Rike stepped out of the Sim smiling, they had dominated in the battle. He yawned and started to walk towards the place where he left the book he had been reading. When he reached there he saw that it was missing. Annoyed Rike started a search of the room for the book, unfortunately not being able to find it. Frustrated he gave up the search and went to his seat. He saw Wicket getting prepared, "Sargent Wicket", Rike said with a nod, now that they were at the mission zone Rike was switching into his serious thought of mind.

Wicket laughed and replied, "Kid you don't have to call me Sargent, Wicket will be just fine", he said with a smile. That was why Rike had liked Wicket, he was calm and relaxed and usually in a good mood. Rike had hoped he could go with his fire team this go around. He looked at Doc who was still getting ready, Doc runs a fine team but was a little serious for Rike. He then looked over at Jelly, he didn't know much about him and haven't said a word to him as far as Rike knew.

Returning focus to getting ready Rike grabbed the Swamp Trooper armor and donned it. After that he grabbed his carbine and two frag grenades, the 1 emp grenade, and 1 of each termite and anti-vechicle grenades. He secured them on his chest as well as on his belt.

He walked over to his speeder bike and looked at what it could carry.......hmmmmmmmmm maybe a few things but not much, Rike sighed, he was disappointed when Doc told them they were not going to have a set base to move from. Rike attached the Sniper Rifle to the side of it and then put a bag with 4 extra 3-mals, 5 of the PAC20 Visual Wrist Coms on the other side. oh the top of the back he secured his Onmi-Node com. set.

this ot to work for the mission, he though for a moment and called out, "If anyone wants to borrow some com gear just ask, I will have enough to spare some", What was not lent out would be shipped back to his condo, well its about time to leave, Rike walked over to Doc and asked, "Hey doc..."

"Yes Rike", Doc said looking over some final info in his data pad.

"Have you heard of a book called, Dark Tiding?" he asked making sure he had his own data pad on him.

"What is the reason you ask this", Doc said with a smile.

"I was reading it and I couldn't find it earlier" Rike replied finding his own data pad.

"Well yes Rike I have", He said closing the data pad, "But I would forget trying to go find it, it's a very very rare book. It is a good one though...." Doc said.

"Do you have a copy Doc?" Rike said hoping that he could just borrow it.

"No I lost mine a long time ago, sorry Rike", Doc said looking at his gear now.

"It is ok Doc, well I will look into it, cya in a bit", Rike said disappointed and walked off. Rike wandered to his seat and closed his eyes waiting for Doc to call them for leaving.

"Whats wrong Rike", a voice said.

"Rike looked up and saw Wicket standing over him, "Aww its nothing just added locating an old and rare book onto my things to do list", Rike said and smirked, Wicket laughed.

"Good luck Rike", Wicket said before walking off to go finish securing his extra items on his speeder.

Rike didn't feel like sleeping while he waited, he had done that on the way here. So he got up and started to read some info in his data pad text book on the next unit in his studies. Hmmmmmm, so this is going to just get harder isn't it.[i] Rike sighed thought back to class, he was sad that Mike would have to retake the class, but both James and Sarah had passed, he wondered if the sim. was the same for all of them.

He walked over to his Onmi-Node and started examine it and remembered all of the info they were forced to cram into there head about this thing. Rike had liked the Onmi-Node system and was very good at using it. He hoped he would really get to try it out during the mission, and prove to himself that he could do it. Rike walked over to the "food" area, [i]if they could call it food, Rike thought as he downed some unknown and disgusting food from the machine. He just got water, fearing for what would come out if he had ordered anything else.

Saphira was  extreamly wary as they milled in the bay area. Things were already tense and she could feel it rolling off the crew workers in the area.  The team had recieved their information and now it was time to go gear up. The thought excited Saphira.About freking time She thought.

Boots tapping away on the pavement, her eyes flickered over to Isa who looked extreamly annoyed. "Trouble?" Saph asked. Isa looked over towards her, flexing her hand.

"None I couldn't take care of on my own." She replied with a smile. Saph couldn't help but give a grin as she walked back up the shuttle.


“Hey Blackout, go get ready!”

Saph heard the short yell and then quickly afterwards following a few chuckles. Turning she watched as Blackout got back up from the floor. "Huh.. I thought Echani were suppose to be gracefull.." Isa heard the comment and started to laugh. "Somethign to add to that?" She called down, watching the women shake her head.

"No.. not at all..Just don't say that around him.." She answered.


The Twi'lik grinned, her lekku twitching in amusement as she turned on her boot and finished the rest of the way up as Blackout started walking the rest of the way in.


Blackout saw the amused look in Isadora's eyes as he approached their shuttle. "What's so funny?" He growled, stomping the rest of the way up the ramp before she could give a reply.



Inside the shuttle Saphira struggled with the strappings to her gear. Cursing as the buckle finialy released with a twang. Blackout approached as she turned and looked at him.

"Smooth landing you did out there." Her voice washed over in amusement. Silver eyes sparkeling with challenge as he looked at her. "Was that suppose to be a new move?" She added hoping to stir a reaction from him. Blackout almost stiffend, turning his gaze to hers and looked at her for a moment before grabbing his own gear and walking away.

"Guess you can't take the heat.." She called out after him. Smiling as she grabbed her gear and went to a seperat part of the shuttle to go change.


It took only a few minutes to strap the Swamp gear on. Saphira loved the feel to it as she bent and twisted. Going back to her back she brought out  a couple vibro blades and strapped them to the suit. A couple power packs to the belt, and then carefully she placed  two frag gernades to strap to her chest. Reaching in she pulled out her climbing claws.

Damn it.. I need someont to hook these on.. She realised. Knwoing that she made the small mistake of  not hooking them before she doned the suit. Reaching down she scooped up her back that contained  an E-11 Blaster that she would strap to the speeder and walked back looking for Blackout. Knowing he would still be int he ship. 


Sure enough there he was, finishing the last bits as he was starting to head out the door. "Blackout!" She called, watching him turn tot he sound of his name. The Echani looked her over quickly. Saph couldnt tell if in approval or from her comment only moments earlier. "Would you mind hooking these on my back shoulder?" Holding out the climbing claws as her face darkened with  embarresment.  "I can get them off.. just not on.."

Jersh felt himself jolted awake by the sounds of armor being strapped on. He blinked up at the ceiling of the bunk, he could not believe he had fallen asleep. Then again..... it had been quite some time since he had rested his eyes properly. He blinked again and felt a vague throbbing behind his eyes, he would need to rest up after this mission. He remembered the recent nosebleeds he had been getting from pushing his body too hard with too little sleep recently. He slipped out of the bunk and stretched until he heard his back pop, then proceeded with his neck and shoulders. Finally his body was loose and he felt a little more awake, he stared around at the rest of the squad getting ready to ship out. His eyes rested on a blushing Saphira talking to Blackout and lingered there for a moment. He then remembered Saphira’s words to him on that cold night and shook his head, she wouldn’t betray him....she wouldn’t..

Jersh grabbed his bag and went into a room shut off from the others, needing privacy for this part. He pulled his skin-tight Shadow Suit out of his duffle bag and stripped himself of clothing before putting it on. It was a tailored fit just for his size and he marveled at how light the material was and at how flexible it was as well. He then proceeded to strap on his Swamp Trooper gear, leaving the helmet off for now. He attached his vibroblades to his suit, they fit securely just at the wrist sections along with a fair amount of shiny black wire attached to each. No one on the team knew what these were for.... not even Saphira..... he prayed it did not get serious enough for him to use them. At the same time however, he knew that he would take pleasure in each kill he scored with him.

He slipped on the rest of his armor and strapped along his belt a Grappling Gun, 1x Thermal Detonator, his trusty DC-17M Interchangeable Combat System, Ration packs, his slicing toolkit and his Com-Link. He was traveling light this run, he hoped he did not live to regret this later on. He stepped out in his gear, cracking his neck from side to side, looking all the more like a dog just unleashed to kill. He glanced around at the rest of his squad members and saw they were all ready to head out as well. Saphira noticed the odd placement of his blades and gave him a half questioning half devious look. One that sent shivers down his spine, that was for certain. He nodded at her and gave her a ‘you will see in good time’ look to which she rolled her eyes and looked as if she would like nothing more than to pout for a moment.

The rest of the squad glanced at him to see if he was ready and he nodded silently to them as well. It was just then that he remembered they had not been assigned to Fire Teams yet. He wondered at this and shifted around the suddenly cramped quarters to reach Doc.

“Hey Doc... We have a lot of ground to cover it would seem. As risky a maneuver it is, we still need to split into fire teams.... It would be best if we decide them soon to avoid any last minute panic if people don’t know what team they are going with” He muttered to Doc, leaning close so that only he could hear his words.

Jersh glanced up from his conversation with Doc to see that Saphira seemed to be having some trouble with Blackout. He sighed and broke away from the conversation with doc for a moment utterly a polite “Excuse me”. As Jersh turned away, Doc returned back to making final preparations for the first stage of the operation. Jersh shuffled his way back through the mass of fully armored troopers. He did not like wearing this bulky armor still, it limited his movement in far too many ways for his liking. Jersh would have to talk to Doc about this later on, he was sure it was regulation and there was little he could do about it. The worst Doc could do was say no however, so he stored the thought for later discussion.

Finally reaching the pair he bumped into Saphira gently “Is there a problem here guys?” He asked in a gentle tone, not attempted to be too serious. Blackout mumbled something about no when Saphira dragged him back to a less crowded part of the ship.

“Look, I’m a big girl. I am not your property, and I can take care of myself” She hissed at him, he could tell from her eyes just what she thought about his supposed behavior. A dozen thing ran through Jersh’s mind at that moment. He would never consider anyone his property.... especially not Saphira......did she really think that he was like that? Is that how he had been treating her. The possibility hit him like a heavy blow to the gut, he remembered what it was light to be treated as a slave.... as another’s possession. He never wanted to go through that experience again....no matter what. Jersh took a step back from Saphira, it was reflexive but he felt the pain somewhat that she thought him to be of the same ilk as the demons from his past.

“I..I am not saying that at all - “ Jersh stared to say but was promptly cut off by Saphira. She would hear no arguments from him at the moment.

“Good..” She snapped at him and left to rejoin Blackout, leaving Jersh in the back with his thoughts.

Jersh was not jealous of Blackout, he knew that much for certain. He trusted Saphira, with all his heart and soul. He wondered if she really trusted him that much, her tone suggested otherwise. He cleared his head for the mission, he would think of this back at the base when he had time alone to think. A tiny voice in the back of his head remained however, saying that perhaps it was a mistake to open his heart again. He did not regret the love he felt towards Saphira, he never would he hoped. He just... he did not enjoy being judged so easily by the woman he loved. If she thought he was so much of a jealous man to want to own her entirely, he had to think of what else she thought of him.

With a growl Jersh shook his head harder, it would be better just to avoid Saphira for now. He needed to get his emotions completely under his control. He began to run the plans through his head, hoping the statistical data would drive the excess thoughts from his mind as he began to formulate plans.

Apparently Jersh’s half hearted wish for a little space from Saphira for now was granted by the announcement of the teams from Doc. He was to be in Alpha team once again with Doc it seemed, he wondered if Doc had somehow sensed his anguish and adjusted accordingly. Reguardless he moved out right after Doc, he thought he saw Saphira trying to get his attention for a moment before they split up. He realized he was being stubborn in this way, but he ignored the impulse to go to her. She had made it clear she did not want to hear anything by cutting him off.

She probably did not even know that she had cut him deeper than any knife could.... but a part of him just did not want to confront her. He realized that what he was feeling was fear...... it was fear of what she thought he was..... and he was afraid to be hurt even more by her. He gritted his teeth and put in an extra burst of speed as Doc accelerated. He dodges between the trees, narrowly avoiding a crash with each swerve, the actions took over so his mind no longer had any spare time to think. Finally they slowed down as they entered a part of a forest too thick to risk going through at high speed.

He looked over to see the other squad member, Blackout to his side. He was not to blame for the problem between Saphira and himself, and thus Jersh would have no problem with him on this mission. Jersh glanced through the forest as they idled their way through the brush, looking for threats or obstacles that would obstruct their path. Jersh blinked his eyes as he saw a darting movement in the trees, his hand twitched and the vibroblade flipped into his hand from the wrist. A monkey-like creature emerged from the branches and made an odd noise directed in their direction. Jersh relaxed and replaced the blade with another flick of his wrist.

A soft mist arose as they traveled deeper into the thick jungles of the moon. It did little to inhibit their close-ranged vision but they could only see a limited amount into the distance. He sighed and wondered just what kinds of ruins they were going to be checking out this night. He flexed his fingers, they were starting to get a little cramped from gripping the handles of the speeder. He did not remember any specific details on the ruins in his debriefing, but then again they were short on a lot of information on this mission. Leave it to a neutral government to ask for help and then be of little or no use in any way.

This forest would keep them on their toes indeed. Jersh glanced from left to right, cursing the limited view the helmet provided him. As they passed through heavy swarms of bugs however, Jersh had to agree they had their benefits. He kept a close ear on the comm channels just incase any news or mission updates came up.

As the gate opened, the entire squad reved their bike's engines. It was a beautifull sound if you appretiated that sort of thing, but for Alater it was a horrible screeching sound. His accute hearing heard things others didn't and it made some things rather unpleasent.

Alater looked left and right at his two new fire team mates. He knew both Jelly and Isadora were in a relationship with each other, but frankly didn't care. If they got in his way, that was their fault and he was not responsible for their death's. That was Doc's and Jelly's worry now.

"Alright, let's go." Jelly said, short and sweet. Alater nodded, and Isadora just kinda looked at Jelly. Alater couldn't see behind the helmet, but he imagined it was some kind of look. As there speeders raced off, they took up a V formation with Jelly leading, Isadora on his right, and Alater on the left towards the woods. He kept a firm eye on that tree line, despite their speed, he could still spot motion.

"Jelly." Alater said, and motioned for him to pop over to a private channel. Alater was thankfull for his reptillian eyes that let him keep his helmet off, but the comm still was placed on his ear.

"What's up Alater?" Jelly asked, as he popped into the channel.

"Look, I don't know much about you, or whatever, so I'm going to say this how I'd say it to Doc, I don't like the looks of these trees. When you cut back a treeline, it makes it grow funny, and that gives people perfect cover. I think before we get to these ruins we should check out these trees." Alater said, with a sudden urge to scratch his head.

"Um, yea, let me roll it past Doc, but I believe you may be right." Jelly responded, and switched back to the squad channel to pass it by Doc.

As they approached the ruins, about 50 Kilometers out, Jelly spoke up.

"Alright, I think this'll be a good place to stop, and check that tree line." Jelly said, as the trio broke away from their route and headed for the trees. Alater dismounted, followed shortly by Jelly and Isadora. Finally familar with the dirt under his claws as he trudged through the forest. Alater followed a few scents, until he found something unusual. About three klicks forward, he ran into a blaster shot in a tree. It was a low powered shot, the blast radius small, but still a blaster bolt.

"I've got something." Alater growled out, as Jelly and Isadora came up behind, huffing a little bit. Alater gave a little sneer, as he had forgotten they were following him. Jelly and Isadora looked at each other, and then immediantly split apart to search the area. As they did this, Alater began to climb the tree. With skill and practice and he soon reached the top. The sight nearly took his breath away, like a sun filled version of his homeworld, but he concentrate on the world around him. He could see no variations in the treeline, but did spot the ruins a good deal up ahead.

As Alater came down, Jelly and Isadora came back.

"Find anything?" He asked, as he jumped down about fifteen feet, to land with a small thud.

"No, you?" Isadora responded, checking something on her HUD.

"No, though I did spot the ruins. I say we turn this into Doc when we get to the objective. The sun will set soon." Alater said, and the trio walked back to their bikes, and barely met up with rest of the squad as the sun was setting.

Blackout got onto his speeder and started strapping up the various comm. Scanner and various other equipment that he was going to need. However his body was doing one thing his mind was doing another. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything… maybe it pays off to be shy… he couldn’t get his mind off the past few minutes. He felt like Saph was teasing him, about mumbling, maybe that was her way of saying something, he didn’t know.

Another thing bothering him was the fact that Jersh was now on his team. that makes everything better… tyro knew he had crossed the line earlier, he shouldn’t have tried to even continue the conversation with Saph, but he tried and now he was going to be scared of Jersh. The fact that Jersh and him didn’t get off to a good start in the first place didn’t make naything better. Ever since he entered the doors of Eclipse there was something about him that made Tyro feel.. .uncomfortable. yet, maybe this mission would help him get over it.. hopefully.

“Everything Ready?” doc said coming up behind him. It almost spooked him half to death, he could have sworn he was going to die. That is until he realized who was it behind him.

“Yea, comm. is set up I have the channel’s all ready and we can all plug in.” He said placing on his helmet after setting up his own helmet for communications.

“good, get ready.” Doc turned and went to his own speeder. Blackout just grinned under his helmet and made sure that everything else is set up and ready to go. He checked over the channel again to make sure that he had it encrypted. Once set he mounted his speeder and go ready to go.

He looked over to his right to see Jersh turning on his communications in his helmet. The same feeling came over him that had come over him when Jersh ahd first come and now he was starting to worry that maybe he wasn’t going to be able to do it. You idiot, he’s just another person. Blackout didn’t even know why he was afraid of him, he even knew that Jersh wasn’t scared or afraid of him in anyway, but that didn’t make him feel any better.

“alright Doc, I am online if anyone can hear me respond.” Blackout said over the open channel. He waited for a few second for replies, but nothing came. That was until he got a reply from a few others. “This is Corporal Saph online.”, “This is Corporal Jersh online.”, “This is Doc online.” , “this is Wicket online.”

Blackout let the rest of the people reply then he replied back to do. “Alright everyone is online, communications is ready.” His voice sounded somewhat muffled from the radio, but he got used to it.

It’s time… He thought blandly, starting up his speeder. This was his first real mission and now he had other things to worry about. The worry and anger that welling up inside him was going to burst eventually, but now he had something to fuel him in the midst of battle, if only he knew how to, if only…

Jersh had just finished splicing the wires and was about to rewire his helm for better communication when he heard a loud screeching noise from behind him. He turned to see that odd monkey-like creature that he had seen earlier in the forest. It bared its long fangs at him and made a threatening hissing noise that showed it was clearly hostile. Jersh slowly put down his helm, hearing it crackle to life, the reception was horrible due to the incomplete job but he could still hear Doc slightly.

“Jer...... made.... base...... status...ate” He heard him say and the noise did little to help his situation as more of these monkeys began to emerge from all sides, as if surrounding their pray. It appeared as if some were sentient enough to carry sharp rocks in their hands, and their naturally agile bodies caused them to dart across the darkened forest. If Jersh were a lesser being, his eyes probably would have lost sight of them at the speed they were traveling.

A whistling sound accompanied a movement out of the corner of Jersh’s eye as he slowly circled and spun around, both of his blades flipping into his hands at a jerk of his wrist. He caught the rock that resembled a crude dagger in mid-flight deflecting it harmlessly out of the way. With a growl he decided it was time. Jersh threw both of his blades out to the side, the sheer fluidity and speed caused them both to sink into the fury flesh of two suddenly wounded monkeys. Attached to the blades, were two fine lengths of wire that were securely fastened to the bracers of his armor. With a violent jersh on each, Jersh tore free his weapons and sent one flying back up to his hand. The other however his whipped to the side, using the momentum to draw a horrid gash across the eyes of another to thoroughly blind the beast.

A sharpened rock passed by him and Jersh leaned to the side enough for it to just miss him, drawing a thin line of blood across his face. He responded by throwing his dagger, scoring another kill with a blow straight between the eyes and did a half turn to cause his other blade to spin around 180 degrees to tear out the throat of another monster. They just kept coming..... slowly advancing on him. Jersh heard the radio crackle again as Doc tried to reach him, he managed to get a few words out before a shower of sharpened stones battered his helmet, destroying the comm gear inside. Jersh sighed in annoyance at his damaged helm, but used the distraction to his advantage and brought his blade arching up in an overhead chop with both blades, severing the thin arms of another damned monkey and flinging both back behind him to sink into the chests of another pair that had tried to sneak up from behind him.

~_~_~_~_~ Back at the temp base ~_~_~_~_

“Little....usy....now...Doc” Jersh’s voice crackled over the comm unit that Doc was using back at the base. There was a primal scream before the communication suddenly shut off into static as if the unit on Jersh’s end were destroyed.

“BLACKOUT GET IN HERE!!!” Black turned to see doc yelling at him. Saph only nodded to him as she figured he was needed as the coms guy. Turning back to her gear  she couldn't help but get a strange feeling over herself. A comming of dread, thick as tar swept over her.

"Something's wrong.." She whispered, leaving her speeder and running over to the others. Blackout was busy working on the unit when she looked over at Doc.

“Jersh has lost all contact, we believe it's destroyed, Blackout is trying to tell if it's just knocked out or there is a glitch.” Doc said to her unsaid question. Saphira only nodded, composing herself as they waited. Somethign she hated doing. Waiting.. it was like waiting for Death to take a stroll. When the screen scanned a message Saph leaned in, her eyes blinking a few times as she thought it was mis-reading something.

ERROR:NO CONNECTION MADE!

"No..NO!" She stood up straight. Looking at the males. "You made a mistake.. Run it again.." She snapped. Blackout shook his head.

"I'm sorry Saph.." He looked up to Doc who placed his hand to his jaw.

"We have to go find him.." She turned to head towards her speeder when Doc grabbed her arm, forcing her to turn and lok at him.

"It's too late. Just because his com was destroyed dosen't mean anything. I can't let you go and jepordise the mission.." His eyes  looked straight into hers as she gave a defient look back to him.

"Screw the mission. We have to go after him." She snapped back, pulling her arm away from her squad leader. Blackout stood then, taking her hand into his.

"Saph. We will find him. Doc's right though. We can't just rush off and jepordise everyone. We don't even know what things are out there and you know we have limited resorces." He replied, squeezing her hand gently and suprised she hadn't pulled away from him.

She has that look. Something the Academy never could train anyone for. He thought, lettign go of her hand as she stared blanky at them. Saph had the look of loosing a comrad. Something they all had to deal with one way or another.

"I know he's alive.. and I won't leave him out there. Doc, Jersh needs our help. If it was just a coms failure he would have been here by now. " She stated as Doc sighed. She was smarter then most at times.  Reaching over he replayed  the last bit of broken  talk he got from Jersh.


“Little....usy....now...Doc” Jersh’s voice crackled over the comm and then went silent.

Saphira strained her ears, trying to see if there was something else. Jersh was in trouble, and she couldn't go look for him. Doc turned it off and looked at her.

"Doc we need to go.. We can track his speeder down...." She began as he cut her off.

"Saph, even if we find the speeder he may not be there.."  He began. Saph growled and was about to take a fist to doc when the Echani grabbed her.

"This way Saph.. Let him think.." He pulled against her as she fought him only for a moment. Taking her  over from the others and to the side of a large tree where they could talk privatly.ANd have her cool her anger.. Blackout thought. Looks like the mission was going to be far more intresting..

Blood dripped from both his of his blades as breath came harder to Jersh’s lungs. The pool of blood beneath him grew, a large potion of if not belonging to him. His arms felt heavy as he glanced around the area that he had made his stand in. The area was littered with corpses of the foul primate horde that surrounded Jersh. Their numbers were thinning, but Jersh was far worse off than the little fuzzballs A cough racked Jersh’s upper chest and blood splattered onto the ground from his mouth. He looked down to see the jagged rocks protruding from his chest, he knew another pair was in his back along with a few cuts along his body as well. He knew the injuries were not serious by themselves..... but if they kept on mounting, the loss of blood would weaken him even further. Almost absent mindedly Jersh whipped his blade in a short circuit that took the head from a sitting monkey’s shoulders. He was no longer relying on skill alone.... his nerves were stretched to their breaking point that he was attacking targets he did not even consciously notice before the blade was already in the air.

“If only I didn’t have this damned armor on!’ Jersh cursed at no one in particular, knowing he could have dodged the attacks if he had more freedom of movement. He heard the bushes rustle behind him and turned, throwing to catch a monkey in mid-leap right in the gut. The momentum of the primate brought the handle right back into Jersh’s hand and he whipped it to the side, dislodging the screaming monkey. With hardly a look, he curb-stomped the wretched creature, ending its screams quickly as its skill was crushed under he weight of his boot. Jersh turned around to look at the monkeys. He was surprised to see so few of them left, then he looked around at the corpses around him, he had been fighting for hours, and an uncountable number of furry figured littered the ground. He kicked the nearest weakly out of frustration, but that proved to be a large mistake.

Jersh felt a wave of darkness cloud his vision, but fought it off with sheer stubbornness as he inched his way to the speeder, his muscles protesting with every movement. Jersh felt the pressure mounting in his head and growled it away, he knew to sleep here was to die. Jersh started up his speeder again, putting his helmet back on, for what reason he was unsure. The comlink was damaged, but it still offered some protection from bugs and such. The darkness clouded his eyes as he set off at barely a crawling pace. He knew he could not outlast it, he adjusted his course towards the darker shadow in the sky that he assumed must be the ruins and aimed for what appeared to be a less tree-crowded course.... With a groan, he fell forward into the darkness, his speeder still inching along the ground towards the camp.

I can't lose you....

Those few words rolled around in her mind for a moment before Blackout corrected himself. Saph had to admit it was a fine save and for the moment let it slip. She was more worried about Jersh.


“Fine, you win, but if I get the chance I am going after him, even if you have to leave me on this planet.”

“Now your not talking rationally, just calm down.”

“What else am I supposed to do, I can't just sit here, that's just not me.” Blackout pulled her closer and for a moment she tensed. Part of her wanting to back hand the shit out of him. Yet a part of her mind let said no. She needed to be comforted for the moment.


Looking up she heard the others chip in that they needed to go after their teammate. Alater surprised them all as she caught the tail end of his words that drifted over towards them.

"...We do not leave Kin behind, Brother."


Saphira closed her eyes for a moment. Feeling stupid that she had said something wrong to Jersh before the start of the mission. If something happens to him... She lingered on the thought. The Twi'lik knew she would never forgive herself if she never saw him again. Now she understood why you never started a mission on bad terms. Blackout said more to her and after a few moments she lifted her head to find him even closer.

Saph looked up at him as if she didn't understand, speaking slowly, she just said sorry.

“We'll find him, don't worry.”

He whispered to her. Saph knew she should be the one to go out there. Yet doc gave the orders and she didn't need to break them this soon. The Twi'lik felt herself starting to lose her control of the situation. If wasn't like her ever to feel so.. helpless.

"It's not like me to feel like this Blackout.. I don't like it.." She breathed. Eyes trying to hide the fear she felt for Jersh. Blackout pulled her even closer. His cheek grazing hers on accident. Saph didn't seem to notice. Lost in thought that it was all her fault.It's all my fault.. SHe kept repeating over and over again.


Blackout continued to hold her. No one came up to them as he pulled her farther to the other side of the tree. It was best that she didn't see the others leave. He could only think at what was going threw her mind at the moment.Just comfort her.. She's a warrior.. like yourself.. and we all need it at times. He thought.

"Saph, it's not your fault.." He replied, echoing her thoughts. "It was Jersh's own decision to pull behind.. not yours.." Taking a hand he brought it to her chin and tipped it up to look at her int he eyes. "This is no more then a spar.." He explained, bringing up the past when the three of them fought in the training room.

"You fought magnificently. You both did.. Saph.." He whispered, feeling his stomach tightened as she looked at him Cooley. "Hardly anyone has ever matched a blade to my flesh.. I can count the people on one hand who could, and you're the only female not an Echani that has managed it." Blackout whispered softly to her. Amazed still that she wasn't batting him to the side. He wondered how the others reacted to when she woudld show any kind of soft side.

What am I kidding. I think Jersh is the only one who has seen a softer side to her. Save myself if this is what is starting. He thought again. ALl he knew of her was that she enjoyed the kill, fight, pain and blood. Oh yes. Definatly the blood as he remembered back to the spare where she had tasted his from the slashes she managed on him.


Saph swallowed, shivering gently as the moon started to rise. He was trying to encourage her. Saph was a very good fighter. A warrior and Warriors were tough. "Blackout.." She whispered.


Her words breathed out against him. Blackout finally had her at least salm enough. Yet he found himself leaning into her. Wanting to help her. On accident he leaned in too far, his lips brushing hers.

Saph opened her eyes, feeling strange emotions. Her emotions plunged her down. Upset and everything, everyone and yet not as she felt his lips brush hers. Blackout sat back, on his heels, muttering an apology. Her walls caved, sighing as she looked at him for a moment.

"It's.. fin.."

She replied. Blackout blinked. She wasn't trying to kill him for what he did. Hesitantly he leaned into her again and pressed his lips to her once more. This time she responded back gently..

As they arrived at the last known location of Jersh, they found his bike set on hover mode. Alater and Jelly looked around for any sign of struggle or a fight, and found none. Sensing no immediant danger, Alater headed for the tree line. The tall majestic trees only served to make his job easier. Scents could be followed for almost a kilometer in these fresh settings, everything so clean.

As they drifted through the trees, Alater caught the scent of blood. This was more than blood though, it was a massive amount, like a downed prey.

"This way." Alater said as he burst into a run. With his claws out, Alater burst into the scene, tearing limbs of the creatures as he ran towards his falling commrad.

"THE HUNT IS NOT OVER!" Alater roared as he spun, his tail meeting with the sickening crack of bones. As a pair of the primates lept at him, he turned and caught one in the throat, and ducked as Jelly blasted the other. With a quick jerking motion Alater snapped the creature's neck, and turned to disembowel another. Jelly had his rifle out, and was giving Alater cover.

The horde was slowly dwindelling, but it wasn't enough. The pack was huge. As Jelly blasted away, swiveling quickly to smash the butt of his rifle into the face of a male that got too close, Alater picked up Jersh. As they ran from the trees, the primates followed, but wearily. They had taken a serious loss to their numbers, and Alater was about to make it worse. He reached into his pouch, and grabbed a frag grenade.

As they cleared the trees, screems of pain and howls of the dying filled the air. Both Jelly and Alater looked up with mutually sick looks of pleasure as they revved up their bikes. Jersh's bike had to be towed behind Jelly's and Alater road ahead with Jersh's unconcious body strapped to his legs.

As they entered the camp, Alater immediantly headed for Doc's tent. As he busted into the tent he gave Doc an odd look, but said nothing, as the lump known as Jersh spoke for himself.

Jersh had the distinct impression of movement as he struggled to escape the depths of unconsciousness. No matter how much he struggled however, he could not seem to get his body to respond and the darkness was wrapped as thickly about him as ever. Images came to his mind.....  flashes of his past and the scar on his chest began to burn again with renewed vengeance. He felt as if something terrible had happened...... a pain he was all too familiar with. A pain that he thought he had closed himself off to and would never have to face again. He felt as if he had be betrayed yet again... but it made no sense. Who would betray him?

Jersh got a distinct outline in his mind, he was able to see her face clearly but he could not seem to place her mind for some odd reason. In fact he could not even remember his own name now that he though about it. He suddenly the saw a brighter light as they passed into the temporary base. The light seemed to bring him back to reality.... and he chased the elusive feeling of consciousness until he found himself staring up into Doc’s face. He was looking down at him in concern on his face, checking his pupils to see if he was aware of his own surroundings. Jersh felt terrible, his chest and shoulders felt the worst however. He felt the stone projectiles still buried in his body and emitted a groan of pain when Doc unceremoniously tore out the stone bits. He mumbled something under his breath about Jersh being a reckless idiot then applied some bacta extract to the cuts.

“Well the good news is that there are no serious wounds... Just a hellish amount of small ones that would have bled you dry eventually” Doc said to Jersh and he nodded an affirmative. “You just need some rest and you will be back up and kicking in no time” He nodded and motioned to a chair where Jersh’s armor and gear was sitting in. “We will check out the ruins for now, you just concentrate on healing... we move out tomorrow no matter what”.

Jersh sighed as Doc left and closed his eyes, remembering the feeling he had while he was unconscious. It made him feel uneasy..... and he did not like this feeling when he rarely got it. Something had happened, he was sure of it.... it was just up to him to find out what had occurred before it drove him insane. He stared up at a canvas tent that they had seemingly put up while they were waiting for him. He wondered about Saphira for a moment, then pushed those thoughts away. With what had happened on the shuttle, she had probably enjoyed the break away from him. He thought again of the vision he had and the female figure he had seen. She would not betray him... he told himself that over and over.....but.... he knew better than to ignore these odd feelings when he got them. They had kept him alive all his years, he knew he could trust them.

Jersh must have fallen asleep sometime while he was staring up at the tent, for suddenly he sensed someone by his side. He felt someone take his hand and turned his head to the side to see Saphira kneeling down next to him. She looked pale in the light that was provided by a small electric lantern Doc had set up to examine his wound in. She stared down into his face, her eyes swam with barely contained tears as she looked as his body, wrapped in crimson stained bandages.

“Jersh...I...I’m sorry. It’s all my fault..” she whispered to him, he could sense the despair in her voice and wondered what she was so upset about. He squeezed her hand gently before reassuring her that it was in no way, her fault at all. She was upset because of what had happened before the mission.... of what she had thought of him. He shrugged and looked away at that comment but mentioned that it had nothing to do with his comlink breaking down at all. Though in truth, he had been glad to fall back from the main group for a short time.

“I should have stayed back with you... I could have helped..” She was saying. Jersh shook his head and rested his eyes once more. They both knew that one more person would not have helped. Jersh also knew that she would never break a group formation to stay back with him in any case. That was how a warrior mind worked, the mission above all else....even love. Jersh smiled at the irony of that statement and shook his head to clear them of morbid thoughts. He would never be the same if Saphira were to die.... he..... would lose the will to live he thought. She was the one person he felt he could trust completely, with both his body and his heart.

“Doc told me that Blackout stopped you from disobeying orders and rushing out to find me” He whispered and wondered if the low lighting was playing tricks on him. When he mentioned that she seemed to blush and look away from him, as if avoiding his eyes. The dream of Alira came back to him again, a diabolical smile that was crossing her face. As if she had known something that he had not about the future. He felt as if a bucket of ice water was poured over his shoulders for some reason.

He had never been one to believe in ESP or any nonsense such as that. But he felt as if the dream that he had when he was unconscious was a warning about something that had happened, or was going to happen in his life. He thought again of how she responded to what he just said and remained silent for several minutes. “What is wrong?” He asked, straining to make his tone seem light and happy. He knew she would see right though his flimsy facade however..... he was worried, she above all people knew how to read his emotions by now.

Jersh lay back on the bed as she confirmed his worst fears... the one truth he did not want to face...Saphira had betrayed him. He had fallen for it again, like so many years before he had let himself feel and was wounded again. He felt as if his heart was being crushed by an invisible fist. If he had not known better, he would have sworn a Dark Jedi had decided to rip his heart from his chest and throw it still beating onto the ground in front of him. He saw again Alira, his teenage friend and partner and the knife that she held in her hand. It dripped his blood down onto the floor of the room they had been sharing.  He stared down at the bloody mess that was his chest then looked back up to her. He saw the same look now in Saphira’s eyes....

“I....I enjoyed it Jersh” Saphira said, the words echoing in his head as he kept his eyes closed. His hand subconsciously clenched over the scar on his chest. She admitted it so blandly...he laughed at himself, calling himself an idiot in every language he knew for ever trusting another living being. He remembered once he had sworn to himself never to grow close to anyone... it was at times like this he wished he had followed through on that promise. He had heard that passion was he undoing of even the greatest men. Passion can blind, ensnare and weaken you lest you break the bonds before they become too tight.

Jersh pondered on that little bit of wisdom and remembered the first time that Saphira and himself had sparred, and the blood that had been the catalyst to their budding relationship. He wondered if perhaps he had been drawn in be the blood, or if she had ever even cared for him at all. Hers words on that cold night on lookout duty rang hollow in his ears in the face of this. He could no longer tell if anything she said was truth, or just another lie to manipulate him to her own designs.

Jersh sat up, refusing to show any pain from his injures. Refusing to show any signs of the emotional turmoil he was suffering through. His face showed no emotion at all, it was as if he had hardened his heart completely again. He remembered the child in the arena....... he had a thought of the face of the child then and his own now as reflections of a mirror. Right now.... he was wearing the same face he had back in the days he would once have given anything to forget. In a word... his expression would be described as soulless. Jersh gestured for her to stop as she referred to him by his military title and he took a deep breath, letting out a cold and calculated sigh at what he was doing.

“Go and be with the one you love” He said, dismissing her before shuffling over towards his clothing. He was not supposed be walking around at all for many hours. Despite that, he started to pull on his tattered gear, his expression blank and emotionless. It was as if he were an empty shell of a man who no longer had a reason to live.