Chapter Eight: "Don't shoot anyone too close or else you might knock out an eye."
Every Talon was accounted for at the hangar at the time set by Sergeant Bullwinkle. Both teams had already entered their team's transports and hidden most of their equipment and supplies away from view. Even the master spies, Mekial and Rubi, were not able to glean anything from their enemies. From here out, whenever Blue Group saw Red Group or vice versa, there would be shots - in an assortment of colored stains - fired.
"All right, grunts, listen up," said Bullwinkle from the hangar floor. He stood away from both transports so that everyone could hear him. It was understood that he would be taking an Intel shuttle to the planet to monitor both ships and teams. "I gave each of ya enough C-rations to last a week. Make sure you keep yerself dry when ya can, yer socks fresh, 'n' the same with all yer other underwear. Y'all should keep warm above all else. Don't forget to cook any ljutefisk, too, if you decide to catch 'em."
Red Group looked incredulously at the sergeant, who continued giving random tips for the war games. They knew that Blue Group was doing the same.
"Yer weapons are hot fer staining, so don't shoot anyone too close or else you might knock out an eye." Bullwinkle looked at his chrono. "I'll see y'all at the end of the games, and good luck."
Both transports were given the signal to ship out. Kendrick began to close the cargo hold and waited for Red Group's departure. Kevin was already lifting into the air, getting a proper head start so that Blue Group could not locate their base.
When the opposing team's ship had departed, Kendrick was finally given the signal to head out. But before he could give his controls one last check, he saw Sergeant Bullwinkle through his front viewport. The Talon cook was holding up a package of freeze-dried Corellian rhyshcate, and suddenly Ken groaned rather loudly.
"Ken, you all right?" Jaren called from the back. The sniper had been applying camo paint to his face and teaching the others how to use their face's natural shadows to conceal their presence in foliage. He made his way forward to the co-pilot's seat and shared Kendrick's horrible view.
"Yeah," Ken mumbled. "He found the rhyshcate I stole from the food locker, though."
As they took off and soared away from the Nest, only then did Kendrick catch himself. He had just told a superior officer about stealing official military resources. He was certain to get a bad mark on his record for that one.
"Bummer," he was surprised to hear Jaren say instead. The lieutenant patted Ken's shoulder before strapping himself in. "While you keep practicing up on your thievery, I suppose I'll have to share the wealth that I brought along with us."
Ken had the flexibility at that moment to glance toward Jaren. The lieutenant was definitely serious. The pilot gave a sigh of relief. "I thought I was going to have to eat the straps on my pack, considering the rations we were given."
Jaren chuckled. "Things might get rough down there, but I don't think we'll need to take to those sorts of measures," he said, as if keeping in a big secret.
The transport was now past atmosphere and the chaos of Coruscant's airspace, headed into free space. The sweeping black void loomed ahead and filled the viewport. Even though both soldiers had seen the sight hundreds of different times, it was still incredible. Kendrick gave another quick glance at Jaren while setting their course. The man had a simple smile on his face, and Ken brought his attention back to piloting the transport. The distant green planet would be within range very soon, and there was no sight of Red Group's transport. They had already effectively disappeared.
Ken ventured to ask Jaren what he was hiding, but Jaren spoke first. "I think that we're all getting very good at our jobs," he mentioned. "Mekial has a little something from her own stash and Ty keeps sipping something that's making him laugh really hard."
The two shared a brief laugh. They were all getting really good at their jobs.
The green planet ahead drew closer with each passing second. "Has Mekial found any surprises in our things?" Kendrick asked. He was actually curious to see if he had inadvertently picked up any bugs while moving from his room to the hangar.
"She found and disabled several devices in our bags and electronic equipment," Jaren informed him. "I'm pretty sure that we're clean now."
The lieutenant and pilot watched the planet fill the viewport fully. Kendrick began to pay more attention to the navigation system, following the landing instructions to the letter. "I recommend we land a short distance from our base and check the ship for bugs. We can then move the shuttle from there to the base," Jaren said as the planetary clouds began to fly past the Hawk. "I can go ahead and perform some terrain recon. I'll scout around and get some ideas about how to design our defense."
Kendrick nodded his own approval of the idea and began his landing cycle. The Hawk was running under minimal power to lessen the chances of the enemy detecting her. He was bringing the main landing gear down when he heard the intense shouts coming from the cargo bay.
*****
The insertion had gone perfectly. The Eagle had landed and Red Group had unloaded everything from the transport's cargo bay. Kevin Ski had assisted with the transition to the temporary base and the camouflaging of the Eagle. His team members were currently preparing to take up their positions and were going over last minute details in their heads. Telia was suited up for a lengthy stay on a hill approximately one kilometer away. She was to keep up with Stone, who would relay information to the other team members. Everyone was equipped to handle the recon work set out for him or her. Jane, Stone, Rubi, and Danya in particular were ready to infiltrate enemy territory and take the victory for Red Group.
"We've been over this several times, people," Kevin reminded his team. "Keep cool." If his group could keep their heads, he was positive that they would be able to conquer Blue Group. "Telia will give the word to go ahead with the main plans. Keep up the constant scans and maintain comm silence. The infiltration team will go ahead with their attack on Blue Group once a location and recon work has been established. You folks know what to do."
Stone checked his communications equipment one more time before giving Telia the signal to get into position. As the sniper disappeared from the base, Kaiba called to Kevin from the upper floor.
"Did you find a good spot?" he called back to her. Kevin had ordered Kaiba to search the upper floors for storage locations and sniping holes before the sun went down. While the Talons would normally be waking up on Coruscant right now, they were just getting into their first night on this small planet. This drill would definitely be a test for all of his people, mentally and physically.
"I found two good sniping holes and some walled-off rooms for all of our ammo," she called back. She jumped down from the second floor and landed in the midst of Red Group. "It seems to be a standard base in square meters, but it lacks anything more. We weren't given any special treatment, if that gives you any idea of what we've got."
Kevin had assumed as much. Intel had set them up in the area, but the equipment and extras were completely up to them. "That's where our super intelligence will come in handy," he told them while tapping his temple, and his group smirked in return.
Jane Muir broke the silence in an uncharacteristic fashion. "We sure don't have any good looks to help us out," she said with a snide look toward Stone, who returned the glare equally. The two ended up smiling, which took the rest of Red Group by surprise. Was the infiltration team finally getting along?
"I'm going to make myself useful and unpack some of the equipment," Kithera announced.
"Good idea," Kevin agreed. "Let's get busy and wait for Telia's signal."
*****
"What in the name of Vader are you all doing back here?" Jaren had let Ken continue the landing procedures so that he could see what all of the commotion was about. Blue Group was crowded around a central point in the cargo hold, and from what he could see, Quis was the main attraction.
"Are you seeing this?"
"How did you do that?"
Jaren eventually pushed aside Mekial and Ty to reveal a crouched Quis, who was protecting some sort of device in her hand. Only then did he notice what the commotion was about.
"Your hand!" he shouted a little too loudly and backed up a step. The engineer was holding a completely functional cloaking device.
"I was hoping it wouldn't blow up again," she admitted, watching the device make her hand partially transparent. It wasn't perfect by any stretch, but it certainly would make the war games a little more interesting. "My father and I worked on the design, but we could never get a functional prototype. I messed with this a little bit during these last few weeks and realized the problem was back in our early theoretical work. I've managed to get it working... to a degree."
Jaren and the rest of the group just stood and marveled at the creation. So that was the trick she had been protecting. "That's rather impressive," he stuttered, unsure of what to say to their resident genius.
"Rather impressive?" Trika questioned with a hint of incredulity. "Watching me braid my hair is 'rather impressive.' This thing has the potential to make history!"
Quis flicked a switch and watched her hand return to normal. The device sat still in her palm. "It may have that kind of potential, but for right now, it's still in its prototype form."
Rinin cocked an eyebrow. "Can it cover a larger area, like say, a body?"
"I'd have a lot of work to do," Quis confessed, thinking about the details for a moment. "It's not as easy as flipping a switch or changing a wire. I'm going to have to reconfigure the opacity algorithm to run in 'one-half of the variable, squared' time so that the magnifying reflective output is multiplied by -"
"See what you can do, in any case," Jaren said, not entirely familiar with the complexity of her algorithms and not exactly sure if he cared. "We're about ready to move into position near the base and scout out the area. Make sure you all are ready to move out."
The gathered group began to disperse, and many were still chattering about the cloaking device while they collected their things. Jaren grabbed his and Ken's things, noticing that certain care had been taken to maintain the secrecy of one of Kendrick's weapons. An A-280 Sharpshooter, perhaps? He had not been aware that Ken owned one of those. It was a fine weapon with plenty of power, but without the range of his own RL-54 Ranger. He would have to compare notes with Ken at a later time.
He gave the team a few last reminders as the shuttle touched down safely. It was show time, and he and the rest of the team were ready to go.
*****
Telia set up her gear on the proper hill, ready for just the right time to strike. She was camouflaged about as well as she had ever managed, as she was sure Blue Group would be keeping an eye out for her. She had already pieced her rifle together, fitted the staining mount, and covered the black beauty under sufficient camo netting.
I will not let Jaren ruin my opportunity to make a few easy kills, she thought to herself, lying prone on the cold ground. As she lined up her shot with the flat plain below, she briefly thought about a similar training scenario, when she and Jaren had been assigned with the 527th. They had performed perfectly together. They had been at the top of the kill charts in training and on missions. On their first day, they had practically ripped the first place position from the previous reigning champions.
Things just weren't that simple anymore.
The night was setting in. Her eyes adjusted slowly to the dimming light. Vandor-3 had no moons, but she knew from her previous research that the light from Coruscant bathed the nighttime in a strange, yellowish glow. If the cloud cover cleared a bit it would make for perfect sniping conditions.
The terrain was wonderfully formed so that it was nearly impossible to get to Red Group's base without passing through the plains for at least a quarter of a kilometer. Thinking about putting a splotch of red over Jaren's chest, Telia settled in and awaited Blue Group's first move.
*****
A soft breeze rustled the tops of the trees and gave him the cover that he so desperately needed. Although Jaren Kai was sure no one was in the vicinity of Blue Group's base, he also realized that he needed the practice. Remaining untraceable to all forms of tracking, Jaren began to move again, letting the noise of the night cover his movement. As he scanned all surroundings for possible traps and defensible positions, he knew his sniping experience would serve him well.
Over the past hour, he had moved the short distance to his team's base and had begun a systematic reconnaissance of the entire area. He made himself familiar with every fallen tree, stream, and boulder in the dense woods covering the war zone. He had noticed upon touching down on planet that there was one open plain as far as he could see, and he was sure that it would be a particularly strategic place for Telia to set up her rifle. He would have to warn the team to be cautious if they had to cross that area. He, however, had also found a perfect sniping position on a small hill, with a fallen tree nearby that would cover all likely avenues of attack.
He began by setting up his camo netting in the branches of the downed tree. The netting was constructed of a material that would dissipate his heat signature and scatter any sensor beams, which he was sure Red Group's infiltration team would be also employing to assist them. Once the net was in place, Jaren examined his handiwork from several angles to make sure it wasn't visible, then settled in to wait for the rest of his team to make the trek to the base.
*****
Quis had shuffled her way up to Ty and had attempted to discuss the specifics about her cloaking device. Ty had made little effort to assist, given that he was actually trying to keep his mouth shut. Blue Group was making its way toward the base, with Trika, Milan, and Mekial leading the group. Trika was set to attempt a cracking on the base in order to better assess how to stop it from happening again while the other two infiltrators would determine if the structure was ready for all other intrusion techniques. The rest of the team kept silent while observing the terrain for good hiding spots.
"Boy, am I sure glad we've got all of you guys on the team," Quis changed subjects while fixing a minor issue with the device. "I was getting worried for a bit there. I mean, it's not like I'm the greatest asset to the team, is it now? What good am I in a combat situation, anyway? I'm slow and pretty uncoordinated, to say the least..."
Great, Quis. Why don't you just impress the whole lot of them with your impressive skills in babbling and self-degradation?
Ty didn't immediately reply, but continued to be cautious about his steps. Quis eventually struggled over a fallen tree and fell behind the pilot.
That went really well, she silently cursed herself. Today was going to be different, though. Today she wouldn't be useless. Today she'd win the day. Her stealth device would bring victory to Blue Group.
Quis accidentally caught her gear on another fallen tree. The others, not noticing, continued.
"Umm, hey!" Quis called in a hiss. "Can I have a hand here?"
*****
Rubi Jais took pride in being one of Red Group's primary intrusion members. The lead position was practically hers, with Jane Muir and Stone flanking her and Danya Faithwood bringing up the rear with her load of equipment. Her stain-mounted blaster ready for anything, Rubi and the infiltration unit carefully wound through the planetary forest. Their job was to secure the area surrounding the base and engage the enemy if necessary. Given the short length of time since touching down, Rubi was sure that they would not encounter any of Blue Group's members.
Stone signaled that he saw some movement to his right. The rest of the group froze in their tracks and watched Stone describe the motion in some quick and easy hand gestures. From what Jane could understand, the motion had come from a series of trees coming from a small hill in the distance. Rubi's eyes attempted to adjust to the pale yellow glow so she could get a slight view of the enemy. On Jane's signal, Danya pulled out her all-in-one detection device. The heat signature, she signaled back, was definitely Human.
"Why would Blue Group be so blatant?" Rubi asked in a hiss, her face a disgruntled twist of confusion.
"They haven't even had time to get this far," Danya told her team, watching carefully as her trace program ran a few lines of code. The numbers just weren't adding up. "The closest I calculate them to be is four kilometers, and that way," she pointed the completely opposite direction of the movement.
Stone hadn't said much, but he had continued watching the area of the motion. Whoever the figure was had made no move since the initial sighting, and he had even appeared to be watching them. "I thought Intel had cleared this area for war games," Jane said, a scowl etching her face. "Are there locals to consider?"
Rubi came to a conclusion quickly. "Blue Group must have planted someone there during their landing. Can you get a read on any details?" she asked Danya quietly.
Danya punched a few commands into her equipment. Her expression changed from intent to perplexed. "They're gone," she said, and she looked up as if the person would come out into full view. Again, she checked over her screens. "They just disappeared. I'm reading no heat signatures from one kilometer out."
The four teammates remained silent for a few moments, contemplating what exactly that meant.
"Blue Group had to have planted that trick," Rubi reiterated, breaking the silence. "Quis has been hiding something ever since the war games were announced." Her face had twisted up in silent regret at not having the genius on her team.
"Mekial might have something to do with it," Stone said, suspicious of just about every member of Blue Group at that point. "Or Jaren. Or Trika. Any one of them could have set this up."
The air began to lightly pick up speed. Only then did the four notice the air change was coming from above, as if something were causing a stir from the atmosphere. All four shifted their sights above, searching the skies for an answer.
"That can't be anything Blue has," Danya mumbled quietly, watching the large form getting even larger in the night sky. She stumbled back a couple of steps to get a better view from underneath the thick foliage and couldn't help her mouth from falling open.
"Unmarked merchant vessel," Stone identified the ships touching down. He, too, stepped backwards, but only to duck away from the spotlights that were searching the plain and surrounding woods from the bottom of the craft.
"It's stolen," Rubi added, her own experiences with such craft a valuable asset. "Any ideas?"
Jane seemed to be thinking hard for some detail. "I've seen that kind of ship before. The identification numbers have been scratched from the bottom in that corner." She pointed off in the distance. "Have you all heard of the Black Fire Mercenary Group?"
Her three teammates shook their heads. "Is that one of your past alliances?" Stone asked, curious as well as anxious to learn any details of this surprise.
Jane snorted. "I couldn't make it into Black Fire if they were short of every type of personnel," she said, obviously familiar with the group. "They are a group of extraordinary precision and they only hire the best of the best... mostly those they've trained and brainwashed for more than five years."
Danya was already on the line to Captain Ski. It was difficult to explain the situation without the captain interrupting to question every sentence.
"Are you sure it's a merchant vessel?" Ski questioned, sounding agitated and a bit confused. From the background noise, Danya could tell that Kithera and Kaiba were investigating the matter from their spots on base. Their yelling was all she needed to confirm everyone from Red Group was on the same page.
Ski paused for a moment before responding, and the intrusions team waited for his instructions. The freighter had landed in the middle of the plain and sat silent for quite a while. Jane, Stone, Rubi, and Danya had effectively dropped to the ground to hide out. "I'm signaling Telia and Blue Group now. We need to regroup away from both bases and contact Intel. I'm sending Danya the coordinates for our meet. Head that way immediately," he ordered, and then cut the feed to eliminate any other noise.
With their instructions in line, Jane took the helm and ordered her team to move out on Danya's direction. They moved quickly and efficiently, ignoring the subsequent voices and shut down of the freighter's engines. As the unknown visitors began to unload their cargo, all four Talons could only think of the potential for a real mission... a mission for which they could not say that they were fully prepared.