Trevor found himself once more making his way towards the breifing room, although this time he found it was under a less intense setting. Rumors were flying around Nazgul Squadron that they were soon to be getting vacation time, and Shazam was able to neither confirm or deny the rumors.

I`ve never been on a vacation before, well, not with these guys. Should be interesting. He thought to himself as he took his time walking down the dull grey hallways of the Naval Base they were currently stationed in on Chel. Chel had almost been like a vacation for them, running simple patrols once a day, and then having free time the rest of the time. It`s pretty boring around here anyways...Just rocks...and more rocks...and cliffs, made of rocks... Trevor thought to himself, refurring to the terrain of Chel. The planet itself seemed to be litteraly a chunk of rock with not much else on it, making patrols very boring, as well as life outside of that.

He finally arrived at the breifing room after getting lost due to his absent minded thinking. He wasn`t last though, more or less one of the first couple of people in the room. Shazam had already arrived, probably first or second, as well as Art and Jen. Darius was sitting on a bench farther back. Trevor took a seat on one of the steel chairs along the isle and waited for the rest of the squadron to show up. Moments after he sat down, Jack walked through the doors almost opposite of the ones he had entered, followed closely by Tokijin. She looked around the room for a moment before spotting Trevor and making her way down the isle toward him. He shifted over to the next chair as she approached, allowing her to take a seat.

"Getting excited for the vacation yet?" Trevor asked as she sat down. She looked over at him quickly and brushed her bangs out of her eyes before answering.

"Yeah, but I just hope thats what it is." She began speaking which quickly became a whisper as Atrick entered the room, followed by a tall man who looked as if he should have been a military officer insted of a Naval officer. He was a wide-shouldered man with a puffy mustache and thin beard with a hard set jaw-line. He was Commander Colrep, usually refured to as Col.

"Welcome Nazgul Squadron." Colrep said as he stepped up to the podium at the front of the room. He took a small sip of water from a glass that had been placed on the podium before he spoke again. "You are all here to be breifed, as I`m sure you all guessed. But what I think you didn`t guess was that you were going to be breifed with some details of your up-coming vacation time."

With this, a small round of cheers and applause filled the room before Shazam stood up and turned around, moving his hands in a downward motion to quiet his pilots.

"Thank you, Commander." The gruff gentalman said quickly as he took another sip of water. "Now, this vacation may not be as many of you had been imagining. Insted of you all going somewhere pre-planned by the Navy, we are going to give you the choice of what to do with your vacation time."

"What do you mean?" Atrick asked, quickly raising his hand to showwhere the voice had come from and then putting it back down.

"Let me explain, my boy." Colrep said with a grin. "We are not sending you on a vacation, but more giving you vacation time and traveling rights. We have seen a tremendous amount of work put in by Nazgul, and you are being rewarded for it. Now, here is how this is going to work..."

"There will be a cork-board outside the main hanger. If you have a personal ship, which I know a few of you do, then you may register your ship and your destination, as well as how many passanger you can or would be willing to take with you. There will also be the option of public transportation, which will also be listed on the board, for those of you who may wish to spend some time alone away from your comrades." He continued, taking a moment to clear his throat and take another sip of water.

"Please excuse that, I`ve been suffering a bit of a soar throat over the past day or two. Anyway, back to business. If you do not have a personal ship, you can sign up with one of the other people who has offered theirs, or take the public transports to whatever destination you choose, assuming it is avaliable. Any questions?" Colrep said, appearing to have wrapped up what was considered by most a very breif breifing.

"I`ve got one," Trevor said, raising his hand. The Commander nodded in his direction and he continued. "What are the destinations for the public transports?"

"They will all be listed on the board by the time this meeting is over. They will range from tropical beaches to Rainforests to a spa." Colrep said. "Well, if that is all...." He said, pausing incase anyone else had a question, "Then dissmissed. Your vacation time begins now. Enjoy it."

With that, he gave a quick salute before makign his way out of the room, leaving the Nazgulians to discuss their plans.

"I think those beaches sound nice..." Trevor said to Tokijin as he turned slightly in his seat to face her better. The two of them had become pretty good friends, about at the point of best friends. She was a little bit younger then him, but the two got along almost perfectly.

"Yeah, but I kind of like the idea of the rainforest thing." She said as she leaned back in her chair, folding her arms across her chest and bringing on leg up to rest over the other.

"Maybe..." Trevor said, trailing off. The rainforest idea didn`t seem like it would suit him all that well, but he didn`t want to go and spend his whole vacation by himself, and going to the same place as Toki had kind of been his plan. "I think I`m gunna go get a drink first, before going to check out the board." He continued as he stood up. Toki stood up as well before asking -

"Mind if I join you?" Trevor took a moment for it to sink in. She`s never asked to join me for a drink before. Sometimes I`ve asked her, but that usually gets cut short....Oh well, I guess this could mean something... He thought to himself. The past little while, Trevor had been feeling a bit differently about Tokijin. Before they had just been really good friends, but now he felt as if it was more then that, or that it could become more then that.

"Sure, come along, it`ll be on me." He said as they began their way towards the door Tokijin had entered through at the start of the meeting. Shazam had just stood up and didn`t seem to be going anywhere.

"Where are you two off to?" He asked as he stretched his arms out above his head, cracking his knuckles before bring his arms back down and stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"We`re going to go have a drink or two before checking out that board..." Trevor explained. He didn`t want Shazam to think it was anything more then it really was, just like he didn`t want himself to start thinking something like that.

"Well, I`d join you, but I think I`m going to go take a look at that board and then maybe take some time for a bit of rest." Shazam said as he made a guesture with his arm for them to go on ahead of him. The two walked through the door followed by Shazam, them making a left and him going right, towards the hanger.

Shazam found himself standing infront of the board for a moment, studying each destination offered by the public transports, as well as considering about supplying his own ship, the Real Bebop, figuring hardly anyone would sign up to gowith him if he put down a boring enough destination.

He picked up the pen that was hanging from the board by a small string and wrote in some fairly small writing:

Ship: Real Bebop
Captain: Shazam Money
Space for: 12
Desination: Forman II

And then left some space underneith it all for people to sign up, which he doubted they would. He then let go of the pen, allowing it to swing from the string it was hanging on as he turned and headed towards his quarters.

Back in the cantina, Trevor and Tokijin had just arrived and taken a seat at a booth in the back. A droid waiter appeared moments after they sat down, asking what they`d like to drink.

"I`ll have a Corrilian Ale, and you Toki?" He told the waiter before turning to Toki.

"I`ll have the same." She said quietly to the droid who then scooted off towards the bar to fetch their drinks. "So..." She said slowly. "Where do you think you`re going to go?"

"No clue." Trevor replied with a laugh as the droid returned, a pair of mugs filled with an amber liquid on its arm tray. The droid carefully reached up and set both drinks down on the table, and then headed off to serve other customers.

OOC: Alright, for now, just by some time, have your character think about their choices and everything. We don`t need to rush this story, and we get to have alot of fun with it. Don`t sign up for anything yet though :P
 
-----------------------
FL/MCPO/Trevor Evenson/Nazgul 9(3-1)/Wing 1/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE/(=*A*=)[VC:B]

The VEN`s #1 writer as of ESC `06

Forman II Art thought himself, some what puzzled.  That was and odd destination for Shazam to be travelling to on vacation; it hardly had the little perks of resorts, beaches, fancy shops, nice restaurants, and exotic attractions that most vacation destinations had.  Art reached down for a marker sitting in its slot at the bottom of the board.  He had just recently purchased a new luxury liner, a temporary ship until his custom ordered ship finally came in, and he was going to use it regardless of where he went.  Design problems, production delays, and pirate raids on supplies had dragged the construction process of what would become his prized ship and he was beginning to get anxious.

Ship: Emerald Star
Captain: Arturus
Capacity:

Hmm...  Art thought to himself.  The liner which he had modified only had space for four people aside from him and Talysha.    They had not had any private time together in some time and he was looking forward to spending every second of this with her.  Nevertheless, part of him felt torn towards at least extending the offer of transport although he would secretly hope that no one would take him up on that.  The last thing he needed was any awkward situations or inconviniences.  Vacation time was becoming rare and precious despite the fact that he was getting older and in theory should be sitting in a desk job.  He knew this perfectly well and yet continued to fly as part of Nazgul.  Bound by duty and a sense of adventure that pure bureaucratic work lacked (he would have much prefered a command), he continued to fly.

Arturus fiddled with the marker for a moment and then moved his hand back up to the board.

Capacity: 4

Destination...Another puzzler for Art.  Would he go with his squadron commander and presumably the rest of the squadron or would he choose instead to return briefly to Corellia before taking Talysha some place exotic.  He had the funds to take her wherever she wanted and she deserved everything he could provide in thanks for the patience and caring heart she had brought him.  Throughout the past year she had been the one person who was always there for him and the one person who, despite the fact he continued to try and hide some things from, understood him the best.  One thing he had planned on for this vacation was to explore his spirituality with her and perhaps travel to a planet where he had learned that a five thousand year old temple had been discovered during a construction project.  Fortunately, the government of the planet leaned towards preserving history so it was still there and being cared for.  That being said, Arturus was curious with regards to why Shazam had chosen this planet.  Perhaps there is more to it than meets the eye he thought.  Given that he was taking his own ship, Art realized that if Talysha and him found Forman II to be boring or if they wanted something different they could always split off.  There would be no reason for the rest of the squadron to be offended; they were all independent beings with the right to vacation wherever they wanted.  Once again, Art reached up to the board and began to write.

Destination: Forman II

Having completed that, Art made his way to the officer lounge to meet Talysha.  She had managed to get time off for leave as well which Art felt was deserved given how hard she had been working of late.  They all had been working hard during the latest campaign.  He wasn't sure how going to Forman II was going to thrill her but at least they would be spending some time together.
-----------------------
WAJ/2LT Corran "Arturus" Hargraves/M-SSD Atrus/VE/VEN/(=A=)(=SA=)(=*MA*=)(=JCPA=)(=SCPA=)[MC:1](x2)[SV][BRC][VC:B][CBV][GWC][LSM][LoC]


"The way of war is a way of deception. When able, feign inability; when deploying troops, appear not to be. When near, appear far; when far, appear near. Lure with bait; strike with chaos. If the enemy is full, be prepared. If strong, avoid him. If he is angry, disconcert him. If he is weak, stir him to pride. If he is relaxed, harry him; if his men are harmonious, split them. Attack where he is unprepared; appear where you are unexpected. This is victory in warfare; it cannot be divulged in advance. Victory belongs to the side that scores most in the temple calculations before battle. Most spells victory; least spells defeat; none, surer defeat. I see it in this way, and the outcome is apparent." -- Sun Tzu

"Ultimate excellence lies not in winning every battle but in defeating the enemy without ever fighting." -- Sun Tzu

After the briefing, Jack decided to head over to the board outside of the hangar to get it out of the way with before going to get a drink. Upon reaching the board, Jack wrote:

Ship: Auroran Glory
Captain: Jack Nebulax
Capacity: 5
Destination: Forman II

There, Jack said to himself. Good thing I modified my Theta's engines before returning from my leave.

Jack began to reflect on his leave for a moment. Then, he thought, I wonder if Alexia can come along... Why not? Sure, Jason will have to stay at home with that Polis Massan medical droid I managed to salvage, but Alexia could use another vacation - with Nazgul. Jack allowed himself to laugh for a moment.

Now heading for a drink, Jack entered the mess hall. He saw the banana peel before it was too late.

"Jack! Look ou..." Atrick said before Jack fell on the ground after slipping on the banana peel. Luckily, Jack had just repaired his B2 super battle droid right arm, which had sustained damage on the last mission. The droid arm managed to help him get up faster than others would.

"Jack! I'm so sorry..." Atrick said, now at his side.

For a second, Jack had no clue what he was saying. He managed to hear himself say "...it away, alright?" What did I just say?

He saw Atrick nod, and Jack said, "Okay. Well, see ya around, then. Wonder how I'm gonna spend my vacation?" Jack then realized that there was a bit of blood coming out of his mouth, and then he became fully aware of what happened and what he had just said.

Wow. Glad I didn't have to remember anything important...

Wait, did I?

Jack then laughed at his own little joke, and he started heading back to his room.

Halfway to his room, he remembered what he wanted in the mess hall. Jack then came back, got a drink, and sat for a little bit, wiping away the blood at the corner of his lips.
 
-----------------------
Revenge is what holds this galaxy together. Without it, the universe would be a boring place.

------------------------------------------------------------
Warrant Officer 2nd Class Jack Nebulax, Nazgul Squadron, Imperial Navy, Vast Empire.
FM/WO2 Jack Nebulax/Nazgul 11 (3-3)/Wing 1/mSSD Atrus/Defensive Fleet/VEN/VE (=A=) (=*SA*=) [SV] [VC:G] [GWC]
Rep|Int/Rep Jack Nebulax/Rep: 4/Reporters-Interviewers/VE/VET
Jack Nebulax: King of the Reply
------------------------------------------------------------
Admiral Jack Nebulax, third-in-command of the Auroran Defense Fleet (ADF) and leader of Nemesis Wing (Wing I)

Arriving at the board with all the sign-up sheets on it, Tokijin looked at all the destinations, occasionally going back to the public transportation ones.

What am I doing here again? Looking at this with this guy... She looked at him out of the corner of her eye and looked at the spot on the page that was looking at. She saw him reach for the pen and stopped his hand before he could write anything. 

"I think maybe you should wait a little while. We've got all day to sign up, might as well wait to see where everyone else is going." She told him smiling, and she pushed his hand down away from the paper.

"But I want to go to the beach..." He said in a mocking whiny tone, raising his hand to try again. He sounds like a little kid. Well i do too. This time he managed to get the pen to the paper before Toki grabbed his arm again and she pulled it down, and she watched as the pen leave a large black streak down the paper. "Look what you did..." He said and Toki put a hand to her face in fake distress, still smiling.

"Just wait!" She said with a laugh as she pulled the pen out of his hand could feel his reluctance. She set it down on the board. She then grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the board, him shuffling behind her. She stopped walking and let him walk before her and gave him a little shove down the hallway and started walking again, slowly shaking her head while smiling as she saw him look longingly at the board.

She smiled happily as they walked down the hallway and it didn't take her long to figure that he gave up so easily...Why? She stared at the ground ahead of them and looked up at the sound of a door opening. Jen stepped out into the hallway, closing the door quickly behind her.

Jen waved and walked toward them and she looked happy.

"How are you two doing? Excited?" She asked them Toki nodded. She looked pretty excited too but why shouldn't she? It was vacation!

"Oh yeah, I was going to sign up for the beach resort on Crispon V but someone had to stop me." He said and Toki innocently shrugged.

"I told him to wait and see where everyone else was going incase he wanted to go with everyone else." She explained her actions, glaring back at Trevor before the two laughed.

"Ah, I was just going to go look at the board. Lots of good spots?" Jen asked. Toki nodded and began to explain. She read about some cool spots she would've loved to go to but those needed private transportation. She kept her descriptions simple though.

"Oh yeah, there are a couple of beach spots...A rainforest thing with little huts to stay in and 'native food experiences'," She said with a laugh before continuing. I'll skip the native food experiences.  "And a spa out on some space platform, and then of course, the personal ship-pools" She said with a shrug. She'd rather go to a planet than stay on a ship in this case.

"Oh, and who all has volunteered their personal ships?" Jen asked with a shrug.

"I didn't look, did you Trev?" She asked and looked at him. She noticed some names but didn't stop to see who it was He shook his head. "We didn't check."

"Ah, then I'll go look." Jen said as she nodded to both of them and started off. "Have fun, lovebirds." She said with a wave and laugh as she walked off. Trevor and Tokijin both exchanged confused glances with one another. What the...Lovebirds? Leave it to Jen to say something like that...

"What did that mean?" Trevor asked her. They started walking again, headed towards the mess hall and she had realized why but wasn't to excited to say it out loud.

Tokijin replied slowly, gathering her words, "I think she thinks something is going on since we hang out a lot."

"Ah...Is something going on?" Trevor asked. Ackkk he had to ask didn't he?

"No, I don't think so." She said too quickly. She really didn't want to say anything. She knew what she thought, but she had no idea what would happen if she said that. She didn't want to ruin anything now.

"Oh, ok." Trevor said. Tokijin didn't look at him as she got her food.

"Where to sit?" Toki looked around for a seat. She spotted two seats towards the end of a table. "Hey there's some over here." She pointed to the seats with her tray. Trevor nodded and headed towards the seats with Toki following. She plopped down in her seat with a thud, making some people turn their heads looking for the noise. Trevor sat down on the opposite side of the table and stared at his food.

Toki took a bite of the potatoes and shuddered as the potatoes were chewy. Trevor had already tried something and it didn't take long before she noticed him looking for salt. She reached towards the middle of the table and slid the salt towards him. She sat back in her seat and laughed. She stopped for a moment and realized she had gotten the side of her hand covered with what she thought was the dessert.

"Fantastic. You'd think they wouldn't mind feeding their pilots something a little better than this." Toki started wiping the food onto her napkin and watched the napkin turn brown as she did it.

"Well maybe the vacation food will be better." Trevor slowly put his fork and salt down.  "Something not agree with you?" "More like all of it doesn't agree with me." Toki chuckled and watched as Trevor put a small amount of potato on his fork and flings it off to the side, not really looking where it goes. "It tastes like plastic that's been stepped on all day."

Toki watched where the "plastic" flies and winces as it lands on some guy they didn't know. She watches as he slowly looks at the potato on his shoulder and stands up.

"Uh Trevor. I think someone is looking for you." She hunched over her food and pointed towards the angry-looking man. "Uh, you know what; I think I'm done eating." "Me too." They stood up and casually walked away from they're table dumping their trays and when they reached the hallway they started running, Toki laughing her head off as they did so.


-----------------------
Nazgul Squadron

SC/FM Tokijin/Nazgul 7/Wing 1/mSSD Atrus/Denfensive Fleet/VEN/VE (=*A*=)

~ Tokijin ~

Tokijin followed behind Trevor, matching his pace. It didn't take long before Trevor was sitting on the ground catching his breath. Toki stood and looked around.

"Remind me never to do that again. I wasn`t ment to run." Toki laughed quietly. Her legs were strong and she didn't mind running around once in a while to keep them in shape.

"Will do. You need to get into better shape though." She said sort of half jokingly. She could probably afford to work out her arms though.

"Yeah, but I`m on vacation right now, I don`t have to do anythying." He said with a laugh. Toki smiled. He was right. She stretched her arms above her head as he got up off the ground. "You think that someone will have put their names up on the board yet?" Trevor asked. He started walking away and Toki caught up quickly.

"I dunno, maybe, we can go look." She said. They had a lot of fre time and she could get bored soon. She hoped people would have signed up by now. She wanted to get going and out somewhere. As they arrived at the board, Toki looked at the paper with all the signed up names on it. She noticed something peculiar and tapped Trevor on the arm to direct his attention to the paper.

"I think someone signed us up already." She said, pointing to their names on the list, along with all the other Nazgulians.

"Where are we going?" Trevor asked. Toki smiled. She was glad the whole squad would be able to share a vacation together.

"Forman II, and guess what." She said, sounding somewhat between enthusiastic and confused. "We`re going their with Shaz."
She didn't really care. As long as there was a lake there she would be content.

"Oh well, should be romantic."

"What?" Tokijin asked, wondering if she had heard what he had said correctly. She looked at him, kind of shocked because her hearing wasn't that bad.

"Nevermind..." He said and turned away from the board, walking off down the hall way.

"Sure, nevermind..." She said to herself  sarcasticly. She followed behind him down the hallway. Looking down at the ground. Did he just say what i think he said?...Oh who am I fooling i heard what he said...

She began overflowing with emotions. What was she supposed to say to that? She rubbed her face with her hand and quietly sighed. Wait...Why the hell was she sighing? She had feelings for him didn't she?...Do I? She looked up at him and nodded. She was going to confuse herself. She didn't need that. She now realized what she felt, but she also knew she couldn't get her hopes up.

She smiled and looked up at the celling, her hands in her back pockets. Vacation is going to be interesting

-----------------------
Nazgul Squadron

SC/FM Tokijin/Nazgul 7/Wing 1/mSSD Atrus/Denfensive Fleet/VEN/VE (=*A*=)

~ Tokijin ~

On his way to the officer's lounge Art passed by one of the hangers on the base.  This one was where many stored their own personal ships and docking space 22 was the docking area for the Emerald Star, Arturus' new luxury yacht.  There were three men and a pair of droids bustling around the ship as Art arrived.  He had ordered some major changes to the ship; it was to be changed from a passenger yacht to his personal pleasure craft.  The galley was expanded for more room and comfort, the passenger seating area was divided in half and the back half was turned into a private bedroom.  The seating area itself was converted from a luxurious transport to a very fancy looking lounge area.  Having purchased the ship a month ago, Art had ordered in special hardwood,  silk for curtains, and a very deep red carpet for the lounge area.  The furniture was custom order replicas of furniture he had seen in the private entertaining lounge of a Corellian senator long ago.  He had a photograph of it although he had no idea how he had come to possess it.  Just another bizarre thing in my life he thought to himself.

The bedroom he considered his own personal masterpiece.  Just like the lounge area, all traces of metal had been hidden with walls, carpets, and curtains making it seem more of a hotel than a ship.  The bed, a king size one, was made of hundred year old hardwood and had a canope, a little surprise for Talysha.  The furnishings he had purchased on a recent three day leave with this in mind while the rest of the decorations, including two paints, had been collected by him over the years and packed away for what he had hoped would be a home one day.  However, given that a home was not coming soon and given that he wanted to really surprise Talysha, he had brought these things out early to really give the room a sharp finishing touch.

"How are the modifications coming?"  Art inquiried of the lead mechanic there.  He had been lucky that his ship's time for modifications had come up just before the vacation otherwise it would not have been ready.

"The inside is complete, we are just finishing the exterior weapons systems."  The mechanic reported.  Art had ordered three laser cannons added to the yacht; one would be built into the two stabilizer bars under the ship that gave it a sleak look and also good aerodynamics in atmosphere.  The final one was part of a similar add on to the middle front for uniformity.  In addition, two rotating anti-personel lasers were being built into compartments in the bottom of the hull and could be deployed when need from the cockpit.  "I would estimate another two hours including the final tests."  The mechanic continued.

"Is it safe to board and make preparations while you finish?"  Art asked.

"Absolutely sir."  The mechanic replied.  Art nodded and let them get back to work.  He took out his comlink and typed in a message to his protocol droid.  He would have his droids deal with moving the furniture, all of which was stored on repulsor carts in Art's personal storage area and ready to be loaded on the ship.  The paintings cases and the boxes containing lamps, a new terminal for a small compartment behind the cockpit, and other little items would be loaded himself when the time came.  Art left the hanger and made his way towards the lounge to meet Talysha.  He was late...never a good thing he thought when it came to her.

-----------------------
WAJ/2LT Corran "Arturus" Hargraves/M-SSD Atrus/VE/VEN/(=A=)(=SA=)(=*MA*=)(=JCPA=)(=SCPA=)[MC:1](x2)[SV][BRC][VC:B][CBV][GWC][LSM][LoC]


"The way of war is a way of deception. When able, feign inability; when deploying troops, appear not to be. When near, appear far; when far, appear near. Lure with bait; strike with chaos. If the enemy is full, be prepared. If strong, avoid him. If he is angry, disconcert him. If he is weak, stir him to pride. If he is relaxed, harry him; if his men are harmonious, split them. Attack where he is unprepared; appear where you are unexpected. This is victory in warfare; it cannot be divulged in advance. Victory belongs to the side that scores most in the temple calculations before battle. Most spells victory; least spells defeat; none, surer defeat. I see it in this way, and the outcome is apparent." -- Sun Tzu

"Ultimate excellence lies not in winning every battle but in defeating the enemy without ever fighting." -- Sun Tzu

Darius listened intently from the back of the room throughout the briefing as the commander told them they had a vacation where they could do whatever they want.  After a few questions and answers, they were dismissed.

Well, I'm going to take my own ship, he had immediately decided.  Which one though?  He had to make a difficult decision.  He had "reclaimed" two of his family ships from his unofficial, but ligitimate nonetheless.  He also "acquired" one from a dead, former business associate.  (And as in dead, killed within minutes of the claim would better explain the situation)  So, he had a YT-2400(Forgotten Patience), a 1LH-KK Citadel Civilian Cruiser(Punisher), an E-9 Explorer(Vagabond), and a Pursuer Enforcement Ship(Vigilante).  All of them heavily modified, and armed very well. 

He got up from his seat and walked out of the room, straight to the cork board.  Shazam had just finished writing in his ship.  Darius grabbed a piece of paper, grabbed the pen, and paused.  He couldn't decide which one he wanted.  "Well, I need a second opinion," he muttered to himself.  Atrick turned, hearing Darius' mumble.

"I could help you with that one," he said smiling.  "What do you want to know."

"I have four ships, but...but I don't think it's your second opinion I'm looking for," he said.  "No offense or anything like that.  It's best that I take it up with the wife."

"Ah I see," Atrick smile turned into a very sly smile.  "Whipped!"  He made a whip crack sound with his mouth and left, heading towards the food court.

"Whipped huh?" Darius muttered, beginning to smile at an idea.  He pulled belt off and folded it in two.  Then he cracked the belt, making an even more realistic sound effect than Atrick's.  The younger pilot jumped and turned to look at Darius.  He almost expected Darius to be chasing him with the belt, or a gun.  Darius just turned with his smile and went in the opposite direction.

Within minutes, he was back at his quarters, and was glad to see that Layren was lying on the couch, watching a holodrama they had rented.  She was still in her medics uniform, so she had had a rough day.

"Fifty-two twisted or broken ankles today.  Fifty-two!" she yelled, not even looking at him.  Darius was now very hesitant to continue with his questions.  "I hate this planet," she continued.  "This damn terrain floods the med quarters with damn ankles.  Half of them don't realize that when I apologize that their ankle isn't broken, it's a good thing.  You know that a break is better than a sprain.  They over-react.  Especially the stormtroopers.  I got into a fight with one of them.  Not very wise to fight on a sprained ankle.  I broke it."  She let out a rough sigh.  Her face was red and her hair was a frizzled mess."

"Hi," Darius quietly said.  I'm whipped, he thought to himself.

She turned to look at her husband, an apologetic look plastered on.  "I'm sorry Darius.  This planet is getting to me.  How was your day?"

He submitted to her look and looked at his feet.  "I was just wondering what ship you wanted to take on our vacation, but I can come back later."

"Vacation?" she said, no longer apologetic, but filled with glee.  "How?"

"They're giving Nazgul a break, and I don't think they're going to try to stop me from taking you.  Which ship?" he said, looking at her.

Layren leapt up from the couch and ran to Darius, giving him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek.  "That's great!  You just made my day!  Let's take the Civ Cruiser!"  She spoke so fast, that Darius had to pause to comprehend. 

"That was easy," he added, and pulled out the piece of paper he put in his pocket.  "I'll go put it in."

He left their quarters and began filling the information in while walking back to the debriefing room.  He looked up and saw Trevor and Tokijin.  They're body language shouted love, well...at least infatuation, to Darius.  He didn't know if there were any other Lorrdians on base, and nobody knew that he was half, but he could easily see the extreme attraction between the two pilots as they walked down the corridor together.  He smiled, and tested his theory by walking in their path.  They almost collided, but Darius rolled out of the way in time to avoid any injuries.

"Hey, wasn't that Darius?" he heard Tokijin say, as they continued down the corridor, completely oblivious that Darius had stopped and turned to look at them head for the cantina to get a couple drinks.

He smiled and rounded the corner to see the commander who had given the briefing writing down the information on the board.  "Wait!" Darius said.  The commander jumped and reached for his gun in pure instinct.  Darius was faster though, and reached his DL-44 first, but neither left their holster.

"You scared me pilot!" he yelled.  He began to sweat from the excitement.

"Scare you, I thought I was going to have to shoot you!" Darius said, hand still resting on his gun.  "Uhh...don't worry, I won't."

"I wouldn't have given you the chance anyway," said the commander, and continued about his business copying the final information from the board.  Darius expression turned grim, but he held his tongue...and gun.

"Wait, I have to submit my ship."

"Name?"

"Darius Pursius."  What does it matter anyway, he thought.

"You've already been submitted, move along now."

"Let me see that," he said.  Sure enough, his name had been written down to ride with Shazam to Forman II.  He grabbed a marker and scribbled out his name on the commander's clipboard and pinned his ship and destination on the board.  "Not anymore."

"Hey!  You can't do that!" yelled the commander.

"I just did," Darius said, and turned, walking towards the cantina.

The paper read:

Ship: Punisher

Captain: Darius Pursius

Passengers: 6-8

Destination: Wherever I please

The commander grabbed the piece of paper and read it.  "Smartass," he muttered, and made sure his pistol was securely in its holster.

-----------------------
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men to do nothing. --Edmund Burke
-----------------------
FM/MCPO Darius Pursius/Nazgul 2-2/mSSD Atrus/Defensive Fleet/VEN/VE (=A=) [VC:B] [*CB*]

Trevor was still somewhat in amazement at what had happened as they sat talking to Shazam. In the past hour, alot of stuff he thought wouldn`t happen had. He was glad for it though.

"So, you`re not going to tell us what we`re doing?" Trevor asked, leaning back in the bench`s padding and relaxing. He had drank most of his ale and was going to try to get an answer out of Shazam one last time. If He couldn`t, he`d go pack.

"Nope, You`ll find out once we`re in the air." Shazam said as he set his drink down, a sly smile on his face. I know what you two are up to, aside from trying to make me talk. He thought to himself. He had noticed they were holding hands under thetable, and had thought something was up when the two almost jumped when he looked at them as they first entered. Oh well, I`ll play along with your little secret I suppose. He continued thinking, almost laughing.

"Well, if you`re going to keep it till then, I`m going to go pack. Any suggestions for clothing?" Trevor asked. He didn`t want to end up wearing shorts if it was going to be cold or if they were going to be hiking through brush or something, but then he wouldn`t want to bring just regular length pants if they were going to be spending alot of time at a lake.

"I dunno, I`d bring shorts, T-shirts, and some long legged pants." Shazam said with a shrug. Trevor released Tokijin`s hand, and it took her a second to let go of his, and stood up. With a nod he replied -

"Got it, jeans and T-shirts it is." Shazam and Toki both laughed at this, having known by now that whenever he was off duty he rarely wore anything but that.

"I should go pack too." Toki said, sliding over in the bench and getting up. Mmhmm, by that you mean you want to stay with him for as long as possible. Shazam thought to himself with a laugh as he watched the two leave the cantina. Then it struck him

They got away without paying for their drinks. What, do they expect me to pick up the tab? I guess so... Shazam though to himself, waving down the droid waiter and ordering another drink.

Back in the hallway, Trevor and Tokijin were making their way to the 'housing area'. The base was made up of a housing area, a mess hall and a cantina, numurous storehouses, and a bunch of hangers. One could easily get lost if they didn`t know their way around, and Trevor had gotten lost at least once before.

"Well, that was fun." Tokijin said with a smile, taking Trevor`s hand in her own once more.Trevor just nodded, pretty much soaking in the moment. "So, you really have to go pack?" She asked, sounding hopful that maybe there was something else they could do insted.

"Yeah, its getting a little bit late, and I don`t want to oversleep and keep everyone waiting tomorrow." He said, sounding dissapointed at the concept of going to sleep at an appropriate time.

'Ah, I guess thats a good idea..." She said as they approached her quarters. She looked at her door with a bit of disgust, as if to ask it if she had to go in. She let out a small sigh before turning back to him. "Well, That was a great night. I`m glad this is all happening." She said.

"Yeah..well, good night." Trevor said, letting go of her hand so she could let herself into her room. She stood for a moment, hesitating about what she was going to do before she did something he hadn`t expected. She quickly gave him a light peck on the cheek and then said 'good night', turning and dissapearing into her quarters.

Trevor stood for a second, needing a minute to figure out what had just happened. Did she really just? Meh, oh well...I guess she did... He thought to himself, slightly stunned. He then gave a little shrug and headed off to his own quarters to pack.

***Next day***

Trevor herd a loud buzzing and pulled the pillow over his head. Why am I so tired? I went back here, packed, and then...Oh yeah, I stayed up late..thats why. He thought to himself. He pulled the pillow off his head and looked over at the alarm.

"Oh crap! I`m late!" He said to himself as he threw the covers off and sprinted to the refresher for a quick shower. As soon as he got out he threw on some clean clothes and his leather jacket before grabbing his suit case. "Alright, Zap, I`m gone for a while, take care of shit for me? Alright." He said quickly to the droid and closed the door behind him before Zap could object.

Rushing down the hallways, he almost knocked over a pair of female pilots walking in the opposite direction of him.

"Watch it jerk!" One of them yeklled at him as he kept going down the hall. "Sorry!" He yelled back as he skidded around the corner, hit the wall and shot through the doors of the hanger. Shazam`s ship, The Real Bebop Was sitting in the middle of the hanger, the ramp still down and things being loaded on and off of it.

"I can just leave this here with you and you`ll load it right?" He asked one of the men who was throwing bags onto the ship. The man just nodded to the out of breath Trevor who dropped his bag on a pile of others and walked slowly up the ramp. He took a look around the ship quickly before finally spotting a group of Nazgulians sitting around a coffee table in the mid-sized living area. Toki looked up and saw him, sliding over a litle bit so he could sit down on the sofa. Jen was sitting on a chair on the other side of the table, and Atrick was sitting in a chair at the end. The each held a hand of cards, and as Trevor sat down he asked what they were playing.

"Go fish." Toki replied as she looked at him and smiled. "You got up late." She said, sounding as if she was absolutly posative. She lay down a pair of cards and Atrick made a face before asking Jen if she had a card.

"How can ya tell?" He asked as he reached into the chest pocket of his jacket and pulled out a pair of aviator-style sunglasses and held them in his hand, cleaning them off with his shirt.

"Your hair is still wet." She said without looking up as She took a card from Jen.

"Yeah, I guess it is. Oh well, I bet you were an earlier bird..." He said sarcasticaly, rubbing a smudge on his sunglasses with his finger before trying to wipe them off on his shirt again.

"She was!" Jen said, sounding almost surprised. "She showed up before Shazam did, ready to go."

"Oh..." Trevor replied, looking appologeticaly to Toki. She just shrugged and tossed down another pair of cards, her last two, and triumphantly said 'I win." before leaning back in the couch.

"Excited for vacation?" Atrick asked him as he threw down his cards in frusteration.

"Vacation?" Trevor asked as he slid his sunglasses on. "This would only be a vacation if it wasn`t with weirdo`s like you." As soon as he finished Toki gave him a sharp punch in the arm and he laughed, bringing his arms up to protect his face incase she decided to punch more.

"You`re the weird one." Came Shazam`s voice from the cockpit door. He had been going over a pre-flight check and was now standing watching them, leaning against the door frame. "You think you`re normal, but because we are all weird, it makes beign weird normal. That means that because you`re normal, you`re different then us, making you weird. Follow?"

"Touche." Trevor replied with a grin as he leaned back in the cough next to Toki.

"Alright, well, we`re going to be lifting off in a minute anyways. Everyone get ready, and make sure to go to the bathroom before we leave." Shazam said jokingly as he dissapeared back into the cockpit. Jen got up and followed him, while Atrick sat still, apperently deeply in thought.

"Whats up Atrick?" Trevor asked as he looked at the young pilot.

"Did he just call us weird?" Atrick asked, to which Trevor and Toki laughed.
 
-----------------------
FL/MCPO/Trevor Evenson/Nazgul 9(3-1)/Wing 1/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE/(=*A*=)[VC:B][SWC]

The VEN`s #1 writer as of ESC `06

Darius and Layren were the first in the secondary hanger where Nazguls personal ships were being held and prepped.  He had TC and his R7 unit fly the Punisher in from their orbital home.  The engines were still warm from its very recent arrival.

"We better load our bags up now, so we aren't rushed when we want to leave," Layren said, obviously ready for a vacation. 

Darius contained a laugh.  He carried five heavy bags, while Layren only carried one.  "Come on muscles," she said, and walked toward their ship.  "Even though you're cheating."  Darius had his 210 personal armor on, as usual, with had a powersuit built into. 

"I wouldn't call it cheating," he said, and followed his wife to their ship.  "I would hate to pull a muscle right before vacation.  Besides, I have it, might as well use it."

"Touche," she said, looking back at him smiling.  Darius had noticed a difference in her mood.  She was happy not to be on duty anymore.  She was out of her medics uniform and in loose, comfortable sky blue slacks and a white t-shirt.  She wore her curly hair in a pony tail, which hung loosely on the back of her neck, bobbing with every step.

"TC!" he gently shouted.  "Open the cargo doors...wait...just open the hatch, we'll load it onto the ship!"  The hatch lowered, located under the cockpit, very similiar to a Theta or Lambda class shuttle.  He walked up and into his prized ship and dropped all of his luggage except for his backpack onto the floor.  "TC, put this in the storage closets in my...our quarters." 

As you entered the ship, there is a long, wide, roomy corridor.  At the very end of it, is the maintenance door, giving access to the hyperdrive, shield generator, and engines.  There are two doors on each side, perpendicular to the maintenance door: the gunnery stations.  Working backward from there, you come across two parallel doors, facing each other, to the left, the personal quarters, to the right, quarters converted into an armory.  Further down, to the left, the galley, to the right, guest quarters.  Then, you're back to the entrance, where there are acceleration couches and a dejarik table.  From the entrance, you can access the cockpit with the proper key codes, if locked for security reasons.  The ship has state-of-the-art security features, many of which cannot be found on the regular market.  It has re-inforced armor plating, a slave circuit, upgraded hyperdrive, and heavy assault cannons replace the factory installed laser cannons.  Had Darius not upgraded the engines, through illegal negotiation, the ship would have been very slow from all of the upgrades, but it runs above the average 104 MGLT to a 118 MGLT, thanks to Darius' expensive, but very worth while mechanics, a Sluis Van and Verpine duo.  The ship is cross-wired to the severe extent, but Darius could fix any problem blind-folded.  It was his ship from his days as a mercenary, lost, but recently re-claimed, and upgraded.

Darius walked into his armory, and put his backpack into the security locker.  He came back out and watched TC toss his bags into his quarters.  "I told you once, I'm no service droid," quipped the droid with a 'tude problem.

"Go power down," he said, and grabbed the exterior remote to the ship out of the droids hands.

The droid looked at Darius, but said nothing, and went to the galley to power down.  Layren came out of their quarter, and Darius gave her a kiss on the cheek.  "I'm going to get settled in," she said, and gave him a peck on the lips.  "Go see if we're going to have passengers or not, since we're all traveling in one big group."

"Yep, will do," he said, and stared at his wife for a moment, then left the ship, waiting for everyone else to arrive.
 
-----------------------
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men to do nothing. --Edmund Burke
-----------------------
FM/MCPO Darius Pursius/Nazgul 2-2/mSSD Atrus/Defensive Fleet/VEN/VE (=A=) [VC:B] [*CB*]

*The night Before*

Tokijin entered her room feeling tired. The days events left her drained but also very excited for the next couple of days. She flopped down on her bed and rubbed her face in her pillow smiling. She looked up around her room and let her face drop again when she remembered she still had to pack.

"You know what?" She said aloud, basically asking herself. She had a tendency to do that. "I'm just going to find my sketchbook tonight and pack in the morning. Yea." She stood up and stretched her arms. She wanted to be in bed in a couple minutes.

She began the process of quickly opening and closing drawers and doors.

A few minutes later she sat on the floor leaning against her bed.
"Where the hell is it?" She looked around in frustration and tried to remember when she had it last. "Oh!"

She hopped up from her spot and when over to a short dresser. She opened it and pulled out a pair of uniform pants. She set them down on the top of the dresser and began to search the pockets. She reached into a back pocket and pulled out some coins and a piece of string. "Well that's not what I was looking for." She set it down on the dresser and went to the other pocket.

She smiled and said, "Victory" as she pulled out her blue pocket sized proven sketchbook. She flipped through it and smiled. Attendance taken. She went to her bottom drawer and pulled out a duffel bag and slid the sketchbook into a pocket and threw it to the side and pulled off her shoes. Sleep would come easy tonight.

*Next Morning*

Toki woke up to loud music playing next to ear. She found a way to set it the alarm clock to music instead of the old buzzing noise that got louder the longer you didn't shut it off. She hated that.

She jumped out of bed, a wave of excitement washed over her, giving her needed energy for the early morning. She went to the refresher, taking her time because she had it. She went to her room and quickly packed, digging out her old swimsuit. She pulled at the old frayed strings and sighed. I need a new one...

She quickly grabbed a few other things and closed her bag, draping the strap onto her shoulder as she headed out the door. She wanted to go to the mess hall for a quick breakfast before she went anywhere else.

When she entered the big room, there were only a few people there but most of them were still groggy. She didn't get up that early did she?
Oh. Maybe she did.

She grabbed some fruit and made her way to the hanger eating it as she went. Forman II&I want to see it. I wonder how big the lakes are&Or if we'll be able to have a campfire? And scary stories. We gotta tell scary stories if we have a camp fire. I know one, it's really short but that's ok.

Her mind wandered as she walked, not paying attention to her surroundings or anyone around her. She had only been to a select number of planets before the navy and had only been able to stay for a few hours.

A thought suddenly struck her. Why had she never run away when she had so many chances? Why did it take her so long to escape when she knew her planet wasn't where she belonged?

She stopped walking and rubbed her face. A wave of confusion washed over her. Why did she make herself confused and depressed right before they were going to leave? She threw away what little of her fruit was left, loosing the want for the food.

She shook her head with a grim feeling, trying to shoo it away. She would think about it later when she had the time. Well, she had time now but she didn't want to realize that she liked her home or anything like that. Feeling homesick for a place that she never considered home wasn't something she wanted. This was her home now and her family was here.

She reached the sign-up board and took a glance at it and the dread got pushed aside but lingered in the back of her mind. She once again became excited.

*A half an hour or so later*

Shazam soon showed up and he laughed when he saw that Toki ready and rearin' to go. Techs were buzzing around the ship starting to get it ready. Shaz set his bag down for the techs to load and Toki dumped hers with his and Shaz led her onto The Real Bebop.

He went into the cockpit to check things out and Toki wandered around the ship looking at everything. She found a deck of playing cards out in the open and stuffed them in her pocket. She didn't know how long the trip would be and she knew quite a few card games.

She finished exploring everything and it didn't take long before Jen stepped aboard. Toki ran over to her. She was so anxious and excited to the point where she felt like jumping up and down.

"Hey Jen!" Toki said smiling. Finally! Someone else was here! "Hey Toki, what's up?" Jen looked at her surrounding. "Hey do you wanna play cards while we wait for everyone else?" Jen laughed and nodded. "I'm gonna go find Shazam really quick and I'll come play." Jen wandered off and Toki found the living area.

She sat down on the couch and sunk into it. Comfy. She sat up and pulled the cards out of her pocket and began shuffling and dividing the cards. She would teach Jen a fun game that anyone could jump into at any point during the game. Jen soon found her and sat down and began listening as Toki explained the rules.

They had been playing for about five minutes when Atrick found them and pulled a chair over to the table. He agreed to play and Toki explained the complicated rules for a second time but he quickly caught on. They had been playing for about ten minutes before Toki lost and it was just between Atrick and Jen. Jen had won.

Toki looked up from playing a game of go fish after a while. Trevor walked on board and she moved over from her seat on the couch to make room for him. Vacation would very soon officially begin.

 
-----------------------
Nazgul Squadron

SC/FM Tokijin/Nazgul 7/Wing 1/mSSD Atrus/Denfensive Fleet/VEN/VE (=*A*=)

~ Tokijin ~

(Before Art's post)

Moments later, after Darius had finished packing and inspecting his ship, the rest of Nazgul began to show up.  First Shazam, coming to inspect and load his ship, The Real Bebop.  Darius went over to chat.

"Hey Darius, how are things going?" Shazam said, attempting to start an easy conversation with the most independent person in the squadron.

"Well, good, I guess..." he replied, keeping it short.  "Keepin' the ship in good order I see."

"Oh yeah, gotta keep her in prime condition," he said with a smile, proud of his ship.

"I know what you mean. I've got four ships, plus several fighters."

"Gonna start a war Darius?" he said as a joke.

"Well, I wouldn't call it a war."

Shazam frowned, thinking he couldn't be serious, but it was Darius after all.  "What would you call it then, and with who?"

"Well, I'd call it a small conflict, and the conflict is with my enemies.  I've got a lot out there.  You remember that little side trip I took a while back."

Shazam nodded, "yeah, I do.  Almost got me in trouble."

"Yeah, sorry about that, but I had some things to take care.  I was getting threats and plenty of rumors were spreading from many sources about a couple of troublemakers.  Plus I needed to get her back."  Darius nodded to his ship, the Punisher.  "While doing that, I pissed the Hapans off pretty good.  Killed my old major dojo, and not easily I might add.  She may be in her mid eighties, but she still tossed me around like a rag doll."

One of Shazam's eyebrows rose, "you killed an old woman?"

"She had my ship, and she had it coming.  Wouldn't give it back, so we went all Hapan martial arts on each other.  Of course she was better, so I started switching things up.  She got mad and accused me of blasphemizing her teachings.  We went at it, ended getting into melee weapons, which I excelled greater than her.  No more explaining."

"Still, she was eighty!" Shazam said.

"Made it that much easier," Darius replied, not seeing what the problem was.

Discusted, Shazam turned and went back into his ship.  Darius walked around the hanger once more, examining the other two ships.  He admired Jack's classic Theta class shuttle, an old classic.  Then, he looked at Art's.  A Luxury Yacht, very nice at that.  Darius noticed the added guns and hidden anti-personel.  He would have liked to know what the inside was like, but Art and Talysha entered the hanger, so he left, and didn't ask any questions.

After he finished his tour of the hanger, he waited in his ship for anybody looking for boarding.
 
-----------------------
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men to do nothing. --Edmund Burke
-----------------------
FM/MCPO Darius Pursius/Nazgul 2-2/mSSD Atrus/Defensive Fleet/VEN/VE (=A=) [VC:B] [*CB*]

"I suck at cards..." Trevor said as he tossed down his hand, having lost for the 5th time in a row. Shazam and Jen had returned from the cockpit and had gotten seats aroudn the table, joining in their game. Shazam had won 4 of the last 5 games, with Toki winning the last game.

"Maybe the cards just hate you?" She asked playfully, gathering up the cards and beginning to shuffle them for another game.

"Probably." He replied, leaning back in the couch and putting his right arm up along the back of the couch. Toki began dealing out the cards again while Trevor looked around the living space absent mindedly. "So Shaz, what else are we going to be doing on our 24 hour flight? Do we get peanuts?" Trevor asked, hoping for a way to relieve the boredom. Cards were only entertaining for so long.

"Sleep, eat, and I`m sure we can find a way to entertain ourselves." Shazam replied as he tossed down another winning hand. Jen hit him playfully on the shoulder for beating them all again, Atrick sighed and tossed his hand down on the table and Toki groaned and leaned back on the couch.

"Well, how about you tell us what we are going to be doing once we arrive?" Toki said as she made herself comfortorable on the pillor like cusions on the couch, allowing herself to sink deep into them.

"I`d rather keep it a surprise until we arrive." Shazam said, sounding slightly uneasy. Quick, gotta think of what I can say we are doing....Hmmmm.....Its a forest planet...Oh, I know! He thought to himself, suddenly getting an idea for an activity to be done upon arrival.

"Oh c`mon, tell us." Jen pleaded, then picked up the deck of cards and held them by the edges between her thumb and fore-finger. "Tell us, or you can play 52 pickup."

"Oh no," Shazam replied sarcasticly. "They would get all over!" He said with a laugh, making a weak attempt to grab the deck of cards from her hand but she moved it before he could. "Alright...I`ll tell you what we`re going to do."

There was a pause while everyone wiated for him to speak. Jen even let her guard down for a second while Shazam quickly grabbed the cards out of her hand and set them on the table before he spoke again.

"We`re going camping." He said bluntly. Trevor didn`t really show any expression. Camping was just fine with him. It`ll be a good chance for some time with Toki. He thought to himself as his mind drifted away from the conversation. Tokijin seemed to be excited about it.

Camping, that`ll be fun! I hope we`re around a lake though, I want to do some swimming at some point. I hope there are no bugs around the campsite though. She thought to herself and shuddered slightly at the thought of a huge bug crawling inside the tent and into her sleeping bag.

Atrick didn`t look thrilled, but then again, he didn`t look like he wouldn`t enjoy it. Jen seemed pretty enthused as well.

"We can have a campfire!" She said excitedly, looking from person to person. "And we can tell ghost stories and go hiking and do lots of stuff!"

"Yeah, I suppose we could." Shazam replied. "But first," He continued, "We have to stop in one of the larger cities and pick up some supplies. I forgot to pack the camping gear, and I never told you guys to bring some. We`ll probably stop for a day or two and get stuff and explore the city we stop in, and then head out and go camping."

"Sounds fine to me." Trevor replied witha yawn. "I`m getting tired though, I don`t think I slept enough. I`m gunna take a nap or something." He continued, taking off his leather jacket and tossing it on the floor next to the couch.

"I`m getting hungry myself." Atrick said, standing up and taking a step before stopping and scratching his head. "Uh...Shazam?"

"The kitchen is over there." Shazam said, pointing down a hallway. "Keep the food in there though, I don`t want the rest of the ship dirty. Aside form that, help yourself." He continued, warning Atrick about getting food all over before he stood up himself as Atrick made his way to the kitchen.

"I`m going to go and sit up front, and pretend to be a pilot." He said with a laugh and started towards the cockpit. Jen stood up and followed without saying much aside from 'see you later' to Trevor and Toki. The door to the cockpit closed behind her, leaving Trevor and Toki alone.

"Well, I`m tired to. I`ve been up and around all day." Toki said, leaning against him and closing her eyes. Trevor proceded to put his arm around her shjoulders before closing his own eyes, falling asleep almost right away.

I`m so tired..I wonder why...Oh well, Hopefully I`ll arrive fully rested and ready to go. He thought to himself.
 
-----------------------
FL/MCPO/Trevor Evenson/Nazgul 9(3-1)/Wing 1/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE/(=*A*=)[VC:B][SWC]

The VEN`s #1 writer as of ESC `06

Jack was sitting in the cockpit of his shuttle, dreaming. He was dreaming of a possible future - a horrible future in which everything was wrong.

There was a battle taking place all around him. Stormtroopers on one side, and Rebels on the other side. Jack was leading the Imperials against the Rebels. He felt much older and was trying to figure out why he wasn't in a fighter.

Nonetheless, he was where he was supposed to be.

A stormtrooper came up to him, and asked, "Admiral, we must evacuate to the Star Destroyers. The New Republic is getting stronger, and soon they'll capture this quadrant of the galaxy."

This quadrant? Jack thought. Have the Rebels actually gained so much power?

Trying desperately to sort things out, Jack boarded the Sentinel-class landing craft that was being used to evacuate the Imperial forces.

Soon, the same stormtrooper came back. "Grand Admiral Shazam reports that the Galactic Core has been lost again to the New Republic."

An officer beside Nebulax said, "What of the regions surrounding the Core?"

"Rear Admiral Atrick, the regions surrounding the Core are holding out well. Unfortunately, this planet will probably fall within the hour. What are your orders, Admiral Nebulax?"

So Nebulax was in charge here, and Atrick was his second in command. Shazam was now a Grand Admiral. I wonder if Kadann is Emperor?

"Sir?" the stormtrooper replied.

"Get everyone onboard the Star Destroyers. Once aboard, make the jump to lightspeed," Jack said.

"Where, sir?" Atrick said.

"Any place that isn't controlled by the Rebels."

But before the shuttle began to lift off, a thermal detonator destroyed the ship's engines. Now, in his own dream, Jack would die protecting his planet.

Or would he?

He saw several starfighters that looked like new TIE designs. Quickly, he ordered, "Get to those starfighters!"

Running to the starfighters, he saw dozens of stormtroopers go down as the Rebels advanced on his position and the TIEs.

Once inside the futuristic TIE fighter, Jack immediately entered a dogfight with an advanced X-wing. Within a minute or so, Jack's fighter was shot down, and the pilot who had destroyed his fighter came towards him.

"Ah, father," the mysterious pilot said. "I haven't see you in a while. How are things serving the loosing faction of the Galactic Civil War?"

The words stung him like blaster bolts. It was Jason. Jason Nebulax, Rebel general in charge of the takeover of Aurora Prime.

And then, the horrible Jason of a future Jack would never allow to happen fired at his father. But the bolt didn't hit Jack. He didn't know why. Perhaps the futuristic Jason decided the his father had had enough pain already and that he should be spared. As Jack looked up at where Jason had been, he realized that Jason had fled. Jack was now being carried onto another transport by Atrick and a stormtrooper. Jack would survive - for now.

Finally, Jack was out of the nightmare that had seemed all too real to him. Covered in sweat, Alexia was now by him, along with the astromech droids R2-X7 and R3-D6.

"Jack, are you-"

"It was Jason," Jack said, cutting her off. "General Jason Nebulax, Rebel starfighter pilot, enemy of the Empire, and conqueror of Aurora Prime."

Alexia just looked at Jack, and they held each other close.

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

------------------------------------------------------------
Warrant Officer 2nd Class Jack Nebulax, Nazgul Squadron, Imperial Navy, Vast Empire.
FM/WO2 Jack Nebulax/Nazgul 11 (3-3)/Wing 1/mSSD Atrus/Defensive Fleet/VEN/VE (=A=) (=*SA*=) [SV] [VC:G] [GWC]
Rep|Int/Rep Jack Nebulax/Rep: 4/Reporters-Interviewers/VE/VET
Jack Nebulax: King of the Reply
------------------------------------------------------------
Admiral Jack Nebulax, third-in-command of the Auroran Defense Fleet (ADF) and leader of Nemesis Wing (Wing I)

"Pizzas?" Toki asked as Trevor sat down across the island from her. He nodded and looked at Atrick, who was looking back and forth between the two of them, a somewhat confused look on his face.

"Yeah, pizzas. I dunno what kind, but they looked good." Trevor replied as he looked around for something to drink. Atrick was apperently doing the same thing, producing a bottle of what he called Corrilian Ale.

"Want some?" He asked, getting three glasses out of a cupboard and setting them on the table, filling each up as the two others nodded. Trevor brought the glass to his lips and took a sip without even thinking about what the drink could be other thenthat, but after tasting it for a moment he realized what it was.

"Atrick, this isn`t ale." He told him as he set down the glass and reached for the bottle, quickly dusting off the lable. Toki continued to sip from her glass, small sips, but enough for her to enjoy the flavor of the sweet but unknown drink. Trevor let out a loud laugh as he read what was on the label. "Atrick, this is Corrilian Aleterra Vineyards Wine. The label was so dusty it just looked like Corrlian Ale."

Atrick looked down at the glass of amber liquid and shruged, taking another drink from the glass and setting it down to continue on his sandwich. Toki was propping herself up on the island with her elbows, her glass about level withher head. Trevor was about to say something when the oven made a beeping noise.

"I suppose the pizza is done." Trevor said with a slight grin, breaking the eye contact they had and walking over to the oven. He reached in barehanded and grabbed on of the pizzas, then tossed it down on the island and shook his hand in the air before stopping to look at his fingers.

"Hot?" Toki asked at the same time as Trevor muttered 'Hot...' under his breath. Toki giggled lightly and took another sip of her glass before setting it down and staring at the pizza ahead of her.

"Perfect mix of romantic and casual eh?" Trevor asked, nodding first to the wine and then to the pizza, somewhat ignoring the fact that Atrick was no more then a few feet away.

"I suppose so..." Atrick replied before Tokijin could, provaking a laugh from her and a weird look from Trevor. "Sorry sir.." Atrick said, looking down at his sandwich.

"No worries." Trevor replied, finaly deciding to grab a peice of pizza from the table. He picked it up and looked it over, then began picking off peices of some unknown vegatable and tossing them down on the counter.

"Do you think Shazam will like that?" Toki askd as she picked up a peice of pizza herself and took a bite, but quickly opened her mouth again and began fanning it with her hand. "Still hot..." She said through a mouth full of dough and toppings.

"Well, Shazam can always..." Trevor started but was cut off with an 'ahem' from behind. He quickly turned to see Shazam standing behind him, a cocky grin on his face. "...He can always watch me pick them up and throw them out..." Trevor said slowly, picking up the chunks of vegatable and quickly scanning the room for a garbage can. As soon as he found one he got up and made his way over to it. . Atrick laughed, as did Toki, before Toki asked Shazam -

"Are we there yet?"

"Not yet, but you can always get out and walk." Shazam said with a laugh as he took Trevor`s spot at the island. Jen had entered the room with him and upon noticing the wine on the table had grabbed two more glasses.

"I think I can wait." Toki replied as she took another bite of her pizza, which had cooled by now.

"I`d say another 20 hours and we`ll be there." Shazam replied. Wow, time really flys in space... Trevor thought to himself as he heard that.

OOC: Just fuind a way to move us along, I don`t really care who does. If you want, land us in some city and we`ll go from there.
 
-----------------------
FL/MCPO/Trevor Evenson/Nazgul 9(3-1)/Wing 1/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE/(=*A*=)[VC:B][SWC]

The VEN`s #1 writer as of ESC `06

The yacht's engines roared to life as it accelerated into hyperspace.  One set, Art made his way back to the lounge area and looked out through one of the viewing panes.  Most of the glass had been replaced by walls but he had left six panes in staggered on both sides to provide a nice viewing area for those sitting there.  On his way back Art had stopped at the galley and removed a small tray that had been being kept warm.  He place it on a small fold out rolling table, put on a table cloth, two plates, silverware, champagne glasses, and some remaining flowers in a small vase and wheeled it out into the lounge.

"Ready for the first course?"  Art inquired as he entered the lounge.  Talysha was curled up on one of the sofas reading a book.  He wheeled the table over to her and pulled up a chair.  After opening and pouring the champagne the two sat down to enjoy.  Three courses later they were enjoying a desert platter of chocolate torte, fresh fruit, and coffee. Half a bottle of champagne and an empty bottle of red wine sat in off to the side and Art had stacked two trays of dishes in the galley.

"Absolutely magnificent."  Talysha said happily as she finished the last bite of the torte.  "All of this for a first anniversary and we aren't even married, I don't know what to say."  She said tenderly.

"No need to say anything, as I said, you deserve it and more.  Thanks so much just for being who you are."  He said leaning back in his chair, his coffee cup and saucer craddled in his lap.

"I guess I should start cleaning up."  She said in that tone where you knew the person didn't want to do it but felt like saying it anyhow to prove they weren't at all lazy.

"Haha, no need.  Stay there and relax, I'll deal with this."  Art said standing up.  After putting the furniture back in its place he began to clear away the rest of the dishes while Talysha curled back up with her book.  Both of them were avid readers and both enjoyed actually own physical paper copies of books to collect and read rather than electronic versions.  Electronic versions were good for references but the charms of the old fashioned book were loved by both of them.

-----

Art woke to the smell of fresh coffee.  He climbed slowly out of bed, put on his robe, and walked out into the lounge area to find Talysha setting out breakfast for them.

"You got up early."  Art said stiffling a yawn in the process.

"It's later than you think; clearly I was tiring for you last night."  She said almost victoriously.  Art gave her a kiss and sat down as she finished setting out the breakfast.

"Ah I forgot to check how much longer."  He said as he took a bite of the eggs.

"I already checked, we have less than two hours."  She said as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

"Excellent.  From what I heard from Shazam we will be spending about two days in the city gathering supplies before heading out.  That will give you some time to shop and maybe we can hit a show and a nice restaurant."  Art said.  "I've booked us in at a five star hotel downtown, the images I saw looked nice so hopefully it'll be good.  If not I guess we can always stay here." 

"I'm sure it will be fine.  As we get closer I'm actually starting to look forward to the idea of camping.  It'll be something different and fun I think."  Talysha said sincerely.

"That's good to hear; I'm looking forward to getting out into nature as well.  It's time for a true break."  Art said as he continued eating his breakfast.  After breakfast he would have to hurry and shower and dress before they arrived.  It was going to be a busy day and they still had to repack their suitcases as well to go to the hotel.
 
-----------------------
WAJ/2LT Corran "Arturus" Hargraves/M-SSD Atrus/VE/VEN/(=A=)(=SA=)(=*MA*=)(=JCPA=)(=SCPA=)[MC:1](x2)[SV][BRC][VC:B][CBV][GWC][LSM][LoC]


"The way of war is a way of deception. When able, feign inability; when deploying troops, appear not to be. When near, appear far; when far, appear near. Lure with bait; strike with chaos. If the enemy is full, be prepared. If strong, avoid him. If he is angry, disconcert him. If he is weak, stir him to pride. If he is relaxed, harry him; if his men are harmonious, split them. Attack where he is unprepared; appear where you are unexpected. This is victory in warfare; it cannot be divulged in advance. Victory belongs to the side that scores most in the temple calculations before battle. Most spells victory; least spells defeat; none, surer defeat. I see it in this way, and the outcome is apparent." -- Sun Tzu

"Ultimate excellence lies not in winning every battle but in defeating the enemy without ever fighting." -- Sun Tzu