Info: The regions west of Montellian Serat are made up of deep rivers and marshland. Further west still is a region of deep valleys that would be impossible to march an army through.

Status: Imperial controlled. Patrol boats watch the rivers for enemy activity.

Day 1: Dark Dragoons in area

-----------------------
+ Advance Recon Commandos {ARC} +
PL:A/CPT/Raziel/1PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE/{EW1} (WoS1) 2x(VP:1) {IG} {CDS} {BoA} {PoC} {BC} {GRoM} {SoS} {IH}
Assistant Squad Leader - Raiders
"Computer games don't affect kids; I mean if Pac-Man affected us as kids, we'd all be running around in darkened rooms, munching magic pills and listening to repetitive electronic music." Kristian Wilson, Nintendo, Inc, 1989.

"God does not play dice with the universe" - Albert Einstein
"Who are you to tell God what to do with his dice?" - Bohr
"God does not play dice with the universe. He plays an ineffable game of His own devising, which might be compared, from the perspective of any of the other players [i.e. everybody], to being involved in an obscure and complex variant of poker in a pitch-dark room, with blank cards, for infinite stakes, with a Dealer who won't tell you the rules, and who smiles all the time." - Terry Pratchett
CM/DJK Raziel/lion 1-5/Krath/VEDJ/VE (WoS1) (VP1) (VP2)

"Well that takes care of the sonar devices," said Gio after wiping the sweat from his brow. He put his helmet back on and familiarized himself with his surroundings.

He wasn't exactly an expert engineer yet, but he didn't have a problem wiring an archaic sonar device to a monitor on the patrol boat. After all, he had spent some of his time as a child tinkering with all sorts of outdated devices back on Coruscant.

He focused again on the task at hand. He got onto one of the two patrol boats and briefly greeted the new recruit. He gave Zafo a pat on the back as he brought the patrol boat to life, and his Assistant Squad Leader nodded a greeting back to him.  Giovanni made his way inside the cabin and sat down a seat away from Jakireth, who was checking his equipment. The two said nothing to each other. They knew it wasn't the time to fraternize. Giovanni put his bag and slung his rifle over his back and made his way to the back of the patrol boat. From a distance he could see Evani's group settling in.

"Is everything working well?," asked Zafo without looking up from the controls of the patrol boat.

"As far as I'm concerned they are," responded Giovanni taking a look around the river. "How are we supposed to patrol this entire river by ourselves?"

"We'll be fine.  Don't tell me you're starting to lose faith in our squad," said Zafo, only half-jokingly.

"No, not at all." Gio responded. In truth, he wasn't too confident in bringing two new recruits on a mission such as this. But then again, he had been put in a very similar position back when he had gotten his start.

"Well, we'll go as far west as we can without running into any enemy fire, and Evani will go the opposite way. Eventually we'll both meet right here at the rendesvouz point and continue East, while Evani's patrol boat will continue West and so on."


"Sounds good to me," said Giovanni. He took one last look around the River and surrounding marshland and set his chronometer to go off right before night fall. He took off his helmet and propped it between his head and the outer hull of the cabin and got some rest.

It was gonna be a long night.

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

*Sergeant Giovanni A. Bryden*

TRP/SGT Giovanni Bryden/2SQD/2PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE/[LoR][ES][1st Class]

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.

"You're right Jak, that is a beautiful hill..." Zafo said sarcastically in response to the Corporal's warning.

Giovanni rolled his eyes, poking his ASL in the arm, "No, Zaf... Jak, switch to the heat imaging."

There was a pause as the trooper tweaked the scope's view settings, and a rich cascade of red appeared on the finder. The screen's swirling plasma fell softly over the now visible targets.

"The wonders of technology..." He muttered as the nearby Senior Sergeant removed a hidden pistol.

"What action are we taking?" Vint asked from his crouched position near Private Bryan.

The squad leader turned silently around, grabbing a duffel bag that was concealed behind the left bench...he was also smiling.

"Are you serious?" Jakireth groaned, anticipating the inevitable statement.

"It's an amazing setting, Jak. We have the stars, nature...and must prevent it from being contaminated by the now apparent Rebel scum."

As he got over the initial shock of what he was asked to do, the Corporal stood quickly, removing his thick night gear and revealing a slim water suit beneath.

Vint nearly fell over with laughter:

"It looks like you were preparing for this possibility for a while now..."

"Someone told me 'river', I put on river gear. Not to mention...I was guessing Gio would push me in eventually." He retorted with a snicker.

"And my obvious dislike of this stuff aside," Jakireth noted as he pointed to the gentle collision of waves outside their boat, "I can still whoop your ass..."

Zafo did his best to contain his excitement, "Just get in..."
 
-----------------------
DarkDragoons
Army of the Vast Empire
------------------------
TRP/CPL Jakireth/2SQD/1PLT/1CMP/1RGT/1BAT/Tadath/VEA[LoR]
Rep/Reporter Jakireth/NewsRep: 2/News Division/VET/VE

After fitting the rebreather mask on tightly over his face and testing his visual gear out, Giovanni gave the go ahead signal and tumbled into the black depths. Above him he could hear the boat emit a dull roar as it churned the water near the surface. Another 2 crashes and plops later, he knew Zafo and Jak were in the water. 

Giovanni turned around in the water and caught the two dark silhouettes floating only a few meters apart. He turned his heat sensor on and a slight shiver ran down his spine as the black space turned to a sea of blue and red.

Zafo signaled to his 9 o' clock. The patrol boat was now a short distance away from them, and the roar of the engines was no longer throwing their senses off. Sure enough, on Zafo's 9 was a cluster of green and orange blips gathering on one side of the river.

With another motion of his hand, the three Dragoons inched their way towards the bank.  The sound of the water churning past his ears evoked a feeling of nostalgia in Giovanni. He had loved swimming, and he had always excelled in it, but upon joining the VE swimming, like many of his other hobbies, had been left behind.

His muscles felt like they were going to burst through his wet suit, and his thighs were beginning to ache, when the three Dragoons surfaced a few hundred yards from the group of rebels gathered by the river's edge. 

"I dont get it," whispered Jakireth. "Do they not know we're here? How could they not see the patrol boat?"

Giovanni gave a soft chuckle as he looked through his scope. "I can't believe this... They must've left all electronic equipment behind to stay off of our sensors. This is gonna be easier than we thought."

"Give me a head count," ordered Zafo.

"I count four special ops... At least i think..."

"Your orders, sir?" inquired Jakireth.

"Hold on a second, i think i have an idea..."

Zafo grabbed a handful of mud and rubbed it into his suit.

"Follow me."

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

*Sergeant Giovanni A. Bryden*

TRP/SGT Giovanni Bryden/2SQD/2PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE/[LoR][ES][1st Class]

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.

That was a little too easy, thought Giovanni to himself as he lifted the masked rebel soldier by his vest.

"How many in your camp?!," interrogated Gio, in the most menacing tone he could possible conceive. He looked around to see Zafo pointing his weapon at his man, and Jakireth savagely beating the other one after he had tried to get up and run away.

"ANSWER ME!," the muddy Sargeant demanded. Giovanni cocked his fist back and readied a blow.  The only sound he could hear was the cool rush of the water and the rustling of the vegetation in the marshlands. 

"Im just a technician... I didn't ask to be put here," sobbed Zafo's man.

"What did you say?" asked Zafo in a low voice.  He reached down for the man's neck to find that there wasn't a dog tag.  He inspected the dead rebel's bag only to find a vibroblade and some circuit boards. 

"What the hell's going on..." asked Jakireth, noticeably nervous.

"That explains why they didn't have thermal imaging..." said Zafo before hitting his captured prey with the butt of his rifle. "...or why they didn't even bother to put up a fight."

Giovanni spat on the ground. "We can't leave witnesses, you know that."

"I KNOW." retorted Zafo. "Gag them, put 'em on their sled, radio the patrol boat and tell them we captured some rebels."

"And the body?"

"Toss it in the river," said Zafo coldly. "Send his widow a medal some other day."

Giovanni took his shin off of the rebel's chest and then struck him with his forearm. The three dragoons loaded the Rebel technicians onto their state-of-the-art sled and paddled back to the patrol boat.

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

*Sergeant Giovanni A. Bryden*

TRP/SGT Giovanni Bryden/2SQD/2PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE/[LoR][ES][1st Class]

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.

"Do try to contain yourselves, gentleman, you're disturbing the wildlife," Jakireth whispered into the ear of the nearest captive, driving the electrically charged hilt of his neuronic whip into his back.

The reclusive engineer let a series of screams erupt from his lungs, conveniently concealed by the pressed durasteel of the small room's door.

"You see..." He said slowly, thumbing the activation switch of his personal weapon, turning the dull hum of energy into a minor hiss as the blue light flowing over the cord disappated. He then twisted it with his fingers, moving silently about the room, "Your kind have caused me a hell of alot of struggle throughout the years... I might just see fit to make you three endure what display of vengeance I need for your people; the friends lost, security jumbled... it's all on you now."

"But it doesn't have to turn out that way," Giovanni added, "We have a mission to complete...and you might have something that would work in our favor."

Jakireth nodded, stopping suddenly and turning to face the wall. He spoke over his shoulder:

"Besides...doesn't it seem a bit obvious? A group of technicians going for a swim to jump into a firefight? No, it doesn't work like that. How about this..." At this he spun around, a smile slowly falling over his face.

The black haired technologist that was closest to the Corporal wimpered, a tear falling from his left eye.

"Instead of facing whatever event of death we decide upon, how about we just end up giving you a chance? Let's say: we drop you back into the swamp you appeared from without pursuit...save for a few dozen sonic and pulse grenades? This way, we get to see how fast you boys can put on the after-burners. Mainly...you have a choice between certain death, and probable death. All we need is some juicy bits from back home..."

One of the jailed men shook slightly from his position at his knees, arms raised and crossed behind his neck from the bindings. He spoke softly:

"I...please...I have a wife...child..."

There's always a family... Gio thought absently, still staring down the Rebels.

"What more can you ask then: to perhaps see them again?"

He nodded, and despite the shock and dismay of his comrades...sang like a bird.

*    *    *    *    *

After picking up key points from their captive's information, Jakireth and Giovanni placed a stun pad at the base of every engineer's skull, placing them in a suspended coma until a plan to dispose of them arose.

"Zaf?" The Sergeant ahead of Jakireth asked, aiming his question at the ASL tweaking his binoculars.

"We did get some info from the boys... And you know the special forces we were briefed on?"

He nodded, waiting for the next phase of the statement to come:

"Apparently, they dislike dry land..."

-----------------------
DarkDragoons
Army of the Vast Empire
------------------------
TRP/CPL Jakireth/2SQD/1PLT/1CMP/1RGT/1BAT/Tadath/VEA[LoR]
Rep/Reporter Jakireth/NewsRep: 2/News Division/VET/VE

Sporting a tilted sniper rifle, Jakireth walked over to Zafo, giving the ok. The distance limits on the gun were in the clear, and his squad leader nodded, bringing the ship to a stop a few hundred yards away from the dots on the thermals. Vint was still locked contently in the boat's mobile ComStation, and the remaining three were awaiting water dispatch, should the need arise.

"I got 'em lined up..." The Corporal said softly, letting one hand drop from the forward grip to point to the people he was addressing; his eyes were still locked within the viewfinder.

"Go when you're ready..." Gio whispered from behind the outer partition, preparing to spring over.

Jakireth nodded at no one in particular, finding a stagnant patch of blur in his heat imager. The only movement was below the torso; apparently the motion of legs to keep their position the same.

Perfect target; undeniable alignment:

He pulled the trigger.

The figure on the screen shot back slowly, his actions showing his surprise. The bullet traveled at a constant speed at the fluid entrance, and gained velocity as it raced downward. As contact was made, a flurry of darker red ran about his rifle's scope.

"Man one, eliminated!" Jakireth yelled over the lowering sound and recoil from the powerful weapon, his hands working furiously to reload with a remarkable time.

The three who had been patiently waiting near the edge of the hull flew over, hitting the water with a thunderous splash. The special forces team farther down the river broke in all directions, and Giovanni sped through the water quickly and galantly, going for his first target. Zafo and Bryan came up behind him a tad slower.

With the final click from his rifle as the 'OK', Jakireth looked down and found his aim, taking another single shot. The victim engaged in the same antics as the recent one, and the death toll hit two.

At the obvious demise of their team, the remaining couple of opposing soldiers took off; going farther away...and fast. They disappeared around the nearest bend, with the water-bound trio in pursuit.

"Vint! Get the engines running!" He yelled, running to the Communications booth.
 
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DarkDragoons
Army of the Vast Empire
------------------------
TRP/CPL Jakireth/2SQD/1PLT/1CMP/1RGT/1BAT/Tadath/VEA[LoR]
Rep/Reporter Jakireth/NewsRep: 2/News Division/VET/VE

The rays of light shimmering and washing over him and the riverbed.  The tiny bubbles of water rising up from the silt that ran between his fins and gloved fingers.  The concusion blasts sending waves through the water.  The tiny rocks coming down from the surface.

There wasn't a doubt in his mind. There was no other place in the galaxy he would rather be.

He surfaced slowly to catch his breath in time to see a rebel troop running away in the midst of water and rocks and mud flying from all directions.  He couldn't make out if he was injured or not, but he could not make it to his friends.  It would compromise their mission if only one of their soldiers got back to relay information.

Giovanni rose up and uncovered the rest of his body with Zafo following in close sucession. The two crashed through the water and onto the river bed, running into the small clearing of marsh grass and other vegetation that the surviving New Republic soldier had thrashed through.  Through the darkness the two dragoons were hot on his trail.  Back on the river bed, the boat along with the rest of the squad kept watch or any other that might unluckily come knocking on death's door.

"I can barely see a damn thing," said Giovanni, "catching anything on the thermal?"

"I think so..." said Zafo, further surveying the scene. "I can make out a spot thats slightly hotter than the others, im just not sure what to make of it."

Giovanni activated his heat vision and took a look at it as well.  The two stopped and crouched to see what they could make out of the weird temperature reading.

"It could be one of the local fauna... Or maybe its just a..." Zafo was cut off by a stifled gasp from Giovanni.

"Shit..."

Zafo looked at him quizically looking for an answer. Giovanni merely pointed in the direction of the reading.  It was getting brighter.  The once blue green hazy blot on the lens was now an aura of orange and yellow, and it was no longer one blot, but four.




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

*Sergeant Giovanni A. Bryden*

TRP/SGT Giovanni Bryden/2SQD/2PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE/[LoR][ES][1st Class]

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.

"Vint, bring 'er in as close as possible!"

"Are you kidding? I'm scraping the bank!"

"Do it better!"

The exchange of commands and curses between the two patrollers increased quantitively as Bryan, Zafo, and Giovanni made their way back to the boat at top speed. Jakireth swore he'd never seen any of the sprinting 'Goons move as fast as they were now, but it was apparent that when one is being chased, it gives a nice kick of motivation.

As the Private manning the controls edged the ship along the river's side, the pacing Corporal nearly flew backwards; jumping at the grenade launcher positioned at the rear.

In what he considered a spurt of brilliance, Jakireth flipped on the forward spot-light of the weapon, projecting a blinding glow of white into the distinct and cold darkness. With that, he made a hand motion to his right, and the three troopers quickly trailing the ground dodged his described path.

At that point, it was simply a matter of how many he good hit at once.

The light had already disabled the Rebel forces partially, their eyes not adjusting to a change in visual perception...or the burning of their retinas. Jakireth thought good to take the opportunity from their slow in advance to unleash a volley of explosives.

And he did.

Thumbing the 'launch' switch several times, the cannon erupted with fiery orange; eight burning projectiles rushing outward to meet their targets.

The surface area of the designated barrage was devastated within seconds, and the gunner even noticed a few bodies thundering upward from the blasts. In the same motion, the trio of grounded 'Goons tossed themselves onto their method of transporation.

"Vint, we got the boys!"
 
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DarkDragoons
Army of the Vast Empire
------------------------
TRP/CPL Jakireth/2SQD/1PLT/1CMP/1RGT/1BAT/Tadath/VEA[LoR]
Rep/Reporter Jakireth/NewsRep: 2/News Division/VET/VE

Zafo bashed open the door to the small dark room containing their captives. Emitting a growl from the depths of his throat, a large glob of spit hit the ground at the feet of one of the technicians. Their gazes met, Zafo's forced a gaze of rage, cowering the technician before his feet.

"He's afraid. Now he's right where I want him...

"You are a technician, right?" The Senior sergeant barked, keeping his menacing gazed fixed upon the technician's terrified form.

"Y..Y.yes." The technician stammered clinging to himself in utter fear of what the squad could do to him, should he not chose to cooperate.

"What were your objectives in going across the river?" Zafo demanded, trying to be as menacing as possible.

"I don't know."

"Futile."

"Well I don't believe you." Zafo said calmly, drawing his pistol from it's holster. Then gold plating glimmered in pale light.

The technician's eyes locked onto the pistol waving back in forth at Zafo's side. Even though the lighting was quite weak, Zafo could see the beads of sweating flowing down his face.

"I said I don't know."

Zafo threw the technician a cold stare before raising his pistol and releasing a pocket of energy which struck just inches above his head. Only a squeal managed to escape from the technician's mouth as he toppled over into the fetal position.

"You and I both know that's bullshit." Zafo growled, shoving the barrel of the pistol into the technician's cheek.

"You can be guaranteed that this next shot will splatter your brain all over these walls if you don't chose to cooperate. Now I'm going to ask you one last time...What was your mission!"

Unable to tolerate the tension or danger his comrade faced, one of the technician's sitting beside him blurted out;

"We are a team of communications technicians. Our mission was to set up a top secret, incredibly secure communications antennae that would allow our forces to communicate freely in the vicinity without any fear of interception. It's new technology."
Silence swept the room for a brief second as the Dragoons absorbed this information before the technician who gave in emitted fear filled sobs;

"Please, just don't hurt us."

Feeling pity towards those who's life he just threatened, Zafo ended his façade of the typical angry, brutal soldier. Lowering his pistol, he spoke;

"I promise that neither I, nor my crew will hurt you unless you give us a really good reason. Unfortunately, what happens once we hand you over to the authorities, matters aren't in our hands anymore."

The man's sobbing ceased. His grateful eyes met with Zafo, who turned away. Sympathy was not something with which a soldier wanted to ally himself.

"If you help us out, I'll put in a good word for you." Zafo stated as an idea came to his head.

"How so?" The techie inquired.

"Can you set up the transmitter on the back of this boat?"

An affirmative nod followed.

"Can you hook it up to the communications deck on the boat so we can hear all transmissions passing through?"

Another nod.

"Do it." Zafo commanded, then after a brief second added; "Your lives depend on it."

The crew scurried to life and towards their equipment.

"Radio your base when you are done, tell them everything ran smoothly and the antennae is up."

With this advantageous device being set up on the boat, the Dragoons looked out across the water for any sign of crossing New Republic troops...

 
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~ZaFo
*DarkDragoons
+ Advance Recon Commandos {ARC} +
ASL/SSG ZaFo/2SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE  [BC] [EW2]
~Keep on Rocking in the Free World

Jenny prepped her weapons as she got on to the boat, it was only 2, since she didn't want to bring too much, in case Evi had weapons for her, DC-17 Interchangable Combat System and the Treppus 2 vibroblade. Perfect for this mission and a trademark of what she came from, a hell of a training mission in which she killed her own clone. Jenny heard Evi's briefing as she prepared for her part. She followed Hell and heard her telling Jenny about the controls, hoping for a better job, but deciding that if this is the best she gets, it's going to have to do.

"Yes, right away," replied Jenny, giving a small salute before she turned to the job at hand.

And turned to the job at hand, she did. For right when Jenny sat in the driver's seat, she started the engines and on to getting them to patrolling in them as far east as possible. While the boat got going, she turned to the other matters, the sound and the radar activity. They were both relatively easy to control with, if you had been working with this kind of system for a long time, she used to drive her parent's boat, which had relatively the same kind of system. The thought of it bought tears to her eyes.

"Jenny, you okay?" Jenny snapped out of her thoughts, as she heard and saw Evi standing by the doorway, staring at Jenny. She quickly replied, with a bit of a bad voice:

"Fine, just getting over bad memories. The sound should be a bit low and the radar activity won't show much for the rebels. How's the outside?"

"Just great, no activity, hopefully Garet and Jacen will pick up something when he gets down checking on the underwater sensors." Evi answered and then asked:

"Your parents? Is that what you cried about?" Evi asked slowly, realizing Jenny's intentions for crying.

"Yes, it was, the clone training thing made me go back to that, one of the things that you can never forget." Jenny explained while also said, letting Evi go: "You should get back to watching the outside."


-----------------------
DarkDragoons

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

"Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed. The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force. " -Darth Vader

Staring across the water Evani jerked awake toppling her self over the ledge of the patrol boat in the water. Spluttering about she heard rapid footfall tap against the deck of the boat as Garet ran to railings of the boat. Stifling a small snicker he helped her from the water.
"At least you're awake"
"Yeah, but we've bin patrolling this place for hours now and nothing. You went under a few times nothing. Jenny says nothing. There is nothing here." Evani muttered when her feet found it self firmly placed again.
"I was about to wake you anyhow, Jenny caught far of sounds of the sonar radar. Sounded to me like shots and grenades. Either way, it aint the nature speaking"

Evani silently pondered on Garet's report. It wasn't like they had anything else left do except take a risk.
"Take us around, full speed, boosters, whatever. Get to the other as soon as possible." She ordered crisply as she started drying her hair by means of wrenching the water from the thick strands.

It took them most of the night returning upstream. It was near sunrise when Garet stumbled on the first sign of some type of fight that might have taken place previously.
"How long do you reckon its bin dead?" asked Wind when Evani prodded the body with the hilt of her whip as she leaned through the railings towards the waters dangerously close. Its head was horribly ripped apart by gunfire, and judging by the scrapes and cuts across the opens patches of his body; he was killed in the Marsh Lands.

"A few hours at most. Keep er' going Jen!" Jowak grasped Evani's arm firmly and pulled her back to the safety of the boat. At Evani's command the engine roared back into speed. Everyone was waiting edgily. No need to go about silence anymore. Everyone knew where there was an enemy amidst him or her. It was all now a cat and mouse game in the dark. The night sky was quickly losing its blankets of shadows as the northern sun made its way up the horizon.

"Have you tried to get them hold?"
"Couldn't get through, but there is a pretty strong signal pulsing from where they should be. I suggest we keep going, but with caution" Garet suggested as they both spied through the environment with their macrobinoculars. The whirring as the super sensitive lenses focussed in and out quickly stopped when their eyes managed to capture the sigh of an patrol boat up ahead. Though limited by distance, Evani could without problem catch the scratches, blasts, and scorch marks littering the hull of the boat.
Definitely bin busy haven't we, she thought as she readjusted her rifle at the sight.

Jenny lulled the machine down to a gentle drift, silently towards Zafo's boat. She imagined shouts or of some sort, but through the distance it was difficult not to imagine those sounds.
"Jenny, still not getting through?"
"Nope,"
"Gonna climb over I guess" Evani muttered as she lfited her knee from the floor to rest casually on the middle railing.

"Hi Eve! Welcome aboard!" Evani literally jumped at the voice behind her as she clambered from boat to boat. Zafo grinned at her waving with a hand what seemed to clutching a half eaten ration pack. Evani stole a glance at the double mirrored glass to their side. Except for her wet hair, and perhaps a twig poking randomly from her head she seemed squeaky clean in comparison with Giovanni who seemed to have just emerged from primitivism. 
"Why didn't anyone respond to my messages?" she asked when calmed down. Nodding a yes to  Zafo's offer of a ration pack for her, they continued to where Jakireth and Giovanni were in the task of supervising.
"Ah&.remind me to whack Vint, he was supposed to be listing in for us" he muttered.
"With all the stuff these technicians came up with, I think he got a bit fluttered around the controls."
"Either way, mind filling me in about this?" Evani cocked her head to the side motioning with a curious glance to their captives' side.
"Oh&they. Doing their mission under our supervision. Setting us an antenna up. If it fails they are dead. If it works we hear about the rebels' whereabouts." Muttered Jakireth. He took a deep swig from his flask, whether it was alcohol or water, Evani didn't know.
"Good, guess, all we have to do now is wait"

***4 hours later***

"It's done?" asked Zafo sharply crossing his arms as they studied the small contraption set up by the captive. Nodding vigorously they all backed away when Giovanni and Jakireth stepped forward for further inspection.
"Lets test it out" muttered Jakireth, though his demeanour remained suspicious. Evani noticed his hand never strayed to far from his thigh holsters.

In a matter of minutes Jakireth had the mechanics sedated while Evani and the rest of squad huddled about the ComStation. Giovanni quickly flipped the notches and switches before they were met with a radio static. His hand searched with the knob for the right channel till voices sounded dimly through the crackles.
"So&lets see. We lost two sleds so far. Technicians haven't made contact in a few hours&ship next sled at&."
"Are you getting this Zafo?" asked Jakireth as he walked in. Zafo gave a silent nod, his full attention directed at the small speaker box in the midst.
"Have you find the other patrol boats yet?&There is one waiting outside the bay. Affin imps. Its impossible for them to have hit us so close&ome.  And then there is one scouting further down stream."
Whoever the oblivious speaker was kept rambling continuously about the same topic. Evan I kept the recording though with a sigh.  She kept her ears along with the rest of the squad pitched for anything, which might be of concern.

"Launch four, get another four under their boat ad wh---"
"Get ready for action people, they are sending people out&fast." Muttered Jakireth jumping from his seat loading his rifle already.
"G, Jak and Z. You had combat experience underwater. Track these guys to their hole. It sounds like we are right on their spot. The rest of us keep them at bay here." Ordered Evani. The squad quickly peeled out from the small cabin leaving only Vint behind. Jowak, Garet, Jenny and Jacen have already moved everything from their boat to Zafo's boat and rigged the boat to a time bomb as Evani ordered.
"You got the distance controls here?" she asked the wookiee who had the repetitive grenade launcher slung over his shoulder as it was a rifle.
He handed her the black square device which she in turn hastily activated.
"Ok Zafo, you tell me where I send this boat," she muttered when he joined her at the side,
"Sure thing, Jak, Gio and I thought it would be best to try and get all the rats out. I think we can call Air Force in to hit them while they are outside." Said Zafo as he pulled his swimming gear over his face.
Staring across the water Evani jerked awake toppling her self over the ledge of the patrol boat in the water. Spluttering about she heard rapid footfall tap against the deck of the boat as Garet ran to railings of the boat. Stifling a small snicker he helped her from the water.
"At least you're awake"
"Yeah, but we've bin patrolling this place for hours now and nothing. You went under a few times nothing. Jenny says nothing. There is nothing here." Evani muttered when her feet found it self firmly placed again.
"I was about to wake you anyhow, Jenny caught far of sounds of the sonar radar. Sounded to me like shots and grenades. Either way, it aint the nature speaking"

Evani silently pondered on Garet's report. It wasn't like they had anything else left do except take a risk.
"Take us around, full speed, boosters, whatever. Get to the other as soon as possible." She ordered crisply as she started drying her hair by means of wrenching the water from the thick strands.

It took them most of the night returning upstream. It was near sunrise when Garet stumbled on the first sign of some type of fight that might have taken place previously.
"How long do you reckon its bin dead?" asked Wind when Evani prodded the body with the hilt of her whip as she leaned through the railings towards the waters dangerously close. Its head was horribly ripped apart by gunfire, and judging by the scrapes and cuts across the opens patches of his body; he was killed in the Marsh Lands.

"A few hours at most. Keep er' going Jen!" Jowak grasped Evani's arm firmly and pulled her back to the safety of the boat. At Evani's command the engine roared back into speed. Everyone was waiting edgily. No need to go about silence anymore. Everyone knew where there was an enemy amidst him or her. It was all now a cat and mouse game in the dark. The night sky was quickly losing its blankets of shadows as the northern sun made its way up the horizon.

"Have you tried to get them hold?"
"Couldn't get through, but there is a pretty strong signal pulsing from where they should be. I suggest we keep going, but with caution" Garet suggested as they both spied through the environment with their macrobinoculars. The whirring as the super sensitive lenses focussed in and out quickly stopped when their eyes managed to capture the sigh of an patrol boat up ahead. Though limited by distance, Evani could without problem catch the scratches, blasts, and scorch marks littering the hull of the boat.
Definitely bin busy haven't we, she thought as she readjusted her rifle at the sight.

Jenny lulled the machine down to a gentle drift, silently towards Zafo's boat. She imagined shouts or of some sort, but through the distance it was difficult not to imagine those sounds.
"Jenny, still not getting through?"
"Nope,"
"Gonna climb over I guess" Evani muttered as she lfited her knee from the floor to rest casually on the middle railing.

"Hi Eve! Welcome aboard!" Evani literally jumped at the voice behind her as she clambered from boat to boat. Zafo grinned at her waving with a hand what seemed to clutching a half eaten ration pack. Evani stole a glance at the double mirrored glass to their side. Except for her wet hair, and perhaps a twig poking randomly from her head she seemed squeaky clean in comparison with Giovanni who seemed to have just emerged from primitivism. 
"Why didn't anyone respond to my messages?" she asked when calmed down. Nodding a yes to  Zafo's offer of a ration pack for her, they continued to where Jakireth and Giovanni were in the task of supervising.
"Ah&.remind me to whack Vint, he was supposed to be listing in for us" he muttered.
"With all the stuff these technicians came up with, I think he got a bit fluttered around the controls."
"Either way, mind filling me in about this?" Evani cocked her head to the side motioning with a curious glance to their captives' side.
"Oh&they. Doing their mission under our supervision. Setting us an antenna up. If it fails they are dead. If it works we hear about the rebels' whereabouts." Muttered Jakireth. He took a deep swig from his flask, whether it was alcohol or water, Evani didn't know.
"Good, guess, all we have to do now is wait"

***4 hours later***

"It's done?" asked Zafo sharply crossing his arms as they studied the small contraption set up by the captive. Nodding vigorously they all backed away when Giovanni and Jakireth stepped forward for further inspection.
"Lets test it out" muttered Jakireth, though his demeanour remained suspicious. Evani noticed his hand never strayed to far from his thigh holsters.

In a matter of minutes Jakireth had the mechanics sedated while Evani and the rest of squad huddled about the ComStation. Giovanni quickly flipped the notches and switches before they were met with a radio static. His hand searched with the knob for the right channel till voices sounded dimly through the crackles.
"So&lets see. We lost two sleds so far. Technicians haven't made contact in a few hours...ship next sled at..."
"Are you getting this Zafo?" asked Jakireth as he walked in. Zafo gave a silent nod, his full attention directed at the small speaker box in the midst.
"Have you find the other patrol boats yet?...There is one waiting outside the bay. Affin imps. Its impossible for them to have hit us so close...ome.  And then there is one scouting further down stream."
Whoever the oblivious speaker was kept rambling continuously about the same topic. Evan I kept the recording though with a sigh.  She kept her ears along with the rest of the squad pitched for anything, which might be of concern.

"Launch four, get another four under their boat ad wh---"
"Get ready for action people, they are sending people out&fast." Muttered Jakireth jumping from his seat loading his rifle already.
"G, Jak and Z. You had combat experience underwater. Track these guys to their hole. It sounds like we are right on their spot. The rest of us keep them at bay here." Ordered Evani. The squad quickly peeled out from the small cabin leaving only Vint behind. Jowak, Garet, Jenny and Jacen have already moved everything from their boat to Zafo's boat and rigged the boat to a time bomb as Evani ordered.
"You got the distance controls here?" she asked the wookiee who had the repetitive grenade launcher slung over his shoulder as it was a rifle.
He handed her the black square device which she in turn hastily activated.
"Ok Zafo, you tell me where I send this boat," she muttered when he joined her at the side,
"Sure thing, Jak, Gio and I thought it would be best to try and get all the rats out. I think we can call Air Force in to hit them while they are outside." Said Zafo as he pulled his swimming gear over his face.



 
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DarkDragoons
SL/SGT Evani/2SQD/2PLT/1CMP/1REG/1BAT/Tadath/VEA[LoR][ES2C][CoR]
TRN/IN Evani/Training 1-1/Lopen/VEDJ/VE

The first rays of dawn seeped through the towering clouds of smoke, a result of the air strike called in just fifteen minutes earlier. The squad lay on the friendly river bank, taking a couple of minutes rest before they would be given their next assignment.

"Guys, I have an announcement to make." Evani said as she stood from her seated position. The whole squad drifted out of their post-combat daze and fixed their gazes upon the Sergeant.

"I am stepping down as your Squad Leader."

There was a brief second of silence as the words sunk into each soldier. Before she could be hounded with questions of why, she continued to speak;

"I want a bit of a change, I unno..." Her gaze shifted from her loyal troops to the ground. "Congrats Z." As she spoke these last words, her eyes darted over to Zafo. A lightheaded feeling of sorts washed across him.

"Did she just?...Yes..."

Zafo was nearly speechless as he rose up in front of his comrades. The Dark Dragoons was the only squad he had ever known, to now be their leader was an incredible honour. The change was extremely un-expected and scrambled whatever Zafo was thinking about.

"Guys..." Zafo began, feeling incredibly speechless at the moment. "You don't understand how much this means to me..."

Saving him from whatever was to come next, a speeder bike bearing the imperial flag was spotted approaching the Squad's location from the direction of Montellian Serat. The man brought the bike to a steady stop just a couple of meters away from the Dragoons. He quickly dismounted from the bike and trotted over to Zafo and Evani.

"Sergeant Evani," the man began, panting "I am sorry, but I must relieve Sergeant Jakireth from your command. He has been appointed as Assistant Squad Leader to Nightstalker squad, congratulations Soldier."

A smile spread across the Sergeant's face. Such a command position was what he deserved. Although they had not worked together for long, Zafo was sad to see Jak go.

"Zafo, Evi, Gio, and the rest of you guys, I wish you the best of luck. I'm sorry I had to leave in such a rush, I didn't see it coming either."

"As for the rest of you," the man continued "you are to head eastwards down the river towards the city Montellian Serat. Orders will be awaiting you as you pull into the small port."

Jakireth shook hands with soldiers he had fought along side and everyone said their goodbyes. Zafo and Jak gave out one final "Goodbye and Goodluck" before he hoped aboard the speeder bike with the man and sped off towards the city.

The squad's spirit seemed dampened by Jak's sudden departure.

"What now...Sir." Garet inquired with a grin.

"You heard the man, we head towards Montellian Serat. Let's do it quickly though, I don't want to spend any more time than necessary in these waters."

The squad boarded back into the patrol boat. Zafo brought the ship to life as all other Dragoons assumed defensive positions on deck.

"Hold on tight." Zafo said with a snicker as he gunned the boat eastwards to Montellian Serat...

 
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~ZaFo
*DarkDragoons
+ Advance Recon Commandos {ARC} +
SL/SSG ZaFo/2SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE [BC] [EW2]
~Keep on Rocking in the Free World