as Keef awoke from his undisturbed slumber he looked arround the room and saw everyone else sound asleep and decided that it would be jsut another one of "those days". he carefully got out of bed quietly and got changed. Keef then hurriedd out the door being careful to not make the slightest noise and began his morning run. After the long and exhausting run, Keef sliped into the shower to cool off and then made himself a nice hot mug of coffee. while Keef was enjoying his coffee the others began to stur. as Abby rose from his slumber Keef said
"Up early just like every other morning it see"
 
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Jester Squad
TRP/PFC Keef/1SQD/2PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE

MOS : 12B Combat Engineer

General Skills Training

Skill 2 - Electrical Systems


--(1530)--
--(Apt XS)--
It was Andrew's third day studying electrics and their functionalitys. He was currently studying quietly at his own apartment on his day off. He had a big test coming up the next day and he had to really study for it. "I don't know how I'm going to pass this much material in this amount of time. But an ignorant trooper is a useless trooper, and I wont forget what happens to those who failed in their jobs.." Andrew looked back at the book before closing his eyes to to ease the stress pain behind them from reading all day. He then began to doze off.

He opened his eyes again in about ten minuets. He was lucky because he needed to study more than he needed sleep. A buzz on Andrew's door disturbed him from reading. Standing up he yawned and scratched the side of his head before walking over to the door. Looking out the peep hole he saw a Sergeant standing outside, in full trooper armor. This was odd considering there were no disturbances in this area, but he opened the door anyway. "May I help you Sergeant?"

The trooper ran inside and shut the door. "Hate to interrupt you Private First Class Shadows, but you have to come with me. Someone has hacked into the buildings security systems and is attacking Imperial citizens and forces in the apartment complex." stated the Sergeant, slightly out of breath. Andrew looked confused. "If thats your orders sir, may I grab some equipment first?" asked Andrew. The Sergeant nodded, and Andrew zipped through his equipment. He slipped on his enlisted Imperial black jacket to match the black pants he had on already. He also grabbed his DT-57 and an extra clip for it. The two soldiers then moved out.

--(1600)--
--(CPLX 12)--

Blaster fire riddled the hallway as the security blasters shot at the Sergeant and Private. "Stay down Private! Let me handle this!" screamed the sergeant. He then stepped out and opened fire on the E-Web ceiling mounted gun. Within seconds chunks of burnt flesh blew out of the sergeants back, as the E-Web shredded through him. Andrew continued to sit behind the wall, now looking at the two pieces of the SGT. "Never try to take out a weapon, take out the brain.. ..thats basic training Sarge.." Andrew stated as he looked around. He noticed a terminal at the end of the hallway, it had a camera on it which was watching his position. "And there it is. " he said under his breath as he took aim with the heavy blaster.

When the cross-hairs turned red and line perfectly with the camera lens, Andrew fired and blew the camera out of the terminal. The cannon was now blind, and it opened fire which shredded holes into the duracrete wall to his right. Chunks flew in the air and a white cloud began to form. This was perfect however, because now the lasers were more visible, and a pattern could be spotted. The cannon was firing from a forty degree angle and striking the wall about twenty to twenty four inches high. Sweat began to build on Andrew's head as he plotted his next move. He thought in his mind 'If I don't take a move eventually someone will find me.. ..and thats not good because the cannon for this hallway is still not activated. So that means the hacker hasn't fully accessed the security systems and he still had a chance to do something.'

The sound of footsteps alerted Andrew. He turned to see three stormtroopers behind him. "Freeze civilian!" shouted one of them. Andrew quickly displayed his ID hanging from his neck. "I am a trooper! I could use some assistance, if you don't mind." The Lance Corporal leading the small team cleared him and posted behind him. "Whats the situation Engineer?" asked the Corporal.

Andrew was in a bit of shock but he decided he should get used to being asked such questions. The lives of these troopers was going to be in his hands. He cleared his throat and spoke. "The weapon is blinded sir. I have found a pattern in the fire and am about to take the crawl to that terminal over there, if thats okay with you sir." The Corporal shook his head. "Are you crazy?! You'll get ripped to pieces like that solider there! Just back out!" Andrew shook his head. "Sir, we have a matter of minuets until this guy takes the entire security systems and the rest of the defense weapons and safety mechanisms are unleashed against us and the rest of the civilians in the building. So we either take this shot or die tired!" The sprinkler systems kicked on after Andrew ended his sentence.

After his survey of the situation the Corporal decided to allow the young Engineer to take his chances. "Private, you are to regain control over the security systems here on this level, we believe this is a terrorist invade of the complex! You have five minuets before they reach this floor and capture this level!" there was no sound of play in the Corporal's voice. In a matter of minuets the invaders would be in the kill the rest of the troopers and claim this level of the complex. This could not be allowed to happen, Andrew had to reach that terminal in time and gain control of this level.

Tucking the heavy blaster in the back of his pants so he crawl under the stream of lasers firing at the wall, Andrew layed down flat and began to crawl. The heat from the lasers warmed his back as he went under. 'I have got to be the craziest bastard I know to be doing this.. ..if I move I'm dead, if I don't move I'm dead.. ..great odds!' Andrew thought as he continued to move as the bolts finally ate threw the first wall and was now starting on the next wall. Finally he was done and stood up to a slight crouch and grabbed his blaster. Tactically moving toward the terminal, incase the terrorist did decide to show up before ETA.

Upon reaching the terminal, Andrew layed his blaster on the terminal and signaled that he was clear back the corporal before he began typing into it. Andrew was no slicer but he knew how to work terminals already from his studies, and while he couldn't take over a building's security system.. ..he could take over a user profile.. he brought up the list of user names logged in to the terminal, he noticed that none appeared to have access to security. Meaning that the hacker was either hidden or was useing one of these names but hiding the clearance levels. There was twelve names logged in, that was to many to search over in his remaining time. So it meant he would have to manually re-wire this terminal to a separate power-source.

He looked at his blaster and sighed. "I just got this and I'm already screwing around with it." he stated out loud. He then proceeded to kick open the body casing and pull the power cord from the wall. Once that was completed the terminal shut off and Andrew had one energy pack from a heavy blaster and one powerless terminal, but this had stopped the gun fire. "Excellent work Private! Now get us those E-Webs!!"

Andrews now had beads of sweat running from his face and his palms very moist. Laser fire was now heard as the terrorist made their way up the staircase. Andrew stuck the dual headed channel wire to the two clips, allowing them both to channel energy. He then spliced the wire and ran the power cord from the terminal to the wires. He inhaled and held his breath, because he knew he'd only have about one minuet and a half at most to do this before the energy cells were dead. He exhaled and pressed the power button.

The screen was fuzzier now due to low power mode being on. He could still see it clear enough to check the names now. The reboot had scrambled the mask over the hacker and a level 9 name was now present. Andrew laughed since his plan worked. "I need a security code Corporal!!" yelled Andrew. "IT118BX0, hurry they're coming up!!" 'This definitely doesn't help my stress..' thought Andrew as he typed to code in quickly. As soon as he hit the accept button, the screen popped up with security protocols for the floor, Andrew activated Imperial Defense Protocols just as the terrorist reached the staircase to the floor he was on. The other cannons extended and opened fire on them, ripping them to pieces as it did the many Imperials they had killed.

Andrew blinked a few times before he noticed he was looking at the ceiling and laying on his bed. He had fallen asleep! It was all a dream! He was sure to fail his exam now and it was in three hours, but for some reason Andrew wasn't so stressed about it. Like a certain calm was about him now that he didn't know he had. He inhaled and exhaled slowly. In his mind the thought went threw 'I will have to use what I do know to my advantage. If I look at my down points I'll fail for sure.' With this in mind, Andrew went and got showered and dressed in duty uniform for class. He looked himself over in the reflevision before coming his hair back and walking to his shuttle.

--(0300)--
--(Complex XS Dock)--

Andrew waited on the shuttle to arrive. Today there were multiple people, pilots stormtroopers and even a few experienced officers would be heading to the E.D.E lab today. Hopefully this was his last day there, and he could move on to the next steps of his career. All staff was at ease obviously as the officers read over their Data-Pads and the line rankers spoke about new fighters and weapons issued out, as well as a few brags on accuracy and victories. After about ten minuets of wait however, the shuttle finally came. Andrew was sitting next to one of the other troopers, enjoying a story about some Catina he had gotten drunk at. The officers called all troops to attention before the shuttle landed, and his story was cut short.

The shuttle landed and out walked a Major. "I am Major Sykes. You soldiers and officers will be taking the shuttle Crimson 8 to the E.D.E Laboratories today. For most of you this is your last day there, and for some it is the day before. I am not a tight ship captain, I just ask that all crew remain seated and keep levels down and speak one at a time. I think thats fair for a safe and enjoyable trip to the E.D.E today. With this understood, you are all to board the shuttle and take your seats. Strap in and follow the rules." The pilot was a bit winded after the speech, but turned and took his seat back in the cockpit and got the systems proper for take off.

Andrew was third to take his seat, and he wasn't going to sit this ride. He had the hell rail. This nick name was gained by passengers and Stormtroopers alike riding on the ramp and holding the hand rails at the top with one hand. This gave his day a bad start. On the opposite side was a pilot in duty uniform, he looked rather busy doing some last minuet studying so Andrew decided not to disturb him. The only thing he could do was stand, and try to remember what he had learned.

--(0330)--
--(E.D.E Lab)--
After a good forty minuet ride Andrew was ready to leave the shuttle. Once the pilot exited the shuttle and all the troops lined up, one squad went behind one officer and the other went behind the second officer. Andrew followed the second squad to the final examination chamber. In the chamber stood a man in a white lab coat, standing next to him was a younger woman in her twenties also donning the white lab coat. Imperial Scientist, some of the cruelest beings to ever exist. These beings were often feared more than Imperial Guards by slaves, for horrible experiments rumored.

When the squad was in formation before the Scientist, the Officers fell out and exited the building. "Welcome soldiers, to the final part of your training here at the E.D.E Laboratory. I am Science Officer William Myrrs and this is my Adjutant Scientist Lisa Grallis. If you will all take a seat for a moment I will go over todays examination before we start." the scientist motioned his arm to the seats to the left of him. All the troopers were hesitant to sit, but all sat as ordered.

"Okay thank you, welcome to your final exam in the Electrical Systems field. Most of you are going to fail this examination, so I ask that if you feel you arnt going to pass please leave. If not, please remember the rules. No cheating, no talking, no leaving, no distractions, no fighting, no objects other than what is assigned to you at each part of the course." Taking a pause to inhale, the scientist then continued.

"This exam is split into two pieces. An oral exam with Adjutant Grallis.." a few chuckles were let out from the students. "Gentlemen, if we can grow up for a minuet I will continue.. ..okay, thank you. After the exam you will move on to a situation examination exam with me. This will show me what you would do, and how you would perform during a live situation. Now, if there are any questions please ask now or hold your comments and questions until after the exam." The scientist gained his breath again waiting on questions. "Very well, let the exam begin." was his final comment before the troopers lined up and took the Oral Exam.

It was tough for Andrew but he survived it, or so he wanted to believe. Now it was time for the simulation. This is where things would get complicated for him, as he wasn't positive if he knew it all. Finally he stood before the Science Officer at attention. "Name?" he asked. "Private First Class Shadows, sir!" Andrew said clearly as he stood firmly but steady. Looking over the multiple things that were electronic, he wasn't exactly sure what he would be doing.

The Science Officer looked over some screens on his Data-Pad and then looked up to Andrew. "Okay here is the situation. You are locked down with your squad behind a security door. There is a bomb on the other side that MUST be gotten to to be disarmed. The door's terminal has been damaged with no camera screen to see the other side so you must anticipate the enemies move. Begin when ready, you have five minuets once you begin."

Andrew took in a few breaths and stepped up to the locked security door that stood in the middle of the room. On the other side was the package his squad as going to need to get to. It was his objective, and his target. His training came down to this. He took his final step and exhaled and took another deep breath than began. Looking over the wires, on the damaged door Andrew could see that it had been shot with a blaster of high power. So who ever might be on the other side of this door is going to be packing serious heat. Andrew motioned for his holo-squad to move up to the door in pacification positions.

The timer began to tick down. 3 minuets hit and the Science Officer let Andrew know by shouting it at him, hoping the tension would break him. Andrew kept control though, thinking in his mind Heh, my dream was more stressful than this dull guy. If thats what this Empire is going to be like I want all in, but if my challenge is going to be fake doors and science officers the whole time I think I'm gonna puke. So lets get over this phase of training Andrew.' "One minuet thirty seconds." yelled the Science Officer. Andrew typed in multiple clearance codes the control panel had shown. None of them were working. He finally decided that cracking wasn't the method to use. With one minuet remaining he spiked the door which left his squad in danger.

With no choice but to spike the door, the spike sent a surge frying the security circuits temporarily. This made the door fly open and it exposed a holo bomber and the bomb. The squad moved in however due to Andrews call for pacification, and the bomber was stunned and brought to his knees, disarmed and strapped down while the bomb was disarmed by the other holotrooper. It was not good he had to spike the terminal, but that was always a last resort on a bomb threat, and his time was running out. The professor looked over. "So I see you spiked it instead of bypassing with a password. Any particular reason?" Andrew sighed. "I was running out of time, and a spike was the proper tactic that I felt we could use."

The Science Officer smiled slightly "Its okay, you pass with a ninety. A spike is the only way to pass this exam unless you can code beyond human speeds and manage to unscramble the one correct password from the eighteen incorrect passwords. Congratulations Engineer. Andrew was shocked. So he had gained two experiences out of this whole ordeal that day. Knowing your enemy is always the best tactic when in a tight situation. And useing extreme methods are often necessary in a tight situation as well, so don't be afraid to take them. This knowledge on top of the knowledge gained on electronics would help him become a better engineer in future services, and would definitely be an alternative to some situations that most people wouldn't know to take.

Superb. Very well planned out. I especially like the dream. It gave you an oppertunity to show us your character, and you, know electronics and such with a special twist that wouldn't normally work in the reality. Nice job. Only thing I can say is make sure you put all your quotation marks down. Other than that, you passed once again with extracredit from me.

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TRP/PFC Andrew Shadows/Squad 1/Platoon 2/Company 1/Battalion 1/VEA

                  Private BV, being new in the Jester Squad, decided to take some names. In the Cafeteria he saw some weird stuff that smelled wierd and made noise as it moved, but besides that he saw coffee. He sat down next to one particularly smelly indiividual, stuck out his hand and said "Hi! I'm BV, and I'm new around here."

                The man just drank his coffee. BV tried to get his attention, until the man finally said, "Just drink some coffee or shoot something!"

"But I don't like coffee!" BV responded stupidly. The man then pryed open BV's mouth, poured his coffee in and sprinted out of there.

Later, on the range. Bv shot statistics. 20,000 shots fired. 3 targets hit. "What are you on private!!!" BV knew everyone outranked him, sohe responded formally, "COCOCOCOCOCOCOCOCOCOCOCOOCOCOCOCOCOCOCOCOFFFFFFFFFFFFEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!" Whilst snapping 117 sharp salutes.

Heavy Weapons
Story 1: Fire Support Tactics



Darin groaned as he crawled out of his bunk at some ungodly hour of the morning. His chronometer read 0530, several hours earlier than he had been accustomed to waking, even when he had lived in the wilderness of Naboo. A shudder racked his body as memories rose from the depths of his mind of the horrors he had been through in the wilds, and he quickly shoved them away. His first day of training began now. The datapad he had been given said he was to report to classroom 503 for his first course in Heavy Weapons, which would detail Fire Support Tactics, or FST. He swung his legs off of his bunk, and his feet recoiled at the cold durasteel floor. "Of course the Empire can't afford floor-based heating for the military," the young man grumbled under his breath as he reached for the lockbox containing his battle dress uniform.

He pulled on the knee-high black socks, smiling at the warmth they brought to his feet as he stood. He dug slightly deeper into the box, pulling out his fatigue pants and coat. Before either of those though, he shrugged on the simple black t-shirt. By the powers it was cold here! Next he stepped into his pants, pulling them up and buttoning them as they went, then tucking in his t-shirt. Reaching once more into the lockbox, he pulled out the simple black web-belt, and cinched it tight around his waist through the belt-loops in his pants. He pulled the pantlegs down completely, and pulled the drawstrings at the ends fully tight and tied them. Those would go inside his boots. Next he shrugged on the fatigued coat, and buttoned it up as well. He still had what the vets called 'slick sleeves,' no patches or other such embroidered pieces for his uniform. Next were the boots, which lay at the foot of his bunk. He pulled these up over socks and pantlegs, making sure both were smooth and tight to prevent creases. Lacing the boots up tight, he tied them and tucked the laces back down the boot, then bloused his pantlegs over them.

Darin checked the chronometer again. The whole process of getting dressed had taken him about five minutes, and now he was fully ready to attend his FST course. Striding quickly through the corridors of the Academy, slicking his newly cut hair down as he went, Darin's eyes were constantly scanning for classroom numbers. He took a right at the next intersection, and ended at room 503. He nodded. Now that he knew where it was, it was time to get some breakfast in him, as his growling stomach reminded him. Class didn't start until 0600 anyway.

He strode quickly towards the mess hall, falling into the mass of uniformed bodies on their way to a similar meal. It took perhaps another ten minutes to make it through the throng to the mess hall, and another five waiting in line. Breakfast was an unusual mixture of slop and gruel, but Darin gulped it down greedily. It was the first man-made meal he'd had in three years, and he was grateful for it. After another ten minutes of socializing with the other recruits, it was time to get to class. Darin stood up and delivered the metal bowl to the messdroid, then backtracked to the classroom, this time accompanied by two other privates whose names he didn't bother to get.

Once inside the classroom, they were greeted by a grizzled looking sergeant, who held in his hand a simple helmet, no doubt a simhelmet from the look of it. "Good day privates," the sarge's voice was rough and gravelly, and his blue eyes danced as he looked over the three recruits. "No doubt you three know why you're here, so I won't waste any time on that account. Which of you thinks they can tell me what Fire Support Tactics means?"

Darin at once raised his and, and at a nod from the sergeant, began explaining. "Fire support tactics, or FST, are a group of tactics meant to impair the enemy's visibility, and aid in the movement of your fire team. They are not meant to directly harm the enemy, simply to keep them pinned down while the rest of your squad moves into a position to do the real damage." The sergeant nodded and smiled briefly. "Very good Private. You'll be the first to put on this helmet and go through the simulation."

Darin nodded and stepped forward, taking the proferred helmet and putting it on. The sergeant pressed a button the helmet, and instantly Darin was in the middle regions of Coruscant. In his hands he held a large repeating blaster, and the heavy load on his back told him it was a T-21 repeater. Perfect. The weapon had a 2x magnification setting, as well as a tripod for stability. Looking around he saw four other men in uniform, each holding an E-11 blaster rifle, one of them had a large communications pack on his back, and another bore a medical bag. The ranking officer, a first lieutenant, also had three grenades strapped to his belt, which jingled as he addressed Darin. "Private, the rebs have got us pinned down behind this corner. We need you to get a good fix on their location, and keep their heads down while the rest of us move and take them out."

Darin nodded and at once took a crouched position behind a pile of debris, flipping the tripod out and setting it in front of him. He flipped up the sights and pressed the butt-stock against his right shoulder, and his right cheek to the gun, peering through the rectangular sights in front of him. No sign of any enemies were apparent, so Darin decided to try a distraction. He took a sizeable rock from the pile in front of him, and tossed it out into the middle of the street. Instantly blaster fire rang out from a doorway on the second level of a building in front of him. Only a couple shots, but they were enough for him to get a fix on their position.

Moving himself so he could get a clear line of fire, Darin peered through the sights at the doorway, barely seeing the fluttering fabric of a rebel uniform. It was a uniform he had seen before, and he at once suppressed the memory of the rebels killing his parents three years prior. That was then and this was now. Now that Darin saw one of them, the other three became quickly apparent. One was peering through a window to the first's left, and the other two were prone in the doorway. Darin allowed himself a smirk before squeezing the trigger. A burst of three rounds belched out from the weapon, but the recoil nearly broke Darin's shoulder. He had never before fired a weapon like this. But this time he knew how to compensate. He fired again, this time holding it out for longer, letting off every tenth round to keep his aim consistant, but keeping the rate of fire up so that the rebs never got a chance to return fire.

While he was doing this, the lieutenant was ordering the men to a position just ahead and to the left of Darin's current cone of vision. That was fine, he had to keep up the rate of fire to keep the rebs suppressed. Out of his peripheral vision he could see the last man, the medic, get into place, and the el-tee motioning Darin to move. The private flipped up the bipod and stood firing inaccurately as he ran to keep the enemy pinned down, though it wasn't as accurate. A few shots rang out from the doorway in front and above, one almost catching Darin's right ear.

Once he was safely in position, he could feel himself sucked back into the classroom, with the sergeant nodding and smiling at him. "Congratulations private, you actually know what you're doing." Turning to the other two, "You two will both have your turn. Private Saine, you are dismissed."


  PASS. There are just a few things to work on. Mainly, there were a couple spots that were basically useless to the whole of the story and didn't provide character development. An example is your whole paragraph on getting dressed. That can be surmised in a single sentance. Now, details are nice-plus you don't always have to write about the story directly-but when doing this, normally, the extra information has to generally increase knowledge on your character, build upon him in a certain way, or come back to apply in the main part of the story. Grammar, spelling, and all that stuff are very good. All around, for your first general story post for the Army, very well done. Just, keep what I said in mind when doing it. )

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TRP/PFC Darin Saine/1SQD/2PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA
=====================================
"If you think I'll sit around as the world goes by; you're thinkin' like a fool 'cause it's a case of do or die. Out there is a fortune waiting to be had. You think I'll let it go you're mad you've got another thing comin'."

Sayah quietly strolled into the barracks in stormtrooper armour. Pausing at the doorseal, he watched the members of Jester play sabbacc, watch holomovies, and generally relax. He let his mind drift for a second before inhaling deeply and stepping in. He walked to a vacant bunk and lay down, staring at the ceiling and thinking about the events of the past two months...

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TRP/PFC Sayah/1SQD/2 PLT/1 COM/1 RGT/1BAT/Tadath/VEA

"We're all dying. Promise yourselves you'll be the last to go."
Commander Salvo