(Good Post Toki!!!)

Jen sat comfortably, the front legs of her chair inches off the floor, as her eyes scanned across the page. This was her first time to able to sit down and relax in awhile. In her left hand was a small book and in her right was a cold glass of water. 

She took a small sip from her glass and glanced up from her text as felt the table shift as someone sat down. It was Shazam. He shifted in his seat and placed an arm on an empty spot upon the table.

"Hey, Shazam. What's up?" Jen stretched her arms above her head and set her book down on the seat beside her.

"We've received new recruits to the squadron. I want you and your flight to go see your new member." His shoulders relaxed as he leaned in towards her.

"They're here already?" Jen's eyebrows furrowed. We haven't been here for that long and they've already sent us new recruits to replace the ones we just lost? I guess we're going to be sent out again very soon..

"Yes. I need you to find Darius and DJ and meet her. I think she will make a good addition to Nazgul." He smiled and pushed himself up from his chair.

"She?? We have a girl in the Squad??" She ran her hands through her hair and began to pick her stuff scattered on and around the table.

"Mh mh. A girl. I believe she's 19, a little younger than you. Since you two are the only girls in Nazgul, make her feel welcome. The rest of Nazgul will be up with you shortly. I'll talk to you later." The Squadron leader saluted and started towards another group of people.

Jen saluted and sunk in her chair and began to pick up the random items around her.A girl in the squadron?? In my flight??! Wow...this is gonna be cool...or it could be be absolutely horrible.. let's hope her attitude is good and that she can take orders, but I'm not too worried. Shaz would have warned me if he thought that she would be any trouble. Right?!...

Knight shrugged on her bag and fell back against its weight. "Next time, I'm definitely bringing a smaller bag..feels like I'm back at the Flight Academy."  She found Darius at the far corner of the hanger and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey Dar, Shaz and Art want us to meet the new recruits. Let's go."

As they traveled down the narrow hallway, the tapping of their boots followed closely behind them. She placed her folded hands behind her and rested them at the small of her back as they neared the door. Jen slid her ID through the lock of the docking bay, it clicked, and opened automatically. Darius and Jen both stepped in and the door closed behind them.

The girl was sitting down on the left hand side of the dock, her teal eyes gazing onto the TIE fighters located on the other side. As they approuched the girl, she stood up from her seat and stood at attention.

"At ease. No need for formality here. I am Jen Knight, leader of Flight 3. Welcome to Nazgul." She extended her left hand.

The girl shook it and put both her hands in her pockets. "I'm Tokijin, ma'am. I'm in your flight, right?"

Knight smiled. "You can call me Jen, and yes, you are, along with Darius here." She nudged him in the side.

"Hello, Tokijin. I'm Darius."

"Hey." She shifted her weight from side to side as her hand ran through her light brown hair, accented with blue highlights at the tips.

Jen's eyes went wide and she bawled her fists together. " I forgot to get DJ. I'll be back, Tokijin. Darius will gladly keep you company while I'm gone." Not giving anytime for Darius to answer, she turned on her heel and walked out the door. I knew I was forgetting something. Now where is he??
 
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Jen Knight

As Darkness falls, Night unfolds ebon wings to wrap the world in its dark embrace...

Vast Empire Navy
FL/PO1 Jen Knight/Nazgul 9 (3-1)/Wing 1/mSSD Atrus/Defensive Fleet/VEN/VE(=*A*=)(=*SA*=)[VC:B]

  "Finally, Im part of the Imperial Navy", Gladius thought to himself as he arrived to the docking bay aboard Coruscant. Gladius has always wanted to be a fighter pilot for the Imperial Navy and today hes going to get his chance. Wearing his new flight gear and boarding his new fighter he yells "good luck to you" back to Jack.
   
  Gladius now realized nothing would be the same again. He realized that this is the moment he has always been waiting for, a chance to prove himself worthy. "Its do or die, if I choke now, everything I worked for will be nothing more than a waste of time, I've got to prove myself today, I must make my family proud".
 
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Knowledge is power

When she gets her new uniform she sorta pokes at it for a while, wondering why in the worlds they were given new ones.  It'd taken long enough for hers to start feeling comfy, and now a new one?  She would have to get Will for this... grrr... no, Will was thinking about everyone, and that was generally a good thing.  Atleast they hadn't been given new flight helmets.  Last time she'd been given one it was too big and she'd had to hurt some little stormtrooper who said that she had a big head.

She slipped the new uniform on and went to the hangar, carefully moving up onto the racks and then dropping down onto her fighter.  She sat there, on the pylon that connected the ball cockpit to the bent wings.  She kinda liked it up here, because she felt powerful knowing that she commanded this ship, and that should she have to, she could vape anyone.  Her confidence started to return as she looked down at the techs below, working.  She imagined them as Rebels, and she was doing a straffing run.  Their little bodies vaporized before they even knew what hit them.

She started laughing, and as her imagination grew more vivid, she laughed more, gaining stares as she started laughing meniacally.  She couldn't stop until finally she slipped off the pylon, hanging on.  She was quiet for a moment, but then thought her ship was her savior, and started laughing about that too.  She finally had to stop to catch her breath, and by then the techs had a hover platform up to get her down.  She thanked them and then ran quickly out of the hangars, hiding out of sight.  What was wrong with her?  She hoped no one else on the squadron saw her, because she didn't need them thinking she was crazy.  She wasn't... she just wasn't used to these new thoughts about things such as the rebels and all.  It scared her.  She snuck away to find Jen, hopeflly before the ship reverted to real space.

She couldn't find Jen, and she sat down to think.  She needed to have a calm head about her if she was to fly and stay alive.  She realized she was having an anxiety attack, and she immediately went and found a simulator, switching it to a basic flight quiz.  She got in and started her flying, just a standard run that would let her clear her head.  She always thought easier in the cockpit, and soon she felt ok.  It was just flying agains tthose rebels and nearly getting vaped earlier.  She wasn't loosing it, but she needed to be more careful.  She shut the simulator down and returned to her cabin, to catch some sleep before the next mission began.
 
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FM/SCR Linda_Irris/Kaph 10 (3-2)/Phoenix Wing/SSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE (=*A*=)

Trevor was about to fall asleep he was so bored from just examining the hanger, when a few short beeps from his wrist come startled him. He hit a few buttons and a holo of a beautiful girl appeared.

"Hey baby, hows it going?" Trevor asked the holo, which was of his girlfriend of course.

"Not bad, but I think I have somthing to tell you." She said with a sigh.

"O, great...the nerf`s stopped giving milk so you had to slaughter them..right? That or your Kadu died..." He said, sighing and trying to put on a smile.

"No, not quite. I know that what you do keeps me away, and I`m glad you seem to enjoy it, but...I think we should end our relationship and see other people." She said, trying to smile to keep him from being mad.

"Owch, that hurts...Come on, I`m sure we could work somthing out. Maybe we could sell the farm and find a way to get you up here, so we can see eachother more. Maybe get you a job as a chef, or somthing. I know your a great cook." He said, forcing a smile, even though he couldnt believe what was happening.

"Really, you think I`m a good cook. Well, maybe we can sell the farm and try to get me up there. I just wanna keep the Kadu." She said, with a genuine smile this time.

"Alright, well, you try to get the farm and nerfs up for sale, while I work on trying to find a open position on the Atrus for you in the kitchen or somthing..maybe even as cleaning personel if it gets us together." He said with a big grin, and continued. "Alright, I got to go though, We`re going to be starting a mission soon, so wish me luck, bye."

"Goodluck, Bye, Love you." Was the response, before he smiled and turned off his comm.

He stood up for a sec, and stretched his legs, then changed into his flight suit, because he knew it wouldnt be very long until they left, and he was excpecting to see other pilots in the bay soon.

He ran back to the assigned area, and tossed his dufflebag to the corner, then ran back to the bay, with his helmet under his arm. When he arrived, he slowed down, and took a few deep breathes, and noticed a few more pilots, apperently getting themselves and their fighters ready for combat. He walked over to his fighter and started looking around it, checking things over, and examining this or that.
 
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FM/SCRW/Trevor Evenson/Nazgul 1-3/Wing 1/ISD-II Devistator/DEF/VEN/VE/(=*A*=)

(Good)

Shazam had made it a point of his own mock hard ass ways to keep from limping. Truly, that little nudge in the star fighter was more like falling off of a roof onto one of those walkways you normally think of as a safety precaution; the tinge spread up his leg every step he took. He did his best to ignore it, although he ascribed his ability to keep from thinking of his lost Nazgulians to the pain in his leg. The distraction was enough to force him against his own mind in the way a diseased man looks to heal after his sickness has been confirmed. "Oh, I'm dying, best get some vitamins..."

The ensign coughed gruffly as he took a seat at the end of a far table in the hall currently occupied by as many pilots as he'd seen in a long time; it was almost encouraging, a family back together for the holidays, fit most accordingly picture-wise. He hadn't noticed, but Chip was making haste to him and Shazam wasn't sure if he was in the mood. However, once he'd sat down, most of the pain in his leg subsided and a slightly less tensed face took over to welcome Chip. The Aegis leader seemed to think this good enough for an invitation to sit down at the lowly table, it being that way because it seemed almost every single other table was jam-packed with excited aviators, most were new faces to the commanders.

"Sorry to hear about your people," the friend said in his most sincere voice. Shazam didn't need eye contact to understand his old flight member's compassion toward fellow pilots, more than once he'd brought life threatening situations onto himself to relax the stress on others. Not very often, but sometimes, when the light glows right and the mood is lax, Shazam realized he was surrounded by great people. He would have to let the halo effect pass for now though as Chip continued.

"Heard Will made out new insignia for their group, flight suits and everything." And there was one of his weak spots. Despite his excellent heart, Chip didn't always transition the best. To this, Shazam seemed even less sociable, he hadn't moved his head from the craning position since Chip had come over. Then he sat upright, ignoring the twinge from the left leg and said-

"We'll be moving out soon," Shazam made an effort to stand up without changing his facial features, the minute long rest seemed to be adequate as he also spotted Art coming through a side door. "Can't say things'll be better, but lets keep an eye out for each other, alright man?" he slapped Chip on the back, both steadying himself and reassuring the Aegis leader he would be alright. Will appeared directly next to him and started talking about the uniforms which Shazam barely replied to as he turned his head to find Art in the crowd. The room loomed taller and longer than before and his eyes seemed to narrow.

"Talk to you later, man," Chip said and scurried off as slap was made to his own back. Whether it was Chip or Art, Shazam couldn't be sure because their timing was impeccable as the two were right next to him suddenly. Art stayed as the other left though and Shazam turned his attention to the XO.

"Take this, you look like crap," Art was honest enough, thought Shazam as he snatched a thin, but tall cylinder of dark liquid, the outside decorated with gleaming metallic paints. Shazam gave him a look like," You expect me to drink out of something that could probably pay for the repairs to my favorite swoop?" But then decided to down it. He eyed the distance for a moment then chortled as a burning sensation escaped into his body.

"Good stuff... Whadda ya want?" Shazam ponded his fist against his chest, his own hazel eyes coming to life with a light green tint.

"Figured you might wanna know our people haven't been assembled and we should be getting ready for departure in about three minutes..." They didn't actually need to be there in three minutes, but Art did his best not to seem irritated by the lack in attentiveness to preemptive timing, so at least he was trying. Art didn't want to even feel late, which was probably why they seemed to be one of the more ready squadrons in the VEN recently; this little idiosyncrasy was a driving point in their scheduling, which was currently becoming more and more grueling.

The two crossed the room to find another exit closer to a drinks machine, Shazam felt like he'd been through a life threatening version of the common cold and that he required some liquids so he didn't bother to say, "Excuse me," as he shoved through the crowd. Art, doing his best to follow closely behind couldn't help but push his way through an obnoxious bubble-blowing mechanic, trying to think of where he might find his pilots all the while. Shazam on the other hand was beginning to think strategy as he elicited a small can of a soda he'd never tried before from the machine. He babbled about different ships and different drinks but couldn't help but think of how they would comb the planet. They would send out the squadrons as search parties but not have them engage if they were engaged. Same as always. Normally when you find a base its just after the cannons start to fire, and the inclination to shoot back is pretty strong.

Shazam cracked the lid and began to gulp the drink down as Art finally made it through the crowd to rest beside the SC of Nazgul Squadron. He waited for about three seconds, then the can dropped down and Shazam's eyes could be seen again. "That was the worst soda I've ever had..." Art held up another can of the strong substance he'd made him consume earlier, but the SC shook his head and said," lets go find our people."

**Ten Minutes Later**

The two remembered only that they'd sent everyone off to meet the new recruit, which Shazam, by the way, could barely believe would be sent out onto a mission like this. Art seemed to only think of where the team was at the moment though, checking off likely places in his mind. However, after making way through the list he'd composed, and strolling about the shiny hallways with a hushed urgency, they found the entire team awaiting them in the hanger bay... Where they'd left them. Shazam turned his head to look at Art as if to say, "Do we give them enough credit?"

"Right then... Glad to see your all here..." Shazam started, but then glanced about with a slightly worried glanced. "Your all here right?" The Nazgulians turned about, counting everyone off; Tokijin was inadvertently ushered forward like she wasn't apart of their search for MIAs. Noticing her, Shazam managed to remember she actually needed to be formally introduced and said quickly, stepping beside her," AH yes, and we have a new recruit. This is Tokijin, I trust you'll keep her safe in the day's activities and others as well. Please refrain from using any derogatory terms for new people..." Shazam was waving his arms as if to indicate the exits and bathrooms but ended abruptly with," We need to suit up. We leave..." Shazam glanced back at Art who immediately finished his sentence-

"A quarter of an hour. You have 15 minutes. To be in your fighters and ready to go." Shazam was turned away from the group, his leg was now throbbing. The speed walking wasn't so bad, as long as he could take pressure off of it, even for a half a second, at least then he would be slightly relieved. Standing around talking hurt like a bitch though. He wondered if anyone noticed he was trying to put more pressure on the right leg than the left.

Art had glanced down at him as soon as the pilots rushed off. The two met eyes and Art seemed to say he should see a medic while Shazam told him to mind his own business.

What was compelling him to keep from going to a medic was very strange... He could use the excuse it wasn't so bad, but it had gotten, he knew for certain, gotten worse. The idea he might endanger himself or others because of his leg came into mind on the cons side of things. He considered it all for a moment.

"You need some help," said a nearby mechanic, only asking him if he were lost, and not indicating about the leg. The mechanic was rubbing his hands with a shimmy cloth when Shazam spun around on his right leg to face him.

"I'll be fine..."

(Alright, you guys have done an excellent job in writing this story out. Time to move forward though, sorry if this one doesn't appear to progress us, but it does. Les go...)

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*Flash Was Here...*

CMDR/ESN Shazam/Nazgul 1-1/Phoenix Wing/mSSD Atrus/1VENF/VEN (=A=) (=*SA*=) (=*MA*=) (=*FOCE*=) [LoM] [LSM] [VC:S] [DSM]