Space, space is deep, dark and vast.  In one small corner of space hangs an Imperial listening post.  It monitors the vastness of space around it.  It looks and seeks out potential threats to the Empire.  It is one of many but this one never sees any action, never notices any threats.  Today is going to be different.  Today the station would be visited by what many would soon call 'the Orb of Doom'.

Alarm klaxons rang out through the station.  Officers rushed and took up their positions as the Commander of this listening post entered the bridge.
"What is going on?" he queried.
One of his officers replied "sensors just picked this up.  It arrived several seconds ago and is just sitting out there".
"Show me" replied the Commander.

The Commander looked as one of the monitors sprung to life showing an orb hanging lifelessly in space.  The orb was small, much smaller than even a Tyderian shuttle.
"Sensor readings?" queried the Commander.
"None" replied his officer, "we have no idea what it is, where it came from or what it does".
"Send a shuttle to retrieve it" ordered the Commander.
"Yes Sir" replied the officer as he went to carry out the order.

Flight officers Jonas and Borgat were seasoned officers.  They had been in many combat situations and had been posted here over a year ago.  Now all they seen was boring flight tests and routine shuttle maintenance.  In a sense, they were bored.  Now they were flying in their standard Tyderian shuttle to collect a strange item, an orb.
"What do you think it is?" queried Borgat.
"Probably just some debris that managed to end up here" replied Jonas.
"I guess, just wish it had of been something exciting"

The shuttle flew closer to the orb.  Suddenly, without warning, a slender spike extended from it, the spike pointing directly at the station.  Then small blasters started to extend around its circumference.
Inside the station the Commander barked out the command "destroy it!"
Blasters flew out from the station and bounced off shields around the orb.
"Evasive action" said Borgat as the shuttle banked to avoid the random bouncing blasts.
The blasters around the orb fired.  Instead of firing directly at the station, they ran down the orb and collected around the spike to make one very large blaster bolt.  It shot out from the spike towards the station.  The station's shields didn't stand a chance as it tore through them, through the station, finally ending up at the station's reactor.  The Commander never had a chance to make the order to abandon the station before it exploded.  Jonas and Borgat stared in amazement as debris floated around the shuttle.

The shuttle started to emit a high pitched beeping.
"We have a Rebel cruiser just arriving, its markings identify it as the Indomitable" said Jonas.
"Have they spotted us yet?" queried Borgat.
"Not yet, but they are retrieving the orb" replied Jonas
Borgat looked on in horror.  "We have to get back to the Empire and warn them of this threat.  Someone has to stop them before they use this weapon to wipe out the entire Empire".
With that, the shuttle shot off into hyperspace.

Alan walked slowly down the corridors of the Vast Empire Headquarters at Tadath.  He stopped and looked out at the stars and sighed.  It had been some time since the Paladin squad had been called into action.  He had enjoyed the rest but now he longed to be out there again.  The killing, the bloodshed, it all sounded a little barbaric but he lived for it, lived for the thrill.  So entranced was he that he failed to hear a soldier come up behind him.
"Sir?" queried the officer.
Alan turned around and looked at him.
"Sir, you're wanted in the ward room" said the officer before he left.
The ward room thought Alan to himself, he hoped that meant that the Paladin's were being called into action once more.

Entering the ward room, Alan looked round and found that the rest of the Paladin squad had already arrived.  He also noted that there was a new soldier at the table.  He took a seat and waited for Jakireth, the squad leader to arrive.  It had been some time since he had seen his squad leader and he assumed that he was tied up with other duties.  He was surprised when Kairo entered and stood at the head of the table.

"Thank you for coming at such short notice" said Kairo, "lately several of our listening posts and a research station have been completely destroyed with no survivors.  Two days ago another listening post was completely destroyed but two pilots in a shuttle were able to make it back to inform us what happened."

Kairo pressed a button and the lights dimmed.  Behind him a picture of a small sphere appeared.  "This, ladies and gentleman is a new weapon that the rebels have designed.  We are assuming that they have used our Death Star designs to produce a scaled down version.  Don't let its size fool you.  This thing has obliterated stations in one shot.  Our technical guys have nicknamed it 'the orb of doom'".

The squad looked on, shocked at what they were seeing.

Kairo clicked another button and the image of a man appeared on the screen.  It looked like he was in his mid 40's and his eyes conveyed the picture of a man that had been in one too many battles and had survived them all.  "This is Commander Sandros, he is the Captain of a rebel cruiser called the Indomitable.  This ship was seen retrieving the weapon.  Intel has him placed as being the Commander of a rebel stronghold on the Planet Ventross.  This planet is warm and humid with dense forestry.  Your mission will be to retrieve the weapon if possible.  If not, then this weapon must be destroyed at all cost.  You will also need to remove its design from their computer memory banks so they can never build another weapon".

"What support can we expect on this mission?" queried Alan after hearing what they were going up against.

"I'm afraid we are stretched pretty thin these days, you'll be going in alone.  We plan to send you in a shuttle to the far side of the planet where you will go undetected.  From there you can use your jetpacks to get to the rebel stronghold.  We have little intelligence on the facility itself so you will be on your own.  Remember, no matter what the cost, it is imperative that this weapon be removed from the hands of the rebels.  Understood?"

Around the table people nodded their heads or replied 'yes sir'.

Kairo noticed that everyone had understood the graveness of their mission and carried on "sadly you will not be joined by your squad leader Jakireth as he is currently busy with something else, so, Alan, as assistant squad leader, you are in charge of this one".

"Yes Sir" replied Alan, gulping slightly at having to take charge of the squad on such a dangerous mission.

"Lastly you will have noticed that you have a new member to the squad, Private First Class Renji is now a member of Paladin"

Everyone around the table either waved or said 'hi' to the newest member of the squad.

"Any questions?" asked Kairo as he pressed a button so that the Rebel Commander's face was replaced by that of the weapon.  He waited and looked around at everyone noticing that they were once more looking at the weapon.  Satisfied that no-one had a question to ask he said "your shuttle leaves in five hours, good luck".  With that he walked out of the room to leave the squad to contemplate on their new mission.

Standing up, Alan surveyed the room and said "Ok, you heard the man.  We have five hours to get ready.  Gear up and I will see you at the shuttle".

The squad filed out to get ready.  Alan sat back down again and looked at the weapon once more and muttered to himself "what are we getting ourselves into this time".

 
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ASL/SGT AlanRJ/3SQD/2PLT/1CMP/1RGT/1BAT/Tadath/VEA [ES2]

-Paladin-
Army of the Vast Empire

Lucky left the room in silence. This mission seemed highly dangerous compared to their last mission.  In silence, she went to her quarters and took an hour's rest. During that hour, she went over the mission details and tried to figure out many ways to make it a success.

Not msking much headway on that , she deicded to just rest her brain before getting ready to leave. a half-hour later, she got out of bed and took out her armor and the weapons that she thought she would ned. Amongst those were her DC-15, Blaster Pistol and Rifle and some grenades.

Next she put on her undersuit before cleaning and doing minor repairs on her suit. Her armor had to be clean, shiny and in mint condition.  she put the bulky armor on piece by piece. Lastly, she pulled her helmet over her head and saw the familiar diagnostics screen.

While the computer was scanning her armor, she looked over the schematics for a small armory she was planning to build.

Once the diagnostic was done, she performed warm-up exercises to refamiliarize herself wit the long-since worn armor. when she was satisfied with the degree of movement she had developped and that she saw no flaws. She gave R7 ( a droid she  had purchased recently) the simple order of keeping the apartment clean. She exited her quarters and headed towards the Launch Bays.

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TRP/CPL Luckystar/1SQD/2PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/ Tadath/VEAVE [ES1]

-Paladin-
To Embrace the Darkness is to bring about the Light

It seemed like an eternity to Alan as he looked at the weapon one final time before leaving the ward room, but in fact it had only been several minutes.  He headed to his quarters as his mind raced with the information he had been given.  The Paladins were once more being called into action, and this time it might just be too great a challenge for them.  He stopped as he realised that this would be the first time he had ever led the squad.  Was he up to the challenge? Doubts raced through his head, over and over.  He slammed his fist against the nearest wall.  A passing soldier looked at him but thought better to ask and moved hastily on.  Stop it he thought to himself we have a job to do and by god we will get it done.  With that he strode with a new found confidence and purpose to his quarters.

Entering his room he was suddenly confronted by pointing blasters.  When his super battle droids recognised who it was, they lowered their weapons and resumed their guard status.  His luxury droid came quickly over to him to enquire whether she could get him anything or not but he hastily chased her away.  He rummaged through his assortment of armour and weaponry.  He knew it was going to be warm down on the planet but yet he still donned his black armour.  He felt secure with it on, like it was a part of him.  He got out his trusty DL-44 heavy blaster pistol and secured it into its holster.  He pondered on whether to take his sniper rifle or not.  Finally deciding it was better to have it than not, he slung it over his shoulder.  He moved slowly to the door and took one last look back at his place, hoping it would not be his last.  He exited the door and heard it slide closed behind him.

 
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ASL/SGT AlanRJ/3SQD/2PLT/1CMP/1RGT/1BAT/Tadath/VEA [ES2]

-Paladin-
Army of the Vast Empire

Slinging her bag over her shoulder, Finch wandered leisurely out of her small apartment and down the hall. 'Finally,' she thought smugly, 'Some action for the squad. Its been awhile&'

After a few hours of packing and preparing, she was finally ready. She still had plenty of time to be leisurely, though, surprisingly enough. She adjusted her bag strap as she strode at an unhurried pace down the hall. Nodding and smiling prettily to fellow troopers as she passed, she slowly made her way to the hanger.

This would be an interesting mission, that was for sure. With the squad leader away, they had to rely on Alan to bring them through. Now, she in no way doubted their ASL's abilities, but she had never worked under his command before and didn't quite know what to expect. In addition to that, they had a new recruit to keep an eye on. She'd have to come out of her comfort zone of quietness for this mission.

As she entered the hangar, she spotted Lucky speaking to the new kid. She strode over and nodded to her teammates. "How's it going, Lucky?" She asked, a slight smile on  her lips and her eyes dancing with excitement.

"Looking forward to it," Her fellow female Corporal replied, "And you?"

"Same," Finch replied with a soft chuckle. Turning to the new recruit, she offered a hand. "PFC Renji, I presume. I'm Finch, pleasure to meet you." The new recruit shook her hand, returning the pleasantries. "Hope you enjoy yourself," Finch said kindly, before settling down a few feet away to wait for Alan to arrive.

 
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-Paladin-

TRP/CPL Finch/1SQD/2PLT/1CMP/1RGT/1BAT/Tadath/VEA [ES-1C][EW-1C]

After leaving his quarters, Alan took some time to go to the canteen to get some food before the mission was to start.  He ate a hearty meal and realised that it was time to go.  Getting up he headed for the shuttle.

Arriving at the shuttle bay, Alan paused and took a deep breath well here we go he thought as the doors slid open and he walked through.  He quickly scanned the shuttle bay and realised that everyone else was there waiting for him.

"All right squad, let's move out and get the job done" he said.

With that the squad members started filing into the shuttle.  Once the last member had entered the shuttle, Alan followed behind.  Entering the shuttle, he hit the button to close up the ramp.  Pressing an overhead button he said "let's go".

With that, the shuttles engines roared to life and the shuttle lifted off and headed towards the planet Ventross.

 
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ASL/SGT AlanRJ/3SQD/2PLT/1CMP/1RGT/1BAT/Tadath/VEA [ES2]

-Paladin-
Army of the Vast Empire

The ride was a little bumpy but other than that it was smooth and quiet. Lucky sensed tension in the cabin, so to bring down the atmosphere a little she tried making a few jokes. But they didn't really have any effect.

she looked over at renji who was sitting besdie her and tried to start a conversation with im.

"You nervous?"
"Huhuh" was the reply she got.

To pass the time and to change the sunject which to her seemed to distress him more than calm his nerves she talked about her planet. what kind of technologies it had, her family and her life before the VE.

When she had finished he looked at her fascinated. How could someone have a life like that?



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TRP/CPL Luckystar/1SQD/2PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/ Tadath/VEAVE [ES1]

-Paladin-
To Embrace the Darkness is to bring about the Light

Kantar kept up the pace, staying towards the front of the group, yet not taking point, but scouting for hostiles ahead.

"Alan, request permission to take it to high ground, I'll be able to get a better idea of our bearings, as well as scout to see if i can determine how many hostiles there are."

"Permission granted Trooper, stay frosty, they might have snipers", Alan responded.

"I'm sure they do, but do you think any of them are anywhere close to being able to touch me Boss?"

"Of course not, Kantar, report back regularly, and let me know if you need assistance."

"Will do." And with that, Kantar used to built in cable system on his modified set of Personal armor. Ataying under cover and climbing his way to th ehighest vantage point, Kantar began to scope the area through his viewfinder.

"Alan", Kantar chirped over the Commlink, "you're clear for about 3 blocks, but past that.....let's just say, Kairo didnt train us for these situations for no reason. I can plug a few before you get there, but the call is yours. Give it, and I'll put  3.36 mm of justice into each one of their skulls."

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-Paladin-
TRP/CPL Kantar Seldar/3SQD/2PLT/1CMP/1RGT/1BAT/Tadath/VEA


It's a Good Day to die in the Empire's name, but it's also a better day to kill in the name of the Empire.

Leading the squad through the dense forest, Alan watched as Kantar flew upwards to scan the area ahead.  He already felt safe knowing Kantar was keeping a watchful eye around them.  He glanced behind to ensure that everyone was still present and was surprised to see Lucky right behind him.  He didn't think about it very long as his com chattered and Kantar informed him that there were hostiles closing in.

Alan motioned for the squad to get down as he informed them of the hostiles approaching.  He got on the com to Kantar and informed him that on his command he was to start dropping some of the rebels.  He then informed the rest of the squad that as soon as Kantar started firing, they would advance on the rebels and finish them off.

"Remember Kantar, we're counting on you to keep us safe" said Alan into his com.

"Don't I always boss" replied Kantar.

Alan smiled, knowing that Kantar had never let him down yet.

"Now" he said into the com.

Overhead he could hear a faint noise and up ahead there was suddenly a commotion.  Alan motioned with his hands to the squad and weapons raised, they advanced quickly into the rebels.

 
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ASL/SGT AlanRJ/3SQD/2PLT/1CMP/1RGT/1BAT/Tadath/VEA [ES2]

-Paladin-
Army of the Vast Empire

As soon as Lucky had pointed out the tracks and commented that she thought it was a trap, Alan knew that she was right.  Damn it, how could I have been so stupid he thought as he realised that he had led his squad right into the hands of the enemy.

Alan immediately got on the com, "Kantar, Kantar can you hear me?"  His only reply was static.  Damn it he thought as he realised that they must be jamming communications.

The ground started to shake and all of a sudden a fireball erupted behind them.

"All right, listen up people" said Alan "we are going to set up position right here.  If the enemy wants us this badly then they are going to have to fight very hard to get us.  Get yourselves into good vantage points and keep your eyes peeled for the enemy".

"What about Kantar?" queried Lucky as she looked up into the treetops for any sign of him.

"Kantar is on his own right now, don't worry he can take care of himself" replied Alan.

Lucky nodded.

"Well, what are you waiting for people, let's move it" ordered Alan.  He watched as his squad sprang into action to take up good vantage points.  He looked up into the treetops and muttered to himself "you'd better be taking good care of yourself buddy".

Alan moved and got himself set up in a good vantage point and hoped that his first command was not going to end up getting the Paladin Squad killed.


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ASL/SGT AlanRJ/3SQD/2PLT/1CMP/1RGT/1BAT/Tadath/VEA [ES2]

-Paladin-
Army of the Vast Empire

"What a way to start off," mumbled Renji to himself as he climb a nearby hill searching for cover. "First we get blasted out of the sky now this, oh well at least I can get decent experience out of all this."

He found cover behind a pile of rocks and old fallen trees. He checked to make sure that his guns were ready and He sat and wait. All he could here was his heart pounding and his own course breathing, thats when it began.
 
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People have hope because they dont see death standing behind them.

The frag grenades went off and Alan wasted no time, he recognised an opportunity when it presented itself.  He motioned frantically with his hands and the squad followed his orders to the letter and double timed it through the opening.  Alan wondered how Kantar was doing but he knew that he could take care of himself and right now he needed to focus on his squad.

Several rebel soldiers had managed to recover from the unexpected grenades and were making their way to block off the Paladins exit route.  A few well placed shots from Kantar and the rest of the squad soon had them terminated.

"Why the hell are we running, we can take them" said Renji as he opened fire on a few rebels.

Alan smiled.  Renji was fairly new to the squad and had not seen much action.  Alan knew that they were outnumbered and more importantly they were not here to simply kill rebels.  They had a mission and the completion of the mission was more important to him than the number of rebels they killed.

"Take it easy kid" replied Alan "you'll get to kill plenty of rebels before this mission is over but remember, we're here for the Orb and the Orb is this way.  Now let's go and do what we came here to do".

Renji nodded and moved on, rifle raised and eyes searching for more targets.

 
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ASL/SGT AlanRJ/3SQD/2PLT/1COM/1RGT/1BAT/Tadath/VEA [ES2]

-Paladin-
Army of the Vast Empire

The squad ran and ran hard.  The squad was shooting plenty of rebels on the run but still they kept coming.  Renji asked Alan how many of them there were.  Unsure of the answer, Alan simply replied with one word, many.

Seeing a clearing up ahead, Alan shouted at Lucky, "how many grenades you got?"

Lucky checked and replied "I got two".

"Use them" replied Alan.

Lucky tossed both her grenades behind them.  Alan tossed another two and suddenly the forest was met with a thunderous explosion.  Alan could hear that several rebels had been caught up in the explosion.

Suddenly his com chattered to life.

"Alan, Lucky, Renji, can anyone hear me?"

Alan smiled "Kantar ole buddy, how are you?"

"I'm doing just fine sir.  That was some explosion.  Where are you?"

Alan relayed the squad's position to Kantar.  Kantar scanned the vicinity and reported back that the rebels had ceased their advance and that the squad was all clear.  Alan told Kantar to return to the squad and soon he was flying down from the treetops.

The squad carried on moving until they came to a clearing.  In the distance a large structure could be seen.

Pointing to it, Alan said "the Orb is in there, let's fire up those jetpacks and let's get it".

The Paladin squad was soon flying towards their destiny.

In a hidden clearing stood a man watching the squad use their jetpacks and fly off.

"Looks like you were right" said his companion.

The man stroked his chin and replied "Yes, soon I will have a squad of Imperials that will give me all the knowledge I need to bring down their entire Vast Empire"

His companion smiled, replying "you will be the greatest leader of the rebellion.  Your name will go down in history, Commander Sandros".

The man laughed as he watched the Paladin squad fly off to their doom.

 
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ASL/SGT AlanRJ/3SQD/2PLT/1COM/1RGT/1BAT/Tadath/VEA [ES2]

-Paladin-
Army of the Vast Empire

As soon as his feet left the ground Renji knew why everyone commented on the jet packs. His heart raced as he heard the wind rushing by. He looked down and saw the land slowly falling away from his feet. He looked in front of him and saw the looming structure and he remembered the mission.

Well, he thought This could be worse. at least we're not being shot at. As they came closer and closer to the structure his heart began to race faster and faster and his stomach threatened to come up. This is it
 
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-Paladin-

TRP/PFC Renji/1SQD/2PLT/1COM/1RGT/1BAT/VEA/VE/Tadath[LoR]


People have hope because they dont see death standing behind them.

Renji watched as the Kantar sniped the two sentries. They both dropped hard.

Ouch. I see why Kantar is the squads sniper, he's good.

He followed Alan into the structure. He looked around and saw that they where in a long, dimly lit corridor. It appeared to be clear. As they proceeded down the hall he checked to make sure that his guns were ready. He didn't know if he was being paranoid but he didn't want anything happening on his account on his first mission.
 
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-Paladin-

TRP/PFC Renji/1SQD/2PLT/1COM/1RGT/1BAT/VEA/VE/Tadath[LoR]


People have hope because they dont see death standing behind them.

Lucky jogged to where the Orb was located. Using the schematics she had downloaded as a map. Suddenly , warning lights falshed in her helmet and she loooked at her radar. Foes were coming their way.

"Rebels coming this wau everyone!" she shouted . A few minutes later, they were confronted by a small garrison of them.  As Blaster bolts flew by her, she spotted another computer with strange inscriptions on it. She motioned to Renji to cover her and moved towards the computer.

She plugged a wire in a jack on the terminal, the computer turned on and , ten secinds later she was looking at the schematics of the Orb itself. She downloaded the file, hoping that it was not a plan of a prototype of any sorts and opened a link to Alan.

"I have found the schematics of the Orb"

"Good work Lucky"

She went back to the firefight and waited for it to be over before sending the plans to him.

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TRP/CPL Luckystar/1SQD/2PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/ Tadath/VEA/VE [ES1]



-Paladin-



To Embrace the Darkness is to bring about the Light