Sighing loudly in a nonchalant way of gathering the attention of his colleagues, Surface Marshal Vincent Eano lifted a determined hand into the air, silencing the chatter about him. All but two ceased conversing immediately, and they were situated the farthest away; one coughing gently in an attempt to cover up his embarrassment.

Eano smiled slightly, steepling his fingers and resting his elbows on the table in front of him. Around it sat 8 other officers, each of significance for the briefings at his right side.

"Fantastic..." He noted, grabbing up his papers and shuffling them respectively. He slipped a grey-colored folder out from the collection of beige ones, and put on the glasses that were previously located in his left chest pocket, "Not only did we all make it here this time... but in one piece, mind you! I've told you all that meetings really don't cause bodily harm, and it looks as if I've kept that promise... Except for Jarvik, yes well... He lost that finger a decade ago with one of our raids."

Laughter sprang up from random individuals, giving the veterans a nice chuckle.

"But yes, back to business. This Denon mission, does anyone have something for it?"

Brigadier General Russo nodded, shooting a glance at the datapad in his possession.

"Sir, I got this from intelligence earlier, they were adamant about its presentation. As you can see, its labeled grey, and they see this as a real threat."

The Surface Marshal blinked, skimming the information printed in the briefing.

"Alright, pitch me some candidates." He replied slowly.

Russo punched more keys on his datapad, this time dialing into the overhead projector and displaying his finds for everyone to see.

"If Obsidian corporation really is making a comeback, then they'll have the resources they once did. For this reason, we need fresh talent. I would love to toss some real anchored people in there, but they'll smack the organization with so many red flags that it will do nothing. We need zero records. So, I give you Corporal Finch and Gunnery Sergeant Jakireth. The latter is quite experienced, but with his work in black ops, he has a clean slate. And I wouldn't normally recommend someone with less than 90 days in the Corps, but shes done wonders in her training, and has one of the best minds I've seen in a while."

The photos and 45 day history reports of both blurred into focus on the wall.

"Any idea about what these people are smuggling?" Eano asked with a raised eyebrow.

Russo nudged an advisor sitting next to him who was beginning to fall asleep, whispering in his ear.

"Errrrr...yeah." The man mumbled, shaking himself awake, "It's classic, really. Any big time return has to be marked by a massive show of power. They're bringing in weapons, and a damn lot of them."

"Understood," The Surface Marshal acknowledged, "Send them off as soon as possible."

*    *    *    *

Whistling softly as he stepped from the barracks lockerroom, Jakireth moved quickly down the hallway, toweling off his still damp hair. Making his way to the apartment sector of the building, he came across a vending machine he never realized was there, removing his Imperial Credit card. It was a bit empty, granted, but he planned on regaining some extra cash after a round of cards that night. The good Colonel Rizzit was never really able to keep a solid poker face.

He was seconds away from tossing down a sip of cold water when he was tapped on the shoulder.

"Sergeant?" A short soldier inquired.

Jakireth turned around, screwing the cap back onto his bottle, "...Errr... Private?"

The soldier beamed:

"Yessir. I know its late, but..." He paused, looking down at his datapad, "General Russo needed you. Urgent...at least thats what he said."

The Sergeant sighed heavily, placing both hands behind his head. The water inside his bottle still sloshing around.

"Now, Private?"

There was a silence; the young trooper trying to decide what to tell the obviously agitated squad leader.

"Yessir. Unless you have something better to do...?"

+*    +*    +*    +*

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