Tanus was in his office, finishing both the last of his paper work and a glass of scotch. The mission with the rest of the Army had been hellish, and Tanus liked it so much more when he wasn’t fighting Noghri assassins. Unfortunately for the Army, Jak Froz’t was killed in the crossfire, so the secret he was carrying died with him. Still, the mission was not all lost: The mainframe was salvaged and from what he had heard, Jester squad was doing a follow-up to try and find just what Jak was hiding. Well hopefully the buggers he was with will get everything full circle, Tanus thought as he leaned back in his chair, sipping on his scotch. It was a nice change of pace, considering his recent promotion to Platoon Adjutant. And, as Angel was away on a mission, it had fallen to Tanus to finish the paper work he had not. As he was finishing signing some papers, there was a knock at his door. Tanus did not bother to look up.

“Come in,” he said, almost annoyed that he had a caller this early in the day.

The door opened and in walked Tanus’ Assistant Squad Leader, Garryll Gates. He took a seat, without being asked, as was his custom. He was sipping at some coffee while Tanus looked up at him to see he was holding a folder under his arm. Before Tanus could say anything, Garryll opened with a quip.

“Isn’t it a little early to be drinking scotch, Tanus? For my sake, at least have some coffee.”

Tanus put up and a hand and smirked as he picked up his glass and stared at it, rotating it back and forth in his hands, watching the amber liquid swirl around in his glass.

“Too early? Bah. Considering my profession, I’m surprised I hadn’t started earlier. And it’s only 0800.”

Garryll laughed and they touched glasses in a mock toast and drained their respective drinks. As Tanus set his glass down and Garryll threw his cup out, Tanus came out with a question.

“So, is that folder for me, or did you just think it made you look cool?”

Garryll chuckled a little, popping a mint into his mouth and offering one to Tanus; Tanus accepted as Garryll laid the folder on the table.

“Admittedly, a little of both. It seems the entire sector has gone to hell in a hand basket. That folder is our next mission, and I’m not gonna lie, Tanus, it seems we’ll be put to use quite well.”

Tanus opened up the folder and read it over. He frowned a few times as he gave a look at photos and lists of cargo. When he put it down, he rubbed his temples and looked over at Garryll.

“So the brass wants us out again. And it has to be a bloody body guard mission?”

Garryll nodded. “Yeah, I know. But apparently that vessel, The Seraph is carrying materiel for a colony we established a while back and is being hounded by a group of pirates. All we know is the name of their ship, Blood Bather. Other than that, there is not much intel. The supply ship has been followed by these guys for a little over a day now, and I think that they are just waiting for a good time to make a run at them.”

Tanus nodded; it never failed that they were always sent out again right after a big mission.

“Alright, assemble the men. Get them in the ready room in twenty minutes or less so we can get the briefing over with.”

Both men got up and headed for the door and briefing room, ready for another mission that could possibly be do or die.



Tanus was finishing setting up the holoprojector when the rest of the squad began to settle in; many of the squad were new faces, and hopefully Tanus wouldn’t have to send them home in a casket. As they sat down, finishing their caf and food, Tanus shut down the lights and turned on the holoprojector.

“All right guys, I’m not doing anything fancy here today, so let us get down to the brass tacks. Two days ago, the Seraph, a Gallofree Yards cargo hauler, left Correlia carrying supplies for a colony we have established on Hydian Way. Yesterday, this vessel was being followed by a pirate vessel called the Blood Bather. We haven’t heard from the transport since, but I’m guessing that is because they escaped to hyperspace before it could confirm anything. As far as crew on the Cargo ship goes, there are some army personnel acting as guards, while the others are civilian technicians and pilots; the vessel has no armament to speak of, as is custom with those ships. I’m guessing the pirates won’t be so forgiving in their ships design, so I expect some serious firepower from them. Unfortunately, we know nothing about them other than that.”

There was a slight pause as Tanus changed to what the plan of attack was and what ship they would be using.

“The plan at hand is to provide escort services for the Gallofree by running interference with the Blood Bather. To do that, we’ll be on board a Longhorn-class escort cruiser called the [Savior[/i]. Once we disable the pirate’s cruiser, we’ll board it and wipe them out, take a few on board for interrogation, then blow the thing to oblivion. If anything else comes up, we’ll plan accordingly. Any questions?”

When Tanus saw no hands raised, He turned on the lights and powered down the holoprojector. He turned to the others in the room and pulled out his datapad and started typing some information before sending it to all of his men.

“What I’m sending you now is our new squad gear, complete with layout and weapon information. For this mission, we’re taking only our standard load out, so leave everything else at home kids. We leave in two hours gentlemen. Dismissed.”

OOC:

All right boys. New mission! It even still has that smell. Anyway, post something to do for two hours or so, then we'll board and move out. I'm not going to do the hyperspace thing, so when we board, that's it until we reach the location.

OOC:

Prior to breifing; approximately the same time as Garryll and Tanus meeting in the first post.

Floating.  Where?  Tank opened his eyes to a slight stinging pain and blurry, distorted visibility.  Not water.  Bacta.  His eyes tried to focus as he recalled the recent chaos that was visited upon the Empire.  The warehouse practically coming down on their heads as they fled the doomed structure.  Returning to Tadath only to fight terrorists and stealthy alien commandoes the likes of which no-one had ever seen before.

Shaking his mind clear of the image of Garryll getting wounded by one of the creatures, he looked around.  Those dark blurs must be medic droids.  I think...  A tapping on the transparisteel cylinder grabbed his attention.  Turning his head to the left he saw a twi'lek (Saph?) holding a datapad.  The next sound came from above; the bacta tank was opening.

Tank tried to swim but his movements were too sluggish, the limbs too stiff from days of inactivity.  He didn't have to wait long as mechanical arms lowered into the tube to gently haul him up.  Soon he was standing and Rex handed him a warm towel.  "Thanks pal."

The astromech chirped in acknowledgement, much relieved that his master was functional.

"Welcome back trooper!" Saphira said as she took Tank in a bearhug, surprising him.

"Ooph... glad to be back!  Is Garryll okay?  Did everbody make it?" Tank asked as Saph released him, toussling his damp hair as she did so.

"He's fine, Tank!  They all are.." she said with a hint of sadness that Tank could still detect, though she tried to hide it.  "Garryll has a slight scar he's more than a little proud of..."


"Saph, what's the matter?"

"New orders..." she said as she handed the datapad to him.

Quote:BlackJack - Assault Infantry
Equipment: 9x Katarn-class armor, 9x M-82G Assault Rifle, 9x DT-57 Heavy Blaster Pistol, 9, M32 Combat Knives, 1x BLR-06 Hadra MRL, 1x Tyrant LMG, 2x Stouker Concussion Rifle, 1x Sentinel Landing Craft
Roster:   
1 : Squad Leader : Gunnery Sergeant Tanus Solvona
    2 : Assistant SL : Gunnery Sergeant Garryll Gates
    3 : Trooper : Lance Corporal TX-47
    4 : Fire Team Captain : Gunnery Sergeant Orobos
    5 : Trooper : Private Rawr
    6 : Trooper : Corporal Pawn of Dragons
    7 : Trooper : Private BARman
    8 : Trooper : Corporal Verkur
    9 : Trooper : Private DampFrost
Mission Brief* 10:00 Hours.* 

"Wha..!?"

"Yeah, been reassigned.  I'll be taking a leave of absence for a couple of weeks.  But don't worry about me, Tank!  Good luck on the mission!  You take care of the new troopers and bring them home, okay?" she finished with a wan smile, her eyes pleading.

Tank swallowed the lump in his throat.  "Of course... you know I will."  Forcing a cocky, patently Corellian grin "Hey, this BlackJack we're talkin' about; what's the worst that could possibly happen?"

Saphira kissed him quickly and ran out of the medcenter before he could say anything.  His head spinning, he drew a breath, held it, and slowly let it out as his head cleared.  He didn't catch whatever Rex had warbled and looked back to the datapad.  Orders...



Tank was fuming.  Losing Saph was bad enough.  A limited weapons load-out was insult to injury.  At least we have the Stoukers.  But the Ebon Shyrack is faster and better shielded than a 'stock' Sentinel.  And we're to commit boarding actions!?  What the flammin' Force is HC thinking!?

Tank furiously busied himself checking and re-checking his kit.  Save it for the Pirates.  This situation isn't Tanus' fault or Garryll's.  Pirates'll make great punching bags....

OOC: Hey guys, I am gonna play it as if Al was on leave to work as a doctor on Coruscant. Lets just say they were in desperate need for doctors. Oh and don't be to harsh about the quality and quantity, I have to shake out the cobwebs . BTW I am practically shaking with happiness to be back.

IC: Alhzen was walking down the halls his face buried in his datapad he had just come back from leave due to the fact the his home world was running really low on medical support so they raided the Corps's stock of combat medics to work as doctors and such. But Al was relieved to be back on the front lines and back in his old squad.

He slid his datapad into his pocket and continued towards the armory as he turned the corner he noticed a large shape coming out of the armory. Alhzen cracked a grin as he recognized the back of Orobos. Nah, I will surprise him later with my arrival, so I guess I should go get my equipment and greet my squad mates he thought and walked into the armory.

He walked in and saw a line of soldiers standing beside each other but went straight to a set of armour and equipment at the end of the line and looked at it the armour looked a bit big but it could work and the equipment looked to pack a bit more of a punch than what he had used last time he was on a mission. Well since I checked all of that I better surprise a few people. he thought as he began to slip on the armour which actually fit quite well, not to tight but just enough room. He picked up the helmet and placed it under his arm and moved his bag full of medical gear next to the weapons. He decided to walk in the suit to get used to it , seeing he hasn't been in one for months.

Alhzen wondered how nobody had noticed him yet so he decided to make his presence known and walked over to a familiar shape messing around with his kit. "Well, long time no see Tank." he said as a grin spread across his face and he waited for his former squad mate and friend to turn around and greet him.

OOC: Sorry Garryll stealing the paint thing from ya.

After having a long conversation with Tank and talking to Garryll for a bit Alhzen stood up from where he was sitting and waved bye to Tank. "I will talk to you later when we get on the shuttle.” He said and walked away towards where he had put his equipment and medical bag. Alhzen glanced at the clock on the wall there was 20 minutes till they were supposed to be on the shuttle.

He sat down and looked at the M-82g in his locker and picked it up, it was heavier than an E-11 but at during his time as a doctor he had started to work out and had gotten considerably stronger waiting for his return to the army. He looked at it and shrugged, it didn’t really matter what he used as long as it could be used to fight back he was ok with it. He slung the weapon over his shoulder and picked up the DT-57 blaster pistol and sighed putting hit on the holster on his left hip and started to put ammo clips around his belt. Then he pulled out two combat knives and put one in his right hip holster and the other on his shoulder. He then reached in and grabbed two grenades and slid them into a pouch.

Now since all of the equipment for taking lives away were prepared he decided to fix up the ones for saving lives. He sighed and reached for the old rucksack and picked it up but then Alhzen noticed a sleek black pouch and pulled it out along side of it was a jar of crimson paint. He pulled that out to and a grin crept along his face and he began sorting his medical equipment from bandages to syringes into the black pouch. He then took a brush and dipped it into the paint and drew a blood red cross on the pouch and strapped it across his waist. He then drew and identical one on his chest and smiled and put the paint away.

Al then reached for his helmet and put it on with a few head maneuvers he noticed that it also fit well and walked over to a tall mirror and looked at himself. Even though you couldn’t see it through the helmet he was grinning ear to ear due to the joy of final being back in the gear and headed to the hangar. He wanted to check out the shuttle they were flying in. But first making a double check over his equipment making sure everything was there and then he headed out the door towards the hangar with 15 minutes remaining before the mission began.

OOC: No problem Rixit, Oh and by the way most of this is filler because I am quite bored. J

IC: Alhzen had to look up to make eye contact with the tall Ithorian being a tall person himself he wasn't really used to it. But a smirk crossed his face when he heard the word "Blackjack".

"Ah I see we have a new addition to our wonderful squad, I am Lance Corporal Alhzen the squad's medic." he said and smiled. "Well you might want to hurry and get down to the armory to get your equipment because the mission kicks off in about 15 minutes." he said and pointed towards the direction he had just came from "The armory is right over there and since you probably missed the briefing take my datapad, it has the information you need. Just make sure you return it." he said and tossed the small electronic device towards the Ithorian not waiting to get his name.

Alhzen looked at a nearby clock on a wall and quickened his pace there were only 13 minutes until the mission was supposed to start. He sighed and turned another corner and saw a pair of very large doors beside each other. He then walked over towards a small concessions stand besides the door and bought himself a few “Hyperspeed Energy Bars” incase he got hungry during the mission and placed them inside of his medic’s pouch.

He turned around and headed towards the doors above them there was a sign that said “Hangar” and walked in between the doors as they opened. He looked around the large wide open space which was dotted with a few storm troopers around large ships and the occasional fighter pilot with a small vessel.

Now if I remember correctly the ship is called “The Savior” he thought to himself and walked towards the escort cruisers. He walked by some of the ships and read the names to himself until he reached “The Savior” the pilot was standing outside of the ship leaning against it.

Alhzen waved as he walked by him and went into the ship finding a nearby row of seats and sat down in one and took his helmet off. He then reached into the pouch at his waist and pulled out an energy bar and slowly ate it. He then checked the time, there was 8 minutes till everyone else was supposed to be here so he adjusted himself in the seat making it so his weapons didn’t feel awkward on his back. He then pulled out a deck of cards and began shuffling them and waited for the rest of his squad to arrive.

Tanus went back to his apartment for an hour or so, just to clear his head for the mission. It seemed ages since the last mission before the infiltration by Jak and Noghri; Tanus just hoped that it wouldn’t be a bloody mess like everything else seemed to become. He looked over the loadout of gear that Blackjack had received after Jak’s attempted infiltration scheme. Luckily for Tanus, he was familiar with all of it, and had used similar kit when he was an ARC, which too seemed to be ages ago. He went to his small armory and grabbed all the standard load out he needed; he had about two hours to kill before it was time to move out.

He walked into a large room and flicked a switch on the wall, bathing the room in fluorescent light. He went over to the wall and grabbed an M82-G off the wall along with some clips and three C-16 frag grenades; he decided that he should bring some along for the mission as well. He put a few aside as he moved over to grab an M32 combat knife and sheath, placing it at his belt. Eventually he came to a wall lined with pistols and grabbed his DT-57, a gun that had saved his life more times than he could count. Finally, he grabbed a hover cart and started loading the Katarn armor from an armor mount on the wall, next to his other various suits of armor. From what he had read of the armor, it could take a beating thanks to improved armor plating and a small personal shield generator, which was the main reason he chose it for Blackjack. The backpack could hold a whole mess of things, and Tanus intended to make use of it any way he could, probably with rations, medical supplies and ammo.

He loaded all of his kit on the hover cart and made his way out the door, shutting the lights off and the door behind him. He made his way out of the apartment and down the hall to the training rooms and shooting gallery. It took him a few minutes to get there, seeing as he had to maneuver a large cart full of ammo and armor down a narrow hallway around tight corners and other people. He passed by a few troopers he had worked with in the past, saying hi but not making any small talk; he didn’t have the time or patience for banter at this point. He eventually made it to the gallery, having a few close calls along the way with walls and droids. He grabbed the armor and its undersuit and made his ways for the changing room, putting on the undersuit, then the 18 pieces of armor plating. When they were all on, inclusive of the backpack, it felt a tad weighted for him; Tanus considered that to be a good thing, seeing as more weight often meant more protection. He moved about in the suit for a bit, stretching out and working the armor in. In truth, Tanus had never really used the armor all too much. Despite that, it was very similar to the Kelebore armor system that ARCs used, and had many of the same features of the same suit of armor. Although the bulk looked disconcerting, Tanus felt he had even more freedom to move in it better than the standard STC armor. However, he realized that even if he couldn’t, the suit could take punishment beyond most of the armor the Corps had, so he would be happy to trade some mobility for more protection.

He made his way out, helmet under his arm and weapons in the various slots on his armor, his rifle slung over his shoulder and some spare clips in a bandolier around his waist. He walked up to the old gallery master, Dorne Fayburn. The old man barely even looked up when Tanus started writing his name down on a clipboard; he just continued with paperwork of his own. Seven hells, now I know why I hate paperwork. Tanus smirked a little as he walked by Dorne.

“Catching up on some light reading Dorne? Or have you finally gone senile enough for crossword puzzles?”

Dorne finally looked up, a cross between a scowl and smirk on his face. He set down his clipboard and took a sip of something strong, something Tanus could smell from where he was standing 3 meters away; he could only guess it was liquor. As he set down the cup he picked his clipboard back up and snorted back laughter.

“I may be going senile boy, but at least I’m not the crazy man in the white can.”

Tanus could only laugh; he had a point. At least when he was in ARC, the can was black.

“Touché. Well, you can guess why I’m here. Are any of the training room still open, or have some newbies filled in and taken them all?”

Dorne turned around looked at a computer readout showing the status of each firing range and shooting gallery in the massive room. From the readout, there were a few left down the hall.

“Aye, there be a few down the hall on the left. Room A23H. What do you think you’ll be tackling today?”

Tanus shrugged.

“We’ll see.”

Tanus walked into the room and the lights blazed to life. The room was a large grid with two large doors in the south wall: one was for infantry type units that fired either live or stun rounds, and the second larger one was for light armor. Tanus was going to do both today. The infantry units were battle droids and no more, and Tanus figured he could outwit enough of them before he got into any trouble. He switched the training to live fire and set a thirty second delay so he could get cover and load his weapon and make sure his kit was in order; there was a five minute delay for light armor to test the grenade launcher. He put his bucket on and hunched down behind a durasteel barricade, waiting for his targets to fire out. Thirty seconds later, like clockwork, the battle droids filed out. They were realistic human model combat droids, similar to a B-1, but a little bit bulkier and carried E11s. They started to fire on Tanus, taking cover around the various blocks of durasteel around the room. Tanus slid over and looked to the side. Blaster fire was flying at him from the south, but luckily the droids’ aim was terrible. He got up and looked down sight, firing in bursts of three, taking down droids as the arcetron-tipped rounds ripped into their torsos with a metallic pang. Tanus pulled out his DT-57 and fired on a pair of droids trying to come in from the left; the blaster bolts ripped the bodies apart at a distance of less than 20 meters.

Finally, things starts to pick up after a few waves of droids had milled about through the room: Tanus was surrounded by spent ammo clips, and the room was covered in broken droids. Eventually the AI picked up and Tanus was starting to break a sweat; the droids now operated like some well trained military unit, offering covering fire and flanking him whenever they could. Luckily for Tanus, the Katarn armor could take a beating and had a surprise in store that he loved to employ: the knuckle plate blade. He had used it several times on previous waves of droids, but now with the improving AI, Tanus felt like he was scoring a real kill. Of course, metal and oil was not even close to flesh and blood or the scream of a dying man; it made Tanus shiver in his armor to think about it. A droid leapt over the barricade he was hiding behind, which broke Tanus from his thoughts. It tried to smash him with the butt of its rifle, but Tanus rolled out of the way and opened fire, ripping it apart with machine gun fire. As soon as it went down, the larger bay opened, and an X10 ground cruiser came hovering out. Tanus broke off his fight with the droids as the X10 started to open fire. Tanus ran behind a wall, firing on the droids with his blaster as he loaded a grenade into the launcher on the bottom of his M82-G. He popped his head just enough to see the droids making their way closer to him. Tanus swore as the X10 tore into the ground around him, its rounds erupting the ground in a storm of metal plating; Tanus was now starting to regret his decision. He turned out into the open, firing some rounds from his rifle to keep the droids at bay while he lined up the shot and fire arc of the grenade. When it was in sight, he hit the button. The grenade flew out of the barrel and hit the X10 broadside, sending up a shower of smoke and debris. Tanus loaded another grenade and took aim as the droids were falling back. He pumped off the second and final grenade into its vulnerable parts, taking down the X10 in a heaping fireball. Tanus ran over to the computer and hit the kill switch. The droids powered down and he took off his helmet, wiping sweat from his brow with the back of his gauntlet.

He walked out of the training room, bucket off. As he passed Dorne, the old man just chuckled. Tanus smiled back.

“Tell the sanitation crews they have one hell of a mess to clean up.”

He went back to the changing room, removed his armor and showered. He put the armor back in the cart along with his weapons and took it back to his apartment, laying everything out back where it was. When he was done, he lay down on his couch and fell fast asleep. An hour and half later, he woke up and made his way for the squad armory, grabbing the kit he needed before heading to the hangar.


Tanus walked into the hangar, with a duffel bag filled with weapons and ammo; the DT-57 and M32 were at his hip in a quick draw holster and sheath that he could use on the Katarn armor. As he made his way onto the Blackjack squad Sentinel, he spied Alhzen and the new trooper Rixit chatting near the boarding ramp. He approached them and smiled.

“Morning boys. How goes the day thus far?”

Alhzen nodded and waved and was about to say something when Rixit sent up a very rigid salute and started to sound off; the boys in the Academy had taught him well. Tanus raised up a gloved hand to stop him.

“You can relax, Rixit. I’m not one for fancy introductions or any of that. If you’re going to do that, save it for the officers, but as for me and Garryll, just be colloquial.”

When he finished that, he turned to Alhzen and started asking him where he’d been and what he’d been up to for all the time he’d been gone. As the conversation wore on, Tanus spotted deck hands loading gear into the shuttle, mostly ammo and the nine suits of Katarn armor. Alhzen eventually broke off from his past medical story and asked him what he’d been up to. Tanus’ reply was typical of a soldier:

“Not a whole hell of a lot. Just people shooting at me.”

They shared a laugh and Tanus told them about Jak and the Noghri, along with some of the other missions they had been on over the past few months. As his story drew to a close, the other Blackjack members were starting to board the shuttle. Tanus gestured for Alhzen and Rixit to follow him. When they got on the shuttle, Tanus took a seat up front near Garryll and started talking to him about what he spent his three hours doing; he wasn’t surprised when he told him that he had started a workout in his full armor. When everyone was seated, the shuttle ramp closed and the Sentinel made for the Savior.


The Savior was a lot larger in person than Tanus had given it credit for. The Longhorn-class escort frigate was one of the latest creations from Imperial Center and one of the few Tanus thought was moderately pleasing to look at. The ship was in orbit around Tadath, various fighters and small cargo ships flying all around it; the scene reminded him of flies going over a carcass. When the shuttle eventually landed in the Longhorn’s small docking bay, Blackjack squad got up and followed Tanus outside to be greeted by the ship’s captain. The captain was not a big man; Tanus easily towered over him, meaning he couldn’t have been taller than 1.75 meters. He wore a pristine captain’s uniform with several adornments on it; Tanus guessed he was one of the long string of brown-nosers in the navy. He gave Tanus a crisp salute, which Tanus returned.

“Captain Tyrion Carko at your service, captain of the Vast Empire cruiser Savior. I take it that you are Tanus Solvona of Blackjack squad?”

Tanus nodded.

“Aye, I am sir. It is a pleasure to be aboard. Now if it pleases you, I’d like to get my men settled and my gear loaded off for the mission.”

The captain nodded. “Of course, of course. Whatever you need, I am here to help. We leave in two standard hours gentlemen.”

On that note, the captain turned on his heel and strode off, hands clasped behind his back followed by a throng of attendants. When he was gone, Tanus turned to his squad and smiled at all of them.

“Boys, its show time. This is our base of operations. Since you know the mission profile, I won’t be having another meeting on the ship. Just be prepared for when we get out of hyperspace. We should reach the destination in about four hours. Beyond that, I suggest you check out the ship and the galley and such and get in a solid meal before we get out of hyperspace. Other than that, I think I’m done. Blackjacks, dismissed.”

With that, the Blackjacks dispersed to their room, which were nowhere near each other on any flight deck. Tanus found his room close to the comm. Center, which he was thankful for, just in case he need to radio back. Within two hours, the Savior was pulling away from Tadath’s orbit. Tanus went up to the command deck where the captain was issuing orders to his men; he hadn’t even seen him come in. And then Tanus saw the comforting glow of the stars stretching out, and then everything else just blurred on by.

OOC: Don’t worry Garryll I will even though my post won't be as big as your's and Tanus's monsters.

IC: Alhzen slid behind a small pile of rocks keeping his head low, his blood was pumping and adrenaline filled his body. He had already been excited while on The Savior because he didn’t really like to fly on ships or anything for that matter and when they were taking shots and firing back at the two pirate ships he felt like he would be sick. But he was glad that they were on solid ground again, despite the fact that lasers were zipping past heads and there was an enemy sniper who could kill with only half a second of a body part showing.

Alhzen decided to make killing the sniper his top priority, he took off his helmet and unclipped the knife on his shoulder so he could support the helmet as he lifted it up over the rocks. Then he took out his other knife and placed it so he could see where the shot was coming from.

He decided to count slowly 3…2…1! Then he thrusted his helmet over the rock pile and watched on the knife as the beam zoomed by and nicked a spot beside his left eye. Alhzen slipped his helmet back on quickly it still being hot from the blast but he ignored the head. The sniper was on a large rock pile at the top of a large rock in front and to the left of him about 30 yards away. Alhzen reached for a grenade from his pouch and looked to his sides.

He noticed the person closest to him was about 10 yards away his old friend Tank, “Tank I need you to shoot at the sniper to take his attention off of me!” he shouted and Tank nodded and unleashed a storm of laser blasts towards the sniper who ducked for cover and began shooting at Tank. Alhzen slapped his grenade and heard a slow beep and threw it to the top of the rock pile and heard a constant beep then when it hit rock at the top a large explosion burst out and then Alhzen saw something fly up in the air and land with a thud a little bit away from him, it was the sniper rifle with the sniper’s hand still grasping it.

Alhzen shook his head “After working in a hospital, I have seen worse…” he said quietly and turned towards the group of pirates some of which were behind cover and the others were just barely concealing themselves. And one made a made rush towards the spot just to the left of him and with everyone concentrating on the other pirates Al reached for his M82-G but the shook his head and waited for the pirate to get closer.

The pirate came past the rock pile and took a swing at Alhzen with a large club. He noticed that the pirate was a Twi’lek due to the lekkus and strange skin color. He smacked the club out of the Twi’leks hand using him left hand and punched its face. Then he kneed it in the ribs and went for another swing to the face and heard a small “click” and felt the Twi’leks body went limp. Then Alhzen pulled his hand out and saw the knuckle blade as it retracted. “Woah, didn’t know about that…” he said to himself and grabbed his M82-G and began firing at the pirates. Glad that no one on his side had gotten shot yet and that the he took down the sniper before he could do any damage.

The stormtroopers readied their weapons. The pirates were kneeling at the water, quickly grabbing a quick drink as they frantically looked back the way they came.

One was particularly nervous; his hands were shaking like crazy and he almost dropped his rifle, and whimpering. Another, taller, thicker, and with an eyepatch and a thick beard, stomped over and whacked him.

"Ow, what?" said nervous pirate.

"Shut up!"

"I c-can't, d-did you see what they d-d-did to McGreenson? His b-b-brains were s-splattered everywhere!"

"Shut up!"

"And now we're playing bait!"

"Shut up!"

"I don't t-t-trust-t Smith, he c-c-can't shoot for shit-t-t. And neither can Dennis. Why are they on the ambush t-team?"

Once Gates heard that, he looked around with his scope. There- a pair of men, crouched with long-barreled rifles, not quite snipers. Hunters.

"Chief, the ambushers are there, and there. Not very good at hiding, eh?"

"No. Here's the plan; Orobos, Rixit, take out the snipers; there and there. The rest of us will fire on the main group. And try to take the boss and the nervous ones alive."

Orobos and Rixit shifted position slightly, then placed eyes closer and more comfortably on the scopes.

Garryll slung his M-82G onto his back, then scurried back to a larger rock; he went from prone to kneeling, and set the bi-pod up for the M1-LMG. He checked his ammo- armor piercing for the M-82G. He switched to hollow points for his 'Tyrant'. Ridiculously overpowered for infantry.

The ASL flashed a ready signal. The rest of the squad was ready as well. Tanus flashed the fire command, and all the stormtroopers fired.

Garryll's light machine gun boomed, drowning out the lighter arms everyone else was carrying.

Then pirates started to fall. First, the two snipers dropped dead, struck in the shoulder and forehead by Orobos, the chest three times and the neck by Rixit.

Gates' weapon boomed and spat dozens of rounds per second, basically ripping apart a pair of pirates into messy, bloody heaps.

The last half-dozen pirates dodged behind cover. The shootout began in earnest.

Orobos slipped another clip into his weapon. The gun was surprisingly accurate, strong and the clip size was larger then that of the E-11. Overall it was a much more effective weapon.

The armour felt strange. The weight and balance of it was similar to the normal set of white armour though in some places were any of the electronics were set in some way which allowed a strange way of moving about in the amour.

The Pirates weaponry varied widely from small pistols and short range shotguns to heavy machine guns and assault rifles. The flurry of scattered untrained fire coming from below would be devastating had Blackjack squad been down in the valley alongside them though the stormtroopers held the higher ground.

Working there way along the ridge moving a couple of meters down the squad managed to get a clear shot at the enemy. The boulders they had been originally hiding behind now provided them with no cover and there was frantic scrambling to seek refuge among some cluster of rock further down the alley.

As the pirates ran three of their number were cut down the lasers tearing into them forcing them face down in the stream or lying on the red, dusty, cracked earth. The rest of the band of pirates managed to make it to a rocky outcrop up against the opposite wall of the canyon they were in. Blackjack still had the higher ground but their enemy this time was in heavy cover and weren't going to budge.

The squad attempted to flank them again but they couldn't get an angle as they had last time for a clear shot at the marauders. As the squad fired into the gaps and breaks they could see through a whistling noise filled the air. A great whooshing fireball came out of the sky near the canyon. This was followed by three more. As the flames were blown away they could clearly see the Imperial Crest painted on the side of two of the shuttles. The other two seemed to be trying to escape. As the squad watched the friendly ships touched down two or three kilometers further up on the ridge of the canyon. One of the enemy shuttle showing great skill from the driver managed to swerve at high speeds and came in low to land in the canyon. The second enemy shuttle came to land on the opposite ridge to the friendly imperial forces.

"Alright let's finish this and get down to those marines," Tanus said,"Grenades out!"

Each of the stormtroopers produced a grenade and raised it over their shoulders. Tanus gave the order and they all threw the grenades down the canyon. One or two bounced of the opposite cliff face and came landing into the cover of their enemy. All the others came down bouncing of rocks ad rolling into the breaks and cracks. Several explosions and screams later Blackjack was satisfied.

"Any movement?"

"Can't see anything, sir,"

"Good lets move out!"

The squad moved quickly towards the dust-clouds raising high into the sky, blew up by the shuttles heavy, powerful engines. They were getting closer when they saw the sign of combat. Enemy fire was coming across from the other side of the valley around the area in which the other enemy shuttle had landed.

The Marines seemed to have the enemy out-numbered and out-classed yet the pirates and rouges put up a strong defence. The squad moved quickly in range of the fight and took up positions to support their allies. Two marines raised their weapons as the squad advance. Upon seeing that it was stormtroopers coming to aid them they quickly turned and returned to the fighting.

The man Tank was dragging along by the scruff of his shirt, which was underneath the mans armour, moaned. He started resisting his captors making feeble attempts to pull from the powerful grip of th stormtrooper pulling him through the dirt. When the pirate seemed to collect himself slightly he reached into his belt and produced a knife.

The rouge waved it as threateningly as he could at the rest of the squad in the position he was in. It was easily kicked from his hand. The blade glinted as it jumped and skittered across the red soil and fell into the canyon below.

Orobos raised his rifle taking up a firing position behind one of the few large stones which lined the edge of the valley as well as the long reedy grass which blew in a wind which had picked up in the last half-hour.

"The marines say we'll take care of of this enemy group across the canyon and then move on to find the other group which they say touched down in the valley," Gates said returning from a quick conference with the marine commander.

"It will take too long. The other group will be as far from here as possible by then and I'm sure it won't take too long for them to put a few miles between us and them. We'll move ahead and take the other group. They can follow," Tanus said,

Garryll ran of to deliver the message back to the marine commander ducking and swerving. The squad waited firing across at the pirates who were refusing to move from their cover. They only need to stay there. The only way across was using the shuttle. and by the time they'd loaded up into the ships flew over and landed the enemy would be on the move with a decent head start before anyone would have dis-mounted.

"Alright let's move!"

The squad moved as one entity, diving and rolling into cover following up by taking firing positions. They fired in the direction of giant iron-clad machine. It didn't look like a tank but Orobos cou;dn't think of any description that would feet the lumbering machine billowing out smoke bearing down on them.

"We have a man down!"

"I think we've all noticed!"

Orobos ran with Tank and a marine out to were Garryll was lying. Grabbing him under his arm, the marine called June followed suit and grabbed Gates other arm. Tank provided what cover you could against a tank. Firing at the beast which now lurched forward towards them. A second blast from the tanks main gun blew a large chunk from the cover the rest of the troopers were behind. A man climbed out of a hatch on top of the turret and grabbed hold of a heavy blaster bolted to the tank. He brought it round to face the retreating stormtroopers dragging their injured comrade.

"Shit shit shit shit!"

At that moment Garryll decided to regain consciousness which surprised Orobos so much he almost dropped the man. He'd been hit nearly full on by the blast and was awake only a minutes after been thrown like a rag doll.

"What.... what's going on?" Gates mumbled,

The turf around them at that moment jumped high into the air nearly blinding the team as the pirate manning the heavy blaster opened fire. They managed to stumble back the last few steps to cover. The marine gasped and drop to his knees. His left arm was bleeding badly. One of the shots had impacted on Orobos' leg but it was stopped by the armour. Alzhen, crouching, moved over to the wounded stormtrooper and pulled out a medical kit.

"There's you problem," the stormtrooper said pointing at the wound immediately pulling out a small dis-infectant spray, "I'd like you to refrain from screaming too loudly," he said and then sprayed Gates wound. The ASL grunted, screaming through clenched teeth.

"Your better off not doing that, it will only make the whole process more painful," Alzhen added conversationally pulling out some bacta.

"You all right Tank?" Orobos asked turning to the smaller trooper who gave a thumbs up.

The third tank blaster interrupted the flow of business withing the squad for a moment.

"Smith do you mind?"

"Thought you'd never ask," the man said grinning and raising the missile launcher up resting it on his shoulder.

Tanus leapt off the remnants of the tank, clearing through smoke as he settled on the ground, using the tank’s armor as cover. He spun around the tank just as Garryll was being helped back to his feet; he sighed in relief. I am NOT going through a new ASL. Not today. He went over and looked up at the ridge; the pirates were running positions back and forth, presumably ammo and fire orders. These guys are surprisingly well trained for pirates. They have to be deserters or something. I haven’t actually worried like this for a while. Tanus looked back at the three marines that were tagging along; Tanus viewed it as babysitting. All three of them were green, and figured that this trip would just be another quick drop-off, some food, payment, and then a trip home. Tanus did not want to be in their shoes; he had been a green boy already, and did not want to repeat that. Garryll got up and ran over to Tanus, carrying the Tyrant and belts of ammo draped over his shoulders in bandoliers.

“Where do you want me to set up shop boss? My trigger finger is itchy.”

Tanus looked around at the scene: the pirates had the upper ridge, holding the north-east side and dead middle, cutting flanking positions from the right. However, their left was left wide open, and unless they had people waiting, they were sitting ducks. Tanus started formulating a plan just as a sniper round whizzed past his head. He crouched down and looked down scope and fired, dropping the sniper, watching his body fall into the rocks below. Tanus looked back at Garryll, who was visibly shaking in anticipation; there was something wrong with that boy.

“All right, here’s the plan. Garryll, their left side looks wide open. Even if it isn’t, the LMG and some support for you should more than take care of it. I want you to take Rixit, Slag and June up the left and flank them. When we’re done there, we’ll move over the ridge and down into the canyon. The others will stay here to disrupt them and take out as many as we can. Move out.”

Garryll gave a curt nod and grabbed his fellow troopers and started running up the side of the ridge. Tanus looked up at the pirates, who seemed completely oblivious to what was about to happen to them. Tanus raised his rifle and loaded a grenade in the underside launcher. He looked over at Tank and Orobos, both of them with a Stouker lying next to them. Tanus looked down sight and popped the grenade off, watching a shower of debris, rocks and shouts leapt into the air. He yelled at the others:

“Covering fire! Orobos and Tank, concentrate on knocking out the walls with the Stoukers! Doe and Smith, save the rockets and pick off the ones that stand up! Everyone else, alternate between grenade and bullet salvos! I want two men to every position, offering support for Tank and Orobos! Move it out people!”

The squad moved like clockwork, fanning out as Orobos and Tank picked up the Stoukers and fell into position, blowing the walls into mere shells of what they once were. Tanus was next to Alh, laying in bullet rounds and switching to grenades when he saw a new opening to drive them into the open. Doe and Smith were far to the right, putting a solid wall of laser fire; even if the boys were green, they were good soldiers. Finally, Jelly was in-between Orobos and Tank, covering them both while they loaded in new charge cells to the Stoukers. Soon, Tanus heard the distinct popping of heavy machine gun fire. Tanus looked up to see blaster bolts, machine gun rounds and grenades pelting the pirates as they were ripped apart; some of the lucky ones died before they even knew what hit them. When it was all done, Tanus ran along the left ridge, and he could swear that he heard Garryll laughing himself silly.

Aye, definitely something wrong with that boy.

Orobos jumped up sending half his soup flying over in the direction of Alzhen who manged to dodge the ooze and grab his rifle at the same time. Orobos picked up his rifle ramming his helmet on with his free hand.

"Wake up you bastards! The enemy is coming!"he heard Gates shouting followed by thuds as the man went around kicking the sleeping marines.

Orobos grabbed two of them getting slowly from their blankets and propped them up on their feet. Then moving on he gave some encouragement to others around who were up, mainly shouting in a way a sergeant is expected to and a few well aimed kicks. Generally he wasn't the sort to bully around privates and otehr soldiers but marines were supposed to be elite soldiers like stormtroopers....... like.

Orobos reached the reached a small entrance slope down into the valley from which the flare had come from. The flare was still fizzing above the imperial camp. One of the marines had the sense to respond shooting a flare up into the air. The crackling fire-work floated down illuminating the pirates below crouched around a rocky outcrop. There must've been nearly two dozen or so of them. Where had they all come from.

A marine beside Orobos trained flare gun above his head. Orobos reached over and plucked it from his hands. The marine looked angry but picked up his rifle and continued forward towards the pirates. The firefight had started once everyone was in range. Orobos trained the flare gun straight ahead of him.

"Your not supposed to fire it tha-!" a marine sergeant shouted before being cut of as the flare whizzed pass him and towards the pirates spiralling around in circles.

The flare hit the dirt in front of the rocks and stones where the pirates were hiding and ignited a brilliant white. Some of the pirates drew back blinded by the close proximity of the blinding light. The Marines and stormtroopers seized this moment to gain some ground across the uneven floor of the valley.

Orobos ran down to join the men up towards the front raising his rifle and firing from the hip as he jumped across some of the barriers. Several rounds smacked across his chest his shield failing for a second he was knocked off his feet. His armour was left scorched but nothing more. A Little reassuring bloop from his armour reassured him that his protection was back and working. Raising his rifle Orobos continued, more carefully, to a better firing position passing a few marines along the way.

The whole squad was already up at the front darting between the boulders left and right firing and lobbing grenades back and forward. A missile soared through the air sending shards of stone flying up in the air.

"How are we doing?"

"Not bad, there's a lot of 'em now and they're organised,"

"Can see that. all in a days work huh?"

Gates looked down at a pirate officer with half his head beat in, leaking clear brain fluid and thin blood.

"Holy shit, whoops," Gates muttered, waving Alh over. "You're the real medic here. What happens if I stick to many stims into someone?"

"Well, they'd go into a slightly raised state of speed, reflexes and strength, and then feel like crap. Why?"

"Ummm, because I stuck Tank with about 13 of 'em."

"Crap! If we don't get that out of his system, he is going to up and up and up...and then crash and die."

Gates cursed, firing his M-82G, his Tyrant still in the tent with the dozens of other heavier weapons. His green-glowing night vision lit up tracer rounds and laser blasts between the two groups, a full-on battle of about a dozen marines and Blackjack squad against maybe three dozen pirates in heavy armor. Screams and cries came from the field of battle, and weapons chattered noisily, spitting violent hot death at their wielders.

"Okay, Alh, here's the honest-to-god plan. I'll get him over here one way or another. You get that needle ready to stick him with, got it?!" Gates yelled to the squad medic, firing off a grenade at a pirate position. A man screamed in pain. Gates slid the grenade launcher forward, dumping the spent shell onto the ground and sliding in a new one.

Gates stood, staring after the trooper, who was now in the process of tearing through a set of heavy kevlar with only his gauntlets and brute strength. "Tank! Stand down, soldier!"

The usually rather mild vehicle-specialist continued ripping through the pirate forces, firing his Stouker one-handed and holding the now-dead kevlar-covered pirate in front of him as a human shield.

"Dammit!" Gates cursed, as he chased the soldier, legs pumping. "Alh, on me!"

On the run, he threw the M-82G back around onto his back, and then in a running, dashing tackle, crashed into his friend and squadmate.

They pitched over, narrowly avoiding a flurry of fire from the pirates. Colored lights danced across Gates' vision, blinding him. He hammered on the lance's T-visor. "Tank, dammit! Alh's got to stick you with a needle or you're going to die!"

Tank's fist smashed into his chest plate, sending him off and onto the ground, before turning and continuing to massacre the hapless pirates.

Alh and Orobos ran over to where Gates was lying, apparently peacefully.

"Damn, no wonder I love war so much. I try to help and it kicks me up."

OOC:

500

*Right after Tanus' post* {just for agreement}

A panicked yell came across the comms. It was followed by a scream and a blaster shot. Senior Sergeant Cant was calmly ordering. "Raiders at the south trenches! Squad 2, turn and engage!"

Tanus cursed. "Oh sarge, you should watch your language. That one would make a Hutt shrivel up and die," Gates laughed, knowing his own cuss-happy mouth had gotten him in trouble with command once or twice.

Tank mumbled something incoherent. Tanus cursed again. Gates turned towards the enemy on their side and fired off a long burst with his M-82G. He hit the side trigger; the clip fell out, and he clipped one in quickly, the comforting weight of the weapon accompanied by a click and the racking of the slide back.

"Chief, I'll take half and go help the marines in the south trench. You finish these bloody pirates here and we might leave some party favors for you," Gates said.

Tanus nodded. "Go, do it."

Gates spun and Orobos, and Alh turned to run to the south barricades, Orobos carrying the slumped form of Tank More screams came through the comm; a panicky voice of a marine was yelling, "Tanks! They've got tanks!"

"Crap, Orobos, you take Alh and go back up the marines drop off Tank in the infirmary. I'll go grab some RPGs, rocket launchers, whatever."

The senior of the three troopers tipped a salute, then continued to run. Gates ran through the mostly-deserted camp, finally finding the armory; he scanned it open with his gauntlet tally; it opened quickly and smoothly.

Inside there were dozens of weapons and ammunitions. He pulled his backpack from his back and stuck a pair of RPGs and a rocket launcher into it, accompanied by plenty of ammo. He also grabbed a few anti-tank mines and grenades, as well as some satchel charges.

Heavily-laden, he continued at a run towards the south trenches, where a vicious battle was going on; ugly, short, fat tanks were pouring heavy laser fire and cannon fire into the marine positions; the marines had nothing to respond but with small arms. Crimson light lit up the battlefield, revealing in split-second glimpses where soldiers were, who they were shooting, and what. Screams of injured and tank shells whistled through the air, and dirt and dust were kicked up in plumes at shell impacts. Gun smoke was the common smell and their was a metallic tang to the air of burning metal and flesh.

Gates dove into a foxhole where a one-time marine, now corpse, had made his stand. He removed one of the RPGs from his pack, loaded it, and aimed it at one of the five-odd ugly vehicles, and fired. The entire gun kicked back, but the rocket-grenade flew true, splashing into the front armor of the tank and slagging the gun. He quickly scrambled out of the foxhole to find his squadmates.