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Topic:  Shades of Death (Eclipse)
Skarr
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Skarr
 
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  Shades of Death (Eclipse)
May 31, 2012 12:11:32 AM    View the profile of Skarr 
Fort Sexton, Tadath

The hard soled boots of Norith Skarr clicked and echoed in the halls of Fort Sexton. As Platoon Commander, he had several duties around the fort. It mainly entailed keeping the squads in order and sending them on missions best suited for their skills. Being Platoon Commander, Skarr had the special privilege of choosing which missions his squad embarked on...unless the Company Commander, Garryll Gates, or the the Executive Officer, Havock, had anything to say about it. Much to his surprise, Havock had sent word that she wanted Eclipse’s squad leader in her office.

Skarr assumed that he was in trouble somehow. He had done nothing wrong...recently. Many of the special assignments he had received had been from Garryll, so a message from Havock meant something more was brewing. The larger man stopped in front of the door to Havock’s office. In slid open in answer to the passcode he entered into the door.

Havock was lounging in a desk chair, her legs propped up on the desk. She was reading a file on her datapad. The executive officer looked up at Skarr as he entered and smiled.

“Do you want to take a seat, Norith?” Havock asked.

Skarr nodded, “Sure thing, boss.”

The Major peered at Skarr over the datapad before she deactivated the device. Her chair creaked slightly as Havock leaned forward. “This mission is going to you because I trust you. And because you and some of your squadmates have encountered them before. However, this mission may be slightly personal for some of them. I need your word that not only will you control them, you will control yourself.”

The squad leader’s grey eyes narrowed. He could only think of a few personal scores he had to settle throughout his career in the Vast Empire. Thyveck was a pretty large score, but that was one to settle with the whole of the New Republic. In fact, most of the scores Skarr could think of were with the whole of several factions. “Who?”

“The Blood Saints.” Skarr started and leaned forward in his chair, more at attention, but Havock raised one slim hand. “There has been no exact word that Jared Nolac is leading the Blood Saints on Archet. Only rumors. I know your score with the Blood Saints and Nolac. I need you thinking clearly. Balac and Anival need watched as well.”

“Anival’s back from medical leave?” Skarr asked, startled at the mention of his former squadmate. Havock nodded and passed the datapad over to Skarr.

“I suppose you’re wondering why those two will need controlling. The Death Watch are involved with the Blood Saints again. Given Balac’s Mandalorian background there will be a problem controlling him. Be warned. Mandalorians are the best in the business. And the Death Watch are possibly better. Their commandos will be a living nightmare to kill.

“Anival’s score is slightly more personal. Back when he was leading Wraith, he was given a mission to infiltrate a terrorist cell. It didn’t go as well as could be hoped. The leader of this terrorist cell has thrown in with the Blood Saints. If Anival gets word that Renlid...”

“It won’t get out, Havock. I can’t keep the news of the Death Watch from Balac though.” Skarr assured.

Havock snorted, “You’d be stupid to keep the information from the squad. If you don’t have any questions, I have to be getting back to work.” She waited for Skarr to reply before going back to reading the files on her desk.

“Remember Skarr. Keep control,” Havock called out as the man left her office.

Eclipse’s Personal Hangar Bay, Fort Sexton, Tadath

When the squad leader arrived at the hangar bay, Eclipse had already prepared for departure. Skarr had ordered them to assemble as quickly as possible after leaving Havock’s office. Eclipse’s roster had changed once again, but it was mainly people who had left the squad more than new arrivals. The squad mates were milling around in the hangar bay, either working or lazing, alone or with others.

Razor was helping Balac load their ship with supplies and weapons. Meteora sat on a crate of ammunition, calibrating Pear once more. Beta was already inside the ship, so far as Skarr could tell, probably chatting to the pilot. Therex and Thengil were standing off to the side, discussing something under their breath. At first, the Lieutenant had not spotted Anival. He spotted the man emerging from their shuttle. He was also helping Balac with the loading. None of them noticed Skarr’s arrival, which was well enough to him. The man didn’t like when soldiers snapped to attention for him. In fact, everyone in Eclipse learned early not to bother with regular protocol around the squad leader.

“Eclipse! Are we ready to go?” Skarr called out. Each of the squad members affirmed that they were ready to go in their own way. None of them said anything as Skarr motioned for them to get into the shuttle. They made their way to the briefing room . Skarr liked to brief the squad during take off. It was easier for him to do.

The squad strapped into their seats around the briefing table and Skarr called to pilot to inform him that all was ready. The shuttle lifted off of the ground, easily and flew out of the hangar doors. Skarr decided to get right to business. He started keying in commands on the console in front of him. Several holograms appeared above the table.

Meteora leaned forward in her chair, “What have we got, boss man?”
“Simplicity, I guess. Our objective is to protect Fort Goliath on Archet.” Skarr answered.

“Isn’t that a little close to home? Who’s the aggressor?” Razor asked.

The squad leader nodded gravely. “Archet does indeed have a direct hyperlane to Tadath. The attackers are someone I’ve encountered before. So has Balac and Therex if I’m not mistaken.” The two men looked up eagerly awaiting for Skarr to continue. “The Blood Saints.” Skarr watched as Balac and Therex remembered the mission on Bakura.

“Lady and gentlemen, we have to be on our best behavior. Keep ourselves under control. I wasn’t going to tell any of you until we arrived, but I found it best to tell you now. Balac, the Death Watch has been confirmed on site.” Skarr turned to the rest of the squad, “They’re highly trained commandos the whole lot of them. I do not suggest taking any of them on head to head, especially if they’re wearing beskar gam, their Mandalorian armor.”

Balac was completely silent and gave no more hints as to what he was thinking. Skarr turned to Anival next. “It has also been confirmed that a man named Renlid is on site, helping to lead the Blood Saints. I was told you have history with him Anival. Keep that shit under wraps. We’re here to defend, not capture or settle scores.”

The room was silent for several minutes as the squad waited for Skarr to say something else. But it was Balac that spoke next. “Is...He there?” Norith knew who was being spoken of without having to ask. Balac was with Eclipse when Skarr found out that Jared Nolac, his old mentor, was still alive.

“It’s only a rumor that he is there. But it explains why the Saints are winning,” Skarr whispered, he then raised his voice higher, “Now, you have a few hours until we land. Do whatever you want with them.”

Fort Goliath, Archet

When the shuttle landed, Eclipse had already been ready to walk out of the cargo bay doors. Skarr was surprised to see a welcoming committee already there. At the head of the group was Captain Nero Lettow, a man that Skarr had read about in the mission briefing. He had kept this part secret from the squad, mainly because it would spoil the surprise and fun Skarr was about to have. Skarr was a bit ashamed that he was going to have fun doing this, Nero’s file had detailed him as a stunning commander. He was a decorated field marshal and the commanding position at Fort Goliath was one of high honor.

And so, it pained Skarr to walk down the boarding ramp and clasp Nero’s hand. “Captain Nero Lettow, I presume?”

“And you must be 2nd Lieutenant Norith Skarr?” Nero asked in a cultured accent that sounded mildly Alderaanian.

Norith smiled and nodded his head, “Yes. I’ve come here to temporarily relieve you from duty and take your position as commander of Fort Goliath.” Nero was also nodding as Skarr spoke, but suddenly stopped as the words hit him. Skarr could hear the squad and the welcoming committee murmuring their surprise.

“By whose order?” the Captain almost whispered incredulously.

“Major Ayme Katash.” A slight sigh escaped Nero as he recognized the name. He looked as if he was about to protest some more, but then gave up.

Captain Lettow motioned to the rest of the base. “The Fort is yours Lieutenant. I suppose you’ll want a better briefing on the situation?”

Skarr nodded, “Eclipse, take a tour of the base. Go wherever you wish, take in the state of the Fort for now. I’ll call you when I need you.” The squad leader looked back at Lettow, “Shall we?”

OOC:
Finally! I have posted the story! For now the objective is to tour the base a little bit. Giving you guys the chance to plot out what our setting looks like and giving you a bit of freedom.

Archet- A small forested planet within Vast Empire space. The planet is nothing special by any means, except for its direct hyperspace route to Tadath.

Fort Goliath- A Vast Imperial base established on Archet to help defend Tadath from outer attacks. Fort Goliath is one of the largest bases in the area, boasting a small space port for private military use and several other large structures within its walls.

Blood Saints- An organization of traitors and deserters from the Vast Empire. They are led by a man named the Ziggurat, who hides in the shadows and uses enforcers to do his work. The Blood Saints are a massive organization who have employed the use of mercenaries, terrorist cells, and the Mandalorian Death Watch.

Death Watch- A splinter cell of Mandalorian warriors that use extreme methods to get their way. They are considered largely dangerous and not to be trifled with lightly. The commandos will be few, but very powerful.

Renlid’s Terrorist Cell: A dangerous group from Wraith Squad’s past. Renlid has a score to settle with Anival Velasquez. Knowing the man’s involvement in Eclipse squad, Renlid has thrown his cell’s loyalty to the Blood Saints.

Captain Nero Lettow: The man in charge of Fort Goliath. He is an efficient commander, but has had many recent failures regarding the defense of Fort Goliath from the Blood Saints. Nero is an intelligent and ruthless man. He will be a valuable asset to Eclipse Squad in the mission.
SL|CoT:A|PC/'2LT Skarr/1SQD/1PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE
[CDS] [ES2] [IH] [RoT] {RES} (VT) (ECA) (WtR) (3.1) (1.1) (1.2) (A5) (AS-2)
TRN/AC Vexus/Lopen/VEDJ
(WoS1)

"May God have mercy on my enemies, because I won't" General George Patton
"A leader leads by example not by force." Sun Tzu, The Art of War
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Anival Velasquez
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Anival Velasquez
 
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  RE: Shades of Death (Eclipse)
May 31, 2012 9:16:29 PM    View the profile of Anival Velasquez 
Anival looked around the barracks things hadn’t changed at all since he left, besides the usual comings and leavings of busy troopers. He did see some semi-new faces; there was Therex, and Thengil. Anival silently wondered if the troopers remembered him.

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




“Archet does indeed have a direct hyperlane to Tadath. The attackers are someone I’ve encountered before. So have Balac and Therex if I’m not mistaken.” The two men looked up eagerly awaiting for Skarr to continue. “The Blood Saints.”

“Lady and gentlemen, we have to be on our best behavior. Keep ourselves under control. I wasn’t going to tell any of you until we arrived, but I found it best to tell you now. Balac, the Death Watch has been confirmed on site.” Anival was about to ask who the Death Watch were, Skarr spoke as if reading his mind, “They’re highly trained commandos the whole lot of them. I do not suggest taking any of them on head to head, especially if they’re wearing beskar gam, their Mandalorian armor.”

“It has also been confirmed that a man named Renlid is on site, helping to lead the Blood Saints. I was told you have history with him Anival. Keep that shit under wraps. We’re here to defend, not capture or settle scores.” Anivals first thought was who was Renlid, then it all came flooding back,  the ill-fated mission to Serreno, the mutant mynocks, everything. His greatest failure and it had almost been his most costly.

Anival turned to see Balac pose a question to Skarr. “Is...He there?” Norith knew who was being spoken of without having to ask. Balac was with Eclipse when Skarr found out that Jared Nolac, his old mentor, was still alive.

“It’s only a rumor that he is there. But it explains why the Saints are winning,” Skarr whispered, he then raised his voice higher, “Now, you have a few hours until we land. Do whatever you want with them.”

Anival was shocked to hear Renlid was alive, he was sure the man was dead under a pile of rubble, his body a heap of gore a sinew, unidentifiable. A small spark of something ignited in Anival. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling; it was a mix between anger, and sadness. It was a reminder of failure. He bit down on his tongue hard. Skarr continued the briefing.


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


Once they had landed on Fort Goliath, Anival checked and rechecked his gear, learning of Renlids possible presence had motivated him to do things by the books,  he only wished he had read the books.
The squad trailed Skarr as they disembarked the transport. “Captain Nero Lettow, I presume?”

“And you must be 2nd Lieutenant Norith Skarr?” Always loving a little drama, Anival enjoyed the ensuing exchange. Amused, but tense.

The officer nodded  “Yes. I’ve come here to temporarily relieve you from duty and take your position as commander of Fort Goliath.”  Anival tried to hide his surprise, but was sure his body showed it, he awaited a shot to sound off, as this seemed to him like a political game. And high ranking men, hated to be wrenched from power, especially the corrupt one, and there was no way to know how the man would act.

“By whose order?” the man seemed to have come to terms with the idea, he relaxed a bit, and noted Skarr’s mild amusement, which to Anival, having spent enough time around the squad leader, was evident.

“Major Ayme Katash.”  Responded Skarr, again Anival detected mild amusement.

. “The Fort is yours Lieutenant. I suppose you’ll want a better briefing on the situation?”

Skarr nodded, and issued orders.  “Eclipse, take a tour of the base. Go wherever you wish, take in the state of the Fort for now. I’ll call you when I need you.” The squad leader looked back at Lettow, “Shall we?”

Anival turned to his squad mates.

“He said take the tour, should we do it sober, or…..” he let it trail off, hiding the fact the he was having the greens – he felt like a trooper straight out of the academy, and thrust onto the battle field.
~President of the YFC~
TRP/SSG AnivalVelasquez/1SQD/2PLT/1COM/1RGT/1BAT/Tadath/VEA/[AS-H]/[AS-1]/[EW:2C]/[DoH]/[BC]/[SCA]/[BoT]/[ESC'09]/(A3)
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THX1138
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THX1138
 
[VE-ARMY] Lance Corporal
 
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  RE: Shades of Death (Eclipse)
June 4, 2012 10:16:35 PM    View the profile of THX1138 
Therex wandered the fort, no real goal in mind. Just walking. The squad was supposed to be scouting out the fort. While everyone wandered around, questioning the military personnel about the fort, Therex looked for quiet. He found it on the walls. It was for the most part vacant. Only occasionally would a guard walk by, merely nodding and passing. Stopping, he leaned over the wall and looked out at the forests.

Growing up on Csilla, he hadn't seen many trees, let alone forests. He hated them. They were so, closed off, too easy to be ambushed. That was how he thought. When he first met someone, while smiling and shaking their hand, his mind would be looking for the easiest way to kill him in the shortest amount of time. He always looked for weaknesses when he entered a new building. Right now though, he was just staring down the wall, and scanned the grounds around the fort.

After about five minuted, he got bored with it and started to walk back down the wall and started looking for the rest of his squad.

Gonna be a long day.

OOC:
Pathetically short, I know. But I promised to get one up tonight. Plus, I am working on my spec.
"He has his orders, and when a Chiss accepts orders he carries them out, period."

And now Autolite brings you Therex Whitestone, in Vast Empire, a tale well calculated to keep you in suspense.

TRP/LCPL THX-1138/4SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE [ES1][EW1][*QW 12*](ECA)(2.1)

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ShanneTwoo
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  RE: Shades of Death (Eclipse)
June 5, 2012 2:07:46 PM    View the profile of ShanneTwoo 
Terre wandered around the base, poking around into various corners and toying with electronics she found. Her first mission! It was so exciting! She was nearly overwhelmed by the feelings swirling inside her, the excitement of being placed with a new squad who didn’t know her history, not all of it, anyway. She had a clean, fresh start here. She stared around, still a greenie, still the new kid, and still the newest addition to Eclipse. Curious by nature and with new surroundings all around her, she was nearly beside herself. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself down then began to walk, using her natural observance to her advantage. She found herself wandering the hangar bay, but quickly became bored. Getting antsy, she walked out to the training grounds. Much better, she thought, looking around approvingly. Seeing a firing range, she drew her DC-15 rifle and fired one shot, a near perfect bulls-eye. She smiled to herself, then headed out the main entrance.

Still antsy, she decided to walk it off. Making sure her comm was on, she walked the length of the wall a few times. Seeing Therex, she felt a sudden anxiety attack nearly overcome her. Thrawn! But no, this Chiss had longer hair, a more edgy exterior. Taking a deep breath, she threw him a stiff salute then continued on, arriving at a watchtower at the corner. She exhaled in relief. "Yes, much better," she murmured softly. She leaned against the cool wall, staring out at her surroundings. This was going to be fun...

She inhaled deeply, enjoying the new scents that Archet had to offer. It was a woody, forest smell, clean and fresh. She tousled her hair, which had grown past her chin. A slight wind from the forest teased a hair on her forehead, tickling her nose. She pushed it out of the way, trying to work past the panic that had settled like a rock in her gut. Of course, out of all the squads in the VE, she had to be stuck in the one that had a Chiss. She groaned, resting her head on the cool stone of the wall. She distrusted Chiss, hated Thrawn, and didn’t really want to be civil to this new one, this one in Eclipse Squad. She decided to try to avoid him. Perhaps later, when she was stronger, when she found out more about the members, she would try to become friends with Therex…

OOC:
Word count: 410!
--Shanne
[This message has been edited by ShanneTwoo (edited June 5, 2012 4:32:44 PM)]
[This message has been edited by ShanneTwoo (edited June 5, 2012 4:35:13 PM)]
Balac
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  RE: Shades of Death (Eclipse)
June 5, 2012 8:36:35 PM    View the profile of Balac 
Balac stepped off the ramp, barely registering the exchange going on between Skarr and the commander of Fort Goliath. He stalked off towards one end of the base, his blood still hot at the mention of the Death Watch. Even though hours had passed, the anger, the annoyance, the shame, of sharing a heritage with those aruetyc hu’tuune had not died down.

Balac eventually came upon the fort's training grounds, where the occasional whine of blasters could be heard. Walking closer he could make out several troops practicing their marksmanship. Taking a spot at a distance from the rest, Balac started checking his A280 blaster rifle. Being his first mission using it, he wanted to be certain it wouldn't fail him, especially with Kyr'tsad Mandos about.

Satisfied with his scrutiny of the rifle, he aimed at the distant target. Releasing his breath, he counted to three and squeezed the trigger. The shot sounded off and found its mark in the center of his target. The closest trooper held his fire and watched with interest. After a few more standing shots, Balac crouched and aimed again. By this time, the nearby trooper had walked over.

"Nice aim! Should come in handy against those damn Blood Saints. Hear they've got Mandalorians with them, nasty bunch of credit-grabbing filth! Monsters, all of them. Huh!"

Balac rose slowly, "Credit-grabbing filth?" Balac thickened his accent slightly. " Monsters? Do you believe that about all Mandalorians, or just the ones killing your comrades?"

The trooper had backed off slightly. Balac was sure the trooper's face was the same color as his helmet as he realized his mistake. Taking off his own helmet, Balac let the trooper take in his features, his steel-gray eyes boring holes through the helmeted visage in front of him.

"The true monsters in this galaxy, are the ones who portray others as monsters. Mandalorians are warriors. Simply because you're not capable of our ability, does not make us monsters." The trooper took a few more steps back. What had been a friendly congratulations to a fellow Imperial trooper had turned out to be one of the potentially deadliest positions he'd been in.

"What's your name and rank, trooper?" Balac asked, quiet menace rolling under his words.

"Corporal Brent, sir."

"Indeed." Balac replied. Looking past the trooper, he saw that the other troops had taken an interest in the encounter. He gave the man one last glare before replacing his helmet and walking off the training grounds.

Once he'd put the training grounds, and the di'kutla trooper behind him, Balac rested against the nearest wall. Shaking with anger, Balac reflected on that moment. In defending his heritage, he had defended the Death Watch. The implications of that were distressing, not least of all that the trooper was likely to spread the news that a Mandalorian stormtrooper was in the camp. Balac sat, pondering what toll this mission would take on him, anger still seething through him.

OOC:
WC: 508
So Balac practices his marksmanship and nearly ends up pummeling a poor trooper.

A bit of insight into Balac's state of mind concerning the mission and his feelings at facing the Death Watch once again. Whilst this battle rages within him, few outward indications will be displayed unless provoked.
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TRP/SSG Balac/1SQD/2PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE [EW1][IH][DT] (WtR) (6.1)

Pirunir sur'haaise!
[This message has been edited by Balac (edited June 5, 2012 8:42:25 PM)]
razorsedge
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  RE: Shades of Death (Eclipse)
June 7, 2012 7:22:45 PM    View the profile of razorsedge 
The air sick practically bolted off of the shuttle as it settled lightly on the duracrete landing pad.  He hated flying.  He had always been one of the hard charging boots on ground types.  To top off his hatred of flying one of the crates he had helped load had toppled over and smashed his foot on the flight to Archet. 

Razor acted like his mad dash out of the ship was an attempt to set up a security perimeter.  He trotted off quickly around the entire ship to ensure that all was secure waving his E-45 from side to side threateningly.  He heard the brief exchange between Skarr and the unknown commander.  If anyone knew how to name drop it had to be a stormtrooper.  It always came down to battles of whose is bigger and in general Razor had found it better to side with his squad leader.  Skarr usually brought the weight of Major Katash behind him.  The Lance Corporal had never seen anyone go toe to toe with Skarr and win.

After the brief exchange the squad was given the option to go and explore the base to make preparations for any attack that might come.  Razor belong in two places.  Extreme distance and close combat.  His DC-15X was collapsed inside of its carry case on his back.  It attested to his long distance engagement training.  Despite the fact that Razor was a skilled sniper he felt most at home within twenty five feet of his enemy.  The two DL-44s attached to his hips showed that. 

Razor went into the command center and climbed up the twenty flights of stairs to the roof.  If there was one thing Razor had learned from all of his experiences in the Stormtrooper Corps was that a well placed shot could be the difference in a battle between victory and defeat.  Razor saw on of the tall communication spires that stretched high into the sky.  He climbed up the ladder like communication antennae.  Razor held himself tight to the spire using only his legs. He pulled the rope out of his sniper case and began weaving it between two antennae.

Razor finished weaving the rope into the tow communication arrays and lowered himself into the seat he had made.  The snipers nest was a perfect place for him to sit and provide good cover for his team. The trooper pulled out his micro binoculars powering them up. Razor scanned the whole area around the fort, dividing the area into four sections.  He would scan a second for fifteen seconds then move onto the next one.

Razor sat in the nest for half an hour getting a good feeling for the land around the fort.  After he had a good feel of where the spots of cover were and how his enemies would be funneled by the fort's external defenses he decided to move down to the ground of the fort and search for areas that he could better close with his enemies and finish them with small arms fire.

Razor began exploring around the inside edge of the compound looking for chinks in the armor of the huge fort.  Razor walked down to the sewage treatment plant.  As he walked around it he noticed that the sludge water was draining out of the back of the plant.  The water was falling ten feet through a rusted old grate.  Razor sealed his armor and kicked hard on the frate.  The frail bars snapped easily under his combat boot.  The sludge splashed over the troopers armor plates as he stood feet spread and straddling the grate.  He looked up and threw his piton cord around the spout.  The small hooks at the end clamped on. Razor tugged them to check how secure it was.  Once he was sure it would not pull out he activated his helmet lights and jumped.

He splashed into the river of disgusting sludge  His lights barely illuminated anything as he stroked through the water.  His powerful arm swings pulled him to the top of the thick water. Razor's HUD tweedled as it told his that his rebreathers were completely clogged with waste.  He paddled over to the side of the river of grime and pulled himself onto a duracrete walkway that lined the whole river.  Razor pressed his throat mike and called out to his squad leader, "Hey Lieutenant, this is Lance Corporal Razor and this fort is wide fraking open."

As Razor said this he looked upon a huge opening at the end of the tunnel which had cut razor wire and broken grates.  The huge chink in the fort's defense might possibly be their downfall.  Razor followed his piton cord back up the waterfall of sludge.  As he tried to climb out a hand grabbed his arm and pulled him out.  Razor found himself looking into Skarr's concerned face.

OOC:
WC:816  DUN DUN DUN!!! EXCITING PLOT TWIST!  Hope this helps move the story a little.
Skarr
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  RE: Shades of Death (Eclipse)
June 8, 2012 10:17:07 PM    View the profile of Skarr 
Norith watched his squad walk off in different directions before he turned back to Lettow. The Captain jerked his head towards a building in the center of Fort Goliath. The two men walked for the whole distance to what Skarr would guess was the command center in relative silence. Nero seemed unwilling to talk and Skarr was not going to press the issue. The base was a rather large place, but it was still one of the smaller forts the Lieutenant had ever seen.

Surrounding the base was a vast wall. It stretched high up, even taller than some of the buildings inside the base. The command center in the center of camp was the only structure in the base taller than the wall. At the top of the command center sat a glass dome, what Skarr could only guess was an observation deck. He wondered how far out one could see from the top of the tower.

Finally Nero spoke, “I hope none of your soldiers will cause any problems while they’re about.”

“Eclipse will be fine,” Skarr assured the Captain, “There need not be any animosity between us, Captain Lettow. The relieve of your command is temporary and I am looking to you to keep the base running and to advise me. I’m only here to organize the defense.” Nero looked over to Skarr and sighed.

“Things have...been on edge lately. I don’t mean to sound rude or uncaring. I was afraid that my failures to route out the Blood Saints had led to me being demoted or worse.” Nero admitted. The squad leader nodded. It made sense. Being relieved of duty was an officer’s worst nightmare. There were a few times when Skarr was afraid that his command of Eclipse was going to be relieved, especially after Thyveck. But somehow, the man had stayed in charge.

By now, the two men had reached the command center. Nero led Skarr to the very top of the center, the observation room. It was full of rows of computers, all manned by soldiers. They were monitoring both the defenses and the processes of the base. In the center of the room was a large war table. A wire frame of the base floated above the table in a bluish light. The Captain led Skarr to the table.

Lettow coughed politely and began explaining the situation to Skarr. The Blood Saints liked to attack from the north, each time trying to breach the front doors of the base. From the east, mortars would rain down on the base, exploding on the shield generators. The last attack had left the shield generators damaged however and the engineers were hard at work to fix it. There had been some vehicle combat outside of the base as well. There was a wide swath of land that was clear of trees in between the north gate and the forest. Fort Goliath only had a few tanks and speeders left from the attacks they had suffered.

When the Blood Saints did attack, it was fast and hard. The attacks never lasted more than five minutes. Skarr wondered at this fact. If Nolac truly was on Archet, there had to be a reason for the small scale attacks on the base. There were various other things going wrong in the base and Skarr was trying to think of ways to solve it. Perhaps there would be time to plan something out.

“Has there been any word on who’s leading this cell of Saints?” Skarr asked Nero.

The Captain shrugged his shoulders, “He or she has not chosen to reveal himself. At least not that we know of.” The answer caused a sigh to escape from the Lieutenant’s lips. He needed to know if Nolac was leading the group. His enemy would not escape again. Skarr shook his head, trying to focus once again.

“You said there was a way they tried to get in last time?” Skarr said as he pointed to the weakness.

“Yes,” Nero answered, “They tried getting through the sewage drain.”

“No shit?” the Lieutenant stated aloud, more for the benefit of his humor than an actual question. Captain Lettow nodded and motioned for Skarr to follow. They exited the observation room and headed back down to ground level. The sewage treatment plant was at the south of the base. Norith walked after Lettow, letting his eyes wander around the base. He saw none of his squad mates so he assumed they had all found places to wander inside.

As they were coming upon the sewage treatment plant, Razor’s voice crackled over the comm, “Hey Lieutenant, this is Lance Corporal Razor and this fort is wide fraking open.” Skarr looked over at Nero and quickened his pace to the back of the treatment plant. A grate sat pushed aside from a hole. The squad leader walked over and knelt down, ignoring the smell to the best of his ability. He grabbed ahold of Razor’s forearm as the Zabrak climbed out of the hole.

“You found it too, eh?” Lettow asked.

Even with his helmet on, Razor’s body language betrayed his surprise. “You know about the hole?”

Skarr answered for the Captain. “They already tried getting in that way. I assumed the Captain here had a plan to plug it.”

Nero smiled grimly, “If they tried going that way again, we’re going to blow it. We can turn off the plant for a while. And besides, if the shields aren’t fixed soon, we won’t need to worry about the sewage being treated.” Norith clapped Razor on the back as a slight way of congratulations before he followed Nero back to the command center.

As they walked, the Captain turned back to Skarr, “Have any plans yet?”

“No, but I’m getting there.” Skarr answered back. He had been toiling over some plans in his mind, trying to think of where it would be best to place his squad. The wire frame of the base came back to his mind. Perhaps, he wouldn’t have to place his squad anywhere. Each individual of Eclipse was worth a dozen of the soldiers roaming the base now. It might be better to split them up in pairs, Skarr wondered. He decided to wait until he knew more before going further with his plans.

OOC:
WC: 1054

Moved the story only a little bit. You guys still have some freedom to explore. But I will start some more plot advancements here in a few days. I'm just trying to get back in the groove right now.
SL|CoT:A|PC/'2LT Skarr/1SQD/1PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE
[CDS] [ES2] [IH] [RoT] {RES} (VT) (ECA) (WtR) (3.1) (1.1) (1.2) (A5) (AS-2)
TRN/AC Vexus/Lopen/VEDJ
(WoS1)

"May God have mercy on my enemies, because I won't" General George Patton
"A leader leads by example not by force." Sun Tzu, The Art of War
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Balac
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  RE: Shades of Death (Eclipse)
June 9, 2012 1:15:43 AM    View the profile of Balac 
Balac opened his eyes, aware of the sound of footsteps approaching around the corner of the building he was sitting against. He kept his gaze forward, giving no indication that he knew he had company. The footsteps slowed, then started a cautious approach. Balac estimated three men. One pair of footsteps stopped at his right. Two men then crossed his line of sight, one stopping directly in front, and the other taking a position on the left. The news had spread fast.

“Would you like to make use of my services?” Balac asked, keeping his voice carefully neutral.

“There’s no service a Mandalorian can provide that the Vast Empire Military can’t do better.” The man to his right answered.

“Oh? Can any of you succeed in anything other than three-to-one odds? Or do you three shabla di’kute only feel capable when overwhelming your perceived prey?” Balac asked, allowing a hint of disdain and menace to enter his voice.

“Any one of us can take you down, Mandalorian. The only thing you can do is hide behind your armor, like the rest of your brothers.” This time the man on his left spoke.

Balac stood, “Believe what you like shabuir, the enemy is out there, save your effort for what matters. Usen’ye aruetii.” With that, Balac started walking away.

A firm hand on his shoulder stopped him, “Take that helmet off and we’ll see just how much effort is wasted.” The third man finally spoke.

The man pulled, attempting to spin Balac around. Seizing the opportunity, Balac went with the spin, launching his open left hand into the sternum of the closest man. With a huff of escaping air, the man fell back.

The other two hesitated, and Balac removed his helmet. He set it down carefully, keeping his eyes on the two in front of him. They gave a wary glance to their friend on the ground, who was holding his chest. Still apparently confident that they had the upper hand, they advanced again. The first one to reach him feinted to the left, attempting to distract Balac from the other trooper who attempted to grab hold of his arm. Balac slipped to his left, grabbing the man’s arm and twisting it around behind his back. His loud cry of pain was cut off as Balac kicked the back of his knee, causing him to crumple and forced him face down into the dirt.

“You have one chance vod, give it up.” Balac offered.

He didn’t get the chance to listen to a reply as he was hit on the left side of his head. He rolled with the blow, the force of which set his ear ringing. He ended his roll in a crouch, his hands up, prepared to ward off any blows. The third trooper started after him, his face contorted with fury.

“ENOUGH!” two simultaneous shouts sounded a couple yards away.

The trooper stopped, but Balac, adrenaline still pumping, started forward. His advance was stopped as he was shoved to the ground.

“I said enough.” Skarr's voice was cold.

A couple medics had appeared, checking the two men on the ground.

After a quick check both of them reported no serious injuries.

“If I wanted them seriously hurt, I would’ve hurt them.” Balac bit out, picking up his helmet.

“Quiet,” Skarr said with a short glare.

“I expect an explanation for this! Who is this man?!” Lettow sputtered, livid.

“He’s one of mine, and I will deal with him, now excuse us.” Skarr replied.

Lettow looked as if he was going to object, but remembering he was no longer in charge, and a look from Skarr gave him the sudden need to be elsewhere. “I’ll wait for you in the command center then.”

“Alright, what happened there?” Skarr asked as they started walking.

“I was resting against the wall, those three came up and-” Balac started.

“No. Why? They must have had a good reason to start something like this, especially when we’re in danger of attack. I won’t accept infighting like this, whatever it is needs to be resolved. And by that I mean now. You know from first hand experience what we’re up against! Now tell me, what reason could they have for doing something as stupid as attacking a SCOPEtrooper, and Mandalorian one at that? Oh...” Skarr paused as the words hit him.

“Exactly.” Balac said and recounted his experience at the training grounds.

“I see. You need to let go of the problems you have with the Death Watch. I don’t need you doing something stupid, like you did when you ran after the Mando on Bakura. You were lucky to have Njall with you.”

“I won’t let my feelings get in the way of the squad’s safety. I’m not that impulsive.” Balac let go a short laugh, feeling his frustration boil away. Skarr gave a smile in return.

“Alright, head back to the barracks, I’ve arranged for Eclipse to have a barracks of our own. I need to go see what Nero wants to do to you as well as see what shape those men are in. I’ll see to it that everyone understands that any threat to this base is out there,” Skarr gestured at the walls, “not in here.”

“Thanks, it was... great talking to you.” With that Balac replaced his helmet and headed off towards the barracks, proudly drawing glares from surrounding soldiers.

OOC:
WC: 903

Okay, Balac has caused some trouble, and in the end resolved a bit of his anger towards the Death Watch. Who says violence doesn't solve anything?

If this post went a bit too far, let me know.
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Pirunir sur'haaise!
[This message has been edited by Balac (edited July 18, 2012 11:05:25 PM)]
ShanneTwoo
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  RE: Shades of Death (Eclipse)
June 9, 2012 10:30:23 PM    View the profile of ShanneTwoo 
Terre stretched, cracked her neck, then bent over, relaxing. Out of all the squads they could have put me in, and I get put in the one with the Chiss, she thought. I guess this is some higher power's way of telling me to get over myself... She glanced up at the section of the wall where she had seen Therex, then turned to go back into the fort, taking the stairs two at a time. Suddenly, her knees buckled, and she slid to the floor, her back against the wall. Shaking her head, Terre felt a flashback coming on. She pressed the heels of her hands against her temples, trying unsuccessfully to push it away.

He grabs her wrist. "Tell me what I need to know, my dear, and your family is safe," he whispers. Terre pulls away.

"I'll never tell you," she hisses. He grabs her throat, his red eyes gazing deep into hers. She gasps for air as his fingers squeeze, slowly they squeeze... She can't breathe!

Terre screamed and opened her eyes, gasping for air. With fumbling fingers, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a cigarette.

"A bad dream... Just a bad dream..." she said, trying to console herself, looking for her lighter.

"During the day?" a voice asked from behind her. She gasped, turning. Therex stood there, his head tipped slightly to one side, his hands thrust into his pockets. "Seems difficult."

Terre stood and backed away. "You!" she exclaimed.

"No, it's okay," Therex said comfortingly. "Here." He held out his own lighter. Looking at him cautiously, Terre took it and lit up. She gave it back before taking a healthy pull. Slowly, she exhaled and visibly relaxed. She sank back to a seated position with her back against the wall while Therex watched, pulling out his own cigarette and lighting it. He slowly sat down next to her, far enough away that she was comfortable, but close enough to talk.

"Sorry I panicked," she said out of the side of her mouth, taking another drag.

Therex shrugged amiably, exhaling an impressive plume of smoke. "I heard you don't like Chiss much. I expected it."

Terre looked at him out of the corner of her eye, flicking away the ash from the tip of her cigarette. "Who'd you hear that from?" she asked, sighing heavily.

Therex shrugged again. "I listen," was all he said. Terre nodded.

"I see," she said. A silence fell over them, each reflecting on their own demons. Finally, Therex spoke.

"You seemed... Angry... When you saw me," he said, looking at her curiously. She chuckled harshly.

"Yeah, I was. I thought you were... Someone else," she said, suddenly taking severe interest in the burning ember on the end of her smoke.

"From your past?"

"Yeah. Very, very past," she said, crushing the cigarette out against the floor. She stood, flicking the cigarette to one side. Looking at the still seated Chiss, she tipped her head to the side. "We never were properly introduced," she said. "I'm Terre Rae."

"I'm Therex Whitestone," he said, holding out one hand. She shook it, fighting against every instinct her gut was giving her.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Therex," she said, backing up a step. "Thanks for the light."

"Any time, Terre," he said, nodding. Terre turned on her heel and walked back to the center of the fort.

Perhaps it was time to heal...

OOC:
Word Count: 572! How's that for a n00b? XD
--Shanne

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razorsedge
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  RE: Shades of Death (Eclipse)
June 9, 2012 11:46:56 PM    View the profile of razorsedge 
Razor punched hard into the punching bag.  He was wearing his workout suit, the Imperial logo emblazoned upon his chest.  The barracks that were being provided to the Eclipse troopers were both comfortable and accommodating.  There was a small workout area on the front quarter deck that had body building and combat sparring equipment.  Razor was naturally drawn to any type of combat practice, so after dropping his gear on a rack and shaking off his armor he had began pounding away on the punching bag.

His blows were landing harder and harder as his mind became more and more focused.  Even though there were others in his squad who were closer to these particular gangs, Razor was no stranger to them.

Razor enjoyed being the joker.  It had always been his game and it tended to piss off anyone who was forced to go on the job with him.  His huttese was also extremely local so any outside contractors did not really understand him.  He was a member of the red spades.  One of the most profitable gangs on Ovorat.

The punches landed harder.  The bag shook on its chain.

Lialos was about the only person who could stand Razor all the time which is why the Hutt crime boss constantly sent them off together.  Lialos was Razor's best friend.  They had robbed, killed, and stolen their way higher into the gang. But as all good things had gone, this too cam to an end. Razor had been betrayed by Lialos.  One day he had walked into their usual club and Lialos had sat there with a pistol. 

The chain shook so hard now that chunks of ceiling began to fall from the ceiling.

Lialos had shot Razor in the chest.  His men had grabbed the wounded man and thrown him into the street.  Razor had lain bleeding where the slug round had punched out a chunk of his side until the emergency responders had picked him up.  He had nursed back to health alone and friendless then gone to a recruitment center and joined a new type of brotherhood.

His vision was totally red.  His leg came around in the roundhouse kick and he felt cool sand flow out around his foot. 

His vision cleared of the vivid memory.  He saw the sand pouring out of the broken punching bag and started.  He had no idea how hard he had been hitting the bag but the blood vessels in his hands were as broken as the bag.

Balac had wandered in and was watching him from one of the beds. Razor went and sat on his bed.  Darkness had closed around him.  It was the reason that he had no trust for anyone.  He had served with Skarr since the academy.  They had saved each others lives many times but Razoe had been too close to Lialos.  He had been utterly destroyed. 

His hardness had allowed him to go into a zen no mind state.  To close himself off from the world.  It was what made him a good sniper.  His no mind state also prepared him for combat and he was ready.  Ready for anything.
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Anival Velasquez
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Anival Velasquez
 
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  RE: Shades of Death (Eclipse)
June 12, 2012 9:42:47 AM    View the profile of Anival Velasquez 
Anival quietly noticed no one had taken up his offer for a drink. In a way, it was unsettling. The mood had been different. He decided to go off on his own, or at least that’s what he told the other troopers, at least indirectly. What he really did was hide.  Most of Eclipses members had changed, Anival only recognized a few, and trusted one.

Skarr, at least had seemed to be the permanent fixture in the squad at least that, was a good thing.  Anival remembered Thengil, and Therex, but he couldn’t say he trusted them, they hadn’t spent the many pressure filled, adrenaline driven, fight or die, situations that brought men, and creatures from different backgrounds together to form a “family” style squad. 

Anival waited behind a wall, his plan was stupidly simple. He would fallow a trooper he didn’t know and observe, it was simple in its make up, but stupid in its creation.  What would a trooper say if he was found? Would they think him weird or worse a spy? He put all those thoughts out of his mind and forged on. 

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


After several hours of walking and snooping,  Anival had gleaned more knowledge about himself than the other troopers. He was not thinking when he decided to sneak around in SCOPE armor while in a sea of stormie armor, and he had had many close calls, several times he had taken off his helmet and sat down to be swallowed by the crowd.  He witnessed great accuracy from a new trooper, to the bad judgment of a veteran. Anival couldn’t blame Balac, he didn’t know a man who would have held his tongue, let alone his fists. All in all, Anival concluded Balac was more than proficient in hand-to-hand.

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


A short walk later, and he was upon the mess hall, generic tables, occupied by equally generic looking troops, eating generic looking food. Just like home. Anival took a plate and went off to a corner to eat, he was seated by himself, halfway through his food when two soldiers walked up to him, they asked if he minded, he shook his head, and they sat down.

At first they kept to themselves, then eventually worked up the courage to talk to him. They pestered him about his name, rank, and experience; he answered everything, and then, recounted in great detail his most horrifying mission, chiefly the one on a remote asteroid base, were everyone had been turned into zombie-like mutants, and where they had almost lost a Squad Leader. He finished the story with the destruction of the asteroid, how he and his friend, Joamer, had decimated the asteroid with a little ship, with barely enough armament to take down a Lambda.

They gawked, then disbelief settled in, they asked how it was possible, Anival winked and replied. “A SCOPE squad could take over this base with nothing but a det pack, a thumbtack, and two ration bars.”

He laughed at that, and tried not to laugh when they asked. “Why the ration bars?”

He kept his composure up until he replied. “In case we get hungry” after that he lost it and laughed for a good five minutes, enjoying the little down time he had, before the inevitable hardships that were Eclipse assignments.
~President of the YFC~
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razorsedge
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razorsedge
 
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  RE: Shades of Death (Eclipse)
June 12, 2012 4:24:36 PM    View the profile of razorsedge 
Many of the troopers had been returning to the squad bay.  Razor was completely consumed by his bloodlust.  He had thought the stitches of brotherhood and bonding through combat would hold over the deep cut that penetrated his soul.  All it had taken was a few reminders of where he had come from and what he had been for the storm gates to open and let forth the tide of hidden turmoil that made Razor the sharply tuned trooper that he was.

Before his anger had always been his fuel.  The reason he fought to right injustices in the in the galaxy.  The hatred he felt toward street gangs was unparalleled by any other emotion he had ever felt previous to or after his betrayal.

Razor had to get out of the barracks.  He couldn't keep working out because it would fatigue him for the battles to come.  Any sane trooper would never just lie in bed.  Razor stormed out, slamming into a wall to avoid crushing Terre as she entered the barracks.  Razor prowled around the inside of the wall for an hour.  He was mad that he had been able to find a chink in the armor of the fort.  If it had been designed by any combat engineer in the Corps it would have had strong and supported defenses. Double layered water traps and other pitfalls would prevent people from entering the fort through any tunnel. 

Razor realized finally that his hands hurt.  When his brain finally processed it he realized that his shaking fists were clenched so tight that his nails were digging into his palms. He needed to do something productive and get his mind off of his hatred.

The wind blew heavily on him as he sat in his rope seat atop the command center.  His rifle sat across his lap.  The flexible board of plastoid he carried in his sniper bag was sitting beneath the sniper.  Razor moved through the practiced motions of any sharpshooter.  He disassembled his rifle.  The rifle seemed to float as the trooper moved his hands lightning fast around the releases and bolt locks.

Razor was comfortable in his armor and comfortable in his skin.  He had never doubted himself.  It was the problem.  Never doubting yourself but having doubt in everyone else.  He trusted no one because of the circular scar that adorned his lower chest.

Razor pushed his rag through the barrel with the cleaning wire. His rifle was shining clean. Every stroke of the rifle with the pearly white cloth cleaned massive dirt off the outside in Razor's mind.  In actuality the rifle was so clean the rag didn't even come away with dust that regualarily formed on anything anytime.  He wasn't cleaning it anymore.  He was doing something to occupy his mind with anything but his actual thoughts. 

Razor finally reassembled his rifle.  He took a deep breath and sighted in on the ground outside the wall.  He wanted to get the first kill.  To shoot and kill men who would harm his precious Empire.  He started to cycle through the watch zones.  His focus on the task in front of him slowly eased his mind.

OOC:
WC:570 good stuff for CD.  Cant wait for the battle.
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Skarr
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Skarr
 
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  RE: Shades of Death (Eclipse)
June 12, 2012 11:18:20 PM    View the profile of Skarr 
Not far into the forests of Archet, the Blood Saints were buzzing with activity. They had assembled a small encampment not far from the tree line. The camp was located to the north of Fort Goliath. The plans had been laid out to keep the attention to the north. It was all part of the plan laid out by two very brilliant men.

The two of them stood in the center of camp. One of them was a rather cunning, power hungry terrorist. His name was Renlid. He had thrown his lot in with the Blood Saints when he discovered their intentions to cause the Vast Empire whatever harm they could. Renlid did not have much to offer the Saints besides his wits and his men, but they took him in anyway. The man had been excited when he was offered to lead the attack on Archet. However, at the last moment, another had been put in charge.

The man leading the attack on Archet like to style himself as the Ghost. Renlid had been stunned at both the man’s brilliance and ferocity. Despite himself, Renlid had begun to respect the Ghost. The plans were simple, so simple that no one could expect it. The Dead Man had slowly worn down the defenses of Fort Goliath and found its weak points. Captain Nero Lettow was no match for the Dead Man. Renlid also suspected that the man was brilliant in an actual fight as well, but so far the tall man had not taken to the battlefield.

“I suggest we strike here,” one of the Saint’s commanders suggested. He was pointing to the waste disposal tunnel on the south side of the base.

The Ghost sniggered, “They have already trapped it by now. Some of our men were already killed there. The only way may be brute force.”

Another of the Saint’s commanders looked concerned, “Brute force? With a SCOPE squad in there?” The Saints had only just received word of the SCOPE squad landing in Fort Goliath. It had not perturbed the Dead Man greatly. But Renlid had been greatly surprised when one of his men reported that Anival Velasquez was one of the SCOPE soldiers.

“The SCOPE squad can easily be matched by the Death Watch, we will have no worries,” The Dead Man answered.

Renlid smiled slowly, “I’ve beaten Wraith Squad once more, I can beat Anival Velasquez once more.”

A small chuckle came from the other side of the table. Renlid looked across to see it was the Dead Man laughing. “Wraith Squad was disbanded during that nasty business on Thyveck, you fool. Bring the man who reported this to you, I want to know what squad we are dealing with.” Renlid bowed his head slightly and sent one of his assistants to fetch the scout. The Dead Man did not continue with the meeting until the assistant returned with the scout.

The scout saluted the men at the table and stood at attention. The Ghost didn’t waste any time, “What was the insignia of this SCOPE squad?”

“Black sun on gold sunburst, sir.” the scout replied. The Dead Man’s eyes flashed. He knew this squad, he had even encountered them before on Bakura. And he had even trained the leader of the squad. Things could get very interesting, the Dead Man thought.

“Rally up the speeders, we’re going to attack the north gate again. I want to see what Eclipse squad adds to the defense of Goliath,” The Dead Man announced, “A platoon will suffice for this attack, but bring me Jarthuun. The Death Watch will lead this attack.” A small hush fell over the conference, but word was sent out for Jarthuun to join the meeting.

The Mandalorian soon arrived, dressed in full beskar’gam, “You called for me?”

“Yes, I wish for you and your men to lead this attack. I’m giving you no more than five minutes for this one, though,” The Dead Man informed Jarthuun. The leader of the Death Watch bobbed his head.

“I have one request, though, if I may?” Jarthuun asked. The Dead Man waved his hand in answer. “I would like to broadcast Vode An to Fort Goliath.”

A smile broke on the Dead Man’s face, “ I believe we can hack into the fort’s intercom well enough. You have leave for that. This meeting is dismissed. The attack will commence in five minutes.”

***

Skarr and Nero were still going over their plans when the intercoms began crackling. The two men looked at each other in confusion. Horns and drums began playing over the intercom adding more confusion to everyone in the fort. And then the chant began:

Kote!
Kandosii sa karta, Vode an.
Manda’yaim a’den mhi, Vode an.
Bal kote, darsuum kote,
Jorso’ran kando a tome.
Sa kyr'am nau tracyn kad, Vode an.
Kandosii sa ka'rta, Vode an.
Manda’yaim a'den mhi, Vode an.
Bal...
Motir ca'tra nau tracinya.
Gra'tua cuun hett su dralshy'a.
Aruetyc runi solus cet o'r.
Motir ca'tra nau tracinya.
Gra'tua cuun hett su dralshy'a.
Aruetyc runi trattok'o.
Sa kyr'am nau tracyn kad, Vode an
!”

Skarr and Nero were still looking at each other in confusion when Skarr’s comm began beeping wildly. The squad leader opened the channel to hear Balac’s panicked voice.

Kyr’tsad! Kyr’tsad!” the soldier yelled.

“Balac, Basic!” Skarr commanded.

“The Death Watch! It’s an attack!” Balac answered back. And the explosions began.

OOC:
WC: 911

A lot of dialogue, but the attack has been started! This will only be small scale and rather short lived, but fun!
SL|CoT:A|PC/'2LT Skarr/1SQD/1PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE
[CDS] [ES2] [IH] [RoT] {RES} (VT) (ECA) (WtR) (3.1) (1.1) (1.2) (A5) (AS-2)
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(WoS1)

"May God have mercy on my enemies, because I won't" General George Patton
"A leader leads by example not by force." Sun Tzu, The Art of War
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Balac
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Balac
 
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  RE: Shades of Death (Eclipse)
June 14, 2012 12:10:50 AM    View the profile of Balac 
Balac let himself drift into the darkness behind his eyes. He was sure activity would get hectic soon, things always did, and being well-rested seemed like a good idea. Shortly, the landscape of Mandalore filled his visor. He looked around, taking in the sights that he hadn't seen for years. He walked over and put his hand out to lean against a nearby tree. With his hand pressed against the tree, Balac examined the blue arm guard of his beskar’gam. A short distance behind him, a familiar chant started, one he knew well.

“Kote!”

Balac turned, preparing to join in. Something about the people chanting was off. A familiar symbol was on their shoulders and the voices had an odd sound, as if they were coming through a speaker system. As much as he tried, the symbol’s meaning wouldn’t come to him.

“Hey, little puppet,” A voice spoke to his right, “Come earn your right to live.”

Balac turned, a Mandalorian in odd black and red colored armour, with the same symbol on his shoulder, flourished a nasty looking blade. Balac felt for the vibrosword he usually kept on his back, and drew it with a smooth, quick motion. The Mando came on, swinging for Balac’s arm. He raised his own blade in defense, and barely registered the surprise when the offending blade passed through his own and cut through his elbow.

Shab!” Balac jerked awake, the panic of interrupted sleep coursing through him. The familiar chant sounding through the audio system in the ceiling. The realization hit him full force as he opened a link to Skarr, “Kyr’tsad! Kyr’tsad!” Balac yelled.

“Balac, Basic!” came the replying command.

“The Death Watch! It’s an attack!” Balac answered.

An explosion sounded, shaking the barracks. Balac grabbed his weapons, slinging the A280 over his shoulder and keeping his E-45 at the ready.

“Move it, attack incoming!” A soldier shouted, running past him towards the north gate. Balac recognized the voice, Corporal Brent. All around the camp, Balac saw troopers running for cover. Riveted by the sudden blast of a Mandalorian war chant, they had been caught in the open when the artillery started.

The camp’s intercom sounded again, “Attack incoming, north gate!”

Balac’s com crackled and Skarr's voice sounded, “Eclipse! Get in gear, attack on the north gate! Get there and take positions. Sensors say at least a platoon headed this way.”

Balac passed a small group of troopers taking shelter in a nearby building, the door partially open.

“Move it you di’kutla fools! Didn’t you hear the announcement? We need everyone at the gate!” Balac commanded.

“Oh look, it’s the Mando boy,” one of the troopers jeered.

Balac rushed forward and grabbed the trooper by the arm, dragging him out of the building, “Move it, or I’ll shoot you myself. The only thing you’re doing right now is endangering the lives of your fellow troops!”

The troopers stayed for a few more seconds as Balac kept his E-45 trained on them, an explosion went off roughly 100 feet away. The troopers jumped, and started heading towards the gates.

Must be new,’ Balac thought.

Balac stopped at the gate, meeting Skarr, “Balac, I want you up on the left. Hit ‘em with the A280, I’ll send a few troopers to watch your back.”

Balac headed up the wall, crouching behind some cover and resting his A280 on top. He gazed through the scope as a group of four troopers ran up to him.

“Well, hello again Mando.”

“Hello Brent, come to see some real marksmanship again?” Balac’s voice was neutral, any sign of animosity was saved for the enemy.

“Nah, just came to make sure you don’t get into any trouble. We all have our orders, you know.”

“Yea, sure. Get down and stop distracting me.” Balac ordered.

Balac took aim again as a small wave of troops poured from multiple points out of the forest. He went through the ritual, and fired.

OOC:
WC: 663

Mister Sandman, bring me a dream. Bom, bom, bom, bom. Just not a nightmare like Balac's.

After the dream scene, not my best post. I wrote that, and felt that I should continue instead of leaving it for tomorrow.

Balac is on the wall at the north gate, at a position on the left. A small group of four stormtroopers acting as his cover while he snipes. Another member of the squad to assist Balac and watch over the poor stormies couldn't hurt. Any volunteers?

"...the offending blade passed through his own and cut through his elbow." Ooh, foreshadowing.
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Pirunir sur'haaise!
[This message has been edited by Balac (edited June 14, 2012 12:16:57 AM)]
Anival Velasquez
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  RE: Shades of Death (Eclipse)
June 14, 2012 12:19:13 AM    View the profile of Anival Velasquez 
Anival didn’t know much mando’a, but he had picked up a few words and phrases while befriending RK, he understood very little of the chant on the speaker system. The few words he did pick up were about traitors, fire, and death.

Anival smirked; he felt it was wrong that the death watch would call them traitors, while they were the ones attacking. In a way, the word didn’t apply to them, since, he was sure they were mercenaries, but then again, maybe Anival was looking too much into the chant and it was probably just for the extra mental edge.

He took a on a full sprint to get to the north gates, he had to pass the hangar, which was a bit of a run.  Anival thanked his heritage in times like this, he wasn’t the tallest of troopers, or the quickest, but he could outdistance almost anyone.

Back on his home world they has said he should have been a scout, or a message runner, but, message runners were so archaic. He arrived in almost no time, Skarr was barking orders, men were running around, some men moved into position without being told, they must have already had pre-assigned positions, but some of the men had to be told were to set up.

Anival took a sport near a jittery looking trooper, his face was a mold of determination, but he was shaking, he didn’t know if it was because the man was nervous or excited. 

Soon the noised died down, and all that could be heard was Vode An, blaring through the loudspeakers. Anival waited and tried harder to listen to the chant, this time, with his mind clear, he could make out a bit more of the chant. Anival decided to speak to Balac, he opened a private comm. Channel and pinged him, after a while his voice was through. 

“What?”

Anival replied, first in basic “Remember we are Eclipse, almost as immortal as the galaxy itself.”

Then in mando’a. “ Kote, darasuum kote. Te racin ka'ra juaan kote.” He was sure he had mispronounced one or two words, but he hoped his meaning was clear.

After several moments of silence, Balac cut in. “Hey did you switch back to Squad channel? Skarr’s pretty heated.”

Anival quickly switched channels, just in time to hear Skarr say. “–stupid son of a Ewok, if he doesn’t answer this time…Anival!”

“Go ahead.”

“Where were you?”

“In that latrine, ran out of paper, and since no one was around I had to waddle around looking for something to you know…..”

A chorus of stifled laughter flowed through the channel. Even Skarr wasn’t immune to a small chuckle.

“Alright, alright, keep your head up; I was trying to get everyone’s position. I know how must be feeling about this mission, and like I told you and Balac earlier, don’t do anything stupid.”

“Roger, Roger” Anival said in a robotic voice, imitating the old battle droids. Skarr didn’t laugh this time.

“I got it, don’t do anything stupid, can I go outside and play now mum?” He quickly regretted it, he didn’t want to sound spiteful or anything, and sometimes his mouth just ran away.

He waited for a verbal bashing, but when none was forthcoming he exhaled, unaware that he had been holding his breath.  And breathed easily again when Skarr started to give directions.

Anival prepped his gear and followed his orders, scanning the soon to be battlefield, first with regular filter, then with an infrared. He was sure they could withstand the assault to come.
~President of the YFC~
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  RE: Shades of Death (Eclipse)
June 15, 2012 2:39:24 AM    View the profile of ShanneTwoo 
Terre was still wandering when she heard Skarr’s voice over the comm attached to her belt.

“Eclipse! Get in gear, attack on the north gate! Get there and take positions. Sensors say at least a platoon headed this way.”

Terre felt herself go numb. It was happening. Her first attack with Eclipse, and she hadn’t formed any trust with any of them yet. The only one she had formed even a minuscule friendship with was, she shuddered, the Chiss. Did she trust him? With her life? More likely he’ll study the art of my blood spatters when I die…

But he’s not THRAWN!

Terre shook her head, then charged for the north gate. I’ll meet up with whoever I meet up with. I’ll just have to trust that they are willing to cover me. She pulled one of her two DC-15s side arms and loosened the other, pushing her hair out of the way and hoping it would stay that way.

To whatever higher power there might be listening, please don’t let the flagstones be slick with the blood of my comrades… Please don’t let any of us die. I know I’m overreacting, but I don’t want to see them hurt. Love? Sincerely? Most Humbly? Yours Truly? Terre.

Terre felt a flashback try to push forward, but she ignored it, skidding around a corner and all out sprinting for the north gate. She skidded to a stop, looking around.

A platoon of Blood Saints… A whole platoon of them…

Terre took a deep breath. I may not be able to do much good today, but perhaps because of me, someone else will live… She calmed herself, let her rising panic ebb away, and opened her eyes, really let herself see. A platoon isn’t that many, she consoled herself. Lots of my squad members have been in worse… She glanced at the scars on her hands. It won’t be bad if you keep your head on straight. It’s like a game. She closed her eyes.

She was back on Obroa-skai. Fifteen years old, she was outside, with other children her age, twenty of them, split into two teams of ten. “Capture the flag”, they called the game, and she had been dubbed the captain of one team. Three of her teammates behind her, guarding the flag, five in front, herself and a boy in the middle, she called out instructions.

“Steady, guys… NO! Stay where you’re at! Wait for it… You’re too far over, take two steps back… WATCH GARRET! Go, Keeahn, get ‘im! Watch the line… Two teams of two, guys! Get to your partner! Watch the middle! No, Deja, I want you forward! Finna, Kerra, Jema, follow me! Kerra, Jema, go to the left! We’ll take the right! GET THE FLAG!”

They won that round.

Terre opened her eyes. Just a game… Feeling someone behind her, she turned.

“Therex!”

He grinned. “Hello, Terre. You ready for your first battle?”

“Are you going to have my back?”

Therex laughed. “You’re the greenie, shouldn’t you have mine?”

Terre looked at him, her head cocked to one side, processing. “Do you trust me?”

OOC:
WC: 521, and Therex is going to pick up from there.
--Shanne

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THX1138
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  RE: Shades of Death (Eclipse)
June 15, 2012 3:15:31 AM    View the profile of THX1138 
Therex didn't answer the short greenie. Instead he pulled out his revolvers and pulled the hammers back on both. Stepping past her, he lifted both and aimed down the barrels. Firing two shots into separate trees, he turned and replaced the revolvers. Before the bodies of two, lightly armored scouts had hit the ground, Therex had walked back over to Terre. Leaning down, he put his head level with hers.

"Always trust someone with a good eye," he said, reaching up to flick his cybernetic eye, making a light tinking noise.

Terre didn't look too surprised or even slightly impressed. She merely stood her ground, feet planted at shoulder width, her head held slightly above level.

Good. I hate when a simple shot or cybernetic surgery surprises people. Maybe this new one was of a different breed.

Noting a slight discomfort in her eyes, Therex returned to his full 6 feet 2 inches of height. His heavy boots added another inch, and the trench coat he wore over his armor made him appear much bulkier than he should be. He wasn't agile, so it slowed him down some. Although some of the aftermath reports of his "blackouts" showed that he was capable of moving pretty quickly.

A noise perked in his ear, and Therex turned to see the platoon advancing. Turning back, he smiled at Terre.

"Now the fun part starts," he said switching on his comm with one hand, while scooping up his helmet in the other.

"Skarr," he said, shoving the comm into the helmet, "Our company showed up a little early, is the house clean and are we dressed to receive?"

Terre was giving him weird looks when a voice answered.

"Yeah," Skarr said. "Let's show some hospitality."

"Got that," Therex said, reaching for the comm switch. "I'll get the veggie tray."

Switching the comm off, Therex looked back at Terre. If the expression on her face was any indication, she was totally confused.

"What the frack was that," she said, her puzzlement showing itself as her voice squeaking.

"Absolutely nothing," Therex replied grinning under his helmet. "C'mon, we got work to do."

OOC:
I feel ashamed at the length. But I felt I should post instead of dropping out completely. I will make up for it next week.
"He has his orders, and when a Chiss accepts orders he carries them out, period."

And now Autolite brings you Therex Whitestone, in Vast Empire, a tale well calculated to keep you in suspense.

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Anival Velasquez
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  RE: Shades of Death (Eclipse)
June 17, 2012 10:16:51 PM    View the profile of Anival Velasquez 
The thought of the sewer entrance kept nagging at Anival, even as the enemy forces converged on the fort, a quick scan of the terrain, showed an easy battle. A few shots rang out as the enemy was in eyeshot, but none came from Eclipse. They knew their limits, and the range of their weapons. A familiar music hit Anival, a soft-pitched whine, which grew in intensity. It wasn’t loud or anything, but it had been a while since Anival had heard them on a battlefield. They were of course repulsors on a speeder. He was right, he saw two flat-bed like speeders, and what looked like a small tank. He was sure it wasn’t a tank, more likely an incredibly lightly armored transport, or scout speeder. It wasn’t new stuff, but it wasn’t old school either.

“Skarr, looks like they have mobile cover.”

“I noticed. They won’t get too far in with those things. Once they clear a certain point, it won’t be effective. Eclipse, watch for enemy snipers.”

They were in range. The enemy didn’t rush or even yell, battle cries only worked in close range, or if it was a massed and timed affair, and a platoon was hardly enough. Instead Anival focused on getting off shots. Another repulsor whine, but this time it was quick signatures, and no speeders were visible.

“Visual on two speeders, make that four.”

"Anyone recognize them?"

"Nope, but I see the two flatbeds and some others, probable transports."

“Death Watch?” it was Balac, no emotion in his voice. Anival frowned, that meant barely constrained emotion.

“Again negative, but I bet my money is on that weird looking transport.”

“All right-, yeah, understood, I’ll send a man to rendezvous with your guys.”

Anival wondered who Skarr was talking too, then he berated himself and changed to the general channel, there was an instant flooding of reports. Of course he couldn’t hear who Skarr was talking to, he was only on the Eclipse frequency- they could hear him, and vice versa, but he wouldn’t be able to hear the rest of the troopers, the ones stationed at the fort.

“I need one of you to go check the sewer, a small force has been spotted, not a big enough force to be flushed, but we don’t want to release the system and then have to…..fill it back up, when it could be used for emergencies. Any volunteers?”

Anival, strangely, volunteered.

“Alright Anival, take Thengil and go.”

“What, do I not get a say in the matter?”

“Alright, Thengil, I’ll meet you there.” He grunted in acknowledgement. Anival headed out.

A continuous buzz of reports streamed through the comms, letting everyone know what was going on, it was starting to become a nuisance.  Anival switched to squad comms, but not before he heard a report of three dead troopers, and a sighting of the Death Watch.

By the time he arrived at the sewer entrance Thengil was helping get an injured trooper out of the manhole.

“Five men reported in the sewer, they are supposedly well hidden, and attacked a small patrol.”

He nodded and continued to climb down the ladder. Thengil and four other troopers from the base followed. They all turned on their lights.

“Thengil we’re at point, one in the center to take the rear.”

They walked for about twelve meters, then the smell hit him, it was like a hammer to his senses, the scene he imagined was a mass execution, and the voiding that followed.  They came to a crossroads, without a thought he stepped into the open area, and was greeted with a volley of shots. He lunged backwards, in time to avoid any damage, he was sure he hadn’t been hit, but scorching on his armor proved otherwise. At least he thought it was scorching, for all he knew it could be fecal matter. He was slightly disgusted, but more worried about the Blood Saints.

He heard taunts from the hidden Saints, and mentions of mothers and wookiees. That didn’t faze him, he did however shout back. He cupped his hand over his mouth, not that it did any good in armor, but it was an automatic gesture, and replied with a witty rhyme about their own mothers, and a seemingly fertile mynock. That made one man run out of his hiding, and into the open area, and he was quickly shot down. A stupid mistake, or a calculated decision, he decided against the latter. If the reports were right, that meant only four were left. He withdrew one of his two flash bangs, and tossed them in the tunnel to the right, he heard and saw it go off, and ran. He picked off two and sprayed into the hall, he couldn’t see the other two.

He felt a thud to his back, and another, and four more in quick succession, he fell down, not hurt but stunned. How had he gotten hit? Then he saw what it was, he had been lured into a trap. He was fighting a man who was probably a great grappler, while his buddy kept the others pinned. How stupid could he have been? He had assumed the troopers would have followed him. A jab flew towards him, he parried, and was hit in the gut, again not painful, as the armor protected him, but enough to drive the air a bit out of his lungs.

Again the jab, again the parry, and again the contact. The same sequence, followed, except this time Anival didn’t block, he let the hand connect with his helmet, and grabbed the one that was already following to his gut, he reached for the arm, once he had a hold, he started to pin the man, but was thrown off balance by a kick, and an elbow. He staggered back, again out of breath; he was encumbered by his armor, and there was no way he was going to take it off. He fought with the man for what seemed like ages; he was always on the attack, with Anival parrying, and pitifully counter attacking.

He didn’t notice when the shots had stopped firing, or even as the other troopers stopped to watch his fight. All that existed was the man, and him. Suddenly an idea struck, he smiled, and lunged forward, the opponent responded with an elbow and a kick that sent Anival backwards. He took the chance to unhook his helmet as he fell backwards.

It was loose, but the Blood Saint didn’t know it. Anival once again got up, and lunged this time, let the elbow connect, and caught the leg; he took off his helmet, and smacked the awkwardly positioned Saint.  The man crumpled, probably dead or alive, he then looked around and was a bit embarrassed as he donned his helmet, and was instantly asked.

“What do you call that move?”

OOC:
WC: 1,151    Moved the story, at least for myself.  Also I hinted to the battle being started, didn't name any specifics besides the flatbeds. The Flatbeds are basically  a flatbed with cover on the edges. Think  this   but star warsy, doesn't have much in weaponry maybe a small mounted MG's but thats it. (Hah, small MG's, contradiction?) its a real speeder I did research.
~President of the YFC~
TRP/SSG AnivalVelasquez/1SQD/2PLT/1COM/1RGT/1BAT/Tadath/VEA/[AS-H]/[AS-1]/[EW:2C]/[DoH]/[BC]/[SCA]/[BoT]/[ESC'09]/(A3)
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[This message has been edited by Anival Velasquez (edited June 18, 2012 9:22:27 AM)]
[This message has been edited by Anival Velasquez (edited June 18, 2012 9:33:09 AM)]
ShanneTwoo
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  RE: Shades of Death (Eclipse)
June 18, 2012 4:02:46 PM    View the profile of ShanneTwoo 
Veggie tray? Terre was still confused, so confused, in fact, that her voice had squeaked. How embarrassing...

And how could she not have noticed the scouts in the trees? Their armor wasn't even the same color! She sighed. Still the greenie...

A small breeze picked up, knocking her hair back into her face. Sighing in defeat, she put her DC-15 back in its hip holster for a brief instant and tied her hair back. That was just long enough for a quick barrage of blaster fire to concentrate on her. She dropped to the ground, too shocked even to scream.

The sound of firing erupted above her, and she looked up to see Therex standing over her, pistol drawn, a crazed smile on his face. Chaos, that's creepy...

She stood, her own blaster drawn, finding cover to one side of the wall and firing in the general direction she knew the fire had come from. She was rewarded by another lightly armored trooper falling to the ground. Even as she was mentally rejoicing, a new sound graced her ears, a high pitched humming, thrumming noise.

Looking up at Therex, her eyes grew wide, and she knew she looked very much like a small child. "What's that?"

His smile was gone, his mouth now drawn in a tight line. "Speeders."

Terre's heart leapt for a brief instant before she calmed herself. "But... That's not a big deal, right? I mean, we can stop them... Right?"

Therex's red eyes slid over to look at her, and she gulped, a cold hand of fear gripping her gut. Then, a wide smile crossed his face and he nodded. Terre sighed in relief, releasing a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "Don't do that!"

Still grinning, he asked, "Do what?"

"Scare me on purpose!" she growled, a smile twisting into a scowl.

Therex smiled. Good. He knows I'm playing. "Pay attention, Terre," he said, firing another shot without even looking. A strangled cry sounded, and one of the Blood Saints on the speeder fell off and landed next to Terre. Without thinking, she grabbed him and used herself as a fulcrum to launch him over the wall. Therex nodded approvingly as a loud splat was heard. Terre shuddered. I'd hate for that to be me...

The speeder made another pass, and she fired rapidly. Two more troopers fell off, and the speeder listed dangerously before nosediving to the forest floor.

"Skarr, that's one down, three to go," Therex said into his comm. "Our greenie took that one out."

"Very good, Terre," Skarr said approvingly.

"Yeah, just don't get cocky," Therex said, smiling at her. She grinned back, feeling the thrill of camaraderie. She opened her mouth to say something, found herself unable to speak, and looked back out the gate. After this is over, she promised herself. After, you can tell him...

If I live that long... Shaking her head to clear it, she fired, again and again, hitting most of her targets. I'm going to live, she thought.

And then one jumped off a speeder. He knocked the blaster in her hand away, his helmet hiding his face. Terre screamed. "Help me!"

OOC:
WC: 529
--Shanne

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razorsedge
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  RE: Shades of Death (Eclipse)
June 18, 2012 5:16:11 PM    View the profile of razorsedge 
Razor fired his piton cord into the wall directly at his feet.  He had been sitting in his fighting nest when a rocket had flown past his spire.  Wether it was accidental or intentional it was too hard to tell.  Tactically his position was compromised.  He tugged on the cord ensuring that it had planted itself deeply in the rock that made up the building.  He loosed a fierce battlecry.

He leapt forward falling for a few seconds before the line pulled taut and wrenched him back to the building.  He pushed the release and ran down the wall.  As he did he pulled out his two DC-15s'.  He hit the ground running.  His wire snapped as he continued running.  His Zabrak legs propelled him forward and he flipped over the stairs and up onto the wall.  A trough ran all the way down the side of the wall.  Its solid smooth stone prevented anyone from climbing up it but it was definitely possible to slide down.  Slide Razor did gliding smoothly down onto the ground in front of the fort.

He rose slowly and, without moving jabbed his fist left crushing the soft tissues in the mans pelvis as the man sprinted at him. The man released a gurgled cry as he fell to the ground.  Razor rose, the blood pumping through his brain.  The world around him seemed to slow as the adrenaline cocktail pumped into his nervous system.  He spun his pistols leveling at the Blood Saint that was rushing him with a drawn vibro blade.

The trooper had just punched Lialos in the crotch. Butch had drawn his vibro blade.  No Empire supporter would strike down another Blood Saint in front of him.  He had struck down many of these Empire swine already.  They were easy to kill.  This one was wearing different armor but Butch didn't care.  He rushed forward but oddly enough there was no recoiling in shock like all the other fort defenders had done. This one spun around and leveled two blasters at him. He was surprised and slowed down just a little.  That feeling of shock and a bright flash were the last things Butch knew.

Razor pulled the triggers slowly.  It seemed as if it was an eternity.  A look of genuine horror crossed the Blood Saint's face before Razor slagged it with two bolts from his pistols.

The beast was free.  It roared with approval at the blood letting that was going on around Razor.  The man's face melted.  Barely any of his head was left. 

Razor drew out his combat blade and flipped it into a reverse grip.  He sprinted off into the woods, a feral grin adorned his face.

A man jumped out of a tree landing on Razor's shoulders.  He pushed his feet hard against the trunk of the tree the man had jumped from and shot backwards not a second too soon.  The man's vibroknucklers pounded into the ground exactly where Razor's head had been.  Razor kicked the man in the side of his knee.  It made a loud crunching sound as the bones snapped. The man fell to his other knee. Razor spun backwards onto his feet and grabbed the man's hair pulling his head back.  He made and un committed swing at the trooper's knees.  Razor swept his dagger down in a long strike.  The blade sliced deeply into the man's neck.

The blood spurted everywhere.

The blood letting seemed to go on forever, it could only have lasted a few minutes.  Razor's armor was painted red with the blood as he walked back through the defenders.  They looked upon his painted scope armor with awe.  The battles were far from over but this one was going well.
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Balac
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  RE: Shades of Death (Eclipse)
June 19, 2012 12:31:31 AM    View the profile of Balac 
From the tree line, Kad Verec watched as the Blood Saints poured forth unto the fort. The defender’s response was slow, no doubt due to the disorder caused by the Mandalorian chant that had blasted through their intercom system. His EE-3 in his hand, a beautiful DE-10 at his hip, and his personally crafted sabre on the back of his beautifully styled armor. It was more reminiscent of the armor designs of the Mandalorians many thousands of years ago. As he watched, a green blaster bolt lanced out, catching one of the charging men in the neck. The man fell watch a strangled cry and smoke drifted from his body. Kad watched impassively as he stopped twitching, then followed the path of the bolt back to the wall. Another green bolt lanced out and Kad zoomed in on that area. A man in stormtrooper armor, no, in what appeared to be an advanced version of the normal stormtrooper armor crouched, watching out over the rushing crowd. Another blaster bolt sped away from the tip of the A280 in his hands, red bolts flying sporadically from the normal stormtroopers around him. His thoughts were interrupted by his lieutenant approaching from behind.

“Sir, Dral and Quelix report no problems so far. They report that their recon of the wall has proven very useful.” B’arin said.

“Good.” Kad paused. “Look up there.” Kad marked the position of the sniper on his aide’s HUD.

“Ah, an obstacle. Would you like me to take him down?” B’arin started to raise the DC-17m in his hands, sniper attachment in place.

Kad turned, pushing the barrel of the rifle down. “No, di’kut. Give me your opinion of him.”

B’arin watched for a few seconds, noting the good marksmanship. “Hmm, very good. Don’t tell me you want to liberate yet another pathetic soul from the Vast Empire? He seems good enough, but it takes more than fancy marksmanship to be one of the Mando'ade.”

“You never know,” Kad replied, “We might just get lucky. Come on, we need to check out the wall on this side and see what trouble we can cause. Jarthuun will be cranky if we don't."

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

Balac caught another Blood Saint in his sights. He waited a few seconds, turning to follow the man, and then fired. The shot caught his visor, shattering it. The man dropped and didn’t move. Rapid fire blazed his position, he and his escort dropped.

“What was that?” Balac asked. The sound of speeder engines finally reached his ears.

“Speeders pal. They’ve been out here for a few minutes. Mounted light repeating blaster cannons.” Brent replied.

“Ah.” Balac replied and went back to searching for targets.

A few more minutes passed, along with the lives of a few more Blood Saints and Imperial troops.

Suddenly, a shot sounded to his left, on the fort walls where there were few defending troops. Everyone was focused on the front gate. What few soldiers had been there, were now laying down. A trooper beside him dropped, a hole in his helmet.

"Shab!" Balac spat. As he dropped once again.

"Jarl!" Brent shouted.

Balac turned and looked at the area the shot had came from and his blood started to boil. Standing defiantly on the wall were two of the Death Watch, one holding a DC-17m, still pointing at the space where Jarl's head had once been. As he watched, the taller of the two waved then beckoned for Balac to come over. Both of the quickly went down a rope and disappeared behind a building.

"Stay here." Balac ordered. Balac cautiously approached the rope. The few soldiers that had been watching this area of the wall were laying on the ground, each one with terrible cuts. Balac climbed down the rope, and drew his E-45. He turned quickly at the rattle of armor behind him. One of the stormtroopers had followed.

"Couldn't let you do something stupid by yourself." Brent's voice responded to the unspoken question.

"Fine, stay close and stay alert." Balac ordered. They searched the area behind the building, finding nothing.

"Contact!" Brent shouted, shortly before being flung to the ground. One of the Mandalorians was standing beside Brent, the DC-17m in it's normal configuration pointed at the stormtrooper's head. Balac reacted instantly, raising the E-45 to cover the Mando with deadly red bolts. The thin whine a blaster sounded close behind his head, followed by a slight bump as the end of the barrel touched his helmet. Balac stiffened, then shot left as he spun right, attempting to disarm his opponent. Balac's arm met with nothing but air. He stopped, now facing the Mando, painfully aware that another armed man was at his back. He'd made a mistake, and now it was likely he would end up dead.

Balac's com crackled, and the Mando he was facing tapped his helmet and pointed to Balac.

Balac spoke, "What do you want? Speak quick, your presence here is like a plague." Acid dripped from each word.

"Tsk, calm down. I merely want to chat. I have a once-in-a-lifetime kind of offer for you. I've been watching, and you've proven to be very good. The Death Watch likes capable people. I'm offering you a chance to be part of a group that is actually capable and cares about it's members."

"No-one in their right mind would join a bloodthirsty bunch of hu'tuune like you." Balac spat.

The Mandalorian facing him stayed silent, and leaning slightly to the right, exaggerating the movement of looking at the one behind him.

"Come now, I'm giving you the chance at a true family. Warriors like you surely are. Not these mere toy Imperial soldiers. Now, what's your name? Don't be shy."

Balac gritted his teeth. He was at the mercy of two beings he hated, and the worst part was that they were toying with him.

"My name doesn't concern you." Balac retorted.

"Hmm. Well, I'm Kad Verec, and my companion you can call B'arin." Kad replied easily.

Balac froze at the man's last name, then started forward.

"No, no, no." Kad said, gesturing with the DE-10 in his hand. "Keep your distance." Balac stopped. "That's better. Now, if you ever change your mind, you can contact me. Right here on my personal com. But now, I'm afraid we must leave. Have fun!"

With that, Kad holstered his DE-10. Seizing the opportunity, Balac rose his blaster rifle. A shot sounded behind him, and he slowly dropped to the ground as the stun round's effects worked through him. He heard a second shot just before he dropped into the darkness.

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

Kad stepped calmly over the unconscious man's body. "Still think he's just another pathetic soul?" he asked B'arin.

"He said one word in Mando'a. That doesn't mean you should jump to conclusions." B'arin replied.

"Wrong. He said one word with perfect pronunciation. I believe I recognize his voice, as well. He never knew me, but I think I know him. If I'm right, I'm sure there will be no problems recruiting him." Kad replied.

OOC:
WC: 1222

I think I got a bit carried away with this post.

With this post, I have given Balac his true last name, and a brother he has no knowledge of. Whatever happens to the Death Watch here, Kad Verec survives. I plan to use him in a personal story if I ever start writing one.

The Death Watch squad split up into pairs, and went looking over the fort walls looking for any weaknesses. The two Balac didn't encounter may have done more. That's up to the next person who includes Death Watch members in their post. If they die, make it very interesting. Please no suicidal Mandos.

Right now, Balac and Corporal Brent are laying unconscious behind a building. Balac will only speak of what happened to Skarr, minus the little detail of recognizing Kad's last name and any potential relation he has with the man. Enjoy!
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TRP/SSG Balac/1SQD/2PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE [EW1][IH][DT] (WtR) (6.1)

Pirunir sur'haaise!
[This message has been edited by Balac (edited June 19, 2012 12:34:08 AM)]
[This message has been edited by Balac (edited June 19, 2012 12:38:12 AM)]
[This message has been edited by Balac (edited July 12, 2012 10:14:46 PM)]
THX1138
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  RE: Shades of Death (Eclipse)
June 19, 2012 3:50:07 AM    View the profile of THX1138 
Therex was busy following the speeder with his eyes and watching for more enemies to hear Terre at first. Eventually the cry for help reached his ears. Turning, he saw the small woman pinned under one of the Mandos. Running over, he jumped over bushes and trampled foliage under his heavy boots. At the last second he used his full body size to knock the enemy off of his comrade. But Mandos weren't just trained to use a gun. Even though the warrior before him was considerably shorter, Therex knew not to underestimate merely by size. Quickly, the Mando shot up from the ground and readied a very sick looking vibro-shiv. Being a doctor, Therex knew he probably didn't want that thing touching him. If the blade didn't do it, the obvious channels running down it signaled to the possibility of some sort of toxin or poison.

The Mando made the first move, typical considering that Therex was a Chiss. They were generally raised to let the opponent strike first. His opponent lunged once more, appearing clumsy with his movements. Therex saw this as a weakness and waited. When the Mando charged again, Therex threw his arm around, hoping to catch the arm of the Mando. Instead, his opponent turned around, wrapped his arm around Therex's and thrusted with the knife. Jumping back as much as possible, Therex dodged the brunt of the knife. But the small tip found it's way to an exposed section near his shoulder.

Sometimes being a doctor never helped in a situation. Therex knew exactly what was happening to him and it wasn't helping his morale. The Mando let him slip out of his grip to the ground. He fell with a loud thud and curled up as the poisons took affect. He could feel it coursing through his blood stream, attaching to the walls of his vessels, and beginning to chew threw them. However, Therex always came prepared. Reaching down with an increasingly shaky hand, Therex looked down at his cybernetic leg. Past his boot he could see the Mando standing on top of Terre, wiping the tip of his knife off with a piece of already blood-stained cloth. Therex tried to call out for help, but the words stuck in his throat and a wave of pain shot over him. Therex's vision blurred almost to total darkness.

It has never happened this fast.

A small beast that he normally kept caged in his mind, stirred in it's new home. A small box. No locks, no doors. It could come and go as it pleased now, but recently, it had learned to respect Therex. This time, Therex didn't resist it. Switching places with the creature, Therex took a seat at the back of his mind and watched.

Gaining control, the beast threw Therex's body upright, not yet hit with the poison's pain inducing affects, it reached down and a small pocket opened in the synth flesh of his leg, and he withdrew a hypo and injected himself. From the back of his mind, Therex noticed that the poison was being repelled and expelled. As the Mando lowered himself and placed the knife against Terre's throat, "Therex" picked up a large nearby log. He gave himself a two step start and threw it, while continuing the movement forward. As the log caught the Mando in the helmet, Terre rolled away from the knife, which moved mere micrometers from her neck. When she stood up, "Therex" charged past her and lifted the Mando off the ground in one hand, and his knife in the other.

From his viewpoint, Therex made no effort to stop the beast now in control of his physical body. It thrust the knife into the Mando's armor repeatedly, several shots finding weak points. Pretty soon blood was dripping consistently from the wounds but still his opponent squirmed, trying to get away. Throwing the knife aside, "Therex" lifted the enemy's body over his head and threw it against a nearby tree with a crunch. Panting, "Therex" walked over to the body and kicked it. When no more movement was made he smiled and leaned down over the body. Terre came up behind him and put her hand on his shoulder.

"That was...", she started.

Before she could say anything more, "Therex" stood up while throwing his hand up to her throat and lifting her off the ground. Panicked, Therex threw himself back, fighting for control. He only hoped he would win in time.

OOC:
Not my best Jekyll post, but I figured we needed one. If it needs work, lemme know.
"He has his orders, and when a Chiss accepts orders he carries them out, period."

And now Autolite brings you Therex Whitestone, in Vast Empire, a tale well calculated to keep you in suspense.

TRP/LCPL THX-1138/4SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE [ES1][EW1][*QW 12*](ECA)(2.1)

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ShanneTwoo
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  RE: Shades of Death (Eclipse)
June 19, 2012 5:45:56 AM    View the profile of ShanneTwoo 
Terre choked, gasping for air. "Therex!" she managed as the fingers tightened around her windpipe. She saw him raise his fist and she closed her eyes, anticipating the blow that was to come.

She fell to the forest floor, gasping for air. Therex looked at his hands, blinking, the murderous fire gone from his eyes. A shaky sob escaped Terre's lips as she coughed, expelling the dead air from her lungs.

"Terre?" she heard Therex ask, his own voice trembling slightly.

"Stay away from me, freak!" she yelled, pulling herself to her feet. She ran back to the fort, disappearing into the maze that presented itself. Confused, Therex tapped a recruit on the shoulder.

"What happened? Did you see?" he asked. The trooper nodded.

"Yeah, you killed the Mando, then grabbed her by the throat and pinned her against a tree. Looked like you were about to bash her face in too." Therex blinked at the trooper, then ran off in the direction Terre had disappeared. He followed to a fork, then stood and listened. Is that... Crying?

He turned the corner to find Terre sniffling at the very end of a dead end turn, presumably for storage, judging by the amount of boxes piled around her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Terre sniffed, her breath coming hard, exhausted from her flight. She had collapsed here among the boxes, hoping not to be found.

From the end of the hallway, Therex cleared his throat. Terre's head snapped up.

"What do you want?!" she snarled.

"I--" Therex tried.

"Don't even bother, Chiss! You're just like Thrawn was! Winning me over, making me think there was a mutual trust, then tearing it down without a moment's notice! You're--!"

"He was an outcast like me! Of course we would be the same!" Therex roared, losing his temper. Terre gulped, cowering back in the corner, obscuring her face to hide her tears.

Therex sighed heavily. Stupid, stupid, stupid... Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself. "I came to apologize," he said softly, sitting down next to her. She shifted uncomfortably. "Look, I don't know what came over me, Terre. I would never hurt a greenie, especially not you. I don't exactly want to encourage your fear of Chiss." Terre sniffed heavily, wiping her nose on her sleeve. Carefully, Therex put his arm around her. She stiffened for a moment, then slumped against him, her head against his shoulder.

"I'm too damn forgiving," she murmured, a sad smile tugging on the corner of her mouth. "And I was too trusting."

Therex looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "Wanna talk about it?"

Terre took a deep breath. "I don't know. Maybe." She sighed. "Yes."

There was a brief silence, and Therex took it, not wanting to be the one to break it. Finally, Terre spoke.

"After my little sister was born, I was really rebellious, you know? I didn't want her around, I didn't want to be any kind of a role model for her. I just wanted to find myself, like every kid. I wanted to be able to tell her not to do anything I would. My dad didn't take too kindly to that, and we really got into it. A lot. He didn't like my friends, the way I treated my mother, anything.

"Right around the time I turned eighteen, Thrawn came around. I saw it as my ticket out. A Grand Admiral, an alien, someone who had seen the galaxy! I wanted what I thought he had, and I was willing to pay for it. What I didn't realize until he started making his demands was that no matter how annoyed I got with my family, I didn't want to lose them. He promised he would let them live if I would only give him the information he wanted. He lied to me. I was forced to watch him creatively murder my family, Therex! And what did he tell me afterwards? That he made sure it was done artistically. Artistically! Of all things!

"How I hated him. I wanted to see him dead. How I rejoiced when i found out...

"It was here, in the midst of my bitterness, that I met Jerren Quell. He was a resistance fighter who was part of the Army of the Vast Empire. He took a shine to me, and I used him to get off planet. That was all I cared about. How utterly selfish I was...

"We were en route to the training station when I began to fall for him. He was so charming! He didn't seem to care about my bitterness towards everything... Anyway, we were intercepted by a rogue New Republic officer. Jerren was carrying smuggled weapons in the cargo hold, and that was exactly where the officer wanted to look. Jerren didn't have a good excuse, and the officer killed him in cold blood, didn't even give him a second look.

"My memory gets fuzzy after that. The next thing I remember, I was standing in the 'fresher washing blood off my hands, and the officer was dead. I can't tell you what I did because I don't know. After cleaning myself and the hallway outside the cargo hold, I went in, pried open a box, grabbed these," she fondled her DC-15s, "and told the ship to resume course." She sighed heavily. "And I never looked back."

Therex was looking at her, completely absorbed. "I'm... Sorry," he said, surprised that such a girl could have a blood rage.

Terre laughed, a sharp bark. "They all are," she said. "I am who I am today because of my past. It's not a big deal anymore."

Therex nodded, then stared at the opposite wall. "You don't exactly have a happy, do you?"

Terre chuckled again. "Childhood memories, mostly. None recently though."

Therex smiled. "Maybe us in Eclipse can change that."

Terre smiled back. "Maybe you can."

Therex stood. "Got your lighter on you?" Terre nodded, holding up the small silver case. He gave her an informal salute. "I'm going to go clean up. I'll see you later, alright?" She nodded again, already pulling out a cigarette. "Hang in there."

"I will." As Therex walked away, Terre lit up, then let the cigarette hang from between her lips.

And this time, when she thought of her family, it didn't hurt as much...

OOC:
WC: 1061
--Shanne

TRP/PSC ShanneTwoo/1SQD/1PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE
[This message has been edited by ShanneTwoo (edited July 18, 2012 2:22:16 PM)]
Meteora
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  RE: Shades of Death (Eclipse)
June 19, 2012 8:11:44 PM    View the profile of Meteora 
Kaye waved a hand in front of her face, an annoyed scowl gripping her features. The wafting smoke receded slightly before pressing back in. It was like trying to fan away water.

“Why the hell do you guys even smoke in here?” She said. “Aren't you worried about a spark or something?”

Hallard didn't look up from the circuit board he was working on. “Nope.” He answered phlegmatically. The chocolate-skinned engineer leaned forward in his chair and gently lowered a wire-thin screw-driver into the guts of the circuit-board. Smoke puffed out from the cigarette clenched between his lips with every breath. Hallard didn't seem to notice that the smoke was getting into everything within the brightly lit room, from the circuit-board to the furniture, but it bothered Kaye immensely. She shook her head in disgust at the man's apathy.

“I feel an overwhelming desire to bounce something off  the back of your bald head right about now.”  She murmured. “But seriously, that shit's bad for you, man.”

Hallard widened his eyes in mock-surprise, still not bothering to look up.

“Really.” He said.

“Yes, really.” She insisted. “ It'll destroy your lungs.”

Really? Hallard dialed the incredulity in his tone up to an eleven. Kaye sighed and made a gesture with her third finger. “If I was really worried about my health, I wouldn't have joined the army.”

That was a good point, Kaye had to admit. Not that she'd let him know it. “Well fine. Don't come crying to me when there's a blow-hole sticking out of your adam's apple.” Hallard leaned away from his work and chuckled, turning to look at her for the first time. There was an amused glint in his eye.

“”You're so fatalistic it's adorable.” He said playfully. Kaye rolled her eyes and stood up from the easy chair she'd been lounging in for the past half-hour.

“I'm leaving before you work up the courage to ask me to dinner.”

“Well, now that you mention it...”

“Nope! You're ugly.” Kaye said, making her way toward the door. Just as she got close enough to make it slide open with a pneumatic hiss, the intercom mounted above the door buzzed into life and she paused. A message began to play. It sounded like chanting.

“Kote!
Kandosii sa karta, Vode an.
Manda’yaim a’den mhi, Vode an.”

“Um.“ Kaye said, staring at the intercom in confusion. She blinked. “What the hell is that?” The two listened in silence for a few seconds. Then Dallard flipped out.

“Shit!” He swore, pushing away from the work-table and leaping to his feet. “I recognize some of those words. This is bad.”

“What's so bad about it?” Kaye was going to ask, but before she could, an emergency klaxon went off, making her jump.

The wailing of the klaxon was replaced after several seconds with a thrice-repeating message. Kaye wondered how the speaker managed to remain so calm while talking.

“All units, be advised, all units, be advised.” The intercom blared. It was so loud that Kaye was sure it could wake the dead.     “The fort is under attack. The fort is under attack. All combat units, report to your stations immediately. This is not a drill. All combat units, report to your stations immediately. This is not a drill.”

“Freck.” Halllard swore for the second time in as any minutes. “I knew I recognized those words. I don't know what they mean, but it's Mando.” Kaye felt her bowels heave in response to the revelation. A shiver ran down her spine. How long had she and the rest of Eclipse been on the ground? Less than an hour, surely. Why did things always turn to shit so quickly?

A wash of static hissed out of the comm. link attached to Kaye's vest. She palmed it and held the small device up to her face.

“Eclipse, get in gear!” It was Skarr. She could hear yelling and bustle in the background, but no gunfire. She surmised that he wasn't on the front yet, then. “Attack on the north gate! Get there and take positions; sensors say at least a full platoon headed this way.” The comm. link went dead after that. She attached it back to her vest and turned to Hallard.

“Well? Where are you supposed to be?” The engineer didn't reply immediately, he was busy gearing up. Kaye watched with poorly concealed envy as he stuffed a plethora of tools and machinery into a backpack and slung it over his shoulder. That would be her one day; once she became a certified combat engineer, she too would be able to carry all the best toys, not just some simpleton's E-11.

“I've got to meet up with our Chief.” He said. She assumed he meant the Chief Engineer. That'd be her too, someday. “What about you?”

“I'm gonna find my CO and get to the front-gate.”

“You heard what he said. Why not just go straight to the gate?” He asked.

“Because I don't wanna go to the gate.” She replied. “That's where all the fighting's at.”

“You're a trip.” Hallard laughed, shaking his head in disbelief. He shrugged. “Well, good luck. Try not to get your big mouth shot off.”

“Flurck off.” Kaye replied distractedly. She was busy giving the E-11 holstered to her left thigh a once-over. After checking their equipment thoroughly, the duo exited the engineering shop and went in opposite directions down the hallway. Hallard looked over his shoulder one more time before he rounded the corner, taking a last glance at the girl he'd met less than an hour ago. Kaye didn't notice; by that point her mind was already focused on how best to look like she was doing something integral while avoiding all semblances of danger.

The engineer's shop was located in the basement level of the command headquarters -Kaye assumed it was for the sake of having the techies be in close proximity to all the most vital systems- which meant that she'd have to travel upwards. No easy feat, as the elevators were locked down, forcing everyone to use the stairwells for floor-to-floor travel.

Kaye paused at the foot of the entrance to the stairwell and watched silently as three-dozen armored men failed miserably at squeezing themselves into the small space, a mission that the laws of physics and matter had deemed impossible from the get-go. There was enough space for the group to move in both directions, but trying to all move up was pointless. Kaye thought about joining them anyway, for about a micro-second, then decided that that idea could go to hell. She had a better one.

Kaye followed the coagulated flow of people just far enough to get within the stairwell. At that point, she branched off from the group and went down the stairs. She met practically no resistance, which was exactly what she'd expected. Everyone was trying to go up, not down, and there was no where for people to congregate at where she was going.

As Kaye darted down the flights of stairs, she tried to stay updated on the situation at the gate by keeping an ear focused on the various conversations going on through the comm. link. Apparently the enemy force wasn't much bigger than a platoon, and aside from some mortars and a couple speeders, their heavy support was lacking. An optimistic individual may have taken some solace in that fact; Kaye just assumed that the enemy was just toying with them. Maybe it was a vanguard force, to scout out their defenses. Of course, that probably wasn't necessary by now. If Goliath had been fighting these guys off for as long as the briefing said they'd been, then the enemy already knew what defenses the fort was bringing to the table. What, then? Why throw your own men away so pointlessly? Kaye couldn't understand it, but she took consolation in the fact that, regardless of how stupid she was for voluntarily throwing her life away by joining the army, at least she'd picked one that had some god-damn common sense.

Kaye reached the absolute bottom of the stairwell and wasted no time in punching some digits into the keypad that would open the door built into the wall opposite the stairs. If anyone knew that Hallard had given her the clearance code for entering the sub-basement sewage system, both her and him would end up in the shit, pun not intended. Fortunately, no one was likely to notice that the sub-basement was being accessed at that moment, not with an army of Jehovah's Witnesses from Hell banging on the front gate.

The door hissed open and Kaye stalked forward. As she moved, she drew the E-11 from its holster on her thigh and held the gun one-handed, it's barrel pointed at the ceiling. She'd heard on the radio only moments prior that something was going down in the sewers. No one had mentioned the command building specifically, but she didn't intend on letting some asshole get the drop on her.

With a level of cool bravado she knew she didn't really have, Kaye swept the room several times for hostiles before moving on. The sewage room was dimly lit and filled with machinery, allowing plenty of nooks and crannies to hide in. At the center of the cluttered space gaped a large circular opening in the floor. A single glance told Kaye that it was essentially just a giant garbage disposal unit; throw crap you want to get rid of into it and it'll get liquified and pumped out of the building to the treatment plant. It was a quick and efficient way of dealing with all the waste humans created on a daily basis, which was oftentimes understatedly substantial.

Across from her position in the room laid the object of her desire: the freight elevator. The freight elevator was used primarily for the maintenance crews to transport equipment throughout the building. It was also used as a quick getaway for high-ranking personnel in the case of an evacuation. For these reasons, freight elevators were usually kept in service during battles. It required a keycode in order to go past the first floor. Kaye didn't have any such codes, but luckily for her, the first floor was exactly where she needed to go. Bypassing the huge crowds of people who were flooding the upper floors was well worth the twenty seconds it took to hop down the stairwells and traverse through the dank sewage room in order to access the freight.

Reaching her destination, Kaye smacked the call button on the panel next to the elevator doors and waited for the lift to come down. While she waited, she took the time to think of her next move and collect herself. The radio was a constant source of noise, the wavelengths saturated by Imperial troops giving giving status updates or asking for new orders. On the whole, that was a good thing. It meant that Goliath's defenders were repelling the attack. Kaye hoped the situation would stay that way.

She was yanked out of her thoughts by the sound of a rustle. It was feint- if she hadn't been jacked up on adrenaline she probably wouldn't have even heard it, but it was there. Something was scraping against metal.

Kaye whirled around and trained her gun around the room, trying to triangulate where the noise was coming from.  After several seconds, she pinpointed the its origin. It was coming from the large pit. Something was climbing up the pipe.

Kaye's body began to shake. Gun still raised, she took one trembling hand off the grip and thumbed the “transmit” button on her comm. link.

“ Private First-Class Meteora to control.” Her voice came out in a raspy hiss. She was trying to not give away her presence by talking too loud, but her fear made it hard for her to keep her voice from cracking. “Do we have men in the sewage pipes?”

Control didn't respond for several seconds.

“Affirmative, Private Meteora.” Kaye didn't recognize the speaker's voice, but that didn't stop her from releasing a breath she didn't even know she was holding. Relief flooded through her body, and Kaye felt comfortable enough to lower her weapon and turn her attention back to the elevator doors behind her. The damn thing needed to hurry up. She hoped it wasn't being held up somewhere on one of the upper floors. Her radio crackled. It was Skarr.

“Kaye? Kaye, where are you?” She frowned, and thumbed the radio.

“I'm in the Command Center's sewage room; sub-basement.” What her commanding officer said next made her blood run cold.

“None of our people are anywhere near that part of the Fort's sewer system, Kaye. Stay sharp.”

“Uh.” Was all she could say in rely; she was too busy trying not to piss on herself to formulate anything more articulate. Slowly, hesitantly, she pivoted to once again face the well. She could hear still hear the scratching noise; it was getting louder. Whoever was climbing up the large drain was nearly at the top.

Kaye trained her E-11 on the opening, ready to blow the head off of whatever ugly son-of-a-bitch reared its ugly mug over the lip of the drain. She thought about running over to the drain's control panel and activating it, that'd be amusing to see, but for one, she didn't have the access code to start it up, and two, she didn't want to make any noise. The hostile probably had no idea she was in the room, otherwise he wouldn't be putting himself in such a vulnerable position. He'd be a sitting duck once he crested the lip of the drain.

To that end, Kaye gingerly took a hand off of her gun to mute her radio, and then remained stone-still. A statue didn't have shit on her freezing skills.

An arm appeared out of the well. An armored arm. Kaye suppressed a squeak. The arm hooked itself around the steel-rim of the well, and Kaye could hear a human grunt of effort as the climber used his self-made anchor point to haul himself up.

Kaye held her breath.

A helmet-mounted antennae appeared next. Classic mando' style. She'd seen it in a dozen holoflicks.

It was really, really quiet in there. Kaye hoped that her beating heart didn't tip the guy off. It sounded like artillery going off in the distance to her ears.

The very tip of his helmet crested the drain next. It was a dull chrome color, with a burgundy streak running through the middle. She wondered if there was any significance to their color schemes or if it came down to personal preference.

So close. Just another foot and she'd have a target.

The mandalorian continued to climb. Eight-inches.

Kaye's grip tightened on the gun.

Six inches The top half of his face was revealed; he was looking away from her. If she wasn't a terrible shot, she probably could have scalped him. Thengil could have, or Razor. She wished she was Thengil or Razor. Maybe not Thengil. He smelled.

Four inches. Her hands trembled. Why was it so god damn quiet in there?

Two inches. So. Close. Her nerves were shot.

She had a target. She was going to blow the bastard away. She slowly squeezed on the trigger.

The elevator-doors chimed loudly and swept open.

The Mandalorian dropped like a rock.

“Shit.” Kaye said.

Two tiny canisters sailed out from the lip of the drain and clattered to  the floor meters away from Kaye's feet. She realized what they were a second too late.
She tried to at least swear one more time before the pair of flashbangs went off. She failed.

There was a dull crump, and twin suns blossomed into existence right in front of Kaye's face. Blindness traveled at the speed of light and clawed at her eyes. The sound, slower than the light, came next. Her ear-drums popped, and all she could hear was a strained repulsor-lift's whine.

She was too deaf to hear herself scream until her throat was raw. She was too blind to see herself fire on full-auto and spray the room with blaster fire. She was too jacked up on adrenaline to feel herself backpeddle into the elevator and slam against the rear wall.

Her vision returned to her first. She could see that the elevator doors were closed. The panel next to the doors showed that the elevator was moving up. She didn't remember hitting any of the buttons.

Her sense of feeling returned next. She was on the floor, leaning against a wall. The E-11 was clutched to her heaving chest. She wearily got up to her feet.

Her hearing didn't return until the elevator opened again. It came back just in time for her to hear the ding.

“Kaye?” Skarr was standing right in front of her when the doors opened. He had a surprised look on his face with some concern mixed in. It was warranted; she looked like shit. Her face was pallid, devoid of color, and a sheen of sweat covered every inch of her exposed skin. She looked like she'd just run a marathon.

Kaye didn't answer immediately. While she tried to catch her breath, she thought about how best to articulate what she'd just experienced. She thought about telling thtat there was a Mandalorian wandering around in the sewage system under the command building.

“You wouldn't happen to have a cigarette, would you?” She decided to say.

OOC:
WC: 2975

Wo0o0o0 cigarettes. We are all going to die of lung cancer.
TRP/PFC Meteora/1SQD/1PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE
[This message has been edited by Meteora (edited June 19, 2012 8:16:45 PM)]
Anival Velasquez
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Anival Velasquez
 
[VE-ARMY] Senior Sergeant
 
Post Number:  1024
Total Posts:  1075
Joined:  Oct 2007
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  RE: Shades of Death (Eclipse)
June 20, 2012 5:18:42 PM    View the profile of Anival Velasquez 
“All clear, as far as I can tell the sewer is empty. As far as my patrol we’re heading back to the gates.”

“Copy.”

Just as the men were about to leave, Anival heard a thud. He debated whether to leave, or to investigate it.  He decided on the latter, and motioned for the group to move forward. Before they could make it to the disturbance, he spotted a Mando. Anival panicked, he had never fought a Mandalorian, except for RK. Somehow, the thought of sparring with his former squad mate didn’t instill much confidence. The patrol was spotted quickly, and the Mando didn’t waste time. Four shot, and only Thengil, Anival, and an unnamed bucket were left.

That’s when preservation kicked in, Anival sprayed at the opponent, letting a bit of panic out. Thengil and the unnamed trooper fallowed in. A thought wandered into Ani’s mind. The Deathwatch, no matter how good, wouldn’t send a man by himself.  Anival looked around for a small band of Blood Saints, or worse, another Mando. He frowned when he saw the second Mando join in. 

He was sure that they couldn’t defeat their opponents, and although Thengil had his superior strength. It would do little good. So Anival did what any good gambling trooper would have done. He bluffed. He put his comm. On a general frequency, one that the Mando’s were sure to pick up on, but wouldn’t seem too obvious.

“Fire Team Luna, to the left. Fire Team Sol to the Right, the rest of you help Fire Team Umbra set up the Heavy weapons in this hall; let’s see if we can get these men to run into our trap. Have the second squad ready for support. Our orders were to defend this exit, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

The other two finally caught up, and replied. “Copy.” In tandem, this added to the effect.

Anival was sure even the infamous Mandalorians, would think twice before attacking two squads. Especially when they had heavy weapons, and all the advantages. He took in a deep breath and waited, hoping they would leave, after what seemed for ages, he heard thudding of boots. The thuds seemed to be fading as time went by. Anival let out a sigh of relief. His ruse had worked.  He decided it was enough time in the sewer, and they went back to the gate.

===============Front Gate====================



It wasn’t a big battle, troopers weren’t dying left and right. Artillery wasn’t screaming through the air. Almost all the medicinal troopers were fighting alongside everyone else. Meaning, there weren’t many injuries. All in all, the battle was going smoothly. Anival turned left to look for his fellow troopers, they weren’t anywhere near. 

He focused on the battle, helping in whatever he could. Most of the time he was just picking targets with his rifle, something a bit hard to do for someone who wasn’t proficient in long range shots.  Give him a target from mid to short range, and he could nail it, but it took a special kind of person to be a sharpshooter.  He didn’t fit the profile. Deciding to save ammo, Anival went to where he was needed, and that meant running around a lot. He did certain errands.  Nostalgia hit him, memories of being a private and running around like an errand boy. He smiled, and thought What do I care if I get to live?


OOC:
filleresque post. Short.
~President of the YFC~
TRP/SSG AnivalVelasquez/1SQD/2PLT/1COM/1RGT/1BAT/Tadath/VEA/[AS-H]/[AS-1]/[EW:2C]/[DoH]/[BC]/[SCA]/[BoT]/[ESC'09]/(A3)
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