Troopers - Book 2

Rebel base one

"Have you confirmed timings with the fleet?" Thorne asked

"Yes, all is on schedule." Jester replied in a clipped manner trying to emulate Thorne

"Good, how long till were at the insertion point?" Thorne spoke ignoring his attempt at mockery.

"Forty-five minutes. Will you be ready then?"

"Yes, give us a count down every five seconds form thirty and then individually from five. Don't wait for a response just it the hatch door." Thorne stated turning and allowing his boots to land heavy in the deck.

Jester keyed the communication console he'd been working on and sent the coded message to Grand Moff Tarkin. The top layer if the message was for the Moff himself, the secondary massage for a member of his staff.

*

The unit was waiting, starring at the cargo bay that would open for them all to drop through one at a time.

"I want my own armour, not this flimsy stuff." Morrigan stated to no one in particular.

"Ours is too heavy for this" Medb replied

"We could of just bounced to the target in our armour" Morrigan continued to complain

"Then we would have been seen and the mission a failure." Medb corrected her

"That's enough you two get your game head on" Oakham called back

"Thirty seconds" came over the speaker

"Keep the suns at your back, to blind on lookers" Thorne shouted, he knew they knew tis but it was what was expected, the last points of unwanted advice

"Twenty five"

"Sir" Oakham spoke low hand over his microphone

"Twenty" from the speaker

"Yes"

"fifteen"

"When we succeed, can we detour to their armoury. This standard issue from Tarkin is crap"

"Ten"

"If we have time" Thorne retired

"sir" Oakham nodded

"Five..."

"Four..."

"Oh sergeant, Better than that, when we're off this planet we'll be going shopping." Thorne stated to him

"One." the cargo bay hatch opened and the troopers went forward as planned, each one dropping down in order. Thorne, Oakham, Olwen, Eastre, Thoth, Morrigan, and last Medb. Each one dropped down five hundred feet before deploying their wings. Repulsor engines engaged shortly afterwards add they turned and formed up into a arrow head with Thorne at the lead. They glided on three wind around the mountain using the updraft to keep their height. As they came round Thorne zeroed in on the compound with his macrobinoculars, he could see the guards on the roof, bored, and as he expected not looking up. They drifted silently over. Closing the distance swiftly, Thorne indicated for Aasith to take aim.

There were two guards on the roof, both human. Aasith brought her rifle to her shoulder. She'd refused a blaster at first but when they were not wearing their armour she had to concede as her own would have shattered her shoulder without the armours aid. Steadily she waited watching the pair through the scope, building the rhythm of their movement. They were closing in fast. Her finger began to tighten on her trigger, she stopped. One had picked up a communicator and was taking rapidly into it. The pair sprinted towards the hatch. They didn't make it.