A lone figure stood looking out a a window, the moon Thyveck filled most of his view. His body ached from the long campaign, but he was well enough to do his duty as squad leader. His troopers were tired, and he had an obligation to get them home and safe. He was more concerned with their mental well being right now though, every one of the RAIDERS squad was suffering some form of it. He knew what needed to be done to ease the problems created by the campaign, he was just not sure he was allowed to do it.

He coughed softly, feeling the last dregs of bacta in his lungs moving around. It would be days before his body completely expelled the foreign substance. Thought he was use to it by now, it was not his first bacta bath in his career. He doubted it would be his last.

His mind was going over the events of the long campaign. In the end it had been a failure, the Empire had retreated from the moon. Even now high command was negotiating with the republic forces about prisoners of war both sides took. It did not look good, both sides were trying to hide the fact they took high ranking prisoners.

The transport RAIDERS were on was out bound for Tadath in a few hours. It was still being loaded otherwise they would of already been in hyperspace. The squads injuries were major, but a four day soak in bacta cured most everything. The mental issues over a six month long campaign would take the longest to heal. Some of them would carry those scars forever.

A datapad sat in his hand, the information drilled into his memory. Lists of casualties, expenditures, people missing in action, some of them from his squad. Awards, commendations, promotions, all in there as well. His black uniform was tidy, on his arms read the rank of First Sergeant, on the squad patch stood Squad Leader. It was finally completely official now, they were his squad. Somehow they had survived everything.

He could remember the tunnels, the slow realization that this was going to be it. Then Jilessa saying she saw the stars. Most of the night few hours were a blur for him, the squad had crept around Bastion slowly making their way out. Right before dawn they had met up with the remains of the Imperial forces making a fast retreat thirty something klicks north of Bastion. The squad was quickly shuttled up to a medical ship in orbit, after everyone was well enough they were sent to a transport about to make the jump towards Tadath. They were finally going home, but it just did not seem right for Joamer.

He had talked to Havock about it, she had said the feelings were normal after a defeat. He never believed in letting his men go to be with the taste of defeat in their mouths. It was bad for moral, even though everyone wanted to go home he knew they wanted payback deep inside. He could see it in their eyes, he was sure everyone could see it in his.

Clicking his comlink from his belt he keyed his squads frequency. After a moment he said slowly "RAIDERS, assemble in ready room four in one hour." He clicked it off and walked out of the room without waiting for replies. He knew everyone would be there, they were probably waiting for this moment.

Walking to the room their supplies were being kept he noticed new boxes added in. Walking up to one he picked up the manifest sitting on top and keyed in his security code. After a moment the pad brought up the list of supplies added to the squads. He smiled as he saw their standard armor and weapon load out, plus a few personal items from each member added in.

Yea, time for a bit of payback. The voice in his head said after a moment. He had to agree. The republic forces had no idea what they were up against now. Time to show them what RAIDERS can really do.

OOC:

Alright, mission brief to follow shortly. We are on some standard transport, waiting for the jump to hyperspace. But, as you can see we have some of our shiny toys someone sent us. So for now do a bit of CD, go into detail how you are doing physically/mentally after the campaign. Then come to the ready room, once everyone is there I'll do the mission brief. It's time for some payback.

‘It is a shame really, it would have been nice to have a long... well permanent rest but somehow we survived. What did we survive for? To float around on this ship receiving treatment for injuries we acquired, to receive a promotion and a few medals. Yet we are no more remembered here than we would have been if we died down there, the only real difference is that now we  have to live with the memories of that place. We will be the ones waking up in the middle of the night screaming because we had a nightmare, recalling our time on that planet. The only real consolation is that we can leave now and go to another hell hole where new horrors will haunt us, until the next mission and then the one after that and then...’ Karash did not normally get so disturbed by the events of any one campaign but this time something was different. The past months on that planet kept replaying themselves over and over again in his mind, he had not spoken to any of the squad since they had been on the medical ship. He had not been too badly injured and did not require any serious attention so most of his time was spent thinking which was not necessarily a good thing. What was troubling Karash the most was the fact that he was not haunted by the mission, in fact he felt nothing. He had seen a few of his squad mates in passing and he could see that they were troubled; he could see that they were haunted. When Karash looked in the mirror all he could see was a face with hollow eyes, there was nothing behind them, not sadness, pain, anger or any other emotion. There was nothing. The reason he kept reliving every moment was because he desperately wanted to feel something.

"RAIDERS, assemble in ready room four in one hour." Joamer’s voice came over the comlink.

‘I guess they have decided where to send us next. I wonder where it will be this time? There will probably be one or two new squad members waiting for us, they will undoubtedly be fresh faced and ready to fight for another stripe on their arm and a shiny medal on their chest. They will one day feel like I do, they will feel an indifference to the death of thousands, to their own death. For now they will be annoying as any other of the countless recruits I’ve seen, they will probably die or drop out before they earn any respect. What’s worse is that I have to look those I do respect in the face, I have to look at them and see their sad eyes and they will be greeted by nothingness. They will look at me and ask themselves how he can carry on like nothing happened.’ Karash had unwittingly left his quarters and made his way to the meeting point, currently he was standing just outside the door preparing himself for entry. Since being on this ship he had started to take his medication again, he had expected that he would need it as it was usually after periods of extreme stress that his psychological symptoms would begin. Perhaps it was the medication that was dulling his feelings but Karash doubted that, they had never done that before. He was perhaps too dramatic about everything, he knew that he exaggerated most things but he could not help feel something was not right.

"Welcome to Raiders kid," said one of the RAIDERS as Karash entered the room. He did not look over at his squad mate and the new member, he looked at no one and tried to enter unnoticed and skulk in one of the corners.

‘I do not like the look of this. Why have they asked us here? Surely they should just take us to Tadath and then we could get started on our next mission. Of course we could be... no. They would not give us something else to do here, they know what we have been through, they know how we feel. Then again what do they care, we are just another means to get the job done, you just lie to yourself if you think they care. I know we are staying; we might die down there after all.’ Karash closed his eyes and sighed deeply, hoping Joamer would arrive soon.

So this is how it feels to come off of a long campaign... Heliwer thought. He was sat alone off from everyone staring at his hands clad in black gloves. The three stripes that denoted the rank of Sergeant felt like they were made from gilded lead. They felt false, as if he did not deserve it. Army Command thought he did. Surviving against tough odds, carrying on though wounded, and in the end making sure the other squads escaped. Seems like a clean cut promotion. No one though asked him. He was now the fourth highest ranking soldier in the RAIDERS, only just behind Karash in seniority. This meant new responsibilities that he was not really used to. Not only that, but he felt that he needed to make up for the Thyveck fiasco.

Hang on a sec, He thought. This isn't me. I earned that promotion fair and square. I should be estatic. But why not?

His right hand started involuntarily twitching out of control. He grabbed his hand quickly only for his left to shake as well. A shaky breath was exhaled by the big trooper as he realized a fairly big problem: he had shell shock. That was something he did not like to have known to the squad, and would attempt to hide as much as possible from everyone. Well, almost everyone. Joamer would be able to pick up on it, and so would Karash.

To calm his nerves, Heliwer reached for his lighter and a cigaro, sticking the small, white cylinder in his mouth before lighting it with unsteady hands. A few puffs later, he was still shaking. Not even when he went through two more cigaros did the shaking stop. He sighed and leaned back against the wall, pinching the bridge of his nose. He had read about shell shock victims, how they would sometimes have nonstop shaking, how loud noises would make them jump. This was not what he needed, not now. Not when he is so close to going home. Not when he is newly promoted.

“RAIDERS, assemble in ready room four in one hour.” Came Joamer’s voice through the comlink.

The sergeant sucked in a deep breath as the words echoed in his ears for a few seconds.

Looks as if all this is gonna go south. He nibbled at his bottom lip. I sure hope I can fight. Lord, or whoever is up there, knows that I need all the help I can get to survive, or even just make it to the room. Joamer will probably ask if I’m ok, try to sit me out. No sir. I will not miss out on a fight. No matter what state I’m in.

He rubbed his neck as his mental thoughts sunk in. Not very reasonable really, he said to himself, but I mean, it’s me for crying out loud. It’s practically expected. He stood up and stretched his back out before grabbing his black imperial cap and putting it on. He looked around before picking up his pack of cigaros and leaving the area, accidentally leaving his lighter behind. The walk to the room seemed long and to take hours and when passed a bathroom, he dove inside to splash some water on his tired face.

As he did that, he saw what the campaign did to him physically too. The bacta bath got rid of physical scars, but that was not what he was concerned at. He knew that his 38th birthday was in two days, but he looked more like in his late 50s; his eyes were solemn and dull, his hair faint as if it was gonna turn grey any moment now, and had coarse stubbles on his face from where he had shaved only the day before. He shook his head and walked quickly to the ready room, passing in full view of Karash and Joamer, a hand gently shaking as he put a cigaro in his mouth.

To the untrained eye, he looked like a normal vet, but to the eyes of a medic or squad leader, it was evident that Heliwer was well changed. He sat down in the other corner, directly across from Karash. The cigaro was more of a distraction than anything, and as the other members filed in, he reached for the data pad and looked it over, hands still shaky, attempting to forget the watching eyes of his squad leader who had noticed, and hope that no one else noticed. He did not need to be babied by the whole squad.

The air around him felt hot and stifling as he paced the small anti-room behind ready room four. He was about to commit the squad to a course of action that took them back into hell. They spent six months trying to get out, and now finally when they were so close to going home he was asking them to go back in. He would ask them, he knew he could order them and they would follow without hesitation. For their mental well being they needed to make the choice themselves.

Over the last weeks two brain doctors had talked to him. Tried to get him to discuss the campaign, and the choices he had made while in command. At first he explained to them why they did what they did, then began ignoring them. You can not explain the rigors of war to someone who has never fired a weapon before. They will just not get it.

It took remembering his past to understand the course of action he needed to take. A very old friend had told him long ago that sometimes doing the right thing, meant not doing the right thing.

The armor he was wearing felt correct now. It had been a very long time since they had used their shadow armor. With a little luck it would only be used for a day or two till they were inside Bastion again. His trusty M1-A Particle Magnum sat on his hip, while his ARMAT M41-A Pulse Rifle hung from a sling on his back.

He had chosen to wear the armor to the briefing to show the squad the toys they now got to use. It seemed during the last push of the campaign their shadow armor, plus a few personal weapons had been shipped out to them. The squad did not have a large selection of weapons, but now maybe they had enough to get the job done correctly.

Hitting the door panel he stepped into the brightly lit room to sudden silence. His helmet was off, his shoulder length hair pulled back and tied. Setting the helmet on a nearby table he walked up to the edge of the stage and looked out over the men and woman of his squad. They starred at him, he could see their expressions change as they realized what was happening. He saw a few of the older members nod their heads once, their choice already made. The newer members were still uncertain though.

"A few of you know my true history, most of you do not. I was born in forty two BBY, that means I was born two decades before the start of the clone wars. I was frozen in carbonite around the start of the wars." He paused for a moment and looked at everyone in turn. "My old mentor once told me, "Boy, if you remember nothing. Remember this, 'Never let your troopers go to bed with the taste of defeat.' That is why I'm going back down to Thyveck, you all have the choice to come with me or stay here and travel back to Tadath. I'm going to infiltrate Bastion under the guise of a republic soldier, and slowly turn the civilian population against them. Thyveck belongs to us, I refuse to let those bastards have it."

After a brief pause he grabbed his helmet and jumped off the stage. Walking towards the door he said "For those who choose to join me, our equipment is in storage room sixteen. I'll be in shuttle bay two, we leave in thirty minutes."

He walked the hallways alone, he had not even told Bright he was doing this. Everyone needed to make their own choice in the matter. The hallways he took were not empty in the slightest, crew members rushed around performing their duties, imperial army personnel stood in groups awaiting orders. When they saw him walking calmly wearing black armor they moved to the side a respectable distance.

Everyone by now knew they had RAIDERS squad aboard. News of what happened during the campaign traveled fast, everyone knew now they survived a suicide mission. That, and the fact every Storm Trooper squad had made the choice to go back into hell gave proof of just what kind of men and woman it took to carry the title.

He hoped his squad joined him, he would put on a show for the republic forces if he went alone, but he needed his squad behind him. Stepping into the shuttle bay he placed his helmet on a crate nearby and began the waiting game.

Heliwer had to let out a little smirk as Joamer spoke. Thyveck belongs to us, I refuse to let those bastards have it. That probably spoke for all the older members as to what they were thinking. Defeat tasted bitter and left a very nasty aftertaste. Joamer was giving them just the sweetener they needed to turn it around.

Most of the squad was sitting and thinking about their decision. The sergeant had already made up his mind. He had thought long and hard about what to do, and decided that he would give anything to get stuck in again. Sure he had shell shock, his hands were shaking like a leaf on a tree, and the “new girl”, Senior Sergeant Jaenna Caldwin, looked like she could wrestle with a Gamorrean and tear it limb from limb.

What is it with this squad and tough women? Seems like as soon as one crops up, Army Command make it their priority to send them here! Course he would never say that out loud in fear of being turned into mincemeat. The supply room was not all that far away from the meeting room. He could easily walk there and to the shuttle bay in a few minutes with enough time to search for his blasted lighter. He calmly walked out behind Jaenna and, making sure not to get lost, went his way to the supply room. He arrived, first one there apparently due to the way he went. There were changing rooms so you could put on the new shadow armor, and boxes labeled with squad members’ names, filled with their other gear. Grabbing his armor, he got changed, the new duds snug against his body. His helmet remained next to his box for him to put on at a later time.

As he went over to the box, he noticed Jaenna come storming in, knocking him down.

“Watch where your goin’, alright?” Heliwer blurted in annoyance. She stopped mid stride and slowly turned around with a look that could kill.

“Hey, hey, I don’t mean any harm by it, ok? Just... Watch it.”

She humph’d him, grabbed her armor, and went to change. Shaking his head, he took note of the encounter and jotted down a mental note: Do not piss her off. After he got up off of his butt, he went to his box and opened it. The contents brightened his day. In it were his M-590 Assault Rifle that he carried with him through most of the Thyveck campaign, and an M3 Revolver, one of the ones that the Major had left behind. As well as that, there were also several grenades that caught his eye. Heliwer stocked up on ammo and left for the “room“ he was in prior to the meeting, helmet under his arm, assault rifle on his back, and revolver by his side.

It was about twenty minutes since Joamer said about meeting in the shuttle bay, and he still could not find his lighter. Fed up, he sighed and went about his way to the shuttle bay. When he got there, Joamer was still sitting alone. The others must have gone the long way and spent the time examining their kit. He stood in front of his squad leader and saluted with his free hand.

“Sergeant Heliwer Garrarth, reporting for duty as the apparent first one here, sir.” He beamed, feeling more relaxed than he had ever been. This feeling went away as Jaenna appeared from behind a crate.

“What you mean, first one here?” She yelled. “You got to the supply room first alright, but took forever to find your ass here!”

His right eye gave a slight twitch. And he though that he himself was bad at anger management! He sighed, sat down against a crate, and pulled out a cigaro.

“Hey,” He called. “You got a lighter on ya? Can’t find it. That’s what took me forever. Lost my only lighter.”

It seemed as if time had stopped suddenly. She had a semi-blank look on her face, which could mean that she could explode any moment now and tearing his structurally superfluous new be-hind, or in the realm of hope, was thinking of where her lighter was, if she smoked at all. The hand that had the cigaro was holding it to his mouth, and the other was out stretched shaking lightly.

"Eh. here."

She tossed her lighter over to him, just catching it, and lit his cigaro.

"Thanks. Needed that."

‘I knew they were going to send us back down there. Trying to make out as though it’s a matter of honour and ending what we started. That is all nonsense; we are going back because we were available not because it is our special task. They are trying to pretend we have a choice but I would not like to imagine what would happen if we turned it down, our careers would be over not to mention the hatred we would receive for not doing what we should have.’ Karash had left quite quickly after Joamer but he had slowed down as he began to think things over. Every time he allowed himself to think he became more disillusioned with himself and his superiors. The medic was not in a rebellious or mutinous mood he had just lost sight of why he was serving.

As Karash approached the storage room he saw Jaenna, who had just returned, and Heliwer make their way towards the shuttle. He had deliberately waited for them to be out of sight before he entered; any interaction with squad mates was still less than desirable. ‘Look at the mess we are in: A soldier with no desire to fight, a RAIDERS member who does not want to interact with his squad and... well that is it but it is a dire state to be in. Things were so much easy when you were simply mad, take some pills and you were better.’ Sifting through the box of personal effects Karash was underwhelmed, there was just the usual weapons and medical supplies. Medical supplies that were hardly necessary now Havock was no longer in the squad. Turning around the Senior Sergeant noticed his reflection and was once again met by an image of apathy. Karash was not emotional at the best of times but still there was nothing, he needed to release all those feelings that had built up over the campaign on Thyveck but he could not. What scared him most was that the outcome was obvious, these pent up emotions would explode at the most inopportune time and somebody would end up dead, that somebody would probably be Karash.

Whilst making his way to the shuttle a sudden thought popped into his head, “That was Jaenna I saw earlier!” A state of amazement hit Karash.

‘That is all we need, the only woman I have ever met that was more awkward than Havock. She was not a bad SL but she brought any number of problems and is bound to have any number of new ones. Nothing but trouble that is all that will come from this.’ It was oddly comforting for Karash to be internally moaning about something, it brought about a sense of normality.

“His hands were shaking...” Another thought had spontaneously appeared in his mind and this time it was referencing Heliwer.

‘He is far too brash for my liking. I’ve met his kind before; they just get on with things whilst they are breaking down. I know I have been there. It was his first serious campaign and that would have been enough to send a battle hardened veteran round the twist, we shall have to keep our eyes on that one.’ As was usual for the medic he had continued wandering towards his destination without fully comprehending what he was doing; now he was stood a few metres away from the shuttle.

“I must admit Karash I was not entirely sure if you were going to join us.” Joamer spoke half-jokingly.

“And leave you lot to restore our reputation and be eternally remembered as the one who could not stick it. I may not like or agree with it but I will be there.” Karash spoke with a deadly seriousness.

Whilst loading his stuff on to the shuttle he had realised that the reason he had always come back to the RAIDERS was that it was the only place he was contented, even if he was often infuriated by its members. Soon after he noticed both Jaenna and Heliwer; he had already decided what course of action he was going to take regarding them.

He noticed that Heliwer’s hands were still shaking as he approached, “I know what it feels like to lose control of your mind, don’t let it compromise you or your squad.” Karash did not wait for the trooper’s response as he turned to approach Jaenna.

“I remember you; I remember the trouble you caused. I have no desire learn of your new problems. I also remember what a good trooper and leader you were.” This time Karash moved more quickly as he also remembered what being hit by Jaenna felt like. 

Feeling slightly more confident about himself, Karash sat down and awaited the journey ahead.

"Damn it D'Jonoc, you have not been cleared for duty yet. Get your ass back in that bed!"

Bright looked at the on board chief medical officer. He was one that had patched her up before, though she had often refused to remember his name. Maybe she should begin to make the effort to do so. He really wasn't so bad, just didn't like it when his patients thought they could leave without his approval.

"Begging your pardon but I have some where to be right about now." She said casually, hiding the fact that she was still in much pain.

He stared at her with knowing eyes and a sadness almost permeated through his tough exterior. He'd seen her do this so many times that he practically almost gave up when she put up a fight. Bright knew that she was in pretty bad shape still. Having more injuries than she'd originally counted on, a four day soak in a bacta bath apparently wasn't enough to heal the more serious injuries. But at least the risk of infection was gone.

"If your squad leader is leading  you back down to that planet I cannot in good conscience allow you to go. Therefore I have been authorized to sedate you should the need arise." The medical officer gave her a scrutinizing look. "And I will not hesitated to use that authority."

"What is your name?" She asked tilting her head. She didn't stop pulling on some descent clothes.

The chief medical officer sized her up before grabbing a syringe filled with enough sedative to put a man three times her size out for more than a week. "Timothy." He replied.

Bright raised a delicate brow, "Timothy, don't think for even a second that I can't take you out with only one arm." She said in a deadly calm voice.

Now any sane man would have taken a step back and dropped the syringe. Timothy was not sane and he was doing his job to the letter. Unfortunately for him, Brightstar was not going to be prevented from hearing that briefing. He took another step forward and made to place the needle into Bright's neck. She brought her one arm up and slapped away his hand, spun around him and quickly slammed her fist into the middle of his spine.

Timothy dropped to the floor momentarily stunned. Bright took advantage of the man's inability to move, and took the syringe from his hand. "Sorry Timothy. Hopefully by the time you wake up I will be back and you wont have to worry about sedating me." She stuck the needle into his neck and pumped only half of the sedative in. She didn't want to kill him just put him out for a few hours.

That done she walked out of sickbay with a self satisfied smile on her face. Inside though she wasn't completely sure she was doing the right thing.

=============

Bright stood at the door listening to the briefing that Joa gave. She wanted to go. Her blood screamed out for her to do it know matter what condition she was in. But she had to be realistic with herself. She looked down. Thinner than she'd ever been in her life. She had bones sticking out in places she didn't know she had bones. She looked over at her left arm, or what should have been her left arm. All that met her eyes was empty air and the stub off her shoulder that was the remnant of a past life, her cybernetics had not yet been replaced.

She clenched her right hand into a fist, and found her grip still lacking. Four days in a bacta bath had definitely done her good, but it didn't do everything. The rest was up to her. Her legs felt shaky and sapped of strength and her over all health had plummeted the moment she was in the medics care. She had been able to stop fighting if only for a moment.

Realizing just what she was capable of now and what she could be at, she knew that she would only be slowing the squad down. Mentally she kicked herself. What had she been trying to prove by thinking she could go with Joamer? She looked inside the room and saw many of the faces she'd fought side by side with on Thyveck. Then her gaze swept wider. She saw new faces and one very familiar face indeed. Bright felt surprise well up inside her. The last time she'd seen Jaenna was just shortly before the mission on Nivek. Or at least as far as she could recall. Some of her memories were still screwy, but she could still remember Jae clearly.

Instantly the weight on her shoulders seemed much lighter. As the ASL of Raiders squad she felt she had the obligation to always be where the rest of the squad was. To have them in her sight so that she could look after them as she could. That was what being the ASL meant to her. To minimize the damage done to her squad and to be the backup for the SL when he or she needed it. But she still felt like she was trying to prove something. Would they look at her they way they looked at Jaenna. As a deserter, as the scum one would scrape off the bottom of their boots.

Bright was likely one of the only ones who knew what it was like to be on the other side. Joa and Jae both did of course and it seemed a constant thing for Karash. But The others were so fresh, so new. The respect she had for Jaenna doubled. To have been on the other side and to come back with that sort of reputation took guts. But how much did it take to stay behind and let others do the fighting without you? She didn't know.

Noticing that Joa had finished his briefing and was getting ready to leave, Bright sunk into the shadows.  He passed her without looking back. She sat there and waited to see if anyone else would follow him and smiled when Jaenna did. Another point for, Caldwin. Bright thought watching the other woman walk stiffly down the hall. Heliwer, Mox, some guy she didn't know and surprisingly but no less welcome, Karash filed out of the room.

Bright looked down at her one hand. There was no time to even have a simple droid arm put in place before that shuttle left. "And if Karash has seen fit to go then who the hell am I to stay just because I have only one arm." She muttered to herself. She was the ASL of this squad and she was going come hell or high water.

================================

The shuttle had not left yet when she showed up. She was dressed in her shadow suit and had her gear hanging from a strap on her left shoulder stub. Her side arm was clipped to her waist and she had another lighter weapon slung over her right shoulder. Stepping into the shuttle's cargo area where the rest of the Raiders were, Bright's presence created almost instant silence. She could almost hear what some of the rookies were thinking, but she wasn't looking for their approval. Instead her eyes had met Joa's. 

He looked at once happy then concerned. She shrugged. "They couldn't find anything to replace it with in time. So I decided to come as is." She said. inwardly she kicked herself. That was beyond lame. She thought.

"With a bit of luck we won't be doing any major fighting, we are supposed to be under cover." Joamer said as he looked at her. He very much doubted his words though, and his eyes told of the concern he could not let his mouth speak.

Bright sighed then let her gaze fall on Jaenna. They narrowed for a moment as she thought. She was remembering the looks and whispers that had followed the other woman as she followed Joa tot he shuttle. "If you order me to go, Joamer, I'll go." She said looking back at him.

He looked at her, then looked around him slowly. He wanted her as his ASL, they made the perfect team together. He also knew if she did not join them in this mission the chances of her remaining ASL were slim, the squad would turn against her. He had seen it happen many times before. He was concerned also for her safety, he knew she could fight with one arm. He hated forcing her to that point though, he did have the squad to look after above all. Everyone believed in her, a long campaign proved that to them. If she abandoned them this mission things would turn south very quickly. "Stay, for them. They need you now more than ever."

Without another word she took a seat next to him and propped her gear up next to his. She had no allusions. She knew her limits. The gear she had was meant for setting up an undercover command post. And for as long as they were there she would remain where she would be the least amount of inconvenience as she could.

Therex slowly entered the shuttle, surveying all the squad members. He had learned most of their names, yet they still only knew his call sign and nickname. He wasn't big on creating any lasting bonds. That came from moving to squad after squad. Over the years, as a doctor, he eventually learned how to read people. The Heliwer guy seemed confident but underneath he was obviously a wreck. Therex was no psychiatrist, but there was some definite damage in his brain. He had seen it before. It was a very familiar sight when you spend lots of time dodging bullets and jumping foxholes. Therex probably had some problems of his own, but he was able to bury them so deep, that he couldn't even find it.
 
  Sitting next to Heliwer, was a woman reeking of some sort of cigarra. He recognized the distinct smell and remembered her as Jaenna. That kind of smell clung to the skin and was impossible to remove. She was offering Heliwer one, but he didn't appear to be one of those who was a heavy smoker. Therex's suspicion was confirmed when Heliwer started coughing up his lungs. Therex chuckled quietly to himself. Forget bedside manner. He was asking for it.

  Therex sat down and strapped himself in. He hadn't been part of the campaign, but he thought this would be a good time to cement himself in the Raider's squad. As they sat on the silent shuttle, Therex listened to the quiet conversations the rest of the team was having. His mind began to drift and he eventually fell asleep. He snapped awake when someone touched his shoulder. Therex was sweating profusely and he couldn't think of why. This sort of thing had happened in the past, waking up not remembering dreams, but feeling dread. They usually happened right before bad things happened.  And they always happened to other people.

  "You OK?" a familiar voice said. Therex looked up and saw the squad member known as Dawn, or something like that. strapping in next to him. "Dawn" had been the first to greet him in the briefing room.

  "Yeah I am fine." Therex said uneasily. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something bad about to happen. He shook his head and sat up straight in his chair. Thankfully no one had noticed his reaction to waking up. Hewiler had controlled his coughing, and was still talking to the smoking woman. The CO and another squad member were sitting opposite of them. He could hear the engines start up and they slowly ascended through the atmosphere into God knew what.

  I seriously hope I make it through this one.

Dusk and Therex were the second group off the transport and were headed south. They quickly sprinted under the cover of trees to hide from any ships that flew over. 'At least I'm with the Doc, just in case.'

As they crept through some tall brush Dusk signaled his partner to stop. "I hear voices up ahead." Dusk whispered to Therex.

Dusk moved around to were a NR trooper stood smoking. He slowly crawled towards the man. Dusk quickly drew his knife, covered the mans mouth, and slit his throat. As he dragged the body into the bushes, Therex took out another scout. The last scout left was a large Trandoshan who was on alert because he could smell the blood of his comrades.

Dusk slowly crept along in the shadow and drew a throwing knife. His aim was true but the knife harmlessly bounced of it's scaly hide. The beast quickly turned about with heavy blaster in hand and opened fire.

Dusk and Therex hid in a small crater from the air raids. "I'll give you cover as you get to that tree."

Dusk lifted his Deathrain and opened fire as Therex ran from cover. He saw his bag that held his E-11 and Force Pike. 'I'm going to need that if I want to kill that fraking lizard.' Dusk thought.

When the Trandoshan hid behind a boulder, Dusk waved for Therex to toss him the bag. He grabbed the bag mid-air and pulled out his Force Pike. Therex took a few shots at the edge of the boulder to keep it behind the boulder, as Dusk went around the other side.

Dusk rounded the corner and saw the Trandoshan standing in front of him. It lashed out with a powerful punch that would have liquidated Dusk's skull, had been there. He had quickly crouched below the first blow and stabbed upward into the beasts stomach. It growled and in it's raspy reptilian voice I'll gut you and mount you on my wall."

He lifted Dusk to his feet and smacked him across the face, knocking his helmet off. As he drew back his fist to finish Dusk, a blade protruded from the Trandoshan's neck. It gasped and dropped Dusk, as it fell Therex stood there wiping his blade. He smiled and and replaced his knife in it's sheath. "Thought you could use some help."
"Na, I could'a handled it."

They both smiled and Therex handed Dusk his helmet. They heard the hum of a low flying X-Wing and ducked behide a tree and kept moving south.

Grahim was sitting quite comfortably right now but he wasn't listening to what Joamer was saying instead he was having problems with having a cybernetic eye and on top of that it was sitting lower than his real eye which means that not only does he have to adjust to a robotic eye he also has to learn to live with a strange view. He would probably stop noticing it in a couple of years but right now it fraked with his mind.

“Karash, do yousa have una painkiller mesa think mesas head isa getting hammered by una bombad mon calamari dreadnaught.” Grahim whispered to Karash. The medic seemed to be drawn out of his own thoughts.

“What did you say?” Karash whispered back.

“Painkiller for mesas headache.” Grahim answered. Karash opened one of the outer pockets of the bag and took out two different pills and gave them to Grahim.

“Why do mesa need duey pills?” Grahim asked.

“One is fast acting and the other takes some time before it kicks in but it ensures that you will be free of pain during a longer period of time.” Karash mumbled something more that Grahim thought was. “so you can get blastered full of holes so that I have to save you.” Grahim didn't ponder it, he too were in bad shape after the long and horrible siege of Thyveck. He had been stuck in a cage and tortured by a gang of mercs whom were working for the NR. He had noticed that he got angry more often, for now reason at all often. Grahim caught realized that he had let his mind wonder for too long. He would have to ask someone else from the squad what they were supposed to do.

But Grahim saw that some of the others had also let their mind wander as his had, He suspected that Bright already knew the plan and therefore didn't care to listen again. The only ones who actually seemed to listen to Joamer were Jae, Dusk and Therex. He was pondering if he should ask his squad leader if he could repeat the orders. He decided that it was for the best to know the plan that had been laid and how it would be performed, by whom and when.

“Excuse mesa, sir.” Grahim said.

“Yes what is it?” Joamer said and looked a bit annoyed that he was interrupted.

“Mesa didn't manage to hear yousas plan because mesa was getting treatment from wesas doctor, for mesas headache. So could yousa please repeat yousas plan.” Grahim tried to use a very innocent tone when he said it. But it just sounded false in his own ears. Probably it did in his squad leaders as well, because he answered. “I really should have you court martialed for insubordination sometime, but today I will tolerate it. But if this is going to start happening on a regular basis I will have to carry out my threat.”

“Yesa, sir. Mesa understands, mesa won't repeat itsa.” Grahim didn't knew if Joamer was joking or actaully meant it. Though he suspected that it was the latter. This time Grahim leaned forward and just listened to Joamer's plan.

OOC:

I am sorry for the short post.

It seemed such a long time since the Senior Sergeant had done anything, in reality of course it was just a number of days but they had seemed so much longer. He once again felt alone and isolated; the squad, the world and everything else was changing yet he was still in this same position of depression and near insanity. ‘We have been here for days and nothing, you should have just left when you had the chance,’ as was always the case Karash’s mind raced as he body remained stationary. Going awol had crossed him mind several times of the past few days but he did not feel like being left on a hostile planet with no way of getting home, where ever home was meant to be.

Joamer spoke in a tired tone but sounded determined as ever when he dismissed the squad. Karash waited until most of the others had gone before he wrenched himself up from his seat, for the first time he ached when getting up for no apparent reason; the process of premature aging was something that fit his neuroticism quite succinctly. By the time he had fully prepared his self to venture into the outside world, the only other person in the room was Joamer. The medic had avoided speaking with the SL over the past few days about anything that was not strictly business, the pairs relationship was an odd one. They were very different people and neither really liked the other but they had somehow managed to form a workable relationship based on a mutual dislike.

“I suppose you think we can get through this, against the odds no matter what?” Karash did not look at Joamer.

“We will do our jobs and we will do them to the best of our ability.” Joamer was clearly not in the mood for one of Karash’s rants that were supposed to have some nugget of wisdom buried deep inside.

“I am sure we will.” Karash still stared at his own feet.

“What?” The Squad Leader must have been caught off guard as his words almost came out slurred.

“I am sure we will do our jobs and ever complete our mission. But at what cost?” Now he was staring right at Joamer, an odd fury building inside him.

Karash did not wait to hear the answer and left in an overly dramatic fashion, he left as he knew he would say something that would probably get him shot. ‘What now? You weren’t listening to your orders, so yet again you are just going to be wandering around. You are utterly useless.’

Walking around the city was even lonelier than sitting in a room of some dank apartment, surround by people but completely alone; ‘If you weren’t so depressed you might think that was rather poetic.’ Karash had had enough of himself and began to hum a song, he was not sure if it was a real song but it sounded better than his own ranting.

Dusk was sticking to the shadows keeping his pistol in his trench coat and knife up the sleeve. 'Damn reppies, the civilians think their heroes for taking the city.' Dusk thought bitterly.

Dusk wandered till he came to one of the bad parts of the city, in the south west end. 'If I'm going to find the underground resistance or whatever It'll be in one of the bad parts.' He thought.

Dusk passed an alley and heard the shuffling of feat and saw a man step around the corner with a broken pipe in hand. 'Wow I'm getting jumped; I thought I saw the last of that back on Corasaunt.' He thought sarcastically.

He quickly examined his surroundings. The man behind Dusk grabbed his shoulder and turned him around.

“What’s a little man like you doing in a place like this?” The man said in a hoarse voice.

“Well I’m looking for the head of the criminal underworld,” Dusk said as he slipped his knife from his sleeve, ”but you two civilized men wouldn't’t know anything about that, now would you?”

“Nah, nothing at all.” The man behind said as he brought the pipe down on the back of Dusk’s legs.

He was knocked to the ground with the blow and his knife skidded away. The man who was the first to say something walked over and picked up the blade. As he scrutinized the weapon Dusk grabbed a handful of dust from the debris that littered the city.

“So,” The man with the knife said. “You were gona’ try to stick us with this, weren't yea’? Well, you see we wouldn’t appreciate that. Lloyd show him what happens when someone tries to stick us.”

Lloyd moved forward and raised his pipe, as Dusk whipped around and tossed the dust into his face blinding Lloyd. Followed by a blow to the nose, Lloyd dropped.

“So you see what I just did to Lloyd? I just broke his nose. Now, the same thing will happen to you except ten times worse if you don’t tell me what I want to know.” Lloyd groaned slightly and Dusk kicked him in the chest effectively breaking a few ribs.

Just then Cody or coad something walked around the corner. He had  to hurry and get the info before his fellow Raider noticed.

He grabbed the man’s shirt and disarmed him. Dusk shoved him into the small alley that he originally came from and held him against the wall. Drawing his “Bull Stopper” and pressing it under the mans chin.

“Ok, I’m running out of time,” Dusk said hastily.” I know that you have a boss somewhere. Don’t try denying it. Go tell him that he needs to go to that fallen tower next to the small park. Ok, if he doesn’t show I’ll kill you slowly and painfully.”

He nicked the mans arm with the knife and pushed him back into the street. Dusk wiped the blood of the tip of his blade with a cloth he had in his pocket. Making sure he got all of it, he hid all his weapons back in  their spots.

Dusk stepped back in to the street and was happy to see that neither men were still there. He saw Coadster looking the other way.

“Hey Coadster,” Dusk put on a fake smile. ”Is Karash still back at base.”
“Huh, Oh hey Dusk. Um… Yeah I think he is. But I’m not sure.”
“Ok, thanks, see you later.”

        *                              *                                    *

Dusk stepped out of the elevator into the apartment. Joamer was in the back room looking at a constantly changing map of the damage to the city. Karash sat in front of a console working on something.

“Hey Karash.”
He didn’t move as he responded, “What do you want Dusk?”
“I was wondering if you could get me some info on this guy.”
“Can’t you do that by yourself?”
“No ‘cause I don’t have a name.”
“Then why did you ask in the first place?” Karash asked irritably.
“Because I have the guy’s blood and I thought you could use that.” Dusk snapped back.
“Ok, then yes I can. But the real question is will I?” He said as he turned in his chair.

Dusk pulled out the cloth and tossed it to the man and said, “I need it soon.”

    *                                      *                                    *

Dusk waited amongst the rubble waiting for someone to enter the park. He watch through his macrobinoculers. He could understand why no one was around. The park had craters from the artillery, trees strewn around, and the fountain was mostly destroyed.

Dusk noticed movment at the north entrance to the park. A group of people dressed similar all seemed to have weapons and were positioned to best protect the man in the center without crowding around him.

They stood near the fountain, when the man in the middle raised his hand and faced towards the fallen tower. Dusk put the macro’s back at his waist and went around to each scope and uncovered them. When he finished he walked out from behind a large piece of the tower.

All weapons were drawn and pointed at Dusk. The he said, “Hey, I wouldn’t shoot me if I were you.” He pointed over his shoulder at the scopes so that they saw the glint, thinking there were snipers dotted around the rubble.

“So, yeah, put the weapons away and let’s talk.”
The men parted as they put their blasters back. Dusk and the man in charge approached each other.

“This was a bold move, attacking my men and then arranging for us to meet. I like that, and I know that your alone and that those are only rifle scopes.”
Dusk hesitated for a moment, taken aback that he caught his ruse.
“Ok, but that was plan A, this is plan B.” Dusk stated confidently. He pulled out the light signaled and shot the beam up at the roofs around the park. Laser points popped up on some of the mens heads and three were focused on the leader.

Dusk listened to his com for a second hearing Karash’s voice tell him that the man he was talking to was a Joren Oltis.

“Well, now that I proved you wrong, let’s get back to business, Joren.” Dusk said smugly.
Joren’s eyes grew larger for a split second in surprise.
“What do you want?”
“Oh, well I want a lot of thing but those aren’t important now. It’s what he want’s” As Dusk finished he pointed behind Joren towards Joamer who was walking towards them.

“Thank you Dusk for keeping him busy while Karash briefed me on what you were planning.” Joamer said as he stepped in front of Dusk.
“Sir.”
“So who are you?” Joren asked.
“I’m Joamer, you’ve met Dusk and the rest of my team you can see pointing blasters at your heads right now.”
“Ok, fine now just tell me what you want.”
“We know that with the New Republic here they’re trying to get you out of Basttion. We want the NR out as much as you. So the enemy of my enemy is my friend. So let’s get down to specifics.”

OOC:

Ok, just wanted to move things along

Coadster continued walking, eavesdropping on several interesting conversations with his Audio Pickup ranging from what Cailin had for breakfast to how The Thunderbirds would win the season finals. He walked on, heading for the store that was to be the point of interest for his squad’s mission and trying to sift treasure conversations from the junk. So far, no luck. After a while, Coadster was sick of dodging around congested crowds shambling around to nowhere in particular and getting a loud earful of noise for his trouble, so he decided to cut through a long alley that would also cut out a quarter of the distance.

He felt a small thrill at coming from the bustling street into the taboo passageway he was walking now. All his life he avoided alleys and backstreets, no matter how much time it saved; he was told by his father, a wary man and a local peacekeeper besides, to avoid them at all costs. Else, he might end up burnt and dead by some thug who wanted his credits. And knowing every citizen was armed had an effect on those words as well. He respected his father’s wishes on Aargau, but here, on a different world with no one to tie his shoes and take his vitamins, the chances of danger were more enticing than threatening to Cody. Besides, he thought as he fingered his pistol in his jacket pouch. I’ve got protection. My sword and my shield, a pistol and an audio pickup. He walked on, confident and excited about doing something other than recon, even if it was just for a few minutes.

It turned out that the alleys of this city were not as straightforward as those of Aargau. He only needed to cut west, but the paths took twists, had offshoots to dead ends, and at times were choked with debris. He surely would have gotten lost if it weren’t for his datapad’s wonderful map, and even then he had a hard time staying on the right path. After a few minutes, he heard talking from ahead on his path via Audio Pickup. In his ear, ‘So, you were goanna to try to stick us with this, weren't yea’? Well, you see we wouldn’t appreciate that. Lloyd, show him what happens when someone tries to stick us.’ A large building jutting out further than its neighbors blocked his view, but it sounded like someone was getting mugged. Coadster gripped his pistol and walked a little faster, in time with his heart. He could help, be a hero to someone. Joamer said not to attract attention, but it’s the right thing to do. I can help this person and hurry away. That was a little more appealing to him; the mysterious stranger giving a helping hand to the helpless.

A new twist as a soft thump and a yell echoed in his ear. ‘So you see what I just did to Lloyd? I just broke his nose. Now, the same thing will happen to you except ten times worse if you don’t tell me what I want to know!’ Just what the hell was going on? A groan, followed by an even louder yelp and whimper. He rounded the corner, cursing himself silently for his curiosity. ‘Lloyd’ was on the ground, obviously the one whimpering, his assailant standing over him and clutching another man’s jacket collar. A niggling feeling of déjà vu hit him as he looked at the interrogator, now swooping into another alleyway. ‘Okay, I’m running out of time. I know that you have a boss somewhere. Don’t try denying it. Go tell him that he needs to go to that fallen tower next to the small park. Okay, if he doesn’t show I’ll kill you slowly, and painfully.’

He ran to Lloyd’s side, trying to help him up to his feet. Lloyd emitted a low groan of pain as his chest was pressed between Coadster’s shoulder and his own weight. Mugger or no, he was bloody and Coadster’s inner voice told him to get him out of the way. And Lloyd was obviously still reeling; he only nodded and shambled off like one might after a healthy dosage of genetonic, whimpering softly and trying to wipe the blood from his face.

He rounded the corner was gone as the voice of the interrogator came from behind him, the pickup echoing it in an almost deafening volume.  “Hey Coadster.”  He started, then turned around. He now recognized Dusk, his squadmate. He smiled mechanically. What the hell almost jumped from Cody’s mouth, but first Dusk said, “Is Karash still back at base?”

Dumbstruck, Cody answered, turning back to the way he came and Lloyd left. “Huh, Oh hey Dusk. Um… Yeah I think he is. But I’m not sure-”

“Ok, thanks, see you later.”

And with that, Dusk walked away, through the offshoot he’d taken the second mugger. Only after Dusk had left had he regained his wits. “What the hell?”



Coadster continued onto the store, trying to wrap his head around what he’d seen. He still couldn’t figure out how shaking down muggers to give a message like that was necessary, or even worth the risk involved. He wondered, not for the first time, what he was supposed to do in the RAIDERS. And if this was normal, he just might have to ask to be assigned to another. He certainly wouldn’t want the task of breaking noses to get a point across to a crimelord. He arrived at the storefront all too soon, and he forced those doubtful voices inside of himself down and out of sight; he had work to do, and had plenty of time to dwell on it later.

The store had taken quite a beating from the attack; the walls showed signs of laser damage, even under the new paint, and there were holes in the walls still, surrounded by caution tape both outside and in to keep people from trying to walk through them. Debris littered the streetway in front of it, yet even so people entered and exited as if the building wasn’t now an architect’s trauma patient. Must be a popular place. He took a picture of the storefront, and began marking faults in its frame. One especially large hole near a corner showed a plasteel support beam behind the stucco, wire hanging like jungle vines without their branches; Coadster marked it in his datapad, wondering how much explosive they had. It was an easy placement, and a single support beam might be enough to bring it down.

Still, he marked several other possibly vulnerable points in the structure, in particular a beam holding the second floor horizontally, half melted and surrounded by a hole the size of a hovercar. He was going to enter to see if there was anything he couldn’t see from the front, but his datapad told him to meet up with his squadmates at the city park. He sighed quietly and saved his picture. What now?



He pointed when Dusk gave the signal, and just as planned all the thugs froze stiff as if not moving might help them in some way. Joamer stepped into the  half-circle of statues and introduced himself. He couldn’t hear much, even with his pickup, but  the other man showed everything on his faced. Now he was confused, and now he was angry and afraid, and as Joamer walked back to the squad, he was distraught. He walked away as Joamer signaled them to move. He didn’t look happy.

The group split up, and despite his nervousness at talking Joamer, especially when he looked as straight-faced as a mask, he followed him for a bit away from the park, then pulled out his datapad. He could send his analysis to Joamer, he knew, but he was right here, and as they were trying to be covert he was nervous about connecting to the net. Who knows if there’s a way to intercept a picture from datapad? When the crowds around them thinned, he worked up the courage and said as casually as he could, “Uh… I went to the store and took a picture. Marked it up- where it’s damaged, I mean. I mean… I was wondering if you wanted to look at it, sir?” Tongue-tied, he just held out the datapad, holding his tongue to keep it from blathering any more.

He was perched on top of a three story building, one of the few in Bastion to remain standing since the war began. He was ignoring the young man standing behind him, as he listened to the alarms going off. All his instincts were screaming at him to turn around and just kill the moron behind him. He knew he could do it and not be charged with anything, Mox had just majorly endangered every single member of the squad.

Breaking his own rule he pushed back his right sleeve and activated his comlink, the frequency was encoded and the range was only three miles. With luck this older RAIDERS code would still work against the NR listening posts scattered throughout the city. "Do not, I repeat do not return to HQ. Break up into small groups, and proceed to the next phase of the mission. Take out targets of opportunity, but remain discrete. Do not reply to this message." The message would be stored in each members comlink, so when they accessed the private comnet the squad shared they could read the message and it would not instantly give away their position.

"You've forced everyone to move up their time frames before we were ready. We are deep behind enemy lines, on a planet controlled by the bloody New Republic. Our forces are very quickly evacuating this planet and returning home. Chances are we have no allies left ground side, Mox. You could of very well just cost the lives of the whole squad." Joamer said as he turned his view away from the street below him. He stopped counting the number of soldiers running around.

Looking at the young man standing before him, he fought the desire to draw his knife and plunge it into the boy's chest cavity. "Now soldiers not used to fighting without direct orders have to trust their instincts to get the job done. You've single-handedly ruined pretty much our best chances of retaking this city. As such, you will now accompany me on a very difficult theft."

Walking away he heard the boy follow him a few seconds later. With the sounds of alarms going off all around him he wondered how in the hell was he going to gain entrance into one of the barracks and find a few uniforms. He knew inside the fortress their would be intelligence they could use to locate any POW's still on planet. This heightened state of activity would both help and majorly hinder their efforts.

Opening the stairway door a crack he listened for the sounds of foot steps, hearing none he stepped into the darkened hallway and began making his way towards the basement. Their is a hidden tunnel system beneath Bastion, maybe their luck would hold out long enough to find the entrance into one of the barracks.

Dusk was doing an ammo check on the weapons Joren’s men had left at the intel drop. ‘How nice of him, he gave us an RPG, and everyone thought it was a bad idea to align ourselves with a bunch of criminals.’ Dusk thought as he brought it up to his shoulder.

Joamer had made everyone fall back and regroup at a three story building somewhat close to the inner city. As he walked into the room Joamer said, “Get by the door and wait for the NR troops to get all the way in, or until a gunshot.”

Dusk was wondering how Joamer knew that Repies were coming, but he didn’t argue. Taking position next to the door with Heliwer, Dusk drew a new knife with a very intimidating curve to it. Three New Republic troops came in and there was a gunshot. He grabed the closest man and slit his throat. Another shot rang out. Jumping around the corner raising his Bullstopper, Dusk saw a merc or bounty hunter wielding two smoking slugthrowers.

“Drop your weapons, now!” Dusk said forcefully.
“Donta be’n da shoot’n!” The bounty hunter said, putting the guns in his holsters.
He removed his helmet and Dusk saw a familiar gungan face.
“Grahim, get in here.” Joamer said, waving him in.

*    *    *
Dusk finished putting on the NR armor on. Mox seemed to be comfortable in the armor, like he had worn it before. Therex tossed him his helmet, “Try to keep it on this time, would you.”
“Hey just worry about yourself, I can keep myself safe.”
“I just don’t want to have to patch you up after every little skirmish.” Therex said smugly.

OOC:

I know it's short but I wanted to get a post out before this all ended.