Two days had passed since the battle on Forman II against the Ruvetrack Adero and the near passing of one of his dearest friends in the VEN.  Since then he'd travelled half-way across uncontrolled space to find help and then back through what he hoped was a VE region so that he could regain contact with his group.  In short- he'd never had a worse 'vacation.' 

He'd had two days to relive all the events in his head, all the mistakes he'd probably made along the way and all those images...  He'd shuddered as he'd watched his squadron member take a battered medium transport and converge in a disturbing collision sequence with a corellian corvette.  At the time he'd thought that Darius had given his life for the team which made the events even more horrid, but he was flooded with relief when he heard from the crews on the ground that he'd safely ejected.  His heart nearly stopped once again when he'd thought the jostling of his ship in the final moments had killed his Executive Officer, Jen Knight, but was again saved by the knowledge of equipment and crew, this time one of the droids covering her in blankets and laying her away so she couldn't be injured.  Perhaps the most interesting and yet dark aspect of the entire thing was when the remaining two Ruvetrack ships attempted to escape, knowing they'd been overwhelmed by superior fire-power and strategy.  As their engines grew hot and the ships climbed toward the heavens, it was as if the one from above did not want them, nor need them, so it cast fire upon them in a treacherous show of ferocious power.  A lone ship, much larger than anything the Imperials had on hand, was waiting in the atmosphere to retrieve its people upon a succesful attack, but when they came back empty handed- they paid for it with thier lives.

The destruction of the Ruvetrack ships had only left a few moments of rest though- men on the ground were scouring the city for anyone they could get thier hands on and the city was still embattled maddeningly, though Forman II's police force seemed to be getting the upper hand.  Never the less, not wanting to risk the lives of his squadron members any further, the commander had called them all aboard their ships, primarilly the Real Bebop, the Seroster and Arturus's luxary ship, the yacht he'd put together just for this special ocassion... 

The nav computer flashed a warning as real space suddenly resumed its position in reality, thin lines of streaming stars coming to a halt to reveal an orb of majestic beauty.  The gas planet Messari hung to the left, strong tides of acidic gas blustering high above its stratosphere and bellowing out sonic booms that resonated all the way down, hardened forms of the gas plummeting from the sky to re-submerge themselves into the surface pool.  The planet let off a soft red glow, though streaks of a pure white substance streaked the cloud textured exterior of the planet.  This was the true reasoning for why VE forces had come here...

Sitting in the soft sillihoute of the planet's warm fury, cascaded in its brilliant light was the strike-class cruiser Faseo, or 'source of the sun.'  Attached by an air tunnel was Arturus's yacht, still in perfect condition and unharmed by the conditions of Forman II.  He couldn't see the Real Bebop, but Shazam figured they'd lifted his prized ship into one of the hangers for repairs- it'd taken a severe beating during the Ruvetrack assault and would probably need a sensational amount of work- equivolent or more so to the total he'd gone through to re-do the interior.  He could already imagine days of scrubbing blaster burns and industrial strength polish as well as a new coat of paint to get the Real Bebop's luster back to its prime.  The Real Bebop had never been painted, but the idea of having his ship in a shimmering red or peaceful bay blue momentarilly took his mind away from the worst...

"Cruiser- Identify yourself immedietly..."  Good to be home, the commander thought as the bridge-commander repeated his earlier statement and added-"Or prepare to be captured."

"This is the Etti Lighter-class freightor Seroster asking permission to enter Imperial space- I'm sending my ID number now as well as license for this ship..."  Standard Imperial Procedure was always a bore, but you always used it when coming across a foreign group, never knowing if this particular Imperial war machine was stingy, stuck-up or stupid.  When he'd dropped Jen Knight off aboard the MT cruiser in the Wynona sector, he'd nearly pulled back on the light speed controls just to get him away from the edgy ship.  If you sneezed into the intercom it was likely they'd sound the alarm and call for all men to thier hatches, but Shazam had been blessed- or barelly so.  Jen Knight was semi-uncountious throughout the entire trip and would toss and turn occasionally due to nightmares of an unseen world, but the commander had caught key words that made him shiver.  The name Warren Dimmias in particular made him halt and give notice to the terrors that consumed his XO...  The MTC's were notorious for their ability to adapt to a medical frigate though, and it was Jen's best bet of reversing brain damage if the synapses hadn't been too badly mangled and thier bases cut short.  If that was the case, nothing could be reconstructed, but...  Well heres hoping...

"Confirmation of your Identification, Commander- you can take up position at port and we'll have a crew get you a passage..."  The voice wasn't as harsh anymore, realizing he was speaking with the commander of Phoenix Wing and the squadron aboard his ship.  Shazam wasn't buckled in as he should have been, but he needed them off for the long stretch that ensued there-after, closing his eyes and rolling his neck to relieve himself of the tenses that had wound him up until just moments ago.  He was still having trouble taking it all in, but he knew it would open up upon him within the next day or so the full extend of what he'd just gone through...

"Seroster- I don't suppose you have a spare hydrospanner on hand?"  Shazam's confused look transformed into a smile upon recognition of the voice-

"Only if there's somethin in it for me, Lieutenant..."  He chuckled slightly then said- "How we doin out here?"  Arturus...  The only way to define Art was Imperial and Shazam could never get over how his tactical expertise and technical proficiency seemed to flood out through the tones he used as if every move was well-calculated.  Then again, Shazam had known him for years now and knew that sometimes he was just good man, leaving tactics behind and letting more important things take over.  Plus, he'd been a damn good pilot for some time now...

Arturus semed to take a few moments to review his facts in his head before replying- "Heh, I just spent the last day reworking all my security settings, re-writing passwords and filing reports...  Its been great," he chastised as he suddenly yelped-"Ouch...  And they got me doing work on the Strike-Cruiser here; apparently they're a little undermanned and some repairs needed to be done by people who actually know the ship."

"Movin your way up already?" Shazam knew it was Art's dream to command a ship, so this gentle prodding was probably a brutal reminder that most pilots didn't get into those positions unless they'd already had previous training, specifically for ship work.  Never the less, Art liked to dream and Shazam happened to have full confidence in him, so it was really like a game where they counted down the days...

"Yea- but hows our XO doin?"  Shazam inhaled sharply but then sighed out slowly, regaining his composure so that he could say-

"She's alive...  They kicked me out of the sector before I got a chance to stick around and see what the prognosis was but I caught a little.  They're sayin she could be totally rehabilitated but there's the chance they're too late and she's going to die; something about the stress the mind puts on the body..." He stopped for a moment then said- "We should have word soon..."

"Very well- we'll hope for the best.  In the mean-time, I believe you need an update on our squadron..."  Arturus seemed cheerful at last and Shazam suddenly remembered he was a commander in the VEN.  When they'd left Forman II they'd sent out a distress signal through VEN comm channels and gotten word of a nearby cruiser that could supplement them while they waited for thier next set of orders.  It also came through the CoC that people could leave for another vacation spot because they still had time remaining out of action, but most chose to stay.  The only people that'd ran off were Atrick, presumebly back to Forman II to deal with his brother and Aldur who'd piloted his X-wing to a different base for orders.

"Apparently our mess on Forman II was enough to iniate changes in command and position, not to mention Aegis took some hits in thier last battle.  Aegis has consolidated with Nazgul, or atleast some of 'em have..."

"Aegis?  Who came over?"  Shazam loved getting experienced pilots, even more so if he knew them...

"Jaden's back for one, but he brought Hunter and a new pilot with him..."  Shazam was rounding the strike cruiser now and cosying up to the left hand side of the ship while Art continued-  "We're just waiting for some news from the front- apparently we could be heading out very, very soon..."

"Why?  Somethin big happen?"  The ship was suddenly sucked toward the hull and restraints were put in place as the Seroster came to a halt.  It was the first time it'd been out of its dungeon in close to eight years, so it was interesting to see it already being linked up with Imperial ships and finding a home of its own. 

"A big push coreward- the Armies been up to some massive campaign and they just finally broke through- chances are we'll be assisting within the next week or two..."

"Alright- I'm boarding now, Art- see you in a bit." 

"Yep- bring that hydrospanner, everything here is crap and I'm about ready to make some recommendations..."  Shazam grinned and switched the com off, then put his hands through his hair for a final awakening excercise before turning on his heel and heading across the bridge.  After some extensive walking down the hull of the ship, Shazam began to take in the sights and sounds of this long-hidden vessel.  The hallways were a cool grey with lamplights about every ten feet as well as emergency ones alongside the aisels; he'd seen them in action on many occasions.  Also, he finally managed to take note of the rooms- he'd have to take some time to visit everything a little later though he feared where his reminiscing might lead.  There was also the mystery of what was onboard the ship that had caused so much trouble throughout the last couple of weeks- something his father trusted he would protect, apparently.

Reaching the hatch he checked the external sensors as well as internal diagnostics of the passage before confirming that it was indeed well sealed.  This way he wouldn't suffocate or be instantly shrivelled up upon exposure to the cold of space...

Opening the hatch and climbing through the small extension bridge, Shazam wrapped twice on the bulkhead at the end of his path.  There was a moments silence, then the sound of gears writhing in their contraints and finally the squeal of the hatch door as light flooded in and the grungy white interior of the ship was revealed. 

"Commander Shazam?"  A man in a grey uniform stood sharply at attention, saluting as he waited for the man to crawl through the entry way.

Shazam gave the man a quick glance up and down before deciding he'd better salute back-"Yes.."

The man's arm went down to his side sharply and he replied- "Right this way, sir- Captain Porcema has been awaiting your arrival..."  The young man turned sharply and headed off down the corridor while Shazam sat a little awe-struck in the background.  Captain?  You gotta be kidden me...  Shazam watched his feet move but was still in disbelief.  He must be talking about someone else...  Five minutes later they were at the bridge of the strike cruiser and Shazam felt that gentle twinge telling him to run far, far away...

"Commander..."  No mistake... he realized as he gave Captain Lacey Porcema a quick nod, eyeing her up and down as subtley as possible.  He noted all the female features he'd taken into such reguard those years ago before finally making it to her face and catching the smirk on her face.  "Never thought I'd see you again..."

Shazam withheld a smirk of his own, saying instead- "Likewise."  She stood in her grey commander's uniform and Shazam couldn't get over the fact that it was actually her, the little woman he'd thought to be innocent at the Academy and in no shape to be in the miltary.  Now she looked like an officer though, her eyes like ice yet able to melt the hearts of unsespecting young men and her hair done up in a strict, but controlled way that measured how beauty can be contained by those who weild it responsibly.  Behind the smirk Shazam caught a glimmer of of sardonic hate though, something that he did, in fact, probably deserve...

"Would you mind telling me why it is you decided to fly through enemy territory in order to get here?  I believe you were given three alternate routes from the MTC..."  Something about her posture indicated an extremely good story, but at the same time it looked as if she had all the cards and was just waiting to build up the drama.

"I also got some information from the MTC that all sensor stations along my chosen path had been taken out and there hadn't been a ship in the area for close to three months- all dealing with the threat moving coreward, no?"  She chewed her lip at this and seemed to be deciding on some quick, snappy remark that could match his own, but Shazam added- "So I'm here- where do I sign?"

"How about your court marshall?" she found them at last as a smile was snuffed out and Shazam couldn't help but be baited.

Shazam's eyebrows furrowed, not noticing anyone else in the command bridge now as Porcema watched in pleasure.  "You gotta be kidden me- it was a straight route and I couldn't have possibly been followed...  I changed course three times to thrown off any tails!"

"Yet your negligence could very well have proved to be this operation's undoing- it'd be unfortunate if the Rebels came across the mensa gas here..." She turned and began to walk toward an astro display pointing toward Shazam's path to Messari.

"So you guys found a new fuel source? Very nice..." he didn't hide a smirk this time but then said-"But that bit about my flight: it doesn't make a difference.  My flight path hasn't jeapordized your operation on any level!  I was dropping off an injured Squadron member as it happens and command told me to get back to my squadron as quickly as possible...  So I did."  She nodded casually then said-

"Tell it to the judge...  But if you'd like to get a room for yourself in the meantime..."  She smiled and held out a clipboard with some papers attached- "You can sign here..."  Shazam stared at her sheepishly for a moment as if he wanted to strike out at her but since she was a woman he needed to hold off...  For now...

Taking the board and the pen, he quickly signed off on the room and the conditions she'd "explained."

"Where's my squadron?"  He would play her game for now, not willing to get baited again and embaress himself.

"They should be in the adjoining corridors- save your friend with the bad hydro spanner..."  Eavesdropping as well, eh? She pointed toward the hallway from where Shazam had come and said- "Run-along now..."

"I liked you better when you were easy..."  Shazam perked up his eyebrows as she became dark, then he was gone, unwilling to let her get another word in.

A few moments later he was still reviewing the fact that a former lady-friend was going to be the captain of the ship he was on and she'd was going to get him court marshalled if she could help it.  Telling her she hadn't been a challenge probably wasn't the best way to go but...  Then, stage-left a little blurry at that moment, he felt as if he were being tackled into a wall when the voice of Jaden suddenly yelled-

"How ya been!"  He backed off suddenly, satisfied with the bare hug he'd given.  The younger man with white hair and grinning like idiot stood in jubilant exasperation at seeing his commander again.

"I thought I smelled something reminscient of old sun-drop and dayoflares..." Shazam sniffed morbidly then returned the favor with a quick hand shake, saying- "I'm fine...  Yourself?"

"Meh- you know how it is.  Now I don't have to watch over a bunch of bratty new recruits though- that's your job!"  he grinned as the two proceeded down the hall.

"Looking to the future already?  And I presume you're my new XO?  I had Trevor ready to fill in but I suppose you kind of trump him, huh?"  The two reached a turbolift at the end of the grungy hall-way and Shazam couldn't help but think to himself,she never was too clean...

"Yea, about that- what do you think about putting one of my men in as a flight lead?"  The doors began to close-

"MMmno."

(There you go guys- I got a summary of everything in the Nazgul Topic, but I'd like everyone to make a post for introduction and my second post will start up the battle.  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

(Transition from Forman to this story)

Darius stared into the cosmic wonder of hyperspace through the cockpit viewport of the Punisher, his heavily modified Civilian Citadel Cruiser.  Layren, the most important part of his dismal life, the light of his universe, was not accompanying him in the bridge.  She was in the private quarters with a very complicated dilema.  What little makeup she wore was smothered the dull colored pillows of Darius' quarters through tears of her utter despair.

The Nazgul pilot took off his gloves and looked at his hands.  The rough, calloused surface was familiar, but not comforting to him anymore.  The scars it held reminded him of a past that he wanted to deny...a past that had made him who he was...who Layren learned to love, but now questioned whether her choice was the correct choice.  There was still blood in the furrowed surface, hints of a first aid job he had to do to himself after being shot hours previous, by a deadly Ruvetrack Adero assassin.  The wound had not been serious, but just a lucky shot from the assassin, and a lucky returned shot and strong body from Darius.

Vacation is a bad word.  The mere mention of the joyous occasion only places the extreme doubt that such a thing really exists in Darius' mind.  He has had two official vacations while with the Empire and Nazgul.  Both had ended in disaster, having some bad guy hunt them down or an attempt to overthrow a government.  Darius was now questioning why he had to go with Shazam.  The man could have taken his wife to their orbital home and traveled short distances from there; peaceful and quiet because Darius would have been in charge.  He realized that he might be more committed to Nazgul than he is to his wife...a scarey thought for a newly married man.

Next Darius stared at the message on his console that his wife had given him from their quarters.  Take me to theAtrus.  It was short and simple, making Darius' fears even deeper.  He couldn't remember the last time he feared anything besides the thought of death that lumed above him every time he engaged in combat.  As he stared at the message, reading it over and over again, he became distracted by the new light on the console.  The quarter's door had been opened.  A dot indicating a living being moved down the hallway and into the galley on the tiny scematics of his ship.

Another short message alert popped on his screen.  He accessed it, Food???  At first he didn't know what she meant, but he realized, she's tired of MREs and ration cubes, he thought.  Darius exited the cockpit and went to his armory, typed in the access code and entered.  He stared at the pile of Nazgul possessions, an unasked favor he had done before leaving the planet was returning to the campsite and wrecked cargo truck and gathering all that had been left behind.  In a locker on the far end, TC, his protocol droid with no sense of protocol, had stored his bag of clothes which had contained some souvenirs gathered from Forman.  He opened the locker, retrieved the bag, and then pulled out some near-fresh fruit and a bag of sweets and chocolates.  Under, in the bottom of the bag was a bottle of fine champaine.  He grabbed it and looked at the date.  A fourty-year-old bottle of this stuff is good.  In the corner of the armory was a box.  Inside was a food management system and a pack of fine ingredients.  Minutes past and he set up the machine and had a cooked meal of Nerf roast, Reythan green beans, and a small loaf of Corellian short bread.  He cut up the fruit and added in to the tray of food.

With the bottle of champaine in hand and the tray of food, he walked, set the bottle down outside the door, pressed the open button, and carried the tray to his wife.  She sat at the small booth, sipping on a cup of stimcaf.  Darius set the food in front of her and she avoided eye contact, just staring at her cup.  Without a word exchanged, Darius walked out of the galley.  He looked at the bottle of champaine that he intentionally left next to the door, picked it up, and returned to the cockpit.  The depressed husband set the bottle on top of the console, stared at it, and wished all of his problems would go away.

******Upon arrival to the Strike Cruiser******

On an open Imperial channel, Arturus announced their arrival.  All of the Nazguls with the exception of Shazam and Jen Knight were present.  They filed into the hanger and all of them departed their ships.

Darius stood up and a sharp excruciating pain shot up from his right abdomin, though he did not wince.  Wincing was a sign of weakness and Darius was not weak, or so his training had taught and reflected.  Layren did not move, but he knew she wouldn't.  He stumbled down the ramp and acquired worried looks from his fellow  squadron members.  Trevor went to Tokijin and said softly, "is he drunk?"

No, I didn't touch the bottle, Darius thought to himself after reading the words from Trevor's lips.  Captain Porcema waited in the hanger and greeted them at they're arrival.  Darius walked over to Arturus and handed him a note.  "Give this to the captain. Do not read it.  I have to see the medics," he said in his emotionless voice, no hint of pain detectable.  Arturus gave him a worried look, but nodded in acknowledgement.

The wounded Nazgul pilot staggered out of the hanger and to the adjacent medics facility.  He was greeted by an older man.  The medic had grey and hair and a non-protocol bushy mustache, standing at about 5'8" and broad shouldered.  "What can I for ya son?"

Darius reached up and released the clasps of his armor.  The thick plates dropped to the deck with a clank and blood began to drip onto the floor from the blaster wound.  "Shit son! You've been shot!" exclaimed the doctor and upon him saying that, a young nurse looked up from the sick patient she was dealing with, looked at Darius, and rushed to gather the proper equipment.  Darius pulled off his shirt and thinsuit top, revealing a pale, tone muscular torso with a blood soaked bandage and a bleeding wound.  He hopped onto the examiner's table and laid down.  The doctor went to work cleaning the wound with a painful antiseptic and sealed the wound with a bacta-laced liquid stitch, upon Darius demand, otherwise he would have been thrown into the bacta tank.  Next, he dressed the wound and tried to force Darius to sign a medical form forcing him into bed rest.  The Nazgul knocked the clipboard out of the doctor's hand.

Once Darius had returned to the hanger all of the ships except for his and the racks of TIE fighters had left, being forced to move to the auxiliary hanger for storage.  Captain Porcema was waiting for him at the edge of his ship's ramp.  He saluted to her.  "Warrant Officer 2nd Class Darius Pursius," she started in formality, "You have been granted this side journey to the Atrus."  She handed him a small datapad.  "Here are the coordinates of the ship and the hyperlanes you must travel for security purposes.  Do not deviate from the given course or you will be reprimanded and punished, potentially court marshalled for your actions.  Do you understand me?"

"Yes ma'am," Darius said.

She pulled him close by the shoulder of his armor, "off the record, whatever you did to her that has made her want to be away from you, you better pray that I don't find out that it is something I don't approve of, or I will make your life a living hell while you are on my ship."  Her piercing glance had no effect on Darius.  He had endured worse and didn't take kindly to threats.

"Off the record ma'am," he said in her ear.  "I don't take kindly to threats, especially the kind that you just made."  He walked onto his ship and raised the ramp.  The captain stepped aside and watched as the craft left the hanger.  She turned sharply on her heel and returned to the bridge.

As he was about to enter hyperspace, Darius pulled the tracking device from under his chair and examined it.  Imperial make...small, black, and active.  He activated his hull scrambler and the second tracking device was destroyed, sliding off of the hull in drifted into space.  Darius put the device he had found under his chair and put it in the air-lock and spaced it.  She's not happy to have the Nazguls, he thought to himself, and pulled the lever to enter hyperspace, noticing that Layren had returned to their quarters.

******Later******

Darius had made the round trip faster than it should have taken.  He had entered hyperspace on the right course, but exited, deviated, approached close to the Atrus, exited, and returned back on the course he should have taken.  While doing so, he had written a letter and stuffed it in Layren's bag, then laid them next to the ramp.  The husband he was remained hopeful that she would at least give him a kiss good-bye, but he didn't even get the pleasure of a farewell.  When he landed in the Atrus' hanger, she left immediately.  He had to watch in sorrow as she walked slowly, dragging her feet, from the Punisher straight to their permanent quarters aboard the SSD, not even glancing back.  With a heavy sigh, he had lifted off, and returned back to his fellow Nazguls. 

His training kicked in, and while among them, he showed no sign of sadness or depression from the seperation, just a missing wife and a letter she had written him, hidden in the breastplate of his armor.

******Back to present time******

Shazam entered his quarters and found a datapad with all the information a squadron leader needed.  On it were the directions to his office, which every squadron leader needed.  He exited his quarters and walked to the end of the hallway.  The leader opened the door to find a scourched deckplate sitting atop several empty storage crates in an empty maintenance closet.  His chair was an empty drum of engine lubricant.  A glowrod hung from the ceiling, barely providing enough light to do any paperwork.  He let out a great sigh and muttered, "what have I gotten myself into."

-----------------------
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men to do nothing. --Edmund Burke
-----------------------
FL/WO2 Darius Pursius/Nazgul 2-1/mSSD Atrus/Defensive Fleet/VEN/VE (=A=) [VC:B] [*CB*] [SWC]

Upon arrival, Trevor and Tokijin had been assigned seperate quarters, which he was somewhat thankful for. Although they were in a relationship, and had known eachother for a while, and were getting more comfortorable being together and close to each other, sleeping together was something that neither was comfortorable with. This had been proven at the start of the vacation when through the combined actions of those aboard the Real Bebop had caused them to have to sleep in the same bed.

Never the less, both seemed to be spending a good amount of time in each others room, watching holo`s, playing cards, talking, or whataver activity they could find to relieve bordem. It was a somewhat effective stratagy, but bordem still managed to get ahold of them.

"You win again..." Trevor said, totaly unsurprised, as he threw his cards down on the makeshift table they had set up on the floor and leaned back on his elbows. "We need something else to do." He sighed, playing with a small hole near the bottom of the T-shirt he was wearing.

"Yeah..but what?" She said, setting her cards down and beginning to shuffle the deck again. when she was finished she set the deck down on the table and stood up. She began pacing back and forth in the small room, then sat down on the bed. "Maybe they`ve got simulators or something we could use?" She said, perking up slightly at her idea.

"Yeah! That`d be pretty fun. But I don`t wanna bug the captain or Shazam or anything...I`d bet both of them are busy with stuff." Trevor said, sitting back up again. Bugging Shazam for something would have been fine with him, but considering the man was probably busy, he figured it best to leave him alone. And Speaking to a captain he did not know about something as unimportant as a source of entertainment for two pilots didn`t appeal much to him either.

"Well..We could always go and try and find it ourselves! That could be fun in itself." Tokijin said, getting more excited as the time went on. Exploring a new ship appealed to her, and being able to explore with Trevor insted of just by herself made it even more appealing.

"Yeah, sounds good to me." Trevor replied as he got up and dusted himself off. Hemade his way to the door and hit the access, and waved his arm, guestering for Toki to leave ahead of him. He followed her as she walked out and the door closed behind them. The pair made a right and started off down the hallway, watching for a door that had a nameplate having anything to do with training. After walking down four or five more hallways, they finally found a training room. Tokijin pressed the access, but insted of the door opening, it made a small, annoyed sounding beep. She pressed again but recieved another beep, then noticed a small slot under the acess.

"Darn..We need key cards..." She said in a mocking whiney voice, looking at him pleadingly for some way to get them into the room.He let out a small sigh and moved towards the panel. dropping down to one knee he popped the panel off. He handed it to her and she took it, almost dropping it because she thought it would be lighter then it was. Trevor played with a few wires and then the board sparked and a small puff of smoke a[[eared, but the door slid open. He replaced the wires and took the panel back, pressing it back into place.

She stepped through the door and he followed closly, then closed the door behind them. The lights had come on when the door slid open, and a line of simulator machines sat side by side, all humming quietly to themselves.

"Any ideas for a scenerio or something?" Trevor asked as he stepped up to the main simulator, ready to enter whatever scenario Toki`s heart desired.

"I`m not sure, maybe set us up with an Interceptor each against maybe...5 X-wings or something?" She suggested, and he punched it in on the keyboard. "And in space too!" She said excitedly. He nodded and selected the environment to be space before hitting 'OK'. The machine beeped at him and he realized he had not set the difficulty. Figuring they could use a challenge, he set it on 'Hard' and hit 'OK' again. This time the machine made an acceptance tone and began a countdown until the scenerio started. Trevor and Tokijin both quickly hopped into sepert sim' pods and waited for it to start.
 
-----------------------
FL/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

  Do I really own this much stuff? Hunter questioned himself, as he finished unpacking what he needed from his bag. He had left most of it in the bag and had only removed what he would need from day to day. Checking to make sure Zurth was busy and looking the other way, Hunter quickly pulled out one of his "tools" and pocketed it. Picking up a datapad and comlink, Hunter turned to Zurth and said, "I'm going to go wander around the ship for a bit."

    "Can I join? I'm almost finished here." Zurth asked, beginning to just throw things haphazardly out of his bag.

  You can't escape humanity all the time Hunter. Let him join you. "Uh, sure. Almost finished?" Hunter asked. Ducking down as a flying pair of socks soared at him, Hunter edged back from Zurth's range.

    "Oops, sorry about that one." With a final shrug, Zurth just zipped up the bag and turned to Hunter. "I'm ready."

    Nodding, Hunter pressed the doors access button and stepped into the hall. Once in the hallway, he looked left and right, before deciding a random direction to go. As they walked down the hall, Hunter asked, "Did you really need to unpack your whole bag?"

    "No, but I thought it would be fun to see if I could hit you with something random," Zurth responded with a laugh. Hunter grinned on the outside but failed to really see the humor in it. He had never seemed to find the humor in anything for a very long. As they continued their trek through out the ship, Zurth continued to carry on a conversation with Hunter, though it was mostly one sided. They finally found themselves in the engine room. "Where to next?"

    "I think I'll stay here for awhile. See if I can lend a hand in some way," Hunter said and started to walk away. "I heard this ship was damaged in their last battle, maybe I can help with something."

    Zurth stood at the door for a moment then called after Hunter, saying, "I think I'll go meet our new squadron. Uh, catch up to you later?" But Hunter was already out of ear shot.

    Letting his feet do the guiding, Hunter looked around at the varying machines and power units. Almost everything was concealed behind durasteel panels, but some of them had been removed for minor repairs. Blinking lights and cables could be seen everywhere he looked. A few technicians and engineers were hunched over terminals or bring tools to people whose lower bodies were only visible protruding from beneath even more terminals. From what Hunter could see, tools seemed to be in great absence. Some men had to create ingenious ways to work with what they had.

  A loud bang to his right caught Hunter's attention. Turning to see what had happened, he found a man slamming his fist against a control panel in frustration. As he walked over, Hunter looked the man over. He didn't look to have slept in days, due to his unkempt hair and the bags beneath his eyes. His clothes might have resembled something decent awhile ago, but the build up of stains had marred it forever. "What seems to be the problem?" Hunter asked, looking over the man's shoulder.

  "This stupid computer won't do what I've told it to do countless times. I've been trying to fix it for an hour now. I can't get the system over ride to work. The code got scrambled in the last attack and the machinery won't respond now. If I don't get this working, then we're in trouble."

    "How so?"

    "Well, if anything starts to get out of hand, cooling, heating, excess power feeds-well, you get the picture- then I won't be able to over ride the system and shut what's wrong down. We could do it manually, but that takes too long. Why am I telling you this anyways? Who are you?" The man finally realized he was talking to a perfect stranger.

    "I'm Ridley "Hunter" Vandate. I'm part of Nazgul squadron. I also happen to know a thing or two about computer system terminals and the like. Mind if I take a look?" Hunter asked.

    "Well, I'm not accustomed to letting people work on my own machinery, but I'm stumped. Go ahead, though don't worry if you can't fix it."

    Right... Hunter thought absently as he moved into position and laid his hands against the control panel. Taking a moment to breath, Hunter slowly brought his mind to bear completely on the task at hand. The world seemed to disappear to his eyes and ears. All that existed was the virtual world of this computer system. Though his hands were doing the work and making the system follow his commands, Hunter just thought what he wanted to do. His hands had done this so many times that it had turned to reflex.

  Stepping away from the panel, he said, "Done. It should work now."

  The man's jaw dropped slightly as he pushed Hunter aside to stare at the terminal in disbelief. "How... How did you do this?"

  "I re-routed the virtual pathways and bypassed the failed systems. You also have a mechanical malfunction which was a pain to get around. You might want to fix it. It's in that vicinity." Hunter waves his hand off to the left.

  "But you were only there ten minutes."

  "Yeah I know. It took me way too long. Well, have anything else I can look at? I'm sorta bored, and I have a little time before I have to be anywhere."

    The man's eyes lit up. He now had another tool at his disposal, even if it was a living person. "Yes. Right this way. I'm still shocked. How do you know how to do all this? I thought you said you were a pilot?"

  "I wasn't always a pilot. No, I was somewhat of a computer expert a long time ago." A very long time ago. It seems almost like a second life now.

(OOC Yeah, so, first post in awhile. If anything is really wrong, let me know. Hunter used to be a slicer, so he does know how to do this stuff legitimately. Gotta rewrite my bio so you guys can know his past... )

 
-----------------------
NazgulSquadron
Chief Petty Officer Hunter

FM/CPO Hunter/Nazgul 6/Pheonix Wing/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE (=*A*=) (=*SA*=) (VC:B)

Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will be victorious in ten thousand battles.
You may forget the past, but it always has a way of haunting your future.
Men can die, but a symbol is eternal.

Raigen decided to see what the heck was going on. Nothing on this ship was working correctly, and now the keypads on the ship were broken. He had finished the check on his ship and needed to go to the bathroom but he had been locked out of the restrooms...Why would the restrooms be locked? Raigen pulled a tech by the collar and over to him, what were the odds? It was the same girl from earlier. "Hey, ow that hurt!" she said in her high pitched voice. Raigen sighed and let go.

"I'm sorry, it's just, nothing on this ship is working right!" Raigen said as he crossed his arm and stared down at the girl.

"No reason to go and pull my shirt. Hey, you're the..." she said as she studied Raigen's face,"Hi, I'm Tara."

"Raigen, I'm a pilot with..." Raigen managed to utter before being pulled by his own collar over to a wiring panel.

"IF...the bridge was the heart of the ship, than these would be the main arteries. These wiring conduits took a bad hit...now nothing seems to work right...especially the keypads and computers, but some other hot sot pilot is fixing that I hear..." Tara said. Hunter Raigen thought. "Anyway, someone must have broken one of the keypads because none of the others will work. The idiots who wired them put them in a circular pattern instead of a series and if one fails they all fail! Think you can handle this?"

Raigen blinked, he had never dealt with something on this scale. "The conduits could be fixed, sure, but it would take time, the keypads are a different story." Raigen said. If they were in a circle...anyone of them could be the problem. How do you find the broken led when they are all off. "The power is going to them fine, but the information is corrupted!"

"What does that mean?" Tara asked.

"What do you think it means, someone broke into the system. What you need to do is go to the computer terminal that runs the security system and reset the power is all, maybe even the access codes. When the information feed was cut the logging and settings and such were all corrupted. This is a computer job, not a tech job." Raigen said.

"I guess, but what about the damaged wiring?"

"Take it one hall at a time. Reroute the signals going through the hall you are working on around with a temporary cable and then do the repairs. I could help if you want," Raigen said before he was ushered off by Tara and her work group.

*Many Long Hours Later*

"Fire! Fire!" Raigen called from inside the wall. One of the some twenty odd techs watching Raigen work handed him a CO2 gin and backed off as cold, white gas sprayed and filled the air between the walls. Raigen pulled himself from the crawl space with his arm covering his face and coughing.

"So...?" Tara asked eagerly.

"Done, that's everything on the list for this work crew."

"You did the work of twenty men in half the time!" Tara said before wrapping her arms around Raigen and squeezing in a large wookie-ish hug. Raigen squeaked a little and blinked. The last time he had even touched a women was...after he and Gremman escaped Korriban. And that ended terribly.

Either way, a hug leading to a relationship would be thinking prematurely...or was it immaturely. Raigen didn't know...he couldn't think with the circulation to his head being cut off by the hug. Fortunately, Tara slowly let go and began to blush. Raigen let out a short cough followed by a yawn and closed up the wall panel as the crowd began to spread out and go back to their own business. "I'll see you around Raigen!" Tara said before disappearing.

Raigen yawned and walked off to find his squadron members. He was walking past the simulators when he saw Toki and Trevor a ways ahead. He didn't know quite who they were, but had seen them around the Atrus multiple times. He decided to go ahead but stopped as he passed his barracks. Raigen pooped inside and came out with a large disk like piece of metal with a cylindrical eye. He poked the eye and the pit droid popped to life, looking around curiously and then looking up to Raigen. The droid gave a sloppy, robotic salute(yes it's contradictory) and beeped. Raigen pointed to Toki and Trevor who were now gaining distance and getting away from Raigen's position. The droid nodded, signaling that it understood, and went off to follow the two.

The pit droid, CK2, started in a run, but slipped and fell on its face. SeeKay quickly recovered and ran off after the two. A live feed from the eye of the pit droid was sent to Raigen's wrist com. SeeKay kept running to catch up and nearly ran into a crowd of techs. The droid stopped and locked its knees before launching itself in a jump over the crowd and after Toki and Trevor. When the two pilots finnaly came to a stop, SeeKay stood half behind a wall and watched the two. For about ten minutes, Raigen watched the feed, bored and annoyed, trying to figure out what was going on. He switched the com over to Kaythree, "Kaythree, have OneBee come onboard. I may need some...company!" The droid beeped and the feed went back to Toki and Trevor.

"Hey! Come`ere."


-----------------------
FM/SCRW Raigen/Nazgul 1-3/Phoenix Wing/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE (=*A*=) [VC:B]

It'd been so long since he'd seen the room that he'd almost passed it off as another storage department, some random area where the inhabitants had dumped suppllies, dirty laundry and anything else unworthy of thier time.  Then, upon closer inspection, he recognized the defined outline of the revolving leather chair Shazam's father practically lived in every day of his childhood.  Hermes, the captain of the ship and Shazam's uncle, had preferred to do the 'dirty' work.  Icos, on the other hand, had a slightly different approach to the term...

Shazam had grown up nameless, and that was really Icos's job, that is to ensure that fact.  Rather than being called a name that was symbolic or passed down from an elder, Shazam had hundreds of names, each of which left his memory when it was no longer of any use to him.  Hermes was a particularly level headed fellow, but some would have called his avenue to the inconspicuous as maddening; yet he made it work.  After every smuggling job, the records and IDs that had been used during the job were totally erased, curtosy of Icos and some rare devices Hermes had gathered for just this reason.  Then, at the start of another run, new IDs were created, fingerprint scans modified in various database as well as eye sensory equipment impaired by use of protect equipment or new signatures...  They were certainly on top of thier game then... 

For the next three hours Shazam went through the cluttered library of his father's office, though it supposebly belonged to Hermes.  He'd found the chair secured stiffly in place, a precaution used to prevent damage in the case of an attack, predominetly those where the chair would have otherwise flown across the room.  On either side of the chair and desk, the desk being made of a dark stubborn wood that had also been painstakingly screwed into the ground, were walls that extended inward with what looked to be filing cabinets.  These 'cabinets' were actually entire memory compartments that the droids appeared to have kept in good condition; perhaps they'd felt sympathy for like machinery, Shazam had thought. 

Every foot or so along each wall was another data-storage unit, but Shazam had often wondered exactly what it was that had been kept within.  After all, hadn't Icos made sure all records and transactions disappeared?  Never the less, creeping past the chair and running his hand across the first panel of databanks to his right, he let himself make one more sweep of the room before continuing.  Noting that nothing seemed out of the ordinary, save the fact that the place was spotless, which had been very uncommon eight years ago, Shazam found a the handle to one of the compartments.  Giving it a strong yank backwards, the cabinet purst open, a long tray of glowing equipment.  The computer core made hurried transmissions, blinking information from one end of its system to the other in a flash of silent blue light.  Holding the cabinet in place at waste level, Shazam dropped to his knees so he could closer inspect the information centers before finding the computer ID and three long cords trailing into the wall beyond...

Shazam nearly fell backward as a blue hologram appareted above the databank, the seal of some foreign company rotating slowly in its center.  "Password Please."  The monotonous tone was almost mocking as Shazam realized he couldn't possibly know the password and that the rest of the data on board was probably protected in a similar way.

Just as he was about to go grab one of the R2 units for some assistance there was a sharp beep from his hip.  What the..  Un-clasping the com unit at his hip, the commander thumbed the switch and said- "Shazam here- what can I do ya for?"

"Sir-" not this kid... "I've aquired the papers that were to be sent down from the command bridge- you requested them aboard your ship?"  The voice of the young man halted as if an instant confirmation were necessary in order for him to continue... 

"I believe that's correct; you can come right in the tunnel- the hatch should be un-locked..."  Papers?  Oh no...  Yes, he'd ordered the young man to forward anything to his ship but he hadn't been expecting such an engrossing endeavor; to be interupted now...  For a moment he considered shooing him away and telling him to throw Porcema's court marshall back in her face, but then re-considered...  Striding out of the office, calling for any astromech droid all the while, he made his way to the hatch where the dark haired, slightly tanned young man with nice white teeth and an innocent smile stood. 

"This is an incredible ship, sir.  I've never seen a single pilot own a craft so large..."  Shazam returned the salute and the compiment with-

"I wasn't always a pilot..."  He allowed the young man to become a little easier, cracking a smile before saying- "So you have some documents for me, Mr?"

He stood up straighter while handing out the documents in a metal case, saying "Leading Crewman Neyon, Sir.  The documents you requested are right here..."  Shazam smile and thanked him before giving a careful nod as he opened the case and examined the 'documents.'  Surpringly, he didn't see bright red ink of an imperial notice slip, but the blue ink of a misconduct letter.  Neyon stood there quietly as the commander flipped up the page to review yet another blue slip.  Shazam's eyebrows arched in frustration as he then flipped this sheet up to reveal a third, blue slip... 

"When were these ordered, crewman?"  He didnt look up as he flipped and saw his own court marshall in red. 

"They were all sent down at once sir, approximately twenty standard minutes ago..."  The young man continued to glance around the spotless interior of the ship, the metal floors polished where scuff marks had once traced every srface in a heavy cross-hatch.

"All of them you say?"  Shazam flipped to the last page and suddenly looked up.  "Were these sent down from the captain?" 

"Yes, sir..."  The crewman seemed nervous now that Shazam had lost some of his comorting smile, allowing himself to see underneath the cool exterior and into the bitterness blistering beyond the surface.

"You're dismissed... Thankyou..."  He gave the crewman a quick salute and waited until he was through the hatch and out of sight before giving the wall a stern kick.  The echoed tone that reverberated down the hallway seemed to signify his righteous outrage at the final form.  The black lettering was still there when he blinked his eyes, as if they were imprinted upon the lids...

He gave another stern kick, the steel in the toe keeping him from hurting himself as the C-series droid hobbled into the entry way.  "Sir- do you need assistance!"

Shazam stepped back from the wall and closed the case with the documents, running one hand through his hair quickly and shooting an annoyed glance up toward the ceiling as if it would penetrate the hull of his craft and drop Porcema in her tracks like a stray blaster bolt.

"Let everyone know that there's some data banks in the library that need to be broken into- my orders should over-ride the circuity for self destruct or whatever it is they have...  Just make sure they don't blow everythin to hell..."  The droid bowed and turned to walk away as Shazam said- "I'll be back...  Someday." 

***

Entering the bridge quietly as if he wasn't familier with such a busy place, Shazam strode toward the nearest array and asked one of the techs where he might find 'the Cap'n.'  Finding his way through the laberynth of panels, he managed to locate the door leading to Porcema's quarters, but he didn't need to knock.  The door flew to the side suddenly as the blonde came out, stating rather triumphantly-  "So you've already filled out the papers- good to see you're efficient..."  She held the tone, allowing it to satisfy whatever past pains she'd kept in hold.  Then Shazam seemed to break off contact, his eyes wandering around the vast bridge as if he'd caught something in the air.  Then he stopped, his eyes clutching the array directly to his left.  Glancing from Porcema back to the array, he whipped his hand up, then dragged his forefinger across the surface holding it up for inspection once he was done.

"Glad to see you keep your ships as clean as your record, Captain..."  The dark smudge refused to come off so the commander ran it across his pant leg before continuing- "or does poor equipment upkeep qualify as a breach of vessel safety conduct?"  Porcema looked at him hard as if not sure of what to expect, then said-

"If you're insulting me you've only dug yourself into a deeper hole..."

"Right- I suppose I'll just go fill out your reports then make some of my own..."  Shazam began to turn, but Porcema barked-

"Commander- I'd like to hear about these reports."  She let the cool edge of her voice become sharper as if in warning, but Shazam knew it from his days in the Academy.

"Oh....  In that case I'll send you a copy of each safety hazard so you can fix 'em.  In the meantime, HC'll be gettin a notice about some particularly dangerous practices..."

"Cut it out or I'll red-card you for dismissal..."  She looked even sharper now, aware that she was being threatened.

"Kind of like how you just sent in a suspension for my entire squadron?  Might I remind you that the Navy is making a push to the core, and needs every fighter group it can get?"  She nearly cut in but Shazam continued-  "Then again, maybe they'll be more interested in my summary of how you allowed an un-trained pilot to handle systems that feed into your entire ship- those are grounds for dismissil if something were to go wrong...  Or have I been mistaken?"  She sat in silence, considering exactly where she had gone wrong until she remembered the annoying pilot who'd requested a new hydrospanner... 

"Enough of the pleasentries commander- Your threats are as pathetic as your career- come back when you have my papers..." 

"I happen to think my career's been rather impressive..." he stepped forward- "But I suppose you're right..." he smiled innocently before saying- "What could I possibly prove with at least three witnesses, four reports on repairs, five signatures and one official message from you to do the job?"  Shazam chuckled at her silence, then added- "Music to my ears...  Kind of reminds me of..."  He stopped suddenly- his voice had grown in volume and the look of horror on Porcema's face as various memories ran through her mind made her flinch. Shazam wasn't a mean guy and he knew that Porcema was probably a decent commander, but he just didn't like to be treated like dirt- "See to it that the report on my squadron disappears as well as anything concerning its members- primarilly those having mention of Darius Pursius, Tokijin and Trevor Evenson..."  He held her gaze- her face was rigid, her arms across her chest and the eyes suddenly aged. 

"Get off my bridge..."  Shazam nodded, winked and spun off to go deal with his squadron...

***

"All crews are ready for the jump, Sir."  The squat fellow in the New Republic uniform appeared satisfied with the news as he gave a solemn nod toward his superior officer.

"Excellent- we'll actually have some good news to report in this sector.  Initiate the jump sequence..."  Commander Eemon Heap stood at the railing anxiously, ready to do some damage for the first time in months.  It'd been at least half a year since the Imperial raid that had forced them to create a patrol force out in this dreadfully quiet territory of space...  He hadn't seen his wife in at least eight standard months, letting her stay with the kids back on Coruscant where they were supposed to be getting all the benefits of a Captain's role in the New Republic Navy.  Though he hadn't served dreadfully long, he'd been around during the fall of the second Death Star and even had a mitigated role in a battle with Iceheart's starfleet. 

"Making the jump to lightspeed, commander..."  The squat man returned to one of the stations as the two corellian gunships, the Patent and Rebel Logic respectivelly, flanked the Red Anchor.  The name had been chosen, Eemon remembered, because those trying to listen in might misunderstand and hear 'Red Anger,' while the meaning had actually been to be the bright anchor of the New Republic.  Of course, fleets filled with thousands of starfighters and ships claimed to be such a symbol, but Heap believed that single craft were a greater expression of this hope...

The stars traced into thin lines as the commander turned away and asked- "ETA?" 

"The road to Messarri will take under an hour, sir: approximately fiftey seven minutes."  Messari...  It'd been under its heaviest inspection for the last three weeks- the planet had been picked up by scanners a little over a year ago, but only a month ago did the specialist realize the gasses from the planet were being withdrawn...  It was thier job to stop them and find out exactly what it was they were withdrawing...  Not the most heroic cause, but Heap would take it over another day of "equipment checks..."  The infallible name given to onboard training exercises and meaningless exams...  He tried to quiet the little voice feeding him this cyncical information, but he decided no armgument was necessary- they would be in battle soon and the New Republic would gain a new asset.  What do you have for us Messari?  The commander continued to his quarters...

***

"I don't know exactly how correct any of these reports are guys, but we need to keep out heads low and tread softly- these people don't like us here..."  Jaden had just gotten done looking over the reports himself, not necessarilly disgusted but surprised that they'd been in trouble over such a short period.

"Its the captain- not the crew, commander..."  Hunter noted on one of the bunks.  The newly formed Nazgul squadron sat in an oval within Shazam's quarters, or his 'office.' 

"Either way we're temporarilly out of business- I managed to keep us from getting written up but you can bet she won't be sending us out on any patrols.  Chances are the simulators are going to go mysteriously unfixed as well."  Shazam made eye contact with everyone so that they caught his vibe then added- "And no more breaking and enterings.  Even if the captains' a bit edgy, we shouldn't be making the crews work harder than they have to.  So- stop taking things apart..."

"Am I still allowed to make repairs?"  Art let one eyebrow drift up in question as Jaden nodded-

"I'm surprised you're not done yet!"

"Yea well- some fool tech was working on power conversions a couple of hallways down and restored equillibrium throughout the ship..." then he added- "While I was working on it..."  Hunter seemed awefully silent as Tokijin said:

"Don't go getting electricuted Art..."  She smiled like a ditzy blonde as Art turned a downcast look on her.

"And what do we do in the meantime?"  Raigen suddenly spoke up.  Shazam had limited experience with the pilot but he'd know he was a little rebellious from comments Jaden had made.  Never the less, he gave him a level look and said-

"Be creative..."  Raigen snorted as Zurth said-

"Does that include surprises, sir?"  Shazam chuckled at the Twi'lek...

"Not unless you wanna feel just how hot those cannons can get..."

"Aye sir..." he answered as the group joined in and made 'ewwww' sounds, slowly rising to exit the room. 

"Team dinner tonight, by the way!"  Jaden shouted as the group left, but was suddenly cut off...  There was a shrill wine, then a hollow, reverberating klaxon that seemed to enter every mind, intoxicating it- the whale of alarms.  The team seemed to freeze in thier confined space, the white walls encasing them as they all held their breath.  It was as if they were unsure of what the sound was, then it registered with Shazam and Jaden and they began shoving everyone along, re-animating them at once.  The white walls became red as they entered the hallways-

"Go! Go!  Get to the hanger!"  Shazam shouted over the sudden burst in activity around the ship.

"Shaz- what are we flyin?" Jaden asked from his left as they waved everyone through the doorway, making sure they hadn't missed anyone.  Neither of them had expected getting in a fighter for a week at least, and this just mocked them so ironically that Shazam had to smile-

"Anything with four wheels and a running board!"  He stopped Art before Jaden could answer- "I thought you said you had work to do- what type of work?"

"The important kind!"  Shazam nodded to Art and patted him on the back.

"Get goin, then!"  The red lights flashed across the hallways as the alarms seemed to grow louder, a new voice over the com now.

"Give 'em hell!"  Art ran off down the corridor after a stiff nod from Shazam.  The voice from the speakers overhead continued the same notice three times-

"Rebel ships have jumped into our airspace- everyone to thier stations- Rebel ships have entered our airspace..." 

"Lets ride, commander!"  Shazam and Jaden were suddenly sprinting down the halls, cutting through the other hoards of crewman in an attempt to reach the hanger.  Suddenly Shazam found himself wondering exactly what it was they were up against and then a thought re-occurred to him...  Didn't one of the implications in his court marshall include that he could have drawn enemy ships to Messari?  Then he though- I'm sure they have insurance...
 
-----------------------
*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

(introducing the NPC for my flight, Nazgul 8)

Kevin Durwith sat in the dimly lit pilots lounge, sipping on glass of Corellian ale in disappointment.  It was a real glass, but a synthsized duplicate without the alcohol.  The whole ship had been enduring prohibition since its last slugging match with enemy forces, not wanting a depressed mechanic to drink away their problems then attempt to fix a vital system.  Though, Kevin could withstand the bland concoction for now.  New to the ship, he spent most of his time in the lounge, looking for another sorrowful soul to share a drink with and play sabacc, but they were few and far apart.  He hated the ship, the captain, the food, and well...just about everything at the moment. 

News had spread throughout the ship that Nazgul had arrived from vacation, but he had yet to come across his new flight leader. Figuring that most pilots would have frequented the lounge and he stayed there hoping to come across this Darius character.  Kevin had been transferred immediately after the decision to combine Aegis and Nazgul had been made, forcing him to leave his defensive squadron on one of the VEN aging victory-class Star Destroyers, Intrepid, and reside on a newer, but smaller, less maintained strike cruiser.

He had seen some combat in his days, and he was considered a very excellent pilot, one of the few aces in his former squadron, but most of his combat had been fending off bold, stupid pirates or mercenary groups who thought they could score a VSD from a lightly defended sector, now that the VE was pushing coreward.  Now he was part of something bigger, but not to his liking.  Yes, he was closer to action and part of one of the most prestigious squadrons in the Navy, but it wasn't enought for him.  He wanted more, and he wasn't going to get it yet.

The door retracted into its cubby with the Imperial-syle speed and an armored figure armed to the teeth wearing a black cloak stood at the doorway, but a red light accompanied by a fire alarm errupted, taking the man's attention.  He let out a sigh and grabbed a fire extinguisher off of the wall and started yelling at several mechanics in a cold, emotionless voice that tempted to throw shivers down Kevins back.  He repressed the action and thought, that couldn't have been him, could it?  Kevin shook his head and dismissed the thought of a pilot wearing fancy combat armor and armed as that man was and returned to his drink.  Must be lost.

*************

The klaxon broke Darius' train of thought as he was cleaning the barrel of his Marksmen E-11.  With a smile he thought, this is why you practice Darius.  The had been completely disassembled and was lying in pieces all over the floor.  Seven seconds later, the gun was assembled, oiled, clean, and the power pack was charged.

Standing up on his feet, he pulled at the neck of his cloak and let the article float to the floor of his quarters, then proceeded by hitting the release clasp of his utility belt, letting his weapons and gear drop to the deck like a rock.  He quickly dashed to his closet and pulled out his pilots uniform and gear, pulling them on with trained and drilled speed he had reitorated at least once a week after he was placed in the navy.  Replacing the belt where it had been earlier, placing a hold-out blaster in his jacket, and slinging his E-11 over his shoulder with a tight gun-sling, he ran out of his room and sprinted to the hanger.

Darius' keen eyes spotted several other Nazgul prepping TIE interceptors as he burst through the door.  He ran up the stairwell and counted down to he fighter his and was disappointed to find it.  The TIE was an older model with no shields and two broad white stripes paints on the top half of each solar panel.  What stood out on the fighter worst was the gleaming surface of a new top-hatch against the black score marks that covered that rest of the fighter.  "Pick of the litter," Darius muttered to himself and opened it and started the prep.

Soon following, his flight came running up and ran to their fighters.    They gave Darius a quick, curious look over and then prepped their fighter just as Darius had done and came back to him.  "Welcome to Nazgul," he said in his cold, malicious voice.  "I'm your flight leader and you will follow my orders when pertaining combat maneuver, our flight, etcetera.  You don't need to know anything else about me, I'm done.  Keep a sharp eye and level head."

"Alright, about time we see a little Rebel action.  Can't wait to paint some of their fighters on my TIE!" Kevin exclaimed and was about to climb into his fighter, but was pulled out by Darius. 

"You respect your enemy.  I will have none of that boisterous talk in my flight," Darius said, holding Kevin by the collar.  Hunter and Zurth watched dumbfounded, standing on the acceleration couched of their TIEs.  "Carry on," Darius said and dropped Kevin.

Darius climbed into his own TIE and was suprised to find that it was running at peak efficiency and the seal on the hatch was holding.  Shazam and Jaden burst out, hesitantly followed by the other new members of Nazgul.  "Flight two check in fast!"

"Nazgul 6, two green."

"Nazgul 7, primed and ready."

With a shaking voice, "Nazgul 8, all in the green."

Darius dropped from his docking claw and shot through the magcon field to catch up with fight one.  "You know," he siad over the flight channel, "ever since we've been on this ship, I've noticed a lack of protocol being followed."
 
-----------------------
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men to do nothing. --Edmund Burke
-----------------------
FL/WO2 Darius Pursius/Nazgul 2-1/mSSD Atrus/Defensive Fleet/VEN/VE (=A=) [VC:B] [*CB*] [SWC]

"Captain three rebel capital ships ten kilometers to the stern.  Estimated speed 75 MGLT and closing fast; two Corellian Gunships and an unidentified frigate."  The Ensign staring over the tactical display reported.  The officer in charge of the ship's radar had been hit with a severe bug that had been passing through the ship before Nazgul had arrived on board.  All on board were being given preventative cocktails to contain the spread and fortunately the bug had mostly died out.  Given the shortage of supplies, including some medical supplies, that was positive news for all concerned.

"Lieutenant!"  The capatin shouted to Art as he ran up the stairs to the observation area on the bridge.  "Report to the systems officer immediately; you are now the communications officer."  She ordered.  The communications officer was still in the med bay as a result of minor electruction from the power spike in the communications control system that Art had begun to repair earlier.

"Yes Captain."  Art responded with a sharp click of his heels and a crisp salute.  When he had to be he could be very official and right now was most certainly a time to be official.  Art quickly made his way over to the systems officer; he was a lieutenant-commander in his mid-40s who appeared to have been assigned here for his experience as much as anything.  Given the circumstances experience was needed to try and balance a lack of resources; at the end of the day, however, Art believed that resources were key too and that the man's experience could hardly make up for the shortages on board.  To make matters worse, the systems officer was also doubling as the senior weapons control officer who had been recently transferred to another command as the push forward began and his deputy was a young Ensign who seemed to be slightly out of his league at times.  After some very brief words Art took his positions at the communications centre and received a report from the technician who had been temporarily manning it.

"All battlestations have reported in and are ready Commander."  Art immediately reported to the systems officer.  Given that the communications officer was absent and there was no deputy present Art was to handle both internal and external communications; in this case it meant that he would also have a direct line to Nazgul squadron.

"Seal all compartments, all ahead full, shields up."  Captain Porcema ordered.  The orders quickly relayed through the bridge.

"Commander, engineering reports that power levels on board are only seventy percent; we cannot go to full throttle and maximize our shields."  Art reported.

"How much shielding can he give us?"  Commander Davenport demanded.

"Sixty-five percent while at full throttle; at half throttle we can almost make and hold full shields during battle."  Art responded.

"Put engineering on the monitor."  Captain Porcema demanded.  Art snapped his fingers at one of the technicians and a few seconds later a holographic image appeared on the screen beside the viewport on the bridge.

"Captain."  The engineering officer said as he saluted.

"What the hell is wrong with the power supply now."  Captain Porcema demanded.

"I'm not sure; we had another power spike and one of the generators overheated resulting in the safety system to override it.  Until we can solve the problem we can't maintain full power."  The commander reported.

"Well fix it asap, until then get me 110% out of the rest of the system and bring us up to seventy-five percent throttle."  The Captain demanded; her eyes glared with such anger that if looks could kill the engineering officer would have been liquidated.

"Commander, bring our shields up to one hundred percent and order the gunners to standb-"

"Captain incoming fighters.  I count one squadron of A-Wings and six X-Wings.  The lead group is eight A-wings, it looks as though the rest are hanging back."

"Keep an eye on it Ensign; Lieutenant, order Nazgul to engage immediately.  Ensign if the rest of the fighters move towards us inform me at once.  How long until the capital ships intercept?"  The Captain demanded.

"At present speed three minutes, at full throttle five minutes max.  The two gunships are each a kilometer on either side of the frigate and it looks as though they are attempting to box in our rear."  The Ensign replied after staring at his monitor for a minute.

"Continue to update Ensign; Lieutenant Hargraves, instruct Nazgul to stay within three kilometers of the rear of this ship and to close in against us as the enemy approaches.  I don't want that squadron being unable to respond if the rest of the fighters try a torpedo run."

"Aye Captain."  Art responded.  He switched the microphone frequency to the general combat frequency.  "Nazgul One engage the lead A-Wings but stay within three kilometers of the ship.  Fall back to the stern as the rebels approach and be prepared to respond immediately if those X-wings begin an attack run."  Art ordered.

"Roger Faseo."  Shazam acknowledged.

-----------------------
WADJ, SPAC/2LT Corran "Arturus" Hargraves/SCR Doashim/VE/VEN/(=A=)(=SA=)(=*MA*=)(=JCPA=)(=SCPA=)[MC:1](x2)[SV][BRC][VC:B][CBV][GWC][LSM][LoC]


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

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

Jaden checked all of his monitors, and they all gave him the same missile warning.

"Those A-wings are armed with missiles, everyone break quick," said Jaden through the com system.

Just after finishing the message, more missile alerts came beeping in.  The squadron had been zoned in on now, and there was no way out of it.  Jaden immediately let off with the chaffs and banked to the port side, letting the missiles collide with the bits of the chaff, and saving his own hide in the process.  The small explosions behind the fighter flickered the shields, but it was nothing big.

"Forming up on your wing 1," said Jaden, bringing the fighter around to Shazams six.  The A-wings were broken out now, and they had seemed to pair up to take on their competition.  They were no rookie pilots, that was for sure, but yet they didn't seem as though they were at the ace capability.  Time to find out.

"I've marked targets one and two up on the targetting computer 1, lets go after them," said Jaden

"Alright, we're going in fast, they seem to be looping around for flight two.  Flight Two, break off your attack run immediately," said Shazam

The fighters were all in full dogfight, but Jaden couldn't help but see the X-wings hanging back in the fight.  They seemed to be getting ready for their first torpedoe run on the Strike Cruiser.  Not good.

Jaden fought to pull the fighter out of the arc and meet Page's acceleration.  The Hornet Interceptor seemed to have a little bit more juice this time, and met page within a couple of seconds.  Wow...didn't know you still had it in you...

Jaden brought up the first target on the computer as they came around behind the fighters from their Immelman.  He quickly switched back over to cannons and immediatly started firing at the fighters afts.  The shots were absorbed by the shields, but they did a large number of damage to them.  Both of the A-wings were now fluttering like butterflys all over, and their attack pattern had been interupted.  One of the A-wings seemed to pull away, so Jaden took his chance and switched over to missiles.  Within a couple of seconds, the lock was initiated, and the missiles were sent flying towards their target.  Jaden followed up the missiles with more cannon fire to throw the pilot off, and the distraction worked.  The fighter tore into pieces as the missiles collided with its hull.

Jaden spotted Shazam, the second target had now been inihilated.

"Job well done, Sir," said Jaden, "More targets coming up"

"Keep those targets lined in Two, the rest of the squadron seems to be having a hard time, lets get in there and get something done."
 
-----------------------
Jaden Khaar
NazgulSquadron
Naval Academy Executive Officer
-----------------------------------------------------------
SXO/CWO Jaden Khaar/Nazgul 1-2 (Nazgul 2)/Phoenix Wing/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE (=*A*=) (=*SA*=) (*=TE=*) [VC:S][LSM][SV][CBV](x2)
-----------------------------------------------------------
TXO/CWO Jaden Khaar/Venom 1-2 (Venom 2)/Phoenix Wing/Platform Saratoga/DEF/VEN/VE (=*A*=) (=*SA*=) (*=TE=*) [VC:S][LSM][SV][CBV](x2)

Trevor cracked his knuckles as he spotted the A-wings ahead of them. He could feel a slight butterfly sensation in his gut and welcomed it gladly, happy to once again feel adrenaline flowing through his veins. He waited a moment until he was sure he could feel a the slight tingling sensation all over before flicking his comm on.

"Alright 10, you ready to take these guys out?" Trevor asked Toki, giving his weapons systems a quick run-down and making sure his cannons were at full power.

"I dunno 9, I`m not use to this fighter." Tokijin replied, sounding uneasy, which surprised Trevor after her fine performance on their last actual mission. She had done very well, while he had almost died from heat.

"Well, you`re gunna have to work with it. not much we can do about it now." He told her and formed up a little tighter. One thing he had to be thankful for was that she at least had been around him long enough to understand his manuevers and know what to possibly expect from him.

Missile alerts started going off around him after a moment though, and he instinctivly made a sharp dive and swung the fighter to his left, away from Toki`s craft. He was glad to notice that Tokijin had done the complete opposite, pulling up hard and rolling right. He was also somewhat glad to notice that only one missile had been fired at them and it had decided to lock onto himself insted of Toki. Time to go.. He thought to himself as he pushed the accelorator forward and stomped on his left rudder pedal. It was a bit of a shock for him to have to pull his fighter`s nose up to avoid crashing into a missile that was streaking off after someone else, but his reflexes held up and he managed to avoid a nasty collision.

He then stomped on the right rudder pedal and pushed his yoke down before jerking it back up and initiating a right hand spin. The jerkiness of the manuever was enough to throw the missile off his tail and hurtle off towards nothing, detonating when its fuel supply reached almost nothing.

"Sorry Toki! You need a hand?" Trevor asked quickly as he scanned the space for his partner-in-crime and flight-mate. he did not spot her and could feel the palms of his hands start to sweat but let out a sigh of relief when he heard her voice squeak out over the comm.

"I`m fine, one of the A-wings got on my tail but I shook him off and got him!" She told him, soudning a bit proud of herself at the end of her sentance. Toki was an excellent pilot, but seemed to gather kill counts much lower then those she flew with, making a kill for herself all that much more of a moment. She seemed to spend more time assisting other people`s kills, taking out shields, but didn`t get the actual kill shot herself all to often.

"Good work, thats one down. Lets get ourselves s`more, where are you?" He queried, still scanning the space around him for her. He was a bit surprised when he looked directly to his left and noticed her fighter speeding along calmly next to his.

"I`m beside you silly." She said in a joking voice, but quickly turned serious. "We`ve got two more coming up ahead of us. You ready?" She asked, and Trevor felt slightly stunned. Thats gotta be the third time she`s surprised me so far. Normaly its me who`s asking her things like that.

"Yeah, I`m good to go." He replied and began targeting one of the fighters with the TIEs cannons. a missile lock alarm went off inside his cockpit but he ignored it, linking his twin cannons and firering off a quick burst of shots, which were absorbed on the A-wings shields, emitting bright bursts of light which momentarily blinded the pilot. This cause dhim to lose his lock on Trevor.

Tokijin was dealing with her enemy a different way. Her craft had a pair of missiles, less then a regular VE craft would have but still missiles. She had one of them armed and ready, and using the quad cannons of her Interceptor quickly obliterated the shields of the second A-wing. This was followed by a quick flick of her thumb which let the missile fly. The blue orb streaked through the empty space, crashing through the transperisteel of the cockpit, effectivly destroying the craft. Toki let out a whoop and then laughed at herself. Nothing to get too excited about. She told herself.

Trevor was too busy to notice Tokijin`s second kill within 2 minutes, having to drop low to avid a head on collision with the blinded pilot. He fliped back around and turned to face the fleeing A-wing, lettings its aft shields have a volley of green let onto them. They dropped pretty quickly though, and it was this that caused the fighter to lose an engine. The shield generator had not been exhasted, but had overloaded and fried part of the engine systems. The A-wing started a counterclockwise spin, but this was only temporary.

The fuel that had been pooling in the engine`s ignition chamber had grown hot and decided to get sucked out towards the second engine. The engine ignited the fuel, causing a trail of flame to shoot into the fighter`s first engine. The resulting explosion was more then Trevor had expected, and he pulled up before even being able to see it through to its finish.

"Alright, looks like one and two are- ...shit!" Trevor exclaimed as he checked his radar. A flight of three x-wings were speeding towards the Faseo. Oh great, they`re on a torpedo run, no doubt. This is gunna be interesting. He thought to himself as he brought his fighter around in a tigh loop.

"Alright Toki, we`ve got a new target." Trevor explained, making sure the X-wings were highlighted for her on her radar and targeting computer. "We`re taking down that trio of X-wings, think we need help?"

"Well...." Toki replied slowly, apperently in though. "No. We can take `em." She said, a burst of confidence in her voice showing. Maybe her getting those kills by herself has helped her realize she`s pretty good. Trevor thought to himself.

"`Atta girl! This is Nine and Ten, we`re going to take down the first flight of X-wings trhat are currently making a run on the Faseo. Eleven and Twelve, I want you to stay here and help the rest of the squadron with the A-wings." Trevor ordered.

"Roger that." Jack replied, followed by an 'OK' from Sharron. Trevor assumed they would do fine and then formed up next to Tokijin, praying that the two of them would be alright going up against three X-wings.

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

Jack had been facing his own set of trials so far during the battle. During his first few minutes, his shields had been knocked down from not escapaing a chaff-missile explosion, and he then had to remember to watch out for Sharron.

"How you doing Shar?" He asked, making a swift left hand turn to keep in line ebhind his current target, a half destroyed A-wing which was producing sparks from its upper fusalage. He let off a quad burst but missed on two of the four shots. Thew two that connected made puffs of smoke appear from the grey, but didn`t appear to cause any serious damage.

"I`m doing good, thank you. Already have a kill for myself." She replied, sounding a little to cocky for a sixteen year old girl who was technicaly not even allowed to be in a fighter. She was currently looping around to get out from being infront of the A-wing pilot that was following her. She had managed to get followed by the most green pilot on the NR side.

"Well, don`t let that guy get you. Exploding hurts." Jack told her with a laugh before letting off a rapid fire burst with his cannons. He managed to get good shots on the engines of the A-wing this time, and watched as the fighter exploded. He pulled up hard to the left and began searching for a new target. That was when he noticed that Sharron had been looped around on and was now fleeing from the pursuing a-wing.

"I need a hand!" She cried over the comm. Jack nodded and acknowledged, pushing his throttle foreward as far as it would go and launching himself towards the A-wing. He was coming from an upper angle, bearing down on the A-wing, and as hetried to fire, he found himself in a bad situation.

"Shit! My cannons are locked up. Something wrong." He explained, swithicng over to missiles quickly and trying to dummyfire one. "Shit!" He exclaimed as he realized that he must have got hit somewhere, and was now having a major weapons failure.

"Help me Jack! Me shields are gone and he`s done 40% hull damage!" Sharron called, half screaming into the comm mic. Jack closed his eyes and tried to think of a way to get out of the situation they were in. When only one came to mind, the end results of which were less then desirable for him, he made up his mind.

He planned to fly his fighter into the A-wing, ejecting last minute and hoping to get picked up by the Faseo. He gave his neck a sharp crack and forewarded any and all energy he could into his engines, then prepaired to eject. As he neared the fighter, he began to count down. 400 meters...350 meters....250 meters... 100 meters...50 meters... He counted down in his head.

"Now!" He said as his display said the fighter was 40 meters away. He punched the eject button and prepaired to be launched out of his fighter, but nothing happend. He slammed it again and started sweating realizing he was only at 20 meters away. Nothing happened once more.

"Shit..."

-----------------------
FL/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

As the trio of ships quickly closed the distance between themselves and the rebel X-Wings, the shadowy silhuettes of the rebel fighters were briefly illuminated against the blackness of space, as each ship unloaded part of it's payload.

"Torpedoes are loose" called Jaden, Nazgul Two, over the comm.

"Flight One, maintain formation.  Prepare to break on my signal" Came the order from Shazam, Nazgul Leader. 

"Three is ready, One."

"Two is ready, One."  Came the echo from Jaden.

"Go Two"  Shazam ordered, slowly pulling back on his flight stick. 

As one, the three ships slowly began to spread out, with Jaden's fighter pulling away from the other two. 

"Three, Two will take care of those torpedoes, at least the first volley.  Our job is to make sure there isn't a second volley.  Target at your discretion" 

"Acknowledged One"  Amason replied.

As the two Imperial fighters closed in on the X-Wings, the rebel fighters  opened fire.  Less than a second later, Shazam and Amason opened  fire.  For a moment, the space between the two groups was illuminated by bright flashes of orange and green energy, creating a spectacular light show for those aboard the Faseo.

One X-Wing exploded in a blinding flash of light, followed by a shower of flaming debris, with Shazam's fighter narrowly missing one of the X-Wing's glowing engines as he passed through the explosion and debris.

At the same time, Amason brought his guns to bear on another of the enemy fighters.  After several of his shots went wide, he knew he wouldn't be able to outgun the X-Wing before the two passed each other, so he banked to starboard, then immediately back to port, cutting forward thrust, and firing his port thrusters in the process.  Thus allowing him to maintain his original direction and velocity, and keep his sights on his target. 

As the X-Wing passed, Amason fired off several more shots, hitting the weakly shielded area between the upper and lower wings.  With both port-side engines gone, the X-Wing began to spin out of control to, colliding with another of it's group that had broken formation to avoid Shazam's fire.  The impact destroyed the first X-Wing, and crippled the second, causing it's pilot to eject.

"Three down!  Nice work judge." 

Amason could see Shazam's fighter coming out of a vertical loop as he brought his main engines to full power, reversing his direction.  Within seconds, both were in pursuit of the remaining X-Wings. 

"This is Two" Jaden called, "Two torpedoes made it through, but only one hit the Faseo.  The other missed by several meters."

"Two, the judge and I are pursuing the flight of X-Wings.  We're down to five, but they've regained formation and are still on a direct course for the Faseo.  Suggestions?"  It wasn't often that Shazam asked for advice during a battle, but this time he knew that Jaden was in a better position to evaluate the situation.

"One, I'll come in from their starboard side, just in front of the formation, and fire off a few shots"  That should break their formation, or at least slow them down a bit." 

"Acknowledged, but be careful.  They're moving pretty fast.  They must have diverted everything they have to their engines.  Give us just a few seconds."  Replied Shazam.

Shazam and Amason continued firing on the flight of X-Wings, but being on the outer edge of weapons range made it all but futile.  "Three, Dump shield power to engines.  We need to close the gap here!"

"Done" came the monotonous reply.

Shazam launched a pair of concussion missiles at the closest X-Wing after getting a target lock.  The X-Wing broke formation, executed a tight turn to starboard,  then rolled one hundred-eighty degrees to port, attempting to out fly the missiles' guidance system.  With a slight course correction, Shazam had the X-Wing in his sights.  His first few shots hit the X-Wing's ventral shield, distracting the pilot from his maneuver long enough for the missiles to find their target.  By the time the X-Wing exploded, Shazam was already back on his previous course, just aft of Amason's fighter.


-----------------------
--Am

...As the Faseo drifts toward the gas giant...

"Why must everything be complicated" Amason thought to himself as he brought his ship back into formation.  He had had no idea that this seemingly routine mission would turn into the catastrophe that was all around him now.  Actually, it wasn't a routine mission.  With a squadron commander being court marshaled, this was anything but routine.  And, with the Vast Empire strike cruiser going down, the situation was about to get worse.

...Twelve Hours Earlier...

"Grand Moff Kadann, I have him on the comm now sir."

"Excellent.  Put him through." Replied Kadann, commander-in-chief of the Vast Empire.  The screen before suddenly came to life, displaying the face of a man Kadann hadn't seen in years.

"When I retired, I started looking for ways to avoid being contacted."

"You can run, but you can't hide."  Kadann said, smiling.

"Not many people would think to land two hundred probe droids equipped with loudspeakers in the desert here.  Not to mention the repeating message coming from those loud speakers."  The man retorted.

"It's good to see you Amason.  How've you been?"

"Better and worse.  You?  I heard you're the big cheese now."  Amason said, with a slight smirk. 

That made Kadann laugh.  "I guess you could say that.  And I'd love to reminisce about old times, but I need your help." 

"What do you need?"  Came the reply.

"We have a situation"  Over the next hour, Kadann brought Amason up to speed on the 'Shazam' situation.  "Sorry to have to call on you like this, but you're the closest person that I trust to handle something like this, as you've served in this role before."

"Do I get hazard pay for any combat time on the way?"  Amason asked, grinning.

"Only if you bring me back some rebel helmets"  Replied Kadann.  "Good hunting."

"Amason out."

...Back to the present...

Ever since the last of the A-Wing's had been destroyed, there had been alot of private comm chatter, with the words 'Shazam' and 'arbiter' coming up frequently.  After one of his pilots accidentally sent a private reply on the main squadron frequency, Shazam realized that this could be a potentially deadly distraction given their current situation.

Shazam put just enough edge into his voice to get the point across.  "Enough.  We will maintain radio silence from here on out, unless it pertains to our current situation.  This includes private comm traffic.  Is that clear?" 

The affirmatives began pouring in.

"Judge, I need to speak with you in private"  Shazam said, as he switched over to his private channel.

"Go ahead commander."

Shazam switched into interrogation mode.  "I've never seen anything like your ship before, and your ID doesn't ring a bell either.  Exactly who are you?"

"My name is Walt Amason.  I'm not at liberty to disclose any information about my mission other than what you already know."

"And that is?"

"You're to be court marshaled.  I'll go over the charges at the time of the procedure." Came the reply.

"Charges?  As in plural?  I wasn't aware that I had disobeyed more than one order."  Shazam said, the surprise evident in his voice.  "But back on topic, your ID code tells me that you're a Senior Crewman.  Since when does a Senior Crewman get to arbitrate a court marshal?"

"I have been temporarily reinstated for this mission.  The rank is for records and comm authentication only.  Congratulations, you've brought me out of retirement."  There was no mistaking the sarcasm in Amason's voice as he spoke the last sentence.

"What were you?  Am I in that much trouble?  This is making less and less sense the more I find out!" 

"It might be a good idea to finish our conversation later, as we're about to be in weapons range of that gunship coming in from your starboard side."  Amason said in his monotonous voice.

Although their conversation had been brief, Amason's voice was already getting on Shazam's nerves.  Does he get excited over anything?! Shazam muttered to himself.  "Leader to all craft, attack the gunship headed straight for us.  Target at your discretion."





-----------------------
--Am

(Guess I won't get to brutally kill the captain off , anyway...before the Faseo hits that atmosphere)

"Flight two, we've got A-wings to take care of," Darius calmly announced.  "Faseo's shields are nearly non-existant and they need our help.  Listen carefully...six, seven, eight, form up in a three pair group and engage the enemy.  I'm going to play the role of confused Imperial.  Almost undoubtedly, some idiot is not going to realize who they're messing with and come after me.  We will continue the process and hold them here while the ship falls to the planet.  Avoid using your missiles."

"Affirmative leader," chimed Hunter.

"Copy that five," exclaimed Zurth in a monotonous tone.

"You got it," said Kevin.

Three TIEs broke of and immediately engaged the A-wings, who had halted their chase of Faseo to retaliate against the sudden Imerial charge.  Darius hung back and flew very slowing, turning off one of his engines at an attempt to immitate a winged bird.

To his luck, a modified lambda class shuttle and a single TIE equipped with a hyperdrive entered the immediate vacinity. 

"Welcome to Messari Tellevium and accompanying TIE," Darius greeted and began to manuever into position for escort.  Two A-wings broke off and Kevin began immediate pursuit.

"Don't worry five...wait," he announced at first, but ended in panic.

"Eight, pull off and evade immediately," Darius commanded in haste.

Another A-wing pull from the engage with Zurth and Hunter.  NR pilots arent' all stupid, and Kevin discover that with his life.  The A-wing immediately achieved a lock on his TIE and fived a concussion missile.  Kevin hadn't the time nor the skill to evade and the missile impacted in and detonated perfectly in his engine cavity.  There was nothing left to salvage from his wreckage.  Both Hunter and Zurth shouted in anger and regret for their lost comrade, but Darius said, nor felt no remorse for the pilot he didn't know.  The klaxons in his TIE alarmed him of a missile lock.

"TIE escort of the Tellevium, welcome to Nazgul, I'm comandeering you and your TIE for this engagement," Darius said in a calm, authoritive, yet cold and emotionless voice.  The siren indicating a missile fired errupted in his ear.

"Copy that," said a confident female voice.  "What about the shuttle though."

"She's fine for now, but let's take a few lessons in missile evasion, seeing that now your in Nazgul, you'll be coming across many of those," he said.  The DT, (Distance to Target) counted down the kilometers the concussion missiles had left.  "Any ploy you may attempt to make in any attempt to break a missile really comes down to one factor...timing."  He turned his "dead" engine and and punched the throttle.  The missiles missed and shot behind him, swinging around for another pass.  Darius slowed down once more and the missiles closed in again...he put his right hand on the counter measures, his left on the throttle, and held the yoke with his knees.  "If you master timing, you will never die in a flaming ball of thermal energy."  The missiles closed the gap again and he punched the throttle and hit the countermeasure.  The chaff cloud eliminated the missile threat and the new TIE pounced on the incoming A-wings, immediately eliminating one of them.

The other A-wing began to flee, his comrades all fallen.  "Very good Nazgul eight, we'll make a pilot of you yet."

"Yes sir," she replied back, hinting much pride in her tone.

Darius eased the tiny throttle with his thumb and caught the A-wing unexpectedly.  Either the New Republic pilot willfully admitted his loss and let Darius kill him, or was just so shocked from the unexpected speed of the A-wing, either way, Darius was mildly disappointed that he was able to put two unaimed quad bursts into the A's engines.

"Flight Two reporting in," Darius said quickly, re-instating his position in the battle as he pulled along Flight one, the two groups quickly assessing eachother before pushing on.  "I've got two missiles in store and my companions have a similar arsenal- where do you want us?"
 
-----------------------
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men to do nothing. --Edmund Burke
-----------------------
FL/WO2 Darius Pursius/Nazgul 2-1/mSSD Atrus/Defensive Fleet/VEN/VE (=A=) [VC:B] [*CB*] [GWC]

...Back on the Faseo...

"Looks like a few of these birds are in need of major repairs.  I'd suggest grounding them until we can finish.  Your's included, sir." 

Shazam gave the approaching Hangar Chief a nod.  "Aye, send me the list of craft and repairs, as well as your estimate on repair time."  Replied Shazam.  "Now it's time to get some answers" He thought to himself as he headed toward the fighter at the opposite end of the hangar.  "Porcema had to have something to do with this."

The fighter was unlike anything Shazam had ever seen, and several of his squadron members had taken to gawking at it after landing, a gathering his sudden presence had quickly dispersed.  The cockpit depressurized with a loud hiss, and a black-clad figure emerged.  There was no mistaking that the flight suit was of imperial origin, but this one was different, as if it had been produced for a higher ranking officer.  It looked to be a bit bulkier than the standard flight suit, and of a more dull color.  The helmet was smooth, without any ridges or protrusions, with the exception of a single red slit for a visor, and a small port on the left side, presumably for air supply.

"Hello commander." Amason said after removing the helmet, while removing the various parts of his suit.  "The questions will have to wait until we're in private."

"There's that dead voice again!"  "I understand.  When will be the best time?"

"Now.  I have several tasks to complete, and I'd like to get this show on the road."  Amason replied matter-of-factly.  "We'll meet in the captain's office in five minutes.  I'll advise you not to speak with anyone on your way up."

"Alright"  Shazam said as Amason walked passed him and through one of the hangar exits.  "Atleast he doesn't procrastinate."  "Jaden!"  Shazam called across the hangar.

"Here sir!"  Came the reply.

"Debrief the squadron and handle the post-flight paperwork for me."

"No problem sir."

As Shazam left the hangar, he got the distinct impression that many of the ship's crew were staring at him, but he paid no mind.  He quickly made is way through the various corridors and lifts until he reached the bridge. 

"Shazam"  Arturas said with a nod.

"Art."  Shazam returned the nod.

"Guess I'd better brief you on the current command situation."

"Command situation?  What's happened now?"  Shazam wondered.  "Sorry, but I'm under gag orders until I get into that office."  He said, pointing to the captain's office, located directly aft of the bridge.

"Then I won't bother asking you who the guy is that just walked through here and into that office.  He just showed up and began issuing orders."  Arturas replied.

"Good."  Shazam replied with a nervous smile, as he started walking toward the door at the back of the bridge.

"Didn't take him long to kick the XO out of it either."  Arturas called after him.

...In the Captain's Office...

"I'm here sir."

"Don't call me sir.  Now let's get down to business."  Amason said as he leaned forward in the captain's chair.  "Frankly commander, I don't see why this particular situation was added to my current assignment, but I have to make a decision nonetheless."

"What are the charges?  And where..."  Shazam began to ask, but the look on Amason's face silenced him.

"I was getting to that"  Came the reply.  "Currently you're only being charged with dereliction of duty, and I don't see much hope in that going through.  You're official court marshal will be tomorrow morning at 0700."

Shazam let out the breath he had been holding as Amason read the charge.  He had been waiting for several more.  "Currently?  Was I charged with something else?  Will I be charged with something else?

"Yes, and no"  Amason replied.  "You were charged with Espionage and Treason."

"What the....?  How?  When?  Wha..."

"Slow down.  I said were."  Amason could tell that Shazam was going to need a stiff drink after this.  "Commander Shazam, in the past few days, Intelligence has intercepted several cleverly disguised messages, sent to a high ranking rebel officer."

What does that have to do with me? Shazam thought.

"Messages that were sent using your IFF code.  You were temporarily charged with espionage and treason, but you were cleared before anything could be done.  An agent on this ship learned the identity of the real traitor"

"Who is it?"  Shazam asked.

"Come with me."  Amason said, rising from the chair. 

"Sir, I've assigned additional security to the prisoner, and have moved her to a more secure detention cell."  Arturas spoke as Amason and Shazam exited the captain's office.

"Thank you lieutenant.  And don't call me sir."

Shazam gave Arturas an inquisitive look in passing, received an identical look in return.

...Several minutes later, outside the secure detention block...

"You were very fortunate Intelligence identified the real source of those transmissions, otherwise you'd be in this cell right now."  Amason said, entering his security code into the console by the door.

"Using the word relieved would be an understatement."  Shazam replied as they entered the secure detention corridor. 

The secure detention block was just that.  Secure.  Ordinary detention cells were secure, but prisoners in the secure block were essentially in isolation cells, with absolutely no outside contact with anyone, including guards.

After walking for several minutes, they stopped at a cell.  "Open the viewport on seventeen."  Amason said into the commlink beside the cell door.

Shazam's breath left him as the viewport opened and he saw the prisoner inside.  Inside the cell sat Lacey Porcema, former captain of the Faseo.  "Porcema's the traitor?"  He asked incredulously.

"Yes."  Replied Amason.  "Lieutenant Arturas had already relieved her of command before I arrived, so her arrest was without incident as she was already in a cell.  And the area of space you decided to cut through was clear.  She's the reason you were followed.  Her trial will begin tomorrow morning at 0800, which will probably result in her execution."

"Execution?!  Isn't she entitled to a hearing before the High Council?"

"I am representing the High Council in this matter.  Specifically Grand Moff Kadann.  Frankly, the court marshal is a formality as the evidence against her is overwhelming."

Shazam shook his head in disbelief.  After his last argument with Porcema, he didn't really care much for her, but he never would have considered her a traitor.  "So when will you be able to tell me who you are exactly?"

"I guess it's alright.  You know everything else now."  Amason replied.  "My name is Walt Amason.  I retired from the Vast Empire years ago.  I was recruited by Raptor, and also served under Majere.  I served on the High Council with the rank of High Admiral, as an Ambassador, New Imperium senator, and security officer."

"That was a long time ago."

"Yes.  I had many irons in the fire back then.  I also worked with Rarc Spartacus in intelligence during my tenure on the High Council.  My experience is the main reason Kadann pulled me out of retirement.  I've dealt with situations like this before, on many occasions."

"Well that does take care of a few hundred questions I have."  Replied Shazam.  "I do have one left though."

"Go ahead."

"Why were you reinstated with the rank of Senior Crewman?"

Amason sighed.  "I thought it would make more sense to have a low rank, so as not to draw any undue attention to myself."

There was a brief silence as Shazam contemplated the events of the last twenty four hours.  He resisted the urge to pinch himself in front of Amason. 

After several minutes, Amason spoke.  "I hate to cut our conversation short commander, but I'm turning in for the night.  Tomorrow will be a long day.  I'll be available after Porcema's trial if you have anything else you'd like to talk about.  Also, I'd prefer that my rank not be advertised."

"No Problem here.  Good night."  Shazam replied.

"Good night."


(Anyone want to post an ending with Shazam's trial, and Porcema's trial and execution?)

-----------------------
--Am