Bad Luck on Coruscant

…“No, don’t do it!”

“Fire!!”

I woke up with a start, jumping to my feet. I checked my body for wounds, and then realized that I was still at CSF. After another look around, I sat down and tried to slow down my breathing. I heard chatter and stomping outside, so I assumed it was morning already. As I took deep breaths, there was a bang the door, sending my heart into overload again. The slit opened, and a man appeared there.

“Get up, your shuttle is here.” He said.

I dragged myself up and limped towards the door. I was surprised when he just opened the door and led me down a different hallway. We went up a set of stairs and right through another hallway. At the end of the hallway, there was a door which led to a landing pad where a Nu-class attack shuttle was docked. There were some clone troopers standing next to the entrance ramp at the front of the shuttle. All but one of them was in all white armor, the odd one out having red stripes placed on his armor. They appeared to be conversing as their heads were bobbing up and down, but no sound came out. When they noticed us approaching, they turned and stood straighter. The trooper in red walked up to us and spoke to the officer.

“Is this him?”

“Yep, the GAR’s newest recruit.”

The trooper examined me, and then gave a nod to the other ones. They came over and formed up around me, shouldering their rifles. Their armor reminded me of traditional Mandalorian armor, though only vaguely. They even had the T-visor shape. They proceeded to move me towards the entry ramp of the shuttle.

“Yes, because I was planning on escaping on the chance that there would be no guard detail.” I said “Well, that plan is foiled”

They just kept walking, ignoring my comments. No appreciation for good comedy. I ducked into the shuttle and they sat me down at a seat close to the rear of the shuttle. After they were seated, the ramp came up and shut us in. There was a small shudder throughout the shuttle as we lifted off. The one with the red stripes turned towards me and spoke.

“Welcome to the 305th Airborne Company, I’m CC-3751, Lieutenant and commander of 1st Platoon,” He said.

“Nice to meet you, Lieutenant, I was just wondering...."

He gave a nod to the other troopers, cutting me off, and they all turned their attention to each other. After a second he turned back to me. "I know who you are and why you are here. To answer your next question, I am the only one in the company that knows for obvious reasons. All your orders will go through me and I have orders to kill you if you even think of escaping. Is all of that clear?"

"Not a fan of bounty hunters, I see," I said

"Is that clear?" He asked again, putting steel in his voice.
"Of course, of course," I finally replied while staring at the black visor looking for some sign of what he is thinking. Probably the same thing I was. "So, when do I get the cool armor?"

"You'll be armored when we get to the Indomitable, where you will also meet the rest of the company,"

"And is there something I can call you? I was never good with numbers."

"The lads call me Rock." With that, He dismissed me by turning away to talk to one of the troopers. Nice guy. Doesn't like me, big surprise there. But it wasn't the bounty hunting, at least not just that. I mulled that over as I heard the whine of the hyperdrive and the slight pull of going into hyperspace. I sighed and stretched out on the bench I was on and decided to sleep through the ride.

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I was woken by the shaking of the ship as it came out of hyperspace. I lifted my head, looked around, and saw that the troopers had hardly moved. I got into a sitting position and stretched my cramped muscles. I turned to Rock "You mind if I get a look-see out of the view port?"

He looked at me for a second, then nodded. I went to the cockpit and looked out. It always astounded me looking into space. It was calm and empty. Darkness pick-pocketed by the light of stars.

"Wow, it never gets old does it?" I said mostly to myself. The pilot looked up at me, then turned back to his controls shaking his head. In the vast emptiness lay the Venator-class Star Destroyer named Indomitable. I noticed two corvettes flanking it as we neared the ventral hanger. I made my way back to the passenger area for the landing and almost ran into one of the troopers.

"Sorry, sir, Lieutenant wanted me to get you for the landing."

"Of course, he did" I replied side stepping him and going up to Rock. "So, the 305th be waiting for us?"

"Yes, however you won't need to say anything. They stand at attention and you pass by. Nothing else." He said moving past me towards the hatch

"Absolutely, won't do or say anything." I said smirking. The entry hatch unlocked and the ramp lowered letting in a flood of light. I raised my hand to shield my eyes and followed Rock out the shuttle. The hangar was enormous, with fighters and bombers and LAATs laid out the space. There was a path created by the troopers of the company straight through the mess. "Nice to meet you all, I am your new Captain, Talyc Verd!"

I could almost hear Rock's teeth grinding in irritation. What can I say, Mandalorians are amicable. We moved to one of the doors in the hangar that led to what could only be the armory.

"Hey Rock, what brings you here today?" said a trooper that came from behind a counter where he had disassembled a blaster. He had green markings on his armor but aside from that he was the same as the rest of the troopers. And yet, different.

"Sarge, I got our new Captain in, and he needs some armor." Rock replied. They knew each other well, obviously. Which of course begged the question, how? You know your troops because you fight with them, you lead them. You know your commanding officer because he gives you orders. You don't really have the habit of getting to know who's in charge of the armory.

Sarge grunted and went rummaging around in an area full with boxes. I decided to take a look around the armory. while I waited. It was a real mess with boxes laid about, blasters and explosives in disarray all over on shelves and counters and even on the floor.

"Here we are, standard issue armor with a few non-standard attachments. Interesting, its usually hard to get this kind of hardware, but this has it as if it was standard." He said examining that helmet. "Flip-up polarized macro-binoculars, the integrated commlink has a bigger antennae than most, giving it better range. Hmm, I might have to look into how this got here, this is almost ARC-rated armor.”

"No time, Sarge, we have an assignment already. We were just waiting for the "Captain" here." Rock replied quickly.

"All right, come over here, Captain. Lets get you suited up." He agreed, albeit a little reluctantly. I walked over to where he was and saw the large crate he was standing above. The armor was identical to the other troopers except it had blue stripes. He took out a black body suit and handed it to me. "We can't put any of the armor on until you have that on so, get to it."

"Joy" I said taking it and going into the near by changing room. After donning it, I went back out so that that they could start putting on armor plates. They were relatively lightweight, compared to my usual Mandalorian armor. "So, how much can these plates take?"

"The usual, shrapnel, small energy blasts, even some regular blasts, nothing direct though." Gunny replied slapping the chest plate making sure its secured. After the last plate was secured, he brought the helmet over. "Right, time to seal ya up."

For most people, getting sealed inside a suit isn't the most pleasurable thing. It's a claustrophobic experience. After a few hundred times however, it grows on you. As the buy'ce was snapped into place with a hiss, the inside came to life. The lights came on and the H.U.D. began calibrating itself.

"All right, Captain, first let's check your audio. Give me a thumbs up if you hear me." I did as told and he nodded tapping on his pad. "Good, all right let's check your optics."

He proceeded to flip the pad and hold it up. "Follow it with your eyes and it will tell me when you do." I followed his instructions again and he grunted as he tapped at his pad again. "Right, everything seems to be in order, Captain. Your good to go"

"Thanks, Sarge. Come on, Captain, let's go brief you."

"Nice meeting ya, Sarge, I'll make sure to come down if I need more goodies." I said giving him a two-finger salute and following Rock.

"Stay out of trouble, Captain. I know your type" He replied going back to the blaster on his table.

I chuckled as I walked down the corridor. My good mood was taken away by the sterile white corridor.. This whole....ship was wrong in a way. I was used to dirty, unorganized, that's what was real to me. This.....place....was clean and concise, and it felt alien. I saw Rock duck into one of the hatchways, so I followed him through. It went into a fairly large meeting room, with a long conference table sitting in the middle surrounded by a multitude of chairs. At the far end was sitting a naval officer, a Captain by the look of his insignia. The lieutenant was at attention, staring straight ahead.

"At attention, Captain." Rock said through the comm. I thought the appropriate response was to completely ignore him. I strode toward the table and sat down at the closest to me. I even put my feet up just to rub in the insubordination. Needless to say, the Captain was not amused.

"So! What's this mission you guys are so eager to send me and the 305th on?"

The Captain leaned forward, this conversation obviously not going like he expected. "I am Commander John Terrenson, Captain of the Indomitable. You are little more than a nuisance, however you will be a well-disciplined nuisance. Your first lesson is that you must salute to superior officers, such as the Lieutenant is doing now. At ease, Lieutenant." Rock relaxed into a parade rest stance. "Am I understood, Captain?" He said, putting as much distaste in my rank as he possibly could.

"Oh, absolutely, um....sir." I replied, giving a limp salute. He remained nonplussed and decided to move on. He pressed a button near him and a planet appeared in the middle of the table.

"This is Alzoc III, a barren ice planet. There are few things living there, mostly indigenous creatures and miners. However we have noticed the CIS setting up a base, here" he said pointing to a spot near the equator of the planet. "The GAR sent out an ARC to recon and, if it was found necessary, prepare the base for easy attack."

"Let me guess, he went dark. Now you need us to perform damage control, find out what happened to the him and finish the job."

"You catch on quickly, Captain."

"I just prefer to skip the osik and get straight to the point." I said bluntly. "Was there any intel before he disappeared?"

"Yes, they managed to give us a basic layout of the base as well as the number of garrison." he replied nodding in the direction of Rock. "The Lieutenant has all the specifics."

"I'll give you all the information after this little briefing. We'll also talk more about your apparent need to be insubordinate" I heard Rock say to me through the comm again. It was nice being able to talk discretely. I rubbed the back of my helmet and made a rather rude gesture to him. Uncalled for? Maybe. Absolutely hilarious? Definitely.

"Right, anything else you need to tell me?" I asked putting my hand down.

"You will have no support for this, besides what you take with you and the LAATs that transport you there. It will be a fully-independent combat drop, so arm yourselves appropriately. Remember, while we do know of this base, we don't know if there are any other bases, so make it quick." He said, getting up to leave. "Oh, and Captain?"

"Yes?"

"You mess up, just once, and i'll be sure you’re on the next prison barge to Kessel. Do you read me?"

"Loud and clear....sir" I replied, forcing out the last part. He turned and left, leaving me with the Lieutenant. "Di'kut. Well, are you going to give me the details?"

He shook his head and took out a pad similar to the one Sarge had. The spinning hologram of the planet zoomed in on the point. It showed the base built into the side of a mountain ridge. Typical. Although, it does make sense, as the ridge provided natural camouflage and protection. You wouldn't find it unless you happened to have been looking for it fairly closely. It was a two-part facility, with the exterior built around the entrance into the underground faculties. The exterior was guarded by a wall with only two entrances for thorough traffic. It was also guarded by a garrison that was never less than 200 troops, a mix of battle droids and super battle droids. Anti-aircraft emplacements were spread throughout the compound, all commanded from a control room near the center. There was also a very large door that seemed to lead into an underground facility embedded into the mountain itself.

"The facility is gonna be one tough nut to crack, obviously. No easy ways in and they've probably set up sensors to pick up anything coming at them. Those AA guns are gonna keep anything in the air away." I said analyzing the image of the base. I pointed at the large door, "Any idea what’s behind door number one?"

"No, this is all we got before he went dark, although he did speculate that it may lead to a hangar of sorts."

"Any ideas as to how to attack?"

"No easy approach. Natural defenses, AA guns, a standing garrison that is never below company strength although they could have as much as a battalion. It's a death trap."

"Well thanks for that cheery overview," I replied with sarcasm, "a simple no would have sufficed"

I sighed going over the small amount of information we had. How to get into the impossible fortress, defeat the superior force, and be out before the neighbors could come knocking. Not even a Jedi could do this! I shook my head free of these thoughts.

" Right, first things first, we have to actually get planet side." I said bringing up schematics on the LAATs. "Have you ever done a dead drop in one of these?"

"A dead drop?"

"Yeah, you drop into the atmo, shut everything off and glide down to the surface to dip below sensors, turn the engines on before you actually hit the ground. You should just show up as meteors on any sensors."

"So you wanna make this suicide mission even more suicidal?" He asked incredulously, "Unbelievable."

"Look, they've established a base here, Rock. With all the bells and whistles of a long standing operation. That means that they've had plenty of time to set up defenses, to set up sensors around the area to detect anything out of the ordinary, and they have been there long enough to know what's normal and what's not. If they even get a whiff of a landing force, they will go on full alert and shred any attack thrown at them. So, that means we have to get boots on the ground without attracting any attention to even have a small chance at success."

"Hmph, maybe you're not completely useless"

"Why Rock, you're gonna make me blush. Look, this dead drop is our best bet of getting planet side while still having a chance at catching them off guard."

"As much as I hate to agree with you,I don't see any better options. Well, assuming we reach the planet intact, what comes next?"

"I'm glad you asked. I want to use that mountain coverage against them. We land on the opposite side of mountain ridge and climb up to the top. We'll be able to better recon the base from there and use that intel to actually plan the attack."

"It’s not a perfect plan," he finally said after a long pause.

"Rock, I wouldn't put so much worry in the plan itself as much as the enemy getting word of it." I replied which made him stop cold.

"What are you insinuating?"

"Rock, how does the CIS capture a lone special forces troop that they supposedly had no idea about? Sure, we can make the assumption of incompetence or just plain bad luck. However, that's either a helluva fierfek up or a helluva bout of bad luck." I told him, to which he reacted by becoming very still.

"Captain Verd, you should be very careful of the accusations you make considering your.....precarious position," He said, choosing his words carefully.

"Lieutenant Rock, I am not making any accusations. I'm just making sure you keep your eyes and ears open for an idea as to what happened to the missing ARC trooper." I replied just as carefully. He shook his head then gestured me to follow him. We went throughout hallways until we reached a hatch where he stopped.

"These will be your quarters for the duration of your stay here. There is an armor closet, washroom, and the living quarter," He hesitated before continuing, " I don't trust you and I really don't like you either. However, I am reassured by your apparent abilities. We have an officers briefing at 0730 tomorrow, I'll see you then."

With that he marched off down the hallway. I shook my head and went into my room. The room was fairly small, with the bed taking up much of the space. I went to the armor locker and robotic arms helped me strip off the armor and store it inside. I took off the body suit and replaced it with sleeping garments before collapsing onto the bed. My thought flitted through the days events before settling once more on the problem at hand.

I’m not obligated to do anything. I just have to stay out of their way and focus on not dying. So what if the mission failed, maybe enough of the clones would die that he could make a quick escape. I’d probably have to take care of Rock though, he would be keepIng a close eye on me. But a sense of duty, something I haven’t felt in a very long time, kept nagging at the edges of my mind. Still not able to sleep, I finally hit the room vidcomm and connected with the ship comm officer.

"Hello Captain, how can I help you?" Responded a human female, fairly pretty even in uniform. She had black hair and dark brown eyes and her face was slender and angled, with pronounced cheekbones. I looked at her uniform and noticed her name, Mitaka.

"Yes, how do I contact the LAAT pilots?" I asked her.

"The ones that are assigned to your company, sir?"

"Right, I have an officer's meeting in the morning and I wanted them to attend as well"

"Well, sir, I can just make sure they get the message and I'll add everybody pertinent to your company to your room comm contacts, that way you can communicate with whoever you need to," She replied pleasantly.

"Thank you for your help, ma'am."

"Of course, sir. Is that all you need?" She said after tapping out commands in her monitor. I could use your personal comm, I thought bemusedly.

"No, that'll be all, thanks again." I replied before cutting the connection.

With that handled, I felt a little better, though the pressure of the whole company's lives still weighed heavily on my shoulders. You don't know them, so why the hell are you so worried for them? Because if they fail, I'm in the next barge to Kessel. Heh, yeah that's the reason why. I shook my head and tried to force myself to fall into the depths of sleep.