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

[Her]

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"Minntooine, once of the Empire of the Lost, became a primary target seemingly overnight for members of the Imperial Ruling Council. Something has changed in the upper echelons of this burgeoning Imperial Confederation. Almost as if they have awoken after their period of reconsolidation..."
-- Excerpts of Her's thoughts regarding the Imperial Confederation's annexation of Minntooine.

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Minntooine, Calamari sector, Outer Rim Territories;
Freedom of Nations;
The Imperial Confederation.

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[THE IMPERIAL MARCH]

SYNOPSIS.​

They are coming.

The nascent IMPERIAL CONFEDERATION stands to right the wrongs of the past in order to bring peace, justice and security to all territories aligned to the ideas and tenets of THE EMPIRE!

ONCE MORE THE IMPERIALS MARCH UPON THE STARS!

MINNTOOINE has been selected as a target by the IMPERIAL RULING COUNCIL as it seeks to consolidate the former territories of the fallen EMPIRE OF THE LOST back into the grasp of it's successor!

During the two year rule of the KILRAN DYNASTY, GENERAL TECKLA TANE had been assigned as the SECTOR MOFF over the CALAMARI SECTOR whom turned this planet into a hub of engineering and ship manufacture to bolster the IMPERIAL OCCUPATION OF THE OUTER RIM TERRITORIES!

Now it is set to once again assume its place in the new IMPERIAL STATE!

In the wake of the Empire’s fall MINNTOOINE has fallen in a state of disorder and decadence but today the Confederation seeks to end this time of ruin. With the blessing of HER HIGHNESS LIRAETH DESCHART a flotilla has been dispatched from the TION CLUSTER to take this territory back into Imperial hands so that it may once again serve under the domain of an IRON SUN!

The mobilization was quick, efficient and effective as the period of consolidation and rebuilding turns to reclamation of IMPERIAL TERRITORY! Warlords from the three states which make up this new Confederation have gathered in concert with an array of heroes and villains from the former Imperial remnants who joined together under the themes of UNIFICATION so that the dream may not only survive but thrive at the turn of the ninth-century…

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Objective 1: Secure the Surface.

The Imperial Confederation has launched the first wave of its campaign to reclaim Minntooine. Your mission is to establish a forward operating base on the surface—deep within the shattered remains of an old Imperial outpost now occupied by hostile local militia and scavengers that have taken over during the rise of criminality and decay following the demise of the Empire of the Lost!

​

Objective 2: Activate the Watchtower.

Long before her betrayal, Alicia Drey oversaw the construction of a covert surveillance program on Minntooine—the Direct Surveillance of Domestic Threats (DSDT). Hidden beneath the surface in a hardened listening post known as “Watchtower Theta,” the facility continues to passively monitor planetary communications. But now, Exarch Karl Von Strauss has decrypted the final command protocols and unlocked access to the program!

Your mission: secure the Watchtower, restore its systems, and bring the DSDT network fully online. However, the outpost is partially corrupted—some of the automated defenses have gone rogue, and Drey left behind traps and encrypted AIs to prevent anyone but herself from fully controlling the system. Can you break into the legacy program of the late, traitorous DIRECTOR?

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Objective 3: Hunt the Traitor Kael Thrennis.

A rogue Imperial admiral known as KAEL THRENNIS was stationed on Minntooine and subsequently fled when the Empire of the Lost as it collapsed, taking with him a fleet of ships and vanishing into the Outer Rim! Now, intelligence reports suggest he has returned to Minntooine—leading a cult-like militia that opposes the Confederation’s claim to the planet! You are tasked with finding this warlord and bringing him in—dead or alive!

FOR THE EMPIRE!

DESCHART! DESCHART! DESCHART!
​

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[Velcarin]

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Minntooine, Calamari sector, Outer Rim Territories;
Freedom of Nations;
The Imperial Confederation.
Tags: [OPEN]

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​

OBJECTIVE II.

The Night Edict hung from the bowels of an Imperial star destroyer in a canopy of darkness disturbed only by the faint artificial lights of nearby terminals and consoles. It's crew were eerily quiet and there was a palpable tension on the corvette's bridge as the viewscreen was filled by the mass that was hyperspace as it and the rest of the flotilla dispatched by EMPRESS DESCHART flew into the CALAMARI SECTOR to retake the planet MINNTOOINE!

Something has changed and although there has yet to be any direct word from a member of the Imperial Ruling Council there was a difference in this operation in comparison to the one on Cholganna. The operation held in the Cholganna system had been calm, collected and cool. They had taken their time in picking out their targets and the slow crawl towards success had been a theme among the ranks.

This one was very different.

In the matter of days the Night Edict had been summoned to join a flotilla of star ships, which had gathered in the TION CLUSTER out near Lianna, to join an incisory force designed to carve out a new territory for the Confederation within the former lands of the destroyed Empire of the Lost. Such was the speed and efficiency in the gathering of this attack force that the Night Edict had been ordered to magnetically seal itself to the underbelly of a star destroyer so that it could be transported to the designated target under the auspicious, faster hyperdrives of the larger ship.

They had also received their target in the debriefing. Their target was an outpost for a surveillance system recently discovered colloquially known as the Direct Surveillance of Domestic Threats. Designed by the late, traitorous DIRECTOR of the now defunct NISB, Velcarin and her crew were set to take the outpost back in the name of the Confederation. But that did not dispel the quiet tension beneath the veneer of the purpose and clarity of their mission. Although none of them voiced it aloud, through the Force, Velcarin knew that they were also thinking the same thing.

Indeed the reacquisition of Minntooine and her shipyards, alongside the justification that it was a former Imperial territory under the KILRAN DYNASTY, was more than enough to justify their purpose of expanding their claim over the Calamari sector. But they had not taken their time. The attack force itself was... too large for this. Furthermore the annexation of this world took the Confederation onto the borders of Sith space and while the ranks of this nascent faction were filled with veterans of the CORE WORLDS and other remnants from a dozen other nations there were some from the ISA who still remembered Tion.

"Vrrrhrhrmm... Night Edict," whirred a nearby console as an incoming message was relayed into the Corvette's bridge. "Coming up on Minntooine in t-minus eighteen minutes."

The transmission ended. It had been short and precise. Eerily so. Velcarin leaned forward in her seat in full Menasor armour and her voice-- distorted by the helmet that she wore-- spoke quietly. "Prepare to unseal the ship and begin preparations for an assault. Triangulate our landing zone. They are being quick today... and we shall match the effectiveness of their speed."

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[Her]

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Minntooine, Calamari sector, Outer Rim Territories;
Freedom of Nations;
The Imperial Confederation.
Tags: [OPEN]

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​

OBJECTIVE III.

As the Night Edict and it's INQUSITOR prepared to begin their assault on WATCHTOWER THETA-- above them, in the looming colossus that was an Imperial star destroyer-- a second force stirred. The Imperial Corrections Directorate had been given a high priority target to bring to justice and they were set to do just exactly that.

KAEL THRENNIS-- once of the Empire of the Lost-- had once been a minor admiral in the predecessor to the nascent Imperial Confederation. According to Imperial Secret Service he and his crew had absconded with a small flotilla where he subsequently disappeared into the Tingel Arm until recently where he resurfaced on Minntooine. The dossier collected on ADMIRAL THRENNIS had told many facts about the man and documented a series of events which led to his sudden disappearance during the collapse of the Empire and his re-emergence after the formation of the Confederation. Yet there was apparent confusion in the ranks as to why he had not applied to join the faction (as had so many others formerly of the Empire) and his apparent goal to bring the target of today's attack into his complete control.

Her-- The Warden Primus-- knew something that they did not know. Thrennis was a member of the Fifth Wing-- the seditious conspiracy responsible for the economic collapse and subsequent end of the first IMPERIAL OCCUPATION of the old lands of the Tion Hegemony. Since the first purge of the organisation (orchestrated by the TSIS'KAAR after they had been destroyed by THE DIRECTOR on board the Mors Mon) Her had lost leverage over the conspiracy, and in concert with Darth Virelia , she had seen to the deaths of many of it's members so as to obfuscate their involvement in the FALL OF THE EMPIRE!

Yet there were some, such as Thrennis, who had survived not only the first purge but also the collapse of the Empire of the Lost and the assassinations wrought by a new conspiracy. Now, on Minntooine, the man was using the resources, men and war vessels he had accumulated (with thanks to the Fifth Wing) to try and take the planet for himself. Her suspected that if the Admiral were allowed to complete his work then it would have only been a matter of time until the planet itself was annexed by the Sith client state located in the THANDON STAR CLUSTER!

Now that the combined pressure of her allies in COMECI and members of the Imperial Ruling Council (such as Selrik Lorcas ) had convinced EMPRESS DESCHART of the looming Sith threat, the flotilla in route to Mintooine was an attack force designed to carve out and claim the former Imperial territory but to also create the necessary conditions for a retaliatory strike against the client state following it's incursion on Tion which saw the planet decimated by BASE DELTA ZERO protocols two years ago. In this way the Confederation was only a few mere actions away from declaring war on the Sith Empire!

Mintooine was the first step, and for the undercover Dark Lord, there was an ulterior motive for mobilizing the ICD here. While her associates brought about the annexation of the planet she was set to use the Directorate to capture and subsequently silence Thrennis under the cover of protocol and following of orders. You see, the man was a criminal, and the Warden Primus had the jurisdiction to take criminals in, and so in that safety net Her could avoid the scrutiny of her peers as she used their position in a most advantageous way to her and the work she had begun two years ago during the coup d'etat of the KILRAN DYNASTY!

The faceless, intimidating masks of STORMTROOPERS waited in line as the flotilla edged closer to it's designated target. Today, Minntooine would fall and so too would a man whose contribution to a conspiracy brought about the end of an Empire to see rise to a CONFEDERATION...

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[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 [~3,200 stormtroopers] On board Storks and Imperial Gunships

“Well, it seems they got the anti-air defenses working, sir!” the sergeant major beside Augustus roared; he got a few chuckles out of the troopers in front of him before another set of explosions rocked the imperial gunship back and forth.

Augustus was one of the lucky few who got a jumpseat. He smirked at the sergeant's comment before pulling out a holomap of the area around the outpost.

”I want the storks to land parallel to the outpost. Their shields should be able to withstand whatever weapons they have down there and provide us with a bulkhead to execute our forward assault from. The gunships should drop off their platoons and then strafe the target, focusing on the anti-air emplacements, before going back to rearm and resupply.”

“Of course, sir!” He presses a button on his gauntlet and repeats everything back to the regiment. “When should we begin the assault?”

”Right! Once the storks have landed, there will be a small barrage from the flotilla to help clean up any outside forces on the southern causeway outside the outpost. It won’t last very long, but it should soften them up for us.” Augustus said, showing a digital recreation on the holomap.

The sergeant made a chef kissing motion, “I love having orbital support. Isn’t that right, boys?” He said, motioning to the platoon, which responded with a few hoots and hollers.

To any other commander, this lack of decorum would be astonishing, but for Augustus, it relaxed him ever so slightly. He encouraged the troopers to act like he wasn’t there, unless it was a more formal setting or during drills. Plus, he knew that the sergeant was doing this for him, noticing that he was slightly tense.

From a static intercom, the pilot’s voice came, <<Alright, thirty seconds till drop. Get those side guns ready for us while we hold a circling pattern above.>>

Two heavy gunners stepped forward from the platoon and hooked themselves to the two heavy rotary blasters that were attached to the side of the gunship. Not a usual upgrade, but one that the regiment had made for “the safety of the Commandant.”

As they moved in closer to the outpost, the flak grew more intense, shaking the gunship even more. There was another announcement of ten seconds right before the side doors opened to a darkened, cloudy sky and thousands of bolts flying past their gunship. The ship rocked back as it made contact with the ground, one of the heavy troopers swung the rotary blaster out and began giving the platoon cover as they exited the gunship. The troopers ran for the bits of cover, a large rock here and a foxhole there; more than a few died upon exiting.

Then a loud thundering sound overtook the gunship's own engines as a heavy transport, a stork, landed, giving the platoon a huge cover boost, while deploying its own contingent of stormtroopers.

The gunship rocked forward as it left behind the troops on the ground, the wing-mounted beam cannons targeting an anti-air emplacement before shifting to one side to start its holding pattern to give the Commandant a good view of the battle. He didn’t want to be a burden to his troopers down there. They already had their mission to worry about, and he didn’t want to add another thing to their plate.

Augustus got up from his jumpseat and hooked a safety line to the rails above the door and held onto a handle to the side. He watched as stork after stork landed, followed by numerous gunships dropping off the 1st Regiment. He watched as a stork launched chaff and successfully deflected a missile into the air away from the stormtrooper below.

Then he heard it, a distant banshee howl of turbolaser and megamaser fire breaking the upper atmosphere. He watched it streak into the side of the outpost, impacting like colossal hammers. He could feel the subsonic rumble rattle his bones. And just as fast as the streaks of green and purple rained down, they stopped.

Augustus watched as his white and purple vanguard rushed the outside of the objective. He would take this objective, whether or not the hostile wanted him to.

For the Empire.

TAGS: OPEN

 

[Squesha]

Objective 3
Open

This mission was of utmost importance. Mintooine stood on the border of Sith space, and its control would be crucial to defense of the Empire. As such Admiral Squesha had seen fit to take the majority of her fleet to the system.

Her target was the imperial traitor Kael Thrennis and his renegade fleet. Squesha despised traitors. It was traitors and others of such weak backbones that had caused untold suffering on her home world before the Empire asserted order again. To betray her core ideals of unity, order and strength was unfathomable to her. She would destroy the ships and pathetic crews that followed him.

Admiral Squesha stood aboard the bridge of The Subjagator, her flagship for this mission. She had her ships spread out in standard search formation, maximising their sensors coverage. Pairs of TIEs scouted the area. The latest intelligence told them there should be a renegade fleet here but she had detected no sign of it so far.

She had coordinated efforts with Her , their fleets covering all angles. Something was off about her, but Squesha couldn't put a finger on it. It was then that her chief sensors officer spoke up.

"Contact! Mark 040 105 015. Renegade fleet."

Admiral Squesha nodded. They had found their prey. It was time to remind Thrennis of the might of the Empire, and make him realize the terrible mistake he had made of betraying it.

"All ships form up. Begin assault."

The space battle had begun.

Her

 

[Ronhar Tane]

[USER ACCESS: TK-3301]
[SUBJECT: DOMINION OF MINNTOOINE]
[OBJECTIVE: SECURE THE SURFACE]
[ACCESS CODE: N9TT-9G0A-B7FQ-RANC]
[PROCESSING...]
[PROCESSING...]

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

"Have all the necessary preparations been completed, Captain Sellferr?"

Admiral Zonill nervously paced back and forth on the bridge of the MIN Conquerer, eagerly awaiting Captain Sellferr's final preflight report. For the first time in hundreds of years, the Mahporeem Imperial Navy was going to see some serious combat outside of the Mahporeem system. Granted, it wasn't as if the MIN was completely inexperienced, having faced pirate attacks, errant smugglers and massive space leviathans over the course of its existence. This new enterprise was, however, something that had not been attempted by the MIN in its nearly 900 year history: the invasion and subjugation of an unfriendly world.

The name of that world? Minntoonie.

Captain Sellferr went over his datapad one more time.

Considering the current circumstances, Mahporeem had managed to put together a rather impressive strike force. In addition to the Conqueror, an Imperial I-class Star Destroyer that had been loaned to Mahporeem by the Imperial Confederation, Admiral Zonill's fleet consisted of the following ships:

• One Victory I-class Star Destroyer
• Two Vilifier-class Star Destroyers
• Two Nebulon Fire-class Light Carriers
• Two Lancer-class Frigates
• Four CR125 Corvettes
• One Hardcell-class Transport

Such a strike force had never before been assembled by Mahporeem, and represented a significant portion of Mahporeem's defense fleet. Should the invasion fail, it was likely that Mahporeem's ships would be destroyed in the process, leaving the planet rather vulnerable to attack. Imperial Confederation guarantees notwithstanding, Sellferr was determined to ensure the safety of his fleet during the invasion of Minntooine.

He had too. Failure was simply not an option for him, as the continued survival of the Mahporeem Imperial Remnant was at stake.

He crunched the numbers one more time, and turned toward Zonill.

"Aye sir, all preparations have been completed. The fleet is standing by for your orders."

"Excellent, Captain", Zonill responded. "And my ship?"

"Ready and awaiting your orders as well, sir", Sellferr replied.

"Very well, Captain. Relay these orders: all vessels are to engage hyperdrives on my mark. Our destination is the Calamari sector. All vessels will hold position upon arrival and await further instruction. And...mark!"

With a roar, the Conqueror's hyperdrive kicked into high gear, followed closely by the rest of the fleet. Within minutes, they would arrive at Minntoonie, ready to fight for control of the planet and all its resources.

The trip to Minntoonie had taken longer than expected, thanks to the convoluted route that the strike force had been forced to take. One of the main reasons that Mahporeem had been so isolated in the galaxy was due to the existence of a number of nearby gravity wells. These gravity wells made hyperspace travel through them impossible, preventing any sort of travel to and from Mahporeem from a certain direction. The fleet had been forced to take a detour to Pammant before making the jump to Minntoonie, delaying its arrival by some time. Finally though, they had arrived at the planet.

Maintaining a safe distance away from the planet, Admiral Zonill ordered a full planetary scan of Minntoonie. After several minutes, Sellferr had his report.

"The ship's scanners have detected a significant ground force of hostile units. It would appear that they are currently engaged in fighting with friendly elements of the Imperial Confederation".

"I see. Have we gotten a more detailed identification of these "friendlies?"

"I'm afraid not, sir. More worryingly, we have also identified a number of planetary ion cannons on the surface of the planet. I fear that they will complicate any landing attempts from the Vilifiers."

"And we certainly can't afford to lose any of the Vilifiers landing on this damn planet. Very well, Captain. Have the Stormhawk and the Fool's Errand deploy their Storm Commandos to the planet's surface, with the intention of knocking out those ion cannons and linking up with the Imperials already on the planet. Once those cannons are eliminated, we'll land the Vilifiers and unload the bulk of our ground forces."

"Very well sir. I shall inform-"

Sellferr's sentence was cut off by the sound of blaring alarms.

"Enemy fleet spotted!", Sellferr cried. "Contacts coming in portside, a large compliment of fighters heading our way."

Zonill grimaced at the news. It was time to put the Admiral Squesha 's training to good use.

"Launch the fighters", Zonill commanded, "and brace for combat".

Mahporeem's battle for the planet had finally begun...

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

Squesha
Augustus Von Strauss
Her
Velcarin
Karl Von Strauss

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

 

[Selrik Lorcas]

​

It was typical for Selrik to command forces on the ground from a Bastion as it rolled across the surface of the world. He'd done it most recently on Cholganna. But this time, he chose to remain upon his flagship, Requiem, as it floated above the world of Minntooine. A whole flotilla of Confederation forces was situated in orbit around the world, some engaged with the light naval defense of the traitors that called the world home, but most unmolested save for the fire from the world below, which was light at the worst. This close to space occupied by the Sith and their false empire, though, he felt compelled to remain aboard his ship.

There was plenty to do from there. Emplacements on the ground were being used to shoot at the flotilla as well as the landing craft that were putting boots on the ground. This situation called for a level of precision that required coordination between his flagship and the several other leaders within the Flotilla itself.

"Grand Moff, we've pinpointed the locations of their anti-ship weapons platforms," the ships Captain said as he approached where Selrik sat in his command chair. "I've taken the liberty of dispensing the telemetry to the rest of our forces."

"Excellent work, Cap-"

"Contact Mark 040 105 015! Admiral Squesha reports a renegade fleet in her sector!" the officer in charge of sensors and communications relayed.

"She can handle it," Selrik said. "Let's focus on the task at hand. Captain, arm all guns and begin targeted strikes on the anti-air emplacements. I want our landing forces to go unmolested. Our guns should be enough to handle the task, which frees up the remainder of the Flotilla to continue reconnaissance of the sector and deployment duties. Lieutenant Rhine, please get me a status on the efforts on the ground to capture our traitorous admiral as soon as possible."

"Yes, sir."

"Yes, sir."

Selrik sat back in his chair and let the thrum of the ship roll over him as its guns trained on the ground emplacements below and began raining fire down upon them. They wouldn't last long. With the precision telemetry gathered from the dropships and their own efforts, they were unlikely to miss their targets, even on the move. A display of Imperial precision was always in order. This world would be back under the governance of the Empire. Warlords were not going to be tolerated.

OUTFIT: Moff Standard | GEAR: Blaster Pistol | COMPANIONS: Imperial Sentinels x4
TAGS: Open​

 

[Saltare Dothon]

The dropship vibrated as it descended onto the planet's surface. Minntooine. Saltare had never been here and had never researched or heard about it. He did not need to in the past; his mission sets never took him close to this region. But that would change today.

The information forwarded to his team from Karl Von Strauss would allow them to pierce the Watchtower and activate an old DSDT surveillance program.

This system would give the Imperial Confederation eyes ranging far and wide in the system. The only problem was infiltrating this hostile world and securing it. As far as Saltare knew, the level of enemy combatants in this region was low but not zero.

What awaited him inside the Watchtower itself, he did not know. Nor could he even guess. The information provided to them did not have anything current on the status of the interior, and Saltare himself was not familiar with DSDT and their works. So, caution was needed.

"Sir, can we expect friendly reinforcements for this one?" Logan asked.

"Nothing definitive. I was able to see some reports on the high side that Velcarin and her entourage had been sent her as well, but I can't confirm that."

Saltare mag-locked his rifle to his armor and then addressed the troops in the dropship's hold. "Alright, listen up. All things considered, this should be a relatively straightforward mission. We infiltrate, get the system going, and turn it over to Imperial command. After that, we'll reorient and assist with securing the surface with the regular army."

Saltare sent a map of the local area to his troops before continuing. "Enemy combatants in the area are minimal, but Command doesn't know if anyone has embedded themselves into the Watchtower. This mission has a lot of gray areas, so we will do what we always do and adjust as new problems arise in real-time. Stay flexible, and listen to my commands. Copy?"

A chorus of nods and affirmations was all he needed.

"Touch down in 1 minute," the pilot stated over the interior intercom.

The doors to the dropship slid open, and the world that had been so far below them was now at their fingertips. A cacophony of blasters being readied and equipment being adjusted penetrated his helmet sensors as he saw his men and women get ready.

The dropship lurched and then made a rough landing, spilling over a dozen Spec-ops troops onto the surface of Mintooine.

"Second squad has lead. First envelope behind," Saltare said as his troops flowed onto the surface and made their way towards the entrance to the Watchtower.

Unbeknownst to them, hidden cameras and listening equipment tracked their location, feeding the data of Saltare and his troops to a program deep within the Watchtower. A program that had anything but good intentions.

 

[Taregh Garon]

---

Footsteps echoed in the hold of the Corvette.

There was a 'hiss' as the entry to the bridge opened wide. A large shape entered shortly thereafter, moving closer to Velcarin .

Unlike the her he wore the 'Menasor' armor without a helm allowing his rough, grizzled features to breath with soem freedom. He would tower over her, in contrast to the smaller Inquisitor he was a mountain of flesh and muscle. A large lightsaber hilt could be seen clipped over his right hip.

Tilting his head he would regard her then inquire...

"Resistance?"

...he expected opposition but had only barely paid attention to any briefing they may have received. His mind wandered occasionally, he had plans.

To see Taregh was to know he was a hammer not a scalpel. Those who resisted would be broken.

 

[Onrai]

Objective 2
Tags: Velcarin Saltare Dothon

Wisps of shade trickled out of the shadows of Minntooine as a malignant form began to coalesce. Initially she had been fine with the idea of simply wearing the fleshy facade of Vanessa Vantai and proceeding in her conventional form. Indeed, once the world had been subjugated, her avatar would yet get to work on maximizing the efficiency of the world's complements to the greater Imperial war machine. Yes, it would be a simple mission.

At least until the involvement of her former apprentice became clear.

Onrai had not been persistent in pursuing the former Darth Ayra through the galaxy. She was aware of the woman's presence within the Empire of the Lost, and of her betrayal against them, but her interaction with the aftermarket inveiglements of her onetime student had been minimal before today. A shade manifested. Pale orbs leered out from an otherwise featureless face as the aberrant entity sized up her first and earliest enemy.

A door.

She stood and pondered. Should she pierce it? Should she tear through it? No, that seemed pointless, even if the surveillance system of the watchtower had already alerted its artificial occupants of the intruders. No, a less destructive approach was needed. Stepping towards the seam of the door, the humanoid form of Onrai began to slowly wisp itself through the microscopic crack, a nigh-monomolecular ship sliding through the atomic gap of the door.

What awaited her on the other side was another mystery in and of itself.

-

Saturn-class Battleship

On board one of the remaining Saturn-class battleships in her service, Vanessa Vantai waited patiently. Once she had been able to gain access, she would be able to use the codes acquired by the Exarch to, hopefully, claim the watchtower for the Empire.

It would never be that easy, though.

 

[Narantuyaa Asther]

Squesha + Her + Open
Objective 3
Companion: Zelva Njavik

Narantuyaa had elected to be onboard Squesha flagship for the duration of this operation. The ISS dossier on this traitor had intrigued Narantuyaa enough for her to join in the hunt for this man. Not to mention, she felt that this was a stain on the ISS as a whole. They had failed to prevent a rogue element from obtaining a small fleet of ships and turning their back on fellow Imperials. Of course, she wanted this traitor dead. But he may be useful for a small time for any information he may have.

As Narantuyaa watched the battle begin as she stood next to Squesha, with Zelva to the right of her, the Field Commander looked to the Admiral. "While space combat isn't my speciality, I do prefer that if possible we cripple the traitor's flagship. Thrennis may be useful to the ISS for any information we can extract out of him. From him we can locate other possible traitors and deal with them accordingly. "

​

 

[Ronhar Tane]

[USER ACCESS: TK-3301]
[SUBJECT: DOMINION OF MINNTOOINE]
[OBJECTIVE: SECURE THE SURFACE]
[ACCESS CODE: N9TT-9G0A-B7FQ-RANC]
[PROCESSING...]
[PROCESSING...]

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

The ride down to the surface of the planet had not been a pleasant one.

Between the prestigious amount of laser fire and flak being hurled at Ronhar's dropship, he was more than convinced that the enemy air defenses would blow him and his men out of the sky. Yet, the Stork dropships that the Imperial Confederation had supplied to Ronhar's unit had more than adequately protected them from the incoming fire, allowing Ronhar and his men to safely disembark on the planet. Once again, Ronhar found himself highly impressed with the abilities of the Imperial Confederation armorers.

The Storks had delivered a total of 228 Storm Commandos down to the surface, along with a small number of speeder bikes. Their objective was simple: find the planetary ion cannons firing at the Mahporeem fleet and permanently silence them. Whether that meant taking the cannons over or blowing them up, the end result would be the same, though Ronhar would prefer capturing the cannons to destroying them so that the Confederation could continue to use them after the conflict.

Still, the most important thing now was to get them to stop firing by any means necessary.

The Storm Commandos broke up into three groups of 76 men. Each group would be tasked with disabling one of the planetary ion cannons, with Ronhar's group being responsible for the second ion cannon. Soon, Ronhar and his men were on their way, determined to take out the ground defenses in any way that they could...

Meanwhile, the space battle above continued to rage unabated.

Admiral Zonill's gamble had seemingly paid off, as the planetary ion cannons were busy engaging his ships while leaving the rest of the Imperial Fleet alone. In fact, the Admiral had radio'd to the other fleets to stay away from his position, to prevent them from receiving any stray ion bolts. At the moment, his ships were outside the effective range of the ion cannons, though that did not stop the defenders from firing at them. Every so often, a massive bolt of blue ion energy would streak past Zonill's fleet as both his and the enemy fighters continued to engage one another.

Zonill couldn't help but notice that these ion blasts were getting closer and closer to his position every time a new shot was fired.

Even with the extreme range difference between them, it was only a matter of time before Minntooine's defenders triangulated the fleet's position scored a direct hit on Zonill's ships. Should any of his ships be hit with an ion blast, it would leave them highly vulnerable to the marauding fighters and captial ships. Though the fleet had a fighter escort, Zonill's insistence on not receiving any reinforcements would mean that he was on his own until the cannons were silenced. He was determined not to let this happen, and had ordered evasive maneuvers to prevent the ion cannons from targeting him.

Still, he was only delaying the inevitable.

He hoped that Ronhar's Storm commandos would succeed in shutting down the ion cannons soon. Otherwise, he was going to have to deal with a host of different problems should they fail to do so...

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

Squesha
Augustus Von Strauss
Her
Velcarin
Karl Von Strauss

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

 

[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 [~3,200 stormtroopers] On board Storks and Imperial Gunships

The vanguard stormtroopers of the 144th fanned out across the bombed-out causeway, their white and purple armor moving like a tide of precision. A few of the squads pushed ahead to secure what was left of the makeshift barricades along the perimeter. Scrap metal welded to old E-web blasters, what looked like durasteel cafeteria tables, and the bodies of militia members who couldn't escape the torrent of turbolaser and megamaser fire that kicked off this little battlefield action.

The heavy storks remained parked where they landed, acting as protective, armored walls. Their chaingun turrets spitting green into whatever emplacements they could see. Behind them, stormtroopers moved in tight formations, breaking from cover to cover. Above them, Augustus watched the battle unfold before pressing down on his gauntlet-mounted comms.

"Squad Nine, suppress that rooftop, sending telemetry to you now. Squad Eight, move in. Use missiles if you need to." He watched as a cluster of scavengers tried to open up on the stormtroopers below, but were quickly shut down by a missile fired by squad nine. The 144th strike legion was tightening like a noose around the structure, cleaning up whatever stragglers who didn't make it inside.

While the ground assault was going well, the tone in the sky quickly changed when the pilot's voice burst from the intercom. <<Hard-lock! Multiple missiles inbound! Hold on!>>

The gunship bucked violently to the left as the pilot yanked the controls. Augustus could feel his organs shift sideways as a streak of blue ion fire broke through their shields. He could hear the solid lock tone coming from the cockpit.

<<Missiles inbound! They're too close! Chit!>>

The explosion rocked the gunship like a rancor in Jabba's pit. Half of the wing was sheared off in the ensuing fireball. Augustus, still attached to a railing via harness, was thrown backwards as the ship spiraled towards the roof of the outpost. Metal shrieked as the gunship slammed into the permacrete roof, skidding through an old comms array before screeching to a halt, perched precariously on twisted beams and held by more than a few taut wires. Augustus looked through the transparisteel windows on the side door and saw he was over a large operations room filled with hostiles.

"Chit."

TAGS: Indirectly: Ronhar Tane | Selrik Lorcas

 

[Squesha]

Ronhar Tane Selrik Lorcas Narantuyaa Asther

Admiral Squesha had welcomed Narantuyaa's request to be on her ship. She could use the intelligence officers expertise, and it was always good to have a friend in the ISS. You certainly do not want an enemy.

"While space combat isn't my speciality, I do prefer that if possible we cripple the traitor's flagship. Thrennis may be useful to the ISS for any information we can extract out of him. From him we can locate other possible traitors and deal with them accordingly. "

Admiral Squesha nodded, relaying the command to her gunners and targetting crews.

"Agreed. I have no doubt that your division will put him to use. My job is to get him for you and strip his power."

"She looked at the enfolding battle, deep in thought. She had arranged for a c shaped formation, her flagship in the middle. This allowed the forward ships to begin entrapping the enemy fleet like a school of fish in a trawlers net.

She turned to Officer Asther again.

"You know more about our quarry than anyone else here. Do you know any of his standard moves or strategies, so we can counter him more effectively?"

She was interrupted by her communications officer.

"She can handle it," Selrik said.

"Grand Moff Selrik will not be joining us."

"Fine," Squesha scowled. Of course the Grand Moff had better things to do with his sizeable fleet. She would have words with him later.
"Our forces, if applied corectly should be more than enough to get this traitor crawling back in chains. Increase power to forward batteries. I want his escort ships destroyed before they can leave to spread the word of our attack."

 

[Velcarin]

---

---

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

---

OBJECTIVE II.

"Resistance?"

Velcarin turned their masked gaze away from the viewing port to settle their gaze upon the hulking mount of flesh that had asked her a question. "Expect a trap. That is all we know," she replied as the Night Edict began to unseal itself from the underbelly of the star destroyer above them. Hyperspace had given way to a black ink canvas, and in the centre of the dark was their jewel-- their target-- Minntooine. "The surveillance program we have been sent to take was only recently uncovered by the Exarch. They do not know much. All we know for a fact is that it was designed by a traitor from the Empire."

A pair of gloved hands pressed themselves upon the arm rests of the command seat to help Velcarin rise to her feet. "We kill everything inside. But leave the tower itself intact so that they may learn more... Perhaps we will find out where Laetor is."

LAETOR is the primary target of the Inquisitorius ever since the court martial of Sieliel Dimegor had churned up their name regarding the seditious conspiracy responsible for the fall of the Empire of the Lost that was colloquially known to the upper brass as the Fifth Wing. ISS analysis suggested that the name itself was a handle used in anonymous chatboards amid slicers and hacktivists hailing from Etti VI. It was subsequently found in such a place during the Sartinaynian Crisis after Dimegor was arrested with the chatlogs suggesting that they were the one behind the attack upon THE DIARCHY.

The analysis also included the opinion, based on the testimony of Dimegor and the other snippets of information that they had gleamed by the Direct Surveillance of Domestic Threats that whoever is LAETOR are Force-sensitive and believed to be a member of the Sith Order. That they had been working with Alicia Drey during the reign of the old Empire and had helped them to build up the Fifth Wing to affect the internal politicks, power dynamics and the external or internal policies of the faction in order to weaken it from within until, finally, it had collapsed earlier this year.

WATCHTOWER THETA was an outpost belonging to the DSDT PROGRAM of which Drey had created, and so taking it on behalf of the Confederation would not only shed some much needed light on the program itself but perhaps on LAETOR themselves...

---

 

[Sieliel Dimegor]

---

---

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

---

​

OBJECTIVE I.

The quiet hum and soft breeze of artificial scrubbers was something akin to an reward in comparison to the harsh jungle terrain of Sieliel's last mission on Cholganna. It had been too humid; a sweltering heat that had made it difficult to focus in that terrible jungle world. But up here, in the canopy of an Imperial star destroyer, where it was nicely pristine and cool was much, much better. Not even the idea that she was about to destroy hundreds, if not thousands of men, women and the like would ruin this for her.

Sieliel would much rather be up here than down there.

"Right! Once the storks have landed, there will be a small barrage from the flotilla to help clean up any outside forces on the southern causeway outside the outpost. It won't last very long, but it should soften them up for us."

Sat at her terminal Sieliel settled her tired eyes upon an incoming transmission from the service. Once checks were quickly done and subsequently established that they were coming from Imperial forces, Sieliel listened intently to the request. Augustus Von Strauss of the 144th Strike Legion was requesting orbital support, and he would find his requested would be answered in kind.

"Relaying your request to the bridge. Hold tight, TK-477."

Shutting off the transmission Sieliel worked her fingers along the terminal to relay the request to the bridge. She expectantly turned her gaze upwards to look to the walkway above as her superiors patrolled them barking orders and giving commands to those below. Barely a minute later she found herself looking at a live feed showing the surface of Minntooine below where the strike legion were engaging the enemy which was quickly followed by a bursting array of green lights as Imperial firepower from above obliterated their adversaries to pave a way for Strauss to bring them victory.

"For the Empire..." Sieliel muttered to herself as she continued to follow the COMMANDANT'S march.

---

 

[Taregh Garon]

---

He'd nod. The Order to 'kill everything' resonating with him. It wouldn't be a problem.

As for the rest he knew of Laetor, the high priority placed on him by the Inquisitorious though Taregh's mind wandered. If this traitor was ever revealed then Taregh might find value in them; the Inquisitor had plans. For now those would have to wait though.

Steadying himself as the Corvette, Night Edict began to unseal itself from the larger vessel his gaze would turn towards the view port so that he could follow their descent to Minntooine and the tower below....

"Understood."

...he acknowledged what she'd said, his voice low. A trap would be a change of pace in comparison to those who preferred to flee, hide or attack...

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

...surveillance programs rarely bore nothing of consequence though this was not his area of expertise. The Battle to come as they deployed is where Taregh would be most valuable.

Silence then, he didn't speak overly much.

Instead he would watch as Minntooine drew closer, admiring when the corvette pierced the atmosphere and preparing himself. His gaze flickered to Velcarin briefly; Inquisitors were naturally observant, one might say paranoid even of those in their own ranks. They were trained to root out conspiracy and treachery as much as they were to hunt Force-Users. When the time came and he made his own play to replace their Grand Inquisitor if she would be an ally or an enemy.

 

[Ronhar Tane]

[USER ACCESS: TK-3301]
[SUBJECT: DOMINION OF MINNTOOINE]
[OBJECTIVE: SECURE THE SURFACE]
[ACCESS CODE: N9TT-9G0A-B7FQ-RANC]
[PROCESSING...]
[PROCESSING...]

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

"Contacts at the front gate, over."

Ronhar counted at least a dozen guards around the entrance of the V-150 Planet Defender. They all seemed rather unconcerned with the chaos going on around them as they lulled about the installation, engaging in idle chit chat or playing card games to pass the time. Clearly, none of them had expected any sort of attack on their installation, as they were quite a ways away from any active fighting currently going on.

Ronhar and his men would make them pay for their complacency.

He and his squad were situated mere meters away from the entrance to the Planet Defender, hidden amongst the various crates and consoles haphazardly scattered around the perimeter of the ion cannon. It was rather apparent to Ronhar that this particular ion cannon had been set up rather hastily, perhaps in anticipation of the incoming Imperial attack on the planet. The mess that they had left behind would only be to Ronhar's advantage.

He quietly primed his E-11D Blaster Carbine as he took stock of the situation, silently gesturing and signaling his squad mates to take up their positions. They did so frighteningly quickly, and soon surrounded the clueless guards without them even knowing it.

Ronhar quietly activated his comlink.

"All units, standby for my mark".

On cue, 20 Storm Commandos raised their weapons and aimed them directly at the defenders in front of them.

"And...execute."

It was all over in seconds. The defenders did even have a moment to retaliate before they were cut down by a barrage of blaster bolts. Ronhar and his men moved up to the front gate, so that they could storm the installation and claim it for the Imperial Confederation. As they posted up by the front door, Ronahr hit the gate panel to open the door.

Nothing happened.

He tried again, with the same result. Blast! Either the defenders had heard the commotion outside and locked the door, or the gate was experiencing some sort of malfunction. He could try to slice into the gate controls to force the door open, but that would take precious time that Ronhar did not have.

It looked like he would have to go with Plan B instead.

"Pitell, Hinclob, get me those Detonite charges now!", he promptly ordered.

Pitell and Hinclob complied, each man tossing a charge to Ronhar. He took the charges and stuck them to the door, and then instructed his men to take positions on either side of the gate.

"We go in with two stacks. Feralw, you take point on the left side, I'll take point on the right. Keep your fire lanes open, and remember to check your corners", Ronhar reminded his soldiers. "Now get this gate open!"

With a loud BANG, the Detonite charges exploded, caving the front of the gate and opening a hole large enough for a man to enter through. Ronhar and Feralw immediately entered, followed closely behind by the rest of the Storm Commandos. In a matter of minutes, Ronhar and his men would take control of the installation from the defenders...

​

"I have a report from Captain Tane! He and his men have secured the last Defender!"

Admiral Zonill breathed a sigh of relief at the news. With the last of the ion cannons out of commission, his fleet was now clear to begin landing on the planet. The space battle was just about wrapping up as well, as most of the incoming fighters had been destroyed or routed by his naval forces.

"Excellent news, Captain Sellferr. Have one Vilifier and the corvettes reinforce Admiral Squesha as the rest of the fleet begins landing operations."

It was time to join the fray, and take this blasted planet once and for all!

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

Squesha
Karl Von Strauss
Augustus Von Strauss
Sieliel Dimegor

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

 

[Selrik Lorcas]

​

"Report shows total demolition of the planetary anti-air emplacements," the Captain said, walking back to where Selrik sat.

Selrik wasn't surprised by this. The precision of the crew of his ship was unmatched within the Confederation. All hand selected and every single one of them individually trained by master's at their station. Nothing was allowed to go wrong when it came to the function of his ship. While some of them could be a bit excitable, he attributed that to their lack of combat experience. The Confederation, and the Risen Empire before it, hadn't been in the business of engaging in wanton hostilities. Combat was reserved for when it was necessary.

"Excellent work, Captain. How are our troops fairing on the ground?"

"It appears things are going well. Several units have been coordinating orbital strikes on hard targets, but it's nothing that the precision of our forces can't handle."

"Excellent. Get me a status update on Admiral Squesha's engagement. I'd like to know how she's handling the riff raff that decided to fight back."

"Yes, sir."

While the captain went to make communications contact with Squesha and her forces, Selrik looked out the viewport at the planet below. He knew what taking this world back from traitors meant more than most did, and he was all the hungrier for it. Too long they had sat beneath the boots of Forceborn masters who only cared for themselves and didn't actually have the best interests of the Empire at heart. That was gone, at least for them. There was another group out there, it seemed, waging a personal vendetta against worlds of the Dark Empire, and they likely were the remnants of that organizations order of Force users.

As he waited, he popped a small piece of hard candy into his mouth and sucked on it while watching the occasional turbolaser strike on the world below. Minntooine would be theirs again soon.

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