Annihilation The Imperial March

[Saul Whesai]

The Nightclaws were ripping through the backlines as Saul advanced with his and various other teams around him toward the camp. So far, the operation had gone off mostly without a hitch, with most patrols being easy to dispatch with little effort, thanks to the various teams being able to utilize the jungle under the giant mountains to their advantage. Steadying himself, his sergeant motioned to the rest of his squad as they heard the orders come over the line from HQ. It seemed like the Psychiatrists were in trouble. The team switched course, quickly jogging through the jungle with Saul in the lead as Scout, hoping they weren't too late.

What they saw when they reached the Dread Step's location wasn't promising. A combination of two old WLO-5 Speeder Tanks that looked like they had come right out of the Clone Wars, with the Black Sun symbol on them, equipped with search lights, were scanning through the foliage, trying to find where Psychiatrists were hiding themselves. Aiding them were two squads' worth of infantry, the tanks had carried her and dismounted bike troopers that had escorted them from both enemy factions, starting to sweep through the underbrush. It was clear the enemy knew something was out here, it just didn't know what yet.

His squad's demo specialist readied his LO-RPG20 as the Squad Leader turned to Saul and whispered. "He's got one, you got the other?" His Squad had seen his ability to run and parkour. Now it was time for Saul to show it off on the battlefield. Giving his Boss a nod, Saul stretched himself as the squad's radio operator reported back to Platoon HQ what their situation was. The other members spread out, picking their targets, and after a couple of seconds, they were permitted to drop the enemy. At that moment, two things happened. One was the firing of a rocket out of the RPG's tube, spiraling through the air till it crashed into the old tank's hull, hitting right where the ammo storage was and causing the tank and its crew to suddenly combust into a ball of flames.

The other was Saul running out of cover, screaming at the top of his lungs, "THE TREES ARE ANGRY ^%&#!...!" with two thermal detonators in his hands, running right at the tank as it tried to turn to face him so it could use its coax blaster cannons, its crew firing small arms past his sprinting form in a vain attempt to cut him down. It was too late, though, as Saul slid under the repulsors of the enemy vehicle, he tossed up the detonators into the open-topped vehicle, causing it to brew up just like its sibling. The dismounted troopers who turned around in surprise at Saul's yelling and were cut down by both Grimhiss and Dread Step Squad from their positions to the side and behind them. This fight was over, and for just Saul's first action, the crazy cyborg could paint a tank kill mark on his armor.

Laphisto , Dark Forces

 

[Aiden Porte]

Objective: 1
Theater District
Aknoby Zark San Tekka Dark Forces​

It was seen as they advance, forcing them to halt,, a pale-green shroud that clung to stone and metal alike. Even before the sensors on the nearest soldier barked their warning, Aiden knew what it was. The Force carried its echo: a wrongness that made the air itself feel poisonous, heavy with the weight of lives flickering too quickly into silence.

"Take cover and lay down support fire!"

He slowed his pace, eyes narrowing on the theater ahead. Shadows moved in its windows Imperial silhouettes crouched behind arches, rifles steady, daring anyone to advance. Behind those walls, he could sense the civilians still alive, their fear burning sharp and desperate through the fog. Their time was running out.

The gas crept closer, curling in tendrils toward his position. His troopers shifted uneasily, filters whining as they locked helmets tighter. The civilians trapped within had no such defenses. Every breath they took would bring them closer to death.

Aiden's jaw tightened. The Empire had chosen cruelty as its weapon, sealing themselves inside with the helpless as shields. It was the kind of calculation that left only bleak options yet surrendering the ground was not one of them.

He drew the Force into himself, deep and steady, until it thrummed like a second heartbeat beneath his ribs. The luminous current surged in answer, filling him with clarity where despair threatened. He raised a hand toward the fog, eyes closed for the span of a single breath.

The air stirred.

It began as a whisper, then built into a current, pushing the gas up in ragged curls. The haze bucked and twisted as though resisting, but Aiden pressed harder, channeling the will of every soul he could feel behind him soldiers waiting on his lead, civilians clinging to hope they couldn't yet see. He gave their desperation form. He gave it purpose.

"Stay low," he told the squad, voice calm despite the strain running through his limbs. "We'll drive them out. But not at the cost of those inside."

His saber flared to life with a snap-hiss, casting blue light into the smoke. The Empire had entrenched itself, hiding behind fear and bodies, but Aiden would not let that stand. Step by step, with the Force gathered like a shield around him, he advanced forward, intent on breaking the hold of cruelty with the only answer he knew hope carried forward, blade in hand.