Between the barren desert and the lush green of the Empire was a dense forest. Due to the thickness of trees within this area, there had been no attempt from the Empire to exploit it. As such, it served as a convenient gateway for the rebel force to infiltrate the Empire. If the Empire noticed them coming from the forest, they would simply cleared it and the rebel would've lost an important waypoint. As such, most infiltration attempts were strictly for reconnaisance purpose, and were done with a small number.

At the moment, as well, the squad entering the Capital was a six-men group. Their mission was simple: to enter the research facility located in a tower built in the inner edge of the forest. There was a rumor of secret weapon being developed within this facility for years, and the rebel couldn't have the Empire increasing their strength.

"Meh, this place is as beautiful as the rumor. Those dirty bastards had been keeping this place for themselves...those selfish people in this Capital,"

A guy with spiky brown hair, Sharn, said as he let go of his Sandfish's rein. The steed dived away into the sand, presumably returning to the rebel headquarters. The group was hastily formed by the rebel force, but each of them had been trusted because of their ability. He, in particular, was chosen for his affinity with sword - the beautifully forged blade was resting on his back, shrouded by its sheath.

"Let's do this stuff. We come in, destroy the 'secret weapon' thingy, and then high-tail it out of here. Easy, right?"

Slowly, hazel eyes opened to peer through the darkness surrounding the group. There before them lay the very capital that so many of her people hated. Serin’s own dislike for the city was a smoldering flame that was easily stoked into a raging blaze with the right conditions. The happy people that walked around day and night oblivious to the suffering of herself and her people, however, it was a sight she had once grown all too accustomed to seeing.

Her eyes locked in by heavily tanned skin watched the man who had spoken. Sharn, one of the six sent on this ‘mission’ following up on a lead of some sort. She had not been given all of the details, and personally she did not much care for them. So long as their objectives were made clear, then she would follow them, trusting in their leaders wisdom to pull them through this long fight against an oppressive enemy.

“Yes, we’ve waited and watched long enough. Let’s make out move.” Serin stated while peering once more through the tree’s. Stay in one spot for long and they were sure to be spotted by SOMEONE. Calling everything off was not an option this time. This one HAD to succeed.

The largest of them all, a man carrying zweihander as tall as himself, stepped up forward. He was the leader of this operation as was selected by the higher-ups. He came from another rebel force recently joining the alliance and as such had accumulated battle experience by his own.

"That's a good spirit, youngsters, but let's proceed carefully," he took out a piece of paper which each of the six had been handed before the mission began. Within it was a crude map of the facility they were targetting.

"One of the Four Head, Dio, knew our target intimately. He had provided us with this information. As we've been told again and again, the security was tight. Therefore, we'll stick with our current plan. I, alongside Marco and Zune, will spearhead the attack and draw the guards' attention. Meanwhile, the three of you is to infiltrate the facility at once. Can I trust in your speed?"

"That's a stupid thing to ask," Sharn scowled. He was eager to be the part of attacking squad, but was instead relegated to be a scout. Well, speed was also his specialty, so he wasn't looking to disappoint.

"What about you, woman? Think you can keep up with me?" Sharn grinned mockingly toward Serin.

Serin listened to the older, larger warrior. She naturally knew many pro's and con's about anything they were doing since this little big mission started. Hearing any form of contradiction to what she had said did not exactly sit well with here, but she would grudgingly give him the fact that he was correct in their need for care. If one of the groups were caught the whole shebang may blow up in their faces like one of the hot fume geysers from the wastes. When she was young she had lost a brother to those things, it wasn't a pleasant death.

She nodded gravely to the more experienced older warrior, she knew, and perhaps he knew that more than one of them would probably not be coming back from this. If any of the Zodiac would show up… things could turn out quit badly, intelligence stated they were currently away… or so she had been told. “We will not fail.”

However, to her… teammate, she turned and gave a malicious smirk, “I’ll try ever so hard not to slow you down.” She stated sarcastically before batting her eyelashes, though in the dark it was probably a missed gesture. She was all for team play, but she did not want her abilities doubted. She had been picked for this task due to her skill, not her feminine wiles. The leader did not leave anything to chance. There was a reason each of them were here, she could only wonder what the man saw in all of them, or how he expected each of them work together properly.

Seemingly satisfied with confidence shown in his teammates' eyes, the leader clapped his fists. "Then let's get this thing started! Remember your role! Serin, you've been specifically chosen by the higher-up for this job. You take care of the three-men team. The two of you better listen to the lass."

Sharn gave him a scornful look, but the leader simply waved his hand, silently saying "no excuse!"

"Alright, Marco will show you the signal when we've managed to lure the guards away. Marc, if you may..."

Marco, the bandanna guy, took out a small tube-like object from his pouch. "The tech guys made these. When I press this button, this thingy will start glowing. That will be your cue. Storm the building through the other entrance while we distract the guards."

With that said, the three of them took off. The sound of rustling leaves went away bit by bit before it got completely silent. Sharn kept his eyes locked on the small tube, as if staring at it would made it glow. Every seconds passed got him more nervous. Not to say that of all thing, he had to listen to a woman's command. A woman!

"Hey, listen," he stood up, looking at Serin with (he hoped to be) menacing eyes. "I don't care what the leader said. I'll do it my way, and you're never gonna be my boss, got it? I..."

Right at that time, battle cry roared on the direction of their target. The tube-like thing started to glow, signalling that the vanguard had succeeded in luring the guards away.