Office of Kaph Leader


A thin man was huddled over paperwork upon a wooden desk that  bore the crest of Kaph Squadron.  His sloppy, sandy-blonde hair was out of place for the rank plaque of an Ensign upon his chest.  Than Sion didn't much like paper work but it came with the job, and a lot of it.  While filling out an order for replacement filters upon the squadron's dozen Interceptors, he was interrupted by the sound of boots pounding upon deck platting.  It kept on getting louder until a Petty Officer, who appeared to be part of the Atrus' crew, came rushing through Sion's door unceremoniously.  The red haired man quickly regained his composer and saluted.

"Line Captain Shazam Money has called for you and your squadron to be part of an emergency meeting in conference room 036, sir," said the aid quickly.

"Did he mention the cause for such a rapid meeting?" asked Sion, a little annoyed with the aspect of having to go back to what he was doing later.

"He said it was classified, sir."

"Very well, tell him we'll be on our way shortly."

"Will do, sir!"

Sion stood up and saluted to dismiss the aid.  He then grabbed for his comlink and told the members of Kaph to get to the conference within five minutes.  He may not know what this is about but he did know it was important...


Conference Room 036


Wow, everybody really did get their asses down here within five minutes and not just my squadron.  It seems that the other forces have made it here quickly too.  He looked over at the focal point of the meeting room to find Shazam, the Commander of Phoenix Wing.  Near him were a woman from the scientific department and a man from engineering.  There was also the wing's new adjacent, a veteran member of the Navy that went by the name JMac.  There was an unpleasant feeling that seemed familiar about him but Kaph 1 couldn't place his finger on it... 

His thought process was interrupted by the  beginning of Shaz's speech.  "I am sorry to have to bring you all here on such short notice, but we have a slight emergency on our hands.  At about 2215 Standard time, an NR task force hit one of our research stations (which's location can not be revealed).  What can be said is that NR forces hit fast and hard, achieving their goal within twenty minutes.  You many be asking, what was that goal?  Evidence shows that it was very specific, to steal a modified TIE Hunter code named Project Fold.  Our specialists from the facility will take over here."

Both the engineer and scientist stood up at the same time.  It wasn't lost to some the slight trade of glares between the specialists at the discovery of their synchronization of actions.  Shaz was among the mentioned group, thus he signaled with his hand for the engineer to go first.  The women sat down, most likely labeling Shazam a sexist in here upset mind.

"As many of you know, the TIE Hunter is a remarkable craft that was designed during the Galactic civil war to combat the X-Wing.  It never went to a stage of mass production for its price tag and its resemblance to the X-Wing in both function and design scrapped the project.  An interesting peace of technology, but not worth the enemy's effort to capture it from us since they already have other examples of our craft stuck in storage.  The difference between our piece and those which Rouge Squadron hijacked around a decade ago is the hyperdrive system.  Our research team has been able to create a hyperdrive for the fighter that can do 0.5..."

"Only theoretically can it achieve that rating," interrupted the scientist.

"Doctor Kline, I don't believe that the Lieutenant was finished yet," commented Shaz in a not so nice tone.

"Thank you, Commander," said the engineer.  "As some of you may know, a 0.5 hyperdrive rating is rare, even rarer on a spacecraft this size.  It imperative that we get the fighter back.  That is all."

Dr. Kline shot up out of her chair before the engineer's butt hit his own.

"Thank you Lieutenant Ralt.  My colleague here is quite the optimist.  It took two years of research to put this drive together, with a large amount of its design being left to theory.  It has never been tested, thus we are not sure if it will achieve the hyperspace rating of 0.5.  We don't even know if they hyperdrive would even activate since the NR forces hauled it out on a MC40a."

"My men worked very hard on putting this thing together, the system does work!" stated Ralt.

"Its not like it was all engineering, it couldn't have been done with out the help of my peers and I!" shouted Kline.

"If it wasn't for the fact that you and your friends have never handled a gun in your lives, maybe we would still have the Hunter..."

"ENOUGH!!!" commanded Shaz.  "If I hear one more word out of either of you while in this conference room, those MP's by the door will stick you two in a the same cell and let you duke it out there.

Let us continue now that you all know the situation.  Intelligence was able to track the NR task force back to their own research facility.  It is within the asteroid belt of the Pandora System.  What I am saying is that their research station is within one of the asteroids.  The general objective is very simple, get the modified TIE Hunter back and destroy any records collected from reverse engineering that the NR has stored there.  This isn't going to be simple, the section of the asteroid belt that you will be infiltrating is heavily armed with both turret and fighter defenses.  We do have two blessings.  One, that we were able to track the enemy back to their hole via a tracking system in the fighter which the enemy failed to remove in time.  Two, there will probably be no enemy capital ship support since this base is suppose to be secret.  To summarize, a capital ship being picked up on radar would be a dead give away of their location.

This operation will be led by Major Yale, SL of the Commando Team Gamma.  The operations adjacent will be Lieutenant Than Sion, SC of Kaph Squadron.  The Commando team will be the one's to directly steal back the fighter.  They have been equipped with two Sentinel Class Shuttles for this mission.  Kaph Squadron will act as their direct escort, making sure that the commandos get in and out of the rock in one peace.  Alpha and Beta squadrons will give additional support against enemy fighters.  Plaque Squadron's Gunboats are assigned with the task of thinning out the turret support.

Besides the asteroids themselves, you have two other "passive" obstacles to get past.  The outer regions of the operation zone are protected by a mine field.  Intelligence tells us that they just might be activated and deactivated by a control station.  It might be wise to look for this possible edifice before attempting to blast straight through the mine field.  Also, the asteroid based research station has a shield that must be destroyed before the commandos can enter.

Due to the fact that this mission has been rushed into planning, you will need to pick up intel once you get there.  Intelligence was only able to pick up the basics in a quickly fly by of the system.  It is amazing they got what they did.  Scouting missions are not only recommended but are necessary for the successful completion of this mission.  This briefing may seem rushed, that is because we want to get you all out there before the enemy can get a lot of data off of our Hunter and a lot sent out to other locations.  You have three hours to get prepped for this mission.  The Tiamut will be transporting the Interceptor squadrons, it will be captained by Lieutenant Willtconq for this operation.  If there are no questions, this meeting is adjourned...none?  Godspeed to you all then..."


(OCC: How's that for my first real briefing post?  I think this one should be worth two posts...J/K.  We're not going to spend a lot of time writing about what happens before the mission so cherish it while it lasts.  Will, you can jump in anytime you want since you are officially part of the story.)   


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SC/ESN Than Sion/Kaph 5/Wing 1/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE(=A=)(=*SA*=)(=MA=)[LoM][VC:S][CBV](x2)[MC:1][MC:2][GWC]

--SC of Kaph Squadron

3rd Place in Wiki.

Etan stood at attention at the back of the room. He flanked his flight leader Krius. He had figured that was a good place to be in if questions were asked of him. He knew that in just the way he would watch his flight leaders back, is just the way Krius would step in and answer all qusestions for him. Fortunately, it was not that kind of meeting.

Quickly, they were informed of a secret situation that had arose. It seemed as if some sort of special fighter had been stolen from the VE by the NR forces, and, that it was tasked upon the Kaph squadron to help retrieve it. Etan didn't mind himself with all the details. He was a wookie, of course. He knew that all the information he would need would be given to him by his superiors.

As quickly as the meeting had started, it had ended. His flight leader Krius stood making his way towards Lt. Than. Before departing the briefing room, Etan stood were he was, watching the exchange of words between Lt. Than and Krius. They seemed jovial until a new recruit stepped forward. Etan wasn't sure, but he felt an uneasiness pass between them all. The new recruit was a large fellow, to say the least. Etan gained a certain respect for him just looking at him. As the rest of the room emptied towards the door, it seemed as if this new recruit had even eyed Etan, assessing his demeanor.

Etan watched as FL Krius shook hands with the new recruit. It looked as if he winced, which is not something Krius was given to. As the three turned towards the exit door, Etan too, began to make his way out of the briefing room. He eyed the new recruit sharply decideing there were more important preparations to make at the moment. As long as everyone was friendly, he would turn his attention towards the more appropriate matters at hand.

Like which beret should he wear and how many extra rations should he take. He got awefully hungry on these missions.
 
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Grammar, mechanics, punctuation, spelling, diction, effectiveness in the science, and larger elements are the facts at hand. The Harbrace College Handbook edited by JOHN C. HODGES

FM/LCR ETAN EVNSTAR/Kaph 7/flight 2/mSSD Atrus/def/VEN/VE/(=A=) Phoenix wing

TWO HOURS BEFORE FLIGHT DEPARTURE TO THE TIAMUT:

Etan was packing his bags. To take or not to take, that was the question. He had so many things he felt he might need, but only two bags to pack them in. And let's not forget the extra rations. He needed those in case of an emergency hunger situation. And the crossbow he had aquired on thier last mission that hung above his bunk. How he had wanted to take that just for fun, but, there was no room. Couldn't he just stow it away in his fighter. He wasn't sure. He would have to think about everything a little bit more. A quick bite to eat in the mess hall might help his thinking process a little bit more he decided.

Exiting his quarters, he saw commander Than walking side by side with Skylla away from him, towards the Phoenix wing bay, both with bags in hand. Etan's destination was in the other direction, yet he thought to himself as he set off for his third meal of the day, "Either they are eager to get this mission going, or I am really falling behind." His hunger getting the best of him, he decided they were eager. Wookies always tried to justify the cause for thier own wants and needs, and right now, Etan needed nourishment and wanted food, a good home cooked meal aboard the Atrus. Yeah, that would help him along the way to completing the upcoming mission.

Entering the mess hall, Etan glanced around and didn't immediatly see anyone he really knew. He didn't really care though because his attention was focused on food. Grabbing a tray and entering the chow line, he began to think about earlier events.

After the briefing, while on the way to quarters, Etan was introduced to the new recruit, Nabric, by none other than FL Krius. " Etan. I would like to introduce you to my new wingman, Nabric. " The two pressed palms, as was customary, eyeing each other intently. Etan couldn't help but notice the intensity of Nabric's stare, but shrugged it off as no threat to him. Wookies, as it were, were hardly afraid of anyone or anything. Etan merely welcomed him with a gentle roar, if there is such a thing for wookies. Nabric replied " I am honored master wookie Etan. May we live long and fly together.". Etan felt honored. This new pilot had the manners of a politician, yet the aura of a fighter. If Etan wasn't impressed before, he surely was now.

Etan's attention was drawn back to the moment at hand." DO YOU WANT GRAVY ON YOUR MEATLOAF? " the foodserver inquired annoyingly. Who knows how many times she had had to repeat herself. Etan simply nodded. He needed to concentrate about the task at hand, eating. There was a mission to prepare for.
 
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Grammar, mechanics, punctuation, spelling, diction, effectiveness in the science, and larger elements are the facts at hand. The Harbrace College Handbook edited by JOHN C. HODGES

FM/PO2 ETAN EVNSTAR/Kaph Suadron2-7/Phoenix wing/mSSD Atrus/def/VEN/VE/(=A=)

There was never a break for the Elite Kaph Squadron. They would finish one mission, and be sent right into another.

      C-3PX2 walked through the halls or the Atrus, walking past the Kaph Squadron Quarters. His appearance was almost scary, now more than ever. During the time between the missions they were on and this one, C-3PX2 returned to Etti IV to fight in the second war there in less than a year. This war had damaged his hull, making him almost have a humanoid shape at the head, and added many dents and burns to his hull. He walked into the hanger and all people could notice was this strange chrome droid with moving red eye. He walked over to his TIE Interceptor, opened a tool kit, and noticed something strange. He was expecting another "surprise" data pad to be there, but this time there was a letter that looked to be aged. He decided it would be best not to read it, at least not yet. He stashed it away in his hull's smuggling compartments and continued to go to work repairing damaged panels on his fighter. He noticed more damage than he could remember it having, but he continued to do his best to fix the panels. He looked around the anger and he noticed something. Everything seems too calm, normally this ship is hectic, and every one has something they need to do. Now, everyone is walking at a slow pace, concentrating on regular duties. This ship, no matter how calm it is, is always One hundred percent battle ready. The crew had to be ready to get into combat at a moment's notice. C-3PX2 watches this as he finished up repairs on his TIE. He cleaned up the small pieces of broken solar panels and left to go to the bar. There the true Irony comes out, a droid sitting in a bar. As he walked towards the bar, he stopped in the hall for a moment. He though "Why does a star destroyer have a bar?" it was a question that had puzzled him for a while now, he still does not have an answer. He then continued to walk towards the bar. In his mind over one thousand different processes were going through. They ranged from his walking speed, to the layout of the Atrus. HE approached the door to the bar, pushed the button, and walked into the bar. He did what he normally did, and walked over to the Holo net panel, and activated it. He began to scroll through recent news, and nothing caught his attention. But then he came across an article on an underground droid fight club, and how recently it was taken sown after being discovered on a cargo freighter. He laughed and continued to read. There was no real news for the day, so he logged out of the news server and continued to search through the Holo net.

This was only real break in between missions

 
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> : There is nothing wrong with fear.
> : You need never be ashamed of it, as long as it doesn't stop you functioning.
> : Fear is your natural warning system; it keeps you alive so
> : that you can can fight. Show me a man who isn't afraid,
> : and I'll show you a fool who is a danger to his entire ship.
==============================================================================================
> : -=Kaph Squadron=- : "We have Great Faith in Each Other, It's Called Stupidity."
==============================================================================================
> : EFL / CPO C-3PX2 / Kaph 9 / Phoenix Wing (Wing 1) / mSSD Atrus / DEF / VEN / VE / (=A=), (=SA=), [MC2], [MC1]

Will noted dully as Vant reported to him that another fighter from Kaph Squadron has arrived. So unorganized. Will thought about his former squadron. Than Sion's been giving them slacks, allowing them to go from ship to ship any time they wished. What do they think they're doing? Visiting a friend's place at ten years old? They're on offical military operation. I'll have to have a talk with Than when he gets here.

Although he was asked to attend the brief about the upcoming mission, he didn't. The repairs from his last battle took longer than expected, thus was a little late. And no one seemed to have minded much anyways. Shazam had sent him the brief over to his datapad, which he had gone over a number of times to make sure he didn't miss anything.

Being an emergency operation it is, Will had ordered the navigations officer to have the course plotted as soon as they had arrived on station with the Atrus, and to be ready to take off as soon as everyone was on board. But that won't happen for another hour or so at least. The pilots were given three hours to prepare. Too much time wasted in Will's opinion. Back when he was in command, for emergency operations, he gave his squadron half an hour to prepare, maybe an hour at most, and no one was ever late. Well, why should I care that much now anyways. I'm not the one in command of the operation. So if they're given three hours to prepare by Shazam, then so be it.

"Sir, we're running out of space for the incoming squadrons."

"Move the fighters that won't be used on this mission to storage, that includes all of the personal fighters, and the Tie droid fighters. Make as much room for the Ties, and land Plaque Squadron in Hanger C, they're in Gunboats."

"Yes Sir. With that, the current docking pattern is..." Vant paused a bit before continuing, "Alpha and Beta Squadrons are to be docked in Hangers P and S respectively with the transports. Kaph Squadron ordered to dock in Hanger C, with Plaque on the ground. It's going to be a tight fit any way you look at it."

"What's the scramble pattern?"

"Plaque and Kaph Squadrons are to launch first through the center. Once they have achieved air superiority, the transports will launch from the side hangers, followed by Alpha and Beta Squadrons once the Hanger grounds have been cleared of transports."

"Good. Anything else?"

"No Sir."

"Then request permission to leave as soon as the fighter squadrons and transports are here. I'm going to be resting, so call me only if there's an emergency, other wise wake me when we're quarter of an hour from the destination."

"Sir, this is an emergency operation."

"Don't get smart with me, don't call me unless there's an immediate threat."

"Yes sir."

"Than, what do you think about the new Wing Adjacent?" said the disembodied voice of Skylla.

"I don't know, he seems like a good person and all, but something doesn't feel right about him.  It's almost like...I don't know," replied Sion.

But he did know.  It was the same feeling he had had on his first mission on the ice planet of Bokura.  A black fighter of unidentified origin had been there.  Even though the mysterious pilot had helped them in their mission, it was a memory Sion had chosen to bury in his mind.  It had been long since forgotten until it came back after the emergency meeting.

"I can't understand why.  There was nothing suspicious about him that I could pick up.  He just seemed slightly annoyed, but that feeling wasn't anything rare at the meeting."

"I don't know, maybe I just haven't gotten enough sleep."

The Tiamut was like a little bug compared to the Super Star Destroy in parallel orbit beside it.  It was a sobering site to see the Atrus cutting Abrae in half.  Looking at the Escort Cruiser's mini Star Destroyer design, Sion hoped that he would never have to go up against the mSSD in it.  Though it was a silly thought for his loyalty was to the VE.  There would be no reason for him to turn against it.

"Lieutenant Than Sion, Squadron Commander of Kaph Squadron, asking permission for he and his comrade to board."

"This is Captain Willtconq of the Tiamut, permission granted.  Proceed to hanger C."

This should be interesting considering the fact that I haven't seen much of him since the day he stepped down as SC, leaving Kaph in my hands.  The two TIE Interceptors passed through the magnetic field, leaving the void behind.  It was a love hate relationship that Than had with that void which they called space.  On one hand, it was a vast expanse of nothingness.  A cold, airless place where a great many a men had claimed as a grave.  On the other hand, without it he would be nothing.  It was his place of work, the place where he had achieved "greatness."  Can I truly be called great?  A man who not only can tear flying beats of steel and glass apart but order others to do likewise.  It seems that my part in the galaxy is small and large, Important and insignificant.  But what does that matter?  All that matters is the fact that I keep on fighting, fighting for the day that all the Rebels are dead.

Sion docked with the TIE rack in hanger C.  An aid of sorts was waiting for him there as he exited the hatch.

"Was your flight eventful, sir," asked the aid after saluting Kaph 1.

"I flew my fighter from a huge ship to a little one, I don't think any space battles happened in between," replied Kaph Leader.

"I guess not, sir.  I have been sent to tell you that the captain wishes to meet you on the bridge, sir."

"Thank you Petty Officer.  I'll be there right away."  Sir, sir, sir...Will set him up to that, didn't he?

"Alright, sir."

By now Skylla was by his side again.  They went through the door that left the racks together.

"Are you happy to be meeting up with the old commander after all this time?" asked Skylla as they walked through the corridors.

"Happy, kind of.  Afraid of getting yelled at for messing up his squadron, a lot of."

Skylla just laughed.  Will had never been much for yelling...

So that's the Tiamut eh? Pretty nice ship. Can't wait to see what it looks like on the inside. Krius eyed the Hellfire-class Escort Carrier with admiration, taking in every detail as he passed. The hull of the massive ship gleamed in the light reflected by the giant planet Abrae, the Heavy Ion Cannons adding to its deadly, but magnificent beauty. Krius could imagine himself at the controls of such a ship in the future, barking out orders left and right, providing support for the brave Fighter Pilots such as himself.

He shook his head, diminishing the though. I'm not that kind of person, nor will I ever be. I'll stick to being a Fighter Pilot, its what I do best. Krius gently nudged the control yoke to his right, bringing his ship around in a long loop that eventually brought him face to face with The Tiamut.

"This is Kaph 5, requesting permission to come aboard the Tiamut."

"Permission granted 5, throttle down to 25 MGLT's and we'll bring you in."

"Roger that." Krius pulled back on his throttle, watching his speed slowly drop down to 25 MGLT's. Seconds later, an invisible hand dropped over Krius' TIE, slowly lowering it into one of the many hangar bay's aboard the Tiamut. Krius quickly undid his harness, throwing the belt buckles this way and that. As he reached down for his duffel bag, something caught his eye. What? I thought I shut the TIE down? Krius reached over to the device that was flashing on and off, stopping his hand in mid motion. Wait, that's not part of the TIE's control panel... That's a Data Pad!

Krius picked the Data Pad up, curiosity written all over his face. On the blue screen in bold lettering, it read: "1 new message. URGENT!"

"I might as well open it, I'm pretty sure she won't kill me if I do. Besides, she left it in my TIE, might as well be mine." Krius said to himself with a grin.

The message read:

Krius

I need my DP back pronto; it has very important information in it that you shouldn't be looking at. Nice way to schedule a date with me though, very original. Just meet me in the Tiamut's Diner, and DON'T forget my DP.

Cya soon Fly Boy.

"Oooohhh, she's good, really good. How classic of her," Krius said aloud to himself sarcastically, grabbing his Duffel Bag and throwing it out of the open hatch of the TIE. Krius chuckled softly, not fully able to believe what was happening to him. Everything was going perfect. To perfect for Krius' comfort. He wasn't exactly superstitious, but he did have his beliefs. One thing he happened to notice was that when ever something good happened to him, something bad followed shortly afterwards. Krius slapped his forehead with a loud smack, letting his hand sift through his hair one of the many bad habits he had developed throughout his childhood.

I might as well have fun while it still lasts... 

" Kaph two dash seven, proceed to the main docking bay. All the other bays are full and it seems as if you Kaph have decided to come and go and land as you please."  Etan shrugged those last comments of. " Affirmative Tiamut control. Landing in the main docking bay."

Of course we the Kaph squadron had come as we please. Etan one of the last fighters was still landing before scheduled. What did it matter to them how we came or went, as long as we completed the mission. Then Etan remembered " Oh yes our old SC Willtconq is in command of the Tiamut and he is one to expect order and decorum within the fleet. Well he's gonna have to understand that we have changed since he last held command of Kaph. He is not in command anymore. Than sets the rules now for Kaph."

Etan landed his Interceptor perfectly, hovering right into docking sequence. He powered down the engines and made a post flight check. All systems were still a go. Climbing out with his two flight bags, he roared at the head technician to give er' one final diagnostics check and other than that to leave er' alone.

Etan turned one last time before making his way towards quarters and roared again " Now don't mess er' up or I'll rip the head off of anyone who does. " With that he made his way towards quarters. He looked forward to a squadron meeting, since they hadn't had one before leaving the Atrus.

The quarters were a short ways away. Each member had his own room. The quartermaster met Etan in the hall. " Your room Master wookie Etan is just right here." The quarters for a flight member were small, but, effeficient. Etan set his bags on the bunk and turned towards the quarter mast asking him" Show me to the mess hall. I am hungry." "Most assuredly Master wookie Etan. Right this way." At that they set off towards the mess hall. Etan with his appetite in hand.

C-3PX2 had just landed with his flight. They were now on board the Tiamut, C-3PX2 was going to put his stuff into his room. He knew in a short time they would be on a mission, so he decided to review the logs for the ship they were going to get. There was very little data on this ship, not much was known. C-3PX2 decided it was time to do a little searching around the New Republic's Section of the Holo Net. He searched through the Holo net, but did not find any data. If the New Republic had any information about this fighter, they were keeping it well hidden. He was not sure why there was no data, not even a trail. He intended to find out, but now was not the time. He exited out of the Holo net, and left the room. He began to walk down the halls trying to locate the Squadron's Commander, Ensign Than Sion. He was also looking at a data pad showing his flight readiness level when he noticed something new. There was a more recent addition to the log. A new pilot was added to the Flight, Petty Officer First Class Scout. This was a good thing; the flight now had four members again. There was now Chief Petty Officer C-3PX2 as the Flight Leader at Kaph 9, Senior Crewman Aristoc a Flight member at Kaph 10, Petty Officer First Class Scout a Flight Member at Kaph 11, and Crewman Trigger a Flight Member at Kaph 12.

C-3PX2 continued to search for his squadron commander, when he noted that there was something different about this ship. It seemed that this ship was fifty percent carbon based life form run, and fifty percent droid run. He kind of liked the idea that these droid ran the ship, there was never disorder. That would go against their programming, and if there was the carbons would just do a memory wipe. He saw mostly the basic battle droid design; these droids were cheaply made and could be produced in massive amounts. He continued to walk and then he found a computer panel, he activated it and did a run through of the ship. He was surprised to see that this ship had linked computer systems; this was good for accessibility but had many flaws. All someone would need to do I compromise the main security grid, and then they could get to anywhere on the ship, or at least that how it appeared at first glance. C-3PX2 did not have the security clearance to see the high end security systems. He felt at home on this ship, there were his squad mates and droids all around, he noticed a door behind him and pressed the door panel, a label appeared that said Droid repair center. He pressed the panel again, and the door opened. He looked inside and saw computer parts and broken droids, this was where he would be until the squadron started their mission. In the Droid Repair Center, fixing droids and working on the computer system.

Etan, having landed, and upon depositing his bags in his quarters, made his way to the mess hall. It was here that made or broke a ship, as far as he was concerned. The morale of a fighter lay in his stomach, and Etan was ready to sample some morale.

The Tiamut's 1st mess hall was highly organized. The chow line to the right, along with the tables to the left, gave the feeling of comfort to the hungry wookie. Working his way on down the line, he found such dishes as Chicken Tetrazinni and Teriaki shrimp.

"Wow" he thought to himself." This is almost as good as the Atrus." Choosing from several different dishes, Etan sat down in wonder as to why he had to have that last meal aboard the Atrus.

Sitting at a table alone with his meal, Etan began to pray to the Gods that gave him this very special meal. He looked around quickly to see if anyone he knew was watching. There wasn't, that he could see. It was time to eat. In just an instant he had scarfed down his fifth meal of the day. Now the wookie was satisfied.

If only his crewmates had the same fervor as him. He would have to compliment Commander Will on his effeciency of the ship.

Willtconq had been a FL of his and then squadron commander. Would he remember the big ole wookie? He was sure he would. There weren't to many wookies in the fleet, and certainly none except Etan in the Kaph. Etan was sure that Will would remember him. Not only that, but Etan had a few issues he was sure Commander Will would understand.

"Captain, we've hit a road block with the fighter."

"What is it Lieutenant?"

"As you know we had to force our way to the tracking device to remove it since we couldn't figure out the computer system."

"I remember reading your report, you're lucky you found it before you got here.  I'm also glad to hear you all were intelligent enough to drop out of hyperspace after removing it and then taking another route to throw them off our scent.  Go on."

"Well, we still haven't been able to hack past the controls.  These Imps have this thing locked down tighter than their asses."

"Don't trip over such details, Lieutenant.  Gut out the whole computer system and stick in a new one.  We only care about the hyperdrive after all.  Hell, try out one of those new control set ups while you're replacing the old one.  Might as well kill two birds with one stone."

"I would highly recommend that we don't do that.  The only person we have found that can use that system is well...it."

"Now, now, Lieutenant, is that anyway to refer to a veteran pilot of the Galactic Civil War?"

"Yeah, that's about the only thing productive that psychopath can do, shoot down TIEs.  IT can't even talk as far as we know and don't refer to that mindless babbling of it's as speech.  Bottom line I don't think we should be trusting him with such a discovery."

"Why not, he's had many chances in the past to run.  Every time we've sent him out on a hyperspace mission he always comes back."

"Yet, any day it could just stop listening to you and turn on us."

"Why would he?  He has to come back when he gets hungry after all."

"You should stick him in a loony bin where he belongs!"

"Fortunately for me that's for me to decide.  He's too valuable of an asset to the NR cause to lock away..."


Locked Quarters within Asteroid Research Center


"Men in red, rows of six.  Men in red, rows of six.  Chaos is god, Chaos is god."


Kaph Leader's Quarters Aboard the Tiamut


"Sion!"

"How?!" cried Sion.  "The pills were suppose to make you go away!  How many times do I have to say it, you don't exist!  You're a chemical imbalance in my brain."

Than was still in his room, but everything had shifted to black and white.  He turned around to see an astromech sitting by the door.  It was motionless, but he knew that was where the voice came from.

"I am more than medication can fix.  I am more than chemicals."

"Chaos, that's all you are.  Nothing happened on Talcroc.  It was just a waste of time."

"Did they really succeed at making you forget?  I thought you were stronger than that.  The four others of the Five seem to have the same story as you.  Though three are gone, one remains.  Have you ever tried to talk about it to her since the return from Talcroc?  Of course not, you're too afraid that she'll think you are crazy."

"I remember nothing and neither does she because nothing happened."

"Keep on telling yourself that.  While you are in denial you might want to consider what I have to tell you.  There is another like you...His skills are yours.  You'll understand this when you need to.  That is all; you can go back to believing the pills are working now." 

The color returned and the droid was gone.  I thought he was gone.  I thought this nightmare was over.  I thought I was done being crazy...


(OCC: Heh, I thought it would be fun to screw with your minds for a bit.  The whole Talcroc/Chaos plotline was suppose to be explained in the Nova Path story.  Unfortunately my character was correct about one thing; nothing did happen on Talcroc since the story was abandoned before we even got there.  Will, I would really appreciate it if you wrote the post pertaining to us making the jump to hyperspace and you introducing me to the rest of the bridge crew.  You would be able to portray that situation a lot better than I.)

"I don't see a difference between using them, as if you were to use your own gun."

I wonder how C-3PX2 would feel if he heard such a dismissive attitude toward his kin?  Would it even faze him?

"Beyond that, the Major also had a good point," continued Kaph Leader.  "This mission was meant to be surgical; withdrawing a platoon afterwards could get messy and tedious.  Sticking around too long with a force this small wouldn't be wise.  So I must agree with him in declining your offer, though I didn't have much of a choice in the first place.  Major Yale is my superior in this operation.  I don't believe there would be a problem with putting your droids on standby, though."

"I have no problem with that concept," replied Yale.  His relief at the fact that military structure was not falling apart was obvious.  "With that settled, I would like to report some information that I discovered while studying intelligence's map of the Pandora System.  Permission to use the holo projector, Captain."

"Permission granted, I'm not going to stop you from showing us something that could save more lives," said Will.

"I'm zooming the map into a specific body within the hot zone of the asteroid belt.  Lieutenant Sion, can you tell me what that is?"

"I believe you're talking about the canyon."

"Correct, through it we would be able to avoid a large portion of the mine field since it's in one of the bigger rocks.  Something else interesting is where it comes out, very close to the predicted location of the mine control center."

"I'm impressed, how did you pick that out in such short time?  It's like a needle in a haystack." asked Plague Squadrons Commander.

"Its amazing what you can learn in a total of two years worth of training and five years field experience," replied Major Yale.

"As good of a find as it is, it will spoil if they discover our position too quickly," began Sion.  "I recommend that Kaph and the first shuttle are to be sent through the canyon first to shut down the mines before the others move in."

"I agree, Lieutenant," replied Yale.  "Actually, that was what I was thinking.  Plague squadron and the second transport will meet up with us after we deactivate the mine field.  Things will go back to the original plan form there on out.  That's all I have to say, anything else from Kaph Leader or the Captain?"

"Nothing from me, Major," replied Willtconq.

"I have something to say to the pilots before we wrap this meeting up.  Make sure when you're out there to stick to your duty.  Don't get any ideas of playing 'hero' because that could cause this whole thing to fall apart.  This needs to be quick and clean.  Make sure that all fighters and the transports are warmed up because we're going to hit the ground running.  I am finished now."

"The Tiamut will be covering what's going on during the battle so don't be afraid to ask control questions if you are confused about something," stated the ship's captain.  "Good luck and Godspeed to you all.  Dismissed..."


(OCC: To review from the original briefing:
Kaph is directly responsible for defending the transports from immediate danger.
Plaque is to take out the big guns with their gunboats.
Alpha and Beta are to take on enemy fighters.)

Chief Petty Officer C-3PX2 sat in the droid repair center, for some reason he liked it better than the quarters that were assigned to him. He was in there working on the droids that were in there, he looked at what they were marked in disbelief. The majority of them in the room were marked scrap. He then noticed a Holo Net panel sitting over on the other side of the room. It was broken, and it needed much repair before it could be used again. Luckily C-3PX2 was in a scrap yard, he could get all the parts he needed from the droids around him. He knew that soon enough his squadron would be in combat and this was his rest time. The Tiamut was mostly quiet, besides the regular comm. announcement it was a ghost ship. The bridge was all fully manned, the weapons fully combat ready. The halls were mostly empty; the ship was half droid half humanoid. It was able to run while all the crew would be incapacitated or killed. C-3PX2 almost couldn't wait to see this ship in combat. He wished they would let him see the AI programming that this ship had to have. It was an amazing ship, built to perfection at every angle.

    He though back to the most recent thing he had done before coming here to the Tiamut. He had just returned from Etti IV, where the Loyalists had won control of the planet back. They were first defeated, but they returned with a massive space force. They trapped all of their enemies on the planet where they then strategically landed troops to defeat them. With a massive fifty seven consecutive battles, the won the planet back. C-3PX2 then got up and looked at the droids laying there; it reminded him of the destruction in the first war. His entire platoon, destroyed from mortars. HE then walked out of the droid repair center and walked towards the TIE hanger. "A Tie Hunter, he thought, "those things are rare. Where the hell did they get one? And how is it .5 for it engines. None of this is making sense." He continued to walk down the hall, "Most of those things haven't been seen in combat since the battle of Fondor. Where did they get one?" He was confused, as he entered the hanger bay. He slowly walked towards his TIE interceptor. He looked around and noticed all the different droids just in the hanger. He didn't think there would be much work that needed done to his TIE, but the sight of all the dead droids just brought back too many memories of Etti IV.  All the death, destruction, and bloodshed, He hoped to never have to go back to Etti IV again. There were still many questions, mostly where his commander during the battle went. Commander Char Nobly of the Etti IV loyalists disappeared after the battle, and was listed as one of the missing. C-3Px2 wondered where he was.

OOC:

My last post before i go away, cya all when i get back in a week.

Etan didn't realize how quickly this mission would move along. He was used to the speed of a fighter. He had forgotten that hyperdrive could bring you closer to the battle that much sooner.

Soon after his fifth meal , he was called to suit up and given a brief idea of what they, the Kaph, were to do. Meeting in the docking bay, Commander Than explained what was expected of each of them. They were to fly out together along with one Army transport and assess the situation from there. A basic plan had already been discussed between the Commanders and XO's, but, that was subject to change at any time. That was one reason Etan didn't care so much for meetings. The best layed plans by mice and men were subject to change at anytime. Etan would rather be given an objective that he could reach by himself or through the instantaneous commands of his superiors. There was no use spending hours planning and meeting when you knew those plans were subject to change at anytime. The objective was all that mattered.

Donning his flight suit, that by the way, was specially designed for him he made his way towards the hanger bay with helmet under arm. He looked impressive with his long flowing hair hanging out around his flight suit. If only some one could take a picture. He would use it on his next Imperial Identi card. Nevermind that now, there were more important things at hand.

Making his way to the hanger bay, Etan began to feel a sense of pride in the fact that the higher ups had chosen Kaph squadron for this mission. Ever since the default on the ESC squadron competition, which determined the sanctity of which squadron was elite, Etan had felt a sense of failure. Now was a time to rectify that. A time to show the VEN what Kaph squadron was made of.

Once inside the hanger bay, Etan did a visual check of his own fighter first. It looked none worse for the ware since he had last seen it a few hours before. Checking with the technicians, they gave it a clean bill of health.

"Your craft seems to be exceptionally tuned Master wookie Etan" suggested one of the technicians. Little did he know that Etan was a master technician himself and spent his idle time making his craft most accommodating to himself. If only he had his former Tie Advanced fighter. Then he would show everyone what flying was about. But, for now he had to make due with this Interceptor.

It was an efficient craft, to say the least, but just didn't have the leg room of the Advanced fighter. Oh well, he would make due.

Etan awaited Commander Than's orders, then the entire squadron all took off. Once in space, Than commanded second flight to gaurd the transport while they flew ahead and third flight gaurded the flanks.

FL Krius took over from there. " Okay second flight. I wanna see eyes wide open and weapons ready. Kaph five and six will take one side while Kaph seven and eight take the other. And we all float around this transport. No ememy fighters are gonna take this transport out while I'm still flying."

Etan commed his buddy Kiss, Kaph eight " You heard him let's do defensive manuveur four. Just like in flight school." That was where one fighter would fly lead, while the second flew all around them. " Yeah but, you forget I failed flight school the first time, Etan." Kaph eight replied." That's okay you take the lead Kiss, I'll do the rest." With that they continued on thier mission.

Before the Jump to Hyperspace


Than kept on looking at his watch every ten seconds as he stood in hanger C of the Tiamut.  Everybody had made it ahead of time, with one exception.  Where are you Scout?  We need to get out of here ASAP but you're not here.

"There's no use waiting for him," said a familiar voice.  Sion turned around to see Will who didn't seem like he had been sleeping not too long ago.  "I had a reason that I wasn't going to let him back into the squadron again when Kaph was still under my command.  Scout's a loose cannon, face it Than, he's not coming."

"Some how I already knew that, I just didn't want to admit it to myself," replied Kaph Leader.  "I guess you need to get back to the bridge now so we can make the jump, Will."

"What, no sir any more?" said will with mock disgust.

"I guess I fell out of practice..."


Kaph 3 (Present)


"Ok, Flight one," began the disembodied voice of Than as dark rock flashed by each edge of the view port.  "Keep in a loose formation through out our time in the canyon behind me, that way damage done by any 'presents' the NR may have left us will be kept at a minimum.  If you see anything even remotely suspicious, report it and engage if possible.  Be prepared for anything to jump out at any second."

Running toward trouble first, Than, you shouldn't fell so responsible for your men's lives.  We've all been doing this for a long time now, if something happens to one of us it will be our own faults.  But like all leaders with good intentions, no amount of logic will tell you otherwise.

SMACK!

Skylla would have jumped out of her seat if it were not for the crash webbings holding her down.  The shock wave had more than just shook her TIE a little.

"The bastards," cursed Sion.  "They got this canyon wired with proximity mines!  Barely caught it in time to  blow it.  I guess they do have this thing rigged.  I'll message the rest of the convoy.  Keep your eyes pealed for the next surprise."

Skylla noticed an unnaturally cylindrical, black shape on the starboard wall ahead.  She fired a quad burst at the location which triggered the expected result.  A sonic wave shot out harmlessly from the location.  There was another explosion, but no shots had been fired before it.  Than's fighter went out of control!

"Ah shit, stabilize damn it!..." Sion continued the profanity for another second or so as Skylla watched the situation from behind.  Her knuckles hurt, she was gripping the control yoke too tightly.  Then as quick as Kaph Leader's TIE had went out of control it went stable.  "I'm alright now.  Shit, that blast brought my shields down to 50 percent!  Switching power out of weapons in order to quicken the recharge process."

"This is Kaph 2, you should let someone else take lead until your shields recover."

"No, I'm fine, I can do it.  I just need to be more observant, that's all."

"Kaph 1, don't be a fool!  You can't keep on taking all the responsibility for everything, transfer some of the load over to us..."


(OCC:  I didn't want to double post, but it just seemed necessary to keep things moving along at this point.  Well, C3, we're going to need some more people for your flight.  Aristoc resigned today and it was a bad idea to trust that Scout was going to stick around in the first place.  When you get back, have something happen to Aristoc.  The plan is that the enemy is going to figure out we're in the canyon and try to take us from behind with some fighters (your flight's responsibility.)