As the formation of gunships tore across the sky, the steady vibration of their repulsors reverberated through the cabin. Laphisto lowered his gaze to the glowing tactical display projected across his vambrace. With practiced precision, he began tapping along the interface, highlighting several of the walker transports in the formation.
marking them onto the map. Two of the artillery platforms were assigned to a clearing shielded on three sides by jagged hills, the natural terrain offering strong cover and elevation. If the fight escalated, their guns would provide the backbone of the battalion's fire support.Next, his attention shifted to the AAA walkers. He slotted their drop zones into the same clearing, bracketing the artillery pieces with anti-air coverage. Those cannons would be their lifeline against enemy starfighter runs or high-altitude bombardment.
The positioning wasn't perfect nothing ever was but it gave them the layered protection they would need to hold ground once the shooting started. Satisfied, Laphisto sent the finalized landing grid across the battalion's network. The map pulsed green as the orders locked into place.At least, he thought grimly, if things turned ugly, they would have both the reach to strike back and the teeth to survive the first storm.
Laphisto shifted nearly all but four of the infantry gunships, dragging their icons across his battle map and slotting them into a line between the foundry and Kael Vos' position. He keyed the comms, his voice carrying the hard edge of command.
"
Crater Fangs, Storm Vultures, Night Claws forward defense. You've got walkers for anti-armor backup. I want machine gun nests set the second you hit dirt. Lay out LO-27R kill boxes, overlapping lanes. Get RPG zones marked if armor pushes in close, light 'em up and don't stop firing until there's nothing left to burn."
The net crackled back with confirmations short, hard-edged "Copy" after "Copy," the kind that came from men who'd done this before. Out the viewport, gunships began to break formation, banking low and wide, engines howling like rolling thunder across the broken landscape. Four Basilisk G-10 starfighters slipped off the wing, dropping with them, tight escorts riding shotgun all the way down. The line was moving into place, and soon enough, that stretch of ground between the foundry and the ridge would be nothing but a kill zone guns dug in, rockets waiting, soldiers braced behind smoking hulls and dirt.
This wasn't just another deployment. For Laphisto, it was a test not only for the Star Reavers, but for the Lilaste Order itself. Their doctrine had always rested on a simple belief: quality over quantity. Now, in the shadow of a refinery crawling with enemy eyes, they would see how well that belief held when put to fire. He trusted his men he always had and truth be told, they didn't need the full weight of the battalion to prove it.
A low rumble worked its way from his throat as he slung his rifle forward, checking the weight in his grip before holding it ready. Switching to the battalion's private channel, he spoke in the calm, even tone his men had come to know before battle.
"
Alright, listen up. You know the drill. We're not here on official Diarchy business, so keep your heads. Do more good than harm. Remember these are GADF boys we're up against, not sworn enemies. We're not at open war with the Galactic Alliance, and I'd like to keep it that way. Don't tip the scale unless you're given no choice." There was a pause as he let the words sink in, the static hum of the comms filling the gap. Then, he closed with the only part that mattered."We get the holocron. We leave. Simple as that."
The gunship rattled as it banked lower, the repulsors groaning against the heavy air. From the cockpit, Captain Kaelen Drayk's voice carried through the squad net."
Commander, we've got blaster fire ahead. GADF's already tangled up with an unknown element. Should thin their numbers."Laphisto leaned back against the bulkhead, the faint chatter of weapons in the distance barely audible even through the hull. He thought it over for a moment, his hand drumming against the rifle across his lap. Then he gave a slow nod.
That might work in their favor. So long as the Alliance didn't catch the Order directly exchanging fire with their own, it left room for a clean explanation. If questioned, they could play it off like any other contract just another job, hired in alongside whatever other mercenaries had shown up to the fight. The Order's reputation as soldiers-for-hire gave the story weight. It would stick.
"
Understood," Laphisto answered finally, his voice low over the channel.. If it comes to questions later, Laphisto could claim they were contracted same as those mercs. Let them believe it.He adjusted his grip on the rifle and let the thought settle. the cover story wasn't elegant, but it was enough to keep the scales from tipping the wrong way.
Meanwhile, the three companies began to dig themselves into the jagged terrain of the mountain pass the stretch of ground predicted to funnel the Star Reavers on their approach to the foundry. It was an ideal choke point, and the Order wasted no time turning it into a fortress.
Machine gun nests were carved out between the rocks, barrels jutting from improvised cover with clear arcs of fire down the valley floor. Riflemen melted into the stone and shadow, helmets barely visible among the broken ridges. Engineers marked out choke zones for RPG fire, overlapping the fields already covered by the heavier weapons.
At the center of the line sat the Crater Fangs, their position braced and layered for sustained firepower. Out on the far edge, the Storm Vultures spread thin across the outer rocks, tasked with early contact. They weren't expected to hold the enemy head-on but they would buy time. If the Reavers came through fast, the Vultures would see them first, call it in, and give the Fangs the warning they needed to shift, reinforce, or dig deeper.
The pass was quiet for now, smoke from distant blaster fire rolling faintly across the horizon.
But within the rocks, Lilaste soldiers waited in silence, fingers curled on triggers, the whole line coiled tight like a sprung trap.The Night Claws, meanwhile, pushed further ahead of the main line. Where the Crater Fangs and Storm Vultures dug in for direct defense, the Claws slipped into the rocks with quieter intent. Their orders were simple harass, disrupt, and prepare the battlefield before the first real clash.
Working in small, independent squads, they moved like hunters through the pass. Anti-vehicle mines were laid carefully across likely approach routes narrow chokepoints, dried lava channels, and the few open stretches where enemy armor would be forced to commit. Each emplacement was hidden under rock and ash, marked only in their private grid so the artillery crews knew exactly where the traplines lay.
Contact with mercenaries came quick. Patrols unlucky enough to stumble across them were cut down with suppressed bursts, blades, or quiet detonations. Bodies were dragged into crevices or buried under loose stone, vanishing from sight as though they had never been there at all. No evidence. No warning.
At the same time, scouts swept high ridges and shadowed gullies, searching for enemy infantry and armored elements. Whenever they found signs of movement, target markers were painted across the terrain, feeding coordinates back into the network. Artillery crews would be ready to rain fire the moment the Reavers or their escorts showed themselves.The Night Claws didn't need glory. They worked in silence, unseen and unheard turning the pass itself into a killing ground before the battle even began.
Laphisto's gunship touched down a few kilometers short of the foundry, repulsors howling as dust and ash billowed across the landing zone. The moment the ramp slammed into the ground, he was already on his feet rifle slung forward, boots pounding against the dirt as he moved out with the Ash Dogs.The company advanced in staggered lines, weapons raised, eyes scanning the jagged terrain. Then the first shots cracked across the pass sharp bursts of blaster fire stitching the ground around them. Soldiers dropped low, scrambling for whatever cover the rocks would give. Laphisto reacted instantly. Dropping to one knee, he drove a hand into the dirt and ripped it upward with raw force.
Stone and soil buckled into jagged slabs, forming barricades in a staccato line ahead of the company. "
Cover! Put 'em down give them lead!" his voice roared over the comms. Crashing his shoulder against one of the fresh walls of stone, he leaned out just enough to draw a bead. His broadsaber hung silent at his hip; now it was the rifle's turn to sing.
He braced it against the barricade and opened up, a torrent of slugs hammering downrange. Each shot cracked through the smoky air, the familiar kick rattling his frame as sparks and shrapnel burst from enemy positions. Around him, the Ash Dogs followed his lead filling the valley with the deafening chorus of slugthrowers, the thunder of LO-27Rs,and LO-18D rifles as 30-06 slugs flew downrange into the enemy forces
Kael Vos
Koa Ahina
