While the others looked over the map, Gio walked around the huddle of white-armored troops and examined his surroundings. There were several robot parts, some still glowing faintly and spouting light gray smoke into the air. He looked over at Zafo who was applying pressure to his forearm.

"You alright there, bud?" asked Giovanni for the hell of it. It was obvious that he was injured, but he hated the silence.

"I'll be fine... As long as I can keep my trigger finger working." said Zafo with a smile.

"If its alright with you, I'll go ahead and don thermal vision once we set out again..." suggested Giovanni.

"That would put you in front of the group..." said Gavyn "...you'll be vulnerable to any kind of attack."

"Well I guess you should all keep your eyes open, eh?"

There was a crazy smirk on Gio's face. It helped well to cover up the fact that he was more scared than ever. He had no idea what dangers lay ahead of him in this god forsaken place.

He loaded a pack into his E-11.

"Ready when you are."




 
-----------------------
*DarkDragoons*

*Corporal Giovanni A. Bryden*

FTL/CPL Giovanni Bryden/2SQD/2PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE/[LoR]

Whenever death may surprise us, let it be welcome if our battle cry has reached even one receptive ear and another hand reaches out to take up our arms.

Storm you better get your ass in gear, cause Wildcard's gonna make it hot in here.

The trio of Sam, Kairo and Angel took their time winding through the long tunnels of the pirate base. Kairo led, followed by the ailing Angel, with Sam bringing up the rear, backpedaling his way down the hall. At every intersection they halted, and Kairo shined his spotlight around the corners to pick up the shadows of any ambushers.

Thus far, they had almost made it to the supposed "power supply" room without a sniff of trouble, but all three knew that couldn't last. They had been in too many battles, been through too many of these things to know that "it was quiet...too quiet." Passing through a second barracks

Stopping at the next intersection, Angel supported himself against the cold stone walls. He had failed to find any usable armor in the barracks, but donned a plain black long sleeved shirt which hung in one locker. while it offered little physical protection, it helped hide him in the darkness.

Angel coughed. Each breath felt like a hot knife jabbing into Angel's ribs as he walked, but he paid it no mind. Instead of pushing the pain aside with the Force, he latched onto it, drawing strength and focusing his mind.

"Clear" Kairo whispered, pulling his head back around the corner. "How close are we Sam?"

"The next room should be it...if this map is correct."

Closing his eyes, Angel pushed his sense into the room just ahead of them. He could feel nothing alive...but there was an air of fear present in the room...and the distinctive feeling of death permeated its walls.

People had died in there. Lots of people.

Unfortunately, he couldn't tell his fellow troopers about his abilities, so was forced to only say, "I've got a really bad feeling about this. Something isn't right."

"What do you mean?" Kairo questioned him, taking advantage of the brief pause to adjust the sling on his E-11.

"Someone had to activate these droids. But I doubt they were programmed to kill everything around them on activation. These things are assassins, plain and simple."

"You think its an inside job? Someone trying to cut everyone else out?" Sam asked.

"More likely someone who doesn't want to end up in the Imperial Penal System. My guess, they activated the droids and got off planet. The knew we'd hit this place hard and fast, so they cut and run. As Fallen Angel back in the day, I used to see things like this all the time...then get contracted to hunt the weasel down."

Kairo nodded, fully understanding what Angel was telling him. "So what's the deal with the power room?"

"Thats where..." Angel paused momentarily, choosing his words carefully, "I think that would be where the pirates made their last stand."

-----------------------
=[Arrogant Elitist]=
=[Jikkyo the Horrible]=
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}
------------------------
CM/DJK Jikkyo "Angel" Nimiichi/Eagle 1-1/Sith/Dark Jedi/Vast Empire/Lopen [VP:1]
------------------------
I'm the sheep that was lost, madre.

Storm you better get your ass in gear, cause Wildcard's gonna make it hot in here.

  (OOC Warning: Slight gruesomeness. )

  "Thats where..." Angel paused momentarily, choosing his words carefully, "I think that would be where the pirates made their last stand."

  Great. Kairo thought. "We're still going in," He added out loud..

  "I never said we wouldn't," Angel agreed.

  "Wait, if you're saying that's where they made their last stand, then, it might not be very pretty in there. Right?" Sam asked.

  "Correct." Angel said drolly. Kairo could see Sam actually preparing himself to enter the room. Steeling himself also, Kairo moved down the rest of the hall. It ended with a medium sized gap that lead into another room. A metal door was hanging wildly off to the side. It looked like it would have been a sliding door, but apparently the droids had ripped into it and bent the metal holding it in place. Kairo could see slash marks marring the wall around the door. He caught a faint whiff of fowl air even through his helmet's circulator.

  Pulling out his staff, Kairo held his E-11/F in his left hand and gripped the metal cylinder with his right. Leading the way, Kairo forced himself not to retreat back from the sight that met his eyes as he stepped through the door. The room was about half the size of the rooms they had been in so far. Kairo estimated it to be about ten meters along the diameter of the room and four meters high. The room formed a roughly shaped circle. Part of the walls were covered with computer terminals on one side and power generators along the other wall. The room seemed to have served not just as the power room but also as the control room for the mining facility. All of these details seemed obsolete to Kairo though, as he picked his way across the gore covering the floor, walls, and ceiling.

  Angel had been right. This was where at least some of the pirates had made their last attempt for life. Unable to determine the amount of people who had been in the room, Kairo guessed the number to be around fifteen. Blood was layered upon blood, making the floor feel sticky and slippery at the same time. I don't want to slip into that. Body parts had been ripped from torso, leaving either the arms or the legs still attached. Screams that would never be heard were stilled formed in the mouths of the dead men, their faces a contorted mess of agony. Some people had been lucky, being only stabbed once or twice in the heart or head, giving them a quick death. While others looked like the droids had been programmed to give some of them a longer agony. The droids had been ruthless, if that word could be applied to them. Meticulously ruthless. In one corner of the room, a large scorch mark covered a large area of the floor and wall. Someone had deemed themselves worthy to die by a thermal detonator.

  "I'll wait outside." Sam said, pushing back the feeling to throw up in his helmet.

  "I told you it wouldn't be pretty," Angel said."

  "It looks like your assumption was right Angel," Kairo said. Slipping, Kairo reached for anything. Grabbing onto something hanging from the ceiling, Kairo pulled himself back to his feat. Looking up, Kairo lurched away from what he had grabbed. A man had been stuck to the ceiling by to vibro claws.

  "Apparently, they can remove their claws." Angel said analytically. "It also appears that they were only able to destroy three droids."

  "How can you tell?" Kairo asked, stepping across a body and finally reaching the power generators. "I don't see any parts."

  "The droids were also apparently programmed to clean up after themselves, so that if anyone came here, they wouldn't be able to tell what had exactly happened unless they had already been attacked by them. But the droids weren't careful enough. Over there is one droids limb, and underneath this guy," Angel pushed a body with the toe of his boot, "Is a droid head."

    "Lovely, but can we get on with this?" Kairo motioned at the generators. He is taking this a little too well. It seems I need to re-evaluate Angel.

    Once Angel had carefully made his way across the room, the two troopers started to look for anything that would cause the generators to not function properly. After five minutes of examination, they had found nothing. "That's a good thing." Angel muttered.

    "Yeah, if we can find a way to start them again, they should work fine. I don't suppose there is a just a switch lying..." Kairo let the rest die away as the generator turned on in front of him.

  "Not a switch exactly," Angel said from behind a generator, "but a small terminal. Luckily, the pirates didn't lock the access panel or set a password. I don't like this though. Why were they shut off in the first place?"

  "Maybe, the pirates didn't know what was really attacking them. If this was an inside thing, maybe whoever contracted the pirates to steal the supplies never told them what they were stealing. So, when some of them just started dieing, they ran for it. Pirates can be a bit superstitious. Thinking it was us, maybe they decided to turn off the power and give them an advantage. It might have worked to, if they weren't fighting droids."

  "That makes some sense." Angel acknowledged. "There are a few too many maybes in there for my taste, but I doubt we will really know for sure." A light over their heads blinked on, shining light upon other areas that had been hidden before in the shadow. "I think we should go find others now. The droids will definitely now where are now." Kairo nodded.

  As they exited the room, the lights started to blink on in front of them. "You got the power back on?" Sam asked.

  Kairo motioned at the ceiling. "Yes."

  "Let's go already." Angel whispered. Putting his staff away, Kairo switched the blaster to his right hand and ran down the hallway. Hanging a right at the intersection, Kairo heard blaster shots echo from ahead of him. After following the tunnels for a short time, Kairo, Angel, and Sam rushed into a larger room that held the rest of the two squads inside it.

  "It looks like you got the power back." Rizzit surmised.

  "No," Kairo joked.

  "Funny. The crates in here are empty, though this room is much larger than it looked in the dark. We ran into more droids when we started to go down that tunnel over there." Rizzit pointed across the room. "Kami's group came from that one over there."

  "It leads back to the entrance," Kami continued. "Looking at the map, it looks like that other room may have served as some sort of underground hanger. That may be where the shuttle that brought the supplies is."

  "But you said the crates are empty?" Angel questioned.

    Rizzit nodded. "Decoys."

  "That seems to fit in with what Angel and I have guessed at what happened." Kairo said. Kairo and Angel then explained what they found in the generator room.

  "So it seems someone hired the pirates to steal the stuff and bring it here. They then let some of the shipment loose to kill the pirates and either kill us or hamper our progress. So, either their plan backfired and the droids killed them before they could take the supplies to where they really should be, or they already left. Either way, we are going down that tunnel and checking out the hanger." Rizzit stated. Everyone agreed. "If there are any more droids, they will probably be there. This light should help us see them though. Let's go." The large group made its way across the room and entered the next tunnel. Kairo, Kami, Sam, and Jinx were leading the way. Angel and Dinin were covering the rear. Everyone else was keeping an eye out for trouble.

(OOC A bit long, but this should clear some things up for you all. Now, we are all back together again, so make sure you mention IH if you are in DD or DD if you are in IH when you write. If you have any questions, send me a message or catch me on IRC, and I'll answer as soon as I can. )


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

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

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

The hanger was now eerily silent, littered with the bodies of the droids and Coway alike. Crouching next to one of the planet's native aliens, Kami let her visored gaze rest upon its small face, quietly contemplating the nerve of the Coway to venture so far down into the pirate's base. At its side, a droid rested in a sparking heap, Kami's daggers jutting out of its core.

"Medic..." A faint voice whispered, followed by a thump as a trooper collapsed at Kami's back. Turning, she took in the camouflaged form of one of the Dark Dragoon troopers. Jinx glanced up from where he was crouched over Slash, examining a gaping wound on his arm. The Zabrak's face was shining with sweat, both from sheer adrenaline and the intensifying pressure to keep both squads in one piece.

"It's alright Jinx." Kami called, moving swiftly over to the downed trooper's side. Looking back over her shoulder, she paused briefly to issue an order to the silently observing Horsey's, "Spread out, secure the hanger. Notify me of anything you find."
The three unburdened shadow troopers nodded briefly, before flitting away to do as she had asked.

"Goddamit..." Kairo dropped down next to Kami as she reached up, removing the injured trooper's helmet to reveal Dinin's pale face. Letting her green gaze trace the wounds lathering the private's legs and arms, Kami arched an eyebrow at the squad leader of the Dragoon's, "I think we need to invest in some new armor."

"Armor that actually protects sounds like a fine idea to me," Giovanni commented from where he was standing at Kami's back.

Kairo glanced up at the Corporal, "Take Sam and go and help the Horsey's." He flicked his blue gaze to Zafo, "Go give Jinx a hand."

Both troopers disappeared, allowing the two squad leader's a fleeting chance at conversation.

"What do you think?" Kami asked softly, pausing between binding Dinin's wounds to watch Angel, who was by now leaning heavily against the wall for support.

"This was intended to be a death trap." Kairo replied, barely supressed anger flashing in his gaze, "And it almost was. We need to find out who set this up, and shut them down"

"They knew how far the Vast Empire would go to retrieve the goods," Kami responded, "Understood our tactics well enough to draw us down towards the hanger." She hesitated before continuing, "We could possibly have a leak."

"Possibly," Kairo agreed, "It wouldn't be the first. It could equally be someone with past military experience, someone familiar with the VE and its methods."

Kami allowed for a small sigh, "All speculation at this point."

The Dragoon squad leader declined his head, sharing a concerned glance with Rizzit, who was by now hovering at his shoulder, "Dinin needs to be taken to the surface."

"Angel too," Kami added quietly, her gaze still on her assistant squad leader, "We have more supplies in the shuttle."

The Major's expression was unusually grim, "Give them a few more minutes. We need a lead."


-----------------------
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...=-
+ Advance Recon Commandos {ARC} +

Storm you better get your ass in gear, cause Wildcard's gonna make it hot in here.

"Captain Logan was in charge of the support craft on our last mission," Kami was explaining to Kairo and Zafo as the two squads wound their way slowly back up to the surface of Mimban. "We were transporting weapons to Cepany when we were pulled out of hyperspace and assaulted by an unknown task force. Instead of mobilizing against the enemy, Logan turned on our corvette, blew out its engines and boarded with the rebels to steal the cargo. He'd also overseen the placement of a rogue squad on board the corvette."

Zafo, his helmet under his arm, offered Kami a look of pure disgust at the thought, "They turned on you?"

Kami nodded, "We managed to take out the squad on board, and hold off the Cepany pirates until the corvette was up and running again. But...Logan got away." She paused, grief and anger flaring up at the memory, "A lot of good soldiers died because of his actions."

"So why now? Why here?" Kairo questioned, "What does Logan have to gain from setting us up?"

"The Cepany rebellion despise the Vast Empire," Kami answered, "They've resorted to terrorism in an attempt to force the VE from Cepany, and place the planet squarely back under local control."

"So you think he set this all up just to get us into striking position?" Zafo shook his head incredulously, "Seems like a lot of effort just for a few squads, even if he does habour something against you Horsey's."

The three dropped in silence momentarily, each considering the ex-Captain's actions.

"It's got to be something bigger," Kairo finally said, "Logan and the Cepany rebels wouldn't have used the pirates to draw the VE's attention unless they were planning on landing a large blow. He must be working with someone."

Kami nodded, "Someone who wants the Vast Empire destroyed as badly as he does."

The two squads broke free of the network of caves and back onto the swampy terrain of the surface. Pausing briefly to collect themselves, Kami glanced over her shoulder to where Rizzit was talking softly to Angel. Her assistant squad leader was pale faced, but alert in comparison to Dinin from the Dragoons, who was slung unconscious across the back of his squad member Giovanni.

Turning back to the Dragoon squad leaders, Kami met both of their gazes, "This whole mission has too many twists and turns for my liking."

"Alright everyone!" Rizzit moved to the center of the group, "Form up! We're making our way back to the shuttle to regroup. Keep your eyes open as the pirates may be dead, but there are plenty more Coway and Wanderella about."

 
-----------------------
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...=-
+ Advance Recon Commandos {ARC} +

Storm you better get your ass in gear, cause Wildcard's gonna make it hot in here.

Kami moved swiftly over to Rizzit at his abrupt switch in plans.

"Sir, Dinin's still in a critical condition, and Angel's not much better. We need to send a taskforce to the shuttle in order to retrieve the medical supplies as soon as possible. We can't just sit here and wait for them to die."

"We split up, and we leave ourselves open to attack." Rizzit responded, "They'll have to hold out for another 24 hours."

"With all due respect sir, we're open to attack regardless." Kairo had moved up to Kami's shoulder, "Allow me to lead a small team to the shuttle. If all goes well, we'll be back in the space of a couple of hours."

Rizzit stilled, his eyes flicking to the unconscious Dinin lying a short distance away, "Fine," His gaze turned to Kairo, "Take two troopers with you, no more, and move as quickly as humanly possible."

The Dragoons squad leader declined his head, then turned to move towards the main group of VE troopers, swinging his rifle from his back as he went.

"Scout the perimeter of the clearing," Rizzit continued quietly, "Then get your men into place. It will be nightfall soon."

Kami glanced up at the quickly darkening sky, then nodded, "Yes sir."


-----------------------
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...=-
+ Advance Recon Commandos {ARC} +

Storm you better get your ass in gear, cause Wildcard's gonna make it hot in here.

After Rizzit had given him the order to get the medical supplies from the shuttle, Kairo had grabbed Giovanni and Jinx to take with him. Pulling them from the main group of resting soldiers, Kairo stated, "Ok you two, we are going back to the shuttle, getting supplies, and getting back here as soon as possible. We aren't stopping for anything. This is going to be like some of the rough training sessions you had when you were still in drill."

  "I was never the best at running for a long time," Jinx responded with a worried tone.

"I'm sure you can make it. I would leave you here to tend to some of the injured as best as you can, but without supplies, I don't think you could do much. You are coming, because I have no idea what you are going to need to fix these men properly. Gio, you are coming, because I know you will get the supplies back here to help the squads. We leave in three minutes, meet me over by that tree," Kairo pointed at a tree that had part of its bark stripped off.

Giovanni and Jinx nodded and went to gather their supplies. "And don't pack too heavily," Kairo called after them. Dropping his pack from his shoulders, Kairo opened it up and pulled out anything he wouldn't be need. He kept his comlink and clipped that to his belt. Next he found a ration bar, which he quickly opened and ate. He found a few other things, which he passed out to people who would be staying behind. Slinging his E-11/F across his shoulders, Kairo tightened the straps on his completely empty pack. Clipping his vibropike to his waste, Kairo moved over to Dinin who was lying as still as death on the ground. Next to Dinin's body lay his two Sat'skar swords. "I'll be back with the supplies soon. Just stay alive until then." Picking the two swords off the ground, he attached them to the back of his belt and walked over to the marred tree.

Giovanni and Jinx were waiting for him. "You're a minute late." Giovanni said. "How do you know which way it is to the shuttle anyways?"

"Two reasons," Kairo responded, motioning for them to join him as he started to jog into the forest. "One, I have a good memory, and two, I was thrown into that tree when we fought the Wanderella. It also happens to be the same way that we entered the clearing. Now, save your breath. I'm going to pick the pace up. Try not to fall behind. If we get attacked by one or two Coway or anything, kill quickly and keep going. If there are more than two or three, just keep running and don't look back." With that, Kairo leaned slightly forward and broke into a mild sprint. He knew he could keep this pace for a long period of time, but he didn't know how his two companions would fare. I'll just have to find out along the way.

Running through the foliage of the jungle, Kairo let his feet guide him. He had taken great care to remember the way back when they first traversed the area. He felt almost at peace running across the ground, dodging around trees and leaping over logs or small boulders. It reminded him of his early youth on Dathomir when he had been trained to hunt for the village. That was when he had been trained with a pole arm. He knew how to use it in deadly fashion. Years of training, even after he left Dathomir to traverse the galaxy, had honed his skill to finesse. Now, he had one of his favorite weapons at his waist, along with two blades at his back, giving him the feeling of freedom. Once I'm done with all of this, I might just go back to being jungle boy. Kairo smiled as he used the term his girlfriend used for him. She was also from Dathomir. Pulling his mind from his reveries, Kairo concentrate back on his task. Don't get too distracted, Dinin needs those supplies, along with Angel and half the other people in the squads.

After four hours of running, with five minutes rests every forty-five minutes, Kairo judged that they were making decent time. I just hope we don't run into any Coway or Wanderella. "We're halfway there," Kairo informed while swinging around a tree. Giovanni and Jinx were holding up well, though each looked like they would rather be sipping a drink at a bar in a nice a cool breeze.

  "If you ever make me do this again Kairo, I'll transfer squads." Giovanni complained.

Kairo laughed gutturally. He wasn't in the best condition either to be bantering words. His bruised rib was starting to hurt him, but he press onward doggedly. As they entered the swamp area, the group's pace was dramatically dropped. "It looks like this trip is going to take more than just one day. I should try to get in touch with Rizzit to let him know we won't be back until tomorrow." Sludging forward through the knee high grime, Kairo pulled out his comlink and tried to message Rizzit. Static issued forth from the small cylinder, and Kairo quickly shut it off. "It appears these swamps have some magnetic plates beneath them. We won't be able to get back in touch with the others until we reach the shuttle and can send a stronger message."

After another thirty minutes of clawing their way through muck, the three soldiers arrived at the small village that the group had camped at for a night. "Uh, Kairo, it's getting dark, shouldn't we stop?" Jinx asked.

"It is only another few kilometers or so. It'll only take us about another hour." Kairo encouraged them. As they left the area, the ground started to get firmer, allowing them to move a little more freely again. Suddenly, a howl from behind stopped them in their tracks.

  "Coway," Jinx whispered spinning around with his rifle ready in his hands.

"They are still a little way off," Kairo started to move forward again, "But if they start to pursue us, get to the shuttle. It is right over there," Kairo pointed a little to his left but relatively straight ahead.

  "Won't you be with us?" Gio asked.

  "Just keep going if I stop." Kairo grunted the order.

  "But."

  "Just keep going." Kairo growled and started to run forward. It's just another thirty minutes away. An easy run. Howls grew louder behind the troopers, spurring them forward. After five minutes of flight, the three men could hear foliage rustling along with claws being dragged across trees and rocks. They ran as a fast as their feat would carry them now, forgetting their earlier fatigue. They seemed to keep their lead over the next ten minutes, but the hard run was taking its toll on them. After twenty minutes of the chase, Kairo knew they wouldn't make it. Skidding to a halt, Kairo pulled out his vibropike and whirled around to face the approaching doom.

  "Kairo?!" Giovanni called, starting to come to a halt as well.

"I gave you an order to keep going Gio." Kairo said with a slight hint of anger. "This ship is only across the small hill. Now GO!"

Kairo didn't know if it was the tone that he used to yell at Giovanni that got him moving, or Jinx pulling at his arm saying, "He told us to go." Kairo just looked into the almost completely black jungle and pressed the shallow groove that would turn the small steel cylinder in his hand into the gruesome vibropike. Kairo's eyes picked up a darker shadow in the trees a second before a large Coway leaped out at him. Moving like a leaf on the wind, Kairo slid to the side and performed a deadly twist of the staff, cutting the Coway's head cleanly off its body as it sailed through the air where Kairo had stood only a split second before. Not a second later another Coway dropped down from above, planning to drill Kairo into the ground.

  Kairo's head tilted up for a brief second before he placed the shaft of the weapon next to his body and aimed the blade at the oncoming animal. Unable to change directions, the Coway was run through in the blink of an eye. Letting the staff take the force of the impact, Kairo let it slide through his hands until the bottom hit the ground. Pushing forward at that instant, he used the momentum to turn the pole arm horizontally to the ground and fling the Coway off the vibroblade directly into a third Coway, who had appeared from behind a tree. Kairo lost himself in the movements, becoming a raging whirlwind of steel. He could almost swear he could hear music in the air, as the blade caused different harmonics while it cut the air. Minutes passed in the blink of an eye to Kairo. Before he knew it, five bodies laid dead at his feet. Then, his staff was ripped from his grasp and sent flying through the air.

  I'm still armed. Kairo thought ferociously as he grasped the handles of the two blades he had borrowed from Dragon. Pulling them from their perch at the back of his waist, he instinctively threw one into the head of the Coway who had wrenched the staff from his hands. Slicing to his right with the other sword, Kairo lunged forward and pulled the blade from the head. Losing himself to the void of battle, Kairo almost didn't realize he had been flung to the ground. Three Coway were standing over him. Blood ran thick along the ground. Kairo knew he had lost. A moment passed as Kairo blinked. When he opened his eyes a second later, one of the Coway's had grown a large staff in the center of his chest. He toppled to the earth in a heap of carnage. Blaster shots flew through the air. Kairo didn't know what was happening until it was over.

  "I told you to get to the ship." Kairo panted from the ground.

Giovanni's helmet appeared over his head. "But aren't you glad I disobeyed you now?" He offered a hand and helped Kairo to his feet. "Dude, you took out twelve Coway before I even got here."

  "Where's Jinx?" Kairo asked.

"He's at the ship. We made it there, but I just couldn't leave you out here. I guess I'm gonna get court marshaled for going against orders." Giovanni ripped the vibropike from the dead Coway and handed it to Kairo.

"I'll let it slide this time." Kairo replied, clipping the swords to the bottom of his back again. "Now, let's get to the shuttle." Giovanni led the way this time. The two of them arrived only a few minute later. Jinx was rummaging around in the compartments, pulling the supplies he would need and putting them in packs and satchels. "We will be leaving here tomorrow morning. Do you know if we can get a message out to Rizzit?"

Giovanni shook his head. Kairo moved to the cockpit and turned the life support systems and other systems on. After a few minutes, Kairo spun around in the chair and called back to Jinx and Giovanni, "It looks like we can't get a message out of here either. We're going to be leaving early tomorrow. Get those supplies packed and the door sealed, and then get some rest." Kairo sighed and leaned back in the chair. He was asleep before his eyes were even completely closed.

___________________________ Noon the next day _____________________________

The three troopers had left the shuttle early in the morning. Luckily, they had had no other run-ins with the Coway. At about noon by Kairo's guess, the arrived back at the entrance to the mines. Everyone was waiting pensively for their return. "Where the hell have you been?" Rizzit demanded.

"We ran into some old friends." Kairo replied and went on to explain what had happened. Giving his bag to Jinx, Kairo watched as he started to treat all the wounded soldiers. "So, where do we go from here?" Kairo asked.

  "Devaron," Rizzit replied mysteriously. Kami walked over and told Kairo about Cosmic's message.

  "So when do we leave?" Kairo questioned.

"As soon as everyone is fit enough to head back to the shuttle. We haven't had any trouble yet, but that doesn't mean we won't get attacked tonight. We will have to wait another day for everyone to get rested." Rizzit responded and walked off to spread the word.

  "Great," Kairo muttered.

"I know." Kami continued," Done with one mission, and off to start another. But, I wouldn't say this one ended spectacularly, and the other one isn't the beginning either. If Cosmic can't handle whatever is on Devaron with three squads, it has got to be trouble."

(OOC A tiny bit long, but I couldn't make it small. If anyone has any problems with it, just let me know, and I will fix it. )

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

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

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

After everyone had rested for a while, Rizzit came and woke everyone, one by one, saving the wounded ones for last. He directed everyone to the tree where Kairo was standing.
    "Is everyone here?" Kairo asked.
    "Here comes Rizzit with Angel," said Gio.
"Ok, Gio and Jinx have a better idea of this path, so they will be able to give some help with you three," Kairo said to Zafo, Angel, and Dinin, "The rest of you all need to keep on guard for any Wanderellas or Coway."
The squads gave a nod of understanding and they all followed Kairo in the direction of their drop ship. Dinin, Zafo, and Angel were in the middle of the group just in case the group was attacked.
    ---------------------Three hours later-------------------------
    "We are almost to the ship," Kairo said, "This looks like a good place to give everyone a rest."
    "Yeah, this way I can go and check on the wounds of Angel, Dinin, and Zafo," Jinx said.
    "Good idea Jinx," Kami said.
The team leaned up against trees and sat on rocks. Jinx began his rounds starting with Angel and ending with Zafo. He re-bandaged some wounds and cleaned others. The trudging through a swamp took a lot out of the injured.
"As soon as you are done Jinx, we need to move out," Kairo said, "We should reach the drop ship with in an hour as long as we don't get attacked or anything."
"It really doesn't seem like we will," Sam said, "Since we haven't been attack yet. It wouldn't seem like the Coway would attack after the blows we have done to their numbers."
    "They were only minor blows," Gio said.
    "That is true but I don't think that they are used to even losing one," Sam said.
    "He has a point there," Kami retorted, "Yet, even so we still need to keep an eye out for them but more so the Wanderellas."
    "I'm all done," Jinx said helping Zafo to his feet.
    "Ok, let's head out," said Kairo.
    The squads reformed the same parameter that they had before, Zafo, Angel, and Dinin in the middle and the rest on the outside.
    --------------An hour later----------------
    "There is the ship," Kairo said.
    As he said that, the pace of the group picked up. As they approached the ship Sam stopped and looked around.
Moments later they had Dinin, Zafo, and Angel secured on the ship. Kami came back out to get Sam, because he had not come aboard.
    "Kami..." Sam said as he paused.
    "What?" Kami asked.
    "...Get back on the ship and quick," Sam said pointing to three large mounds moving towards them.
    "What the heck do you think you are going to do against them?" Kami questioned.
    "I'll be there in a minute, I just want to see if my traps will work," Sam laughed.
 
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TRP/CPL Sandwich Sam 2SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE [LoR]
*DarkDragoons*
Roses are #FF0000
Violets are #0000FF
All my base are belong to you.