A wretched hive of scum and villainy - Republic Dominion of Terrijo

[Dazuto]

Location: Airspace over Gessbenna
Objective: 1 - Eliminate Bloodcrest Pirates

The sweat in his suit was beginning to pool. Every time he shifted in his seat or shook a tired limb, he could feel the dampness on his smooth Selkath skin. The cockpit was getting muggy and had to be defogged. His radio crackled. Buzzers and alarms sounded to inform him of impending doom. Each jerk of the throttle rattled his skeleton, every motion in his field of vision could be an enemy trying to blow him from the sky. Seven laps on his watch tallied the kills. His throat was dry but he dared not take a drink for fear of having to relieve himself during the fight. Altitude and motion made him dizzy. This was dogfighting. Dazuto loved every second of it. The near-misses and brushes with death spoke to him. They said, "Yes, you are alive, this moment is real. Take it. Take them all."

His enemy left a vapor trail in its wake. Dazuto could faintly see the movement of the flaps as they tried to outmaneuver him. A left break, a right, a dive, all followed by the Republican. Number eight. He fired at the fleeing Cutter, but a crafty spin by his opponent made sure they didn't reach the mark. This one did not appear to be such an easy kill. He quickly pulled up, his craft flying high into the sky. Dazuto gave chase, but the sudden forces pulled on his body made the cockpit, and indeed the whole of the world, spin around his head.

He felt the sweat. The universe began to slip away. A dark blanket was being drawn across his head.

Still, he followed.

His lungs churned meager, recycled air. The yoke began to slip from his fingers.

Still, he followed.

The ocean. His old home in the sea. His family back on Manaan. Pitaka for dinner. His mother's smile.

Still, he followed.

Blood rushed back into his fingers, into his face. The smell of sweat, oil, and sulfur. The Cutter had broken his maneuver and steadied out on the horizon. Once again, the voice in his heart spoke to him. "Take this moment."

Number Eight plunged like a meteor back to Terrijo.


[6/20]

 

[Gir Quee]

Location; Arendal-class Heavy Cruiser Arendal, over Gessbenna City
Objective: Eliminate the the Bloodcrest Pirates and their corporate backers
Allies: [member="Dazuto"] | [member="Aqulia Audax"] | [member="Lugust Porkins"] | [member="Ric Ardellian"]
Enemies: [member="Veldar Tor'Vaas"]

[ 9 / 20 ]

Gir watched as a tumbling starship trailing a billowing cloud of black smoke surged past the bridge viewport. It seemed to shudder violently as the craft fell apart under the force of the maneuver and the damage the ship had already sustained. Pieces of wreckage began to flare up to become red-hot before the fuselage shattered, casting flaming shards to shower onto the ground below. The quick glance he got at the craft made him think that it wasn't a Republic design or vessel, but it was weird to think less than a hundred meters away, some soul was clutching his or her last breath of life. There would be a ship that would not fly the skies of Terrijo or venture into the depths of space. Lieutenant Lod gently tapped his shoulder, causing the naval officer to momentarily blink as he turned his gaze to his aide-de-camp.

"Yes?"

"Sir, I can now confirm that Private [member="Dazuto"] of the Blazing Angles has shot down the orbital jumper that attempted to escape from the port."

"Blazing Angles?" questioned Gir, arching an eyebrow.

"Er...Blazing Angels sir."

"Excellent," said Gir, "make a note of it in the battle log, and go ahead and get that pilot's personnel file up. I'll want to review it after the battle."

"Yes sir," replied Lod, leaving the man to continue to plot his next move.

"Sir."

Gir turned his attention to another nearby station, "Yes?"

"Footage is at least a couple of minutes old, but I think I found that energy being again. It's just a glimpse, but its in the vicinity of the space port."

"What part?"

"Kind of by the control tower."

"Not harming anyone?"

"Not that I can see, but it's only a second or two of footage," said the intelligence liaison officer, "but I haven't picked up any reports of any attacks by him yet. It's pretty peaceful there...well...aside from our people..."

"See if the Marksmen has another marine team that we can deploy and track him. I don't want someone who's trigger-happy going on this, just someone to track him down and observe him quietly. We don't know about him to do anything else yet if he's not a threat."

"I'll see what I can do sir."

Gir strolled over to a holo-projector where a captain and a pair of lieutenants were discussing troop deployments. All three of them straightened up as Quee approached, but the man from Hast was only interested in the holo-projection. The logistics of moving a large force groundside had always been something of a challenge to even the most cunning minds. Space logistics were complicated enough for GIr. He'd leave the ground logistics to the marine officers proficient in their practice. But he would have to know what exactly their plans were before he would approve them. Gir turned his eyes to eye the captain, a human female with a crop of cocoa-colored hair and unusually thin lips.

"How is our beachhead, Captain Nammon?"

"We've got our two mechanized infantry platoons established here and here," said the woman, pointing at several spots around the map, "we now control the major roadways to the space port from the city, though I imagine there's several access points, lifts, and the like that we don't know about. So we don't fully control the flow to and from the space port."

"It's a good beginning," said Gir, observing the holo-map along with its tactical designation points, "with more and more of our troops flowing out through the space port, we'll find all of those transit points given enough time. I'm less worried about the port than what's below it. What does the underground part of the city look like?"

"There's a bit of a panic."

"That sounds suspiciously like an understatement."

"A bunch of people tried to get out to the space port, but when they realized that we had it mostly, well...a bunch of people got stuck in the traffic. Some people started leaving their traffic-struck landspeeders in the roads, and its kind of cascaded from there."

Gir sighed, "We need to move before this becomes more of a problem then. The quicker and smoother we can make this transition, the better."

"I know sir, and that's why I'm suggesting that we immediately start moving Cresh and Dorn companies through here through the public rail system straight to here, a block away from the corporate headquarters. They can then move to take the headquarters and negotiations can begin, if possible."

Gir nodded, "Go ahead and get that started. We'll just have to keep an eye out for anyone who might try to sneak away."

 

[Orick T'ane]

Location: The Shadowport
Objective: Try not to die *shrug*
Allies: @Anastaisa Rade
[7/20]

Her list of things inside of the buildings matched his almost perfectly. " Probably stolen good from the pirates too. Hell these guys probably ARE the pirates." she stopped her speeder bike and he slid his up next to hers and climbed off. he reached up and pulled his rifle off of the small spot he had it tucked into and he followed her towards the guards.

He listened to Ana and the guards go back and forth and one of them finally had the sense to find out if the boss really had called for them. He watched the remaining guards with caution. They were professional thugs, and he figured that they would all go down quickly should a fight start. They had a mix of clothing and armor on, and he wondered when the last time any of them had really been clean was.

One of the guards, a large baldheaded human walked over to Orick and gave him the once over before glancing behind him towards the speeder bikes. " Nice bikes you got there, are those the S-10's? Mighty nice ride, you've got there."

Orick smirked inside of his helmet, his hand quickly wiped the blaster out of the holster at his side and had it against the bald man's throat before anyone else could react. " You can look but keep your grubby pirate hands off of them." He pushed the barrel a bit deeper just to show that he meant business and then he pulled it away. The rest of the guards were finally starting to react, most of them were trying not to laugh at their bald friend for getting shown up.

" I'll remember that." The bald man said as he glowered down at the Orick. He was going to say more when one of the other guards hissed at him. Out of the large building in the back strode a well dressed man; his outfit was colorful, but the clothing seemed to fit a bit loose, like it was made for a larger man. He was flanked by several more guards, all of them carried an assortment of weapons ranging from pistols to blaster rifles.

As he approached he looked between the two fully armored warriors and said, " What the kriff do you want?"

 

[Mariya Pyne]

Location: Terrijo Orbit - Aboard the Bastion
Objective: Provide support
Post: 1/20

A ship unlike many. The Bastion was no race winner. But one thing it had? A lot of karking shields. This new toy was nothing short of impressive when it came to defenses. One other thing it had? Big guns. Lots of big guns. Oh? There's more? The ship can be commanded entirely by AI? Well then. Blockading we will go. Kayleigh sat comfortably within her commander's seat, gazing out through the viewport as the ship exited hyperspace. She was late to the party, however such was the price one paid for ensuring all testing and diagnostics were run of a new, one of a kind vessel.

Once the Bastion exited the hyperspace lane, the fleet following shortly behind would shore up on her flanks. Two Avengers, as well as a number of smaller cruisers, supplied with hundreds of fighters and bombers. This fleet would make for a glorious blockade, not specifically against the inhabitants of the world of which they were bringing into the Republic fold, but more so against any would-be interference that might come along from various nefarious parties. Outside of the pirates that through the comm, Kayleigh would hear.

The admiral was certain [member="Gir Quee"] and his fleet could more than handle the pirates and their scheme. This was more aimed towards having the backs of everyone on the ground, or close to it.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

Location: Terrijo Orbit - Aboard the Bastion
Objective: Provide support
Post: 2/20

Once the ships were in formation, the massive blockade was formed. At the heart of this was the Bastion, flanked by the avengers on either side, with the varying cruisers adjacent to them. Fighters were prepped and ready preemptively, so not to waste any time in the event that they were needed. Security alert during these operations was always high, meaning that the crew would be prepared to respond to any immediate threat at all times. While Kayleigh was relaxed and informal on the ground when not on a mission or tasked with an objective, when they were on duty and active, everything was business. Commands were to be followed without question, and all formalities of the military recognized.

"Ma'am, Delta formation complete. Blockade in place. Scanners and sensors are active and all signs are green. Changes will be notified immediately."

Kayleigh nodded her acknowledgement to the man. "Excellent. Thank you Captain."

The ship under her command was much different from the Avenger class, the Caledonia, which she was typically in command of. The change of scenery was nice, and this vessel looked much more up to date, and certainly had vastly superior armaments and defenses than that of the Avenger. With a number of designs taken straight from the vessel once commanded by Admiral Trench, it was one of the heavy hitters of the fleet. Capable of soaking up immense damage through the use of its thermal shielding, anti-concussion field, it also sported a neutronium and laminanium infused hull, giving it incredible resilience in battle.

The admiral almost felt it a shame to send it into the field, as if it were a grand trophy to the testament of Republic technology. However, it was an expensive investment, one meant for the defense of the Republic and her worlds, thus it would go where needed. And on this day, that was Terrijo.

 

[Aqulia Audax]

[Post count = 7/20]​

OK, so she was proven wrong – but in a very good way. She was able to plant the remainder of the charges without being discovered and she was about to depart when three pilots ran out, clearly about to scramble.

She made her way to the edge of the hangar and climbed back out. As quickly as she could she clunked her way back to her ship and just sat in the cockpit when the trio of pirate fighters left the base.

Firing up her ship, she threw caution to the wind and set off in pursuit. There were two reasons. Firstly, even if she destroyed the base, the ships would simply return to another hangar and terrorise local shipping.

Which was linked to the second reason. They must have scrambled because they knew of a ship worth plundering – and she was not going to let that happen. So she kept them in her sights – close enough to keep following and not close enough to be easily spotted and once she was a safe distance from the asteroid she pressed that little red button on the control she had in her hand.

The asteroid below apart into millions of pieces – and she felt the shock-wave hit her – even at this distance. Of course the pirates felt it too and in checking out what had happened, they’d spotted her. She smiled – this is what she came to work to do.

“For the families,” she said. “And R2, give me some music eh?”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WxDrVUrSvI

 

[Mariya Pyne]

Location: Terrijo Orbit - Aboard the Bastion
Objective: Provide support
Post: 3/20

Some time would pass where the long range scanners would pick up no hostile forces, aside from what was being engaged on the ground and through the lower atmosphere. Though nothing seemed incredibly urgent to respond with from orbit at the time. This would be a good time to perform in-service tests of the Bastion and its armaments. Without hesitation Kayleigh called for a deployment of charged targets. These would be fired in volleys into the void of space at various ranges to test not only the accuracy of the weapons and gunners, but also the effective ranges of the electromagnetic plasma cannons, the turbolasers and the ion cannons.

Currently the AI was not aboard the Bastion, thus the crew of 15,200 would be handling the full range of operations. Kayleigh did not feel the command of the Sentinel would be required here, as she would not be leaving her post during this operation. With the command given, seventy charged targets were then released into space at different velocities. Each of the plasma cannons were charged and fired, hurtling towards the targets at incredible speed and with a bright flash of light, with a small trail just behind it as it made its way. The collision was a bright, flash of light followed by an explosive detonation of the charged target. Kayleigh was impressed by the power of these weapons.

Continuing on the remaining batteries fired, one by one destroying their targets as the ship made short work of the small targets.

 

[Via Dolorosa]

Location: Bindor, ground
Objective: 2. Aid Binior revolutionaries attempting to overthrow the Raydu Council
Allies: None Yet
[4/20]


"Command to Cricket," the voice broke through the comlink, "Approved. Commence to your next objective."

"Acknowledged," Cricket replied.

She gestured to her three remaining allies to stand up and move out. Their next objective would take them further deeper behind enemy lines. They had studied the map at the onset of the campaign, plotting several courses to take. Cricket was always organized and always planned for any problems that could arise. Of course not everything could be thought of, so she had learned to make snap decisions in the heat of battle; or missions of a more shadowy nature.

Quietly and quickly they moved through forest, taking care not to trigger any alarms in the process. Like the four they had disabled when they had been discovered attached to trunks of trees. The enemy was also leaving no problems unchecked. Of course, like before, they were more focused on the main force and never took into consideration that a small group could infiltrate their defenses.

She stopped, the others following her, and looked about the area. Something was wrong. There was no chatter among the residence of the forest which meant only one thing. There was an enemy patrol close by. She fetched her heat-sensor binoculors from her knapsack and began surveying the area. Her eyes caught ten soldiers, of the enemy kind, moving through the forest on her left side. She muttered something incomprensible under her breath.

That patrol needed to be dealt with.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Location: Ground, Binor
Objective: 2
Allies: Republic Forces, Rebel
Enemies: Raydu Council
[11/20]

The morning came, and most of the soldiers had that pit in their stomach before a big fight. It was the feeling that you might not make it through the day, and your passing might not be gentle or painless. It might come with unimaginable pain and sheer terror. It was a feeling I had lost in recent years. Nonetheless, big fights like this one would be rough, stressful, and shave years off your life even if you made it through. At zero four thirty the call came out over the comm channels, "All forces prepare for assault. Force One at Zero five hundred, each other force at twenty minute intervals," came the commander's voice. The small briefing that had happened was simple, push through the defenses, blast a whole in the city, and allow for extraction or reinforcement of commandos on the inside.

The tiles on my tanks were replaced, not perfectly and it wouldn't be as good as brand new tiles heat pressed into the metal, but it would be better than getting hulled and left a burning wreck. After Saber Two got destroyed we were being more thorough in our inspection of the tiles, and even small fractures were treated with the epoxy, though that was easier that putting in new tiles, it again wasn't as good. "Load up," I called to my vehicles, now numbering twenty six tanks, mostly Reliants. A full company of Republic Forces and additional Rebel troops would be escorting us in, assuming we were able to break into the earthworks and the defense network. Moments later the first group pulled forward towards the enemy lines, and before a few minutes had passed the roars of gunfire broke out, fighting at extreme range.

 

[Gir Quee]

Location: Arendal-class Heavy Cruiser Arendal, over Gessbenna City
Objective: Eliminate the Bloodcrest pirates and their corporate backers
Allies: [member="Dazuto"] | [member="Aqulia Audax"] | [member="Kayleigh Tyven"]
Enemies: [member="Veldar Tor'Vaas"]

[ 10 / 20 ]

"Reinforcements are here," noted Captain Hep.

Gir rapidly punched in a few commands into his console to bring up a planetary system map. Almost immediately he noticed that Supreme Commander [member="Kayleigh Tyven"] had arrived with a trio of star destroyers into orbit around Terrijo. It certainly was an impressive show of might that would not likely go unnoticed by those on the ground. It was hard to miss objects that large when they orbited a world. We might even be able to intimidate them a little bit just with their presence. But even as the orbiting Republic fleet flexed its muscle, the fighting continued on the world itself. The guttural voice of his communication officer yanked his attention away from the map.

"Admiral Quee, there's a gentleman from the Gessbenna Corp headquarters trying to get a hold of you. Should I patch him through?"

"Who is he?"

"He says he's President Snuib."

Gir blinked. And he's just contacting me now? To be fair, there could be plenty of reasons for such a delay...could even be ones we caused. He briefly smoothed out a crease in his gray tunic.

"Go ahead," said the admiral, "let's see what he has to say."

The holo-projector mounted in his command chair hummed to produce an image of the corporate executive. But Gir was met not with one head, but two. The first appeared to be an aging sullustan male with a pale face and a rather stylish protective eye visor. Next to him was the golden head of an old protocol droid. Snuib immediately said a few words in the staccato language of Sullustese, of which Gir only knew a little bit. Thankfully, the droid appeared to be present to act as an interpreter between the two organics.

"Oh my," started the droid, before beginning the translation, "I am President Snuib of Gessbenna Corp. Who are you? And why have you invaded our city?"

Gir briefly pondered the question. By now, it was almost certain that the sullustan knew that he was a Republic commander of some sort, which defeated the purpose of the first question. Perhaps something of formality? The second one was perhaps more productive in Gir's mind.

"The Republic does not take well to those harboring pirates, much less so when they violate an international treaty to which they are a signatory of. We cannot allow the Bloodcrest pirates to simply be based here."

The droid and the sullustan exchanged a string of staccato words before the droid began to speak again.

"You do not know the full story here," answered the droid, "I am as fond of the Bloodcrest pirates as you are, sir. But it is not as simple as simply killing them."

Gir raised an eyebrow, "Why not?"

"Most of the pirates are pawns in a larger game," said the droid, "thankfully one of your ships shot down one of the ringleaders when he tried to escape. That is the only reason why I can talk now. The real culprits, the local branch of the Karka Syndicate is in disorder from your attack. The Republic intends to stay on Terrijo?"

"We do."

The droid exchanged a few words with the president before turning its attention back to the Republic commander.

"Then let us help you root them out. They have had some dangerous experiments here," said the droid, "you have already encountered one of them: the energy being."

Gir frowned, "What else do they have here?"

 

[Surge]

Location: Star Port Plaza, Near the Command Tower
Objective: Answers
[member="Gir Quee"]

The drunken one wasn't standing for long. A bolt was enough to put him on the ground. The pirates took little time to poke their heads out from behind cover and discover the new threat. He ran up the low stairs and tossed off a small salvo aimed at the metal railings that the nearby pirates were bracing themselves on. The bolts that did hit fired up the metal and electrocuted a good number of pirates.

Those that were smart or lucky enough to back off stumbled away from the railing in fear. He stomped the ground to work up enough kinetic energy laced. He sent a surge of electricity down into his leg and then forced it outwards with the tremor from his stomping legs acting as a guide for the flow of electricity. Essentially, he sent out a short range shock wave low over the ground. It didn't go far, but it disrupted the nearest enemies while he slung some bolts at the farther enemies, making them slump to the ground. Before nearby reinforcements could overwhelm him, he ran to the control tower.

He ran inside and willed the doors to "close and die". Pirates rounded the corner and shot off a few shots before the doors closed, the shots ringing harmlessly against the security door. All was quiet...too quiet. He turned around to face the somewhat sizeable lobby in this rather large control tower...and made eye contact with 18 dumbfounded pirates/civilians. He started with a distraction: explode the computers and TVs with electricity overloads. This tactic soon separated the crowd into two types of people: Those who wanted a fight and those who didn't want to be caught in the crossfire.

He took off at a mad dash and ran around the large, central, stairway silo in the middle of the lobby. Running around the room, he slung bolts at those who he came across and those who popped their heads out with a gun in hand. It was hard work to keep running so fast and he had a couple of close calls. He finally came to a stop when he couldn't see anymore movement. He took a moment to get a break, but then the windows blew out. The pirates were trying to find another way in.

He lurched for the door, opened it, and slammed it behind himself. He ran up the stairs, two steps at a time. The sounds of scuffling feet and loud, boisterous voices started to grow faint behind him, but he still had a long way up. When he finally reached the top, he took a breather and tried to sense anything inside. The room on the other side of the door was brimming with electronics, that much he knew. He could sense smaller electronics being powered up.


8/20

 

[Surge]

He braced himself...and then burst into the room...and into an array of pointed guns. He stopped short and the singular sarcastic clapping from someone behind the line of defenders could be heard. The port administrator was there, making her way towards him. She had a coy smile on her face, as though she held all of the cards. She started to speak with a sly glint of non-verbally acknowledged triumph. She rambled on about how I am physical property, engineered, only purpose was to serve, I must be defective for rudely disobeying, blah, blah, blah. He didn't care, though. The thoughts of finding answers, questioning her, figuring all of this out? They all melted away in front of this...terrible person.

She pulled her hand back, when she was close enough, and backhanded him. Too bad for her that she wasn't wearing gloves. At full charge, he essentially slapped her back by electrocuting her upon contact. It wasn't all that much, but it caused her to recoil. He grabbed her and held her in front of him to provide cover from the wall of blasters. It felt strangely intimate to him as he held her. Even though she was clearly evil, she was attractive. Whispers of the past; of what once was. But they were snuffed aside as he heard the voices of many pirates plus the whiny leader in front of him start causing a ruckus.

He raised his right hand in the air and released forth a large, powerful energy current directed at all of the computers. The explosions that followed were plentiful and highly distracting for the pirates. It tore their staggered line apart as they tried to rush to safety first, duty last. The pirates had deserted and the room was in flames. He could hear secondary explosions take place along the length of this tower. It was likely a consequence from all of the energy he had expended here. Tired, he sat down on the floor, not caring about the flames a few feet away. Realizing that he had the port administrator in his lap, he quickly grabbed her neck with his throat and turned her around with his other hand.

"I want ans---..." It was too late. She was already dead, likely from the electricity. He sat there, shocked (No pun intended). As he stared at her, he couldn't help but cry and hold her close to him. He didn't know why he was affected as such. He felt as though he didn't want to have done this, not to a woman. She could have been left alive, she was no real threat to his life. Putting harm upon her made him feel as though he had done something terrible. Whether this was due to some kind of conditioning or he personally did not like harming women, he didn't know.

He laid her down on the ground and then walked away. He stepped towards the window, the sounds dying out in his ears as he paid them no attention. He stepped to the window and watched as the battle raged. His reverie was broken when a large explosion ripped up the foundation on one side of the tower. He ran away from the window and tried to find something to hold on to as the tower started to fall and crash into the plaza.


9/20

[member="Gir Quee"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Location: Ground, Binor
Objective: 2
Allies: Republic Forces, Rebel
Enemies: Raydu Council
[12/20]


As the gun fire from the first wave of vehicles hit us a voice came over the comm channel. "Change of plans, heavy resistance requires a battering ram technique. Sectons two through six giddy up and go in." That wasn't the best sign, but it would be better than learning about the change after we went in. "Section four moving as ordered." I said over the comm, sitting up to look out behind my vehicle I waved to the infantry behind us, "We are going in now boys. One on each Load gun, the rest fall in behind. We will lead you in and then you swarm the trenches." I yelled to them as they scrambled to get up and ready to move with us. We pulled into a trotting pace so they could keep up but we could cover the hundred meters between us and group three.

The two clicks between the front line and the engagement zone hadn't suffered very badly, it was the last one hundred meters that had done them in. Mines and detonated, blasting holes in Reliants, and the enemy forces were raining artillery fire onto the vehicles engaged. "Somebody drop mine dozers and clear paths through all that. Stagger formation and lay it on thick once we pull within range." I yelled over the comm channel. Fire and dirt sprayed as artillery impacted nearby. "Gunner, up twenty degrees and pound at maximum range." I said to my gunners. The massive barrels lifted up and sent charges down range, over our allies heads and into the enemy forces that were firing upon us. Their outdated artillery barely had any range advantage on my Skocha's and it wouldn't be long before we were able to start hitting them. The tanks in front of us, pulled out ahead and opened up all of their guns into the enemy forces, pushing them into cover and keeping them there.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Location: Ground, Binor
Objective: 2
Allies: Republic Forces, Rebels
Enemies: Raydu Council
[13/20]

The comms filled with chatter from other tank commanders, trying to control their small groups of vehicles going into the conflict. Fire and smoke filled the sky, and screams could be heard in between the roar of the big guns. This was what I loved most about fighting. Tactics and planning were over with, and it was all up to each soldier to simple keep going, keep fighting, and stay alive. Each soldier had to watch his own skin, and the skin of those around him, building the strongest trust there is. I kept the comm-link close to my mouth, barking orders when I could see changes in the battle. That was my job to keep everyone moving in the right direction. Saber Platoon, as we were operating as now was in the middle of the formation, lobbing shells over our allies and shielding infantry from molestation at the hands of enemy firepower.

I could see burning wrecks even as we continued to pull forward, the occasional body sprawled on the ground. "Sword Platoon, split down the middle and let Phalanx Platoon come up between your hulls. Its about to get rough on the left side." I called over the comm channel, the tanks almost immediately complying with the order. Anti vehicle rounds whistled through the air as the Raydu forces fired the first volley from their heavy weapon emplacements, "Loader, did we get those cannons on the scanner?" I asked quickly. A second ticked by before his response came, "Mark three, point six." he said telling his the location of that grouping of big guns. "Saber, hit em hard at Mark three point six." The main weapons traversed to the given coordinates and lobbed shells at the position, causing a fireball to rise into the air from the detonation of enemy ammunition.

 

[Aqulia Audax]

[Post count = 8/20]​

In their defence, the pilots did a good opening move. They split up. One went left, one went right and one carried straight on. of the three, the one that peeled right seemed the most hesitant to make the move. Most likely the weakest link. There was value in leaving them for last but even a novice can lock on a missile, she she decided to take this one out first.

Dipping down and to the right, she kicked in her afterburners and knew she had the beating of all these guys ship-wise. And she suspected pilot-wise. But they were still three to her one.

So she focused on the first ship and swooping up from below, found them in her targets almost too easily. A few bursts from her right trigger thumb and the explosion told her - and the pirate's comrades - that she'd been successful. She tapped a quick code into her computer - someone needed to come and pick up the escape pod before that particular pilot found a new employer, and a new ship with which to terrorise local shipping lanes.

She was pleased and surprised that the others hadn't taken advantage of her one-track mind. So she turned to face them as they circled to engage.

Oh, and a new song came on too...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CIWlHMsF3g

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Location: Ground, Binor
Objective: 2
Allies: Republic Forces
Enemies: Raydu Council
[14/20]

The sky rumbled with thunder and the ground shook and reverberated the detonations of the big guns on both sides of the battle. The first group of tanks were almost completely destroyed or crippled, forces on both sides were in disarray, and commander's struggled to keep order in the ranks. One hundred meters. That's how far we were from the first set of trenches. The vehicles were still pushing ahead slowly, inexorably, but the battle had become a quagmire of sorts. The Raydu forces were putting up a last ditch effort and they were dangerous, fully believing failure was not an option, that they couldn't lose for fear of retribution for their new Republic overlords.

A hypervelocity round whistled, impacting hard into the reactive armor on my skocha, fracturing the cermaic underneath. A healthy sized chunk or rubber, duranium, and ceramic tore away from the impact, leaving a decent size impact and showing a piece of the penetrator rod stuck out from the hull of the vehicle. "Watch it boys, she ain't gonna like another face to face with a kep round again." I said to my crew. Still pulling forward, fifty meters until we hit the line. "All hulls pull to platoon objective once we clear the first earth works. We really need some air support so Two should push for the shields with whatever is left of One." I called over the comm. Seconds later the treads of the front group ran over the trenches, and began pulling off to the left, spraying the area with burst of laser fire as they went.

 

[Dazuto]

Location: Airspace over Gessbenna
Objective: 1 - Eliminate Bloodcrest Pirates


This one would not be shaken so easily. He weaved like a dancer in the sky, trailing and harassing Dazuto with an occasional barrage. Even the usual maneuvers couldn't throw the enemy off. Dazuto frantically pushed his machine to its limits.

"Ocean to all crafts, I have one on my tail and I can't seem to lose him. Going to-"

A blaring alarm resonated in the cockpit. Oh, no. Lock-on projectiles. Two of them, incoming. Dazuto throttled up high as his tired ship would allow. He could see them now through his mirror - two points of light growing larger. He dove to gain speed, but they followed. Chaff. Trick the missiles. In his haste, he released the two clusters of hot metal at once - a rookie mistake. One of the missiles smashed into the clump and exploded, but one continued on.

Kark! He was quickly running out of airspace and pulled up at the price of speed. One last move. With the pull of a lever, and much to the chagrin of the on-board computer, he pulled the wings together and entered the ship's flight mode. Immediately, the drag his lower wings had caused ceased. The ship flew with much greater speed, but totally defenseless. Dazuto watched the missile disappear into the background. He was safe.

The ship battered and rocked. Alarms were manic. Smoke billowed from his wings, his engine. The cockpit cracked. He was losing control. The familiar ace that had fired the missiles passed by, satisfied with his kill. Dazuto was losing control of the craft. One option. "Ocean, down," he radioed.

He grabbed the latch under his seat and pulled. The air was pulled from his lungs as he was fired with the seat into open air. His ship, burning and broken, fell to the jungle. The rushing air drowned the noise of dogfights nearby. His seat-belts automatically dislodged and Dazuto floated into open air. Parachutes were much more dependable, cheaper, and lighter than a repulsor-pack, and his opened right on cue.

Dazuto drifted quietly away from the dogfights raging in the sky, from the ace triumphantly seeking his next kill, from the Arendal raining hell on its target, from the sky smeared with black. The canopy awaited him.


[7/20]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Location: Ground, Binor
Objective: 2
Allies: Republic Forces, Rebels
Enemies: Raydu Council
[15/20]

The din of battle was one of music this time in. Chatter filled the different comm channels as commanders called instructions to their forces, only the command channel was relatively clear, with only the occasional order going over it. Bullets, shells, blaster bolts, screams, engine roars, and explosions filled the air, and the smell of smoke and dirt smothered any other smell. I was having a blast out here in the relative safety of my tank, but even still the adrenaline rush of battle was all the same. After this I would have a good cigara and a glass of whiskey I thought to myself during the midst of it all. "Saber Three, left stick, traverse left and hit that ammo dump. We don't need it and I don't want them using it later." I called to the Skocha beside mine. It replied by belching a massive proton shell towards the target, sending it up in flames. "Force One and Two, status report." I called, trying to keep up with everything on the field.

"We're getting hammered out here. I need some covering fire at mark six so my infantry can advance and secure the trenches in front of the shield generator." A voice responded, a little hotly, as though it was my fault he was getting the snot kicked out of him. "You heard him traverse and elevate to hit mark six with anti-personnel rounds." My gunner complied almost instantly, the sound of slugthrower fire off the hull of our vehicle almost musical. The driver and secondary gunner could be heard humming along with it.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

Location: Terrijo Orbit - Aboard the Bastion
Objective: Provide support
Post: 4/20

Kayleigh observed one by one as the targets were decimated by the sheer power of the weapons, namely the six electromagnetic pulse cannons that were equipped on the bastion. While in orbit above Terrijo, the admiral half expected some volley of Sith or renegade troops to drop out of hyperspace at any moment, though it appeared that for all the waiting she was doing, there would be nobody to engage this time. She was mildly disappointed that the new vessel may not have an opportunity to shine in the thick of a battle, but was certain that there may be another opportunity down the road eventually.

The Sith of today were relentless, no longer secretive entities seeking to destroy the Republic from within. They were open, maniacal tyrants who invaded every planet they could, tearing up turf whenever possible. Kayleigh despised their very existence. Nothing but power hungry beasts. She felt bad for those who were part of the regime that were played as pawns, nothing more than sacrificial lambs to be thrown to the slaughter to reach the end goal of those in charge.

 

[Anastasia Rade]

Location: The Shadowport
Objective: Stuff
Allies: [member="Orick T'ane"]
[7/20]

Ana could only shake her head as she watched the exchange between Orick and the pirates whom were watching them. She didn’t want to get into it with them at all but Ana could understand how Orick wouldn’t want those men to put their greasy hands all over the bikes. It was best that that as a woman to keep her mouth closed and her helmet on. If any of them tried any funny business or called her sweetheart they would be in a world of hurt. She didn’t take words of endearment very well from anybody but close family and Orick.

It wasn’t long until the thugs returned with more thugs whom were surrounded by someone whom Ana had to guess was the warlord. She was honestly disappointed as she had hoped and expected more from him. He looked easy to take down unlike the men surrounding him. The fact that he actually came to see them was kind of surprising though.

Taking a step forward the Pink Mando began to speak. “We are answering your ad that you placed. We were told to come here for a job. It’s different doing it in person but a jobs a job.” Ana shrugged slightly her gaze fell to the leader whom seemingly had his eye on her. If Orick wanted to do some talking, he could though Ana thought it best for one person to.

“I placed no add,” came the short reply from the center man whom at the moment Ana was calling the leader but she could be wrong. This could just be another lacky. Ana was not going to back down from this. They could take this group. “Well, someone did and I suggest that you find out whom it was. I did not come here for nothing.”