Public Chains of Rothana (EU & Signed Up)

[Wedge Draav]

BELIEVE

Reima Vitalis
​

It happened quickly- a corvette, then a cruiser, then a destroyer- the second of which, opened a channel and talked to him for a moment. He flicked the IFF feed on, and- thankfully, the incoming fire was lessened, thanks to the Union successfully identifying him as one of theirs. For the time being.

Wedge banked out of the way of the incoming fire, his shields taking the brunt of the damage, avoiding a catastrophe. If he had been there a second longer- or the cruiser hadn't come, he'd have a whole new set of problems.

Wedge rolled his head, not finding his target again with the use of a droid or targeting system, out of the chaos, out of the confusion of the battlespace Wedge found his target again, on a vector towards where he was going. He pulled back his throttle, rolling into a half-ribbon- meeting the TIE fighter in the short axis of his approach.

S-foils locked.

Guns up.

He fired- accurately, deadly. He went for where the TIE would be, expertly and instinctually at this point- knowing how fast the TIE was going, where it might've been, and where to aim on it. This angle, however, meant that he'd hit the protective large wings, and perhaps only the shields at best, depending on the model of TIE. However-

It was a good way to let the other pilot know that his doom was coming soon. Anger or not, a thirst for revenge. He opened a channel, broadcasting to all nearby pilots.

"Come and get me, pilots."​

Not scum. Not Imperials. Not any slur, any remark, any slight. No, he commanded respect from his men as much as the enemy. They were pilots, they were soldiers, they were not his equal- but he treated them like they were. Friend or foe. Maybe it was different on the ground, maybe it was different between Jedi and Sith. But they were his opponent, his enemy, not a target of his hatred. He didn't hate the enemy- only the ones that killed indiscriminately, only the ones that tried to kill Reima, too.

Speaking of-

He wondered if Reima would still be okay with this. He didn't know he was getting into this-

But she was right.

There was still good left to be done.

​

 

[Sovereign Signal]

​

The Defender took some friendly fire from that damned corvette before the X-Wing struck its mark. The TIE's shield integrity read 98% moments ago but fell sharply to 27%. To make matters worse, one of the Alliance maverick's shots got through altogether and struck the weak armor plating that protected the ship's power plant. Smoke trailed behind the heavy fighter, and the damage--along with the constant overheating--forced the Imperial ace to slow down.

He spiraled back around to exploit the brief seconds of an opening he could secure, and fired a barrage of all 8 laser cannons, plus a single shot each from the two ions at the end of his targeting vector. All to cast a wide net of fire that might strike, slow down, or even knock the X-Wing out of the fight--if he were ever so lucky.

More fighting coalesced around their duel. The cruiser's heavy guns made short work of the tiny corvette, shredding it to scraps before the Tector was in range. The two juggernauts squared off only a few kilometers from the dry dock.

At the same time, it seemed Revenant One's call had plenty of listeners. Dogfighters from both sides slowly gravitated towards the chaos in what was shaping up to be quite the womp-shoot.

Wedge Draav

 

[Wedge Draav]

Eyes Open, Eyes Forward

Reima Vitalis
​

Some of the laser shots went wide- his X-wing twirling to avoid the impacts. He saw him coming, the veteran pilot knowing immediately how to maneuver away from the barrage from the TIE fighter. However, the last two ion shots struck him, and nearly knocked his shields- much worse off than the TIE fighters' own, barely down to six percent, if that. They'd recharge eventually-

If Wedge kept power to them.

He pursed his lips, glancing to the TIE fighter. Wounded, not out of the fight. Slower. Not dumber, just slower. Wedge liked to go fast. So- he pulled a maneuver that he had done a few times- reckless, bold, and a testament to his skill. The most recent time he'd done it was under more favorable and playful conditions, but no less effective. Wedge-

Pulled his left hand up in his cockpit, and took power from the shields. He applied it to the engines. All that juice going to his engines made his X-wing- already a top of the line model, made it just go that much faster. That much quicker on the draw. Wedge came screaming towards the wreckage of the Corvette, and coiled around it. He skimmed around it, like hands running over a ball before a toss. He was inches, feet away from the debris in his half-circle arc, upside down (relative to the corvette, it was a meaningless term in space). He kept his eyes forward, streaks of blue, green, white and red across his cockpit as he re-approached the TIE defender, who slowed down from below, an axis of approach roughly at his 30 degree angle, below his cockpit in a blind spot.

His targeting computer locked onto him. His guns were primed.

He had a kill shot.

A single word came over the open channel.

"Bang."​

And Wedge's X-wing, faster than it had been before, came screaming across the viewport of the TIE fighter, entering the more chaotic fray of the battle. No shots. Just a targeting solution that might've appeared on the TIE fighters HUD, or an early warning system engagement. Wedge rolled his X-wing as he flew away from him, grinning. Another TIE fighter squadron went at him and met their end- four in quick succession, two of them smashing into each other in their close-knit attack pattern.

He wondered if the other ace pilot would take the olive branch, or re-engage. Wedge could kill him and not have a second thought if that was the case. But not everyone needed to die. It was hard to find good pilots in the galaxy. And even harder to find good enemies.

​

 

[Sovereign Signal]

The imperial pilot grinned behind the mask of his flight helmet.

"I have you now," he said coldly. For him, Revenant One was now prey, and all he had to do was close in for the kill.

Then, the X-Wing suddenly gained a burst of speed. It wasn't that the Defender's ace was unfamiliar with such a maneuver, but to see it happen in a live battle of all places? It caught him off guard. Between the stark imbalance in their respective speeds and the split-second pause for doubt, any vector the Imperial hoped to gain had been lost.

Still, he pushed forward. trying to keep up and foolishly so--even going so far as to chase the starfighter through the fresh wreckage, but he couldn't keep up. The Defender slowed to avoid disaster. The pilot's heart skipped a beat when his HUD beeped erratically, warning him of the impending lock.

"Fuck." Resignation, not anger in his voice. Not that it mattered. His words were for himself alone.

He had no one to think back to, only the faded memories of being conscripted into the service as a child. The luck that his aptitude tests allowed him to be something more than cannon fodder. The arrogant streak of his successes at the academy and his career beyond it.

Every time he put on that helmet, he ceased to be alive. Or so he told himself. Every time he took it off, he only delayed the day until he died. Or so he told himself.

"Bang."

The word came through the channel, and the pilot's stomach sank. "What?!" He was too far gone to see it for what it was.

The sudden display of skill, followed by the destruction of the foolish oncoming TIEs, only emboldened the ace. He pushed through, damned the warnings, even as his power plant went critical. He maneuvered impatiently through the wreckage, trying to catch up. At that moment, his electronics began to short, causing the rubber lining inside the cockpit to ignite.

The power plant failed, and it too burst into flames. The Defender wobbled wildly, and one of its wings tore off during an impact with some debris. He spun out of control and soon collided with another oncoming TIE--ending them both.

Wedge Draav

 

[Nimian Totan]

Objective III: Break The Chains
Location: Industrial District, Rothana
Tags: Tamsin Starfall Taika Yukan Sovereign Signal

There was a certain blessing about twin ion engine spacecraft, a weakness of sorts that they all shared. You heard them well before you could see them! There was a screech that could drive even a hardened trooper to cover, and then you had mere seconds to react. Nimian's stomach dropped at the first wail he heard, a TIE bomber buzzing past the convoy in an attempt to set up an attack run.

The Juggernaut's top mounted rotary blaster slowly moved to get a bead on the TIE, spraying energy bolts into the air with a wide fan-shaped pattern. The hope was enough of these bolts could at least tell the deadly pest to bugger off. Nimian knew such a tactic wasn't enough to reliably shoot down a fast moving craft.

The Colonel, from his cushy position in a tent somewhere, called out over a radio to some of his scouts. His voice filled with a poised indignation. "Squads 8 and 12, dismount immediately! Full defensive formation! Set launchers to airburst, do not wait for a lock!"

On his command, the front transport opened its cargo ramp, letting out some of the Assault Troopers which it held inside. Four troopers with shoulder mounted launchers filed out, taking desperate aim at the incoming TIE. Their proton torpedoes glowing red as the spiraled towards the screeching bomber. There were four large explosions in the air, smoke filling the area in front of the transport.

Time seemed to slow, everything became quiet, yet filled with chaotic noise. There was a knot in the stomach of every trooper in the formation. If those proton torpedoes were off by even a small measure, they could all be slaughtered. It was those four soldiers that held the key to the operation in their palms.

In that moment Colonel Totan felt something that was rare for him, a crack in his bravado. He knew that this could be the end of his remnant, the last vestiges of his command. His dreams and ambitions of glory were held by four people whose names he didn't know. Was he worried for them? Of course not, even in this moment, he was worried only for himself! And in those passing seconds, cold sweat dripped down his neck, a silent allusion to the distress under his stony expression.

 

[Linegrave]

Objective: 2
Allies: Genesis Draykin | Eyrin'va | Astrid Hex

They marched onward, and to her surprise, no one had to be left behind.

She had absolute faith in her own soldiers. The Cipherum did not tolerate weakness. Any remnants were burned away by training or killed by mission attrition. It was the defectors and hired assets she had been skeptical of. Apparently without cause. They endured the hard climb and long approach without complaint.

Soon enough, they reached the outer walls.

From there, Linegrave organized them into smaller units. Draykin was given a detachment composed of current-verse hired assets. Coincidentally, this also allowed her to split off with less oversight. Not that Linegrave knew or cared. Some coincidences served the mission.

They scaled the walls in those smaller units, each with a specific breach point displayed on their HUDs. The cloaked probe drones followed close behind, recording their progress. Failures would be purged from public review and used only in strategy conditioning sessions. Successes would be immortalized.

When they finally pierced the fortress exterior, everything was as expected. The defectors had done their part. Two loyalist guards lay dead, slumped near the interior threshold. The camera feeds were already on a loop, confirmed by Quorum whispering inside her helm.

"Eyrin'va, Hex," she ordered without turning. "Take the side paths. Cut off any stragglers and ensure no one escapes. We end this today. I will not tolerate a future insurgency led by martyrs."

Linegrave would go through the center. Stealth was not in her bones. Her role was to draw attention, absorb fire, and become the hammer that let her blades strike unseen. When the moment came, she would make them look in her direction and regret it.

Part of her hoped she would be the one to reach the Moff first. But instinct reminded her it was never about glory.

It was about results.

And if one of her people reached him before she did, she would raise a glass to them. So long as they tore his head off.

 

[Vestra Tane]

TAGS: Sky Wulicailt Wedge Draav Darth Anathemous T3-H3

EQUIPMENT: Arm, Lightsaber, Respirator, Blaster Carbine

Two generations of bloodshed and conquest, this machine had seen. A thousand battles, a million deaths. All that hate and misery and violence had bled into the hull - it was part of the ship now. Vestra felt it, like worms crawling under her skin, in the moment of the breach.

It made her smile. But not as much as what came next.

Even with the swell of Dark power within her, she didn't yet have the prowess to unleash all the raw destruction she wanted to. Lucky, then, that she didn't need to.

The first trooper Vestra saw was swept off his feet with a gust of telekinetic wind, then spiked to the floor as that same force whipped him into the ground. He got a kick to the head when the Apprentice sprinted past him, just to be sure. The next found his blaster ripped from his grasp by invisible hands, the barrel shoved into his throat, and the trigger held down. A third unlucky bastard got shards from his own crushed visor blasted back into his face. Every death was accompanied by a few motions of the Sith's synthetic hand, otherwise stock still at her side.

Vestra bristled with the sort of glee you only really got from being an unrepentant bully. She felt invincible, until -

E-web heavy repeater cannon. Developed in the late Galactic Republic era, used widely by -

A thousand-thousand useless historical facts flitted through her brain while she ducked for cover, taking refuge behind a supply crate that must've been left lying around by the Imps. Plasteel, by the feel of it. It'd take one, maybe two volleys, but she'd need -

"Vestra!" she growled.

"Did you bring a spare charge?"

​

"No more charges, boss, but I - what the hell is the droid doing?!"

She'd looked over the T3 earlier - plenty of engineering teams had astromechs, after all - but now that she was apparently looking to get scrapped early, the thing was hard to ignore.

Alright. No time for careful planning, then. Vestra unclipped the lightsaber from her belt and thumbed the activation. A plasma blade, bright and blue and noble, sprang from the emitter. Eugh. She'd need to fix that later.

But for now, she peaked out of cover, holding the steel-and-gold cylinder between her fingers like an oversized dart, and hucked it at one of the stormtroopers trying to set up their turret nest.

 

[Sky Wulicailt]

​

Sky felt deeply uncomfortable throughout the whole ordeal. It was good, then, that she was accompanied by someone so apparently well-trained in not just explosives but the Force--and a lightsaber. When she saw the noble, blue hue, it hearkened back to stories of the Jedi Order. In the mirror galaxy where she and the rest of the Union natives were from, the Jedi had been utterly wiped out during the Purge. The Sith, too, but of course they were here, and in great numbers. She took Vestra for a Jedi, and Sky's first visual confirmation of their survival in this galaxy.

She didn't have time to wonder, however, as the Jedi had thrown her noble weapon like a javelin. She hadn't seen a Cipherum do that before.

Interesting. She thought. The imagined throwing her vibrorapier nearly crossed her mind, but she shook the silly idea from her head. She stowed the lethal blade and carefully held her blaster pistol in both hands, ready to turn round and fire at the enemy.

When she did, the Captain was immediately distracted by the little droid rolling so casually down the hall.

Wait! She recognized it! That was H3 - a personal astromech assigned to Rinea, that high and mighty Chiss mystery who somehow ended up in charge after a Sith Lord slaughtered the entirety of High Command. Why, if one of them were here right now, she'd...

"Little droid!" She shouted. Sky fired her blaster at the enemy, anything she could do to slow them down, but just as soon as she and Tane had taken out a couple of the troopers, twice as many more rounded the corner.

This was starting to become as annoying as it was dangerous. Still, she imagined their new leader would be deeply unpleased to find her maintenance droid scrapped in a place it was likely never meant to be.

Vestra Tane | T3-H3 | Darth Anathemous

 

[Darth Anathemous]

Wearing: Armor
Tags: Vestra Tane Sky Wulicailt T3-H3

Watching Vestra fight was everything she'd hoped for.

No hesitation, all violence and enthusiasm. Anathemous was no sadist but passion was the foundation of her order and passion for one's work is what separated the best from the rest. So long as Vestra remained in control, she had potential.

Mostly though it was their shared proclivity for Telekinesis that almost had her smiling.

Still, they were on the clock and the Lord of Blades had to keep a razor sharp focus as always. The battlefield was evolving rapidly, with the gun nearly up and a small droid of all things leading the charge.

"No more charges, boss, but I - what the hell is the droid doing?!"

"I-" Anathemous narrowed her eyes behind the visor.

"It's going to torch the gun."

Her first saber entered the fray with a flash of violet, Held close to the chest in a defensive stance.

Because she wasn't doing any cutting yet, Vestra's handiwork had given her an idea. With a flick of her opposing wrist, blasters left by the fallen began to lift from the ground, slowly pulled to the air above and rotating to face the enemy.

"Follow my lead," she said with newfound courage, "cover the droid as we advance!"

Anathemous marched forward, heralded by a spray of inaccurate gunfire.

She didn't need the finesse to strike her foe, just keep their heads down while the droid did it's work.

To cover Rothana's little hero.

 

[Genesis Draykin]

Theme: Dead Moon​

OBJ: 2
Post: 2
Location: Rothana
Equipment: [Here]
Tag: Linegrave | Eyrin’va | Astrid Hex

Gen just nodded in agreement as she was given her small contingent of hired mercs. Splitting up into small groups was both advantageous for Gen and a good tactical choice. In case one group got caught up the others could finish out the mission. So with a simple hand gesture to her unit Gen and her group and moved for another section of the wall.

Gen peered up at it then looked at those with her. "Up and over." As they prepared to climb Gen chanted under her breath. "Aletia, aletia mu res lola taohlih azza h'lafnakit." Her hand reached out and touched the wall, her hand sticking to it like a spider's limbs did. As she looked around to see the others had started their climb.

She shot up her own grappling hooks after making it look like she climbed normal up the wall, but she scaled it faster than the rest of her unit with the aid of her magickal abilities. Soon they were up and over Gen reaching the goal first.

Gen then took in her surroundings a moment, Linegrave and her units had secured video surveillance. Linegrave would take the center, so Gen figured she would take up the rear entrance of the compound. Her and her units moved out in that direction. Turning on their stealth belts to limit detection.

As they came to the side of complex taking out guard groups in brutal silence with knives and melee weapons to the throat. Drops of red staining the snowy ground as they came around the backside of the fortress. Gen spoke to her group again. "We will need breach those rear doors, but once we are past them, they will most likely know we are here. So, we will have to make haste to the generators take out their power to limit escape."

Then would be the fun part making it to the moff to claim there kill. Even if they didn't get him and some else did, they got paid. Hopefully a distraction at the front would be ready to mitigate resistance.

 

[Kaleo Malistern]

Objective: BYOO

Corporal Malistern was on clean-up duty. No, that sounded too dignified. Mop duty. Toilet mop duty. It was the latest in a long line of indignities shoved his way ever since the glory days of the New Imperial Order faded into memory.

Oh, the battles. The scavenging. The profits.

But this new Moff was a hardass. His little pocket empire was big enough to feed his ego but small enough that nobody could slip under the radar. Not for long. You couldn't even fake incompetence without someone noticing.

You try standing out in a Rothanan storm for three hours without deciding that scrubbing a latrine was the better end of the deal.

He'd just finished the last stall and was about to step out when he saw them. Two corpses, slumped in the hallway just beyond the door.

Malistern blinked. Once. Then again. He peered down the corridor in both directions.

Whoever had done the murdering had clearly kept walking.

"Okay. Not my problem." he muttered, and backed into the restroom.

He dragged the cleaning cart in behind him, wedged it under the door handle, and slipped into one of the stalls.

At least it didn't smell like death in here. Not yet.

 

[T3-H3]

Objective: Repair the Air Scrubber
Location: A hallway, somewhat quieter than it was a moment ago
Equipment: Spanner

Sky Wulicailt | Darth Anathemous | Vestra Tane

tk-tk-tk-tk-tk-CLANG

T3-H3 beeped disdainfully as the tripod-mounted E-Web toppled over, liberated of one of its legs and already disconnected from its external power source. Sloppy engineering, really. Exposed hardware like that was liable to corrode or incur random mechanical failings. Or be dismantled by passing utility droids.

Having completed the task at hand, H3 stowed her spanner and turned to the vent cover in the wall next to her. The impact of the falling cannon had knocked the cover loose. Perhaps this would lead to the leaky duct, which was still flashing insistently at the top of her todo list.

The droid shortened her front supports to adopt a more compact configuration, and proceeded into the air ducts.

 

[Astrid Hex]

Location: Rothana, Mountainside Fortress
Objective: 2 - Kill the Moff / Secure the Data
Tags: Linegrave | Eyrin’va | Genesis Draykin

Astrid couldn’t help but grin as Linegrave gave her orders. The agent glanced over at Eyrin’va, a simple tilt of her head towards the Twi’lek to indicate she’d take the right-most side path.

With Eyrin’va, Draykin and Lingrave heading towards their respective directions, Astrid took a moment to take a long drag of her cigarette. She let out a habitual sigh before tucking the device behind her right ear. A moment later her eyes seemed to glitch out, its natural appearance blinking into an orange colour.

“Time to have some fun.”

As the pink-haired agent began to walk, she seemed to shimmer out of existence.

Once Linegrave started her bloody rampage, it didn’t take long before some stragglers came running. Three guards came stumbling into view, well two were stumbling; another was stomping after them.

“Get back here you cowards! Moff Malkim demands it!” Astrid could only assume that particular one was the other twos’ superior. If his words and tone of voice were anything to go by.

“Kark that, no damn Moff is worth going against that.” One of the rookies replied, waving his arm in the direction of where Linegrave’s carnage could be heard.

“I don’t care, the Moff hired you to do a job, and that job is to-” The older man’s words were interrupted by a sudden gasp from the other rookie. Both turned towards him, only to see the young man gasping for breath. Eyes wide with shock, hands reaching up towards his chest.

All of a sudden a blade appeared, pierced straight through the guard’s sternum. Just as the man began to slump forwards, Astrid poked her head around to the side. “Hi~”

She relished in their immediate looks of confused, abject horror.

Where there was once fresh, was now something out of a nightmare. Both of Astrid’s forearms and wrists had come apart. Though rather than revealing bone, muscle and tendons, there was a complex cybernetic construct in their place. And at the top of each, was a single pink-tinged blade, poised like that of a Yam’rii.

“What the fu-” The other rookie never got to finish his sentence. As in a flash, Astrid was on him and brought one of her blades across his throat. Their superior didn’t fare any better either. He tried to grab for his blaster, but the much faster agent leaped at him. Her blades pierced through either side of his chest.

“I hope your fellows further in offer better sport.” It was the last thing the man heard, before he collapsed to the ground dead.

With an exacerbated sigh, Astrid withdrew her blades and with a quick flick wiped away the blood. Taking a moment to look back at her work, Astrid re-activated her cloaking and disappeared.

 

[Arage Bao]

Objective: BYOO

Arage Bao watched the hologram of Moff Abretta with measured interest. This was a clandestine meeting between several notable figures who held... Imperial sympathies. Her own inclinations, Lord Admiral and now additionally Queen Bao, were no great secret.

Once, the Humbarine Reach had boasted a powerful corporate sector. Its executives bought and sold politicians like common harlots.

She had swept them away. Then still Admiral Bao, she had declared martial law and handed governance to the Admiralty. One by one, the other admirals fell or faded. She remained. Martial law never did go away.

"Moff Abretta, with all due respect." Arage said, her tone clipped and precise, "If you are incapable of accomplishing your goals without our support, I do not believe you are a worthy candidate for our little project."

The Moff was no Zeltron, but he still managed to flush several shades of pink at that. He opened his mouth to reply, but before he could, an explosion echoed in the background. His hologram flickered.

"It seems you have more pressing matters to attend to. Do see to them. If you survive, we may always reconsider."

She ended the transmission with a heavy sigh.

"It is so difficult to find competent Imperials these days." Arage murmured, brushing an invisible crease from her coat as she turned to switch to her next meeting.

The boot quotas for frontline units required adjustment.

 

[Rinea]

​

Rinea's technicians had managed to redirect control of the city-wide emergency comm system to her forward command outpost.

The Moff's silly, pre-recorded speech ceased, and for several minutes there was mere silence. Well, save for the cacophony of violence brought on by the raging battle. During this time, the Chiss officer had prepared her own set of words. Words she intended to deliver in real-time to the many lives within the industrial sector.

"People of Rothana," she opened, "My name is Rinea. You do not know me, but I know you. You are afraid, angry, and confused."

Her voice was broadcast over the speakers. Her image projected on walls and street corners where holoprojectors could be found. She carried herself with that typical service stance. A straight posture, hands crossed and folded behind her back. The sharp features of her face and the piercing Chiss stare added an otherworldly quality to it all.

"Why has fighting come to this world? Surely attacking this fortress, striking at the heart of the Moff's amassed fleet, is tantamount to self-destruction. You are correct. My fleet is at its limits. My people are desperate. Everything we do today is a pressed hand, regardless of the cards we hold. There is no going back--we play this out to the end."

She allowed her words to linger before she continued to say her next piece.

"Your Moff lacks... similar motivations." A surgical tone of doubt in his resolve. "He scrapes and he survives, following empire to ashes, remnant to interlude. He is the epitome of a loser, an exemplar of the very disease that rots at the heart of Imperialism in this galaxy."

Now, her voice grew stern like a parent scolding a child. "We... The Eternal Union represents a better Imperial ideal. A stronger model. We have not simply come here to win, we have come here to take and put to better use the vast war machine that Malkim Abretta would have only misused."

And finally, a cold warning. "Do not stand in our way. Anyone who refuses to cooperate. Anyone who stands with the Moff will be killed. The rest of you will be offered amnesty, food, care, and a chance to live for a greater cause. Consider your options. Ask yourself who has the resolve to win this day."

"Make your choice. Die or rise."

The broadcast ended there.

Taika Yukan | Tamsin Starfall | Nimian Totan

 

[Taika Yukan]

Location: Warehouse - GTFO
Wearing: Stormsurgeon Armor
Tags: Tamsin Starfall Nimian Totan

They waited until anesthesia dulled his senses.

"So what do you wanna to do with him?"

Her assistant, MB-114, looked up with an almost blank expression.

TK-115 had served with her in a few different remnants now, always joking that fate kept them together on account of their operating numbers. Frozen trenches, trapped on a rooftop, eating snakes in the jungle, they'd been through a lot together.

Enough to know what it meant when she gave her that look.

"He needs surgery." 115 slowly exhaled.

"Think the walkers would take him away from the front?"

"Like we thought they'd take 627?"

They gave each other the same, forcibly neutral expression.

115 broke the silence only by tearing open a pack of bacta patches, carefully applying them to the patient's chest. Per the usual that just meant they'd be give him a place to rest while they waited for the lines to move and logistics to catch up. It was all anyone could do on Rothana.

"Got movement," one of the guards called from a nearby vantage point. They'd set him up atop a shipping crate, staring out a thin window close to the ceiling.

"Friendlies, looks like... commandos?"

"No way! we got commandos reinforcing us? that's frakking awesome!" Another guard chimed in.

TK-115 looked up, brows furrowed.

"Why would...?"


All hell broke loose in an instant.

The door was blown off it's hinges, a grenade lobbed through the smoke. Not a flash, an explosive. The blast incinerated most of the wounded still in processing, lined up against either wall in rows of stretchers had since become makeshift cots. Most of the guards didn't stand back up either.

"Blue on blue-" TK-882 was gunned down before he ever got the chance.

115 and 114 had ducked behind the operating table, backs pressed firmly to cold durasteel, hearts racing louder than the shallow breathes they were taking.

"What frak? what the frak?"

"Stay down!" TK-115 tried whispered, trying to pull 114 back but she wouldn't listen.

Ever her seniors eyes and ears, she'd tried to peak around the corner to see what the hell was happening. The remained guards were quickly gunned down, and Commandos hadn't even waited for the screams to stop before rifling through the crates, pulling out every syringe they could find.

"Oh my god...? I think they're stealing stims?"

There was a bright flash.

A lot of sparks.

Followed by a brief, agonizing silence.

She slowly slumped back against the wall, staring at the glowing, singed mark on the side of 114's head. She couldn't hear what the commandos were saying down the hall, hardly registered the almost rhythmic gunfire as they proceeded to dead check whoever was left down there.

Not until she blinked, once, then twice.

"...frak..."

TK-115 wiped the tear from her eyes and stood, slamming the door shut and kicking one of the empty hover-gurneys in front of it. It wasn't much but it'd buy her a few more seconds at least.

It was long enough to wrap a sheet around her patient, carefully hoist him over her shoulders, and trudge her way to the back door. She kicked it shut on her way out and never looked back, even as a second breaching charge rocked the warehouse behind her. Even as another grenade cremated 114 ten seconds later.

TK-115 just ran.

And ran.

Right up until she caught sight of the scout, harassing some girl as usual.

"Hey!" she called out, voice hoarse.

"Hey forget the civvies, we gotta get the frak out of here man!"

 

[Tamsin Starfall]

Theme: Then as Now Forever
OBJ: 3
Equipment: Twin Omens | Circlet of Projection | Stars Enchained | Mind Crown | Multi-Tool
Tags: Taika Yukan | Nimian Totan

"Snap his neck like a damn twig…..Do It!"

The voice in her head commanded as Tamsin looked up at the trooper on the speeder bike, her dark eyes taking in the helmeted figure for a moment. Compared to her he was a large imposing figure who would have instilled fear in a young version of her. She gave him a nice slight smile before speaking.

"I have no curfew, uh….sir, sorry I don't know your rank. I'm Marshal Graves and I am hunting…." She stopped for a moment to think about what she would call her sister and master in this moment. "A Sith Lord named Darth Anathemous, she is wanted for abandonment and neglect of her duties." Tamsin kept a series face as she looked up at the trooper, but inside she just wanted to laugh absurdity she had just spouted.

It was made more absurd by the size of Tamsin thinking she could be a marshal even though she was. She nodded down to her belt buckle where her authority was displayed. Yet before the scout could even respond explosions and gun fire broke out with a woman carrying a man over her shoulders came running towards them started shouting taking away their attention.

"That's about right…." Tamsin muttered under her breath no matter where her and her sister went explosions and shoot outs were always bound to happen. It was her damn curse…"Dammit all!" She muttered as she looked between the scout and Taika Yukan with a man over her shoulder.

She pulled her saber from her belt and stalked past the scout towards the explosions and gun fire. She looked back at the scout as she moved closer to Taika Yukan and in the direction of the fighting. "You best get them the hell out of here and some place safe. I have a ship over there about a klick." She pointed in the direction of her ship. As she came up to the woman with the man over her shoulder.

"I am far from a civvy." Tamsin said as she gave Taika and a wink igniting her saber with a purple snap-hiss.

 

[Sovereign Signal]

​

Nimian Totan

The TIE bomber seemed ever defiant in its approach. The oncoming lasers did little to deter its trajectory, and all but one of the shots missed--the single hit scorched its light armor but otherwise failed to down the craft.

The Colonel's troops barely had time to position themselves before the TIE was ready to drop its proton bombs. It was an all-or-nothing moment for both of them. When the bomber cleared the smoke, it was a smouldering wreck on its way down. The fiery hull crashed and slid across the street, turning fresh ground snow into steam, and only slowed to a complete halt mere meters away from the 228th's position.

Flames crackled and popped, and no one exited the wreckage. As if anyone could survive the extreme heat or shrapnel inside that death box.

Decisive as things were, it was but one enemy among many the Colonel and his veterans would have to face.

In the far distance... Thump. Thump. Heavy, piston-powered steps, hidden somewhere deep within the urban sprawl.

Closer by, the sound of firefights raged. Pockets of combat have already broken out all over the industrial sector.

​

Taika Yukan was ignored by the storm commandos, who laughed gleefully at their haul.

The Scout trooper was confused to see the medic on a fast approach, just as he was confused by this alleged Marshal hunting a supposed Sith Lord.

He was ready to argue and insist that no such Dark Jedi could be found here of all places, only to see one ignite her purple blade.

"Whoa!" He stepped off the bike and took off his helmet. The damn visors fogged up something nasty in the arctic cold. He didn't care that the icy wind now bit and scratched at his exposed face. He looked young, too young to be a soldier. Late teens at least.

The scout trooper rushed between the two, holding out his hands like an academy counselor attempting to diffuse tensions between the students.

First, he turned his attention to the 'Marshal.' "I can't let you go that way! And, and..." He turned his attention to the medic. "Y-You need to get back in there! I have friends among the, among--" A second explosion came from the warehouse as the Storm Commandos loaded the haul onto their large speeder.

"What the hell is going on?!" His voice cracked, and he turned his back to them and froze in place. "They're... They're still in there..." He muttered.

Tamsin Starfall

 

[Taika Yukan]

Location: Rothana, fleeing warehouses
Wearing: Stormsurgeon armor
Tags: Tamsin Starfall Sovereign Signal

Taika knew the word Sith.

Father had fought them during the civil war, she was just a little girl then.

When their empire collapsed beneath them they moved to the other side of the galaxy, left them in relative peace. They disappeared there, became boogeymen somewhere beyond the Blackwall. It was a cosmic barrier, a myth that swallowed the bold and spat only horrors.

And now one of them was standing in front of her.

"I am far from a civvy." Tamsin said as she gave Taika and a wink igniting her saber with a purple snap-hiss.

Everything 'Marshal Graves' said before that moment was lost on her now, every rational thought bleeding into the distant but overwhelming sound of bombs and gunfire in all directions.

It was just her, and the hiss of that lightsaber.

"...point taken..." she choked.

She'd taken a half step back towards the warehouse, towards the turncoat commandos and the flame, one hand raised placatively while the other strained at the weight on her shoulder.

Only when the scout stepped between them did she breath again, but it was still shallow, confused, frightened.

"I can't let you go that way! And, and..." He turned his attention to the medic. "Y-You need to get back in there! I have friends among the, among--"

"No-!" she shook her head, but there was no time to explain.

Another explosion rumbled the ground beneath their feet, shook the snow off scattered pebbles.

She flinched, but didn't look back.

"What the hell is going on?!" His voice cracked, and he turned his back to them and froze in place. "They're... They're still in there..."

Her heart sank but there was nothing she could do, not for the dead.

"L-listen," she began, doing what she could for the living.

"The commandos turned on us. And if we want to do anything about that, about our friends, we need to get the frakk out of here and tell somebody who will listen."

Truth be told she didn't know who would. With Abretta's comms silenced and whoever the hell Rinea was speaking in his place, TK-115 wasn't sure command existed anymore.

She gave the Sith a hesitant glance, shakily turning away almost soon as she'd caught sight.

There was something about a ship? she didn't remember, it was all blurring together.

"...help me." she stammered, shifting the body on her shoulders.

"Help me get my patient to safety and we'll figure it out from there, okay?"

 

[Mercy]

Objective: BYOO
Location: Subterranean smugglers' port, beneath Rothana's industrial quarter

The shuttle came in low like a predator hunting for its prey.

Snow parted in waves as the landing gear struck the ground. The exhaust hissed against the atmosphere, heat battling against the cold. The hull still bore the scars of atmospheric entry, matte-black beneath a thin glaze of frost. When the side ramp extended the smell of ozone and grease rolled out.

Mercy stepped down first.

Behind her came four enforcers, barebones armor, but with a sigil painted on their shoulders. A raised arm with the hand tapering into tendrils. It was a reference to her arm, Thronegrasp. These were the men that she considered to have the highest potential. One of them stepped ahead: Daevis, her comms officer and liaison to the cartel networks in Wild Space.

He checked the signal jammer clipped to his chest, then nodded as the storm swallowed the sound of their arrival.

"We're three klicks out from the port mouth," he said, raising his voice just enough to cut through the wind. "It is a hidden substructure under the southern refinery spine. There is no formal flag, instead it is smuggler-controlled. Half of them used to run under Abretta's payroll. But it sounds like they are considering him a lost cause. They are digging in, once the battle has passed they are planning on burning hypermatter and getting out with the goods originally promised to him."

Mercy said nothing, her eyes on the jagged line of industrial structures. The old order was crumbling and in its steed something else was already being build.

It was beautiful in its own way.

"They've been unloading cargo for two hours now," Daevis continued. "Stims, rifles, processed amphetamines. You know, the usual chit that will sell highly in the Outer Rim. But the main item of interest is organic. A specialist named Keel. He was an Imperial biotech specialist. Word is he was tagged for reallocation by the Moff before the Union rolled in. All in preparation for some sort of project offsite. Now they're trying to sell him off quiet."

"The buyers?" she asked.

"Not sure. Some from the Exchange, maybe. At least one cartel we've had friction with."

Mercy gave a small nod.

"They got no karking clue what's coming for them."

"No," Daevis said. "But they'll find out fast enough."

Mercy turned toward the snow-covered rise ahead, where a half-buried transit line led toward the old structure. It was an ugly thing, part refinery, part smuggler den. It was not exactly well-maintained, she doubted the Moff cared and that had gone double for the smugglers.

She began walking without saying anything more.

They knew the score no need to say it twice.