Ilmus looked at Lexx. "I was thinking in three days. Anything longer and the base will be reinforced. The King had hired many mercinaries to fight for him, so we might be going up against some really good fighters. We have surprise on out side, however, so it should even out the odds."

"I think our warriors should be alright. They are not as trained I would like, but there is no time to waste I am afraid. Everyday the King grows stronger and these people suffer as a result. That is no way to live. We must give them some sort of hope." He breathed in deeply, and looked down into Lexx's eyes.

These were things he believed in. Everyone should be free to live their lives. No one should be held prisoner on their own planet or live in fear day in and day out.

Lexx listened to Stevenson. He sounded just like a patriot would and he was truly going to fight for his beliefs.

"Understood Sir, I'll focus on gettting additional training underway."

Lexx returned to her quarters and began forming her strategy for getting her trainees up to speed, especially the sniper.



Late in the night...

Lexx had been sleeping soundly for several hours until random thought and memories took over. Visions of lightening and a dark world she once knew. In a bolt of lightening, she jumped from the bed, awakened from her dream. Lexx got out of bed and stood up,. She was covered in sweat and very stressed. Lexx needed to calm herself down so she threw on some sweatpants and a tank top and went for a walk outside.

The breeze she felt was refreshing. As she waked, Lexx cleared her mind of her nightmare and began to relax. Lexx had been walking about for almost an hour then started to head back towards her quarters.

Ilmus finished up the conversation and went off to his trainees. Together they ran some kilometers along the long tunnels before finally hitting the sack after showers. It was that was for the next two days. The trainees trained hard and Ilmus wanted them prepared for the worst.

Their movements were getting much more fluid and they were starting to do things from instant, which he was glad to see. They also had fire practice everyday and the Nuknog warriors were becoming better and better shots. Their moral was high and they were all excited, yet also nervous to be going on their first real mission.

For further training, Ilmus had some the engineers build a small mockup of the base and its structures so that they could all train in a real life environment. All their actions were gone over time and time again and when something went wrong, Colonel Stevenson made them redo the whole mission.

Finally, the day was here. The mission was planned and the troops all trained as much as possible. Ilmus looked around at all their faced and slowly nodded at Lexx who stood beside him. They were standing at a map table and going over the mission one last time. Ilmus explained to them how they were going in and pointed out locations on the map. Everything had been marked as well as possible.

He stood there in full combat suit and stared back at the map before them. The Colonel zoomed in slowly and made the map move from a first person perspective, as if one was creeping towards the outside fence slowly.

When everything was explained, he straightened up and looked at each of the men and Lexx. "All of you remember your training and trust yourselves. We have trained long and hard and I believe in all of you. Stay sharp out there. Now go load up and prepare to move out. We leave in thirty."

Ilmus watched the others leave and turned to Lexx. "I want you to take this guard tower as soon as you can. Kill the guards inside quietly and provide coverfire should it be needed. I have a feeling we might need your sniper skills."

Lexx knodded. "Understood. Take the tower and supply cover fire. My trainee is ready and will do his job."

Lexx returned to her quarters and gathered her equipment. On the bed was a gift. A long range projectile rifle with a scope. She looked at the weapon and smiled as she picked it up to bring it with her.



The rebels were getting assembled for the mission as Lexx walked up to the group. Stevenson was shouting last minute orders.

"Colonel, ready to go sir."

Ilmus saw Lexx return with all her gear and smiled gently, nodding at her. "Very well...Major. Load up!"

He still couldn't see himself calling her Major and it always didn't seem right. The Colonel had to smile at himself as he watched her get into the rear of the transport, along with the other warriors. The smiled inside quickly faded again, however, as the internal feelings returned. They were feelings of something that he did not know about happening.

It could be nothing, of course, just premission jitters. He could not stop the mission on a feeling.

Ilmus took a deep breath and fluidly pulling the helmet on his head, locking it into place. With that accomplished he reached for his rifle and stepped into the read of the transport. Behind him the ramp slowly ascended and sealed into place.
--------------------------------------------------------------

The next time the ramp moved, only moonlight shone inside and softly reflected off the armor plates worn by all the warriors. Quickly they all descended down this ramp and gathered outside before starting their kilometer long trip towards the military base's perimeter.

After some time they all knelt down beside the fence that surrounded the military base. Ilmus looked around and eyed the guardtower that was just to the left of their position. The spot light that moved at the top of the tower was focused off in the distance and would not illuminate them while they were this close to the fence. He could also see the building that was the weapons depot on the other side of the tall fence. That was their target.

Colonel Stevenson waited for a moment and made sure everyone knew their orders before giving the order to go.

With this team of men running behind him, he moved towards the fence quietly. His helmet display scanned the fence surface and determined that it was safe to touch, so Ilmus reached out with both hands and used the power suit to rip the metallic fence open.

After only seconds, they were all inside the military compound, with all their rifles at the ready.

Lexx looked over at Stevenson who then knodded. She signalled her acknowledgement and began to move with stealth to the guard tower.

As she made her way to the base of the guard tower, there was only one guard who didn't seem to concerned with his duties. Lexx crept up behind him as she drew her knife. In one move of her hand, the guard fell to the ground. She pulled him over to conceal the body near some crates of ammunition. Lexx took the guard's long overcoat and helmet then headed tot he top of the tower.

Lexx entered the guard tower, still clenching her knife, and approached the two men who were there. She swung herself around, slitting the throat of the first guard while kicking the other to the ground. She then jumped atop the second guard and plunged the knife in his chest while covering his mouth. In a matter of seconds, it was over.

Lexx pulled the knife from the dead guard's body and began to wipe the blood from it. She stopped, looking at her hand covered with blood. A dark smile covered her face for a moment as she stared at the blood. Lexx then looked up to give the signal to those below that the job had been completed. The rebel she had been training as a sniper then ran towards the over to accompany her in the tower.

It was now Stevenson's turn.

Colonel Stevenson watched as Lex and her partner moved off to complete their mission. He wished them the best of luck and hopped been inside that he wouldn't be needed. With that finally thought, Ilmus motioned his men and slowly advanced deeper into the enemy base.

The group kept close together and moved almost silently with their weapons always at the ready. They swept every meter of the area around them to make sure it was secure to keep advancing. Every one of the warriors moved as well as their training had taught them.

Together, with Steveson at the point, they moved towards the depot. His sensors let him know the area was clear for the moment and so with a hand sign command, the whole group double timed it to the nearest depot wall. They ran silently past a few building and finally pressed themselves against the wall.

From this position they all slide towards a side enterance, pausing while the Colonel pulled a rather flat looking square object from his pack. Ilmus lowed his weapon across his chest and held the plate in his hand, pressing it against the wall in front of him. With the flip of a switch, the wall dissappeared in the display and showed what was on the other side.

The plate was actually a new gadget that had come in on the last arms shipment. It was a terahertz radar system designed to pentrate walls and give one a view of was the inside. With this knowledge soldiers could put themselves in less harm and know whether they would face opposition on the other side and in what numbers.

As Ilmus slowly dragged the plate over the wall and the enterance door, he could see that no one was close by on the other side. Relieved, he put the radar away and pulled out a lock slicer, which he quickly inserted into the doorways locking system. After a few seconds a green light appeared and the door quickly slide open.

Just like in training the other warriors surged through his opening one by one and set up a perimeter on the other side. Ilmus moved in quickly after them and took in the sceen.

The depot looked packed and there was crates everywhere, pilled high. The place looked to have enough provisions for a large campaign. This ment that intelligence had been right after all. They had to work quickly now and complete their mission.

He turned to his warriors and divided them up into groups before giving them the instructions to go and set up the explosive charges.

Lexx and the rebel who accompanied her setup their projectile rifles and scopes. they began to scan the area. From on top of the tower they watched Stevenson and his team enter make their way to the depot. They then watched as they entered the doorway.

It was on Stevenson and his team now to do what they needed to do. Lexx would continue to scan the area to ensure the area remained secure.

As she looked through the scope, Lexx began to feel a headache come on. Perhaps not a headache, but something very similar. It was somewhat painful, yet strangely familiar. Her mind wandered for a moment until the rebel nudged her shoulder, snapping her out of it. Lexx knodded and resumed with the mission.

Being relatively unguarded, made the depot a very easy target for Ilmus and his team. They moved inside the dimmly lit building quickly, but quietly while setting up explosive charged along designated structural point. They had enough charges to take out the building and then some. It was overkill, but Ilmus believing in always having more than you need, then finding out you don't have enough.

While he stood guard, aiming at the main enterance door, the two warriors beside him set up smaller secondary explosives on a group of crates. On his helmet display, he saw green dots moving towards his location and knew his other team had completed their mission.

As they all gathered to move out, Ilmus signalled Lexx with a double click on his comm link. The signal would let her know they were complete with objective one and moving towards the secondary targets. The Colonel looked around slowly at him team and felt proud. He let himself smile and slowly turned back towards the opposite wall.

Just as he turned, the door slowly slide open and one Nugnok warrior stepped through the portal. At first he didn't notice the large special operation team standing at the center of the depot. It would not take him long, however, Ilmus knew and just as the soldier started to turn towards them, Ilmus had his vibroknife out and ready in his hand. The other's eyes opened wide in alarm, but before he could react the knife was already in flight. It sliced into the warrior's neck and cut through it, not letting the NugNok call out.

Gargling sounds softly resonated at the alien fell to the ground clutching his throat, slowly dieing as the blood drained from his body. As he fell to the ground, Colonel STevenson was already beside him, pulling it away from the door and into a hidding place beside some large crates. He pulled his knife from the warrior's neck and rubbed it clean before reinserting it back into the suit's compartment.

After hidding the body, Ilmus regathered his team, some of whom were a little shaken by the sudden event. They recovered quickly, though. Soon they were again ready and Ilmus opened the side door to move out into the night once more.