Several weeks had passed since the squad of Iron Horse had been tested in the simulator room and many things had changed.  Already several squad members had left but new ones had joined.  Sitting at his desk, Alan leafed through the papers of his current squad members.  He was glad to see that Verlock and Ken were still with the squad.  Since returning from the simulation, Alan had been informed that Iron Horse now had Troopers Dwarf, Quasi, Hunter1701 and Vince.  He was looking forward to getting to know them and to testing them in another simulation.

Sitting at his desk, Alan stared at a monitor and perused through several simulations.  Their first simulation had been difficult but he knew that he had to push them and was looking for something a little more difficult.  So engrossed was he with the monitor that he never heard or noticed that someone was standing at his door.  The officer stood and waited for several seconds before knocking on the open door to attract Alan’s attention.

Alan looked up at the man.  He didn’t recognise him and he knew that it wasn’t someone from his squad as he had just spent some time going through their files.

“Yes?” queried Alan.

“Sir, Brigadier General Rizzit wants to see you in his office” replied the officer.

“Thanks” replied Alan as he returned the officer’s salute and pondered on what it was that Rizzit wanted to see him about.

Storing the squad’s files away in his desk drawer, Alan quickly made his way to Rizzit’s office.  Knocking on the door he entered and sat down opposite Rizzit and listened intently to what he had to say.

When he was finished, Alan looked at him and replied “you’ve got to be kidding me Sir.  Iron Horse is still in infancy right now.  Only two troopers have been tested in a simulation environment and I haven’t even met the new troopers, let alone tested them”.

“This is as good a way to test them.  I’m sure you will do fine” replied Rizzit.

“Yes Sir” said Alan as he saluted and left Rizzit’s office.

Alan hastened back to the Iron Horse barracks and upon entering he was glad to see that all of the troopers within the squad were there.  He was happy to see that they were chatting away to each other and getting along nicely.

“Guys, can I have your attention please” said Alan. 

The chattering quietened down and Alan looked at them before continuing “we have been selected for a mission”.

“A mission” said Verlock, “but Sir, we are still training, in fact none of the new troopers have even had a training mission yet”.

“I am well aware of that Verlock but we have been selected and we are going” replied Alan.

“Can I ask what the mission is?” asked Ken.

“All in good time” replied Alan “get yourselves ready and meet me in briefing room 2 in one hour and you will be fully briefed then.  Oh and we will be going in as civilians, so no stormtrooper armour or any weapons than can be traced back to the Imperial Army”.

Alan looked at them and wondered what was going through their minds.  “Dismissed” he said as he watched the troopers move out, chatting quietly to themselves and start getting ready.

Now to get ready myself thought Alan as he moved into his office and started drawing up a strategy for their mission.

Ken listened attentively as Alan explained their situation. He was expecting a briefing at that time, but none seemed to be forthcoming.

"Can I ask what the mission is?" he asked.

"All in good time," Alan replied. "Get yourselves ready and meet me in briefing room 2 in one hour and you will be fully briefed then. Oh, and we will be going in as civilians, so no stormtrooper armour or any weapons than can be traced back to the Imperial Army. Dismissed."

The moment Alan finished saying the word "civilians," Ken was optimistic. As he continued, Ken suspected that if they weren't going to be wearing armor, they might not have to fight! While Ken knew that sooner or later he would have to engage the enemy outside of a simulation, he welcomed any assignment that might let him perform pure reconaissance without killing anybody, even a Rebel.

When dismissed, Ken returned to his bunk and removed his Imperial issues, exchanging them for cargo pants and a open collared shirt. He left his rifle in his trunk, but wore the DC-15s pistol he had received from a comrade. As he donned the holster, Ken walked to the latrine. Can't deploy on a full bladder, right?

Ken returned to the barracks and sat on his bunk. He reached over and picked up the datapad he had dropped on it. He was writing a letter home before Alan came in, so he resumed writing until about half an hour had gone by. Then he stowed and locked his gear and walked to the briefing room. As he walked out the door, he shot a suspicious glance at Quasi, the "inkface."

He made his way to the briefing room, letting himself in and greeting Vince. He took a seat and waited, hoping Alan had good news for him.

Alan watched as the squad members started to file into the briefing room.  He paid particular attention to the fact that no-one sat beside Vince.  He had heard about Vince killing a miner and the varied rumours of why.  He also knew that Vince was now a member of the Vast Empire and more importantly a member of the Iron Horse squad and he hoped that in time he and the rest of the squad would bond.

When all of the troopers were in and seated, Alan started up a series of slides.  The first one portrayed what looked like a very old space station.

“As you can probably tell” said Alan, “this is a rather old Imperial space station that has been abandoned for some time.  It is situated in a remote sector of the galaxy”.

Alan pressed a button and the next slide appeared.  This one portrayed what looked like some kind of schematics for a weapon.

“This is a new cannon which the Engineering division is working on.  If it works, it will have the capability of destroying a starship with one single blast”.

Alan noticed that several of the squad either whistled or sucked in air at the very prospect.

Alan continued “as some of you may have guessed, it was decided to test this cannon by installing it at this abandoned space station.  However, after a few days of arriving, Intelligence picked up several rebel ships heading to the station.  We do not know why”.

Vince, curious about this sudden interest by the rebels asked “do the rebels know of the weapon Sir?”

Alan looked over at Vince and the rest of the squad before answering “good question Vince, Intel has advised me that they are sure the rebels do not know about the weapon.  I’m glad to say that the station was evacuated before the rebels arrived but they did not have the time to dismantle or destroy the weapon”.

“Sir” said Dwarf, “surely if the weapon is just experimental, do we really need to worry, chances are it probably won’t work”.

Alan looked over at Dwarf and said “do you really want to risk it, what if the weapon does exactly what it’s supposed to.  The Imperial Navy would never again be able to approach or attack a rebel base again”.

Alan looked around and noted that no-one had anything else to say on the matter until Ken spoke up and asked “so what are our orders Sir?”

Alan replied “Our orders are to go to this station as civilians and either destroy or retrieve the weapon.  Intel has noted that several merchant ships have arrived obviously interested in trading on the station.  We will pose as merchants.  This should allow us to move about the station without attracting any attention”.

“What if the rebels do know about the weapon and are working on it right now?” queried Verlock.

“Then our orders are to destroy it by whatever means necessary” replied Alan.

Alan looked around at his squad and asked “any questions?”

He waited but noted that no-one else had anything further to ask.  Alan then said “the ship will be departing in 30 minutes, docking bay 4, dismissed”.

Alan watched the troopers file out and start chatting to each other.  Alan hoped that they were ready for their first mission.

Alan watched the squad filing out of the briefing room.  He noticed that Vince had left first and before any of the rest of the squad had time to get up.  Alan wondered if Vince would ever truly be accepted into the squad or whether he just wanted to be alone.  Alan remembered back to the days when he was just a loner, fending for himself, never trusting anyone else until the day.  He shook his head, he didn’t want to go there, he and the rest of the squad had a mission to accomplish and he intended that they accomplish it and with no lives lost.

Having already gotten ready for the mission, Alan headed straight to the hangar deck.  He was curious to see what kind of vessel they would be going in.  His eyes widened when he took in the sleek form of an old Corellian freighter.  I don’t know why we have to have some Navy pilot’s thought Alan I’m not a bad pilot.  Alan walked round the ship, his hands softly caressing the lines of the hull.

Hearing some movement, Alan turned round to see that several troopers had already started to arrive.  He was glad to see them as he hated lateness in troopers.  He was surprised as to how fast time was flying as it would soon be time for them to depart.

Soon the rest of the squad had arrived and then the Navy pilots arrived.  They introduced themselves and Alan ordered the squad onboard.

“She’s a fine ship” said Alan to one of the pilots.

“That she is Sir” replied Foster, “perhaps you’d like to take the controls later?”

“I might just take you up on that offer” replied Alan as he followed the pilots up the ramp and was the last to board.

Alan marvelled at the ships design.  He was even more impressed when he took a stroll through it and was shown the schematics, detailing all of its hidden and deadly surprises, making it one lethal freighter.

When the freighter first took off, Alan hovered around the cockpit mostly.  He was fascinated and excited by space travel and to see the stars envelop the ship when it exited the hangar bay was a beautiful sight to his eyes.  One of the navy pilots let Alan sit down and take control of the vessel for a short period of time before it was time to plot the ships course and take it into hyperspace.  Alan waited until the hyperspace engines were engaged and the stars hurtled past before moving out of the cockpit and seeing what everyone else was getting up to.

As Alan wandered through the ship, he came across one of his new troopers, a young man by the name of Marcus, known as Dwarf.  Alan looked at him as he remembered from Dwarf’s file just how young he really was.

“How are you doing?” queried Alan.

“Ah, um, yes, I good, thank you Sir” replied Dwarf, slightly awkwardly, “I was, ah, just looking for Vince”.

“Let’s look for him together” replied Alan as he slapped Marcus on the back and they moved through the ship.  Alan knew that with time Marcus would grow and develop within the Army and become a strong officer.

They soon came across Vince who was playing cards with the Navy officers.  Alan wasn’t a great card player but both he and Marcus sat down and joined in.  This could be fun thought Alan as the cards got dealt. 

Indeed they did have fun, although Alan thought that his credits seemed to be disappearing a little too easily.  The officers chatted amongst themselves whilst they played, that is except for Vince, who seemed to listen to the conversations but not really participate.  Alan was slightly troubled by this and wanted Vince to feel like he was part of the family, a member of Iron Horse.

“What about you Vince?” queried Alan.  Alan watched Vince as he sucked in a gulp of air.  Alan wondered whether it had been the right decision to ask and hoped Vince wasn’t going to feel awkward or even that he would ignore the question and walk away.  Alan was relieved when Vince started talking.  His story just seemed to flow out of him when he started talking.  Alan knew how hard it must’ve been for Vince to tell his story and the burden he must have been carrying with everyone always questioning why he had killed the miner.

“Well I think we can all have just one drink” said Alan, “A story like that deserves it”.

Alan was happy to see Vince smiling as he poured out some ales to the officers.  Alan hoped that Vince felt more comfortable around his fellow squad mates.  The cards got dealt out once more and Alan decided that he had to get back some of his lost credits as he took a long sip of the ale.

Alan looked at his decreasing pile of credits and knew that his plan to win back what credits he had lost had not gone entirely to plan.  He looked at his set of cards and swore silently to himself as yet another round was lost.

Cursing his streak of bad luck, Alan looked up and noticed that Ken had entered the room and was looking with a keen interest at the game.

“Hey Ken” called out Alan.

“Hi Sir” replied Ken, “I heard there was a game going so I thought I would join in, but it looks pretty crowded already”

Alan stood up and said “here, take my seat Ken”.

“No, I couldn’t” replied Ken.

Alan moved over to Ken and said softly to him “no really, I insist, besides which you’d be doing me a favour”.

Ken smiled slightly and replied “thanks Sir”.

Taking his ale, Alan left them to their game and thought to himself at least I didn’t lose all of my credits.

Moving to one of the view ports, Alan looked out at the stars streaking past and drank his ale.  He lost track of how long he stood there, mesmerised by the sight when he suddenly noticed that the stars were no longer streaking past.  He looked down and realised that his glass was empty.  He put it down and headed for the cockpit thinking to himself we’re out of hyperspace which means we are either here or we’re in trouble.

Alan entered the cockpit to find both of the navy pilots seated and working the controls.

Lial looked up at Alan when he entered and said “there she is, your previously abandoned space station”.

Alan looked and true enough there in front of them was the station.  It already had several ships docked and Alan thought to himself now the fun begins.

Alan called the squad together and started informing them that they would be arriving at the station soon.  Alan started to go into more detail about what the cargo was and what they would do as soon as they arrived.  The squad nodded in understanding and Alan dismissed them to gather their weapons together and meet back in the main hold so they could begin the unloading as soon as they arrived.

Alan was already geared up and sat down on one of the crates and waited for the squad to return.  They soon started returning, one by one.  When Alan spotted Vince, his eyes widened.  Vince noticed Alan’s gaze.

Vince spoke first. “Something wrong sarge?” he asked.

Alan shook his head. “That’s lightly armed?”

Vince nodded. “Yes,” he answered simply.

Alan grinned at the thought that the vast amount of weapons Vince was carrying was lightly armed.  He noticed that Vince wasn’t smiling and soon realised that Vince was being serious.  Alan wondered what Vince would carry if he had asked that squad to come back heavily armed.

The ship, having gained clearance to land, flew slowly into the stations landing bay and docked.  Alan felt the ship landing on the deck of the station and heard the whine as the landing ramp was lowered.

“Alright, let’s go to work” said Alan.  Instantly Vince grabbed a crate and carried it off.  Alan picked up a nearby crate and suddenly noticed how heavy it was.  How did Vince make that look so easy he thought as he lumbered the crate over to the ramp.

When Alan arrived with his crate to the ramp, he was met with two rebel officers.

“What are you carrying here?” queried one of the officers.

Alan handed the man a manifesto of their cargo.  The officer looked through it intently whilst the other stood back slightly, obviously ensuring that there was not going to be any trouble.

The officer nodded to Alan and replied “that seems to be in order, carry on”.

Before the officer could depart Alan turned round and asked “listen, I’m parched.  Where can you get a good drink around here?”

The officer looked at him and replied “two levels up, you can’t miss it”.  With that they turned and left.  Alan noticed that in the short time he had been talking to the officers, the squad, especially Vince had already brought most of the boxes to the ramp. 

I’d better go help before they’ve offloaded all of the crates thought Alan as he headed back to the cargo hold.

Two rebel officers walked up shortly after they had lowered the cargo ramp. While Alan went over and spoke to them, Vince continued to move crates. He noticed that some of the troopers were having trouble lifting the large boxes. Vince just smiled to himself. Mining was hard work.

Vince bent down and picked up another one of the massive crates. As he lifted it the corded muscles in his arms flexed and bulged. He saw one of the rebel officers, the one not talking to Alan, was looking at him with an openly hostile gaze. Vince grinned. It wasn’t the response the man was looking for.

Vince moved the last crate down the ramp where a droid was lifting them and carrying them off. Alan was done conversing with the rebel officers. Vince stopped and contemplated that last thought. It was no longer the Rebellion. It was now the New Republic. Vince shook his head.

It didn’t really matter. They were still a threat, just to a different Empire. Vince looked at Alan after the last crate was in place. The squad leader nodded. It was time to go have a drink.

The first thing Vince noted about the station was that it had been repaired some. Some, but not entirely. The walls had chunks missing in places. For the most part, though, the station was in good shape. Half the squad had remained on the ship, so as not to cause a scene. They would try to sleep, and come out during the ‘night’ hours. That way they always had a recon team out gathering intelligence.

The first squad consisted of Vince, Alan, and Quasi. They were going to check the cantina and see what kind of rumors they could pick up. Dwarf, Ken, Hunter, and Verlock would run the night shift.

For now Vince’s group was heading up to the cantina to check around. Vince was still armed to the teeth. Alan had a simple blaster on his hip and a smallish knife on his belt. Vince imagined that the sergeant knew how to use them. Quasi just had a blaster.

Quasi was first in the room, followed by Alan. Both walked up to the bar. Vince followed a few minutes later and took a spot a ways away from his squad mates. The idea was the Vince could cover the two from any threats while they asked the questions. Vince was ok with this plan. It meant he got to sit and drink.

He ordered some local drink that sounded strong and turned his attention to Alan and Quasi. From where Vince stood he could just hear Alan and Quasi order a drink. He was far enough away to appear separate, but close enough to render aid if necessary.

Vince sipped his drink (it was indeed strong) and listened while Alan asked the bartender subtle questions about the station. He was taking a sip when something bumped him, causing him to spill his drink.

Vince was immediately on edge. He tensed, his six foot five frame quivering. He turned to see a drunken rebel soldier behind him. The man was about six foot tall and was dwarfed by Vince, but that didn’t seem to stop him. Alcohol could make a man feel stronger than he really was. The man looked up at Vince and grinned.

Vince stared the man in the eyes. He didn’t say anything, didn’t glare, and didn’t smile. He just looked at him. Into him. The rest of the bar had grown quiet and Vince could see Alan trying not to break his glass out of the corner of his eye. Vince knew why. They were supposed to keep a low profile.

The drunken man’s grin slowly faded. He quickly diverted his eyes. His gaze moved over Vince once more. The man decided that it wasn’t worth it. He mumbled an apology and moved on. Vince went back to his drink without saying anything.

As he turned he saw Alan nod slightly. Vince bowed his head, acknowledging his CO. Vince had dealt with many drunks in his time on Gorran and knew how to divert their intentions from violence.

Sipping a new drink, one not quite as strong, Vince turned his attention back to Alan. The squad leader had struck up a conversation with the drunken rebel officer Vince had just recently met. The rebel officer seemed to be speaking quite animatedly and nodding in Vince’s direction. Vince could imagine what was being said.

Alan had a smile on his face and kept feeding the man drinks. Quasi was speaking with the bartender. Quasi was to far away for Vince to hear what was being said, and he could only catch snippets of Alan’s conversation with the rebel. Vince turned and leaned back against the bar. He scanned the cantina, looking for any signs of trouble.

Having grown up in bars Vince could immediately pick out any threats. He noticed two rough looking men in a corner, shooting glances at Quasi. He also noticed a dark haired man up against a wall, one hand on a blaster. Vince caught Alan’s eye and motioned discreetly over to where the dark haired man was sitting. Alan nodded slightly.

Vince left the bar, and walked to where the man was standing. “Care to share a drink, friend?” Vince asked him. The man shrugged and motioned for Vince to sit.

Vince sat, just as the two rough looking boys took off for Quasi. Before Vince could do anything the man across the table had drawn his blaster and fired twice. Both men fell to the floor, stunned but alive. Vince stared at the stranger.

The man just smiled. “I think we need to talk. Don’t worry, I’ll come to you.” Vince nodded, still bewildered by the strange mans actions. As the man left, goose bumps ran down Vince’s spine. That was a man that even Vince wouldn’t want to get in a fight with. Vince returned to the bar and ordered a glass of water. Alan had a question on his face, but Vince would have to explain later.

So far no more threats had popped up. Alan had taken a seat next to the drunken man and was talking to him. Vince didn’t like it, but it was probably their best chance for intelligence.

Vince had a glass of water in his hand. He was never much for drinking, and this place was full of threats. He wanted to be sharp. He eased his vibroblade where it hung on his belt. If all went well he wouldn’t have to use it. If all went well.

From Vince’s experience it never went well. Something always went wrong, and somebody always got killed. Then again, Vince’s experience was limited to a rowdy mining settlement out in the middle of nowhere.

Vince ran his eyes over the room once more. Several mean looking aliens were staring at him in the corner. Vince counted three of them, one of them a rodian. That’s not good, he thought to himself. Rodians were only allowed to leave their home planet of Rodia if they were hunters…or bounty hunters. And there was no large game nearby.

Vince eased his weapons once again. The weight was trivial, but comforting. He knew that he was trained and equipped well enough to handle almost any threat. He could hit what he aimed at with his throwing knives (usually), was an excellent knife fighter, and was a superb marksman.

What Vince lacked was experience. And above all else, experience is what makes good soldiers great. It is what makes great solider elite, and it is what makes elite soldiers live long enough to retire. Vince knew that experience would come with time; its just that he wished he had experiences to draw on now.

Vince shrugged his massive shoulders. The squad was scheduled to return back to the ship in an hour and a half. Vince took another drink of his water and shifted on his barstool. It was going to be a while.

Scanning the crowd one more time for any threats the might be lurking, Vince turned his thoughts to the mission.

Anival woke up with the taste of bile in his mouth. All he remembered was that he was

Helping with the weapon on the station, and then he had been hit in the head. He noticed that his head was bleeding and then he blacked out again. He woke up to the sound of voices “lift im up”

said a voice” he was lifted into the air. He felt a jab of pain as the men started to beat him, that’s when he remembered what had happened. He was a prisoner. “How did you call for help?” asked a

twi’lek. “I didn’t” responded Anival, he was punched again. “Don’t lie to me boy, I saw several other men, and they were asking weird questions.” With that Anival’s hope of being rescued were

once again lifted, and if they didn’t come he would be forced to make a break for it, so he decided to egg the man on, “one of your men is working for us” Anival spat. The twi’lek’s face turned

red with anger, “who” he demanded Anival noticed a big guy who was potentially dangerous if he tried to escape, “him” Anival answered the men pointed their weapons to him and cuffed him.

Anival noticed that he wasn’t being held any more. He kicked the twi’lek and took his gun. He had a hostage, Anival barked “every body get on the floor, and toss your weapons over to me” they did

as they were told, he took aim and killed every body on the floor then he killed the twi’lek and ran, that was to easy he thought to himself he ran and ran for hours, he was by a cantina, he went

inside and saw Alan and some of the people that had knocked him out, he waited until he was outside and followed Alan to a

freighter, Alan was drunk Anival noticed that so he decided not to approach him. He walked to some crates and laid down to rest

then darkness quickly enveloped him, the only thing he thought about was if they thought he had deserted the Empire.

Anival was shaken by his shoulders, slammed into a wall and woken up. He opened his eyes just to see Alan pointing a blaster to his head and “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t kill

you right now for giving the enemy all of our secrets !” exclaimed Alan.

Anival was about to open his mouth when all of a sudden blaster fire rained on them they quickly ducked down. “Led them to our

position too?” asked Alan. They were interrupted again by more blaster fire, Anival took out the blaster he had and pointed it at Alan.

Alan raised his blaster in response. Anival shot two times and then Alan shot him in the shoulder. There were two thuds as Anival fell down “damn!!”  Yelled Anival as he wriggled in pain,

The blaster fire continued to pour on them there was a shuffling noise behind Alan and he turned around,

Then Anival said “shot to disable or to kill? I shot to kill”. There were two republic officers on the ground on of them was dead but the other one was just unconscious.

Anival started to get up when Alan pointed the blaster at him and said “ get in the ship “.

Anival saw Alan pick up the officer and they walked into the ship in silence.

Vince was jogging down the corridors of the station in a trance-like state. He had developed this technique in the mines. It was useful for ignoring physical discomfort and monotonous work.

Vince had left for a run shortly after he had deposited Alan back on the ship. His squad leader had gotten a little too friendly with the New Republic officer in the cantina, and had had one to many drinks. Vince had helped the man back to the ship, along with Ken, and then had left. He didn’t know where he was going, but that wasn’t important. He just needed to think.

The strange man’s actions in the bar still puzzled Vince. But more than the man’s actions, the man himself worried Vince. He didn’t know if the man was for them or against them, but he hoped it was the former. It would be a bad day the squad had to face of against that man.

Vince was still in this dreamlike state, jogging along the abandoned corridors, when he came to an intersection. As he passed through the intersection, something gripped his arm and yanked him into the side corridor. Instantly alert, Vince responded by twisting away and kicking out with his foot. He made contact with something, but it was not a body. His attacker had deflected the blow.

Vince spun away again, regaining his balance. He faced his opponent, who in the shadows appeared as nothing more than a silhouette. He could, however, tell the size of his opponent. His confidence bolstered by the seemingly small size of his attacker, Vince took a decisive step forward and lashed out with his strong arms.

The next instant, to Vince’s total surprise and disbelief, he found himself sprawled out on the floor. Quickly he tried to scramble back to his feet, but to no avail. His attacker put a knee to his back. Vince stilled, waiting for whatever would happen next.

Again he was surprised. The man let up and stepped back into the light. Vince launched himself to his feet and turned to get a look at his attacker.

It was the man from the bar. The dark haired man had a dangerous glint in his eye, and Vince let his hands hang loosely at his sides. He made sure not to make any motion towards his weapons (besides, he was only carrying a holdout blaster and a small knife) and tried to appear unthreatening.

The man looked Vince up and down and laughed slightly. The light went out of his eyes, but still Vince didn’t relax. He had dealt with enough dangerous men in his time to know that this man could kill him and never think of it again. So he simply waited. Waited and tried to make sense of the situation.

Finally the man spoke. “You shouldn’t be wandering the halls of this station alone,” he said slowly.

Vince merely shook his head. “I thought myself capable of  taking care of myself,” he said.

“Apparently not,” the man said.

The man was silent for a while, simply looking at Vince. Vince shifted his weight, waiting for the man to say or do something. After several more seconds of looking at Vince, the man spoke again.

“You’re wondering about me, no?” he said calmly.

Vince slowly nodded. “That I am. Are you going to provide an explanation, or am I going to have to wonder some more?”

The man grinned. “No, I’ll tell you. But let’s get back to your ship first. This place might appear deserted, but one can never tell who is watching.”

Vince nodded. The man set off down the corridor Vince had been jogging down. He jogged briskly, and Vince was forced to keep up. After a few minutes they found themselves back at the ship, only to find four New Republic Military Police officers approaching the ship.

Vince and the other man crouched behind some crates that were stacked in the hangar. Vince studied the New Republic soldiers, trying to discern their intentions. He didn’t have to look for long,  because all four men were heavily armed. One of the men had a light repeating blaster, and the other three had close-quarters shotguns. Vince knew that they were here to board the ship.

The dark haired man tapped Vince on the shoulder. When Vince looked over the man winked. Vince nodded. He understood. Moving silently up behind the four men, Vince and the dark-haired man drew knives. Two of the men were lagging behind, and Vince moved up behind one.

Trusting the noise of the hangar and the space station in general to cover any noise he made, Vince quickly drove his knife into the base of the mans head, severing the brain stem and killing the man instantly. Wrapping his arms around the dead soldier and gently lowering him to the ground, Vince glanced over and saw that the dark haired man had done much the same.

Pulling out his holdout blaster Vince moved up behind one of the other men. Before he got close enough to knock the New Republic soldier unconscious, he turned around. Vince quickly pulled the trigger, hitting the man in the chest with the stun laser and knocking him down. Before he could turn and take care of the other hostile, Vince’s new friend had taken him down as well.

Vince quickly went around and checked all the vitals for the four NR soldiers. Two were dead, the third was unconscious, and the one that Vince had shot was dazed, but unhurt. Vince took all the guns and knocked on the ships hull.

As soon as he did the ramp began to lower. He quickly pulled the two dead bodies up the ramp and into the hold. He went back down the ramp and yanked the conscious man to his feet while the dark-haired stranger pulled the unconscious, but very much alive, NR soldier up. As soon as they were all aboard the ship, the ramp quickly closed. Vince restrained the two living soldiers and turned around.

He came face to face with Alan, who still looked worse for wear from the undercover work he had undertaken the night before. Vince snapped a quick salute. Alan just nodded impatiently.

“What the hell is this?” he asked.

Vince shrugged his massive shoulders. “He attacked me, then we attacked them as they tried to attack you, and now we’re about to get attacked again, me thinks.”

Alan just stared at Vince. Then he turned to the dark haired man. “And who the hell are you. You know who we are, obviously, but I have no idea who you are.”

The man bowed. “Captain Kent Pryce, Vast Imperial Intelligence Division,” he said.

All the troopers just stared. Then Ken wandered in, leading a man Vince had never seen before.

“Who is that?” Vince asked.

Alan just looked from Vince, to Kent, and back to Vince. He shook his head again. “Lets sit down. We have some sorting out to do.” With that everyone moved into the mess area of the ship, where the Navy crewmen were waiting.

"Sarge, Vince is back and he's brought some company"


"Ken" said Alan, just before he left , "bring Anival".

Anival noted that more Republic officers were with him
Maybe this will convince them that I'm innocent thought Anival

“Who is that?” asked, someone as Anival was brought into the room

“Lets sit down. We have some sorting out to do" said Alan.

"Vince, this is trooper Anival. He used to being part of the Iron Horse squad before he left and went AWOL, now I am trying to find out if he is a traitor or not" said Alan.

Pryce looked at Anival slightly surprised and queried "Anival Velasquez?"

Anival was shocked that this man knew his name, because he didn't know who he was so he answered "that's right, who are you?"

Pryce replied "Captain Kent Pryce of the Vast Imperial Intelligence Division. I heard that you had been captured but everyone in Intelligence had assumed you had been executed. Sergeant, I can tell you right now that this man is no traitor".

Alan looked relieved. He reached a hand out to Anival and said "Welcome back to the Iron Horse squad, trooper".

Anival shook Alan's hand hard, smiling and replied "thank you Sir, it's good to be back".

Alan then looked over at Pryce and asked "I need to know, has our cover been blown?"

Pryce answered "I'm afraid so, that's why I had to see you and warn you. You have to leave, now".

Ken came up to Anival and said "I knew you weren't a traitor" and smiled then he walked away.

Anival turned around and the man who had asked Alan to kill him came up to him and spoke "good thing he came up here to save you, if it were up to me i would have killed you without a second thought" Anival half expected him to spit on him but then he walked away.

"Nice to know I am loved" muttered Anival under his breath

Anival walked around the ship when he looked out one of the windows, and saw one of the men that had held him captive. He ran and found Alan and spoke "Sir, I think I know how we can find the weapon" . Alan looked surprised.

Now is the chance to redeem myself, thought Anival

Anival was surprised that Alan had even thought that he wanted to hurt this soldier as revenge, although the thought suddenly appealed to him.

"Don't worry Sir, you can count on me to get the information" said Anival.

"Very good" replied Alan, "go get him".

"Yes Sir" replied Anival as he exited the ship to capture the enemy soldier.

Anival walked to the opposite side of the ship and went behind the soldier, he heard a whistle, but kept on walking.

When he was close enough to the soldier to grab him he heard two whistles and the soldier turned around.

Anival quickly ducked as the soldier made a swing anival hit him in the gut then he hit him with the side of his blaster.

then he dragged him in the ship, when Alan saw him he asked what took you so long"

" somehow he knew that i was behind him, I heard several whistled and then he turned around we fought a little and then i came in, Sir if I may, I think they are watching us"

Anival dragged the unconscious soldier into the ship and Alan did not like it when Anival reported that he was certain they were being watched.  Why were they watching them, if they knew that this ship was full of Imperials then why hadn't they attacked and how did they know they were Imperials thought Alan.  Too many questions and not enough answers, and there was also the weapon, had they found it or did they even know about its existence.  Alan looked down again at the unconscious soldier and knew that it was going to be several hours before he was conscious enough to be interrogated.  They needed to make a move, but what.

Alan's thinking came to an abrupt halt as a stranger boarded the ship.  Alan was instantly on high alert and feared trouble.  His hand instantly went for his blaster.  The man in front of him dropped his bags and saluted and introduced himself as Hector Vandaval.  Alan took his papers and leafed through them, they were indeed in order.

Alan returned the salute and replied "welcome to the squad Hector".

"Thank you Sir" replied Hector.

"Have you been briefed on our current status Hector?" queried Alan.

"I was told that you were here to retrieve or destroy a weapon and that's about it Sir" replied Hector.

"Alright, this is the situation as it stands.  We are certain that the New Republic are watching us and know we are Imperials.  Why they haven't attacked is unknown.  We as yet have not been able to locate the weapon nor do we know if the New Republic is aware of its existence or have it right now" said Alan.

"So what's the plan?" queried Hector.

Alan was thinking about the best way to proceed when he heard a noise.  He noticed that the Republic solider was starting to come around.  Alan was surprised as he figured that the man was going to be unconscious for some time. 

"Bind him to a chair and take of his shoes" ordered Alan.

Even though he had been out of active service for some time, it was still ingrained into Hector from his training days to follow orders, no matter how bizarre they seemed.  Hector sprang into action, grabbing the man and dragging him to a chair.  He was quickly bound and his boots removed.

Alan looked at the man and brandished his blaster.  "Talk!" shouted Alan, "tell us everything you know about the weapon".

"You think I would talk to you, you Imperial scum" replied the man as he spat at Alan.

Alan looked back at the man and replied "talk, before things get rough".

"You don't frighten me" replied the solider.

Alan has expected that kind of response and without saying another word he fired his blaster.  One of the soldiers big toes exploded in a bloody mess and the man screamed.

"Talk before I decide to shoot again" said Alan.

"You crazy bastard" the soldier said, his eyes wincing in extreme pain.

Alan fired again, this time the soldier's other big toe exploded.  The man screamed wildly.  Ken kept his eyes peeled outside, fearful that the man's screaming would bring other soldiers here.

"Alright" said the man, "I'll talk".

"I'm listening" replied Alan, still brandishing his weapon should the soldier decide otherwise.

"We know all about your weapon.  Our best engineers are working on it right now but as of yet they have not been successful in getting it working" said the soldier.

"Where is it and why have you been watching us?" queried Alan.

The soldier winced before replying "it's located on sub level 2, section 21.  We have been watching you, waiting for you to make your move, once we got you at the weapon we would force you to get it working for us".

Alan laughed at the idea that the New Republic could force one of his squad to do that was preposterous.

"Thank you for your time" replied Alan as he raised his weapon and fired.  The man's head exploded and he slumped down dead.

"What the hell did you do that for?" queried Ken, still making sure that no-one was approaching the ship.

"It's one less Republic slime ball in the Galaxy" replied Alan as he holstered his gun.  "Listen up, we know we're being watched and we know that they will follow us wherever we go.  Ken, Verlock and Vince, you guys go to sub level 2 but away from section 21, hopefully that will confuse whoever is following us and also split them up a bit.  Hector, Anival and I will go to the weapon and destroy it.  It's going to be too risky trying to take it out of here now that we know that the Republic knows about it.  It we need assistance we will radio you and you can backtrack and back us up".

Alan looked around at everyone, making sure that everyone was clear on their assignment.  He didn't like breaking up the squad but it had to be done to thin out the Republic onlookers.  "Let's move out" ordered Alan.