Hello again, my loyal readers! Been a while, how ya been? I hope everyone had an awesome Christmas. I finally got gifted to me a pair of Alprnstar Supervictory boots I've low-key wanted for years. These are the boots that Drakken wears in an upcoming arc, and the boots Jim Goose wears in the original Mad Max (fun fact there).

Sorry for not posting, my friends. I've been busy with holidays, going to a New Year's Eve party with a steampunk group, and working on my rig nonstop in the last month, and didn't have much time to write. Disclosure; I keep this story about 15-20 chapters ahead of what I'm posting, just in case I want to change something, or if I'm unable to write for a prolonged time. Right now, you're on chapter 47, and I'm writing on chapter 71. With a slight slowdown in my business and personal life at the moment, expect more regular updates. That said, I won't keep you any longer. You came to see the start of the team's newest mission, and here it is. Enjoy!

"Five minutes, troopers." Commander Tharcourt announced in the bay of the shuttle. "Everyone get prepped." In the compartment, the soldiers of Delta-7 made last-minute final checks of their parachute harnesses, and tugged on their gear to make sure it was attached to their bodies securely. Tharcourt fastened the strap of his helmet in place and his hands went to his twin blasters, then to his harness. Everything seemed to be secured tightly. He heard a long hiss and glanced over to see Freya taking a long drag from her electronic cigarra. She blew out a cloud of fragrant vapor, and handed the device off to the nervous commander.

"One fer the road, eh?" She muttered with an anxious tone, her lips flicking up into the semblance of an attempted smile. Drakken took the instrument and sucked a cloud of tabac vapor into his lungs, held it for a moment then exhaled before handing it back. Thorne stuck the device in the right pocket of the Imperial Army combat trousers she wore on this mission. Tharcourt couldn't help but give her outfit another look. Everyone had modified their loadouts and uniforms to suit the peculiar mission, but she was wearing the most out of character outfit of them all.

Instead of the short skirt she habitually wore, Freya had donned a pair of black army combat trousers, and bloused them out over the tops of her knee-high sandals. She wore a standard officer's tunic, but in black, with her chestplate over it. A blaster pistol was strapped to her right leg, and a combat knife to her left. Her helmet bore a pair of goggles strapped atop it, and she was wearing a pair of driver's gauntlets that reached up midway on her forearms. Certainly an eclectic mix of clothing, Drakken thought. Eclectic, but cute nonetheless…

"Alright…" He said, snapping himself back into the here-and-now, "…Mets, we jump like we planned. Get ready."

"Yes sir." The scout replied, and hit the button to open the shuttle's ramp. The ramp lowered into nothingness, and they got their first glimpse of the pitch-black ocean of sky around them.

"Target painted with IR, boss." Ekks called, coming out of the cockpit. "We're cloaked and encrypted. Glitch has the ship."

"Thank you." Drakken returned. He took a deep breath. "Alright troopers. Stand to! We're preparing to jump. This is gonna be difficult, so remember; watch the target through your helmets. Thorne, you and me are going to use our monoculars to see the beams. We jump in three waves. Security element first. Felian, Coleth, Gallen, that's you. Next is command element…me, Daraay and Ekks. Last is support element. You guys will coordinate the box of loot on the way down. Thorne, you, Lago, Mets and Dall are it. Waves at one-minute intervals." He looked back out of the open hatch and the inky blackness.

"I am going to admit that this is without a doubt the craziest thing I've ever done…but I know that it's the last thing the enemy will be expecting us to do. I don't want one of you to go off-course, or to buy it in, but this is going to be a hell of a fight. It's going to be rough. The minute we bail outta this ship, it's on, and we all know it. All of you remember what you're fighting for. You're fighting these bastards who want chaos and anarchy…who kidnap leaders and kill innocent people. Start riots and steal weapons. You're fighting monsters, men. You're fighting for peace. Fighting for an end to this war. And in the middle of the fight…you're fighting for each other."

"Yes sir." The team answered in hushed voices.

"I'll see you all down there." Tharcourt stated. The eight troopers snapped salutes to their commander, and he returned the gesture smartly. He pulled a commlink from his belt and held it to his mouth. "Delta-7 Actual to Terra-One Actual. General, we're preparing to insert."

"Understood." The voice of General Veers replied over the device. "Standing by." Tharcourt had specifically requested the general to be the one to lead the armored support column, and Veers had graciously accepted. "This is one for the history texts, commander."

"Yeah, roger that, sir." Tharcourt answered. "I'll call you when we have the package."

"Awaiting your call, Delta-7 Actual." Veers stated. Tharcourt clipped the commlink back onto his belt.

"Hope nobody has to call him for a mop and bucket…" He muttered, looking at the ominous void outside the ramp door.

"What's that, sir?" Gallen asked from nearby.

"Nothing."

"Alright, it's go time." Mets called. The scout trooper would be acting as jump-master for this part of the mission, and he moved to the ramp and stood on the platform, one hand hanging onto a strap on the inside of the fuselage. "First element, go!" Felian marched forward and disappeared off the lip of the ramp, followed by Coleth, sporting an excited grin. Gallen stepped onto the ramp and looked down.

"Oh, maaaaan…" He whined, then reluctantly jumped, his long-barreled marksman blaster strapped to his chest. The rest of the team waited tensely as the next minute ticked by.

"Lovely weather we're having up here, huh, sir?" Mets asked, and fearlessly leaned far out into the air, peering downward.

"Yer crazy, ye know that, right trooper?" Freya remarked.

"Crazy like a fox, Ensign Hellcat." He returned cheerfully. "You're up, sir." Tharcourt met eyes with Freya and nodded, then stepped onto the ramp. Daraay stood behind him, and Ekks right behind the Death Trooper.

"Now or never." He said blandly, and jumped, the other two members of the command element following suit. Thorne bit her lip. She now had six parajumps under her belt, but this was the first one at night, and the first that really counted. It didn't matter. She had to do this, and she resolved that she was going to do it right, despite her uneasiness. Mets saw her expression.

"It'll be fine, ma'am." He said. "Remember how to steer the chute, right?"

"Aye."

"Just aim for one of the green dots on the roof." He spoke, using his teaching voice. "Go down in a soft spiral like you practiced. Just pretend it's training. I'll be right behind you. I got your back." She smiled.

"Thank you, Mets." She said. He nodded.

"You're up."

"Okay, let's do this." She ordered. "Lago, ye got the bag?" The young trooper held up a duffel bag that was attached to his belt with a long strap. It contained the unit's explosives.

"Set, ma'am." He answered.

"Mets?"

"I'll kick the box down and make sure it lands with us." He said. Thorne walked to the edge of the ramp.

"Who wants t' live forever…" She growled, and leapt gracefully from the ship. Two seconds later, Lago followed, then Dall, grumbling the entire time. Mets dragged the small crate to the edge of the ramp.

"Life is as extreme as you wanna make it!" He called out to the empty ship, and shoved the box out, flying out into open sky with it.

"Murnurrr-nurr-nur-munur." Glitch beeped from the cockpit. The droid had his own feelings about the mission. His circuitry knew they would likely win the day, but the astromech was more than glad he didn't have to do something idiotic like jump out of a perfectly good ship to do it.

Felian touched the rooftop, and popped the quick-release buckles on his harness. By the time Gallen and Coleth hit the roof, the sergeant had his blaster rifle unhooked and shouldered, and he scanned the rooftop for threats. Coleth did the same, taking a knee and peering over his E-11. Gallen unstrapped his sniper rifle and flipped on the night-vision mode of his powerful scope.

"Right clear." The marksman whispered into his mic.

"Left clear." Coleth advised.

"Roof clear." Felian stated. The three immediately dragged their canopies out of the way as another group of chutes descended toward them. Commander Tharcourt touched down, rolled once and got to his feet, unbuckling his harness. Daraay landed next, followed by Ekks. The troopers moved their canopies, and took positions around the LZ, blasters pointed outward in a defensive ring as the last group made their approach. Lago touched down first, and got tangled in his chute comically. Mets came into view, standing on the crate as it lowered to the roof. Thorne came in fast at a low angle, and ended up rolling four times, effectively tying herself up in the shroud lines. Dall landed lastly, and hit the ground at a leisurely stroll, unbuckling his canopy and walking away from the collapsing chute.

"You alright Thorne?" Drakken called softly, jogging up to Freya, who lay on the roof, twisted up in her chute's lines.

"Aw, yeah…I'm bloody fine, Drakken." She shot back irritably. "Gi' us a han', love. Feel like a' ran afoul a' some oversized fekkin' spoideh." He chuckled and knelt down, cutting the lines free from her torso. Her left arm free, she was able to withdraw her own knife and cut the cords from her legs. She stood as Felian helped Lago out of his parachute. "Ugh. Glad t' see I weren't th' only one lookin' the fool."

"You did alright, ma'am." Mets said, opening the crate. "Those cross-winds can be a bitch."

"Tell me about it…" Lago complained.

"Enough gibber-jabber." Tharcourt warned. "On the clock." He pointed to a small box-like structure nearby. "Ekks, I want that door over there breached silently as soon as we're ready to make entry." The Corellian nodded, and sprinted to the door of the structure. He plugged a wire into the small terminal beside it, and linked it to a computer on his wrist.

"Real simple civilian locking code." He said over his mic. "Should be able to bypass it without a prob, bossman."

"Good." Drakken said as he watched the unit getting into position. "Gallen, you take the back of the formation. Ekks, you're with him. We might need your splicing skills again. Felian, you're point man. Daraay, number two. I'll be right behind you.

"Yes sir." Felian said. Daraay slung her weapon's charging and cooling pack onto her back and raised her mammoth blaster to high ready, and gave a nod.

"Freya, you're with me. Might need some CQ expertise once we're inside. The rest of you, standard formation. By two's." They stacked up beside the door, and the commander gave the word. Ekks punched a few buttons on his wrist device, and a moment later there was a quiet beep as the door unlocked. Ekks opened the door, and immediately Felian was inside, sweeping the stairs with his blaster. Daraay entered next, followed by the rest of the team.

They moved down the stairs to the top floor of the building. It was believed that the hostages were being held here, or on the next floor down. Once they got to the door, they moved through quickly, spilling out into a wide hallway, covering both directions as Gallen kept his blaster trained down the stairwell. Tharcourt motioned with his hand, and they moved to the right in a column of two, Gallen and Ekks covering the rear of the formation as they made their way down the corridor. Each room they passed was checked with a camera on a flexible wire, and each was dark and empty. It took time to clear the top floor, and Drakken hated it. The longer a team spent on clearing an area, the less effective they would become. Fatigue and routine would start to dull awareness and reflexes. It was a natural reaction. So, when they reached the end of the hall and ran across the first enemy, it was a welcome surprise.

"Halt!" Felian ordered. The insurgent raised his blaster, but was shot down by the sergeant before he could pull the trigger. Drakken noticed the strange blaster grasped in the dead man's hands. He stared at it a moment.

"EE-3, sir." Daraay mentioned, seeing the commander's puzzled look. "Quite a powerful weapon. You don't see too many of them." He tore the blaster from the dead terrorist's grasp and slung it over his back. They moved back to the stairwell and passed down to the next floor down. The door was half-open, and Felian used his camera device to peer around the frame. He gave hand signals indicating two armed subjects on either side of the hatch. The commander responded by signaling the use of quiet weapons. Felian, Mets and Coleth took point with their silenced weapons. The three of them pivoted out the door, and fired into the four enemy fighters. Tharcourt and Freya were out the door next, and just in time for more foes to emerge from a nearby room.

"Contact!" Felian yelled, and immediately dispatched two of the newcomers with his blaster. Commander Tharcourt fired into another, spun out of the way as a bolt ripped past him, and fired twice more with his other blaster pistol, dropping the terrorist. The fourth attacked Mets with a blaster rifle and missed, getting gunned down by the three troopers and Tharcourt as the last of the men lunched at Freya with a heavy blaster pistol. She parried his weapon-hand aside with her left, and delivered a solid knee to his gut, followed by a punch to the side of his face with the butt of her own pistol. He staggered back and tried to raise his weapon, but Thorne fired twice into his chest and he slumped to the floor. They all quickly trained their weapons in all directions, aided by the rest of the team filing out into the corridor in formation.

"Clear." Tharcourt stated. "Move.

The team moved rapidly and with purpose down the corridor. A room to the right contained two armed humans. They were eliminated swiftly, and Delta-7 moved onwards. Near the end of the hall, they came to a heavily populated room, if the voices inside were anything to go off of. Felian used his camera underneath the hatch.

"Looks like about ten hostages. All cuffed by the left-hand wall." Felian stated. "Six armed subjects in the room. Just…milling about."

"They feel untouchable." Tharcourt said. "They've become complacent. Good. Stack up. Alright…standard entry. Blow the door, and we go in after two flashbangers, copy?"

"Yes sir." The hushed replies came back.

"Watch the hostages. I don't want a scratch on them...any of them, from the Moff down to the troopers." The commander added. They all nodded. "Go." Daraay and Felian attached detonators to either side of the metal hatch, and flattened themselves against the wall, each holding a stun grenade at the ready. The rest of the team stacked up behind Daraay, Commander Tharcourt in the lead, his twin blasters held at high ready. "Execute."

The door was forced into the room by the explosion, and the six seditionists in the room were stunned by the blast, and completely immobilized when two small spheres landed before them and detonated in a searing flash of light and a disorienting crack. Before they could recover their faculties enough to resist, blaster bolts tore through them, burning holes in their clothing as they died on their feet. The first terrorist hadn't hit the floor before most of Delta-7 were in the room. By the time the last had slumped dead against the far wall, some of the unit was already seeing to the prisoners.

"Dall, Thorne, secure the hostages. See if any need treatment. Felian, Daraay, Coleth, the rebs. The rest of you outside…secure the hall and prepare to evac."

"Yes sir!" Everyone barked back. Drakken turned to the prisoners and helped the Moff to his feet, deactivating his cuffs. The Imperial governor was a tall, greying man in his early fifties. His demeanor and bearing spoke of a military past.

"Sir. Commander Drakken Tharcourt. We're your rescue party." The Imperial governor rubbed his wrists, looking about at his dead captors, his blue eyes narrowing angrily for a moment.

"About bloody time." He groused. "I didn't think anyone was going to be sent. We don't negotiate with terrorists, after all." Drakken scoffed.

"Well, this was rather…hostile negotiations, it seems, governor." He said. Moff Bix gave a satisfied snarl.

"Good man, Commander."

"Any more hostages in the building, sir?" Drakken asked, freeing Major Trent, the governor's military advisor.

"No, commander." The major answered glumly. "They killed two stormtroopers and a supply officer last night. They attempted to escape, and the rebels executed them."

"The plot was your idea, major." Governor Bix said coarsely. Major Trent snorted derisively.

"Well, we're all getting out of here in one piece, hopefully." Drakken said, and drew out his commlink. "Package secure. Ready for phase two, general."

"Understood. ETA ten minutes." Veers' voice came back over the device. Tharcourt looked back to Moff Bix.

"We have a convoy on approach, governor. We're going to fight our way down, and get you and your people on a ground transport. You'll be taken to a shuttle as soon as possible."

"Good to know." Bix nodded. He looked to the stormtroopers, lieutenant and pilot being given a cursory exam by Dall. "You men in condition to fight?"

"Yes sir." Several of the stormtroopers affirmed.

"Lieutenant, I place you in command of these troops. You take orders from this man." He pointed at Tharcourt. "Understood?"

"Yes sir." The officer, a young man with blonde hair and blood dried under his nose answered.

"Sir…with all due respect, I am the military advisor here…" Major Trent argued. "…and I have the higher rank."

"Military advisor." Bix repeated, glowering at the younger man. "You forfeited your rank and privilege when you failed to advise me about the growing threat of these peasants. You failed to advise me about their martial ability, and you failed to mount a successful escape. I will deal with you once we're off of this damn rock. Until then, I'm throwing in my lot with this man." The major looked shocked.

"Wh…what do I do then?" He asked. The lieutenant, trying to repress a smirk, slammed an E-11 carbine into the man's arms.

"Make yourself useful…sir." The young officer stated.

"Are ye alright, ma'am?" Freya asked, helping Duvolka to stand. Thorne removed her cuffs and tossed them to the floor. The Thirty-something-year-old advisor nodded with a thankful but irritated smile, and ran a hand across her auburn hair. She felt the bun in the back horrendously disheveled, and let out a grunt.

"I'm fine, ensign." Duvolka returned, ripping the pins from her ruined hairdo and letting her locks fall in a tangled mess onto the shoulders of her uniform tunic. "Take it you're the cavalry huh?"

"Aye ma'am. We're here to get you lot out of here." Freya explained. The advisor attempted to straighten her uniform.

"Got a name, ensign?"

"Aye. Ensign Thorne, ma'am."

"Good to know, Thorne. Not many women game for doing this work. Think I'll just stick with you till this is over." Duvolka walked past Freya and knelt down beside a fallen terrorist. She pulled the blaster from the rodian's hand. "I think this belongs to me, scum." The woman growled, and jammed her blaster into her belt.

"Lieutenant Millet, at your service, sir." The young officer said, sending up a salute to Tharcourt. "Where do you want us, sir?" Tharcourt raised an eyebrow. Regular troops may not be the best-trained in the Imperial military for this sort of operation, but the extra firepower they could provide would be helpful, he thought. Besides, they all no doubt felt a need to exact vengeance for their fallen comrades, and knew the price of failure. They would fight tooth and nail to escape. He looked the rescued troops over. Four of the five stormtroopers were armed with their captors' mismatched blasters, while the sixth had a stun baton taken from one of the dead insurgents. None of them looked overly eager. The helmeted pilot had picked up an inanimate carbon rod. Major Trent had an E-11, and the female aide had a small EC-17 blaster. Moff Bix looked pissed enough to beat someone to death at least. Tharcourt came up with a plan.

"Alright. We're going. Lieutenant, I want your men to form a tight perimeter around the governor. Standard executive protection formation. I'll put you in the center of the stack as we move."

"Yes sir." Millet returned with a dutiful nod. The commander looked to Trent, and knew he didn't want to put him in with the rest. There was too much animosity.

"Major Trent, if you could be so kind as to fall in with my sniper and help do rearguard with that carbine, it would be appreciated." Trent nodded. He turned to the aide and glanced at her rank plaque. "Sector Administrator?"

"Yes, commander…" Duvolka said, "…and I know I'm not a soldier, but I can shoot. It's a hobby of mine, and I'd just as soon be put where I can do something useful." She stuck a thumb out at Freya. "In fact, I'll stick with this gal. She ain't a delicate little flower." Drakken repressed a smirk.

"She was the only one that halfway defended me when my office got taken." Bix grumbled. Drakken scoffed.

"Fine with me, ma'am. Want to roll with us, then strap in, hang on and shut up." He stated.

"Roger roger." The administrator said dryly.

"Good…now form up!" Tharcourt ordered. "We're moving out."

The team made their way to the stairwell, the governor's security forming a circle around the moff. Daraay and Felian were first on the landing, and unaimed blaster bolts immediately began coursing up the open space formed by the spiral of the stairs. Daraay fired over the railing, spraying the floors below with a terrifying barrage of bolts from her MWC-35c. Felian cooked off two thermal detonators.

"Housewarming gift." He muttered, and dropped them down the stairwell. "Fire in the hole!" The troopers on the landing leapt back against the wall as a geyser of flame shot past them, the sound rattling the metal stairs on their moorings. Daraay leaned over the railing and peered down.

"Clear!" She announced, and immediately The Death Trooper and scout sergeant started down the stairs, followed by Freya, Tharcourt and Administrator Duvolka, then the rest of the now larger group.

"If they didn't know we were here before…" Tharcourt announced, "…they sure as Hell do now!"

"Contact!" Gallen called. There was a momentary fusillade of blaster fire from the rear of the group, and a rebel came flying down the open space of the stairwell, his clothing smoldering.

"Aye! An' we're runnin' right into 'em, Drakken." Thorne said back with a grin.

"Last thing they're expecting." The commander shrugged.

"Contact!" Felian yelled, and half-fell back up the stairs escaping the red and green blaster bolts fired at him and Daraay. One hit Daraay's chestplate, ricocheted off and burned the wall. She too retreated back up the steps.

"Right below us." She stated. "Two bogies. Human and Duro. Heavy blasters." Tharcourt tried to peek over the railing, but six red bolts shot past and he jerked his head back. "We can't move forward, sir."

"Shite…at least there's no Devaronians." Freya muttered. She looked at Tharcourt. "I'll be back, love." Before he could say anything, Thorne grabbed the railing and swung herself over. She dropped the three meters to the enemy, her feet connecting with the Duro's head, sending him sprawling onto stairs. She spun mid-air and landed on her back on the stairs, firing into the human just below her. He absorbed six rounds, and tumbled down the steps, coming to a stop on the next landing. Freya flipped to her feet as the Duro recovered. Having dropped his blaster, the blue-skinned alien tried to use the high ground to his advantage, leaping toward the fiery ensign. She ducked and caught him on her back, and flipped him down the staircase. As he came to a stop, Freya shot him twice as the rest of the team arrived.

"Good work, ma'am." Felian said, moving past with Daraay to his side. Thorne thought she caught a slight chuckle from the powerful woman as she passed by.

"Well, that was quite the show…" Drakken commented, and pat the huffing woman on the back. "…got enough left for the rest of them, Hellcat?" Freya narrowed her eyes.

"Aye. Was just warmin' up, that's all." She grinned. Tharcourt walked down the stairs, his blasters at high-ready. Administrator Duvolka simply came up chuckling, and joined Thorne as she followed the commander down.

They reached the ground floor, and paused at the hatch. Tharcourt again drew out his commlink and contacted General Veers, who stated that he was en route, but was sustaining heavy fire, and his column was advancing under enemy opposition. The pickup time had been moved back at least thirty minutes. Tharcourt let out an aggravated sigh, and realized that the mission would not go exactly as planned. At least there were contingencies…

"Understood general." Tharcourt stated. "Be advised; we cannot stay in our current location. We'll move to extraction point Bravo and wait for the convoy."

"Copy Commander." Veers returned. "Moving to extraction point Bravo. We will be there, Commander Tharcourt."

"Roger." He leaned back against the wall of the stairwell. He spun his blasters and jammed them into their holsters. "Alright…" He dictated. "…we're going to find a defensible place to hole up, and wait for the convoy to arrive.

"How many of those wannabe rebels you think we're holing up against, sir?" Gallen asked.

"Unknown." Tharcourt answered. "What is known is that we can't stay here. They got us zeroed, and they'll be coming any minute now. Just beyond this door is going to be a hell of a firefight, and hopefully we can find some good cover and concealment. Unless anyone's got any brighter ideas. Anyone?"

"You hold council with your troops?" Major Trent scoffed.

"What was that, major? I didn't quite catch it." Drakken called to the back of the line.

"Hum…I uh…I was merely ridiculing the idea of asking stormtroopers and pilots for advice…" Trent sighed.

"Well, I do. Because my men are the best. Now you, please shut up." Tharcourt said off-handedly. "Alright. Let's move." He opened the hatch, and Daraay tossed out a stun grenade. As soon as it detonated, the team spilled out into the ground floor of the building. Three insurgents, firing blindly, were cut down instantly. Assessing the new terrain, Commander Tharcourt identified the route to the exit, and waved his left hand. A weequay popped out of hiding with a blaster rifle, and Ekks gunned him down. A bolt barely missed Coleth, and another hit the ground at Duvolka's feet. Realizing they were taking fire from outside, they picked up their pace.

They made it to the exit, and filed out onto the dirt street, Daraay and Coleth providing covering fire as the large group started down the pathway to their new objective, a group of low buildings identified on surveillance maps. A small group of hostiles fired from a rooftop, and Mets was glad he had brought a grenade launcher as he lobbed a concussion grenade against the lip of the building. No more fire came from the rooftop. Commander Tharcourt was once again in the lead, jogging down the middle of the road with Daraay and Felian, engaging the odd insurgents who would pop out of alleys and from windows to take potshots at the group.

"Looks like the entire city is shooting at us, sir." Felian commented.

"Then shoot back." Drakken said, firing his twin blasters into a doorway. He turned to see the group of stormtroopers guarding the governor practically sliding along the wall of a building in an attempt to keep themselves and the moff out of the crossfire. He knew this was a bad move. Bolts had a tendency to impact walls at shallow angles and ride the surface all the way down. One was ironically safer in the open.

"Hey!" He called. "Troopers!" One of the stormtroopers, a corporal if he remembered right, looked toward him. "Stay away from the walls! They're a farkin' blaster magnets!" Just then a green bolt skittered along the wall over the heads of the executive protection detail, and they wisely moved out into the road with Delta-7.

"Gah, damn!" Coleth barked as he took a round to the chestplate. His armor absorbed and redirected the energy, but he was knocked down by the impact. Lago and Mets helped him up, and Ekks unloaded on the window the shot had come from.

One of the stormtroopers on the protection detail was hit in the arm by a blaster round, sending his carbine flying. He moved to pick it up, but a slugthrower round fired from a rooftop struck his right hand. The trooper, a Jedha native named Vrest, felt a sickening thunk, and looked to see his thumb barely hanging on. Breathing hard, he grabbed his blaster with his left hand, and held his right against his chest. Dall noticed this, and jogged over. The medic took one look at the trooper's mangled hand, and calmly drew out a roll of bandage, placed the thumb in Vrest's palm, and wrapped the entire package up.

Freya let out a loud yelp as a low-powered red bolt clinked off of her breastplate. She spotted the shooter, a teenaged boy in a captured AT-AT driver's helmet, pointing a small hideout blaster at her. Thorne shot him, and took time to glance down at the new scorch mark on the breastplate. She looked at the Imperial Administrator beside her.

"First time I ever got shot." Freya remarked, her voice shaking a bit. "Hoo…don't think I like it."

Thorne wasn't the only commando attracting fire. Daraay was sure she had been hit at least four times since the street battle had begun. Her advanced armor had shed all of the strikes, leaving only small marks in the black material. Still, she knew that the armor wasn't some panacea for enemy rounds. It was only a matter of time until one found a gap or an uncovered part of her body. She turned to Tharcourt.

"Sir, we need to get off this street." She stated.

"Copy." Tharcourt returned, dual-wielding his blasters. "They know we're here. That alley." He nodded toward the small side-street. "We take that to the next street over and hopefully we'll bypass some of them."

"Agreed." The sergeant said. The team immediately shifted their movements, running to the alley under covering fire. Commander Tharcourt paused to wipe sweat from his face as he counted the troopers running past. They just had to make it five more blocks…

Whew, this is turning into one intense battle for the team, isn't it? In case some of you were wondering, this battle is indeed based loosely off of the events of Black Hawk Down. If you've never read the book or watched the movie (Which stars Ewan McGregor, btw), go hence now and do so. If you like these kinds of scenes, you'll enjoy the book/movie greatly. You also in this chapter get to see Delta-7 fighting alongside regs, and you get a clear idea of how much more advanced their training and tactics are than those of regular troopers. I will try to have the next chapter up in a couple of days, so until then, please send me some feedback via reviews or PM's. I love hearing from you all. Until next time, my loyal readers, Cheerio!