Slouched back in a makeshift lawn chair, Shazam stirred his hot coco; he was the only one in the long white room. For the most part, the ensign practiced clumping up the undissolved mix into the middle of the styrophone cup to give the image of a small island stranded in the middle of an endless bog. Then after about two minutes of playing around, he took a whiff of the concoction and took it down in two gulps. He exhaled as if it were a sigh and felt as if he were relaxed more than he had ever been before. After staring for a good minute more into the empty space ahead, surveying the pallid walls and smooth floors, he stood up and moved to trash receptacle to the right of him. As he did so, a bright white door at the far end of the hall flew open and what looked to be a paperboy ran in at full speed, breathless.

Shazam opened the lid of the trash can and dropped the cup in just as the boy reached him, his little legs were flailing about as if he were running from a pack of bloodhounds. The officer didn't bother to ask why the bridge had brought a young child on board because he already knew the captain of the ship well enough to know that this was his son. The little one held out his hand, bending over to try and catch his breath; he'd run very hard for sure.

A fleeting thought caught the Nazgul SC just before he took the letter... Would have he imagined he were here at this spot three years ago? He gave a slight grin then snatched the folded piece of paper from his hands and removed the captains clay seal placed over the opening flap. He read the letter over twice then ripped it to tatters and released them into the same trash receptacle to this right. The boy had a curious look on his face, but Shazam comforted him with a pat on the back and told him "Lets go see your father..."

*The Bridge of the Strike-Class Medium Cruiser 'Canton'*

The little boy who often times went by the name of 'Post' because of his most frequent chore, headed away from the entrance to the main walkway in the bridge. Instead, he found his way over to a console with a vast array of messaging boards- maybe he was the actual post? Shazam hadn't actually seen the child in at least three years, so he couldn't say he'd known any better. The officer began his assent ion to the upper landing but stopped in his tracks as a friendly voice sounded behind him. "Ensign Shazam... Good to see you."

The SC spun around and met the captains gaze, he hadn't changed much. Although his facial features appeared to have aged with some anxious battles, the rest of him remained the same, short dark hair, rouch tan skin covered for the most part by a clean and neatly pressed uniform- not an officers though. This was a set of dark pants and a white, lightweight shirt of some kind, an expensive brand Shazam probably didn't even know of. These, maybe, were slightly different, but his dark brown eyes were exactly the same. Warm and hospitable, but it did not take away from his seemingly wise air; his sangfroid was impermeable none the less.

"I see your making your son the best of the best," Shazam said and clasped the captains hand with his own firm grip.

"Well, you know, the family always wanted an army man in the family, figured I'd give them what they want..." The two grinned at each other for a moment, Shazam knew darned well how much Henson hated to be told that he should have joined the army instead.

"And I see your having people rip up your letters now," Shazam continued as he retrieved his hand and stuck it in his Nazgul sweatshirt. (A month ago Will had come up with some logo for Kaph's uniforms so Nazgul decided to make some sweatshirts without any insignia- memorabilia was against policy...).

"Well I'd like them burned, but that would set off the alarms..." he said this with a smile as well, but Shazam wasn't sure if he was serious or not. "Anyways, now that we've finished re-evaluating each other, might as well get down to business. I need your group to be ready in the briefing room at eight hundred hours. You have one half hour, Raze Squadron will meet at the same time, so try to make some room. The briefing room is a little smaller than it should be for two squadrons..." Shazam nodded through this and shook hands with his old friend one last time.

Time to go inform the new XO and collect the group...

*A short walk down the hall*

There were maybe two things Shazam liked about medium class cruisers. For one, you only had to go a little over the distance it takes to get to the bathroom to reach where your actually going, and two... Your still in the comfort of a big heavily armed ship. You couldn't help but stroll the halls at a brisk pace, cause you just felt fine.

The officer reached a slightly shantier section of the cruiser about two minutes later, this section was slightly less detailed as the extravagant bridge or mess-hall. Shazam stopped directly in front of a sliding door barely visible in the dim light of the hallway- it was said they kept the lights low so the adjustment to space wouldn't be so dramatic for the pilots.

After looking up and down the hallway for other tenants and spotting none, Shazam gave a sharp rap on the plastic exterior of the door. There was a moments silence where Shazam leaned inward against the door intently, and then a swish of air and the young man flew down wards.

"Spying on me Shazam?" asked Jen Knight as the officer picked himself up off the ground. She was hunched over him, long red hair trailing off her face and nearly resting on his back.

"Spying? HA!" he gruffly retorted. "If I were spying my dear, it'd be on the lovely lady mechanic who's prepping our ships. My goodness," Shazam started in after reaching his full stature... "What a FOX that one is... I mean..." Jen slapped him over the shoulder and shook her head.

"Whadda ya want?" Shazam dusted himself off before answering.

"We have about twenty..." he glanced down at his timer," yes... Twenty-six minutes now to get our team together and meet in the briefing room. I assume they're all at their appropriate locations..." he said with an air of 'Yea Right'.

"Spose we'd better split up? I'll check the lounge," Jen flung her hair over her shoulder and balled her fist together as she always did.

"And I'll check..." Shazam began but Jen interrupted-

"The hanger bay? We're looking for the members of Nazgul squadron, not your wish list Shazam..." She exited through the open door. The SC called out after her-

"WHAT? I'm sure Darius is out there... Or Jack..." Then murmuring quietly," Hopefully not..." And he went the opposite direction to find the hanger bay and make some stops.

(Alright this is your story starter, everyone needs to introduce themselves through these opening post, especially if you didn't get a good chance to in the wing story. Also, be doing something when we come to get you at least, lol. Rock on.)

-----------------------
*Flash Was Here...*

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

Darius sat on the hangar floor with droid parts scattered all about him.  He had just purchased a limited TC series protocol droid.  A data pad was connected to the central processor, and the communication between the two computers told Darius that he had his desired personality set for the droid.  His arms shot up in the air, and he let out a triumphant scream.

The young pilot had been around long enough that people were getting to know him slightly, even though he keeps to himself most of the time.  Since a truimphant scream is very uncommon from such a man, people gathered around him as reassembled his new droid. 

Out of curiosity, Jack hopped out of his TIE Aggressor and pushed his way through the gathering crowd.  "What's goin' on Dar?" he questioned.

"Check this out!" exclaimed Darius.  He assembled the droid in record time.  Jack hadn't seen him this excited since Veronat, when he was detonating explosives.

Darius flipped the power switch to the on postition and the droid came to life as its eyes flickered on.  The droid took in its surroundings and remarked, "take a picture, it'll last longer," in a tinny, yet sarcastic voice.  Darius grinned ear to ear.

Suddenly, the ecstatic man grabbed a depleted power core that a gaping mechanic was holding, and spread the crowd to make an opening.  "TC, target practice."

The droid replied, "PULL!"  Darius threw the core with amazing speed and distance.  Two laser cannon sprang out of the droids shoulders and fired faster than the blink of an eye.  IN a bright flash, the core was obliterated and its remnants hit the hangar doors, falling to the floor.  A small cleaning droid sprang out from a cubby in the wall and two simultanious shots rang out again in the hangar.

All that remained of the droid was a black scorch mark and its wheels.  "Woops," muttered Darius, as spun his TC-3K6 around and deactivated him.  He plugged in the data pad and began to modify the droids programming.

Once reactivated, Darius showed off a couple other features that were his favorite.  The hangar crew and Jack watched in admiration of the finely built droid.

Meanwhile, a hestitant cleaning droid on the other side of the hanger quickly scurried across to remove its fallen comrade from shining hangar floor.

-----------------------
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men to do nothing. --Edmund Burke

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

FM/SCRW Darius Pursius/Nazgul 3-2/mSSD Atrus/Defensive Fleet/VEN/VE (=A=)

(Just before DJ's post...)

As Jack watched Darius fool around with his new TC-model protocol droid unit, Jack said: "Hold on a sec. Let me get Artoo out here to show you what he's got."

Then, Jack spoke into his mechanical super battle droid right arm. "Artoo, mind if you'd come into the hangar?"

A few seconds later, Jack's R2-series astromech droid unit, R2-X7 came rolling in, beeping away. His droid always went with him when Jack would get transferred to another ship. There were always together when Jack wasn't busy fighting or preparing for a mission.

"So, what's he got?" Darius challenged.

"Watch this: Artoo, active proto-program THX."

Suddenly, a small droid popped out of one of Artoo's hatches. It reminded Jack of a miniature buzz droid from the Clone Wars era. But in fact, it was a simple droid modified for a performance.

As the mini buzz droid moved around, Jack said, "Artoo, program eleven thirty-eight!"

Almost as fast as the small droid had came out, a small hold-out laser pistol appeared in another one of Artoo's pannels. It shot out a stun bolt, short-circutting the small droid's programming. It fell to the floor with a small "clunk".

Darius, along with some people in the crowd, turned to face Jack.

Then Jack said, "Security programming," and smiled.

-----------------------
Revenge is what holds this galaxy together. Without it, the universe would be a boring place.

------------------------------------------------------------
Senior Chief Petty Officer Jack Nebulax, Nazgul Squadron, Imperial Navy, Vast Empire.
XO/FL/SCPO Jack Nebulax/Nazgul 5 (2-1)/Wing 1/mSSD Atrus/Defensive Fleet/VEN/VE (=A=) (=*SA*=) [SV] [VC:S]
Rep|Int/Rep Jack Nebulax/Rep: 4/Reporters-Interviewers/VE/VET
------------------------------------------------------------
Admiral Jack Nebulax, third-in-command of the Auroran Defense Fleet (ADF) and leader of Nemesis Wing (Wing I)

*** During the droid demontsration ***

Trevor was sitting against the wal of the hanger, near his stock TIE fighter, eating a sandwich he had picked up in the cafeteria. Suddendly, he heard the sound of blasters firering, and jumped to his feet, pulling his pistol as he got up. He quickly scanned the room, and saw where the noise came from.

[i]O, its just those pilots, what are their names again? Um, Darius and DJ I think. Yeah, thats them.[/i] He thought to himself, and considered walking over to get a better look at what was going on. He looked back to where he was sitting as he holstered his blaster, and saw his sandwich on the ground, pieces of nerf meat splayed accross the floor. [i] Damn! I just bought that...O well, it wasnt very good anyway.[/i]

He started towards the other pilots, and heard another set of blaster shots, which made him jump again. He didn`t  jump out of surprise, but because the sound of hand-held blaster fire brought back some troubling memories, such as when he lost one of the squadren members from the Hussars. He pushed the thoughts out of his mind, and continued closer to the pilots, and the small crowd that had now gathered around them.

He craned his neck, trying to see above the heads of those taller then him, and finally managed to get closer to the action. A TC series driod and a R2 droid appeared to be showing off their defesnsive capabilities. He was tempted to call his own R5 droid, and show off, but after seeing what the R2 unit could do, he decided against it, because although his R5 was a decent security droid, it would be no match for either of the droids. He walked away from the crowd, and sat back down near his fighter.

He pulled another sandwich out of his duffle bag, this one being a vegitarian sandwich, and started snacking on it. He sat quietly for a while, watching the other pilots going about their bussiness. He saw Shazam go up and start talking to the good looking blonde mechanic, and heard Darius start swearing about somthing. He looked over when he heard the first swear, and couldn`t help but to grin when he saw DJ point to Shaz. Darius stopped swear and went back to his work.

Trevor was half way through his sandwich before realizing it wasnt very good either, but he wasnt hungry anymore. The thought of an upcoming battle seemed to worry him. Even though he knew he had his squad-mates covering him, he was still nervous about flying in a TIE. He put down his sandwich and closed his eyes, relaxing himself, and pushing all thoughts out of his mind.
 
-----------------------
FM/SCRW/Trevor Evenson/Nazgul 1-3/Wing 1/ISD-II Devistator/DEF/VEN/VE/(=*A*=)

As Darius walked away, Jack replied to TC in his head: Don't worry, there's plenty more where that came from.

Then, Jack let out an approving smile.

Ever since Jack had his original right arm torn off and replaced, Jack had been interested in the Clone Wars-era. He would search for Separatist and Republic relics alike, displaying them off in his quarters.

As for the miniature buzz droid, one of Jack's longtime Auroran Defense Fleet friends had built five of them for Jack's R2 unit. That friend happened to be a great droid manufacturer. Last time Jack heard, he was planning on creating a business.

Meanwhile, Jack was mending to the broken mini buzz droid. Jack knew it could either be repaired or replaced. But, as Jack had found out by R2-X7's sorrowful beeps and whistles, his astromech droid had become emotionally attached.

Great, Jack thought, letting out a soft chuckle.

After Jack told the little droid to head back for his quarters, the Imperial pilot headed back for his TIE Aggressor. Jack would now be ready for any conflict against the enemy. He would strike hard with the Aggressor's bombs, and finish them off with the craft's lasers.

Finally, Jack thought, Nazgul will prove itself. It will become the Empire's equivalent to their "Rogue Squadron" or whatever. Victory is ours.
 
-----------------------
Revenge is what holds this galaxy together. Without it, the universe would be a boring place.

------------------------------------------------------------
Senior Chief Petty Officer Jack Nebulax, Nazgul Squadron, Imperial Navy, Vast Empire.
XO/FL/SCPO Jack Nebulax/Nazgul 5 (2-1)/Wing 1/mSSD Atrus/Defensive Fleet/VEN/VE (=A=) (=*SA*=) [SV] [VC:S]
Rep|Int/Rep Jack Nebulax/Rep: 4/Reporters-Interviewers/VE/VET
------------------------------------------------------------
Admiral Jack Nebulax, third-in-command of the Auroran Defense Fleet (ADF) and leader of Nemesis Wing (Wing I)

An hour and a half eh? Well, thats about enough time for me to fit in a hour of sleep before we fly. Trevor thought to himself as the Vice Admiral Finished his briefing and left them room. Most of the pilots from both squadrons had gathered into small groups and were chatting about the upcoming mission, or from the bits of conversation Trevor picked up on his way out, Just about anything that they could think of. Just as Trevor was walking past on of the groups closer to the door, a hand grabbed his shoulder.

"Where are you going Trevor? Don`t want to stay and talk?" Shazam asked him, removing his hand from Trevor`s shoulder and putting it in his pocket.

"Nah, I`m not in the mood right now. I think I`m just going to take a quick nap before we leave." He said as politely as he could, with a quick smile. "Thanks for the offer though."

"Alright." Shazam replied, nodding his head.

Now, to find my way back to my quarters. Trevor thought, scratching his head, and heading back the way he had come before the briefing. After a few minutes of walking, Trevor found his room, just as he had left it, and gave his R5 a quick nudge as he walked in.

"Wake me up in about 45 minutes, OK R5?" Trevor asked the droid as he pulled off his boots and lay down on the bunk. R5 gave a series of beeps in confirmation of the request, and shut the door before wheeling over to his corner and stopping there.

Trevor was asleep within seconds. Being the way he was, space travel took a lot out of him, even though it was something he was more used to then travel on a planet. As soon as he was asleep, he began dreaming.

"Hussar 5 to Hussar 4, Come in Hussar 4." Trevor said into the comm of his Y-wing. "I got a pirate fighter on me, and don`t think I can out maneuver him. Requesting help."

Trevor tried to aim the ion cannon on the roof of his fighter at the ugly, but the pirate just kept dodging the blasts. All of a sudden he heard sirens going off inside his cockpit. It was a missile lock! Outmaneuvering a missile in any fighter is a difficult feat, and damn near impossible in a Y-wing. Pulling a hard left, and forcing the nose of his fighter down, He almost managed to shake the missile, but it kept its lock secure.

Starting to panic, Trevor made a hard right and then forced his fighter into a dive. He then cut all throttle and applied the air brakes. The missile shot past him, and lost its lock. It was headed toward the ground, and exploded in a bright flash. Trevor pulled out of his dive, and saw Hussar 4 trying to evade a pirate fighter, which was right on his tail.

Hussar 4 was a very talented pilot, and although not as good as Trevor, he was one of the best in the squadron. He made a tight right while pulling up, and then cut his throttle and applied the air brakes. That was a huge mistake for him, because the pirate, who hadn`t figured out what was going on, ran head on into the rear of Hussar 4`s Y-Wing. The explosion that followed was amplified by the fact that Hussar 4 still had an almost full payload of bombs.

"NO! Damn!" Trevor yelled to himself, and fought to hold back the tears that were building in his eyes.

"Damn...Come on people, thats the last of them. Lets get back to the Liberty for de-brieifing." Hussar Leader said, with a small tremble in his voice.

Just as Trevor was about to turn his fighter around and head for home, he saw two more uglies on his radar.

"Hussar 5 to Hussar 1, We have some trouble still. You guys get going, me and 6 will take care of them." Trevor said into his comm, and then started to warm up his cannons.

Hussar 6 did not seem to be ready for anything, because as soon as the uglies reached them, 6 was destroyed, but not before he took out one of the uglies. That left a one on one for Trevor. Wiping his eyes for his fallen comrade, Trevor fired some quick shots at the ugly. Apparently the pilot was still celebrating his kill, because he didn`t even move out of the way of the shots, just let them hit him dead on, tearing his fighter to pieces.

With that, Trevor turned and headed for home, tears flowing down his face.

Trevor woke up with a start, and sat bolt upright in his bead. He wiped his face with his hand, because it had been sweating from his nightmare. He looked over at R5 and asked for the time. R5 responded, and Trevor realized that R5 had been trying to wake him up for the past 10 minutes.

"Alright, thanks R5, I- I got to go to the hanger now, do some pre-flight checks and stuff." Trevor said with a slight shake in his voice. He got up and grabbed his flight suit and helmet, and walked out the door, and started toward the hanger.

What could that dream have meant? Last time I had it was right before Reaper died, and He was the last member of the Hussars...Maybe I`m next. Trevor thought to himself. No, That can`t be right. Everyone but 4 and 6 were taken out by NR pilots, and we shouldn't see many of them today. O well.

With that, he turned his mind to the mission at hand, and continued toward the hanger.
 
-----------------------
FM/SCRW/Trevor Evenson/Nazgul 1-3/Wing 1/ISD-II Devistator/DEF/VEN/VE/(=*A*=)

As Shazam stood up and stretched, Darius took a glance at his leader.  He knew there was a catch, just by looking at the commander's face.

Darius had a secret.  A secret that he planned to let nobody know as long as he lived.  His mother was a Lorrdian.  The special trait that Darius was lucky to inherit was the ability to read emotions through any kind of facial or bodily expression.  He knew when someone was lying, or hiding something important.  He could even read most sabacc faces.  To let this knowledge out, especially now, would cause distrust among his, what he now secretly calls, adopted "family".

"I'm gonna hit the 'fresher before we depart," he announced, as the squadron was leaving the room.

"Alright," Shazam replied.  "Meet in the hangar in one hour."

Darius nodded and left the room.  He walked down the corridor to his quarters, gathered some clothes and a towel, then left for the facilities.

He took his time, letting the warm water and sonic cleanser wipe all of the grime and dirt off of his body.  For once, Darius was relaxed, thinking of the time he lived on Nar Shaada, temporarily.  Of, he could only remember that he had once lived on the Smugglers Moon.  His memory was still patchy after he had an illegal brain wipe from the corrupt Admiral Nevtia.  The now imprisoned Nevtia didn't even correctly do the procedure, thus the occasional flashbacks, and blackouts as memory came back from deep storage.

He stepped out of the cubicle and discovered his clothes were missing.  "This is why I'm paranoid," he muttered to himself.  He erupted in a vertical leap, grabbing the light fixture, and punched out a ceiling panel.  Then, pulling out a dry towel, and a pair of compression shorts, he quickly dried himself and clothed himself: barely.

He burst out of the of restroom, into the corridor, to finding DJ quickly turning the corner with his stuff.  "You requested help Dar?" asked TC.  He was standing next to the door.

"Go gather my equipment and get my holdout blaster out of the refresher.  I need to be ready to go soon."

"Alrighty," the droid chimed, and went to Darius quarters to gather his gear.

Here I come, thought Darius.  He sprinted down the corridor with amazing speed and silence.  The man turned the corner so fast, he ran directly into Jen and Tokijin.  They both stared at the half-naked man, blushed, and got to their feet. 

"You've seen it before Jen," said Darius as he sprinted down the corridor.  Tokijin gave Jen a shocking, suprised look.

"Kessel," said Jen, shaking her head embarrassed.  "Long story."

Lucky for Darius, the ship was small.  He closed in on DJ and took one giant leap onto the large, muscular man's back.  DJ didn't know what had even hit him.

Darius dug his thumb into the man's pressure point, managing to pinch it through the muscle, forcing DJ to his knees.  They both laughed and DJ dropped the clothes.  Darius got off and DJ turned around, expecting to see him naked, but saw the compression shorts, and giggling girls at the end of the corridor.

"You are paranoid," DJ said with a laugh. 

"Thank you," replied Darius, and turned to go to his quarters.  "Ladies,"  he said politely, nodding his head as he passed the blushing, grinning girls.

Darius dressed in his quarters and gathered all of his equipment.  "Don't get into any trouble, and stay away from Jack's R2," he said to TC.  "Don't let the R2 get you either.  Incapacitate any buzz droid, but do not destroy anything of his.  If the R2 tries anything else, I'm sure one of my modifications that you possess can take care of it.  I just don't want a bill for fifty buzz droids.  Or a new R2 unit.  Call back up if you have to."  TC nodded in acknowledgement, knowing what to do, and what the reinforcments were.

He walked over to his R7 unit in the corner.  "Keep an eye on TC, will ya?"  The small droid beeped in compliance.

With that said, Darius left for the hanger.
 
-----------------------
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men to do nothing. --Edmund Burke

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

FM/SCRW Darius Pursius/Nazgul 3-2/mSSD Atrus/Defensive Fleet/VEN/VE (=A=)

Picking up his bags he looked over to where Darius just went and still noticed that he was still half naked. "hey Dar dont you think you should put some clothes on before you walk out into the hanger". I said

"why would i need to do that DJ". Darius said looking around the room and then looking down at himself.

"well the hanger is pretty cold and the floor is metal so i think it would be a good idea to put at least some shoes on" I mused

"hmm guess your right, but I dont think the girls mind ast all" Dar said while laughing.

"Sure they do Casanova, you go and get some clothes and ill meet you in the hanger say 5 min ok."

"ya DJ ok" Darius said while turning around and walking back to his room.

Picking up my bags i headed out to the hanger. stepping into the hanger i put down my bags and checked if i got everything. pulling out my check list I started to chek the stuff off. Primary weapon check, Secondary weapon check, scouting equipment check, Music check, teddy bear check, pilot gloves check, shades check.

"ok thats everything" I said. looking around the place i noticed that I was the only one there "hmm wonder where everyone is" I asked my self.

Just as I finished saying that Darius walked in the hanger. "hey Dar looking better than before."

"thanks DJ" he said

"well since its me and you driving that thing, I just wanted to let you know that I call driver" I said while laughing

"WHAT no fair i wanted to drive DJ come on man be a pal" Darius said.

" ok ok how about i drive half way and you get the other half deal, plus i got some sick music that i want to play".

"ok Deal, and what kind of music we talking about here."

"you will fin out soon enough." I said with a smile.
 
-----------------------
Die now and get a free T-shirt

----------------------
FM/PO2 DJ234/Nazgul 9/Wing 1/mSSD Atrus/Defensive Fleet/VEN/VE (=A=) (=SA=) [VC:B]
Gaming Reporter/G-Rep DJ234/G-Reporter: 3/Gaming Division/VE/VET

Trevor arrived in the hanger, and at first thought he was alone, but as he approched his fighter he could see DJ and Darius arguing over somthing, one of them with a checklist in hand. Trevor got to his fighter and walked behind oneof the wings, so he could not be seen. He proceded to change into his flight suit, and imerged, helmet under arm, from behind the wing.

He climbed into the cockpit and set his helmet on the floor, and started checking over all the systems.

"Primary blasters, check; Shields, almost non-existant, but check; Engines, check. Looks like most everything is green. Comm system, check." He said to himself aloud, checking for a green light on each item. After he was done checking everything, He climbed back out of the fighter, and sat down, leaning his back against the shiny surface of the TIE`s wing.

Trevor, being a very quiet person, who would much rather listen then speak, chose to stick close to his fighter and avoid the other pilots, whereas a regular pilot would strike up a conversation about past battles, paychecks, or anything he could think of.

Insted of wasting the next 15 or 20 minutes waiting for the mission to start, Trevor pulled his wrist comm out of his bag and powered it on. He set it to record, and started making a short voice message for his girlfriend, who was supposed to be en-route to an Imperial registration building, where she was wanting to apply as a cook on the same home-ship as Trevor.

"Hey honey, hows it going? Any luck with getting the job? Well, I hope you did. Anyways, we are just about to head out, and I just thought I`d message you and tell you I love you, and hopfully I`ll see you sometime soon. Bye."

With that, he selected who to send it to and hit 'Send'. He then powered down the comm unit and shoved it into one of the pockets on his flight suit.

-----------------------
FM/SCRW/Trevor Evenson/Nazgul 1-3/Wing 1/ISD-II Devistator/DEF/VEN/VE/(=*A*=)

TC walked up the ramp into the ship, carrying the rest of Darius' "clothing".  "Here you are," he said as the metallic being gently placed Darius' combat armor and other assorted weapons that he didn't have time to prep before he had to report in.  He didn't really care if he flew or not.  He'd rather sit back and talk with the commandos or clean his sniper rifle.

The pilot quickly took off the clothes he was wearing and changed into his combat thinsuit, black jumpsuit, personal armor, and vest he had just acquired through and recent supply shipment to the ship.  Next, came the missile launcher and wrist lasers, pistol holsters, hidden holdout blasters, several vibroblades, and slung his treasure E-11 marksman blaster rifle over his shoulder.  The other guns and weapons he placed in the pilots locker behind the cockpit.

"Here," he said, handing his droid the discarded clothes.  "Take these to my quarters, fold them nicely, and put them back in my duffle bag."

"Gotcha," he replied.

"And remember what I told you about that R2 unit," Darius said on a more serious note.

TC sassed off, "yeah, i got it."  He turned and walked downt he ramp.

Dawning his black cloak, Darius muttered to himself, "little pow wow talk and we're off."

-----------------------
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men to do nothing. --Edmund Burke

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

FM/SCRW Darius Pursius/Nazgul 3-2/mSSD Atrus/Defensive Fleet/VEN/VE (=A=)

The hanger bay was very warm as he entered it, Shazam noticed.  He'd come at almost a dead sprint the last two hallways to make sure he could get checked in without holding things up.  The element of surprise was still a notable one that Nazgul would certainly need to use to get through this unscathed. 

The SC had his eyes on his assigned TIE Interceptor, but they slowly started to shift to the side of the hanger to check for the mechanic he'd visited earlier.  She wan't there but to Shazam's surprise, Henson was.  Shazam stopped in his tracks and watched as he approached him, still surprised he wouldn't be in the bridge at a time like this.

"I heard you had a fighter open..." he stated rather than asked as he reached him.  Shazam held his hand to his ear to hear as the fighter's engines prowled in the background, no doubt the cause of the increasing temperature.

"I did, yes.  Arturus is on board now, I thought you knew that..." Shazam said, raising his voice a little as he led his old friend to his fighter, still trying to keep from wasting to much time chatting.  "Why?  You wanna fly!" he grinned at the thought.

"I need to be up in the bridge of course, but I do actually have someone who would like to fly with you.  His name is..."  Roger didn't have to say anything else as Shazam laid eyes on the man he hadn't even noticed somehow.

"Warren Dimmias...  I know."  He suddenly forgot about his time restraints and stopped to shake hands with the man.  "I wish I would have known you were aboard, I'd have asked to meet you earlier..."  The dark man smiled, his features weren't as sharp as Shazam remembered from the pictures, but that was probably on account of several things.  His hair was the same though, kind of long and fluffed with some of his partially covering his ears.  It was unlike Shazam's hair in that it was still matted down while seemingly puffy.  The SC noted this as he withdrew his hand...

"I don't have a fighter pilots equipment on anyways.  I'd only drag you down.  But, maybe if you don't mind, I could help fly your Sentinal Landing Craft over there..." his voice was kind of rough at first, but smoothed warmly he indicated the ship Darius and DJ were entering. 

"As it happens, we do need a third man.  You should be okay with what your wearing.  Just make sure to buckle-up..." he smiled and shook the man's hand one last time; he felt as if he were meeting a legend...  The smile that was returned to him seemed to have a resolute sadness to it despite his best efforts to seem joyful.  "Introduce yourself to the pilots and tell Darius he can call me if he isn't sure of you.  Glad to have you with us..."  Shazam went to the hatch of his fighter, not a moment to lose.  That out to raise his spirits, thought he as the darkness enclosed around him.  A few lights jumped out at him in the darkness and seemed to direct his hands as he flipped switches and asked for check-ins.

Time to go.

**  Over at the Sentinal  **

The man so well known as 'The Survivor of Decta' jumped onto the entrance ramp of the landing craft as it was just beginning to rise.  Quickly ascending to the level of the two pilots, the one to his right in the pilots seat was surprised and the one straight ahead turned feirce eyes towards him.

"Who are you?" an almost cold voice querried sharply to the him.

"I assume your Darius...  "  Warren noticed he had kept one of his arms behind his back.  "Shazam told me to tell you that if you had a problem with me boarding or was unsure of me that you could call him over the com..."

"You still havn't told us who you are..." the seated at the console said looking up at him; he and Darius seemed to share the same frame of mind at that moment.

"Ah, yes.  I am Warren Dimmias, and I am here to help you pilot this craft to Nar Shadda safely."  Darius seemed to recognize the name and replaced his weapon in the sack he was originally setting in a cabinet.  DJ on the otherhand obviosly recognized him, but for fear of some disapproving look he held back his questions and simply said-

"You can be co-pilot."  Darius thought this strange but then decided it mattered not to him and he hadn't wanted to do much in the first place.

"I suppose that makes me navigator..." Dairus closed the compartment and opened the door leading to the holding chamber.  "We're about to lift-off, grab hold of something..."  Then he allowed it to slide back and took his seat. 

"Your not actually intending on playing this thing while we fly, are you?" Dimmias motioned towards the music player and Dj shook his head slightly.  Luckilly he'd already let Darius here whatever music he'd been so enthused about so he wasn't upset about putting it away.  He was just happy to be meeting a local legend.  The man appeared to be strong in the way he sat upright in his seat and buckled up without having to move the belt end around to fit into the outlet.  There was a quick click and he nodded to Dj to start the ship, as if he needed his permission.

"Right, I'm Dj, by the way..."

(Alright, les ride...)

-----------------------
*Flash Was Here...*

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

DJ showed Warren the cockpit of the shuttle and gave him time to familiarize himself with the controls.  He then came out to talk to Darius quickly.  "You hear Art is coming along?"

"What?" Darius quickly questioned.  "I thought he had a temporary office job?"

"I guess not," DJ replied and turned back and entered the cockpit.

Darius pulled out his personal comlink and dialed in Art.  "Hey, this is Darius, you think you can handle this?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," said Art as calmly as he could.  Darius could tell he was in some pain though.

"Alright, I'll take your word for it.  Darius out."

The young pilot wouldn't have usually been so protective, but considering that on that particular mission, Darius was the one that rescued Art, he couldn't help but worry a little.  Darius never accepted any credit for rescuing the older pilot.  He just said that he was doing his job, which was exactly how he felt.  He had explained that you can't pick who gets killed or shot down in war.  He had disobeyed direct orders to go pick up Art, only because he knew he could finish the job without any loss of life.  As a former mercenary, that's all he knew how to do.  That's how the pilot use to earn his money.

Putting his comlink away, a voice came from above, "something between you two."  It was Warren.

"Just saved his life once," Darius replied cooly.  He knew who the legend was, and respected what him for what he did, and what had happened to him.  But, he was going to refused to give him special treatment because he was a legend.

"Who are you, Darius Pursius?" Warren questioned in a quiet, mystical sullen way.

"Stick around.  Maybe you'll learn something," he replied, and turned, and situated himself in the rear turret of the shuttle.
 
-----------------------
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men to do nothing. --Edmund Burke

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

FM/SCRW Darius Pursius/Nazgul 3-2/mSSD Atrus/Defensive Fleet/VEN/VE (=A=)

Shazam adjusted in his seat for a moment, then rolled his neck before dawning the imperial pilot's helmet.  It always seemed awkward to him in the way everyone else just had life support while he looked like he was hooked to resperators.  Of course, this annoyence had ceased to encumber his flying or hinder his vision as it was quite clear through the little lenses. 

In front of him, his gloves had just put on and were already going to work as Shazam issued the check-in.  He waited to hear everyone in the squadron, excluding Darius and DJ of course, then reported in himself.  The thought suddenly occured to him, they didn't have a name for the landing craft...

"Sentinal, we need a callsign for you.  Make one up, hurry up..." Shazam said anxiously; they were only seconds from exiting hyperspace.

"Right...  Um..." Dj seemed to ponder on it like it was a rainy day activity when he was cut off by a calm but definete voice-

"Delta of course..." It was Dimmias suggesting an obvious military alphabet name.  Shazam didn't think on it twice and simply replied-

"Fine."  There was a flash and the stars melded back from streams of white to glowing embers in the darkness. 

"Nazgul 1, you are clear." An opperator announced and Shazam disengaged from his holdings to drop out of the hanger like a drop of water creeping off a plant.  As this little speck sped away from its origin, other similar molecules dropped in behind the substance as it continued its descent through the vacumm.  It was rather beautiful as far as take-offs in space go, a single waving line suddenly turning into three rows of twirling tops.  A ship much larger than any of the fighters slowly made its way out of the cruiser and pulled up around it as the fighters made a large loop to return to it.  There seemed to be a halo around the Strike-Class cruiser as the group reapproached- Nar Shadda lay just beyond it, glowing steadilly as if forever undisturbed.

"Alright, flight one...  We're going to make a point to this formation and be the first to intercept any opposing fighters." Shazam pulled back on the controls a little to guide the group over the top of the cruiser; in the bridge Henson was saluting as they passed.  "Nazguls five and eight will be covering the sides while nine and ten cover the back..." Behind Flight one, Jen was seperating away from Tokijin as if to say, "Good Luck..."  Jack and Gladius seemed to be right at home in the back though, and simply glided to their positions.  Shazam finished his shpeal with," Carrier Delta, we will be your escort today. Please keep your seats in the upright positions and make sure your safety restraints are in place at all times..." 

(Alright, I gotta go to bed...  I'll edit tomarrow if I must to extend, but lets see if you can work off this I suppose.  Rock on.)
 
-----------------------
*Flash Was Here...*

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

Darius explored the line of sight for the rear turret.  To be prepared, he had practice shooting in the simulators.  It had been a long time since he had been in a rear-facing turret.  He watched as the Strike cruisers slowing shrunk against the layout of stars and nebulas.

To pass time, he quadruple checked his gunnery systems, and tried to remember all the constelations that formed from this part of the galaxy.  It wasn't a long time until first contact, but Darius often got bored fast.

"Alright, here they come," declared Shazam from his interceptor.

"What are we looking at sir," questioned Tokijin.

Warren cut in, "according to long range scanners, I've picked up two picket ships, and two squadron of fighters.  Imaging shows that the picket ships and moderately armed with Arakyd concussion missle launchers, and two quad laser turrets.  The fighters are a mix of cloakshape and planetary interceptors."

"Carrier Delta, keep clear of the picket ships," ordered Shazam.  "They will try to intercept you.  Escort, nothing touches that ship.  You are on that shuttle like wingstingers on a piece of fruit.  The rest of the squadron will take care of the rest."

"Enemy fighters coming in hot, three minutes till contact," declared Warren.

"Fly smart people," said Darius.  He prepared himself for the fight.
 
-----------------------
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men to do nothing. --Edmund Burke

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

FM/SCRW Darius Pursius/Nazgul 3-2/mSSD Atrus/Defensive Fleet/VEN/VE (=A=)

*** During the Launch ***

Trevor donned his helmet and gloves, and powered up all the TIE`s systems. He awaited clearance, and as soon as he was acknowledge, he detached his fighter and drifted into space, close behind Shazam and Art. He looked to his left and could just see the tips of another Interceptor`s wings through the split wind of his Interceptor. It was either Jen or 'the new girl', Tokijin, but he couldn't tell which. He saw the carrier float lazily past them, and then Shazam started issuing orders.

""Alright, flight one...We're going to make a point to this formation and be the first to intercept any opposing fighters. Nazguls five and eight will be covering the sides while nine and ten cover the back... Carrier Delta, we will be your escort today. Please keep your seats in the upright positions and make sure your safety restraints are in place at all times..." He said, guiding the flight over the top of the cruiser, and around, in front of the carrier.

As Nar Shadda came into full view, Trevor was slightly amazed with its dirty splendor, and tried to forget about the times he had spent on that wretched planet, including the times he had almost been killed. HE noticed her was slowly drifting out of formation, and tightened up a little. He looked off to the right and could see what he presumed to be enemy fighters forming up, in a pattern similar to Nazgul`s. When they started getting a little closer, Shazam gave some more orders, telling Him and Art to hold their positions, all the while speeding up to engage the enemy fighters.

"Whats he doing Art?' Trevor questioned over the comm. "Should we really let him go in and do that alone?"

"I`m not sure, but whatever it is, He can handle himself. I`m sure of it." Art replied, sounding a small bit confused, but confidant in Shazam`s ability.

"Yessir." Trevor said, floating his TIE along side of Art`s, And awaiting more orders from Shazam.

*** After Shazam`s posts ***

Trevor was closing in on the pirate on the right, which was now slowing down, and his fighter was 'wobbling' from a hit he had received from Darius. I wonder if his shields are down...Only one way to find out i guess. Trevor thought to himself, as he let loose a few bolts from his fighters cannons. The green streaks of energy flew through the void with incredible speed, and struck the fighter in the rear, causing some plumes of smoke and visible damage, which meant that his shields were depleted. Trevor let loose a larger amount of fire, which quickly reached it target. The fighter he was aiming at suddenly pulled away from its crew mate, and made a large, looping right hand turn. Trevor left formation to pursue it, and was on his tail in no time, firing in short bursts. He had let three of four volleys go before the craft started erupting in spots of flame, and on his fifth it exploded from the rear forward. Trevor could feel the heat from the explosion, which was almost immediately snuffed out by the vacuum of space.

He returned to formation, and followed close to Art and Shazam, who appeared to have destroyed the third fighter while Trevor chased down the second.
 
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FM/SCRW/Trevor Evenson/Nazgul 3(1-3)/Wing 1/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE/(=*A*=)