Tadath, seat of the Vast Empire’s government and military, is the center of the Vast Empire’s power and influence, commerce and its most important world. Its defenses were the heavier than any other world in VE space, and it served as the headquarters of the VE’s elite Stormtrooper and Navy corps. But one cold winter, during the shortest days, Tadath’s defenses had been cracked, and its capital, Sianat, had been bathed in blood.

All of this had been the work of J’ak Frozt and his organization. It was only thanks to the actions of Phoenix company that Tadath itself was not permanently crippled by the cyber-attack that had briefly taken down the vaunted defenses of the Empire’s most important world.

Stormtrooper Wing: Fort Sexton, Tadath

“So you ordered the destruction of a highly valuable research station? And you actually did it, Commander?” the scientist demanded, his own uniform’s captain’s bars conflicting with his non-military regulation hair cut and thick spectacles and nervous demeanor. “That station was making crucial developments in the analysis of dozens of new species! And you burned it up and threw it all into a fire like it was nothing, you barbarians!”

Gates rose from his chair, but Havock shook her head imperceptibly. The three of them - Havock, Vask, and Gates were all in dress-uniform and were present for the ‘debriefing’ of the Observation Platform 86-Alpha mission. Rarely had Garryll been present for a debriefing that included the science branch of the Army as well as both Stormtrooper and Navy upper-ranks.

“Captain, please refrain from insulting the soldiers,” said the Stormtrooper Colonel who was presiding over the debriefing, stressing the word ‘soldiers.’ “Continue, Major.”

“Most of the details are classified, Colonel. Commander Vask responded to our call, and used his initiative to help us complete our objective,” Havock said.

“You had orders to destroy the station?” asked the Navy Captain, sitting beside the Colonel.

“Our objective changed when the station became unreclaimable. Almost every mission has a contingency plan. It was all we could do to escape with our lives, sir,” Gates inserted. “If you’ve seen the vids and our after-action reports, I think you’d agree.”

“I have,” the Stormtrooper officer said, “And-”

He was interrupted by a knock on the conference room door. “Enter.”

A pair of tall men entered the room, uniforms unmarked except for their rank pins - a lieutenant and a commander. “Major Havock? Captain Gates?”

The two of them turned around.

“We’re rather in the middle of something, Commander,” the Colonel said.

“I have the authority to interrupt this, sir,” the man replied. He handed the Stormtrooper a datapad and gestured for the Phoenix officers to follow him.

“What do you need, Commander?” Gates asked as they left the conference room.

“I’ve got a problem that Phoenix Company is...uniquely qualified for,” the man replied. “My name is Orr. Lieutenant Andrews is one of the ARC controllers. I’m the leader of ARC squad Iota.”

“ARC? What do you need with us Stormtroopers?” Havock asked.

“I’d prefer to only explain it once; I’ve gathered the Squad leaders of your company,” Orr replied.

They entered into the Phoenix conference room. Joamer, Brightstar and Skarr stood up as they entered. Skarr gestured at the two men. “What’s up with this, Major?”

“We’re ARCs, Sergeant Major,” said Orr.

The SLs had a visible response - but it was more surprise than anything. They looked at Havock for any hint of why they were here, but all she could do was shrug.

“I’ll lay it out straight for you, Phoenix. ARC Team Theta investigated a tip, and they ain’t back yet. They haven’t even written.”

Havock stiffened at the news, but it only drew a nervous chuckle from the SLs. Garryll spoke up. “You sure it isn’t just a communications problem?”

“It’s been two-and-a-half weeks since the last communique. Even bad comms can’t cover that.”

“Okay, then,” Havock said, some agitation creeping into her voice. “How did Theta get deployed somewhere even an ARC team can’t fight out of?”

“Simple. We had someone tip us off. Andrews - get Ms. Sleicer, please,” Orr said, gesturing at the door. The man opened the door and walked out of the room, returning a moment later with a woman in tow.

“Jana Sleicer, tech expert, and the reason Theta was deployed,” Orr said, as the woman walked in. “She’s...worked with Phoenix before.”

“I was abducted, Commander. Jester squad took me hostage when Stormtroopers invaded a base on Anteevy. It just so happens that that same base is now active again.”

“Anteevy... what did we go there for?” Gates muttered.

“J’ak Frozt,” Orr said, flatly. “Created a program that was capable of taking down the Tadath Defense Grid.”

“Tough customer. What’s the relationship?” Gates asked.

“I’m not sure,” said the woman. “But look - whoever it is used to be there, in the organization.”

“What’s this new organization want?” Skarr asked.

“Theta’s initial findings suggest some sort of strike against the VE. They went in before discovering anything other than the name of the organization - ‘Blanchard,’” Orr said. “We’re pretty sure Theta’s been captured. We need someone to go in, get them out, and take this ‘Blanchard’ apart, base and all - since you folks seem to be experts at leaving bases in pieces when you leave, this shouldn’t be an issue.”

*** *** VSD Dominion, Anteevy Space *** ***

The Victory-Class Star Destroyer dropped back into real-space with a flicker. Onboard, its passengers - the Stormtroopers of Phoenix Company - stood up and got their stuff together.

“This is the Commander speaking. We have reached Anteevy. Prepare to disembark.”

OOC:

The HSC has arrived!

Phoenix company is assigned to infiltrate the base and then go about various objectives.

All squads will be opposed by mercenaries with full-body armor, usually in black, with good training and weaponry. Each squad will have one or two ARC troopers attached to them. These troopers will be competent, but they’ll be new ARCs

As usual, please stick with squad gear, and get any other items approved by your SL, and let the SL/ASL post first, unless you get permission.

First Objectives:

Eclipse: Determine who is in command of this base and why/how. Enter via the same route as ARC Team Theta - an old backdoor that leads from the surface into the depths of the base. Expect resistance.

OOC:

Zippy/Aneshi POV

The shuttle landed on the snow. This was the moment Zippy was waiting for. To prove himself. Not only to his squad, but to the Arc troopers he was also working with. Zippy stepped off of the shuttle onto the newer world and on top of everything, it was snowing. He had heard off Anteevy before and how they had been to this planet on past assignments and it was no surprise they had to return here really. Seemed some people just didn't know who they're dealing with. Zippy looked over at Aneshi and noticed his worried look. He knew as much as the rest of the squad that Umbra hadn't seen much action in the past. This was their first real assignment with Eclipse, and Zippy knew that coordination may be a little off with them all, but he had faith that they would pull through. Aneshi he payed most attention to. He wanted to personally make sure that he succeeded with the squad and that there would be no serious problems to deal with. Instructing Aneshi came easy to him for the most part. The trooper had the same type of joking humor and was always ready for the next assignment. Sort of idolized him for it. Zippy turned his attention to the planet.

Zippy took a step forward and he felt a sharp pain shoot down his spine. This was no normal assignment. He could feel it throughout his body. When he cringed, he knew this wasn't going to be like any mission he had ever been on before in the VE. Their mission was to figure out who was commanding the base of operations here and how they were doing it. It was a rather interesting mission to him. The thought of snooping around, enemy resistance, and the constant threat of danger intrigued him in every way possible. The though that he loved most though was being with a few new members of the squad. Nice to see some new faces, although it could have been better circumstances then this. Nevertheless, he was excited to see how they reacted in action. It would be a hefty test for them, but Zippy was sure that his squad leader and Anival were just as excited as was.

***

Aneshi had stepped off the transport right after Zippy. This was it for him. His first real assignment with a real squad of the VE. His excitement was enough to overcome his focus, but he kept it at bay. He knew this was no time for joking around, as much as he wanted to. He thought to himself constantly about his weapons being set to go, did he remember his ration packs, spare ammo. All the thoughts kept running through his head. He did not want to disappoint his new team and he intended to do his best. This was no target practice, this was for real. You shoot to kill, and your enemies will be doing the same. Aneshi looked over at the other soldiers or Umbra. He could see in their faces that they had the same little nervousness as he did and was sure they all had similar thoughts. Aneshi walked and stood next to Zippy. It was a moment which he had always dreamed of. Being with a squad on a dangerous assignment on a planet that was beyond dangerous.

Aneshi was beyond excited to see some action. The targets he practiced on were nothing compared to what he actually wanted to do. Seeing some live action, with a bunch of real soldiers around him. He wasn't really told much about the mission exactly, but he overheard enough of it and was sure details would be told to him in the future. He knew they were to figure out who was running the base here and was pretty much the jest of what they were assigned to do. He had no worry that they wouldn't get the job done, because he had faith in his superiors that they would get the job done with minimum casualties. More or less, he was looking forward to working with his new family.

***

Zippy continued to survey the area. He could clearly see the base, even though it was a little trek away. They had landed just fair enough from the base so the sensors wouldn't go off, but he was sure the base was expecting company. Seems where ever Eclipse went, their enemies some how knew they were going to be there. Maybe it was because they weren't very discrete. Whatever the reason, Zippy was ready to go. He looked at his squad leader who was getting things ready to move out, and Zippy was hoping soon as usual. He wasn't really sure what Anival was doing, but was sure he was getting some supplies ready or what not. Nevertheless, this was no time for mistakes. He knew one thing for sure, Eclipse was in for the mission of a life time.

OOC:

Lancer/Skarr

Lancer smiled grimly as the man’s head exploded. He was suited for long range combat. Hell, he was suited for short range combat. Zane Carthow, Lancer, was an ARC trooper, the best of the best. He felt the awe of the rookiees when he had made the shot and he relished in it. In the back of his mind, he knew that while the others were trying to act unimpressed, they still were. How could they not be, when this amazing and, dare he say it, handsome man had so skillfully killed a sniper with an assault rifle? It was his job to do this good and he did it even better.

He rose from the ground as Skarr motioned them onward. The muscular squad leader had been a friend to Zane and just about the only person he could stand taking orders from. Mainly because the SL ordered Zane to do the things he wanted to do anyway. Why couldn’t anyone else see that? If they did not want Zane to be insubordinate, they should order him to do the things they wanted. Or even give him command. He chuckled as he realized what a bad idea that would be. Skarr was making hand signals again, telling the squad to go slowly, cautiously, and watch for other contacts.

***

The snow continued to fall. Norith hated snow. At least when he wasn’t wearing armor. For now though, he felt nice and warm. The suit was doing its job. The base was closer now, but there was still a threat of snipers. He had ordered all of the squad to keep an eye out for snipers and ambushes, but he could tell that the two ARC troopers were more attentive for the snipers. As Lancer had shown, he could easily take one down. But Skarr was not sure about the other one, Gorm, he think was the name.

As they approached the base, Skarr could make out several guards near the entrance Eclipse was supposed to use. It would be a great chance to get Umbra’s feet wet. Granted Skarr didn’t want to start their glorious soldiering career with action such as this, but it had to be done. The SL held up his hand, stopping his squad and various attachments. He hiked up the hill closest to him, being extremely careful to avoid the eyes of the guards.

His electro binoculars came off of his belt. The door was set into a small box above ground. The box was covered in snow, piling up as a small hill. There was a guard detail of about fifteen men. There was an area in front of the door that was completely that had been completely stamped down. The guards had also set up riot barriers in the area. They had been expecting trouble then. This meant trouble for Eclipse.

Skarr climbed back down the hill. He switched off his comm and motioned for the squad to come closer. Using only his vocabulator, he spoke to them:

“There are about fifteen of them there. They have riot barriers set up, so they’re expecting fire. Lancer, I want you to take Gorm and flank them to the right. Umbra, flank from the left. Eclipse, we’re charging straight on.” Skarr explained to them.

“Now are we ready, Eclipse?” Skarr asked.

“Damn straight,” Lancer replied, “You do know that it’s only going to take me to kill them all, right?”

Anival shot at the enemy guards, they were well trained, and had great weapons, but they were not used to endless campaigns, living only to complete the objectives set before them by unseen masters. All of that went through Anivals mind; he contemplated the fact that his life was almost meaningless.

He smiled, a comparison coming to him, all of the corps, were droids, moving busily with what seemed like purpose, a little more thought, no they were more like bees, drones mind-slaved to a queen, the queen being High Command, they went around doing what they wanted.

Slow, and methodical shots came from the muzzle of Anival’s rifle, each shot found a target, weather it was a kill or a maim, he didn’t know, his body was on auto pilot, his mind away, drifting, so it came as a shook when Zippy tackled him, Anival’s first thought was to empty his clip into his attackers belly, the second was an image of a court martial, and his execution, the third, was, finally, a dawning reality, he had almost had his head shot off. Some example I am.

Anival was worried, he didn’t want the greens to see him as weak, but it appeared he was safe; umbra was busy trying to avoid getting injured, and busy trying to one up the guy next to him. The soldier who Anival thought was shining the most seemed to be Aneshi, the trooper seemed too much like Zippy, Anival frowned, Zippy was always happy; it was kind of depressing, at least to him.

The soldier did look like he was comfortable in the field, unlike Edgters gawking, almost awkward movements, he seemed overly sure, and missed many shots. Anival made a note to tell Skarr to ask Edgter to conserve his ammo if he wasn’t going to hit a target. Anival reined in his wandering mind, and focused on the task at hand, killing everyone who hadn’t arrived with him.



Edgter couldn’t believe they were just charging up the middle like they were, it was suicide, every nerve and cell in his body was screaming for him to get to cover and plan some sort of trickery. He couldn’t understand why his squad leader would order them to do what they were doing. It made no strategic sense, yet it seemed to be working.

Edgter figured it was luck. He took aim and fired, his shot missed, he was a good shot, nor a marksmen, or sniper material, but he was a good shot, so why was he missing so much? Maybe it was the fact that he had rarely been on a battlefield, and rarely was he the one doing the fighting.

It was going to take some time to get used to it, finally Edgter had hit his target, he smiled and turned to brag, but kept his mouth shut. Skarr was making the best use of his men while simultaneously killing his targets, Zippy was hitting men left and right , and Anival seemed to pick his targets carefully, every shot was lethal. In the instant it to Edgter to turn around, the skirmish was over.



"Well, that went rather well I think” Anival said, he was standing over a steaming pile of rubble, and a pile of bodies, all had scorch marks on them, all were lifeless. “So, how you holding up Umbra?"

"I'm doing pretty good. That was such a rush!” Aneshi’s excitement was evident. “I'm looking forward to doing that again! Just, everyone working so well together, the movements, the blaster fire, Gah! It such a thrill!" Anival smiled, the soldier was really green. 

"Well I can see someone's still got some adrenaline pumping threw their veins huh?” Zippy joked.” As fun as it can be, remember why we are. To figure out what is going on here and why it's going on. There is time for celebration when the job is done." Anival was shocked at Zippy’s last comments. My little trooper is all grown up Anival laughed silently at his own joke.
“Alright Umbra, bring up the rear, ARC’s at the front, let’s go in.” ordered Skarr.

The squad made its way across bodies, a guard was still alive, his jaw missing. Anival wondered if Edgters rampant shots had done this. He continued to walk, he heard rustling, and turned, Kait was trying to administer first aid to the wounded guard, Anival walked towards them.

He tapped Kait on the shoulder, she turned around, Anival motioned for her to put away her gear, and took out his blaster. An audible intake of breath came from two members of Umbra, he shot the man, he would later tell Umbra why he had done it. There was no recovery from that wound, it would have been cruel to let the man live.

Anival turned around to rejoin Skarr and Zippy, he found Skarr staring at the scene, Skarr only gave a nod of approval and turned around, Anival took the cue and the squad kept moving, he had given them their first taste of war. He hoped they had learned it, show no mercy, and expect the same. With that, they trudged to the entrance of the base, awaiting the beasts hidden within, them, and the building.

Zaria felt her stomach flutter as the hum of the engines woke her from a sleepy state. She knew that this wasn’t at all what a Trooper should act like, what they described to her in training was something much more disciplined; yet, here she was half asleep in the back of the cargo carrier awaiting drop-off in a planet she had only heard of hoping that she could: a. find her squad and b. that she could make herself as less of a fool as possible. After all, she had already made something of a fool of herself and she hadn’t even made an appearance yet!  She looked around at the various supplies as the Trooper pilot’s voice told her that they would be landing soon in a bored tone, he was certainly not enjoying the punishment for last week’s binge. She managed a half-hearted reply and double checked her supplies and weaponry. How did this happen…, she sighed heavily.

///// Zaria stood in her uniform feeling particularly self conscious as she waited for the commanding officer she didn’t know. She smoothed her uniform as she heard the door behind her open, her shoulders stiffening as the female commander walked around to sit at her desk. She ignored Zaria almost entirely as she looked through the paperwork lying on her desk.

“Private Bernadette reporting, Ma’am.” Zaria said in the clear voice acquired in bootcamp.

“At ease, Private…” The female commander said without looking up. Zaria relaxed a bit as she heard this before the commander continued, “You showed promise in training, Trooper. We’ve decided to assign you to Eclipse squad. They’re being briefed in ------, report to -------- immediately. The squad will be departing soon…you might want to hurry; there’s a rush to get everything ready for the coming assignment. Paperwork gets lost, messages don’t get received, and things sometimes run amok in times such as these….”/////

Zaria shook her head placing a gloved hand on her temple as she realized that she couldn’t remember the specific details that she needed the most, who was she supposed to report to?!? The ship landed with a shake and a noise that she didn’t at all find comforting.

“The report says that your squad should have landed here less than half an hour ago. I’ll stay here for a bit, keep in touch. A Trooper will cover you for a distance; once you find them communicate back on this frequency so I can leave.” The Trooper half-assed even this as she placed her helmet on and began making her way off the ship followed closely by another trooper who was faceless and nameless to her. The world was covered in white, snow, just as the simulations in training. Zaria responded just as half-assed and began walking through the world of white with her silent counterpart.

Ebony eyes moved quickly over the scene, her blaster following the movement of her eyes. According to the pilot she should be fine this far out and Eclipse, along with the ARC troopers who followed, should not have reached the objective yet. If she hurried she might just catch up.

///// Zaria pushed through the rush at the terminal, looking for her squad among the many ships. If only she could remember the name of the officer she was supposed to report to! Star? SarK? She sighed audibly shifting her supplies to her opposite shoulder as she approached a fellow Trooper who looked both hurried and flustered.

“Hey, do you know where I can find Eclipse Squad? “ She asked shifting her weight from one foot to another. She was nervous and as always she became more fidgety as her nerves elevated.

“They’re gone, girly. You just missed your ticket outta here and outta this rank.” He muttered pointing at his sleeve angrily as he shoved past her.

Zaira’s expression fell and she cursed, standing in the middle of the terminal not really wanting to find a commanding officer to help and berate her for being a rookie. So much for the prestige she’d earned herself in Training… //////

Zaria heard noise up ahead, remembering training simulations, and with even movements she turned her infrared on pointing her blaster ahead of her. The Trooper with her followed suit, turning to cover the rear and side she was not. There was a group ahead of them, what appeared to be bodies on the floor. She moved as quietly as she could ahead trying to make out who she was dealing with, preparing to run or shoot if necessary. She removed infrared and with relief Zaria noted that they were Troopers. She made a quick call back to the pilot awaiting her and nodded to her accompanying Private that all was clear here. He left with little hesitation, which wasn’t at all comforting…at all.

"Halt, who goes there?" A voice from among the group called to her.

She raised her hands over her head and called to them, walking slowly closer. Zaria knew that she was in uniform but wanted to make sure they knew she wasn’t a threat, though that seemed obvious to her, she wanted to avoid any unnecessary conflict. The whole group had blasters pointed at her, cautious even with someone in the uniform in this unfamiliar place. One of the troopers looked up, startled, pointing his blaster and by his body language he was much more nervous than she wanted.
Edgter stared at the newcomer, his nerves or the cold making him shake. The adrenaline from the skirmish as well as his overall sense of foreboding made him overlook the uniform for a second. Thoughts of infiltrations and spies murdering unsuspecting troopers came to mind and in that moment where his mind trailed off he fired. His eyes widened as he realized what he had done and his shock became dread as he realized his blaster had made contact with this  unidentified Trooper.

“Stand down, rookie!” Skarr’s angry yell caught Edgter almost as heavily as a blow might have.  There would certainly be some serious explaining to do and even more serious repercussions, he was sure. Skarr moved fast commanding the group to walk toward the uniformed figure, blasters still pointing, as he hurried toward Zaria.

The hot pain of blaster fire grazed her left arm and Zaria dropped her own blaster, gritting her teeth as she gripped the first injury she had ever acquired. And by one of her own nonetheless! There was a certain irony in that….She found herself wanting to laugh despite the stinging pain. As Skarr got close enough to see her rank and affiliation he paused, lowering his blaster cautiously.

“Identify yourself, Private.” He yelled at her from where he stood about eight feet from her, the rest of the group still ready to fire at any moment.

“Private Bernadette, Sir. Newest member of Eclipse Squad here to do my duty, Sir.” Zaria was surprised to find her voice not quavering. Without haste she reached for the orders that she had received upon departure from base. She held these out to the man she assumed was in command with her good arm…Star...He motioned for one of the group to retrieve it, this Trooper handed it to him hastily and returned to his place in line. The muscular officer looked it over and motioned for them to lower their blasters before calling for who Zaria assumed was in charge of first aid. Well, no one could say she didn’t know how to make an entrance; she grimaced returning the grip to her injured arm and wondering just how badly she’d made herself look as another Trooper tended to her arm and the commanding officer gave her a look she couldn’t quite identify. I was starting to get my hopes up, that’s for sure.

Graded to here.

For once the comfort of a well maintained shuttle cruising almost silently through space was to the pleasure of Lance Corporal Drex Helban. It was a rare commodity indeed whether travelling for luxury or to a killing field that he had the opportunity to prioritise his thoughts. He had been briefed or at the very least given a quick summary of what he was supposed to be doing. These things never really sunk in with Drex, only ever taking into account where he was going and what he'd be pointing his rifle at when it died. His ears perked up as he realised the pilot had been gibbering away over the on-board com for at least a minute.

“Helban! You still with us back there? Pay attention!” the aggravated tone of the pilot made him smile.

Stifling a chuckle he replied “Aye what is it?”.

With a whining sigh he spoke with an almost defeated voice “We'll be punching though the atmosphere of Anteevy in roughly fifty seconds, you'll be dropped off around the vicinity of the original Eclipse LZ, from there your on your own, understood?”. 

“Just keep her low and quite eh? You get to fly back, I don't want them knowing I'm here” Trying to keep at least a hint of seriousness about his voice. 

“Helban, please don't tell me how to do my job, I hope your squad leader gives you a hiding for being late” The defeated tone coming from the pilot now replaced with unmistakable anger.

“They'll be happy for the extra trigger finger, I'm all clear on what I'm doing, all quiet from here” Drex then bowed his head to his knees in silent laugher.

He had no idea why he antagonised these fly boys, in the short and few times he'd given it consideration he narrowed it down to two. A relief for nerves or envy over the circumstance that they pop in and out of battle fields without to much of the actual danger being thrown their way. His laughter was abruptly interrupted by the sudden shiver  of the ship making contact with atmospheric pressure. Slamming his helmet over his head and banging a clip into his rifle he arose to full  hight taking grip of the nearest support. The rapid decent of the ship gave him the feeling of vertigo, almost mistook as an adrenaline rush. The rear bay ramp opened revealing the bed of undisturbed snow, with a deep breath he took a starting run to jump the remaining eight foot drop.

His knees bent as he hit the soft planet surface with a tuck and roll landing on all fours need to stop trying to be a smart ass he thought after the impact knocked the wind out of him. Gingerly standing up Drexhel checked the com unit, dead damn it, the wind whistled over the dead, silent field of white as he surveyed his immediate surroundings. A pattern of dark patches just visible caught his eye prints? the reliving thought passed his mind as he broke into a jog towards them. The majority had started to fade with the exception of  one relatively fresh set looks like I'm not the first addition here he smirked as he played with this idea before setting off at a drudging run.

He thought of his pace as less reckless surely Eclipse had mangled  any resistance on their way through, the base itself was not a long journey visible just a short way off in the distance. It wasn't long before the vision of freshly laid out corpses where in plain sight, breaking his pace to slow he admired the impressive spread his soon to be squad mates had left behind, fourteen clean kills and one not so much. The rear entrance of the base couldn’t be far now, even with the sheets of snow falling the base was clearly visible to the naked eye, with caution Drex progressed, he didn't want to cause any sudden panic within the surely nearby squad.

“Now lets get a move on” the commanding voice, clearly authoritative in squad leader style.

Letting his blaster hang at his side Drexhel started a half run with his hands in the air thinking how stupid do I look right now. as soon as he could see the Eclipse squad  they could see him with weapons raised the man closest called out firmly.

“Stop right there!”.

Another from the middle of the pack raised a hand “he's with the empire”.

Drexhel lowered his hands and stepped forward to the squad “Lance Corporal Drex Helban, I've been assigned to Eclipse”.

“Sergeant Major Norith Skarr, Eclipse squad leader, we're”. He stopped short with his head cocked in disbelief at Drex raising his hand.

“With all due respect sir I had the summary before I arrived and I followed your trail here, just tell me where to point and pull the trigger, that's my job” Lowering his hand as he finished the sentence.

Skarr stood for a moment as if measuring the words and actions in his mind to be treated as insubordinate or ignorance before turning to meet the squad “ok, lets move it”.

Drex could not help feeling he might pay for that arrogant gesture when less pressing matters where at hand, but he had found the squad, for that he was appreciative.

OOC:

Skarr/Lancer

I do not need another arrogant asshole on this squad, Skarr thought, but then he amended his thought to, at least it’s Drexhel. The squad leader had been friends with Drexhel almost since Skarr joined the Vast Empire. They had even served for a little while together. Of course, it had been a while since Skarr had seen the man. But now he was here as an Eclipse soldier. Thankfully no one had shot him. Skarr would liked to have attributed that to fear of being reprimanded by that. His squad was moving very quickly with his orders. He did not know if it was because of him or something about them. Either way, Skarr was glad to see them a lot more responsive.

The squad leader had instructed Gorm and Lancer to take point, as they were both well skilled. Zippy and Zaria had been given the rear. And in between was the rest of the squad, with Skarr leading behind Lancer and Gorm. The alarm klaxons were beginning to anger Skarr, so he fired a blaster bolt into the emitter. The whole squad let out a sigh of relief, which pleased Skarr.

At least the damn thing stopped, Skarr thought, I wonder who tripped it. They moved ahead, but soon enough blasters were firing at them. It had taken Skarr by surprise. Should have expected and ambush. He didn’t stay disappointed in himself for too long as he ordered his squad to fall back a ways. Lancer and Gorm stood their ground, firing into the enemies rapidly, trying to cover Eclipse’s retreat. As Eclipse fled farther back down the hall, the ARC troopers also began to back up.

As soon as Skarr was assured that the squad had fallen back enough, he joined the ARC troopers. The three of the fired upon them until they were thinned out enough to where it was the mercs retreating, not Eclipse. Finally, Skarr called the rest of Eclipse up to finish the rest of the soldiers off. When they were finished off, Skarr ordered the squad to rest.

He was trying to think of the best way to complete his objective. There was no simple answer to the questions. There was always the hope that the mercs would slip up and just say it, but with the base on high alert there was no way that was going to happen. Perhaps, they could interrogate a guard. That would do good, but where exactly would they find one? Eclipse had just killed off most of the offending force that had attacked them. As much as Skarr didn’t want to, he thought he’d have to ask the “expert” about it.

Skarr tromped up to Lancer, sighing the whole way.

***

I do not need another arrogant asshole on this squad, Lancer had thought, I’m the only one they need. Lancer now seen that Skarr was trying to walk up to him, but he kept hesitating. The ARC trooper shrugged and met the squad leader halfway.

“I can recognize the body language, Skarr. What do you need?” Lancer asked over a secure channel. The squad leader’s head snapped to him.

“Dammit, how’d you figure it out?” Skarr asked tersely.

Lancer chuckled slightly. “I’m trained for it remember? That, or I’m just that awesome. I can’t remember.”

Skarr punched him in the chest, ignoring the looks the squad members gave them. “We need to get a hold of a merc. And then interrogate him for what we need.”

Lancer took that through and started thinking. He pulled up a map of the base on his wrist monitor. “Meet me in that room, I’ll have your hostage.” Then the man ran off leaving Skarr to order his troops around.

***

Skarr watched Lancer run off. “Well, squad, let’s start going. Expect resistance.”

OOC:

So the room we're looking to find is not far from where we are, but we will encounter resistance. The hall we are in is full of storage crates, so we do have some cover.

The redhead felt that her muscles were still tense and she swore to herself that the adrenaline was now becoming almost perpetual in her system. Zaria forced herself to relax her hold on the blaster noticing that her hands were shaking beneath her uniform. That had been her first encounter with real enemies and it had been both liberating and horrifying. The thought that she had managed to move fluidly through the situation made her both calm and proud; the thought that it had been real men out there and that she had , killed , shot at them made her hands shake and her usually glowing features pale considerably. Oddly enough though, she still felt morbidly giddy, her lips turning into a snarky little smile when her mind wandered.

Zaria let ebony eyes follow Skarr with the same guarded caution as before as the exchange between him and another one of Eclipse troopers happened. Her breathing was returning to normal and her hands were beginning to be less shaky. She noted from the stance and body language of the man Skarr spoke to that he seemed to be, well…full of himself  (to be politically correct of course). The squad leader and the trooper seemed to come to some agreement and suddenly they were on the move again, more cautious than before. The man, whose name she was sure she’d find out soon, dashed off ahead of them and disappeared. The rest of the squad walked on, the newer members more nervous and the older more grim. Zaria tuned in to her commanding officer as he spoke to two men she hadn’t yet identified.

Skarr pointed at Anival and Edgter. “You two take point, and keep your eyes peeled Teviny”

She muttered their names to herself to remember them as they moved on down the long corridor. The crates on either side unnerved her, they were so conveniently placed…as if…Her eyes caught the signal as Skarr gave it and she quickly ducked behind one of the crates finding herself once again next to Zippy. Amusement found its way to her gaze at the almost melodramatic move by Aneshi but she turned her gaze quickly back upward toward the corridor. No distractions. With a curious look she noticed Anival remove his helmet; she had just finished registering his features to the name she had for him when the blaster fire ignited toward his helmet. Her now steady hands gripped her blaster and she willed herself to keep them as steady as they were for the sake of hitting what she aimed at and not one of her squad members.

She aimed and fired as quickly as she could, though she noted that compared to the more experienced soldiers she was much slower, trying not to focus on the fact that those were people out there. Zaria had let out half a dozen shots when she noticed the trooper on the floor. Soft, coral colored lips parted in something akin to shock, though it might have leaned on horror, just as her face paled a shade. For a moment her blaster slacked in her hands and then Zippy nudged her saying something that didn’t quite register and she shook her head coming back to her task. He’s a Trooper, that wasn’t set to stun... Zaria tightened her jaw in frustration as she fired, trying to lose herself in the firefight; if it had been serious she would have noticed, right?

The red rounds flew between the two parties. More than once, Zaria found herself ducking almost too soon or almost too late as the blaster fire rushed as her. She returned shot for shot as best she could. These mercenaries had planned well but her squad was moving in as a unit better. The mercs were not exactly used to working together as the members of the Corps were. One of the first rules in the academy that Zaria had learned: you’re nothing without your squad. They become your lifeline when things become more difficult and effective group strategy often overcomes numbers.

The opposing torrent of shots had diminished to a slackened revolt and with a few orders yelled above the sound of the firefight, as signals might go ignored in the midst or battle, Skarr had them moving up. She moved to the now singed and cracked crates ahead of the ones she had been covering behind; watching as the rest of the squad did the same, all except for Teviny.  Skarr had the more experienced troopers moving in on the mercs, ducking and by some force she couldn’t understand avoiding fire all the while diminishing their opposition with precise and calculated movements. The girl who had treated her arm was leaning over Teviny as the rest of the recruits watched with awe as the older bunch carved through the mercenaries. None dared to fire for fear of hitting someone other than the enemy fighters. Her eyes watched Skarr’s movements carefully moving back and forth between her commanding officer and the other Troopers with the same awe as the other newer members of the Corps.

The opposing fire stopped almost abruptly and Zaria found herself blessing all good things for the moment to slow her heart rate, to get her mind together out of its danger muddled half-thoughts. Skarr moved quickly back toward where the rookies where slowly shuffling to a stand.

“What’s wrong with the kid?” Asked one of Troopers, Zaria still had not gotten a name for this one, as Skarr moved to ask the same thing of Kait. As most of the younger members of Eclipse and Skarr grouped to look in on Teviny she moved to stand away from them, joining the seasoned soldiers as they kept a careful watch on the surroundings. It wasn’t that she thought herself superior to the other rookies.  Zaria felt something more like detachment. The thought of another trooper being injured made her skin prickle with goosebumps but this was her first mission and though she was working with them, it felt as though she wasn’t a part of her Squad yet. It should come in time. She looked up as her commanding officer helped Teviny up to a sitting position with help from the Medic. Whatever Kait had done had worked or maybe it had not been as serious as it had seemed, though the marks on the chest plate of his suit made Zaria feel otherwise. The trooper she now identified as Anival gave Teviny a look she couldn’t place, between relief and anger before he said:

“For the record, Rookies, when Skarr says jump…” He paused to look around at each of them, even looking over to where Zaria stood feeling more like an intruder than anything, “Don’t even pause to ask how high. Just move.”

An amused and relieved look came over Skarr as Anival moved gruffly away from the staring group of inexperienced soldiers. Zaria felt an amused smile play at her lips knowing that though what the man said was obvious, it was certainly easier said than done. Her hands were shaking again.

“I couldn’t have said it better myself.” Skarr said. “Keep your eyes peeled. We might’ve walked into something real nasty back there if it wasn’t for careful observation on Anival’s part, got it? We’ve gotta expect more of what we just saw. Oh, and Teviny? Try to keep yourself up this time.” The last bit was more teasing and lightened the mood before the squad set out again. This time they were feeling a bit more confident if nothing else. The room awaited them and hopefully within it someone who could give them some answers.

Anival bent down to retrieves his helmet; the ambush had failed miserably, and Eclipse lives to nearly die another die. A small frown escaped Anival’s composure. His helmet was dirty. It had been missed completely. He sighed and closed his eyes.

           

The squad surrounded the captured man, Anival walked out towards the hall.

Anival sighed and donned his helmet, he toyed with the setting, he was bored, and he would much rather be outside pretending to guard the door, than be inside watching the two men pry information from the third.

Umbra also walked out, Aneshi in the lead. It was funny, how the natural leader always came out in moments of stress. Still it was probably only a hunch, but it seemed to Anival that Aneshi had won respect in umbra, at least in small click.  Anival continued to toy with his PoV, and stopped. There were six heat signatures registering in his HUD. He switched his comm to a pre-set channel in Umbra’s comms. Thank you for thinking ahead Skarr

“Alright you three listen good, bring those three crates over here, and try to keep it silent.”

“why do we have-“

“Just do it! Any more comments will be taken as treason and I will carry out the executions right here!”

They didn’t argue, Umbra moved silently to do as they were told. Next Anival walked into the room, but not before checking his HUD again, he estimated they had two minutes.

“Zippy, you, and ugh- you” Anival had yet to remember the troopers name.

“Zaria”

“Drex”

Anival ignored their comment, he couldn’t waste more time.

“Come with me.” to Skarr he turned and said. “We’ve got reinforcements”

Skarr nodded and waved his hand, he knew Anival didn’t want the man to know his plan had failed. The four troopers walked out, they closed the door behind them, and were greeted by umbra, and they had set a nice barricade for them, from what Anival could see it would hold up easily against the incoming opposition. Anival bent down low, and motioned for everyone to do the same.

“Turn on your infrared, and look around, then turn it back off, I noticed these guys by chance, I think the man inside is probably a distraction. I will keep my infrared on and tell you when to come out of hiding and start this show. We need to give Skarr time.”

The squad nodded, and he returned the nod. They were ready, Skarr would have more than enough time.





Aneshi walked out into the corridor, Umbra behind him, he guessed they all wanted to learn at the same time. He noticed Anival leaning against the wall, he seemed to be asleep. Suddenly he jerked and started talking to them. Aneshi nodded, but someone tried to ask a question.


“Just do it! Any more comments will be taken as treason and I will carry out the executions right here!”

Aneshi wondered if he was serious. Odds were he was, he ran to do as they were told. He ran nudging each crate, all but one were heavy, he motioned for help and they started to push, someone must have done something, because the crate opened and out came what seemed to be parts of a prefab shelter. They quickly ran about to set up a barricade.



Kiat noticed Aneshi walking towards the hall, she looked around and decided to fallow, he was probably up to something, and even though she didn’t care much for the man, she didn’t want him to get her into some sort of trouble, so she tagged along, she got outside and stopped abruptly. Aneshi had gone out to the hall to talk to Anival. Probably kissing arse

She was about to say something when Anival spoke, she frowned and started to ask why, but held her tongue; she at least had the good sense to do so, because Edgter hadn’t. He asked and got a curt reply.
“Just do it! Any more comments will be taken as treason and I will carry out the executions right here!”





Edgter couldn’t stomach what was about to happen, he walked outside, looking at his feet the whole time, and nearly ran into Kiat, he was puzzled, the scene in the room completely forgotten. Why was the rest of Umbra out in the hall? He was going to ask  when Anival jumped up and started to bark orders. Edgter’s nature got the better of him and he asked.
“why do we have-“ he was cut short.

“Just do it! Any more comments will be taken as treason and I will carry out the executions right here!”

Edgter frowned, and fallowed Umbra.

Why does he always pick on me? Since I got here he has been picking on me. I’m going to talk to Skarr about that. That idiot will treat me with some respect.



The mind state of each individual in umbra was to say the least, edgy, each of them had witnessed some of the early battles, but they had been quick paced, and fast. They had never been pinned down under fire. The chance of survival for each of the three individuals was slim.  And that, gave them strength, it was firewood to their determination.




Anival stared at the income targets, the first two were nearly there, four more feet and they would be dead, and the remaining four would know that, yet another ambush had failed. Anival smiled, luck was on their side, what were the odds that toying with a HUD would save your life. One foot. Anival blanked his mind, and detached himself from his body, he was now a machine, machines didn’t feel remorse, and neither would he. It was time to kill and not second guess your-self. He gave the signal, and switched PoV. Eclipse engaged in yet another skirmish.

“Oh for f” Drexhels yelling was suddenly cut short by a bolt whistling past his head.

They where pinned, out numbered, out anything the situation had to offer,  at least three men to their one and a merc springing up like a fresh weed with every man Eclipse managed to gun down. The dull environment was no more, illuminated in glorious red as the over head stream of blaster fire endlessly protruded from the enemy ranks. The storage crates used for cover where steadily chipping away, the walls  where streaked with scorch marks, they're not even trying to hit us they're just keeping us down!.

Anival Velasquez had taken the fore ground, his ferocity, accurately firing blind or from the hip had probably cut down more opposition than a random pick of two other troopers. Drex began to wonder what was motivating him, certainly not survival judging by the number of blackened grazes on his armor. Bernadette held a cavalier composure, in the moments she broke cover her eye was aligned with her rifle picking off the first unlucky man or woman to meet her sight. Zippy had adapted a peekaboo strategy with his blaster in one hand and a grenade in the other obviously picking his moment to chuck the thing.

Drex shook his head, snapping out of his daze why am I watching when I should be shooting! he spun from his perch onto one knee letting off a few bursts into the crowd, it was at this point harder to miss a target. The mercs where still in power, they had the squad fighting in desperation, Umbra as a collective where doing their fair part but the masses they fought where pressing forward, overwhelming in numbers alone. 

“Arrg!” a yell of pain came from Drex as his shoulder took a flesh wound, it stung but he was not going to be held back by it, more to his cause it angered him.

“Where the frak is” his question stopped mid flow as Skarr and Lancer came hurdling through the carnage to meet Anival at the lead. 

The two led with quick and precise marksmanship, the enemy seeing the addition, halted their press, in caution they took cover. This gave the squad a short but valuable breather to reposition and evaluate, the favour was on their side now, still out numbered but with a vastly improved fighting chance.

They fell back one step at a time, the overwhelming fire power no longer matched up to the high performance blaster wielding of the Eclipse and ARC team. What little order prevailed within enemy ranks was break, fast, it was only a matter of time before they were taken down to the last. Drexhels arm stung, it weighed on his mind as he marched forward forcing his two handed hold on his weapon, he was landing maiming shots at best with his lazy demeanour. The squad in its entirety where doing the job, the mercs where tripping over themselves and some where breaking off to flee.

“We've got em now push em!” the forward driving call of Skarr came from the front of the pack.

It was now more of a firing line for the enemies trapped in the scattering mess.

Lancer was laughing menacingly, almost like he enjoyed it “shoot from the outside, we don't want stragglers!”.

Almost as quickly as the chaos had ensued the opposition was broken, the dead littered the floor, Drexhel was the only one to sustain an injury others where scuffed and grazed with no real damage other than armor integrity. Drex took heavy breaths is it over? there was no more firing, only a dead silence anticipating the immersion into new battle, but the silence remained.

“Fall in!” Skarr was still slowly lowering his rifle as he turned to meet the gathering squad “Kait, take a look at Drexhels arm, we cannot afford to be held back right now”.
Drexhel hopped to attention “Sir it's only” he stopped by the sight Skarrs raised hand.

“Better safe than sorry” as the SL dropped his hand Drex thought oh sweet irony you are a cruel bitch

“We have new orders troops, I'm not going to lie this one is going to be hell.” the SL had taken off his helmet to address his squad, with what looked like concern spread across his face.

He opened his mouth to continue to find Anival pushing him backwards as the flare end of a rocket whizzed past them.

“RPG! Hit the deck!” the call came from Zippy second to notice the retaliation of three men, two with blasters, one holding the tube dispensing explosives.

The scatter commenced as the roaring boom echoed through the halls, only Lancer stood composed, readying his rifle to end the battle before it began. A quick a well placed bolt hit the RPG wielder square in the chest, followed by the squads barrage of red laying waste to the other two.

Drex chuckled slightly at this as he formed up with the unscathed squad that reeked of desperation.

“As I was saying” said Skarr clearing his throat “We have the information we needed, which means we're now going down to the lower levels of this base, we're going after the people running this joint, it's not going to be easy and resistance will be heavy, take a few moments to prepare then we move, understood?”.

Drex knew this one was going to be a ride he wouldn't forget but he still he joined the synchronised yes sir with vigour.

OOC:

Zippy/Aneshi

Zippy was ready to go. They were finally going to take down the scum running this place and he knew as well as the rest of the squad that they were going in strong. Zippy kept pondering to himself of what may happen when they go into the lower levels. More then likely they would find something they didn't want to find out. Either way, Zippy was ready to go. His blaster was full of ammo, and his focus was on the task at hand and there was nothing else he needed besides his team at his back. He then turned his attention over to Aneshi, who was prepping his gun and making sure his armor was set and ready to go. He was proud of the young troopers strong will and fierce fighting skills. Taking him under his wing was something he was proud of and took great pride in it. Not only proving to himself that he could do it, but also proving to his squad that he was a valuable trooper.

"So Aneshi, how are you liking the squad huh? I couldn't be more proud of you and the rest of Umbra. You guys have really shown, not only me, but the whole squad what courage is. You came into this squad, assigned to a dangerous mission, and have proven your worth. How does it feel?" Zippy said with pride.

"Well sir, it feels great. From the first time I met all of you, I knew I was home. I felt something I haven't felt since I was a little boy, and it's a great feeling. You all have made me and the rest of Umbra feel right at home and we are truly grateful. We're glad to prove ourselves in combat to all of you as well."

***

Aneshi felt great. He got an extremely grateful compliment from Zippy and he couldn't be happier. He was so excited knowing that he was beyond proving himself to his new squad. Knowing that he had gotten such praise from Zippy meant a lot to him and he wasn't going to stop now. Aneshi continued to ready his gear, checking over his rifle, fixing his armor, etc. Everything was ready to go. Seeing that everyone else was also getting there gear ready, Aneshi took a second to think over his mission.

He thought about the start of the day. Meeting his new squad, proving that he belonged there. It was a great feeling to even thin back on. Just as he thought about these few thoughts, the squad got orders to move out.

***

Zippy and the squad began to move towards the lower levels of the complex. He was on edge, like they all were. Looking around every corner, not sure what to expect, the squad pushed on. As they continued into the depths of the facility, enemy resistance became obvious.

"Get behind cover! Now! Skarr yelled out. RPG's coming in!"

The squad all took cover behind whatever they could find. Spread out, they weren't at as big of a risk of being hit by one of the rockets. This was what they came here for. To figure out who was behind this. Zippy knew like the rest of the squad, they weren't leaving.

The blast had completely dazed each member of Eclipse. Skarr was trying to rally them as the blaster fire began. This is pissing me off. Eclipse had been only able to move down a few levels of the base. The mercenaries were a constant problem. They kept popping out of nowhere, weapons blazing. So far, Skarr had only seen some minor prototypes. Most of the prototype weapons he had come across were blasters trying to maximize the rate or power of fire using some fairly different materials than Tibanna gas.

Now he noticed some new things as this new wave of fire came upon them. The mercs were wearing something different. Norith’s mind ran through all the possibilities until it settled on exo-suits. It was not a completely impossible idea. Many arms and armor companies had been developing exo-suits. All of them were prototypes and usually not very successful against blaster fire. The weapons they carried were different too. They certainly did not look like any blaster Skarr was used to seeing. He helped Bernadette to her feet as she had fallen once the blaster fire had begun. She muttered a quick thanks over the comm as she began firing once again.

Anival had been one of the first to recover and he had knocked over storage crates to block the fire. Eclipse used the crates as cover once again as the first exo-suited mercenary stepped forward. He raised his gun, although it looked more like a giant cannon. The projectile that came out was much like a firework, it was a multi-colored stream of light, dripping heat and plasma. The smell it left behind was acrid as it exploded on the wall behind Eclipse. When Skarr looked back to the wall, the impact point was completely disintegrated.

“Concentrate all fire on that nerf herder!” Skarr ordered. His squad acknowledged the order with a quick wave of their weapons to the mercenary in the lead. A hail of fire left the Eclipse troopers’ blasters that left the exo-suit and the man a smoking heap on the ground. Now the squad’s attention was brought back to the other mercs firing onto them. Lancer produced a thermal det from somewhere on his belt.

“Want to show them some fun, Norith?” the ARC trooper asked.

“Aren’t you going to give them spiked champagne first? I thought that was your MO,” Skarr retorted.

“Oh fu-” Lancer had begun as he threw the detonator towards the mercs. It exploded with such brilliance that Skarr’s helmet barely filtered out all of the light from it. With that last bang, there was silence again. Zippy stood slowly, and took recon position. He edged forward scanning the mayhem at the end of the hall.

“It’s clear. Shit!” Skarr seen Zippy’s blaster flare up once more. “Okay, now it’s clear.” Skarr chuckled slowly as he helped Lancer to his feet.

Lancer clapped the squad leader’s shoulder affectionately, “It’s only you that I give spiked champagne to.”

“That wasn’t funny. And don’t remind me of that party again.” Skarr said. He walked over to where Zippy was standing guard and bent over the slagged man carrying the cannon. He carefully picked up the large weapon, examining it. It was certainly something he had never seen. Skarr scanned it using his helmet, taking note of the model number: Prototype 2012. The squad leader had Drexhel drag a storage crate over and Skarr carefully lowered the weapon inside. It would not do to let another merc find it again.

“Eclipse, move out,” Skarr ordered. The squad began making it’s way further and deeper into the base.

Graded to here 12/31

Zippy was eager to fight. He could feel himself slipping into the agitated state and it wasn't what he wanted. Things were going a little to quiet for his likings. Constant blaster fire, shrapnel flying every where, and orders to take cover was what he loved, although he always did take advantage of the piece and quiet when he got it. Eyein over his fellow troops as they all performed weapons checks, he could tell they were tired. Not weak, but he could see the energy levels of his squad start to descend rapidly. This would usually be the time he would crack his usual jokes at someone or something, but he just wasn't up for it. He turned his attention to Aneshi, attempting to clean his rifle. No matter where they were or what they were doing on this mission, he still came to admire the young trooper and all his movements. It was as if he was looking at himself in a mirror. Zippy then turned his attention to the task at hand as Skarr gave out new orders.

"Alright team. We're going to take the security room across from us. Now there shouldn't be to much resistance as they are attending to other major parts of the base so it should be relatively easy to take the room. Now lets be swift and get to it!" Skarr stated

Zippy and the rest of Eclipse got up and ready to take the room, with minimal damage to the security consoles there of coarse. Quickly and smoothly, Eclipse moved onward to the Security room. Taking point, Zippy quickly noticed four guards sitting at each terminal monitoring the security for the base. Signaling for the rest of the team to move up, Eclipse stormed into the room, blasters ready ad quickly took down the unsuspecting guards. Fortunately for them, with all the damage in the area of the base they were in, the security cameras took a rather, unfortunate beating and made the guards completely unaware of their movements.

"Alright team. everyone needs to dig up as much information on these mecs as you possibly can. Every bit of information is crucial for the VE and we can't let any information slip past us!" Skarr ordered out.

"Take a look at this sir, Zippy motioned for Skarr to come over to the terminal he took over. It seems that the security is rather advance and frankly, I've never seen anything like it. There are records on for payments on weapons, security recordings, account information. There is more info here then I've seen in my entire life. However one of the terminals has locked us out of a certain portion of data. Looks as though it may be the crucial data we are looking for."

"You mean what they have been up to and how they gained access to our network? Aneshi mentioned. We need to get that information quickly before more mercs show up to pay us a visit. It will only be a matter of time before they realize the security station isn't checking in."

"He's right. We need to move fast. Try everything you can team to get that data file opened up! We need to get that data! Drex, get the rest of that data downloaded as quickly as you can! Keep high alert for any passing scout parties!" Skarr said to the on edge team.

Zippy couldn't believe it. This was unlike anything he had ever seen There were privately owned bank accounts with more credits in them then he would ever get paid, and all security information they could possibly want, but the more crucial info had an automatic lockout program and they were strapped for time. Either way, they had to get the information, no matter the cost. Zippy began to mess with the wiring on the console. He figured he could rewire the system and reboot to a previous state, even a few minutes before they burst in and could access the info. He attempted to try this idea, but to no avail.

"Anyone else have any ideas? Zippy asked. Cause I sure as hell can't figure it out."