Drake walked behind the stretcher being carried by Norgath, Roellum, and Jaenna. The two medics supporting one side, Roellum still had Joamer draped over her arm muttering complaints the whole way.

They were moving as fast as they could, considering. The clearing was just under one kilometer away now, and Drake could not wait to get there. He was not silly enough to delude himself into thinking this was going to be easy. Every field trooper in the area would probably be converging on that same clearing, just as soon as the noghri scout reported in.

With a sigh Drake kept on moving. Danica was yanking things out of her pack. She looked at them skeptically for a second before shaking her head, muttering a curse or two, and stuffing them back in.

“Having some trouble there, Snarl?” Drake was almost amused by the situation.

The combat engineer, sneered and turned to her ASL. “I have an idea for what to do, when we get to the clearing, it would be epic. But I just can't get the combination of explosives right. Its very irritating.”

Drake nodded. “I bet.”

The last of the journey was completely uneventful. They pair of squads took turns carrying the RAIDERS ASL, and they made decent time. They saw the noghri once more just before they were in visual range of the clearing. He was still giving them room, just as before. Must have been determining their strength and size. More than likely confirming the existence of more reinforcements.

Danica immediately got to work, placing charges of some kind around the perimeter. Drake followed the RAIDERS as they found a decently secure spot to place the stretcher containing Katash. He still marveled at how close they all seemed. He became even more confused as Caldwin knelt down and kissed Katash on the forehead, then whispered something to her unconscious ASL.

“Was that a record we set for killing rooks or what?” Bertal's voice broke Drake out of his very confused thoughts.

“Not sure, did you reach the medvac?”

“Yep Sev, they are on their way. Now for the real question, when are the field troopers showing up?”

Drake looked around. Marcus was patrolling, looking for any sign of the field troopers or the noghri in the forest. Drake could hear the medvac transport in the distance, it would only be two maybe three minutes and they could get out of the blasted forest. Unfortunately, that was not going to happen.

The shots came from the north-most point of the clearing. It looked like a full squad of field troopers. Drake could not help but wonder if that was all they were going to be dealing with, or if there were more squads flanking them as he stood there swinging his rifle into place.

The ghosts and able-bodies RAIDERS ducted under cover aiming their weapons and preparing for what Drake hoped was a quick battle.

Marcus sat in his seat and ran his fingers through the caked mud on his armor. He felt the LAAT lift off and begin a full speed journey back towards the base. Doroson was out for the count, he only had enough strength left to stare at An'Owyn. Every few seconds he would reach up and softly stroke her forehead, his eyes held the comments his voice could  not make.

Drake looked up at Marcus a few minutes later and shook his head slowly. Marcus had seen enough injuries to know she was on the cusp of critical, she had minutes to go.

Turning towards the rear of the LAAT he keyed in the frequency for high command and said "Ghost 3, to command. I repeat, Ghost 3, to command."

"Command here, authenticate." His comm link crackled a few seconds later.

Flipping a few switches to send the code he said "Mission complete. We have three KIA's, and one in critical condition."

"Come to the beta medical facility, your pilot is receiving the coordinates now." He flipped off the link and looked up at the pilot. He turned around and shook his head.

Standing up Marcus walked to the front and looked at the holomap. He held back a curse as he noted the flight time. It would take them nearly ten minutes to reach the site, he doubted she had that long.

"Push her to the limit, break the engines if you have to." Marcus said softly, the pilot nodded as he turned around and went to sit back down.

Long minutes passed before An'Owyn opened her eyes slowly. Doronson smiled as he touched an unburnt part of her face. Drake stood up and placed his hand on Doronson's shoulder, the gesture said everything that needed to be said. Marcus watched as the SL twitched once before nodding. Marcus turned around as he figured out what the gesture meant. She was not going to make it.

Drake walked back to the rear of the ship slowly, as Doronson began speaking quietly to An'Owyn. Marcus tuned them out and tried to not think of all the past times this had happened. How many times had an injured friend made it back only to die minutes from help. The Rooks did not bare mention at all, he had seen more then he cared to count of them die on their first mission.

"How long?" Marcus said very quietly, his voice only carried to the sitting form of Drake. After he had walked back to the rear of the ship he slid down the bulkhead and placed his head on his knees.

"Moments, she has major internal injuries. Even with a bacta tank, I don't think it would of saved her. The explosion was just too much." Drake said, he went silent and closed his eyes as he heard the sound of Doronson crashing to the floor.

Marcus leaned back and fought the emotions welling up in him. He might of not approved of the relationship, but she was still a friend. She had been with them for years, and more then once saved his life. He let the past few days wash over him, he fed the anger that he usually held back with everything that had happened.

He opened his eyes to see the few surviving members of the squad looking in his direction. Doronson had crawled into a dark corner and was ignoring everyone as he dealt with the emotions his way.

Drake looked up at Marcus and nodded slowly, evenly. Marcus let the emotion of how RAIDERS had been treated, of how Thrawn dared to attack their home. He let the anger wash over him as he stood up and gripped a pipe above him.

"Pilot, turn us around." Marcus said. The pilot turned his head and looked at Drake after a moment, since Doronson was ignoring everyone. Drake nodded once, before standing up himself.

Marcus leaned to the left as the LAAT banked. He looked at every squad member one by one. Before he said "If anyone wants out, just say so now." Everyone looked at each other slowly, their eyes were all the same. The anger, and emotions were running high in everyone, no one spoke.

Drake and Marcus shared a brief look before they both nodded. The ship gained speed as they shot back towards the battle field, their mission was not yet over.

Marcus felt Bert nudge his shoulder and nodded toward Doronson. He looked over at the SL who was standing over the still form of An'Owyn. His eyes were blank, emotionless. His hands were clenched into fists, Marcus shut his eyes as Doronson kissed the top of her forehead once before standing up.

He heard the SL walk to the back of the transport and began getting ready, a few of the others joined him in preparing.

"You think we will make it back?" Bert asked quietly. Marcus looked up and watched what remained of the squad prepare. After a moment he looked at Bert and shook his head slowly.


"I think if you have any last minute things to say you should say them now." Marcus said loud enough for the whole ship to hear him. A few of the others stopped what they were doing and picked up datapads, he tuned them out as they recorded messages for loved ones.

Marcus stood up and walked to the cockpit, sitting down in an empty chair he keyed the beta medical site. A few seconds later a young woman with her hair in disarray said "Yes, how may I help you?" He could hear shouting and general chaos from her location.

"Has the RAIDERS transport landed yet?" Marcus said after a few moments.

He watched as the young lady checked on a computer screen he could not see. She looked up and nodded before saying "They landed twenty minutes ago. A Katash is in surgery, the others are receiving treatment for various wounds."

"Is the fellow named Joamer available?" Marcus said right after it looked like the young girl was going to say something else.

"He's receiving bacta treatment, early reports say he is going to be in the tank for days still." She said after she glanced at the computer screen again. "If it's really important, I could have him removed."

"No, no." Marcus said, he looked at the pilot as he pointed at a distant clearing. "Just, tell him... tell him he was a good friend, and I would of liked to have him in my squad. Tell all the RAIDERS that."

Marcus turned off the monitor right before the girl went to say something. He sighed slowly and closed his eyes. He felt Drake put a hand on his shoulder, after a moment he stood up and watched the LAAT begin to swoop in lower towards the field.

"Looks like the pad was right, a nice LAAT sitting right there in the middle." Drake said as he starred out the front window.

"Orders, sirs?" The pilot said a few seconds later.

Marcus and Drake looked at each other, and looked at the squad standing near the hatches. They shared a grim smile before Marcus stepped into the back to gather his gear.

A few seconds later he heard Drake say "Turn that field into slag."

"With pleasure, sir." The pilot said. He might of not been in the squad, but he had flown them on numerous occasions. The squad considered him an honorary member, so he felt the lose of An'Owyn almost as much as they did.

Marcus locked his helmet in place as the LAAT banked right and opened fire. He felt the twin thumps as the mass-driver missile launchers fired. He heard the quad pinpoint laser turrets slashing into the soft ground, turning the vegetation into charred ash. A few seconds later he saw several field troopers running for the shelter of the tree line. The anti-personnel turrets cut them down in mid stride.

The pilot banked the ship again and aimed for the LAAT, keying for all weapons he opened fire. The combined force of every weapon caused the enemy ship to shudder once before it exploded.

"You think we got the commanders?" Someone behind Marcus said.

Drake looked towards the rear of the ship and shook his head. "I surely hope not." He turned back around and keyed in another location from the enemy datapad. "Take us here, this appears to be an emergency fallback point for their command council."

"With pleasure, sir." The pilot said as he turned the ship and engaged full throttle.

A lone survivor pulled himself from the wreckage of the destroyed LAAT and watched as the enemy ship vanished. The lone Noghri picked up his swords and began jogging in the direction of the base, the same direction the ship was heading in.

Marcus stepped back as the hatch began to open. For a second it stopped its slow progress, Marcus knelt down and aimed his M3 Disruptor into the small opening. He made the first move to smack the hatch, right when it decided to open the rest of the way.

Waiting for a moment, he slung his rifle and climbed down the short ladder to the ground below. Dropping the last few feet, he used the momentum to drop to his knees while pulling his rifle up at the same time. Breathing slowly he scanned the dark corridor in front of him. On down away he could see a light flicker on and off slowly, when it was on he could see multiple doorways and hallway entrances.

Raised his hand he signaled the rest of the squad and moved forward slowly. He left the light on his rifle off, and let his night vision take over. Making his way to the first hallway he stopped and used all his senses to detect if anyone or anything was hiding in the shadows. For a brief instant he heard a soft noise, almost as if someone had dragged their boot to get a better footing.

Backing up he stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He starred into the darkness as the last Ghost member was down the ladder, a second control panel was activated to seal the hatch. He waited a long minute to let his night vision return. Using his hand he tapped Drake on the shoulder one time, then tapped his neck with three fingers. He felt his ASL nod and turn around to repeat the signal down the line.

It was a silent signal they had designed some years ago to be used in no light condition, one tap meant left side, three taps meant possibly more then one person, but at least one. He had thought about writing a book on all the combinations, but he gave up after he had reached page two hundred. He remembered watching as the pages burned, one by one. He even remembered buying a old transport ship and setting it on a course for a nearby sun, just in case someone crazy enough decided to repair those pages.

He felt two taps on his back, the signal to proceed forward. Making his way to the hallway again he pulled out a frag grenade and prepped it. He felt a single tap on his back again and tossed the grenade as far into the hallway as he could. Ducking down he held his ears and closed his eyes, long seconds went by before it exploded. He felt things fall from the ceiling and impact his helmet.

Waiting for a moment he spun to the other side of the entrance and opened fire blind. Drake positioned himself on the other side and opened fire as well. They used the light from the blaster bolts to see into the hallway. He saw two or three men go down before they began returning fire. By this time it was too late, the structural integrity of the old bunker could not stand against a grenade and a shoot out. Marcus and Drake ducked back out of the entrance as the ceiling collapsed on the remaining field troopers.

A few of the squad switched on flash lights, they had been together long enough to know what had to be done. Keeping the light away from the people still looking into the dark, Danica began setting charges on the ladder. They knew they could not let anyone get past them and to the surface, at least through this entrance. Any others they found they would destroyed as well.

Turning around she nodded. They squad made their way slowly down the corridor again, they took their time and listened for any noise. They knew would not have long before reinforcements showed up, but they knew most of them would be near the central command room.

Stopping at the fifth intersection they waited till the signal came that it was clear. Danica pulled out a detonator and flipped the switch, the squad braced themselves as the complex shook again. A few seconds later they could hear pieces of debris crashing to the floor.

Bertal took point and stepped out into the hallway, he turned a corner and paused. He raised his rifle and went to pull the trigger but stopped. Marcus watched as Bertal glanced above him, he sighed slowly and closed his eyes.

A small explosion went off on the ceiling a moment later. Marcus watched as pieces of stone and metal crashed into the him. The trooper seemed to still be alive, he tried to stand but a long metal rod impacted his chest armor. His head slowly leaned back as his chest stopped moving.

Drake went to check on him but stopped as blood began pooling on the floor around him. He turned around and shook his head, a second later the squad moved down another hallway slower this time.

Marcus watched as Wisp made a suicidal run at the firing field troopers. He raised his own rifle but could not get a shot off as Wisp ducked and dodged his way towards the double doors. He saw one of the troopers fire almost in slow motion, Wisp took it in the shoulder but only snarled louder.

"Why is he not firing?" Danica yelled from behind them. Marcus and Drake only shook their heads in confusion as they watched him lower his rifle to his chest.

"Oh god, no." Marcus whispered as he noticed what was in Doronson's hand. His thumb flipped off the lever on the thermal detonator and rammed his way into the group of men. Marcus watched as he was shot multiple times, he skidded to a stop in the middle of the floor as his left hand let go of the grenade.

Marcus felt Drake drop to the ground, he tried to grab Danica but missed as the grenade exploded. He felt shrapnel and debris fly over his head. Seconds or minutes later after his ears stopped ringing he stood up and looked at Drake. He stood up slowly and checked the hallway, one of the double doors was blown aside, the walls and ceiling were hanging dangerously.

Drake moved over to the downed female and lifted her gently to her feet. She shoved off his hands and stood on her own a second later.

"Let's get going." She said, she wiped her hand across her mouth and hid whatever she had removed. She glared at Marcus daring him to say anything. He shrugged and walked down the hall slowly, a blackened spot on the ground was the only thing that remained of Doronson Talley. The few that remained of Ghost squad paused for a moment before moving on, they had a job to do.

Stepping into the room Marcus raised his rifle and fired at a retreating figure. He held down the firing stud until the rifle beeped and clicked six times. Dropping the disruptor he ran into the room and drew his combat knife. Screaming he plunged the knife into the back of whoever he had shot multiple times. Blood and gore covered his chest armor and his hands as he plunged it in again and again.

He felt someones hand reach around him and pull him off, breathing for a long few seconds he nodded and was let go. He sheathed the knife without cleaning it, he glared down at the dead body wishing it would come back to life just so he could kill it again.

Drake knelt down and rolled the body over, he checked the ID tags and nodded before he stood up. "It's one of them, unless their field troopers hold the rank of lieutenant commander." Drake said a moment later. Marcus nodded and slapped a fresh clip into his rifle, he was rubbing the blood into the rifle as he ignored everything around him.

The sound of something sliding to the ground caused both men to turn. Danica coughed a couple times and wiped her chin again, this time leaving a trail of blood behind. She said slowly, through coughing fits "Well, guess I was the next to go."

Drake and Marcus rushed over, Drake knelt down and examined the sudden flow of blood that had appeared in Danica's chest. He shook his head slowly a second later and she smiled grimly. After a moment she said "Why do you think I just had us leave and not stop?" She coughed again, blood flowing out of her mouth and down her chin. "I'm pretty sure it punctured my lung."

Without saying another word she pulled her pack off with sudden strength and began constructing something. Long minutes passed as she pulled out every explosive and wire she had left, after she was done she handed a detonator to Marcus and nodded.

"This, should be strong enough to bring this place down, just in case." She said slowly. Marcus and Drake nodded slowly, after a moment Marcus placed his hand on her shoulder. Drake copied the gesture, with what strength she had left she placed both of her hands on their shoulders. She lost what energy she had and let her hands trail down their arms, leaving blood smears behind.

She leaned her back and breathed once and said very softly, "I would of liked to see him, one more time." Her eyes closed slowly, after a moment her chest moved for the last time.

Marcus worked his tongue around his mouth a few times and spit. He felt a tooth fly out as he watched blood cover the commanders left foot. He smiled as the man looked down and cursed loudly a second before he cocked his right arm back and smashed it into Marcus's face. He heard his jaw crack for the second time, he considered spitting again but decided against it as the man walked away.

He looked over at Drake who was being kicked around by the Field Troopers. Through the legs of a man he could see the smile on the medic's face. He grinned suddenly as the Noghri stepped forward and swung one of his blades. Marcus watched as the tip dug into his left knee cap. He groaned but did not cry out, even when the beast twisted the blade, causing his knee cap to shatter.

"You know what we want." The person who seemed to be in charge said, he had yet to identify himself. "Just tell us who else is here, and if more people are coming to die." The man walked up and motioned for the Noghri to step away. The creature grinned as he pulled out his sword slowly, Marcus breathed deeply and smiled back. The beast snarled and went to strike but stopped when he saw the upturned hand of the Commander.

"Just tell me what I want to know." He said again to Marcus, this time he leaned down and came close. He looked down at the various wounds his men had inflicted and shook his head. "It can all end, just say it."

Marcus thought over it, he considered what would happen if he told the man the truth. He wondered if word would reach his family he had broke at the last moment. He looked over at Drake, both his legs were bent at impossible angles, his right arm was laying behind his back. His left was currently being twisted around, even from across the room Marcus could hear bones snapping. He never heard Drake cry out though, only curse loudly that he wanted more pain.

Marcus looked at the man again, he worked his tongue around his mouth for a moment, acting like he was trying to clear it, so he could speak. The man leaned even closer, Marcus took a breath and spit in the man's face. He leaned back and watched as a glob of mucus and blood ran down the right side of the Commanders face. He wiped his face with a hand and shook his head slowly for a long few seconds.

Standing up he walked over to Drake and motioned his men aside. Grabbing a three foot long steel pipe he looked over at Marcus and said "Last chance, or you watch your friend die." He held the pipe over his head and waited for a long moment.

Marcus looked over at Drake and caught his friends good eye, his other one was hanging by a few pieces of vein. In fact his whole left side of his face was ruined, bits of bone and skin were hanging down to the ground.

Both men nodded once to each other, and smiled, Marcus watched as the pipe slowly made it's way to his friends head. He owed Drake enough not to turn away as it completed it's journey through his ASL's skull to end up lodged in his brain.

Drake's body shuttered once and went still. Marcus looked at the Noghri and swore "You are an honor-less dog, you will have no name, or title. You will not be permitted to come up from the depths. Curse be your name." He spit towards the creature, but as if by instinct the creature dodged it and kicked Marcus in the ribs. He heard two snaps, and felt his left lung cave in as one of his ribs punctured it.

Another kick followed the first and hurled him into the wall, he ended up almost doubled up. With all the speed he had left he reached into his right boot and pulled out a small black device. He braced himself for the third kick but none came. He looked up to see the Noghri being motioned back by one of the men.

Marcus took his time and sat back up, he could barely draw breath now. He saw blackness begin to creep around the corners of his vision. He looked over at the Commander and smiled again. The man snarled and stepped forward with the pipe, but froze when he noticed the look on the Ghosts face.

With his thumb Marcus had flipped the safety off. With the last of his strength he raised his hand and showed the detonator to the entire room. Everyone seemed to move in slow motion as he depressed the trigger. An eternity later Marcus felt the rumble through the floor and walls.

Everyone stood frozen, Marcus leaned back and breathed for the last time. Before his vision blackened completely he saw the entire ceiling collapse.

OOC:

With the Death of every member of Ghost squad. Objective III, of Phase III is complete. May they be remembered.