An Audacious Raid

[Darth Imperatus]

When the distress call had been received, Melkaroth had responded instantly.

The signal had come from a small mining colony which happened to deal in very valuable minerals. There had been several reports of pirates operating within the region, and rumors that there was a force user among them.

The rumors weren't really trustworthy, but this unusually audacious attack upon a base under the direct authority of the New Order had been enough to spike his interest.

The great starship dropped out of hyperspace at the source of the signal. Melkaroth quickly looked around, surveying the scene before him...

[member=Soulfire Ticon]

 

[RC 212]

@Melakoth Tyrin

"Sir another ship just entered our radar!"

Soulfire glared out across the stars, trying to spot the vessel with his black orbs. The raid was going well. On the surface hundreds of the populace had been rounded up. Soulfire had given the crew instructions to raid and enslave. Slaves were useful to sell on the underground market.

"Whats the eta for my raiding parties?"

"Five minutes."

Soulfire crossed his arms, white cloak flowing in the breeze of the air refreshers aboard the bridge. He reached out ith his senses, trying to discern-

And then he felt it. A Dark presence, not unlike his own, but still darker.

A savage grin split his face as he called the next orders.

"Alright you scum, release the ion cannons, fire the connor nets!"

Ion cannons slid from their hidden compartments and mechanical arms sprang to life, tossing out wide ionic nets designed to incapacitate enemy vessels. Streams of ion fire stitched through the night towards the incoming ship.

Soon the battle would be joined....

 

[Darth Imperatus]

"Sir, they're firing!" yelled the scanner operator. "Ion cannons and some sort of ionic nets..."

"Conner nets." said the captain. "Brace for impact, deflector shields to maximum power!"

The ion cannons hit first. Lights flashed on and off across the ship as the systems went haywire. Then the nets hit home, causing darkness to envelop the bridge.

"Emergency power activated." said a cool computerized voice.

"Damage report!" roared Melkaroth.

"Main power offline, commadore!" replied the man at ops.

"Divert auxiliary power to shields." said Melkaroth. "Have all boarding parties stand by for launch. And get me main power back online, now!"

The ship was in uproar as engineering screw scrambled to restore main power, while stormtroopers rushed to their assault shuttles.

 

[RC 212]

@Melakoth Tyrin

"Looks like we nailed em Cap'n"

Soulfire watched as the SD went dark through the windows. A feeling of familiar satisfaction washed over him, they had another catch, like a fish on a hook. Soulfire was man of chaos, and understood that they must move quickly if they were to seal their plunders fate.

"Excellent, no doubt they must be going on the defensive. Ready the boarding parties. I want docking tubes hooked up in less than five minute. We must catch our prey by surprise, before they can fortify!"

With a speed unlike a human being, he quickly stepped down the corridors, white cloak swirling in his wake, and dark energy field growing around him. He could sense terror among the void. No doubt the terror of the men aboard the enemy vessel. It drove him, making him hunger for more.

Within moments he had come to the fore in te docking tube as it reached slowly towards the other ship. Both hands hung from the pistols strapped to his chest. His head was bowed, stewing deep in the turmoil and mixed emotions of the enemy crew. He was deep in meditation, gathering dark energy for the coming fight.

 

[Darth Imperatus]

"Sir, they're coming in to board us--deck 39!"

"Get a defensive team ready at the nearest security station." said Melkaroth. "Evacuate everywhere up to there. Launch all boarding parties and secure the surface--have one shuttle go with them for a while and then come back to board the enemy vessel. We'll catch them unawares."

Melkaroth considered his options for a long moment. Why would a frigate engage in a boarding action against a New Order Star Destroyer; especially while they had this chance to escape? The rumors had to be true. He turned to the captain.

"You have the bridge, captain." he said, before moving off to the elevator to join the defense.

When the pirates broke in, they would find the long corridor deserted. The area had been abandonded so that when they did meet resistance, it would be from the full force of Melkaroth's defense team. Meanwhile, the ship stood at action stations, with stormtroopers patrolling across the vessel. Seconds after Melkaroth left, a squad of stormtroopers replaced him, securing the bridge.

[member="Soulfire Ticon"]

 

[RC 212]

@Melakoth Tyrin

The docking tube closed the gap and sealed with a hiss. As the doors opened Soulfire opened his eyes and ever so slowly raised his white cloaked head, to peer down the hall. The whole corridor appeared abandoned. The dim emergency lights of the vessel glared off the shiny metal floors. Soulfire could tell it was too late, they ad already fortified somewhere.

He reached out with the force, expanding his awareness projecting waves of malice and cruelty. He could still feel the other force user somewhere, he was dark, almost as dark as Soulfire himself.

"Looks like it could be an ambush cap'n."

Soulfire ignored the dithering pirate fool and strode of the ramp quickly moving down the hall, pirate horde at his back.

If it was indeed a trap, it was time to spring it.

 

[Darth Imperatus]

The door in front of the pirate captain opened, to reveal a room filled with stormtroopers. Melkaroth stood front and center, twin blaster carbines pointed at his enemies. Without a word he and his troops opened fire, a hail of red bolts of pure heat flashing towards the enemy.

[member="Soulfire Ticon"]

 

[RC 212]

@Melakoth Tyrin

The devastation came on so quick that Soulfire had almost no time to react. A black hilted saber flew to his hands and snapped to life as bolts flew all around him. The yellow blade hummed a savage rhythm as he let go to the force and the rage began to build. Bolts were swatted away, several deflected back into the heads of the enemy troopers.

Pirates fell to the decks, smoking craters in their torsos before they regained enough composure to attack.

Several bolts also grazed Soulfires legs, causing minor burns. The smell of burning cloth and reeking flesh filled the room. It thrust its way into his nostrils and a red haze descended upon him. Between deflecting blasts Soulfire roared orders to the crew.

"Raiding parties one and two, fan out and find the bridge, three with me, kill them ALL!"

He surged forwards, with no particular lightsaber form. Soulfire was a Blazing Chain. A dark jedi pirate and as such he fought more like a wild animal than a graceful blades man. As he pushed forwards to reach his foe he raised the saber up high, and brought twin strikes down on the leader of the group, one left and one right.

 

[Darth Imperatus]

[member="Soulfire Ticon"]

Melkaroth gripped the double saber hilt with one hand, blocking the first stirke and then meeting the second with more force, knocking it away. He then bought his saber back and then up in an overhead arc; with the full force of his cybernetic limbs.

Behind him stormtroopers were beginning to fall one by one as the pirates began to retalliate. They began to fall back, taking cover behind the walls and exchanging fire--they would make the attackers fight for every inch of ground, but there was no shame in giving ground if it gave them a tactical advantage--the pirates were out in the open corridor, open completely to the stormtrooper's fire. The pirates were vicious however, and the stormtroopers were driven further and further back as the pirates advanced.

 

[RC 212]

@Melakoth Tyrin

Sometimes there was no other option than to avoid your attacker. The force of the strike would be much more than Soulfire could hold, and in the split instant he stepped back swinging his own blade upwards parallel to his body. As it made contact he let the strike drop his blade low, and parallel to his waist. Then with a vicious snarl he turned his wrist and retaliated.

The blade swang right, aiming to cut the Sith or force him back.

Mean wile the Pirates pushed forwards, popping smoke grenades in the halls and roaring as they closed with the enemy. Pirates were not the finest marksmen, but they were savage close quarters combatants. They managed to smash their way further down the corridor and drew their blades. As the two sides closed, all hell broke loose. The horde piled in on the enemy, blades swinging and hacking.

At the intersection of the hall two teams split up, and disappeared from the carnage. One headed directly for the engine room, and a second for the armory.

 

[Darth Imperatus]

Melkaroth blocked the blow as the blades met in a flash of blinding light; he then activated the second blade of his saber and spun around, stabbing backwards at his opponent's chest. He followed immediately by rotating again so he was once again facing the pirate, bringing the opposite blade of his double saber around for a strike as he did so.

Meanwhile the stormtroopers were being driven back by the pirates' vicious assault. Meanwhile however, the rest of the ship's stormtroopers were mobilizing to cut off the raiding parties as they advanced, while extra guards were sent to the most vital areas: the bridge, engine room, and medical bay.

[member="Soulfire Ticon"]

 

[RC 212]

@Melakoth Tyrin

Quick thinking saved the Pirate as the stab came in towards his chest. The yellow blade hummed upwards and he swatted away the stab, but he was not quick enough to bring the blade back around in time. The second strike grazed his thigh, cutting a small cleft. Burning flesh and cloth thrust its way into his nostrils as searing pain blossomed in his body.

The pain was his focus, his ally. As it bloomed, so did the red haze descend and cloud his thoughts. There were no thoughts anymore, except the thought of the Siths destruction.

Taking care not to fall he backpedaled two steps and planted himself firm, knowing now, that footwork was out of the question, and he would ave to defend and attack from a fixed position. One hand reached out and the force extended to his will, attempting to grab the Sith by the throat, and close off his airway in a force choke.

The blade came across his chest, in a diagonal guard.

Meanwhile aboard the ship the Pirate raiding parties met heavy resistance from the Stormtroopers. They were pinned down in the halls, trying to fight their way into the various compartments. Eventually they realized that grenades would be handy, and thermal detonators sailed into each room en masse. Shortly after they detonated they closed the distance, doing the same as the main party and engaging in hand to hand with the bucket heads.

The main party pressed forwards, savage and Monstrous. They hacked and slashed, and blasted. Some of them were quite unnoticed and managed to plow their way through the chaos, heading past the entanglement to the bridge, a second set of grenades armed....

 

[Darth Imperatus]

Melkaroth felt the force tightening around his throat, strangling him. Choking was one thing he had never had to endure under the torment of Vulcanus, and it caught him off guard. He made a strangled sound as the air was forced out of his artificial lungs, which turned into a yell of fury. Anger and indignation flowed through him, and he threw off his opponent's invisible grip, though he was left breathless. He needed to take a breath, but he knew he couldn't afford such a luxury, so he closed the distance between them in two powerful strides and launched a furious attack. He struck left first, then right, then whirled his saber around before striking downwards and following up with an upwards slash, continually alternating blades, striking with the full fury of his cybernetic limbs. His throat burned, but his limbs were powered by electricity, not oxygen.

Meanwhile, the shuttles were screaming through the planet's atmosphere, moving down to secure the colony. As ordered, one of them broke off and circled back around, heading for the pirate ship. The shuttle locked into one of the docking bays and with a flash of light the airlock is blown open. The stormtroopers charge out, rushing to take the ship.

At the same time, alarm bells rang out on the bridge of the Imperius, warning of the incoming threat.

"Close the blast doors!" yelled the captain as the stormtroopers rush to the door, ready to defend it if the blast doors should fail. As the pirates approach the entrance, a solid durasteel door, almost a meter thick, moves into position. Meanwhile, the same occurred in the engine room. Groups of stormtroopers leave their stations, rushing to surround the raiding parties.

[member="Soulfire Ticon"]

 

[RC 212]

@Melakoth Tyrin

The strikes came in hot and heavy. Both feet still securely planted the Dark Jedi worked his saber arm, whirling in a constant motion about him to ward off the blows. The sabers flashed and sparked as the screeching beasts of war tangled with one anaother. Soulfire drew energy from the mans rage, he felt his anger, and it multiplied his own.

The furious offense had one flaw though, he was so focused on chopping the Pirate in half, he had not been ready to expect the unexpected.

Soulfire drew a single slughtrower and fired the weapons twice, at point blank range towards his opponents chest. As the crack reverberated his saber was already coming down on each side of the man, attempting to slash both limbs in a fluid motion.

Meanwhile the blast doors closed quickly. The two raiding parties were cut off from their objectives and left to fight for their lives outside the doors.

But the bridge raiders had made steady progress. As the doors began to whirl shut, the second mate roared his orders.

"EMP that frakin door!"

Three EMP grenades sailed forth, detonating in the doorway close to the panel. A screaming arc of electromagnetic energy flared sizzling in lightning form up and down the wall. If the attack worked the circuits would be fried, leaving the door half open.

"Charge them!"

Blasters and slugthrowers lit up the space between the pirates and the bridge crew, as they ducked behind barrels for cover.

The main party had already cut a swath of destruction through the enemy, but they were not finished. As the battle raged the first mate received word of the Stormtroopers doubling around.

"They're trying to take our ship, disengage, back to the Bloodhawk!"

They pulled back, leaving half a squad with rotary cannons to keep the enemy pinned down. Meanwhile the other half of the raiding crew, double-timed it back to the docking tubes. Their black boots stomping the deck-plates, punctuated by blood curdling roars.

 

[Darth Imperatus]

Melkaroth tried to twist out of the way of the projectile, but at point blank range there was no way to completely dodge and slug struck him in the chest. The blow struck one of his durasteel chest plates, denting it badly. Though the projectile did not penetrate through, the blow still pained Melkaroth badly.

As he twisted his body Melkaroth raised his right arm, the one which held his hidden blaster. The supercharged weapon could have easily killed the pirate, but without any time to aim Melkaroth fired haphazardly, the shot instead striking his enemy in the shoulder. The powerful blaster bolt would be seen only as a brief flash of crimson light before it hit its target, though the weapon could not now be used again for some time.

It was at that moment that Melkaroth's communicator was activating, playing an automated message that signified that the bridge had been taken. Melkaroth did not know how it could have come to pass, but the pirates had effectively seized his ship.

[member="Soulfire Ticon"]

 

[RC 212]

@Melakoth Tyrin

Soulfire went down to the floor as the shot hit his shoulder and the saber flew from his grasp. Through his ear and panting breaths e could hear the first mate.

"We have the ship cap'n."

That was all he needed to hear right now. But he still had the problem of the other sith. Naturally he would fight, but it would be foolish to try and take him without his weapon. So instead he focused the force, and began to slowly force choke himself. As the pressure bore down his breathing slowed to almost a stop, and he lay very still. To the Sith it would appear Soulfire was dead.

 

[Darth Imperatus]

Melkaroth smiled. Foolish pirate. He thought. Clearly, the man was dead, but Melkaroth aimed an iron-shod kick at his chest anyway, propelled by the full force of his metallic limbs. It wasn't so much just to be sure as just because.

Still, there was the problem of the ship now under the control of the pirates. No doubt they would now lock the place down and use the ship against its crew. Lightsabers could cut through blast doors, but the blasters of stormtroopers could not. Was it worth risking the ship's bridge? No. But the Imperius wasn't the only ship he could reach...

With that he strode off back to the airlock, making for the pirate ship. Hopefully he could secure it and make his escape with the stormtroopers that were aboard...

[member="Soulfire Ticon"]