Republic Commando: Phi Squad

Short: Survival Training

Two Years Before theBattle of Geonosis, Tipoca City, Forest Environment Simulator

Things were starting to go south fast.The four-man squad had already run out of ration cubes, and theystill had five weeks to go before their training sergeant, RavBralor, turned off the sim and unlocked the door.

Eight had forgotten where the door wasafter he crawled through nerf guts at the entrance. That woulddisorient anybody. His HUD wouldn't even give him a compass bearinglike it normally would. In fact, all the helmet's systems seemed tobe acting up.

The HUD suddenly flashed a red batterywarning and blinked off. He was alone, with only his squad forcompany. It was a good thing Bralor had taught them what plants wereedible and how to hunt and fish with their bare hands. The tech wasgood, but it would do them no good after a few weeks in a jammingfield. Obviously. The battery was already dead.

Eight shifted the weight around on hisback a little. They had already been hiking for five hours, and theforty-kilo pack was beginning to weigh on his shoulders and hips."We'll set up camp here," the sergeant declared.

"What did you say, thirty-sixoh-eight?" Six asked, his voice amplified enough for Eight to hearthrough his helmet. "Your comm's out."

Eight unsealed and slipped off hishelmet. "Dead battery," he explained, turning to face hiscomrades. He had the face of Jango Fett, and close-cropped hair likethe genetic donor.

All four of them were wearing identicalgrey-white Katarn-class armor. It wasn't ideal for camouflage inthe pine forest environment.

"This looks like a nice place to setup camp," Three suggested, slipping off his own helmet. Thecrew-cut hair and brown eyebrows on his head wouldn't survive thenight.

Eight quietly clenched his teeth."That's what I just decided," he said, trying not to soundtesty.

"Oh. Well, good choice," Threereplied, unbuckling his survival pack from his back armor plate. Hepulled a two-man tent off the bottom of it, taking it out of its tubeand unrolling the fabric. "Zero, the poles?"

Zero, the last one in the line,unbuckled his own pack, electing to keep his helmet on. He pulledthree telescoping tent poles out of the side of his pack. "Here yougo, thirty-three." The medic tossed the poles to his squadmate, whocaught them easily. "Should Three and I start collecting wood for acampfire tonight?" Zero asked his leader. Three already had thetent well under control, everything but the rain fly taken care of.

Eight unclipped his own pack, slidingout the poles to his and Six's tent. "Go ahead. Just remember thelow impact rules and don't light the trees on fire. Don't giveaway our position, either."

Zero trotted off to find some dry woodto burn, followed after a few seconds by Three.

"Seventy-six, do you want to set upthe tent tonight or should I?" Eight wondered.

"I'll do it," Six answered,grudgingly. "As long as someone else guts the fish tonight. I can'tget the smell out of my helmet."

"That's why you don't use yourbucket as the cutting board," Zero replied from the edge of theforest. "Use the shabla arm plates, or the survival pack, orsomething else."

Six groaned grumpily, shrugging off hisbackpack.

"Something the matter?" Eightwondered. "You seem a little... moody."

Six glanced around, noticing Zero wastucked behind a tree. "It's this place, Eight. I don't like ithere. And... Zero's getting on my nerves a bit, and Three won'tshut up about his kit." I don't know why I'm telling youthis.