Chapter 13

She was there. Sitting on Xan's lap across the room at a table with Rydell and a few others while Mar sat at the bar clutching a mug Lomin ale. She laughed, and joked and asked stupid questions about the missions and equipment, all things they could not really answer.

Xan seemed happy, but Mar knew better, he was to troubled to be actually happy with anybody but herself. It all had to be a ploy to keep Davic off his case, so that they could be together when they escaped the Academy. That's it; it would only be another few days before all of them would be off this planet, away from the Academy, the Imperials and most of all, away from Haara. Once off Carida Mar knew that Xan would come back to her, he had to.

She watched as the two got up and left the lounge, hand in hand. Mar squeezed her mug until it almost shattered in her hand. She hated Haara.

•••

Xan and Haara stood under the light in front of her home, Xan fumbled with the box in his pants pockets. He had to tell her something, but what?

"Haara, we're leaving for artic training in a couple of days. I don't know how long it's going to be, but the chances are that we're not coming back here, so I wanted to give you this." Xan produced the small box from his pocket.

"What is it?" Haara asked, as she opened the box.

"It's a Katalian moon pendant. It's supposed to let all these jerks here know that you're already taken, I can take it back if you don't like it."

"No Xan, I love it. But how is it supposed show other guys anything?"

"There's a whole myth that goes with it, but I don't want to bore you." Xan looked down at his feet.

"No come on Xan, I like being bored, why do you think I'm with you?" They both laughed.

"Fine, but you asked for it. Along time ago, on Katal, there was a man and a woman and they were very much in love. Every time they went out all the men looked at him with envy because he had the most beautiful girl in the entire system. So one time he goes away for a week or two, and all the other guys in the city start to peruse his girl. When he finally comes back theirs is this one guy who won't leave them alone and let them be happy. Anyway the two guys get into a fight and the second one ends up dead. So our hero here, is so disgusted at what he'd done he has a jeweler make a gold pendant with green stones around the edge to look like the moon. On the back he had inscribed, 'Like there is only one moon above Katal, you are the only women in my life.' As soon as she wore this all the time the other men left her alone."

"That's a good story. I hope all these Academy jerks have herd it." She laughed again. "Don't worry Xan, I'll wait for you."

"About that, we might not be coming back Haara. I want you to promise me something."

"Anything for you Xan."

"Promise me you'll find me on Katal if you don't hear from me in three weeks. But if I'm not on Katal in another three weeks don't wait for me."

"I can't promise that." She looked back at Xan, into his blue eyes that pleaded with her soul. "Alright, but you better be on Katal when I come to find you."

"I love you." Xan said before kissing her goodnight.

•••

Snow kicked up as the Blastboats topped another snow hill. They were flying in perfect formation that Davic loved so much. Xan was dozing in the co-pilots seat as Mar piloted the Katalian Hammer expertly. All Mar could see out the front view port was snow, and more snow, and the flurries of snow being kicked up from Davic's Blastboat. What a wonderful place to be. She reached over and punched Xan in the upper arm.

"Wake up, we're almost there."

Xan flipped back his helmet so it no longer covered his eyes. "What's the temp Noo-gin?" He asked, swinging his legs off the command console.

"Negative twenty-five." Noo-gins answered.

"Krif, beach weather." Xan scoffed. "Look, over there Mar, that's the base." Xan pointed.

"Yeah, do you think Havoc's seen it yet?"

"He hasn't moved yet, what do you think?" Xan asked.

"Blind and incompetent. He's going to be dead on the first operation." Mar answered.

It only took Davic another five standard minutes to find the outpost, and a half standard hour after they landed, they were all being briefed on the training exercise. They would fly the Blastboats within a kilometer of the target. Then they would proceed on foot across the tundra, observe, and then infiltrate a mock compound that had been setup. The whole drill was supposed to run four days, with the whole IPEC group spending three nights on the tundra.

The next morning the IPEC trainees were awake before the sun broke over the snow fields, and immediately started to get ready for the days ahead. They moved with the lack of enthusiasm that's brought on by cold and lack of sleep. That was all except for Olsaa, she always seemed to be happy, and awake, but that could have been a side affect of the four cups of caf she had already had.

"Good morning fellow IPECers." Olsaa piped up cheerily as she slapped Xan and Rydell on the back. The two exchanged glances, both wondering weather it was the right time to bring up the escape. In unison they both shook there heads no.

"It's too early." Rydell managed to croak out.

"And cold." Xan seconded.

"Hurry up people, let's move. We're supposed to be out of here in 15 standard minutes." Davic barked.

"I think your chrono's wrong Havoc, we still have at least a half and hour." Rydell shot at Davic.

"We leave when I say we leave, is that clear Captain?"

"What ever you say." Rydell tried to keep the sarcasm out of his voice, but he did a poor job of it.

"Fifteen minutes people." Davic, turned around and clapped his hands for emphasis.

"What I wouldn't give to get Havoc with one of these." Rydell triggered the forearm blade that all the IPEC personnel had been issued. He closed it, and then triggered it again, the blade making whoosh sound. "I love this thing." Rydell was like a little kid with a new toy.

"Yeah, well don't get to excited, I don't want to have to patch you up when you cut you're self with that thing." Olsaa admonished.

Rydell just shook it off, a joke. He wouldn't get hurt in such a stupid way. Just to spite Davic, Rydell and Xan did not show up to their ships until ten minutes after Davic had wanted them to be in the air.

It was noon when Davic keyed in the code for the landing cycle. They set down in perfect formation on an ice cliff. It had been Rydell's choice for a landing zone, it was a defensible position, within reasonable range of the target zone. Davic's location was further away and in a valley formed by two snow hills. The only reason that anybody could think of why Davic had chosen that spot was because it would keep the ships and the camp out of the wind.

After they covered the ships with camo nets, and piles of snow the members began to gear up. On Davic's orders the heated face masks were left behind, leaving all unhappy, and that was just the beginning of the problems that Davic was going to cause.

In single file, with Rydell at the head of the column they headed off across the tundra, Rydell cursing all the way. After a ten kilometer march through waste deep snow Davic finally stopped the line to setup a camp. Once the shelters were up the members gathered in groups around the portable heaters that they had been issued.

"I thought you said your landing zone was closer to the target then Havoc's." Mar shot at Rydell.

"It is, but with that Nerf herder leading the last part I think we ended up a long way off." Rydell whispered, and then turned to the datapad mounted on his left forearm. "Yep, you see this is where we are, and that's where we should be." He pointed to the two locations with the datapad stylus.

"We must be 6 clicks away form where we need to be." Xan chimed in. "All because Havoc can't read the lines on his datapad. Should we tell them now?"

"Why not?" Rydell cast a glance around to make sure Davic wasn't going to hear. "We're busting out of here. As soon as we get back to the outpost. The idea is that we all head out of here as part of the unit, because if we tried to make it individually we won't be able to. The only reason we're putting this to you guys is because me and Xan had a hunch that none of you volunteered for this job."

"What if Davic finds out?" Makazu asked.

"If you don't open your fat Katalian mouth he won't." Vors shot back at him.

"Are you guys in or out?" Rydell said harshly. He looked around the group, Noo-gin, Makazu, Vors, Olsaa, Xan and Marnist. Nobody said no, they would all go together.

The wind was whipping across the snowfields the next morning when Mar woke up. Xan was already missing from their shelter, while Noo-gin and Vors continued to snore. No matter how good the Empire said these shelters were she had still been cold all night. When she poked her head out the door she saw Xan, Rydell, and Davic not to far away, they seemed to be the only ones awake, but there had to be a sentry or two somewhere. Something told her this was not the time to but into a conversation.

"Listen Havoc, we're at least two clicks off course. If you had followed the route that I'd laid out we'd be in sight of the target already." Rydell said in a low tone, not wanting to wake any of the others.

"I followed the route just like you laid it out. You navigation is wrong Captain."

"No, it's not Havoc. My navigation is never wrong. Maybe you took a bad compass reading. You should have your eyes checked." Davic's face went even redder at being called Havoc twice. Rydell knew that it made him mad.

"Well then we have two option gentlemen. We can try and cut back the way you say, or we can loop around and hit them from the opposite direction. They won't be expecting that."

"You have to be kidding me Major." Xan said. His father had engrained into him at a very young age that he should always address superiors with respect, regardless of whether they deserved it or not. "They're not expecting us anyway. It doesn't matter which direction we come from. Besides, if we hook around and attack them from the opposite direction that puts the target between us and our ships. I'm sure I don't have to explain to you why that doesn't make sense." Address superiors with respect, but insolent criticism was not out of the question.

"We're going to come at them from the opposite direction."

"Havoc, do realize how much longer that will take? That's at least another day's travel time, and it makes it harder for us to get back to the ships if something goes wrong."

"Those are my orders, get ready." Davic turned and walked back to his shelter.

"My face is freezing." Xan said wiping icicles form his eyebrows. "Enough of this, I'm putting on the face shield."

"Yeah, me too." Rydell seconded. And both began to put them on. "Havoc's going to have a fit when he sees us." Rydell said, his voice slightly muffled under the cloth shroud.

"It's too cold to care." Xan said.

After a breakfast of rations the group was assembled and ready to move out. Instead of leading the group as he had done the day before Davic put Marnist at the head of the column, so that any blame could be placed on the young women if the navigation was off. This enraged Xan, Mar was the smallest person in the unit, and the waste deep snow was almost up to her chest. It was just Davic wielding his power to make someone suffer.

By noon, Makazu had assumed the lead, and they could see the target compound just before nightfall. Xan was posted on sentry for the night, as well as surveillance on the compound. Xan thought it was cold during the day, but the temperature plummeted even further after the sun went down. The IPEC personnel had been outfitted with a climate control system similar to that of the Stormtroopers with some of the body armor. Even with this heated body glove on Xan had trouble feeling and moving his fingers.

Nothing happened in the compound as Xan watched. He was eventually relieved by Makazu around midnight. The next morning Xan woke up to Mar shaking him.

"Come on. You've already missed the days briefing, and Davic is determined to start the operation even if we're not ready."

"What? That's suicide. They need my cover, especially on the approach." Xan jumped out of his sleeping bag, and immediately regretted it as the cold air assaulted his skin. He was ready in a few minutes, and he and Mar began to brake down the shelter as the others proceeded towards the compound.

"Bantha for brains is leaving without our cover."

"Yeah, well you did some good surveillance last night, right?" Mar asked.

Xan shrugged. "I did what I could, but it was hard to see with the wind whipping up the snow."

"Hey, Xan? Where are you?" Rydell's voice crackled over earpiece in Xan's helmet.

"Still breaking down the shelter. Have Davic hold the column 'till I'm in position. We're just about done here."

"He's not going to listen to me. You know that."

"Well then have Mak sprain an ankle or something. Just slow down or we're all going to look like a bunch of nerf herders. And you know none of it will get pinned on Davic." Xan said back. "Are we on a private frequency?"

"No, you're not Lieutenant Hodgins." It was Davic. "Enough of this chatter, they'll be able to pick it up. If you're not in position in two minutes we're moving without you."

"I'll be there, you can bet your skin on that, sir." Xan switched off the mic and turned to Mar. "Finish with the shelter, I'm going to take up position. Don't want to give Davic another reason not to like me."

"He'll invent one, you know that."

"Yeah, I know." Xan said picking up his snipers blasters and heading for the hill overlooking the target. Xan realized as he overlooked the area that anyone with a pair of eyes could see the twenty-two IPEC members moving into position. The target was a small compound set up to resemble a Rebel outpost that the IPEC group might be called on to eliminate. This one was crewed by expendable droids, and the trainees would be firing full power rounds while the droids only fired stinger shots. Their wasn't even any reasonable cover for the approaching IPEC soldiers. Davic was useless.

Xan sighted one of the droids as Mar flopped down in snow next to him. The droids head moved back and forth scanning the from a tower.

"Stay low guys. Those droids are scanning." Xan said. As the group sniper and spotter he was supposed to give the attack team information that would help them stay in cover and protect them longer. All but one of the white clad warriors got as low as they could, that one had to be Davic. "Major, did you hear me? Those droids are scanning for ya."

"I herd you Hodgins." Davic shot back. "I know what I'm doing down here. Just keep us covered."

Xan looked to Mar in disbelief, and shrugged. "Alright, it's your neck." Xan brought the sniper blaster back to his shoulder. It was the heaviest weapon in his personal arsenal supplied by the Empire, it was the only weapon rated to work in the extreme cold of the tundra. The other four were still aboard his Blastboat in the weapons locker. He brought the stylus out from his datapad and scribbled a message. Bet you five creds that Davic gets it first. He sent the message to Rydell, who sent back an affirmative.

Under no circumstances was Xan supposed to fire first unless he was ordered to, and Davic was never going to give that order. Not that it was going to matter much longer anyway. The stinger bolts were not capable of killing anyone, but that did not mean that Xan was going to sit back and let Davic make targets of his friends down there. He began to push some of the snow in front of him to create some form of cover.

"What are you doing?" Mar asked. "They can't see us."

"Not now, but I'm going to make us a target so they don't have to get shot at. Send a message to Rydell's datapad, telling him that when I open fire to rush the compound." Xan continued to push the snow around as Mar put out the message. He checked the power level and setting on his sniper blaster and brought it to his shoulder.

Xan focused the electronic crosshairs and the head of one of the droids. He magnified the image, bringing the target artificially closer. "I'm going to need the positions of all the enemy right away. We're gonna make us such an obvious target that they'll have to shoot at us."

"Are you insane?" Mar looked back at Xan quizzically.

"They can't reach us, and they aren't programmed to be able to calculate a shot for this range anyway. We're safe." Xan assured his smaller companion. Xan returned his attention to the scope once more. There was the closest droid again, and slowly Xan began to tighten his finger on the firing stud. A quick squeeze and the first bolt was away, it seared its way through the droids head, frying circuitry as it went. They droid crumpled to the platform, so much useless scrap metal. Xan didn't hesitate; he found an other target and took that one out. By now Davic realized what was happening.

"Hodgins, what are you doing? Cease firing now! That's an order. I'll have you brought up on charges for disobeying a standing order!" Davic continued to rant, but Xan just ignored him, dropping his eyes from the sight long enough to see that Davic was the only one not moving forward.

"Quick Xan. In the guard tower far right." Mar said.

Xan moved quickly, and felled the droid there.

"Rydell? How is it going down there?" Xan said as he sighted an other droid.

"Yeah, just perfect. Keep them distracted until we're inside the perimeter." Rydell said.

"Got ya. Hey, can you shut up Davic?"

"Short of shooting him? No."

"Alright." Xan pulled the trigger again, dispatching an other droid.

They were to the fence now. Rydell was at the front, and by now Davic was on the comm yelling at Rydell too. He was still well back of the rest of the group. All the helmets carried recorders so that the Supervisor could watch how they had performed, and tear apart every place where they had gone wrong. The charges were set and they all backed off and opened fire on the droids in the compound. There was a flash and a section of the fence came down.

They were all inside in a matter of seconds as Xan continued to snipe the droids as fast as Mar could feed him targets. Rydell had set the charges in a handful of minutes, all while Xan covered him from the hill. Once they had all withdrawn to a safe distance from the compound Davic began to shout at Xan.

"Lieutenant Hodgins as soon as we get back to the base I'm having you Captain Artell and Technician Kinkla all brought up for court martial!"

"Listen Havoc!" Makazu interrupted. "If it weren't for the Lieutenant we would have been spotted long before we were close enough to do any damage."

"It would have worked. Now we all have to go back and explain to the Supervisor that we all were jeopardized by Xan's itchy trigger finger."

"Enough of this Davic!" Xan shouted. "Just put me up on charges, insubordination, reckless endangerment of the group, I don't care. You won't win. By doing what I did I would have saved your life and almost everybody else's in the unit because you were too stupid, and as soon as someone below you in rank offered a suggestion you removed it from your mind. Do what you will with me, but I did the right thing." Davic said nothing, he just stared at Xan.

"Form up and move out. Hodgins up front." Davic finally barked.

Xan struggled to lead the column across the tundra through waste deep snow with his heaviest blaster rifle. Two hours into the hike it began to snow, not just a flurry but a full on blizzard that Xan had to lead them through. Rydell and Xan both asked to stop and put up the shelters; pressing on through a blizzard was not going to get them anywhere accept lost or dead. Davic refused every time. At least the whole unit knew who was on their side.

The blizzard cleared when they were almost to the cliff that they had stashed the Blastboats on. It required them to climb a twenty meter vertical face of ice. Rydell was the first up. Davic had devised a way so that if they needed to retreat he would be the first one in line, but if they were withdrawing safely he would always be the last so that the Supervisor would think him a good leader. Aylard knew better. Xan let Mar go ahead of him, and he followed her, both of them helped Xan over the edge.

Rydell stayed to help the rest over the edge while Xan and Mar went to get the Blastboats ready to fly. After every member was up on the cliff Rydell checked and rechecked the synthrope for safety so it would show that he had been doing what he was supposed to. All the others headed straight for their ships as Davic climbed the ice wall. Rydell took off his helmet so that the holocams could not see what he was about to do.

He triggered the wrist blade and started a cut on the climbing line so that it would look like the line moving over the ice had caused it to fray and snap. It would all look nice and clean for the Supervisor, and the rest of the Imperial hierarchy. Rydell had something different in mind for the sniper instructor.

Davic was almost to the top of the cliff when Rydell put his helmet back on, and looked over the edge. The line was almost gone and as he watched the last few synthetic strands gave way, and Davic began his plummet to the tundra below. Rydell broke the news to the rest of the group, and those who did not know that Rydell and six others would soon be a long way from Carida were genuinely pleased that they would have a capable combat leader.