posted January 11, 2001 02:28 PM               

������..
Three hours later in the temporary Army Headquarters
������.
General Crysus had a very intense look on his face as he explained how this battle will take place, �Okay commanders. We have our essentials set up and ready to go. They expect us to organize and take them on in full force. What they don�t know is that we already have our battle strategy planned. We will not allow them time to entrench themselves further into the civilian populace. Therefore squads one and two will punch at their main base head on. Squad three will flank from the left and Squad four will flank from the right. All trainees and reserve corps members will remain here to protect our main base from any surprise attacks. They have 3 main bases and we will be taking them all on one at a time. Our first target is their largest base and we are taking this one out first because I want to use it as our main base of operations. Get to your troopers commanders and await for my order to commence attack.

posted February 12, 2001 05:35 PM               

High Colonel Ghen stood next Anakin awaiting orders. The plan seemed very simple, they were to surround the base and take it from the outside. But some things aren't as easy as they look, and Anakin knew that. They had to move fast, the first base was crucial to how things going to be run after that.

"Ghen, I would like you to command the flank with squads three and four. I'll command the head-on attack, and will meet in the middle," Anakin said while staring out across the massive amount of troops. "Once we take the first base will need to transfer all of our equipment to the new base and move right into bases two and three."

He saluted the Colonel and walked over to the front line to inform the troops of what they will be doing. "Okay troops listen up, this is just like what you read about in your strategy books and in your training. I have gotten a final word from Crysus, so as soon as were ready will commence attack. Troops, make sure your equipment is on and blasters set to kill. I will give the order in a few minutes."

Major Anakin and High Colonel Ghen where escorted to their AT-AT's. As soon as everything was a place, Anakin gave the orders to start moving forward over the Comnet. The three teams split up and headed to their attacking points as blaster fire filled the air ......

posted February 12, 2001 10:26 PM               

He looked down at his newly-aquired blaster. Engraved on its side was his name: Seth Ixesis. He flipped it into killing shot as Major Anakin gave out his last orders before start of battle.

'Order through..'
Seth immediately hitched his blaster into classic firing position as he ran along with Mulat ,his squad running to fulfil their duties.

He saw a pirate running towards him, blaster firing. He was to be his first kill. Squeezing his trigger, Seth squeezed out the sound of the man's agonized breathing as he fell to the ground. War was 'Either I live or I die' and Seth chose the former. Gunning down pirates mercilessly, he brought down a group of pirates gunning down other squad with errless accuracy.

The sound of blasters and the smell of death was in the air, but Seth and his troopers still survived and successfully brought down their enemies. Together, they pressed towards the base from the right, their will in one force.

------------------
Seth Ixesis
Trooper of the Wraith Squad
TRP/PFC Seth Ixesis/4SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE

posted February 13, 2001 02:14 AM               

First, the Stormtrooper Corps was going into a situation with a full support load. An actual assault instead of a raid writ large. This meant that a lot of the usual supply concerns were out of the picture.

Second, this was likely the last time he would be directly involved in the action. As it was, MAJ Anakin and HCOL Ghen were holed up in AT-ATs getting their view courtesy of a battle computer. Necessary work, but hard to get a clear view of the battlefield inside a steel walker.

Third, he had actually gotten used to ground combat. Strange, but true. He would probably miss it...even if it meant a greater life expectancy.

Fury kept his channel open and looked at his crew. Squad 3 had gone through a few personnel changes, including a newbie, PFC Viper. He had no worries about the rookie though, as he had volunteered to take over operating the squad's PLX-4 missile kit. DarkLord had the CR-24 Flame rifle and his brother Jediwannabe carried the T-21 repeating blaster. Yillamien was still stuck with the squad's commo gear and Snake seemed in heaven festooned with every type of grenade that supply offered. The rest of the team had a more or less standard gear set.

"Alright. Gentlemen, your attention. The reason we have a lot of gear today is that the higher ups expect us to use it. These so-called pirates have had plenty of time to dig in and get used to this place. This is in all intent their home. Digging them out will be hard. That's why they pay us.

"Just push on through as hard as you can. Follow-up companies of regular troops will mop up any light resistance we leave behind. We are the left flank of this operation. Iron Horse and Panther squads are bearing the brunt of this op...we - and the Wraiths on the right - are here to corral the enemy before they run-off and mix with the populace. They do that and we have some hard guerilla warfare on our hands.

"So, keep 'em penned in. Destroy as much as you can without decimating the city. This is gonna be someone's home soon and it wouldn't look so great on the ol' record if we unnecessarily torched a few blocks of high rises. We've got a surprise ready for the defenses on the first base, so don't get too far ahead of yourselves. You'll notice the other squads have moved out. We are hitting the enemy lines at staggered times." He paused and waited to hear an incoming transmission. "That's our cue. Get on your swoops and be ready to move out in three minutes. Sprint forward two blocks and we'll hit our first heavy resistance there. Good luck men."

posted February 13, 2001 10:44 AM               

Sergeant Cosmic stared across their encampment. Hundreds of troopers' armors glissened in the sun. Cosmic held his Stormtrooper Rifle in both of his hands. This will be his second service to the VE...first the VE Civil War...now killing pirates.

He walked towards a group of troopers who were huddled in a circle...they were privates.

"Hey boys. Excited eh?" Asked Cosmic.
"Heck no, Sarge! This, for most of us, is our first ground assault! Weve never been a a real battle before!"
Cosmic put his hand on the soldiers' shoulders.

"It's all right, boys...but I will say one thing....it's vicious. Blood everywhere...arms...legs.........heads. They are scattered in the heat of the battle."

The soldiers stared at each other.
"But not to worry..if you can shoot your gun and actually hit the target, you'll do fine...Heck, in the last war I got artificial hands and legs! I was just a PFC then...I'm a Sarge now and got one heck of a punch!

The troopers chuckled at that. They heads were dripping with sweat...their hands damp and their backs wet....The heat of the war was already upon them...soon they will fight for their life on the battlegrounds of the city....

Cosmic walked towards some other soldiers who were feeling the same emotional horrors as the other group. Cosmic walked up to them and patted them on the back...but then.
"GET IN SHAPE MEN! IT'S WAR!!!"

posted February 13, 2001 04:20 PM              

As soon as he got in the zone,a pirate blew some guys head off from his squad.So he chraged him and blew him away" Jees, theese guys just dont know who not to mess wit"

posted February 13, 2001 06:27 PM               

Sergeant Cosmic paced back and forth in the EIH Squad encampment...thoughts of the cries of wars rang in his head...
His helmet was off but sweat poured down his face, even in the cool night.

Soldiers were cleaning weapons while mechanics checked siege cannons. Stormtrooper Rifles and Snipers and rocket launchers were being set in an Imperial tent. All being cleaned and polished for the sake of battle.

Cosmic pictured the scene of a dozen AT-AT's and AT-ST's stalking the city and striking fear into the hearts of their adversaries.
Cosmic sat on a chair and took a deep breath.

"Aah. No matter how cold the night is, nothing is as good as a good cool breath of fresh air..." Whispered Cosmic to himself.
Cosmic was wearing his shined white Imperial Armor. His Stormtrooper helmet was inside his tent, all shined and all.

His Stormtrooper Rifle at his side, just in case the pirates made a sneak attack. The lookout tower loomed in front of him. Two Imperial soldiers stood guard with rocket launchers, snipers, and the old fashioned Stormtrooper Rifle.

Cosmic stared up at the glistening moon above him...thinking that in just a few hours, maybe a day or two, there would be bloodshed across the city...under the moons glow, the victor shall stand....holding his weapon in hand, overlooking the battle he has just won.

Sergeant Cosmic wondered if that will be him...when.....and where will his day come......

posted February 13, 2001 10:22 PM               

'Who would think that troopers would actually be able to blast with music?' Seth though as he shot down another bunch of careless pirates caughts with their pants down. Literally. 'Note 1) Always go to the loo before battle.' Seth snickered as his merciless blasted them.

'C'mon, lets get them to their knees!'
Seth was grinning away. This battle's gonna be fun.

---Back at Base---
Seth whipped off his helmet to catch a breather and wiped his sweat as he though through the previous 5 hours or so. He couldnt count the number of pirates he killed...they shouldnt bunch up in such large numbers. It made killing real easy.

Seth added an ice-cold water to his suit. Who knows, it might come in useful.

Seth breathed slowly, catching his breath. He wondered when will satisfaction come ... winning a battle

'C'mon let's hit the grounds again! Seth gathered his items and ran though the door again for another round ..

posted February 13, 2001 11:57 PM               

After checking in with HCOL Ghen and analyzing platoon reports with both him and MAJ Anakin, Fury headed out to check on the other squad leaders. SGT Saden was fully in command of his group; with SGT Cosmic hitting pirates as fast as he could charge his blaster, it was a simple enough exercise. Corporal Mulat and MSG Japer gave their views with a smile. Japer was a cause of concern, being in command of a fresh group of rookies he had quite a challenge ahead of him. Enboldened by a universal sense of high morale, Fury finally allowed himself to sleep.

Morning came at 0430 local time to the sounds of TIE Crawlers advancing through the city proper to more securely pen in the enemy. Should anyone actually survive to get past the Raiders and Wraiths, they would face the task of getting past those behemoths. As for the lead elements themselves, XR-85 Tank Droids were up in the front lines, already lancing a barrage at hastily assembled enemy fortifications.

Still, however, no order to advance had been called. A humming sound that had been bothering Fury had grown louder, and was now discernable as coming from above. He looked up and around and now knew the reason for holding the line. When part of the raid that had captured both a VSD and a Maruader Corvette, Fury had heard that many pieces of NR ground assault artillery had been captured. This was the brunt of it...twenty-nine lumbering heavily armed Loronar MAS-2xB turbolaser systems. Twice the size of an AT-AT with the firepower of an ISD turbolaser with secondary laser cannon, these craft would be fully capable of knocking out any concentrated enemy emplacements, and knock out the shields to the main base. They would eventually fall to enemy fire, but until then, only small groups of enemy troops would trouble the Stormtrooper Corps.

As the first earth shattering blasts hit their targets, the order crackled throughout the corp..."Attack, attack, attack." Gripping his blaster and jumping over the barricades, Fury joined his brethren in a mad dash to the already smoking enemy lines.

posted February 14, 2001 10:46 AM               

An hour back, the encampment gave the order to push forward and fire hard at the enemy.
SGT Cosmic was armed with a stormtrooper rifle and a sniper. Other than that, he was unarmed.

SGT Cosmic quickly climbed the lookout tower and spotted the city about 2,000 feet away. On the tower was a radio intercept device...The soldier that was up here, keeping guard, was now in the briefing room, since this was his first major war.

SGT Cosmic took off his helmet and put on the radio's earphones. Static greeted him as he put them on.
The radio device should pick up anything from the city.....and it did.

SGT Cosmic heard a little static but then all of sudden, the static stopped, and a rough voice was heard: "All leaders and troops. Prepare to charge!"

posted February 14, 2001 04:58 PM              

Then his squad ran down the middle open firing at anything that moved. Japer himself wasted about 20 pirates. But then a pirate shot a power shell cross bow and hit japer in the shoulder." Get the ******* medics."

2 HOURS LATER

Japer lay in the base with a sore shoulder. He said if he don't get back out in the battle he is going to smoke till his eyes get cataracs.

posted February 14, 2001 05:17 PM               

Cosmic ran towards the main tents.
"All troopers and commanders! I've just intercepted a pirate message to charge and strike! We must prepare all defenses and get those weapons out of the weapontent!"

In a flash, soldiers and Commanding officers raced around the encampment. Sergeant Cosmic himself ran to the weapon tent and picked up a rocket launcher...( He was already equiped with a sniper and a stormtrooper rifle ).

He dashed back outside and ran towards a nearby rock...
Cosmic pulled out a pair of bynoculars and survayed the city. He spotted Squad Three already in the action. He stared some more and only saw a battlefield of laser blasts, explosions, and yelling.

Cosmic had a walkie-talkie in his belt, he reached down to make sure it was there...all of his weapons, except the stormtrooper rifle, were tucked into their holsters.

Cosmic looked beyond the battle, past the city ( a small city )and survayed the rest of the valley......
Cosmic's eyes widened as he stared through his bynoculars past the city....more pirates!

The intercepted message he got was coming from an army of pirates just beyond the city!
He quickly ran back to his own tent, grabbed his helmet, then ran back to his position behind the rock...

He stared through his binoculars at the army...Pirates were already in the city, fighting squad 3. A thought struck him.....

The pirates down in the city are fighting and attempting to make as many casualties as possible, while an entire army of pirates beyond the city wait until the pirates IN the city call out to them to attack...just when squad 3 is at its weakest point in the battle!

Cosmic quickly brought out his walkie-talkie and pressed the ON button.
"Sergeant Cosmic calling in to Main Base...I have just survayed the scene in the city...the battles going as planned, but I have encountered an army of pirates just beyond the city...repeat, I have just encountered an army of pirates beyond the city. Requesting AT-AT's and AT-ST's to come into the battle...This is an all-out emergency! Iron Horse won't be able to fend off all of those pirates! Repeat, send backup!"

Cosmic quickly ran back to the encampment and ran to one of the many hoverbikes parked near the encampment. He turned the engine on and listened as the engined whined to life.

Cosmic quickly picked up speed...30......60....90.....120....150...180....200 miles per hour went the hoverbike...
Cosmic's helmet was locked on and his weapons sealed in their places...he had placed his stormtrooper rifle in its holster so that he could have two hands on the handles.

He quickly rode towards Squad 3's encampment about 4,000 yards before the city..
He went through the entrance and was stopped by a guard at the near the entrance.

"Who are you?" Asked the guard immediately.
"Can't you tell by my Stormtrooper uniform?!? I'm Sergeant Cosmic from the Elite Iron Horse Squad! And you're interfering in an emergency message!

The guard quickly saluted as he let Cosmic by.
Cosmic quickly ran towards the Main Tent of Squad 3 and delivered the message to the current Commanding Officer.

posted February 14, 2001 05:45 PM               

He placed a light hand on Cosmic's shoulder until he turned around to face him. "Hello Sergeant Cosmic." They both gave their salutes, as Timber marched them to a semi-secluded corner. "I have been put in charge, temporarily that is, of Elite Iron Horse. TJ is currently on other duties and I have been left in charge. Now... we've got a few things to do, I know your in a panic at the moment, but stay calm. First..." Timber snatched the walkie-talkie from Cos's belt. "These are the most unsafe methods of communication, you don't even have to slice anything to get their signal. If your going to send an emergency distress call, then use a comm-link, and send it on a secure Imperial channel. The Pirates wouldn't have the time to slice it with such a short message."

"With the multiple messages you've sent, the proper backup will be sent out. We've got a bunch of troops that weren't supposed to be needed, but I guess they are. Now... let's get back with the rest of EIH and squad 2 and do what we were ordered to do. Second Lieutenant Fury is doing an excellent job with Squad 3, they will be fine. They've got scanners, and encrypted channels to pick up on the pirates. They know exactly what they're getting into, and they know how to get out of it, no matter the cost Cosmic. So, as my first order, get back with the rest of the squad and let's do the job we were sent out to do!"

Timber watched as Cosmic merely saluted, and headed off towards his hoverbike. Slowly, he wiped the sweat from his brow and shook his head with a light smirk. "2Lt. Fury... thank you for this chance. I wont let you down."

posted February 14, 2001 09:51 PM               

Sergeant Cosmic shook his head as he traveled 200 MPH on the hoverbike towards the EIH Base.
"I should have known better than to use those walkie-talkies to inform such a message!"

He swore at himself and then looked behind him, seeing that Timber was closely behind him..Timber gave a quick wave before returning to his handles on the hoverbike.

Cosmic returned the wave and then kept his eyes forward...His red armor glissened in the sun...Sweat poured down his brow from within his suit.

The day was hot...humid...making it hard to breathe. It was amazing that the pirates and squad 3 could keep up their good actions in this blistering heat!

Cosmic took a deep breath then let it out..knowing that he would be in an airconditioned room in no time.

Before he left Squad 3's base, he had made an incrypted message to EIH saying that he requested mini-incryption Commlinks implanted in his helmet, so that he may speak and no pirate could decrypt it.

Going 200 MPH on the hover bike, Cosmic knew that it shouldn't take long to go to EIH's Base 20 miles away.
He squinted his eyes as he saw the red tents of the base. The lookout tower loomed in the background...heatwaves coming up from the ground made the images look blurry...

Cosmic came into the lot of hoverbikes and parked his..Timber was right behind him.

Cosmic walked over to Timber as soon as he killed his motor.
"Thanks for the advice...I was so determined to get this message in pronto, I just didn't think."
Timber smiled.
"Humans make mistakes..." Replied Timber.

Cosmic pointed to his hands and legs.
"I'm not completely Human anymore."
That made them both laugh...

Cosmic and Timber went inside the airconditioned tents and told about the Commlink situation and about what to do about the implantments in the helmet of Sergeant Cosmic.

posted February 15, 2001 03:48 AM               

Kahljorn looked across to his friend and partner Elwapo, he had what the surronding persons did not; experience. Elwapo had the look of peaceful thinking on his face, almost as if it was just another day, and was about to get off duty and have a beer. Kahljorn knew his face was much the same.

Kahljorn and Elwapo's camp was isolated from the rest of the platoon, most thought it was because they felt animosity from the rest of the platoon, because of their past experiences.... but it was mostly because Wapo and Kahl felt seperated from the rest, like Children unto Adults. The few persons who were respected by the pair were high ranking, and obviously had experience... but obviously "Privates" like themselves couldn't be seen with high-ranking officers.

Kahljorn noticed the youngman first-- although the boy probably had a good five years on him-- and motioned Wapo towards him. The poor boy had been hanging around them for quite some time, probably since that small sparring session that Kahljorn showed all who was the best with a blade.

The youngman slightly inclined his head to Kahljorn and Wapo, "Did you hear the news?" His eyes widened at the oppurtunity to show that he knew what was going on.
Wapo looked at the boy and grinned, "What news?"
The youngman lit up in a bright smile, almost goggling like a school girl, "The attack has been ordered, we attack soon!"
Kahljorn waved it away, "Of course, we wouldn't be setting up camp and drilling so often if we weren't going to attack."
The boy shuffled his feet slightly, "I know, but it's for sure..."
Wapo seemed to be holding back laughter, "It's alright boy, thanks for letting us know. Have a seat."

The boy sat down between them, obviously searching for something to say, "Aren't you guys excited about tomorrow? I sure am, I can't wait to fry some Pirate scum. You guys don't even look interested, almost like you're waiting for tea time."
As Kahljorn shook his head he said, "War is nothing to look upon with exitement. It's going to be a bloodbath, a waste of lives, friend and foe alike. And looking forward to killing someone is almost the same as Murder."
The boy frowned slightly, then stood up. "Well, I have to go clean my rifle and get ready, I'll see you guys on the field."
The boy left with another bow of the head, why he did that, Kahl would never know. Not as if they were anything special...

Wapo looked at Kahl and smiled, "Well, looks like it's about time to get ourselves ready as well. At least the boy's smart."

Kahl nodded as he grabbed his rifle, cleaned and shined it. He had been through many battles like this, even fought against pirate's before. It was never a good thing to be unprepared.
As Kahl sat his rifle down, he nodded to Wapo, noticing he was finishing up as well, and said, "I'm going to catch a few winks before the big battle."

Wapo nodded, laying down to do the same.

--------------------------------------------
The first battle, front lines.

Kahljorn looked around, yet again noticing that lack of experience. Most of them seemed completely ready for what was coming, but wishing they were somewhere else. All of them had seen dead bodies by now, and all that exitement seemed to have drained away.

Kahl had noticed a while back that they seemed to be heading at a slight angle away from the main base. He thought it was kind of strange, and was going to speak up, but knew that it was none of his business. He figured his unit had been commanded to make sure nobody managed to retreat, or they could be there because...

To Kahl's left walked Elwapo, fingering his rifle, holding it upright prepared to release a volley of shots at any time. To his right stood the boy, he looked nervous, looking at Kahljorn and Elwapo to see what they were doing. The others in his squad seemed to be doing the same too.

Suddenly Kahl noticed a shiny object somewhere nearby, "Down" he shouted. Suddenly shots rang out, a ragtag group of twenty or so Pirates suddenly jumped out. A few of them armed only with long vibro-blades. He though to himself they must be severly under supplied, and not really battle-hardened. He could tell by the way they moved and held their weapons they were far from trained shoulders, they seemed even younger than those around him, but they had the advantage of surprise.

All this only took a moment, as he leaped into motion. Firing a few shots while ducking into a roll to the left, where a small hill stood; out of the corner of his eye he saw the two men he had aimed for fall, and Wapo's blast hit the two beside them. He noticed Wapo had thought the same as him, and smoothly tucked behind the small hill, and the boy had followed them, though he hadn't managed to let off any shots.

As Kahl looked around he noticed a few casualities, mostly those who hadn't taken action and noticed they were being ambushed, the ones who must've made it away were no where to be seen. He supposed they must've looked for cover as they had, but something better fortified than the small hill in front of them. Smart move.

The boy looked to Kahl and Wapo, obviously wondering what to do. He seemed to be trying to work up the courage to say something, recovering from the shock. Kahl noticed this and said, "Well, we're going to have to take them out, or they'll get us. I think we should split up, they obviously saw how many of us there were, and probably didn't notice how many of us got away. And since they were shot at they are probably panicing a bit, they probably thought it'd be easier... hopefully we can make them think we are more then we are."

Elwapo was probably thinking the same thing, but Kahljorn spoke on so the boy could understand completely, "Basically, if they think there's more of us here they'll be less likely to try to charge us, in which case they'll probably overwhelm us, especially considering those few that have the Vibro-blades, we'd be about even then... and even's never good odds..."

He could see the boy was ready to do whatever he was told, so Kahljorn put his plan into action, "Since I'm the quickest of us, I'm going to leap over there and grab those extra blasters, I'll throw two of them over. You and Wapo will use them to give the appearance that we are more than we seem. They probably don't expect that there's any more than one person hiding here, so they'll probably be a bit surprised, and may stand to try to shoot me, giving you an open shot."

Kahl took his helmet off, preparing to leap into action, "Here I go." He threw his blaster behind another hill nearby, one that was closer to where the earth seemed to run in a small ridge towards where the Pirate's stood. He leaped towards two blasters, landing and grabbing them in a smooth roll, as he got up he kicked another one towards his own, and crouched behind the small hill. He had heard the blaster fire and knew they had seen him, he threw the blasters back to Wapo, and grabbed the one he had gotten for himself.

Staying low to the grown, he rolled on his belly to the left of the hill, where he took two shots and rolled back behind the hill. He heard and saw the blaster fire this time, 'They must just be standing there thinking I'm an easy kill' he thought to himself, 'Wapo will make easy meat of them.'

As he rolled behind the ridge, he heard shots being fired by Wapo, and soon after from the boy. The familiar feel of death filled the air.

Once Kahl was close enough to the pirate's to really surprise them, he prepared to attack. He knew Wapo and the boy had at least taken out half of them by now, he could hear them screaming, and smell their sweat... feel their pain.

Kahl heard more shots fired from the Pirates, seemed like seven of them were left, he spurred into motion, jumping out from behind his cover into the open, shooting towards where he heard the shots being fired, he knew every shot had hit without looking, he also knew Wapo and the boy had leaped up and started shooting as soon as Wapo noticed the Pirates were surprised. The Pirates seemed more surprised by Wapo and the boy jumping up then they had by Kahljorn, they seemed in panic, not knowing what to do, they knew their time was here.

As Kahl stepped over one of the dead bodies he knelt to pick up one of the long vibro-blades. Making a quick inspection of the blade he quickly sheathed it, "These might come in handy" he said as he was removing his storm trooper armor to buckle the weapon on.
He noticed Wapo doing the same and the boy catching on quickly, though probably wondering what we were doing exactly.
"We've probably been seperated from the main unit, the rest have probably advanced while we were dealing with these" as he pointed to the dead bodies "we'll have to move fast if we plan on completing our mission, and since we're alone we can't afoard to move slow, we need to be quick, silent, and deadly. Hit them before they know we're there. Most groups will have greater numbers if this is any indication."

The boy nodded, not even thinking about denying what had been said. Wapo smiled at the boy, "So how do you like War now?"

-------------------------------------------
Some time later....

Kahljorn eyed the men ahead while fingering his blade. They were only a few feet ahead and hadn't noticed the small group yet. There were nine of them, all carrying Vibro-blades in hand and blasters holstered on the belt. These men seemed different than the rest of the Pirate's... Older.

After many small skirmishes Kahljorn had started to think, 'Geez, we've killed a hundred or so by now, they don't even seem to expect us. And the closer and closer we get to the base the younger and younger they seem. Was that a woman I saw in that last battle?' He had caught the suspected woman while she was aiming at him, and had set his blaster to stun and shot at her hand, hoping to disarm her rather than kill her. He noticed Wapo had done the same with someone who seemed no more than a boy. 'I wonder what's going on...'

But there was no time to think of that, because the group of men seemed to be getting closer, they'd notice them soon, no matter how deep the shadows are. Kahl motioned for the attack, Wapo was already ready and the boy quickly put his hand on the blade. Kahl had developed a small respect for the boy, he seemed to be learning quick and he was listening, that was all that kept him alive, although he had suffered a blaster shot to the leg, it needed to be treated, but there was no time for it now.

Once Kahl finished the signal to attack, he jumped up, charging and surprising the nearest foe, his blade leaped into his hand like a flame, cutting through the poor fool in a perfect slash before the enemy even had his blade out, the others had noticed him though, and had begun to draw their swords- if it wasn't for his speed that one would've gotten his swird out too.
Kahl was ready to meet the second foe even before his blade left the scabard, his foot angled precisely so he could pivet towards the foe and be prepared to take him down soon after. As Kahl lunged in with a quick thrust the poor man had just enough time to parry, while Kahl had been flowing into another stance, prepared to finish off the current foe and be ready to face his third.

As his third foe hit the ground, Kahl's blade-- having slit his foes throat-- was angled precisely above his head prepared to take on the oncoming foe, but he had turned in midstride towards the boy.
Luckily, Kahl had dispatched his three within seconds, so the boy had managed to kill one, while the other two were advancing towards him, while Wapo had just finished his first and was defending himself against two others.
Kahl knew Wapo wouldn't be able to make it over there in time to help the boy, and knew the boy couldn't defend himself, and probably wouldn't even manage a few seconds against them with his injured leg. He knew he was probably too late, but he also knew he had to try.
So Kahljorn sprinted as fast as he could, yelling at the boy to run, but it was too late... as the boy raised his blade to counter the closer foes blade, the others found his gut. Kahl knew the boy was dead.
Kahl jumped in between the two, a whirlwind of death as he anhiliated, the two within miliseconds, the two probably didn't realize he was there. Wapo's blade hovered where one of the foes heads had been moment before.

Kahl looked at Wapo and frowned, "Wars are so pointless..." Kahl said as he was wiping his blade on the bastard whose blade had cut down the boy.
Wapo nodded in agreement, "Of course, what an unfortunate loss... I was begining to earn respect for him."
Kahl looked at the boy, "As was I" he said.

----------------------------------------
Closer to the main base, and near the Army's main forces.

Kahl and Wapo proceeded precariously, they had seen some Pirate's, but had avoided confrontation. It seemed they were just civilians, one group even looked like a family. Mother, Father, Sister, Brother... they all look related, and you'd have thought they were on a picnic if not for the blasters and nervousness that drifted from them.
They had also passed some unarmed persons- these really did look like families- most seemed to be fleeing from their homes, not many seemed to be fleeing from battle....

Kahl could now hear the echo of blasters in the air, and knew the main forces were near, as they passed what seemed to be a dead boy- no more then thirteen years of age- they saw a Stormtrooper standing over a woman, obviously soaking in the feeling of victory as he held the blaster to her head, prepared to shoot. No weapon littered the ground near her feet, she must have been one of those who was fleeing her home...
Kahl roared and ran towards the Trooper, blade flickering into hand. The trooper turned towards Kahl, before a look of surprise could even begin to form on his face, Kahl's blade had knocked the blaster out of the Troopers hand.

The trooper seemed about to turn and run, then suddenly took in Kahl's shirt, pants, and boots. The trooper raised his hand to scratch his head, then realized he had a helmet on... "Hey, which side are you on?" the trooper said in a shakey voice.
"I'm on the side that protects the innocents, I'm sure the commanders would disapprove you killing unarmed civilans fleeing their homes. Where's the honor?" said Kahl.

The Trooper hesitated for a minute then looked towards his blaster.
Kahl casually moved his blade into a position so that he could easily slice the trooper's arm off if he moved too much, "Don't even think about it, if you value being able to shoot a blaster with that hand, that is" said Kahl, in a playful manner.
The trooper hesitated again, then dropped it.
"Now get out of here, now!" said Kahl, his eyes allowing for no games.

As the trooper was running away Kahl helped the lady up and looked at Wapo. Wapo nodded towards him and Kahl knew what the unspoken words were.
"Follow us, and stay close" said Kahl.

posted February 15, 2001 04:35 AM               

This mission did bring back memmories. Elwapo was a pirate before joining up in the Vast Empire, and he knew how pirates think.

He then cursed in his thoughts as he thought about the woman.. Kahljorn is to compationat some times... Maybe im comming to soft, he looked at the woman.. Were prolly going to get in some trouble in threatening the Trooper. He cursed again.

Whats done is done, Elwapo assured himself. He learnt that the hard way. As the trio walked on, Elwapo couldnt not think anything else but his next battle and what the future Leads for Kaljorn and himself.

END

Elwapo out.

posted February 15, 2001 10:34 AM               

Sergeant Cosmic walked over to the hoverbikes and saw them glisten in the suns light. The thought of war grew terror inside him...Even though he had been in many battles many times, the morale in him was strong, he still felt the coldness of death within him...having been so close to death himself...he knew what it felt like.

He replaced his stormtrooper rifle with the EIH's equipment. He now carried a heavy blaster and a vibro-blade.
He looked at the time on a nearby tent...12:05. Almost time.
He was handed a clipboard earlier saying that a boy was killed from a pirates vibroblade.

Squad 2 was also there...they needed more men so they took in civilians.
Kahljorn and Elwapo had fought bravely in the heat of battle...Sergeant Cosmic read this and smiled.

"Not bad for some new recruits." He whispered.
His blood red armor made him look like a human fireball...awaiting to explode in the face of its adversary.

His heavy blaster was 25 pounds in weight...hard to carry for long periods of time..
Cosmic went back inside the main tent and saw a bunch of leaders huddled over a map of the terrain.

"Ok, this is where Sergeant Cosmic saw the huge pirate army," said a man, pointing on the map.
"Here he is now." Said another.
Cosmic saluted...they saluted back.

"Were just overseeing the situation, Cos. Have a look."
Cosmic walked over and stared at the map...something caught his eye...it was in the middle of the city...it was huge! A huge building in the middle of the city! It dwarfed even the masive buildings within the city's perimeter.

He took a closer look...A laser turret!
"God! I think we could just turn the tide of this war!" Yelled Cosmic.
"What?" Asked a leader.
Cosmic pointed.
"A laser turret! We could take out hundreds of pirates with just a single laser blast, we could win the war within a few hours!"
The man smiled.
"HAH! Ok, I want arangements for Sergeant Cosmic to get to the laser turret in the middle of the city...I know that the city is full of pirates so they probably know about the turret...I want an armed escort to escort Sergeant Cosmic to that turret...I want a couple of Iron Horse troopers to go...they are better equiped with heavy blasters. God knows that it is way better than the regular rifle. Move!"

Cosmic ran with a couple of troopers to the hover bikes.
"With this, their laser blasts will never catch up to the speed of a hoverbike!" Yelled Cosmic.

They all got on and fired the engines..the engines whined to life and they speed off towards the city...

During Kahl's and Wapo's fight, a commlink sys (small ) was implanted in Cos's helmet so that all his messages were incrypted and sent directly to his coordinates.

God willing that they will make it towards the turret...actually, entering the city is a horror..

posted February 15, 2001 12:54 PM               

Already they had received reports of close hand-to-hand infighting. Without time to return to base, Fury grabbed a squad's worth of blasters from a group of regulars and sent them back to base pronto. Using two blasters, one set to wide beam stun, usually kept the enemy from getting too close. Snake in particular liked to daze an attacking group and then methodically take them out with a full power shot from the other blaster. Thus far, this seemed to be pretty effective. Stormtrooper armor was pretty good until you had to start reacting quickly to an unarmored assailant throwing punches and flipping kicks. Even training and experience couldn't overcome that reduction in mobility for long. Besides, the stuff was heavy after awhile.

Thankfully the overhead artillery was keeping the enemy's heavy equipment out of the action. Up ahead were many pillars of oily smoke that were likely to have once been artillery emplacements and hard-armored pillboxes and the like. Sure, waves of highly antagonized enemy troops weren't a day in the park, but it would have been worse with random anti-personnel shells dropping everywhere.

The biggest issue Fury could see was collateral damage. One of the larger points stressed during the pre-invasion meetings was the ol' "hearts and minds" lecture. Far too many civilian casualties had already been inflicted on the populace, and Fury just didn't need to think about gunning down angry old women and children running at him with sticks and stones. He signalled to the rest of the squad for some cover and ran back a block to the nearest regular army CP.

Pointing to a sergeant not doing a whole lot, he asked, "Who's in charge here?" The non-com pointed to a major directing other officers from a battle analysis computer that Fury would have killed for once they reached the enemy's primary base. Sensing a break, he cleared his throat and addressed the officer.

"Sir, we need to divert some of your men to keep the civvies away from the battlefield. Move them to the other side of the containing Century tanks and keep them there. Do not detain them...just get them out of my way."

Obviously the officer did not take well to getting orders from a lower officer. However, stormtrooper white beat out a rank cylinder nearly any day in the Empire.

He mumbled something that Fury chose to ignore, and responded, "Of course, Lieutenant, we are just now mobilizing resources to address that issue." A lie, but a good one none the less.

"Glad to here it, sir. Thanks." With that, Fury ran back to the lines, along with a string of canteens that a soldier had been filling. He would have felt guilt except that most of these guys where likely REMFs and this was probably the closest they'd ever been to a front line.

After distributing the water, Squad 3 moved forward and pushed back the enemy in an agonizingly slow, house-to-house, door-to-door sequence that gained them 200 meters in an hour and a half's time. Looking around, Fury understood the meaning of total war. While not as efficient at laying waste to the city with an ISD or two, this area was still a candidate for some serious urban renewal in the near future. And this was just the suburbs of their capital city. The other two bases were in the city proper. Dropping a two hundred story building was going to be a lot more destructive than fighting through a low level commercial district.

Fury took a break and let some of the regulars set up some makeshift fortifications. Beginning with the dawn, sappers would try to cross the gap between the two forces and take out any set positions that the VE had established. It took a lot more guns to hold the lines now, meaning that a break was now just a 15 minute time to catch up on platoon messages, take off and air out the helmet while shoving a cold ration into the mouth and washing it out with some tepid water. Fury hadn't even had time for a smoke in two days. He needed the oxygen flow more than he needed the nicotine. Well, that wasn't necessarily true.

Donning his helmet, he re-assembled with his team. "Anybody had enough?" he asked. Nobody took the joke. "Alright, the tank droids will be rolling up here in about half an hour. They will lay down a enfillade and we'll run through the gap. Command wants us at least a klick ahead of Iron Horse and they're finally making some good progress. SGT Saden seems to know his stuff and MSG Japer seems to have a couple of experienced recruits with him who are holding up their end quite nicely. That means we have to work a little harder.

"We're about three klicks from the objective. There are still twenty-three artillery platforms blowing the hell out of its defenses and shields. Basically, let's waste some of these freaks and get on with the mission."

Fury pulled out three thermal dets, set them, and whipped them over the rubble pile they were using as a shield. A couple of other troopers followed suit. With the explosion ringing through his helmet, he got up and jumped over the wall, hoping that the enemy still had their collective heads down long enough for him to reach their lines.

posted February 15, 2001 04:29 PM               

An Image flickered into view in front of him. It was Sergeant Timber Saden from the front lines. "Yes Sergeant?" Anakin asked.

"Sir, our troops are nearing the cities entrance. As we get closer and closer, we are running into more civilians. What do you want us to do?"

"As you enter the city, get rid of any resistance. Set your weapons to stun and capture every living civilian. If they resist, wipe then out. Nothing! is to stop us from not capturing this city, do you hear me sergeant?"

"Yes Sir" Timber replied

"Good, when you get into the main part of the city, you might want to watch out for cross fire from the flanking troops, don't get caught in the middle, when you have met up with 2LT Fury and LCOL Ghen contact me again. I'll be in to inspect the place and give the orders for the rest of the supplies to be brought down from the mustang."

posted February 15, 2001 04:39 PM              

1 Hour later
The troops where moving into the city and then they were attacked by many pirates. As the battle raged. Japer came zooming in at 200 miles per hour on his speeder bike.He came just in time. The pirates where starting to get a advantage. He rode in and firing with his built in blaster. He hit about fifty pirates, then his blaster ran out. He reached his squad escorting Cosmic." Hey guys,told ya i'd be hear soon" They finally won the battle and got in the city. As they were moving into the city pirate snipers where everywhere."Hey base,we need some AT ST's and AT AT's."japer said to base.

"Ok we will send them as fast as we can" replied the base to japer.

posted February 15, 2001 06:35 PM               

Cosmic was encountered by Fury on a speeder bike...His escort was just a few feet away from entering the turret.
"Ok," began Cosmic. "I want you"-Cosmic pointed to two troopers-"to go over there and wipe out any snipers you encounter. Fury, the rest of the troops, and I will go into the turret and overrun it. There should be litte resistance in the turret since all of the main battle is down here. Let's move."

Cosmic led the way with Fury right behind him. Cosmic's bright blood red armor was reflected against the turrets shiney walls. They entered the turret and stared around...
Cosmic had his heavy blaster out and Fury had his rifle out...all of the recruits were looking for something to shoot.

Cosmic stared at a bunch of computers and wires...and a stairway! Cosmic signalled them to follow up the stairway...Cosmic was in the lead, searching silently and steadily...stealthily they moved through the corridors of the stairway...then....

BOOM!

Pirates at twelve o' clock! Cosmic took them out with one pull of the trigger...smoke swirled from his heavy blaster...Fury had already aimed his gun and fired at a nearby guard.

Cosmic pointed to the sign on the door:

Cosmic motioned with his gun to Fury to get near the door...the recruits watched in awe as Fury and Cosmic worked. Fury quickly opened the door and Cosmic quickly appeared right in between the doors frame...He fired at a nearby guard....BAAAAAAAAM........BOOOOM! He shot a gun control man.

The recruits quickly swarmed the whole station and Fury and Cosmic walked in...guns at their chests and ready for anything at came upon them.

Cosmic walked up to the huge window of the turret...it overlooked the city.....and the army in waiting...
"There!" Cosmic pointed. "There's the army I saw through my binocs. They have what? Looks like two thousand pirates and a couple of dozen hover tanks and some heavy artilary. Fury, see how these controls work..I want to find the FIRE button." Fury nodded and started searching for a button...

Cosmic signaled Anakin from his comlink encryption.
"Sergeant Cosmic to Ani..come in...."

"Yo, Cos..I'm here."

"Rog, hey, we got a total visual of the army in waiting...looks pretty bad...I can see a heck of a lot of men out there...and tanks and heavy artilary...looks like they planned this well.. Since I'm in the turret, I can fire on them right now and save us a heap of trouble...They don't expect to have any troopers in the turret."

"Roger...Fire at will."

"Aye.." Cosmic turned to Fury...Fury gave a thumbs up sign, saying that he found the buttom to fire.
"Fire at will!" Yelled Cosmic.

A huge blast emerged from the turrets gunpoints...the whole turret shook as it fired. To huge laser bolts headed for the army..

WHAAAAAAAAM...BOOOOOOOOM...BOOOOOOOOM!
Pirates flew everywhere. Tanks and the artilary exploded into tiny pieces.
The army started to scatter.
Fury fired again...and again.....and again...He pressed the button nonstop now.

The whole turret was shaking.
Cosmic gave the signal to halt.
Fury stopped immediately and waited.

Cosmic brought out some binoculars and stared....the army was totally anhilated. Not a pirate or tank in site.

Cosmic gave a thumbs up...
"Excellent...we got 'em!"
Cosmic sent another message to Anakin.

"Anakin here."

"Hey, this is Cosmic...we destroyed those yellow bellies! They're all gone! Not one of them in site!"

"Great job...that will greatly increase our odds of winning...Anakin out."

"Cosmic out." Cosmic smiled.
"They wars almost won! All we gatta do now is wait until Anakin gets here into the city with his AT-AT's and AT-ST's and fires on the last part of those pirates...we will then be victorious!" The soldiers cheered and Fury patted Cosmic on the back.. Cosmic gave a quick salute to Fury.

Cosmic then had a though...

May the VE WILL be the one of the victory mound!

posted February 15, 2001 09:53 PM              

A medic walks in japer's room."Hello ja WHERE DID HE GO!!!" The medic searches for japer all over the base."This is medic 1 I repeat medic 1 is anyone there from squad 2?"

"This is private Kalnjorn of squad 2."

"Greetings has Japer came to the battle his room is empty"

"Yes he came on a speeder bike a hour ago he said he had a medical leave to go to the battle"

" NO YOU FOOL!!!! HE WAS IN TERIBLE CONDITION!!!"

"Well he went into the city looking for the turret."

" Ok, send the squad looking for him."

"Ok Il tell Elpawana"

In the city

The squad was looking in the city for Japer. They asked around and found out that japer was in the midle of alot of pirates open firing. As they aproached they saw a stormtrooper lying on the ground. He was dead. They could tell it was Japer by the built in CD player. "They must fired the turret while japer was fighting the pirates" said Kanhjorn"

As the squad notified the base little did they know what was to come...

posted February 15, 2001 10:36 PM               

They were almost there. The City. He could feel it.

Suddenly he saw many troopers running about. All with the VE Insigna.

'C'mon! We are back with our men! Lets' run in and have some fun!'

Wraith squad started pouring from the right, blasting all the power converters, and the pirates' waking machines with their anti tank guns. Seth jumped behind a boulder, fixed his gun, took a careful shot at the machine, bringing it down. The machine crashed into another machines and they both fell into a heap, sparks igniting. Seth hurled a thermal detonator into the mass of durasteel. Pressing a button, the 2 war machines exploded into flames.

'2 down! Lets' get into the base!'

Wraith took a roundabout turn in the building, and invaded the base through the right back side, surprising the escaping pirates. Seth and his troopmates blasted their way through, with one shooting and the other finishing off those that didnt die within the first few shots.

Wraith successfully invaded the right back exit, sealing off one of the pirates' only escape, hoping that the rest managed to gain ground at the othre exits too...

posted February 16, 2001 01:27 AM               

Bootsteps echoed throughout the base as Seth, Mulat, and the rest ran through it. They run through when it is clear; they fight til thier wits' end when they are surrounded. That was how Squad 4 survive, and thats' how they will always do it.

Suddenly Seth rushed into a room and found a squad of pirates blasters' ready. Seth immediately rammed them down before feeling a searing pain in his left arm.

'Oh..no! I've been shot!' Seth signaled to Mulat, who helped him to finish off the pirates while he ran to a safe place. He looked at it. It was a rather bad gush. Seth immediately put a bacta pack over it, and breathe slowly. The pain subsided.

With renewed battle vigour, Seth ran once again into the battle scene, shooting down pirates and disarming them.

The battel raged on, and it is leaning towards the VE.

posted February 16, 2001 10:36 AM               

For the second time during this campaign, SGT Cosmic had come rushing up to Squad 3's front lines with an urgent mission and announcement of foreboding. Without even time to fully explain himself he grabbed a second blaster and a satchel charge from the Raider's emerging depot, screamed some excited diatribe about a life-changing turret and took off with a couple rookie troopers clearly following him.

Curious. Switching over to a squad leader band, Fury got a hold of SGT Saden. "Umm, Sergeant, I'm checking in on a possible unauthorized sapper mission. You have any clue what that could be about?"

A quick and terse reply came back. "Pardon my Futhork, but you're damn right that was unauthorized. You do whatever you want to do about this, sir. I just need those troopers back in the line."

"Received and understood, Sergeant. Fury out." He changed over to the squad channel. "DarkLord. 'Wannabe. Get your tails back here and help me chase after Cosmic. He's on some foolish heroic attempt and might actually get himself killed this time. The rest of ya hold the line. Our advance is to stop until we figure this mess out." Fury grabbed some regulars and sent them forward to hold their gains and went back to the depot for three speeders and some supplies. Vader knew how long this might take.

It took two hours to pursue and finally catch up with Cosmic. It was a tricky experience, shooting past enemy soldiers interspersed with civilians. A few near misses of the laser and vehicle ramming kinds would have ended the pursuit with ease. Throughout that time Cosmic had apparently managed to lose a trooper, leaving him where he lay. Fury got a shuttle to come pick up the wounded soldier. Upon arrival, Fury saw the young sergeant's objective...a large laser turret tower that would be ideal for laying down suppressing fire in a later part of the campaign. Unfortunately, today was not that ideal for it's capture.

He caught up with Cosmic as he was issuing orders to the two remaining troopers he had with him. With heavy resistance present, and more on the way, there was only one simple command decision to make. Once Cosmic initiated his op, everyone had to follow...it was too late to abort. "I promise you Sergeant, there will be a reckoning for this lunacy." yelled Fury as he layed down some suppressing fire for DarkLord and his flame carbine. He pointed to the two brothers. "Wannabe. Think you and your bro can hold down the fort here? We're gonna need a quick exit I think." "Sure this, sarg...uh, LT" came the reply.

"Good man. See you in a few...probably running for my life." With that, he ran up the stairs hoping to keep Cosmic alive so he could bust a new thought or two into his head.

As Cosmic and Co. blasted anything with a pulse that was not in stormtrooper white, Fury ran up the stairs after them.
Along the way, he had had to neutralize the few determined wounded enemy personnel that chose to put up a fight. "Great, first he goes AWOL. Now he forgets how to shoot straight." He managed to catch up with them on the main maintenance level of the tower, enroute to the control room. He yelled out over the local channel, "Cosmic, I don't know what the hell vein it was that burst inside your brain to conceive of this suicidal plan. I'm still really unsure of why I even got involved. But this is suicide."

Fury got a visual of the forces he had already seen on some overhead recon shots. As Cosmic managed to gain suppress the enemy resistance, Fury tapped him on the shoulder. "You'd better hope you can get this to work. It's about all the chance you've got to get out of hot water."

Cosmic looked at his with shock, not realizing the weight of what he had done. Contacting MAJ Anakin seemed to be his next move. Fury shrugged and found himself on the control board trying to work the controls. If he had to come all this way to assist this crazy mission, he was going to use it to the Corps advantage. "Sighting targets one thru sixteen...Yutrane-Trackata Attack Tank T3Bs. Lock...and fire!" The entire tower shook as cannons cycled and pulsed energy out towards their intended targets. Meanwhile, Cosmic was shouting commands out...damn, was he in need of some re-education.

Fury cycled in the next few sets of targets. Primarily he went for heavy equipment and supply/ammo depots. A lot of hurt was coming down on the enemy, and they were bound to send some of it back to this location. Fury started taking off the four satchel packs he had drug all this way and set them on a ten minute timer. He reached over and grabbed a couple thermal dets from Cosmic's kit as well.

"What...what are you doing sir?"

"Hmm? Me? Well, since we are many, many kilometers from our lines, I figured that it would be astronomically impossible for six troopers to hold this fortification for any longer than it took to get a platoon of seasoned troops here on a transport. We don't have the resources to hold it. It's not under our current objectives. You violated about five different orders just on the way here and I'm probably gonna have to justify why I was here at all myself. You screwed up Cosmic. It was a good idea, but not today, and not without running it past the chain of command. We don't have the luxury of picking our own missions. We are front line shock troops. That's where we need to be...on the lines, fighting the enemy.

"I'm not trying to be a hardcase, but orders do have to be followed. Your squad leader is now missing half his squad and I am sure he is not happy about it. My squad is also at about half strength. You have endangered our primary mission, which is to capture the enemy's primary base. We could lose this battle. Enough talking. We'll figure this out later. Right now, let's double time outta here before this place blows."

With another communication to DarkLord and Jediwannabe, charges were set at ground level as well, timed to coincide with the ones Fury had set. Without much incident, the two groups of troopers left the scene and returned to base. Along the way, the turret, missions completed, timers down to zero, was destroyed.

"Cosmic, I'm gonna let SGT Saden deal with this issue. I have my own reports to file but don't think you can go off and do whatever you wish. You have good intentions, but this is the army and there are orders and chains of command for a reason. Try to remember that from here on out."

With that, Fury went to the lines and the battle the VE had to win.

------------------
2LT Fury
PLT CMDR/2LT Fury/1PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1REG/TF Devastator/VEA/VE [IOC]

posted February 16, 2001 02:46 PM               

"Would you like to rest" Kahl asked the lady. She smiled, though the exhaust showed in her eyes, "No, I'm alright" she said in a young, chime-like voice.
As Kahl inspected the woman, he realized this was the first time he really got a good look at her. She seemed quite young, and through all the dirt that sweat had dried on her face, she might even be beautiful.

Wapo seemed to read Kahl's mind, they thought alike quite often, "So what's a young lady like you doing out in a place like this? And why was that Trooper going to kill you? Did you attack him?"

She looked at Wapo, with a distant look in her eyes, tears seemed to be forming in her eyes, but she shrugged it off... "I was fleeing my home... with my family. My mother and father died trying to escape the city, my brother was shot trying to escape that trooper..."
That would explain the boy that they had seen on the ground. Wapo read Kahl's mind again, "Why did he attack you though."
She shook her head, as if Wapo had asked why the sky was blue, "I don't know... he just... did... he said it was his orders..."

Kahl and Wapo looked at eachother, and shook their heads, 'Why would we have been ordered to kill unarmed civilians,' Kahl thought to himself, knowing the answer before he had even thought about it. The same reason their small group had been led away from the main force.
Kahl begun his thinking again, wondering what he was going to do when he got back to camp...

---------------------------------------------
Back at the base.

As the appraoched the base, Kahl and Wapo instantly found a suitable spot isolated from the rest of the base, on top of a small hill. They set up their camp, and began to cook some food for the woman.

Wapo looked at the woman, and pulled an extra shirt and pants from his belongings, "Here, put these on. You can wash up in the tent."
Wapo threw the clothes towards the lady.

"So what're you going to do, Kahl? I can only imagine what you're thinking." Wapo grinned at the last.

Kahl returned his friends grin, "Well, I'll start by finding out who issued the order to execute innocents. Then I'll have a talk with him."
Wapo frowned, "Don't go getting yourself into trouble... Well, I suppose you know how to keep yourself out of it... you've kept me out of it so many times. Well, can I expect you back for diner?"

Kahl began walking away, grabbing only the vibro-blade, "I'll be back as soon as possible."

As Kahl aproached the base, he questioned the first person he saw, "Who gave the order to kill civilians!?"
The man was of large build, and probably wasn't used to be questioned so sternly, he hesitated for a moment, then stood up tall with his back straight, "Why is that important to a Private like you? You just follow orders and everything will be fine."

Kahl fingered the vibro-blade, "Well, I suppose it shouldn't matter to me, but it'll matter to you if I stick this pointy thing through you... I'm sure you'll have problems standing up so straight for a long while."

Kahl stared the man straight in the eye, sweat began to glisten on the big man's forehead, and he shuffled his feat, "It was Commander Anakin, sir."
Kahl didn't look away till the man dropped his gaze, "Don't call me sir" he said as he walked away.

Kahl knew Anakin would have his personal At-At where he "Supervised" the battle located somewhere behind the main unit. So Kahl began towards the direction the At-At most likely be located. As he was leaving the base, however, the guards confronted him, "Shouldn't you be on the field already? And what're you doing with that Vibro-blade, those are illegal you know. I have it in my mind to report yo---" The guard cut off as Kahl stared at him with icy blue eyes.

Kahl smiled and brushed a hand through his blonde hair, "What's the problem again? This little thing?" Kahl removed the blade from it's sheath, "I picked it up off of some Pirate's, I'm sure it's no threat to you" Kahl said as he moved the point of the blade closer to the mans throat, "Hell, you could probably take me out with those blasters on your belt, that is, if you manage to pull them out before this goes through your neck." By now the point of the blade was nearly touching the man, and Kahl's voice had become quite hard, and the smile on his face had faded away.
Kahl sheathed the blade quite quickly, the guard jumped at this sudden action. Kahl began to make his way to his commander.

-------------------------------------------
Anakin's At-At.

As Kahl aproached Anakin's At-At, he noticed a good dozen Trooper's standing as guard. He also noticed they were ready to attack at any time, and realized this would have to be handled with finese if he was going to speak to Anakin.

As Kahl neared the At-at, the guards began to take notice of him, many pointed their blasters at him and asked him to identify, he ignored them all. He could see who was in charge here.
Kahl saluted to the senior guard, "Hello there, Private Kahljorn second squad. I've been asked by my Squad Leader to deliver urgent news for the commander!"

The Senior Guardsman- a captain, actually- began to eye Kahl suspiciously, he finally pulled a comlink from his pouch and whispered softly into it.
Kahl tried to pretend like he was a little boy, about to ride a big roller-coaster. The captain eyed him again, then began to speak, yet again. "Go on up" said the captain.
Kahljorn saluted the captain again, "Thank you sir." The experience of being meek seemed to make him sick...

As Kahljorn entered the At-at, he immediatly picked out Anakin from the guards. It wasn't the uniform that seperated him, or even the rank insignia; but the fact that he seemed "Old," experienced. He had obviously seen many battles.... This was one of the few persons Kahljorn respected. He was also fair with a blade.

Anakin stood up and smiled, though it never touched his eyes, "What's the news?"
Kahljorn returned the smile, "I'm afraid there is no news," at this the guards tensed up and held their blasters at ready, Anakin reached for a blaster, "if you could relieve your guards, I have a few things I'd like to speak to you about."
Anakin picked up the blaster and adjusted the settings, he looked Kahl straight in the eye, "And why would I do something like that? You may be trying to kill me."
Kahljorn spoke right over him, "Of course, or I could have killed you all as soon as I walked in, before you could even make a noise. These fools you call guards weren't even expecting something like that, and you didn't even have a weapon at hand. I guess you begin to grow careless when you have so many people protecting you..."

Anakin's eyes flared up, and he seemed to get angry, but only for an instant, then it seemed to float away just as quickly as it came, "Ah yes, and you were foolish enough to walk up here armed. Guards, leave me."
The guards moved as if they were going to refuse, then remembered their position. Once the guards had left the vehicle, Anakin spoke up, "So, what do you want?"
Kahljorn stood with a casual grace, at perfect ease, but ready to draw the blade in an instant. "Well, I heard you ordered the masacre of the civilians, why would you do such a thing?"
Anakin smiled, one of those smiles that never touches his eyes, "Well, they were resitence..."
"Ah yes, of course, small children were throwing dolls at the troopers? No no, you were taking away their homes from them, and you needed to make sure there'd be no resistence. 'Men should be either be well treated or crushed,' aye, commander?" Kahljorn spat the last.
Anakin seemed to have a look of deep thought on his face, then he spoke up again, "Have your forgotten your purpose on this planet...they are illegally here. They are in our home, and as long as they are here we will do whatever it takes to get them out..."
Kahl marched over him, "Yes, but there are better ways than taking others homes from them, that's called murder. And how were they illegaly there? 'It was given to us as a gift.' From whom? Who owns any one system and the persons who live there's homes? It belongs to all the persons who live there, not just any one. So who has the right to give it away on a whim?"
Anakin spoke with a calm voice, but it had the intensity as if he was yelling, "Did you come here to question orders, Private?"
Kahl ignored Anakin, "Also, why was my unit sent away from the main unit? Let me guess, with you hitting the front, and the others hitting the flanks, you knew they might try to escape along that ridge line between these units," Kahl pointed to the map on the table in front of Anakin, indicating a large gap, "you sent us there not to eliminate any resistence who might try to flank us-- they were all busy defending their homes-- but to pick off the civilians, and to make sure the rest of the, now, refugees flee out of the rear. The few units we met carrying weapons were sent out to scout the way and clear out any hostilities, isn't that right?"
Anakin looked like he was about to do murder.... Kahl spoke again, "And further-more, you were hoping we'd force everyone to flee out of the rear, that way you'd know where your *enemy* was. This way you don't have to worry about any guirella warfare. Once they have all fleed the city, it will be a simple matter to pick them off in their panic with the two flanking units.... And of course, you'll probably pick off the refugees too, the innocents, merely because they might pose as a threat later, and because you want everything to yourself. They've seen what you did to the other people, they don't want to be murdered by bastards like us, so you're probably right in believeing the refugees might pick up arms, I can see them rushing us with sticks and stones."

Anakin held the blaster in his hands, as if contemplating on using it, when the Captain popped his head up through the door. He felt the visible tension in the room, and could feel the ice and fire forming between the two men, he swallowed and asked, "Is there anything wrong, commander? What news is there?"

Anakin set down the blaster, hesitantly, "Oh nothing Captain, just seems there was a small problem with food supplies, it was resolved before he even got here. You're dismissed" The captain all but ran out.

posted February 16, 2001 04:23 PM              

" Greetings, this is Gabreil. Second in comand of the pirates. Surrend your army at once or be destroyed!"

Never! We will never surrender to pirates!" yelled Anikan

"Fine you will now face the consiquences."

Ater that war droids and all sorts of pirates started attacking the army. It was looking preety bad until a AT AT came along. Only it was much smaller and strange looking. It was locking onto all of the war droids and blasting them away.Then Anikan recived a mesage on his coment.

" Hey Ani.

"Hey Jap I thought you were dead! The blast killed you!

" Nope I just made it out. They did something real weird to my armor and I had to get out of it. So I took a dead pirate and put him in my aromor.Then I ran as fast as I could to get away before the blast. said japer
" Cool but how'd you get that AT AT? asked Anikan"

" Well,I rembered I had one custom made AT AT at my storage yards on Kessel. I have a hyper drive on it that can bring it anywhere in the galaxy. So I made it come here. So Here I am." said Japer

"Well this will help us a little bit. Now at least we can beat these stupid war droids and pirates"said Anikan

The battle raged on for about 1 more hour and then the war droids where finally destroyed. Then squad 3 heard that more war droids where coming soon. They contacted Anikan and he called for renforcements.

posted February 16, 2001 04:34 PM               

A tiny holographic representation of a trooper in the field appeard infront of Ghen. It glowed with a blue-white light. The figure standing there was Second Lieutenant Fury, Ghen's 2nd in command for the flanks.

"Colonel, we've almost punched through on this side... Our men are running into a few ovstacles however... seems to be mined over here. It may take us longer than expected to meet up with you in the city. Also a few civilians have showed up in the lines fighting."

"Any civilians that are armed are no longer considered civilians in the rules of war. If they open fire on your men, you may return fire. See you inside the city." HC Ghen said in reply to the report.

Ghen leaned forward too look out the front viewport of the gigantic walker. Battle progressing nicely. He turned to the driver, "Full throtle, let's punch through their lines NOW!"

Squad 4 ran forward right infront of the walker to battle the infantry. While the walker itself, was vaporizing one turret after another, making them into nothing but slagged metal, and the occupants inside into ashes.

"Excellent, victory will be ours very soon indeed." High Colonel Ghen 'Grassroots' Sexton said as wide grin spread across his face.

------------------
High Colonel Ghen "Grassroots" Sexton
Advisor to the Army High Command

[This message has been edited by Ghen Gr@ssroots Sexton (edited February 16, 2001).]

IP: 216.175.82.19

posted February 16, 2001 07:06 PM               

SGT Cosmic stared Fury in the face...finally he spoke through all the rage in his body.

"Fury, why do you critisize me for doing a heroic act? I just saved our soldiers from a fronton assault!!! If it wasn't for me firing that turret, the whole 2,000-men pirate army would have been invading us and not only damaging squad 2 but destroying it! If it weren't for me and these wonderful soldiers that have been trained so well, we would have surely signed our death warrants to lose this bloody war! Why do you yell at me for saving the lives of others from a dreaded army? Did you see the army coming? Ask Ani! I told him to come with his AT-AT's and AT-ST's..they're on their way now to destroy what's left of the pirates. If you think that I'm responsible for the deaths of so many VE soldiers, you're wrong...That turret blast couldn't have effect the people BEHIND it! It was firing forwards for God's sake! I saw it with my own eyes! YOU WERE THERE! YOU were the person who actually pushed the FIRE button! Sure I gave the OK order, but the turret fired...that is all. Listen, my intentions aren't to harrass you or to bug you in anything..I'm just telling the truth..I'm not just running around insane...I'm trying to save lives here...That pirate army of 2,000 men would have overpowered us and destroyed, maybe in the EIH! Now, with that in mind, try to think of an answer..." Cosmic stared at Fury for a long time...Fury didn't respond.

Cosmic turned and started heading towards some VE soldiers who were standing about 10 feet away from them, hearing Cosmic's every word.

Cosmic walked up to them and started issueing orders:

"Ok Privates, you and me are gonna go throughout this city on our speederbikes and search out any more resistance. Since I knocked out that army, we shouldn't have much...Remember, there could still be danger out there...keep an eye out for each other..." Cosmic motioned to move. They soldiers obeyed and Cosmic followed.

Fury watched in silence as Cosmic lead the soldiers to their speederbikes. Fury watched until they left and were out of site...within the city.

posted February 16, 2001 07:17 PM               

The slow and steady advance of the past couple days was made even slower by a couple nasty developments. Just as Fury received reports of a mine taking out a tank droid, PFC Yillamien managed to find one of his own.

"Frak! Alright, everyone hold." It was times like this when he missed Marko and his medical skills. Think quickly now. He had some battlefield surgery courses when told to fill in as squad leader. That made two of them in this group. "Snake, you and I are gonna see what we can do for him. Viper, 'Wannabe, cover us at three meter flanking intervals." He threw a comm packet towards Roach. "I just put in my encrypt code. I want a medevac ASAP and a scanning team next. In that order, don't let 'em screw you around. And get some damn regulars up here to do the scanning. We'll detonate, they just have to find them."

Snake and Fury ran up to the wounded soldier. Thankfully his helmet was knocked loose by the blast. They could hear his screams from forty meters as it was. He was in pretty bad shape. Carefully they peeled the armor off of his left arm, took a look at the damage and decided to cut off the limb and cauterize the remaining meat. The left leg may have been salvageable. Fury crimped some veins and slapped on a tourniquet while Snake worked at digging out fragments from the young man's chest. All the while, they had their helmets off and hands free.

Because of this, they missed the warning from both Viper and Jediwannabe. Their first sign of trouble was a shadow that crept up on their gear, followed by three more. A quick glance showed that both of their guards had been surrounded as well. Nearly thirty people, civilians it looked like, had gotten the drop on them. Most of them were armed with various slugthrowers, though enough carried military grade blasters.

One of them stepped up. "I'm not sure whether to kill you right now or try to ransom you for a ticket off this rock."

Fury's negotiation skills were rusty if anything, but nothing like pressure to bring out the best in a person. "Well, sir, you do have us dead-bang. The ball's in your court. However, I'm going to try to keep saving my trooper's life until you figure that out. No disrespect intended."

"Don't turn your back on me. You damned murderers, how dare you turn your back on me!" he screamed as he pumped three bolts in Fury's general direction. Two hit the ground with a puff on concrete dust. The third connected with Fury's backplate and sent him spinning.

Dazed and injured, he got up on his hands and knees and raised himself up. "Murderers? Whoa, I admit I'm part of an invasion fleet, but my troopers and I haven't intentionally killed anyone who wasn't pointing a blaster at us."

"Oh, so you're in charge too. Well, Mr. Mighty Stormtrooper, explain how a couple of your buddies down the way," he yelled pointing towards the main advance, "have managed to advance every step of the way while killing off anything that moved."

"Is that so?"

"Are you calling me a liar?" Once again the blaster was lifted in his direction. Frak, now what?

A squad of enemy troops took the opportunity to move forward, gingerly stepping in certain areas and avoiding others. If anything, Fury at least knew where the nearest mines were. It was up to the opposition whether or not he could make use of that info.

A ranking officer in a torn uniform and a bandaged head walked up to the civilian mob. "So, what have we here?"

The former banker, shopkeeper, or whatever turned a sadistic grin on his face and, with much glee, stated, "We've got us a few stormies that we plan to cook inside their shells. Gonna get 'em back for what they did to our friends and families."

The enemy officer looked over the situation and then made two clicks into his comm unit. About twelve to twenty enemy troopers raised their rifles at the mob. "Can't let you do that, sir."

"Wha...? Who the hell's side are you on?"

"Your's, I assure you. But we've been fighting against this particular group for almost three days now. They have been very careful in getting civilians out of the battlefield. This trooper in particular has held up his advance on many an occasion to let us get our wounded out of the way.

"They warned us this was coming. We didn't leave even though we knew better. They will probably win this battle, and this planet. But I'll be damned if I resort to being an animal and slaughtering people in cold blood."

The officer turned to Fury, Snake, and the now unconscious Yillamien. "What's your take on this?"

"Well, orders were to remove the civilians from the warzone. Maybe someone got bloodthirsty. I can't apologize for what I can't confirm on my side, but I would never condone that behavior. I will do what I can to clear that up on a more humanitarian level. No promises, but I'll try. As for anyone willing to get out of here, I can guarantee safe passage to an assembly point about thirteen clicks to the left of us." Fury looked around. "Not that I've got a whole lot of say in anything that won't get us all killed right now." He could even sense DarkLord sliding closer with his flame carbine. It didn't take a force adept to know that would take everyone out if Fury so ordered it.

The opposition officer thought for awhile and then spoke up. "Alright, here's the deal. Call it a one-time only offer from a concerned enemy. Any of this group who wants to join me does so of their own free will. The rest get to drop their weps and get a safe pass off the battlefield. You get to stay alive and get your trooper to seek whatever medical attention will actually work for him at this point. In addition, we won't seed any more mines if you keep those overhead artillery platform away from this sector for say a 48-hour period on both counts. Also, we both get a two hour lull starting from the moment we shake hands. Can't call it a cease-fire cuz we'd both get court martialed. Sound good?"

Fury looked at the troops present with him. Each nodded. Apparently nobody was into dying foolishly here. "Sounds damn good sir. As long as we can spend that time clearing some of these mines, we've got a deal."

"You want to set conditions you arrogant *** ," started the angry mob leader. "Why, I ought to..." The officer set him arm on the man's blaster and lowered the barrel. "Sir, I think we need you in the rear area setting up some resupply crates. What you fail to understand is that even four or five stormtroopers are fully capable of taking out a platoon of regulars like my men. Think of the destruction they could wreak upon you. Think of it, and be silent, for all of us.

"I agree to that one condition, trooper." The enemy walked over as Fury slowly rose to his feet. Clasping hands, they shook on a battlefield gentleman's agreement.

"Two hours" Fury reminded.

"You've got 'em. Good luck, Imperial."

"May the Force be with you, pirate."

The enemy snorted. "Yeah, that too. Be seeing ya." With another click on his comm channel the enemy force walked back to their lines. Fury assigned the re-emerging DarkLord and Roach to lead the thirty or so unarmed civilians who stayed to the holding area in the rear for transport elsewhere. That done, helped Snake continue treating Yillamien until a medic arrived, then took off his upper armor, applied bacta patches to his wounded back and finally, finally, lit up a cigarra while scanning teams looked for mines.

posted February 16, 2001 08:39 PM               

Seth charged through the enemy's lines, and squad 4 placed themselves in stratigic positions, blasting the remaining armed pirates before disarming them so that the pirates wouldnt be able to use all those resources.

Suddenly, there was a horde of people moving out. Our of pure instict, Seth raised his blaster to classic firing positions before he noticed that this group consists of men, women and children , unarmed. They were in a dazed and were stumbling after one another, and some children were crying pitifully. It painfully reminded Seth of the civil war in his home planet last time.They had to be civilians. Seth shouted,

'Hey, dunt shoot! They are unarmed!'

Wraith Squad stayed on alert while they let the civilians run off. Seth muttered, 'Good Luck! You guys will sure need it in war.'

Seth hopes Ghen wouldnt kill him for letting them go. After all, they were innocent.

Seth rushed into the building, blasting down anyone that isnt an Imperial and is armed. The sound of blaster shots sizzled in the air, and blasters shots criss-crossed in a brilliant green and red.

Suddenly, they turned at a corner, and was facing at least equavilent of 3 squads of pirates. Seth slowed, and started to blast his way through. Others followed suit.

When they managed to blast their way through without too much injury (The pirates were too afraid to shoot too much in fear of injuring their mates). Seth motioned them away and activating a thermal detonator at it lowest power, he hurled it at the group.

The group exploded, and Wraith Squad finished off the remaing ones. Seth grinned behind his helmet. Yet another couple down.

Wraith Squad was taking control rapidly of their battle grounds.

posted February 16, 2001 09:23 PM               

SGT Cosmic stood in command of about two dozen stormtroopers. All of them privates. He knew how they felt...scared...and unsure of what to do.

Cosmic motioned towards the hoverbikes. They all followed him and started their engines once they arrived.

"Okay people...No need to be afraid of about what were up to do. Were gonna scout ONE MORE TIME around the city and it's pretty safe." THe troopers nodded their approval, even though Cosmic sensed that they were still scared to death.

"Come on troops! Don't be afraid! In fact, the WHOLE UNIVERSE is afraid of the "white armor". Come on, they are only pirates and most of them are civilians."

THe troopers showed some encouragement but not much....the ride was going to be long.

posted February 16, 2001 10:45 PM              

Enemy Base

Once squad 2 arrived at the enemy base,they moved in attacking pirates. Then they found Seth and his men. They backed them up and started advancing against the pirates. Right when they thought they would never find the leader they cam across a door that read "Second Commander Gabreil

posted February 17, 2001 02:09 PM               

SGT Cosmic stopped his hoverbike and stared around...nothing in site. So far he had killed two armed pirates...that was all in the city...as he expected, low resistance.

He signalled to go back to were they were first parked...
When they got their, Cosmic stared around one more time...he had a feeling that something wasn't right...he felt...war....battle...elsewhere.

He brought out a mini-squad locater which he asked for (before) at the main base...he located squad 2...the little metallic voice came up:

Squad to in persuit of enemy pirates...coordinates are as shown.

Cosmic stared at the coordinates.
"Hmm." Slowly whispered Cosmic. He turned to the other privates. "Looks like our friends in squad 2 are in battle...let's take a look...actually wait...nah..not a good idea...with such little of us, we will be easily anhilated. Let's go back to EIH base and see what they have to say." The soldiers all nodded and started up their hoverbike engines.

Cosmic rode off towards the EIH base on top of a little hill...20....70..130...170...200 miles per hour...Cosmic's blood red armor was a little dusty but he didn't care...even though he loved his armor clean.

The privates were right on his tale. All headed towards the EIH base......

SGT Cosmic saluted as he walked in. They commanding officer saluted back.
"Good to see you again so soon, Cos."
"Thanks. It's not easy to stay alive in these conditions." Replied Cosmic. THe commanding officer nodded.

"I want to see if we can help out squad 2...they're fighting pirates in these coordinates." Cosmic handed the coordinates over."

"I see. Yeah..Looks like an enemy base...we've charted all of the known enemy bases that the squads report in...Sure, go ahead and help...Everyone needs a helping hand in this sort of bloody crisis."

Cosmic nodded.
"If I'm going, I want plenty of armed and trained men." Said Cosmic. The man nodded. "And you shall have them!" The man walked over to an intercomm.
"All hands, I want a mini-squad reporting to the main tent at once...Get your gear in order because you're 'bout to go out on a mission to help squad 2 fightin' pirates...Sergeant Cosmic will lead you...out."

Cosmic nodded as he stared at the map on the table.
"Looks like pretty tough terrain." Observed Cosmic. "It's nothing your hoverbikes can't handle. THe rocks are small but the clifs are noticable. You shouldn't have any problem getting to your coordinates."
"Even going at 200 Miles per hour?" Asked Cosmic with a grin.

"Heh! Heck no! You should NOT have any trouble at all...Go ahead."
Just then, a bunch of troopers with rifles appeared...Cosmic led them outside and to the hoverbikes...

Cosmic had his binoculars out and survayed the scene.
"Darn! A lot of laser blasts going on over there...we better get moving...looks like they're doing quite well but Heaven knows everyone needs a hand. Let's move."
Cosmic led the way.

A pirate who had his blaster on kill noticed a huge dust cloud just about a half mile out. He took a closer look...Hoverbikes! He brought out a mini pair of binocs...The VE Symbol! He saw about a dozen VE troopers, all armored in blood red uniforms...that could only mean one thing...EIH Squad. The pirate had overheard the color of the EIH squad from a previous soldier talking about them in the heat of battle.

"Good God look!" He yelled. "VE EIH TROOPERS ON THE WAY!"

posted February 18, 2001 12:53 AM               

The Wraith Squad was busily finishing off a couple of pirates when they heard stormtrooper boots stomping. Seth knew that it was Squad 2 as they had contacted them for reinenforcements. Wraith Squad was getting a little battle-worn, after fighting for 15 hours non-stop.

Squad 2 did a great job as a backup, finishing off the remaining pirates as they fired the deadly shots. The 2 squads pressed on, killing all the pirates' resistance and letting go off the innocent civilians.

Seth motioned to Japer, and shouted over the shots,

'Japer, I know that we have been fighting 15 hours non-stop since we were dispatched from Base, but other than killing those blasted pirates, we havent really done much.'

Japer nodded but said, 'I know, but you must remember that we have been only fighting at the outskirts of the base. Officers' rooms are usually found much furthur inside. Lets' move on first'

Seth nodded, and pressed his way through. Japer had been in the VE longer than he, and he guess that it would be wiser to take his advice.

Wraith and Panthers moved swiftly, sweeping down the corridors. The pirates were completely stunned. They underestimated the full power of the VE military force.

Finally, Wraith and Panthers successfully worked their way through to the middle of the camp. They charged into the roome, raiding it for any useful information that they can use against the pirates'. They were running down a corridor when Japer cried, 'Pirate Second Commander!'

Seth slowed down and brought the squads to a stop for a while. He strutinized the dust-covered layer, and cleaned it away with his finger. SC Gabriel....this was it. The result that they had been looking for.

Seth and Japer crashed down the bolted door, and leapt into the room, while the rest poured into the room, ready for some action. Japer and Seth looked around. No one. Seth's stomach gave a sickening leap. This is disappointing. He walked over to the desk of the Second Commander, and started a litle rummaging while the squads stood guard inside and outside the room.

'Meetings, Logs, Advertisements (They have advertisements here!), Menus, a Love Letter (Oh man, this guy must be a flirt!), advertisments for rubber duckies....what sort of nonsense is this!?!' Seth almost screamed through his helmet. Japer, who was standing by his side, shook with silent laughter. Seth was slightly pissed. He swept all the things to the floor, and looked at the desk again. This time, he caught the eye of something that looked rather important.

'Battle plans: Defence and Attack plans, Escape routes for different officers. Japer, I've got it!' Japer started excitedly and both of them poured over the maps and very detailed readouts.

'Second Commander will go to Shuttle Bay 1. Lets' do it!'

Wraith and Panthers ran through the corridirs at the fastest speed possible. Time matters a lot now, now they know that they might escape through air. Using the detailed map of the inside layout of the Base, they were soon at Shuttle Bay.

The pirates never knew what the hell was happenning. Suddenly, all they knew is that VE troopers poured in from the right side, and was blasting the sentries down. Seth and Japer ran forward and saw that the ramp of the shuttle was shutting. Seth ran and leapt up the ramp of the Shuttle and heard it slam behind him. He knew that he was alone for now. He must get that Do-do at all cost.

He proceeded cautiously up the ramp, sliding through the shadows.

---Outside the Shuttle---
Japer was going to follow Seth's suit, when he saw the ramp close behind Seth. Japer knew he had no choice now. He fervently hope that Seth would be able to bring back that commander. He would be a great information holder.

Japer returned to the current situation. Getting a beep from his Comlink, he turned his attention to it.

'This is Home Base. EIH has been dispatched to aid you in your current battle. They will be arriving very soon'

Japer flipped closed the Comlink. They can do with more help. Before they come, he would have to use the 2 squads to hold the large numbers of pirates at bay.

---In the Shuttle---
Seth slidded beside the door leading to the cockpit of the shuttle. He breathe and held his breathe. He knew what he had to do.
Slid up to that unsuspecting pilot and knock him unconsious before capturing the SC.

He leapt out of his hiding place, and hit the side of the pilot's head. The pilot slumped against the pilot's chair. Seth bounded him with some restraining wire, switched off the power of the shuttle, before proceeding on.

He circled round before jumping into a room beside the cockpit. There he saw a bearded man drinking whisky at a corner, when he saw Seth. He cursed loudly to himself and drew out his blaster. He shot at Seth, but Seth ducked, and the shot hit the wall, leaving a sizzling hole behind. The man cursed again and emptied a couple more shots. Seth waited for him to stop shooting for a while. He fixed his infra-red shooting vision on for higher accuracy. He stepped out, aiming for the foot of this man. He wanted his prey to be alive. He made it.

The man fell, and lay writhing on the floor, his face convulsed in pain. Seth binded him with the most secure handcuffs he could find and dragged him up.

He made it.

---Outside the Shuttle---
The situations was getting a bit tricky and numerous pirates poured into the Bay. They were as determinded to protect their leaders as Japer was determinded to capture the Commander. He hoped that EIH would arrive soon.

From the corner of his eye, he noticed some disruption from the right side of the Bay. If he wasnt wrong, the EIH was already making their presence known.

Hearing a yell, he smiled as he supported his squad to bring down the huge resistance. Red-armoured troopers started pouring in the Bay, bring with them total distructions of the enemy squads. The battle was decided. The pirates were numerous, but they werent as well-trained as the VE troops. One by one, they fell. In no time, the last remaining resistance in the bay was finished off.

Japer concentrated at the shuttle. Cosmic came and asked what the problem was. Japer said,

'Seth and I were determined to capture the second commander after finding his escape routes. We came here, and Seth leapt up the ramp just when it was closing. I hope that kids' fine.'

'He should be okay.'

Suddenly, the ramp blasted open with what could only be numerous thermal detonators placed at stratigic locations around the ramp. A billow of smoke came up. When it cleared, it was obvious that there was a trooper standing there with a bounded man in hand. Japer and Cosmic ran up and gave a hand to the exhaustic Seth as he pulled SC down.

'This man's damn heavy.' Seth said as he pulled down Sc with him.

Soon after, the man was sercurely tied, and Seth dispatched a couple of troopers to send their captured back to Base for intorrigation.

Seth, Japer and Cosmic continued fighting, their troopmates behind them.

posted February 18, 2001 08:25 AM               

sory I couldn't post more..in a hurry.

posted February 18, 2001 02:31 PM               

He fixed his helmet and took a deep breath..he was almost out of ammo...
His heart rate was skyrocketing.

He stared around...squad 2 was holding off a small raid of pirates...some troopers had been injured. One had a broken leg.
Cosmic quickly ran towards him and quickly brought out a long hankerchif that he had in his belt...troopers sneeze too.

found a long broken limb from a tree. He took out his vibro-blade and chopped it between the center so that it bake became a splint.

He fixed it a certain way so that the troopers leg was straight...he tied his hanky around the branch so that it would stay put...he knew that that wasn't enough to hold it...he searched for another cloth...ah! A dead pirate lay about ten feet away...his clothes would be perfect!

Cosmic ran and fired as he did...shots rang out...whaaaaaaaaam!
"Oaw!" Yelled Cosmic as he clenched his arm..he'd been shot in the left arm.

He quickly tore off a huge piece of pirate clothing and ran back to his mates.
He quickly tore up the clothes into long strips...he quickly wrapped some more to the leg......there..it was secure...all he had to do now was worry about his arm...Blood was pouring out, the armor made it hard to see.

He was starting to get faint...he was getting dizzy...he knew that if he didn't stop the bleeding soon, he would pass out.

He quickly ran towards the dead pirate, got clothing and ran back, avoiding the laser blasts.
He took off his arm armor and kept the rest on.
He tied the clothing to his arm and tied it tight!

He blinked several times...he stared around..fighting troopers were falling.
"N-no." He slowly whispered.
He remembered the commlink in his helmet.

"Sergeant Cosmic to EIH base, need assitance! Injured people here! I got a hit in the arm...trying to keep contiousness...please send medics and reenforcements...please...repeat, send medics and reenforcements."

"Roger that, Cos...Hang in there! Were sending help now!"

Cosmic nodded slowly to himself. He blinked again and started taking in deeper breaths.
He tapped a nearby soldier.
"Were getting in help...try to save as much ammo as you can...while they're on there way, we might have to fend off some pirates who are running towards us...save your remaining ammo for that." The private nodded and stopped firing.

Cosmic was laying against a rock. His head was safe because of the height.
He stared around at the ten soldiers behind rocks next to him. He knew that the pirates were either reloading or going to reload...it was a matter of time now.

Cosmic brought out his binocs and stared through the lenses...no one in sight yet...he knew that it was a ten minute ride on a speederbike going 200 MPH...he was far, far away from the base.

Cosmic took off his helmet to take a breath of fresh air...The air filled his nostrils and blinked....waiting for help...wondering if he'll survive...

posted February 18, 2001 05:19 PM               

But it wasnt the time to think. Pirates are still swarming like ants into the bay, and their current ammunitions levels are dropping dangerously. They might finish their ammo rather soon.

Seth glanced at his blaster as he took another shot at those blasted pirates. 15 % ....enought for them to sustain for quite some time. But as he looked around, glancing at his troopmates' tired faces, he knew that they would havta return for at least a while and let the other squads take care for a while.

He flipped his comlink and spoke to Cosmic, who was at the other side.

'Cos, I think we have done a bit, and I noticed that we have only 15% of ammo left. This amount would be able to sustain us from now til back to Base. I think we need to return for loading again. What's your ammo level?'

In came a static reply, '20%. Better call them. Get the speederbikes. You'll have right?'

'Nope, we came by foot.'

'By foot! Oh man, it's a miracle that you guys still have enough strength to stand, let alone fight...I guess we would have to get a bigger land transport...OUCH!'

Seth startled at the sudden change in the tone in Cosmic's voice. He must have been shot. Seth ran all the way to the other side of the bay, butting and shooting all the stupid pirates in his way.

He saw Cos sitting down, his left shoulder covered with blood, and dragged him away to a safer place while motioning to the nearest trooper to act as cover while he attend to Cos.

Cos muttered, 'I've radioed to them to get me, but it's a long way from Base.'

Seth took off Cos's helmet, and saw that his face was drained. Suffering from a loss of blood. He grabbed another bacta pack from his backpack and quickly placed it over the wound.

He laid Cos against a dented cargo box, and drew out his comlink. 'Base, this is Seth. You guys havta hurry cos Cosmic is suffering from huge loss of blood. A bacta pack has been used to lessen the pain for now.'

A voice answered, 'Base speaking. Bring Cos to right exit of enemy base. Get 2 troopers to cover. We'll arrive with the equipment soon.'

'Heard'

Seth shouted for another trooper to come over, and while he hitched Cos up his back, the 2 troopers covered him as they made the run back to the exit. The troopers managed to cover them rather well, and they made it back without much injury.

The transports had already arrived. Willing hands hitched Cosmic up the transport, and they left with a couple of other soldiers presumely hurt at the other side of the base.

Seth breathe and headed back to the heat of the battle again. This time, he let the remaining EIH members to continue the raid on the base. Wraith Squad went back to Base, looking forward to their much needed rest. They had been fighting for 2 days without resting.

posted February 18, 2001 05:40 PM               

The tired Wraith Squad troopers marched into the Base after making the long hike back. Seth had been right. They really needed the few remaining ammos as guard back to their Base. Seth noticed that his blaster's remaining ammo precentage was only 1%.

'1%...tis lucky we werent fried.' Seth chuckled lightly to himself as he removed his helmet and headed to the Lounge for a drink, and to the Ammo facility to top up his ammo plus a few wonderfully useful thermal detonators.

Then he headed back to his barracks for a snooze for 2 hours. It was heaven.

---2 hours later---
Seth woked up by the rude ringing of his alarm. He got up and cleaned himself before paying a visit to the injured Cosmic at the hospital facility and enquiring how the captured pirate commander was and whether he has been questioned yet. It was there when he met Major Anakin.

He saluted Anakin, and Anakin slapped his back and said, 'Hey Seth, that guy that your squad got was a hive of infomation, plus the papers you handed to us too. We now have a very detailed layout of all the 3 bases. But we have also found out something else. Apparently the supreme commander of those pirates had expected us to attack this main base that we are attacking now. Those pirates do have brains after all.'

Seth listened to all these in silence.

'Anyway, let's just capture this base first and then we'll decided how to handle the other 2 bases then. Anyway, I 've dispatched enough speedbikes for each and every one in your squad. Cos was telling me how you all actually trekked there and back!'

Seth laughed and said, 'It wasnt so bad after all actually. I guess we better leave now. Squad 2 should be really worn out by now.'

Anakin nodded. Seth gave a quick salute before running back to his barracks to tell his mates about the departure with addition of the speederbikes. Everyone cheered. At least they do not have to start fighting with aching feet.

They jumped onto their bikes, and sped towards the enemy base, their shadows creating a nice little scene as the sun setted to another day of fighting. But this war would still go on in the night.