Public Holojournals: The Siege at Er'kit

[Shira Varanin]

OOC/ The format's a little different for this thread. Each post could be as little as a picture and a blurb, and the picture's the important part. Ideally we tell war stories together in first-person vignette snapshots. This thread format is ideal for people who want to hop in for a low-pressure, low-commitment, skip-to-the-keyframe sort of thing.

Feel free to be a defender, an attacker, part of the Jedi relief team, a bystander...

IC/
The Sith Empire has escalated its genocide of the Mandalorians. The enigmatic Sith Lord Darth Quercus has deployed stormtroopers to Er'kit, a desert backwater just outside Imperial borders. A broken Mando clan, low on supplies and places to run, has put out a desperate distress call from a barren fortress.

My small Jedi task force is about to land, but Lord Quercus' legion has the last defenders under siege, and it's looking grim.

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We've landed now. Barely got past the Sith guns to put down in the half-abandoned settlement around the fortress walls.

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[Darth Quercus]

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So far I am underwhelmed by the stormtroopers of my official legion. My sincere hope is that this siege will toughen them up. The Mandalorians are offering a robust defense of the core fortress, and engaging in impressive urban warfare in the surrounding settlement. Most of the locals have cleared out. This region is becoming a free-fire zone for my forces, the Mandalorians we need to eradicate, and the handful of others - Jedi, mainly - who've come to help or evacuate them.

I cannot afford to fail here. I may need to take the field in person.

 

[Ghed Saya]

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What's left of my squad tangled with a Sith-Imperial advance party at a field command post in an oasis north of the fortress. We gave as good as we got, but the stormtroopers won the day by force of numbers. We can't afford to keep losing command posts. But the comms say a relief crew has arrived - Jedi reinforcements, of all things. So maybe we see another day.

 

[Sol Stazi]

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What a karking mess. Mandalorians don't have much left for heavy fire support so our Ronin is all this settlement has got. I thought this damn coffin was hot in orbit but now its blistering. Even though I wouldn't last more than a few seconds topside the temptation is still there. My voice is already hoarse from calling out enemy walkers for our beam cannon turret to target. This is bad and only getting worse.

Despite interference I have attempted to contact Shira Varanin over shortband. I need to know how long they expect to hold their ground so I can determine the best time to fall back and avoid getting swarmed by infantry with anti-armor. We're a precious commodity down here and that makes us a high value target. If I want to keep my crew alive I'm going to have to pick and choose our moments.

 

[Darth Quercus]

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My Star Destroyer tested the fortress's shield generator again without effect. The Mandalorian shields are layered particle/molecular, so warheads stop and turbolasers feed the shields in proportion to the damage they inflict. The shield is strong enough to deflect any bombardment. To make matters worse, they have several ysalamiri and other countermeasures specific to telepathy. There will be no simple solution here, not like the other Mandalorian warrens we annihilated from orbit.

A Jedi task force has landed, and there are other non-Mandalorians present, including a bulbous Sullustan hovertank. The situation is growing more complicated. My commanders assure me they have the equipment to bring it down.

Sol Stazi

 

[Shira Varanin]

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We lost two Jedi Knights today, one while cutting a withdrawal route for Sol Stazi's hovertank, the other to a stray shot. Jedi danger sense doesn't do much when there's no intent involved. We took their sabers and supplies - best we could do. Pour one out for Jagro Bessamy and Tole Ka-Wen of the Cloud City Sentinels.

We've linked up with the Mando defenders and pulled back under cover. I think we're stuck here for a while. Tole was a precog who said we had a sixty percent chance of getting pinned down for more than a day. I wonder what odds she saw for her own death, what she felt - but she came here anyway.

We also lost our ship.

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[Kelsie Sylvan]

Er'kit
00:09 Er'kit Standard Time​

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I don't think I've ever really been a smuggler. The Razor's outfitted for it, sure, and I guess I've smuggled things before, but moving goods discreetly for credits? Can't remember if I've done it before now.

Situation is pretty bad for my 'client'. To be fair when they put out the distress call I was probably the only one in the cantina even thinking about trying to slip by the Sith. Guess I'm a real rebel, anyways. Turned out I did have all the tools for the job -- forgot I had the cellar with the ysalamiri, plus the nutrient feeding system. All hooked up, forgot it was running, but it meant if there was an actual Sith running the show they didn't suspect a thing.

Cloaking device still holding up, even after all these years, but seems like my bird's getting a little worn out nowadays. Got to the surface just fine, but no doubt a few Imps spotted me. Soon as I started decelerating she started coughing up smoke from the engine. Turned off the cloaking once I cleared the shield.

The Mandos kept their buckets on the entire time. Only faces I could see were the few kids there -- weren't many -- and they seemed surprisingly happy for the grim warrior race. Seemed like they thought me bringing in a few rockets, blaster cannons, and supplies was gonna be enough to turn the tide, to save them or something. The posture of the warriors told me that they were ready to do anything to protect those kids, shelter them from a tragic fate.

Anything turned out to be a lot. The Mandos offered to help fix my ship. Took a break to watch the sunset, and one of them came over and asked if I might be willing to take the kids and a few others to a safe place offworld until this all blows over. If I were a real smuggler I'd probably ask for an advanced payment or something.

The repairs will take until tomorrow, so I've got a night to think about it.

I don't know these people -- am I worth putting that much trust in?

Tomorrow.

Journal entry end.

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[Ghed Saya]

In private, I argued against trusting Kelsie Sylvan - not her intentions, but her capabilities and those of her ship. But the Armorer, the last one we have, made the strong point that there's no other ship, and no refuge on Er'kit. The rest of us can sell our lives to give that ship cover off this planet, crammed full of our noncombatants. Maybe the children will follow the Way. Maybe they'll just grow up as Mandalorians in the modern manner, showing their faces and breaking their promises. Either way, they live and the Sith fail.

In some small degree, the Sith fail.

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[Kelsie Sylvan]

Er'kit
12:40 Er'kit Standard Time
Day 2

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Waiting on the final decision. Couldn't really sleep. The Imps pounded the shields and the nearby posts all night. Demoralization tactics are a lot less fun on the receiving end. They know they're in an advantageous position. By the book, but effective. Not like the Mandalorians will take my advice on the situation. They've been here longer, anyways. They know each other better, too.

Since I wasn't getting any shut-eye anyways, I spent my time working on the ship. Fixed/replaced the power converters with a few spare parts the Mandos had on hand. Engine hit a bit of a snag when one of them blew, but worked the kinks out. Honestly the Razor's a mess -- worked a lot better when I had Missy managing most of the systems. Still, the compartmentalization is perfect. Past hour I spent clearing out anything unnecessary and moving most of the amenities to the cargo hold. With everything cleared out, depending on how they're situated I might be able to fit a hundred people. It won't be comfortable, and it'll be hell if we get into combat, but I'll clear that hurdle when I get there.

I'm pretty sure they'll take me up on my offer. To be fair, I think they can hold out a while longer with the supplies I brought them. I might even be able to shuttle them all out quietly in a few round trips -- mentioned as much to one of the leaders. The armorer, or whatever.

I don't think they'll accept that, though. This place is like a holoflick's last stand location. No underground escape routes, just a big shield and a few determined defenders against wave after wave of stormtroopers. I saw a hovertank pull in recently, plus a few Jedi. Pretty sure that was Shira Varanin I saw, and maybe if they load up their ship too we can get everyone out.

It's a bad plan, but I've yet to hear a better one. No one else out there's gonna come to help, and if they don't get out of here they'll die forgotten. That's definitely no way to be Mandalorian.

Maybe I'll try that approach. Rally the troops by telling them that dying here will mean piss all.

Journal entry end.

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[Shira Varanin]

The Force was on our side. It turns out that the Mandos have a friend, or at least an ally of convenience: a spacer named Kelsie Sylvan . A few more repairs and her ship can take most of the Mandos offworld, assuming it can run the blockade. We salvaged some necessary parts from the wreck of our Jedi ship, down in the settlement outside the walls.

A handful of us are going to stage a diversion while the evac ship makes a break for it. I'm not optimistic about our odds of survival, but I do think we can get Sylvan and most of the Mandos away, especially the kids.

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At dawn, we're going to take these ramshackle walkers and some other vehicles, and try to draw as much attention as humanly possible. That ought to let Sylvan blast off into the sunrise.

Sol Stazi

 

[Kelsie Sylvan]

Delderaan
17:30 Delderaan Standard Time
Day 3

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So... the Jedi didn't have a ship. Mandos didn't either. Just me.

The Razor was filled up. Kinda forgot, kids are smaller and lighter than adults. Managed to squeeze a few more on than I thought I could, which was good.

I'd say the escape went smoothly, but it didn't really. Currently sitting on Delderaan. The kids are playing, I'm fixing the ship. Again.

The first bit was fine. Shira Varanin had half a plan; they took some walkers and speeders out, hit one of the stormie units hard, then went around. Made a lot of noise, got a lot of Imps' attention. Good distraction. I didn't use the cloak in atmosphere this time -- didn't want to waste power -- but thanks to the sensor jammers and distraction, didn't get hit with anything as we began to leave. The Razor's faster than any of the dumbfire rockets the Imps were packing, and the SAMs couldn't detect it, so we managed to slip away.

Obviously someone reported it though. By the time I broke atmosphere I was picking up fighters swinging our way. My ship's fast, but not that fast. Plus, being filled to the brim with noncombatants meant tight turns were gonna squish someone. I banked into low orbit, started up the navcomp, started using the planet's gravity to try and sling us away. Managed to put some distance between us and the fighters, but they figured it out quick and tried the same thing.

It's hard to be a good pilot if your copilot is a seven year old and your cargo is extra fragile. Wouldn't want to get beat by some Mandos because their kids died, either.

Still, they weren't useless. Some of the kids took to the turrets and ended up downing two of the fighters. Mandos raise their kids right. Sometimes.

After that, flung away from the planet, hit the Big L. Delderaan is a few systems away, so we're gonna stick it out here. Told the Mandos I'd wait here for a few days, hide the kids. If the Sith show up I'd throw them off the scent by taking the Razor out.

Now that I'm here, I feel like this was a terrible idea. A few of the noncombatants are adults, but most are kids, and now that they're away from the parents I need to act like a parent, basically. Worse... if the siege goes how it probably will, what am I going to tell them? Where will I send them? I can't take care of them all, but it'd be bad to hand them off to anyone else. The remnants of the United Clans aren't people I trust, and they'd probably hate being with the Jedi.

Those people don't deserve that, and the kids don't either. I feel so powerless like this. Should I even care about them? Every single one of those warriors was ready to go down fighting, even though what they had to protect was a lot safer than they were.

They put a lot of trust in me. I guess I need to live up to it.

I'll hit up some neutral channels, see if I can scrum up some guys on the undervine crazy enough to run a Star Destroyer. If not... maybe I'll go back.

Parents shouldn't be separated from their kids. I know that much.

Journal entry end.

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[Ghed Saya]

Kelsie Sylvan proved me wrong. The Jedi say she got away clean with the children. Makes it easier to sit here on the edge of a wall while the Sith artillery pounds us. They're making good use of direct and indirect fire. Not impressed by their infantry though. I'd give my right arm to be down there in the alleys with my vode and the Jedi. I've lost a lot of blood so I'm on overwatch. Our medical supplies were bad enough. Blood transfusions were never in the cards.

I'm tired. I feel satisfaction in the role I've played, but I'd rather die having lived. Not sure I can say that I've been anything other than the helmet.

If I live, maybe I'll need to let myself think a little broader.

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