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"Counting wasn't on the course list in Basic. You know how it is." Trooper KY-9914 called back over the comm link, a warmth behind his ears when he realized how off he'd been. "Budget cuts." He silently chided himself for it, knowing how dangerous misinformation was during combat. Malik shrugged it off with a quick off-hand joke, hoping that'd be the end of it.

He shifted his attention fully to the firefight at hand. The volume of fire had diminished somewhat as more shots hit their mark and more of the terrorists were brought down, but the constant, thunderous thumping of the three largest cannons on the battlefield continued to drown out all other noise. The Aquellan warrior pressed on ahead alongside the rest of his unit, advancing slowly through cover with increasing bravado now that the enemy's numbers were thinning. If their momentum continued, they'd be storming the base itself soon enough.

Provided that turret didn't mow them all down first, of course.

Skaya was hunkered down behind a rusted out trash compactor, lasers whizzing right over his helmet when Kavis's next set of orders came through. The sergeant wanted Malik and one other Stormtrooper to make for the left-most flank and use the cover there to take out the enemy emplacement while the rest of the squad held their attention. He couldn't say he was all too pleased with the idea of throwing himself into a line of blaster bolts, even if Imperial doctrine dictated it was the most effective method of rapid advancement.

The gears in his head began to turn as he scanned the uneven, trash-soaked ground around him. He quickly went to clip his E-11 to his belt, bending down to grasp at an old, torn tarp that had been discarded on Lothor Minor quite some time ago. After tearing it even further, he tied it about his plastoid-encased neck, forming a rather crude cloak that matched the rustic browns that permeated the planet. "Camouflage." He explained quickly, already starting to slip over toward the left side of the hill. "Would rather not get blown to hell before I'm even in range."

Malik slid down a pile of trash and debris, his new fashion accessory flapping in the toxic breeze behind him as he made his way toward the target with Kato Okaye at his side. He didn't know the gunner well, but from what little time they'd been together, Skaya had a feeling he could trust the trooper to watch his back; and in return, he would do the same. "Let's not draw their attention this way if we can't help it," Malik suggested, "once we're close, I'm going to try to get around and get a clean shot on the rebel manning the gun; if ya could, I'd appreciate some cover from the rest of his buddies." It was a fairly basic plan, but it could prove to be fatally dangerous if they didn't execute it right.

He didn't give Kato much time to argue, either, as Malik bolted from cover the moment they were within visual range of the Junkers' position at the top of the hill. "Cover me!" He called back, his mud-caked boots splashing in a puddle of something that was decidedly not water as he charged across the hill, his E-11 now firmly in his hands as he made a mad dash for the gunner. All Malik had to do was find the angle. He just needed to find the shot-

a Junker's head swayed into view from behind a chunk of a fallen star freighter. The red light from its cycling cannon lit up the native's face mask. Too bright to be a standard blaster. Had to be the gunner. The sound of a blast whizzing just past him caused his heart to jump into his throat, but he couldn't let it throw him off. He brought the E-11 to bear, his finger squeezing down on the trigger as another shot impacted in the dirt naught by a few inches from his feet. 'Don't miss don't miss don't-'

First squad deployed to the left of the ramp of the shuttle while the fourth squad deployed to the right. Within seconds the two squads, roughly 20 imperial soldiers began bounding forward into the Junkers’ fire. For every two men, one was remaining in place firing well aimed fire into the enemy while the other was moving forward ten or twenty meters. The soldier bounding forward searched for his next piece of cover before he moved. The squads continued this cover and movement technique for a few minutes until they got to a point closer to the enemy and the fire became more intense. The squads needed to take a brief respite firing into the enemy as the leaders developed a plan.

Sergeant Vytuia began giving out orders for the squad to lay down a base of fire. Then he called on Kato and the new guy to make a flanking maneuver. "Okoye and Skaya go left, quickly. Everyone else pin down those bastards, keep their attention on us. But don't do anything stupid."

Kato and Skaya didn’t think, they didn’t waste time, they reacted. The pair jumped up and dashed left into the heaps of trash. Laser fire chased them into their next cover, but they made it. As soon as they settled into their spot, Kato set up his T-21 LRB laying down a base of fire.

Kato heard Skaya say something to him, "Let's not draw their attention this way if we can't help it. Once we're close, I'm going to try to get around and get a clean shot on the rebel manning the gun; if ya could, I'd appreciate some cover from the rest of his buddies."

“You lead on, Skaya. I’ve got your back!” Kato yelled at KY-9914. Kato stopped shooting, jumped to his feet and chased after Skaya. They hadn’t gotten far when laser blasts raced in their direction nearly missing both of their heads.

"Cover me!" Skaya yelled back at Kato who dropped to the ground near the edge of a rusted-out engine. He found the origination of the laser fire and began pumping bolts back in that direction. As Malik Skaya raced forward, Kato and the rest of the squad unleashed hell upon the few remaining Junkers defending their scrap pile.

Kato saw a Junker go down from one of Malik’s laser bolts. As soon as the body hit the ground, Kato was on his feet sprinting to catch up. He would dive for cover and resume firing a number of more times before they would reach their destination.