It seemed like seconds until Kairo let his arms relax and the vibrobladed pike head stab into the ground. Leaning against the staff, he surveyed the area. Trees had been marred by both claws and blaster shots alike. The ground was like a torn image, pieces of it sticking out and craters pocking other areas, along with eight twisted bodies. Blood ran in rivulets through miniature trenches that had been carved by Kairo's wheeling vibropike. Spinning around, Kairo said to the three soldiers, "Report."

  "They cut through my armor in a few places and gave me a few bruises, but I think everything is in order, well except for my armor at least." Abstinance replied. Kairo saw that he had taken a vantage point farther up the hill to use his heavy blaster more safely. Apparently the higher charged energy was able to pierce the creatures' hide, along with viborblades.

  Dropping to the ground to rest, Keef replies, "They almost tore my head off at one point. On of them stabbed me right where my helmet meets my armor. Good thing Abi there was able to shoot him off of me before he got much deeper." Kairo squinted to get a closer look and saw that Keef still had an ugly cut along his neck. "Everything else is ok. I gave up my blaster for my vibroblade, and that seemed to work well. Might be why I'm still alive." Keef shrugged then winced as his armor came in contact with his neck wound.

  Kairo waited a second for Aobee, who was leaning against the hill, to respond. Another few seconds passed. With a sixth sense tickling his spine, Kairo rushed over to Aobee and found him unconscious. Scanning his body for injuries, Kairo found none. Pulling off the helmet, he felt it stick a second. A quick glance told me all he needed to see. "Is he ok?" Keef asked.

  "He just has a concussion. See here," Kairo pointed to an ugly bump. "He got hit on the head so hard his helmet dented and gave him this. Hopefully he isn't bleeding internally, or there is nothing we can do."

  "And how will we know if he is?" Abstinance asked as he dropped from his look out position.

  "We won't," Kairo said truthfully. "But we can't waste anymore time here. Hopefully, we can be at the meeting area, before we see anymore of these." Kairo emphasized by kicking one of the beasts' decapitated head. Moving over to his vibropike, Kairo pulled it free from the ground and walked to the tree line. 

  "Are we leaving him?" Keef asked with an appalled voice.

  Giving Keef a shocked glance, which Kairo realized he wouldn't see through his helmet, Kairo twirled the pike with full force and slammed it into a patch of thin trees. Pressing a hidden button, he shrank it to its cylindrical form and reattached it to his belt. Bending over, Kairo examined the three poles he had created. "Abi, go look in the cave and see if there is any blanket or something like that in there."

  "Roger." Abstinance responded. Choosing two of almost equal length and strength, Kairo picked them up and walked back to Keef, who was looking from Aobee to Kairo then back again.

  "We're not leaving him, and he'll be fine." Kairo said a bit angrily. Laying the poles on the ground, Kairo motioned for Keef to help him lay Aobee between them. "Good, they're long enough."

  "Long enough for what?" Keef asked confused.

  "A stretcher." Kairo explained and glanced up as Abstinance exited the cave with a long piece of fabric.

  "Oh, I knew that." Keef grunted and stepped back, so Abstinance could get to Kairo.

  "Only I could find without a ton of blood seeped into it." Abi explained.

  "It'll do." Kairo replied and set to work. Five minutes later, the three of them were moving quickly through the jungle, with Abstinance and Keef carrying Aobee on the make shift stretcher. Well, that's all you can do for him, Kairo. Now we just hope he does only have a slight head injury. Why couldn't you have just protected them all? With your pike able to rip the creatures to shreds, you should have been able to do more. Shaking his head, Kairo checked to make sure they were heading in the right direction and quickened his pace. Just shut up. He's fine. We'll be at the rebel Ithorian base in twenty minutes and that will be that.. . . A minute later a mocking voice in his head smirked, Sure.


-----------------------
Gunnery Sergeant Kairo
Platoon Commander

PC/GSG Kairo/2PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE [CDS][BoA][CoR][BC][CoV]

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

After roughly thirty minutes, Kairo's group finally made it to where Yystirk said the Ithorian base was. The trip had been long and grueling. Each member of the team had switched around, giving one of them a chance to rest from carrying Aobee's still unconscious form. Motioning for Keef and Absinance to relax and put Aobee down, Kairo looked around for some sign of the base. Well, where is it? The jungle seemed to take on a life of its own for an instant. The trees swayed in a breeze. Birds chirped in unison. A small swirling cyclone gathered leafs off the ground and spun them into the sky; light came down from the canopy in tunnels of light, leading into the crystal blue sky above. Then a sliver of light appeared a few meters ahead of Kairo. The sliver continued to grow until a doorway had fully opened, and two armored Ithorians appeared at the entrance.

Taken aback, Kairo squinted to try to focus his eyes around the door. As his eyes followed hidden lines, his mind formed the image in his head. Before long he was tilting his head back to try to see the top of the hidden building. "How is this possible?" Kairo whispered aloud.

"Image projectors hidden in the trees make it so the naked eye is almost completely deceived even when looking straight at it." A third Ithorian who was stepping out of the doorway answered.

I forgot they have good hearing. "We are here to help you. Has Yytsirk already arrived? I have a man down that needs immediate assistance."

"Yes, Yytsirk arrived awhile ago along with three members of your squad. A shuttle followed them a while after that holding a squad of captured Republic soldiers. They were quite helpful in learning more information about their base. We thank you for that. Also, we found another Imperial group that was sent after you roaming one of the planet's cities. Apparently they were sent to look for you. We were," The Ithorian started to continue.

"Enough of the formalities. My man is down and the other two are worn out. Our trek through the jungle wasn't as expected. Now, since we are already apparently welcome, get your men to help them already. Once that's taken care of, I would like to speak with your leader." Kairo stared the Ithorian down as he started to protest a little.

"Very well. We can skip the necessary proceedings for now." Turning around, the Ithorian motioned for the guards to help Keef and Abstinance. Looking over his shoulder, he said, "Follow me. Your men will be treated." Nodding, Kairo followed the Ithorian into the hidden base with one last look to make sure Abstinance and Keef were alright.

After following the welcome Ithorian through countless twists and turns, Kairo was shown to a dimly light and slightly damp room where five Ithorians were seated around a table. "It is good that you came quickly. It's been half a day, since we met the other members of your team. We have be preparing a long time for this fight, and we don't want to waste another day. The Repbulic commander of this planet has gone too far. Oh, excuse my manners, would you care for anything before we begin?"

"Yes, a glass of water please." Kairo responded, knowing this meeting would probably take awhile. They waited in silence until Kairo's drink arrived. After taking a sip, Kairo leaned back in his chair and said, "Before we begin anything, you need to know that we only came here to find out what happened to our original recon squad to this planet. We have done so, and will be returning to our territory as soon as possible. We aren't prepared for a battle that I think you are planning at this time, but if you can wait only a short while, Imperial assistance for you can be acquired."

There was a stunned silence following Kairo's words. Finally the apparent leader asked, "Does this mean you won't help us in our war. You are going to desert us for the Republic tree killers to destroy us while we wait for your return. We may die before you get back. Their leader has created a toxin designed to kill the forest's guardians. Though we dislike them as well, that is not the answer. The toxin also destroys the tress and any other plant life it comes in contact with. Also, our men have gotten sick if exposed to a part of the forest that is contaminated for too long. If you leave us now, there may be nothing for you to come back to besides a destroyed world with a power hungry Republic general as its ruler."

Kairo took in the Ithorian's words for a moment. "From what you say, this general," Kairo said the word with contempt for the man, "has more than a few squads of Republic soldiers at his disposal. Just how many men does he have at his command?"

"The New Republic forces on this planet have two bases. One based in the middle of the ocean on a built platform fortress. That is where the general resides. Three fourths of his men are stationed there. Three whole platoons report to that platform. They don't all stay there though. Every two squads have been sent to one of the planet's main cities to supposedly keep the peace. They really just control the town, taking whatever they want and saying it's to keep the citizen's protected. The platform does always have three squads stationed there though." The Ithorian paused a second as an aid bent to whisper something in his ear. Nodding, he sent the aid away and continued. "Now, the second base is situated in the jungle near here. Your other group of soldiers passed close by to it on the way here. It, as I think you already know, has only one platoon stationed at it. But now that you captured one of the squads, it only has three. This base is where the general is making his virus. The factory that creates the toxin is one hundred meters away from the main buildings, this is incase the toxin is accidentally released; no harm will come to the base. The jungle around the factory has been turned into a swamp with unknown creatures lurking in its depths. We have been harassing and fighting the scout squads that are sent out in the jungle to test the virus, but we aren't strong enough to attack the base. Can you really leave us in this state?"

Closing his eyes, Kairo let the Ithorians wait as he went over the facts to himself. After a few minutes, his eyes snapped open and locked onto the leader's face. "We'll help you, but you'll follow my plan and my leadership. I say what goes where and when. Also, my squad and I are only staying until we destroy the secondary base and the toxin factory. After that, we will be returning to our command to report back. We will then return with a larger force to deal with this general. Hopefully, with the secondary base and factory destroyed, you will be able to survive long enough until we return. The blow to the general will be devastating if we do destroy the base and factory. It will probably take him awhile to respond, and if you stay hidden here, he will never be able to find you. Also, we won't be heading out tomorrow, as I can assume you want to, but we will wait two days. During that time, I will need all the information you have to form some kind of plan of attack. Also, I heard you found a group of Imperial's in a city near here?" Kairo paused to look at each Ithorian seated at the table.

"That is correct. An entire squad apparently."

They were only in drill when I left. I guess They've been transfered to Jester and were sent here to help us. "Very well. I'll talk with them later. Now, back to the main topic; do we have a deal" Kairo looked around slowly.

Alien chatter broke out around the table as they discussed his terms. Kairo let them wait. He knew what they would say. They needed him and the Vast Empires resources if they were to stand a chance. This was just politics now, something Kairo was all too willing to let them handle. Finally, the leader said, "We agree. Now, shall we start preparing, or do you wish to rest?"

Kairo took a sip from his glass. "I'm ready now. Bring me all the information you have. Also, tell the members of my squad to rest. They have done well so far, but now events have changed our objective. Tell them also to take this opportunity to make friends with our hosts and don't do anything I would approve. Also, tell them I will meet them tomorrow night at five."

"Very well," The leader said and relayed the message to another attendant. So it begins. And here I thought this would just be a simple little recon mission.

(OOC Ok, you guys can post about really anything you want. These Ithorians are our friends, incase any of you were going to do something weird, but that doesn't mean there aren't spies in their midst. You can write about what your character does until the meeting with me, but only to there. I will be writing the meeting details. )


-----------------------
Gunnery Sergeant Kairo
Platoon Commander

PC/GSG Kairo/2PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE [CDS][BoA][CoR][BC][CoV]

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

It's finally ended. Kairo sighed as he was finally allowed to push back from the table. He had hoped to get away sooner, but the Ithorians had continued to talk until all details were mapped out. Kairo almost fell asleep at points when they talked among st themselves, seeming to forget he was even there. The meeting had been them almost overriding anything he said; not blatantly, but subtly ingoring things he said. That hadn't lasted long. Standing up from the desk, Kairo had begun to leave. Stopping him at the door, they asked where he was going. Telling them that it seemed they didn't need him for anything, he would just take his men and head back to Army headquarters. That seemed to catch their attention. After that, it had been Kairo giving directions, though he let them talk among themselves when it came to politics and logistics.

Shaking his head, Kairo rid his mind of the meetings memories. He had to get some sleep. Checking his chronometer, Kairo realized it had been almost a day and half since he had slept, and the meeting he had called for his squad was only a eight hours away. The meeting had gone much longer than expected. Slumping into his assigned quarters, he didn't even bother getting out of the armor he still wore, before he fell onto the small pallet and fainted.

_______ 5 PM _______

Sipping a very strong, caffeinated drink, provided by the Ithorians, Kairo was restless. Things had not gone well. Damn it all. I have to leave the planet right when I said I could help the Ithorians. Looking around the room, Kairo made sure everyone was there. "All right men. We are leaving this planet as soon as this meeting ends. We have more important orders. I know this may seem odd, especially with all that's happened, but the Army is holding a very important mission on Devaron. We are need there more than here. The good news is, another Imperial unit is here to keep things in order until we get back. I don't have the exact details, but they should be able to keep this rebel General's attention for as long as is needed. Now, unfortunately, we have no time to even discuss what's happening. You have thirty minutes to pack everything you have and meet me in the Ithorian hanger. Our shuttle is there. You are dismissed."

Standing up, Kairo left them room, realizing that that may have been the shortest meeting he ever had held. The Ithorians and him had worked it out. Due to the arrival of the new squad, they had agreed agreed that the new squad would harass the general in various cities around the planet. They hoped the new squad could do it as long was needed. If not, then Jester was going to have to do a lot more work when they came back. Devaron huh? This had better be good. Kairo thought as he headed to the hanger.

Thirty minutes later, everything was prepared. It only took a few minutes for the squad to get in the air. At the controls of the shuttle, Kairo looked down on the planet as he guided the ship to the coordinates to the make the jump to lightspeed. Good luck. Kairo hoped the new squad would be able to do their job long enough. They had to. He had made a promise, and Kairo always kept his promises.


_______________________ The Return _________________________

It had taken longer than Kairo had thought. Things on Devaron had finally ended, giving Jester squad a chance to return to its previous mission. After three days of rest, they were returning, and with a few new members. Half of the squad had been transfered or put into reserves. Now with four new members, the only remaining orginal people were Phenix and Yillis, with Phenix now placed as assistant squad leader. The five new members-Ryan Kenobi, DarkKnight, Slash, Andrew Shadow, and PhillpG-had been broken in through the campaign. Through various missions, they had come to fill the place of the original members, forming a solid squad.

Dropping down through the atmosphere, Kairo guided the shuttle toward the Ithorian base. After sending a short signal with the code they had given him a few weeks ago, Kairo said into the shuttle's intercom, "We'll be landing shortly. Stay on your best behavior once we arrive. I will need at least a day to assess what has happened and plan with the Ithorian leaders, so Phenix, you are in command for the next day. All of you are to unpack and find a few adjacent rooms to spend the night. We will probably not stay longer than two days, so stay prepared. Hold on, we'll be landing in a moment, and, well, I'm not the best pilot." With that, Kairo cut the intercom and gripped the controls. Now I remember why I'm a ground pounder. Kairo thought as the shuttle landed none too gently on the hanger floor. Well, I've returned. Now to see what damage my untimely departure caused.

(OOC Ok Jester, talk about what you brought for equipment and finding some quarters for the night. You can do basically do whatever you want until I post again. This now opens this story again for posting. Post on this until the Devaron campaign starts again. If you have any questions e-mail me or send me a comnet message)

-----------------------
Gunnery Sergeant Kairo
Platoon Commander

PC/GSG Kairo/2PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE [CDS][BoA][CoR][BC][CoV]

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.

  "What the?", RK awoke to the sound of what sounded like the whistle of a large freight train, but instead what he found was two ithorians outside quarreling, another pleasure of the ithorians, four throats. He always hated when ithorians got mad, cause when an ithorian got mad, they got mad, and RK was one that you wouldn't want mad either.
  "would you quiet done out there!", RK yelled, not knowing the ithorians couldn't speak basic.
  The ithorians kept yelling and yelling, can't a guy get piece and quiet around here.
  RK grabbed his blaster to hopefully stop the commotion but Kairo interrupted.
  "What do you think your doing?", Kairo asked, his voice calm but scolding RK also.
  "I'm trying to get some piece and quiet", RK replied,his voice agitated.
  "You will do no such thing",Kairo answered back a tone saying you do you''l be suspended.
 
  It was enough that RK was a hot head, this was just adding to his frustration. He went back to trying to fix his Laat, but it wasn't working the Ithorians where tearing the place to pieces with their loud roars. He finally had enough he went up to them, lucky they where just throwing insults at each other and not making a loud roaring wind. He remembered some Ithorian Basic so he asked them to take their dispute elsewhere, they just laughed and walked away. Now I'm the fool. RK walked away.
--------------------------------------The next Day---------------------
  He pulled out his blaster from his pocket when he got back to the building him and some of his fellow troopers where staying at. I'm going to knock their socks off. He thought to himself as Kairo said in the morning that they where going to begin their attack tomorrow. He just finished fixing his blaster from all the malfunctions it had, he started sketching marks into his blaster of all the kills he made, he was nervous and he couldn't explain why. As darkness fell RK lay in bed looking at the ceiling and thinking, I'm going to die, what if I get shot, and with that he fell asleep.
 
-----------------------
Jester Squad

    Phenix returned to the barracks after Kairo's meeting, burning for a few hours of sleep. Before anything else, he knew he should at least be prepared for the mission. He opened his trunk and rifled through its contents, searching for the most useful weapons for this mission.

    To hack through the jungle mass, he grabbed his vibrobayonet. This could also be used as a weapon, if necessary. For real close-range defense, he unpacked his 2 vibroknucklers. A could knock to the head would take any opponent out of commission. Since the journey would be a serious trek through unforgiving land, he knew that a lighter weapons would be better to carry for the battle inside the factory.

    Glimpsing at the polished steel muzzle, he held open the case for his "Annihilator" pistol...Never been used!, Phenix thought with a giddy laugh. This will keep me prepared...good as a primary or secondary weapon!

    Phenix knew better than to go without a second weapon, so he checked his Bi-Polar BMC-150 Carbine. Good weapon for weight and accuracy, not to mention a nice punch to it, Phenix decided. All of this stuff Phenix placed next to his swamp armor, ready to be set-up and deployed at any given moment.

    After double-checking his gear, he threw himself down onto his bed, resting his eyes for the biggest days of his new life in the Empire.

(OOC: Just a short little prep post to get off the AWOL list. Ready to go on your word, Kairo)
 
-----------------------
Jester Squad

Corporal Phenix
Storm Platoon
Army of the Vast Empire
TRP/CPL Phenix/1SQD/2PLT/1COM/1BAT/1REG/VEA/VE [LoR]

"Let me help you tie the rope around your neck..."

  RK sat up on his bed this was it he knew this was his big break. He waited to be in a battle with other species that were, well, different. He walked over to his bag laying in the corner of his room, he unzipped the top and pulled out his swamp armor, it's not the nicest looking thing but it will do. He slipped the armor on and left his helmet on his bed, then he walked back over to his bag to get his other  equipment. RK hated putting armor on before a fight, but he did it anyway so that he could target practice, plus he loved to get a feel for the armor so he wasn't tripping all over the place during the battle.

When he finally got to his bag after making his way over, making sure not to slip and fall, not like the empire would care if one comrad was missing or dead, it always made RK feel less important in times like these, he finally bent down to unzip his pack and get out his weapons and other gear. He pulled out his dc-15 blaster pistol, his C-3POD, and his E-11 blaster rifle. He put his E-ll right down next to his helmet and he holstered his DC-15 and put his C-3POD in his comlink pouch so he could listen to his music on the go, I'm just plain weird like that, he chuckled as he stuck an earphone through the hole hemade just for him and his armor, man, i'm smart.

----------------------------------------Half and hour later--------------
 
  Target practice, my favorite time of the day. This was the time when RK proved that he was as good as he thought he was, though heknew that there were other better than him, his mom always taught him humility she would say, "Now Ryan the best thing to do in life is even though you know that your good  is say your not, no matter what your told always say your not,". Now to RK that made no sense, then again his mom made no sense to him.
  When he finally got to the target area he put on his helmet pulled his DC-15 out of the holster and got into his fighting stance, now this is more like it. He pulled his gun level with the target, pressed a button on his belt and went to take aim, as soon as the target started moving he shot three blasts straight at it hitting his mark. Let's take it up a notch, He hit a couple more buttons on his belt and laser blast poured out of the holes in the wall and the turrets he had set up excpessially for him, man, the ithorians are good at making architecture like this. He dropped to the ground as two blasts just missed him by in inch he rolled onto his back and shot two blasts at the turret that threatened to take off his head then he shot at the target, once that was done he got up did a 180 degree spin on his heel and shot two control boxes that where right behind him, the whole area went dead, the fire ceased and he walked out of the facility.
  Two ithorians stood gaurding the facility, RK grined under his helmet and said, "you may want to fix that".
  The Ithorians just looked at each other, while RK walked off with a grin under his helmet.
  RK heard a voice coming in through his comlink it was Kairo,"Rk, it's time".
-----------------at the barracks---------------------------------------
When RK finally got to the rondevue point, Kairo looked at him and headed this way.
  "Sergeant Kairo", RK saluted and stood in salute postion.
  "At ease soldier", Kairo ordered.
  Kairo and RK walked over to the board that was sitting in the middle of jester squads meeting area.
"Since you are late private let me fill you in", Kairo said a bit disgusted when he said late.
  Kairo went through there plan. RK sat and listened intentely thinking back to his "Target Practice".
  "Okay let's get a move on, we don't want to mess this up", Kairo yelled at all the soldiers, "oh, and RK don't mess this up either, this is your first real mission you don't want to blow it".
  "Yes, Sir", RK replied with more confidence in hios voice than anyone that he ever heard.
  Turned on his heads-up display in his helmet and prepared for the firece battle ahead.

-----------------------
Jester Squad

  (OOC Well, I've decided to just finish this entire story up. It has been dragging along, and so it is ending. This post is extremely long, so if you don't want to read it but have to, let me just summarize it for you. Two of our squad members died; the lab is destroyed; the base is captured without the aid of Jester; and Jester promises to return and aid the Ithorians in defeating General  Crison. )


  Whirling grass blew outward from the shuttle as it descended to the ground. The trip had been much shorter than anticipated, giving the squad even less time to prepare. They had all of yesterday, so they better be ready. Kairo jumped down the short gap between the ground and shuttle, landing with a silent thump. Without wasting time to check and see if the rest of the squad was with him, he dashed toward the invisible line that separated the jungle from the swamp. It was a silent war zone. The toxin from the laboratory had warped the jungle near the production facilities. Slowly the swamp was spreading continuously outward, battling the vibrant forest. Anything caught in its slow conquest was altered into something ugly and tainted. Innocent creatures were sucked down into the marshy depths to be devoured by the beings that now lurked there.

  When his boots began to stick to the ground and he felt his pace being slowed, Kairo knew he had reached his destination. Pulling his feet out of the mud, Kairo stepped onto a fallen tree. Twisting around, he waited for the rest of his squad to catch up with him. It seemed Darkknight was having the most difficulty keeping up, but that would be expected since he was carrying one of the sets of explosives. Remarkably, Yillis seemed to be having no trouble coping. First to arrive was Slash, and bringing up the rear was Phenix, per orders. As one by one the squad chose a branch, log, or root to climb onto, Kairo scanned the area, checking to make sure no one was watching them.

  "Alright, let's move." Kairo ordered, running down the length of the log and jumping off the end to reach the roots of a tree. Almost didn't make it. He thought as his boot slipped on some grime stuck to the tree. I better be a bit more careful. Plus, just because I can make the jump, doesn't mean everyone can.

  Picking their way across the roots of the trees, the group stabbed into the heart of the swamp. Branch after branch, root after root, they climbed through muck and slime. Every so often they stopped for Kairo to check his compass and the map on his datapad and to make sure they were heading in the right direction. The scenery never changed. Fallen trees floated on the liquid filth, while decomposing masses of foliage sometimes poked out from it. The trees that still stood had changed color. No longer were they shades of brown and red; now they had a sickly grey or green pallet. A few of the trees seemed to have stopped growing limbs and now just stood as large trunks protruding from the swamp.

  "Half way there," Kairo whispered to the group as they took a moment to rest spread out around the area. It was a circular patch of trees surrounding a pool of muddy water. The trees here seemed to still have a vestige of their former selves. Must have been an actual pond before the swamp took it over.

  "It is going to take me hours to clean this stuff off my armor," PhillipG groaned.

  "Don't worry," Kairo responded cheerfully, "We don't get to keep it. Plus, when we turn it back in, no one said it had to be clean." That gave a few people a chuckle. Keep the mood light. Swamps have a way of killing people without even touching them physically. It pulls their minds and soul down into its never ending depths instead. That thought came from somewhere else in Kairo's mind. Startled, Kairo tried to remember where he had heard that but couldn't place it. With a slight shudder, he stood up and signaled for the group to start moving again.

  Before he even went a meter, Kairo was snapped off his feet and pulled into the air. "Kairo!" Someone yelled, but he couldn't place who. Glancing down, which was his new up, Kairo saw that a tentacle of sorts was wrapped around his foot. From above him a sucking sound grew louder and louder. As he looked up, the pool seemed to start to drain away. No not drain. The entire pool is just some creature's mouth. Drawing one of his many daggers, Kairo flicked his wrist and threw it above his foot. As the knife stabbed into the thick tentacle, the creature spasmed, flinging Kairo to the side.

  Colliding with a tree, Kairo collapsed to the ground. Ignoring the pain, Kairo pulled out his vibropike, extending it to its full length-an impressive two meters. Two other troopers had been thrown to the side by the creature, and thrashing tentacles knocked more to the ground. When it picked up another soldier, Kairo could distinguish him as either Yillis or Darkknight, due to the backpack they were each carrying. Before anyone could do anything, the trooper was sucked down into the gaping maw of the creature, which was now empty of any water. A scream slashed through the comlink inside everyone's helmets. "NO!" Kairo yelled, cutting two tentacles at once with his pike. Running forward towards the mouth, Kairo wasn't sure what he had planned as he approached the brink, but before he could decide, and explosion erupted from inside the creature. The explosives the soldier had been carrying had been set off. As the blast expanded outward, Kairo was blown backward against a tree for the second time.

  With the wind knocked out of him, Kairo tried to get up again, but couldn't for a moment. Head ringing from the explosion, Kairo sat up against the tree. Bits of blood and creature were still falling from the sky, but there was no sign of the lost soldier. "Damn it." Kairo quietly cursed. Looking around the clearing, he saw that everyone else was either slammed against a tree or even hanging in the branches. With a quick look, he could see that everyone was present except for one. "Who was it?" Kairo asked over the comchannel.

  "It was Darkknight." Yillis voice seemed to come from a distance through the speaker.

  With a grunt, Kairo pushed himself to his feet. "We move now."

    "Give them a minute to recover, sir." Phenix said from across the gap in the swamp.

  "That explosion would have been heard for at least a kilometer, and I'm sure a patrol will be sent to investigate, Corporal." Kairo's voice had an edge to it that forestalled any other comments. When did I become like this? A death used to stun me before, but now it's like I expect it. Have I really accepted my curse to that extent? After he slashed a vine away from the path he had chosen, Kairo shrunk the polearm back to its cylinder form. Attaching it to his waist, he pushed on into the jungle.

***Twenty Minutes Later***

  The group seemed to have recovered from the loss of their comrade. Kairo didn't know if some of them had just suppressed the emotions for later or if they were as cold as him, but for now, he didn't care. He had even pushed the memory from his mind, knowing that if he dwelled upon it, the mission would be in jeopardy. Squatting behind a tree, Kairo leaned around it for the second time. A couple of meters away was the building they had been looking for the past couple minutes. "This is it. Slash and Yillis stay where you are. We can't lose those explosives." Am I really more worried about the explosives then them? "Everyone else move in like planned."

  Pulling out two knives, Kairo gripped them firmly and plunged them into the tree. A little bit of tree sap leaked out around the blades as Kairo began his assent. It took him a few minutes to reach the level of branches he wanted. Swinging a leg over a branch, Kairo pulled himself on top of it. Leaning back down a little, he pulled the daggers he had used to climb back out of the tree. Taking a single moment to rest his arms, Kairo checked to make sure the length of the branch was long enough. Directly ahead of him was the top of the outpost. A single guard had been stationed to patrol. It was almost the end of his shift it seemed, due to his slow demeanor. Looking up, Kairo saw it was still early morning. And that's why we left at four in the morning. The sky was starting to lighten, which meant the squad had to move quickly. They were to reach the laboratory before the sun had risen. The interconnecting walkways were beneath the ground, so whether it was night or day didn't matter once the squad was inside. But walking across the ground above the complex would be nearly impossible in broad day light.

  Getting to his feet, Kairo paused a moment to get his balance. The only warning the guard had was the slight swaying of a branch before a knife bloomed in his helmet. Before his eyes filmed over, the soldier saw a shadowy figure land next to him. With his last bit of strength, he reached for the distress signal attached to his belt. A strong hand halted his motion, and a helmet appeared in his vision. The last thing he saw was the slow shaking of the soldiers head, as if to say, "Don't do that."

  Leaving the knife where it was, Kairo let go of the man's hand. He wasn't sure what he had been up to, but if it was him, he would have been trying to get some signal out. Glancing over the edge of the balcony, he saw two of his men silently take out the two ground guards. Moving to the entrance, Kairo slowly pushed open the door. "Is that you Gregand?" someone asked in the darkness. With a twitch, Kairo silenced the man with another dagger. That's three gone now. With his helmets built in night vision, it was easy to find his way down the stair way. Carefully climbing over the limp body, Kairo leaned around the doorway, checking for any more men. It seemed to be clear. Moving to the door, Kairo let his two men inside.

  "Ok, let's set up the distraction quickly and get on our way."

  "Roger," Andrew's voice responded. Moving over to the solitary control panel in the room, Kairo hoped Andrew really did know what he was doing. After a moment, Andrew said, "Found it."

  "Great. Initiate it." Kairo said.

  A minute later, Andrew pushed back from the control panel and nodded. "It's all set. We're lucky this place does have a self destruct function. I don't know why they would put on in one of their guard posts, but oh well."

  "I can only guess, but the entire laboratory and all the outposts can probably be self destructed. That way, if the New Republic ever found out about this, the General can get rid of all the evidence." Kairo spoke as they left the building. "You did set the timer for fifteen minutes, right?"

  "There in lies the rub." Andrew said as they made their way back to the rest of the group. "It would only let me push the time limit up to ten minutes. I'm no slicer, so my skill is only so much."

  Kairo grunted. "Oh well. No crying over spilt ale. We're moving double time now." He informed the squad. A few people groaned, but it was to be expected. Everyone was covered in mud and other gifts from the swamp, and most of them were feeling a little tired already, especially Yillis. "Let's move." Kairo said as he ran back into the swamp, toward the laboratory wall.

  Upon the squad's arrival, Kairo glanced to the side of his helmet, looking for something to tell him the time. Five minutes until the blows. Stepping away from the swamp onto the solid ground around the facility, Kairo looked up to judge the height of the outer wall. Not too high. Probably just built to keep out swamp creatures, and less for actual defense. In truth, it was still ten meters high-too high for any normal human being to reach. Turning around, Kairo asked, "Did you bring the rope I told you to, Phenix?"

  "It's right here." Phenix answered, uncoiling a length of rope that had been wound around his waist.

  "Prefect, so, anyone want think they can throw it up there?" Kairo asked, tying one of his knives to one end of the rope. Hopefully it would either stab into the wall or catch something at the top of the wall.

  "That's pretty far." Slash stated, tilting his head back to get a better look.

  Before anyone else could say anything, Kairo took the rope and began to swing it rapidly in a circle. As the rope came almost perpendicular with the wall on one of its revolutions, Kairo let go and sent it flying, blade gleaming in the first light of morning. Once the rope arched over the top and disappeared on the other side, Kairo gave it a tug. Giving it another pull, he felt it stick to the top. Pulling one last time to make sure, Kairo gave a disparaging sigh as the blade flipped over the top and the rope came plummeting back to the ground next to him. "Harder than it looks." Kairo mumbled.

  "I'll give it a try. Maybe I'll have more luck." Phenix said, taking the rope from Kairo.

  Everyone stood back again, giving Phenix enough room to whirl the bladed rope. Once again, it was sent flying over the edge, but this time, Phenix couldn't get to budge. "Good work," Kairo said. "Since you snagged it, you get to climb first." With a quiet moan, Phenix grabbed the rope and shimmied his way up, hand over hand. "Next," Kairo said, once Phenix reached the top. Each Jester took a turn climbing until it was only Andrew and Kairo on the ground.

  "So once we get up there," Andrew started, "How do we get back down?"

  "We jump."

  "Ten meters?" Andrew asked as he grabbed the rope.

  "Just roll with it when you land. There's nothing we can do about it now. I wasn't told how high the wall would be." Kairo kept the act up. "No, we pull the rope up and slide it down the other side. That's why the rest of them are still sitting atop the wall up there."

  "Oh, right." Andrew responded and began to climb. After he scanned the area again, Kairo grasped the rope and pulled himself up as the last person. At the top, he grabbed the ledge and pulled himself to sit astride the wall with everyone else. He then pulled the rope up and threw it over the other side, into the complex. With a quick look below, Kairo wrapped his legs around the rope and held it loosely in between his gloved hands, and then promptly slid down the length of rope. As he approached the ground, he tightened his grip to slow his decent. Touching down softly, Kairo let go of the rope and moved away, which allowed the next person to slide down. It took only a few moments for everyone to reach the bottom. Pulling out another of his knives, Kairo pulled back his hand and threw it at the top of the wall where his earlier blade was imbedded. The knife sliced cleanly through the rope, letting it fall to the ground at the squad's feet.

  Picking it up, Kairo started to coil it around his body this time and said. "Now that we are in the complex, we have to move quickly. We go in, do what we have to, and then get back out. Also, the base will probably have two squads of troopers inside it. It normally has four, but two of them can be assumed to be gone. One squad is always out on patrol, and once our distraction sets in, a second one will be sent to investigate. That leaves us a small gap of time to get in and out. Phenix' group will be taking RK and Slash with them as well. I know that only leaves Andrew with me to take over the control room, but they will probably be guarding the toxin room more than the control room. Remember, you have to blow the toxin containment at all costs. Set the explosives for fifteen minutes once you set them and head for the north wall. We will meet there in twenty-five minutes. Let's move. The sun is coming up, and if we are caught out here on the lawn, it won't be good." Running toward the main building, Kairo pulled out his Kylon-3 blaster. "Oh, and you can use your guns now that we are here." Kairo said through his comlink.

  The entire squad ran toward the center building, hoping that was where both the main toxin containment room and the control room resided. Legs pumping, Kairo tried to ignore the feeling that they were being watched. Pulling up next to the main building, he signaled for the squad to circle the building and look for an entrance. "Found it." Ryan Kenobi said through the comchannel. Sidling around the building, Kairo found the rest of the squad huddled around a door with Andrew hacking into the system. I hope his combat engineer training has taught him enough to get us in. Otherwise we'll have to blast our way inside. As if to calm his worries, the doors slid ponderously open.

  "Uh, that wasn't me." Andrew started to explain when two troopers walked nonchalantly out from the building, right into the middle of the squad.

  "Going somewhere?" Kairo asked, lifting his blaster to point straight at one of the men's face. They didn't respond. "I can kill you now, or you can answer me."

  "Guard duty switch." The other trooper choked out, quite literally with Phenix knife pressed against his throat.

  "You have new orders now. Do you guys know where the main toxin room or the control room for the entire complex are?" Kairo asked, motioning for the squad to file through the door and drag the men with them.

  "Uh, no?" the man with Kairo's gun pointing at his face answered.

  "Wrong answer," Kairo stated, kicking the man in the shin. Turning to the second guard, he asked, "How about now?"

  "Yes, we do." The man responded, eyes staring at his writhing comrade.

  "Don't worry. He'll recover in a minute." Kairo said, looking down at the man he had momentarily incapacitated. "You will lead part of my men to the toxin containment room, and if you try anything, they will kill you and anyone else you think will save you. GO!"

  Phenix removed his knife from the man's throat and positioned it behind his back. "We're on a deadline here," he growled, emphasizing with a slight push of his dagger. With a low yelp, the man set off down the hall, leading into the complex.

  Good luck. Kairo thought. Squatting down next to the recovered soldier, Kairo asked, "So, you ready to cooperate now?"

***Ten Minutes Later***

  "Are you sure you know where you are going?" Phenix asked for the third time since following the Republic soldier.

  "Yes." He responded.

  Suddenly, Phenix realized he had been asking the wrong question. "Are you leading us to where we want you to take us?" Phenix nudged the blade into the man's back, this time cutting threw the clothes and grazing the skin.

  "Uh. . . well. . . AH! Yes, yes I am." The soldier groaned.

  "He's leading us in circles." Slash said. "Bring him over here a minute." Phenix prodded the man to where Slash was waiting next to a terminal. "Log in." Slash ordered. The man paused a moment, then accessed the terminal. "Good, now back off. We don't need you sending a message to the rest of the complex letting them know where we are. Ah, here we go. We're here, and we want to be, here. Two minutes away. Heh, we passed it already. He was leading us in circles. We don't need him now though." Slash turned away from the terminal.

  "All right then." Phenix said, and flipped the dagger in his hand. Dropping it quickly, he knocked the man unconscious with the knife's pommel.

  "Why didn't you just kill him?" Slash asked.

  "I can't just kill an unarmed man. Not yet at least. He'll die soon enough once this place gets blown to smithereens. Now let's go." Slash nodded and set off down the hall. True to his word, they arrived two minutes later. Coming to a halt in front of the door, the squad split in half and pressed against the wall and either side of the door. It was an impressive blast door. Phenix had even noted it earlier when they passed it. Hitting the access panel, Phenix placed himself near the opening of the door and aimed into the room. Four other blasters joined his. Before the door had opened more than a foot, blaster fire pounded it from the other side. Firing his own blaster into the room, Phenix tried to aim at where the incoming fire originated.

  "Move in." Phenix ordered, jumping through the now larger gap and rolling to the side, behind a control panel. Glancing up, he saw it was attached to a glass cylinder containing some red gas. "That's not good." Yillis dropped in next to him a second later. Dropping to the floor, Phenix pushed out from behind the control panel and aimed carefully. Squeezing the trigger, he felt a slight adrenaline rush as his bolt hit a trooper square in the chest, sending him reeling around to collapse on the floor. It was over only a moment later. Slowly standing up, Phenix asked, "Everyone alright?"

  "Not quite. PhillipG got hit when we stormed in through the door." RK said from above the limp swamp trooper armor.

  Swallowing back the bile attempting to enter his mouth, Phenix cleared his throat and said, "Lay the charges Yillis. Slash, give him a hand. The rest of you, keep a look out at the door. We have six minutes to lay the explosives and get to the northern wall." Sliding his weapon back into its holster, Phenix knelt down next to Phillip's body. This was the first time someone in the same squad as him had been killed in combat. He had prepared for it, knowing it was inevitable, but he was still saddened by the loss. See you on the other side. Hopefully, I won't be joining you too soon.

***Ten Levels Above***

  "You sure this was a good idea? Just the two of us that is," Andrew whispered next to Kairo.

  "Maybe not," Kairo admitted, easing his vibropike in its holster. In close quarters like this, it would prove more effective against enemies. Switching the knife he was holding to his left hand, Kairo said, "You do realize if you've been lying to us, you'll experience something worse than death." His voice showed it wasn't a question, but a statement, and their makeshift guide knew it. Kairo had gotten quite good at this over the years, some of which while not in the army.

  "It's just ahead. Please, just let me go. It's through those doors there. I promise I won't tell anyone you're he..." he was cut off as he collapsed to the floor, the knife now protruding from the back of his head.

  "Trust me. He didn't feel a thing, and waking up to the count down of the base's self destruct would be a lot worse." Kairo explained more for Andrew than himself. This was another of his personas. He was the cold trooper now. Death didn't bother him in this state of mind. He was still the same Kairo, but his demeanor had changed slightly. "Stick close. I doubt the control room will be too heavily guarded, but all the same," Kairo unclipped the pike and pressed the control for it to extend-this time to only a length of a meter and a half. Any longer would be hard to manage in the confined area.

  Andrew slid his DT-57 Heavy Blaster and glanced at Kairo. Well, here we go. Pressing the access button, Kairo squeezed through the gap before the door was even fully open. Running to the side, Kairo heard blaster fire erupt behind him as Andrew ripped into anything that moved. Charging toward one guard who was drawing his blaster, Kairo spun the pike. Two quick successive blows killed the guard. The first knocked his weapon out of his hands, and the second cut into his jugular. Spinning away, Kairo jumped over a control panel and clipped a technician on the head, knocking him out. A blaster bolt whizzed by Kairo's head, signaling for him to move again. The shooter was silenced a moment later by Andrew. Pulling out two daggers, Kairo sent them flying toward another guard aiming his weapon towards the door. As the man slammed against the wall, two daggers sticking out of his heart, Kairo swung his polearm around, letting the length of the shaft slip through his hand until he was only holding it by the end. Using the entire length of the pike, Kairo knocked anyone out who stood within a meter of him.

  Twirling the pike with two quick arm movements, Kairo brought it to rest behind his back, crouching down to scan for anymore moving figures. Andrew seemed to have dealt with the rest of them. Shrinking his vibro-pike back down to size, Kairo clipped it to his side and said, "Set the base to explode in ten minutes if you can. Eight should do it, but let's be safe."

  "Copy," Andrew responded and ran over to one of the undamaged terminals.

  Stepping over a few bodies, Kairo grabbed his Kylon-3 and shot at one of the windows in the room. As it shattered outward, a slight gust of wind rushed into then back out of the room as the pressure equalized. Unravling the rope, he looped it around one of the control stands and tied it. Throwing the rest of the rope out the window, Kairo asked, "Almost done?"

  "Just about. . . there. Let's go," Andrew said moving toward the door.

  "Not enough time." Kairo said, while a feminine voice said over the laboratories' speaker system, telling everyone in the base that it was going to explode very shortly. Flinging a dagger into the terminal Andrew had been using, Kairo stepped next to the window. "We're taking the express route." Shaking his head, Andrew ran over to Kairo and leaned over the window sill.

  "You know. You're insane."

  "All very well, but let's not waste any time." Gripping the rope, Kairo swung himself out of the window and began to slide down the rope. With the armor protecting his hands and thighs, the drop was rapid. Letting go of the rope, Kairo started to walk toward the northern wall, when his legs gave out beneath him. When Andrew joined him, they both rested for a minute. "You were right again. That may have been a bit too high." Pushing himself to his feet, Kairo ignored their weakness and ran toward the northern wall. Half way there he pulled out one of his two comlinks and pushed a button. The Ithorians better stay true to their word, or we're screwed.

  The two of them arrived at the wall a minute later, greeted by the second part of the squad. Counting their number, Kairo said, "You're missing someone."

  "It's Phillip. We lost him." Phenix said.

  "We're all lost if we don't keep moving," Ryan said.

  "He's right. We only have three minutes before this whole place goes up in a grand display." Andrew added.

  "Don't worry. Our friends should be here any," the whine of a shuttle's engines cut into Kairo's sentence. Hovering above the wall, one of the shuttle's doors slid open. A ladder was shortly dropped. "There's our ride." The squad didn't need any more encouragement. One after the other they climbed the ladder with renewed energy that hope had brought them. Glancing back at the base, Kairo grasped the ladder last and held on for dear life as the shuttle started to move. Before it had gotten very far, Kairo felt himself rising at an alarming pace. Climbing into the moving shuttle, he was helped by Phenix and Andrew. As the door slid shut behind him, Kairo pulled off his helmet for a quick breath.

  "That's one part done." He would have said good job, but the deaths of two comrades now weighed heavily upon the group. Now that they were safe, at least for a moment, the past four hours replayed in their mind, reminding them of what happened. Ryan Kenobi excused himself for a moment, heading for the bathroom. He must have been close to Phillip when he died. Kairo thought absently. "We'll give them the proper respects later," Kairo said to the squad, before he headed for the cockpit. As he stepped out of the room, a blast collided with the shuttle, sending him colliding with one of the walls. Picking himself up, Kairo ran to the cockpit. "What was that?"

  "Sorry sir," An Ithorian pilot said in his best basic. "We were a bit too close to the installation when it self-destructed."

  "Can one of you patch me through to your base?" Kairo asked. The copilot nodded. Pressing a few buttons, he handed Kairo a headset. "This is Jester squad, reporting. May I speak with the Ithorian combat director?"

  Kairo waited a moment before repeating. Finally, an Ithorian responded, "This is Colonel Krystok, Jester leader."

  Taking a breath, Kairo said, "The lab has been destroyed, as I'm sure you know, but I've lost two men and the rest of the squad are extremely tired. Do you know how many squads the base has left at its disposal, if they do send one out to check the laboratory?"

  "It will probably only have three total, and yes," the Ithorian seemed to know where Kairo was heading, "You may return now. Tell the pilot to bring you back to base. We can handle the rest ourselves. You will be missed on the battle field, but our two platoons of soldiers should be able to handle it. Great work, Ithorian base over and out."

  Kairo pulled the headset away as the transmission was ended. "Take us back to base pilot."

  "Copy that sir." The Ithorian responded. Feeling the shift in the shuttle's direction, Kairo walked back to where his squad waited.

  "We're done men." Kairo said. A visible sigh ran through the squad. It seemed the day's events had weighed a bit more heavily upon them then he expected. With that, it seemed that another change washed over Kairo. Some of the squad members noticed it, but figured that he had just let himself relax, but the truth was, he was completely himself again. Now that his protective mental shells were gone, Kairo finally paid respects to the men who gave their lives for the mission.

  Upon their arrival at the Ithorian base, the squad was met with the good news that the Republic installation had been completely overwhelmed. It seemed that there were more than just two squad left, but they were still outnumbered and completely caught off guard. Kairo met with the Ithorian leaders for a short debriefing, in which they told him that when the attack upon General Criston was prepared, a message would be sent to the Empire. With that, the Ithorians on Cerea joined forces with the Empire. The damage received from losing his laboratory and base in the region would send the general reeling for awhile. The Ithorians would go into hiding somewhere else, and continue their preparation to attack the main water base.

  Heading back to the ship Jester had used to come to the planet, Kairo wasn't surprised to see the squad waiting for him. "Time to go. It seems we aren't needed here any longer. Trust me though. We'll be back. And when we do return, the lives of our fallen comrades will be repaid ten fold." A murmur of approval ran through the squad as they picked up their bags and climbed aboard the ship. Repositioning his heavy bag across his shoulder, Kairo stepped aboard the ship as well with only one last look behind. We'll be back. Even if the Ithorians find they can't fight the general, we'll be back to do it ourselves.

 
-----------------------
Jester Squad

Gunnery Sergeant Kairo
Platoon Commander

PC/GSG Kairo/2PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE [CDS][BoA][CoR][BC][CoV]

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.