Alan listened to Draco as he informed him of the tracks he had discovered and also of the tree with the scorched blaster mark on it.  Alan thought back to when Draco had discovered the secret entrance to the base and also of the man in the observation deck that had seemed genuinely surprised when they had entered the base in that entrance.  Alan knew from what Draco had demonstrated so far in this mission that he was a good tracker but there was a lot riding on this.

“You’d better be right about this Draco” replied Alan, “you take point”

“Roger that Sir” replied Draco.

I hope he’s right thought Alan we cannot afford to lose this scientist.  Alan and the rest of the squad followed closely behind Draco as he moved slowly past the tree with the blaster damage and further into the jungle.

Alan wondered where the other enemy soldiers had disappeared to and hoped that they wouldn’t sneak up behind them.  He started to get concerned that enemy soldiers might know that they would go after the scientist and use it to trap them.  He needed to know that the rear of the squad was covered.

Getting on his com Alan quickly liaised with his ASL.  “Jelly, do you copy?” queried Alan.

“Reading you loud and clear” replied Jelly.

“Take up the rear and keep your eyes and ears peeled.  I don’t want any enemy soldiers tracking us or attacking us without any notice” said Alan.

“Understood” replied Jelly as he let other squad members pass him by so he could bring up the rear.

Alan felt better as he followed Draco in the jungle and hopefully on the heels of the scientist.  Let’s hope we find this scientist soon thought Alan.  He had already lost Vince on the god forsaken planet and he didn’t want to lose anyone else.

Alan pondered on the difficult decision in front of him.  He certainly didn't want the squad to split up.  If they did so they would be more vulnerable to attack.  Yet if he didn't split them up then the mission was at risk to failure.  After losing Vince the last thing he wanted was the loss of another.

"We split up" he said finally, although as soon as he uttered those words, his heart sank.  He took a good look at the squad and said "Jelly, you're in charge of one squad, take Saphira, Recruit and Anival.  Draco and Ken, you're with me".

Everyone confirmed their orders and moved into their respective groups.  With having an uneven number of troopers, Alan had decided to let Jelly have the larger amount of troopers.  He hadn't worked long with Jelly and he was putting a lot of faith in him.

"Jelly, you take the tracks that go off in that direction" as he pointed at the spot.  "Draco, lead the way with the other set of tracks" said Alan.

"Yes Sir" replied Jelly as he started to lead his squad off.

"Good luck" muttered Alan softly as he watched them go.  I hope they're going to be alright thought Alan.

Draco looked over at Alan and waited.  Alan wasn't sure whether Draco had heard him or not.  Composing himself he looked back at Draco and said "lead the way Draco".

"Roger that Sir" replied Draco as he led Alan and Ken deeper into the jungle terrain.

Alan was following close behind Draco when suddenly the heavens emitted a loud thunderous boom and lightening streaked down from the sky.  Just great thought Alan mere seconds before a blaster bolt flew through the air and struck Draco.  Alan didn't have any time to check on his fallen trooper as he dived for cover as a barrage of blaster bolts rained down on them.

"Just one, I want to be able to sneak up on our enemies and not have them sneaking up on us" muttered Alan before he peered out from his hiding hole and sent a few blaster bolts back at the assailant.

Getting on to his com Alan queried "Draco, are you alright?"

A grimaced voice came through his com as Draco replied "I'll be fine Sir, just a flesh wound.  But I am defenceless as I dropped my blaster".

Alan sneaked a look out at where Draco was and he spotted his blaster not too far away.

"Stay there, I'll be right over" replied Alan into the com.

Moving from his covering position, Alan started to make a move towards the fallen blaster.  His movements did not go unnoticed as multiple blaster bolts flew out, trying to stop him in his tracks.  Alan quickly retreated to his cover as he cursed silently.

"I can't get to you right now, stay put and out of danger" stated Alan to Draco.

Alan took a glance round and saw that Ken was safe and was hiding behind a large tree stump, returning fire periodically.

"Damn" muttered Alan, "they have us soundly cornered".  He glanced back at the trees and pondered what their next move would be.

Alan cursed at Draco's tactics especially when Draco had earlier questioned his own tactics in trying to retrieve Draco's blaster.  Looking through his visor he still saw several stars as his eyes tried to adjust from the grenade.  His eyes wandered up to the trees and he spied the enemy troopers who were in disarray from the grenade.

"Open fire!" shouted Alan.

Alan wanted the rebels taken care of before they had any chance of recovering.  Despite his starry vision, Alan and the rest of the squad fired.  Alan selected the target dead ahead of him.  His first shots shattered the bark of the tree around which the rebel was located.  Alan cursed his accuracy, usually it never failed him but he was having trouble getting a lock through the stars.  Curse this vision he thought as he blinked his eyes repeatedly.

The rebel returned fire but he was having more difficulty than Alan.  Alan decided there was only one thing to do and fired repeatedly.  The bark shattered more and more and then success, several bolts hit the rebel square in his chest.  The rebel soldier cried out and plummeted from the tree.  The sickening thud as his body impacted on the ground was all that Alan needed to hear to know that the soldier's life was now at an end.

Alan glanced up at the trees and then over at Draco and Ken and wondered what success they were having as his vision started to settle down and the stars started to dissipate.

Alan wasn’t exactly happy with Draco’s reasoning as injuries could heal whereas a dead trooper could not be resurrected and the squad had already suffered a fatality already on this godforsaken mission.

“I’d rather have injured troopers than dead ones” commented Alan.

“Understood Sir” replied Draco.

“Now, everyone fan out and check the bodies, I want to see if any of them are scientists or just soldiers” said Alan.

Both Draco and Ken moved out as Alan searched for the soldier that he had shot down.  He moved through the jungle and found the dead soldier.  He checked him out and realised that the rebel was indeed just a soldier.

“Sir, looks like this one is just a soldier” said Ken through Alan’s com.

“Mine is also just a regular soldier” stated Draco.

“Do you see any other tracks?” queried Alan.

Alan waited whilst Draco searched through the jungle in search of any other tracks.  After waiting for several minutes, Draco returned to Alan and reported that there were no other tracks evident.

Damn cursed Alan as he realised that the scientist must have went off in the other direction.  Alan hoped that Jelly and the rest of the squad were having better success than they were and that they had eliminated the scientist by now.

“Jelly, this is Alan, report” said Alan into his com.

He waited but no reply came back.  Damn cursed Alan, I wonder what has happened to them.

“Draco, get us back to the location of the first set of tracks and follow them, we need to get back together with Jelly and find out what is going on as I can’t raise him on the com” said Alan.

“Roger that Sir” replied Draco as he started leading the squad was more into the jungle.  Alan followed close behind Draco hoping that Jelly and the rest of the squad were alright.

Alan raced on after Draco.  It seemed that Draco was driven with passion as Alan was pushing himself hard to keep up with him.  The frantic pace soon came to a halt as they emerged from the forest back to the ship.  Draco started searching for the original set of tracks that Jelly had gone after whilst Alan and Ken took some time to get their breath.

"Sir, I've found the tracks, they go off in this direction" said Draco after he had got his bearings.

"Lead the way" replied Alan as both he and Ken started following Draco.

The trio walked for ages, going deeper and deeper into the jungle.  Alan was starting to wonder whether or not they would ever catch up to Jelly when Draco came to a sudden stop and started examining the ground around him.

"What have you got?" queried Alan as he moved over to Draco's side.

"There are scorch marks on the trees and a lot of disturbance on the ground here, here and here" stated Draco.

Alan looked at where Draco was pointing at and didn't like where Draco's observations were going to.

"It looks like there was some kind of battle here Sir.  Whoever was victorious, dragged the others off in this direction" said Draco, pointing.

Alan pondered this latest development, why would Jelly drag the scientist off in that direction.  His thoughts soon brought him to the only conclusion plausible.

"Jelly must have been ambushed.  Follow those tracks Draco but cautiously.  I do not want to be ambushed as well" said Alan.

"Yes Sir" replied Draco as he started to follow the tracks slowly.

Alan raised his weapon in readiness and followed Draco, Ken close behind.  Alan's eyes wandered around the trees and at every bush, expecting trouble to come from anywhere.

Alan looked at the growling snarling Nexus.  Damn they look nasty thought Alan as they growled and he noticed their sharp teeth.  Alan had never seen a Nexus before and he hoped that this would be his last time.

The Nexus suddenly started tugging and pulling on their leashes.  One of the guards leant down to the Nexus and said something to it.  I wonder what's going on thought Alan as he looked on.  The Nexus howled and tugged harder on their leashes.  In an instant, both leashes were unclasped from the Nexus and they howled and glanced directly at Alan.

I have a bad feeling about this thought Alan as he looked directly at one of the Nexus, never breaking eye contact.  He wasn't sure if this was a good idea or not, but never having encountered them before, he was just having to wing it.

Alan soon decided that the tactic of staring down the Nexus was a bad one when they both took off directly at Alan and his squad's location.

"Move!" shouted Alan into his com.

He didn't need to tell his squad what to do because as soon as they spotted both Nexus's bounding after them, they decided that evading was a good tactic at this time and started making hasty tracks deep in the jungle.

Alan could feel the Nexus not far behind them and began to wonder how they were going to make a stand and fight of it before the Nexus overtook them and tore them to shreds.

Ken looked back towards the rock structure and the grounded nexu. He shook his head and kept looking around nervously. As Alan began to approach him, he pulled out his blaster pistol and fired three shots into the fallen nexu's skull.

"Calm down, Ken," Alan said, "we lost them. We've got to get back to the bunker."

"No," Ken declared in a wavering voice, "we can't move yet. There's another nexu! They're from the damn jungle! He's still here!"

Draco slowly nodded. "He's right. The other one is probably somewhere nearby, seeing what we'll do. We've got to find him."

Alan sighed. "I did not want to hear that. But if that's the case, that's the case. What else can you tell me?"

"Sharp claws, long tail, and fast reflexes. Never hunted them, but I've heard from those who have. They say they're cautious and tire quickly, though. That's all I have for you."

"Alright, Draco, good information. Let's find that cat. Snake formation on me."

The squad fell into place behind Alan, and they began to double back towards the bunker, watching carefully, especially with IR mode. 30 seconds or so went by with no sightings, until Ken's voice quietly came over the radio.

"Don't look now, but I've found him. He's been up in the trees over us the whole time. I'm going to take the shot, OK?"

Without breaking stride, Alan came back to give his permission. "You've got the shot. Make it count."

In a flash, Ken's rifle was aimed at the cat's head. Feline instincts are faster than human hands, however, and the cat was already dropping down on him when the bolt sailed into the nexu's head, missing the brain, but severing the spinal cord. The paralyzed beast dropped heavily onto him, slamming him into the ground with a tremendous thud. His squadmates rushed to him, rolled the body off of him, then scrambled its brain with their own rifles.

"Are you alright, Ken?" Alan asked, extending his hand to help him up.

Ken grasped the hand and pulled himself up, then clutched his chest plate. He slowly caught the breath that had been knocked out of him. He wheezed a bit and answered, "I think I might have cracked a rib, Sarge, but I'll be OK."

Alan nodded, frowning. "Can you still fight?" he asked.

Ken nodded vigorously. "I'm not gonna die here!"

Alan smiled. "Good. Alright, squad, on me. Let's bust this bunker."

Once they were inside the bunker, Alan went on the com to see if he could raise Jelly.

"Jelly, come in Jelly.  Do you read me?" queried Alan.

His transmission was met with static.  Great, either the comms are being jammed or Jelly is unable to respond thought Alan as he and the rest of the squad moved slowly down the long narrow corridors.

The corridors were sparsely populated.  Every so often they would round a corner to find one or two soldiers which they quickly downed with accurate shots to the head.  The fact that the bunker was so pitifully defended bothered Alan.  If Jelly and the troops under his command had been captured then surely the soldiers in this bunker would be expecting a rescue pondered Alan.

"Sir, over here!" called out Ken.

Alan rushed over to Ken's location and saw that behind a force field were Jelly and the troops.  Finally, something is going right thought Alan as he watched them through the force field.  Jelly was trying to say something but Alan could not make out what it was.

"Get that force field down Ken, whatever it takes" said Alan.

"Yes Sir" replied Ken as he moved to the locking mechanism and started to take it apart.

In no time at all the field flickered and died and then Alan was able to hear what Jelly had been saying.

"It's a trap!" shouted Jelly.

Aw hell thought Alan as alarm klaxons suddenly started blaring and the sound of approaching soldiers filled the hallway.  Alan couldn't tell how many there were but he knew from the vibrations under his boots that there was a lot.

Alan quickly hurried the troops into a defensive position and there they waited for the oncoming soldiers.  They had been sprung in the trap and now it was up to Iron Horse to fight there way out of the trap.

The squad double timed it deeper into the facility.  For the moment it looked like they had lost their pursuers.  Alan had hoped that the phoney grenade would slow them down and it looked like it had. 

"Thanks for getting us out" said Jelly as he moved over to Alan's side.

"No problems, you'd have done the same for me" replied Alan.

"So, what's the plan?" queried Jelly.

"Way I see it, the scientist or scientists responsible are in this facility.  Only way to ensure that they die is to destroy the facility" commented Alan.

"The generator" said Jelly, more stating rather than asking.

"You got it" replied Alan, pleased to find that his ASL was thinking along the lines that he was.  Find the generator, set the charges then escape and watch the entire facility go up in a blaze of glory.

It felt like they had been walking for hours when they finally located and arrived at the generator.  Alan had been surprised that they had not come across any patrols but he then decided that the rebels were taking up defensive positions around the exits and would merely wait for them to try to escape.  I can't think about that right now thought Alan as he and the rest of the squad set about laying charges around the generator.  Once the timer had been set, the squad started making tracks towards the nearest exit, hoping that they could escape in time.

Once the squad neared the exit, they immediately heard the voices of numerous rebels.  Just what I feared thought Alan as he quickly peeked round the corner to see what it was they were up against.  He spotted a lot of rebels, too many to quickly count.

"Grenades" whispered Alan to the rest of the squad.

Draco and Ken both shouted "frag out!" and hurled grenades down the corridor.  The corridor shook with the explosions and several rebels could be heard screaming.

"Frag out!" shouted Alan as he motioned his squad to advance quickly.  I don't know whether this trick will work again thought Alan as he rounded the corner with his weapon raised.

Alan was surprised to find the remaining rebels that hadn't been killed in the explosions cowering against the walls, fearful of any further grenades.  The squad caught them completely by surprise and the rebels didn't stand a chance.

Alan looked at his watch and quickly shouted "move!"

The squad didn't need to be told a second time as everyone ran out of the facility.  Mere seconds later and the facility exploded in a blinding flash of light.

Only one more thing left to do thought Alan as he led the squad back to the first facility.  There lay the body of the super soldier and of their fallen comrade, Vince.  The squad erected a pile and watched both bodies burn.  Alan lowered his head solemnly as the fire put finality of the soldier and to Vince.

The squad boarded the shuttle and Alan informed the pilots of the ship that contained the chemical weapons.  The pilot assured Alan that they would inform Headquarters and send in a retrieval squad.

The ship took off and Alan took one final look at the planet, knowing it was Vince's resting place.  He glanced out at the stars and pondered I wonder if we have seen the last of the Alderaanian rebels.

The End.