[b][h3]Victor Tavik[/h3][/b]
[sub]Commandant’s Quarters[/sub]
[hr]
[i]A debris strewn field, tall grasses blowing in the wind concealing death and destruction. [/i][b]Majestic[/b][i] Mountains rose in the distance, beckoning him. Smoke curled skyward along several points on the horizon as well as in the debris strewn field, calling the thin infantry commander forward. Victor Tavik walked disoriented and confused through the field. A slow fog rolled low over the field covering much of the debris, allowing his visibility to remain over the cloud. The smell of burnt cordite, thermite and death wafted in the air and into his nostrils.

After what seemed like hours of walking, Rancor Company’s Infantry Commander came upon Captain Kruger wearing his formal military uniform seated at a table in the middle of the field. A tea set was placed and the Executive Officer sipped a cup while reading a newspaper. It was a periodical that can be found on any datapad from Alderaan. It did not strike Victor Tavik as odd that the man would be reading newsprint instead of articles in digital form. The Captain looked up as his commander approached, “Victor!” the man spoke with an affable smile. “Please, won’t you join me?”

Victor Tavik looked confused. Lorne Kruger never called him by his first name. But the scene was completely foreign to him. He felt compelled to pull out a chair and have a seat. Captain Kruger stood and began pouring before and during asking, “would you like a cup of tea, sir?”

Victor felt unable to say no. He nodded in compliance raised the cup to take a sip, but stopped with the cup inches from his lips. His eyes caught something peculiar. Glancing into the liquid as it neared his mouth, he spied something causing revulsion. His expression turned to that of sudden horror as he noticed the presence of a human eyeball, recently detached from its retina settled at the bottom of clear liquid in his tea cup.

Victor looked up at his friend, “Lorne!” The newspaper outstretched in his two hands concealing the Captain, who now lowered his newspaper in response to Victor’s exclamation. The Commandant looked at the man, now missing both eyes. Bloody black sockets trailed thick oozing blood streaming down his face, over his cheeks, dripping off his jawline and collecting across the table. The man collapsed face first across the table then slumping to the ground. Victor jumped upon hearing explosions, disturbing the otherwise peaceful setting. The disruptive noise distracted him from the tea setting. His eyes scanned the horizon as fireballs billowed up like deadly mushrooms into the skies. He looked back towards the table, but it and Captain Kruger were gone.

‘Where am I? What is this hellish place?’ Victor thought to himself. He continued walking through the field. He felt an overwhelming sense of fear and dread. It all but debilitated him. He came to a trench line. The musky odor of the dirt snuck its way into his nostrils. Soon, the smells were comingled with blood and death. He jumped down into the trench. The floor was muddy with pools of blood; corpses scattered in various shapes. Some were slumped along the base of the trench. One rebel soldier’s face was plunged into a pool of stagnant water and blood.

As he made his way along the ghoulish trench, which appeared to go on forever, he began to recognize faces in the mud. These were his soldiers. Their corpses splayed about in a macabre way, many dismembered or with body parts completely smashed into the soil. It was a terrifying experience.

“Hey Commandant,” the dismembered head of Captain Mosh Karada uttered in a nonchalant way. The way you would tell a friend about a new exercise class you recently found, free from emotion, The head, resembling Captain Karada asked, “How can we take a Venator-Class ship with only 160 people? I mean, the intelligence we have on this [i]Majestic[/i] is incomplete. Isn't this what you told us a week ago when we went into Anaxes?"

Victor Tavik stumbled back upon hearing the words. He was overwhelmed with fright. The expression on his face was one of tremendous horror. The head yelled at Victor, “You’re going to command a company of dead men if you keep this up!! They are all going to die, you pompous ass!!”

Victor fell back into the water. It splashed up around him. “Stop!” Victor yelled. He clutched his head, burying his face into his bent knees. “Stop this madness!” The corpses began falling in around him. He tried to stand up. With every futile attempt another body fell on top of him. He became pinned to the damp ground, the corpses piling up. They suffocated him. He could no longer see the light of day.[/i]

He woke with his heart racing in panic. He looked around the room furtively, his eyes bulging out of their sockets. The fear and dread of the dream created an overwhelming sense within the Commandant. He was visibly frightened, adrenaline pumped through his veins as the sound of his own heart thumped heavily in his chest. The alarm clock rang.


[b][h3]Mosh Karada[/h3][/b]
[sub]First Platoon Breaching Point[/sub]
[hr]
“Captain?” the NCO asked the Platoon Commander, “is this First platoon? My name is Sergeant Duron, from the Sapper Platoon.”

“Nice to meet you, Sergeant. I am Captain Karada and yes, this is first platoon. Do you have breaching charges ready?”

“Yes sir. Who will install the bridging tube?”

“My third section. Get your charges in place. When I receive the order to move, go ahead and blow it. The Company Commander is coming with us on this. He may signal you himself,” Mosh Karada uttered the words just as Major Tavik approached the breaching site.

“I may take you up on that liberty, Mosh. Thank you very much.” He looked down his pointed beak nose at the Sapper NCO. His thin, lifeless lips drawn taut for several seconds. “Well, are the charges set, Sergeant?”

“No sir!” then took that as a cue to get working. Mosh pulled his platoon back. The sappers would blow a hole through the [i]Majestic[/i] after third section got their temporary bridging tube in place. Once the hole was made, the Second section lead by Sergeant Jyneth Paltoy, a female Kiffar from planet Kiffu with her dreadlock hair and yellow facial tattoos would lead the First Platoon’s assault across the bridging tube and into the enemy ship.

“I will follow the lead section, sir. You are welcome to join me,” Captain Karada stated to his superior.

“No, Captain. I will monitor the radios from the other platoons and the ship’s CIC. I will follow your platoon sergeant through the breach.” The Major referred to the ship’s Combat Information Center, near the bridge.

“As you wish, sir,” Captain Karada remarked. “How did you sleep sir?”

“As serene as a baby, Mosh. I assure you, I am ready for this operation; quite excited actually. But that is to be expected.” Major Tavik glanced at his chronograph and listened to the radio in his ear piece. “Chakaar is aboard the [i]Majestic[/i]. I expect it could happen at any time now. Get ready, Captain.”

“Yes sir!” Captain Karada checked on the sappers and then each of his sections. The first platoon was ready to go. He patted Halliq Neban, the newly acquired Kaleeshi warrior on the back as he passed him. He gave the new soldier a warm smile and yelled to the platoon, “this is it boys and girls! You get to earn your pay! Focus on what you are doing and you’ll come out alive! Remember to clear the corridors and rooms as we practiced them. If someone wants to give you quarter, let them. We are not fighting imperial storm troopers. These are mercenaries. Who knows what their motivation to fight is. Listen to your NCOs, do what you are told and we will be victorious. Huzzah!?” Captain Karada yelled the battle cry for everyone to hear.

The Platoon responded with three cries in response, loud and proud, “Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah!” First Platoon was ready.

[@Sep][@Lauder][@POOHEAD189][@CaptainBritton]