Trouble at Gelgelar Freeport.

[Maalsin Kvar]

Gelgelar - Outer Rim Territories
Free Port, South Swamps

Maalsin Kvar's patrol were reaching the outer swamp area's and had to be on their guard, not just because of the thick mist blurring their vision. There had been reports of disturbances in this region on and off all cycle and they couldn't afford to take any chances. Apparently the Glarsaur tribes had been becoming more organised and raiding in larger groups. The local merchants had been hiring mercenaries in response to protect their interests. They hadn't been too picky whom they took on, as the Glarsaur soon ran at the sound of blaster fire. There was a mining operation not far from this route and its perimeter had to be secured.

It was only Maalsins third patrol in this twelve-man squad and the novelty had yet to wear off, he was still very much a rookie with a glint in his eye. The job seemed easy enough and much more exciting than working in the colony. He returned home every night, yet still got to go places others would never travel. It had been hard for the Gen'dai to find a job that held his interest, there was the priesthood nearby and always work at the trading outposts but besides that, this world didn't offer someone seeking adventure much opportunity.

The squad leader raised his hand and the patrol eventually stopped, though there was little military precision, as the group had had very little formal training. Someone whistled and the group gradually dropped to the floor, however some of the newer recruits including Maalsin were slow to react causing a few mutters of contempt. As he dug down he scanned the swamp laid out ahead of him, it was calm, almost too calm.

A single howl pierced the air followed by several hissing sounds, at least three dozen silhouettes appeared from out of the mists. Large hulking repitillian shapes charged toward the group and at about 200 yards it was a quite an imposing sight.

"Time to get paid."
Said one of the men next to Maalsin as he raised his blaster and snapped off several shots. Others followed and many of the Glarsaur began to succumb to the combined hits. A hail of primitive rocks and spears answered, catching one nearby rodian in the chest. A blaster or two also returned fired but for the most part it was an outright charge of brute force, one that seemingly wasn't afraid to face a hail of blaster fire.

(ooc: This is open to all, although its only one of the first parts of a larger storyline. If you want more info pm me.)

[Maalsin Kvar]

"Why aren't they running?"

Came a distressed call from a nearby mercenary. The Glarsaur had been unnaturally bold in this attack. Maalsin's patrol weren't anywhere near the deeper areas of the swamp, so it couldn't be an obvious territorial concern. Besides what did they really hope to achieve, throwing themselves into the patrols line of sight like this. It was painfully clear the fragile balance had been upset on Gelgelar, at one time the native Glarsaur had lived side by side with other alien colonists. However this latest interest by outside corporations were driving a wedge between them, revoking the equilibrium on the planet that had developed over the years.

Several more of the large Glarsaur fell, many were beginning to turn back at a run but those most forward had reached Maalsin's patrol. A human stood up next to him, grabbing the end of his rifle like a bat, he shattered it over the thick scaled head of one of the reptiles. His target shrugged it off, smashing the unfortunate human to the floor with the back of his clawed hand. The Galrsaur then turned on Maalsin who scrambled to get his weapon up, firing almost point black shots at the thick hide of the lizard.

The creature yowled in pain but still managed to raise its well-muscled arm. Maalsin looked up, the intent was clear in its eyes, he watched helpless as its predatory instinct flared to life. Then its eyes froze, the beast shook and fell to its side limp and silent.

"Hey watch yourself there rookie. Don't go playing with the lizards."

His squad leader emerged looking over him with a grin. The Galrsaur had been impaled on one of its own spears.

"Good old swamp wood, beats a blaster if you have to get this close."

The man turned and raised his blaster, firing a few more shots at those Galrsaur who still hadn't had the sense to run. Maalsin also got to his feet, he didn't have time now to think of what just happened, other men were in trouble and he had to help them.

[Maalsin Kvar]

There was a painful scream as a man was gashed by a Glarsaur's claw. He jerked forward, falling to his knees, several of Maalsins squad turned and peppered his assailant with blaster fire but it was too late, both bodies fell together in a lifeless heap. Almost all the Glarsaur were now at a run or dead, disappearing back into the mists as quickly as they had come.

Several men were fighting hand to hand with one of the Lizards that refused to fall. The Glarsaur had many wounds, yet his eyes were red, keen and full with rage. Maalsin shivered, perhaps they really were all just beasts. The look the creature gave as it finally fell was a horrific picture. It was desperate to inflict pain, thrashing its limbs about just to lash out in its final breaths.

Maalsin raised his blaster and fired several shots, putting the beast out of its misery. He felt sad for it in some way, this whole incident hadn't been the thrill he had been expecting.

"Just animals"

One of the men remarked helping a wounded companion to his feet. Maalsin wanted to believe that but he'd seen the Glarsaur up close many times during his childhood, they were nothing like this, even in the midest of what he had just witnessed. They were a warlike race but he had never seen one lusting after violence in quite the same way.

"Yeah well we taught them good."

Said another, though he found little support. Not one of the patrol had been expecting this. One man was dead and another close. Most of the squad were limping or nursing a wound of some kind and not all were of the physical kind.

"Time to head back to the mine, I think we've done our job here for today."

The squad leader announced as he turned to leave. Maalsin was thankful, he didn't want to stay out here any longer than was necessary. Today he would be glad to get back.

The patrol walked for a few more hours, battling their way through dank pits and overgrown vegitation. Eventually they left the thicker swamps behind and approached one of the more habitable areas of the planet. The mines influence was clear, tree's had been cut down, a large fence had been erected and the noise of machinery filled the air. The ground around the mine perimeter seemed dry and cracked, like it had been unaturally blistered.

Maalsins patrol began to filter through the gate, eager to seek solace within the walls of the compound.

[Maalsin Kvar]

Gelgelar - Outer Rim Territories
South Swamps – Alpha Mine Site, Operation Headquarters

As they arrived through the large metal fences flanking the compound, the group were given the usual security checks and visual recognition confirmation. It was still a novelty to see this level of development on such a primitive planet, all his life he'd dreamed of such a place and now he was actually part of it. The compound itself was a bustle of activity, small ships could occasionally be heard landing in the cargo section and droids and equipment were moving around, seemingly without direction.

As his squad began separating out, he tried to keep up with his squad leader, wanting to ask him a few more questions. He was still rusty on names but his squad leader had been welcoming ever since he had arrived here. Paul Farlight was his name. An off worlder but one of the better ones around here. He was as cold under fire as the marshlands in winter, though off duty he was just another grunt and had seemed a solid guy.

Looking around, Maalsin noticed the large amount of new arrivals, most of them were faces he didn't recognise, certainly not from Freeport. It seemed excessive the amount of equipment and manpower the corporation were assembling. He shrugged it off, the Glarsaur had been a problem, perhaps they weren't taking any chances.

Suddenly Paul spun around and faced Maalsin.

"Hey rookie, you were from the local colony right?"

Maalsin nodded, unprepared for the question.
"Yes sir"

"Well how about you help me with these new recruits, you can help be sort out which ones we can use."

Paul waited for Maalsin to catch up and the pair made their way to a large hall at the east of the compound. Flashing their id they were soon in a large, barren room. It was dimly lit except for a bright beam at the centre. Facing them stood three lines of new recruits, all of them eager to sign up with the Corporation. They were standing in the centre lit up by a strong beam and obviously uncomfortable because many were fidgeting nervously. Every alien imaginable was there, from rodians to Gamorreans, the whole spectrum of the rim was represented. Maalsin felt a sense of pride as he strode in behind Paul. He wasn't just another nobody working in a dead end job at Freeport, here he was somebody, here he was of use.

Paul looked at the assembled crowd and waited, letting them sweat for a moment. Maalsin could feel the suspense in the air, the same tension he had faced when he had arrived.

After a tense few seconds Paul spoke, his tone was calm and measured, having given the same speech a hundred times.

"So you all want to be hero's?"

The question was more a test than an introduction, created to see just who he was dealing with. The room was designed to make them uncomfortable, to put them under pressure.

[Maalsin Kvar]

Maalsin looked over the recruits, pondering just why the mining corporation put its recruits under such conditions. It seemed the ability to shoot a weapon or follow orders was, in their eyes, second to strength of mind, it seemed a strange requirement for a common mercenary.

Nobody dared mutter a sound. Paul shrugged, Maalsin believed he had been hoping for at least one strong or cocky personality, someone that in his words 'he'd have to temper.' He was always talking about this introduction, about how they were the same qualities he looked for in a leader and that born leaders were harder and harder to find these days.

After a moment Paul spoke.
"Well lets hope you can all at least fire a blaster."

He turned to Maalsin and whispered.

"You recognise any of these soldier?"

Soldier, he'd never called him soldier before, always rookie or kid. Maalsins sense of pride was evident in his smile.

"One or two, the Gamorreans quite a handful and the human on the right is a mean shot."

Spotting a few familiar faces in the line up, Maalsin indicated pointing them out.

After a bit more banter and some standard drills, the recruits were allowed a break. Most of them passed the introduction, except a few who had blindly believed old man Ulgar when he told them they were working in the mine, not guarding it.

Maalsin and Paul were just about to head back to Freeport and get some downtime when Paul was called away to the docking bay. After a whispered exchange with an officer, he asked Maalsin to accompany him. They left the large hall and made their way across the base to the cargo bay.

An explosion rocked the compound and bright light shot up from the large mining machines. A huge burst of energy thundered its presence around the base. People looked up but continued on regardless, Maalsin just stood there jaw agape, he'd had not spent much time in the base and the sight was unbelievable. The pure discharge of energy into the atmosphere was terrifying. The machines switched off as quickly as they had started up, in reality they were only warming up.

Paul looked up, being used to the sight he didn't question it.
"Come on soldier, let's not keep those 'suits' waiting."

They soon walked through the main cargo bay doors. If Maalsin thought the base was busy, this place had twice the manpower in half the space. Though it didn't matter what greeted him here, the sight of the mining machines was all he could think about.

Jungo the twi'lek, in apparent charge of this sites operation, had been pacing the cargo bay for several hours now. Having shouted at most of the people on duty, in sheer frustration at the situation he found himself in, he was now alone apart from some reluctant guards. Ever since his second in command had informed him that Cizerack had ambushed their cargo ship, his day had gone from bad to worse.

"Well what exactly is the situation with the third set of mining cargo now?"
Jungo said, his face still holding the same worried expression it had hours ago.

"We are still unsure, our reports are mixed."
His second Dalkin answered, voice and expression void of emotion as always.

"If we lose that cargo... Do you know how hard it is to obtain energy-mining equipment with the laws that are in force! They will have our heads!"

Jungo's tone picked up, his voice was clearly distressed.

"As I have told you a thousand times, we have Dorvalla mining to bla..."
Dalkin stopped mid sentence as he noticed Maalsin and Paul approaching.

"Yes?"
The short human said eyeing the pair cautiously.