The moon was slightly large, in a dull, out of the way system with no inhabitable planets. The moon itself possessed atmosphere, and was covered with forests, plains, deserts, and tundras. It had no exceptionally large supply of any particular resource. It was almost a totally ordinary moon, orbiting around a totally ordinary gas giant, in a totally ordinary solar system.

That is, except, it did not appear on any astrogation chart or star map whatsoever. For all political purposes, it did not exist. What made the moon unordinary was the fact that the Vast Imperial Intelligence devision had established one of their subdevisional headquarters upon it, and had recently constructed a state of the art training center.

The VEI director (operations) sat pondering about the moon, and the base established upon it. Just then, however, his thoughts were interrupted, as one of the officers under his command walked in.

“Major. You have word on the 'recruitment'?” The director asked, his lip twisting into a smirk as he said the last word.

“Yes sir.” Major Dean Valen said, standing at attention. “We've just deployed agents to pickup the sample group we selected now.”

The director nodded and tapped a few keys on his computer – The sample list appeared. He scrolled through them and nodded.

“You've cut them down just fine. I know you'd like more, but I'm afraid all we can manage is forty recruits at the moment – The executive director is still a bit cautious about approving this program. Anyways, anything else?”

The major shook his head. “No sir.”

“Alright. Tell me when you have more news.” The director said. Valen nodded and walked out, leaving the director of operations alone to his thoughts once again.

Everything is falling in place...



Darr-Rann yawned as he sleepily dressed himself. He hadn't been able to rest well recently, haunted by nightmares from his past. He only had them when he slept alone, and for a month Dawn would be off fighting in some minor campaign on the outer regions of Vast Imperial space. He felt quite lonely without her.

As he headed downstairs, he thought he noticed a flicker of movement. He paused, then berated himself for letting his imagination run wild.

He headed towards the kitchen, when he heard a footstep behind him. He turned around, and again there was nothing.

He turned around once again, then cried out in agony as an electric shock flowed through him. He fell to the floor unconscious...

Kanderin reached out of the shower and grabbed onto a loose towel. After a few more minutes the shower door was pulled open, and a huge wave of steam spread out into the room. by the time it had faded Kanderin was fully dressed, and already staring at his comlink on the table.

Want to go somewhere tonight Kand? Thought I might treat you considering your promotion. Meet me at the cantina at 8am. Fraot x

Eight? In the morning? Odd time to go for a meal. Kanderin checked the clock. It was already quarter two, and it was two miles to their favourite cantina. Crap. He grabbed his jacket and darted out of the room, before running back in to grab his comlink and lock the door.

He nodded at various people as he darted back and forth through Tadath's Stormtrooper base. Smiling at a group of attractive Twi-Lek recruits, who all promptly giggled, he missed his turn. Cursing at himself, he ran back and went down the right route.

The shadows seemed surprisingly numerous for this area of the base. It was very rarely used, Kanderin was only down here himself to use a telephone he believed only he knew worked. Everyone else thought it had been shut off long ago.

He arrived at the telephone and banged on the top of it a few times. The screen sparked into life, but died a few seconds later. Strange. He hit it again but this time nothing happened. Another hit made the screen go darker.

He went to hit the phone a final time, but a pain in the side of his neck knocked him to the ground before he could even raise his fist. He just saw the shadows of the men now huddled around him, before his eyes lost all vision.

Man is Fraot going to be mad at me...

Rogueboy had just finished getting dressed he had struck up a conversation with a rather good looking girl on the street and now he had a date. They were originally going to go to a dinner then a bar but she had cancelled out on the dinner saying she had some family coming over. That was perfect for Rogue he didn’t feel like paying for dinner on top of her drinks.

Lately the two year soldier has noticed there was a problem within himself he felt he had trouble laughing and enjoying himself ever since he lost Namyr. It was an odd feeling because Rogue was not used to sentimentality; while on the exterior the trooper looked like a joke it was all a façade created in order to cover what he really was; tragically flawed. At least that’s what the Army psychiatrist said when he was ordered to attend a few sessions as part of the general physical. Enough about his problems perhaps the leggy brunette he was seeing tonight might just keep his mind away from things that ought to be left alone.

The soldier looked at himself in the mirror he had about two days growth on his beard but he figured shaving it would detract from the look he was going for; which was rugged.

Rogue entered his speeder and took off to the address Gabriel had given him, it was unfamiliar but there were hundreds of bars on the planet that Rogue did not know so that was no cause for concern but what was a cause for concern was that she said it was near her house. The game plan was simple he would meet Gabriel at the bar get so drunk that he would not be able to drive his speeder for fear of his life then hopefully she will offer him a place to sleep or have him call a cab which he hoped would not be the case.

The bar was not what Rogue had expected it was more upper class and he was clearly underdressed for this one. Luxury speeders and sport speeders were being served by the valet. Rogue was so embarrassed by the shape of his beat up speeder that he parked it two blocks down in order to save himself the embarrassment.

“Do you have a reservation?” The Host asked as he stared at Rogue’s clothes and “rugged” look obviously hoping the annoying insect would crawl back into the hole it came from.

Since when do bars ask for reservations? Rogue wondered as he explained his situation to the blue blooded asshole. “Gabriel Tubon?” The snotty nosed host asked.

“To be honest I didn’t catch her last name.” Rogue answered bluntly.

“Well I don’t imagine what she would be doing with you but I shall ask her if she is expecting a gentleman by the name of…” The host implored.

“Just tell her it was the guy she met on the corner of Palpatine and Third Avenue, the one with the weird pants.” Rogue said hoping that she would not dismiss him out of cruelty or forgetfulness.

A few seconds later the host returned and with a nod indicated that Rogue should follow him. Rogue gawked as they passed by rows upon rows of vintage drinks, wines from hundreds of planets, different kind of grapes, berries, fruits, and in some cases vegetables. Finally stopping at a table set for two where a brunette woman was sitting; her eyes were a gentle brown, she was taller then most human females but still a few inches shorter then Rogue, she wore high heels and a long black dress. Rogue smiled at her and she nodded to the host to say that this is indeed the man she was waiting for.

The host pulled out Rogue’s seat and as he sat down the host excused himself as he went to fetch a waiter. “That man may one day find himself staring down a blaster if he keeps up his smug attitude.” Rogue said in an attempt to break the ice.

Gabriel nodded and replied quickly. “As a matter of fact he has, and what you don’t see are the two murder holes in the walls at the entrance.”

Rogue looked over his shoulder and saw them. One of the oldest tricks in the book; keep a man covered in the wall so that he could fire out without difficulty while being superbly covered.

The waiter came over and asked what their pleasure was. “I’ll take a shot of aged Corellian whisket.” Gabriel replied while Rogue looked at the holo menu as he scrolled down counting the seconds to when it ended. Forty five. 

“I’ll have the same, actually Gabriel you want to split a bottle?” Rogue asked with an encouraging look on his face.

“Sure, but let’s take a pitcher of water as well.” She said with an evil grin on her face.

A few hours later and Rogue was smashed, the booze was good and the company was welcome. While he was not stuttering Rogue was not to far the water was greatly helping and he began pouring himself a glass when he spilled a little bit.

“Watch it!” Gabriel cried as she quickly grabbed the pitcher and glass from Rogue. “Let me do it.” She poured him a glass and Rogue quickly downed it.

“You want to leave?” She asked.

“I can’t drive home.” Rogue confessed trying but failing to hide his true intentions.

“I have an extra room in my house if you would like to come over.” Gabriel said with a far away look in her eyes.

Rogue grinned. “I would love to.”

“It’s this way.” Gabriel asked as she lead the way down an alley.

The trooper began following her but his vision began to swim and he started to feel weak. Can’t throw up now he told himself as his stomach was completely going haywire. Just then two red lights illuminated down the alley and a dark shape began growing in size. Rogue turned around and saw three men dressed in black with their heads covered. Shit, I love you kidney he thought to himself as he realized it was a trap. Rogue’s vision swam until he could no longer see and then he fell asleep.

Kanderin's eyes slowly slid open. The room he was in slowly opened up. It was bare, apart from the cold metal bench he found himself lying on. Littered around were ten or fifteen other bodies, men and women. Like him, they all wore military uniform. Unfortunately he recognised no one, so he decided to carry out the reconnaissance solo.

He scratched at a bulge on the side of his neck. Whatever the kidnapper's had injected him with, it hurt like hell. The corner's of his vision were still spinning slightly.

He pushed up from the bench and made his way over to the door. To the right of it was a number panel, obviously the code for opening the door was needed. And since he didn't have that, he set about on the normal Wraith route - trying to find a way to break through.

He placed a hand on the door and pushed slightly. It was made of solid metal, there was no way he was going to be able to force it. Instead he ran his hand along the edges of the door, trying to find a weak point. He felt his hand hit a groove in the panels, and leaned in for a closer look.

The number '6530' had been gently scratched into the metal. Deciding it was worth a shot, he punched the number into the panel and hit enter. Contrary to what he expected to happen, the door slowly slid open. Thing's were starting to get really weird, so he took his next few steps carefully.

The next few hallways went by vacantly. There was no real decoration, the walls were pure white with a small blue line about half way down. The hallway didn't falter off into any turns, so Kanderin just carried on walking in a straight line.

Suddenly, without warning, an automated turret rose from the floor about fifteen feet ahead and began to fire. Kanderin was already on his toes the moment the floor opened up, diving to one side to avoid the volley. As the gun made an adjustment to its aim, kanderin placed a foot on the wall and again launched himself over the bolts, landing just to the side of the gun.

He went to reach forward and rip the gun out of its holding place, but he suddenly noticed the large red button on its back. Pressing it, the gun powered down and sank back into the ground. Very weird.

He became so engrossed in the gun; which was understandable, that he missed the turn off. Now he had breathing space, he wandered up to the next door. Finding the pass code in a similar way, the door opened out into a wide hanger.

A huge VE banner dominated a stage in front of him, making the figure stood upon a podium look somewhat small. A number of other people, also in military uniform, were stood off to one side, looking at something on a notice board. A man suddenly appeared in front of him, in a crisp blue uniform. He reached out and shook Kanderin's hand.

"Welcome. We apologise about the somewhat unconventional meeting, but you'll soon find out it was quite necessary. On the table to the left" The man waved over to the other people in uniform. "You will find various pieces of paper, with your name and callsign on. You'll find you've been sorted into squads of ten people. Once you have found your group, please wait with your other members until such a time we are ready to continue"

Kanderin mumbled a thanks before walking past the man to the table. That man had said far too much for his liking. Among the faces at the table, he still recognised no one.

His name was on the first paper he noticed on the board. About half way down the list he clearly read 'K. Draken (Kanderin Draken). There were small tickboxes next to each name, so he took a pen and ticked his name off. No one else had ticked this sheet yet, so he had some time to waste. He spent it checking the other lists. A few name's he recognised, Luckystar and Darr-Rann caught his attention. One name he was particularly pleased to see was Tnepres, who was in the same squad as himself.

OOC:

Alrighty, here is the mission starting. I'm expecting Darr to perform the actual opening speech and starting off. But until then, you're free to post about your own route to the hanger, and finding your squad. In terms of who is in whatever squad, we don't really care. There is six of us, and four squads. Myself and Tnepres are already sorted, two others are going to have to pair up and the other's will be solo in their squads. Feel free to give all your NPC's names and personalities, most will be disappearing throughout the process but we might be keeping some of them.

Have fun people

"Ok who's the wise guy who broke the gun.." A voice sighed from around the corner.

Tnepres and Darr spun around to face the voice. Eventually, a tall figure with shoulder length black hair emerged, carefully balancing a cup between his lips. As the cup was slowly lowered, his trademark smirk appeared.

"Let me guess, it was you Ten?"

"Yeah, it was. Apologies if I made this place slightly less dangerous" Tnepres responded, turning back to the unconscious female. "Is she going to be ok?"

"Oh" Kanderin's eye's shot wider open. "So it finally got someone. Don't worry about her, medic's will be out in a second"

He rose the cup back to his lips and turned the corner again, leaving the two men very confused. For someone who was in the same position as them; at least they seemed he was, he sure seemed to know a lot of what was going on. They doubted he was the ringleader of the operation, he wouldn't of had the talent to be able to take Darr down.

They both shrugged in unison, before following Kanderin around the corner.

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

"Thankyou for your patience" The small man at the podium called, immediately making all other conversation stop.

"We apologise about the somewhat extreme circumstances you were brought here under, but they were very necessary. Each and every one of you were tested from the very moment you were abducted. Each one of you were able to notice the threat before it actually occurred, which was your first test past. The second test was making your way to this room. Some of you didn't make it"

The man shuffled some pieces of paper on his podium, and quickly glanced across the audience. They had been separated into their four respective groups now, and each stood in a relatively neat line. Many of them were still wobbling. He smiled to himself and clicked a button on the podium, which changed the image of the Vast Empire banner into a new symbol, which didn't mean anything to anyone present. Underneath the logo, in bold black letters read 'PHANTOM'.

"What you are about to see is strictly confidential. If any of this information is leaked, the one's responsible are open for arrest, imprisonment and in many cases, execution"

Kanderin gulped.

"You have been assembled here because you are the best the Corps have to offer. Each and every one of you have proven yourselves time and time again to be some of the most effective soldiers in the galaxy. This is why you have been assembled here, High Command has decided that it's time your skills were put into more effective use.

Phantom are an elite group of soldier's, their activities, plans and members are kept completely confidential. They work in small group's to carry out missions that are too dangerous to include the army in. They sneak in, carry out their objectives and leave, with a minimal amount of noise. No mess, no bodies, no broken security systems, no trace.

Phantom does not exist yet. Phantom will soon comprise of a select group of the people stood in front of me. We still, however, need to sort out the best of the best of the best, which is the reason you have been placed into your groups. Your training starts right now, and will continue until we have weeded out any loose ends and are left with the solid group soon to be known as Phantom.

In a few minutes, once preparations are complete, you will be taken into a training complex within this facility, given weapons and taken to a corner. The complex is around a mile square, in the centre of which is a flag. No prizes for guessing what the objective is"

A few people laughed, but Kandeirn couldn't help picking out they were mostly nerves.

"Each time is going to be awarded points throughout the process. Once the flag is caught and taken back to a respective teams base, it is teleported back to the center and that team is awarded twenty points. For each 'kill' made on an opposing team member, you are awarded one point. Every time one of your member's is 'killed', you will lose a point.

Once the process is finished, the team with the lowest amount of points will be completely kicked off of the program. Good luck"

The excited chatter kicked off again as the man collected his paper's and walked off stage. There were forty people in the groups, and ten of them were going to be immediately kicked off following this test. A 75% survival rate.

Kanderin liked those odds, and turned to point a thumbs up at Tnepres, who was further back in his line. He looked over to the next line, where Darr and Lucky had assembled a their group around them, and were already discussing battle strategies. Leon and Rogue, in the line following, were wandering up and down the line striking conversation with whoever they felt necessary.

OOC:

Alrighty, there was a lot of things said here and it might well be confusing, so if you want me to explain this to you, catch me on IRC when you can. No need to wait for any more posts from myself or Darr, you can push on right through this task however far you feel. Just be nice and don't make it so you take out a team containing some of our other member's alright?

When the small man had finished giving them the instructions, each group was led out of the hangar by a few guards and taken to the small complex.

Once they were all in the arena, a pole with a flag dangling off its end rose out from underground and the pole locked itself with a click. Lucky squinted at it to try and get a closer look at it.

She did not have a chance to stare at it for long, a light wepaon was pressed in her arms and she was brought back to reality. The last group of people was filing into the complex and were led to a spot directly opposite her. The place looked quite big , but she imagined that when they would be jogging to get the flag, it would seem quite small.

Everyone was silence by a muscular, dark man in the center of the room. He had his hand raised for attention, and when everything was silent he simply bellowed "Let the games begin!" Before hurriedly getting out of the way.

But nothing moved, silence, someone coughed and then lights came on all around them.  They were small red lights, a second later they turned yellow and then switched to green.

Powerful overhead lights came on and everyone started running for the flag. But Lucky's group simply remained standing with their weapons drawn.

They shot like crazy and scored twenty points in the first half-minute before running toward the flag in turn.

Two groups had already scored forty points each, they were twenty points behind. now was the time to catch up. they ran toward the flag, shooting people at the same time. By the time they ahd caught the flaf and brought it back to their corner they had sixty points.

Lucky was sweating profusely, the scores were very close. Her team had to do very well not to be sent home. After taking a ten-second break, enough to allow her to catch her breath, they prepared to charge the mass of people once more, intent on catching the flag again.