Damn Damotite [First Order Dominion of Lanteeb]

[Marzena Vaas]

Objective: 1
Location: Lantibba City
Allies: [member="Ludolf Vaas"], First Order
Post: 7

The sound of screaming broke into Marzena’s mind, her hands slid to her ears to guard them against the shrill, frightened and pained voices. For a moment she thought that she was waking from a nightmare, but a sinking feeling in her chest told her that it was all very real. As she slowly sat up, her eyes opened to see a blur of motion, the audience had become a frantic sea of people, swiftly moving in waves towards the exit. Exactly what had happened? She didn’t even have time to process the moments prior, as she began to cough and choke on the smoke filled air. Her head was absolutely pounding, her body ached all over, and there was the faintest hint of blood in her mouth. A dainty hand rose to the corner of her mouth, and she winced slightly before looking down to see that the tips of her fingers had come away red.

Her eyes shifted slightly, just in time to see a pair of boots come to a halt in front of her. Marzena looked up in shock to see an alien man standing before her, and she was immediately seized by fear as he pulled a weapon from his belt. The blaster was pointing down at her, and became her only point of focus. She wanted to move, but couldn’t summon the will, and though she wanted desperately to cry out, the only sound that escaped her was a tiny whimper. The seconds seemed to stretch agonizingly before her, and she felt a last surge of fear when she saw the alien’s finger closing in around the trigger. Though she had spent much time on stage, she certainly never thought that she would die there...

She heard the sound of a blaster firing, and then a harsh silence filled the next moments. Marzena exhaled sharply, suddenly realizing that she was still alive.... and she opened her eyes to see the alien fall to the ground. In that moment she was suddenly hit with the full brunt of realization, the singer found her voice again, and let loose a torrent of screams. The First Order agent moved forward, scooped up the hysterical singer, and quickly deposited her onto the small sofa in her dressing room. The Agent gave her a quick once over, and had deemed that none of her injuries were serious; bumps, bruises and scrapes... but quite fortunate considering the alternative.

“Stay here, Miss Choi.” Were the only words he spoke as he moved out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

 

[OK-3103]

One of the troopers flung himself flat on the device, waiting long fractions within fractions of seconds before a shock wave lifted him like a body blow and raw noise filled his helmet. He felt as if he'd, been shaken hard in a metal box. For an instant, red light flooded his eyes behind his closed lids.

How long the next moment, took the trooper didn't know. But he could hear Meneer shouting instruction. He could hear yelling, so he wasn’t dead. Yet. That was something.

“What do you use for brains, trooper?” Meneer said, supporting the man’s shoulders. “You're a di'kut”

The trooper could feel bruises forming everywhere he had places He sat upright with some difficulty, “Thanks for the sympathy, Sir. I'm fine.”

“You trust that pretty armour a lot more than I would.” Meneer suddenly shook him fiercely by the shoulder. “Don't you ever scare me like that again, trooper. You hear? Let the cops look after themselves.”

It hadn't been a big device. Just enough to kill or maim a couple of people, but not enough to breach trooper armour He'd smothered the blast and the shrapnel that went with it. The trooper hadn't been 100 percent sure at the time that the armour would absorb the energy from the blast, and now that the adrenaline had finished coursing through his veins he felt shaky.

“Oh…and nice move.” said Meneer, a genuine warmth in his voice.

 

[Valae Heavenshield]

Objective: 4
Location: Outside Lantibba City
Allies: First Order
Enemies: Aliens and their sympathizers
Post: 8

The agent had slipped from the Renholm residence without a trace, moving swiftly back into the shadows of morning, knowing that his maid would soon arrive to make a most grim discovery.

Hyori Tal was now walking through the capital city, clad in a simple blouse, black trousers and a long overcoat to fend off the chill in the air. As she made her way silently, she wore no expression on her face, but was inwardly pleased that the presence of the First Order would soon be growing on Lanteeb. She had no doubt that their forces were already set to work crushing any opposition that fell into their path. Curiosity was tugging at the corners of her mind, but she would have to find out the details after the fact... for she still had a job to do.

Steady footsteps brought her to the edge of the woods, just outside Lantibba city, and she paused for a moment before continuing. It wouldn’t be long before the dim light of morning would begin to pierce the canopy of trees, but for now the waning darkness was enough to move through easily undetected. The area around her was silent, save for the ambient sounds of nature, but she knew that she was not alone. There were always eyes in this stretch of forest, but Mako Miura was a familiar sight to those that surveyed the area, and she would be allowed to enter without question. Despite the amount of debris that littered the forest floor, she set ever step carefully, hardly making a sound.

The entrance to the bunker was camouflaged quite well, but it still stood out to the sharply trained eyes of the agent.Though the terrorists had managed to survive this long unnoticed, they were certainly not trained professionals. An alien man slipped from the darkness and pulled the door to the bunker open, and he nodded to the woman he knew as Ms. Miura. Once she had been closed inside with the other members of the terrorist group, she saw that there were still a few that had yet to arrive...

It wasn’t long before the door opened again, and their leader strode into the room with an air of frustration and annoyance. He turned suddenly and spoke to the group that sat in eager anticipation.

“Renholm is dead.”

 

[Zef Halo]

Location: Further away from the crash site
Objective: Bring some Mandocracy
Allies: Mandalorian Crusaders; [member="Keira Ticon"]; [member="Alar Brokarra"]; [member="Oron Verd"]; [member="Isley Verd"]; [member="Jevar Xolius"]
Enemies: First Order; [member="Ludolf Vaas"]; [member="Kajtia Xiz'injhürek"]; [member="Kyle Amedis"]
Gear: Eukgar'gam /w Jump pack; Wrist weaponry - [x],[x],[x], [x] ; Loadout: 1, 3 / 1,2 / 2,2,3,4
Post Count: [3/20]

Grim continued firing with his SMG upon the forming squads of First Order stormtroopers, some were able to get to cover fast enough others were brought down by the volleys of the lethal SMG. His destruction was cut short when the ground exploded next to him and sent him flying away. Falling down on the ground, he realized that it had been a shot from the damn AT-AT. The vehicle was a big problem to the Mandalorians.

Where is the air support?

As if his question was answered by nature itself, when two bolts of lightning struck down upon the massive AT-AT. The unnatural bolts of lightning disabled the vehicle and gave the Mandalorians that necessary breather as more stormtroopers flooded the battlefield and reinforced their lines.

Grim watched as some Mandalorians who preferred the melee combat stormed forward and put to rest many of the opposing foes, their ferocity was what made them Mandalorians. Beside him a Mandalorian wielding the notorious Westar-35s was spewing bolts and killing stormtroopers as if for show.

<</Spread the kark out, Mandos or that AT-AT is going to take us all out in one shot./>> Grim barked through the comms giving them basic strategic orders. The Mandos had yet to develop the discipline of their ancestors – the Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders. The fierce combat capabilities were there but discipline was necessary if they were to take on the galaxy.

 

[OK-3103]

As was standard protocol, Meneer noted the cams and droids had gone: the illuminated displays in the terminal were black screens, and the amber emergency fighting was on.

One of the troopers had deployed an EMP device to knock out the holocams. and it had taken out all the unshielded equipment around them too. Droiding. A necessary move.

Meneer spoke into the com link. ”We want the official out now. Nothing else matters.”

“I’m glad you pointed that out to me.” The police office sounded angry.

“Now that I have your attention, may I suggest that you remove yourself from the incident scene and me and my boys do their jobs?” Meneer’s voice was icy now, it was clear he was not ready for a debate on the subject.

The police officer was mesmerised, whilst a trooper jogged up to them. “Charges laid, Lieutenant. Ready to go.”

The police officer inhaled sharply before brushing down his tunic and striding away with somewhat splayed legs.

 

[Ludolf Vaas]

Objective: 4
Allies: [member="Marzena Choi"] [member="Kajtia Xiz'injhürek"] [member="OK-3103"] [member="Kyle Amedis"]
Enemies: Mandalorian Crusaders

Vaas was readying the walker's cannons for another salvo, and began noticing the Mandalorian troops beginning to spread out, as per @Grim Viszla's orders. They had smartly realized that they were taking heavy casualties from his walker fire, and would need to respond accordingly. It would now be more difficult for him to pick off Mandalorians individually, but Ludolf was determined to cause as much chaos as possible within their ranks. Hopefully they would be so demoralized by their heavy losses that they would retreat.

Just then his comm channel beeped, signifying an incoming message.

"General Vaas," A blue holographic image of a First Order Special Agent came across the General's handheld communicator. "Part one of the Operation is complete."

Ludolf silently let off another round of cannon fire at the Mandalorians, before squinting and finally speaking, not turning to face the Agent. "...and Marzena Choi?"

"Alive, sir. As you requested."

No hint of emotion betrayed itself on Ludolf's face. "Patch me through to her immediately, and continue with the Operation."

"Yes sir."

By now, images and videos captured of the alien terrorists at Marzena Choi's concert would be beginning to circulate on the holonet and local news outlets. Soon, the video images of Marzena Choi nearly being gunned down by an alien would be worldwide news, along with the dozens of killed at her concert. Meanwhile, back in the underbelly of the Arena at Lantibba City, the First Order Agent that had rescued Marzena Choi brought her a holocomm bearing Ludolf's blue visage.

"Marzena," His voice carried over the holoprojector over the sounds of intermittent cannon fire and explosions. "Are you alright?"

 

[Mav Halo]

[SIZE=9pt]Location: [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]The Landing Zone; The Melee
Objective: [/SIZE]Carnage
Allies: [member="Keira Ticon"], [member="Grim Vizsla"], [member="Oron Verd"], [member="Jevar Xolius"] | Mandalorian Crusaders
Enemies: [member="Kyle Amedis"], [member="Kajtia Xiz'injhürek"], [member="Ludolf Vaas"] | First Order
Gear: Bevii'ragir, Aliit'gam, Beskad, Scattergun
Post Count: 4/20

[SIZE=9pt]With her blood up and her heart drumming a war tattoo, Alar was truly in her element as she and her fellow Mandalorians continued to cut a swath into the ranks of the First Order. Exchanging discipline for raw ferocity and finesse for brute force, the beskads flashed bloody as scatterguns sounded out the funeral dirge. A morbid salute to what was quickly proving to be a worthy adversary. Even as the troopers fell beneath their blades, the bodies of her brothers and sisters soon began to join them as the First Order began to counter attack. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]“OYA![/SIZE]” [SIZE=9pt]She needed more. Demanded more. Her scattergun barked twice more before it became nothing more than a club in her hands, lashing out viciously and wildly as Alar recklessly threw herself time and time again into one foe after another. “OYA!”[/SIZE] the cry went up again, louder than before, joining in the chorus of those around her. A deafening roar of defiance and bloodshed. Surpassed, in turn, by the First Order’s response.

KRAKOW! KRAKOW!​

​

[SIZE=9pt]In the tightly packed quarters of a melee, even the indirect pot shots of the AT-AT were capable of achieving brutal results. Whether consumed by red fire or caught in the shockwave, each blast sent Mandalorians and ‘troopers alike sprawling in broken and crumpled heaps. Many never to rise again. If Alar had been standing a touch closer, she might have very well joined them, becoming nothing more than an otherwise inconsequential footnote in the battle. As it was, she was simply buffeted by the kinetic force of the explosion, shielded from the worst of it by the throng of beskar and plastoid that surrounded her. It was enough to save her life, perhaps, but not enough to stop her from being hurled from her feet before she could even register any form of protest. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]She couldn’t have been out for more than a second or two before a spike of pain and adrenaline jolted her back to the land of the living. The searing hot pains of cracked and abused ribs blazing a trail down her left side, complimenting the bells that were screeching in her ears. The world around her seemed dull and muted by comparison. Moving both too fast and too slow for her comprehension. She barely registered the hands that grabbed a hold of her shoulders or the scraping sounds of gravel and grit beneath her as she was dragged behind cover by one of her vod. [/SIZE]

 

[OK-3103]

The First Order had taught Meneer the exacting procedures for storming a building, all the troopers new. But Meneer wondered about the police, he had no way of knowing what training they’d received or if they’d keep out of the way.

Meneer wondered why the terrorists hadn't seized hostages in the transport before it landed: in space or even the atmosphere was a better location to withstand an assault. The fools were facing certain death. They wouldn't shift the First Order’s position to take the planet, if that were their intent. And they had to be stupid it they didn't realise that.

In the end, though, their intelligence levels wouldn't matter. As he pondered their intent, he received an update through the chain of command.

“The former goverment has denied knowledge of these terrorists. But in an unusually robust statement, an ambassador says she ‘fully understands the group's frustration and has urged the First Order to cease interfering in her planet's affairs.'"

Meneer smiled. So it was state approved terrorism.

 

[Marzena Vaas]

Objective: 1
Location: Lantibba City
Allies: [member="Ludolf Vaas"], First Order
Post: 9

Marzena’s nerves were frayed, nothing more than thin, delicate threads remained now, and they were threatening to break. She sat on the sofa looking towards the door, where the agent had just slipped from the room, and she hoped that perhaps he would come back; she did not want to be alone. As if on cue, the door opened gently once more, and the battered form of Nolen Calark entered. The man’s clothing was dusty and torn in places, his forehead was bloody from a cut, but he’d had the good sense to slap a bandage on before entering.

“Miss Choi?” He asked quietly, leaning towards Marzena, but she sat speechless.

Nolen walked to her luggage, pulled out her coat and then set it over the top of her shoulders, wrapping it around her the best he could. He thought that perhaps some warm tea would help calm the singer, and he set a cup between her palms, but quickly retrieved it upon seeing how shaky it was in her hands. Marzena was pulling breaths in as slow and steady, trying her best to remain calm and collected in the man’s company, but she almost fell to pieces when she felt his hand upon her shoulder.

The door swung open again, this time with a bit of urgency, and a moment later a small holocomm was placed into her hands by the agent. Just seeing Ludolf’s face etched out in the blue holoprojection was enough to finally make her crumble.

“Ludolf...” She spoke softly, and raised the back of her hand to her mouth to try and suppress the sobs. Crying was a completely understandable reaction, considering what she had just been through, but there was part of her that was terribly embarrassed about letting General Vaas see her in such a state.

“I’m... fine.” She said shakily, nodding her head... but her broken composure said otherwise. There was only so much she could say with Nolen and the Agent in the room with her, and she didn’t know if she could even get the words out. Right now she wanted nothing more than to be wrapped in Ludolf’s strong embrace, and she looked to his image with longing. Marzena drew in a few deep breaths and finally spoke with a stronger voice.

“When will I see you?”

 

[OK-3103]

One of the police officers brought a tray of caf in flimsi cups and handed Meneer one first. Glancing around, it appeared a camaraderie had sprung up since the trooper dealt with the booby trap. Meneer rather liked it. The cops actually seemed in awe of what they’d done, and he began to realise that it felt good to be held in that kind of regard.

"No cookies?" said his staff sergeant, with a smile as he took a cup.

The squad took their helmets off to drink. The officer seemed distracted for a moment, staring at their faces. "I'll see what I can do," he said.

Meneer smiled to himself.

As they drank, the group stared at the hologram of the terminal layout that a trooper projected into the space between them.

"It's an oblong room," said the staff sergeant, and slurped his caf. "No scope for anything clever. It's just going to be a matter of speed, force, and knowing who you're going to drop as soon as you're in there."

"But how are you going to stop them setting off the devices?" asked one of the police officers that were bordering the group.

"By slotting them before they can move." said the staff sergeant, "We've done this more than 100 times, and we know how each other thinks. This is probably their first time."

"And their last." Meneer dipped the finger of his glove through the shimmering virtual roof space of the customs hall. "I'll take the roof and keep the hostages still until we get bomb disposal in there to deal with the novices."

"All The hostages?" said the staff sergeant. "I realise the First Order official is a priority."

Meneer chewed his lip thoughtfully.

 

[Ludolf Vaas]

Objective: 4
Allies: [member="Marzena Choi"]
Enemies: Mandalorian Crusaders

It was a strange collision of sensations then - on one end he was surrounded by the carnage of the battlefield, with death in the distance as his cannon fire tore into the men surrounding [member="Alar Brokarra"], and to his right was the holographic image of a sobbing Marzena Choi. Any of his men who might have been passively observing knew not to disturb Ludolf during this moment. He felt slightly odd then, his face unflinchingly hard in the wake of poor Marzena's tears, and wondered if he hadn't become truly numb to the horrors of war by this point. He had seen, and delivered, so much death in his lifetime that a passing thought was hardly given to emotions. But though he didn't show it, he did feel a sudden and deep sense of pity for his mistress in that moment, knowing that it was a cruel thing for an exquisite woman to be involved in such carnage, and if there were any justice in the galaxy she would be sitting safely back on Dosuun, or Bespin, far away from the terrors of battle.

Ludolf's eyes shifted from the battlefield to her. "You will see me soon, Marzena. Wait for me in Lantibba City. You've done your duty, now I must do mine."

Clenching his jaw, Ludolf's black-gloved hand gripped the controls of the cannon tighter.

"For the First Order."

He slammed the holoprojector closed.

Then, another rapid punch of cannon fire came from the General's walker, headed towards the Mandalorians. After this, Vaas turned to his co-pilots. "Send a relay to the Terminator. Call in an airstrike."

 

[Marzena Vaas]

Objective: 1
Location: Lantibba City
Allies: [member="Ludolf Vaas"]
Post: 10

Marzena’s tear filled eyes were locked on the blue image of Ludolf, she was not bothered at all by the fact that he appeared so cold and unfeeling. Though she had come to know a very different side of General Vaas, she also admired his strong, stone-like demeanor. Even though she would have loved for him to drop everything and be at her side, she understood that his duties as a general came first. Being able to speak to Ludolf had tempered the uncertainty, but Marzena was still feeling quite fragile.

“I’ll be waiting.” She managed to choke out, her voice barely above a whisper.

A moment later the holoprojection faded abruptly, almost as if she had blinked and he was gone. At least she could look forward to Ludolf coming to collect her, but there was absolutely no comfort in waiting. She felt like a ball of nervous energy, and the tears continued to flow, leaving tracks of dark eye makeup down her cheeks. Nolen Calark produced a cotton handkerchief from his pocket and gently set it into Marzena’s palm. She offered him a weak smile as she began to dab at her eyes.

“Would you like something to eat, Miss Choi?” Nolen asked softly, and Marzena turned to see that the two of them were alone now; the agent had already slipped back out of the room.

She hadn’t eaten much that day, and she was even starting to feel dizzy from hunger, but the thought of food made her feel ill. Marzena moved to stand, but almost fell back onto the sofa, only then realizing that her right ankle was quite sore. The singer slowly walked to the vanity in the corner, favoring her injured ankle, and had a seat in front of the mirror. Marzena desperately needed a distraction, and she had always found that applying makeup was oddly relaxing.

“Leave me, please.” She said quietly to Mr. Calark.

Once she was left alone in the dressing room, she surveyed her appearance in silent horror. She looked utterly tragic, and she felt even worse. Her dark hair was messy and littered with debris, her eye makeup smeared, and there were red scrapes here and there. Silently she set out her brushes, makeup products, and began to wipe her face clean.

Marzena drew in deep breaths, and told herself that she wouldn’t be waiting long... Ludolf would be there soon, just as he promised.

 

[Uhtred Kjartan]

Objective: Five
Location: In the airspace, somewhere near [member="Ludolf Vaas"]
Allies: First Order
Enemies: [member="Alar Brokarra"] [member="Grim Vizsla"] | Mandalorian Crusaders
Post: One


While the newest Pilot was waiting in the Hangar's observation/boarding deck, he would be busied on his datapad, analyzing his Starfighter. When the datapad's shade turned from blue to red, he knew what time it was, he just hoped he didn't run into a Resistance Fighter Squadron. He'd seen combat before, but he never saw the Resistance's fighters in sky combat. Now he regretted becoming a pilot, because the Resistance possibly had superior air support, while the First Order had superior ground support more than air support. While running towards the loading deck of his TIE, he thought about this, and hopped into the TIE. Command had called in for his air strike support, so he had to call in that he was now heading towards the Coordinates.
::Siphon-12 Reporting in. Heading towards air strike coordinates, all seems clear up here.::
Engaging the manual controls with the other pilot of his behind him in the other gunnery seat, he trusted the other pilot, and had to get to know him some time, but now was not the time. As they arrived near the location of the requested airstrike, the 'whish' noises of their TIE-Fighter brought fear to the alien species and enemies on the ground. Locking onto the target location, the coordinates supplied, the brand new pilot held down both of the 'buttons' on the controls, bombarding the location with hell.

After doing so, the pilot did a swift turn around and into the skies, to return back to the location for the second run of the airstrike. Holdingthe buttons down once more, anything in that area was dead. The airstrike was over, the Co-Pilot turned the fighter around and returned the fighter into the airspace of the planet, while Fives radioed in :
::Siphon-12 Here. Airstrike complete, returning to the planet's surrounding area.::
And here the brand new Lieutenant, Fives, and his other Co-Pilot, well experienced yet silent, waited for the time to come again when they were needed.

 

[OK-3103]

The staff sergeant got up and tidied his rappel line before fastening it to his belt. "I'll get in position," he said. "And I'm switching to the general comlink channel. We go in 15. The Lieutenant will count us down, and you,” he indicated one of the troopers, “kill all the lights, okay?"

The police officer’s communicator chirped. He answered it and adopted that middle-distance state that people had when they were trying to concentrate on something that they weren't expecting to hear.

"It's the terrorists.” he said. "They’re asking for buckets, food, and water."

"Ah. The power of the need for a 'fresher'" said Meneer. "Looks like our hard men are softening."

"Even people who plan to kill engage in displacement activity," said the police officer. "I'll take the stuff in for you."

Meneer nodded. “Agreed.”

 

[Ludolf Vaas]

Objective: 4
Allies: [member="Fives Drills"]
Enemies: Mandalorian Crusaders (any still playing)
Post: 16/20

Ludolf found it strangely difficult to shake [member="Marzena Choi"] from his mind as he continued to depress the trigger of his weapon, sending more cannon fire the Mandalorians' way. It seemed that the enemy was sufficiently pinned down, and now the howl of TIE fighters overhead was about to exacerbate that fact. The air strike General Vaas had called for arrived just in time, pelting the enemy from overhead and giving the First Order's men a boost in morale. The Mandalorians had proven to be tough opponents especially given their disadvantageous position, but it looked like this battle was drawing to a close.

Ludolf grimaced. Had he been wrong to knowingly put Marzena in harm's way? She was in the best of hands, he told himself, and they would have ensured that no real harm would come to her - not to mention the operation was a resounding success. The media would be eating it up by now. Yet still, Vaas felt unsatisfied.

He picked up the walker's barely functional comm system and dialed in the Terminator.

"This is General Vaas requesting air extraction," He bellowed orders. "My walker is inoperational. This battle is over. Sending coordinates now."

-----------------------------------------

Meanwhile, Nolen Calark had dutifully left Marzena Choi to her own devices for a few moments, as per her wishes. He thought he could hear the faint sounds of sobbing and tinkering with makeup coming from Choi's dressing room. It wasn't his place to interfere; Marzena had been elevated to a somewhat lofty position in the First Order in a short time, and he was but a servant appointed personally by General Vaas. Of course, the relationship between the General and Miss Choi was something that had piqued his interest, as well as the interests of many others who were close to the two parties. Rumor had it that Ludolf Vaas and Marzena Choi's relationship extended well beyond simply business - which supposedly played no small part in Marzena's rise to stardom.

Unfortunately, Marzena's request was about to be trampled upon. Calark could hear them in the distance; they were moving down the hallway like a pack of rabid animals, chattering and clamoring as they jockeyed for position. The press. He was but one man standing outside Choi's door - he needed more security now.

"Stormtroopers!" He shouted down the hallway, where two armor-clad men responded to the call. "Keep these people away from Miss Choi!"

He felt obliged to warn Marzena, and so just as the pack of media reporters began to descend on the door, Nolen slipped inside. Their racket could be heard through the doorway.

"Miss Choi - I'm terribly sorry, it's the press," He began. "We're trying to keep them away - "

Nolen's voice was cut off by the door bursting open behind him, as the hounding reporters nearly made their way into her dressing room, barely being held back by the two Stormtroopers. There were already holorecorders running in their hands.

"Marzena Choi! Marzena!" They shouted, desperately trying to engage her. "Do you have any statements on what happened tonight?" One asked, then another: "Tell us what you were feeling on stage during the attack!"

 

[Sentiri]

Objective: Independent - Propaganda
Location: Lantibba City
Allies: The First Order, Misinformation
Enemies: Media Outlets, Sheeple
Post: 01/20

The populace is filled with fools.

No matter how advanced or primitive the technological savvy of a place was, the general public would always believe the first things said over an amplification device or visual display. After all, a trusted source of information would never outright deceive those who consume that information, would they? Even the most questioning of citizens would only be able to guess at the morsels of data not being relayed. And those questioning citizens, doomsday-sayers, were already social pariahs for raising red flags without cause or reason. Why would society listen to mad men when there were trusted officials whose job it was to offer their knowledge of a situation?

Simpletons.

To manipulate sound sources and displays, the only objective was to gain access. Gaining access to places was Sentiri's specialty, especially when those places were on the holo.

Holed up in a dingy hotel room she had rented a week prior, paid for in raw, untraceable credits courtesy of the First Order, the Chiss slicer was surrounded by monitors spread and propped upright across the floor. Wires were haphazardly strewn about and her fingers worked swiftly over a holographic key-display. The woman's eyes darted back and forth from one display to the next. One for writing code. Several broadcasting media outlets. One open for readouts arriving from the First Order's military branches. Another for writing falsified reports to be sent out to the throngs of morons who would believe every word.

Nothing but a bunch of idiots.

OOC:

Spoiler

If I missed anything relevant to my post that has happened already in the thread, please let me know. 90 some odd posts was a lot to read and my pea-brain memory can't process every detail... >.<

 

[Marzena Vaas]

Objective: 1
Location: Lantibba City
Allies: [member="Ludolf Vaas"]
Enemies: The paparazzi
Post: 11

Marzena sat gazing at her reflection; she was beginning to recognize the woman staring back at her now. She drew in a quivering breath and fixed her eyes on the table below, doing her best to quell a sob that threatened to break forth. Though her eyes were still a bit red and watery, she’d managed to hold the tears at bay for now. She turned back to the task at hand, gently painting her face with a high end makeup brush. A fresh application of foundation and concealer could do wonders, and the singer’s normal pulled together look was on its way to being restored.

Though, makeup could only mask so much. Behind the thin illusion of momentary calm, Marzena was still feeling a bit frightened and anxious. A trembling hand reached for a tube of her signature red lipstick, and she was lucky to get a bit of color on her lips before Mr. Calark slipped into the room. Nolen had been a tremendous help to her through the day, but she felt a stab of annoyance at his intrusion. However, the frantic look on his face told her that something was amiss...

She barely had time to register what Mr. Calark had said, before the door came bursting open. Marzena’s mouth dropped open upon seeing the mass of people being held back by the two Stormtroopers. It wasn’t long before hands gripping holorecorders snaked their way past the forms of the troopers, and into Marzena’s dressing room. She could hear them calling to her, but she sat silently for a moment, refusing to acknowledge their presence.

They had caught her feeling vulnerable and weak; it was certainly not the way she wanted to be portrayed. Marzena gracefully rose to her feet and moved towards the middle of the room, where she stood tall for all to see.

“I do not wish to make any comments at this time.” She said in a voice that came strong and clear. “A formal statement will be ...forthcoming.” The singer’s voice broke slightly; the strength was beginning to fade.

The members of the press were hungry, and Marzena’s response did not satisfy them. Bodies were pushing against the barrier created by the two Stormtroopers and their defenses would soon be broken. She watched as the media men and women pressed into the room, and soon she could only see a mess of arms in front of her. Marzena moved to step back, but faltered on her injured ankle. The Stormtroopers were doing their best to wrangle the crowd, and Nolen was standing before Marzena with his arms outstretched.

And there she stood, backed into a corner and completely overwhelmed.

 

[OK-3103]

"With respect, he’ll just add another complication." said the staff sergeant.

Meneer sipped his caf without looking up. "If you mean that our boys will have to worry about shooting him by accident, then it's simple. They won't worry about it. Acceptable losses."

There was a complete silence in all their helmet comlinks for a telling and brief moment: no breath, no swallowing, no lick of the lips.

Now it was all down to a well-rehearsed procedure. The charges would detonate, and they would lob in a few flashbangs so close together that it would feel like the same split second and plunge into reactions so automatic that they wouldn't pause to think what to do next or even know how much time had elapsed.

It was drilled deep, unthinking second nature. Meneer longed for the moment instinct and training took him over again.

"I'll give you as many clues as I can, so listen hard," said the police officer. He fidgeted with an earpiece he’d been handed. "And if I'm in the way when you come in, it's too bad, okay? You drop 'em all, straight through me if need be."

"Will do." said Meneer, and knew he would never do anything of the kind.

 

[Kajtia Xiz'injhürek]

Location: Running away from the downed Mandolorian ship back to TIE Advanced
Objective: 4
Allies : [member="Ludolf Vaas"], First Order
Enemies: Mandorlorians Crusaders, Xeno Rebels
Post: 12 / 20

The battle in this area was very much over. Flurries of fire continued to hit the ship from General Vaas' immobilised walker. Soon a group of TIE Fighters could be heard heading to her location. Probably to finish cleaning up the place. So she decided it was time to scram and get back to get own damaged TIE Advanced. She was satisfied with herself, as she had contributed to her fair share of slaughter and bloodshed on the battlefield, killing by her own hand at least 20 or more Mandorlorians. She got to her fighter and commed in to General Vass.

"This is Lieutenant Commander Xiz'injhürek, I'm lifting off in a damaged TIE away from the wrecked Mando ship. I had been assisting the ground forces there. However now that the battle there is very much over, I'm heading over into the city. That's unless you have any other specific orders for me?"

 

[OK-3103]

The doors parted. Meneer, standing well back, stared down the scope of his rifle, not planning to take a shot but ready anyway. The police officer walked forward a few steps.

"Grilled food board." he said, arms held away from his sides, a picture of subservience. "And... umm... facilities."

Meneer could see past him into the enclosed corridor: The hostages were still split into two groups. One of the targets stepped up to the officer and placed the muzzle of his blaster against his forehead, Green Man, Meneer thought, and made a mental note of the target's gait. It was a clean shot he couldn't take but nor right then. The sound signal was fuzzy but audible enough.

"Put the buckets down and back off."

The officer - short, wiry, forgettable, dragging his left leg - looked like a janitor. Meneer knew Green wouldn't see what was really there.

"What about the old couple?" said the officer, quickly gaining Meneer’s respect. "Don't you think they've had enough? Why not let 'em go? Take me instead."

Go on. Go on. Let him in...

Green paused and then gestured the officer inside with his blaster. "You can keep them company," he said. "You're too altruistic for a delivery boy. We better search you."

The doors closed, "Stand by," said Meneer.

They look up positions on either side of the doors. Meneer and one trooper to the left. Two to the right. They could hear the officer’s breathing - remarkably controlled under the circumstances - and the occasional rustle of fabric. They were searching him. The enhancer didn't seem to get their attention, the device was too obvious.