Czeku's Folly | Dauntless Commandos [ CIS ]

[Malok]

R O D I A​

Viceroy Czeku had failed.

It was always a sobering moment to witness heroes stumble. For many within the Confederacy, the name Jorco Czeku was a source of pride and hope. For the nonhuman population of the nation, he was a beacon - someone that the little xenos could look up to with hope in their eyes. He had done it all. Personally saved many Confederate lives during the First Battle of Tatooine via close air support. Personally saw to the destruction of a rogue, Yuuzhan Vong colony on Rodia. And finally, he had ascended to the highest mantle that his homeworld had to offer. But, just when it seemed that the Rodian could do no wrong, his mortality reared its ugly head. Reports began to filter in that there was unrest on the swamp-filled world.

And thus, the embers exploded into a full on wildfire.

By the time the Confederacy had become fully aware of the situation, thousands had been killed in one of the most brutal conflicts in Confederate history. The Rodian Civil War was much less a clash of ideals, and more a full blown genocide - as three whole Rodian clans now laid deceased in the swamps. What’s more, the abhorrent practice of slavery had begun to take root upon Rodia - compliments of the aggressor of the civil conflict. In light of these numerous, sordid realities, the Hero of Rodia was reduced to a fraction of his former glory. And it now fell upon the Confederacy to right the wrongs brought on by his inaction.

Enter the Dauntless Commandos.​

While it was no secret that the most visible strength of the Confederacy was her droids, there were situations where the ingenuity of man was the more choice option. This was one such moment - as dropping an army’s worth of automatons would have proven ineffective based on the current circumstances. For one, as a swamp-dominated environment, standard battle droids would be walking targets in the muck. And, two, a very visible assault upon the aggressor’s encampment would cause more harm than good. With slave-hostages aplenty, the Aggressor would have room to bargain with any forces which visibly came knocking on their door.

And thus, the Dauntless Commandos were selected and dispatched. The unit was the very best that the Confederacy had to offer - elites of every cut and color. Their goals this day were simple...on paper. Firstly, to breach the enemy compound and release those held hostage in the lower levels. Secondly, to eliminate the Aggressor and his Clan once and for all. Between the Commandos and victory stood a battalion’s worth of armed Rodians, automated defenses, blast doors, and barbed wire. But this was what they were trained for. This is what made them Dauntless.

Failure was not on the menu.​

Spoiler: Tag

[member="Luna Terrik"], [member="Zoe Rosella"], [member="Lirka Ka"], [member="Damsy Callat"], @Naira Vi’dreya, [member=Sarge], [member="Pei Ven"]

 

[ToKola Bakari]

​

The Confederacy had requested a team of Blackwatch operatives to assist in Rodia's pacification. When [member="Darth Tacitus"] issued the order for Lucius and his team to infiltrate the planet, he had been a bit skeptical. Why would The Confederacy let Blackwatch loose on it's own world? However, not long after arriving Lucius realized why they had been called up. The Rodian clans had been slaughtering each other mercilessly, leaving bloody paths of destruction all over the planet. Many of their domed cities were in ruins and some of them had been littered with corpses.

Lucius' team stood in the middle of one of those cities, or at least stood in the middle of what was left. The battle here was a thing of the past, all that was left was the stench of rotting corpses filling the dome, unable to be released due to the lockdown that had occured in the cities final hours. The smell didn't bother Lucius, not while he was working, not while he was extracting information.

Two members of the Blackwatch Psi Corp stood behind him, their blaster pistols at the ready in the unlikely event that another of the Rodian clans comes through the city. They were only a few miles away from a nearby facility where one of the clans was processing slaves to be sold off-world. Lucius had come before the initial strike force to gather information, and that was just what he would do.

His left hand held a small, barbed, scalpel that he had used to all but destroy the Rodian's left eye. His hand was completely drenched with the crystal like liquid and he seemd to be a bit out of breath himself.

"Man....You're really a tough bastard, Jecku."

The Rodian who sat before him had been strapped to a chair and was slumped down, as if unconcious. He let out an incoherent babble before Lucius grabbed his chin, pulling it up so he could look at the man eye to eye, a much truer statement than it had been a few moments ago.

"What?"

He asked, impatiently. Measuring the scalpel to the Rodian's other eye. The moment Jecku saw the scalpel he pulled back, shaking violently at the thought of feeling that pain again.

"Oh you said you are gonna tell me what I want to know? Ooooh, ok. Well, get to talking." He said, glaring at the Rodian intently. "I'll know if you lie to me."

 

[Zoe Rosella]

Czeku's Folly (Rodia)
Objective: Provide Naval Support
Post: 1

Outfit: Confederate Service Dress Uniform (C-SDU)
Weapons: Z-01 (Blaster Revolver) & Knife
Assets: Cyber-eye (Contact Lens) & Data-pad
Fleet: (See Bottom of Bio)

Prelude
Zoe was in her command ship's office, drinking a fine glass of her favourite Corellian whiskey when she received a message from a planet called Rodia.. Not having much time outside of her homeworld, Balmorra, due to constant warfare, she knew very little of this planet. However she wasn't doing anything particularly interesting and she felt like she needed to prove herself further in the eyes of the Confederacy.

After changing into her Confederacy uniform, which she secretly loved, she issued commands to her sub-officers to ready the fleet, she would meet them on the bridge and begin moving towards this unknown planet in hopes of being some use.

Once the fleet was on the move she requested a briefing from one of her Lieutenants, "Rodia, a swamp-riddled planet. We have been advised not to launch ground forces due to the nature of the terrain, our forces won't stand much chance making it through the swamps.." another Lieutenant chipped in, "There have been reports of civil unrest in the cities and residences of Rodia, the once praised Viceroy, Czeku, has failed to maintain control over the planet. All hell has broken loose ma'am." Zoe nodded her head towards her Lieutenants as a small show of gratitude, she felt her crew would perform better when comfortable with their commander. "Thank you, Lieutenants." she spoke with confidence whilst walking towards the front of her bridge. Her bridge was strikingly similar to that of an Imperial Stardestroyer, as per the design of her ship. She didn't mind though, she had her maintenance team kit out the majority of rooms, besides the industrial rooms, with woods and natural colours. In the hopes that this would help the crew concentrate more.. plus she was a big fan of wood effects.

Arriving at Rodia​

"Engage Hyperdrive to coordinates; V:45" blasted Zoe to her officers, "Engaging Hyperdrive to coordinates; V:45" Her officers repeated, some to the rest of her fleet and some to the crew in the command ship.

The trip took about just under a minute...

"Prepare the fighters, activate shields and engage weapon systems" she barked, giving orders. As expected her crew was responsive to every word.. With all 432 fighters ready to deploy and all of her ships prepared for combat, the exosphere however was quiet.. "Ma'am, most of the fighting must be on the surface.." one of her Lieutenants observed. "Indeed, we'll remain in atmosphere, providing aerial support for anyone on the surface.. They may send ships to combat us however, be prepared." she said to her crew, "Pass on the message to the other ships.", "Yes, Ma'am" responded the crew in unison.

Walking over to one of her radio operators on the edge of her bridge she ordered them to send a message to the ground troops informing them that we were available to assist. "Attention Confederacy, Fleet Marshal Zoe Rosella has arrived and is preparing her ships in the exosphere should you require aerial assistance. We should be fully operational in 5 minutes.", said the operator, repeating Zoe's message in full..

Now all she had to do was wait...​

 

[Kainan Wolfe]

​

​

Attn: [member="Lucius Crane"]​

​

• CNS Midnight Exigent
  Classified location, Confederate Space

It was just another empty patch of space in the middle of nowhere, an unassuming location that only existed as a footnote on most maps, if it was mentioned at all. Typically, this part of the galaxy could go for centuries without a single ship disturbing its lonely, sacred stillness. Today, that peaceful emptiness was defiled by over two hundred Confederate ships of war.

For Sword Armada, the single largest and most powerful naval unit within the Confederate navy, this out-of-the-way star system served as just another classified waypoint along its current designated patrol route. For the hundreds of thousands of crew members and droids that scurried around like busy ants within giant metal hives that protected them from the cold vacuum outside, this was business as usual. Very few knew that the massive armada's true mission was anything but.

Over the past few weeks, intel had begun trickling in about a potential threat hiding somewhere within Confederate space. An initial plan of action had been swiftly decided and put forward. As a result, Sword Armada was currently hunting for ghosts, investigating the area around this mysterious threat's last rumored location. The commander of the naval force was not happy about their odds of locating any clues. But for now, it was all the intel they had.

In a different part of the Confederacy, on the distant planet of Rodia, a different kind of trouble was rearing its ugly head. The planet's incompetent, or corrupt, or perhaps both, viceroy had allowed the seeds of anarchy to take root and fester. As such, the planet was now dealing with the plagues of sedition, civil war, genocide and worst of all, slavery. Tacitus had read the briefing. A special task force of elite commandos had been assembled and deployed to deal with the problem, but the Eternal Emperor of Nelvaan was not entirely convinced that the trouble on Rodia was merely the product of incompetence and corruption. He needed to know if a nefarious hand was involved.

Aboard the ten kilometer-long hunk of durasteel-and-turbolasers that served as the flagship of Sword Armada, one of the most sophisticated communications systems in the galaxy fired up one of its antennae, sending out a signal in the direction of the troubled world, like a greyhound racing towards its prey.

===============================================================
> STRATCOM_Priority_Message
> Origin_Point=[Classified - Above Top Secret]
> Clearance_Level=[Darkstar]
> Content=Audinly
> Begin_Decryption
===============================================================
"Deputy Director Crane, this is the Emperor. As you have undoubtedly noticed by now, Rodia has fallen
into a state of disarray. Initial intel seems to point towards incompetence and corruption being the sole
causes of this situation, however I have my own suspicions regarding the incident."

"Your mission is, as of this point, classified. Darkstar-level clearance, only. No details regarding your
objectives are to, at any point, reach anyone except myself, the Exarchs and the Vicelord himself."

"You and your team are hereby ordered to verify any potential leads on possible nefarious hands
that may be involved in the mess on Rodia. There may very well be nothing more to the situation on the
planet, beyond the conclusions of the official investigation, but we can not currently rule out the possibility
of a deliberate act of sabotage."

"You are also hereby informed that a unit of special forces has been deployed to the planet in order to
deal with the situation. Your secondary objective is to provide assistance to this task force in any way
you can, without compromising the security of your team or the nature and details of your primary
objective."

"Following the completion of your information-gathering mission, you are to enact Alderaan protocol,
immediately. Leave no evidence or witnesses behind which may divulge the nature of your primary
objective. That means that any and all individuals you detain for interrogation, are to be terminated
and disposed of, once their usefulness has come to an end."

"Good luck, Deputy Director. Report to me once you have any relevant information. Tacitus out."
===============================================================
> Message_End
> AutoErase=True
> Message_Begin_Purge
===============================================================

 

[Luna Terrik]

[SIZE=14pt]Mission Breifing: Operation Backhand[/SIZE]​

​

1. [SIZE=14pt]Team leader: [/SIZE][member="Luna"] Terrik
   [SIZE=14pt]Introduction of Patrol: [member="Sarge"], [member="Damsy Callat"], [member="Pei Ven"], [member="Lirka Ka"], [member="Lucius Crane"][/SIZE]
2. [SIZE=14pt]Operation Backhand has two main objectives for the operatives. (1) Breach the enemy compound and release those held hostage, between 10-12 Rodian Slaves, in the lower levels. (2) Eliminate the Aggressor and his Clan once and for all. Bring down the compound if at all possible. Extract with the hostages. Expect heavy fire once hitting the ground.[/SIZE]

[*][SIZE=14pt]Execution plan:[/SIZE]

1. [SIZE=14pt]Method: The Dauntless commandos have only been created very recently. The number of the boots on the ground will have an impact on the plan. There will be one or two insertions groups. If it is two, then one group will be inserted onto the ground, while the other will be inserted into the compound through the air. Group 1 will release the hostages, while Group 2 will eliminate Aggressor, who the intel suggests is holed up in the higher levels of the compound. If only one group can be created, all operatives will be inserted on the ground. Captain [member="Zoe Rosella"] should be available to provide close air support for the operatives as needed.[/SIZE]
2. [SIZE=14pt]Location: Rodia, Southern Hemisphere.[/SIZE]
3. [SIZE=14pt]Time: 2100 hours, just after nightfall.[/SIZE]

[*][SIZE=14pt]Reconnaissance[/SIZE]

1. [SIZE=14pt]Position: Forward scouts say the compound has been patrolled by 20-30 Aggressor clan Rodian’s on site, with an unknown number on the inside. Intel suggests it could be another 15-20. Aggressor is confirmed to be on site.[/SIZE]

[*][SIZE=14pt]Extraction:[/SIZE]

1. [SIZE=14pt]Method: Hostages will be moved to the main extraction site, where two LAATA transports will be ready to extract both the operatives and the hostages. Medical staff will be on the transports to stabilize any injuries.[/SIZE]
2. [SIZE=14pt]Location: Location A will be at the front of the compound, while location B will be located 1 click south of the compound.[/SIZE]
3. [SIZE=14pt]Time: Extraction is set for 2230 hours.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]Taking a deep breath, Luna set the datapad on a nearby crate, having just read the mission briefing sent to her by [member="Darth Metus"]. This operation would be the premier of the Dauntless Commandos, a pet project engineered by Metus himself. When he asked Luna to take on command of the group, she jumped at the opportunity, happy to finally be able to take charge of some boots on the ground. Reading the mission briefing only served to make the whole thing seem much more real.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]The black, layered armor that hugged her frame did well to not restrict her movements. It was nice to finally wear a suit that didn’t have hoses coming out of it, as most all of her piloting outfits did. The redhead cracked her knuckles, covered by the black, leather gloves, and leaned back against the crates. The rest of the Dauntless Commandos, or whichever ones of them showed up, would be coming to the hanger soon. Captain Rosella would be providing the commandos a shuttle down to the planet for the op, which would begin as soon as Luna gave the briefing.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]However, one member of the commando’s was already on the ground, gathering some extra intel that might have been missed beforehand. Pulling her comm unit off her belt, the commander places the correct comm coordinates in, pinging [member="Lucius Crane"] down on Rodia.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]“Operative Crane. Please come in. Would like an update on your progress with your…investigation. Get back to me as soon as possible.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]The commander ended the call, knowing Crane would ping her if he had anything new. Placing a set of comm coordinates into the comm, Luna sent a message to all Dauntless Commandos not on the ground.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]“Mission briefing in the hanger, 15 minutes. Get your gear and get down here. We’re on a tight schedule here people.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]Tossing the comm next to the datapad on the crate, Luna pulled her modified A280 rifle into her lap, awaiting the rest of the commandos to show up in the hanger. She honestly had no idea how this operation and mission would go, or if it would even be successful. But Metus seemed to trust her for some unknown reason, so the determination to make it all go right was there. Now all that came was the execution.[/SIZE]

​

 

[Pei Ven]

Commando Pei Ven was dressed fully in the broken in combat armor. He had been training in it for months before this starting mission. Helmet came down, with a click, as it pressurized. Taking the time, he double checked his gear in the locker room. A moment of preparation saved your life. His ever present and trusty Bryar pistol, was loaded up, and ready, placed in a hip holster that contained several spare power cells. On his left leg, was his vibro-blade and sheath. His belt held his medpac, grenades, and flex-5. A bandoleer held extra power cells. On his right thigh, he had the sonic blaster. On his back, he carried the advanced communications gear, that also doubled as a mobile slicer's kit. A pack was tied tightly to his chest, carrying a handful of detonation packs. Finally, in his hand he carried his beloved DLT-20 A blaster rifle. He was ready.

At the fifteen minute mark before the gathering time, he entered the briefing room and saluted the woman before him. Voice came out from the filter of his mask. “Commander. Commando Pei Ven, reporting as ordered.” The veteran moved over to her, and leaned against the wall, until such time as he was requested to sit, or stand at attention. While it was hard to tell his emotions through the armor, he could easily be told he was deep in thought, or perhaps just meditating as he rested there a moment. However, not to long into this his head comes up. “It's an honor to work with you, Commander. I've heard the stories.”

Pushing off the wall, he comes to stand in front of the commander, hands resting at his sides. From this moment on, he stays professional. There was a time for goofing off, and a time for shutting your trap and just listening and getting the job done. Lives were on the line, and so much more. It was time to show the galaxy what they could do.

[member="Luna Terrik"]

 

[Lirka Ka]

Lirka didn't take being told what to do very well, nor was she known for great and careful tactics (of course, that was a simple face-level observation. The Sephi was full of surprises): a perfectly brutal blunt tool of absolute carnage and destruction. Where the "all mighty Allfather", as they called him in her little cult, pointed her she would be his instrument of destruction. Amusingly submissive despite that hatred of authority, hypocrisy flew like water from Lirka.

And so she sat, a patient hunter waiting to pounce on the enemy's fortifications with the utmost savagery she could muster: such was what the good attack dog did. She was not alone, of course, the now three honor guard that so loyally followed her had joined into the Dauntless Commandos as well. Their skill was not in question, in Ka's eyes at least: for it had been the full group of four who had demolished her on Seltos.

And so, she paced, her silent sentinels standing as though they were statues. Maybe there was some tension in the air, anticipation even: they all were waiting for the simple command to unleash hell on the poor sods outside the little fortress.

[member="Pei Ven"] [member="Luna Terrik"]

 

[Luna Terrik]

[SIZE=14pt]Emerald, piercing eyes glanced around the room as her team assembled for the harrowing mission in front of them. Since his helmet covered his face, Luna couldn’t tell the full expression of the first commando that walked in, the one she assumed to be Pei Ven. The professional attitude he gave off intrigued her, but the commander could tell there was a slight feeling of excitement that radiated off the man. Him giving a compliment surprised her slightly, her lips tugging upward as the redhead stood, slinging her cleaned A280 rifle over her shoulder. “Well, thank you. I doubt many of those exploits were on the ground, however. Hopefully this can go as well as my dogfights.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]Movement into the hanger by four robed beings pulled her attention away from commando Ven. Of course, Luna had read the report about Lirka Ka, which included her honor guard. All four were very much capable of immense destruction, giving the commander the idea that this op wouldn’t be the most silent in the galaxy. Though with the size of the CIS fleet that was showing up over Rodia, a silent op probably died long ago.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]Sliding the comm unit back onto her belt and flipping her datapad on, Luna turned to address the group. Her first briefing as a commander, to a group of trained killers.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14pt]“Well…what a rag tag group of…whatever we are.” Those emerald colored eyes began to meet each and everyone one of the operatives, before continuing. “Y’all have read the general briefing already, I assume. And if you haven’t…well, I guess you’ll know who to be shooting at. That’d be the ones shooting at us.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]Chuckling lightly, and now with the datapad powered on, Luna cleared her throat to reset the discussion before moving on. “The target is the Aggressor and his top officers, who are located at the compound that is just outside the main city. Intel suggests they will be the top floor, in a command room of sorts. There should be minimal resistance in the room, though I highly doubt that will stay the same once we go loud. There is no safe room to our knowledge, and Captain Zoe will make sure no escape shuttles will be leaving the compound.” A scroll down the page and a quick check of attention from the commandos, then Luna finished giving the objectives. “We need confirmed pictures of the kills. No pictures, and no evidence of their deaths. Darth Metus probably just wants something to hang up on his wall. Secondary objective is the slaves held in the lowest level of the compound. Intel says there are..10-12 captive Rodians. Meaning I would like to get 10-12 Rodians out of the compound..understood?”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]The commando’s commander was deathly serious in this regard. The death’s of innocents was something she would like to avoid if all possible. Besides, those Rodian’s had done nothing to be in that situation, meaning there is no reason that they should have to suffer once the group was on the ground.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]Luna tossed the datapad back onto the crate, then turned to punch in the opening mechanism on the shuttle door, letting it start to slide back open as she turned back to the group. “Last few things. One, possibly two operatives will be joining us on the ground. I know of one for sure, as he has been on the ground gaining us some extra intel. Second, this isn’t a silent op. Once we go loud on my command, we won’t be able to change it. Keep your fire tight, and limit collateral damage. I’ll go over the extraction plan once we need it.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]Motioning to the group to follow, the commander walked onto the shuttle with helmet in hand. She pulled it onto her head before giving the group her final word to the commandos. “Listen, I don’t know how qualified I am to lead y’all. But I do know how to survive, and my number one goal is to make sure that you do too. Follow my lead, and the worse we’ll all get is a few scratches before we’re back home drinking corellian wine. Now,” A pause was given, to pound twice on the pilot’s door, signaling the group was ready to go once they were all on board. “Lets go kill some Rodains.”[/SIZE]

[member="Zoe Rosella"] | [member="Pei Ven"] | [member="Lirka Ka"] | [member="Lucius Crane"]​

 

[Pei Ven]

Pei rested his rifle on his shoulder, listening to his new commander. Foot taps a bit, and he nods, taking in the information. No expression was visible, and his voice held little expression as well. “Commander. Permission to take on the objective of rescuing the prisoners myself.” He looks at Lirka and her people. “They will be better used as a battering ram, if the stories I hear are true. Once we punch a hole through their outer defenses, I'll get in, find the slaves, get them out, while planting explosives where I can, to bring down the bunker. I also recommend, our first target be their communications array. We want to keep this quiet, we just have to make sure no signals get out.”

“I am sure they will be kept quite busy. And once the captives are out, we can easily begin using bomber and fighter support to bring it to a quick end.” A hand comes up to where his mouth would be, as if in thought. “As I see it, communications and the prisoners are the only two things keeping us from using heavier guns to blow the entire camp into dust.” Pei simply offered his advice, however, his tone was respectful the entire time. “Of course, it is up to whatever you desire commander. Just give me the order, and it will be done.” Now, the commando simply sounded certain of that, as if it was an absolute. Having already gathered his things, the man followed Luna towards the door, ready to begin the mission immediately.

 

[ToKola Bakari]

​

Lucius pulled his gloved hands from around the throat of the unconscious Rodian. He had enough information to aid in the assault of this planet, but there were still a lot of questions that had gone unanswered. Of course, it was becoming evident that this Rodian would not be able to provide him with much more than he had already given him.

One of the Psi-Corps operatives who stood beside him eyed him closely, with a deep gaze. It was something that was universal among the members of the Psi-Corps, it meant he was establishing a mental connection with Lucius so they could speak through their unheard channel, The Force.

Sir, the Emperor has sent a mission update. The deep voice of the man echoed through Lucius mind while he stepped back from the pale alien he had just finished strangling. He wiped his hands before nodding, taking a small device from the Psi-Corps agent.

Secure the perimeter. Lucius ordered, watching as the two men fanned out to recheck their entry control sensors.

Wiping a fleck of blood from his cheek, Lucius held the device to his one good eye, initiating a retina scan. The small box let out a low whine while a red light flashed over Lucius' good eye.

The small box gave off a series of beeps and chirps until finally a feminine voice spoke out, almost robotically. "Access granted."

Lucius leaned down to set the box on the ground, only a moment later a full hologram of the Emperor, [member="Darth Tacitus"], appeared before him. Even though it was a pre-recorded image Lucius fell to a knee of humility, as his conditioning had called for. He listened to the Emperor's commands and each words was committed to memory. As usual his instructions were clear and concise, leaving no questions to be asked. His eye twitched when he heard they would be upgrading this mission's clearance to Darkstar status. Once the message came to an end, Lucius bowed his head in silent acknowledgement.

"It will be done." He said, silently to himself before collecting the small box and stuffing it into the pocket of his coat.

Almost as soon as he had put the box in his pocket, his comm device pinged. He pulled the comm-earpiece from his equipment belt and held it to his head. "Commander [member="Dauntless.Luna"], this is Agent Crane. I have the security layout of your assault point. I'm two miles out and will rendezvous with you upon your arrival." He pulled his blaster pistol from his belt, aiming it for the Rodian's head. After a rather loud blaster shot echoed over the comm channel he would speak once more.

"Crane, out."

 

[Damsy Callat]

​

​

Form: Squaloid​

Equipment: Dauntless utility belt, handsfree communicator,​

waterproof wrist data pad​

Location: Cave system below the capital​

Tags: [member="Lucius Crane"], [member="Pei Ven"], [member="Dauntless.Luna"], [member="Lirka Ka"]​

[member="Darth Tacitus"]​

​

Damsy agreed to go on the Rodia mission because, due to the weakness in her legs, Metus would have only asked her if there was either water on the planet or else a vacant support position out of the field. And, thankfully, the former had been true, in the form of an extensive swampy cave system spanning most of the planet subterraneously.

The jungle world was certainly no Kamino though. The swamp was often difficult to move through, with its variable depth and unclear, muddy water. At least breathing wasn't an issue with the latter, but seeing was.

Damsy had been listening to her commander's briefing over the communicator in her ear. General instructions, it sounded like. She had swum outside of the capital's city bounds, or so said the screen on her wrist. She was most likely close to the aforementioned Aggressor base, but she still had a ways to go before she could infiltrate. In any case, she would have to wait for her individual orders.

The young Sithspawn just hoped that someone had informed Commander Terrik about her situation and limitations. She wasn't able to run, which was a significant disadvantage during combat operations. She couldn't operate--or even hold--a blaster with the talons she had in her natural form, but she had a small holdout pistol in her utility belt for the off-chance that she did metamorphose.

 

[Zoe Rosella]

Czeku's Folly (Rodia)
Objective: Provide Naval Support
Post: 2

Outfit: Confederate Service Dress Uniform (C-SDU)
Weapons: Z-01 (Blaster Revolver) & Knife
Assets: Cyber-eye (Contact Lens) & Data-pad
Fleet: Support Section; Rapt (x)
Flagship: Invictus-Class Battlecruiser

The Mission
Zoe overheard the Dauntless' briefing via communications, realising they would have a better chance if she moved her fleet out of the range of the insurgent radars, she ordered her fleet to retreat just outside of the Rodian aerospace and awaited for the call to rejoin the fight if she is needed. Obviously she'd have to return to pick up the deployed commando's, unless they find their own ships that is.

Once her fleet was out of the area, all they had to do was wait...

 

[Luna Terrik]

[SIZE=14pt]With commandos Ka, her honor guard, and Ven on the shuttle, the doors shut, cutting off all light from the interior momentarily. Lights flicked on, illuminating the inside as the shuttle lifted up and out of the hanger, hurtling towards the planet below. Luna found a stack of crates near the far end of the shuttle to lean against, pulling her holopad into her lap to read over the mission area once more before they landed. To her knowledge, she would have Ven, Ka and her honor guard, Crane, and Callat on the ground.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14pt]A voice from the interior of the shuttle caught the commander’s attention, making her lift her attention from the holopad to where the man was standing. Under her helmet, her eyebrow lifted at the suggestion. It was an interesting one for sure, one that she had been considering. Giving a small nod, the redhead responded just loud enough to be heard over the engines as they strained to push them through the atmosphere.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14pt]“That suggestion will be taken into consideration, Ven. We have other moving pieces around us during this mission, so I will not set anything in stone until I have a better handle on the situation.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]Giving him one more curt nod, Crane’s gruff voice came over the communicator unit installed into her helmet. Knowing Crane would be coming and meeting them at the rendezvous point with brand new information that could give them a tactical advantage as they moved forward. Even with the information on all of the commando’s tactical advantages and disadvantages, Luna was still trying to figure out how to take all of these cold blooded, tactically minded individuals and put them into a team with one goal in mind in the most efficient way. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=14pt]Just as she was beginning to slip into her deeper thoughts, the pilots voice crackled through the intercom into the back of the shuttle.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14pt]“Touchdown at point Alpha in T-minus 4 minutes. Let’s be ready to hop off people, we don’t want to be landed any longer than we have to.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]The white light that had illuminated the inside of the shuttle during the ride down shut off momentarily, only to be replaced by a red light indicating that the riders be ready to hop off. With that, the commander stood, slinging her A280 off her shoulder and proceeded over to the door, waiting for that satisfying thump of the shuttle hitting the ground. Her body tensed, ready to spring off the shuttle the moment that green light turned on.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14pt]The shuttle hit the ground softly, green light turning on almost perfectly in time with it landing. The doors slid open quickly, and Luna hit the ground quickly, knowing the commando’s would be smart enough to follow her out. As soon as they were all out, the shuttle would lift off and back into the sky. Lifting a finger to turn on her communication device, the commander called in to Crane and Callat to inform them of the situation.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]“This is commander terrik. Ven, Ka, and I have landed at point Alpha. Waiting for you two to meet us here, so we can proceed at one group. We are one click from the compound. Get here soon.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]Turning to the two commandos behind her, Luna made one motion to the left and to the right each.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14pt]“Secure the perimeter. Make sure we are alone. Keep those weapons quiet until I give the command. Head out.” [/SIZE]

[member="Zoe Rosella"] | [member="Damsy Callat"] | [member="Lucius Crane"] | [member="Pei Ven"] | [member="Lirka Ka"]​

 

[Lirka Ka]

"One group", oh, that was a grossly rich idea.

"Thelia jhori kos, no. Worry not, we can keep the little rats busy while the rest of you move on along."

After of course, calling the woman silly and a little girl in her native tongue. Lirka rose a far from unexpected question, she had no desire to take new bodies into her carefully constructed pack. No. The desire was nonexistent. She had only one desire for this: charg, headlong into the enemy, leave a trail of smoking vehicles and a tower of bodies as far as the eye can see. The rest of the little runts she was calling "comrades" for now, can do the finery.

But alas.

She was trapped in that inescapable claw they called "command structure", authorization was going to be needed beforehand.

[member="Dauntless.Luna"]

 

[Pei Ven]

Pei nodded to the woman. “Understood commander. It's just an option.” As he settles onto the shuttle, the man enters a slight, relaxation meditation. It kept his heart calm, his blood pressure down, and fear at bay. In the past, he had done hundreds of these ops, many of them vastly more dangerous. This was a cake walk. However, he was having to fight the desire to shine. It was his first real mission as a Dauntless. His work with the Hussars was always secret, he got no glory from it in the hierarchy. It was a place to go die for the cause, and be a silent hero. Here however. Opening his eyes at the four minute call, the commando checked his weapons one last time. He made sure his blasters were charged, his armor was attached right, helmet was on tight and everything else.

He pretty much ignored the armored woman with the pack of people. She was clearly not suited for this type of work, it would kill her when the missions got suicidal. It wasn't his problem. The mission was. He placed the DLT-20 on his shoulder and moved out. When the order came he responded with a quick. “Yes commander.”

Exiting the craft, he was the first to have feet on the ground, and he kept his rifle at the ready, using the scope, and the built in tactical displays to search the environment. Quietly, not saying a word, and keeping his foot falls as low as he could, the man moved from point to point, sweeping the area, and securing the zone while the others unloaded. Only once the shuttle was gone, would he give a status report. “All clear and quiet for the moment. Will keep patrolling for hostiles.” Gun swung around, as he heard something in the water....just some native creature. Still, had to be careful of anything large in the area as well.

 

[Damsy Callat]

​

​

Form: Squaloid Location: Cave system below the capital​

Equipment: Dauntless utility belt, handsfree communicator, waterproof wrist datapad​

Tag: [member="Dauntless.Luna"]​

Wrinkling her nose, Damsy dove and swam up a submerged corridor. Never in her life, always isolated in the oceans of Kamino, had she said that she hated the water, nor had she ever imagined she would say so about any other standing body in the galaxy.

Today couldn't have proved her more wrong. It wasn't just the difficulty in swimming and it wasn't the putrid smells that reached her predator's nose; it was something about the water itself. Parts of her had already broken out in hives in reaction to it. She assumed it was the high mud content, but it, in fact, was the lack of salinity.

With her hands outstretched in front of her, she felt along the rocky top of the tunnel every once and a while, to ensure she hadn't missed her skylight. After what must have been only a few minutes but felt so much longer, she emerged into a medium-sized cavern. She swam to her left to take cover behind a triangle-shaped rock. Pressing her back up against it, she checked her datapad. She furrowed the scales where her eyebrows would have been and tapped the glass display screen with one of her sharpened talons, not to input any sort of command by to force the thing to catch up with her location.

It did and showed her that she was now a ways closer to her target. In fact, she appeared to be right next door.

With a quick glance over her shoulder, Damsy scanned the cavern. It wouldn't hurt to start coming up with her own plan of attack until the rest of her team caught up.

 

[Luna Terrik]

[SIZE=14pt]It took only a few minutes more before the squad of three commando’s was at the edge of the treeline, looking out onto a swampy clearing. Wooden bridges crisscrossed the long expanse between the circle of treelines. In the middle, what looked to be a large, rundown compound that was held up by nothing more than some wooden beams stood in stark contrast to it’s swampy surroundings. The metal had mold and other natural growths starting to cover it’s rotting grey material. In essence, if there wasn’t an abundance of light and rodian’s patrolling the outside of the base, then one might assume the whole thing was abandoned.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]Going prone and sliding forward on her belly to the edge of the underbrush, Luna pulled out a pair of electrobinoculars to begin scouting the area ahead. “well…at least they look like they’re pretty settled in..maybe they’ll not be expecting anyone to trudge through miles of swamp to find them.” The commander mused to herself, knowing her pair of commando’s were itching for some action at this point. Damsy should be swimming into the clearing at some point soon, and Crane should be coming in soon as well. That would mean everyone would finally be together and ready to assault the big, bad compound. Even though Crane wasn’t here yet, and Damsy was splashing around somewhere, this seemed like a good time to give out the plan, or at least the pieces of one that Luna had.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]Crawling back out of the underbrush, the commander made a motion for the other two commandos, plus the honor guard to circle up. Pulling the comm off her belt and tossing it in the middle of the three, kneeling down to phone in Crane and Damsy. “Alright people, listen up. There’s more open space in the clearing than anticipated. The second we leave the tree line is the second we’re exposed.” The commando looked up to Lirka, grinning lightly as she nodded back toward the compound. “That’s where our resident battering ram is going to come in. Lirka and her honor guard are going to get us in and clear the way. I don’t know what kind of communication they have out here…but I assume there will be reinforcements of some kind.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]Now focusing back to comm unit, she proceeded to bring in to other two commandos. “Damsy, since you can’t exactly get into the compound in your current state, your job will be helping Lirka keep the outside clear. Use the water to your advantage. Keep moving constantly. You’ll do great.” Luna took a breath to collect her thoughts, then began to finish off the last bit of the plan. “Crane, Pei, and I will be the one’s infiltrating the compound itself while Damsy and Lirka keep the outside clear. As he suggested, Pei will be the one releasing the slaves held on the bottom level while Crane and I hit the top area of the compound, kill the leadership of this clan, get any pertinent information, and secure the landing pad at the top of the compound.”[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14pt]The hardest part, getting out, was the only part that Luna was having to change the plan for. The lack of anywhere to land for a shuttle would make it a bit harder, but securing the landing pad at the top of the compound would still secure a way out. “After we secure the top of the compound, everyone, outside of Damsy, needs to book it up. That includes all the prisoners. That’s how we’ll be getting out. Captain Ara will be there on time for us.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]With the plan now laid out, Luna leaned back and awaited any questions the group have. She felt like the plan that was given was the best course of action moving forward, but there was always the possibility she had overlooked something, anything, that might make this whole thing easier or harder. “If you all have any suggestions, now would be the time to hear it. Otherwise, lets be ready to head in.” [/SIZE]

| [member="Damsy Callat"] | [member="Pei Ven"] | [member="Lirka Ka"] | [member="Zoe Rosella"] | [member="Lucius Crane"] |​

 

[Pei Ven]

Pei nodded to his commander. This plan worked perfectly for him. Lirka was to...bulky and loud to be able to get the prisoners in and out successfully, but as a distraction, she worked perfectly. Luna was his commander, but she was a fly girl. They tended to lack patience, and the skills to move silently, at least at first. There have been plenty of commando fighter pilots, but they were forged in battle by necessity. He wasn't sure what she was yet.

Eyes looked out at the open ground, the only advantage they had was surprise, that it would take time for them to be able to respond to this situation. This would be the primary advantage until they got into the compound and could use the buildings for shelter. Clicking a button, the sensors and tactical hud became fully active. The commando began to plot ways through the situation, where the patrols were, where he should go, how to accomplish this goal. He was one of the only survivors from the last Special Forces group, he understood how this all went down. Pei missed his old team, but, the cause was the same.

Besides, it wasn't like this was the first time he had to become part of new teams. “No issues commander, I think I see a path that will get me towards my objective once the distraction is set off. We got this.” Pei's voice was cold, confident, holding no doubt what so ever. Blaster rifle was raised up. “We have snipers to the west, in the trees. I'll be trying to take them out in my infiltration, to help increase the odds of our extraction.”

His heart rate was good, breathing normal, this was simply another day on the job for him. After riding an asteroid into a ship, this was nothing.

[member="Luna Terrik"] [member="Damsy Callat"] [member="Lirka Ka"] [member="Lucius Crane"]

 

[Damsy Callat]

Tags: (immediate) [member="Luna Terrik"] / [member="Lirka Ka"]​

Just as she began to think, the voice of Commander Terrik crackled through her commlink. Quickly, Damsy dove under the water, to keep the sound from carrying on the otherwise still wind, but the garbled whispers still remained perfectly audible to her ears--adapted for marine hunting. She nodded though Luna couldn't see her once given her orders. Stick to the water and never stop moving? Yes, she could not this, without a doubt. The clumsy mermaid wasn't good for much, least of all a land assault, but she could do some things well, and she'd prove it tonight.

Kamino was by no means miserable--on the contrary, the deep oceans were quite comfortable to Damsy and she had at least one friend in Naroh Se there--but surely she wasn't meant to stay anchored to the waterworld for her entire life. Being part of the Dauntless was the only way out that Damsy, at least so far, had been interested in: she wouldn't be able to stomach all attention (of the bad sort, surely) that she would attract should she follow her father into the viceroyalty, and, as far as she knew, she wasn't a force-user.

After powering off her commlink and with a powerful flick of her broad tail flute, Damsy was off. She swam into the cover of some reeds growing out of the swamp and then surfaced, squinting at the brown blob that was the rickety base. She glanced left to one of the bridges radiating across the water, and across is moved a patch of green. Rodians were green, right? To get a better look at her target, Damsy slowly neared him and, peering up through the murky water that didn't afford her much more visibility at all, she assumed him to be both a Rodian and a baddie, so she quickly striked out with her tail. The combined momentum and weight caused the male's feet to give out under him. Job only half done though, Damsy then swam under the bridge, reached up to grab the Rodian by his forearms, and yanked him into the water.

 

[ToKola Bakari]

​

​

It's better if I go alone.

Crane had ordered his men to remain behind in the nearby abandonded city-dome. Psi-corp operatives tend to make others feel a bit uncomfortable. Not that Crane was any different, he merely had a better disposition when it came to using verbal communication. Most Psi-corp operatvies did not communicate verbally unless absolutely necessary. Crane, however, liked the sound of his voice. He joined with the rest of Dauntless in short order. His left hand was stained with the blood of the Rodian he had killed, the deep blue crust was thick on his black glove. Once he saw the Commander of Dauntless he gave her a brief nod before speaking plainly. "Ready to move when you are, Commander."

Lucius glanced up to the compound before them and gave an interested expression. His good eye flitted over the scenery, briefly taking in any and every notable aspect he could. It would be a simple mission, yet it would not come without cost if they were not careful. He took hold of the blaster pistol on his waist, wrapping his hand around the grip but not drawing it just yet. He was eager to see just how well this mission would go off, or what consequences there would be to pay.
[member="Damsy Callat"] [member="Pei Ven"] [member="Luna Terrik"]