Several sirens blared as he awoke from a slumber. "How long have I been out?" he asked out loud, to no one but himself. He looked around, and saw the familiar insides of The Family Station Wagon. "Wait....what happened to being on the Griffen?" He slowly wondered, jumping out of bed and seeing what the matter was with his personal pilot droid. "Astro, what seems to be the problem?" Liquid asked as he stepped into the cockpit. A few series of small beeps and blips were heard as the Dark Jedi turned his head towards the display. Somehow, they were pulled out of hyperspace by someone, some thing. Sweat poured down his head as he realized it was an Interdictor class Star Destroyer, the only thing that could pull his ship from the depths of hyperspace. "Astro, unplug and go in the back, things could get ugly." The young man said as he took the controls from the droid. Droids were great and all for taking the helm during hyperspace while you caught some sleep, but they were worthless in battle. No matter how many simulations he had ran the little guy through, he still couldn't elude turbo-laser fire.

Sweat poured down his face as he tried to make a jump back into hyperspace, but knew that he couldn't because of that damned starcruiser. "Sithspawn.....how in the world am I gonna get myself out of this one?" He asked himself, slowly realizing he might have to turn himself in. Luckily, he was already broadcasting a different ship code than his ship actually was, so he had no problems with being identified. Suddenly, a voice came over the comm.

"We've been waiting for you. Prepare to be boarded."

"Over my dead body!" Liquid exclaimed, checking to make sure his lightsaber was by his side.

"That can be arranged."

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

He awoke suddenly, with sweat pouring from his forehead, he checked his surroundings, and quickly realized that he was back aboard the Griffen. Wiping his forehead, he realized that it was another Dark Side induced dream, and that he really shouldn't worry about it. But, as with every dream that a Jedi of any sort had, it could be a glimpse into the future. He decided that just in case that may happen, he should have a few more surprises in stock the next time he got access to his ship.

Picking up his datapad, he accessed his todo list. He put "Modify the wagon" on it, and left it on the table as he grabbed his saber and walked out the door, wondering who he would be killing or get killed by next.
 
-----------------------
Dark Jedi Knight of the Dark Jedi Order
First Lieutenant of the Vast Empire Navy

ph34red by many

are you man enough?

A gentle breeze swept through the courtyard in the middle of the Gael estate on Lotaith.  The breeze billowed Skylla's skirt to one side and tugged a strand of hair out from behind her ear.  The young woman tilted her head back and looked into the sky.  Above her, a battle scarred Star Destroyer hung in space, well beyond the clouds.  Not more than an hour ago, that same ship was in a battle for its life.  Skylla jumped as two hands eased their way onto her shoulders.  Male hands, she felt with her left hand.  "Dad," she laughed, "you scared the-"  Her look of annoyance changed to one of joy as she turned to face Talon.  "Sierra!" she yelled as she threw her arms around his neck.

Talon looked down at Skylla as he wrapped his arms around her.  "I came as soon as I could, Sky.  You know how traffic is." he said softly with a wry grin.  He hid the sigh of relief at seeing her safe.  He knew that no fighters had made it past the planetary shields and Golan platforms to take strafing runs at the surface, but he still worried.

A blaster pistol flew past Talon's head at blinding speed and slammed into a statue, chipping the stone and crushing the weapon.  Talon turned to see a confused Moff Gael shifting his stare from his hand that he clutched and the blaster on the ground.  Talon had noticed the weapon aimed at him late, having been distracted by Skylla, and chose to disarm without question.  "Who.. who are you?" the Moff finally sputtered, still stupefied.

"Daddy," Skylla said, "this is Sierra.  Remember I told you about him?"  She grabbed Talon's hand and dragged him closer to her father so the two could meet properly.

Talon put on a smile and extended his hand.  "Glad to meet you, Moff Gael.  Sierra Taurus." he said as he shook the pistol-less hand.

Gael's mouth fell open and a look of sheer terror fell over his face.  "High General Taurus?" he asked in a hoarse whisper.  It wasn't until the introduction that Gael recognized Talon as the Grand Master of the Dark Jedi Order.  From the rumors he had hear, the Moff was lucky to still have his life after pulling a blaster on Talon.  This is the man his daughter was seeing?  'Oh god, what has she done?' he thought.

"Yes, sir." Talon replied, holding his smile.  "Though I'm not in uniform, so I try to feel out my civilian side as much as possible."  There was a lot of truth behind Talon's words, as all he wanted was to spend some time with Skylla.  Little else mattered.  Talon didn't even care to calm down the Moff who still looked like he was staring down the barrel of a T-21 repeating blaster.

Skylla stepped forward and put her hands on her father's shoulders.  Coming to her toes, Skylla kissed Gael on the cheek and said, "We've got to run, daddy.  I'll send a message to keep you updated in a couple of days, ok?"  Skylla grabbed Talon's hand again and started to drag him off before her father could answer.

"Uhhh.. ok." the Moff said weakly.  He watched as the two left the courtyard.  Before exiting, Talon turned back and waved slightly.  Gael staggered for a moment before dropping to his knees.  He recalled the reports of when the Dark Jedi Order couldn't quite maintain their secrecy.  More than a few showed in detail the brutality that Dark Jedi Master Talon could show.  'Relax, Gael.  I'm not after you.' a voice in his head whispered.. a voice not his own.  He looked over at the crushed pistol on the ground.  It appeared to have a palm print in the bends.

*  *  *

Back aboard the Griffen, the ramp to the Shadow lowered and Talon descended it with his arm around Skylla.  There was a smile on his lips, something no one aboard the ship had seen for days.  A datapad was handed to Talon as he reached the bottom of the ramp and the crewman that passed it off quickly disappeared.

Also waiting at the bottom was Lord Darkhawk.  He had his helmet resting on his hip, cradled in his arm.  He smiled as Skylla made eye contact with him.  'A word in private, please.' Darkhawk projected through the Force.

"I'm off duty until lunch tomorrow." Talon said aloud.  He was making a point of being no one but Skylla's Sierra.  The two walked past Darkhawk and headed for the turbolift.

'Cosmic left.  He's on Lotaith.'

'Then he has until lunch tomorrow to return or we leave without him.'
 
-----------------------
OO/HG Sierra "Talon" Taurus/HC-3/VEHC/VE[BC][IOC][LoC][SoS][BM][CDS][MSM]
GM-SL/DJM "Nightblades"/DC-1/Elite Griffen Sect/VSD-II Griffen/VEDJ/VE[IOC][OQD][WoS 2nd Class]
-----------------------
SCAP/COM Vincent "Claw" Taurus/ISD Nemesis/Offensive Fleet/VEN[=A=][LoM][IOC][IC2]
CEO Vincent "Claw" Taurus/ECHC-1/Endoven/Dome 8473/VEEC/VE

Amidst the darkness that he was falling deeper into, he saw many familiar faces: Talon, Trigit, DarkHawk, Liquid, and several more faces floated past him. A sudden flash of blinding light erupted out of nowhere, and he found himself standing in a large dark hallway. Several young people in white robes walked down the hall towards him with datapads in their hands. They gave him a formal bow before walking past him, talking amongst themselves about the lastest information they had learned.

I know this place.

Another flash of light brought him to the interior of a strange ship.

No... not strange. I know this ship... the Spire.

A man whom he had always known as 'Trigit' was standing next to him, looking at him strangely. Cosmic looked at the man with confusion. Memories were beginning to flood back into his mind and fall into place. Another explosion of blinding light forced him into an awkward situation. He felt a lot less powerful than he did before. He turned around just in time to see a Dark Jedi plunge his lightsaber into his shoulder.

Riel...

----------

Cosmic raised a hand to shield his eyes from the beam of light that was protruding through a nearby window. It was dawn.

I slept through the night?

Cosmic pushed himself into a sitting position and swung his feet over the side of the couch. He looked around the morning-lit room and found that he was alone; not totally alone, however, because he had sensed another presence in a nearby room - Jen's presence. She was sleeping. Cosmic arched his back in a stretch before getting up and searching for a clock. He found one on a nearby wall. It was 0700. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before making his way into the kitchen to make some coffee.

Jen woke at the sound of her coffee machine brewing to life. She wore a small tank-top that revealed her abdomen, and a pair of high-cut shorts. She slid out of bed and cracked her neck. She was about to turn the corner from her bedroom into the living room, but was greeted by a white cup of hot coffee.

"Thanks."

Cosmic grinned slightly, "I slept through the night... something I haven't done in the past couple days."

"Told you," said Jen, who then took a sip of her coffee. "No demons in this house."

Cosmic motioned towards the couch, and the two sat down. Jen took another sip of her coffee, and Cosmic looked over at her.

Wow, he thought. The lighting in the room, the beams of light penetrating through the windows and looming into the room created an amazing visual affect, especially with Jen who looked absolutely beautiful. He forced all thoughts aside and clasped his hands together; his forearms resting on his knees.

"I need to ask you something."

Jen nodded, "Go ahead."

Cosmic paused for a moment, trying to collect his thoughts together. Finally, he looked back up at her, "Why? Why did last night feel so much different than before... why did I feel that you felt different?"

Jen didn't show any signs of surprise at the question. Either she was hiding it very well, or perhaps she was expecting it.

"Because," she started. She placed the cup of coffee on the glass coffee table in front of them, crossed her legs, and cupped her knee with her clasped hands. "I feel that I can... because my days of mourning are over." She paused for a moment before continuing, "What happened in the past can't be undone. There's nothing I can do to bring back Evan, and I've accepted that." She unclasped her legs and slid up next to Cosmic, placing her hands on top of his. "What I'm going to concentrate on now is the future." She looked at Cosmic and smiled, "Of course, there are many times when you're just a complete bastard, but I think I'm capable of handling that."

Cosmic chuckled. "I've always shown that I am attracted to you, and yet I haven't seen any mutual response from you, until now that is." He motioned down to his hands.

Jen nodded, "I know, and I'm sorry for not reciprocating earlier, but I have all the time in the world now."

Cosmic grinned and interlinked his fingers with hers, "As do I."

A frown formed on Jen's lips, and she shook her head. "No you don't." Cosmic could tell that she was having a little trouble trying to say what was right in her head. "I know what's going on, Cleric, and I don't need a reporter to tell me that. All I have to do is look up into the sky and see the Star Destroyers looming overhead. There's a war going on, and I know that you're in it."

Cosmic leaned back into the couch and stared up at the ceiling. "I don't have to be."

"As much I hate saying this, yes you do, Cleric. You're an Imperial Officer and a Dark Jedi. You have responsibilities that need to be tended to. You know I would accept this and go for it if I were in your position."

Cosmic's brow's creased at the word "Imperial Officer", but let it slide. It was just another fact that was going to eventually be remembered by him. "I know that I'm part of The Vast Empire; its Stormtrooper Corps and Dark Jedi Order, but I only remember parts of my past and present. Yes, more facts and memories rise from their dormant states and into activity again, but I'm traveling with people I don't currently know. They are familiar, but I'm with strangers." Cosmic turned to Jen who seemed to be understanding, "You're the only I truly know."

Jen knew of Cosmic's little history with Cleric Vor'soth, and was not surprised when she heard this. "It'll be fine, Cleric. You can always come back to me."

Cosmic pulled her in next to his chest and kissed her on the side of her head. "I wish you could come."

Jen chuckled, "And enjoy being in the middle of a war zone with the risk of dying in a Star Destroyer?"

Cosmic smiled, "It's not that bad once you get used to it."

She shook her head, "Like you, I have responsibilities of my own." She wrapped her right arm over his chest and closed her eyes. "I'll miss you."

Cosmic stroked her arm with his fingertips, "I won't be long." He looked up at the time and frowned. "It's nearly nine. I should be heading back."

Jen opened her eyes and grinned, "Not before we have our morning brandy."

----------

Once the Nigritude had settled down in the Griffen's hangar bay, the Krath leapt out from the pilot's seat and landed quietly on the reflective floor. He had begun to walk to the nearest exit, but stopped at a strange feeling. Someone else was aboard the ship; a Force sensitive user, and it wasn't one of the Dark Jedi he had previously met. He contemplated over the logic of the situation, and came to the conclusion that this new arrival must have been expected by the Order. The individual would otherwise be dead. Cosmic pulled the dark hood over his head, and his face was once again incased in shadow with two glowing red eyes being the only visible physical feature of a "face". He strode to the nearest automated door to head to the lounge; the 18-inch golden hilt dangling at his side.
 
-----------------------
Cleric "Cosmic" Vor'soth
CoT/HCL Cosmic/HCA-3/SL/3SQD/2PLT/1COMP/1BAT/Tadath/VEA/VE [OPE][OTH][OPA][EW1][CDS][IH][GS][LM][SoS][CoH][PoC][MSM][SCP][IOC][SoA]
-----------------------
Cleric "Cosmic" Vor'soth
SL/KPR Cosmic/Lion 1-1/Lopen/VEDJ/VE [VP][KC1][OAK]
-----------------------

  Darkhawk felt useless on the bridge. He wasn't the captain of this ship, nor was he the commander of the fleet. There wasn't even a fleet to speak of - it was just the Griffen. He wondered why Trigit and Riel didn't bring their personal capital ships along on these kinds of missions. That extra firepower is sure to come in handy sooner or later. Hell, we could have used it in the last fight.
  Talon was seated near the front of the room, beside Captain Jei. Ionazi Jei had been recommended to Talon to command the Griffen by his cousin, Commodore Claw. As far as Darkhawk could tell, Jei was doing a fine job.
  Which is why it's pointless for me to be here. He looked around to see if anyone was watching him. They weren't. Without saying a word, he slipped out the back of the room and headed toward the hangar.
  Several members of the Dark Jedi Order had been modifying their starfighters over the past few days, but Darkhawk didn't have any interest in following the trend. He had several ships in his possession, but he had brought along his favorite on this mission.
  It was a Cygnus Spaceworks Gamma-class XM-1 Missile Boat. He had never seen another starfighter like it. The ship had special meaning to him because it was one of the few links to his clouded past. He had been piloting the fighter when he had run into Riel all those months ago, and it had lasted him through several battles since then. Lately he had been keeping it grounded on Lopen, but he had decided to bring it along on this particular mission. Something told him that he would need the firepower before everything was done and over with.
  The missile boat was a splendid craft. It had Sublight Acceleration Motors equipped that, when activated, made it the fastest starfighter he knew of. Its normal sublight speed already rivaled that of the Alliance's A-Wing, and the missile boat could double its speed with the SLAMs activated. The only drawback was that the laser cannon didn't work with the SLAMs on.
  Still, it was a nice feature. The missile boat did only have the singular laser cannon, but it was a powerful gun. He had sometimes wished for an ion cannon, but had never taken the time to have one mounted. The main feature of the starfighter wasn't its guns, anyway.
  The missile boat had four weapons launchers and two separate -and large - weapons bays. He always kept the primary bay stocked with forty concussion missiles, quite a payload in any situation. The second bay he usually left open, but when needed could install thirty proton torpedos or twenty heavy rockets for even more damage. The missile boat on its own had the potential to take on a Star Destroyer head-to-head and survive. Especially with a Dark Jedi at the controls.
  He supposed that there were deadlier starfighters out there. A cloaked vessel, such as Talon's Krath Shadow would have the upper hand in a dogfight. Still, he felt much safer knowing he had the missile boat around if he was going to have to do any space combat.
  Suddenly, the thought entered his mind to just get into his fighter and leave. The Griffen was currently traversing hyperspace, but as soon as its journey was complete, he could go anywhere he wanted. I could go track down Grand Admiral Thrawn myself.
  It was an entertaining notion, but he pushed the thought aside. He couldn't afford to go off on his own like that, not now. Besides, if I'm going to go anywhere on my own, it isn't there. He glanced around nervously, but no one was paying him any attention. He let out a deep breath. The Sith Lord had begun to formulate a plan to... try something new. But no one - no one - could know anything about it. He was sure that no one was on to him or had any inkling of what he was up to, but...
  He shook his head to clear his mind. There were so many thoughts going through his head, but these ridiculous plans would do him no good right now. Right now his mission needed to be to prove to his superiors that he was in control of his own mind, so that they would believe him about Thrawn. It could be a huge advantage to the Vast Empire.
  Trigit and LoneWolf entered the hangar. They walked over to a crew chief and began to discuss something. Darkhawk decided to leave before they noticed him. He didn't feel like talking at the moment. As he walked out, something told him that he hadn't made a clean escape this time. He felt two pairs of eyes watching him leave and felt something almost... menacing...
  He reached out with his Force senses and felt a strong vibe of anger eminating from both Trigit and LoneWolf. Toward me? It was unexpected and slightly unnerved. I must be imagining things. He shook it off and headed toward his quarters to review the information he had dragged out of Quade once more, hoping to gleam something else useful from the data.

Liquid walked slowly down the corridor that lead towards the lounge, dressed in his regular Navy Uniform. He didn't want any extra attention. The young man noticed Cosmic barely in passing, and gave a knowing nod, more or less to say "hi" to his Cult Leader than anything else.

As he walked into the lounge, a young man stood up too fast and was way to eager to salute, he nodded at the young man and looked at the bartender. "I'll take a Corellian Ale and a shot of the most potent stuff ya' got."

"Well sir, the most potent stuff we got would probably kill a man like yourself dead as he stands."

"Did I stutter?" Liquid said, with an air of authority around his voice.

"Here you are sir," the bartender said, putting two glasses up on the counter. He grabbed his drinks and sat down in the booth that the crewman had taken his seat in, and looked at him.

"Looks like you've had a rough day." He said, passing over the Corellian Ale to the young man.

"No, I just can't understand how those damn Jedi get to be so powerful."

"Before you go saying something you'll regret, you should know that you're talking to one of those 'damn Jedi'" He said, laying the smaller of his two lightsabers down on the table.

The young man almost collapsed face first into the table, knowing the power of the previous Dark Brother he had encountered....how powerful could this one be? He asked himself, before daring to look the superior Officer in the face again. Nah, he couldn't be too powerful, maybe he just stole that lightsaber from a Jedi that he killed.

The Lightsaber's not stolen. Liquid replied into the young man's head. At this, the young man got up and started to walk away. It's getting too easy to scare these new ones, Talon, he thought to himself, taking the shot and shivering a small bit before he got it down completely. The bartender was right, that stuff was pretty strong.
 
-----------------------
Dark Jedi Knight of the Dark Jedi Order
First Lieutenant of the Vast Empire Navy

ph34red by many

are you man enough?

Staring out the front viewport on the observation deck of the Griffen Phoenix tried to discover what had been nagging him since his return from Dxun. I'm forgetting about something...some...responsibility that Jikkyo had.

A faint presence illuminated itself in the Force, and Phoenix turned to face two stormtroopers standing in the doorway.

"This is a restricted area. Authorized personel only." The back stormtrooper said, stepping forward and levelling his weapon at Phoenix.

Drawing his brown hood back, Phoenix stared at the trooper with his black, souless eyes. Raising his hand, he called his saber to it through the Force. The black obsidian handle levitated gracefully from its place on his belt and switched on once it reached his hand.

The three foot amethyst blade shot out of the end of the handle, its glow reflecting in the twin voids that were Phoenix's eyes.

"This is all the authorization I need." He said, taking a step forward.

The other stormtrooper stepped forward and interposed himself in front of Phoenix. "My apologies sir, 1042 here is new on board." Pushing 1042 back he continued, "We've just been ordered to secure the ship, our apologies for the intrusion."

The two made to leave, when the hatch shut right in front of 1042's face. That's what I've been neglecting Phoenix reminded himself.

"You two," he said, switching off his saber. "Show me to the comunications center."

OOC: continued on the Army topic
 
-----------------------
Dark Jedi Knight Gunnery Sergeant Phoenix
Sect Member (SM) - Sith Knight - Eagle Sect -
Squad Leader (SL) - Heavy Weapons Specialist (HWS) - Raider Squad -
SM/DJK Phoenix/Eagle 1-4/Sith/VEDJ/VE/Lopen
AS-2/SL/GSG Phoenix/ 3SQD/1PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE/Tadath [LoR] [RoM] [BC] [CDS] [BoA]

Touching down would have been a light way of putting things. Never having used a jump pack before, Phoenix struggled with the controls throughout the entire jump. He hit the ground hard buckling his knees and collapsing to the dirt.

Talon turned his head slightly and Phoenix swore the Dark Jedi Master was chuckling behind that crimson mask. A wave of humorous emotion came off of Talon, and Phoenix felt his cheeks turn the color of his armor.

Picking himself up off the ground, Phoenix brushed his gloved hands over the armor, removing some of the dirt. Adjusting his A-280, he checked to make sure his saber was still attached, and sure enough, the black obsidian handle was secured firmly to his side.

The man in front of Talon was cowering before the Dark Jedi, and it was understandable why. A dozen crimson-clad warriors just fell from the sky, and the one that seemed to be the leader landed without the aid of a jetpack. Phoenix smiled at the thought of the stories the man would tell his family for generations...if he lived to tell them.

We need to find Fury Talon projected to the assembled Dark Jedi through the Force.

Phoenix. Looking around he realized Talon had fixed him in his gaze, and was now talking directly to him. Your the only one of us who was here before, where was the General.

When I...err...Jikkyo was here, Fury was with Raziel and Drill squad trying to secure this island. Phoenix replied, stretching through the Force towards Talon's mind. My best guess is he'll still be at the camp. There were several Republic positions scattered along the island before I left, so we may have action before we get there.

Smirking at the man still cowering in front of him, Talon bent down in front of him and lifted the mask on his helmet.

"Boo."

Screaming the peasant scrambled off, tripping over himself several times in the process. "Ok boys, lock and load. We're heading for Janhae." Talon announced.

Reaching behind him Phoenix retreived his A-280 from its sling and shouldered the rifle. Several other Dark Jedi did the same, the noticable exceptions being Talon and Darkhawk.

As if reading his mind, Cyanus came up next to Phoenix and whispered, "What need of a weapon does someone have who has mastery over the Force?"

"That sounds familiar" Phoenix replied.

"It should, Talon said it himself."
 
-----------------------
Dark Jedi Knight Gunnery Sergeant Phoenix
Cult Member (CM) - Sith Knight - Eagle Sect -
Squad Leader (SL) - Demolitions - Raider Squad -
CM/DJK Phoenix/Eagle 1-4/Sith/VEDJ/VE/Lopen
AS-2/SL/GSG Phoenix/3SQD/1PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE/Tadath [LoR] [RoM] [BC] [CDS] [BoA]

"Join the Darkside...get a free cookie" - Talon

The Order watched Lonewolf shoot the running Imperial citizen in disbelief.  The man who now had a black hole in his back was one of the very people that they were sent to save.  Before anyone could say anything, four more men that looked as though they had been washed up on the shore along with their skiffs jumped out of their hiding places in the tall grass.  An older man with skin that looked like leather swung a hand net up and over Lonewolf's head, pinning his arms to his sides and forcing the rifle from his grasp.  The other three tackled Lonewolf to the ground and began to pummel the Knight with blows from their fists.

'Let them be.' instructed Talon through telepathy to the Order; mostly to Vire and Cyanus, who were about to step forward to help Lonewolf.  'They have every right to be angry.'

Soon blood began to splatter as the civilians' knuckles split.  The men used their pain to fuel their anger and only slugged harder.  The punches weren't doing more than rattling Lonewolf, as the armor absorbed most of the blow.  A fifth man jumped out of his hiding spot with a large, barbed fishing spear.  Before anyone could react, the man with the spear was already diving down toward Lonewolf's right leg, spear extended.  The barbed tip glanced off of the armor and slid firmly into a weak point near the joint above his knee.  The metal spear drove through the membrane that covered the body glove as well as the body glove itself.  Blood sprayed out both ends of the wound as the tip drove into his lower thigh and out the other side, poking the armor on the back of his leg from the inside.  Lonewolf screamed out in pain and grabbed at the wound.  Instantly his attackers were thrown off of him, sailing back into the tall grass, tossed by an unseen hand.  Lonewolf shimmied out of the net and sat up in a daze.  He was losing blood fast and beginning to feel light headed.  He moved to pull the spear out the direction it came in, but was stopped by a firm armored hand.  The hand was the last thing Lonewolf saw as he slipped into unconsciousness.

"Shit" hissed Cyanus as he released Lonewolf's now limp hands to stop his upper torso from landing hard.  Acting quickly, he drew his lightsaber and cleaved the top of the spear off of its thick handle.  The Dark Jedi Knight extinguished his lightsaber and secured it to his armor belt.  With the aid of Vire, he rolled Lonewolf onto his side and removed the back leg segment of the Royal Guard armor.  Blood seeped out of small hole that was poked into the membrane.  Cyanus wiggled two fingers into the hole and ripped the body glove until he could get a good look at the point that was sticking out.  The entire barb had passed through his leg, the only good news since entering the Bestine system.  Reaching out with the Force, Cyanus yanked on the spear, sliding out Lonewolf's flesh quickly.  Blood began to ooze faster through the two new holes before they were plugged by cannibalizing the body glove material.

Vire slowly rolled Lonewolf back onto his back and sighed.  "We're going to have to find a medpac.  This won't hold for long." he said, shaking his head.

Talon picked up Lonewolf's rifle and laid it across his chest.  Reaching out with his mind, he laid an unseen stretcher under the injured Dark Jedi and lifted him from the ground slowly.  "I've located the Griffen that were sent to protect Fury.  We're heading for them." Talon announced as he advanced, trailing Lonewolf behind him.
 
-----------------------
OO/HG Sierra "Talon" Taurus/HC-3/VEHC/VE[BC][IOC][LoC][SoS][BM][CDS][MSM]
GM-SL/DJM "Nightblades"/DC-1/Elite Griffen Sect/VSD-II Griffen/VEDJ/VE[IOC][OQD][WoS 2nd Class]
-----------------------
SCAP/COM Vincent "Claw" Taurus/ISD Nemesis/Offensive Fleet/VEN[=A=][LoM][IOC][IC2]
CEO Vincent "Claw" Taurus/ECHC-1/Endoven/Dome 8473/VEEC/VE

The firm red hand seemed to simply fade away as he fell back. Lonewolf continued his descent with no end, it was not black but rather a crimson which veiled him.
As all the pain seemed to slip away, he opened his eyes to find himself drawn out on a soft but firm floor. There remained a red haze surrounding him still, he fluttered his eyes to try and see clearly but he couldn't.
As he stood up he noticed himself wearing different clothing, he wore a simple brown robe. Out of instinct he reached down for his weapon but found it missing. His eyes shot around searching for it when it occurred to him there was nothing existing there; just a red nightmare.

A confusion settled over LoneWolf as he tried to recollect how he got where he was. He simply recalled shooting a man and suddenly being ambushed by many others.
That was the red haze, he could only recall his attacker's hate.
As he tried to move he realized he had remained fully extended and hadn't moved from his original position at all. Focusing on moving, he found himself only becoming more disoriented.

Soon his own hatred boiled from lack of control. He could suddenly recall Talon's cold presence through the Force, denying him the help he needed.
It seemed so clear to him; everyone's negligence, their lack of faith in him. LoneWolf found himself grinding his teeth, he hated them all, he hated everybody.

The Dark Jedi Knight tensely found his eyes spreading open, his body seemed like a jagged mess to himself. The burning pain! LoneWolf found his jaw tensely clenched as he slowly became more aware of the real world. He realized, as he stared up, that he was being carried by the Force. Just what the hell am I know? A tool to carry around? The Sith growled out in frustration and pain. He could sense everyone's pity and disgust with him.
LoneWolf tried to demand to be let down.  However, his voice gurgled out in a string of Corellian curses. He wasn't sure if he was hallucinating again when a ring of red came around him. He violently pierced his fingers into his palms, he wasn't sure if his leg was shaking from convulsions or if it was his pulse he was feeling from the bleeding.
 
-----------------------
Lonewolf/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE/(=A=)(=SA=)(=JCPA=)(=SCPA=)[SRC][VC:Ebony]

CM/DJK LoneWolf/Sith/Eagle Sect/VEDJ

"With each kill, I grow wiser, with added wisdom, I grow stronger..." -Artemis Entreri

Cosmic rose to his feet and watched as the Order moved on ahead of him. He looked around him, observing the foliage that surrounded the Order. The area was familiar somehow, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Then again, many things were beginning to look familiar. More and more memories seemed to be rising up from the depths that they were held hidden in, and this frightened him a little because the memories were continuing to prove that his theory was correct, and that he once lived in an era thousands of years before present day.

There was a fact about him which he didn't understand. In this "past" that he lived in, this era where Sith and Krath roamed, he was powerful. He remembered being able to do certain feats which, for some reason, he did not know how to now. The memory, but the knowledge was gone. There was another memory that sat in the opposite corner of his head, and that was of present-day man... a Dawk Rhonaey; an individual who's knowledge in the Force was very limited. Somehow, the memories of these two people were merged to form what he was now. He didn't know who he truly was. He had two pasts, but one present. One past filled with knowledge and great power, and the other as such an inferior. Somehow, when some merging - he guessed - was completed, the knowledge from the superior was drastically cut down, and only this individual's strongest ability seemed to have surfaced. As more and more memories continued to surface... who knows what he was once capable of, or is capable of now?

All of this seemed odd to him, but that was not the strangest thing. Yes, he was regaining some memories of the past, but a very large part of his mind was changing as well. As the days past, he found himself asking fewer questions, and just taking memories and everything that was his past, for granted... as if they had always been there. He felt as if he was becoming a different person altogether; a persona not present in any of the memories.

Cosmic looked up from the ground and noticed that the Order had moved beyond sight. The foliage was in the way. A quiet voice crackled on his comm. link, "Hey Cos, its Pheonix. You joining us?"

Cosmic replied with a simple "Yes" and began to catch up with the rest of the Order for the trek up the spire.

I wish I knew...
 
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Cleric "Cosmic" Vor'soth
CoT/BG Cosmic/HCA-3/SL/3SQD/2PLT/1COMP/1BAT/Tadath/VEA/VE [OPE][OTH][OPA][EW1][CDS][IH][GS][LM][SoS][CoH][PoC][MSM][SCP][IOC][SoA]
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Cleric "Cosmic" Vor'soth
SL/KPR Cosmic/Lion 1-1/Lopen/VEDJ/VE [VP][KC1][OAK]
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  Darkhawk kneeled over the body of the Guardsman named Kyvaas and felt for a pulse. Nothing. The man showed no life signature in the Force, either, so he was surely dead for good. The Sith Warrior frowned as he looked into the cadaver's listless stare. The man seemed somewhat... familiar...
  He looked over at Talon. The Grand Master was talking with Fury, the Army Prefect. Fury didn't look very happy. It probably had something to do with the traitor. Either that, or the crashed shuttle. Or both.
  A few minutes earlier, the Dark Jedi Master had probed Darkhawk's mind. He was trying to be subtle about it, but the Sith Warrior had noticed. Talon didn't dig around too much, though, so Darkhawk wasn't concerned, only curious. Earlier the Grand Master had seemed to be in a trance of some kind, and Darkhawk suspected that he was communicating with someone else via the Force. Riel had stayed aboard the Griffen, but he seemed an unlikely candidate at the moment. Kadann, perhaps?
  A couple of soldiers came over to dispose of Kyvass's body. Darkhawk took one last look at the corpse as they dragged it away and-
  That's it! Recognition flared in his mind as the dead man left his field of vision. Kyvaas Corbic. He was a platoon leader aboard the Grey Wolf when I was stationed there. The Sith Warrior blinked, puzzled. What am I talking about? He remembered, but yet he did not. It was a strange, yet somehow gratifying, sensation. I'm starting to remember more and more. This has to be real. Think... think... think!
  Talon called something out to him, but he was too wrapped up in his own thoughts to react. The Grey Wolf was a Star Destroyer. I served on it... at some point in time. The commander of the ship was... Vice Admiral Thrawn. No, Grand Admiral Thrawn. Vice Admiral? Wait. Nevermind, it doesn't matter. It was definitely Thrawn. So Kyvaas here knew Thrawn, too. Then it's possible that he has been an agent for Thrawn ever since... well, since whenever. But that means... Thrawn could have dozens of agents planted within the Vast Empire! This one was here to take Fury down, but several other leaders could be in danger. Japheth, Kadann...
  His gaze drifted over toward the man who was walking closer to him. Talon.
 
  "Darkhawk, are you deaf?"

  "What? No, no. I'm sorry. I was... thinking."

  "I want you to make sure that Zael and LoneWolf get the proper medical treatment and are in a stable condition."

  "Why me?"

  "Just do it, okay?"

  The Sith Warrior nodded. "Okay."

  "Fury has given me something that I need to take a look at. We'll have a mission briefing in a little while to plan our next move. I'll let you know when it happens. Stay with the wounded until then."

  I wonder if he wants me there to protect them from something? Odd. "Of course."

  Darkhawk bowed; Talon nodded in return and walked off. The Sith Warrior exchanged nods with a couple of medics who had approached were tending to the injured men. He followed them as they carried the wounded to a fabricated shelter and took a seat next to Lonewolf's cot.

  I've got to think this thing through. Is there anyone else I know that has seemed familar? Someone who might have been aboard another ship I served on? His mind was racing, but the memories were too slippery to get a good handle on. As soon as he felt like he was onto something, it got away from him. His thoughts raced on, faster and faster, until he begin to feel as if they were spiraling out of control.
  Wait! The jumbled mess of thoughts halted instantly and dissapated. If my theory is right, then I could very well be an agent planted by Thrawn! It didn't all fit together perfectly, but there were so many pieces missing that it could very well be true. But could I be an agent and not even know it? I suppose so, if there's some kind of mind control or brainwashing involved. Maybe Kyvaas had no control over his actions... if it was a time released mechanism... or... or... damn. I can't think straight.
  He stood up and began to pace around the room. I need to tell someone what's going on. The Vast Empire's leadership could be in great danger. I could be a threat, as well. What if I turn on Talon? Or any of the Dark Jedi? I'm a liability and...
  and what's new? He sighed and sat back down. I don't know anything for sure. And I have the sneaking suspicion that no one really trusts me, anyway. I can't bring this up until I have more proof of a conspiracy. Or something to exonerate myself. Or...
  He looked over at LoneWolf. The Dark Jedi Knight was unconscious, but his health monitor showed good vital signs. That was a stupid stunt you pulled, Jace. But you'll live to see another day. That's something Kyvaas can't say.
 
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COM Darkhawk/VEN/VE/(=A=)(=SA=)(=JCPA=)(=SCPA=)(=FCO=)[LoC][BRC][CBV*][MC:1][VC:Ebony][KC:OC]

DLotS/SW Darkhawk/Sith/VEDJ/VE/[CR]

All this waiting around was killing him. The scent of fresh blood and charred flesh hung in the air near the camp, preying on the senses of its residents. It made Phoenix long for action. It was not in his personality to sit patiently while the brass discussed battle plans.

Or is it?

Ever since taking full control of Jikkyo's body, Phoenix had been struggling with his identity. Memories from before his birth in Angel's mind were distant and cloudy. The images had an almost ethereal sense to them.

But who am I?

Focusing back on the present, he watched as Cosmic wandered off into the brush surrounding the camp. He had been observing the Krath Prophet ever since Trigit had told him of Cleric's attack on Master Talon. Phoenix had his reservations about trusting Cosmic, but some nagging memory of his, No, Jikkyo's brother made him give Cosmic the benefit of the doubt.

Jubei...

The memory of Jikkyo's brother caused Phoenix's mind wandered off again. I am not Jikkyo Nimiichi...Sure I may have his memories...his appearance...but I'm...not...him? It was the same never-ending circle his mind hand been weaving ever since the return trip from Dxun.

"Not what you expected?" He heard a voice say.

Turning towards the direction the voice came from, Phoenix came face to face with an anonymous Dark Jedi in Royal Guard Armor. Brushing the Jedi's mind with the Force, Phoenix identified the man.

Lifting up the face-plate he answered with a smirk, "Never is Trigit, never is."

"Your mind is wandering." Trigit retorted, "Stay focused. We're not here for sightseeing or lolligagging." Turning sharply on his heel, the Sith Guardian stalked away.

Scowling at Trigit's back Phoenix mentally chided himself for not keeping his emotions in check. Yet another thing I need to get used to. Life had been so much simpler when he was just torturing Angel...Perhaps I was too hasty in my takeover...

Looking around and still seeing no sign of Master Talon, Phoenix resigned himself to waiting. Meandering around the outskirts of Jahnae Camp, he found a semi-comfortable place to sit. Opening himself fully to the Force, he let it rush over him like a tidal wave. Drowning his consciousness in the limitless entity that was the Force, Phoenix slipped into meditation...and waited...
 
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Dark Jedi Knight Gunnery Sergeant Phoenix
Cult Member (CM) - Sith Knight - Eagle Sect -
Squad Leader (SL) - Demolitions - Raider Squad -
CM/DJK Phoenix/Eagle 1-4/Sith/VEDJ/VE/Lopen
AS-2/SL/GSG Phoenix/3SQD/1PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE/Tadath [LoR] [RoM] [BC] [CDS] [BoA]

"Join the Darkside...get a free cookie" - Talon

"You have the data disk sergeant?" the clone trooper asked.

"Sure do," Raziel said. just to prove his point he unsecured to disk and waved it in front of the troopers face. The clones had been observing the mines for a long, long time. There was no way the recently arrived imperials could predict the complex migration of the mines, nor could they take into account the planets weather patterns.

Raziel had already watched the holographic video stored on the disk. Mines were displayed as clusters of red dots around the planet. They started off scattered around fairly evenly, but then as they start to shift the areas that the imperial bombardments had thinned out started to overlap. As they moved further great lanes of free space opened up around the planet. It was feasible that in a few days the wholes would close up again, and there was always the chance that a stray mine could wind up in the path of an entrepreneurial attack. This was still not a chance to be missed.

"Sure you don't want to stay for tea?" Raziel asked, smirking behind the mask of his storm commando armour.

"If you're worried about the jet pack, just say." One of the clone troopers replied flatly. Raziel carried a sky trooper back pack, which had been hastily rigged to his storm commando armour. The sleek, white backpack contrasting starkly against his jet black armour. Surprisingly clone trooper armour only came in one size.

"Hah! You just want to show up a Stormtrooper," Raziel snorted, there was no way his pride would let him give up now. His armour wasn't suited for jumping, so he wasn't entirely sure how aerodynamically safe this excursion was going to be, but he wasn't backing down now.
"Besides, I'll only crash in water," Raz mumbled to himself.

"Sorry, what was that?"

"Nothing, thanks to you all for dropping me off. Oh, and say good luck to General Fury for me. Hope to see you all soon,"

"By the time we return, our fate will have been decided," Another clone replied, referring to the vote that would have gone ahead by now. Raziel hoped they had gone along with Fury's plan.

Without a pause Raziel turned towards the imperial island and activated the sky trooper jump back. His stomach lurched as he was literally thrown into the air. The boat bobbed as he leapt off. The clone troopers looked around at each other for a moment.

"Ever met a Jedi like that before?"

"Nope, who cares. Let's get back." The small craft turned on the spot, throwing water into the air all around them. The boat raced away from the imperial base.



From high in the air Raziel could see far around, the air was clear and there were no mountains to obscure his view. Raziel looked down at the island beneath, from his vantage points he could see white dots scurrying around. He quickly realised that those white dots were likely to be made of squads of stormtroopers each. He could sense his brethren again from the close, although he could not pinpoint them. That was good news, although he had felt a responsibility to make sure Fury was safe, he had hoped to get in on some action with the rest of the order. He desperately wanted to see what his peers were capably of.

Almost as quickly as it had started, his ascent began. He was aiming to use as little fuel as possible here, in preparation for some serious jump pack work he was anticipating. He used whatever aerodynamic stability his ump pack offered him to control his descent, but kept the power off.

The ground was rushing towards him rapidly before he slowed the jump pack to kick in, with one powerful thrust he slowed his descent to a crawl. He regained control of his steering and aimed for an empty space, landing gracefully before a group of waiting troopers.

"Nice landing sir, welcome back to Jahnae Camp,"

"Thanks, er, Corporal. These packs actually offer some advantages over our current ones,"

"Limited fuel though," the trooper was quick to point out.

"Anyways, take this disc to command now! We need to get our bombers airborne and do some damage!"

"Sir?" the soldier asked, looking at the disc that was thrust into his hand.

"The mines are clearing. Do you now where Marshal Talon is?"

"I believe that the erm, well him and his people were seen over on the north side of the island."

"Ok that'll do, now move!" The trooper bustled off to the command station. Raziel paused for a moment and focussed his attention inwards. Talon wasn't hiding his presence and it wasn't hard to pick out such an awesome power.



He caught up to the group of armour clad Jedi on the north west shore of the island. Several of them were bouncing up and down, not slight jump, but fifty feet in the air. Raziel guessed the unusual practise was the warm up their jump packs.

"Master Talon," Raziel bowed subserviently.

"Knight, welcome back. You are just in time and I see you are . . . prepared," he said, looking at the white wings protruding from Raziel's back.
"We are jumping to a small island north east of here. All attempts to take it have failed, we are going to correct that error. We have no more armour for you, so I suggest you keep out of the line of fire. Try to keep up."
No more information was offered, Talon merely turned away and walked back towards the rest of the Order.

Raziel felt on edge here, he recognised so few of the men around him. Several were troopers who he had worked with before, although many of them seemed very different now. For a man who worked alone, getting used to squad based tactics had taken a while. However he had slowly learned to trust those around him and he found he now thrived on it. But fighting with people who were completely alien was a different matter.

"Time to go a voice rang out in his head. A second afterwards his ears were assaulted by the combined sound of jump packs firing. Raziel took a moment to observe the crimson figured recede away into the sky, before bracing himself for a launch.



"Command,"

"Receiving, come in,"

"This is squad three sir, we have incoming from the south west,"

"Again? I'm sure you'll enjoy the target practise. How many have we got?"

"I can make out around . . . ten sir."

"Ten??"

"Yes, sir."

"Obviously some dense sky troopers got confused over a map. Bring them down Sergeant. I hope you enjoy your new toy,"

"Sir," the communication link was cut.
"Ok men, set up the cannon, lets give it a try!" the squad immediately set about wheeling out a small sized piece of artillery. Squad three were always posted to the south of the island and it was their pleasure to bring any unfortunate jump troops out of the sky. A few days ago a shipment of ammunition has arrived, along with it, had come a rapid firing flak cannon. It hurled shells filled with fletchette into the air at an alarming rate, the general effect of it was to rip any jump troopers to pieces. The squad leader was looking forward to testing it.

Still, the thought of only ten troopers attempting an assault perplexed him. He was quite sure they were coming in at an assault trajectory.

"Send out a signal, get the power troopers to take up firing positions and get that walker ready to go. Something doesn't seem right here."

"Sir, we're loaded" came a call from the cannon crew.

"Ok, let her r...." he was cut short by a scream from the gunner. He was flung from the controls of the machine. "What the?"

The squad commander was cut off again as the barrels of the cannon bend almost in double, seemingly of their own accord. The firing control depressed on its own and the cannon exploded in a ball of fletchette.

"Sir, over their!" screamed a trooper, his call was followed by the sound of blaster fire. About a hundred metres south of the were two figures, one clad in crimson, the other in black armour. Before the Sergeant could even ponder the situation the Titan Assault Walker came into view, bearing down on the two lone figures. It opened up with a hail of laser cannon fire and the two men were lost from view as the terrain around them exploded.

When the air cleared they were no where to be seen.

"Where did they go?" the squad leader shouted as he waved for his men to group around him.

"This is Titan 04, we have re-acquired targets, in pursuit." The comm channel chirped. The Walker thundered off the south, apparently chased the two men.

"Right lets worry about those jump troops, the Titan will deal with the others. Open fire!"



The island emerged beneath the Jedi, it was smaller than Raziel had imagined. Maybe only a couple of miles across. Ahead of him, the flock of Crimson Jedi were preparing themselves for battle. A280 rifles were twisted around in their tactical slings, lightsabers were clasped tightly.

As the group descended towards the island blaster fire rose up to meet them. It was sporadic and altogether far less intense than they had predicted. Most of the fire went wide, but a few shots made their mark. The fire merely glanced off of the armour, Raziel imagined they were all thankful for now. Raz could see the lead Jedi, he couldn't tell who, activate his lightsaber. The Jedi skilfully deflected blaster bolts, whilst controlling his descent. Several other Jedi began to return fire with their A280 rifles.

Raziel's sharp eyes picked out movement on the island as they rapidly fell towards the south west coast. A single squad of troopers were causing most of the blaster fire. He could also make out what appeared to be a large walker, racing across the landscape after two figures. It made sense to him why the initial fire had been less intense, now that he could see Master Talon and Darkhawk.




His focus snapped back onto the fast approaching ground, already most of the Order were on the ground, closing the distance between themselves and a dug-in group of soldiers. Raz noticed a heavily armoured trooper bearing down on the group before he made his landing. He quickly thumbed the jet controls and launched himself back into the air.

He stopped his ascent rapidly and sent himself gliding down towards the lone trooper. The soldier appeared to be almost seven feet tall, clad in what appeared to be a Zero-G suit. Raziel fly straight at the trooper, only a few metres from the ground. He fired both of his repeating pistols at the trooper, but to little effect. The low powered shots were simply not enough to penetrate the armour.

The trooper shouldered his heavy rifle and returned fire, the second shot skimmed so close to Raziel's head he had to take a dive. Unfortunately he underestimated his thrust and threw himself to the ground. He rolled for a few meters before coming to rest not far from the trooper.

Assuming that he had brought down the flying Stormtrooper the Power armoured marine, lowered his weapon and took a step forwards. His power enhanced muscles swinging the massive rifle around as if it were a toy. He began walking towards the crumpled body, massive boots leaving footprints behind him.

Raziel paused for a moment, his head spinning. He quickly realised that he hadn't taken any serious damage. Then his mind recalled the previous few seconds and he realised he was in trouble. He leapt to his feet and faced the power trooper.

Before the marine could take aim, Raziel activated his jump pack and launched himself into the air. He flew gracefully over the power trooper, who swung his rifle at Raziel, hoping to swat the annoying sky trooper out of the air. The power trooper heard his assailant land behind him, followed by a "snap-hiss" Raziel plunged a lightsaber into the troopers back. The blade sliced cleanly through all the hydraulics and electrics and went straight through the man inside. He felt no small amount of satisfaction as the massive power suit fell to the ground in front of him.

He heard the crack of more blaster fire just over a rise, followed by the hum of lightsabers. Instead he decided the head off after the walker, Talon and Darkhawk to see how that confrontation was going on.

 
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+ Advance Recon Commandos {ARC} +
PL:A/SGMRaziel/1PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE/{EW1} (WoS1) (VP) {IG} {CDS} {BoA} {PoC}
Assistant Squad Leader - Squad4 Wraiths
"Computer games don't affect kids; I mean if Pac-Man affected us as kids, we'd all be running around in darkened rooms, munching magic pills and listening to repetitive electronic music." Kristian Wilson, Nintendo, Inc, 1989.
CM/DJK Raziel/lion 1-5/Krath/VEDJ/VE

Cosmic activated his jump pack and leapt into the canopy of some nearby trees, leaving the remaining Dark Jedi on the ground to do their own thing. While in the air, he grabbed his A280 rifle and prepared himself for the landing. He landed softly on a large branch and positioned himself against several other branches for support. The battlefield was in front of him, and the oncoming New Republic troops were quickly gaining ground towards them. That walker of theirs didn't look too friendly either.

He really didn't know what he was doing. Something inside him knew that this was right, and it was right for him to be there alongside the Order. Although he felt awkward fighting side-by-side with people he hardly knew, his body reacted to them in a positive manner, and now he stood there, perched on large branch in the canopy of a tree, preparing his next move. He pushed aside several branches in front of him with a thought, clearing his view to the oncoming New Republic troops. They were still a little ways away, but that didn't bother him. He tucked the butt of his rifle against his right shoulder and used his helmet's zoom to narrow in on the enemy squad. Using the Force to help guide his aim, he pulled the trigger in three quick bursts.

Three of the squad's troopers fell to the ground - dead. As the remaining squad members leapt over the bodies, they saw a single black hole in the middle of the foreheads of their fallen squad mates. The squad leader immediately gave the order to hurry it up, and the squad quickened their pace.

Cosmic detected two power suit troopers heading his way. He leapt down from the branch, engaging the jump pack a little to ease his fall. He landed on the ground and quickly ran to another location several hundred feet from his previous one. His body had become a blur as the Force aided his speed through the foliage.

What am I doing here?

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

Jen knocked on the door to the chief's office, and opened it once she heard his acknowledgement. She walked in and gave a quick smile before standing at-ease before him. The chief was rather happy to see her, and he motioned for her to sit down.

"I'm very pleased that you have reconsidered your stay on the force, Jen. It would have been a great loss to us should you have left. Your talents are an amazing asset to his unit." The chief flipped the lid of a nearby box open and pulled out a large cigar. He placed it in between his lips and lit it and took a small drag when he had finished.

Jen crossed her legs and placed her hands on her the uppermost thigh, "I would like to get started right away."

A pleased grin spread across the chief's face, "Of course. In fact," he pulled out a folder from one of his desk's compartments and slid it across to Jen. "Your first assignment is a rather challenging one. In brief, you're dealing with Markos Nyll, a non-local drug lord. We think he's one of the three in a triad of big dealers." Chief Richard Flenk leaned back against his chair and crossed his arms over his large beer-belly. "You're the only who's come decently close to finding and apprehending people of this caliber. I need you on this, Jen."

Jen nodded, "You got me." She grabbed the folder and got up from her chair. "Give me twenty-four to review Nyll, and I'll get to work."

Flenk nodded with obvious satisfaction - a hint of relief as well it seemed. "Very good."
 
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Cleric "Cosmic" Vor'soth
CoT/BG Cosmic/HCA-3/SL/3SQD/2PLT/1COMP/1BAT/Tadath/VEA/VE [OPE][OTH][OPA][EW1][CDS][IH][GS][LM][SoS][CoH][PoC][MSM][SCP][SoA][IOC]
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Cleric "Cosmic" Vor'soth
SL/KPR Cosmic/Lion 1-1/Lopen/VEDJ/VE [VP][KC1][OAK]
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"Lightsabers? Where in the devil did the Empire conjure up those archaic relics?" First Lieutenant Markus Dimpa of the New Repblic military could hardly believe his ears. He was leading his 'squad,' comprised of a trio of armored power suits southwest, where reports where coming in of a dozen soldiers dressed in red attacking and decimating the southern garrison.

"I don't know lieutenant, but these aren't ordinary soldiers." Corporal Jameson Junter, one of the marines, responded.

The two Republic soldiers traded skeptical glances. "You don't think..." Junter started, trailing off.

"No...it can't be. The Emperor hunted them all down...but then again, he DID miss Skywalker...so it..."

The lieutenant's sentence was cut short as four laser blasts slammed into his chest. The A-280 rounds, precisely hitting at the same time and place, superheated metal, skin, muscle and bone, exploding out of his back leaving a half meter hole.

A shocked look passed over the lieutenant's face, then his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the dirt.

The other two marines turned towards Corporal Junt, who, as the ranking member of the remaining three, had just received promotion to squad leader.

"COVER!!" Junt yelled, willing his huge armored suit towards a nearby boulder. "Loew, Gates, find where that came from."

"There won't be any need for that."

Turning his head, Junt stared straight into the souless black eyes of crimson mask.

"BEHIND" Gates yelled, bringing his energy rifle to bear. He got a bead on his target, when suddenly his rifle began to move on its own. Panicking, the Private hastily pulled the trigger.

A massive energy bolt shot from the end of the rifle...and slammed straight into the back of Corpoal Junt.

Tears welled up in the older man's eyes as his armor vaporized, and his back charred and peeled away. Reaching for his belt, the Corporal tried to grab one of his grenades. If I can just...pull...the pin... Junt's hand reached the frag grenade, only to find that he could no longer move it.

"Now, now, now, let's play NICE" The last word was punctuated by the *snap-hiss* of a lightsaber. The purple blade hesistated only slughtly as it cut clean through the neck of the armor.

"NOOOOOOO!!!" Gates screamed, watching the whole scene unfold as if slow motion. He tried futliy to bring his rifle around, but the damn thing still wouldn't respond to him.

"LOEW!! LOEW!!!" he shouted, turning his head to find the last member of the squad. And he found him...well...half of him at least.

A look of terror was frozen on the young man's face...he had been neatly disected at the abdomen. Turning away from the gruesome scene, Gates blinked away tears.

Four red figures appeared in his tear-clouded vision, and he tried once more to get his rifle to move. Straining against the invisible bonds that kept it motionless, rage built up inside the young private.

The four figures turned as one to face him.

"Wow, he's mad." One of them said.

"I haven't felt hatred like that since...well...ok so maybe like 20 minutes ago." Another responded.

All four chuckled.

"Hey, we're wasting time, just kill him and get it over with." The tallest of the four said.

"Pfft. You Sith have no patience, I thought I would have taught you some when I was your Squad Leader." The one who had spoken second replied. "Ah well, Cy? Shall we?"

The first red warrior joined the second, each igniting their sabers with a *snap-hiss*. Red light mixed with blue as the two sabers came closer to the helpless soldier.

"Trig, release him. At least let him die like a man." The tall one said.

"He's a republic stooge, Phoenix, he doesn't deserve it, but if you two want to have some fun."

Suddenly the invisible wall preventing Gates from moving disappeared. Shock flew through him as his gun swung wildly around. Pressing the trigger, he fired round after round, screaming the entire time.

As the dust settles, the two figures in front of him were gone, and the other two, "Trig" and "Phoenix" were still standing in the same place, laughing.

"Okay, maybe you were right Trig. Hey stooge...Look up." Phoenix said, nodding his head with a grin.

Slowly craning his neck to look above him, Gates had just enough time to see blue and red blades slicing down through the air towards him...the bright light was replaced by pain...then only darkness.
 
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Dark Jedi Knight Gunnery Sergeant Phoenix
Cult Member (CM) - Sith Knight - Eagle Sect -
Squad Leader (SL) - Demolitions - Raider Squad -
CM/DJK Phoenix/Eagle 1-4/Sith/VEDJ/VE/Lopen
AS-2/SL/GSG Phoenix/3SQD/1PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE/Tadath [LoR] [RoM] [BC] [CDS] [BoA]

"Join the Darkside...get a free cookie" - Talon