Rizzit Blackheart sat in his office pondering things over. He did this a lot lately and for once it wasn’t due to missing his previous life as the Squad Leader of the craziest Raiders squad that the Vast Empire had ever seen. It also was not due to him missing his family back on Tatooine; no this time he wondered what good he was doing the empire as both Platoon Commander of the Wildcard Platoon and Company Commander of the Phoenix Company. For one, he was his boss and needed to report to himself on what he did in which his higher self would report in on what his lower self was doing. On top of the whole thing being rather confusing, it made Rizzit wonder what job he was really needed for…if he was still needed at all. As usual, Rizzit was forced to put his thoughts on hold due to an interruption. Ruu'Dolf Dere was paying Rizzit a visit which usually meant something big was going on in some sun-forsaken place. Normally if Dere was here it meant Rizzit would be gathering everyone together for a trip to a snow planet or worse. Rizzit turned around to face the intelligence officer.

“Dere, you better not be here to inform me of some other plot involving Shantsa or anything of that sort. Every time I see you that’s usually what you are here to tell me.”

“Thankfully no sir there is no more of his followers alive and no one has passed the torch so to speak. There is however some suspicious activity going on in the Yuka system.”

“Don’t tell me…snow planet?”

“Ice.”

“Great…and what do you have for me that’s gonna make me pack up the troopers and head out there to freeze my ass off in that plastic suit we call armor?”

Ruu'Dolf Dere handed Rizzit a communications log that was intercepted aboard the ISD Dominion where Dere was stationed to keep an eye out for anything that seriously seemed to jeopardize the empire. Rizzit commenced the playing of the recording.

“So…you say that you can cripple the empire without any help from the New Republic? And require no fee?”

“Let’s just say that I represent a group that has their own gripes with the empire. We’re headed to the planet Yuka to prepare. With all due respect, stay out of our way. We’ll take care of the imperials.”

Rizzit stopped the tape. “And you’re positive that these are not one of Shantsa’s followers?”

“Yes sir.”

“Either way it’s time that I go round up the troopers. I’ll notify Fury before we do anything, but I’ll see you later on the ISD Dominion.”

Dere saluted Rizzit and made his way out of the office. Being in the same building as the officers, Rizzit decided to contact the Squad Leaders via the Holonet Service.

“Attention all Squads…this is Brigadier General Rizzit Blackheart. We have an urgent mission that requires immediate service. Meet up on the ISD Dominion for briefing and transportation to the system. DO NOT DELAY! BRING ONLY WHAT YOU NEED!”

Having contacted the squads, Rizzit went to inform Fury, Merrick, Aphamos, and the Storm Platoon’s newest Commander: Riqimo before heading up himself to the Dominion.

This is my first mission without having Kairo to harass, now who am I going to pick on? Rizzit thought to himself as he headed down the hall. Oh well, glad to see I’m back to my old reminiscing habits…

OOC: Just get to the dominion....I'll make a briefing post when you get there.

“Alright ladies, get your asses in gear!” Darr-Rann  said, walking through the barracks . “All of our equipment will be provided to us on the ship, so don’t bother packing your armor or weapons. Just drop what you’re doing and head to the speeder.”

While he exited the barracks, the squad leader wondered at what sort of mission they were about to undertake. Knowing the company-wide missions they had executed in the past, there was a two to three quarters chance that they were headed somewhere very cold.  He grinned – Since his squad was designed for rough climate conditions, it would be a good chance to show everyone what raiders could do.

“So, what do you think we’ll be doing?” Leon asked as they boarded the speeder. Rogueboy grinned, and then replied “Something involving lots of gunfire and explosions. Rizz’ usually doesn’t call in the entire platoon for a mission unless it’s gonna be  a big.”

Darr-Rann nodded. He was looking forward to working with the other squads again, and the squad needed something to revitalize them.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rannik ran down the hallway, pausing only to look back for a moment. Blaster fire tore down after him, slamming into the wall beside him, leaving dark, deep burns. He picked up his pace, turning a corridor and entering the information room.

“They’re here!” He yelled, drawing and throwing over a table. Technicians and other revolutionary members drew their weapons and attempted to find some cover in the machine filled room.

He cried out at the top of his lungs as he fired at the new republic police officers who entered the doorway.  Waves of stun bolts pored into the room, dropping the resistors at a rapid pace. A bolt hit him square in the chest, and Rannik felt himself falling backwards…
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Darr-Rann pushed the nightmarish memories from his mind as the squad boarded the dominion. The squad leader had only been aboard the ship a few times previously, but he felt a sense of familiarity as the squad was guided to their quarters.

“What now?” Asked Dante, sitting down on his bed. Darr-Rann shrugged, and did likewise.

“We wait. The other squads haven’t arrived yet – They wont call us to the briefing until at least all of us are here.” The squad leader replied. He sat there and listened to the hum of the ion engines for a moment, before drawing out a deck of Sabaac cards.

“Anyone up for a game?”  He asked. The squad took place around the table, and he dealt out the cards.

Dante sat on the bunk, and felt it groan under his weight. The shuttle had quickly and efficiently delivered them to the Impstar Dominion and they had been guided to their quarters by a grim faced officer in black.

As some of the other Raiders began a game of sabacc, Dante picked up his deece and began to disassemble it, first removing the power cell, as he had no intention of being zapped by his own weapon. He removed a rag from the kit he always kept on his person and began to wipe down the weapon's components, the servomotors in his mechanical right arm whirring as he did so.

His fingers moved quickly and deftly, avoiding the sensitive electronics, and Dante quickly became absorbed in his work. His finger slipped, and a sharp piece of metal slid along his right indexfinger. Dante instantly stopped working and cursed in several languages as he inspected the damage. The finger was almost undamaged, with a thin line carved into the Mandalorian iron coaring but the metal was bent. Dante calmly bent it back into shape using the strength granted by the cybernectic limb. He then closed the weapon up and heard a hiss as the components sealed. He then placed it aside in a safe place. Despite the distraction the weapon provided, his thoughts continued to return to the mission and the dangers it posed. Once, not too long ago, he would be laughing and joking, confident in the commanders and his squad.

Now, he wasn't so sure.

Dante tried to put aside his misgivings about a second mission so soon and decided to join in. Rogueboy was acting as the dealer, his index finger hovering over a button. Although the game was for relatively small stakes, the players were deep in concentration. Dante paid his fee and was handed his cards.

Two sabers, a flask and...the Star? Sithspawn!

Dante placed the flasks and the sabers in the neutral field, but quickly found himself falling behind. Before long, he had lost and was forced to re-buy his way in.

Rogueboy shrugged and spoke:

"You win some, you lose some."

Damn. They're obviously better than me...

Dante was handed a set of cards, adding up to negative five.

Stang.

Rogueboy pressed a button and the cards shifted to...

At first Dante couldn't believe his eyes.

What are the odds of that?

He didn't realize that he had spoken aloud until Leon replied.

"As I recall, 56788-to-one."

Numbly, Dante took the pot. It was small, but still...

I hope I didn't just use up all my luck, because I might just need it...

“Leon, wow, its great to see your pretty face around here again. You’ve gotten quite scruffy though, you know, the whole beard you’ve got going on. How have things been?” Aphamos asked, an unusually big smile plastered on his face.

“Things? They’ve been good I guess… They could be better though, heh.” Leon replied, adding a nervous laugh at the end.

“You sure? Something seems to be different about you.”

“Yeah… Actually no. I won’t lie to you, and I suck at it anyways. I’d explain everything to you, but as you can see right now we don’t have the time.”

“Yeah, I knew something was different,” Aphamos answered, his face slightly wrinkling as he tried to study his friend. “Well let me get to the point. You know how I’m the Squad Leader of Dark Dragoons, right? I am also the PA, so I have PLENTY of work on my hands. As of recently, I’ve been thinking a lot… And I mean a lot.” Aphamos stood up from his chair, and made his way around the metallic desk that separated the two friends. He gently placed his hand on Leon’s shoulder. “I want you to take my spot as Squad Leader for Dark Dragoons. It’s already been made official. Do you understand the responsibility I’m placing in your hands Leon?”

Leon swallowed hard, his Adams Apple seeming as if it would burst out of place. He nodded in reply.

“Well you’re already running late, I want you to meet up with your new squad, and then get to the ISD Dominion ASAP. I’ve sent everything you need to know about your squad to your Data Pad. Take good care buddy, I know you’ll be able to handle it. Their lives are in your hands.”

“I will Aphamos… I won’t let you down.”

And with that, Leon turned on his heel, and strode out of Aphamos’s office.

Leon couldn’t believe what was happening; it was going so fast. Way to fast for Leon’s liking. In a matter of seconds, his life had changed dramatically. He should have been happy, and he should have been grateful for the promotion he had just received. But he wasn’t. For the first time in a while, he was scared. All he had to worry about up until now was his own life, and doing what was best for himself. But now… Now everything had changed. And as he stood in front of the small group of soldiers before him, studying their new Squad Leader with curiosity, he felt scared.

“Well… Where to begin?” Muttered Leon, feeling slightly stupid.

Why now Aphamos? I didn’t even have time to make an opening speech.

“I’m Leon Gregoris Bikic. You can just call me Leon, no need for formalities. I don’t need to be answered with sir, but if you want to, do as you please. As you can see I’m somewhat new to all this public speaking, and from the looks on your faces, I’m very bad at it.”

A couple of laughs and smiles flashed across his Squad Mates faces.

“Now I wish there could be some time for introductions, but unfortunately time isn’t on our side. We’ve just been assigned a mission and need to make our way over to the ISD Dominion. Get what ever it is you need to pack, whether it be armor or dirty magazines, but I want all of you over there ASAP. Time isn’t on our side.”

One of the trooper’s chuckled at his remark about the dirty magazines, making Leon feel slightly more relaxed.

“You’re all dismissed.”

He quickly strode out of the Dark Dragoon’s barracks, his hands resting in his cargo shorts pockets.

And so… I begin anew… Again.

It seemed like an urgent message, but that certainly didnt stop Giovanni from taking his sweet time preparing. He knew that in the rush out of his apartment, he would often leave things, only to clutch frantically around his bag or belt for something he needed. It always happened.

Not this time. No way.

He sat down and pulled out a black case from under his bed. His new E-11/M had yet to see battle, but the current situation promised to change that. His new suit of armor was also unblemished, much to his chagrin. He shrugged it off. There would be plenty of time to wear it in. After all, a suit of armor was nothing without a defining hole, or gash. Those imperfections told stories, kept records.

He hummed a jazzy song he had heard in the Cantina the night before to himself as he finished loading up his black duffel bag. He had taken a while, so no doubt, the rest of his squad had already arrived on the ISD Dominion. It had been a while since he had set foot on a Star Destroyer himself.

He stepped into the refresher booth and within minutes he was a new man. His hair was still a curly mess, but it was nothing he could fix.

He got up, grabbed a ration pack, and slung the bag over his shoulder. The ride to the Dominion would not be a long one, so he slackened his pace. Something in the air just made it feel okay to relax for a few precious moments.

It was that time of the year again.

“ZOMG?”

“No need to get excited sir, it’s just a mere droid,” the tech didn’t bother to glance over his shoulder at the squad leader leaning over the counter to read the form he was trying to sign.

“No... the droid’s designation... Z0-MG?” Riq held the paper closer to make sure he was reading it right.

“Ah, that’s right,” the tech shrugged, “You are here for the...”  Riq sighed as the tech blabbered on about the droid that Katrina had sent the squad while out on some more training courses, finding an excuse to pull himself out of the technoblabble with a small datapad buzzing his his pouch.  Smiling politely as he pulled himself back from the conversation, Riq flashed up the message and stifled a groan when it was composed from Rizzit, and letting the groan escape when the message contents were imbedded in his mind.

Riq smiled weakly, “If you could so kindly just send the droid over to,” he glanced at the datapad briefly, “hangar bay 31 for me.  Have to run off for a bit.”

“Sure no problem,” the tech had called over his shoulder to an already empty room.

...  ...

“Get your arses up, we’re heading up to the Dominion,” the Eclipse squad leader jogged into the barracks, straight for his quarters.  “Jelly, round up Wicket... wherever he is...” Riqimo chuckled slightly, it was nap time for their favorite Sullustan, and each time he seemed to pick a different spot to rest.

Leaving the door open just a crack so he could hear what was going on, Riq fiddled with the security on his foot locker to reveal two of his most prized weapons.  Riqimo brushed his fingers against the royal blue velvet as he withdrew the sai and whip, almost a trademark with his tortured gaze now.

Riq flinched slightly at the sound of a tapping outside his room, it wasn’t the source, but the reminder that stuck at his heartstrings.  A brief moment his shoulders sagged at the memory of carrying Rike out of the jungle, then laying him to rest in a body bag to be sent to the morgue.  Troopers came, troopers went, but rarely did he actually lose them, not that way...

Shaking his head out of its brief lapse, he rose, expelling the air from his lungs in a deep sigh.  He knew that death happened, but he had made a promise to himself those weeks ago... or was it months already?  Time went by too fast to bother keeping track... you had to stay alive, or in Riq’s mind, make sure the others lived, even at the cost of his own life.  Rike’s death was a slap in the face and Riq swore he would uphold that... or fall down that slippery slope one last time...

“To the shuttle folks it'll take us up to the ISD Dominion with a short ride,” he grabbed the duffel he kept packed up for instances like this, “Armor is supposedly being loaded onto our shuttle, so pack light.  Going to be fun times I hope.”

“Get your arses up, we’re heading up to the Dominion...” Eclipse Squad Leader Riqimo bellowed throughout the barracks. This would be Gimp's first mission in the Vast Empire Army and he could barely contain his excitement. He wondered if they would be going to the Wookie world, or a volcanic planet, maybe infiltrating a New Republic space station. Visions of him carving the throats off the necks of generals danced through his head.

“Armor is supposedly being loaded onto our shuttle, so pack light." Riqimo continued.

Well if they are giving us the armor all we need to bring is our hatchet and dagger.

They probably wont even let us on the shuttle without some sort of firepower, and we have been practicing.

True. Twin DoomBringers?

The E-11 also.

Why not just bring everything we own?

Shut up and grab the C3POD.

Ooo, yeah!

Having all that he needed he started off toward the hanger. Looking around at his squad he realized that he was familiar with most of them, but didn't really know any of them. Alater, the giant lizard, was cool but he looked a little intense at the moment. He liked wicket but could only handle his antics in doses. Then he remembered Saphira, she was the squad mate he was most familiar with. Prickly though she may be, she would have to do. He turned around to go find the Twi'lek and nearly ran into her. Being the sort of woman to give a missile the brush off, he had to be creative to get her attention.

"Fine.. but keep your distance.." She replied, grinding her teeth. Gimp only laughed, tossing his own duffel up on his shoulders and walked beside her as they headed out into the hanger where the shuttle was waiting for them.

He strolled through the hallways of the base on Tadath, headed to the hangar bay where the shuttle would take him up to the Dominion. The whole place seemed alive, more so considering the time of day. He forgot sometimes that there were people in this place that did much more than just fight for the Empire. He sometimes took their jobs for granted. Just because they didn't lay their lives in the line of fire didn't make their existence any less important.

After all, without them, Giovanni would be a malnourished, under equipped grunt.

He kept humming the song to himself. He couldn't get it out of his head. He'd have to talk to the Cantina band when he got back. The tune was addictive.

In his absentmindedness, Giovanni turned the corner and almost ran into Ievit.

"Whoa, sorry there. Didn't see you..." apologized the newly decorated Sergeant First class.

"Yeah, no worries. Wouldn't want a repeat of the last time you ran me over" She gave a slight smile but got rid of it as soon as Giovanni had noticed it.

"Well, let's get a move on shall we?"

Together the two walked towards the Hangar bay. Ievit seemed to be lugging around a lot more than him, but he shrugged it off. He had always been simple in his equipment load out. The bare necessities were all he needed. Any more equipment and he'd feel like he was just making things a lot more complicated.

They were getting closer now to the Hangar bay when he recognized his newest recruit, rounding a corner, with his Academy duffel bag loaded to the brim with his rifle and ammunition.

"Hey Viper!" The Squad Leader waved at him, and the young man stopped dead in his tracks and snapped to attention.

"At ease, soldier. I'm not even in uniform."

He brought his hand back down to his side and barked a clear "Sir. Yes, sir."

The three walked on, eager to begin their new mission and forge a stronger bond in the heat of battle.

The three Paladin's walked into the hangar and gazed at their new transport vessel. It was just a regular shuttle, but it now donned the Paladin name. It would be their transport in and out of trouble from this point forward. Giovanni had personally picked the pilot earlier, and he came with the highest recommendation. Not to mention, the man was related to the squad leader himself.

Aldur Wyndaru served a short stint as a Navy pilot, but the brainiac cousin of Giovanni never quite fit in. When he was approached to fly and maintain a Sentinel class landing shuttle, he jumped at the opportunity. He liked the idea of working alone, and he was happy to be in relative safety as a simple transport pilot. Or so he thought.

Giovanni had never met the young man prior to their meeting by chance on the orbital platform, but he had a better time trusting someone who came from his bloodline than a complete stranger, even if it was a person he knew nothing about.

Aldur was quickly checking fuel lines, running a diagnostic check on the engines and going through his checklist. It was a short flight, but his attention to detail bordered on obsessive compulsiveness.

"Alright guys, get on board. I'll be right up." The two other Paladin's nodded and walked into the shuttle, where the shuffling of feet and carry-on bags could be heard from outside.

I know i'm forgetting something, but i'm not sure what...

He looked around the hangar and saw the equipment, now being loaded and secured on the cargo bay of their ship. He knew little of the planet Yuka, except for what he had learned from his fellow troopers.

Interestingly enough, there were two Yukas, both located in the Kamino system. One was essentially a hellish piece of molten rock, and the other one a huge block of ice. He had no idea what to prepare for, but assumed the higher ups had made the necessary arrangements.

Ah, how could i forget?

He pulled a small silver square out of his pocket and pressed on one of three buttons. A low beep confirmed the action, and from the  entrance flew in the newest member of Paladin.

P4L-1 had arrived. The Prowler 1000 droid would be of great help, and would keep them out of danger in precarious situations.

The droid chirped unintelligibly and followed Giovanni onto the shuttle.

After getting her equipment from her room , she started to make her way towards the hangars.  as she walked into numerous hallways , she spotted Brock lugging alot of equipment. she walked over to him , and grabbed one of his bags.

"You're only supposed to bring the necessities. You are carrying a bit too much with you. Let me help you bring some of this back."

With a short, quick nod , he let her carry one of the bulky bags and they walked back to his quarters.

"I would have brought the same amount of equipment if this wasn't an urgent mission." she hoped those words made him feel slightly better.

After he had put the extra equipmrnt on his bed, shut and locked the door to his quarters, they both started to walk back towards the hangars.

As they walked in the hallways at a brisk pace , she saw people briefly look at them before going to get their own things. They stepped outside , and Lucky took the liberty of looking at the sky. Today was a sunny, cloudless day.

When they made it to the hangars, she searched for their shuttle. she didn't have to lookf or long . There, in a hangar a little ways away, was a beautiful shuttle with the Paladin name on it.

She found the ramp down, so she climbed in. When the ramp rolled up behind them , she saw that Finch , Gio , Viper and Baretz were already there.

She took a window seat and Brock came to sit beside her. She saw their pilot Aldur Wyndaru. She had seen him a few times, but she knew that Gio knew him personnaly.

She sat back and waited for the shuttle to launch.

Everyone of the Iron Horse squad waited patiently onboard the Dominion, everyone that was except for Alan.  He hated waiting, hated it with a passion.  He wanted to know what the mission was and he wanted to know now.  He decided that enough was enough and decided to go for a walk.

“Stay here” said Alan to the squad as he got up.  The rest of the squad looked back at him and nodded as they watched their squad leader leave the area that had been assigned to them.

“Restless, isn’t he” commented Ken.

“Looks like it” replied Verlock.

I hope I remember how to get back here thought Alan as he wandered down the hallways of the Dominion.  He gazed around him and was impressed by the sheer beauty of the ship, it was truly magnificent.  On his wanderings, he spotted several other squads arriving and others waiting in their assigned areas.

One shuttle that had just arrived was offloading several crates.  Alan noticed that one of the crates was slightly open.  Alan, curious, and hoping that it might give some insight as to the nature of the mission, he glanced inside the crate.  What met his gaze sent a shiver through him.

“Snowtrooper armour” he whispered.  That could mean only one thing and it didn’t appeal to Alan very much.  Alan hated the cold.  He couldn’t abide the snow and the freezing temperature.  “Just once, couldn’t we be assigned to a warm planet” he said.

“Sir?” queried an officer that had heard Alan and thought it was a statement directed at him.

“As you were” replied Alan as he started to make his way back to his squad.  Now where are they again thought Alan as he roamed the corridor, hoping he was going in the right direction.

His eyes drifted from the seat in front of him he had been staring down, to the rest of his squad mates.  He had an expierence recently that had begin warping his perspective into a somewhat nicer man.  He had attached himself to someone, and with that he was able to discard the belief of staying distant from everyone around him, he then looked to Lucky, as they all waited for the shuttle to lift off. 

"Good Luck."

Those might of been the most sincere words he'd ever spoken to her.  Since the begining of his time here, she had seemed condecending, but recently he had an epiphony, she was just concerned, rather than wanting to make everyone feel less useful than they really were. 

His fingers traced the scope atop the TI-47, and he double checked the contatiners on his side and back.  He had plenty of shells for the TI-47 if it was needed, and the E-11 /M he had plenty of energy cells.  His eyes moved over his squad, and the malicious grin was replaced with a gentle, knowing smile.  Certain of their inevitable success.

Wicket messaged Riqimo on his comlink. "Hey Doctor. Where are we supposed to be headed. I was too busy doing something and all of a sudden I heard Rizzits voice and then I was like whoa then I went up to my room to get my stuff and I was trying to figure out all I needed. So then I was franti-" Wicket rapidly said, being cut off from Riqimo.

"Ok that's good. You don't need to give me every detail. So basically what you are saying is...is that you don't know where to go. Correct?" Riqimo replied, shaking his head. What am I gunna do with him.

"Basically, but as I was saying-" Wicket replied.

"Shh!" Riqimo cut off Wicket again, knowing that he would ramble on and on. "Ok just meet up with the rest of the squad down at the Dominion...and make it quick. We don't want the Empire to fall because of you." Riqimo sighed and turned off his comlink.

The Dominion. Got it. Wicket thought to himself as he began to run faster. The closer he got the less people there were, making it quite a quick trip. In a couple of minutes, Wicket showed up and looked around for any sign of Jelly Bean, Riqimo, or any of the other squad members. His height did not help seeing over the tall members, so he just walked on through to see if he could come across any.

As he walked, he noticed some of the troopers from Raiders squad playing a game of cards. He happened to see one of the troopers cheating. Pfft, and they call me the cheater. Wicket thought as he motioned some signals to one of the other players, giving clues as to one of the hands. He continued through the mass of troopers when he ran into Jelly. Ooph sounded Wicket. "Jelly!" There you are! So where are the rest of the people?"

"Can't you see where you are walking?" Jelly replied. "I have no idea. Doc is over there though."

Wicket's eyes grew in size as he ran over to Riqimo. "Doctor!" Wicket shouted, giving him a hug. "I made it!"

"I see that. Good for you. Where have you been though? You are like almost the last one to arrive. Me and Saph thought you were taking a nap." Riqimo replied

"Well I was but then I woke up cause I wanted to work...on...something." Wicket replied suspiciously.

"Working on what exactly?..." Riqimo responded, slightly worried.

"Oh nothing. You will find out soon enou-!" Wicket said as he looked over and saw a droid staring at him. "What is that thing?!"

He found a cot in the far corner of the room and sat his duffel on it. A renovated garbage masher wouldn't have been the worst place he had laid his head so he went ahead and got comfortable.

It's not really a garbage can,Dummy.

Whatever Capitan Knowitall, did you see those lady Troopers we're gonna work with? D-double-licious.

You know I did baby, WOOF, WOOF, WOOF!

C3POD earbuds firmly in his ears, he absentmindedly took swipes at the air with his D'skar dagger. He sliced to the beat of his music and, after a while, decided that he should use his hatchet for the bass. Before long he was off in his own little world, dancing on his cot with his weaponry.

...hack slice chop! Hack hack hack, slice! Hack chop chop, slice chop chop hack!

His squad mates had noticed his lack of good sense, some going about their business while others watched the show, the walls of the cubicle not nearly high enough to hide his shame.

Without looking away from Gimp, Jelly asked Saph "So the new guy's a retard, huh?"

"Fraid so." She responded dryly.

A few more moments of dancing and the private felt eyes watching him. His jaw nearly hit the floor when he grasped the scene.

"I was, uh, just practicing." He said with false bravado. "Working on my stabs and my, uh... chops." He sat back down and tried to hide in his cubicle until they all left.

Way to go. Now they all know how brilliant you can be.

Well, this is what I’ve been waiting for a long time since my arrival on Tadath.

Brock thought to himself as the shuttle lifted from the hangar. Not having a clear view from the window, Brock allowed for some time to himself, while Luckystar gazed through the window; watching as the ship elevated into the different altitudes. Upon reaching several thousand feets high above the clouds, the weather was calm and didn’t seem that it was subjected to change throughout the flight. It wasn’t the first time Brock flew on a shuttle before, but not in those serene conditions before. It was either at night, or during a storm. Brock’s prime though at mind while looking at the sky was his arrival at Hangar Bay 1141; which wasn’t a pretty flight, definitely not with the turbulence and the tempest.

Before he had another moment of thought, he was halted by Luckystar who kept wondering why he was starring at deep space. Brock snapped from his thoughts as he tried to recuperate his eyes back to their normal state. Luckystar couldn’t bear but to give him a nod afterwards as she grinned slightly before falling into deep slumber. Her head tilted back as she tried to cuddle herself before letting her eyes roll backwards and loosing her sight moments after. Brock turned his back without making much of a sound or movement from his hips, and looked towards Baretz, who was unseemly, more open and comfortable with the squad than usual. Brock took a moment to pop his head slightly backwards and back forward, as in an attempt to call his attention and informally greet him. Baretz smiled as he slightly raised his right thumb up, signifying that he was okay, and was going to be okay from here and out. Although Baretz didn’t notice it, Brock was motivated by the trooper, and grew a more plausible bonding since then. At least he thought. Not to far from Baretz was Finch, who caught the sight of Brock’s left eye, as he slowly turned his hips moreover towards the left.

Brock hasn’t really interacted with her since he was sort of new to the squad, but he took that time to do so. He wasn’t about to just go on a mission without knowing at least something from his fellow troopers. Having a close bond with them, made him feel more easeful to work with. Especially on the battlefield, that without your squad coherence, he’ll either end up dead or his comrades as well. Not to mention letting down one of the most feared powers in the galaxy; the Empire. 

“Hey there, I’m Private First Class Brock Vik… I’m new to Paladin Squad, and if you ever need something from me, don’t hesitate to ask.... Oh and I want to wish you the best of luck...”

“Thank you… Likewise to you trooper…”

Brock fainted a placid facial expression on his face that Finch seemed to enjoy as she returned it with an upward curving of the lip: That unseemly fitted her personality, and was unique in its own way. She then returned to her calm self as she once again stared at the beautiful scenery while the ride lasted.

As he turned his hips laggardly, facing them towards the chair in front of him, Brock noticed Giovanni in his poorly conditioned suit, but priceless in the sense that it represented more than a soldier, more of a symbol of bravery and loyalty of a man who put his life on the line for the Empire, for himself and his squad-mates. That was at least, what Brock though of him, and his interpretation of his suit who Giovanni dearly held very close to him.

Before returning to his state of thought, he watched as the sky gloomed the sunset color before he could see the cirrus clouds pass his sight, as the elevation of the shuttle increased steeply; high above the sky.