The last couple of days had been kind of a blur for the commander, nothing was ever as it seemed for him. 

Back in the breifing room on the first day, Shazam knew what was coming, but hearing the words still had the same effect.  Vacation time...  At last...  Then again, as soon as the word had spread before the briefing, he'd begun to consider his options though nothing was officialized.  At first he thought of warm beaches with resort cities filled with beautiful women, great food and entertainment from across the galaxy.  However, he'd been brought some disturbing news that now required his attention, and quite unfortunetly, he'd have to be using his vacation time to make a visit to an old friend.

"Excited?" Jen had asked after the breifing as if her head were about to explode.  Shazam nodded with pursed lips but tried to pretend it was from the anxious waiting time they would have before the trip.  Truly, he just wasn't sure he was ready to see his old friend, but he had to make sure it was okay- he wasn't ready to lose it...  Yet.

So he ventured out into the hallway and found the marker board first, noting no one had managed to sign up yet.  Figuring his fellow pilots would have similar aspirations of tropical beaches and romantic nights on the shores or atleast some toursist attractions, he put up his true destination.  Forman II was nothing more than an outpost, but a big one at that- still no tourist attraction though.  Paradocia was the closest thing they had to a capitol and served as a mass starport to the passer-by, not to tourist.  Thus, fairgrounds and adventure parks were pretty much non-existant and the only real expereince was in the main city where extravagent shops had been set up and starship dealers were making a killing.  This was one place Shazam had thought no one would take the time to explore in or ask questions about, so it became his hideaway of sorts.  Not for vacations necessarilly, that was where the space platform came in, but for storage...

Shazam had gone to mull things over at the bar when he encountered the same droid from before the last mission, unwilling to give him anything but a hard time.  As his frustration built with the contraption, Tokijin and Trevor came in to settle his nerves.  On and off he'd noticed them giving eachother looks of curiosity and intrigue as if they'd eat one another because they wanted to figure out the 'taste.'  Shazam found the prospect of the two getting together kind of funny because it reminded him of 'young love' and knew it to be inevitable.  The commander always thought these things in a mock-tone as well to keep it from becoming a serious matter in his mind. 

"So what's Forman II like?" one of them asked and he about choked on his drink before giving them some very breif details.  They signed on?  Oh crap...  The last thing he wanted was people hanging around to see exactly what he was dealing with, but it wasn't like he could just tell them.  Number One: They were people he worked with everyday and he'd gotten to know them like family- it'd be treachery to turn them away now.  Two, and most importantly, he'd been an idiot and actually given the number of people he could of accomidated...  I should have said something about deadly animals on board...

After the brief conversation, he'd had time to think on this news...  It might not be so bad, actually...  I'll only need to ditch them some of the time and they'll probably want to spend that doing something else...  He was in for a rude awakening though as he traveled back to the board to see where the other members of the squadron had decided to go.  FORMAN II!  Every destination was filled in with the planet he'd thought would be such an unlikely choice.  Double-crap...  What are they going to do while I'm away?  Wait- they can't even know I'm away...  Shazam was unhappy with his new position of ditcher... 

Going out to the Real Bebop, Shazam closed the hatch and went to work on tidying up, mostly the illegal stuff, but then the things people couldn't be knowing about just yet- hopefully never.  The less questions the better.  Then came the expensive things, like the musical instruments strewn about the walls and expensive ornaments and decorations he'd set up to make it more like a house.  He kept the beads in the doorway to the bedroom though, because he'd just found those to be awesome, and the kitchen was well loaded as always.  Also, he made sure that Page was well strapped down in the cargo hold while the remainder of his items needing concealed were stored in the hidden compartments of the ship. 

That same evening, Jen had made it her business to inspect the ship she'd be travelling on, which threw Shazam off and forced him to do some evasive maneuvering around some projects that weren't quite complete.  She'd shown up in casual clothing which Shazam had only seen her in maybe three or four times and excentuated some of her finer features.  For a moment he considered showing her the bedroom first, but then reconsidered.  Too much love in the air- things are getting out of control already.  Plus, Jen would probably knock me out...  Shazam waved the suggestion away and took her up and down the main aisle, avoided the cargo hold, and only let her breifly glance at the controls in the cabin.  She said something about it being incredibly comfortable which Shazam took as a compliment and slowly shoved her back out the door...  She'd cocked an eyebrow at him and said- "You're up to something...  But you can tell me when you think you have to...  I'm only your XO after all..."  Then she turned brusquely on her heel and made way for her own cabin.  Shazam shook his head in frustration, unsure of whether she was going to be bitter or playful the following day.

Returning to the ship, he made his way to the cabin to do some final checks on equipment only to see Jen Knight through the viewport looking back toward the Real Bebop.  She would figure things out soon enough, but not now...  The commander concluded his thoughts and gave his ship a final walkthrough before heading off to bed.

The following morning he made sure he was awake at a good time so that he could see the sun come up once more before taking off to a new world.  He made himself his own complimentary breakfast despite having an excellent messhall near-by.  Perhaps he was trying to get in the camping experience without even realizing it, but it was at that moment he came up with a way to totally cut Nazgul off from his true ambitions.  I haven't been camping in ages...  Might actually be kind of fun.  Too bad I won't be able to stick around...  Maybe I'll catch some near the end...  Never the less, he had something to occupy their time now.  They could spend a few days shopping then we could head out...  Somewhere... 

He found the Real Bebop in the company of Tokijin when he arrived, packed and ready to go.  She seemed happy to get off planet as he lowered the ramp and showed her around the ship as he did with Jen but this time without fear of her walking across something she shouldn't see.  She settled herself in while Shazam ran systems checks and warmed the ship up, more and more of the Nazguls showing up all the while.  Moving outside, Shazam began loading up bags when Darius approached him, talking about his three or four ships to which Shazam supressed a chuckle when asking "Ganna start a war?"  To his surprise the man seemed to think so and spoke vaguely of his plans- He's out for galactic domination alright...  Glad he's on my side.

Back on the ship, everyone was exploring the various hallways, bedrooms and storage centers, observing quietly how much space the commander had aboard the Gozanti freighter.

"How did he get this?"  It must have been Atrick, but Shazam didn't want to go into the long story about how he, Chip, JMac and Liquid had their own search party and stumbled upon it in a forest full of NR troops.  Not yet atleast, he was still trying to set up the Nav computer to avoid enemy outpost and still give them the least amount of travel time.  As the meter on the time continued to round up he realized he was looking at about a day-long trip.  He rubbed his forehead but decided it wasn't a big deal, he just wasn't sure what they'd do for an entire day.  Jen stepped in quietly from behind and shreiked, making Shazam jump a couple of feet out of his chair.  As the scream died away, the XO's cackling took over.

"You do that any more and one of these times my reflexes might kick in..." Shazam began saying as he finished up on the nav computer.  Jen feined a look of terror and awe as Shazam brought up these 'mighty reflexes.' 

"Wow...  I'm scared now...  Anyways- what have you for me to do?"  Jen plopped down in the co-pilots seat as Shazam switched to the pilots seat. 

"I suppose you could sit right there for now and make sure we don't crash in case my narcalepsy kicks in, but besides that- can you mix drinks?"  Shazam checked the repulsors one last time as Jen cackled almost as menacingly as before.

"My specialty actually- have anything special in mind?"  She wasn'st sure if he was joking yet, but Shazam sealed it with-

"Whatever you think will knock me out for twenty four hours- its ganna be a long day..."  She nodded methodically and said-

"Right then: drunk before the party even starts.  Didn't know you hit the bottle that hard in these early hours..."  She smiled at him innocently as Shazam began to say-

"Yea, well..."

"Whoa- hold on..."  Jen spun in her chair and found a new array of buttons, flipping off the back motivaters to keep them from flying into the command booth straight ahead of them.  "I suppose thats why this thing is supposed to have a staff of five..."

"Thanks..." Shazam said sheepishly and slowly spun the craft in its spot so that the front viewport would face outward and toward the colorful morning horizon- it would be noon within an hour or two, but Shazam still thought this was the best time of day. 

"Beautiful, isn't it?" he said absent-mindedly, slowly pushing the throttle forward, the engines opening up from all around the ship to make it vibrate softly in its wake. 

"If you're talking about your ship again I'll have to slap you, but if you're talking about that..." She nodded forward.  "Then I might just have to agree...  I prefer night time though- the stars are really something else..."  She stared out the window without glancing over him, which he took as sincerety. 

"Then you'll like where we're going..."  Shazam said as they left the hanger and ascended to exit the atmosphere. 

That was about the most exciting part of the day for Shazam though.  The rest of the time he felt like it was raining out so he pulled out activities he normally did on those days...  Drank, slept, a holo here and there and had a cheaply cooked meal.  Not to mention avoiding questions on plans, barelly remembering that he'd decided they were going camping.  He still wasn't sure where they would be able to camp and what they'd be allowed to do once their, but he'd figure it out later. 

Some twenty-four hours later they reached Forman II, apparently alive and well though Darius's ship appeared somewhat scathed by lack-luster turbolaser fire.  Deciding not to ask just yet, Shazam got the clearence to land, though it was an odd one.

"Unknown craft- please state your ID and business..." the voice came through the open com line as Shazam groggilly answered back; he'd been sleeping almost the entire time. 

"Alright- sendin you the craft ID right now.  We're here for vacation, by the way..."  For a second there wasn't a reply, then a voice that was almost choking from laughing.

"A vacation?  That's a good one...  You can land in the upper atmosphere, segment two, three- sending you the exact location now.  You have a good vacation, now- ya here?"  Jen was up in the cabin again and over heard this to which she and Shazam exchanged looks of "weird."  Two ideas were beginning to develope in Jen's head at this point- either her good freind was already getting messed with on this vacation by having so many people come along or he was hiding something.  She preferred the latter and instantly said-

"What's going on?"  She stepped through the center aisle and took a seat in the co-pilot's chair as Shazam attempted to ignore her and gave the orders to the other ships.  Jen, frustrated, snapped her fingers for a moment before tapping him on the knee and giving him the 'eye-contact' sign, pointing from her eyes to his own.  "What's going on?"  She repeated it with a calm, but ice cold look as if she would freeze him in place if he tried to lie to her.  He did anyways-

"What are you talking about?"  The gaze became more intense before Shazam amended his last and said-

Shazam put on his best unhappy face and argued- "Alright, this isn't the biggest camping place.  I normally stay in the city but I wanted to try and do something different for you guys so I came up with the camping idea- satisfied?"  She shook her head.

"And there isn't a place to camp- how bout that?"  She hesitated but decided to nod.

"Very well- I shall help you find a camping site while everyone shops around- though I shouldn't, you've brought this upon yourself..."  She grinned and said- "So where we stayin?" 

"We?"

(Jen isn't this flirty in real-life, but I like to have fun with her character :>.  Feel free to explore the town guys and make some side stories of your own.  Remember- those of you who don't post three times in a week have to report so get posting or send in a report guys: if you have any questions, comments or concerns about whats all goin on or you just have an idea that you wanna run with: let us know.  Chances are we'll probably do it.  I've noticed that Jack, Trevor and Toki all have character developement going on- I'd like to develope those into side stories as well.  I think everyone should be doing side stories, so start thinking up ways we could do that, or jump on to IRC and I'll probably be around some time, mostly in the afternoons.  Alright- lets have fun with this: rock on.)


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

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

NazgulSquadron

Commander of Nazgul Squadron, Phoenix Wing and Training

Hotel accomidations were one thing Shazam had not taken into account when deciding to take this trip.  Usually he stayed with someone he knew, usually Daren the old hanger bay maintenance man.  However, with the entirety of Nazgul Squadron trying to bunk up in one place, staying in his usual hide out simply would not do.  So Shazam's first thoughts were- What's the cheapest place I can stay and not feel like I'm being watched?  There had to be a hundred hotels in the city, most a little less in standards than the average.  After exiting the landing strip and walking through a series of walkways it wasn't difficult to find a place to stay, though.  Signs of 'future attractions' that had probably been there for years were scrawled across everyting along with places to make hotel arrangements.  Picking what looked to be the most recent and neat looking one, Jen ordered they at least check the place out, though Shazam only agreed through gritted teeth and a loose collar.  The commander was beginning to realize he was a bit cheap in certain situations, especially when it came to his own welfare.

Somewhere along the way Trevor had asked if it were necessary to have everyone stay in the same place to which Shazam immedietly answered 'no.'  A little surprised at the answer, Trevor was only threw off for a second before nodding and taking toki and a few others off in a seperate direction.  Darius had already taken off on his own accord and Shazam hadn't actually seen Art or his lady friend yet.  Either way, the less people to ask questions when he decided to sneak away during the night, presumebly the better.

Stepping out of the long walkways of transparisteel and scummy carpetting, Shazam led Jen to a lift that she didn't appear all to comfortable getting on to.  "Are you sure this even works?  We could go plummeting to our deaths if one of these lines snaps or the electronics don't..."  Shazam cut her off with a wave of his hand and stepped into the elevator, waving a spot for her then crossing his arms.

"I don't suppose your trying to make some kind of remark toward the quality of the products here on Forman II, are you?" He said as Jen eyed everything in the lift deminuitively. 

"Not yet- I have yet to see the shops though...  And you the hotel...  And these camping grounds should we happen to come across some.  Where were you planning to start?" She suddenly changed the subject, throwing her hair back to cock and eyebrow as if to say "like you would actually know where to start..."

Women... Shazam thought precociously for a moment, then gave in and said- "Not sure yet.  Thought I might call some people up..."  The commander kept his eyes forward, ready to lie through his teeth should she continue to ask questions. 

"Really?"  She said and turned her head toward the double-doors just as they spread apart and allowed her to escape the lift in a far cooler manner than the commander's awkward after-stride. 

Now on the ground, they could look up and see the walkway they'd just been on some hundred feet above, rather rickety looking in the morning sun.  The skies here were a little murky due to the pollution from all the minor factories and ships coming in and out.  That didn't really bother the commander though, he'd seen the place a million times before and was used to its oily black nights and cascading shadow rains, all of which usually kept people from choosing Forman II as a vacation area. 

"Look, there!  I told you it was nice..." Jen was saying as she practically skipped down the street of what looked to be very busy traffic.  Most of the crowd was men in shabby clothing or very nice clothing, the latter being the business owners.  However, Shazam could see the occasional woman scurrying throught the crowd to get to a steet before the next wave of landspeeders made their way through. 

Shazam looked up to see the hotel Jen had been referring to and noticed first that it had windows that actually be opened rather than the framed in windows that were just for a nice view.  "Looks perfect..." he said as they stepped into the lobby and met a short bell-hop with a look of carmel joy at actually seeing customers. 

"OH, right here sir and maddam- yes, here!"  He waved them down as the two Nazguls exchanged looks before proceeding.

"Yea- we thought we'd get a couple of rooms..." Shazam started saying before Jen interrupted with-

"One room..."  What?  "Two beds..."  Shazam shook his head as he vanquished whatever plans were beginning to form.  Always messin with my head... he thought and gave the man a nod.

"How many hours?" 

"Hours- people stay here in hours?"  Jen chuckled slightly but Shazam just replied-

"Fifty."  The young man at the desk gave them a look of surprise.

"Wow- pretty long business trip: you buying a business or waiting on a new ship to get finished?"  He began entering them into the system as Jen spoke up before Shazam could.

"Vacation, actually..."  The bellhop about choked then laughed as if it were a joke, then looked at them stunned as they just stared back in all seriousness.

"Very well, then...  Names?  I'll need some form of ID as well..."  Shazam cursed to himself as he handed over his VEN ID as did Jen.  This is why I stay with someone else instead of a hotel... he reminded himself before accepting the card back from the employee.  He hadn't actually seen any other ones yet...

"OH- Naval pilots?  We have celebrities- welcome, welcome..."  He was saying as he moved away from the terminal and led them down the hallway behind him and to the left. 

"Shouldn't you stay at the front desk?"  Jen asked curiously as the man led them down a hallway and to their room. 

"Well- yes and no.  Don't worry, some one will pick it up..." he said it with anxious confidence.  "Enjoy your time here- lunch is served in three hours and dinner in about eight to ten..."  He clapped his hands together and spun on his heel to leave them in front of their door. 

"What about money?"  Shazam asked randomely and Jen added-

"And a key card?"  The man stopped his jog and turned back to them-

"The bill is sent to your VEN accounts and the doors lock from the inside, I have a key in case you manage to lock yourselves in or out..."  Then he spun off to run back to the desk.

"Odd little man, isn't he?"  Shazam said before opening the door and taking a good look at his homebase for the next couple of days.  Oh good- a window...

(Alright- I'm going to make this bell clerk guy the only person working in this hotel, lol.  So, try to make it seem as if he's doing everything on his own, but that he's pretending there are other people working there.  That is if you decide to stay in this little hotel, though you can certainly start your own little adventure elsewhere.  Lets see some story building, now- les ride.)

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

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

NazgulSquadron

Commander of Nazgul Squadron, Phoenix Wing and Training

"You sure?" Shazam would have gone and checked it himself but he wasn't entirely sure it was just accidental. How did they find us so quickly? Going back to the window he found the latch, the hotel not up to date enough to spend money on automatic windows. As it clicked open, Shazam thrust the window outward so he could look down to see what type of fall he was going to take. Two stories isn't that bad... he thought as he climbed into the window, his legs over the ledge and his arms securing him at the sides. Below was a trash receptacle with jagged edges, one of the two sides open to reveal burning grease that smelt about as putrid as anything he'd smelt before.  That's why they keep the windows shut I presume...  Right underneath him was a sharp overhang that would force him into a roll and probably make him land on his back if he hit it. Alright... Aim for the middle... That meant he'd have to jump out about four or five feet , but not seven or he'd end up in the vat of greese...  If he messed up he was in some trouble either way.

"What're you doing?" Jen asked, though it was rather obvious.

"Thought I'd see what this guy wants from us..." Shazam said it with such confidence that Jen found even herself caught up in the moment as the commander let go of the window and dropped toward the alley below. It was still pretty much morning but it was letting way to noon, the sun and two other planets in the solar system hovering high in the sky above.

The commander's feet met the ground harder than he'd thought and he stumbled slightly before standing tall and shaking out his leg. "You alright?" Jen querried from the upper story. Shazam glanced around before answering. The overhang wasn't just full of sharp curves, it was made of of a hard metal that would have cut him up into five peices. The dumpster was also rather intimidating now that he was so close, one end opened up to burning grease from the restaurant next door and the other's shiny hood gleaming in the sunlight, probably made of a harder metal than the overhang. Had he landed on either of them he probably would have sustained substantial injury, he concluded.

"Yea- do we have any weapons up there though?" Shazam looked up and down the alley to see people moving across their path as if nothing out of the ordinary were happening.

"I have a repeater and pistol- you want one?" Jen's hair dangled down past her face so it looked like she was wearing a red towel over her head and the constant in and out action of her head in the window was playing games with the commander's eyes as he continued to stare up.

"Nah, I got one on my ankle: be prepared though!" And he was off, through the end of the alley way, past the people in the crown running up and down the street and around to the front door. Being as discreet as possible, Shazam rounded the corner and went to the door, quickly flicking it open and stepping inside. Within three seconds the man that'd been at the door earlier was with him.

"Oh! Mr. Money? I thought you were upstairs; I didn't see you go past..." He seemed surprised but smiling all the while as if he had a task for him.

"I didn't... Maybe you could tell us why you decided to lock us in our room..." Shazam was saying this in his mock tone as the little man began to answer-

"I did what?" Just as Shazam was about to pull the blaster from its ankle holser, Jen appeared behind the little man.

"Okay- you're going to laugh at this..." She pulled her hair behind her head and smiled sheepishly before answering- "So you know how we almost always use those buttons to open doors and these ones aren't automatic? Well its been a little while and..."

"What?" Shazam interrupted, an eyebrow raised to its full extension.

"I was turning it the wrong way..." Shazam couldn't laugh though- he'd nearly died jumping out of the window and he'd thought they were under attack... He was rather stunned at his XO.

"Oh, lighten up- its not like you're perfect either- remember that time you walked into the glass door?" Touche... The man at the desk looked back and forth between them anxiously before saying-

"I better get back to the kitchen..."

"You cook too?" Shazam was becoming more suspicious of the duties of this particular desk clerk.

"How bout we meet up with the rest of the group?" Jen suggested. "We gotta find a camping site after all- might as well occupy their time with a little shopping..."

"We gotta get the luggage from the Real Bebop, as well..." Shazam added. At the mention of the ship, it appeared as if Jen grimaced slightly. "What?"

"What?" Jen replied right back before taking out her comlink and heading out the door.
 
-----------------------
*Flash Was Here...*

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

NazgulSquadron

Commander of Nazgul Squadron, Phoenix Wing and Training

(Before and during Darius's post...)

Coming out of hyperspace, Jack felt relieved to see Forman II filling the shuttle's cockpit.

"Sir, we've reached our destination," FA-4-22, the FA-4 pilot droid, said. "We'll be landing shortly."

"Great," Jack said. He then walked out of the cockpit and into the room where Alexia, R2-X7, and R3-D6 were. R2 was beeping to R3, like he was doing all during the flight.

"Oh boy," Jack said to Alexia. "We'll be landing soon. We better get the bags ready. Artoo and Arthree, you'll need to help us with the bags."

Once Alexia and the droids were busy with the luggage, Jack made sure his B2 super battle droid arm's blaster was ready. Also, he had an E-11 blaster rifle with him, plus a DL-44 heavy blaster pistol.

Alexia, glancing at Jack, said, "Do we really need weapons?"

"Just in case," Jack replied. "Sure, it's vacation, but how do we know that Rebels aren't taking a vacation on Forman II as well?"

"I suppose you're right," Alexia replied.

"Plus, I've installed a weapons system in Artoo," Jack said. Then, to his astromech droid: "Artoo, defense mode delta-nine!"

R2 whistled, and suddenly some of his compartments opened, revealing some of his standard tools, which could be adjusted for defense purposes, and a blaster.

"Interesting," Alexia said as Artoo began putting his weapons back into their proper places.

Suddenly, Jack heard the comlink in the cockpit chime. Jack rushed in and grabbed it as the FA-4 droid continued to pilot the shuttle towards Forman II, now much larger in the viewport.

"Unknown shuttle, identify yourself and your business here on Forman II," the man on the other end of the comlink said.

"This is shuttle Auroran Glory, here for a little vacation," Jack replied.

"Ah, yes. Proceed with your landing. Upon landing, you will have to be cleared by some security officers at the checkpoint. Make sure you have proper identification with you when you leave your ship," the officer said.

"Copy that," Jack replied, shutting off the comm. "Okay, FA, take her in."

The shuttle began slowing down as it approached the landing platform. Jack noticed Shazam's ship nearby, and he also saw some squadronmates talking. The FA droid landed the shuttle perfectly, and Jack saw that R2 and R3 already had some luggage.

"Okay, time for our vacation to start," Jack said, lowering the shuttle's ramp and walking down it, luggage in his arms.

Upon reaching the checkpoint, Jack had a problem. Not with his E-11, DL-44, or even R2-X7. His super battle droid arm was causing a major problem.

"Sir, is there any way you can remove it?" a security officer asked.

"No, and don't suggest deactivating it - it still has some bugs in it from the last time I did that," Jack replied.

"Is that blaster operation?" another guard asked.

"Yes," Jack replied.

"Oh, just let him through," another officer said.

"Thank you," Jack said to the officer, secretly handing him a few credits before heading towards the hotel with the rest of the squadron.

Vacation, you're looking very good right about now, Jack thought.
 
-----------------------
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)

Atrick stepped off the ship, stretching after his sleep and the long space flight. He wondered where the time had gone.

****3 hours earlier****

He had woken up to an empty room, which left him wondering if they had arrived yet. He stepped out of bed, not deciding to change into his regular clothes if they weren't there yet. He found Trevor and Toki in the kitchen, looking for breakfast.

Atrick rummaged through the fridge and found a cold slice of pizza. Shrugging, he grabbed it and began eating it, not caring if it tasted a little off.

"Nice PJ's." Trevor said, looking at Atrick. Atrick looked down, starting to feel a little self-concious about his clothing. He was wearing plaid pajamas, something he hadn't worn in a long time. He had felt now was the best time to wear them. He was beginning to regret that choice.

He finished his pizza, then changeed into his clothes, feeling better. He walked towards the cockpit, wondering if they had reached their destination. He stepped in, the question on his lips, then shut up. Forman II was in sight and it's view was breathtaking to Atrick. He heard Shazam relaying com chatter with the landing gates and Atrick hurried back to his bags to repack so he'd be ready for their arrival.

****Present Time****

The rest of Nazgul had left and Atrick loved the feeling of being in a crowded place by himself. He had been terrified of the markets on Naboo as a child when his parents were alive, but had come to love them as a place of excitement and little joys happening everyday.

He turned towards a local cantina, wanting to get a drink before he went off to shop. He sat down at the bar, looking around at the crowd. Nothing unusual here. Atrick thought. He looked up at the bartender, a protocol droid that was modified to make drinks with it arms and still be able to take orders from a third.

"What will you have, sir?" It asked, at the ready to make a drink.

"Just a beer, would be nice." Atrick said. He looked around again, getting an uneasy feeling in his gut. Something wasn't right. The droid gave him his beer and he paid, drinking deeply from the mug. He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Why don't we go for a walk, you and I?" A voice said in his ear. He felt a blaster pistol in his back and decided against resisting. No one else in the cantina seemed to notice this event either.

Atrick stood up, then felt a push towards the door. He walked forward, trying not to aggrivate this stranger, who seemed intent on not letting him go anywhere. Outside, they met up with two bulky looking men, who seemed to guard an alleyway, obscured from view of the street. Atrick was shoved inwards towards the dark alley.

What's going on here?
 
-----------------------
NazgulSquadron

FM/LCRW Atrick25/Nazgul-10/Phoenix Wing/[mSSD Atrus]/1VENF]/VEN/VE (=A=)
~Leading Crewman Atrick25~

Nerds stick together! (Until Football Players storm us, because then we run like the girly men we are!)

Why does Darth Vader want cookies?

Trevor and Tokijin had split off from the group early on, with Atrick following them, but he quickly stopped off in a cantina, calling after them that he`d catch up withthem shortly, and needed a quick drink.

The couple watched him dissapear before continuing down the street. They stuck close together to avoid the bustling crowds, but still managed to catch a good look at any possible places to stay. After theyhad been walking for about 15 minutes Toki spotted something on the window of an above average looking hotel and pointed, dragging Trevor over by the arm to the window.

"Look! Its got water slides and stuff in it!" She said excitedly, almost yelling over the crowd. "And it doesn`t look to bad either, can we stay here? Please..." She asked, and Trevor couldn`t say no. He just nodded and they walked inside, finding themselves in a lobby of a slightly above average hotel. It was clean, but some of the furniture
in the lobby was somewhat old and shabby looking. Oh well,maybe its supposed to look old, and make the place feel rustic. He thought to himself as Toki pulled him by the hand to the front desk.

"Ah, Hello. I`m assuming you`re here for a room, yes?" The man behind the desk asked. He was of mid height with black hair and a thin mustache. He eyed the two for a moment and noticed that they were holding hands. "And what are you two doing on Forman II, if I may ask?"

"We`re on vacation." Tokijin replied, to which the man snorted slightly, but quickly regained his professional composier and began to flip throughthe registry.

"Would you two like the honeymoon suite?" The man asked, finding a page in the registry and clicking his pen, ready to write down their information.

"Uh..." Trevor said, looking downat Tokijin for a moment, before he continued. "Actually, could we get two seperate rooms? Next to each other if possible." Trevor asked, Toki nodding quietly beside him.

"Oh, so the two of you are not together then?" The man asked, flipping through the registry to see if they had any rooms open that were next to each other.

"We are," Toki informed him, "But we`re taking stuff slow." It was Trevor`s turn to nod, and the man just looked up quickly and smiled before looking back down at the registry and frowning.

"I`m sorry, but we don`t have any two rooms open on the same floor. We do have a room with two seperate beds though, would you be interested in that?" He asked, clicking his pen nervously. The two looked at eachother for a moment before Toki nodded and Trevor said 'yeah', and reached into his pocket for his ID and money.

He handed over the ID to the man behind the desk who began to copy down what he needed, and then handed over a credit disk to pay for the room. As soon as the man finished he handed them a key-card and gave them quick directions to their room, which the went to check out right away.

As soon as they entered the room, Toki let out a small cry. It looked much better then Trevor thought it would. She flopped down on one of the beds and then sat up, looking around the room. It was fairly large, with deep green walls and black carpet, with a pair of double beds and a small table and set of chairs. Off to once side was a small closet, and next to it was a bathroom.

"Its wonderful." She said slowly, Trevor nodding his head and sitting down on the bed next to her.

"Well, maybe we should go out and get our supplies and anything else we might need." Trevor said as he looked at his reciept for the room. Wow, kinda expensive...Oh well, It`ll be worth it, besides, its just for a day or two. He thought to himself as he shoved it in his pocket and stood up again. Tokijin stood up and followed.

*** A short while later ***

Toki and Trevor were walking through a mall, Trevor searching for a shop that sold camping supplies and Tokijin looking for ashop that had swimsuits.

"Its funny how they have so few camping supply stores here, you`d think it`d be abig industry or something." Trevor said with a sigh as his eyes crossed over another ship outfitter shop. Just as he finally got a glimpse of a camping shop, Toki grabbed his arm and dragged him over to a shop which contained a good number of aquatic items, including swmsuits.

"I`m going to look in here." She said as she walked into the doors, still pulling Trevor behind her.

"Alright, you look here, I`m going to go and gather up some stuff we`ll need in a shop just across, over there." He said, pointing to a store. She nodded and they split up, each heading into a different store.

*** A little while later ***

Toki had finally found a swimsuit she liked and was paying for it. As she waited for the cashier to finish her payment, she started observing the other customers in the store. There were very few people, but one man that she did notice struck her as slightly odd looking. He was wearing an oversized jacket and a pair of grey pants, checking out some swimming goggles on a shelf. She though he looked quite funny, considering he also had a very long beard that swung low across his chest each time he moved his head.

As soon as the casheir was done, Toki gathered her purchase and placed it in a plastic bag before heading over to the shop Trevor had gone into. She found him near the back, checking out a 4 person tent and some sleeping bags.

"Why do we need a four person tent?" She asked, reading the label on the tent.

"Because, they always put down two times as many people as the tent should hold. I dunno why, but it gets really cramped." Trevor said as he grabbed one of the bundled up tents and slung it over his shoulder, and motioned for Toki to grab the pair of sleeping bags. She picked them up, one under each arm, and followed him as he walked absent-mindedly up and down the isles, looking for anything else they might need.

Toki stopped for a moment while Trevor examined a couple of different types of lanterns, and as she looked around, she noticed a man standing farther up the asile, looking at a box of matches. It was the same man she had seen earlier, with the long beard and oversized coat.

Ah, he must just be getting ready to go camping or something. She thought to herself, shrugging off any suspecious thoughts.
 
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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, Alexia, and the two droids had just got done checking into the hotel and were now in their room.

"Two beds? Too bad one has to go to waste," Alexia said.

"Hey, the droids can take it," Jack said, laughing. R2 yelled a loud beep at Jack. "Calm down, Artoo, I'm only kidding." Then, he added, "But seriously, you two can use the extra bed."

Again, R2 yelled.

"Okay, let's get unpacked now," Alexia said, quickly opening her luggage.

Jack, taking his DL-44, hid the blaster under his pillow.

"Jack, do you really need that there? You have a blaster on your arm," Alexia said.

"Just in case one of the security guards decide to deactivate my arm when I'm not looking," Jack said. Alexia gave him a look as if to say "Come on", but Jack ignored her.

Once the luggage was unpacked, Jack decided to head out for a drink or two.

------------------
Sitting down in the cantina, Jack had to wait a while for the person to get him a drink. Jack swore that it was the same person who had been managing the front desk, so he decided to order a second one as he ordered the first.

Jack was alone in the cantina, but he didn't feel that way. Once, he thought he saw the future Jason from his horrible dream. Jack knew it was just his mind playing tricks on him, so he took a big gulp out of the first glass, realizing it was already finished.

He then quickly finished the second glass, and decided to go take a walk around the hotel. Jack didn't see anyone, except one rather rude Human checking out of the hotel.

"Do you mind?" the person said. "You're going to walk right into my luggage."

Jack was nowhere near the person's luggage, so he pretended to avoid it by taking another path. Still, the person must have also been seeing things, as he said, "Great! Now my clothes are all over the place!"

Jack just walked on, shaking his head.

------------------
(Later that night...)

The dream was back. This time, it was the sequel to his previous one.

Onboard the flagship of the Auroran Defense Fleet, which was now a subdivision of the Imperial Navy, Admiral Jack Nebulax looked out on his home planet, now conquered by the New Republic. As New Republic fighters began attacking the Star Destroyer, Jack ordered the fleet into hyperspace, headed for the region surrounding the Galactic Core.

Atrick, a Rear Admiral, approached Jack. "Sir, Grand Admiral Arturus is on the comm."

"Patch him though," Jack said. It now felt as if he had accepted everything that was happening.

Suddenly, a hologram came to life in front of him.

"Admiral Nebulax, good to see you alive. What's your situation?" Arturus asked.

"Aurora Prime has fallen. The majority of the ground forces have been wiped out. However, the fleet suffered minor casualties," Jack reported.

"Did you consider an orbital bombardment?" Arturus asked.

"No, sir. I could never destroy my home world," Jack replied. "How is the Inner Core holding out?"

"I'm here with Grand Admiral Shazam. Our fleets are keeping the Rebels at bay, although we could use some extra Star Destroyers."

"We're on our way, Grand Admiral," Jack said.

Suddenly, Jack woke up. The dream wasn't that bad, but he knew that there would be more, and that Jason would be involved. Making sure everything was okay, Jack fell back to sleep.
 
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Revenge is what holds this galaxy together. Without it, the universe would be a boring place.

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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
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Admiral Jack Nebulax, third-in-command of the Auroran Defense Fleet (ADF) and leader of Nemesis Wing (Wing I)

---Before Shaz's post---

The engines on the Emerald Star whirled to a halt as the repulsorlift coils engaged.  Art slowly guided his ship down towards the docking space he had been assigned at the main spaceport at Forman II.  Coming in Art had taken the approach slow to get a feel for the main city; he wasn't overly impressed with what he saw.  The differences between sections of the city and even building to building were stark.  Some were clean, brand new pristine buildings and right next to them were crumbling stone buildings with scorch marks and other indications of damage or vandalism.  Overall just from the looks of it, Art felt that the city and the planet had a very strange feeling indeed; the contrast was almost surreal.  This must be a place of great social unrest... he thought to himself as he set the ship down with a very light bump.  A minute later he had shut down the main systems and set the ship into a semi-idle mode.  He never let his ship shut down completely; the emergency systems were always on standby so that he could go as quickly as possible should the need arrise.  If Art was one thing he was prepared.

Walking back towards the main lounge area he saw Talysha pulling on a light coat over a pair of well cut pants and a short sleeved female dress shirt.

"I forgot to check the temperature."  Art said turning to go back.

"I found the information from the central weather commission on the terminal."  Talysha said stopping him.  "It's a rather cool fourteen and breezy."  Art paused for a moment and then walked into the bedroom to pull on a dark brown corderoy blazer cut jacket over his light brown pants and sweater.  He then grabbed their suitcase and walked back towards the ramp.

"Are you armed?"  Art asked Talysha who was standing at the entrance waiting.  Talysha shook her head.  Art ducked back inside and opened up a panel beside the entrance to the cockpit.  He pulled out his pistol and silencer and a second pistol for Talysha.  Art slid the pistol into the pocket of his packet and the silencer into his inside jacket pocket and brought the other pistol back to Talysha who slid it in her purse.  Talysha had become used to carrying a weapon with her all the time when with Art.  When she was younger she had done so as well turning more turbulent times but given that she was mostly onboard ships she hadn't bothered to worry about it.  Art, however, was always concerned about being able to defend himself almost against some form of imaginary threat.  It was one of the aspects about him that was frustrating at first but she had grown accustomed to it after a while.  In hindsight it made sense given the fact that they were both imperial officers in a galaxy that wasn't entirely pro-empire and those were weren't all pro-VE.

"What hotel did you book us in?"  Talysha asked as they walked towards the main spaceport to pass through customs.

"It's called the Central Square Inn; it's a four star hotel.  It looked quite nice and comfortable"  Art replied.  As the two entered the main building.  "Once we clear through customs and get to the hotel you may want to go do some shopping to prepare for camping.  I'm going to meet the squadron and see what the plans are and then maybe we could meet for lunch somewhere and spend what time we have in the city together however we want?"  He said half stating half asking.

"Good idea.  I have to find some different clothing for camping and some extra gear as well.  Most of the survival gear will work well but I can think of a couple of things I want."  She said as they arrived at the customs booth.

"Papers please."  The man demanded flatly in a tone that conveyed a combination of boredom and attempted gruffness.  He was a short overweight man who was sweating profusely despite the rather cool temperatures.  He had a greasy mustache and rather cold green eyes.  "Imperials eh?  Don't give us any trouble."  He said, his tone remained flat."  Art was attempted to fire a wisecrack back but thought better of it knowing that the last thing he wanted as more attention on them.  "Are either of you carrying firearms?"  The man demanded tossing the papers back to the two of them.  Art reached into his inside jacket pocket and pulled out an Imperial issued firearms permit.

"That should cover it."  Art said as he handed it over.  The man muttered something to himself and scanned the document.

"This is an imperial document.  We aren't a planet run by the imperials."  The man replied as if he were insulted.

"So you're saying what?"  Art said starting to get annoyed.

"Go to your right and fill out the right forms.  Enjoy your stay; I trust it won't be long."  He said practically disgusted by the presence of the imperial officers.  Clearly he is not a fan. Art thought to himself.  Then again he couldn't blame him considering that he himself had problems with the empire as well.  Nevertheless he remained though he was not quite sure why nor was he sure how he had even gotten into the empire in the first place.  He thought he had despised Vader and the Emperor; at least he always seemed to recall that he did.  Nevertheless here he was and he just couldn't seem to bring himself to leave when his views came into conflict with imperial doctrine.  He wasn't the only one; times were changing.  Nevertheless, the feeling couldn't be explained and it intrigued Art.

After filling out the relevant forms which took an addition twenty minutes, the two walked out onto the mainstreet and summoned a taxi to the hotel.
 
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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

"Report?"  The man in the officer's uniform looked like the highest class of Imperial with a brimming, and utterly intimidating form.  The man before him was of a more lumbering nature with a long black beard and coat designed for cold weather but used now to conceal weapons.  He'd been unarmed in his last adventure, but he'd be fully loaded come intercept time. 

"I think the Imperials are catching on...  The one who owns the ship caught sight of me and tried to pull me in..."  The officer had been fiddling with the buttons on his uniform for the last couple of minutes and had finally gotten it put together when this news hit him.

Pursing his lips he answered- "Very well...  How about Julio?"  The shadow kept the larger man's form pretty much non-existant, but the officer could feel every movement he made as it met the ground.

"He ran right into 'em without a thought- Julio's fine..."

"Good, good...  We'd better be careful where we show up though.  Only one more day of surveilance and we're clear to move- the boss is getting a bit anxious.  What have you picked up on these people, by the way?"  The officer checked to make sure his hair was slicked back as he said this, checking out from beyond the barrier momentarilly. 

"The two women are harmless, but the one has a blaster for an arm..."  The officer looked up at his aquaintance in surprise. 

"A what?"

"It looks like it was clone wars era technology- one of those old battle droids I think.  Why he'd want it on there..."  The commander waved it off, murming something about how he'd deal with it.  "Also, the pale one with the flusy practically brought a crate full of weaponry out of his ship.  I couldn't get a name on him, but he's aggressive, about killed some nikto who grabbed his ID..."  The officer inhaled sharply.

"We might have to take these people out a little more strategically than I'd figured..."  The big man continued-

"There was a younger kid with them as well- he disappeared around the cantina and never came out- I couldn't see what happened but I wasn't willing to go into the cantina so I just kept on following the young couple."

"Couple?"

"The younger of the two girls looks to be seeing another of the male pilots.  I'm not too concerned about him either- he's pretty much aloof to anything not in their own little world..."  He looked disgusted with the idea of a 'couple.'

"Are they all pilots?"  The officer looked out beyond the barrier once more before turning back to his associate.

"There's no way to tell- I need their IDs...  That breaks our rules on proximity though..."  He said this grudgingly.  "Maybe you could grab Julio or Pandro- they could see where they're staying and slice into the system..."

"That works- let 'em know.  I'm going to make contact though- maybe I can get somethin out of these folks without too much trouble..."  He nodded to his associate who left without stepping out of the light for a moment.  Freak  He'd been working with Carem on and off for three years, mostly when dealing with their boss.  Jaquem's role in their little group was pretty simple- the frot man.  Today he'd be playing the part of Captain, just enough to outrank the man they'd come to know as their target: Shazam.

What's on that ship, I don't wanna know, but if we have to spend all this time on one guy just to get to it...  Best put on my game face.  Walking into the Rator Adag, Jaquem quietly went to the front counter to ask where the man 'Shazam' had asked to be seated...

***

"I don't think they're going to give us a straight answer..." Art said quietly, the booth almost at the end of the room, the furthest point from the front desk.

"Like I said- we wait until we get the drinks...  Then we can get pushy."  Shazam fiddled with his tunic quietly.  It wasn't often he just got to relax, where whatever he wanted, say whatever he wanted...  It was so easy to get court-marshalled that the commander had grown sneaky...

"Mind if I sit with you?"  Shazam and Art both looked up to find a man of medium build and heigth leaning down as if pleading down for help.  "Not so freindly with Imperials around here..."  Shazam caught the insignia on the officers uniform and nodded curtly, waving him down.  Captain, eh?  The seats were actually one full leather cushion wrapped around the table so that you had to slide in as if on a ring.  Shazam and Art scooted to the right so they could face their new aquaintance face to face.

"How do you know we're Imperial?" Art asked right off the bat.  The officer chuckled in surprise at the bluntness of the question before answering.

"Actually, I recognized your friend here.  Commander Shazam is it?"  He reached across the table to shake the commander's hand. 

"Good with remembering names as well, apparently." Art said to which Shazam quickly added-

"Recoqnized me where?"  The captain turned his attention back to Shazam, deciding not to retort on how he could remember such a name yet.

"The mSSD Atrus of course- I've seen you with the Admiral on a couple of occasions...  Daitt is my name by the way, Captain Jesen Daiit."

"You're a part of the bridge crew?  I've never seen you..." Shazam said, his questions a little more strategic now.

"I'm a ship captain- the strike cruiser Reign by my steed...  We've assisted Aegis Squadron once and Kaph twice."

"Ah- where?" Shazam was starting to feel the legitimacy of the man's story, but he'd be careful anyways.

"Confidential of course..."  He said, chuckling slightly as Art echoed-

"Of course..."

"And you two are both assigned to Nazgul then?  I've heard about your work- you guys are great." 

Shazam nodded, neither confirming nor declining.

"So what are you up to here?  In an officer's uniform none the less?" Art didn't seem to like the officer, perhaps beause of how conviant his alliance with the VEN was.  Its a small galaxy Shazam thought as the man continued-

"Ah- just stopping by actually- we've got crew all over the place- we sustained some pretty heavy damage so those who were able left for some down-time.  I'm here looking for supplies actually- the people here have no allegiance: they only talk in money..."

"Agreed- I have yet to grasp their political archetecture around here.  I'm getting the idea that no one is really sure of that though..."  So Art speaks? Shazam looked from his second lieutenant and back to the Captain before saying-

"And what of the rest of the crew?" 

"Taken aboard some carriers to a freindly base.  I practically had to sign my soul away just to get out of there- too many rules to break these days."  As he said this, the woman with the drinks arrived, tall slender and darker than any woman he'd ever seen.  Perhaps she's not human...  Shazam thought, giving her beautiful body the once over.

"Can I get anything else for you gentleman?"  She seemed nice enough though, giving a smile and a courtsey before Shazam spoke up.

"Actually, you can, miss.  We were just wondering if maybe you'd seen a freind of ours pass through here- we mentioned him at the front desk."  The woman didn't faulter at the question but answered as if she'd just remembered-

"Yes actually- the bartender said he'd stopped in to get a drink then headed right out."  Shazam nodded to which the woman quickly added- "Anything else?"

"I'll take a Corellian Ale, actually..."  Daiit said from the corner.

"Right away- I'll be back in a moment."  Shazam's eyes followed her away but Art's kept focused on the captain.

"So are you a Corellian as well?" Art could tell a corellian when he saw one and he seemed somewhat skeptical at the moment.

"Actually, yes- yourselves?"  Art and Shazam nodded, the commander taking a sip from the pink drink in front of him.  Shazam glanced over toward Art, pracitcally reading his mind.  All corellian, in the VEN and having an uncertain amount of time here- how conveniant.  The Captain seemed to pick up on it though-

"Yea, I know this is really random- I swear I was just comin in here to get away from the crowds though.  Actually- if you and your crew wouldn't mind, would you like to join those from the Reign, tonight?  We're set up in hotels all over the city but we're having dinner nearby tonight.  Maybe I can gain your trust and approval through fine dining?"

Shazam glanced toward Art who didn't seem to know where his opinion was going anymore.  The man was pretty concrete and this would only enforce it- maybe they could help them out with a camping site as well.  And a good opportunity to skip out and see Darren....

Shazam gulped down his drink, finishing off and saying- "That sounds good- what time and where?" 

"When the sun drops below the east horizon at the Tranquil Firecracker- a little corellian spot I found upon entering actually."

"Sounds good, Captain..." Shazam said, reaching across the table and shaking the man's hand one last time, Art scooting out all the while and ending with- "See you tonight."

Neither of them looked back as they continued down the aisle and out the door, Art immedietly saying- "What do you think?"

"I think it doesn't matter at this point- Atrick's still missing and we need to unload the ships.  If I get a red-flag, I'll let you know: until then, maybe he could help us out."

Art cocked an eyebrow- "With what?"


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*Flash Was Here...*

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

NazgulSquadron

Commander of Nazgul Squadron, Phoenix Wing and Training

After the meeting, Jack thought over the current situation. So, Atrick is missing. Apparently I was right when I packed extra blasters and my other line of defense that Alexia doesn't know about.

"I can't believe Atrick is missing," Alexia said. "So much for our vacation."

"Don't worry. We'll find Atrick soon enough and head out camping with the rest of the squadron," Jack said.

"Uh, Jack, do you mind if I carry around that E-11 with me in case whoever captured Atrick comes for us?" Alexia asked.

"Sure thing. Plus, with my arm blaster and DL-44 and Artoo's defense system, nobody will dare mess with us," Jack said, allowing a smile.

"What about Arthree? She's the only one without a weapon," Alexia said. "I'd hate to loose her."

"Don't worry," Jack said. "When we get back to our room, I'll transfer one of Artoo's blasters to her. Hopefully she can fire as well as she flirts with Artoo."

Jack and Alexia could barely hear Artoo's reply, which came from very far away.

"I guess I should have waited to install Artoo's new advanced audio sensors," Jack said quietly to Alexia.

Despite the circumstances, she had to giggle.

They then walked by Darius and Layren, who were also heading back to the hotel. Jack heard Layren say "It's your birthday today" to Darius, and Jack said "Happy birthday" to Darius, but he didn't seem to hear.

As Jack and Alexia entered their hotel room, Jack immediately reached for the hidden E-11, and then threw it to Alexia, who caught it. R3-D6, who had apparently been told about Jack's plan for her by R2-X7, stood there waiting to receive her blaster. Jack proceeded to remove one of R2's blasters and install it into one of R3's compartments. Once finished, Jack said, "There. Now you'll always have a part of Artoo with you."

Surprisingly, Artoo didn't whistle angrily at Jack.

"Okay, now we're all ready in case we're attacked. Hopefully, we won't be, though," Alexia said.

"But then this wouldn't be a vacation," Jack said sarcastically. Then seriously, he said, "But we might not be attacked. We'll probably end up being the attackers once we find out what happened to Atrick."

"True. But still, I don't mind sleeping with an E-11 under my pillow," Alexia said.

"Or a DL-44 under mine," Jack said as he began walking toward the door.

"Where are you going?" Alexia asked.

"To the cantina," came the response from Jack. "I'm going to do a little searching of my own."

Upon reaching the cantina, Jack saw Shazam sitting down at the bar.

"No news on Atrick?" Jack asked the squadron commander.

"Nothing. Just our luck, right, Jack?" Shazam said, releasing a chuckle.

"We've been through a lot worse, though," Jack replied. "Remember the old Dreadnaught-class cruiser I was stuck in during the Battle of Thyferra?"

"That was the weirdest thing I've ever seen," Shazam said, "but not the worst thing."

"For you, maybe, but I still miss my right arm," Jack said, looking at where the mechanical arm met flesh.

"Still," Shazam said, changing the subject, "I just hope Atrick gets recovered soon."

"Don't we all," Jack replied as he ordered a drink. Once it came, he took a big sip out of it.

"Well, Jack," Shazam began, standing up, "I better be going now. Let me know if you find out anything."

"Got it," Jack replied, watching his friend leave.

Jack took another sip of the drink. Jack thought, Well, I do have my armor if we located Atrick but needed to get him out of somewhere safely...
 
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Revenge is what holds this galaxy together. Without it, the universe would be a boring place.

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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
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Admiral Jack Nebulax, third-in-command of the Auroran Defense Fleet (ADF) and leader of Nemesis Wing (Wing I)

Art left the cantina quickly and made his way back to the mainstreet.  As he approach the street he twice glanced at the windshields of parked landspeeders to get an idea of who was behind him.  His suspicion level was much higher than usual after that last meeting and he wasn't taking any chances.  There had been too many coincidences.  A Captain claiming to be from VE approaches two men out of uniform, appearing to recognize them, and joins them for a drink and social conversation.  The odds seemed slim.  The way he had just picked them out seemed rather unlikely.  In addition to be extremely smooth and friendly he had created a fairly convincing story.  Of particular convinience was the fact that the ship was damaged, crew on leave for unspecified time, and unspecified length of resupply.  Everything was so tied up in a neat package which immediately alerted Art.  Nothing in life was that simple or that convinient.  There were too many coincidences to be fully believeble and before dinner that night he had every intention of doing his homework.

Art turned onto the mainstreet and began to walk back towards the hotel.  He varied his pace and continued to find ways to peer behind him by using shop windows and landspeeder windshields.  Not convinced that he wasn't being followed Art decided to be sure.  After crossing the street at an intersection Art made his way into a series of stories connected together like a mini-strip mall.  He weaved in and out of the first four before cutting back and leave to head across the street towards the next set.  Once again he checked behind him and saw nothing.  From the signs on the street he saw that the next crossroad was a one way street.  When he arrived he turned to walk the opposite way down the one-way street in order to shake any vehicle tail that was on him.  At the next block he looped around and entered a small mall next to an alley.  Perhaps he was being paranoid but Art was about to engage in something important and when he did something important he wanted to be damn sure no one was going to interfere.

Inside the mall Art followed the signs to the men's restroom.  He made his way slowly through the store pretending to glance at some of the items as if we was indeed shopping for something.  After killing fifteen minutes this way, slowly moving towards the hall with the restrooms, Art glanced around at the signs as if he was genuinely just now looking for them.  Upon motioning with his head as if he had found it Art made his way into the men's restroom and found to his absolute delight on his way in that there was an exit into the alley at the end of the hall.  Inside the restroom Art quickly scanned and saw that there was no one inside.  He took out his datapad, not trusting his commlink for fear of it being bugged, and sent an encrypted urgent message to Talysha.  Once finished he made his way out of the restroom and scanned the hall and the entrance to the hall to find no one waiting.  Seeing his chance he slipped out the back into the alley and quickly made his way back to the mainstreet and down towards a rather dingy internet cafe he had seen earlier.  He needed access to a terminal but he didn't want to use the one onboard the Emerald Star in case its transmissions were being monitored.  Art was indeed obsessive about security and took absolutely no chances when he felt there was a threat.

---Meanwhile---

As she finished paying for some of the camping gear she had wanted Talysha felt her datapad give to bursts of vibration to indicate an urgent message had arrived.  She left the counter with her purchases and once on the mainstreet she inconspicuously took out her datapad to read the message.  When Talysha read the message she was startled for a moment.

*Urgent*

Talysha honey something strange is going on.  I need to check it out but in order to do that I need to get access to VE's records.  Can you immediately send me your access code to the VE's personel and ship roster under maximum encryption?  As someone attached the the bridge staff onboard the Atrus you should have access to what I need.  In the meantime continue your shopping but be extremely vigilant; keep an eye out to see if you are being followed.  If followed use the techniques I showed you and double back to a small coffee bar located near the hotel called the Grindstone.  Do not return to the hotel room, electronic surveillance possible.  Do not contact me using your comm for the same reason.  I'll be in touch shortly; make sure your gun is loaded and be cautious.  I am not sure what this is yet but I would rather be safe than sorry.  In love, Art.

Talysha wasn't sure what to think after reading the message.  It was sent from Art using a special secure transmission programme that he had acquired, probably stolen, and so the authenticity was guaranteed.  Still she was worried; Art sometimes could be a bit obsessive about security but his instincts were usually right.  One thing was for sure, the small hint of excitement she had had for this vacation here was quickly diminishing.  The last thing she wanted in addition to being on this rather boring and mostly filthy planet was to worry about her own security up and beyond the standard fears over pickpockets, drunken bums, and other such lowlifes that filled the universe.  Art had mentionned that they could leave at anytime if they weren't happy and that was looking more and more attractive.

Nevertheless, in the meantime they were here and the plan was to do some camping, exploring, and hiking in the wilderness and as a result, the security concern was relevant.  Talysha quickly sent a response using the same programme, Art had made a duplicate, or stole more than one copy, or her and she sent her access information.  She slipped the datapad back into her jacket and discreetly moved her pistol from her purse to her other pocket.  For the first time in a long time the gun no longer felt like a burden but rather a measure of safety.  She wasn't sure what was going on but she would trust Art.

---Present---

Art was relieved to feel his datapad vibrate as he entered the dark and rather dirty internet cafe.  Seeing a terminal available with the chair facing the entrance and monitor facing the back, Art quickly made his way over.  That kind of location was exactly what he needed.  As he walked through the maze of terminals and people he couldn't help but feel contempt for the miserable lowlifes that were patrons here.  Many were drunk, several were half naked and drooling over pornographic videos, and still were cursing at the top of their lungs or snorting spices.  Art had no respect for these people nor any desire to associate with them.  He was fortunate that there was just a large enough handful of semi-respectable people around so that he didn't look entirely out of place.  It would be probably the best cover he would get and so he made to make use of it and leave as quickly as possible.

Once he logged into the terminal Art pulled out a datacard from a storage slot in his datapad and plugged it into the terminal.  He immediately launched a programme that would route his searches through a number of different transmitters while sending a parallel signal through a second set.  By scrambling both data transmissions it would take far too long for anyone but a significant government intelligence agency or military faction to piece through.  Once satisfied Art then began to make his way into the VE personal and ship roster using Talysha's access.  What he was doing was perfectly acceptable and legal; in theory the VE would only know that Talysha logged in, presumably to check something while on vacation.  In Art's mind it was all perfectly legitimate.

Once logged in Art first decided to search for a Strike Cruiser named the Reign and was not overly surprised to find that one did exist and that indeed it had recently been near Forman II on a resupply operation.  The crew had indeed stopped over but had since departed along with the ship.  Art then searched for a Captain Jesen Daiit and was again not surprised to find an entry.  When he brought the captain's service record up he found himself three for three.  The image of the captain was nothing like the image of the captain they had met in the cantina.  Art went back to the information on the Reign to see when the crew would have departed the planet.  Very clever indeed... Art thought to himself as he saw the log.  The last of the crew had departed Forman II with their shuttle going into hyperspace two hours after they had arrived with Art and Shazam meeting the captain two hours after that.  Clearly they bribed this information out of some half drunk sailor Art saw.  It was an old trick but a clever one that was easy to use to fool people.

Having confirmed his suspicions Art brought up a list of all of the hotels and accomodations in the main city.  He sent the list to the printers and after paying a credit for the printing he took the list, logged out of the VE database, took his datacard and left the internet cafe to meet Talysha at the coffee bar.  Now he had to think about whether or not he wanted to try and find just where this captain might be staying.  He was most intrigued.  The question now was if and when he would tell Shazam what he had found.  After thinking about it he realized it was probably best simply to act suspicious and try to convey to Shazam through his actions that the people they were talking to shouldn't be trusted.  He wasn't sure how much Shazam would have approved of how Art had acquired the information.

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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

Atrick was back, so all of the necessary precautions that Jack, Alexia, R2-X7, and R3-D6 were taking seem to suddenly be unnecessary. But unnecessary or not, Jack and his family were on high alert.

And since the squadron planned on going camping later, Jack decided to take everything of value to him. So, as much as it may be hard for them to come along, the two astromech droids would be camping with the rest of Nazgul.

Along with clothes, blasters, credits, and Jack's secret set of armor.

Despite the fact that they wanted to be prepared in case an enemy surprised them, Jack and Alexia were relaxed during dinner that evening. Of course, both astromech units were under the table with their blasters halfway out.

Taking a sip of his drink, Jack immediately noticed that something was wrong.

At a table not far from where Jack sat, Jack noticed the angry hotel guest Jack thought had been leaving earlier. No, he knew he had been leaving. So why was he here? Did he have some part in kidnapping Atrick?

Or was he someone sent to watch the squadron in general? No matter who he was, his appearance in the hotel after he had checked out seemed odd. The man looked over at Jack and, upon realizing that Jack was looking at him, got up and left.

Jack then began thinking about his luggage. The man had been so nervous about Jack walking into it that he seemed to think Jack actually had walked into it. If it was clothes it the luggage, he wouldn't have been so nervous about Jack walking into the luggage.

Jack suddenly realized what was in his luggage.

"Weapons," Jack said out loud. "Weapons."

Alexia, apparently disturbed by Jack suddenly saying "Weapons" for no apparent reason, asked, "What weapons?"

"The man that just left. I saw him check out a while ago. He seemed awfully worried about his luggage," Jack replied.

"So what does that have to do with weapons?" Alexia asked.

"No one," Jack began, "would be that worried about clothes."

"Maybe it was something fragile," Alexia suggested.

"In all of his cases?" Jack asked. Then, he got it. "I'll be right back," Jack said, getting up.

He found Shazam and Jen not that far away.

"Shazam, I think we have a problem," Jack said.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"There was this guy that seemed to worry way too much about his luggage," Jack said. "I think he has explosives with him."

"What?" Jen asked.

"I think he had something to do with Atrick's disappearance, but I'm not sure," Jack said.

"Where'd he go?" Jen asked.

"I don't know, but I think we better be prepared when we head camping tonight, because I have a feeling something bad is going to happen," Jack said.

Shazam seemed to think about something for a moment before saying, "Right. I'll inform the rest of the squadron to take weapons with them tonight."

"Thanks a lot," Jack said, turning around and heading back for Alexia.

(Okay, my plan is that this guy sets the explosives that destroy the hotel and is a part of the people we end up fighting while camping.)
 
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Revenge is what holds this galaxy together. Without it, the universe would be a boring place.

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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
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Admiral Jack Nebulax, third-in-command of the Auroran Defense Fleet (ADF) and leader of Nemesis Wing (Wing I)

(Back a couple posts)

Darius was pulling his speederbike down the cargo ramp of Punisher when his comlink vibrated.  He pulled it to his ear.  "Hey, we might have a situation here," Shazam whispered, and cut the connection.  He let go of his speederbike and pulled his black cloak around him, concealing his face and features. 

A crowd began to circle around the Real Bebop, so Darius melted into the crowd and became undetectable.  He pushed his way to the front and watched Shazam and Jen fight off three large, muscular men.  Shazam was very adept at close quarter hand-to-hand combat, so Darius watched with amusement.  It was when one of them grabbed Jen and put a gun to her head that he stepped in.

He backed up closer to the crowd and it kept its distance, but Darius stood there and the man came closer.  When he was a foot away, Darius threw back his cloak, drew both his DL-44s and jammed them into the man back, firing two stun bolts into him.  The hostile man's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he dropped his gun.  It made and clinking sound against the duracrete, followed by a thud from the body as it hit the hard ground.  The conflict was over.

Shazam stood there, prepared for a negotiation, but was disappointed to find that Darius had negotiated for him.  "What the...," he said as the crowd rushed back in.

Jen was shocked from her hostage situation, took a step from the body and looked at it.  "Is he..."

"Oh he's fine- for now..." Darius appeared out of nowhere beside the body.

"A little late?" Shazam raised an eyebrow as Darius waved it off and replied-

"Nah- just watching your handi-work.  Was about to step in when this guy keeled over.  Might I ask who thought it wise to spray this man with Rendixi Sempro?"  Darius glanced at the two curiously before saying- "Ah: very clever Jennifer...  Haven't seen one of those in a while..."

The two began to talk again and Darius took his cue to leave.  He melted back into the crowd and pushed his way back to his ship.  Once he got there, he hooked a grav sled to his bike, mounted it, and sped off.  He had previously cleared his cargo with customs, so he bypassed security and sped back to the hotel.  Halfway on his return trip, his comlink vibrated violently, meaning only one thing: intruder.

Darius kept the speed limit and made it back to the hotel as fast at possible.  He parked his bike and took the parking garage's elevator up the the proper floor.  He pulled out his comlink and checked in on his wife, "Where are you?"

"I'm shopping, why?" she asked.

"Finish what you're doing and come back to the room, we're checking out," he said, and cut the link.  Darius then switched the frequency and contacted his commander, "Hey Shazam!"

There was a long pause, and then a familiar voice greeted him, "hey Darius, what can I do for ya?"

"I'm not coming to the dinner tonight.  The wife and I are going out for my birthday."

"Ok...I think we can still party without you.  Happy birthday by the way," he said in a friendly manner.  Darius cut the link.

Now in his sweet, he searched the room for any possible trap, listening device, or explosive.  It didn't take him long to find the block of explosives under their bed.  The receiving antennae was exposed, one of the most common and preventable mistake any professional makes.  Darius immediately went to work, seeing if there was a way to disable the bomb, but the bomb was cross-wired so many ways to different power sources, it was impossible just to cut a wire and stop the timer.  The bomb had a main and secondary battery.  If one was disconnected, the other would detonate the bomb, and it was impossible to disconnect both simultaneously.  It also couldn't be moved, having sensors and switches that would also detonate the bomb.  Eventually, Darius realized the enemies thoroughness could play to his advantage.  He'd let the bomb go off.  The enemy would either think he was killed, or set up a trap at the most likely place his would go: his ship.

Upon completely establishing his solution to their problem, Layren stepped in the door.  "Darius!" she shouted, not knowing where he was.

"In the bedroom!" he shouted back, and began packing all of they're clothes, they he realized something, the droids weren't there.  He quickly sprang to search every nook and cranny in the room, and ignored his wife's persistant interrogation to know what was going on.  He found the droids in the utility closet, both equipped with state-of-the-art restraining bolts.  Not even his droids could resist an expensive piece of equipment like that.  He pried them off and they both came back to life.  "Load all of the things I won't need on the camping trip.  I want want my weapons, clothes for both of us in one bag, and survival gear, rations, equipment, etcetera in another bag or two," he immediately order.  The droids quickly went to work. 

As TC walked past him and out of the closet, Darius noticed a remote stuck in his shell.  He pulled it out and almost thought he was going to die then and there.  In his hands, he held a detonating device for the explosive.  All it had was several lights showing diagnostic of the bomb, power supply, motion, light, etc.

In an hour, they were out of the hotel and in the cab.  The hotel had been evactuated and he took the detonation remote from his wife.  A cover popped off, revealing a timer, and a proximity alarm.  He looked at his wife, "woops."  The timer set to go off in forty-five minutes dropped to zero.


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All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men to do nothing. --Edmund Burke
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FM/WO2 Darius Pursius/Nazgul 2-2/mSSD Atrus/Defensive Fleet/VEN/VE (=A=) [VC:B] [*CB*]

Jaquem spun the utensil anxiously between his fingers.  Never had his bait been better intigrated or sunk into the very fabric of his character- for it to be revealed was something of pure chastisement.  Looking down the table of false crewman, the officer, supposebly a captain, groaned in grim unsatisfaction as he quietly placed the fork on the table and reached into his tunic.  Meeting the cool metal surface of his comlink, he revealed the device to the rest of the group and nodded as if they'd have their instruction soon enough.

"Time to check in, people- how we doin?"  The commander sat back quietly in his cushioned chair, spinning slowly to observe the room and its occupants.  Even the setting was placed and produced according to plan and within its time limits, well sold off as a Corellian bar and grill for a short night of serious dining.  And yet, it was a tight military operation that could afford absolutely no mistakes.  While the walls of the kitchen were littered with secret gun emplacements and hideaway scramblers, comlinks and detection devices, the main lobby where the long table extened the width of the room was rather unconjested though- sleak and graceful, rather.  Perfect- he had been proud of his sharade...

"I'm not sure; it looks like Julio had to turn around for some reason though and the other speeders have decided to follow suite.  I just dropped the young couple back off at their hotel and I gotta say- I think we've been found out..."  The tone was of worry, one that was usually beyond his emotional barrier so Jaquem drove deeper-

"What makes you say that?"  He clicked the comlink in the silence of the room, every attendee able to discern the situation at hand, creating a tension that trickled down their spines and force them to sit slightly straighter, their eyes a little wider with anticipation that the usual hub-ub. 

"One of the people in the group basically stared Julio down as he took the remotes out of the hotel- I think he had some kind of idea as to what we were up to.  And I think there was an exit or two that wasn't so smooth- also with this particular, person..."

"Stared down, huh?  Interesting, but I'm not entirelly convinced.  Wait for them to come back out so you can bring them here- when they try to avoid you, that's when we can jump to conclusions."  The room just felt so unneasy that it was as if a fog was beginning to fill the room and get into everyone's systems- they had every right to be nervous about the captains failed plot though.  The captain was one to take out his more malevelant moments on innocent bystanders- primarilly his crewman and young staffers.

"Alright- what about explosives?  Some of them have already been set...  Actually- all of them have, but a few of the triggers to be attached..."  This was a different voice...

"Julio, despite your inability to get in and out of a room quietly, if you followed my instructions we should be fine.  You did make the explosives as inconspicuous as possible, correct?"  Jaquem picked up his fork once again to twirl it about in the air as a faint reply came back-

"Yes.." 

"Very good- there should be little trouble if this is only a minor problem, since the weapons are, in fact, timed- correct?  Tell everyone to abandon their post though and make sure no one is left in the rooms- only follow them once they've left again..."  Another hesitant reply, but more optomistic.

"Excellent- report when you have something to tell me.  I have unlimited time..."

***

Fifteen Minutes Earlier

The line of taxis came to a halt at each hotel destination, every group exiting and striding over to Art's cab to see exactly what was going on.  After a brief explanation of a cancellation on the party, Art would shoo them inside to grab their luggage and meet at Shazam's hotel where they'd head off to the camping grounds.  Thus, Jen was the last to be dropped off, more confused than before and slightly angrier...

Not only had her commander, her friend and whatever else she'd been getting into her head managed to dupe her on numerous occasions to pursue avenues of adventure not kindly to her, but he'd quietly dropped a dinner party she was actually looking forward to.  Losing her because of personal business was one thing, but throwing her and the rest of her crew to the curb like they didn't deserve to know anything was down right dissendent- low for even Shazam.  As Art explained what little bit he could of the situation,  she stood a mound of fury- she was too far into the dark here.  She waved the cab goodbye and turned to enter the lobby, the double-paned glass doors floating up effortlessly to grant her passage into the hotel.  She expected to look up and be bombarded by a volley of questions she couldn't possibly answer at this point, but found only an empty desk.

Probably trying to put out a fire in the kitchen or something...  Poor guy doesn't have anyone to help him.  She made a mental note to check-up on him before leaving and checking out.

Finding her way down the red-carpet highways of the hotel, she met the lift and checked her purse for her chrono to find the hour dwindling.  If he wants to get us out to this 'camp-ground' he'll need to be hurrying...  She didn't know much about the nightlife of Forman II, but she knew better to wander the streets of a foreign planet and not expect to find what lurks in the dark. 

Sliding the chrono back into her purse she looked up into the reflective metal of the lift doors, stepping back once they'd opened. 

"Scuse me..."  There are actually other people staying here?  Maybe that's where the bellboy went off to...  A little shocked to see the sturdy five-foot-five man escaping the elevater, she almost didn't answer but then murmered a "Yea..."  Stepping on to the lift herself, she directed the lift to the second and continued to think on the possibility of just how many people were actually in the hotel.  I could run a hotel... She thought, quietly motioning in the polished steel ahead of her, a short practice of meeting people at the door, a smile here and there...  She laughed to herself, thinking of how someone would describe her history- former VEN fighter pilot, Jen Knight decided to give up her position and take up a desk job as a baggage jockey...

The doors opened once again to reveal an empty corridor.  Stepping out and glancing up and down the hallways for the little desk clerk, she frowned in disappointment to find them silent, her room calling her on.  To her left and back about fifteen feet lay twenty pounds of plastic explosives, each to be ignited by the explosion of the thermal detonater atop it all.  Wired to the thermal device was a time count down to four hours, but that didn't mean it had to explode at the four hour mark...  Equipped to the side was a spring trigger should the door be opened, in case the occupants of the hotel got curious and decided to knock in the door- it'd still have the same effect. 

Jen quietly stepped to the left and continued down to the door where she would grab Shazam's gear and luggage as well as her own, and haul it out to the cabs for transport, the weapon ticking and armed as she grew warmer...

***

About an hour earlier...

"Yea well, I just don't like our company around here..." Darius took a seat on the bed as he checked the heavy slug thrower, glancing down the barrel from both ends as Layren paced one of the aisles between the bed and the walls. 

"Have you talked to Shazam about this?"  She was twirling the object between her hands that Darius had called a 'sign.' 

"One: please don't play with the detonater- that could still be live and I'm not entirelly sure how its connected to its system yet, so maybe just put it down...  Two: I don't need to ask Shazam for permission to stay away..."  He never looked up, but he heard Layren sit the detonater on the dresser and say-

"I didn't say you had to ask him- I was just wondering if you'd spoken with him about this...  We could be endangering the rest of the group..."  Darius stopped his close-quarter kata with the rifle that'd he'd been using as if to remind himself of how to use it again, and looked up at his dear wife-

"Speaking of which...  We should probably warn the rest of the people on this floor that there's a timed weapon around here- or atleast I think its timed- I bet that's just to trigger it in case something goes wrong..."  He stood and indicated the detonater before putting the slugthrower back with the rest of the weapons on the bed.

"And how do you intend on doing that?  And don't change the subject- about the squadron?"  Layren stood at the edge of the bed, a beauty to be sure at any moment but sometimes the hard-edged man Darius had thought he'd become over years of mercenary work and who knew how many deaths, was little more than a pawn next to this powerful woman.  She'd seen a bad life and she wasn't about to be ignored by anyone, especially her own husband...

"I'm sure something will come to mind..."  The pilot picked up the rifles and drooped them into the bag he'd brought them in, zipping up the seem and laying the last seel on to keep the weapons safe and only pliable to Darius himself.  Of course, Layren knew the codes to all of his equipment by now as well, or atleast those he'd thought to teach her, but Darius wouldnt' expect anyone else to even find the IDs or lock mechanisms on his luggage. 

"Right, well we need to get this taken care of, and I think that means talking to Shazam...  He needs to know if his crew is in danger..."  Darius slung the bag around his back as he went to the baggage cart that was already filled to capacity.

"This is true, but for future reference, I care more about what happens to you, so I need to know you're safe before we go any further..."  She smiled quietly at his subtle reverance for her and gave him a peck on the cheek as he punched the access on the door.  He led the cart out of the room with his weapons strapped around his shoulder, Layren still in her casual clothing that could make her fit in on a million worlds.  Earlier, when he'd found the device just poking out of the bed, he'd whispered for his wife to hush as he withdrew his blaster and kicked open the underhang on the bed.  Finding the silver, metallic item she'd given it a twirl of his own before identifying some of the more important features like the antenna and the chip access where would would program the remote.  Sure, it could have been a collosol holo remote, but most remotes didn't include the phrases 'Handle with Extreme Care' and 'Explosive Element...'  He'd figured out what he was holding mighty quick.

Also, he'd already pretty much decided he wasn't going to be joining the group for dinner, so he'd already sent them off, saying that he and the Mrs. were just in for a quiet evening and nothing special.  Satisfied, Shazam had ended the comlink transmission at that and went to other matters before taking off to the restaurant.  Perhaps they'd have stayed in because Darius just wasn't the type to dine with VEN Officers who conveniently appeared on out-of-the-way vacation planets with perfect stories, but then again...  Never the less, he'd found the remote before speaking with Shazam and it was the final straw- he was still being chased at every opportunity for the enemy and it was time to leave.  He wasn't exactly sure where he was going to go though...

One rule he'd created for himself long ago was to never run off in the heat of the moment, though that hadn't quite worked out with Layren.  Never the less, a hard lesson learned, he'd found it wasn't always best to just run back to the ship where the enemy was probably waiting.  They'd have to stake it out first, which meant losing the enemy in the first place...

"How admirable of you to carry my luggage, by the way..." Layren was saying as the two of them reached the lift.  Then, as if it were a sign from the creater which he wasn't sure he believed in just yet, Darius said pleasently-

"In return, could you do me a favor and slap that fire-alrm, dear?"  Thrusting the cart into the lift and taking a break from his heavy load, he lifted his hand to point out the red collum on the wall with a few peices of fire equipment as well as a sturdy lever.  Layren thought about this for a moment before realizing the implications of pulling a fire alarm before fishing her fingers into the lever's hook and stepping back, unjointing the device feircly as  shrill cry went out throughout the entire hotel.  The two of them stepped into the lift as the doors closed, everyone on the floor and the rest of the building suddenly becoming aware of the hazard to them all.

Ten minutes later...

"And you're already back?  The food not as good as you expected?" Darius querried, leaning down to drape his arm above the cab window as Art frowned and answered-

"Something like that- meet you at Shazam's hotel in twenty?"  The lieutenant asked this as he dangled his head out the window so that he could see the crowd gathering outside.

"Yea- I have some things to talk over with Shazam anyways..."  He followed Art's eyes as the lieutenant then said-

"Having a party?"  Art glanced up and down the building as the whine coninued and fire-men came back out of the building, each reporting that everyone had evacuated the building.

Darius shrugged and replied- "Something like that..."  Saying nothing more as Art pulled back into the car, he gave the taxi a firm tap on the roof, jaunting the speeder to life as lieutenant headed toward his own hotel. 

Turning back to Layren, Darius said- "Everything packed up?"  They'd found a solid taxi driver with a big enough speeder to transport everything, so the pilot was happy to see his wife nod in compliance with his earlier wishes.  "Great- we're out of here..." 

Grabbing his wife around the waist and escorting her to the vehicle, he clicked the access and stood back as the door slid up, allowing Layren to enter first.  "Ooh- this is nice..." She said as she sat down on the newly furnished seats to which the older man in the front replied-

"Good- put in quite a few man hours to get this speeder up to the quality I like..."  Darius stepped in next, quite a bit of space permitted to the couple, a full seat laying empty ahead of them so that the pilot could put his feet up as he clicked the access, bringing the door back down. 

Activing the comlink from their side, Darius said- "Lets cruise the loop for about twenty minutes before heading off to the hotel- I'll let you know..."

"You got it..."  The comlink went silent as did the back of the cabin.  The entire front portion was sealed off by a layer of dark glass that made sound transmission impossible so that the passengers in the back could have their privacy.  This was a standard upgrade in all of the cabins on the planet though, not just the newly furnished land-speeder that their driver just so happened to take a lot of pride in. 

"The man likes to be comfortable..."  Darius was saying as Layren pulled something out of her purse.  "Whoa- I thought you left that in the hotel room!"  In her hands was the same shiny instrument of destruction he'd thought was still in the hotel for the law enformement to find. 

"And leave evidence with our fingerprints all over it?"  Crap...  Darius couldn't believe he'd looked over something so simple as fingerprints in this day and age, or that he'd forgotten about the detonater all together.  Perhaps he'd had it in the back of his mind that some poor fool would run across it and take it down to the lobby for inspection...

"I don't know what we're going to do with it now- it might make a nice decoration back at the pad...  Eww- I didn't see this before..."  Before Darius could say anything, the back-end of the cabin lit up in a sudden tremor from the hotel behind them.  Turning back, the couple was just in time to see a wave of burning debris falling from one of the upper stories toward one of the minor starfighter dealers... 

Darius wasn't sure what to say...  "Oops..."

***

Trevor sighed as he packed up the last of his things, stacking them on the cart as did Toki, she about as mornful as he.  "I'm still hungry- maybe we can pick something up after we meet Shazam..."  Trevor rubbed his stomache mournfully as Toki added-

"Though, if we're going camping, its been a while since I've had food cooked over an open fire- maybe we should grab some supplies!"  The Flight Lead nodded in approval of the idea, someone in awe of Toki's ability to be optimistic over unfortunate events at almost any times.  Her injenuity kicked on whenever it was needed and maybe that's why he'd begun to appreciate her even greatever every passing day, perhaps more so than he knew.  After all, they were now in a pretty much open relationship, though no real moves had been made officially and they'd quietly decided to 'take it slow...'  He was okay with that though- not quite like Shazam in the sense that he would take them when willing.  Instead, he preferred this quiet adoration of one another, picking and choosing what the two of them liked about eachother.  Then again, he disliked the uncomfortable game they had to play, like things weren't totally open yet...  But this was dating- slowly opening the door and deciding what should get through and what should not.  When everything was out on the table, Trevor thought, everything would really be taken in for face value and he'd get the chance to see if he really liked this woman as much as he was beginning to think.

"Who goes there?"  Trevor smiled at the recognition of Atrick's voice, just happy to hear he was ready when he needed to be.  When the taxi had pulled to Toki and Trevor's hotel, Atrick had gotten out as well, though rather sheepishly.  Waving them off and saying he'd be back in twenty minutes time, he'd gone off through the alleys to wherever it was that he'd been checking in throughout the day.  In fact, no one knew where this secret care-taker was that he'd been seeing- a women?

"Come on in..." Trevor said as he clicked the access and the door flew to the side so that the newest of the Nazgul pilots could enter.  "You ready to go then?"

"Yea- I already hailed a cab and everything, unless you guys already had one waiting?"  Atrick stopped at the cart as Trevor and Toki exchanged looks...  "What?"

"We think we're being followed..." Trevor was hesitant to admit, but he couldn't possibly deny the resemblence between the man in the cab and that of the other men they'd encountered throughout the day.

"More like stalked," Toki engineered then added- "First in the camping place, then the book store...  I think we'll jump in your speeder..."  Atrick nodded and asked-

"Do you recognize the guy?  Just curious as to whether or not this could be solved by just asking the guy what he wants..."

"Usually not- help me with this cart, Atrick..."  Trevor shoved the littled wheeled cart along as his flight member pulled it through the open door.  He'd have thought that the cart would have small repulsors, but that was still quite a bit to be spending on something that could just as easilly be equipped with wheels...  "No, rather I think he's either here to raid our room or take us into a back alley and..."  He stopped suddenly, glanced up to see horror on Tokis face, so he ended with-  "You get the idea..."

"Yea, but, since we don't have anything on our heads, is it safe to assume he was going after the luggage?"  Toki gave the room a final sweep with her eyes before exiting the room last and locking the door, taking the key-card with her. 

"I'm thinking yes, probably expecting us to come back with luggage so that he could take off with it and not us...  Then again- he's been following us, like you said- even took the liberty of shaving off that mass beard of his...  We should be extremely careful..."  Atrick glanced at the two of them in confusion before saying-

"Right, well, I'm ganna be out at the cab then, maybe its best you guys went around another way or something so he doesn't catch you on the way out..."

Trevor nodded and said- "Meet you down there- see if you can get our tail off of us as well..."

Atrick was already halfway down the corridor as he shouted back- "How?" 

Toki shouted encouragingly- "You'll think of something!"

***

Shazam sat in the station quietly, a few chairs littering the aisle of the convenience store as a few lights buzzed overhead.  And now I'm actually hungry...  Shazam wasn't all too happy about the situation he'd put his group in, but he wan't about to freak out either.  Through his years in the business of unknown dangers he'd found it was always best to focus on the unimportant so the things that mattered fell into place.  Some people called this stupidity or simple arrogance, but Shazam also liked to think that ignorance was bliss.  While seeming unconcerned with the immediet situation, it had a somewhat soothing effect, allowing pieces of the puzzle to become more obvious and connect more deliberatelly- this is how Shazam's mind worked.

Deciding to focus on his hunger rather than the fact that a group of assassins was on their way to take out his entire squadron, Shazam got up from his chair and began to browse the shelves, passing up and down the aisles.  Choosing something both edible and containing some meats from the ovens, Shazam then went to the counter and handed the fellow at the counter his credit chip.  He was one of the darker looking Twi'leks he'd seen, but it didn't bother him as the alien clipped in the chip and authorized the purchase, handing Shazam his only line of credit.  Some also thought it foolish to only have one means of aquiring credit, but Shazam simply didn't carry all of it on him.  Instead, through the years, he'd set up multiple bank accounts and various areas of withdraw- not because he was being strategical but because it was necessary.  The years after the disappearence of his father had presented to challenges for him to complete and defy- each of which he grudgingly underwent.  At times, he couldn't help but smile at how small the galaxy could seem- so many intersecting points and so easy to connect...

Sitting back down at his chair he found himself becoming thirsty- the parcel of meat he'd just purchased was a tad dryer than he'd originally foresaw.  Drawing off this new, immediete threat to his happiness, the commander saw it fit to find a drink to quench is parched throat.  Going to the counter once again, the Twi'lek glanced at him curiously before taking the chip.  It was as if the commander received a nudge, like the second time requires some kind of conversation.  Strangely enough, the commander still had one thing on his mind despite his best attempts-

"I don't suppose you know of any wide open areas where one could possibly camp?"  A few minutes later the man at the counter was back at it with his dirty magazine and Shazam went to his chair...

A few more moments passed, the pilot thinking over various things like what it would be to be pose for that wreched magazine the clerk was clutching in the corner and then, curiously enough, what it would be like if it had been the meat parcel eating him instead of it...

"Yea- I had fuel from the white landspeeder out there..."  Shazam glanced up from his pond of pondering to see a familier face.  The Twi'lek at the counter muttered someting in its native language about thinking it was the 'red' one, though the lot was empty save the lone speeder.

"Aldur?"  Shazam stood up, the meat with a mind of its own in his hand and the poor models staring out from their paper thresholds, binded by the inc from the dirty magazine as it flipped another page.

"Commander?  Here I'd thought I'd missed you- what're you doing out here?"  Aldur handed his credit chip to the Twi'lek who continued to murmur before meeting Shazam half-way and shaking his hand heartilly.  "I sent you a message but I suppose you haven't gotten a chance to pick anything up..."

"I thought you were on leave, though."  Shazam was stunned again at the galaxy- perhaps too small...  Another sharade?  The commander couldnt' convince himself that it was so he listened on-

"I was..."  He said, looking down momentarilly- problems on the homefront...  "But I came back to the base just in time to miss you guys.  Apparently I'm still assigned to your squadron and I just thought it was best I come along..."  Shazam was learning to read this particular pilot like a book- Nowhere else to go?  Fine by me...  "So I checked that table and I saw that everyone had joined you on the same planet.  Figured it couldn't be too hard to locate you, though both of us in hyperspace at different times presents a bit of a problem and the fact you were probably away from your communications this entire day probably doesn't help either..."

"Wow- I just can't believe you've made it here..."  Shazam said.  "I actually got a communication from the base that you'd arrived and left, I just didn't realize you were coming here."

Aldur fidgetted slightly- "So I didn't just come because you guys are here..."  He chuckled- "I was actually in the market for a fighter of my own.  Or a ship in general I suppose- taking public transport's just not what it used to be, especially when you're in the Vast Empire Navy..."  The twi'lek glanced up at this, quickly hiding the magazine and handing Aldur his chip back.

***

Jaquem had been waiting...  Patiently...  Close to an hour ago, he'd asked for updates when there was news to report- apparently there was no news.  The men and women at the table were still sitting as well, unsure of what to expect...  Poor miserable fools...  They could just say it...  The captain twirled in his chair then reached back into his tunic for his comlink.

"Anyone out there?"  A few moments of silents passed before one man answered-

"Yes sir- still no sightings for anyone in the group.  We only had two men in taxis and the rest of the target group was on their own.  I'm not sure where they are, but we were going to follow them back to the rest of the group, so I think we may be in some trouble..."

"Your sure no one has come out?  They didn't just get friendly with eachother?"  Jaquem waited patiently before Julio answered-

"Or we've been duped- I didn't see a thing..."

"Me neither," added Calem.  Jaquem sighed dramatically so that the entire table tensed even more so.  Pushing the comlink mic into his tunic, he said to the people at the table-

"You are dismissed...  Keep your comlinks active for further orders..."  The false crewman at the table stood up hesitantly as Jaquem twirled in his chair again.  "Very good- check the other hotels and enter with caution.  Ask, forcefully if you must, if our targets have checked out..." 

"MMkay- over and out," said Julious, then Calem-

"Over and out."  Jaquem sighed again as he pressed the comlink back into his tunic and thought- So they're going to make trouble with us...

***

Jack Nebulax was nothing less than paranoid now- not only had he seen someone leave his room, but the same man had fumbled with luggage as if it were going to reveal the fact that he was illegal in some massive way.  Am I getting carried away?  It was a bit of a stretch he supposed, but even still, it seemed as if the man was avoiding him, and he didn't like that.  Thoughts floated in and out of his mind constantly, trying to link things together and create some kind of massive connection that would solve the massive puzzle.  More than once he'd thought up how some kind of kidnapping scheme was in the cards and that Atrick had been the first to go, but then he'd remembered a few minutes later that Atrick had come back of his own accord.  Then there was the commander of the ship Reign, who'd conveniently come across Shazam and Arturus as the cantina.  Maybe it wasn't just a ransom for one or two people, but the entire squadron!  Or maybe they'd been found out and the New Republic was here and getting ready to execute a sweep of the planet!

"What's wrong?" Alexia was at his shoulder again and she sounded worried.  "You aren't still thinking about those dreams are you?"  Of course!  Jack slapped himself mentally, switching gears as he plugged in the source of all of his problems.  Ever since those dreams started up he'd become more and more ridiculously charged with ideas.  The NR wasn't after him on some random planet- that didn't even make any sense!  What was he to them?  It was these damned dreams, and yet- he couldn't shake the feeling...

Already on the way to the station, Jack answered- "I'm just glad we got out of that city..."  Though, technically, they were only on the fringes.  Coming to a halt at a practically abandoned square of the town, the series of taxis came to a stop along about a half dozen refilling stations.  Behind all of these pumps was a small rectangular building with one light flickering so that every once in a while it appeared to say the slang, and over all innappropriate term for a Twilek's private parts. 

"Well this looks nice..." Alexia said sarcasticaly despite her sweet demeaner.  Jack nodded as they exited the cab and strode over to where the rest of the group was huddling.  Art sat in the middle with a grim look until he realized people were sizing him up for how they should be re-acting. 

"Right well..."

"You made it!  Excellent..."  The door to the service station popped open as Shazam and another well-known figure stepped out.

"When did you get here?"  Toki cocked an eyebrow at Aldur Wyndaru as he stepped into the right light. 

"All in good time, in good time..."  He mumbled and let Shazam take over as they fell into the group.

"I'm sure you're all trying to discern what's going on- and that's good.  Very, very basically, our permits on the ships are no good and unless we want them impounded and would like a struggle in the planetary courts, we'll need to leave in two days time..."  A moan echoed instantly from the group, though Shazam wasn't sure that was entirelly how they felt.  Talysha for sure didn't seem all that upset and neither did a few of the Nazguls!  He had to admit though- the vacation had sucked thus far...

"That's why I decided to cancel the reservations and get us moving in the mean-time...  Figured we'd go camping."  The group was quiet for a moment before Shazam added- "Out in the forest..."  He waved to the green walls of canopy nearby for emphasis as Arturus said-

"When do we leave?"  Without a second's hesitation, Shazam answered-

"Immedietly."

"Uhh..."  Shazam glanced over to see Atrick push his way into the center of the group.  "I hate to say it captain, but these taxis are runnin me dry- I already spent plenty on camping gear- are we all going to be taking taxis again?"  The others seemed to agree slightly as Shazam answered-

"Actually, no- Aldur Wyndaru has granted us the use of his rented vehicle over there..."  Shazam nodded toward the truck-like speeder behind one of the far pumps.  It was a solid white with a massize back-end for storage and a pretty spacious cab, so it would work well enough. 

"Whadda ya need that for?  Carrying bodies?"  Trevor asked as he paced over to it, running his hand up and down the side of the beautiful speeder.

"One must be prepared if the situation should arise..." Aldur smiled smartly as Trevor continued-

"I actually just saw one of these in this magazine- was considering taking a closer look.  Suppose I'll get to see first hand..."  He pushed the access to find the doors lifting high in the air so he could enter.  "Nice..."

"Anyways- everyone gather your things and hustle- the grounds close in about an hour and we're looking at a four or so minute trip..."  Shazam hustled over to Jen but someone added-

"Are we all going to be able to fit?"  Shazam provided the obvious answer-

"No."  Then he added after seeing the bags piled in the backs of the cabs- "A lot of us are going to have to be in the back holding the luggage too..."  And this way- no one will see you...

"So who gets to ride in the front?"  Atrick asked as if it was all-important among other things...

Shazam spoke up first- "Fraid I have to be up there- someone has to direct us to the campsite..."  Then Jen added rather menacingly for the game they usually played-

"How convenient..."  Shazam shrugged and continued packing as the men offered up their wives and girlfriends.  Fifteen minutes later, Aldur was driving, Shazam navigating in the co-pilot seat while Taylisha, Alexia and Layren sat in the back. 

The night was dark and only the dim glow of the panels illimuniated the faces of the occupants as Shazam continued to give instructions...

"Yea- just keep following this path..."  Shazam would say it with such conviction that Aldur decided not to argue.  They'd stopped by his momentary hideaway to pick up a few things of his own after Shazam had requested Aldur come along.  Of course, the commander might not have been so anxious for Aldur had they not needed someone to grab ermergency supplies that hadn't been sighted with the rest of Nazgul upon landing.  Shazam was now at ease, or at least for the moment, over the events that'd been circling the group for the last day or so...  But not really.  A new challenge had arisen- Jen Knight seemed angrier than usual.  Perhaps he'd gone too far with his need for secrecy and she was about to throw a fit...  That or telling her to hold her luggage in the back while he 'guided' Aldur along a single road in a comfortable chair wasn't the wisest of choices.  Never the less, he wasn't sorry for it- every time they'd pass people or other speeders on the road, which was becomming less common as they went, he'd accidentilly drop something or need to move so that those outside could not see his face.  This was his own idea of quiet concealment of one's true identity...  Never look 'em in the eye... His uncle Hermes had said this on a few occasions when attempting to keep from being detected on back-water worlds with bad rulers and even worse punishments for things like smuggling...

About fourty minutes into the ride, Shazam directed Aldur to the side of the road, but they did not stop.  Rather, they just continued off the road and went along the short grass of an open area that seemed totally off the map.  Out of all the forest, to see any place with 'wide-open' anywhere in its description was an anomaly... 

"This is it- go about a mile in and we can stop..."  Shazam quietly made a sigh of relief, so the Twilek hadn't been messing with him...  Perhaps he'd figured the commander would have returned to strangle him with his own lekku- the station wasn't that hard to find after all.,..  Shazam looked back to the ladies in the rear seat and said- "Could you rap on that wall really quick?  I think we're about to get out..."  Yes...  As soon a we pass these signs...  After a few sharp knocks and the passing of various signs like "No trespassers aloud", "Wild Reservation," and "Beware of Dangerous Stepney," they came to a stop...  In the middle of nowhere. 

"Lets go camping..."

(Alright now!  Bah- that was one of the longer ones...  Anywho- I've set up a few things.  Number 1: Jack is somewhat paranoid because of these dreams and despite his best attempts, he thinks there's a conspiracy against him.  Though there kind of is...  Darius believes the people chasing Shazam are actually after him and he's the one creating all this danger for everyone else.  But, because of his rules, he's decided to go camping for the day to lose his enemies and catch them off guard so he can get to his ship with the rest of Nazgul and escape.  Toki and Trevor still feel a wall of awkwardness but find things they are willing to appreciate about eachother- maybe there is something they hate about eachother?  Jen is just flat out pissed at Shazam because he won't tell her a damned thing and Art is the only one who's being given any inside information.  Also, Arturus still won't be hearing the full story because he decides to speak up about his end of the research first so Shazam just goes off of it and says they're kidnappers.  This could feed into Jack's idea as well- but its up to the ones who write it.  Lastly- Atrick is with us and fine, but he's been going to visit his brother on and off, though he won't be able to leave the campgrounds until we decide- so, Atrick, you may want  to write in those sequences when you get the chance (but he's off for about a week I think). 

A few things we can start with- remember how I said we could make this spooky...  Now, we've lost our tails for the moment, but I'm going to send Aldur to town the following day, at which point someone will pick up on him via something associated with the VEN  and follow him in.  In the mean-time...  Les go campin!)


(Getting there- just about done here...)


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*Flash Was Here...*

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

NazgulSquadron

Commander of Nazgul Squadron, Phoenix Wing and Training
/font>

Jack was busy checking to make sure he had everything. R2-X7 and R3-D6 were now equipped with booster rockets in addition to their weapons, and Jack had his set of armor with him that Alexia still didn't know about. He also brought along with his blasters.

"Jack, are you sure we're going to need all of that?" Alexia asked. "We're all fine here, except for the occasional tent collapse or bug crawling on someone's arm."

"I know, but you can't have a Nazgul vacation without a battle," Jack said, double-checking his clothes.

"Jack, come on. Let's go sit around the campfire," Alexia said.

"Okay," Jack said as Alexia walked out. When she was out of view, Jack quickly motioned a hand signal to the two astromech droids meaning "Come with me and stand guard". Then, Jack left the tent, closely followed by the two droids. He went over and sat down on a log, staring out into the jungle, constantly alert. When an animal gave even a low moan, Jack's eyes would look in the direction of the sound.

"Jack, you seem really alert," Shazam said. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Jack replied. "Just expecting the usual."

"And that is?" Shazam asked.

"A blaster fight," Jack replied, causing everyone to laugh a little. Glad everyone's having such a good time laughing at "the usual" followed by "a blaster fight", Jack thought.

Jack then began thinking about his dreams he had been having - or rather, was having. They were like a series of holofilms, one right after the other. Jack was now referring to them as "Jack's Torture" due to the fact that a futuristic version of his son was his greatest enemy. Before, Jack was so determined on preventing that future in whatever ways he could. But Jack was smarter than that. He had realized that by trying to prevent that future, that future would be destined to happen. Jack would have to raise Jason as if those dreams weren't even his. Jack remembered being told when he was a kid that "The best futures are those we let happen." So now, Jack was less focused on the future and more focused on the present.

But now, Jack and his friends were having fun while sitting around a campfire in the middle of a forest. Sure, Jack was still on alert, but maybe he could apply the same quote to this situation. Maybe if Jack wasn't so worried about being attacked, they wouldn't be. Perhaps Nazgul could finally have a normal vacation.

But suddenly, off in the distance, he heard a twig snap. The enemy was approaching; he knew it. This wasn't an animal. Standing up, Jack rushed to his tent.

"Jack, what's wrong?" someone asked.

"They're here," Jack said.

"Who?" someone else asked.

"Whoever that's been keeping an eye on us before!" Jack replied, ducking into the tent.

And with that, the members of Nazgul drew their blasters as the enemy came closer. At first, they didn't know why Jack went into his tent. But they found out a second later when Jack came out of the tent wearing Advanced Recon Commando armor, used by specialized clone troopers during the Clone Wars.

"Let's do this," Jack said, super battle droid arm ready.

However, it wasn't the kind of enemy Jack expected. Whatever Toki had saw had returned for a moment, then disappeared. Jack bent his head down as everyone lowered their blasters.

So much for making my ARC armor a surprise... Jack thought, heading back into the tent to take it off.

(Sorry about that... I must have forgotten to copy that last part of it when I was finished in Word.)

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

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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
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Admiral Jack Nebulax, third-in-command of the Auroran Defense Fleet (ADF) and leader of Nemesis Wing (Wing I)