I need to know where those troops are."

Nodding, Virius produced his laptop, which had been carefully strapped to his back. From there, he slung his field pack around to his front side and carefully removed a delicate looking piece of equipment. The roughly meter-and-a-half long pole ended with two small sensor arrays. Jacking this into his laptop, Virius extended the pole to its full 3 meter height. he tapped furiously away at the keys on his computer, starting up the sensor package for the SE-vigilant array.

"We're online boss." Virius whispered, turning the laptop so Angel could get a better look at the display screen. A Three-Dimensional read-out of the building popped up as the sensors probed the area. After a few seconds, about half a dozen humaoid life forms appeared on the screen.

Angel pointed to the red tinted objects and said, "Looks like they're on the roof." He nodded to Virius, who turned the laptop back to face him and resumed his furious typing. "OK boys." Angel continued, "We have two options: First, we head down the stairs and enter an adjacent building."

A low groan eminated from Eviscares. "Why can't we just go up there and knife them in the back?"

Fighting back a grin from underneath his helmet, Angel rolled his eyes and said, "That was option two. Now, with op-"

"You can forget option one sarge." Virius exclaimed. He had been in the process of collapsing the sensor array when his computer had beeped. "We have a approximately a dozen life forms entering the ground floor. Seems its shift change."

Eviscares' heart skipped a beat...A shift change means those two we killed will be missed...

"Evis..."

Hearing his name called snapped the Lance Corporal's attention back to the present. "You ok Evis?" Angel repeated.

"Yeah, boss. We just might have a *slight* problem," he replied sheepishly. "This shift change means the two men I killed will turn up missing."

"Sir." HK interrupted. "If I may interject. I believe I have a solution to our problem..."


*                          *                      *

"Hurry up men! The sooner we get on post the sooner we can go back to our bunks."

A weary affirmative resonated from the squad in response to Lieutenant DeVries weak attempt at levity. The mixed group of nine humans, a bothan, and two wookies clambored noisily up the stairs of the former luxury apartment complex. As their ranks started to diminish with the ongoing conflict with the Imperials, the length of their duties had almost doubled. The prolonged fighting had the troops worn down, tired, and ragged...the eight flights of stairs they had to climb wasn't helping things.

Lieutenant DeVries, promoted recently to Squad Leader after the previous one had been incinerated by a turbolaser, sighed loudly as he lead the squad up the stairs. As he passed a doorway on the fifth floor, he could feel his hair stand on end...as if something was watching him. He stopped and peered into the darkness of the doorway...but saw nothing. All of his senses told him something was out of place...but he couldn't quite place it...

"Sir?" One of his troopers asked. "What it is?"

Peering once more into the impenetrable darkness, DeVries shivered and turned away. "Its nothing. Just tired."

The new Republlic Squad continued to trudge its way up the final three flights, leaving the doorway behind them. As soon as they were out of sight, three black clad figures and one droid melted from the darkness of the doorway and silently crept after their adversaries.

As they reached the seventh floor, they could hear laughter and the dull *thwack* of a boot hitting flesh.

"Hahaha. These two dogs are passed out drunk on duty! What kind of squad do you run here Altman?" Angel recognized the voice of DeVries immediately, having stared the man in the face at the doorway.

"Ugh...they spilled it all over their equipment and sleeping bags too." Another voice said.

"Just leave them here. They'll be court martialed when the come to." A man Angel assumed to be 'Altman' said. "I just want to get back to base and have a hot meal for once."

"Well you can forget it." DeVries replied. "The cooks were killed in the latest assault, so..."

Motioning for his squad to continue up the stairs and onto the roof, Angel made a note to raise his opinion of the assassin droid slightly. The droid had come up with the idea to douse the dead men in their liquor, and arrange them sprawled out on the floor, with their sleeping bags covering just the wounds Evis inflicted upon them. In the end...they just looked like to passed out drunks...and the NR troops had bought it...
 
-----------------------
Senior Sergeant Jikkyo "Angel" Nimiichi
=[Arrogant Elitist]=
AS-2/ASL/SSG Jikkyo "Angel" Nimiichi/Iron Horse Squad/WildCard/Phoenix/Dragon/ Osiris/Army/VE [LoR] [RoM] [BC] [CDS] [WM] [GRoM] {BoA}
------------------------
The Angel of Death
CM/DJK Jikkyo "Angel" Nimiichi/Eagle 1-1/Sith/VEDJ/VE/Lopen [VP:1]
------------------------
He who sheds man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed. The three shall spread their blackened wings and be the vengeful striking hammer of God..

The spotlight spun towards them, revealing the four Horsey's position. The three rebels stared at them, stuned that there had been people lurking in the shadows watching their every move. Howmi saw the stunned faces of the rebels and fired, watching as the closest one collapsed to the ground. This drew the two remaining rebels' gazes upwards towards the rooftoops.

Seizing the oppurtunity, Kami ordered the Horsey's to advance. She and Gavyn headed towards the newer speeder, while JR and Varron went towards the other. Raising her blaster Kami shot out the searchlight plunging the street into darkness.  Just as the two remaining rebels turned back towards the advancing Horsey's Howmi fired again, causing another one to collapse, he then finished of the last rebel, and turned his blaster towards the speeders. Reaching the older speeder, JR and Varron jumped into the back. Good thing these were roofless, he thought to himself as he pulled out one of his daggers. He quikly sliced the throat of the rebel in the passanger seat, while Varron broke the neck of the driver.

"We've taken controll of our speeder," JR told Kami through the comlink.

"Good," came the reply, "We've gotten this one as well." She then looked towards the rooftop where Howmi was situated, "Howmi," she said, "Mission accomplished, you can come down now."

"Roger that," came the reply from Howmi. JR heard a thud, then footsteps, and Howmi's face appeared along side the speeder.

"Before we can get moving," Kami told her squad, "We've got to hide the bodies. We can't leave any hints to our existance.  With that the five Horsey's got out of the speeders and hid the corpses of the three rebels that Howmi had shot, and the four rebels from the speeders.  After the last corpse had been taken care of, the five Horsey's got back into the speeders, Kami and Gavyn in the newer one and JR, Varron and Howmi in the older one eager to get going.
 
-----------------------
Senior Seargent JR Iron Horse Squad

SSGT/JR/1SQD/1PLT/COMP/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE [LoR]
"And the battles just begun. There's many lost but tell me who has won." -> U2

Gavyn seemed more than comfortable behind the wheel of the newer speeder. He let out a low whistle as soon as they entered the driver and passenger compartment, bending to admire the leather interior, "This is nice."

Kami slid into the passenger seat next to him, pulling the soft top down with her, "It looks pretty, but we'll see how it lasts after what we put it through."

Ahead of the two Horsey's, Varron, Howmi and JR were slowly accelerating the older speeder, attempting to turn it about on the small stretch of road between warehouse buildings.

"Lead the way," She told Gavyn, "But be careful not to lose them."

The young private nodded, easily spun the agile speeder about, then began to drive back in the direction the patrol had emerged from, the other speeder trailing in their wake. They reached the end of the street and a T-junction in which Gavyn turned right at Kami's direction. Two more left's and a right later they stumbled across the very end of the industrial district...and the first of the other patrols. This patrol was larger than the one they had encountered, consisting of a entire squad of footsoldiers, and three military grade repulsortanks, all of which were hovering at the large gates marking the entrance to the district. Cursing softly, Kami leaned forward, slapping off the interior lighting which she had been using to direct the Horsey's and plunging the speeder into darkness.

"Try to act inconspicious," She murmured into the comlink of her helmet before pulling it free and shaking out her long black hair. Gavyn glanced across at his squad leader and did the same, pulling his pure white helmet free to reveal a shocking case of helmet hair. Kami bit back a grimace, then scrambled about the back of the speeder for anything to help cover Gavyn's uniform. Stumbling across a med-blanket, Kami threw it to the private, then hurriedly gestured for him to swap positions with her. With a few groans and bumps, they managed to swap places, Kami sliding behind the driver's seat just as their speeder rolled up to the gates.

A tall Republic soldier strode forward, another trooper hovering lazily at his shoulder with his rifle half raised. Kami brought to speeder to a smooth halt, then slapped the button to slide the window down. The trooper rested an arm on the speeder, then ducked his head to peer into the interior. Thanks to the darkness, Kami's armor was virtually invisible...whislt Gavyn, had curled himself up beneath the med blanket in the passenger seat and was groaning softly.

"What happened to him?" The trooper asked, one furry eyebrow arching, "Did you run into somebody?"

"The idiot fell into a ditch, broke his leg," Kami replied, turning her upper body slighty so as to hide Gavyn further from view, "We need to get him to medical bay."

Hoping desperately that the trooper wouldn't raise the flashlight within his hand to look about the interior of the speeder, Kami watched the tall soldier glance briefly at his friend before addressing her again, "Why didn't you send one of the speeders back and keep the other on patrol? That..., " He paused to hiss the next word, "...traitor...is still out there."

Kami let a hint of irritation creep into her voice, "Look, we finished our sweep. There's nothing out there. Besides, it seems kind of pointless keeping us tied up out where when he's obviously moved on."

The trooper rocked thoughtfully back on his heels, then glanced suspiciously at the other speeder. Kami tensed within her seat, certain that at any second the Republic soldier would sound the alarm and have them blown into little pieces. And it was at that time exactly that Varron chose to pop his scaled head out of the window and let out a fierce snarl, 'What's the damm hold up?"

Kami could almost see the New Republic trooper's thoughts as they flashed across his face. Why would Imperials be hanging around with a Trandoshan?

With a slight shrug, he turned to the soldiers at the gate and gestured, "Let them past."

After a great deal of shouting, one of the tanks rolled forward, providing a big enough gap for the two speeders to move through. Briefly thanking the Empire's xenophobic origins, Kami gunned the engine and accelerated through, past the patrol and onto the bare stretch of road ahead. After they'd travelled for a few hundred meters, Gavyn cast his blanket aside, revealing his white armor once more, "This is one hell of a simulator." He grinned.

Smiling at the private's enthusiasm, Kami kept her eyes on the road as they came towards the dark grey mass that could only signify the second of the city's rivers.

"How do we get over?" Kami muttered, her eyes sweeping the river for a bridge of any kind.

Gavyn's eyes, still uncovered by his helmet, practically lit up with excitement, "Ah, we swim?"

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Iron Horse Squad
SL/SSG Kami/1SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE [LoR] [CoR] [IG] [GCA] [BC]
TRN/KAD Kami/Training 1-3/VEDJ/VE
-=Surrender to your darkest dreams, and you'll live as you've never lived before...=-

(o^_^o)

The five Horseys stood on the bank of the river, abandoned speeders idling on the bank above. Gavyn looked at the water, flowing slowly, reflecting the stars above them.Gavyn then looked at Kami, "Can I go first?"

"Go ahead," Kami replied.

Gavyn dove headfirst into the water. Besides jumping from trees, swimming was Gavyn's favorite thing to do. Gavyns body cut smoothly through the water. The distance was not short but the rest of his team saw him appear on the other side shortly. Gavyn took his helmet off and waved for them to fallow.

When the rest of the Horseys where on the other side, they found Gavyn waiting at the top of the bank, leaning against the crumbled wall of a building that once stood, and listening for rebels. Kami arrived next to him and asked, "Any sound of more patrols?"

"No," Gavyn answered, "This area seems quiet."

"Good, I don't want any more run-ins with the Rebels. Varron, what do you smell."The Lizard-Man took of his helmet and flicked his tongue in the air. After a few second he answered, "Were good to go."

Kami lead her troops past a pile of rubble, then through a small street. Suddenly a energy bolt hits the ground next to Gavyns foot. Gavyn trips and rolls away from a second shot. "Hide, they can only see me," Gavyn managed, before scrambling to his feet and dashing away from the team. Gavyn slid behind a partial rock wall and grabbed his comlink.

"Someone get that sniper off my ass," Gavyn yelled into it. He picked up his blaster and pointed it in the general direction the shots were coming from.

Gavyn huddled at the base of the wall. Picking up a white rock from the ground Gavyn tossed it above the wall, and seconds later little pieces of the same rock rained down on him.Yup, He's still out there.

"We will stall him, get back over here," Gavyn heard over the comlink.

Gavyn looked around the side of the wall and saw where his team was shooting. Gavyn dashed out from behind the wall and ran unusually fast toward his team. Gavyn rolled headfirst behind the wall the rest of the Horseys were behind and landed in a crouch. "What are we going to do?" Gavyn asked.
 
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"A painless lesson, is one without any meaning. One who does not sacrifice anything, cannot achieive anything."

Private First Class Gavyn Kanu
Iron Horse Squad
TRP/PFC Gavyn/1SQD/1PLT/COMP/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE [LoR]

"First things first," Kami said looking at Gavyn, "We need to get you out of that stormtroopers armour. Since we don't have any extra unis, your going to have to put on that civilans clothes until we can find something better for you."

Looking at the civilan sniper that had just been killed, Gavyn realized that it could have been worse. Other than the three blaster holes in the shirt, the clothes were dark brown and would blend reasonably well with whatever shadows the five Horsey's would have to work with.

After Gavyn had changed, the Horsey's crept towards the inner-city, staying close to the buildings and using any back-alley way that they could find. As they reached the outskirts of the inner-city they saw that the borders were being heavily guarded by rebel search speeders, and squads.

Gathering behind and apartment building Kami racked her brain for a plan to get through the guard.

"Listen up Horsey's," she said to her squad, "This is what we're going to do.  Howmi, I want you to get to the top of this building and keep a lookout. Meanwhile, the rest of us are going to split up and look for a back-alley or underground passage that will get us past these rebels."  Howmi nodded and took off into the building.

"Gavyn and I will go that way," she continued pointing across the street, "JR and Varron, I want you two to continue down this alley and see where it takes you." The two Horsey's acknowledged then took off into the shadows.   
 
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Senior Seargent JR Iron Horse Squad

SSGT/JR/1SQD/1PLT/COMP/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE [LoR]
"And the battles just begun. There's many lost but tell me who has won." -> U2

Three black armored figures dropped silently the last ten feet to the ground from their ropes. Landing in a crouch, oens signaled for a gold plated droid to beginhis descent. As the ancient assassin made his way down, the three figures spread out, takling covering positions, one behind a broken down speeder, another in a drainage ditch on the side of the road, and the third behind a stack of supply crates. Suprisingly silent for his size and weight, HK-47 dropped the ten feet like the others.

The first trooper turned quizically at the gigantic droid. "Hydrolic shock absorbers." The droid answered in its usual mechanical voice.

Angel shook his head, HK suprised him at every turn, and had actually proven to be useful on the mission thus far. He held his right hand up, signaling for the other two troopers to break cover and head for their target.

The fishingboat turned military watercraft sat swaying gently in the river current. The small waves rocked the small boat back and forth causing the blaster cannons to rotate around and around. Silently, the four Imperials crept aboard, leaping over the railing in the back. Two brandished a worn vibroblade, while the other produced a small satchel of throwing knives. The assassin droid hung back, covering the rear of the boat with his enhanced vision and heavy blaster rifle..

There were two guards stationed on the boat, both of which were enjoying a cigarra at the front. Puffs of smoke rose over their heads, catching the moonlight and creating a goffy haze around the boat. With a knifing motion, Angel signaled Virius and Eviscares to surround he two men. A black cloud rolled over the moon, extinguishing the sole source of light...and Angel called for the attack.

It was both swift and ruthless. Angel dispatched the leftmost guard with a quick swipe to the neck. Catching the man's flopping body, he cast it over the side of the boat into the river, a small pool of red blood slowly dispersing into the gentle current of the river. Virius and Evisscares meanwhile, had trisected their target, and were now wiping their blades clean on the man's clothes.

A dull thumping indicated HK's approach, and the droid soon appeared, giving them a nod of all clear/

"Evis, get us across the river. Take us more to the west, we're too close to Kami's group."

"Roger that Angel." Evis replied, heading for the ship's controls.

"Vir, any luck with that train situation?" Angel asked of his slicer.

"I managed to break into their system, but the only thing I could come up with is that the trains are being prepped for a 'very important shipement.' But no cargo is listed, only peronnel..." SHaking his head, the young sergeant muttered, "I just don't get it."

Special cargo? Angel wondered to himself...could it be... our objective?
 
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=[Arrogant Elitist]=
AS-2/ASL/SSG Jikkyo "Angel" Nimiichi/Iron Horse Squad/WildCard/Phoenix/Dragon/ Osiris/Stormtrooper Corps/Vast Empire [LoR] [RoM] [BC] [CDS] [WM] [GRoM] {BoA}
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The Angel of Death
CM/DJK Jikkyo "Angel" Nimiichi/Eagle 1-1/Sith/Dark Jedi/Vast Empire/Lopen [VP:1]
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He who sheds man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed. The three shall spread their blackened wings and be the vengeful striking hammer of God..

    Virius sat typing furiously on his laptop trying to find any type of surveilance cameras near the train station. At one point and time there were cameras and weapon sensors but now there are none responding.

    "Hey sergeant, I have an idea." Virius whispered for Angel.

    "What do you have in mind?" Angel responded walking behind the slicer.

    "I was thinking about disabling something on the train to maybe slow the departure down." Virius said grinning under his helmet.

    "Good idea, just don't make it anything to suspicious." Angel said, patting Virius once on the shoulder.

    Virius looked back toward his screen and went to work on the systems of the train that had the "special cargo" on it. The old repair logs that were issued before the city became under siege state that the a few of the repulsors on some of the cars malfunctioned before.
    Typing in a bunch of commands, Virius made the train system shut down random repulsor lifters that would prevent the train from leaving the station.

    "Angel, I have prevented the train from leaving on time but this will only delay them at most for about an hour. They will, hopefully, put the system in a repair diagnostic mode which takes about 50 minutes. Then they will have to start and the system again which will take about 10 minutes." Virius explained.

    "Good work, hopefully that will be enough time for us to find our objective and extract them." Angel stated them taking out his comlink.
 
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Staff Sergeant
Frank "Virius" Carter
Combat Slicer
Executive Officer - Iron Horse Squad
ASL/SSG Virius/1SQD/1PLT/COMP/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE [LoR] [ES1] [WM]
"Duckie!" -- Dr. Mallard
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Mr. VE/Mr. VE Virius/Show Host/VE Today Show/VE/VET

Virius quickly but very quietly eased the rebel to the ground.  He then drug the limp body around the near wall and laid it in the shadows.  He took a quick glance around and then made his way back onto the boat.  Angel gave him a nod and said "Good job."  After Virius looked settled Eviscares started the boat and quickly increased the throttle.

The boat sprayed water up the sides and skipped thru the water rather quietly for it having an old motor.  Jinx looked around the boat, at the nearing riverbank and then at the other members of the team.  I've heard stories of stormtroopers in large battles but this, he glanced around again, you never hear about.  I thought I was going to fight along the side of numerous other companies in large battles that we would take control of quickly, not a recon mission with fi Jinx's thoughts were abruptly cut off and he was brought back to reality by the soft bump of the boat shoring itself on the riverbank.

"HK can you give me a quick scan of the area" Angel quietly said.  Jinx watched as the droids head looked to the left and made a steady turn to the right.  "Sir, I'm picking up three figures 73 meters at our two o'clock" replied the droid.  "Ok let's move quickly but stay out of sight.  We'll split up.  I will take HK and Exar.  Virius, you take Eviscares and Jinx.  You take your team around left, we'll come up to the right" ordered Angel.  Virius nodded and gave the signal for his team to move out.

 
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TRP/PFC Jinx/1SQD/1PLT/COMP/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE [LoR]

Bare minutes later...Kami found what she'd been looking for. Turning, she gestured at Gavyn, who was sitting with his back up against the sewerage tunnel they were currently in, looking a very violent shade of green.

"This way Gavyn. I can see light."

With a soft groan, the Private pulled himself to his feet and stumbled forwards until he stood at his SL's side. Blinking his eyes, he gazed apprehensively at the small dot of white visible in the distance, "It can't be day already can it?"

"No," Kami's eyes flicked briefly to her chrono, "We've only been down here ten minutes."

Gavyn nodded, one hand clasped over his stomach, "Security lights."

Kami didn't answer, already making her way swiftly and silently up the steep rise of the tunnel towards the light. She had tried once again to contact her squad moments before, yet had found herself once again greeted by the raspy hiss of static. An unnatural sound indeed to be issuing from a Hush comlink. She could only hope that JR, Varron and Howmi had remained undetected and found a less...unhygienic...method of entering the security grid.

The light before the Horsey's continued to grow as they made their way towards it, until suddenly, Gavin let out a soft sigh of relief at her shoulder,

"Fresh air!" He exclaimed in a whisper, grinning, "Sweet fresh air!"

At Kami's brief signal to remain silent from now on, the private let the grin slide from his face to be replaced by a vigilant expression. Outside...the wind was picking up, carrying with it the sounds of an active area of the city. As they continued to edge forwards, the tunnel grew smaller, the light revealing itself as a large spotlight that stood guard alongside others about the perimeter of the security fence.

Reaching the entrance to the drain, Kami slowly rolled onto her armored stomach, and risked a glance about her. To her right was the steel perimeter fence, the top bristling with barbed wire and smaller lights. To her left...was the rear of the checkpoint.  Soldiers moved up and down the barricade, some carrying clipboards, some, rifles. At their backs, an assortment of tanks sat like giant shelled beasts upon the cracked tar, their weapons pointed ominously forward to those that dared to approach the barrier into the inner city.

Pulling back, Kami resisted the urge to talk to Gavyn. They were inside, though they must have doubled back to land up right behind the entrance. Here, anything audible could get them caught in an instant. Motioning to Gavyn to stay put, Kami risked another quick look, mentally adding up the significant Rebel force before her. Storing away the information in the back of her mind, Kami hovered half hidden for a few more seconds, observing the procedure of entry and the path of a foot patrol as it wound its way about the perimeter fence. Dropping back, Kami hesitated to ensure that every detail was memorized, then gestured again to Gavyn.

They would have to drop back, and wind their way further into the city and closer to their target. Seemingly picking up on Kami's plan, Gavyn's expression crumbled. Stifling another sigh, the Private paused at the entrance of the drainage pipe, eyes scanning the small bunker near the barricade in which Republic officer's were visible, before turning and following his squad leader back into the foul smelling darkness.

 
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Iron Horse Squad
SL/SSG Kami/1SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE [LoR] [CoR] [IG] [GCA] [BC]
TRN/KAD Kami/Training 1-3/VEDJ/VE
-=Surrender to your darkest dreams, and you'll live as you've never lived before...=-

(o^_^o)