OOC: Aeos is in charge of this thread.

Sergeant Paul Kettler glanced about him uneasily underneath the cold sun embracing Malastare. There was no cloud in sight, yet;

“Its gonna rain,” he muttered softly with a bass voice while he bent down to inspect the ground.

The same uneasiness could be detected in the men and woman around him. They all stood in a semi-form of attention. Corporal Valin Dane was standing closest to him, and for a good reason.  He was Paul’s second in command. Valin regarded his squad-leader respectively.  The man, his squad leader stood  a mere 5.5 at height, but he possessed a strength far exceeding his physical size. Paul Kettler was a small man, with a heart of gold and temper rivaling hell itself. He was not to be questioned by inferiors and less be threatened by rivaling equals. Which is why Dane was chosen as his Assistant; this man was indeed capable of leading a squad, and he admired Kettler greatly.  He was twenty-four ; three years younger than Kettler was.  Dane however, could never hope to progress to be more than a squad-leader whereas Kettler still had the possibility. Dane was too much of a die-hard soldier who had the ability to command the same respect and loyalty as his squad leader does. They operated as equals on the battle-field, and only in the briefing room did Kettler sat opposite Dane as his superior.

The only female in the Sabre Squad also happened to be the next leader next in line to Dane. Shela was a stout and short woman with a vivacious laugh accompanied with a deadly aim. She, in general took up the position as sniper and was good for the moral of the Sabre boys.

Their briefing was to remain as a Patrolling squad along the borders of area five-four, which coincidently covered across one of the biggest energy-providers for the capital of Malstare. This was easily one of the bigger targets that would be attacked. The building itself could with-stand a bombing or an airstrike for it’s outer layer of walls and protection was rumored to made of phrik, an alloy that could supposedly withstand even withstand the strike of an lightsaber. For anyone who felt like sabotaging the power-supply needed to enter the building itself and chase off after the controls.
The power-supply itself could be considered as the main-frame of the system that operated the power-lines extending into and through the city. It controlled everything, including public transport.



Twenty-six year old Sergeant Amira Darkstar felt just as uneasy as her enemy squad. But for other reasons; because unlike Paul Kettler, she knew which squad was patrolling the area they were about to sneak into. INTEL hasd secured her that much information. Sergeant Paul Kettler. They were childhood friends. She knew it, and he was about to find out as well in the next few hours.  Amira was a formidable lady with a heart of steel at times. She ruled her squad with absolute terror, compassion and appreciation at the same time which was a risky and insane combination that managed to work for her and her troopers. In truth however, Amira has been out in the field more than she cared to remember, and every mission was a new building block of steel protection around her emotional center.  Amira could be considered as socially impaired but every superior that has ever briefed or debriefed her, knew that she was capable of making inhumane decisions that would ensure the squad’s survival and both the completion of the brief.

Her second-in-command was also a female, Aether. This Corporal served as the solace of sanity in comparison with Amira. She was thirty years old, having only joined the Army a few short years ago. She served as Amira’s comforter, though this knowledge remained strictly confidential. Naturally the whole squad knew, and it assured them that their squad-leader was still a human. Aether was sometimes doubtful of her abilities, having lost her sister who served in the same squad as she did, years ago. Aether still blames herself. With those wisps of doubt filling her thoughts, Aether can at times fail to inspire the troopers on the same level as Amira. She almost failed Drill three years ago and her superiors still remained doubtful of her as well with the exception of Amira. This has a big cause at Aether wanting to prove herself.

Lance Corporal Tavus Hurk, was a zabrak who grew up in a quite innocent environment that did not involve the harsh upbringing his cultural usually provided. This did not mean that Tavus didn’t possess their insane amount of pride and stubbornness. In every mission that he served so far, he sustained major life threatening injuries which were of course a laughing matter for him. Scarred and with a slight limp in his left leg, and a mechanically replaced right arm, Tavus is the social fun of the squad yet the undaunted trooper on the field. In general, Darconis squad loves these three individuals and would die for them.

Aether looked around her team nervously from under her helmet. This was he first true command so she wouldn't have Amira there to back her up as usual. Aether Stifled the gag reflex that was rising up in her throat. She hated the feeling of gravity change which was pulling on her stomach.

She gathered herself by pulling off her helmet shaking her tied up brunette hair in the process. Breathing in she looked across Harpy fire team.

"Ok team our mission today is to go in and gain control of the power station that the Republic forces are holding." Came Aerther's horse voice.

"Let's go kill them rebel scum!" Yelled Clast jumping a bit.

Ignoring him Aether continued "Remember keep your heads down and don't do anything dumb we don't know what kind of force's we're against all we know if they are dug in pretty well." 

Kayee nodded checking his Sniper rifle slipping the power cell into home. Aether was happy to have Kay on as her sniper and weapons specialist. Clast was a bit excitable for a computer specialist. He would hack any security systems that got in there way. While Jaden the quite one was their medic and quit a skilled one at that for a Private.

Aether surveyed them team before giving them the order to move out.

A slight worry nagged in the back of her mind about going for the power station control, but it was quickly silenced by the crackling of the radio and Tavus's voice.

"Hey Aether you gonna move or do we have to walk your ass up there ourselves." He called over the radio obviously growing impatient.

"Sorry." She replied placing her helmet back on her head and clicking the safety off her Riot suppression rifle and sliding a grenade into the launch barrel.

"Move out." she called starting their march forward with the squad moving into a X formation. The squad moved forward in a near uniform manner as practiced. they would be able to cover all blind spots of each other without much worry.

Aether Hoped that they would make it out of this mission alive, but she knew that could not be.

Tavus and the others stood on the landing platform just meters away from Aether’s briefing point. Just like Aether, he was fairly new to commanding anything higher than himself. He was inexperienced for that, but knew just enough to get him and his team through fire and flames. The injuries on his back and first degree burns on his arms made up for his words.

Tavus and the others stood in a relaxed pose, each fixing last minute details on their amour and quartering their rifles. A voice shortly uttered through the vicinity, already signaling their commanding officer before a briefing. They immediately straightened up their posture and chuckled, before having to stand in a straight line and watch Tavus pace back and forth on the platform. Their eyes focused front, each with their arms loosely extended on their side. The sun sparkled the drop of sweat running down their temple, making its way down their already colored cheeks. The occasional swift of air soothed the moment, but wasn’t enough to ease the tension they were in.

Tavus knew he was running out of time before Aether caught up to them, thus took the time to brief his team. He continued to pace; gathering his thoughts and compiling them up for a briefing.

“Okay, it looks like I got a set of good troopers in my hands. And I rest assure you got someone who has been in more tough situations than I can think of. So with that being said, there shouldn’t be any reason why our objective today can’t be reached. Now some of you heard the initial briefing, but I also know that some of you are still lost in your own world. To put it briefly, we are to infiltrate the facility with our fellow Fire Team led by Corporal Aether. We are to penetrate the Power Station with them, and clear any resistance inside. Before we infiltrate anything we are setting up to take out the Outer Wall Guards. I will get to that shortly. Now while we have cleared the area to go inside, our ally team will infiltrate the Control Room and shut down the power. We are hoping the enemy conditions are far less strenuous, that is why we are to ally Fire Team Gorgon led by our fearsome leader Amira if they ever need backup fire. And if we ever need backup file, adjust your comm-link signals directly to Aether and she’ll see what she can do if she's not under any overpowering conditions. With that being said, this team is intended to stay in close-quarter operations. Meaning that our mission priorities are to stay alive, and safely escort our fellow Fire Team back to the extraction point with them having turned off the power from the Console.”

Shadows of troopers started to close in on him, and was noneother than Aether and her troopers catching up for deployment. Tavus looked beyond his troopers lined up and watched the stampede coming his way.

“Alright, it seems our fellow team cached up pretty well to us. So just before we de-brief, you guys should deploy inside using the BNS tactic for close-quarter operations. This method is abbreviated to mean Breach and Scatter. This means we will breach and turn opposite ways from another so we can enhance our surveillance when we infiltrate. If we don’t encounter resistance, then we are putting ourselves in Ops (Observation Posts) until our fellow Fire Team reaches their checkpoint. So with that being said, you may at-ease and wait for deployment.”

The team exhaled their breath and relaxed their overly exhausted posture from standing firmly. Aether and the others joined up and stayed few meters back waiting for deployment. Moments after, Aether joined up with Tavus who was busy pondering in his thoughts, pacing back and forth. He always had the tendency when giving orders or being nervous about something.

Tavus noticed the Corporal closing up on him and slightly cocked his head backwards and saluted. Aether gave him a nod, followed up by a returned salute.

“Aether, lets take this chance to set up until we have a clear view of the Outer Wall. Amira should regroup with us in the process and prepare for deployment. Having a few marksmen’s in our hands gives us the opportunity to snipe down a few targets. This is also a great way for your team to gather up their slicing equipment or strap-on any last minute gear while the Heavy Weapon Specialists initialize faze one.

Aether called up for regrouping and everyone gathered around her and Tavus. He extended a few words without much sugar coating; not explaining much about Phase I. All he told them was to set up camp a few miles away and tune up their weaponry and equipment while the commanding officers planned ahead and the Marksmen’s did the dirty work.

Without them noticing, Amira came from behind and asked for everyone’s attention. Tavus’s speech was cut short and discontinued by the Sergeant. 

“So what is going on…?” She demanded..

“We just finished briefing our squad and currently preparing to head out and set up camp with your permission. I think we should wait until the snipers take our the outer wall defenses while we plan ahead in this mission."

“Sounds good, let’s get going shall we..” She commanded, as the rest left Tavus and Aether to dust in the landing platform.

Tavus nodded to Aether, both strapping on their load-bearing gear and jogging hesitantly; trying to catch on.

Aether's team continued towards the power station looming in the distance with Tavus Fire team about forty paces behind them providing cover.

Movement ahead of the team caused them all to drop low in the tall grass. They all readied their weapons with practiced precision bringing them to bear.

Kayee crawled forward and toke point scoping down the line with his sniper rifle. He focused in on his target letting the cross hair lead the target waiting for Aether's orders.

"Rebel two man patrol team they're a low threat." Kayee whispered relaying to Aether waiting for a perfect shot.

Aether toke out her own sniper and brought it to bear and sighted in the same direction as Kayee searching for the target. She pulled her head back and wiped the helmet trying to clear her vision. It didn't help much ,but she found the targets as she saw a spark of light.

"Pick your target and fire on 3." Aether said bearing down on the easier of the two targets the idiot who was smoking. She wasn't as great a sniper as Kayee ,but she could sure take out a glowing target like that.

"1, 2,....3" Aether counted with a low gun report going off on the third number. The Rifle kicked back and jarred her shoulder uncomfortably.

Both patrol men slumped to the ground without resistance.The team moved up and policed the patrolmen of their radios and weapons. Kayee dragged them into the brush and kicked sand over their blood to cover their traces.Aether always appreciated his caution which had saved them in more than one situation in the past.

"Move it up and keep low we don't wanna attract any patrols to us." Kayee called to the team showing off his extensive training in Recon.

"Ok let's move out then." Aether called swinging her arm in a semi circle to work out the strain from the rifle kick back.

The team continued to move forward with caution giving them stealth. Moving like silent wraiths in the low light towards the outer walls of the complex.

The unimpressive wall around the station came into full view after another half hour of walking. From cover of the trees they would be able to easily pick out any security on the walls and get a good look at the situation.

"Amira Tavus we're ready to move in." Aether radioed in making the others aware of their position.

Without hesitation or mercy, Darconis Squad's sharpshooters had sniped the perimeter guards around the outer wall. They could advance now, but that wasn't the plan. Malastare was under a co-ordinated attack, so Amira was betting that their squad would be able to draw some of the defenders out before any useful enemy reinforcements could arrive.

Amira's squad spread out side-to-side, keeping the main entrance under siege. Harpy team slinked to the right, out of the cleared zone. Like Fenrir, they would clear the rest of the exterior to soften up their defenses. When Darconis eventually launched their all-out assault, their efforts would keep the enemy from coming in after them.

Tavus and his squad kept to the tall grass, keeping a sharp lookout all around them. Their progress seemed agonizingly slow to the Privates, who were most interested in accomplishing the mission and getting extracted again. For Tavus, though, their slow advance only made him more anxious to get inside, where speed was key.

"I see a patrol," Qaine whispered. "There, near that side door." He slowly pointed to a pair of Republic soldiers, walking low and slow. Perhaps they were just cautious because they were defending an obvious target, but Tavus considered the possibility that they were aware of the other patrol's demise.

"Should I take the shot?" Qaine asked, slowly raising his rifle.

"No, not yet." Tavus said. "Keep moving -- we'll see if anyone else comes out. Keep your eyes on the door, Qaine."

Fenrir team kept moving until they had a full, broadside view of the facility.

"Trebor," Tavus began, "set up one of those remote sensors. Qaine, watch the left. Trask, the right. I've got the middle."

The troopers began spreading apart, watching for any sign of the enemy. Trebor worked quickly setting up the sensor, knowing that he was the most visible of the four troopers by far.

Seconds felt like minutes until Trebor finally got down and declared, "I'm finished. The sensor's up."

Tavus looked back at the surveillance device and asked, "Are you sure? I'm not getting anything from in on my hel-"

"Oh, oh, oh, sorry," Trebor replied, "I forgot the switch." Cautiously, he reached over and flipped the power switch.

Tavus nodded. "There we go..."

"Sarge," Trask declared, "there's a patrol coming around the right corner. Two more rebs."

Tavus smiled and glanced back at the patrol Qaine had spotted earlier. Four at a time was worth it. He brought up his slugthrower and drew a bead on the new patrolmen.

Tavus wasted no time directing his team to take the kills. "Qaine, Trask, take out that patrol on the left. I'll take out these new guys."

Two slugs flew from Tavus's weapon, piercing his targets with deadly accuracy. At the same time, the two privates let fly with their own rifles, killing their own targets.

"Alright, team, let's get up there and hide the bodies."

Coleman watched as the four New Republic troopers crumpled.  The front door was now open.  He watched as Sgt. Darkstar hand-signaled for them to advance.  He and Venmis ran across the open land as fast as they could.  No shots. 

  There shouldn’t be, if they greased the Security on the walls

  He turned back to the Sarge and flashed the all clear signal.  Darkstar hauled ass across the no-man’s land and made the wall with Trebor in tow.  Coleman saw the sergeant hit her helmet comm.  A quick nod confirmed his thoughts…the wall were clear. 

  FT: Gorgon now had position.  Coleman scanned the perimeter for incoming hostiles, Trebor and Venmis watched the walls in case someone decided to drop a grenade on them.  He saw FT: Fenrir move toward them. 

  “Wall’s clear, Harpy’s keeping watch just in case,” reported Hurk, his voice coming in short pants.

  Darkstar nodded, “Venmis, Trebor, get that door open.”

  The troopers moved to the door controls.  They shot the cover off and began to attempt the open hack.  The lights went green in a matter of moments.  Trebor quickly stepped out in front of the door – to trigger the opening sensors – only to have the doors explode outward, into him.

  “Trebor, Damnit, “spat Amira!

  The blast doors were six centimeters thick and weighed several tons.  They flew out of the portal like they were made of balsa. Trebor was crushed before he even knew the doors blew. 

  He saw Sarge hang her head.  He didn’t know if she was praying his soul or cursing the dead trooper for his stupidity.  Knowing how much of a hardass she was, it was more than likely the later.  She turned to Venmis, still on the other side of the blown door, signaling for him to check the passage.  He pulled a small mirror and collapsible handle from his utility belt.  He snaked it around the corner.

  Pulling it back he commed Darkstar, “It’s all blocked up, looks like a small path thru the debris toward the inner doors.”

  She nodded and paused.  The Sergeant looked up.  The walls were a good nine to ten meters up.  He heard his comm go live.

  “Aether, cover us, we’re up and over.”

  “Roger that.”

  She pulled the small grappling hook and line from her belt.  Coleman,Venmis followed suit.  They slung the rifles over their backs and chucked the hooks over the walls.  The troopers secured the lines.

  "Stay here and be ready to come in hot, " the Sarge told Hurk.

  He nodded and she began to climb.  Harpy’s snipers had them covered all the way.  A few tardy security guards stumbled into their crosshairs, but didn’t return.  The remaining Gorgons made it to the top of the wall.

  “OK, Aether, bring ‘em in.  We’ve got you covered.”

  “Roger that boss “replied the sniper. 

  Coleman took position looking down on the courtyard.  He saw the tunnel like effect the wreckage had, he knew it wasn’t by chance.  The Harpies made the wall and held their position.  He, Trebor and the Sarge worked their way down the battlements, scanning the ground for hostiles and an eye up for surprises on the wall.  Half a dozen steps down the wall Darkstar dropped.  She motioned for him to put eyes over.  He snaked out his mirror, and angled it till he caught sight of the New Republic ambush.

  “Now what,” he asked Darkstar?

"Right away ma'am." said Clast, quickly going to work on the door.  The fingers of the Tech were moving at a blistering speed, the sounds of buttons being hit left and right created a symphony for the ears and the eyes as the squad took defensive action around him. 

"What's it look like?" asked Amira. The squad showed signs that indicated everything was ok.  The durasteel walls of the compound were echoing with every sound and movement made, even whispers were considerably louder then they should have been. 

"You almost done? How could it take you so long to get into a simple door?" asked Amira, her voice becoming hostile.  The tech shook his head and began to work faster.  "It isn't my fault, this things must have some sort of fail safe or something.  Besides, there's something electronic behind it. Could be an explosive." said Clast, taking out an optical snake to put underneath the door.  "Can't see anything.  I could've sworn I heard humming."

"That doesn't matter now, just finish the job.  We're sitting ducks in this corridor." said Amira. "Damn New Republic and their love of doors." That last comment led the squad to look at her funny, but they soon returned to their duties of standing watch. 

"Somebody tell me something.  Anything.  I need intel, quickly." said Amira, walking back and forth on the obsidian floor, her boots clicking as she did so.  No one had anything to say, they had one simple job, make sure no more people died.  Sadly, that was near impossible during a battle, especially for them it seemed.

"Got it.  God, remind me to shoot a New Republic tech next time I get a chance." said Clast as he opened the door.  "I think it would be best to put explosives on the doorway, just in case we need to retreat and someone is stupid enough to stand and shoot or take cover at the entrance." said Clast as he had one of his squad mates hand him some.

"Move in." said Amira, the squad entering silently as they did so.  The halls were eerily empty, the only thing that could be heard was the turning of the cameras.

"I think we are in a blind spot Ma'am." said Clast quietly, trying not to alert anyone that was near them  "Just to be sure, I'll black them out." Clast grabbed a device from his pack and applied it to the Camera.  "There...should jam them for a short time, at least give us a small edge." Clast whispered.

As the squad moved down the hall, setting up a defensive perimeter, Clast couldn't help but notice that Amira was laying down trip mines. "Ma'am?" asked Clast pointing to the trip mine.

"Never can be too careful can you soldier?" she said as she laid another one down.  Clast was glad she was leading, and was also glad he wasn't a New Republic Soldier.  The squad progressed further and further until they were met by another door. "Clast...door...open...needed. Thank you." said Amira with no enthusiasm.  Clast jumped towards the door and began to slice it.  His hands began to move faster and faster as he got more and more into his work. 

"Denied..." said Clast confused. "Let me try again." Amira glared at him, but quickly turned around to offer another defensive position. "How are we doing Clast?" asked Amira.  Clast began to panic. "I'm not sure what's happening.  It keeps saying Denied.  Then it plays a sound, then it resets. I'm confused as you guys are." said Clast.

"Use an optical snake, tell me what you see." whispered Amira, handing Clast the snake.  He poked it through, looking at a small squad of New Republic troopers.  "Ambush.  That's what I see...Ambush." said Clast.  "The door saved our lives.  We should go around.  Booby trap that door though." said Amira as she and her squad began to move down the corridor to another door.  Clast double timed it towards the door, and began to try and slice it.

"Denied?" asked Amira jokingly.  Clast shook his head as he finished slicing the door, taking his optical snake to make sure there were no soldiers anywhere in the room. "Clear...be careful though." said Clast.

"Why?  There are no soldiers right?" asked Amira, opening the door, only to find the room was superheated by the turnings of some of the turbines in the room. 

"It's clear from what I can see...but there might be soldiers hiding in between the turbines." advised Clast as he followed behind Amira.  One right after the other the squad mates filed in, spreading out towards the walls and sticking towards them, making sure no surprises were in the room as the progressed further into the belly of the beast.

Nerl Grace felt like fainting. During the first firefight he'd cowered at the rear, trying to load his rifle with violently trembling hands, only to miss the volleying completely as Kettler had screamed at his squad to retreat.

Minutes later, he was fighting back vomit as Felp shoved the bloodied mess of his arm into a field dressing, his teeth bared against the pain as he trotted after the squad. So much blood. And so many enemy troopers. All determined to kill him.

When Kettler signaled for Sabre to divide, Nerl numbly followed Dane to the second ambush point whilst Kettler and the others moved ahead to secure yet another room.

“Oi, Grace!”  Lak's grizzled face was abruptly before him, “Snap out of it! Get your head in the game!”

“Quiet!” The snapped order from Dane was followed by deathly silence as the members of Sabre took their places on either side of the corridor, leveling their rifles at the door. They waited for what seemed to be hours to Nerl, who was unsuccessfully attempting to keep his gaze fixated before him. Instead it wandered to his chrono, the untied bootlace on his right foot and finally, to the the silver dogtags visible just below his chunky helmet strap. His only identification should the Stormtroopers mangle his face with laser bolts.

Fighting back another wave of violent nausea at the thought, Nerl blinked stinging eyes, trying to ignore the sweat trickling down the back of his neck. He should of stayed home and pursued that career as a moisture farmer instead of listening to his elder brother. Join the Republic, fight injustice, perhaps even meet all the heroes of the stories.

“No dice,” Dane was saying, his voice an echo in Grace's thoughts, “They know we're here.”

Another private, Kresh, made to walk towards the door only to have his second in command shake his head, “No, not that way. We're going to find Kettler.”

Grace felt Lak's hands on his back, almost stumbling as he was pushed forward. Forcing his feet to function, Nerl followed the broad back of Kresh as he followed Dane, who led them back towards the central control room. Sabre slid silently through another doorway, their senses abruptly assaulted by the roar of turbines. Taken off guard by the sudden change in scenary, Nerl glanced up...only to come face to face with an Imperial stormtrooper.

Time slowed.

Nerl fumbled with his rifle, swinging it up even as the Stormtrooper reacted, obviously taken off guard by Grace's presence. Nerl pulled back on the trigger, sending a single red laser streaking into the enemy trooper's chest. Stunned, in complete and utter disbelief at his kill, Nerl glanced down at the twitching trooper, his mouth hanging open. He'd done it. He'd actually killed an enemy soldier.

He looked behind him for Lak, a triumphant smile spreading across his face only to see the other Private's face contort with panic. Unsure as to why the other private was not reacting more positively  to this personal success, Nerl didn't notice the presence of the dead Imperial's teammates until it was too late.

The first shot took him in his lower back, catapulting the young private into the nearest turbine. As the metal spikes sliced into the soft flesh of his face and hands, pain overtaking and eventually overwhelming his senses, Nerl realized that he would have made a better moisture farmer after all.

Flask cleared the door and embraced for impact; being the second one going in after Una. The team scattered in different direction, each anticipating anything that comes their way from every direction. They were already used to breaching and clearing rooms that experience played off from time to time. Flask went over, watching where he stepped, and peered into the cavern-dark interior. As his eyes adapted, he tensed. Aether who was closest to the wall turned on the lights, dimmed, turning a nearby shadow into several Consoles. They reconvened in the same room after dusk; though since there were no windows and the lights stayed on round the clock, night meant nothing to Flask, who was used to sleeping through the hours of light. The concrete walls barely muffled the howl and roar of the turbines just outside the room.

Aether turned her head, trying to find that specific someone behind her that will do something with these Consoles.

“Clast, I need you to get in there and disable the system for all doors.”

“Yes ma’am..” Clast chuckled, knowing that he was the only one in the team with slicing expertise.

Everyone else went into dug fighting positions; did the basic grunt homework for defensive position; field of fire, avenues of approach, routes of agress. Nothing too complex, just guys with rifles and comm-links, a warning bell that would go off if the Republic decided to wrap this whole mission in a neat package and send the Imperials back to Tadath.

Clast was having some difficulty getting into the system. Slicing a Console proved far more complex than anything he had broken into before. The door systems was troublesome enough, and now this. Clast wondered sometimes when this was all going to end. He wouldn’t want to see Aether tear him up just because he couldn’t successfully slice their way to victory. Fear drove him to do the many things he has done for this mission. Yet it kept in alive and well.

Clast shook his head; trying to configure the mainframe system that was still giving him trouble since he tried to break in using his slicing computer. Aether gave him that glare in the eyes, just enough to scare the living shizznits out of him.

“Okay, got it..” Clast responded with that unsecured voice you hear when you thought things went your way, not completely sure they did for the most part.

“It’s about freaking time, now give us access to the door systems and shut them down; specifically the main control room.”

“This ain’t as easy as it looks ma’am..” Clast gave him a swift glance but did not object.

“You better make this look easy or there will be room for you in the turbines, you hear me?” Desperately, she started to pace back and forth; already thinking of another plan just in case the technology wasn’t in their favor this time.

Time was ticking, and already making Aether more impatient than she was. Clast who was at the main Console had finally installed the final spikes, signaling that all doors will open at their disposal.

“I got the job done; now all I need to do is put a lock in this Console so only I can use it for emergency purposes.”

“Good job Clast…” She smiled to him before objecting her peripherals to everyone else. “Alright guys, our work here is done… Lets head out..”

Flask and the others headed out slowly out the door, leaving Aether and Clast behind. Flask who was walking ahead of everyone else, felt the wash from the turning rotors ruffle his hair. All the sudden, he could feel a drop of blood taint on his neck. He passed his fingers through and looked it over, examining it before inquiring that someone had either accidentally been sliced on the turbines or skinned to death. Peaces of flesh soon followed and the squad’s attention turned to all the commotion behind them.

“What in the world is this…” Aether kneeled, smelling the foul stench of blood all over the floor. She acknowledged that the turbine had sliced probably one of her own, and already having an idea where her enemy was located. She approximated her ear to the turbines, slowly picking up distorted sounds that the rotors didn’t let her hear clearly. The noise was too overwhelming, but indistinctively; she could hear sounds coming from the other side; which only meant that someone was waiting beyond the spinning rotors.

“Fools… if they think they are getting away from beef-jerking our fellow comrade, they are wrong. They will pay for each pint of blood, even if my whole life depended on it.” Aether affirmed, already beginning to grow wearer as her troops died one by one.

The teams moved, each having each others back, ready to roll. Una had a fragmentation grenade on the grasp of her palm. Touching it with grace, as her fingers located the oval shaped ring to blow it off. Smokes and flash bangs were also near her utility belt; she was ready until something popped out from the corner as they neared the intersection. Tavus who was leading the group through, silently walked the narrow hallway, almost hissing the command sounds to the rest. The turbines still overwhelmed all other sound, walling off each mind within the compass of their own skull; covering the sounds of movement and the occasional sneezes.

Nearing a dead end in the intersection, Flask and Una took cover in opposite walls; peaking in to make sure nobody was walking about. The teams where all gathered behind them, with Tavus slightly ahead of them by three steps. He noted that splitting up the team will be an act of stupidity if the intersections took them separate ways, yet he gathered his thoughts once more and decided to call upon Amira who was already making her way down from above.

“Ma'am.. We have encountered a two way hall. Should we split up into teams?” He stuttered, before seeing both teams down a guy. 

“Yeh split them up.. Right now my team is taking over this local power supply room. We are turning off the power, so strap on the night vision before you split up. It’s gonna be pitch black, so let’s see if they can keep up. There are some sectors like the main control room that I cannot turn off the power, but better for us. We need that thing operational anyways.”

“Yes ma’am” Tavus said, clicking the fainted light on his comm-link and turning on the night vision.

“Okay troops; get your night vision on. Don’t ask questions, just do it unless you want to see nothing but black throughout this whole mission.” Tavus commanded, signaling each team to go separate ways.

Team Fenrir headed left and Team Harpy went right from the intersection. The lights immediately went off, overcastting shadows throughout the vicinity. The night vision kept them going until they had to make a turn; heading towards the same direction. The intersection was only a hallway that eventually led both teams into a courtyard. It was vast, with different hallways to choose from every path. In the center was an old fashioned stairway coming above, leading to god knows where.

Team Harpy took defensive positions in their respective covers. On the other side, Team Fenrir did the same; looking forward and seeing Team Harpy covering just against the wall. Each team checked the area; until it was proven clear. They signaled each other off to scatter; each covering a different hallway path. If an NR decided to walk in at the wrong time, they would be toast on the spot. The Teams held far back, just enough to prevent a casual fragmentation grenade lobbed in their faces.

The others who were not involved stood dead center, near the stairwell; waiting for either their respective team captains to give them the next set of instructions or wait until someone signaled approach.

OOC:

I saw no way to move the story without making the ASL issue orders, so I went ahead and took the liberty. If there's any problem, send a PM or contact me on IRC and I will edit immediately.

Harpy team dropped low as explosions tore through the hallway behind them. Aether signaled Kayee to see what had happened to Fenrir team, and he didn't hesitate a moment. He sprinted to the last corner, then checked around the bend with a mirror. He saw no rebels, so he cautiously approached the bodies, unslung blaster ready to meet any latent threat with deadly force. Before him, Kayee saw the bodies of his former squadmates bent and broken, flung against the walls like bloody ragdolls. He swallowed hard, then made his report. "They're... Fenrir team.. they're dead. Looks like a grenade landed right in the middle-"

"Understood, Kayee. Come back up here." Aether grimaced. This mission was taking too many lives. Whether they had twelve troopers or just one, they needed to crush the New Republic forces fast. The campaign depended on their success.

"Tavus," Aether called over the radio, "come in. Your team's dead, I'm recalling you."

Just then, the emergency lighting circuits loudly switched on, and the hum of electrical current buzzed ominously through the station. Now the corridors were bathed in deep red light. Aether glared back at Clast, irritated that he hadn't disabled this system.

"Come on, Clast, what the hell?" she asked.

"It's not my fault!" Clast protested, "The emergency lights aren't even on--wait!" He stopped and raised a hand to ask for quiet while he listened to his comm set. "Sarge..." he whispered, "I just intercepted a rebel com signal. But...I think it came from an Imperial set!"

Aether narrowed her eyes and asked, "You mean.. Tavus?"

Clast slowly nodded and replied, "It certainly looks that way."

"Dammit," Aether sighed, "That means he's gonna pass them intel on us. We've got to change our plan, now."

Before she'd finished speaking, Amira's voice came over her comlink. "Aether, what the hell's going on? Gimme a report."

"Fenrir team is dead was killed by a grenade. I suspect Tavus killed them and defected to the Republic."

"Goddamn it," Amira cried. "Well, the facts are the facts. I'll try to get us reinforced. Until then, keep moving."

Aether replied, "Wilco," then turned to Clast. "Have you sliced a facility map yet?"

"Yes, ma'am," the tech replied as he held out his datapad, "right here."

Aether studied the map carefully. "We're too short-handed to assault the machinery control room, so we'll take the breaker boxes instead. We can still shut off the generators, but that room is more defensible. It's one level down on this side. Follow me."

With their objective set, Aether handed Clast his datapad and once more led her team through the shadowy hallways.

"Deep breaths... In, out" Flynn told himself, taking in a few deep breaths. He sat against the wall trying to figure out the next step in his plan. After sevearl long minutes of thought only two options remained. Either leave to find reinforcements while the squad gets annihilated, or head in after the imperials hoping to catch a few off guard. The only problem with both options was that the squad was probably going to be wiped out.

"I have to go back" he muttered, and with that he slowly got to his feet and grabbed his blaster.

As he stood at the gapping hole were the facility's main door used to stand he took another deep breath,

"Here goes nothing" he sighed, and with that he headed into the facility.


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



"Up against the wall" Shela ordered, Tavus raised and eyebrow but complied placing both hands above his head.

Balno keep his blaster on Tavus while Shela gave him a quick, but thorough search which turned up nothing.

"I could of told you i wasn't armed" Tavus added sarcastically, lowering his hands from the wall to scratch his next. Before he could blink both Shela and Balno had a weapon pressed against him,

"Alright... sorry... got this itch" he managed to blurt out before throwing his hands back up on the wall.

"Try that again and you'll regret it, copy?" Shela said pressing her blaster into the back of Tavus's head,

"Alright, Sorry" he replied "Just lower the blaster", Shela lowered her blaster and continued on her way. Balno gave Tavus a shove in her direction and the pair began following.

----

After several more minutes of walking the trio stopped again

"On your Knee's Imp" Shela ordered before turning her back and getting on the Comm channel. Tavus obeyed and slowly got on his knee's, keeping his hands place on his head.

"Kettler, we have just reached the end of the lower corridor with the Zabrak"  she announced. Kettler was quick to acknowledge, telling the trio to sit tight and wait for him to get down there. Shela lent against a nearby wall and looked around impatiently, while Balno took a seat on nearby box but kept his weapon level with Tavus's chest.

The mood in the spottily corridor was one of tension and an underlying current of hatred, Tavus could feel this and decided to break it as he turned to Balno,

"So, I don't think we were properly introduced, I am Tavus... and you are"

Balno didn't say anything but shot back an icy and hostile glare, while Shela just shook her head.

"Not another word" she told Tavus, who paused momentarily

"Your actually kind of cute when your ordering people around"  he said with a smirk. Shela stood motionless, her left eye twitching a little as she contemplated killing Tavus right then and there. Before she could answer a figure stepped out of the shadowy corridor,


"Your Tavus I wager", the trio turned in unison to see Sergeant Paul Kettler standing before them.

The door banged open and a stocky Corporal came in. He squared his datapad in front of him, and looked towards where an overhead projector faced one of the unadorned walls. Dakmel passed out memo books and pencils, like a teacher before a test; then went back to his modified parade rest.

“As of now, we’re in lockdown for mission prep. No phone calls, no mail, no leaving the base. No discussion of the mission outside these rooms, even amongst yourselves. Understood?...” He paused, catching his breath before continuing.

“For those who haven’t met me yet, I’m Corporal Dakmel Sargana. I could give three rats ass about my background, so I won’t get into details.

Why are you here? Two reasons: First, you’re all recon troopers. Second, we wanted street fighters and butchers. I want trophies; ears, noses, fingers, anything you can tear out without having a chainsaw to do the job for you. Be as barbaric and inhumane as you want, I cannot risk loosing this mission or it will demonstrate only negative things in my career. Most of you have been through the Urban Assault Team concept simulator, and if you were in Tatoonie deploying in that life-threatening mission I’ve been hearing about, then you have done as much of it as anybody in the corps."

Dakmel turned the first sheet, signaling the rest one of the bullet points with his index finger. It bulleted operation EVI: Enemy Communication Intercepts, Visual Imagery, and Information Received Direct from Enemy.

"Most INTEL work consists of looking for anomalies. They are best known as abnormalities; items of data different from what you expect, or weird new shit you have no explanation for. One anomaly might be betrayal; a crossing turn of events. I want that traitor's portions of flesh and muscle extruded through the firing ports and hung down outside, like beef jerky.

We have a name. “Fire Team Drow”, and operation EVI will be our mission. High-level insertion missions and military assassinations is our main purpose. Our suspected location: Malstare’s powerstation. Our allies: Draconis Squad of the Imperial forces. Our sub-objectives: Help Fire Team Harpy safely make it to the main control room and provide cover-fire. We will be using technological tactics to our advantage to infiltrate and deceive. I need the enemy located, creating avenues of approach to prepare for ambush. They are clearly outnumbered and will meet deadly resistance. Move out to the extraction point for take-off. Leave your emotions here, and carry on your sins. This is war and we are subjected to complete this mission as ordered to.”

The team saluted before having to scatter and praying to god they will come alive out of this one. Dakmel was as grumpy as ever, nobody knew his past or why the hell he had to be such a hard ass. But they all knew he was the best man to lead them into any mission. He could give a rat’s ass about his life if it meant saving others and getting the job done. His heart was cold, but deep inside the crust of layers was an emotional man; waiting to put his life on the line for others.

The team sprinted towards the landing zone, where a curser was already igniting the rotors of its engines. Already inside, each pondered on their own thoughts, leaving a sudden silence as the ship took off, progressing through the atmospheric levels of Tadath. Neither sky nor desert yielded the faintest luminosity. Even through the helmet, the only illumination was the jittering, fanlike glow of the engine. At the very back, the Corporal held the butt of the Glock he’d stuffed into his cargo after the preloading inspection. He liked the feeling of twirling the gun with his fingers while he pondered on his thoughts.

So they were right, the one’s who said it was too risky. But “Don’t run.. You’ll just die tired” wasn’t just a motto. Behind the words, it meant accepting risk, when the mission called for it. Accepting the possibility that you, and the men you led, might never come back.

Dakmel wondered if it was also that ever since he tried to resign once, then take back, he’d had the feeling certain people considered him expandable. That always kept him sharpened, young, and experienced. It was that feeling you get when people’s lives are at stake and you could do something about it that second, change lives, create new friends.

A few hours after, the ship made it’s landing in an Imperial facility in Malstare. The ship's ground gear lowered and hovered until it made a flat land. Upon arrival, they saw several speederbikes  parked near the vessel. They each mounted and took off; heading towards the rendezvous point for insertion.

Dane held to the rear of Sabre as Kettler conferred quietly with the turncoat Tavus. Despite his attempt to keep his expression neutral, he was more than aware that a frown marred his brow.

“Dane?”

He shifted his gaze to Balno, who was walked up to his side, “Yes Private?”

“I get the feeling you don't like this guy anymore than I do,” Balno said slowly, his voice low.

Dane's frown deepened, “Don't go making assumptions Gunlar, they'll get you killed.” As the Private scowled and made to turn away, Dane sighed and spoke again, “No, I don't like him. I don't trust him. And to be quite honest I'm not sure whether or not he's done us any good. He might have taken out half those Imps but I'll be damned if there's not another half a dozen already on their way here. If we had taken our time and killed em off our way, we might have been fine. But now they're angry. Betrayal makes for one hell of a provocation.”

Balno nodded, “Exactly what I was thinking.” The Private fell silent, thinking, before speaking again, “The way that Nerl died...that wasn't pretty.” He looked back to his ASL, “I'm not keen on going out like that.”

“You won't,” Dane replied firmly, “They might be angry, but their cause is no greater than ours. We'll meet them head on, as we have time and time before.  And if they die, they die fighting for an organization that spreads corruption, violence and suffering. We die fighting for freedom. For equality. Remember that.”

“Well spoken Boss,” Balno offered a slight smile, “Figured it was a nice day to die anyways.”

Dane reached out to briefly clasp his squadmate's shoulder, “You're a good man.”

“Valin,” Kettler's dark gaze flicked to his second in command, “Get over here, you too Balno.”

The two Sabre troopers complied, joining the squad huddle, which now included Tavus.

“We're sticking together from now on,” Kettler stated immediately, “I think the time for trying to get the jump on them is past. We're bunking down in the main control room. Without the terminal there they can't access the rest of the site, even through the emergency consoles. If we hold there they don't achieve their objective.”

“Reinforcements?” Flynn asked, looking glad to be back amongst the company of friends.

Kettler gave his head the slightest shake, “None available at this time. We'll keep them updated, but it looks as though its just us for the time being.”

“Then that's going to have to be enough,” Shela set her jaw, looking between each member of the squad, “I'm sure as hell just not going to lay down and die.”

There was a brief moment of utter silence, as all of Sabre steeled themselves for the fight to come. Then, as though awakening from a daze, Kettler blinked and straightened, “Alright, let's move.”

Aether's team slowly advanced through the hallways, bound for the electrical control room. The New Republic soldiers were probably aware of its importance, but they had a better chance of taking the breaker boxes than the control room. They moved slowly, carefully, straining their senses for any hint of a trap or ambush. Their footfalls were nearly silent as they stepped through corridors and around corners.

Suddenly, Aether's voice broke the silence. "Do you hear that?" she whispered, "Those footsteps?"

Her teammates listened carefully and nodded. They heard slow, distinct footsteps, approaching their position. Team Harpy got down low and raised their weapons. After seconds that felt like hours, a civilian in blue dungarees turned the corner in front of them. He continued walking for a moment, unable to see the troopers in front of him. Then he noticed three blaster barrels pointed at him and stopped in his tracks, stunned.

"Hands up," Aether calmly ordered him. The man complied, slowly raising his empty hands over his head.

"Walk towards me," she continued. The man complied, careful not to make a suspicious move.

He halted in front of the team. He was an older man, in his 50s, clearly not a great physical specimen.

"Bind his hands, Clast," Aether ordered. Her tech immediately obeyed, binding his wrists behind his back and taking the man into Imperial custody.

"Alright," Aether said to her prisoner, "you're going to tell us what we want to know."

"I don't know anything," he protested, "I'm just-"

"I don't care if you scrub the damn toilets, you're going to answer my questions!"

The man's face twisted into a painful grimace, and he bent forward. "Oh, God!" he groaned, "I'll..."

Aether's eyes opened wide and she sprang into action. She motioned Clast over, and the two of them helped their prisoner to the ground. They sat him down against the wall and tried to reassure him. After all, a dead prisoner is no good to anybody.

"Listen. You're not a soldier," Aether explained, "you're not our enemy. We aren't going to murder you. But you know this building better than we do, and we want your help. Give us information and we'll let you go home and forget you ever met us. Don't you want to sleep in your bed tonight?"

The prisoner nodded slowly, breathing with difficulty. "I just want to get out of here," he said, "I'll tell you anything, just don't kill me."