Yoder was following the most of the squad to the corsair camp. Man I have a feeling this is going to be as bad as the last pirate mission, maybe worse.

Yoder was keeping quiet most of the time not wishing to speak up, and trying to make himself the 'slient guy' around, so he wouldn't have to talk much.

Yoder was looking around the jungle through his helmet, and kept checking his HUD, even though its range was only a few meters, it would help calm him down about wild animals that might attack them, if there were any animals brave enough to do that.

So they kept going for a around a hour, when he started thinking This is gonna be a wild ride, but I need a bigger gun. Heehehe

-----------------------
trp/pfc
-=Wraith Squad=-
Yoder/4SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE/LoR
Master Swordsmen/blademaster(RL)
Dovie'andi se tovya sagain." (It's time to toss the dice) -mat cauthon

"...Joreth..."

"Yillis." The man at the door replied matter-of-fact.

"What is going on..." Yillis tried to stall for time, as he thought of a reason why he was on Phu with a bunch of pirates.

"Well Yillis, I thought I'd ask you the same question. You've been officially dead for the past 5 years..."

Yillis had an idea, and he could only hope that none of the Wraiths would be hurt with his plan.

"I...I was captured by the Vast Empire Army, after the Nar Kreeta incident."

Joreth seemed to accept this explaination, but Yillis knew Joreth, and he ever accepted anything quickly, though it explained all the missing links from Nar Kreeta.

"Ah I see. Why are you on Phu."

"I don't know. There is a small imperial prison here though. They might have been taking me there."

"It's not imperial anymore, my friend. And you are standing in it right now. Those men you were with, all Imperial agents?"

"Yes. Have you captured them?"

"Somewhat, there is a detachment of the Corsairs where you were shot down. Guides there will pose as friends, and take them to the Mak'la, where he will imprison them, torture, and eventually kill them."

Yillis made no facial expression at the impending death of his friends.

"Joreth, if you do not mind, I would like to torture and kill them myself."

"Hmm, you always did like to get your hands dirty, Yillis. Very well, you and the Mak'la can share the deed. It's good to see you again old friend."

"You as well Jorath. May I ask how your father is?"

"He has passed Yillis. An assassin laid him to rest."

"Frak&"

"It is not so bad, now I lead the Corsairs."

Yillis instantly knew that assassin didn't exist, Joreth had always resented his father...for liking Yillis more than himself.

"Ah that is good news Joreth"

"You always have room on my council Yillis, know this. And I shall arrange a shuttle to take you to the Mak'la where you captures will soon await their deaths."



-----------------------
Sergeant Yillis
-=Wraith Squad=-
-=ASL=-

ASL/SGT Yillis/4SQD/1PLT/1COM/1RGT/1BAT/VEA/VE/Tadath [LoR] [WM] [GS]
SH/StationHead Yillis/VER/VE

Clearly Canadian!

Yoder looked up from the cards scattered across his feet, to near the rear end of the craft, where Arnaut and Kanderin sat talking in a low tone. Yoder went to get up and wander over to the pair, but Kanderin quickly headed him off with a trademark 'not now' stare.

"Hey, listen Arn. Dont worry about Yillis, hes a tough guy. Been around far longer than me or you, he can handle himself"

Arnaut nodded, grimacing at the ground. "I guess"

"there we go" Kanderin smiled, tapping Arnaut on the back and heading over to where Yoder sat, surrounded by various cards. He took a seat opposite to Yoder and collected all the cards off of the ground, slowly beginning to shuffle them through his palms.

"You any good?" Yoder looked up, slightly dazed.

"Fifteen years living in the cirminal underword teaches you a little something about how to play Yoder" Kanderin placed the cards back down on the ground.
 
-----------------------
Private First Class Kanderin Draken
-=Wraith Squad=-


Wraith Squad Motto: When staring in the face of death we see our reflection

FTC/LCPL Kanderin/4SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/VEA/VE/

Now! This is it! Now is the time to choose! Die and be free of pain, or live and fight your sorrow! Now is the time to shape your stories! Your fate is in your hands! - Auron, FF X

    Talstorin watched the card game from a distance, keeping to himself.  He was tired already, his brain had dozed off causing his body to numb.  The trip was dull and the fact that he didn't sleep much made things worse.

    "So what's you're name?"  Talstorin snapped to attention at the voice.

    "Huh?"  He turned to his left, finding a young women besides him.  She was of normal height, slim with long black hair. 

    "I asked for you're name&"

    Talstorin stuttered for a while, caught off guard.  He hadn't thought of an alias yet.  "Uh-uh, erm, Fraot'Hertz Goohij."  Talstorin mentally kicked himself as he said it, sounding like random sounds coming out of his mouth, which were exactly what they really were. 

    "Oh, what a coincidence!  That's my name too!"  Talstorin made a confused face.

    "What?"  He was dumbstruck.  It was just his luck to pick the name that someone else had out of all the names made from random sounds there were in existence.  He focused back on the girl, who had her head tilted.

    "That's so strange.  It's such a coincidence."  Talstorin gave her another stare.  It was then he noticed something.

    "You're on to me, aren't you."

    "What gave it away?"  She grinned with a playful expression.  "I didn't think anyone in the world had my name.  Now keep lying, and you'll end up in deep trouble, Pinocchio.  Don't think of doing anything funny, cause I'll have my eyes on you."

    "In a good way right?"  She didn't respond.  Instead, she just walked off, leaving the trooper to himself.  Already he was in trouble, and they hadn't begun the real mission yet.  Talstorin stared at the figure leave.  She was going to be a lot of trouble, but at least she wasn't too bad to look at.

 
-----------------------
In the brightest light,
We find darkness...
-=Wraith Squad=--=TRP=-
TRP/LCPL Tnepres/4SQD/1PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE[LoR]
Memoirs of a Withered Soul- Compendium of Short Stories on Talstorin's Background/Story of Talstorin and Durandal( out now- read it on army story board)
Tnepres/HellKite
-=Wraith Squad PRIDE=-

The black haired woman looked out into the distance, "Ah, there is our base of operations."

Kanderine squinted his eyes as he tried to make anything out. Slowly a large, imperial-looking building started to form.

"Looks...imperial..." Kand shot a quizzical look to the woman.

"Well, we're definitely not Imperials, but you have to admire the efficiency of their stormtroopers."

"Yeah we-" Kand realized what was coming from his mouth, and started instantly into a coughing fit. He looked over at the girl, to see if she had realized what he had been saying. The small smirk she had disappeared into a frown.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah...dunno what that was..."

The woman just giggled.

---

Squall had overheard the words 'there is our base of operations' and went to the other side of the open transport. Talking to himself, he said, "That looks like a prison."

Who he didn't see arrived right behind him, was Arnaut, "It is a prison."

"Wha?"

"It's an imperial prison."

"Oh..."

"Yeah, supposedly working too. I guess the Corsairs keep it acting like it's fully operational. Must say it has full capacity all the time to not get prisoners or something."

"Hmm, right."

"Either way, I have a bad feeling about this, keep on your toes Squall, wouldn't want anything to happen on your first mission with Wraith."

"Will do Sarge."



-----------------------
Sergeant Yillis
-=Wraith Squad=-
-=ASL=-
+ Advance Recon Commandos {ARC} +

ASL/SGT Yillis/4SQD/1PLT/1COM/1RGT/1BAT/VEA/VE/Tadath [LoR] [WM] [GS]
SH/StationHead Yillis/VER/VE

Clearly Canadian!

    Leth didn't feel all that well.  He hadn't paid Squall any attention at all, hell, Leth didn't even know he was there until he saw Arnaut talking to Squall.  He felt even worse now that the death of their guide was sinking in.  It was also relieving however, as Leth no longer had to worry about offing him.  Not wanting to seem like a complete arse, Leth walked over to Squall.

"Hey Squall, how's it goin'?"

"It's going well enough.  You're Leth, right?"

"Aye, 'Tis me that they call Leth.  But since we're maintaining secrecy, make sure to call me 'Akarax'.  When we're not on a mission, you can call me The Commodore."

Squall and Leth both looked at each other, eyebrows raised, and then erupted into laughter.  This laughter caused Yoder to come over.

"Hey guys *twitch*burn*twitch*, what's so funny?"

"Yoder! I shall have none of that insubordinate talk from you.  You shall adress me as "The Commodore," or I shall have you flogged!"

Yoder nearly crapped his pants laughing, but Leth kept looking at him in a serious manner.  Yoder laughed a bit more and Leth continued looking at him.  Yoder went dead silent and still found Leth's glare.  Yoder slunk away muttering.

"Yes Commodore."

Snipes had been watching from ten feet away, looked at Leth, then looked at Squall.  All three burst into laughter.  They're laughter eventually subsided and they sat down to watch Kanderin attempt a conversation with the black-haired woman.

 
 
-----------------------
Lance Corporal D'har Leth
-=Wraith Squad=-
TRP/LCPL D'har Leth/4SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/VEA/Nar Shaddaa

{Grand Imperator}

Closer. Arnaut shifted his view. Closer. The shadow started to loom over the barge, and Arnaut had to strain to see the place as it became very hard to focus on. Closer. He could see windows, of sorts, dotting the might gray walls. At the top, small specks milled about, pirates no doubt. Outside, chain fence ten feet high surrounded the complex. The walls dwarfed them.The ambush party Arnaut had noticed little under fifteen minutes ago sat waiting. It was no use trying to warn anyone now, though. The barge was supposedly invinsible. Closer... The barge shuddered for what was the beginning of the third attempt at their life in the past two hours. Arnaut was aggravated as he pulled his rifle off of his back and ran down into the barge. Three times in two hours. Not fun.

Muttering to himself, he made his way along the dimly lit corridors, always downward, until he stumbled upon Kanderin.

"Sir, what's happening?" He asked sleepily, coming out of his cabin on the barge.

"Fighting, screaming, dying, missile-launching... yah know, war." Arnaut was already running past him when Kanderin decided it would probably be better if he followed Arnaut. Grabbing his rifle from the door, he cried out to his Squad Leader and dashed down the hall.

The barge rocked again, and harder this time. Arnaut hit open a window they were passing in time to witness their barge smash into the ground, its main thrusters blown away. The barge next to them took two missiles to the rear of it and went down similarly. Arnaut shook his head. This was the hardest attack yet. And right in front of the Corsairs' base, too.

Arnaut finally made it to one of the ramps that led off of the barge. The door swung outward to reveal the large grassy plains that surrounded the prison. And mayhem. Lots of mayhem. Most of the grass was burning or about to be burning. Smoke made a dark cloud through which not much could be seen. Lots of the fire could be contributed to the smashed barges, but the guy running around laughing with the flame-thrower certainly wasn't doing anything to stop the spread either. Arnaut put a round through his head before moving on. Two men with rifles escorted two more men carrying a missile launcher between them. Behind him, Kanderin's gun lashed out, and the escorts died. Two seconds later, Arnaut was stepping over all four bodies and into the smoke.

Arnaut could hardly tell where he was, much less any one else on the field. Kanderin seemed to be not far behind him. That was good. But in the distance ahead, how did he know which dark shapes to shoot at? A trooper in definitely red Blood Tusk armor stepped out of the haze. Easy target. The round entered through his nose, disintegrating it, with his jaw, and most of his face, before exiting on the other side with about half his brain. The man slumped to his knees and fell over.

Tnepres lunged out of the darkness, a combat knife in hand before Arnaut could turn. He stumbled a few steps when he recognized who it was, and hastily made a sloppy salute.

"Uh, sir! Nice surprise. Almost slit your throat there, though."

"I'd like to have my throat intact, if you don't mind." He pulled out his comlink. If Tnepres was out here, the rest of the squad must be to.

"Arnaut to the sq...to friends. Gather your belongings and group up on me. We make a dash for the complex." Acknowledgements flowed in, along with the fact that all of his troopers were already carrying all of their gear slung over their shoulders. They'd been trained well.

In under a minute, and after he'd felled two more Blood Tusks, the Wraiths were on the move toward the prison. As soon as they stepped out, though, they had to gaze in wonder. Behind them, arrayed in perfect formation, were rows upon rows of Blood Tusks. They hadn't been attacked by simple marauders...they'd been attacked by the scouting party. And the Blood Tusks weren't just a pirating group. They were a full-fledged mercenary army.

An unfamiliar, but definitely recognizable, crump, crump, crump was heard by the squad. Artillery. Three sections of the gray wall of the prison exploded outward. As the squad continued the run toward the base, Arnaut was wondering just how much more information they hadn't known about this mission before jumping in. And how much more they still didn't know.

(OOC: A lil' odd, with the mercenary army and all. Just shoot me a PM if you want to have anything sorted out.)

-----------------------
Sergeant Arnaut
-=Wraith Squad=--=SL=-
SL/SGT Arnaut/4SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/VEA/VE

"Take care of your equipment, and your equipment will take care of you"

"Life is a dream; we all wake up eventually."

"Do you have any idea how long it takes to dig graves for twenty-three oak trees?" - Davram Bashere

(OOC: If anyone has a problem with what i do in this post, let me know and ill sort it out)

"It has to be safer in there than it is out here"

Arnaut led the squad through a small blast gap near to what they figured was the main entrance, One by one the squad fell through, until Draken was the only one left to enter. Talstorin again noticed Kanderin stare back down to the barge, before seeming to regain focus and sliding into the gap.

No one spoke for the first few minutes, every available eye watching the gap for any sign of the far too familiar blood red armour. Yillis was about to signal the group to huddle back up, when Yoder raised a finger to point at the horizon.

A little less than a hundred yards away, a slim silouette came into vision. No armour this time, the figure was barely dressed at all. Like most of the squad, they had threw on the first clothes that had come to them in the madness.

"Arn, i know that girl"

Kanderin stared deeply at Arnaut.

"You have to let me help her"

Arnaut answered defiantly. "Theres no way im letting you back out there, deifnetely not alone"

"Then ill go with him" Talstorin removed a knife from his pocket and slipped it into a more accessible place.

Arnaut again opened his mout to argue, but sighed upon seeing the look of desperation on Kanderins face.
"If your not back in five minutes, we leave without you"

Kanderin was out the gap again before Arnaut even finished his sentence. The grass below his feet was incredibly slippy, it must've rained a few hours ago. At the speed he was running at, a stumble could of resulted in a broken leg. Not that it was on his mind.

The silouette finally regained its colour, just as it stumbled to the ground. The towering figure of a blood tusk loomed over it. He reached an arm out, which rapuidly closed down on the figures face. A shot from Kanderins heavy blaster pistol threw it clear from its joint.

The blood tusk had just a few milliseconds to cry out in agony, before a foot to the chest sent him spiralling to the ground. The owner of that foot caught the man as he fell, and snapped his neck in one clear move.

Stilll without a break in his movement, Kanderin fell to the side of the figure.
"Can you stand?"

"My ankle went in the grass" She replied.

Kanderin placed an arm underneath the figures legs and used his other to support her neck before quickly lifting her from the ground. Then, taking a deep breath he set off at a sprint back to the prison.

The run proved far more difficult on the way back, the extra weight made it veyr hard for Kanderin to kepe his balance. He lost count of the times he almost slipped to one side. But eventually, the grass subsided and left the barren earth acting as a border to the prison. Thats when Kanderin noticed the blood tusk appear from one side, his pistol raised to Kanderins forehead.

With no arms to defend himself, Kanderin simply shut his eyes ready for the inevitable death blow. Which didn't come. He grew impatient and reopened his eyes, releived to find the man that came so close to ending his life, had found his ended first. Thanks to a well aimed blade to the side of the neck. Courtesy of Talstorin.
 
-----------------------
Private First Class Kanderin Draken
-=Wraith Squad=-


Wraith Squad Motto: When staring in the face of death we see our reflection

FTC/LCPL Kanderin/4SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/VEA/VE/

Now! This is it! Now is the time to choose! Die and be free of pain, or live and fight your sorrow! Now is the time to shape your stories! Your fate is in your hands! - Auron, FF X

The insides of the complex were completely shut off from the rst of the camp. A huge wall, possibly even higher than the exterior circled it. Kanderin found himself doubting that even a bird could see over something that high.

Kanderin breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the squad come to a halt just ahead of him. The girl in his arms was becoming surpirsingly heavy. He noticed a large pillar just to one side of the Wraith huddle, so put her down against it.

"Hows your ankle?" He asked, crouching down just next to her.

"I still cant feel it" She spoke to the ground, obviously emberassed to have to rely on someone else so much.

"Let me see"

Kanderin carefully removed the girls boot, and the sock that followed. He then placed one finger on the front of her ankle, and pressed in softly. The girl yelped.

"Thats good, means its not broken" Kanderin smiled.

He patted her on the shoulder, before getting up and walking over to the group.

"Arnaut" Kanderin called. Arnaut looked up from his conversation with Talstorin.

"Im sorry. I let some stupid emotions cloud my judgement. I could of got the entire squad killed to save the life of one stupid girl"

Arnaut nooded understandingly, before smiling.
"Dont worry about it Kanderin. In fact, i think you did us a favour. She could be the key to getting us inside the complex"
 
-----------------------
Private First Class Kanderin Draken
-=Wraith Squad=-


Wraith Squad Motto: When staring in the face of death we see our reflection

FTC/LCPL Kanderin/4SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/VEA/VE/

Now! This is it! Now is the time to choose! Die and be free of pain, or live and fight your sorrow! Now is the time to shape your stories! Your fate is in your hands! - Auron, FF X

There was no response. She was looking down, from her seat on the ground, staring right at the dirt.

Snipes poked her with the end of his gun. "Is it dead? Can I eat it?" He asked when she didn't stir.

"No, she isn't dead and no, you can't eat her" Kand said, a little offended.

"Then I can eat some one else?"

"Shut the hell up, Snipes."

"Do you have to be offensive everywhere you go?" Squall butted in, Snipes remembered him from RAIDERS.

"As a mat. . ."

"Enough." Arnaut said.

Snipes sneered a little. Just a little. There was another bag of meat slowing him down. Usually Snipes was fairly nonchalant about almost everything. But today was a miserable day. He was hot, sweaty and overdressed, his sweat had mixed with dirt and blood, dried and made his nice white shirt a grey-ish brown color, and it itched terribly. The new boots were uncomfortable and hardly broken in yet, he'd given up trying to keep the tops up, instead they were folded over about his calf, he was definitely getting rid of the boots as soon as he got on a ship. And that was another thing, his ship had a big hole in it and loads of wreck damage and battle scarring, and he'd just repainted it and refurbished the interior. He wasn't looking forward to putting it back together. And he would, he knew it. Oh it'd be cheaper and easier to buy a new ship and fit it out. But he also had to find Fury, and then endure the cats punishment for leaving it there. Snipes knew his bed was going to become a liter box or a scratching post. He just knew it.

Snipes had inadvertently taken a couple steps away from the group, his only warning that they'd decided something was when they started moving, Snipes jogged a little to catch up and fall in next to Tnepres.

"Hey, I liked the grapple gun."

 
-----------------------
{Comnet Hermit}
-=Wraith Squad=-
The few, The proud, The CrAZy RAIDERS.
TRP/GSG Sniping101/4SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE [LoR][IH][BoA][CDS][CoR]

Stultior stulto fuisti, qui tabellis crederes!

Snipes kicked dust next to Tnepres. He wasn't real hot on walking, or fighting, or doing much of anything, he felt the undeniable need to be on a beach somewhere with a nicely tanned local girl and bottle of dark, dark, rum. But oh no, he had to be here. Under the damn sun, walking, fighting, and babysitting. Snipes spat, then looked up.

The Corsair wall had taken a decent beating. But somehow it was holding well, he didn't know what they had for shielding, but it didn't really seem they had anything, meaning whatever was inside the wall was probably being hammered as well. Just then another  volley of blasts hit the ground around the squad, fallowed by the thump, thump, of artillery. The squad was thrown about by the blasts, but somehow everyone recovered quickly and regrouped, taking off at a run towards the walls. Kand somehow keeping up with the disabled girl in his arms.

Snipes was the first to reach the wall, then he began wondering why he was fleeing to the walls, the very area that the artillery fire was directed at. He didn't have much time to stand around though, as the rest of the squad caught up they turned and fallowed the wall for meters and meters before they came to a small door, obviously intended for just personnel to move through. The squad gathered around it, but the control pad had obviously been removed by the bombardment. Snipes couldn't even find any wires that might have gone to it for him to tinker with. He punched the wall in frustration. And to his surprise the door began opening, he looked around to see the girl putting something back in her pocket. He sneered and looked back at the door.

The door was moving backwards towards the inside, the hall growing bigger and bigger until at last Snipes saw light on the other side. He looked around again, then stepped to the side, letting some one else go first. Kand went in, carrying the girl, Snipes fallowed, shotgun at the ready.


-----------------------
{Comnet Hermit}
-=Wraith Squad=-
The few, The proud, The CrAZy RAIDERS.
TRP/GSG Sniping101/4SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE [LoR][IH][BoA][CDS][CoR]

Stultior stulto fuisti, qui tabellis crederes!

    Talstorin shrugged to Kanderin's answer, glancing around.  At least none of the Blood Tusks made it this far.  The door opened again and the group turned to see what had happened.  One of the men from the group before came back in.  "We're taking care of Fraot'Hertz, please join the other men on defending this stronghold.  Just in case you were lost, the outer door is that way."  The man pointed towards the eastern door and waited.  Presented with no other option other than blowing their cover, the group nodded and started to leave.  Talstorin headed out last when he was stopped by the man.

    "You there, with the coat."

    Talstorin turned with surprise.  "Hm?"

    "Mighty fancy stick you have there.  How'd you get it?"

    "Oh, you know.  I had to kill my share of men.  Took a while to get it."

    "Well, it's certainly nice  to look at.  What's your name anyways?"

    "Oh, Fraot-," Talstorin stopped.  He had realized he didn't have a name yet and he couldn't say that girl's name.  "Um, they call me Garuda."  (Yes that's my navy character and his mortal enemy's first name, but he himself doesn't know that.) 

    "Alright, Garuda, You can go.  I hope you survive till we meet again."

    "Heh, I'll be putting my money on that.  Just keep your end of the bargain and I'll keep mine.  Don't die on me bud."  Talstorin snapped his fingers and turned around, leaving out the door.  Boy, that was unusual for me. 

    Talstorin found the other squad members waiting for him.  Arnaut saw him first and waved.  "You disappeared, what happened?"

    "Just had to talk to someone, apologies sir."  Arnaut nodded in response and went on.

    "Alright, we still have a long time to get where we're trying to get.  We'll have to at least pretend to help to earn their trust more.  Let's go."  The squad followed the squad leader towards the outside.  It was only a few twist and turns in the path later that they found their way out. 

    It was a mess outside, the tall grass was on fire, the base had huge holes in it's walls.  The floor was scattered with dead bodies, burned and shot.  Some still had a bit of life left, groaning as they twisted in pain and agony, reaching upwards for help.  The group simply ignored the cadavers and walked outwards, cautious.  Yoder suddenly found a hand hold his leg and jumped, finding a groaning Blood Tusk grasping his leg.  He slashed off the hand quickly and shuddered before continuing on. 


    "Well, I think we're a bit late for defending this place.  Looks like everyone's dead"  Kanderin looked around as he spoke.  The rest of the squad agreed and turned back when Leth suddenly stopped them.

    "Wait, isn't a bit strange that everyone is dead?  There's no victor, just dead people.  There not even a sign of those artillery that were attacking before."  Some of the group looked up and thought things over, agreeing right after.  There was a sudden cloud of doubt, something was wrong but no one knew what it was. 

    "We can figure it out when we have more clues.  For now, we head back.  Let's go," Arnaut ordered, walking back to the base with the squad behind him.  As Talstorin walked through the doors, he looked back and seeing nothing, walked away.  As the door was left open, a couple of Blood Tusks uncovered themselves from the grass while others stopped pretending to be dead and waited for orders.  Their commander gestured towards the door and a few groups of Blood Tusks ran in, going in the opposite direction of the Wraiths.  Minutes later,  Talstorin rushed back. 

    "Wouldn't want anyone to sneak in," he chimed to himself as he shut the door and ran back to catch up with his squad.

 
-----------------------
In the brightest light,
We find darkness...
-=Wraith Squad=--=TRP=-
TRP/LCPL Tnepres/4SQD/1PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE[LoR]
Memoirs of a Withered Soul- Compendium of Short Stories on Talstorin's Background/Story of Talstorin and Durandal( out now- read it on army story board)
Tnepres/HellKite
-=Wraith Squad PRIDE=-

    And so the squad wandered around the building for a while, obviously lost, though Arnaut wouldn't admit to it.  Kanderin thought to himself, wondering how Fraot' was doing.  He hoped he would see her again soon though a part of him tried to suppress his feelings, in case he had to kill her.  Talstorin's mind on the other hand went back to the note.  Although it had already went through his head countless amounts of times, he wondered what she had to say that was  so urgent she had to say in person.  The trooper felt his hopes soar again though he knew it was foolish to let his hopes up.

    A sudden bang was heard and the squad snapped back to reality, pointing their random weapons ahead, shotgun, electrostaff, blaster, mop, as they frantically looked around in all directions.  Nothing was in sight though and the squad let their guards down.  A few minutes later another bang was heard, only this time it was nearer.  Talstorin tapped Kanderin's shoulder. 

    "Hey Arnaut," Talstorin called out as Kanderin turned around, "We're going to check out what that was."  Arnaut nodded and thought for a moment before stopping the two right before they walked out the door. 

    "Bring Yoder with you, for backup," Arnaut finally said.  The two nodded and waited for Yoder to catch up before leaving again.  The party of three walked through the hallways, looking left and right as they did, cautious.  They found nothing and turned around.  Backtracking to the place where the rest of the squad were, they found the door closed. 

    "What the-," Kanderin muttered, knocking on the door.  There was no response.  Kanderin knocked harder.  No response again.  All three of them knocked.  Dead silence.  The three troopers looked at eachother and frowned.  A man slowly crept up behind them as they were distracted.


-------

    FIVE MINUTES EARLIER

    "Hey, why did the door just close?" asked Leth as the door to their right slammed shut.  Arnaut simply shrugged, Yillis and Snipes did the same.  Leth got up and messed around with the controls.  "Hm, nothing.  Must be locked.  We should contact the others, to make sure they know they can't get back this way."  No one answered.  "Right guys?"  Dead silence.  "Guys?"  Leth turned around and found Arnaut on the floor, unconscious.  Yillis, Squall and Snipes were missing.  "Oh god. . ."  Leth snapped open his communications device and spoke into it.  "Leth to friends.  Can any of you guys hear me?"  There was a sudden flux of static before an answer came.

    "Yes, this is Talstorin.  The door is locked.  We can't-," the answer was cut off by a voice in the background yelling "Behind us!"  It resembled Yoder but Leth couldn't be sure.  There was a sudden hum of weapons before the signal was lost and Leth stopped hearng anything.  A bit shaken, Leth pressed his ear against the door.  Nothing came. 

    "Stupid sound-proof doors."

 
-----------------------
In the brightest light,
We find darkness...
-=Wraith Squad=--=TRP=-
TRP/LCPL Tnepres/4SQD/1PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE[LoR]
Memoirs of a Withered Soul- Compendium of Short Stories on Talstorin's Background/Story of Talstorin and Durandal( out now- read it on army story board)
Tnepres/HellKite
-=Wraith Squad PRIDE=-

Leth leaped over a pile of debris, T-6 pistol in one hand, vibroblade in the other. He pulled the trigger, blasting a smouldering hole in the head of a Blood Tusk as another two came out to meet him. Apparently Leth had killed their friend, as they were sprinting toward him, ignoring all else. One fell as a bolt struck him in the chest, the other almost raised his gun as Leth made his arm disappear in a red flash, and then sunk the vibroblade deep into the Blood Tusk's throat. More came toward Leth. He fired off two shots, taking down two Blood Tusks. Another raised his blaster and fired, putting a hole in the armor of Leth's left arm, but impacting harmlessly into the durasteel that had replaced the flesh that was there two missions ago.

More Blood Tusks charged forward, and more spears of coherent light bursted from Wraith guns. The Blood Tusks fell, as others did likewise, death screams erupting from ruptured lungs. The scent of blood and charred flesh filled the air as people kept killing, everybody doing the dance of death, Wraiths in the metaphorical center of the ballroom floor, dancing the best out of anyone. Arnaut and the others fired again and again, taking more Blood Tusk lives with every shot.
 
-----------------------
Lance Corporal D'har Leth
-=Wraith Squad=-
TRP/LCPL D'har Leth/4SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/VEA/Nar Shaddaa

{Grand Imperator}

Arnaut laughed as he ran through the crowd, guns firing. He since given up on his A280, and decided instead to switch to duel hand pistols. They spat death. In the last nine minutes, the added boost of the Corsairs, they'd pushed the 'Tusks to the wall and back. As Arnaut ripped through the crowd, spinning around, a whirlwind of death, he had a fleeting thought about how the enemies seemed to just melt away. It was only fleeting though. The enemy were routing, weren't they? And that was good.

Arnaut was on the fields suddenly. He twisted his gun around to cut down two advancing troops, and ducked low as blaster fire cut across the space he'd just been in. Rolling onto his side, he shot the man off his feet. As he stood, he realized much of the Blood Tusk force had faded into the dust. Around him, surprisingly, there weren't that many bodies. The three Arnaut had cut down lay down in the crumpled grass, while spread out randomly and far in between were only about two dozen more.

"Push them back!" The cry rang in Arnaut's ears as parts of the Corsair resistance reformed and started running after the Blood Tusks. Arnaut almost joined them. But something nagged at him. Something wasn't right. There should be more people dead. An assault of the fortress would've left more dead on both sides. There should have been more. But why? And suddenly it clicked. A half second too late.

The ground in front of Arnaut disappeared suddenly, along with the three troopers who had been occupying it. They were simply there one second, and the next...gone. For a breathless heartbeat, Arnaut stared in muted horror. And then the shockwave of the artillery blast picked him off his feet and sent him sailing through the air. Before he knew it, he was picking his sore form off the ground a dozen yards from where he'd previously stood. His forehead was wet. With blood, he realized with a dim shock. There was an all too familiar coppery taste in his mouth, too. His guns were long gone. But that all paled in comparison to the scene unfolding before him. Artillery blast shook, crumpled, and buckled the ground as shot after shot landed on pre-sited positions. The Blood Tusks had planned and orchestrated this attack, the bait, everything with ruthless efficiency. The ranks of Corsairs dead and dying were testament enough to that.

Arnaut couldn't hear anything, so it was almost comical watching the small groups of Corsairs, who, just seconds before -- oh, how much it seemed like hours -- just seconds before had been running toward the enemy, thinking themselves victorious. They were definitely running now, but in the opposite direction. Every two seconds another blast would catch that group there, or send a few flying through the air. It was almost comical, but Arnaut couldn't laugh. He wanted to puke.

Numbly he stumbled back toward the base. He didn't know where his squad was, but he hoped it wasn't in the meat grinder that lay behind him. The return of sound knocked him off his feet and put tears in his eyes. The roar was overwhelming, but worse were the screams of the Corsairs. Arnaut shut he eyes and ran.

Bodies, limbs of bodies, and parts of limbs fell from the sky in a gory rain. This time Arnaut did puke. Mixed in with the sound was now an underlying smell: the smell of death, and the smell of fused grass. Arnaut pushed himself off the ground, not realizing he had fallen. Over what, he didn't know, but it had groaned.

He stumbled for a second, turned back, and ran over to help the soldier. After every successful artillery attack came a surge of enemy soldiers hoping to overrun the weakened positions, and they were going to need all the manpower they had to stem the inevitable assault. He grabbed the trooper by his pack harness, forcing his sore fingers to get a grip, and started dragging him toward the base.

"Thanks sarge," the trooper murmured. Arnaut looked down and realized he was dragging D'har. He looked around to see if any more of his troopers were in sight, but smoke had covered the ground again. Visibility was near zero.

Suddenly the walls of the base rose out of the darkness. Lone troopers came running, stumbling and trudging through the smoke to the illusion of safety behind the now almost destroyed gates. The crashes of artillery made the ground vibrate and made walking hard, especially for those who had been jostled around already. But that artillery was the only thing between them and the unrelenting tide of Blood Tusks right now. As soon as it stopped, the final assault would begin. Arnaut shivered, despite the heat. They wouldn't survive that. There was no way they could. He forced his legs to move.

As soon as he was clear of the gate, his legs gave way, and the ground rushed to meet him. He never made it. An arm caught his shoulder, inches from the ground, and pulled him back to his knees. He panted with exhaustion. Every muscle ached, as if he'd just run ten miles. Finally, Arnaut  was able to look up to see Snipes, his face pinched in pain and weariness, and his gun dropped beside him.

"We...we lost, sir," Snipes panted. "We lost. The frontline...is...demolished. Everyone is either...dead...or dying. The ones who...were at the end...managed to get back. But there's not enough. Just not enough. We won't survive the next assault."

He shook his head. No matter how much he wanted to deny Snipes, he was right. There was no way they could hold back an assault now. It was only a matter of time. Arnaut threw his helmet off, and wiped the sweat off his brow. The sun, a pale orb obscured by smoke, was climbing in the sky, and the base was starting to scorch. The fires outside just intensified it. This wasn't the day to wage a war.

D'har was starting to sit up now, flexing his hands and looking at them as if to make sure they were still there. Arnaut tossed him a pistol, and he snatched it out of the air. His gun was still probably out there in Hell somewhere. He looked at the gun a few times, spun it in his hand, and then holstered it with a decidedly content look on his face.

Arnaut tapped his comlink, but the line was dead. Static greeted his ears. His squad was still out there, somewhere, and most likely dead. Dead. No, they were alive, he knew it. They couldn't be dead. But they were still out there. He blinked back the sharp sting of more sweat that had dripped into his eyes and looked away from the gates. Yes, they were out there, and alive. For how long was another matter. Arnaut collapsed onto a broken piece of the wall and listened to the artillery still thundering outside. For how long, indeed.

(OOC: Get posting, people who are still here. We need it.)



-----------------------
Sergeant Arnaut
-=Wraith Squad=--=SL=-
SL/SGT Arnaut/4SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/VEA/VE

"Take care of your equipment, and your equipment will take care of you"

"Life is a dream; we all wake up eventually."

"Do you have any idea how long it takes to dig graves for twenty-three oak trees?" - Davram Bashere