Private Operation Shrouded Blade [Purge Commandos]

[Kolson Vrask]

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// OPERATION // "Shrouded Blade" // PLANETSIDE // Yavin IV // AREA OF OP // Sector O15-X47 // DESIGNATION // Anti-Insurgency // MISSION TIME // 0700 // TASK FORCE // "Gauntlet" // MISSION LEAD // "Void" // OVERSIGHT // "Pulsar"

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Familiar circumstances brought Task Force Gauntlet to the moon of Yavin once more. Though well within the clutches of Sith Imperial control, Yavin IV was still a world largely untouched since the construction of the ancient temples scattered across the landscape. Within the bowels of these ancient ziggurats the secrets of the force still lingered, unfettered from generations of this world traded between Sith and Jedi controlled Empires and Republic. Thus, despite the banner of the crimson saber flying high over the gas giant's moon - Jedi still saw the reward worth the risk when it came to uncovering the secret knowledge of the force.

Tracking their entrance into the system, a Jedi Master accompanied by two Padawans and a retinue of Republic troopers. Surveying their holo-comms while they were in Sith space the Purge Commandos managed to track them to this specific sector where they now must delve into the thick jungles of Yavin IV and eliminate these jedi, seizing whatever they've found.

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// ON-BOARD //
RIST-01A 'Phantom'
// LOADOUT //
Armor - Tenebrae Pattern Commando Armor Mk. I
Main Weapon - BRX-19 Battle Rifle
Side-arm - HG-88 'Big Iron'
Melee - 'Streiter' Vibroblade

---

"About two minutes out - check over your gear. We've three cloaks to deal with." Wirm said as he looked over the task force equipping themselves for the operation. Among the two Chiss commanding the operation a strong majority of the operators present shared a similar near human lineage be they Umbaran, Pantoran, Zabrak among others.

"They're holed up in one of the ancient temples - two sections or so patrolling the outskirts as the Jedi delve into the bowels of the structure. Searching for a holocron, something or other. It doesn't matter - all that matters is they need to be sniffed out and destroyed. We'll be dropping about a kilometer or so out - advance the rest of the way on foot to avoid detection. They may very well have patrols...we'll have to find out." Wirm said with his ever characteristic aura and cadence of cold stoicness. Approaching his fellow Chiss subordinate he planted a gauntleted hand on the man's armor pauldron.

"I'll be oversight but you'll be taking the lead. I'll advise you but don't crutch on it- but you should do just well enough I expect." Dipped in shades of reassurance in his words at the end of the day the task would be ten commandos facing down about fourty Republic troopers and three jedi. It should be an even fight.

---

Ber'avuth'auni

 

[Ber'avuth'auni]

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/ / ON-BOARD / /
RIST-01A 'Phantom'
/ / LOADOUT / /
Armor - Tenebrae Pattern Commando Armor Mk. I
Main Weapon - BR-212 "Jackal" ACR
Side-Arm - HG-54 "The Vora" Class Verpine Hand Cannon
Melee - VB-113 "Tidefall" Class Vibroblade

---

He braced himself against the ships on-board weapon rack as the 'Phantom' ripped through the planetary atmosphere of Yavin IV. The dim lights of the interior of the ship reflecting off the black armor of the assembled task force inside. A familiar sight by now and at times it reminded him how it must feel to be on the receiving end of a PURGE commando team, and he'd by lying if he said he didn't enjoy it somewhat. Another rumble in the ships internal compartment snapped him back to the debriefing of Wirm, or rather 'Pulsar' until the op was finished. He had heard many of the same debriefing in his relatively short service within the commando team so far; a jedi too stubborn in his quest for knowledge, oblivious to the fact he just signed his own death warrant for him and his followers. A location, a target, and outnumbered four to one was the usual run down, but the presence of three force users peaked his interest.

Ravutha allowed Wirm to finish his debrief as he attached a modified suppressor to his main weapon and loaded his side arm with special issued "Force-Breaker" rounds as a gift for the soon-to-be dead jedi master. He handled his weapons and equipment as a carpenter would handle long-familiar tools of trade. When he was younger he would often feel a since of dread before risking his life for the Empire, but now it had become a familiar friend and his training to get to this point had ridden him of such feelings long ago. Yet he did feel something on this particular mission but it wasn't the anxiety of being faced down with endless waves of troopers; instead it was excitement, for the Empire has once again granted him the chance to prove himself superior over his peers. Wirm had passed the call to give Ravutha lead over his own squad and he was eager to take the opportunity to shine once again. He knew every man on this team by name, not just callsign, and they will follow him into the maw of death should the occasion call for it. However, Ravutha had no intention of dying today or in the near future and whether he admitted it or not had almost forgotten to fear death after so many successful ops. He was quick, clever, and a brutal weapon of the Empire and he was not too humble to say so either.

As if reading his mind Wirm placed his shoulder and addressed him and he managed to find himself a bit taken back by Wirm's sudden approach and display of faith in Ravutha's skill. He had grown to know Wirth better over his time under his command and understood that he wasn't as cold as he seemed, but it wasn't far off. "When have I ever needed a crutch?" he offered back alongside with his signature arrogant grin. He knew how much he could get away with and he often tip-toed the line, but he also knew the men under his command appreciated the temporary break in the tension. Before Wirm could respond he turned to face the similarly armed figures in their inky black armor and spoke, "You heard the man, we have multiple hostiles and few jedi sticking their nose where it doesn't belong. This planet belongs to the Empire and we do /not/ take kindly to trespassers. Multiple hostiles will be guarding the way in; we take them out quietly and swiftly after jamming their comms. The closer we get without alerting the greater force of the enemy the better." As he spoke the 'Phantom' silently sped past the heavily dense canopy of Yavin IV with its signature silent approach using multiple targeting optics to scan the ground level. It rapidly approached the target drop sight as he continued to spoke, "Keep it tight and remember this isn't a capture mission, shoot to kill. I want three dead jedi before we leave Yavin IV so unless you enjoy dense jungle and useless relics do not fuck up. You know your load-outs and we even brought along some heavy firepower for if things get loud." The pilot's voice opened up over the ships comms and gave the green-light for landing as the ship came to hover over a clearing and the ships hatch opened with a distinct hissing noise. Ravutha gave a reassuring nod to Wirm before reaching to his helmet on the seat next to him and donning it upon his head. As he slid the helmet on his vision became dominated by the helmets internal HUD system displaying an array of information only a skilled soldier could process to their advantage. The HUD system was linked with the rest of his squad as their information was shared over the network and he looked out at the now open hatch into the jungle that awaited them. He primed his firearm with ease and familiarity of a man who has faced this situation before. His voiced cracked over the comms system to the rest of his team who now all were adorned in their full black armor, "Happy hunting men."

---

 

[Kolson Vrask]

// LOADOUT //
Armor - Tenebrae Pattern Commando Armor Mk. I
Main Weapon - BRX-19 Battle Rifle + Electric Eye
Side-arm - HG-88 'Big Iron'
Melee - 'Streiter' Vibroblade

---

"You've done well enough yet - regard my presence as a ghost if at all possible." He said before soon enough the thud of the Phantom's landing gear planting against the dampened green earth beneath sounded out in a low thud through the stealth coated walls of the transport - barely audible past the racking of slides and fastening of armor before soon enough Task Force 'Gauntlet' was ready to disembark. The boarding ramp lowered down before soon enough the section of Commandos fanned out in a half-circle formation around the aft of the transport. All the while Wirm followed in tow, walking upright at a brisk pace with his blaster battle rifle slung over the back of his neck he appeared to be a man not all too concerned about the operation ahead.

They each remained still and silent as tomb - letting the repulsor lifts of their accompanying transport lift and pull away before soon enough Wirm would motion forward with a wave of his hand deeper into the jungle. The sky was grey and dreary as outright downpour muddied the ground beneath into an intolerable sludge. Luckily the Tenebrae pattern armor allowed for an easy traverse but even then - these conditions were not ideal. Among the rain and mud the Jedi and their militia could easily conceal themselves among the greenery whilst their vision was interrupted by the participation.

"Not too long out but expect patrols - keep your eyes on your sensors." Wirm advises, sparing a glance down to the life-form sensor attached to the 'Electric Eye' optic system mounted to his Battle Rifle - he'd detected warm bodies not too far off from their position en-route to the enemy position but vocalized nothing in acknowledgement.

---

Ber'avuth'auni

 

[Ber'avuth'auni]

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/ / LOADOUT / /
Armor - Tenebrae Pattern Commando Armor Mk. I
Main Weapon - BR-212 "Jackal" ACR
Side-Arm - HG-54 "The Vora" Class Verpine Hand Cannon
Melee - VB-113 "Tidefall" Class Vibroblade

---

As he placed his first foot step into the wet soil his mindset changed. His usual banter ending as the op began, listening to Wirm speak as he formed up at the head of his men. Ravutha glanced back as the Phantom rose from the ground in its signature silent take off. He took what Wirm said to heart but did not bother responding and did a quick comms check requiring his team to check in with their respective callsigns. As expected their gear all checked in but better safe than sorry, hunting jedi isn't the time to risk equipment malfunction. He glanced around at the jungle surrounding the clearing in which they landed; it was raining, dense fauna, and they'd be engaging an enemy on edge as the jedi surely knew going into Empire territory was a risk. Ravutha's mic cracked over his teams helmet systems, "Poor visibilty, switch to lifeform scanners. . . "Neutron" and "Vapor" keep 30 meters behind with thermals on." The Tenebrae Pattern armor provided a multitude of sensors and visual displays which he planned to use to his full advantage, no surprises.

As taskforce "Gauntlet" pressed into the dense foliage of Yavin IV Ravutha kept his team spread in a long line, each man responsible for a 40 meter radius between each. They made progress but at a cautious rate, Ravutha set his Aural Amplifiers to lower the ambient sounds of the downpour and sounds of the jungle. So far so clear, he kept his weapon at the read- "Stop, four bodies 100 meters out." As he spoke every member of "Gauntlet" dropped to a knee with their weapons primed. Under normal conditions the helmets could've spotted the patrol much further away but the foliage and downpour worked better than any armor cloaking would've. He noticed them on the lifeform scanners and they popped up on the HUD's radar, he was almost positive Wirm noticed them earlier and said nothing. He was testing him, but that wasn't anything new to Ravutha and he also knew Wirm didn't expect Ravutha to miss the patrol. The team shifted slowly, the targets clearly marked on their systems target acquisition systems now; the patrol was marked for death. The two commandos in the back running stealth snipers and two others with suppressed "Jackals" line up their shots in seconds and the patrol was still blissfully unaware, and by now Ravutha had already tapped into their very basic comms system. Unfortunately there wasn't much chatter beyond what they already knew, but there was another patrol that checked in approximately 300 meters closer to the ancient ruins the jedi were in. "Clear to engage" came in over the comms as his men all had their respective target, "Take them" Within a split second the previously four alive and well republic troopers all had their heads whipped back as each got hit by a precise blaster shot to the head in unison. The two that got hit by the sniper fire even got knocked off their feet, the other two dropping where they stood and their vitals flat-lined on the lifeform scanner.

With that patrol now dead it was only a matter of time before the much larger force at the temple noticed they weren't checking in, so without a command being spoken the team reformed and picked up the pace knowing the location of the 2nd patrol team in the jungle. Even though the troopers were his enemy, Ravutha held much more respect for them than he did for any of the jedi or sith he dealt with in the past. He took joy and found pride in killing those who most would otherwise fear, but he found himself with more common footing with the troopers he had slain in his life. However he did not mourn them or feel guilt, merely respect for other warriors on the battlefield.

As they approached with the 2nd patrol they were met with an equal amount of republic troopers and they were equally unequipped and unprepared for the commando team. They were dealt with much the same procedure but due to a greater visibility in the foliage they were taken nearly 200 meters out. They continued through the slosh of soil and foliage as it did no favors to their equipment the longer they were out here; the team began to hustle. Task force "Gauntlet" began to rapidly close in but Ravutha heard the republic troopers over comms finally take notice that both patrol teams were not checking in and the window for a surprise attack was rapidly closing. At this point Ravutha could clearly see the ancient ziggurat towering over the canopy of the jungle. The team stopped 150 meters out from the edge of the clearing and their lifeform radars were illuminated with multiple body signatures, 32 to be exact. However with so much line of sight blocking vegetation and the rain forming a rising mist from the jungle floor at this point it was hard to tell exactly what they were about to walk in to. He would be damned if he'd enter into that hornets nest without some form of visual, and on top of that his audio sensors were picking up what sounded like - impossible surely . . . Ravutha had to be sure as he tapped a button on his MV-18 "Force" Class Vambraces and a small sleek Augur Class ISR Drone slipped from its notch and quickly rose above the canopy. Its camera feed displayed on the top right of Ravutha's HUD which was intern shared with the other linked helmets of his task force. The low profile drone zipped through the air and magnified on the temple's fortifications. A lot of what Ravutha saw he could've guessed, a machine gun nest at the top outside level of the temple, multiple teams watching the tree line, and one of the two padawans overseeing the guard in the center couryard; the other padawan and jedi master must be within the depths of the ancient structure. The temple provided many defense-able positions but it was clear they were relying on standard visual to spot any approaching enemies; perhaps they were relying on the multiple jedi presence to sense danger before it arrived, unfortunate for them. However there was one little surprise awaiting task force "Gauntlet" in the ziggurat's sprawling courtyard full of crumbling structures, a REC-TZ/01 "Glaive" - Class Fighter Tank hovered with its multiple weapon systems at the ready for any potential threats. Intel definitely glossed over this little bit of information Ravutha thought to himself, things just got a bit more interesting.