A Shot in the Dark[Sait]

[Jace]

[This goes back to when Bane was a militia man on Concord Dawn. Details some of the various missions and accomplishments along with some others namely Cazuun.]

A flash of metal, a thin line of red, a dead Republic soldier. Another appeared from behind, catching the body, dragging it off into the brush. He wiped the blade clean of the soldier's blood before slipping it back in its sheath. Kneeling down, he surveyed the outpost that lay before him. It was heavily guarded, especially for a mere outpost. Intelligence was right, there was something important in this area. This outpost of course was not the primary target, but it was necessary to neutralize it before proceeding. A few quick hand signals brought the rest of the squad beside him.

"Alright, listen up people, this is it. We need to hit this place hard and fast. If they get word to the relay station, well, lets just say it won't be easy"

That would be an understatement for anyone else, except the Mandalorians. When something wasn't easy for them, it was damn near impossible for anyone else. The militia had been executing a lot of hit and run missions lately. Trying to spread out the Republic forces for tonight's attack. The idea was for four squads to hit the surrounding outposts simultaneously. They didn't have much in the way of assets so any sort of bombardment or use of armor was out of the question. They had to do things the old fashion way, infiltrate and annihilate.

Bane checked his chrono, it was almost time. They all checked their weapons, ammo, and gear. Today they would be going in with slugthrowers for the simple reason they could be silenced and they were cheap. The squad leader wasn't fond of any ranged weapons in general but he grudgingly admitted that they had their uses. He kept a pistol along with a wide and varied assortment of blades. Two of these blades were his katanas which his father had forged for himself years before.

Approaching the outpost from the east, the squad was virtually silent. They wore light armor, painted darkly for occasions such as this. Bane held his fist up, the squad suddenly stopped moving. Searchlight passing 15 feet in front of them. Five seconds passed before the squad sprinted forward once again, this time putting them inside the perimeter. They moved quickly until the squad found itself at the back of a shed. Bane peered around the corner, and saw a few guards milling about the center of the camp. He also saw the communications station which was directly opposite to their position.

Moving along the side of the shed, Bane calculated his options. They could clear this side of camp out, but he couldn't assume it would go off without a hitch. No, once they had the comm station they could proceed with a little more freedom. The question was how to get there.

"Gold, you go south. Delta, Sierra, go North. Draw the guards away. Distraction only. I repeat only a distraction, no firefights until comm is secure" He whispered to the other three.

They acknowledged with a nod, and the quietly hustled off to their positions. Bane waited patiently for minutes, and then he saw the guards slowly start to move away from the center. He waited a few more moments and then burst from cover, sprinting across the open ground. Bane was now at the rear entrance of the comm station. It was nothing but a small duracrete shed. He lightly rapped on the door, pistol in one hand, knife in another. The door slid open, and without hesitation he plunged the blade into the soldiers throat. Shoving him out of the way, Bane dived into the room. He came up from a roll, and placed two slugs into the comm officer's head. The third man had managed to draw his sidearm, but Bane was quicker. The soldier slumped against the equipment, blood spattered across the wall behind him.He quickly secured the weapons, before disabling the comm unit.

"This is lead, comm station secure, weapons free"

Bane slipped a new magazine in with a satisfying click. No doubt the rest of the squad had put themselves in a optimal position. He moved towards the door, undoubtedly those who had been drawn away had returned to their original posts. Before he could even proceed, his comm cracked.

"Armory clear"

"Barracks clear"

"Tower clear"

That only left the center of camp, Bane wasn't about to be left behind. He sprang from the front entrance, the first soldier hadn't even realized what happened as a slug blossomed out the back of his head. The second was faster, and managed to get off a shot but missed as two rounds struck his chest. Bane spun around to take out the next soldier but watched as a puff of red exploded from his head. As he toppled to the ground, he was replaced by the figure of Sierra. He turned to see both Delta and Gold standing there, reloading their weapons.

Five minutes later, the Alpha squad had finished clearing the outpost. They now pushed forward towards the rendezvous point, where they would be met by Bravo squad. Bane and his squad arrived at the rendezvous point approximately ten minutes later. Caazun's squad had not arrived yet, but Bane wasn't worried. If they hadn't completed the mission, this area would most likely be swarming with Republic soldiers. Excitement was rising, he could sense it, and he knew why. There were a lot of Republic soldiers at their primary objective, and that meant a lot of knife work.

[Sait]

The smell of blood was thick in the air... it smelled of war. It smelled of hope. It smelled of victory. This was the typical scene for a Mandalorian militia soldier. Caazun had only recently joined the ranks, but he was already entrusted with a squad of his own. Their duty was quite simple.

"Alright men. Our job is to pepper the area surrounding this 3 mile radius, clearing the way for the other squads to enact their missions. We have the best rifle-men around, so get out there and do your worst!"

Caazun let out a vigorous yaulp and the rest of his squad did the same. He wasn't sure exactly what he was doing, but he figured this would be a good start. He made motions for his team to move in closer now, though. If there were any Republic soldiers within range, he didn't want them knowing the details of their plan, just the basics. Republic Command would be more nervous knowing an attack was coming and not how than not knowing at all.

"Sky, Grunge, you're on patrol duty. You'll be watching our backs from the outside. You'll be stationed on two captured guard towers and given scoped weapons to take out any enemies you see. The rest of you will fan out and dispose of any enemy troops you find, no exceptions. They're likely to either be hiding in the trees or in the open in groups. Don't get yourselves killed. Be smart out there. If the group's too big for you to handle, call for back-up and enter your coordinates. Move out!"

Caazun moved North-west into the forest for cover. He gave Sky and Grunge about 10 minutes to reach their waypoints, then submitted the order to the rest of his squad to move out. Within minutes, Caazun's blaster was lighting up the night. One... two... four... nine... he began losing count of how many Republic troops he'd taken down. After a while, though, they began to get smarter. He walked up carefully, but was nearly shot from a tree only two meters away. Luckily, the soldier was a bad shot and was taken down easily.

After about twenty minutes, the Republic soldiers were relatively thinned out. Two of his squad were down, but the rest were still going strong. He hated losses, but it was inevitable in this kind of situation. He was checking his comm system when he turned up and ran straight into a Republic soldier. Both were stunned for a few moments, but the soldier was quicker to his blaster. Caazun thought his life was at end, but the soldier's head suddenly exploded and was no longer there. The body collapsed and Caazun breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thanks, Sky. That saved my life. I owe you one."

Caazun moved onwards. The datapad he had with him showed the estimated number of soldiers left in the area was in the single digits. He told three of his men to stay on patrol and the rest should meet back up with him at the rendezvous point. They had to meet up with another squad when their mission was completed.

Within minutes, they were upon the location. Caazun could see a squad waiting there, seemingly for his own, but he wasn't sure. He approached with confidence, his own squad trailing.

"Who's in charge here?" he asked one of the un-important looking soldiers.

"That would be Bane, over there sir." The solider pointed at a man standing tall and proud.

Caazun approached quickly and pumped his fist against his chest.

"You must be Bane. Caazun, at your service." he stretched his hand out as a formal greeting.

"Allow me to explain the situa-- one moment."

Caazun peppered three quick shots into the nearby forest. He listened for the sound, and when he heard it, he put his blaster away again.

"Sound of a body hitting the dirt, soft, but distinct. Anyways, let me go over the situation for you. My team has cleared out the forests of enemy soldiers. I have two men on patrol, and two more set up as snipers for covering fire. What is your report?"

[Jace]

Weathered eyes scanned the trees, searching for any possible movement. The squad had taken up a small perimeter as they waited at the rendezvous point. Bane's hand gripped the pistol guard, ready to be brought up at a moments notice. Rustling from behind caused Bane to turn but he quickly lowered his weapon. Another group of militia was approaching, a single man in particular. A man who he assumed was Cazuun, the other squad leader.

The young squad leader returned the other man's salute, shaking his hand right after. He watched as Cazuun's weapon flashed forward firing into the surrounding forest. Bane's hand had instinctively shot towards his katana, but he quickly stopped when he realized what was going on. Bane listened to the younger man's briefing before bringing him up to speed.

"We have neautralized a Rep outpost here, about 2 klicks away" pointing to the map on his datapad."Command wants us to take out the relay station 3 klicks from here" He stated, gesturing to another point on the datapad. "Charlie and Delta squads have been given the same objective. The plan is to converge on primary objective simultaneously. Gather your men, we are moving out"

The Alpha squad leader gave Cazuun another salute, and then turned to round up his own men. The other three converged on his position and he quickly briefed them. Bane was given the option of choosing how many soldiers he needed, and he only needed these three. They were all 20, just like Bane, yet they had formed one of the most superior squads in the CD militia.

He was proud of his troops, and together they would liberate Concord Dawn from those Republic bastards. A nod and Sierra sprang forward into the dark, she was the best scout Bane had ever seen. Bane signaled for the others to follow as he pushed forward into the night. It wasn't until they had traveled about 2 clicks that they ran into their first opposition. Sierra had clicked her comm unit twice indicating that they should hold. Bane slowly made his way to her position and marked four perimeter guards.

"Four tangos, 200 meters. Bravo, take your squad left, tangos 3 and 4 are yours" commanded Bane as his voice cracked over the comm

Bane signaled for Zulu to move to his position. Zulu was his long range expert, a maestro with a sniper rifle. He waited patiently as the longe range expert dialed in, no doubt waiting for the perfect moment. There was the sound of two muted puffs and Bane watched as the two soldiers fell to the ground. He gave the signal for all clear, and proceeded forward once again. Soon the walls of the relay station became visible. In all honesty, the place didn't look all that intimidating. He didn't understand why they couldn't just bomb it and be with it. Bane's job wasn't to question command though, and he had his orders.

There was only one way to get inside with the equipment they had...explosives. Gold moved up towards the wall, the squad's heavy arms and demolition specialist. The soldier quickly and efficiently placed the explosives over the wall. God knows how many things Gold had blown up in his life. Two minutes later, he nodded to Bane, and gave the signal for everyone to get clear. There was one last thing to do before they moved. Bane checked his chrono and then clicked his comm on.

"Alpha in position"

"Bravo in position" came a reply

"Charlie in position" another voice stated

"Green light on op, I repeat Green light"

Bane nodded to Gold, and the last thing he heard was the satisfying sound of an explosion ripping through a Republic base.

[Sait]

Caazun listened to Bane's explanation and nodded systematically when necessary. He gathered the situation at hand and already began to plot what to do with his men.

After Bane finished his explanation, Caazun saluted the man and approached his own group of men. With two down, he had a much smaller pick than Bane. Sky and Grunge had since returned, though, so he could use their abilities to his advantage.

"Sky, Grunge, you're on the tangos. Lune, Squee, Rolf, you're with me. Don't die."

Caazun led his platoon off to the left and quickly spotted the two soldiers keeping watch. He waved Sky and Grunge up, and they both set up quickly.

A few moments later, the guards were on the ground and decapitated. Caazun approached one of them and sliced off his hand. He carried it straight up to the door with Lune, Squee, and Rolf on his tail with weapons drawn. He pressed the hand against the panel on the right of the door and it opened easily. The man chuckled at how simple their security was, but remembered his mission and entered.

Almost immediately, his squad came upon a group of lounging soldiers. Caazun's blaster went off instinctively which took care of two members of their squad. A third shot took out another, while Lune, Squee, and Rolf managed to take one each out. The small squad was defeated with relative ease.

Caazun assessed the situation and noticed that guards were patrolling nearly every room of the Relay station. He motioned for his team to take cover, then activated his com-link.

"Alpha? This is Bravo. Guards patrolling every sector. Be alert."

Caazun checked his equipment and had the rest of his team prepare theirs. After a while, he decided to look for the central control room himself. He approached a nearby door and opened it casually, but much to his chagrin the first thing he saw was a blaster pointed straight at his head.

[Jace]

An explosion and then two flashbangs rolled through the new opening. There was a blinding flash of light followed by a loud bang. Bane rushed through the new entrance, drawing his blades as he did. Closing the distance quickly, two soldiers dropped to the ground dead within seconds. The Mandalorian heard the quiet puff of suppressed weapons and watched as red holes blossomed in foreheads. Just as the last man fell to the ground, Cazuun's warning crackled over the comm.

"Roger"

The Mandalorian now had a katana in one hand and his blaster pistol in another. The outer courtyard was secured, it was time to move into the facility. Scanning the area for enemies he motioned for the squad to move up to the door. He didn't want to get stuck out here in open ground. Well maybe he did a little, but he had a mission to complete. Surely there was an abundance of Republic soldiers within the station.

This time sierra moved to the door instead of Gold. Breaching was one way to go of course but there would be more than enough opportunities by the time this mission was over. She quickly snapped the security panel over, pulling out a small blade to splice wires. 20 seconds later she nodded to Bane and the door slide open. Zulu fired almost immediately as the door opened fully, mowing down three soldiers in a heartbeat.

Bane launched forward before the last man hit the ground, stepping around the bloody mess. The squad sprinted down the narrow hallways of the base. They encountered only a light resistance for the first few minutes or so. The squad was slowly pushing to the center of the base, where hopefully the main command center was located. He quickly turned the corner to go down the next hallway, eyes suddenly widening.

He dived into an adjacent room just as a volley of blasterfire blanketed the hallway. Bane suddenly found himself face to face with five Republic soldiers. All had their blasters raised and trained on Bane. The fools had made a fatal mistake by not shooting him already. His katana flashed downward in a deadly arc while his blaster fired into the leg of the closest man. Bane dropped his blaster and drew his other blade. He slashed the falling soldier on the draw, his face split diagonally by the blade.

A bolt grazed his soldier and the Mandalorian grunted in pain. His blade came down again, both hand and blaster fell to the ground. Soldier screaming at the bloody stump where his hand used to be. Reversing the grip of his other blade, he spun left and sent it into the torso of the fourth soldier. Leaving the blade in the man, he dived forward, tackling the final soldier. His fist crashed into the man's nose which was followed by wet crack and a spurt of blood. He pummeled the man again and again until he stopped moving. One soldier still remained, blood still flowing from his arm, breathing heavily.

"Please, please, ple-"

His groveling was cut short as Bane's blade sliced cleanly through his neck. Picking up his other blade, the Mandalorian peered around the corner and was met by more blasterfire. The others had been suppressing them but they were getting nowhere.

"Go and see if you can't flank these fools" He commanded into the comm. He heard three clicks of acknowledgment and nodded. Now that the suppressing fire had stopped, the Republic soldiers slowly moved to close Bane in. If they didn't hurry up, Bane was about to find himself on the wrong side of approximately 20 Republic soldiers.

He hoped they took their time.

[Sait]

The sounds of two shots being fired were all Caazun heard as the man in front of him slumped to the floor. Caazun grasped his own arm and noticed blood dripping down, a sign that the shots fired by his own men had at least grazed him.

"I am grateful to you both. You've saved me from certain demise. I apologize for placing myself in such an unfavorable situation before you all." Caazun saluted the men who'd saved him, then continued through the corridor.

"Ought to be time to meet up with Bane here shortly, I'd say..."

Caazun approached a room with a large door overhead. It had the words "Backup Generator" written in large letters on a metallic sign bolted to it in six places. The Mandalorian smirked as he realized it would probably have a decent portion of defense, if the Republic knew what it was doing.

"Stay alert. Guns drawn. Fire at will. Leave none alive."

The commander of Bravo Squad opened the door calmly, but quickly. The door groaned at the effort needed to open it and certainly must have alerted the guards inside that someone was entering. When it was open enough for three men to walk inside comfortably side by side, he peered in. As he suspected, there were six men on guard and they all were fixated on the door's opening. Their weapons were drawn, so he knew they were ready to fight.

With a flick of his wrist, one of Caazun's men tossed a flash grenade into the room. A brilliant flash of light erupted from the grenade, blinding any who were looking. Naturally, all of the Mandalorians knew what was coming, so they were fine. Five of the six Republic soldiers, however, were blinded temporarily. When the light flash subsided, Caazun immediately turned on his intercom.

"Attack!" commanded the Bravo Leader.

Within a span of three seconds, his entire squad were inside the room, blasters firing at will. Shots were blazing from all around. Caazun had not expected that one of the Republic soldiers had noticed the flash grenade and protected himself. One of his shots connected with one of his underlings, which caused Caazun to grow rather angry at his mistake. He immediately shot the Republic soldier through the left eye, killing him instantly. The remaining soldiers fell without putting up much of a fight.

Caazun held the man who'd been shot in his arms, but it was already too late. The soldier was dead. Caazun laid his arms across his chest and saluted him in a moment of silence to honor his sacrifice, then proceeded with the mission. Soon enough, Alpha and Bravo teams would rendezvous with Charlie and Delta on the control station. The commander of Bravo, however, wanted to be sure he eliminated any problematic guards before they could call for assistance, though he could not be sure they had done so already. The Republic troops stationed inside the Control Room would have had to have noticed the casualties thus far...