OOC:

Alright, this is basically my retirement post for the Army. Felt I should explain my disappearance instead of just leaving. It's not too long, just 10 pages. Not my best work either.

    "Time to end this," Kairo muttered, hands clasped behind his back. He stood at a window, staring out across one of the military base's fields. A gentle wind rustled the lush green lawn. A few troopers were relaxing on the grass, the warmth of the sun beaming down upon them. Peace had settled through out the complex. No one knew how long it would last. It was only a fleeting illusion, but it was a good illusion. Kairo wore his officer's uniform. His black form stood harshly against the light pouring in from the window. Spinning on his heel, he took a deep breath and headed down the hall.

There were so many things that needed to be done, but so little time to do them. Stopping at an intersection, he looked left then right. "I think it's been long enough. He should have the items finished." As he started to walk again, he glanced at passing troopers. A few of them stopped in their tracks, debating whether they should salute or not. He was only a platoon commander after all. Others started to walk a little faster. A few gave him questioning looks, wondering if he expected something from them. Still others greeted him with a fake smile and said, "Good day, sir." Kairo just nodded.

After a couple of minutes, he arrived at the armory and stepped inside. Moving to the back, he looked around until he found him. "They finished yet, Horgan?"

Jerking back from a working table, Horgan lifted specialized goggles from his eyes and blinked a few times. "Damn it Kairo. I told you to not sneak up on me. You are one freaky bastard to have appear right behind you. Ya know?"

Kairo arched an eyebrow and responded, "Thanks for the compliment, but you still haven't answered my question." Glancing around, Kairo looked to see if the items were ready.

"You told me to keep them from view," Horgan stated. Brushing off his hands, he walked off into the warehouse. After waiting a few minutes, Kairo saw Horgan returning with two locked briefcases. Placing them onto the worktable, he spun them to face Kairo. "They have the code you requested."

Cracking his knuckles, Kairo typed in the access code for one of the briefcases. A quick look inside confirmed everything was there. Closing the lid delicately, he looked up and said, "Nicely done Horgan. Glad to see my faith in you was not wasted."

"Just glad to serve. Those were a pain to get delivered here you know. Had to break a few rules. Getting items into the armory without anyone knowing it is there is not the easiest task." Horgan crossed his arms.

"I realize Horgan. Don't worry, I have what we agreed upon." Kairo pulled out a datapad from his pocket it and slid it across the table. "One million credits have been transferred to this account. That's all right?"

You could see the glee on Horgan's face as he turned the datapad screen on and read it over. "I thought it was half a million actually."

Lifting the two cases of the table, Kairo turned around and started to walk out with a last comment over his shoulder. "Oh, was it? Well, don't worry, you can keep all of it."

    When he left the armory, he had two choices, either go to his office or head to his quarters, each one had different tasks that needed to be accomplished. "So much to do, with so little time." Looking down at his chronometer, he checked to make sure he still had enough time before the message was sent. "Only half a day left." He was off a moment later.

    It took him only a few minutes to reach his office. Once inside, he placed the briefcases next to the door. Dropping to one knee, he opened one of them and pulled out a black rectangular package. Closing the case, he then picked his way across the room to his desk. The usual mess of stacked papers was splayed across the floor. "Glad I won't have to organize this mess after this." Finally making it to his desk, he dropped into the chair, placed the small package on the corner of the desk, and activated the built in terminal. After sending a quick message to one of his squad leaders, he started to open drawers and take out various objects. After a few minutes, he had a pile of equipment on top of his desk. It was made up of datapads, minor weapons, some files, odd pieces of mechanical equipment, and various things he had picked up from his travels. Kairo reached to the side of his desk and picked up a duffle bag. He then slid the pile of things into the bag and sealed it shut. Placing it to the side, he leaned back in his chair and waited.

    About thirty minutes later, the door signal sounded, and he said, "Come in." As the door slid open, Giovanni Bryden entered the room and looked around at the mess.

    "Still haven't cleaned the place up?" Gio said sarcastically, knowing full well Kairo would never clean the place.

    Kairo grinned. Out of all the people he had worked with, Giovanni was the second closest comrade. He had known Gio since he was placed as the Dark Dragoons Squad Leader. That time seemed like ages ago now. "Good to see you made it. I don't have much time to waste. A lot of things are going to be happening soon, mostly because of me." Kairo paused, wondering if he could trust Gio enough with what he was about to tell him. He could very well go and ruin everything. No, you need to know there is someone left who knows the truth, incase you ever come back.

    "Kairo?" Giovanni looked at Kairo oddly.

    "Sorry. . . I got lost in thought. Gio, I will be going on a mission in the next couple of hours. Everything you need to know is on this datapad. Do not read it until you hear that Eclipse has returned. Alright?" Kairo stared directly into Giovanni's eyes.
    Reaching onto the table, Gio picked up the datapad and held it in front of him for a minute. "What is this all about Kairo?"

    "I can't tell you that now. Just trust me. Like you did back in the day. Oh, and before you leave, take that package. It's for you. Don't open that as well until you read the datapad. Now," Kairo stood up and walked around his desk, "I have some other business to attend to before I head out on the mission. So, I'll have to ask you to leave, since I'll be locking my office." Kairo reached down and picked up the duffle bag, slinging it across his shoulder.

    "Uh, sure." Giovanni stated, feeling confused and worried about what Kairo was going to be doing.

    Picking up the two briefcases on his way out, Kairo stepped into the hall and locked the door. As he turned to Gio, he placed the briefcase in his right hand on the ground. Holding out his hand, he said, "I'll see you whenever I come back."

    Gio raised an eyebrow questioningly, but shook the hand a moment later. "Don't take too long. Things get boring around here without old friends to hang out with."

    Nodding, Kairo picked the case back up and headed to his room. Once he was inside the room, he placed the briefcases next to the door. Walking over to his bed, he dropped the duffle bag onto it. Turning around, he inspected the area. Everything looked exactly as it should. Only a few things were missing, but only he knew what they were. Anyone else would never notice those items were gone. They were his assortment of items he had obtained that were clues to who his family was. The family he had lost as a child. They had already been safely sent to a secure place.

    Checking his chronometer, he looked to make sure it was the proper time. "Perfect. Half of and hour and the orders will be sent. Then only another thirty minutes after that will things begin." Moving over to his closet, he pulled out his storm commando armor and put it on. After this, he reached down into his chest of weapons and pulled out his personal favorites. His vibropike was first, attaching it to his belt. Then came his Kylon-3 blasters, attaching them to his hips. Four ammo clips were slid onto the belt as well. Next, he placed his modified blaster-rifle onto his back, and cinched the strap tight. After all this, he started the long process of placing his many throwing knives around his body for easy each in their specialized holsters. At the end, a cloak was thrown over his shoulders. Turning away, he felt a small bit of grief, knowing that all that he left behind he would not be seeing for a while.

    A moment later a knock came at the door. Walking across the room, he opened the door and found a technician waiting there. "You sent for me sir?" he asked nervously.

    "Yes." Picking up one of the briefcases, he opened it up and pulled out three boxes identical to the one he gave Gio. "Take these and deliver them to Rizzit Blackheart, Sandwich Sam, and Zafo. I trust you know how to find them. Oh, and don't get those packages to them until tonight, and if anyone so much as opens them, I'll personally track them down and make them wish they had never seen what was inside. Clear?" Kairo grinned. His words combined with the weapons and armor had a definite impact on the man. Grabbing the boxes, he hastily tried to do some form of a salute then walked quickly down the hall.

    A couple of minutes later, Kairo received a message informing him that he and Eclipse squad had received orders for a new mission. "Finally. These time games are really annoying sometimes." Picking up the duffle bag, he exited his room and turned to look back. "It was nice while it lasted, but I'm still not used to this much comfort." Closing the door, he locked it and set off down the hall. A shuttle would already be waiting for his arrival. The designated mission was very time sensitive, and those going on it only had thirty minutes to prepare to leave. Due to this, a shuttle would be prepared as soon as possible.

    As he expected, the shuttle was already waiting in the hanger when he arrived fifteen minutes later. Walking over, he handed the duffle bag to one of the engineers preparing the shuttle and told him to place it inside. Leaning against the side of the shuttle he waited.

    It was not long until Eclipse squad arrived. They were well trained and had become one of the best squads the Empire had at its disposal. They were wearing their EAST armor, helmets held in their arms. Each had the squad's Echo Rifle with them. A few carried a few other weapons on their belts. Kairo looked over at the squad leader and nodded. "Good to see you are ready this quickly."

    Riqimo nodded back. "Always ready."

    "I'll give a more detailed briefing on what is going to be happening once we are in the air. I'm sure you have already gotten the main objectives, but we'll still go over things. Everyone, get inside." As the troops filed into the shuttle, Kairo looked them over. Hopefully none of them would get hurt or do something heroic. Once everyone was inside, he entered himself and closed the boarding ramp. A quick journey to the cockpit, and the shuttle was lifting off the ground. After checking with the captain how long it would take for them to arrive, Kairo moved back into the main area and sat down next to Riqimo.

    It had not been that long ago that Kairo had chosen him to be his Platoon Adjutant. They seemed to work well together. It was in his hands Kairo was going to leave the reigns. He had taught Riqimo everything he knew about leading, and in most cases, it seemed that Riqimo would do a better job than him. Kairo was a fighter. A trained killer. He could lead troopers on the battlefield and could strategize with the best of them, but he was not meant to sit around in the office, making sure everyone was doing their duties. He was not good at all the fine work. It ate him. This was one of the reasons he had come to his decision. His presence was only causing a stigma in the forces. Though he had worked hard to establish Storm platoon and recreate the squads in it, it was now time for him to move on. His presence was no longer beneficial.

    Coming out of his revere, Kairo turned to the troopers and said, "Alright, here is the deal. Once again we have received word that a group on Cepany is planning on causing a ruckus. We have found out where they base is, and the higher ups want this settled quickly and quietly. They are in the middle of an abandoned district in the warehouse sector of one of the planets more rundown cities. No one goes to this area unless they have to, which makes it easier for us to just go in, destroy the place, and get out. That's right. This is just a hit mission. If things go well, we will just be blowing up the installation, getting out, and letting the local authorities arrest the men. We want this to go fast. In and out in less than an hour. Everyone understand?"

    "Yes, sir," was the unanimous response. They had been trained well.

    "We should be arriving in less than two hours. Do whatever you need to do in that time." Kairo leaned back against the wall and turned to Riqimo. "Riq, I want you to have this." Kairo pulled out one last black box. "Keep it here on the shuttle. Open it after the mission. Alright?"

    "Sure, but what is it?"

    "Just a souvenir of sorts."  Kairo then closed his eyes. Things were going exactly according to plan. But plans always had a way of messing up.


*Two Hours and Thirty Minutes Later*


    "Damn it, haven't they set the charges yet?" Kairo asked, firing his blaster around the corner of a hallway. A yelp was heard from down the adjoining hall. It had been a lucky shot.

    "They're working on it. Apparently they ran into a little trouble." Riqimo said next to him. Things had definitely not gone exactly as planned. These men had been way too armed.

    "Tell them to meet us back at the main blast door to this place. We'll start heading back now." Kairo ordered. Riqimo nodded and relayed the message. The mission was not going well. After entering the base, the group had split; one heading through out the base to distract the men while the other went to set the charges at the power station. Things had gone down hill from there. Somehow, the rebels had known they were coming and prepared for their arrival. The power station had been well secured and almost every path had been defended. Thankfully, the enemy was not well trained. Man after man went down to the Imperial trained guns. Finally, the two forces had collided in the middle of the base, forcing a stalemate as they both held their positions. Wicket, Jelly Bean, and Riqimo were with Kairo, holding off the enemy while the other group planted the explosives.

    With a quick hand signal, Kairo motioned for the group to start retreating. Throwing a grenade behind them, the group set off. The explosion would stall the rebels from following them for a minute. Two men appeared in front of the group. They had obviously been waiting for them. Two knives glinted from the fake light emanating from the ceiling lights. A moment later, the two men dropped to the ground. The grenade finally exploded behind them. The concussive force moved through the hall, forcing the group to stumble a bit. After balancing themselves, the sprinted ahead.

    After a few more encounters, the group arrived at the main blast doors. Alater and Blackout were waiting there. They had been designated to stay behind and keep the exit clear. "Where is the other team?" Kairo spat.

    "They are coming." Blackout stated, though he did not really know. It was only a hope.

    Blaster fire hit a wall back down the hallway. It had emanated from a side passage. Jersh and Saphira appeared a moment later. "Get everyone out of here." Kairo ordered Riqimo. A couple of rebels appeared behind the explosives team. "I'll take care of them."

    "No, we'll take care of it. No need to have the Platoon Commander do anything that dangerous."

    Finally Kairo decided to give up the charade. Turning to Riqimo, he pulled him close and stated, "I've given up that life. Take the squad, and go. NOW!" Thrusting him back, Kairo hit a button on the blastdoor controls, causing them to start closing. He then aimed his blaster at the controls and fired.

    Everyone but Riqimo figured Kairo was just sealing off the exit so the enemy could not follow. A moment later, Kairo was sprinting down the hallway to Jersh and Saphira, pulling out his Vibropike. Spinning as he pressed the button to have it open, he ran past the two troopers and sliced into the three men following them. Turning back around, he followed Jersh and Saphira to the closing blastdoor. Riqimo's voice yelled through the comchannel for everyone to retreat. Saphira and Jersh easily made it through the hole, but it was almost closed when Kairo arrived. The squad yelled for him to jump through, but Kairo just stopped and looked squarely at Riqimo. The doors then fully shut, leaving Kairo inside.

    "What should we do Riqimo?" Alater asked.

    "We head back to the shuttle." Riqimo said a bit shakily.

    "And leave Kairo?" Wicket asked, shocked.

    "It's his orders. There is no time. The explosives are going to blow in only a few more minutes. There is no more time. I don't know why or how, but Kairo planned this somehow." Riqimo said, the pieces falling together slightly.

    "Why?"

    "I don't know, but we have to retreat or we'll all die." Finally, the squad started to head back to the surface. Everyone felt that something was wrong. How could they just leave their commander behind? Why had he not simply fallowed Saphira and Jersh through the hole? He might have been able to squeeze through.

    They squad barely made it away from the complex when the explosives went off. A small tremor ran through the ground, halting the squad's run toward the shuttle. Then a plume of fire burst from the building behind them. Picking themselves up, they checked to make sure no one was in the area then boarded the shuttle. The squad had never been there. The rebels had accidentally killed themselves. Their own explosives killing them. That would be tomorrow's headlines. Riqimo slammed his fist into the shuttle's wall as it soared into the atmosphere, heading for space. What had Kairo been thinking?


*Three Hours Later*


    "So your saying he died?" Rizzit was staring at Riqimo with disbelief. "Kairo doesn't just die. Out of everyone I've ever known, that bastard doesn't die." Rizzit was obviously distraught.

    "All evidence points to his death. Nothing could have survived that explosion." Riqimo stood at attention. His own words were hollow to him.

    Rizzit sat down in his chair. He rested his head in his hands. Propping his chin on top of his right hand he said, "Very well. . . the proper ceremony will be held. As for his replacement, that is obvious. Being his Platoon Adjutant, the position directly goes to you." A notice came at the door. "Come in."

    "A package for Rizzit Blackheart."

    "From who?"

    "Kairo Vandate."

    Rizzit just sat there as the technician placed the package on the table. "Kairo gave me a package like that before the mission too. I. . . haven't opened it yet." Riqimo stated.

    Not listening to a word Riqimo said, Rizzit lifted off the lid and looked inside. Lying in a bed of black silk, a handcrafted vibroblade rested. It was extremely sharp. The hilt was wonderfully crafted and the bottom of it had the shape of some animal's head. "Why would he give something like this to us?" Rizzit asked.

    "Maybe he's not dead." Riqimo stated.

    "What?"

    "Well, why would he just give us knives? Obviously the knife represents him. Everyone knows that knives are his trademarks. Also, the timing. Why not before the mission? Maybe he is sending us a message that he's still out there."

    "It sounds like you grasping for something so everything makes sense, but life doesn't make sense. No, he has to be dead. You said so yourself. Anyways, you're dismissed." Riqimo nodded and backed out of the room. Picking up the blade, Rizzit held it up to his eyes and looked it over. You really still out there?


*Thirty Minutes Later*


    Giovanni had just received word that Eclipse had come back from their mission. With it came the news of Kairo's death. Sitting in his room, he glanced over at the datapad and box. "What were you thinking?" Unable to control himself, Gio reached out and picked up the datapad, activating it. It held only a short message.

    Gio, as you know doubt have found out, I will not be returning from the mission.
    I am not dead, just missing. I trust you will not tell anyone. I need to settle some     things. I plan on returning one day, but for now, just carry the knife I have left     behind as a promise of my return. I don't know when that will be, but I'll see you     again.

    "He's insane." Gio laughed. He didn't know why he was laughing, but it just felt right. "He is one insane man."


*Five Days Earlier*


    "So, will this be enough?" Kairo asked Horgan.

    "Yes, half a million for the knives, and another five million for everything else. So let me get this straight. You want me to higher a few people to go back to an old installation on Cepany that was headquarters for an old rebel group. You want us to rig the whole place with holoprojectors and also place at least fifty droids capable of walking around which will then project rebel images on top of themselves. Why all of this? What's the point?"

    "Simple. I'm going to be leaving the Army Horgan, but I can't just simply leave. I was charged with killing a few men on Lotaith a while ago, and though it was more in self-defense, it was still a crime. I was sentenced to either military duty or prison. Obviously I chose military duty, but now I'm tired of it. I can't take it any more. I need to finish up some old family business. Now, I have another person establishing the fact that a new rebel group has moved into that installation. After a few days, it will come about that the army will request the business to be taken care of. It's amazing what a little money will get done. Especially with greedy political figures. Anyways, Eclipse and I will be sent. We'll be charged with rigging the place to explode. Everything will go fine, no injuries on our side, except I'll some how manage to get locked inside. That's where the special room I requested you to build comes in. The place is really going to explode, so make sure the access tunnel is built for me to escape out of. The explosion will remove all evidence of the droids, projectors, everything. The army will be in essence giving me my own cover to leave. I'll be dead. Make sense?"

    "Not really, but I don't care. Like you said, money gets things done."


*Two Days After the Mission*


    Kairo leaned against the wall of café. He would not be leaving the planet until tomorrow. Everything had gone perfectly to plan. Everyone had played his or her part. Hopefully, Rizzit and rest would figure out what he had done, and hopefully they were capable of keeping the secret. Even if they did not, it would not matter. He would be long gone. "Now to unravel the mystery of my past." Kairo said. Standing up, he paid for the bill and exited the building.

    Walking back to the room he had bought, he looked around at the crowd. The people here seemed happy. Things were peaceful. Was this also an illusion? Was there something else underneath the surface, ready to break and dash it all? Nodding to the clerk at the desk, Kairo entered the turbo lift and pushed his floor's button. Walking down the hall, he could not help but feel something was not right. What was amiss? Pushing it aside, he slid his key into the door and stepped into his room. A quick hit to the head and he was out. How could he be so careless? Had the Army found him?


*Sometime Later*


    "Where am I?" Kairo asked, finally waking up. It was definitely not a military installation or a prison of some sort. The walls looked old and things were dark.

    A dark figure stood a little ways away from him. "Finally, you are awake. Do not worry, your plan succeed. Everyone thinks you are dead, which serves our purposes nicely. We are not finished with you Kairo. We have found out there is something far more valuable than your military service."

    Kairo looked at the man and felt a chill run down his spine.