To steal a man's tea (Invasions of Atrisia)

[Rexus Drath]

Objective: Back up my student! And face the stairs!

Running is fun, it's good for you. And that's what Rexus seemed to be doing with his time, running and climbing the endless stairs that are the imperial palace. Getting on his comm unit Rexus hailed @[member="Ahani Najwa-Keth"] "Hold on Ahani!" Rex gasped and panted almost comically as he marched up the stairs of the palace "I'm almost-" taking a pause he took another deep breath and exhaled forcefully "There, just try to. Oh good Glob why are there so many stairs?!" he yelled into his mic in frustration. But thankfully his mortal enemy was coming to a close and he made up to where his student was. In the halls with @[member="Dove"] and a strange red haired woman. Rex could sense it she was the one who killed his fellow imperial brothers

"You!" he took another large gasp of air after pointing at @[member="Shinjū Aÿasha"] "Give me a moment!" bending over at the waste Rexus panted after his long climb "I am really out of shape, back to the gym on Monday then!" The man lifted himself up and pointed at the woman again "You, you killed my brother. Prepare to die." he said in a dramatic voice that seemed a tad bit over the top now all there was left to do was have @[member="JerrickShado"] show up and it would be a party

 

[The Red of Sinner]

Jerrick was right behind @[member="Rexus Drath"], the man heaved over. "Your out of breath?" He said then looked up at the gorgoues red haired woman. "That is some red shabla hair. What kind of conditnore do you use?" He joked around he had that chill again. 'Im so dead' he thought to himself. "Well Rexus...either we die trying...or we just die. Id rather say I tried."he poked at the man. He leveled the maser at the woman. "I hear this thing packs a nasty punch, care to let me test that theory out?"

 

[Ashin Varanin]

"I would continue this, but the Atrisian fleet has woken up. To business, then."

@[member="Cyrus Tregessar"] faced the following scenario. The Fringe forces, thus far, were in three portions, rapidly becoming two. @[member="Sargon Vynea"]'s contingent had long since escorted several Finality-class supertransports to a landing zone across the planet from Jar'Kai. The Astral Horizon, operating independently from the Fringe battle fleet, had achieved geostationary orbit and begun to disgorge its landing craft. The main body of the Fringe fleet, however, several Permanence-class battleships with escorts, was streaming along to join the Horizon and face Tregessar. The Atrisians had stopped at the edge of turbolaser range on the descending dropships, and the Chrysalide-class battlecruiser returned fire with over eighteen hundred turbolasers.

That wasn't the main event; nobody here expected it to be. A standard Fringe fleet relied on Permanence-class battleships, which had been designed not for straight-on fire like a Star Destroyer, but for broadsides -- and not for a line of battle, but for a wall, moving oblique to the angle of Tregessar's fire. Permanence-class vessels formed the critical points of the wall, the intersections of an unseen grid. Wasp and Wasp-B heavy cruisers, Adara-class corvettes, and Deathhead heavy cruisers filled in the gaps. The fighter screen was standard enough, though Malos-clas gunships refrained from joining in. Instead, they and a portion of the fighters escorted a portion of the battleships' Hammer-class dropships to join the descending ground forces of the Astral Horizon. Meanwhile, the quick little Adara-class corvettes moved ahead of the wall to interpose themselves between the Atrisian forces and the landing craft. The corvettes wouldn't be able to take much in the way of punishment, but at this point, every little bit helped.

Still, the Gyon heavy cruisers and Star Destroyers took a good chunk out of the landing force, at the undoubtedly-foreseen cost of letting the Fringe capital ships take unreciprocated swings at them. Close to forty percent landing craft losses trickled back to the bridge of the Astral Horizon, putting a serious dent in the Permanence battleships' contingent. The Permanence was the backbone of the Fringe, and their ground assault capacity would have helped rather a lot. But that couldn't be fixed at this point.

The ground forces which reached the plains beachhead, under cover of the brave corvettes and a truly ludicrous amount of turbolaser fire, might, just might, be enough. Not all of the battleships had sent down their landing craft; those would be held in reserve. All in all, each carried enough dropships to put down the full twelve hundred troops plus basic transport repulsorcraft. A Permanence's contingent was not designed to be self-sufficient.

The forces which @[member="Moira Skaldi"]'s detachment faced, after the forces of four Permanence-class vessels were added in -- and after the thirty percent losses suffered at the hands of the Atrisian fleet -- totalled the following, setting up on the plain outside Jar'Kai and the pass to the Palace.

7,400 troops with 230 repulsor vehicles
42 Malos-class gunships
20 Dreadhawk-class gunships
4 Detryte-class bombers
4 SMP Medical/Command walkers
35 SAP support walkers
17 Akure-class parabolic artillery tanks

The gunships ignored the forces which @[member="Moira Skaldi"] had deployed. Instead, they went straight for the pass, under cover of three interceptor squadrons at high altitude. The Malos was built for durability -- Force bless Koensayr! -- and the Dreadhawk was exceptionally maneuverable in atmosphere. More to the point, the Malos carried dozens of thermal detonators in addition to its normal warhead load, and the Dreadhawk, small as it was, carried two full-scale seismic charges.

There was no question, of course, but that @[member="Akio Kahoshi"]'s defenses had turned the pass and, especially, the Palace into a zone of air denial. The cost was judged acceptable to those whose plan involved dropping some proportion of forty seismic charges, a hundred and sixty-eight full-size flame carpet warheads, and just under twenty-seven hundred thermal detonators on that mountain pass, right through the teeth of the heaviest anti-air defenses in a hundred parsecs. Tregessar wasn't the only one who could prioritize. The gunships would have been exceptionally helpful in space, but the fleet would just have to make do without them.

Meanwhile, the ground forces were forming up to confront the battle group which Skaldi had sent. Numerically, Skaldi had the edge in tanks, and arguably in walkers as well - the SAP was a fast little blighter, but nothing like as heavy as the AT-ST, and the SMP was a mobile command and medical station, not a front-line AT-AT equivalent. The Fringe might have the edge in manpower, but that only counted for so much when walkers and tanks were in the field.

If an equalizer existed, it was the Akure-class -- blocky, tracked, and capable of merely light walker speeds. No match for Atrisian tanks up close, of course. The Akure-class, however, was capable of lobbing a seismic charge nearly twenty kilometres, making it a medium-range, high-damage parabolic artillery piece. The twin quadruple launchers could be fire-linked or independently targeted, barrel-by-barrel. Each seismic charge was fired inside a disposable, thruster-equipped, single-use inertial dampener to prevent premature detonation. The shots were purely parabolic, not guided in any way. The thrusters were solely for increased range.

The Akure-class presented a major danger of friendly fire and needed be deployed very carefully, by experienced commanders. A misfire could wipe out entire friendly units.

It was named after the biggest, nastiest terentatek ever. Just because.

They would get one barrage, presumably, before those blindingly fast repulsortanks got close enough to exchange fire with the perimeter of SAPs.

A hundred and thirty-six seismic charges, range twenty klicks, arced towards the assembled Atrisian forces. They'd been brought to crumble the mountain pass, but they'd been designed for grasscutter level-plane detonations. Plains were pretty much ideal for the Akure.

 

[Sargon Vynea]

The Palace was a focus of many, but Sargon had other plans as the Finality ships began unloading their dropships onto the opposite side of the planet. With the majority of all air cover being centered on that side of the planet moving the second fleet had been a simple process as nearly four million troops were being deployed onto the surface of the planet. The true anchor was the prefabricated bases, once all six were fully deployed it would be nearly impossible to remove the Fringe presence on the planet. Whoever noticed it would understand what was going on immediately, but he'd waited patiently until each force was being engaged to drop the full might of the Fringe's military onto the opposite side of the planet. From the ground the night skies would be alight with thousands of incoming ships, and while the Imperial Palace was thousands of kilometers away on the other side of the planet, once his forces were secure they could move in for the kill.

The Finality class ships had the protection of the entire second fleet, and once the bases touched down and deployed they would move to join the Grand Admiral's fleet in its attack. The comms were dead silent between the two though, the Grand Admiral knew Sargon well enough to know he'd be there as soon as his forces were landed on the opposite side of the planet. He was commanding in the Grand Admiral's own ship, and she deserved to have her old faithful ship by her side, and it was obvious by the crews anxious gaze over to the opposite side of the conflict they wanted to be there as well. His own fleet was supported by Permanence class ships, but he'd also brought in a number of faster Deathhead heavy cruisers, with the support of Spewers as a picket line it was a formidable force. A pair of carriers stood silently in the center of the fleet the lights of their fighters already swarming around the landing prefabricated bases. It was almost complete now, @[member="Ashin Varanin"] had arrived, and Sargon had made a promise long ago, one he still kept.

"Inform @[member="Shinjū Aÿasha"], her wife will be landing shortly, and order the Finality class ships to leave the system and return to Phu. All noncombat ships are to jump back to Phu as soon as the garrison base is deployed."

 

[James Mathison]

James set out from the palace window, bounding down the sloping side of the gaudy building. Making amazing pace, he was on the ground in seconds. James turned his attention to the incoming aircraft, large, bulbous transports. He could see from his position, large vehicles rolling out from the bellies of the transports. He had his targets, and made for the landing zone. Weaving his way through the city, he came to the clearing where the enemy was assembling, made for the growing forces. James radioed back to his Emperor @[member="Akio Kahoshi"], Emperor, I am heading for the enemy lines to cause a little mischief, if you need anything, look for the explosions near the enemy FOB.

 

[Tricia Kalamack]

Imperial Tower
Objective: Mass Destruction
@[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

Tricia looked at the massive destruction that was coming as she felt it. Siobhan and that time for a moment she had sifted her name... Had seen nothing much more then that but it was always good to have a name to the one you were fighting. She didn't kow if her name had been given properly but that was fine for now as Tricia shot up higher and saw everything. The explosion and seismic charges going off while she repulsed it. The shots from walkers and troopers coming into the air as she banked to avoid them and saw her projectiles thrown back. Tricia laughed while she swooped down and snatched one with the force, one of the tanks Siobhan had pushed back into the air and then a soldier while she sneered spinning around and throwing them again letting the momentum of catching them push it. The tank spinning as it was caught and launching higher into the air. It might not have more charges or pilots but now it was just a game of one upping the other.

A game that Tricia could play while she looked at the soldier and his weapon. He clutched it in a death grip while she debated what to do with it and while taking in the sight of his backpack and a thought came to mind. She didn't need to carry it while the reaver's gun moved with her. As much as a gun could be detestable she did know Jacen Cavill had made weapons for the Fringe to use in situations like this but her hand went to his pistol while she hefted the body with the force and brought the reaver to bare on Siobhan. The woman was enraged and it was like a heat in the air, so much power and so much fury that it fueled her while Tricia kept going and opened fire with the reaver. Letting the light machine gun rev up before it let loose from the canister inside and the pack the volley of energy shots. All three thousand of them while Tricia focused one hand on that and the other on the pistol.

She didn't like the idea of using a gun, not really but Siobhan had that bolter and grenades. Perhaps it was time to evolve and adapt to the new situation as she held it in her hand and looked at what it was called. Her mind going through the catalogue of blastech equipment as she thought it... Fitting leveling the heretic and banked to the left and to the right while she went in closer. The force wrapping around her as she let the clothing pulse all around her, the strength of the black forge something she could still feel even though the lords of shadow had not done much. Perhaps she could find some of those missiles that were in her dream or vision circe had made. Those would come in handy, able to track a non moving target, programmed to kill a single target. It made her laugh as she closed that distance and felt it.

That wash of power and that build up of the weapon, she didn't know what a disruptor was exactly but a gun was a gun and they hurt things so shooting was the way to go as she aimed for Siobhan and let the three seconds charge up happen. The shot went loose but she wasn't thinking about trying to slam into her mind again, it might work but there were to many factors now that she was closer to the tower and more in range of the anti air, more in range of the soldiers with their guns. Tricia spoke buzzing near Siobhan while she pushed the force out to be a shield around herself. Those bolter shots were dangerous but she wanted to get her name out there and perhaps she could convince Siobhan to join her. There was much more chances for them to destroy then there was to protect. "Hello." Tricia wiped at her face and her nose where she knew some blood had dried."

"I am Tricia nic Cerelene Kalamack of the Fringe's force order. I am for the moment your equal depending on what happens and I am not prepared to kill one as powerful as you. If anything.... Join me. Help me destroy that tower and whatever they are paying you we can match it nay double it." Tricia remained moving but now she could use the force to defend while projecting it to her voice. "If it helps, for one so young your powerful, stronger then anyone the people of Atrisia can produce to this fight, stronger then many I have met in my twenty six thousand six hundred and sixty one years. There is more fire and power in you and yet you waste it protecting those who want to subjugate you, who want to dominate you. I can look into the minds of them all and force users are lower then the dogs here. So why help them?"

 

[Kitt Solo]

En route to the plains
Objective: question involvement with the Fringe and don’t bleed out during capture

@[member="Moira Skaldi"]

The smell of apple-pie still lingered in the air. Some part of Kitt’s brain managed to tie it to the amount of blood seeping from the arm-wound and simple hallucination. Nothing but a flesh wound! A really, ouchie, deep-one. Fogged-brain heard the hatch rip open and fear drove the young-inexperienced forcer as she caught the glint of the terminator’s weapon to grab the closest thing as a shield with those invisible, magical tendrils.

Unfortunately, it was one of the unconscious crew members. The man took the hit to the leg and as the terminator’s fist came in, she shifted the weight of the body, his jaw taking the brunt of her fist but consequently causing his head to snap back and smash against the front of her sealed helmet. A crack spread along the glass in front of her vision. She fell back against the controls, the imperial’s body slipping down, back to the ground.

The searing-pounding in her arm increased but it didn’t stop her from shooting her arms up. “Whoa, whoa, whoa Missy. I surrender.” Voice dripped like melted caramel. She knew the scenario. She was the wistie on the flower that Moira the hutt was about to unceremoniously squish. “Don’t think I could get ten more minutes driving this beast, huh? Or even ten minutes with my hands on your circuits.”

With the bloodloss and surge of adrenaline, the young-Solo was babbling and couldn’t keep her mechanic-nerd side in check. She remained propped-up against the controls, feeling as though an invisible weight was pressing her down while an opposing lightheaded feeling threatened to float her away.

 

[Moira Skaldi]

@[member="Ashin Varanin"]
On the plains
Objective: Mayhem
At long last, against all odds, battle had been joined! For once the forces of inertia, stagnation and tedium had been defeated. Hooray! Upon reflection, given the fact that doubtless countless soldiers on both sides would lose their lives in brutal ways, many a grunt, not to mention their families and loved ones if they had any, might have appreciated it if peace for our time had won out. Contrary to what holovids might teach war was not a glorious enterprise, as much as victorious generals won medals and commendations, but hell. However, the life of a simple grunt counted for little, for he ended a statistic.

So onward the two armies marched and met across the vast plain that led towards the mountain cliffs where the Emperor's elite Imperial guard were dug in, entrenched with heavy weapons emplacements, now under intense bombardment from the Fringe air force as they unleashed their pay load. Unfortunately Moira Skaldi was not present to witness the spectacle, the no doubt magnificient desolation as the plain was hit by noise that resounded across the land and seemed much like a thunder called down by a wrathful god upon his unworthy subjects or the trumpets tearing down Jericho, except far more devastating.

A hundred and thirty-six seismic charges arced through the air towards the Imperial forces as they made their way across the plains. The Imperial forces were already fanning out and trying to seek cover, the light and heavy Walkers quickly unloading their infantry contingents as the hatched opened and they rappelled. Half of the contingent of repulsortanks, more lightly armoured but fast assault vehicles, one group aiming to exchange fire with the perimeter of SAPs, the other aiming to use this to speed towards the Akures and blast them to scrape. Doubtless many of the light Imperial vehicles would get hit and destroyed, but sacrifices had to be made. However, first the powerful barrage hit, the ground shaken and being hit by tremors under the intense salvoe. Since the shots were purely parabolic they were not guided and this gave Imperial troops more of a chance to spread out and get out of range, but nonetheless a bombardment of such overwhelmning force would demand its tribute. As the shots streaked through the air to impact with deadly force a message was sent from the Imperial brigade commander to the squadrons under the command of @[member="Somarae"], unbeknownst to said Imperial General one of the top secret Inquisitors, requesting that air forces deploy to the plain for an air strike.

Tanks and Walkers were blasted to pieces or crippled as the seismic charges hit home, some tossed across the land before landing broken, hundreds of Imperial stormtroopers, with little natural cover being provided on the plain, would be ripped into chunks of flesh, their agonised cries being drowned out by the sound of the artillery firing. The detritus of battle littered the plain, there was the smell of burnt flesh and wreckage. About four hundred dead or wounded stormtroopers would be spread across the plain, doubtless many of the wounded would perish as well since in the heat of battle medics could alas not get to them in time, fourteen tanks lay destroyed, though the wreckage at least might provide some cover until one of those annoying death charging forcers with a penchant for grabbing heavy vehicles and throwing them around showed up. Three AT-Sts had been advancing to unleash salvoes from their cannons upon the SAPs before they as well were caught in the blast and turned to scrap.

However, the AT-Ats of the armoured brigade had, since they were heavy assault vehicles, the big but slow guns, been located in the far back to make them harder to reach and so they were unaffected. Now the Imperial forces moved onto the offensive while the Fringe artillery was presumably reloading. Orders had been sent for a squadron of Self-Propelled Heavy Artillery to deploy and bombard the Fringe Akures, mass driver cannons being unleashed upon them. The SMPs would be neglected for now as they were command and medical stations, instead the firepower would be concentrated on the Fringe repulsortanks and SAPs.

Ironically enough the SAPs were not that fast really for light Walkers, their maximum speed of 60 km/h was the same as that of an AT-AT. So now as the smoke cleared, as injured soldiers cried and desperately tried to stem the bleeding of their wounds, the heavy Walkers pressed onward, flanked by Imperial tanks and AT-Sts, opening up a barrage of their own as they pummelled the perimeter of SAPs at long range with their fire linked heavy laser cannons, aiming to punch a hole into them through the volley, supporting the onslaught of the fast repulsortanks, with the AT-Sts taking shots at the repulsorcraft or infantry. The surviving Imperial stormtroopers, still thousands, pressed on and sought the cover offered to them by the wreckage of their own tanks, e-web emplacements were set up to open up a hailstorm on Fringe infantry while heavy assault troopers produced missile launchers, their missiles streaking through the air to strike at the Fringe armoured units. Soon the Imperial artillery should join the battle with a bombardment of its own, hopefully to devastating effect.

Close to the Imperial Tower
Objective: Deliver a prisoner
@[member="Kitt Solo"]

Moira did not waste time with pleasantries or comments about how the prisoner would be well treated. That could be left to Imperial officials who could try and convince her that switching sides would be reasonable. She did note how Kitt apparently used the force to try and get herself cover. Interesting. Doubtless the Emperor's top secret force soldiers would find use for this. They were always looking for talent after all.

Instead of saying anything in a blur her stun blaster was in her hand and she squeezed the trigger, firing three stun rounds in quick succession at point-blank range at Kitt. "Wise choice," she said flatly, though she was a bit annoyed about not getting to terminate someone. Maybe she would get to process her though (this would not happen without Kitt's writers consent). A transmission was sent to a nearby stormtrooper squad that would soon come rappeling up the walker, telling them there was a prisoner to pick up and place in the arrest block, where she should also receive medical attention to keep her from bleeding out.

 

[Akio Kahoshi]

@[member="Cyrus Tregessar"] @[member="Ashin Varanin"] @[member="James Mathison"] @[member="Sargon Vynea"]

The battle was quickly ramping up, the Fringe deploying masses of troops. The large ships dropping countless troops across the planet were a menace, and would make cleansing the system of Fringe forces take longer. However it would also mean that many fewer enemy troops to kill later. It did not chance the fact that Akio planned to see this entire invasion force destroyed. As shuttles descended to the far corners of the planet, planetary defenses across the planet opened fire. They were not as heavy as those around Jar'kai, but not insignificant either.

"Admiral Tregessar, you are given permission to bombard the locations where enemy forces are building. They must not be allowed to disperse."

As he sent off the message, the Fringe gunships climbed the mountain path dropping their deadly munitions. The stormtroopers that could too cover, those in the weapons emplacements fairing the best. Many were caught out in the open, and the forces up the path were noticeably thinned. However, the thinning lessened the close to the castle. The moment the gunships and fighters had entered range, the AA guns built into the mountains opened up. The skies glowed from the intensity of the fire.

When the assassin radioed him, the Emperor nodded to no one. "Very well. Target enemy officers, but be wary of those that use the Force."

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

Imperial Tower
Objective: Mass Destruction
@[member="Tricia"]

For her part Siobhan liked guns a lot. Especially bolters. Along with missile launchers and heavy duty grenades. She was above all else a combat pragmatist. Many forcers might consider such weapons beneath them, but such an attitude had not served them terribly well during the Clone Wars or Order 66. Or when Omega, back when it had been worth serving before it went down the drain, wiped out the Bando Gora and their mages. Any weapon that got the job done was fine by her and the job was to crush and destroy the enemy by any means necessary.

However, Tricia seemed to have adapted to the situation as she unleashed several thousand laser rounds from her machine gun, all spewing out of her weapon towards Siobhan, aiming to blast her, a volley that was soon joined by the shot coming out of the disruptor, though the three second period needed gave Siobhan some time. However, the former Exarch was not one to stay passive when her own tactics were used against her. Nor would she waste time with listening to the long 'give in to the dark side, join me and wreck mayhem, we can be great together' speech. The Force flowing through her and amplifying her, with the sigil of hope giving her the boost of energy that she needed, she unleashed her powers and in a motion that seemed like her hand was stretching out to grab something seized one of the downed Fringe tanks and with a casual motion pulled it high into the air at great speed and held it before her like a shield. Beads of sweat were dripping down her forehead and temples as she exerted herself, willing herself to keep the tank up and in the air even as it was riddled with thousands of bolts from the machine gun that peppered the already damaged vehicle. For a moment it looked like she would falter and that the tank would fall or perhaps, due to the energy she was exerting, push back against her, but the shield held and she stood there still in the air, gathering her powers.

Now was the usual dramatic moment of any epic duel. The 'villain' tries to convince the 'hero' to switch by giving the 'we can rule together' and the 'not so different speech'. Of course, calling Siobhan a heroine would be rather inaccurate. Her moral code, if it could be called such, was rather skewed, she just happened to follow the lead of someone who was generally Neutral Good. She had killed in cold blood, authorised torture and butchered her own troops by tearing down roofs above them in order to wipe out the enemy. So often her hatred and anger fuelled her, animated her power and gave her the boost she needed. As for the Galactic Empire - or the Atrisians - she did not particularly care much about them. She did not know about the Inquisition, of course, but she knew they wanted forcers on a leash and thought their imperial claims ridiculous.

Except...Tricia's words had...no effect at all..

Siobhan did not care much who sat on the throne, but she did not randomly switch sides. Moreover, the Atrisians she did not like, Fringe she could not stand.

Moreover, she would not waste time with a long speech and while Tricia was talking she gathered her powers, taking a deep breath as she sunk into the Force. "Firstly, what makes you think I'm doing it for them?" she asked rhetorically, the mockery clear in her tone. "And secondly..." at this she lashed out and suddenly the wreckage of the tank was seized and propelled towards Tricia at high velocity as it was engulfed by the force of a powerful whirlwind, the force being harnessed and the air currents bent to her will to form a powerful maelstorm that should thrust the tank towards Tricia with great force designed to smash through the walls of a building and perhaps even seize the dark master and spin her through the air. "You talk too much."

Even some of the debris lying upon the ground was seized and pulled up into the air as the whirlwind gained momentum, being hurled as improvised projectiles. Siobhan advanced as the whirlwind spread, flying out of cover and dashing towards the flank as the power of the force surged through her. The magazine of the boltgun had three rounds left and she squeezed the trigger as she got a good firing angle, aiming to pump every single one of them into her opponent. Not content with this she sunk into the Force, gloved flesh hand clenching into a tight as she willed her mind to focus as she stretched out with her senses and exerted her telekinetic will in an attempt to seize Tricia's heart in her powerful grip, tightening with every moment that passed and crush it.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

@[member="Moira Skaldi"]
Force-sensitives among the Fringe army winced or exulted as the seismic charges put paid to over four hundred souls. As it happened, each Akure's octuple launcher had two shots, but the bulk of the Atrisian forces was now too close to make the second barrage safely. And speaking of safety, the Akures were hauling for the rear of the Fringe formation as SPHA-T line-of-sight shots skimmed over the plain. Three, then four of the splaying Akures detonated spectacularly, but with an army in between them and the straight-line mobile artillery, and with the plain being, well, plain (in a topographical sense), they were, for the moment, some approximation of safe.

The same could not be said for the valiant SAP walkers, but heavy composite-beam turrets, akin to the SPHA-T weapons though not as large, slashed into the oncoming Atrisian walkers and tanks. The beachhead, to some extent, had what might have been called fortifications by a certain boat-burning conqueror of Gaul: The Hammer-class dropships, essentially armored bricks, formed excellent walls when laid end-to-end or even stacked, a tactic pioneered at Yalara. Against straight-line artillery like walker guns, a single layer sufficed until they got close. Each bricklike, 65-metre dropship mounted a pair of heavy laser turrets, adding their song to the kerfuffle.

The overall formation of the impromptu fortification, from a top view, appeared as nothing more than a series of rough squares in a grid, the dropships forming small forts in an echo of the infantry formations that had once been used to funnel and surround cavalry charges. Hatches and supply crates let soldiers fire over the tops of the dropships. Though the Fringe had nothing so devastating as the ubiquitous bolter, that weapon had been on the minds of the Fringe's designers and purchasing agents, and the troops presented an assortment of blaster, ion, proton and disruptor weaponry, along with BlasTech's treats. BlasTech, after all, had long benefited from using the Fringe as a testing ground, in return for access to the full catalogue, including assault cannons and anti-armor toys.

And -- lest we forget! The four surviving Detryte-class heavy bombers had not added their payloads to the run on the pass. Heavy laser cannons and dorsal twin laser turrets were sort of beside the point. Thirty-two concussion missiles apiece, from the monstrous multiple-fire bays that made up the bulk of the Detryte. Major targets: The AT-AT's, the only Atrisian units tall enough to fire over the seven-metre impromptu durasteel balustrades into the penned-up infantry. An AT-ST, at 8.6m, would have to stand on tiptoe. Or, perhaps, on pointe.

Meanwhile, the remaining gunships turned back from the run at the pass, or at least attempted to extricate themselves. The nimble Dreadhawks had taken severe casualties; seven of them remained, their micromissile bays still full but their seismic charges expended. Starfighters by some reckonings, they held off to counter whatever air power Atrisia brought to the table. The remaining fifteen Malos-class vessels, possessed of the legendary Koensayr durability, had only their concussion missile capacity and fore/aft laser cannons remaining. No flame carpets, no thermal detonators. Their aft laser cannons gave the pass a fond farewell, but it would be a little while before they returned to the plain. They weren't there just yet. After all, had to give themselves time to get over having just perpetrated a Dresden-style firebombing, with baradium involved.

@[member="Moira Skaldi"] @[member="Akio Kahoshi"]

 

[Antera]

Skies Above Jar'Kai​

Mission: Provide Air Support​

Secondary: Open a Path for the Gorgons​

@[member="Ashin Varanin"], @[member="Akio Kahoshi"], @[member="Moira Skaldi"]​

The sudden large landing of forces in the plains outside Jar'Kai had not gone unnoticed by Naval garrison. With the sudden push for the Imperial Palace, orders came down to divide the flights, expanding Imperial air power over a wider area in an attempt to support both combat zones. Thankfully it seemed the majority of the push was no longer directed towards the Tower. Somarae counted that small blessing and redirected her Hell Hawk onto a new approach vector, linking up with other aircraft from the garrison. They'd been in the air for a while already, most were running low on physical munitions and would be reduced to blasters, but even then the nose mounted repeater and pair of anti-vehicle cannons would serve as effective force multipliers. So long as they could reach their targets.

A dozen of the surviving Hell Hawks were sent in total, along with a small swarm of TIE Qiangs and Naginatas. The fighters would run a screen and attempt to gain superiority, the gunships moving low underneath to strike enemy armor. And behind them, Gorgon bombers scrambled at the start of the battle would follow up the initial gunship strike, unloading proton bombs along the Fringe lines. With any luck the Fringe flak would be minimized by the risk of friendly fire on such an approach. The pilots would inevitably take casualties, giving up the initial advantage of altitude to the Fringe craft, but once they were mixed in and more difficult for the supporting capital ships to target they'd have an easier time with the opposing squadrons. Hopefully the speed of their approach and the support of friendly guns on the ground would minimize the damage before they met the enemy directly.

Somarae settled into the lead position of a three Hell Hawk flight, "Gundark 225 to flight, prioritize AA, armor and artillery. Keep your throttle up and give them hell."

She stiffened slightly, feeling the sudden shift in the force as the seismic charges and bombing runs did their work. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears in that manner that was becoming all too familiar. There was so much going on around her, it was impossible to analyze, impossible to track.

She let go.

Her hands gripped the controls, but followed no conscious thought of hers. She was purpose and fury manifest in the cockpit of a durasteel gunship, death from above to the enemies of the Empire.

Imperial Navy Garrison - Skies over the Plains
12 x UA-101 Hell Hawk Airspeeders - Gunship configuration. Four 3 speeder flights. Close Air Support.
76 x TIE Qiang - 12 fighter squadrons and survivors from depleted flights operating in three fighter flights. Air Superiority.
40 x Naginata Starfighters - 12 fighter squadrons and survivors from depleted flights, operating in lead/wingman pairs. Air Superiority.
12 x Gorgon Heavy Bombers - Three flights of four. Landing Zone Suppression.

Imperial Navy Garrison - Skies over Jar'Kai

9 x UA-101 Hell Hawk Airspeeders - Gunship configuration. Close Air Support.
30 x TIE Qiang - 12 fighter squadrons and survivors from depleted flights, operating in three fighter flights. Air Superiority.
12 x Naginata Starfighters One 12 fighter squadron operating in lead/wingman pairs. Air Superiority.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

@[member="Somarae"] and her people were, all things considered, pretty fething brave. Portions of the fighter complement of the Astral Horizon and of several Permanence-class battleships had escorted the landing forces down to the ground. Some of those had joined the gunships on their run up the pass, and taken appreciable losses; others had remained on station above the ground battle, out of range, doing nothing.

Until needed.

The universe, it seemed, had a sense of fairness, or else the Astral Horizon's wing commander had made the right call based on sensor data. All things considered, the mostly-fresh Fringe starfighter forces numbered about the same as the combined Atrisian air forces of the plains and Jar'Kai proper. Based on the standard complement of the Permanence- and Chrysalide-class, the standard fighter deployment would be split evenly between the Aeseth and Diathim models. Evaluation of surface and orbital situations being indeterminate, the standard deployment had been adhered to. In total, the Atrisians had mustered three wings of small craft. After losses, the composite squadrons contributed by the Fringe capital ships, as a tithe of sorts, numbered slightly less.

102 Diathim-class Interceptors, 8 squadrons plus one impromptu six-vessel flight
98 Aeseth-class Space Superiority Fighters, 8 squadrons (two squadrons of thirteen)

In terms of comparison, the average Fringe wing commander would assess the matchup as follows. Each side had brought, in broadest terms, its standard heavy fighter and its standard light fighter. The Diathim, a dedicated interceptor, outmatched the Qiang for speed and outgunned it by one cannon and two warhead launchers. The Aeseth, the Fringe equivalent to the Naginata, was approximately its equal in every way save for the addition of a rapid-fire ion cannon and an additional warhead capacity of two.

Every once in a while, despite occasional embarrassments incident to expense, it paid to have the most ambitious, overblown starfighter designer in history outfitting one's command ships. One way or another, the Fringe's fighter repair and replacement bill might just be higher than the Empire's.

The standard order of operations, in the starfighter realm, was line fighters > interceptors > bombers. Interceptors, to be blunt, were designed to tackle the kind of larger, heavier craft exemplified by the Atrisian bombers and large airspeeders. Space superiority fighters like the Aeseth were designed to escort them, keep them safe from things very much like the Naginata.

The skies over the plain were about to get interesting. A few of the leading-edge impromptu forts vanished under the Atrisian air bombardment, and then the Fringe air contingent descended on their opposite numbers from their station-keeping.

They did so, if possible, apologetically.

 

[James Mathison]

Outer fields of Palace
Objective: Eliminate enemy officers and ordnance.
James bobbed and weaved as the incoming forces fired on the city he was leaving. He received orders from his emperor to target the officers. He dug deep into his mind and focused on locating certain high value individuals. James was in touch with the Force, and had undergone some training as a boy, but he was no where near the level his master had been, but what he could do was find people, among a few other skills. As he ran through the brush, scarce tree cover and rocks that lay between him and his target. He finally reach a rock formation that had a higher viewpoint and had good cover, putting a pair of binocs to his eyes, he located his first target, by his bars, a lieutenant. James took off with great speed, reaching his targets location with time to witness the man barking orders to soldiers as they buzzed about getting to their respective assignments. James pulled a throwing knife from his belt, and when the man turned towards the city, a quick zip was all that alerted the man of his death when the blade stuck him in the jugular. Clutching his throat, he fell to his knees, then slumped over in the grass. James silently moved further into the gathering, with his armor bearing no marking, he moved quite freely, unnoticed. He moved into one of the ships that carried a dozen tanks and other assault vehicles, climbing into a tank near the center, he set a shell's charge on a timer, 10 seconds. 9..8..7..James was back outside...6...5...4...3 Now hiding inside an empty command tent...2...1...BOOM, a chorus of explosions as the other shells and ordnance inside the other vehicles blew from the chain of explosions. The ship housing the explosion shuttered, rocked and the gut of it ripped open and shredded dozens of soldiers standing/gathering nearby with shrapnel and large panels.

Walking out of the tent he was in, he turned to look fr his next target, a large man, seated on top of a tank, binocs peering out towards the city. When the explosion caught his attention, James rushed up the tank from the man's blindside, and in one motion, drew his sword, decapitated the man, landed opposite the tank, sheathed the sword, and continued on to his next objective.

 

[Moira Skaldi]

Battle on the plains
@[member="Ashin Varanin"], @[member="Akio Kahoshi"], @[member="Somarae"]

In the shining light of the far future there was only peace. There was no conflict among the stars, only an eternity of harmony and cuddling, and the merry giggling of loving gods. Alas this was not to be, as much as no doubt the average grunt both on the side of the Fringe and the Empire would appreciate it. It might appear terribly glorious in holovids that celebrated patriotic heroism, but dying for the fatherland was a lot less glamorous when one was actually thrown into the meat grinder. Explosives tore soldiers and vehicles to shreds, shrapnel burnt Skin and high powered blaster bolts severed limbs. Cannons roared and thundered as the Walkers and tanks exchanged powerful salvoes of energy shots and laser beams, on both sides artillery fire lanced across the battlefield to deadly effect.

If she were present to bear witness to the beautiful carnage Moira Skaldi would have been well pleased. For the moment at least inertia and peace had been broken. Whoever might be the victor of this explosive dance - and her interest in the outcome was purely practical - organics would perish by the scores, their corpses filling the craters that were blown into existence by the bombs raining down from the sky and the shells being lobbed across the plains.

The AT-ATs of the armoured battlegroup were located at the back of the Imperial forces and the four Fringe heavy bombers would be met by a cordon of flak fire from anti-air vehicles and soldiers bearing missile launchers, their shots lancing up into the sky in a bid to bring the bombers down. Reinforcement came in the form of the Imperial air group from the naval garrison that came speeding through the sky, perhaps they could take heat of the ground forces, though Fringe unleashed the full aerial contingent of its powerful battleship. However, though the flak fire was intense the AT-ATs still represented perfect targets and as a hailstorm of concussion missiles was unleashed to pound them one of the titanic Walkers was brought down by the powerful salvoe as two front legs were blown apart and the neck portion of the vehicle was struck, the ensuing explosion taking out most of the crew. Fortunately the contingent of stormtroopers had already disembarked from the walker at the start of the engagement and moved away from it, seeking cover amongst the wreckage of Imperial tanks, but there was no saving the AT-AT as it swerved and keeled over, hitting the ground with a loud thud that sent a billowing cloud of smoke rising up into the air in the wake of the missile detonations, leaving the walker crippled and useless for the battle.

The Fringe had proved themselves savvy by using their well-armoured Hammer-class dropships as improvised walls and fortifications, shielding their troops. Advancing Imperial forces were met by a hail of fire from lasers, disruptors, explosives, taking down scores of stormtroopers too bold, if one were to think kindly of this, to get close, an AT-ST collapsed upon a squad of them after its legs were blown out from under it, more than a dozen repulsortanks were likewise blown to scrape and two battle tanks gave up the ghost as the composite beam turrets lanced through them before the order to pull back finally came through, the intensity of the battle making even efficient electronic communication difficult. When faced with fortifications like this one obvious way to deal with the issue was to launch massed human wave assaults, no doubt sacrificing scores of grunts and materiel in the hope that enough would be able to reach the barricades and ascend over them, with artillery supporting the advance with a barrage. However, human wave attacks had not worked very well at Rorke's Drift and anyway the Imperials did not have the manpower for suicidal death charges.

The two surviving AT-ATs unleashed their cannons, firing above the durasteel fortifcations into the penned up infantry, synchronising their fire. Fire support came from the SPHA-Ts, line of shots arcing across the plain towards the dropship forts the enemy had erected after they had recharged. Their cannon would be at a significant disadvatange against fast moving, mobile targets, but could cause significant direct fire damage against slower ones, or fully static ones like in this case. Synchronising their fire with that of the AT-ATs, they would punch a hole into the first ring of fortifications and soften the targets up so that infantry and assault vehicles could advance. The initial bombardment had wiped some of the improvised fortifcations from the map and in the gap, with the barrage from the heavy Walkers and the artillery hopefully providing some cover, companies of Imperial stormtroopers supported by tanks streamed in as they charged across no man's land. The cutting ege-tech of Blastech would mow many down, but the stormtroopers brought blasters, disruptors, grenade launchers and, courtesy of the Empire's Chiss subjects and quite effective against forcers, masers to the front. Contrary to popular belief and what certain holovids might say, stormtrooper plastoid armour was also more efficient than often assumed.

Stormtroopers still cover focused their fire upon the SAP walkers, the heavy assault troopers reloading their missile launchers to then let loose a salvoe. AT-ATs were coming under heavy fire from the forts but rather than their cannons they focused their homing concussion launchers on the SAPs and within a few moments the missiles roared through the air. The battle in the sky was bound to get interesting as the Imperial and Fringe fighters and interceptors would do battle for superiority, doubtless one day in the future epic tales would be written about the gallantry of knights of the sky, perhaps an inspiring holovid. The half of the repulsortanks force that had at the start of the engagement dashed forward across the flanks of the plains spread out to strike at the Fringe artillery with their laser cannons as they moved to the rear, perhaps they could land a hit, using their speed in an attempt to evade the anti-armour fire and beams that shot their way, though casualties were expected. Safe in an AT-At the brigade commander radioed the Imperial central command, requesting further reinforcements in form of an armoured battlegroup.

 

[Kitt Solo]

Particularly to members of the Fringe
en-route to Imperial holding cell

Finger pushed down on the distress signal as the sweet bliss of blackness surrounded her like a scratchy-used blanket. Thoughts churned in her unconsciousness:

Was she just a pawn of the Fringe?

Did they order her to go undercover just to toss her out like some used, trash pie-tin?

Why wouldn’t they just do a space-bombardment?

They couldn’t be so naïve to think battle would be avoided with an invasion. So many questions for the young Fringer slash bounty hunter to consider as she was unknowingly, toted away.

 

[Moira Skaldi]

At the Tower

With the Fringe infiltrator - who would be thoroughly searched for any hidden devices, given medical attention and appropriately restrained, perhaps interrogated - en route to an Imperial holding cell, Moira found herself with little to do at the Tower. From the information she had received there was a great battle taking place on the plains and naturally she would head there, for she would not miss the slaughter and carnage.

There was a jolt shooting through her as she received a transmission demanding reinforcements, moreover a report that countless Fringe forces were landing on the other side of the planet, though the navy had receided orders to perform targeted bombardments of their position. However, there was another matter to attend to and this led her to the seemingly prone body of @[member="Bellalika"], among other things CEO of Praestigae shop. Of course she had another...more interesting job that would not show up in her official ID papers!

There was a bit of a commotion as two stormtroopers and medics had already found the injured Zeltron, who had taken an involuntarily plunge from the roof of the Tower after being shot with stun bolts, landing head-first, so that her mask was cracked. The medics had already placed her on a stretcher when Moira arrived.

"She fell from the roof, she's unfit for battle and needs medical attention," one of the medics said, apparently in a Captain Obvious moment.
Moira ignored him as she approached, the troopers seemingly automatically making way for her. People knew of her, how shall we put it, reputation. She tilted her head to the side as she scrutinised the Zeltron, an intense scrutiny as her cold electronic eyes were seemingly bearing into and piercing her, bringing up official and unofficial records. Then for just a moment features softened and she smiled, a very human gesture. Then she passed a datapad over. "Deliver her to Room 101. The personnel there will give her the attention she needs."
"Ma'am, I must..." the cold look the HRD shot him cut the man off. "Of course, but I will have to file a report..."
"I am assuming direct control. Your authority is overridden. Now proceed. She requires attention and we would not want potential to be wasted," Moira spoke flatly and the minions obeyed. Giving the Zeltron another look Moira turned away. Bellalika would be delivered to a safe location, where she could receive treatment for her injuries. Once the battle was over, Moira would see to her. The device she and Maelion had created was fully operational and now she had an ideal subject to ascend. Potential should indeed not be wasted and Moira had the perfect way to make the woman fulfil hers.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

@[member="Moira Skaldi"]

The SAPs began to die in earnest now. Perhaps under cover of the far more durable, spherically-shielded SMPs, they would have lasted longer, but the fort scenario and the rapid Imperial advance had no room for an unsupported skirmish line.

The SMPs huddled within some of the forts, their spherical shields repelling air strikes and AT-AT bombardments alike. The SMP had virtually zero front-line utility, apart from those shield generators, and when it came to giving cover to the weapons within the forts, they created a substantial force multiplier. More to the point, the shielded core forts gave even the AT-ATs and SPHA-Ts pause after the Empire breached the foremost forts.

Meanwhile, the flanking Imperial repulsortanks encountered little except fresh forts, for the moment at least. They certainly had a phenomenal speed advantage over the Akure artillery tanks, which had been drawing back and spreading out for a good while now.

Far enough, just barely, to use the minimum wise range of their seismic charges against the repulsortanks. The extreme edges of the sheer-plane blasts rocked the rearmost forts, as well as the durable Akures themselves. Three Akures shuddered into silence from miscalculating the distance from their own charges. The plain full of repulsortanks found itself full of seismic charge instead.

@[member="Akio Kahoshi"]

An Animus-class assault courier touched down at the mouth of the pass, where a Dresden-esque firestorm still raged. A single flame carpet could turn the atmosphere to fire across several square miles, and the Fringe air strike had set out to drop over a hundred and fifty of them on this very pass. Suffice it to say, there was no snow remaining in the mountains for miles around. The baradium-torn ground glowed gently, and molten snow became steam, adding mist to the flame.

The woman who emerged from the small courier vessel was wearing only boots and a flight suit -- and a fireproof oxygen tank, because there sure as feth was no breathable oxygen for miles. Her clothes caught fire instantly, but she began to walk up the pass untouched, right through the fire and rivulets of boiling snowmelt.

 

[James Mathison]

The area behind James became very hot, as airships dropped fire bombs on the area. Hiding behind a parked tank, James caught his breath. Soon the air was becoming thinner, and a fresh rain began to drop on the battlefield, the fires had melted ice caps near by, causing the temperature to drop dramatically. Puffs of icey breath were visible from James' mouth. Soldiers around him had dawned some sort of breathing apparatus, so James thought he might need one. Making a speedy dash for a corner, he came face to face with a soldier and his rifle. James' first reaction was the correct one, duck, slice out the knee and hit the throat on the way back up. He removed the soldiers mask and took it as his own. Now with his face even more hidden under the hood and mask, James made for the next target, he had spotted a colonel standing behind a repulsor tank. James made a mad dash through the open towards the colonel, throwing knives in his attendants throats, dropping them as he ran up the tank, leaping off and crushing the man beneath his weight, and two knives to the back of the neck. James tossed a grenade from the ground into the tank's open hatch, with a pair of creams, and a satisfying explosion.

 

[Cyrus Tregessar]

So it began.

Star Destroyer's did a few things very well. They were visually quite impressive, and it was not an exaggeration when it was said that the mere presence of one had quelled many a rebellion. They tended to have rather incredible firepower for their size, enough that if employed properly (and for a long time) they could wipe out an entire planet. Finally, and perhaps the most important thing in Cyrus' mind, they could take a hit. It was this last category that he was counting on in his fleet movements. As the Gyon's had opened fire, orders had already been issued in expectation of the Fringe response. The Lee and Tarkin-class Star Destroyers moved in from the flanks to form a barrier for the comparatively fragile Heavy Cruisers. As they did they rotated, presenting their entire face to the oncoming fire. This provided two major advantages; it allowed them to cover more space, and enabled them to open fire with nearly every battery. The disadvantage, of course, was that they made themselves a bigger target.

It was far from a perfect tactic. The wall took time to form, and towards the center of the formation the Gyon's suffered heavily as a result. Additionally, the Star Destroyers soon began to pay the price for being made into shields. Here and there, a ship was blown out of formation, and the ships behind it faced not only fiery debris but also the awesome firepower of the Fringe fleet. The losses were significant, Cyrus estimated that at least 1 in 5 of the Heavy Cruisers was or would seen be destroyed or disabled. But that was still well within acceptable numbers (and far less than would've been sustained without the intervention of the Star Destroyers), and a fair price to pay for the damage inflicted on the landing forces. The battle would be won or lost on the ground, as both commanders up in space well knew.

The durable Star Destroyers often survived after being crippled, and many were able to make their way to the rear, and limp back towards the Rancor or jump out-system. Cyrus didn't bother to count how many were taken out of action, the line was still holding and they were giving as good as they got. The cruisers rarely fared so well, and if one were to simply stop and stare at the stunning display they would soon lose count of the number of sudden explosions that flared up like a star for a moment and then faded. Cyrus' only consolation is that it appeared that just as many came from across the gulf of space that separated the two fleets. For a moment, he spared a thought for whether precise fleet movements demonstrated thus far indicated that the Imperial ship captains possessed impressive skill and talent, or that they were afraid to fail at something so basic as pilot a vessel while he looked on.

But there was more to a space battle then trading shot for shot with the big guns. The frigates and strike craft of the Galactic Empire had not been idle. The flanks surged forward, taking on the appearance of horns. The Yovshin and Guillotine frigates pushed themselves to their limits of speed, and in their shadow flew hundreds of fighters and bombers. As they entered firing range, the Guillotine's emptied their payloads of the vicious Maelstrom ASM's, targeting the fighter screen. The Imperial strike craft followed in the wake of the missiles, the fighters acting as diversions and the bombers aiming to disable or destroy the Fringe capital ships. As the strike craft race after their targets, the frigates would attempt to do what damage they could along the flanks and then any survivors would continue their course back behind the main formation.

"Admiral Tregessar, you are given permission to bombard the locations where enemy forces are building. They must not be allowed to disperse."

Cyrus frowned. Sending ships down to bombard would put them at a huge risk, and maneuvering the entire fleet was tactically a poor decision. But one doesn't simply ignore the words of their Emperor. He glanced at the main display, trying to see what could be spared. A large dot circling the planet stuck out, and Cyrus quickly rerouted half of the blob to enter the atmosphere and support the planetside defenders.

"Sir, have rerouted several wings from the Rancor to assist, the fleet is currently engaged and cannot provide support at this time. Will update in one-five minutes. Tregessar out."

Cyrus took a step back from the display he'd been standing at and allowed himself to breathe. Outwardly he seemed calm, but inside he was nothing short of elated. Whoever his opponent was, they were magnificent, and the battle which had just begun promised to be a great one. He allowed himself a moment or two to embrace the feeling, and then the joy began to fade and was replaced ever so gradually with a growing and burning rage. The fury of those who seek battle for battle's sake, but will never be content just to fight, and who also must WIN.


@[member="Akio Kahoshi"] @[member="Ashin Varanin"]