Kami hesitated in the doorway of Sam's office, taking in the poignant scene before her in respectful silence. The newly promoted SL of the Dark Dragoons stood before the small window of the room, his blue eyes tilted skywards, grief marring his features. In one hand was clutched a thick wad of paperwork bearing the official border of the Company Commander, in the other, a battered stormtrooper shoulder pad.

Swallowing the lump which had appeared abruptly in her throat, Kami watched as Sam spun suddenly, casting the shoulder pad across the room with a half cry of sudden anger. The pad ricocheted off the dull, grey wall with a clang, glancing off the piles of paperwork strewn haphazardly across what once had been Zafo's desk, and then skidded across the carpeted floor to land at her feet.

Sam glanced up, abruptly aware of the tall, slim woman standing before him. His embarrassment was quickly replaced by shock, as recognition flashed in his gaze,

"Kams?"

Allowing the two duffel bags to drop from her hands, Kami crouched down to enclose her fingers protectively about the discarded shoulder pad. Coming back to her feet, she walked forwards and extended her arm to offer the pad to her former squad mate, and old friend. Sam visibly flinched, crimson staining his cheeks, before reaching up and taking the pad from her grasp. Turning, he placed it back on the desk alongside the keycard and dress pin that were now his for the taking.

"What are you doing here?" He asked without turning around, "I thought you were a Raider now."

"I was," She responded, ignoring the slight sting to his words, "But I'm not anymore."

Sam's gaze flicked to hers, "You transferred?"

She nodded, "I heard there was an assistant squad leader position available. If you'll have me, I'd like to be the one who fills it."

Sam's bleak expression lifted slightly as a smile caught at his lips, "Of course you're welcome here."

Kami smiled back, and then walked up to Sam's shoulder to examine the few small items that were all that remained of Zafo's career as squad leader.

"How's he doing?" She asked quietly, old memories of the courageous, cheerful Dragoon surfacing in her mind.

Sam shook his head, suddenly looking weary, "I just don't know Kami. He won't talk to any of us."

She gently squeezed Sam's shoulder, "It happens to the best of Sam. He's a tough guy, he'll pull through this."

Sam nodded, offered Kami another half smile, then moved behind the back of the desk before dropping down into the padded chair. He gestured towards the empty chair facing him,

"Take a seat Kami."

She did, quietly impressed by her new squad leader's ability to so quickly regain his composure. Reaching into one of her dress uniform's pockets, she removed a datapad, then placed it on the table before Sam,

"New orders," She told him, "Direct from Rizzit's office. He wants to get us out in the field as soon as possible."

Sam quickly scanned through the datapad's contents, then looked up at Kami, "This will be interesting."

Coming back to his feet, he picked up one of Kami's discarded duffel bags, wincing slightly as he realized how heavy it was, "Geez Kams, what do you have in here?"

Grabbing at her other bag, Kami straightened, then gave her SL a sly wink, "Guns. Lots of them."

There was a moment of silence, before Sam let out a genuine laugh, "True Dragoon, through and through." He tilted his head towards the doorway, "C'mon, we'll get you settled in, round up the troops and get this mission briefing underway."

Sam carried Kami's duffel bags to her bunk. "Well, here is home," Kami said with a chuckle.

"Take a few minutes to get settled in and then meet up in the briefing room," Sam said, "And I'll get the rest of the squad and we can get ready for this little&."

Sam paused for a moment, "&game. Anyhow, see you in a bit."

Sam left Kami to get settled in to her bunk and he headed to the Dark Dragoons' lounge. When he entered, Typex jumped to his feet and saluted his new squad leader. Sam tossed a quick salute his way before moving into the middle of the room.

"Alright people," Sam began. Gio and Typex stopped what they were doing and turned to face Sam, "I would like to have you all meet in the briefing room in ten minutes. I've got some good news." Sam continued to the far end of the lounge where ZaFo was sitting silently staring into space.

"Hey Zaf," Sam said quietly as he knelt down beside him. ZaFo did not break his gaze with the wall. "We have a mission; do you think you are up for it?"

ZaFo turned to Sam. A hint of interest was in his eyes. "Meet in the briefing room in ten minutes and I'll give more details, ok?" Sam said.

ZaFo gave a subtle nod and Sam stood up. Sam patted ZaFo on the shoulder. He stood up and left the lounge for the briefing room.

Sam had a few minutes before everyone would be ready in the briefing room, so he stopped by his office to read over the mission in more detail.

-- Five minutes later --

The tall Zabrak entered the briefing room quickly and quietly. There was a round table with nine imperial standard chairs surrounding it. The Zabrak walked methodically around to the seat in front of the large view screen.

Moments after the Zabrak had taken his seat, the youthful Kami entered with a look of joy on her face. As she took her seat next to Sam, Giovanni and Typex entered and they took their seats. The remaining trooper entered, but remained standing and hid in the shadows. Sam acknowledged ZaFo's presents, but did not focus any more attention towards him by asking him to sit.

"Welcome everyone. As you can see, the lovely Kami has joined us today and will be our ASL," Sam began. The faces on the group brightened at the information, "Now on to the surprise. Along with Kami came a mission, though we won't be leaving the planet. The reason is that our mission is more of a game; a war game to be exact. We will be going head to head with another squad. This is somewhat of a test to check our readiness. Our opposition will be the Mercurial squad."

Sam picked up his comlink, spoke a few words, and paused. Moments later, two troopers entered the room. Sam stood up and greeted the two.

"This is Otalp, the Mercurial Squad leader," Sam stated gesturing to a short human. The blonde human was dark skinned and quite frail in appearance.

"And this is their ASL, Setarcos," Sam said pointing to the large trandoshan at the back of the group. The entire squad all had stern looks on their faces.

"Thank you Otalp. Do you have anything to add?" Sam asked. The small human shook his head, gestured to his comrade, and the two left the room.

"Seem like fun guys," Gio remarked with a chuckle.

"Oh yeah," Sam replied with a hint of sarcasm moving back to his seat, "But moving on, both squads will be outfitted with special equipment that acts and feels like the real deal, but the weapons are modified to be non-lethal and the armor responds as if the shots are live. Everyone will have an under armor suit that will register hits. Also along those lines, if a lethal blow is taken by a trooper then a signal will be sent out to all weapons in this game preventing from them firing upon you and your weapon will be disabled to prevent you from firing. You will then move out of the battlefield and wait for the game to end."

"Sounds really fun," Kami said with a smile.

"Anyone have a question?" Sam asked.

"How does this under armor thing work?" Typex asked.

"To put it simply, it will take the hit point and determine lethal or not and checks the armor. If hit in the arm and your armor can't take the hit then suit makes your movement in that arm as if you really were shot. Only no pain," Kami replied quickly, "I think you get the general idea of how it works."

"Ok," Typex answered with a hint of confusion, "Is this going to be a one day game or will it span over a few days?"

"It will span a few days," Sam replied, "We will have everything we will need to survive in the field, but both squads are limited to two hours for HQ setup and during this time no combat may happen. After this period of time, combat is a go. If there are no other questions then everyone is dismissed and we are to meet at training field alpha for the issuing of equipment and supplies in an hour."

Sam stood up with the rest of the squad. The squad saluted and the Zabrak returned the salute. This signified the end of the briefing and allowed them to leave. The squad headed out the door and Sam sat back down in his chair.

"You did a good job, for your first briefing," Kami said.

"Thanks, I think it is going to take a bit for me to become more relaxed with it," Sam said with a sigh.

"It won't take you anytime," Kami replied patting Sam on the shoulder, "Anyhow, I'm going to go for a drink. You are welcome to tag along if you want."

"Thanks Kams. I may but I'm going to check up on a few things before," Sam said.

Kami headed towards the door and out, leaving Sam by himself. The Zabrak let out a sigh, stood up, and headed out the door to his office.

(OOC: Thank you Kams for the story intro.)

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

SL/SSGT Sandwich Sam/2SQD/1PLT/1CMP/1REG/1BAT/Tadath/VEA [LoR][BM][GS]

The Dark Dragoons' Site

Another day, another mission, the young man thought to himself. Almost two years of active duty had implanted that mindset into Giovanni Bryden. Sure, he still got shakey before any mission, but he figured it was just the adrenaline.

    Looking down at his slightly trembling hand, he threw himself back on his bed, running a checklist of everything he thought he would need. In reality he wouldn't use half the things he packed, but it couldn't hurt to be prepared.  He balled his trembling hand into a fist and ran his other hand through his now long hair. It was no more than 5 inches in length, but compared to all the troops fresh out of the academy it was a stark contrast. 

    The chronometer read 0030 until deployment. Time to get off my ass and get ready...don't wanna miss the games. If his hunch was any indication, Giovanni felt that It would be his squad's time to shine.  With Kami back in the mix there was no limit to the damage they could do. It reminded him of the old days almost. 

     It felt like the old days, but a quick look in the mirror reassured him that those days were over. His weather-beaten face, stubble facial hair, the dim look in his eyes.  In those days he was no more than a rookie.  He had begun to forget life prior to joining the corps.  He wanted to forget life before the VE.  All the reminiscing did was fill him with nostalgia, and with grief. His mother and father dead, his brother on the streets of Coruscant.  He wasn't meant to go back. He had convinced himself that there was nothing he could do.  His place was in the battlefield. His purpose, to defend the empire. Giovanni unballed his fist to find his hand was no longer shaking.

    He pulled his trusty black duffel bag out from under his bed and emptied it out onto the soft carpeting he had had installed a few days before. Before him lay a plethora of different killing devices ranging from the E-11 rifle he always took with him to some curved blade of sorts to a pile of thermal detonators. As always his rifle came first, being one of the few things to stay with him from the beginning. He stashed the rest of his stuff back under the bed and walked over to a small table. He opened a drawer, pulled out some ammo packs and his hold-out blaster and holstered them neatly on the utility belt laid out at the foot of his bed.  He took one look around the room trying to think of anything he might have forgotten. Without thinking, he reached into his closet and pulled out a flask of Corellian whiskey. He chuckled to himself and set it down on his bed as well. Looking at the time he saw he had fifteen minutes left.

    Once ready he entered the refresher unit and emerged a new man. He assembled the plates of armor onto himself and for the first time since returning, felt truly at home. He snapped to attention, helmet at his side, and picked up his rifle before remembering that equipment would be given out at the training field. He placed all his armor and things into a bag and gave a frown.

     Giovanni quietly marched down the halls outside of his living quarters on the orbital platform for what seemed to be the hundredth time. He gazed down at Tadath, its southern half shrouded in shadow, with the top half bathed in sunlight.  Nodding  at a few of the Navy pilots in uniform he entered the shuttle bay and placed his holopad on the seat next to him. "Training field Alpha" it read. The sudden accelerations and decelerations were gut wrenching, but within a few minutes he safely landed in the base hangar. Following the directions displayed on the holopad, he arrived ten minutes early. Sure enough, nobody had arrived yet, so he took a comfortable stance and soaked in the sunshine.

Looks like its going to be a good day&


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

*Senior Sergeant Giovanni A. Bryden*

TRP/SSGT Giovanni Bryden/2SQD/2PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE/[LoR][ES1C]

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.

Where the hell am I?

Kael had once again found himself totally lost. He was fresh out of the academy, arriving this morning he had been told that he had been assigned to the "Dark Dragoons" squad and was expected to meet them within the hour, the bored recruiting officer had given him vague directions and a wave of his hand before turning back to the small vid he had playing. He had arrived at what appeared to be the DD headquarters only to be told by a  that they were leaving on a mission in less then 20 minutes, he  swore at no one in particular and charged off down the corridors, asking no less then 10 people and receiving no less then 8 different directions as he tried in vain to locate the hanger.

Kael rushed down another hallway, coming to a stop as he entered what appeared to be a mess. His interest piqued when he saw a game of Sabacc going on between some engineers.

What the hell am I thinking, gotta get to the hanger....but first...I need a drink.

He strode up to the bar and signaled the barkeep

"Something strong mate, and quickly."

The barkeeper pulled out a already opened bottle of what appeared at first glance to be mud or oil....or a combination of both and pored it into a large glass, sliding it down the bar to Kael who nodded his thanks. He glanced around, noting the armored woman sitting further up the bar, a grin broke Kael's face as he strode confidently over "Hey there sweet-lips, whats this tar we're drinking?"

He took a swig and immediately broke into a coughing fit, tears flowed down his cheeks and he managed to once again compose himself. The womans look of malice turned to grin and a laugh as she noted his unit insignia,

"You're a new Dragoon then private? I'm Gunnery Sergeant Kami Sharp, your ASL"

Kael again broke into a fit of coughing, his cheeks flushed red and he stood to attention, the entire mess burst out in laughter and Kael turned even more crimson

"Private First Class Kael Ja'Kar reporting for duty sir!"

Kami looked him up and down and threw a grin to the still laughing occupants of the mess before gesturing to the embarrassed private "Come with me Private, I'm sure the dragoons can make use of someone as charming as you"

-----------------------
*DarkDragoons*
TRP/PFC_Kael/2SQD/1PLT/1XOM/1RGT/1BAT/VEA/VE/Tadath [LoR]

The training fields glistened brightly in the midday sun, an odd characteristic amidst the dull grey of the surrounding bunker style facilities. Their expanse, which was usually cleared to allow army recruits to charge up and down its length for drills, had recently been scattered with a variety of barricades and obstacles no doubt for the purpose of the Dragoons up and coming training exercise.

Kael, who had remained quite since his mishap at the bar and run in with Typex, let out a low whistle of appreciation as the two Dark Dragoons made their way down a sloping hill towards the designated starting field,

"Someone sure went to a whole lot of trouble."

Kami cast an eye over the lanky, tousled form of the recruit, still unsure as to how much of what this man said was sincere. There was something about him, a tilt to his smile and a glint in his blue eyes that hinted at an aptitude beyond what he displayed. Despite that, she was forced to agree with the private's statement. The field had virtually been transformed into the largest, most cluttered paint ball style field she had ever seen. Notable nooks and crannies, visible only from their position on the rise of the hill, would serve the dual purpose of cover and staging points of ambush. Additionally, the materials scattered about the breadth of the linked fields varied quite distinctively, from the gleaming silver of metallic sheet metal to the dull sandy brickwork common on farming worlds.

"Kams!"

Sam cast an arm up in the air from where he was standing near a small entrance to the fields, his form tiny against the barricade looming up behind him. Gesturing for Kael to follow, Kami jogged over to her SL, abruptly aware of the presence of Mercurial squad nearby. All six members were standing stiffly about the entrance, already clad in the imitation storm trooper gear of the exercise, and engaged in a hushed conversation with their blonde haired squad leader.

Coming to a halt before Sam, she returned a smile thrown her way by Giovanni who was lounging nearby, then tilted her head towards Kael,

"Sam, our newest member."

Kael snapped to attention, "Private First Class Kael reporting for duty sir."

Sam eyed the young man up and down, then reached out and clapped him lightly on the shoulder, "Welcome to the Dark Dragoons." He flicked his gaze back to Kami's, "You two need to go get suited up, we'll be starting in five or so minutes."
 
-----------------------
*DarkDragoons*

PA/GSG_Kami/2SQD/1PLT/1XOM/1RGT/1BAT/VEA/VE/Tadath [LoR][CoR][IG][GCA][BC]
|| DJK Dark Jedi Order || Krath || Vast Empire ||
-=Surrender to your darkest dreams, and you'll live as you've never lived before=-
+ Advance Recon Commandos {ARC} +

Sam gazed about the field, while holding his helmet under his right arm. The field scattered with debris and barricades. Sam looked down as his datapad, "Time to roll."

"Alright Dragoons," Sam said loudly as he turned around, "It is time to head to our end of the field. From there a signal will be sounded and we will have two hours to set up our camp before combat may begin."

Sam put on his helmet, "Let's show them what the Dark Dragoons are made of."

The rest of the squad followed suit. They put their helmets on and followed behind Kami and Sam toward where their supplies have been stationed for them.

Seconds later, the voice of the Mercurial squad leader was heard, "Sergeant!"

Sam stopped and turned towards the location of the voice. He gestured the rest of the squad to continue, "Yes?"

"I just wanted to wish you and your squad the best of luck," Otalp said taking helmet in his other hand. The squad leader thrust out his hand, and Sam took hold of it firmly. He stared into his opponent's eyes through his helmet. There was a menacing glint in Otalp's eye, which sent a chill down Sam's spine.

"Good luck you and your squad as well," Sam replied letting loose of the short humans hand.

The two parted ways. Sam burst into a run to catch up with the rest of the squad. As Sam caught up to them, they were just reaching their supply stash.

"What was that about?" Gio asked.

"It was just the Mercurial SL wishing us the best of luck," Sam replied.

"Sounds like a good guy," Gio stated with a hint of sarcasm.

Sam chuckled and headed towards Kami. Just as he made it to her, a loud siren rang out across the trainging field.

"There's the signal. You ready to get this thing going?" Sam asked her.

"Oh yeah, I can't wait to get into some combat. It has been far too long," Kami laughed.

"Ok people; let's get this camp setup as quickly as possible. That way we can send out small patrols to survey the surrounding area right at the end of the hold out time," Sam said giving everyone the go ahead to begin setup. The squad broke towards the supply crates, each has its own label for what it contained.

The squad split into groups to work on getting everything in working order as quickly as possible.


(OOC: one of my lower quality posts.)
 
-----------------------
DarkDragoons

SL/SSGT Sandwich Sam/2SQD/1PLT/1CMP/1REG/1BAT/Tadath/VEA [LoR][BM][GS]

The Dark Dragoons' Site

"This will drag on for as long as we let it," Kami commented to Sam, who was warily eyeing the closest barricade, "Mercurial squad went in at the southern end of the field so we have a vague idea where they're located. I say as soon as hold out time finishes, screw the camp and hunt them down."

"That's probably what they're expecting us to do soon," Sam countered evenly, "The Dragoons don't exactly have a reputation for being underhanded."

Kami offered a slight shrug, conceding the point, "What about Mercurial? Do we know anything about them at all?"

"Otalp is a strange guy," Sam paused briefly to allow a shovel welding Typex past, "I'm not sure what he'll do. Mercurial is one of the army's grunt squads, so they were probably a little uneasy agreeing to the deal that threw them up against us."

"Well we can assume that they've done their research then, and that they know about each of us."

Sam nodded, "Though we have two wildcards in my opinion. One, they didn't know you were going to be here, and two..." He glanced over at Zafo, who was standing on the very boundary of the Dragoons designated camp site, his rifle clenched in his hands.

"So you want to wait?" Kami queried, "Lure Mercurial out from their camp?"

Her SL nodded again, swiping at a bead of sweat which was threatening to slide down his face, "We'll send out preliminary scouts to get an idea of site around us, and then wait for them to make their move. If they don't, then we'll revise the plan."

"Hey guys, come look at this for a second."

Both squad leaders turned around as Giovanni walked over, holopad in hand. Giving the two a moment to take in the quickly scribbled but well designed structure plan, the senior sergeant tilted his head back to where a pile of sheet metal awaited,

"One catch...I'm going to need some help...."

Sam glanced pointedly at Kami, and offered a sly smile "You're the combat engineer here."

Taking her new assignment with good grace, Kami hesitated momentarily, "Sammy, just a suggestion, but it would be a good idea if we weren't actually posted in the main camp. Gio's design is great, but it won't change the fact that we're sitting ducks if Mercurial slips past our sentries and gets through. Perhaps we should consider setting up stationary points around the perimeter."

Sam declined his head, "Sounds like a good idea to me." He looked over at Zafo again, noting that the former squad leader hadn't changed position in the slightest during the dragoon's conversation, "I'll get Zaf to help me out."

Offering her SL a reassuring smile, Kami hoisted her E-11 over her shoulder, then made her way over to where Gio was waiting.


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

PA/GSG_Kami/2SQD/1PLT/1XOM/1RGT/1BAT/VEA/VE/Tadath [LoR][CoR][IG][GCA][BC]
|| DJK Dark Jedi Order || Krath || Vast Empire ||
-=Surrender to your darkest dreams, and you'll live as you've never lived before=-
+ Advance Recon Commandos {ARC} +

"I can't believe you've never taken the time to understand the fine mechanics of the comm. units you use!" Typex exclaimed, his hands filled with wire, "It's ingenious really, how it all works."

Biting back a sigh, Kami glanced down at chrono, realizing that the others had only been gone for around ten minutes or so. Attempting to tune out as Typex launched into another minor rant about the quality of imperial communication equipment, she paced the width of small shelter constructed by herself and Gio and glanced out of the provided view point.

Nothing.

Rolling her eyes heavenward, Kami turned back to face Typex, intending to participate in the communications debate only to halt as a flicker of movement caught the corner of her eye. She visibly tensed, the sign of impending danger notable enough that Typex clamped his mouth shut. Gesturing for Typex to pull away from the window and move to a more secure corner, Kami flicked her E-11 from her shoulder into her hands and stooped down into a crouch at the viewpoint, her green eyes scanning the expanse of the Dragoons camp.

Little stirred the dusty field for the barest of moments, before another flicker caught her gaze, a flash of black movement towards the south-west corner of the camp. Coming to her feet in one silent, swift movement, Kami signaled for Typex to remain near the equipment then slid out the small crack of the entrance and into the camp beyond. Never particularly skilled in the more bodily aspects of being a storm trooper, Kami none the less had an unnatural ability to move silently when needed. It was an ability that had both delighted and annoyed her respective squad leaders over the years, for whilst it allowed her to advance upon ignorant enemies, it had also served her well in regards to avoiding their authority when required.

Making her way beyond the boundary of the sensor system, which was still happily confirming that it had no movement within its circumference, Kami darted behind one of the man-made barriers that towered up and above the breadth of the camp. Forcing herself to stay steady, she pulled in a soft breath and stilled, her hand resting lightly upon the trigger of her rifle. Minutes past...before finally, a visible click sounded, giving away the position of the armored trooper lying upon the face of an adjacent structure. Kami hesitated once again, unsure as to how the man had gained access to the top of the structure as there were little or no handholds in sight. Further deliberation was cut short however as the man, still not entirely visible from Kami's position, swung the tip of the sniper rifle in his grasp to take the command shelter in his sights.

Raising her rifle, Kami centered, and fired, her first 'shot' catching the man in the unarmored crack between his shoulder and upper arm. The man let out an audible cry as his suit seized to mimic the severity of the shot, the sudden contraction enough to cause him to topple from the face of the twisted metal barricade and fall the few meters to the ground.

Tuned in the man's position by his groans, Kami carefully made her way towards him, all her senses on edge for the presence of another attacker. Reaching the trooper unharmed, she leveled her rifle at his armored head as he attempted to roll over on his back to gain access to his weapon.

"Don't even think about it." She hissed. Casting the man's rifle away from reach, she gestured with the tip of her E-11, "Get up."

The emotionless eyes of the black helmet regarded her for a moment before he complied, clutching at the imaginary wound that the suit was projecting as he got shakily to his feet.

"What squad are you from?" Kami demanded, already aware that the black armor was not the one worn by Mercurial squad for the exercise.

The black clad man was silent for a moment, his visored gaze shifting slightly to take in a sight behind Kami. Warned by his signal, Kami threw herself sideways as a string of blaster fire flew into the clearing, the shots pounding into the dust where she had stood just seconds before.

Rolling, Kami came back to her feet and threw herself behind the closest barricade. The shots continued for the barest of moments before they abruptly ceased. Silence followed, in which she risked a glance about the side of her cover.

"You alright there Sarge?"

Typex was visible in the view port of the command structure, his rifle still at his shoulder.

"The idiot came out of cover to get you." He grinned, "Thought it was a sure thing."

"Where is he now?" Kami called back, still not loosening the grip on her rifle.

"I got him in the face," Typex responded, still grinning foolishly, "He's out of the running for now."

Coming out of cover, Kami looked back towards where her trooper had been standing only to realize that he had used to distraction to get away. Cursing softly under her breath, she looked back to Typex,

"Get Sam and Gio on the line, and tell them that we have a phantom squad to deal with."
 
-----------------------
*DarkDragoons*

PA/GSG_Kami/2SQD/1PLT/1XOM/1RGT/1BAT/VEA/VE/Tadath [LoR][CoR][IG][GCA][BC]
|| DJK Dark Jedi Order || Krath || Vast Empire ||
-=Surrender to your darkest dreams, and you'll live as you've never lived before=-
+ Advance Recon Commandos {ARC} +

Kami and Typex were back within the relative safety of the holdout, carefully listening to the strange bursts of static that had abruptly begun to emit from their communications equipment.

"What do you make of it?" Kami asked the Comm. Tech in training, her dark brows knotted, "Sounds like bad news to me."

Typex's eyebrows were also furrowed, his expression grim as he fiddled with the switches, "Mercurial wouldn't have the equipment to do this. This has to be an outside signal. It's very, very strong, and has both of our encryptions."

Ignoring the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, Kami glanced quickly out the view port, and then back to the private, "You did manage to get through to the others to warn them though?"

Typex nodded, his frustration clearly evident, "Yes. Gio reported that he and Kael had already had a bit of a scuffle." Letting out a low growl, he slammed his first down violently upon the makeshift table holding the 'static' box, "Godamnit! You think this is the work of that Phantom Squad?"

Kami nodded, "I'd say so. Let's just hope that they've blocking Mercurial's transmissions too, or we're now at a serious disadvantage."

"So now we have no way to get in contact with the others, and they have no way to warn us if there's anyone incoming," Typex moaned, seemingly on the verge of accepting defeat, "We are so dead."

"Enough with the melodramatics," Kami stood, casting Typex's rifle into his arms, "This is more a nuisance than a death blow. Turn that thing off, so we don't draw whoever's out there to our position, and then go and find a good sentry spot. I'll be just outside, on the perimeter."

"How will you contact me?" Typex questioned, sliding his helmet back on.

"You've been in that comm. tech course of yours for too long," Kami responded dryly, "Hand signals. And use your eyes."

Then without another word to the stressing private, she slid free of the shelter and out into the camp ground beyond.
 
-----------------------
*DarkDragoons*

PA/GSG_Kami/2SQD/1PLT/1XOM/1RGT/1BAT/VEA/VE/Tadath [LoR][CoR][IG][GCA][BC]
|| DJK Dark Jedi Order || Krath || Vast Empire ||
-=Surrender to your darkest dreams, and you'll live as you've never lived before=-
+ Advance Recon Commandos {ARC} +

Kami sat quietly within one of the small sentry posts upon a large metal structure overlooking the camp. Her shoulders were draped with a terrain camouflage net, which although was not particularly well suited to blend with the hodgepodge surrounds of grey and sand, was successful in preventing her bright white armor from catching the sunlight.

Shifting slightly to prevent her legs from cramping beneath her, Kami triple checked her charge on her rifle, then once again became motionless. Below her, within the command structure, she could see the outline of what appeared to be Typex's shadow, highlighted drastically by the light streaming in from the small view port. Whilst the gimmick had proven successful against the amateur Rebel squads the Dragoons had come up against in their time, there was no telling if Mercurial would allow their members to be drawn towards the shadow only to have Typex fire upon them from the other end of the hold where he was carefully concealed.

The two had been waiting patiently for over an hour, Kami ignoring the pounding heat of the sun despite the fact that it had begun to roast her within her inadequately equipped suit. Chances were that as soon as she changed positions to grab at the closest water bottle, that Mercurial, or the more furtive Phantom Squad would pounce. So she waited, her helmet at her feet, and her vivid green eyes on the camp and boundary beneath her.

A burst of static was the first sign that someone was approaching.  Her muscles abruptly tense, Kami turned slightly, holding up a hand to signal to Typex that there were incoming. Seeing his helmeted head bob once in affirmation through the small crack in the holdout roof, she turned back towards the camp boundary, bringing her E-11 up to her shoulder.

There was complete silence for a few minutes, broken only by the rattling of the hold as a light wind caught at its structure, before the static sounded again, much louder now.  Tracking her rifle over the mass of junk strewn before her, Kami followed the sound until she centered in on the slightest glimmer of white visible between two smaller structures of brickwork at the eastern end of the camp. Recognizing a Mercurial trooper, she watched, slightly amused, as he cast his comlink behind and away from his position.  Glad for the opportunity provided by the malfunctioning equipment, Kami centered her sights on the troopers head, and stilled, not willing to give away her position just yet.

The Mercurial member below her waited a few minutes, obviously spooked by the noise their comlink had made, then rose and moved forwards with remarkable silence to the next structure. Now effectively within shooting range of the holdout, the trooper brought up their rifle, centering on the shadow visible in the window. Her finger hovering over the trigger, Kami forced herself to wait, waiting for the trooper to give some acknowledgement that they were not alone. The Mercurial member visibly paused, signaled to their right, and then opened fire.

The relative serenity of the camp was shattered as the high pitched whine of blaster bolts sounded. Imitation lasers, almost identical to the real thing, flashed from two sides of the camp to strike at the shadowed form concealed within the structure.
Kami's first shot, perfectly set up, caught the visible trooper in the back of the helmet, sending them sprawling forwards into the dust in a twitching heap. Swinging her rifle around to take in the trooper who had come up from cover to fire, she abruptly realized that she herself had suddenly become a target. Seeing white armor spin towards her, she cast herself side wards, tumbling from the sentry point and falling the four or so meters to the ground as blaster fire heated the very air about her.

She landed heavily, the air whooshing from her lungs, and her unprotected head striking the ground. Shrugging off the white hot flash of pain that erupted in her temple, Kami forced her hands underneath her body and pushed herself to her feet just as the white trooper came running around the corner, rifle raised. Typex's blaster fire from the holdout flashed above her head, peppering the ground about the advancing Mercurial trooper. They ducked back and down, the distraction long enough to allow Kami to raise her rifle and drill a snapshot straight into their armored chest. The trooper let out a snarl, and collapsed backwards as his suit seized to emulate death.

Waving an all clear at Typex, who was now standing outside the holdout, Kami walked over and stood above the helpless Mercurial trooper. Crouching down, she removed their helmet to reveal the fanged, scaled face of Setarcos, Mercurial Squad's ASL.

"I blame the damn commlinks," He hissed angrily, "Otherwise you would have had no idea we were there."

Kami offered him a slight shrug of her shoulders, "You know as well as I do that the battlefield is rarely accommodating."

Setarcos let out another low growl, seemingly directed at his seized suit, "How long does this stupid thing last!"

"I'd wager only a few minutes," Kami slung her E-11 back behind her shoulder, "No hard feelings? I mean, you almost had me for a moment there."

Setarcos offered a fanged grin, the expression more terrifying than comforting "Indeed. You have the devil's speed though woman, I've never seen anyone react that fast."

Throwing the downed ASL a casual salute, Kami turned and walked back over to her sentry spot. Without commlinks, there was no way for the downed members to inform their squad mates of Kami and Typex's positions, and she was intending to take full advantage of that fact...

[Mercurial: 2 down. 4 remaining (one 'wounded')]

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

PA/GSG_Kami/2SQD/1PLT/1XOM/1RGT/1BAT/VEA/VE/Tadath [LoR][CoR][IG][GCA][BC]
|| DJK Dark Jedi Order || Krath || Vast Empire ||
-=Surrender to your darkest dreams, and you'll live as you've never lived before=-
+ Advance Recon Commandos {ARC} +

TB headed up to Kami's postion. "Seems to be a fairly nice day out!"TB said withdrawing his rifle. He took a double take behind him, to make sure he wasn't being followed. "Eh." he said walking up to the postion.

The sun started to gleam onto TB as he suddenly seemed to be sweating. "I havn't been out here too long, and I'm sweating..great.."TB thought to himself as he scanned the area.

A communication had come in. It sounded on his comlink. TB only noticed a couple of words, and that was.."Contact with Mercurial heading to camp."TB looked at the comlink for a minute, unsure if it was just a trick, or someone in need. TB didn't know where he was for minute, he had been looking at his comlink and walking, so he didn't know where he was.

TB quickly put the comlink to his mouth. "Private Twin Blade, a new recruit to DD!"TB said as he looked up and spun around. "Gah!"TB said, he didn't have time to turn the comlink off.Someone from behind an object had tried to shoot him, but obviously something had distracted him. He whirled around as he strafed to the left and let out a few shots himself. He took up the comlink to himself. "Under fire, somewhere near Kami's last postion!"He started to say it and was cut off bewteen words by incoming fire.

"This isn't what I needed.."TB thought. He rolled out and let out shots. He looked around and scanned the area again. "Your near, but I don't know where you are."He looked up from his postion again and saw the soldier out of the corner of his eye. He didn't let the soldier let him know that he saw him, because then he would obviously run. TB then saw that the soilder had squinted through the little eyepiece and TB whipped around and let out bolts straight at the soldier.

The incoming soldier had stopped, perplexed by the fact the TB saw him. He narrowly missed the shots by reacting just in time. "Shiz-nick!"TB said. He saw the soldier look like he was going to meet back to somewhere. TB didn't know where he was. He held up his comlink to his mouth again. "Nevermind, enemy has left my area or postion. If someone could redirect me back to where I'm supposed to be, that would be great though."TB said as he looked around waiting for an awnser.



{{OOC:Uh, I didn't know if we could control one another characters, because I usually don't like to control anyone but my own character, so hopefully this will be enough, and I understood all the rules of this.}}}

-----------------------
~_^

The fierce ache in Kami's temple had subsided to a dull thud in the ten or so minutes she'd taken to apply a bacta patch to her wound. Feeling all the more capable of getting back out in the field, she cast the medical equipment on her lap aside and picked up her discarded E-11.

"Kami." Typex's head popped through the door, "We have a slight problem."

"What now?"

"Erm, TB," Typex responded, "He's kind of run off in pursuit of an enemy."

Casting her eyes heavenward, Kami silently cursed the gusto that most new recruits displayed over their first few days in an attempt to prove themselves.

"Does he know we don't have communications?"

"Nope," Typex gestured behind him, "He just ran off."

Biting back a growl of frustration, Kami came to her feet, "Leave him for now. Hopefully he hasn't run too far."

"Who's running?"

Both troopers glanced up at the intrusion of a voice from the back of the command structure. Two stormtroopers stood in carefully concealed doorway, dust streaked across their armor.

"Sammy?" Kami questioned, unable to pinpoint his insignia under the grime, "That you?"

One of the stormtrooper's nodded, "Sorry we took so long to get back."

"Twin Blade's the runner," Typex answered his SL, "A new recruit that just got in."

Sam walked forwards, tugging his helmet free to reveal his sweat streaked face, "Typex, Zafo, get back outside."

Both Dragoons nodded, and disappeared to regain guard positions outside the base.

"What's it like out there?" Kami queried as Sam dropped down next to her, "Do we know where Mercurial are holed up?"

"I have a vague idea, yes, but nothing specific. We had to withdraw pretty fast once we made contact. The terrain where they've located base camp is pretty rough." Sam nodded at Kami's forehead, "Are you ok?"

"Just a bump," Kami flashed her squad leader a smile, "Had a bit of a scuffle with Setarcos and a friend."

Sam returned the smile, albeit grimly "Good to hear that he's out of the running, especially since these phantom soldiers have shown up."

"So what's the move," Kami offered Sam a large water bottle, which he gratefully accepted, "Do you want us to hold here or push forward?"

Sam hesitated, the bottle halfway to his lips and regarded her steadily, "What would you suggest? You've had the difficult task of defending this place."

"Push forward," Kami responded directly, "We're too large a target to adequately defend against the remaining members of Mercurial and this phantom squad."

Her SL took a large swig from the bottle, visibly contemplating strategies, and then nodded, "I agree. If we split up again we risk being picked off one by one. Together, we stand more of chance of surviving further phantom attacks, and breaching Mercurial defenses to finish this off."

"Sorry to interrupt," Typex materialized in the doorway, "But Gio and Kael are back. And they've got TB with them."

Sam rose back to his feet, tugging his helmet back on as he did so, "Looks as though we're ready to move then."
 
-----------------------
*DarkDragoons*

PA/GSG_Kami/2SQD/1PLT/1XOM/1RGT/1BAT/VEA/VE/Tadath [LoR][CoR][IG][GCA][BC]
|| DJK Dark Jedi Order || Krath || Vast Empire ||
-=Surrender to your darkest dreams, and you'll live as you've never lived before=-
+ Advance Recon Commandos {ARC} +

Sam stopped, "We don't really need to worry about snipers right now. If we move out of this area, the sniper will have to pop out of cover to make certain that he is still following us."

Kami and TB nodded and moved ahead.

Sam followed along with Gio and Zafo at his flanks and Typex just behind Kami. "Well, this sniper is going to have to give his position away every time he takes a peak," Sam thought to himself, "If he can see me I can see him."

Moments later, blaster fire could be heard faintly from a distance. "Everyone on guard, keep your eyes peeled for anything!" Sam said in an intense whisper.

The squad perked up and began to scan all areas around them. Sam took the lead. He felt that if anyone was to get taken out first it should be himself. He could not allow himself to let one of the others take a hit. He led the squad in the direction of Zafo and his encounter with Mercurial.

"What do you think that was Sam?" Typex asked.

Sam shrugged the question off and maintained his focus. One slip, he told himself and there could be a blaster bolt to anyone of his squad mates. For some reason this single thought had jumped into his mind as they left their camp and Sam was unable to shake it.

The squad had reached the area where Zafo and Sam had encountered Mercurial with in fifteen minutes. There was not a sign of the sniper since his first shot at the group. There were scorch marks on the boulders in the area from the small fire fight from earlier, but no sign of Mercurial in the area.

"This is the point where we encountered Mercurial. My guess is that their camp is pretty close," Sam said, "Kams, you have any ideas as to which way we head from here?"

"Not really, we should just keep heading in this direction and if they are close there is a chance that we will make contact with them or we will hit their camp," Kami retorted.

Sam nodded in agreement and headed in the direction they had been moving. The rest of the squad fell in after Sam still maintaining their outlook for any adversaries that may be in the area.

Moments later, Sam turned around a large chunk of debris to find Mercurial's camp. Sam held the squad back and turned to face them.

"Here is what I would like to do," Sam began, "Their camp doesn't appear to have anyone in it, but if my gut is correct they have at least two or three guys in there keeping watch. So, Kami, Gio, and I will infiltrate the camp. The rest of you keep an eye out for anyone coming in the camp and wait for a signal from either myself or Kami. When the signal is given it is clear to enter the camp. We shall go from there. Oh, and don't do anything rash while you wait."

Kami, Gio, and Sam headed towards the ghostly camp with their weapons ready. The three had to be on guard during their approach. They could not afford any surprises.

Just as the three neared the edge of the camp, blaster fire flew past them. Sam turned to see Zafo rushing in their direction and firing madly. "Gio, Kami, get to cover. I don't have any idea as to what Zafo is doing," Sam yelled.

"So much for no surprises and attempting to be quick and quiet," Sam thought to himself.

The three took cover. Zafo rushed passed them with out a second look. Sam stood up to see two Mercurial troopers pop out from cover. They were apparently confused on what this mad trooper was shooting at or even as to what his motives were. Just as one was to take aim at the crazed trooper, Zafo darted towards the nearest edge of the training field.

"Damn Zafo," Gio chuckled.

"No is our chance let's take this camp," Kami said with her rifle ready to fire when they moved from cover.

Sam still standing bewildered by Zafo's crazed actions paid no attention to Kami's voice. Seconds later, Sam was brought back to reality when a blaster bolt hit the boulder in front of him and sent sparks into his facemask. He quickly recoiled back into cover.

Kami looked at him, "On three we go."

Sam nodded along with Gio. "Three!!"

(OOC: This is the first of many better posts to come. :P)
-----------------------
DarkDragoons

SL/SSGT Sandwich Sam/2SQD/1PLT/1CMP/1REG/1BAT/Tadath/VEA [LoR][BM][GS][EW][1st class]

The Dark Dragoons' Site

TB just stood their, he couldn't move, me was far away from his other teammates, and his corpal had just gotten shot down. He glanced over and quickly dragged Typex behind some huge boulder.

TB saw Kael on the other side of the boulder, trying to hold off enemy lines. TB got into a laying down postion and peered throught the side of the boulder...

"Ah...so basically, theirs only about three people, just changing lines to distract us to think that their's more then one. Blaster fire started coming his way, he then took cover behind the rock, where he saw Kael taking a little break.He quickly told Kael the information that he had gathered, and saw Kael nod.

"Do you think Typex would mind if I used his rifle while he was out?"TB asked with a short grin. "You stay here..."was all TB said as picked up the corpal's blaster. "And try to make communication using your comlink of our position, I know their jammed, just try. Oh, and give me some coveryfire before you do that..."he said as he saw Kael pop up from behind the boulder and gived him some cover fire.

TB rushed out from behind the boulder at an intense speed. He put both rifles infront of him as let it rip, almost an imatation of ZaFo. He saw the enemy's were dazed at the reaction of TB, and they all bolted out before TB was 10 steps in. They would of probably gone sooner, if they weren't so dazed.

TB returned to the boulder to find Kael trying to get a communication to the other squadmates.
"Did you make any connections with them?"TB asked anxiously.
"No, I know that's probably not what you wanted to hear, but still, no."Kael Replied.
"I guess we are on our own until we meet up with them again. We might not want to move to much with a banged up corpal, I know he's not hurt, but if he can't move much, he won't be of much use.."TB said as he tossed the corpal's rifle onto him. He heard a slight moan as the rifle hit him. TB just laughed.

-----------------------
~_^


TRP/PFC Twin Blade/2SQD/1PLT/1CMP/1REG/1BAT/Tadath/VEA

TB grinned as they walked along to their destination. He had a slight grin that said 'I made it and my Corparal didn't.' He knew though in his head he shouldn't be thinking that, but still, it ocassionaly popped into his head.

"Why are we going back to our base?"TB asked in a tone.
"That's the way the Mercurial squad went if you were listening.."Sam replied.
"Just wanted to talk!"TB awnsered his harsh reply with.

After a while of walking back towards the DD base, TB looked around and wondered what was happening to the trooper with the sniper rifle that tried to 'put them away.' He was cautiously surveying the land when he heard another blast go off. He didn't even see it coming. The beam of the blast was intense, and it quickly excellerated when it came out of the barrel.


TB looked up at it dazed. He didn't know what to do, it was different when they were coming at his teammates, but when it was coming for him, all was different. He quickly felt a shove by Sam and Kami together almost too soon as the blast hurled it's way too the ground. TB stood their shaking..

"I didn't know what to do.."TB said as his hands shook.

"Let's just call it even."Said Kami.

TB looked at from where the shot had came from. He saw the man was still there. His sniper rifle was put into the ground the wrong way, with something caught on a rock. TB quickly sprinted where the man was. The man saw him though, and didn't know what to do. To hightail it without the equitment, or try to get the equitment out. TB saw the he tried to take the equitment.

"Wrong choice buddy!"TB said as he picked up the trooper off the ground and hurled him down the object he was on. He then picked him up again, and backhanded him across the face. TB was quite mad. "So you try to kill meh eh?"He asked, but no reply came.

"Tell this to your squad!"He seized him up again, and let rip an uppercut. TB looked at him with intensity, though he tried to hide them from the man."And make sure your buddy's don't try anything again!"TB roared out at the trooper.

The Trooper scrambled out of the area, running at what looked like was full speed. "Stupid Stupi... I hurt my hand hurting that guy!"TB said "Well, they probably won't bother us again from what I did to him..."

TB returned to his squad and saw them waiting. They looked hot from the persperation forming outside their armor. "They probably won't bother us again from the beating I gave the one..."TB said as a slight grin formed on his face."We should move out..."TB said lazily at he stared at the sun. The squad started moving again.
 
-----------------------
~_^


TRP/PFC Twin Blade/2SQD/1PLT/1CMP/1REG/1BAT/Tadath/VEA

Kami crouched down behind a twisted structure of metal, her rifle raised in one hand, and her visoured gaze tracking the visible stretch of land before her. The tripwire had been placed specifically to maneuver the Dragoons into position, and hinted at a degree of preparation that the two remaining members of Mercurial would not have had. That meant that the Phantom Squad was on the loose, and that they were growing bored of waiting for the 'mission' to reach a conclusion and were now playing a more destructive role in the training exercise.

Glancing out from behind her cover, Kami caught a glimpse of white armor between the structures, hovering uncertainly at the edge of the field. Unwilling to call out to the Dragoon member, who may or may not have been Kael, Kami slowly began to inch her way out from behind the structure, intending to maneuver her way over to his position.

A stream of blaster fire halted any progression as it whizzed suddenly into the air before her, causing Kami to curse and fling herself back behind the protective cover offered by the landscape. Checking the charge on her rifle, Kami rolled back to her feet and answered with a scattering of blaster fire that peppered the area where the shots had originated from. The enemy fire halted as they ducked down behind cover, giving Kami enough time to sprint from her position towards another metal barricade.

The Dragoon before her had reacted during this time, and had maneuvered up towards the position where the gunfire was coming from while they were preoccupied with Kami. Gesturing, he signaled that he'd move as soon as she drew fire again.

Throwing the trooper a thumbs up, Kami spun out from cover again, laying down a stream of steady fire across the adjacent protective structures. She ducked back just as the answering fire sounded, her jaw clenching as one particularly lucky shot grazed her armored forearm. Her armor twitched, slowing her movement as she pulled her arm back from view, imitating a blaster wound without the associated pain.

Further examination of the 'wound' was cut short however as the sound of blaster fire overcut the whine of the enemy fire, followed abruptly by silence.

"Got them!" Came the call, the voice identifying Kael as the wayward trooper.

Coming cautiously out of cover, Kami saw Kael walking towards her, "How many?"

"Three," He responded, "Though in all honesty I can't take the credit for all of them. One of your wild shots just happened to hit one in the helmet."

Despite herself, Kami laughed, "Doesn't say much for his luck. Do you know where the others are?"

The private gestured behind, and Kami turned to see Sam and the others emerge from the cluttered landscape.

"We took down another two," Sam said, identifiable by the insignia on his breastplate, "I just overheard Kael. It must have been their final push to end this thing."

"Mercurial?" Kami questioned, her every sense still on alert, "Have you seen them?"

"Well, yes..." The tone in Sam's voice cued Kami in to their fate. Glancing behind her SL, Kami saw TB and Gio dragging a single white clad trooper between them. Pulling her helmet free, Kami arched a questioning eyebrow at Sam,

"Who is this?"

"We found the last two Mercurial members," Gio responded, "One was 'dead,' courtesy of a similar tripwire maneuver that Phantom tried to pull on us, and this one," He reached up and pulled the downed trooper's helmet free to reveal Otalp's disgruntled face, "Got caught off guard."'

Walking forwards, Kami met the Mercurial squad leader's gaze, noting the glimmer of anger in their dark depths. Throwing another glance at Sam, which was answered with a slight nod, Kami raised her rifle and placed the tip against Otalp's chest guard.

"It was a good fight," She told him, before pulling the trigger and releasing a bolt straight into Otalp's chest. The SL let out a grunt, his suit jerking, before collapsing to the sandy soil. Above the Dragoons, a siren sounded, announcing the end of the training exercise and a Dragoon victory. Feeling little elation over their win, as the exercise had been grueling, and had brought to light some serious issues within their ranks, Kami turned back to Sam as he removed his helmet.

"Alright guys, it's over. Meet outside for a final briefing."
 
-----------------------
*DarkDragoons*

PA/GSG_Kami/2SQD/1PLT/1XOM/1RGT/1BAT/VEA/VE/Tadath [LoR][CoR][IG][GCA][BC]
|| DJK Dark Jedi Order || Krath || Vast Empire ||
-=Surrender to your darkest dreams, and you'll live as you've never lived before=-
+ Advance Recon Commandos {ARC} +