Hunter felt like he had been shot in the head then poorly healed by some bacta. Why did I let those damn techs convince me to have a drink with them? Pushing up from his bed, he stumbled to his refresher and closed the door. A few minutes later, he stepped out with a minimally better step and got into his clothes. Nothing some good medication couldn't take care of, though I hate having to do that to myself. Next time they involve Sabacc, I really have to turn it down. Good thing they didn't notice I sliced it. I gave them half their money back, so it wasn't like I really stole from them. He consoled himself.

  Picking up his datapad as he left his room, Hunter checked the squadron meeting's time for the third time. I'm getting anxious. It's been too long since I've flown. Aegis hasn't been given a mission for some time. I hope this one goes well. Moving through the halls of the star destroyer that Aegis had been stationed on for the past month, Hunter spotted the two men he had played Sabacc with the night before. Swerving to the left, Hunter took an alternate route. He soon realized his new route wasn't going in the correct direction any more. Breaking into a quick jog, he rifled through his datapad's files for the map he had stored in its memory. You'd think after a month, you'd know your way around, Hunter! I knew I should have left more time. I'm only going to just make it. Grinding his teeth, he dodged around an idle tech.

  Ten minutes later, Hunter flew through the briefing room door, brow glistening with sweat. The rest of the squadron, who were taking their seats, turned to look at him. After straightening his clothes and mopping his brow, Hunter calmly walked to the chair next to Chip. "You almost didn't make it, again."

  "Sorry, things just always. . . come up." Hunter grinned.

  "For the past three meetings?" Chip arched an eyebrow.

  "Yes," Hunter replied. "So where is this mission taking us?" He continued in a rush.

  "Easy now. One would think you've been locked away for a week."

  "We have been." Templar said from down the table.

  "So we have," Chip muttered. "Let's begin then. This mission isn't really apparent. We don't get to just go in and blast a few fighters to bits. This one involves a bit more, subterfuge before hand."

  "Doesn't that fall more into other squadron's territory?" Raigen asked.

  "It would if the second part of the mission didn't need more fire power than an Advanced could give, though I don't doubt the other squadrons' abilities. Now, let me explain some stuff before you go asking more questions, or we'll never get out of here. A few weeks ago, a NR Corellian Corvette was captured. It had been equipped with a special power generator, capable of producing two times the amount possible by our ships. Intelligence had obtained the location of where the shuttle was taking its first long term test run. It had been heavily guarded, but our forces were able to capture it and escape.

  "Unfortunately, do to the amount of resistance they met, a lot of our ships were destroyed or damaged in the encounter. They were to take three short jumps before heading in the proper direction. When they entered real space for the last time, they were met with a rude welcome, or so we can assume. We don't know exactly what happened, but due to the wreckage of a few ships that weren't our own, Intel. has surmised that a group of pirates stole the Corvette. They've been able to track down their whereabouts to Asteroid Prime. It's on the outskirts of our controlled systems and is normally left alone. It doesn't pose any threat to us in itself, but the people that use it as a stop of place or home are not people you want to bump into on the street, or space.

  "If you haven't heard of Asteroid Prime, it is basically a small colony gone wrong. After it had been mined out, it was changed into a form of pirate and smuggler safe zone. Apparently, whoever runs the place is strong enough to force everyone who goes there to play nice with each other. Pirates and smugglers go their to trade, sell on the black market, go to a few of the bars, hang out at the casino, or just lay low for awhile. I'm sure you've heard of these types of places around the galaxy. You can normally find one in every asteroid belt that is close to civilization. Any questions so far, before I continue?" Chip finally paused and took a breath. The room was silent. Most of the squadron, who had been looking at the holo-projector, now showing a revolving image of Asteroid Prime, turned their heads to Chip when he stopped talking.

  "How long do we have until we leave? I'm guessing we're going to Asteroid Prime to find the pirates that stole the Corvette?" Jmac asked across from Hunter.

  "Skipping ahead now are we?" Chip grinned. "All right, as Jmac just said, we're going to find the Pirates. The reason we're doing this, is so if they decide to run, hopefully we'll be able to follow them in our gunboats to their base and take them by surprise. That should let us take out their defenses and take out any large ships they have in dry dock. If they don't run, then we are going to have force them to tell us where the base is. So, the first part of our mission is to infiltrate the local black market at Asteroid Prime to see if any Corvettes or new energy generators have entered the market. Hunter, that's your team's job. You will be taking your flight with you and pretend you're just entering the local seen. If nothing shows up, you'll meet the rest of us at the ship that takes us. We won't be staying on the asteroid. The rest of us will be moving through the bars and other establishments, trying to find or pump any information on where we might find a Corvette or who tends to pull off those types of missions. With some luck, we'll find the men we're looking for.

  "The second part of the mission, as I've already stated, will have us either follow or find the pirate's who are responsible for taking the Corvette base and capturing it. Once it is secure, we'll send out a message to a waiting skeleton crew, who will transfer from their shuttle into the Corvette and take it to a secure area. The second part should only take us forty-five minutes to accomplish, thirty of which will consist of us babysitting the corvette until our crew is in position. Now, does anyone have questions?"

  This time Hunter opened his mouth. "How are we getting there, and when do we leave?"

  "We will leave in roughly three hours. Everyone is to pack a side arm or two along with some street clothes. We want to blend in, so nothing fancy." Hunter grinned. I'll blend in quite well with this face and eye. "A cargo transport, which will hold out Gunboats inside of it, will take us and dock with Asteroid Prime. It will look like we're in the trading business, and we will let everyone think that way. While on the asteroid, I expect you to all play that role perfectly. Any slipups and we might lose our prey. Also, the transport will be our home while we're there. It will be very crowded, because three-fourths of the ship has been modified into a hanger bay to hold our star fighters, so it's a good thing we're all friends. That's all I have. Get ready and meet me at the shuttle hanger in two and a half hours. We need to transfer to the Rough Ride then, so we can leave. Dismissed."

  Getting up from his seat, Hunter stretched his back out. That was a longer meeting then I thought it would be. "Hey Hunter, will you be ok with your assigned task?" Chip asked him as the rest of the squadron filed out of the briefing room. "I know you were arrested for slicing into some confidential stuff and that's why your here, so I was hoping you might be able to use that talent to maybe search the black market records a little faster than the legal method, if you can count cheating something illegal wrong."

  "I think I'll be able to handle it. I've gotten into a lot better protected things before." Hunter shrugged.

  "Good, I'll see you at the hanger bay then." Chip exited the room ahead of Hunter and headed off to the left. Now if only I can remember the way back to my room. Hunter scratched the back of his head.

 
-----------------------
=Aegis-Squadron=
Senior Crewman Hunter

FL/SCRW Hunter/Aegis 9/Pheonix Wing/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE (=*A*=)

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.

Geth walked down the hall to his quarters. On the way he was re-thinking his time in the navy, wondering if the navy was a better choice. If he had joined the army he could have served along side his older brother, and stayed on Tadath, where he could have stayed with his family. Jeez, I leave in three hours, that's hardly any time with Glissa. Geth started a slow run through the maze of the ship.

Finally reaching the door to his quarters, he walked in to find his divine wife rocking their infant boy to sleep. Glissa looked up from her caring for Blaze, and saw who had come through the door, which brought a smile to her attractive face. Geth couldn't help but smile back but he knew she wouldn't like the information he had to give.

-= Two Hours or so Later =-

"I should say bye to Bronx too."

"Yeah, you should."

Geth and Glissa walked over to the holoprojector. Bronx happened to be in his room so he answered it himself. Geth explained that he was leaving for a few days. After a few minutes of talking Geth realized he still had to get ready, and gave his goodbye to Bronx. Bronx wished him luck and closed the link. Geth gathered his clothes and uniforms, walked over to his weapons cabinet, and took out twin IR-5 Intimidator Repeating Blaster Pistol's. They were a gift from his brother. After realizing that he had been staring at the blasters for a minute, he looked over at Glissa.

"It's time to go..."

Glissa replied through her sniffles, "Ok...I love you..."

Geth walked over and kissed her on her brow, "I love you too, Glissa."

Geth turned and walked through the door, leaving the two things he loved most in the universe behind, and started walking down the hall.


-----------------------
GETH
=Aegis-Squadron=
FM/SCRW GETH/Aegis - 2/Pheonix Wing/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE (=*A*=)

  After Hunter had found his way back to his room, he sat down on the bed and began to list the things he would take with him. After a few minutes, he walked over to a desk with a built in terminal. Opening the top compartment, he put his hand inside and pressed a concealed button. A hidden compartment suddenly jutted out from the side of the desk. Kneeling on the floor, Hunter bent over and started pulling out some of his equipment. If Chip wants me to access the black market there, I'm going to need a lot of this stuff, just incase it's more heavily defended than I assume.

  Ten minutes later, Hunter straightened up slowly. Looking down at the pile of tools he would take, Hunter checked to make sure he had everything. Once he was reassured, he kicked the side of the compartment, closing back into its hidden position. As he bent over to pick up the slicing equipment, Hunter closed the drawer with the button in it. Wouldn't have been good leaving that open. What if someone had found the button? I doubt many people here know what this stuff is for, but they could probably guess.

  Carrying the unique supplies he had taken from the compartment, Hunter carried them to his bed and started to sort them. First he picked up a datapad with nothing but a screen on it. Most people would assume it was useless, but Hunter had developed it so you had to press the screen in three key areas for it to activate. He had used it many times before when he was arrested in his earlier life. No one knew how to open it, so any secretive data he downloaded onto it was well hidden. The next few items were odd wires and cables, wire cutters, micro-torches, magnifiers, and miniature grasping tools. He sorted those into a small briefcase which had three concealed compartments. He had had it specially made out of a very hard metal that could withstand almost every weapon. Helping a few business men get rid of some things always had a way of paying off in the end. Hunter really didn't know how he had gotten his prized tools past security. He knew in the back of his mind that everywhere he was allowed to go was secured from him, even if he had taken his tools.

  When he had been caught hacking into secure items by the Vast Empire, he had been given a choice, work for them or spend the next thirty years of his life in prison. Of course, he had chosen to join the Navy. Prison had never suited Hunter. Thankfully, he had shown signs of being an adept pilot besides his slicing skills. Once he was through the academy, a group of officials had given him back his confiscated tools and told him never to use them unless ordered by a superior officer. At that time, he thought it would be almost impossible to comply with the orders, but once he was sent to Aegis squadron, Hunter hadn't had enough time to slice into anything. Now, he only hoped he hadn't gotten rusty with his hidden talent.

  Once he had finished packing his more delicate slicing tools, Hunter shut the briefcase and set the thirteen digit code lock. He didn't know what he was going to find on Asteroid Prime, but he was going to be prepared. Moving over to his closet, he pulled out a few of his clothes and flight suit. Packing the flight suit into a duffle bag, Hunter chose three other pairs of clothes to take with him. All the pairs of clothes were the same dark black suit with a stripe running from his right shoulder to his left him. The stripe was colored red, blue, or a darker black. It made him look more refined, but the all black one had an added bonus of making him almost disappear into shadows. Choosing the blue one to wear on the trip, Hunter changed from his clothes and packed everything else. Looking down at himself, he decided he looked roughly like a merchants aid. His metal right eye and scar showed he knew the way things worked on the darker side of things. This mission was made for me in many ways. I just hope I can help them once it comes to flying. He also hoped he could resist the temptation to return to his former life. The draw to leave his Navy persona behind had become his old self was something Hunter didn't know he could face.

  Looking at his chronometer, Hunter saw he still had an hour left before the squadron was to meet in the hanger bay. Maybe if I get a little sleep I'll feel less anxious. Or maybe I should go fill in my flight on what we're actually going to be doing before it happens. Without a hint of guilt, Hunter flopped onto his bed and decided he would just tell his flight on the way to Asteroid Prime.

  (OOC I know it didn't move the story too far along, but I wanted to give Chip, Jmac, and everyone else a chance to write some before I just took us to the shuttle. )

 
-----------------------
=Aegis-Squadron=
Senior Crewman Hunter

FL/SCRW Hunter/Aegis 9/Pheonix Wing/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE (=*A*=)

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.

"Crap" Templar thought as was dragged down the hallway by Gemini. "Why do I always say the wrong things about girls?" *sigh* *I don't know a thing about women at all" "Blue, are you sure we'll have the time, I mean uh, I was just joking about the hair thing. It uh, looks fine. *Templar tried to smile, but the smile fades when he sees her emotionless expression. He starts to break a sweat, and he breaks away from her so she won't notice his sweaty palms* "And besides, don't you think that uh... it would be a lot more productive if we spent our time in the simulator?" Gemini still had an emotionless expression on her face, but Templar could make out a small trace of a smile. "C'mon, this will only take a few minutes. Besides, we'll have the time in the world for the Sims after wards." *Templar pretended to ponder for awhile but he already had his answer. "Fine" In past experiences he found that just agreeing with them was easier then not.* "Ok, lets go".

As Templar and Gemini made their way toward the shopping center two men in Stormtrooper armor walked out of the shadows. "Hey Bow, take a look at the freak and the nerd."said the one on the left. " Ha ha ha...yeah, take a look at that, isn't it a shame that we're blocking this passage, and that we're the only people in this dark, shadowy corridor?" The one on the left grinned, "yep, Bow it is a shame isn't it." The grin left his face. "but seriously, you..pilots (he spats out this part) better pay up if you don't want to get hurt, lets see all your credits." *With that the two draw their blaster rifles*. *templar yells to get down, and draws his blaster pistol within milliseconds of the two drawing their own blasters. Amazingly though, Gemini had drawn her blaster twice as fast as Templar had, and had already shot both of the Stormtrooper thugs in the face.* "Oh Crap!" Templar yells,"your fast...are they dead?" "No, i set my blaster to stun before i fired, they'll just be knocked out for awhile. *Templar gapes at her for awhile before he regains his posture. he spits on the two stormtroopers.* "Well it's a shame their not, scum."
*Templar and Gemini step over the bodies before continuing on to the market....*

Gemini rested her face on her knees, while hugging her self. Hunter left a few minutes ago leaving her contemplating on what colour she should dye her hair. A common colour, something most woman or girls have. Gemini picked her self lazily from the bunk to get her backpack. She rummaged for a few moments through it before a small bottle protruded from it.

Might as well get it over and done with

Shocked silence fell in the kitchen when Gemini walked through the door. She looked up confused as the rest of the squadron just stared at her.
"What?" she asked, another few moments passed in silence. Hunter coughed. While Templar started to shake with laughter. Chip looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"Brown hair?" asked Hunter at last, a fry pan in his hand.  Gemini tucked the strands of hair that fell in her face behind her ear with a slender finger. It sure was odd to see her self in the mirror with auburn hair.

Gemini blushed, her cheeks turned scarlet as the guys kept staring.
"Blue looks way better," muttered Templar. Gemini nodded her head in agreement. Even though her azure hair was a defect, caused my scientific research, it was part of her, and made her unique in one way or another.

"Have you ever cooked before Gemini?" asked Hunter knowing she was uncomfortable; it was shocking to see her without her usual blue tresses. Gemini looked at him with surprise before she trudged over to him and took the pan out of his hands.

"Get going boys, you are overweight waste in the kitchen," ordered Gemini, she opened the fridge door to get some ingredients. Chip and Hunter feigned hurt in their expression, while Malo and Templar marched themselves out with a&
"Yes Mam" Gemini fought to keep her self from grinning at this.

"Are we there yet?"
Everyone looked at Templar with annoyed expressions on their face.
"What?" he asked innocently, a huge grin stretched across his face.
"We arrive there in an hour, happy?" muttered Hunter, irritation scowled on his face.
Gemini smirked as a brilliant plan formed in her head for Templar. Quickly forming her words right she straightened her self from her sleeping position and sat upright to face Templar.

"Did you enjoy the snack I made?" she asked with a sugar sweet voice. Well as sugar sweet as she capable off. Templar looked at her dumbfounded before grinning again.

"Sure did, why?"  Said Templar with a dreamy expression on his face thinking about the snack.
"And now you are a bit bored," Gemini continued. Already phrasing her next sentence in her head. 
"Yeah, stupid crap of technology." Muttered Templar as he attempted to kick the floor. Gemini caught Hunter's eye, she gave an amused smirk, which he replied catching her plan.

"Yeah, technology is crap, as well as the droids and the dishwasher, be a dear and wash up the dishes" This time Gemini grinned and sugar sweet smile at Templar.
Templar grumbled a few languages as he stomped to the kitchen while Gemini resumed her lounging around activity. No use to lock her self in her room. The Aegis was too much of a laugh to be missed out.

 
-----------------------
Aegis Squad

Raigen followed Chip obediently. He had a multitude of weapons surrounding him including his beloved sniper rifle. Now this is my kind of place. Weapons and excitement everywhere and plenty to do! Raigen thought about this and smiled comfortably. He was lucky enough to sneak his Toscan 8Q starfighter onboard in a nice, cozy spot while the rest of the squadron was getting briefed. He preferred its excess laser cannons and modified controls, even if it was a tad slower. He hid his gunboat, the Heckler aboard the star destroyer where he could retrieve it later along with his droids.

Raigen's sniper rifle was strapped over his back. He was wearing his gray utility vest, long black military style pants with blue piping down the side. He also wore a long white pull over shirt and black, knee high spaceman's boots.

Raigen walked up next to Chip and kept up with him. "Sir, I thought I could do better working to find the pirates myself. I worked with these kind of people before enlisting and I think it would be less conspicuous if we worked separately." Raigen waited for a response. He knew he didn't have good chances at getting to work on his own but he gave it a shot. Besides, I could at least make conversation, he thought.

"I'd rather you stick to the plan Raigen, why don't you run some maintenance checks on the gunboats. See if everything's in order. We need to be our best to get that corvette back." Chip sighed and looked at Raigen, then continued walking. Raigen looked towards Geth. "Do you think that was an order?" Raigen was puzzled. "Think of it as a friendly suggestion!" exclaimed Geth who stopped and continued after Chip.

Raigen scratched his head before deciding to ask Chip for a two hour leave later. All he wanted was to pick up some needed supplies.

Raigen boarded the Rough Ride and waited till no one was looking. He then doubled checked to see if the coast was clear and searched for a loose wall panel. He found it and ran his left finger along the crease. He pulled at the panel to reveal a wiring duct. Tangled in the wires were a R3 astromech droid and a B1 battle droid with dark, navy blue detailing and a storm trooper 2 carbine.

"Kaythree and OneBee. I thought you would sneak aboard. I thought I told you to stay on the destroyer, and how did you get into the wiring duct?" Raigen shook his head and pulled the droids out. "Sir, We thought the Navy could use our assistance," replied the battle droid. Raigen laughed. "Fine. One Bee, come with me. Kaythree, go run checks on all the ships, refuel them if you have to&and fix this panel." Raigen walked off with the battle droid and checked once more to see if the coast was clear.Sorry Chip, I gotta get this stuff, you'll thank me later! he thought as he made his way down the ramp.

Raigen left the hanger stealthily leaving Kaythree to do his work. He had to dodge behind a wall to avoid a fellow pilot. No one could know where he was going. Raigen flung the sniper around OneBee's torso and unbuttoned his holster and snuck his sport seven into his jacket. "OK Onebee! We need to avoid fellow pilots, if they see me out it's my head. Hold your gun down and look passive. Many pirates travel with battle droids for protection. Try to act inconspicuous. We have to find a weapons store."

Raigen departed from the hanger into the busy crowd. He spotted chip and quickly ducked behind a durasteel container, pulling OneBee with him. Chip was walking strait toward them, it was over now, all he could do was wait or make a run for it. Raigen suddenly had a stroke of genius. He whispered into OneBee's voice recognizer. After a moment or two, OneBee Struck Raigen on the head with his carbine. Raigen blacked out and Onebee dragged him along the streets into an alley. It was just another beating applied to a bloodied up criminal, and Chip suspected nothing.

  "Nice work Gem." Hunter whispered from behind her as they left the black market room. Interesting how her name can me a precious stone. "Head back to the ship." Stepping back a little, he let Gemini lead them back toward the hanger. This time, he wouldn't have to pay attention to where they were going and could examine their surroundings more closely. The crowds milling through the carved rock tunnels were made of many different species. He could pick out Ithorian, Twi-lek, Duro, Sullustan, and many others. The majority though was still human, if you could call them that. These men and women were the underbelly of the universe. None of them seemed friendly, and all of them carried some weapon, even if they were trying to hide them.

  Scanning the neon-signs above bustling windows and doors, Hunter saw that a lot of the buildings were bars and saloons, only a few of which looked decent enough to eat at. Unfortunately, Hunter still felt a form of longing for it. Being a slicer meant you didn't always get the best pay in the universe. Also, some of the best clientele liked to meet in places like that. Stop it Ridley. You know you're better than that. Aren't you?

  Other buildings displayed weapons, repair parts and items, food, ship parts, odd ends, and even vehicles. Hunter could see a speeder or two sitting in front of the shops. Looking down a side tunnel, Hunter ordered, "Duck." Gemini and Space immediately dropped down. Two transport speeders flew by over head, a little too low. "Idiot drivers." Hunter cursed and helped Gemini to her feet. I should have remembered that these places were big enough to have transportation like that.

  "Was that a speeder?" Space gasped.

  "Yeah, makes for quicker travel through these tunnels. This asteroid is quite big. You could wander through its tunnels for years and find something new everyday, even if it isn't always pretty." Hunter explained.

  "They were flying low." Gemini remarked.

  "They don't care if they hurt anyone." Hunter replied. "Let's get back to the ship." Pushing Gemini lightly in the back, she got the point and started to walk again. A little shocked about the close call before. I guess almost being decapitated for the first time does that. The rest of the walk back to the ship was uneventful, and they arrived a few minutes later. Stepping on board, they found that no one had arrived back from their respective mission.

  "No ones here." Space remarked.

  "They wouldn't be. Their missions will take the rest of the day. Space stay here with this datapad," Hunter handed him the list they had procured from the black market tenants, but not before quickly copying the files to his own datapad. "Always make a copy. Keep a look out for the rest of the squad and keep the ship under gaurd. If Chip arrives, tell him we went out to look for more information."

  "Yes, sir." Space responded. Hunter motioned for Gemini to exit the ship again.

    As they were walking through the dirty hanger again, she asked, "What are we going to do?"

  Hunter thought about that for a second before answering, "Visit some of the local shops. You never know. Those pirates may have put the generator on the legal market. Plus, while we're there, we can always see if there is anything interesting to buy." Hunter turned only his mechanical eye to look at her. She was giving him a quizzical look, but then a small smile went across her face as his little plan dawned on her. Our part is done for today, but that doesn't mean we can't still lay some nets of our own and have fun at the same time.

 
-----------------------
=Aegis-Squadron=
Senior Crewman Hunter

FL/SCRW Hunter/Aegis 9/Pheonix Wing/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE (=*A*=)

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.

Gemini and Hunter walked alongside each other silence. Both caught up in their own thoughts. The silence didn't last long. Hunter noticed Gemini's doubt, as she looked around puzzled.

"What's wrong? He asked even though he had a suspicion as to what it may be. Hunter waited the traditional seconds off, used at Gemini's slow replies by now.
"I'm not sure what I want to do," she muttered softly, as she kept glancing around letting curiosity take the better off her.

Hunter grinned slightly,
"Want to visit the cantina, I'm dying of thirst," he said.
Gemini scrunched her face up,
"Cantina?"
Hunter's grin turned into a dumbfounded gape.
"You don't know what a cantina is?"

Gemini took a small sniff at the liquid placed in front of her. Hunter felt it was job as good friend to take her to the nearest cantina so she could have a drink. He seemed so relax in the rowdy crowd, his arms hung limply over chair leaning, but Gemini still didn't miss the small movements of his mechanical eye. He was still alert and cautious.

"Come on, its not that bad" urged Hunter her on with a short laugh. He inhaled the contents of his glass deeply, his shoulders visibly relaxed while he kept drinking.
Gemini cocked her head to the side as she attempted to study the glass from the side. But Hunter quickly snatched the glass away from her and held it up. Gemini suppressed a laugh at the boyish grin he displayed. She hasn't seen that before, in truth, she hasn't actually seen him when he was totally relaxed. Except when he slept, but even then he seemed tense. She unconsciously rubbed her wrists where he grabbed her.

"It's the same stuff, whether you drink it, study it from the right, from the left. It's the same stuff," he said. Gemini sighed.
"Fine" she muttered and attempted to grab the glass from Hunter who kept it on purpose out of her reach. He laughed at her frustrated frown.

They were about to leave when Hunter's ComLink went off.
"Hunter, where are you?" came Chip irritated voice over the tiny voice box.
"At a cantina, what's wrong?" asked Hunter worried, his posture went straight, and no slouch could be detected in his shoulders. Back to business again.

"Raigen disappeared, he talked about working on his own, and then he vanished. And I passed several authorities, and they all were talking about a camera being destroyed, sniper blast. I didn't catch all their orders, but search parties are sent out, five speeders as well. Raigen own a sniper. Keep a lookout on him, he heated think up to early. I never knew this place was so security tight, means someone is afraid..." Chip cut the connection before Hunter had the chance to reply.

"Trouble?" asked Gemini s the excited the Cantina.
"If Chip is correct, big trouble, lets go look for Raigen, we should try and find a security datapad, there would be a listing as to where this camera was destroyed" suggested Hunter.


-----------------------
Aegis Squad

Spacespeed9 looked around. He walked out from the hangar, and remembered something he needed to get. He looked around for a place to buy Proton Grenades and Impact Grenades, before realizing that there wouldn't be such a place out open in the public. His blaster carbine and a heavy blaster pistol were in holsters at his sides. He felt slightly abandoned, as he didn't know where to look for these stores, or who to ask. He went into the nearest cantina, even if it could be slightly dangerous, and relaxed into one of the seats. He decided to put off looking for a contact, and thought that this place could be a good place to start.

What...was...that!
Gemini stared at Hunter as he managed to stutter a half composed sentence, to caught up in embarrassment to think properly.
"I, uh, well . . . you know . . . guards and all... I just . . . um . . . let's keep going." Said Hunter. Gemini detected a red glow from cheeks. They hastily broke eye contact, and hurriedly fled into the crowd.

Gemini found hugs rare, but a kiss? Not in her life does she remember its presence. Except for when some random scum had too much to drink, and decided on Gemini as their next target. She shrugged puzzling thoughts off. It was an act. Nothing more.

  "Chip, this is Hunter. Gemini and I are at the cantina. If you haven't sent everyone here already, pull him or her back to the ship. We'll get Raigen back to the ship one way or another with out being followed. Between me and him, I'm sure we can ditch security." Gemini noticed Hunter's eyes were constantly alert, and his free had been resting nonchalantly on his blaster.

Moment later Gemini could hear Chip familiar voice.
"Templar and Jmac are already there. I can recall everyone else. If you guys aren't back in thirty minutes, we'll assume you've been caught and put into the local holding area. We'll talk more once you get back here about what everyone learned today."

  "Roger, Hunter out."


They have been waiting now for nearly ten minutes. But still there was no sign of Raigen. Gemini found her self becoming more and more agitated with. Hunter was also showing signs of irritation and anger.

"How hard is it to lay low," he asked angrily after a few moments. Gemini looked around alert. For a second he forgot they had to lie low and his voice rose a couple of notches. She gave him a quick jab in the ribs.
"Calm down, let me get some drinks" Before Hunter had the chance to reply Gemini bolted from her seat to the counter.

"Just some water please" she ordered. For a few seconds the man looked flabbergasted at her.
"Water?" he asked. Gemini rolled her eyes.
I guess they don't serve a plain glass of water she thought to her self. Her eyes flicked to the holo menu to see the other options, but before she could settle on a choice she felt her self being grabbed by the one arm.

"You are the girl who were on the same ship as that other guy," a skinny looking Twilek dressed in some form of military style looked at her. She tried to wrench her arms from his grip.

"What guy?" asked Gemini slowly and hesitant .She had no idea what he was talking about. 
"The one who sniped the security cam" Then it dawned on her.
Raigen
She continued playing dumb.
"Burt, come have a look at this, looks like her, what ya think?" called the Twilek over. From the over crowded booths the human Burt made his appearance.
He seemed to be the dominant between the two them.
"Definitely, lets see if she has some answers, take her to the cells, there is bound to be more of them"" ordered Burt.

The Cantina seemed unfazed as they tied her. She ignored looking into Hunter's direction, knowing if her captors saw who she was looking at, it would only end up with Hunter bounded as well.
Frakked Raigen!
She started struggling with all her might, but it only earned her a heavy blow to her head rendering her unconscious.


"You answer, we question, sounds fair?"
Gemini looked up tiredly. A look at the clock told her she has been out for a few hours. She tried to sit upright, but a pain emitting from her ribs made gasp for a breath.

A dim light was swinging from side to side above her, suspended by a durasteel chain. She was chained to the wall; her wrists were encased in large shackles.
The whole room were covered in shadows making it difficult for her to see if there were more in the room.
A burly Twilek sneered at her, while his eyes roamed over her, filled with suppressed lust.  Gemini stiffened.
"Sounds fair?" he asked again, this time however his question was accompanied with blow to her ribs.
Gemini managed a tiny smirk when pain shot through her body. She stifled a snicker as she shut her self down from the pain. Something she taught her self when she was placed in experiments at the rebel laboratory.

"The silent type? We'll get you talking, just ya wait," said the twilek smirking in glee.
Dammit Hunter, where are you? she thought to her self as Hunter's face popped up in her mind instinctively.


-----------------------
Aegis Squad

Raigen was standing in the corner of the cantina, casualy leaning against the wall. He had snuck onto the Rough Ride in the past hour and dawned his scout armor which he had painted bounty hunter black onboard the Atrus. His sniper was safely on the ship and his only weapon was his O-6. Raigen looked around amd saw Jmac and Templar. They probably thought they could ambush me! he thought. Raigen recognized Gemini and laughed. There act in the street was anything but convincing. In fact he would say that it tipped the authorities to their presence. Not as much as Raigen's antics, but enough. Raigen had a nice little chuckle until his fears came true. He saw Gemini being attacked by a group of officials.

"What the..." he exclaimed as Gemini was attacked. He looked at Jmac and Temlar. They were twiddling their fingers. Raigen pushed his way through the crowd which was a difficult task. By the time he was in firing range, Gemini was out cold. Raigen had a dead lock on the head of a Twi' lek who looked like the leader but put his gun away and turned back toward Jmac and Templar. He thought for a second and realized that Hunter would be the better choice given the circumstances. He searched around quickly and spotted him at the bar. He once again pushed his way throiugh the crowd and grabbed Hunter by the shoulders and spun him around.

Raigen did nothing but point to Gemini who was being dragged away.

"What the!...Who are you?" Hunter exclaimed as he tried to break for Gemini.

Raigen held him back by his shirt and struggled to keep his balance. "No, it's too late for that Hunter. We need to find Chip!"
Raigen sighed and removed his scout helmet.

  "We need to find Chip!" echoed in Hunter's head. He didn't know how long he stood there, struggling against Raigen, before he came to his senses. Gemini had already disappeared with the two men that took her, while Jmac and Templar were still somewhere else in the cantina. Grabbing Raigen's arm that was holding Hunter's shirt, Hunter pulled free and spun around.

  "Where did you get that armor?" Hunter snapped. "And why did you stop me? We could have taken them."

  "Hunter, you don't know how many of them are in here. You should know that you can judge things by their appearance in these types of places. Don't let a girl blind you." Raigen tried to talk sense into Hunter. "And I got this armor back at the Rough Ride."

  "If you snuck on to get it, why didn't you just meet Chip there? Then none of this would have happened." Hunter prodded.

  Raigen paused a second. "I was trying to lure the people who were after me out. I didn't know that they had Gemini's description also."

  "Well, you lured them out all right. Let's get Templar and Jmac and get back to the ship, before more of us get arrested. You might want to put that helmet back on." Hunter advised than merged into the crowd. Weaving between people and dodging through gaps, Hunter found Jmac and Templar a minute later, near the entrance to the Cantina. "And why didn't you two do anything?"

  "What are you talking about, and why do you have a Bounty Hunter at your shoulder?" Templar asked.

  "It's Raigen, and Gemini's been arrested. Never thought they could arrest someone for being seen around someone. You and Jmac should get back to the ship. Raigen and I will meet you there. It's better if we split up. We can all discuss what happened once we get to the ship." Everyone nodded. Hunter and Raigen let Jmac and Templar leave the cantina first. Waiting a few minutes, they slipped through the exit and into the shadows. Having both lived on the darker side of society; they knew how to get around. Hopefully, the trip back would be uneventful.

 
-----------------------
=Aegis-Squadron=
Senior Crewman Hunter

FL/SCRW Hunter/Aegis 9/Pheonix Wing/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE (=*A*=)

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.

Drip...drip...drip
Thoughts counted with each splatter the drop of water would make as it fell from an unseen opening. The floor it self were absorbed in murky water, making it perhaps best to stand against the wall, while rats tried to gnaw at steel strong imperial boots. The damp air were clogged with stank of previous life, now retired to the havens of a grey death.
Raw breathing rasped from Gemini's dry throat. She was sitting in water, with her knees drawn to her face, her head resting on her arms. They didn't get much from her, not that she knew off, even she after a while couldn't resist the torture inflicted to her.
It was a few minutes since she woke up in this...

Dump...frak it
Her green eyes narrowed, her hair dye didn't work that great either. It was wash out dye, she read the label wrong when she bought the bottle, and slowly but surely azure strands were showing through her dark hazel hair.
Before she could think of something new to curse at, her cell door opened with a loud clang before it screeched and waved through the water against the stone floor.
"Got ye sum company, thought ya might like em" muttered the slight intoxicated guard dragging an unconscious form through the door. His unshaved face cracked in a toothless smirk before the door clanged shot again.
Ignoring the searing pain, Gemini stood up, her curiosity and worry spiked by the crumpled form in front of her.  Blond hair caked blood was all she could make out in unlit room, the only light coming from the barred window in the rusted copper door.

Hunter!
Gemini rushed to his side knowing the only guy with blonde military cut hair was her Executive Commander. She cradled his head into her lap. A large bruise with a cut in the core were present, blood still ran down the side of his head in a thick oozing river.

"Hunts...Hunts!" Gemini shook him softly, but all reply she got was a groan, with the poor light, she couldn't see the further extend of the injuries he attained. Gemini sighed frustrated and suddenly winces when her ribs protested against the sighs.
Great, got a few broken or cracked ribs as well,

Seeing there was nothing that could be done till hunter woke up or the door opened, Gemini was obliged to make Hunter as comfortable as possible. She leaned her self against the wall, and rested Hunter head on her lap to avoid the cut being infected by the puddles of water. She teared a piece from sleeves and tenderly bandaged his head. All that was left to do was wait. Gemini looked down worried to where Hunter laid unconscious in her lap. It must have been a intense fight, or whatever happened to knock him out. Left with nothing but her thoughts, increasing fewer and blazing pains across her body Gemini dozed off to join Hunter's anguish of unconsciousness.


-----------------------
Aegis Squadron

FM/SCRW Gemini/Aegis 9/Pheonix Wing/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE (=A=)

Spacespeed9 was able to get back to his quarters. Other people saw him, but he was mostly ignored. He checked to make sure everything was in place. Good, he thought, Everything's in place. At least nothing was broken or stolen .

Wonder how Hunter's doing. I haven't heard a message from him in a relatively long time. But it's too dangerous to go out and look for him. That could get myself captured as well. He sighed. Might as well as scan for incoming messages. He took out a communication scanner, plugged the descrambler in, and listened.

After a while, he thought, This is hopeless. Hunter's either trying to keep communication slience, which wouldn't be such a bad idea here, or he's in really big trouble. He walked out from the ship, but not away from the hangar.
 
-----------------------
FM/LCRW spacespeed9/Aegis 1-3/Phoenix Wing/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE (=A=)