"Probably the best for you, as you can shoot past everyone else." Linopas nodded in response, and, waiting for everyone else to pass by, fell into the formation behind them. As they walked, he clutched his DLT-20A and looked around him, trying to take in as much of the environment as he could. It was comforting to have his gun so close at hand, and the adhesion grip it provided furthered this feeling, knowing it couldn't slip out of his hand so easily. He didn't really know why he thought about it so much, but comfort was comfort, and it came from strange places in strange times like these.

At length, spanning roughly twenty minutes (or so he supposed; he never really kept track), Linopas could perceive blaster shots in the distance. Faint they were, indeed this was true, but they were there nonetheless, and it was very likely that they would come to reach this very group. The discovery of the corpse of a brutally mangled stormtrooper on the ground momentarily shook his consciousness.

"Seems like those Tapiens started earlier than Dierkan said!" Their sergeant's voice could be heard, but Linopas was speechless. Obviously, the higher power they were intercepting was very much active on this little hole of a planet. "Come on guys, double time!"

And with that, they were off on a jog. Stumbling slightly as he trotted along the uneven ground, the gran sniper cocked his longrifle and was ready for anything.

TK silently walked beside Cam as they pushed forwards through the undergrowth of the forest. His eyes constantly scanned the glowing woods around them for anymore sign of the Tapiens. He stopped when he caught site of the mangled stormtrooper in in front of the party. "Seems like those Tapiens started earlier than Dierkan said! Come on guys, double time!"
Looking away from the body, TK pushed forwards keeping pace with the Sergeant. He couldn't help but notice the blaster fire getting louder the more he focused on it. Gripping his weapon he strode forwards.

The Kiffar Mercenary used the time he had to contemplate the many options that were before him, the possible angles to play in the near future, the possible profits.... The possible kills. There were always a hundred ways to play something, and Sellikus always preferred to consider them all. As was the way of a warzone, many of these paths he perceived involved him having to escape this planet alone, leaving his team of likely dead squad mates behind. Yet there were a few that he forsaw that would get them all out in one piece. Not like the mangled trooper that he now casually stepped over, taking only enough time to grab up the fallen trooper's blaster rifle as he holsters his pistols. Best to save ammo, he figured, ignoring any looks his squadmates might cast his way.
He was a Mercenary. A Warrior. And he would survive this, even if he had to do some things that many would deem unforgivable.....

While the party began to move forward at a jog, Sellikus scooped down to pick up the fallen troopers weapon. Night was rapidly descending, with the bioluminescence beginning to light it up. It was still light enough for everyone to see.

As the group moved at a brisk pace, they past by some signs of combat. A couple more imperial casualties, along with some tapien soldiers, grey battle droids, and a few mercenaries. The ground was mud; it clung to the parties' boots and slowed them down.

With the group moving out, TK began to fall behind. Fatigue was beginning to set in for him, though the rest of the party seemed to be fine. Cam called over his shoulder to TK, " Come on TK, those soldiers can't hold out forever!"

The party arrived, to see 14 stormtrooper locked in a skirmish. 4 of them were already laying down. Attacking them was a squad of Grey B1 battle droids. One of the droids was the officer, easily visible since it was barking orders to the others. One droid was blasted down, but 7 droids remained.

The stormtroopers had formed a cone, with 4 troopers taking cover on the right, and 5 on the left. Each of the 9 was behind one of the massive leafy plants. The 10th standing trooper was attending to one of the injured soldiers. While the party approached, one of the troopers on the right was hit and he fell. The trooper in the center sprinted over to the trooper.

6 of the droids stood in the open. The seventh, the officer, weaved in and out of the trees behind the other droids. He was not firing anywhere near as much as the other droids, preferring to command the other droids instead.

It was strange for only seven droids to be on the field of battle. Normally, they came in large hoards. Whatever was happening, the droids seemed to be gaining ground on the stormtroopers...

OOC: ( TK will be 2 turns behind everyone else, as he failed his endurance check. Everyone else succeeded with relatively similar rolls. I will try and put up a map, but you can act now if you would like.)

Sellikus looked over the ensuing battle, and a disgusted frown creased his face. The troopers outnumbered the droids, and if you asked the Imperial Commanders, any soldier was worth a dozen droids. But here, a mere seven B1 battle droids had the unit on their heels, and were gaining ground.
"Pathetic..." He muttered in his native language, and without waiting for orders, let the blaster rifle he had salvaged hang from it's strap on his shoulder, and drew his DL-18 Blaster Pistols, taking off to the side and crashing through the brush, hardly feeling stealth was of any consequence in this.
As he forced his way around through the brush, off the trail, he grinned as the commanding B1 came into sight. But there was a B1 between him and the so-obvious leader of the droid unit, and the Kiffar mercenary would need to remove it first. He continued to charge it until it saw him as well, before slamming his back against a tree, turning so he almost hugged it, and fired a volley of blaster bolts at the ill-positioned droid soldier, trusting his unit, and the dying troopers, to keep the other clankers busy......

((Actions: Move North-West by map standards, using the 3rd highest, left most tree for cover, and firing on the farthest left droid.))

Despite being behind the others, Linopas had no trouble keeping up. As he passed TK, he turned his attention towards the gunfight going on beyond the posse before him, clutching even tighter to his longrifle. Coming to rest behind a tree with the others, he took a second to observe his surroundings:
the dense glowing foliage provided excellent cover all over the place from six offending droids and what seemed to be a commander in the shadows; he could tell through inference, for it was rarely using its weapon, relative to its companions, and weaved constantly in and around its environment. Four troopers lay dead in a small cluster nearby, while another one could be seen further ahead.

A few steps ahead the cluster of dead, a particular tree caught his eye. He knew what he was going to do. Quickly, yet cautiously, Linopas darted behind the tree and fell instinctively into a crouch. He drew up his DLT-20A, took his aim carefully at the commander northeast to his position, directly within his line of sight, and fired.

((Actions: Move northeast to tree nearest to pile of dead stormtroopers, slightly to its left. No stealth action taken. Aim weapon, fire upon commanding droid. Attack roll: 17 +3 from ranged.))

Linopas caught a look look at the droid officer, and decided that it was the primary target. Going on to one knew, Linopas drew a bead on the droid. Once his crosshairs were lines up with it's head, he fired. The shot forced the droid to lean backward; however it regained it's balance and stood back up.

The commander droid barked something about moving forward to his other droids, and began to back up. The other droids moved forward, uncaring about the line of fire they were approaching. From left to right, the first three droids pooled fire on the stormtrooper who was the most in the lead. The first one aimed, but seemingly hesitated and looked at his E-5. The second one opened fire; although the shot singed the tree and missed. The third one, however, hit the stormtrooper perfectly in the chest. The trooper fell with a quick scream. Passing by it's unconscious victim, the droid walked past. The forth and fifth droid both let loose a single shot each towards the center right stormtrooper, though he managed to lean back behind cover. The sixth and final droid in the line marched forward, before remorselessly shooting the nearest stormtrooper in the face. There was no cry; the trooper simply fell backwards on to the ground.

As the others ran for cover, Sergeant Cameron ran left. Ducking behind the tree, he fired at the left most droid. In a direct line, the shot burned it's way through the droid; a faint surge of electricity coated the droid, and it immediately toppled over.

Sellikus ran up to a nearby tree, determined to clear the route to the commander droid. As he did so, the forth droid in the line turned to face him. Finding his intended target convulsing, he instead chose to fire on the closer droid. Firing two shots, one the droid seemed to absorb with ease. The other hit it's throat. The droid's originally unbroken advanced suddenly faltered, but it kept coming.

Fayt moved back behind the trees to avoid the combat, having no ranged weapons to contribute to the fight. The stormtrooper began their counter assault. The three left most troopers fired on the left most droid. Though two of the shots were grazing shots, the third one hit the droid directly in it's power pack. With a sudden poof, the droid was enveloped in flames. The forth trooper fired a blast at the last standing droid on the right, hitting it in the left arm. Rending the arm off, the droid was spun by the force, and fell. Standing up beside Sellikus, the fifth stormtrooper fired his E-11 into the droid to his right. With a solid hit, the droid toppled backwards unceremoniously. The last two trooper fired on the remaining droid in the front line. One of them slipped while he attempted to aim, firing a shot up vertically into the air. Calmly, the forth one fire on the already damaged droid, finishing it off. That only left the one...

On the last remaining droid, the officer, the whole force of the Imperials fired. Somehow, the droid dodged every shot; sprinting, in turned and ran back into the forest, firing two shots back towards the Imperials.

"Corpral, should we pursue?" One of the stormtroopers asked. The trooper beside Sellikus shook his head.

"I doubt we could catch it. Reform for another attack." the corporal turned to the spec ops group, including TK who just arrived. "Please tell me your reinforcements. We're kind of dead out here."

(OOC: Uhh, wow... that was much faster than I had anticipated. There were two criticals rolled on your side. Both sides also each had a single failure. All droids are defeated except the commander. Somehow, every shot missed him (not by my own choice!). You can pursue him if you wish, and ignore the corporal.)

Sellikus growled as the commander unit droid took off through the trees, his units decommissioned and scattered.
"Should we follow it?" One clone asked, but the Kiffar wasn't waiting for a reply. He began sprinting after the clanker commander, calling over his shoulder, "I'll be back in two shakes!" in his thick Kiffex accent, and disappeared through the trees in hot pursuit of the droid, leaving Cam and the others to speak with the battered troopers they had saved.

Sellikus had no use for talking right now. Not with something ahead to kill. Besides, what did he really have to say? He was part of the spec ops team, but only a hired gun. Wether they were or weren't reinforcements, it didn't matter to the Kiffar.
No, this was where he belonged, chasing down enemies and snuffing out their miserable lives. Truly, it was his place, as the mercenary wore much less armor than the troopers, and carried less gear. He was faster alone, and quieter. With the group, he was an agile soldier, but out here, alone, he was the hunter, the predator. He smiled to himself at that thought. Yes, he was the predator, and his metallic prey could not escape.........

With a crack and a harsh clang, bullet impacted with droid accordingly and resulted in a drunken stumble: Linopas got a hit. It wasn't enough to eliminate the commander, evidently, but it was a hit all the same. Linopas uttered a Gran cheer under his breath as he lined up for one more shot; but his query had disappeared. When he looked up, everything had stopped as soon as it had begun. He caught the droid commander charging into the wilderness beyond in the corner of his eye. Uninterested in giving chase, he examined the aftermath: several clones lay dead, and every other droid was eliminated. For the second real skirmish they'd engaged in, the spec ops group was still doing all right.

The heavily accented voice of the Kiffar mercenary a few metres to his left caught his ear. "I'll be back in two shakes!" he called behind him. That was just as well; Linopas couldn't manage the thick foliage very well on his own, and running was never his strong suit anyway. He then turned his attention to the stormtrooper corporal.

"Please tell me your reinforcements. We're kind of dead out here." Reinforcements? Obviously he was referring to them; the spec ops group. Linopas observed his comrades, including the recently-arrived TK, the latter having missed the battle.

"Well, I can answer that," he said. Sergeant Cam probably wouldn't mind his answering, though he didn't honestly care whether he did or didn't. "That guy over there is our de-facto leader, Sergeant Cam. This here is TK, our pilot; R2-F8, an astromech droid, and she's a real beaut." He had a liking for astromechs in general. "Sellikus, that kiffar who went running into the woods there, is some mercenary; and me, last of all, I'm a sniper. I guess that's pretty much it..."

Sellikus chased after the commanding b1 battle droid. It was a slog through the undergrowth; Sellikus quickly realized that he would not be able to catch up to the droid. Sellikus had to fire then, or he would never be able to take out the droid. Taking a wild shot through the tree's and brush, Sellikus watched the droid get hit solidly through the back. It fell, rolled a couple times, and stopped dead on the ground. Cautiously approaching it, Sellikus came up on the now disabled droid. Under it's arm, the droid carried a matte grey box. Sellikus was unsure what to make of it, but it certainly wasn't part of the droid. It wasn't a weapon, from what Sellikus could tell. Whatever it was, green and blue lights weakly pulsated from it

"...Or we could chase the droid into the forest," The corporal muttered, watching Sellikus charge after the droid. He gestured to two of the troopers, "You two, follow him." Nodding, two stormtroopers followed Sellikus, though moving at a much slower pace. The corporal turned to face Linopas.

"Well, I can answer that," he said. Sergeant Cam probably wouldn't mind his answering, though he didn't honestly care whether he did or didn't. "That guy over there is our de-facto leader, Sergeant Cam. This here is TK, our pilot; R2-F8, an astromech droid, and she's a real beaut." He had a liking for astromechs in general. "Sellikus, that kiffar who went running into the woods there, is some mercenary; and me, last of all, I'm a sniper. I guess that's pretty much it..."
The corporal nodded. "A militia group, hmm? You guys must be pretty good for the Empire to hire you."

"What's the situation corporal?" Sergeant Cam asked the Corporal.

"Sir, we have been reduced from a force of 40 to a force of 14,"

"Thirteen!" One of the troopers checking a fallen stormtrooper, the one who had been shot in the face, called out.

"...13," The corporal continued glumly, "And we've marched the night our CO, Major Verandor, is down there," the corporal gestured to one of the four troopers in the center of the area. "They're preparing to reengage us. Would you be willing to cover our escape?" The corporal asked hopefully. "None of use are going to be much good, especially with only 9 of us in fighting condition."

A grin split the Kiffar's face as his shot tore through the droid's back, sending it rolling through the underbrush, and leaped forward, moving fast, but alert. The Mercenary knew that now, he was vulnerable to all sides, with no backup near by. And anything could have heard the shot....

As he gets within a few yards of the downed B1, he slows to a crouched advance, blaster ready. But the droid was done, and lay smoking and dead. Well, dead as droids can get.
Under it's arm lay a strange grey box, with small flashing lights. But what was it? Surely the droid had had a purpose carrying it, but if it was a weapon, the B1 would have used it..... right?

Slowly approaching, Sellikus snatches the box, lifting it to test it's weight, then falls to a knee and sets it down, moving to open it, his curiosity and desire for wealth making him act rashly. So wrapped up in this is the Kiffar that he fails to even register the approach of the two storm troopers as they trudge through the underbrush toward his back......

(Actions: Open the box!)

"...They're preparing to re-engage us. Would you be willing to cover our escape?" The corporal had asked them. "None of us are going to be much good, especially with only 9 of us in fighting condition."
That was a shame. If there'd been more of them, they'd have been able to hold so much more of their own out there, Linopas thought, seeing as there could be more of those crazy droids out there- and it'd have been nice to have more men. Nine, however, was better than none at all. The trek to the command centre could still hold all sorts of surprises.

Well aware of Sergeant Cam's superiority over him as a commanding officer, and caring fairly little about that fact, spoke at his own accord. "Well, mister, I know I'd be more than happy to join you and your leftover guys, as long as I can take wee F8 along with me. Seeing as I'm not the de-facto leader of this little posse, however, I guess the real decision lies in Cam here." He grinned and turned to his superior. "Well, sergeant?"

((OOC: I, of course, have little clue what Chessy was originally planning for Linopas, but I've been trying to piece together a loose estimate. Seems to me like he'd be liable to speak out of turn, judging by Chess' previous posts.))

Tk finally caught up to the battle just as it ended, and just as the merc ran off after one of the droids. "Sorry I'm late sir." He stated to Cam. "Not too use to running, I prefer piloting myself." Saluting to his Sergeant he stepped back to let him and the Corporal talk.

As he stood he shot a glare from under his helmet at Linopas as he spoke out of line. "Well, mister, I know I'd be more than happy to join you and your leftover guys, as long as I can take wee F8 along with me. Seeing as I'm not the de-facto leader of this little posse, however, I guess the real decision lies in Cam here." Tk watched as he grinned and turned to Cam. "Well, sergeant?"
"Great..." Tk thought, "We got put with the disrespectful group." Digging his heel into the dirt, Tk waited for Cam's decision on what the group would do.