DAF forces continued their advance, moving and adapting even without direct oversight. With Laphisto radio silent, the command structure adjusted seamlessly, the next link in the chain stepping forward without hesitation. Commander Tarain's voice cut across the comms, steady and authoritative.
"
High Commander is bogged down. I'm assuming command until he's comm-available."
New orders flashed across unit HUDs almost immediately. "
Crater Fangs reinforce the rear detachment. Move fast and lock it down. All other elements, execute your assigned taskings. You have your orders." There was no pause, no confusion. Units shifted vectors, formations adjusted, and the fight carried on. The operation didn't stall just because the High Commander was pinned the machine kept moving, exactly as it was trained to.
Cora
FN-999 (restored)
The rear battlegroup that had been positioning itself to ambush any TIC units advancing along the edge of Hill B was now being redirected. New orders folded it into a coordinated maneuver with the battlegroup already drawing TIC forces across the river. The intent was straightforward and decisive.
The two elements would link up with the light walkers and speeder bikes already operating in the area, consolidating into a fast-moving strike force. Their initial objective was to slam directly into the enemy walker units, overwhelm them through speed and numbers, and force them into a close, chaotic engagement where heavier support assets would be slower to respond.
Once contact was made and the fighting escalated, the gunship cell held in reserve would commit. They would roll in hard, providing close air support at low altitude suppressing enemy formations, breaking up counterattacks, and ensuring the strike force could disengage or exploit the breach as needed. It wasn't a subtle plan. It didn't need to be. The goal was to hit fast, hit hard, and collapse the enemy's mobile elements before they could reorganize.
The walker group began cutting back deeper into Diarchy-controlled territory. They had already lost several units, ion blasts tripping the preset training parameters and forcing affected walkers to shut down where they stood. Some froze mid-stride, power bleeding out of their systems before they toppled into the dirt or slid into shallow water along the riverbanks.
The remaining walkers continued to fall back in measured intervals. They advanced just long enough to fire, then withdrew again, repeating the pattern. Each exchange bought space, attempting to draw TIC forces farther from their original positions and pulling them steadily toward the reinforcements waiting beyond the river.
Despite their dwindling numbers, the formation held together. Fire was controlled, movement deliberate. Every step back was calculated, keeping pressure on the pursuing units while shaping the battlefield exactly where the Diarchy needed it.
Meanwhile, Lilaste Order troops pushed toward the edge of Bravo Point, tightening their hold on the position. Combat Force Specialists embedded within the units focused on controlling the ion smoke, using the Force to shove and guide it downslope into the valley below. The smoke rolled forward in thick, churning waves, pulled low and compressed to keep it dense and effective.
What remained of the smokescreen was deliberately shaped, not dispersed. It spilled through the cleared jungle corridors, clinging to the ground and obscuring lines of sight while masking troop movement beneath the canopy. Units advanced inside the smoke in tight formations, weapons up, pushing through gaps where defenses had already been broken or abandoned.
Within the cover, resistance was minimal. Any remaining defensive positions were bypassed or overrun before they could react, the smoke denying the enemy the time and visibility needed to organize an effective response. The advance continued methodically, Bravo's perimeter expanding outward as Diarchy forces pressed forward under concealment.
The units fighting over Point C continued to dig in, hunkering down as they carved shallow fighting positions into the terrain and emplaced whatever heavy weapons they could bring to bear. Fields of fire were established quickly, overlapping where possible, as crews worked under pressure to stabilize the line before the next push came.
That push arrived from above.
A gunship cell maneuvered wide around the main engagement, slipping past the heaviest concentrations of fire before swinging back in for a gun run. The approach was fast and deliberate. As the gunships passed over the position, they released paint shells programmed to detonate roughly fifty meters above the ground.
The airburst charges ruptured in rapid succession, scattering orange paint mixed with inert shrapnel across the fighting positions below. Troops caught in the open were immediately marked KIA as Paintballs splattered down on teh infantry of both groups assaulting hill C, paint splashed across armor, weapons, and cover alike
As the engagement on the left side of the island intensified, one of the gunship cells held in reserve adjusted its patrol route while the main formation continued providing close air support to the advancing walker detachment. Along the western shoreline, sensors picked up an unusual disturbance. Dust plumes were visible along the beach, moving inland in a loose pattern that tracked toward the command center.
The lead pilot keyed his comms.
Lord Mettallum
"
Commander Mettallum, this is Roxum One. We're observing dust buildup along the western beach, movement trending inland toward the command center. Likely a small unit attempting a flanking maneuver."
The gunship cell held its distance, maintaining altitude and course rather than closing in "
We are not engaging. Passing the warning to base defense units now. Recommend increased patrols and readiness along the western approach." Sensor feeds and positional data were pushed to the defensive network as the cell resumed its overwatch pattern, eyes on the shoreline while ground forces prepared to respond.
Of the remaining gunship cells operating near Hill C, one broke off to engage units attempting to intercept Diarchy forces maneuvering along the river. The cell came in low and fast, running a strafing pass directly across the advancing infantry. Suppressive fire tore through the approach route, disrupting movement and forcing the intercepting elements to scatter or halt before they could close on the flanking force.
At the same time, the two gunships left from the reserve cell shifted their focus toward Hill A. They made a deliberate pass along the edge of the position, weapons active and profiles aggressive enough to draw attention without committing to a sustained engagement. The intent was simple and effective. By pulling eyes and fire toward the airspace over Hill A, they reduced pressure on the infantry group advancing through the ion smoke below.
Bido Roz’lyn
FN-999 (restored)
As Bido's starfighters committed to their attack run, the TIE/EW elements pushed forward along their approach vector. The corridor ahead looked clear for only a moment. Then the gunship cell revealed itself.
Heavy weapons came alive almost simultaneously. Nose-mounted 50MM rotary cannons spun up first, filling the air ahead with dense streams of fire that tore straight through the approach lane .40MM autocannons from the ball turrets followed, their bursts walking across the sky and saturating the space the TIE/EW craft were flying into. Side gunners added overlapping arcs of .50 cal fire, stitching the air with tracers and forcing any craft still advancing to fly directly through it.
The approach collapsed into chaos. The airspace ahead was no longer a path, but a wall of incoming fire. Whether theapproaching ships survived there run or not was still in the air
Meanwhile, the main gunship cell under attack from Bido and her STX-TIE formation found itself rapidly overwhelmed. What began as a fighting withdrawal quickly unraveled as the pressure mounted. As the gunships turned to break contact and pull away, they were caught unprepared for the follow-on strike. The hammer blow came from above.
The sudden attack smashed into the retreating formation, immediately followed by a second coordinated strike aimed at the reinforcing group moving in to support them. The engagement was brief and violent. Two of the gunships were marked as shot down outright under the training parameters, their systems failing mid-flight.
The remaining Main four lost power in quick succession. They dropped hard toward the surface, plowing through tall grass and uneven terrain as inertial dampeners struggled to compensate. One of the craft came down directly into the river, its hull skidding and partially submerging as the simulated crash sequence completed.
The cell was effectively neutralized, its surviving crews now scattered across the battlefield, and the airspace over that sector abruptly cleared of Diarchy gunship presence. As the TIEs regrouped over Hill A, the nearest gunship cell began pulling back toward Hill B, adjusting position to avoid overexposure. That movement halted almost immediately when sensor contacts shifted west. Starfighters were breaking off.
Warnings rippled through the gunship comms as updated tracks flooded in. "
Enemy starfighters are moving west. Roxum One, suspicion confirmed."
A beat later, new orders cut through the channel From Tarian "
All gunship cells, redirect and intercept. Full firepower authorized. Disrupt and neutralize as much starfighter support as possible. Do not allow them to reinforce that western group."
Gunships rolled and pivoted in unison, breaking their previous patterns as engines flared and weapons powered up. Vectors realigned toward the western approaches, overlapping fields of fire already being calculated. The intent was clear. If the starfighters wanted to shift the fight, they would have to run headlong into the heaviest concentration of gunship fire the Diarchy could bring to bear. And if they began to dive skyward then the gunship cells moved to fully intercept the group on the beach front. giving teh star fighters two options. push through or try and go around and deal with the remaining gunship cells all together
At the rear cell behind Hill B, one of the extra gunships peeled off from formation and broke hard toward the suspected light scout unit maneuvering along the outskirts of the main fighting. The craft accelerated into a straight-line intercept, committing to speed over finesse as it closed the distance.
Its rotary cannons were already dry, the barrels still hot but useless for the moment. That left one option. The pilot brought the gunship in low and parallel to the scouts' projected path, angling the hull to give the side gunners a clear line of fire.
once contact was made, the .50 would do the talking. along side 40MM cannons The gunship held steady as it ran alongside the formation's route, doors open, gunners tracking for movement through the brush, ready to pour fire the moment the scouts broke cover or tried to scatter
Ronhar Tane
Laphisto was a Force user, but that truth had never defined the limits of his survival. If anything, it had taught him restraint. The lesson was one he himself had forged, refined through blood, loss, and centuries of war, until it became one of the core tenets of the Lilaste Order. The Force was a tool, nothing more. It was not a crutch, not a shield against consequence. Depend on it too completely and it would hollow you out, dull your instincts, and in the end, it would get you killed.
He had learned that truth long before the Order existed. He had carried it through the Hundred Year Darkness, through the Second Schism, through the Jedi Civil War and a dozen conflicts history preferred to forget. Again and again, he had watched warriors who trusted the Force to save them hesitate when they should have moved, freeze when the Force fell silent, and die because their own hands had forgotten how to fight without it.
As Ronhar dove hard to the right, Laphisto stayed behind cover. He leaned out only long enough to fire a few short, disciplined bursts toward their attacker. Not wild shots, not fueled by anger or panic, but measured fire meant to suppress and disrupt. Experience told him that control mattered more than power.
The response was immediate. A spray stick clattered across the barricade, followed by the sharp snap of bola shots slicing through the air. Laphisto dropped low as two of them struck the cover with heavy, metallic thuds. A third found its mark. It whipped around one of his horns and snapped tight, the sudden force jerking his head sideways one of the Weights smashed into his visor, sending cracks splintering across the surface, warping his vision. slightly
Another cable wrapped around his wing, catching it at the tip and binding closed. leaving him without flight for the remainder of the fight. The wire bit deep into the sensitive scales, drawing thin trickles of blood as it tightened. Pain flared, sharp and immediate, but he forced it down, breathing through it with practiced calm.
With a sharp hiss of irritation, Laphisto was momentarily caught off guard, his attention split as he tried to untangle the weighted cable from his horn. The wire resisted, pulled tight by its own momentum. He abandoned the effort without hesitation. His saber ignited in a clean snap of light, and with two precise cuts he severed the weighted segments wrapped around his head. The pieces dropped away, clattering uselessly against the stone.
A low rumble vibrated in his throat, more reflex than sound. He disengaged the saber just as quickly, locking it back onto his belt. Laphisto took a breath and let his awareness widen, not through the Force, but through instinct. He listened for movement, tracked shadows, measured distance. Then he moved.
He dove left, clearing the edge of the barricade in a low, aggressive burst of motion. As he came up, he brought his Rifle to bear and emptied the remainder of the sixty round magazine into the man's position. The recoil hammered into his shoulder as the weapon barked again and again, aiming to drive the enemy backward and denying any chance to recover.
When the distance closed to nothing, Laphisto did not slow. He surged forward, hefted the rifle with both hands, and swung it like a club. The moment he impacted or missed he released the weapon entirely, letting it fall away as dead weight. His hand snapped back, fingers curling into a fist as he twisted his body into the strike. He drove the punch forward with everything he had, intent clear and uncompromising.
Laphisto
