[Jester/Raiders Collaboration]

“Woman, pay attention!”

Kami paused momentarily from fiddling with her chrono to flash a pointed glare over her shoulder at the large hulking lizard man behind her, “It would be easier to do so if you’d shut your trap for three seconds Pasck.”

The Transdoshan snarled, his teeth flashing white in the pitch black of the air vent in which the two were secreted, “Insolent wench!”

Kami ignored him, glancing back through the small grate to her right to survey the safe room below. Pasck Durruck, bodyguard and confident of Worga the Hutt, was well versed in the subtleties of human abuse after a decade of dealing with the dregs of their race; namely mercenaries and smugglers who traveled to the Cyax system in search of riches gained in service to the cutthroat Hutt species. While another in her place may have been insulted by the lizard man’s treatment, Kami simply interpreted Pasck’s increasingly venomous barbs as a sign that she was gaining trust with his master and subsequently threatening his stranglehold on weapon trade throughout Da Soocha. As such she was more than happy to allow the majority of his gibes to pass by without comment, which only served to infuriate the quick tempered lieutenant all the more.

“I fail to see why I’m here,” Pasck snapped again, his pointed teeth bared, “There are more pressing activities for me to attend too.”

“There’s a thief in your ranks Pasck,” Kami bit back, allowing an edge of anger into her voice, “You might not care about the leak in the Big Bang’s credit flow, but he sure as hell does.”

Pasck let out a low growl at her familiar use of his master’s nickname, “If your head wasn’t shoved so far up Worga’s slimy rectum I’d skin you alive right now human.”

Kami offered the lieutenant a malicious smile, her fingers pointedly curling about the long dagger at her hip, “I’d love to see you try Pasck.”

The Trandoshan’s response was drowned out by the warning hiss from below as the safe door began the tedious process of unlocking. Kami rocked back on her heels to watch, well aware that Pasck had grown stiff next to her. Repressing the smile of victory that twitched at her lips, she watched as two familiar human males entered the safe room and began to load a nearby crate onto a sled. This particular ploy was the result of weeks of investigative work on Kami’s behalf as she wormed her way deeper into Pasck’s personal syndicate that had been running beneath Worga’s notice for the better part of the year. Whilst she had more than proven herself a dozen times since entering the ranks of Worga’s smugglers, the humiliation of Pasck would do wonders for her standing with the Hutt lord.

“Friends of yours aren’t they Pasck?” Kami murmured as the duo backed out of the room, “I don’t believe that’s a scheduled withdrawal.”

Pasck glowing eyes narrowed, “You don’t know what you’ve done Sharpe.”

Kami held his gaze, “I know exactly what I’ve done.”

“Cocky bitch,” Pasck pointed a clawed finger at Kami’s face, “You may have shamed me for now, but I’ll be back at his side in days. I’ve served the Big Bang for far too long to be ousted by an over indulged ex-soldier.”

The Trandoshan turned, inching his way slowly down the vent until he was out of sight. Kami gave the lieutenant a few more seconds to move away, then slowly released the pent up breath deep within her lungs. Raising trembling fingers, she swiped at her bangs, and then glanced back at the chrono which was still flashing sporadically in her hands. She had received the message just as she and Pasck entered the vent, awful timing considering it would have fallen into the Trandoshan’s claws if he’d decided to carry through with his threat and rid himself of her thorny presence. Silently thanking the gods for Pasck’s narrow mindedness, she thumbed past the normal setting options of the device and accessed her hidden menu and the message contained there.

‘Friends are on the way. Stay alert.’

Kami’s mouth twisted as she re-read the message. She had been on Da Soocha for months now at the behest of Army intelligence, and since then had progressed in leaps and bounds from her initial role as a blockade runner. Though she was now within the upper ranks of Worga’s organization, she was still not privy to the information so desperately craved by the Vast Empire. Whatever Worga’s ‘Operation Ragnarok’ was, it had scared high command enough to approve the transfer of Kami mid mission, and send her flying into the clutches of the enemy in a desperate bid for knowledge.

Curling her fingers inwards to calm their trembling, Kami pocketed her chrono and started the slow crawl back towards the center of Worga’s palace. She didn’t know who else from the VEA would be joining her in this hellhole, but the presence of comrades nearby was a reassuring thought; especially with a raging Pasck now out for revenge.

She cast a wary eye at the whipper-snapper in front of her. The cold barrel of his rifle fitted the radius of the pulsing irises in her icy blue orbs. A soft smirk curled in a jaunty angle across her cheek.
They stood alone. Her hands behind her head, she was on her knees. 
I need to put a carpet in here sometime, she thought to herself while her eyes refocused on the filing cabinet in her office.  It was the standard-issued grey-matted durasteel product line which contributed to the undemonstrative life her office had experienced until now.
“This-“
“Anything you say Sergeant, will and can be used against you, I suggest you shut-up,”
The whipper-snapper was regaining a bit of his guts.  One of her very own Hellgate recruits she put through the Academy on Drill- wait! Now was not the time to muse over these petty little details.
“Sergeant Fyk, you secured her?” a familiar voice called out. And edge of sleepiness was still seeping through the vocal chords of Riqimo who received a rude awakening; this however was however nothing compared to the seriousness of this newly developed situation.
“Yes Lieutenant,”
The short, yet immensely respected male crossed the thresh-hold of her office not for the first time since her promotion to Platoon Adjutant.
“Have you ordered the arrest order on the rest of them?”
“Yes, Lieutenant, Sir”
“Riq...I-“
“You explain it to fire squad Sergeant, which reminds me-“
His cold words folded upon the silence of his tongue as he continued striding from the door, across the tiled floor to where the petite female was positioned on her knees, her back to Sergeant Fyk, his rifle against her head which was clasped at the back by both her hands.

Riqimo unsheathed the small dagger, another standard issued model for the stormtroopers at this Empire.  The blade gleamed momentarily as a beam emitting from the cheap florescent light bounced on it.  He squat down next to her, his blade nearing her side.

Aeos kept her glance at the open, unused space of the wall across her. The blank spot had always been a bit of a bother. She felt the straps of her rank-insignias ripping from the fabric of her uniform.  The belt that kept uniform neat, trimmed and held-together soon followed a nasty snap, the edges of the dagger pulling through the leather with ease.
“You are stripped of your rank and your position, and I’ll make sure they will spare you dignity tomorrow when they strung you up like meat tomorrow,” 
Her grabbed her chin, and forced their gaze to meet.  Both set of eyes failed to betray the thoughts murmuring behind them.
“Lieutenant?”
It was a new voice that sounded through the door.
“Yes, what is it Gunny Reft?”
“We got them here,”
“Bring the sithspawns in,” Riqimo snapped.
Silently, more figures with hands cuffed and clasped at the back of their heads entered through the door.  Aeos sighed when they dragged a semi-unconscious Verkur through the doorframe. Her office was quickly losing space.
“Keep watch from the door, they’re dirt has filled the office to the brim,” Riqimo muttered coldly while he managed to attain the impossible in the laws of physical size as he stared the small collection of Jesters down. The captive latter remained motionless.  Their eyes met with the air myopically, nothing interest catching their focus, including the air of death in the air.
“Um…Sir…I think you want to see this,” someone called from the door.
Riqimo’s fingers rubbed fiercely at the bridge of his nose.
“Bring it here, “ he ordered slowly.
“Yes, Sir!” the trooper barked while squeezing his way through the several rifles pointing through the door at the arrested Jesters.  The trooper pushed several datapads into Riqimo’s hand. The young Platoon Commander didn’t hesitate in activating the first reachable one.
He’s eyes widened as much as his frown deepened.  He glances over at Aeos.
“This enough to send you to Kessel, or be executed, I’d hope for the latter,” he snarled before he turned his face away. Disgusted.
“Ransack the rest of the squad’s apartments, barracks, friends’ place, every bar they have an tab on, anything,” Riqimo ordered crisply while he handed the trooper the datapads.
“Take this to my office, and order a pick-up for these pieces of shit,”
The Jesters remained motionless. And it was queer to see the stubborn collection of men not fighting back. Aeos bit her lip, her thoughts screaming at them in awe.



**********************
Rowdy laughter bubbled from Marka’s mouth while he passed ale to Aeos who stood next to him.
“To a promotion, well deserved…all of you!” Verkur cried out raising a fist, and glass of liquor in the other gloved hand.  Aeos glanced about, grinning madly. The rowdy group was occupying her brightly colored couches in style with their armored appearance and shiny new rank insignias accompanied with polished medals. 
“Strak, a business I’d rather not look back to,” Zafo muttered dryly, as he cleared the table winning with a full hand in the current winnings. Evuar, a veteran bounty-hunter, now Private First Class in the army groaned and slammed his thirty-one year old onto the small circular coffee table.
“Pay up fuzzball,” Zafo muttered smirking, his thoughts processing the loot at light-speed.

Aeos bit back her lip, while tucking a loose strand of hair away from her face, the tickling ends too much for her nose to handle.  Awkward indeed it was with her squad over at her home. Marka seemed to read her mind as his eyes glanced across her facial features.
“Any reason we’re celebrating privately? At your apartment?” he asked nonchalantly before tipping the glass into his mouth. She stiffened at the deafening effect of his question.  The living room fell silent. 
“I was curious about that myself Aee, “Decembrist muttered as he brought his head up from underneath the big heavy feather cushions of her couch. She scoffed at him, but the expression fell from her face in the same speed she discarded her drink and sat down, away from the Jesters, facing the Jesters. And the new Army Advisor; Decem.
“There was something I needed to discuss with you,” she muttered, her fingers fiddling with each other while her eyes remained intact with their questioning glance.
“Yeah, sure, shoot,” Jinx muttered from his corner of the room, leaning against the olive green wall with his arms crossed across his muscular torso.  Naturally, his encouragement to their Squad Leader represented the rest of the Jesters’ thoughts.
“I need to ask you lot a favor…” 
She stood up against, her fists softly clenched, her demeanor rapidly shifting to the odd commanding and determined persona she occasionally displayed.
“I need you lot…should there happen something…I need you to trust me,-“
“Aeos, are you crazy? We’ve been sticking through and through on missions, of course we trust you,” Marka exclaimed.
“Just-“She took a deep breath and dropped her shoulders along with her raised fists.
“-trust me…or you might meet your end sooner than you think,” she continued while her insides prayed the Prefect’s calculation about the Jester Squad would prove correct. This was vital to the success…
**********************


Back to wall, blinded and starved. It was called the Execution Block, and with good reason.  Aeos had made several attempts suppressing the urge to breathe through her nose. The stench of the ragged bag fumed in a burning sensation through her nose.
Blood….it smells like blood… the thought flashed across her mind. Blood…and vomit.
The rough hay-like fabric was carving across her cheeks, scratching it in a red glaze of soreness whenever she moved.
“Baby…you know…now would be the perfect time to-“
“Don’t even say it Vasili,” Aeos snapped to the chauvinist to her side. Someone chuckled nervously.
Marka?
“Aeos…I’m going to kill you…”
Thank you Marka,
Her tied hands twitched. Her thumb fiddled with the small ring-laser she found the previous night, hidden deep in the stale bread of her ‘last supper’. She shifted her weight from one leg, to the other. Luckily, their legs weren’t secured. She supposed the Colonel had foreseen and ensured this unusual privilege to death row prisoners’ weeks before.
Someone coughed in the darkness of her sighed, before it continued in a voice.
“PR-004F57-Evuar: Code-23B5 breached. Found in possession of illegal documents containing data concerning the security protocols for the First Galactic Bank of Tadath. Intentionally misleading the commanders, misuses of government funds as proven by the exhibited documents found in the possession of PR-00F34-Aeos.  Guilty. Qualified for Class III offense with permission granted from the Prefect of the Army.
Death Penalty will be admissioned through live fire commencing in five seconds.”

She shut her eyes, even though her vision was already impaired. 
Fifty-grand is dying right now, she thought guiltily while silently counting off the seconds.
She heard the slam of a body slumping to the tar as his body dropped at the shot clean through his head.
“PR00F45-Marka: Code-23B5 breached. Found in possession of illegal documents containing data concerning the security protocols for the First Galactic Bank of Tadath. Intentionally misleading the commanders, misuses…… Death Penalty will be admissioned through live fire commencing in five seconds.”
Her ears caught the sounds of strange alien words emitting from the spoken convict’s voice.
Dammit, come on! she thought desperately.



**********************
”Of course, Sergeant…you will have some help of an old veteran Jester…”
Aeos tried to hide the puzzled expression on her face as Fury addressed her.  Snipes were still gracing them with his slightly bored and undemonstrative presence as he waited his turn in being addressed and briefed.
Fury made a small gesture with his left hand, flicking it vaguely in the direction of the door. Aeos followed the direction in which he gestured. He eyes landed on a very familiar raven-haired female who stared at her sternly with sharp green eyes.
“Colonel!”
She sprung to her feet, instinctively executing the drilled salute hammered into her so many years ago in the Academy.
“At ease already,” Merrick muttered dryly while offering Fury her own acknowledgment of his authority.
Fury pressed the tips of his fingers together while his arms rested on the surface of the reflective wood desk.
“The Colonel has insisted at participating in this little excursion, she has already announced leave, she will spend a summer vacation on  Nu- nwok-“ 
“Where?” both Squad Leaders sat upright, their ears stimulated by the queer pronunciation of the name formed in Fury’s mouth.
“Exactly,” Fury replied.
“Naturally…Aeos…you need to act on those timers, Merrick will take care off…”
**********************


Before the last second of Marka’s life passed, a loud boom! interrupted it.  For a moment her ears temporarily lost its ability, but the first sound infiltrating the thick matter between her ears was that of the blaring fire alarms.
She had no idea what or who was rigged. But she had to act.
Her fiddling fingers sprung into action, expertly maneuvering the small ring. She ignored the touch of burning energy grazing across the skin of her index finger.
Lightning fast, her petite hands jerked the cover over her head, to the ground. Chaos was erputing everywhere. Their executioners was jumbling about disorderly as they tried to make sense of the fire, the smoke and eachother.
“The generator blew!”  She heard someone yell, her eyes adjusting through and thick haze of smoke.
The fire seems to have spread quickly as acidly fluids starting leaking in unnatural quantities across the tar of the block.
Chaos was their element of means in escape.
She darted to the nearest trooper, in this case, Vasili and jerked the bag off from his head while at the same time working with the small laser at his hands. In moments of trained reflexes the pilot was free. She stuffed the ring into Vasili’s hand that didn’t waste time in repeating the same treatment to his fellow troopers in need.

They were located in one of the few execution blocks this continent had. They have been specifically ordered to this block. Her eyes darted to the massive man-made mechanism towering over to the execution-block buildings. The Generator was in for a big repair with this stunt.
Aeos’ eyes tried to find the sun through the sun, barely able to see a few meters away from her. She caught the weak glare of its light barely.
“This way!”
No one refused or froze. Natural stormtrooper instinct was kicking in. They followed her, one or two rubbing their wrists or coughing out the stench of blood in their throats inhaled from the baggy masks.
Aeos kept running, simply following the phases laid down for her by the Prefect himself.
If executed correctly. The puzzle should fit perfectly then.
Ah, there’s the wall he mentioned!
The wall was high. With jagged edges with broken splinters of glass and durasteel poking through the concrete in odd angels.  They stopped dead in front of it. Dead end.
shit
“What now…?” Zafo muttered, wide-eyed while he tried to catch his breath.
“There, should be a gap here somewhere,” Aeos muttered while glancing back.
“Shit, we’re losing the smoke, they should have realized-“
Another set of alarms picked up on blaring.
This time it was not a hazard alarm chiming their ears off.  This alarm was about them. For them. Against them.
“Aeos! Here it is!” Verkur called out who has jumped the gun in searching for the gap.
“Good going, everyone move out!”  they darted after the Lance Corporal who was already climbing across the rubble. Aeos sighed in relief. The Academy troopers have done a good job in blasting this wall apart on ‘accident’  of her calculations.

The Jesters clambered over the badly damaged wall bits now collected in rubble.
“Aeos…what are you up to with this business?”  Marka asked as he kept his sprinting speed, following her.
“No time now, keep going, there should be a small forest starting somewhere about now” she wheezed while ignoring the stabbing pain in her side.  They were out of the smoky haze that emitted from the banged Generator, and running in clear day-light with any rifleman able to pick them out had there been one early enough.
“I can see the outskirts! Almost there,” Jinx muttered, his eyes picking out the sudden multiplied collections of flora and trees.  And just in time.  A blaster bolt whizzed over Aeos’s head.
It slammed into the bark of the tree up front scorching the bark in a coaly form.

A few more shots rainbowed through, over and past them, all miraculously missing them, though Aeos knew those shots were intended to kill their mark should they hit.  The Jesters safely slipped into the shadows of the trees. Aeos paused for a moment and glanced back. Shadowy figures were nearing their current location rapidly, yet not fast enough for Aeos to dart away in escape.


Raiders’ barracks was stationed in this area. Snipes should be receiving the briefing by now.  Their specialty would allow them to hunt the Jester’s down more easily than the other located squads in the area. She slipped away from her spot behind the tree and joined with the Jesters who were all in the momentarily process of catching their breath.
“Aeos…what the hell is going on?”
Marka stared at her icily, his face matching those of the rest of the Jesters.  His pale skin contrasted sharply with his usually neatly trimmed beard, now curling at the edges due to the few days spent in captivity without shaving. They were all still in the same garments in which they arrested.
“Don’t talk, if you want to live, I suggest you follow me…we’ve got two miles of forest to cover before we reach the vehicle,”
“Vehicle?” Verkur inquired frowning confused.
“Move it Jesters,” Aeos commanded, not doubting their obedience has diminished to her.

Earlier

Merrick frowned more as Fury detailed Jester’s fall from grace. Aeos seemed strangely interested in the dangerous mission. Merrick had thought that she’d be more anxious. Who knew, maybe that would come later. A pity about the fake leave though, she could’ve used some time off.

Before the executions

Merrick stared at the pilot. He had no idea what was going on, but at least his orders to do what he was told had been stern. He complained about the wait in the forest until Merrick got sick of him and ordered him out. She hadn’t wanted to announce to Fury that she could fly these damn things, but the cat was out of the bag now. There’s only so long you can get away with hiding the things you’ve learned while under cover, she figured. The pilot wouldn’t get back to the base before they’d departed anyway, so the Boss would have to wait until she returned to chew her out.

Among the trees

Merrick yawned and looked at her fingernails. The explosion had been visible and audible even from here, and she could hear the alarms over the comm systems. She reached over to turn them off, since the party she was awaiting had no way of contacting her anyway. She’d double checked the coordinates as the pilot had landed the shuttle, and only hoped Aeos knew where she was going well enough. Assuming of course that the rest of the Jesters didn’t mutiny before they made it out of the cell block. They were, after all, in the dark about the “crimes” for which they had been about to be shot. But that was of course part of the plan. She chuckled at the thought of that word. Plan. There didn’t seem to her to be much of one after the explosion. Just as soon as she had them off Tadath, she would have to leave them and find her own way to their destination. She had argued with Fury about that. A lot.

-----

Aeos managed to keep the Jesters going, not just out of a desire to save their own lives, but with an actual wish to follow her. Despite the respect that she knew they had for her, this had been the hardest part – at least in her mind. Now to just find that damn shuttle...

----

Hearing the blaster fire and shouts of guards and, presumably, Raiders troopers nearing, Merrick started preparing the shuttle to depart in a hurry. As soon as all of the Jesters were on board, she’d get them out of there. She couldn’t afford to let the guys on the ground see her piloting the shuttle. At least Fury’s ignorance of her ability to do so would help to discount any reports that it was, in fact, her saving the Jesters from justice. That and the lucky civilian who was acting in her place at the hotel on... whatever that ridiculous planet was called. She better enjoy the place, the room was costing a small fortune. Merrick sighed and checked the time. Right on cue, the Jesters arrived and scrambled aboard. Aeos kept them out of the cockpit for the time being, thankfully, and Merrick got them into flight as quickly as possible. Their pursuers hadn’t brought anything to use against a shuttle, so once they had lifted off they were safe. Assuming the navy didn’t end up involved.

----

Once they broke atmo, Aeos joined her in the cockpit. She looked surprised at the lack of a pilot. “All alone Colonel?”

Merrick nodded slightly, not offering any explanation. Aeos seemed content to get an explanation at a later date. Decembrist, on the other hand, had stuck his head in and started swearing. Aeos’ attempt to calm him down before the rest of the squad got curious failed and Merrick was soon being interrogated about her involvement in the whole incident. They didn’t seem content with her response that she couldn’t let the members of her beloved squad die, but she managed to remain silent for the rest of the trip. She looked meaningfully at Aeos, who shrugged and sighed. “I’ll wait until we split up, if that is still the plan, to tell them. They don’t need to know your role at the moment.” Merrick nodded and headed for the rendezvous with the ship that she would travel in alone. At least with two former pilots in the squad, she didn’t have to worry about them making it without the pilot who had been meant to deliver them.

Aboard an excessively opulent yacht

Aeos had scowled when they’d neared the ship Merrick was to travel in. Merrick shook her head, indicating it hadn’t been her idea, but that didn’t seem to placate the Sergeant much. Unfortunately the excess was necessary to the role that Merrick was to play in the mission. So were the clothes she grudgingly donned once she was in the privacy of her cabin on board. Normally comfortable in her uniform, shadowsuit or armour, the rich fabrics disturbed her. This persona had nearly been a deal breaker for her before the mission had even finished being planned, but Fury had much with which to persuade her to be cooperative. Besides, the potential for being permitted to kill some scum in the next months was pretty good, and she had been behind a desk for far too long. Again. She did have to admit that there were a lot of places to hide weapons when you dressed this way.

As they had agreed, Merrick made her way slowly in the direction Aeos had fled. It wouldn’t do for Merrick to run into any of the troops pursuing the Jesters. There were too many questions there that she couldn’t answer, and too few people among the pursuers who knew what was going on. She hoped that she’d recommended well their partners in this charade. Besides, someone of her – apparent – wealth was unlikely to be in a hurry to get to where they were headed.

Verkur happily walked back from the little Jester party back at Aeos' room. He still had one of her cups in his hand. She had allowed him to take it with him since he still had some ale left over. Even with the amount he had consumed, he still had his motor skills, and his mind was still clear, which allowed him to think about the conversation they all had just had. Of course he would trust her, he would trust any of his squad mates, and friends in Jester. He shrugged it all off, pushing it to the back of his mind. They had all just survived a terrible mission, and now they were safe and all had promotions, what was there to be afraid of? Verkur found out several minutes later.

Verkur stepped into his room, though he was not expecting the three armed soldiers that were standing in the middle of his room.

"Can I help you gentlemen?" Verkur asked, gripping the handle of his mug a little tighter.
"By order of 2nd Lieutenant Riqimo Pershaw, you are hearby placed under arrest." The closest soldier stated firmly.
"What!? Why am I being arrested. I haven't done anything." Verkur questioned, thinking he might make a run for it.
"Wehave evidence proving that you are gulity of treason against the Vast Empire. You can either come quietly, or we will force you." The soldier spoke again, more confident, and moving closer, his buddies moving around to either side of Verk.
"Treason!? I have done no such thing. I mean come on, I just got back from Strak a day ago. And now ive commited treason!' Verkur began to yell, his grip tightening, his free hand forming a fist.
"Again, you will come quietly, or we will force you." The soldier in front of Verkur commanded.
"You have no idea who your messing with." Verkur said easily.

Verkur threw the mug at the soldier to his right, shattering it on his head, and forcing him to move back. Verk then lunged straight ahead, slamming his fist into the soldiers stomach, sending him reeling backwards. Just one left. Verk turned only to have a rifle pointed in his direction. Verk dropped the floor, and swiped taking the soldiers feet out from under him. Standing Verkur looked at the three easily defeated soldiers. He never saw the fourth one though. He had been hiding in the armor locker, and once Verk was distracted he jumped out, and landed a solid hit with the butt of his rifle into the back of his head. Verkur lay on the floor, semi-unconcious.

*******************

Verk awoke, his head pounding, a black, terrible smelling bag over his head. A blaster fired and a loud thump was heard. What the hell? Where am I? Verkur tryed to take the bag from his head, but failed since his hands were tied. He heard voices, then an explosion. The next thing he knew he was running for dear life. He and the rest of Jester were running through the trees, heading for some kind of vehicle. Then to make matters worse, they were being chased and shot at.

"Great Ae, first I get jumped in my room, then I almost get my head blown off, and now this. When you asked us to trust you, I never thought it would be stretched this far." Verkur complained while he ran, his torn jacket barely staying on. Both his rank and position insignias had been cut off, so now he might have been wearing a rag and have looked better.

A blaster blot whizzed passed Verkurs head, the next one hit him in his right arm.

"Ahhh!" Verkur screamed in pain, moving his left hand up yo clutch the wound, trying to stop any bleeding.

Though his arm hurt like hell, and he was losing blood, Verkur ran with his squad, dodging the incoming fire, and running for dear life.

"If we get through this, your gonna get it Aeos." Verkur tryed to laugh, but the pain was too much.

Marka broke through a small, flimsy plant, arms up to protect his face. His feet pounded into the ground with every tired, broken step he took. He was exhausted already, but the ferocity of his thoughts provided him with the strength to continue on. That and the live fire and certain death that awaited him should he stop.
  Ahead of him was Aeos, perhaps an arm’s length away. Marka locked his eyes on the back of her head, the cropped, very short blonde curls spiked with sweat and dirt. She’d done something, something remarkably foolish and life-threatening, and then she involved the squad in ways they hadn’t been able to comprehend. She’d set them all up, every one of them. And now one was dead, and Marka was being hunted down by his old squad.

By friends.

Three things burned furiously inside him; anger, contempt, and confusion. After losing his fight with those sent to arrest him, his charges were read to him. Not a single one was Marka guilty of, and yet these people seemed to have enough evidence to condemn him. And condemn him they did. A tiring and bitter day later, Marka had found himself on his knees, with a bag over his head, waiting for death. The stink of the bag had wreaked havoc on his senses, causing him to gag on more than a few occasions. The overwhelming stench of week-, or perhaps month-old blood had sickened him.

Now, after a confusing and fiery escape, Marka was running for his life. He hated running. No matter the situation, his first preference would be to turn and fight. But what had kept him alive for so long were his wits; the ability to decide upon life over desire. But soon enough his wits would not be able to carry him. His body called out for food, which he had not had for twenty four hours at least, and water, which he had not had for longer. And rest; proper, safe, unflinching rest. This, Marka knew, was something he was not likely to have again for some time.

“There’s up a stream up front, around the next outcrop of greti trees, it’s deep with rocks caving in it, we can rest and hide there for a moment,” Aeos muttered.

The promise of water and even a moment’s rest forced Marka to run faster and harder, maintaining as much agility as he could. He darted around trees, leaping over fallen logs, all the while bracing himself for a shot in the back.
  His mind was racing faster that he was, the insidious rage inside him fighting with his reason. An almighty internal struggle it was, as Marka’s life was based almost solely off those two things. His rage told him that as soon as he was safe that he was to take his blade to Aeos and make sure she could never cross him again. But his reason kept pointing out that, by the way things had played out, there was certainly a reason behind all of this. And the previous night Marka had told Aeos that his trust was with her. And, not being one to trust lightly, Marka’s reason kept informing him that he was right to have faith in her.
  But it was a battle that held no rapidly-approaching finale. This would carry on for days...

So he kept running, alongside every other Jester. This squad had turned out to be hugely different from the Raiders, their pursuers, and he was yet to spend any real time with the squad itself. Taking deep breaths as he ran, Marka settled on the notion that the rest of his career, if he indeed had one, would be entirely different. But it wasn’t such a bad thought.

As long as I am not on my knees.

“There’s the stream!” Verkur called out to the Jesters from up front, his arm outstretched in its direction.

Aeos responded, “Get there, drink something and get ready to move again. They’re not far from us."

They all kept running. It was all they could do.

“FREAKIN' MOVE!” Vasili shouted as he pulled Verkur along. The former had never been shot himself, but he imagined that it couldn't possibly be worse than dying. A little gunshot wound wasn't all that bad. Lost in the adrenaline of running for his life once again, Vasili felt nothing but contempt (once again) towards the Vast Empire. I thought I had already been cleared of treason... Running through the dense forest at night was not the best fleeing strategy for him, but Aeos seemed like she knew what she was doing. Surely the person who got him into this situation would feel more than guilty enough to get him out.

“There!” someone yelled as Jester plus Decembrist approached a clearing. “The ship!” A repeater fired out somewhere behind Vasili, who was trailing but now quickly making his way towards the front. “Gotta go gotta go gotta go...!” Sound was lost in his left ear as a sniper round blasted an inch away. A culmination of even more adrenaline sent him diving into the ship waiting to take off.

“We're green! Hit it!” yelled the only female voice of the crew. Shots continued to rain in from the forest against the ship as it ascended out of range. “Dear lord,” Vasili moaned, face down into the cabin floor. Moans and groans and grunts and sighs and coughing and weezing and all other forms of exhaustion filled the cabin as Jester calmed themselves. “Somebody get me a smoke, goddammit...”

Aeos slid up against a wall, an unusual and vague briefing ensuing. “It's alright guys,” she panted, “you did good.”

“Was that Raiders out there?” Marka spoke from a seat in the corner. The former member probably caught a glimpse of a couple of his old squad mates.

“I can't say,” a little lie, a little truth from their Squad Commander.

Vasili rolled over to get a good, upside down look at Aeos. “Ae, love... What the fuck was that?! One minute you're tempting me with alcohol and a night 'by ourselves', the next I'm sitting with a bag over my head making peace with my dear and fluffy lord!”

“V, I asked you to trust me and I just need you...”

“Nerf SHIT! If I wanted to get shot at by Storm Troopers, I would've accepted my FIRST fucking treason sentence!”

Aeos sighed, most probably in grief. “You're still drunk.”

“I fucking wish...” The former Jester-man got to his feet and found a seat to sleep in. Their leader and deceiver slipped away to the cabin with an executive “Stay here”. Holy mother... if she wasn't so into me, I may've just given her in to those Raider senate-suckers, silently thought Vasili as he shook his head.

“Who are you, anyways?” one of the rookie's voices piped up.

“Nobody,” replied a bitter Vasili without breaking his stare.

“... are you her husband?”

The drunk's head shot up, “What? Are you kidding, kid?”

“You fight like you're married... it didn't stop last night either.” Outrageous! Vasili married? Inconceivable! This had to be rectified. A good rampage would do.

“And one more thing!” Vasili yelled to the cockpit. “You dragged me into this, you vampire!” He busted in on Aeos and... “... Colonel Merrick?”

“Oh shit...” the Colonel responded in surprise. “Hi.”

Vasili was calm for a moment, confused at the presence of the second-in-command of the Army aiding in their escape. “But... what?” He turned his gaze on Aeos who had her hand on her forehead. “Time to explain, NOW!”

“Vasili, I order you to get back in the cabin and keep your mouth shut,” was all Aeos could come up with for a defense.

“Are you kidding me?! I don't take any fucking orders from you! What the hell is this?!” Vasili raged on, the rampage becoming a resounding success.

“Rustam,” Merrick spoke while putting autopilot on, “do as she says.”

“Hell no! I put my life on the line in service, I'm a fucking advisor! I'm not supposed to be shot at! Drinks, ladies, no pants, and the occasional moral support for an injured guy is the job description, if you didn't know. I want no part of this!”

“Like it or not, you're here, V.” Aeos responded coldly. “I need you.”

“I wish you had that attitude before the execution...” It was done. Vasili knew that. No way he could survive a jump from outer space. He was along for the ride.

Snipes groaned as he hopped over another fallen log. His pace was beginning to wear down the others, his pride screamed at him that he had to catch up. He didn't really want to kill them, he was fine with telling command they'd had too much of a head start. Oh RB would probably be pissed, but things like that had never been Snipes concern. In fact loyalty had never been something he valued extremely high, it was up there somewhere, but not very high. But he still wanted Jester to know they could of been caught, and he couldn't make his unwillingness too obvious to his squad. They might get suspicious.

Snipes followed the Jester path for some time, then he saw something move ahead of him, his hand moved to his blaster on pure reaction, he fired three, four, five shots in the general direction before his picked up the sound of people running through the brush and the heavy pant of tired bodies. I have you now. Snipes knew now that he was going to have to be careful managing his squad. He had to keep pressure on Jester, but he also had to maintain his squads distance, he may not care if they're traitors or not, but his squad would.

"Move it, RAIDERS, we're almost on them."

Snipes darted off then, running mostly parallel to the group of 'runaways'. The squad got several shots off at them, possibly wounding a couple. There were yells, and somebody, probably Dante, let out a big whoop after a volley of fire from the RAIDERS. Snipes gritted his teeth. He let a few blasts of his own fly this way and that, he brought them close, close enough to make anyone uncomfortable, but he didn't hit any of them, or at least he didn't think he did. At the distance they were at and with the large amount of brush in the way it was hard to make out the Jesters in any somewhat precise way. Still, he had to keep pushing them, he'd be in large amounts of trouble if his commanders thought he just let them go, considering how angry they were he may be forced to share their same fate. It wasn't like he'd never broken out of prison before, he just didn't want to have to.

Snipes dodged around a tree in time to get a clear sight of their leader, Aeos, she wasn't even looking in his direction. How rude, at least wave. Snipes smirked behind his visor and quickly pulled his shotgun from its holster. He fired a single shot, the noise alone drew her attention, but at the same time what had to be some awful cuts in he right shoulder spurred her on. Snipes chuckled a little to himself. That's what she gets for dragging me out here. Snipes shotgun didn't have the range to do any real damage, and it was loaded with especially light shells, she may have a nasty case of road burn, and the bbs would be a pain to pull out, but there would be no lasting damage. Snipes felt very proud of himself. Or at least very smug.

At this point though he heard the low growl of repulsorlifts winding up. He grimaced and charged ahead again. Leaving his squad mostly behind, but at this point they didn't need any tending, now that they were engaging the enemy everything was straight forward. So he ran, and ran, and ran until he burst into a clearing. He burst into the clearing in time to see the last of the Jesters pulled into the craft, the door slam and the ship struggle against gravities tyrannous hold. Snipes fired a few shots in the air to let them know he saw them, then he turned around and slowly made his way back to the squad that was still hunting an enemy that had already escaped. Snipes commanders weren't going to be happy.

Screw 'em.

Worga was unusually slim for a member of his species. The rolls of blubber covering his immense form were rippled, shadowing a strong layer of muscle beneath. Kami had seen the Hutt lord move swiftly on a number of occasions, darting across the room to disarm a wayward minion in a display of agility that had shocked both the unfortunate mercenary, and the majority of clients in the throne room at the time. Otherwise, her new master displayed the usual characteristics of a Hutt, large orb like eyes, stubby arms, and a repulsive tongue which lolled in her direction as he regarded her.

“What do you want Sharpe?” The question from Worga emitted from the battered protocol droid hovering at the side of the Hutt, its tinny voice somehow carrying over the booming Huttese tones of its lord.

Kami didn’t bother to bow, “To let you know that I am here at your whim great one.”

Worga rocked back on his lounge, his booming laughter filling the small reclining room in which the two had met, “Of course. Ever the loyal servant aren’t we human?” His lamp like eyes blinked slowly as he examined her, “You seek a reward for the discovery of Pasck?”

Kami nodded, well aware that not demanding a reward would raise Worga’s suspicions. She forced herself to stand straight and project confidence as she answered, “A permanent place by your side great one, and a partnership in your off-world projects.”

Worga burst out laughing again, seeming genuinely amused by her brazenness, “A lot to ask for small one, considering you have only been here a short while.” He paused, his tongue trailing a line of saliva across his chin, “Of course, whilst my weapon trades are an important part of my organization, they hold little value in comparison to some of my operations.”

Kami felt a chill travel up the length of her spine. This was the first time that the Hutt lord had mentioned Operation Ragnorak, even in passing. As such, she responded carefully, “What must one do to…let’s say, to get a cut in such proceedings?”

Worga grunted, shifting his graying body on the lounge to regard Kami from a better angle, “Continue to prove yourself to me and I will consider your advancement to lieutenant.

“Of course, my thanks great one,” This time Kami did bow, sweeping from the room quickly before she lost any of the ground she had gained. Worga was highly suspicious of all of his lieutenants, save Lodur and Pasck, who had both served him for the better part of a century. However, not even they had been privy to Ragnarok, nor the series of other small inner organization projects which it encompassed. The details of these remained securely stored away in Worga’s head until such a time he believed the operation successful and revealed the details as he began the bidding war with his clients.

Although High Command had substantially trashed Kami’s record as a Vast Empire soldier as part of her cover to gain access to Da Soocha, she knew she faced an uphill battle with the Hutt lord. He was loath to trust anyone that had not lived their entire lives in a self serving manner, even if they displayed a wide variety of skills that would benefit his organization.

Somehow, Kami got the feeling that if she hung around long enough, Ragnorok would reveal itself to her in all its awful glory, whatever it was. If she could stay in Worga’s favor, and survive the next few assassination attempts which flew her way, she would be in a prime position to aid whoever was coming from the VEA. And that… would just have to be enough for now.

Jinx listened to the conversation and smiled in total confusion as Aeos, who was still considered the entire reason behind their current situation, handed Marka and Verkur weapons that they had seen themselves confiscated by the very people that had them on the firing line what had seemed only minutes ago.

Once she had left the room, there was still a sense of electricity in the room, it was almost if you could sense the racing of minds, trying to work out what was happening and for that matter what had just happened.  The past events were almost a blur now.

Looking around he saw the same expression on their faces, most had a look of tiredness, frustration, confusion.  Some had hatred written across their faces like a billboard, for their squad leader.  But they all had a air of accomplishment.  somehow they had survived a near execution, being chased by a fellow squad through the woods, being shot at during that chase but here they were, angry or not they were alive and sitting on a shuttle together.  Yes they were in the dark, although right now this was way beyond the dark, about their current situation and why in the world were they headed to Ilum.

Yes Jinx could include himself in the confused, angry category but he was tired, to damn tired right now to really feel like putting up a fight with his emotions.  He wanted to yell and ask why, but he had already seen that done and they were still not any farther along in information as they were when they first got on board other then their current destination.

He looked down at his clothes, his hands and saw the dirt and stains on them.  He rubbed his face, and could feel where the sweat had dried the dirt onto his face.  He was tired but he was also dirty and knew that a nice shower and a change of clothes regardless what they were would allow him a much better sleep.

He stood from his bench seat, looked around again and spoke.  "Well if nobody else is getting up, I'm going to clean up and see what's in store for me with those clean clothes."  He laughed at the thought of the pants not fitting him or making him look like some kind of farmer.  This lightened his mood already.  Nobody responded so he headed for the refresher.

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

He had nearly forgotten that Aeos had gone in there first, so he knocked got no response so opened the door slightly.  It was empty, she must already be out.  He closed and locked the door behind him.  He started the water, and undressed.  He sighed as he stepped in and felt the warm water wash over him.  This was the greatest feeling right now, he wanted to stay in for a while but knew that the others might just kill him if he used all the water, so he made the shower short.

Once out he dried off and found his bag of clothes.  He grimaced before opening them and hoped that they wouldn't be to bad.  A smile crossed his lips as he saw what they were.  Aeos had been right when she said don't expect anything fancy but they were intact and not to bad looking.  They were more of a lower working class garments then anything else and they were clean.

Once dressed he looked himself over and laughed again.  Going from rad trooper armor only a few days ago, to now these.  He smiled and left the refresher and returned to the main sitting area and sat down and closed his eyes and fell asleep.

It was a rude awakening the Colonel gave them as she simply blared an alarm through their ears from the controls of the cockpit.
“We’re on Ilum, Aeos has already boarded the freighter next to mine, get your ass off my ship,” her voice cracked over the Radio.comm before it clicked off.

Bleary eyed Jesters rubbed their eyes confused yet relieved at the little sleep they have managed to squeeze in despite the given circumstances. It was wonders what a little humanity could change, especially after a bath and full meal of rationpacks.
“Not the most generous host, is she?” Decembrist muttered out loud, shaking his head, grinning despite the circumstances.
“I heard that trooper! We’ve been pumping fuel for over an hour, bout time lazy lot woke, now get off before I have to do it myself,” the Colonel’s voice snapped suddenly.

Within less than two minutes, the Colonel’s ship was finally empty, abandoned by the scurrying Jesters who left for the freighter which was vibrating to life with Aeos’ soft touch on the controls.

OOC:

This concludes Jesters' part in the prologue,keep an eye out for the next mission Jesters

Xander sat on his bunk shining his armor.  The open can of ‘Gleem’ gave off an odor that permeated throughout the barracks.  He wanted the vintage gear to glint like the day it marched off Kamino.  So far it had served him well.  It protected him in the Arboreal Deep of Tadath hunting Cistox.  It also got him thru his first Raiders mission, and with only a few dings and scratches.

  And a lot of blood

  The blood was not his, this time.  The vast majority of it belonged to a Cistox that became a very tasty breakfast.  The rest formerly resided in a rather foolish, and quite dead, Comm Tech.

That reminds me, gotta clean that vibro

  He sat polishing, absentmindedly humming a Mandalorian hunting song.  The rest of the squad was lounging about the room as well.  Dante was stretched out on his bunk, sleeping.  Muglug and Unggoy were playing Sabacc.  Moonfang was on her datapad doing, who knows what.  It was just a regular night in the life of the common Stormtrooper.

  “RAIDERS! Prisoner escape in your area, suit up and hunt them down, they've managed to make it into the forest next to the Execution Block. Pursue at once. Live fire authorized." The overhead comm suddenly blared

  Xander dropped the polishing cloth and grabbed his body glove.  He effortlessly slid into the form-fitting under suit, and started slapping on armor.  Within minutes the entire squad was suited up, locked, loaded, and ready to hunt.

"Let’s go ladies, we'll take the APC to the forests edge, but it's too dense after that, we'll have to go on foot." Snipes walked past them and they followed as he shouted orders. "Check your weapons, we'll be using live fire, don't hesitate to kill these people. If they were at that block they're traitors."

  Xander triple checked his E-11. The rifle’s ammo gauge read a full charge.  They boarded the APC and strapped in.  He felt the engines thrum to life and the carrier lurch forward.  The Troopers sat in silence, mentally preparing themselves for the coming hunt.  Snipes quickly briefed them on the Fall of Jester Squad and gave them a rundown of skills and limitations of their quarry.  He’d hunted dyeryotes back home, but never a man. 

  Well, almost never. War is like a hunt

  He chuckled at his sudden depth of thought, and then promptly banished it from his mind.  Too much thinking can get you killed in combat he preferred to let instinct and his training take over.  The APC shuddered to a halt and regurgitated the armored troops.  Snipes quickly barked instructions and set the squad in motion.

  The brush was dense. The kind of dense that holovids use as standard “forest” settings.  Xander easily cut through the undergrowth as the foliage slid off the freshly polished armor.  The fleeing traitors left a wide and easily followed trail.  Raibaux kept his weapon high and ready for any possible available shot. 
  Snipes set a blistering pace.  Although not in god-like shape, Xander was keeping up.  He could feel the sweat sliding down the back of his neck as his rebreather labored to keep up with his increased respiration.  Suddenly, he heard shots off to his right.

  We must be catching up

  "Move it, RAIDERS, we're almost on them.” Yelled Snipes over his comm.

  Xander perked up at the SL’s words.  He quickly scanned the brush, and saw a figure move in the distance.  He raised his rifle and squeezed off a couple of shots.  The bolts tore through the greenery and reached out toward the fleeing felon.  They impacted harmlessly on a large tree, as the Jesters continued to run.  He could hear other shots come from his right and left.  He felt sure they would soon have the scoundrels in their grasp.

  Heh, at least their bodies

  He continued to run and fire at anything that moved.  In a not too far off distance, he heard the report of a shotgun.  Having not seen a corpse yet, he knew he hadn’t hit anyone yet.  He hoped that whoever had used the shotgun had better luck.  His hopes were dashed as he heard the sound of a ship’s engines spooling up. 

  Damnit, No

  Xander picked up the pace and broke through the brush and saw Snipes coming toward him, and the glow of engines fading into the distance.  He sighted the ship and squeezed off a few rounds.

  “Save your ammo, their out of range.” Deadpanned Snipes.

  “Shit, where’d they get a ship?” Raibaux asked.

  “Do I look like a Godsdamned psychic?!” Snipes yelled, clearly annoyed.

  Xander help up his hands and backed away.  The rest of the squad one by one converged on the sound of the yelling.  Sgt. Namyr sidled up to Snipes and leaned in for a more private conversation.  Snipes pulled off his helmet and grabbed his belt comm.

  “Raiders to base, Raiders to base, copy” he barked into the unit.

  “Base here, go ahead Raiders.” Came the reply.

  He spoke as if ages old, “We need evac ASAP. Lock on my comm for co-ordinates.”
  “Snipes this is RB, how many did you get? He heard the voice ask.
  Grimly Snipes answered, “None.”

  “Come again, did you say ‘none’?” questioned the Platoon Commander.

  Snipes returned the question brusquely, “Affirmative, none.”

  There was a long pause.  Xander thought the comm may have stopped working, or the sergeant had turned it off.  His thought was answered as if Rogueboy was in his head.

  “We’ll talk when you get back, base out.” He tersely responded.
  Snipes stowed his comm, and looked to Namyr, “Great.”

  ***30 minutes later***

  Raibaux and the rest of Raiders sat, heads hung, as Snipes chewed them a new one.  He in turn had just had his head handed to him by PC Rogueboy.  Snipes promised more PT and more target practice since “…you couldn’t hit the broadside of the Atrus!”    It was bad enough to lose the traitors, when they thought they had them trapped, but to have Snipes reaming them only made it worse.  To top it all Snipes let them know that Rogueboy was personally going to debrief them any moment.

  The door to the barracks opened and Xander along with several other Raiders jumped up and snapped to attention.  What walked through the door was not a pissed off PC, but a somewhat confused looking Barabel.  Snipes stopped and glared at the intruder.  He motioned for he lizard to come forward.  He snatched the orders from his outstretched hand.

  ”Take a seat, don’t talk,” he said in clipped tones.

  Xander looked up as the man-sized lizard sat next to him.  The Barabel peeled back his lips, exposing dozens of razor sharp teeth, and hissed at him.  Xander went back to counting the floor tiles as Snipes continued.

  “So to sum it up, they got away. Good work.” He finished sarcastlcally.

  Raibaux couldn’t have felt worse if he’d been shot.  Snipes dismissed the squad, and they filed out.  They stood on the parade in stunned silence.  They were not used to failure, especially after the last mission.  He made a vow that he’d not go through that again.  No matter what. 

OOC:

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