[font=Courier New]Imperial SS Sector[/font]
[font=Courier New]Imperator Mk-V Star Destroyer Visectus[/font]
[font=Courier New]Physical Training Room Alpha[/font]
[font=Courier New]Imperial time: 0302 hours[/font]

[font=High Tower Text]His stance was low and contained in a small, low-profile posture. Contrary to this outward appearance, however, his emotions were running high…especially the ones related to stress and tensions. How he could continue to deal with the stress was beyond him; it seemed to him like everything--at least, on this side of the galaxy--was out to get him.[/font]

[font=High Tower Text]The problems were fortunately all limited to something he could effectively control, for the moment. Tianna was pissed off at him, because of the fact that he’d pulled her off of the deployment for the coming operation…and, due to the extent of her injuries, for the foreseeable future. He’d done the exact same to Ruby, for similar reasons, and taken a very low, hard kick as his reward.[/font]

[font=High Tower Text]And the absolute back-breaker of his entire week lay in an incident that struck him closer than anything else had ever been able to: betrayal…infidelity…the undying sting of shattered faith. He couldn’t, nay, wouldn’t believe it…[/font]

[font=High Tower Text]…But it was the truth, plain and simple, and the grief it caused him hurt to no end.[/font]

[font=High Tower Text]The only sounds in the training hall were the deceptively soft sounds of a furious man striking a punching bag with vast quantities of force, and the equally soft strains of a mournful, subdued rendition of the glorious Imperial March, their somber nature matching perfectly with the righteously angry man’s broken spirit. Oh, how he longed to have a living victim…perhaps, he dared to think, the one who’d wronged him so grievously.[/font]

[font=High Tower Text]As he began to swing himself into the next punch, there came a gentle knock on the door to the training room. It could have been anyone, really, though he could only imagine four people who, at this moment, would brave coming near him, and he could even further reduce that list. The biggest surprise out of those four would have been Captain Tribek, but even that wasn’t a long-shot, given who it really was. As the door opened, he could almost instantly tell, and he was quite unpleasantly surprised at exactly who it was.[/font]

[font=High Tower Text]…Tiffany.[/font]

[font=High Tower Text]“We’re not speaking,” he said, the controlled fury in his voice far beyond anything she’d ever been subjected to before. The hit still landed on the target, square and true, and it shook all over for a few seconds from the impact. Very briefly, as the punching bag shook, he locked eyes with her, staring without concern or remorse into the black gemstones in her head. No more words escaped him; just the aura of hatred that had developed over the past week.[/font]

[font=High Tower Text]He knew well already that she’d never cry over the issue; that required tear ducts, which her childhood surgery had taken from her. Still, she mimed the gesture well enough, and one could easily tell when she was truly sad. There was thusly, despite his hating her for what she’d done, one last thing he could do to show some concern for her: silently collecting all of his loose gear, he stormed out of the room, not even so much as touching her…if only to keep her safe. Had he remained in there a moment longer…[/font]

[font=High Tower Text]…She would have been hurt, immensely.[/font]

[font=High Tower Text]Without showing much patience, he made his way quickly to the briefing room, having already surmised that she had arrived to speak with him for that very reason. Whatever she wanted to talk to him about, though, could wait until he found out through someone else; he had no interested in speaking with her any further, and wanted so badly to put her through some insane level of torment, much like she’d done to him. It had hurt so badly...so intensely…it wasn’t something he enjoyed remembering, but it was so recent that he couldn’t help but think of it every waking second. Sighing, he stormed through the halls, even going so far as to push through a small grouping of some of the ship’s higher-ranking fleet officers to get where he was going. Of course, they didn’t seem to mind…it wasn’t that they had much of a choice in the matter at all, anyway. They could be upset, but it wasn’t going to stop him.[/font]

[font=High Tower Text]“Report,” he said as soon as he was in the room. His tone was brief, short-tempered, and to the point.[/font]

[font=High Tower Text]“Good to see, colonel,” his XO began, “that you feel it acceptable to come in out of uniform.” The preamble aside, Harlow got down to business. “We’ve been tasked with taking In’chion. Nothing special about that planet, as far as technological advancements go; they’re outdated really, much like Wakde. They’re in a civil war, but it’s something we can easily shift in our favor. The minority, which currently rules the planet, is made up of displaced refugees from Concord Dawn.”[/font]

[font=High Tower Text]Jarred almost smiled. “Didn’t the Empire kick their collective ass once already?”[/font]

[font=High Tower Text]“Yes, sir. It appears they need another lesson. Again, most of the planet is outdated, compared to the rest of the galaxy. The majority can be pulled to our side…and we can probably give them equipment that’ll make the government think twice about continuing the war.”[/font]

[font=High Tower Text]T[/font][font=High Tower Text]he grin that Jarred was suppressing about the campaign finally came onto his face. “Better idea, Harlow… Rally the troops, and prepare a fully detailed briefing on the sitauton. We’re going to fight alongside them, our way.”[/font]

About 10 Days After La Guerre a Combattu d'en Dedans

"Hey Pauers, looks like that shiner's finally startin' to heal eh?" 2nd Lieutenant Marv Flyn, the Weapons Specialist remarked.

Mezh met his remark with a sarcastic smile and slight nod as he walked through the halls of the complex.

It had been just over a week since Mezh Pauer joined White Squadron as the resident expert in stealth and assassination. Word of his encounter with Seler had given Mezh an odd reputation amongst the men (and women, of which there were two; Kimberly Kyjaa the Sniper and Joz Maize the Slicer).

He was met with an odd respect, yet the other soldiers were quick to keep their distance from Pauer. This fit Pauer's ends quite nicely, as he preferred to go the route of the loner. Difficulty pronouncing his name had lead to the other soldiers calling him either Mesh, or Pauers (sounds like Powers).

White Squadron was a newly formed branch of the SS, Mezh was brought in due to his extensive expertise in stealth and assassination. White Squadron was lead by Lt. Commander Nik Saunders and his second-in-command, Captain Jareld Wong the unarmed combat expert. In the chain of command, Mezh fell somewhere in the middle, which sat fine with Mezh, better to thrive in obscurity than to fail in the limelight.

Commander Saunders stood there hovering over a map of the SS's newest target; In'chion. As Mezh passed the briefing held by Saunders, Captain Wong, and Captain Maize, Commander Saunders motioned for Mezh to join the discussion. The two men, and one woman were huddled over the holo-map discussing every detail of their strategy.

"Pauers, come on over. How're the ribs? Sore as hell I bet." Commander Saunders said, not seemingly requiring a response so Mezh just nodded.

"Pauers, you've met Captains Wong and Maize." To which Mezh nodded in agreement once again.

"As you know we're hitting In'chion later this week, and we're hittin' 'er hard. Hard and fast."

"Yes, sir. I've read the briefings." Mezh replied.

"I'm gonna be callin' plays from the sidelines along with Captain Wong. That's where you come in son. I want you to be my go-to guy on the ground. I want you to lead this bunch of ruffians through the operation."

"Um... why me, sir?" Mezh replied, clearly surprised.

If Commander Saunders weren't in charge of the White Squadron, he might point out that Mezh's extensive background in stealth would be vital to the mission's success. But since he <b>was</b> in charge, he made no such concessions.

"You'll do fine, son. Captain Wong'll walk you through the specifics and get you up to speed." With that, the Commander nodded and walked out of the briefing room as the three junior officers saluted him in unison.

Captain Joz Maize shook her head seemingly in disgust.

"Don't fuck this up, Pauers. You may have taken a beating from Selere, but this is no bullshit. Our targets sure as shit won't have their blasters set to stun when they take aim at your scrawny ass." She said, as she turned and walked out of the briefing room.

"She's a lovely lady, eh mate? Definitely one to take home to mother." Mezh replied, still shocked by her outburst which came out of nowhere.

"Joz'll come around sooner or later. She puts up that tough chick defense to hide that fact that she's an old softy. If you were stuck in a squadron with 10 male soldiers, you might take the same approach." Wong explained.

"eh... maybe so. Anyways, on to business Captain. What do I need to know about this whole In'chion situation?" Mezh said, as Captain Wong clarified the In'chion strategy in greater detail since Mezh would not only be taking part in his first mission as a member of White Squadron, he'd be <i>leading</i> it.

This was not the way Mezh planned his first mission in the SS would go, but as he was well aware, plans changed. How the mission at In'chion went would succeed or fail in large part due to the decisions that Mezh himself would make.

[font=Courier New]Imperator Mk-V Star Destroyer Visectus[/font]
[font=Courier New]Briefing Room Thirty-Eight[/font]
[font=Courier New]Imperial time: 0330 hours[/font]

[font=High Tower Text]Perhaps the only good thing about a briefing was that it started at an even time. It was either on the quarter-hour, the half-hour, or the hour; rarely anything otherwise. That made briefings tolerable...or, if not, at least close to it. As the other troops from his command began to assemble, Jarred smiled; this was going all too well, for an assignment close on the heels of their last outing. That was making it, for once, worthwhile.[/font]

[font=High Tower Text]“Good morning,” he began, a small smile showing on his face. It would have been more visible, but Tiffany was in the room; he had no choice but to let her in, as he had no decent reason to remove her from the mission, even though he would have preferred avoiding the grief that it would have caused. Truth be told, he still wanted to deck her, as the pain of her actions still lingered. Instead, he did his best to just grin and bear it, revolting as it was. Someone, he begged silently, please, set this demon of torment away from me.[/font]

[font=High Tower Text]A small hologram appeared in the center of the room, displaying the planet In'chion. “This is our target. You've already been given the name, and relevant information concerning who's in charge. What you don't yet know is that the planet's pretty much backwards in this galaxy. The government has most of the high-tech stuff, which, according to our standards, is still outdated; not antique, yet, but getting there.”[/font]

[font=High Tower Text]The projector cycled through other images, including a train yard, and a dilapidated city center. “The planet is torn by civil war; you already know who's on what side. We'll be taking Phantasm I-B carriers to reach the planet and set down, and contacting the resistance movement there; one of our agents in Imperial Intelligence is already planet-side, and is waiting for us to arrive. Through her, we’ll be able to contact the resistance cell in our landing area, and meet up with the leaders in their organization fairly quickly.”[/font]

[font=High Tower Text]T[/font][font=High Tower Text]here was still that faint smile on his face, one that was both frustrated and proud at the same time, and it was hard to tell which of those feelings was dominant at any given moment. “If none of you have any questions, you’re dismissed, and I expect you to be in the landing bay within thirty minutes. Also, we’ll be working with another squadron of commandos for this mission: White Squadron, temporarily under the command of First-Lieutenant Mehz Pauer.” That name had been a particularly tough one to pronounce, compared to the endless slew of names that the colonel had been able to rattle off effortlessly not too many years back…some of them his own false names. “They’ll be receiving a similar briefing, and then they’ll meet up with us in the main hangar bay. Dismissed.”[/font]

Mezh was rounding the corner in the narrow halls, preparing to enter the briefing room where he would lay out his strategy for In'chion. He was a bit nervous that he wouldn't be prepared in the briefing so he wanted to show up early, but as he neared the room he heard a pair of voices which caused him to pause just outside the room before entering.

"Somethin' weird about that Pauers, don't ya think?" The voice said, clearly male.

"I don't know, seems alright to me, why?" The other voice said, this one male as well but wasn't quite as deep as the first.

"Eh..." The deeper voice said, hesitating a moment before continuing. "I don't know... I saw him the other day, not sure what to make of it..."

"You <i>saw</i> him? What do you mean you saw him?" The other voice replied.

"Well... I saw him..."

Before the deep voice could continue Mezh burst into the room, stopping the deeper voice which he realized belonged to 2nd Lieutenant Marv Flyn, who was speaking to Captain Ron Randleman.

"Randleman, Flyn. How are you doing gentlemen?" Mezh said as he walked past them and began to setup for the briefing.

"Um.. fine Pauers, we were just discussing..." Flyn paused, clearly not sure how to continue.

"Shockball, those damned Argonauts blew a huge lead at the last minute."

Mezh nodded, seemingly not paying attention as he focused on preparing for the meeting.

The two soldiers sat in awkward silence for a few moments while Mezh prepared for the briefing. Shortly after, the rest of the soldiers that made up White Squadron began to stream into the room.

"Gentleman," Mezh began and quickly stopped himself, "and lady..." He said, correcting himself as he acknowledged 1st Lieutenant Kimberly Kyjaa the squadron's resident sniper.

"Today we are going to be securing two targets. Firstly, the Train Yard..." Mezh said as he illuminated the holomap revealing the Train Yard in a bold red color.

"Once we secure the Train Yard we will make our way to their Anti-Air Weapon Batteries which will allow our own vessels to render their carriers ineffective. We won't be able to move in and take out the carriers until the Weapon Batteries are taken offline."

"Wouldn't it make more sense to take the Weapon Batteries first? Then we'd be able to call in for air support which would help us secure the Train Yard more easily.." Sol Roy, the expert in Electronics said.

"Typically, you might be correct in that assumption. However, the Weapon Battery is a closely guarded underground facility. It's situated in a bunker which can only be accessed by a train that runs once every four hours at eight minutes after the hour. So we have to strike quickly, but more importantly we have to strike <i>precisely</i> or else we'll miss our window and blow this whole operation."

"How do we get on the train?" Randleman asked.

"That's where it gets tricky. As we all know, the planet is currently in the middle of a civil war. The two sides to the conflict are basically humans and aliens, Devaronians mostly. The security officer at the Train Yard must be taken down, he is the only person who will have access to divert the track to the Weapon Battery via hand-scan. The system scans the officer's hand and will only change the direction of the train if there is an exact match."

"Can't we make a synthetic copy of the officer's hand and divert straight to the train?" Sol the Electronics officer asked.

"It's possible, but it wouldn't be very efficient. There are more than two dozen security officers that rotate stations randomly, so we don't know for sure who will be stationed at the Train Yard.

"We have to make sure that every phase of this plan goes exactly according to schedule, if the train to the Facility does not arrive by ten minutes after the hour, the Facility will go into lockdown. If we allow that to happen, then we're up Shit's Creek. Remember, the train arrives at the station at five minutes after the hour and will leave the station eight minutes after the hour but only if the security officer activates the controls."

"Why don't we just slice the system? Then we can board the train before it gets to the Yard, and I can control any train going in and out of the Yard. We can pass right through the Yard undetected." Captain Maize, the slicer suggested.

"It wouldn't work. Their system is border-line archaic as mentioned in our previous briefing. Any sign of a security breach and the system will go into lockdown. Also, the blast doors to the Facility only open once every four hours at ten minutes after the hour. The doors are controlled on a separate system within the Facility making it nearly impossible to gain entrance. If we had several hours for you to try and slice into the system that might be a viable option, but time is not on our side."

"So, how the hell are we gonna pull this off rook'?" 2nd Lieutenant Blarne Vil replied, addressing Mezh's rookie status within the SS.

"Lieutenant Kyjaa will be located on the roof, here." Mezh said, pointing to a spot on the map a few hundred meters from the Train Yard which had a full view of the Yard.

"Kyjaa will take out the security officer from her location. The security officer is the most important peice of this puzzle. I'll relay his location to Kyjaa from our location which will be here." He said, pointing to a spot on the ground in the southeast corner outside the Yard. We'll divide into two teams and come at them from both angles converging on the station. There will be Devaronian forces on location, but we have no way to know their numbers until we get on the ground. We are authorized to kill on sight, yet that is not our primary objective. The security officer <b>must</b> be taken down, yet all other personnel are secondary."

"So we just have to clear a path to the train, and obtain the security officer by eight minutes after the hour?" Captain Wong asked, seeking clarification.

"More or less, we actually only need the security officer's hand." Mezh said, grinning. "Right, or left, it doesn't really matter."

"So, once we board the train that's impossible to board, and set a course to the Facility which is impossible to enter, then what? How do we take the Facility?" Lieutenant Billy Newsome, the infiltration expert inquired.

"Well, Newsome. That's the easy part. The Devaronians are over-confident in their defenses, as they think the Weapon Battery Facility is impenetrable. So once we <i>are</i> inside, we'll have a few scattered security personnel to deal with and a couple of techs that run the Battery from within the bunker."

"Any questions, ladies and gentlemen?" Mezh asked, the room shook their head "no" collectively.

"Very well then, get ready for work ladies, we've got a train to catch."

[font=Courier New]Imperator Mk-V Star Destroyer Visectus<o></o>[/font][font=Courier New]
Briefing Room Thirty-Eight[/font][font=Courier New]
Imperial time: 0345 hours[/font][font=&quot]<o></o>

[/font][font=&quot]The Visectus was a proud ship, inside and out, maintained in every aspect of her design to be of proper, effective service to the Imperial SS. All of the equipment and provisions on-board were made to the department's exacting standards; all of the personnel were trained to comply with the department's equally-exacting procedures.[/font][font=&quot]<o></o>

The hangar bay was in no way an exception to this rule. Stationed within the main loading bay, in a picture-perfect arrangement, were various displays of the proud technological advancements of the SS: Hurikaines lined a far wall; Streikenders and Festung Panzers another. For this visit, however, the center of the stage belonged to a simple, ordinary pair of troop transports. Each one had a small loading cart in front of it, decked out with the gear each team would be assigned on reaching the surface...nothing more than a weapon and comm-link for each soldier, a ration-pack, and additional medical supplies for the teams' medical personnel. ID tags of all sorts were to be handed in as an exchange, to ensure that, should any troops be captured, their identities wouldn't be uncovered; under much the same pretense, all of the equipment provided had been screened by the intelligence contingent on the Star Destroyer before it was issued, removing all traces that could link it back to the New Order. After everything was set, it would be a short flight from the Visectus to the waiting pair of Phantasm Cruisers specially picked for this assignment.[/font][font=&quot]<o></o>

Placed inside the carriers, special suits of armor had been prepared for the troops being dispatched to In'chion. Much like the weaponry, it wasn't of a distinctly Imperial design; in fact, the suits placed aboard the two Phantasms had been designed more or less in the same style as Rebel Alliance outfits, dating to the days of the Galactic Empire under Emperor Palpatine. Of particular note was the open-faced design, which was relatively uncommon among Imperial armor designs; while it risked allowing the troops to be identified by face, should that ever come to pass, it alleviated the greater risk of their being immediately identified as Imperials. That, naturally, was the more important factor in providing it.<o></o>[/font][font=&quot]<o></o>

Each of the two supply carts carried a dozen suits of modified armor, and a dozen non-standard weapons: one cart for Blue Squadron, and one for White Squadron. Jarred was not surprised to see that his squad had been second to arrive at the hangar; given that White Squadron was briefed in a meeting room closer to the bay, he would have been sorely displeased if they'd not beaten him here. Saying nothing about it, he moved over to the enlistedman over by his shuttle's nearby cart, handed over his badge, and picked up the gear he'd need for the trip.[/font][font=&quot]<o></o>

[/font][font=&quot]At the forefront of the colonel's thoughts was an inspection of his weapon, which he attended to the moment he was aboard the transport. Like the armor suits that had been left for everyone on the assignment, Jarred's rifle dated to the first Galactic Civil War: a standard-issue Kashnir Arms KX-60, with one magazine already in the weapon and two more set aside as spares. A brief run-down showed that it was in working order; with that, the colonel smiled to himself, watching the rest of his squadron board the ship as the last few members of White Squadron climbed into the other one. It was time for the mission to get underway…and the sooner they got to the Phantasms, the better.[/font]

"Red Team, report in." Mezh said through the secure comlink attached to his ear.

"Red One, in position." Kimbely Kyjaa replied.

"Red Two, standing by." Billy Newsome said.

The members who had been delegated to Red Team replied, in order. It was the objective of Red Team to take down the security officer. It was the objective of Blue Team to identify the security officer, and secure the train while Kimberly Kyjaa eliminated him from her rooftop vantage.

Mezh made a series of hand signals to the members of Blue Team who were huddled up behind him, indicating for them to spread out into their positions.

Mezh waited exactly 49 seconds as he looked down to his chronometer which read, <i>16:02:30</i>. They had exactly 2 minutes and 30 seconds before the train arrived in the station which would leave them exactly 5 minutes and 30 seconds to get each member into the train.

"Blue Five, I need an ETA on that train ASAP." Mezh ordered.

"Roger, computing." 1st Lieutenant Sol Roy said as he viewed the incoming train with a pair of Neuro-Saav Corporation TD3.5 electrobinoculars.

"Blue One, I need you to make that target for me, time's running out." Mezh said through the comlink.

"Roger, scanning possible targets." Captain Randleman replied.

"Incoming train, in 2 minutes and 19 seconds and counting, sir." Officer Roy reported.

"Sir, I have a lock on our target. Human male, location 700 hours to the left of the train, below the watch tour. Target is accompanied by seven guards and up to half a dozen units stationed throughout the station, ready to engage." Captain Randleman reported.

"Blue Two, are you in position for extraction?" Mezh asked, it was Blue Two's mission to secure the hand of the security officer once he was eliminated, this was the single most risky position in the unit since the security officer could be killed while many of his security personnel remained in action. It was not by chance that this position was assigned to Marv Flyn.

"Blue Two, in position and standing by." Marv replied.

"Blue Team lock onto your targets, and report." Mezh made the order.

"Blue Three, good to go." Blarne Vil replied.

"Blue Four, on it." Joz Maize said.

"Blue Six, in position." Dan Marsh the Mechanics expert reported.

"Blue Seven, in position." The Medic Malek O'Sullivan echoed.

"Red One, do you have the target?" Mezh asked, the plan was about ready to be set into motion.

"Affirmative, sir. Ready to fire on your mark." Kyjaa replied.

"White Squadron stand by for action, in 5," Mezh began the countdown.

"4."

"3." The human security officer rested neatly in Kyjaa's sights.

"2." The targets were marked and ready for elimination.

"Mark!!!" Mezh shouted, as the first shot was Kimberly Kyjaa's which ensured the security officer a closed-casket funeral as the bolt tore through his head like a stray meteor thrown off-course.

"Security officer down and ready for extraction." Kyjaa said, as she began to pick off targets that were becoming visible from above the train station.

Several guards fell within a fraction of a second after Mezh's order, yet nearly a dozen still stood and now were alerted to enemy presence.

"Blue Two, move in for extraction!!" Mezh barked out through the comlink.

"Negative, Blue Leader. The zone's too hot!" Marv Flyn replied, as there were too many security personnel still in the area of the security officer's corpse.

"That wasn't a suggestion soldier, that was an order. Move in NOW and I'll cover you." Mezh said as he blasted a security guard with his rifle. Just three more targets stood, and only one was in a position to take down Marv if he made a run for the security officer's hand.

"Roger, Blue Two going in." Marv said, as he left his position of cover and charged the station.

"Red Team, stand by for inflitration." Mezh said as he saw Marv make a run for the security officer.

"Red Team GO!!! Red Team GO!" Mezh called out as he dropped another target via a blaster bolt to the chest.

There was just one more target in the way, and only Mezh could make the shot. He was the only security guard that could possibly take down Marv Flyn from that location.

Mezh lined up the security guard in his sights, he had a clean shot. Marv ran hard for the security officer, with no time to line up a shot at the security guard knowing that his team would have his back.

The security guard levell his blaster pistol at Marv, as the hulking man sprinted towards the security officer's corpse.

<i>Pew!! Pew!</i>

The sound nearly echoed through the small station, as the crimson bolts struck Marv like darts to the chest sending him spiralling to the hard surface with a dull, lifeless thud.

And just a moment later Mezh pulled the trigger himself several times sending a flurry of red fire which struck the security guard repeatedly, sending him first to his knees, then; to his death.

"Marv's down!!" Blarne Vil, Blue Three shouted through the comlink.

"Blue Three move in for extraction!" Mezh ordered.

"Blue Team GO!!! The coast is clear, move in!!" Mezh shouted as the remaining officers rushed the platform.

"Marv's dead..." Malek O'Sullivan the Medic said as he checked his vital signs.

"Blue Seven, get Marv on that train. We're not leaving this station without him, dead or alive nobody gets left behind." Mezh ordered.

"Target is in possession." Blarne Vil said, holding up the bloodied right hand of the security officer as the rest of White Squad gathered at the station.

Just a moment later, the train pulled into the station. With blaster rifles levelled, it was mostly a precuation as the trains were automated. The doors opened, and the officers quickly loaded into the train. The Medic, along with Captain Randleman had the corpse of Lieutenant Marv Flyn in tow. Apparently he was too big for O'Sullivan to carry all by himself.

As the officers all boarded the train, Joz Maize grabbed the severed hand of the security officer and scanned it into the console which illuminated green indicating a success.

<i>Train Departing in 1 minute, 30 seconds.</i> Was heard on the loudspeaker. <i>Destination, Planetary Ballistics Facility.</i>.

"White Leader to Base, reporting in. Repeat, White Leader to Base, reporting in." Mezh said, through his comlink.

"White Leader, this is Base. What is your progress." The voice of Lieutenant Commander Nik Saunders burst through the comm.

"Phase One complete, White Leader out." Mezh concluded.

The train had been taken and was set on its destination. Overall, phase one was a success with the exception of Marv Flyn's unfortunate, untimely death.

[font=Calibri]Getting in was hard. Captain Tribek of the Visectus knew it was hard. In’chion was a planet surrounded by both natural and man-made defenses that made it almost impossible. And the planet was particular about who actually was permitted to navigate the few safe routes in. Even traders were not permitted to fly through the maze of gravitic anomalies, black holes, electrical storms, and asteroids that covered every possible approach vector to the planet. And those within the maze were not permitted to leave without explicit government permission.[/font]

<O:p[font=Calibri]And despite the civil war, both sides recognized the need for this precaution. Well, most people on both sides…[/font]

<O:p[font=Calibri]A slight shuffling made Tribek turn his head. The informer stood there next to him, a ratty-looking soldier. Tribek personally had no use for spies; he thought them dirty and dishonorable. But General Vos had no reservations about working with them, at least so far as they furthered his own goals, so Tribek abode the presence of this thing on his ship.[/font]

[font=Calibri]Come to think of it, “ratty” was about the right expression. The man was small, with an elongated nose and two over-large front teeth. Disgusting. Were it Tribek’s call, this man would have been executed and recycled for food or fertilizer based on his looks alone. Not to mention his treason to his planetary government.[/font]

[font=Calibri]Still, they needed this man to get them through the extremely dangerous path into the In’chion system. It was strange, Tribek thought, that the entire system – star, two planets, and an asteroid belt – had somehow developed within this maze of danger. And people had evolved on one of the two planets. Or perhaps they had been deposited there by a starship wreck long ago. They had managed to colonize both worlds, develop some ingenious starship designs, and had set up a strong defensive system in the asteroid belt.[/font]

[font=Calibri]Then they had discovered, or rediscovered as the case might be, interstellar flight. They had developed algorithms that would allow them to navigate the In’chion Maze, as it came to be called, and they began trading with nearby planets. But a millennium ago or more, they had run into the Sith. As often happened with the Sith at that time, they had attempted to conquer the planet. The devastation was terrible.[/font]

[font=Calibri]The In’chion natives had managed to defend themselves, but from that time on the algorithms for the Maze became the most closely guarded state secret of the system. For over a thousand years, only those with the highest security clearance were given access to the Maze, and few were permitted outside it.[/font]

[font=Calibri]And then came the civil war. One of those who was responsible for piloting trading vessels through the Maze had joined the rebels, and, as the rebels realized that without outside aid they could not win, they had sent him to the outside for help. The first ships he came across were those of the Imperial SS. He had witnessed their actions at Li’eston and had quickly determined that they would be the ones to help his people.[/font]

[font=Calibri]And so the traitor ended up on the Visectus. The algorithms had already been transmitted to the Phantasm carriers, which had entered the Maze some time ago. Tribek wondered how they were faring.[/font]



[font=Calibri]Colonel Richard Dryfus was sweating. This was an unusual sensation for the usually calm and collected SS officer, but this mission was all about the unusual. First, they were relying on the word of a spy who claimed his government was extremely corrupt and failed to rule strongly enough for his tastes, and wanted the Imperials’ aid. Then his entire division – twenty thousand men of the Waffen-SS – had packed into this deathtrap of a ship – big, slow, with less-than-comfortable armor and armament, relying on supposed stealth to keep from being blown to pieces. Then they slid entirely past an enemy fleet – right under their noses, in fact – all too slowly for his tastes. Then they entered the In’chion Maze, a deadly labyrinth of black holes, electrical storms, gravitic anomalies, asteroids, and other such obstacles, in order to attack a planet already ravaged by war.[/font]

[font=Calibri]So far, nothing had gone wrong. But that didn’t stop the sweat.[/font]

[font=Calibri]Luckily for the Colonel, his helmet concealed the perspiration, and the auto-cooling unit had kicked in, whisking away most of the moisture even as it formed. It would not have done for his troops to have seen him in this state. A nervous commander made very nervous troops.[/font]

[font=Calibri]As the Phantasm carrier slipped silently along, slipping past the fighter bases on the asteroids, a new round of moisture broke out on his forehead. He swore to himself. I’ve got to get this under control, he told himself. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and focused. [/font]

[font=Calibri]The hard part was over. As long as the advance team had done their jobs, the capital city should be ripe for the taking. And if the spy’s information was correct, the rebel army would be marching in from the other side just as they landed.[/font]

[font=Calibri]Of course, with the communications blackout, there was no way to know whether either of those things had happened.[/font]

[font=Calibri]Dryfus started sweating again.[/font]



[font=Calibri]Inside the city, Special Agent Thyfur of Imperial Intelligence sat, meeting with the resistance leaders. To her right was a Devaronian, supposedly a general, though how an alien like him got to that level was beyond her. Especially considering he was just recently arrived from Concord Dawn. How the aliens had gotten in to the planet still defied all explanation. [/font]

[font=Calibri]To her left sat a human, a native of the planet. He was younger than the alien and a great deal wiser. As soon as she had landed on the planet, he had struck a new deal with her, one that suited her perfectly. Of course, none of the SS invaders knew the new plan yet, but given their history, she doubted any of them would object to it.[/font]

[font=Calibri]It was almost time.[/font]

[font=Calibri]The human, Myrl Onvi, pressed his hand to his ear – a comm was coming in. He smiled. “Report from the station. Apparently White Team has done their job.”[/font]

[font=Calibri]The Devaronian showed his teeth. “Good!” he commented. “Then we may begin moving our troops?”[/font]

[font=Calibri]Thyfur smiled and shook her head. “No, General,” she said softly. “Now you die.”[/font]

[font=Calibri]Even as she spoke, a hold-out blaster dropped from her sleeve and into her palm. The General’s eyes went wide, and he reached for his weapon, but he was too late. A quick flash of light, the smell of ozone, and a smoking hole appeared in his forehead. He toppled backwards, dead before he hit the floor.[/font]

[font=Calibri]Onvi smirked. “I never liked him anyways,” he said softly, nudging the dead alien with his boot. “You think we can pull this off, Agent Thyfur?”[/font]

[font=Calibri]She nodded. “I got a good recording of the General’s voice, and I’ve already made a synthesized recording of him ordering the Devaronian troops to disband. They’ll return to their homes, and when the SS arrives, well, executions will be swift. They don’t like aliens much more than I do.”[/font]



[font=Calibri]The first Phantasm entered the atmosphere of In’chion on the night side of the planet, its black hull obscured by the darkness. Slowly it descended; with no stars to block out, it only had to be worried about the moonlight being covered by the ship’s bulk. And with only one moon, it wasn’t a terrible chore.[/font]

[font=Calibri]Still, repulsors make noise. By the time the stealth transport had shut down its engines and rested on the ground, the roar of speeders could already be heard in the distance, ostensibly government troops coming to check out the disturbance. Quickly the first units disembarked, setting up a perimeter defense.[/font]

[font=Calibri]Colonel Dryfus’s regiment was the first out of the ship, the black armor of the SS units blending in perfectly with the night. Quickly, the commander ordered the portable jamming unit set up. The government, while they obviously knew something was here, wouldn’t know what. And that would be far better for the SS.[/font]

[font=Calibri]Next to go up were the E-webs, which should be able to take down anything the government had, at least according to the on-planet spy. Or at least anything that they would send to investigate a noise like this. The governmental tanks were still back at the capital, trying to keep it safe from rebels.[/font]

[font=Calibri]Then the speeders came on the scanners. There were only five – this was going to be a cakewalk. Dryfus smiled. Maybe this day wouldn’t be so bad after all.[/font]

The battle was over soon after it began. The defenders of In'chion, expecting to fight rebels, were shocked as their outer lines were overwhelmed by two Imperial Waffen-SS divisions. They were further shocked when they turned to find their leadership had been destroyed and their government buildings and city defenses were held by SS Kommandos. Confused and leaderless, they surrendered en masse.

With the fall of the planet, the SS gained access to the full list of algorithms for safe entry. The rest of the SS fleet came into the system and, seeing so many Imperial ships, the In'chion defense fleet surrendered. Thousands of Devaronians, the rebels from Concord Dawn, were summarily executed. The government was put back into the hands of humans, ones who favored the Imperials.

Free from the aliens who had plagued their society at the permission of their former government, the In'chion citizenry actually welcomed the Imperials. It took some months, but soon trade routes were established - routes that, while keeping the planet's location secret, brought new luxuries to the planet. Because of its asteroid belt and the small, gas-producing giant nearby, the planet soon reached a level of wealth never before dreamed of by the citizens. The minerals in the former and the rare and expensive gasses in the latter gave them a galactic-wide market, and in turn enriched the citizens...and the Empire.

Wes, of course, had his plans for the system. Secretly, supplies were ferried in, and construction of a shipyard began. This one would be different from Echtabahn's, which at best could handle a cruiser-length ship. This one at In'chion would be able to construct and/or repair Star Destroyers.

With the capitulation of In'chion, the first phase of Wes's plan for consolidation of SS Space and Oversector Outer was complete. The flow of Devaronian blood had cemented the Imperial hold in the sector for years to come.

End