PHANTOM SQUADRON REPORT ISSUE # 3
phantom (fan'tom) n. 1. something feared or dreaded 2. something that exists only in the mind; illusion
[Forward]
This time we will begin with a fiction done by Jarek La'an. Enjoy :)
One day. One day of utter relaxation, total freedom from the frantic military life. Jarek could barely contain his enthusiasm, shuddering as he surveyed the spaceport at which the Immortal's shuttle had left him. He'd only heard the reports of Mos Eisley, but this spaceport had it beat. The first thing to hit him was the stink of the place. Fuel leaked from various rusted pipes in the landing pit, spreading noxious fumes over the already exotic odours. If there had been a herd of Gamorrean sows in the vicinity, they would have been a breath of fresh air, well, fresher air.
Readying himself for the horrors to come, Jarek thumbed the door keypad. The door remained closed. He tried again, with the same results. Sithspawn. He gave the door a good kick with his right boot. With a satisfying crunch the door metal buckled slightly, before slightly grinding open. With another sigh, Jarek eased himself through the narrow opening.
"No way is that possible", he muttered to himself as the smell got worse, even after he cleared the puddles of fuel. Heading straight for the centre of the city… well, town, he couldn't see any sign of transports. A burnt out speeder lay at the side of the dirt road, and an empty wheeled transport sat close to the brightly lit building at the end of the street. The painful neon sign above the door, glowing erratically in the dark night, proclaimed it to be the "Green Garat Cantina" - what the hell was a garat?.
The door opened, letting out a wave of singing humans, followed by an angry looking Rodian, shaking his fists at the retreating drunks. Cursing in his own language, the Rodian shot only a glance at Jarek, dismissing him as some worthless freighter pilot. The Rodian's gaze made Jarek painfully aware of his experience. Jarek had spent his life in uniform. First that of the Carisian Defense force, and now as part of the Emperor's Hammer. He felt totally uncomfortable in his rough blue flightsuit, the only non-military item of clothing he owned. His service blaster was slung over his left hip, while a black bag hung from his pack. He'd saved his wages for an opportunity to get off the Immortal and relax, from the look of things he'd be lucky to make it to a hotel without being mugged by one of the shady populace, cowering in clusters in the dark alleys lining the street. The street itself stretched as far as the eye could see, branching off at various points and junctions, lined by dark and shabby buildings, bleak grey permacrete walls studded with dark windows, and smeared in smut and filth. This place was a dump, nothing like the towns in which he had grown…
He felt the pain well up inside him, and fought back the impulse to cry out in anger. Caris. His home planet. Terent, the town in which he had spent his childhood as the son of the Imperial Governor of the Carisian system. At his final visit Terent had borne the scars of the Rebel attack that had decimated the town's spaceport and murdered his family. Even now the hate burned anew inside him. He struggled to remember the faces of his parents, his family, his wife - all dulled by time. Would he forget, no. He would never forget. He would not rest until he avenged his family, until he had killed all those who would challenge the Emperor's Hammer - or until he died.
He was startled from his reverie by the sharp tug on his shoulder as a shadowy figure lurched from an alley, grabbing the bag from his back.
"Hey, you, stop! Come back here you worthless Nerfherder".
Jarek broke into a run as the thief attempted to escape him by ducking back into the alley. He slowed as he took in the sight. Three burly humans stood in the mouth of the alley, along with a pair of scruffy-looking Twi-Leks, their lekku twitching nervously, the pasty tails thrashing from side to side. Jarek backed out of the alley, at least he would have if there hadn't been another couple of burly thugs behind them. He turned, coming face to face with the bright-eyes of a young human woman. Correction, a young human woman holding the blaster she'd just slipped from Jarek's holster.
"Look here now, I haven't got anything valuable, just take the bag, OK?", Jarek hurriedly emptied his pockets and held his hands up.
The woman snorted at his voice, the clipped tones of Caris, an impersonation of the Coruscant accent. " Believe me honey, we're planning on it" her voice came out in a languorous drawl. She shot him, bathing him with the blue glow of a stun-bolt. He sagged to the ground with barely a sound, angered by the mocking tone of her voice, and the fact that she'd actually shot him.
-----
What considerate bastards, he thought afterwards. He'd woken a few hours later to find himself handcuffed to one of the structural supports in the landing bay he'd arrived in. Handcuffed, and cold - probably due to his lack of clothes. He still felt confused, an after-effect of the stun-bolt, and the extremely cold wind nipping at his skin. Wow. What fun he'd had. Well there went his savings.
"Bugger" he cursed quietly. He'd have to pay a visit to the quartermaster for a new blaster - great, she seemed fascinated by him and he had to put up with her constant stares and smiles. Ahhh well, at least she was attractive. His dreamy smile was replaced by a yelp as a particularly cold gust of foul stinking wind hit his exposed skin.
He groaned inwardly, he'd just seen the lights of a lambda-class shuttle appear above the port. Brilliant, how was he going to explain this to the shuttle crew and his commander. He shivered violently before glancing around for something to preserve his modesty. The shuttle dropped into the bay, easing its ramp and twin landing gear down. A flightsuited lieutenant appeared at the foot of the ramp, a female lieutenant. Jarek shifted position to conceal most of himself behind the support before calling to the woman. He was never going to live this down…
"Lieutenant", he called in a rough voice. She turned, saw him, and burst out laughing before silencing herself with supreme effort. Jarek attempted to regain his composure.
"Ha, how very funny. I need a vibroknife, some boots and your damn coat"
He made a silent promise to himself as he sat in the passenger compartment of the shuttle, avoiding the eyes of the lieutenant as the shuttle broke atmosphere and headed for the shining white triangle of the Immortal. He was never going back near… what the hell was the name of the planet anyway? He turned to the lieutenant.
"STOP LAUGHING!!!"
[Squadron News]
1. We have a new Wing Commander, he is t he former drunken CMDR of Nun Squadron, made famous for NUN Beer, BubbaX! Everyone give him a warm welcome and go to him for drinks.
2. Both squadron comps are proceeding well, more information in the Status column.
3. MAJ Nuno is working on a Phantom website. From what I've seen already, it looks pretty good :)
4. No news is good news? Nothing else major to report here.
[Status]
Phantom Caption Contest and Phantom Free Mission Competition are underway. Due date is August 1st, but I think we have almost 100% ACTIVE PILOT participation already! =)
WC BubbaX says that some fun and exciting comps are on the horizon, keep a look out for those.
I want to adress a small thing now. When you guys submit pilot files, please name them in this format: pin#platform/type# Example: 10495xwatc1. This save time for me when doing your bsfs. Thanks :)
A reminder: Phantom has a squadron message board that can be found at: http://theholo.net/mb/viewforum.php?f=58 Check it out periodically for information or fun stuff!
[Dead Rebels]
CMDR/CM Tek Selkirk
Competitions approved and started, LoC from Parallax War, XWA-TC 23, 25
FM/LC Mark
IRC Contact, leaving us soon?
FM/LT Vailon Verel
Awarded CoB (Congrats!), XWA-TC 35, XvT-TC 2, 3
FL/MAJ Nuno
XWA-IW 3, 8, XWA-DB 4, working on Phantom website
FM/LT Jerod Ashrand
Nothing, you have one more week to report in buddy.
FM/LCM Jarek La'an
XWA-TC 28, 29, fiction
Phantom of the Week: Nuno! Nice work this week! The standings: Vailon: 2 Jarek and Nuno: 1 Who will be the first pilot to four and the mighty ISM?!? Only time will tell
[Cantina]
If you guys haven't checked this website out, I suggest you do if you're a HALO fan.
FCHG Total: 1458 (+35)
FCHG Average: 243 (+6)
CR Total: 82 (+1)
CR Average: 13 2/3 (+ practically nothing =P)
Citations: 34 (+8 Excellent work everyone!)
(1-1)CM Tek Selkirk = XWA-TC 20, XWA-TC 26, XWA-TC 27, XWA-TC 30, XWA-TC 31
(1-2)LC Mark = TIE-TC 18
(1-3)LT Vailon Verel = XvT-TC 4, XvT-TC 5, XvT-TC 11, XWA-TC 32, XWA-TC 33
(3-1)MAJ Nuno = TIE-TC 3, TIE-TC 13, TIE-TC 78, TIE-TC 1, TIE-TC 2
(3-2)LT Jerod Ashrand = TIE-TC 196, XWA-IW 6, XWA-IW 7, XWA-IW 8, XWA-DB 2
(3-3)LCM Jarek La'an = XWA-TC 35, XWA-IW 1, XWA-IW 3, XWA-IW 4, XWA-IW 5
Number of citations to gain after completing these assignments: 23
You guys know the drill by now, fly these if you can =)
[Roster]
[Last Word]
There you have it folks, my third WSR already comes to a close. Let me say that I am VERY proud to have such great pilots under my command. You're all a blessing to serve with.
SALUTE!
| Commander Tek Selkirk |
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