Commando Archive

"You want me to do what??" Stern cried.

"Ok look, there’s nothing to it," Axad shot back," Go in there, distract the guards for a little while. Then, when I destroy the vials and arrest the scientist, we gotta get out there. Think about it this way; you’ll be doing Corellia a great service. For such a newbie, that’s the beginning of a very impressive record. Simple enough?"

"Yeah, simple enough to get me killed," Stern muttered under his breath.

The Bothan, Axad Tvo’ad, took another sip of his Bloody Gundark and lounged back in his cantina seat. His fur ruffled and twinged as the bittersweet drink traveled down his throat. Stern was opposite him as they relaxed in a secluded corner of the cantina, aptly named "The Doaba". A Wookiee musician played a few tunes on his Kloo Horn as two Twileks began a seductive dance, much to the enjoyment of the male patrons seated elsewhere in the dimly lit cantina. The cantina itself was a large oval room inside a two story building south-east of the city’s bank. In the dim light, Stern could tell this wasn’t the Ritz, and was glad to at least have someone for company in the seedy joint. Nevertheless, he peered down at his half empty glass and shook his head.

Heh, a life size teddy bear for company. Why the heck did I agree to help him, I barely even know where I am, let alone who he really is!

"Back to the mission at hand, Stern," Axad softly said," This scientist, unless if we stop him, will use those vials of toxins to destroy all of Corellia’s flora. He must be stopped, your new home is counting on us! Plus the reward is 10,000 credits. We split 50-50, we’ll both come out as happy men."

Happy men? He’s a furball!

Stern’s mind began wandering away from what Axad was trying to tell him. New worlds always caused Stern to loose focus and get easily attracted. For one, he thought, those Twilek dancers were doing a fine job all their own. Axad had to snap his fingers a few times to bring Stern’s attention back to the mission details.

"So are you in? If you accept, this could be the beginning of a very beautiful relationship," Axad said grinning.

"Eh, I got nothing to loose," Stern replied," I’ll go with you. If I die, might as well in the presence of a "friend" rather than being alone on some desolate wasteland of a planet. However, I’ll need a weapon first."

"Got it covered Stern. Here take this."

Axad handed a rather large pistol that seemed to have an oversized barrel to Stern.

"What’s this?" Stern questioned.

"It’s a Farsa Arms Launcher Pistol, a commando weapon. Very good in making chaos as well explosions on the field."

"Follow me Stern, we’ll have to go out on foot to get to this bunker that the scientist and his thugs are holding out in. Its about 3,000 kilometers from the city, not a very long walk."

"Gah! Those butterflies pack a nasty sting," Stern yelled. He held his left shoulder, as it throbbed due to a large welt indued by the sting.

"Yeah, Corellia has some nasty critters," Axad replied," Heh, but just wait until you get to Dathomir. Whoa boy, that place can be fun at times."

"I bet..."

The Bothan’s very long ears suddenly perked up; there were voices over the next ridge.

"Shh!" Axad blurted," I think we’re here."

Stern and his little furry comrade crept up over the low ridge, prone and under various brush. Axad pulled out his electronic macrobinoculars and scanned the perimeter of the scientific compound. Two guards stood outside, chattering away. The Bothan motioned for Stern to creep forward. He put his mouth close to Synex’s ear, whispering.

"This is your cue Synex, go in there and make me proud."

With that said, Axad disappeared into the dark underbrush with his laser rifle in tow. Dusk set in over the Corellian forest, it wouldn’t be long until night. Stern slowly made his way towards the clearing that the guards were stationed at. Without warning, he tripped over a Corellian Forest Slug. Crashing upon a pile of twigs and leaves, Stern gave out a yelp. The two guards, a red and a blue armoured one, suddenly turned to his direction with their blasters readied.

"Oi! Who’s there!" The red guard yelled, "Show yourself!"

"Hey there, could I get some help?" Stern replied.

The second guard approached where Stern had fallen, prodding him with his rifle’s barrel.

"Get up, " The red guard ordered, "Who are you?"

"I seem to have lost my way in the forest," Stern said. He lifted himself up and dusted off his now ruffled clothing. "Would any of you two be able to help me?"

"Pat him down Tribosk, " The red guard said again, "What’s your name, and what were you doing outside this area?"

The blue guard began searching Stern, forcing him to keep his hands behind his head. After a moment, he found the Launcher Pistol under Stern’s jacket.

Axad ruffled his fur, prepping himself for the show of marksmanship to ensue. He slung the laser rifle he was carrying over his arms, steading the barrel. With careful aim, he focused the scope on the red guard.

"Stern’s running out of time, "Axad whispered to himself, "Gotta make this fast and accurate."

"I won’t ask you again, who are you and why are you carrying a weapon outside this facility!" The red guard howled in Stern’s face. "You’re in serious trouble boy!"

Where the hell is Axad?!

A single shot rang out from the brush. The red guard, practically in Stern’s face, went limp and slumped over in front of him. The other guard, shocked, tried making a move towards him. Another shot rang out, striking the blue guard in the leg, dropping him to the ground. Stern’s launcher pistol flew from his shaking hand. Synex grabbed the pistol in midair, and with one mighty downward stroke he decommissioned the last and final perimeter guard. Stern knelt down, letting go a giant sigh of relief. Axad rushed out from the flora that had hid him.

"I’m never going to ever do that again," Stern said, "I’m not stinking decoy."

"And you don’t have to. C’mon, lets go!" Axad replied as he grabbed Stern’s shoulder and rushed into the facility’s base entrance.

***

Katrina viewed the holoscreen, watching the galaxy’s latest news streaming in from the Holonet. Her green eyes shimmered in the wake of the semi-translucent screen. The atmosphere of the cantina was just as dark as her dark brown hair; a perfect place to acquire information. For the past day, the new arrival had been trying to comprehend exactly where she was. The crash outside the city had destroyed her navigation unit, making any exact calculations where she was, impossible. It was now up to her and herself alone to find out exactly where "here" was.

So far, she had learned that she crash landed in the Naboo System. Everything else was sketchy at best, despite hints at what seemed to be a civil war the engulfed the galaxy. This, however, did not concern her. Her only interest at this point was pinpointing Stern’s whereabouts.

Katrina bought a Mjua Berry Tea on credit and found a nice secluded yet cozy part of the cantina to think. Everything was so new, so different. It engulfed Katrina, and she simply needed some time to brood. However, a presence behind her soon began disturbing her.

"Hey there hot momma!" A Sly voice cooed behind Katrina’s cantina seat. "What’s a beautiful goddess like yourself doing in a place like this."

Katrina looked up; greeting her green eyes was an absolute dark and furry face. A bothan. The diminutive creature wore a red vested robe of honor with braids of decorated fur on the sleeves and neck of the ensemble. His bald - yet furry head complemented his dark red eyes.

"What the hell are you supposed to be?" Katrina snapped.

"Ooh, a feisty one you are!" The Bothan said cracking a grin," Lucky for you, I like feisty women."

Katrina sighed with disgust and went back to her drink. She bobbed her head a bit motioning the Bothan to get lost.

"Get the hell out of my face long ears."

"Oh you’ve noticed my ears?" The annoying bothan remarked as he began stroking his ears, "These are my most prized possessions, these ears of mine. Even more than my luxury yacht up in orbit, I’m a high roller you know, got me a big and...relaxing yacht."

The Bothan winked seductively.

"Big deal, get lost before you make me mad," Katrina sneered, "And that’s not far off.

"Oh come-on baby!" The Bothan begged," I know its every woman’s dream of taking a voyage among the stars on my yacht of love."

"Ok that’s it you furry little freak," Katrina yelled, grabbing a hold of the Bothan’s collar and slamming him into the cantina wall next to her table. "I have had just about enough of your pathetic come-ons, now if you don’t leave my sight in the next 10 seconds, I’m gonna...."

Suddenly the loud groan of an engine began shaking the cantina. What seemed like two or three ships flew in close over the roof of the cantina, causing the band to stop playing and the general place falling silent. Katrina was momentarily distracted from the Bothan, but still had him in a death grip that raised him a good foot or two off the cantina floor. Within a few moments, the holovids were shutdown and the cantina lights dimmed. Imperial Stormtroopers followed by a large, stout human clad in gray emerged through the front entrance way. Two of the stormtroopers secured the back doors while another two began guarding the main entrance. There was no hope of escape; two platoons of Imperials had piled into the cantina.

"Alright you scum, this is a raid!" The Captain yelled, "Everyone down on the ground where we can see you!"

The captain motioned to three stormtroopers to inspect each cantina patron.

"Sergeant, take your men and search the back areas for Rebels," The Captain ordered, "They’re here. I can smell them."

"Yes, sir," TK-421 replied.

Captain Huff or as he prefers to be called, "The Captain", was a hard, grim man. He was also a cruel Imperial Officer that was renown for ferreting out dissenters across the plane of Naboo. Of all the Imperial Inquisitor subordinates , he was the best. The Emperor himself for some time has been considering to promote Huff into the ranks of the Inquisition, who of which report only and directly to him. If there were any Rebels on Naboo, The Captain would surely find them.

Only the bravest - or the stupidest - of the Alliance would take a commission on the Emperor’s home world. Nicknamed "The Sniffer" by his men at the start of the Galactic Civil War, Huff was certainly a force to be reckoned with as the Alliance was concerned. He was rumored to have an innate sense of smell which allowed him to hunt down Rebels wherever they may hide. Some have even speculated that he was force sensitive, hence the interest from the Emperor.

Katrina still had the Bothan pinned against the wall. Her eyes burned with fire as she stared at the rude little bothan. She didn’t notice nor care when two stormtroopers tried arresting her and release the Bothan from her grip. Annoyed as hell, as Stern would have added. In the old days, he had learned to both fear and respect Katrina when she was hellbent. Needless to say, she was quite capable of releasing her anger in an unique and constructive way.

"Hey you!" TK-421 barked, "Hands off the Bothan! I wouldn’t put it past a Rebel for trying to hurt an Imperial Citizen - you’re coming with us."

Along with several "confirmed" Rebels discovered hiding in the back room, Katrina was brought forcibly before Huff.

"Well, well what do we have here?" The Captain sneered, " A Rebel dog?"

The Captain chuckled, thinking himself as a humorist. Little did he know, who exactly he was dealing with. Katrina was thoroughly annoyed; this was the last straw for her. First it was the Bothan, next being unable to kill the Bothan, now this. Katrina wasn’t annoyed anymore, she was mad. She wasn’t going to put up with this one bit.

She sneered right back at the Captain. With one swift kick to the groin, Katrina brought the Captain down in a withering onslaught pain. For a few precious moments, the Stormtroopers were stunned. Harkening back to her unarmed special tactics training, she took advantage of the situation. She was mad as hell, but began fighting with precision.

Before Huff even fell to the ground, she elbowed TK-421 next to her. As the trooper fell, several shots from his E11 fired into the cantina ceiling. It was just enough to start mass chaos. The five or so Rebels began resisting their stormtrooper guards and patrons began screaming as well fleeing from the cantina. In response, the Band started up a barroom brawl dance remix.

Katrina grabbed the other stormtrooper to her left, head butting him with his own E11 Carbine. With another swing with the carbine, she knocked the stormtrooper out. Grabbing his torso, she flung him onto TK-421, practically crushing him.

"No one calls me that," Katrina growled at the three men on the ground in pain.

Her head hung low in a raging scowl, Katrina’s eyes pierced the dim light of the cantina towards the stormtrooper Sergeant that was formerly standing near Huff. She made a charge at him, grabbing his chest plate, she hurled him across the bar stand, knocking drinks to the floor. The bartender ducked and the trooper flew head first into the drink dispenser unit attached to the counter top, knocking him out of the fight. The Band’s music began revving up as Katrina went after the other troopers in Huff’s raiding platoon.

Across the room, the five or so detained Rebels brawled with their guards. No time for guns, both sides went at each other with their fists. The prisoners had the advantage as they were mostly armourless, but one unlucky Rebel soon discovered how hard a stormtrooper can punch as he was sent clear across the room. The apparent Rebel Leader made a move against one grey clothed Imperial Officer, resulting in the breakage of his arm and face upon the cantina cement.

Two more Imperial Officers charged the Rebel, but were thwarted by a large and stocky Rebel bodyguard. The band continued to play the lively brawl tune as Imperials were flung left and right by this rebel duo. The other three rebels were fairing just as well. One of which was another Bothan fellow, who grabbed a detached pipe from the bar counter and began swinging like a mad man against two Stormtroopers.

A burly Imperial came behind the Bothan and plucked him up by his ears. The little furball hung by them and was thrashing about to get free. Unfortunately for his captor, Katrina flung herself into a dropkick and knocked the Imperial off his feet. She gave him a swift knock out punch before aggressively targeting another stormtrooper.

The little Bothan ruffled his fur and shook his head after the confusing shuffle and blurted, "Who the hell is that woman!"

Knocking out another Officer, the Rebel leader replied hastily to his short ally, "Hell be that I know, but whoever she is, she’s on our side!"

Suddenly, the main Rebel took one on the jaw and was knocked to the floor. His bodyguard friend flung another stormtrooper at his attacker, propelling him to the ground.

"Thanks mate!" He exclaimed to his bodyguard as he jumped to his fight and entered the fray once more.

By this time, bodies were everywhere in the cantina. Still, there were still a good number of the Imperials left. The rebels were still warding off the majority of the Imperial Officers as Katrina was knocking the stormtrooper contingency of the raid into submission. Captain Huff was still on the ground, but managed to unclip a communicator cylinder from his officer’s jacket. Seeing this, Katrina dealt with the stormtrooper she had lifted several inches up into the air by throwing him onto a cantina table. She immediately ran towards Huff, but was too late from disallowing him to make a reinforcement call. With a swift kick, she knocked him out for good this time.

"Hey you guys! We’re going to have company soon!" Katrina yelled out to her mysterious new rebel allies.

The Rebel Leader acknowledged his group’s rescuer as he gave the last Imperial in the room a swift, and ending neck twist. A small victory on all their parts, however time was of the essence - the sound of speeders were heard outside. The small band of rebels took whatever weapons they could, quickly grabbing them the bodies of their enemy. Katrina followed suit and retrieved her duel weild commando pistols from the corpse of the stormtrooper who had formerly relinquished them from her before the fight. She angerily spat on the corpse in return, then followed her newfound allies; she feltshe would be far safer with this bunch than whatever was going to enter the cantina.

Two darktroopers along with several battle droids barged through the main cantina entrance with weapons drawn, without hesitation they began firing. The band, ultimately finished with their bar brawl concert, decided it would be safer to duck and cover than continue playing amidst the chaotic onslaught of robotic fire.

The Rebel Leader along with Katrina dashed out the cantina back door, followed by his bodyguard and the rest of the Rebels. Scorched laser marks now lay where they were standing in the cantina mere seconds ago. Further Imperial reinforcements began streaming into the Theed streets as the group ran to a back alley where two Flash Speeders were waiting, all ready to go. Amid flashing green lasers pinging off the durracrete back alley and the metallic finish of the speeders, the group piled into the vehicles. Further blasts shook the speeder that Katrina climbed into, behind them she saw a dozen or so Stormtroopers firing on their position with what seemed to be a gigantic metallic chicken walker making a turn into the alley.

"Hit it Dax!" The Rebel Leader yelled as the AT-ST began firing as it cleared the corner into the alley.

Both speeders launched at full speed, quickly leaving their hunters in the dust. The Flash speeders sprung across one of the many Theed bridges leading into the city, and at last were free on the wide-open and lush Nabooian Plains. The second speeder broke off from the main speeder’s wing and changed course.

"We’re heading back to base, boss," Dax’s BattleNet receiver on the speeder’s dashboard chimed.

"Roger that, we’ll meet you there in 0300 hours," The Rebel Leader responded into the communicator receiver, "Good luck guys.

Dax continued heading in the original direction as the other Rebel turned off the reciever. He turned to their mysterious rescuer in the back seat.

"That was one hell of a rescue I must admit, my men as well as myself are indebted to your heroic acts. What is your name, if I may ask?"

"What’s yours? I wasn’t attempting a rescue or anything, hell, I don’t even know who you guys are. Those jerks were just at the wrong place, at the wrong time." Katrina hissed with her arms crossed albeit in a much less angrier tone than she had in the cantina with Huff.

"I see. Well that fight wasn’t the best of places for a proper introduction I suppose," The Rebel replied, "In any case, I am Kinkade Kylie. My men and I are part of the Rebel Alliance. We oppose the Empire, of which those Stormtroopers we fought off in the cantina are the backbone of, and fight for a more freer galaxy. I would presume you are a foe to the Empire, especially after that brawl. Likewise, any foe of theirs, is an ally to the Alliance."

Kinkade paused to allow Katrina to digest the information and then continued, "And this is Dax, a close friend of mine as well as my bodyguard. Together we’ve been fighting the Empire for quite a few years now."

Dax looked up into the Speeder’s rear view, greeting Katrina with a simple hello and nod.

"Now you know who you rescued, how about yourself, mate?"

Now significantly cooled down from her angry episode earlier, no doubt due to the wonderful breeze in the open cockpit speeder, Katrina smiled at Kinkade. She lightly bit her lip and nodded to herself in a reassuring manner.

"Well Kinkade, I guess it wouldn’t hurt to make an ally on this planet, "She replied, "I’m not from around here. Heh, in fact my ship crashed somewhere outside of this city. I’ve been searching for someone, a commando named Stern Synex. Have you heard of him?"

"No, I don’t believe I have."

"Hmm, just as much as I suspected. My name is Katrina Esavia Synex, and he’s my husband."