Date: 48197201
Sender: 0492059
Message: We need to 21849 as quickly as possible. 2910 9340210.
Shi'onn arrived at the location at precisely the time demanded, as usual. Even though it was really early in the morning, she never really had problems waking up. Whether because of her developed endurance as a mercenary, or simply her own strict guidelines, she was never late for anything, unless there was a REALLY good reason for it. The sender, however, was nowhere to be seen.
She waited a few more minutes. He didn't come. Did the message glitch during the coding process? Possibly. Did the Empire decode it? No, the coding system had just been updated, the Empire wouldn't be able to decode it, at least not yet. However, he still could have had an encounter.
After waiting a few more minutes, she decided not to waste energy just standing around. She walked to a nearby wall and laid against it, closing her eyes. Through years of learning control of her consciousness, she learned how to fall asleep while standing up. A form of sleep that was enough to help the body conserve and restore energy, but also conscious enough that any sudden noise would snap her back into reality. She generally only did this in times of great stress or fatigue, but she was somewhat tired and didn't know what was going to happen next.
Two hours passed, when the familiar sound of a particular hoverbike caught her ear. She quickly opened her eyes and looked towards the direction of the sound. In a nearby alleyway there was an old hoverbike that was rusted all over. On the side facing her appeared to be the numbers "21849", which appeared oddly new being on such an old model. Keeping her left hand near her weapon, she slowly moved towards the alley.
As she entered, she noticed at the back of an alleyway was a clocked figure with a very familiar shape. Her tension lessened.
"Good morning, sir," she said, bowing.
He nodded in return. "Good morning, Shi'onn. I apologize for calling you so early on your day off."
"Enough of the formalities," she said sternly, "where the hell were you? Please tell me you have a good excuse for being so late."
"Uh...yeah, my apologies. I...ran into some...trouble on my way here." he said sheepishly.
Of course, Shi'onn didn't buy it. That was the voice he always gave when he said something bad happened when really he was just being lazy. Dammit, a man with the title of General should be a lot more punctual than that. Doesn't he realize the panic he could cause if he showed up late to something truly important?
In respect to his position she kept her judgement to herself. "So, what's up? Is something wrong? A mission you need us to do?"
"In a sense, yes...do you want to sit down? You look pretty tired."
"I'm fine."
"Very well then," he said, walking over to the bike, which was still running as to mask their conversation as much as possible.
As he sat down, he pulled out some papers from a hidden compartment in the side of the bike and handed them to Shi'onn.
"We've received rumors about the location of a small Empire base in Corellia. We think it may contain information involving the circuitry of an Imperial I-Class Star Destroyer. It could help us find some fault with it that could be exploited."
She took the papers and took a look at them, but still kept a stern look on her face.
"This does seem like a job for us as well as an important one...but then why did we have to meet so early this morning? Couldn't it have waited until tomorrow, when we're at home base? Please tell me you have a reason..."
He nodded, but seemed a little nervous. "Yes, but...there's something that makes this mission a bit more complicated."
"What is it?"
He pulled a folder out of the same compartment and handed it to her. As she opened the folder, her stern look became one of confusion.
"...Why the hell are you giving me a profile? What does this have to do with the mission?"
He sighed. "The man's name is Brennis Stavakk', a human from Corellia. 21 years old, medium-tall height with decent build, very skilled with guns. He will be joining you for this mission."
She raised an eyebrow. "General, we're mercenaries, not damn babysitters. We don't do escort missions."
"This isn't an escort mission...this is a training mission."
"A training mission? Why the hell would we train anyone?"
"Because we need to see if he has what it takes to be one of you."
Shi'onn dropped the folder, mouth wide open. Her look of curiosity turned to shock, then frustration, then anger.
"Now I know this might not be desirable for you..." the general said nervously.
"We. Don't. Hire. You know that!!!"
"Keep your voice down," he said, looking a bit more serious.
"We don't do applications, we don't train people, and we never have."
"That doesn't mean we shouldn't now."
"My team is fully capable as it is, we don't need another member!"
"I'm not saying your team isn't capable, I'm suggesting we make it better."
"It doesn't NEED to be better. We are-"
"Stand down, Soldier." he said in a quiet but commanding voice. Shi'onn quickly shut her mouth, and decided to let her face get the point across.
"I know we haven't hired since your squad began and I know you guys are very capable as it is...but that doesn't mean we can't improve that. Many rumors are going around and the Empire appears to becoming more and more dangerous as the days go by. More and more patrols are going around, and we keep finding new Empire weaponry we didn't know about before. It's starting to look like the Empire is about to make a big move...we can't take any chances."
He picked up the folder and continued on.
"This is a perfect training mission for him. He was born and raised on Corellia, so this will be a much simpler mission for him to start on. I've seen him in action. While he can be...a bit reckless, he is very capable. He's swift both on his feet and in his head, and knows how to act in a tight situation. In the last mission we sent him on he took out 15 Stormtroopers on his own and came out with nothing but minor injuries. While we need to make sure he can handle it, I'm fairly certain he'll be a great addition to your team."
He put the folder back in compartment, shut it, and got into steering position.
"This is not a suggestion, Shi'onn, this is an order. I will send you arrival time for tomorrow later today once we finish all his paperwork. Have a good day."
He drove away as quietly as he could, leaving Shi'onn to curse to the dark skies.
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