Chapter 3: Archaic

[Princess 35]

Nima sat and started taking an inventory of her first aid kit. She was eplacing what she could and trying to find as many tranquillizers as she could for close combat fighting.

[Rogue 4]

Nat kept his jaw clenched shut as e cracked open one of the supply cases in the warehouse. As it slid open it opened to reveal a nice supply of powerpacks. He took out several, reloading the rifle he had and stashing the rest on an ammunition belt. "Orson, Adarra, Staal and Braenen, over here." He waved them over. "Take your fill, and ready up."

[Chickenman 9]

"You're forgetting Aeric," Aeric amusedly chimed in from over Aston's shoulder. He considered the small armory that the NRI had previously stocked the warehouse with. He selected a blaster rifle, backup sidearm, vibroknife, and a liberal supply of stun grenades. And of course, a bantha-sized helping of extra ammo. The fireworks would start soon. Nodding to his subordinates, he descended into a shadowy corner and activated his comm unit, trying again to reach Brier.

[Vergere 1]

Brier answered quickly, and before any of the men can take the comm away from her so she'd not get herself in more trouble. "Brier here." She glared darkly as the men shook their heads at her, even though they looked amused.

Edited January 18, 2009 by Marking Twain

[Chickenman 9]

Aeric was taken aback in surprise, not really expecting to have gotten through. He double checked to make sure the line was secure, then replied. "Brier! Thank the Force. I-" he paused again, not sure what to say. Instead, he said nothing.

[Vergere 1]

She smiled, and it made its way through the comm transmission. "Hullo, Aeric. What do you need, since I doubt this is a social call."

[Chickenman 9]

Aeric coughed. "How's your family? Are they okay?" He bit his lip. "I never meant to put them in harm's way. I'm sorry."

[Vergere 1]

Gently, "I knew it was a risk when this began. Don't worry about it. Zak and I are both hurt, but nothing serious. Nothing a bit of bacta won't heal later on. The house will take a while to repair, but it's not completely destroyed. We stopped the fire before it did much more damage. Just part of the job. How is the team doing?"

[Chickenman 9]

"The Team's good. Rearing to go. We've pinpointed Layla and Tak's position, and we're preparing to make the rescue." He paused yet again. "Forgive me. The squadron survived the melee at your house, but I didn't know about your status. And knowing that your family had been brought into the crossfire...I was a little distraught. Civillians, especially kids, should never be brought into war. I saw enough of that during my time is Spec Forces." He sighed. "The curse of Command, right? Gotta stow your emotions for the good of your subordinates. Not sure I'll ever get used to it. Anyway, so everything's okay on your end?"

[Vergere 1]

"Yeah. We got the kids off-planet when it started... only Wes, Zak, my father, and I are here. Everyone else has headed out. So we've been dealing with security forces and firefighting and all that lovely stuff since the fight." She paused. "I can't join you, I know. I can't put much weight on my leg - shattered it when the roof fell on Zak and I earlier... and we've been busy since. Is there anything I can do, or are you set for your mission? It's more important than I am, so tell me what you need done."

Edited January 18, 2009 by Marking Twain

[Chickenman 9]

Aeric shook his head, realized it was a stupid thing to do while holding a comm conversation, and instead answered "Nothing comes to mind, though if you can think of anything, I'd be happy to hear it. But overall, I think we're good on this end. Tend to your family for now. They're the ones that need you most."

[Vergere 1]

Brier shrugged at this. "I still have information available to me if you need it, and I have people, if you need more people. Let me know if you need anything, okay? Just because I can't join you there doesn't mean I can't or won't help you. Our computers are still up and running."

[Chickenman 9]

"Good to know. See you after this is all over. Aeric out." He thumbed off his comlink and stuffed it in his pocket. He still felt guilty over the whole fiasco, but he was relieved to learn that Brier and her family were safe and sound. Now he could finally focus his mind on the mission at hand. After maybe one more detour, anyway. He made his way over to Nat's team.

[Rogue 4]

Nat was distributing grenades to everyone to make sure they could make plenty of noise in their distraction so that the real team could go in and do what they came here to do. He understood that making sure they had a way out was important, but he was getting tired of being on the secondary mission team. He wasn't of course going to make a scene in front of the rest of the squadron. He looked up when Aeric approached them. "A few more moments and everyone should be ready, Captain."

[Chickenman 9]

Aeric nodded. "Excellent." He nodded to Nat's team. "As you were. Lieutenant, I'd like to discuss our strategy." Aeric began leading Nat out of the team's earshot.

[Rogue 4]

"Of course sir," Nat said, leaving Jya to make sure everyone was fully armed as he followed the Captain off to speak alone.

[Chickenman 9]

"I'm leaving the strategy of the hangar attack up to you, but I was wondering what you're planning so my team can better support you."

[Princess 35]

Nima finished stocking her first aid kit and moved over to the arsenal. She grabbed a large blaster rifle and a couple of smaller pistols. She slipped a couple more pistols into her first aid kit. She couldn't fit a small rifle in there, but she know that Layla would appreciate someone giving her a blaster when they freed her. She paused and then grabbed all the spare powerpacks that she could carry.

[Mara 29]

He nodded to Jya when she came up to their growing group before following the lieutenant over to some stacked cases. Kaden began stuffing his pockets full of power packs that would fit into the blaster he had gotten possession of the day before. And on a second thought, he grabbed a second blaster, this one a heavy pistol and stowed away some power for that one as well. When he ran out of pockets, he began stuffing full his carry bag with more power packs and grenades.

After Lt. Riamor walked away with the captain, Kaden headed over to another case and dug out a few ration bars and slipped them into his shoulder bag while the others continued arming up. He peeled one over and thought about what was coming. Distractions--this time he knew he had to come up with something better. And Kaden dearly hoped that he would be able to handle his blasters well enough to do some good. He glanced out the door of the warehouse, towards the clearing where he had set down the Headhunter. Taking a bite of his ration bar, he wistfully thought about the fighter and how he'd need to get it returned to Brier's estate after this whole mess was over.

Edited January 19, 2009 by Mara

[Bad furday 57]

Jya went through the supplies, choosing assorted explosives for the upcoming attack. She added some spare power packs for her blaster, just in case.

Looking into her pack, Jya reasoned that there was room for more. She reached back into one of the cases.

"Even if you don't think you'll need something, it's best to bring it anyway," she said.

[Princess 35]

Nima nodded at Jya. "I like the way you think."

[Bad furday 57]

Jya smirked. "Usually, my thinking isn't the fist thing people say they like about me!"

[Drake 53]

Takeshi lay on the torture slab. He vaguely remembered it being cold when he was first bolted in, then warmer as his own body's heat raised the temperature. Now, though, he had trouble feeling anything at all. The injuries he had received from his earlier beatings had faded beneath an overall numbness that had paralyzed his extremities and left the rest of his body relatively unfeeling.

Cale Sano's last couple electrocutions had taken the nerve right out of Tak. Literally.

Just give me a day...no, two. Three days of sleep. Then I'll show you who you're dealing with, Argos, Tak thought. He was grateful that his mind was still relatively unaffected by the shock. His mouth, though, was another story. When Cale Sano asked him a question, he had wanted to say, "Go to hell" but it came out sounding more like, "Goad who fell." Nice intimidation, Tak.

It was then that Deign Argos finally emerged from the shadows. He came right up to the side of the table and stared into his prisoner's eyes. Tak could read a face and Argos' was transparent. His facial features were warm and almost friendly as he spoke. Someone not trained in interrogation techniques could have been fooled but Tak could see the cold and cruelty behind Deign's eyes. He knew that, regardless of what the man promised, it would end in Tak's death.

"I apologize for the way you have been treated while under my roof," Deign began, sounding everything like a serpent-tongued politician. "I would have stepped in sooner but running an organization such as this requires my attention to be in many places at once and, of course, it also breeds underlings who relish in the suffering of others. Sometimes it can be difficult to control."

Takeshi would have laughed if he didn't think he might drool all over himself if he did. Instead he forced his half-numb lips into a sarcastic smile.

Deign continued, unabated. "I have a fresh bacta tank and medical droid standing by. All you need to do is answer one question and I can have you healed." He paused. Those eyes sharpened their stare fractionally. "Why are you here?"

[Andy 60]

Aston picked up a few spare power packs for his blaster and checked the one that was loaded, before holstering the weapon. He grimaced at the state of his clothes and brushed them down to no effect; the ground-in dirt and bloodstains refusing to budge from the fabric.

He looked over to the others who were almost ready to go at this point, and did one last check of his backpack to ensure his datapad and other equipment was present and functional.

Taking a deep breath he prepared his mind for the tough task ahead.

[Rogue 4]

As the cold air at her back began to wake her, Layla could tell without looking that he wasn't there. She couldn't feel his body behind her. He wasn't holding her, he wasn't asleep. His body wasn't putting weight on the mattress, and his emotions were no longer making love to her sensitive pheromones. She didn't know why she had expected him to be there in the first place.

Maybe it was the promises he'd made before.

The promises... She groaned, slamming a pink fist against the bed. She should have known that he was lying. Should have known that he was using her. And how easily she had been used! If he wasn't here, then there were two possibilities of where he could be. She got out of bed and found her clothes, feeling shame, regret and remorse for the first time in a long time. It wasn't...something she liked to feel, and definatly something she avoided. As she dressed, she forced the feelings asside, not trying to analyze them.

Layla just needed them gone before she went out there and subjected her daughter to her emotions.

***

"Well, the plan was to enter the hanger and deal with the immediate threat. Once that's settled my plans were to secure the area around the hangar, and hopefully steal a ship carrying the transponder codes that should get us past the PSS."