Captain Trajan Vespian walked the halls of his starship, a Victory Class Star Destroyer designated Iron Mantis, with something of a paternal instinct. The corridors were alive with conversation between crewmembers going about their various tasks many of whom were newcomers to the crew.

As was typically true of the man, change was at first hard to adjust too as many of his crew sought homes outside the ship. At first, he took it hard as a parent would their child leaving home and making their own way in the world.

The original crew had been with him since the days of the New Republic and they had stuck together through thick and thin as they went from one adventure to another surviving the fall of their government and being hunted by Imperial bounties to finding a place in the government claiming succession of the fallen Republic, a Coalition of planets bent on holding their own against the rising expansion of the Galactic Empire.

What had nursed his endurance through much of this was a personal hatred for both the Empire and one of it's chief architects, Simon Kaine. He had thought his fiance dead after the debacle at Dantooine.

For a decade his hatred solidified his resolve and kept them alive amid a galaxy that went on reeling from the wake of the Republic's destruction.

It was a hatred they had learned to live with even in the Coalition despite setback after setback viewing with horror the strengthening ascension of the shackles of Empire take root once more.

Ever vigilant they remained, day after day waiting for the eventual armageddon and their own destruction. They kept their spirits bright but deep in their hearts hope had fled and it was not until a report from a White Knight challenged them to dare to hope once more.

Across the border they went liberating a secret prison facility populated by remaining New Republic crew, soldiers and the like. With the demise of their government, the Empire simply left them there to rot.

It was a risk Trajan and the Iron Mantis took for they courted open war between the Coalition and the Empire should they have failed or been found out.

Their luck held and they returned successful and inwardly triumphant in their hearts.

And their armor of hatred began to crack as the prisoners mingled, cried, joked, and celebrated with them.

Trajan found that he could no longer keep his hatred alive personally after having found Marlena in among the prisoners rescued.

And it was his meeting with the Coalition Military Command after his unauthorized venture that had solidified something else within him.

The Coalition was truly their home.

The change rippled throughout his crew as many moved on with their lives finding mates, finding new opportunities outside the military, finding a home on a Coalition world, or finding an interest to serve on the newer warships.

Their leaving was hard but understood. Trajan wished them well and many kept in touch with the remaining crewmembers aboard the Mantis. Sometimes the old crew would read stories from one such letter in the mess delighting them all.

But even the ship was different for it did not remain an empty home for long. A new influx of crewmembers and military school graduates (who were always too young it seemed) came aboard and the process of the Captain getting to know his crew started over once more.

There was something revitalizing at having so many younger men, women and beings scurring about the decks with the vigor of purpose.

Upon seeing them he straightened his own stride as he slowly made his way to the Science Deck to speak with his wife before finding his way to the Bridge.

They were patrolling the deep edge of Coalition Space with the intent of making sure the Cren Alliance continued to maintain it's alliance within the GC.

Even the far flung members of the Coalition deserved a presence letting their citizens know that they were not forgotten by the politicians and administrators at the distant Capital.






"Captain!" acknowledged the secondary Science Officer as he walked into the large laboratory. His wife was seated on a narrow stool invested in the readings taken from an electron microscope. She looked up at her assistant's call and smiled.

Trajan glowed on the inside at the sight of the smile.

"What's so important that you had to drag me away from my breakfast briefing, Miss." he said with mock severity and she waved his words away.

"Your breakfasts are not healthy, Dear." she commented, entering new variables into the consol controlling the microscope equipment.

"Are you the Medical Officer now?" he asked, trying to push her buttons gently.

She only smirked, "I am YOUR Medical Officer, Dear. We all know you and Doc Sammry go together like a Hutt and his money. I expect you old males to protect each other."

Trajan laughed and put his hand on his wife's shoulder in a familiar fashion. Not exactly regulation but no one made anything of it. "So, what have you got?" he prodded softly.

"I've been studying these Ultrachrome properties and I don't think..."

The lights flickered in the room and an alarm began to sound. "EMERGENCY ALERT ON C DECK. CAPTAIN TO C-DECK IMMEDIATELY!"

"C-Deck?" his wife asked in confusion.

Trajan frowned before remembering, "The Kashan were scheduled to come aboard this morning." he said as he began to move towards the door.

"This morning?!" he wife nearly shouted over the alarm that her assistant was trying to turn down. "Last briefing didn't put them coming aboard until tomorrow." She was rushing out with him in his haste to get to c-Deck and they both headed into the nearest lift.

"They signaled last night that they'd be arriving a little early." He looked at her, "I didn't mention it?"

Marlena smiled grimly as the lift began to drop. "You had other things on your mind last night."

"Ahh.." he responded. He was concerned but the alarm was not of a type that would have sounded if they were under attack and so he was under the impression that the ship would hold together long enough for him to make the trek to the emergency.

The lift doors opened and the first thing he noticed was the smell.

Smoke!

The side panels along the corridor sparked and popped as he and his wife stepped out and a sound of general commotion going on just around the curve of the deck just out of sight invaded his ears.

"What the.." he started and his wife began to explain, "I think I know what happened..." she initiated with worry in her voice. Before she could continue, however, Doc Sammry nearly bumped into them coming off an adjoining corridor.

"What the bloody hell happened?" he growled out in irritation.

Trajan only shrugged his shoulders as he moved past the doctor and his wife and came to several groups of people working, most of them being technicians.

"Did a power coupling explode?" he asked, in irritation. His engineer, Chief Vallorum, disliked the knock-off parts the Coalition military manufacturers made to fit the few New Republic-built vessels still in existence. Every once in a while, the knock-offs would ...well knock-off and generally piss off the entire Engineering Department.


Chief Vallorum stepped through the mass of people working to contain the equipment sparks and fires, holding a fist over his mouth to contain a cough from the smoke filled corridor. "We had several couplings explode." he began and Trajan swore.

"Dammit! That's IT! I've had it with our parts manufacturer!" Trajan was getting ready for a good rant as his frustration began to boil up.

"No..no. It's not the coupling's fault." Vallorum quickly spoke up poppping the
Captain's rant bubble.

"It's not?" he asked in confusion, noting several bodies on the ground and others being visible stripped by security. He couldn't see all that well as the power was flickering.

"Do we have injured?" Sammry shouted above the commotion, noting the figures lying down and Vallorum scratched his head. "I don't think so, Doc. At least nothing that seems serious but you might as well look them over."

He turned to Trajan, "Captain, may I present Major Ceires of the Kashan Shock Trooper contingent." he motioned to one of the bodies lying down and before the Doc could kneel down before the person, several security personnel came over and began physically pull the armour off the Major and other Shock Troopers.

"Careful! There could be internal injuries!" Doc Sammry shouted at the Security who took his griping in stride but lessened their enthusiasm at their task.

"Vallorum, what happened?" Trajan asked in confusion.

"Just thank your lucky stars we didn't give these bastards a tour of the Armory or half the ship would be goners."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you, Captain.." Marlena interrupted. "We shouldn't let these Troopers walk our decks armoured!"

"What?" The Captain turned an exasperated eye towards his wife.

"I suggest we finish this discussion in the MedLab!" Doc Sammry yelled as several medical aides arrived with repulser stretchers. "Let's go." he ordered. As Security pulled apart the armour, the Shock Trooper was lifted onto the stretcher. The armor was carted back to the Kashan Assault Shuttle on the hanger deck.







Chief Vallorum threw a piece of metal onto a nearby desk in the Medical Observation Room.

"Superconductors. That's what these shock troopers were wearing when they came aboard.

It didn't mean much in the hanger being spacious and all but as soon as we took to a narrow corridor, rather than our circuitry channeling power, it arced through the padding struck full-blown onto them.

Overloaded several couplings and it was just too much. Blew out the emergency fuses all along C-Deck just to compensate."

"I was going to suggest that they leave their amour aboard their shuttle, Captain. I was studying samples of that Ultrachrome Armor and it is not compatible with our current systems."

Trajan turned to see the Doctor enter the room from checking on the Kashan Major and then asked, "I thought Ultrachrome was a material applied to starship armor in the Kashan Home Navy?"

"All in all, it's a rare metal but no. The Kashan slapped the stuff on everything from droids to human armor."

At the Captain's questioning glance, Marlena called a Security Officer over and asked for his sidearm. Trajan's eyes widened as she pointed the weapon at the armor piece and fired.

The bolt struck the metal and dispersed as if strike a shield and the metal piece glowed for a brief second.

"The metal acts as a superconductor but with nowhere to conduct the energy, it heats up. A few more shots and it would melt."

"So it is supposed to save the wearer from a few shots from a blaster?" Trajan scratched his head. It seems to be quite alot of armor to lug around to take a few shots."

"I think they are mean't to go down the devil's throat in the line of fire." Doc Sammry commented. "That rubbery mesh underneath the armor is to protect the wearer as the energy splashes over them. Incredibly hot... these are not all-terrain environment suits. I found Major Ceires pumped full of chemical altering drugs.."

"Because?" Trajan asked in concern.

"My guess is conditioning. The body is also a conductor of electricity and if you have two conductors separated by a thin rubbery mesh, the mesh will not have a long life.

It'll eventually burn through and the wearer will cook inside their armor. Not a pleasant sight. The drugs also help the heart so the wearer doesn't automatically go into cardiac arrest being struck by so many blaster bolts."

"Emperor's Black Bones! Just who are these Kashan?" Trajan wondered out loud.

"A people that take war a bit too seriously for my taste." the Doctor answered. "Ensign Sady had 2nd degree burns on both hands as well as two other crewmen." He sighed, "Anyway, I'll have Major Ceires report to you Captain after I've discharged her."

"Her?"

"There's a woman under all that metal, Captain."

"What a day this is turning out to be." Trajan murmured. "Cheif, let me know how long that corridor on C-Deck will be down."

"You'll have my estimate in an hour." Vallorum remarked. "What are you going to do with our new super troop?"

The Captain shook his head, "Damned if I know. Ever since the Kashan signed the Coalition charter, we've not heard much about them. Several divisions of troopers are being assigned throughout the fleet but I think it's more of an experiment with the Military Command than anything else."

"We're the guinea nerf?"

"That about sums it up."






"Major Daria Ceires reporting as ordered, SIR!"

"Major, at ease." Trajan ordered as he and Executive Officer Garrick stood in the Captain's Conference Room.

The Major spread her legs apart slighty and kept her hands behind her back.

"Had a little accident on C-Deck this morning," Trajan prodded gently, "Are you feeling alright?"

"Sir! I must apologize for being unaware of your vessel's inferior construction. I will endeavor to maintain better intelligence so as to not hurt your crew in the future."

Captain Vespian's brows furrowed, "I beg your pardon, Major?"


XO Garrick came to the rescue as he quickly added, "Major, it could be said the fault may lie with the fact that it is not the vessel that is faulty but that your armor is not ..appropriate to be worn on all occassions."

The Major gave him an odd look, "Sir? The Kashan Ultrachrome System is the most advanced personal protective equipment to date. If I have the technical specs provided you will see it is a vastly superior to current Coalition.."

"That's enough, Major. Obviously you feel your armor is as important as the Second Coming of Obi-Wan Kenobi and that is fine. As long as your armor remains aboard the shuttle." Trajan interupted the memorized speech.

The Major saluted, "Yes Sir."

"That is all. Get yourself and your men situated in your quarters and we will begin exercises immediately at 0800 tomorrow."

"Sir? Exercises?"


"We are going to begin a series of training exercises without your armor. I want to see how good, how cohesive you are without being dependent on your armor to compensate for mistakes."


Now it was the Kashan Officer's turn to turn red. "Yessir." she said stiffly.


"You're dismissed." Trajan said and the woman straightened, saluted and left.

After a moment, Trajan turned to his XO, "Well, Garrick. What do you think?"

Garrick chuckled slightly, "You think my inferior opinion matters, Captain?" The XO walked over to glance out into space from a window and rubbed his slight beard. "You pissed her off but then that's a talent you have. The question is, are you coming up with this training for a valid reason or are you simply trying to piss her off some more for the remark regarding the Mantis?"


Trajan grimaced. "Practical man that I am. Both, Garrick. I am doing it for both reasons."


"Ahh... well then. Let's hope the Cren don't piss you off as well or we'll be using them for target practice."


"Come now, Garrick," Captain Vespian remarked, "what else can go wrong today?"

~*~

"..has the nerve to tell me there's nothing wrong with his ass-backwards, older than dirt warship but that it's our Armour!"

Private Vallance stood up as his troop leader stormed into the barracks (actually, the ship referred to them as bunk quarters but to "ground pounders" like the Kashan they were simply 'the barracks') leaving his reading material, an advertisement for the latest scope technology, on his bunk.

"Something wrong, Major?" he asked hoping to diffuse her before drills. When she was mad before drills, they all felt it.

She turned to him, her eyes in accusation. "Did our Armour spec out?" she demanded.

Private Vallance was an old-timer and a veteran of the House Wars upon the Kashan Homeworld. It was always good sense to arrange matters in your own house before moving into someone elses and so the Kashan had done this resulting in their Unification and eventual acceptance into the Coalition Confederation.

He had retired from active service to farm but agriculture was not a Kashan pasttime. At least not anymore for automation was the word of the day. Vallance found himself out of work and so took advantage of the Reinlistment Program to 'make a difference'.

And so here he was, a Private answering to a woman more than half his age. Still, he didn't mind. He had no family and so looked to their troop as a surrogate one.

"All Armour units spec'd out, Major." he responded.

Truth be told, the event on C-Deck both surprised and bothered him. Flying Seraph's around in homespace was one thing but combat missions? Integration issues with other technologies? Having non-Kashan around their technology or (worse) using their technology? The words of Corise Lucerne to the many Shock Trooper Units sent out into the Galactic Coalition were a comfort to remember and many held them close to their hearts like gospel.

But what words could describe what each and every one of them were experiencing now?

They were Kashan but they were also something else now.

"What did he say, Major?"

The woman slammed her locker shut and turned to face the Vallance. She took a deep breath, sighed and began to relay the meeting to him. When she finished, she said, "We are to have training tomorrow without our armour. They are purposefully mocking us!" She hit her fist against the locker and Vallance chuckled lightly hiding his discomfort.

"Major, you called his technology inferior?" he asked quietly.

She turned her eyes to him and they hardened. "IT IS!" she reinforced.

Vallance chuckled again, his eyes searching for a way to broach the subject without causing her to have a nuclear meltdown. His eyes widened at a thought, "Major, would you be bold enough to tell Commodore Lucerne that his favorite hand weapon is a degenerate old rock-thrower from a bygone era?"

The Major's eyes widened at the swaggering tone Private Vallance conjured up. "That's... that's.." she was thoroughly scandalized.

"..as near to Kashan blasphemy as one could come, no?" Private Vallance agreed. He continued, "Major, Commodore Lucerne is no longer our superior. For better or for worse, this Captain Vespian is. He is our Commodore now and you pissed on his degenerate old rock thrower from a bygone era."

Major Ceires was silent for the better part of a minute. "'I screwed up' is what you are trying to tell me, Private?"

Vallance grinned, his scraggly white stubble showing prominently on his chin, "Majorly."

Major Daria Ceires's lips quirked slightly. "Don't you spread talk among the troop about this?"

"Your infallible nature is safe with me, Major." Vallance replied grinning.

She stood there thinking for a bit and with each breath she took, the calmer she seemed.

She'll do all right. the Private thought.

"So, let's see what we can plan out for tomorrow's little exercise. We're Shock Troopers not Special Forces."

"What are you thinking, Major?"

Her eyes glowed with anticipation. "These naval types are too used to clean fights... It's time we dirty it up for them."

"Ooo-rah, Major"






"So what happened?" Major Lars walked into the Officer's Lounge and up to Chief Vallorum, who was seated sipping a rather large drink.

The Chief shrugged, "The newcomers blew up C-Deck.."

"Don't be a bantha's ass, Chief." Lars replied ordering his own drink.

They both walked over to an empty table and sat down. "What can I tell you, Lars. One minute we are walking happy as a sandlark showing them the ship and the next, three ensigns jump in front of energy arcs meant for our guests. It happened so fast. All I know is, I am spending the rest of the day organizing repairs on C-Deck and I am supposed to be "off" today."

"Off?" Lars asked wrinkling his nose at his drink. "What the hell is this?"

"Yes, Off. I asked the Captain for the day off and I got it."

Lars called over a droid to return his drink. "You can do that?"

The Chief grinned. "I can."

"Brownnosing bastard. What is this military coming too?" Lars commented with exaggerated lament. "What are you drinking?"

The Chief took another healthy swig of his beverage. "This stuff is special. Can only get it in Cren space."

"kewww.. Cren Poison."

"Try some."

The Armoury Major took the glass and tossed his head back only to come up gasping and spewing liquid on the server droid. A loose wire sparked.

"Hate it?" the Chief asked somewhat timidly.

"Are you crazy? This stuff's amazing!" Lars gasped upon finding his voice. turning to the droid, "Give me what he's having."

"So you think their armour is crap?" Lars asked, impatiently waiting for his drink.

"No. They wouldn't be using it if it was. I don't know if what happened is a fluke or if it is something to do with our systems or something to do with the conductivity of their armor. All I do know is the armour is the new variable. So it stays packed until we find out for sure."

"But surely this would have happened on their own ships.."

"Their own ships are superconductors themselves. The technical manuals haven't come in from the Engineering Academy so I don't know.. So, for now, better safe than sorry."

"I can see that. But what I want to know is, what did that Kashan Major look like under her armour?"

The Chief stopped his drinking and looked at the Armoury Major. The Major grinned stupidly.

"She looked like she could kick your butt with one hand tied behind her back."

"Captain says there's an exercise happening tomorrow. Who do you think will win?"

The Chief's eyebrow rose. "Gambling is against regulations."

"They're grunts, Chief. Shock Troopers. Without their armor they'll be fish out of water."

The Chief's eyes moved over to a Calamari that walked by juggling four drinks for a table of other waiting Calamari.

"Ok.. bad example," Lars murmured, "But they blew up C-Deck!"

The Chief started to chuckle. "I think the Kashan Major might have a few tricks up her sleeve."

"She has no armor so she's got no sleeves. But alright." Major Lars sighed dramatically, "Just don't call me a thief when I come to collect."

The recreational deck had been cleared, it's near-cavernous expanse suitable for the exercise set before it.

Captain Vespian, along with other department heads and crewmembers lucky enough not to be on duty, watched from an observation room above, the plexiglass windows giving them a bird's eye view of the course set before them.

On the one end, Security Chief Boras and a hand-picked squad readied their stun blasters and on the other end, Major Ceires and five of her Kashan Shock Troop double-checked their gear.

The goal was simple elimination for this exercise. Trajan was curious to see how each group fared when thrust against each other in a confined space. It would be a simple yet critical display for 99% of all combat action for a ship's compliment of warriors will take place within the confined areas of a starship. Ship's Security were trained for such areas where the others seemed more akin to Coalition Marines.




Ship's Security

Commander Boras looked at his people in quiet satisfaction. No matter the rumors running amok regarding the Kashan and their armour, they still represented a highly trained foe in the arts of killing. And while their respective weapons were "stun-only", being immobilized in this exercise would be likened to being killed.

"They are used to facing the brunt of weapons fire and going where angels fear to tread!" he barked out to his group. "Respect that! Respect it and USE it!"

His eyes flickered to the windows along the roof. "If I know the Captain, he'll have some surprises of his own with this obstacle course. Remember, this is our playground!

I want you to be quick, methodical and efficient!"



Kashan Shock Troop


Private Vallance could not believe just how light he felt without the armour. The difference almost made him believe he could fly. He quickly checked and rechecked the settings on the weapon in his hand.

"No matter how much you look at it, it will not have the same kick as our Peacemakers." Major Ceires commented dryly, the rest of her Troop chuckling out of duty and nervousness. They stamped their feet and Ceires wondered if the Captain deliberately set the temperature to space-vacuum temperatures.

"We are going against ship's security and the theatre is revolving." she continued and she saw several lips quirk up in amusement.

"These people have been trained to use their enviroment to their advantage. We are used to controlling our environment. If you must give your life, make it an expensive transaction."

"Target, Major?" one of the soldiers asked.

"No target. Just a goal. Elimination."

Some of the soldiers glanced at each other in slight confusion. Traditionally they prepared themselves to give their lives at any moment for a tangible target be it a person, location or thing. It was one of the ways they measured the value of their sacrifice and mutual elimination seemed an almost pointless task to them.

Then they snapped too and set their faces in grim order intent on the exercise before them. They did not contemplate the nature of their enemy nor concern themselves with the enemy's strength or weaknesses.

They had a task to eliminate their enemy and that was all that mattered.





Both parties were in rooms on opposite ends and when they slid their observation shield back revealing the course before them, each group reared back in surprise.

Vegetation lined various walls as did rusting droids that were either course traps or aesthetic touches. The floor (what was visible) did not seem level and had everything from dirt, duracrete, foilage and scrap metal littering it. What was evident was that there was no clear vantage from one end of the Rec Deck to the other.

As if the Captain had a evil streak in him, there were several blocks, shipping pallets and power droids floating in the air.


"Repulser lifts... " Private Vallance murmured to himself.


"Position yourselves strategically.." Chief Boras told his squad.


The lights dimmed slightly and took on a redish hue as the doors to each room opened signalling the start of the exercise.





Major Lars grinned as he looked at the sensor readings coming from the Rec Deck. He was supposed to create unique situations for the two groups intent on eliminating each other.

"Let's see what mischief we can conjure up today.." he murmured.




The exercise had begun.

Med Deck


"You wanted to see me, Doctor?" intruded a voice and Nurse Kess looked up from her report she was writing.

"Doc Sammry is on hand at the Rec Deck in case our security forces bash each other's heads in despite the stun settings on their weapons." she answered as Ensign Winger drew closer upon entering.

Her answer was evidently fine with the Ensign for he simply shrugged and was about to leave when she snapped her fingers. "I know what the Doctor wanted to see you for!"

She stood up and he hesitated, curious. "There was an anomoly found in your last checkup and he wanted to rerun the test."

"Am I alright?" Ensign Winger asked in a worried voice.

She nodded, her head intent on skimming through the medical records looking for Ensign Winger's. "You should be fine. A reading like this typically just means a machine is malfunctioning." She found the appropriate report and pulled it out of it's sleeve.

"If you'll hold your arm out, I can draw a new tissue and blood sampl...."

Ensign Winger stared at her with a shaking hand. Streams of blood flowed from where the burst of skin appeared on her head.

He seemed to come to his senses slowly shocked at the sight before him and even more shocked at the bloody container in his hand that was used to strike the nurse.

A moan escaped her lips and his eyes traveled to the medical report and imagined his options drying up.

"I.... I am sorry.." he murmured kneeling down. His arm rose and fell with each strike as he continued to pummel the life out of the woman before him with only a vague recollection as to why.

Only a powerful feeling that he was protecting something ran through him fighting down the panic that was sure to hit once his mind engaged again.


The woman's last breath exhaled involuntarily and the Ensign sank down, the act clearly too much for his senses.


He blacked out.

Ship's Security


Cheif Boras eyed the foilage intently wondering if his enemy was running straight for them 'off the cuff'.

"Take cover!" he barked out. "I want overlapping points of fire in case they come bursting through these damned plants!"

One of his men turned to him in confusion, "Where the hell did the Captain find these many plants?"

Another asked, "How did they grow so thick so quick?"

"Bep, get your butt up onto that floating droid!" the Chief ordered, gazing curiously at a floating shipping pallet containing a power droid that seemed to be deactivated. "See if that thing's got power.."

"Ensign--" he was about to order one of his men to a position when the light blue divot of energy burst through the foilage striking the Ensign causing him to drop.

The foilage before them opened up with blue energy divots coming out of them straight for the Chief's position.

"Hold your fire! Wait until you see them!" he shouted diving for cover.



Shock Troop


Major Ceires looked suspiciously at the foilage before them wondering where the Captain scrounged up that much plant-life for their little exercise.

The Troopers stood tall and silent waiting for her orders and Private Vallance briefly wondered if the Security Forces were going to risk their success on a winner-take-all bid by simply running down the middle to burst from the foilage firing wildly striking them quickly.

"Stance one meter apart. Leveled firing. Let's see if we can mow them down." the Major said calmly and, standing in a straight line not bothering with cover, the Shock Troopers raised their weapons and began to systematically fire into the foilage.



Observation

"What the hell?!" Captain Vespian nearly shouted as the blue weapons fire from the Kashan ran the full length of the Rec Deck and into the positions of Security.

"Smart woman." Chief Vallorum remarked as he bit down on an appetizer. "Chief is also playing smart by not giving away his position."

"Lucky damn shot!" someone else remarked behind them.

"Luck is 80% of war sometimes." Vallorum said sagely. "Or was it 90%?"

"Ensign Eies seems to be ok..." Doc Sammry remarked taking a look at the scans from the biomedical sensors set up for the exercise in the Rec Deck.

"Lucky shot!" someone else murmured.

"Lucky? That's skill!" another remarked.

"It was a blind shot!" came the inevitable rebuttal.



Major Lars looked at the sensor readings and smiled grimly. "Not fair, little lady. You got a 'free-bee'. Let's see how all you folks like this.."

And he pushed a button.


If he could only hear the screams of outrage his grin would have widened.

Ship's Security



The fire from the foilage had stopped.

Someone had pushed something. At least that is what Security Chief Boras thought as he heard machinery behind the rec deck's walls click and whirl.

All of a sudden, a blast of something cold and wet struck his team from either side of their position.

"Ice?" his second commented from behind his cover as he pinched a section of the material from the ground and confirmed it was crushed ice.

"Almost like... snow." Curse Major Lars! Boras could see in his mind's eye the laughter of the Armoury Chief and felt himself go red.

"Gigi, get your ass onto that pallet and let me know what you see!" Another of his squad ran from cover and jumped, grabbing onto the pallet floating in mid-air by repulsor. A dusty power droid lay perched up there.

The lull in the firing gave the ship's security personnel the time they needed to set up defensively. They had various approaches covered and the only thing to figure out was the position of the enemy.

Ensign Gigi had succeeded in climbing on top of the floating pallet and started giving some hand signals as to what he could and couldn't see.

His hand went under the pallet and Boras realized that Gigi was tampering with the repulsor functions and he noticed the pallet begin to rise slowly.

His admiration for the security officer's thinking grew.

Gigi made more signals indicating to Boras that he could now see the
Shock Troopers and the security officer began to aim his weapon and fired.

The ground was becoming white and the room extremely cold.

I am going to get you for this, Lars..


Shock Troop


Major Ceires had halted the systematic firing of her group as the walls began to vibrate.

Several screens appeared as the metal walls seemed to slide upwards and began to discharge quite a bit of cold, chipped ice and the Kashan began to shiver.

She moved over to the Kashan soldier at the end of their line and pointed to the screen where the ice was being blown from. "Can you get that grate open?"

The Kashan hid his dismay at the question and nodded.

"Do so. This ice may be coming from a holding tank that runs the length of this deck. If so, then perhaps you can use it to flank our enemy."

Given a duty that seemed to accomplish something, the soldier perked up and went about the business of trying to pry the screen off despite the snow being blown through it.

"To be young.." Private Vallance quipped as they made for the wall opposite the single Kashan trying to pry open the grate. "Someone has a macabre sense of humor.."

Before the Major could reply, a stun blast came from overhead striking a soldier next to her down, unconscious.

"To the wall! We do not want them noticing Farber!" Ceires hissed and they moved quickly and in a random pattern making it harder for the security officer on the shipping pallet overhead beyond the foilage to hit them.

The durasteel wall was cold and wet when they reached it but that did not hinder the Kashan from converging their firing points onto the power droid on the pallet that the security officer hid behind.

"They have the high ground. A distinct advantage.." Vallance murmured realizing that their weapons fire, aimed upward and high, gave the rest of their enemy a bead on their positions. If they could see over the foilage and were not distracted with this..snow.

Observation

"That one Shock Trooper disappeared! Where'd he go!?" Vallorum commented though it was getting hard for those above to see what was going on with the onslaught of sudden snow.

"I have a feeling they are going to shoot Major Lars before long.." Doc Sammry commented dryly.

"They've given their position away," the Captain pointed out as he saw the Security Chief begin to order a couple of his men into the foilage to flank the Kashan grouped against the opposite wall trying to get a shot at Ensign Gigi.
"I think the Chief's got them."

Ship's Security


Boras tried to count the stun divots firing upward at the raised repulser pallet as the Kashan vainly tried to dislodge Security Officer Gigi from his higher ground. Gigi, for his part, stayed hidden behind the old power droid refusing to stick his head out again to return fire.

The Chief realized his man was giving him time to take advantage of the location of where the Shock Troopers were.

And if the shooting was any indication, they were along the left wall probably trying to make their way forward laying down covering fire against Gigi.

Chief Boras made a decision to sweep inward and quickly flank the Shock Troopers pinning them against the left wall.

He motioned for two security officers to advance into the foilage from his right and swing over left in a hook formation to face the advancing Kashan.

He gestured quickly and the security personnel moved quietly and quickly through the slush of snow.



Shock Troop


Major Ceires pushed her troop forward along the right wall, her people laying down a covering fire to ensure that the ship's security did not try to press their advantage of the high ground.

Her hands began to hurt from the cold as they pushed past grate after grate of ice chips being blown through them.

"Look at us.." she whispered to herself shivering.

Private Vallance suddenly felt something wrong in his gut. He learned after years of experience never to discount his gut.

He swiveled his weapon around and looked back as if someone was going to jump up out at them from their tracks.



Farber

Nine bleeding fingers later, the Shock Trooper pulled the grate off and forced himself into the service vent, his weapon strapped on his back. The force of the ice chips increased against his head as he kept it down forcing himself farther into the vent.

He cursed himself for moving too slow but the cold was taking its toll on his body. He could not feel his fingers or his arms as his legs pushed him through the vent.

The Major was right, the vent did make a 90° turn and run the length of the wall but if Farber could move the length against the ice was another matter.

About half way he felt his body give out...

..and then the ice stopped and a warm air began to pick up force.



Observation


From the bird's eye Observation Level the Captain and crew witnessed the advance of the Kashan along the wall and they saw the Security hook around from the foilage.

"They are going to emerge running into the Shock Troopers pinning them against the wall." the Captain mused.

"Why don't the Kashan stop shooting? They're giving their position away." complained Doc Sammry.

"I believe Ensign Gigi has something to say about that," Vallorum commented pointing to the ducked down Security Officer on the floating pallet. "If they stopped, he'd rear his head and mow them down."


"The snow.. it stopped."

The windows began to fog. "Hot air!" Vallorum grumbled activing the Observation protective screens and the transparency returned.


"Here's the finale." Vespian murmured as the Security Personnel began to move faster.

They broke through the foilage and began shooting.

Ship’s Security

Chief Boras and his team exited the foliage firing, catching all but one Kashan off guard.



Shock Troop

Private Vallance had his weapon swiveled in their direction and though he had a feeling in his gut, the sudden emergence of the security team surprised him.

His finger closed on the trigger taking one of the security men down but multiple shots registered on his suit taking him out of the contest.



Farber

The blast of hot air was the stroke of luck he needed to wiggle his way to the opposite end of the room. He began to kick at the opposite grating.



Observation


“The Chief has eliminated all but the Major,” commented Doc Sammry seeing the Kashan woman take cover, knowing that her time was now limited without support.


“So much for Shock Troop toughness…” murmured Captain Vespian.


Engine Room Chief Vallorum looked at his Captain in surprise.



Shock Troop


Major Ceires kept her head down knowing that there were two remaining security personnel to her left and one on the floating pallet to her right. High and low, they had her pinned and she growled out in irritation wondering when the 'grand finale' would hit.


Her eyes glanced down as she felt something metallic under the dirt and she realized with a startling clarity that this was a starship and this dirt, while real, was merely put down for their little 'contest'.


Brushing the dirt aside she recognized an engineering plate put there for protection to keep the dirt from any crevice or sensitive area.


She sent several shots in the direction of the two security people hoping to keep them down before their rush as she picked up her rifle and slammed it down on the plating. The force of the strike snapped the temporary security tabs and the plate was released.



Farber


He gave one final kick and the grating flew off the wall and crashed onto the ground. The Kashan Trooper pulled himself out of the ventalation opening feeling the dihydrated effects of the warm air being blown into the room through the vent.

The noise and movement startled the crewman on the floating pallet and he sent a shot Farber's way in panic. He had not expected the 'enemy' to end up being behind him.

Farber brought his rifle up and shot at the crewman as the security man was getting off another well aimed shot.

Both men struck each other and their suits registered them as 'down'.

Farber sat down dead tired.



Ship's Security


Chief Boras heard the crash as if the Shocktrooper being blocked by the bodies of her two men who were 'down'. Whatever she was doing, it told him her weapon was aimed elsewhere as the banging noise came again.

"Now!" he gasped out and both he and his remaining man charged the Kashan laying down a barrage of fire in her direction.


As step came after step he suddenly felt like he was stepping on air and yelped out loud in surprise.






Major Lars looked up from his panel seeing something happening that shouldn't have been happening.

"What the hell?!" he yelled in surprise.



Observation


"What the hell?!" Captain Vespian shouted along with several other officers who were observing the contest. All of a sudden they were totally weightless and several grasped at their chairs for support. One officer, not expecting the change in gravity started throwing up.



Shock Troop


Inside the panel showed several different fluorescent colored tubes or wires running the length of the panel. Major Ceires heard the movement and knew her time was up. She reached into the panel grabbing the tubes and yanked as hard as she could.

The shots that were showered in her direction suddenly arced upward as the Security people began to shout in surprise.

She took nearly lost her grip on her rifle as it tried to float away in the absence of gravity.


She was now in her element and as the opposite team floated by having lost their grips on their weapons, she kicked off the wall and with a few shots dispatched them.


Their suits suddenly seized up preventing them from moving and so they simply floated like stationary objects.


The Kashan had won the contest but the Major had little time to bask in the satisfaction of the win for she was moving about attempting to keep the players of the contest from using their heads to bump into walls until control of their gaming suits was returned to them.


Dirt, plants, objects and players were all floating around the room in relative weightlessness.

Major Ceires stood at attention as Captain Trajan circled her listing off the damages done to the RecDeck as if each was a personal violation of Coalition Law.

"...tampering with the Deck's gravitic system, endangering a crewman within the heating ventilation..."

On and on the citation went each item causing the little bit of headache of the Major's to intensify that much more.

".. planetary topsoil embedded in the inner workings of the RecDeck's circuitry.."

It's a bloody ancient ship to begin with! The Major fumed as the Captain harped on each little damage done to his precious Victory Class Star Destroyer that was probably old when she was a baby. Say what you want about the Captain or even the crew but the original members still serving were as senstive about this rust bucket as baby Dinkerhip Monkeys were about being removed from their mother's teet.


It bordered on the ridiculous.

The doors to the Captain's Private rooms opened and judging from the Captain's lack of reaction, it was one of his personal friends; the only such personnel able to intrude even during the Captain's private time.

"Chief.." murmured Trajan informing the Major that the person standing behind her was Chief Engineer Vallorum.

"Good Afternoon, Major," Vallorum interjected with such a happy boisterous attitude that it stopped the Captain in his tracks. "Good game, by the way. I was impressed with the way you handled old Boras's team and I look forward to the rematch."

"Chief..." the Captain growled. "You are undermining my dressing down.."

"Dressing down?" the Chief stammered, shocked. "Whatever for?"

"Dirt in the RecDeck's power conduit circuitry for one?" the Captain snapped.

"There's always dirt in the RecDeck's circuitry panels. There's probably some dirt left over from the Battle of Bastion." the Chief remarked.

The Major suddenly felt uncomfortable at having to be between two arguing senior officers.

"Don't insult the Mantis!" barked back Trajan.

"This old rust bucket!?" Vallorum shouted back.

The Major wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.

The Captain drew himself up to his full height, "I'll have you know Chief Vallorum that the Iron Mantis has served faithfully in the fleets of the New Republic.--"

"Which makes it a pretty damn old ship, Captain!" Vallorum interrupted.

If there was anything the Captain hated more than insulting his ship, it was being interrupted.

"Chief Boras to the Captain's Room!" he suddenly snapped out over an open Comm.

The doors swished open and the Major was impressed despite herself. The Security Chief's timing was impeccable. "Boras, I'll have you know Chief Vallorum here has insulted the Mantis!"

"Can't have that, Sir!" Boras dutifully replied. "What shall I do with the mutineer?"

The Major's heartbeat almost stopped. This Captain was insane! He had done nothing but show contempt her and her Kashan Shocktroop the moment they came aboard. Granted that bit about the energy conduit and their armor aside, they had done nothing to provoke the man. The Chief Engineer, who she had thought was a friend of the Captain's had simply congratulated her on her well earned victory when the Captain suddenly came down on him (surprise, surprise). But mutiny?

Didn't the Security Chief sense something amiss?

"Shoot him," Captain Trajan coldly ordered his Security Chief and Vallorum yelped in surprise.

The yelp sent a shiver up and down the Major's spine. The order shocked her into immobility.

She heard the shuffling of something, a blaster no doubt, and wondered what was going on behind her. All she could see was the Captain's insane gleam in his eye.

"B.. Boras.." stammered Vallorum, "Our .. our families are friends.. Your daughter and my son.."


"Orders are orders.. you traitorous rancor! Any last words?"


Vallorum's voice seemed to take on a detached quality. "Your third child is mine. Please don't take your anger out on him because of me. It's over between your wife and I.. .has been for a few years.."


He was chattering incoherently and the Major's eyes widened in anticipation, her training holding her in place.


Chief Boras poked the Major with the end of his blaster causing the Kashan leader to shout out in panic.


Boras was holding a light pen in stead of a blaster and he grinned. "Now you know how I felt when you switched off the gravity, Major. Scariest thing in my life!"


The wide-eyed Kashan turned to the Captain who now wore an amused expression on his face. "Me too. Imagine if we'd suddenly come under attack.."


"Nothing like the fright she gave Major Lars for taking over his environment controls." Vallorum chimed in.


The sudden release of energy cause the Major to want to burst out either crying or laughing in release, both being quite out of character with her training and disposition.


"Major, I wanted to say that your strategy and quick thinking was flawless. But I do have an evil side to me, as you've just been prone to witness. I would appreciate it if you stop breaking my ship."


Before the Kashan Major could response, an emergency alarm suddenly sounded. "EMERGENCY ALERT. CAPTAIN TO THE MEDICAL DECK. EMERGEN--"


"All of you come with me!" Trajan instantly ordered as the four filed out of the room, the Major coming to realize that she had suddenly been accepted into their cadre without rancor or reserve.


She didn't know whether to feel irritated or grateful.

This was no joke.


Nurse Kess lay in a bloody heap as Doc Sammry and several others worked furiously with the little vitals that were showing.


"Come on! Dammit!" cursed the old doctor as rythmatic beeping turned into a single wailing beeeeeeep.


He began to pound the patient's chest as his aides went about setting the electronic stimulant pads.


"Clear!" someone shouted and Doc Sammry stopped his pounding.


Nurse Kess' body arced under the eletronic shock and the rythmatic beeping continued.


"That's three times already!" Sammry growled and went back to work.


Major Ceires realized that she had never seen anger on Captain Vespian. Not until now. His features radiated a rage so terrible that she realized that as much sentiment as he put into this rust bucket of a warship, he felt moreso about his crew.


Ensign Winger was shaken and standing with several security guards around him, weapons drawn. There was blood on the Ensign's hands and clothes and the object he had used to beat the Nurse with was not far from his hands.

He was stammering about not knowing what had happened and plainly no one around him was buying it. The security guards growled something about taking the Ensign out back and beating the truth out of him.


The Captain, though angry, was also at a loss. He had never faced a situation of an attempted murder on a warship. Usually such people were screened through psyche tests prior to enlistment. Evidently, some administrator had fallen asleep at the controls.


"Take him to the brig, Chief," the Captain finally ordered quietly and Boras took charge of the Ensign leading him out.

"Is she...is she going to be alright?" he cried out.

"Like you care!" growled a guard.

"I don't know, son, we'll see.." The Chief merely replied casting an admonishing gaze at the unrepentent guard.


"Doc," Trajan started but Sammry merely nodded, "Get the hell out of here. You've seen what you need to see. Just make sure this doesn't happen again!"


Vespian nodded and he, Major Ceires and Engineer Vallorum exited the room leaving Doc Sammry struggling to stabilize Nurse Kess. Mr. Garrick, Executive Officer of the Mantis, walked up to them.


"How is she?" he asked without preamble.


"Clinging to life. Barely. Doc has a fight on his hands," the Captain muttered and then looked at the group of people milling about. "I need to talk to who found her!" he called out. "The rest of you back to your stations!"


As the group broke apart, people murmuring among themselves the Captain's party walked up to the Kashan and Security officers who had taken part in the exercise. They were sent to the Med Deck for a checkup to make sure no one was covering over an injury due to pride.


"Who found her?" the Captain asked and Major Ceires saw Private Vallance stiffen.


"I did, sir." he responded crisply.


"And you are sure it was this Ensign... Winger?" he looked at Garrick for confirmation and the XO nodded, "who nearly killed Nurse Kess?"


The old Private shifted uncomfortably. "Sir, I did not see him do it. The Ensign had cralled to a corner and was crying but the blood on his hands and clothes..."


"Sir," the Ship's Security Personnel interrupted, "It was like the Trooper said. We have no reason to think it was not crewmen Winger. But I want you to know that if not for Private Vallance's actions, Nurse Kess might be dead! Jumped in, he did, Sir! Ordering us about like he knew his way around a Med Deck!"


"I agree.." interrupted Doc Sammry's voice as the old man exited the room behind them.


"Doc?" The Captain's eyes asked what his voice could not.


"She's stabilized. For now," Sammry answered to the relief of all. "Fast thinking there Kashan!"


Private Vallance merely shrugged, embarrassed at the praise. "Shock Troopers do not have medics trailing them into hell's fire. Sometimes, we have to be our own surgeons, doctors and triage."


Doc Sammry sighed, "It's a big bloody business we're in. Still, your training probably saved that poor girl's life and for that, I thank you."


"Doc," Chief Vallorum started, "Is Ensign Winger off his rocker? Is he nuts, on chems, stims or some other addiction or ..."


"That's a good question, Val. Short answer is I don't know. He was in MedLab for a retest of his blood as there was an anomoly that was attributed to an equipment malfunction. Now, I am not so sure. I'll need to do a retest and I'll want Boras watching him closely."


"Do it, Doc." Trajan ordered. "I need to know if this is a single incident or if there might be a biological attack taking place."


"A biological attack?" Major Ceires asked in confusion. "Isn't it easier to just assume the psyche analysts failed here?"


"Assumptions are always safe," XO Garrick answered. "But you have to ask, in the history of the Coalition, of the New Republic, of the Old Republic or in the history of your own Confederation, how many murders aboard vessels of war have been reported?"


Major Ceires nodded. "I take your point."


"We need to know if whatever drove Ensign Winger mad will do the same to someone else?" Trajan stated firmly.


"So you feel something drove him to do it?" the Major perisisted.


The Captain turned to her, "Major, my crew does not murder."


In the silence, Doc Sammry nodded, "Then I better get to work."