Dominion They Are Coming! [Imperial Confederation Dominion of Minntooine + Empty Hex]

[Saltare Dothon]

Saltare's squad came up to the Watchtowers entrance. A squat door, solid grey, loomed before them. It was built deep within a large recess that overhung the door. Solid metal and other materials made the doorway heavily fortified, making it tricky to use force. A more subtle approach was warranted.

"Logan, run the codes and get that door open," Saltare ordered as Second squad formed up on the door while First provided cover to the surrounding area.

Logan crouched in front of the door panel, pulled wires from a small datapad, and plugged them into the control console. Glyphs flowed across his device as he attempted to penetrate the facility's security to open the door.

A whole minute passed with nothing, and Logan continued to type away. Saltare continued to glance at him, but it seemed Logan was not making any headway.

"Cover my sector," Saltare said as he walked up to Logan and crouched beside him. "What's the holdup, trooper?"

"The data we were provided isn't working. The security system continuously changes its algorithm and values; it's gonna take time to get inside."

"Time we don't have," Saltare breathed. "Breaker, you're up. First squad on me, Second, hold the area, flow in once I give the command."

A quick change of manpower had the more senior members of First form up on the door, ready to infiltrate once Breaker blew it. Saltare watched as the expert demolitions man placed a charge on the door, which would burn through the locking mechanism and allow them to open it manually.

Breaker finished placing his charges and backed off, putting himself near the rear of First squad. He gave a quick glance at Saltare and nodded his head once.

"Bl-" Saltare was cut off as he gave the order to detonate as an automated turret dropped from the ceiling of the overhanging arch above the door and began to discharge blaster and sonic rounds at Saltare. The rounds impacted his armor and knocked him flat on his back. His armor absorbed the rounds, the material heating as it deflected the heavy bolts. The sonic rounds blew the breath from his body, damaging the muscles in his diaphragm.

Inferno squad wasted no time in firing back, both squads sending energy and kinetic fire into the turret and turning it into slag. At the same time, Breaker detonated the charge, the harsh chemicals burning with the strength of a star as it melted through the reinforced door.

"First in the hole, Second on me!" Logan barked as he pulled Saltare to his feet, the Commander gasping for breath as his armor's systems administered stimulants to keep him from passing out.

Logan dragged Saltare through the darkened doorway and pushed him against the wall, blocking most of Saltare's body with his. Logan's rifle pointed into the structure, covering the interior from any new surprises as Saltare caught his breath and steadied his feet under him.

"I'm good," Saltare said, slapping Logan's shoulder pad twice. "Second, fill in. Guns up, we're not alone."

Saltare took his place in the middle of Inferno squad, ready for whatever was next.

Onrai Velcarin Taregh Garon

 

[Velcarin]

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Minntooine, Calamari sector, Outer Rim Territories;
Freedom of Nations;
The Imperial Confederation.
Tags: Taregh Garon | Saltare Dothon | Onrai

---

OBJECTIVE II.

"Even if we discover nothing of Laetor I'm sure this outpost will provide information on other targets."

Garon had been right. They would have other targets.

The Night Edict broke through the canopy of a skyline burning with the fires of conflict and streaking green turbolaser verses crimson red on approach to WATCHTOWER THETA. As the ship brought the two Inquisitors to their target a nearby officer approached, bowed to them and explained: "My Lords. Inferno Squad have reported that they have begun their breach of the target."

"Thank you," Velcarin replied.

The Officer hovered around them awkwardly before returning back to his duties clearly unaccustomed to not being dismissed as were the usual protocols. Indeed, Velcarin-- an ex-Jedi recently turned by the Inquisitorius-- was still not accustomed to Imperial protocol. She would soon learn, however.

"It would seem that Commander Sularen has already made his move. I am interested to see how his taskforce performs today," Velcarin said next to Garon as the Edict landed. A compliment of Stormtroopers lined the hallway as she walked towards the landing ramp and they joined both Inquisitors in tow as they marched down the ramp towards the tower where the Inferno Squad were already making a ruckus.

"Begin," Velcarin told her soldiers.

---

 

[Taregh Garon]

---

No response. Eyes remained affixed ahead on the viewport of the bridge, watching as the turbolaser fire lit up the landscape below while the Corvette continued its descent. News that 'Inferno Squad' had begun to breach the target hadn't been a surprise.
The Officer had departed, he still watched the viewport silently.

Joining Velcarin in the hall, the landing ramp lowering and with Troopers on either side of them as they began to disembark before arraying themselves behind the duo, he would have finally replied to her...

"It seems so."

...his response came with the telltale guttural tone, his voice resonating deeply...

"There will precious little for us to clean up unless the fighting proves to fierce for them."

...it would be difficult to discern if Taregh was hopefully or if his voice hinted at some regret. Time would tell.

Their march towards the Watchtower would be steady, he let his counterpart lead acting largely as support for this mission.

Turbolaser fire would cause an explosion nearby, throwing dirt and debris in their direction. A random shot in the midst of so much chaos.

Turning his head Taregh would raise his arm to point out...

"There! Brace yourself!"

...they hadn't gotten far from the Corvette but they would already be in the thick of battle. Blasterfire flashed around them at random intervals and not because they were deep into a main battle.

He'd pointed at a line fighter, a TIE that had broken off from another engagement and came streaking towards them. One of its wings damaged, a light trail of smoke streaking behind it. It would fire at them and the Troopers that accompanied them, clearly aligned with their enemies.

Saltare Dothon

 

[Sieliel Dimegor]

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Minntooine, Calamari sector, Outer Rim Territories;
Freedom of Nations;
The Imperial Confederation.
Tags: Augustus Von Strauss | Ronhar Tane | Selrik Lorcas

---

OBJECTIVE I.

Sieliel was locked in and focused on the work at hand. Something extraordinary had just happened to Commandant Strauss-- a crash landing following a direct hit onto the gunship that he had been using while he led the 144th Strike Force into battle against the forces of the traitor to the so-called Lost-Imperials: KAEL THRENNIS.

The reaction would have to be quick, precise and efficient if Sieliel was to play a part in saving the life of Strauss. Quickly her fingers worked on the terminal before her, and after she was finished typing, Sieliel patched into RONHAR TANE of the Mahpooreem Imperial Remnant-- the latest state to join the burgeoning Imperial Confederation found along the Outer Rim Territories.

"Ronhar Tane of the Mahpoorem forces, this is Major Sieliel Dimegor serving under the command of Grand Moff, Selrik Lorcas," Sieliel spoke into the intercom before her. "I am triangulating the position of Commandant Strauss to you now. He just suffered a direct hit and his vessel has crashed in an enemy hotzone. This is priority one. Redirect your advance towards this location and save Imperial forces found there from the enemy before all is lost."

Transmitting from the Star Destroyer she was sat upon, Sieliel relayed Augustus' position to Tane and then pinged GRAND MOFF LORCAS with an update of the current events on-going planet side. When it was done she quietly wondered whether her involvement in saving the Commandant from death would, in some way, repair her fractured career which was still blemished from the Fifth Wing incident . . .

---

 

[Ronhar Tane]

[USER ACCESS: TK-3301]
[SUBJECT: DOMINION OF MINNTOOINE]
[EMERGENCY OBJECTIVE: RESCUE COMMANDANT STRAUSS]
[ACCESS CODE: N9TT-9G0A-B7FQ-RANC]
[PROCESSING...]
[PROCESSING...]

[ACCESS GRANTED!]
[BEGIN REPORT...]

"Ronhar Tane of the Mahpoorem forces, this is Major Sieliel Dimegor serving under the command of Grand Moff, Selrik Lorcas. "I am triangulating the position of Commandant Strauss to you now. He just suffered a direct hit and his vessel has crashed in an enemy hotzone. This is priority one. Redirect your advance towards this location and save Imperial forces found there from the enemy before all is lost.

The message had come in shortly after the capture of the final Ion Cannon, as Ronhar and his men attempted to consolidate their newly acquired gains for use against Minntooine's remaining defenders. As lucrative a capture as their prizes were, the rescue of an Imperial Commandant certainly took priority, and Ronhar prepared to sortie out with a small contingent of Storm Commandos. He had called in a Stork to drop off a number of 74-Z speeder bikes at his location, which he and his squadmates would use to reach the hapless Commandant. Though he would had preferred an aerial insertion, anti-air defenses had already downed one dropship, and he wasn't about to add himself to that particular number.

"Lieutenant Gorbel!", Ronhar called out as he mounted his speeder bike. "What is the status of Admiral Zonill's landing operation?"

"Sir, our latest reports indicate that the admiral began landing his fleet approximately one hour ago. The strike teams are already en route to their designated targets, as you have requested."

"Very good, Lieutenant. As for your orders, you and your men are to defend this installation at all costs. It is likely that the enemy will attempt to retake this Ion Cannon: you are to make sure that this does not happen. You are to use any and all resources at your disposal to ensure Imperial control over this anti-air battery. Am I understood, Lieutenant?"

"Of course sir, we'll get the job done."

"Right. We're expecting reinforcements over the next couple of hours, but remain vigilant. While we've taken out most of the enemy's anti-capital ship batteries, there's still a host of smaller anti-air installations spread across this planet. No telling when the dropships will get here, if at all."

"Not a problem sir, we'll make do with what we have."

"I certainly hope so, Lieutenant. Good luck, and may the Empire guide you."

"Likewise, Captain Tane."

With the end of that exchange, Ronhar and a contingent of his Storm Commandos sped off toward Augustus Von Strauss 's last known position.

The trip had taken Ronhar all of 30 minutes before he had arrived at his destination: some sort of ruined Comms Array building. As he and his men dismounted their speeder bikes, he couldn't help but notice that the area around him was strewn with dead bodies. Most of them belonged to the enemy defenders, but a few were clearly stormtroopers. Not wanting to take any chances, Ronhar and his men remained hidden in the rubble around the building. He couldn't see any defenders out in the open, but he knew better than to expose himself.

"What should we do, sir?", Feralw whispered to him over his comms.

Ronhar sighed to himself. He turned up the volume on his helmet's voicecoder, and decided to announce his presence:

"This is TK-3301 of the Mahporeem Imperial Remnant, Captain Ronhar Tane. I've been sent by Major Sieliel Dimegor and Grand Moff Selrik Lorcas to extract you and your men."

For a few moments, the world around him continued onward in total silence. Then, without warning, a voice rang out:

"Stardust!"

Ronhar considered the challenge for a moment before replying:

"Death Star."

He could detect movement from the inside of the building as a number of Stormtroopers slowly streamed out, followed by Ronhar's target: the Commandant himself.

Ronhar immediately broke cover as he headed over to the Commandant, with the rest of his man forming a defensive perimeter around the old Comms Array.

"Glad to see you're still with us, Commandant", Ronhar remarked as he shook hands with Augustus. He turned his head over his shoulder and shouted:

"Tacdunk, on me!"

Tacdunk, an Imperial Medic Trooper, immediately ran over toward Ronhar and the Commandant, Bacta Pouch in hand. She began applying first aid to the Commandant as Ronhar gave him his options:

"Allow me to explain the current situation to you, sir. At the moment, most of our Capital Ships are currently engaged in naval combat above the planet or are actively landing forces on the planet itself. Our smaller aerial assets, like the Stork you came in on, have been receiving tremendous amounts of anti-air fire, hence our current predicament. The way I see it, we have two options, though neither of them are very appealing:

• Option A: We fortify this position and dig in, as we wait for the strike teams from Admiral Zonill's fleet to eliminate the remaining anti-air batteries around this area. Once that's been done, we can call for an aerial extraction. Obviously, if we choose to do this, we'll be sitting porgs out here until the extraction is completed. The good news is that we can use the Stork and the building for cover, along with some of the E-Web Repeating Blasters as defensive emplacements.
• Option B: We take the speeder bikes my men and I have come in on and get the hell out of here. If we double up on the speeder bikes, we'll be able to take everyone still alive with us. Of course, this will leave us vulnerable to pursuing spacecraft and repulsorlift based ground forces, as we'll most likely be devoid of any meaningful cover until we reach friendly lines. On the bright side, we'll at least be mobile.

"What about proceeding on foot, sir?", Feralw cut in. Ronhar thought about his suggestion for a moment before shaking his head.

"Not a bad idea", he conceded to Feralw, "but too risky. There's simply too much wilderness between us and friendly lines, and who knows how long it'll take to pacify all the resistance on this planet. I'd rather not be stuck in the middle of nowhere for the next couple of days if I can help it: after all, I don't know what kind of wildlife or local sentients might be lurking around out here.

"Fair point sir", Feralw replied, "but I still think we should leave that option on the table".

"Noted. Now, Commandant Strauss, those are our available options at the moment. What are your orders, sir? What do you want to do?"

No matter what the Commandant choose, it was not going to be an easy decision...

[ACCESS AUTHORIZED TO THE FOLLOWING PERSONS ONLY]
(Tags)

Augustus Von Strauss
Sieliel Dimegor
Selrik Lorcas

[END REPORT]
[USER LOG OFF: SUCCESSFUL]​

 

[Squesha]

Narantuyaa Asther Selrik Lorcas Ronhar Tane

Admiral Squesha listened to Narantuyaa intently, but her eyes never left the battle. She smiled as one of the escort ships burst into flames, her gunners putting their training to good use.

"Noted. Ah here are our reinforcements from Admiral Zonil. Perfect timing."

Squesha established communications with the new arrivals.

"Move to the rear of their fleet. Two of my star destroyers will support you. They will be surrounded and have nowhere to escape. The ships with me will push them in. We will make short work of them. Disable the command ship. Thrennis is to be taken alive."

The Imperial fleet moved in, slowly but surely. The net closed on the traitors, who found all exits blocked. One by one their ships fell, unable to withstand the overlapping firing arcs. Soon Only the command ship was left, burning and limping. Much of its weaponry had been destroyed by bombers and its engines were in ruins.

The Grand Moff had made contact with her now, or at least his communications team had.

"Tell him that the traitor fleet is no more and we are preparing to capture Thrennis."

She picked up her commlink again, switching to the gunners channel.

"Maximum power to Ion Cannons!"

The Ion cannons of her ship aimed carefully before sending a full barrage at the ship. Waves of electricity rippled over the vassal, leaving it completely disabled. Squesha smiled before picking up her commlink.

"First, second and third companies are to board their boarding craft. You are to follow all commands from Commander Ahster."

She turned to the ISS commander, gesturing to the vulnerable vessal.

"All yours, commander."

 

[Selrik Lorcas]

​

Things were going smoothly, for the most part. Their ships positioned in orbit were able to rain precision strikes down on the planet below, negating the need for localized artillery. In addition, the majority of the enemy defensive emplacements that were capable of striking down their vessels were now ash filled craters. It left little for Selrik to manage, which was fine, as it allowed him to track the goings on in an analytical manner that didn't have the pressure of needed decisions associated with it. He could do a deep dive on what of their forces were working well, and what of their forces needed to be worked on.

He was going over the data when he got the ping from Sieliel about the situation on the ground. Most interesting to him was the information on the Commandant's ship going down. That shouldn't have happened.

"Captain."

The man in question strode over. "Yes, sir?"

"Find out where the weapons emplacement that shot down Commandant Strauss' vessel is and destroy it immediately. Reduce the entire area to ash."

"Yes, sir."

That should clear up the mess of whatever unit had been allowed to survive the initial bombardment of anti-air positions. Probably they'd held their fire until after in hopes they'd go unnoticed and be able to do exactly what they had done. Smart. Smart but ultimately it did little for them as it would not stop the might of the Empire from reclaiming the system.

A report came in from Admiral Squesha that they had taken care of the traitor fleet, as he'd known they would be able to do. It indicated that she was closing in on capturing the traitor responsible for Minntooine's resistance, as well. This was good. All was going as planned.

OUTFIT: Moff Standard | GEAR: Blaster Pistol | COMPANIONS: Imperial Sentinels x4
TAGS: Sieliel Dimegor | Ronhar Tane | Augustus Von Strauss | Squesha ​

 

[Narantuyaa Asther]

Objective 3
Squesha
Companion: Zelva Njavik

​

Narantuyaa simply gave a slight bow of her head to Squesha when she relinquished three companies of stormtroopers to her command. Immediately Narantuyaa went to the hangar, Zelva following her as she grabbed a couple of G-12 Imperial Assault Blaster Carbines. Upon entering the hangar, she summoned the heads of each company to go over the plan.

"This is no longer a military operation, this is now an ISS operation. The target is Thrennis, the rebel admiral that has so willingly defied the Imperial Confederation. I want him ALIVE. Got it? If you run into him, your orders are to stun him. Not only that but any officers you run into are to be taken into custody. The others? Kill them."

Zelva put up a hologram of Thrennis's ship as Narantuyaa continued "I need one company to secure the escape pods, then jettison them all. No one is escaping this time. Another company is to secure the ship's reactor. I do not want that ship to go into a meltdown. The last company will be myself, as we do a methodical sweep of the ship to the bridge. Hopefully Thrennis is there and we can take him. Any questions?"

The three officers simply shook their heads.

"Good. Board the transports." Narantuyaa ordered.

As she followed the stormtroopers, she contacted Squesha. "The boarding teams and myself are enroute to Thrennis's command ship. I request that your fighters keep on overwatch around the ship. Just incase a ship may try an escape from the hangar. I'll contact you when the ship is secured."

As the boarding craft took off, they made for Thrennis's ship, landing inside of the main hangar. A moment of silence before the boarding crafts opened up. Narantuyaa's hunt began.

[/CENTER​

 

[Augustus Von Strauss]

Objective: I - Secure the Surface
Location: Minntooine, Old Imperial Outpost
Equipment:

Spoiler

Veers-Pattern Imperial Tactical Armor - Officer Spec
G-12 Blaster Carbine
IG-14 Blaster Pistol
[4] Thermal Detonators

With: 144th Strike Legion, 1st Regiment [~2,100 stormtroopers left]

For a moment, there was silence from the hostile insurgents below and Augustus, inside his precariously hanging gunship. In a brief flash, hundreds of blaster bolts punched into the wreckage. Augustus gritted his teeth as he unclipped his safety harness and lunged to the closed side door. He tried the handle, but it didn't budge, so he kicked the emergency latch, which launched the door a few meters away.

He gripped the modified rotary cannon mount, good, it's still functional, he thought. He gripped the handles, and the barrels began to whine as they spun up. He reached over to his wrist-mounted comlink and pressed the button to connect him to all the platoon leaders.

"Forward! All units breach the complex!! Move now!" he screamed into the comm as the gun roared to life, spitting out red bolts of firepower into the hostiles below. While Augustus wasn't the best at long-range precision, he didn't need that while using heavy weapons, he just need to tear through whatever forces were there.

A storm of fire answered him. Sparks flew off the hull of the gunship as blaster bolts impacted around him. He ducked behind the rotary cannon as best he could against the incoming fire. He looked behind him and saw that one of the heavy gunners was still alive behind him and was taking shots at the hostile below with a carbine taken from the other gunner, who was sitting at the back of the gunship, blood pooling under him.

Down below, the breaching teams could hear the unmistakable thunder of heavy repeaters and the panicked shriek of militia over comms. They were in disarray. The doors blew inward with a burst of smoke and shrapnel; stormtroopers flooded the interior corridors. It was tight and filled with makeshift barricades; blaster fire streaked past the doorframe as the insurgents tried to hold back the tide.

Echoing from deeper inside the complex was a rhythmic, roaring VUM-VUM-VUM of Augustus' rotary cannon, paired with the shriek of intermittent jams.

"Bantha fodder!" he yelled as he let go of the rotary, the barrels a hot white and beginning to curve. He slung his carbine from around his back, but without the covering fire of the rotary, the amount of fire he was receiving made it impossible to place his shots accurately. He looked toward the wires that held his gunship in place. This isn't going to hold much longer, he thought, his eyes darting from the wires to the warped roof struts.

An idea formed. He glanced back below. More of the hostiles were moving under his ship now that he wasn't suppressing them. He looked to the trooper across from him, "Trooper, you'd best strap yourself into that jumpseat."

The trooper looked at him with the blank expression of his helmet, while he couldn't hear what the soldier mumbled, it sounded like he was saying, "There's no way." Augustus pulled himself into his previous jump seat and strapped in. He leaned as far as he could and aimed at one of the wires. He fired, and heard a loud snap as it broke, the gunship shifted slightly. He aimed at another one and fired, he missed but struck true on the third shot. The ship shifted more. The blaster fire hitting the gunship was relentless, but he heard his own legion's blaster coming closer. He aimed for what he hoped was the last wire holding him aloft. He breathed in, and time almost seemed to slow as he pressed the trigger. There was a loud metallic snap, followed by the screeching of metal, then weightlessness, and then black.

Augustus didn't know how long he was out, but was woken by his name being called out over a comlink,

"I am triangulating the position of Commandant Strauss to you now. He just suffered a direct hit and his vessel has crashed in an enemy hotzone. This is priority one. Redirect your advance towards this location and save Imperial forces found there from the enemy before all is lost."

As he opened his eyes, the sergeant from before was over him, firing at what he assumed to be the remaining hostiles; he looked down and saw Augustus' eyes were open. He kneeled down, "Sir, it seems you took a mighty tumble. Just relax, we'll finish the rest of them, then we'll get you to a medic." Augustus could only offer a quick nod before falling unconscious again.

By the time he woke up this time, the battle was over, and he was lying on derelict couch cushions. He sat up before being stopped by the same sergeant. Augustus waved him off and stood up; his head was pounding, so he unclipped his canteen and drank all the water inside. It didn't help the pain, but it felt damn good. Over his shoulder, he could hear some troopers calling out: "Stardust!"

The sergeant, seeing the empty canteen, offered Augustus his own. Augustus gladly accepted it as he picked up his helmet and started to follow the troopers leaving the building. When he exited, the sunlight briefly blinded him. Before his eyes could adjust, he heard a voice say,

"Glad to see you're still with us, Commandant"

"Yes, I'm glad too." Augustus said as the medic began issuing him aid. "What's the situation..." His HUD lit up with the trooper's name. "... Captain Tane?"

He listened as the Mahporeem captain explained the options. He thought for a moment, taking sips from the sergeant's canteen. He tapped on his wrist-mounted datapad, and a tactical battlemap appeared. He drew a few lines on it, scratched a few, and redrew some more. He showed it to Captain Tane.

"Our mission was to reclaim this outpost in order to establish an FOB. We will fortify and defend this objective. We can have the storks move here and here to add some outer protection. Additionally, I had my gunships return to the fleet to rearm and recoup. So, we can call them as necessary for close-air support. Thanks to your team and a few others, the flak isn't as bad as the initial assault; they can make it here." He pointed to the direction of the 144th's initial assault. "There is very little resistance left in this direction, so we can focus the majority of our attention on these two egresses from the northwest and northeast."

He whinced as the medic began to wrap one of his many wounds. But continued after a few seconds.

"We should call the gunships down in pairs of two or three, with at least one designated for airlift. We have wounded and they need to get medical attention ASAP."

The sergeant spoke up, "Sir, you should be one of the first to be airlifted."

"Absolutely not. These are my men, and my few scratches don't hamper my ability to pull a trigger. We need to get the seriously injured out first. Contact Major Dimegor, see if we can get an ETA or a schedule on the gunships, and if orbital strikes are still on the menu. Come on! Let's move it! We've got a position to fortify."

Ronhar Tane | Sieliel Dimegor | Selrik Lorcas

 

[Narantuyaa Asther]

Objective 3
Companion: Zelva Njavik

The companies under Narantuyaa's command poured out of their transports, it was oddly silent. She had half expected for a firefight to happen in hangar when they came out. But not even one blaster bolt. The lights were still flickering, trying to turn themselves back on from the ion shots.
"Let's move. Companies you know your objectives and orders. I want this done cleanly and efficiently."

Narantuyaa along with Zelva began their sweep to the bridge, checking every corridor they passed. Resistance became heavier the closer they got to the bridge. The traitors had erected make shift barricades to create choke points. Skirmishes became more frequent, with even automated defenses coming into play. Thankfully, Zelva knew how to handle them,and Narantuyaa personally made the traitors pay for every trooper life they took.

Reaching final door before the bridge, Narantuyaa fired one blaster bolt into the head of a dying traitor before turning to Zelva. "Zelva. How much longer?"

"Bypassing the final phases of the lockdown." she replied

Narantuyaa used this time to contact the other two companies "Status?"

"Reactor room secured. All traitors dead or apprehended" one reply said

"Escape pods dealt with. Company Charlie suffered alot of casualties. Alot of the traitors fought to the bitter end." came another reply.

"The lives of the troopers lost today will be remembered. Honored for making the ultimate sacrifice in helping restore order to a lawlesss galaxy. Hold tight troopers. Thrennis is almost ours."

Narantuyaa turned off the comms before turning to Zelva, who had just finished slicing the door. As it pried open, Narantuyaa's troopers entered the bridge and began firing at what few guards were left. Narantuyaa and Zelva walked through as bridge officers were arrested and being escorted out of the room. Narantuyaa then spotted Thrennis being held at blaster point by two of her stormtroopers. Thrennis simply stood there with his arms behind his back.

"Look at you all, clinging to an old idea of what the Emp-"

Narantuyaa had no time for speeches or grandstanding. She would take aim and shoot Thrennis in the leg before ordering her stormtroopers to stun him and put him into cuffs. Narantuyaa then contacted the Quarren admiral.

" Squesha , we got Thrennis. I recommend you send a skeleton crew to come onboard and take command of the ship once its all fixed up. If not, we should drag this to a shipyard. Pick it apart for valuable intel and then reinstate her as a proper Imperial ship."

​

 

[Velcarin]

---

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Minntooine, Calamari sector, Outer Rim Territories;
Freedom of Nations;
The Imperial Confederation.
Tags: Taregh Garon | Saltare Dothon | Onrai

---

​

OBJECTIVE II.

"There! Brace yourself!"

Velcarin turned their blue eyes skyward at the incoming TIE Fighter. As she did the Edict's turbolasers locked onto the target and opened fire obliterating it in a screeching symphony of destruction as fire rained from the skies. The former Jedi turnt Inquisitor increased their ability to move faster than a normal Human (with thanks to the Force) to burst forward from the corvette as it's landing pads begun to retract. But not before shrapnel from the destroyed TIE pelted the ship as it began to lift off.

Activating her Lightsaber hilt, Velcarin began to carve the way forward in support of Saltare Dothon and the Inferno Squad founded under the directives of SUPREME COMMANDER, Marlon Sularen . It was the first time she had let loose like this in her entire life-- a lifetime spent in service to the Jedi Code and the adopted practises of Form Zero where one does not attack, only defends in an attempt to preserve and save lives. But in this new life Nyssara was not held back unlike before. She was ruthless and penetrative. Nobody was sparred underneath the assault of her crimson sabre that had been bled through the hate she had been gifted from her incarceration after the fall of Nespis 8.

This matter regarding the whereabouts of LAETOR and their alleged involvement in the Fifth Wing was ironically personal. There was an underlying current of hypocrisy somewhere in the nether of which Velcarin was trying to destroy, and with every swing of her Lightsaber, someone on Minntooine paid for her sins. She was an Inquisitor because of them, and she had betrayed everything because of what they had done, and she only lived to serve the Confederation because she was destroyed by their machinations, and yet she was free-- untethered by the shackles and dogma of the Jedi---------

Racing thoughts paved the way instead for more death. She buried herself into this endeavour and to the service of the cause. This was not personal. This was not wrong. This was not a betrayal of everything that she stood for. She was ridding the Confederation of traitors and the criminal element. Nothing more, nothing less. LAETOR was merely the top target. They lived only so that she or Taregh Garon or some other Inqusitor could eradicate them. Nothing more, nothing less. Nothing more, nothing less... Less...

Red. All I see is red. Red...

---

 

[Saltare Dothon]

"Flank right!" Saltare barked as they took cover inside a doorway. In front of them was a large room with supplies strewn across it. His team was actively engaging defensive emplacements, old security droids, and opportunistic rebels that were somehow not being targeted by the facility's defensive measures.

Second squad began tossing grenades to cover their movements as best they could as they pushed farther right and began enveloping the rebels at the room's far end.

"Drone's out," Saltare ordered flatly as he continued to pour fire into the enemy's positions. Several small, fast-moving drones screamed into existence from Inferno's positions and raced across the room. Seconds later, detonations erupted from all areas of the room. Screams could be heard from the rebels, and sparks could be seen from destroyed emplacements.

"Personal shields up, First, move in," Saltare said as his men swept before him. Small energy shields enveloped the upper torsos of First squad as they moved forward on steady steps, blaster fire continuing to cascade out from them toward the enemy. Second was given a moment of reprieve and was able to reorient and reengage the enemy with devastating effect.

"Room clear, on me," Logan called from the front of the room as he readied to push forward.

As the squads set up to push, blast doors slammed shut on the hallway they were about to enter. "Again, really?" Beth said.

"Work the problem, Inferno, let's go," Saltare snapped as he pulled security for the room.

"I can't breach the security with our tools; we'll need to blow this one as well," Logan stated.

Breaker moved up again, tools ready and explosives being planted with ease. A muffled cough, and the blast door was forced open by Inferno after its internal locking mechanisms were scorched. They didn't make it very far before more doors slammed shut, locked again.

"What the hell is this?" Saltare said, his patience wearing thin.

"Some automated routine keeping us out, maybe?" Beth said.

"Not likely, this is pointed, not automated. Someone is working this facility against us. Blow the door, let's go."

"Sir," a second squad member spoke up, "Reinforcements are on the network and incoming toward our location."

"Who?" Saltare asked.

"It's Velcarin and her retinue."

"Perfect. Send them an encrypted message and let them know what we've faced so far. They may have more luck than us at defeating the facility's security protocols."

Saltare waited as the next door was blown open, and they moved again, Inferno nearing their target objective.

Onrai Taregh Garon

 

[Ronhar Tane]

Objective: I - Secure the Surface
Location: Minntooine, Old Imperial Outpost
Equipment:
With: 144th Strike Legion, 1st Regiment [~2,100 stormtroopers left]

For a moment, there was silence from the hostile insurgents below and Augustus, inside his precariously hanging gunship. In a brief flash, hundreds of blaster bolts punched into the wreckage. Augustus gritted his teeth as he unclipped his safety harness and lunged to the closed side door. He tried the handle, but it didn't budge, so he kicked the emergency latch, which launched the door a few meters away.

He gripped the modified rotary cannon mount, good, it's still functional, he thought. He gripped the handles, and the barrels began to whine as they spun up. He reached over to his wrist-mounted comlink and pressed the button to connect him to all the platoon leaders.

"Forward! All units breach the complex!! Move now!" he screamed into the comm as the gun roared to life, spitting out red bolts of firepower into the hostiles below. While Augustus wasn't the best at long-range precision, he didn't need that while using heavy weapons, he just need to tear through whatever forces were there.

A storm of fire answered him. Sparks flew off the hull of the gunship as blaster bolts impacted around him. He ducked behind the rotary cannon as best he could against the incoming fire. He looked behind him and saw that one of the heavy gunners was still alive behind him and was taking shots at the hostile below with a carbine taken from the other gunner, who was sitting at the back of the gunship, blood pooling under him.

Down below, the breaching teams could hear the unmistakable thunder of heavy repeaters and the panicked shriek of militia over comms. They were in disarray. The doors blew inward with a burst of smoke and shrapnel; stormtroopers flooded the interior corridors. It was tight and filled with makeshift barricades; blaster fire streaked past the doorframe as the insurgents tried to hold back the tide.

Echoing from deeper inside the complex was a rhythmic, roaring VUM-VUM-VUM of Augustus' rotary cannon, paired with the shriek of intermittent jams.

"Bantha fodder!" he yelled as he let go of the rotary, the barrels a hot white and beginning to curve. He slung his carbine from around his back, but without the covering fire of the rotary, the amount of fire he was receiving made it impossible to place his shots accurately. He looked toward the wires that held his gunship in place. This isn't going to hold much longer, he thought, his eyes darting from the wires to the warped roof struts.

An idea formed. He glanced back below. More of the hostiles were moving under his ship now that he wasn't suppressing them. He looked to the trooper across from him, "Trooper, you'd best strap yourself into that jumpseat."

The trooper looked at him with the blank expression of his helmet, while he couldn't hear what the soldier mumbled, it sounded like he was saying, "There's no way." Augustus pulled himself into his previous jump seat and strapped in. He leaned as far as he could and aimed at one of the wires. He fired, and heard a loud snap as it broke, the gunship shifted slightly. He aimed at another one and fired, he missed but struck true on the third shot. The ship shifted more. The blaster fire hitting the gunship was relentless, but he heard his own legion's blaster coming closer. He aimed for what he hoped was the last wire holding him aloft. He breathed in, and time almost seemed to slow as he pressed the trigger. There was a loud metallic snap, followed by the screeching of metal, then weightlessness, and then black.

Augustus didn't know how long he was out, but was woken by his name being called out over a comlink,



As he opened his eyes, the sergeant from before was over him, firing at what he assumed to be the remaining hostiles; he looked down and saw Augustus' eyes were open. He kneeled down, "Sir, it seems you took a mighty tumble. Just relax, we'll finish the rest of them, then we'll get you to a medic." Augustus could only offer a quick nod before falling unconscious again.

By the time he woke up this time, the battle was over, and he was lying on derelict couch cushions. He sat up before being stopped by the same sergeant. Augustus waved him off and stood up; his head was pounding, so he unclipped his canteen and drank all the water inside. It didn't help the pain, but it felt damn good. Over his shoulder, he could hear some troopers calling out: "Stardust!"

The sergeant, seeing the empty canteen, offered Augustus his own. Augustus gladly accepted it as he picked up his helmet and started to follow the troopers leaving the building. When he exited, the sunlight briefly blinded him. Before his eyes could adjust, he heard a voice say,



"Yes, I'm glad too." Augustus said as the medic began issuing him aid. "What's the situation..." His HUD lit up with the trooper's name. "... Captain Tane?"

He listened as the Mahporeem captain explained the options. He thought for a moment, taking sips from the sergeant's canteen. He tapped on his wrist-mounted datapad, and a tactical battlemap appeared. He drew a few lines on it, scratched a few, and redrew some more. He showed it to Captain Tane.

"Our mission was to reclaim this outpost in order to establish an FOB. We will fortify and defend this objective. We can have the storks move here and here to add some outer protection. Additionally, I had my gunships return to the fleet to rearm and recoup. So, we can call them as necessary for close-air support. Thanks to your team and a few others, the flak isn't as bad as the initial assault; they can make it here." He pointed to the direction of the 144th's initial assault. "There is very little resistance left in this direction, so we can focus the majority of our attention on these two egresses from the northwest and northeast."

He whinced as the medic began to wrap one of his many wounds. But continued after a few seconds.

"We should call the gunships down in pairs of two or three, with at least one designated for airlift. We have wounded and they need to get medical attention ASAP."

The sergeant spoke up, "Sir, you should be one of the first to be airlifted."

"Absolutely not. These are my men, and my few scratches don't hamper my ability to pull a trigger. We need to get the seriously injured out first. Contact Major Dimegor, see if we can get an ETA or a schedule on the gunships, and if orbital strikes are still on the menu. Come on! Let's move it! We've got a position to fortify."

Ronhar Tane | Sieliel Dimegor | Selrik Lorcas

[USER ACCESS: TK-3301]
[SUBJECT: DOMINION OF MINNTOOINE]
[EMERGENCY OBJECTIVE: RESCUE COMMANDANT STRAUSS]
[ACCESS CODE: N9TT-9G0A-B7FQ-RANC]
[PROCESSING...]
[PROCESSING...]

[ACCESS GRANTED!]
[BEGIN REPORT...]​

"Understood, Commandant. We'll do everything we can to fortify this position. However, I strongly advise you to take the next available opportunity to evacuate this area. Both Major Sieliel Dimegor and Grand Moff Selrik Lorcas have requested I return you to safety, and I fully intend to do so. Here, you might want to take this, sir."

Ronhar demagnetized the SE-26p heavy blaster pistol that was attached to his thigh and handed it to the Commandant.

"Best of luck, sir. Please try to keep yourself safe."

With the Commandant taken care of, Ronhar and his men began fortifying the ruins of the Comms Array, constructing improvised barriers around the facility and sitting up E-Web Heavy Repeating Blaster emplacements at key chokepoints. Ronhar had ordered a number of his Storm Commandos to scout out the ahead of the area on their speeder bikes, as the rest of his company took up defensive positions around the complex. Any remaining explosives that Ronhar and his soldiers still had were scattered around the facility as improvised mines, wired to explode on Ronhar's commlink frequency. Soon, Ronhar had established a significant defensive perimeter around the Comms Array and crashed Stork.

He just hoped the upstart Commandant would keep himself out of the fighting.

Suddenly, Ronhar's comlink crackled to life. An update from his scouting party:

"Sir, we've got a large number of hostiles moving in from the south. They appear to be converging on your current location, over."

Ronhar wasn't surprised. With the efficiency that the Imperial Confederation had conquered the planet, it was more than likely that Minntoonie's remaining defenders were in a state of complete disarray. Restoring communications between the various pockets of militia would allow them a real chance at fighting back against the Confederation.

Ronhar was determined to prevent that from happening.

"Understood. See if you can create a diversion and pull some of the militia away. Make as much noise as you need to: we have a VIP here awaiting extraction, and I'd rather not send him home in a box if I can help it."

"Understood, Captain. We'll do everything we can. Out."

Ronhar walked to one of the unused E-Web blaster emplacements. He gripped the weapon from its top and back, and with one mighty pull, tore it off its tripod with ease, seemingly unbothered with carrying the weight of the weapon. He then addressed the Storm Commandos under his command.

"Gentlemen, it seems we're going to have some uninvited company very shorty. Let's be sure to give them a warm welcome, shall we?"

With that, Ronhar ran off toward the Northeast entrance as the rest of his company prepared themselves for what was to be one hell of an intense blasterfight...

​

"INCOMING!"

The attack on the Comms Array had come quickly, as the remnants of the Minntoonie Militia began their final, desperate assault on Ronhar's position.

As it turned out, Commandant Augustus Von Strauss had been correct in his assessment of Minntoonie's air defenses, with Stork Dropships coming and going relatively unopposed. They were able to provide crucial fire support to Ronhar's forces while evacuating the critically injured toward friendly lines...though the Commandant's refusal to hop aboard any of them continued to frustrate Ronhar to no end.

Ronhar was, for his part, in the thick of much of the fighting. He was deliberately making himself as much as a target as possible, hoping to keep the attackers away from the Commandant. He blazed away at the enemy forces. cutting them down with volleys of heavy blaster fire from his E-Web Heavy Repeating Blaster. When its power pack ran dry, Ronhar then switched to his Mk III "Viper" Autoblaster, determined to thin out the enemy forces as much as possible. After all, the more of them he killed here, the less the Commandant would have to face in the near future.

Eventually, with the weight of Stork's fire support, the enemy attack began to lose momentum, and the surviving militiamen began to beat a hasty retreat.

Of course, Ronhar wasn't going to left them get away quite that easily.

As the enemy forces broke and ran for their lives, Ronhar triggered all of the remaining explosives simultaneously, directly underneath the retreating enemy forces. The blast was so intense that Ronhar could feel it through his heavy blast vest, with the shockwave seemingly traveling straight through him. Ronhar sent his Storm Commandos to hunt down the few surviving enemies as he hurried back toward the Commandant, determined to get him to friendly lines no matter what.

Hell, at this point, he was willing to stun the Commandant and carry him back to base himself if he needed to!

[ACCESS AUTHORIZED TO THE FOLLOWING PERSONS ONLY]
(Tags)

Augustus Von Strauss
Sieliel Dimegor
Selrik Lorcas

[END REPORT]
[USER LOG OFF: SUCCESSFUL]​

 

[Taregh Garon]

---

He would watch as the TIE Fighter erupted, transformed into slag by turbolaser fire. As the debris rained down around him he'd only raise his arm to shield himself from the remnants of fiery steel.

Onwards.

Unlike Velcarin he didn't rush into battle, his forwards momentum was slow and deliberate. Where she had ignited her lightsaber his remained deactivated. Whereas his companion may have been a storm he was a mountain.

Blasterfire would ricochet off Taregh's armor barely resonating with the enormous man that wore it. Occasionally a stray shot might have jerked a shoulder back or caused him to pause in his forwards momentum but that was all. It was not so much that the Inquisitor wanted to plunge into battle against his enemies but rather that he wanted to intimidate them and see that intimidation radiate back across their features.

When he was with reach he would hurl men, fling them back off their feet into their comrades or throw them helplessly through the arm. Already powerful the augmented capabilities of the 'Menasor' only made him more monstrous physically. When someone charged at him, dumbstruck by the chaos of battle Taregh would actually put his fist through him, punching a hole in the ballistic armor he wore before shrugging the body off as though it were a nuisance and carrying on.

To look at him one might wonder why Taregh even needed the lightsaber he carried; he could do nearly as much with his hands as with the weapon.

They'd come closer to an entrance to the Watchtower, the doors already blown wide open and Taregh would march into the corridor beyond.

An opportunistic Rebel, waiting off to one side where it was harder to see would come out blaster firing and the Inquisitor, turning his head as a bolt streaked past. Raising his hand he'd gesture, telekinetic force would press his attacker back into a corridor wall---pressure upon pressure, the durasteel would not bend or relent and so bone and flesh eventually did. When Taregh released his hold he'd start to march forward again, coming over comms he shared with Velcarin and the others...

"Our opposition is broken. We should keep some alive----for interrogation."

Saltare Dothon

 

[Squesha]

Narantuyaa Asther

Admiral Squesha picked up her commlink and listened to the report.

"Excellent work, commander. Her engines are too damaged for her to be taken control of so I will send two of my cruisers to tow it to the nearest shipyard with their tractor beams. Once she is repaired I am prepared to request that she is transferred to you as your command ship in recognition of your boarding action.

She paused.

"Speaking of, let me know the casualties. And you of course are free to pick its databanks clean. I am sure your people will be much more adept at that than mine would."

Squesha assesed her fleet. One star destroyer was critically damaged, and 2 others would need serious repairs. Two dozen fighters would also need to be replaced. Given the size of the enemy fleet these were acceptable losses.

"I want a few ships to stay here to mop up any survivors or traitors trying to flee the planet. The rest shall be sent to the shipyards, alongside the traitors flagship."

​