Gates nodded curtly to his fiery superior, and turned on his heel. Outside the command center, a pair of his aides matched his stride.

“What’s the word, boss?” asked the taller of the two, a tall, well-built Stormtrooper.

“Havock and that Tyne are still bashing heads,” Gates shrugged. “I’m quite pleased to not be in there any more.”

“I’ve been itching for something to do, boss,” said the other aide, an ex-MP that Gates had headhunted from that branch. “Just sayin’...”

“Gav,” Gates said, as they turned another corner, “That’s a fantastic idea. Been too long. Get some comm equipment. King, line up the transportation for this op, and get the armory prepped for Phoenix.”

The two aides nodded enthusiastically and left the officer. He quickened his pace, boots clicking on the hard floor. The quarantine holding was just ahead of him. A couple of MPs stepped forwards to block his way.

“Excuse me, Major,” said the shorter of the two. “Gonna need to see some ID and reasons for bein’ here. Phoenix is under quarantine.”

Gates flipped his ID up. “General Katash has ordered a lift of the quarantine. I’m here to brief my squad leaders. Priority one, corporal. Get out of my way.”

The man inspected the ID for a moment before stepping out of his way. Gates swept past, approaching the thick blast doors that barred his way. He keyed in his command code, and a communications screen appeared.

“Phoenix!” Gates said crisply to the screen, and the lazing soldiers on the other side. “Get Skarr and Dusk up front on the double.”

The two squad leaders quickly appeared. “Get your affairs in order. Havock’s bustin’ you out, and we’re going to stop a bio-attack. I’ll brief you more fully when we’re on the transport. Move it, soldiers.”

The two men nodded eagerly and turned to their troops to begin issuing orders. “Give them instructions to the armory,” Gates said to the MPs. “I want them down there in ten.”

Gates’ comlink buzzed moments later. “General?”

“Intel’s lost contact with the advance force.”

“They’ve been boots-down for, what, twenty minutes?”

“Long enough to get ambushed, that’s for sure. Tyne’s pissed.”

“I’d better go check that out with Phoenix then, General.”

“Sounds goo - wait. You’re just sneaking away from the arguments in the CC, aren’t you.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it, boss. Gates out.”

OOC:

Enemy contact has been confirmed: the advance force has dropped off the grid. Get armed and armored up, and we’ll be on our way to Tissyli soon.

Anival felt like punching the medic who kept whimpering about the necessary data to who knew what. Instead he made his way to the barracks, along with the rest of the squad. He pushed through bodies to get in the shower as quickly as possible. The cold water helped to relieve some of the weeks stress.  He was in the middle of applying shampoo when he heard rapping on the door.

“Hurry it up, we have to move, you heard Gates.”

Anival cursed loudly, he wasn’t even done showering. He finished rinsing off all the soap and shampoo, and stepped out of the fresher a towel the only thing covering the giblets. A quick pat dry later, he was jumping into his boxers, the under-mesh, and then the special armor. He was still aching from the long time spent with his new squad. Anival jogged to the mess hall and grabbed a few things before heading out to the armory. Pointing and grunting to the quartermaster got him his load out, and his stomach got its meal.

He met everyone back in the barracks, most were dressed, and some were still putting on the harder parts of the armor.

“From a family vacation to another. Right guys?” He said, grinning at everyone. He knew they were probably sick of him telling a Hutt and a Mandalorain walk into a bar jokes, but none the less he was determined to keep the squad in good spirits.  Dusk did a head count and sent them to the hangars. The clicking boots of a well oiled squad was intimidating, and even the pitter-patter of half-dressed troopers still instilled fear, even if it also instilled laughter. Still he held his chin high, proud to be a trooper. His scope armor was the same, the scorch mark from the hit he had taken was nearly invisible.

They arrived at the hangar ready for the grinder.

Therex shifted, taking care not to disturb the weight across the top of himself, his 6’6” frame causing the cot to bend and creak under him. Looking across the “cell”, he saw Skarr and Dusk talking with Garyll.

“Uh-oh,” Therex mumbled, straining to listen past the snores of the other people.

“What?”

Smiling, Therex abandoned his eavesdropping and looked down his chest where Terre was laying on top of him. Using one free hand, he stroked her hair. She yawned and pressed her scalp into his hand, smiling.

“I think we’re getting out,” he said, letting her greasy hair run through his fingers. Two weeks with only disinfectant showers was paying its toll.

“Isn’t that good,” she asked, rubbing her eyes and stretching out on his bare, blue chest.

“Of course,” he said, returning his focus to the conversation across the room which appeared to be wrapping up. “But it sounds like trouble.”

Terre rolled off of him and sat on the edge of the cot, stretching out completely. Sitting up himself, Therex swung both legs off the bed, and replaced the power pack in his prosthesis with a larger capacity one that had been charging all night. As the synth-flesh closed over the slot, Therex saw Skarr approaching. Poking Terre in the ribs, he motioned towads their SL.

“Head’s up.”

As Skarr rallied his troops and directed them to follow MPs, Therex grabbed his shirt, and covered his scarred and marked back. As the doors opened, Therex was hit with a blast of fresh air. It still smelled of the sterile environment of a hospital, but it was still a welcome change. Throwing Terre a quick wink as they parted ways, Therex approached a somewhat jumpy MP. Therex smiled at him, and followed him over to a hospital bed. Once there, a medic did one final check-up on him, and gave him a clean bill of health.

His next stop was a shower. His escort waited outside as he stripped down and jumped into the scalding stream. The heat was intense, but at the same time, it was the best thing he’d felt in the past couple weeks. After he was cleaned up, and had changed into a temporary change of clothes, he approached his final stop, the armory.

The rest of the squad was already there, including Terre. Walking over to her, he ran his hand through her hair again.

“Much better.”

She scowled at him playfully, and started gathering her gear. Therex moved down several racks to his own stuff. He started by changing into the undersuit for his armor. The thin material felt like home. Sighing contentedly, he started piecing the armor on, leaving the helmet off for now. Opening a footlocker, he removed his personal effects. Donning his trench coat, he smiled as it still fit loosely over his armor. Slinging an A280 rifle over his shoulder, he also placed his custom revolver in a belt holster. His last piece of equipment was the most vital. His medic’s satchel fit over his armor a little snug, but Therex adjusted the strap and rolled his shoulders as every piece of armor settled.

Looking over to Terre, who was also fully equipped and ready to go, he nodded at her. She walked over and hand-in-hand they entered into the hangar bay to await their orders.

When the squads had been informed of the quarantine, Jacen was pissed off. When they took his supped-up arm, he was ready to kill someone. He was given a cheaper and flimsier arm so he would still be able to function. But with the obvious disadvantage, Dusk opted out of the competitions; although, he did enjoy watching his new ASL get knocked on his ass a few times. Luckily for him, and unlike most of the others, Dusk had only grown a patchy beard which could easily be shaved off, once they were released. As the SL sat on his cot fiddling with his arm, Gates' voice came on over the comms. With a quick glance at Skarr, the two went to receive word of their release.

The troopers quickly rushed out the door and were escorted to final check-ups and showers. After the brief once-over, Jacen wrestled his arm from the medic and turned over the replacement. Catching up with his ASL, he re-attached his arm. "So, Moxxie, I'm trusting you with this position. We're the only RAIDERS vets left. Don't let me down."

"I wont." Mox replied jogging to the showers.

Shedding his white hospital grab, he stepped into the cool shower and cleaned all the disinfectant from his body. After quickly shaving, he slipped into his body sock and went to get suited up. Opening his armor locker, he was disappointed to see his old armor wasn't there and that it had been replaced by new bio-suits. All black, except the crimson stripe down the helmet and the arms. Suiting up, he clipped his SL pauldron to his shoulder and his helmet to his belt. He grabbed his E-33's and Bullstopper and headed for the transport.

He waited outside, beside the boarding ramp, with a cigar in his mouth. After about 15 minutes, everyone was accounted for and on the transport. Skarr and Dusk sat down opposite each other, closest to the ramp. The pilot's voice came over the intercom. "Our ETA for Tissyli is 40 minutes."

Sharp had been so relieved to be heading back or at least she was until the squads were quarantined. They had been forced into a small room and stuck with cots that were as hard as plastoid armor. During her time in quarantine she stayed away from the competitions and only got off her cot when the medics needed to look at her. She still didn't like showing her scar although with the medics she didn't have much choice.

She was overjoyed to hear when it was time to leave quarantine. She almost screamed like a little girl when the medics let them out to get showers. She kept to the back of the group but still got a quick shower and rushed after the squad.  When they got to the barracks she quickly got on her mesh and followed by her armor. She walked after her squad mates and grabbed a rifle. She let it rest in her hands as it eased the stress away from being cramped in quarantine. She then headed to the hangar and got into the ship and sat down waiting. She tapped her foot awaiting take off.

When the ship began taking off Sharp took off her helmet and flipped it in her hands and looked down into the seeing port on the front of the helmet. Sharp looked up at Mox and Dusk as they sat together. She had forgotten to congratulate the new ASL. She would have to do it when they hit planet side.

On the way back Crimson had asked Dusk if he could keep the E45 he had found on the last mission. Dusk had said that it would be fine. This made Crimson have an idea for what he would do when he got back. Hit up the shooting range to practice his skill with a gun, or at least that was the plan. It never happened because the moment the hit ground they were forced into quarantine. Crimson hated it especially when he had to take his cybernetic eye out. Slowly it happened although he would have to reassemble it when he got it back. Although he hated  his bunk mate as well. If Anival would have said one more  a Hutt and a Mandalorain walk into a bar joke, Crimson would have tried to knock him out. He was a Mandalorain and his old friend was a Hutt.  Crimson was so relieved when he heard Commander Gates. They were released and every one except a few burst from where they were to get to the shower. Crimson raced to get a shower and got a quick one. He then raced to get some under garments on. When he was somewhat dressed he tracked down the medics and ripped the pieces to his eye from their hands. He put on some mesh and walked to the barracks. As he did he assembled his eye and put it in it's place. Now he could see clearly again and so he ran to the Armory and grabbed his new E45 and his vibrosword. After getting his weapons he walked to the barracks and put on the new armor.

He stretched the armor bending to match him. He then followed his squad mates out and to the hangar.  When he was in the hangar he realized his E45 hadn't any Ammunition in it. He grabbed a clip from his pocket and flipped it and jammed it into the slot. He was ready for combat now. Crimson walked into the transport and  Sat down in a chair. He grabbed his datapad and looked at Mox's information. He didn't find much that mattered to him so he left it be and put the datapad away. He looked around at the other Raiders wondering who would be the first to fire.  At that moment the pilot chimed in "Our ETA for Tissyli is 40 minutes,". Crimson sighed and Rested back in his armor as the ship left the hangar. There they all sat confined like they were in quarantine. Everyone knew that they were all just sitting through the calm before the storm. The moment they would hit planet side they would begin preparation for combat. Luckily it wouldn't be much longer.  "Won't be long now." Crimson said to himself.

“Iss that it?” Khalldryn asked of the field ordnance. He had pulled the heavy crate down from the shuttle on his own and placed it next to the sled. As the small mortar was assembled on the back of the sled he was somewhat disappointed by its size.

“Yup,” grunted one of the soldiers from an engineering regiment who had joined them to set up the weaponry.

“But the commander...he said ordnance?” Khalldryn asked again.

“You're moving into position five hundred metres from the enemy. Your smallest indirect fire field gun has a minimum range far, far longer,” grunted one of the two engineers who were quickly clamping the weapon down to the sled.

“So you get a small mortar,” one of them added with a hint of a smile.

“Why not just mount it on the lizard?” the other replied. The hints of smiles had turned into grins. Khalldryn hissed a warning, drawing himself up to his full height and standing over the engineers. He was used to spending time in confined dark caves, but even his patience had been tested during quarantine.

“Are we good to go?” Skarr asked approaching the group.

“All set sir,” one of the engineers replied. “The mortar is clamped to the sled, just set her down at the firing location so there's no setting up at the other end.”

“She's self loading,” the other added. “Two choices on ammo, the 142 is a high yield round with a 10 metre radius. The 160 is shrapnel loaded with a forty metre radius.”

“We've fitted the Raider's squads out with laser guidance units. All you have to do once you've set the sled down is turn her on, load the rounds you want. Its automatically fed atmospheric conditions so once Raiders have marked a target it will lock on you just and push the button to fire.” The engineer handed over a small control mechanism.

“Simple enough,” Skarr replied.

“Try not to break it.” the engineer replied curtly before returning to the shuttle.

“Annoying, small men,” Khalldryn said out loud as they walked away.

“Right, everyone on the speeder!” Skarr ordered. “The terrain is flat so keep your eyes peeled, they could take pot shots from a kilometres out if we're spotted. As Raiders head straight on we're going to pull around to the east around a small hill so they can't return fire on the mortar once we start shooting.”

Khalldryn kept his fletchette launcher strapped across his back as he leapt up into the speeder. This kind of terrain didn't suit his up close skill set. He adjusted the scope on his E45 and found a position on the edge of the speeder to look out from.

“I've got nine to eleven o'clock,” Jamasis explained as he settled down next to him. With one arm he gesticulated to the area he would watch. “You scan seven to nine. Barabel's got good eyes?”

“Yes,” Khalldryn replied as the speeder's repulsors whined into life.

"So what are they doing, poisoning out crops?" Jamasis asked quietly into his comm as they sped onwards.

"If they are," Khalldryn replied, "then they must have plans to launch something into the atmosphere, or are using something that the crops will spread in airborne seed. That or it is a test,"

"Why do you say that?"

"Because there are one million two hundred and seventy five thousand square kilometres of farm land on this planet. If they are going to take our arable land one farm at a time, it will take them a very long time," Khalldryn had learned how to use inflection in galactic basic a long time ago.

"Why...just why do you remember facts like that?"

"I was not a Barabel hunter before coming here, like everyone seems to assume. I was a skilled tradesman and negotiator for my clan. Remembering all the facts was necessary!"

Jamasis lifted his rifle towards the incoming speeders and leaned heavily on the edge of the vehicle. It was either sticking his head this far out, and putting himself in greater danger, or risk hitting the rest of the squad in front of him. Getting shot in the head was certainly bad for your health, but making an enemy of a SCOPE squad could be much more painful. He aimed towards the nearest speeder and pulled the trigger three times, the first shot missing the target and the following two bolts glancing of the thick durasteel.

Why is nothing ever that easy... Jamasis complained inwardly. His eyes scanned the modified vehicles and tried to formulate a plan. The additional armouring was clearly makeshift but covered the majority of the machine itself. Whoever they were fighting certainly knew enough about military equipment. However the driver himself was partially exposed, the roll cage and E-Web combination offering limited protection to the head in particular.

He took in a deep breath and steadied himself, aimed down his sights and began to squeeze the trigger. Drexhel suddenly pulled the speeder sled to the left, narrowly avoiding another missile and almost throwing Jamasis from the vehicle. He managed to stay inside, but was then jolted to the floor as the speeder pulled back to the right.

Jamasis was temporarily disorientated, the sounds of blaster fire and the rocking of the speeder bringing him back to earth. He was feeling for his rifle when Khalldryn roughly pulled him back onto the seat. Jamasis nodded a thanks before seeing his weapon lying on the floor and picking it back up. He looked ahead in time to see a grenade explode immediately in front of one of the incoming speeders, throwing it back on itself and crushing the driver. The wreck quickly passed into the distance as he brought his rifle back up to his shoulder and took aim again. The nearest speeder weaved back and forth, Jamasis following with his gun and pulling the trigger twice; one shot clipped the roll cage and the other hit the driver in the shoulder. The driver threw the speeder into an abrupt turn, almost colliding with the his two comrades before the vehicle flipped and destroyed itself.

“Two speeders left,” commented Skarr through the comm.

“Nice counting there,” replied Jamasis. He aimed back down his sights and fired another flurry of shots in the direction of the enemy vehicles.

Agathius nearly fell off the speeder as a missile whizzed by. He cried out, barely keeping his grasp upon the squad's speeder. But with the help of Khalldryn, he was able to bring himself back to a stable position. He surveyed his surroundings and eyed the four speeders that were pursuing them.

He pressed the end of his rifle against his chest and lined up his left eye with the iron sights. He took several potshots at the oncoming speeders. But due to the high speeds of the pursuit, they failed to hit their targets. He cursed and resigned himself to the safety of cover. There was little he could do at this point. He had came into this battle with only small arms, which had little use as of this moment. The thick hulls of the rival speeders could easily absorb any of his shots.

He took several shots at one of the speeder's operators. His torrent of fire barely missed the driver. He swerved in an attempt to avoid his fire, but that would be futile for what was coming next. The rival speeder took a direct hit from a grenade launcher, engulfing the vehicle and its occupants in flames. Agathius took another moment to analyze the situation, the enemy was down to three speeders now.

Another speeder neared them, but it was quickly disabled by several well placed shots from Jamasis. His fire struck the driver and caused it to spiral out of control.

"Nice Shot!" Agathius yelled over the roar of the battle.

Their pursuers were now down to two speeders. One of them came dangerously close to the squad. Drexhel took evasive maneuvers in an attempt to shake off their attackers. The entire vehicle swayed, nearly throwing off Agathius once more. Another missile approached them, the vehicle lurched and the missile struck the ground, sending chunks of soil flying upwards.

Agathius now had the enemy speeder in full view. With the opportunity present, Agathius opened fire upon the speeder's cockpit. A volley of blaster bolts went into the pilot's direction. The majority of the bolts harmlessly struck the armored portions of the vehicle, but one landed itself in the skull of the vehicle's operator. The pilot's body lurched forward onto the vehicle's controls, causing the speeder to lodge itself into the ground.

"Just one more!" Agathius yelled into his comlink.

Terre leaned heavily on the side of the speeder, her heart pounding. All the adrenaline her body could produce was coursing through her blood stream, making her hyper-sensitive to sound and sight. It was giving her a headache. She couldn't think. She heard Skarr indistinctly speaking to Jamasis, something about the missiles. She stared at her lap, breathing slowly, trying to calm down. The missile fire was awful. The impact of the missiles that missed(which, thankfully, they did-chalk it up to the "Stormtrooper Effect") made a massive explosion that rocked their speeder. Therex stood and fired his Pup at a speeder. Terre heard him yelling something over the thundering fire.
Turning to her own side, she braced her T-21 against her shoulder, reacquainting herself with it after several months. The gun bucked against her shoulder as she fired a potshot at a nearby speeder. Agathius took out the speeder Therex had just fired at and reported thusly. Terre glanced over her shoulder at Therex, who grinned at her. She nodded, a confirmation.

Before she could turn around, she heard a whine as another missile was ejected from the remaining speeder's turret. She smiled sadly at Therex, then closed her eyes. The explosion jolted the speeder and sent her flying, dropping her weapon to the floor so she would be thrown clear. She heard soft yelling and the engines choking for a moment, then remaining steady and continuing on. She hit turf hard, her helmet flying, and lay there, limbs akimbo, trying to remember how to breathe. Finally, she coughed and began to move. She got into a sitting position and began removing broken pieces of armor. Her helmet was dented, but probably fixable. Her backplate was cracked up the middle and her left shin guard had been obliterated. Her codpiece was stabbing  her in a way she didn't particularly appreciate, and she shifted to fix it. It worked, mostly. Fairly satisfied, she pulled out her comlink to report, but found it smashed. With a soft growl, she decided to take closer inventory of her injuries. Her leg was hurting again, the same one she'd hurt last mission. She peeled the armor away and instantly smelled that sweet, sticky, metallic scent of blood. Lots of it. Red and clinging to the armor, her bodysuit, her leg... Taking a deep breath, she took a closer look and saw a sharp piece of armor had dragged down her leg, cleaving it open. She carefully retrieved it, biting back tears, and tried to take deep breaths. She closed her eyes tight and succumbed to her cowardice, falling back into the grass, out cold.

OOC:

RAIDERS

“Are they approaching?” Dusk asked

“Yep…” Mox replied, hiding on some branches above his squad, and thus being able to see the enemy patrol clearly.

“Alright, RAIDERS, ready your weapons.”

As the group of enemies neared, Mox could clearly see that they were armed, as well as they were heading right into the RAIDERS ambush. The young slicer watched the group walk up to, and below him. It was obvious they didn’t have infrared, or any other sort of detection equipment: they were completely oblivious to RAIDERS’ presence. As the patrol moved below him, Dusk gave the order to attack. Immediately Mox jumped off the tree onto one of the troopers, his hidden vibroblades sliding out from his gaunglets and slicing right through the plastoid armor: one blade going into the man shoulder, and the other into his head. The momentum caused Mox to roll away from the dead soldier, his vibro blades sliding back into his gaunglets, lying on his back he unclipped his rifle and started firing at the rest of the patrol. The rest of RAIDERS were already shooting at the group. Those that didn’t drop dead from the first shot attempted to take some sort of cover, only to be quickly dispatched seconds later.

“Great work RAIDERS, they didn’t know what hit ‘em…” Dusk said as he walked towards the dead soldiers.

“They’re going to look for this patrol…” Mox said as he got up from the ground.

“Of course… we have to move quickly now.” Dusk walked up to one of dead soldiers, and after a quick search, he found a ComLink. “Keep note on their communications. Might give us an edge.” He ordered as he lobbed it over to Mox

“Of course.” Mox said as he took out his Datapad, and started hooking the ComLink up to it.

Turning on their infrared visors the squad started advancing again, Mox on the treetops to have a bigger view of their surroundings. The squad move quickly, practically running at some points, trying to close the distance between their landing area and the combat zone. The ComLink was a valuable asset, but it didn’t give that much information: apparently they were using multiple comm channels. Soon enough though a voice came through, asking for the patrol to report on their status. Mox knew that he couldn’t respond: there was no way he could impersonate any of them, considering he never heard any of combatants’ voices. Switching to his SL-ASL frequency the man warned Dusk that the enemy is aware of their presence. But just as they did, Sharp signalled them all to stop. Mox looked towards the combat zone, turning on his infrared.

There many heat signatures. If it was some random vid on the HoloNet, one might think it’s an insect infestation watched in infrared. Climbing up as high as he could, he attempted to count all the signatures, but he was unable to: there were so many.

“They’re clearly mobilized…” Anival’s voice came through the ComLink “And they seem organized. These aren’t your average thugs…”

Mox sat on a sturdy enough branch, near the top of the tree. Taking out his DC-17M, he switched to his sniper attachments and started scanning through the area.

“Alright, let’s get this party started.” Dusk said as he walked onto the border of the forest, the laser targeter in his hand. He turned on the device and pointed it at the enemy encampment “Alright, BlackJack should receive the coordinates. I guess we can do nothing but wait for them now…”

“Perhaps sniper practise?” Mox thought aloud, finding some stationary guards.

“No, no need to give away our position.” Dusk replied.

And so RAIDERS waited. Mox had no idea what took BlackJack so long, but he was sure that they would do their part. Otherwise the whole plan would go into oblivion.

BlackJack, what’s going on? Mox thought to himself as he kept scanning the area through the scope of the sniper attachment. Suddenly, just as Mox began fearing the worst, an explosion detonated right in the center of the enemy encampment, followed by many others, spread out around the area.

"Alright guys, ready up, we're going in." Dusk called out as he checked his ammo, and readied himself.

The squad waited for the explosions of the mortars hitting upon the ground to finish. After aiting a good minute after detonations stopped Dusk gave an order and RAIDERS exited the woods. Mox, still being in the tree tops, jumped out into the air and by using his Jump Boots he maneuvered down to the ground, making his landing safe enough not to break any bones. Having already changed his attachment to blaster, he caught up with the rest of the squad and soon enough they were in the burned, ruined and cratered area. So much destruction... noone could've survived that. he thought to himself, but immediately he caught movement in one of the collapsed buildings.

"Contact." he muttered into the ComLink

"Fire at will" Dusk ordered, as he spotted his own target and opened fire. Mox moved the sights up to his visors and gave away a few shots.

"This shouldn't take long: not a lot of people could've survived this." Crimson-Nexus spoke out, as the squad reached the center of the now-destroyed encampment.

"Alright, let split into a two and a three. Me, Sharp and Crimson will cover the west side. Anival and Mox, you go east." Dusk ordered "BlackJack should be here soon enough, but don't take unneeded risks."

OOC:

WC: 921
Coordinates sent, explosions happened, and now RAIDERS are splitting up from the center of the now destroyed encampment.

Skarr stared after Therex, fuming. He was just as worried about Terre as Therex, but the Chiss had done the one thing Skarr had feared. His emotions for Terre convinced him to do something stupid. The last speeder was still chasing after them. Several members of the squad fired upon the driver. An explosion tipped the speeder over, Jamasis had thrown a grenade. The soldier’s aim impressed Skarr immensely.

“Drex, turn around. We need to pick up Terre.” Skarr ordered. The ASL nodded his head and maneuvered the speeder to turn back. Once they had spotted the two soldiers, Drexhel slowed down enough for Agathius to swing the two up onto the speeder. The speeder moved back in the direction of the hill. The squad was silent for the rest of the trip. The hill grew ever closer and Skarr began the orders to be prepared.

As they slid up to the hill, Skarr’s boots had already hit the ground. The sled was detached and dragged to where the hill was just beginning to slope. The ordinance was moved off of the sled and placed off to the side. The squad loaded up on the heavier weapons. Therex had moved Terre off to the side and was checking up on her.

Skarr handed the detonator for the mortar to Drexhel, “You like explosions and shit, when the coordinates lock, fire the mortar.”

“Norith, leave it be,” Drex said.

“Don’t.” Skarr warned before he stalked over to Therex. “Will she be okay?”

The Chiss had taken off his helmet and the look of concern was evident. “A little groggy, but she’ll be fine.”

The squad leader nodded, “Replace your helmet, soldier.” Therex looked slightly confused, but did as he was told. No doubt to avoid trouble with Skarr. The helmet’s seals hissed as they locked into place and the air scrubbers enabled. The sound of plasteel on plasteel cracked throughout the small field they sat in. Therex was on the ground from the force of the punch. Skarr reached down and grabbed the Chiss by the breastplate. He drove a knee into the Chiss’s stomach.

The first of the mortars began firing as Skarr brought his fist to Therex’s helmet again. He wouldn’t be seriously hurt, Skarr knew, just dazed from all the hits. Rex was on the ground again and Skarr drove a boot into his side.
“I should have you court martialed you son of a bitch,” Skarr spat, “You do not disobey a direct order. Anything could have happened to you and I would have lost two soldiers. You know who I am!”

An accusatory finger stabbed out towards the Chiss, “I would have found some way to get her! We were in the middle of combat, you didn’t have to jump off the damned speeder!” He drove his boot into Therex’s side again to make his point. “I’ve let you two play out this little love affair you’ve got going because I thought you were professional enough to keep your emotions out of it. It sounds like I was wrong.” He turned away from Rex and made his way back to the sled, which was still firing the barrage of mortars.

“Was that necessary, Norith?” Drexhel asked.

Skarr sighed wearily and turned to his old friend, “Those two are some of the best soldiers I have ever seen. And they are two of my dearest friends. That was necessary, but only because I need Therex to remember we have a duty. He has very strong feelings for that girl, but he lets it affect his judgement.”

Drex clapped a hand on Skarr’s shoulder, jarring the squad leader slightly, “And you wouldn’t have jumped off that speeder to save Terre? You haven’t been the same lately. What’s the change?”

Norith brought his hand up to grab the bridge of his nose before realizing he had his helmet on still. “There have been too many close calls. This squad is my family. Tadath is my home. There are people threatening both right now. I’ve worked too hard for both to lose them right now. Yes, I would have jumped off the speeder to save Terre. That would be a risk I would take.”

The two of them broke off their conversation as Jamasis ran up to them hurriedly. “We have enemies approaching. I guess they pinpointed the mortars. We have to set up defensive positions now!” Skarr glanced over at Drexhel and nodded. They both started ordering the squad to take positions around the hill and field.

‘Isn’t this just marvellous, you leave one bunch of psychopaths and you end up with another bunch. I suppose in order to get into this Platoon you have to have had some kind of problematic childhood and an urge to constantly kill all those around you. We are all in a great deal of trouble if you are the most mentally stable person here.’

Since joining the squad just a little while ago, although it felt as though years had passed, Karash had deliberately avoided having too much contact with his squad mates. He needed to work out precisely what kind of people they were and he had come to the conclusion that they were no different from the RAIDERS. They were an odd group of misfits that all had some deep psychological torment and were using the army as a substitute family.

Usually Karash made it his businesses to comment on every single decision or action taken by the squad however he had stopped himself from doing so recently. For years Havock had put up with his pessimistic and often insubordinate rants, Jae had simply ignored them but he was unsure of how Skarr would react. For time being at least it was easier just to let things happen rather than let his feelings be known, though that was becoming increasingly difficult. He had never agreed with relationships between squad members, Karash had seen several of them and they all went sour in the end. These issues would have to wait as there were more pressing problems at hand.

“I suppose it would be too much to ask for something to go smoothly for once?” Karash asked not expecting an answer.

“Now where would the fun be in that?” Drex replied jovially.

There was no time for Karash to retort as a volley of shots narrowly missed a few members of the squad. It was difficult to tell how many they were up against but there more than enough to potentially cause some trouble. Karash and the rest of Blackjack returned fire but it did not seem to make any difference. The two groups were locked in a sort of stalemate, just firing at one another in vain and hoping that someone would eventually get hit. Both groups knew that somebody would have to move soon however they also knew that any sort of movement would probably result in being filled with holes. 

“I suppose we are just going to sit here and wait to run out of ammo or die of starvation, whichever comes first?” Karash shouted over the noise of battle.

“I don’t see you coming up with any bright ideas?”

“I was not aware that it was my job!” Karash spat out his reply.

“Shut the hell up you two.” Skarr ordered, “Now, has anybody got an idea?”

A stray bolt passed by, grazing Agathius' armor. He dived downwards, into the protection of the nearby trees and foilage. Several more shots rang out and soon, the squad found themselves locked in an exchange with a rival group. Agathius moved his head slowly out of cover in an attempt to survey the situation. But every time he did this a volley of blaster fire went into his direction. He kept his body adherent to the floor, unwilling to take the risk again.

After a while, he became curious as to the size of the enemy force. He gently pushed some shrubbery aside and was able to peer out of his cover. He kept himself still, trying his hardest to not attract enemy attention once more. He looked out into the distance at the hostile positions. They were well entrenched and protected, using the environment to their advantage. But it was the same for them as well. As of now, the two sides were simply exchanging suppressive fire.

He was trying to formulate a plan in his head. Simply firing back wasn't going to get them anywhere. Time was limited, they had to get through this soon.

“Shut the hell up you two. Now, has anybody got an idea?” said Skarr over Comlink.

He thought something over for a moment.

"Hey Skarr, why not chuck a few grenades at them?"

Skarr pondered this over for a little while and then announced his approval. Agathius took a second to approximate the distance between him and the enemy force. It was a fairly large stretch, he realized that he probably couldn't strike them from this distance. He took the initiative and darted out from his cover. Already, several blaster shots came by. He was highly exposed, standing out in the open with no cover. But he kept running, in a serpentine pattern now. He eyed another tree not too far and dove by it.

The enemy kept their suppressive fire upon him, blaster bolts struck in and around the tree. He reached around for the grenades tucked deep within his pouch. He retrieved one and fumbled around with it, struggling to keep his calm under the pressure of battle.

He moved his head out just a tad bit, just enough to see the nearby enemy entrenchment. He ripped the pin off and held it in his hands for two seconds. He exposed himself for a moment and hurled it into the enemy positions. The grenade landed in the dead center of an enemy fireteam. Having "cooked" the grenade, the enemy fireteam had only a moment to react. They tried to disperse, but the grenade detonated seconds later, eliminating the four man team.

Suddenly he felt disturbed. He realized that he was becoming increasingly indifferent to killing. The strong moral restraint that had once prevented him from killing was beginning to thin. He feared that he was becoming like the others. Cold, calculating killers. But he tried to reassure himself, thinking that what he was doing would be for the greater good. And he realized that he was foolish to think that he could serve in the military without killing.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard something land nearby. He looked to the side, suddenly realizing that an enemy grenade had been tossed at him. He only had a moment to think and he chose to kick it away. It rolled on the field for a few moments before detonating.

The explosion hit him with great force. Although his armor absorbed some of the impact, he could feel his flesh and bones smash against the pressure. He was on the ground now, wriggling around in pain. He could already feel fresh blood beginning to pool onto his skin. He began to panic, fearing that the shrapnel had penetrated his armor. He tried to bring himself up, but the pain was too strong. He began to faintly call for a medic over his Comlink.

Agathius continued to echo his cries, desperately waiting to be rescued. The pain was growing intolerable, it was becoming a struggle just to move his lips.

He was soon relieved to see the sight of two figures coming down the hill. One was massive, a figure that towered above all the others. It was Khalldryn. The Barabel that had saved his life earlier was coming for him again. He tried to make out the second figure, but the pain proved to be too much. He closed his eyes and clenched his fists, wanting to rip out the ground beneath him.

The two figures came closer, he could hear the pounding of their footsteps now. He had to just hold on for a few more seconds, his salvation was nearing.

"It's okay, I just got the wind knocked out of me. I just need a hand" said Agathius

"I think you're in much worse shape than that" muttered Jamasis.

Jamasis lifted him up, hoisting his body upon his shoulder. Khalldryn went in front of the two, using his gargantuan body to shield them against the onslaught of blaster fire. The trio then began their trek back up the hill. The hostile forces focused their attention upon them. Most of the blaster fire now was being hurled at them. The trek back to the hill would be a treacherous one. They were highly exposed, with no cover. Despite his growing weakness, Agathius was able to raise his left arm and fire a few shots from his E-11.

By sheer luck, the three were able to make it back up the hill relatively unschathed. Jamasis rested Agathius against the field to allow Therex to treat him. The medic tried his best to reassure him as he treated his wounds and injected him with painkillers. He felt substantially better now, and was now able to get back on his feet.

Skarr was greatly displeased by his recklessness, disciplining him over Comlink. But he managed to tune it out, at that point he was simply grateful to be alive.

The firefight was now beginning to sway in their favor. Their superior firepower was on full display, as combined squad fire had managed to take down another four hostiles. Four hostiles remained. They were now beginning to realize the futility of this battle. Having lost nearly all of their strength, the surviving hostiles began a hasty retreat back into the dense forest.