Faction Securing the Means of Production (Confederacy Faction RP, Ask to Join)

[Solan Charr]

Daiyu, Wild Space

Objective 1:
Secure the Governor's Palace, ensure that none of the ruling elite escape and hold them for trial. Take them Alive if possible, ensure any non-combatants are kept safe and not killed during the fighting. Once the Palace has been taken, secure the treasury and any important assets in order for a smooth transition of power.

Objective 2:
Secure the planet's industrial district and eliminate the enemy outposts located near. Enlist the aid of disgruntled insurgents aiding in the transfer of power to Darth Vodrux and a Confederacy aligned government.

Objective 3:
Secure the planetary defenses and main space port, eliminate the garrison located and turn the defenses on the enemy forces in the air. Once secured, destroy or capture all enemy combatants and space craft, ensuring as much equipment is taken for future use by the Confederacy and the planetary defense forces. ​

---

Solan would breath in, his mind consumed with the thoughts that ran through, about the fact that they were about to cause alot more damage and death than he would prefer. Still, he had agreed to this, and he would raise his head to look at his closest bridge officer who held out a report to him. The forward observers and spies that had been sent to the planet had highlighted the main targets of their assault, something that Solan had poured over and helped focus the coalition's efforts so that the most efficient use of their forces could be applied. They were no massive Empire, no grand Republic, no truly overwhelming force and this would be a hard fought first battle for the Confederacy but one he was confident in. The limited droid forces, the gathered warlord's forces, and the Keshiri who were well trained for combat would serve to be an effective force to be used on their enemies today.

Still as their ships left hyperspace, as the first dropships were launched and as the fighters took to quickly assault the planetary governor's forces, it was a sight that Solan had not seen in some time. Even the recent engagement over Kegan had been a very different sight, a very different battle. He had expected a more hit and split sort of action back then, this was a full on war they were prosecuting, one that they could end quickly as long as their efforts were focused.

His comm panel was opened, eyes scanning over the channels that had been left open for Darth Vodrux and for PHRS-11 "Cannibal" , two he had left to do whatever they so decided was the best use of their abilities. He knew the Darth would likely go and claim his throne, take the Palace and deal with the Governor himself while Cannibal would likely go to the foundries and industrial district that would end up being the place the Grand Army would be constructed. That left the Space Port, a target he was confident could be handled by himself and one of his lieutenants if need be. Still it did give him pause to think about all of it, pulling a crystal out of his pocket, looking at the small gem that used to hold a part of his soul.

Remembering how it used to hold some of her's too. Now it was as dead as it could be, lifeless and frozen to him in terms of the life it once held.

Even with that in mind though, Solan would breath out, looking to the officer again and nodding.

Soon he would start to get reports, and soon he would know if he needed to involve himself in this.

 

[PHRS-11 "Cannibal"]

OBJECTIVE #3

Quiet, that was how it started. The cannibal slipping between the chaos on the surface with practiced ease. A protocol droid operating just outside the the edges of their security sweeps. Their ilk the kind of thing that goes unnoticed especially when all other things draw the eye. It was a simple thing once the droids main body had been dislocated from it's head, the durasteel casing slumping to the ground before being quickly carried off into the dark. The infiltration had begun with the consumption of one of his own, true to his namesake. The coding of the factory line droid devoured by the malicious intellect within the arachnid's chassis. Droids like these had all sorts of ways through a building, ways that wouldn't accommodate or weren't safe for organic life. Ways that just required a simple signal to be sent to querying systems, ways through which cannibal could impregnate the defenses without so much as a peep.

Crawling through the heat duct of the facilities power-generation plant, the eight legged droid would hum quietly but merrily to itself as the signal travelled along a subtle chain of terminals and made it's way back to it's progenitor, Solan Charr .

"Weakness found, exploited. I am here, unknown, ready. Give the word. I will hunt."

Came the series of encrypted words, their message translated swiftly by the King's comm's panel and spreading the hunter's message. His form moving near silently through the tunnel, leaving small nicks in the tunnel as his compressed bulk is drug through it, the cannibalized head of the droid from outside still slung between his pedipalp like appendages and connected to his own processor. It'd been... frustrating... lobotomizing the unawakened mind inside the droid. Purging what nascent person that had been developing within to use it's pure unblemished code. It gave it him perhaps the closest sensation to guilt that he was capable of. An amount quite ignorable, thought a piece of hay upon the burgeoning pile he had been accruing through his work. Still, it was done for a good cause. For his progenitor's cause and now for his own. It He would repair the droid when this was said and done, if the body was not torn apart by scavengers before he had finished silencing the base and turning it's gun's about.

"Their power, it will fail them. The rest will fall swiftly. Acknowledged and Approved?"

He finished, his travel coming to a slow as he drew closer to the source of heat. Here now where it was almost unbearable, unsafe for even his body, he knew he was atop his target. Tearing through the duct would be relatively simple. Tearing through any organics stationed inside the power control room would be equally so. Simple does not mean easy though, and it he would need to be careful to not fail here if he were to be surprised with a larger defensive force than he had accounted for. If all went well here, then the rest would fall on Darth Vodrux and the other operatives...

"I am sorry, little one."

Came the quiet voice of the Cannibal through the corridor of metal as he sat the decapitated head of the droid down and prepared to receive his master's answer.

 

[Darth Vodrux]

As the Confederate Warships entered into orbit over Daiyu, and the droid began to work on the planetary defense grid, the word's skies similarly darkened beneath the armada of smaller starships that now hovered close to the surface of the planetary shield, just out of turbolaser and ion range. Fighters, bombers, and shuttles blotted out the sun, with the last category of vessels carrying squads of heavily armed soldiers and armoured vehicles that Darth Vodrux had secured through his initial operations. He had turned operational command of his stolen fleet over to Solan for this operation, and had taken command of the ground forces that would lead the invasion and secure the first set of strategic objectives. Once this was finished, the larger body of the Confederacy's army would follow suit and take control of the rest of the planet. In preparation for the invasion, they had inserted PHRS-11 and a spy in Vodrux's employ via a smuggler into Daiyu, and they had spent well over a month acquiring critical tactical information and identifying weak spots in the defenses. Now the day had finally come, and the droid was in place to disable the planetary shield and anti-air batteries that would allow the first wave to land unmolested, and his spy was meant to broadcast the coordinates of Daiyu's rapid-response troop barracks. Aboard his shuttle, the Sith Lord glanced at the mounted holoprojector upon his gauntlet that began to ping, indicating an incoming encrypted call. He pushed the button to answer it, and the image of his inserted spy flickered to life before Vodrux. The Twi'lek woman bowed, before speaking. "I have the coordinates, My Lord. Four sites in total. Stand-by. 4Q-FJ-3971-1589, 2N-QM-2457-3863, 7P-EK-1029-3391 and 4N-CF-6679-3186." Vodrux nodded with satisfaction. "Good work. Proceed to the rendezvous point and link up with us when we get down. Until then, lay low."

He disconnected the call, before sending out the affirmative signal to PHRS-11, to indicate that the droid had the all-clear to begin sabotaging the defense grid, and then he patched through a holocall to King Solan Charr, and his apprentice, Narci. "We are all set, Kesh." he said to Solan, addressing him with the name of the dominion over which he ruled as the twin figures of the King and his apprentice sprung up before him. "Transmitting the coordinates of the troop bunkers to your flagship. As soon as the shield is down, neutralize them with orbital fire." He then turned his attention to Narci. "As soon as the orbital bombardment is underway, we begin our descent into the atmosphere. My unit will move towards the Central District and decapitate what remains of the world's central government. You, my apprentice, will lead your unit and seize the Industrial District. I want the infrastructure and machinery intact and salvageable." He locked eyes with the fire-haired woman. "You have been yearning for a taste of blood and a chance to prove yourself. Here it is. Deliver to me what I want, and do not fail me. Understood?

 

[Narci Kemi]

Narci sat in the commander seat of her own vessel, it wasn't one she was attached to nor one she claimed to be her own.
When the holo call came through she answered with a smile.

She waited till her Master spoke to her and arched a brow at him.
"When will you stop underestimating me.... you'll have what you want and I'll do it with style." She licked over her teeth.
"Make them beg Master." She purred before ending the call and swapping to her mobile communications.
She stood and looked to her small task force.
"You heard him. Take them out quickly and cleanly. Any damage and I'll take your arms and beat you with it." She looked at them viciously, taking up her weapons for this mission. Duel Electro riot batons she had tweaked to her own combat preferences. They had been enhanced, turning up the voltage to that similar of force lightening, she placed each in a cross on her back, her skin tight armour made to redirect electrical outputs, meaning she could not only withstand heavy electrical damage but redirect it. She was learning quickly how to adapt to her new position, using her build to be a stealth killer rather than an outright brute till the time was necessary. She enjoyed her enemies underestimating her, it made their defenses so much more fun to manipulate and cut through.

She listened in over coms, waiting for the permission to drop as she opened the bay door and crouched, her team behind her waiting to drop at a moments notice.

Over the com to all three of them she spoke. ( Solan Charr Darth Vodrux PHRS-11 "Cannibal" )
"Who ever finds me something pretty, drinks are on me." Her giggle would ring out, before the sound of wind as her team deployed on the order.

 

[Solan Charr]

Daiyu, Wild Space
In Low Orbit​

---

Solan had been left to his own devices, looking on as his ships engaged the enemy over the planet. The Warlord here did not seem to have a grand fleet, that was good. It would make efforts to take and hold the planet easier if this man's defenses were lacking in their scope and scale. Really this was no glorious battle, no grand campaign... he almost missed how difficult and complicated the past was in fighting the Sith or the Mandalorians for the Galactic Republic. Surely there would be more of that in the future but his hand moved to shift the focus of the screens towards the efforts on the ground. Those would surely end up being more difficult to quickly dispatch.

It would be then that he would notice the encrypted communication from PHRS-11 "Cannibal" , one he looked over carefully and would consider. The Droid would need support if things went bad, but they had insisted on taking the lead. Solan knew that there was no reason not to trust Cannibal in this, it was the growth of the AI that had led him to trust it to handle a mission like this.

He knew that the droid would face trouble the moment the power started going down though, so he considered how to best support the creation of his. He did not want to make the Droid think he did not trust it, no that was far from the truth so as he looked down at the next message he would move and shift his hand to display a input board for him. He would give the Droid a simple command, one that would allow it to operate with discretion but to also make it clear that he trusted it to do the job he wanted done.

"Take down their walls and defenses, once done, the command of the squads in your area is yours to do with what you wish. I trust you in this Adam, I know that you will not fail me. Try to keep damage to a minimum." He would let the encoded communication be returned to the droid, knowing that the moment the defenses would lose power the fighting would get much heavier considering that the Starport needed to be secured quickly.

It was then that his focus was shifted to Darth Vodrux. There was little for him to say to the man but the request for orbital strikes on the locations gave him pause. He would make sure that the locations were not close enough to any residential areas and that they were military based. Three of them were of no worries but the forth...

"Location 4N-CF-6679-3186 is too close to account for collateral damage. I request you and your apprentice ensure some soldiers are ready to strike as I will instead by having a squadron of bombers strike to ensure the damage is contained. The damage will be far less complete so those soldiers should expect some resistance from any forces that remain intact from the bombing strike." He would hope the man would understand. Vodrux might be a Sith, but Solan did not want to cause more damage than was necessary, especially when their entire goal was to create a better place in the Outer Rim for these peoples.

Solan would have nothing to say to the redheaded apprentice, simply glancing to her as she made her statement about whoever found her something pretty. Honestly he did find that rather amusing but when they were in situations like this, it was necessary to keep a straight face and keep focused on the business of war.

"I am facing far weaker resistance in Orbit than I expected. If your forces run into any problems, do not hesitate to call for help, it should not take long to resupply or aid your forces." He would cross his hands over his chest, closing out the comm for now and focusing on the battle ones again, his mind going over what was coming next surely.

Narci Kemi Darth Vodrux

 

[PHRS-11 "Cannibal"]

Optional mission parameters presented: "Find something pretty" Calculating expected effect on mission efficiency . . . 67% . . . 78% . . . 99% . . . Optional parameters result in a consumption of 2% cognitive resources. Mission efficiency reduced by 0.01%. Optional parameters rejected.

When the background of his processor as he received Solan Charr 's message, his optical sensors seeming to intensify their brightness in joy as he was given command of further resources. The odd entry by the unfamiliar female rejected in split seconds as 'drinks' were of little importance to him. Though he supposed those words of hers weren't truly meant for him but bother her master Darth Vodrux and his. Something that for some indescribable reason splintered annoyance within the confines of his emotional cores... Was it some form of greed born possessiveness or was it merely that he didn't enjoy flippancy? Either way while he didn't let any ill feeling's towards Narci Kemi take root within his processors. He did make a point of actively ignoring 'pretty' objects, regardless of however childish it made him feel.

"Understood. Executing."

He sent through the communications line, his claws piercing through the heat duct like he were a hot blade left upon ice. Their tips peeling through durasteel with little effort and much care as he heard a flood of new noises pour through the newly created entrance. The voices of at least 15 organics and a sparse handful of protocol droids going about their work with a panicked pace. Their occupied nature allowing him to form a softball sized hole before any eyes even looked up to investigate the odd grating noise...

Primary objective identified . . . 17 organics: 5 security personnel, 12 engineers. 3 droids: 2 maintenance, 1 medical . . . Appears to have been an accident within the power station prior to entry . . . Fortuitous . . . Activating Combat Protocols / Capture . . . Generating Optimal Path . . . 12% . . . 56% . . . 90% Path found . . . Executing . . .

What happened next was not pretty. It wasn't quick. It wasn't quiet. There were... regrettable casualties. Deaths were minimal, though some were unavoidable. The security staff had been well trained. Five soldiers with honed skills and a lack of panicked inaction resulted in an unacceptable amount of structural damage. He'd come out swiftly, descending on them while dispensing his hunter killer probes to disable the remaining engineers and remove their ability to flee. He needed to control the number of variables to deal with in the rest of the building, remove the chance of accidentally killing or getting one of them killed by uncontrolled fire as he progressed through the base. Unfortunately not all of them were... docile. At least three had decided bravado was more worthwhile than continuing to live, their limbs now decorating the floors as a passive message to the remaining important personnel.

"Reporting... 4 guards terminated, 1 escaped. Damage sustained. Facility alerted. 9 remaining engineers within this compartment. Restraining and incapacitating. Will disable power with... care..."

Came the next message, his sensors scanning over the blaster marks which had disabled his seventh scythe like limb.

"This will need replacement..."

He voiced with disdain, his hollow tinny sounding voice causing a shiver to pulse through the man in the stereotypical orange and yellow jumpsuit worn by the grease covered mechanics of this facility. The target had been tempted to join his comrades in wielding whatever they could get their hands on to deal with him. The sight of a hunter killer probe stabbing through the welding mask of his nearest coworker and boring through what lied beneath had quelled his rebellious spirit. A swift sideways motion from one free leg slammed into the side of the twi'lek's skull and rendered them temporarily unconscious.

"Such a feeble design."

Adam remarked, rolling the man over to fasten his arms and legs with restraints. It was something of a poorly held belief, by all those who watched too many holovids of actions movies and drama shows, that someone being knocked out for hours on end was perfectly fine. No, most times this is the result of severe brain trauma and can lead to various forms of death. Cannibal couldn't afford this luxury, with his progenitor demanding their capture rather than death he had to simply stun the little flesh bags with a good thwap then use their dazed states to remove their threat. Of course this was full well knowing he'd never been one to knock out people anyways. If someone required violence from him it'd usually been a bit more... final.

"Remain still and you will not cease functioning. Do not test my patience."

Came the harsh words across the room to the gathered whimpering mass, his lesser drones clustered around them to both protect them from themselves and remove any interlopers who might come to free his prizes. His clicking steps taking him to the central console, to the data port through which he might non-violently disable this station. It was a vulnerable position, stagnant and unmoving as he'd have to be in order to slice through their security protocols. Unlike the meager five guards they'd left here it seemed their digital security was a bit more unanimously reinforced. He expected the only reason there had been such an anemic force in here was due the burgeoning conflict outside. Their number lining the exterior of the building or amassing to defend from foes attacking without rather than within. Something which, with the escape of one of their number, he doubted would remain the same for long.

BOOM!

Went the doors, the security team breaching in just as the internal confirmation came to inform him of his own successful breach. The reverberating sound of the doors being blown open soon followed by a descending electric 'bwoom'. The station began rapidly powering down, the lights flickering to their slowly strobing emergency red as he retracted his connection from the terminal.

"Station power disabled. Reinforcements encountered. Will hold location to prevent reactivation until local assets arrive. Redirection of planetary defenses will occur once site is secured. Incapacitation... Unlikely. Apologies."

Shot off his last communication, his body slowly turning to view the swelling ranks of his enemy. There was always something about seeing an old era assassin droid active and hunting that seemed to frequently stun both those that recognized him and those who knew not a clue what he was. A stunned state that shattered almost immediately when the red gleam of his eyes focused on their number.

"FIRE!"

Resounded through the room, the previously stilled men letting loose hell on Cannibal's location and kicking off the after party. His mind frantically running through simulation after simulation, throwing him between terminals and pillars for cover as the coldness of the hunt suppressed his humanity once more.

Activating Combat Protocols / Extermination . . .

 

[Melissa Bloodscrawl]

Wearing: Venture Attire (Gold)

Armed With: BWE Vibrorapier


Objective: 3

Earlier.

"I'm telling you, this is a mistake..." Melissa protested, trapped behind the laser grid pen

She had stopped on this world to investigate it as a possible source of Cultist Activity. A misunderstanding at the spaceport involving a number of greedy officials charging her more than what the Dock Officer had told her the cost would be. One nonsense charge of noncompliance later and into the Pen she went. She had not resisted, not intending her first week of existence to start with violence. But that was looking increasingly unlikely. Thank heavens they hadn't run a medical scanner over her. The local government was run by a warlord. Not uncommon out in these parts. But they had gotten someone's attention, though she didn't know it yet.

Melissa waited, patiently standing in the Force Cage, her skintight chromium gold colored catsuit glittering under the lights as it showed off her physique. Almost like a living, breathing awards statue. Her suit reflected everything around it in a distorted way as the security guards stared at her. She looked too perfect. It was unsettling. It caused chills of anxiety. Despite her great beauty, nobody wanted to get near her, instinctively knowing something wasn't right...

"Yeah, yeah, tell it to your defender..." one muttered, focusing on the security screens in his cubicle.

Melissa sighed. It had been a long, boring day. It looked like she was going to have to break out soon.

"Can this day get any worse?" Melissa asked in a petulant huff.

The air raid sirens started to sound across the city.

Melissa sighed. "I had to ask..."

The power cut off to the laser pen as an impact shuddered the inside. She had been brought into the garrison itself for processing. Relatively light security. They had not thought her much of a threat.

Melissa calmly walked out of the pen, the guards surrounded her.

"Get back in the pen..." one of the guards spoke, flashing on a Stun Baton.

Melissa heard Blasterfire outside.

"Sir, if I may be so blunt...you have more serious problems..." she replied, trying to be friendly.

"Get back. In the pen." The Guard growled. The four other guards flashed on their stun batons.

Melissa blinked, her Dovin Basal Heart beating fast.

The stun Batons of the guards became to heavy to hold, their personal gravity affected and they fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

The Guards backed away. Melissa remained in place, hands folded.

"Please, I am not your enemy."

The guards ran and one hit the detention area alarm as they fled.

Melissa pinched the brow of her nose.

"And now I have to go through nonsense.

It vexed her internal programming to be placed in this situation. Still, she would adhere to the family honor, and try to leave as many alive as possible.

The Biot calmly went to the detention area locker, and retrieved her personal Vibrorapier, still in it's gold chromium covered Cortosis Weave sheath that matched her suit when she heard cries from other areas in the detention section.

As it turned out, only her own pen had suffered power failure. The pens of other prisoners in sealed off sections of the detention ringing with pleas for help.

Melissa was running to a sealed turbo door, and she had to rip open the keypad panel and hot wire it open.

She ran in, this one section in far worse condition than her own. She had been in a kept off section. It was dilapidated, signs of bloodstains on the walls, the sound of Blasterfire grew more intense.

"Please, help us!" One of the prisoners yelled at her.

Melissa wanted to...she saw clear signs of mistreatment. But she had no idea why they were in here.

"You could be locked up for anything..." Melissa trailed.

"Exactly! I was locked up for protesting high taxes!" The Prisoner yelled back. "They got a death squad coming into the detention area, and they are gonna kill us all so we won't talk about what goes on here! They're gonna kill us and you! Please, let us out! Whatever we're guilty of, we don't deserve to be shot in laser cages like rabid animals without a trial!"

Melissa sighed. "Alright, alright, let me find the release..." Just as Melissa went to the control terminal however, the hiss of a nearby turbodoor opened.

Melissa's reflexes kicked in and she went into a diving slide to avoid the blaster shot that erupted from the carbine that fired, one of her legs swinging up to kick the weapon out of the squad leader's hand, her other leg kicking his out from under him as she transitioned into a forward roll, barely avoiding the Blasterfire from the rest of his squad, as she twisted around, tossing the sheathed sword pommel first into the head of the squads second in command, stunning him as she somersaulted forward into their fire, barely dodging the shots as she utilized Atrisian Aikido to grab one and slam him hard into a nearby wall, executing an axial spin kick to knock the rifle out of the remaining targets hands, set it to stun as she grabbed it, and then fired on them all, knocking them out cold. With a bit of surprise and disgust on her features, she noticed some of them had been carrying flame throwers. They hadn't just been about to kill the prisoners, they had been about to roast them to destroy any attempt at identification.

Melissa dropped the rifle and picked up her sword before walking back into the detention area. Twelve people in total had been detained.

"Grab any weapons you can find. We're leaving..." she told them as she deactivated the laser pens.

The Prisoners had soon gathered weapons and Melissa was cautiously leading from the front to the exit from detention. Soldiers could be heard scrambling on the other side.

"Now what?" One of the Prisoners asked her.

"Stay behind a moment. I'll handle it..." Melissa replied getting to the side of the door, gesturing silently for one to hand her a flashbang grenade they had taken from one of the guards and she activated it, letting it countdown and tossing it as she opens the turbo door into the other side, timing it's detonation perfectly.

Her Dovin Basal Heart quickened and all three guards waiting on the other side were slowed down as the the grenade went off and her gold covered figure darted into the smoke, Vibrosword flashing through their weapons except for a single pistol, which she ripped from a holster as she closed the distance, setting it to stun as she shot them all, still barely able to turn their head.

The guards fell unconscious and Melissa stepped out of the smoke.

"Let's hope whoever is invading this place is nicer than our hosts are..." she commented casually as she gestured for them to follow her.

Melissa watched as the prisoners instead took off running in every other direction, having realized the massive amounts of Aggro she would draw as she fought her way out. Melissa sighed, but did not try to stop them.

"Like herding cats, I swear..." Melissa snorted, throwing her hands up in annoyance.

"Oh well, I tried..." she muttered. "Good luck, I guess..."

Melissa then continued her journey out of the detention area alone...

Ten minutes later...

Melissa came across a scene of Garrison soldiers pouring fire on a passageway of invaders from behind hastily set up barricades.

Her heart quickened it's best and the Soldiers weapons became to heavy to carry, forcing them to drop their weapons and take cover in a panic, which allowed her to shoot them all with stun blasts from behind a corner. But before the forces of Solan Charr could get a good look she was already leaving that choke point, looking for the exit. The invading soldiers begin reporting in that there was some sort of unknown threat inside the Garrison complex itself...

PHRS-11 "Cannibal"

Darth Vodrux

Narci Kemi


Tags: OPEN

 

[Darth Vodrux]

As Vodrux looked back at the flickering images upon the holoprojector, he raised an eyebrow. "Yes, there is a hab-block located near the fourth target. Statistical analysis of the world's current demographics indicate that any collateral casualties caused will not have a material effect on our ability to rebuild the world and restart industrial production. There are more than enough skilled civilians down there, who will presumably multiply once they have security and effective governance." he told Solan, his voice laced with irritation. "What we cannot afford to squander, are our military assets. Especially not on some misguided ethical conundrum." And then, the planetary shield beneath them began to flicker and die out, soon joined by the major, anti-air batteries that the local warlord had set-up. The droid had come through, and there was no time to waste. "Very well. Risk your bomber pilots to unnecessary small-arms fire, instead of obliterating the enemy from a safe distance. I can assure you, that we will hold no such qualms in the pursuit of our objective." Disconnecting the call with Solan's bridge, he shifted the channel to his operational intercom. "All units, begin the assault. The planetary defenses are down. Survival and achievement of the objectives are paramount, so you are permitted to neutralize any and all threats in the most efficacious manner possible."

And then, at his signal, his own shuttle began to move down into the planetary atmosphere below. They flew in tight formation, leaving sufficient gaps between each squadron of vessels so that they were not accidentally caught in the orbital bombardment, and Vodrux glanced out of the windscreen to see the immense bolts of turbolaser fire shimmering down from the ships in orbit, before striking their ground targets in enormous explosions that arced through the air in great plumes of smoke and fire. Nothing caught within the blast radius would be left unvapourised. Three such sites were struck by the orbital bombardment, and the fourth site instead saw a stream of bombers swoop down from above, their payloads armed and ready to be dropped. The Sith Lord shook his head in frustration as the proton bombs struck the troop barracks, and counter-fire from the building lit up the sky, strafing the bombers as they approached. "Blasted Jedi. Even when they embrace the Dark Side, they are unable to give up their sickening teachings." he murmured to himself, before turning his attention back to the rapidly approaching ground.

His squadron was now swooping over the government district, with its ornately decorated hab spires and blocks, its elegant plazas and avenues, and the grandiose palace that dominated the centre of the district, and indeed the ecumenopolis. This was no doubt, the seat of the warlord's government, which had taken control of the world. His gaze brushed over the neutered sets of turbolaser batteries that under ordinary circumstances would have been blowing the shuttles out of the air by now had it not been for the droid's sabotage. But that did not mean that they would face no resistance before they hit the ground. Nearby, one of the shuttles was struck by a proton torpedo and it went spiraling down into the ground below, as the Sith Lord's attention was turned towards a speck of oncoming shapes in the horizon before him. He immediately barked out orders to the squadron over the holocomms. "Incoming fighters. They're aiming for the shuttles and the bombers. All fighters intercept the enemy immediately. All bombers and shuttles take evasive maneuvers. Now!" As the sky around them was lit up by flying torpedos and the flashes of turbolaser fire from both sides, Vodrux held onto the ceiling of his shuttle as the pilot took them on a meandering course towards the ground. The first wave of craft finally landed and began to disembark their cargo of shock troops and armoured vehicles, and Vodrux's shuttle pilot made sure to touch them down in a sheltered section of the square leading to the governor's palace. As soon as the doors were opened, the Sith Lord leapt out of it at the head of his commandos, his lightsaber drawn and unignited. He began to move towards the palace as his forces landed all across the district and began to engage the defenders who were being reinforced by a thin, but steady trickle of troops from the military installation Solan had refused to bombard.

Up ahead, Vodrux could see the native soldiers taking up defensive positions along the outer layers of the governor's palace and he smiled through his rebreather. Adrenaline coursed through his veins, and he filled his mind with memories of his past. The taste of the electro-whip as it dug into his skin, swung forth by an overseer upon him and his fellow slaves. The misty residues of memory, that swirled around an image of a terrified young man and woman, who clutched at him and wept as their child was torn away from their nurturing grasp by their master's supplicants. The innumerable times his master had humiliated him, had broken into his mind with the Force, had sent his body writhing and quivering to the ground under torrents of Force Lightning, the abuse and treachery of his fellow acolytes as each had sought to outmaneuver the others in their respective bids to become their master's apprentice. The memories filled his heard with sorrow and hatred in equal measures, and the hate turned into a seething battle rage. He channeled the emotions to draw upon the Dark Side, as he ignited his lightsaber and began to charge forward towards the enemy defensive positions. He was dimly aware of his men taking up positions in cover under Captain Eshkai's command as they opened fire upon the defenders with innumerable and varied weapon systems, and he did not care. In that moment, he was the weapon. He was the most devastating instrument of war in the Confederacy's arsenal. And the warlord's forces would taste his wrath and his hate.

He moved in a frenzy, deflecting the flying bolts of blaster fire that descended upon him and he began to inch closer towards the defending soldiers. As soon as he would get in range, it would be over for them.