He finished the cigarette and tossed the butt carelessly into the sand. They were reaching the end of the flatlands, which meant it was time to concentrate. There were few ambush points along the miles of flat sandy terrain on the eastern route to Bastion, so it gave the convoy guards a chance to relax for a short while.

As they had made the crossing they’d joined up with a squad of “Ghosts.” The Spec Ops guys didn’t talk much, but as far as Corporal Isold cared it was better to have them alongside the convoy than not.

A few miles of rough terrain ahead and they’d reach grassy lowlands of Bastions green “Island” That was relatively safe land and a few more miles lay the heavy defended checkpoint at the entrance to the mountains. A narrow path wound through a valley that led to Bastion and ambushes along that road were common. Bastion was the only real safety these days.

The three heavy vehicles that made up the convoy ploughed onwards at speed, Isold scanned ahead from the roof of the lead vehicle. Their own buggy flanked them on the left and the vehicles of the “Ghosts” were on their right. No one had seen one of Phoenix company in a clean white suit of armour for weeks, but the term “ghosts” was more a reference to their habit of appearing and disappearing at random. These ones seemed to be wearing a patchwork of old stormtrooper armour, mostly in desert camouflage, but with the occasional piece of jungle green.

A loud bang turned Isold’s gaze and he looked back to see the second vehicle grind to a halt. The Ghost’s vehicles turned away from the convoy without warning and sped away.

“Get that track changed!” came a shout from the driver and a handful of soldiers in their drab brown gear descended from the convoy.

“That was a bomb!” shouted one of the men on the ground.

“Watch for ambush!” Sure enough a moment later a hail of blaster fire fell amongst the convoy. Isold returned fire in the vague direction of their attackers and realised that their unplanned guards from Phoenix Company had moved towards their assailants the moment the explosive device had brought the convoy to a halt.

OOC:

Location: Half way between Bastion and Krad

Short Term Goal: Protect the convoy whilst the tracks are changed or wipe out the attackers.

Long Term Goal: Get the convoy safely to Bastion, there may be further trouble along the road.

Useful Specs: 6.1, A9, A13

A blaster shot pummeled the tree right next to Heliwer as he moved up towards the enemy positions. He simply growled at the poorly aimed shot and proceeded to shoot from his rusty M3 Revolver. He could almost hear the mechanisms screech and groan as a shot was finally produced and whizzed over the heads of the Republic soldiers. He fired another shot just as the pistol almost disintegrated in his hands. What remained was tossed to the ground angrily, and Heliwer soon dove as heavy fire came his way.

He had never expected it to be like this. He never expected to be cut off from command. He never expected that the other squads of Phoenix Company would have disappeared almost off the map completely. And her certainly never expected to be abandoned, not just by the superiors, but from his squad. Heliwer had gotten himself separated from the squad in an earlier fire fight, and had just managed to catch up with them when the ambush began.

When he arrived first on the planet, he was full of his usual self, cracking jokes about Joamer and Havock and disregarding things such as how much ammo he spent. He was clean shaven and a little drunk from the “Going Away to War” party thrown by his old crew. Now all that was left was a shell, a ghost. His hair became raggedy and sometimes clotted with blood. He lost a few pounds due to ration shortages and became one of the first members to “go dark”; he no longer cared for anything except survival, and told dark jokes about how when he dies, he’s going to need a big display case in Hell for all the Republic soldiers he slaughters. His armor was made up with patches of Stormtrooper armor and bits of scrap metal covered with some desert camouflage, mud, and leaves. He had two lines of painted blood under his eyes to add to any psychic terror he could wreck.

Not only that, but his memory of Helena no longer effected him. It was his only beacon of hope, that somewhere out there, there still lived Darash Thraak, the man who murdered his fiancée. This however led to complications with the taking of prisoners. He began hallucinating every day, that every soldier was Thraak, and would proceed to slaughter them like cattle. He had paranoid fits where he would lash out at whoever was closest. He was broken.

Another shot whizzing by his head woke him up from his current fit and unleashed the dog inside of him.

“You want a piece of this?!” He yelled. Heliwer rose up from his current position and bull rushed the nearest group of Republic soldiers, FC1 Flechette Launcher in hand. A squad of about eight soldiers were firing down towards this one trooper calmly walking towards them.

Joamer…. He thought. I can’t believe that I’m saying this, but I’m glad he’s alive.

He decided to catch their attention and maybe earn a promotion or two by helping his assistant squad leader out. A blood curdling yell thundered and roared from his mouth like a Rancor battle cry, and continued his charge. The first soldier just managed to turn around as a full shot of shards tore his body to pieces. Heliwer then took out two with one shot, then engaged the other five in hand to hand. He knocked down one of them into a sharp protruding edge of a blasted log, impaling him there. Another got shot in the leg, then had his neck snapped. Two others got their heads smashed in.

The last one was forced onto his knees as Heliwer roughly pressed the punishment end of the launcher against the man’s forehead.

“Please!” He began sobbing. “Can’t you take me prisoner?”

Heliwer snorted, then let out a maniacal chuckle.

“Prisoners?” The trooper asked sarcastically. “I don’t believe I know that word. I’ll have to look it up someday. The only word I know is dead.”

The soldier turned pale as the launcher charged up.

“Adios, Darash Thrakk.” Heliwer chuckled.

“Wait! I’m not-”

Before he could finish, his head was incinerated. Not blown off, not vaporized, not anything soft like that. Incinerated. The shards tore through the flesh and bone and grey matter and left nothing there except a smoldering stump between the shoulders.

The trooper picked up two of the rifles that the soldiers had dropped and proceeded towards Joamer.

This launcher feels lighter than when I got it. He thought. I guess I’ll empty it out on the next batch of Darashes and then use this piece of poodoo. And while I’m at it, give Jo something to shoot with. Then I’ll die without a guilty conscience.

A mad laugh came from the trooper, a laugh of a psychopathic killer, militarily trained, and out of his mind.

The air felt alive with the sounds of battle. The smell of burning wood, flesh, and hair filled his lungs. The screams of the dying filled his ears, and the manic laughter from a few of his squad members echoed throughout the forest. Breathing even more slowly now, as if possessed by some other worldly being Joamer drew his R1-A Particle Magnum and shot at a republic trooper who was sneaking up beside him. He was careful to conserve ammo for his Magnum; he knew its life was limited. He walked slowly towards the heavier fighting; part of him shouted he should take cover. The other half had full control now though.

His mind was gone, to a nice happy place. To a place where things made sense, where there was no fighting, no death. To a place where he was not living in a constant hell. He could feel the only insignia of his old life he had left. The symbol of his position as assistant squad leader was tucked behind his belt. He had forgotten why he still kept it, maybe in remembrance of better days.

What was left of his sane mind caused him to duck down behind a fallen log, as a blaster bolt shot through the space his head had just vacated. Rising up he fired a quick volley, then ducked down again. A soft thud landed beside him, but he did not move. Only raised up and fired a few more shots into the distance. He could see Kurt moving around the enemy flanking them. He heard a tree crack somewhere behind him, a few seconds later an elongated crash reverberated through the forest as the trunk smacked into the ground.

"Who invited these clowns to the party?" Heliwer said as he slipped down behind the log. "Here, brought you a new toy to use." He said as he dropped a BMC-150 Carbine beside him. "Can't let you go dying without something in your hands, guilty conscience and all." Standing up the man simply turned and vanished back into the woods. The sound of half manic laughter filled the air as he began firing his FC1 Flechette Launcher.

Holstering the Magnum he picked up the Carbine and the bandoleer of ammo and quickly fired off a few shots in the distance. Minutes passed slowly as the air was filled with more and more smoke from the numerous fires started by the fighting. A stalemate of sorts happened slowly, as each group dug in and began conserving ammo. His breathing had not changed much; he use to get excited during a fight. Now he was calm, detached. His mind off to a happy place as his body waited for the end to finally come.

A minute passed as no shot was fired by either side. Joamer knew roughly where Kurt and Heliwer were, Havock was beside him. Having suddenly walked up and hunkered down in the thick of the fighting. Her armor was a patch-work just like the rest of them. Her DE-10 held in front of her as she half starred off into space. The squad had stopped talking to each other a while ago. A few short sentences now and again, none of them really had hope left.

"You ever think about home?" She said softly, rising up she broke the stalemate by firing at a troopers shoulder. Joamer watched as the man spun around and smacked hard into a tree. Both sides began firing in earnest again. Her voice reached down into a place that still remembered who he had been so long ago.

At the sound of home, Joamer's mind went back to Tadath for a split second before returning here. Rising up slightly he fired off a quick volley before ducking back down, his rusted armor ripping off a piece of trunk as he slid to the ground.

"I really try not to. I have no hopes of ever seeing her again." Joamer said, his voice was gravelly and rough. His vocal cords not used to speech, only wordless screams and cries of a desperate man. She knew though the 'her' he spoke of was his Strill, Lurk. Part of her doubted she was still alive. Strills do not do well without their companions for such a long time. However, she would not be the one to tell him this. She knew it was the only thing he had left.

"I know what you mean." Havock said, a pair of green eyes flashing in her mind for half a second. Rising up she fired her DE-10 again and again.

It was the most he had spoken to the squad in weeks; he doubted anyone would talk for again for days. They simply did not do that anymore; even being next to each other was rare now. They had come to rely on each other less and less, now the only person you could rely on was yourself. He did not even really know why they still traveled together, maybe a since of duty still held them together, or maybe it went deeper.

Heliwer cackled as he fired his last few shots from the Flechette Launcher, tearing another squad to pieces. He pulled the trigger one more time, and the gun responded with a dull click. Not wasting any time, he threw the launcher into a Republic trooper and went to the other rifle he picked up: a M-590 Assault Rifle. Grinning as he checked and saw that it was fully loaded, and that the guy previously had three full clips remaining, he crouched behind a rock and took a deep breath. The men here were laying down some serious fire, and one had somehow got a M404 MAW, either to blow away Joamer and Havock, or to destroy more of the convoy.

His mind quickly drifted off to why he still stayed with the squad. The first reason he could think of is duty. They weren’t gonna complete the mission without each other, and the sooner the Republic gets pushed back, the sooner they can be relieved. Reason two was to keep his insanity in check. Alone, he could possibly kill anyone, Republic or Empire. He needed something to sort of keep him anchored in his allegiance. But the most predominant one was Havock. Not that he loved her or anything, but it was hard when she looked so much like Jaina. It made him remember the true reason why he joined. To find and kill Darash Thraak and get revenge. Havock looking so much like Helena made him stay as close as possible to her and still keeping distance.

Not to say that sometimes believing Havock was Jaina was always good. More than once he had truly thought Havock as Jaina. He became more or less like an overseer, keeping an eye out on her even though Jo probably was doing the same. He shook his head quickly as he came back to the situation at hand.

The rocket man was armed and prepped, and was getting ready to fire at the  log where Joamer and Havock were taking cover. Heliwer snarled, and took aim with his assault rifle.

“Hey you with the Drainpipe!” He called. The man looked over expecting to see a fellow soldier, not an Imperial trooper with a rifle pointed straight at him.

“Say hello to my little friend!”

Slugs tore through the squad, ripping out big chunks of the men. The guy with the launcher fell back and launched the missile up into the air. A few seconds later, it came crashing down on another Republic position, sending body parts everywhere. Heliwer began laughing. He was enjoying this so much and wanted more.

A minute later, and he had made his way to another position. He could see Kurt on the opposite side. Nodding, the two coordinated a surprise attack on the soldiers. The big trooper grabbed the leader of the squad of soldiers and tossed him into two other men who were beginning to fire over at Kurt. When the dust settled, Heliwer gave a curt nod to Kurt, and the latter trooper continued his way to take out the few remaining squads.

The former picked a knife about 8 inches long from one of the dead soldiers and dragged the leader to the nearby tree. He had been knocked out before and had just recently gained consciousness. Heliwer gave the man a smile that suddenly turned the world colder.

“One word: Scream.”

All throughout the forest, Republic soldiers’ morale dropped significantly as the squad leader‘s scream permeated through the trees. Heliwer was slowly cutting him to pieces, finger by finger, then off with the hands, then gouge out the eyes, and ended with a cut down his chest and raking out his guts. The Republic squad leader was barely alive when Heliwer shoved the knife into the man’s head and twisted it around, leaving a bloody mess. He took the knife and wiped the blood off on his leg before sheathing it and running over to Joamer’s position, covered in blood. The hot stench of blood and death circled around him.

He thought back to when he had that party with his crew. The guys had given him some info on the planet, which was mainly about that smugglers had some hideouts in the forests.

That’s probably where the soldiers are coming from. He thought. Smugglers would have tunnels running from site to site, and the sites would be well disguised to hide the valuable items within.

He stopped for a second. It does make sense…

A shot from a brave Republic soldier grazed Heliwer’s arm and hit a tree. The Stormtrooper turned and emptied what remained of his clip in the general direction. A new clip was inserted, and the big man joined Joamer and Havock behind the log.

“Joamer and Havock, sitting by a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g.”

It had gotten dark as day passed, although it had been difficult to tell up until that point from the haze of battle. It always seemed dark in the shadow of the bastion. Her hands shook, but that was something she just gotten used to over the past six months. Food was short, and Havock refused to let her troopers go hungry. They had to ration all supplies since every scouting party had been killed or routed back to the bastion.

She was in command of a mission that seemed destined to fail. Phoenix had been ordered to take out a New Republic controlled moon. It was strategic, as were most of the missions she had been sending squads on lately. From the moment they broke atmosphere everything went wrong. Almost instantly their weapons had been rendered useless, yet they still managed to fist fight their way into the Thyveck Bastion and take control of the powerful weapon and planetary shielding system. Now it seemed their prize for victory was a slow death by starvation.

Havock needed to stay positive for the troopers, who were even more disillusioned by the situation than she was.  She had to find a way to keep them focused. The NR would return, when they saw an advantage they would be here, and she was too stubborn to just give up and hold the door open for them.

The shell shocked guards filled out of the large vehicles. Some of them had battle scarred E-11's in their hands, others what appeared to be long pipes probably from some scavenged part.

She glared as her hand touched  the comlink resting uselessly in her pocket.  All of Phoenix companies equipment seemed to be slowly succumbing to the planets heart of darkness.  First the blasters, then the transports, soon the communication devices would fizzle and die she was convinced of it. As it was the things only worked in short range where yelling would be just as functional.

"What is it now Joamer?"

As things deteriorated Havock found herself needing to take more and more command of the situation, leaving RAIDERS in Joamer's hands. She was still the squad leader on paper, but the squad seem to sense her attention lingering elsewhere.

"I've gotten as many of the guards in place as were able-bodied." His eyes lingered, she knew he was exhausted but the over-protectiveness was in full swing. Something that she didn't need right now.

Her fingers were covered in grease from the engine, which she had been working on long enough to forget about the time. It was a typical occurrence. She had found comfort in the simplicity and solitude of attempting to repair the failing equipment. The fact that she didn't make much headway didn't matter, it was the lack of laundry lists of issues and fists rapping at her door at all hours that soothed her nerves.

Her eyes flicked up to a roar on the ridge. "I guess that's our second wave then?" Her voice was almost devoid of emotion, which seemed to be the only tone she knew how to produce lately.

"Keep working, we'll cover you."

Havock picked up a nearby hydrospanner and tossed it back in her tool kit, absentmindedly. Taking stock of her surroundings, she noticed many of her tools were spread around the area haphazardly. She was getting careless, that was not a good sign. It was time for her to make sure she was focused as well.

Nothing was working in the truck, and the blaster fire was getting closer. "Kurt! Crank it!"

Beta nodded then dived into the floor of the truck's cab to avoid a volley of blaster fire from their new attackers.

"Sith." She spat, her eyes glaring defiantly at the soldiers.  She refused to move, she was sick of their crap, they just needed to leave everyone alone.

A hand grabbed the back of her light combat armor sending her spiraling to the ground in a pissed off heap. The dirt where she was standing shot up as half the attacking army fired on her open position. Her blue eyes stared at the spot, feeling her heart pound against the brown dirt.

Heliwer looked back at her to make sure she hadn't been hit, then returned to shouting obscenities and fighting.

Havock took a deep breath then pulled out her DC-10 pistol. As a reflex she jumped to her knee and fired off a series of six shots, hitting most of her targets somewhere it would hurt. Staying low this time she resumed her work on the vehicle. If they could figure out what was wrong with one...they had a chance. At least for today, maybe she just had to focus, one day at a time. It wasn't going to be easy, the thought of never going home burned in her gut leaving her hollow.

Now was a time for fighting, if not for her for the rest of the tired squad. She was still debating about the guards.

Heliwer didn’t know if it was the similarity between Havock and Jaina, or that he still needed some sort of companion to talk to. Either way, when he noticed a Republic officer getting  half the army to pin everyone down and the other to fire at Havock as he had observed her and deduced that she was the leader of this small unit, the trooper acted as quickly as possible to move her out of the way. When she landed, he looked back to check up on her, only to be hit with a strong, mixed wave of relief, and for a brief moment, regret. He managed to distract himself by returning fire and openly swearing at them with almost every cuss word he knew in Basic and Huttese.

“E chu at!” He yelled. “Tah-koh tee womp rat eunuch!”

As he fired, his brain processed what he had just said. It was along the lines of something… Jaina would say… Heliwer mentally cursed himself. Trying to distance himself from Havock didn’t work. It just made him more of an outcast in the squad. Maybe he had to turn that around…

He kneeled, both to be more accurate and so that he could talk to Hav without much interference.

“Havock!”

The squad leader didn’t hear, or if she did, she wasn’t gonna respond. She was more focused on fixing the truck than listen to whatever ‘mundane’ conversation he had planned. Heliwer sighed and kept going, hoping that it was the latter.

“Listen… I’m sorry about what I said about you and Joamer. It was stupid of me and unnecessary. And I’m really sorry for all the bantha poodoo I made you deal with. You’re my senior officer.”

It was either bravery or sheer stupidity that made him gently grab his squad leader’s shoulder. Havock quickly shot him a death glare, a “I’m gonna rip that arm off and shove it down your throat kind.” He just looked back at her, his face scarred by the planet was like a bust of some famous diplomat: not changing, a serious expression.

“It’s time I treated you like my superior than some useless piece of junk.”

His hand gently pat her shoulder and decided to let her continue working on the vehicle. Joamer seemed to be in a good position, so he moved close by to gain some cover.

“What the hell you doing here?” The ASL asked, quite obviously pissed.

“Hey, can’t a guy move to get some cover?” He replied. “Besides, I just thought I’d say that I’m sorry about the kissing thing. I shouldn’t have done that.”

Joamer’s shot went wide when Heliwer said that.

“You’re what?”

“Sorry. I’m sorry.”

Here was a guy who had never apologized for any of the remarks he made about the ASL and SL, and he was now apologizing for it. He certainly had changed in the six months on this rock.

Heliwer turned his attention back to the situation at hand. His M-590 was in relatively good condition, and several Republic troopers had them resulting in an abundance of ammo. He aimed his rifle at the closest group and burst fired, conserving as much ammo as possible until he got more clips. The squad didn’t know what hit them as they dropped like flies. Fifty rounds later, they lay dead, and the big trooper was searching for a new target.

Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, he spotted something move. He turned to face where it came from and saw a fiery haired woman running amongst the Republic soldiers. She was quite attractive, but not as attractive as Jaina (and coincidentally Havock too) in Heliwer’s opinion, but still quite attractive. Shame he had to shoot her, He learned fast that unless you knew them immediately or made it clear that they were an Imperial Trooper, you couldn’t take the risks. He chuckled as he saw how well she was dodging fire.

Not bad. He thought. You’re quite the moveable type. Let’s see you try direct fire instead of stray shots on for size.

His M-509 roared back to life as he began firing on the woman’s position, not knowing that it was Brightstar and that she was on his side.

OOC:

Tah-koh tee womp rat eunuch: You'll end up womp rat food

Bright tried not to gasp aloud when Havock hugged her. It would seem six months of fighting and running hadn't diminished the woman's overall strength at all. The captain's sanity was still in question. Of course, Havock's sanity had always been in question.

As relieved and happy as Brightstar was to see Havock alive, the fury and doubt had begun to build again from the moment she'd spotted her. She barely spoke to the other woman at all, only answering her questions and with as little embelishment as possible. Now she watched the SL get back to work on seemingly the only vehicle she thought could be rigged on such short notice. Her gaze felt hot for a moment and she wondered if she looked llike she was going to go off on the woman.

She went to pillage the dead with the others. Turning over the first soldier she came to she sighed. She'd had nothing against enlisted men and woman. They were just soldiers, following orders from their own higher ups. She was sure that later when not in everyone elses presence she would cry for them. Someone should, even if it was their enemy.

After taking the armor she deemed necessary and being lucky enough to scavange a couple of bacta patches from a dead combat medic, Bright retreated to where she'd left those last two holdouts. She barely noticed Joamer staying close to her. She could disappear if she wanted to. She knew that.  For the last six months she'd always thought that she'd want to just leave them after she found them. Now though she wasn't so sure. They were still her squad - her family.

Her hand came up to grip her necklace again. And again her mind wandered back to times that were happier and simpler. It was what had kept her sane this long. Remembering what she'd been made her think of what she could be again. It made her think of a future that didn't involve all of this. She looked up and around at the carnage. Carnage she'd helped cause.

"You gonna make it, Red?" Joamer asked coming up beside her. He still looked shell shocked at the sight of her. He put a hand on her shoulder. Bright was certain it was for his own certainty that she was real rather than her comfort.

"You know if it were anybody else calling me that I'd kill them." Bright said turning to look at him. To anybody else Brightstar and Joamer had never worked together  before, had never even interacted with each other before this mission. But not all missions were official and Bright had been on many of those types of missions in her career as a VE stormtrooper.

"Do try to refrain though,. We need all of them." He said walking with her back to their barricade.

Once on the otherside of it, the sound of an engine starting and a triuphant whoop greeted them. No doubt Havock had managed to fix one of the vehicles. Bright nodded. They would be moving soon. She would be happy when they were; she hadn't slept in four days.

"Rain!"

Bright sighed. She'd known that the captain would want to talk to her soon. Now if talking would be all she was going to do. She glanced up at Joamer. "That would be my real death calling me in." She said walking steadily towards Havock.

"Yes?" Bright asked stopping  an arms length away. She wondered of she was just being cautious. Or if she truly didn't trust Havock anymore.

"Where have you been? Why didn't you just contact us when you woke up? You didn't have any right making us believe you were dead!" Havock was furious. And Bright could tell it was an old fury.

Havock's words echoed in her head. She didn't have the right? The tenuous hold that Bright had kept on her temper snapped. "I didn't have the right? Who are you kidding?" Bright yelled back at the other woman. without thinking she put another step between them. Not because she was afraid that Havock would try to take her but to prevent herself from taking that step against her.

"Who left me out there?" Bright continued. "Did you even check to see if I was still alive? Do you know what it's like thinking that your best friend, your family abandoned you?" The pain in Bright's chest was causing her voice to crack. She hadn't cried from pain in months but there were times that it grew almost unbearable.

Havock seemed to shrink away from Bright with every question the gunney threw at her. Finally she blinked, "We're ready to go, inform the others." Havock turned away with her fists clenched at her sides. Bright attributed Hav's shaking hands to pent up rage and walked off herself.

She informed the others and before long they were moving again. She'd managed to find a comfortable position in the vehicle, that allowed her to easily fall asleep without cramping.

Mox looked around and smelled the air. He could smell a lot of blood. The same stink he smelled through the last 6 months. He looked at his DC-17M. Most of his ammo was gone, only few sniper shots left, one anti-armor canister. He looked at his belt, opened up his pocket and saw that only few mags were left. Mox walked onto the battlefield, trying to scavenge some ammo before getting into the vehicle and moving on. He didn't found many, although enough for another day or two. Mox walked to a body that he thought was the rebel commander, and he opened the body's helmet. The face was expressionless.

“Ok, everybody, let's go.” Bright voice sounded on the ComLink

Right Mox thought and walked to the vehicle. He clipped the carbine to his back, took out his DataPad, entered the vehicle and sat down. He turned the DataPad on and saw a alert on the desktop. He unlocked the DataPad and read the message. He then sighed. Why can't he leave me alone for a while Mox thought, hitting the reply button. He glanced at everybody in the vehicle. Some people were sleeping, although some had helmet on their heads so you couldn't distinguish them if they were sleeping or not. He then started writing up his report for the rebel commander.

----------------Two hours later-----------------------------------------------------------

Someone punched Mox causing him to wake up. He looked around and saw Heliwer inside the vhicle, taking cover with his weapon out. He then looked outside the vehicle and saw the rest of the squad taking cover behind whatever was there. Mox looked around again, and after making sure no one was looking at him, he took out his DataPad. He then glanced at it and put it back his pocket. He didn't receive any messages to run, or shoot in the squad backs. He took out his DC-17M and jumped out the vehicle, applying his foot boosters.

“How bad is it?” Mox asked as he landed on a tree.

“Not too bad, although they have as pinned” Havock replied

Mox swore and clipped the DC-17M to his back. He then started climbing the tree. He hoped that his plan would work. When he was on top he took out his DC-17M, changed the attachment to anti-armor and jumped out of the tree, applying the foot boosters again. He landed on another one that was next to the enemy squad. Mox then looked around, trying to find everyone. The situation was worse than they thought. The squad that was fighting Raiders was only a part of a larger one which were hiding behind various trees. Mox looked at his squad. They were well entrenched, mainly taking cover behind rocks, and only one or two stormtroopers behind trees. He then climbed down, praying that they didn't notice his jumping between trees. He then looked around.

“Guys, there is more rebels than you see, but try to move the ones you DO see into one group.” Mox whispered to his ComLink, readying his gun.

He glanced at the sky as dust particles rained down around him from one of the multitude of explosions. He sighed slowly as he watched his squad try to fight. He knew from experience they were vastly outnumbered, with zero chance of beating back this force. Not without time to establish a better defensive line. Which they did not have, he could judge from the surrounding blaster fire it was only a matter of time before they were completely boxed in.

“Guys, there are more rebels than you see, but try to move the ones you do see into one group." He heard Mox's voice say into the comlink a few seconds later. He growled to himself, he had lost track of the boy a few minutes ago. He knew something was majorly wrong with that trooper, he just did not know what.

"Belay that, everyone fall back to the vehicles. We are beyond outnumbered, even with our training and luck we will fall here." Joamer said after a moment. "Front line, covering fire. Everyone else leap frog back to the vehicle. Last two in jump in as we are moving."

He raised up and began firing his carbine, Heliwer and Brightstar did the same a few feet away. The rest of the squad began falling back towards the transport as blaster bolts zipped  inches past their faces. He was glad his men and woman were among the best trained in the army, even if they all wanted to kill each other right now they still followed orders that made sense.

A long minute went by as the three man group continued to fire, then duck down for a moment or two and raise up to fire again. After what seemed like an eternity he heard his comlink click twice. He guessed it was from Beta, signalling they were ready. Or at least one of the others that were kneeling beside their signal vehicle.

He looked up to see Mox nearly on the other side of the field in a tree, slowly making his way towards them like some deranged monkey. Swearing softly he glanced back to see everyone but his four already taking positions inside the vehicle.

"Grenade volley now!" He shouted into the comlink. Removing both his grenades he primed them, and tossed both as far as he could. He ducked back down just as Heliwer, and Brightstar tossed theirs.

"Mox, when they go off double time back here. If you are not in the vehicle by the time we are you are being left behind." He said as multiple explosions began occurring.

Standing up the three of them raced for the back door of the truck and dove in. The driver punched the throttle as they began slowly gaining speed. A few seconds later they heard a dull thud on the roof. Four blaster muzzles pointed at the still open door as Mox crashed to the floor.

Slapping the door lock Joamer looked over his squad briefly before turning to Mox. Picking the young man up by one of his rusted shoulder plates he slammed him against the back wall and said softly "Look, I don't know what outfit you came from before ending up here. But, you do not give the orders. Nor do you go on some half cocked plan that takes you far away from us. You endangered yourself, and your squad. Do it again, and I will have you shot."

Releasing the trooper he walked back to the front and spoke quietly to the driver for a moment. Nodding once after hearing the update he turned to the squad. They were tired from the endless hours of fighting. Worn out from the constant struggle to survive. They appearance of Brightstar suddenly had lifted their spirits, but he could see them beginning to crash again.

"News update, our vehicle was the only one hit by the ambush. The others got away, and are eight klicks up the road from us. We are racing to catch up, but they can just now see the vague outline of Bastion in front of them. So maybe another three hours to go till we get the convoy to its destination. Check your gear, restock on the toys we got, and relax."

Walking over to a lone chair he sat down and sighed for an extended period of time. He found himself suddenly thrust in the position of command. Somehow Havock was with the lead vehicle when they were ambushed. She was still with them, directing them towards the apparent safety of Bastion. Her orders were specific, and nearly less than helpful. Protect them, I will return in time. Four sets of eyes watched his every move as they went about the routine of checking weapons, checking gear, and going over what had just happened.

Four lives were now dependent on his actions, he could no longer look up to the more command experienced people in the group. He was currently number one, of course he had been in the army for years. Much longer then Havock had been, but she had the command experience, not him. Now she was eight klicks to the north of them, too far to come to his rescue if he needed it.

Now he was faced with the job he had been avoiding like the Hardan plague. He was responsible for peoples lives. People who looked up to him, who knew he had all the answers. Who knew exactly how to keep them alive and home safe. Of course, that would be a normal mission. He really doubted any of them had a single illusion of returning home. They just all waited for the end to come.

Beta sat at the wheel of the transport, following the tracks of the long past rest of the convoy. Every few seconds he would look back at the rest of his squad and keep himself updated on what was going on. Whatever the mental state of any of them they had to deal with each other and keep together to stay alive. Joamer and Bright were having a conversation as all the others were focused on their own things. After his recent encounter with Joamer Mox was keeping his distance and keeping mostly to himself. Heliwer was also keeping a distance but instead was searching through the reminder of the squad’s equipment. It was a strange feeling not having Havock with them as their squad leader anymore. Joamer had a different style; he was more upfront about problems and dealt with them hands on. He would also require less medical attention than the accident prone woman.

He blinked and realized again that he was driving the transport. Beta turned his head forwards and jerked the vehicle to the left, narrowly avoiding a large rock that was protruding from the sand. The reality of the situation was that they were stuck on the world to follow commands from the higher-ups until death or a miracle. It was that one fact that was sunk into Beta’s head and he was trying everything he could to just forget about the situation. Just about everything about him was different, he couldn’t crack jokes anymore, he wasn’t excited about anything and there was nothing he could do that could cheer him up. Sure Brightstar had come back but Beta had thought nothing of it. It was just another event in the whole stream of things that could and have happened to them.

He slammed on the brakes and sand flew through the air as the transport slowly grinded to a halt. He looked in front of himself and squinted his eyes. Beta slowly stood up and exited the vehicle and walked towards a large shuttle parked in the middle of nowhere.

“What the hell’s going on?” Joamer yelled as he ran out towards the trooper.

“Don’t you see it?” Beta said as he stood and stared.

“See what?” Joamer said putting his hand on Beta’s shoulder, “Now come on, we have to catch up to the rest of the convoy.”

Beta turned around to face his new squad leader, “What are you talking about? We can go right now!”

“Go where Beta? There’s nothing out there but sand.”

“We can leave!” he gestured towards the shuttle, “Just take off and go.” Beta looked out one more time and saw nothing there anymore.

“Now let’s get back to the transport,” Joamer said, now understanding what was happening, “you just need to lie down for a bit. I’ll drive us for now and you can take over later.”

Joamer then guided Beta back to the vehicle and sat in the driver’s seat and Bright moved herself beside him. Beta sat in the back across from the other two troopers and took off some of the armor strapped to his arm. Once it was off he set it to the side and sunk into the seat with his hand on his head. His mind wandered to the places he didn’t want it to, things like how they got there and what was going to become of them in the future.

OOC:

Short, I know, just having troubles with writing anything.

The transport was solemnly quiet as they all listened to the grinding sound of metal on metal. The trip had taken an unexpected turn when Joamer noticed the front right wheel bearing beginning to come loose. They had to stop to try to repair it, but with not a single mechanic to be found within miles all they could do was glare at it.

Having finally reached his breaking point Joamer walked away from the squad. He felt the weight of leadership pressing down on him from all sides. His squad was good at hiding it, but he knew they were quickly losing faith in his ability to see them through this. He was noticing it more and more as he looked at them in turn they would drop their gaze, or find something else to be doing at that moment. The truck was not the only set back they were blaming him for.

When they stopped to try to repair the bearing; one of the few men in the Galaxy he trusted with his life, just walked away. By the time they noticed he was gone it was far too late. Joamer stood on the highest dune and scanned the horizon to no avail. Endless stretches of the sea of sand spanned for miles in every direction.

There was no sign of Corporal Kurt Rythoran. Beta, had simply vanished.

He stood on the hill for a long minute, hoping against hope, Beta would show back up. He knew he had to be strong for the squad, but his first real command was beginning to go down hill. He heard Bright gather everyone remaining back into the truck, leaving him to his thoughts. He needed the time to gather himself before he rejoined them.

The particles of sand blown around by the wind pelted his face as he starred off into the endless sea. For the first time in his life he truly felt alone in the Galaxy. His closest friend was miles away, headed for the safety of Bastion. While the remainder of his ragtag squad depended on him for their very survival.

They were all at the bitter end. Even with Brights return, the brief uplift in spirits she brought had quickly been worse then destroyed over the next three setbacks. Havock, the bearing, and now Beta.

Joamer walked slowly back to the truck, wishing for a sniper to put him out of his misery. To release him from the burden of command. By the time he got to the drivers door, he was still alive. He looked in the back, hoping to see Beta sitting there. The smug smile on his face, the bored expression of waiting to leave. He only met the faces of Heliwer, and Mox. Both men lowered their gazes after a brief second.

Climbing back into the drivers seat he engaged the engine and kept the truck to a slow crawl. He watched the sand go by as the truck drove on slowly. Every foot fraught with danger, he knew eventually the bearing would give out. The constant pelting from the sand doing its work on the rubber seals.

A mile later, he felt the truck jerk hard to the right. The front bumper dug into the soft ground as they shuddered to a halt. Bright jumped out and quickly looked at the damage, after a moment she locked eyes with Joamer and shook her head once. He knew their days of riding were over, like the LAATs before them, now their single remaining vehicle joined the list of dead. He shut down the engine, leaned back, and closed his eyes.

He did not know how long he stayed there, minutes, hours, or maybe even days. He had simply given up the will to continue on. He vaguely heard Bright telling the remaining two to set up some type of camp. After a moment of silence he opened his eyes. The dune in front of him had a figure standing on it, a rifle held in front of him. A rifle pointed at him.

For a moment he thought it was Beta, but as he threw himself to the other side of the truck, he knew the real answer. A blaster round shot through the space he had just vacated.

"Ambush!" He heard Heliwer shout. The sounds of blasters going off all around him sounded a second later. He considered shouting it was not an ambush really, since he had a full five seconds to stare at the figure, but eventually discarded the idea. Rising up he fired his carbine at the man on the hill. He ducked again as rounds pelted the truck all around him.

He felt the weapon jerk in his grip as he fired three more shots. This time the figure gripped his torso as he fell to the ground. Behind him he heard Bright shouting orders, as the squad continued to fire for a few more moments. As suddenly as it had began, it ended. Joamer scanned the horizon for a long few seconds, his squad doing the same.

After a brief pause he said "Status."

"No wounded, two enemy down. The rest fled. Looked to be a small band, five maybe six." Bright said as she lowered her rifle.

Walking up the hill Joamer squatted over the dead man. Some type of homemade long barreled rifle sat in two pieces around him. The bodies weight destroying the rifle as he landed on it. Cresting the hill he looked over a small campsite devoid of life. If the truck had continued on, they would of drove right into the middle of it.

"Not an ambush, we surprised them." Bright said as she stood next to him. He nodded a few seconds later. Heliwer and Mox quickly ran down to the campsite to scavenge for more supplies.

After a moment they poked at a cage. Heliwer shouted back "Got a live one here."

Walking down to the site Joamer made his way over and looked in the cage. He blinked a few times, not believing what he was seeing. A dirty, half starved, bloody, and barely clothed Gungan glared out from the bars of the portable cell.

"My gods." Joamer whispered suddenly. "Open the cage now! Someone get Lance Corporal Grahim out of there." He shouted as realization struck him.

The squad stood frozen for a moment, before Heliwer and Mox rushed off to find something to open the cage with. He felt Bright walk up a moment later. As realization struck her violet eyes went wide, she said a moment later "Good Gods, Gungan, what the hell did you get yourself into this time."

Joamer did something he had not done in a long time right then, he laughed. He continued laughing even after Grahim was freed. As the Gungan began to explain how he ended up like this, he laughed even harder.

Grahim were glad that he had been freed by people he knew. When he had heard the first signs of battle he were afraid that it were a new band of mercenaries that would treat him just as badly. When he saw Jo and Bright standing there he almost bursted into tears of joy but he didn't have enough energy to do that.

He had been kept in that cage were he couldn't sit down and couldn't stand straight, he had been laughed, tortured and starved. So coming out of the cage and receiving a hot meal were like a gift from above.

“Why dids yousa stop heresa? Mesa do notsa understand yousas thinking.” Grahim said during their meal.

“Our vehicle broke down and then your captors started shooting at us.”  Moks said.

“Okeeday, what shall wesa dosa now?”

“Now we shall rest and after that we shall try to catch up with the convoy.” Joamer said.

“Moi moi, disa taste better than datsa time wesa ate gizka.” Grahim said and referred to the snake.

“You have eaten gizka.” Moks said with disgust.

“When yousa isa out of food and yousa sees lotsa of fat gizka of course yousa eat demsa.” Grahim said almost dreamy.

“Okay let's leave the subject you were the only one that liked to eat gizka and discussing fat gizka  doesn't really make me want to eat.” Joamer said. The rest of the evening they sat and discussed how they would progress the fastest.

“I think we just should go down the ro.” There Joamer got interrupted by his comlink.

“Jo, I have found something that we can use come here quickly.” the comlink crackled.

“Okay we are on the  way.” Joamer replied as he stood up. “Where are you?”

“oh right. I will come and get you.” the voice over the comlink said. They didn't have to wait long before a trooper came by and picked them up.

“So Heliwer what have you found?” Jo and Bright said in unison.

“It's a surprise.” The private answered with an proud childish tone. They walked a short while until they came to what looked like a large hill with the low visibilty.

“I tried to climb up on that when I noticed it wasn't a hill.” Heliwer said.

“Then what is it?” Bright asked.

“It is a transport that can help us from this place.” The private said cockily.

“Isa yousa sure itsa works?” The lance corporal said.

“No I'm not sure, but we should able to see if it works tomorrow. If you think it is a good idea, Joamer?”

“Well it is our best shot.” Joamer said. “But we should get back to camp now and get some rest. Moks' it is your shift now after that it's Bright's turn then it is Grahim's turn."

OOC:

If you want me to change something please tell me.

=== 6 months ago ===

Cayla groaned when her captor thrust the butt of his rifle into her stomach.

"What is your name, Imperial scum?" the Republic soldier demanded, slamming the butt of his rifle into Cayla's stomach again.

"I already told you... I don't know my name..." she panted, her stomach weighing her down like a bag of cement.

The soldier, not happy with that answer in the least, smacked her onto the ground.  "Take her away... we'll discuss what to do with our 'friend' here when she decides to be more cooperative..." he said before Cayla fell unconscious.

=== 5 months ago ===

Cayla watched her guard, a young Private, as he kept glancing back at her.  Does he honestly think I'm going to escape?  I've been here a month already... I'm not going anywhere anytime soon she thought, waving to him.

The private smiled and almost waved back when his CO walked over.

"Private!  What have I told you about speaking to the prisoners?" the sergeant asked, getting within mere inches of the private's face.

"Th-that to speak with the enemy is to be the enemy, sir!" he stammered out, snapping to attention.

"Good!  Now stop talking to the prisoner!" the sergeant yelled, his face getting redder and redder by the second.

The sergeant walked away, leaving the private terrified and quaking in his boots.

Immediately, Cayla got an idea.  "Hey, private.  Come here a sec," she said in the cutest voice she could muster under the circumstances.

The private looked over and walked over without saying a word.

"Hey, I know you've been watching me for a while now... don't act like I haven't noticed you taking quick glances at me from time to time," she said, smiling when shock crossed the private's face.  "I just have one question to ask."

The private got closer and whispered "What?"

"What are you doing after lights-out?" she asked, smiling.

=== 4 months ago ===

Cayla watched the private as he came back over to her cage with a plate of some gruesome-looking food.  She picked at it, then reluctantly started eating it.  She cringed at the bitter taste and set the plate aside.

"Whats your name, private?" she asked.

The private looked over at her and whispered "My name is Carl Durn."

Cayla smiled and said "Carl Durn... a private in the New Republic Army..."

"What is your's, if you don't mind me asking?" Carl asked.

"I'm Sciuridae... yes, I know it's a weird name," she said, noticing the look on Carl's face.  "But it's my name, and I like it."

Carl smiled and said "I think it's cute."

Cayla blushed as Carl turned back to the center of the camp as the sergeant walked by.

=== 3 months ago ===

"Sarge, I don't think it's necessary to keep the female in the cage," Carl said to the sergeant.

"Private, are you questioning my logic?" the sergeant asked, glaring at Carl.

"No sir, but I was thinking... if we release her with a tracking device, we could find the rest of her unit and wipe them out before they come to rescue her," Carl said.

The sergeant seemed to consider this, then walked up to the private.  "Son, let me tell you something... the only way a prisoner is to leave this camp is in a body bag.  Is that understood, Private?" he asked quietly.

"Yes sir," Carl said solemnly.

Cayla watched Carl walked back over to her cage.  She sensed that something was wrong, so she scooted over by Carl and asked "What's wrong?"

"Nothing... I just... need some time to think..." he said, standing up.

=== 2 months ago ===

Cayla woke up to Carl shaking her.  She noticed it was night and that it was raining.

"Carl, I thought we were waiting until this weekend to-" she started.

"Shhh!  I'm not here for that!  I'm here to get you out of here!" he said in a hushed voice.

"What?!?" Cayla exclaimed quietly.  "Why would-"

"I don't have much time.  The shift change is in ten minutes.  Make for the woods when I give the signal," he said, handing Cayla a blaster.

She looked at the blaster in her hands, then reached up and kissed Carl.

Carl looked at her, smiled, and ran off into the shadows.

Cayla heard some talking some distance off, then some arguing, then several cries for help and thuds shortly after.  Either that's my signal, or I'm going to be rescued... either way, I'm going for the trees... she thought, blasting the lock off the cage.  She took off towards the tree line, but was stopped by two reshie soldiers.

They wrestled her to the ground and took her to the sergeant's tent, where she saw the sergeant and Carl waiting for her.

=== 1 month ago ===

Cayla watched the rebel soldiers walk around the camp, each one that passed glaring at her as they went by.

She rubbed the fresh lascerations on her left arm, given to her by the sergeant several days earlier when she refused to tell him where she was from.

I think I might have a broken rib or two... several bad cuts on my arm... and I think every muscle I have is pretty much sore... oh, and I think I'm going to have to kill Carl for possibly getting me sick... she thought, watching another soldier walk by her cage.

=== Present Day ===

Cayla woke up and heard nothing.  Of course I hear nothing... it's night... she thought.  She looked for her guard, then stopped when she saw a fire.  What's going on?  They've never lit a fire during the evening watches...  Cayla looked around and saw no Republic soldiers guarding her.  She looked for the perimeter sentries, and saw none.  This isn't good... something must have scared them away... how come I'm still here, then? she asked herself.

She attempted to say something, but found that her throat was dry.  She looked around and found a piece of a broken lock, cut herself on her forearm, and drank the blood.  She almost gagged, but held it down as she ripped a piece of cloth from her clothing and wrapped it over the fresh cut.  Her throat now somewhat moist, she mustered her remaining strength and yelled as loud as she could.

OOC:

Who wants to rescue me from my prison and shut me up, cause I'm sure my yelling and screaming has really disturbed someone's sleep...

The sound of gravel crunching under his jack-boots were muted by the night sounds of the desert. The campsite turned out to be a decent sized Oasis in the middle of the desert. A few trees sprouted here and there, and it even had a small pond for fresh water. The temperature had dropped sharply as the sand released trapped heat from the day sun. He could see his breath turning to white mist with every exhale he took. It was going to be a long night.

His squad was hunkered down in the gutted transport Grahim had found. Moks was out there somewhere pretending to be on guard duty, Joamer's gut told him the man was up to no good. Which was why he was walking the perimeter slowly, he was sticking to the shadows careful to avoid notice. Years of being a Wraith had taught him a few tricks, he knew how to move without being spotted.

A older model A280 slung from a sling around his shoulders, the carbine he had been using finally proved itself to be worthless as a misfire nearly took the right side of his face off. A single shallow cut ran from his right cheek to his forehead from the bullet casing that ejected out the back end of the rifle. Now he held one of the rifles Bright had brought with her. It felt good to have something that would qualify as a decent range weapon.

The night sounds of the desert seemed loud when you were alone. The training Joamer had received was coming in handy, but he was still nervous. He found himself caring for his squad, the first feelings he had when he was given command was fear, and the very big need to run away. Now he worried for them, worried they could possibly have a threat that stayed close to them all the time. So instead of doing the responsible thing and trying to sleep till it was his shift. He walked the perimeter, until the young man proved himself not to be a threat he would be watched.

Completing a circuit again he walked up to the transport and peeked inside. Most of the men were asleep, but Bright was still up. Her eyes starred off into the unknown as millions of thoughts coursed through her brain. She knew the position she had walked into, with Havock gone he was the temporary Squad Leader. She was his Assistant, he knew she had experience with the job. He doubted she had experience in a situation such as this, even after all the collective time spent in the army his squad had. Nothing compared to the moments they were now faced with.

Over the last two days they had become a semblance of a squad again. He knew they were at each others throats just a few miles before. Now they seemed to have found their centers, he knew they still had doubts about his leadership ability, hell he had doubts he could get them home alive. If they even got home that is.

It seemed with Havock being separated by them, Beta vanishing, Bright returning from the dead, and Grahim being found. They all seemed to have found a spark of life again. There was no happy singing around a campfire, or stories of better days. He could just see a small spark in every ones eyes.

He met Bright's gaze for a brief moment. The two shared an unspoken bond that was forged over years of working together. Neither of them talked about what they had been through, being court marshaled would be the least of their worries if they did. No, a single gaze was enough for them. He watched her slowly close her eyes, drifting away quickly into whatever rest she could find.

Looking over his troopers one last time he continued his circuit. Out there somewhere in the darkness was a man he did not trust. One that kept very dangerous secrets. Secrets that may end up getting someone killed before the end came.

His senses tuned to the sounds of the desert night life he walked slowly. His hands resting lightly on the stock of his rifle.  Minutes later he found himself on the opposite side of the camp, nearly out of earshot of the transport. He was more watchful now then usual, an ambush here could spell the end of his life with no hope of rescue from his squad. So he walked slowly through this part of the small Oasis.

The area seemed to have been used by the rebels as some sort of base camp for supplies. Most of it long gone, but a few cages still existed. The remains inside of creatures and humans were long since dead. He walked by another that was dark inside, the still form not moving in the slightest. His light on his rifle was turned off, after the first three cages he did not care to see what remained inside.

Walking away slowly he found the edge of the Oasis again. He stopped for a moment before he had to choose a direction to turn. His eyes shifted over the ever moving landscape of the desert. Drifts of wind and sand would change the dunes in a day, every time you looked they would be slightly different. If it was not for the circumstances he found himself in, he would call it beautiful.

A sound behind him caused him to freeze, his hands instantly going to the rifle grips. A second later he heard something, something full of panic, fear, and hope. A woman's scream tore through the night air.

He swung his rifle around, his finger flicking on the light. It's beam coming to rest on the dark cage he overlooked. A half starved, dirty, young woman sat huddled inside. Her eyes locked on his, as her throat let out a guttural scream again, and again.

Rushing over the cage he used the butt of his rifle to smash the lock. The door opened a second later, the young woman backed into the far corner like a wild animal. Her teeth bared as she lunged for Joamer's throat. Being caught off guard he crashed to the ground with her on top of him. Her weakened body fueled by adrenalin and the chance to be free fought his arms as he tried to get her under control.

Flipping her onto her back he pinned both her arms above her head. Her body struggled against his cybernetic arms as he shouted at her over and over again. "I'm not your enemy! Calm down, everything is going to be alright now."

She struggled more, growls coming from her throat. She was half beyond madness at this point, he figured she was much like Grahim. Only her treatment was far worse then the Gungan had received. After a minute the adrenalin wore out, and she sagged to the ground. She met his gaze once, her eyes probing his for a brief moment before she passed out cold.

Heliwer woke up when Joamer had gone out on his little patrol. The big trooper rubbed his eyes and sighed as his peaceful slumber was ruined, though not by the new squad leader’s voyages, but rather another dream about Jaina’s death. He stretched and then began to walk around a bit. The oasis turned out to be pretty much a life saver as Heliwer had not bathed since he was on the planet and reeked of six month old sweat and blood. He very quickly went into the water and enjoyed the feeling of cool water against his skin. It took him a while before he realized that he had left his armor on, but by then, he didn’t care. The sand and the blood were washing off slowly, but eventually he was relatively clean. He made his way to the end of the water and walked out, some of his hair falling in front of his eyes. Wandering around for a towel of some sort, he resorted to using his blanket, but did not really think he’d need it as he probably wouldn’t go back to sleep.

After a few minutes, he heard a big scream, a woman’s scream. Everyone woke up and started walking out of their tents.

“What the hell’s going on?” Bright groaned as she fumbled out of the tent and onto the ground with a little yelp. Fortunately, no one saw her fall and quickly scrambled to her feet. About ten minutes later, Mox and Joamer came back with the former carrying a girl slung over his shoulder.

“Put her on the bench next to the fire. We’ll be moving soon, so get some rest...” The squad leader said to the trooper. “Although I don't really think you need it”

The last bit was a bit more subdued, but not really, as if he intended Mox to hear it. The girl, Cayla, was fairly roughly placed on the bench, and Mox fell asleep by the transport. In the dim light, Heliwer thought he saw Joamer creep up and take something in Mox’s pocket out, but wasn’t sure.

“Heliwer, I want you to make a litter.” Joamer said, his voice sounding fairly low. “Get two big sticks and something for her to rest on. We’ll be moving out in a little bit.”

Heliwer shrugged and walked over to the trees and found two big thick branches.

Perfect, he thought. These’ll do nicely. Now for the other part…

Taking the sticks in his hand, he made his way back to camp and upon not seeing anything else useful, took some spare blankets and finally made the litter. It looked like something that he’d learn to make in a survival course. Oh wait, this is a survival course. Where the penalty for messing up is death.

He walked over to where Mox was resting and shoved a boot into his chest, knocking the wind out of him.

“Wake up, flyboy.” Heliwer grunted. “You’re helping me with this litter.”

Mox snorted. “Shut up. I’m tired and wanna rest.”

The bigger trooper picked the small trooper up and held his face close to his own.

“You can rest when you’re dead!” He snarled. “Now help me get that girl on the litter and help me transport her, or so help me I’ll shove your pretty little jetpack so far up your ass you’ll be crapping out rocket fuel for weeks!”

A little while later, the RAIDERS set out with Mox at the front of the litter and Heli at the back. He was currently carrying not only his pack, but the girls pack, of which he had secretly stowed away a small blaster pistol. The others didn’t really trust her as she was unknown, but Heliwer’s pirate intuition told him that she was on their side.

He took this time to actually look at her. She was fairly skinny (from the cage that Joamer had dragged her out from, he had learned), was quite shorter than him, and had black hair that seemed to halo around her head. Her outfit was torn in several places and pretty much made her half naked. He began blushing as he registered what he was doing.

Get a hold of yourself, man. She’s unconscious. Well, here comes Jaina’s death to haunt me again.

But he was wrong. The other times when he looked at women, he had Jaina’s death doing reruns in his mind. Now, he was getting nothing. Maybe it had to do with that he was seriously looking at her to check for outside wounds and his eyes inadvertently wandered. Or maybe…

Nah, it couldn’t be, could it?