spy On Riftophia (Part 2)

If you missed part 1, click HERE.

“So that’s your story officer Lyrus?” Commander Thire asked.

“Yes sir, they attacked us, Private Jensen was killed and Senator Padme Amidala is missing, probably captured by Separatist forces,” Officer Lyrus replied.

“Don’t worry trooper, we’ll find her. But first, I want you to get to know my men."

“From left, ARC Trooper Lance, captain Merci, lieutenant Longwind, and sergeant Taz.”

“Its an honour to meet you all, I hear a lot of good things about Red Division.”

Well, these men are among the best. You’ll find them to be quite efficient against the enemy Officer Lyrus.”

“That is duly noted Commander, all of the F-Corps hold Red Division in high regard.”

Sergeant Taz, cut in to ask, “Officer Lyrus, did you find any trace of Senator Amidala?”

“Yes sergeant Taz. As I was searching for her, I found her headscarf and her pistol”

“Could you show me?”

“Right here sergeant, come with me.”

“This is it sergeant Taz, all that’s left.”

“It looks like she didn’t fire a single shot off this thing. This weapon’s fully loaded. She must’ve been subdued pretty quick, caught by surprise probably.”

“Caught by surprise? Senator Amidala is quite alert. To be honest, even with our protection, she’s come under fire a few times in the past; and she had some pretty good reflexes,” Lyrus replied.

“Well, if she’s not the weak type. I believe it means one thing. She was trapped.”

“Which would mean…”

“Yes, you were probably setup. A small but sizeable attack squad to come from the front, with another at the back to cut off a retreat.”

ARC trooper Lance cut in, “We can guess were she’s been taken, since our team knows there is a Separatist outpost about an hour from here. She’s probably being held there.”

“Infiltrating that outpost will be our primary objective. Even if she isn’t there, we should be able to get some clues. Before we move out, officer Lyrus, I’d like you to have a scan. Let’s check for any injuries and damage to your battle armour.”

“I got caught on the arm, that’s about all sir, but if you insist.”

“Captain Merci, make a ‘thorough’ scan of officer Lyrus. I want to check for any injuries or damage, we can’t afford any ‘liabilities’ if you will.”

“Will do sir.”

“All right officer Lyrus, you can put your weapon down. Please stand still while I do a full scan of your armour. We want to know where the damaged areas are.”

“All right”

Officer Lyrus felt something was amiss as he put down his blaster. The commander sounded so insinuating when he instructed Captain Merci to conduct the scan. Why? He would soon find out.

Captain Mercy held his blaster high as he followed through to deal a blow onto Officer Lyrus’s head.

All in the back had their weapons trained on Lyrus too.

“What? What’s this!!” he cried

“Don’t pretend Separatist, your jig is up!” Captain Mercy retorted as he followed through to pin Officer Lyrus to the ground.

“What?! I’m not a traitor! I’ll have you court martial for this!”

“Stop pretending droid. Your voice isn’t one of a trooper like us, it’s way too light. Plus, there’s no way two troopers could have successfully fended off a squad of 30 droids! You’re probably one of those tuned up commando droids, just deactivated your fellow droids here to put up quite a scene for us. Your armour shape is way too thin to be one of a trooper’s anyway.”

“Sergeant Taz, hold this clanker down, I’m going to remove the helmet and plug in the memory device into his head. Maybe this droid’s got some information we could use.”

Sergeant Taz held his foot with blaster pointing at the droid in armour. He began to recall an exact same scenario this team had faced just hours before they came to rendezvous with officer Lyrus. It was a good trap, five commando droids disguised in clone armour met them, and wiped out more than half of the team they brought in. They weren’t about to fall for the same mistake again. It was just like the incident on the Rishi Moon outpost.

As Captain Merci removed the helmet, he discovered he was right that Lyrus wasn’t a clone trooper like themselves, but Lyrus wasn’t a droid of any kind. He drew back and the others put their weapons down.

“I suppose it has never occurred to any of you that there are women in the Femarette Corps. Did you really think I was a droid in armour?!”

“I’m so sorry officer Lyrus. It’s just that my men and I had been set up the exact same way just a few hours ago. Half of my men were killed.”

Feeling angry yet sympathizing with Commander Thire’s justified explnation, she just sat, resigned to the fact today just was not a good day.

“You know commander, it’s one thing to lose a fellow comrade in private Jensen. It’s another thing to have lost the person I’m supposed to take care of, but it’s just so freakishly near impossible for me to accept being accused and assaulted by my fellow comrades!

“I apologise officer Lyrus. It’s just been a hard day on all of us.”

“I want you to know officer, now we know you really are one of us, I think all of us can agree you’re one good trooper. The fact that you’re alive after having 30 clankers shoved in your face really shows you’re something.”

Officer Lyrus looked up but didn’t say anything.

“What’s your full name Officer Lyrus?”

“Lyrus Oos Sixela, sir.”

“Well then, Officer Lyrus Oos Sixela; take pride from your achievement. You’ve just survived a wave of droids and kept the senator's hope of escaping this planet alive. There aren’t many soldiers like you in the army, let alone women soldiers. Now, you’re just as good as any man I know, so take your helmet. We’re going to need you if we’re to rescue Senator Amidala”

“Thank you Commander, those words are appreciated.”

“Good to hear that Sixela. Give me a moment with some of my men as we plan a bit for our mission”

As Commander Thire left awhile, Captain Merci approached.

“Here’s your blaster Officer Sixela”

“Thank you.”

“Look, I’m sorry about what happened. I didn’t know….”

“It’s all right captain, your apology is accepted. However…”

Sixela’s blaster swooshed across Merci’s face, hitting him fast and hard

“Urghh….”

“What was that? You said you accepted my apology!”

“Oh, I did accept your apology for mistaking my identity. That captain, was for hitting a woman.”

Dumbfounded by her last statement, Captain Merci couldn’t bring himself to say anything.

“I think I’ll go check on Commander Thire, see you later captain.”

Captain Merci picked himself up slowly, still shaken by the hard impact of a heavy blaster that hit his head.

“Now I know what they meant in social training……… when they said.. don’t mess with women.”

mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall

It is no secret that there are things in our lives we want to achieve but we can't, because something stands in our way. It stands tall and wide, there is no way to go around it.

You can try running from one end to the other, tyring to find a gap, a loophole. We run and we run, but there seems to be no end to it. At the start, a sense of desperation pushes us to try and find this small gap somewhere so we can squirm through. As time passes, that resolve fades and we resign to accept the blockade in front of us. We don't like it, but its there.

The same was true for East Germans many years ago who were dealt with a wall right in front of them that created a divide between them and West Germany. The Berlin Wall literally divided a nation already troubled by a divided governance (democracy in West Germany due to French, British & American occupation and communism in East Germany due to Soviet occupation).






A wall stood there, dividing families, blocking opportunity, preventing the formation of a united nation. Many tried to escape, many did successfully, but many also died trying. As the wall was strengthened, there hardly remained any way to escape it. In all of this, a fundamental problem remained. The wall was still standing, and it stood in the way for change needed to create a united Germany.

I was watching the German Chancellor speak to Congress live on CNN about a week ago, being able to understand through the live translation.




German Chancellor speaking to joint meeting of Congress on November 3, 2009

She spoke in German,"Ronald Reagan far earlier than others saw and recognised the sign of the times when, standing before the Brandenburg Gate in 1987. He demanded............."


Ronald Reagan delivering the speech in Berlin.


The translation paused for a moment as she exclaimed in English, "Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate... Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall."

The whole of congress stood to applaud that significant statement that would later be a catalyst for people to jump to action and finally break through the great divide that had caused much pain and heartbreak for Germans for 28 years.

Germany has come a long way to progress as much as it has. After the wall was destroyed, both East and West Germany were unified and this has led to the development of the strong and respected nation within the European and international community that we see today. On the 9th of November this year, Germany celebrated the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and has become a symbol of a breakthrough to freedom.

What I believe, is that whatever prevents us from going to the next level, we need to break through it. I did not say, under or around, but through it. Sometimes, we can't even see the wall in front of us. Invisible it is sometimes, and that's where we need to reflect and find out what it is, so that we can shape up to prepare and completely destroy what stands in our way from going where God wants us to be.

I'm at the stage where I need to sit down and think about the obstacle in front of me, the thing that blocks me from moving further from where I am. Once I know what it is, maybe just then, I'll be able to break free.

another Perspective

If you haven't read this and this, I'm not sure if you'd really bother reading the rest of this post, if you do have an idea however, maybe reading this would be a little worthwhile.

Now before, I start sharing my views and beliefs, I think its only fair to let people know my background. I'm a UTP student that entered in July 2006, and have been around long enough to notice or hear about certain matters pertaining to Rakan Masjid (RM) that perhaps not many are happy about. Other than that, I am not Muslim, a Christian I am, and happy to be one I may add.

Now, Jared basically said that RM is a body with the objective and responsibility to reach out to Muslims and non-Muslims with the values of Islam. They would be compelled to lead those who they believe are lost back to the teachings of Islam, but not to impose themselves upon others of other faiths or religions, let it be Buddhism, Christianity, or even an atheist. However, there are people who feel that RM has crossed that boundary excessively on numerous occasions, especially when it comes to having public events for the university.

To be honest, Akram replied out with a nice tone even if there are hints of the usual accusations towards the Western world. In the very least, he did not put RM as an organisation above all, and that it was still susceptible to mistakes like any other human entity to be frank.

While I'll say that Akram replied appropriately towards Jared's blog entry, when I read it, I just have the feeling its largely diplomatic, I'm not sure about you, but that's just how I feel. Perhaps it can't be helped by the fact there are a lot of critical eyes and that a single ounce of more than a 'generally acceptable' opinion would create an uproar.

To me though, and I'm not being disrespectful to either Jared or Akram, but I believe that the key issue here isn't so much about RM imposing their values or rules on anybody. I think its a little more relevant that the matter in question is a more fundamental one:

The freedom to choose

Guess what, this doesn't apply only to non-Muslims, but to Muslims as well. Hear me out.

I know, that being a human being, God never created me as an industrial machine. There is no piece of programming code in the depths of my mind that tells me I am only to do things one way. One of the wonderful things about God was that he loved us enough to give us the gift of choice. With choice, comes meaning. Also, with choice, there is power, and with that, responsibility.

Admittedly, no matter how righteous we are, wrong actions and decisions are made. This is regardless if there is a law or not. You would be correct to think that without a law, probably even more wrongdoings would occur!

God gave a law, with what reason? It wasn't a restriction, but a helpful guide, which basically says, "Hey, here's what you can do that can keep you on track. If you do, I can tell you, your life's gonna be really awesome one! It's not an easy way out, I'll tell you that, but I know for sure, its the best way. You'll know when you experience it."

Again, I say here that God gave us a choice, either to follow His plans for our lives, or we can choose our own too. As much as God could make us into robots, he lets us choose the path of our own lives.

What I find to be a cause of concern with some of the things RM is doing, is that they are in some ways trying to block this freedom to choose what one can do. Sometimes you get the feeling, that if they had the authority, that they just might ban anything that doesn't relate well to Islam.

I understand the need for law, trust me I do. We need a law in place that says people shouldn't murder, people shouldn't steal and so forth. These are very outright sins and don't beg the question of whether people should be allowed to do things like those.

However, when it comes to more personal and intricate decisions such as the clothes I wear, the music I listen to, the faith I believe, the character I develop, personal stands, the places I go to and so forth, it is a personal journey. Truthfully, none of these things can be imposed on a person by any law.

All these things come from personal conviction, and forcing a man to go against his personal conviction often ends up ugly. Why? Its because we choose to ignore who that person is and respect his decision. When we force, we are not doing it out of love, but out of our own personal pride and ambition to achieve something, whatever it may be.

I believe, that if I see a fellow Christian walking down a road he shouldn't, my role as a brother is to love him. I will speak the truth to him in love, to remind him of God's love for him. Even if he chooses to move away, I will still treat him with love, not to ridicule him. Who am I to tell him he must do this or must do that, when I myself am a sinner, saved by grace?

I will not engross him or flood him with theologies, theories, opinions and whatnot, but allow him to discover himself, to let him experience his own personal journey in life to discover what really matters, to discover what is right and what is wrong. As a Christian, my role is to encourage my brother, to pray for him and to hear him out, but at the same time, allow him to go on his personal journey.

I honestly feel that, this is the kind of attitude we need to take, and perhaps something RM may want to consider because if they keep forcing the hand, there's going to be a really big bite.

What I write here, is not to demean anybody, but to encourage those who feel this is relevant to them, that when you deal with someone, to treat them with love and not as a criminal. We are not holy beings after all. Let us give good advice to people who have gone morally astray, but let us also give them the choice to experience life for themselves.

Thanks for giving your time to reading this, if you've got this far. Cheers and God bless. =)

a Very Interesting Read

There are two people who I deem to be very intellectual and very philosophical in UTP. There are probably more, but the two that I guess I've been exposed to a bit more are:


1. Jared

2. Henry


Jared came out with something the other day that I thought was very interesting and you really should read it. To be honest, I'll have to say I wasn't really following his blog, but I'm in the office today, and just decided to click on Jared's name through Khael's blog.

Here's the links:

the Orignal Post (by Jared)

the Appropriate Response (by Rakan Masjid President, Akram)


It was well thought out to the point that the Rakan Masjid head himself replied in an interesting manner.

Of course, there were some responses, and Henry had an interesting one of his own. The reason I like the original article is that its got something to it that's just prompted responses from people, and I wouldn't say it was in the normal boring demeaning way, which at the end of things only proves that people are just being angry and not edifying at all. There have been some good thoughts here and there, although sometimes you can't help but feel annoyed by extremists.

I think I have a response of my own too. I'll need to gather my thoughts first though, but whatever I come up with next, you can be sure that I'll be as open as I can about it.

Good on you Jared. Well done.

i Just Have to Show This

I'd like to invite you here.

It's a new initiative of mine. Do visit there from time to time, it'll definitely be updated on a regular basis.




Note: The stories/comics you see will remain here and will not be posted there.

the Weekend in Ipoh

It was one of those days where I wouldn't be in church on a Saturday helping out with NSt, but being somewhere far away to witness the wedding of a friend.

I went down with Chung Ginn, and we'd arrived at his house at 2.00 p.m. in the morning, leaving not long after CoUZ night, which was honestly really good, you could sense the tension and the fun at the same time during the session, lol.

Anyhow, despite arriving so early in the morning and not having as much sleep as probably a lot of other people, we still got to the wedding on time, largely thanks to Chung Ginn (I hope I'm spelling your name correctly, lololololololololololol).

I think a lot of people, especially university friends were quite surprised to see me since I didn't really tell anyone I was coming. I guess it was a welcome surprise though, didn't see anyone frowning as I walked in, haha!

The wedding went well, but there was a 'super potong stim moment' when the bridegroom kissed the bride on the cheek instead of the lips! I conclude two things, either he's seriously VERY SHY, or he missed, lol. If its neither, he doesn't know where the mouth is, laWLz.

I left my camera in the car, so I hardly have any shots from the wedding, but Ginn took a few photos of me with some of the girls from UTP:

Daphnee

Mei Le

Alexis

Mellissa

After the wedding, Chung Ginn and I went back to his house, where'd I'd be chilling for the rest of the evening. He'd stolen some lamb bones from the wedding and decided to make something out of it which I was totally in support of, hahahahaha. It wouldn't be ready until the next morning though, so we'd have something interesting for breakfast.

We went out for dinner at this place that serves noodles with the white chicken, and Chung Ginn ordered something special from there, some really nice chicken feet with a thick savoury sauce that I don't think you can find at too many places. I'd been to that place once, but I really cannot remember the name of the place.

After that, we joined Alexis and Vern to watch the Michael Jackson tribute movie, 'This is It'. Basically its a recording of his rehearsals and the production of the videos that would be shown on screen during the concert. From it, you can see that after all this while, Michael Jackson had mantained his musical talent very well. Nonetheless, I'm not over impressed by his talent, as much as it may very well be the best in the world for some time to come.

In the morning the next day, what Ginn had been working on was ready to be heaven in my mouth. Of all things that I would say I love to eat, the following wouldn't have been one of them:

Porridge! A concoction of BeatRice, carrots, potatoes, stir fried bacon and onions, not to mention lamb as well, haha!

BeatRice goes well with this by the way, if you don't know.

For a little more greens, we added this in as we felt fit.

After that, Ginn and I went to church, like the good Christians we are (yeah right, went in late some more). The pastor who conducted the wedding ceremony was speaking today as well, preaching about the unfathomable love of God revealed through the story or parable of the prodigal son.

We left, right after it ended as we had a schedule to keep, lunch, buy a few things and get back to his house to pack our things and go back to KL as soon as possible.

We had some white chicken rice for lunch in town this time:

After lunch, we went around to get a couple of things, among that was the famouse tau fu fa place, where Chung Ginn would have his desert, and me a nice refreshing Soya Bean drink. I'm not kidding when I say that place is famous, almost everybody goes there for the stuff.

A look inside the small shop lot itself, the premise of this thriving business.

After that, we stopped by another special place:

The main ordeal here was the kaya puffs which were great.

There's a lot more that can be mentioned, but I think this post is already long enough. Here's to a good weekend and a good host in a dear friend, Chung Ginn:

I was definitely a satisfied man over the weekend.

spy on Riftophia

Far away on the planet of Riftophia, Senator Amidala is on a secret mission of her own to meet a spy that has discovered the location of a Separatist factory that produces the much feared commando droid that had just recently commandeered a takeover of the Rishi Moon Outpost. Having this information would help the Republic to find that factory and destroy it once and for all.

She is on her own, only with the help of a clone trooper and her personal guard trooper from the newly formed F-Corps.

“Senator, I don’t think this is a very good place to meet the spy. We’re right in a corner next to open space. If there are any enemy forces, it will be very difficult to escape”

“I understand your concern trooper, but I trust my spy. If he says this is the safest place to meet, this is the safest place. Since you say this is such a poor meeting place, I’m sure the Separatists wouldn’t start looking for us here would they?”

“Point taken senator”

“Thank you trooper. Now, just be on your guard and look out for that spy.”

“Yes senator.”

Not far away, just above the three of them, someone was watching. Observing carefully, he would not have been caught if not for the trained senses of Senator Amidala’s personal guard trooper.

In a sudden flash, he turned swiftly to face the intruder, with blaster aimed right at his head. “You there! Put your hands up where I can see them! Don’t even a move an inch, or I’ll be the last thing you’ll ever see.”

“Don’t shoot! I’m not a Separatist!”

Senator Amidala shoved the clone trooper aside, “Who are you then? Identify yourself! No harm will come to you if you are on our side.”

“I am Dresalius, an informant for the Republic, I am here to meet a representative from the Senate to pass some information. Perhaps you could help me find him”

“I am the representative of which you speak Dresalius. My name is Senator Amidala from Naboo, representing the Republic.”

“Oh senator? I’m so sorry, I didn’t recognize you, though I was told that you would be alone.”

“It was a last minute change, the Chancellor insisted I should come with a security escort.”

“Perhaps a wise decision by Chancellor Palpatine senator, I have just found out that there are Separatist patrols around. Anyway, here. Take this, it’s the plan and location map of the droid factory on this planet, the one that makes the bulk of the new commando droids.”

“Thank you Dresalius, your effort will be rewarded in due time. We must go now, the Jedi need this quickly to neutralize this threat.”

“You’re welcome senator, I hope to serve the Republic again in the near future.”

Senator Amidala and her escort set off to the rendezvous point where they would be met by a Republic gunship for extraction. They stopped to rest awhile. A continuous four hour walk had taken its toll.

“Senator Amidala, shall I scout ahead before you come down to the extraction point? I believe I should make sure it’s safe and clear of any enemy patrols,” the trooper suggested as he observed the valley below where the extraction point was.

“No trooper, we don’t have time to wait for the all clear signal. We will all go together; the Jedi really must have this information quickly”

They made haste to the extraction point and waited for their transport to arrive. The pilot had informed the senator it would take another 15 minutes to reach.

That would prove to be too long however, as a familiar foe surfaced.

“Droids! Take cover Senator!” the trooper screamed as the droid patrol stumbled on their position.

The droids outnumbered the band of three and as they kept coming, it would not be too long before they would have to engage the battle droids in melee combat. The soldier from the F-Corps was not about to let the Senator be caught in the fight.

“Senator, you must take cover away from here. They are going to overrun us, and we are not going to risk your life here. Run south, as far away as you can, and hide. As soon as its over, we will contact and find you. If not, the gunship will still be able to find you.”

“Stay alive soldier, I need your help to get off this planet. We cannot fail now.”

“Yes senator. Understood.”

She took off, running as fast as her feet could take her while her security escort fended off the incoming Separatist battle droids.

The two soldiers did well to fend off the battle droids, but there were just too many. As the droids came closer and closer, the clone trooper and F-Corps soldier came out of cover to engage the enemy in close quarters combat.

Padme Amidala was still running, as she could still hear blasters in the distance. She didn’t know where to run, and she would keep running until she could find a hiding place.

She was stopped dead in her tracks by a blaster shot that had come from behind, and from above.

“Freeze Republic scum! Don’t move, I have you in my sights. There is nowhere to run. Your next move will be your last.”

The unlucky Senator was trapped by a commando droid hanging off above. Truly agile he was as he leaped from his position onto the ground, avoiding a shot from the stubborn Padme Amidala at point blank range before knocking her off her feet and into the ground.

“Welcome to Riftophia Senator, I’m sure my superior will be pleased to meet you.”

“I’m sure he would,” Amidala sighed as she resigned to her defeat. It was hopeless to resist against the skill of the commando droid.

She felt the anger in herself, regretting the sacrifice of her escort, only for her to be captured by a single droid.

Meanwhile, for a trooper who wasn’t in the ranks of the 501st or the ARC troopers, Jensen couldn’t have been doing any better, pacing swiftly in between droids, taking them out as fast as he could. The soldier from F-Corps was just the same, flinging himself on to droids and shooting the rest that we caught in indecision.

“There’s just a few left! We’ll make it through this one” the clone exclaimed.

Sadly, he had spoken to soon as a droid caught him from behind and broke his neck, bringing his valiant stand to an end.

It couldn’t have come at a worse time for either as that was the last droid left that F-Corps man quickly eliminated with a single shot.

“Jensen!”

“He’s dead, looks like there’s only me and the Senator then…… if I can find her.”

The fifteen minutes had passed, but the transport hadn’t arrived.

“Looks like they didn’t make it either. Either way, I’ve got to find the Senator.”

As he searched, he finally found the Senator’s headgear, the scarf she’d worn around her head.

“I must call for reinforcements, I can’t find her alone.”

He sent out a generic military emergency call.

“Hello, is anyone there? I am officer Lyrus of F-Corps. Does anyone read me? I am on sector 25 on the planet of Riftophia. Our reconnaissance mission has been compromised. We require reinforcement and transport to search for important persons”

Silence.

It was useless, being a covert mission, there were hardly any Republic forces in the area, no one knew they were there. Who would hear the broadcast?

No transport, no contact, no reinforcements, no food, officer Lyrus wondered what to do next.

He had to find Senator Padme Amidala first, but how?

Interference….. then an incoming transmission.

“Come in officer Lyrus. This is Commander Thire of the Red Division. We have just concluded a mission on Sector 38 of Riftophia. We are also on a covert op and will be able to rendezvous with you.”

“That’s excellent, thank you so much commander. I really need your help. I need to find Senator Padme”

“Senator Padme?!”

“Yes sir, I believe she’s been captured by Separatist forces. We must get her back.”

“Will do officer Lyrus. Sit tight, we’ll be there within the hour. Stay away from any clankers.”

“Will do sir, I’ll be waiting.”