These are dark times for the Republic. In 3,963 BBY, the Mandalorian Invasion began, cutting a bloody swath through Republic Space, conquering key worlds and all but breaking the back of the Republic Fleet. However, not all is lost, as the forces of the Jedi Revan have come, saving the Republic from immediate defeat and slowing the Mandalorian advance.

The Republic finally has a chance to strike back against their invaders; a last, desperate chance.

As for the Mandalorians, the appearance of Revan has turned what was supposed to be a quick and decisive win into two years of Hell...

*Theta was a very wet, hot, uncomfortable planet and large gray thunderclouds were always on the horizon, if not directly above. Thankfully, most of the real fighting was on the main continent, away from the coastal regions where tropical storms and hurricanes thrashed the land and overwhelmed the tropical islands that dotted throughout the blue waters.

Rally Master Vicar Bralor stood in the thick foliage, water dripping on his shoulders, runny mud swirling around his boots. He kept watch while the other men in his team ate lunch. Durge was a newer recruit, but he had the tenacity that Mandalore required of the Neo-Crusaders. Festivous was a far more experienced man, but still unknown to Vicar; he was a warrior shrouded in mystery, but that was irrelevant as long as he did his job.

Vicar removed his helmet and drank from a bottle on his belt, the cool water bringing his senses back and fully alert. He looked up through the trees, the thick canopy all but obscuring his vision. However, not much vision was needed for what he observed: a small Republic fleet had just come out of Hyperspace and was moving into high atmo, the large ships blotting out the light and casting shadow over the jungle. His yellow eyes looked on, as Mandalorian fighters and corvettes arrived to intercept the Republic forces. He replaced his helmet and motioned to his men: it was time to move out.

The three Mandalorians stalked through the jungle as the battle overhead began to roar to life...*

Talch'e sat in the back of the Republic shuttle, silently, calmly meditating and extending his thoughts out to the surrounding area. He was anxious, and he needed to find calm and balance.

He knew why he was anxious, however, this was one of his first real assignments, and he was with a new team of soldiers, ones he had never met before. The planet was unfamiliar, the fighting was sure to be thick in the system, and the ground was likely to be thick with Mandalorians. If not for his training, he was sure he would be terrified.

'There is no Emotion, there is Peace...' He slowly recited in his mind. He would calm himself, he was leading these men, and was equivalent to a Major in the Republic Army by nothing but his status as a Knight. The Republic considered every Jedi who had come to their aid as an officer, and he would have to show them that their trust was not misguided. Most other Jedi were considered Generals and Colonels, but Talch'e was young, and he was patient. he knew that he needed experience, and he was sure he would find it here.

"How long until we drop out of Hyperspace?" He asked the pilot of the shuttle.

"5 minutes. Then we go to ground as fast as we can and let you guys out. We can stay in orbit as back up and emergency evac if you need us to."

"That will not be necessary. You have duties to the others in the space battle, and this shuttle is normally a medical transport, correct? You will have other duties helping the wounded. Go about them as soon as possible, please."

"Yes sir."

Talch'e; no, he would think of himself as Tal Che now, for the members of his team were Human and would use the Basic form of his name; Tal Che took the moment to look over his team. He knew almost nothing about them, and yet they were expected to serve him in battle. He found it odd. He would take the time to get to know them.

Lieutenant Caldera had seemed, if not pleased, at least amorous to having a Jedi aboard, though Tal could be mistaken. He seemed to have something that had exposed him to Jedi in the past. And he carried a lightsaber. Unusual, but it wasn't unheard of for a Jedi to pass it on as an heirloom or a token to a friend, especially upon their death. He would ask about that later.

Corporal Hooten Seemed somewhat gruff, and the little they'd spoken, Tal had heard a bit of Taris in his voice, probably Under City or Middle City at best. Tal had spent some time at the Jedi Tower there during his time as a Padawan, so perhaps he would have something to speak with him about.

Cyrus Odai, he had no rank. He was a bounty hunter and had been assigned a simple bounty when brought on to the Republic team. "Any Mandalorian, any condition, preferably dead." While Tal disapproved of killing unless necessary, he knew that this bounty hunter had top be quite good to get a contract here, but like the others on the team, he was a complete mystery. And Tal also knew that killing would be QUITE necessary in a war, so perhaps Cyrus would have insight into Tal's personal dilemma. He rather doubted it, but, There is no Ignorance, there is Knowledge.

He felt the Republic Corvette, The Journey drop out of hyperspace. The plan was and had always been to deploy the team as quickly as possible, and to get Tal and any other senior teams to the ground while the fighting raged. They had told Tal that he had tentative command over any Republic ground forces he found as well. He was not to lose the planet.

And he wouldn't. There was not trying, there was only doing.

A contract to kill Mandalorians. How wonderfully ironic, considering so many of them have turned to a life of a mercenary. They were notorious for being ferocious. Hard to kill. He didn't care, though; he's retired his fair share in the past. One contract had him gaining access to the high-security mansion of a rich Mandalorian that very rarely left his room. For this, he became fluent in Mando'a and secured a job as droid repairman. It was a simple question of slicing the security droids' targeting systems, letting them get rid of staff, and leaving the old man in his quarters to rot. Turning in the contract, he learned the man's family had attempted to pay him a visit later that day. He was paid extra for the convenience.

It was only six days ago while he was enjoying himself in a cantina in Coruscant he was offered the job. Apparently the employer only knew his name, as at the time he was entertaining two Rhodian beauties with an impressive show of red ball organ playing while wearing his Ubese mask, the man walked up to him and started speaking Ubese. The confusion was sorted out a few days later, as this exchange led to a cantina-wide brawl and ended with Cyrus passing out in a puddle of jawa beer. Now he's in a Republic ship surrounded by people that served the Republic.

Cyrus felt more comfortable than he expected around the Republic soldiers; he's never had the benefit of others taking gunfire so he could do his job. This was different than anything he's done so far, though. He's a bounty hunter, not a soldier. Why he accepted this job, or even why he's essentially serving the Republic is still a mystery to him. He was probably intoxicated at the time. Oh well, I'm still getting payed for this, even if all these people die.

He sat in the back of the shuttle, near some of the others and the Jedi, writing in a blue datapad, which was something he regularly did during jobs. Notes on people he's met and such. Upon inspecting a few of the soldiers from a distance, none seemed too remarkable. He stored his datapad in his back pocket before he took out his blaster and began twirling it in boredom. While doing this he whispered to the jedi as he returned to his seat after asking something of the pilot. He said flatly and emotionless, "I hope you realize that I don't work for the Republic. When we're on the ground, Twi'lek.. don't get in my way. I have a job to do, and I intend on doing it." He paused for a few seconds and holstered his blaster. You won't be the first slimerat of your kind I've had to put down. Heh. Gods, I'm tired. He leaned back, crossed his arms, and shut his eyes, waiting for the landing of the shuttle.

Lieutenant Leon Caldera sat in the shuttle. He sat there, silent, with his sniper rifle in-hand. The rifle was spotless, the high-performance scope recently calibrated. His mission was simple: Infiltrate the planet Theta, find and secure the weapon, and dissable any Mandalorians along the way.

When he was first told this, he almost laughed. Simple on file turned into very difficult in reality.

The Jedi asked the ETA on the drop from hyperspace, which was replied with five minutes. Leon began counting in his head, running over the infiltration plan one more time.

The shuttle would take the Jedi and Leon's team into the atmosphere of the planet. From there they would jump from the shuttle, using parachutes to safely land in the jungles below. The target drop zone was twenty kilometers away from any Republic outposts and eight kilometers away from the Mandalorians. They would drop in on the night side of the planet, the shuttle staying in the atmosphere so they would come down with stealth.

They would be alone then, closer to enemy territory than their own. The Jedi would lead them toward the Mandalorian outpost designated M-07, thinking that their mission was a simple stealth infiltration and sabotage.

Leon wasn't sure about lying to the Jedi about their true intent, but his superiors had said (off the record of course) that the Jedi had to be kept in the dark. At least until it was necessary for him to know. He was expendable. If he fell in battle, that was all the better for the Republic Military. The reason for this is that the Republic feared that if the Jedi knew their true reason for being on Theta, they would refuse to help and would go on and on about not using this weapon.

Leon looked over at the Jedi who would be commanding them. He was young, a kid in Leons eyes (though Leon was only a few years older than the Jedi). He may have command over the squad, but Leon knew that the people in his squad would do as he said. It was much more than simple leader and followers. They had a bond with one-another. A bond of friendship. Of loyalty. Of brotherhood.

"ETA two minutes to drop!" The pilot called shortly after their drop from hyperspace. "Good luck!"

Leon stood and slung his rifle over his back. He pulled his pistol from it's hip-holster, and after a quick check found the battery to be full and ready for action. Returning the blaster to its holster, he reached to the equipment rack above him and grabbed his helmet*. He powered it up and locked it into place.

The HUD display flickered to life, the visor becoming clear to see through. Each suit was equipped with body health sensors that transmitted each reading to the other members of the squad in the form of a name above a body. As each member of the team snapped their helmets into place, their names and green bodies came to life on Leons HUD. Each body was green, showing perfect health.

If someone was shot in the arm, that arm would turn to a varying shade of green or red, depending on the severity. Light green being something as trivial as concussive damage, yellow being something like a superficial wound, orange being actual penetration and bleeding, red being severe damage to the limb. This was the same for each body part, and when someone died their name and health animation disappeared from the HUD.

The helmet also provided such things as Night Vision, Heat Vision, a very short-ranged scanner (though in Theta's jungle climate these scanners were sure to be unavailable). The helmet was a very valuable piece of equipment to the Republic Special Operations and Infiltration Unit.

Leon readied himself as the doors of the shuttle opened. Wind immediately began trying to pull him out into the warm night air of the jungle planet. He watched and waited for the red light to signal him to go. Finally, the light above the doors turned green, and Leon, followed closely by his squad, jumped from the shuttle and began the descent to the ground below...


((**Helmet** -- Somewhat like the ODST helmets from Halo, though the visor/helmet appearance differs. This helmet covers the whole head))

Festivious walked behind the group. He was a stealth killer, best used as a sniper or much like an assasin. He cradled his sniper blaster in his arms. He seemed a very cold individual, even to his squad members. Grutous had not removed his helmet since his time here.

There was specutlation going around as to who or what he was. He had heard the whispers, he knew, and he liked it. No one knew who or what he was, and that created fear, even out of the mandalorians. Even they didn't like not knowing exactly what was going on. They didn't trust him, but neither did he trust them.

Festivious watched the decending shuttle, and saw the decending troops. "'bout time," he commented over the comm channle.

As he meditated quietly on the bounty hunters rather uncouth and unnecessary response, Tal felt the squad moving and prepping for the drop, and he joined them quietly, grabbing all the gear he needed for the drop, a small survival pack, and nothing else. The Force granted him more sense than any of the scanners ever could, and he had no need for blasters. Unlike most Jedi, Tal Che had nothing against blasters, in fact, he had used them several times in missions during his apprenticeship, he still refrained from their use, if only as a check against the accidental killing of a sentient or a test of patience; the longer he took to reach a target, the more patient he had to be. And as dense as the jungle seemed to be, no one would get very many long range shots, as such, the lightsaber at his belt would probably serve him best.

As the red light came on, Tal jumped from the rear of the Shuttle and felt the whistle of the wind next to his head, his brain tails behind him. He waited until the last possible second to deploy his 'chute, bare meters above the tee line, and the instant he felt himself snap to the slowest speed, he lit his saber and cut through he lines, using the Force to slow his fall and light gently on the ground, cutting through the trees. He stretched out with his feelings, senseing nothing within his sphere of influence with the Force, nothing sentient within at least a kilometer. He waited for the team, pondering the situation ahead, wondering how he was to lead them, especially with the lieutenant’s feelings of distance leaving what felt like an aching cut in the Force.

*The battle raged above in low orbit, with fighters and ships trading blows. Vicar knew better then to be worried about that though, and peered up to look for shuttles or dropships. Several zipped down to the planet, and most were cut apart by concealed Mandalorian anti-air. A few reached the ground though, and one had managed to drop it's cargo as it went, getting ripped apart just as the contents were free. He couldn't tell if they were soldiers or bombs, but they were worth going after.*

"Easy Festivious, there's our target. *points to the falling cargo* Let's move out, I want radio silence unless absolutely required."

*The Mandalorians resumed their movement through the jungle, heading for where those packages were likely to fall. They were a good 1.5 clicks out, so anything dangerous would be able to be reacted to in due time. Vicar took out his vibroblade and sliced through the flora as he went...*

Cyrus reluctantly jumped off the shuttle once the red light came on. He planned to quietly detach from the group and shadow it, picking off Mandalorians from a distance, though this was not the time: for now he would follow the leader, and get a feel for the terrain. He leaped after the Jedi and another republic soldier, landing in some thorny bushes near the others. "Aw, man.. I'm demanding a higher bounty for these Mandalorians. 200 credits a head, hah!"

Upon removing any debris from his clothes and getting out of the bush, he secured his blasters, and walked over to the Twi'lek. "Alright, where are we off to?"

Festivious clicked his comm once in acknowledgement about the radio silience orders. He stopped cradleing his weapon, and brought it up just under his shoulder. He scanned the canopy in the distance. He could tell that the native fauna had been disturbed and were fleeing something.

Leon fell through the dense canopy, then stopped. His feet hung almost a meter from the ground. He sighed and looked up, seeing that his 'chute was tangled in the branches above. He unsheathed his vibroknife and quickly cut through the cables, dropping to the muddy ground with a wet splash.

First things first.

He stepped over to the bounty hunter and roughly grabbed his shoulder. This was for two reasons, neither of them for malice. One, because it was the only way to fully grab a merc's attention. Two, Leon wanted to establish himself as a point of authority for the bounty hunter. He knew that this man had been through a lot of combat, and he also knew that to gain his respect he would have to earn it.

Leon looked at the bounty hunter, though his helmet covered his face. His comm opened up to all people on the frequency, even the Jedi with his comm in his ear (sorry if you consider that a god-mod, but we all have to be able to talk). "Okay, here's the plan. I want complete radio silence. This was a stealth drop, but that doesn't mean we need to go around yelling at everything in sight." This was directed at the bounty hunter.

"We will rely on our HUD sensors to keep track of one another. The Jedi can see us with the Force, so we don't need to worry about him getting lost. Also, there is to be no firing at all unless you are one hundred percent confirmed on a target. Are we clear?"

His small speech was met with the affirmative clicking of comms. Good. His squad knew that when he said radio silence, that meant radio silence NOW. He was proud of his brothers, and he knew that they would get what they came for and get off this god-forsaken planet.

The sounds of battle thundered in the distance, which was very good. The sounds of the war would keep the Mandalorian eye pointed in that direction, and hopefully distract them long enough for Leon's team to get in, get what they were after, and get out.

He turned and, without looking back, gave the hand signs that ordered them to move forward, the Jedi to take point.

Leon ran up to the Jedi and tapped his shoulder. He flipped his comm to a seperate, private frequency and told the Jedi to do the same, using his fingers to show which frequency number.

"Listen. I know that you are in command here, Jedi. I just didn't think it would hurt to get the ball rolling for you. This squad is the best, and we know what we're doing. If you'll be so kind as to take point and lead the way, there'll be no more orders from me," he almost switched off the comm, then changed his mind. "I won't make any promises, though, if we happen to find ourselves in a bad situation..."

Brulic walked closely behind his squadmates.His finger was becoming real itchy,the sounds of explosion and gunfire could be heard in the background.This battle would bring much honor to his team,clan, and himself.His adrenaline was pumping you couldnt see it but he eyes were shifting back and fourth.His senses were almost animal like.He brought up his assault rifle.

"I cant wait to down a jedi eh boss?"

He clenched his teeth as the impetuous Lieutenant grabbed his shoulder and began speaking to him. They almost sounded like orders. Though, he would have to admit, not a lot of people spoke to Cyrus Odai that way. He found it interesting, actually. I wasn't aware that there were two squad leaders. This'll get messy. And annoying. He turned to Leon after he had finished speaking to Cyrus, and spoke flatly in whispers. "I'm not under your command, Lieutenant. I was brought here for one reason: to kill Mandalorians. Lots of them. I have no problem being outnumbered, outgunned, no problem being ambushed because some other idiot gave away my position. You know, I mean, it's happened." He sighed. "I'll tell you what I told the Jedi on the ship." He removed something from a pocket on his belt and held it up to Leon. "This is a thermal detonator. It could blow us all to bits, or turn us into sitting womp-rats, but I won't hesitate to use it if you, or any other of you try to stop me from doing what I'm here for. I don't want orders, but I will stick with the group because I was.. *sigh*.. told to make sure my team survived. Part of the contract." He put away the detonator and walked away, whispering some things as he did.

He unslung his sniper rifle that had been previously hanging from his left shoulder and checked it. The Lieutenant issued an order to move out, and they did, with Cyrus following quietly behind them.

Tal looked at the lieutenant, an odd look of peace on his face. "I understand your concern Lieutenant, and I will defer to your experience. But bear in mind one thing. I am in command of all Republic forces in the region, including the fleet." He gave an almost arrogant smile, "Which means I have the authority to...repeal...any orders you may give. Or any standing orders you may have. And I can demand your evacuation, whether you want to or not. And that means you as well, Cyrus." With an unnoticeable wrist flick, he had tuned Cyrus' comm to hear their conversation. And with another motion, he had pulled the Thermal Detonator out of the hunters pocket, and tossed it up and down a few times. He then tossed it back to the bounty hunter nonchalantly, unactivated and undamaged. He was beginning to see the landscape now, and decided that he should exert some of the authority given to him by Revan.

After he finished, he simply smiled, nodded, and lit his saber, taking point and stretching out with the Force into a long, forward cone, extending his senses out to two kilometers. He could sense... something, a small group of sentients ahead. He frowned a grim frown no one in the area could notice, and made a decision. He pointed the group slightly away, and motioned to follow him that way. It would be a rounder path to their objective, and just a little more difficult terrain, but he wanted to avoid any complications. And he didn't feel like making his decision on killing any time soon, not to mention that the lieutenant didn't seem to like the idea of a Jedi in command, or really anyone but him. His former master had once told him, 'The easiest way to bring someone to your point of view was to simply not tell them that there's another side to the argument. And this also doesn't....tempt the Bounty Hunter too early.'

He pointed the group and made sure the team followed him, off further along a path towards the installation, a round about path but down a clear trail left by something in the past. Something that hopefully doesn't use it anymore...

Cyrus almost obliviously caught the detonator that the Jedi had tossed back to him, but kept it gripped in his outstretched hand. He continued following the team as he pondered a few things. He spoke as he continued walking, now tailing closely behind the Jedi with the others further back out of earshot.

"You know I'm not leaving until I do what I came here to do." He paused for a few seconds, but continued walking alongside the Twi'lek, speaking discreetly. He pointed ahead of them with his rifle. "You know about the indigenous creatures that live on this planet? Huh?" They walked in silence for a few seconds. "I see through you. Heh, you Jedi are all the same. Relying on the Force for.. for everything. It's strength and intelligence that has kept me alive all these years, and while you were moving cups with your mind, perfectly safe in school, I was raiding Krayt caverns and seeing things you haven't even.. haven't even dreamed of." Cyrus handed the grenade he'd been palming to the Jedi. "Maybe when the time comes to take the life of a living thing, you'll realize that wearing those robes or being able to make inanimate objects levitate doesn't make you a real Jedi. And it certainly doesn't earn you my respect." He nodded towards him and, rifle still in arms, rejoined the rest of the group.

*The Mandalorians began to near the position of the crash site when a rustling was heard in the jungle near them. Vicar moved his fist up to a 'hold' signal and the team stood in silence, waiting. It wasn't a particularly long wait, as a group of native life forms came bolting along the ground in front of Vicar, ignoring the Mandalorians. All seemed clear, but Vicar knew better.*

"Wait for it boys, wait for it. They were running for a reason..."

*The small team continued to wait for a few more moments, and would have waited for a few more, but it soon became apparent that they had no reason to wait anymore as the snapping of trees and a loud crashing was coming their way.*

"Move! Acklay!"

*Vicar and the team moved just in time as the large creature came bashing out of the trees. The Acklay was a natural predator, with six sharp claws and an aggressive attitude, dwarfing the group of Mandalorians, but deciding that they were tasty all the same. As the Acklay made it's intent known, Vicar gave the order:*

"Fire at will! Shoot to kill!"

*The Mandalorians opened fire, as Vicar ran up and sliced the beast on the leg with his blade. The Acklay lashed out, knocking him back, but still wounded by the vibrosword. It would take a combined effort to slay the beast, and each Mandalorian fought with the steely determination and skill that the warrior culture was known for...*

Brulic made a spin on the floor and position his rifle to the length of the creature's belly.He fired four shots but all they did was singe the creatures thick hide.Brulic had a grin from ear to ear underneath his helmet.He quickly pulled out his vibrosword from its sheath at his waist.He wanted to give the creature a honorable death.He put his rifle on the strap on his back.He charged the beast.

"FOR MANDALORE!"He yelled.

The sound of a blaster rifle and a few sporadic, animal-like shrieks echoed from the distance. Cyrus wasn't sure of whether his team had heard it or not, yet it seemed like the latter as the rest of the squad continued marching after the Jedi. It didn't matter, though: chasing after a random series of noises on this planet with no real guide whatsoever is something he thought only a brash Jedi would attempt.

They were all walking along a narrow path beset by indigenous flora; mostly tall, lanky trees and bushes. Once they had passed some rock formations on their right, Cyrus spotted an apparently deactivated Tracker droid laying near the aforementioned rocks, which he strayed from the group to pick up. The droid was black and was no more than twelve inches high.

He whispered to himself. "And it's a DRK-series probe droid, no less. Wow, I haven't seen one of these since that time I crash landed on Korriban and was imprisoned by Sith traders. What a day." Cyrus caught up to the rest of his teammates and continued tailing them while he began slicing the small droid. He turned on his comm and spoke on the squad-wide frequency, disregarding what the Lieutenant had said about radio silence: "Oh master Jedi, if I can reprogram this little fella I found and switch on thermal imaging, it might make our job a whole lot easier. Would you care to let us take a break and let me do this?" As he awaited an answer, he continuously rotated and checked the droid, inspecting it for a security fail safe.

"Do what you can while we walk, there's a clearing about half a kilometer ahead, and there is something...unusual I want to check out. We'll stop there for a bit, get situated." Tal responded out loud, just enough to be heard, respecting the need for radio black out. He had heard the baster fire as well, not to mention sensed the large life form attack the group. He was sure there weren't any more around, until the clearing. There was definitely something at the clearing, but nothing he'd sensed before. Like a gap in the Force, as though something had carved it out of existence.

He held his saber aloft, lighting the way and turning a few webs and leaves into vapor as he did. When he reached the clearing, he waved them to spread out into the tree line. As he inspected the clearing with the force, he approached the bubble of absence in the force. As he looked at it, he cursed very, VERY loudly in Twi'leki.

"Well, something is here that they do NOT want Jedi to find. Lieutenant, if I may have a moment?" Tal looked up at the tree, a transplant from Myrkr. On it were two Ysalamiri. The small, unmoving lizard-like creatures stared at him, as if knowing what they did to him and mocking him.

'This could make the mission much more...unpleasant.'

After they stopped in front of the tree and the squad spread out into the jungle, Cyrus chose a spot under a particularly large tree and sat at it's base, still tinkering with the droid. He detached the metal plating that covered it's innards and began rewiring it, which caused a few sparks to fly and it's antenna to sporadically twitch. It only took a minute to unlock it's full array of functions for use. He removed a small, circular plug from one of his pockets and attached it to inner mainframe. You won't be running away from me any time soon, will you? Cyrus then took out his personal datapad and connected it to the droid, which caused it to suddenly spring to life and begin levitating a few feet off the ground, rotating constantly and scanning it's surroundings with a small light glowing on his center eye.

He rose up off the ground and brushed himself off, and with a flashing datapad still in hand, he turned on his comm. "It's ready when you need it. I fitted it with a restraining bolt so it doesn't get any bright ideas. Looks like this thing was originally Sith property, which isn't surprising considering--" Cyrus paused, realizing he was speaking a bit much on a general broadcast. "--where we are. Er, anyway, me and Darkie will be sitting over here." He slid back down the huge tree and continued navigating his datapad, with his rifle cozily on his lap.

Festivious pulled back and aimed with his sniper blaster. Pulling the trigger the weapon responded with a Bzztshu sound. The blaster bolt hit the thing in the head, but in the end all that did was make it angrier. It focused on Festivious, charging him reckless abandon.

As the Acklay closed the distance, Festivious jumped off to the side and into a roll. He landed on his blaster rifle, snapping it in half. He didn't notice it in the confusion, but as soon as he got up to take another shot at the now turning beast he noticed that it was damaged. Festivious threw it down and pulled out his vibroblade and steadied him self for the next charge.