posted January 15, 2001 04:46 PM               

Also, I tried really hard to get permission to use the equipment we'll have on hand. Nobody needs to press charges...I hope.

SGM Fury sat in the commons area of the port side lounge onboard the Devastator scanning through a couple datacards. After the past couple campaigns a trip away from the constant action of duty seemed to be a great idea. In fact, General Athran, on his way up the command ladder had given leave to those either most wounded and recovered, or most active during the recent conflict. That left a whole lot of troopers racing to catch the next transport out.

Fury, however, still didn't know enough people on a personal basis to jump ship that easily. Besides, he liked a bit more sophisticated entertainment than rigged sabacc games at the nearest hellhole spaceport. Thus, his six hours of searching.

An unusual sound caused Fury to look up. The lounge doors cycled open for the first time in four hours and SGT Snake and MAJ Talon entered. After grabbing a cup of caf and a glass of Endrolian ground apple juice, repectively, they made there way over to his table.

"Aren't you off ship yet Fury?" asked Talon.

"No sir. I'm actually looking for a nice place to go and relax. Do some gambling, climbing, deep a deep tissue massage by a Twilek girl with huge lekku...you know, a real vacation."

"Ah...sounds interesting," responded Snake. "The major and I were discussing the same thing. Seems the Navy may be getting similar leave orders soon and we were hoping to see if we could grab some pilots and see what trouble we could cause elsewhere."

"Exactly. Find any good spots, Fury?"

"Well, yeah...just found this one and it doesn't look too far off of a key space lane. It's called Spira...apparently used to be a really posh resort in the heyday of the Empire. Seems to have gotten a little run-down since Coruscant was taken...not so many upper level Imperials nearby to support it like before. Bad for politics, but good for us.

Fury handed over his datacard. "It's about six years old, but a pretty good description. I got it from Planets Guide 2.5." A tropical pleasure world near the Inner Core. With very little axial tilt, and almost no dangerous native life, Spira is one of the most popular vacation destinations among the wealthy Core World citizens. The planet is almost entirely covered by a sparkling sea, broken only by small islands. Scouted by the Old Republic over a thousand years ago, Spira is now leased from the Empire by the Tourist Guild. Air traffic to the planet is limited to passenger liners and registered transports, and personal weapons are forbidden. Spira's mostly human population numbers only 500,000, and the Spira Security Police handle most local disturbances. Ataria
Island is home to Spira's major spaceport and its most exclusive resorts. Spectacular cliffs compose its north and west sides, and luxurious beaches can be found to the east.

The exclusive Aspre Plunge resort is built directly into Ataria Island's north cliff face, and it extends one hundred meters below the water's surface. Gamblers in the Aspre Plunge's famous casino can look out its windows and view Spira's colorful marine life. A small Imperial garrison is located near Ataria Island's spaceport. The Shinkai Abyss, an underwater chasm lying near Ataria Island, runs almost 5000 kilometers and is encrusted with sparkling crystal. Spira's large, predatory Camray eels inhabit the Abyss and make popular trophies for vacationing sport hunters. Spira's largest island is on the opposite side of the planet, and its southern cape is an intersection of dangerous ocean currents called the Point. A crashed alien spaceship of unknown age or origin lies beneath the ocean and is a popular attraction for recreational divers. Spira is famous for the annual Spira Regatta, in which yacht crews race each other around the entire planet in a matter of days. Underwater plant life includes lacy green seafern, and marine animals include the parasitic Galub slug.

"Hmmm...." murmered Talon, "seems kind of restrictive."

"That's what I thought too...but it looks like things have changed. The resort's there, of course the Imperial garrison is gone...and you can kinda get around the weapons rule too for 'a nominal fee'. Interested?"

"Well, sure...don't have anything better to do. We just grab enough people to cover the cost of a suite or two and this should be really manageable. Snake? You in?"

"Sure. I've been in sick bay so long I forgot what the outside world looked like. Let's finish our drinks and see if any pilots want in on this.

"Hey, I say that new trooper Mulat pacing the halls a while back. Hey's had a couple paychecks and a promo. Think he'd like to tag along too. Be a better treat than getting beat up in a starport bar."

"Good idea Snake. Ask him if you wish. I'll see if General Athran is generous enough to loan out some swoops. Fury, see if you can find out a little bit more about this place. We'll have to sell this to whoever does the flying for us."

"Sure thing sir."

------------------
SGM Fury
PLT XO/SGM Fury/1PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1REG/TF Devastator/VEA/VE [IOC]

posted January 15, 2001 09:08 PM               

Talon returned the smile and said, "Not much. Here to bug you."

Claw gave a smirk and replied, "Bug off. I'm trying to get everything on order. I still gotta get Daishi's stuff strait, and now pretty much the entire Navy."

Talon sat in a chair in front of the table and said, "Too bad. A bunch of us are going on a ten-day leave. Get a massage by some hot twilek girl... maybe finally get our tans back." Claw had a look of envy, damn you, and mouth watering all in one. Talon faked a sigh and said, "But if you want to stay and fly your desk, be my guest." and ducked a paper ball just in time.

Claw bolted out of the room before Talon could even say "See ya" and was out of site when Talon opened the door and looked out in the hall. Talon could have found him using the Force, but didn't bother as he headed to the officer lounge for some "mingling."

Claw left, laughing from Daishi's office. He had been granted leave from him and all that stood between him and 10 days of R&R was Atrus. He reached for the comm-pannel to Atrus' room and heard a "Yes?" before he even touched it. Claw smiled as he was expecting this from the Dark Jedi and was about to speak when Atrus said, "You may go... for now." Claw was about to thank him when Atrus mumbled, "You're welcome. Now leave me alone." Claw saluted the door and double-timed it to his quarters.

------------------
CoT/Major Sierra "Talon" Taurus/HCA-4/Erewhon/VEA/VE[BC][IOC][LoC]
CM/DJK Sierra "Talon" Taurus/VSD-II Griffen/VEDJ/VE[IOC]
TAC:A-FL-FM/LCM Vincent "Claw" Taurus/Elite Viper 2-1|Raptor 3-2/M-SSD Mustang/VEN/VE[=A=][LoM][IOC][IC2]
XO of the Elite Viper squadron
"Sakahn of Mission Making" -Daishi

[This message has been edited by Talon (edited January 15, 2001).]

IP: 64.45.136.20

posted January 16, 2001 04:33 PM               

The rest of the afternoon was spent cashing out some neutral credit chips...First Corporate Bank on Aargau in the CSA were a safe, obscure choice. The chips themselves were Imperial...but there were plenty of those in the galaxy. Special mission pay was a huge assist in deciding whether or not to make this trip. Even so, things might be tight.

Of course, once on Spira, Fury would probably be able to access his "extralegal activity" accounts he had maintained all these years. In short, every pirate skimmed off the top...some just managed to save that surplus instead of buying a flashy swoop and running it into a wall. Fury was one of those...of course he occassionaly blew his money gambling.

Hours later, credits, clothes, and some basic foodstuffs in tow, Fury was arranging his gear on a hover cart in a supply hold where the group had decided to meet up. From there it would be easy to move once a ship could be obtained. After a few moment a couple uniformed naval guards showed up with yet another cart with two crates. These, however, were not full of dewback bacon packets or shirts.

"SGM Fury?" A nod. "Check the manifest, inspect the items, and sign off here," said a way-too-business-like soldier. Fury opened the crate and checked off the weapons: seven small vibroblades, a crate of stun grenades, three QuickFire 4 holdouts, four DL-18 blasters, two DL-54 auto-blasters...and one T-6 Thunderer for Snake who usually wanted a blaster no one would forget. Also included were heavier weapons, three Stormtrooper Two's (as they were pretty general use), an E-11/H anti-vehicle blaster, a T27A2 Blackjack rifle/grenade launcher, one ES-23 Riot Gun, and a LJ-90 sniper rifle.

Fury had chosen these weapons because the less they looked like Imperial issue, the less hassle they'd get from what might end up being a pro-NR planet. Besides, these particular blasters used a similar power cell, of which much of the second crate was composed. Even though weapons weren't necessarily allowed on Spira...it never hurt to be ready. Everyone would probably drag their own party favors on board as well so the arsenal was probably overkill. Fury signed off on the receipt and let the naval personnel march off to whatever it was they normally did.

After securing the cases shut and moving the cart into the holding pen, Fury ran off to his next stop, the shipboard motor pool. Snake and Mulat were to meet him there and go over the available swoops and speeders hoping to find something quick, stable, and in good condition.

------------------
SGM Fury
PLT XO/SGM Fury/1PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1REG/TF Devastator/VEA/VE [IOC]

posted January 17, 2001 08:09 AM               

"Hey Malik!

We need a co-pilot for a vacation trip, are you interested?

g5"

He thought for himself: Why not, I don't have anything else to do!

After that he started packing, he knew that Fury had already packed the weapons for the trip, but he never left his quaters without his good old DL-44 and his Blastsword that his father gave him!

He got his stuff and walked towards the hangar, on his way he saw Fury.

Hey Fury!

Hi Malik, I see you've agreed to be our co-pilot.

posted January 19, 2001 12:54 AM               

Thus far clothes (sort of), foodstuff, and vehicles. They still, however, needed a way to get to Spira. As yet none of them had heard from Talon. After a quick stop in the barracks area to clean up and dress in some basic off-duty coveralls (which he should have worn to work on the swoops), Fury rejoined Snake and Mulat to deliver their cargo to the hangar bay.

Enroute to the hangar, Fury's comlink toned. Fumbling to discover which pocket he placed it in, Fury answered on the fifth intonation. "SGM Fury. Go ahead."

Talon's voice came through in an echo. "You're off duty, remember?"

"Umm...yeah. Never mind that. Where are you? Your voice sounds funny."

"Somewhere in the innards of this shuttle we've gotten. My cousin and I are doing a walk-through of the ship while G5 and Malik are doing a pre-flight and going through the paperwork end of the business. Now, there are parts of this ship I never thought existed. At least, us stormies never get to see them. You ought to come down and load up that gear...mine's already here."

"That sounds great...but where are you?"

"Oh...yeah. Damn! Not you...these frakkin' beams. We are in port side shuttle bay about three decks up from where the gear is stowed. Look for a spic and span Sentinel shuttle...designation VEN-1024-6-M...I think." A pause. "Yeah, according to Claw anyway. Shouldn't be too hard to find. We've got the lights on and everything."

"Alright. We'll be right there. You'll be sure to tell me why this took so long when we arrive?"

"Sure thing. Now, I've got to go play with a hydrospanner, so if you don't mind I'll talk at you later."

"Fury out." Comlink back in pocket, he shrugged and looked at the others. "Gentlemen...we are in business. Let's load our gear and get outta here."

posted January 19, 2001 06:21 PM               

As Talon stepped down the landing ramp he saw Fury and Snake with two swoops, slowly driving them up the cargo ramp. Talon hopped on one and started the engine. After a bit of sputtering it roared to life and he pulled up behind Fury who was aiming his swoop for the ramp. Talon could see g5 and Claw securing a swoop that was already onboard. Snakes swoop bumped the corner of the shuttle and gave the paint job a good roughing up, but the rest of the swoops were loaded without problems.

The seven friends piled into the crowded cockpit and played paper-scissors-rock to see who would be the pilot and the co-pilot. Malik and g5 won and everyone else cleared out of the cockpit to go to the cabin to strap in.

Back up in the cockpit Malik sat down in the pilot seat and turned when he heard g5 clear his throat. Malik sighed and moved to the co-pilot seat as g5 slid into the pilot seat. Dialing up the engines, g5 asked for clearance from the tower.

A small voice came from the speaker on the control panel, "Sentinel VEN 1024-6-M please stand by."

g5 scanned the controls a few times while he waited for a reply. He saw a big red button marked "panic" and he grinned as he though of what it could possibly do. His thoughts were interrupted by the control tower.

"Sentinel VEN 1024-6-M you are cleared for take off. Please be advised of the broken down TIE just outside the hanger door. So long gents."

The shuttle slowly and gently lifted off the hanger floor and floated out the hanger bay on its repulsors. As soon as it dropped away from the Star Destroyer the sublight engines ignighted and it streaked away toward paradise.

------------------
CoT/Major Sierra "Talon" Taurus/HCA-4/Erewhon/VEA/VE[BC][IOC][LoC]
CM/DJK Sierra "Talon" Taurus/VSD-II Griffen/VEDJ/VE[IOC]
TAC:A-FL-FM/LCM Vincent "Claw" Taurus/Elite Viper 2-1|Raptor 3-2/M-SSD Mustang/VEN/VE[=A=][LoM][IOC][IC2]
XO of the Elite Viper squadron
"Sakahn of Mission Making" -Daishi

[This message has been edited by Talon (edited January 19, 2001).]

IP: 64.45.136.7

posted January 22, 2001 12:18 AM               

"If you hit that button, the cockpit will be seperated from the rest of the shuttle. Now we knows what the empire thinks of stormtroopers, they can be replaced. "

"Maybe we shouldn't hit that button then"

posted January 22, 2001 12:28 AM               

For now, he was kicked back in the head gunners seat, watching hyperspace flow by in it's usual random patterns of lines and colors. At times a pinkish-purple bloom would pass by. Space lane ghost as the legends went. Fury had gotten to see a lot of the more large and tempetuous ones in his years running with pirate gangs near the Hapes Consortium. With a Nova-class cruiser on your tail, a proper approach on a regular-use space was out of the question. So there were always a lot of quickly routed jumps into many unknown and uncharted vectors. The entities the shuttle was in company with today were mere specks compared to the behemoths seen elsewhere.

In any case, it was kind of a trick getting on this lane. Both G5 and Malik were so deep into prepping the ship that they hadn't calculated the outward vector. After a quick consultation with Claw, with Talon and Fury going over their notes, a flight plan was posted. A scratched note was taped to the pilot's console with the Spira-approved authentication codes so that nobody had to dig for those when the time came. Planetary security command close to the Core usually subscribed to a "shoot first, ask questions later" policy if you weren't quick and correct in your answers to their queries.

Talon and Claw were playing a few games of cards...mercifully not betting for real credits when Mulat sat at the table. The young trooper was just know learning how good naval officers were in games of chance due to all the time they spent on alert in ready rooms. Talon wasn't too bad himself...maybe it was in the genes.

Snake was dutifully catching a fierce nap after dutifully exercising and getting ready for some of the physically challenging climbing that Spira offered.

For now, Fury had a light show and nearly no duties or responsibilites for the next few hours. He really would have to buy those pilots some drinks once they got planetside. A little nap wouldn't hurt before then though.
___________________________________________

Fury missed the whole damn authorization sequence...never mind most of the landing. Only a bit of atmospheric turbulence had shaken him awake. Those two pilots were not bad at all. Good thing they hadn't been attacked though...he was still strapped into the main gunner's seat.

Fury dropped out of the swivel-mount chair as soon as they touched down. He was eager to get out and see this paradise he had read so much on. Most of all, the promise of fresh air. After months either in trooper armor or onboard a ship, even a garbage skiff would smell good as long as it came with some form of natural breeze.

The big question was whether or not they would be able to actually get their weapons through customs. A plan was supposedly made, but Fury was unsure to it's success rate. They would find out very soon though.
________________________________________

Sorry if this came out awkward...I just noticed that Malik had posted too and merely did some cosmetic changes.
------------------
2LT Fury
PLT CMDR/2LT Fury/1PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1REG/TF Devastator/VEA/VE [IOC]

posted January 24, 2001 01:17 AM               

He straitened up and said, "Yeah, I guess not. Well, I guess I'm done. You guys have a nice day and stay out of trouble." After nodding to everyone, he headed out of the docking bay.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief and smiled at Talon.

----A Couple of Hours Later----

The door to the hotel room slid aside and Talon stepped in yelling, "Hey honey! I'm home!" and then tossed his bags on the floor next to one of the two large beds. Claw did the same next to his bed and jumped up, landing on the bed.

There was a knock at the side door that connected the rooms and Talon opened it to see Fury with a blaster raised at him with a wicked look on his face. Talon jumped, but didn't move. Fury broke out into a broad grin and holstered the gun saying, "I always wanted to do that. Everyone else wants to race swoops, you guys up for it?"

Talon looked back at Claw who was on his bed with his hands behind his head. Both of them nodded and the same time. Talon turned to Fury and said, "Sure. Be sure to remember your key cards because I'm not going to waste a sequencer charge this time. "

------------------
CoT/Major Sierra "Talon" Taurus/HCA-5/Erewhon/VEA/VE[BC][IOC][LoC]
CM/DJK Sierra "Talon" Taurus/VSD-II Griffen/VEDJ/VE[IOC]
Temp XO-TAC:A-FM/LCM Vincent "Claw" Taurus/Raptor 3-2/M-SSD Mustang/VEN/VE[=A=][LoM][IOC][IC2]
XO of the Elite Viper squadron
"Sakahn of Mission Making" -Daishi

IP: 64.45.136.12

posted January 27, 2001 08:57 AM               

After getting through customs and cleaning up, they had gone out to eat and simply relaxed for the first night planetside. Their first full day, the crew had grabbed their swoops and caught a transport to one of the larger, more deolate islands on Spira. There they raced and practiced manuever drills that they were really rusty on. So rusty that even the navy guys could keep up. After a few hours of that, they headed back to Ataria Island for a night of dining and catching a couple shows like all the other good tourists. Their second day, however, was a blur of diving, drinking, gambling, and more drinking.

Calling open the outer glass door, Fury grabbed a hotel datapad and started thinking about breakfast as he moved to the balcony to relax. Since it was one shared with the rest of the suites taken by the group, Fury could see that Talon had finally loosened up long enough to drink himself into a stupor and pass out in a chair. He did seem to be one of the biggest merry-makers last night. Honestly, Fury didn't even know Talon could sing, much less want to. He wondered whether or not to wake up his fellow trooper but decided against it. The guy needed to de-stress at some point and public embarrassment didn't help that process. Besides, he was out of the sun and wouldn't cook any more than he had the other day. Instead Fury would be as quiet as possible. While waiting for his food to arrive, he checked on any notes the others had left.

Hmm...Snake had finally gone out on his solo run and had decided on some high intensity trekking and climbing. Of course he also took the fastest swoop they had too. G5 and Malik were off doing some early morning diving. Mulat was off to do some early morning hiking apparently. Seemed to be a time for some isolated pleasure seeking. As for Claw...he was probably in the same shape as Talon. The cousins had joined Fury at the casino early on, but had headed out later for what appeared to be an evening of drunken debauchery.

Well, if there were no plans for the day, sightseeing made for a good experience. After getting...and finishing up breakfast, Fury had a few morning cigarras to start up the day and catch up with the rest of the holonews. Apparently there was still tension on Carida, which was in the same region as Spira. New Republic cruisers had just tried to enforce a blockade there, but planetary defenses pushed them off...as always. Though it was no longer the primary Imperial training center, it was a very symbolic Imperial holding and a point of pride for many loyalists.

The rest? Propagandistic NR pap. Fury shut down the service to avoid being charged for more sensationalist crap, showered, and headed out the door.

posted February 01, 2001 01:02 PM               

After they had walked a little while they found a nice bar.

They walked inside and got a couple of drinks, and played some pool! After a while some rodians and a gungan walked over to them, looking quite mad!

"Move from our pool table, you stupid humies!" One of the rodians said. "Ya boyos, mova awaysa from our paal table, you..." The gungan said. "We are in the middle of a game here so..." Malik said. "We don't care, it's our table, if you don't move we'll get our friends to help us move you!" The rodian said.

Then 8 rodians walked over to the pool table and pulled their blasters. "Move!" One of them said.

"Are you imps? because you look like imps, andwe don't like imps here!" One of the rodians said.

Malik and Mulat pulled their blasters!
"If we look like imps, then maybe we are imps! What are you going to do about it?" Mulat said. "Kill you" One of the rodians said, and shot after Malik.

Mulat shot back, while Malik shot the gungan. And then they both ran for cover.
"What are we going to do now?" Mulat asked.
"I don't know, let's hope they are to drunk to hit anything, because they outnumber us 5 to 1." They both fired a couple of shots and killed a rodian.

In the meantime the bartender had called the police.

Within 5 minutes the Spira police arrived at the bar and arrested the 2 brothers, and the 9 surviving rodians.

*In the prison cell*

"How do we let the others know we are here?" Mulat asked.
"I don't know, but I'll figure out a way to get out of here! I hope!" Malik answered.

posted February 05, 2001 12:41 PM               

Midafternoon found him seated at an outdoor food stall, sitting on a hard plastisteel seat eating some hearty soup with a tangy meat substance unlike any he'd had before. To be polite, however, he did not ask what it was. Besides, it was probably not too profitable to find out.

After walking around the various markets, shops, and residential areas, Fury had gotten a fairly good read on the local citizens. They were a fairly mixed bag as far as species went...probably something never advertised much during the Imperial administration. In that regard they were very anti-Imperial. A lot of looks headed his way because of his short hair and upright bearing. It was hard to shake the appearance and training that the Empire beat into you so successfully. However, since he was used to treating other species with respect, Fury was given the benefit of the doubt and not hassled. He could only hope the others fared as well.

Meal completed and legs and feet feeling the first twinges of fatigue, he dropped a few coins on the counter as a tip and headed back towards the hotel in the hopes of a hot bath and some games of chance at the casino. The early evening breeze was a touch chilly but not so much as the ambient temperature of a Star Destroyer. This calm climate would surely be missed by all.

Passing through the main thoroughfare, Fury noticed a larger than normal security detail and instinctively tried to blend in with the crowd. Tagging along with a quartet of obviously inebriated Devaronians, Fury got onto an elevator and headed towards his floor. As the elevator stopped at the proper level, Fury peeked over the shoulder of the passenger in front of him. Down the corridor were three hotel staffers with two Spira security personnel going through what appeared to be the room Malik and Mulat shared. Whatever those two had gotten into would soon affect the rest of the group.

Three beings got off and headed down the opposite direction of the security detail. Fury let the elevator door shut and took a few moments to think. The swoops had the majority of weapons and provisions. If he had to run to the hills for a few days that was an option. The other alternative was to scout out the rooms later...and hopefully find someone who could tell him what was going on. That was if everyone hadn't already been detained.

The elevator made it back to the main lobby. Fury got out and headed to the main bar. Suddenly he felt like having a drink.