Chapter 11
"Quiet down in here!" Abruptly all mummers of conversation stopped, and all eyes were on the Colonel that had just walked into the briefing room. He stood a good two meters tall, of powerful build, with dark thinning hair. "I'm Colonel Aylard, your training supervisor. You will all address me as Supervisor or Colonel Aylard. Is that clear?" He barked.
"Yes Supervisor Aylard." The twenty four IPEC recruits barked in unison.
Despite the Supervisors tendency to leave 'R's unpronounced, Xan decided he was a normal human being, and had probably seen his fair share of combat.
"First of all I gotta tell ya to forget everything they said last night. That is except your ships. You all have been selected for a top secret covert operations unit, answerable only to the Grand Admirals, and the Emperor himself. The exploration story is just a cover to divert public attention.
"You will all find at least one data card where you're sitting. This data card tells you what ship you've been assigned to. It also outlines what your primary specialty is, along with your secondary specialty. Major, put that datapad down. I did not give you permission, now pay attention." Colonel Aylard yelled the last sentence at the Major. Every single one of the IPEC recruits jumped at the sudden change in volume.
"On the same datacard you will find your schedule. The officers have an additional two cards, one is the manual for Commissioned Officers in the Imperial Military. The other is filled with basic tactics, which you will learn more about in separate classes.
"Your objectives are in covert infiltration, surveillance and advanced strike team. Your ships have been modified with stealth armor; this makes them almost invisible to sensors, without a cloaker. You will be better trained than any Stormtrooper outfit. You have the rest of the day to get familiar with your crew members. Dismissed!" The Colonel strode from the briefing room, and there was the clatter of datapads being removed and cards being inserted.
Rydell watched Mar walk over to Xan, and place her hand affectionately on Xan's shoulder. He noted it, but knew that now in the briefing room with Mar right there was not the right time to confront Xan. So he turned to his datapad, and more precisely to the crew listings, and their specialties.
His name was at the top of the alphabetical list, Artell, Rydell. Captain. Demolitions. Further on down he found Xan was the unit's sniper. That didn't seem right, especially since Xan, or any of the others had spent absolutely no time on a firing range since they arrived. Even further on down he found that Marnist had been tagged as the units repair tech. It was as if someone had placed them here and assigned the jobs because it had been ordered by someone higher up the chain of command. Something he would have to bring up with Xan.
Quickly Rydell found the crew listing for his Blastboat, he was the pilot, with Makazu and Maijongh Dee working the weaponry, Olsaa the units only other women besides Mar would operate the sensors, and copilot. She was also the medic.
Xan's Blastboat consisted of him, as pilot, with Mar copiloting. Darik Noo-gin, and Dim-Ilek-Vors would handle the guns. The list showed that Noo-gin was a slicer and Vors specialized in covert insertion/extraction.
Training was going to begin just after breakfast the next morning. One more day of freedom.
Later that day Xan and Rydell and the other Katalians sat down to lunch.
"Did you look at the specialist listing, or did you dive right into the Manual for Commissioned Officers in the Imperial Military?" Rydell chided Xan, as he shoveled some soup into his mouth.
"The punishment continues." Xan chuckled as he eyed the Alderaanian sitting a couple of tables away.
"Yeah, I wouldn't want to fly with Mar either." Rydell chuckled, he noticed the look she gave him, not as mean as others, she seemed to hold a certain air about her, like her life was perfect.
"I can't believe I got stuck with that Alderaanian moron."
"I'm sure you'll do alright with him." Rydell slapped his friends back. Mar got up and winked at Xan before heading off to get an other drink. Rydell stopped eating and looked at Xan.
"What?" Xan asked. Eventually everyone gets disturbed by someone staring at them with a demented looking grin and Kamarian eyed stare."
"So what did you and Mar do last night, huh?"
"Nothing just went to sleep." Xan said, seeing exactly where Rydell was going with this.
"With each other?" Makazu interjected.
"In the same bed, but not like you think."
"Right Xan, so is she part Bothan, or Shistavanen, did the parts not line up or something?"
"Come on Rydell, if anybody would understand I thought it would have been you."
Rydell and Makazu stopped laughing. "What do you mean?" Rydell asked.
"Well, you don't drink a wine right after you cork the bottle. You let it age, mature, if you will. Our relationship needs to mature."
"But you didn't put a cork in her?" Mak asked.
"No, but at least I have a chance to." Xan shot back with a grin.
"How about being assigned sniper, and Mar being assigned a mechanic." Rydell asked.
"Convenient." Xan shrugged.
"But none of us have been on a shooting range. It's more likely that they would assign someone who they knew could do the job."
"Hey, I can do the job." Xan retorted.
"I know that, Mak, and Mar know it too. But the Imps didn't, well besides a couple of them." Rydell said, alluding to Xan's father.
"That's crazy it's just some stupid coincidence." Xan said and he began to eat again.
"How you guys doin'?" They all jolted when the Colonel plopped down next to Xan.
"We're doing alright Supervisor Aylard." Xan answered.
"You boys remind me of myself when I served with Lord Vader in the Clone Wars. You are going to be the Empires back bone. You're going to help destroy the Rebellion."
"What did you do? What unit were you in?" Xan asked.
"Well, uh, what I did was demolitions, blew those separatist droids to pieces." The Colonel launched into an uproar of laughter. "Can't wait to see you in the sims in a couple of months." With that the Colonel got up and left the table. As soon as he was out of earshot the three friends began to laugh amongst themselves.
"He's full of Bantha crap." Rydell said between laughs.
"Who is?" Mar asked as she sat down.
"The Supervisor." Makazu answered.
"Are you going to tell him that?" Mar shot back.
All three of them looked down at the table, thinking the same thing; he would kill me.
•••
Xan woke up the next morning holding Mar, there was no light coming from the outside. The smooth skin of her partially clad back pressed against his chest, strands of sweet smelling hair tickled his nose. He knew that waking up like this should have been perfect, but there was something missing, something intangible, something that Mar didn't have.
Something Haara did.
Xan propped himself up on one elbow, and kissed Mar's cheek, he saw the smile tug at the corner of her lips. "Come on, it's time to get up." Xan said.
"I'm up." She responded, eyes still hidden beneath eyelids. "I was just enjoying being held by you." She said and grabbed his hand.
"Come on, let's get ready, you really don't want to be late the first day. They'll make you run forever." Xan said heaving himself out of bed.
"Yeah, yeah." Mar said.
"Bet you won't be saying that tonight." Xan said as he watched her walk towards the 'fresher.
By 0445 all the IPEC recruits were assembled in the lounge, sitting in groups at tables, some talking but most just sitting, still lost somewhere between sleep and full consciousness. Rydell and Xan put fifty credits down as to whether Makazu would vomit, or stop running first.
Supervisor Aylard strode into the room, and with hands on hips scanned the room. "Let's go." He barked. Xan and Davic were the first out of their seats. Xan wasn't going to let Davic do anything better than he could. Rydell lagged towards the back with Makazu and Klown. In the sea of broad shoulders and hairy chest Marnist and Olsaa found each other and ran side by side.
That was how every morning started, after the morning run, which got progressively longer the recruits would eat in the lounge, which would be followed by Physical training, mostly strength and speed conditioning. After the noon meal Xan, Rydell, and Davic were sent off to join a regular officer class, while all the others learned the fine points of close combat.
Eventually after six months the afternoon classes and drills gave way to specialist training. All of the members of the group would head off to be taught by the best the Empire had to offer in their respective fields. For secrecy Xan was not allowed to know the name of his sniper instructor. A middle aged man with hard eyes and sharp features.
Noo-gin was assigned to an instructor that he already outclassed. The slicing room was perfect sterile white, dominated by computer consoles and sliceing equipment, complete with the most current encrypt/decrypt machines.
No one knew where Davic went; all they knew was that they didn't want to be standing next to him when the light fights started. Havoc Davic had been his name since the first day of weapons training. While waiting his turn on the range he triggered a burst of E-11 fire that almost took off his foot, and Rydell's arm.
Supervisor Aylard spun around. "All weapons are to be on 'safe' unless it's your turn on the range!" He bellowed. "For disregard of regulations Major, you a confined to quarters for a week. Now give me fifty push up."
"Stang." Davic muttered.
"That's an other twentyfive! No swearin' in here!"
Supervisor Aylard's knocking Davic back to real space was what everybody had wanted to see, if not do themselves. The problem was that Davic would eventually take it out on them.
•••
"So what do you and Private Kinkla do in your quarters after hours?" Davic asked one morning on the run.
"What do you meen?"
"You two seem to spend a lot of time together, almost as if you two were involved with each other."
"You know I could say the same thing about you and your roommate." Xan ducked a low branch. "But then again you're only his roommate."
"Inter unit relationships are strictly forbidden, and you know it. If you don't curtail this then I'll have you both thrown out of my unit. I can't believe they even let women into this unit, my unit."
"I'd trust her in a fight before you." Xan shot back lowly.
"This will not be. . ."
"You're doin' an awful lot of talking Cadet Davic. I must not be going fast enough for ya." Aylard barked our before picking up the pace.
Xan shot a laserbolt glance at Davic before matching the Supervisors speed.
•••
That night after Mar turned in Xan went down to the lounge and plopped himself down next to Rydell at a small table. A waiter droid trundled up and Xan ordered a Lomin Ale, the selection being very limited in the lounges bar.
"So, where's the scog?"
"Huh, Mar? She's back in the room, probably asleep." Xan answered. Xan looked down at the mug before taking a swig and looking at Rydell. "Do you think me and Mar are being to open about our relationship?"
Rydell thought a second before answering. "I don't know." He shrugged. "You guys do spend a lot of time together, although what you two do behind sealed doors is up to you." Then it clicked. "Why do you ask?"
"Havoc started giving me a hard time about today on our run. Threatened to have us split up, you know. . ."
"Normal Davic Bantha crap. Don't worry Xan, you know he talks big, but it would have to go through Aylard first, and you're too good and to involved to get kicked out now."
"I know, but still."
"Listen, you have to make the choice. This is something you have to talk to Mar about, not me." Rydell said.
"Yeah, you're right. So let me buy you a drink for all this sage advice." Xan said sarcastically.
"Besides Xan, there's always Haara."
"We've been over this. . ."
•••
Mar woke up when Xan came back in and turned on the light. Through the half awake haze she watched him undress, and then sit on the end of the bed for a few minutes. He was gorgeous, dark hair, clear skin, muscles stretched over his skinny frame. Her Xan, all hers
"Come to bed Xan."
"Yeah, alright." He answered in a half hearted tone of voice.
Mar grasped as much of him as she could, and hugged. "Good night Xan, I love you."
"I love you too."