Arturus was a bit primitive in some ways; one of those ways related to his desire to physically read information off of a piece of paper rather than a communications screen.  As a result, in addition to the fact that the decoded orders and files were sent to his datapad and office terminal, Arturus ordered the information to be printed as well.  He stood over the communications terminal taking each page from the printer as it came out.  Arturus had always been a faster reader and was able to absorb much quickly, and, most importantly, memorize it verbatim.

"Sithspit."  Arturus muttered under his breath as he read the orders for his ship.


Classification: Urgent
Transmission Number 8210241

From: Admiral Japheth Capadocious, Navy Commander in Chief
To: 1st Lieutenant Corran Hargraves, Captain, Strike Cruiser Doashim

Message:

You are to remain in system for three days while you are supplied with supplies and new crew members.  Ship Yard YJ-907 will be available for external repairs although modular reconfiguration will be impossible at this time.  Prepare the cruiser to expand its troop capacity from a battalion to a regiment; while the modular adjustment required is impossible, decisions concerning how this is accomplished are up to you.

After receiving the final shipment within 72 hours time, the Doashim is hereby ordered to make haste for the planet Deastoria to deliver an imperial garrison to the planet.  Your mission is to restore order in the space around the planet and on the ground in order to restore trade.  In addition, the imperial envoy to the planet's government, who has been kidnapped, is to be found and returned to his position.  The garrison will be put in place to secure a long-term government and to reopen the space route for trade and commerce. Upon the accomplishing of this mission, the Doashim is to immediately return to Vast Empire space for immediate refitting for another mission.

"Sithspit."  Arturus muttered again as he flipped through the other papers that listed the new crew and the cargo manifests of the re-supply ships.  The second curse had the techs working at the communications terminal sneaking glances at him as he stood oblivious to their presence reading the documents.  "Lieutenant Vansic" Arturus said turning to the communications officer, "Order the senior officers to meet me in the mess in fifteen minutes."

"Aye Captain," Vansic grumbled.

"Lieutenant; tell me something.  If you dislike it here so much why is it that you insist on staying and gracing us with your grumbling and habitual condescension?"  Arturus demanded, again oblivious to the crew standing around.  The fatigue factor was starting to have an impact and as a result he had a higher propensity to become irritable and snide to those he barely respected to begin with.  Arturus glared at Vansic waiting for him to attempt to come up with one of his frustrating, dismissive statements.  After five seconds Arturus turned and stormed off the bridge.

***Fifteen Minutes Later***

Arturus entered the officer's mess to find what remained of his senior officers seated around a table with a fresh pot of coffee.  He closed the door at sat down at the head, calling the meeting to order quickly.

"Good morning lady and gentlemen."  Arturus began.  The lady was Lieutenant Sieana Krytal who was commander of Sentinel Squadron.  "This morning I received orders to prepare for a mission that we will depart for in three days.  Before you begin with why this is not possible based on the status of repairs, let me say that this will not be a combat role but rather a transport role.  We have been instructed to receive and deliver a regiment of stormtroopers to the planet Deastoria and to establish order in the space and ground before departing for VE space and a full repair."  Arturus said as he concluded his summary.

"Three day isn't enough time to rig the ship for garrison mode."  Commander Ferran protested immediately.

"In addition, my battalion hardly has enough supplies for itself let alone an entire regiment."  Major Sangha followed up.

"Gentlemen, irregardless of the status of the ship or its supplies, we will take on the new forces and deliver them as ordered.  According to the manifests of the cargo ships that will be arriving, we will be receiving both materials for ship repairs in addition to army equipment.  We will also be receiving reinforcements for the ship's crew and the 4th Mobile Response Battalion which will be incorporated into 18th Garrison Regiment under the command of one Lieutenant Colonel Vash Dusat who is on route with the other three battalions."  Arturus replied.

"But captain, we haven't the space for 1800 more men without reconfiguring the ship."  Commander Terran responded, his face turning slightly red with frustration.  "With power supplies stretched and few free bunks to begin with, our ability to absorb this kind of increase in manpower is limited."

"Commander, we have no choice in the matter.  We have been ordered to achieve an objective and we will achieve it irregardless of how it might be.  I will be sending out an order asking all junior officers onboard the ship to begin doubling up room wise to free up rooms for the junior army officers and some of the most senior sergeants.  Where it is possible to free up beds through double-occupancy, schedule adjustments, and other such measures, we will use these in order to free up living space.  In addition, we will use some of the extra hanger space as a temporary place for the rest."

"What about new fighters and transports?"  Lieutenant Krytal asked.

"Despite my urgent requisition for six gunboats and pilots to replace our losses, we ended up getting only 6 TIE Interceptors instead though they are piloted but a semi-experienced crew.  As for the transports, we can presumably keep some of them so we can ferry men down.  Due to the occupation of hanger space, they will travel beside us in hyperspace"  Arturus responded.

"What about the political situation on Deastoria itself.  What exactly is going on and what are we supposed to accomplish, if anything, after the deployment of the garrison?"  It was a reasonable question from Victor Trenor, the Weapons Systems Officer for the ship.

"Since receiving the orders I have used the fifteen minutes I gave to do some background reading on the planet and its political strife in addition to the empire's relation to it.  The Vast Empire has a liaison with the planet that helps to direct planetary trade policy and commercial policy in a way helpful to our cause.  The imperial liaison and all of the staff and soldiers has been kidnapped by one of the two rebel factions on the planet fighting against the government. "Arturus began.

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


"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

Arturus took a sip of water and cleared his throat before continuing.

"Now then, the planet Dastoria has historically had political turmoil.  After VE established itself in its current base, we acted to stop an insurrection against the planet's monarch; this monarch remained on the throne until now.  Traditionally, the planet has always been a monarchy but it has been subject to numerous popular revolts and even replaced at points by more democratic regimes or forms of aristocratic and corporate oligarchies.  The current monarch, King Suicul Suitimod Subraboneha has again suffered an insurrection requiring us to resolve the dispute.  His government has been overthrown, the king arrested, and the entire planet has broken into a three-way civil war.  Caught in the middle of this is our ambassador who is the head of the king's court and de facto leader when it comes to foreign and trade policy.  During our last intervention, our price to the king was control over these affairs, trade exclusivity rights, free shipping and escort protection, and full control of all funds collected through very high tariffs on products and shipping that do not originate from VE controlled areas and facilities.  In addition, the planet provides us certain military and strategic benefits including frequent scouting of the southern areas that are not controlled by imperial factions.

This time, however, the situation is even more complex.  The civil-war in essence is becoming a proxy war between three interests.  The monarchy is backed by imperial guarantees and weaponry; we have sold them second-hand imperial military hardware and provided some basic training to the military and police in order to keep the king on the throne.  Another prospective oligarchy of corporations, aristocrats, and potential foreign investors are being backed by the three planets of the nearby Livic System which itself is in an inter-system conflict.  Nevertheless, there is plenty of cash and some hardware supporting this move to overthrow the king and establish a government that will cater to their interests.  Finally, there is the popular revolt that is more organized and better armed than before because they are being supported by the New Republic who has been more than willing to smuggle in weapons and cash.

The situation as it stands right now is as follows: the popular revolt led by an organization called the People's Liberation Republic Alliance which is comprised of both popular leaders and political officers, has stormed and taken the palace and assumed control of the government.  A significant number of military men have joined them though it is not simply a coup since the monarch still commands the respect and control of some of the military.  The self-styled interim president is Major General Suiluj Raseac.  They now control much of the planet and have driven the pro-monarchy forces out of the capital.  South of the capital, the mixed interest oligarchy known as the Prosperity Alliance is organizing for a major assault against the PLRA.  Our mission is to intervene as soon as possible in order to prevent as little destruction as possible to the capital, seize control of the palace and administrative hub, and restore the monarch and our ambassador to power.  The admiral assures me that, upon consulting with the army, our regiment of troops will be more than enough to accomplish the task given the fact that despite some hardware and training, none of the sides is organized, disciplined, or well enough equipped to be a match to our power."  Arturus said as he moved towards a conclusion.

"What role will the Doashim have in all of this aside from being a glorified transport?"  Victor Trenor asked sharply.  His love of combat was shining through; too often it seemed to blur his understanding of the broader strategic picture Art thought.

"The Doashim will provide space superiority support to the pro-monarchy forces that still remain.  We will help re-open the lanes to commerce and ensure that all threats in the sky are eliminated."  Arturus replied.

"How many capital ships do they have?  Some of them may have been captured or revolted against the government."  Treg Ferran inquired.

"Part of our agreement with the planet was that they were not permitted to have capital ships.  They had one wing of Imperial supplied fighters and a variety of system patrol craft and other smaller ships for customs duty, patrol, and interception.  The status of these craft is unknown; we also do not know how many fighters the New Republic and the Livic system may have provided."

"What type of fighters are likely to have been provided by the Livic system?"  Sieana Krytal demanded.  Arturus couldn't tell if she was bored or intense about the mission judging by her impatient tone; having said that, it could also be that time of month.

"Most likely a mix.  For imperial fighters expect mostly squints and few bogeys-"

"Squints and Bogeys?"  Dag Vansic cut in.

"Interceptors and bombers."  Sieana replied lashing out at the communications officer.

"Bloody pilot speak."  Vansic muttered under his breath with more than a little arrogance and disdain for a "lower" form of service.  Arturus decided to ignore it for now.

"There will probably be some New Republic fighters and a variety of pirate class ones.  In terms of numbers we don't know; ideally the majority of Dastoria's fighters remained loyal and are either intact or in the process of securing the airspace so all we need to do is back them up."  Arturus continued.

"Captain I'm only at half strength, are fighters included in the re-supply?"  Krytal asked with an understandable degree of concern.

"You will be getting six shielded Tie Interceptors."  Arturus replied.  A scowl appeared on Krytal's face but before she could speak up Arturus pre-empted her "I know you are a gunboat squadron but we are limited in terms of what pilots and equipment could be moved fast; in addition, given the mission, it can't hurt to have some added speed and maneuverability."  The scowl didn't disappear on her face but she seemed to resign herself to the reality of the situation.  "Any more questions?"  Arturus asked looking around the table.

"How many transports do we have to move the troops and how is the landing operation supposed to be going?"  Mathius Sangha, the commander of the 4th Mobile Response Battalion asked.

"The major of the information will be coming with the Colonel.  However, I can tell you that we will have enough transports to carry 1000 men at a time down to the planet.  In addition, faster transports have been provided to quickly ferry down a company of Special Forces who will land and secure a landing point before moving as a vanguard to seize the palace.  Coordination of the transports has not occurred yet; once the colonel and I meet we will draw up plans and they will be divulged to all senior army officers before we depart."

"And under whose authority do we remain on planet?"  Sangha asked.  Arturus sat back and thought for a second.

"Until I authorize your transfer, all troops and all army officers attached to the Doashim will report to me and take their orders from me."

"Even the colonel?"

"The Dastorian king, our ambassador, and yes even the colonel."  Arturus said firmly.  He looked around.  "Reinforcements and supplies will be arriving soon; dismissed, there is much work to get done if we are to succeed."

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


"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

(OOC:  Excellent Briefing, Art- that information could be extremely valuable to Jaden, and I may just paraphrase it for him if he intends on becoming involved planet-side.  Amason: perhaps finding a personal assistant, such as the man that was supposed to meet you off of your transport, could add a little flavor to your writing- if he becomes a common character: use 'em.  Or someone else for that matter.  Enjoy your story.)
 
-----------------------
*Flash Was Here...*

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

Phoenix Wing Commander and Training Officer

Toki sat on a hard plastic chair, the back of it digging into her back. She slumped down into her chair, assuming a more comfortable position. Looking around, she saw many different types of people, all to be her co-workers. She would be working with these people, helping them and learning from them...Why did there have to be so darn many of them? She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, only to realize hunger was pulling at her stomach. When was the last time she ate? Yesterday? She would have to find Aggie later and figure out where she could end this torture. Hopefully this wouldn't last too long.

Tokijin sat towards the back, avoiding contact with everyone else. People seemed to be quietly chatting with one another, but the general consensus of the room was that they were all curious. So little was told to them upon boarding and the only information they were told was to come here for more information. Toki could safety assume that they weren't going to keep them in the dark for much longer. This was what this was about, right? She was so clueless. She made herself swear whenever she had some extra time she would study her butt off. She wasn't about to ruin something on the ship. Although she wouldn't let someone assign her to fix something she didn't know how to fix, but it was always good to be prepared.

She rubbed her face and looked around the room for either Aggie or Dahar. There were so many people about she had trouble distinguishing one head from another. Well this would be fun. But before she could find either of them a small person walked onto the stage, taking their place behind the podium. This must be the senior technician. But the voice she heard that spoke wasn't a voice she was expecting. In fact, she had heard the voice rambling on just fifteen minutes before. Aggie?

"Welcome. My name is Agatha Drea, the Senior Technician aboard this ship." At least she didn't forget to introduce herself this time, Toki thought to herself; now very awake, almost forgetting her hunger pains. Agatha? Aggie for short assuringly. "I'd just like to thank you for choosing to be a part of this. Without us, the Doashim would not survive. Each and every single one of you is important on our crew, and you are needed. We all rely on one another, and we must work as one. All I ask of you is to try your hardest." Tokijin shook her head. The person she had known earlier was gone and was now replaced by someone totally in control. Someone with her mind completely centered, with one objective on her mind. To be a leader. She watched in awe as Aggie began speaking again after letting her words sink in, eyeing the crowd.

"Now, time to begin. Each of you has been given a partner upon entering the ship. You will learn with your person, work with them, and help them. You might want to get used to them, for you will be stuck together for a long time. But, as for the moment, you will also be working with someone more experienced than yourself. Rather than having you face the darkness of the woods alone, you will have a guide. Five sets of pairs will assigned to one technician. For the next month, you will all be put under a crash course. I ask that you learn all that you can within this time, and that you respect the person who is helping you, and listen to what they have to say." Aggie flashed a pleasant smile at the crowd. "Now, time to get down to business. I'm going to have my technicians come up here and say the names of who they will be training. Please listen for your name and come here when you're called."

Aggie stepped down and Toki listened for the next half an hour as people began to filter out until there was only ten of them left in the vast rows of seats. Everyone else had gone down to meet their new trainers except for the few that was left. She could see no other technicians but it was after the last group left that she noticed Aggie standing off to the side.

"Ahh! Now what a fine group of people! Come on down here and let's get started!" She called them down to her, and Tokijin began to walk when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She flinched and turned around, her hair flying out like a fan, whipping whoever was behind her in the face.

"Ouch. That kind of hurt." Behind her was Dahar, his face half covered by his hand.

"Oh. Sorry." Tokijin turned back around, walking again, old embers of anger rekindled.

"Oh come on! I'm sorry I lost you. I thought you had been following me here.." Tokijin stopped for a second, turning to look at him, giving him a cold stare.

"Oh, it's alright." Her voice was drenched in sarcasm and she mustered a fake smile, and got to Aggie before he could pester her even more. She stood by her side and studied the faces of those whom she would be working with. The eight other technicians looked like interesting characters. One looked to be shorter than five feet and had a stare as blank as a clean sheet of paper, no emotions breaching the wall he put up around himself. The aged woman clasped her hands together, a cheerful smile on her face, seemingly almost excited for the task that laid ahead of her.

"Now little pupils, shall we begin?"
 
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Nazgul Squadron

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

~ Tokijin ~

Now full with food, Tokijin happily walked over to Aggie, and watched as everyone else followed suit. Like herself, others looked refreshed and a lighter mood filled the air. She sighed happily, and stretched her arms out behind her, and listened for a pop that she hoped would come. She then remembered where she was and stopped, her hands quickly falling into her pockets.

Standing across from Aggie and next to Bria who had followed her over to their small group. She was now smiling and rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet, looking like she could burst out into song at any moment. Now that her stomach was full, her mood wasn't as melancholy as it had been before and she looked at her fellow technicians, returning small smiles whenever they were offered. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. Once she got her fears under control anyway. She couldn't figure out why she had been so worried about this before. She was going to be working with these people, and with them all working towards the same goal, there was already common ground to work up from.

"I hope you enjoyed lunch because you won't be able to break again for a while. But, for now I believe, it's time for some introductions. After that, it's no turning back and time to work." She turned the person next to her and looked at them expectantly.

"Oh, uh, my name's Robi Anor." This Robi Anor fellow had dirty blonde hair with glasses that seemed to be constantly falling off his nose. He stood erect, but his cheeks turned a shade of crimson as Aggie laughed and nodded.

"Happy to see you haven't forgotten your name. Now, you?" Aggie turned to the woman standing next to Robi.

"My name is Iris." Iris had cool eyes of blue, and stood tall; arms crossed and didn't seem to be too interested in the introductions. But after Iris all the rest of them were men. Tokijin ran all their names over and over in her head again, making sure to take a mental picture of each. She hated it when she forgot someone's name; it made her feel horrible. There was Jase, Marc, Ivan, Marius, Errol, Dahar, Iris, Bria, Robi, and herself. She thought she had them all. Iris, Robi, and Bria weren't hard to remember, Jase was the small emotionless man, and of course Dahar. Marc, Ivan, Marius and Errol were a little more difficult to recall. She wanted to make an effort to remember this, but also had to remind herself that there was plenty of time to get to know them.

"Great. Now we can finally get started!" Aggie suddenly looked ten years younger, her eyes filled with excitement and mischief and a thought crossed her mind. What was she really getting herself into? She realized that she might be underestimating her position. This could be hard, and if she wasn't prepared she might just find herself out before barely getting started. She took a deep breath as Aggie began walking again and quickly found that Bria was at her side.

"Ohhhh, I am excited! I haven't done anything like this before. I can't wait to get started." Toki looked at her for a second and then a laugh escaped her lips.

"Oh, I am more anxious than excited. I've never done anything like this either. I was a pilot before this, so for me this is taking a step in an entire new direction." She ran a hand through her hair and looked up a head of her. Her group seemed to have faded out into smaller groups, rather than one big mob. Only Robi was walking alone. Aggie didn't talk as she walked this time; she just led her little procession in silence.

Bria stared at her in disbelief. "You...Were a pilot?" Toki nodded, wondering what her reaction would be to that. She hadn't really meant for that to slip. Piloting had been a part of her life that she had loved deeply. It was the only time when she had found purpose in her life, and it was her norm. Depending on Bria's reaction to this new information she would decide whether to keep it hushed or not.

Bria didn't say anything at all. She shrugged and stared ahead of her, losing step with Toki, falling behind. Toki's eyes were automatically drawn towards the floor. Keep it quiet she would. It was too early to be releasing facts about her background. She wasn't sure who she could trust yet. Someone walking in front of her stopped walking and with Toki's mind wandering off somewhere ran into...Marius was it?

"Oof, I'm sorry." Toki rubbed her nose as Marius looked at her with a concerned look, but then shrugged when he saw she was ok.

"Yeah, we're here." Marius shrugged again as Tokijin noticed for the first time how their surroundings had dramatically changed. They had only been walking for a minute or two; it didn't take long to get where they were going. The height of the ceilings had grown and the room was wide. She wasn't quite sure where she was, but she wasn't sure that mattered. She would find out soon enough. Aggie turned to face them all, ushering them closer to her, another of her great smiles plastered to her face.

"Alright kiddies, ready to get started?"

****

Tokijin collapsed on her bed, all the energy drained from her. She had done a lot of memorizing, working, and running around in the past seven or eight hours and she had finally been released from her duties. She had learned so much, but her body wasn't used working for so long. Being a pilot wasn't this hard, even though she was putting her life in danger all the time. She sighed, and sat up. No time to complain.

"Just suck it up and deal with it, Toks. You wanted this, don't go complaining and finding every fault in it you can. You had fun today, though, didn't you?" Tokijin smiled as she talked to herself. So far she enjoyed being a technician. She ran a hand through her hair and looked around. She froze as a realization suddenly struck her and she looked towards the other end of the room. Sitting on the bed farthest from herself, was another woman, giving her frightfully scary looks.

"Oh&Sorry. I tend to talk to myself. Heh." She felt like crawling under a rock. That didn't sound like a bad idea actually. She wasn't used to sharing a room, and this might be harder than she had first though. Especially since she just made herself look like a complete psycho. She turned away from the woman, her face hot and reached under her bed to find her bag. Maybe there would be a message from Trevor? She pulled the data pad from deep within the contents of her bag and a smile reached her lips. She couldn't get her slow hands to move fast enough to open the new message. It was a few hours old, but she was still glad that he had sent her something.

She was happy to see that the first part of his mission was going well. He had spent a lot of time in hyperspace. She wasn't sure how long she could last having to sit around with a bare minimum to do and no communications to anyone else. She rolled over on her bed, facing the wall and began typing out a reply, telling him of the daily events and all the people she had met. She just hoped he wouldn't have to take too much time out of his day to read her lengthy reply. She quietly laughed at herself, still bluntly aware of the other woman and found herself climbing under her sheets. It had been a very long day, and sleep was calling her. Maybe tonight her dreams would be kind.

 
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TECH/PO1 Tokijin/Phoenix Wing/Str Doashim/1FL/VEN/VE (=*A*=) [BWC]

"Captain Hargraves" Arturus mumbled into his commlink.

"Captain, the executive officer just arrived onboard."  Petty Officer Second Class Tyrol Hustinius said, his voice annoyingly bright and cheerful as ever.  If anyone was anywhere close to being as hard working and competent as the petty officer was Arturus would have immediately taken them on as his secretary instead.  However, he admired merit even if he couldn't stand the person.  When the person went too far though, as Vansic had done, then Arturus was quick to dispense justice.

"Very well, have him shown into the senior officer's lounge and tell him he can begin his breakfast.  I will be there in a few minutes."  Arturus replied as he climbed out of bed.  He shut off his commlink and proceeded to get dressed rather slowly.  His muscles ached from the long hours he had put in behind the desk leaning over various plans and documents.  The sleep had felt good but it had not nearly been long enough.  All in all, he had six hours sleep and that would probably be all for a while now that the operation was about to start.  After pulling on his boots and strapping on his gun belt, a feature he had never dispensed of despite the fact it was even more out of place now then it had been when he was a pilot, Arturus pulled out his commlink.  "Ensign Travers, meet me outside the senior officer's mess in five minutes."

"Aye sir."  The ensign responded sharply.  Clearly the vacancy created by the loss of Vansic had given the ensign a new opportunity to show initiative, loyalty, and discipline.  From the sounds of things, he was using every moment of the opportunity.  Arturus admired ambition but he also wanted to control it.  He wanted people motivated but he wanted his position secure first and foremost.  A few minutes later, Arturus arrived at the mess.

"Was there any attempt to contact the ship during the night?"  Arturus inquired.

"Three transmission came in from Navy HQ.  I printed them off for you so that you could craft your response if any."  The ensign said handing the papers to Arturus.  Arturus smiled.

"Excellent, thank you."

"Anything else sir?"  The ensign was itching to do more.

"Nothing other than to make sure that the colonel's transport receives the same orders as the rest."

"Aye Captain."  The ensign replied with a salute.  Arturus returned it and entered the mess.  When he saw the man seated at the table eating he stopped midstep for a second.  He looked at the man's rank bars.

"Lieutenant Amason?" Arturus asked of the ensign sitting at the table.

"Captain Hargraves, sir."  Amason said as he quickly rose to his feet to salute.

"Welcome aboard lieutenant" Arturus said as he walked over to shake Amason's hand.  "It's a pleasure to see a familiar face, I need an ally these days."  He said.

"Things not going well?"  Amason asked.  Arturus stared at him, his eyes narrowing.  "Begging your pardon sir."  Amason said.  Arturus thought for a moment about what he would tell Amason.  Eventually he would find out everything that was going on but Arturus wanted to let it out in a controlled way.

"I'll send you a briefing document with regards to our upcoming mission shortly.  Right now the crew is exhausted, the ship is still in need of some repairs and carries significant battle damage, parts are short, and there is some angst and distrust amongst the officers."  Arturus said as he poured a cup of coffee.  "All said, we have our work cut out for us.  Truth be told, I wish you had not come.  I wanted someone with a record of commanding ships as an XO.  Adding another low-rank pilot won't please the senior officers."  Arturus said.  He wasn't sure if Amason would be offended or not by his statements but at the moment, he didn't particularly care.

"I'll see if I can help in spite of that captain."  Amason said with a hint of sarcasm.  Arturus let it go, he probably deserved it.  Arturus looked down at the three communications from Navy HQ.  The first two were requesting information regarding when the transports had departed as they had been reported missing.  The final one demanded to know why the ship had not responded.  Arturus made a mental note to send a reply soon to buy more time until the mission began.

"Finish your coffee and I'll show you the ship.  I held off on my pre-mission inspection tour until you arrived."  Arturus said.

"Aren't you going to eat breakfast?"  Amason asked.  Arturus stared at him again.  The message was clear: don't ask unnecessary questions.  Amason finished his coffee and stood up.  The two left and made their way to the bridge to begin the inspection.

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


"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

"Well I am more than certain that your record does not contain everything.  From the beginning you carried yourself with the poise of an officer despite being a mere recruit.  No one assigns a crewman to preside over the treason trial of a ship captain and you were personally selected and sent to the ship which shows some prior relationship with the admiral.  Let's be perfectly clear here lieutenant, I don't have time for games.  If I was not avoiding Navy HQ at the moment I would send an urgent, confidential message to the admiral requesting further information.  Since I cannot, perhaps you can enlightenment as to your background and, in particular, what of it we can give to the rest of the crew.  It would be of some comfort to the officers, and it wouldn't hurt me personally at all, to give out any information regarding ship experience."  Arturus replied upon hearing Amason's confession about past experience.

"Why are you avoiding Navy HQ?"  Amason asked.  Arturus sighed.

"I am avoiding them because in approximately eight hours this ship is departing for a mission in which it must secure the space around a planet in a three-way civil war and then land a regiment of troops to secure the palace, restore the monarchy, and provide protection for imperial interests.  We get to do all of this with a mere five assault transports.

Lieutenant, my men and equipment are important to me.  When I need to, I have and will continue to push the limits of my authority and the imperial code of military justice.  In essence, in order to remedy the situation, I've commandeered transports that are needed for another operation and, as it stands right now, we are trying to stall for time before they send a reconnaissance flight to look for them.  As it stands right now, I have to send a message alerting them about the fact that we have had a security breech onboard the ship and, as a result, have imposed strict radio silence from all but myself.  If we are lucky we will be on our way in eight hours and once the transports are done their duty they can depart with no record of this ever happening."  Arturus replied.

"Try to prevent him from pushing the limits too much."  Amason said from memory.

"The admiral thinks I'm impetuous?"

"The admiral knows, based on your record which in and of itself is rather interesting, that you have a tendency to be rather, shall we say unorthodox, when in command."  Amason replied.  Arturus smiled.

"Well at least you know where I come from.  Now tell me about yourself both your history and your approach to command affairs."

(OOC: After the introductions are over Arturus will start to become more friendly with you Amason just so you know.  It's all about reinforcing the power relations at first)

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


"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

Arturus was impressed.  Amason had managed to come across as everything he had hoped for in an executive officer and his intelligence skills could prove useful in the upcoming mission.

"The most important factor, and indeed the one that is hardest for me, in a successful chain of command is trust.  I trust little and am involved in all affairs irregardless of size and their impact on the big picture.  However, people can successfully earn my trust though that is not a hard task.  I was impressed with you as a pilot in Nazgul in part, because of your work ethic and the way you conducted yourself.  Now of course I have the full explanation for that.  What I am getting to is the fact that you have my trust.  You are free to be as open and frank as you want with me in private though in public my word goes."  Arturus explained.

"Understood captain."  Amason replied, nodding his head as he did.

"Very well."  Arturus looked at his watch.  "In about an hour I am to meet with the regiment commander, Colonel Dusat to go over the assault plans for when we arrive in system.  I would like you to attend this and at that time I will bring you up to speed on the situation and our mission.  Now if you will excuse me, I have some work to finish before the meeting."  Arturus said.  With that, Amason stood, saluted, and left the officer.

===5 hours later===

"Are the last of the troops for the first wave onboard the transports?"  Arturus inquired of the young army officer who had just arrived on the bridge.

"All transports except the assault transports in the hanger are loaded.  All pilots have your hyperspace coordinates and are ready for departure.  We will jump in five minutes after the ship arrives in system."

"Thank you lieutenant.  Dismissed.  Lieutenant Vantai, begin manouvers for hyperspace.  Once we are in jump position inform Ensign Travers so he can inform the transports."

"Aye Captain."  The navigation officer replied.

A few minutes later they were off.  Only a few hours until the mission began.

(OOC: Amason feel free to write about the meeting if you wish.  Dusat can be your own invention.  All mission information has already been provided above.)
 
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WADJ, SPAC/1LT Corran "Arturus" Hargraves/SCR Doashim/VE/VEN/(=A=)(=SA=)(=*MA*=)(=JCPA=)(=SCPA=)[MC:1](x2)[SV][BRC][VC:B][CBV][LSM][LoC][BWC][SWC][GWC]


"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

She was on the rebel ship again. For a second time she found herself kneeing on the floor, her cheeks fresh with tears. She looked around at the buzz of people. No one had noticed her yet. The cold, hard floor dug into her knees and she tried to stand, but her legs would barely hold her up. Why? She looked down at her legs to find them bloody, her pants soaked and torn. There were gashes running up and down and she couldn't identify what could have caused the jagged lines that seeped much blood.

She stood up anyway; bluntly aware of her dream state and thankful that pain was one thing one could not physically feel when dreaming. Once more she searched for a window. She found this deja vu annoying, but she couldn't help but give in the curiosity that pulled at her. Who was winning the battle that lay beyond the walls of this ship? Last time she witnessed the defeat of her friends. Would it be different this time?

She found a window and pressed her forehead up against the cool glass and used the wall for support; her normally strong legs had taken too much abuse. How they got in this state confused her, but her eyes were pulled away from the gruesome sight and towards the deep vacuum of space. This time the battle scene took on a less melancholy appearance.

Her Nazgulian friends seemed to be beating the rebels to a pulp. Her heart leapt in joy, glad she wouldn't have to witness the deaths of her friends. She watched as a silent explosion filled space and she looked from the battle, searching the rest of space, curious if anything else was going on and saw the Doashim, idly hovering nearby. Her happy attitude washed away. Why was she once again on the rebel ship instead of the Doashim? This had been the one part of her dream that she didn't understand the last time it had visited her in her sleep.

She closed her eyes and opened them slightly, her view angled toward the ground. Her eyes widened as she noticed for the first time she wasn't wearing her pilot uniform like she had been last time. Now she had adorned rebel's clothing. What the hell? She sank down, back against the wall. Her shoes were drenched in blood and now the floor around her was stained a deep red. She rubbed her face, her eyes growing weary and tired. Wisps of her hair had fallen from the bun, blocking the corners of her vision. She stared at them for a moment.

Where&Where's my brown hair? Her light brown hair had been replaced with a deep red color, no blue highlights to be seen. In this dream she wasn't even Tokijin. What did this mean? She felt tears of what she thought was confusion running down her face. Maybe they weren't even that. She wasn't herself here, this wasn't her body. She was crying someone else's tears.

She slowly looked up, the jumble of hurried people still running around and saw the very same man who she had asked what was going on her first time visiting this ship. This time he noticed her and ran over to her, concern and compassion painted the features on his face, all the malice and hatred she had seen before had vanished. He began pounding her with questions she could not answer, and began to look at her legs.

More people began to surround her, this time not out of anger. These people only had compassion for their own kind. That was human's way was it not? She had no feelings for these people, and would kill them in combat without a second's thought if it meant protecting her friends.

She began to slip from consciousness, glad to see this world had begun to fade from her vision. For once she was glad to see her entire world turn black.

Tokijin woke with a start, finding herself tangled in her sheets she pulled away, trying to escape from her bed. Her legs we freed and her hand went down to search her thighs and shins for any blood or wounds. Finding none she let herself relax. Sighing she looked at the clock. It was early morning and she realized she hadn't changed from her uniform the night before.

She looked at the beds of her roommates, hoping she hadn't woken either of them. Both women were still sleeping soundly and she pulled back her hair into a messy bun, glad to see it was brown once again and searched for her shoes. She needed to walk around.

The halls were mostly barren at this early hour of the morning and as she began walking she hoped she would be able to find her way to the mess hall. She needed a drink but more importantly, she needed to sort out her thoughts. Back at Nazgul she would have had someone to talk to about this, but then if she was back with everyone she doubted she would be having these haunting dreams.

She sound of her footsteps echoed in the vast halls, giving an eerie effect, forcing a shudder. It was so empty and it was only what? Three in the morning?

After walking for a couple of minutes she had passed a few people, but still hadn't ended up at her destination. She racked her brain for where the mess hall could possibly be and cursed herself for not paying more attention when Aggie had been leading them. She sighed and stopped walking.

She wished she could talk to Trevor. He always knew the right words to tell her to make her feel better. Some of those words would come in handy right now. Or even the sound of his voice would bring some comfort.

The chilled air and her parched throat didn't help any either. She looked over her shoulder. Maybe she should just go back to bed. That didn't sound like a bad idea either. The hours she had of sleep felt only like a few minutes. She decided she would get a quick drink and would return to bed. She needed to store up as much energy as she could get so she could work her hardest and not fall asleep when she was supposed to be listening. 


She started walking again. Maybe if she was lucky she would come across another person who could tell her where to go. She couldn't help but look down at her legs, afraid that somehow her dream would come true and the red would reappear and she would lose her ability to walk for a period of time. Confined to a bed. That was almost as bad as being alone for long periods of time. She shuddered.

She turned a corner but luckily was aware enough where she was fast enough to avoid any collision. She had seen a person coming, and had jumped back before she had run into them, a reflex developed after running into Dahar. Although she was fine, the man she had almost ran over didn't look alright. He was half crouched over and had his hands shielding his face, waiting for the collide that wouldn't come.

"Uh, are you alright Robi?" His glasses and shy posture gave him away as soon as she saw him and Toki was glad that she remembered his name. He straightened up and pushed his glasses farther up on his nose, obviously embarrassed. 

"Heh..Yeah. I'm fine. What are you doing up so early?" Robi studied her for a second before averting his eyes. Tokijin found it a little funny that he would be shy around her. She was supposed to be the one that freaks out around new people. But she just shrugged in reply.

"Looking for the mess hall. How about you? Why are you up already?"

"Um..I couldn't really sleep and I figured I'd try and figure out where everything was." She nodded, understanding.

"Well in that case, do you happen to know where the mess hall is? I could use a drink and I am geographically challenged." Tokijin quietly chuckled at herself and was glad to see that Robi seemed to have relaxed slightly. He did look horribly tired though. She wondered if that's how she looked herself.

"Oh, yeah I can show you. It's back there." Robi pointed over his shoulder from the way he came. "There aren't too many people around this early so it's kind of nice that you don't have to worry about getting run over. Most of the time anyway. Heh." He turned a shade of red again, regretting his joke and turned around, walking at a hurried pace. Tokijin laughed before she followed him to the Mess hall.

***

Tokijin woke up at the sound of a buzzer, quickly turned it off and was happy to report she was feeling more refreshed than before. She got in a few more hours of sleep and after her encounter with Robi; she now knew where the mess hall was as well as where they were supposed to meet this morning.

She stretched her arms happily above her head, as no more nightmares had invaded her peaceful sleep and she wasn't going to worry about the one she had earlier. She had better things to occupy her time.

As she got ready for the day she noticed as one of her roommates had already left for the day. At least it was the woman who thought she was crazy. The one with her bed closest to her own bed was still sleeping, although she was mumbling in her slumber. Toki was glad she was able to sleep through that noise. She was usually a light sleeper.

Pulling back on her shoes, she ran through the steps to get to the mess hall in her head. She and Bria had planned to eat a quick breakfast before getting to work. They had thought of that after they had been dismissed the other day. Bria had shrugged off the fact that Toki had once been a pilot-she still hadn't figured out why she had that moment of silence-and had returned to her normal bounce-y self fairly quickly.

Ready to go, she bounded off her bed and out the door, making sure to be extra careful to not to run into anyone in the hall. She didn't need any more of that, but even if she did run into someone, she didn't think that would ruin her good mood.

 
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TECH/PO1 Tokijin/Phoenix Wing/Str Doashim/1FL/VEN/VE (=*A*=) [BWC]

Tokijin set down her fork and stretched her arms above her head. Breakfast was the most important meal of the day, no? Bria had already finished what little she had started with. Toki preferred larger portions and couldn't figure out why Bria would eat so little.

"I'm just not used to eating breakfast, and I've adapted to not eating in the morning." Bria finally explained herself after Toki had asked her why she didn't eat more for the billionth time.

"Ahh I see. I suppose that would come in handy when there wasn't enough time for breakfast. Although if I had to miss it I would probably faint from hunger pains before noon." Tokijin shook her head, laughing at herself. Bria had found her as soon as Toki had found the mess hall; she had found it with ease and reminded herself to thank Robi later.

"Haha, nice." Bria laughed and stood up, signaling that it was time to go. Ah yes, time to go to work. So far Tokijin couldn't complain about her new occupation. Yesterday they had learned the basics, barely scratching the surface of all she would need to know. She didn't have enough time to do any research last night; she had conked out too quickly.

She followed Bria's lead, stood up and they walked out of the mess hall, but not before dumping their trays. They would begin work in a few minutes and it would be a while before they were assigned to a certain part of the ship. Maybe the research should wait till she was assigned.

Walking down the hall with extra minutes to spare, Tokijin kept an eye out for a porthole. She wanted to at least have some glimpse of the outside world. To be able to look at something other than the bleak and bland colors of the ship that was tiring her eyes would be nice. On the Atrus there hadn't been a day were she hadn't looked out into the vast space. It was one of the things she did when she needed to think or simply just to take a moment to relax and with everything that awaited her aboard the Doashim, knowing where to find the portholes would be a good idea.

Bria tried to strike up a conversation as she walked, but that was short lived when Tokijin heard an extra set of feet walking in rhythm with her own and Bria's. She turned her head and jumped when she saw Dahar.

"Gah! I can go without the scaring please!" He had appeared out of nowhere and that was getting old. But whenever Toki looked at the man standing beside her old fires of distaste rekindled. Why did he keep popping up everywhere?

"I'm sorry. Because it's all my fault you're so easily scared, now isn't it?" Dahar looked at her with a cocky grin on his face, seemingly content with teasing her. Tokijin just stared blankly at him, not at all happy with the current conversation. Bria just looked back and forth between them, wondering what could have happened to cause so much discomfort.

"Do you want something?" She gave him the iciest stare she could muster, hoping he would understand that he needed to go away.

"Oh nothing, learning buddy." He put an emphasis on learning buddy. She had totally forgotten that she would have to spend her next month working beside this guy. And if she was really unlucky, she could be assigned to work with him after her training was done as well.

She gave him one last look and stormed off, leaving Bria behind, assuming she would catch up.

"Oh, uh. Bye." Bria stammered out to Dahar politely and chased after Toki, confused at the sudden events. She walked silently beside Toki, not quite looking at her, but Toki could tell she wanted to ask her what was up.

"Dahar. We're partners as you could have guessed already, and yesterday he left me behind." Tokijin worked to calm herself. She had never felt this way about someone and her cruel treatment almost made her feel guilty. Almost.

"Left you behind?" Bria's tone was of unmistakable confusion.

"He and I were going to go to the briefing room together, because I had no clue where it was. But then he walked off without me when I got lost in my thoughts, leaving me to fend for myself when i had no clue whatsoever."

"Oh. I see . . . I can understand why you're mad at him, but isn't that sort of. . ." She trailed off, uncertain if she would anger Toki with her words, but went for it, hoping for the best anyway. "An honest mistake?"

Tokijin stopped walking again and sighed. "I suppose so, but aren't I aloud to be mad at him at least a little bit?" She held her forefinger and thumb about a centimeter apart and a smile crept to her lips as she felt her anger fade.

Bria laughed softy, nodding. "Yeah, I would think so. Come on, we're gonna be late if we don't hurry." She laughed again, more loudly and started off at a fast pace. Toki was sure that if the halls weren't full of people they would have raced to meet Aggie. Bria had long legs and was lean. She looked like she could put up a fight, or at least more than Trevor could put up-she had to silently apologized to Trevor for that thought.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming." Toki shook her head and chasing after Bria, but not without a thought of Dahar beforehand.

***

Tokijin sighed happily as she and her teammates were released earlier than the day before. Today they had learned about physically fixing the ship, not just working from the computers. She liked that better. She was better at fixing things if she could see what the problem was, and she liked being able to work with the guts of the ship. Although she wasn't quite confident of her newfound skills, she thought she would like working in the engine room. At least there she wouldn't be sitting around all day.

The crowd that was her peers had already disappeared, everyone quickly leaving eagerly at their release. Toki was the only one that remained. She had hoped to ask Aggie some questions, but she would wait till Agatha was done talking with another technician. But she did notice the narrowing of Aggie's eyes, and her lips formed a thin line out of disapproval. Something was up, and she didn't want to bother her when she was needed. She would just find her later.

Tokijin made her way to the halls, and was going to head for her room when she noticed a small crowd centered in the hall. She joined the crowd, standing on her toes tolook above the many heads of others to search for the reason why they were circling. She was surprised at what she saw.

Dahar!? Another man she didn't know and Dahar were the center of attention, dukking it out with each other. Tokijin shoved her way into the middle and grabbed Dahar's arm in attempt to break up the fight. She quickly regretted that decision.

When she put a firm grasp on Dahar, saying his name as she did so, he let his reflexes got the better of him and he struck her with his elbow, nailing her in the nose.

"Gah! You moron!" Tokijin quickly released him, clutching her throbbing nose instead. Dahar whipped around, surprise and guilt written on his face.

"Oh, Toki! I'm so sorry!" Toki just stood there, protecting her nose, eyes shut in pain. The man Dahar had gotten into the fight with was freaking out now that a girl had gotten involved. He high-tailed it out of there as quickly as he could, but the crowd wasn't going to let him go so willingly. He had push and shoved his way past people to escape.

"Oh that bast-," Dahar watched as the man ran, but turned his attention back to Toki when she pulled on his sleeve.

"Damn this hurts. Now I'm bleeding." A vast amount of blood began pouring out of her nose, running down her hands and she had to keep her eyes shut tight out of fear she would begin crying. No way she was going to do that in front of Dahar. But the loss of blood began to make her woozy. How could so much blood come from her nose, of all places?

"Dahar. I don't like you for ditching me, but now is your chance to make amends." He now had her full attention, but now confusion covered his face. She didn't let him saying anything. "Help me get to the medical bay please!" Dizzy spells began taking place as the hallways began to spin and the crowd began to dispatch before someone really got into trouble.

"Oh. Yeah. Right!" Determination took over and Dahar wrapped an am around Toki's waist and gently removed one hand from her nose to put on his shoulder, he supported her and she just focused on not letting her blood get on the floor. She let him support most of her waist and she shuffled instead of walking, letting Dahar lead the way and basically carry her. After her hand got all nice and bloody she had to move to her sleeve, letting it soak up most of the mess.

*In the Medical Bay*

Sitting on a small cot, a nurse tended to Tokijin's swollen nose as well as helping to clean the drying blood off her face and hands.

"How did this happen? You surely broke your nose!" The nurse was astonished with the amount of damage done to her nose, and Toki looked at Dahar, who was standing off to the side. His shoulders were sagged and he stared at the floor, but looked up at her question and took a breath to answer her.

"Oh, I wasn't watching where I was going and I ran into something when I was in the engine room. I don't remember what it was. " She spoke quickly; she wasn't going to let Dahar get himself in trouble. He probably would eventually, but at the moment Toki would try and save him.

The nurse sighed, shaking her head. "I'll be back." Toki clutched a paper towel to her nose. The bleeding had stopped but the throbbing of immense pain still remained. Who could have known that getting nailed in the face would hurt so freaking much? Out of all the wounds she had sustained in the past, she had to name this the worst. The headache that came with the immeasurable loss of blood wasn't too much fun either. She knew it was easy to get rid of a wound that would have normally left a scar, but how did they fix a broken nose?

"Hey . . .Ok, I'm seriously lost here." She looked at Dahar from the corner of her eyes, not really want to turn her head to him, afraid if it too would cause pain. "Why didn't you rat me out?"

"Such a harsh word. You know what Dahar? To tell the truth, I was tired of being angry at you. And no, getting my nose broken was not in my plans to make amends with you, but I was going to apologize sooner or later. Like you mentioned earlier, we are going to have to work together. And I'd rather not have to work with someone I'm always pissed at." She gave him the blunt, frank version. But it was the truth, more or less.

"Oh." Dahar suddenly laughed and shook his head, Toki jumping at the loud sound that filled her small medical room.

"Hey, shhh. Loud noises and headaches don't mix, mmm-kay?" She looked at him now; she gave him a smile, showing him she wasn't angry.

"Oh. . .Ok. I'll be quiet." He spoke in quiet hushed tones, also smiling now and he sat down on a chair, shaking his head still as the nurse made her reappearance.

"Alright now, remove your hands from your nose please." The nurse immediately got to work. She wipped off Toki's nose with some sort of anesthetic wipe and let it dry before carefully sticking a small white sticky patch to her nose. Toki quickly felt the burn from whatever was coming from the patch and she fanned her nose with her hands, trying to cool the burning.

"The patch I put on your nose is going to help speed along the natural healing process. Your nose isn't damaged enough for more a more serious course of action to take place, so this will do. Do not touch your nose, and do not remove the patch. You only need to wear it for about six to eight hours, so no using refreshers until then. And I'll give you pain killers that should hold you off till it needs to come off. If any more bleeding or swelling occurs, come back immediately." She handed Toki two small blue pills with a small glass of water to drink along with it and she quickly gulped it down. "Alright, you may go now. Get lots of sleep tonight."

Tokijin nodded quickly and jumped up off the cot and was about ready to run out of there if the stars hadn't filled her vision after she had stood up. She slowly walked towards the door, Dahar trailing behind her, ready to catch her if she happened to fall.

They reached the halls without incident and they walked in silence, side by side.

"Hey Toki. . . Thank you." He sounded sincere so Toki just shrugged.

"Meh, no problem. But you owe me an explanation. As well as a drink." She said lightheartedly, glad the past anger was gone, now replaced with content and she wasn't too curious, but she still wanted to know what had caused that fight.

Dahar just laughed in reply.


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TECH/CPO Tokijin/Phoenix Wing/Str Doashim/1FL/VEN/VE (=*A*=) [BWC] [VC:B]

When Tokijin woke, her eyes felt heavy, and it took her a minute to realize where she was. In a daze of unawareness, she reached up to scratch her nose, only to be met by a stream of pain. She shut her eyes, waiting for the pain to pass before she slowly sat up.

She looked around for the clock, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness before she tried to find anything. 4:53 Am. She had taken her nap and then some. She looked towards the beds. Her roommates had come in while she was asleep. She was surprised they hadn't woken her up. She pulled on her boots and grabbed a towel. It had been well over six to eight hours. Time for a nice long stop to the refresher.

She headed out into the halls and stopped for a moment. She only had a vague idea of where it was. She racked her brain for the missing information and headed out, trying to remember if she had passed it before. She was getting really tired of not knowing where she was going. Well she had at least three hours to get to know the ship and she was hyped up from all that extra sleep; time to get going.

She set out, thoughts going through her head. Most of the time her thoughts wandered back to the subject of her dream and Trevor. She was really missing home. Maybe she should tell him about it. She had been too upset to tell him the dream she had first had. And this one was just as bad. She felt a little ashamed the way she had let herself break down like she had. But it still had felt good to let the barriers down. She hadn't had a good cry in a while.

She ran a hand through her hair, searching her surroundings when she spotted her destination. She walked in as the lights automatically turned on at her presence, and went temporarily blind as the harsh light hurt her eyes. She moved slowly, taking her time and when she did a quick 360 to make sure no one was around; she proceeded to sing an old song that was a traditional one from Farhen Rina. The sound of her voice echoed around her and it sounded as if more people were joining in her little melody and she grimaced; she was being louder than she had meant to. She lowered her volume and continued to sing her ancient song, having fun teasing the echoes.

Her voice wasn't fantastic, but it was good, bearable, small vibrato accompanied the notes when they were hit right, and her small tune reminded her much of home, of the festival that once graced the strict planet. She shrugged off the sadness by allowing herself to belt out a fast-paced, happier song that lifted her spirits high and proceeded to laugh at herself when she realized she was yelling, not so much singing.

She felt her patch dissolve off her nose from the water; it had kept holding onto her nose till the end. She looked at it in the mirror, examining the damage. Her nose had turned a gross shade of yellow; the color of a healing bruise. Luckily it didn't itch anymore, nor was it swollen. She would just have a yellow nose for a while.

She left the refresher, feeling better now that she was clean and she hummed along as she walked back to the cabin to drop off her towel. She felt like she had washed away her problems and her songs had left her in a silly mood. She probably would have skipped if she wouldn't have looked like a complete fool. She didn't need to do that anymore.

But her stomach did tighten in protest. Food! It screamed. She hadn't eaten supper and she was feeling the effects of that now. Breakfast, and then she would find a place where she could study more; a window would be a good place for that.

She found the mess hall with ease, proud of how quickly she found it. As she ate a rather large breakfast she made sure to remember where the refresher was, committing it to memory. Oh darnit..I should have grabbed my data pad while I was in the cabin. Ah well. All the more exercise. She finished up her meal and hurried off back to her cabin, grabbed her data pad quickly and returned to the halls.

Hmm. . .I wonder if i can find that sim room again. It was only 5:30 in the morning, and she doubted that anyone would be around to witness any of her failures; if they were up and running again that is. But then with the current condition of the ship, she doubted that they would keep the sims up and running with everything else around to fix. She decided she would check out their condition and ask Aggie about it later if they weren't fixed. Before she and Trevor had been chased from the sims because they were taking up more energy they were supposed to and they were supposed to be on.

She found the Simulation room faster then she expected and noticed on the door a sign said in big bold letters, "TECHNICIANS ONLY", still attached. Quickly obliging, she entered the room when she would not have been allowed before. The air in here was stale, and not many people had made use of this room. She walked over to one of the simulators, taking a look at it. She had only had two days worth of training, but if she was lucky maybe one of them would have a really easy problem that she could fix. She looked at the control panel, and opened the door that would let her peer inside to look at all the technical stuff.

"Ew.." She looked at all the wires and chips and tubes, intimidated, and decided now would not be the best time to work on this. Maybe they didn't even want them fixed. They hadn't spent much money on this room either. It wasn't as big as the one on the Atrus, and she could easily clean it up if she wanted to. Dust covered mostly everything and random items like trash littered the floor; cleaning droids obviously skip this room. This could be a project for her. Even with things so bent up around here, they had lots of technicians and she seemed to have a lot of free time.

She scratched her head and studied the room. She would talk to Aggie about this later. This could be her escape she might need later. . .Escape from what, she didn't know.

She then looked down to her data pad as she heard it beep rapidly, alerting her of a new message. Her heart leapt as she figured it must be from Trevor. What else could it be? She opened the message and she realized it wasn't from Trevor. Who it was from she didn't know, but it addressed from the medical bay from the Atrus. She took a minute to scan over it and her eyes widened as she read through the message once more, not quite believing what she was reading.

It was about Jen. And she ready to assume active duty again.
"Yes! Go Jen!" A smile had reached her lips and she jumped up in the air once, pure joy filling her. Jen had come out of her coma! Sooner than she had hoped too; she though there was little chance that Jen would ever wake up, and the medics thought so too. Oh only if I could go see her! And say hi to everyone else too.. She hadn't been gone for long but so much had happened. New pilots had joined Nazgul and she wished she could be there to encourage and befriend them. Well, she would have to work hard so she could return to Nazgul soon.

She looked around at the simulation room and headed for the door. This could wait until later. It swished open before her and let her out into the hall. It was time to go find her window.

****

The three day flew by for Tokijin without incident. When she wasn't working she was studying by her new favorite port hole, down a hallway that most people avoided because there were faster ways to get where they were going. This hallway was just a detour. She came here to get away from everyone and do searches on her data pad. Aggie had even given her an actual book to read so she could learn more when she had asked her about it. She still hadn't asked her about the simulation room. She would work on that when she was slightly more experienced.

But she was in a happier mood because she got a message from Trevor earlier that day. He had sent it the day before, but it hadn't arrived until that morning for some reason. He had been in a fight with pirates, but that wasn't the part that worried her. The part that worried her was that he said she had nothing he had to worry about yet. She sent him another reply, telling him of her excess of studies and her plan to fix the sim room and the good people she had met. She left out most of the bad parts, like her evil roommates and how she broke her nose for example.

She sent him a long reply, making she to end it with Love, Tokijin and hoped he would get it soon before he had to go out again.

She had been released from her duties the latest time since she had started working, and herself, Robi, and Bria were all going to meet in the mess hall for dinner. She had become friends with most of her group, she was glad to report. But some people, like Jase and Iris were just had very large barriers surrounding them and isolated themselves from any acts of friendship. Marc, Errol, Marius, and Ivan mostly kept to themselves, except for the occasional smile from Errol when she was working with him on something. He was nice, but wasn't willing to talk to her.

Earlier that day they had begun working with the smaller power tools that a technician used regularly. She was a little worried about this, for one of them had a small spinning blade that made 1000 rotations per second. This one scared her. One was to get an electrical current going through something that needed a jump start, and another was just a pair of vibroblade wire cutters. She didn't mind those so much as the spinning blade. She didn't think she would handle that one for a while.

She had finished the hour with a trip to the 'fresher. She was going to go to her cabin and drop off her towel before she put up her wet hair. For the moment she just let it hang about her shoulders, letting the water soak into her uniform. That would dry soon too.

She got to her cabin and was relieved to find that it was empty. She had found out that her roommates had a very strong dislike for her. She would often find some of her things would randomly disappear only to hours later not where she had last had it. She was considering finding a lock or something for her duffel bag. She didn't keep her things in anything else, and she always kept the bag deep under her bed. She didn't care when they took things, but as long as they didn't take her sketchbook, she would put up with it.

She sighed. She still wasn't sure why those women did what they did. They have never spoken to her, and yet the taunting continues. She shook it off and bent over to let her hair fall down so she could group it together and let her bangs fall in front of her eyes. She pulled the rubber band off her wrist and tied her hair up and looked at the tinted blue bangs that blinded her vision. They were what they were constantly making fun at. She didn't know where it had come from, but somewhere in her bloodline blue hair had been a trait that was passed down to her. She didn't have control over what color her natural hair color was. And why should she dye it? Just to please the other women? To make them happy? She didn't need to change herself to fit in. Thoughts of Nazgul, her friends here. . .and Trevor filled her mind. They accepted her the way she was. Why should she care what other people think?

She smirked as cockiness she rarely felt swelled up in her. Ooooh if they were in here would I give them a piece of my mind. It felt so un-Toki like, but she really just wanted to flip those women off. She had never done it to anyone before, and just thinking about it made her feel evil. If she was able to laugh evilly she probably would. But she was not capable of an evil laugh so she made due and walked out of the room, headed towards the mess hall. Maybe after supper a few drinks should be ordered. Maybe she would like that ale now that her nose wasn't broken.


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TECH/CPO Tokijin/Phoenix Wing/Str Doashim/1FL/VEN/VE (=*A*=) (=*SA*=) [BWC] [VC:B]

It had been weeks since the last drinking party Toki had attended. Luckily, Bria hadn't been able to drag her along into the cantina again. She had to put her foot down somewhere; her studies were dropping because of her social gatherings. She had decided to get to work and only met with her friends for eating. Work took hold of her attention and determination.

Without realizing it, she had become a better technician over the weeks. Aggie pointed this subtly out to her when after she had been faced with a difficult wiring problem. When she took a moment to think about it, the fact hit home and she was overjoyed with this. No longer would she be one to complete screw everyone over at the push of a button, and no more would she be one to stand around waiting for orders in a crisis situation, (that Nazgul always seemed to find itself in) but she would be able to help! At last she understood the make-up of her own TIE, and the internal makings of a computer. Still, she had a lot to learn, but she had come a long way since she had first walked onto the Doashim, alone and afraid.

"So how did you and Dahar do with that test we had? I could have sworn I hooked up that router right, but Jase said the way I had it could cause overheating and make it explode. . ." Bria (which Toki had learned five days ago was short for Briana) had been sulking since they got off work but Toks was convinced that a little food would cheer her up. So far its magic was working wonders on her.

Toki laughed and shook her head.

"I did fairly well on this one. Dahar just mostly handed me wire cutters and I got it all hooked up. I'm so glad wires are color coated. Where would the universe be without color coated wires?" The trick to their test was that they were working with two different types of wires, but the colors were reversed from what they were normally working with so they had to keep their eyes open. Aggie had done this to make sure they understood as a technician never to assume anything, and to always double check their work.

Aggie would come up with these little "tests" every so often. They would work on something that would actually need fixing and wouldn't be put to work until Aggie had checked to make sure everything had been done right. The test was to review them what they were working over the past week and they also had other little lessons behind the tests. So far Toki hadn't had any huge failures at these, and her confidence was beginning to rise.

Bria sighed, a solumn mood overtaking her once more.

"I haven't been doing so well Toks. I've been falling behind a little and it's effecting me more than it should be."

Toki took her time before she said her next words, not wishing to hit a nerve. But she was never good at being gentle or sutle. She hadn't been one to give advice; she hadn't' really had friends to give advice to before.

"Well. . . Suppose you didn't spend so much time with Errol as you have been. . ." That didn't have the effect she wanted it to and earned a sharp glance from Bria's piercing brown eyes. "I mean, if you want to, you can help me fix up the simulators. I've been meaning to fix those and they're good exercises to do during your free time."

Bria forgot her sudden anger with Toki and now had a confused look on her face.

"What's wrong with the sims? I didn't think there had been anything wrong with them before."

"Oh! The last time I had to use one my friend and I had been kicked out of the room. No one was allowed in there because the sims had a malfunction that made them use up more power running than they should be. It's a real mess, and I think it'd be a good challenge for us. And fun."

Bria and Errol, Toki noticed lately, had been running off together whenever they had a free moment. Toki hadn't thought of Bria being that kind of girl, but she still didn't know much about her, and didn't say much nor did she try to think much of it.

Bria took in what Toki and told her, nodding slowly and staring at her food, contemplating the idea.

"Yeah. . . I think that would be a good idea. Have you talked to Drea about it at all?"

"Who? Oh!! Duh. Blonde moment there." Toki had gotten so used to calling Agatha Drea, Aggie all this time and she wasn't used to other people refering to her by her last name. No one she hung out with really talked about her at all. "Yeah, I've mentioned it once or twice. And since it's not really on the agenda, she doesn't care if I try and fix it, as long as I don't blow anything up." This gained a small smile and a nod from Bria.

"Yeah. I think I'll give it a go." 

"Great! I'll get to work doing some research so I can figure out what the main problem is. I'll see you tomorrow, ok?" Bria nodded and went happily back to her meal.

Toki stood and went back to her cabin. She had gone into the habit of returning to her room after supper with Bria, going to the 'fresher, and grab her comlink, a book or two and her sketchbook to go sit on her favorite bench to study. She hadn't had any recent trouble with her roommates. They had found someone else to bug as it seemed. At this point in time, she had found herself fairly comfortable with her life on the Doashim. Everything had been going well, she had made great friends, and she had learned so much! Wait until she told Nazgul when she got back!

Her long yearning for Nazgul had seemed to be slowly deminishing but she still held a place in her heart for the love of the skies. Her longing for Nazgul itself may be getting smaller, but as the days went by, she began to feel a withdrawel. There seemed to be no way to quench her thirst either, not with the sims out anyway. Toki had a great deal of experience of tucking her feelings like this one away, and leave it untouched.

While she was lying in bed she imagined herself inside of her TIE, sitting in the cockpit, the colored lights blinking around her. The feel of the gloves on her tender hands made them itch, and the feel of her helmet brought her a sense of safety. The vast that was space surrounded her completely, and the yoke sat just right in her hands. The whirr that her TIE made struck fear into the hearts of her enimies, and brought her a sense of confidence. She would see an enemy X-wing in the enclosing distance, and her finger hovered over the red fire button. The X-wing would fly into her range and as soon as she commanded her finger to blast her enemy into a thousand pieces she would come crashing back down to reality. Eyes slowly opened, and a dark room would replace the confines of spacee, and the only sound would be that of her own breathing. Whenever she came out of these scenes she played over and over again in her mind a sense of great emptiness and sadness washes over her. Then a sigh would escape her troubled lips, and she would soon fall into an unfitful and light slumber. . .
 
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TECH/CPO Tokijin/Phoenix Wing/Str Doashim/1FL/VEN/VE (=*A*=) (=*SA*=) [BWC] [VC:B]