Mission No Mercy [Imperial Raid on Lothal]

[COMMAF]

N O_M E R C Y

IMPERIAL CONFEDERATION
LOTHAL, OUTER RIM TERRITORIES

​

When the Black Sun struck Lothal, the Imperial Confederation predictably rushed to intervene against what was an open provocation against them. While the Black Sun had been repelled, their raid had exposed a local cell of the Wild Space Rebellion, which, despite the attack on their world, had chosen to side with the Black Sun against the Imperial intervention.

Then, right after the failed Imperial offensive against the Sith in the Thandon Star Cluster, the Wild Space Rebellion would go on to launch an attack against the Imperial Shipyards on Mon Cala in an attempt to steal a portion of the shipyards. With the Rebellion growing bolder and more ambitious in their strikes against the Confederation, it was only a matter of time before they retaliated, and that time had finally come.

As such, an Imperial Armada would soon arrive at Lothal, personally led by Supreme Commander Marlon Sularen , to deliver the Confederation’s judgment upon the Rebel world. A world that had chosen to side with pirates attacking them over the Imperials, who sought to stop them in their tracks. A world that refused to accept or understand the benefits of Imperialism, instead standing with the chaotic forces that had ravaged the galaxy.

If Chaos is what they choose, then we’ll bring down the iron boot of Order upon their necks to ensure that they will never rise again. A blockade will be imposed upon Lothal, order will be restored throughout its cities, and their resources will be placed under the control of the Confederation as a clear reminder that it is a power beyond reckoning.

Spoiler: Objectives

Recommended Characters: Imperial Navy & Starfighter Corps​

In orbit of Lothal, a large Imperial Armada emerges from hyperspace commanded personally by Supreme Commander Marlon Sularen . Almost immediately, all space traffic is shut down as interdictors are activated to prevent attempts to escape offworld and neutralize any ship entering the system. Lothal will be isolated from the wider galaxy and slowly suffocated until it capitulates.

Recommended Characters: Imperator Corps, Special Forces & Inquisitorous/Imperial Knights​

As a blockade is erected in orbit by the Imperial Navy, Imperial forces descend upon Lothal en masse with the Imperator Corps making landfall across the many cities of Lothal while simultaneously seizing control of vast resource mines across the planet to draw out the Rebel Cell hiding on the planet for Imperial Special Forces and the Force Corps to make quick work of should the rebels dare to come out to face the wrath of the Confederation.

Spoiler: OOC Note

This thread is also open to Wild Space Rebellion Writers.

 

[FN-999 (restored)]

LOTHAL ORBIT, ICNV BELLEROPHON

“A fleet has three main elements.” lectured Admiral Joanne Savatti. “Capital ships, escorts, and starfighters.”​

“Are capital ships not all ships exceeding one hundred meters?” asked General FN-999. “What makes escorts different?"

“Quite frankly, the common galactic definition of capital ships is far too broad.” remarked the admiral. “In practice, capital ships are almost always heavy cruisers or larger.”

“For example,” continued Savatti, pointing with a slender hand to the Star Destroyers visible from where the pair stood at the center of the Bellerophon’s bridge. “Imperial Star Destroyers are among the galaxy’s most common capital ships. They form the core of fleet operations, providing the majority of a fleet’s firepower and starfighters. Usually, capital ships also have specialized equipment that allow their officers to command large groups of other ships."

“So escorts are light cruisers or smaller?” asked FN-999.

“For the most part, yes.” answered Admiral Savatti. "There are a few specialized vessels such as interdictors, blockade runners, and our own Bellerophon that blur the line between capital and escort. However, most smaller ‘capital ships’ are actually classified as escorts due to their light armament and defenses as well as high speed. Their main purpose is to screen the capital ships, protecting them from starfighters and long-range projectiles."

“And I imagine starfighters are exactly that.” remarked FN-999. "Game-changers in our hands, and mynocks on steroids in the hands of our enemy."

“Exactly.” responded Savatti, a slight grin creeping across her usually stern face. “You catch on fast."

“So I’ve been told.” stated FN-999. “I can safely assume that no fleet can function effectively without a fair balance of quality capitals, escorts, and starfighters, correct?"

“Correct.” confirmed Savatti. “Many of my colleagues make the mistaken assumption that any problem can be solved simply by throwing enough Star Destroyers at it. The simple reality is that no amount of ISDs are going to be able to catch a group of elite rebel pilots in strike fighters and blockade runners."

The memory of the heist above Dac weighed heavily on both commanders. The intel they had been provided during the raid had been grossly insufficient, yes, but equally damning to the Imperial defensive effort had been a lack of escort ships. After most of Commodore Yorwell’s flotilla was either destroyed or forced to jump to hyperspace fairly early into the battle, the only escorts Admiral Savatti had available to her were a pair of light frigates, leaving her starfighter wings overstretched and her flagship vulnerable to a devastating bombardment from rebel starfighters.

“Our humiliation at Dac will be soon be avenged.” declared FN-999, breaking the silence. “The heist has taught us valuable lessons about the doctrine of the Wild Space Rebellion."

“That it has.” replied Admiral Savatti. “When they emerge from their hideouts, we will be ready for them."

While the admiral was likely referring to the rebels as a whole, FN-999’s focus was on one being in particular. A Cathar woman whose ferocity was in equal parts admirable and terrifying, matched only by her prowess with the Force. He had no doubt she had arrived on Lothal within an hour of the Imperial blockade, if she had not already been on the planet beforehand.

We will meet again, Jonyna Si.
​

 

[Brendan Varko]

B R E N D A N

V A R K O



​

---

Imperial Secret Service







Imperial Confederation







Agent Varko
​

---

LOCATION: Planet Lothal,
procession zone 4-Beta for a Doonium mine, 20 klicks
north-west from the infamous Pryce Mine.







OBJECTIVE: FINDING HIDDEN RESISTANCE VIA INTERROGATION







STATUS: OPERATING



GEAR:

PLASTEEL BINDINGS 3x

MEDPAC - BACTA, SYNTHSPRAY 3x EACH.


IMPERIAL DATAPAD

IMPERIAL CODE CYLINDER

RK-3 BLASTER PISTOL

SPUN DURASTEEL GARROTE

VIBROKNIFE



OUTFIT - BLACK ZEYD CLOTH DUSTER

ARMORWEAVE COMPRESSION SUIT

SYNTHWEAVE GLOVES

PODRACER GOGGLES

---

The white Lambda-class shuttle shuddered as it pierced through the upper atmosphere of Lothal. From the viewport, Brendan watched the jagger landscape of the planet rushing up to meet him. Imperial starships hung in orbit like a crown of steel. Two TIE fighters were present at the side flanks of the shuttle during its descent for protection.

As the shuttle descended towards the surface, it's repulsorlifts roared, kicking up a blinding cyclone of red dust as it lands. With a rhythmic hiss of pneumatic pressure, the landing struts extended like the legs of a predatory insect. The ship settled down with a heavy, metallic thud that vibrated through the floorboards of the passenger cabin. The pilot kept the engine hot.


Almost instantly, the rear boarding ramp began to whine, lowering into the haze of grit and heat. Brendan steps off the ramp, adjusting his duster before feeling the crunch of Lothal's soil beneath his black, polished boots which just gave up under the grit of the area.


"SIR! THIS WAY!"

An Imperator Guard shouted over the roar of departing transports.

Brendan followed the Guard through the Procession Zone, past lines of weary miners being scanned and sorted. They reached Tent 12, the designated screening area.

As Brendan enters Tent 12, the noise and Chaos of the outside is muffled by the sterile synth-canvas of the tent.


"Asset Jek,"
The guard grunted.


"Found him trying to slip past the perimeter with a fake chain of code."


The tent was a sterile bubble in a world of red grit. Brendan sat in his cushioned chair, sliding out his Imperial Datapad which casts a blue glow over the gray durasteel table.

At the other side of the table, Jek, a rugged-looking human male, sat on a shivering folding chair which was uncomfortable by design. His hands were bound by

Brendan carefully observes the sweat dripping off of Jek's nose, for some reason. Then, his view shifted to the guard.

"Leave us."
Brendan finally spoke out, his voice a low, dangerous, raspy and gravelly rattle.

The guard gave a curt, stuff nod, the silent acknowledgement of a soldier who knew better than to linger in an ISS interrogation. He turned on a dime, his heavy combat boots thudding against the reinforced flooring as he ducked his head to clear past the low flap of the tent.


Brendan leaned over the durasteel table, his throat clicking as he tries to find the words..

Brendan stared at Jek for long, maybe too long.

Jek avoided looking Brendan at the face, and turned around to look at the lights at the top of the tent.

"Your file, y-your story..."

Brendan once again watches the sweat bead at Jek's forehead and the constant movement of his elbow, staring at it in a very eery manner.

"Has a-- alot of inconsistencies, Jek.."

Brendan cleared his throat.

Brendan tilted his head to his left, examining the subtle signals of pulse on Jek's neck fade away.

Jek's shoulders relaxed, the designed terror seemingly evaporated, replaced by a jagged, subtle gein that didn't reach his eyes. To Jek, this one was a paper-pusher who had spent too much time behind a screen.

Brendan breezed through Jek's files.

"You reported a high yield of silica in the South Ridge one time, almost two weeks ago. But that sector is.. p-pure.."

"Pure Doonium ore."
Jek finished Brendan's sentence for him.

Brendan breezed through Jek's files once again, but caught a crucial detail.

"Your scent, it smells like Bacta and Coaxium. Why?"

"That sure is a volatile mix, but I don't know nothing about it."

"Then w-why do you m-smell like it?"

"Jeez, you sound like a karkin' whistling pipe!"

"What?.."

"It often just takes one, sharp, twist to stop the pipe from whistling."


Snap-krrt

---

 

[Taregh Garon]

The Blockade of Lothal had commenced.

Amidst the Imperial Armada that had come out of hyperspace the presence of other craft outside of the regular chain of command was notable.

The Inquisitorious had also come to Lothal.

The Daemonhammer hovered in space surrounded by smaller Stygian-Class Corvette. Several of the smaller Corvettes would descend and begin the process of atmospheric penetration.

Aboard the bridge of the Daemonhammer he stood on the 'command deck' overlooking officers that lined trenches at a lower elevation on either side of the deck. His gaze had set on the transparisteel viewports, the terrestrial body of Lothal shining on the otherside while Imperial vessels lined the peripheral. Officers gave reports, dwarfed in the shadow of his immense figure; several flinching when they drew his gaze as his bulk dressed in 'menasor' armor cut an even more imposing vision.

An Officer had approached to confirm that...

"All forces are in position Lord."​

...ultimately he spoke for the Inquisitorious forces which while still beholden to authority figures like the Supreme Commander, Moffs, etc operated outside of the regular Imperial command structure.

Nodding his head once the Giant would have replied in a guttural tone...

"Transmit coordinates to the Corvettes. They are weapons free and are authorized to fire at will."

The Officer nodded, moved away and conveyed the authorizations via Comms Officers.

Unlike the Imperial forces who had come here to blockade Lothal, seize resources and bring the planet under the Imperial thumb the Inquisitorious had darker motives. Reports of Rebels and unsanctioned Force Users had drawn their attention. It was a moment the Inquisitors would use to make an example.

The Stygian-Class Corvettes would breach the atmosphere over mountain ranges, the wide open prairies and marshes where smaller settlements were known to exist. Turbolaser fire would precede the deployment of Purgetrooper platoons. No one would be spared from righteous fire.

The Confederation could have the cities, the Inquisitorious would burn the outlying settlements.

Marlon Sularen | FN-999 (restored) | Imperials

​

 

[Marlon Sularen]

N O_M E R C Y

IMPERIAL CONFEDERATION
LOTHAL, OUTER RIM TERRITORIES

​

Lothal. One of the main epicentres of Anti-Imperial activity within the known galaxy. It had once stood against other Imperial Regimes, first the New Imperial Order and then the Empire of the Lost, and now it stood against the Imperial Confederation, harbouring Rebel cells that only grew bolder and more ambitious as they struck against the Confederation.

Even after the devastating orbital bombardment conducted by the Empire of the Lost, the planet remained defiant against the righteous cause of Imperialism. Thus, the Confederation had arrived to deliver a final judgement to the rebel world, to ensure that it would never stand against the forces of Imperialism ever again and silence Lothal once and for all.

Already, a blockade had been erected in orbit under the direction of the Imperial Supreme Commander, Marlon Sularen, and all space traffic had been suspended. There had been some stragglers, but they had been dealt with, either being destroyed for attempting to escape or forcibly grounded on Lothal, where Imperial forces would meet the pilots to lock down their starships. The Confederation would continue to squeeze Lothal until the Rebels showed themselves, even if it took weeks or months.

Onboard the bridge of his flagship, Marlon Sularen sat calmly within his command chair as he observed the empty void of space in front of him. He had brought a squadron of Imperial Warships with him, including Star Destroyers, Heavy Carriers and a variety of smaller ships, including Interdictors. Elsewhere in the system, more Imperial forces patiently waited for Sularen's signal for a trap both he and Commodore Yorwell had carefully arranged for the Wild Space Rebellion, a trap that, when executed, would mark the beginning of the end for the troublesome Rebels.

Now all that was left was to wait for the Wild Space Rebels to show up, and everything else would fall into place just as planned.

Tags [Friendlies] | Ronhar Tane | FN-999 (restored) | Taregh Garon | Felix Yorwell | OPEN
Tags [Hostiles] | OPEN​

 

[Amalia Visconti | Mira Rhory]

Amalia had quite the busy week, with too much going on, thus stretching the Crow Fleet and Corvus' assigned planetary defense forces thin, the recent developments which saw resources being pooled to put up a blockade on Lothal was slightly concerning, considering the N&Z still held some stakes in those mines, not to mention the fact those mines were in general still operated by corporate agents rather than open rebels. With Mahporeem and Corvus also quite dependant on the doonium mined on Lothal, she wondered what the Mahporeem leadership and corporate sector thought about this blockade.

She did wonder if it would really impact their own internal production much, though she was certain that the decreased exports and lowered income would make the people from Lothal grow desperate. As the blockade itself was a military matter, originally, Amalia would not have been forced to comply. However, as the Crow Fleet did maintain the internal tradeways and routes for the N&Z, assessing the situation was perhaps still a necessity.

"How's the Gluttoneria doing?" She asked over the comms aboard the INV Superbia, one of the two Claymore class carriers she had at her command within the Crow Fleet. They were the only vessels she had decided to bring to the Lothal blockade, as the three Tyrant Cruisers were on their way to the Bescane Facilities for an upcoming update to the systems, while the Gluttoneria was at Cholghanna due to some faulty relays, the military shipyards over there being closer than bescane and equally reliable when it came to fixing structural problems. The reponse from the other end of the line indicated that the military engineers put on the task had estimated a downtime of about two weeks for the massive battlecruiser...meaning, she'd be out of commission for at least three weeks.

"Kark...that does sting," Letting out a sigh, she looked at the holographic display on the bridge, before walking to the viewports and setting her gaze upon the INV Ira keeping pace with the Superbia; the other Claymore class carrier she had in her arsenal. The assignment was simple, prep the course to lothal, jump to hyperspace and meet up with the rest of the blockading party. "Send a message to the Supreme Commander, the Crow Fleet will bring the INV Superbia and Ira as necessary support."

TAG: Marlon Sularen | @OPEN
​

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAGS: Brendan Varko Taregh Garon FN-999 (restored)​

The skies above Lothal were dark tonight. A swirling storm that seemed to follow any Imperial ship that approached. The plains pelted with rain that would flood most systems.

But the rebels knew this would come. They'd set up listening posts months ago on Lothal. Lothal was always going to be the target. Jonyna knew this.

It's why she sat waiting in the garden of the Lothal Jedi Temple, guiding the Storm. Following every imperial ship that entered the atmosphere through the Force.

She knew they were coming.

And she was going to make it harder for every new ship. Electrical storms hid rebel bases, causing sensors to struggle and blinding pilots. The populous, or at least anyone sympathetic to the cause, had been long evacuated aboard the Dawn of Hope. Any stragglers were those too stubborn, or too imperial leaning to want to leave. High above, lightning even reached out, preventing ships from getting too close to the planet as to prevent accurate bombardment.

And Jonyna herself waited. She wasn't alone in the temple, but those deemed unnecessary had been evacuated before any imperials could arrive.

But she knew the Imperials would find her eventually. The Temple, the garden, herself.

She'd take as many as she could with her.

 

[Felix Yorwell]

TAGS: Marlon Sularen | Ronhar Tane

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.​

The familiar mantra repeated itself in Felix’s head as he considered the challenge ahead of him. On Dac, faulty intel had led him to assume that the Wild Space rebels had no backup, which had cost him three frigates to the guns of a Mandalorian battleship. More importantly, it had cost the Imperial Confederation a large portion of their most important shipyard and thousands of good men. A surge of anger stung behind Felix’s eyes at the thought. The rebel scum, with their misguided ideals and cowardly tactics, were truly amongst the lowest of the low.

Felix let in a deep breath, reminding himself that his anger, while justified, had no place on a tactical battlefield. The new task force he had assembled had two grave responsibilities: the protection of Supreme Commander Sularen’s flagship from starfighters and the defense of the invaluable interdictors he had brought along with him.

To achieve its task, Felix’s Task Force 231 had been authorized to deploy six Extoller-class frigate killers. Fast and heavily armed, the Extollers were flexible escorts capable of both engaging starfighters with their lighter weapons and fighting frigates on equal terms with their trio of triple heavy turbolasers. They formed a neat line in front of the capital ships, with two Extollers positioned ahead of the flanks of the Supreme Commander’s flagship and two Extollers each ahead of the interdictors. Felix’s flagship was the Extoller forward of the battlecruiser’s port side and slightly below its primary firing arcs.

All preparations had been completed hours ahead of time. The only thing Felix could do now was wait for his enemy to make their move.
​

 

[Vilissa Pormenn]

Tags:
Allies: Marlon Sularen | FN-999 (restored) | Brendan Varko | Taregh Garon
Enemies: Jonyna Si | open

ISA File # LO-23N-45P-139A

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

Lothal, a place taken by the now dead and gone Empire of the Lost. The planet had a DSDT outpost which went dormant when the money ran out. Well that's what the people who knew thought.

No not until the ISA had risen did Vilissa as a NISB member return to activate posts on worlds that no longer fell under their sway. Especially since so many worlds were shuffled in the great galactic collision. Her work was to keep tabs on the outskirts of the ISA, to keep threats monitored.

She arrived on Lothal not long after the Rebels the DSDT post contacting her. The program had be reactivated by her, its code combed through meticulously to rid it of Sith & other back channels.

NISB agent #1425 "Miss Pormenn, We have chatter you would like to monitor in person."

Standing in her apartment on Lianna "I will be there soon."

Present:

Running her fingers over the keyboard while clicking through windows of data.
Where is their bases? Where are they hiding?

This is what she had been looking for months now. Into the shadows via technology.
They hid their tracks well, using codes and cyphers. And always using code names for locations.
That was the part that really Irked Vilissa, their adherence to protocol. But also she admired how well they did with it.

But today is when she was going to use the force to find her quarry, they always had a few Jedi.
And this large storm felt so strong in the force.

The blockade arrived right on time.

She opened a holo comms to Marlon Sularen
"Sir this is NISB officer Pormann, I have been running the reactivated old EOTL listening post. Would you like our current intel?"

The truth is she could feel the massive area of the force, but that wouldn't help much given the storms.​

 

[Taregh Garon]

Reports came in that several of the Stygian-Class Corvettes had turned back from their atmospheric insertion.

A Lightning Storm, one that spanned much of the planet appeared to engulf Lothal. It played havoc with sensors making the readings unpredictable.

On board the bridge of the Daemonhammer all this was reported to Taregh who turning his head after an Officer approached seemed indifferent though inwardly he felt his temper simmer before he remarked...

"Jedi."

...or maybe Sith though that seemed unlikely. It was exactly reasons like these that Jedi and Force-Users in general should be sanctioned or imprisoned. To think someone might wreak such chaos on the ecosystem and atmosphere of a planet. This Storm was nearly justification for a purge of the entire planet in righteous fire.

There was a moment when Taregh considered ordering an orbital bombardment with his turbolaser batteries but exercised restraint. The Storm made it difficult to target anything reliably. Perhaps the Supreme Commander would have an idea he would rely to the Imperial Fleet.

Tilting his head to the Officer, whom he towered over Taregh would have said...

"Wait on direction from the Supreme Commander for now. Keep comms open for anything from the rest of the fleet. The Blockade is established, there is no rush."

...the Officer nodded, replied...

"Yes, Lord."​

...then relayed the command to the other Officers of the bridge crew.

On Lothal itself a handful of Stygian-Class Corvettes would have pressed through the electrical storm, relying on atmospheric friction shields and deflectors to absorb any contact the lightning storms may have made. It would have been a rough insertion, their sensors were scrambled but emerging on the other side they would proceed to their original targets. Not Rebel Bases or Cities but smaller communities that may been more sympathetic to rebels and force-users as explained.

Comms exchanged between the Daemonhammer and those Corvettes that had completed insertion would be scratchy at best thanks to the electrical storms.

Marlon Sularen | FN-999 (restored) | Felix Yorwell | Vilissa Pormenn | Jonyna Si

​

 

[Anthony Gray Sun]

Tags: Felix Yorwell​

Hellfighter Cell Fleet:

• x6 Buccaneer Class Corvettes
  • "To Hell and Back"
  • "Smoking Snake"
  • "Red Baron"
  • "Dreadnaught"
  • "Primo Victoria"
  • "White Death"
• x4 Tenacity Class Light Cruiser
  • "Resist and Bite"
  • "Ghost in the Trenches"
  • "Maid of Steel"
  • "Lady of the Dark"
• x4 Hurricane Bomber Squadrons
• x10 Flyswatter Interceptor Squadrons
• x5 Hornet R-Wing Fighter Squadrons

Anthony's personal cell had been through a lot through the last few months. Lothal had always been a hotbed, a frontier planet right on the edge of direct imperial control, under risk of being either flattened, or annexed. Those who lived her, were hardy or stubborn.

And those who had stayed after the evacuation, had a bone to pick. A live free or die hard attitude towards the imperial blockade.

Anthony watched his cell's hidden base buzz with activity as he made his way to his own fighter. The raid on Dac had been a roaring success, but it was always going to come with reprisal. Always going to come with consequences.

For now, the goal was simple. Get in the air, use the storm as cover, and harass the imperials until they could get the Dawn of Hope organized, and in system.

Hopping into his Bokken Starfighter, Anthony let the Force guide him, as he, and his fighter squadron pushed out. The rain pelted them, and yet Anthony didn't seem to notice. The storm was on their side.

Behind them, the 4 squadrons of Hurricane bombers pushed forward, as they went upwards towards the target. While the imperials relied on sensors, the rebels relied on the Force. Jedi from Lothal were placed in charge of being pathfinders for the bombers. He was one of those. The Force could see through the storm, and he could trust the Force.

Closing his eyes, he reached out and sensed. The first target. One of six frigate killers the Imperials were using.

From inside the storm, the Hurricanes did exactly as they had on Dac.

Firing dumb rockets, solid booster rockets with no electronic guidance at the enemy. Nothing to trick, nothing to deactivate. Only option was to shoot down them.

Which would be hard enough, with near 300 of the rockets firing at each of the four targets that had been chosen. Each squadron split off towards a different target, but between the 8 bombers of each squardon, there were 240 rockets, all armed with Thunderbolt Warheads.

Down below, within the storm, the R-wings kept their distance. Keeping within the electrical interference the storm provided. They'd strike once the ship's shields were hit.

 

[Ronhar Tane]

CAPTAIN RONHAR TANE, TK-3301
LOTHAL
[REDACTED]

Ever since they had been raided on Dac, the Mahporeem Imperial Remnant had been burning with a desire to take revenge!

Imperial Remnant forces began arriving on Lothal en masse, determined to root out the Wild Space Rebellion from the planet once and for all. Considering the scale of their previous terrorist attack, the Imperial Remnant wasn't taking any chances, having brought with it a variety of power assets from its varied arsenal of weapons and war machines.

Chief amongst these assets were a number of Mahporeenian Lightning Collectors, some of which had been installed onto vehicles and others having been installed directly into the ground. The Imperial Remnant had received reports from allied and friendly units of unnatural lightning storms spreading across the planet, raising the possibility that the rebels somehow had access to Sith Lightning or some other similar ability. While it wouldn't surprise the Imperial Remnant to learn that the rebels had teamed up with the Sith, such reports remained unsubstantiated, though Mahporeem was unwilling to take any chances whatsoever. The Lightning Collectors would at least ensure that any attempts to utilize the diabolical strategy would remain ineffective.

Besides that, the Imperial Remnant had with it all sorts of powerful weapons and vehicles to bring to bear against the rebels: IAAT/Rs, AT-AAWs, TIE Walkers, AT-AATs, AT-MAPs, AT-ACs and even some Swift Assault 5000s and STR - "Rancors", alongside scores of Stormwookiees, Storm Commandos, ARC Troopers, Medic Troopers and Junktroopers. While a fierce battle was raging above the planet as the Imperial and Rebel fleet clashed in orbit, the Imperial Remnant's planetary landing had been relatively unopposed, though by this point most of the Imperials knew that this was by design, an attempt to lull the Imperial ground forces into a false sense of security.

The Imperial Remnant would not be fooled so easily.

Above the advancing forces, Lambda-class YT-1760 Annihilators, Y-Fender "Uglies", TIE/ews and STX-TIEs screamed overhead, searching for any signs of rebel activity and bombing suspected hiding places for rebel forces. This attack on the planet would not be a quick affair: it was going to take some time to complete, as Imperial forces went door to door and building to building to find the enemy targets that they were looking for.

Ronhar Tane was amongst the thick of the operation, riding inside an STR - "Rancor" as he and his men came upon a village for the first time they had arrived on planet. At a glance, it looked completely empty and deserted, but Ronhar was willing to bet his life that rebel fighters were hiding inside, waiting to strike at the first available opportunity...

TAGS:
FN-999 (restored)
Jonyna Si
OPEN

 

[Mika Tai En]

Location: Lothal
Objective: Waste Lothal and the Rebels it harbors
Tag: Searal Nis | Amni Kazda | OPEN

The Imperial blockade around Lothal hung in cold, silent vigilance above the agricultural world. Star Destroyers and escort vessels maintained their iron ring across the orbital lanes, their shadows stretching across the planet below like the promise of an approaching storm. Cargo traffic had long since been halted. Civilian signals were filtered, delayed, or simply ignored.

From that tightening noose, a landing craft disengaged.

The hull of an NCE-131/c Heavy Dropship "Stork" peeled away from the belly of a blockade vessel and began its descent toward the surface. Built for battlefield insertion rather than elegance, the heavy craft burned through Lothal’s atmosphere with controlled aggression. Reinforced plating glowed faintly as the ship carved through cloud layers, its powerful engines guiding the transport toward a designated landing zone on the outskirts of the city where Imperial forces had already begun establishing footholds.

Inside the troop bay, the steady vibration of atmospheric entry hummed through the deck plates. Rows of stormtroopers stood secured along the bulkheads, gleaming white armor reflecting the dim crimson lighting that filled the compartment. Blaster rifles rested magnetized against their chests, helmets tilted forward in silent readiness as the dropship endured occasional turbulence on its descent.

At the forward edge of the bay stood Mika Tai En.

She remained perfectly balanced despite the dropship’s movement, gloved hands folded behind her back in composed stillness. Before her, a compact holoprojector cast a pale blue map of the landing zone into the air. The city below pulsed softly on the display, marked with Imperial strike vectors and designated targets: suspected rebel safehouses, communications relays capable of warning local insurgents, and several districts flagged for immediate pacification.

Mika studied the projection without visible emotion. To her, the settlement was nothing more than a tactical grid awaiting correction.

Beyond the transparisteel slit near the cockpit, Lothal’s wide plains stretched toward the horizon, broken only by distant structures and smoke from earlier bombardments. The Force brushed faintly against her senses—subtle currents of fear and agitation rippling through the population below.

Interesting.

“Touchdown in thirty seconds,” the pilot’s voice announced over the internal comms.

The stormtroopers released their harness locks and rose in practiced unison. Armor shifted softly as the squad assembled near the deployment ramp, rifles checked and ready.

Mika’s hand drifted briefly to the weapon at her belt.

Her fingers brushed the hilt of Yorukage, the compact shoto lightsaber resting at her side. The weapon remained dormant for now, its crimson blade still hidden within polished metal. This phase of the operation belonged to soldiers and blasters.

The Stork struck the duracrete landing platform with a heavy metallic impact. Engines thundered as the ramp lowered with a hydraulic hiss, revealing the outskirts of the city beyond. Smoke curled upward in several distant columns where other Imperial units had already begun their advance.

Without hesitation, Mika stepped down first.

Her boots struck the platform sharply, the sound echoing across the landing zone before fading beneath the roar of the dropship’s engines. Behind her, the stormtroopers fanned out in precise formation, rifles raised as they established a defensive perimeter around the craft.

“Perimeter teams,” Mika commanded evenly over the squad channel. “Secure the landing zone and sweep the adjacent structures.”

The soldiers moved immediately, splitting into their assigned elements as they advanced across the platform and toward nearby streets. Sensor scanners activated, and blaster muzzles tracked across rooftops and alleyways.

Mika remained still for a moment, her gaze lifting toward the distant skyline of the city.

Somewhere within those towers were the individuals the Empire had come to silence—rebels, sympathizers, and those who believed distance from Imperial authority granted them freedom from it.

They would learn otherwise soon enough.

A faint smile touched her lips as she began walking forward, the stormtrooper formation naturally falling into step behind her.

“Lothal harbors enemies of the Empire,” Mika said calmly across the comm channel.

Her eyes narrowed slightly as the squad advanced toward the city.

“Today we remind them that the Empire’s reach extends everywhere.”

Spoiler: “Loadout”

• Armor
  • Pulsiva Mk.II Bodysuit
• Weapons
  • Kurokage – Primary standard lightsaber – Violet blade
  • Yorukage – shoto lightsaber – Red Wine blade

 

[Felix Yorwell]

TAGS: Marlon Sularen | Anthony Gray Sun

“Commodore, we're picking up electrical interference in the atmosphere."

“So the rebels at last make their move."​

Far in the distance, bolts of red and white lightning darted across Lothal’s upper atmosphere. They made getting a scan on the area practically impossible, concealing the ranks of the rebel fleet. At least, until they or any projectiles they fired entered the void of space. The rebels could arrange their forces in all the secrecy they liked, but the moment they engaged the blockade, their positions become far clearer.

“Incoming projectiles!” shouted Lieutenant Baden, the same officer who had alerted him to the lightning storm.

Felix’s attention swung to the live radar feed in the Vigilant’s bridge, his heart racing as he noticed hundreds of tiny signatures advancing towards his frigates. They were far too small to be blockade runners, and their trajectory was too straight to be that of starfighters. That left only one possibility.

“Engage countermeasures and point-defense batteries!” ordered Felix. “Deploy interceptors and concentrate power on forward shields!"

The commodore stared outside the bridge’s viewport with growing anxiety as the missiles drew closer, still outside the range of the escort flotilla’s point-defense weapons. Their TIE Meteor complement was only just beginning to deploy, the interceptors racing to meet the missiles before they could threaten the frigates or the capital ships behind them.

DRAKO SQUADRON

[All Drakos, this is Drako One. We’re in range. Pick your targets now.]
​

From inside her TIE Meteor, the approaching missiles were barely visible against the backdrop of Lothal’s atmosphere. Yet the keen eyes of Ioana Guyera, wing leader of Drako Squadron, were quick to discern the incoming projectiles for the threat they were.

“Calculate the velocity and provide me a target indicator on the nearest missile.” requested Ioana, speaking to the AI assistant built into the targeting system of her Meteor. Barely five seconds later, its analysis was completed, recommending that she fire on a position directly ahead of her and slightly to her right, moving further right by the second. Ioana bent the yoke to the right before releasing a salvo from the Meteor’s laser cannons, a wave of satisfaction rolling through her as the missile exploded harmlessly well ahead of her starfighter.

Around her, nearly a dozen other missiles were destroyed midflight or simply slowed to a crawl as laser and ion cannons tore through them. Yet dozens more passed by Ioana and Drako Squadron, registering only as blips on her targeting computer before they soared out of range.

[Swing back and get as many as you can until they enter point-defense range.]

Drako Squadron was steadily chipping away at the missile barrage, but they could not destroy it all.
​

Point-defense cannons sprung into action onboard each Extoller, opening fire only seconds after the TIE Meteors broke away. Once more, dozens of missiles were detonated far before hitting their intended targets. Only a fraction of the missiles fired from within the storm remained, but they were now dangerously close to the Extoller task force.

“BRACE FOR IMPACT!” shouted Felix, moving his feet further apart for balance as the explosions caused by intercepted missiles grew closer and closer to his frigate.

Three missiles struck near the Vigilant’s bow, briefly rattling the frigate as its shields absorbed the impact. Another four missiles slammed into the Justiciar’s bow and portside, two struck the Sorrow’s starboard flank, and five hit the Audacious’ lower bow.

“Reporting zero notable hull damage.” issued Lieutenant Baden. “But the shields… It’s as if the missiles leeched the energy directly out of them. Even though we only got hit by three missiles, the shields have been affected as if we were hit by twenty.”

“How could that-“ began Felix, but he froze as he remembered something Admiral Savatti had told him after Dac.

When the rebels were attacking Cato, they used a type of missile I’ve never seen before. A single squad of bombers firing them almost singlehandedly brought down Cato’s shields, but the amount of damage they inflicted on secondary electronics was negligible.

“Commodore?” asked another officer - perhaps Lieutenant Rioric?

“They’re using shield-busting missiles.” exclaimed Felix. “Lower the shields and keep them down unless rebel bombers or capital ships try to engage. Warn the other captains to do the same."

It was at moments like these where the commodore could truly appreciate how dangerous of a game he played every time his fleet arranged for battle. Felix was dealing with an enemy as clever and crafty as they were cowardly, striking out with new weapons from within a storm that rendered their fleet undetectable within Lothal’s atmosphere. One wrong move, and he would suffer a repeat of the embarrassment at Dac.

Fortunately, Felix was one to learn from his mistakes.

​

Spoiler: Fleet Composition

• 6x Extoller-class frigate killers​
  • ICNV Vigilant (flag)​
    • Moderate shield damage​
  • ICNV Justiciar​
    • Moderate shield damage​
  • ICNV Sorrow​
    • Light shield damage​
  • ICNV Audacious​
    • Moderate shield damage​
  • ICNV Harrower​
  • ICNV Triumphant​
• Drako Squadron​
  • 2x TIE/me squadrons​
• 2x NCE-100a squadrons (in reserve)​
• 2x TIE/ob squadrons (in reserve)​

​

​

Spoiler: Summary of Orders

• Drako Squadron is deployed to intercept incoming missiles ahead of point-defense weapons​
• Drako Squadron withdraws to escort Extollers after point-defense weapons engage missiles​
• All Extollers lower their shields and keep them lowered unless significantly engaged​

​

​

​

 

[Gress D'ran]

Unit Comp:

Spoiler

• "Firestorm" Walker Company:
  • Vehicles:
    
    • x7 Tiger Medium Assault Walkers
      • Undertaker II
      • Frankly My Dear
      • Strutter II
      • Winds of Change
      • Red Six
      • Fires of Coruscant
      • Streets of Fire
    • x5 Nexu Indirect Fire Walker
      • Fury
      • Thunderbolt II
      • Cobra King II
      • Blood and Guts II
      • In The Mood V
    • x30 Bobcat Light Walker
    • x5 Griffin Assault Guns
• "Thunderstorm" Assault Company
  • Vehicles:
    • x2 Tiger Command Walkers
      
      • Appetite for Destruction
      • Diver Down
    • x5 Wildcat Mark II Heavy Tanks
      • Black Sabbath
      • Scorpion
      • AC/DC
      • Manowar
      • Rainbow
    • x3 Lynx APCs
      • Party Wagon
      • Mystery Machine
      • Double Decker
    • x5 Panthac Light Tanks
      • Rebel Yell
      • White Wedding
      • Weird Science
      • Big Gun
      • Heavy Hitter
    • x7 Puma IFVs
      
      • Run and Gun
      • Live and Learn
      • Shades of Glory
      • Ride The Wind
      • Guns and Roses
      • Fire and Ice
      • Guns of Liberty
    • x3 Squads of Marines
      
      • "Tsunami"
      • "Twister"
      • "Volcano"
• "Helldiver" Marines Company
  • Equipment:
    • Wolf Armor
    • Jaguar Combat Uniform
    • WSRBC Sucker Punch Bowcaster
    • GABB Talon II Blaster Rifle
    • GAMR Spot Sniper Blaster
    • GABC Boar Heavy Blaster Cannon
    • GALMG Beak Light Blaster Cannon
    • GAGL Snarl Grenade Launcher
    • Rex Handaxe
    • GARD-15 Raven Scout Droid
    • GAHP Roundhouse Pistol
    • GAB Fang Machine Pistol
    • ML-04E-GA Rocket Launcher
    • Null Grenades
    • GASG Roar Grenades
    • EMP Grenades
    • Wolverine Tac Tool
• "Krayt" Artillery Platoon:
  • Equipment:
    
    • x6 Screaming Falcon Artillery Walker
      • Guns A Go Go
      • Sweet Child O Mine
      • Chrome Dome
      • Hutt Busters
      • Endor's Finest
      • Splash Zone
    • x5 Ocelot Rocket Platforms
      • Raining Men
      • Mon Cala's Revenge
      • Blazing Dawn
      • Iron Men
      • From Hell With Love
• Midnight Train" Support Platoon:
  • Equipment:
    • x1 Tornado II Close Air Support Squadron "Grim Reaper"x10 Fighter/Bombers
    • x10 Tabby Landspeeders
    • x4 GASB Cheetah Scout Speeder
      
      • Barry
      • Wally
      • Bart
      • Jay
• Lothal Protectorate Air Force Remnant:
  • x1 Flyswatter Squadron
    
    • x16 Interceptors
  • x2 Condor Heavy Assault Airspeeder Squadrons
    
    • x20 Heavy Airspeeders

Tag: Ronhar Tane​

The imperial conquest of Lothal was always an inevitability, rather than a question of if. Gress had spoken to Zoro about it many times now, both old veterans of the Alliance. As such, Gress had gone over the defenses on the rebel base on Lothal a few times over now. While he could've pushed for heavier planetary guns, he knew better. He knew Lothal wasn't a hill they were going to die on, only a way to draw the Imperials into a killbox.

Instead, he'd sprung for trenches and underground complexes through the sprawling hills of the countryside. Lothal's prairies had been turned into a spider's nest, entirely unnoticeable from above, and deep enough that even heavy bombardment from orbit couldn't completely knock it out.

Camo nets placed over vehicle trenches, and trench lines. Companies spaced out as to prevent discovery of an entire unit, and plenty of space between the two.

Gress hated the feeling of it, but they were playing dead until the Imperials landed. The storm certainly did them favors, but it also meant the Gress couldn't rely on old tricks. Not that they'd work in this open grassland. The rolling hills at least gave him a chance to play with his favorite way of dealing with imps.

Under a massive hill, Gress's base sat, several feet underground. Normally, he'd be perched over the battlefield in his siege walker. Today, he was playing a different game.

To the south west of him, Krayt's artillery platoon sat waiting for orders. To the northwest, Thunderstorm acted as a vanguard for a counterattack, hidden in an extensive trenchline that was covered in camo nets. To the south east, the men of Firestorm were split between several vehicles that were mostly unfamiliar to them. But he'd certainly drilled them on it. He'd made sure of that in the last few months. Every man in the battalion was at least familiar with every vehicle in the motor pool. To their direct west, the base. Hidden inside of a network of valleys that led into the mountains, the storm overhead hid it away from scans from above.

Once a home to Fynch 's starfighter corps, the bases had been demolished and abandoned by the Empire of the Lost during their attempted liquidation of the planet's government, and subsequent orbital bombardment following the Tingle Arm Coalition's failed invasion. The Wild Space Rebellion had discretely rebuilt them, and filled them with what remained of the starfighter corp of the old government. Pilots who would rather die trying to fend off the Imperials, than let the planet fall under their justidiction again.

The mouth of the valley was tight enough that no heavy walker formation would make it out, but the hills that rolled to it's direct east made a great place for a defensive network.

"Sir, you've grown your horns out." Phones noted, looking to Gress as he looked over the battle map.

"I have." Gress said idly, keeping his focus on the plan.

Normally, he'd be relying on constantly updating drone footage feeding his battle map in real time. But the storm the jedi had laid had become a double edged sword. His drones wouldn't be able to work in it, and he was instead relying on a relay of helmet feeds from the marines on the front of the line.

"We've got confirmation of Imperial Touchdown sir. Updating battle map now."

His intellegence officer typed a few keys, before a refresh of the battlemap came through. The imperials had landed outside a village to the east, just as Gress had planned for. Decoy bases had been set up towards that way, as a way to draw out imperial Ties. They needed a picture of how many they had. Helldiver Company had been tasked with manning them, only engaging in light skirmishes, firing single shot dumb rockets at the enemy starfighters, before disappearing into spider holes that were subsequently demolished with pre-placed charges behind them, destroying any remnants of the network they disappeared into.

Meanwhile, the village itself had been designated for destruction. It's residents had been evacuated long before the battle, the only thing left mementos of a forgotten childhood. After the Empire of the Lost's decimation of the planet, villages like this were sparse.

But, as the Imperials of Mahporeem moved in, they entered a killing ground.

"Flatten 'em." Gress said in a single order.

Computer targetting had been abandoned in this case. The mortars of 58 different vehicles, all hidden by the sound of thunder and rolling hills, all fired in sequence. the only target was the village, as months of planning came down in one go. Mortar operators replied on hand written coordinates and calcuations, looked over and recalcuated over the last few months.

The storm could block out their sensors, but it couldn't stop them from reading a map.

And the high explosive shells that came down wouldn't be stopped by the rain.

High above, hidden in the thunderheads, the remains of the Lothal Protectorate's starfighter corp circled. As the Lamba Annihilators came up from their dives, down came the Flyswatters to greet them. Six sets of ion firing laser cannons opened up, before the Hammer Turbolaser fired to finish the kill, the pilots using the insane recoil to fling them backwards, back into the clouds.

Next came the Tornados, living up to their names. Targetting the AT-AATs, the fighter-bombers dive-bombed the heavy walkers, putting the full power of their shields to the frontal defenses, as they came down with teeth snarling. Twin Chainlasers fired ahead the whole way down, while a composite beam aimed right at the back of the walkers, before finally, at the last possible second, the four CHOMP rockets of each fired as the shields absorbed the point defense laser fire from the walkers.

The CHOMPs had been designed for exactly this purpose. First, it's single stage dumb rocket booster fired off. No missile targeting system to deactivate, just pure rocket fuel burning, and accelerating the munition at 30 meters a second squared. Then the second stage fires, a single use solid rocket booster sending a solid rod of seigurium flying straight at the walker's top armor, sharpened and intended to pierce, before the rest of the casing flew straight at the created hole, filled with enough explosives to destroy whatever was inside.

Then the final blow, as the Condors swooped down from on high, staying within the storm instead, as they fired their six Spot Ion Cannons, converted sniper blasters that fired ion bolts large enough to disable tanks, straight at the AT-ACs at a downward angle, a test of their shields.

TL;DR:

Spoiler

Gress has set up an extensive underground network of bases, connected to a camouflaged trench network in front of his base.
Ronhar's men are engaged in light skirmishes by Helldiver Company, engaging bombing runs with MANPADs, before disappearing into the tunnel network, sealing it behind them.
As Ronhar's men enter the village, Gress sends a full barrage of HE mortar shells onto the abandoned settlement.
The Remnants of the Lothal Protectorate's Starfighter Corp come down on the enemy walkers with a vengence.

 

[Brendan Varko]

B R E N D A N

V A R K O

---

Imperial Secret Service







Imperial Confederation







Agent Varko

---

LOCATION: Lothal, Procession Zone 4-Beta, 20 klicks north-west from Pryce Mine







OBJECTIVE: FINDING ANY HIDDEN RESISTANCE VIA INTERROGATION







STATUS:
OPERATING


GEAR:

PLASTEEL BINDINGS 3x

MEDPAC - BACTA, SYNTHSPRAY 3x EACH.


IMPERIAL DATAPAD

IMPERIAL CODE CYLINDER

RK-3 BLASTER PISTOL

SPUN DURASTEEL GARROTE

VIBROKNIFE



OUTFIT - BLACK ZEYD CLOTH DUSTER

ARMORWEAVE COMPRESSION SUIT

SYNTHWEAVE GLOVES

PODRACER GOGGLES

---

Not even the aggressive storm was able to mask the sound of Jek snapping the bindings.

Shit..

Brendan throws his datapad along the floor of the tent immediately.

The air in the tent shifted. Jek lunged across the table, holding a jagged ore with his right hand and aiming to stick it onto Brendan's neck. But Brendan was a blur of conditioned violence. With the precision his surgical expertise and skill provides him, his left fist shoots out in an almost perfectly rectilinear manner in form of a jab, extending fully before Jek is at Brendan's side of the table, to hit the brachial plexus of Jek's swinging arm. Instead of a precision chop or a palm strike, a punch had significant kinetic energy to trigger a natural vasovagal response on Jek, and Brendan knew this. Brendan didn't even have to exert himself by more than 70% for this.

The strike had sabotaged Jek's nervous system and coordination almost completely, his swing with the jagged ore grazing the canvas behind Brendan instead of sticking onto his neck. Still, some individuals are just built different. Even after the drop in heart rate and blood pressure, Jek carried himself forwards with the momentum of his lunging, dropping the ore in the process of getting both his arms around Brendan's torso. Jek was drastically girthier than Brendan, making it harder to break Jek's hold.

But Brendan didn't need to break Jek's hold. Brendan locked his own arms around Jek's waist, hoisting the larger man up with ease and slamming his spine down onto the durasteel table aggressively, the durasteel table caved in slightly with a metallic groan as the table legs gave up under the weight of Jek, the table falling lopsidedly onto the ground of the tent with a loud noise.


clang-CRACK!


2 Imperator guards rushed in with their blaster rifles to check at the noise, their boots thudding against the ground in rhythm before they aim their rifles at the man.


Jek lunged, one last time, despite his broken ribs and compromised arm, he used his good left arm to snatch Brendan's RK-3 Blaster pistol out of the holster with terrifying speed for his condition.

Jek aimed it at himself, the pistol spat a high-pitched snap of plasma through Jek's head, killing him. The high-pitched snap of the RK-3 was instantly swallowed by the storm outside, leaving only the smell of ozone and burnt hair in the cramped tent.


"Jeez, what could have inspired fanatical suicide like this?.."
An Imperator Guard spoke out, in mild terror.



"That's what we're going to find out.."
Brendan replied, panting a little bit, with a slight tremor on his right hand as the adrenaline fades.


Brendan pressed forward towards the area where his datapad had fallen, shoving one of the guards aside to secure his path towards it.

His gloved right hand settles around the rugged frame of his Imperial Datapad, as he begins to breeze through Jek's files once again.

Brendan exits Tent 12, striding forth towards the processing terminal and shoving the datapad's data-tether into the maintenance port of the console.

His eyes instantly flagged the anomaly. There was a mistake.

The ID was supposed to be 3 years old, but the encryption headers were too clean and lacked the digital decay of a real 3 year old ID.

Running a deep-packet scan, he isolated the signature "Osh-7".

It was only a matter of time and finding Jek's comm-link or anything helpful for slicing from the bin until Brendan finds the most recent location where this specific fake ID was used, using "Jek" 's fake ID and searching the Lothal local network for anything suspicious to flag.

---