His new world was dark, but thankfully not wet. He could feel pressure on most of his body as his eyes slowly became adjusted to the very low light levels inside the debris. The air was thick with smoke, ash, dust, and other unmentionable tastes he would rather not think about. The problem with being buried alive was not getting out, the problem was not panicking and making the situation worse. Luckily he had experience with being buried alive, his trip to Adari many years ago came to mind.

Looking back now he knew it had been foolish to go rock climbing alone on that snowy world, but his adventurous side wanted the challenge and the thrill of doing it alone. Four days buried under an avalanche had taught him a few things about life, one of them was to always bring a spotter with you.

Though, his days in the capital city made the trip worth it. He was much younger than he was now, before he joined the Empire all those years ago, his life was nearly carefree back then. Part of his memory resurfaced as he recalled a young girl no more than nine years of age. She had been living on the streets for months after she had run away. No one knew where she was from, the only story anyone could get out of her was she had hidden away on a freighter that left her planet.

Considering she was alone here with none to care for her, she was doing pretty well for herself. She had shelter in an abandoned house, food was given to her by a butcher down the street in exchange for cleaning his kitchen every night. Every time the authorities came to round her up and send her home she had simple vanished till they left. Then she went straight back to what she was doing. She ranged over the whole city, knowing every nook and hiding hole anyone would use.

In exchange for directions to the mountain he was seeking he gave her tales from around the Galaxy. A good bit of local currency, and warmer blankets since winter was coming. The most important thing he gave her was his reassurance that he would never tell anyone she was there. He knew she was happy, and quite capable of surviving on her own. He doubted the snowman they had built the day he had left was still standing, the picture of the three of them, however was sitting on his desk at home. He knew she was still alive and doing well, probably running the city as mayor now no doubt.

Coming back to the present he kept his mind calm as he began to slowly explore his surroundings. He could see faint emergency lighting through the cracks a few feet above him. He knew eventually he would need to force his way out, but for the moment he wanted to make sure he would not cause more damage by moving too quickly.

Moving his arms slowly he could not feel any real pressure, he knew the trick with snow was to keep moving before it settled. His mind had instinctively done the same here, even though it was debris and not governed by the same laws of physics. Nevertheless it worked to an extinct, he could move his arms and legs around about half a foot in either direction. He could feel warmth flowing down the top of his forehead, so he knew he had been injured in at least one place.

Coughing to clear his throat he called out "Any alive out there?" Several long moments passed before he heard light coughing to his right. "RAIDERS, sound off!" He made his voice as loud as he could, he knew those that survived needed to know others were here with them. Most of his squad would have no experience with this sort of thing.

"Joamer!" A familiar voice called out a minute later, he could hear the sounds of debris being moved around as the sound became closer slowly. "I'm coming, give me a few moments. Damn desk is blocking the door."

The waiting is the longest part, he knew Jaenna would have better luck digging him out then he would. His arms could provide the leverage to move the foot or so of debris that was on top of him but he might bring something bigger crashing down pushing against what he could not see. Watching the debris move away slowly he pushed out with both his arms as his head cleared the top of the large pile his squad was stuck in.

Sitting on the edge of the hole he looked over at Jaenna who was nursing a rather nasty looking cut on her forehead and holding her none cybernetic arm gently. As he became accustomed to his new found freedom he began to feel a slight ping in his chest when he breathed, he knew at the least he had cracked a rib. Hopefully it was nothing more series than that.

"How did you get free so quickly?" He asked as he checked over his body slowly.

"When I saw the roof start to go I jumped out of the doorway and headed down the hall. Half of this floor came down, when it did I was thrown into a storage room of some sort. Got my head knocked about, and I think I dislocated my elbow." Jaenna said as she grimaced over the annoyance.

He nodded as he surveyed the room slowly. The roof was gone, he could see the inner workings of the floor above him. Most of the equipment was vaporized in the explosion, but some of the heavier pieces not to mention the floor supports and everything else housed in the ceiling was underneath him now. He did not know anything about the other squad members, but he hoped they were alright.

OOC:

It's another post to describe what you are doing, and how to get out yourself. If I have to dig you out your injuries are going to be bad. So I suggest everyone who does not want to be missing important pieces of their anatomy dig themselves out.

The world went silent, and dark. He waited for the adrenaline to wear off before moving, feeling the dark space about him. With his good hand, he felt the metal underside of the desk, and the debris making solid walls around him. He found he couldn’t move one of his legs, and only then noticed the immense weight on his foot. Dreading what he’d see, he reached into his leftmost pouch and grabbed a glowrod. It had already been somewhat activated, a tiny glow emitting from fissures on  the very end of it where he’d probably landed on it; it reminded him of the candles his mom used to use on every holiday. He snapped it in a couple of places and let it light up his little world in a green tone.

The long table he’d jumped under was still standing, though bowing dangerously in the middle with what Coad assumed was the weight of the ceiling. That didn’t bode well for him, but hopefully he could claw himself a hole to the surface on the side. Speaking of which, he analyzed the bind in which he’d found himself in with his foot. As he feared, his left foot was caught in what was the ceiling. The boot encasing it had been shattered, splintering like an odd fashion style. He pushed the rocks off of his foot and pulled it away quickly to avoid the debris that replaced it. The movement brought the blood rushing back to the offended appendage, and he stifled a yelp of pain. He winced as he switched into a sitting position to assess the damage.

He pulled the boot off, hissing at the pain in his ankle. His socked foot was a little less than foot looking, seeming more to be a stocking stuffed with random odds and ends. He removed his sock a little more tenderly, and was a little less than shocked but a little more than horrified at the odd look of it. His ankle was puffed and his foot was at an abnormal angle; it was like looking at a funhouse version of his foot, and it was not pretty. It was most certainly broken, but the procedures for treating it escaped him now. Instead he forced himself to not look at it and try to escape. He hung the glowstick with the sock and tied it to the opposite wall of debris, looking like an odd ornament, and started working. It was difficult considering he was only using one hand but he tried his best, pulling rocks toward him then pushing them to the side.

“Hey!” He called as he worked. “Over here! Anyone up there, help would be appreciated!”

He heard muffled conversation, and he repeated his pleas. “I’m over here! “

The voices grew louder, and he redoubled his efforts. Dim light began to come in through the debris, and he could see that rocks were being moved on the opposite side. He kept working; kept watching, when all at once the remaining rocks tumbled down, bouncing off of Coad’s head and shoulders. Two metal arms grabbed him underneath the shoulders and pulled him up out of the wreckage. Coadster seethed as his hurt foot bumped against the edge of the hole. Joamer set him down standing, and he balanced on his good foot. Jaenna was out too, wiping blood from a nasty cut on her forehead.

“Welcome back to the world of the living,” Joamer said, patting him on the shoulder.

“Yeah well, being buried isn’t so fun. Hopefully I won’t experience that again ‘til I’m in a cask.”

He looked over and noticed that Heliwer was out of the wreckage as well, in what seemed to him as a much worse state than he was. He laid on the ground, his arm at as odd an angle as Coad had ever seen. Considering how weird his breaths were, he must’ve busted himself up somewhere else too. And yet even with all this, he’d managed to get a lit cigarette into his mouth.

“Space, Heli! Looks like a damned building fell on top of you!”

“Huh?” was the reply, Heli tilting his head to look at Cody. “Oh, welcome back, Coad. Come to join the party?”

“Oh yeah. One hell of a damned party, too.” Looking more like a dead man’s party, to me.

He could hear others trying to get out, rubble moving slightly. Joamer called out, and several voices responded. He could only hope there were more able bodied members of the RAIDERS out there, because at this rate, their hopes of getting out looked pretty grim. And then, there was the matter of security…

“Hey Joamer, how much time do you think we have until more mercs come to check out the miniature earthquake and absence of energy?”

Beta woke up with his the side of his face pressed against the cold floor by the weight of the rubble above him. His head ached all the way through his skull, probably from the same injury causing the warm blood to flow down his forehead and cheek. There was a small amount of light leaking in through the rubble allowing Beta to see his helmet partially crushed under a larger rock – probably enough to have killed him – around a foot in front of his head. The blood that had come from his injury pooled on the ground around him and mixed with the settled dust. He watched calmly as the blood pool met with the broken helmet.

Beta’s body suppressed the pain from his head as he lay silently on the ground. As the pain left his thoughts came in to fill the void it left. The first thing that came to him was who was he and how did he get there. He had no memories left inside him and no ideas of how he could have ended up in a situation like this. Desperate to find out more of where he was he started to shift about in an attempt to get out of under the rubble. He managed to free up enough space to be on his hands and knees but in doing so he felt instantly sick to his stomach. He looked above himself and squinted at the light going through the cracks. Stopping to find enough strength in him to make the final break though the last layer of rocks and metal he rested in the crawling position. Beta watched in seemingly slow-motion as the drops of blood fell to the ground, finding it ironically comforting. Once ready he used his bloodstained gloves to push the ceiling of rubble until it collapsed down to the ground beside him.

The light blasted in on Beta, seeming much brighter to him then it should have before his eyes adjusted back to normal. His head throbbing he crawled out of the rubble to see the men he was unable to recognize, each with their various degrees of injuries. Beta wordlessly stared at them with the blood now running down his armour. Completely unknowing of what to say or do he took to what the other troopers were doing and sat down on the ground by himself, resting his head and back to the wall. He took the glove off of his left hand and placed it on the ground. He put his hand to where the pain was mostly coming from on the left side of his forehead. Beta retracted his hand as soon as he touched it and felt the spike of pain. Now bracing he put his hand back and could feel bone instead of skin at that spot. He looked down at his hand to see the majority of his fingers and palm coloured red.

When Beta saw one of the men start to walk over he wiped the blood off of his hand onto his other arm and put the glove back on. He stood up quickly and backed up a step as the man approached closer.

“We need some help with some of the other troopers-“ the man started to say.

“Who the hell are you?” Beta blurted out quickly, interrupting the other man mid-sentence.

“It’s Joamer. Don’t mess with me right now Beta, we need to get everyone out.” Joamer said, causing Beta to take another step back. The two just stood and looked at each other for a few seconds. “Beta-“

“Don’t get any closer,” Beta said when Joamer took another step, getting more and more defensive by the second.

“Is there something wrong with you?” Joamer started to walk forwards and Beta tightened his fist. When Joamer got too close for Beta’s comfort he threw his fist towards the head of the man. When it made contact it caused the man to fall over backwards to the ground.

Beta took a few steps back as Joamer seemed to be sitting there, hand on the side of his head, still realising what just happened to him. Beta put his right foot back in case he had to defend himself again. He wished he could know where he was and what he was doing there, but right now he had to figure out who the people around him are with probably a few other things to worry about.

Mox opened his eyes, but didn't see nothing. He rolled his eyes around trying to find anything he could look at. Damn... Mox thought to himself as attempted to move any part of his body, he managed to move his right arm a little. He suddenly blinked and realised his helmet's HUD was still working. He could see his squadmates's silhouettes walking around, trying to dig people out. He attempted to talk but found that only gibberish came out of his mouth, accompanied by extreme pain. This is great... Mox was last thing before he blacked out.

------------------------------------

Mox opened his eyes, just as he felt stones crushing even tighter around him. He felt pain in his chest, and heard a cracking noise at the same time. My fraking ribs... Mox thought, remembering not to talk. Who the hell was that? Mox opened his eyes and saw two people, the one on top of him marked Joamer, the other one being marked as Beta40. He then attempted to move his arms. He couldn't feel his left arm, but luckily, his right arm was sound. He started to clear rubble around his hand and then arm, which was surprisingly easy.

Mox looked around again, only to see that most of RAIDERS were out already. That means that some of the rubble was cleared away. After clearing enough dust and stone around his hand, he started working his way to his face. After a while he managed to clear enough rubble to allow some light to his face. He immediately blocked and started to flex his mouth, trying to accustom himself to the pain. Now he could also hear some voices, but didn't attempt to distinguish them.

Suddenly Mox could hear more voices, along with comm static and a big amount of rubble was moved away from his body. Light from room reached his eyes, and Mox grimaced his face, and shut them closed. Immediately more pain soared from his mouth, but being accustomed to most of it, he managed to keep consciousness. As was pulled out he attempted to distinguish between silhouettes pulling him out.

“No good, crushed arm...” Karash voice sounded from Mox's left.

He could feel hands feeling against his chest. Pain came from them, but he was so numb to it he almost didn't feel it.

“Some broken ribs as well, and what I can see is broken jaw.”

Karash took Mox's helmet off and bandaged his jaw to the rest of his face, effectively muting any sounds that may come out of it. Karash then delicately moved his arm and said something. The medic then put bandages around Mox's arm and then neck.

“That's good for now, try not to crash into anything. And yeah, get those grenades off you, you don't anymore burns.” Karash said as he got up and went to tend to other people.

Mox opened his eyes, and noticed they got more accustomed to the light. With his right arm he sat up and looked around.

“Sup, Mox? You OK?” Coadster's voice came from behind.

“Mpfhmm” Mox replied, looking down at the rest of his body. There were some minor burns on his body, though nothing too serious.

“Heh... I guess I'm good as well.” Coadster said, laughing at the same time. Aren't you too happy, idiot? Mox thought

This situation was the worst ever, and Mox got himself in a shitload of bad situation. His arm was crushed and he couldn't feel it at all. He had broken his jaw, which was too tightly tied to the top of his face, causing constant pain. He also had some unknown burns on his skins, although Mox noticed a grenade was missing. As well as all of this some of his ribs were broken.

Wow, I don't think I have ever... suffered this amount of injuries.... Mox thought to himself, while putting his helmet back on.

Standing there quietly Joamer looked over the young woman slowly. She stood in half open defiance as she waited for him to say something. He recognized her attitude, defiant, unruly, troublesome. By the missing patches on her arms he figured whoever had dealt with her before had given up, even thrown her in a cell for her to cool off. He doubted she liked authority much, so he kept the patch with his rank and position hidden for now.

"By the armor and weaponry, I will assume Imperial. Missing patches means either rogue, or someone who is more trouble than she was worth." Looking at her again he readjusted the weapons harness holding his pulse rifle and said "So, which is it?" It was said nonchalantly, a way to draw the answer out without sounding like an order. Though, the underlined threat was there. He made it clear he would not appreciate being lied to.

He turned away from her slightly to watch both ends of the hallway. He could hear his squad in the next room over still working on their issues, and could see the shape of Jaenna standing in the doorway keeping far enough back to not be noticed by their new girl.

Working her mouth back and forth she clicked her teeth for a second before she said "After the Academy they tossed me from group to group. Something about being untrainable and unruly, they just could not handle my awesomeness really I think. So, they stuck with me those ARC morons. Did not take them long to toss me in that cell back there."

Coughing slightly to clear his throat he smiled and said, "Well, I'm Joamer the fruitcakes you hear over there are RAIDERS. I assume you know where we are, so I don't have to explain that. Pick up your rifle and join me if you want, I'm going to scout around in this direction while the squad prepares to get underway."

Moving forward without waiting for her reply he made his way through the debris of the hall and into the next room. Another large office space littered with terminals and data centers, all offline and over half of them crushed by panels from the ceiling. On one side of the room he saw large doors standing partly open, with a sign above them that read;

Caution: Advanced Weaponry.

Keeping his rifle at the ready he glanced to his side to see the new girl moving with him. After a moment she whispered "I'm Xylonia Rose, Private First Class. People call me Whiskey, wish I had some right now."

He smiled as he motioned her to the side, peeking into the room he frowned as nothing but shadows moved. Most of the racks and containers were empty, to him the room looked older or more experimental than anything. Slinging his rifle behind him he walked up to one large rifle like object. It was long, cylindrical in shape with knobs, tubes, and containers designed into each other nearly seamlessly. The paint design was blue and white, picking the rifle up he quickly read the description and began laughing gently.

Working the knobs and buttons he slowly brought the machine to life as he turned to face Whiskey. He knew his face was shining a light blue from the weapon display, pointing the rifle at the wall he held down the trigger as a blue-white cone of ice shot out from the muzzle. "We have new toys."

Setting the weapon down he attached his pulse rifle to his back so it would not move. Grabbing one of the specially designed harnesses off the wall he quickly strapped the ice-gun to it and slung it around his shoulders. He saw WhiskeyRose doing the same a moment later without being told to. Waiting for her to get done he walked out of the room, and made his way back to the squad. Stopping for a moment in the hallway he saw two dead guards on the floor with two more standing halfway in the collapsed room.

"Hands up, no one move. Now, who is in charge here?" The guard closest to Joamer said to the squad.

"If you knew anything about Imperial insignia you would know it was me!" Joamer shouted as he leveled the gun at the two remaining guards. He watched as they turned to face him, their rifles swinging around to fire at him. Squeezing the trigger he smiled grimly as one of the guards began to freeze solid, the other quickly joined him as WhiskeyRose stepped beside him and began firing her rifle.

Lowering his gun a moment later he looked inside the room carefully to see his squad standing around with bewildered expressions on their faces. "New toys, down the hallway. Advanced weapons room, two left in there."

"Who the hell are you?" He heard Whiskey say a few seconds later.

Sighing slowly he stepped up to one of the frozen guards and smashed his torso in with the butt of his rifle. He watched as the ice spider-webbed out slowly before the mass seemed to explode and collapse at the same moment. "Reistlin Joamer, Sergeant Major. Squad Leader RAIDERS." Hanging the rifle from its harness he kicked out his left foot shattering the remaining frozen body as he looked at the new girl of the group.

Graded to here

Joamer nodded to Xy, "Whiskey, put Coed down for a minute and help Karash get an injury report.  I need to know where everyone is at before we move forward, or upward in this case."

Joamer looked at Jaenna, "You and I will stand guard for now." Together they took point in the hallway just outside the room to keep an eye out for any more mercs.

Xy smirked at Coedster as she lowered him into a chair, "When we're ready to move out, I'll be your foot again Sugar."  She winked at him and made her way carefully through the rubble ridden floor by tip-toeing to Karash. He was squatting down next to Mox who was leaning against a pile of concrete and metal.  "I don't need your help.  I heard Joa, now go away so I can do my job."  Xy winced and turned around to go back the way she came.

Nice to meet you too dill hole.

Xy walked over to Heliwer, "How ya' feeling?"

"Like shit," he muttered through half open lips that held his cigarette that was hanging there like an ornament adorning the bad ass.  Xy sat on the ground next to him and pulled out a fat cigar.  She put it in her mouth and dug around her armor.

"Damn it, where in frak did I put that..."  Knowing exactly what she was digging for, Heliwer lifted his good arm to light her cigar for her.  "Here," his voice was deep and raspy, probably from the pain.  She put the end of the cigar in his flame and puffed on it until its embers glowed like a candle in the dark. 

"Thanks."  She took in a long drag.  She remained silent.  She didn't want to prod the man to "get to know him".  She hated it when people did that to her. 

"I hope you know how to handle yourself little girl.  We're royally frakked down here, and we're going to need you to help us fight out of this if you want to live."  He exhaled smoke as Karash came over and started taking notes of all of Heliwer's injuries in his data pad.

"I always fight to live, and fight to live my way."  Xy gently patted Heliwer's shoulder before she stood up.  "Thanks for the light.  I need to find some grub since we are resting."  She left Karash to examine Heliwer.

Well, warm welcomes all around.  Maybe that's what makes this crew different than the rest.  They don't trust easily, like me.

Xy went over to one of the desks and began trying to open one of the dented drawers.  The drawer was not budging.  She pulled out her large knife and stuck it in to pry it open. She groaned out load as she put as much effort as possible on her knife. 

"ARGGGGGGGGH!"  It was useless.  She stood upright and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand.  "Alright mother frakker, you're going to open right now."  She grabbed the ice gun slung at her side and pointed it at the drawer.  Blue light flared up and brightened her smirking face as she fired it. 

Ice crackled as it formed on the metal desk.  Ice mostly built up on the drawer she was aiming at.  She held down the trigger laughing in glee as ice formed a circle from the nozzle.  When she took her finger off the trigger, an ice wreath crackled on the metal drawer.  She kicked the drawer of the desk and it instantly shattered. 

A pile of rations fell to the floor in the midst of the shattered ice and metal.  She gracefully leaned over, her perfect rump high in the air with her victory.  She plucked a packaged ration from the floor and ripped it open with her pearly teeth.  She leaned against a wall as she took a bite and chewed.

Everyone in the room was staring at her.  She shrugged with a mouthful, "What?  If you want some, there's plenty to go around," she then grimaced and gulped, swallowing the dry hard paste and shuddered.  "Gah... But do so at your own risk.  It tastes like an old stale Yule log!"  Despite the horrid taste, she forced herself to swallow and take another bite.  She hadn't eaten in at least a day or two.

She walked as she took another bite.  She noticed Joamer and Jaenna standing oddly close to each other and staring intently at each other outside the room as she walked past the doorway.  Joamar's hands were on her shoulders and he seemed to be talking very intently to Jaenna. 

"What's up with those two?  It looks like they are about to kiss under the mistletoe."  The room erupted into laughter.

"Are you nuts?" exclaimed Coedster. 

"She must be," said Heliwer, "She can't tell the difference between a Squad Leader looking out for his crew and romantics."  He shook his head making smoke circle his head.

"Jeesh, sorry.  They just look awfully intent at each other out there."  Xy paced the room uneasily.  "Especially since Serg' looks like a stocking so stuffed he's about to explode."

Dusk stood up angered by her comment.  "Shut your mouth you little bitch! If you ever talk about Joamer that away again, I swear I'll..."

Xy cut him off, "Look, I was just making an observation! SORRY!"

Great I just blew it.  They all will hate me now.  Why can't I learn to keep my frakkin opinions to myself?

Coedster stared blankly at Xy, "What's mistletoe?"

Xy sighed, but smiled welcoming the question.  "It's a bunch of branches of a plant with little berries, called Holly, tied together with ribbon.  During the celebration of Life once a year, people hang it from their ceiling.  When a man and woman are both standing under it, they kiss."

Coedster scowled, "That sounds ridiculous and pointless!  And how could you think that about the Sergeant Major and Jaenna? You're sick, you know that? Besides, you know nothing about us!"

Way to make some new friends dumb ass.

Xy sighed.  She was screwing up again.  She puffed on her cigar deep in thought.  The cigar tasted much better than the ration. 

God, I will would frakkin kill for a piece of reindeer jerky right now.

She thought of Reg then.  Their first year celebrating the celebration of Life together was on Shiloh.  That was a great ship, Shiloh.  She was only just 16 then.  Reg had taken her under his wing, and she had developed deep feelings for him.  She had stayed awake the whole night waiting for morning that day.  Reg stumbled out of his cabin with sleep still in his eyes, but he smiled warmly at her regardless.  He was wearing a brown fluffy robe and a red fluffy pointy hat with a white puffy ball hanging from the tip.  White fur lined the rim of the hat.  He ran up to her and picked her up in his arms squeezing her in a bear hug.  Her heart fluttered in her stomach as she felt his pectoral muscles against her chest.

"I have a gift for you Rose."  He pulled a prettily wrapped small box from one of the cupboards in the mess hall they were standing in.  It was wrapped in violet shining paper and silver ribbon.  She carefully took the gift, silenced by this surprise.  His grey eyes stared at her, eager and bright.  "Open it Rose, my sweet Rose." His hand cupped her cheek...

Xy wiped the tear forming in her eye away and punched the wall screaming nothing in particular. 

Reg...

Every time she thought of him, fireworks exploded inside her.  The pain was too great. 

Oh God, I miss you Reg.

She opened her eyes and looked about the room. 

Do I even have a chance at making comrades here?

She bit her bottom lip in worry.  She wished she was drunk right then to wash the pain away.  Whiskey would be best, but at that moment she'd even kill to drink some lame ass champagne.

Dusk walked up to her, "What the hell are you sniffling about?  You're the one being a bitch!"

Xy snapped.  Her now light grey eyes (they had been light blue before) locked on Dusk.  "You aren't the top hat around here!"  She backed away from Dusk and stormed over to Karash.  "Are you done yet?  Serg' wanted a report."

Karash looked up at the new girl annoyed.  "It'll be ready when I'm done.  I'll send it to his data pad when it's ready.  Perhaps you should get some air."

Xy sighed and stormed out of the room.  She walked over to Joamer and Jaenna.  "Serg', Karash said when he's done he'll send the report directly to your data pad."  Joamer examined her face carefully.  An intelligent man, he could see something was bothering her, but before he could inquire his data pad emitted a light beeping noise.  He lifted it and sure enough, message number 2012 was Karash's injury report.

"Sergeant Heliwer: left arm broken; right ear drum ruptured, temporary deafness in right ear only; four broken ribs; three bruised ribs; shock - should pass soon if it hasn't already.

Gunnery Sergeant Jaenna: Minor head laceration and bruised arm.

Private Coadster: Shattered foot and ankle - must stay off of, needs surgical attention soon; bruises/scrapes nothing else serious.

Private Dusk: broken right arm and sprained right leg; concussion - functional but needs proper treatment.

Corporal Beta: Severe Concussion; head laceration; amnesia - tranquilizing might be only option to get him to move willingly.

Private Mox: shattered left arm - possibly needs amputation; five broken ribs; 2 bruised ribs; broken jaw; multiple burns - 3rd and 2nd degree- needs immediate medical care - Joa we need to get the frak out ASAP. - Karash"

Joamer gulped as he finished reading the tablet.  Jaenna watched him worriedly.  "We need to get going, and fast. Let's get ready to move out squad!" He tucked the data pad away and nodded to Jaenna and Xy.  "Lock and load girls, shit's about to get rolling."

Joamer watched as Karash leaned down and examined the unconscious form of Heliwer. After a few moments of checking the stump and a few places around his head he looked up and said, "He's unconscious from the shock, should wear off eventually. We will have to carry him till then." Joamer had been with Karash for long enough to know the man knew what that meant, the already battered and slow squad would be slower and one less person to fight when the time came.

Looking around slowly he took a mental calculation of their chances in their current condition. Out of nine people, only four could fight with any real sense of ability. Everyone else was either majorly out of it, like in Beta's case, or with such severe injuries fighting would be hazardous to everyone around them. Picking two people to carry a stretcher would hamper them to the point of death, he knew to carry the young man would mean someone would surely die. They simply did not have the resources or the manpower to do it, and get out of this hell alive.

"Wake him up." Joamer ordered Karash. It was possibly the first real direct order he had given the medic. He saw the man begin to refuse so he said, "As squad medic I know you can overrule me, but I'm ordering you and will take full responsibility if we get out of this for anything that happens to him in the long run from waking him up. Pump him, and everyone else who needs it full of morphine, codine, adrenaline, and anything else they need to be functional. I know it's going to come back and bite us soon, but we need to get out of here. No one is going to come down here and save our sorry hides, you can bet on that."

Walking away from Karash he stepped up to Beta and looked down at the man he had known for many years. He had not moved from his previous spot, nor said much of anything since the last time Joamer had spoken to him. Kneeling down he looked the younger man in the eyes and saw nothing but emptiness starring back at him. "Kurt." He doubted he had ever used the man's first name during a mission before, or maybe ever. They had not really done much of anything outside of squad related activities. He still counted him as a friend though, they had been through too much together not to. "Kurt, I know somewhere you are still in there. I need your help, the squad needs your help. With the way you hold that rifle I know your training is still there, help all of us. I need you on point with Jae, you are one of the few left who can actually function normally."

He let the seconds tick by slowly as Beta simply starred off into nothing. Standing up he sighed once and squared his jack-boots for what was to come. "Fine, you leave me no choice. Corporal Kurt Rythoren, you are hereby ordered to snapto and assume point position." He hated giving orders like this, he knew sometimes he had to but it just felt wrong to order people around he had known for a long time. Beta did not move, but he did notice his fingers tightening around his rifle slightly. "Move your ass trooper, that is an order."

Closing his eyes he knew what he needed to do now, since Beta had failed to respond to two direct orders. Threatening the young man seemed the only way to shake him out of his comatose state. He would probably be brought up on charges for this, but if it got his squad home he did not care. Taking one step forward he gripped Beta by the neck and lifted him off of the rubble he had been standing on. Turning to the side he slammed him up against the wall and ignored the sharp intakes of breath he could hear behind him from several members of the squad. "Now, you are going to do what I say. Or, I will shoot you and leave you to rot down here. Do I make myself clear?"

He saw a flash of anger in Beta's eyes, and just for a brief moment recognition. After a second the young man said, "I'll take point, but watch your back. There will be a reckoning for this." Setting the man down he stepped to the side as Beta picked up his rifle and walked out of the room. Looking down at his hands he said, "Squad prepare to move out, once everyone is doped and on stims we march. Time for us to go home."

Like a wasp about to sting, her hand flew at the back of Heliwer’s head.  Her hand whizzed against air as he ran into the room to take out the enemy.  Damn! He had been too quick for her.  Xylonia watched him drop the mercenaries like flies, and then Heliwer dropped himself.  She fumed staring at his unconscious body.  First he drank a whole canteen of whiskey without offering her a swig, then he called her “girl”, and then he had the nerve to slap her ass!  The scowl on her face at that moment could have turned a Hutt to stone.  She watched Karash move to revive him after Joamer gave the order.  She looked around, their predicament was pretty horrid. 

    Her dark grey orbs watched Joamer walk up to Beta and take control of the situation.  She found herself impressed with how Joamer handled the situation.  He was doing what was necessary to save their hides.  She could tell he did not want to be so stern and threaten Beta’s life, but she could also see that Joamer would do everything he could to save his squad members.  She nodded approvingly.  She would have done the same thing if she was in his boots.  When Beta went to take point with Jaenna, and Dusk helped Heliwer up, she knew it was time to go.  She walked over to Coadster and helped him to his feet, shouldering part of his weight.  She could feel his discomfort of having a woman help him walk.  She wanted to say something to tell him not to be embarrassed and that it wasn’t his fault his foot got turned into pudding.  But, she decided any sort of statement would probably make him feel even worse.  So, she just kept moving and tried to think of ways she was going to beat Heliwer’s ass into ground meat when they got out of here. 

    They had come to the stairs, to help Coadster up each step she grabbed the back of his belt with the arm she had around him.  She hoisted him up as best she could each step.  She easily noticed that exhaustion was settling in on him and his bad foot started to drag as he instinctively tried to put it down each step.  She saw him fighting it, pulling his foot back in alarm each step.  Between hearing his jaw clicking as he ground his teeth in pain, she could hear footsteps above them on the stairs.  Looking sideways at Coadster, he was looking back at her.  By the glint in his eyes, she knew he heard them too.  While still looking at Coadster, she pointed the ice gun in her left hand up towards the footsteps above and motioned for him to get on her back.  She nodded to him waiting for him to acknowledge he understood. 

    Coadster nodded and stood on his good foot to let Xylonia get in front of him.  She squatted down so he could climb on her back.  He squeezed his legs tightly to hold himself to her and wrapped his arms under hers and clung to her chest.  “Erm, eh, uh, sorry! It’s the only good way to hold on!” he stammered.  She looped her arms under his knees and stood.  “It’s fine. It’s not like you can feel anything through my armor. Just hold on.” With Coadster on her piggy back style, she was able to have her rifle in one hand and the ice gun in the other.  She grunted as her muscles tensed to hold him on her back.  He was heavy, but she had lifted more before.  The adrenaline coursing through her helped her focus on the task at hand.  She tensed her leg muscles even more, bending down like a coil getting ready to spring.  She inhaled a deep breath through her nose and let it out her mouth. It’s go time. “MOVE!” she yelled as she sprang forward up the stairs.

    Everyone ahead of her jumped against the nearest wall or ducked as she ran past them.  More than one look of shock or confusion followed her as she ran past with Coadster.  Jaenna called out after her, “Hey! What are you doing?  What the frack?”

    Breathing heavily from the effort of running and carrying Coadster, all Xylonia could respond with was, “attack.”  She flew around the corner with her guns pointed ahead.  The first mercenary came into her sights.  He was kneeling there in his black armor with his gun propped on his knee, waiting for them.  He paused simply shocked at seeing a female trooper with a bulkier trooper riding her piggy back.  She squeezed the trigger of her rifle without slowing her momentum.  The shot entered the mercenary square between the eyes and he fell over, his body racking with movement as the last signals from his brain echoed through his corpse. She lithely stepped over the mercenary’s convulsing body and continued upward.  Her muscles were screaming at her that she was pushing the limit.  The knowledge that more enemies lurked ahead kept her moving. My legs may be sorer than a Hutt’s ass after this but I am not going to die here.

Coadster’s adrenaline kicked into high gear, inspired by Xylonia’s sudden burst of craziness.  Riding Xylonia certainly was easier than hopping up the stairs and had given him some energy back.  Confident he had the strength to hold onto her with one arm and his thighs; he grabbed his rifle and held it under Xylonia’s arm, pointed out in front of her.  “I’ll cover you!” he yelled so she would hear over the noise of running footsteps above them and behind them.  Everyone was in full motion now, at least as fast as they could go with the injured.  Jaenna and Beta came up close behind her, both ready to take out any more enemies. 

Xylonia could hear Joamer giving orders in the rear to speed things up, “ARCS carry Heliwer and go as fast as you can!  Dusk get up there and help cover us!  Let me know if there are any more surprises waiting for us up there Whiskey!  Beta follow Jaenna’s lead!!!” Joamer yelled upward hoping they could hear him.  “Move! Move! Move! RAIDERS MOVE!!!!!!!”

Xylonia heard several more footsteps running down the stairs.  Frack! She stopped and leaned her head over the side and looked up.  She whistled loudly, her ice gun pointed up and ready.  Six heads in black helmets peeked over various railings of the stairs above in the shaft.  That’s what she was waiting for.  She blasted the ice gun as soon as their heads came into view.  The large tube of ice spewing from the gun engulfed the entire width of the corridor.  Men’s screams echoed off the concrete and metal closely followed by the sound of cracking ice.  The screams died away as heads in black helmets started falling down the stairway shaft to the bottom floor. They looked like ice cubes with flies inside them.  Remnants of ice fell slowly down the shaft like snow.  After she heard six distinct thumps and shattering of ice that sounded like glass breaking, Xylonia grinned and started running again up the stairs.  She was exhausted, and her muscles were afire in pain.  She was sure she pulled at least one muscle so far.  “I think all is clear for now Squad Leader!!!!!”  She actually laughed, her laugh echoed in the stairway.  This is fun. 

As they rounded another corner, close to the top of the stairs, Coadster saw one more mercenary out of the corner of his eye.  He blasted his rifle three times in quick succession.  The mercenary that was hiding in ventilation shaft above them fell to the ground with a loud thump.  Xylonia looked down at the black heap and watched blood ooze from one shot in his heart and two in his head that were almost unrecognizable as two shots as they were perfectly aligned.  “Nice shootin’ Bullseye.  But were three shots really necessary?”

Coadster looked at his left hand holding his rifle confused.  His good arm was ruined and he never could shoot the side of imperial cruiser with his left hand.  Jaenna stepped up behind them silently with the tip of her rifle smoking from recent use.

She smirked, “Triple tap.  Never can be too sure.” 

Coadster sulked as he found where his rounds had plunked into three different spots in the wall.  Xylonia laughed making her sides ache even more.  She reached the top floor with Jaenna in tow and moved to the side of the stairs to allow the others plenty of room to breach the top.  She kept Coadster on her back.  She knew once she set him down, she wouldn’t be able to pick him up again.  Jaenna and Beta came to the top first; they were practically on Xylonia’s heels since she was bogged down by Coadster.  While they took point, listening and watching for more mercenaries that may be on their way, Xylonia took out a stim pack from her belt and injected it into her neck.  She knew she would need the extra boost to keep going. I’m getting out of here alive and in one piece blast it all!

Coad flexed his hand, made sure it was still numb.  The vehicle bay was large and open, the yawning entryway letting all the frozen hell of the outside in. Someone had done a damned good number on the room, as there was little left of the previous occupants of the bay except burnt hunks of debris arranged in a more or less orderly fashion. It was  ten hunks long and two rows deep, with a tall vaulted roof  and a large space in the middle, currently where the only APC in the room was parked, and rather haphazardly at that, a black skid leading right up to the diagonally-stopped vehicle.

The entrance was turned toward the end of the hall the RAIDERS found themselves in, and was placed more to the right of the room than the middle. Threw off the feng shui of the room, if you asked Coad. Ah, but of course no one did, and he realized with an effort that it was probably the drugs poking at his thoughts. Ah, how fleeting were they… Whiskey pulled him back into the hallway, to avoid being seen by the mercs on the far end of the bay.

At Joamer’s motion, Karash moved first. Coad hadn’t taken much stock in it before, but Karash could move when he wanted to. His quiet footfalls were covered up by the interesting music on the intercom, and he moved quickly beyond the line of sight of Coadster. Long moments passed before Joamer sighed and motioned for someone else to go. There was a moment’s pause where no one moved, and illogically Coad took a step forward, putting a hand on the hallway wall and pulling from Whiskey. Silent motions of horror and gesticulations that registered as disapproval in Coad’s mind did not stop him from hopping into the room, his fuzzy mind not completely grasping the situation. He remembered he wasn’t to be caught, though. It was like a game.

He crouched and rolled out of the doorway, partly due to Jaenna’s attempt to stopping him by stepping in front of him and only managing to tip him off balance. Joamer’s arm swooped over his head, his body doubled over as his training had taught him to do. His shoulder connected with the floor, and he performed a neat little somersault into the room. He was faced with the wide open space cutting through the rows of scrap, and suddenly he felt very vulnerable. What now?

He attempted to stand, but his dratted bandaged foot seemed to slip from underneath him, and he ended up rolling again. In his cloudy mind, a plan formulated with that spin, and he pushed himself over his head again once momentum brought him on his good foot, he rolled on his back and was brought back to his upright position. Rinse, wash, repeat. His world spun over and under him redundantly as he brought himself to the space between the rows of vehicle shells, and he paused at a rather odd looking piece of shrapnel in his path.

It was like a fender, and too big to move it without making quite a bit of noise, though the raucous tune on the intercom was doing enough of that already. He made a little hop over it, and was surprised to find another piece of weirdly shaped metal behind it. Not being able to change his trajectory, he did the inevitable and landed on it, wincing at the clangor that seemed so loud to him, though in actuality it made much less noise than him jumping between the hunks of charred metal debris. He winced as someone called out, “Hey, who’s there, now?” from a doorway at the very corner of the room.

Coadster tucked himself uncomfortably into a pile of metal and tried to be as still as possible. Metal was kicked out of the way, and Coad steeled himself, realizing his blaster was tucked into its holster on his damned left. Adrenaline helped him think a little more clearly, and he realized that this might spell disaster. Metal clanged together, and a shadow was cast over him. He slowly looked up at his possible doom. What he saw was not quite what he expected.

“Why, sleeping on the job? That’s no just no good!”

A tall man in the standard mercenary armor stood before him, helmet off and a magnificently crafted moustache in its place. He seemed jovial, almost aloof to the fact that he was surrounded by debris caused by the invading VE troopers. Instead of a blaster rifle, he held two small cups, steaming heavily in the biting chill of the gaping entrance.

“Don’t worry, I’ve just the thing. They tried to pull a quick one with the recaf, but I found a good batch. And it’s not absent of caffeine like some barbaric placebo.”

The man shivered and looked beyond the world for a moment, sorrowful contemplation etched on his face, before coming to and returning to his former self. He smiled jovially at Cody, and handed a cup to him. He winked and made the zipped-lips gesture. “Don’t worry now, don’t say a thing. I’m in no shape to work without my pick-me-up either. The powers-that-be will be none the wiser, you can count on it.”

And without another word he picked his way through the clanging metal and jaunted up the middle walkway to his fellow mercs, who tensed for a moment before registering the man and relaxing. While he joined them, Coad picked himself up out of his pocket and hopped at a crouch as best as he was able, unconsciously carrying the cup of fragrant brew in his numbed right hand.

He reached his destination and hopped inside the APC, a sour looking Karash glaring at him from within.

“You looked like a damned droideka rolling about out there,” He whispered at Coadster venemously, eyeing the cup he was carrying with suspicion. “It’s a wonder that mercenary didn’t finish the job that the others started. Would’ve saved me a hell of a lot of trouble, let me tell you. I tell you, I was ready to mow these buggers down at the drop of a hat.”

Coadster was brought back to reality with the warm liquid sliding down his throat and warming his insides; Karash’s words were wind compared to it. He exhaled, feeling a bit more awake from the effects of the drugs, and took in the rich, earthy scent from the brew before taking another swig. Whatever else the moustachio’d man was, he had good taste. With half of it gone, he tapped his intercom for a second’s duration and took his hand away, the signal for the next RAIDER. He considered downing the rest and thought better of it, noticing Karash’s ill humor toward him at the moment. Sheepishly, he held out the mug.

“Would you like some?”

Xylonia wondered if perhaps she was living the last few minutes of her life with these strangers.  When Joamer mentioned the current situation, twenty plus mercenaries and they have to sneak by to survive, she started to panic.  She had easily kept her cool until now, and had even somewhat enjoyed herself when she used the ice gun. 

However, the true danger of her position suddenly became too real.  She gulped the hard rock she felt in her throat.  She wanted to die to be with Reg, it was true.  The unknown of what laid out before her, made her want to go on living a little longer though.  Not yet, I don't want to die yet.

Xy clasped her hands together and knelt.  Silently she moved her lips, her faith in herself breaking.  Every muscle in her body burned in agony from the extra strain she had put on them.  The stim pack she had used in addition to what Doc Karash had already injected her with was starting to make her delirious. Reg, help me survive this.  I miss you, but I feel like I have something I'm meant to do.  Besides, I still need to avenge you.  God, if you are there with Reg, listening, give him a hand helping me out will ya'?  It'd be much appreciated...  While she prayed silently, a single tear fell from her eye to the ground.  Deep down she was truly afraid.  She wanted a chance to get to know these new people in her life, she hoped they would be her new friends. 

When Xy looked up from her silent plea, Joamer was watching her carefully.  She nodded to affirm she was ready.  Her now deep-sea-dark-blue eyes examined the mercenaries mulling about.  She calculated her best timing and options for getting to the vehicle.  She plotted it all out in her mind.  Sweat beaded on her forhead.  Her eyes closed in concentration and she opened them right before she sprinted.

She tried to sprint as quietly as possible.  Thank the creator for the loud music.  A patrol started walking in from a connected hallway and she stopped and ducked behind some large containers of fuel.  She watched the patrol carefully peering around a barrel.  When they were gone, she sprinted again.  She could feel her heart pumping against every inch of her skin. 

She hadn't realized that she closed her eyes.  She opened them to find herself in the vehicle next to Moks and Coadster.  Karash was staring at her with a raised eyebrow.  Karash reached over and tapped her comlink on for just a second, giving the signal to Joamer that she made it.  Xy was panting heavily and she was slightly shaken that she didn't remember getting into the vehicle.

Karash, Coadster and Moks all had watched Xy run like hell, which was a good thing.  They also watched her running straight at the APC and them with her eyes fully closed.  She had leaped and landed in the vehicle quite gracefully.  All three men were slightly impressed, thinking her cockiness had kicked in again and she was showing off. 

Coadster and Moks, oblivious to Xy's panic, turned their gazes towards the other side of the hangar, waiting for the next squad member.  Karash continued to observe Xy.  As soon as she had opened her eyes and he saw the panic there, he knew something was amiss. He watched her eyes dart from where the others where hiding, to the barrels she hid behind to the APC she was now in.  Being experienced had its perks.  He knew without talking to her, that she did not remember closing her eyes, or anything that happened during the time her eyes were shut. 

He watched her for a few more minutes.  Xy calmed herself down and decided she would figure out what happened later.  She took her rifle and the ice gun out of the holsters and held them propped up on part of the APC.  She watched.  If bantha fodder hit the fan, she was going to fight till the very end.  Once Karash saw she had regained control of herself, he made a note in his data pad. "Psych evaluation, Private Xylonia Rose - recommended and requested by Karash."

Joamer decided he would kill Xy as soon as he heard the com link click from her.  Those few minutes she made him wait had definitely given him a coronary.  He wondered what the blast had taken her so long, especially after she proved herself more than capable on the stairwell.  After the com link signal, Joamer felt his data pad vibrate.  Now is not the time! What in seven galaxies... He briefly glanced at his data pad and grimaced.  He saw Karash's request for a psychological evaluation of Xy.  What the frack?!  He was worried.  He had been impressed by the girl and was hoping to request her placed into his squad.  If anyone could handle a young, unruly, disrespectful woman that had talent, it was him.  Yup, whatever in hell's tarnation that woman did, I'm going to kick her ass!

Looking at the last remaining people Joamer thought for a long moment. He knew the chances of four more trips going off without a hitch was pushing their luck to the breaking point. Maybe it was time for something truly insane to get them out of here. He felt the rough floor under his jack-boots pressing against the soles of his feet as he squatted there in the half darkness. He could feel the cold air rushing in from outside, the music blasting away from somewhere in the distance, even the soft breathing of the two men and single woman positioned around him.

Looking at Jaenna, then at the two ARC boys that had somehow survived this complex mission he suddenly began smiling. "You know, my father once told me. 'Son, if you can't beat them. Then just go all out.' Or, something like that anyways. He might of been drunk right then I can't remember for sure." Standing up he clipped the ice-gun to his side and motioned for everyone to stand up.

He knew by their faces they had caught on slowly, and by their hands tightening on their blasters they disliked the idea immensely. Pulling out his data pad he walked out into the vehicle bay while flipped through various screens and settings. After a moment he heard the three sets of foot steps fall in behind him, thankfully they wanted to be as crazy as he was today. He saw the mercenaries come alert and wait for the command to fire. "So, down in the pit we had one report of attack. Then three more without ten minutes. Coordinated seems to be appropriate, even had to call in the out lying teams for support." Looking up he gestured to one of the mercenaries to stand aside as the four man group walked slowly through the vehicle bay.

"Right, but the remains of command wanted us to scout the area. They must have a staging area somewhere, only thing left here is that APC." Jaenna said as he walked beside him, trying her best to ignore the rather confused and dangerous men starring at them.

"Commander, a moment please." Joamer said as he stepped closer to the one he assumed was in charge of this small squad of soldiers. "I need your APC, it's company property anyways so I could just take it. Command wants you boys to enter that stairwell and travel down, last reports we got were on level three. We believe they are down there still." Turning to Jaenna and his two ARC boys he waved them into the back of the APC. Opening the side hatch he stepped inside then bolted the door.

"Look her down, all hands man the guns if you can. Everyone else just hold on tight, that was the easy part I think. Right now they are no doubt calling this weirdness in to get confirmation." Joamer said as he sat down in the drivers seat. Flipping two switches he felt the twin engines kick over as the six-wheeled vehicle sputtered to life. Letting the engine warm up for a second he dropped it into gear and eased her out of the bay.

"Good bye suckers! And thanks for all the fish!" WhiskeyRose shouted out of one of the open rear window hatches. Shifting into second gear Joamer swore as he tried to get the old craft to pick up more speed.

"Man the top gun, warm up whatever you have." Joamer and Jaenna seemed to both shout at the same time. "And someone tie her up or something." Jaenna concluded as Joamer shifted into third, he could hear the engine begin to scream. He knew he needed to get as far away as possible before whatever other vehicles where in the area showed up.

After a minute he heard the loud repeating thuds of the belt-fed machine gun firing into the vehicle bay behind them. He knew ammo for the thing would run out quick, but for now he let whoever was shooting keep at it. Every second got them that much further away and towards home.

"Joa..." He hard Jaenna say next to him after a few long minutes. Looking down he swore as he saw the single red blip following them. "Well, I knew that was the easy part." Jaenna said as Joamer shifted into forth and tried to get more speed out of the twin engines.

Heliwer felt much better after taking his chest plate off and smoking a cigarette, and really could not do much else. His mind wandered to what he was going to do when he got back. Those thoughts were interrupted by Xylonia falling on top of him, knees either side of him, his hands on her shoulders. This made him get to thinking again. The hell!? What the heck happened? What the heck just happened? She falls, I grab her, and all of a sudden, we’re in this awkward position. My heart feels like it’s gonna break more ribs. Well, only one thing to do.

“You’re excused.” He smirked. She gasped softly. “Uh, thanks.”

She very gently used his chest for support as she began to stand up, but he could not help noticing the way her hand was feeling his muscles as she was doing so. After she got up, she opened the panel behind him and took out a belt of thermals and a belt of grenades. The big trooper smiled at the find. “We can pair them with my goodies.” He said as he took out his own thermal detonators, grenades, and took off his grenade launcher. He saw the female trooper’s smile grow wider. “You take that side.”

They didn’t talk about the plan, but somehow knew what to do. The grenade launcher or a thermal detonator by itself would not really damage the hull of the tank by themselves, but together, they might be able to penetrate the hull. Then it was only a matter of chucking almost every explosive device at the vehicle, aiming at the breach, and hopefully creating a big explosion. Of course, they needed the space between them and the tank to be shorter. “Joamer, let them get a little bit closer.” Heliwer shouted. As he did so, the tank began to open fore, rounds hitting the APC but not causing much damage. The squad leader’s response was so hilarious, the sergeant managed to record it and save it, oddly enough, number 2012.

“Frakkin mother of a festering, thunderbucking, brainless, hopeless, dickless, suffering comets, starforsaken, Hutt shitting, two-toed swamp-sucker!" Joamer grimaced. “Oh mother of Frell. Alright, hold tight! I have an idea!”

This idea turned out to be heading into the forest, swinging the Armored Personnel Carrier around trees. The idea, apparently, was to make the tank close the distance to be able to get a shot off. Otherwise, it would be received by one of many trees. The big trooper pushed open the window above him and got ready with the grenade launcher while Xylonia leaned out a window in her side. As soon as the tank was at the right angle and no trees were in the path, she tossed a thermal detonator. It landed on the tank and exploded the same time as a grenade fired from the grenade launcher did, both in the same place, ripping that part of the hull open in an explosion that, to Heliwer, could match any fireworks display he’d seen.

He looked over at the female trooper and sent her a very flirtatious wink, making her smile and swoon slightly. Heh. You still got it, you old scoundrel you.

OOC:

The best I can do for tonight.

Flying shards of metal and the orange glow from the explosion reflecting off the white snow reflected in Xylonia’s bright green eyes.  A large chunk had separated itself from the repulsor tank that followed them and was flipping over and over itself to land in the soft powder.  During the brief moment that she was looking into Heliwer’s bright blue eyes that were as cold as the air around them, the gun on the APC started shooting violently. The large muscular man with the cigarette hanging loosely from his lips and the red haired woman nodded at each other in unison.  He took one last pull from what remained of the cigarette in his mouth and he flicked the butt into the snow before he and Xy tucked themselves into the APC.

    As they were sliding down inside the APC, a direct hit collided with the APC and it rocked violently.  The rumbling shake made Heliwer fall with his back against the wall.  Xy, having been standing right next to him, fell with him.  She felt his thick arm instantly catch her and hold her tight against his chest with his hand spread eagle on her back.  As the APC rocked and the rest of the squad who hadn’t been strapped in were bounced around the interior of the tin can, Xy was safely sheltered against Heliwer who held her tightly to prevent her from flying against the metal wall or floor.  She could feel his warmth through his skin armor with her chest pressed against his and it felt nice against the biting cold, even through her armor.  Xy was slowly released as the rocking ceded. “Well, the hell good that did!” Heliwer shouted.  He gently placed a hand on the small of her back and led her to one of the seats.  “Here, let’s get you strapped in so you don’t get hurt.”  Without waiting for her response, he pushed her down into the seat and started strapping her in himself.  Xy let him push her down and just watched his thick fingered rough hands strap her in quickly and efficiently.  When he was finished, he lightly caressed her cheek, hiding the action from the rest of the squad with his thick blocky frame.  He started to seat himself when Xy called out in alarm, “Heliwer! The charges and detonators!”  His ice eyes flickered with acknowledgment and he leaped across the APC to grab the belts of detonators and charges that they had previously set to detonate.  He threw them all out the already open window before he sat in the empty seat next to her and strapped himself in as well.  What the frack?  The big blockhead has gone soft. If he thinks he is winning his way to my bed, he is severely mistaken.  Xy scowled at Heliwer, making her anger obvious.

    They heard the impact of artillery hitting the repulsor behind them and they heard it going down.  The cracking of a tree was followed by a loud explosion and orange and red light flooded through the windows. The ARC manning the turret gun laughed in excitement, “HA HA!” Suddenly Xy felt her body slam against the restraints that held her locked down.  Her hair flew in the direction they had been moving as the APC impacted.  She could hear grunts and swearing as they rolled like a crazy ride in an amusement park.  Someone was shouting and glass was breaking.  Broken glass, snow, and dirt began to swirl around inside the APC as they tumbled.  Xy closed her eyes to prevent debris from getting in them.  Around and around they tumbled over and over again.  To Xy she was silent, calmly waiting for the death roll to end.  However, she was actually the one shouting.  “Reg! Hold on Reg! We’ll get through this!  I NEED you on this! REG!!!!”

    The tumbling finally slowed and the APC creaked to a halt on its side.  Xy opened her eyes.  Clicking of straps and belts started sounding off as everyone started unbuckling themselves.  She had the taste of dirt and blood in her mouth.  Turning her head to the side, she spit out some shards of glass, dirt and melted snow.  She was on her back and she felt stabbing pain on her face.  Dusk appeared over her. “Need a hand?”  Xy unbuckled her straps and pushed herself up.  “No, I’m fine.  Thanks.”  She rolled a shoulder and stood up.  Heliwer was already up and pulling himself out of the vehicle.  He held a hand down to help pull Coadster through and anyone else who needed a hand.  They all climbed out the side of the APC that was now the top.  Exhausted, injured and beaten to a bloody pulp by being rolled around inside a tumbler, they all laid in the cool soft snow. 

    Xy grimaced as she rolled onto her back.  “Now what?  What do we do now Joamer?”  The snow beside Xy’s head was turning red with blood.

Dusk knelt next to her. He scooped up a handful of snow and held it to her face.  She turned away from the cold.  It made the stabbing pain worse. “Hold still, we need to stop the bleeding.”  A large chunk of glass was embedded in her cheek.  Karash was attending to others at the moment.  Dusk removed a leather glove and put it to Xy’s lips.  “Bite down on this.  I’ll pull it out.”  Xy steadied herself and bit down on the leather.  “Oh look a deer!” Dusk exclaimed. 

“What?” Xy said muffled through the glove and turned her head in the direction he had pointed.

Quickly while she was distracted, Dusk grabbed the piece of glass and yanked it out of Xy’s flesh.  She screamed in agony with the leather glove tightly clenched in her teeth.  Dusk then held a clean handful of snow against the flowing gash. She spit out the glove and yelled “What in the frack did you do that for?!”

“I distracted you to make it easier.”  He calmly stated.

Xy scowled at him, but then let it dissipate.  Actually, a brilliant idea.  I was distracted, if only briefly.  She sighed slowly.  “Thank you.”  Out of her peripheral vision, she saw Heliwer watching her with a careful and calculated stare.  The warmth of her blood in the snow made steam rise around her head.  The sky was a soft shade of lavender instead of blue.  She smiled to herself enjoying the feel of the soft snow like a down bed.  The adrenaline had worn off along with the stim pack she had used to pump herself up with.  As she fell into blackness she spoke aloud, “Maybe I’m coming home to you Reg.  Keep the whiskey warm.”