Diplomacy at its Finest (Republic Dominion of Hapes)

[Carmen Dax]

OOC: could you guys slow down a little your leaving me behind?

Carmen was supried when teh troopers had busted in though the windows. The glass shattered every where, One of the Hapes guards drew a lightsaber and began to attack then. She took them all out before she could even do anything. She was supried by how fast she was. Carmen had to do something because this girl was making her look bad.

A second troop of soldiers came in and tried a second time this was he momment now. She used the force to pick up a chair and throw it at two men taking them out. With her blade she stabbed a man though the chest and pushed a second into a wall. the man slumpped over from cracking his spine. men staarted to fire at her and the other guards. She threw her lighsaber at one of the LMG units taking him and his gun out of commision. Before he blade would come back to her she used force push to take 3 men out at once. She wasnt going to thinking about how she killed them. Just that they were down.

She grabbed her lightsaber and moved towards Siobhan who was carrying the Chancellor. Carmen deflected blaster bolts back at the last few men taking them out. Her arms hurt but she didnt complain. She followed the rest of the group and was making sure that none of the troops followed them. She then ran faster so she could catch up with the Chancellor. Carmen then looked at her to see if she may have been hit in all of the fighting. To her delight she wasnt. "We need to get to the bunker quickly then. Because more will be comming."She knew that this was not the end there would be more people that want to take the Chancellor out. But she wasnt going to let that happen.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

There was frentic activity in the command bunker where the Chancellor and her escort had sought refuge. Siobhan, after having went on a round through the complex to make sure it was safe, was in the comms room, when one of the techs picked up on a transmission coming from outside.

"Sector B7," the female tech said. A report that had come in moments ago indicated that the rebel forces had struck there, at the broadcasting station, before central command had lost contact with the loyalist forces stationed there. Fortunately, they had received from Hapan loyalists who'd found the Supreme Commander that he and his group were alive.

"Guess it's fallen," Siobhan muttered. "Patch it through. Sure it'll be exhilarating!" the tech shot her a disapproving look at the sarcasm, but obliged. Soon the fanatical sounding voice of a woman, whose accent marked her as a member of the upper class, was heard. It was not the Princess Kiena, though evidently a propagandist of hers.

"Citizens of Hapes, our people have been betrayed. Not content with forcing its alien ways upon our noble motherland, the Republic had tried to seize power by coup. They would reduce us to the level of a slave state, where our markets will be flooded with their goods and our people worked to work as sweated labour so that foreigners could profit, where our daughters are corrupted by alien vices and we bend to the mendacious, greedy, selfish tyranny of Coruscant. They would have us bow and scrape before Coruscanti men!

Our Queen Mother is sovereign no longer. The Republic Chancellor compelled her to sign a treaty of vassalage. Today, they make us their serf. Tomorrow, they seize our navy and despoil our planet. But even that was not humiliation enough. Our worst fears have been realised. Her Highness Princess Kiena tried in vain to plead with Her Majesty to see reason and throw off the yoke, loyal to her motherland to the end. But the Republic's mercenaries and their Jedi dogs tried to murder her in cold blood! She only survived because of the heroism of our valiant soldiers. Soon she will speak to us, we call on all loyal Hapans to rally to her banner and defend their motherland, to the last drop of blood. Our freedom, our very existence is at stake. This is the Voice of Liberty and we're here to tell you the truth."

At this the broadcast was ended. The tech typed in a few commands. "Running audio identification, initiating programme, we should have a match soon."

"Make it sooner than soon. Talk about fair and balanced media," Siobhan muttered to herself, shooting the Hapan guards a stern look when she thought some of them might be wavering. "See if you can get in touch with loyalists in that district."

"This is outrageous, unacceptable treason to Her Majesty." one Hapan officer hissed angrily.

"Or the game of thrones," Siobhan quipped, as this writer likes making meta references, earning a glare from the officer. "You sure about your troops?"

The officer looked even more offended, clearly seething. "Everyone of them would give their lives for the Queen Mother and Hapes. We're true patriots, don't cast aspersions on us, mercenary," the last word was emphasised to a degree where it might be an insult.

Siobhan just shrugged nonchalantly, then smirked slightly. "Good. Then we understand each other. Cause it'll be Hapans fighting Hapans and we can't have people switching in the middle of it cause they're getting cold squeamish." She turned and headed for the armoury, stocking up on grenades before soon returning to the main room of the bunker.

 

[Inigo Montoya]

Godiva
Flint, Seth

~ "Hold on up there! We are going down!" ~

Inigo sliced through the boarding cable when he heard the warning, and was barely able to brace himself along remaining tow lines when the floor beneath him suddenly dropped. It was like the repulsor lift rides he used to love so much riding as child, except the drop was much harder, to Inigo it felt as if someone yanked his intestines through his throat, barely giving him time to yell before the descent came to a crashing halt.

~ "This is your pilot speaking. Please disembark the vessel in an orderly fashion. Thanks for flying Republic Airways. Heh." ~

Disentangling himself from the cable he had grabbed before the crash, his sheathed his blade and unsteadily got to his feet. Wiping some of the dust from his face, scrambled over the wreckage until he spotted the his charge.

Linking up with the commander, he continued his silent vigil, keep a sharp eye out for further threats.

 

[Aurelia Saelari]

The propaganda message made Aurelia's eyes narrow, but she made no comment until it finished.
"This shall not stand!" she said. The bunker was a good place for her to direct operations, but that didn't mean she was on the defensive. Not at all. She turned to her companions.

"Your Majesty, I suggest you ensure your loyal troops are in command of the palace, then assemble the best of them. We are going to launch a joint operation to find and put that broadcast station out of operation. We are also going to find the Princess Kiena. This is how it will work."
"@[member="Carmen Dax"], go with @[member="Teynara Jeralyr"] and find the rebel broadcasting station. These Hapan troops will assist you."
"@[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"], @[member="Davin Jusik"], you will go with @[member="Hanna Lissiri"] to find the Queen Mother's daughter and her associates. The Vice Chancellor knows them by sight, so will be able to identify them."
"I will remain here and monitor the situation. Get me a comm line to Commander @[member="Flint Pherson"] immediately!" Her plans made, Aurelia watched to see what would happen.

(Breaking us all up into groups so no one will be worried about being rushed or pushed ahead.)

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

In the Bunker - Davin Jusik, Hanna Lissiri etc.

"Sure thing," Siobhan acknowledged laconically. The Chancellor had ordered that the Princess was supposed to be captured and shot if she tried to resist. Siobhan suppressed the urge to enquire whether the Lady Saelari wanted Kiena's head delivered in a fruit basket with blood oranges should the later scenario occur. She recognised that at least some people in the Galaxy were what one might call 'civilised'. Besides, it might upset the Queen Mother!

She checked the smoke, frag and phosphorus grenades she had taken with her from the armoury, then strapped them to her utility belt before turning to the comms room when she heard a beeping sound from one of the computers. "You got anything?" she grunted. Patience had never been one of her virtues.

"Receiving transmission. Spy drone tuned in from the city centre," the tech responded. An image appeared on the screen, showing a certain area of the city. Most prominently it showed the Great Hall of Hapes, a monumentous public building built in all the style and beauty of the Hapan people, though it had had been reinforced with soldiers and some defence turrets.

A brief flash showed the Princess striding in, accompanied by guards, hangers-on and adoring followers. Evidently quite a crowd of soldiers and civilians had assembled outside, many of the civilians were holding up banners with inspiring slogans or wielding primitive weapons of some sort. They broke into a chant when they beheld the Princess, the woman who would deliver them from the oppression of the imperialist Republic. No doubt many of them would gladly give their lives for its independence when they were mowed down.

Siobhan lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. One of the Hapan guards shot her a disapproving look, but she pretended not to notice. "Whole lot of 'em in one place. Splendid." she said. More enemies in one place meant more of a chance to take them out and less scouring the city to wipe out pockets of resistance.

"Let's rock. I need a gunship and extra troopers. Locate what loyalist forces we got in the vicinity and alert them." She got the location from the tech, then gestured to to Davin Jusik. "Our dear Princess is in the Great Hall in the centre. The hunt is on." Such eagerness, one wondered how she had once managed to become a Jedi Knight in the first place. Then she moved out of the bunker, quickly heading for the hangar bay where the vessels were located.

 

[Carmen Dax]

@[member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""]Teynara Jeralyr Bunker Exit

Carmen nodded her head at the Chancellor and thought that maybe she should stay her and make sure that she was safe, but orders were orders. She looked over to Teynara and said "Alright lets go find out where they were broadcasting thoes systems." Turning to the Hapan Soldiers she adressed them "Alright now lets get suited up." Carmen went to the armory and grabbed a few grenades, flash bang, and frag. then grabbed one of their pistols. You never knew when you might need one. "Lets go!" Carmen usualy didnt run a small troops in her spare ime so she wasnt use to comanding people around. But none the less she lead then out towards the Rebel building where they had made the broadcast.

 

[Davin Jusik]

"Roger that ma'am." Davin replied to the Chancellor. He pulled 1st Platoon with him and left 2nd Platoon's CO in command of the palace defense and general coordination of the joint assault, Lt Osen in charge of the company. Osen was a good officer and would do well, besides if an issue came up he could ask for help through the coms.

He followed the Jedi/Merc lady in charge of security as she walked and raised the Independence gunship that was on standby for them.

"Roger that merc." He replied to her request for support. He had no positive or negative feelings toward her, and stopped being wary once he found out she was on their side for sure.
The gunship reared in outside and Davin began to load his men on.

"Should be a bit of fun. These Hapes don't seem to battle well." He replied with a slight grin behind his helmet to her hunting comment.

 

[Darron Wraith]

BOOM.....BOOM

Combat boots echoed against the floor of the troop transport as it slowly descended after making it's way through the atmosphere of Hapes. He was pacing and honestly couldn't help it, a Master of combat didn't particularly like being trapped in a flying metal box as it made it's way down to the planet while anti-aircraft guns fired around them. How in the hell did some rebels get their hands on those things without some help from the inside? Darron chewed on that thought for a moment as he continued to stroll through the thin walkway, the ship rocked from the nearby blasts but he was so deep in thought it hardly mattered to the man.

The troopers strapped to their seats could only watch in amazement as the large, armored Jedi Master calmly walked while they were all strapped in and desperately praying to whatever gods they believed in for a safe arrival. Darron paid them little mind as he pondered his first real assignment from the Republic and the Jedi Council. He had at first been annoyed that he had been put on the Chancellor's personal guard team, or even stationed at the building where the speech would be held. Instead, he had been left on one of the cruisers in orbit above the planet should anything happen and he be needed. Because that makes complete and total sense, keep the Jedi Master who specializes in combat in orbit and a few hundred miles from the action and then call him into battle when the attack is happening that many saw coming.

He tapped his greaves in a moment of impatience, the seconds felt like hours as they continued their descent. The screen near the loading door indicated that they where just now over the capital city. Only a few more minutes and I can finally help. The Council had had their reasons for putting him where they had, after all he had been MIA for two decades and appeared to not have aged a day. They didn't know the long-term effects of carbonite freezing and wanted to keep the Jedi Master on a leash at least temporarily while also testing him to see if he was still every bit the man the holovids and statues said he was back then. Time to prove I'm still the protector that I was and always have been.

"Master Wraith, the Chancellor is in a secure bunker. Some of our forces are in the markets and some are headed towards where the Hapan Queen and her troops are at. Your orders sir?"

Powerful, greaved arms crossed his armored chest as he considered the options for a few moments. The pilot needed orders quickly, the ship wasn't save flying over the city. "Pilot, open the doors as you fly by where the Queen is at, I will go alone in that area. Then take the troops here and send them to the markets to help our forces out. "

"But sir, you are grossly outnumbered! They have over thirty men and a few turrets, not to mention civilians!."

"Good, I should be ok by myself then. I know you don't know much about me because I've been gone for a few decades but I promise, this won't be a fair fight for...them. Now do as ordered or I will cut my way out of this ship."

The pilot said nothing on the other end after Darron had pulled rank on him, the Jedi Master meant no ill will towards the man, but he was going to do this his way. Blue eyes looked to the radar screen, it's map of the city showed that they were drawing close to the Great Hall of Hapes. Guess it's about that time to get back in action, it's been too long. The transport lowered a few more hundred feet to where it was now only about fifty feet off the ground, at the same time accelerating to avoid any would be heroes who might launch a rocket at the transport. With only ten seconds to go before they flew by the front of the building, the loading door opened quickly. Immediately all the action outside could be heard, and as intel had reported. There were no other forces to aid Darron just yet, time to get crafty.

He waved his prosthetic hand at his men in a farewell gesture as he simply walked until his foot met the air, letting gravity do the rest of the work and pull him face first towards the ground below. Golden locks went crazy as the wind whipped them to and fro, the wind cried in his ears as he accelerated towards the pavement below. The Jedi Master centered himself within the Force and extended his field of responsibility over the battlefield before him. He could feel the soldiers watching him, their anticipation building as he fell towards them. Shots rang out near him, the Force nimbly guiding his descent to avoid any incoming fire. With only a few feet before he crashed into the ground, the Jedi fired off a powerful Force push against the ground that slowed his descent.

Another extension of his will pulled both his electrum plated lightsaber hilts to his outstretched hands. Within a second, the twin snap-hisses of his azure blades filled his ears. The smell of ozone was all around as the blades burnt the very air around him. A grin crossed his face as he assessed the area with all of his senses, another moment passed and then the wonder and amazement the troops had displayed at him dodging their shots turned to real fear as he heard there commander order all guns open fire on him.

Fools.

His twin blades worked in a fury as he deflected each and every bolt that came towards him. The Jedi Master broke into a sprint as he worked to avoid any stray bolts headed towards him. He appeared to be wrapped in blue light as the speed of his deflections increased. All around him he could feel men dying from the deflected bolts, as he made his way to the first turret the Jedi Master leapt up and over his would be killers and dug his blades into the three men around him. The turret now unmanned, Darron turned it with his mind and with another flick of the Force he pulled the trigger, men falling all around him as he allowed it to indiscriminately fire.

More shots rang out, and he was once more forced into action. His feet carried him effortlessly up the stairs, the men foolishly charging him. In an instant, he threw one of his blades at the other turret, his mind controlling the blade as he continued his charge. Taking both hands on Je'gan's lightsaber hilt, Darron made quick work of the five men with a few quick strikes of his blade intended to only maim and disarm them. An explosion rang out to his left as his saber throw had been true to it's mark. The blade returned to him like a boomerang and he caught it with his outstretched hand.

It was then that he realized he was now standing alone, where there had been chaos and explosions earlier there was now only the sound of his lightsabers humming and his own breath. Darron deactivated one of his blades and pulled out his communicator. "To whoever is listening, I am Jedi Master Darron Wraith and I have taken the entrance of the Great Hall, should anyone require assistance my men are headed to the markets and I will remain here unless given other orders."

 

[Hanna Ike]

"@[member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""]Siobhan Kerriganhttp://starwarsrp.net/user/212-siobhan-kerrigan/, @[member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""]Davin Jusik, @[member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""]Hanna Lissiri

Hanna couldn't believe that so many hated this move, but the princess had always seemed just waiting for a chance to steal the throne, and this was just that chance. She was terrified, and it showed, unlike the Chancellor she wasn't as brave on the outside. She didn't know how she did it. She tried her best to steady her nerves as orders were given out, and she felt extremely out of place. What was it that she should be doing right now? Should she be giving orders to someone? She felt so unsure, and terrified, it was hard to think straight. She finally managed to steady her thoughts at least.

She then found out she got to go back out, she wasn't so sure she was crazy about that idea, she was shaking she realized as she clung to her scavenged blaster in the bunker. Well here went nothing she thought as she began to follow the other two. followed by her bodyguards. " Lets go find us a princess" She managed to get out as she hoped she wasn't too much of a risk to go with them, but she had seen the one jedi fight, she was good. So Hanna felt much better.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

(Siobhan is not a Jedi. Hanna As the CT says, she's an Omega mercenary)

Davin, Hanna etc.

"Got enough to charge to their deaths for 'freedom' and 'planetary rights' and all that noble, earth-shattering rot, not enough to win," Siobhan said dryly as she boarded a gunship with some Hapan troopers. The chopper lifted off into the air, taking the contingent away from the Fountain Palace. The loyalist troops had been drawn together to protect the building, reinforced by mechs and some light tanks. AA gun emplacements were supposed to protect against an air strike, should the rebels get that far.

Two other gunships lifted into the air alongside them, the officers in communications were also trying to reach loyalist forces fighting close to the district that held in the Grand Hall. If that worked out, they might be able to encircle the rebels and cut them off from forces they were said to be amassing. The rebels were continuously droning out propaganda broadcasts, evidently to rally their followers so that they might fight for Hapan independence, but perhaps also to interfere with loyalist communications. It was such a pity that in a Galaxy that was just recovering from the devastation caused by the Gulag virus, such issues could not be resolved peacably. Of course, this mattered little to Siobhan as the small force of gunships flew over the capital.

Upon seeing the small flotilla civilians took flight, fleeing into the safety of their houses, others glared at them defiantly, chanting protests. Peeking out of the gunship, her lightsabre at the ready, Siobhan could see crowds of protesters screaming at them and holding placards with patriotic slogans such as "Liberty or Death", "Go home Republic" and "Long live Queen Mother Kiesna" and several other phrases in a similar vein. A few protesters held sluggers and fired poorly aimed shots at the gunships, which had little chance of hitting them considering the altitude they were flying at and moreover could not penetrate the gunships' armour.

But then firing started in earnest, Hapan rebels had taken up position on several rooftops and behind windows, opening fire with repeaters. The sounds of battle drove many civilians away, blaster bolts streaked through the air. It was a lightshow that would make any action holo-movie producer go green with envy.

The gunship dove down and its gunners returned fire with a barrage of laser bolts. Screams of wounded Hapans were heard as they were mowed down. Standing at the side of the gunners Siobhan moved her sabre in a fast spin, reflecting back blaster bolts as the gunship jinked and dodged enemy attacks, then took out a large concentration of hostile troopers with a volley of missiles. The mercenary felt a tug in the Force, drawing her to a rooftop where troopers armed with missile launchers were taking up position.

Upon her signal the pilot tried to evade, then dove down. Reaching out with the Force she struck at the rocketeers with a force push. Enveloped in the whirlwind several descended down the building to a painful smash on the ground that left them dead. A hail of missiles was fired from the gunship, laying waste to an enemy armoured personnel carrier that had halted on the ground and was putting them under fire with its blaster cannon.

Explosions shook the ground, seemingly causing small tremors and columns of smoke surged upward. The gunship shook under the arms fire surging upward but Siobhan showed no sign of being troubled by it, indeed she looked like she was amused as her blade spun in quick motions, deflecting shots, when she harnessed the Force into telekinetic blasts to slam hostile troopers out of the way before they could get a shot off at the gunship.

Briefly she reached for something in her jacket pocket and produced a small disc, tossing it to the co-pilot. He gave her a weird look, she just shrugged. "Put it on. Always gotta do things in style!" Still confused, the trooper obeyed and soon whatever was this Galaxy's equivalent to Ride of the Valkyries was droning out of the loudspeaker, Siobhan just chuckled at that. A hostile on the ground took aim at them and fired a rocket-propelled grenade, but the gunship swerved higher into the air and the missile just hit building, explosing in a fireball.

Finally they could see the Great Hall coming into view a bit further afield, judging by the sound, quite a bit of mayhem was taking place. Crowds of revolutionary protesters were dispersed at the sight, those smart enough to make a run for it immediately before they got caught in the crossfire between the gunships and the rebels. Corpses lined the streets, but thus was the nature of war, pitiless and in the end solely about victory.

At Siobhan's signal the gunship dove down and descended to land a bit ahead of the Great Hall. From what she could see, the fighting had already started in earnest. Countless corpses filled the entrance along with the wreckage of a turret, but hostile Hapan forces were moving in from the flanks, heavily armed. As it swooped down on its rapid descent Siobhan drew on the Force and jumped, using telekinesis to control her fall. Hostile Hapan reinforcements rushed to the landing zone, opening fire.

As it happened Siobhan landed directly on top of one of the soldiers, knocking him down, then cut his head off with a fast strike when he tried to get up. She levitated his blaster rifle and brought forth a salvoe of bolts against her attackers, then charged into a merciless flurry. At this stage she did not concern herself much with deflecting their fire, but simply stormed forward, relying on her speed and efficient swordwork. One trooper got her arms chopped off, another was struck when the blade struck through his helmet into his mouth, another was impaled. By then the Hapan troopers from the gunship had landed and added their firepower to the onslaught.

The earth shook when one of the gunships was hit by a missile and went crashing down, exploding in a fireball. Siobhan felt a warning and leapt to safety when a soldier carrying a missile launcher fired at her, trying to shield herself from the shockwave with the Force. Landing on the ground with a thud and rolling, she she lashed out with a force grip that hoisted the trooper into the air and then sent him crashing down with a thud. Sabre in hand she advanced grimly, sending a brief message to the gunship to strafe the area and take out hostiles trying to get behind them. Her blade hummed, the smell of ozone, burnt flesh and decaying tissue was in the air as she headed up toward the entrance of the Great Hall.

 

[Davin Jusik]

Davin took careful shots with his SR4, killing several thanks to the sight granted by the ACOG that came attached to it. He was in his element. Killing men in combat was almost second nature to him now, after all he'd seen and done. As the merc cut swaths through the front and one of her gunships gave support Davin ordered the gunship to swing behind the rebels so they could deploy and flank them.

A transmission came in over his com from a Jedi Master by the name of Darron Wraith.

"Master Wraith, got a platoon of Republic Infantry moving in now. If we need an assist I'll let you know."

The Republic Soldiers mercilessly opened up on the Hapans with automatic and precise weapon fire as the gunship swung around and gave them a stable firing platform. Rebel men and women seemed to explode on their emplacements as the gunship and most of the sixty two men in 1st Platoon opened up.

After the bloodbath the infantrymen hooked up and repelled onto the back part of the large apptly named Great Hall. No Hapans were left along the walkway to offer any resistance. The men fanned out by squad and began killing off Hapan rebels who were moving to flank the merc and Jedi Master who'd gotten there just before 1st Platoon.

Davin took two squads and breached the expensive looking doors in front of him. Ten frantic armed Hapans looked terrified in their direction before attempting to raise their weapons. Davin and his men had already begun firing the moment they breached killing them all quickly. As his men secured the room and took up firing positions near the doors Davin noticed a woman crouched in the fetal position in the middle of the group of dead Hapans. She looked expensive.

He grabbed her chin and got a good look at her face. Wide terrified eyes stared up at his ominously painted black helmet. It was definitely the woman he'd seen on the spy drone's holo cam. Davin slapped stun cuffs on her and sent a transmission over the the Republic's secure com channels to the Merc and Chancellor.

"Princess secure. Exfilling HVT now."

Davin ordered the two squads out before any remaining Rebels in the compound could launch a counter attack.

 

[Teynara Jeralyr]

Teynara had received her instructions and followed quickly behind her fellow Jedi, the one that the Chancellor had referred to as 'Carmen', though the two of them weren't acquainted officially - they'd just seen each other as part of the delegation. I suppose the formality of introductions was just going to wait until the right time, and that hardly comes while you're having to spend every ounce of your attention on watching politicians, she thought. Anyway, at her rank, it was best just to follow along and do what the other Jedi instructed - it made things simpler, at any rate.

They headed to the Armoury, there picking up equipment as each person thought would be best for their goals. Carmen picked up a fair few things, all weapons of course. Teynara simply chose a small commlink, one with an earpiece that she quickly fastened to her left ear, testing it with a quick click of the small transmitter now attached to her belt to ensure that it would work effectively. She decided not to try picking up any of the various weapons - she wasn't trained in the use of a weapon, and that wasn't going to change any time soon. I can fight hand-to-hand if I have to, but I'd rather it didn't come to that. The blonde had yet to reconcile herself to the violent means sometimes advocated by Jedi hardliners, and certainly wouldn't engage in any until she absolutely had to.

Their departure came shortly thereafter, the Hapan Guards and her Jedi comrade considerably better armed than they were before. I have my wits, though, so I'd say we're about equally armed, she thought as she ran in behind the others, putting on a burst of speed to overtake a few of the troopers and move level with her fellow Jedi, the better to allow them to communicate without the commlink.

"I hope you've got a plan here," she said softly, doing her best not to raise her voice so that it would carry to Carmen, and Carmen alone. "I'm a little out of my depth, to tell you the truth, and I'll be no use to you in a fight unless things get really bad," she added apologetically. That was hard to admit, but it was her way to be honest with others, and given how things were now, that seemed like the best way to be for the moment. After all, you can't deceive your companions, or restrict what they know of you. It might cost everyone concerned. "I'm only supposed to be on this mission as an observer," the blonde woman noted, just making her position clear. "Just tell me what you need me to do, though, and I'll be there," she finished.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

Not all Hapan forces were so eager to cravenly yield. Perhaps the sight of their people and buildings being bombarded from the sky with missiles and heavy blaster salvoes and of Jedi cutting a bloody swathe through their soldiers spurred the remaining faithful on, even though they were clearly too late.

As Republic forces took the building a light tank accompanied by a group of Hapan troopers rumbled across the street from the corner. A gunship swooped down to open fire, but was driven back when unexpectedly a hail of small arms fire and rocket propelled grenades were fired its way. Evidently these were reinforcements the Princess' followers had ordered to come here, only they were just a little bit late. The tank turned its mighty cannon and fired, blowing apart the wall of a building and an impressive statue positioned in front of the Great Hall. Its blaster cannon fired at Republic soldiers exiting the building.

Earth and debris was thrown up by the explosion, loyalist forces scattered and many of them were to shreds and rebel Hapan troopers charged, chanting slogans even as gunships swooped down and unleashed their own barrage, taking many down, but perhaps dying a 'free Hapan' was more to their liking than living as a 'Republic pawn'. Siobhan broke into a fast sprint, swinging her sabre to reflect bolts, then the tank fired again, knocking down a statue further behind her. The ex-Jedi hit the dirt, crawling. She swung her sabre and dispatched a Hapan trooper with a diagonal cut to his stomach, then got to her feet and ran, jumping and landing in a pile of debris as lasers streaked through the air, where the corpse of the rocketeer whom she had dispatched earlier lay. She grabbed the missile launcher, then loaded one of the missiles into it.

As another group of loyalists was mowed down and the tank rumbled towards her, coming into view, she propped the weapon over her shoulder and slumped it over the edge of the debris. Siobhan always liked a big bang. Aiming at the top of the tank she locked the target into the guidance system, then squeezed the trigger. With the aid of chemical propellants the missile traversed the distance with high speed and impacted upon the target. Smoke rose up into the air, dimly Siobhan saw the cannon turning, locking into her, its heavy blaster cannon opened fire. The ex-Jedi grit her teeth and ducked as pieces of a wall came falling down, reloading.

The cannon locked up on her position, she fired again at its rear. The missile hit the target and caused a firestorm that engulfed the tank and it exploded. Soldiers that had accompanied the behemoth tried to escape, but were caught in the flames or gunned down by repeater fire from the gunships, screaming in agony. Siobhan looked on grimly, then loaded the last missile, firing at a small group of four soldiers close to the tank, taking them out with an explosion that sent bodies flying through the air.

The last surviving soldiers from this group of reinforcements came at her, clad in armour. She threw the empty launcher at one of them, it sailed through the air and smashed into the helmet of one of them, knocking them down. Another got knocked off her feet by a force push that smashed into her, hurling her against the tank. "Liberty or death! Hapans will not bow down!" one of the troopers yelled, charging her and swinging a cortosis reinforced blade. Siobhan whirled, dodging and then jumped but as she landed the soldiers lunged at her.

The Hapan with the inspiring slogans spun and caught Siobhan in the side, making the mercenary wince slightly, but she brought up her lightsabre to block an attack coming from the left, then thrust out elbow to slam it into the face of the slogan soldier, but she brought up her sword to strike at it, locking them both. "Cortosis not bad," Siobhan commented sarcastically. "Totally futile, but not bad, hun," she continued, keeping up the pressure, a small smirk forming on her face.

The Hapan trooper looked enraged. "Imperialist scum, what gives your Republic the right to seize our world?" Another from the group squeezed the trigger on a light repeater, ejecting a hail of rounds towards Siobhan, in that moment the mercenary ducked and then spun her knee, kicking the slogan trooper in the ankle. The soldier at the right lunged at her, stabbing down with his sword, but she was so fast he got caught in the crossfire and stumbled. One round grazed Siobhan in the in the shoulder but so she was so pumped up with adrenaline it did not even register. The slogan soldier tried to dodge her slash by leaping but Siobhan struck upward, slicing off her legs, then spun the sabre to reflect the bolts, taking down the gunman as the rounds struck his chest, smoke coiling off his armour.

Her slogan spouting foe groaned in pain at losing her limbs, but then reached for a dagger in her boot and threw it at Siobhan, trying to use the brief distraction to tug free a grenade, but Siobhan parried the dagger and in a quick motion cut into her head, then hurled the grenade away. "None. Or no more than your aristos at any rate," she informed the corpse matter-of-factly, spinning to deflect a bolt from some wounded trooper, putting him out of his misery.

"But guess what, war's not about who's right but about who's left. You either end up on a dung heap or you beat your way to the top. And the winner writes the history books. And for the record, blowing yourself up for the noble cause is so out." She started to walk away, heading to her gunship. Bodies of the dead, Hapan civilians and soldiers, loyalists and rebels, Republic troopers, littered the square, along with debris and wreckage. Siobhan lit a cigarette and savoured the nicotine, blowing out a cloud of smoke.

 

[Davin Jusik]

Davin covered the prisoner in a bear hug type grab as the tank fired near him and his squads location.

His HUD vibrated and began to sizzle slightly. Damaged but mostly ok. As he got his bearings he held the prisoner down with one arm and looked around at the status of the others. Three were lying on the ground, unmoving, while the rest were opening fire on the tank and Hapan Infantry elements.

The tank exploded in a spectacular fashion and the team's medic checked the fallen troopers. Two dead, the third wounded. Davin cursed and ordered his men to load the dead and wounded onto the still hovering gunship. They loaded them in as he spoke into his com.

"Cas. Report team leaders."

Team two reported in.

"One dead two wounded sir."

Team three.

"Six wounded sir."

Davin cursed again as he loaded the Princess into the gunship. His men knew the drill. No man was going to be left behind, living or dead. He didn't have to order them to get them ready for transport.

The gunship hooked around, picking up the two other teams and headed back to the Chancellor with prisoner in tow.

Davin hit the com @[member="Aurelia Saelari"]

"Prisoner secured. Eta two minutes."

The gunship sped through the war torn city with incredible speed.

 

[Hanna Ike]

"@[member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""]Siobhan Kerriganhttp://starwarsrp.net/user/212-siobhan-kerrigan/, @[member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""]Davin Jusik, @[member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""]Hanna Lissiri
Tall building over looking the palace.

Hanna was terrified and horrified. Here people and the republic were tearing each other apart. She had to do something other than hide in the gun ship. She cringed as she almost died, a couple times but when the moment presented it self, her guards and the pilots reluctantly agreed. They would let her if only because she had ordered them to. It seemed she did have authrity. She shook and doubted her self as she waited for the gunship to touch down. When it finally did, she almost lost her stomach right there but she held it in as she ran off with her guards.

They had a make shift camera out of some gear from the gun ship and they looked around which is where they found an out cropping. She dodged and weaved and hid for her life, Shaking and doubting her self until she took a deep breath each time before she ran to another piece of cover. Hanna was terrified, and she couldn't believe what she was doing. It was sucide, but she had to stop the self asorbed princess, her games were killing her people. Hanna cluched her sides as she caught her breath and hid in cover right by the outcropping. She stood, still behind cover, and gulped as every device in the area found it self staring straight at her.

"Hello, my fellow Hapans, You might or might not know me. I am the daughter of Ambassador Lissiri and now the Vice Chancellor of the Republic. I know it seems like it is asking a lot to join the Republic. The Hapes is and always will be defiantly independant and insular, but there is a whole galaxy out there. The Republic come not as our oppressors but as our friends and as an organization that promotes the very values we do, Wealth, and peace. Look at the woman who calls you to fight your own people, look at the petty girl that envies her mother's seat.

You and I both know that this is not the first time that the Princess has tried to take control of the Cluster, We let it slide because she is the Queen Mother's daughter. This day she has gone too far. Look across the lines, Those are your fellow Hapans, Your sisters and , brothers. Do you really wish to kill your own people. Put down your weapons and your signs and rejoice. We have allied our selves with the Republic, in a way that allows us to have our independance and still follow our own ways. Look at this as a way to further protect our selves from the evils of men corrupted in power, and a way to make friends with the rest of the galaxy.

The Republic promotes peace like us. They like us are a proud people and we can now count our selves Citizens of the Republic and Citizens of the Hapes Consortium. Do not let the petty squabble of a spoilied girl who I might add has been breaking our very laws. She is not the true controller of the power she wishes to possess, But General Dall.

Remember the saying "Never let a man become so deluded as to believe that he is the intellectual equal of a woman. It only leads him to evil." This is what we cling to and the very woman calling you to fight your own people is letting a man think he is the intellectual equal of women. We can't let that stand. Yes we will have to aknowledge that the rest of the world has yet to realize this fact but, remember we have your best interests in mind, why else would the Republic put one of our own, Me Hanna Lissirri into the very echelons of leadership.

Do not lose faith in your Queen Mother or me. We will ensure that the republic does not step on us or our way of life. I will ensure that we benefit from this new found friendship and show the rest of the galaxy our way of life. So please I ask, no I beg of you, put down your weapons and signs and go home, and rest. We are not being oppressed and the Princess and general Dall will be punished but your being here only puts you in danger. I promise that I will work my hardest to make sure that the Hapes Consortium is not absorbed into the rebuplic but is a member of the republic separate yet part of. Now please comfort your loved ones, and start to pick up the pieces. Tomorrow is on its way, and with it a bright future. "

Hanna smiled as she had made her way onto the outcropping as she spoke and now everyone clapped, and began to drop their weapons and hug. She smiled and couldn't believe it, she had made a difference. She had no idea where the princess would be or General Dall, probably plotting somewhere, but the protests had been quelled, and that was when she blacked out, something had hit her. The Vice Chancellor was down. All sympathy that had ever been with the princess was now gone,

 

[Aurelia Saelari]

@[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] @[member="Hanna Lissiri"] @[member="Davin Jusik"]

From her bunker, Aurelia analysed the situation, giving orders when needed. It seemed as though Siobhan and Captain Jusik had not let her down. The prisoner was captured, and now they were heading back with her. That was one major piece in the puzzle.

It was with surprise that she heard her Vice Chancellor make an impassioned speech. It was a good speech, she decided. Not quite as dramatic as hers perhaps, but still very good, and she smiled to herself. Perhaps the young girl from Hapes would be a worthy deputy after all!

But then news came through of a more disturbing sort. "Madam Chancellor, there's news that the Vice Chancellor has been hit!" an aide called.
She snatched up the communicator. "Investigate at once and bring her back here now." She changed the frequency. "Captain Jusik, Ms Kerrigan, after delivering the prisoner go and investigate the status of the Vice Chancellor. Reports are that she might be hurt. I am sending you her location. Nice work so far, people!"

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Hanna Lissiri"], @[member="Aurelia Saelari"]

Siobhan had just been preparing to board when word came in from the Chancellor. Truth be told the ex-Jedi had been a bit puzzled by the Vice-Chancellor accompanying them, given that she was a civilian, not that it particularly interested her. Then some of the woman's speech had reached her ears over the sounds of battle as the smoke cleared and the firing died down. She liked the part about everything being blamed on General Dall. Clearly the woman had started to understand the concept of spin!

Truth's so precious you gotta keep it in a steel vault, she thought to herself. Then suddenly she heard the crack of a shot, then screams as the crowd that had just been cheering the Vice-Chancellor dispersed wildly, then the message from Chancellor Saelari. She quickly ordered her gunship to circle the area and dashed towards the out crop from were running. A few Hapan guards were trying to block them, searching for whoever had tried to take down the Republic's deputy head of government. Siobhan pushed past the mass of civilians, not being particularly in making her way through. The flash of her sabre, her scarred features and blood-soaked face made many of them scatter. A Hapan medic was behind her, quickly moving to the Vice-Chancellor to examine her possible injuries.

Siobhan scanned the area, searching. Then suddenly she saw a woman dressed in civilian clothes run down toward an alleyway. The ex-Jedi raced after her, breaking into a sprint. Briefly the woman turned and fired, using a primitive slugger pistol. Slugs had one advantage over bolts because lightsabres could not block them, but on the flip side they could penetrate armour. In a sense military technology in this Galaxy had reached an impasse that so far no one had bothered to overcome. The shots narrowly missed, one hitting a lamppost, another a frightened civilian who had been trying to get out of the way and been caught in the crossfire and Siobhan dashed on, before almost stumbling over some debris.

As she got up, she could see the woman was running towards a speeder and whilst running Siobhan's lightsabre flew into her hand and she hurled it at the attacker. The woman was caught in the leg and fell, crying out in pain as the hot plasma burnt right through, but then tried to pull herself up again, limping. As she tried to crawl into the speeder and power up the engines, Siobhan leapt, crossing the distance to land on top of the vehicle, making it shake. For a moment she was off-balance and the attacker reached for her pistol, but Siobhan struck with her sabre to slash her arm off and punched the would-be assassin in the face as the woman clutched her hand, knocking her out. Blood streamed down her forehead.

She roughly gripped the would-be gunwoman by the shoulder and hauled her out of the speeder, dumping her onto the ground. She activated her comm as Hapan guards came rushing in, calling the Chancellor. "Kerrigan here. I've got the would-be assassin of the Vice-Chancellor in custody."

 

[Aurelia Saelari]

@[member="Hanna Lissiri"] @[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

Aurelia was there to take up the comm. "Excellent work, Ms Kerrigan! Bring her to me so that all might see justice done. I will have all the doctors prepared for when you return with the Vice Chancellor and the Princess."

The Chancellor cut the link and paced slowly across the room. She took in the information she was told, but gave no sign until there was word that several Hapan Battle-Dragons were moving from their shipyards unbidden.
"Inform @[member="Flint Pherson"] that the rebels have captured some warships. He is to avoid engaging them while I bring the rest of the Hapan fleet into line. It is vital that we not fire the first shot! Your Majesty, we must prevail upon you to aid us in containing this," she said. The monarch could only nod mutely.

 

[Flint Pherson]

The Market
Montoya

Flint, Jedi Montoya, along with a few Hapan Guards, and the Minister found an excellent rooftop to stop and catch a breath.

"Here you go boys. I'll give you your Minister back. He'll wake up with the quite the headache. But a hero, none the less. Watch the hair. He hates that."

The Guards reclaimed their lost Fairy while Flint received the Chancellor's message on his com.

"Well Marshal. Looks like it's time for me to get our boats in order before the Republic Fleet starts another Invasion. Tsk tsk. ...Your welcome to stay here and fight with your Jedi comrades. I can assure you. I have no need for an escort any longer."

A Republic Gunship was incoming to pick Flint up and transfer him their ships in High Orbit. He would need to remind his men and his boats that this was an allied world in name only. Best not to drop more troops on the surface. The locals could get the wrong idea, if you know what I mean.

"Well? What's it going to be men. Coming with me to govern the Fleet? Or stay here and dispatch the Rebellion? Time to pick. Our ride is here."

The Gunship hovered low and dropped the back hatch. It was off to space for Flint and a welcome vacation from this planet of gender swapping.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Hanna Lissiri"], @[member="Aurelia Saelari"]

"One prisoner delivery coming by express," Siobhan with a grin and cut the connection, then called the Hapan troopers at the gunship. Soldiers had put the Vice-Chancellor on a stretcher and put her on the gunship, a medic was seeing to her wounds before she could get better medical care at the palace, depending on how serious her injury was. The gunship hovered above ground and took off, en route to the Palace and upon learning of this the ex-Jedi dumped her prisoner on the back seat of her requisitioned speeder and powered up the engines, taking off.

The brutal fighting that had just stopped ensured that the city was virtually free of traffic beyond military gunships and speeders, which gave Siobhan ample opportunity to indulge in her penchant for wild driving that went way beyond the speed limit. The prisoner had been given some bandages, though she was clearly in pain. Fortunately, she had been knocked out so Siobhan was not forced to smack her and thus cut off any political broadcast due to not having a ball gag with her at the moment!

A few minutes later the palace came into view and she dove down with the skimmer, landing at the entrance. The gunship had just landed and Vice-Chancellor Lissiri was being carried out so that doctors could see to her.

When Siobhan landed some of the guards, clearly on edge due to the attack, raised their rifles, before lowering them upon seeing her. "Just me, guys. One little assassin on delivery for justice or something suitably grandiose."

"It's the Jedi from the ballroom," one of the female Hapan officers said, gesturing to them to lower their weapons.

Siobhan gave an irritated sigh. "Not a Jedi. Does a Jedi look like this?" she pointed a metallic finger at herself, with her vaguely paramilitary outfit, cyborg eye and an arm that looked like it had been chopped off from a primitive droid and affixed to her. "They're too mainstream. Though I can do amazing things with my Force," she winked.

The officer glowered, which just seemed to amuse Siobhan more. "Grab the prisoner, your Chancellor and the Queen Mother want her brought in."

"Really amazing things. So many I can show you," Siobhan emphasised with a chuckle. There really should be a victory party once the last resistance members had been beaten! "And she's not my Chancellor. I'm just here for the credits. Hmm. Anyone have a breath mint? Some guts spluttered in my mouth while I was killing my way through town!" She led the way and the troopers dragged the unconscious prisoner down.