" Jo'ron, we gotta get out of here! There's too many-- " Called out his crewmate Tyrek before a blaster bolt struck him in his left eye. He fell to the floor like a ragdoll, his eye socket still sizzling.

" Tyrek! " Jo'ron called out, turning his head momentarily to look at his fallen body before leaning out from behind a crate and firing at a mercenary. He could see half a dozen of his crew members dead, and it was a fight for their lives as the mercenaries blasted them with everything they had. But the battle would be over with if Jo'ron didn't think of something quick, for they were fighting Armored Mercenaries with Blaster Rifles while him and his crew had an assorted variety of pistols. The mercenaries were swarming the main entrance to the Landing Dock leaving only a locked security door to the rear that their R2 droid was attempting to open.

" R2, hurry up with that door! " Jo'ron yelled amidst the firefight that was beginning to intensify. Even though it wasn't the right time for his mind to be running in circles he couldn't help but question himself. Why is their a contract on him and his crew? Could it be tied to the Republic, or was it the Hutts? His reputation as a smuggler was steadily rising, and at this point it wasn't worth deciding who it was. Right now he needed to get out of the Landing Dock as fast as he could.

The familiar string of beeps were heard behind him as the security door slowly began to slide open. " Good job R--" He didn't get to finish his sentence. The head of the R2 exploded as metal bolts and pieces of his spread around its chassis. Electricity shot from all over its body as several more Blaster bolts struck it in succession. You served your purpose.. He said to himself before pressing a button on the communicator in his ear.

" Let's get out of here as fast as we can! The security door is open but they'll shoot us down as soon as we're out of cover. We need a distraction, any ideas?" He returned fire at a mercenary attempting to move in on their position, shooting him till his knees buckled and he fell flat on the ground.

" All the flash and smoke grenades happen to be on the ship... " One of his crewmen channeled in, the fear in his voice was easily noticable. Jo'ron couldn't blame him though for even he was beginning to lose hope.

But all hope was not lost, for they had a distraction. Dryykan, the collosal Wookie that they picked up on a distant starport when Jo'ron first began smuggling, gave them a solution to their problem.

" [ I'll distract them for as long as I can. Everybody else escape and make it out of here. ] " He growled.

" What?! You've got to be fracking kidding me! We work as a team, nobody get's left beh--" Started Jo'ron before being cut off.

" [ I know what I'm doing! If I didn't know what I was saying then I would never have mentioned it in the first place. Now go! ] " Jo'ron heard the anger in the Wookie's voice. The comm-link went quiet as nobody dared to speak while waiting for Jo'ron's decision.

" Fine. " He replied finally, glancing over at his Wookie companion and nodding towards him with a slight smile.

He refused to show his emotions to the other members of his crew but on the inside he felt nothing but grief knowing that his friend was sacrificing himself to save everybody else. Dryykan thought hard about what he was about to do. He pulled out his spare blaster and psyched himself up, growling ferociously before pivoting from behind the giant container and pelting a mercenary with slugs.

All the attention turned to the visible Wookie who attacked the group of mercenaries ferociously. Several shots from the blasters hit him, but he refused to go down. He buckled to one knee and shot a mercenary jumping out from his cover. He continued to fight through the pain, forcing himself to his feet and taking several more steps forwards.

" [ Go, now! Hurry and get out of here! ] " Dryykan spoke one final time through his comm-link before the mercenaries fired at him all together, blaster bolts and slugs piercing his flesh. He fell to the ground with a great thud, landing face-first in a puddle of blood. By the time the mercenaries moved in to confront the rest of the crew they were gone.

But little did he know what happened after they had escaped...

" Frack. Alert the rest of the teams that they've escaped and are heading for Sector C. " Ordered their leader, who walked towards the Wookie and nudged the corpse with his foot. As he began to walk away, the seemingly dead Wookie's head shot up and growled ferociously. Dryykan grabbed ahold of the mercenary leader's foot, yelling plenty of profanity in his native language. The leader turned around and held a pistol right to his forehead.

Bang, Bang, Bang!

The Wookie was truely lifeless now.

" Remember, Jo'ron stays alive. Everybody else is expendable but the Hutts want him alive and sent back to Nal Hutta not full of slugs. " He spoke once again.

" I thought the contract was dead OR alive?! " One of his men complained before several other laughed.

" He's worth double the price alive. He stays alive, that's an order. " The leader shot the mercenary an evil, cold look that caused the laughter of all of them to cease from existing.

" Move out. "

-----

" Jo'ron! " Somebody called out, startling him. He rose from his bed to see Alen, another recruit, standing near the edge of his bed.

" What do you fracking want? " He replied before his eyes returned to drifting off into space. He was actually glad that Alen had woke him up. He didn't want to relive the death of his crewmates, the friends who he had smuggled with for plenty of years. But for them to be killed infront of him one by one was too much for him to handle. He promised himself to always make sure that his friends would make it out of any situation alive, no matter what it took. Dryykan's death was the main factor in this belief.

" Let's get some practice in at the firing range. " Alen waved his hand infront of Jo'ron's face. " You there? "

" Yeah...my bad. Spaced out, I guess. " He replied. He walked past Alen and reached into his locker, grabbing his pistol and sliding it in his holster.

" I'm ready. " He muttered before they walked towards the exit, their final destination being the firing range.

-- Three Weeks Later --

Private First Class Joron Tallus. 

Honestly, he could get use to the title. In the weeks following the incident at the firing range he had graduated with flying colors and apparently he was being shipped out in a few days. He turned on the palm-sized holonet and read the information in it thoroughly. It contained his platoon, squad and the current location of his squad.

" Blackjack..heh. " He muttered as his eyes scrolled over the information concerning his squad. Apparently they were one of the best squads the Vast Empire had to offer. While not trying to be overly cocky, he didn't want to be placed in a regular squad full of troopers with absolutely no experience with a weapon before the academy.

Even though he'd never been in a true combat situation he'd been in plenty of firefights before. There was a reason that he excelled at nearly everything they threw at him in the academy. Hell, he'd even managed to subdue atleast a good dozen prisoners during the riot they were sent to contain.

  If this didn't constitute that Jo'ron didn't deserve a spot in an Elite squad he had no clue what did. But PFC Tallus, or Lightray as he cleverly nicknamed himself, was being sent directly to combat. The three veteran squads of the Vast Empire were currently going through hell of Thyveck. Little did he know how bad it was, but he'd find out soon enough.

It'd been pretty quiet for a couple weeks. Whenever he went somewhere it was usually alone and the constant voice ringing in his ear was no longer there. Alen didn't make the cut just like Jo'ron predicted. Jo'ron didn't get too attached to him but it was always nice to have a friend whenever you were somewhere with absolutely nobody familiar around.

They exchanged goodbyes and parted ways with Jo'ron heading back to the barracks and Alen on the first flight back to his home planet. Home. A concept which Jo'ron hated for any chance of him heading home was an absolute death wish for him or his family. It angered him so much that all he could do was sleep and hope he had a good dream. But as of late, every dream was a flashback of what happened on Coruscant...

-----

Jo'ron and the two members of his crew that were still alive scrambled through the corridors that followed after heading through the security door. He knew the mercenaries were hot on their tail but they had the advantage of range between them. It didn't take long to reach the exit, which lead to a street filled with cantinas and small shops. It was bustling with activity and as far as he could see there weren't any threat to their safety.

" Holster your weapons and walk through the crowd. Stay sharp. " He ordered as the trio made their way through the crowd slowly.  Jo'ron pressed the communicator on his ear once again, a plan brewing in his head.

" Alright, listen. They're expecting us to most likely use the turbolift to make it to the surface but I have other plans. " He quit talking as he passed a group of aliens who shot him a dirty look. He wasn't scared but to be on the safe side it was best to not draw any attention.

" What's the plan? " Neeto, his Twi'lek friend and technician asked.

" I have a small hangar not far from here that's under a different name. If everything goes right there should be a shuttle in it that we can take to the surface. " He finished. He hoped everything would go right but in the end he was certain that the mercenaries would find out where they were eventually. The group at the hangar were there when they arrived, set up and ready for them to step off the ship. It was set up so perfectly that within the first few minutes half his crew was dead. He couldn't let their deaths be in vein. He had to make sure the remaining group would make it to the surface unscathed.

As they made their way to the end of the street Jo'ron took out his holocron and pointed out to the group where the hangar was. While not far it was still far enough for a battle to ensue if they were found. The number of people they passed shrunk to being zero as they left the bustling street full of shops to turn right and head straight for the hangar. They crept through the shadows, unholstering their weapons and moving as quick as they could. Suprisingly enough they met no resistance, not even when they approached his hangar. Jo'ron inputted the code on the data pad and stepped into the building with his pistol in hand.

This is wierd...it's too easy. He thought before turning to his group.

" This is too easy. Why would we get away this easy? " The level of confusion that clouded his mind began to irk him beyond belief. He turned around and walked towards the entrance of the shuttle trying to figure out if their would be a trap. It wasn't until his other friend began to speak that he figured out what was going on.

" Because you're a fool, Jo'ron. " Lar'ek, the newest addition to their crew, spoke. Several blaster shots followed after and Jo'ron froze in place wondering if he was shot. I'm alive... He turned around only to have a blaster pointed at his chest. Neeto was on the ground with several holes in his chest. " Frack..you bastard! I trusted you!" He angrily barked out. He should've saw the trap coming from a mile away.

" Don't get mad, Jo'ron. Business is business and my employers are paying well for your capture. " He erupted into a fit of laughter before raising his wrist-communicator infront of his mouth.

" I'm activating my tracking beacon, converge on this location. I have Jo'ron captured. " Jo'ron boiled with anger as he balled his hands into fists and took several steps forward, ready to strike. Lar'ek nudged at him with his blaster pistol.

" Stay still, I don't want your face to end up ruined, you're worth alot you know. "  He taunted Jo'ron once more.

" Who the hell wants me? Huh? " Jo'ron glared at him, waiting for him to let his guard down. When he did he'd strike.

" And why would I tell you that? All you need to know is i'm being payed very well for your capture. " Lar'ek replied.

" Heh. It took your lackeys this long to capture me you arrogant bastard, who's to say that I don't have a trap laid out right now? You're on my turf. " Jo'ron couldn't help but chuckle as he glared at Lar'ek. It became quiet as Lar'ek's mind raced to figure out if Jo'ron was bluffing. He'd never known Jo'ron to be the type to bluff but in a situation like this one would become desperate. But throughout the entire situation Jo'ron hadn't even flinched at a blaster bolt that was within inches of striking him. But he had to react soon or Jo'ron would take this as a sign of weakness, something that the arrogant Lar'ek refused to show.

" Oh really? A trap, huh? You're as defenseless as Neeto before I shot him down. " Lar'ek waited for an answer.

" For one, this place is rigged to explode at the press of a button. Two, you're currently being targetted by a battle droid. " He replied.

Lar'ek wasn't too sure how to respond. The first could definately be true but the second most likely was a lie. " If you don't believe me..take a look behind you. " Jo'ron finished with a smirk. He was sure that Lar'ek wasn't too foolish to actually do it but the tension in the room could easily tip the balance of power.

" You're bluffing. " Lar'ek replied, the tension was already starting to have an effect on his speech.

" Have you ever known me to bluff? I could blow this place up and take both your life and mine. Or I can have that droid just take you out. " He laughed, tilting his head to the side and staring at something. He raised his wrist near his mouth and broke the calm. " Terminate the target, now! " He yelled. Lar'ek couldn't help but react foolishly, jerking his head ever so slightly to see if there was a droid.

" Wrong move. " Jo'ron muttered as he took a step forward, crouching low with his knife in hand. Lar'ek's neck was impaled directly in the jugular. Blood poured from the wound as he dropped the blaster pistol and grabbed his neck with both of his hands, hoping to stop the bleeding with no success in the end. " Die-- " He began but was cut off after hearing several bangs on the door to the building. 

" Frack, i've got more company. " Jo'ron rushed to the shuttle and made his way through the ship to the cockpit. With a press of a button the roof opened, but the door to the hangar was forced opened allowing atleast a dozen mercenaries to pour inside while more were in the street awaiting orders. The ones inside opened fire on the shuttle as it began powering up and lifting into the air, but by then it was too late. Eventually the shuttle floated high enough above the hangar that every mercenary in the hangaropened fire upon it in an attempt to bring it down, but all their efforts were in vein.

But Jo'ron wasn't nowhere near done with the mercenaries. His entire crew was dead and their deaths wouldn't go without being avenged. He moved his hand over the control panel looking for the right button. He flipped open the case and pressed the brightly lit, neon-blue colored button. Within seconds a panel slowly opened next to him and a small remote was pulled out of it. " The first one wasn't a bluff. " He said to himself.  Clicking the circular shaped button in the middle of the button he watched the chaos unfold.

Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep!

The mercenaries began hearing a beeping noise that began as a single feint noise and multiplied until the sound became unbearable.  It was heard from all around them, in every corner and every section of the hangar but nobody could find out where it was coming from. They searched for the cause of the beeping as the noise began to speed up, beeping faster and faster. Eventually a trooper came across what seemed to be one of the causes of the noise, but by then it was too late. His eyes widened and he took several steps back before turning around fully.

" De-De-Det Packs!!" He yelled to the rest of the mercenaries. They scrambled for the door but everything erupted in a fiery explosion that rocked the entire block and even knocked the mercenaries outside to the ground. They had a trap planned for Jo'ron and in turn he trapped them, literally. The shuttle took off into the sky and their bounty slowly escaped their grasp. The last thing they wanted was for him to leave the planet and they'd make sure of it. Every starport and cantina had their agents in them. The only way he'd get off the planet would be by a miracle.

----

Jo'ron woke himself up. " Eh...I hate dreams. " He muttered. It seemed as if the only way to contain his boredom was to sleep but sleeping brought back what happened on Coruscant. Alen was gone and everybody he used to consider a friend was dead. The Private was now officially back to being lonely and bored. The only thing he had waiting for him was being deployed to Thyveck to join his squad but a few days was too much for him at the moment; He needed combat now. Jo'ron sighed and lifted himself off his bed. " To the mess hall.." He muttered before walking past the beds that filled the barracks. He couldn't help but notice Alen's old bunk covered in dufflebags and various other things. " Heh..they came as fast as they go. "