Don't Mind If I Do [Imperial Remnant/Crinan Resistance]

[Beowoof]

Five figures in camouflage cloaks skulked amidst the trees and bushes at near-dusk, approaching the Imperial outpost that lay in the clearing about two hundred meters ahead, downhill. The shortest one--blond; brown-eyed--took the lead with her carbine glued to her shoulder and ready to fire at the drop of a hat.

This was the farthest Imperial camp to the north of the only true city on Rodica--or Nicoleta, as the resistors might prefer to call it--and would therefore have an ample supply of weaponry to help its inhabitants best defend themselves as they were rather alone. It would not be an easy raid, but it was the most removed from civilization, and by the time an reinforcements might arrive, the invading rebels would be long gone.

The mission would be a success, Jehanne had predicted, and that was really the only reason they were out here. Olsen, Mariah, Kax, and Chyffra were her comrades, though she had specifically warned Kax to stay behind, but to no avail. They knew she was a witch, but that did not mean they believed much of what she said. Not that she could blame them. There were things Jehanne did not quite trust about her own abilities, and there were only a few out there--about as many as could be counted on one hand--meaning no one was truly mastered at any of the unexplainable endowments of power. And Jehanne had only ever met one of the other witches.

Fanning out, the Crinan resistors took up positions behind natural obstructions and peeked through the scopes of their rifles. They only used slugthrowers, as blaster fire was easy to trace to the source, while a bullet was essentially invisible prior to contact. All was silent with them as they surveyed the base below, save an airy and mellow whistle Jehanne made, mimicking the call of one of the native birds. In response, Olsen tread softly down the embankment and behind a tree not forty meters away from the outpost's boundaries to get a good look at what was inside.

May victory be accorded to us, as divined. In ritual, she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, then tapped her finger to the center of her forehead and upon each eyelid, outlining a triangle on her face. Following this routine, the girl returned her finger to her trigger. Whoever was down there would be getting no relaxation this evening.

[member="Awn'rell'reemma"]

 

[Awn'rell'reemma]

Inside the camp, Lieutenant Rell was wrapping up the latest security inspection. Concerns about this outpost's vulnerability to attack by the local resistance had been expressed, and so she had been sent to evaluate the security and make recommendations on how to improve it. She walked along the outside wall, having purposely waited until it was near the end of the guard shift before going to judge how much the guards were still paying attention to their duty's. She walked along in her black Imperial officer uniform, hands clasped behind her back and sniper rifle slung over her shoulder as she walked along the wall, approaching the man currently in command of the wall.

"Sergeant, I am here for the inspection. I trust everything is in order?"

The man snapped to attention and saluted.

"Yes, sir, all is quiet on the wall tonight."

"Good. Let's get this done then, shall we?" Rell said as she pulled out a holopad with a checklist of things she was here to check over. "Walk with me."

The two would walk along the wall for a while, Rell sometimes asking a question, but otherwise quietly typing on the pad. As they reached the end of the list, Rell stopped suddenly and put her hand out to stop the other man.

"Wait."

Rell turned her head to the outside treeline. She thought she had seen something lurking on the outside just now. As a Chiss, she could see in the dark as if it was clear as day, an advantage the other grunts on the wall no doubt did not have.

"Do the guards here have night vision equipment?" She asked as she scanned the area.

"No sir. I've sent the requisition forms, but not heard anything back yet. Damn bureaucrats."

"I see." She muttered quietly as she looked out on the treeline with her red eyes, waiting and watching for any further sign of movement.

[member="Jehanne"]

 

[Beowoof]

Two figures became visible atop the fortifications of the camp, which was actually a good sign. The rebels were going to call off the attack if no one showed, for that would indicate a likely trap. Perhaps it was still a snare of sorts, but seeing signs of life-to-be-snuffed was consoling to Jehanne. She took aim.

Olsen remained behind the tree, motionless for about half a minute before peeking around the trunk at the two visible Imperials. They seemed to have stalled and quieted--very concerning to him. Turning back behind the tree and glancing up the hill at Mariah, he held a finger at the tip of his nose to signal, 'Wait.' Mariah caught the gesture and dropped her aim, looking over at Jehanne and chirping twice in the manner of the local tree amphibians. But it was too late.

Blessings on this round. After a quick recheck of the windage, Jehanne focused her sights on the male Imperial and pulled.

Crack.

[member="Awn'rell'reemma"]

 

[Awn'rell'reemma]

The man next to her went down, head exploding in a cloud of blood. Rell's reaction was immediate and instinctive, she dropped behind the fortification of the wall to take cover from further shots. No time to ponder how easily it could have been her lying in his place. She reached the the man's radio and yanked it off of his belt. Checking it, she saw that the impact of the man's fall had broken the thing, rendering it useless. Another thing to put on her report, sturdier radios needed. But the shot had given away the attacker's position. She quickly yanked out her rifle and positioned it just over the wall, aiming it at the attacker and firing back at them with quick, but accurate shots.

[member="Jehanne"]

 

[Beowoof]

Jehanne ducked for cover as her victim's comrade took up the fight and fired in her direction. Though it was quite difficult to spot the camouflaged rebel and make an accurate shot through the foliage, the blasts came all too close for comfort, and she even had to roll behind a small log to avoid one of the shots. Mariah and Kax returned fire while Chyffra tumbled down the wooded hill to find a spot near Olsen.

"Loyalist hound!" Jehanne called out to their Imperial opponent. "You have ten seconds to appeal for mercy, and we will not harm you!"

Olsen had remained behind his tree, his proximity to the wall making it too dangerous for him to remove himself from cover with an expert shooter like the one they were currently facing down. He shuffled around in a pouch on his belt for a homemade grenade and began to combine the two fluids that would compose the explosive catalyst. It seemed as if they would be at a draw unless someone threw in a wildcard.

[member="Awn'rell'reemma"]

 

[Awn'rell'reemma]

Ah, of course, now came the typical demands for surrender laced with insults. Rell failed to see why she would even consider such an act. She was probably outnumbered here, but she was on home turf, so to speak, with a height advantage which would make it harder for them to hit her then her to hit them. She choose not to respond to the demand. No point in trying to talk down these rebels. Not after they had already killed the ranking officer in charge of the outpost. Not to mention, sooner or later someone would hear the gunfire and come to investigate, and hopefully be n a better position to alert the rest of the outpost.

Until then, however, she was on her own. After the one she had already shot at, she counted another 2 returning fire, and caught a glimpse of another advancing further down the hill. That meant that there were at least 4 attackers, possibly more. They had given her 10 seconds to surrender. 10 seconds where they would not be firing at her. Foolish of the runner to leave cover with a sniper out, and even more foolish to try to advance closer, giving her an all too easy shot while the others were waiting on her reply. She would aim her rifle at the runner and fire on the runner during the momentary lull in the fight.

[member="Jehanne"]

 

[Beowoof]

Another shot rang out from the Imperial camp, and Chyffra dropped mid-run, as if he had collided with an invisible wall. Where he had been hit, Jehanne did not know, but there was no doubt that the wound was potentially fatal. "Oblivion!" the witch cried in fury, pushing to her feet and diving to where Kax and Mariah were stationed. The trio resumed fire and cautiously advanced down the incline, rotating firing roles by each taking turns shooting while the other two would dash behind the next rock or tree. "Kax, stay back!" Jehanne insisted. But he was too good of a soldier to heed her words.

Olsen did not hesitate after he saw his comrade fall. The cocktail prepared, he stepped out just long enough to lob the homemade grenade at the point of the wall the enemy fire was coming from. It was not the most accurate throw, since he had only a split second to aim and toss, but it ought to open up a sally point and hopefully distract this well-trained gunner.

[member="Awn'rell'reemma"]

 

[Awn'rell'reemma]

[member="Jehanne"]

Rell saw the target go down. One down, three to go. But these three were playing it smarter then the other guy, maintaining covering fire while they leapfroged down the hill. Rell really needed reinforcements right now, as she wasn't going to be able to do much pinned down like this. Then she saw something coming for the wall. She looked and saw the flames coming from what appeared to be a bottle. Realizing what it was, she quickly leaped out of the way as it impacted and spread flames over the wall. Rell pulled herself off the floor and quickly took cover behind another segment of the wall. As bad as the situation looked, there would be one positive now. The flames would no doubt alert the rest of the base that something was going on. And, true to her expectations, an alarm went off in the outpost a moment later. Now she would just need to hold her position until reinforcements arrived. Easier said then done.

 

[Beowoof]

Chyffra had been hit almost perfectly in the middle of his chest, cinders from the burnt hole in his shirt still smoldering when Jehanne arrived at his body. "Swine!" she shouted at the Imperial before rushing back behind a tree. Though casualties were almost expected, this one had not been foretold to her. She was furious, and she would avenge her fallen comrade.

The group of three rebels took advantage of the short distraction of Olsen's little cocktail to scamper down, just shy of the edge of the clearing. From here, Kax rushed out of the woods with cover fire from the rest of his squadmates, rounding to another side of the outpost's wall, obstructing the sniper's aim. He slung up a grappling hook and tautened the rope, then waved for his comrades to follow him.

Heaven, protect us.

@[member="Awn'rell'reemma"]

 

[Awn'rell'reemma]

Rell remained mostly in a position to not do much to stop the attacking rebels due to the covering fire. Truthfully, she had no idea what they were planning to do. Even if they managed to kill her and storm the walls, 3 people was not enough to take the whole outpost. Eventually they would be killed by the remaining troops in the outpost. Maybe they were of the suicidal variety. Rell hated those. Idiots who pointlessly sacrificed their lives for nothing. But she could figure that out later. Right now, she needed to repel the attack somehow. She saw the grappling hook land on the wall. That was her chance. When they got to the top of that, they would be defenseless as they hoisted themselves onto the wall. She took aim with her rifle, switching from single fire to semi-auto mode, as accuracy would not be a problem so close, and she would want to put as many shots downrange as possable, pointed at the area they would come up at, and waited for her chance.

@[member="Jehanne"]

 

[Beowoof]

"Kax, stay down here!" Jehanne commanded as he clambered up the line. She, Mariah, and Olsen made use of the sudden silence of fire to safely cross the clearing and arrive at the grappling rope. Jehanne lunged up the rope after the bold Kax and tugged at his legs. Her pulls were unsteady, and she swung about on her ascent, attempting to hinder his progress with the shaking. "Stop it!" she begged her comrade.

Olsen, recognizing the danger their witch was warning them about, slung up his own rope, desperately hoping he could make it to the top and prevent what horrible thing was likely about to occur. Mariah followed him.

Kax reached the ledge of the wall and pulled himself up, arm reaching to take a hold of his carbine as soon as he noticed the Chiss woman looking right at him.

Oblivion...

[member="Awn'rell'reemma"]

 

[Awn'rell'reemma]

Rell was focused in on the location the target would appear at once they got up the rope. She was more then used to the wait. There had been missions in the past where she would have had to wait hours in a single location, not moving at all as she waited for the target to arrive before making a single pinpoint shot and fleeing. So she was more then capable of waiting a few minutes for the target to show themselves. The rifle was ready. She was ready. She heard someone trying to yell at the guy climbing up. Presumably someone smarter then him who saw what was waiting. it would appear he was not responding to them. Idiot. She saw the man jump over the wall and start to turn, weapon in hand. She would not hesitate. She would pull the trigger, sending 3 blaster shots directly at the man, following up with another trigger pull and 3 more shots. That should be more then enough to eliminate the man as a threat.

[member="Jehanne"]

 

[Beowoof]

She did not need to look. She had foreseen it.

Scarlet drops spattered against her green-and-brown hunter's cloak as Kax was drilled by blaster fire, the immolating bolts burning the front of his body and rupturing the back, causing blood to spit from the pressure-opened wounds. A faint groan could be heard from the man as he died, but the Chiss shooter continued firing and silenced him in a matter of eyeblinks.

Jehanne launched herself up behind him, distraught yet not entirely shocked at what had happened--she had almost known this very thing would happen--and grabbed at the dead fighter's holstered pistol. Holding up his collapsing body as a shield, the girl fired several bolts from his pistol (or her new one) at the Imperial sniper while her two living allies lifted themselves on top of the wall as well. She was relentless, confident in the righteousness of her vengeance.

[member="Awn'rell'reemma"]

 

[Awn'rell'reemma]

Target 2 was down. 2 to go, by her count. Another leaped up behind him. This one was ready, probably the one that had been yelling after the guy when he went on his suicide run. Rell would have continued to open up on her, but now the body of the dead man was blocking a clear shot. Smart move on her part. She saw the woman's hand go for the dead man's blaster. It did not take a genius to see her plan. Rell would not have much room to move out of the way, but she was more then adept at adapting to circumstances.

She rolled out of the path of the initial shots, moving from one side of the wall to the other in the move, and dropped the rifle, as it would impact her maneuverability here, and such a long range weapon would not be needed on the wall. The bolts impacted just an instant after she moved. That would buy her a moment, but it would not take long for the woman to readjust her aim. A moment would be all Rell needed, however. Her hand reached for her belt, where she had both her backup blaster and a few grenades. Her hand went for a grenade, her fingers quickly setting the grenade to go off on impact as she tossed it at the woman, now designated as target 3 in Rell's mind. Hopefully the grenade would kill the woman, but Rell would take it just distracting her for the second or so needed for her to take out a blaster and start returning fire.

[member="Jehanne"]

 

[Beowoof]

Olsen and Mariah took up their weapons after their climb and fired a couple rounds at the Chiss woman. Then Olsen hopped down and into the camp, scurrying for a landspeeder attached to a supplies tug while Mariah continued suppression fire on their enemy.

Forgive my desecration, Jehanne prayed as the grenade was tossed towards her. She had few options before her, and if they trio of surviving rebels wished to survive, they would have to stick together--meaning she could not dive off the wall to avoid the blast, thereby abandoning her comrades. No, instead, she shoved the corpse of her fallen partner onto the bomb to absorb the ensuing explosion and followed Mariah off the wall and into the base. Gun still trained on the last place she had spotted the Imperial sniper, Jehanne bade her female associate to make haste for the landspeeder that would hopefully soon be theirs.

[member="Awn'rell'reemma"]

 

[Awn'rell'reemma]

Rell got up as the three ran off and followed them, blaster in hand as she followed them through the halls of the base. She unfortunately did not have the chance to take a shot at the people she was chasing, as they were moving fast to get to whatever their goal was. By this point, Rell was assuming that they were attempting to pull off some sort of robbery, as she couldn't see much other point to the attack. They had no hope at all of taking the base, and there was not much else in the place for them to take. Couldn't be about making a public statement or anything, as this was a remote outpost few even really knew about. So when she reached the exit and saw the group running in the direction of a landspeeder hitched to a supply tug, she knew exactly what they were thinking. Her response was clear. Objective denial. She dropped into a crouch and fired, not at the running people who might be able to dodge, but at the stationary speeder's engines, seeking to disable it.

[member="Jehanne"]

 

[Beowoof]

There went their transportation plan. Olsen stumbled out of the speeder, choking as smoke filled the interior. All three rebels scampered behind the supply tug for cover, now rather irritated by this lone Chiss shooter who seemed to be derailing the plans. Two had already fallen to her gun. There would be no more.

A sackful of detonators was procured from the tug after a little bit of closer inspection to the hatches on their 'shield'. Mariah and Jehanne also found a pair of E-11 rifles. But now was not the time to celebrate, nor be overzealous and apprehend too many tools. They had enough to consider the mission a non-failure, and they needed to make their escape before the garrison finally responded to the gunfire. It was only a matter of moments before a squad of the bucketheads likely showed up. "Move! We have our victory," the witch proclaimed.

She peeked out from behind the tug and fired a couple shots at her rival as her friends ran for the prefab garage. In all likelihood, there would be an alternative form of transportation inside--though who knew if it worked?

[member="Awn'rell'reemma"]