More on 486

As Ezrain stumbled out of the space shuttle, he couldn't help but contemplate the last two hours. He had probably killed his brother, and for what? The Empire? A feeling of determination crept over him. Yes. It had been for the Empire, hadn't it? Ezrain straightened his back.

He had always been a loyal subject to the Empire, despite his parents and older sibling. How often had he come to this very city, just to watch the stormtroopers parade their strength? He walked over to a pristine fountain near the grey and blue shuttle port. He looked at his reflection in the turbulent waters.

He looked at his tired face, and the clothes on him. He was wearing a black jacket, black pants, black gloves, and black boots. He liked his dull, somber appearance. It made him look less conspicuous. He looked glumly down at himself, and realized that he wished he was a stormtrooper; one of those noble soldiers, clad in white, marching to the beat of unheard war drums for their immortal Emperor. The only problem was that civilians who successfully enlisted were far and few in between. 

He looked up from the fountain. Across the busy boulevard, there lay a recruiting office. Ezrain looked up to the sky. Apparently, the Emperor was watching him now, and guiding his path. With grim determination he strode over to the office.

He flung the door open, and the wide-eyed receptionist greeted him with an extremely false look of happiness and joy on her face. As he explained his desire to enlist, the receptionist nodded her head tentatively. She motioned him to a seat.

As Ezrain sat there, he realized his palms were sweaty. He rubbed them on his pants in an effort to stop the sweat. He realized it was not hot in the office; it was simply that if he went through with this, he would never be welcome in Moenia ever again. His parents would denounce him. He would have nothing left but the Empire.

Ezrain suddenly clenched his hands. Had he anything left now? He had killed his own brother! He looked up, a fire in his eyes. He would enlist, and serve the Empire he had embraced. As he came to grips with himself, the receptionist told him that the recruiter would see him now. Ezrain stood up and began to boldly walk to the room behind the desk, head held high.

Once he entered the room, he glanced around. It was stark, bare, and efficient. A shiny metal table separated two equally shiny chairs, one of which was occupied by a man in standard Imperial military uniform. The officer motioned him to take a seat.

The officer asked Ezrain many questions, such as his height, weight, age, and the like. As he jotted down some quick notes, he told Ezrain that he had the trooper build they were looking for. In fact, the Imperial Military would be paying for his ticket to the fabled stormtrooper training ground Camp Eglos, located on Talus. The officer then ushered him out the door.

Ezrain looked down at the ticket in his hand and grinned. He was on his way to becoming a stormtrooper!

 
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Our Number Is Legion, Our Name Is Death!

Aboard the shuttle to Talus, the man named Ezrain Eldarkze thought about his existence. Declaring his open allegiance to the Empire, he had just severed all ties with his past life.  In addition, he had probably killed his brother. But he felt no remorse. Ezjarl Eldarkze had committed a heinous crime against the Empire he loved: the homicide of an Imperial Stormtrooper.

He glanced around the cramped shuttle cabin. The grey bucket seats were packed with tourists seeking to tour the local Imperial Base. Most were good, honest Imperial citizens, but LK-486 had heard rumors of dissidents striking against the Empire. When he was a stormtrooper, how would he tell the guilty from the innocent?

Ezrain gave a mental shrug. The Emperor would show him the guilty. Of that much he was certain. He glanced down at his open datapad. On it was a transmission from the Camp Eglos trainer, DK-900. It told him that his barracks were currently being prepared, his uniform was ready, and he could begin his training almost as soon as the shuttle touched down. Ezrain closed the datapad with a decisive snap. He checked his chronometer. According to the shuttle schedule, they should be arriving just about...now.

With a large thump that shook Ezrain, the shuttle touched down on the Talusian landing pad. The purple skies had opened up, and the rain was pouring down like buckets from the heavens. Ezrain sighed. It was, he thought, a small price to pay to serve the Emperor. He picked up his backpack and exited the shuttle via the boarding ramp. He soon found himself in a ticket lobby, where the hustle and bustle of every day life went on. However, he felt very alone. It was like he had transcended his species from human to stormtrooper. After a moment of consideration, the thought no longer fazed him. He strode into the downpour with a straight back.

He checked his navigation pad and groaned. The camp was a good mile hike away from the main Imperial Base. Nevertheless, he stowed away his pad and began to walk. As he left the base, he looked at the massive AT-STs without pausing. He saw squads of stormtroopers marching in a seemingly random patrol path. He grinned to himself as he daydreamed of a time when he would march alongside them. He turned his mind back to the task at hand. To become a trooper, he would have to brave the rain.

An hour later, Ezrain was still on the march. He was grateful that he had the camp's coordinates, otherwise he would have been hopelessly lost in this horrible Talusian weather. He was also thankful it was raining. The cold water running down all over his tall frame was invigorating him on the march. In addition, the fauna of Talus apparently did not like rain. He hadn't had to kill any animals yet. With a wry smile, he tilted his head back and opened his mouth, drinking in the sweet rain.

Ten minutes later, he was cursing the rain, the planet, and the hill he was climbing. Due to the untold gallons that had come from the skies, the hill was no more than a slippery mound of mud. More than once he lost his grip and rolled down a few feet. He half-heartedly thanked the rocks that prevented him from having to restart at the bottom of the hill.

Finally, he crested the muddy hill. As he saw the training camp over the rise, he broke into a brisk run. He was eager for the indoors. Unfortunately, despite his eagerness, the hill stayed muddy. He slipped after having gone no more than five paces, and rolled the rest of the way down. But he had made it! His first trial was over.

 
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Our Number Is Legion, Our Name Is Death!

LK-486/3SQD/1PLT/1COMP/BAT/1RGT/TADATH/VEA/VE

Ezrain stayed a respectful distance away from the cadets as they trudged in, tracking mud into the front of the room. The group headed to a door Ezrain had not noticed before. He followed them into the antechamber, and found a small lounge. Small red armchairs were placed around a grey carpet bearing a blue Imperial Cog. Yet another door led into a showering room. Upon finding this piece of information out, Ezrain left the party to sit down in one of the armchairs. As he leaned back in the chair, he surveyed his surroundings. He also marveled at how comfortable his new jumpsuit was. He gazed about himself, looking at the walls. In this room, there were more posters of Imperial power, showing military victories and proud troopers saluting the silhouette of the Cog.

After a few more minutes, his four squad mates came back. Half of them sank gratefully into the chairs, but a two went behind a counter on the wall opposite the showers. From there, one opened a portable refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water. His companion did the same, and they crossed the floor to sit with the group.

"Welcome, new recruit." Said the first one, unscrewing the top of his water. He smiled as he took a drink from the bottle. "My name is Lars. I'm sort of the team leader. A general murmur of agreement passed through the circle. An easy smiled played across Lars' pale face as he ran his fingers through his cropped black hair. Even his dark blue eyes seemed to be smiling.

"I'm Yuri," said a second. This man was much harsher looking, with a square jaw, brown eyes, and a crop of dark brown hair. "We've been waiting for our fifth member for a week now. Let's all introduce ourselves then, and then give the boy a chance to speak."

Around the circle the introductions went, starting with another man named Weg. Weg was a nervous person, and his eyes did not meet Ezrain's as he spoke. He had another military haircut, but this time with orange hair. Dark brown freckles seemingly gleamed in the harsh light.

The next trooper was a hulking man, with a stubbly black beard. He thumped his chest and declared that his name was Ort, and that he would enjoy training with Ezrain.

Next was Ezrain's turn to introduce himself. He did not state much, but simply told them
his age and place of birth. As the group went on talking with one another, Ezrain found out that most in the squad were his age, and had just arrived a week ago.

Weg shook his head in wonderment and asked Ezrain why he had braved the storm. Surely he could have waited until morning? But Ezrain shook his head negatively, and went on to explain that his haste was due to his eagerness to become a Stormtrooper. He also proudly stated that he would love to serve the Empire in the front lines. Lars let loose a chuckle, and reassured Ezrain that he would get plenty of live action at Camp Eglos. In Detachment Epsilon's training program there were live fire courses, he explained.

With that, Ort stood up and declared himself ready for bed. He walked back into the first room, and soon the shuffling sound of a blanket being pulled were heard. Lars grinned as he crumpled the bottle in his hand and deposited it in a wastebasket as he exited the room.

With a sigh, Weg drained the rest of his bottle and followed the other two. Yuri looked over at Ezrain, and congratulated him for being accepted. The two then stood up and walked over to their bunks.

After all of the well-wishes for a good night, the lights automatically switched off at 9:00 pm. It had been almost a week since Ezrain had nearly killed his brother and fled Naboo. He blinked and rubbed his eyes. A full week? Had the trip to Talus really taken that long? He shrugged and thought no more of it as sleep enveloped him.


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Our Number Is Legion, Our Name Is Death!

LK-486/3SQD/1PLT/1COMP/BAT/1RGT/TADATH/VEA/VE

More thunder awoke LK-486 from his dream of that day with Ort. He rolled onto his other side. Sleep had finally come, only to be brutally snatched away by a more powerful force of nature. He saw a dim light coming from the next room. Someone must be down in the shower room, he decided. A few minutes later, the light clicked off. Not thirty seconds after that, DK-767, a.k.a Weg, emerged. He scaled the ladder to his bunk and quickly wiggled his way under the covers.

Far from LK-486's first impression, DK-767 was not the nervous, sickly fellow he had seemed. In fact, while on a dangerous infiltration mission, the young man had actually saved all of their lives&

Weg's full concentration was on the control panel. He felt the electricity flowing through it as though it were his own lifeforce. He could not destroy his own lifeforce- he simply had to manipulate it into doing what he wanted. The dull red light over the door beamed down on him, causing his pale face to turn an angry red. The other four cadets stood guard over him, Lars and Ort watching the door while Ezrain and Yuri gazed across the moon washed Talusian plains. With a sudden click and an audible whoosh, the door swept aside, it's maw a dimly lit metal corridor. Without a word, Lars directed his squad into the Rebel base.

Their mission was simple. A local businessman was having a little "meeting" here tonight. He had tipped off to the Empire that one of lesser Rebel commanders on Talus would be here to negotiate supplies with the businessman. The small force of cadets was to eliminate the leader and his entourage. They would kill the informant if necessary.

As they walked down a small ramp, Weg trailed behind the group, taking in the shabby bunker with analytical eyes. He was looking for traps, anything that might-

Uh-oh.  He saw to late that Lars was heading straight for a booby trap. With a razor sharp mind, he quickly ran through the trap in his mind: First, Lars would step onto the offending tile. Then, a small electric impulse would travel through the pad, up the wall, and to the two doors entering and exiting the room. From there, the doors would be locked and practically impenetrable. Then, a gas would flow through the nozzles located on the ceiling doing the Emperor-knows-what.

He bellowed for Lars to stop. With his foot already resting on the tile, Lars looked down and gulped. He saw the mess the squad was in, and shouted for Weg to do something. Weg looked around. The gas nozzles were low enough for him to reach, but he doubted he had anything to block them with. Fortunately, the trap seemed to be inactive. The tile supposedly had to relift before the trap was activated.

He kneeled down and inspected the plate. The lines around it were quite thin. To thin to jam. He began to look about the room for anything heavy. He had no idea how much weight it took to keep the tile down, but hoped he could find something to suffice. Fortunately, the businessman didn't seem to throw anything out. Weg reasoned that this must be a shipping warehouse of some sort. He opened a crate and began to pick through it.

Bingo. The crate was full of scrap metal. This commodity was plentiful, and enough of it could make a fine shipping business. He quickly filled his scrawny arms with the material, and dumped it into the depression- right on Lars' foot. Lars cringed, but did not cry out. Weg gingerly moved the debris about the indentation. Lars carefully lifted his foot out. To the joy of the squad, the tile did not arise.

Lars cautioned his squad to proceed slowly and carefully as he opened the next door. He grinned at Weg, and gave him a pat on the back.

Weg smiled. The mission was saved.

 
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Our Number Is Legion, Our Name Is Death!

There are eight lasers in the universe, and sometimes i control them all.

LK-486/3SQD/1PLT/1COMP/BAT/1RGT/TADATH/VEA/VE