They'd arrived at late evening- the sun already far past down and the night cool with a hint of midnight drizzle in the works.  Never the less, the entire grouped lightened up noticebly at the fact they were actually camping and knew they'd finally be camping.  Aldur seemed a little out of place once again, but he soon got over it as he was the only one able to set up his tent correctly on the first attempt, though it was after all the others had succesfully figured out  how to put theirs together.

Shazam was still thinking hard as he sat up his own tent, but soon found his thoughts melting away along with the warm air from earlier as the night settled in to a locomotive rythm, as if the atmosphere of Forman II had a constant beat that simply would not skip.  This feeling that everything was falling together once again eased the commander's mind and allowed him to worry about more obvious matters-

"How we doin?" Shazam asked it as casually as he could, but Jen saw right through it-

"Not as good as we're about to be: going to tell me what's going on yet?"  And here I thought my warnings were enough...  Perhaps his XO wasn't as adept in picking up on his obvious suggestions as he'd thought.  IN fact, he'd told her flat out that he wasn't going to tell her  until...  "You're ready..."

The commander had two choices- neither of them involved avoiding her any longer.  He could lie to her of course, but on the other hand...

"I suppose you deserve to know, but after this I don't want you thinking everyone else has to..."  A look of quiet triumph broke through, but then it became simple satisfaction that one of her oldest friends in the VEN was about to let her in on something he'd been keeping away from her for so long...  Was this going to be some kind of dramatic story?  Why had she built up so much on it?  She wondered all of these things in retrospect right as Shazam began-

"Hold on for just a second..."  The tent was of a very, very dark fabric and very thick, but as far as Shazam knew, it wasn't sound proof.  Un-doing the thriple-zipper seal, the commander poked his head through the tent and into the darkness to observe the camp-fire coming together, most of the men and women of Nazgul already congregating about the radiating heat source.  Spotting Darius at one end, he was satisfied that they could continue on.  For a moment he considered sitting Jen outside so he could see anyone approaching, but he decided it was best to make it look as if something important was going on so they wouldn't be disturbed...

"Happy?" She pushed, though a little more friendly than the usual. 

"Very much so...  What do you want to know?"  Shazam took a seat and stared at Jen in mild surprise as she gave him a questioning look-

"What do you mean?  Just tell me what's going on..."  She pouted there for a minute before Shazam answered-

"I'd rather not have to tell you everything if I don't have to- if you can think of one thing that's been bugging you..."

"No." 

"Jen- c'mon..." 

"No!" she slapped her fist down on a metal case of equipment.

"Fine..."  Taken aback, Jen became comfortable and swept her hair behind her ear.  It was worth a try...  Shazam sighed quietly then rolled his neck before saying-

"Before I joined the VEN, I was a smuggler on board a few different ships, primarilly my uncle's- the Seroster...  My father and I served on it as long as I can remember and things went pretty smoothly.  One day I came back to the ship to find my uncle dead, my father gone and the ship waiting..."  Shazam realized this was about as much as he'd ever told anyone before, but it was surprisingly only the first few seconds.  Jen looked empathetic though, which was nice enough...

"I'm not sure what I was thinkin right then, but after my uncle was taken care of, I took off and never looked back.  I remember distinctly remembering my father telling me not to let the ship get into anyone's hand unless it was direct family though...  As far as I know- I have no family.  So I took it somewhere safe, kept it with an old friend of mine, or atleast my uncle's, and he told me he'd keep it safe.  That was probably about five years ago and I haven't seen the ship since.  I check up with Darren every once in a while to make sure it's still there, and he makes a check-up every couple of months, but that's about it."  Jen lifted a brow, wondering where the commander could be going with this...

"To say the least, I haven't had any trouble with it, and I really didn't even think about it until about a month ago.  I got a message from Darren about some people sneaking around lookin for the Seroster...  They didn't say the name, but I don't know of any other ship kept underground for half a decade that anyone else would be interested in.  Apparently my uncle, or perhaps it was my father, left something valuable aboard- I have no idea what it is.  I haven't looked for it either- I just left the ship and everything on board right inside.  Figured if I ever knew what it was these guys were looking for, I'd get it myself- I'll know what it is when the time's right...  My family wouldn't leave me hanging like that..."  The commander seemed content with his summary, really his mid-life story when Jen querried-

"You still haven't told me what's going on- who are these people?"

Shazam remembered suddenly then nodded to himself before answering- "Right- I didn't know until recently, but apparently the Ruvetrack Adero have a keen interest in the Seroster...  They're this group we came across a while back when I was still doing the smuggling bit.  We didn't market in usual supplies like spices or weapons- we stuck to rare artifacts.  I didn't know what we were running half the time, but it was usually pretty expensive stuff, took my uncle months to find a single item.  Anywho- the Ruvetrack were a particularly unfriendly batch of buyers who happened to think that our best wasn't good enough...  I wasn't on board when it happened, but apparently they attacked the Seroster and my uncle barelly escaped.  If my father hadn't been flying Page, he probably wouldn't have...."

"Your father was a pilot?"  Jen broke in before Shazam could continue-

The commander hesitated before answering- "One of the best...  Another story for another time though..."  The XO didn't ask any fruther before Shazam added- "But I don't like thinking that the Adero are on us...  Whatever's onboard that ship- they probably shouldn't have it either."

"Well who cares what's on the ship!  Let 'em have it- these guys are dangerous right?"  Jen propped herself onto her knees as her voice became more excited.  Shazam pressed his forfinger to his lips to quiet her down, but she just slapped it away- "Right?"

"They're one of the better equipped groups I've seen in my day.  They basically have thier own personal army- mercenaries, bounty hunters and officers on both the Imperial and NR side- all on their private payroll.  What type of group they brought here, I'm not sure, but I'm betting its a quiet assasination group.  They've only been watching us so that they could better understand our habits.  Once they see a pattern, they exploit it and use it against us, probably by use of explosives..."  Jen's eyes were of fear as he said all of this, then rage-

"And you were just going to let us walk around without saying anything?"

"I knew you'd get mad!"

"Duh!" Jen grabbed one of the pillows then bashed it over Shazam' head before he could regain ballance and block the next blow.

"Quiet down..." Shazam took the pillow from her and forced her back to her side of the tent.  "The folks outside are probably getting ideas..."  He looked at Jen to see if she would atleast accept a little humor, but no joy- not yet at least.

"Besides, I didn't know until a couple of hours ago- if I would have started running around screaming that an assassination team was on their way to kill us all we'd be dead by now.  I think I performed rather well, actually..."  Jen was about to say something but bit it back as Shazam said- "Best we get out to the campfire though- they're getting restless..."  Then he was out the tent and off toward the glowing timber...  Jen stayed behind for a moment, considering her options carefully, then followed.

***

After the intial shock of creatures in the forest and Jack's gungho attitude at the sight of yet another batch of the creatures, things cooled down again.  Shazam couldn't quite get the image of Jack in full armor out of his head and was really the only one who'd thought it was funny at first, but then Jen and Toki lightened up as well as the rest of the squadron.  Around the campfire, the order looked something like- Trevor...  Toki...  Art and Talysha, Dar and his wife, Jack and his wife...  Jeese- everyone's got a someone. Atrick and Aldur were even in a deep conversation over something!  Jen was quiet at Shazam's side still, though a little less vehement- more wary.  Thinking about the conversation they'd just had, Shazam had an idea of his own...

"Art- did you ever hear the story about the Seroster?"  The name brought Jen back to her senses as her head swivelled around.  Was he going to tell everyone what was going on at last?

Art looked from Talysha back to Shazam before he answered- "Seroster?  You got me...  What's that?"  This brought the attention back to Shazam from the rest of the group.

"Maybe it must have just been going on around my part of the continant, or maybe my father hadn't picked it up of Corellia, but the Seroster is a supposebly fictional character..."

"Do I smell a ghost story?"  Toki querred from the ground, scooching a little closer to the fire.

"Kind of...  More a child-hood tale meant to keep us in-line..."  Paying attention, Jen?  "Hmm...  My father told it to me when I was very young...  Probably four or five.  Anyways- the Seroster is supposebly this guy who catches you when you're doing something wrong.  Everyone can probably relate to a sequence in their lives where they did something even though they knew it was wrong- supposebly that's the Seroster at work.  First he makes you do it some how or another, then he exploits you...  Or atlesat that was the child hood portion..."

"How do you mean?" Art asked from across the circle.  Shazam didn't need to stand up to grab the groups attention- all eyes were on him as the flames flicked and tongues cracked in the silence.

"The Seroster was used to keep us acting good basically- like this lesson on how doing things badly wouldn't only come back to bite you...  But then my father told me where it came from- some legend, I suppose.  I don't think it was Corellian now that I think of it, it must have been off-world, but it was convincing.  Anyone ever heard of the Chede' Passage on the planet Sjille?"  There was a murmer of no's before Shazam continued-

"Right, well before they were colonized and had space-age technology, they were still cookin food with fire and staying warm with animal skins...  Its said that the group was finally brought up to speed when a single space craft crash-landed and offered to trade some of his more useless supplies for their food.  The inhabitant didn't know any better and just took it, insantly handing over the food and letting the space man go on his way.  However, when they'd taken everything they could from him, they began to fight amongst themselves for the objects and ended up destroying eachother.  The few that survived lived long enough to see the colonizers come down and take over the planet.  When they were finally able to translate, the denizon's of the planet finally remembered that someone had crashed long ago- they wanted to know where the space ship was.  Since the collonizers were curious as well, they had a search..."  Shazam paused and rolled his neck before continuing-

"Right, well they didn't find the ship, but they found the parts from the ship that'd been taken during the fight amongst the tribesmen.  After the colonizers reported this, the natives then asked them who the man in the black and the white cape was...  The colonizers didn't understand at first, but then they figured it was the pilot who'd crash-landed and wondered if they could find him.  Again- to no avail.  At this point, the natives offerred that he'd came after the big fight in their tribe- it was he who took the bodies and burned them..."

"What man?" Jack's wife asked suddenly.  Shazam chuckled slightly and said-

"Good question.  The colonizers still figured that they were talking about the pilot because they constantly referred to him as the one who'd given them everything then took it away.  As the colonizers began to harvest the fields and create cities- a man in a white cape and black clothing began to show up.  His face was always hidden and he only appeared for spare moments in the crowd, then he'd disappear again.  Finally the group of colonizers became so large that they too wanted what was foreign to them, so they threatened to kick the natives out and take their great caves, live in their secret mountains and travel the Chedes' Passage at their leisure..."

"So they wiped out the natives?  It happens all the time..." Darius muttered from across the way.  Shazam held up his finger then shook his head.

"Apparently they were having problems getting on to the lands because of some creatures disrupting the trafficking lanes.  Small groups would head up toward the mountains and disappear- every time the cats on the hillsides would scream.  Week after week they would send up crews, each getting larger and larger until it was the size of a small army.  Though they were large and powerful, they were still afraid- they knew they were trying to take something that wasn't theres...  And they were afraid.  Yet they continued on- they didn't know why: they didn't need the artifacts, the mountains, the grazing lands or even the blue skies- they just wanted it.  Once they reached the village, they found it cleared out- none of the natives remained, all gone from the lands.  The green fields were ripe for the taking..."  The camp fire had been silent the entire time until Shazam jumped from his seat and made the sound of a sword slashing through the body of another person.  Some of the women jumped as well as one or two of the men as Shazam said-

"From the woods came the scream of the cats- the cats of the Seroster.  The army crowded to the center of the clearing when the screams stopped...  From the bushes, the tall grass and the trees around them, the cats finally came- fire and rage in their eyes.  They'd caught their prey in the act of committing sins against humanity- and they would feel every ounce of punishment.  Though I suppose it goes without saying, these massive cats destroyed the army, their equipment and shattered fates, leaving the shards of their destinies in the balance.  Just as there had been survivors from the tribe and their battle, there were a few survivors here."  I wonder what time it is...  Shazam quietly circled the fire and continued-

"The five men made for the mountain side, having to take several days just to make it back to their cities.  On the way down, the sound of the cats could be heard again- so they picked up pace.  On nights that the cats could be heard particularly clearly, that following morning there would be one less member of the group.  When it was down to two men, the woods were silent all the way back.  Just before they reached the village though, there was a single scream, and then a man in black clothes and a white cape was in front of them.  One man had heard stories of this 'Seroster' and thought of him as an evil murderer- so he used his friend to protect himself.  It was said that the Seroster moved so fast that the man was dead before he hit the ground- he move from there..." Shazam pointed to Toki across the fire, a good ten or twelve feet...."  To here..."  he pointed behind himself and said- "In less time then it takes an eye to blink.  His weapon of choice- supposebly a sword though that's arguable.  The man that had been used as a shield was left alive, but he didn't leave before the Seroster looked up to him and revealed himself..."

"Wait- how do we know all of this if the Seroster killed him?" Atrick asked quickly, but Shazam continued-

"With glowing red eyes, the face was totally veiled and unseen but the Seroster could be heard to say in the darkest, most sinister voice- "I am all that is evil- I am greed, lust and hate- I am the darkness...  I can not disappear.  You will join forces with me or you will not- there is nothing in between...  Stand against me now...  Or run..."

Shazam sat back down and said no more...  "That's it?"  Talysha seemed angry as Shazam chuckled and answered-

"That's usually where the story ends, but its said the man just turned and ran.  The morale I suppose is that you can't live with evil because eventually it will overtake you- the only way is to run or stand up and fight.  For those of you interested in the mythical side of that- the cats of Seroster may not always look the same.  Its just said that screams can be heard before the Seroster arrives to either kill you or save you...  I can't say I understand it totally myself..."

"Good story..."  Jack said quietly as everyone staired into the campfire.  Shazam felt a tap on his left shoulder to which he found Jen Knight- "The Seroster, huh?"

(So- that was just more or less to set the mood surrounding this ship- its not meant to be a fun ship- its creepy as hell.  Droids are running around all over the place, working mindlessly until their power circuits won't support them anymore and they just keal over at which point other droids clean them up.

What we need to do now is begin the initial attack- we can do this anyway we'd like, but I was hoping we could keep from being attacked until late morning or early afternoon.  Either way, Shazam is going to tell everyone what's going on- I don't have to post that: anyone can.  Shazam doesn't tell everyone before they go to sleep because he doesn't want them worrying about anything- he figures the Ruvetrack won't catch on for another day or so.  Something is going to have to change that though and he's going to have to tell everyone up front what's going on.  Now that the Nazgul's disappeared, the Ruvetrack brought in the rest of the team to find them- so we're now dealing with a lot more people.  We're talking a strike team, some pilots, a ship or two- either way, they can aquire what they need.  However you throw it- a battle is comin up.  LETS ROCK!)




-----------------------
*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

Tokijin open an eye and looked at her surroundings. The sun's early morning light had disturbed her sleep and she let out a yawn. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. They had quite a day yesterday and she was surprised that even though she was exhausted when she went to sleep she was up already. It was what? 5? Maybe 4 in the morning?

She got out of her sleeping bag and fixed it preparing it for maybe another possible night out in the field. She grabbed her bag to head out of the tent. She didn't want to wake up Trevor. She looked at him sleeping peacefully and smiled as she exited the tent.

She looked around. Seemed no one else was up yet. Maybe now was the time to go find the lake? She yawned again and stretched in the cool air of the morning. She pulled on her boots and pulled a sweatshirt over her head. She then pulled her sketchbook out of her bag and tore out a page, scrawling a quick note on it and set it down on top of the log, laying a rock down on top to keep it in place. She stood up and looked around.

"Where would the lake be?" They had come about a mile into the woods. The road was that way&So the it might be away farther from the path of the road? She looked over her shoulder at the way they had came. She had a pretty good sense of direction so she wasn't worried about getting lost. Now might be a good time to go for a run? She made sure her bag was firmly on her back and set out into the woods at a good pace. She looked at her surroundings as she went. The woods weren't too thick.

Light streamed in through the tree tops, lighting her path. Other noises echoed around the forest but she ignored most of the, focusing on where she let her feet fall. She didn't need a sprained ankle at the moment. 

She ran on for about five minutes, stopping every so often to look at the scenery around her that caught her eye. This place was really beautiful. Although she hadn't really ever been to a forest before so she didn't really know if this was beautiful or if she was the only one that thought so.

She reached the edge of the forest and her eyes took in what she was seeing. The lake was beautiful. She tore off her boots and sweatshirt and found an old dock. She tested to see if it was safe before she ventured upon it.

She quickly changed into her swimming suit, worried about any wandering eyes. She assured herself that there wasn't probably anyone here. She walked out to the edge of the dock and looked out into the forest to see if anything would catch her eyes. She then looked into the water. It was pretty clear. She judged that it was about eight feet deep and dove into the water, the surface barely disturbed at her entrance.

Holy CRAP! The freezing cold water felt like it was attacking her body. She floated there underwater, waiting to get used to the water and when she thought she was as warm as it was going to get and took off at a speed that would make any fish jealous.

***

"Ahh! You went swimming!! Get back to your campsite, I have to go sterilize the lake!" Toki had just jumped down from a tree. She had climbed one because she felt it had been calling her name. She had prompted a scream from the woman as she jumped down, apparently scaring her. "Yea, yea, I'm going. Have fun wasting your time." Toki said sarcastically as the woman stomped off apparently fuming. Wait? Who was she?


"I guess Toki is back..." Trevor said quietly as the others around the fire chuckled lightly. She frowned and shivered. The cold water had left her chilled, even with her sweatshirt.
"What was that all about?" That woman was crazy. She got her suit out of her bag and set it on a stone to dry. She moved up against Trevor as he laughed, pleading for the warmth from him as well as the fire and he put an arm around her.

"Waters cold&" She leaned her head against Trevor's should but she retreated when she felt him cringe. She snatched up a piece of bacon and ate it pretty quickly, hunger stabbing at her stomach and she quickly reached for another piece.

"That was the park warden, apparently we're not in a campsite. It's a wildlife reserve or something." Shazam told her, snacking on another piece of bacon.

"Well, I thought we were in another campsite." Toki said.

"Why's that?" Art asked, "aside from Shazam telling us that." He added, taking the last piece of bacon and splitting it with his wife.

"Well, half way to the lake I saw a bunch of garbage. I knew it wasn't us, so I figured out there was someone else around." She explained, warming her hands by the fire. She looked up at Shaz. He was stressing out and his questionable behavior made her worry.

"Alright...We've got to wake everyone up and get packed." Shazam said, turning back to face the people sitting by the fire. "I'll explain everything after all that is done." He said, motioning towards the tents.

"What's up? Why the urgency?" Trevor asked, not moving from his spot next to Tokijin, while Art stood up slowly as if to stretch and Talysha didn't move.

"Just do it, I'll explain after." Shazam snapped slightly, motioning once again towards the tents. Toki shrugged. He's the boss. She got her towel and swimsuit and stuffed them into her bag.  She had slipped into some jeans and a t-shirt earlier but she would need to find a plastic bag or something to put her suit in before it got everything else wet.

She went into the tent to roll up the sleeping bags so Trevor could take down the tent. The people that were awake were in a rush while the people just waking up were lost and confused but soon caught on. Why were they leaving? It didn't take long before they had finished getting the place cleaned up and everything loaded.

Everyone sat down around the campfire, waiting for Shazam's explaination. It was like the night before when he was telling them about the Seroster. Everyone was anxious and confused. Why are we leaving so early? What's going on? Isn't this a wild life preserve? Then why was there fresh signs of other people?

Shazam looked at his squadron and took a breath. He was ready to speak.

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

SC/FM Tokijin/Nazgul 2/Wing 1/mSSD Atrus/Denfensive Fleet/VEN/VE (=*A*=)

~ Tokijin ~

The commander had considered setting up a watch over night, but decided once again that it was best not to say anything.  Often he would question himself as well as his motives- Why don't I just let them know what's going on?  But then he knew better...  Though his team was, in fact, one of the best fighter groups around, he wasn't sure what they'd be like on ground.  He'd seen them in action before, of course, but he didn't think this was the same.  The Ruvetrack weren't just going to try and shoot you in the back, they'd observe you until they found a pattern, expose it to show your most vulnerable point then blow you to pieces...  No, it was best not to give the idea that everyone was in a hurry to get off the planet, that could startle the people watching them into pulling their weapons out even earlier.  Darius and Art were more than capable tactitiions and equipmemnt managers, but he chose not to tell them either-its obvious when they're looking for something...  If Dar knew that a small army was encroaching their campsite, he wouldn't sleep a wink and he sure as hell wouldn't wait for them to come to him.  Art would probably call for immediate action as well, though he'd have at least liked to have spoken to the old XO about some possible escape roots.  Yet there was no time-

Shazam froze as Toki mentioned garbage.  What she meant by that, he wasn't sure, but the Ruvetrack were known to leave all evidence of their transactions...  They were proud of the fact that they could go beyond the laws of other groups, leave all possible pointers and just get away with it.  Never the less, they moved quickly- they would have to move faster.

Becoming more precise, Shazam began making orders.  Where do we move first? He asked himself, the older part of his brain remembering how to erase one's self from an area.  We pack...  The group was cautious at first, but then they got the hint, quickly moving to their tents.  Shazam tore off toward his own tent to throw everything out, instantly awaking Jen. 

"What's going on?"  Shazam ignored her at first, just worried about throwing the weapons out of the tent, abandoning all attempts to look subtle.  "Hey!  What's goin on!"  She grabbed the commander's arm just in time for him to freeze once again.  "What is it?"

"Carrier...  At least fifteen miles out..."  Jen sat in awe as he then identified- "Three of them..."

The two sat in silence for a moment before Jen's violet eyes seemed to bleed with the severity of her words.  To Shazam's surprise, she only whispered- "Tell me what's going on...  Now." 

"You remember the Ruvetrack Adero?" She nodded sollemnly as if there was still the chance this was somehow un-related...  "They've abandoned the whole strike quiet at night thing- they're going to be on us within a half hour...  If their patient."  Jen's eyes became different now- first they were worried and seemed to reflect the general atmosphere outside of the tent as men and women scuffled about to collect thier parsels and throw them into the hover carrier about twenty feet into the forest...  Then they were hard- prominent orbs of feirce light.  This was the Jen he'd known for about a year or more now- the one he sometimes thought hid her true potential- the one with the power to guide her squadron during immense struggles...

"I'll pack..."  Shazam nodded and flew out of the tent, the rest of the squadron gathering around the quiet firelight in the early morning.  Darius had moved faster than anyone, all of his supplies secured in the truck while his tent had dismissed itself and gone into its original form with little fuss.  Atrick and Aldur were the last to reach the circle as it became complete and all eyes were on the commander...  Shazam took in a deep breath and released it...

"A month ago I received a message that something of mine was being asked about by the wrong people.  I came here to inspect it and see if it was possible that a theft could occurr...  My observations have brought me to the conclusion that the people I'm dealing with are far more than I could ever handle on my own..."  The last few moments had been a blur so far and the commander still couldn't believe he'd jumped from warm bacon to the history of his recent activities.

"For those who know them, the Ruvetrack Adero are not to be taken lightly- I'm guessing that our apparent escape from the city of Paradocia set off some kind of red flag and they've sent in reinforcements.  Between Dar's weapons, Art's decrypt codes, Atrick's mysterious disappearence and our obvious avoidance of their decoy agents at that corellian restaurant, I think they know that they've been found out and needed a larger crew.  For those that are angry I've put you in direct danger- I didn't realize it until last night and I didn't want to send anyone into a panic: if anyone would have freaked we could have been done right there and then..."  Shazam was flying through the information, Art mostly nodding while Darius seemed to be shaking some thoughts of his own.  The commander almost smiled despite himself- Dar had thought the men were after him alone... 

Trevor spoke up first, a look of slightly betrayel on his face.  "So what are you saying?"  The commander probably hadn't been the most elequant here, but despite his Flight Lead's moralistic values, he needed to listen. 

"I'm saying that since they couldn't get to the item through me alone, they've come after you all.  You're all now in mortal danger- you all share the same threat to your lives.  Only by working together can we hope to survive...  That means no heros and certainly no deserters.  I'd like to offer you more information, but we're stressed for time here.  I estimate twenty minutes until the initial contact..."

Jen came out of no where-" He's right- you're either in or you're not.  If you want to survive, you need to move with us and you need to decide now.  Thoughts?"  The group exchanged looks, all personal agendas now coming into play but before any argument could begin-

"What was that?" The blaster shot had been so quick, Shazam hadn't even noticed that Darius had been holding a weapon.  More and more he was amazed at the ex-mercenary's skill and accurary, but disappointment filled his eyes as the body of one of the planet's creatures fell from the bushes instead of a Ruvetrack Assassin.

"Make that five minutes.  They don't need much on sensors to track a blaster shot..."  Art said it with a little venom in his voice, but Shazam picked up on it.  Art was certainly on their side and picking up the intensity of the situation would bend the group to Shazam's side in a much more efficient manner.  Always the innovater... the commander thought as Aldur suddenly inserted-

"If everyone's decides: lets move.  If you don't wanna go- walk..."  The pilot was suddenly racing into the forest for the hover loader.  The men and women of the VEN looked from one another to Shazam to the woods before splitting off into all directions, grabbing their equipment, becoming armed and throwing themsleves into the front cab and back end of the loader.  The door remained open as the loader blasted off from the site, a few tents still raised.

(Alright- I gotta go but we can start with an initial patrol that we just blast through without slowing down.  Any ideas- go for it.  We just need to get to town so we can attempt to get lifted off.  We can take our time with this if we like- de-rail in the loader maybe and pick up the enemy speeders or something.  Discuss within your flights to see what you can come up with basically or offer them in the Nazgul thread- LETS ROCK!)
 
-----------------------
*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

Shazam turned toward the rear-end of the cab- "What is that?"  It sounded like a knock or a loose iron on the bottom of the speeder as it headed over tortuous landscape. 

"What do they want?" Aldur turned toward the back for a breif moment, his eyes totally off the road for only a second...  Suddenly, they were sailing sideways, a bright light enveloping the side of the trawler as Shazam flew from his seat and was practically stapled to the ceiling, the centripital force having its way with him.  As he hit the roof of the cab, he noticed the blurred surroundings flash by outside the windows and his fellow squadron mates following a similar course as they were tossed from their seats, a sinking feeling coming to life in the pit of his stomach as he anxiously awaited the crash...

It sounded like someone crushing a million of those little canned drinks that came in rashion packs as the front-left corner crumpled into the ground.  The initial reaction that followed seemed to be all wrong as the craft then began to tumble, Shazam finally meeting one of the manestors with his shoulders, barelling able to grab hold before the rolling took off.  The end of the screeching let he team know they were off the road as a second, then a third crunch was heard until the speeder finally stopped dead, upside down.  The commander wasn't sure how he'd done it, but his eyes had remained open the entire time...

For a moment, he stared in shock at the bodies of his crew members and he had to take a few breathes before he could accept he himself was alive.  Finally coming to full awareness, he found himself in control of his arms once again, his legs acting of their own will as he dropped himself from the small banister met the ground.  A little harder then he'd originally figured, but he'd managed to go down without letting his knees go out...  He straightened up slowly, the sound of a few moans and further movement surrounding him as he silently gave a sigh of relief- at least someone's alive... 

"Someone give me a hand..."  Aldur said quietly from the corner, his arms flailing from the bucket he appeared to be in.  A portion of the speeder had been dented outward by the mass pressure that'd surged from the front end, pushing out anything in its path.  From Aldurs left, Taylisha was suddenly up on her knees and wrapping her two hands around the younger man's arm, releasing him from the convex door. 

"Are you alright?" Art seemed to have been re-activitated by the sound of his female companion, instantly examining every inch of her in his analytical way.  Shazam dropped to his knees as he crawled underneath the center panel that's seperated the front from the back- this portion of the cab partially caved in.  This must have been where we got hit...  Hit by what?  There was a soft moan as Shazam looked to his far right-

"Alexia?  Alexia?"  The commander rushed to her side, checking up and down her spin to see if anything was incorrectly alligned before pushing her on to her back.  Years ago Shazam had been infatuated with the science of reviving other beings- perhaps he'd have been a doctor if certain events would have been absent from his history or they'd been formed in a slightly different fashion...

"What are you doing?"  Jen asked, stretching upward, and rubbing her head slightly as Shazam transmuted his hand into a fist and found the center of the woman's chest.  He'd tried to shake her a few times and she didn't seemed to be responding to any other stimulus when he began to rub the knuckles back and forth across her chest.  Within a few seconds she was up, looking around in terror- her nursing career hadn't prepared her for flying land craft...

Before Shazam could ask any further questions, his other senses began to work...  "Shhh..." he heard Art hush the crowd a moment after he'd heard the crunching foot steps.  Without thinking, he'd taken his hand to the pistol in its holster.  He wasn't one for using weapons, but this wasn't a fair fight...  Aldur and Arturus had revealed weapons as well, Talysha holding a pistol of her own at a lower level to conceal it from sight.  Another crunch brought Shazam to look out the windows for the first time since they'd come to a rest...

A bed of green plant-life swamped the area with a slight ditch of dark brown mud in its cener- an oasis of nothing...  Another crunch brought Shazam's blaster from its holster to the side of the seat hanging above him.  The windows appeared to have shattered in the roll, so his shots would go if the time for such action became necessary...  As he heard another shot, he began to wonder exactly how many men were after them and how many of the total knew about what had just transpired...

As yet another step crunched under the leaves, this time it it didn't just seem to be one man, but several trying to step in beat to conceal their numbers, blaster fire rang out.

"Now!" Shazam decided as he threw himself around the seat and looked through the open window to find two men in dark greens and blacks, wild hair like a mop on their painted faces as they were suddenly tossed back by blaster fire...

(Huh...  Hows that?)
 
-----------------------
*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

"I was ok..." She noticed the speeder and started to fret. It took her a second to realize she still had her gun and Trevor was trying to protect her.

"I`ve got you now...Protecting her won`t do any good, I`m going to kill you both." Ass. Wait... An idea formed in her head. She didn't have time to think about what could go wrong, and pushed her fears aside. She had to do this or Trevor could get killed. She started to poke Trevor in the back with the gun, careful to keep her finger away from the trigger.

"Well...Maybe you`re right..." She heard Trevor say, hoping to stall the crazed man and put the barrel out a little past his elbow. "Damn right I am." She wanted to laugh at this guy's cockiness but she maintained the scared look on her face for show.
She peeked out from behind and saw him raise his gun. Too slow. She shot him, her aim extra precise and sighed out of realief as the man hit the ground.

"Good shot!" She smiled and burried her face in his chest, glad she hadn't gotten them both killed. Or worse, Trevor killed and she lived. She didn't know how she would live if that happened. She let go, careful of his wrist.

"Really good shot...Lets get moving." She followed him over to the bike and waited for him to hop on.

"Are you sure you can drive with your wrist?" She climbed on slowly, careful to put her feet where they were to go.

"I know I sure as hell can`t shoot, but driving won`t be too bad." She closed her eyes for a moment and put an arm around Trevor for security. She needed the other for protection. They speed off and if they hadn't been in a life or death situation, Toki would've enjoyed going against the wind and watching as the landscape flew by. But not today.

"There!" Trevor nodded towards the trawler far ahead of them. Toki stared in shock as she could see it any more. It seemed to have rolled off to the side. "Pull over!" Her words were thrown back into the wind but Trevor heard her and stopped the bike parked it on a pretty flat area of land.

Toki jumped off. "We should be quiet. Their ride rolled off into the brush. There are probably a lot of the assasins around." She warned Trevor and started to creap forward, she being the one with the weapon.

It didn't take them long to reach the crash site but when they got there Nazgul wasn't the only group of people there. She saw two men approaching the car. She fired and her lucky shots hit their mark, sending the men backwards. She looked to the back of the trawler and saw Darius climbing out.

"Hey Dar, you-" Trevor got cut off as Darius aimed the gun at Toki and Trevor. "Whoa!" Toki stepped backwards and he quickly realized it was them.

Darius's face should realief but quickly turned into a expressionless look and aimed the gun at them again and fired. Toki grabbed onto Trevor's sleeve and winced as the sound of the weapon being fired echoed in their ears.

Atrick quickly crawled out of the upturned vehical and shot off his weapon as well. Toki looked behind them after quickly realizing they weren't firering at them but behind them. She spun around, Trevor taking a look as well.

"Oh sh-" Trevor started but was soon but stopped short. Behind them lay the still bodies. Whoa. That was close...
 
-----------------------
Nazgul Squadron

SC/FM Tokijin/Nazgul 2/Wing 1/mSSD Atrus/Denfensive Fleet/VEN/VE (=*A*=)

~ Tokijin ~

Only what we need...Don`t need a tent, don`t need my clothes, I got more of those back at base....Although I did like that shirt I had bought... Trevor thought after Shazam told them to grab only the things they had needed. Some people were raiding their luggage for any valuables like jewelery, or weapons that they would need. Trevor figured that saying they 'might' need weapons was like saying that they might not need air either.

Trevor shrugged off the fact that he was leaving behind his stuff a little disheartedly and dug into his bag with his good hand, grabbing his leather jacket and putting it on a little roughly, hurting his wrist. He then reached towards the bottom of the bag and pulled out a heavy duty blaster pistol. He strapped it into his hip holster and practiced drawing it a few times before replacing it in the holster, seeming satisfied.

The others had found their weapons from their bags, Darius removing a surprising amount from his and distributing them to anyone who was lacking an item, before attatching the left overs to himself in various places. Trevor grinned and shook his head, thinking the same thing everyone else probably was. Thank God he`s on our side.

Toki had kept her blaster rifle and was looking for anything else that might be helpful to her. She pulled a light colored wind breaker from her back and tugged it on before looking at Trevor as if waiting for her next orders. The rest of the group had assembled as well, everyone outfitted with some type of weaponry, most of them looking at Shaz.

"Well, Whats the plan?" Jack asked Shazam who the rest had slowly congregated around, watching him earnestly for their next move. Some of the members of the group didn`t look all to pleased with just standing there and not doing anything, Trevor being one of them.

"It`s hard to sday what exactly we`re gunna do right now, but what I figure is we`ll make our way carefully to their camp, and while someone distracts them, we`ll grab what we can for vehicles and make off." Shazam explained, clasping his hands together infront of himself as he survayed the group. Some were nodding, but Trevor had a bit of a puzzled look on his face.

"How do you plan to distract them?" He asked, hoping that the thought he had in the back of his mind was wrong.

"Well, whoever is on the speederbike will fly through the middle of their camp at top speed, shooting randomly, and then flee." Shazam explained, wondering slightly how Trevor would react.

Damn it, I was right... Trevor thought to himself. He sighed lightly before another question popped into his mind. "What happens if they jump in their vehicles and chase us?" He asked.

"Uh..." Shazam replied. It wasn`t something he had really thought about, assuming that the assassins would simply not be paying attention to what was going on while they stole their transport. It was a bit of a foolish mistake, but in the haste of the moment, anyone could have forgotten about it. "Well, maybe we`ll hope the camp isn`t to big and as soon as you get to about the middle of it we`ll start shooting them too." Shazam suggested.

The whole group knew that with what they were planning to do, a single slip could cause the whole thing to go up in smoke and endanger everyone, but then again, they all were already in danger, so it didn`t really matter. They were either oing to all live or all die.

"Well, lets move out!" Shazam ordered, and most of the group started off into the forest, keeping the road in sight but staying in the trees with enough cover to make them a little more difficult to spot. Trevor and Toki ran up to the road to get the speederbike and then headed down into the trees at a bit slower of a speed, catching up with the group and then moving along just fast enough to keep up with them.

After about 45 minutes of walking northeast, the group found themselves on the outskirts of a camp. Trevor and a few others thought it might be a trap, seeing as they had been unopposed the entire journy, but others just thought of it as good luck. Toki stretched her neck to get a better look through the bushes, counting up the number of men at the small camp in her head.

"I count 14. Wait, 15." She whispered, quickly double checking her count. "One guy just came out of that tent, didn`t see him before. There could be more in that tent, but its the only one here and its fairly small." She observed, the rest in the group listening intently. Some had taken a moment to do counts of their own to comfirm what she said, but most took her word for it.

"Alright, here`s what we`ll do. I see six speederbikes over there, and there are ten of us without rides. What we`ll do is 8 people will double up on 4 bikes, while 2 people take seperate bikes." Shazam explained, motioning towards a line up of bikes on the near side of the tent. Various people in the group nodded, no one else really wanting to speak out of fear of drawing ttention to their group of pilots.

"Alright, here`s the plan. Trevor, you and Toki are going to fly straight down the camp and then head out for about 4 miles, assuming you`re not being followed. Wait for us their, we`ll find you. If we don`t show up in 15 minutes, you might as well head off towards the city without us." Shazam explained, and Trevor and Toki nodded in understanding. Shazam then turned to the others.

"We`re going to wait till they get the attention of everyone and then run in, guns blazing, and grab the bikes and go, praying against any problems." Shazam said, slowing down at the end, realizing how stupid the plan actually sounded. Nobody really objected to it though, people just quietly nodding and waiting for the signal to go.

Shazam made eye contact with Trevor and gave him a thumbs up. Trevor nodded and hit the ignition on the bike then pulled back both control levers, launching him and Tokijin and the bike into the camp. The next 5 seconds seemed like 10 minutes to him.

The speeder shot out into the clearing, almost running down one of them men while it did. He swerved left to avoid the tent and then straightened out to avoid running into a thick wall of trees. Toki had started shooting randomly behind him, and managed to hit one of the men in the chest, dropping him. The rest of the assassins opened fire on them, and their air became thick with heat and red tracers. Trevor heard Toki let out a cry of pain but felt her still clinging to him, adjusting her grip around his waist with her one arm as they sped through the clearing.

Behind him he heard Shazam shouting orders to the group as the sound of blaster fire became louder, with more and more blasters joining in. They had made it to the other side of the clearing and were now about 300 meters into the trees when he heard the faint sound of a bunch of other speeder bikes start up, but didn`t stop to see who it was that had gotten onto them. He insted sped straight away from the clearing and stopped about 3 and a half miles out, bringing the bike to a stop in the center of a rarly beaten path.

He then turned his attention to Toki, who had tears running lightly down her cheeks. She was pressing down on her leg, which Trevor knew right away must have been hit by a bolt. She was not absolutly sobbing, but just appeared to have not been able to hold back the pain any longer. The tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes as she looked at him for some kind of help.

"Its not that bad..." Trevor said, carefully removing her hand from the middle of her upper leg, observing the wound. "It`ll hurt, but just keep pressure on it for now. Here..." He said, pulling his jacket off, being particularily careful of his make-shift splint and handing the jacket to her."Put this on your lap and keep the wound covered. Getting dirt in it would be bad."

She wiped her face on her sleeve and nodded to him, still remianing silent. Trevor then backed the bike off the trail and sat, waiting for the sound of the other speederbikes, praying that all the others had made it out alright.
 
-----------------------
XO/MCPO/Trevor Evenson/Nazgul 9(3-1)/Wing 1/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE/(=*A*=)[VC:B][SWC][LSM]

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

Shazam considered declaring Darius insubordinate, but then it was as if he'd shrugged the thought off.  Though it was somewhat humiliating and insulting to be ignored by one of his subordinates, the man knew plenty more about the hardware and people they were up against, not to mention he was okay with a blaster too...

As the explosions went off, Shazam didn't stay in the same place while some of the other Nazguls just shuffled around in generally the same area.  He felt a chill run down his spine as images of dismembered bodies and disfigured equipment became dismantled, spraying its lethal debris on the Nazguls...  Seeing through portions of the smoke, he'd been able to see Darius running around between the tents and what looked like a communications array, while the commander used the clumsy blaster to make pot shots of his own.  Unsure if he'd actually hit anything, he knew well enough to duck and take cover when Darius went flying to the ground.  The explosion that went off right then was of an incredible intensity for something that had been hand-held.  The commander wondered if Dar had been carrying it the entire time or if he'd picked it up from one of the Ruvetrack... 

As the squadron member came back through the haze of of the gaseas remainder, he let on about how he'd skillfully taken out the group.  Shazam held in a smirk as he thought to himself-so the professionals can see a concussion grenade coming at all times of the day?.  Dar was probably right though- they shouldn't have been so disoriented so easilly.  As the group passed beyond the bushes into the disintegrated camp, the commander got a good reminder of why the explosions had made him uneasy...

"Don't you think we should use the two speeders with only one rider as guardians of the rest of the group?" Atrick suddenly spoke up.  Shazam was about to suggest that he and Jen encircle the group so that they could take on anyone who wanted to cut them off or fall in behind them, but one look at Jen was frightening.  He hadn't had a good look at her and just now he felt the need to quiet everything down and take her aside like he had on the transport ship a while back...  So many things haunted Jen, and that time they'd spent on a the transport controlled by the Reugrand Sovereignty was enough to unnerve anyone- yet she'd persevereered.  Now she just looked beat up, a distant look in her eyes as she didn't really seem to register anyone or anything.

"Atrick- how about you take your own bike...  And Aldur can as well..."  The two flight members smiled approvingly at not having to ride with one another then took to the seperate speeder bikes.  Shazam realized he didn't have much time, but he felt an urgency in speaking with Jen.

"Jen?" The XO looked up wearilly, so tired all of the sudden.  "What's up?"

"What do you mean?"  The question didn't even seem to matter as Shazam first saw the trickle of blood on her forhead.  Rushing to her side he felt as if the woman was going to collapse at any moment.  The rest of the Nazguls peered back, a few of them annoyed at the fact they'd been held up once again and yet other fleeting eyes seemed worried.

"Jen...  Jen?" The commander examined the back of Jen's head, noticing the darkened area where blood had dried, then began to flow once again and couldn't seem to retain any medical knowledge that covered it. 

"What's going on?"  Shazam looked up in gentle thanks at Jack's wife, Alexia, as she broke off from her husband's bike and jogged over.  "Whoa- that's not from a blaster, set her down quick..."

"We need to get moving- now!" The commander looked up in a sort of angry surprise to hear such words from the man that had been wingman to this woman for months.  Searching the man's eyes from a distance was difficult, but after only a second he could see the pain in Darius as he pleaded for them to move.  Shazam caught a glimpse of Arturus out of the corner of his eye, just getting set onto his speeder, a look of deadly venom directed toward the squadron member.  The two seemed to sense the severity of Jen's condition without having access to any information on it...

"This is bad..." Alexia said it as if Jen couldn't possibly have heard it from right in her arms.  "Looks like mulitple concussions at least- I can't be sure but..." She took another look at Jen whose eyes couldn't keep up a steady pace or coordinate with eachother all too well.  "We could be looking at brain damage..."

"What?" Shazam heard himself say just as Jen put a hand on the commander's arm. 

"We need to move..."  The commander sat in awe of Jen as she said it with such solemn disreguard for her own health.  Moving the woman could be just as dangerous as keeping her in a hot zone full of Ruvetrack.  Beyond the obvious difficulties Jen was having with getting her words out and now the movement of her eyes, lips and simple motor excercises were working, he could see that the uncordination had yet to effect her true mind.  There was hope...

"Can she be treated?"  The commander was speaking up suddenly, a dull roar in the background had yet to catch his attenion.  Alexia glanced in the general direction of the engines before answering-

"She needs a hospital...  I can't help her unless I have proper equipment, and even then- I'm no neuro-surgeon.  She may need synaptic therapy if we dont' get somewhere within an hour or two..."  Blaster fire rang out as the two of them ducked below the tall grass with Jen between them.  Three of the Nazgul speeders had disappeared while Darius and the women reamained, most of them taking cover while withdrawing their blasters. 

"What about three hours?"  Alexia grimaced as she realized what Shazam was asking.

"If we want to take her to a controlled system nearby- she could drop into unconciousness and never wake up.  That's just judging on the signs I can read form outside her body- who knows how badly her mind has been effected or what type of swelling we're dealing with..." 

Another blast went off as the Ruvetrack speeder closed in, flanked closely by Trevor Evenson and Toki, Aldur Wyndaru coming to cut off the bike all the while.  "Can she be moved?"

"She shouldn't, but it looks like we're going to have to- anything that doesn't her jostle anything above the shoulders is fine really...  Its just keeping her awake that might be a problem- we can't let her out of our sight..."  The speeder bike exploded as the Ruvetrack pulled right to avoid Aldur and met Jack instead, the two cannons blazing the younger pilot. 

Gingerelly lifting the young woman, Shazam and Alexia brought Jen Knight to a rest on he back of the commander's proposed speeder bike.  Her red hair cascaded down the front of her pale face, gosomar threads of light illuminating and silloughetting the violet eyes, though a little less vivid than Shazam had come to know from the efforvescent XO.  She gave the commander a wide-eyed look as if she were focussing to confirm the identity of her protector, then let her eyelids relax in the sloppy way he'd come to love as the roguish grin appeared on her lips.  Stay with me Jen...

Taking the strap from his rifle, Shazam loosed both ends to form one long belt that he could fasten around Jen's torso to his own so that she wouldn't slip off the back-end.  She didn't say anything, but she seemed to understand what was going on and had removed her own blaster.  Alexia was already to Jack's bike, wrapping her arms around his waste and waiting for the signal as a strong gust of wind picked up throughout the forest.  Shazam waved the group on as he tightened the belt around himself, the entire group slowly creeping away as if they were deserting their leader, then accelerated as if they'd just been allowed to fly from the nest for the first time.

"You alright?" Shazam said non-chalantly back to Jen, he could still sense a bit of her attitude and he wouldn't fail her by forgetting his own.  She tapped him once on he shoulder to signify a 'yes.'

"From now on, two taps means yes- one means no: got it?" He couldn't see her without practically spinning his head from his kneck now that she was attached to him, but the two reasurring taps were more than enough for him.  The commander suddenly felt the need to put on a coat- but it was nice out...  What the?  The commander glanced into the sky as he clicked on the starter to the bike, the distinct hum of engines reverberating throughout the damp mid-morning timber.  Reflex served him well as the recognition went off in his head- YT Freightor?  Shazam only got a glimpse of the heavy freightor, at least twice as long any he'd ever seen with a distinctive row of guns protruding from beneath it.  Big, loud engines that usually sounded like a torrent of bad weather was what the command associated the craft with, but this one had more than a couple...  A troop hauler? He didn't have any time to think as the craft suddenly opened fire, sending clods of dirt and left-over debris from the camp into the air.  Already on the move, the commander could feel Jen tense at the sudden acceleration of speed and strange rush of wing and current, not to mention the thunderous rain playing behind them.  Lets hope the others can make it close enough to town that these guys will drop off...  If not- it was a good run...

Shazam let himself feel confident in the safety belt he'd secured around his XO before throwing the throttle to full and blanketting the woods with exhaust...

(So we're running to town- everyone is kind of split up and we've got a freightor chasing us: this is the time for a mini-fight scene or perhaps some minor character development on the way to the city.  Now- we need to finish this story pronto: that means within three or four days...  Thas big folks.  That means this story is going to pick up pace incredibly- we know what needs to be done: get us there.  No matter what, I want us to steal at least one large ship and break out of one of the glass dealerships so we can have a battle in the skies above.  We may have some people on the ground during the battle, but in the end,they need to either board another ship or get into a fighter somehow so that they can escape.  Also, Jen and Shaz are going to be chased away the entry to the city while everyone else makes it- Shaz is going to be forced to take an alternate route to the city.  Shaz is going to go get the Seroster...  I'd like the battle above to be going on for a while before Shazam actually shows up with the ship- but no need to be totally specific yet.

Let's go with the flow and write what feels best to us.  Write in your character- write about what would be most important to them at this exact moment- wife, kids, valuables, brothers and sisters- afterlife?  Who knows.  Our goals are to get off this planet before someone gets killed   A rather dramtic turn of events, but I'd like to add a little style to it if we can: act in your characters.  Talk amongst yourselves on the Nazgul thread, if you will.  LETS ROCK!)

-----------------------
*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

The freightor hovered there for a while, unable to choose a new vector just yet, still trying to turn in order to pick up its target.  By the time it was finally turned around, Shazam and Jen Knight were miles away. 

On the bike, the commander felt some relief flood through him as he let himself relax into the controls of the bike.  It'd been a long time since he'd flown one, and more so at such speeds.  Usually, the BARC (Biker Advanced Recon Commandos) wore a special helmet that allowed them to focus on obsticles in their path rather than other moving objects like enemy troops; in this way they avoided crashing.  In the current situation, Shazam without the special helmet or any serious training with the bike, just let himself be guided by the light above. 

The sun had grown to adulthood and hung high in the noon sky, creating blazing trails and displaying splashes of its radiating luminescence so that it could be seen scattered across the forest floor.  As the speeder reaches full speed, the commander was minutely aware of the fact he hadn't actually reached a firm tree line as of yet.  The encampment they'd been at only moments ago had been in a valley of its own, helping to protect it form scanners and give them a wider range of attack.  Thus, the commander needed only to follow the same paths that the enemy Ruvetrack had no doubt found useful by now.  The leaves rustled and blew waves of green and crimson across the low canopies as the speeder passed by, the commander with his chest only centimeters from touching the center panel of the speeder.  Jen had found it conveniant to lean into him, using his body as a windbreaker, though the occasional whip would send her back to the roaring world of Forman II. 

"How we doin back there?" Shazam practically screamed it into the wind, not allowing his head to turn even a fraction for fear he would miss some vital part of the landscape and become a part of it...  Two taps were enough for him to be satisified once again.

It had been five minutes travelling at a rate he wasn't even sure about, but he knew without a doubt they'd be coming up on the city soon, cutting the fourty minute trip by the trawler easilly in half.  For a moment, the commander felt like a kid in the Cross Country Fighter Race- a short tourny he'd managed to win years ago that had somersaulted his attention toward flying craft of every kind.  The sun seemed to glow just right, sending warm beams of life upon on as if to shower him with good fortune.  The only problem was- Shazam didn't believe in luck...

As if on cue, the winds picked up, dropping the temperature to a death-chill as distanct engines revved and repulsors blew the tops of trees to shreds.  Still not risking a glance behind him, Shazam could now see Trevor Evenson and Tokijin on a speeder just ahead, they were travelling at a pretty moderate speed so they took a glance back.  Shazam couldn't read their expressions but he figured it was of utter horror as they realized the danger they'd suddenly been thrown into.  Then, as if there were little else to worry about, the freightor opened up on them.  The commander reacted in time, more out of fear from the scorching blast that threw three trees in unison to the fires of the underworld than from intuitive bike control.  The second blast wasn't even aimed toward him, but on his fellow membes from up in front.  They must not have been aiming for me- they don't want me dead after all...  But that doesn't mean the same for everyone else... 

Shazam decided that the ship was indeed after him and made  a heartbreaking decision...  "Hold on!" He yelled into the torrent of blistering wind before jerking the speeder to the right, a more dangerous manuever at that speed already, but with the increased density of the forest...  It was outright suicidal.  The commander had just enough time to see the walls of Paradocia open for his entry, small conveniance stores lining the edge as if to say "Its safe- come on in..."  And maybe it would have been- perhaps the Ruvetrack would have been thrown off by the public...  The commander's intuition told him different though as the pursuing freightor slowed in order to compensate for Shazam's turn.  The commander presumed that the only real purpose for the freightor to even follow him was to keep track and to intimidate him- thus he would not have to fear getting nailed by blast as they scorched the area around him.  Unless he decided to jerk from one side of the path to the next- accidents do happen after all, as they did with the trawler apparently... 

The bike shuddered suddenly as if it had went over a bump in the road, but when the commander checked the gagues his heart sunk lower into his stomache.  Over-heating the bike?  You gotta be kidding me...  Shazam dropped the throttle back slightly to relieve the pressure on the engine as it hit yet another imaginary bump.  Thoughts whirled through his head as he tried to conserve his energy and make a grasp for one that looked like a feasable plan.  All that he could retain though way-Why are they after me?  What is so damned special about that ship?  Its just a ship!  Then things fell into place just as he liked-

"We're makin a pitstop!"  The commander angled toward an even denser portion of the woods and narrowed his eyes as he re-accelerated toward Darren's.

***

Darius found himself in front of the group, already straying away from the pack now that he had the opportunity.  After word of what Shazam was officially up to, the young man felt obliged to follow what he thought the commander would suggest...  Running can be good...  On the other hand, Darius didn't liked to be dogged out, especially punks like the Ruvetrack that thought they could take anything they wanted.  It was bad enough that they were cruel to their own people, abandoning them to the elements for up to a year to teach them discipline, or throwing them into intense fighter groups without any leave time.  They were vicious- Darius could remember a particular story about one of the Ruvetrack who'd been born and raised in one of the encampments- loyal to the end, they'd said of him.  When it came time for his first battle, his spotter was killed and the young Ruvetrack was forced to venture across enemy territory on his own for half a year.  Finally, arriving back in the camp, he was questioned on his ID then brought to one of the higher-ups who slit the young man's throat personally for being as careless and stupid to get lost in the woods for half a year.  What made the story so horrible was the fact that they'd felt the need to kill both his family and that of his communication's man as if this would send some kind of sign up to the heaven's saying- "That's what you get..."

No...  We'll see what today brings us...  He thought it as if he wouldn't only act if the opportunity presented itself, but deep inhibition told him otherwise.  Layren tapped his shoulder frantically as if to warn him; Darius finally dropped out of his day dream to realize how fast he'd been moving and where. 

"Hold on- don't even try to use the gun..."  He yelled this, though he didn't think his wife would hear him over the horrendous wind gust.  Up ahead was the opening to Paradocia- the supposed capitol of Forman II and former vacation spot for he and his wife.  He was a little angry at being brought along such a trip in the first place, but the fact that he'd led his dear wife into such barbaric conditions only worsened his collective anger toward his commander.  Of course, he'd listened to Shazam speak and nodded to the excuses, but it didn't mean he was happy or at all satisfied... 

The opening to the city was suddenly covered with vehicles- attack vehicles.  Heavy attack speeder- where are they getting this stuff? A moment later, the couple speeding toward the swivelling turrets, came a crash and then a fireball reaching toward the sky.  Coming in fast, Darius managed to see the city patrol coming down the street in pairs, suddenly aware of the threat all around them.  Cannons lanced out from one to another, a firefight breaking out in the middle of paradise...  Not sure of what he was doing, the Nazgul let his right hand control the amount of turn he would allow.  As he'd begun to approach the group, he'd quickly changed course to head away from the opening, but then, just as it appeared he would head away from the city, he tilted in slightly, giving more power to the thrusters to improve his turn radius.  Unable to keep up with the his speed bike, the Ruvetrack speeders turned full attenion to the minor police group attacking them.  Darius, confident in the vector he'd chosen, charged through the gathering, quickly angling the speeder to a ninety degree angle to the wall as he came in.  The guns between the police force and the Ruvetrack had intensified, but they'd begun to spread out, leaving a slight gap between them, once Darius decided was the perfect path to his 1LH-KK Citadel Civilian Cruiser.

"You gotta be kiddin me Dar!"  His wife screamed as they prowled through the gap of intense cannon fire, meters from certain death as they screached onward.  Once the bright flashes had ended and Darius was charging up the road by himself, Layren untensed slightly, letting her grip becomes a little more loose.  Darius smiled at the thought of her entire body on edge as if they were going to be blown to shreds- though he didn't like to scare his wife, he enjoyed the renewel of trust in his abilities. 

Down the street they went, still at near full speed just before they hit traffic.  As it had been in the afternoon earlier, traffic was in two lanes- one above for heavy traffic and one below for in-town bustle and hustle.  Cutting off of the road and into the middle of the sidewalk, Darius continued through a street, nearly being struck by a heavy loader and sent at least twelve people into the busy road.  No longer trusting his reflexes as the stores became more common and people could be seen entering and leaving shops constantly, Darius dropped the speed a bit, allowing for more control of the bike as he split back out into the middle of the road.  This portion of traffice was going at a pretty steady pace, so he wasnt' afraid of being flattened by some reckless driver.  Seeing the buildings grow taller and the streets grow wider, the Nazgul couldn't hide the grin creeping across his face.  Within a few minutes he'd be back to the hanger pads and far away from...

"Watch out!"  Layren screamed as the speeder ahead of them was blown to peices and a portion of the road became a crater.  The streaming speeders were like cattle, surprised and insulted by the intrusion and death of one of their fellow comuters.  The street was no longer wide as the speeders seemed to cluster and people of all races got out of their vehicles to see what had caused the accident.  A moment later they were all running as Darius threw himself back up on to a sidewalk and got a good look at the Corellian Light Corvette plunging through the upper layer.  Six double turrets swivelled into action as they turned the street into slag, obliterating all inhabitants of the area.  Darius wondered if they were really even after him anymore- it seemed the enemy was a bit flustered...  Doens't mean they won't blow me to shreds the first chance they get...  The thought had just enterned his mind when the street ahead of him came under the intense fire, duracrete shattering, then melting in place, then exploding into the faces of any onlookers a moment later.  Deciding the area of intense fire wasn't their best bet, though a bit discouraged, Darius decided to try and take a alternate route to the landing pads when he noticed the speeder streek past the alley way ahead of him.  Already in the alley, it was difficult to see anything, but Darius was almost sure it had been...

"Darius?"  The speeder had stopped suddenly and reversed its thrust, coming back to face the dark alley-way.  Apparently he'd had an even better look than Darius as the young nazgul replied-

"Never thought you'd make it, Art!"  He grinned like an idiot as Arturus gave him a stare of utter disgust at the idea of being taken out before a subordinate.  Or was that really it?  Either way, Darius liked to flare up te former commander in any way he could...

"You goin to your ship?" Arturus took his bike to the side of a wall underneath one of the overhangs as people ran out screaming. 

"That was the plan..." Darius was having to shout over the sound of cannon fire being exchanged between police forces and corvette only a block or two down- right between Darius and his ship.

"Yea- I can see how that might be a problem...  Any other thoughts?"  The two men and their lady friends ducked down suddenly as a ship sweeped the streets and a gust could be felt carrying people as well as the debris from the latest fight up alley ways.  For a moment, Dar thought he would have to accept defeat and try to hunker down, but then he saw its gleaming surface and was suddenly happy again.

"Didn't Aldur say he was in the market for a ship?"  Arturus looked confused before he, Taylisha and Layren caught sight of the lushes starship dealer.  Paned in perfectly clean and polished transparisteel, a mile long corridor of ships sat waiting.  Through the glass, one could observe any of those ships that everyone wanted but could never really buy.  It looked like people were scattering from there area though, and the building looked to be preparing a shield generator and heavy gate. 

"You wanna go there?" Taylisha querried as the strike cruiser strafed the street in front of dealer. 

"Yes."

(Alright boys and girls- time we got back in the sky, wouldn't ya say?  Hrm- it appears Dar has his outlet to follow, and Trevor and Toki are following their own: that leaves myself and Jen to do our little side story.  In the mean time, I'm going to find out of Aldur will let me kill him off or if he'd just like me have to him go into reserves- in which case he'd have to make it through the story.  Either way, Atrick and Aldur will probably end up in fighters or noticing Darius's group going for the big ships.  You guys can use them how you'd like, but I'd like you in the air, possibly multiple ships so that we can stand a greater chance against the light corvette and extended YT, not to mention the unnamed third attacker we haven't seen yet.  Also, there is a Toran class frigate up in atmosphere ready to pummel us and the city if things get out of hand- the place has basically gone way out of control.  But it won't fire on us because they still need the Seroster and thus- they need Shazam intact.  It more likely that, as we overwhelm them, the Toran class frigate will fire on its own people as they attempt to escape... 

You guys can get a battle started up if you'd like- I'm going to bring the Seroster back to life about half-way through thouh.  Les rock.)

-----------------------
*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

The airfield, usually vial already, seemed to have an even dustier air now that the skies were filled with fire and debris.  The circular landing pads held up by various rings of support seemed totally silent in the ensuing madness rumaging in the background; Shazam could see that the three Ruvetrack ships had really gone to work.  So far the commander had only been able to spot the YT extended freightor that'd been on his butt for who even knew how long and the Corellian Corvette turning the city of Paradocia to slag.

"How you doin back there, Jen?"  He wasn't sure she could hear him, but he yelled anyways.  The commander waited patiently as the bike ripped apart tall grass, blazing a path of fire through the green and making haste for the door on the edge of the maintenance shed.  She's fading fast...  The freightor behind him was still trying to re-locate him after the confusing route through the forest when the commander reached the shed, swung the bike sideways felt for the access on the door.  Shazam couldn't help but stare at the YT, even though he'd already suggested to himself that they wouldn't kill him, out of shere shock.  Never before had a single ship of such size targeted him as a single person- in a fighter you go up against series of guns and the like, but rarely will you have a head on confrontation where all guns and efforts are trained on you... 

His hand found the panel and his fingers clicked on the access, the door swinging open to reveal Darren in full body armor that looked like it hadn't been in use since before the fall of the Republic. 

"What are you doin here?"  His eyes were wide in shock, his white stragley hair frayed to such an extent the commander wondered if he'd finally managed to electricute himself.

"I need my ship..."  Shazam was still sitting on the bike as the corvette gained speed, Darren getting a look at it for the first time.

"Oh my..."

"I need my ship..."  The commander sounded calm but with an edge in his voice indicating the obvious strain he'd just been through.  Darren only glanced at the commander for a moment to see that Shazam meant it- deathwish or otherwise the man wanted his ship.

Spinning on his heel and jumping across the room, he went to one of his tack boards, ripped off the bottom seal, lifted the broad board felt underneath until a switched snapped into position.  Suddenly, the seamless wall transformed into two rectangular halves as one jutted out slightly to move over the other.  I never knew there was a trap door...  Impressed, to say the least, Shazam could only throw the bike into reverse, back up and enter the maintenance shed with the entire bike as the wall began to open.  Darren stepped back in pride as his cleverness was put to work but then smiled in dismay as the door creaked and stopped.

"What's going on?"  Shazam slowly crept the bike forward so that the entire vehicle was within the room.  Clicking the access so that the outside party couldnt' see what was going on until they landed, the commander gave Darren a stern look.  His companion looked stunned and utterly speechless. 

"It should work..."

"Move..." 

"What?"

"Move!"  The commander pulled Darren back by the front of his shirt and clicked the cannons on the front of the bike into the armed position before pulling the triggers on the handles to illuminate the room in crimson red, blinding bright as it met the wall.  The door half took the full brute of the hit, crumpling instantly and getting tossed into the labrything instantly.  The crack of lighting lasted only a moment as the light faded once again and Darren stood in shock, getting his first wiff of the ozone and realizing that his contraption was destroyed.

"Get on!"  Shazam allowed the bike to float forward slightly, noting the perimiters of his tunnel as Darren observed the bike.

"On this?"

"Or get lost- your choice, man."  For a moment, Darren looked as if he was going to turn the ride down, indicating that there wasn't enough space on the speeder and that he didn't want to be involved with Shazam, but then he heard the repulsors outside.

"Alright!"  Shazam scooted forward, pulling Jen behind him even closer, her eyes closed and her head slumped. 

"Jen!"  The commander turned in his seat as Darren found a comfortable portion of the speeder bike in the far back, barelly on board.  "Jen!"  The commander shook his XO and for a moment thought she was dead, grief flooding him all at once until her eyes flickered open and the violet was comforting...

"You need to hang on Jen- it'll be just a few minutes- eyes open!"  Then the commander swung back around, knowing it was incensitive to leave a barelly contious woman to the wind, but figured it was in all of their best interest if he got a move on.

Slowing into the tunnel, the commander thought the repulsors had gone out for a moment as the bike suddenly dropped, but then they were stabalized again, just a few feet lower off of a ramp.  The trunnel was dimly lit by lamps that were common to most service tunnels, dust having accumulated over the ages and ancient markings along the walls indicated past use.  Peering into the dust covered floors, the commander could make out the foot prints Darren must have created over the years as well as where some creatures had apparently made thier homes.  Shazam had never actually been through this tunnel, but he'd remembered when he'd put the Real Bebop to rest...

"The tunnel is a straight shot- you can accelerate..."  Darren said it quickly as the feet of the frieghtor met ground and the ramps on the ship lowered.

"Gotcha..."  Shazam kicked up the throttle, instinctivelly lowering his head to brace himself against the wind and to get a better view of the terrain so he wouldnt' be caught off guard for any dips or bends in the road, despite Darren's confidence in his own tunnels.

A constant rhythm was established as Shazam found his speed, the lamps flickering past at an even pace, dust sprawling up and curling in their awakened crypt.  The commander continued to feel the urgency that'd been pulling at him since the forest, but he also felt something he hadn't felt in a long time for anything...  Excitement...

As the tunnels seemed to grow longer, the commander couldn't help but imagine the Real Bebop after all its time in darkness, though he was momentarilly distracted by the howl that had emitted from the beginning of the tunnel where they'd started.  The Ruvetrack had no doubt found their way in...

And suddenly the cool air was more open, easier to breath as if the cold was meant to be...  He'd arrived.    More beautiful than I remember...  The tunnel curled away and revealed an open auditorium where a single vessel extended some one hundred and twenty-five meters in either direction, silver and black, transparisteel viewports shining in the golden light of the lamps.  The commander could feel the cool steel of the craft without caressing it with his hand- his mind had already been there many times in the years he'd been away.  It'd been too long...

"What is that?"  Shazam couldn't believe Jen was still awake as he came into the rear section, looking for the ramp.  The commander didn't answer for a moment, unsure of what it was he needed to answer when he threw the controls hard to starboard.

"What are you thinkin Jo?"  The commander slid the craft to a stop as he observed the security droid for the first time in about seven years.  The duelest elite combat training droid stood with his pike in one hand and a heavy blaster pistol in the other, an unreadable expression on the fasage of the character as if it couldn't quite compute what it was seeing.

"Master..."  It decided at last, quickly holstering its weapons in the correct orifaces and coming to its full heigth.  "What will you have of me, sir?" 

"Wake up everyone, Jo- let 'em know the Seroster has to wake up and fast- we're about to take off..."  The commander couldnt' believe he was giving order to the droid once again - he felt like his father.

"I'll recall the sentries immedietly and get the astromechs to work, sir..."  Shazam didn't answer as the perfectly polished droid sprinted toward the already lowering ramp of the Seroster.  From what the commander knew of the ship, it was an Etti Lighter, a ship usually employed in fighting smugglers, not assisting them, but that only made Shazam smile...  It would have been like Hermes to will his goals with irony.  Not to mention he always liked throwing someone's own equipment against them...  And the ship had been effective on numerous occaions- its ten quad lasers were more than enough to take on a fighter or two and even comparable to small fighter groups.  However, since there were only three people aboard (Shazam, his father Icos and his uncle Hermes), there were open guns.  Before Shazam was able to fire weapons, there were actually eight open gun emplacements, nine if someone was flying- so how could they be of any use?

"I thought you hated droids..."  Darren commented for the second time as Shazam quickly undid the strap around his waist, Jen somehow upright.  Ahhh yes...  The droids...  Shazam couldn't remember exactly how many of the creations had been used aboard the ship, but they were always bustling about the lower extremities of the Seroster when Shazam had been a shipmate, and he remembered specifically attaining his hatred for droids from his father, Icos.  Though Shazam had loved these particular droids, it seemed as if Icos could find no end to his disgust for the machines, "Rust buckets" he'd called the astromech droids.  Hermes didn't seem to mind though, constantly hunting for newer, more miraculous droids to do seemingly ridiculous task.  The one of note that Shazam found personal enjoyment in, and perhaps so even did Icos, was the donut droid...  Able to create pastries of almost any kind, the droid was the most helpful member of the ship, especially when getting over a hard night...

"Who is this anyways?" Darren continued as Shazam stepped off the bike and spun around to take a knee next to Jen. 

"A friend and fellow pilot..."  Shazam answered shortly, gently pulling Jen toward himself before swinging her over his shoulder so he could carry her up the ramp.  As he hoisted her upward, Shazam caught a glimpse of the battle droids and the single droideka rolling up the ramp of the Seroster, each gleaming in perfection as if they had been newly bought.  Shazam got an image of the droids taking full advantage of his absence, dunking themselves in oil bathes whenever they pleased ad helping themselves to other important materials that usually would have caused any number of fights with Icos.  Then again, they'd had to self-preserve for about seven years: he didn't blame them. 

"Jo sent me, sir..."  The commander glanced up to the ramp to see the surgical assistant wheeling down the ramp.  Hermes really did think of everything...  Shazam couldnt' help but feel bittersweet as he thought fondly upon his uncle, the man who bought things because he thought they might be convenient in the future and yet he'd never get to see how it would indeed come true. 

"Absolutely- this woman needs attention immedietly- take her and I'll be in the cockpit..."  Then Shazam gently set his XO down for the medical droid to retrieve; her eyes were still open which Shazam found to be haunting but at the same time comforting.  "Hold on..."  He thought he saw her head tilt slightly in a nod but it could have been his own imagination at work... 

Standing up suddenly, Shazam turned to Darren and pointed to the enclosed ceiling above.  "Time we found a way out of here- shall we?"

***

Darius flicked the three indicator switches as klaxons rang out in the cabin, lights and proximity warnings flashing in alarm as the Space Master Medium Transport lifted from the surface deck.  The young man admired the craft not for its weaponry or immense cargo capacity, nor its good hyperspeed rating- but its bulk.  The craft seemed more dangerous, as if its mere presence was a subtle threat amongst other craft, which Darius probably took as a personal compliment.

"Is that shield still up?" Art said over the com in a half-annoyed voice as Darius careened the craft upward, narrowly avoiding other ships, some larger than his own and more heavilly armed.  How can they sell these things?  He thought to himself but then knew better as he replied-

"I dunno..."  Others might have chuckled at the fact that he'd given no choice to Art but to assume the shield was up, but Darius made it sound like an order.  Art kept cool though, replying with an air of urgent demand rather than the expected Imperial snap-

"Shields up- everyone take a gun."  Talysha had already been working on that but Laren had taken a seat behind Darius in the cockpit, observing as he threw the ship up off of its repulsors and on a trajector that would smash through the transparisteel body of the facility. 

"You'd better get back there..."  Darius said, though not with the same commanding air, or trying not to at least.  Laren sat stiffly for a moment as if she would object, then got up briskly and ran to one of the turrets.  Darius let out a sigh of relief; he didn't know the full capabilities of his wife yet and was always somewhat afraid of asking her to do a new task, but he trusted her.  Or atleast he liked her...  A lot.

"Darius!  Slow your ascent!  Fire into the glass, everyone!"  The ship shook slightly, vibrating in the wake of each blast as bright red flashes glanced up from each side into the transparisteel, shattering certain portions but doing little to the shield, which was evidently there as explosions of multiple colors highlighted the sky.  "Darius- do you want us to die?  Slow down!" 

"Corvette, bearing six o'clock- shoot at that!" Darius replied back hastilly, annoyed at Art's inability to see the corellian ship from his position.  Swinging the entirety of the medium transport around, Darius brought the guns to bare on the newest and largest of the threats as it shattered the defense barrier at last and glass began to cascade into the lobby, illuminating the floor with crystal sparkle.  The corvette, satisfied that it's succesfully obliterated the several million credit outer shell of a succesful star dealer, continued its reign of fire in the general direction of the medium transport.  "Hold on!"  Darius punched the throttles forward, feeling the engines ignite in unamimous agreement as the ship lurched and suddenly sprang onto a vector aimed at the underbelly of its foe. 

"I hope this place has a good return policy..."  Taylisha muttered as she threw off a sucessive pair of red energy into the unsesspecting ship.  The glass must have been washed constantly because it was simply breathtaking, revaling different angles of the battle from panels all across the room, but what was simply stunning was watching the ship in the reflection as it hunched in agressive locomotion, like the viewport was angry eyes and the blue corona its rage.  Then the craft shook more violently than it had before, the deflectors full to the front in an attempt to offset the obvious obsticle in the way of the craft as it streaked underneath the corvette and crashed into glass layer of the starship dealer.  Everyone in the craft felt as if they'd be jarred from their seats, but Darius was glad he'd buckled up and strapped down- though he wasn't sure he could say the same for his wife Layren.  Then again- she was smarter than he sometimes gave her credit for, she'd be alright.  The jostling continued until they were well away from the glass, aimed toward the lower vacinity of the city where they could hide between buildings as they came up with a plan.

"We still need to locate the others so we can get out of here..." Art said from one of the turret stations as he poured on a little heat for the corvette, now trying to turn to find them. 

Darius clicked on the com and was instantly flooded with a variety of voices and emergencies, everyone seeming as if they were the main objective.  Then he heard- "We gotta take out that corvette though: just give us a little time..."

"Nine?"  Darius said it into the open channel reflexivelly, too many missions where real names didn't exist and codenames were enough to get you killed.

"Six?"  Trevor answered in the same skeptical tone as the two suddenly realized they were indeed both alive.  "Where are you guys?"

"In the skies- you?"  He was cut short as the radar went crazy, indicating a ship in extremelly close proximity.  Banking hard to port he tried to bring the guns up to bare but was stunned to see theReal Bebop, just a little smaller than the medium transport. 

"Thought we'd take this thing out for a spin..."  Darius grinned like an idiot for the first time in a long time as he saw their chances improve dramatically.  Getting control of his expression, he answered-

"Lets get rid of that corvette then..."  Before he could continue alarms went off in every direction, indicating yet another threat.  "What the..."  You gotta be kidding me...  "Guardian Light Cruiser is comin in fast and I see that YT on the edge of the city is limpin over here- better stick low until we can get a good position."

"Fast attacks will only last so long Dar- we need to coordinate with some ground forces or look for an escape vector.  I think Shaz would agree that our best bet is getting out of here- they don't possibly have the type of equipment it would take from keeping us in here..."

"Except for that ship in the atmosphere-" Trevor said bluntly.  "Whatever it is, its massive- no Star Destroyer but I'm sure its got a pretty decent compliment of fighters and weapons: we'd never make it.  We need to get secure here or forget about it..."

"What if we got some fighters of our own?  I know Shazam's is onboard here!" Toki added excitedly.  She seemed anxious to fight...

"Either way, we need to drop into the city where it'll be harder to hit us or we're going to get fried in about two seconds...  Here goes..."  Darius dropped the repulsors and flew into the depths of the city...

***

The Seroster looked like something out of a dream as it powered up for the first time in eight years.  Shazam felt as he did when he'd dropped off the ship- like the wrong person in the drivers seat.  He had so many memories of Hermes at the controls, trying to get them out of dire situations and his father going up to turrets or launching in his personal fighter to take the threat head on.  Shazam wasn't a whimp, but the fact he was still around while everyone seemed to have disappeared was a bit lonely, as if a reminder of the fact that all their great feats had ammounted to nothing.  Somehow, he'd ended up in the Navy and his family members were either dead or missing...

"Engines at full power, sir- I saw to the maintenance of those so tha they would be primed for your return..."  The commander smiled at the idea of the 3P droid down on his haunches, scrubbing exhaust and oil stains from the surfaces of every compartment.  No, he'd more than likely ordered others to do the work for him while he sat back and took oil bathes all day.  His outer covering was a swimmering red as he indicated all the status checks on the ship turning out perfect. 

"Alright- go get me a report from the doc on how my pilot's doin..."  The droid took this as dismissal and clanked away as an army of astromech droids returned to the cockpit, finding their proper position at terminals and outlets so that they could help control the ship.  The thought occured to him that the droids probably owned the Seroster more than he did, the astromechs alone probably being as old as himself if not more so.  The droids had been employed when Hermes had taken smuggling as a full-time job and decided he needed to be the best at it.  The astromechs took a lot of time to fly the ship or its weapons during combat but spent even more time slicing code, switching IDs and figuring out ways to be generally sneaky...

"I don't understand it..."  Darren was saying over the com unit," The doors should open anyways- the floors weren't re-inforced..."  he sounded frustrated and flustered as he tried a series of panels but found no joy.

"You sayin we're trapped in here, Darren?"  Shazam checked some things himself as he scooted to all sides of the cockpit, or perhaps he needed to start calling it a bridge.  The area was far more expanded and had actual terminals as opposed to an enclosed cockpit where the pilot controlled everything- this was why the droids were initially necessary.  Even taking off was a task if the droids weren't there to pilot and control sensory equipment or repulsors and thrust mechanisms.  Even still- the ship seemed a bit congested; it appeared the droids had declared free reign on the ship as even the little mouse droid 'Tinker' was allowed to run about as it pleased.  So far he'd counted four astromech droids, (the R2, Old Glory or just Glory; the R3, Goof because Hermes had always felt the droid needed to lighten up; the R4, known as 'Eyes' for his abilities to see just about any way into a computer; and the R7 droid that Shazam had actually put aboard the ship long after it was dropped off, or atleast Darren did; originally meant for Rebels but somehow in Shazam's hands he was known as 'Commodity' or Mody for short).  Mody had actually been meant for the new craft for the NR, commonly referred to as the E-wing, but the commander had fallen into custody of it after a an early mission where he'd been sent aboard an enemy vessel and the droid wouldn't stop following him, apparently confused as to which side of the battle it was on.  Command had told him to keep it because they didn't have any use for the droid aboard their smaller ship and he wouldn't take orders from anyone anyways...  So the commander had converted him and sent him to Darren for good use.

"I'm saying we can't get the doors open, yes- I don't think we'll get a chance to go back out either..."  Darren sounded slightly annoyed at the fact he'd allowed this secret hanger to be disfunctional so easilly.  Knew I should have put in a second entrance...  At least we could get out of here... he thought to himself as the entire cave was suddenly lit but the external lights of the Seroster.

"Fine- get on board..."

"What?"

"I'm going to need as many hands I can get anyways..."  Shazam clicked off his line with Darren and was about to go to the pilots chair to make some final adjustments when the open com channel came on...

"Dammit!  I think that covette is taunting me- either way, we can't take much more heat on the burners or we're ganna be cookin..."  Trevor?  The com was extremely staticy due to the location that the ship had managed to confine itself, but he could make out the sound of Darius swearing and both Aldur and Atrick talking about making a second round on the 'YT'...  Must be our old friends...  The commander thought and clicked the transponder-

"How you guys holdin up?"  The commander expected instant recognition and surprise at hearing his voice, but the conversations went on as if nothing had happened.  He tried again but to no avail; no reception down here...

"Alright- what do you need?" Darren came in breathing hard- "I just saw lights down the tunnel- they'll be here any moment..."  The commander had almost forgotten about the Ruvetrack Adero who were after his ship and about to find it.  Shazam tensed for a moment as he realized all the events bearing down upon him at that exact moment- then he exhaled...  Suddenly calm, he said-

"Go to the far turret and give them some trouble."  Darren nodded and was gone in an instant.  "As for you guys..."  Shazam noted the droids who's head swivelled curiously...

"Power up the guns..."

***

"C'mon!  That covette is about to make me into minced meat!"  Trevor relfected as the Real Bebop shook violently under the strains of such consistant battery fire.  Driving the ship up the ravine of towers in the city, he didn't bother to avoid passenger vehicles or other escapees as they fled to the skies- some being monsterously blasted in orbit and yet others simply disintegrating as they kit the exosphere incorrectly and enveloped in flame.  Some escaped...

"Got ya, nine!"  Atrick let off a whoop as two proton torpedos met their mark on the shield of Corvette, drawing its attention of its pursuit and prey.  Rolling hard and climbing, Atrick brought the X-wing up hard.  Aldur was flying a vintage TIE Advanced that appeared to sparkle in the evening light, as if two polishes a day still weren't enough.  The two of them had stumbled into a dealership of their own while attempting to escape the Ruvetrack Adero- an illegal one as it happened.  The three men they'd encountered carried weapons, but didn't have enough time to react as the speeder bikes had crashed through the building and a line of fire draped the front end of the building, killing its occupants.  Aldur and Atrick's speeders were in no condition to work after that, but when they'd managed to get up and try to run off down one of the hallways, they'd found a hatch indicating a hanger...  Apparently someone had been in the business of restoring war craft on either side of the front- other priceless craft had lined the walls while these two stuck out like sore thumbs...

"Watch that security ship!"  Aldur yelled as he dumbfired a concussion missile into its front end in an attempt to temporarilly blind it. 

"Shields are straining- lowing power fast..."  Dar announced as he swung the Medium transport around a tall skyscaper, the corvette having switched its guns back to it as the YT converged from the otherside.  From two miles away, one could indicated exactly where the battle had started and led to as a path of utter devistation broke a road through the middle of the city toward the outskirts.  Inside the medium transport Art had worked up a great sweat as well as the ladies, Darius throwing and jostling the ship to such a degree that even experienced pilots could have gotten sick.  The ship shook violently once more as Dar announced-

"I lost my rear deflectors- looks like I've got hull damage: we need to get off of this ship before we take another direct hit..."  The young man began flipping through his mental manuel of the ship, wondering as to whether or not it had escape pods and if they would be wise to use.

"Dammit- my guns over heated!"  Talysha bit out as the medium transport drifted to one side the Real Bebop floating up rather suddenly from underneath to assist. 

"I'm going out!"  Tokijin announced as the Real Bebop continued to ascend, going slightly vertical as it passed the medium transport, the back hatches extended an open to drop its package.  Free falling from the cargo bay was the star viper everyone had seen Shazam use on a various occasions: Page...

The craft suddenly inverted as the engines came on-line, the glowing sunset sillouhetting the drop and Tokijin's abilities, like it was an old friend saying "Welcome."  Page was probably one of the better fighters that Shazam kept and he made sure it was in excellent conditions at all times, so she worried little about a criticical system suddenly shutting down. 

"Coming to assist..." She said as she re-oriented herself and the Star Viper pulled out of the dive in a sharp arc as if there was no other path it could have possibly followed at that exact moment.  She felt precise in the fighter as she did when commanding an Imperial Interceptor... 

She kicked the throttle up and found herself face-to-face with the guardian light cruiser.  Dumbfiring a missle of her own, she sent the blue orb of glowing, lethal might right up the nose of the larger craft, taking it totally by surprising and penetrating its shields.  The front end of the ship blackened as it accepted its penalty for being less than the best...

"Good shot, two!"  Art said, observing his flight member from his turret as he worked to pelt the side of the same craft. 

"There goes a negetive thruster- no more going backward folks!"  Darius anounced as the craft jolted once more and the ship began to sink below the heavens.  "And maybe  lift repulsor or two...  Damn- abandon ship if you can, sorry guys..."

"I'm hit!" Atrick anounced as he took hull damage to his X-wing, nearly going into a roll but correcting it in time so that he could keep control of his ship.  The X-wing was well-known for taking a beating, so he could accept a bit more damage before having to escape for himself...

"Our shields are dropping as well- we need to get out of here Nazguls- this is too much heat."  Trevor piloted the blackened Real Bebop above the battle as it accepted fire from the covette below. 

"I agree- everyone: its been great serving with you if I never get a chance to speak with you again."  Art announced it like a true Imp, more officer than he'd ever sounded as he began to unbuckle the retrants to his turret.

"There goes a weapons system..."  Dar announced- "Layren!"

"Yea?"  She sounded scared, but she was brave.  Pride filled his chest as he let off-

"Go with Art..."

"I love you..."  Darius inhaled sharply and replied-

"I love you to..." 

"What the hell is that!"  An explosion roared only feet away as debris flew in every direction.  Chunks of duracreet, plasteel and every other known synthetic fiber seemed to fall from the skies as smoke blossomed from a crater in a nearby bay. 

"This is the Seroster- all systems online and ready for action."

"Shazam!"  Before anyone knew what was happening, the sky was riveted with green and red as the massive ship exploded from the hole and launched straight into the battle. 



(There- you should be able to do somethin with that!  Aldur and Atrick have fighters and now Toki is flying Page, Arturus, Talysha [pretty sure I'm butchering that name], and Layren are all getting off ship, but they're too close to the ground to use escape pods so they'll have to be dropped off on the run some how.  Also, I'd like to use that Medium Transport as a ram to destroy the corvette as it attempts to escape, then Dar could use an escape pod because he's at a higher altitude.  The Seroster is a ship that can actually fight the corvette somewhat, so this is a pretty even tempered battle now- time to get detailed and have some fun.  LES ROCK!)


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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

Trevor had piloted the Real Bebop Awayand out of the line of fire for saftey, and was watching from the sidelines as the battle continued, Tokijin flying Shazam`s fighter skillfully. It was alot easier for him to admire her skill in a fighter this way then when he was flying one himself. He watched as she looped around and flipped and perfmored other acrobatic moves while dodging shots all the while, but was jerked back to his current situation when an alarm started going off to his left.

He spun in the chair quickly to look and was somewhat surprised to find a missile lock. He spun again and checked the shields, which had regenerated to 45%. It would be enough to keep the missile from causing anything major aside from carbon burning, but it wouldn`t be enough to stop a second or third shot.

He didn`t have time to foreward any power from the engine to the shields, and the missile made contact. It had been more high powered then he expected, and not only destroyed the shields, but managed to doa bit of hull damage. Shaz is gunna be pissed.... Trevor thought to himself as he turned the lumbering beast around, looking for the source of the missile. It wasn`t the corvette below, because it was far to busy with Tokijin and Shazam and the new threat of Darius` unmaned transport, which it had obviously identified as a threat because it was directing most of its fire on it.

It had not been the corvette, but rather the YT. It was firering at him from a good distance, and although most of the shots missed terribly, a few were making contact. At first he started to worry, but this feeling dissapeared quickly. He had heard over the comm alot of the group begin giving up and even saying goodbyes, but the arrival of Shazam had brought a new hope to everyone in the squadron. Trevor, finaly realizing what to do, began arming missiles. There wern`t a whole lot left, but he fired theone`s he had at the YT, and then aimed all the Real Bebop`s weapons at the ship, all of them blazing. Probably not the most strategic of plans to use, but sometimes, although he hated to admit it, brute force could win a battle.

The YT, which was being pestered slightly by Atrick and Aldur, suddenly had its shields light up blindingly as the bolts from the Real Bebop contacted them, and within moments they were down. The bolts had beaten the missiles to their target, and one of them penetrated the cockpit, causing a large explosion of transperisteel and other materials. The second and third missiles his other targets along the hull, causing more explosions.

*** Moments before ***

Geoff Rahg was sitting at the controls of the YT freighter Wrath and calmly manuevering the ship into firering range of the larger ship before him, which had seemed to limp away from the battle on its last legs.

"Missile one away." he announced to his co-pilot as he fired the first missile at the ship. The missiles were over-powered TH-18`s, which had almost double the power they should have had. The risk that was run with using such weapons was they easily exploded in launch tubes, which would be bad for the ship using them.

He watched silently as the missile exploded on the shields of the other ship, and laughed as he noticed carbon-scoring on the hull of the ship. It began to turn, and, assuming it was too damaged to do anythign to him, he turned his attention to the two fighters which were making repeated passes on his ship.

"Dirty little buggers, they are hard to hit." He exclaimed as he watched his cannons trace the path that an X-wing had just taken, not scoring a single hit on the fighter.

"Yeah, I know..." His co-pilot, Russ Ki`reth, followed up with. He also watched the cannon fire, but he was paying attention to where it went, penetrating buildings on the ground below, and a few of the bolts hitting the shields on the corvette. Just as he was about to laugh, a missile lock alarm went off.

"Whats this?" Geoff asked rhetoricaly, looking down at the light. He then looked out the viewport and a look of shock came over his face. He saw ahead of him three blue orbs streaking across the sky towards himself and his ship, followed by a torrent of red fire, which was gaining and surpassing the missiles quickly.

At first it all just dissapted on his shields with flashes that nearly blinded him, but after a few seconds of this, the shields blinked bright red and then out, and a few bolts hit the transperisteel.

"Uh, should I be worrying now?" Russ asked sarcasticaly, pointing out the obvious, that their shields were gone and they had missiles heading right for them.

"Not yet, I`ll just foreward some power from the engines to the shields and we`ll be fine." He said, hitting a few switches on the control board and waiting for his shield status to change. After it didn`t change, he started to look a little confused, and flipped a few more switches. "Damn! One of those fighters must have gotten a lucky shot and hit some wirering."

"Now I should be worried..." Russ replied, half angerly, half dissapointed and scared. He too had been trying to transfer some energy to the shields, unsuccessful as well. He sighed and looked up just in time to see the tip of the missile a few feet away from the cockpit glass. It then made contact and peirced through, sending shards everywhere and pushing itself into Russ`s chest. It pushed him and his chair backwards into the cockpit wall before exploding. Luckily for Russ the whole experiance was over in less then a quarter of a second, and he didn`t have time to comprehend the pain. Unluckily for the rest of the Ruvetrack aboard the ship who survived the blast, they no longer had a pilot or any control.

*** Back to the present. ***

Trevor winced as the YT began to fall out of the sky, plummeting towards a large building, which he recognized as the hotel he and Tokijin had stayed at. Luckily we got out in time... He thought as the ship exploded, sending bits of building and metal everywhere.

"Well, the YT is down. Whats the next target?" He asked, not 100% sure as to what he should start shooting at next, or if the Real Bebop was in any condition to fight anymore.
 
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XO/MCPO/Trevor Evenson/Nazgul 9(3-1)/Wing 1/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE/(=*A*=)[VC:B][SWC][LSM]

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