It had been two weeks since the DarkDragoon's last mission, causing Kairo to become bored and uneasy. He knew that something was bound to happen that would put them on their next mission but felt apprehensive and useless until it did. Over the course of the two weeks, the rest of the squad had taken to their normal habits, but a few sad things had happened. A members of the squad had left: Squall. The blow was deep when Kairo found out that they had to leave. Kairo was told by Rizzit on the third day of his return from Cepany that Squall would be leaving for undisclosed reasons. 

  The day the squad had arrived back, Kairo had been happy to see Zafo back to his almost old self. He had changed, but that was to be expected after a man has gone through an emotional break from reality. Over the next few days, as the people began to leave, Kairo started to feel like it was his fault that they were leaving, as if the mission at Cepany had caused it. As each of them left, Kairo became more and more secluded, leaving instructions with the rest of the members still around for them to follow and staying in his office for days at a time going over mission files and searching through old records. Once and awhile he was visited by TJ or Zafo to check on him. After the first week had passed, Kairo had finally broken out of his spell of self doubt. He had gone through these spells before and had become used to them. As time moved on and they entered the second week of their return, the squad began to do simulations. Kairo chose a different simulation everyday for them to follow. Sometimes joining the squad in the simulator, while other times he gave them group missions or even had them take on solo objectives.

  Then Kairo began to get an idea of what the squad was capable of doing. One and half weeks after their return from Cepany, Kairo left the training in Zafo's hands. He returned to his office to pour over data, equipment charts, and trooper specialties. A day later, Kairo had gone to Rizzit with a proposal. He hadn't really thought that Rizzit would give it the time of day, but he had to give it a shot. Kairo asked if Rizzit would change the DarkDragoon's equipment and maybe even their specialization. Leaving what he had come up with in a datapad with Rizzit, Kairo returned to his daily routine. Over the next few days, Kairo let the squad rest after their many days of training. Finally, Rizzit called him to his office.

  As he approached the door, Kairo wondered why he had been called. He had expected Rizzit to just send him a message and not personally say no. Once he arrived, he saw that the door was open. As he stepped into the office, Kairo caught sight of a form leaning behind his desk. "Is that you sir?"

  Kairo heard a solid thump and a curse, and then, a moment later, Rizzit's head appeared above the desk. "Yes it is." Rizzit said sharply.

  "Should I have knocked?"

  "No. You're fine. The door was open." Rizzit responded.

  "Why were you under your desk, and," Kairo noticed a few boxes around the room, "what is with all of the boxes?"

  "I'm moving offices. I'm now Company Commander." Rizzit stated.

  "Congratulations." Kairo said.

  "There will be a ceremony and all that some other time, but right now, I have a proposition for you." Kairo nodded and sat down at one of the chairs. "I want you to run a simulation to see if the equipment will work out.You will be going to Daylid. A recent team of miners and scientist went there to set up a base and see if there was anything worth the Vast Empires time and money. They have been there for a few months now and were making progress until their overseeing company lost touch with them. The company sent a group of their own to investigate, but they disappeared also. They then asked us to send some people to investigate. Now, even if this is a simulation, this isn't a mission the army would really take, but once you have recovered the group of people, you will be training with that new list of equipment you asked for the other day."

  Kairo started, "You mean you accepted the proposal?"

  "Yes and no. Depending on how the training goes and if the change works out well for the army will decide if the change stays. Here is a datapad with all of the information you need. You can start the simulation whenever you want. Have fun. I need to get back to packing." As Kairo left the room, he heard another loud thump and a curse from behind him.

  Once he was back in his office, Kairo uploaded the datapads information into his terminal and went to work.

___________________________ Three Hours Later _____________________________


  An hour before the meeting, Kairo had called Zafo to his office. The newly appointed assistant squad leader arrived shortly after Kairo had sent the summoning. "That was quick."

  "I wasn't doing anything." Zafo said as he entered the room. Kairo motioned at the two chairs, and Zafo took a seat. "So, what are we going to be doing now?"

  Kairo smiled. "DD is going to be going on a little simulation mission." Kairo then explained the details to Zafo, who started to get a bigger and bigger as Kairo elaborated.

  "New equipment huh? So, we finally get to use walkers legitimately?"

  Kairo laughed. "Yes, they will be ours now. Well, the armies technically. Plus an e-web and f-web for some added fire power, but only if the simulation works out and Rizzit thinks the change is good. So, once we find the stranded group and figure out what happens, we send them home and begin training. The snow terrain will give us a wide variety of things to do. We'll need to have Gio, Sam, and TJ figure out the web cannons. TJ's a sharpshooter, but I'm sure he can lend a hand. Gio and Sam are both Combat Engineers, but Gio did have some past training as a heavy weapons specialist. I'm sure that they can all figure it out. Meanwhile, we get to use the walkers. Not so much learning how to use them, as learning how to use them together: team work, back up, battle field negotiation, partnership, and all that stuff. I sent a message to the rest of the squad. We will all be meeting in the briefing room in another thirty minutes. I'll see you there. You're dismissed. I still have to a few things to prepare.

  Leaving the room, Zafo walked away with a lighter step than when he had arrived. Kairo knew that Zafo would love being able to use walkers, since Zafo and him shared a love for vehicles.

__________________________ Thirty Minutes Later ____________________________


  The DarkDragoons were waiting inside the briefing room when Kairo arrived. They must have been waiting for something like this to happen. At least they aren't dreading another mission.  Maybe Zafo already told some of them about the equipment. Walking around the table to the head seat, Kairo dropped into his chair and scanned the faces of his troopers. They either showed signs of apprehension or excitement. Without prolonging their agony of wait, Kairo said, "As I'm sure some of you have found out from Zafo here," Kairo motioned to his right where Zafo sat, "We might be getting some new equipment to use."

  "Yes," Giovanni said, then looked around as he realized he had said it out loud.

  "I'm glad you're excited Gio, since you will be working with some of the new equipment. I'm sure you will be happy to learn how to operate an e-web and use it properly on a battle field, especially in sub-zero temperatures." Kairo smiled.

  "I know I'm going to sound odd saying this, but that actually sounds fun." Gio informed the rest of the group. Sam grinned, while Arrow let out a little guttural laugh.

  "Now, to get the equipment for real, we will be doing some training and a mission in a simulator. We will be going to Daylid," Kairo hit a button on a small control panel on the table infront of him, causing a holographic image of the planet to appear above the middle of the table. "It is a world completely covered in ice and tundra. A group of miners and scientists went there to see if the world would be of any use to the Vast Empire. They were doing quite well for a few months until a few weeks ago when they disappeared. Their over head company sent a search team for them, but they disappeared also. The company has asked the army to investigate. This is where we come in to the picture. It should be an easy mission. They probably just got stuck in one of the blizzards on the planet and aren't able to send a message back. The search party probably crash landed or got lost, since the planet has no cities and no landing areas. Of course, there may be something bad happening on Daylid, but we should be able to handle it.

    "Once we find the group and send them home, we will be training with our new equipment, which consists of two At-Sts, an At-UE, two flachette launchers, E-11/f rifles, an E-web, and an F-web. For this mission, we will also be given snow trooper armor. The simulation will start in three and a half hours. If you want anything extra on the mission tell me. Other wise we will just be using what I said above. So if you want stormtrooper armor, some personal items, two extra weapons if you wish, and any other items that you see fit, tell me, but our main equipment will already be on the shuttle that we start on in the simulation. Once the shuttle arrives at the planet in the simulation, we will be setting up a base for our operations. I have the scientists and search parties last known coordinates. Any questions?" Kairo finished.

  Arrow raised his hand and turned on his translator. Kairo nodded. Arrow issued a few growls and woofs which were quickly translated by the tiny computer attachment that he had on his neck. "What will I be wearing? I don't think I can fit into that kind of armor."

  "You, being a wookie, will be given protection for some of the parts of your body and a breather unit. The armor will consist of a chest plate and a helmet. That should suffice. You could go with nothing if you prefer, since wookies have been known to survive at very low temperatures." Kairo explained.

  "I see," Arrow growled.

  "Anything else?" Kairo asked. Everyone shook their heads. "Then you're dismissed. I'll see you in simulation room twenty-four in," Kairo looked at his chronometer, "Seventeen hundred hours. See you then." Talk immediately broke out as everyone started to discuss the equipment and began to leave the room. Kairo wasn't surprised when everyone took turns asking for certain things to be programmed into the simulation. After everyone had filed out from the room, Kairo headed toward the simulation room to prepare. This could be interesting.

 
-----------------------
Senior Sergeant Kairo
Squad Leader
*DarkDragoons*

SL/SR.SGT Kairo/2SQD/1PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE [CDS][BoA][CoR]

Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will be victorious in ten thousand battles.
You may forget the past, but it always has a way of haunting your future.
Men can die, but a symbol is eternal.

After a few moments of close examination, Giovanni took a seat and wiped his brow.

"How to do this..." he asked himself aloud. The holodisplay on the datapad sprung to life. A projected image of an AT-ST came to life. He studied over the frame and decided where an E-web cannon could be attached without hindering the overall performance of the walker. He wanted to figure it out before he entered the simulator, because once they boarded the AT-STs there would be little time besides that spent on looking for the missing people. It wasnt Giovanni's kind of mission, but it was a mission nonetheless.

Giovanni knew what he would do. He'd need Sam's help in order to get things set up in time, but it could be done. Giovanni sat up and made his way back into the Briefing Room. Anxious chatter and ocassional laughter filled the air.
Everyone was excited to be back on their feet. Giovanni sure needed it. He hadn't had much to do besides eat Lancer's food and listen to their stories with Zafo. That got boring very quickly though, so he wandered around the base looking for things to do.

The Corporal and newly appointed Fire Team Leader took a seat and struck up a conversation.

"So... Your thoughts on the upcoming mission?" asked Gio as he laid back in his seat and let out a sigh.

"Its just a simulation... Walk in the park." responded the hairy gargantuan figure seated directly in front of him.

Giovanni nodded, and let out another sigh.

Mounting an E-web and F-web to the undercarriages of our AT-STs... I have got to be out of my mind.

The mere thought of the work involved was tiring him. But for now, He'd talk to the Dragoons some more. He hadn't seen Kairo nor Zafo in a few days, and he wanted to catch up.

 
-----------------------
*DarkDragoons*

*Corporal Giovanni A. Bryden*

FTL/CPL Giovanni Bryden/2SQD/2PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE/[LoR]

Whenever death may surprise us, let it be welcome if our battle cry has reached even one receptive ear and another hand reaches out to take up our arms.

*DELETE THIS*

Zafo raised his hand to shield his eyes from the wave of light that flooded the previously dark room.

"Welcome to Daylid" Kairo said with a smile on his face

Zafo looked out at the barren snow wasteland. Zafo let out a small sigh. After all, that would be ones expected reaction after visiting Cepany. After all, it's hard to even come close to matching such a planet in beauty. Zafo snapped back to the harsh reality and tried to make a positive observation about the miles and miles of snow.

"Nice room for testing out these new walkers..." Zafo thought up.

Zafo was not the only one who's response was silence.

"Well, we've got a lot of work to do before we set out" Zafo said braking the silence as his first real order as the new Dark Dragoons assistant squad leader. "Gio, Sam, you two are responsible for setting up fortifications and defenses of sorts. The rest of you, unload any equipment that needs to be unloaded or help where you are needed"

Zafo looked over at Kairo for approval. He nodded his head and held up his hand to add something.

"Dragoons, I am pleased to announce that a former member of the Dragoons has come out of retirement to once again serve in our ranks. I'd like you all to welcome back, Lance Corporal Slash"

Zafo turned to where Kairo was pointing and saw a trooper he didn't ever recall seeing, even in the simulator room. He tossed the trooper a friendly wave, he would speak to him during the set up process.

"Well, you guys heard Zafo" Kairo spoke out to the squad "Now get to work..."

 
-----------------------
~ZaFo
*DarkDragoons
+ Advance Recon Commandos {ARC} +
ASL/SGT ZaFo/2SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE
~Keep on Rocking in the Free World

    Sam walked over to Slash and said, "Welcome back to the squad."
    "Quit yapping and get over here Sam!" Gio yelled.
    Sam hurried back over to Gio. "Sorry, but I was introducing myself to Slash. Geez, it's not like we don't have plenty of time to build of fortifications, " Sam retorted, "Besides, the cold might to some good for a few of these people."
    Sam began to unload a crate of constrution tools. Gio began to lock down the ship and prepare it for fortifications. The rest of the squad began to unload the e-web blasters and such.
    Kairo began to look about the barren landscape with electro-binoculars in search of any dangerous creatures that may be near their landing zone.
 
-----------------------
TRP/CPL Sandwich Sam 2SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE [LoR]
*DarkDragoons*
Roses are #FF0000
Violets are #0000FF
All my base are belong to you.

"So... what do you think?" asked Gio.

He and Sam were looking over trying to find ways to reinforce the structure of the ship, without hampering its ability to leave the area quickly in case of an emergency. Sam was slightly miffed, but it was nothing a good hour or two of hard labor wouldn't solve.

"I was thinking the first thing we should do is set up some sort of perimeter defense. I wouldn't want to wake up to an animal knawing on my leg in the middle of the night... or any other part of me, for that reason..." replied Sam.

He and Gio were walking around and inspecting the dropship. Gio ran his fingers over the ships hull and pounded some parts of it, creating a rythmic thud that was beginning to annoy the Dragoons standing a few meters away from them.

"We can always set up the E-webs here while we're camping out. They'll obliterate anything that comes within striking distance. We can always mount them back onto the walkers when we're ready to ride out..." said Gio with a smirk on his face.

He walked over to Sam and wrapped his arm around him.

"Come on, let's set these E-webs up. I'll buy you a drink later."

"Is that right? Didn't know there were cantinas in deserted tundras..." retorted Sam.

"I'll be damned if i can't turn that dropship into one by the end of the day. Now let's go. Kairo's getting more paranoid by the second, lets ease his nerves a bit and put up the guns."


 
-----------------------
*DarkDragoons*

*Corporal Giovanni A. Bryden*

FTL/CPL Giovanni Bryden/2SQD/2PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE/[LoR]

Whenever death may surprise us, let it be welcome if our battle cry has reached even one receptive ear and another hand reaches out to take up our arms.

As Zafo went off to ogle the 'chickens',  Slash met up with the other commtech, Marcus, and set to work trying to get a comm band up and working.

Slash started fiddling with his backpack commset, holding the headset to one ear, and was scanning the dials for ten minutes before he caught a signal, then punched up the signal gain before setting the commset to rebroadcast it on external speakers.

"Hey, Marcus! Come listen to this! I caught a long-range bounce transmission here!"

The other lance made his way over and crouched down, listening.

"...y the Maker! That's a good one you got there, Collis. Where'd you say you picked it up? Oh, well, I boosted it off a parked Gymsnor-V at that spaceport on Amuud...it was easy to get it aboard my baby and boogie on outta there. Good job, man, I bet the Chief's gonna lov..."

Slash wondered for a moment what the Sith they were talking about, then looked up at Marcus. "So? What do you think that was? Maybe some in-system traffic?"

Marcus sat back on his haunches, then stood. "I dunno, Slash. I think it might just be some passive pickup from a passing ship. You've got the gain turned up all the way, so I wouldn't be surprised."

Slash checked the gain, and sure enough, it was high. He shrugged and figured it'd be the best way to pick up any stray comm traffic, then went back to setting up the comm system with Marcus.
 
-----------------------
Lance Corporal Elliot "Slash" Reikan

TRP/LCPL/1Sqd/2Plt/1Co/1Bat/1Reg/1Div//VE

Slash walked out of the galley, muttering to himself about the semisentient food, and headed back to the main comm station. He passed Kairo's datapad to Marcus, and the two technicians set to work presetting the main comm to scan the channels needed.

After shuffling through several boxes off comm equipment, Slash finally found the necessary blank recording rods, and plugged them in. He double-checked the power feed running to the bodged-together E-web power generator, then sat back, sighing and running his hands througk his hair.

"Marcus? do me a favor, buddy...tell Sarge that the comm's ready. I have to start setting up my backup commset as a retransmitter for the squad. Thanks man."

Watching Giovanni walk away with the bowl of gruel, Kairo shook his head. He has some very odd tastes. Turning to Zafo, he asked, "You ready to have a look at those walkers?"

    Zafo grinned, "Since this simulator started."

  "Good, follow me." Kairo and Zafo left the kitchen and headed to their left. Climbing a fourth of the way down the ladder, Kairo stepped off onto a catwalk that circled the cylindrical drop ship. Walking carefully around, Kairo stopped at the first At-St. "This one is yours. Check the systems out and such. I'll be talking with ya through the comchannel so I don't get bored." Kairo walked away and looked back as Zafo climbed down into the walker.

  Once he had arrived at his walker, Kairo opened the hatch and climbed inside. Settling into the familiar seat and looking at the controls, Kairo flipped the first few switches instinctively. Waiting for the iron beast to fully come alive, Kairo spoke through the comlink. "How's it going for you Zafo?"

  "Just going through the motions," came the response.

  "I know what you mean. I hope this mission goes well, so we can have these for real." Kairo idly talked as he started his systems check.

  As Kairo's display began to show all the systems and check them off as operational, Zafo said, "Yeah. These simulations can only do so much, but this should still be fun."

  Kairo heard a hint of cockiness in Zafo's voice and quickly stated, "This isn't going to be a joy ride Zafo. Make sure you keep a level head through the sim. Understand?"

  There was a pause, "Yeah. I know. I just meant that we haven't gotten to use these in a mission yet."

  "True. Ah, mine's done. Time to check all the systems for real now. Talk to you later." Kairo turned off his comunit and slid under the control panel. Opening the hidden access panel, Kairo set to work. Even though I know this is a simulation and I know nothing is going to be wrong, I still have to do this, just incase we get these for real. Plus, all the systems seem to run more efficiently once I'm done.

 
-----------------------
Senior Sergeant Kairo
Squad Leader
*DarkDragoons*

SL/SR.SGT Kairo/2SQD/1PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE [CDS][BoA][CoR]

Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will be victorious in ten thousand battles.
You may forget the past, but it always has a way of haunting your future.
Men can die, but a symbol is eternal.

As expected, the standard systems check went through without any problems. Experience and vehicle crewman classes had taught him that a systems check was really just skin deep. They checked mostly vitals and didn't pick up on all minor problems that could occur. If it was urgent, there would be no problem with taking the mechanical nightmare out into the battlefield, simply under passing a systems check, but these were brand new plus there was time to kill.

Zafo slid off the pilot's seat and began to check various circuitry and concealed control panels to do a much more thorough, manual systems check. All things were working in a "fresh off the market" state. It felt strange to Zafo checking all these things and having all in proper working order.

Zafo closed up the hidden panels and once again, took a seat in the pilot's chair. It sunk down slightly under Zafo's weight and the seat suspension caused the seat to take a small bounce. Zafo slid his fingers over the never before touched controls with a smile on his face. He hit a switch in front of him, which illuminated a screen off to the side. Sending his hand flying over a nearby keyboard, he brought up different reading of the AT-ST. As he went down the list of numbers, one in particular caught his attention. He stared at the number and shook his head

"That can't be right" Zafo said aloud, reaching for the comlink

"My power output figures are a bit sketchy" Zafo spoke over the comlink "How are yours?"

There was a moment of silence before the digital transmission of Kairo's voice passed through the small speaker;

"Mine's reading fine. That's strange though, I didn't think they shipped these off without running a standard systems check"

"That's the strange part" Zafo replied "The systems check didn't pick it up. Guess I gotta take a look at it"

Zafo shut down the walker and climbed out of the cockpit. He pulled out some tools from a nearby toolbox and set to work. He removed armor plating and such until the power core was reachable. Immediately the problem was visible; one of the power absorbers had not been properly fastened to the power cell. All that was needed to fix the problem was literally a couple of screws. He found them lying in the toolbox and within minutes, fixed the problem.

While everything was dismantled, Zafo checked for other things that could be wrong, but found nothing. He put everything back in place and climbed into his walker's cockpit once again.

"Every thing all right?" Kairo's voice broke out over the comlink speaker for the first time in a while

"We are about to find out" Zafo replied as he started up the massive vehicle. The engine whirled, just asking to be charged into battle. He ran the systems check, once again. When it finished without error, he brought up the same screen on which he had previously found the error. This time, the numbers that showed were much more pleasing.

"Yeah, things are working fine now, It was just a loose connection" Zafo replied, as he continued to search his legged terror for errors...       

 
-----------------------
~ZaFo
*DarkDragoons
+ Advance Recon Commandos {ARC} +
ASL/SGT ZaFo/2SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE
~Keep on Rocking in the Free World

The four Dragoons walked towards the cargo bay, helmets in hand. When they reached the mechanical beasts, each went their way.

"Go ahead" Zafo motioned to Gio as they stood at the feet of the AT-ST. Gio climbed up and disappeared through the hatch, into the cockpit, followed closely by Zafo. The moment he hit the seat, Zafo's hands flew across the controls. Within seconds, the walker's engines were starting and a systems check was already running.

Zafo looked to his right and saw Gio, doing a couple of checks of his own.

"Everything good on your end?" Zafo asked

"Yup. Everything is running just fine" Gio replied

There was a pause. Zafo reached into his pocket and pulled out a strange object with a string of sorts going through it. He found a small hook above and in front of him which he looped the string across. Then he lay back and emitted a small sigh of satisfaction.

"A Rancor's tooth" Zafo said, in response to Gio's puzzled look "There's quite an interesting story behind it actually, maybe I'll get around telling it sometime"

"Seems like we are going to have much of it, who knows how much searching we'll have to do" Gio replied

Zafo was about to continue the conversation when Kairo's voice sounded through a comlink;

"You guys ready to set out?" the voice inquired

Zafo looked to Gio, who nodded on his behalf. "Yeah, we are ready"

In response, the door at the opposite end of the hangar slowly began to open.

"You first" Kairo said through the comlink, anticipation in his voice "I'm loading the scientist's last know location into your navigation computer"

"Oh and Zafo" Kairo continued

"Yeah"

"I know I don't have to tell you this again but..."

"Don't worry, I'll keep control. I want to keep these just as much as you do" Zafo concluded

Zafo carefully inched the accelerator forward. The walker began to take slow, powerful steps towards the hangar's exit. When both walkers left the drop ship, and the door was sealed behind them Zafo looked to the open snow plain spoke into his comlink;

"Just once?" Zafo pleaded

"Once" came Kairo's response

Before Zafo could react, Kairo's walker had already picked up speed and darted past Zafo and Gio. In response, Zafo threw forward the accelerator, shooting the walker forward, pushing Zafo back into his seat.

"Woah..." Zafo heard Gio to his side

Zafo just smiled and continued. He felt a slight rush at the thought of all the power that lay at his finger tips. He began to pull a couple of basic maneuvers as the four Dragoons charged towards the scientists' last known position...

 
-----------------------
~ZaFo
*DarkDragoons
+ Advance Recon Commandos {ARC} +
ASL/SGT ZaFo/2SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE
~Keep on Rocking in the Free World

  As Kairo pushed the throttle ahead and sped past Zafo's walker, he felt a small thrill move through him. It's always nice to be in a walker. Looking to the side, Kairo saw Sam grab at the anything he could and brace himself.

  "Do you have to go so fast? I don't really trust these hunks of metal that much." Sam groaned.

  "You'll get use to it." Kairo said. "I'm sure you handle this. You've been in walkers before, but probably not with me. I do like to do some interesting things. Oh well. Ah, we're approaching the last know area." Opening the comchannel, Kairo said, "Look sharp Dragoons. Once we reach the area, there might not be anything there. In that case, the base is probably buried by snow or hidden from view. Use your scanners Zafo, and we'll move around the area in search of a signature in every spectrum."

  "Got it." Zafo's voice stated.

  Turning off the comtransmission, Kairo slowed the AT-STs pace and pulled to a stop at as the walker moved over a small rise in the ground. Beneath them lay a small, barren dent in the ground that had a diameter of five hundred meters. "You reading or see anything?"

  "Nope," Sam responded. "You said every spectrum, right?"

  "Yes, scan in every spectrum." Kairo's hands moved over the controls as he made the walker move to the right and break away from Zafo. The two walkers moved around the snow basin, until they met on the opposite side. "Anything Zafo?"

  "Just the usual lump of ice," came the expected response.

  "Great. You stay here and keep a look out; I'm going down and checking in the middle." Kairo heard Zafo respond but didn't bother in letting it register. "Turn the sensors to max. Take twenty percent power from the weapon systems and divert it into the sensors."

  Sam looked at him for a moment then said, "Do you really think I know how to do that?"

  "Oh, right. Sorry." Kairo kept the walker moving forward at a slow pace while his hands raced across the controls in front of him. They were a blur as his brain followed the procedure by second nature. In a moment, the transfer had been initiated and finished. "Did it work?"

  "All set. You have to teach me how to do that some time." Sam said.

  "Next time we don't have a mission." The iron beast slowly stepped across the snowy expanse, until Kairo heard something from Sam's display. Straightening from his unintentional slouch, Kairo asked, "What do you have?"

  "A small heat pattern way beneath the snow, plus it says there is a denser material beneath the surface. Probably some form of metal. This must be the place; it's just underground." Sam finished with an excited tone in his voice. "Time for some fun?"

  "I get worried when you say fun." Kairo said. "But yes, I guess you would consider blowing a hole in the snow, fun." Speaking into the comunit, he said, "Zafo, we found it. Get your walker over here. It's beneath us."

  After a few minutes, the two walkers were standing together in the shallow dent in the earth. Kairo and Zafo were talking over the comunit as Gio and Sam tried to find where the entrance to the base was. "How are we going to do this, Kairo?" Zafo was saying. "We could search for days, and never find the real entrance. What do you have planned?"

  "Something that Sam will enjoy. We're going to fire our lasers at a certain point on the surface, melting the snow. Gio and Sam are looking for the highest part of the base beneath the snowy surface. Once the metal is uncovered, one of us is going to launch a missile and blow a hole into the base. Then, we go searching, leaving one of us behind with the walkers. I doubt we will really have to worry about anyone stealing them." Kairo said, without really believing it.

  "Yeah," Zafo laughed, "We are on a barren wasteland after all."

  "I got it," Gio's voice rang through the speaker.

  "Yeah, I just got it also. It's right, here," Sam pointed at a spot on the radar.

  "See you there Zafo." Kairo moved the walker across the snow a little slower this time, knowing that the base lay beneath them. After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at the position. Tilting the walker's heads forward, Zafo and Kairo alternately started to fire into the ground, causing steam and ice to fly into the air. After a minute of blasting, Kairo yelled for them to stop. "Fire one of you're missiles, Gio." Not a second later, a bright light streaked from the side of Zafo's walker. It arced into the ground and hit the uncovered metal. Snow blew into the air, along with pieces of metal. "Nice shot."

  "Thanks. So, who wants to stay with the walkers?" Kairo asked. No one responded. "Don't make me pick."

  "How about you stay behind." Gio's voice stated.

  "Good, we have a volunteer." Kairo stated evilly.

  "What! But! I& fine. I'll stay. But if I die of boredom up here, I want everyone to know it was your fault Kairo." Gio said moodily.

  "Understood, keep them safe." Kairo ordered. Deciding to give Gio a slight warning without giving away the simulation, he said, "Keep a look out. We don't know what's on this planet. Zafo, Sam, get your gear, and meet me on the ground." Within minutes, the three troopers were on the ground with their favored equipment. Kairo held an E-11/F along with a Kylon-3 blaster at his hip, and two of his daggers. He also carried a compackage that Slash had given him that would get through to the drop ship, even beneath fifty meters of snow.  Deciding to test it out, before they entered the scientist's base, Kairo spoke into the comlink. "Can you hear this Slash, Marcus?"

    Kairo only had to wait a moment before he heard Slash say, "Loud and clear. I told you it would work."

    "Good job. I'll have to show this to Rizzit after the simulator." Turning off the comlink, Kairo looked down into the hold the walkers had gouged into the snow and base. "Who's first?" Sam and Zafo exchanged looks beneath their menacing snow trooper helmets. "Fine." With that, Kairo dropped down into the hole. Dropping a few meters, Kairo hit the metal floor with a soft clang and rolled forward. Coming into a crouch, Kairo had his E-11 in position with a light mounted on top to provide illumination. Scanning the area, Kairo was glad to have attached the light, because the bases lights were out. "It's good. You can come down now." Kairo spoke through the comlink to Zafo and Sam; then waited.

 
-----------------------
Senior Sergeant Kairo
Squad Leader
*DarkDragoons*

SL/SR.SGT Kairo/2SQD/1PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE [CDS][BoA][CoR]

Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will be victorious in ten thousand battles.
You may forget the past, but it always has a way of haunting your future.
Men can die, but a symbol is eternal.

  "Take these," Kairo said as he tossed Sam and Zafo a pair of glowrods. "They can't provide a beam of light, but they can light up the area around for a few feet."

  "Great, thanks. Why didn't you give this to us earlier?" Zafo asked.

    "Didn't want to waste their charges," Kairo explained. As Zafo and Sam tried to figure out how to restore power to the underground base, Kairo stood by the door to keep a look out for any signs of life. Many thoughts were moving through his head as he tried to figure out what had happened. Even though he had chosen the simulation and knew the biggest details, he didn't know what would really happen. One thing he knew for sure, the base wasn't supposed to be buried. Curse you Rizzit for changing it after I'd entered. I guess I'll have to run with it. I need to figure out two things first. What was the heat signature at the bottom of the outpost and where are the people that were supposed to be here? After debating these thoughts for a few minutes, Kairo turned away from the haunting darkness in the hallway to see how Zafo and Sam had progressed. "Have any good news for me?"

  Clang! A bright blue light shot from the circuit box and arced to a piece of metal near Sam's head. "Damn it." Sam swore with venom.

  "I'll take that as a no." Kairo grinned in the darkness. Even with the oppressiveness of the base and worry about what would happen next, Kairo couldn't help himself from finding humor in the antics of Sam. He always got things done, but interesting things always seemed to happen along the way. "Are you alright?"

  "I'm fine. Stupid fuse box. Half of it is burnt out or jammed. Plus, these generators are totally frozen. Since the power has been out, the cold has been able to seep into the base and freeze everything. It's a wonder that the hallway isn't like walking on ice."

  "Which means, what?" Zafo asked.

  "This place isn't getting any power. Unless a whole crew comes down here and fixes the whole place. So, it looks like we get to spend the rest of our search in the dark." Sam groaned.

  "Great," Zafo sighed.

  "Then let's get going. There isn't any time to waste. If the power has been out long enough for the equipment to freeze, then there is only a slim chance any of scientists survived." Kairo moved from the room like a ghost, slipping into the darkness. Sweeping his light to the side, Kairo followed it closely. He had always been fascinated by the way darkness seemed to run from the light but was always there. There was always darkness. Even the brightest sun could never get rid of the blackness of space. Their footsteps echoing down into the abyss, the three soldiers searched the first floor of the base. They found a small medical area, four scientist labs, one sleeping area, a stairwell, but no sign of a living being. This was one very nice installation. A lot of money must have been put into this expedition. The ore and material of this planet must show great possibilities.

  "Let's go down." Kairo stated as he approached the door. They had to follow the same process that they had performed on all the other closed doors of the base. Jamming a piece of metal they had grabbed from a laboratory, the three of them pushed and pulled the frozen door apart. As Kairo entered the stairwell, he slipped and grabbed for anything he could grab. As his gloved hand came in contact with the railing, he had but a moment to relax before his glove slipped on the frozen surface. "Shit!" Kairo went plummeting down the stairs, armor and frozen floor seeming to form a frictionless slide. Swirling down for a few moments, Kairo finally collided with a wall as the stairs came to an end. "Ow." He coughed.

  "You ok Kairo?" Sam called from the top of the stairs.

  "Mostly." Kairo called back. "The stairs, walls, and railing are completely frozen. I slid all the way down. Be as careful as you can when you climb down here. I would advise using a dagger or blade of some sort to stab the wall or something." Kairo picked himself off the ground and almost slipped again. This time, his hand shot to one of his daggers with lightning speed. Sliding it from its sheath, he stabbed the wall. Kairo then pulled himself upright.

  "Uh, Kairo. We have a small problem. Only Zafo here has a blade." Sam hollered from the top of the chamber.

  "How far down am I?" Kairo called.

  "Only two levels." Zafo answered.

  "Sam, I'm going to toss one of my daggers. Get ready." Kairo pulled out his remaining dagger and looked up the center of the circular stairs. Bending his arm so his elbow was facing the ceiling, Kairo bent his arm into a ninety degree position and tilted his wrist. In the blink of an eye, his arm snapped into a straight position. The dagger was gone in an instant, flying straight up the cylindrical chamber.

  "Got it." Sam yelled back. "I almost missed it. You can a few inches away from impaling the ceiling. Where did you learn to throw like that?"

  "That's a story for another time. Now get down here. Actually, I want you two to explore the middle floor. I'll check down here. The door is open and it looks like it is just a few rooms." Kairo drew his dagger from the wall and stabbed it ahead of him. He repeated the process until he had reached the door. "Keep in contact." Kairo said through the comlink to make sure it worked.

  "Will do." Zafo responded. Kairo put the dagger back into its sheath and brought his E-11/F to bear, projecting rays of light down the short hallway. Feeling a brush of heat, Kairo realized that this was wear the heat was coming from. Stepping forward, Kairo approached the first of the four doors.

 
-----------------------
Senior Sergeant Kairo
Squad Leader
*DarkDragoons*

SL/SR.SGT Kairo/2SQD/1PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE [CDS][BoA][CoR]

Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will be victorious in ten thousand battles.
You may forget the past, but it always has a way of haunting your future.
Men can die, but a symbol is eternal.

The light protruding from Kario's rifle mounted spotlight faded away, leaving Zafo and Sam in a dim green light emitting from their glowsticks. The eerie lighting made Zafo feel almost like he was dreaming, and none of this was actually happening.

Technically, It isn't though... Zafo quickly shook the thought from his mind. That kind of thinking during a simulation screwed with his mind.

"Shall I go first?" Sam inquired, piercing the black silence

"It's alright" Zafo answered "I'm on to it"

He reached down to his side and pulled out one of his daggers. It was now that he realized he had a second dagger all along. Deciding not to mention anything, Zafo left his second one hidden.

Cautiously, Zafo took a small step into the frozen stairwell. As soon as he felt his feet slipping out underneath him, he pulled back his arm and swung it full force into the wall beside him. Bits of ice flew up and hit his helmet. The blade locked into the wall and he his slipping feet pulled to a halt. He repeated the process several times until he was halfway between Sam's glow and the point where Kairo's light faded away. He extended him arm holding the glowstick, revealing a passageway. Zafo inched his way forward, jabbing his knife into the wall every now and then until at last he regained traction.

"It's down here" Zafo called out to Sam, holding out his glowstick so Sam could make his way easily to Zafo's location.

Within a couple of minutes, Sam was alongside Zafo.

"Quite the workout" Sam joked

"Yeah" Zafo chuckled "Think about Kairo though. He had to fall down it"

"Probably easier than walking"

The two Dragoons laughed as they approached the first door in the hallway. It was nearly falling off it's hinges. Zafo held up his rifle, ready to attack as Sam effortlessly nailed down the door. Zafo quickly stormed into the room, waving his glowstick around, trying to detect any movement. It was quite hilarious, yet at the same time pathetic to see an Imperial soldier waving around a glowstick in such a manner.

Sam laughed at his Assistant Squad Leader's antics, who in return dropped the glowstick and laughed at himself.

"Oh my god..." Sam let out dramatically, his hand pointed behind Zafo

Zafo, suddenly alert, raised his rifle and turned around.
The sight made him jump and let out a stream of curses. Behind him, clutching his chest lay the frozen body of a human being. His flesh was intact from being kept in the cold, and his face showed an expression of great fear.

"We are too late..." Zafo muttered

"Something's not right" Sam quickly added

A small sound was heard from the room located across the hallway. Zafo quickly put away his comlink motioned for Sam to get ready for a minor skirmish. Light began to flood through the cracks around the door ahead of them. The two Dragoons stood, tensed, rifles raised, ready for whatever it was on the other side of the door.

The door hit the floor as beams of intensified light sailed towards Sam and Zafo...

 
-----------------------
~ZaFo
*DarkDragoons
+ Advance Recon Commandos {ARC} +
ASL/SGT ZaFo/2SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE
~Keep on Rocking in the Free World

Giovanni came to his senses after what seemed like days of being out cold. He hadn't opened his eyes yet, but was making minor movements to try and see in what condition he was in. His back was stiff, all the way up his neck. His wrists felt like they were bleeding, and his hands were numb. He had the metallic taste of blood in his mouth, probably due to the fact that his lips were chapped and damn near frozen. He couldn't feel his legs. Panic set in.

When Giovanni opened his eyes, he didn't see much. A white sky, snow, dark clouds. He tried to move his neck to try and confirm his suspicion, but he couldn't tilt it without excruciating pain. Still, he was pretty damn sure he had been attacked. Why else would he be tied up and being carried off somewhere. If only i had stayed in the damn walker...

Gio closed his eyes again and tried to concentrate. Just a sim, you'll be fine. But we need to find a way out of here.

Suddenly, whatever he was on stopped. A gloved hand grabbed him by the neck, causing him to yell in pain. Sharp, piercing eyes closely scrutinized him. He was struck again and fell once more into a deep sleep.
 
-----------------------
*DarkDragoons*

*Corporal Giovanni A. Bryden*

FTL/CPL Giovanni Bryden/2SQD/2PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE/[LoR]

Whenever death may surprise us, let it be welcome if our battle cry has reached even one receptive ear and another hand reaches out to take up our arms.