Was Raven’s plan audacious or asinine? After a moment’s contemplation Ashara decided it was both. Was it bold and reckless to send a bunch of soldiers into a heavily defended region in modified escape pods? Definitely. Worse yet there was no room for a Plan B. If things went sideways, and Ashara was willing to bet it would, they would be on their own. This was what happened when those without real military training were put in command. But what was done was done and there was nothing Ashara could do about it. And who knew, perhaps she would be pleasantly surprised.

It was with these thoughts in mind that Ashara regarded her available gear. Should she wear her full suit of armor? Her gut told her that less would be better, but could she trust what her instincts were telling her? The armor was there to protect her from fire and, while she would certainly prefer to not get shot in the first place, having more armor was usually better while defending a position. She reached for her armor, but hesitated. Of course chances were that if she actually got shot her light armor wouldn’t do her any good anyways. The thought had her scowling and pulling away, only to pause a second later. Her armor [i]would[/i] help protect her from shrapnel caused by explosives. She reached for her armor again, only to pause yet again as she considered something else. They were supposed to be fighting comparably lesser soldiers. Perhaps mobility [i]was[/i] going to be more important than protection. But she wanted some armor. Making up her mind she grabbed the chest piece of her armor, she would cover her torso but leave the arms and legs of her armor behind. She then grabbed her two pistols and carbine. Her hand covered over her force pike, uncertainty over whether or not it would actually fit in an escape pod staying her hand.

“That’s asking for bad luck.” The comment drew Ashara’s attention away from her force pike and to a cluster of soldiers. One had applied tape to his boots and was writing his blood type onto the tape.

“It’s smart.” Ashara countered as she approached the trio of soldiers. “Don’t leave your well being up to luck.” She gave the soldier with taped boots and nod. “At least not when you have the capacity to stack the deck in your favor.”

“There is no luck, only the Force.” One of the soldiers said. Clearly he had been speaking to some of the Jedi.

“And yet the Jedi make a point of deflecting incoming fire with their lightsabers” Ashara countered. “I’d rather have a level-headed comrade watching my back then rely on something as fickle as the Force any day.” As much as the operation’s plan made her uneasy, she couldn’t let any of that uncertainly show itself to her fellow soldiers. Privates tended to suffer when their sergeants became antsy. “Now get back to your preparations. We don’t have much time till we depart.”

“Yes sir.” The soldiers said in unison. Ashara gave them one last nod before following her own advice, putting her utility belt on and strapping grabbing her force pike. She’d make room for it in the escape pod.