Ibram eyed the Commodore as he left the briefing, leaving the members of the newly formed Reaper unit to occupy themselves until planet fall. He wasn’t sure if he liked their new CO, although to be fair he hadn’t even had a chance to get used to the old CO. Things moved too quickly in the higher echelons of command for Ibram’s liking.

Standing up slowly, he stretched in the air and turned to face the rest of the unit. Gshlecc already had his datapad out and was trolling through the briefing files for their mission. Bacredi was one row back, and had his feat up on the seat in front of him. Judging by the subtle glances he kept giving his commanding officer, Ibram could tell he was fighting back an urge to follow suit.
Jolinar had been on the same row as Ibram, and was lost in thought as she fidgeted with one of her lekku. Nobody talked.

“Wouldn’t it just be easier to just kill this president guy” Bacredi finally asked.

“We’re not the Empire, we don’t beat people into submission,” Gshlecc commented.

“But we do take lives when it’s necessary,” retorted Bacredi. “I’d say this is pretty necessary.”

“We’ve already overthrown one regime,” Ibram commented.

“I doubt the local officials will be happy with us if we interfered again. With a kidnapping it will be made to look like the Hill Clans were behind it. Killing without first kidnapping isn’t their style anyway.”

Bacredi shrugged as if to suggest the point was moot.

Ibram pulled out his own datapad and started reading the attached files.

“We’ve only got four hours, that’s plenty of time for a warm up and to get our gear together, not enough time for much else though. We should probably sketch down some plans.”

Gshlecc nodded as he looked up from his reading.

“Unfortunately,” he said. “We won’t know any details until we make contact with the insider at the cantina.”

“Well, we do know that we’re travelling light,” said Ibram as he read the target profile. “Which means we can only take what we can carry, so long as it fits in a small standard issue duffel bag.”

“Sorry Zhar, no porn for you.”

“Shut up sir.”

“These Gado guys should have plenty of gear though; we’ll see what we can procure from them. I think we should each pack a stun gun, or some other form of tranquilisers, and some small hover clamps, so we can carry the target easier.”

“Good thinking,” Gshlecc turned to face his junior. “You better bring that compact sniper they gave you, someone ought to act as the cover man. Whilst we high-tail it.”

Bacredi smiled at the thought of getting to use his new favourite toy.

“I can bring some basic explosive gear too, to set some traps. Although I hope that the Tribes have most of what I need.”

“We may need a diversion as well. Good thinking Batman.”

“Batman?”

“Pop culture reference, don’t worry about it.”

Ibram gave a Gshlecc an odd look.

“What about the waterways? Can we use them?”

The Nazgul commander rubbed his chin.

“Might do, It depends if any of them come out where we need to go though. Might help get us into the City, but nothing more.”

“Leave that to me.,” Jolinar said.

The three men looked over towards the Twi’lekk, who had not spoken up till now.

“I’ll find us an escape route using the waterways, don’t worry.”

Ibram nodded, “Ok then, this is a good start. I say we call it lunch and re-convene in the hanger.”

“Lunch?,” Bacredi shot him a frown. “How  can you think of eating at a time like this? The Commodore said no meals before touch down.”

“It’s a figure of speech you moron. Besides, what’s Claw going to do? It’s not like there’s a line of people wanting to do his dirty work...”

“I suppose...what kind of name is Claw anyway?”

Jolinar shot them a smirk as she walked by.

“Did you not see his fingernails?”
-------------------------------------------------------------------
T minus 30 minutes till insertion

Ibram sat on a crate in the hanger, fidgeting with his bayonet as he waited for the others to arrive. He could feel his bowels moving as the clock ticked down towards the green light. It had always been like this. Whenever something important was about to happen, he always need the loo. It had driven Marisa up the wall.

In a way, he was quietly relieved that his first mission wasn’t an assassination. Although he had no qualms killing people who were trying to kill him, of which he had no doubts there would be many once they had nabbed the head of state, but there something oddly unsettling about assassinations.

They were so, calculated. Cold. Un-merciful.

During a straight up dogfight you could chose how to incapacitate your opponent. And even if you went for the kill shot, there was a chance you would miss anyway. Not with contract kills thought. There was no negotiating, no choice, and no escape. Your target had to die, and that was that.

Ibram didn’t know if he was ready for that yet. Whether he could really live with himself if he was.

I guess we’ll have to see, he thought.

He opened up his duffel bag, and went through the contents one last time. He hadn’t packed as much stuff as he’d initially thought. Commodore Claw had managed to give him some intelligence on the kind of weapons the Hill Tribes possessed, and luckily enough they had everything he needed. He really did have room enough for porn.

He looked up to see Gshlecc and Bacredi walking slowly towards him from the entrance. Ibram could have sworn Zhar had a swagger to his step. He turned around to see Jolinar approaching from the other direction.

As the four pilots gathered, Ibram noted that the clock had gone down to 15 minutes.

There just isn’t enough time in the universe...

Commodore Claw’s voice blared over the intercom.

“Alright Reaper, we’re nearing Abregado-Rae. You have your orders. Operation: Stardust is a go. May the fo-.. stars be with you.”

Bacredi frowned.

“Stardust? What the frak kind of name is that?”

Ibram just rolled his eyes.

Bacredi walked into the armory wearing a long pea-coat, a red tie, and a pair of leather pants that had been given to him a year ago by the VENI as a retirement gift. As he walked into the armory, he nodded to the Quartermaster Sergeant G. Liam. "Well howdy Zhar, your armor is in the back. Sergeant Oliver, guide Bacredi to the locker." Quartermaster Sergeant Liam pressed down a button that was placed in front of him and pushed down. A buzzing sound was heard by everyone in the armory. Oliver was a man of forty, he had been with the Vast Empire Army and the Vast Empire Galactic Marines, and he looked the age. As Zhar walked through the door into the armory, the fencing was closed and three Privates began to line up by the fence again. Their rifles were ready to stun anyone that wasn't welcome in the VEI (Nemesis) Armory.

"Ensign Bacredi your locker is here." Sergeant Oliver turned and spun by a wall next to a door labeled as 'Reaper 020'. He pushed his hands by him and held a firm gaze towards the wall.

"Well thanks, have a good one, Sergeant." Bacredi pressed his finger onto the door-keypad, it made a green light that was placed next to the keypad and he clicked open the door. The door slid open and Bacredi turned around to close it while he entered. When he entered, the lights were off -- as Bacredi closed the door, the lights turned on and made Bacredi's eyes shut. Bacredi moved up to one locker labeled as 'Agent Two' and opened it with his key that he had retrieved off of his neck. Pushing past his dog tags, he untied his tie and un-tucked his shirt. He threw off his pea-coat and put it on the locker bench, and he began to get undressed all the way down to his underwear.

Putting all of his clothes and he shuved them into his locker, he then pulled out his seven centimeter thick bullet proof vest and put it on his locker as well. Putting on his special-forces shirt and socks, he then slid his pants on as well. The pants and shirt could deflect a knife that didn't have a strong enough velocity.

Bacredi slowly clipped his vest on and then re-covered his vest with a white shirt and tie,  the pants matched the shirt and tie. He then pulled his pea-coat over himself. He then reached farther into the locker and pulled out a modified StA-LAR, with an attached silencer and a modified IvP-18 Tropov with an attached silencer. He pulled out two extra clips to his StA-LAR and put them in his vest pockets. He then pullet out two more for his pistol and put them on his belt. He finally covered his head with night-vision glasses, he then began to walk out of the armory, the lights flicked off as Bacredi walked out. Bacredi opened the door and closed it, Sergeant Oliver walked out to the key-pad and locked it.

"Quartermaster Sergeant, thank you." Bacredi said as the quartermaster unlocked the door with a buzz. Bacredi waved and then began to walk towards the hangar. He hit the elevator keypad and moved down the shaft and into the hangar. Entering the hangar, Bacredi moved towards the shuttle HMIS Glory Star, a Lamba-Class Shuttle that had been in the use of the VEI for quite awhile. Ibram Tyrol and Atrasin were both situated on crates of ammunition while Jolinar was nowhere in site.

Three crewman and their captain exited the craft and lined up, black uniforms, and the captain had white. They all saluted as Tyrol and Atrasin moved into the ship, while the captain held no salute.

Ibram surveyed their surroundings as he nonchalantly sipped on whatever beverage he had randomly ordered from the bar. It didn't taste very nice.

Upon arrival on the planet, the four operatives had stashed their stuff in a safe location near the city, and had made their way straight to the cantina for the rendezvous with the Gado Clan contact. They had agreed that Gshlecc would be the one to go the meeting, whilst the others took position at random points around the bar, and keep an eye out for trouble.

Getting into the city had been easy enough. Whilst the newly appointed Prime Minister had proclaimed his allegiance to the New Republic, they rebels had yet to make an appearance in any real force. That's not to say the Abregado security forces weren't formidable, they just weren't on the lookout for anything suspicious. Yet.

Ibram sat down in a booth towards the centre of cantina, spying Jolinar as she absently chewed on a nerfburger. Well, to the casual observer anyway. Ibram at least could tell she was actually observing the group of off-duty security personnel sitting near her.

Gshlecc was still at the bar. It seems that he wanted to actually get a drink before making contact with the insider. Typical.

Bacredi had also just entered the bar from another direction, and was making a good show of pretending to lose at a game of dejarik... only Ibram had played him aboard the Nemises. He really wasn't that good.

So far, so good, he thought. Should anything go drastically wrong, Ibram had already set up a diversion. He had rigged an old droid that was out the back to blow on his signal, which he hoped would draw a sufficient crowd.

Gshlecc, drink in hand, had now turned his back to the bar, and was idly looking around as he sipped what Ibram knew would be an alcoholic beverage. Ibram spotted him quickly fiddling with his communicator, and almost instantly Ibram felt his own communicator vibrate as it received a coded message.

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

Contact Name: Reverend.

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

Interesting name, he mused. Ibram wondered whether he was an actual member of a clergy, or whether it was just an alias. He didn't remember seeing anyone who looked like a priest when he came in.

No sooner had he thought that, a man in a plain robe wearing a dazzling crystal necklace walked in the same entrance as Bacredi did, making straight for an empty table.

Something about the man raised some alarm bells at the back of Ibram's mind, and apparently he wasn't the only one. No sooner had the newcomer sat down, then the off duty-guards spotted him and immediately surrounded him.

"We've warned you before pal, you're not welcome here or anywhere else within the city limits, not until you agree with the Prime Minister's demands."

"Can't a guy get a drink?", the robed man asked.

The head guard pulled out a stun-baton. "No."

The guy shrugged, and stood up. "Very well then, I guess you can escort me to the city limits. After you."

The guards walked him out, and Ibram couldn't help but lightly kick the table. If the guy really was the Reverend, which he was sure he was, how are they going to meet up with him if he can't even enter the city?

Gshlecc however must have spotted something, as he slowly meandered over the newly vacated table, and sat down in the same spot as the Reverend had. What happened next Ibram couldn't really tell, but it looked like Gshlecc was fiddling with the underside of the table.

Ibram did another sweep of the bar, making sure no one was paying attention to what group leader was doing. Bacredi was still getting his ass handed to him in dejarik, and Jolinar had moved to a spot by the front door, evidently to see if the security guards came back.

Ibram felt another buzz as his communicator got another message from G.

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

RAVEN

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

That made Ibram pause. Raven was the code sign for 'Mission Accomplished', whatever G was doing with the table, it's obvious it was connected to their contact. Maybe the Reverend had stuck something under the table?

Ibram didn't waste much time pondering as he, along with the rest of Reaper, left the cantina and melted back into the crowds, heading towards the rest of their gear.

Bacredi, like Jolinar, began to look at the plans of the Prime Minister’s Palace. His Mynock Q33 Slughthrower was still in his shoulder holster, while his modified StA-LAR Assault Rifle with silencer was still in the metal briefcase beside him. As two city public guards walked by Bacredi’s station, Bacredi got up and kept his briefcase in his hand. Jolinar approached with Ibram Tyrol and Gshlecc approached from behind Bacredi. Jolinar had the floor plans in hand and everyone else kept a solid stare. They all began to walk towards an auxiliary door, Gshlecc opened it and the moment he got out of sight from the public, pulled out his pistol. The rest of Reaper piled in and began to look around.

Bacredi opened his briefcase and thumbed the safety to his StA-LAR. Ibram had his bayonet out and ready, and Gshlecc held a Bi-polar blaster rifle. According to Jolinar, they were going to go down this auxiliary shaft and through the main sewer. Once about a half-mile down, they would go through some metal grate that would need to be taken care of.

“Ok, once we’re in we’ll proceed through the access hallway. We’ll probably encounter guards, so Atrasin and Bacredi you guys better take point. I’ll pull up the rear with Tyrol.” Jolinar finished, out of breath. Bacredi began attaching the silencer onto his modified StA-LAR. Atrasin and Tyrol nodded in unison.

“And our exit plan?” Atrasin queried.

“The same way as we came in.” Jolinar responded. “Any more questions? No. Let’s go then.” All of them began to move down the auxiliary stairs into the main sewer. The group was silent as they walked. No chatter came from any of their lips, and as they approached a metal grate, Jolinar began to take the grate off of the wall. Bacredi turned back around and watched Reaper’s rear, Tyrol was still watching the grate as it fell onto the ground. They all began to crouch as they approached a solid wall. The wall was easier to take down than most though. “Tyrol… hit the wall.”

“Ok then… what will this do?” Tyrol hit the wall and the wall became a gaping hole. The weak wall then became an opening for Reaper to insert themselves into. Atrasin and then Bacredi, Tyrol and then Jolinar climbed in. A guard wearing a suit was walking the opposite way when it heard the sound of the wall; he turned around and didn’t even have a weapon raised. Bacredi aimed his sights and so did Atrasin, they both fired in unison. The man hit the ground with out a scream. There were to hallways left- one to the right, and one to the left.

“This way.” Jolinar motioned to the right hallway. All of them passed the dead guard who had died without a fight. Tyrol moved him to the side and all that was left was a blood stain on the carpet. Reaper continued down the hallway and then took a sharp right, two more guards were taken out by well-placed shots.

"Going in hot!" Tyrol screamed as he ran behind a pillar. Bacredi and Gshlecc both ducked for cover in a hallway behind the hotzone and Jolinar hid behind a pillar as well. Jolinar had the look of a six year old that had just gotten a new toy on her face as she pressed the trigger. Two men hit the ground from her first repeating round and one more from the other. Bacredi reached for the Prime Minister's unconscious body and picked it up, drawing his IvP-18 Tropov and putting it to the Prime Minster's head. The Prime Minister's body was limp and it took Bacredi some strength to move him.

"Drop it!" A guard screamed, he had a rather large assault rifle. Driver took this chance to fire one bolt at the enemy guard. The guard hit the ground with a scream and the guard next to him didn't know what to do. Tyrol was already ahead of everyone, he raised his DC-15s blaster pistol and fired one straight shot. The guard was sidelined by the force of the bolt and two more guards turned the corner, this was getting out of hand. The guards were coming to fast and they were coming in to much force. The small unit of men and women had to find a way out, and quick.

"We're going to get pinned down here, and fast." Tyrol said through Reaper coms. Bacredi still had the Prime Minister in his arms. Slowly sliding over to the ground were Bacredi had dropped his modified StA-LAR, Bacredi kicked it towards Tyrol who only had a bayonet and a DC-15s blaster pistol. Tyrol picked it up and let of a blast of shots towards the men. The men took cover and Jolinar and Driver began to cover them in fire. "Jolinar, escape route?" Tyrol asked. The two guards advanced slowly and Bacredi shot once, the men wouldn't dare fire towards the Prime Minster's limp and unconscious body.

"Get rid of these guards and we're in the clear. There will most likely be more guards coming from behind us in 2 minutes. I got all this from their reaction times." Jolinar explained to the group as the two guards were killed. The group of men and women of the Vast Empire slowly advanced. Tyrol was taking up the rear with Bacredi's gun. Jolinar burst through a door and fired a few times with her pistol at a guard. The guard's body became limp and he let out a moan. Bacredi swiveled his head around and shot once at the guard to put him out of his pain. Bacredi then asked a question on how to get out of the Prime Minster's palace.

"Jolinar, where is the service garage?" Bacredi asked. Jolinar explained that it was about two levels down, if they took the stairwell they could probably make it before more reinforcements arrived. The group ran and shot at more guards conversing on the original location. Good thing that Jolinar had done her research. The group entered the stairwell, a stunned guard un-holstered his pistol quickly and fired. He then thumbed his radio and Driver took this moment to fire, it hit his leg. Ibram then fired a well placed semi-automatic burst, killing the guard. The group jumped down the stairs practically, with Bacreid lagging behind with the Prime Minster. Bacredi then took up a place in the middle as they made it to a floor down.

"Freeze!" Another stunned guard screamed, his voice came from ahead. Jolinar turned and fired once, the guard was caught off balance and Bacredi fired once as well. The entire group fired in unison and the man fell down the stairs, dead. A guard burst through the door on their level, Bacredi elbowed him and pressed himself against the wall, the Prime Minster's armpits over Bacredi's arms. Bacredi shot once and the man hit the ground, dead. Jolinar kicked the door in, Bacredi and Driver followed. Tyrol then followed, raising Bacredi's silenced LAR.

"We have arrived in the vehicle bay." Jolinar said as blaster fire came towards them.

While Ty had his hands on the weapons controls and was watching for pursuit, Jolinar ran a diagnostic scan.  Fuel supply was nearly full, shields were at maximum, weapons charges were at fifty percent.  She kept an eye out for likely places to land, and spotted a canyon a short distance ahead, and landed under an outcropping of rock big enough to hide a YT-1300 freighter with ease.

Jolinar set the sensors to alert them if there were any scans being run nearby, any land or aircraft approaching, or anything humanoid in the vicinity.  She checked the Prime Minister, and G.  The former was securely bound, and the latter was just regaining consciousness.

"Chapa'ai" Jolinar said.  It was their codeword for 'time to discuss our next step'.  She moved the Prime Minister to a place they could watch him from the bridge and had Bacredi move G to the doorway.  The four of them sat facing each other, she and Ty watching the Prime Minister, Bacredi and G with their backs to the door.  "Skaldi?"  Jolinar used the codeword that meant 'what's the plan?' just in case the Prime Minister could hear them from the opposite wall.  She also made sure to keep her voice low and her mouth hidden to prevent lip-reading...not that lip-reading would do the Prime Minister any good.