Trevor and Than were once again meeting in Shazam's office. They had completed their infiltration assignment a week ago, and had been called to Shazam's office to be told of their next duty. Both were seated comfortably in chairs in front of Shazam's desk, listening to him as he spoke.

"After your recent work together and apart on some critical missions for the VEN, I'm pleased to let you know that you'll be being stationed on Misoo for a short while. You may have heard of this place, it is almost like a luxury resort to VEN pilots." Shazam explained, handing each man a couple of photos of the planet and its environment. "Although you are still on active duty while you are there, it's almost vacation like in the sense that no one has seen any action there in years, and the planet itself is beautiful. Expect a lot of free time."

"Who all else is going?" Than asked, handing his pictures back to Shazam, Trevor following suit.

"Doashim group, as well as myself and a few other minor people. I think some of the army is changing posts too, but that doesn't really apply to us at all." Shazam explained, Trevor and Than still paying attention. "Also, a few days after you arrive, the leader of the planet will be hosting a banquet for the Imperials. The locals don't trust us, but he does. So with that being said, remember your dress clothes."

"Yes sir." Trevor and Than replied at the same time, each man smiling at the thought of some very, very easy duty ahead of them. Shazam paused for a moment, as if to think about something, and then spoke again.

"Alright, go assemble your squadrons and have them pack. We leave in 6 hours. Meet in hanger A." Shazam told them, before rising from his desk. They each rose from their chairs and salutes were exchanged, before Shazam dismissed them both. Alright, a half-vacation! Trevor thought to himself as he made his way to tell Nazgul about what was going on.

*** Later ***

It was defiantly a new experience to him. The planet reminded him somewhat of Forman II, but this place had its own unique beauty. The trees, the smells of the air, even the sky all were different. He specifically enjoyed the flowers he had learned were called Asaldi flowers, their colour was like nothing he had seen before and although he wouldn't admit it to any of the Nazgulians except for Tokijin, he really liked them. Not only their colour was amazing, but the scent they gave off only added to the natural smells of rain and trees that everyone seemed to have trouble resisting. Returning to 'real' duty, as so many stationed on Misoo called it, would be a hard pill to swallow. Even he found himself fearing the end of his stay there. On the other hand, this banquet is going to be pretty enjoyable. He thought to himself.

He was standing in his quarters adjusting his dress uniform. The bolero wouldn't sit properly, and he had to fight it for about five minutes before it finally agreed with him. He checked himself over in the mirror before slipping his boots on and carefully lacing them up. He dug through his belongings and found a diminutive blaster pistol, one that fit snugly into the top of his boot. The form dress uniform disallowed side arms, but he always got away with having one in his boot. It was never needed, but he kept it with him anyway. He checked his watch and with a final minor adjustment of his pants and bolero, he stepped calmly out of his quarters. Most of Nazgul had assembled in the hallway already, all expect for one of them wearing 'matching' uniforms. The only differences in the uniforms were the rank bars that each person had. Tokijin was the exception, as she was wearing the regular bolero, stylized for a female, and a long, flowing skirt that was made to look the same as the pants that the men were wearing. She had the option of pants or a skirt, but Trevor assumed that today felt like a skirt-day for her. He nodded to his men and made his way over to Tokijin.

"You look great." Trevor said as her a quick peck on the cheek and stood back for a moment to examine her rank bar. "XO looks good on you too." He continued. She giggled for a moment before sliding a stray hair that had slid down out of her face and poking him in the ribs.

"You don't look too bad yourself you know." She said, tugging on his bolero sleeve a little bit, unknowingly causing it to unsettle itself slightly. Trevor had managed to master its adjustment though, and had it back in place in the blink of an eye. He quickly looked around the hall of men dressed almost the exact same as he was.

"Yeah, but I don't feel very original. It's all the same." He said, coaxing a laugh from her lips. She straightened his rank bar and looked up at him.

"Accessories make an outfit, and you're the only one out of these guys who has that specific accessory. You should feel special." She grinned. A second later a short man in a black suit appeared at one end of the hallway and hurried up to Trevor.

"Commander Evenson?" He questioned in a high-pitched voice, one that Trevor felt would get on his nerves if he had to spend days on end with the man. He nodded and allowed the man to continue. "I'm Bajer, I'll be transporting you to the banquet. If you'd please follow me." He said as he turned on his heel and marched back down the hallway. Trevor took Tokijin by the arm and the two of them led the group of Nazgulians who were still chatting to one another about the planet, the food, and most of all what they expected at the banquet.

"I bet there will be a thousand different types of food." Trevor heard Tomas say, and in the back of his mind he didn't feel that it was an exaggeration at all. The best chefs on the planet were probably going to be cooking, and they'd probably each be working with their specialties. Trevor suddenly became anxious to see the menus, but knew he'd have to wait anyways. Trevor had enjoyed the food at the base that was prepared by Misoo chefs hired by the VEN, but he couldn't wait to taste the creations concocted by the best chefs on the planet. It was a short walk from their hallway to the landing pad, where Trevor noticed an elegant air speeder waiting, presumably for Shazam or some other high-ranking official.

Their ride was a little less spectacular. Trevor was unwilling to call it shabby, but he estimated that of the top-end air limousines, this was near the bottom of the pile. The seats were old and the nerf hide was cracked, but they were still amazingly soft. The carpet was flattened in places on the floor, but still nothing to complain terribly about. It was the mild odor that bugged Trevor. It wasn't a strong smell, but it was enough to cause someone to notice it. It seemed to be a mixture of the wonderful smell of the flowers outside combined with dead animals. No one complained though, most had their minds already seated inside the grand banquet hall rather than in the limo. They filed in and took their seats, most of the flight members closer to the front, with Trevor, Toki, Darius and Tomas sitting near the main back door. Conversation didn't take long to star tout, between the three 'T' named people anyways.

"Do you think there will be a dance?" Tokijin asked excitedly, looking back and forth between Trevor and Tomas as she awaited her answer. Trevor nodded but Tomas took a different approach.

"I sort of hope not. There aren't enough girls to go around, at least in the squadrons. I don't want to dance with a guy." He explained, nodding towards the rest of the pilots in the limo. Toki laughed, as did Trevor.

"Well, Skar should be wearing a skirt anyways." Trevor joked, bugging the newest squadron member. The man twisted his head to look at Trevor, made a face, and turned back to the conversation he was having with Atrick and Sol. Trevor had almost forgotten that Atrick had been re-assigned to Nazgul after being moved around a little bit a while ago. He had been a good squadron member, and as Trevor remembered, he was a good pilot as well.

"Well, if you had told me that he should have a skirt, I could have given him one of mine earlier." Tokijin joked, Skar laughing this time before looking back to the people he was chatting with. The rest of the ride was somewhat uneventful, with mild conversations going on about the food, the other festivities, what they planned to do during the rest of their stay, and things of the like. Trevor remained engaged in conversation with Tokijin and Tomas the rest of the way, mostly about what they had found out about Misoo so far.

"Don't you just love the flowers?" Toki asked, pointing out the window to the treetops that flew below them, tinted orange from the flowers that almost overtook the trees.

"Yeah, they are pretty nice." Trevor replied, and Tomas nodded in agreement. "Have you tried to draw them yet Toki?" He asked, remembering Tokijin's passion for art.

"Not really. I'm still trying to get used to the XO thing, even though we're on half-vacation. I'll probably get a chance to draw them tomorrow or the next day though." She explained, playing with her hair as she spoke. Trevor felt that the tangerine of the flowered world around them helped make the blue streaks in her hair stand out even more then they already did. He had never really asked her why her hair was blue in parts, but it had never really occurred to him before. He just knew that it was something he liked. "I sort of wish we didn't have to be so uniformed though, I would have liked to wear one somehow."

"Well, we'll see what we can do about that." Trevor replied, Tomas still listening as he normally did. Trevor had realized by now that Tomas was defiantly one of the silent types. He would take part in some conversations, but for the most part he just listened and took in information. Trevor used to act that way, but he had opened up a bit more recently and was willing to talk more. Partly because his job required him to be able to speak with his squadron mates though. Suddenly, Tokijin pointed out the window across from her.

"Oh! Look at those birds! There's so many of them!" She exclaimed, and Trevor realized that she was pointing at a flock of birds that easily contained more than one thousand individuals, and covered the spectrum of the rainbow plus a little. "They are so beautiful too&" She trailed off, getting lost in the majestic sight. Trevor had to admit that the birds were beautiful, as did anyone else in the craft that saw them.

Unknown to the watchers in the limo that sped past, what appeared to be birds peacefully taking flight was really three colonies of birds who were fighting for control of a certain section of trees. Plenty were being killed during flight, but with the huge mass of flapping wings it was impossible to notice from inside the craft.

It was only a few short minutes after that that the craft had entered the city and set down on the ground in front of a large palace. Trevor stepped out of the speeder and was immediately hit by the smell of the flowers once again, seeming to be magnified within the city. Glad to have gotten rid of the smell of the limo, he turned around and helped Tokijin out, who was follow by Tomas and Darius and the rest of Nazgul squadron. Bajer exited the limousine and led them up the main stairs of the palace and towards the main banqueting hall. Trevor stood awestruck at the amazing amount of decoration and immediately respected the amount of preparation that had to have been put into the building to make it look as good as it did. Along with the eleven tables that stood next to each other, each covered with a continue silk tablecloth, there were banners hanging from the golden-tinted walls, as well as streamers hanging from the roof that was stretched one hundred feet above their heads. It didn't take them long to be seated by a holographic waitress, at the same table and just a little bit farther down from Kaph. The two squadrons had worked together just previously, but tensions between each other were still high.

A moment later holographic menus were projected in front of each pilot, and everyone began to scroll through them as the holographic waitress that had escorted them to their table waited for them to order. Trevor didn't recognize half the foods or drinks on the menu, and wasn't even paying attention to the prices knowing that he wasn't going to be paying for the meal anyway. Naos Sharptooth? I've heard of that before, it's supposed to be amazing. As are Hawk-bat eggs, especially if eaten with Farrberry sauce. Trevor thought to himself before he waved the waitress over to him.

"Yes?" She questioned in a voice the reminded him slightly of Bajer's.

"I'm ready to order now." Trevor said, his menu shutting down as he said so. The waitress stood silently, awaiting Trevor's request. "I'd like Naos Sharptooth, as well as Hawk-bat eggs with Farrberry sauce. And could I also get Veronian berry wine?" He asked, waiting while the hologram listened to his request.

"Absolutely. We have an excellent year of Veronian wine. Would you like you Sharptooth to be cooked with some of it as well?" The hologram asked. Trevor thought for a moment, trying to recall any fabulous wines he knew of that would be good for cooking in. It took him a moment, but he finally remembered one.

"Actually, could it be cooked in Blossom wine?" He asked. The waitress nodded and was about to turn away when Tokijin raised her hand as well.

"Excuse me, but I think I'll try whatever he's having as well." Tokijin said, and the waitress nodded again. "It sounds wonderful."

"It is, I've never got to try it, but I have heard from people that some of this stuff is the most amazing food you'll ever taste." Trevor replied. A moment later the lights dimmed slightly and the holograms all disappeared, followed by a speech by Lord Tenett. It wasn't very long, but it was enough to cause Trevor to realize just how hungry he was. Conversation went by slowly over the next few minutes, before the lights began to dim once more and Trevor expected another speech. This time something was different. The lights continued to fade until they simply turned off, A moment later a booming voice could be heard over the nervous chatter of the people in the hall.

"Silence!" It demanded. Trevor was unable to pinpoint the exact location from where the sound came, but soon enough his eyes adjust to the dark and he realize they were in quite a bad spot. Hundreds of men lines the walls of the banquet hall, blasters trained on the people seated around them. A moment later another few words were spoken, and before anyone could react, all hell broke loose. Trevor was lucky to be seated near the center of the room and pulled Tokijin under the table with him, trying to shield her from the fire as he did so. He pulled his blaster from his boot and hoped that the majority of the other people at the banquet had thought to do something similar.

OOC: All right, here is the plan for right now. I want everyone to try and make a post right up until we get attacked. I'll be trying to let the flight leaders know what their objectives are over the next day or two. Let's kick some ass, people.

 
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SC/ESN/Trevor Evenson/Nazgul 1(1-1)/Wing 1/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE/(=*A*=)(=*SA*=)[VC:B][LSM][BRC][SWC][GWC]

The VEN`s #1 writer as of ESC `06

Clearly Canadian!

Tomas sat at the data terminal in his quarters, struggling to study various subjects in piloting. The stress of having to keep up a facade for such an extended amount time had been stressful on him as it was something he had definitely not been accustomed to. They had been given a short period of time to unwind, but he knew he had to get back to work as soon as possible. In an effort to become a top pilot overall, as well as a better tactician and leader Tomas had managed to complete the Academy's Senior Aviatior's exam and in fine fashion at that. He was now working on preparation's for the Master's exam between trips to the simulator. It was here studying, that Tomas found himself when a message from Trevor arrived:

Got some good news of sorts guys. We're being transferred to a planet called Misoo in recognition for some of our more recent missions. I'm sure some of you have heard of it, and those that haven't it sounds quite relaxing...paradise even. You've got 5 hours to pack, so get to it and meet me in Hangar A. Oh, and be sure not to forget your dress clothes or I'm sure Toki can find something for you.

Ensign Trevor
Squadron Commander

Glancing over the note a second time, Tomas thought to himself Man, it feels like we just got back here and already we're on our way out the door yet again.  This is definitely going to take some more getting used to. But I have to say...paradise? Sounds pretty good at the moment. Closing the message and shutting down his terminal, Tomas began to pack...

** Planetside **

Stepping from the shuttle, Tomas readjusted his pack and took a moment to observe his surroundings. He had to admit, as Trevor's message had stated before this place look beautiful.  It could even be considered paradise, provided there's no cannibalistic tribe deep in the jungle who're going to kidnap me in my sleep. He couldn't help but marvel at the vast jungles that stretched out from the landing platform. The mountains in the distance caused Tomas to exhale in a form of gasp. The entire scenery was simply spectacular and he couldn't wait to do some exploring of the surrounding land. But for now it was off to his assigned quarters and get settled in.

** A Couple Days Later  Banquet Day **

Tomas stood in his quarters, having adjusted his 'uniform' the way he liked it. It was his hair that he just couldn't get to sit right. It would be under his cap for much of the night, but it needed to be properly styled none the less and it just didn't seem to want to co-operate. It could be worse, I could have the hair I had before...that took an hour to tame.  Running his fingers through his hair once more, Tomas decided that it would have to do.

With the major things taken care of, Tomas reached for a small box amongst his things. Once opened, he retrieved his new rank bar which he had yet to be wear. Ah, Senior Chief Petty Officer Tomas...kind of long and unnecessary if you ask me, but a rank is a rank. Having attached it to his uniform, Tomas also picked up the Victory Cross he had recently received. Examining it, he placed it as well as his other medals on his uniform...just to see how it looks of course. I haven't earned anything that deserves to be worn to this sort of event...yet. It's just as well these are staying here, they're making the uniform a tad heavy for my liking. Tomas grinned inwardly at this last thought.  Replacing the medals to where they belonged, he did a once over of his uniform and entered the hallway, waiting for the others to be ready.
"Well don't we all look absolutely dashing," Tomas said sarcastically as the other Nazgul pilots filtered out into the hall. Tomas noticed Trevor among one or two others still hadn't finished. Even Tokijin to Tomas' surprise and amusement had beaten the Squadron Commander out. By the time Trevor and the others emerged (to a bit of razing) the others had grown anxious to be on their way.

The squadron remained standing until a small man approached Trevor and addressed him cautiosly: "Commander Evenson? I'm Bajer, I'll be transporting you to the banquet. If you'd please follow me." Even from down the hallway, Tomas could hear the high pitch of the man's voice (as well as a half decent impression by one of his squadronmates nearby). As the squadron began to finally move on down the hall, Tomas moved up towards Trevor, Toki and Darius while commenting to no-one in particular: "I bet there will be a thousand different types of food." His mouth watered at the thought. I really hope their menus have pictures...I'm never going to be able to decide otherwise. That is, if the have menus at all.

Upon exiting the building, Tomas once again was captivated by the wildlife that co-existed so close to the base. He could only take his eyes off of it when the limo approached. Just before entering, he also noticed Trevor lean down and pick one of the orange flowers growing nearby. Delicately placing it in Tokijin's hair, Tomas smiled as it caused her to jump up and down slightly in excitement. The contrast between her blue hair and the flower was just as amazing as the world around them. There is something about this planet, Tomas thought to himself, that I think I'm going to enjoy.

The limo they had been designated could have been better, but in Tomas' eyes it could have been a lot worse as well. He found it a tad uncomfortable, but he wasn't sure if he could blame that on the vehicle itself or the uniform he was now wearing. He, along with the other 'leaders' of Nazgul sat in the back of the vehicle. Tomas sat gazing out the window at the scenery, before Tokijin broke the silence.

"Do you think there will be a dance?" she asked looking back and forth between Tomas and Trevor so fast that Tomas was surprised it didn't hurt afterwards. Looking towards the front of the limo, he responded to the question:

"I sort of hope not. There aren't enough girls to go around, at least in the squadrons. I don't want to dance with a guy." Eleven guys to one girl...and I'm pretty sure the odds in the other squadrons isn't all that much better. Tomas was a bit relieved to see his fellow squadronmates laugh at his comment.

"Well, Skar should be wearing a skirt anyways." Trevor added as well, allowing for more laughter in the back of the limo and a dirty look of sorts from Skar.

"Well, if you had told me that he should have a skirt, I could have given him one of mine earlier." Tokijin said with a grin. She had to get in on the joke somehow and it resulted in yet more laughter, this time throughout the limo. Once everyone had turned back to their previous conversations, Tokijin brought up the plant life of the planet causing Tomas to look out the window briefly, before sitting back and taking this as his cue to relax and listen to the others. This is what he did for a few minutes, glancing back and forth between Trevor and Tokijin as each took turns speaking.

"Oh! Look at those birds! There's so many of them!" Tokijin suddenly shouted, causing Tomas among others to sit up and look out the window. Birds, numbering in the thousands flew by the limo. Tomas gasped at the sheer beauty of their varied colours. He had barely recovered from the sight, when the limo arrived at their destination.  Patiently waiting his turn, Tomas emerged from the limo. He noticed the surrounding jungle interestingly looked very similar to that that stood around their base, but at the same time it was unique in its own way. He wasn't sure if there would be a limit to his fascination for this place.

Once inside, Tomas noticed that the menus were in fact holographic replicas of the different meals available, arranged as actual plates of the designated dishes. Wow, they think of everything in these upscale places. That should make my decision a lot easier to make.

Trevor and Tokijin had just ordered and the native waitress had moved further down the table to Tomas awaiting his order. Tomas looked up briefly wondering why the in the room were slowly dimming. He was just about to announce his choice when the hologram in front of him turned off entirely followed soon after by the overhead lights.

"Silence!" a voice echoed throughout the banquet hall. The sudden darkness gave Tomas no hope of finding the the source of the angered being. Instead he noticed several armed man surrounding the banquet hall. So much for vacation, Tomas thought temporarily frozen in his chair...

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Senior Chief Petty Officer 'Tomas' Dagoram
FL/SPO Tomas/Nazgul 3-1/mSSS Atrus/VEN/VE (=*A*=) (=*SA*=) [SoA] [MC1] [MC2] [VC:B]

"Fight on and fly on to the last drop of blood, the last drop of fuel, to the last beat of the heart."

Clearly Canadian!

Got some good news of sorts guys. We're being transferred to a planet called Misoo in recognition for some of our more recent missions. I'm sure some of you have heard of it, and those that haven't it sounds quite relaxing...paradise even. You've got 5 hours to pack, so get to it and meet me in Hangar A. Oh, and be sure not to forget your dress clothes or I'm sure Toki can find something for you.

Ensign Trevor
Squadron Commander

Toki laughed out loud when she read this. Trevor had already told her before he had sent the message, but just the last part made her especially giddy. Sure, she could find clothes for her squad mates, but she didn't necessarily want to loan any of them anything. They would stretch it out too much for her to be able to wear anymore! She laughed again and pulled her good ol' faithful bag from beneath her cot. She threw it on the bed. Gee, only five hours to pack? Whatever shall I do?

Tokijin was absolutely ecstatic. Not only would they be going on a half-vacation, but there would be so much food! Growing up Toki never really got to eat any delicacies of any sort, so she was excited to try something. Ohhh, but will I have enough room for it all? And it will all be so deliciously free. Free food is the best kind there is. She mumbled to herself quietly as she packed everything, folding it neatly into her small bag. She picked up her new medals off the nightstand next to her bed, admiring them with a deep sense of pride. So long ago she had been a simple Senior Crewman. She had grown fond the those two words, not exactly caring that it was one of the lowest ranks. It was a rank she could call herself by, and one that made her proud. But her new medals were just so shiny! She looked at them under the florescent light, proudly watching them glimmer in the white light.

She put them away quickly, laughing at herself for being so silly. Guess it didn't seem so weird to her, but once she thought about it she was quite easily entertained. She hummed as she packed, singing the words to a common song on Farhen Rina every time she hummed her way to her favorite part.

She was just so utterly happy! That last mission had kept her on edge constantly. She hated flying Y-Wings, and never wanted to do it again unless duty called for it. But she did it. She had flown well enough to get the job done and she had been so happy to get back into the world she knew so well as outer space. How she had missed being so close it. Being on board a large ship didn't account for the feeling she felt while flying. She went over to her nightstand with a sense of respect and recollection, pulling open the drawer and reaching into it slowly, only to pull out a small white box.

It was the kind that fancy rings came in, but it wasn't a ring the small box contained. She opened it to stare down smiling at an old looking necklace. It was a small heart pendant. It was the color of the ocean on a calm day and it was slightly rusted. Toki had done whatever possible she could without spending a lot of money to keep it in good condition. She left it usually in her cabin when she was out on missions, and she couldn't wear it anymore because the original chain for it was too small. She didn't want to buy a new chain to wear it out of fear from losing it. She smiled down at it with a sense of peace. She didn't look upon it often, only to make sure it was still there.

"Eeth. . . If you could only see me now, boy." She made herself laugh. It would take a lot to ruin her extraordinarily happy mood. She laughed for real when she recalled when she was on the Doashim. She had gone completely bonkers when she had found out her roommates had taken it. She had threatened both of those girls with a mighty beating if she didn't have it returned right away. She was surprised she had reacted in such a violent way; it was usually not in her nature. But she supposed that when she considered how precious this small piece of jewelry was, maybe she wasn't really all that surprised. She snapped the box shut and carefully returned it to the drawer, shutting it slowly, and standing up ritually stretching her arms above her head. She looked at her fully packed bag, smiled and then studied the time. Still . . . Four and a half hours till launch time. Better find some way to keep myself busy.

* * *

Tokijin was carefully putting on her dress uniform. She was sad that she wouldn't be able to wear any fancy dresses, only this drab selection of clothing. She looked herself up and down in the mirror, making sure her hair was perfect from all angles, and that her medals were all perfectly straight. She nodded in satisfaction. Of course then she had to play with the dress skirt for a minute, spinning around in circles, seeing how well it flowered out. The fabric wasn't too bad, nor was it that stiff. She was glad it wasn't. An ankle dress like this wasn't totally restricting. She liked to be able to make long strides. But it would cause some trouble for her if she wasn't careful.

She started walking towards the door, only to stop and look at herself in the mirror one last time. Nodding confidently, she walked out into the hall to find the rest of her squadron.

She looked around for Trevor, but not seeing him made her way over to Tom, trying to make idle chit-chat with him but wasn't having much success. She liked him, but to her disappointment he wasn't much of a talker. She didn't have to worry about anymore awkward silences as Trevor soon made his debut in his shnazzy dress-y uniform. It was now that she really wished she could wear a real dress. She had even put on eyelash enhancer but she felt it was wasted when she could pull off such a better look. The way everyone looked almost exactly the same was slightly depressing. But her spirits were soon lifted when a man in a black suit shorter than Toki came hurrying down the hall.

Tokijin had to stop herself from laughing at the sound of his voice. He sounded so feminine for someone of the male species! It was just so unexpected, and in Toki's high spirits she could hardly contain herself. She pressed her face against Trevor's shoulder, looking away from the man, behind Trevor. He looked down at her giving her an odd look, but she recovered quickly and took the arm that Trevor offered as a lead. He gave her a suspicious glance but Toki just laughed, shaking her head, leaving him in the dark.

Tokijin made sure to get one last smell of fresh air before she plunged into the limo. It smelled bad, but in a way she was glad for the slight change. The constant smell of strong flowers was starting to give her a headache. And even if this wasn't better than before, it was easing the pain. She made sure to sit next to a window so she would be able to catch all the scenery. It was simply breathtaking, all these flowers. She really did wish she had her sketchbook. She would love to draw all these beautiful things in this world around her.

She also wondered if there would be dancing. It wouldn't really be a banquet without dinner and dancing would it? She voiced her wonders out loud and got an honest answer, and a laugh escaped her, going back into the 'Toki skirt' joke. Skar got hit by it this time and Toki couldn't help but add her say into the womanly-Skar subject. It would be interesting to see any of her squad mates in a skirt. She tired to imagine them all in a skirt, but she found Darius the most impossible to imagine wearing a woman's piece of clothing.

She settled down after a bit only to get all excited again at the sight of all the birds. There were so many, in such a clash of spectrum of colors, Toki was having a hard time discerning one bird from the next. But they quickly moved onto other sights and the limo sped away, leaving them behind.

But finally after making more conversation with her squad mates they reached their destination. She followed Trevor out of the vehicle, but she became entranced by the building at which they had arrived at that she didn't pay any attention to where she was stepping and fell forward, her face hitting Trevor's chest. Her feet quickly found ground and she grabbed Trevor's shoulders, making him stand still while she scrutinized his uniform, making sure she didn't get any make-up on him. She sighed in relief and let go of Trevor's shoulders, laughing, embarrassed.

Toki was astounded by the size and the decoration of the place. Her stomach grumbled loudly at the anticipation of food as Nazgul was seated, Tokijin next to Trevor. She was still admiring the decoration of the place when she heard Trevor call over the holo-waiter. Oh, food time! She looked at her menu happily and then sagged slightly in her chair. How was she supposed to pick from all this? She only recognized three or four of these dishes after a quick run through. But it all sounded so good too. . . Toki was overpowered by the size of the menu that she just decided to settle for what Trevor was having. He looked like he knew what he was talking about, she could settle for that. 

She listened to the lord speak contently, waiting for her, but her stomach began demanding food by demanding food when the room was at it quietest. She sighed quietly and began to anticipate as the lights went up, but only to go back down again. This time they went completely off.

"Silence!" The threatening voice thundered loudly, and a deep sense of worry filled Tokijin's entire being and her hunger was completely forgotten. She didn't even bother to look for the source. No matter where it came from she knew it was bad, and as her eyes adjusted to the overwhelming darkness her thoughts were confirmed. Her eyes widened as she did a quick 360, and felt the first shot being fired, and then the sound of blasters firing was the only thing that could be heard. The sight of it all must have shocked Toki because it was only until after Trevor pulled her under the table that she realized they needed to get out of there.

In the confined space she saw him pull out a concealed blaster. Dammit! Why didn't I think of that? Number one rule: Nazgul vacations are never really vacations. Trevor's protective arms wrapped around her in an attempt to protect her from any incoming fire. Nothing had reached them yet.

"Did you bring a weapon?" Trevor spoke in her ear, quickly while looking around at the others below the table trying to pinpoint the pilots of Nazgul, but while it was still dark he had no luck.

Toki shook her head. "Where in the word would I hide one?" He nodded, almost absent absentmindedly listening to her.

"We need to find the rest of Nazgul. Stay close, alright?" Toki nodded, her angry features taking over the features of her make-uped face. It was time to get into the groove of the whole life or death situation once again.
 
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TECH/SCPO Tokijin/Phoenix Wing/Str Doashim/1FL/VEN/VE (=*A*=) (=*SA*=) [BWC] [VC:B]

The chaos was increasing. Jack realized how bad the situation was becoming. Something had to be done to turn the tables on the attackers before someone got hurt.

As if on some kind of cue, Dahn Basai, Nazgul Eight, ran toward the table under which the rest of Nazgul Squadron was taking cover. The armed men saw him running, and they shot him in the knee. Tomas pulled Dahn in under the table, and despite having been shot, Dahn did the best to muffle his cries of pain. "Trevor!" Tomas yelled. "We've got a man down!"

Jack sat underneath the table, pointing his arm blaster out as a sort-of threat to the enemy, as if the arm was saying, Shoot again at one of my friends, and I'll take you all on. Jack didn't dare fire, however, for fear of a hostage being executed. Then again, none of the armed many probably knew of the built-in blaster. Still, Jack pulled his arm back underneath the table. The time for battle was not right now. Perhaps the attackers would state their demands, and peace could be negiotiated - long enough for Nazgul to find the leader of the enemy and kill him. Jack approached Trevor, saying, "Do we have some sort of a plan?"

"No, Jack," Trevor said, trying to remain calm. "But we have to do something soon before it turns deadly for us."

"I agree. Should we fight?" Jack asked, a feeling of uncertainty surrounding him.

"I don't know," Trevor said. "It would be the right thing to do, of course, but -"

Suddenly, the other Nazguls began firing at the enemy. Jack, despite his earlier feelings of dread toward fighting now, joined, using his blaster pistol instead of his super battle droid arm blaster - a tactic he used so that if he was captured, he wouldn't be completely defenseless. It had always worked before. Jack took out two targets, both surprised by the sudden counterattack.

"What's the plan, Trevor?!" Tomas said, apparently looking for Trevor.

Trevor and Jack approached Tomas, careful to avoid being killed. "Alright, Tomas, we want to get away from here as fast as possible. I'm sure they've got a hangar somewhere in the palace," Trevor said. "Take your flight and try to find our ticket out of here." Then, to the rest of Flight Two: "Flight Two, we're not leaving anyone behind here. Getting Dahn some help is your number one priority, got that?"

"Yes, sir," Darius replied, taking out one of the enemies.

"That plan's all fine and good, Trevor," Tomas said, firing more shots. "But where are you guys going to be while all this happens? And more importantly, how do you intend for us to do all this trapped beneath a dinner table and surrounded by hundreds of men?"

"We're Nazgul," Jack said with a grin. "Winning these battles is what we do." Firing more shots, Jack managed to hit another target in the knee. Payback for what happened to Dahn, Jack thought.

Now, though, Nazgul Squadron had to win the battle before something even worse happened.

-----------------------
Revenge is what holds this galaxy together.
------------------------------------------------------------
Warrant Officer 2nd Class Jack Nebulax, Nazgul Squadron, Imperial Navy, Vast Empire.
FM/WO2 Jack Nebulax/Nazgul 2 (1-2)/Wing 1/mSSD Atrus/Defensive Fleet/VEN/VE (=A=) (=*SA*=) [SV] [VC:G] [VC:S] [VC:B] [GWC]
Rep|Int/Rep Jack Nebulax/Rep: 4/Reporters-Interviewers/VE/VET
Jack Nebulax: King of the Reply

Tally!
 
-----------------------
SCAP, WADJ/1LT Corran "Arturus" Hargraves/STCR Doashim/VE/VEN/(=A=)(=SA=)(=*MA*=)(=JCPA=)(=SCPA=)[MC:1](x2)[SV][BRC][VC:B][CBV][LSM][LoC][BWC][SWC][GWC]

Special Tally!
 
-----------------------
SCAP, WADJ/1LT Corran "Arturus" Hargraves/STCR Doashim/VE/VEN/(=A=)(=SA=)(=*MA*=)(=JCPA=)(=SCPA=)[MC:1](x2)[SV][BRC][VC:B][CBV][LSM][LoC][BWC][SWC][GWC]

Skar felt his ear burn. He ignored it though, if someone was indeed talking about him it was the last thing he wanted to worry about. he focused on trying to keep up with Darius' somewhat rushed pace. The man him and Sol were carrying was suddenly becoming very heavy.

Dead bodies littered the hallways. Slumped against walls, lying in the middle of the hallway, they were everywhere. The stone walls did nothing to hide the amount of blood either. Skar ignored it and kept going. He was no stranger to this amount of violence.

They almost crashed into Darius as he raised a hand to call a halt. Skar and Sol carefully crouched down and laid Dahn down against the wall, before leaning out from behind Darius to have a look at what had caused the halt.

Skar counted them quickly. At least twenty masked men stood in the room before them. They were huddled around a man, who stood up on a platform alongside one of the statues of the royal family. Didn't take a genius to work out he was the leader.

The men seemed highly trained. Skar couldn't quite pick out what it was that led him to that conclusion, but there was something. Maybe it was the way they stood, all completely motionless, hands folded neatly behind their backs, not a single head twiching away from their leaders words. Or maybe it was the automatic rifles hung precariously from their waists. There was no way four; well three and a half; navy pilots could fight their way through that many highly trained soldiers. Not even an army squad could be expected to get through that alive.

"Dont move!"

Flight Two turned around slowly. Five more masked men stood in front of them, rifles raised. Skar heard the sound of the twenty or so behind them do the same. They needed a plan, and fast. Skar looked over to Darius. The look of sterness on his face did nothing to calm Skar's panic.

"put your hands in the air!" One man shouted at them. Flight Two did what they were told to do. Sol delayed it slightly, just making the movement difficult enough for him to nudge Skar slightly.

He whipsered something and then looked towards the side wall, prompting Skar to do the same. He wasn't able to notice it straight away. But then it appeared. A bump against the wall, something that looked little more than a bulge. Unless the person looking is smart enough to remember it is a stone wall, and therefore doesn't bulge. It must of been something more. Or at least, they would have to hope it was.

"You, throw over the gun. Nice and slow" The middle masked man offered out a hand for the gun. Darius was about to throw it over, when he heard Skar mutter something. He turned to lok at him.

"The Chandelier" Skar muttered again, emphasising it this time.

Darius held the rifle out to the man in front of him. He walked slowly forward, and reached out to take it. Darius quickly spun the rifle around and shot upwards. He hit it perfectly, it was more likely to be luck than skill, but the point was it worked. The bolt cut the chandelier loose right at the very tip, sending it toppling to the ground. Flight two didn't waste anymore time. Skar grabbed Darius' arm and tugged him towards the side wall. Luckily, their injured man was leaning right against the wall in question. Sol crashed into the wall first, pausing just to cover himself from the explosion of glass from the now grounded chandelier. He then quickly jabbed the bulge.

Dahn fell backwards as the wall opened behind him. Sol, Skar and Darius wasted no time following him, desperate to escape the cloud of blaster shots rapidly engulfing them.
 
-----------------------
Skar Darkanto/ Kanderin Draken
Crewman Skar Darkanto, Nazgul Squadron
FM/SCRW Skar Darkanto/Nazgul Squadron 2-6/Phoenix Wing/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE (=*A*=)

Atrick felt his blood run cold at the sound of the booming voice. He had felt that this was wrong from the beginning and he was right. Thinking quickly, he dived under the table, ignoring the countless men that were flooding into the banquet hall.

He was quickly joined by other Nazgulian members and they began their counter-attack. Blaster shots flew through the air, making it seem like a colored ballet. Atrick peeked out under the table, only to recoil quickly as a blaster bolt almost took his face out. Suddenly, Tomas cried out. "Trevor! We've got a man down!"

Atrick turned to see Tomas stretching towards someone he didn't know yet. His re-admission into Nazgul had been brief and he still didn't know most of the newer members names yet. However, he still remembered older friends like Jack and Trevor.

As Atrick returned fire to the armed men that were still swooping down unto them with great force, the other Nazgul members came up with a plan to light the door on fire with whiskey. As bottles were passed around, Atrick felt uneasy. Out of the frying pan and into the fire... he thought, but chose to keep his thoughts to himself.

"3....2....1..." Trevor counted down as he light the whiskey trail alight. Atrick threw his bottle along with the others and quickly followed them through the burning door. The flames were hot, but the sensation quickly as Atrick landed on the otherside in a hallway.

"Alright. We're going to split up now. Flight Two, go find the medical bay. Flight three, search out a hanger. Flight one; we're going to be trying to clear a path between here and the main palace doors. Expect heavy resistance for all flights, and watch your backs. I don't want anyone getting decimated because they got snuck up on." Trevor said and Atrick felt himself nodding. He was a man of few words, but his trust in his friends was immovable and whatever they said, he generally followed.

Atrick turned to Tomas, who was just beginning to speak. "Alright guys, they wouldn't have a hangar this far off the ground. I think we'll have a lot better luck if we get down to a lower level."

Thus began a long trek through many rooms and hallways of empty nothingness. Soon, Atrick was beginning to actually feel bored with this assignment. Wonder how the smuggling ring is still working out... he thought, remembering his "job" when he had left the Navy.

Suddenly, after they had found another dead end in the immense labyrinth of the palace, a dozen armed guards appeared on the stair banister above them.

Quickly issuing orders, Tomas motioned to attack the troops. Rounding the corner, Atrick downed two of the troops with several accurate blaster shots. He also was able to chuck a knife into the throat of what looked like the commander of the group.

After the troops were dispatched, the flight continued on as Tomas conversed with Trevor on the comlink. Atrick retrieved his knife from the corpse and wiped it on the soldiers uniform. However, as he looked closer, he noticed something odd. On the neck of the soldier he noticed an odd tattoo. He looked on other soldiers and they all had the same tattoo. "Tomas, is there something significant about these tattoos? They're all the same." he said, still inspecting them. Tomas didn't answer and Atrick looked up. Through the window which Tomas was looking through, he could see the outline of a ship taking off into space. "That doesn't look too good, does it?" Atrick said.
 
-----------------------
NazgulSquadron

FM/SCRW Atrick25/Nazgul-10/Phoenix Wing/[mSSD Atrus]/1VENF]/VEN/VE (=A=)
~Senior Crewman Atrick25~

Nerds stick together! (Until Football Players storm us, because then we run like the girly men we are!)

Why does Darth Vader want cookies?

And finally, TALLY!
 
-----------------------
SCAP, WADJ/1LT Corran "Arturus" Hargraves/STCR Doashim/VE/VEN/(=A=)(=SA=)(=*MA*=)(=JCPA=)(=SCPA=)[MC:1](x2)[SV][BRC][VC:B][CBV][LSM][LoC][BWC][SWC][GWC][LoC-DD][CM-PL]

The control panel seemed to be missing a button. No matter which one Sol bashed in, the secret door wouldn't shut again.

"Hurry up!" Darius shouted over, before firing a few more shots up the hallway. Skar checked on their fallen comrade once again, before positioning himself on the opposite side of the doorway to that of Darius'. Darius threw over the pistol from his pocket.

"Hope you know how to use it" He muttered.

Skar smiled nervously, before pointing the gun out towards the men at the top of the stairs. He shut his eyes and pulled the trigger. the scream from the top of the stairs meant he must of got lucky.

It was short lived though. Few seconds later a cry of pain rose up from their side, as Darius fell to one knee. Skar instinctively ran over to him and pulled him out the way of the firing line. There was a deep wound just under his right kneecap. Skar wasn't much of a medic, but he did know some basics. Amazing how much school was able to teach you. He took off his waistcoat, and took Darius' blade from his pocket. He cut one arm of it loose from the rest, and wrapped it tightly around the wound.

"Try and keep the knee raised" He added, just before picking up the automatic rifle on the ground and positioning himself against the door once again. He fired a few more shots up the hallway, before ducking away again from the wave of bullets directed at him.

He wasn't sure quite how much longer he could last. How long would it be until the masked men would figure out he was just firing randomly, with no real weapons experience to speak of?

Skar had just enough time to dive out of the way, before a huge metal block came crashing down damn nearly on top of him.

"Got it" Sol grinned

Skar laughed, before remembering his fallen comrades and dropping to his knees to again help them. Darius wasn't looking too good, the blood from the wound was quite rapidly turning his trouser leg; and the floor around him; red.

"Sol, we need to get Darius help. He's losing way too much blood here"

"Try the comlink" Sol replied, pointing down at the device hanging from underneath Darius' coat. Skar took it from the waist, and tried tog et a connection through to Trevor. Using the small device wasn't exactly easy when your hands are shaking as much as Skar's was.

"Trevor!" Skar shouted down the comlink, trying desperately to stop himself from panicking and talking gibberish. "its Skar. Darius is down. He's in a really bad shape, we're going to need help for him asap"

"Can you get him to the medical wing?" The voice responded.

"We could try, but me and Sol are the only people still able to walk. Carrying two wounded on our own wouldn't be easy"

"There's no other choice Skar. You have to try"

Skar sighed and looked over to Sol, who shared the look of worry.
"Yes Sir"

He cut the connection and got to his feet, before summing up the two wounded lying in front of him.

"Sol you take Dahn. I'll take Darius. We need to move quickly. If we get spotted though, we're sitting ducks"

Sol nodded and went over to pick Dahn up. Skar turned to Darius. he crouched down and let Darius put his arm over his shoulders. Skar strained to lift him, he was strangely heavy. Regardless, he set off in pursuit of Sol, who was already halfway down the hallway.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Do we even know which way the Medical Wing is?" Sol eventually turned and looked back at Skar. Skar turned and looked to either side of him, and then behind him. There were no signs anywhere.

What was i thinking, this is a secret passage. Its probably taking us right out of the city

Something caught Skars eye down the hallway. There was light, bright light at that. it was kind of hard to miss in the nearly pitch black hallway. Skar pointed towards it and again began to move.

Luckily it wasn't that far away, Skar wasn't quite sure how long he could carry Darius for. he was in luck, for once. The light was a doorway. They wasted no time in wading their way back up the stairs. Deep down they knew it could be a huge mistake, that they could walk right into the hands of the very people they were trying to escape from. But it was a risk they would have to take, they couldn't afford to keep walking down the passage for any longer.

A shadow suddenly became visible on the stone floor above them. Skar raised his free hand, pointing the gun towards it. A young woman stepped out, who promptly screamed and jumped back. Skar lowered the gun.

"Apologies. I thought you were, one of them.." He called up.

"Under the circumstances I'll let it slide" The woman responded and smiled, while trying to maneuver her way down the stairs. Watching the woman try desperately not to fall over her skirt, Skar couldn't help but think back to Toki and laugh.

The woman gave Skar an odd look, before positioning herself under Darius' other side, and helping Skar carry him up the stairs.

He couldn't quite believe his luck. They had happened to find themselves standing right in the middle of the medical wing. Of all the doors they probably could have picked, they picked the exact one they needed.

Skar handed Darius over to the two men rushing forward to collect him, and then watched Sol do the same for Dahn. Skar then wandered over to a chair in the corner, and attempted to regain a connection with Trevor.
 
-----------------------
Skar Darkanto/ Kanderin Draken
Crewman Skar Darkanto, Nazgul Squadron
FM/SCRW Skar Darkanto/Nazgul Squadron 2-6/Phoenix Wing/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE (=*A*=)

"Let's move quickly," Jack said, realizing that the voices were coming from behind them. They continued down the vent, constantly looking for a way out of this maze that they were in. They turned a corner, hoping to confuse the people following them. They passed by many more vents, some of them dead ends while others veered off either left or right. Jack stopped for a moment at each vent that wasn't immediately a dead end, listening for voices.

At one vent, he heard a clang, indicating a blaster hitting the floor of the vent. Jack, Trevor, and Tokijin went as fast as they could away from that vent.

By that time, however, their pursuers had turned into the main vent. Trevor nudged Toki into one side vent and Jack into another before Trevor himself entered another one. He motioned them to stay back in the vent, but still able to have a clear shot when their pursuers came within their sight.

Jack heard them come closer and closer. They paused for a moment, no doubt inspecting each side vent as they went by them. Trevor and Toki apparently realized this, too, so they hid back farther in their side vents. Jack did the same.

Soon, Jack saw a face peer into his side vent. Jack aimed and shot at that very same face before he could register that there was a man inside the vent. Trevor and Toki did the same thing.

Surprised, the armed men stayed where they were, and fired into the side vents, even those without people in them. Avoiding blaster bolts in the narrow space was difficult, but Jack managed to kill a few more of the armed men, as did Trevor and Toki.

The three emerged at the same time, expecting to see men surrounding them. That didn't happen, but they could hear other men scrambling to reach the source of the firefight. Therefore, Jack, Trevor, and Toki moved on again.

Without saying a word for a while, the three Nazgulians passed more and more side vents, putting a good amount of distance between them and their pursuers. Jack once again paused to listen for activity in the side vents, but he heard nothing.

"We'd better find a way out of these vents, and fast," Trevor said. Toki nodded her agreement.

The group soon came to a dead end. When Trevor asked which side vent they should take, Jack and Trevor pointed in opposite directions. Trevor sighed, and chose a different tunnel. Jack and Toki followed close behind, turning around every so often to check for pursuers. There were none visible, and when they were satisfied that they couldn't be located, they took a short break to catch their breath.

"Where's a guide droid when you need one?" Jack said, laughing briefly before the group got up and continued moving.

Not much longer after that, another clang from a blaster hitting the vent was heard from behind them. Faint voices followed, as if someone was scolding the person who made the noise.

Ahead of them, the vent seemed to continue on and on forever, with no chance of them escaping alive.
 
-----------------------
Revenge is what holds this galaxy together.
------------------------------------------------------------
Warrant Officer 2nd Class Jack Nebulax, Nazgul Squadron, Imperial Navy, Vast Empire.
FM/WO2 Jack Nebulax/Nazgul 2 (1-2)/Wing 1/mSSD Atrus/Defensive Fleet/VEN/VE (=A=) (=*SA*=) [SV] [VC:G] [VC:S] [VC:B] [GWC]
Rep|Int/Rep Jack Nebulax/Rep: 4/Reporters-Interviewers/VE/VET
Jack Nebulax: King of the Reply

A clang reached Toki's ears.

"Wha-."

"Shhh." Jack was in front of her and he wasn't telling her what had happened. She tried to get a look around Jack's body and had to lie on her stomach to get a good look. She saw the open air vent. She didn't see Trevor. In a haste Toki moved forward, pushing Jack aside and squeezed in next to him so she could get a good look outside. She stared down at the face of Trevor and watched as he was brutally attacked. She let out a gasp of shook as he was hit and Toki reached around for her blaster, wanting to kill them now.

But Jack had other plans. He grabbed her arm before she could shoot anyone and stared her down.

"We can help Trevor, but we need to think this out before you go out shooting randomly. The three of them are too close and you might hit our commander. Those guys down there might not be of any importance but chances are they'll just keep him hostage." Toki tore her eyes away from Jack's and watched as they took Trevor away from the falling sight and into a building that sat in the courtyard boundary. "See? They probably plan on being here for a while so they took him in for something to do. Just trust me alright? Now if you please, I'm getting a little cramped. Aren't you?" Toki blushed as she realized there was no space between them in the vent and she shimmied back to her last position, staring at Jack's feet. 

"Here, that other guy is coming back now. He's got a comm link. Probably to report they have pilots running around in the air vents. Follow me out after it's safe, alright?" Before waiting for an answer Jack crawled forward to the other side of the opening, still facing away from Toki, stuck his legs of out the vent, and dropped. Toki stared wide-eyed at the actions of Jack and then shook off her shock looked out onto the scene below her. Trevor's attacker laid on the ground, assuringly dead and Jack looked up at her. His eyes seemed to say 'See? It's all good' and he moved the body away from the landing sight and motioned for Toki to jump down.

She stared down at the ground for a second, a sudden fear of heights hitting her. She slowly copied Jack's movements and hung from the vent with her hands before letting herself drop. She landed on her feet in a crouching position but fell over as her feet absorbed the shock and her feet felt all tingly for a second. Jack helped her up and she stood on unsteady feet for a moment. Ugh. No more crawling around in ventilation systems, ever.

"Stay behind me, but watch out when we get to the door." By now Toki trusted Jack and she listened to him, and she followed Jack, confidently smirking as Jack burst into the building with shattered glass flying everywhere to add to his terrifying entrance. Toki by then had her blaster raised and shot him along with Jack accompaniment. Dead aim; both of them nailed him straight in the face and his body landed on the concrete floor with a thud. Toki picked up the man's gun and hurried over to Trevor, worried the damage they had caused. She felt something break under her weight but didn't stop to see what it was; she figured it was one of the shards of glass that had gone everywhere.

"You have a perfect imprint of the serial number of the rifle on your face." She mumbled to herself mostly, but she smiled as she saw a grin spread on Trevor's face. She studied his face, looking at his bruises and his eyes. You sure did get a good beating, Trev. "What the hell? That's not from your ribs was it?" Her eyes widened with concern as he shook his head and he wiped his face off with his sleeve. 
"They knocked out a tooth, you stepped on it a minute ago." Oh. That was what she stepped on wasn't it? She felt sorely sorry that she had stepped on his tooth, but she mainly was glad he was ok. You gave me quite a scare there.

"Ah. . . Sorry." She bent down to give him a sort hug, as a sort of apology for stepping on his tooth and for letting him get banged up the way he did. She would have much rather held him tighter and longer, but time was of the essence and she didn't want to risk hurting him. She then helped him out of his chair, holding onto his arm until he had back his steady feet. He then pulled out his comm link and sent out orders to the rest of Nazgul. Thoughts of her friends ran through her head. They better be ok, or there might be hell to pay.

They stepped outside and Toki took a deep breath of air, glad too be out of the stuffy, cold, hard, small (and every adjective in between) vents. She stretched her arms above her head while Trevor studied both Jack and Toki. She stopped in mid yawn to take out her hair. She probably looked like an old woman with all that dust that floated and found a home in her hair. She shook it out wildly, scrubbing through it with her fingers with her eyes closed. She didn't want any dust going into her eyes.

"Shall we move out?" Toki flipped her hair back up and put it up in a ponytail instead of the usual bun. She assumed they wouldn't be running through anymore fire.

"Yup, I'm ready to go. Shall we get out of this hell hole?" Toki asked as she smoothed out her hair.

"Anyone see a door somewhere?" Jack asked as he moved around the courtyard, looking for a place to escape to. Trevor moved slowly and carefully as they walked forward towards the vent. It was an odd thing to have that overhang. The vent had been encased in fancy concrete and followed around this part of the palace before stopping at the corner of the wall. The wall they stood in front of didn't seem to have a door anywhere.

"Why would they have a courtyard when you can't get into it?" Trevor questioned out loud, and Jack gave him a solid answer.

"It's probably just camouflaged with this concrete material. Just feel along the wall until you find the door. Just don't open it." They split up Toki starting at one end of the wall with Trevor at the other end and Jack in the middle. They all felt along the wall carefully, running their hands along the wall until Trevor found an odd difference between two area of the wall.

"I believe I have found the door. This part is made to look like it but it doesn't have the same texture." Jack and Toki jogged over quickly to the door. They all stared at each other. There was no doorknob, but a push would probably do the trick. Toki handed Trevor one of her blasters, seeing as he was disarmed. One push could lead them straight into the open and right into danger. But it was the change they had to take. They had to get out and join up with the rest of the squad. Nazgul needed to be whole again.

Jack pushed gently on the door and it slid back on an unseen track Jack didn't even have to touch it as it automatically started to go back into into its pocket. Trevor and Toki stood off to the left side of the door and Jack to the right. Trevor motioned for Jack to peek inside with a nod of his head and Jack very slowly and cautiously peeked inside.

Toki saw Jack visibly relax and step inside with Trevor following suit and Toki bringing up the rear. Inside was a bright and airy room with a tall ceiling and decorative floors. It looked as it to be some type of relaxing room. There were cushions and chairs everywhere with fireplaces on all four walls. No one was inside. There were only two hallways leading out of the luxurious room.

"Which one?" Toki asked in a hush tone. The silence of this empty room was eerie after seeming to have constant noise. The only sound was their light foot steps on the stone tile but that ceased as well as they stopped to figure out their next move.

But their decision was quickly made for them as the sound of heavy footsteps collided with the delicate floor. There was just one problem. The marble walls seemed to echo the sound of their footsteps and it was hard to decide which hall they were coming from.

"Time to chance it. Jack, Toki, arms at the ready." Trevor stated the obvious and picked one of the two and they all made a run for it. The good news was that they had a fifty-fifty chance of running into those whom they did not want to deal with. The bad news was that they had a fifty-fifty chance of running into them and having to deal with a blaster fight. They ran across the wide space into the more confined corridor. There were no doors, no turns, and no place to hide. The odds were very much against them.
 
-----------------------
TECH/SCPO Tokijin/Phoenix Wing/Str Doashim/1FL/VEN/VE (=*A*=) (=*SA*=) [BWC] [VC:B]

Trevor couldn't believe he was still able to stand. His whole body ached from his recent fall and minor beating, yet something was pushing him onward. Aside from not wanting to die, he didn't really have any reason to need to keep going. He had no one to save aside for his squadron, and he had a feeling that if they were running into any of the same troubles that he was, the chances that they were doing any better than himself were slim. He'd be sort of disappointed to know he was a little bit wrong. They rushed down the hallway, his legs feeling as if they were about to collapse with each step.

He couldn't tell if it was their footsteps that were echoing off the walls, or those of the possible attackers. The foam that was spread across the floor didn't really seem to pad their feet, it just made everything echo a tiny bit less then it normally would have. He stared down at his feet for a moment, realizing that the white foam could probably be formed perfectly to make a nice replacement tooth. What an odd thought at a time like this. Trevor thought as he blinked his eyes. Running down a random hallway trying to escape some unknown attackers and thinking about getting a replacement tooth.

Trevor didn't know how long they ran for, but Nazgul Flight One's failing luck managed to hang by a thread as they ran. They didn't encounter anyone at all, and the hallway remained straight and level. Finally they came to a change of scenery, as they approached a stairway. Trevor almost had to remind himself they were still in the basement. The courtyard had surprised him, especially one in the basement. He shrugged and began climbing the steps, his foot slipping on the dried foam and almost sending him face first into the sharp corner of a marble step. He managed to keep his balance by putting his hand to the ground as he fell, and used it to push off the steps as well.

The top of the stairs contained a single door that looked far out of place in the superb palace. It was tattered and looked as if it was about to fall off its hinges. Trevor waited for Tokijin and Jack to catch up to him, surprised that he had managed to run at a pace faster then theirs. Maybe these injuries aren't as bad as I thought. Maybe we should stop at a hospital before we go to the bases though. He thought to himself as Jack and Toki finally came to a stop. He nodded for them to be ready and each of them raised their weapons, Trevor turning the handle on the door and pushing it open. To his surprise, the rusted appearing hinges didn't squeak, and the door glided open as easily as any other one inside the palace.

Rather than being met by an army of masked soldiers attempting to kill them, they were shocked to be met by the rear yard of the palace. Trevor had spotted it as their air-limo had swung around the palace before landing, and he realized that they had finally made it out. He couldn't do much for the rest of his squadron now, having to hope that they'd be able to make it out of the palace without any difficulty. He took a deep breath of the fresh air, as deep as his injured lungs would allow him to inhale, before he spit a small stream of blood into the grass outside of the palace. Tokijin and Jack stepped out next to him, each looking around. All three seemed to get the same idea at the same time though, and they all sprinted off towards the wall. They could jump over and hijack a vehicle, before making their way to the hospital to get any medical attention, and maybe find out about these attackers.

Trevor stopped when he came to the wall. It was eight feet tall and very ornate. It was also made smooth, with no handholds at all. He nodded to Jack who got the idea right away. Trevor made a step with his hands and Jack used it to jump himself up and scramble on top of the wall. Next he gave Trevor a hand, and as soon as both men were resting on the edge of the wall, they hoisted Tokijin up in between them. The three dropped down onto the other side of the wall. Luckily for them it was near a road lined with bushes. Trevor and Jack sprinted to the bushes, Tokijin right behind them.

"Ever stolen a speeder before?" Trevor asked the two. Both remembered back to the mission on Nar Shaddaa where Trevor had stolen a speeder to help out their VE cause, and both shrugged. Trevor couldn't remember if either of them had helped out, but it didn't bother him. He eyed Toks for a moment, his eye slinger a moment on her freshly shortened skirt. It took her a moment, but she caught on to his idea and looked at him funny.

"Hell no." She said flatly, smoothing her skirt out over her thighs and tugging at it as if trying to make it longer again. He reached down and grabbed hold of one of her hands, holding it tightly in his own.

"C'mon Toks. You just need to stand out there and look as pretty as possible until some guy pulls over. Then Jack and I jump out of the bushes and hijack him." Trevor explained. He knew that Tokijin didn't like the idea of the criminal act they were about to commit, and he didn't want to guilt her into it, but if he had to, he would. She shook her head once again, signifying a no, and he sighs as he realized what he had to do. "Toki, look at me. I'm half dead. We need a ride to get me to the hospital, and this is probably the fastest way." He explained. He saw her eyes break contact with his and look down at the ground, before she nodded slowly.

"I'll do it, but I'm not making the skirt shorter then it already is." She explained, still flattening the skirt out with her other hand. Trevor nodded and released her hand, nudging her out of the bushes. She stood up and after casting a look back into the bushes, she stepped next to the road and held her thumb out. Trevor laughed lightly as the second speeder to pass by pulled over and the man rolled down the window of a pretty blue hardtop sedan. Trevor shrugged and waited for Tokijin to open the door, and as soon as she did he and Jack both jumped out of the bushes and rushed to the car. The man was completely shocked, and didn't even try to get away. He just sat and stared forward as Trevor pulled him out of the speeder before Jack slammed the door. Tokijin sat in the center seat and held onto Trevor's arm unconsciously as he floored the accelerator and careened off towards the city center. He was moderately surprised to see that no police vehicles had shown up in front of the palace. Obviously no one had managed to get off the alarm. In front of the building he could see the air limos parked all in a neat row, and he managed to stop their dingy hunk of junk between a pair of high cost machines.

"So we're out, thank you so much Toki." Trevor said, putting his arm around her as he made a left turn, following the signs that lead to the hospital. He managed to spot a large white building off in the distance, and had to assume that it was the right one. He heard a siren blare behind him, and after checking the rear-view managed to spot a police officer weaving in and out of the traffic behind them in an attempt to catch up.

"You should probably slow down." She told him, checking over her shoulder as Jack did the same, trying to spot the police. Trevor shrugged and pushed the pedal down a little bit farther, coaxing every little bit of power and speed out of the engine that he could. Already the speedometer had stopped functioning, but he knew the car was still accelerating. Finally he spotted the parking lot of the hospital, and as soon as he cranked a heavy right turn into the parking lot, the police officer behind him seemed to realize what was up and gave up chase. He wasn't going to give someone a ticket while they might have been trying to get a dying citizen to the hospital.

Trevor slid the speeder to a stop in front of the emergency doors; the repulsors lifts groaning as they were put under the stress of stopping 2400 pounds from a speed equivalent to almost 500 miles per hour. Trevor undid his safety buckle and flung the door open, promptly falling out of the speeder and landing on the ground below it. Tokijin also almost threw herself out of the speeder, and before Trevor passed out he heard Jack yelling for a doctor and Tokijin trying to keep him conscious. He heard her say something, but it sounded mumbled to him. A moment later he found himself squeezing her hand tightly and then his world went black.

 
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SC/ESN/Trevor Evenson/Nazgul 1(1-1)/Wing 1/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE/(=*A*=)(=*SA*=)[VC:B][LSM][BRC][SWC][GWC]

The VEN`s #1 writer as of ESC `06

Clearly Canadian!

"Trevor, are you okay? Trevor?" Tokijin said as Trevor passed out in the speeder. The situation was definitely getting worse and worse as each second past. First the shoot-out at the banquet, then the firefight in the hallways, then the time in the vents, then the courtyard, and now this.

Yelling for a doctor, Jack jumped out of the speeder and ran into the hospital as fast as he could. Inside, Jack managed to find a doctor and rushed him outside to help Trevor. Medical assistants followed the doctor as Jack led the group to the speeder.

"He's unconscious," Tokijin said, worried, when the doctor came to the speeder. "But only for a few seconds now."

"Let's get him inside," the doctor said as a stretcher was brought beside the speeder. Jack and the doctor lifted Trevor and put him on the stretcher, which was then pushed by a pair of nurses. As they went inside as fast as they could, Jack walked with Toki as the doctor also ran inside.

"He'll be fine," Jack said. "He'll be out in no time. Don't worry. He's probably been through a lot worse than this."

"I know he'll be fine. And you're probably right," Toki said. "We need to contact the rest of the squadron, though."

"Right," Jack said, pulling out his comlink. Speaking into it, he said, "Nazgul Squadron, this is Jack Nebulax. We're at the hospital closest to the palace. Trevor's unconscious."

Darius's voice came over first. "We'll be there as soon as we can, Jack."

"Copy," Jack said. Then, when no one else replied, he shut off the comlink. Then, to Toki, he said, "Come on; let's go in. We'll see how Trevor is."

***Later***

After finishing an argument with the droid at the front desk about visiting hours, Jack and Toki walked into the room in which Trevor had been placed. Trevor was conscious again, although he was still bruised up. He turned to look at his visitors, and he smiled faintly. "Hey," Trevor said, his voice a little weak.

"Hey, Trevor," Jack said, walking up to Trevor's side and then sitting down. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," Trevor replied. "Did you contact the rest of the squadron?"

"Yeah, I took care of that earlier," Jack said. "Good to see you conscious again."

"Hey, Trevor," Toki said, "I can't see the serial number of the blaster they hit you with anymore." She smiled, and Trevor laughed.

"They must have good doctors here, then," Trevor replied. Jack also laughed.

"So, how long do you think you'll be in here?" Toki asked.

"Not long, hopefully," Trevor replied. "After all, we're all scratched up. We'll take care of that when we get back to the Navy."

"Like we always do," Jack added. "Well, I guess Toki and I are doing bodyguard service for the time being. So get your rest, sir. Don't you worry about a thing."

Jack and Toki stepped outside the room, and like stormtroopers without armor, they stood on each side of the door like statues, guarding Trevor's room.
 
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Revenge is what holds this galaxy together.
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Warrant Officer 2nd Class Jack Nebulax, Nazgul Squadron, Imperial Navy, Vast Empire.
FM/WO2 Jack Nebulax/Nazgul 2 (1-2)/Wing 1/mSSD Atrus/Defensive Fleet/VEN/VE (=A=) (=*SA*=) [SV] [VC:G] [VC:S] [VC:B] [GWC]
Rep|Int/Rep Jack Nebulax/Rep: 4/Reporters-Interviewers/VE/VET
Jack Nebulax: King of the Reply

The doctors had told him he'd be all right except that he'd have to stay for a few days until he was ready to be released. Trevor had argued that after they had taped up his ribs he was ready to go, but they refused to let him go. They didn't believe him that he had driven himself to the hospital either, and had sort of caused him to doubt what he felt was fact. Maybe I was just hallucinating and Jack or Toki drove& He thought as he looked down at his feet that were covered by a sheet. After a little while Tokijin and Jack came back into the room to check on him, and then left again. He wasn't much for conversation right now, but the gears in his damaged skull were still turning. He couldn't just sit here for a week.

He reached over his shoulder and hit the button that called the nurse. He heard a voice outside the doorway a moment later as Jack confronted someone trying to enter the room, before the door opened and a moderately pretty nurse entered the room. She set down a binder she had been carrying and stood next to his bed.

"Anything I can do for you?" She asked, looking him over once and deciding that he probably wanted some painkillers.

"Yeah. Anyone I could talk to who might be able to tell me about Misoo a little bit? I'm a tourist and have a few questions." Trevor lied. The nurse gave him a funny look then nodded to his clothes in the corner. He didn't think of it at first, but they did have an imperial emblem on them, as well as his rank bars. Saying he was a tourist was stupid, and the nurse proved it to him when she spoke.

"You're one of the imperials who are stationed here. I dunno what you want to know about our planet, but one of my friends used to be a tour guide for the occasional vacationers here. She'd know about the planet more than I would." The nurse explained grumpily, grabbing her binder and slamming the door shut as she did so. A moment later Tokijin opened the door and peeked her head in as if to check if it was safe for her to enter. Trevor waved her over and she crossed the room quickly, dropping into the chair by his side.

"What was that about?" She asked, taking one of his hands in hers and looking him in the eyes. He shrugged and looked around the room as if checking for a camera or microphone, and then he spoke.

"I need you to do something for me. Did you see any gift or other shops in the lobby?" He asked, his voice sounding much stronger then it had when the nurse was in the room with them earlier. She nodded in reply. "Alright. I need you to go down and buy us all new clothes. There is no way we're going to be getting out of here wearing our uniforms, so we might as well change clothes before we plan to leave. Just go down, grab a couple of things, and bring up some clothes for me, you and Jack." He explained. She nodded, but looked at him questioningly.

"I thought you were supposed to be staying in bed. The doctor who talked to us told us you were in no condition to be running around again." She said, pointing to his ribs and his face. He shrugged and gave her hand a little squeeze.

"It's not just me we need to be worrying about. The rest of the squadron is still out there. We need to find a way to give them a hand." Trevor said. Tokijin nodded and gave him a quick peck on the lips before she got up and exited the door; quickly telling Jack what the plan was before heading off down the hallway. After waiting another minute, the door was knocked on again and the grumped nurse entered, followed by a second nurse. This one was horribly ugly, but if she could help him he didn't care. She took a seat next to him where Toki had previously sat and looked at him.

"You look pretty ugly right now." She said rudely. Trevor had to hold back telling her 'It's like looking into a mirror, isn't it?' He needed the information she had to offer him and couldn't risk that by reacting badly to an insult. He just nodded and she continued. "My name's Helga. I hear you needed a hand with some history of Misoo?"

"Yeah. Actually, I wanted to know who it was who lead the last rebellion again the Vast Empire." He said calmly, trying not to want to retch at the look of her face. She thought for a minute, stroking the hair on her upper lip before she looked back at him and replied.

"Well, the leaders of the four temples lead the uprising. They convinced some of the people that the Empire was bad for us. Not everyone trusts you guys, you know. Anyways, the four leaders all lead the rebellion. I have a feeling they are going to try it again soon, but you never know." She said, almost as if to herself. Trevor couldn't believe that what had happened still hadn't gotten out. If she knew how right she was about them leading a rebellion& Trevor thought to himself.

"Anything specific that might distinguish who the leaders are?" Trevor asked, trying to keep his eyes directed away from her face. So far she had given him a little bit of important information, but not enough to get them anywhere. He knew there were four temples, but they didn't have time to go from temple to temple to temple trying to find the one that had lead the attack. Hell, for all we know it could be all four temples working together. That could be difficult to defend against, or counter-attack. That's what we need to do&

"Well, they each have ceremonial masks that they wear for special events, or sometimes just to distinguish themselves. One has horns on it, the other has wings&I forget what the other two have though." She said, managing to hit the nail on the head once again. Trevor remembered seeing one of the men attacking them who was wearing a mask that was horned. He just hoped she would remember which temple the man was from.

"I think the horned mask was from the South Temple, while the others are from temples that I can't remember. It's been a while since I did this whole tour-guide thing." She explained. Trevor nodded and thanked her, and she grinned as she left his room. She had been helpful, he couldn't deny that. She had told him the temple that had attacked and had told him where he could locate it. He didn't want to have Nazgul alone take on the entire temple though, and he knew that there was a VE force orbiting the planet. If we could somehow get up there&There are fighters at the Imperial bases, aren't there? Maybe we can commandeer some of them and meet everyone at the fleet& He thought to himself. He had to be honest; his first plan was to escape the palace. After that, he hadn't planned very far, hoping that someone would be getting in touch with him to give him orders as to what he should be doing.

He had had a few minutes to think over his plan of action when Tokijin returned. Jack followed her into the room and she set a large back of items down at the end of the bed. A bunch of books toppled out as she spilled it's contents, followed by three different pairs of clothes, all styled nicely and designed along the same lines as the clothing the rest of Misoo wore. They weren't going to stand out like sore thumbs, and Trevor was glad for that. The last thing they needed was to be attracting more attention then they needed.

Toks gathered her clothing into a pile and separated the clothing for Trevor and Jack, then stood as if she was unsure what to do. Trevor caught on and nodded towards the bathroom that was attached to the room. Toki grinned at him and slipped inside, and just as quickly he threw the sheet off of himself and slid out of the bed. He pulled the IV line carefully out of his arm and let it dangle, before beginning to dress in his new clothes. How Toki managed to get his size perfectly he didn't know, but she did a wonderful job. For Jack as well, his clothes were a perfect fit. Tokijin stepped out of the bathroom-turned-change-room a minute later, dressed in a comfortable looking t-shirt and pair of denim pants. Trevor and Jack both had similar get-ups, except Jack had a golf shirt and khaki styled pants. Both guys had white shirts while Toki had a navy-blue shirt. Trevor looked around the group. They didn't look nearly as exhausted as before, and with the new clothes they looked a lot cleaner too. Toki quickly went about shoving their uniforms into the bag that had carried their new clothes, and covering the top once again with books.

"Aren't you going to feel bad if we have to ditch those." Trevor said jokingly, nodding at the books. Toki made a pouting face but laughed and picked up the bag.

"Yeah. Well, shall we go?" She asked, taking Trevor's hand in hers. They almost left the room before Tokijin stopped suddenly, set the bag down and began to dig through it. A moment later she pulled a woman's make-up kit out of the bottom of the bag and held it up, victorious. She looked at Trevor, mostly the bruise on his face, and he nodded in silent understanding.

He sat down in the chair and readied himself to have the woman's make-up products applied to his bruise. After about three minutes of working with the different colors in the kit, Tokijin had managed to cover his bruise almost perfectly, and blend it in with the rest of his skin. He cast a side-glance in a mirror and nodded.

"You did an amazing job. Let's go though, before a nurse finds all of us." Trevor said, nodding to both Jack and Tokijin as they made their way towards the door. Jack looked sort of like a businessman who had come to visit a family member or friend, and Trevor and Toki looked like a couple who had brought books to read for a friend who had just been through a pregnancy. They set off down the hall, all three of them praying in the back of their minds that no one recognized them.


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SC/ESN/Trevor Evenson/Nazgul 1(1-1)/Wing 1/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE/(=*A*=)(=*SA*=)[VC:B][LSM][BRC][SWC][GWC]

The VEN`s #1 writer as of ESC `06

Clearly Canadian!