Operation Phantom Fury

[Desmond C'artyom]

Alderaan/ Organa Mining Facility


“This is Cargo fleet one, clearance code Gamma Kresh,”

…

“You’re late Cargo fleet one, land at sector Beta and prepare for inspection,”

…….

“Look pal we’re hauling a lot of freight! There’s not enough room for all of us in sector Beta! We’ll be here for hours! The reason for the delay is that we had to take the Mara Corridor then hop on the Parlimean Trade Route just to avoid all the damn pirates! If you kept your spaceways more secure we wouldn’t have been late!”

…..

“Copy that… Prepare to land in sector Alpha,”

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Captain Kraine looked around the cockpit nervously. He couldn’t see the man, but he knew he was there. The feeling of cold metal pressed to the back of his head told him so.

“W-was that good? I got us as close to the mining facility as I can,” Kraine said, his voice cracking every so often.

“You did well. Now land the craft and have the rest of your ships do the same,” The disembodied voice commanded. It sounded Imperial, but Kraine couldn’t be sure.

This is what I get for traveling through Imperial space...

“P-please, I have a wife and kids,” Kraine pleaded

“Just do as you're told and you won’t end up like your crew…” The voice came again, but this time more harshly. Kraine felt the muzzle press harder against his head. Kraine’s hands danced across the control as he prepared he and his automated fleet to land. Their was a faint jarring sensation as the ships set down and Kraine felt the muzzle slip slightly.

Now’s my chance!

Faster than light Kraine shot out of his seat and twirled around to face where he believed his opponent to be.

“Wrong move Kraine,” The voice announced as Kraine swung wildly, but rather than connect he felt his fist fly into thin air. Then the Muzzle was pressed to his gut.

Feth.

There was no sound as the weapon fired. The projectile punched a hole through Kraines stomach the size of a small animal. Fluids and gore were sprayed against the cockpit’s canopy…

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The cargo bay doors opened slowly. They hissed loudly and the hydraulics released copious amounts of steam after their long journey. The docking team peered deeply into the darkness that was the inside of the containers, but saw nothing.

“What the-?” Was all the dockhand had time to say as a red blaster bolt flew from the rear of the container.

“WE’RE UNDER ATTA-!” His fellow compatriots were just as swiftly cut down as more blaster fire erupted from the inside. Several Stormtroopers emerged from the hold and began to sweep the area, cutting down all who tried to resist with ruthless efficiency. Desmond emerged like a ghost. His stealth cloak providing ample cover from the naked eye. He materialized beside the Command Sergeant Major and spoke briefly with him.

“Our fleet should arrive within the hour,” The Chiss stopped to check his Internal clock “We need to secure the Phrik by the time they get here,”


[member="Jotham Noktis"], [member="Varik Ice"], [member="TK-1515"], [member="DT-2417"], [member="Faith Organa"], [member="Draco Vereen"]

 

[Faith Organa]

Juran Mountains - Mountain Palace​

Another lovely day in the mountains the white snow capped mountains rose up and met the azure blue skies it was a perfect day. It was also a very quiet day in the palace.

The equipment that young [member="Makai Dashiell"] had installed was working up to perfection just as he had promised. She would be making an inspection today taking along the Royal Guard as usual. Draco was supposed to meet her at the mine to look at the equipment brought in by Makai. From her window she could see the landing of ships, she assumed it was cargo ships to take phrik to Delaya, or the equipment being delivered.

It was good to see activity and to know that Alderaan was growing stronger in trade. Trade at times was the lifeblood for many of the noble families on Alderaan, and it kept the citizens in jobs. She needed to get ready can't go inspecting mines in a dress.

[member="Desmond C'artyom"]

Spoiler

[member="Acanthus"]
[member="Alasdair Sitra"]
[member="Alessandro Waak'Tu"]
[member="Alexander Sannes"]
[member="Amelia Sorenn-Syrush"]
[member="Andulf Nicholas Teraan"]
[member="Asha Mataya-Syrush"]
[member="Bazette Royalblaze"]
[member="Brad Solo"]
[member="Cal Sedaire"]
[member="Camellia Swift"]
[member="Delila Castillon"]
[member="Dexen Yash"]
[member="Draco Vereen"]
[member="Dresden Verbrennung"]
[member="Elpsis Elaris"]
[member="Fiore de Noir"]
[member="Hadleigh Purkis"]
[member="HK-36"]
[member="Jada Raxis"]
[member="John Ash"]
[member="Joza Perl"]
[member="Kaida Taldir"]
[member="Liliane"]
[member="Lucien Dolos"]
[member="Maria Natalja"]
[member="Matthew Calderon"]
[member="Myles Davorak"]
[member="Natalia Sorenn-Syrush"]
[member="Nima Tann"]
[member="Orloch Moretti"]
[member="Rashae"]
[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
[member="Sirius Nova"]
@taryc ap'lrae
[member="Tek Sidereal"]
[member="Thalia Rist"]
[member="Tomas Yarrow"]
[member="Vaena Askari"]
[member="Vanja Del'Vaan"]
[member="Von Kyux"]

 

[Varik Ice]

Varik Ice​

Equipment: Lightsaber​

Location: Alderaan - Organa Mining Facility ​

Status: Arriving at Location​

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As the Stormtroopers charged out from the container, many must have been glad to escape the cold chill that permeated it. Dark robes and a helmet with a hood draped over it clothed the figure that came out in a brisk march after them, making his way over immediately to where the Command Sergeant Major was being briefed, the Initiate's attention fixed solely on the agent he was talking to. "Get someone jamming communications and distress signals. Let's not be delayed." It wasn't an order - Ice had no desire to constantly assert himself, or overplay his position. He knew a potential ally when he saw one, and that's what C'artyom could be.

Without another word, Ice's lightsaber ignited, the red blade that was known throughout the galaxy for Sith, Imperials and even Jedi making it clear now what was happening. Granted, Ice was no miner, nor an architect. However, he would figure that the Phrik would be in a storage room; or multiple, most likely, with the stock spread out for this exact situation. Approaching a blast door and flanked by troopers, his lightsaber ripped through the middle of it, bringing it open as bolts came flying both ways. The Initiate's Shien form served him well as he sent bolts flying back, never missing a step as he entered further into the facility.

Despite the reputation some of the Empire had, he had no desire to brute force this; he had to find something to direct him to a storage room. Perhaps higher ranking security officers would hold maps and floorplans. Perhaps engineers, technicians, even repairmen or janitors. If he had to guess, some kind of terminal would be his best bet, so he would search for that; or clear a way to it for those who knew the route, if that was what it came to.


[member="Desmond C'artyom"]

 

[Lemon]

Koda Fett​

Location: Alderman - Organa Mining Facility​

Objective: Harass House Organa​

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The Bounty Hunter was packed tightly within the crate alongside the Stormtroopers. He'd worked for the Empire numerous times before, but up until now he just tracked down Rebels that seemed to cause trouble. This was something else. A slaughter, and unfortunately he was familiar with it, even the creator of his own many years go. Phrik was a powerful material, something he wouldn't mind getting his hand on - though today he had to simply harass House Organa, pester them with blaster bolts, explosives and fire. A handy distraction for the most part.

Fett strode out of the crate as the Imperials went out in full force, taking note of their lethality as the innocent were killed without hesitation. It wasn't something that bothered him, this was just another job. Once on the outside it seemed death was everywhere, but one brave construction worker foolishly charged him with what looked like a tool. It was blunt, small yet somewhat heavy. He raised his right arm and it sat perfectly straight as the Mandalorian squeezed down on the trigger, putting a searing hole in the head of the attacker. The first of many.

​He then took to the skies by utilising his jetpack, hovering above as he shifted across the would-be battlefield, firing down trio after trio of bolts Though the jetpack was only good for so long, and as such he came down to the ground. A standout among everyone else, much like the Inquisitor who he briefly glanced at upon landing near him but his attention was then shifted back to the mine, scanning the area with both his eyes and scanner. If someone was lurking about, he'd be sure to find them. He always did.

[member=Varik Ice]

 

[Jotham Noktis]

Commodore Jotham Noktis​

Location: Hyperspace, Enroute to Alderaan - The Paramount​

Objective: ​

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2x Imperial-IV-Class Star Destroyers​

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2x Tempus-Class Star Frigates​

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Figuratively, the command bridge was ablaze with the indistinct of verbal check-ups and the amount of bodies travelling busily around the varying terminals of the bridge. It was only routine; to ensure that the staff of all departments were prepared – for one last check-up – for an engagement with another vessel or array of planetary defenses; it would only be to the fleet’s advantage. These included extensive information security measures to Contrary to the indistinct level of chatter and activity, the head of the naval detachment – Commodore Jotham Noktis – methodically-paced back and forth, his hands tied behind his back with formal discretion.

It was apparent that the aloof commodore was brooding to himself, as he usually did – ensuring himself within the safe confines of his own mind, that his strategy with sound, with his own mental compass of checks and balances – to studiously keep inventory of any potential weaknesses in his fleet, and how to manipulate those weaknesses to his advantage. Commodore Noktis, was certainly a keen man.

The bridge eventually shuttered to silence, as a robotic voice pierced through the intercom and chatter like a silver bullet; “Attention all crew members, attention all crew members. Imperial vessels: Paramount, Cyclops, Watcher, Bayonet, will exit hyperspace, in T-minus: five minutes. All staff: report to battlestations.”. Naturally, it was the Commodore’s own handiwork, that the crew members were so diligent in understanding what to do in any given situation, although, that call alone was well-implied. In the naval squadron's organization, the two star destroyers were in the center, whilst the primary ships were flanked by the two star frigates.

Alternatively, on a more personal level, this would be an ecstatic moment for Jotham. Having dreadfully and ironically grown up as the son of a minor noble house on Naboo, to his deepest roots, the naval prodigy deeply despised feudal rule as a fundamental concept – in any form, outside the Empire’s way of succession. It would feel relieving, to release his pent-up rage and frustration in the deathly form of a turbolaser, to a deserving enemy spacecraft, that dared support and defend such a pathetic regime. For Jotham – to even though it was only Alderaan – to hear their deathly cries, it would all be a sweet appetizer, before he would eventually secure his rightful revenge against Naboo, and the ever-enabling Galactic Alliance and allies.

Then, all in sequence, four ships exited from hyperspace into the orbit of the infiltrated Alderaan. As it stood, all had been going according to plan. Fighters, bombers, had already assembled in the hangars of the Paramount and Cyclops as a part of Noktis’ explicit preemptive orders and plan, and had shuttled out the multiple hangar bay doors like a swarm of flies to a fresh steak. To counter-act any assistance from the planetary orbital defenses in the event of a rapid response fleet and to lighten the resistance that their fighters and bombers would have to deail, the two Imperial-IV-Class Star Destroyers – The Paramount and The Cyclops – unleashed a series of formidable turbo lasers onto the planet's defenses. All the while, the aforementioned fighters and bombers took to the atmosphere of Alderaan to secure the aerial and spatial route that the infiltration team would eventually use to escape into orbit via shuttle. If there were no delays, the infiltration team and fleet would be out of here before

“The fleet has arrived.” echoed the commodore, through the operationally-exclusive channel between the agent and himself.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Before Enemy Fleet's Arrival
Star Destroyers were a trigger for Alderaan. One its early warning triggers would rightly recognize. Small vessels, even an escort group could probably slip through for an ambush of sorts. But Star Destroyers, they saw coming from a mile away. As soon as the unknowns were detected making their way towards the heart of FWC space, someone began looking into it. By the time the unknown fleet's course was discovered, warning klaxons were already tracking the blips on their radar.

"Alert Princess Vereen. I was told she was moored aboard the Aegis. Make sure the Princess and Lord Marshal are aware of the developing situation. Scramble Fighter screens from the flotilla, have them run interference with anything they release." Knight-Captain Reginald Antilles strode across the bridge of the Vigilant, his blue and gold cloak following close behind his footfalls. Far behind the vessel, the Spears of Organa were aligning to the points where the enemy vessels would exit Hyperspace. The Spears, named for their ancient predecessors were the Saber-class Stations that loomed over Alderaan. Given the enemy fleet's trajectory, only two of them would be able to draw line of sight to the invaders. "Fire full-power upon reversion. Align the Vigilant and our escorts to the west of our enemies reversion point. We will take them from the flank, our guns from above, and our shields from the front."

Enemy Fleet Arrival
As the Star Destroyers reverted to realspace they were met with powerful volleys of oversized Ionized Hypervelocity cannons, fire sustaining in a continuous barrage of ion power at each of the Star Destroyers. As the Imperial Fleet opened fire at the planet, they would find a horrifying truth about Mandalorian ingenuity. When you shot at their shields, their shields shot back at you. Granted only a small portion of the many hexes of shielding had been brought up by the time the enemy Star Destroyers arrived, but they covered the major population centers.

Given that the enemy ships arrived and began firing as soon as they had, there was no question as to their intentions, no need for a stand off or issue demands. "Fire the long guns." The Vigilant, while not a dedicated gun-platform did have some additional firepower to add to the initial torrents originating from the Saber-class platforms. "Siren and Hellhound, engage their attack craft and keep them occupied."

Aboard the Aegis.
Laira had been relaxing, this was her day off. Her 'Me' day if you will. Her ship was docked on the station and she had been enjoying having someone else see to the maintenance and letting her sit in bed with a book all day. The sound of warning klaxons throughout the station roused her from her rested state. She slid out of her bed, stepping into her boots before making her way from cabin to cockpit. "Where's the fire?" She asked with a slight yawn, the comm-link crackling.

"Unknown Fleet opening fire on the planet."

"Wait, like... for real?"

"Yes ma'am." The redhead blinked at the response, hearing the edge in the man's voice. She had to get out there and help, but she was also in cotton pajama pants. Flying seemed to be the only way she could do anything that would matter. Her voice echoed down the galley of her vessel suddenly, "If you are on my ship, you are on a gun!" The maintenance crew scrambled, some leaving, some moving towards the weapons bays and co-pilots chair while the pilot frantically ran through the start up sequence.

[member="Jotham Noktis"]

Fleet

Spoiler

Vigilant-class Star Defender
Saber-class Gun Platforms (2)
Warden-class Sentinel Frigate
Haran'uliik-class Light Frigate
Nebula-class Corvette
Rebel Outcast

Summary of Actions

Spoiler

Upon enemy ships arrival, they arrive to a continuous stream of Binary Fusion Ion Cannon bombardment
Paramount - Spear Aurek
Cyclops - Spear Besh
Cyclops is fired upon by Vigilant
World Guardian Shield causes energy feedback directed at Paramount and Cyclops
Imperial Fighters engaged by Siren and Hellhound's defensive guns

 

[RC 212]

[member="Varik Ice"] [member="Koda Fett"]

The Mines: Engaging Either or Both.

A mission to resolve a dispute had taken her here several days earlier. And now the young woman found herself face to face with terror as crates exploded and things began to go haywire. She was not quite in the mine itself, but just outside the entrance, re rigging an old saddlebag onto a speeder bike. Her business here was complete and it was time to head home to Yutan....

Until she felt it. A dark wave of death that jarred her bones and swept her breath from beneath her. Voices cried out in the force, silenced by brutality.

Alarm klaxons began to blare. One of the guards came stumbling from the mine, face half mangled and melted to his face plate.

"Attack! We're under attack!"

He fell and she cuaght him, dragging him several feet from the entrance and dropping into a crouch.

"Where? Who is attacking?"

"It's....its!"

"Calm down please."

Her fingers extended and joined, palm touching the guards wounded face. The force began to flow between them, her own calm concertedness infecting every cell in his body. As she worked she scanned for damage. Hexes, lines, squiggles. Each was different cellular structure that the force rushed to repair and realign, using her body as a conduit.

"Again who and where?"

"Why it's imperials! In the mine." He spit out. The voice was much calm, much more matter of fact.

"Stay here, hold this on your face." She replied, retrieving a bacta bandage from a butt pack on her belt. He peeled back the adhesive and slapped it on as the connection broke, leaving her feeling slightly drained.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"To find the troublemakers."

Then she disappeared through the door, dashing down the mines halls....

 

[Sky'ito Yumi]

Just Outside the Mines on.... Private Matters

Sukai's reason for being on the mine of Alderan were, private, though it did have something to partially do with the planets past and rich history. She was not to far away from the mine, but close enough to hear the following explosion, tough these were not for mining, and even if they were the fact that the place was supposedly being inspected by [member="Faith Organa"] raised suspicions.

What tipped things off the most was the feeling of death, and she had a feeling that is wasn't accidental, no something was wrong very wrong. Despite better judgment Sukai approached the entrance to the mine, seeing the guard on the ground applying batca to their face while alarms sounded all around. "Whats gong on, are you alright"?

"Imperials are attacking the mine, used some sort of explosive crates, are you a Jedi as well?"

"Close enough to one, stay here I'll go see if I can help". The fact he made reference to a Jedi was slightly good, means possible back up, but from what Sukai knew of imperials, they loved to hire mercenaries to do their dirty work, and take no responsibility. Sukai ran down the tunnel some residue smoke coming from down below.


[member="Karren Trask"] l [member="Koda Fett"] l [member="Varik Ice"]

 

[Derrick Veltraa]

[member="Desmond C'artyom"] [member="Koda Fett"] [member="Faith Organa"] [member="Laira Vereen"] [member="Varik Ice"] [member="Jotham Noktis"] [member="Sky'ito Yumi"]

When Alderaan put out the alert when their warning triggers were tripped, the Vigil Heart was near system after completing escort duty following the arrangements made by an Alderaanian representative and the head of Rendili Stardrive to purchase ships for Coalition systems that needed them. There was no order from Rendili's Planetary Defense Force calling the Hammerhead Cruiser to make for the Alderaan system, and perhaps it would have been proper for the vessel's captain to wait for such a command after making the request to move out. However, Derrick Veltraa was a man who simply forgot such things. The was an alert, his force was nearby, Rendili was part of this new Free World Coalition deal, and Alderaan had been integral to the recent contract work for the shipyards over his homeworld. By all means, in his mind the order was already given. For a ship from Rendili itself to arrive might be too slow, and the threat was not known, the commanding officers back home would surely have given the word for his ship to make for support. Whether such thinking was right or wrong would remain to be seen, though none of it passed through the man's mind in the first place.

There was a call from an ally and he was near, he would go there.

Just to arrive less than a minute behind the Imperial Fleet, and practically half a planet away. To be precise, to the side that to the eye seemingly placed the frigate sized starship behind Alderaan's native forces. "Oh! Isn't that one of Alderaan's own designs out there? I bet that Swift in charge of Stardrive would love to lay her eyes all over that thing. Those stations too, kinda scary lookin' huh. . . we are transmitting an IFF to them over there right Lieutenant?" At a nod from a Croa woman at the sensor station answered the Captain's words as he grinned from ear to ear. "Good! Then communications get word out to them now our cruiser is on standby if they require our assistance and their Commander can put the vessel to work if they are disadvantaged, though from the looks of it they shouldn't be. Is there any other disturbances than those old Star Destroyers?"

"No Captain, there isn't. . . . hold on. There's some garbled chatter and an odd signal from the planet below. Small region cover, may be a short range jammer to prevent an alarm from the area there. However, the lost comms were noticed and stirring some commotion from the Miners League down there."

"What so they're after the mines down there? Seems like a bunch of trouble to . . .oh right Alderaan has phrik doesn't it? I guess that answers it then haha! Prep the fighter squadron and get troops into the dropships, while you keep the cruiser in orbit I'll drop down with the bucketheads to investigate matters, be sure to let their fleet commander know what we're up to so they aren't shocked to see us heading there." At another diligent nod, almost countering their Captain's informal manner, the bridge crew went to work conveying orders and sending reports to the nearby fleet and the troops of their own vessel, enacting a flurry that carried a feeling of urgency one would not expect of outsiders to the situation. As if oblivious or used to such an atmosphere on his bridge, the man in command of the Vigil Heart left the bridge in a jog, carrying himself quickly to the hangar bay where pilots climbed into their Aurek Strike Interceptors and around a platoon's worth of Rendili PDF personnel hopped aboard the Rendili Amtospheric Entry Transports.

"Pack it in fellas we're going up against Imperials if Star Destroyers are a sign! Keep your rifles close and your helmet tight! All ships launch now! Make for the disturbance below, the Imperial fighters looked like they were making it easy to spot by the sensors. . . .oy hand me a set." Accepting a P-7 Blaster Carbine and Rendili PDF combat armor that most of his forces were equipped with, Derrick Veltraa had what could only be described as a poodoo eating grin as he admired a squad bearing Battle Master armor idling toward the front of the transport. "Ooh, I didn't think our spec ops was coming along, felt too mundane." The single unit bearing the Defense Force's finest among his cadre chuckled to his words, giving the Captain a light salute with their reply. "Knowing your reputation sir, nothing you stick your nose into stays mundane. Besides, ensuring you pull this off means better relations in the future. Plus someone needs to stand in front of you so you aren't shot, better it be someone who can take it."

The last seemed to pull more laughter from the rest of the men and women aboard the transport that was traversing the space to the planet, only disrupted when the dropship got further into the atmosphere and began to push its engines to direct itself toward their destination. The RAETs with their fighter escort broke through the Alderaan sky, diving deep towards the phrik mines that were the source of the conflict. Some Imperial fighters appeared to be heavily combating the defenders trying to desperately wrest control of the skies for the imperials, further cementing in Veltraa's mind that his force had come to the right place. As two thirds of the fighter escort pealed away from the transports to engage with the imperial fighters that were too close for liking, the remaining fighters of the squadron pushed ahead at the Captain's command, strafing the imperial troops at the entrances of the mining efforts. "Dropships lay down cover fire with composite beams while you land and disperse. Form a perimeter and put us on the ground near those mine shafts!"

Slapping his helmet as he spoke, Captain Veltraa gave a quick check to close ranged comms with the Rendili soldiers nearest him. Most Planetary Defense Forces didn't do much beyond the occasional pirate hunt. Some though, acted as a military engaging in constant warfare with neighbors in their system. Rendili's, however, had once fought heavily against Sith dominion, and some had enlisted in the Republic like himself before returning to their homeworld and the once galactic government abandoned it. Veltraa had confidence in the ability of the men and women with him to fight and survive. Such confidence smeared across his face was like a disease, and spread to cover the faces of those who looked back at him. "Right, drop doors! Go go go!!"

When the doors of the RAET opened, Captain Veltraa was greeted with the sight of the composite beam of the transport stitching across the pad ahead of the mining shaft, likely where trams and cargo ships landed to pick up phrik and drop off equipment. The green beam cut a swath, certainly an encouraging factor for any imperials to take cover. However, the sight of a similar beam ceased to exist over another pad in the Rendili man's peripheral. If one checked they were welcomed with a view of one of the Aurek Interceptors engulfed in flame clipping the transport's wing, sending it spinning before an imperial fighter's own laser fire put an end to the dropship's engines, causing it to crash to the ground with a resounding crash, before the imperial fighter itself burst into smoldering wreckage as a pursuing craft annihilated it soon after. Yet, even with such a sight the fight carried on, with blaster fire splashed across the armored hull, and Veltraa and the soldiers nearest the Captain hefting their carbines to release a flurry of bolts into a stormtrooper, putting the trooper to the ground as they slid off their transport. "Get the birds in the air to provide cover if the imp squadrons look this way. Everyone get into cover!"

The Rendili Defense Force soldiers moved from their dropships into the cover of the crates and equipment on the pads ahead of the mine entrances to exchange fire with their imperial counterparts. Captain Veltraa himself setting up with two squads while one of the battle master unit crouched down beside him. "Sir, ten soldiers still capable survived that crash and are in cover. Enemy numbers unknown, we have around one hundred ten able bodies. The imperials are all around the entrances, with some likely inside. Shall we try to push through?"

 

[Axon Karr]

Captain Axon Karr
In Hyperspace | En Route to Alderaan

[member="Desmond C'artyom"]​

[member="Jotham Noktis"]​

​

​

Axon Karr was the equivalent of a newly-minted Captain, despite what his demeanor indicated. Up until this very moment, he hadn't commanded a capital ship in battle; he'd been a mere underofficer, perhaps managing a crew pit or perhaps a patrol cruiser, but never something of this magnitude. An Imperial-IV Star Destroyer; beautiful, in its way. The majestic prow, hundreds upon hundreds of meters away, was practically invisible, obscured by mottled, twisted star lines.
Axon had been standing, admiring it for far too long now, when he should have been steeling himself for battle.

The ISD Typhon, Axon's personal flagship, had been requisitioned by Command to assist in this raid on Alderaan. He hadn't been given many details; despite his prestigious rank as Captain, Axon was still merely a slightly larger-than-average cog in this Imperial war machine, a fact that both humbled and offended him. His upbringing, his childhood, his parents, they all told him that he was important. But his teenage years, his training at the Imperial Academy, his loyalty to the Empire- they said that that Empire came first, it always came first, and in the end, that was the thought that won.

"Captain," one of his subordinates said into his ear, "we'll be coming out of lightspeed in approximately two minutes."

"Excellent, Lieutenant Rigel," Axon responded, not affording the elderly officer a glance. "Order all of our men to battlestations. Begin scrambling fighter squadrons. I'm not sure what we'll be facing out there, but we'll be ready."

"At once, sir." The bridge crew, acutely aware that fighting was moments away, now bustled about with a renewed energy; most were preparing themselves for yet another skirmish to add to their long track record, whilst a few were steadying their nerves before their first battle.
Folding his gloved hands behind his back, Axon turned to his communications officer, Lieutenant Thame.

"Thame, open channels with the rest of the flotilla."

"Yes, Captain. One moment... There."

Holographic likenesses of the captains of Karr's other ships flickered in one by one; the commanders of the Menace, Presage, Nettle, and Manacle, all Velox-class corvettes. Returning their salutes, Axon barely had time to issue them orders before his group fell out of hyperspace and into the crux of the battle.

Trying to soak in everything at once, Axon turned to his comms officer.

"I need a signal with the other Imperial commanders, at once," he said briskly.

"Right away, sir. You may broadcast when ready."

The Captain cleared his throat: "This is Captain Axon Karr, Imperial Remnant, reporting in. Where do you need me?"

 

[Arahael]

Mine Entrances

Max followed along with the almost thunderous clatter of boots across to the mines. Commands were issues as soon as they disembarked, filtered through the troops' vocoders.

As some of the Stormtroopers moved inside to keep internal security, he stood at an entrance with the others. No doubt it was possible that enemies had been notified of their presence.

Stores of phrik were beginning to be brought out when Max was notified of the Imperial Fleet arriving. That would be their surefire way out of here.

Quickly enough, dropships came down with men who began firing upon the Stormtroopers and him.

"We've got contact! Take cover and fire back, we need to ensure that the cargo is taken out as soon as possible!"

[member="Axon Karr"] | [member="Derrick Veltraa"] | [member="Sky'ito Yumi"] | [member="Karren Trask"] | [member="Laira Vereen"] | [member="Jotham Noktis"] | [member="Koda Fett"] | [member="Varik Ice"] | [member="Faith Organa"] | [member="Desmond C'artyom"] |

 

[Garith Darkhold]

[SIZE=14pt]Alderaan – The Mines[/SIZE]​

Objective: Destroy those who threaten his children and his children’s children!​

Equipment: His ancient beskar’gam and two lightsabers​

Some things should sleep. Never to be re-awakend from its slumber. Things do not happen as we wish. Redemption will never come, if we always give into our worst fears.

A presence re-awakened, more precisely it removed itself from the cloak it was hidden behind. It was not a presence of light but darkness. An ancient wound within the force, it was one of sorrow. One being that was reforged in darkness to unleash its malice. Reborn to offset a great in-balance within the force.

The very thing that pushed the presence to darkness, was the loss of family and the loss of its entire race. Today it felt threatened. It felt a threat to its children like [member="Faith Organa"] and a grandchild like [member="Laira Vereen"]. Through the portends of darksight old wounds had re-opened. It was a cascading inevitability of destruction.

The mines were the focus!​

A fixation of the rage!​

​

If Faith was there or expected to be there, it did not matter. The darkness within manipulates and consumes. The Elder Dark Kashi was consumed, fueled by the darkness that now boiled out of control.

“Only power is real, and the only power is the power to destroy. Existence is fleeting. Destruction is eternal.” – The Core tenets of the Sorcerers of Rhand.

These words did not come from the Darkhold's true origin. It was the words that now manipulated the heart of the ancient warrior.​

The Mine’s Entrance​

​

This dark presence was in route to this location, a feeling of dread that sapped the very warmth from the air around the area of the mine.​

[member="Desmond C'artyom"][member="Varik Ice"][member="Koda Fett"][member="Karren Trask"][member="Sky'ito Yumi"][member="Max Fel"]

 

[HK-36]

[member="Faith Organa"], [member="Draco Vereen"],

The incursion of Imperial Star Destroyers into Alderaan space was a disturbing move that rippled out throughout the neighboring space, as Laira was not the only one summoned by their early warning triggers about such large vessels moving towards the capital planet. Whether it was by Draco or Faith's hand personally or one of their underlings, a distress call was sent out, not from Alderaan directly most likely but from another planet, station, or official within their planet.

A distress call which caused a hasty moot of droid and cyborg lords to gather together, whether in person or through holo transmissions aboard one of the new droid-forged stations above Denon. The machines watched the recording and report of the situation play out and repeat in cycles, many of them were in their traditional humanoid forms, usually armored in ornate suits and cloaked in long illustrious fabrics. Some of them circled over head the large domed moot hall, possessing flying vessels in shape of mechanical dragons and wyverns of myths.

"War has reached the Core once more."

"It was inevitable. The bickering between organics is still no reason for us to get involved, their attacks come and go, weak and fragile like their egos. Give them couple of centuries and they will forget all about it."

The various machines debated and discussed, communicating with each other through series of high density data packets.

"So the Alderaan will stand alone?"

One of the drake-shaped droids circling overhead the large projector in the middle of dark spherical room asked. His questioned elicited out a response from one of the more slender droids who walked closer towards the projector in the middle of the room, as the blue light washed over his form it revealed him to be HK himself.

"They will not."

The old droid announced as with a wave of his hand he changed the image on the projector, showing image of a small fleet of Metal Lord ships already being quickly assembled, sending out messages to some of the Metal Lords who swore allegiance and cooperation with him directly.

"I will help them."



Not long after the quickly assembled reinforcements would already be on their way, not much but an old Venator cruiser, repaired and reinforced to bring the derelict ship into combat shape of its youth by the Lord of Tattered Hulls, a Metal Lord specifically skilled in acquiring, organizing, and restoring ancient derelict or salvaged ships. Along with the cruiser there was an escort of the newer corvettes produced by the Metal Lords and ARGH, most of their modern fleet was still geared towards quick raids and responses, plenty of smaller quicker ships designed to move in higher numbers for hit and run tactics the machines preferred during their nomadic days.

Aboard the ships HK was there with some ground forces, along with any mercenaries of Metal Lords who decided to join him for the venture and tag along with his fleet to help support Alderaan with their forces or in person. The roster could include other Metal Lords who would have been invited to attend the brief meeting before, like [member="AD-8"], [member="Lord Mettallum"], [member="WD-334"], [member="Nerius"], or [member="Ultimatum"], or mercenaries who would have been called upon in the last second to join the droid fleet in helping Alderaan face this Imperial raid, for example [member="Ar'ekk].

In the downtime while the ships headed out towards Alderaan, HK sent out a brief message to one of their shared neighbors, [member="Lady Kay"], the message would have been brief and simple, aimed right for the seat of her domain, Commenor,

"Lady Kay, this is the Iron Lord Protector,"

His blue hologram would introduce itself,

"I have received a distress signal from Alderaan about an Imperial attack aimed at their capital. It seems that Imperial Star Destroyers have crossed into Alderaan space heading towards their fair capital world. The three of us, Denon, Alderaan, and Commenor, we do not always see eye-to-eye, we do not always agree with how we do things, but I do think we share few fundamental values- trade and negotiations over war, freedom from oppressing governments, and equality between all our citizens. I am currently heading towards Alderaan with a fleet of reinforcements, I beg of you to send them aid as well. Our territories may be smaller than those of other powers, we may not spend as much to expand our military, but I will not stand by to see our neighbor bullied and ravaged by weaker, lesser men who wish to better themselves on misery of others. This is the moment where we need to make a stand, together."

With the message concluded, he would shut the comm off, turning around to walk off towards the hangar of his ship and inspect the troops he brought with him, awaiting with curiosity to see what kind of response Kay and Commenor would have.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay raised a brow as a message came through to her datapad. To her surprise it was from [member="HK-36"] . She read the message over and over again. It was written in such a way that it reminded her of the speeches that some Generals would make to rally the troops.

Unfortunately this put her in a very tough situation. Many had warned her that this day would come, but she had put it off as one could never guess just how this situation would arise, nor who would be involved. Choose one side or the other. Would there not be an alternative to just those two choices? She needed to know more about what was happening, just in case there was a different strategy that could be used. The whole thing didn't make sense to her. Surely she'd be notified that large fleets were passing through her space, trade routes or not? Something was not quite right.

There was also the fact that her own sector had come under attack not just once, but three times as of late. Two other instances had put her in very real danger. A far larger threat was out there and they were working heavily on stopping it. Her forces were needed in her plans.

Kay began her message:

~Iron Lord Protector,

My fleets are preoccupied with our own threats to our freedoms and livelihoods due to a far bigger threat than Imperials. The only thing that we can offer is sanctuary in our neutral territory.

I will arrange to speak with the Imperial leadership and see if I can get them to cease their attack. But there is no guarantee that they will listen. Regardless, I will try.

If anything changes, I'll send word.

Lady Kay,
High Queen
Commenor Systems Alliance~

She sent the message, not entirely happy with it. But tough decisions were always that way. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. One had to way the pros and cons of each and make a decision. With information lacking, it was difficult. Either way, she'll hear complaints and criticism. That was a price that she had to pay. Her people were her top priority, and their lives were threatened by Lord Onyx and his Iron Knights. One cannot stretch their defenses too thin.

 

[JT-5182]

Location: Mountains surrounding Organa Mining Facility.
Current task: Keeping watch for potential ambush targets.

JT-5182 had quickly taken flight after disembarking the sneak transport, one of few jump troopers that were there. Through her pair of Electrobinoculars she could spot a small group of ten cowering soldiers that appeared to have left the wreckage of a transport.

"How convenient." JT grinned beneath the stormtrooper mask, unknown to anyone but herself.

Clipping the bino's to her side, her left hand reached for one of the two repeater blasters, whilst her right reached for a fragmentation grenade. The Jump Pack activated and the Trooper ascended above the battlefield of the landing pad, a risky move with the many soldiers on the ground but she did not care.

At this point, the grenade had been activated and tossed at the ground near the ten soldiers at the same time as a flurry of small red blaster bolts from the left repeater rained down with deadly accuracy. Unfortunately, such a long distance maneuver left the Jump pack recharging, JT having to sprint all the way to the entrance of the mine for potential safety. But not without inaccurate suppressive fire in a vague backward direction that wouldn't even hit anything.

 

[Desmond C'artyom]

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZD-UZxHdLs[/media]​

Desmond watched as the command Sergeant Major trotted off to give orders to his troops. Imperial stormtroopers immediately headed into the mines and towards the storeroom deep within their bowels. As the Sergeant Major disappeared out of sight Inferno One deactivated their stealth cloaks and accompanied Desmond. Desmond and his squad walked through the cavernous halls that were Alderaan’s life blood in silence. It wasn’t long before Desmond received a transmission from space although it came through patchy within the mines.

“Commodore Jotham- Static -Has- Static -Imperial fleet!”

Shortly after the transmission Desmond heard the familiar sound of Twin Ion engines roaring above them. As Inferno One and Desmond went deeper within the mines the sounds of blaster fire became more clear. They approached the Storeroom and discovered several miners were held up inside resisting Imperial forces with mining lasers. As Inferno One made their way closer to the engagement the stormtroopers looked to the commandos, but not a word was spoken. Before Desmond rounded the corner and entered the room he ordered the Stormtroopers to cease fire with a raised fist.

The troopers obeyed the order and ducked back into the cover of the halls. Inferno One activated their stealth cloaks once more and raised their Verpine rifles.

“Quick and clean boys,” Desmond ordered in his rich Imperial accent.

Desmond rounded the corner and before he entered the storeroom he shot out a light, his rifle made no noise as it fired and as he did so his squad mates followed suit. The lights went out one after another until the storeroom was darker than a moonless sky. The miners began to panic firing their laser rifles at random. Outside the Stormtroopers attempted to decipher what was going on, but their only clue was the occasional illumination of the room by the stray blaster bolt. Desmond cybernetic HUD picked out targets easily in the dark. Attuned to being behind a sniper rifle Desmond’s heavily altered cybernetic mind began processing firing vectors as he aimed down the sights.

Target… 6 meters

Firing Direction.. West

Muzzle Velocity… 2,520 m/s

He pulled the trigger again and again. Screams of utter terror and the occasional blaster fire could be heard from the halls, but Inferno One made not a noise.

“Inferno One, Inferno one do you copy?” A stormtroopers voice came over the comms as all sound ceased within the room.

As the last of the rebels were dispatched Inferno One lit flares to illuminate the room in a eerie red light. It was a massacre, the untrained miners corpses lay everywhere. All of them with large holes blown through their center mass. The Stormtroopers entered the Storeroom and Inferno One materialised once more as if from thin air.

Desmond was approached by a corporal who swiftly saluted him “We weren’t expecting special forces,”

Desmond stared at him blankly “That’s the point corporal. Now get this Phrik to the Ships and quickly...”

Spoiler

[member="JT-5182"] [member="HK-36"] [member="Garith Darkhold"] [member="Max Fel"] [member="Axon Karr"] [member="Derrick Veltraa"] [member="Sky'ito Yumi"] [member="Karren Trask"] [member="Laira Vereen"] [member="Jotham Noktis"] [member="Koda Fett"] [member="Varik Ice"] [member="Faith Organa"]

 

[Derrick Veltraa]

[member="Max Fel"] @JT-5182 @Garith Darkhold [member="Desmond C'artyom"] [member="Koda Fett"] [member="Faith Organa"] [member="Laira Vereen"] [member="Varik Ice"] [member="Sky'ito Yumi"]

The whine of a thruster wasn't an easy sound to miss when it stood out from the blare of blaster carbines firing away. Captain Derrick Veltraa looked up from his cover behind a large stack of cargo crates to see the jet trooper in time to witness the grenade being thrown at his men moving away from the wreckage of the fallen transport. Even more hard to miss than the noise of the imperial jump pack's thruster was the explosion of the detonator. Between the initial damage and the debris it was clear at least four soldiers were dead, with another four injured to varying degrees from shrapnel and the accompanying blasterfire. The two unscathed RPDF soldiers moved to secure their comrades once they had a grasp on what happened.

By then though, Veltraa had turned the attention of the squad next to him to the imperial jet trooper trying to make it back to cover. It had been a bold move, but risking one's life for the glory of some extra kills to their name was not something the Defense Force Captain would support. The imperial crossing the landing pad back to the cover of one of the mine entrances would find their vicinity peppered with blasterifre as the Rendili Troopers aimed their carbines for them. The volley would rain on them until an imperial's blaster struck the shoulder of the soldier beside the Captain, prompting Veltraa and the squad to redevote their attention on the Stormtroopers attempting to defend the mine entrances.

By this point it was clear though, that the pad provided more cover than the mine entrances. There was the lip of the mines and mining equipment left around the entrances for the imperials to use for cover. However, the pad had numerous stacks of cargo crates probably meant for the cargo ship the imperials had hijacked to get here. It was also clear now that enough time had passed for Veltraa to notice, there were indeed far fewer Imperial Stormtroopers in the area compared to his own forces. There were definitely more than what he saw, he knew, but the rest had to be inside the mines themselves. After all, it was pointless for them to just try and fight out here indefinitely while they couldn't be reinforced in enemy territory like the people of Alderaan could. Even now they had to worry if other forces might come to supplement him. So they had to be searching for their prizes inside. It was the right move, the intelligent move, the sensible move, but it didn't gaurentee victory. It simply turned the situation into one of time. Could they enter the mine and gather their prize and escape before they were overwhelmed or captured. Heck it didn't even necessarily matter if they did defeat his own forces, since as long as the fleet above Alderaan denied them their escape route their situation was no better than it was now.

Squinting as he pulled the trigger of his P-7 Carbine and sent a splattering of bolts at a stormtrooper, Veltraa laughed heartily seeing he missed but that he at least drove the imperial soldier to move into the mine to avoid being shot. The sight of a trio of blaster bolts painting another imperial who tried to move for better cover from the blaster scored tram they had hidden behind before got an even better rise from the Captain as he clapped the back of one of the soldiers near him who had fired one of the shots. "This is going well! Their friends inside the mines will come back to find most of their allies incapable of carrying on with us here to greet them. So long as the Alderaan jockies do their job up there too then no transport will be able to come for them either. They needed to be a whole lot quieter with this, maybe if they hadn't sent Star Destroyers and left it up to some sneaky unit eh?" A blaster bolt splashing over the top of the crate he was behind went unnoticed while the wounded soldier patching his shoulder from before looked at the man with an expression of disbelief.

"Captain we should decide if we go in to try and search for anyone still stuck in the mind though and clear out the imperials or if we hold position to keep them trapped here." As the fight raged on and they exchanged fire with the Stormtrooper guarding the entrances against their slightly superior numbers, Veltraa stroked his chin while he thought over the right answer before slapping the crate with a grin. "We could always try and save some ammo and lives too!" Flicking his comm piece, the Defense Force Captain quickly cleared his throat before speaking over an open short range channel. "Imperial soldiers. This is Captain Veltraa of the Rendili Defense Force, operating in response to the coalition to aid our Alderaan allies. By this point you know you're pinned in those mines even if your troops in their came back out you'll have suffered casualties fighting with inferior numbers out here so far. Even if you did manage to hold out despite this fact, you cannot ensure transport for your escape will reach you since the Alderaan defenses seem to be occupying your fleet buddies. So how about this huh, any imperials who surrender will not be harmed and will be held until the diplomats can figure out a fair return at a later time. Given your situation it sounds fair right? I mean we could come in there to burn you out too, and the longer you drag this out the more time we got to reinforce against you. Give up whatever crazy scheme you lads got going and there'll be fewer graves for both of us to worry about."

Of course that didn't stop blasterfire from being exchanged for the time being, but Veltraa hoped he'd get an answer soon so they could come to a decision.

 

[Axon Karr]

Captain Axon Karr
Alderaan

Axon Karr stood ramrod-straight at the front of the bridge, staring with rapt attention at the battle unfolding around him. The Star Destroyer's viewports were filled with intense scenes of grisly combat, of dozens of individual starfighter dogfighters and much larger duels between capital ships. The Typhon's laser batteries had lit up almost as soon as the Star Destroyer had come out of the system, pillars of green fire lancing out into empty space- and usually hitting their marks.

"Lieutenant Rigel," Axon said suddenly, referring to his First Officer. "Scramble our fighter and bomber squadrons. Order them to rendezvous with allied units and proceed from there. Additionally, Commander Bront's stormtroopers are to board the Lambda shuttles and attempt to reinforce Imperial ground forces. Oh, and begin to move our ships forward, in standard formation, with the Velox corvettes acting as a screen against enemy starfighters."

"Understood, Captain," the white-haired man responded immediately, beginning to relay his superior's orders at once. Within a minute or two the first of the Typhon's many TIE fighters soared out of their mothership's hangar, falling into formation before shooting off to join the battle. Behind them came hordes of transport shuttles packed with Imperial stormtroopers, all rapidly descending towards their target location in a bid to reinforce the saboteurs.

Gazing ahead at Commodore Noktis' fleet and that of his Rebel opponents, Captain Karr smiled thinly; he was ready to watch the enemy be pounded into dust.

Spoiler

Fleet:
~1 Imperial-IV class Star Destroyer (Typhon)
~4 Velox-class corvettes (Menace, Presage, Nettle, Manacle)

JT-5182 HK-36 Garith Darkhold Max Fel Axon Karr Derrick Veltraa Sky'ito Yumi Karren Trask Laira Vereen Jotham Noktis Koda Fett Varik Ice Faith Organa

 

[JT-5182]

The Jump Trooper noted that she must have hit around three or more of the small force that she targeted in the brief moments before looking away.

Running away was a very bad idea, it would have been much better to just take cover as soon as she had landed. As a result, blaster fire whizzed over her head dangerously close. There would be no getting out of this situation unscathed though, as a stray bolt hit her in the back-right of the helmet and sent her dropping down to the floor. Anyone would think that the unidentified Jump Trooper would be dead, however, the damage was relatively limited, the right side of the air filtration system coming off entirely and certainly creating a burn at least.

Medic needed? No. It was just a small wound and JT would be quick on her feet, engaging the thrusters briefly enough to get behind a piece of cover near the rest of the troopers at the mine. Slowly, her hearing returned and JT soon began suppressive fire with the repeaters.

 

[HK-36]

[member="Lady Kay"],


HK was in the hangars of the ship he was temporarily using as his flagship, heading towards Alderaan, inspecting his troops and the armory they managed to quickly organize before heading out when he received the response from Lady Kay.

"My Lord, message to you from Commenor."

One of his mechanical attendants informed the ancient droid, motioning over to a nearby old Clone Wars era communication console. Moving over to the hologram station the droid tapped its interface, bringing up the message from Kay, hearing her out. It would not take too long afterwards before the droid was composing a reply back to the Queen of Commenor,

"My Lady the Queen, I implore you to reconsider. I have received reports of Imperial warships conducting orbital bombardment, although whether that is truly so I will not be able to tell until I will arrive, currently they are blocking further communications from Alderaan. If the greater threat you are preparing for is the one I am thinking about and too make preparations to face alongside organics, then we will truly need as many allies capable of fighting with us as we can. At the very least settle you could always settle for deception and divert some ships to make it seem like you are sending reinforcements to Alderaan, perhaps it will be enough to scare the Imperials away from further immediate bloodshed."

HK proposed to Lady Kay,

"Whatever you will decide, remember that should you be in the same position as Alderaan is now, if the Imperials and other threats come for you, when they will come for you, I will not deny you reinforcements."

The droid paused then, concluding the transmission, before speaking out a command,

"End transmission."

However the transmission did not actually ended, at least not from his end, Kay could of course just end the message assuming that was all, however if she decided to keep watching she would see the hologram just stand there for few more seconds before the droid straightened out his cloak and armor and turned away, calling out to some unseen person,

"Alright, what was that count on pellet drums?"

And HK would walk off as barely audible voice would sound out some numbers as he disappeared from the view of the holo-transmitter, letting it display only its pale blue light as the audio was captured,

"What about those from Abregado?"

He asked as some other unseen being spoke out another number,

"Alright, we can always assign them to the dwarf walkers as fire support when we will touch down. Unless the Imperials will decide to not fire upon us again and just retreat once more."

This type of conversation would keep going for a while, there wasn't really any insight into the droid's tactics or any state secrets shared, it was pretty much just taking inventory of weapons and ammunition used by the bulk of their army. From time to time the holoprojector would display a silhouette of a droid or another armored soldier walking by close enough to be captured and rendered by the transmitter, most ignored the terminal assuming it was turned off, however one of the war droids crewing the ship glanced over to the console as he was walking past, noticing its transmission light still being turned on. With his curiosity peaked the war droid moved over to the console, appearing clearer on the holotransmitter as he leaned in to read its screen,

"My lord!"

The war droid called out, turning around in the holograph projection,

"I believe you forgot to turn off this holo-terminal!"

"What?"

Came off screen,

"I gave order for it to end transmission."

"These old models do not possess such feature."

"Oh son of a bi-!"

Rapidly approaching clanking footsteps would be heard then approaching the holo-terminal as HK appeared in the blue light of the holoprojector once more, pushing the other war droid aside as he leaned in to check the console to see if what he was told was true. Reading the screen he looked up into the holoprojector,

"Sorry, I thought it took voice commands."

The droid paused then for few seconds before adding,

"Alright, bye."

And finally actually ending the transmission, if for some reason Kay would actually sit through the whole thing, well that was what she would experience.


Either way, [member="Faith Organa"], [member="Draco"] Veeren, [member="Garith Darkhold"],

The droid ships were quickly approaching the system of Alderaan, if the FWC forces could hold out a bit more the reinforcements would be arriving very soon to bring relief to them. While sailing through the hyperlanes, as the distance between HK's fleet and Alderaan shrunk, the Metal Lord Venator-class cruiser would sent out a transmission to their forces in the system, perhaps managing to reach someone through the scrambled commlines,

"Alderaan forces, we have received your distress signals, reinforcements incoming shortly."