Invasion Great Balls of Fire | Agents of Chaos invasion of CIS-held Rodia and Talay

[Vytal Noctura]

S P I R I T S . A N D . G O D S . P R O T E C T . U S

Equipment: The Blood of Dathomir Armor | Nightmother's Ward | Water of Life Potions |
Raxus Relief Gas | Rings X X X X | Circlet | Jam Buster
Stored: Seed, Conduit of Souls, Nesmite Tree Seed Pods, Cryo Grenades,
Grapple, Rope, Survival Gear, Knives
Commanding: Army of Skeletons with Falyood Tree Enhancement

Location: Iskaayuma, Rodia
Allied: Confederacy of Independent Systems
Hostile: Agents of Chaos
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It was a bit surprising to hear the War Marshal's voice a second time. There was a customary hesitation following the use of her title, which wouldn't solicit a vocal reaction; though the Witch's dark lips may have twitched. Was she not the Mother of the Night? Perhaps the Agents of Chaos' own Katrine would contend she was not, but then their little battle upon the mount had hardly given Vytal time to conjure her true power. Lightning had its uses, but she had no intention of destroying the Altar herself. But here, on Rodia, where the people had been brushed away from the ravenous war machine... Oh, yes, here she would very much like to demonstrate why one should always keep one eye open on the Nightsisters in their midst. For no one, in their presence, was ever truly gone.​

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"Sewers?" Urban warfare was not Vytal's specialty. Fighting among towering buildings, soaring through the skies almost faster than the eye could reasonably track, and now crawling through sewers... She did not even want to think about what such a necessity of these enomorous civilizations scattered throughout the galaxy looked like. Open combat in a field, among trees, or over mountains Vytal understood well. Even a blaster could be seen as nothing more than a more effective energy bow. But this 'urban' warfare where the enemy might lurk around every corner was for the star-born.​

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Vytal would rather be in a study reading a book, or listening to a spirit moan about their outcast state. Perhaps hunting atop a rancor, or soaring among the clouds on Tarkona's back even.​

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Green eyes peered back at Shamira, Shalita, and Solana. Perhaps the latter two understood the tactical benefits of crawling among the sewers.​

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"I will have a number descend. Please keep me informed where in the city the effort should be concentrated," the Nightmother responded at last. "They are spreading out to drive them into your ranks along the streets. I will have them do the same below, but they are not soldiers. They will not delay the enemy long if they have any combat skills worth mentioning. However," Vytal's eye drew over to a nearby building, "I may be able to remedy that."​

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"One more thing, War Marshall," both related and separate from the matter at hand, "please be sure your supplementary forces are aware what they may face." Could it have been the Agents that'd blown upon the dome? Perhaps. Though Vytal could not fathom why they would do so except to taunt soldiers in armor with the outside temperature. Likely then an overzealous, allied force that sought to swarm the dome with numbers -- the sort more powerful than her own. Unexpected, but then Vytal was merely a humble Witch at the mercy of the confessions of those that commanded the soldiers. Nevertheless, if they were not informed of the Risen they might be needlessly distracted; though it was likely they would still shiver even told the skeletons were not 'hostile.'​

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Shalita's voice drew the Nightmother's gaze as the assassin asked her peace. "You and Solana are free to hunt these terrorists in the sewers, or advance on the streets. Though you are also welcome to join me as we add another unit to our army. Some of those with us now will descend below, else our prey will slip under our feet." Air, ground, and below ground there were so many places where this battle must before fought. It was well they had summoned so many as they had a dome to scour. Vytal did not offer Shamira to depart only because it seemed unlikely the young witch would desire to run off into the night on her own; plus she might learn more of the necromatic Art for her own pursuits if she lingered.​

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One more matter, Vytal added, "I am also open to your tactical appraisal." Shalita and Solana would know more about Urban Warfare than she. Perhaps they would have thoughts on how best to proceed.​

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Shortly thereafter Skeletons that moved through the city began to pull and tug on hatches to get them open into the lower depths. Small and sludge mattered not to their senses. Pursue the intruders. Coral and force them back into the blasters and bombs of the Living. It was their sole purpose in returning to this Realm once more. No matter how simple their new found unlife, it was purpose that drove them onward.​

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Vytal turned off her original course and headed toward the City mortuary. There were a few there in particular that may compliment their numbers and be of stronger ability than the long-dead. "The risen are rarely stronger in Death than they were in Life," the Witch said as she walked, "without more or stronger rituals intended to bestow upon them great power. It is a dangerous act. Like spirits, you should not take what you conjure for granted. Find those that believe in your purpose. Understand what desires they may have left unfinished in this world. These may serve you well in battle, for a time." How well faced with blasters and bombs? Perhaps it was high time the Nightmother found out. Those raised by nanotechnology on Castange had been surprisingly effective, though they were also of the recently departed. A matter that Vytal hoped would benefit them in the place they now set upon.​

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Tag: Shalita Verd | Shamira Karuto | Solana Arasne | Luna Terrik | Nimue | Haastal Haran ++ Kyyrk | Daegon Corvinus | Gerwald Lechner | Redd | The Monster | Draconis Sederius Wolf | Safira Haran | Caedyn Arenais | Asaraa Vaashe | Rann Thress | Shuklaar Kyrdol | Muad Dib | Valeria de la Vallée | Acantha Malvern | Aurelion Nova | Typhan Berrezz | Théodoro | Scherezade deWinter | Madalena Antares | Larentia | Daiya | Nighthaunter | Malerina Ka | Domino | Nerium | Sasmay Cull | Gabriel Volturi | Zaldros Sabolte​

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Spoiler: Army of Darkness

Skeletons started on the other side of City Center from the factory. They began fanning out through the streets from there. They will seek to spread out and form a concave 'net' to try and keep Agents of Chaos personnel within the factory district or nearby regions.

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Recently they have also been tasked with entering the sewers, which they will begin doing so, but they only move so fast.​

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The skeletons won't soak a lot of damage before collapsing, nor are they armed with more than fingertips and teeth, but they will gladly grapple, slash, and bite given the chance. The fayood fibers help keep them in one piece, and will let them put up a fight, but their strength is in numbers and their appearance -- not brute strength.​

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Template By: Darth Metus (Guy)​

 

[Damsy Callat]

Location: Talay > panthalassic ocean > mayday crash > substation tunnels | Form: Squaloid | Theme: Down | Allies: CIS + company | Immediate Tags: allies - Ciri Jade Tien Ulinesque Athena Ares Stone Taiia Locke ; engaging - Aiofe A'Dess 's forces | Objective: Water { protect aquatic approaches to the relay } | Equipment: Siren skin, electrotrident, saberdarts, dartgun { lookalike }, SCUBA blaster pistols | Companions: Squish { not near }; Flotsam and Jetsam { adjacent } | Post: 02

It's be just like hunting slightly sentient saberjowls. Not that different from the real thing.

Damsy had skipped out on her high-light astigmatism correcting contacts when she had gotten ready to deploy from the Rebellious Hawk. Seeing on the flagship and then land - or midair, as it was - had been a challenge, fighting against her natural eyesight blurred and washed out in the first artificial than natural light. It had been worth it though as she swam down far enough for the waves to start filtering out large swaths of sunshine. Her eyes had immediately began to adjust to her natural environment the moment she changed and began diving, but even more so when the light flowing.

It meant that Flotsam and Jetsam could light discipline. Not only would their flashlights carry in the water and illuminate their position, but they would dull Damsy's aquatic combative edge. This was quite literally the mission she had joined up for all those years ago, no training needed. This was all instinct.

This shark smelled blood in the water. Though she wore specialized Dauntless armor and carried twin blasters of theirs too, latched into her vambraces, all she needed was to go after the traces. The siren song clawing at her throat, her razor talons, and barbed tail would do the trick well enough without the advances of modern warfare.

The semi-mapped path of her patrol took her close to, around, and down under the crashed space station. With every beat of her broad tail, she grit her sharpened teeth under her helmet. She felt every beat of her heart everywhere at once, as the relay's signal radiated through the water. The frequency had to have some sonic quality to it as her organs' unsettled one by one. First came the pulsing of her stomach. Her blubber couldn't keep this kind of pressure out.

What Flotsam and Jetsam did activate, however, were their lifeform sensors. A series of weak blips picked up over some distance, which Damsy saw on her HUD connected to the REAVER sensor suite and corrected her course to track down. Due to the nature of the crashed space station, even the seasoned swimmer found it difficult to follow the signatures. Kamino was open water, after all. Shipwreck exploration had not been one of her aquatic childhood pastimes.

It took the better part of twenty minutes of running up dead ends and unintentionally chasing her tail to slip into an underwater karst system further tangling up the wreckage site. In these tunnels, traversing was easier and she began to make better time again. She finally made her way into a winding passage at the end of which were her targets, according to the sensors. "Master Sarge, I've found lifeforms below the crashed station," she commed, hands-free, up to Tien and all others listening. "Seeing twenty-one, all armed and looking for playmates in the station. Get your guards up." Damsy wasn't able to hear the Hunters drilling at this distance, still underwater, but she could get an idea of their actions off her HUD.

Not satisfied providing reconnaissance, Damsy stayed one droids at sentinel and swam on with the other. "Getting up to bat," she added just before switching off her personal frequency. After a few more powerful strokes-and-coasts, the sithspawn stopped herself on a deeply submerged rock sitting below an air pocket. She floated ceilingward and breached, brushing her hair out of her scaly face before looking about. A narrow corridor lead in the way of the Wild Hunters she confirmed again by HUD.

Now came the time to sing. A trill here and there, a soft wail, a backdrop of chirping vocalizations. Mysterious calm comfort floated from the pool at a frequency humanoids could easily hear. She wanted them to. She wanted them to come to investigate, stray from the herd, and know why they did. The promise of rest for the weary was instinctual for those vulnerable to the siren's song.

Rest indeed they would get. One by one, five men and women wandered towards Damsy. As one Hunter neared, she jumped from the water, scooting her torso onto rocky land. She was typically horrifying in current form to be sure, but she had managed to shift her upper half to be more humanoid for the time being. Her lure was strong, but the fight-or-flight response to seeing a monster would overpower it.

The man got to his knees and Damsy reached out in kind to cup his face. She all but could lead him back to the pool then. So the Basic expression went than a man could lead a horse to water but not make him drink; a siren could lead a man to water and make him drown. Make was a strong verb. She did little work. His own devices became his downfall. She only twisted them against him.

Or her.

For the Agents' she didn't maul right away or have Jetsam shoot with his frontal cannons, there was one step that Damsy typically didn't have to take: ripping off or otherwise destroying their Gills of Destiny, and sometimes, to get to it, their armor as well. No matter - her talons and tail barb made quick work of both of those things.

"Five. That's all I could get for you," she reported back, leaving the bodies where they floated. Retracing her tail, she was missing the rush that submitting to her carnal side gave her. The pulsing of organs came crawling back over her skin. "I don't feel too good. Distancing." She swan back to Flotsam and swam back into the daylight zone. Maybe more oxygenated water would break her dizzy spell.

The effects of sonic on sealife, or the tug of the Force on a User as half her men died a system away?

 

[John Locke]

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D E F E N D

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Location: In Orbit around Talay​

Tagging:​

CIS: Kiff Brayde | Visanj T'shkali​

AOC: Willam Forlon | Dimitri Lindzinsky | Kyrinov | Bella​

Fleet:​

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Spoiler: Fleet

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SC-013 “Lucrehulk III” Class Super Carrier​

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Subjugator II (80% shields remaining)​

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Grievous-class Star Destroyer x 5​

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Arjuna-class Artillery Destroyer x 5 (1 vessel on 80% shields, 1 vessel on 85% shields)​

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Terrus-class Flak Corvette x 5 (1 destroyed, 1 with 20% shields and 40% hull remaining)​

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Argente-class Assault Cruiser x 4​

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John had wanted to be proven wrong, had prayed for it. There was a part of him that thought that maybe, despite every experience he’d had in the past, despite his every instinct screaming at him, there had a part of him that had thought that maybe they’d see reason. There was no need for them to fight over a world whose inhabitants had fled the coming of the AOC for fear out of what the terrorists would do to them. Out of fear of being forced away from their friends and colleagues at gunpoint.

It was a common fear, spread across the Confederacy, of this group of ‘freedom fighters’ appearing out of nowhere to dictate to the population what it was they would do. Through fear and threat forcing them to renounce their ties with the government that they had chosen to be a part of. Looking at the reports coming in from Rodia, from the actions of the feet here at Talay, that was a fear that seemed completely justified.

If anyone thought they could just show up and demand the Confederacy just abandon their citizen to the wind like that, casting them out into the cold dark galaxy like that, they had another thing coming. The Confederacy had shown in Siskeen that if a planet desired to go their own way they would listen and even help them. But to be told at gunpoint that someone else had decided the fate of a planet, who would ever let that go unanswered? The Confederacy couldn’t, wouldn’t allow anyone else to make that decision for its citizens. They and they alone were the only people who had the choice as to remaining or leaving the Confederacy. Not this force that seemed determined that they knew what was right for the citizens of a world even without talking to them Even when those very citizens told them they weren’t wanted, told them to leave. That kind of unbending claim of superior knowledge was very imperial.

The cyborg could only watch sadly as weapons fire cut through the darkness of space, creating sparkling displays of fireworks where they impacted with his ship's shields. Orders already issued, already lined up went into effect as the ships of the blockading force opened fire on their enemies. Turbolasers, ion cannons and mass driver rounds cut a crisscrossing pattern through space, lighting up the system for a brief moment before sizzling out.

All it took was a single raised finger for the Exarch to open a communications line to his opponent, a connection that lasted long enough for him to send just one message.

“I had hoped you’d see sense, see the hubris in trying to impose your will on others. I guess I was too generous. My offer to surrender still is in effect at any time.”

A dropped finger closed the channel as John turned back to view the screens in front of him, absorbing the data on display like a sponge absorbing water. He could see the enemy fighters tearing it up with his own, the kills and damage from both sides lighting up the screen. He could even see one brave squadron making a run on two of his gunships.

“Comms, contact the Terrus-class Corvettes and have them move up to support our fighters on the front line. Have them specifically target this squadron here.”

John could already see them lining up for a run on the gunships, and knew that much to his chagrin the fighters would be effective against the gunships. John could only watch in sorrow as one of the gunships exploded in a burst of light leaving the final gunship alone. Hopefully, it would last long enough to hold them there for the flak corvettes to arrive, to help turn the tide of the combat in his direction.

Although that wasn’t the only threat he was facing now. The enemy had managed to deploy stealth vessels which had opened fire on his fleet just as the fleet marshal deployed assets to engage them. A grimace touched John’s face as he read the damage caused by the attack. One of his corvette’s destroyed outright, and the other crawling along, held together only by the barest of luck. The Subjugator thankfully was made of sterner stuff, managed to shrug off the attack as John sighed in relief.

“Make to High Marshal Brayde with our thanks for the timely assistance. Ask him to continue to engage the secondary enemy fleet and defeat them as soon as possible so he can move against the primary fleet.”

With the stealth ships dispersed John could bring his focus to the enemy fleet arrayed against him, giving them the full focus of his attention. Watching as they performed a microjump to engage his flank, taking advantage of their position at the edge of the gravity well to the best effect.

“All artillery destroyers, switch targets to the Victory-class destroyers. We will hold the line against their attacks. Tactical, please download all the positional data and beam it to Minister T’shkali. Inform her that the enemy has refused to surrender and she is to initiate plan rise at her discretion and engage targets as she sees fit. The Grievous destroyers are to turn and engage the siege destroyers on our flank, the Subjugator will support them and engage the ISD-III.”

John could only watch as his artillery ships reached out across space to strike at his opponent, solar energy, ion energy, Laster and Mass driver leading their ships, a storm of damage. He knew that the attacks made no sound as they travelled through space but the exarch could almost imagine the screaming crackling sounds, the boom before they hit the enemy.

Closer to home the star destroyers made a turn, coming about to reposition themselves between the artillery ships and the rest of the fleet, lashing out at the enemy star destroyers as the Subjugator brought up its weapons. The vessel had been designed to strip the shields from enemy vessels, leaving them vulnerable to more conventional attacks.

There was no turning back now, for better or worse they’d have to see this dance through.

He'd tried though...he'd given them every opportunity to see reason.

Why couldn't they have come to their senses?

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Spoiler: tldr

Post 1​

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Fleet in orbit of Talay deployed in a defensive formation.​

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Post 2​

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Launched Fighters​

Grevious Destroyers targeting Procursator-class Skirmish Destroyers​

Arjuna Destroyers targeting Siege Destroyers​

All ships to open fire in 8 minutes unless fired upon.​

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Post 3​

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Terrus-Class Corvettes moving up to engage enemy fighters​

Arjuna Destroyers switching targets to 2 of the Victory Class Destroyers​

Grievous Destroyers moving to protect the flank and firing on the Fire Line​

Subjugator engaging the ISD-III Star Destroyer​

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(Edit: clarifying instruction to Kiff. No material change to post)​

(Edit 2: Adjusting for gunship damage per this OOC request)​

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[Muad Dib]

Location: the surface of Rodia
Objective: Vengeance
Allies: CIS, Daegon Corvinus
Enemies: AoC, open

"I did."

Muad's simple response to the question if he enjoyed his snack was answered and, with a final swallow, with nothing more to add he followed the Demon of Thyferra into the forest with force imbued speed. A savage grin plastered to his face as the two traveled deep into the trees like hounds on the scent. Time slowed as their bodies fled further within as the predators followed their prey. This wasn't a military mission nor a gallant effort by patriotic soldiers. No, instead this was vengeance. About retribution. About good old fashioned payback. And the two men flew swiftly over the surface so lightly that a trail was barely left and even nature almost missed their passing.

Quickly the pair began closing the distance between themselves and their quarry. They were rested and fueled by rage and hate spurring them forward even faster than merely the pace offered by the Force. Weaving over the terrain in waving lines that drove them ever closer to their objective of their desire, Alwine and company. Seconds ticked by as minutes, every moment drawn out into eternity which the darksiders utilized without delay.

Daegon began to slow and eventually stop with the Madman easing to a crouch beside. A flare in the force and suddenly the trail they were chasing so tenaciously seemed to vanish before them. Where moments before they could feel the confrontation was nigh, now there was nothing. His head tilted to the side as he breathed in deeply searching for the scent yet found not the one they were so very close to. Alwine, as well as her cohorts, disappeared. The trail hadn’t grown cold. It vanished. He pushed the edges of his consciousness further in hopes to find their targets.

A vibration that began as a tremor echoed through the earth they stood upon. Closing his eyes he sensed outward and found the very same thing Daegon did, nothing. A frown creased his lips as he attempted to envelop the source of the disturbance only to grunt as he suddenly stood. His hand pulled his buy’ce free of the netting at his waist in order to don the helm, activating systems and seals. As the HUD flashed to life he opened a frequency to his forces.

“Talon, home in and land. Knights, you will shortly have a commander. Obey him.”

The mandalorian turned to Daegon with features hidden beneath the helmet.

“In a moment my basilisk will land. Take the steed and take to the air. Push forward and find our enemies. Use the Knights and fall upon them from above as a great bird of prey. No mercy. As for me, I shall continue forward and attack them from the rear. Just stay shy of the trees for a minute. Oya viceroy, oya.”

And forward he leapt, the Madman flying through the forest like never before. His figure blurred at the momentum afforded him through the power flowing through him. The ground shook beneath his feet, the pounding growing louder with every moment that passed. Not only was something deadly stampeding toward his location but so was Muad, running like the Madman he was to meet the power that sought to challenge him and divert his attention. A death head’s grin stretched over his features as he activated comms once more.

“Captain Hart, I want you to bring Blastoise 1 to my position, then as I pass by, lower into the forest. A meter or so above the ground. On my command I want you to fire all turrets, cannons, and guns forward of your bow. Carve me a bloody swath forward and clear everything in my path. After a five second barrage, fire missiles forward in the same direction. Afterwards I want sustained fire just to the right and left of the bow and push whatever is ahead to either side. Give me a wedge to fly through.”

And so he ran.

“Five.”

The starry expanse of sky slightly visible above him was eclipsed by a dark form. He leapt a fallen tree with a hand pressing off its trunk as leverage to flip forward, always forward. Trees cracked and splintered behind as the girth of the ship decimated a portion of forest it drifted through. The scream of the steeds the Knights rode upon screamed in unity as they flowed through the skies, no doubt led by the enigmatic Daegon.

“Four.”

His boots shook with every touch upon the ground as the source neared. Weaving through the trees and over debris, he used the visual augmentation in his helm leaving him leaping and flying through a green tinted night. Small signs of native fauna fled from the path of whatever was approaching only to deviate from his own path. One such hurdle frightened a group of small marsupials from their retreat which merely added legs to their hasty retreat.

“Three.”

Behind in the distance he heard the droid army discharging and falling into formation, a sound he was accustomed to but also caused many an enemy to violently remember the unending march of robotic death. A wash of first and grit flooded the areas around the hovering Blastoise Cruiser as it settled into position.

“Two.”

Not for the first time he was pleased his beskar’gam was matte black which cast no reflections from its surface. Light coating of reflex also was beneficial in staying stealthy though in the dark night it was not needed. A tangle of vines appeared in his passage which caused him to grit his teeth and drive through allowing his momentum to tear him free in his continuation of moving forward.

“One.”

The quake reverberated the forest, sending dead leaves and limbs to cascade down from the heavens to add to his obstacles. Another fallen trunk across the trail gave him the opportunity to leap and drive off the tree several meters into the air, a quick scan finding what he sought. A crevice in the earth above that may have once been a shallow stream, but was now devoid of moisture, lay half a dozen meters ahead.

“Fire.”

Even as the word left his mouth his eyes found purchase on the creatures advancing in unstoppable power. His dive forward landed him in the hollow ditch just as his HUD flashed black and deactivated audio speakers as the barrage of fire power lanced from behind him, over his position, and into the forest and charging creatures to hopefully vaporize the unlucky and making a slight gap he could bridge. His sensor warning in the suit of armor warned of the rapidly rising temperature of the beskar as the wash of power flowed a meter above. He wasn’t hit but neither was he unscathed. The wash of firepower separated the left and right intending to widen a pocket for him to advance.

Missiles soared overhead and into the treeline to add explosion and fire across the forest and punch him a clearer path forward. The shockwaves from the explosions sent dirt, weeds, and branches from their original resting places to rain down around and upon him. Pressing up from the ditch, a layer of topsoil fell from his shoulders. With his legs underneath him once more he drove forward through the fire, wreckage, and smoke that half concealed his flight onward.

Behind, at the ruined camp, the first waves of droids rolled forward into the treeline even as droidikas rolled rapidly through the terrain to catch up to the two men deep in the trees.

With his path much more cleared and visibility greater than before, Muad was able to increase his speed and close on his prey again. All he needed was time and revenge, and he possessed both.

 

[Tien Ulinesque]

W A T E R​

Objective: Hit the station
Time: 0030 Hours
Equipment: Star Anvil heavy blaster, XIPHOS Armor
Tags: | Ciri Jade | Damsy Callat | Athena | Ares Stone |

It seemed as though once the squad entered into the base, any semblance of the laughing, joking group swiftly disappeared. The mood was noticeably more stoic, almost matching the dark and grimy interior of the base. Whoever had once owned this base, not a fact that was disclosed to the Dauntless master sergeant, had certainly left without much of a thought about grabbing all the stuff before leaving. It created an eerie, creepy environment that set every single one of the Kishiri’s nerves on end.

There was an overturned crate, abandoned cart, or slew of papers on the floor around every single corner. Whoever had last inhabited this place had left in quite a hurry. Why the Confederacy was suddenly interested in this place, or what had alerted them to it’s location, were facts that Tien began to feel were much more important than the briefing had failed to mention. Every step the squad took lead them into the maws of something they did not understand, something that had spat out whatever had last tried to test it’s strength.

“Anyone else feel like this place is giving them the creeps?” Donn’s voice came over the comms after a while of silence, sending a shock of panic down Tien’s spine from the sudden noise. Resisting the urge to chew out the Zabrak commando so loudly that anything still alive in the station would hear them, choosing instead to mutter out a quick, “keep the comms clear of chatter, Donn…” Have of the reason why was to keep everyone from freaking whenever someone spoke up randomly. The other..

The other was to hear if anything else was alive on this station with them.

It took the squad just under a few minutes to run into their first obstacle of the day, if getting into the station itself didn’t count. The only way, it seemed, into the command center of the station was by using one of four sets of elevators to ride up. One set existed in each wing of the station, and it just so happened that the closest one to where they landed, they found out, was very much out of order. The doors were half pried open, and on the other side, the tilted container of the elevator itself could be seen.

Tien took the time to look over the situation from up close, growing more unhappy the more options were thrown out in his mind. “What are you thinking, boss?” Granny pipped up, moving to stand next to the hulking Kishiri, while the rest of Tau squad moved to cover the expansive hallway behind them. There were really only a few options left for him to consider once looking at the elevator up close, and neither was all that enticing.

First, they could take the time to get the power back on in this section, which would possibly also bring the elevator back online. The major problems with this solution were that there was no guarantee the power would be restored to the elevator, or if it would even work in the first place. There was no telling how long it would take to restore power, either. The other option…was to scale the elevator’s wiring to make their way to the command center.

It would mean that the squad could only make their way up two at a time, but at the moment, it seemed the better option of the pair. The first problem would be getting the door open enough that they could make their way into the elevator shaft, but Tien had a way of dealing with that. “Duo, Asher, help me open this up.” Two more commandos joined the Master Sergeant and granny in grasping opposite ends of the elevator doors, beginning to wrench them in opposite directions.

The grinding sounds of metal on metal sliding against each other filled the hallway, prompting a few of the commandos not pulling the doors apart to cover their audio receivers in response. It was less annoying for him, though that might’ve been do the fact his straining grunting covered up the sound for the most part. It took a few more minutes of constant pulling, with small breaks to catch their breath’s sprinkled in. But, their efforts payed off and the elevator shaft was open for assent.

“Tau squad, hook up. Two at a time, ride the cable all the way to the top floor. Granny, Donn, you’re on point.” Tien watched as the two Dauntless quickly made their ways into the shaft, pulling small devices off their belts and attaching them onto the cables. While they got ready for their assents, his attention turned to the agent. His eyes looked over her tech laden suit, assuming that there was some device like the Dauntless had to make her way up the shaft, but figured it was better to double check in any case. “Do you have something to make your way up?” He asked the agent, motioning to the elevator shaft as he did so.

 

[Visanj T'shkali]

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O P E R A T I O N: R I S E

Where: Below the oceans of Talay
Allies: John Locke Kiff Brayde
Enemies: Dimitri Lindzinsky Willam Forlon Kyrinov
Fleet:

Spoiler

15x Tiburon-class Battlecruisers
1980x Anura-class Starfighters

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The seas of Talay grew rough, water swirling and churning, changing from blue to black. As the Tiburon-class battlecruisers broke the surface of the ocean, torrents of water streamed from them. Whirlpools formed around the squadron of fifteen of the warships, rising from the depths off the ocean floor, emerged to breach like leviathans and then ascending into the storm clouds above. Already in formation, the massive warships climbed into the clouds, breaking through into the eternal night of space beyond them.​

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Spoiler

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“Fire control, concentrate heavy cannons on the heavy explorers, fire at will and pour it on hard. Ships 8-13, prepare to fire your big guns on those Monarchs as soon as you’re in range.” Vis gave the command, and even as she sipped her Scotch, she realized the sheer hell she’d ordered brought to bear on the enemy fleet. She grinned at the thought.​

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The intel that John Locke had transmitted was spot on, and the ships were poised and primed for a fight. What better way to shake ‘em down, than to shake things up? She thought to herself.​

​

As her fleet came into range, the lightning cannons of ships 8-13 opened fire on the Monarchs. It was a sight to behold as the blue-white beamed illuminated the entire sky around them. Twenty-meters in diameter, their brilliant power tore through space with the fury of a hundred suns. Just three days before, Corius had reported that his ships – also fifteen of the same class – had reduced asteroids of 10km to rubble in sometimes as few as two or three volleys during their tests. The awesome destructive power of these weapons were matched only by the spectacle of seeing them fired, and even the bridge crew around Vis paused, some with jaws hanging open, watched as their power was unleashed. Even the polarized viewports seemed only barely able to contain the brightness of the weapons’ fury.​

​

“Ships 8-13, well done. One helluva light show! Stay back and form a secondary line in low orbit. The rest of the fleet, open fire and continue firing on those Monarchs and explorers. CC-55811….Jabba’s Gut that’s a mouthful….Bob, you are Bob! Bob, as you might have guessed, aquatic training is cancelled. I want your clones on standby on all ships, prepare for breaching and boarding and ensure that I own every square nano-meter of these ships. If, and that’s an “if”, anyone comes knocking, your men are to kill them with absolute and extreme frakking hatred. Do you copy? Not prejudice, hatred. Am I clear?”​

​

“Ships 1-5, move to Locke’s left flank and take up position with them. Ships 5-7 and fourteen and fifteen, to the right flank. I want a cyborg sandwich, and for the love of all that is holy and right, shift to the fleet engaging Locke and continue firing until I say to stop. Weapons free kids, weapons free!”​

​

Vis took another drink of Scotch, watching as the ships began to deploy their fighters and she remembered the poem her father often quoted when he’d won another big fight in the council meetings,​

​

“All men and beasts will snarl and shout,
Raise their fists and run about.
But when there in truth doth come,
A giant with a giant gun.
No amount of screaming, tearing foes,
Shall prevent their wailing woes.”

(OOC NOTE: Edits to include additional tags; no change to post.)

 

[Ivixa Nera'kas]

Location: The Scythe - Moving Towards Rodia
Gear and Equipment: Ivixa's Phase I "Glitter Ghost" Stealth Armor w/ Wide-Beam Sonic Stunner on Right Wrist Weapon/Utility Hardpoint | Ivixa's Modified Hekler'Kok AMR-01 w/ Bipod, Sound Suppressor, 10 Round Magazine, 40x Multi-Spectrum Variable Zoom MFTAS-Linking Anti-Glint Sniper Scope w/ Integrated Rangefinder, and Polymer Cartridge Ammunition-Armor Piercing | Punisher Pistol w/ K-40 Brimstone Rounds | Hekler’Kok VB-01 | Taozin Amulet
Allies: AoC, Clan Australis ( R Reyn Australis )
Enemies: CIS

One Week Ago​

The air was hot and stale.

It always was in her family’s cheap apartment, which was a far cry from the archaic, yet nonetheless luxurious accommodations they had enjoyed on Alea before she was born, with servants tending to their every need as befitting their royal station. Now, those servants had been replaced by a pair of chittering household droids which broke down as often as they were functional. Whenever that happened, Ivixa was charged with repairing them, since no one in the family besides herself had any degree of familiarity with modern technology. Out of all of them, she was the only one who could proficiently use a computer, pilot a speeder, or even operate a comlink. No one held any degree of literacy in Basic, in spite of her best efforts to tutor them. Unfortunately, with her obligations to the Wild Hunt and the seemingly never ending slate of tasks she took care of for her family on a nigh-hourly basis, she had little time to actually help them. It was impossible to teach her family to take care of themselves in an unfamiliar environment, when she was so busy dealing with the consequences of their collective inaptitude.

Nevertheless, in spite of everything, they were her family and so, Ivixa loved them. They had once thrived on a world full of vicious predators, where massive raptors could swoop down at any moment and to take a loved one away forever. Her parents were the architects and rulers of an empire which had once stretched from sea to sea, which was now reduced to irradiated waste in the wake of the cataclysm which had killed all life on Alea and rendered the planet permanently uninhabitable. There were times when she grew frustrated with their deficiencies, but Ivixa still took pride in her royal blood, and by extension, the Sri’la people.

In the wake of the annihilation of HOPE, that pride had only grown more fervent.

It was why she had decided to join the Wild Hunt, so that she could strike back at those who were responsible for the genocide of her people. However, it was also why she had taken what little free time she had in her week, to record a video in front of a holoprojector. Ivixa had no idea how many views it would receive, if any, but she wanted the galaxy to know of her people and the genocide the CIS had inflicted upon the Asa’nyx in the annihilation of HOPE. Unfortunately, Ivixa was not famous or wealthy, but she did have access to a HoloNet connection, and a few distant contacts with people who could help her spread the message across the galactic HoloNet like a fire through an ancient, overgrown forest.

And so, with a deep breath, Ivixa turned on the camera and began to speak.

“To the free and civilized peoples of the galaxy...” She briefly closed her eyes, before opening them once again as a steely resolve colored her expression.

“My name is Ivixa Nera’kas, princess of a dead empire. I am recording this message to let you know of the tragedy which struck my people, the Asa’nyx, in the annihilation of HOPE. Just a few months before this appalling event, we had been evacuated from our home world by the combined humanitarian forces of the Agents of Chaos and the Atrisian Commonwealth, due to an irrepressible cosmic effect which would render the planet permanently uninhabitable. In the wake of this evacuation, many of my people found refuge with Agents of Chaos, who generously resettled us in HOPE. For a time, we found peace, despite the irradiation of our home world and the ancestral connections severed therein. Unfortunately, that changed, when the Confederacy of Independent Systems saw fit to massacre refugees.

In less than a minute, millions-” A tear slipped from her left eye. “of refugees were murdered in cold blood, choking to death in the vacuum of space. Although most of them were not of my people, I mourn for them nonetheless, because each and every one of them had escaped from some form of calamity or disaster, and was optimistic for a fresh start in a place of peace. A place where they could raise children, receive an education, take care of their elders, and heal from the wounds of whatever trauma they may have endured. It was this place of healing and charity where the Confederacy of Independent Systems decided to lash out in act of overt terrorism, killing millions just to prove a point.

This horrific act of genocide, killed a over a million of my people, and counting. Not a night passes where I do not agonize over their suffering, and how my family was so incredibly lucky to have been moved to another sphere only a week before the atrocity. For this, I consider myself to be a child of fate. However, I also know that regardless of the superstition, there were real people behind this act. People who signed off on an edict of death, all while situated in a palace guarded by legions of inanimate droids. These people, dare I say, criminals, are being harbored in Confederate space, hiding behind contrived shields of propaganda and manufactured consent, just like their cowardly predecessors in the ancient Clone Wars.

For what they have done, they do not deserve to know peace.”

Ivixa took a deep breath.

“This is a call for justice.” She continued, her voice nearly shaking as the words left her lips.

“A call to put the monsters who ordered the decimation of my people and millions more to trial for their crimes against sentient life. It is also a call that the Confederacy of Independent Systems will not answer, and may even ignore. Unfortunately, that brings us to the final option, the only rational choice left for a community of free people in response to an appalling act of terror.

War.”

With that, the video came to a close.

Present​

By now, her armor was a second skin.

Ivixa had trained in it, worked in it, and had even accidentally learned to sleep in it.

The one thing she had not yet done was engage in a real fight in it, beyond the live-fire and sparring exercises that she had done with aggressive repetition during training. The skills she had learned from them, in addition to the intense pressure she had faced to perform under threat of being the cause of yet another brutal session of collective punishment for her Huntress training brigade, would no doubt help her today. Unfortunately, she had been the reason for more of those hard sessions than she would like to admit. Regardless, she had never washed out, even when those who were bigger and stronger than had done so.

For that, she was proud of herself.

Now, there were bigger challenges ahead, foremost of which included avenging the lives of millions of refugees who had been sucked into space in a callous act of terrorism. That number had included a little over a million of her own people, the Asa’nyx.

She had initially hesitated to use the term “genocide” to describe the event, but there was no better term to describe the atrocity which had transpired that day. It was simply how it was, and in spite of the fact that she had done everything within her meagre power to bring attention to the horrific attacks on HOPE, Ivixa was still attempting to reckon with the new circumstances that the event had foisted upon her existence.

Her blood was on the edge of extinction.

There would be no great return to Alea, or a world similar to it.

The Scintilla, and by extension, the Agents of Chaos, was her only home.

Ivixa knew that she should have been prepared to deal with these realities. After all, her father had foreseen it when he had given her a name in Galactic Basic. He had known that the birth of his firstborn daughter would represent a symbolic milestone for the Sri’la, marking the transition from their brutal and primeval existence on Alea, to a new way-of-life as a civilized nation of the greater galaxy. Even though her father still struggled with adjusting to his new circumstances, he still carried himself with the dignity of a warrior King, in spite of the cheap apartment which was a far cry from the archaic, yet extravagant dwellings he had enjoyed on Alea.

And so, Ivixa felt compelled to do the same.

In doing so, she not only intended to fulfill her duty as a soldier of the Wild Hunt in going to Rodia, but also to strike back at the Confederates for inflicting the genocide upon her kin. She quickly found herself among allies, specifically a large number of Mandalorians from Clan Australis, a group belonging to a warrior culture that she had never heard of until only a couple days before. A small contingent of soldiers from the Wild Hunt had been assigned as a liaison between the Agents of Chaos and the Australis Mandalorians, so to better coordinate the operations on Rodia. The blockade runner they were on had only just jumped into the space over Rodia, and so, Ivixa quickly boarded an assault ship to prepare for what was sure to be a violent landing on the surface...

 

[Kiff Brayde]

T A L A Y​

Objective: Turn the Agents of Chaos into Space Dust
Location: Talay System, Rimward
Allied Tag: John Locke | Visanj T'shkali | Darth Metus | Cypher Rage
Terrorist Tag: Dimitri Lindzinsky | Willam Forlon | Bella | Salem Norongachi

War was not a pretty thing.

Even though Kiff on the outside gave the appearance of taking a light-hearted approach to the matter, he'd seen enough violence and bloodshed to know that space battles, for all their flashing lights in loud noises, were no trivial affair. But Kiff had learned something else; dwell too much on the horrors of war and you quickly become like it, cold and emotionless, a perfectly calibrated killing machine no better than a battle droid. He'd come close to that, before the attempted assassination on his life.

Since then, he'd learned that he needed to focus on his relationships to see the true light in the tunnel -- to live and let live -- to not let his duties interfere with his mental health. He'd struck a treaty between his Being and the wars that he fought, and he wasn't about to break its terms.

Right now, those terms called for a drink or two.

"My apologies, High Marshal, but we're out of stock of any alcoholic substances."

Kiff whipped around to see a battle droid standing there innocently. Its model was designed for combat, but the aesthetic markings on its chassis suggested that the droid was not built for combat but rather for logistics and assistance. Its photoreceptors stared blankly at Kiff, who could feel his emotions beginning to get the best of him. "What the feth? You've got to be kidding me. Check the manifest again. I stated clearly that substance was to be added to the consumable hold."

"High Marshal," Jol interrupted. "We are in the middle of a battle right now. I think drinks can wait," the older officer said, in the manner of a parent chiding their child. Kiff rolled his eyes, but still turned from the logistics droid back to the command holotable. The droid was left there standing awkwardly, waiting for any order from the High Marshal. It was unfortunate that the model of droid didn't have the necessary neural capacitors to understand that there wouldn't be a request coming any time soon.

"Let's look at what these bastards are doing," Kiff muttered to himself as he switched the holoprojection from an internal systems display to real-time imaging of the battle progressing outside of the massive battlecruiser. The results of Kiff's surprise hyperspace jump was a mixed bag -- on one hand, the line of Star Destroyers had been effectively broken, with their lead ship now a corpse of twisted metal. But despite the damage Kiff's ships had done, the enemy fleet had not been completely eradicated. That was unfortunate. "Their lead ship is destroyed, let's try to keep this ball rolling. Adjust the Victator to aim the composite beam cannon at the next Star Destroyer and fire. Begin charging up the beam again immediately afterward, and focus mass-driver fire on the targeted ship. Also, can we get the flak corvettes in the rear to hard burn to the forward formation? I guess these terrorists didn't want to put a fighter complement with their long-range toys, and they're needed more up here."

The massive battlecruiser groaned as it adjusted position to change from the original target, which was now a heap of space scrap, to the Star Destroyer to the immediate left of it. As soon as the battlecruiser had moved into position, the massive dual emitters fired. The two bright orange lasers illuminated the entire battlefield as they lanced out from the Victator before merging into one, massive, intense laser racing towards its enemy ship. Mass-driver fire from the battlecruiser and Confederacy Star Destroyers followed along. These were ships of war intent on destroying their target, by any means necessary.

Miniature spheres and enemy ships had begun to assault Kiff's forward line, but in return, the Confederacy shot back with its powerful array of point defenses. Flak cannons and point-defense turbolasers from the Grievous-class Star Destroyers filled the air with bursting shells and laser fire, while Terrus-class Corvettes hovered in a protective formation around the Victator, determined not to let their anti-fighter defenses break. The corvettes were determined and piloted by valiant crews, and in the face of the mass of green spheres and interceptors, they did not hesitate to show their bravery. The Forethought erupted into a ball of fire as it was consumed, but even then the line of corvettes held on their own. Each and every Confederate that gave their lives in the face of terrorism was no less than a hero.

Kiff was not the type to take a punch and not hit back. On his command, ships of the Confederacy began to erupt from the hangar bays of the forward line -- a mix of Vulture Mk III Fighter Droids and the new Colla-class Droid Tri-Fighters, tiny small beasts built for dogfighting and anti-fighter combat. The fighters were built to swarm, and swarm they did, flying in massive clouds as they attacked enemy fighters, spheres, and corvettes alike.

"Communication from the Exarch, Kiff," a familiar voice rang out, interrupting Kiff's observation of the unfolding battle. He turned to see Verryk standing up from his station. Kiff raised his eyebrow -- even as a High Marshal, he rarely received orders from the bigger brass. He was surprised that they had even noticed. Kiff made his way over to Verryk's comm station before nodding for the comms officer to continue. "He says thanks for the 'timely assistance,' and to basically blow up these motherkriffers and then deal with the forward fleet," Verryk said in a bored tone, not even bothering to check the text displayed on his monitor.

Kiff shrugged. "Not like he had to ask," he said aside to Verryk. "Watch the comms if anything interesting comes on," He said before making his way back to the command station of the Victator. Jol was waiting for him there, as attentive as ever.

"What was that about?" the older man asked, hands clasped behind his back as he nodded his head back in Verryk's direction.

"Exarch wants things to blow up. Nothing really new," Kiff said before turning to focus on the battle at hand. His ships had been able to get the first hit on the terrorist fleet, and Kiff intended to keep the advantage that it had given him. As he studied the holographic display, he noticed a bright pink cloud beginning to grow in front of the terrorist corvettes, right in front of his own line. "Jol, do we have data analysis on whatever that is?" Kiff asked, pointing towards the cloud.

"In a second, High Marshal," Jol replied as he keyed a few pins onto the interface in front of them. A circling spiral appeared and disappeared next to the feed of the battle, a small info chart replacing it. "It appears to be some sort of acidic glitter, Sir. Produced by a company by the name of Whimsy, used to be manufactured on Krant. Mildly acidic properties, but not strong enough to affect any of our armor."

Kiff studied the cloud. "If they're going to put credits into developmental tech, why don't they at least make some good stuff?" he asked out loud, rhetorically. Jol caught on and remained quiet. Kiff's eyes glanced back and forth between the enemy fleet, the glitter cloud, and his own line. He continued on like this before standing up straight. . . and letting out a laugh. "Well then, it doesn't kriffing matter, does it? Full power to thrusters, let's bring the fight to them. Have the tractor beams maneuver the corvettes to topside point-blank range and unleash whatever you have on them. I don't want them cluttering up my screen. As for the rest of the fleet; full burn. They want to turn and face us? Let's bring the fight even closer to them. Weapons free. I want to see everything we have pouring out. We shoot to kill. This isn't a game."

"And," Kiff added, "the gunner with the lowest confirmed hits is buying the entire fleet drinks when we get planetside."

If ferocity hadn't been displayed by the fleet of the Bassadro Sector Armada before, it sure was now. The full wrath of Kiff's fleet erupted onto the terrorist ships in front of them as laser fire poured from batteries, missiles streamed towards their targets by the thousands, and the thundering of mass-drivers shook their own ships by the raw power that erupted from their barrels.

Meanwhile, in the rear of the fleet, the remaining long-range frigates had taken flight from the assault cruisers and escort frigates that had suddenly jumped into their midst. If the frigates thought that some fancy flying would afford them free of any destruction, they were soon to be sorely disappointed. While they were not nimble, the Argente-class Assault Cruisers had superior firepower on their side, and they were not aiming at a small ship. Mass Driver cannons, Quad Turbolaser cannons, Heavy Turbolaser cannons, and Light Turbolaser cannons all followed their targets, their output even higher now that there were less opposing ships for the cruisers to focus on.

As the frigates tried to drive away, the Argente-class cruisers were able to anticipate their movement and turn with them; the process of the frigates turning and accelerating from complete zero-propulsion gave the large cruisers more than enough time to turn with them. Now, the cruisers raced along in the rear of the frigates, cruising at a speed that was not enough to catch up to the more nimble frigates but at one that would keep them in firing range.

And what more, they had fighters on their side. The agile and fast Vulture Droid Starfighters had taken no casualties thanks to the lack of any point-defense and now swarmed around the retreating frigates, more than capable of keeping up with the much faster ship. Laser fire and proton torpedoes streamed from the fighters at almost point-blank range; a single fighter squadron was able to cover each frigate, which amounted to twenty-four individual fighters. On top of that, the Murkhana-class Escort Frigates were each equipped with a single missile launcher, which they used to send the deadly Hailfire assault concussion missiles towards their retreating fires. Perhaps in a show of camaraderie, the lone frigate left in the middle formation had chosen to flee to the rear as well, but unfortunately, that vector would lead them right into the Arkham Nights, positioned conveniently at the rear -- as well as the six fighter squadrons coming from the supercarrier to intercept what had been an enemy formation. Laser fire from the droid ships illuminated the space around it on par with that of a small sun as no less than eight fighter squadrons converged on the lone frigate.

Kiff had begun to grow tired of the battle already, but somewhere he could feel that he would not have to wait much longer. The Confederacy would crush these terrorists at Talay, and avenge all of those who'd fallen on Ryloth. For the Agents of Chaos, it was the end of the line, end of the road. Their legacy ended here.

Their reign of terror ended here.

Spoiler: Fleet

• Flagship:
  • Invictus-class Battlecruiser
    • CNS Victator [87% Shields, 100% Structure]
• 513th Heavy Attack Line:
  • x5 Grievous-class Star Destroyers
    • CNS Exigent [100% Shields, 100% Structure]
    • CNS Carrhae White [100% Shields, 100% Structure]
    • CNS Ikelos [100% Shields, 100% Structure]
    • CNS Apotheosis [100% Shields, 100% Structure]
    • CNS Iron Lord [100% Shields, 100% Structure]
  • x2 Argente-class Assault Cruisers
    • CNS Last Disciple [100% Shields, 100% Structure]
    • CNS Shadowrun [100% Shields, 100% Structure]
  • x4 Terrus-class Flak Frigates
    • CNS Akelia [60% Shields, 100% Structure]
    • CNS Forethought [Destroyed]
    • CNS Pedestal [76% Shields, 100% Structure]
    • CNS Rock Elder [45% Shields, 100% Structure]
• 531st Carrier Line:
  • x1 Lucrehulk III-class Supercarrier
    • CNS Arkham Nights [100% Shields, 100% Structure]
  • x2 Murkhana-class Escort Frigates
    • CNS Silver Wings [100% Shields, 100% Structure]
    • CNS Destined Call [100% Shields, 100% Structure]
  • x4 Terrus-class Flak Corvettes
    • CNS Ormano [100% Shields, 100% Structure]
    • CNS Carrion [100% Shields, 100% Structure]
    • CNS Xalion [100% Shields, 100% Structure]
    • CNS Moondark [100% Shields, 100% Structure]

Spoiler: Active Fighter Squadrons

• x2 Squadrons of Variable Geometry Self-Propelled Battle Droids, Mk III
• x1 Squadron of Colla-class Droid Tri-Fighter
  • Deployed from the Exigent, engaging hostile fighters and corvettes.
• x2 Squadrons of Variable Geometry Self-Propelled Battle Droids, Mk III
• x1 Squadron of Colla-class Droid Tri-Fighter
  • Deployed from the Carrhae White, engaging hostile fighters and corvettes.
• x2 Squadrons of Variable Geometry Self-Propelled Battle Droids, Mk III
• x1 Squadron of Colla-class Droid Tri-Fighter
  • Deployed from the Ikelos, engaging hostile fighters and corvettes.
• x2 Squadrons of Variable Geometry Self-Propelled Battle Droids, Mk III
• x1 Squadron of Colla-class Droid Tri-Fighter
  • Deployed from the Apotheosis, engaging hostile fighters and corvettes.
• x2 Squadrons of Variable Geometry Self-Propelled Battle Droids, Mk III
• x1 Squadron of Colla-class Droid Tri-Fighter
  • Deployed from the Iron Lord, engaging hostile fighters and corvettes.
• x2 Squadrons of Variable Geometry Self-Propelled Battle Droids, Mk III
  • Deployed from the Last Disciple, attacking remaining frigates from the "right" formation
• x2 Squadrons of Variable Geometry Self-Propelled Battle Droids, Mk III
  • Deployed from the Shadowrun, attacking remaining frigates from the "left" formation
• x2 Squadrons of Variable Geometry Self-Propelled Battle Droids, Mk III
  • Deployed from the Silver Wings and Destined Call, attacking remaining lone frigate from the "center" formation.
• x6 Squadrons of Variable Geometry Self-Propelled Battle Droids, Mk III
  • Deployed from the Arkham Nights, attacking remaining lone frigate from the "center" formation.

Spoiler: Fleet Actions

• The Victator and all five Grievous-class Star Destroyers are continuing to fire full arsenal at the Agents of Chaos fleet. The line has also begun to accelerate to full power to close the gap between the respective fleets.
  • Tractor beam holds on the Disruptor-class corvettes are being used to drag the corvettes into a point-blank, topside range. Enemy corvettes are being attacked by capital ship fire and friendly starfighters.
  • Long-range mass-driver cannons are being focused on Monarch-class Star Destroyers while conventional turbolasers and ion cannons are focusing on the Sentinel-class Heavy Explorers and S.R.R.S.S. Mark VII. Firefly Assault Concussion Missiles are being fired at all classes of ships except the corvettes. Weak spots are being intentionally targeted (exposed propulsion, etc).
  • The Victator has fired its composite beam laser on the Monarch-class Star Destroyer to the left of the former lead ship (from the perspective of Kiff's fleet). The Victator has also begun recharging the beam laser.
  • Point-defense systems of the Grievous-class Star Destroyers and Terrus-class Flak Corvettes are engaging enemy fightercraft and spheres.
  • Fighters deployed from the Star Destroyers are engaging enemy fightercraft, spheres, and enemy corvettes.
• The Ormano, Carrion, Xalion and Moondark are hard-burning from their position to the forward line.
• Both Argente-class Assault Cruisers are focusing fire on remaining LRAS Darts.
  • Both cruisers have turned in line with the frigates and are maintaining a pace in which to keep the frigates in firing range. All armaments are being fired, divided equally between two targets.
  • A squadron each of Vulture Droid Starfighters is attacking each remaining frigate, keeping at point-blank range.
• The Murkhana-class Escort Frigates have not turned, but are firing missiles against the remaining LRAS Dart.
  • A total of eight squadrons of Vulture Droid Starfighters from the escort frigates are converging on the remaining LRAS Dart in a similar matter to the above squadrons.
• Kiff forgot to turn off the rad music he's broadcasting to the AOC Fleet. The song is conveniently placed on a repeated loop.

 

[Salem Norongachi]

Objective/Location: Seek and Destroy - Hangar Bay of Justice, Talay System
Fighter: Phase I “Ballerina” Star Interceptor - Aurora Eight
Onboard Equipment:
Allies: AoC ( Willam Forlon Bella Dimitri Lindzinsky )
Enemies: CIS ( Kiff Brayde John Locke )

Sal glanced at his sensors and wished immediately that he hadn’t, the sheer number it registered was enough to make even his steely nerves twang for a second and as the attack lines closed he began to see the rolling wave of metal and death on a headlong game of chicken. It was one the AoC pilots wouldn’t win, droids didn’t give a frak about scratching the paintwork and only slightly less about being cut in half as long as their target went down with them.

Norongachi took a breath, held it, blinked and then they were in the kark. Enemy craft whipped and screamed past them, flashes of weapons fire strobbed the space, cutting up the void into intermittent chunks. He cut a right, transitioning into a roll that brought the Balerina skimming above a droid fighter and then back into position to support Bella .

His craft had barely settled when his HUD pinged target acquisition and his Togruta wingman let rip with her particle cannons. A heartbeat later Sal’s joined the fun, the bolts zipping across the space to impact the Vulture, before both he and Bella punched through the ensuing explosion of debris.

The moment of that first kill was a turning point in his thinking. It hadn’t taken a thought to follow his wingmans maneuver, he’d registered it and his body knew exactly what to do to match her and pull it off. His chops might not have been the freshest or the leanest anymore but he still had them.

Another pair of Vultures fell to Aurora Seven and Eight, all the while the other members of the squadron repeated the same fundamentals of combat somewhere in the swarm. They may have been trying to plug a hole in the ocean, Sal knew, but there was no one else to do the job.

Bella pinged him again and wordlessly he followed her lead on the attack run, her missile whipped away and toward the first gunship and as they cleared its underside to attack the other Sal’s HUD screamed incoming. His head snapped upwards and in the next second he yelled, “SLAM!” to Bella. The kick of the Ballerinas SLAM system punched him in the chest before he spun away and slammed his nose down just as the missile cut through where he had been and then snapped onto his six like a dog with a bone.

He banked right and released the fighters chaff and plasma flare countermeasures, rolled himself to face the underside of the gunship and let his missile fly toward its exposed underbelly. If he was dying today he’d be doing it with the same bloody killcount as the Togruta.

 

[Darth Miseria]

E A R T H​

L O C A T I O N | Equator City - Flip Credit Casino
E Q U I P M E N T | Armour - Lightsaber - Boots - Wrist Saber x1 [One Destroyed in Invasion of Ryloth] - Water of Life x5 - Raxus Relief Gas x5
A L L I E S | Aselia Verd - Saram Kote - The Confederacy & Friends
E N E M I E S | K Kaine Australis - Agents of Chaos

“The infamous Butcher of Eshan.” Miseria tilted her glass toward him in a lazy toast. She found herself surprisingly calm at the realisation. Perhaps she should have recognized him, but he looked different face to face than he did in any of the photos. “You look different in a suit.” Her comment was off handed, quickly followed by a sip of her whiskey. “Have to say, I think I like you better in beskar’gam.”

Panic wasn’t going to be her friend here. In her younger days she had done panicked extremely well, and often. Over the years, things had stopped surprising her. Either that or she’d learned an incredibly impressive poker face from all those years of sabacc with Jaron and Ivum. Oh crap. She mused. Aselia Verd would have been out of her mind by now. It did not take this long to check through an empty casino. Miseria reached out to her sister, with just a gentle tingle in the force to let her know she was at least alive. That action alone would alert her to something that wasn’t planned for, but not to overly concern herself. Simply a nudge to be prepared. Just in case.

With that, she focused on Kaine.

“My name is Dianah Verd.” Whether or not he knew that already did not cross her mind. He reflected her own peace at the situation, and Miseria imagined that if he was here to help the Agents then he would have been in Iskaayuma. Not here in some run down casino. So he must have had a different motive. Perhaps it was to cause trouble while the Confederacy’s back was turned but he seemed fine with the fact that he’d bumped into someone. As long as they were both being amicable about this then she saw no reason to think he would attack.

Her head tilted curiously, letting loose a tumble of brown curls that bounced freely against her shoulder. “So, you’re not helping the Agents wreak chaos upon an innocent world this time?”​

 

[Darth Miseria]

E A R T H​

L O C A T I O N | Equator City - Flip Credit Casino
E Q U I P M E N T | Armour - Lightsaber - Boots - Wrist Saber x1 [One Destroyed in Invasion of Ryloth] - Water of Life x5 - Raxus Relief Gas x5
A L L I E S | Aselia Verd - Saram Kote - The Confederacy & Friends
E N E M I E S | K Kaine Australis - Agents of Chaos

At his compliment, a beaming smile crossed her expression. It was the only thanks she would give for it. Her gaze cast down quickly at the tumbler of amber liquid. She felt less inclined to drink it now, even though she knew one glass wouldn’t even slightly inhibit her. The weirdest thing was, this wasn’t even the strangest situation she’d found herself in before a fight. This didn’t even come close.

One of her slender brows rose in recognition of his answer. She should have guessed. Why else would he have been here? They were like clumsy moths to a slowly dying flame, the both of them. Always looking for each other, but always missing. Often by the smallest of fractions, sometimes by whole systems. Darth Metus and the Butcher of Eshan would likely continue this tango forever.

Finally, she returned her gaze to his war kissed expression. “Most definitely, and a much apprecited approach to war. At least from my perspective.” A smile formed on her lips as she lent forward slightly to take up her glass again. “Not many men compliment me then ask to meet my father in the same sentence.” She took a quick sip, and then topped the slowly dwindling liquid up, just as he had.

What harm could one more do?

The glass clunked heavily against the wood as she continued on. “Aren’t you both trying to kill each other?” Miseria cut herself short, to utter a giggle. “Actually, I should be trying to kill you right now.” It wasn’t a threat of any kind, merely a statement to the amusing situation they’d found themselves in. “What could you possibly want with my buir? He’s not one for talking… at least not to you.”​

 

[Redd]

LOCATION: Industrial part of the Iskaayuma
WEARING: A fur coat
EQUIPMENT: Wolf Form
ALLIES: Gerwald Lechner | BX-72967-RAZOR
ENEMIES: Scherezade deWinter | Larentia

Debris was tossed towards them in a rain of rocks and the lupine, shrouded in darkness, had to rely heavily upon her sense of hearing and smell to narrowly avoid being crushed under it all. Golden eyes while adjusted to the dim lighting wasn’t always reliable. This fact she knew full well, for she used to fight in arenas that were dimly lit due to how illegal they were to begin with on some planets. However as her gaze shifted to view Gerwald’s form that was occasionally lit up by the flashes of the gun battles that were happening within Iskaayuma’s dome, she heard his voice within her head. It was a feeling that she never gotten used to, but at the same time when Gerwald had convinced her that it was a necessary skill to learn, the wolf couldn’t disagree.

A growl rumbled through the wolf as she realised that their prey had decided to run like cowards instead of fighting with honor. Her nose lifted skywards as a howl was sounded off into the darkened sky. A howl to let any allies nearby know that their prey was on the run, a howl to chill the blood within the veins of her prey because she and her pack was coming for them. The howl seemed to echo within her ears as the red wolf lurched forwards into a run and sifting through the scents, the wolf herself used the passage that the five other agents had used, to exit the makeshift arena that Gerwald had created. Redd paused long enough just outside of the arena to watch Gerwald leap towards a building’s rooftop.

Ears flickered forwards as she moved once more into a run. Paws that no sooner touched the ground, were pushing against it to propel the lupine forwards in a speed that had been gifted to their kind. A speed she used to close the gap between her and the building that Gerwald had last been seen headed towards. However, what halted her efforts, was the door that stood closed between her and her prey. She whined as she slowly moved to back up so then her golden eyes could lift to view the lip of the roof. The lupine could shift, open the door and then return back to wolf form, but then it wouldn’t solve anything if there were more closed doors along the way. It also didn’t guarantee her any kind of passage to the roof either. A low growl of frustration had the wolf pacing before the door.

Redd doubted that she could follow the male up there and he knew it, which was why he had restricted her to the ground to keep an eye on things from below. She could smell them alright, she could smell their scent and as she paced the wolf hungered to sink her teeth into the flesh of their enemies. Some called it being bloodthirsty and they were probably right, but for now that bloodthirst kept her on edge. Ears perked forwards as she listened with intent for their enemies, but she heard nothing except the sounds of war raging all around them. However she could smell them. Not only them, but the smell of the debris that clogged up the air and tickled her nose.

The scent of debris wouldn’t stop her pursuit of them though, except maybe a door… However, that still wouldn’t stop her from carrying out her duties on the ground. The red wolf would keep both ears and nose alert and trained upon the two on the roof as best as she could from the ground. Her only concern was if they jumped from their current position to a different building. If so, then would Gerwald and Redd have to keep chasing those that decided to wage war on them but refused to engage in a fight? A growl of dissatisfaction rumbled from within as she continued to pace; what kind of new cowardice was this? Why initiate a fight if they weren’t going to fight? It just didn’t make any sense.

Spoiler: Edits

Just minor grammar and spelling edits.

 

[Cypher Rage]

Location // Cockpit, Talay //
Allies // Kiff Brayde John Locke Amelia von Sorenn | General CIS Fleeters
Enemies // Dimitri Lindzinsky Willam Forlon Bella Salem Norongachi | General AOC Fleeters and K Kaine Australis

At frst, he felt nothing. There was no light, there was no dark, only numbers. There was no fear, no panic, no certainty, there was no emotion.

One

Perhaps he had been wrong. Perhaps he shouldn't have abandoned his family. Perhaps he shouldn't have locked himself way from organic life on some logical quest for perfection. It wasn't human of him. It wasn't right.

Two

The cold embraces of simple emotions began to resurface in the cyborg. Tears rolled down his eyes as he realized what he had done. He had locked himself away from the things he held dear. Not all of him left Tannab.

Three

Today, he was reborn. At that moment, his soul returned to his body and once again he felt the cold embraces of the dark and the warmth of the light. Through tears, he smiled before frowning as he truly realized what his enemy had done.

Turbolasers danced through the stars, smashing against the shields of Confederate and Agent vessels alike. With a simple thought, his body reacted steering the starfighter directly toward enemy warships, unleashing hell and misery it's wake as it's own turbolasers and laser cannons ripped through.

Some didn't hit thier targets and yet, he didn't care. Victory was not an option for his enemy. He would not allow them to enroach upon another world of innocents. They would pay the ultimate price for thier treachery.

The beast had awoken, and it was furious.

 

[Shamira Karuto]

.​

​

E X P L O R E ​

Location: Capital City, Rodia
Objective: Enjoy some time outside Caer Badru
Allies: Confederacy and especially the witches
Equipment: Vine whip (spikes on whip tipped with Iscebore oil), Nesmite Tree Seed Pods (6), Pack of Thralda Leaves, Water of Life Potions (2), knapsack full of other goodies
Tags: | Vytal Noctura | Julra Repraj | Shalita Verd | Solana Arasne |

It was the first time that Shamira had been around an army of the undead in such incredible numbers. More and more began to climb out of the seemingly endless pit that the Nightmother had created, all covered in some variety of the wood she had thrown down there. Some came out with the smallest of pieces covering their body, a limb or two here and there, while others were covered with it. It was the quite the ramshackle affair, one that made shamira realize there was a lot more to this necromancy she would need to learn before attempting anything like this herself. Sticking to her Fallen seemed like the much better option for the time being while she continued to expand on her learning.

The amount of the undead the crawled forth prompted Shamira to take a few steps back in fear of being crushed by those boney feet. Actually backing into the nightmother at one point, she gave the woman a small smile then stepped off to the side to allow her to finish her work. There was little more the young witch could do to help, except for staying out of the way. That was the best option, she figured. No way to mess things up if one was actively trying to keep away. Hopefully, that is.

By the time the army was raised and prepared, it was high time for the group to be leaving. A quick step through the portal and the group of witches was now within the confines of the capital city dome. It was somewhat like the one of Ryloth, with the large city towers and pretty streets. At least, it was for the few moments that there was still light.

Then everything got very dark, very quickly.

Shamira, prompted by the Nightmother, quickly grabbed onto the woman’s cloak and was greeted by the odd coloring of the nightvision being shared. While the coloring was far from normal, it did allow her to see much better, prompting her grip to tighten. It wasn’t that she was fearful…at least not a lot. An excuse came to mind that if she couldn’t see, there was little she could do to help on the battlefield. This was perfectly acceptable for the redhead, who continued to stay close to Vytal even as the woman gave the group the permission to begin hunting the terrorists down in the tunnels.

She would not end up going with whatever group of witches decided to enter into the depths. Instead, casting a small fireball and having it hover on her outstretched hand, she prepared to follow the nightmother in supplementing their forces. “I have a few more plants with me that we could try in the casting. Might make them more useful.” She offered, smile growing slightly more at the prospect of being able to be more useful than she currently was. Her confidence in her abilities in battle had been shaken deeply. At least with the necromancy, there were pure, scientific facts she could lean on to help out.

Well, as scientific as witchcraft could be, anyways.

 

[Malerina Ka]

Location: Rodia, Weapons Factory District
Objective: Fill the enemy with holes
Allies: AoC and Allies
Enemies: CIS and Allies
Tags: Asaraa Vaashe Caedyn Arenais

The sephi sauntered forward, she had bemused a handful of times during her brief tenure existing if they had been grown to lack empathy: the sorrow and misery that her first foe saw did not phase Malerina: she merely saw one of the many galactic truths brought forward by the big bad monster that was major galactic powers. Her red eyes turned to Asaraa with a grim amusement.

A stream of laser fire burned out of her LMG, a somewhat wild spray while she found a suitable spot to stand her ground: then shouted in a way proper enough to make her Schutta Gene-Momma proud.

"Well ya' see! I was grown in a vat, yeah? Didn't exactly get how to wield a big flashlight crammed into my skull!"

After her little outburst, Malerina threw her head back in a laugh followed by another burst of fire: over the thunder of the blaster firing her voice could dimmly be heard.

"DURDURUDURUDURUDUR! Damn this thing is fun!"

Did the Sephi know what she was fighting, how to fight it properly, or how to even use her gear right? Not really. But there was one thing she always knew: unloading a blaster cartirage into a problem always fixed it.

 

[Nighthaunter]

Location: Weapons Factory District, Iskaayuma, Rodia
Objective: Find a suitable target for his blade and generally cause chaos and fear within the enemy.
Equipment: MK I Nightsuit, Willbreaker, Throwing stars, Silent Blades, Collapsible sniper rifle (Destroyed).
Allies Nearby: Daiya
Enemies: CIS ( Nyx N1X3 Safira Haran Tiria Reinhart )

Nighthaunter had watched as the girl and wookie had followed him onto the rooftop across from the building. He could feel the ground underneath him shake as there was obviously a large explosion somewhere within the city and all the lights went out. As they were running across the rooftop he looked over his shoulder and saw the Dauntless commandos in pursuit of them. He watched as the large wookie jumped off the rooftop and into the alley. He watched as the young girl followed her large hairy companion down from the rooftop and into the alley. She negotiated getting down from the rooftop in a more measured manner than her wookie companion who simply jumped. But her descent was no more efficient or quick. He took one last look over his shoulder at the 10 Dauntless commandos in pursuit and grinned, he then jumped off the rooftop. He landed with a thud before following his new companions to the hatch that led to the sewers.

He could hear the words “Freeze” be yelled after them as he landed in the alleyway. The voice was one used to being in command, and was most likely the leader of the squad pursuing him. He looked towards the hatch that the wookie had wrestled open, and he began to run over towards the hatch. All thoughts about the blaster burn on his shoulder gone as the adrenaline in his system numbed the pain. He watched the wookie disappear down the hatch, just as he got to it. He then opened the hatch and descended into the darkness of the sewers. His HUD immediately engaged night vision as he descended into the wet, disgusting city sewers. He ran to catch up with the young girl and the wookie who weren’t far up ahead.

As he ran up alongside them, he grabbed the girl by the shoulders, getting them to stop. He crouched down slightly so he was eye level with her, “Listen to me, I will be able to slow them down.” He said hurriedly looking at the wookie and the young girl, “But you two need to get out of here and get off world as soon as possible.” Without waiting for an answer he activated the cloaking device in his suit. From Daiya’s perspective it would like he had disappeared in front of her face. The cloaking device made him completely invisible and see through to the human eye. It shrouded his heat signature and also made it so that he would not appear on the radar of a heads up display. Instead any radar or motion sensors in his immediate vicinity would be scrambled and show that there were multiple enemies in their immediate vicinity.

He then crawled up the side of the circular sewer tunnel and clung to the roof of the sewer, using the grip on the gloves and boots of his armour to hang there. It was one of his favourite ambush techniques, as no matter how experienced the soldier people rarely tended to look upwards. And even if they did he would be completely invisible to them. Now it was just a matter of waiting and he was sure that he wouldn’t have to wait long for his prey to arrive...

 

[Nyx N1X3]

Location: Iskaayuma, Rodia
Allied Command: Confederacy of Independent Systems
Enemy Command: Agents of Chaos

Equipment: Jackal Sniper Rifle | TDW L-7 Pistol | Cyberwarfare Defense Platform | Jam Buster Comlink | Thermal Detonators | Smoke Canisters
In Control of: NulCom Mini-Satellites

The droid's dark figure barrelled over rooftops not caring what damage might have been done by not properly distributing her weight to reduce the impact. Time was of the essence, and the Commandos whose on-board cameras she'd 'borrowed' -- having more than sufficient access to the Confederacy's network, more than any would be comfortable with -- suggested her targets were attempting to elude capture.

The most likely scenario suggested a subterranean effort to escape... or pursue their own objective. Whatever their intention, Nyx could not allow them to succeed. However, unlike the order-abiding Dauntless pursuing the trio from behind, Nyx held her own council how best to deal with the intruders.

Suddenly, Nyx's hand dropped atop a low wall as her optical sensors surveyed the dark street below. An overlay of the dome's underlying infrastructure was superimposed over what she could see and Colonel Reinhart's present location highlighted for reference. A course was plotted, the simulations run, and the risks weighed...

Nyx leaped over the low wall and fell down to the street below with a loud bang. She straightened up and strode purposefully toward a nearby hatch to rip it off its hinges. There was no need to be subtle. By the time anyone responded to the noise disturbance, she would be long gone. Then again, she descended even further, into the planet or the dug out trenches of organic filth.

An extended oil bath would be necessary after the day's activities.

Unlike before, Nyx made her way along the sewers in the direction of the trio being pursued. If her receptors picked up indications they were headed away from the factory, then she would lay in wait with the intent to engage them in civil conversation. If they were headed toward the factory... that would be unfortunate. Likely she would be forced to endeavor to cut them off and participate in their capture, which was not the ideal outcome. Capture had a 99% chance of summary execution. There had been a reason the civilians had been evacuated.

With her red eyes glowing in the bleak underbelly of a city of this side, a number of simulations were run in preparation for what Nyx believed to be the best outcome under the circumstances. The Confederacy wasn't going to let anyone leave alive. In fact, as the encounter continued to be drawn out and the resources committed to the effort increased there seemed to be only one, logical outcome so long as the Agents of Chaos remained on this world. It was far from an ideal outcome, but then organics did not deal in ideal outcomes -- ideals, yes, but it was apparent to anyone on the ground that ideals were not what any sought to put on display. On either side.

Yes, this was a war between factions that would never see eye to eye so long as each was led by their current leader. They each believed the other to be a traitor, and the Agents of Chaos certainly did everything they could to portray the Confederacy as evil -- going so far as to outright fabricate "evidence." That was also known to those in the technical field as lying. Propaganda was a subtle art; lies were disprovable, if one was willing to surrender evidence to the contrary. This was not always possible, however, as sensitive material may be caught up in such things and any tampering would call it into question. Nevertheless, after Ryloth the Confederacy was catching on to the Agents' methods.

They had come for war, and the Confederacy would give it to them in spades.

All that thought in the space of a single simulation. Yes, Nyx believed encouraging the duo that had accompanied the target -- perhaps even the target -- to accompany her was for the best. It would ensure their survival. Likely even their freedom, provided none of them did anything foolhardy. It would be disappointing to need to kill them after extending them a one-time offer that placed even Nyx herself at risk.

Tag: Luna Terrik | Haastal Haran | Daiya | Nighthaunter

 

[Bella]

Objective/Location: Seek and Destroy - Talay System
Fighter: Phase I “Ballerina” Star Interceptor - Aurora Seven
Onboard Equipment: Phase IX Anti-G Suit | X-8 Night Sniper
Allies: AoC ( Willam Forlon Salem Norongachi Dimitri Lindzinsky)
Enemies: CIS ( Kiff Brayde John Locke )

The threat, a trio of missiles registered as a series of loud, insistent warnings in her montrals, which Bella quickly reacted to by deploying her Ballerina’s plasma flares and executing a hard break turn to the left, putting as much Gs as she could on her interceptor in the process of executing the maneuver. That maneuver, in combination with her deployment of plasma flares, was enough to break the lock on her craft. However, she could not say the same for her wingman, who had decided to activate his SLAM in an effort to outrun the missile through brute speed, while compromising his craft’s maneuverability in the process.

That left his survival up to her.

Ten Years Ago, Planet at Edge of Sith-Imperial Space​

“Galaxy Two, watch your six!” The warnings from the missile warning indicator blared with naked ferocity in Galaxy Two’s ears as she banked her TIE Nexus hard to the right before diving into a hard break in the same direction. Since her craft lacked any kind of anti-missile countermeasures, Galaxy Two had to rely solely on her craft’s maneuverability in order to evade the incoming missile. Nevertheless, after a few moments, the missile lost it’s lock on her craft.

But there was still the matter of her wingmate.

At the far right edge of her viewport, she saw Galaxy Three banking hard in what was already appearing to be a futile effort to evade the missile that was hot on his tail. However, there were also two enemy bandits at her 10 o’clock, both of which were low on energy presumably after executing a strenuous series of offensive and defensive maneuvers which had bled the airspeed from their craft.

She could kill them, or save her wingmate, but she couldn’t do both.

Without hesitation, Galaxy Three accelerated her fighter forward and angled her nose in an aggressive lead pursuit before discharging a flurry of four fiery green beams from her laser cannons at the first bandit and following up with a vengeful barrage of six plasmatic bolts. Within the span of less than two seconds, the two vulnerable enemy fighters were reduced to molten slag, with their helpless pilots dying short, yet fiery deaths in the wake of Galaxy Two’s assault. All the while, her wingmate’s craft was struck by the missile before plunging down to the surface in a fiery wreckage, never to be heard from again.

There was no place for maverick heroics in the Emperor’s navy.

Present
​

When she saw the two stealth interceptors ( John Locke ) at her 11 o’clock, Bella remembered the story that her favorite flight instructor at the Fleet Academy had told her over and over again. The story which had ultimately led the veteran pilot into a lifetime of regret, drinking, and glitterstim abuse, before bringing an untimely end to her flying days when she overdosed and was put into an induced coma for three months. When she heard the story for the first time, Bella was only a single month old, a young, freshly-grown clone who had only just emerged from the growth vats at the Scintilla and was eager to simply live. She had never thought that she would ever face a situation where she would have to make such a hard choice, which would have long-lasting repercussions for her career or mental health.

And if she did, she would surely make the correct choice every time, without fail.

However, at that moment, the first thing that came to mind wasn’t the fact that Salem was being pursued by a missile and desperately needed her assistance, but rather, the two fresh notches she could potentially add to her kill count if she decided to go after them.

She knew it was stupid of her to crave glory and prestige in such a reckless manner, but that didn’t stop her from being drawn to its ever-enticing allure. Nevertheless, it was harder for her to draw back on the sticks and turn after her wingman than she would ever admit. It required all of her focus to line up her shot, so that she didn’t accidentally shoot Salem in the rear while attempting to take down the missile that was tailing after him. However, his active SLAM overdrive had compromised his maneuverability, making the shot much easier for her to line up than it would have been otherwise.

Bella knew that was also the reason he had not been able to break the lock on his own.

With a deep breath, Bella squeezed the trigger and sent a pair of accelerated particle beams through space towards the missile, which went off in a fiery explosion, eliciting a short-lived sensation of relief from her as her wingman’s interceptor sped clear of the blast. It wasn’t long until she registered the approach of a hostile anti-starfighter corvette moving quickly towards her element’s designated patrol zone in the battlespace via her sensors, which were linked to the more powerful threat detection suite of a friendly Intersector-class picket corvette.

She knew immediately that it was time to fall back.

 

[Luna Terrik]

D E F E N D

Objective: Contain and control
Time: 0032
Equipment: VAARS Rifle, Tactical Recon Handguns (2), Personal Armor, CryoBan Grenade (4), Thermal Detonator (2)
Ally tags:| Tiria Reinhart | Haastal Haran | Anakwor Farlorn | Maeve Archeron | Shuklaar Kyrdol | Jrurki Liz | The Monster | Draconis Sederius Wolf | Safira Haran | Typhan Berrezz | Subject 73 Red | BX-72967-RAZOR | Ishmael Verd | Nyx N1X3 | Vytal Noctura |
Enemy tags: | Daiya | Nighthaunter | Eldoc Quasat | Zaldros Sabolte | Madalena Antares | Scherezade deWinter | Domino | Gabriel Volturi |
Post: #6

There was a point in battles where one knew the tide was going to end up in their favor, regardless of what the enemy attempted to throw at them. Sometimes it was a subtle thing, a certain unit being lost or reinforcements arriving just a few minutes late. For defenders, it could be the last drop of supplies running out, or the final gun running dry. No matter what, there was a time that that most generals and officers could point to in engagements with the enemy that signified their victory was at hand. With all the years of battle experience poured into her veins, Luna had that ingrained knowledge as well.

When one of the Rancor platoon’s comms came in, saying how the enemy had gone to ground, she knew that their time of victory would be coming soon. The enemy had seemingly vastly underestimated the amount of fury that the CIS would wield, and in their arrogance only brought enough forces for a small strike team. Now, perhaps this would have worked, and it even mirrored what Luna might have attempted when Dauntless was still only a legion of men. However, strike forces required secrecy and speed, neither of which the enemy seemed to possess at the moment.

Worse yet…they had boxed themselves in underground now. They could attempt to make for the Factories, only serving to lead them into the hands of the Dauntless HQ, or out of the dome itself, and farther away from their objectives. There was a spaceport in the city, but as of the moment, Luna believed it to be under their control and very firmly defended. These terrorists were in a corner, with no way off planet and no way out of the sewers that didn’t end in utter failure for their objectives.

Now it was about completing the job. It seemed as though the Nightmother was going to go hunting for the terrorists in the tunnels, which could play either well or badly in the Confederacy’s fashion. How many of those…things the witch was sending into the tunnels could cause them to not move as fast, and even without transportation and in the near darkness that the tunnels would be encompassed in, a small band could still outmaneuver an unrelenting hoard. How long they could run depended on a few factors, but for the moment, they had the advantage against the never-ending group of zombies.

Regardless of the possible downsides, it was probably better to allow the witch leader to do her work in the sewers without the Dauntless’s intervention. Taking a few moments to establish a commlink to Haastal Haran , it seemed as though the man was getting ready to head after someone. “Before you leave, Grand Marshal, I assume you received the communication our uninvited guests have entered into the sewers. As much as I would like our boys to receive the credit..” She paused, cracking the smallest of smiles for the first time that day. The ridiculousness of the situation was getting to her a bit, it seemed. “The Nightmother is sending an army..of the undead into the sewers after them. Perhaps it’d be better to let them do their work today.” Luna followed this with a little shrug. She knew the Mandalorian’s need for battle. Today just didn’t look like it would satisfy it.

Her eyes left the hologram to look at the hard copy of the young man’s speech, now sitting on the edge of the table. There was a momentary look of thought on her face, disappearing quickly to turn back to the Grand Marshal. “It’s up to you, however. I would advice against it, and frankly wouldn’t order any of them into those sewers. But I am leaving the situation up to you, for now.” With a nod, the comm was cut off, allowing her attention to turn back to the hard copy. More people needed to see the disgusting actions of those under the Agents of Chaos flag.

“Comms officer!” She called out, turning to see the young man quickly making his way over. Taking the hard copy in her hand, the War Marshal gave it one last look over before handing it to the man. “Make contact with someone orbit. Preferably Grand Marshal Sorenn ( Amelia von Sorenn ). If you can’t reach her…perhaps Exarch Talen has arrived ( Srina Talon ). If you can get in contact with either, tell them that the War Marshal wishes to speak with them.” The officer gave her a nod, moving away to complete his task. If contact with either of them could be reached, then the galaxy would see the Agent’s lack of humanity despite their claims of peace. The façade was officially beginning to fall apart.


--------------------------
Captain Maxiulis’s POV



Objective: Collapse the tunnels - LAPW’s
Time: 0032
Equipment: VAARS Rifle, XIPHOS Armor
Ally tags: | Anakwor Farlorn | Shuklaar Kyrdol | The Monster | Draconis Sederius Wolf | BX-72967-RAZOR |
Enemy Tags: | Eldoc Quasat | Zaldros Sabolte | Madalena Antares | Domino | Gabriel Volturi |

It took only a few minutes to move the walkers into the correct position that Maxiulis wanted, as well as line up the other two walkers on other sides of his own. The combined width of the three walkers could be barely contained by the street, making it so that they had to stagger positions so they could all fit. Regardless, they were now ready for whatever plan the crazed tank commander had in mind. “Sir!” The pilot, Ulies, called out, “we’re in position! What are you orders?”

A mischievous smile moved across the scarred Captain's face. Before he started strapping himself into a walker for every single engagement, Maxiulis was a Dauntless soldier that had been deployed to numerous conflicts. One of those included the Battle of Atrisia, where he and his squad of men made their way through the sewers of that city while being pursued by a bunch of angry zombies. Now, there were no zombies on this world, but there was a similarity between what the terrorists were trying to accomplish and what he had to experience.

The things about sewers was that they were very confusing to navigate. As he found out, it was much better to just keep moving forward and hope for the best. Taking extra turns and running left and right could make for one incredibly confusing, and almost impossible, escape. So, it made sense that they wouldn’t go anywhere but forward, which was why Maxiulis had decided to move straight backwards…and to attempt to seal them in.

“Pilot! Aim both missile silos at the ground in front of us, far enough to not hurt us in the process. And chance,” turning to the comm officer to get his attention. “tell the other two to do work with Ulies to be targeting around the same area.” As both went to work, Maxiulis leaned back into his seat, grin starting to spread at the prospect of what was going to happen next. The missiles on these walkers could penetrate a tank with luck, and the only thing between the walkers and the sewers underneath them was a few feet of rock and metal. Which made the next few moments all the more satisfying.

“All walkers ready sir!” Ulies called out, prompting the captain to lean forward in his seat. Time to see how smart these terrorists really were. “All walkers, fire missiles into the ground. Seal. Them. In.”

The sounds of screaming missiles, fired from all three of the trio of walkers, filled the air above ground for just moments before they struck the ground. Maxuilis’s walker did the majority of the first damage, breaking through the street and the concrete underneath. The other two followed up beautifully with their own missiles, striking the ground and shaking loose the rest of the rock. For a meter in front of the walkers, the ground collapsed in a heap of rock, concrete, and metal, blocking the most direct way to the factories. The Captain’s grin stayed on his face the entire time, eager to see just how this little band of terrorist dogs would deal with having their only major way to the objective blocked off by a half meter thick blockage.

 

[Ciri Jade]

Location: Talay, Abandoned Facility
Objective: Shut down signal
Allies: CIS
Hostiles: Open

Listening as the question she poised in regards to the commando's nickname was answered, she understood the reasoning behind it, and it reminded her of her childhood and the nicknames the young crew of friends called one another. Though her tone that followed was more serious than anything, "Finish last or first, it matters not. What matters is having each other's back." With that, she didn't say any more on the subject and proceded to follow the path ahead, staying within their protection circle, for their sake. While inspecting the state of the facility around her, her attention also remained on the commandos around her. Listening to any chatter, or even observing them as they moved, normally lingering on one for a couple of seconds before turning to other things.

When the Sergeant spoke up, she turned her head to look in his direction, his question wasn't an unexpected one, and it was only right that she provide them some information at the very least. "Once we reach the command center, I'll need some time to access the systems. As you know, information on this place is scarce, so not even I know what it may hold in terms of security, or if visitors from the battle being waged above us may come. Judging by the state of this entrance, I would say we shouldn't expect biological security forces and I doubt anyone has made it inside before us."

Following Tau inside, an eerie feeling washed over her in similar fashion to what one of them had mentioned. She couldn't place a finger on why such a feeling was present.. and that unsettled her more than anything. The screeching of the metal doors being pulled open drew her attention as she realized the path ahead had become a path above. Turning towards Tien Ulinesque , she nodded, unclipping a small device similar in design to that of the Dauntless but more crude in nature. Despite its appearance, it would serve the purpose. "It's an old one, but it holds up fine." Moving towards the doorway into the shaft, she awaited her turn before hooking up and beginning her ascent.

"See you at the top."


Tags: Tien Ulinesque , Damsy Callat , Athena

Spoiler: Equipment

Roc-class Mk I Stealth Armor
BCR-X19 Needler Pistol (Concealed)
4x Kaminoan Darts (Gifts from Damsy Callat Post-Vondarc)
4x Makite Themfar Darts
Cyber-Eye Contact Lenses x1 Pair
LK Spider Slicer Droids x2
A-180 Blaster Pistol (Pistol Config.)
Corvus-type Chronometer